The Daily Brief

On the cover of my latest Automobile magazine (11/05): “Civil War! Z06 vs Ford GT vs Viper [coupe].” I expect the other major automags will follow suit.

Of course, revivals of the old Chevy, Ford, Dodge rivalry aside, this is more a matter of contrast than comparison, as these are three distinctly different cars. But some excerpts are worth noting:

[T]hese are America’s greatest cars – and two of them, the GT and the Corvette, are among the world’s best cars.

In performance, price, and driving pleasure, [the Z06] blows the current Porsche 911 Carrera S away[.]

Now all the American industry has to do is up the ante with its more affordable cars

Well, the ante is being upped – across the board. I’ve raved about other new American cars on this blog – the Opel Omega based Cadillac CTS comes to mind. And now it seems the Mazda 6 based Ford Fusion is a star player.

Well then you really should be by that absolutely repulsive Glenfiddich dude – who seems to be a pathetic Ralph Lauren rip-off.

I don’t get this – Glenfiddich ain’t Tanqueray – we are talking about a premium brand here. Why do they need to resort to such addlebrained marketing tactics?

…At this time: the death of Rosa Parks. And her celebration, in many circles, as “the mother of the civil rights movement.”

As it turns out, I have been working on an article, premised upon the afro-centric view of racism in America, and the general denial of racism in the southwest.

I’ve chosen as my focus for this piece, the case of Mendez v. Westminster – Which preceded Brown v. Board of Education by several years. This has particular gravitas for me, as, while I attended Johnson Intermediate – the site of the Mendez farm, I was never taught about this. Neither have any of my California-schooled contemporaries! In fact, a query with one of my favorite Constitutional scholars – Eugene Volokh of UCLA – got the reply, “never heard of it.” In fact, even the Mendez’ granddaughter had not heard of it, until she studied at UCR.

To date, I want to thank Prof. Vicki Ruiz, of UCI, for her help. It seems there were other cases – Alverez v. Lemon Grove, which preceded Mendez, and others in Texas and Arizona, which followed, which all led up to Brown. I’m working on those now.

I hope to tie this all together under an umbrella of general racism and segregation.

One the cover of my latest (10/05) Automobile magazine: Soltice Rocks!

What is it – a national hiccup pandemic? No!!!! it’s that insidious evil – street racing!!!!!

And, of course, the cops are calling for “tough new laws” to “bring this problem under control.” And what do they want most? property seizure! Of course, it has worked so well with drugs, gambling, whatever. But mostly, it gives the cops MORE MONEY – so they can protect us better!!!!

Let’s think clearly here: If only 100 people per year have died as a result of organized street racing – just think of how many more would have perished, had they been doing the same thing in an unorganized manner?!?!?

Don’t think I’m giving a blanket endorsement to street racing here – I very much prefer taking it to the tracks. But, when that is not an easy option, well organized street racing is far preferable to unorganized street racing. In fact, properly done, it turns the streets into a track – much like Long Beach or Monaco – albeit without government imprimatur.

But, of course, that government imprimatur is the all-important factor.

But don’t we all, at one time or another (particularly if we have children 🙂 )?

But that’s not what this post is about. I’m talking about “urban living” coming to Los Angeles. (Well, actually, in this case, Long Beach.) Actually, these things have been popping up here-and-there for the last few years. But nothing has gained what we might term as “critical mass,” because “Los Angeles” – the sprawling polyglot that it is, has no real “urban center.”

I love this development – mostly because I love the architecture of the ’20s and ’30s. This is classic Greek revival. But this, art deco, craftsman – it’s all good. I would prefer my “loft” be on a hilltop overlooking the coast – about five or ten miles away. But even barren homesites like that within commuting distance of any west coast city are over a million dollars these days.

And I tell ya’ – I am absolutely underwhelmed. Seriously – this was like a really-really good Firefly episode – stretched into a feature film.

I think many will agree that HBO’s Rome has to be the best (somewhat) fictional show on TV just now.

And I’m sure only regular viewers will get the humor in my headline. 🙂

…Upcoming on one of my local PBS stations: Examining The Religious Far Right:

Most Americans outside the Bible Belt have little idea of the beliefs held by millions of fundamentalist churchgoers. There is an almost total lack of awareness of the rise of Dominionism and Christian Reconstructionism, forms of theology that advocate a biblical vision of God’s kingdom on earth. Some fundamentalists also foresee events such as the Rapture, the Times of Tribulation, Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Christ as we enter the End Days. Examining the Religious Far Right was videotaped at a conference that gave rigorous attention to the worldview of the religious right, its influence in contemporary political culture and its agenda for America. The 2004 election told us that socially conscious citizens need to be aware of the ambitions of this influential religious movement. What do fundamentalist theologies advocate regarding theocracy, abortion and homosexuality? What is the nature of the world order under God’s law that they anticipate? How do many fundamentalists interpret the role of Israel? How does this affect U.S. policy? Why are so many fundamentalists opposed to environmentalism and the UN? Why are millions in America drawn to this form of belief, and how can we come to understand them? Executive producer Al Perlmutter brings this important conference coverage as America grapples with the growing influence of fundamentalist religion and its political goals. Conference Participants: Karen Armstrong, Chip Berlet, Joan Bokaer, Frederick Clarkson, Dr. Robert Edgar, Joseph C. Hough, Jr., Skipp Porteous, Jeffrey Sharlet, Charles Strozier, John Sugg, Hugh Urban, Katherine Yurica.

Of course, considering the point of view which one might expect, I’m going into this with an open mind, but a jaundiced eye.

Update: I’m going to have to watch this again, as I am missing large pieces of it due to the thunderstorm overhead. But I can tell you right now – this is a MUST SEE. Not because it is so profound or informative, but because it is such divine high comedy. It should be titled: The Far Left Looks at the Far Right.

Update 2: It’s about bed time for me. So comprehensive blogging on this wll have to wait until tomorrow. But I have to say this: you should see this show. Just to understand the predisposition of some of the minor league power players in this game.