This is the first in a continuing series profiling Malibu-based businesses and the personalities behind them.

Ben Goddard is an interesting puzzle of a man–a savvy entrepreneur with a creative sensibility, a prominent public advocacy expert who claims to have environmental leanings and an enduring political insider whose soft-spoken manner evokes laid-back images of the bucolic Idaho farm that shaped his roots.

A founding partner of Malibu-based Goddard Claussen Porter Novelli, one of the nation’s foremost issue-advocacy public relations firms, Goddard is considered a political advertising pioneer, having won difficult campaigns that managed to sway voters and politicos alike on contentious issues ranging from California’s school bond reform (Proposition 39) to the national debate involving U.S. trade with China.

Some will recall Goddard Claussen’s high-profile campaign on behalf of the Health Insurance Association of America in 1994, to “battle against what seemed like certain passage of former President Clinton’s healthcare proposal,” according to the company. Included in the $28 million, multi-media effort was an array of highly persuasive television spots featuring an American couple simply known as “Harry and Louise.” Though few could rattle off their names, many remember the spot wherein an average, if dowdy-looking couple sat at their kitchen table with a stack of bills discussing the Clinton healthcare plan. Harry and Louise managed to raise more questions than answers, mirroring certain concerns over the healthcare issue common to other Americans. The spots worked.

As to exactly why “Harry and Louise” touched such a strong chord, Goddard said, “We never run a campaign without researching it very carefully–testing those messages to see what works. You sometimes get incredible feedback out of focus groups.” He added, quickly, “We never trashed the Clinton plan. If you look at all those ads, in every one they say, ‘We agree with the president, we do need healthcare reform, but [we are] worried about these [points],’ and they were things most Americans would be worried about.”

The campaign was believed to be a pivotal blow in defeating Clinton’s healthcare proposal.

No stranger to politics, Goddard’s godfather was C. Ben Ross, known as “Cowboy Ben,” who served three terms as governor of Idaho from 1930 – 1936.

Goddard’s cousin was Henry Agard Wallace, the 33rd vice president of the U.S. from 1941 – 1945.

“I didn’t know about Wallace until I was 17,” said Goddard. “My dad thought he was [a] communist and wouldn’t talk about him in the house.”

Goddard forwards another telling sketch later, via e-mail.

“At age two,” Goddard wrote, “I walked into the middle of a family gathering and started making a speech about something important to me–probably half gibberish. Ross proclaimed, ‘That boy is going to be a politician,’ and the die was cast.”

Goddard began his communications career more than 30 years ago, first in television, followed by the launch of his own advertising company in 1969 at age 27 in Boulder, Colorado.

After selling the company in ’75, Goddard emerged as Jimmy Carter’s campaign manager for the Western states and later formed another company, First Tuesday, a political consulting outfit out of Prescott, Arizona before transferring it to Phoenix.

“I was a wag-the-dog guy,” Goddard said, “a political media consultant. I did campaigns mostly for Democrats.”

Former presidential hopeful Gary Hart and Arizona Congressman Morris Udall were among them, according to Goddard, who said he later transitioned from “handling candidates to ballot issues and public policy sorts of things. Most of my background was in democratic politics.”

To what extent does Goddard’s personal politics influence which issues or what clients his firm will take on?

“There are clients for whom we will not work,” said Goddard. “We don’t do guns. We don’t do tobacco. We will not do any campaign that interferes with a woman’s right to choose–those are fundamental beliefs of mine, and we have turned down large sums of money [relating to tobacco and guns].”

“There are other projects that I feel passionately about,” Goddard continued. “When we worked on trade relations with China, for example. I believe what we did was good for American business and Chinese citizens who want a more open society.”

On the local front, Goddard cited his support of Malibu’s “slow growth” movement as an example of his pro-environmental stance.

But a look at his company’s track record might suggest that dollars may have influenced Goddard Claussen’s environmental position more than once, though not according to Goddard.

During the Clinton administration, the company represented the American Automobile Manufac-turers Association “to change the White House’s position on the United Nations’ treaty on global warming,” according to the company’s Web site.

The firm’s keen influence is perhaps best illustrated in their statement, “By the time Vice President Gore left the conference in Kyoto mere months later, he was quoted on our side of the position, promising that the U.S. won’t sign a treaty that is not global and won’t work.”

Though some might argue that any environmental protection effort thwarting mounting greenhouse effects is a good one, Goddard defended his firm’s position by saying the Kyoto treaty was a case of “right problem, wrong solution. It wasn’t a good plan.”

In 1998, Goddard Claussen was hired to “create and execute a paid media effort to defeat Oregon’s Measure 64,” then a major battle between the timber industry and environmentalists who wanted to ban massive clear cutting efforts in Oregon’s state forests. The measure would have also banned the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides in state forests, and allowed citizens to sue to enforce the law.

With the loss of jobs and timber revenue at the heart of their campaign, Goddard Claussen said Measure 64 was “an outright assault on Oregon’s timber industry … [and] had the potential to bring the industry to a complete halt.”

Goddard Clausen’s well-oiled machine of broadcast, print and collateral communication to vote “no” on Measure 64 helped, if not insured, its overwhelming defeat.

As to future challenges for Goddard, he offered, “What keeps the job interesting is figuring out how to move and shape public opinion on a particular issue–and it’s always a complex process. There is no silver bullet. You just can’t produce a 30-second commercial and it will all be done. You have to use the Internet, grassroots and build coalitions to spread the word.”

As to any set ideologies Goddard may be guided by, he said, “Strategy always changes–you have to keep flexible.”

As a community, we often appear contentious. Groups with different priorities face off against each other, each believing they are right. The causes change, the actors in them change … it is civic drama at its best.

The jousting war only changes when Malibu is in real trouble. Then Miracles happen. In the past coalitions of opponents formed to save this land from nuclear plants, freeways rumbling over cut off mountain tops, huge sewer systems and government suffocation that eventually lead to cityhood.

Malibu is threatened again. Citizens need amenities. The city owns no land, other than one small piece in Las Flores. The 10-year moratorium that protected us from massive development is over. The city has no money to buy land. So what do we do? Stand by and watch all that development that is in process just happen?

The Miracle in coming together to save Malibu began to happen last November in the campaign for Advisory Bond Measure “O.” A diverse committee, principally funded by a member of the Malibu Coastal Land Conservancy (MCLC), introduced Measure “O” and was able to pass the measure with a majority vote of 59 percent.

After the November election, the MCLC initiated the first meeting of the real “Bond Campaign.” Citizens from every interest imaginable, trails, open spaces, wetlands, ballparks community center, senior and youth activists to name a few enthusiastically participated in large community meetings. In subsequent meetings representatives from each of these groups joined together to form the bond steering committee.

The path to a final bond measure was not an easy trip. In many meetings tensions ran high. What land should we buy first? For what purpose should it be used? How much should be spent on construction versus the acquisition of land? There we were arguing over how and where we would spend money we did not yet have.

The bond coalition was unable to achieve consensus on a top priority for the bond funds when Ozzie Silna, representing the MCLC, made an astounding concession. He suggested that the city use the Bond money to first acquire land for recreational facilities for the children. In a following action the MCLC moved off its position of using all the money for land acquisition and agreed to support a partial use of the funds for construction. More agreements followed and the coalition was galvanized, imbued with direction and a cooperative spirit.

Following that, the MCLC launched a $10 million campaign for private money to be used solely for acquiring land in the Civic Center. This combination of private and public funds could give the city a total of $25 million with which to seek matching grants and buy land for a new Malibu Miracle. Both of these campaigns are about the same thing–to acquire land for the city before it is developed. We encourage you to support both of these efforts to the best of you ability.

The Members of Malibu Coalition for Parks and Land

Now that the CCC’s Local Coastal Plan for Malibu is in front of the public, I feel that I can again bring up some of the projects which I have previously brought to the city for consideration and which were rejected in what I can only describe as a degrading and frankly nasty manner.

First and foremost, now that the CCC has made visitor serving our primary objective, I want to re-visit the linchpin of my proposals

The Topanga Malibu Tunnel: We can keep Malibu Canyon a scenic byway by building a tunnel under the mountains with an entrance near Topanga and Ventura Boulevards, exiting in Malibu near PCH and Malibu Canyon Road. Traffic will not empty onto our overcrowded highway but will instead be diverted to a multi-story parking structure nestled just below the hills on the Yamaguchi property. Pollution efficient shuttles will ferry visitors the length and breadth of our city. No traffic, no pollution, and plenty of people with money to spend on our hotels, bars, restaurants, shops and theaters. It’s a win/win/win deal. Good for business, good for visitors and good for our tax base.

But it is not enough.

We need also to consider the needs of the entire southern portion of the county from where residents may find it inconvenient to use the tunnel. So here are some ideas which I have brought up before and which still have merit.

The Santa Monica Malibu cruise boat: Visitors can board a luxury cruise boat at Santa Monica Pier for a leisurely, scenic ride up the coast. The Puget Sound type ferries would anchor just off Malibu Pier and visitors will be brought to the pier where our fleet of shuttles will take them wherever they need to go.

The Malibu helicopter shuttle: This is a no brainer. So easy, simple and convenient that it’s hard to image why it isn’t already operating. The new “whisper quiet” heli-technology would permit 16 or so hours of service per day from anywhere in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Riverside counties and, of course, from LAX.

I have spoken to several air entrepreneurs who think this has great merit. One already has a group of investors and is currently scouting suitable heliport sites. The investors have requested anonymity but you can be sure that they are good people.

The Malibu Beach Boardwalk: I really didn’t get too far with this proposal when I first brought it before the General Plan task force, but that certainly doesn’t matter now. What is obvious is that there are stretches of beach perfect for the Malibu boardwalk. I am thinking primarily of Carbon and La Costa beaches. They are very nice and have good tidal conditions. This is the best use of the lateral access dedications in order to maximize visitor beach use. Home owners could make good money by establishing attractions along the walk each summer, and many would appreciate extra income which could make it unnecessary to put their homes up for summer rental.

In consideration of space limitations and because I want to encourage more useful proposals by others, I will leave it here for now but I do want to close with one last important point.

Although I have no financial stake in any of the projects discussed here, it is only fair to disclose that I am the owner of a small hotel on the beach here in our city. I have never made a secret of my long term goal of building a ten story, 300 room tower on my property. It looks as though I may finally have my chance. I also have a group of investors who want to build a Ferris wheel on my parking lot. I can’t disclose their identity but I assure you that they are good people. So maybe I’ll do that.

Martin J. Cooper

With its spiritual themes and provocative questions, the First Malibu International Festival of One-Acts offers a series of original, often compelling works that defy religious convention.

The two-part festival at Malibu Stage Co. is the brainchild of a group of industry directors, writers and producers, several of whom who are members of Malibu’s St. Aidan’s Church Better Entertainment League (SABEL), who rallied behind the idea that “drama can reflect spiritual or moral themes and still be entertaining.”

“We wanted to do something positive,” said one of the festival’s writer/directors Gy Waldron, who, among numerous credits, created the television series “Dukes of Hazard.”

“We [normally] write about sex and murder,” said Waldron, “and we said, let’s try and do something that has a positive, universal theme.”

Playwrights and directors from Canada, New York and Los Angeles were invited to participate in the festival. Some responded to SABEL’s industry-placed ads asking, “Is your best script in a drawer?”

The one caveat to getting a play entered, said Waldron, was “the plays had to [include] one person positively influencing somebody else, or [reflect] the feeling of God or religion–we didn’t care what religion. We have Jewish playwrights, Catholics, some atheists. We are writing about our doubts.”

“All of us like to get back to theater,” said Waldron, noting the actors, writers and directors volunteered their time and talents for the festival.

Tickets are sold through local sponsoring churches and synagogues, which will share the festival’s returns, including St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church, Malibu United Methodist Church, Malibu Presbyterian Church, First Church of Christ Scientist, and the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue.

Thematically, the most sophisticated and best written of the first round of one-acts comes from Toronto playwright Drew Carnwath in his work, “The Ballad of the Battle Between Power and Chance,” skillfully directed by seasoned theater and film veteran Paul Almond. Set in a church on New Year’s Eve, a conflicted priest, played with the right touch of compassion and longing by Michael McCoy, comes to grips with questions of faith after discovering a hapless, if feisty woman, wonderfully captured by L.A. newcomer Jamie Weiss, who is on her own journey for answers.

“I approached this play as a spiritual [piece], because the same issues would arise whether they were Muslim or Christian,” said Carnwath, visiting from Toronto. “The character, Chance, nails it,” he added, “when she says they are looking for something outside of themselves.”

“I had these two characters in my brain for a screenplay, but I hadn’t yet worked it out yet” said Carnwath. “This script-call was the perfect impetus to get it on stage.”

“Teddy Bear,” also one of the more polished of the six plays, is written by Barbara Wanbaugh and directed by 50-year television veteran Michael Preece, perhaps best known for his 10-year reign in helming “Dallas.”

Preece said the one-act festival is his first experience in directing theater and admits, “I have much more respect for actors,” adding, “I would love to do this next year. It’s a different world.”

Set in a small town in Ohio, “Teddy Bear” tells the story of a mischievous young boy left handicapped from a trucking accident, which claimed his father’s life, and the unlikely, but rewarding relationship he forges via CB radio with a softhearted trucker nicknamed Big Red. Jonathan Breck plays the trucker and 11-year-old Malibu resident Tam Visher convincingly portrays the boy.

Waldron wrote and directed “The Temple Rocks!” in the first series of one-acts, and “All Hallow’s Eve” in series two, scheduled to begin next week.

Set in Jerusalem in A.D. 31, “Temple Rocks” features Jesus, played by Bill Thomas, and two of his apostles, Peter and Bartholomew, played respectively by Byron Jenson and Brodie Greer, who are largely conflicted over Jesus’ seemingly “ordinary” appointments for the 12 apostles. For a short time, the two get to query Jesus on the reasons behind those choices.

Thematically, the play is far more compelling than its execution, which hits home the point that despite appearances, everyone has the potential for greatness.

With its French flavor, “The Game,” written by Frank Canino, directed by Mark Bruce Rosin, and convincingly performed by Elizabeth St. Clair, addresses the game of wit, imagination and daring that allows a young French girl to escape Nazi domination during World War II.

The first week of one-acts also included “World Without End,” a 10-minute drama dealing with the ill-perceived end-times for a broken farm family, written by Bill Harrar and directed by Michael Preece, and “Quite Contrary,” a 16th century comedy set in an English monastery, written by David Copelin and directed by Stuart Cooper.

See B2 Calendar for show times and ticket information.

As time goes by: Recollections of Malibu

• How long have you lived in Malibu?

In Africa, they use the carbon dating formula to determine when man arrived. In Malibu, I use the Traffic Signal Installation scale. Were you in Malibu before the first signal was placed along Pacific Coast Highway? It was at the bottom of the California Incline in June 1949. One month later, a signal was added at Sunset.

Or perhaps you are still a Malibu newcomer, not quite at “local” status, and have not seen a new signal since the last one, at Busch Drive, at the new plaza across from Zuma Beach, installed February 1990.

Topanga got its signal in June 1951. Guess when and where Malibu proper had its first signal … It was at Webb Way in February 1955. That is where Malibu Canyon originally fed its traffic. The signal at the pier was early, also: August 1959.

Malibu had its true growth period in the ’60s and ’70s, when the most homes, condos–and new traffic signals–came to our shores. The signal chronology, continued:

• Coastline Drive in June, 1963 as the Sunset Mesa homes were under construction.

• Chautauqua, July 1963

• Trancas, February 1965 as Malibu West was completed

• Porto Marina, February 1968, quickly followed by

• The Bel Air Bay Club signal in April 1968

• The combined signals at Las Flores/Rambla Paci-fico, August 1969

• Temescal, September 1969

• Malibu Canyon was intersected with PCH and a signal added in April 1971

• Big Rock, February 1972

• Heathercliff, April, 1972

• Cross Creek was a stop sign as late as January 1974

• Pepperdine traffic forced a light at John Tyler Drive, named after a major university benefactor, installed in April 1974.

• Kanan wasn’t until May 1974.

• Morning View, December 1978

Other than the Entrada signal (now combined with Chautauqua) in January 1983, it wasn’t until February 1987 that the Paradise Cove signal was installed, and soon after, the coordinated installation in December 1987 of the signals at McDonalds, Busch Realty and Carbon Canyon.

The temporary signal at Potrero Canyon (for hauling that is still not completed), came in January 1989. Last–the 26th installed–was at Busch Drive.

Despite the cries of worse traffic on PCH, we are in our longest-ever dry spell without adding a new signal.

• One of the best places to watch the sunrise on the beach is atop the rocky point at Leo Carrillo Beach. Get there 40 minutes early on a clear morning and see the silhouette of Pt. Dume, Palos Verdes Peninsula and Catalina against the orange backdrop.

• During the 1930s, there were two very prominent beach homes on Broad Beach Road, which at the time was the coastal road. They were right next to each other. One was built to look like a large fishing boat. Next to it was a large lighthouse.

Remember the fog in May? We had fog at least part of the day for 28 days. I was certain it was the foggiest month of any I have ever seen in my time here, which began just after signal #18.

• The mean average sale price of a Malibu home, thanks to some very big deals, is about $1.75 million. There are different ways to measure and compare, but that is arguably the highest level for an incorporated city in the whole country.

• I am delighted by the recent revival of the Malibu Beach Esplanade idea and the mention of creating a park alongside the creek. Separate from the Civic Center/parks Measure K issue, Malibu should be ashamed of itself on this one. The areas around the pier, lagoon and upstream along the creek could be a fantastic, large connected park with walking, jogging and bike paths. The park just west of the bridge is already in place for parking. What a wonderful natural resource we are not enjoying. Pathways could be built under the bridge for bike and pedestrian access up both sides of the creek park. A wide partitioned zone could be created across the south end of the bridge providing access to the beach at Surfrider and the Adamson House. Later, of course, a pathway somewhere behind the theater could connect it all to whatever develops in the Civic Center.

• Many of you already know this: The best way to taste the flavor of Malibu people is to combine it with the taste of coffee. People-watching used to work best in bars. Now it is at the three coffee hangouts in mid-Malibu, where the great diversity of Malibu personalities is most optimally observed.

• Prepare for another telephone prefix for Malibu phones. The days of the simple 456 and 457 are long gone. The new prefix 506 is being added on the east side, mixed in with 317 and 456. And 589 is well established on the west end, in 457 country.

• From the Dept. of Surfer Obsession: I’ll never forget in the early ’80s when I worked in downtown Los Angeles and left my home in the Broad Beach area at 6 a.m. to drive to work. Fleeing across the highway out of Malibu West in the darkness would be high school kids in wet suits and bare feet going to surf at Zuma. High school kids! Bare feet. 6:00 a.m. Waves.

• Speaking of Waves, that is the mascot of Pepperdine University, home of seven national athletic championships in four different sports (along with the top 50 academic ranking). The mascot has always been the Waves. When the college established in 1937 at its original location in south-central Los Angeles, they picked the Waves nickname, though the surf was miles away.

Prepare to see more Waves memorabilia in our college town. No other small-size college in America boasts such a record of success competing in Division 1, averaging two wins for every one loss in all sports–throughout three full decades!

• Since there are about 52 local eateries, consider visiting at least one different restaurant in Malibu per week. If you live and work here as I do, it is not difficult to do, particularly for lunch. (I have nearly accomplished this myself already, this year). E-mail me at RickMalibu@AOL.com and I will send you a list of all the places to go. You will be pleasantly surprised at some new discoveries.

• Thank goodness it has been a long time since a major local disaster. No major road closures or road repairs in quite awhile. Maybe, just maybe, with all the hillside reconstruction along most of the highway, the days of PCH closures are mostly past.

• And finally, do you know there was once a motel up in Latigo Canyon? Latigo used to be a prime thoroughfare from Malibu to Mulholland and the valleys. About 3 miles up, at the Ocean View junction, was a small inn and gas station, circa 1950s.

Like most of you, I’ve been grousing about the postal service for years, and not only when they raise the price of stamps. Given the choice, I always go with UPS. For one thing, the UPS man actually drives up my dirt road and delivers to my door. The closest the U.S. Mail gets is more than a mile, to a little box at the post office, which is now open only from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. five days a week.

Our postmistress can’t explain why it takes a first-class letter six days, on average, to get here from Malibu. It could get here faster by ox cart.

So with all the hoo-hah about mail contamination, the postal service put a notice in our boxes last week warning us to be suspicious of pieces that are unexpected or from someone we don’t know. Does this include those with Ed McMahon’s picture? At least 90 percent of my mail comes from people I’ve never met who want me to donate to their causes or buy something I don’t need. Does this mean that I can now, in good conscience, chuck these bids without opening them? Yesss!

Today’s stack contained one from something called the Life Extension Foundation in Florida. Well, I’m certainly suspicious of that. They want me to join “the world’s largest organization dedicated to discovering and disseminating scientific methods to slow down, stop and eventually reverse aging.” I’m not kidding. The fee to join is $75, but if my response arrives by Sept. 30, I will get a 50 percent discount. Hello! I received this on Nov. 8. Too bad.

Next on the stack is from The Hemlock Society. I wonder if they know I didn’t join the Life Extension thing. My $35 donation will give me discounts on books, pamphlets and tapes for planning a peaceful death. Don’t these guys have a problem with Attorney General John Ashcroft? I think he’s planning to arrest everyone in Oregon who has participated in the “gentle, assisted, hastened death” the Hemlocks are offering.

Actually, I don’t think it’s sporting to plan one’s death. It might even be bad luck. I say, Surprise me.

The Natural Resources Defense Council sends a note to tell me my membership is apparently going to expire before I do. The “great news” is I can renew my membership this month and “our environment will benefit twice as much.” An NRDC trustee has promised to match every dollar I give with an extra dollar. For $15, I probably will renew just in case I’m still around to enjoy the improvements to our environment. Besides, Robert Redford keeps telling me I should, and when Redford talks, I listen.

Co-op America will send me its National Green Pages for $20 a year, so I can buy green products (I already do), invest in green businesses (What’s to invest? You guys got all my money), boycott corporate criminals and change the way America does business. As a bonus, I get something called a “socially responsible” Financial Planning Handbook. What’s to plan? See above. Hey, this was mailed from Washington, D.C. Aaargh! I shouldn’t have opened it.

Here’s one from Environmental Defense mailed from New York City. Straight into the dustbin with that.

Pesticide Action Network’s envelope has no postmark and no return address. Oh, too bad. It’s probably a good cause, but I daren’t touch it.

Now, along with all these bids are postcards (no problem about whether or not to open these) from Social Security, AT&T, Kaiser, KCET and others, begging me to sign up for direct deposit, direct withdrawal, e-mail billing and various electronic payment options. Until now I’ve resisted such high-tech conveniences. But now, they’re beginning to look good. I could cut down trips to the post office to maybe once or twice a week. No late charges, no stamps, no angst over getting to the post office before 4 p.m. I think I could get the hang of this.

I’d still have to go there once a week to get my New Yorker. And, of course, all the catalogs from which I can order things by phone to be delivered by the UPS man. I can see how we could almost cut the postal service out of the loop completely.

All this simplicity might even help the Life Extension thing so I don’t have to think about the Hemlock thing. I see me recycling pounds of unopened mail. Just doing my bit for Environmental Defense, by way of apology for not opening their stuff.

G IS FOR GROOVE

Robert Weingarten helped the L.A. Philharmonic get into the swing of things with a lively opening night tribute to Duke Ellington. More than 400 guests including Ginny Mancini, Eli Broad, John Van de Kamp and Marilyn and Alan Bergman enjoyed a champagne reception and silent auction before settling in for an evening of music, dining and dancing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

The program featured soprano Audra McDonald, composer Quincy Jones and the Sultans of Swing backed by the full orchestra and its collection of doghouses, gob sticks and skins (that’s jive talk for bass, clarinet and drums.) Right off the bat, they had the joint jumping with favorites like “Sophisticated Lady,” “Mood Indigo” and “It Don’t Mean a Thing.”

After the country’s recent terrorist attacks, Jones spoke of the need to celebrate artists like Ellington, who embody the American spirit, and promptly dedicated “Take the A Train” to the people of New York. The guest conductor, who had just returned from the site, shared his experiences, saying, “People call New York hard and cynical. Well, let me tell you, I’ve never seen so much compassion and selflessness in my entire life as I just saw in New York.”

The show closed with “Harlem Suite” and the black-tie-clad clan made its way upstairs for a VIP boogie with the dinning area decked out like a 1940’s supper club. The Sultans dished out some dazzling dance tunes that had even the most conservative cats in this crowd cutting loose. While the Phil will be moving on to more traditional fare in the weeks to come, this glittering gala turned out to be an exciting departure, giving everyone a reason to just get jazzed.

STARS, STRIPES AND SID

Visions of Old Glory attracted a young hip crowd at this year’s Late Night at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Leather-clad, mohawk-wearing, combat boot-stomping trendies turned out in droves to admire the patriotic paintings of Jasper Johns and the mind boggling creations of Jeff Koons.

The group got a private viewing of Eli Broad’s impressive modern collection, which also features works by Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. There was a conversation piece at every turn from Johns’ red, white and blue flag canvases to Charles Ray’s anatomically correct replica of his own genitalia and my personal favorite–Koons’ kitchy larger-than-life porcelain homage to Michael Jackson and Bubbles the chimp.

The art lovers were as colorful as the creations they admired. Between the flaming spiked dos, safety pin accessories and torn tees, I left restless, asking myself that burning question: Is punk back? and if so, why? Like Eli’s art, these sorts of gatherings expand the horizon. So if you’ve been lamenting the disappearance of Devo, take heart, the Sex Pistols have resurfaced. Sid Vicious lives.

Somewhere in Afghanistan is a young, tired soldier clinging to a cold, wet rock, trying to get some sleep. His back is more than likely up against his buddy’s back so they can “watch” both ways while they catnap. That’s the way Special Forces soldiers sleep in the field. Even though they can hear the distant thunder of allied aircraft, there’s no real assurance it could save them if necessary. And yet, they are comforted by it.

Overhead, somewhere else in the region are air force and navy pilots and crew, flying their missions, their bombs and rockets being guided in by the Special Forces soldier’s laser pointers on the ground, hoping like hell they hit their targets and miss civilians.

On the ships the flight crews eagerly await their aircraft’s return. The “kids” in the CIC area plot any known air or sea movements. The cooks run a 24 hour kitchen making sure the sailors and marines are well fed.

While somewhere in Pakistan and somewhere else in Uzbekistan, soldiers and marines there are once again grumbling, “Oh joy, rice again” as a main part of their meal. They wonder if the supply folks back home will ever get the food they know and love to them.

And of course back home, the supply folks are wondering where in the blazes the forward troops have moved to again, so that they can indeed get them their food and much needed supplies shipped out as quickly as possible on the next freighter heading that way.

And so the Coasties watch and guard those freighters as they go by, making sure their critical passages in and out of ports are safe and quick. Each soldier, sailor, airman and marine share a common oath: supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States. And each share a common goal– not war, but peace.

And it is on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month that I ask all of us to take a moment of silence and utter a prayer for our service men and women, utter a prayer for peace.

Dorian J. Cougias Veteran

A Malibu idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup. On behalf of the Lily’s Caf Steering Committee we would like to thank the Malibuites who supported our position on Measure K. Many of you were inconvenienced by the relocation of your voting sites, breaking a long established Malibu tradition of static voting locations. We thank you for your strength and will power to trek and vote. Until now there were only two ways of standing up to the established political machines in Malibu – anonymously and posthumously. In a small way, together as Malibu voters, we are changing this idea.

Malibu City Council members House, Kearsley and Jennings should have used greater research and diligence before approving the wording in Measure K as a ballot item. They have two years to gain the faith of those who opposed “K,” before their term of office is up for election.

Council Member Tom Hasse, your tenure in Malibu politics has certainly been worthy of note as voters never knew which side you would take on a question. You are your own identifiable person and stood by your individualistic values, no matter what side of the political spectrum they fell. You are an unsullied and noteworthy advocate or ally. We, at Lily’s Caf, thank you for your independence as you leave Malibu political life.

Candidates in the upcoming April 2002 council election, please join us for coffee at Lily’s Caf and share your vision as to the future of Malibu with us. We, the unpresumptuous citizens of Malibu, welcome your political perspective.

And that is all we have to say (sure).

Tom Fakehany, chair

Lily’s Caf Steering Committee

Doug O’Brien, vice chair

John Harlow, secretary/treasurer