A “Dear Jeff” letter to Jeff Hall, publisher of the monthly Brentwood News:
I am stunned you would use the last edition before the Nov. 6 general election to give front-page coverage and more than four pages inside to Mike Feuer, an outgoing state Assemblyman running for city attorney next year. He is irrelevant in this election cycle.
On the other hand, the Henry Waxman – Bill Bloomfield Congressional race, the biggest on the Westside and certainly the biggest in Waxman's 38-year career, was given zero coverage. The VA, adjacent to the community of Brentwood, is a major issue in this race. In the Los Angeles Times, Steve Lopez called it a “campaign issue” in the headline of a recent essay. I respectfully requested that you have a Q&A between the two but did not receive any response from you.
Poor care for veterans becomes campaign issue
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0926-lopez-column-veterans-20120926,0,5118741.column
The New York Times carried two editorials and questioned Waxman's inability to resolve the homeless Veteran issue at the VA.
Homeless Veterans: Whose Responsibility?
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/09/opinion/homeless-veterans-whose-responsibility.html?_r=0
Bloomfield is running as an Independent. He is a former Republican, a moderate to liberal one … pro-environment, pro-gay marriage, pro-choice. The predominately liberal Westside would've had an opportunity to consider an alternative to four decades of Waxmanism, while hearing directly from one of the most powerful and senior members of Congress as to how the VA could be so run down, millions of dollars unaccounted for, and how Los Angeles could become the nation's capital for homeless Veterans while buildings remained vacant for decades.
May I suggest that you take over the Carolina Barrie interview and send her a list of questions as you did Mike Feuer? A good question is why did she resign from the Veterans Park Conservancy board of directors. It's time to ask the hard questions to get to the truth.
You should stand with us at one of our Sunday Rallies at the VA . Witness all the horn-honking, thumbs up, V-for-victory, high-fives, fist-pumping, hand salutes, and even blown kisses from the ladies. It will reinforce that there's “another side” in Brentwood who support our cause to “Save Our Veterans Land.” We have a Jewish, liberal Democrat Veteran who has a sign that says “investigate Henry Waxman. ” The horn-honking support he gets from passing motorists is astounding. Last Sunday, only one motorist out of thousands gave him a thumbs-down.
Fellow Veterans would also welcome a serious Q&A interview with Sue Young about her plans, and why the Annenberg Foundation withdrew any use of their good name after donating $1 million; why VPC didn't have enough money ($11,200) to replace the 100 “permanent” American flags; why Carolina Barrie resigned; and why the American Legion demanded that their good name not be used in any manner with their organization. A really big question is how she was able to get VPC appointed as “steward of the entire property” by the Dept. of Interior /National Park Services, while thousands of disabled and disadvantaged Veterans remain homeless at the National Veterans Home, under the supposed stewardship of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs.
Also, a Q&A with Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU lead counsel, about the remaining claim in the lawsuit that includes the legality of VPC's public park agreement and the other so-called “enhanced sharing agreements” (Brentwood School lease). Ask why the Obama administration has fought this lawsuit when President Obama has claimed ending Veteran homelessness was a priority? Why didn't he support his Harvard Law School mentor Laurence Tribe, a chief co-counsel in the lawsuit? Or why didn’t Obama support Bobby Shriver on the lawsuit, when it was his uncle's endorsement over Hillary Clinton that essentially gave him the 2008 primary election.
It's time to find out who is really “behind” Obama and his Dept. of Justice / U.S. Attorneys and a federal judge that are so opposed to the moral and legal responsibility of honoring the Congressional Act of 1887 and the legal Deed of 1888 and providing supportive housing for America's seriously disabled and disadvantaged Veterans.
Why the Waxman – Bloomfield race wasn't even mentioned in the present edition is a big disappointment since whomever is elected will be under much more scrutiny than during the past 38 years when Waxman was given a free pass. Voters deserve to know what their vision will be for the future.
Whomever is elected to the 33rd District should have a Q&A that includes serious questions about the future of the VA and demand real solutions for the homeless Veteran problem.
You are sitting on one of the biggest opportunities imaginable as a journalist. Eventually all this will be blown wide-open. It will prove to be the biggest land-fraud scam in American history. I trust that as the neighboring news source to the largest VA in the nation, you will make this national embarrassment an ongoing issue until it is morally and legally corrected.
Mr. Rosebrock may be contacted at RRosebrock1@aol.com
