Photo by Zach Behrens/LAist Over at the Los Angeles Police Department's blog, Lieutenant Rick Banks as been assigned as the "Officer in Charge," and in his introduction post, he touts the success of the web tool and how it has been valuable for the department. But he goes on with a warning to those anonymous finger pointers. "The blog allows you to have a good amount of influence and more with complete anonymity..." Unfortunately,......

Trying to avert a state fiscal disaster, Gov. Schwarzenator is considering major cuts to the state budget that could result in the release of tens of thousands of inmates and $1.4 billion in cuts to schools, among other things. But he might meet some resistance from advocacy groups who object to the deep cuts. Boys and Girls, looks like we gonna have a good ol fashioned Sac town brouhaha. You guys remember Boy Meets......

Southern California is girding itself for high winds this weekend. Emergency vehicles, such as huge, water carrying planes and an abundance of fire trucks and crews from around the state and country are staying put, in case a fiery after shock occurs, KPCC reports. Be safe and lock up the 10-year-olds. I've been saying they're trouble for years. There's some sort of strike set to begin Monday. This is not your average work stoppage.......

I am not going to mention Ann Coulter's visit to LA this week or the location. To be honest, I am at a loss for words with THAT woman. I mean does someone ever anger you so much that your nose just twitches and your head shakes side-to-side like a horse swatting a fly and shivers are sent through your whole body? Yup, that pretty much sums up Ann for me. I went to......

Do you want to get screwed? I know this sell-out whore who will screw anybody for five billion dollars. All you gotta do is call this number: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7623). Just ask for Dow Jones, or Wall Street Journal, as that sell-out whore is known as on the street. But be careful because Dow Jones is crazy and could turn on you at any time. Everyone says that Down Jones used to be pretty honest......

Monday Diane Lefer discusses and signs California Transit 7pm @ Vroman's Chuck Barris presents The Big Question 7pm @ Book Soup Chris Abani & Al Young read their work 7:30pm @ Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater Tuesday Jonathan Cohn discusses Sick: The Untold Story of America's Healthcare Crisis 5pm @ Center for Healthy Communities, Yosemite Hall Reyna Grande presents Across a Hundred Mountains 7pm @ Book Soup Nicole Mones signs The Last Chinese Chef 7pm......

Don Imus is an old man. Maybe back in the day he was funny, but he hasn't been funny for as long as I've been aware of him. But he does live in America, and here we have the freedom of speech. Now that Right doesn't mean that people cant call you out on what you say, but it should mean that you shouldn't have to get fired or jailed or killed for saying......

Snoop Dogg charged with gun and drug counts in California arrest Snoop Dogg was charged Tuesday with felony gun and drug counts, Los Angeles County prosecutors said. The 35-year-old rap star was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Pasadena, California, prosecutors said in a statement. Snoop is getting too old for that gangsta shit. USC students defy "free speech zone" Students at the University of Southern California are occupying the school president's offices, protesting......

Today we got an email from a concerned Pepperdine alumn whose words made us think that there just might be trouble in paradise Dear Editor: As an alumnus of Pepperdine University, I am deeply troubled by recent events at the University and the active suppression of free speech on campus. Pepperdine, like all American colleges, should be an “open marketplace for ideas” rather than an agent for indoctrination. Unfortunately, the University continues to practice......

With the sun out, the temperatures high, one can only think of one thing: what's going on in the World of the -ists? Bostonist dug deep to uncover Barack Obama's unpaid parking tickets, their Governor's latest ethical lapse, and a plagiarizing sports writer. Chicagoist had everything in twos: two views on having the Olympics, losing two members of their Super Bowl team, and two music festivals. DCist put their noses in legal books as......

In a display of supreme irony, the USC Free Culture group is being fined for every flier posted in the campus' so-called "Free Speech Zone." Campus officials sent an e-mail to the group yesterday, warning: There is a 1$ fine for every flyer posted in violation of policy and at at the moment 14 flyers reading "This is not a free speech zone" have been collected. [...] The fine for chalking is determined by Facilities......

A pair of LaRouche supporters ventured outside their natural habitat (arguing on the sidewalk with College Republicans) to spread their gospel at the Waterside Shopping Center in Marina Del Rey on Friday. According to the activists, mall staff called local police to have them removed from "private property." Authorities came, ran a quick check for wants and warrants, and determined that the protest was protected by law. One explained that, "This is free speech.......

Thirty-three employees of the sleepy little Santa Barbara News-Press have been fired or quit in the past seven months and yesterday six more were axed knocking the total up to 39. The latest half dozen were shown the door after allegedly going to a freeway overpass and holding up signs encouraging people to cancel their subscriptions to the embattled newspaper. "Cancel Your Newspaper Today" and "Protect Free Speech" were hung during the morning rush......

Ask anyone who attends Los Angeles city council meetings about Zuma Dogg and they roll their eyes. "Oh god, Zuma Dogg. It's not that he wrong or loud. It's that he takes up all the time at city council meetings. I show up to speak during public comment and there is no time left after he and his buddies go," a local lobbyist who wishes to remain anonymous said. "And you know what is......

This man had balls people Devastating to our local Armenian community and those of us who enjoy free speech, editor of Agos Armenian Daily newspaper in Turkey, Hrant Dink, was assassinated. "The assassination of Mr. Dink is not only an attack on the Armenian community of Turkey; it is an assault on freedom of speech, truth, and justice everywhere," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on Friday. "Mr. Dink spoke frankly and courageously about the history......

When you think of going green, you usually think of hybrids, recycling, freedom of speech, and other tree-hugging hippie activities. But no worries, we’re not going to change that! If you’re not quite ready to single-handedly save a rainforest, we’ve found an easier way for you to go green. Every Monday night from 9pm to midnight in the Palmer Room, Green brings you a much-needed dose of free speech by some of the most......

As the year comes to a close, LAist is asking famous celebs, local politicians, and other movers & shakers of LA to tell us what they thought were tops of 2006. LACityNerd hit the blogging scene earlier this year and this cat has blown us away with the knowledge and history that is spewed upon the blog. Who is it? We will never know. At least we are allowed to ask questions. Lots of......

You can call it the People's Republic of Santa Monica, but you can't call it a land of godless heathens. While Walmart tries to pick a slogan and Larry the Cable Guy laments PC holidays, Santa Monica has no problem setting up a Christmas nativity scene in Palisades Park (facing Ocean Avenue near Arizona). They even bag the parking meters so cars won't obstruct the view. Yes, political correctness got in the way for......

Clearly forgetting that they're a card-carrying member of the Liberal Press, NBC has decided not to run thirty second spots, such as the one above, to promote the Dixie Chicks' new documentary "Shut Up And Sing" -- a film, ironically, about the struggles the 'Chicks encountered after they dared say that they were ashamed that the president was from Texas. Claiming that they "cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush",......

Wonkette is reporting that the next Republican "Pagefucker" (ahhh, Wonkette) who will be outted will be Jerry Weller from Illinois, who recently tried to blow hot air up the asses of a delegation of students from Olivet Nazarene University (Bourbonnais, IL) who visited him in DC to ask him what, as a member of the house international relations committee, he was doing about the 20,000+ children abducted each year in Uganda's civil war and......

Happy Summer Solstice! Summer is finally here. It's time to chill out, take a vacation, sit on the beach and get lost in a good book. Angelenos are lucky to have so many literary choices and librarians like Eileen Ybarra, a young adult librarian at the Los Angeles Central Library, to guide our tastes. As Eileen notes below, the library is still one of the best places to access information, preserve free speech and celebrate......

Franklin Avenue spreads the news that a pirate radio station in the San Fernando Valley has folded under the withering eye of the FCC. Was it trying to foment revolution? Was it playing scary anti-establishment rap or punk rock? Actually, no. It was a Hebrew-language station. Well OK, it may have been trying to stir up trouble; our Hebrew skills are limited. What with internet radio, podcasting and blogs, pirate radio as a necessary......

Frank Wilkinson, longtime Los Angeles lefty activist, has died at 91. The NY Times has his obit (via LA Observed) but the LA Times — which we'd wager, with its historical conservatism, was never a friend to Frank — does not. Like other leftists with good intentions, Frank's actions sometimes had tragically unintended consequences. Looking at the ramshackle, underdeveloped — and idyllically remembered — Chavez Ravine, Frank, head of the city's housing authority, set......

Former US Secretary of Education William Bennett is in the media hot seat right now. The conservative talk show host made the following statement during a Wednesday broadcast of Morning in America: "[Y]ou could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down." (listen to the clip) Yesterday White House spokesman Scott McClellan made an official statement on the matter. McClellan said that the President "believes the comments were......

We're still not quite sure what's really going on between the disgruntled former models of Suicide Girls and the company behind the site. From everything we've been able to gather, most of the complaints seem to be about one of the company's owners and founders, Sean Suhl, and the perception of SG as a punk-feminist-free speech advocating adult site versus a reality of what many former employees feel is about censorship and the exploitation......