GELFAND’S WORLD - It was one of those half-hours when strangers are thrown together and begin to chat. After all the standard, polite commiseration about how complicated life had become, one fellow said, "I'm young and healthy. Do I really need to get vaccinated? Who will tell us the truth?" A woman in the same area seconded the "young and healthy" line with a similar level of skepticism about the vaccine.

COVID WATCH - The next time someone tries to tell you that implementing restrictive COVID-19 policies affecting the public is nearly impossible, point them to San Francisco. Or New York City. Or the State of California. Or even Pasadena,

PLANNING WATCH-The Atlantic magazine, a consistent source of thoughtful American opinion since 1857, has added its voice to the chorus praising trickle-down housing policies through Conor Friedersdorf’s essay: The California Dream is Dying.

CLIMATE WATCH - Apocalypse is complete destruction of the world as described in some detail in the biblical book of Revelation.

RIGHTS OF THE UNHOUSED-Organizations from across Los Angeles (including U.T.A.C.H, LACAN, LATU, Unión de Vecinos, Reclaiming our Homes, and members of the SNS coalition) gathered at City Hall on Wednesday to protest the City Council’s second hearing of Councilmember Mark Ridley Thomas’s alternate motion that bans sitting, lying down, and sleeping on large swaths of LA sidewalks, leaving the unhoused to ask the question, “Where will we go?”  

EASTSIDER - When you think about it, the reality is that homelessness has only been an inconvenience for most Angelenos since they have been under the radar except when our politicians wanted to pass taxes to “help them.” Then came Echo Park Lake and most recently, Venice Beach. 

COMMENTARY - My view from the ground as a Southern California community organizer is aligned with the latest poll released by Berkeley.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I have been writing RantZ & RaveZ for a number of years. My observations and comments reflect over 70 years of residency in the City of Los Angeles and neighboring communities.

COMMENTARY - Remember when the right-wing was all about supporting cops and maybe even a little police brutality?

Without racism running deep in their DNA, Trump's supporters would not have listened to a raving maniac president encouraging violence in order to remain in power. 

BRAINPOWER DUMBING - The near hysteria, though justifiable, among conservatives concerning the imposition of racialist Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools fails to address how this theology both reflects and contributes to the “systemic” decline of education itself.

RACIAL RECKONINGS - Republican efforts to ban the teaching of the history of racism in public schools picked up steam when the corporate "bill mill" the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) hosted a workshop on December 3, 2020 called "Against Critical Theory's Onslaught."

MISINFORMATION INFECTION — The article that appeared online on Feb. 9 began with a seemingly innocuous question about the legal definition of vaccines. 

ANIMAL RIGHTS - The organization KoreanDogs.org has been working to end the Dog Meat Trade in South Korea for 10 years.

LGBTQ NATION - Ed Buck, the gay white millionaire on trial for the deaths of two Black men, has been found guilty on all nine felony counts.

THE CITY-Margaret Sullivan (photo above) writing in the Washington Post (Bezos) recommended more coverage of democracy, less politics.  

COMMENTARY - As a ROTC cadet and an Air Force officer, I was a tiny part of America’s vast Department of Defense (DoD) for 24 years until I retired and returned to civilian life as a history professor. 

LABOR VIEW - Amazon founder and Richest Man in the World Jeff Bezos got shot into space on his very own rocket on July 20, two weeks after retiring and handing off the company to a successor, Andy Jassy, who previously ran Amazon web services.