admin, Author at Friends For Fullerton's Future

October 20, 2009December 28, 200972nd Election

OC GOP says “No more RINOS”; Could Ackerwoman, Bankhead & Jones Be Out of Business?

Our friend Allan Bartlet over at Red County reported that the GOP’s Chairman Scott Baugh gave a “fiery speech” last night indicating “that it is not going to be business as usual anymore for the OC GOP Party………no longer will incumbent Republicans be given safe quarter for their re-election if they have strayed to far off the reservation………..made it clear that he is not looking for ideological purity per se, but Republicans in the mold of Arnold Schwarzenegger, John McCain & George W Bush for example are not going to be allowed to ruin the party’s economic and fiscal credibility anymore…..Clearly this is an unsustainable path we are on and our elected GOP leaders in DC and Sacramento have been part of the problem. So tonight he announced a contract with the OC GOP voters. It’s not going to be good enough just to have an “R” by your name if you are a candidate or elected official. The “R” has got to mean something.”

Hmm. Let’s reflect on this for a moment. Okay. Baugh throws the Central Committee some red meat. Hooray! But don’t forget that the Central Committee is chock full of Repuglicans led by Ackerman and Ackerwoman; and Baugh is surely the biggest ‘Pug between San Onofre and the 605. When push comes to shove Baugh, Inc. will go with whichever candidate is the best ‘Pug team player, i.e. the one that is most ambitious (but not too ambitious, right, Ed?) and most likely to perform years of kickoff team duty – there’s only one QB, right, Dick?

It would be awfully strange for an organization made up of so many very selfish and self-interested politicos to all of a sudden change its stripes. Good grief, look at Fullerton: Sa, Godfrey, Jones, Clesceri, Munson (the one that didn’t win) Wison – RINOs all; and all backed by the GOP establishment – again, and again.

So for now we are well justified in assuming that Baugh is just blowing smoke up the Central Committee’s nether portal. And you what? A lot of them appear to like it.

October 18, 200972nd Election

A Sign of Things to Come

by admin3 Comments

October 14, 2009December 28, 2009About Us

Fart Boy Demonstrating Symptoms Of Methane Intoxication

by admin14 Comments

Methane levels reaching dangerous levels... — Warning: methane levels reaching dangerous levels...

UPDATE: 10/15/09 8:00 am.

AT THE RED COUNTY BLOG CONTRIBUTOR ALLAN BARTLETT HAS POSTED AN ACCURATE TAKE ON THE “DESPERATION” MAILER, ITS POSSIBLE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES, AND A STRONG ENDORSEMENT OF CHRIS NORBY. ALLAN IS ON THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND IS KNOWN FOR HIS INTEGRITY. GOOD FOR HIM.

Orange County’s own original Fart Boy, Matthew Cunningham may be a poster child for the dangers of methane inhalation. Of course we speak figuratively. As an all around sycophant he has to do a lot of sniffing and smiling, and it can’t be easy. He has finally come across a situation where he can’t compliment everyone in the room for their aroma at the same time.

One of our readers alerted us that today he put up a post about the nasty little sexual harassment hit piece on Chris Norby that his other friends, the Ackermans, let fly through the mail. His bland description of this toxic waste is clearly meant to both disassociate himself from it, and yet avoid criticizing it. He can’t quite seem to screw up the courage to share the facts of the case. So there’s no critique, explaining the fact that the claimant was fired by the County for misfeasance and that no charges were leveled against Norby until after she was fired; no recognition that the the jury foreman claimed after the trial that Norby hadn’t really done anything wrong; and no observation that the nuisance suit was reversed on appeal.

Cunningham has often referred to his “friendship” with Chris Norby. Well here we can see the value of that friendship. It’s obviously not worth incurring the anger of Dick Ackerman, even over a piece of slime that’s low – even for him. Yes, we knew it was coming. But that doesn’t excuse it. Cunningham was probably hoping the excrement would be tossed not by the Ackermans themselves, but rather by a surrogate. Well, too bad. It wasn’t. It has Ackerman’s name on the back. His other “friends.”

And what is really revealing in all of this is that other than this one slime the Ackerman campaign has nothing. Zero. But you’ll never hear that from Fart Boy. What a friend.

October 12, 2009Dick Jones

You Want Blight? We Got Blight! Part 2

by admin3 Comments

Dear Friends, a few weeks back we wrote a post about the issue of blight relative to the proposed Redevelopment expansion. So we have decided to collect some more images of blight to help you get the picture. Again, to be fair, and consistent, we have tried to stick to the City’s own standard (or worse) as we collected pictures not in the proposed area, but in the existing Redevelopment Project Area – to let you also see what a bang-up job the city is doing to eradicate blight already!

October 7, 2009December 28, 200972nd Election

Candidate Jane Rands Brings Green Solutions to 72nd District State Assembly Campaign

by admin6 Comments

Dear Friends, we have received the following press release today from Jane Rands’ 72nd Assembly District Special Election campaign. Enjoy!

www.janerandsforassembly.com, jane@janerandsforassembly.com, (714) 325-5223

Fullerton, CA – Jane Rands, Green Party candidate for the 72nd District Assembly, supports a single payer healthcare system, marriage equality, decentralized rooftop solar energy production, restoration of critical education funding, conservation of our water resources, and legislation to strengthen the California Environmental Quality Act. “California’s budget shortfalls can be partially resolved by implementing long overdue oil extraction fees and restructuring Proposition 13 to only apply to family homes,” said Rands.

The Green Party has had ballot status in California since 1992. The Party’s platform calls for ranked ballot voting, universal healthcare, equal rights for LGBT people, equal pay for women in the workplace, limitations on harmful atmospheric pollutants, the preservation and restoration of California’s natural waterways and wetlands, and other policies to develop an environmentally sustainable economy in the state. Visit www.cagreens.org for more information.

Jane Rands is a Systems Engineer who resides in Fullerton, where she is an appointed member of the city’s Bicycle Users Subcommittee. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She currently serves as Liaison to the Secretary of State for the Green Party of California and Treasurer for the Green Party of Orange County.

The 72nd Assembly District includes the cities of Brea, Fullerton, and parts of Placentia, Anaheim, La Habra, Orange and Yorba Linda. A November 17 primary is scheduled to be followed by an expected January 12 runoff election.

October 6, 2009October 5, 2009Brick Veneer, Fake Old, And Other Horrors

New Street Signs: Assessing the Hump

by admin18 Comments

The first thing that came to my mind when I first saw these street signs was: am I the only one that thinks these things look like something I might find at Knotts Berry Farm or the dopey French Quarter at Disneyland?

There is something odd about the idea that a street sign needs to be treated as an “aesthetic” object – meaning that it is subject to the whims of visual preference among some class of people self-appointed to pass judgement on such things. A street sign is a street sign. The first necessity is functionality. Can it be read easily, and read at night? Is is affordable? After all, the taxpayer is footing the bill, rarely the individual who makes the “design” choice.

But there is something more subtle and just as pernicious as mistaking a utilitarian object for an artistic one. And that is the application of boneheaded and embarrassing aesthetic choices. We have already illustrated the confused thinking behind the aesthetic viewpoint that prefers the curved to the straight line, the complicated over the simple. Remember this post on Fullerton’s goofy redevelopment sidewalks?

And in our numerous posts that have railed against fake old we have also criticized the bureaucratic bad taste that adores the hideous old-timey themes so prevalent in insecure places like Fullerton. Who knows why there is a hump on the top of these signs? Is it something someone saw somewhere? Something picked at random out of a street sign catalogue by a traffic engineer? Are we supposed to discern an echo of the Mission Revival espadana in the hump – like those disgusting Taco Bell outlets of the 80s? Who cares?

This is just another example of confusion: confusion that a street sign needs to be gussied up; confusion that a hump on top is better than a simple rectangle; and confusion that the inclusion of the almost illegibly dinky word “Fullerton” somehow adds something to the ensemble.

Say, whatever happened to that Country Bear Jamboree?

October 1, 2009December 28, 200972nd Election

FFFF Surveillance Team Strikes Again

by admin3 Comments

To some folks it's just an ordinary van...

Yes, Friends, our Mobile Surveillance squad is ever vigilant. This time they tapped into another Dick Ackerman phone conversation, this time with none other than Matthew Cunningham, all-purpose GOP fawner and current dilemma possessor: with John Lewis working for Chris Norby and Dick Ackerman working for Dick’s wife, poor Matthew has to tread a fine line. In his efforts to offend nobody he may very well up offending both sides as a brutal showdown looms.

The following is a possible transcript of the phone conversation. You may believe it or not, depending on how gullible you are.

(ringing)

Cunningham: Hello, Pacific Strategies…

Ackerman: (snorting sound) Cunningham, Dick Ackerman here.

C: Well, hello Senator. How was Linda’s fundraising party in Sacramento the other…

A: Forget about that. (snorting sounds) I’ve got a problem and you need to help me. That SOB Norby’s got Bushala and that blog of his attacking my wife.

C: Yes, I know. That Bushala is so fringe. He’s really a lunatic.

A: (growling sound) Shut up and listen. You need to write a blog attacking those FFFF sonsofbitches, you got that?

C: Well, sure. It’ll be my pleasure! I owe that Bushala good. He called me Fart Boy-

A: Heh. heh-heh. Fart Boy. That’s pretty good (multiple snorting and grunting sounds) Good, get on it now. They’re trying to make Linda look bad, like a carpetbager.

C: Don’t worry about that Senator. We’re going to bury that issue. Nobody cares where you live.

A: (a faint snarling sound) We live in Fullerton you little rat, and don’t forget it!

C: Yes, yes, of course. You’re sharing a house with that doctor.

A: (a distinct snarling sound) Who told you that?

C: (barely audible) I dunno, Sir. Guess I picked it up somewhere.

A: You heard it from Lewis. I’ll get him later. Now it’s its that bastard Norby’s turn (more snarls). By the way why haven’t you written anything bad about him?

C: Well, Senator, you see he and Linda are both my good friends and…

A: (multiple low growl sounds) Cut the crap Cunningham. Norby doesn’t have any friends. You’d better fly right, boy, or you’re gonna be real sorry. And what’s this horseshit about your wife running for that Clerk job? I’ve already endorsed someone, goddam it! Nugent. Nuggie (snorting sounds). Something like that.

C: Um…you see…that is…

A: More bullshit from Lewis! Okay. Side up, kid. Decide whose team you’re on. And prove it by writing one of those blog things you do. Hit ’em hard.

C: Yes, Sir! By the way if your car needs washing or if you’ve got cleanning to pick up I’ll be happy to take…

(sound of Ackerman hanging up)

At this point we lost contact with the participants in the conversation.

October 1, 200972nd Election

Sharon Quirk-Silva Pulls Out of State Assembly Race

by admin2 Comments

For those of you that haven’t heard, due to health issues of a family member, Sharon Quirk-Silva will not pursue the seat to replace Mike “Spanky” Duvall for the 72nd State Assembly.

Sharon left me a message that “family comes first”!

Okay Sharon. Too bad. We looked forward to a spirited campaign. The seat will be open again next year!

October 1, 2009October 1, 2009About Us

A New Day in Fullerton: Friends Sue the Redevelopment Agency

by admin13 Comments

You're not supposed to just make stuff up...

Well, Friends, today it happened. Friends for Fullerton’s Future brought suit in the Superior Court against the phony Redevelopment expansion, and against the County’s disbursement of any property tax increment.

This morning our attorney C. Robert Ferguson filed the necessary documents in Santa Ana.

The basis of our law suit is simplicity itself: the findings of blight in the proposed expansion area are completely contrived, solely for the purpose of creating a tax increment windfall for the Agency at the expense of other agencies, and to the detriment of all property owners shouldering the burden of this encumbrance on their properties.

How do we know the blight findings were made up? Because we looked at their silly pictures of “blight”; because we noticed how property owners were casually deleted for no other reason than that they appeared to be vocal opponents, or because they were the necessary third vote to pass the expansion; because we heard Dick Jones, on numerous occasions, braying that it was all about “needing the money.”

Redevelopment

So now let’s let the legal process unfold and see where it takes us.

lawyers1

September 29, 2009December 28, 2009About Us

Postcard from The Edge

by admin7 Comments

Things smell better in the middle — Things always smell better near the middle

One of OCs most prominent political lackeys, John Lewis gofer Matt Cunningham, tried to insult us yesterday by referring to us as the “Fringe For Fullerton’s Future.” Of course he has good reason to dislike us since we were the ones to stick the Fart Boy tag on him – in reference to his general toadying to establishment power structures – wherever they may be found. And we’re happy he is following our blog.

To an individual like Cunningham we appear fringe. And you know what? He’s right!

We avoid the dead political center where everybody peddles his or her ass as hard as they can for some putrid little favor or advancement. We avoid the amorphous mass that always seems to create moist pockets of rank air where the consultant/lobbyist types can burrow in and find a home; where carpetbaggers that you happen to like, or fear, can get a wink and a free pass; where being conservative only means what is typed on a party membership card; where drones like the above mentioned Cunningham are held in anything except contempt for the shills they are; where right and left are just different labels for alternating groups of organized crime rings who treat government like their own private plantation and who are perfectly happy to rob their constituents with the stroke of a pen.

It wasn’t us fringers that brought forth Mike Duvall. Or who protected Mike Carona all those years.

Ackerman — It's nice and well-upholstered here in the center!

We are fringe! And we feel pretty damn good about it. It means we are free from the servility and stoogery that keeps a loud-mouthed imbecile like Dick Jones in office year after year; free from the petty self-interest that supports brain-dead ideas foisted on the populace by an incompetent Redevelopment bureaucracy; free from the fear that governs the other 50% of lackeydom.

Well, hell, there's no profit on the edge!

It’s sort of like swimming in the deep end of the pool. While the Cunninghams of the world dogpaddle around the shallow end in their waterwings and pretend to be fighting big naval battles at sea, we’re actually taking on a real power structure even though it may only be from out here on the fringe. We do it because that’s where the real fun is. And maybe even the best future.

Yes we are the Fringe For Fullerton’s Future. Bring it on, ring-kissers and lackeys!