This is terrific stuff! Its what reporters used to do before they all became "journalists." The LA Times, I guess, knew nothing about this festering corruption in its own backyard. Its first "reportorial" instinct was to deny it and rather shirtily trash the reporters--real reporters that the Times hasn't employed for decades. I'm sorry mainstream media people, but you all look awfully lame and useless today. And you at the LA TImes: next time you moan about the voter's ignorant and misguided preference for bloggers and net writers, try to remember this as an example of why we don't trust you.

I believe many of the same people protesting fee hikes were demonstrating last year for greater employee benefits for all the UC's part-time cafeteria workers. They won. Who did they think would wind up paying for this? And when do the history, math, econ and english students rebell against the "ethnic" studies "students" who are frittering away precious money?

I like Canadians. They smuggled out some US hostages from Iran in 1979. I appreciate what their top notch snipers did for our guys in Afghanistan. But they have always been the "french of North America." They let our draft dodgers hide out there, castro's military planes land there; their air force is the only one of 14 NATO countries that don't have anti-jamming devices. George Bush upset their idea that people slamming into buildings in NY is our fault. They'd have been thrilled if we had admitted it was all our fault. They are like one big Human resources Department: They have weird "truth" tribunals where people with hurt feelings go for damage awards, and say "free speech is an American concept." I love them. I really do. But they are like a relative that everyone knows won't support the parents when they need it. The Brits, the Aussies and the Poles are "hard" allies. The Canadians are like someone in your family you can't really disown

I am sorry to see it but who can be surprised? I grew up in Washington and Boeing was the state's largest employer. We were all proud of it--the B52, the 707, the 767 and its production quality was excellent. Like the auto companies, it provided taxes, charitable contributions, blue collar jobs and supported a lot of white collar workers, lawyers, restaraunts, gas stations and other and feeder jobs. But the Unions just could not draw the line between what was fair and what was outrageous. Boeing started looking for a new home years ago. Contrary to a UC Berkeley professor who insists that businesses never leave high tax states, they do. Even outsourcing the production of the Dreamliner dind't "click" with the unions: instead of adopting a more conciliatory stance, they grew more greedy. Nice job Union. Another company makes tracks.