October 25, 2007 

 Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better.
George Santayana, 1863 - 1952,
Spanish philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist
raised and educated in the United States 

[So, can we conclude that advertising misleads?  
And to what end? To get us to do what we should not do?] 

1.     Where Has All the Money Gone?
2.     The Falling Dominos of Democracy, Part 3
3.     Announcements
4.     Fun Facts about California
5.     The Flashback Quarterback:  Know of a Child with Autism? 
6.     Beware and Share
7.     About Montebello E-News and “My Montebello” 

Where Has All the Money Gone?

Has the lack of funding ever become an obstacle for a community program which you consider a priority?  Graffiti, litter, senior services, after-school enrichment, after-school sports, police services, fire services, neighborhood beautification?  

I remember a talk which I had a couple of years ago with a member of the Montebello school board.  I mentioned that I thought that a campaign mailer—those often uninvited and unwanted pieces of propaganda which get placed in our mailboxes, hung from our doorknobs, and dropped on our porches during the weeks before an election—would run $5,000.  The member said that the cost might be more. 

Those of us who are registered to vote in Montebello are getting mailers now, because of the November elections.  If we figured that each of ten thousand Montebello addresses would be receiving a colorful mailer costing the candidate $.50 apiece, then each mailer would represent an expense of $5,000.  

$5,000 times how many mailings until now?  

Why bring this up?  A grant application was submitted last week for six graduate students at Cal State Los Angeles to test an idea in improving democracy.  Through the idea, donors, before transferring a donation, would instruct a candidate on how to spend the donation.  If the candidate did not agree, he would not have to take the donation.  

What purposes does it serve for donors to instruct candidates on how to spend donations?  Four purposes:  keep money circulating in Montebello, get youth meaningfully involved, elevate the integrity of political campaigns, and create a community chest from which anybody with sufficient understanding who lives, labors or learns in Montebello may discuss and help decide on how to spend the money for community improvements.  

Here is an option which, hopefully, would motivate fellow Montebelloans to think up equally beneficial options:  

I am donating $100 to candidate John Doe to pay college students and high schoolers at least a living wage to organize and manage neighborhood coffees.  I understand that 10% of my contribution will be set aside for Montebello residents to have the resources (1) to research and report to me before the election on how well the candidate has followed my instruction and (2) to keep working to strengthen democracy in my community.   Susan B. Anthony

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.   A campaign mailer in Montebello has significance because

(a)  there is much paper wasted in printing the mailer.

(b) there is a $5,000 expense which could be expended better. 

2.   If a donor instructed a candidate on how to spend a donation,

(a) we could see more campaign money stay in a community;

(b) we could see more youth involved in democracy, even before they turned eighteen;

(c) we could see the integrity of political campaigns improve;

(d) we could set up a community chest which would let people participate directly in improving the community.

Banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies.   
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The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it always to be kept alive.
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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. 

In part 1 we learned that our elected representatives represented many more people now than they did at the founding of our country and of our city.   In part 2 we calculated the impossibility of a member of Congress visiting with all her / his constituents.  Now we look at the consequences of “overpopulation” on municipalities. 

One would think that, with fewer constituents in most cases, a city councilor would be able to reach her constituents in less time than a member of Congress would be able.  However, most city councilors are part-time and have fewer staff to assist than do members of Congress. 

Without ongoing communication between a city councilor and her constituents, we have undesired consequences: 

* decisions at city hall do not reflect the desires of constituents, 

* constituents and city staff develop an “us versus them” mentality, 

* constituents who can be helpful in addressing community needs do not volunteer, 

* constituents think that the lack of communication means that the city councilor is hiding something, and 

* the best contractors for city services are not always hired. 

The upshot of this is that city government costs more to operate because 

* city councilors do not have the time and constituents do not have the desire to make the time to check on the work of city contractors; 

* city councilors, not themselves expert, cannot avail themselves of opinions and expertise which would benefit the city; 

*  a second review of city disbursements cannot be had, in order to assure that taxpayer money be well spent; 

* the chance increases that there would be sweetheart deals favoring private entities over constituents. 

Note that we can replace the word “city” above with “county,” “state,” or “federal” and the result would be the same.  Also, note that the above has nothing to do with the faction in control or out of control in a municipality.  All city councilors are subject to the problem and all contribute to the problem by failing to address it. 

This separation of city and community can have unwelcome consequences.  One such consequence is discussed in the next part. 

FOR EVERYONE.  November classes.  Everything from dance to martial arts to personal fitness.  Registration for November classes in progress;  classes begin on November 5.  For more information, 323.887.4540.

FOR RETIREES.  Halloween party.  Silver Years Halloween party on Tuesday, October 30, 2007, from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Montebello Senior Citizen Center, 115 South Taylor Avenue, Montebello.  For more information, 323.887.4575.

More turkeys are raised in California than in any other state in the United States. 

Alpine County is the eighth smallest of California’s 58 counties. It has no high school, ATMs, dentists, banks or traffic lights.  [??!!] 

Fallbrook is known as the Avocado Capital of the World and hosts an annual avocado festival.  More avocados are grown in the region than any other county in the nation. 

Totaling nearly three million acres, San Bernardino County is the largest county in the country. 

Sequoia National Park contains the largest living tree.  Its trunk is 102 feet in circumference. 

California is the first state to ever reach a trillion dollar economy in gross state product. 

California produces more than 17 million gallons of wine each year. 

The redwood is the official state tree. Some of the giant redwoods in Sequoia National Park are more than 2,000 years old. 

Fresno proclaims itself the Raisin Capital of the World.  

Castroville is known as the Artichoke Capital of the World.  In 1947 a young woman named Norma Jean was crowned Castroville’s first artichoke queen. She went on to become actress Marilyn Monroe.  [Who knows where Castroville is?] 

In May, a friend e-mailed articles about parents trying something new, removing gluten and casein from their autistic children’s diet.  Some parents have claimed noticeable improvement, while others have seen no effect. 

There is no conclusion from the medical field about safety and efficacy. 

What should a parent do? 

A recurring theme in ­­E-News is that we not wait on government to rescue us.  Another theme is to come together in a group to research the facts, not depending on a brief television report in order to make a decision. 

A parent should not shy from experimenting with a gluten-and-casein free diet, as long as the autism not be aggravated and no new serious health problem appear*.  It would be good for a parent to confer with parents who are experimenting with this diet and with the child’s pediatrician before experimenting.  Start by Googling “autism gluten casein.”  

* From one Web site: 

I received an e-mail the other day about a Web site which contained information about offenders living in Montebello.  When you type in your address, you get a map with little squares.  Clicking on a square, you get considerable detail about an offender:  www.familywatchdog.us . 

At the same time, we must keep this in mind: 

“We cannot add, remove or alter any information about an offender on our site. Our information all comes from official public records. If there is an error the agency responsible for maintaining the information must change it.” 

Errors do happen in jury verdicts and in public records.  And summaries of convictions might fail to tell important facts about a case. 

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.