I Fight For Those Who No Longer Have Voices

By Michael Douglas Carlin

I was driving on the transition today from the 105 Freeway to the 405 Freeway. The island of land in the middle of the transition has become a tent city. They are popping up all around us. We don't hear anything being said about the disenfranchised by our politicians. I doubt that we will hear any candidate for President talk about them because these are people who don't vote.

I wrote to Police Chief Charlie Beck about an injustice that I personally saw that left our world less safe. I have yet to receive a response. I may never receive one. Many of my friends have asked me why I have inserted myself into this Tupac & Biggie case - reaching out and demanding justice - putting myself out there. I want to be able to tell my kids and grandkids that this world is getting better - that no matter what your personal choices, (religion, sexual preference, beliefs, etc.) or your background (race, gender, handicap, etc.) that you will have equal status under the law... but I can't!

Because it isn't true. 

It ought to be.

I thought when I started uncovering evidence about the murders of Tupac and Biggie that Law Enforcement would easily get involved and solve the cases. I still believe they will... but not because it is the right thing to do! They will only get involved when ten thousand Tupac and Biggie fans demand they reopen the cases and get to the truth. WHEN PEOPLE DEMAND IT, THERE WILL BE JUSTICE FOR TUPAC AND BIGGIE and not one minute before.

Two lives were cut short and we were robbed of their creativity. The world was left worse off on the days they were killed.

Tupac and Biggie brought the plight of the streets into American Living Rooms. Who is doing that now? I am not aware of anyone really doing it. Who is telling America about the tent cities popping up all over our city? I am not hearing it. 

If Tupac were alive today I can't imagine him driving by those tent cities and remaining silent. Tupac wasn't about the money... he was about the message and he was silenced. He would have fought for you - can't ten thousand of you turn around and fight for him? Or are you all cowards?

When an injustice anywhere happens this world is less safe. When people don't stand up for injustices it is only a matter of time until those that are put in harm's way are the same people who don't stand up. It happened in Nazi Germany and it can happen here.

Let's all agree to draw a line in the sand and say that two lives matter only because all lives matter. THEY WOULD HAVE AGREED. Those two lives are part of an era of racism in America. Many have pointed out to me that if two white recording artists had been killed that no stone would have been unturned to bring their killers to justice. I wish I lived in a world where two black rappers murders would have the same effect on law enforcement and the people... but it isn't too late to change! It isn't too late for that world, where all people are treated equal under the law, can be ushered in. But it can only be ushered in if all of AMERICA ushers it in.

Martin Luther King's dream had two parts - that we would not be judged by the color of our skin (I include gender, religion, sexual preference, handicap, beliefs, etc.). But the second part is that we judge by the content of character.

I recently have been reading about a prominent Nazi. He was alarmed by the way Adolf Hitler was being portrayed in books and movies because if we are looking for a monster or madman and not a human we won't recognize the next Adolf Hitler. The killers of Tupac and Biggie may have families, they may have regular problems like all of us... but if they are responsible for killing one, two, or more people they are monsters. They should be brought to justice. WE CANNOT ALLOW ANY MURDER TO GO UNSOLVED!

Draw that line in the sand with me and recognize the monster or madman in these killers and bring them to justice. Some of you have clues to the killings and have never before come forward. Please allow murderers to be arrested, arraigned, charged, and judged in a court of law by the content of their characters. 

America will be a little safer when justice is served.

Please tweet to Police Chief Charlie Beck and ask him why a key piece of evidence was leaked by his department instead of being investigated. Ask him to personally see to it that it gets properly investigated. You can find him on Twitter: @LAPDChiefBeck

WE ONLY WANT THE TRUTH - 

WHEREVER THAT LEADS!!!

Read Russell Poole's final words on #Tupac & #Biggie murders 

smashwords.com/books/view/602470

Garcetti To Lead L.A.’s Upswing

(This article originally appeared in the May 28th, 2013 edition of the Century City News)

By Michael Douglas Carlin

This was perhaps the best election in the history of Los Angeles because we had two very capable politicians. We typically feel compromised with the “lesser of two evils” choice. We typically have no good candidate and must decide who will harm us less as the criteria for selection. I have felt this for years during almost every election at the local, state and federal levels.

But we all know both Wendy and Eric from their many visits to Century City over the years. We have grown to respect them both as public servants and we know that they both love this city. Many people were in a quandary about which of them to back for mayor. I remained officially neutral during the primary even though I was personally leaning toward Eric.

There we were with two weeks to go and the most recent poll was that Wendy was up by one point. The previous polls had showed Eric up by seven points. Wendy announced that Eric’s election campaign was “in free-fall.” It looked grim at that moment for his chances of winning. Wendy was being declared the winner without a single vote having been certified.

That is when I actually decided to not just support Eric but to volunteer my time. Both would be good for Los Angeles but I knew that one of them would be better. I reckoned that Eric had not received the support of the unions largely because he had stared them down during tough negotiations. That for me was the deciding factor. Eric will do it with poise and a smile on his face but he is going to be able to renegotiate with special interests -- all special interests -- including unions to get our budget back on track. Eric was the clear choice for mayor and the perception was that his campaign was crumbling.

But Eric wasn’t nervous -- at least he wasn’t showing it. I got invited to four Eric Garcetti events in a single week. He was out campaigning and raising money. When big endorsements like Bill Clinton and Barbara Boxer were coming to Wendy, Eric was connecting with the people. When big money was pouring into the Greuel Campaign, Eric was going to dinners, lunches, and breakfasts to raise a little money at each. He was on the phone making calls and he was texting. He was personally answering his emails. He was working non-stop to turn the momentum his way.

One political analyst told me that Wendy would have the edge in voter turnout because the unions have a machine to get out the vote. Polls showing her losing by a couple of points would easily be made up by voter turnout. But Eric had a machine of his own. I volunteered on the Saturday before Election Day in Sylmar at a motion picture catering company to make calls to get out the vote. We worked in a boiler room calling from printed sheets of registered voters. We were canvassing Los Angeles to ask voters to turn out on Election Day. I found out later that this was just one of many rooms making calls.

Eric had assembled his machine to turn out the vote. I arrived in Studio City at 9am on Election Day to make more calls. We worked until about three in the afternoon but some were planning to stay on the phones until 8pm. Each of us probably only made a few hundred calls. But when you multiply that by the number of volunteers across the city I am certain that this had an impact. Was it a game changer? We will never know.

Later that election day we arrived at the Hollywood Palladium and early returns had Wendy up by almost two points. There were lots of nervous stares in that room but as the evening wore on Wendy’s lead was in free-fall. Eric went on to win the election. He is the right person for the job and he has a vision for Los Angeles that is good for the people of this city. As Dan Schnur, Director of the USC Institute of Politics, pointed out Eric Garcetti gets to sit across the table from the unions clear of any debts- he gets to say, “Not only did you not support me but you pulled out all the stops to oppose me so we sit here today with me owing you nothing. We can work out a deal now or wait for Richard Riordan’s Ballot Initiative for Pension Reform that could be much less favorable.”

That is the mayor we need right now in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is headed for an upswing and Mayor Garcetti will lead the way. We can all work with him to bring his vision from words into deeds – from theory to reality. We can all get on board the Eric Garcetti train to a more prosperous, human rights respecting, cleaner, greener, smarter self-sufficient Los Angeles. He needs us all to get on board. There is money to be made and a legacy to honor as well as a city that constantly reinvents itself for the better.

July 1st we can all sleep well knowing that Mayor Eric Garcetti is on the job.

Garcetti To Lead L.A.’s Upswing

(This article originally appeared in the May 28th, 2013 edition of the Century City News)

By Michael Douglas Carlin

This was perhaps the best election in the history of Los Angeles because we had two very capable politicians. We typically feel compromised with the “lesser of two evils” choice. We typically have no good candidate and must decide who will harm us less as the criteria for selection. I have felt this for years during almost every election at the local, state and federal levels.

But we all know both Wendy and Eric from their many visits to Century City over the years. We have grown to respect them both as public servants and we know that they both love this city. Many people were in a quandary about which of them to back for mayor. I remained officially neutral during the primary even though I was personally leaning toward Eric.

There we were with two weeks to go and the most recent poll was that Wendy was up by one point. The previous polls had showed Eric up by seven points. Wendy announced that Eric’s election campaign was “in free-fall.” It looked grim at that moment for his chances of winning. Wendy was being declared the winner without a single vote having been certified.

That is when I actually decided to not just support Eric but to volunteer my time. Both would be good for Los Angeles but I knew that one of them would be better. I reckoned that Eric had not received the support of the unions largely because he had stared them down during tough negotiations. That for me was the deciding factor. Eric will do it with poise and a smile on his face but he is going to be able to renegotiate with special interests -- all special interests -- including unions to get our budget back on track. Eric was the clear choice for mayor and the perception was that his campaign was crumbling.

But Eric wasn’t nervous -- at least he wasn’t showing it. I got invited to four Eric Garcetti events in a single week. He was out campaigning and raising money. When big endorsements like Bill Clinton and Barbara Boxer were coming to Wendy, Eric was connecting with the people. When big money was pouring into the Greuel Campaign, Eric was going to dinners, lunches, and breakfasts to raise a little money at each. He was on the phone making calls and he was texting. He was personally answering his emails. He was working non-stop to turn the momentum his way.

One political analyst told me that Wendy would have the edge in voter turnout because the unions have a machine to get out the vote. Polls showing her losing by a couple of points would easily be made up by voter turnout. But Eric had a machine of his own. I volunteered on the Saturday before Election Day in Sylmar at a motion picture catering company to make calls to get out the vote. We worked in a boiler room calling from printed sheets of registered voters. We were canvassing Los Angeles to ask voters to turn out on Election Day. I found out later that this was just one of many rooms making calls.

Eric had assembled his machine to turn out the vote. I arrived in Studio City at 9am on Election Day to make more calls. We worked until about three in the afternoon but some were planning to stay on the phones until 8pm. Each of us probably only made a few hundred calls. But when you multiply that by the number of volunteers across the city I am certain that this had an impact. Was it a game changer? We will never know.

Later that election day we arrived at the Hollywood Palladium and early returns had Wendy up by almost two points. There were lots of nervous stares in that room but as the evening wore on Wendy’s lead was in free-fall. Eric went on to win the election. He is the right person for the job and he has a vision for Los Angeles that is good for the people of this city. As Dan Schnur, Director of the USC Institute of Politics, pointed out Eric Garcetti gets to sit across the table from the unions clear of any debts- he gets to say, “Not only did you not support me but you pulled out all the stops to oppose me so we sit here today with me owing you nothing. We can work out a deal now or wait for Richard Riordan’s Ballot Initiative for Pension Reform that could be much less favorable.”

That is the mayor we need right now in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is headed for an upswing and Mayor Garcetti will lead the way. We can all work with him to bring his vision from words into deeds – from theory to reality. We can all get on board the Eric Garcetti train to a more prosperous, human rights respecting, cleaner, greener, smarter self-sufficient Los Angeles. He needs us all to get on board. There is money to be made and a legacy to honor as well as a city that constantly reinvents itself for the better.

July 1st we can all sleep well knowing that Mayor Eric Garcetti is on the job.