A union stagehand working the USC rally for President Barack Obama this morning was reportedly fired for wearing a sweatshirt that said "George H. W. Bush" on it, according to Eric Spillman at KTLA. But get this, it was a shirt that pictured the U.S.S. George H. W. Bush aircraft, where his son is currently serving, the worker said. Duane Hammond said he wasn't making a political statement, just supporting his son. A union supervisor gave him a choice: wear something else or go home. Hammond refused and said he was fired. more ›

NSFW Warning: the photos in this post are of an explicit nature. Although it may appear safe, a careful look will expose much, much more. more ›

The former First Lady was in California this week promoting her new book and made a stop by CNN in Hollywood to talk to Larry King. On the topic of gay marriage, Laura Bush told King that she and her husband George W. Bush disagreed about gay marriage. "It’s a real reversal … to accept gay marriage," she said, predicting that legalization because it's "a generational thing.” more ›

Although the Obama Administration stopped Bush-style immigration raids, a different tactic was used to deter illegal immigrants working in the U.S.: forced sackings. American Apparel with it's "Legalize L.A." slogan was one of the first to see this type of "raid" and had to let go around 1,800 people. more ›

The TV highlight of the week occurred last night with the appearance of CNBC's Jim Cramer on "The Daily Show". Jon Stewart trotted out several video clips of Cramer pontificating about how to game and mislead the markets and how rewarding it is to do so. A lot of footage was cut in order to fit the show's 1/2-hour format so if you missed the airing and/or want to see the entire interview, you can get it all at "The Daily Show". more ›

A copper-coated statue of a giant shoe was unveiled in the Iraqi city of Tikrit Tuesday in honor of Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw shoes at George Bush last month on international television. The statue's creator, Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari, had some fitting helpers when molding its plexiglass body--local orphans, many of whose parents had been killed as a direct or indirect result of U.S. intervention in that region of Iraq. Al-Zaidi's famous words to Bush, "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq," have made him something of a folk hero in the region, and the community of Tikrit has rallied around the statue, which al-Amari says "is a source of pride for all Iraqis... it's not a political work." more ›

Today President Obama is asking the EPA to reverse a previous Bush-era move that "stopped California and more than a dozen other states from setting their own stricter limits on auto emissions," reports the LA Times. more ›

Hey President Bush, you're not off the hook yet. Jerry Brown is back suing President Bush over green issues, this time over new rules pertaining to the Endangered Species Act. "The Bush Administration is seeking to gut the Endangered Species Act on its way out the door," Attorney General Brown said in a statement today. "This is an audacious attempt to circumvent a time-tested statute that for 35 years has required scientific review of proposed federal agency decisions that affect wildlife." more ›

A 78-year-old sailor's court martial from 1950 for two unauthorized absences and missing a ship's movement was pardoned by President Bush yesterday. The pardon should should clear his record, but just in case the near octogenarian wants to, he won't be able to rejoin the military, a naval lieutenant commander told the Daily Breeze. Robert Truman Reece, who lives in a Redondo Beach condo overlooking the ocean, is one of the 20 people that Bush pardoned on Tuesday. He's granted 191 pardons since entering office in 2000. more ›

The Colorado River is the water (and power) source for millions of people; it provides power to 3 million homes, waters 15% of our agriculture in the West, and gives one in 12 people something to drink. That is why many are concerned about its sustainability and longevity as a provider. In fact, many do not know this, but one environmental group, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has listed it as the “most endangered” waterway. more ›

Pumpkin, the turkey pardoned by President Bush on Wednesday in Washington DC, was honored as the grand marshal at Disneyland's Thanksgiving Day Parade today in Anaheim. He, along with Pecan--the backup turkey--will now be part of the park's holiday display of live reindeer. After that, the two will retire to Disneyland's Big Thunder Ranch in Frontierland. more ›

At the corner of Melrose and Highland last night, a group gathered to protest President George Bush's bailout of Wall Street plan. The group may have been small, but represented many. Senator Dianne Feinstein has received so many e-mails, letters and calls (39,180 they say) that they've had to double staffing. Congressman Brad Sherman's office says phone calls are running 300 to 2 against bailout. And of course, more local protests are planned. Photos by LAist Photographer Tom Andrews from last night's protest are below... more ›

Blackwater might be a more appropriate name for the future of some private firefighting business. Robert at Calitics has been looking into federal firefighter shortages during the recent spate of wildfires (over 1700 in total since June 20). He reports that there have been "deliberate staffing shortages have left the USFS [US Forest Service] unable to do vital off-season brush clearance, and left them without the staffing to get a quick jump on fires in their crucial initial stages." more ›

As gas prices have been stagnant at $4.61/gallon for regular in Los Angeles (the average is $4.075 for the country) for the past five days, John McCain is calling for, among other things, offshore drilling laws to be eased. He's obviously gaining oil industry support. more ›

Now here's something par for the course: President Bush blames congress for the high price of gas. more ›

Say you're going to kill the President and the feds will see you in court a week later. That's what happened to a 50-year-old Pacoima man last week before getting arrested, according to the Daily News. Charles Madrid told the Secret Service what he would do if Bush were present right at that moment: "I'd deck his ass." more ›

While the remaining Republican candidates converged on Simi Valley yesterday to debate who was most like Ronald Reagan and the two Democratic candidates still standing in the race meet in Los Angeles later today to hash out who is most unlike Reagan, other political news sent shock waves through Washington D.C. that did not portend well for the Grand Ol' Party. more ›

The Daily News has an interesting and thorough report on an alleged Iraqi spy living in Canoga Park, a neighborhood in the Northwest Valley.

William Shaoul Benjamin, 65, an Iraqi-born naturalized U.S. citizen, goes on trial today on federal charges that he failed to "register, as required by law, as an agent for executed Iraq leader Saddam Hussein's feared intelligence service, whose leaders are believed by U.S. officials to have played central roles in the reported links between Saddam and al-Qaida." more ›

President George Bush delivered his final State of the Union address this evening. As we mercifully begin the transition out of the Bush era, let us examine the President's speech in typical Washington fashion: taking out a few lines here and there for the most opportune response. more ›

Today, our great state filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency over the Bush administration's opinion that states cannot set emission standards.

The EPA denied California a waiver that it needs under the federal Clean Air Act to move forward with regulating greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and light trucks. At least 16 other states had been expected to follow California's lead and adopt the state's tougher emission limits. [CBS2/AP]

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It's too hot for C-SPAN: Bush rocks out -- slightly -- to a band playing “Guantanamera” at a Hispanic heritage month event. "It's time to end the tradition of holocaust denial that has only deepened the pain of those whose parents and grandparents suffered the unspeakable horror of ethnic cleansing," Mayor Villaraigosa said about City Council's calling the 1.5 million Armenians killed a genocide. "When we don't speak up, when we are silent, what... more ›

George Bush issued the fourth veto of his presidency today, nixing a bill that would have provided insurance to poor children. Bush said the program was too costly, apparently cool with the fact that the Iraq war now costs over $455-billion. That's B for billion. And B for Bitch. Curbed LA takes a gander at a new development planned for West LA. In as much as the structure looks like a monument to cubism,... more ›

Bush has "charms of the scruffy kind." On last Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, guest Robert Draper talked up his his new George W. Bush biography, "Dead Certain." Here's the video on Bush's loneliness, douchebagness, stubbornness, dismissiveness and food chewing skills.... more ›

Two high ranking former CIA officers are speaking out about the run up to war in Iraq. Namely the fact that the President was briefed about Saddam's lack of weapons of mass destruction, and didn't care, he was set to take the nation into war. Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon today: On Sept. 18, [CIA Director George] Tenet briefed Bush on [Naji Sabri, Saddam's foreign minister]. "Tenet told me he briefed the president personally," said... more ›

- The heatwave that has graciously broken could have lead to 25 deaths here - Republican congressman Paul Gilmour of Ohio found dead in his apartment in DC - Shaq is filing for divorce from his wife of five years. Together the couple had four children: Shareef, 7, Amirah, 5, Shaqir, 4, and Me'Arah, 1 - 400 court interpreters are on strike from San Luis to Santa Barbara to LA counties, any chance they're... more ›

Guess what happens this week. Mexican trucks will be allowed to drive across the border and throughout LA's highways, bypassing local trucking companies entirely. Since 1982, Mexican truckers stopped near our border and transferred all cargo to American trucks, who would then deliver the goods throughout LA. Not anymore…Thanks to the ongoing, infinite wisdom of Mr. Bush, the border gates have swung open even wider. Why? Well, it could possibly lower prices on a... more ›

Today the worst president ever got to share his thoughts on the worst AG ever, and the lies seethed out like snakes from Medusa's slithery scalp. This morning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced that he will leave the Department of Justice after two and a half years of service to the department. Al Gonzales is a man of integrity, decency and principle, and I have reluctantly accepted his resignation with great appreciation for the... more ›

Not letting the bedbugs bite is getting harder than ever these days. Deeming it "troubling" and "unacceptable," Mayor Tony is urging federal officials to take steps to prevent a repeat of this weekend's Customs and Border Protection computer glitch that stranded some 20,000 travelers. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning - signifying a higher risk of wildfires - for the L.A. County mountains that will remain in effect until Wednesday... more ›

The President's right-hand man, Karl Rove, the mastermind behind most of the Republican dirty tricks that got Bush in office twice, as well as the puppetmaster behind so many of the scandals that the GOP is still smarting from, is tapping out early. By the hair of his chinny chin chins he escaped having to testify under oath when his boys got caught outting a CIA agent in the middle of a war because... more ›