No News Is Bad News
Little Hoover Sucks Up County Pension Reform BS
Posted by The Desert Rat in MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Setting The Bar Low on August 25, 2010
Does it blow or suck?
California’s “Little Hoover Commission,” a sort of State-wide Grand Jury, showed up at the County HQ on Friday to learn all about the wonderful work the County has done creating its scintillating 1.62 @ 65 pension option. Naturally, all the OCEA spokeholes started to sing out hosannas to the hard work of the union in developing this alternative – an option that promises to reward aging executives, and that so far very few people have signed up for. Wonder why not.
Supervisors Bill Campbell and Janet Nguyen actually had someone write an editorial rebuttal for them that appeared in the Register on Sunday and that discounted the idea of a mandatory defined contribution plan that would include everybody – even Supervisors like themselves.
Just keep saying the same thing, over and over again. Maybe you'll get another $140,000 this year.
Here is our old friend Norberto Santana of the Voice of OC(EA) in a typical report. Notice the snotty observation that Supervisor Shawn Nelson wasn’t in attendance at the commission meeting. Following Santana’s predictable lead, Kimberly Edds, a new writer with the equally worthless “Total Buzz” perpetrated by the OC Register, also notes Nelson’s “conspicuous absence,” here.
Hey geniuses: the meeting was attended by Supervisors Bill Campbell and John Moorlach. Nelson’s attendance would have constituted a violation of the Brown Act. But of course what’s the point of attending a dog and pony show that touts an option that’s really hardly more than feel-good window dressing?
And speaking of brown acts, the jerkoffs at the Liberal OC naturally followed along in praise of supposed innovation, and even included this image of Janet Nguyen pulling the wings off insects.
Well, let’s hope that real pension reform is on the way before the State of California breaks off and falls into a sea of red ink.
Name That Image!
Posted by Mr. Peabody in Dead heads, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Repuglicanism, Union Goons on August 19, 2010
We got some flak-back from some folks who tried to defend psuedo-journalist Norberto Santana of the union-sponsored Voice of OCEA that has become another sounding board in the Dem-for-Hire – ‘Pug-for-Hire, union promoting echo chamber.
So today we re-run the image of Santana with his financial impresario, union honcho Nick Berardino, in what appears to be the VOC(EA)’s Santa Ana office. And we invite you, our loyal Friends to provide your own captions.
Okay, Friends, it's your turn...
The Sad, Degenerate World of Norberto Santana, Jr.
Posted by admin in Dead heads, Harry Sidhu, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Repuglicanism, Setting The Bar Low, Tom Daly, Union Goons on August 17, 2010
Norbert (right) and boss, union chief Nick Berardino (left) discuss how the former can help the latter while still pretending to be an objective journalist.The location seems to be the Voice of OC's office in the Santora Building, rent courtesy of the OCEA. (image swiped from OC Weekly. Who knows where they got it?)
When he graduated from journalism school, Norberto Santa, formerly of the Orange County Register and more recently writer for the comically self-described “non-profit” Voice of OC, likely told his friends and family how he was going to change the world by exposing, well, things, that needed exposing.
How sad he must be, now that he is nothing but a tool for his union paymaster, the OCEA union, at those family reunions when he has to report that he is nothing but a second-hand tool for the likes of Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu, whose carpetbagging and perjury have gone mysteriously unmentioned by the intrepid “journalists” at the Voice of OCEA.
And come to think about it, they have never written a single word about the string of malfeasance perpetrated by by County Clerk Tom Daly: things like blowing 2.1 million on a worthless building; hiring a campaign contributor to study a Hall of Fame Museum; handing out jobs to the relatives of other contributors; blowing $120,000 to apply for grants that went nowhere.
Poor Norberto! If only he applied for that OCEA spokeshole job before former Register colleague Jennifer Muir got to it he wouldn’t even have to pretend to be objective!
Mickadeit Lunches On Italian Sausage & Ego
Posted by Mr. Peabody in MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Repuglicanism, Setting The Bar Low on August 8, 2010
Extra, extra, read all about me!
Is there a limit to the extent one will shamelessly grovel in public? In case you didn’t see it, check out Frank Mickadeit’s column in the O.C. Register from a few days ago.
In this recent opus Mickey exhibits the fierce prowess that seems to drive journalism these days. Here is what Frank and his employers at the Register think the public wants to know all about; Frank’s lunch schedule:
- having lunch with political consultant Christine Iger;
- getting an olive-oil tasting lesson from restaurateur Antonio Cagnolo;
- getting a liquor-tasting lesson from vodka czar Bill Eldien;
- a slap-happy kiss-ass session with good ol’ boy Mike Carona.
Poignancy! Mick’s and Mike’s eyes meet across a non-smoke-filled room and Caroney waves his old buddy over to join him. Mickey describes his soul mate, characterizing Caroney as “smiling, buff, color in his cheeks.” He points out that if Caroney is lucky enough to avoid getting nailed with a witness-tampering charge he’ll be able to down endless shots of booze with his buddies with his freshly-won freedom (Frank doesn’t mention that he would be doing it on a $200,000+ per year taxpayer sponsored pension, but well, that would just be mean).
So what does the reader learn from this hard-hitting expose? That the Mickster is chummy and swills booze with some pretty notorious and questionable company, the kind of people that would bring into question his credentials. Not only does he shamelessly bring this to our attention, he even gives credit to Caroney for providing him with leads to “interesting stories!”
Interesting stories? The fact is that during Carona’s amoral reign of terror over the Sheriff’s Department Mickadeit gave him a free pass, and was, well, just damn glad to be there!
A shot of whiskey and a cigar and I'll write anything you want.
Now there’s truth in journalism! Can anybody take this guy seriously?
Fullerton Observer Takes Dump On Self. Again.
Posted by The Fullerton Shadow in Boohooism, Dead heads, Fullerton BooHoo, Fullerton School Board, No News Is Bad News, Pam Keller, Setting The Bar Low on July 30, 2010
On a clear day you can see forever...
In its page one retelling of events at the last Fullerton School Board meeting, Yellowing Observer Jan Youngman spun out this yarn about the District’s unconscionable arrangement with The Fullerton Collaborative for the services of FSD employee and soon to be ex Fullerton Councilwoman Pam Keller:
Five spoke in opposition to
continuing the relationship,
including the president of FACT
(Fullerton Association of
Concerned Taxpayers), a group
responsible for vicious hit mailers
in past school board and council
campaigns. (The group’s major
funding comes from Bushala
Brothers Inc. Tony Bushala heads
the group FFFF (Friends for
Fullerton’s Future) which has
made both Pam Keller and the
Fullerton Collaborative frequent
targets. FFFF is currently suing
the City of Fullerton.).
Hoo boy! Now there’s a mouthful of tripe, even for one of the Observer crew who can’t discern the difference between editorial and news reporting. We haven’t made Keller or her illicit arrangement with the Collaborative a “target.” Oh, no. That was all her doing – by a multiplicity of conflicts of interest as a councilmember, by skipping out without having to account to anybody for her time, and by remaining an FSD employee with the attendant benefits without having to set foot in a classroom. We only shed some light on the whole rancid deal.
Bad girl. Bad, bad girl.
But back to the egregious Youngman. Important fact, hon. FFFF sued the Redevelopment Agency, not the City. I know it’s next to impossible for you people, but next time do please try to get your facts right. By the way, why is that even relevant to your story?
The Voice of OCEA Provides Forum For – OCEA
Posted by Mr. Peabody in Dead heads, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Setting The Bar Low, Union Goons on June 22, 2010
Bloggers of the world arise...
If you needed any more evidence of the evident symbiosis between the The Voice of OC and it’s paymaster, Nick “Bullhorn” Berardino of the OCEA union you need look no farther this blog post by Norberto Santa. Please notice that 30 of the 31 comments are just pro-union/OCEA propaganda. 30 of 31.
Aw, c'mon Norberto, nobody's buying that...
Could Berardino be instructing his troops to frequent the union-sponsored blog just to keep the traffic up? Why not? It’s all one big, happy family, and The Voice never claimed to be objective – just non-profit.
The Voice of OCEA Welcomes Federal Political Crimes Unit
Posted by Mr. Peabody in Harry Sidhu, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Repuglicanism, Setting The Bar Low, Tom Daly, Union Goons on June 17, 2010
Knows which side his bread is buttered on...
In a post today (or was it yesterday? Aw, who the hell cares?) the Voice of the County Public Employee Union passed along a story they got from the LA Times (no link thanks, you punks).
Of course they are doing it for the wrong reason. Their story is all about how their paymaster Nick Berardino was made to look like a chimpanzee for publicly attacking Webster Guillory and getting dressed down by the County CEO. The implication is clear enough: Rackaukas won’t investigate criminal wrongdoing by politicians. True enough. But why haven’t we heard a single word from the Voice of OCEA about Democrat Tom Daly hiring friends and the relatives of campaign contributors; about County staff withholding critical information from the BOS regarding the purchase of a derelict building on Civic Center Drive; about the Children and Families Commission hiring political hacks for bloated PR and lobbying contracts; about a political operative getting $48,000 to “study” a sports hall of fame; about a candidate for supervisor who committed voter fraud by perjuring himself twice on official documents?
Well, you get the point.
Norberto Talks About the Voice
Posted by admin in MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Orange County Government, Setting The Bar Low, Union Goons on June 10, 2010
We don’t sell advertising because of conflict issues… instead we take money from Nick Berardino and the OCEA.
“There is no fluff. We’re very very focused on ‘what is the product that we offer?’”
Video courtesy of Barbara’s Bits.
And Now For Some Real Comic Relief
Posted by Joe Sipowicz in Harry Sidhu, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, OC's Fourth District, Orange County Government, Shawn Nelson on June 9, 2010
The Voice of OCEA, Norberto Santa penned this gem yesterday about a gathering of useless RINOs, government parasites and supposed “insiders.” The thrust of the story is that these creeps predicted a Sidhu victory. Why?
Just check out this image borrowed from The Voice of OCEA site:
The Tool Bank is now open...
Yep, there’s the useless pension spiker Bill Campbell on the left standing next to another useless pension spiker who actually did it twice, the pathetic Tom Wilson, former Supervisor of the 5th District.
Good God! What a collection of RINOs and repuglicans of the worst kind: the ones who champion Redevelopment, and who use other tools like Matthew J. Cunningham to pitch the delusion that discretionary land use entitlements are some sort of “property right.” Hey there’s Lucy Dunn who backed the Hairball, too.
Of course Campbell supported Sidhu as part of his and John Lewis’s master plan to get rid of both Nelson and Hairball.
Everything is for sale!
Apparently Curt Pringle, Anaheim’s sleazy Mayor for Sale was hand to prop up his tottering boy Sidhu; but talk about too little, too late! Pringle sure took it on the chops yesterday, and making fun of the party chairman Scott baugh ain’t gonna win him any Brownie points for that High Speed Rail merit badge he’s been working on for so many years.
Of course for Santana, a last minute, pro-Sidhu piece tinged with a little gratuitous anti-Nelson shit is par for the course. Poor little Norberto! He wants people to think he’s a real journalist instead of what he really is: a toady to a union boss with no reportorial integrity or scruples.
When Harry Met Jennifer
Posted by admin in Dead heads, Harry Sidhu, MSM Falls on Face, No News Is Bad News, Repuglicanism, Setting The Bar Low on May 17, 2010
Those rascals in the white van have done it again. After a night of hard binge drinking that included shots of denatured alcohol and grapefruit juice, the FFFF Surveillance Unit sprang into action and arrived outside the State College/Katella Denny’s in time to capture part of the conversation between Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu and OC Register’s intrepid reporter, Jennifer Muir, that we reported on here.
The following transcript has been deciphered from the somewhat poor quality sound recording, and the written notes submitted by the crew, although the handwriting is a bit jittery. Invest any amount of credence in this that you think it deserves.
Jennifer Muir: …so in other words you did not live at the Calabria?
Harry Sidhu: Yes. I mean no. There was a refrigerator.
JM: Excuse me, what?
HS: A refrigerator was delivered and even plugged in. But I had to go skiing. In Colorado. Uh, no in my opinion it was Utah.
JM: And so you signed your name to that voter registration form thinking that you were going to live there, but you never did?
HS: Yes. Yes, indeed. I was always meaning to live there, of course. And may I say you are looking very attractive this morning?
JM: Um. Thank you. What about the DA investigation?
HS: Oh, let me tell you all about that. Politically motivated! I have been cleared of all wrong doing. I came out of that smelling like a daisy.
JM: Uh huh. So then what happened was your wife refused to live in a stucco box behind a bowling alley?
HS: Yes. Such a wonderful woman. You know, we are still sweethearts after all these many years. Sometimes we will hold hands for no reason at all as we walk along the path. Maybe you saw the picture? She even voted for me at the CRA nominating meeting.
JM: Why did you tell people that you had bought a house in the district?
HS: Well, you know, I don’t know anything about that. I will get back to you. By the way, I am very fond of your shoes.
JM: The fact is that up until December you lived in the 3rd District. The issue of carpetbagging has dogged your campaign. Any comment?
HS: In my opinion I have represented 40% of this district for so many years I have forgotten, so I am not only qualified but the people of the 4th District deserve to be having me represent them. In my opinion I truly believe they have been calling for me. I hear the the voice of those people. I am responding to their many calls.
JM: Right. Well. Let’s move on. Some of your critics point to your lack of knowledge about County issues. What would you say to them?
HS: I will be learning all about that later. For now I would say we need jobs. Jobs. Jobs.
JM: Yes, but how, exactly would you create any jobs as a Supervisor?
HS: I am a businessman, not a politician. I know all about creating jobs. I have a plan. We will have a big jobs fair! I will be turning “The OC” into one giant jobs fair.
JM: Excuse me?
HS: There are many fast food franchises that are hiring. In these hard times people eat more fast food than ever. It is a well known fact. I did very well during the last recession. We need to match them up with people looking for jobs. It’s very simple. A jobs fair.
JM: (Unintelligible gurgling sound) Uh, um, how does that tie in with the supervisor’s duties, exactly.
HS: Jobs, of course. We need jobs.
JM: You say you’re not a politician, but you seem to keep running for different political offices. Why is that?
HS: Uh, why is what?
JM: What?
HS: What?
JM: Why all the political campaigns?
HS: Well, this is because I am not a politician, of course. I am running these races because people need me because I am not a politician!
JM: What would you say to (sounds of crashing dishes) to the critics who complain that you always seem to be running for office?
HS: Well those are people who don’t know me because…
Unidentified female Voice: Can I warm up that cup for ya, hon?
HS: …if they knew me they would know how important it is to be electing me to something. Soon. It’s really all about a job. I mean jobs. Jobs for everybody.
JM: Hoo-kay, then. At the GOP Central Committee meeting you seemed to be a little fuzzy on the subject of defined benefits. Have you cleared up that point?
HS: Well, let me tell you, that was a trick question by my good friend Mr. Scott. I have been in deep consultations. And it is my opinion that in my opinion, I have not yet looked into the impact on that and will continue do so in the future.
JM: That’s a pretty important issue. Don’t you think the voters will want you to understand that?
HS: After the election I will try, but of course there will be many, many things to be getting on with. I will hire only the best people to explain these things to me. Mr. John Lewis has promised to help me with that.
JM: Your website takes credit for the High Speed Rail project but at the WAND forum you specifically claimed you have not made up your mind. Care to comment?
HS: Ah, Jennifer I have so much respect for your journalism ability, let me tell you.
JM. Thank you. How about answering the question.
HS: Well this is a very delicate matter because you cannot be for something without understanding all of the complications and implication. Implications are very tricky. And you cannot be against something until you have thoroughly examined all the details. As I say, the devils is in the details. Well, it’s all a great muddle in my mind, really…
JM: So is that a yes or a no?
HS: Please repeat the question.
JM: Let’s move on.
HS: Okay, jobs.
JM: Pardon me?
HS: Jobs. Jobs Jobs. Oh, I see that white van again. It is becoming quite a bother and now I must be pushing off…
(at this point intelligible audio was lost)
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