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David Pisarra
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| David Pisarra is a business development lawyer in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or (310) 664-9969.
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Articles by this Author
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WHAT'S THE POINT?
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By now, the holiday madness has hopefully left our lives and we can return to thinking about things beyond which “must have” toy to buy, how many pounds of cheese to put out for our friends and families and that jerk in the parking structure who decided to take up two stalls and half of the lane with an SUV. It is that time of year when we are supposed to have our resolutions made and firmly in place.
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WHAT'S THE POINT?
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Glad others out there protecting and serving
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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We have major problems in this state. The governor’s answer to this is a characteristically Hollywood answer — throw money at the problem.
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WHAT'S THE POINT?
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I think the whole death industry is fascinating, scary, altruistic and predatory. It makes a great investment. I’ve watched Service Corporation International for years. They’ve consistently grown their business by buying up those little mortuaries like Little Chapel of the Dawn and applying big business efficiencies of scale to them.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Earlier this month, the Supreme Court took a stand on right-to-die legislation. They said that, essentially, each state should be allowed to determine for itself the regulation in this hotly contested area of the law and ethics. That led to some of the California legislators indicating that they would be reviving (pardon the pun) our own right-to-die legislative attempts. The Governor, in campaign mode now, has strongly indicated that he would veto any bill that the legislature passed on the matter, saying that this is a topic that should be put to “the people.”
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A budget surplus means that a new terror is soon to arrive for many small companies in the Southland, Santa Monica in particular. The coming shocker is arriving with their latest statements from their commercial landlords.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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As a local pundit, I probably get asked twice a month why the homeless get to “live that way.” The starting point to remember with the homeless is that they are citizens of our society just as much as anyone else. Flaming liberals might disagree with this, but there is no law that states that a person has to have a home.
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WHAT”S THE POINT
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I was at Kensington Park this past weekend, letting my little dog enjoy the free run area, and as he sniffed, dug and romped with the bulldogs and pugs, I read the latest edition of the SeaScape. The SeaScape is the local government’s self-published newspaper. In it are articles about the goings on about town, the happenings at City Hall, the long-range agenda items that the City Council is eventually going to deal with, and listings of the various services that the city provides.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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Awards season is over. Big surprises and stunning losses were definitely the order of this Oscars. And that was just the gowns. Selma Hayek was classic Hollywood elegance, and Charlize Theron’s dress looked like a reject from Project Runway.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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The Black Hills of South Dakota are home to Mount Rushmore. A monument of four presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. Looking at the four busts, it is easy to see that they symbolize the fight for a society free of religious rule, a republic that keeps the state separate from the church, the idea of women’s rights, and of equality for all free from slavery. Those four presidents stood for ideals that are, not so slowly, being destroyed.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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Spring is here and a young man’s fancy turns to quitting his job and being his own boss. For the young ladies, they dream of quitting their jobs and having more time on their hands ... so they want to quit and be their own boss also.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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The American public has generally become so benighted, so lost, so stupefied in their own juices of Big Macs, Wal-Mart low prices and Chevy Excursions that they don’t even realize the stupidity of their statements, or how easily they are exploited, manipulated and made to dance to the tune of a village idiot.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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As the topic of illegal immigrants has become the hot button to get politicians free air time, rally the teenagers and distract the public from the real issues of the day, I thought I’d listen to a talk show which interviewed people from across the country to see what Americans were really thinking.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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The headline read “California names-based HIV reporting bill headed to governor.”
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I was speaking recently with a friend about the gas price crisis. He asked me my opinion on what President Bush should do to correct the situation. He was certain that I would take the opportunity to bash the president and his Republican party policies on the environment and the failure of the administration to prevent or alleviate the current gas crisis.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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The latest figures have shown consumer confidence in the economy is again on the rebound. Consumer spending is up .6 percent. Construction of new homes is up.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Politics is a dirty business. We hear that almost every day. And with each new scandal to come out of the White House, each report of new corruption amongst our elected leaders — whether it be real corruption for cash — or the more insidious type of just losing touch with the people they represent, we lose our faith in the political process.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Rich people have property, poor people have children.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I am fond of saying, ‘This is America, we have more of everything!’
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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Values. It’s a simple word packed with meaning. Much of that meaning has been hijacked by marketers trying to sell “new and Improved” soap and the far-right Christian conservatives who think “family values” are restricted to the mythical ideal paradigm of mom, dad and two kids living in suburbia with lawns manicured by their Mexican gardener and their house cleaned by a Honduran.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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As the song goes, “Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.” Maybe when you don’t have to deal with tourists, out-of-school kids, and harried moms who are busy trying to schedule a “play date” for their kids while trying to park what was once a troop-moving vehicle into a space designed for a compact car.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Last week, I had the opportunity to be on “Week In Review” on a local cable channel. The show is a roundtable discussion of various topics of local, state and national politics and events. The show is hosted by Bob Jimenez, USC Professor and former radio journalist, who brings an educated balance to the show. The show is set up in such a way as there are four panelists — two from the Left, generally Democrats or Independents, and two from the Right, generally Republicans.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Education is such a rich topic of discussion. This past week I have had three engaging and enlightening conversations about the state of our schools. Weighing in with their opinions were an East Coast college professor, a high school teacher who is teaching remedial math this summer, and a doctoral candidate at UCLA.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Today is July Fourth. A day that in American culture has come to mean burned hamburgers, scantily clad women, Tom Cruise in a wheelchair and a day off from work. Most people think that July Fourth is the day we achieved independence from the British. They are wrong.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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This column is being dictated and transcribed electronically. By the use of a microphone connected to my computer, and the latest technology for voice recognition, my computer is able to understand what I’m saying and translate that into written words on the page. I’m also able to use a digital voice recorder, which records my speech, and by use of another computer program, is able to transcribe that recording into a document.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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We have too many people on this planet. And we’re having too many babies. And we’re too focused on keeping everyone alive for as long as possible.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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In a highly anticipated court ruling this past week, the Supreme Court of California struck a blow for children that should cause every deadbeat parent to shudder. The Supreme Court effectively said that a child support order remains enforceable forever.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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My partner and I are on our first real vacation in two years. Well, sort of, we’re actually at SIGGRAPH in Boston. His movie is being shown, and he has a few interviews to do. I have few duties this week, so it’s a welcome break from the day-to-day madness known as our life.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Public transit in Los Angeles is doomed because of our wealth. It might sound counterintuitive, but let me explain my logic.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
When Santa Monica banned smoking in all public places, there were many concerns that this action would destroy tourism. This has been our first summer in a “smoke-free city,” and the city has not died. Tourism is vibrant, and the parks and beaches are a little more pleasant. The good news is that the city hasn’t fallen apart. The bad news is that the city hasn’t fallen apart. This will lead to more of this type of social engineering of public policy concerns, and that leads to the storm troopers.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
Labor Day is here and with the end of season drawing near, now is the time for the final summer parties, putting away the inflatable toys from the kid’s pool, packing up the barbecue and calming nervous children as they prepare to go back to school.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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This past weekend I was at a friend’s wedding. My law partner was in Chicago, and he was attending a wedding there.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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America is a country founded on the rule of law. We are run by a document that is shocking in its brevity — the U.S. Constitution is a model of legislative terseness, yet we as a country have gone on to create laws that rule and regulate almost all aspects of our lives.
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WHAT'S THE POINT?
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“Ladies and Gentlemen.” That phrase is overused, misunderstood and generally inapplicable to today’s society. At one time it actually had meaning — back in a time when people recognized class levels amongst the members of the society they lived in. It is an anachronistic throwback to a time of politeness that seems to have disappeared as surely as the woolly mammoth.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. It seems to me that the more tools we have to stay up to date with people, the less connected we are becoming. As technology has infiltrated our lives, we have become separated from the realities of face-to-face communication.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Infrastructure. It is the skeleton that keeps the body of state intact. It is comprised of our roadways, freeways, schools, interconnected sewer system, prison system, waterways and wetlands. The system is supported by thousands of men and women who work daily to maintain our roads and keep the state moving.
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WHAT’S THE POINT
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Well, it’s that time of year again. Elections are now just two weeks away and there are two very important propositions that the City Council has placed on the ballot — Propositions V and W. I strongly urge everyone to vote no on both.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I’ve said before that it does not matter whether or not you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green, Yellow, Purple, Communist, Socialist or undecided, we all love to complain about our elected officials.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Whitney is divorcing Bobby, Britney is dumping K-Fed, and the honeymoon is definitely over for Nick and Jessica.
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WHATS THE POINT?
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As we prepare for this Thursday’s gastronomic extravaganza, I just want to take a moment to share my thoughts on what Thanksgiving is for, and to give thanks for the many gifts that I have.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
I’m a smoker. Well, I used to be. I grew up in a household where my father smoked three packs of Viceroy a day and my brother smoked three packs of Marlboro reds. I grew up hating the smell, the dirt from the ashes and the fact that my clothes smelled like I was a smoker. My godmother was a fierce smoker, and so were her sister, brother and daughter.
This was the late ’60s and early ’70s, when seemingly everyone around me smoked but my mother.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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The continued growth in this city is amazing. There are new condominium complexes going up at what seems to be an ever-increasing rate. The downtown area is being built up ever more densely, and more and more mixed-use buildings are being erected.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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’Tis the season for new cars and new car shows.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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Tonight is the fifth night of Hanukkah, we have six days to go until Christmas and seven for Kwanzaa. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas and is the traditional feeding frenzy of bargain shoppers. I personally like to go Stats to stock up on all the decorations that I avoided purchasing prior to Christmas. The stores will be humming with the screams of frazzled clerks, the cacophonous ringing of cash registers and the shrill cries of children who want all the toys they didn’t already get.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I love gardening. I like getting my hands covered in dirt and muck, and making something beautiful grow out of ugliness. I love to plant bulbs, partly because I love to see them bloom, but also because by the time they bloom, I have long forgotten the aches and pains of digging trenches; the sore back from the long hours spent arranging what look like giant cloves of garlic, that will eventually become dark green leaves and solid reds and yellow and purples of the flowers. Then, I’ll be able to simply enjoy them.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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For 30 years, the phrase “You’ve come a long way, baby” has meant Virginia Slims cigarettes and was social shorthand for the advances that women had made in becoming equal to men in our society. That growth in equality has continued to the point where women can now be just as boorish, self-centered, hedonistic, egocentric and condescending as men.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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The horse race — well, the Democratic Donkey race is more like it — is off and running. With this weekend’s fateful announcement by Senator Hillary Clinton that she is entering the race for the Democratic Primary and, eventually, the White House; the topic du jour of all TV news pundits, columnists and talking heads is presidential politics — for the next 21 months.
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WHAT’S THE POINT?
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I spent the weekend in Las Vegas.
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