Category: Setting The Bar Low

Posted onOrange County Government

Yes, Todd, We Almost Forgot

by 26 Comments on Yes, Todd, We Almost Forgot

I got an e-mail today from an old Friend who wanted to remind me about something.

A way back in the earliest days of the sordid regime of former OC Sheriff, now disgraced and incarcerated felon Mike Carona, something happened that should never be forgotten.

Don't let the beady eyes fool you.

At the behest of Carona, on December 15, 1998 the OC Board of Supervisors removed the professional requirements for the job of Assistant Sheriff so that he could appoint two of his closest cronies and bag men, Don Haidl and George Jaramillo.

I always wanted a badge and a gun.

 

Oh no, it's that Your Honor guy, again.

These miscreants proceeded to leave a slime trail in their wake that will always be a disgrace to the OCSD and the County of Orange. They were the henchmen who helped the Crooked Sheriff run his sleazy empire. And who do you suppose made Haidl and Jaramillo’s appointment possible along with the subsequent  money laundering, bribing, selling of badges, CCWs, illegal deals with crooked lawyers and bail bondsmen, and interfering in criminal investigations?

Yes. I did that. Didn't think you would remember.

That’s right: then Supervisor Todd Spitzer, himself a reserve officer in LA County, and surely somebody who should have known the problem he was creating: because the police are always telling us the importance of their professionalism. And there was Haidl, a shady businessman without a high school diploma and no police experience thrust into the second tier of leadership in one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Jaramillo was a cop from Garden Grove with none of the requisite command experience previously required.

Carona, Haidl and Jaramillo have now been convicted of crimes and their debauchery has been exposed in one embarrassing media reveation after another. That the scurvy Haidl and Jaramillo toppled over themselves in a rush to rat out Carona is the only redeeming part of the lurid story.

And who helped make all this possible? That’s right, the same guy who approved a retroactive pension spike for public safety employees, and who assures us he has the experience we need in a County Supervisor. Guess Spitzer figures nobody’s been paying attention. He is wrong.

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Why Hugh Hewitt Belongs on the First Five Commission

by 20 Comments on Why Hugh Hewitt Belongs on the First Five Commission
A lot of Love on that First Five Boat

The other day we re-ran a post from last year questioning how repuglican yakmouth Hugh Hewitt was qualified to be on OC’s version of Rob Reiner’s tax and redistribute Children and Families Commission. See, we didn’t believe he could possibly meet the requirements for membership defined in the County ordinance.

Watching yesterday’s Board meeting provided some enlightenment and showed how much Supervisor BillCampbell, who chairs this ultra-liberal commission, wants Hewitt on there. Badly.

Yes. It's a Do Tank.

As Campbell explained, Hewitt does indeed qualify in the education category. How? Because he is a director of the local branch of something called Young Life. I googled the name and found this. Not much to go on. No list of directors, so we’ll just have to take Hugh’s word for it. But check it out. It’s a Christian-based program for adolescents. This has zero to do with 0-5 child development and nothing to do with any professional qualifications for anything, so at least now we can be completely satisfied that Hewitt’s appointment was always bogus.

But as they say on TV infomercials: wait, there’s more!

According to Supervisor Shawn Nelson, who objected to Hewitt’s appointment, the latter missed seven meetings in a twelve moth period, and, per the code, was automatically removed from the Commission. Of course the Commission staff never notified the Board of Supervisors as the law requires. Hewitt was simply permitted to keep participating in the few meetings he was able to make, and was casually “re-appointed” along with the rest of the incumbents. And on that subject Nelson demonstrated that no solicitation for new members had ever been made – also required by the law.

So there you have it. A packed, opaque Commission doing whatever the hell it damn well pleases, and answerable to nobody, except presumably, its grossly overpaid Executive Director and his protector Bill Campbell.

 

 

 

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

So How Did Hugh Hewitt Get Onto the OC Children and Families Commission?

by 20 Comments on So How Did Hugh Hewitt Get Onto the OC Children and Families Commission?

Here’s a post we ran last summer. Why is it timely? Beacuse I noticed on Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor’s agenda an item to reappoint all of Supervisor Bill Campbell’s minions on the OC Children and Families Commission – including Hugh Hewitt – who is not legally qualified to be on the Commission in the first place.

Empires of Hypocrisy World Tour

P.S. Apparently you can join Hewitt on a cruise! If you decide to go be sure to ask him to explain the complicity of a “conservative”  on a big, liberal tax-redistributionist scheme. Let us know if you get a coherent answer!

– admin

And what useful purpose does he serve there?

According to the State Health and Safety Code, and the County Code that created the “First Five Commissions” (pursuant to liberal activist Rob Reiner’s successful tax and redistribute Prop 10), the commissions are made up of people in the kiddie welfare biz.

Which brings us to Hugh Hewitt, whom Gustavo Arellano has described as a “conservative yakmouth.” We’ll leave aside the conservative tag for a bit and reflect upon the fact that Hewitt is a lawyer, talking head, writer (when not being ghost written for by Matthew J. Cunningham), etc.

Here are the minimum qualifications, per the Code, for the membership category in which Hewitt is enrolled:

A representative of a local child care resource or referral agency, or a local child care coordination group, or a local organization for prevention or early intervention for families at risk, etc…

Say what?

Since Hewitt is clearly not recognizable by the Code’s definition, we are entitled to inquire and speculate about the real reason this ‘pug is on the Commission. Could it be simply to help ratify contracts to his pals and buddies at the behest of Commission Chairman Bill Campbell, the avuncular cipher who represents the 3rd District on the County Board of Supervisors? Campbell appointed him.

That's not a road apple. That's equine feces!

And maybe he is there to help his old friend Cunningham put some sort of conservative polish on this big, liberal road apple.

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Posted onDead heads

Deb Pauly’s Anti-Terrorist Price Tag

by 25 Comments on Deb Pauly’s Anti-Terrorist Price Tag

A while back we did a post on the shameful fearmongering that took place adjacent to an Islamic charity event in Yorba Linda. Our own paper tiger Ed Royce was on hand to help whip up the know-nothing rubes, as was the big mouth, pea-brained Deb Pauly who somehow got herself elected to the Villa Park City Council.

Hate means never having to say you're sorry...

Pauly’s remarks were particularly inflammatory and unapologetic, consistent with her later non-apology as she tried to weasel out of what she had said.  The consequence of her remarks was a big demonstration at the Villa Park City Hall in which her outraged opponents and her nutwing supporters showed up en masse to have at one another.

Got something important to say?

The OC Sheriff Department that is responsible for protecting the mean streets of Villa Park brought in the troops, order was miraculously maintained, and everybody went home feeling pretty good about themselves.

And the price tag on the OCSD bill to the City of Villa Park? A City Hall insider places the figure at $13,500. And given the potential for much greater physical and financial damage the well-heeled folks of VP may consider themselves lucky they got off so cheaply.

But my question is this: why not present the bill to Deb Pauly herself?

 

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Posted onSetting The Bar Low

Crime and Cover Up: The Pastor Raid Debacle Gets Ugly

by 46 Comments on Crime and Cover Up: The Pastor Raid Debacle Gets Ugly

FFFF has been trying to obtain the police report filed after several Fullerton police officers conducted a narcotics raid on the wrong house and held an innocent pastor and his family at gunpoint last year (read the story here).

Since the family presented a copy of the police report to the council at a public meeting, that document is now undeniably a public record. But the cops and the city administrators love to keep secrets when they blow it, and thus have deployed one ornery city attorney to block out any sunshine on this case. God forbid the public learns about the mistakes it’s own cops are making.

We have the right to remain silent

But here’s where it gets weird. In this email below, the city attorney justifies keeping the report secret by admitting that crimes were committed when the cops entered the wrong house with guns drawn!

Travis,

After reviewing the police records in a light most favorable to the Nordells if the entry made by the officers were unlawful they may have been victims of several crimes, namely assault, trespass and a civil rights violation. If the officers did enter with guns drawn, they more than likely experienced the fear that goes accompanied with such entry. While, we are not acknowledging any of those unlawful acts occurred it does establish that they are victims of a crime. As victims of a crime they were the only party entitled to obtain the police report under Gov Code 6254 (f).

Kathya M. Oliva
Jones & Mayer

Let’s go over that again. Did our city just deny a public records request by confirming that its officers committed assault, trespass and civil rights violations? Pretty much. Admitting guilt to cover your tracks is a novel approach to criminal defense.

FFFF’s response? If there was a crime committed against the family, the incident should have been referred to the DA for prosecution. Was it? If not, covering up the report because there “may have” been a crime doesn’t hold legal water.

Our question was met with a friendly invitation to sue the city in Superior Court…which is actually a great idea. I can’t think of a better way to bring more attention to this issue.

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Posted onDead heads

Impending Invasion of Fullerton By Whack Jobs and Wing Nuts?

by 31 Comments on Impending Invasion of Fullerton By Whack Jobs and Wing Nuts?

Here’s a hilarious invitation received recently by a Friend:

Anyway, follow this link to watch the blood-spattered intro on the speaker’s marketing website: www.hi-caliber.org

You too can join the counter-terrorist offensive!

Note the collision of paranoia, faith, and patriotism – the old formula. A biblical quote is de rigeur, Old Testament, of course, so as not to offend potential Jewish support (other Peoples of Faith, dontcha know – just took a left turn on that whole Jesus thing).

Watchmen on the Wall? Wait is this Lenny Bruce-type parody? No, alas.

Typical know-nothing nonsense, really. And notice the supposed “experts”-  a PI operation from Redlands, California! It might actually be worth it to go and watch the scam perpetrated on the rubes after they load up on Sizzler salad bar and jug wine (does Sizzler still have a salad bar after 9/11?)

Ironically this Uber-patriot event is held on St. Pat’s Day by the same sort of people who despised and demonized Irish immigrants one hundred and fifty years ago.

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Posted onDead heads

Sign Thief Making Slow Getaway! Suspect is Hatless! Repeat, Suspect is Hatless!

by 23 Comments on Sign Thief Making Slow Getaway! Suspect is Hatless! Repeat, Suspect is Hatless!

Remember the thief who got caught jacking campaign signs for Pat McPension last year? We tracked him down and turned in all the evidence, but the cops are still coming up empty handed.

Maybe we forgot to fill out the proper paperwork.

OK, here you go:

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Posted onBehind Closed Doors

Would Fullerton be a Ghost Town without Redevelopment?

by 35 Comments on Would Fullerton be a Ghost Town without Redevelopment?

Here’s a revealing exchange between Fullerton City Councilman Bruce Whitaker and his two dinosauric RINO colleagues Don Bankhead and Dick Jones. The subject is Redevelopment.

Whitaker points out that Redevelopment property tax diversions from school districts are back-filled by the State and that absent Redevelopment diversions back, taxes could go up. He also takes exception to Bankhead’s assertion that without Redevelopment Fullerton (or downtown, take tour pick) would be a ghost town. Bankhead loves big government economic central planning; Whitaker has faith in the private sector.

Naturally the ever-increasingly disheveled Doc HeeHaw (say that haircut sure looks like blight to me) stimulates himself by babbling about about stim-u-lus and even mentions Prez Obama and how Fullerton’s government stimulus is real stimulus. Thanks, Comrade Heehaw.

Well, there you have it Friends. A clearer distinction between calm, conservative opinion and rambling, emotional, Jurassic nonsense could not be drawn.

Kudos to Whitaker. And shame on all the Fullerton voters and repuglican string pullers for making sure nincompoops like Jones and Bankhead re-elected.

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