CM PRESS # 598

STUPID PARTY GETS EVEN STUPIDER--IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT (Photo of convicted rapist Mike Tyson--a supporter of Steele)

Yesterday, the GOP picked Michael Steele to be the new head of the RNC.

This was a big mistake and we doubt he'll last the two years of his term.

Steele has shown no ability to rally voters to the GOP, and his abrasive public persona, his positions in favor of gun control and his support of affirmative action, among other things, will more than likely alienate millions in the party and lead to more losses.

In his victory speech, Steele blustered, "It's time for something completely different and we are going to bring it to them."

Steele's manner was arrogant to the point where, no matter what his actual words were, his speech came across as being a little like the hate speech of Joseph Lowery at Barack Obama's inauguration when Lowery said "Lord...we ask you to help us work for that day when...white will embrace what is right."

We've said it before and we'll say it again. The U.S. really needs a viable third party that will stand for something and not just try to win by having no positions or positions which change with every breeze.
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SPEAKING OF A THIRD PARTY, AND SOMEONE WHO COULD PUT IT TOGETHER IF HE HAD THE RIGHT SUPPORT, HERE'S PART OF A COLUMN BY PAT BUCHANAN (Thanks to GP for reminding us)

by Patrick Buchanan


Barack says we need to have a conversation about race in America. Fair enough. But this time, it has to be a two-way conversation.

White America needs to be heard from, not just lectured to. This time, the Silent Majority needs to have its convictions, grievances and demands heard. And among them are these: First, America has been the best country on earth for black folks It was here that 600,000 black people, brought from Africa in slave ships, grew into a community of 40 million, were introduced to Christian salvation, and reached the greatest levels of freedom and prosperity blacks have ever known.

Wright ought to go down on his knees and thank God he is an American. Second, no people anywhere has done more to lift up blacks than white Americans. Untold trillions have been spent since the 1960's on welfare, food stamps, rent supplements, Section 8 housing, Pell grants, student loans, legal services, Medicaid, Earned Income Tax Credits and poverty programs designed to bring the African-American community into the mainstream.

Governments, businesses and colleges have engaged in discrimination against white folks -- with affirmative action, contract set-asides and quotas -- to advance black applicants over white applicants. Churches, foundations, civic groups, schools and individuals all over America have donated their time and money to support soup kitchens, adult education, day care, retirement and nursing homes for blacks. We hear the grievances. Where is the gratitude?

Barack talks about new 'ladders of opportunity' for blacks. Let him go to Altoona and Johnstown, or ask the white kids in Catholic schools how many were visited lately by Ivy League recruiters handing out scholarships for 'deserving' white kids.

Is white America really responsible for the fact that the crime and incarceration rates for African-Americans are seven times those of white America? Is it really white America 's fault that illegitimacy in the African-American community has hit 70 percent and the black dropout rate from high schools in some cities has reached 50 percent? Is that the fault of white America or, first and foremost, a failure of the black community itself?

As for racism, its ugliest manifestation is in interracial crime, and especially interracial crimes of violence. Is Barack Obama aware that while white criminals choose black victims 3 percent of the time, black criminals choose white victims 45 percent of the time?

Is Barack aware that black-on-white rapes are 100 times m ore common than the reverse, that black-on-white robberies were 139 times as common in the first three years of this decade as the reverse?

We have all heard ad nauseam from the Reverend Al about Tawana Brawley, the Duke rape case and Jena. All turned out to be hoaxes. But about the epidemic of black assaults on whites that are real, we hear nothing. Sorry, Barack, some of us have heard it all before, about 40 years and 40 trillion tax dollars ago.

LINK to Pat's blog.

# # # Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 597

BREAKING NEWS: Friday, January 30, 2009, 5:00 p.m.--The Los Angeles Times--the parent of the Daily Pilot--announced today that it is cutting 300 more jobs at the paper. LINK
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INVISIBLE MAN WITH GUN RUNNING AROUND NORTH COSTA MESA?

SPECIAL ALERT TO NORTH COSTA MESA--ARMED SUSPECT--PROBABLY LATINO, MAY BE IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD --DO NOT APPROACH--CALL POLICE (714) 754-5252

According to various news reports, a man was robbed by suspects with a knife and at least one handgun in a strip mall in the 3000 block of Bristol Street around 9:13 p.m. Wednesday. The location is near Paularino Avenue and Baker Street.

After being robbed, the victim called the police who pulled over a suspicious car with six people inside. Presumably, they are all Latino (presumably, because the PC press didn't identify them by race or ethnicity and certainly would have done so had they been white, and the names of the adults who were arrested are Latino names).

The two adults in the car who were arrested have been identified as Alam Encinas and Denise Esquivel (Latino names). Two minors, who were not otherwise identified, but who presumably are also Latino, given the totality of the circumstances, were also arrested.

The other two males in the car ran from police. One of them, identified as Jose Duran, (a Latino name), fell into a drainage ditch and broke either his leg or his back, depending on which source you read, and was arrested and taken to a hospital.

The other suspect escaped and is said by police to have a gun. He is also presumably Latino (given what we know about the suspects who were arrested and because the PC press didn't identify him). This suspect is still outstanding. Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Irvine police have not been able to find this suspect.

Police have not released information as to whether the robbers are gang members and/or illegal aliens.

Here are more details from the OC REGISTER.

THE DAILY PILOT SHOWS ITS COLORS AGAIN

Don't you think you, your kids, and your family would be safer if our "local" newspaper actually published full descriptions of outstanding, violent criminal suspects running around our streets? We do.

So, why doesn't the Daily Pilot do that? Why does the paper only seem to publish racial/ethnic descriptions when the suspects are white?

Remember the other day when the Daily Pilot "reported" on an outstanding burglary suspect and not only showed a large photo of the guy who is clearly white, but then also used the word "white" to identify the suspect?

Contrast that story with the present one in which the DP just couldn't bring itself to tell you the race/ethnicity of the suspect running around Costa Mesa with a gun--right now, maybe in your neighborhood, maybe on your street, maybe trying to steal your car or get into your home.

Of course, if you have common sense and want to protect yourself and your family, you should probably assume the suspect is Latino given what you do know about this incident.

All the news that fits their lefty world views and agendas

Here's a LINK to the story in the Daily Pilot where you can read just the details that the lefties over there think you should read as they sanitize news reports to seemingly try to create the impression that violent crime is an equal opportunity employer.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 596

JOHN WAYNE WILL KEEP GROWING BECAUSE NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING REALISTIC TO STOP IT

Joe Bell, who lives in Newport Beach's Sudetenland under the steel sky at the end of JWA's runways, has a column in the DP today about JWA.

It's worth reading, if for no other reason than to read what the CM PRESS has been saying for years: Many of those who are supposedly fighting the expansion of JWA aren't doing much effective fighting and JWA is going to keep growing unless some people with brains and testosterone enter the fight with a realistic alternative to JWA.

In fact, with all due respect and apologies to some who are a bit more effective, some of those who citizens think are doing something to stop JWA from eating up Newport Beach and Costa Mesa actually look more like a gaggle of chickens running around with their heads cut off or women at a sewing bee.

The CM PRESS has listened to their pitches at various meetings and we could hardly stay awake. The pitches we heard had no focus, no direction, no passion and no real ideas. It was coffee klatch stuff. Busy work. Mumblings about nothing.

And, why wouldn't they look and sound this way? Some have the support of Costa Mesa City Councilperson Katrina Foley and they also support her.

According to Bell, Ayres Boyd, who is with the Airport Working Group, said, “There’s no strategy in place to prevent that growth. We need somebody to drive it. To act like they mean it.”

Amen!

I'll go further. You also need more than a bunch of knitting bee ladies mumbling nonsense about a train to the desert where people will then catch their flights. They might as well be talking about personal jet packs.

To stop JWA you need an alternate airport and it needs to be along the coast.

The CM PRESS has previously laid out the numbers and facts for you. The best location is on a tiny portion of Camp Pendleton.

We've also laid out the strategy on how to proceed.

If you want to know more, just use the search feature on this blog and put in JWA, LAX, Camp Pendleton, and a few similar terms and you should get all the facts and figures.

And, if you think some of the above sounds harsh, just wait until we start having some airplane accidents as a result of having an ever growing airport in our backyard. Then, you may realize that the above isn't harsh enough.

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QUICK READ COLUMN ON DARWIN

Here's a link to a column about Charles Darwin in the LA Times. One thing the writer should have mentioned in the column, but didn't, was that Darwin's wife, Emma, was also his cousin.

You'd think in a column about the marriage of a guy whose fame was based on his theory of evolution and how living things change, largely through natural selection and mating choices, that this bit of information should have been included.

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DAILY PILOT MOVES EVEN MORE LEFT

Have you noticed how the DP seems to be moving ever more leftward? The paper links to lefty blogs, or blogs that never update, and promotes various lefty causes and attitudes.

Maybe the suits over there think that's a good business model for Newport Beach and Costa Mesa? LOL. Hey, Sam Zell, who's minding the store down here?

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 595

DAILY PILOT REALLY, REALLY WANTS YOU TO KNOW THIS CRIMINAL IS WHITE

(Ah, that's not the criminal in the photo, that's Karl Marx)

Yesterday, the DP ran a news story on the front page about an outstanding burglary suspect.

The DP also ran a large photo of the suspect, who is clearly white.

However, the DP apparently really wanted you to know the guy is white because they then stated in the article: "[The criminal] is white...." LINK

Here's how the OC Register handled the same story

In the OCR, by contrast, the story also had the photo of the suspect, but the OCR didn't feel is was necessary to also write in the body of the story that the suspect is white. LINK

THE CM PRESS POSITION

We believe that all relevant descriptive information should be given in newspaper stories about outstanding violent or major criminal suspects and that there should be no PC hiding of such identities. Just report the facts and let the chips fall where they may.

In the present case, the OCR at least showed consistency with its PCitis policy by not stating in writing the race/ethnicity of the suspect, and instead let the photo speak for itself.

The DP, on the other hand, seems to have really wanted readers to know the suspect is white by not only publishing his photo but also by describing him in the body of the article as "white."

The OCR thus gets good marks from the CM PRESS and the DP get's a failing grade on this story.

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Those are our unPC opinions as we do the job that local newspapers used to do.

CM PRESS # 594

IF YOU'RE THE WRONG COLOR YOU CAN'T JOIN THIS CONGRESSIONAL GROUP

Congressional Black Caucus refuses to admit anyone but blacks. But a Congressional White Caucus would be...racist.

LINK

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JIMMY CARTER WORRIES ABOUT ISRAEL'S SURVIVAL

Former president worries that if Arabs flood into Israel and are given full voting rights, that they'll vote out the Jews and change Israel from being a Jewish state. But he supports legalization of illegal aliens in the U.S. and one person one vote...here.

LINK

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COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS CEASE AT PALMDALE AIRPORT

Hmmm. Say, (tongue in cheek) how about fast rail transportation to JWA for passengers who used that desert airport? LINK

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ILLEGAL ALIEN TRIES TO GET WELFARE, GETS ICED

LINK

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BREAKING NEWS--DAILY PILOT IDENTIFIES ANOTHER CRIMINAL BY RACE

And, of course, he's white. LINK

Just in case you couldn't tell that the criminal is white by looking at his picture, the DP also put it in words for you: "[The criminal] is white...."

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 593

INTERESTING CHANGES IN BOLIVIA

As the world rushes headlong into a massive falsely utopian homogenization and conformity of nations, peoples and religions, some nations are taking different paths.

Bolivia may be one of them. According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, a new constitution for Bolivia was apparently voted in by the citizens of that nation over the weekend.

One of the things we noted from the article is that under the new constitution, indigenous peoples will be able to "eschew the traditional court system and resort to their own 'community justice.'"

Doing this and similar things should tend, over time, to increase the identity of the various indigenous peoples and strengthen individual rights while weakening the power of the central government.

In other words, such changes work to put people and their often centuries long natural affinities before the artificial entity of a cobbled together national identity and state that is often ruled by a few powerful people who demand allegiance to their particular world views, religious views and social views and who memorialize such things in laws and force these laws down the throats of people who may already have their own world views, religious views and social views.

Those who are opposed to such changes will argue that what is also being done in Bolivia is socialism and the nationalization of private industries by the central government. And, they'd be right. There is some of that in the new constitution. However, if a central government truly is a government of the people (And, isn't that what it's supposed to be?) and not just the tool of a few rich and powerful people, then the nationalization of some massive industries may be a necessary correction to stop a few robber barons from stealing the riches of the nation.

To those who argue against such moves by Bolivia, we'd just point out some of the excesses we constantly read about right here in the USA. How many more stories of fat cat executives of failing companies looking for bailouts with our tax money, who are squandering our money on expensive office furniture and perks, do we need to read about to know that we need some serious corrections to our present so-called free market system right here in this nation?
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NATURE OR NURTURE?


(Is a Pit Bull just a Poodle with bad rearing?)


LINK






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NOW IT'S THE JAPANESE WHO ARE TOLD TO MAKE MORE BABIES
They understand some of nature's lessons.
LINK
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MEANWHILE NANCY PELOSI HAILS BIRTH CONTROL
She doesn't get it.
LINK
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BASKETBALL TEAM WINS 100-0 AND APOLOGIZES FOR WINNING
Even in sports, nature's lessons are ignored as winners apologize for winning.

LINK

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 592

HERE'S ONE OF THE REASONS WE CANCELLED OUR SUB TO THE OC REGISTER

Like the Daily Pilot (which we also cancelled), the OC REGISTER is run by people who just can't seem to put in the description of outstanding violent criminal suspects when they are non-white ( according to FBI statistics, the majority of violent crimes are committed by non-whites).

If there is no racial/ethnic description given of violent criminals in the OCR, and similar PC newspapers, you can often just assume that they are non-whites based on the probabilities and the PC policies of the newspapers.

Hiding the race/ethnicity of outstanding violent criminals does nothing to help capture the criminals and it does nothing to help citizens protect themselves.

In this article ,we read that four men with baseball bats have been attacking and robbing people in Mission Viejo. That's all the description that the PC goofs at the OCR would give, other than that they seem to be driving around in a truck.

What's the purpose of a newspaper when it won't even report all the facts? Right. It has no purpose.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 591

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETS MONDAY

Here's a link to the agenda.

The two new commissioners haven't even been seated yet, and we're seeing comments from some folks who are bemoaning what they believe will be the Irvineization of Costa Mesa because the two new commissioners have development backgrounds.

Rest easy, you well-meaning (we think) but paranoid souls. Do you think the improvement majority on the City Council will let Costa Mesa become a new Irvine? It's not in their genes.

Also, the Improvers, from the very start of the movement in 2000, have been very specific that they do not want Costa Mesa to become a new Irvine. They have even named that city as what they don't want in Costa Mesa.

They will be watching everything the Planning Commission does and will work to make sure that Costa Mesa does not become overly, ah, manicured and antiseptic but will retain the vibes that so many citizens like about our city.

Improvers have repeatedly said, however, that they believe that the Westside needs to be improved and that one of the most important things that can be done to achieve this is to have a proper balance of industrial and residential uses on the Westside Bluffs.

To this end, they encourage developers to come forward with housing plans for the Bluffs that will be a good fit for the area and the philosophy.

Most Improvers applaud eclectic and architecturally interesting industrial style housing on the Bluffs that does not look like housing tracts from Irvine or similar overly planned cities.

And, if you're still a little paranoid, you might want to know that Improvers go through the plans and agendas before each Planning Commission meeting and City Council meeting to see if anything is being slipped in that will take our city--and especially the Westside--in the wrong direction.

If something is spotted that doesn't ring true, the Improvers work to get things fixed.

For example

Recently, Improvers noted a few words hidden away in a many page document, that was to go before the Planning Commission for a rubber stamp approval, that would have required all development on the Westside to be at least an acre in size.

Had this been passed, it would have essentially stopped much development on the Westside because most of the lots there are very small.

To get to an acre in size, someone would have to try to buy up small adjacent lots from many owners, which is often impossible. And, those who want to improve smaller parcels according to individual tastes--which tends to help create a visually interesting and non-conformist look--would be out of luck.

Thus, if this had been passed, there would be no real changes on the Westside and the area would continue to stagnate.

After the Improvers complained about this item, it was pulled from the agenda and will presumably be rewritten to remove the onerous anti-improvement language before going before the Planning Commission again.

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GOOD BLOG BY ALAN BLANK OVER AT THE DP

About two weeks ago, the CM PRESS was going to write about how Costa Mesa's Director of Public Services, Peter Naghavi, never seems to sleep because we run into him all the time from early in the morning to late at night. The guy is everywhere, and whenever we see him he's doing City work. For space reasons, we didn't run our piece and then forgot about it.

So, we were pleased to see that Blank at the DP has also noticed the job Naghavi is doing and also that City Manager Alan Roeder and Assistant City Manager Thomas Hatch also seem to be on the job all the time and doing whatever it takes to keep the City running smoothly.

And, speaking of Mr. Roeder, the CM PRESS has been to enough City Council meetings and watched Roeder enough to say that this guy should be teaching new City Managers all across the nation how to do that tough job. His ability to get things done, while still being as polite and diplomatic as anyone you'll ever meet, even in the face of the many types of problems, personalities and egos he deals with on a daily basis, is remarkable.

LINK to Blank's blog.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 590

TROUBLE AT VANGUARD UNIVERSITY?

Our guess is that most Costa Mesans couldn't tell you the location of Vanguard University.

That may be part of Vanguard's problems, although its relative invisibility isn't even hinted at in this article in the OCR about Vanguard. LINK

So where is Vanguard?

It's right next to Costa Mesa City Hall.

A casual observer might think Vanguard is part of the City Hall complex. It's so close to City Hall that the buzz a few years ago was that Vanguard wanted to buy City Hall and perhaps the Costa Mesa police station to incorporate them into its campus.

Apparently, if the OCR is correct, Vanguard now has financial and accreditation problems, so any realistic thoughts about buying the adjacent City owned property are probably on a very distant back burner.

Colleges and universities, no less than private businesses, need to attract attention to themselves, in a positive way--if they are to stay viable and healthy.

Some do this via their sports teams--mostly football--others do it by attracting top talent in specific academic fields and some are able to do it with both sports and academics or in other ways.

Maybe part of what Vanguard needs to do is take a look at how it can become more visible and better known.

MEANWHILE OVER AT UCI

UCI, by contrast, seems to understand that a university needs to be in the public eye to attract top talent and money.

When UCI wanted to start a law school from scratch--no small task--it immediately hired as its first dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, one of the highest profile law professors in the country, and a guy who doesn't mind being in front of TV cameras. You might say that Chemerinsky loves the cameras, even if the love is not returned.

But UCI has now done something else that is interesting. It apparently realizes that you need the brightest students to prime the school's pump and at the same time start some very bright people down the conveyor belt toward graduation so they will help build your reputation once they get out into the real world. So, UCI is offering free tuition to its incoming first class of law students.

Something had to be done to get the best and brightest to consider UCI Law, a start-up with no reputation, remember.

Most top law students know that their futures are going to be very bright if they graduate from Harvard or Yale or a couple of similar universities. And, they'll be asking themselves what their future is going to be if they graduate from a a start-up in, where? Irving, er, Irvin, ah, Ermin, Irvine, California? Hmmm. One thing that bright people often do is think ahead.

Will Chemerinsky and free tuition work to snag some Harvard or Yale bound students? Possibly. At least it should attract some who have applied to Harvard or Yale, and who almost made it, but who came up a little short.

So, where did Chemerinsky get his own law degree? Harvard.

Hmmm. One wonders. If UCI's Law School had been a start-up back when Chemerinksy was a student, and had applied to Harvard, would Chererinsky have decided to go to UCI instead because of the free tuition? And, if he had, would he now be as famous as he is, or would he be out chasing ambulances in some small town?

That's not a meaningless question. That's the same one top law students will be asking themselves.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 589

CITY COUNCIL GOES WITH NEW BLOOD FOR FOUR SEATS ON THE TWO COMMISSIONS

At this morning's City Council meeting (last night's meeting didn't end until approximately

12: 40 a.m. this morning), the Council selected Colin McCarthy and Stephen Mensinger as new Planning Commissioners.

In doing so, the Council rejected present Commissioners Donn Hall and Eleanor Egan whose terms were up, but who had both reapplied to be on the Planning Commission, in what some might interpret as a lack of confidence vote for the duo.

From all reports, both McCarthy and Mensinger will be good for the improvement of Costa Mesa, and especially the Westside.

For the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Council picked newbies Kim Pederson and Jeff Mathews to replace Bob Graham, whose term was up but who had reapplied for his seat, and Mark Harris who, after many productive years on the Commission, didn't reapply this time. Had Harris reapplied, it is almost certain that he would have retained his seat. Hopefully, he'll stay active in the City as he is considered good for improvement.

Both Pederson and Matthews are also considered to be good for improvement.

Kim Alan Pederson, is an interesting choice even beyond what may sound a little like a Boy Named Sue first name. You'll usually see Pederson's large hulking frame at most youth sports games around the city or doing various other things relating to our parks and sports fields, including doing the finger-nail dirtying job of making fields ready for use. His hands on experience and advice should be invaluable at a time when the City is trying to develop new sports fields.

A BETTER WAY

Councilmember Monahan briefly touched on something during the Commission selection process that the CM PRESS has long advocated: We believe that all ten Commissioners should submit proforma resignation letters after every election and then reapply if they wish.

Since all the Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the City Council, this full resignation idea would set up a codified process that would tend to ensure that the Council has Commissioners who share the same general philosophy as the Council and wouldn't be working against the wishes of the Council.

Whether the Council will fully explore such a process or not is anyone's guess.

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SENIOR CENTER BOARD DELAYS COMMITTEE IDEA

Here's a link to the Daily Pilot story about the board of the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation delaying until February a vote on whether to allow the City Council to form a committee, as proposed by Council member Gary Monahan, to take a look at the Senior Center.

Don't be confused. The Senior Center is in the building located at 695 W. 19th Street that is owned by the citizens of Costa Mesa, while the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation is the non-profit company "hired" by the City of Costa Mesa to run the Senior Center for the City of Costa Mesa, instead of having the City run the Center itself as is the case with most other cities.

Look, let's not be coy about what's going on. A number of seniors have complained about various matters at the Senior Center.

When Mayor Pro Tem Leece tried to investigate, she apparently hit a stone wall.

Even though Mr. Monahan says his committee idea is not related to the way Ms. Leece was treated, and even if he's being completely honest, the committee will no doubt look at complaints and other matters. And, this is as it should be.

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COASTLINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXPANDING TO THE WESTSIDE BLUFFS?

At its regularly scheduled meeting tonight, starting at 6:30 p.m., the Coast Community College District Board of Trustees will discuss the possible purchase of properties at 1527-1533 Monrovia Ave. in Newport Beach.

These properties are between Production Place and W. 15th Street and are within a stone's throw of Costa Mesa.

We don't know what the Trustees have in mind, but if they're planning anything to do with medical training, this would be a great location given its close proximity to Hoag Hospital.

Don't forget that not far north of these properties on Monrovia, but on the Costa Mesa side of the border, Nexus Development has a condo project in the works (that may be apartments until the market turns around) that could provide housing opportunities for students and staff of the Coastline College development if it goes forward.

Also remember that these properties are close to the Banning Ranch site.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held at 1370 Adams Ave.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 588

CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON 55/NEWPORT BLVD WIDENING

The stop-gap measure of widening Newport Blvd. to ease traffic congestion where the 55 Freeway suddenly and absurdly becomes Newport Blvd. has begun.

Most of the construction is slated to take place at night to prevent as much disruption as possible for the few shoppers who still venture into that mess that the State of California has put in our city.

While we have our fingers crossed that the widening will do some good, we're afraid that during high traffic days--say in the summer months--few motorists baking in their cars at the bottleneck at the end of the 55 near 19th Street will even realize that the street was widened at all.

The truth is that Costa Mesa sits on the trail between a massive herd of water starved inlanders and the watering hole of the Pacific Ocean.

Until the 55 is put underground, that herd is going to keep trying to shove through the bottleneck.

"If you build it, they will come," may be as true about this widening project as it was about the baseball field in the movie Field of Dreams.

Once word gets back to the rest of the herd that the street has been widened, more will come--thinking they'll get through the bottleneck faster. They won't.

Notwithstanding the above, something had to be done about the bottleneck.

Widening the street a little may at least raise the consciousness of state politicians that it's not acceptable to build half a freeway and end it in the middle of a city.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 587

CITY COUNCIL TO APPOINT SOME COMMISSION MEMBERS TOMORROW

The City Council is going to make some appointments to the Planning Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission at the Council's regularly scheduled meeting tomorrow night.

Both of these commissions are the farm teams for the City Council.

We always find it interesting to look at the lists of those who apply.

Just as is the case with some who run for the City Council, there are some people who have applied who seem to have fallen out of bed one day and decided to put their name in the hat without ever doing any of the grunt work that activists should do. Our guess is that there are some on this list who don't even know where City Hall is located.

Hopefully, the City Council majority will appoint serious people who will continue improvement in the city and will weed out some turncoats and improvement obstructionists.

The Westside still needs improvement, and we need people on the commissions who understand this and who have the right vision for the worst part of Costa Mesa.

We noticed the names of two people on the list who are against having homes built on the Westside Bluffs. If the Council appoints either of these improvement obstructionists, get ready for fireworks from the Improvers.

Here's a link where you can read all the applications and resumes of those who want to be appointed.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 586

RUSSIA AWARDS PARENTS FOR HAVING BABIES

(The rest of Europe needs to do the same thing)

In the face of the demographic crisis hitting Russia (and European indigenes in the European diaspora, we might add), the Russians now award parents for having children. LINK

Whenever we read positive stories like this, we're reminded of that deadender--the Lonely Old Man--a dried up, hate-filled, yuppie husk who has never learned even the most basic laws of existence.

What is the future of the Lonely Old Man? He has no future. He is extinction walking.

To survive into the future and be the "fittest" requires that you have children.

Of course, the Lonely Old Man is just a fictional figure we use as a metaphor.

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CM PRESS # 585

POLICE HELICOPTER--WORTH THE $ OR NOT?

(Expensive toy or necessary tool to keep Costa Mesa safe?)

Jim Righeimer has a good column in the DP today about Costa Mesa's police helicopter program.

It's nice to see someone offer some facts and figures on the program so the public and the City Council can think logically about the subject and so the latter can do a cost/benefit analysis as they prepare to cut costs in Costa Mesa.

LINK to Righeimer's column.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 584

IT'S THE BUILDING THAT MATTERS

Here's a link to a letter from a Barbara Galkin of IRVINE, who says the Costa Mesa Senior Center is swell.

Galkin also repeats the line that the City of Costa Mesa only pays one-third of the expenses of the center.

This one-third business is one of the lines that those who oppose oversight from the Costa Mesa City Council (not the Irvine City Council, by the way) constantly use in a PR attempt to convince the City Council that it shouldn't have anything to do with complaints from our senior citizens and shouldn't have any oversight over the Senior Center.

Here's the reality

The Costa Mesa Senior Corporation--the company hired by the City of Costa Mesa to run the Costa Mesa Senior Center for the City on a contractual basis--not only receives direct monetary funding from the City of Costa Mesa, but also occupies a prime building owned by the City of Costa Mesa and is only charged a dollar a year in rent. The City also provides maintenance and janitorial services for the building free of charge.

The building is where the value lies

It seems to us that without that perfectly located and virtually free building at 695 West 19th Street, which is directly across the street from Bethel Towers with all its senior citizens, that it would be difficult for any corporation to operate a viable Senior Center in Costa Mesa.

Thus, the contribution from the City of Costa Mesa is far more valuable than just the oft repeated one-third monetary contribution. It is the essential contribution of the building that is important.

Of course, if the board of the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation doesn't want the City involved, they can vacate the City owned building and try to find another facility in the private sector.

If that were to happen, our guess is that the City of Costa Mesa might put some parks and recreation employees into the building to run the Senior Center or would have people waiting in line to get the same deal that the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation is getting.

Hopefully, the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation board will agree to the committee idea of Councilmember Monahan, will allow City Council oversight, and will answer Mayor Pro Tem Leece's reasonable questions concerning complaints and operations.

Here's a link to the Senior Center's web site, which has apparently been updated recently.

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LIFE ON MARS?

According to a new report from NASA, there's a lot of methane on Mars. Methane is produced by living things and by some natural processes such as the oxidation of iron.

In the latter category, and given the reddish color of Mars, the methane could just be from rust.

It might also be that this speculation about life being floated by NASA may be because the agency is nervous about funding with a new administration about to take office in Washington and wanted to get this story out there to show that what it is doing is important and should be funded.

If there is life, it is more than likely microbial and lives deep underground. The importance of finding life on Mars is in an analysis of its DNA or whatever passes for DNA. If it does possess DNA and if the DNA is close to what we find on Earth, then it may give credence to the theory of panspermia as well as many other things.

Link to NASA's website.

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INVENTOR OF BIRTH CONTROL PILL NOT HAPPY WITH EUROPEAN DEMOGRAPHIC CATASTROPHE

Humans who do not reproduce die out. LINK

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 583

GOOD ARTICLE ABOUT THE HOMELESS GUY SHOT IN THE EYE

Here's a good article in the OCR about Gregory Dahlgren, the homeless guy who was attacked and shot with paintballs.

It turns out, according to the OCR, Mr. Dahlgren once made a pretty good income and then things fell apart.

The CM PRESS is still surprised that the CMPD hasn't caught Dahlgren's attackers. Our email inquiry to the CMPD about the case was unanswered.

We're also surprised that there are still two different versions of where he was attacked.

Dahlgren says he was attacked at Lions Park, but the CMPD, according to the OCR, says he was attacked in the alley behind the Vista Center.

Hopefully, with all the publicity this case is getting, we'll soon have all the facts.

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CLOSING IN ON THE CREEPS

The local creeps are starting to squirm. Stay tuned. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Maybe we'll soon see another one suddenly leave the area.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 582

MORE CRIMINALS DEPORTED FROM COSTA MESA!

The CMPD reports that there were 18 ICE detainers issued in the month of December 2008. That's 18 more criminals off our streets.

In December 2007, there were 21 ICE detainers issued.

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Thanks for reading the CM PRESS.

CM PRESS # 581

POLICE TAKE STALKING CRIMES SERIOUSLY

Here's an article about stalking that deserves a read.

The CM PRESS has received reports of a stalker in Costa Mesa who may be targeting some local politicians and others.

If you are a victim of telephone, mail, Internet, or personal harassment or smears, be sure to report it to the CMPD at (714) 754-5252 or email the CMPD at PDADJUTANT@ci.costa-mesa.ca.us.

The harassment may start with subscriptions to magazines that you never subscribed to or similar seemingly minor things, and then escalate to hang-up telephone calls and on and on.

If you're on our email list, feel free to send us your tips in this regard. Be sure to document everything as much as possible in case of legal action.

Generally, stalkers are cowards with psychological problems who try to remain anonymous.

Some of these nutcases start blogs in order to harass others. It is important to drag these slime balls out from under the rocks where they hide, and shine some bright light on them. Some may then face criminal charges as well as civil penalties.

Phony letter on the Westside
According to an article in an alternative weekly newspaper recently, a phony letter to the editor was composed and sent to the newspaper falsely claiming it had been written by someone involved with the Minutemen anti-illegal immigration group.

The letter contained various ethnic smears and said the letter writer had defecated in the trash can of a restaurant near 19th and Placentia.

To the credit of the weekly, they checked on the facts and quickly realized that the letter was phony and was meant to discredit the supposed writer.

Some activists in Costa Mesa believe the letter was written by a local Costa Mesa blogger and/or his associates who go to great lengths to remain anonymous.

This anonymous blogger has implied that he has contacts within the CMPD, and he seems to have inside CMPD information that the general public doesn't have.

Perhaps internal affairs should look into this.

--DEVELOPING--

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 580

MORE GANG GRAFFITI=MORE GANG PROBLEMS

The CM PRESS is receiving messages from many activists, mainly on the Westside, but not only from that part of the city, about more gang graffiti that seems to be popping up.

Unfortunately, some on the City Council seem to consider the graffiti itself to be the problem as though we live in a Disneyesque world and the graffiti is sentient and just put itself on walls. Their attitude is to cover it up as quickly as possible and pretend we don't have a gang problem that the Council is not adequately addressing.

Hey City Council, the problem is the people who put the graffiti on the walls. And many of these people are gang members. The graffiti is only a symptom. It is not the disease.

Rid the city of the gangs and the graffiti will go away.

To those who have asked the CM PRESS if the gang detail is doing the job it should be doing or if it is still laboring under the delusion that Costa Mesa has a white gang problem, we can only say that we don't know

We know that liberal mindsets are very resistant to change and they are sometimes reinforced by liberal newspapers which hide the race/ethnicity of violent criminals except when they're white and then emphasize the race of criminals when they are white. This causes some with the liberal mindset to be blind to the truth. To them, the Earth is still flat.
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ANOTHER BROWN RACIST TERM FOR WHITE PEOPLE
Here's your urban dictionary word for today. If you hear brown racists using this word, they're not being friendly toward you.

Bolillo
The term "bolillo" is a very racist term used throughout certain Latin American speaking countries to describe a white person. The word “bolillo” is almost always negative, implying that the person described is a small little white bread roll.
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STILL NO ARRESTS IN PAINT BALL ATTACK
As far as we know, there are still no arrests in the paint ball attack on a homeless man.

As you may remember, the attack either occurred in a gang infested alley behind Vista Center near 19th Street and Placentia or at Lions Park.

Maybe the problem is that the gang detail is trying to find white attackers and they're not white.
Maybe the gang detail should be looking for suspects in the Shalimar slum and in the slum on Center Street behind Vista Center. Just a thought.

Of course, as we wrote before, the suspects could be whites; maybe even fraternity types (from Harvard?), who just thought it would be fun to commute to the worst part of Costa Mesa on one of the darkest nights of the year and roam the dangerous alleys and parks looking for people to shoot with their paint ball guns (which are usually about the size of a small rifle and are difficult to conceal, especially if there are several of you carrying them) and no one saw them as they were roaming about looking for victims.

It seems more probable, however, that turf sensitive Latino gang types who live in that area and who hang out in the alleys and the park just took a few steps from their apartments, shot the guy, and stepped back inside their nearby apartments. This scenario seems to cover more bases than the other one does it not?

Naturally, probabilities don't prove anything, so we'll just have to wait until the CMPD makes some arrests to know exactly who shot the guy.

We will say again, though, that we're surprised that the CMPD hasn't made any arrests yet.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 579

SHOW DOWN LOOMING BETWEEN CITY COUNCIL AND THE COSTA MESA SENIOR CORPORATION?

The short version
This past week, the City Council voted to set up a committee to take a look at the Senior Center. However, the Council gave the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation the option to nix the committee.

If the CMSC does nix the committee, and in effect yells for the Council to get off the lawn, what will the Council do, since the City owns the lawn? Get ready for some drama.

The verbose version
Here's what you need to know about this to wade through the he saids, she saids:

Unlike most cities which run their senior centers with city employees, Costa Mesa decided several years ago to "hire" an outside corporation--called the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation--to run our senior center.

To make it a viable operation, the City leased the building to the CMSC for a dollar a year, does all janitorial and maintenance on the building for free, supplies transportation for seniors and also gives the CMSC more than $ 240,000 per year in cash. In other words, it's a sweetheart deal supposedly between sweethearts who tacitly agree to get along and cooperate for the benefit of the seniors.

So far so good. Then, a couple of months ago, some seniors; the exact number is in dispute--Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece says about 30 seniors, while some associated with the CMSC say it's about 5 or 6 malcontents--apparently had some complaints about the operation of the center and felt, rightly or wrongly, that their complaints weren't being handled correctly.

These seniors then took their complaints to Mayor Pro Tem Wendy Leece who had the thankless task of being the City Council liaison to the center and who was thus the City Council's Johnny-on-the spot.

Ms. Leece tried to get to the bottom of the complaints to see if they had any merit and she did this the same way any responsible person would do it: she started asking questions.

All that had to happen at this point was for someone to give Ms. Leece complete answers to her questions. That probably would have been the end of the issue and you wouldn't now be reading about this every day in the Daily Pilot or in various blogs.

Instead, Ms. Leece was apparently seen by some as an interloper. Also, at some point, City Councilperson Katrina Foley's law firm was apparently hired to advise the CMSC. We don't know if this hiring of Foley's firm was done before the present controversy or in reaction to it, but that fact will eventually come out if it's relevant.

The question that many observers are asking is why would Ms. Leece be treated as an interloper, if in fact, this is what is going on?

There are several possible explanations. Here's three of them.

1. For some unknown reason, the CMSC doesn't want the City Council to know much about the operation of the Center and wants the Council to let the CMSC handle everything--including complaints from seniors. In this last regard, don't forget that the Council became involved because some seniors said their complaints weren't being taken seriously and they "appealed" to the Council for resolution.

2. The CMSC is afraid the City Council will decide that the City or some other corporation should run the Senior Center instead of the CMSC.

3. Politics. Two of the CMSC board members--Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer--were defeated in the 2006 election by Ms. Leece and her political ally Mayor Allan Mansoor; and several other members of the board were vocal supporters of Garlich and Scheafer as well as Katrina Foley.

No doubt, we'll see pro forma denials that politics is involved now that we've broached the subject. Still, it would be naive to not at least raise this issue for a public airing.

At any rate, it seems that once Ms. Leece started asking questions, things began going sideways. Letters and blog posts (mostly anonymous) started appearing in the Daily Pilot claiming that Ms. Leece was on a witch hunt and that the complaining seniors were just a few malcontents.

Then, this past Tuesday, the City Council voted to set up an ad hoc committee, as suggested by Councilmember Monahan, to take a look at the Senior Center.

Mr. Monahan went to great pains to say that this proposed committee had nothing to do with the controversy as outlined above, but that it was just time to take a look at the center.

Notwithstanding Mr. Monahan's comments, and the perhaps coincidental timing of his committee idea, there is still a chance that more drama is forthcoming in the days ahead since the City Council staff report on the committee formation has the following proviso which allows the CMSC board to unilaterally put the kibosh on the committee: "Should the City Council choose to support the implementation of the proposed Committee [it did with its vote on Tuesday], it will only move forward with the support of the Board of the Senior Corporation."

So, as we say in tennis, the ball is now in the CMSC's court. Will the CMSC go along with the committee idea? Or, will they open a second floor window at the Senior Center and yell down to the City Council: "Get off our lawn!"

And, to ask again what we asked at the top of this column, if the CMSC does tell the City Council to buzz off, what will the Council do?

Stay tuned.
-30-

CM PRESS # 578

[NEW STORY ON THE SENIOR CENTER--7:15PM, Saturday--Scroll down]

ADAPT OR DIE

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper has been put up for sale. Owner Hearst Corp. says if no buyers show up in the next 60 days it'll shut the paper down or only let it continue online.

Most owners of newspapers like to make a profit. That's not happening with many newspapers these days as those who run them seem to be having a difficult time in adapting to modern realities.

Take a look at the Katrina Foley Almost Daily Daily Pilot as an example of a newspaper that is simply not adapting or is adapting too slowly. It seems those running the KFADDP still think they can bore people into reading the paper and that they can move things as slowly as they once did.

For example, the newspaper is carrying blogs to attract readers, but at least one of these blogs is dated June 25, 2008 and another one is written by a local crackpot who most serious people don't read.

When people comment on stories at the KFADDP it's usually the same five or six people who do so. And, this includes some who are clearly barely literate.

Come on KFADDP, you can do better. We're rooting for you to adapt and stay in business. We really do like having an almost daily newspaper in the twin cities of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

(Okay, so one twin is slightly prettier than the other--hey, we didn't say they were identical twins. Maybe, like, they're fraternal twins. Well, geez, maybe they're not really twins but are sort of related like cousins or maybe they had different fathers. Come on, you get the point.)

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THE LATEST ON THE SENIOR CENTER (Saturday, 1/10/08, 7:15 PM)

In a column today in the OCR about the Costa Mesa Senior Center and the committee that the City Council approved to take a look at the center (but only if the Senior Corporation's board approves of the committee), we read this:

Board member Scheafer said the board never had a breakdown in communication with the city until Leece stepped in and that having a committee may be a lost cause."Gary (Monahan)'s comment was that he wants to do it to enhance and maybe increase the funding from the city - he's not getting any support for that," Scheafer said. "There's already animosity for us among the big three (referring to Leece and councilmen Allan Mansoor and Eric Bever)."

Maybe we have it wrong, but does it sound as though failed City Council candidate Scheafer doesn't want to go along with the committee idea?

You may recall that Scheafer and Bruce Garlich (who is also on the Senior board with Scheafer) were defeated in the 2006 City Council election by Wendy Leece and Allan Mansoor.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS # 577

PILLAR OF THE COMMUNITY QUITS SCHOOL FOUNDATION AFTER HE ADMITS STEALING CLIENTS 'MONEY

Here's a story from the OCR today about a pillar of the community who volunteered his time to serve on a public schools foundation.

Now he's admitted stealing $2.7 million from his clients in a case that is not related to the foundation.
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OVERSIGHT IS NEEDED WHEN PUBLIC MONEY IS INVOLVED

How many stories do citizens have to read about various pillars of the community being caught with their hands in the till to understand that proper oversight is needed and that "trust me" being said by respected pillars of the community who are near piles of citizen money is not enough?

Remember the case of Stephen A. Wagner the pillar of the community and chief finance officer of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District who stole $3.7 million from the district? That was OUR money that this crook put in his pocket to pay for his lavish life style.

Where was the oversight? Why wasn't somebody asking questions?

Be especially wary when some pillars of the community get upset and rude when you ask a few questions about public money.

It is your right to know that your money is being handled correctly and is being used for proper purposes. Don't let them blow you off because they think they're big shots.
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THE COSTA MESA SCHOOLS FOUNDATIONS

The CM PRESS continues to ask when the Costa Mesa High School Foundation will file its tax returns. The Foundation is two years behind and may face huge penalties from the IRS.

We also continue to ask when the Foundation will start filing its required annual reports with required independent audits--which it has never done.

As you may recall, it was the CM PRESS asking a few questions that led to the discovery that the Foundation wasn't doing the required paper work that would give transparency.

The City is supposedly now trying to get both this foundation and the other one at Estancia/Tewinkle up to speed on what needs to be done.

We'll have more to report on this later after we take a look at what the City has been doing relative to the foundations.
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THE SENIOR CENTER

Hmmmm. Is the City Council trying to run Latinos out of the city by setting up a committee to look at the Senior Center?

Sound absurd? Of course it is, but that's what some local crackpots trot out every time improvement minded citizens try to make our city nicer or when they try to get transparency from our institutions. So, don't be surprised if you hear that nonsense again.
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COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT

Here's a curiosity piquing story that popped up in the OCR today about the district's chancellor, Ken Yglesias, suddenly being sent home on administrative leave while investigators have been hired to look into unnamed allegations concerning Mr. Yglesias.

Sometimes it's just better to reveal in very general terms what the unnamed allegations might be. Do they relate of financial matters or something else?

All we can piece together at this time is that one of the investigators is big on computer forensics.
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Those are our opinions as we continue to do the job that local newspapers used to do. Thanks for reading them.

CM PRESS #576

HERE'S ONE SENIOR CITIZEN THE CITY COUNCIL SHOULDN'T LISTEN TO (He doesn't live here and he's wrong)



Newport Beach resident and uber-liberal Joe Bell has one of his predictable columns in the Katrina Foley Almost Daily Daily Pilot today in which Bell shuffles to the defense of the corporation that is currently running the Costa Mesa Senior Center for the City of Costa Mesa. Yawn.

You've seen Bell's opinions before. They're the typical liberal laundry list of likes and dislikes. You know what this guy thinks before he even taps out a word on the page.

Bell doesn't know much about the Costa Mesa Senior Center and apparently hasn't researched the subject, but that doesn't keep him from opining.

What he does is cobble together some things he's seen in the Katrina Foley Almost Daily Daily Pilot along with some things said by his fellow libs, as he argues, essentially, that the seniors at the center who are complaining about conditions there don't have legitimate gripes and that the City Council shouldn't listen to them and should butt out. Bad seniors, bad, bad, bad.

Before writing his column, Bell should have contacted Mayor Pro Tem Leece to learn more about the complaints she's received from senior citizens and he should have done some research on the subject. Sometimes, when you write a column, even an opinion column, it helps to learn all the facts.

Instead of seeing the Senior Center as a business with customers and with complaints about customer service, Bell swerves off into flag-wrapped cliches about how the majority should prevail and about freedoms--both of which are no more relevant to this issue than they would be to a customer at Moe's Bar complaining about poor service. We were half expecting to read about Bell walking through 30 miles of snow in his bare feet to get to school.

According to Bell, the City Council should listen to failed City Council candidate Mike Scheafer and the rest of the board of directors (which looks a little like a meeting of Return to Reason and has more than a few members who are the political adversaries of Mayor Pro Tem Leece and the majority on the City Council).

And, speaking of Scheafer, here's part of what he apparently told Bell:

“I thought that we were doing a pretty good job of managing our own affairs and dealing always with valid complaints. If the city doesn’t think so — especially on the basis of these complaints — then we would have no other option than to dissolve our center and turn it over to the city.”

If the present corporation did stop running the center, the City could either run the place itself (as do most cities) or form another corporation to do it for the city.

Think about it this way...

As with any vendor that contracts with the City, it behooves the Costa Mesa Senior Corporation to provide good customer service and to listen to the wishes of the City Council.

And, let's be clear. Costa Mesa, as is the case with most cities, has decided as a matter of policy that it is desirable to have a senior center. However, Costa Mesa, unlike most other cities, decided to see if it would be better to have an outside corporation run the Senior Center for the City. That's right, the corporation is doing a job for the City. Hold that thought because we're coming back to that "job" concept in a few paragraphs.

To make it work, the City entered into a sweetheart deal with this outside corporation that gives the corporation a City owned building for a buck a year, free maintenance, free janitorial service, free transportation services and more than $ 240,000 in cash each year.

Because the City is so invested in the Senior Center, and because the present corporation is running the center for the City, the City Council has a right and a responsibility to make sure there is good customer service and that citizen money is being spent wisely. This means the City Council should listen to complaints from senior citizens to see if they're legitimate and should work to make sure our seniors are happy with the service and make sure that all is going well at the center. That's what responsible City Councils do.

Try this analogy...

Suppose you contract with a gardener to mow your lawn. Further suppose that you let him use your lawnmower for free, because he doesn't have a lawnmower. Suppose also that your wife isn't happy with the job the gardener is doing. Then, suppose when she complains to him he doesn't take her complaint seriously and ignores her. So, she next complains to you. Being a reasonable person, you'll probably try to speak to the gardener about it and ask him a few questions to learn why he's doing things a certain way and to see if he can change some things so your wife will like the job.

What would you do if the gardener told you that you shouldn't listen to your wife because she's a malcontent and she's just one person. "Hey, have your kids complained? No? See, your wife just doesn't like me. Don't listen to her. The majority should rule. This is about freedom."

And, what if he acted as though he's doing you a favor and told you that if you don't like the job he's doing, too bad?

How long would that gardener have your business or the business of anyone else? Gardeners are a dime a dozen.

The Senior Center needs to be thought of as a business, and as such it needs to remember two rules of most successful businesses: 1. The customer is always right. 2. If you think the customer is wrong, go back and read rule 1.

Our guess is that those who keep writing and saying things that the City Council might interpret as attacks on the authority of the Council aren't doing the present corporation any favors.

All that most people want is a cost effective, open and transparent Senior Center operation and happy senior citizens along with cooperation between the Senior Center and the City Council.

After the committee formed by the City Council completes its work, we may find that the Senior Center is doing a great job and that some or all of the complaints are unfounded. But, as with any business, the complaints should be investigated. Customer service is important.

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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.