Man In Red Hat Steps Up*

Loath as we are to type or do anything of a positive nature (In the long run it's all crap, & you're fucking dead. Why does anyone bother?) we were reading BJ earlier, where NPR, having fired Juan ("M.C. Pee-Pants") Williams, was nonetheless under attack, w/ the occasional "Yeah, but this or that is an exception to the suck," & we read this exception, from Martin (if that's his/her real name):

My local station had a nice story about a group in Santa Monica that is working to register the homeless and mentally ill and get them to the polls. These voters were talking about the issues that matter to them – generally entitlement and jobs programs as some of them are disabled. One story was told about a man who couldn’t read or write getting assistance to vote.

I was stopped at a light and I looked over at the BMW next to me and the driver (alone) was clearly ranting to the air about something he just heard.

I then realized that all over OC, wingnuts were going completely ballistic over the prospect that the homeless actually do get to vote, and that someone is caring (to them, stupid) enough to help them to. NPR can do no wrong for the next year just due to that story.

We had a more than sneaking suspicion as to the group in question (And a suspicion that it wasn't the Santa Monica NPR station, KCRW, which is sucky and does no local reporting, but the not-nearly-as-sucky Pasadena NPR station, KPCC.) & of course our suspicions were correct (or you wouldn't be reading this).

Said organization being Step Up On Second, w/o whom this reporter might still be on the mean (yet mostly boring) streets. Actually, not the organization, but the relentlessly cheerful (should have asked him about his medication(s), if any, & gotten a script ourself) Les Jones, seen here w/ his trademark red fedora,

What's he going to do when his trademark wears out?

who conceived the idea a couple of yrs. ago. Though Step Up, of course, provided assistance (& mailing addresses for the hobos & winos) for the project.

Two yrs. ago, we were still using their services, but managed to register on our own, as Step Up had temporarily housed our sorry ass in a motel they were converting to housing for young homeless people, & we had a somewhat permanent address. That's some damn service!

People w/ money to spare/give for others could do one hell of a lot worse than send a buck or ten in Step Up On Second's direction.

Details at The LookOut, or read & listen at KPCC.

*Too obvious/simple? Probably. Do we care? No, it's almost four in the fucking a.m.