PHOTO RAGE    by Marie Giusto

NOTE FROM ASSISTANT EDITOR:
The negligent and disrespectful service described here happened to Marie over the last two weeks. The problems this caused nearly ruined an important project our staff had been involved in for some time.

We are what we are. By nature, we are gullible creatures. And, by nature, we tend to be patient and trusting, sometimes to our own detriment. I come from the generation that pioneered catalog buying. I jump for joy every time a UPS or a Fed Ex truck arrives at my front door or when the friendly postman, one of the last vintages, I think, of a way of life I once knew, arrives at my door with packages I ordered from companies I have never seen. People like me have fostered and built a multi-billion dollar industry -- the Mail-Order business.

THE BIG GIVEAWAY    by Marie Villarreal

It's here! The senate vote to pass Dubya Bush's next year's budget of $1.94 trillion is a done deal! But in order to do that required more spending than he had proposed for farm aid, education for the handicapped and defense, all of which I was not against. However, on it's heels is his proposed 10 year, yes count them, 10 years of eking back to the American people "their money", $1.6 trillion, which would rush less that $6 billion in tax relief this year, with details to follow at a later date. Dubya is also calling for his new prescription drug benefit to go into effect, a $153 billion program, which will also take 10 years, yes count them, to come to full bloom! I estimate that more than half of the intended recipients, who are today over sixty-five years old should be dead by that time. But you are not to worry. By that time they will be replaced by an even larger population of over sixty-five year olds, the "baby-boomers".

THE HIGH COST OF WORKING    by Charlie "Chuck" Odessa

This last week I ventured into downtown Los Angeles to pay my property taxes at the Hall off Administration. I always do that because I don't trust the system used by that agency to process a mail in payment. One year, in my early years as a homeowner, my payment was lost and I have never gotten over it. True, it was the year I queued up, in my car, along with hundreds of other deadline payers, to hand a sidewalk, postal mail clerk my tax payment. But, I digress.

AGEISM: WHY OUR ELDERS CAN'T COMPUTE    by Martin "Marty" Crenshaw

I'm aware of seniors. Heck, I'll end up being one myself one day. I've even started an octogenarian club. Rather than look for, ahem, the pre-forties at every affair that I go to, I glean the attendees for the over eighties. I snap their pictures, interview them, and write them up for my columns. Come to think of it, I think that I'll start previewing them next week under this by-line.

HANDLING STRESS    by Alcamo "Al" Passagento

Major hassles occur everyday; they are daily annoyances that are part of day-to-day life. Traffic jams, missed appointments lost car and house keys, etc. Even though they may seem like it, they can hardly be called earth-shattering events, but their side effects can accumulate and even these minor irritations can led to chronic negative stress and drive you to the refrigerator or your pocket for that stashed "Quickie Candy Bar". What to do, what to do -- that is always a dilemma.

THE PLOT THICKENS    by Marie Villarreal

We left last months issue with the crème de la crème of human emotions, vengeance, betrayal, love and hate. They, in my opinion, are the primary emotions that run amuck in all of us. But not far down the list from them are grief and catastrophe. As you see, the words themselves shake us to the core of our bones. It is difficult enough for one story and one plot to incorporate one or two of these emotions but to deal with all of them is truly an accomplishment worth reading about.

THE ON-LINE COPYRIGHT BATTLE CONTINUES    by Genviev Pannous

He has taken to the web again, just as I said he would! (See PressPoints archives, Volume 1 -- Issue 1, READERS n' WRITERS) After pulling the plug on his first attempted serialized novel, "The Plant", I predicted that we would see Mr. Steven King on-line again. However, I hadn't thought that he would be back so soon. Not letting any grass grow from under his feet, he is back again with "The Dreamcatcher", which is predicted to be another bestseller for "The E-King". Even though Time.com has published three exerts of his new novel on-line, (you will have to buy the rest of the book) I still call him a "gutsy guy".

ALTERNATE FUEL - BATTERY ELECTRIC CARS    by Mac Meguire

Electric vehicles on the road...you've got to be kidding! I get that reaction from most people whenever I bring up the subject of battery operated cars. They envision vehicles that are undersized, limited in range and with no place to charge them up. But, despite that reputation, electric vehicle (EV) technology has progressed steadily, making EV's popular once more. However, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, owners of electric vehicles are faced with a lack of skilled EV service technicians. Interested in knowing more about EV'S? Read on.

ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL    by Jericho Van Orman

As a boy growing up here in America, during World War II, I remember the plight of the Italian family who lived down the street from us. It hadn't mattered to most that part of their family members were native born, they suffered the discrimination of their disgruntled non-foreign born, American neighbors.

HELPFUL HINTS    by Roy "Cliff" Evans

One has to know about the little things just to make one's creature comforts more enjoyable that have always fascinated me. Through the years, I have cut out blurbs from the newspapers and magazines that tell me how life, with a little effort, can be made easier.

ODDS ARE…    by Ha3ry Giusto

For those of you who feel a bit set back by the rules of craps, it's actually the odds within the game are the real intimidators. The basic rules are viewed, or rather explained, in relation to the Pass and Don't Pass lines and we'd better take a little time out here to explain to you the types of bets that are parts of this article and which are accepted at a legal Craps game. There are many others, which we will discuss at another time. It's time for me to don my apron, open the crap table and let the first shooter throw the dice. Here they come! He's on a come out roll and he has made his point!

TOURISTS ARE CONTAMINATING EUROPE!    by Nathaniel "Nate" Yaekel

Venice has too many of them, while Le Marche is desperately trying to lure them. No, it's not pigeons or gondoliers, but American tourists. While Venice is awash in outsiders, Le Marche has started an aggressive Internet campaign to get visitors to detour to the coastal areas. Venice is overcrowded and its officials are begging tourists to stay away. Since 1999, Mayor Massimo Cacciari and his staff have tried hard to convince visitors to go somewhere else. He installed giant plungers near the Grand Canal as a symbol to represent the unwanted elements clogging the city.

THE REALITY OF THE HISTORIC ITALIAN HALL    by Garrison "Garry" Minstone

As guests, my wife and I recently attended a meeting of the Historic Italian Hall Foundation. It was held in the Biscaluz Building, in the Old Adobe Plaza behind the now famous Olvera Street, the first street created in Los Angeles, California when it was settled. Rosemarie Lippman, the president of the foundation, opened the meeting by introducing both the renovation designer and the renovation architect of IQ Magic, who gave the museum committee a presentation of the completion of Phase I. Along with the showing of each rendering, they explained the proposed renovations of the structure and, at the last sketch, they showed the assembly what the one hundred year old Historic Italian Hall, located in El Pueblo Historic Park, would look like at its completion.