EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 17, 2017 Page 7
Politically Speaking
One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion
Murder in Charlottesville a Tragic
Reminder We Must Always Be Vigilant
By Cristian Vasquez
It’s heartbreaking that Heather Heyer, the
victim of Neo-Nazi rage, lost her life in Charlottesville
during the weekend because of the
savage behavior of an unhinged racist. However,
it is infuriating that the President of the United
States must have his arm bent in order for him
to place blame where it belongs: with violent
Neo-Nazi groups. I’ll be clear and state that
President Trump did not give birth to these
extreme racist groups. They have existed in one
form or another throughout our nation’s history.
These groups usually hide and only expose their
ignorance when they have a compelling reason
to make noise. The problem we have today is
that President Donald Trump is their reason
to come out in full force. And the President’s
refusal to directly call out these radical racists
for their actions is not only disgusting, but it
empowers the very scourge that killed Heyer.
After this weekend’s horrible events, let’s
stop using the label “Alt-Right” and identify
these groups for what they are: racist Neo-
Nazi groups. The longer decent Americans
continue to call racists “Alt-Right” supporters
instead of Neo-Nazis, the more these racists
are normalized and empowered. Let’s stop
sugarcoating our own reality. People like
Richard Spencer, David Duke and suspected
murderer James Alex Fields, Jr. are racist.
These three animals want nothing less than a
homogenous state--and the murder of Heyer is
only a small sample of what they are willing
to do. When the President of the United States
fails to directly condemn the actions of these
groups, the racists are empowered.
This argument isn’t hollow rhetoric either.
Neo-Nazi supporters across the country
see President Trump as that inspiration to
come out of hiding. In a video shot during
the Charlottesville “Unite the Right”
rally, Duke is recorded saying that he and
his like-minded supporters are determined
to take the country back: “We are going to
fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s
what we believed in, that’s why we voted for
Donald Trump. Because he said he’s going to
take our country back.” Duke said these words.
So it’s not paranoia from the left. It’s not an
unfounded accusation by fake news. These
are the words of a prominent racist leader
to describe how they feel about our current
President. The only thing more disgusting
than Duke’s believes is Trump’s reluctance to
condemn people like Duke.
The President condemning these actions and
ideologies is not going to eradicate them from
our country. However, it does make it clear that
such behaviors and actions are unacceptable,
which in turn will stop normalizing racism. We,
as a society, need to stop calling the Spencers,
Dukes and Fields of the world anything less
than what they are: racist. There is no “Alt-
Right”--because hard-working, kind-hearted,
God-fearing conservatives do not support these
fringe behaviors. Alt-Right is a term used to
lie to ourselves about the reality of this new
wave of racism, and it must be stopped. Since
the President won’t take them to task, then
it’s up to us. •
Fear and Loathing in Washington,
D.C. and Around the World
By Duane Plank
My summer reading list included some of
the works of the prolific “Gonzo” journalist,
the late, great Hunter S. Thompson, who often
opined on the political scene. Not a fan of most
politicians, he labeled most pols as “swine.”
My introduction to the writings of Dr.
Thompson, who penned multiple tomes for
Rolling Stone magazine when he wasn’t wasted
on alcohol, illegal drugs, or obsessing about
firearms, (or maybe he was wasted when he
wrote?) came via my son Phillip, who was
tasked to read the Thompson masterpiece Fear
and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 when
he was attending UCSB.
Phil knows of my passion for politics and
suggested I read Thompson’s seminal book on
the run-up to the Richard M. Nixon electoral
massacre of the well-meaning, but overmatched
George S. McGovern in the first presidential
election of the 1970s.
This was a period when the perennially
paranoid Nixon was forced to deal with the
fallout when some of his henchmen decided to
break into the Watergate Hotel in D.C. to glean
some intel about the soon-to-be down-the tubes
McGovern campaign. What a waste of time.
Electoral score: Nixon 520, McGovern, 17.
McGovern had about as much chance of defeating
an incumbent President as some neophyte
politician and maverick business guy named
“The Donald” did running against the Hillary
Clinton “machine” and the pseudo-criminals
like Congress gal Debbie Wassermann Schultz,
who stacked the deck against the insurgent
campaign of outsider Bernie Sanders.
There are current rumblings about improprieties
in the Sanders household, including some
possible shady dealings involving Sanders’ wife,
Jane, who is the subject of an FBI investigation
because of alleged shady financially dealings
surrounding a now-defunct college with which
she was involved.
Shocker! Do you remember how the Monica
Lewinsky “Devil in the Blue Dress” imbroglio
came to light? The investigation of Slick Willie
Clinton and Hillary began as a poke into
financial shenanigans that the couple had
allegedly masterminded back in the day. A
special prosecutor was assigned to delve into
the alleged financial tomfoolery.
Bill and Hill never faced prosecution
for possible skimming and scamming. Sound
familiar--a Clinton profiting because of
political position? While the Whitewater investigation
of Clinton fizzled, it spilled over
into other areas of his life. Special counsel
Ken Starr stumbled upon the fact that the
42nd President was becoming chummy with
a chubby intern at the White House, which
led to impeachment proceedings.
A special counsel should not nearly be
being able to bring down a sitting President
because of personal peccadilloes, but if I am
Donald Trump and they are investigating the
ruse that is Russian collusion, I would fear
that special counsel Robert Mueller and his
minions who all supported Hillary may find
nothing Russia-related, but stumble onto some
other alleged impropriety that Rachel Maddow
would scream was an impeachable offense.
With that swine Kim Jong Un threatening to
bomb Guam and detonate WWW III, don’t we
all have something a little more important to
focus our attention on these days? Nuclear war?
Now that is something to “Fear and Loathe.” •
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City Council from front page
Fuentes expressed concern that TopGolf
is not holding up its end of a commitment
that it originally instigated. Councilmember
Mike Dugan called it a “moral obligation to
maintain our commitments” and asked to “find
a way to find a link to keep the golf pros
connected”—given that without a TopGolf
project, The Lakes wouldn’t be closed for
six months and potentially prompt the pros
to move elsewhere.
Councilmember Carol Pirsztuk voiced
frustration about the discussion considering
the pros are not City employees in the first
place. “Why are we belaboring over two
people in a six-month period when we’re
getting 450 jobs right off the bat and turning
a profit?” she asked.
Dugan emphasized that “it’s not as much
about the pros as protecting the programs.
The mechanism to do that is to maintain
contact with the people who run the programs.”
Pirsztuk then suggested that if the
City can’t find a pro to come in, that it can
ask TopGolf to run the program.
While the golf pro compensation item
remains up in the air, other points sailed
through for the most part. On getting Chevron
approval for the land use and grant deed,
the City asked for an exhibit with the exact
language of the terms in case the refinery
isn’t able to sign off until after the Council’s
second reading (and approval) of the project.
Chevron representative Rod Spackman
confirmed, “We have agreed in concept or
practical terms to the substance of the agreement.”
However, he also explained that the
process is complicated and that “material
requests are added to the document each
time we see it—so we have to go back and
do our due diligence.”
TopGolf committed $400,000 towards
lighting on the golf course and wants an
indemnity clause added to the agreement
where the City is responsible to pay for
any amount above that. “It was never anticipated
that $400,000 would cover the
entire cost,” Hensley said. The Council will
decide how to proceed after TopGolf bids
out the lighting. Current guess-timates put
the City’s potential price tag at anywhere
from $100,000 to $200,000. City Manager
Greg Carpenter thought it would be best if
CenterCal includes the lighting as part of its
scope of work at the same time as the golf
course renovation and clubhouse construction.
“[Potentially] their bids will come in
lower than the City’s,” he said. Carpenter
added that the Council could also choose a
$400,000 lighting project covering just the
final six of the nine holes. Later, former
Councilmember Dave Atkinson warned, “If
we do six holes, we’re never gonna do the
other three.”
The Council was also amenable to driving
range hours and associated fees negotiated
by the Golf Course Subcommittee for use
by professionals and youth groups. Under
the plan, the groups can use the range at
10 hitting bays Monday through Thursday
from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at four bays
from 4-7 p.m.; on Fridays at six bays from
8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and at three bays from
2-6 p.m.; and on weekends at four bays
8 a.m. to noon and three bays 12-4 p.m.
Additional bay usage within those hours
will be discounted by 50 percent. Usage
outside of those hours will be at the Top-
Golf rate less $10 an hour. “We feel these
hours comply with what we need,” Pirsztuk
said. Dugan elaborated that the agreed-upon
hours are “what it would take to maintain
the existing programs.”
If the Council approves TopGolf on October
3 (the second reading won’t take place on
September 19 because Fuentes will be out of
town), the ordinance would go into effect 30
days later. Chevron documents and applicant
guarantees will also have to be executed
during the interim period, Hensley noted.
In a subsequent presentation, Recreation
and Parks Director Meredith Petit showed
renderings of the golf course redesign
that will include changes to tee boxes and
greens, converting the Par-4 ninth hole to a
long Par-3 (deemed of equal difficulty) and
flexibility in length for holes five and eight.
The revamped course will be a bit shorter
(1,200 yards compared to 1,340), with a
reconfigured clubhouse overlooking the first
hole for better management. The clubhouse
will feature a lobby, gathering area, kitchen,
dining area, wrap-around patio, restrooms,
offices and reduced-size pro shop. The City
may also consider subleasing the restaurant
portion, Pirsztuk said. Concerned about parking
issues after visiting a TopGolf facility
in Roseville, California, Councilmember
Don Brann spoke of 104 additional spaces
from West Basin. Hensley reported that the
due diligence agreement includes a clause
specifying 30 spaces for golf course use
during regular hours of operation.
Also on Tuesday, the Council received the
quarterly investment portfolio update from
the Treasury Department and a quarterly
update for the Strategic Work Plan from
Finance Director Joseph Lillio--as well as
annual reports from both the Recreation and
Parks Commission and Arts Advisory and
Culture Committee.
The consent agenda featured a lengthy
talk about new recreation management
software. Staff recommended going with
the company CivicPlus, feeling the software
will be easier to implement and similar to
what personnel are used to currently—as
well as being less expensive than the other
option considered, PerfectMind. However
in a letter to the Council received on
Tuesday, the City’s Technology Committee
expressed concern with CivicPlus and
indicated its preference for the long-term
technological capabilities of PerfectMind,
while also feeling the latter will prove less
costly over time. The Tech Committee also
felt that potential bidders didn’t have enough
time to respond to the request for proposal—
thus resulting in only two vendor choices.
The Council ultimately postponed its vote
to allow Mayor Pro Tem Boyles to weigh
in on the matter next month. Recreation and
Parks’ current system will reach end of life
by December, making a quick decision on
the new software critical.
To comply with state law, the Council
in two weeks is set to adopt an ordinance
(introduced on Tuesday) streamlining the
permitting process for electric vehicle charging
stations. The City recently unveiled a
new EV charging station at City Hall in the
parking area along Holly Avenue.
During presentations, the Council recognized
County Supervisor (4th District) Janice
Hahn for her role in resolving the Vista del
Mar restriping issue that created uproar
across the beach cities in recent months.
Fuentes said Hahn “gets complete credit”
for working with Los Angeles Councilman
Mike Bonin to come up with a solution to
go back to the previous lane configuration
to ease traffic congestion while addressing
safety concerns. Hahn, who represents two
million people in her district, remarked, “I am
so lucky El Segundo is one of my cities.” •