SKATEBOARDING IS NOT A CRIME!!

First, thanks to Brian Howard of The Clog for posting this:

NO SKATEBOARDING IN KONRAD SQUARE PARK?

As I always say, skateboarding is NOT a crime, and it's sickening that attempts are made by the Philadelphia Police to practice "Selective-enforcement" of crimes. In this same park, there are people dealing drugs, desecrating the area with vandalism, and the park is left in an overall bad condition. To have a group of young people who are dedicated to keeping the park in decent shape, all while enjoying themselves in a manner that hurts or harms anyone, is sickening.

I ask that the Philadelphia Police begins the long-overdue crackdown on cyclists who constantly are allowed to break the established traffic laws and banning in various parks. If I almost get run-over by a cyclist at City Hall again, someone is getting a REALLY angry letter!

Yes, Bootlegging is a Crime

When I saw this, I immediately was shocked and glad to hear it:

Bootleg Bust Nets $225k in Merchandise

I'm glad to see this happen, and honestly, the bootleg DVD market in this city is sickening. More than anything, it pisses me off because I buy all my DVD's legally, and I used to work for a music/movie store myself. While many simply write it off as nothing more than a simply matter of the RIAA and MPAA need to take care of themselves, obvious acts concerning this activity are widely ignored.

The first, and most important example, is the fact that this IS a form of organized crime. It is a very rare situation that your average bootlegger is just one person in their basement constantly making and printing bootleg DVD's and CD's to sell. Instead, it is normally a broad system of various people committing this crime. Just like with real DVD's, these operations have a manufacturer, a distribution center, and people to sell the product themselves. This tends to be on the street or on-line at auction sites. This all adds up into a form of organized crime.

My question to those who scoff at me for making this an issue, I have to ask; Are you so willing to turn a blind eye to organized crime? If your so willing to end this epidemic, wouldn't help to go after these incredibly large bootleg operations? Isn't one form of organized crime normally linked to others?

The next thing that needs to be stressed is the very simple fact that this IS a crime. It isn't about if you think the police should spend their time on it or not, it's just about basic enforcement. Part of my platform calls for a crackdown on minor crimes. While many may see bootlegging as just a minor, the reality is that it falls into a few different categories of federal law. Organized crime, copyright infringement... The list goes on.

If nothing else, let's just ignore that the MPAA and the RIAA are normally the faces of these crackdown. The reality is that that the people being hurt most are the actual writers, directors, actors, layout artists, storyboarders, and all the countless other people who work on these films. Let's not forget all the musician's, graphic designers, and engineers who work and create their music. They all lose money and they all have their work devalued by this.

In the end, it isn't a victim-less crime; YOU pay. You pay because you decide to tolerate crime. You pay because your paying more money for buying music and movies legally. When revenue is lost, it needs to be made up, and most of the time, it's us, the people who buy our movies and music legally, that wind up paying for it.

I am simply advocating that the Philadelphia Police Department no longer turns an overall blind eye to this and begins to start going after these criminals as well as all the others. This massive bootlegging bust is a step in the right direction.

How the Media can Help Lower the Murder Rate

Wow, what a title, huh? The NEWS MEDIA lowering the murder rate? Frankly, this is the post I've wanted to write for a LONG time!

Today, there were ARRESTS made in the Killing of a 15-year-old for a Dirt Bike. The story got a lot of press immediately, and there was a large sense of outrage from the community about it. Again, no one was coming forward. Finally, someone saw 3 teenagers walking down the street with the bike covered.

What did this person do? THEY CALLED THE POLICE!

http://www.nbc10.com/news/13789091/d...l?dl=mainclick

Yes, someone in Philadelphia did the right thing and alerted the police of this, helping to get a 16-year-old killer off the streets! It shows that there are people, even young people, who are taking steps to make sure Philadelphia is safe for everyone. Insult to injury? "Adult Told Teens To Get 'Dead Kid's' Bike Out Of House"

Unfortunately, it seems this story is getting buried a bit. It's late night, 10PM+, and Fox 29 had this on about 20 minutes into their cast. CBS 3 had it on at about 5 minutes in, and only for 30 seconds. 6 ABC? Nothing.

NBC 10 did lead with it, so kudos to them!

I've seen some sincere passion from these TV reporters when it comes to these murders. Jim Garner of 6ABC always seems to be especially annoyed with them, and honestly, I doubt any of us can blame him. So just what can the media do to change this?

This story. THIS is what we want! We want people to come forward and give this information to the police! We need to start showing, and supporting, people who do come forward and the positive impact it has! It shouldn't be buried behind another murder; THIS IS FRONT PAGE NEWS! THIS IS RARE! IT'S INTERESTING! IT'S IMPORTANT!

It seems easy to me, really; If the news outlets focus more on the positives that are happening, if they show the same results they always say they want, we can see a reduction in violence! We will see more people come forward because we'll see that other people have and this can encourage more people to do just that.

If the media outlets really care about reducing this violence, I ask them to please start reporting more and more about people coming forward with information and have it lead.

The Future of the Larry West for Mayor Campaign: The Speech

First and foremost, thanks for coming out today!

Quite frankly, there is no short and easy way for me to state this. I did not get the 2000 signatures needed to get on the ballot; I only collected 200. It was not because I couldn't get people to sign; to the contrary, I've had a great chance of getting the 2000 I needed in only a month. I stopped getting them. I really saw little choice not to.

Despite the best efforts of the voters of Philadelphia, Philadelphia City Council has not even begun talks to change their archaic age requirement for office! Despite the state law stating otherwise, the city of Philadelphia refuses to lower the requirement age for mayor and city council to 18 instead of 25. We are the only major city to have this silly law! I rarely admit defeat, but I must admit that I have not won in my battle to have this changed in order for me to run.

Now, I guess the question that everyone is left asking is just what am I going to do now? What is my plan of action?

I'm not giving up. No, not by a long shot! I, Larry West, will be running as an Independent Write-In in this election!

So just how will this election be won? How will I become the one sitting in Room 215 come January? It won't be easy. I will go to every house I possibly can and introduce myself and my platform to as many people as possible. I will teach them how to write in a candidate. I will show them that there IS a choice in November and that this election is FAR from over!

No, this will not be easy. Democracy is, by it's very nature, difficult. It is an institution, a form of government, that demands that anyone and everyone is allowed to participate in it. It is because of this that we must constantly be vigilant, not by those who reside out it, but from those who would wish to destroy it from within. Every election is another in a battle as old as civilization itself. Who will be the conquering hero? Who will be the one to triumph? It is the classic struggle of good versus evil, played out election after election. Will we elect someone who will strive to keep our democracy in tact, or will we elect someone who wishes to undermined it and establish their own personal tyranny, putting into power underlings that will till their wretched soil for years, if not decades, to come?

While so often it comes to those on the ballot, it is more a choice of “The lesser of two evils,” I say today that there is now a third choice. Depending on how you look at my candidacy, I am either fighting for the greater good, or I truly am the result of the evils of the infected government that we currently live under.

I have a dream for Philadelphia. I see a Philadelphia where your not afraid to leave your house! A Philadelphia where stores are opened later, there are more jobs, and we honor and trust the police! A Philadelphia where we don't live in fear, and the civil rights of all are not lost in the name of what some may call “Safety!” A society where you are happy and allowed to live freely is a society that prospers!

I want you to know who your police officers are and trust them! I want the children of Philadelphia to grow up to be smart and be among the smartest and brightest students in the country! I want us to drink cleaner water, have a public access channel, clean up the disgusting mess in most SEPTA Subway Stations, and give the young people of Philadelphia hope for the future! I want to fix and improve our Recycling program, and allow the citizens of Philadelphia to recall ineffective leaders! I want to provide condoms in our high schools, help the homeless and the poverty-stricken to get back on their feet, and legalize same-sex marriage! I want to bring skateboarding back to LOVE Park and Dilworth Plaza, have more after school programs, and give the youth of Philadelphia someone to talk to when they need help!

The Philadelphia I want is one where we live happily and in peace! I want to give people back their rights, not take them away! I want a Philadelphia where your not afraid of what could happen to you, but a Philadelphia where you can't wait to see what comes next! My campaign is a campaign of hope.

This November, I ask that you remember this:

NO MORE BULL! VOTE LARRY WEST!

Mayoral Candidate Larry West: THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

Despite all the odds, Larry West hopes to pull a stunning upset and victory this coming November and emerge as the youngest mayor in the history of Philadelphia! Larry West, who is running as an Independent, will be at the Philadelphia County Board of Elections with his petitions to announce that, yes, he IS a candidate and he WILL provide for one of the most important Mayoral Races in decades!

The event will take places at Tuesday, July 31st at 10AM at, as stated before, the Philadelphia County Board of Elections office in City Hall. BE THERE!!!!!

OK, did that catch your attention? Good, I hope to see you there and we can write the next chapter on Philadelphia history together!

-Larry West

Letter to the Philadelphia Metro!

Another day, another murder. John Street is, for the first time in his entire mayoral career, doing something realistic about crime in Philadelphia. At the same time, the police is pushing for more witnesses to come forward. Oh, and Lest I Forget, Cindy Sheehan has announced she's running against Nancy Peloski next year, and made it in our own city!

But instead of seeing ANY of that on the front cover, I see Lindsey Lohan's acne-covered face discussing her most recent D.U.I.!

Please, relearn that this isn't a tabloid, but a NEWSPAPER. I rather read about what can be done to help stem the murder rate then what some annoying celebrity I don't even care about is doing!

NEVER MIND THE NUTTERITES! HERE COMES LARRY WEST!

In what is guaranteed to be the single greatest political announcement press conference in the history of Philadelphia, Mayoral Candidate Larry West will make a press conference concerning his run for mayor on Saturday. The announcement is to be held... on his front lawn. To add an even greater twist to the event, Larry West plans on throwing a small party as well, BBQ-ing burgers for anyone interested. And to top it all off, a concert.

Simply put, Larry's plan is as follows: At 12PM, he will start by giving a short, 5 minute long speech detailing what happened at the Green Party Meeting when he asked for their support, what this means for his mayoral bid, his feelings on the primary election, his feelings on the next 5 months, and talk about his platform. He is expected to mention policies of his opponents as well, but has not been available for comment on that. After the speech, a Q & A session with the press and anyone in attendance will be held where Larry will answer any and all questions concerning his election. Following this, Larry West will put on a short, 3-song set of songs. The full set-list will be revealed at the show, but Larry does hint at one song. "I may not have a band backing me up, but I do plan on singing and playing as much of Megadeth "Peace Sells" as possible." Why that song? "Who says I couldn't be the President of the United States of America/ It's still we the people, right?" The lyric speaks for itself.

The event will be Saturday, June 2nd at 12PM and, sadly, not open to the public.