April 10, 2008
Extra Extra: Just Like Us

Photo by Tyler S. Andrew via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
- President Bush announced today that deployments to Iraq are being reduced to 12 months, down from 15 months: "The move was recommended by the Pentagon, concerned that the longer deployments were placing too much stress on the force."
- LA Now asks, are supergraphics fugly? Councilman Jack Weiss is making the case for legislation to restrict how many of those super-huge billboards can go up in the city.
- A Daily Breeze reporter has been blogging a behind-the-scenes look at the hurdles involved with crime reporting: "What I'm up against in this endeavor are some pretty classic reporting hurdles exacerbated by two of the area's largest bureacracies: LAPD and LAUSD."
- Would you return $140,000 in cash if you found it on the street? One man in Highland Park did, and was rewarded with $2,000 by the armored car company that lost the cash.
- Santa Ana is making a weight loss resolution: in a city where almost three quarters of the adult population is obese, officials are calling for the citizens to collectively lose one million pounds over the next year.
- The federal government is billing the Westland/Hallmark slaughterhouse at least $67 million for expenses incurred during their massive beef recall. The charges could be as high as $117 million.
- Tentative talks with a Long Beach facility have fallen through, so now it appears that there is very little hope left for the survival of King-Harbor hospital.
- David Beckham: just like us! He gets traffic tickets! The Galaxy star was pulled over in Hollywood the other day for a "mild" traffic offense.



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Gosh, I don't know what's sadder - having to give up 140 big ones because it's the right thing to do , or the sick bastards who populate the comments section over at the Daily News?
http://www.topix.net/forum/source/los-angeles-daily-news/TVRFPH1QE8MAHLKMB
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Last year the administration opposed a similar plan set forth by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA):
http://webb.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=278436
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) teamed up with McCain to introduce a resolution to kill Webb’s bill:
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/senate-republicans-stop-troop-dwell-time-bill-2007-09-19.html
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates also recommended that the president veto Webb's bill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4nSfj46RmE
And the administration insisted then that “Congress should not etch into law deployment and dwell times.”:
http://thehill.com/business--lobby/webbs-deployment-amendment-will-open-debate-on-defense-bill-2007-07-03.html
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So basically Bush extended tours of duty to 15 months last February (the surge) and come July (15 months later) future tours will return to 12 months.
So?
If anything this is bad for the troops as it reduces the chances they'll have extended time between tours should this war carry on as it has.