[OPE] Failed state of California: Hollywood's mythmakers have some food for thought

The glitterati of Hollywood, who tell the whole world what its dreams ought
to be, must be having second thoughts:

>From its politics to its economy to its environment and way of life,
California is like a patient on life support. (...) The crisis is so deep
that Professor Kevin Starr, who has written an acclaimed history of the
state, recently declared: "California is on the verge of becoming the first
failed state in America."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/04/california-failing-state-debt

California was supposed to be the model for the world to emulate, but is
looks increasingly like your average third world country, where lofty
mansions are juxtaposed with stinky slums and no one give a damn, except
perhaps a few of those terrible socialists. Meanwhile:
Large marijuana plots hidden deep in California's public lands have
illegally diverted hundreds of millions of gallons of water, compounding
shortages caused by the state's ongoing drought. Public officials in
Mendocino County, a region on California's north coast known for its lush
redwood forests and potent cannabis, have witnessed rivers and creeks
drained by the large-scale drug operations. "They're using a whole lot of
water." said Lt. Rusty Noe of the Mendocino County sheriff's office in a
telephone interview with the Bright Green Blog.
http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2009/10/10/marijuana-growers-worsening-california-drought/

How about if you're not stoned, and you just wanted to get something to eat?

East L.A. had one of the worst ratios of full service supermarkets to
residents of any community in the county, found a 2002 study by Occidental
College in L.A. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1010/p02s05-usgn.html

...so you'd better be on the right side of town. Among the latest Hollywood
movies is "Ghostbusters III". Yeah. They ought to be making a truly
realistic movie about their own backyard, as it really is now...

One thing you can be sure of, the construction of new "gated communities" is
continuing unabated
http://www.americanhomeguides.com/homes/planned/california.html There's got
to be a way of walling the bad stuff out, right?

So let me figure this out. Why would Mr Polanski want to return to
California anyway? To return to the scene of the crime? I'm sensing a piece
of gross misrepresentation here, and, speaking personally, I am sick of
bloody Bono videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxF-ImXaUdE

J.

_______________________________________________
ope mailing list
ope@lists.csuchico.edu
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope
Received on Sat Oct 10 16:28:05 2009