Setting The Bar Low Archives - Page 89 of 110 - Friends For Fullerton's Future

August 29, 2010September 3, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Rackaukas Fires Spitzer

Oscar Wilde once described an English fox hunt thus: the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible.

While you ponder that pithiness, consider the firing the other day of junior grade deputy DA Todd Spitzer by his boss, District Attorney Tony Rackaukas. The Register reports, here.

Supposedly Spitzer was trying to get some info out of the bad toupe wearing Public Admintrator/Guardian, John Williams. The latter thought it was improper, ratted out Spitzer to Rackuakas, who for the first time in his career actually punished a politician.

Tony-Rackauckas-and-John-Williams — T-Rack & Williams. Is one of these men wearing a wig?

A politician? Yes. For Spitzer is a former County Supervisor, Assemblyman, and had put his DA-seeking career on hold, waiting for T-Rack to end his miserable legal misrule. And Spitzer has $1,000,000 in the bank.

Anyhoo, the plot thickens when we contemplate DA spokeswoman Susan Kang Schroeder, wife of OC political impresario Michael Schroeder, the guy who brought us Mike Carona. Ms. K-S has been rumored to be a challenger to Spitzer of the DA heir apparent title.

Just writing all this crap has made me exhausted and in need of a cleansing shower.

Ta ta, for now…

Say what?

August 25, 2010August 25, 2010MSM Falls on Face

Little Hoover Sucks Up County Pension Reform BS

by The Desert Rat11 Comments

hoover windtunnel vacuum cleaner — 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.

Norbert-Boss-300x1991 — 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.

August 23, 2010Behind Closed Doors

Townsend Uncovers Fullerton’s Overtime Racket

by Travis29 Comments

Register reporter Adam Townsend dropped a bomb early this morning with an in-depth report on Fullerton’s astounding overtime costs.

The report summarizes the $3,000,000 spent on overtime last year, listing the top 102 overtime earners (view the Register’s list). Among them, a paramedic named Timothy Hartinger worked the most overtime in 2009 with 1,160 hours at time and a half pay, bringing his total earnings to a glorious $138,117.

Notably, these wage figures do not include an additional 33% in pension contributions or thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums for public safety union members.

Naturally, the overcompensated fire and police union members came up at the top of the list and made their best efforts to deflect criticism with emotional falsities. One fireman played the classic union card, repeating the claim that he would die 10 years earlier because his job is so dangerous. Nice try pal, but CalPERS actuarials have proven that public safety employees live just as long as everybody else.

FFFF favorite Jack Dean made his way into the report, saying “Considering the unemployment situation, it doesn’t appear to be right that there’s so much overtime when so many people are unemployed,” concluding “there appears to be something wrong with this structure.” Something wrong, indeed.

Even the city manager got in on the fun when asked about minimum staffing for firefighters, which significantly boosts their expensive overtime pay. “The provision is there because of the union. If I had my preference, I’d do away with it, but it’s sacred to the firefighters,” said Chris Meyer.

We’ve been hard on Register reporter Adam Townsend in the past, but it’s great to see that there’s still some life left in the Register’s local coverage. It takes a little bit of courage to rock the boat of public safety employees, and hopefully we’ll see more of this in the future.

August 20, 2010About Us

Nelson’s News E-Letter Drops On Doorsteps. Again.

by The Fullerton Shadow17 Comments

Like the monotonous tick of a clock in a quiet room, the annoying newsletter from Shawn Nelson’s 4th District office fell into our mailbox this PM.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that the bi-monthly missive was, well, a tad light in the loafers. Today’s issue isn’t any better. Yikes! Corn Festivals, Restaurants of the Week, and tours of city halls with rotund functionaries. Pets of the Week. Certificates for…what did they do again? Thankfully there was no Art Walk touting the aesthetic creations of staff underlings.

Well here it is, anyway:

View the newsletter

Got to admit, this is my fave image:

GiveTil ItHurts — This feels better than what the Voice of OC is doing to me!

August 16, 2010August 16, 2010Harry Sidhu

Eeew. Hairball Soils Himself. Again.

by Joe Sipowicz31 Comments

Harry'sFriend — If you pull my finger you may get a surprise...

Following the lead of the union lackeys at the completely fraudulent Voice of OC and the even more pathetic clowns at the Liberal OC, Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu, Man of A Thousand Addresses, lobbed a spitball at his fall opponent, 4th District Supervisor, Shawn Nelson. No doubt egged on by handlers Nick “Bullhorn” Berardino and “I Need A High Speed Rail” Cut Pringle, Sidhu put out a press release today attacking Nelson’s supposed hypocrisy for signing up for a County pension while he also touted signing of some bogus anti-pension pledge of his own concoction.

Of course Hairball never bothered to inform anybody that all full-time government employees have to sign up for a retirement plan in lieu of Social Security, and that the County presented Nelson, like all employees with two options: the 2.7 @ 55 formula or the idiotic 1.62 @ 65 plan, Berardino’s lame project that passes for pension reform, but that just rewards oldtimers.

Sidhu also failed to inform his poor, afflicted newsletter recipients that he too signed up for the City of Anaheim’s truly option 2.7 @ 55 gig, as reported by Chip Hanlon at the Red County blog.

Bad boy, Harry. Bad, bad boy. Clean up on aisle one.

August 12, 2010August 13, 2010Hidden Government Agencies

The Continental. Pringle Parties Across The Pond

by Mr. Peabody12 Comments

PringlePower — I am suave. And de-boner. Oh, and yes, you are growing very sleepy...

Looks like Anaheim’s Mayor-for-Hire, the slippery elm repuglican par excellence, Curt Pringle, has been getting some free trips to Europe courtesy of the French and German guvments.

Hmm.

Trips to Europe to “study” high speed rail by Herr Pringle. Paid for by socialized governments who are evidently competing on behalf of their socialized industries with the good old US of A.

And wine. Did I forget to mention the freedom-loving Anaheim Haupt-burgermeister loves his wine?

August 9, 2010August 10, 2010Dead heads

Birds of a Feather…

by Grover Cleveland15 Comments

…well you know the rest.

Ray-Bolger-Scarecrow-web — Straw man says: With the thoughts I’d be thinkin’, I could be another Lincoln, if I only had a brain…

Here is Mr. Hypocrite J. Cunningham extolling the virtues of Kris Murray, a candidate for Anaheim city council, and heavily promoted by Anaheim’s Mayor-for-Hire, Curt Pringle; some woman he elevated from obscurity to occupy a six-figure sinecure at OCTA:

I, for one, am wholeheartedly supporting Kris. There are several stand-out individuals running for city council seats in Orange County this year, and Kris is one of them. She is smart, conservative, principled and experienced in both the business sector and government. She will make an outstanding member of the Anaheim City Council.

Ah! Smart, conservative, principled, experienced. Smart? Who knows? Her experience is with the big government Business Council and a giant government bureaucracy – OCTA – which is squandering hundreds of millions on Pringle’s slimy insider ARTIC and High Speed Rail deals. Principled? Well, Hell, we know what principle Cunningham and Pringle hold dear. There’s always a dollar sign in front of it.

Now, enjoy this snippet from the comment thread in which Cunningham extols the virtues of Big Chief repuglican Curt Pringle:

Curt has been an outstanding Mayor of Anaheim, and poll after poll confirms that. He has very high positive name ID in Anaheim, and if he were on the ballot again, he would be overwhelmingly re-elected.

Kris is and ought to be proud to have Curt’s endorsement.

Uh, yeah, right, whatever you say Jerb. Poll after poll? What polls would those be?

See, for a guy who posed as a social conservative, yet who behind the scenes pulled down mega-bucks shilling for the dopey, big guvment Rob Reiner Children and Families Commission, making a fortune off of government influence peddling, like Pringle has done, is some sort of badge of honor. And of course Pringle may very well hold the key to Cunningham’s economic future now that his 1st Five plug has been pulled.

Nothing wrong there, of course. If Pringle hadn’t latched on to all this gravy some evil, unprincipled Democrat would have scooped up all those simoleons.

August 8, 2010August 8, 2010MSM Falls on Face

Mickadeit Lunches On Italian Sausage & Ego

by Mr. Peabody13 Comments

image002_002 — 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!

frankmickadeit — 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?

August 6, 2010August 6, 2010Dead heads

Looks Like Hairball Wants Some More Abuse

by Joe Sipowicz7 Comments

I’ve got it on pretty good authority that Hide and Seek Harry Sidhu has decided that there is even more political humiliation he can endure. Apparently this perpetual office seeker has filed a ballot statement for the fall run-off against Shawn Nelson for 4th District Supervisor.

Sidhu already got handed a pretty solid 12-point beat down by Nelson in June, but it looks like having a massive ego and a non-existent sense of shame have prevailed over common sense. Hairball’s handlers must be salivating at the prospect of their sugar daddy opening his wallet yet again.

Sidhu’s only hope is to capture the vast majority of Democrat voters in the district who voted for somebody else. Will this mean a hard left and more union support for Hide and Seek? Who knows? They spent over a million bucks to help this assclown last time and it didn’t help at all.

August 5, 2010August 5, 2010Repuglicanism

Straw Man Produces Another Straw Man Argument. Classic!

by Mr. Peabody23 Comments

fartboy — Being a priest is one thing. Getting married is just plain wrong.

Over at the Red County, poor, lonely and increasingly isolated Matthew J, Cunningham lashed out at Libertarians in the wake of yesterday’s judicial smackdown on authoritarian ‘pugs who want government to discriminate against law abiding citizens.

The legal finding that California’s asinine Proposition 8 was unconstitutional caused Cunningham to reflect upon the oddity of Libertarians. He says:

At the same time, libertarians act is if the the Republic will fall and tyranny reign unless marijuana is legalized. Recently, one leading libertarian California libertarian flatly declared that if you oppose legalizing marijuana, you are anti-freedom.

Which is more vital to a the kind of healthy, stable, virtuous society the Founders believed necessary to ensure the survival of the Republic they had erected? The ability to use a particular intoxicant? Or that institution — marriage – that is the literal building block of a healthy, stable, virtuous society?

Judging by the commentary, libertarians think getting stoned matters more.

Good Lord! How did so much self-satisfaction, self-righteousness, bigotry and mental confusion ever get rolled up into one straw man?

Let’s correct the poor, muddled mind of this moralizing midget:

If you restrict the ability to use (not abuse, mind you) a particular intoxicant you goddam well are anti-freedom. And if you deny law abiding citizens the same right to enjoy contractual relationships enjoyed by others, you are anti-freedom, too.

So go put that in your pipe and smoke it, Jerbal.