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TMS #188: Adam Carolla vs. CA Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom
On today’s episode, Michael brings you audio of California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom on The Adam Carolla Show defending the honor of Mayor of Los Angeles, Tony Vilar. Plus, what is the root cause of why the successful pay more in taxes while the lower class is rewarded with freebies from the government? Let’s talk about it. It’s more than Gavin Newsom or any other politician is doing. Be sure to click the Like / Tweet buttons to help promote The Michael Show!
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TMS #161: Don’t Fuck This Up Man of Steel
On today’s episode, there is lots of pressure on 2013′s upcoming Man of Steel. If this movie flops, it’ll be a sign of things to come for a Justice League movie. Michael sets some predictions and things that should be done (and not be done) in Man of Steel. Plus, Listener Mailbag, The Michael Show Drinking Game and…are you living in a death spiral state? Be sure to click the Like / Tweet buttons to help promote The Michael Show!
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Heard on the Show
TMS #158: Marching Along As They’re Soft as the Air…
On today’s episode, Michael gets into the Christmas spirit: what’s the true meaning of Christmas? What do you buy people who already have everything? Plus, a spirited round of What’s The Name of That Song, the greatest Disney cartoon ever made and what states are the worst managed? Be sure to click the Like / Tweet buttons to help promote The Michael Show!
Help support the show by doing what you already do: shopping online. Check out The Michael Show’s sponsors HERE, including Sugar High Clothing, iTunes and Adam & Eve.
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Security Firm Launching ‘Zombie Apocalypse’ Training
A California security firm is offering training next month at its annual counterterrorism summit on repelling a zombie attack.
More than 1,000 military, government, and law enforcement personnel will attend the five-day San Diego summit, and they’ll grapple with different “terrorist scenarios” on a 44-acre training site—from Mideast bombers to zombies, reports the Military Times. Participants in the “Zombie Apocalypse” are “going to see a lot of stuff go down,” promises the president of the firm, HALO.
The anti-zombie training was inspired by last year’s Centers for Disease Control campaign urging American to be ready for anything, from natural disasters to pandemics, and a similar campaign in Canada. Next month’s “whimsical” scenario will actually serve a real-world function, says HALO’s prez, by helping train emergency responders to deal with extreme medical situations when people can become “crazed and violent,” triggering widespread panic.
America’s Stupidest Drug Laws
What’s more ridiculous than the war on drugs itself? The plethora of strange draconian laws that have cropped up to support it.
Don’t believe it? Well, Mike Riggs of the libertarian Reason Magazine has come up with a list of the five most ridiculous ones. Judge for yourself:
- In Texas, you need state permission to buy chemistry equipment. Intended to clamp down on methamphetamines, this law restricts the sale of basic lab equipment like flasks, along with chemicals so common they occur naturally in fruit.
- In California, dispensaries pay for raids on dispensaries. Last year, Vallejo voters passed a law taxing medical marijuana, without legalizing it. The taxes have been used to raid the facilities paying them.
- In Florida, a handful of pills can land you three years in jail. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws in Florida are the nation’s “most egregious.” Four grams of opioid painkillers—just a couple pills—can get you three years in jail. And because the law counts both the active ingredient and any mixture containing it, a 12-ounce soda with 1 gram of cocaine in it counts as 12 ounces of cocaine.
Click to read the full list, which includes measures from Louisiana and New York.
Rosemead High School Wrestling Coach Sought For Sexual Abuse Charges on Student
A cautionary Youtube video posted by one of the alleged victims of a sexual predator led one mother — who recognized the man in the clip as her son’s former wrestling coach — to ask her 14-year-old son if he had also been abused. His answer was yes.
Herbert Daniel Ortiz, a former assistant wrestling coach at Rosemead High School in California (Also, where your humble host, Michael Show, attended high school), is wanted by authorities in connection with the alleged sexual abuse.
The 29-year-old reportedly befriended the teen while working at the high school from 2007 to 2009, during which there were no allegations against him, Superintendent Nick Salerno told NBC4 News.
In the Youtube video, which has since been taken down by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, another teen said he was victimized by Ortiz and urged parents in the area to “protect their children.”
Sergeant Dan Scott of the Special Victims Bureau said officials have spoken with the teen who posted the video and are conducting follow-up interviews.
“There are allegations dating back to 2002,” Scott told Pasadena Star-News.
Authorities report that Ortiz knew of the video, and Rosemead City Manager Jeff Allred confirmed to NBC4 News Wednesday that Ortiz alerted the city to the video’s existence and denied the allegations raised. Amidst claims of the sexual abuse, the city suspended his participation as a coach at the Bad News Panthers Children Wrestling Club, where Ortiz has reportedly worked since 2010.
Although Ortiz disputed the claims last week, his current whereabouts are unknown. The LA Sheriff’s Department believes Ortiz may be trying to evade authorities.
“Investigators believe there may be additional victims who may have been sexually abused by the suspect,” sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
Adam Carolla Gave Money To Eric Garcetti’s Mayoral Campaign, But Has No Idea Who He Is
Adam Carolla — of radio, TV and podcast fame — made a contribution to Eric Garcetti’s mayoral bid back in April but don’t take that as an endorsement. In fact, in a recent podcast segment, it became clear that Carolla has no idea who Garcetti is.
Once he figures it all out, Carolla likely won’t be voting for him. That’s because Garcetti is a former council president, and Carolla believes that City Hall needs “a complete fucking douching.”
Carolla’s thoughts on local politics emerged in a colloquy with Kevin James, a former radio host and the lone Republican in the mayoral field.
First off, Carolla — who has also identified as a Republican – made it clear he has no love for Mayor Tony Villar, whom he described as a “fucking moron” who “does nothing” and has “a look of a sociopath.”
“This man’s an incompetent retard and the only reason he’s anywhere is because we think he’s Mexican or he is Mexican,” Carolla opined. “It’s the most racist thing in the world. He’s running on his race. He’s an incompetent idiot… He brings nothing to the table.”
Then, Carolla asked James about the mayoral field:
Carolla: Who in that group has a Hispanic surname, and will be voted in solely based on that to fuck up the city for another eight years? …
James: There’s no prominent Hispanic in the race.
Carolla: Oh good, we stand a chance then.
James: You’ve got Garcetti, Greuel, Perry and myself.
Carolla: Oh. Gil Garcetti.
James: Gil’s son.
Carolla: Oh, is it Gil’s son?
The podcast was posted on July 29. Three months earlier, on April 17, Carolla cut a $250 check to Eric Garcetti.
How Google Reveals State Stereotypes
Ever wondered what people really think of your state?
Google can tell you: Just type in, “Why is (state name here) so…” and let autocomplete fill in the rest; that’ll show you what others have been searching. Blogger Renee DiResta tried it for all 50 states, and released an interactive map showing the top hits.
Turns out Wisconsin is “stupid,” Georgia “racist,” Ohio “boring,” and California “expensive.” New York is “great,” but, alas, also “expensive.”
Click HERE to see the full map and what people think of your state.
Guy Building Amazing Life-Size, Working WALL-E
Mike Senna, a California robotics enthusiast, was best known up until a little while ago for building a life-sized, working R2-D2. It started out as a hobby, then became something more when Mike began taking R2 to events for City of Hope, a pediatric cancer charity. After a while, it became apparent that it would be even more fun if he built a character with “more emotion,” and Senna began work on WALL-E.
As tough as building R2 must have been, building WALL-E was tougher. After all, someone’s already built an R2-D2, but until now WALL-E only existed in a computer. There were no schematics, no pre-existing parts, nothing. Senna had to watch the movie over and over again to get all the movements right, develop the robotic elements himself, and then put it all together. He spent at least 25 hours a week working on it (he also has a job), and estimates that it probably took anywhere between 3,200 and 3,800 hours to finish the project. Oh, and he paid for all of it himself.
His reward? The look on kids’ faces when he shows them a real working WALL-E that can wave, look at them and even say his name. Check out the video to see the heart-melting interactions between the robot and children, and marvel at the ridiculous level of detail Senna put into this little guy.
TMS #139: The Common Man Invades TMS Part 1
Michael welcomes Francisco Gabriel Nila from The Common Man Show to The Michael Show to discuss how awesome Texas is, California Unions, disgruntle grocery store cashiers, what women say they want vs. what the end up with, Tony Villar, and my boss, Mr. Cockingstein. Be sure to click the Like / Tweet buttons to help promote The Michael Show!
Help support the show by doing what you already do: shopping online. Check out The Michael Show’s sponsors HERE,including Adam and Eve and iTunes.
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California City’s Budget Fix: Soda Tax
El Monte, Calif., is staring down a fiscal emergency, but it’s about to pop the top on a solution that could raise $7 million per year: Tax sugary drinks.
The California city will ask voters to decide on the plan, which calls for sugar-sweetened beverages sold within the city to be taxed at a rate of one cent per ounce. If it passes, the new tax will fill the funding gap that will occur when a half-cent sales tax expires in 2014, the Los Angeles Timesreports.
The city’s finance director says El Monte is not on the verge of bankruptcy, but it doesn’t want to follow other California cities like Stockton and San Bernardino down that path. “People are looking for who’s the next one [to declare bankruptcy],” he says. “El Monte is not the next one … not today, not now. What we’re doing is financial planning. We’re trying to take the right steps.” Based on the fact that 48% of Americans have at least one soda every single day, it’s probably a solid plan.
LA City Council Votes to Ban Marijuana Shops
The Los Angeles City Council banned medical pot shops Tuesday until the state’s highest court weighs in.
The 14-0 vote drew an angry, profanity-laced response from some medical marijuana advocates who attended the council meeting. Mayor Tony Villar was prepared to sign the ordinance, according to his spokeswoman, Vicki Curry. The storefront ban would then go into effect after 30 days.
In the interim, letters will be sent to as many as 900 dispensaries advising them of the ban.
The city has fumbled with its medical marijuana laws for years, trying to provide safe and affordable access to the drug for legitimate patients while addressing worries by neighborhood groups that streets were being overrun by dispensaries and pot users.
“Relief is on the way,” said Councilman Jose Huizar, who introduced the so-called “gentle ban.”
Many cities have struggled with medical marijuana ordinances, but none has had a bigger problem than Los Angeles, where pot shops have proliferated. At one point, the city ordered closure of the shops — a process that failed amid lawsuits and conflicting rulings by appellate courts.
The ban also allows hospices and home health agencies to provide medical pot.
“A judge could file an injunction but we think that is unlikely,” said Jane Usher, a special assistant city attorney.
Fake Budgets Drive San Bernardino Bankrupt
San Bernardino’s city council voted to enter Chapter 9 bankruptcy last night, making it the third California city to do so in as many weeks, the AP reports. With a population of about 210,000, it’ll be the second-largest US city to go bankrupt. Part of the reason things got so dire? The council was given falsified budget documents in 13 of the last 16 years, the city attorney said last night.
The fake budgets indicated that San Bernardino had a surplus, when in reality it was running on a deficit, the San Bernardino County Sun reports. Once new councilman said he still didn’t trust the information presented, and refused to vote. “The taxpayers of this city have been duped, hoodwinked, and misguided for the past several years,” he said. The motion passed with four voting in favor, two against, and two abstaining. “This is probably the hardest decision this councilwoman will ever have to make,” one councilwoman said.
California Approves Funding for High-Speed Rail Line
California lawmakers approved billions of dollars Friday in construction financing for the initial segment of the nation’s first dedicated high-speed rail line connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The move marked a major political victory for Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown and the Obama administration, which have promoted bullet trains as job generators and clean transportation alternatives.
The bill authorizes the state to begin selling $4.5 billion in voter-approved bonds that includes $2.6 billion to build an initial 130-mile stretch of the high-speed rail line in the Central Valley. That will allow the state to collect another $3.2 billion in federal funding that could have been rescinded if lawmakers failed to act Friday.
“The Legislature took bold action today that gets Californians back to work and puts California out in front once again,” Brown said in a statement. He later celebrated with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, a fellow Democrat.
Brown pushed for the massive infrastructure project to accommodate expected growth in the nation’s most populous state, which now has 37 million people. He said the project is sorely needed to create jobs in a region with higher-than-average unemployment.
Members of the state Senate voted 21-16 along party lines after intense lobbying by Brown, Democratic leaders and labor groups. The bill, which passed the state Assembly on Thursday, now heads to Brown for his signature.
The first segment of the line will run from Madera to Bakersfield. The final cost of the completed project from Los Angeles to San Francisco would be $68 billion.
Republicans blasted the Senate decision, citing the state’s ongoing budget problems.
“It’s unfortunate that the majority would rather spend billions of dollars that we don’t have for a train to nowhere than keep schools open and harmless from budget cuts,” Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach, said in a statement.
California Voters Slash Public Pensions
Two major California cities have easily approved cuts to city employees’ pensions. Some 66% of San Diego voters approved such a measure, with 34% against it; in San Jose, 70% backed the plan, compared to 30% opposed, the AP reports. San Jose’s mayor, a Democrat, applauded the results. “The voters get it, they understand what needs to be done,” he said.
Backers had blamed expensive pensions for preventing the cities from taking care of other needs, such as improving roads and opening libraries; they also noted that current pension plans beat out those offered by many private firms. Retirement fund payments are equal to 20% of San Diego’s daily operating funds, and 27% of San Jose’s. But a union leader slams the move in the New York Times: “This initiative doesn’t save anything,” he tells the paper. “You are basically cutting off your nose to spite your face for pension reform.”
Mom Accused of Sex with Son She Found on Facebook
Mistie Atkinson, 32, a California woman, accused of having sex with her estranged teen son she pursued through Facebook could be locked up for less than 2-1/2 years, according to reports.
A law enforcement source told the Daily News earlier this month that she first contacted her biological son online late last year, when he was 16. The messages became inappropriate, the source said.
Atkinson reportedly hadn’t seen the boy, who was living with his father, since he was 2. He’s now 17.
In March, authorities reportedly found the woman with her son in a hotel room, and she was arrested and charged with incest, oral copulation with a minor, contacting a minor for sex and sending harmful material. The Lake County woman allegedly sent naked photos of herself to her son.
Court filings also say police found videos on the boy’s phone showing him engaged in sexual activity with Atkinson. His father filed a restraining order in November, about two months after he said Atkinson began talking with the boy on Facebook and over the phone.
“She started to have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with him, not a mother-and-son relationship,” the man said, according to court documents. “It got to a point where their conversation began talking about harming me and killing off her boyfriend she was (now) living with.”
She remains in jail, reports said.
Jerry Brown: Cali Budget Shortfall Hits $16B
California Gov. Jerry Brown broke the bad news by YouTube: His state is facing a $16 billion deficit, not the $9.2 billion shortfall he had projected in January, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Brown blamed the budget gap on lower-than-expected tax receipts and the loss of spending cuts, which were blocked by court order and federal officials to protect the needy. Now, Brown says, the public had better support his ballot measure in November to boost taxes and raise $9 billion.
A balanced budget is required by June 15, but the state Senate’s Republican leader predicts that “another phony budget” will be passed by a simple majority of Democrats. Advocates for those who use health and human services, however, are predicting harsh cuts when Brown reveals his proposed budget: “The cuts are expected to be big, bad and brutal for California families,” says one. A state senator calls the new deficit “as bad as our worst fears have been. The options get fewer and fewer.”
California Moves to Ban ‘Gay Cure’ for Teens
Psychotherapists who claim they can “cure” gay teenagers may soon be out of business in California. A bill before the state Senate would ban so-called “conversion therapy” for minors and require adults to sign a release form stating that the counseling is ineffective and possibly dangerous, reports AP.
Such treatments can “cause extreme depression and guilt” that sometimes lead to suicide, says the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu.
Lieu’s view is shared by the American Psychological Association, which said in 2009 that mental health professionals should not tell clients that therapy can turn gay people straight.
The bill—the first of its kind in the nation—is likely to face challenges from opponents who believe it is unconstitutional. “We’re talking about stepping into the doctor’s room or the psychiatrist’s office and clamping a hand over the mouths of the clinicians,” says a spokesman for the conservative Pacific Justice Institute.
Kim Kardashian For Mayor
Kim Kardashian’s life plans involve more than just television, magazines and retail stores: she wants power – -political power.
In a previously unreleased clip of “Khloe & Lamar,” the 31-year-old can be seen telling her sister Khloe that she plans to run for mayor of Glendale, Calif., in 2017.
A rep for the reality star took the time to explain her client’s plans: ”Kim has always looked for opportunities to grow and also do what she can to help support the Armenian community,” her rep said in a statement to Us Weekly. “She’s learning more about the ways in which she can help to do her part to make a difference in the community.”
Kim has her sights set on Glendale because the town is home to one of the largest Armenian communities outside Armenia.
Teacher Sued for Ordering Girl to Pee in Bucket
A 14-year-old San Diego girl has filed a $25,000 lawsuit against a teacher she says ordered her to pee in a bucket within earshot of her classmates.
The alleged incident occurred Feb. 22, when the student asked to be excused to use the bathroom. She says teacher Gonja Wolf instead took her to a small room and told her to pee in a bucket and then empty it into the sink.
The student says she had to go so badly that she complied.
She believes Wolf gave these “humiliating instructions” loud enough for the class to hear in order to make an example of her—within days, the entire campus knew of the incident, which caused her “emotional distress,” the lawsuit claims. The school has put the teacher on paid leave while it investigates the incident, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Teacher Suspended After Students Spot Porn Videos
A teacher at Richard B. Haydock Intermediate School in Oxnard, whose name was not released, went on leave Monday, after her colleagues got wind of student rumors that she was moonlighting as a porn star.
Administrators discovered porn videos online of the 31-year-old science teacher co-starring with a delivery man from “Big Sausage Pizza,” reports theSmoking Gun. The school district is investigating.
“Maybe it’s not a crime as far as the penal code is concerned, but we feel it’s a crime as far as moral turpitude is concerned,” the district superintendent says. “We’re trying to determine if there’s a nexus on what she does on her own time, and what she does in the classroom.”
Students have been warned not to search for the teacher’s videos. Asked whether such a warning is likely to pique the interest of her young teen students, the superintendent said: “I don’t know.”
Lawyer: 200 Sex Abuse Priests Hiding in California
A stunning 200 priests suspected of committing sexual abuse are living in California, mostly unknown to communities, according to a lawyer who sued the LA Archdiocese on behalf of 500 plaintiffs, reports MSNBC.
Because none of those priests was convicted of sex abuse, laws about identifying pedophiles and their locations don’t apply to them. “Many, if not all, of these priests have admitted to sexual abuse,” Ray Boucher said. “They live within a mile of 1,500 playgrounds, schools, and daycare centers.”
The LA Archdiocese settled with 500 plaintiffs in 2007 for $660 million, but admitted no wrongdoing.
Boucher claims the church has simply allowed many of the priests to retire or hide out until statute of limitations run out on their crimes. “By enabling these priests to be hidden for so many years, the church protected them from being prosecuted,” said Boucher.
A lawyer for the church said the priests have a right to privacy because they haven’t been convicted of crimes. But the courts recently ruled against the church, and a judge has ordered the release of some personnel files in the coming weeks.
Bill O’Reilly on Prop 8: “Judicial Activism”
After the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling that the 2008 ban on gay marriage in California was unconstitutional, Bill O’Reilly took to his show calling the ruling “judicial activism!”
Does his point have an merit?
Supreme Court’s Move on Gay Marriage? Maybe Not
Kevin Drum at Mother Jones thinks the recent court decision declaring California’s ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional is “great news” for sure, but he’s not getting too excited just yet.
Most people think this one is headed to the Supreme Court, where it looks like Anthony Kennedy will once again provide the swing vote, and “the betting money says this will get overturned 5-4,” writes Drum. He also notes that the ruling is “very narrow” and limited to California.
A conservative blogger agrees with the main point: “In the grand scheme of things, there is nothing enduringly significant about today’s ruling,” writes Ed Whelan atNational Review Online. “The Ninth Circuit was just a way-station on the path to the Supreme Court.”
Maybe, but Jim Burroway at the Box Turtle Bulletin blog thinks the ruling isso narrow and specific to California that the Supreme Court could pass. “Unless they’re just itching for controversy, it would be very easy for them to point out that there are no burning questions of national importance which require their attention. This decision appears tailor-made to allow the Supreme Court to duck this case altogether.”
D5 Creation
