A new tax, of course. Half a cent, I think. SB 314 was also recently passed in this crazy-progressive legislative session (taking advantage of Davis having his back to the wall).

I, for one, look forward to the day I can take a train from Santa Monica to Hollywood or Pasadena. I also think that when that day comes, traffic will be so horrible that I really wouldn’t want to go any other way.

It looks like we’re finally going to link Downtown Culver City to Downtown LA in a way that makes sense. The MTA has proposed building the Mid-City/Exposition Light Rail Transit Project to connect the two downtowns. This is pretty awesome. It’s too bad they didn’t start this project ten years ago. I’d love to be able to take the train to class. Driving takes between 30-60 minutes. The bus takes over an hour. The train would probably take 30 minutes. Kick ass.

I’m going to buy a lot of land in Oregon and establish the town of Either.

What the Stanford Prison Experiment shows is that “‘good people are not enough'” to prevent abusive excess, [says experiment-lead Professor Philip Zimbardo]. ‘Individual differences matter very little in the face of an extreme situation. . . . Institutional settings develop a life of their own independent of the wishes and intentions and purposes of those who run them.'”

It comes down to the fundamental question of what is the purpose of prison? Is its purpose correctional, or punitive? If a prison sentence is intended to rehabilitate the convict, then why do we allow them to become dehumanized and exposed to danger? Can a man who’s been ass-raped, beaten, and starved ever rejoin society as a fully-functioning member?

7 working days have passed since I left Universal Music, and still no work. It’s getting tougher all the time. I was so down this morning I took a trip down to Manhattan Beach to lie in the sun and body surf. I think my spirits picked up a bit after that. Now it’s time to do some laundry and get my car washed at Millennium Car Wash. I’ll let you know how they do.