Montebello E-News  

October 11, 2007 

 Resolved, that the women of this nation in 1876 have greater cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution than the men of 1776.
Susan B. Anthony,
  1820 – 1906, was a prominent, independent and well-educated American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to secure women's suffrage in the United States. 

[Is the quotation an exaggeration, expressing frustration with the slow progress toward women’s suffrage or, historically, was there more cause for revolution in 1876 than in 1776?  Do we know what “suffrage” means?]

1.      We’ve Learned to Think outside the Box?  No.

2.     The Falling Dominos of Democracy, Part 1

3.     Announcements

4.     Fun Facts about Arizona

5.     The Flashback Quarterback about “Whom Can We Trust?”

6.     Beware and Share

7.     About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello”  

We’ve Learned to Think outside the Box?  No. 

The article “The Writing on the Wall” in the August - September, 2007, issue of Montebello Star News, written by one of our city councilors, was good news, in that he stated that, with new technology, it had become less difficult to identify and convict taggers in Montebello, this without putting residents at risk, as happened to Maria Hicks of Pico Rivera in August, who was killed while trying to stop a tagger.  

But the good news for Montebello is only part of the solution.  For the rest of the solution, we in Montebello have to learn to think outside the box, something we have yet to do—regardless on which side of the political fence we are.  

Example.  There has been no known report by Montebello realtors about the loss in property value because of tagging.  That report could be submitted as evidence as to the real loss caused by a tagger, thereby opening the possibility that his punishment increase.  

Example.  There has been no known attempt to create an effective alternative to the juvenile courts.  Montebello officials have to hope that a juvenile judge not be lenient with a tagger.  On top of that, officials have to work within a framework of state laws which are only somewhat effective.  As a result, we have a continuing graffiti problem.  What alternative?  Imagine the city offering the parents a well-delineated option to help in monitoring and raising the juvenile, this in lieu of adjudication in a juvenile court.  In other words, “We won’t take your son to court if you and we agree to a program to keep your son out of trouble.”  

Example.  There has been no known attempt to involve residents in addressing graffiti.  Could this be done without endangering residents?  Yes, using outdoor surveillance cameras, with residents playing a meaningful role in the operation.  What would be the benefits?  We could have an effective system cost-effectively, as residents would not have to be paid to monitor their neighborhoods.  Also, residents, not “big brother,” would be in charge.  

If you answer the multiple-choice questions below and e-mail to lessonanswers@mymontebello.com with “Lesson answers” in the subject field, you will be credited toward a “certificate of recognition in community affairs” to be awarded in 2007 by a local nonprofit organization. 

1.  Why is it important that residents not be involved in stopping taggers?

(a)  Residents do not have the right to stop crime.

(b)  Taggers can be dangerous.  

2.   What means is Montebello implementing to reduce tagging?

(a)  New technology, that is, cameras and software.

(b)  Curfews and many more neighborhood patrols.  

3. Why is this means not optimally effective?

(a) Because Montebello is not willing to go outside the strictures of state law, in order to fashion a solution which works well for Montebello.

(b) Because city government views residents as spectators instead of partners in reducing the problem. 

 Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.
-----
The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
-----
I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743 – 1826,
third President of the United States, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. 

This is a weighty subject which leads to an exploration of causes and effects which few learn in school.  Yet, those causes and effects have made American democracy what it is today, an institution which works for most the people only some of the time, while for some people most of the time. 

I learned from a staffer at the U.S. Capitol that we had had one hundred fifty members of the House of Representatives in 1789, when the first Congress had begun its work.  America had had four million residents, meaning that each member had represented about twenty-seven thousand constituents. 

As our population grew, so did the number of members of the House of Representatives, until the early 1900s, when the number stopped at four hundred thirty-five.  Today, a member of Congress represents, on average, about six hundred eighty-nine thousand constituents.  That is an increase of about twenty-five times.  

In Montebello, we began with five city councilors in 1920.  There were three thousand residents.  Today, we still have five city councilors with about sixty-five thousand residents.  That is an increase of about twenty-one times.  

The obvious conclusion is that each elected official has more constituents for whom to provide.  This is more than a “fun fact,” because such a change has led to several changes for the worse which the founders might not have foreseen.  

FOR EVERYONE.  Skate nights.  October 12, October 26, November 9, November 30, at the skate park in Montebello City Park.  Starting times vary.  For more information, call 323.887.4577.  

FOR RETIREES AND ANYONE WITH ELDERLY PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS.  Free flu shots.  Thursday, October 18, 2007.  Begins at 9 a.m.  Only 200 free shots will be available.  First come, first serve.  Sponsored by Apple Care Medical Group.  For more information, 323.887.4575.  

FOR RETIREES.  Holloween party.  Hosted by Club Latino.  Saturday, October 20, 2007, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Montebello Senior Citizen Center, 115 South Taylor Avenue, Montebello, 323.887.4575.  

FOR RETIREES, WORKING ADULTS, AND ANYONE WITH ELDERLY PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS.  Senior health fair.  Saturday, October 20, 2007, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Beverly Hospital, 101 West Beverly Boulevard, Montebello.  Look for the big tent. 

·        Free health screenings:  carotid artery, lungs, blood, and bones.

·        Information and service booths provided by over twenty community agencies, including “Ask the Doctor.”

·        Free flu-shot clinic.

·        Blood-chemistry panel available at greatly reduced cost.

·        Prostate-cancer screening for only $25.

For more information, call 323.725.5033.  

FOR RETIREES, WORKING ADULTS, AND ANYONE WITH ELDERLY PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS.  Diabetes wellness hour.  Thursday, October 18, 2007, Wilkinson Senior Resource Center, 2019 West Whittier Boulevard, Montebello.  Management for diabetes during physical and emotional stress.  For reservations, call 800.618.6664.  

Arizona leads the nation in copper production.

The amount of copper on the roof of Arizona’s Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.

Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history, the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and San Francisco.  

The Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, the Confederate flag, and the flag of the United States have all flown over the land area that has become Arizona.  

Oraibi is the oldest Indian settlement in the United States. The Hopi Indians founded it.  

Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.  

The famous labor leader, Ceasar Estrada Chávez, was born in Yuma.  

http://www.fun-facts.com/item/86092  

It is good that the U.S. government has come to our protection as indicated in the article below.  It is bad that the problem began in 2000 and has taken this long.  Each community needs to devise a way to set up its own gatekeepers, alert its residents, and protect itself.  If the Federal government helps, we are thankful.  If not, we still protect ourselves.  

“US Attorney Reports Bristol-Myers Squibb To Pay $515 Million Over Illegal Drug Pricing & Marketing”, September 28, 2007  

LAWFUEL - The Legal Newswire - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Apothecon, Inc., have agreed to pay over $515 million [my emphasis] to resolve a broad array of civil allegations involving their drug marketing and pricing practices, United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan announced today. …  

“The integrity of our health care system rests on physicians being able to make decisions based on the best interests of their patients,” said Keisler. “This settlement reflects the Justice Department’s strong commitment to holding drug companies accountable for devising and implementing fraudulent marketing and pricing schemes that undermine that decision-making process at the expense of federal health care programs for the poor and the elderly.”  

Sullivan added: “Patients are entitled to unbiased decision-making from their physicians and should not have to worry that financial inducements or lavish entertainment have influenced their physicians’ prescribing choices. Kickbacks are especially nefarious when they are used as part of a marketing effort to convince physicians to prescribe drugs for uses that the Food and Drug Administration has not determined to be safe and effective.”  

“The government alleges that Bristol-Myers Squibb, among other wrongdoing, fraudulently inflated the cost of a drug used primarily to reduce the side effects of cancer treatments and other generic drugs without regard to the increased costs borne by government health care programs or elderly and indigent patients,” said U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta of the Southern District of Florida. “Corporations cannot continue to mislead the government into paying vastly exaggerated prices by exploiting a health care system based on trust and fair play.”  

Today’s settlement covers a wide assortment of illegal marketing and pricing practices. …  

For the entire article, http://www.lawfuel.com/show-release.asp?ID=15376. 

But if you are not convinced that our community needs to set up its own gatekeepers:  

The Texas Supreme Court... on Aug. 31 ruled that a group of Texas hospitals can sue Aetna in state court for allegedly failing to reimburse them. … American Medical News, October 8, 2007  

...a massive Medicare fraud investigation cost [Richard] Scott his job as Columbia / HCA's CEO and president.  Scott was never charged with wrongdoing, though other executives were, and HCA -- which dropped the Columbia name -- agreed to pay $1.7 billion in civil penalties and damages to settle the case.  American Medical News, October 8, 2007 

Medtronic, which reached a $40 million settlement last year with the federal government over accusations that the company had paid illegal kickbacks to doctors for using its spinal devices, has continued to pay doctors millions of dollars in consulting fees, according to a lawyer representing a whistle-blower involved in the case. … New York Times, September 27, 2007  

Have you noticed the many advertisements on television about Indian gaming casinos, in particular, how good they are to the welfare of California?  

I somewhat remember a short story from a course which I had with Mrs. Joann Barro at Montebello High in the early Seventies.  In the story, by French writer Guy de Maupassant, a man picks up a string from the street, but imagining that others would think that he had picked up and kept somebody’s wallet, he goes around telling people that all he picked up was a string, even if they did not ask.  The irony is that people start to think that he has a guilty conscience, that, in fact, he did pick up somebody else’s wallet.  

The same here with all the casino ads.  What is really going on?  

To learn about this newsletter, Montebello E-News, and the accompanying, growing Web site, “My Montebello”, visit www.mymontebello.com.  Also, you will find instructions and contact information for submitting announcements for publication in this newsletter.