Because since Jim Brown made his comments about Kobe, Kobe has dispatched his press secretary (Stephen A Smith) to do the Arsenio Hall show on his behalf twice with Jim unable to give a rebuttal. Let's keep this conversation going...

Honoring a great American whose works impacted the entire nation and the world. Yes, we all have been affected by his works and life.

Because NY summers are the best and my BK fam needs to see what's really good. My Oaktown fam needs to represent.

While Vice President at Common Cause, I led ballot campaigns in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Colorado and Montana where voters instructed Congress to overturn Citizens United by margins of 3-to-1. Now, it's time for a statewide vote in California. I'm running for Secretary of State, and if elected I will hold a hearing in every congressional district in California to examine whether our elected officials have complied with the wishes of their constituents and taken action.

A Delware man was convicted of raping his 3 year old daughter from 2005 to 2007 and subsequently assaulted his infant son as well. This is a serious sex offender instead being taken into custody. He used a get out jail free card. The Judge Jan Jurden cited that "He would not fare well in Prison" simply being born rich is not an excuse for avoiding Justice. If an average man was charged with this. He would be spending the next decade behind bars. We need to break the new normal that the really rich can easily buy their way out of jail. It's unethical that poor and middle class are charged with much lesser offenses then this. And are locked up for years. Sometimes decades at a time. While the very rich of our society are able to buy their way out of Prison. Articles for this http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/30/robert-richards-rape_n_5060386.html http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/30/wealthy-heirs-sentence-raises-questions-in-child-rape-case/7061933/

Tell the Virginia General Assembly that we can’t afford double-taxation to pay for our healthcare system. We need to expand Medicaid to take back our federal tax dollars and ensure that 400,000 in-need Virginians have access to basic healthcare. Expanding Medicaid will: • Create 30,000 new jobs for Virginians • Recover $5 million federal tax dollars every day, allowing the legislature to fund other key priorities like education, economic development and foster care programs • Stop taxing Virginians twice on the healthcare for which we already pay • Provide life-saving healthcare to the 400,000 currently uninsured Virginians Sign the petition to tell legislators we can’t afford to play partisan politics with Virginians’ lives, we need to ensure access to basic healthcare for all Virginians.

Court of Appeal Rules in Favor of Pony Ride Protester In a May 9, 2016, victory for legislative advocates, Division 5 of the California Court of Appeal – a panel of three conservative-leaning Justices – unanimously reversed Superior Court Judge Lisa Hart Cole’s decision that petitioner and protester Marcy Winograd (that's me) should stand trial for accusing the pony ride and petting zoo operators of animal abuse. The Court, in an opinion written by Justice Sanjay T. Kumar, said such accusations were protected by California’s legislative privilege because the accusations were made while petitioning the City Council to close the pony ride and petting zoos. The appellate court ruled that the statements in my articles and television interview “relate to the supposed poor treatment the pony ride and petting zoo animals received, and either directly or inferentially solicited public support for (my) petition to cause the City of Santa Monica to take action to end the pony ride and petting zoo.” The ruling stated: “Civil Code section 47 provides in part, “A privileged publication or broadcast is one made: [¶] . . . [¶] (b) In any (1) legislative proceeding, (2) judicial proceeding, [or] (3) in any other official proceeding authorized by law . . . .” “The privilege set forth in section 47(b) applies to ‘any’ legislative proceeding. The use of the term ‘any’ necessarily requires that its application be construed broadly” (Spitler v. Children’s Institute International (1992) 11 Cal.App.4th 432, 440 (Spitler)), and it applies “when it is shown that the statement … bears some connection to the work of the legislative body …” The pony ride operators petitioned the California State Supreme Court to review the appellate court ruling, but on July 20, 2016, the Supreme Court rejected their petition for review. Under California's anti-SLAPP law, plaintiffs are required to pay attorneys' fees. ------------------------------------------------- Sunday, May 17th, the City of Santa Monica ended twelve years of tethering ponies to a metal bar or "hot walker" to push them round and round a tiny circumference, always in one direction, shoeless on hard ground. Likewise, the petting zoo where an alpaca and zebu were tightly penned was closed. The City of Santa Monica is seeking new activity vendors -- those offering cooking demos, arts and crafts, painting and more. Please share this link with vendors who might be interested. http://www.smgov.net/portals/farmersmarket/ Potential applicants should copy [email protected] and [email protected] when submitting an application. On Sept. 9, 2014, following almost two hours of robust public debate (link below) the Santa Monica City Council voted to give preference to non-animal vendors while asking City staff to explore alternative venues for the pony operators. If you want to watch the debate, click below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKUxy-pvLlI Pony operators Tawni Angel and Jason Nester sued me, Santa Monica resident Danielle Charney, and 20 unnamed defendants (DOES) following the City Council's September 9, 2014, vote. A lower court judge dismissed part of the suit against me, and the entire lawsuit against Charney, calling it a SLAPP or Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation intended to chill public debate. Following the ruling, Angel and Nester reimbursed Charney's lawyer for $20,000 in legal fees. Meanwhile, I am taking my case to the California Court of Appeal, arguing protesters have a First Amendment right to picket a carousel pony ride and petting zoo at a city-sponsored market and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Many thanks to the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press for filing amicus "friend of the court" briefs to support my case. You can read the briefs at LA Progressive: https://www.laprogressive.com/pony-ride-activist/ Thank you for your support! Below are past posts about this petition. I live a few blocks from the thriving Santa Monica farmers market on Main Street, where market goers must pass the pony rides and petting zoo in order to purchase fruits and vegetables. Each time I go, I feel sad and ashamed that a progressive and visionary city like Santa Monica allows such animal exploitation. During the last year, out-of-town guests visiting the market have turned to me and said, "How can Santa Monica tolerate this kind of abuse?" I didn't have an answer until now -- We can't tolerate it any longer. Shut down the pony ride and petting zoo. To see photos of the animal exhibits, visit www.freethepony.org UPDATE: On Sept. 9, 2014, the Santa Monica City Council voted to give preference to non-animal vendors when the animal operators' contract expires in May 2015. City Staff is looking at implementing a pilot program that would involve a variety of alternative children's activities, such as arts and crafts and storytelling. Meanwhile, the pony ride and zoo operators have launched a counter-petition to reverse the Council's decision. Please show your support for freeing the ponies from the metal turnstile and ending the penning of zoo animals in a small enclosure. Update: (3/26/15) An October USDA inspection of the pony vendors' operation notes an abundance of fecal material and flies in the corral and barn in Fillmore, and in the transport trailer that pulls up to Main Street. The report (link below) notes "risks of disease hazards" and "no areas in the enclosure (barn, corral) free of excreta" and "The animal transport trailer has not been cleaned since the facility's last trip. Bedding and fecal material were observed in the trailer." It's not clear if these problems, noted by the USDA in 2014, have been fixed. See the link below to read the report: https://www.laprogressive.com/santa-monica-pony-ride-facility/

At the same time that the President has said that he would like to make immigration practices more humane, the immigration enforcement agency is using deportation as a weapon against families working toward the same goal. Jaime Valdez and Ardani Rosales were both illegally deported without notice and in retaliation for their part in bringing attention to the abusive conditions in the detention centers where they were held. On Tuesday April 1st, both men will present themselves with their legal files at the Nogales port of entry to request permission to reunite with their loved ones and close their cases using humanitarian parole. Today's civil rights leaders deserve respect not retaliation. Their families belong together, it's unjust intimidation practices that have no place in the United States. See videos and more information at: http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/2014/03/29/right-to-reunite/

People all around America are using marijuana, both legally and illegally, as an alternative medicine to provide them with relief from their medical conditions. This petition was drafted with those people in mind, as well as the people who've been wrongfully punished and jailed for using marijuana in the past. As the creator of this petition, I've done my research and studied many cases of people who have Epilepsy and use medical marijuana potent in CBD (Cannabidiol) to provide them relief from their seizures; some of these people are actually CHILDREN whose parents say that traditional medications have failed them. The medicine stopped them from having 4-5 seizures a day and cut them down to 1-2 a MONTH. With your help, we can bring forth a natural and SAFE alternative to prescription medication, as well as generate revenue for our great state of West Virginia.

The playground was in bad shape when maintenance removed the slide and some other components of the previous playground on 12/23/12. However, they left the swings up which were dry rotted and were ultimately destroyed by the some of the teenagers. The swings were removed sometime in May or June, 2013. Meanwhile someone decided that the children broke the swings and that was a completely false statement. Those of us who live back here know exactly who broke the swings. The CHILDREN are our main concern. We don't want them playing in the streets where they may be hit by a motor vehicle and according the Owners own words this past weekend they are "not allowed to play or dig in the sand". We have to warn them every time they go out to play that they have to play in the grass but look out for dog crap (because there are a lot of dog owners that don't clean up after their dogs) or if you smell urine don't play in that area. They are almost completely out of places to play. When it was brought to the Owners attention that the reason that they were playing in the sand was because they had no where else outside to play since the playground had been removed and there had not been a new one installed in over a year now they simply said "we are looking into it". They get our rent on time. If they didn't they would be having us evicted. We understand that process. But they can't find the time nor the money to put in a playground before we go into summer break which incidentally begins sometime in May this year. We already don't have a usable pool back here. So what are the children supposed to do be cooped up in the house the entire summer because you the Owners won't see fit to get this playground situation resolved. You know it is an issue. If it remains this way exactly how many tenants due you think are going to continue to renew their lease? Several have said they will not renew if there is no playground for the children. Some are holding on for one more lease period to see if you the Owners will ever fix the playground issue. There is also a false advertising issue here in that your brochures say that you have a playground, and yet you do not. We pay our rent on time or we can be evicted. Yet we have been waiting over a year for a new playground and nothing has been done to replace the old one. That pressure treated lumber is awful. The remaining pieces around the sand box are rotted. Well I called it pressure treated, but maybe it wasn't and that is why it is rotting away. Regardless, we the tenants are Petitioning you the Owners to put in a new Playground for our children so they can play safely. We are requesting this be done before Summer break as several of us have already been waiting a year or longer for this situation to be remedied.

Because most everyone (members) on Yahoo is unhappy with the new purple format.

Happy is now making us all sick. Scientist now working on vaccinations but for now we need to avoid the song along with Pharrell's hat.