Eric the mayor should pay for his own security!Just because he cannot find his way around ,doesen't mean we should babbysit him.The city is better off without him .Maybe he will leave and not come back .PLEASE

TONY V ,STOP STEALING FROM ME

As Matt Szabo said, the mayor spends 11% of his time. on actual city business!! The mayors paycheck should be 11%of his annual income. Keith Brackpool meeting with Villarigosa in Iceland???The mayor steals from taxpayers,Brackpool stealing water from Colorado in the Mojave Desert Something STINKS, his name should be sespool,or septicpool;villaraigosa's good buddy and campaigne contributor.Eric keep digging, I think you will find something stinks!

Eric ,great job. As usual the mayors spokesman dances around the true question.Who is paying for vacations?Girlfriend? Jackson's funeral? Lakers parade?Campaign fund?Police?Hotels ? mayors home? cameras for being a media whore? his fake smile with your bottom teeth smile?WE MUST GET THIS CLASS HORSES ASS OUT OF OFFICE!!! AND HIS STAFF!!! THE SOONER THE BETTER!!!

Happy Birthday to President Barack Obama. You are God's gift to this great and beautiful country. May God protect you and give you strength to protect this great county from it's enemies, both outside and from within.

“Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me”

Equal rights for all, for we are one. Treat your Gay brothers and sisters with kindness and respect for they are God's children too.

Jozielee - In all fairness, I remember a certain segment of the population calling for Bush's impeachment. So, it does come from BOTH sides of the aisle...

-m

Sean -

Thanks for addressing the issues about the trillion or so in debt that Bush created during his terms in office over 8 years.

The only problem is that in only 6 months or so (using your words) Obama has created the LARGEST budget deficit in the history of the United States with the passing of the so-called stimulas package. Using my example of this smoke-screen of an economic recovery with this car clunker program is that 1 billion dollars have already been borrowed to give to people to purchase cars to help the ailing auto industry. It was so "succesful" that the government is considering giving another 2 billion dollars to the already government-owned auto industry to keep the program going. And most of these auto purcahses are being used to buy Hyundais and Kias, which are both South Korean car companies. So, Sean, how does this stimulate the economy? A few weeks of increased sales by people who would normally buy cars anyway, with money that was given to them by the government? All this does is create a false sense of recovery with BORROWED money in only 1 industry! This led Tom Geithner to even proclaim that we must reign in spending to stabilize the recovery. In other words, he is admitting spending is out of control. That was also Bush's problem.

By the way Sean, this Additional spending I've mentioned doesn't even cover Obama's Health plan that again Sean, please remind me, who will pay for? Increased spending means somebody will eventually have to pay for it, whether its with higher interest rates, or more taxes. And yes, that includes the middle class!

So, no the sky is not falling, but interest rates WILL RISE!!!

And after looking at Jared's link, on the Kenyan birth certificate, it looks like today is Obama's birthday. Happy Birthday Mr. president.

-m

Right on, Sean, about the Birthers.

They're all a bunch of troublemakers stirring the pot to discredit the president, to cloud citizens' judgment and loyalty. Reportedly they're concerned about future candidates but this is a direct shot at Barack Obama. If we, who believe in him, allow this chatter to continue the hate talk will fester and they'll soon be calling for his impeachment just like they did Bill Clinton. Mischief makers must be confronted, their agenda unmasked and their rhetoric nipped in the bud. If they're left unchecked, unquestioned they could bring down what's shaping up to be a great president.

Also I wanted to post this from Keith Olbermann on what YOUR Republican Senators and Congresspersons have taken from the health care industry....Look and see who is bought and paid for by the healthcare and pharmaceutical companies.
He does go after a few Blue Dog Dems too....But wait until you see how much Mitch McConnell has taken. Watch and Learn!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/03/olbermann-slams-members-o_n_250580.html

Jared,
I'm sorry, if you even give Orly Taitz one iota of trust, then I have lost whatever respect I may have had left for you and mankind in general. The woman is NUTS! My Gosh, watch this interview.
And there are so many historical errors on that supposed Kenyan birth certificate. The woman is a Whack Job Jared.....Read the articles on the Huffington Post about the supposed Kenyan Birth Certificate. Watch every interview this Orly Taitz has been on. Let's see her birth certificate and then ask why is she so involved in this?
She's a racist. Plain and simple.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/03/orly-taitz-melts-down-on_n_250441.html

And Mike, here's a link for you stating that Obama has once again stated no tax increase for the Middle Class....It's the NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/us/politics/04obama.html?_r=1

I have never seen a bigger bunch of "the sky is falling, the sky is falling" group of people in my life.
Obama has only been in for 6 months. Bush took 8 long years to destroy this country and put it into 1.3 Trillion dollars of debt.

Give him at least a year. The economy is coming back, things are beginning to change, grant it slowly yes....but My God quit being so quick to try and find fault where it isn't!

An article on the HP says the man deals with 400 % more death threats than Bush did.
Now come on. You know that's because of his race. Don't buy into the racists just to try and prove a point when there are no facts to back up your story.

Jared - Very interesting....

Also, speaking of the President and this blog's topic of taxes... I thought he promised no taxes for the middle class?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/2-Obama-officials-No-apf-2491158742.html?x=0&.v=7

Looks like they may be inevitable to pay the enormous debt. Maybe we can just keep printing money to fund programs like cash for cars that are clunkers or whatever. I don't know, but sooner or later the printing machine is going to break.

Hopefully, Tony enjoyed his vacation...

-m

Think that President Obama has some explaining to do..

Obama's Kenyan Birth Certificate ? - WoW!
Posted August 2nd, 2009

Check it out !
http://www.orlytaitzesq.com/obama-certified-copy-of-registration-of-birth-in-kenya.htm

This could be the real thing.
No doctor is listed. But the alleged certificate bears the signature of the deputy registrar of Coast Province, Joshua Simon Couya. It was allegedly issued as a certified copy of the original in February 1964.

Taitz told WND that the document came from an anonymous source who doesn't want his name known because "he's afraid for his life."

Taitz's motion, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, requests the purported evidence of Obama's birth – both the alleged birth certificate and foreign records not yet obtained – be preserved from destruction, asks for permission to legally request documents from Kenya and seeks a subpoena for deposition from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"I filed the motion with the court asking for expedited discovery, which would allow me to start subpoenas and depositions even before Obama and the government responds," Taitz told WND. "I am asking the judge to give me the power to subpoena the documents from the Kenyan embassy and to require a deposition from Hillary Clinton so they will be forced to authenticate [the birth certificate].

"I'm forcing the issue, where Obama will have to respond," she said.

"Before, they said, 'You don't have anything backing your claims,'" Taitz explained. "Now I have something. In fact, I have posted on the Internet more than Obama has. My birth certificate actually has signatures."

Read more here: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=105764
and here: http://www.therightsideoflife.com/?p=6908

We may very well have a genuine Constitutional crisis on our hands...

Ok. Who wants to pitch in to buy Eric one of those motorized coolers? Fill that puppy up with Bud Light and head on over to the Mayor's office! Get to the bottom of this!

Eric:

Thank you for the follow-up to your earlier blog. Great investigating and reporting! The mayor's trip to Iceland is starting to take on a weird odor.

Keep up the good work, Eric! Good to see you at the anchor desk again this morning.

Matt,

With all due respect, I think the city have bigger problems than if Cameron Diaz's Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame is illegal or not. As I see it, the whole Walk of Fame is for tourist who spend money in this city, which helps businesses in the Hollywood area, who are then able to stay in business, keep their empolyees working and pay taxes that help support city services like police and fire. If you want to go after the bigger problems like are mayor and his lack of leadership, then I with you. But this, no way.

Aha, the plot thickens . . .

Excellent connecting of the dots re the aptly named Brackpool!

Hey Eric. welcome to the world of Matt Dowd and Zuma Dogg. we've been trying to get straight answers from these guys for years. here's another classic : the City Council screwed up the public hearing for Cameron Diaz' Hollywood Star on the Walk of Fame. Her star could well be illegally installed at this point. State Law requires the public comments be heard, BEFORE the item can be approved. They had the whole ceremony a week before they botched the approval.

too fuuny though : 'where is he?' I don't know. 'Is he in Iceland? not disputing the reports. rotfl. and we pay these people???

stopcamerondiaz.blogspot.com

Dan, if you click on "Bart Braverman" in the post (it should be in blue) it takes you to his blog. The profile in the blog gives his age (60s) and "occupation" (writer/actor). Sounds likely he's the one you remember.

Oh my GOD! Bart Braverman? Are you the same Bart Braverman who played the little boy on the "I Love Lucy" episode in Italy, the little boy who says; "She's a my birthday too!"??? That Bart Braverman????!!!!!
The same Bart Braverman who some 30 + years ago appeared in "Godspell" in San Francisco???!!!

Eric - thanks for the follow-up. But, I still think if you had this conversation over a beer, like the President wants do to resolve issues, if so you might get longer answers... or more information instead of the standard "no comments." Or, we could call it "margaritas with the mayor" and try to get some answers!!! Anyway, like you've done with other blog topics, your follow-up is appreciated.
-m

Mayor Villaraigosa is a public servant, and therefore responsible for every public dime that comes his way. This current situation seems pretty straight forward to me: if the mayor has accepted favors from a man who is seeking to do business with the city, he damn well owes the people an explanation for these highly suspicious actions. If he is innocent, great! But a simple "I don't know" from his spokesman doesn't get it.

I hope you will stay on top of this story. Thank you for your reporting.

Shades of Chinatown. Thanks for the update Eric. More than ever we need to get Antonio Villaraigosa removed from office before he sells the people of Los Angeles and it's share of water out from under us.

Thanks for continuing to try to get to the bottom of this, Eric. While I don't begrudge the man time with his son, I do think the residents of Los Angeles deserve to know where the Mayor is and who is paying the tab. Quite honestly, I'm not sure how the man was able to secure a second term, but that's another story altogether.

Keep up the good work, E.