Our old pal Matthew J. Cunningham, the editor of the Mauve County blog and noted Tom Daly fan just can’t get enough of our humble blog. Our mole, deep inside the guts of the John Lewis political machine has informed us that Cunningham has been posting comments at FFFF under a whole slew of fake names. We even have the list.
Last night he chimed in on the Daly campaign finance post calling himself “Grover gets an F” to try his old trick of changing the subject. Of course that didn’t work.
But he has also popped up here recently under the aliases “Peabody the Nobody,” a fake “Lou Correa,” “No Tax Hikes,” and “Strider.”
Naughty, naughty boy, Matthew. Report to the principal’s office immediately! Now that you’ve joined the ranks of the Sidhu and Daly campaign workers blogging anonymously (and frequently for your boys), your much bragged about credibility just took a hit wherever it still exists. Of course we were on to you all along so there’s no harm done here at FFFF. Wonder if you’ll keep criticizing all those mean anonymous bloggers.
Why not just stick to those boring posts you do over at that ghost town of yours and quit cluttering our threads? And try getting a real job while you’re at it.
At the Orange Juice blog Art Pedroza is passing along a missive from OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh, here.
Seems Baugh has chosen downtown Fullerton’s Slidebar Cafe as the site of some sort of “Citizen Power Rally” to promote the Paycheck Protection Initiative that also dovetails with his newly-developed manifesto to punish Republicans that take public employee union money. We wrote about that here. The event is planned for February 13th at 10:00 a.m.
The Slidebar is a logical site for Baugh who is clearly trying to exploit the populist anger of the so-called “Tea Party” movement. Last year the Slidebar hosted the John and Ken Tax Revolt/Smash Arnold’s Videos Party, although the Slidebar is also known for its ecumenical tastes when it comes to an event-hosting venue.
Baugh is likening his new mission to the nobility of the Minute Men at Lexington and Concord, but it’s really hard to see him getting involved in something unless there’s a Main Chance angle. He may believe that harnessing the T.P. energy is necessary to keep his party a going concern, but given the number of local GOP electeds who have taken public union money, it’s a safe bet that the ‘Pug gentry will avoid being seen on a dais with Baugh.
And let’s not forget that just a few short months ago Baugh was supporting the totally fraudulent Ackerwoman campaign for State Assembly so it’s pretty hard to take anything this guy says about reform as being serious. Wonder if Baugh can be persuaded now to condemn the fraud of carpetbaggery and fake residence. Hmm. Scott?
Anyway, our ever-vigilant crew will be on hand to chronicle the fun and games.
Well I guess technically you have to have moved a first time to be able to move again, by why get all semantical ‘n stuff?
According to “Colony Rabble” at the Red County blog, Lorri Galloway is moving. Again. That makes three times if you are one of the tiny, gullible subset of 4th District citizens who ever thought she moved out of her 3rd District house in the hills to begin with.
Apparently she has selected yet another address – out of the Colony District and into to a place called “Five Points” that is farther west along Lincoln Avenue and is, in fact, halfway to Harry Sidhu’s phoney address at the beautiful Calabria Apartments behind the Linbrook Bowl. The property? Another Bill Taormina special. Gotta assume this one is actually zoned residential. Could it be that the City Planning Department actually did its job?
Anyhoo, Lorri can be serenaded to sleep by the white noise hum of Interstate 5 that passes nearby; and now Harry and Lorri can both ride the number 42 bus in the same direction from City Hall to get “home”! Which of course suggests a money saving strategy for both campaigns: co-habitation at the Calabria!
Those boys need to learn about cash for clunkers...
Yup. Those bad boys in the white van were spotted in the Linbrook Bowl Lanes parking lot yesterday. The mescaline and the revolving bowling pin may have provoked some transcendental moments, but apparently the fellas got down to work because they forwarded an audio file. There is a lot of interference on it that sounds like the crashing of bowling pins, so we have had to deploy our expert audio forensic team create a transcript. And here it is:
(sound of phone ringing)
Scott Taylor: Hello?
Harry Sidhu: Uh, Scott. This is Harry.
ST: Where the hell are you?
HS: Well, I am here at the Calabria. I think I was being followed so I came over here. Just to be safe, you know.
ST: Followed? Aw, Hell. Tim Clark is with me. I’ll put you on speaker.
HS: Oh! Hello Tim! How are things going in my campaign.
Tim Clark: Well, we’re trying. I’ll be honest Harry. There’s still a lot of stink on you from that ass-kicking Mimi laid down on you in 08. Geez she won every precinct in Anaheim. Then running so soon after your re-election to the Council – our polls say that people think you’re just desperate for a higher political job.
HS: Yes, jobs.
TC: Huh?
HS: I am a job creator.
TC: Ah, gee Harry. People in our poll weren’t impressed by minimum wage job creation. They didn’t seem impressed no matter how hard we pushed.
HS: Jobs.
ST: Um, focus, Harry.
HS: Jobs. Enterprise zone. Small business.
ST: Yeah. Okay. Okay. This carpetbagging thing is tough. Carol Rudat took it on the chops over this and it just killed Linda Ackerman and they’re gonna keep hammering that one. No way around it. For chrissakes just don’t get caught going home at night, Harry. Jesus, we’ll end up with Dave Lopez at the gate!
HS: Well, you know, those peacocks don’t feed themselves. Somebody has to do it.
TC: Okay focus, guys.
ST: What are we gonna pitch? Harry do you know anything about the County government?
HS: Jobs? I went to Norby’s office all the time. I will tell them I am just like Norby, only richer.
ST: Um, better not do that. We need something, you know, specific. Anything, really.
(prolonged silence)
Well, don’t worry, I guess we can cook up something.
HS: Well my friends that is why I have hired you. Oh! Now look at that would you. What a filthy disgrace! A dirty white van behind the wall spewing fumes.
Ah! And look at the time! I must be going, um, well, you know – home.
(at this point the telecommunication was terminated)
Last week the OC GOP Chairman Scott Baugh addressed his cohorts at the periodic Republican Central Committee meeting.
His speech was much anticipated and much commented about the next day in such venues where anybody gives a damn about what Baugh has to say. I waited a few days to display my disdain for such antics.
It seems Mr. Baugh tried to channel some of the angry energy of the “Tea Party” movement to zap some life into his team.
Baugh unloaded on RINOs; on candidates who get the GOP endorsement and then take public union money; on the “slick consultants” who call the shots. It must have sounded pretty good to the true believers in the audience; but the Repuglican cadre that has turned Orange County into its own little plantation – people like John Lewis and Ackerman, Inc. must have rolled their eyes a bit. Electeds in the audience who gladly took money from police and fire unions were no doubt (quietly) offended and/or frightened, depending on their dispositions, and this includes just about every Republican city councilman and Supervisor in the County.
I’ve got four problems with Mr. Baugh’s manifesto.
First he coughed up a speech very much like it last year in the wake of the epic McCain disaster and a year of Democrat rule. Apparently not much came of that one; so why expect anything else from the ‘Pugs?
Second, he seems to have failed to address the virus of office seeking that infects the party and that has been manifested in the Ackerwoman and now Harry Sidhu strains. In fact, Baugh was a supporter of Linda Ackerwoman and her fraudulent campaign of deceit in the 72nd – which pretty much tells you all you need to know about him.
Third, the idea that a candidate can’t take the money of a public employee union and still represent the public interest is curious. By the same logic these folks would be unable to resist the blandishments of corporate lobbyists who donate to their campaigns. Hmm.
Finally, Baugh ignores the wider problem of Repuglicanism – the malady of being a Republican for fun and especially profit. Calling for ideological purity seems to ring hollow when it’s pretty evident that the game is being played for one’s own pecuniary interest. Will we ever hear Baugh denounce Curt Pringle’s 50 billion dollar high speed idiocy? Probably not. Baugh uses his own political connections to lobby here and there, including a highly lucrative contract awarded by fellow ‘Pugs on the Board of Supervisors to lobby in Sacramento.
So in the end, to quote the Bard, here’s what I see in Baugh’s address: a tale told by an idiot; full of sound and fury and signifying nothing.
Demonstrating an irresistable consistancy publishing the commonplace and the inane, Fullerton News Tribune ace reporter Barbara Giasone may have even topped herself this ante meridiem. Check out this compelling news story about the Pickle Lady.
It seems a local woman won a trip to Hawaii via the kindly offices of the dim-witted “Wheel of Fortune” show and the FNT presses were stopped. Barbara pulled off of the other hard-hitting news exclusives she is working on (i.e. the giant lobster in the tank at the Japanese sea food restaurant and the giant snapping turtle that used to live in Laguna Lake) and scoops the rest of the media world.
Update: Ten days ago I posted this piece about the Fullerton Collaborative’s empty on-line calendar. I opined that maybe it was the executive director’s job to keep it updated, and archly suggested that maybe there wouldn’t be that much on it anyway. We received the usual irrelevant and hardly coherent comment-blather from Collaborative member Minard Duncan informing us all about the wonderful work Keller does.
Well, the calendar is still empty for all of 2010! Apparently Minard didn’t bother to let Keller know that the on-line public has no immediate information about what the Collaborative is up to; or, if he did, Keller decided that she was too busy to catch us up on what she’s planning for 2010. C’mon, Pam. You can’t be that busy!
The Fullerton Collaborative’s website calendar page declares ever so earnestly:
There are so many ways to get involved in our community. During the next few months there will be many fundraisers and community events to benefit local non-profit organizations and educational institutions.
And yet a perusal of the monthly calendars shows nothing. Blank. A completely clean slate, clean for all of 2010, in fact. Check it out if don’t believe me.
Now maybe I’m sort of funny this way, but I figure if you’ve got an executive director whom you are paying over $50K (for a part-time job) that individual ought to be able to at least take a few moments out of her busy day to fill in some of the blanks on the calendar. I mean, that’s Pam Keller’s job isn’t it?
I just got tired of doing it. Nobody ever reads that calendar, anyway...
Of course if Keller actually does get around to filling out the calendar, then fellow collaborators and even the public may find out how little fifty-thou buys you nowadays, executive director-wise.
As this blog noticed last year, Keller is not a Collaborative employee, but a Fullerton School District employee contracted to work for the Collaborative – where her job entails raising money from members and donors to pay the FSD for her dubious services. Sweet gig. No boss, no oversight, not even much paperwork.
Maybe in 2010 she can get around to filling in the Collaborative calendar.
UPDATE: THIS ISSUE IS GETTING EVEN MORE FUN. ONE OF OUR FRIENDS HAS INFORMED US THAT ON BOTH THE RED AND BLUE BLOGS A FELLOW NAMED BILL TAORMINA POPPED UP TO DEFEND GALLOWAY. APPARENTLY HE OWNS THE PROPERTY IN QUESTION AND CLAIMS THAT IT IS “MIXED USE” THUS ALLOWING SOMEBODY TO LIVE THERE. HE GALLANTLY OFFERS TO TAKE ALL THE BLAME IF THERE IS A SCREW UP. THE CITY HAS IT LISTED AS OFFICE PROFESSIONAL ZONE.
WILL BILL AND LORRI RECEIVE VISIT FROM CODE ENFORCEMENT? WILL LORRI HAVE TO UNDERGO AN EMBARRASSING RELOCATION ELSEWHERE IN THE COLONY? WILL LORRI JUST PACK UP AND MOVE IN WITH LONELY HARRY AT THE BEAUTIFUL CALABRIA APARTMENTS? STAY TUNED FOR…
AS THE COLONY TURNS…
In what can only be described under the heading “hilarity ensued,” the Red and Blue blog clowns have picked up on our post about carpetbaggin’ Lorri Galloway’s new abode in Anaheim’s historic “Colony District.”
In our post we noticed the address – 1155 E. Lincoln – was in a odd enclave of relocated old houses. One of our Friends observed that the egregious Paul Kott had a commercial real estate sign on the property. At the eerie Red County blog the Colony’s self-appointed grande dame, Cynthia Ward, observed that the zoning was “light commercial/retail” (whatever that is) and thus Galloway’s “residency” constituted a code violation. Looks like she sicc’d code enforcement on Galloway.
You will soon receive a visit from Code Enforcement...
We’re not experts on Anaheim zoning so whether a “caretaker” type individual is allowed to live on these premises is not known, to us.
Meanwhile, at the Blue County blog, Dan C-somethingorother – an ardent Galloway swain – typed up an “exclusive” response to the question, purportedly from Galloway herself. It came complete with a picture of Loretta Sanchez – a not too subtle trick by Danny Boy. But this post only made things worse, since according to it Galloway claims to have checked into the legitimacy of her new home with 1) the County Registrar of votes Neal Kelley; and 2) with the Anaheim Public Utililties Department.
Now why on earth would anybody check into this with the ROV and think that would mean anything? That’s just strange. And second, why would Galloway believe the Utilities Department would have any authority in the matter? Did it not occur to this simpleton to simply call up her own Planning Department and inquire? How long has this featherhead been on the Anaheim City Council – five years?
Right on cue, Ward dropped into the Blue miasma, now sharing city info that the Galloway parcel is zoned “low-intensity office,” still a seemingly incompatitble use for a residence.
I had the family over for Christmas, so it must be legal!
At the end of the thread Dan C-somethingorother tried to deflect the issue, change the subject, and naturally tried to make it look like the big, bad Republicans were picking on his poor little sweetheart. Newsflash, Dan C.: we’ll beat her at the polls even if she doesn’t belong on the ballot, just like we dealt with Linda Ackerwoman!
Anyway, to us the legality of Lorri’s new home is really just an issue fun for its entertainment value. The real issue for us, of course, is that she, like her council colleague Harry Sidhu, is a carpetbagger from the 3rd Supervisorial District.
Yep. The day after former State Senator Joe Dunn addressed the County Board of Supervisors about establishing a mechanism for keeping track of the professional lobbyists who haunt the 5th floor of the Hall of Admin, Matthew Cunningham popped up serially on the “Red County” blog to explain to his readers why the system ain’t broke and why his lobbyist friends have a constitutional right to “petition their government for redress.”
Aha! We called it here. Of course the idea that lobbyists are petitioning their government for anything except a chance to make big bucks for their clients is patently absurd.
We don’t agree with some of the purported details of Dunn’s original idea, but overall the concept of knowing which well-connected middlemen are knocking on your representative’s door in order to swing some deal or other, is basically a good one. Dunn’s timing and presentation to the Board were counterproductive and will be viewed as partisan, in some way. But so what?
Cunningham suggests that the whole thing is just a plan to dissuade privatization, but of course he really can’t say how, except that the OCEA union boss Nick Berardino is involved.But why should a lobbyist who is doing nothing improper or illegal fear a little bit of light illuminating his interaction with public officials?
Actually, an effort to squelch the idea will make people even more suspicious than ever about what is going on behind closed doors.
Cunningham is just doing his job, of course: trying to run interference for his Repuglican lobbyist pals like John Lewis who apparently would really rather not have the public aware of his influence with electeds. But the strategy is poor. In a second post he suggests that Dunn is simply trying to force the supervisors to adopt their own plan to avoid his referendum. Good idea.
Rather than let Dunn produce a likely popular plebiscite, the Supervisors ought to develop a sensible sytem for keeping track of lobbyists themselves, and include the union bosses like Berardino and Wayne Quint who are really nothing but lobbyists themselves – paid with ample union dues.
This issue is about recognizing the influence peddlers in OC – people who use their political and financial contacts to make inroads into public policy and pubic expenditure. Nothing wrong with that.
A few days ago on this post about Pam Keller’s blank Collaborative calendar, we received a visit from FSD trustee Minard Duncan. As is usual, Minard’s visit was vacuous and inane. Just about what you’d expect from an educrat. Minard admitted his comments were just made to “rile” us up.
But what was really interesting was when Minard dropped this spud on the Friends, unwittingly revealing a mindset that reveals all the things wrong with Fullerton’s elected representatives:
School board members do not have any power as individuals. It takes three board members out of a five member board agreeing on an issue to have authority. We are the boss of the district superintendent and no one else but not as individuals only as a collective board.
See, Minard indicates that authority (power) is only to be exercised by a majority, and, moreover, through the conduit of a Superintendent – thus effectively removing the “elected” from actually having to do much of anything except hire a single underling and ratify his decisions. And of course the consequence of Minard-think is that the responsibility and accountability attendant upon elected office is conveniently dissipated through delegation to a host of protected bureaucrats who are never held accountable either.
But whoever thought that the absence of a majority meant that a boardmember was somehow robbed of any of the authority vested in him by the electorate? While it takes a board majority to act affirmatively on a specific issue, the authority of an elected is indivisible. Minard is not just a third of a potential majority, nor does he represent only a theoretical one fifth of the property tax payers and parents – although he doesn’t seem to grasp this idea.
It is each boardmember’s responsibility to concern himself with everything that goes on in his district and to take responsibility for it.
Minard-think leads to the complete dereliction of responsibility that seems to obtain not only at the FSD, but also at Fullerton City Hall, too, where electeds delegate responsibility right along with the authority they invest in their City Manager. And of course as any honest council watcher knows, the Council, through laziness and/or inclination, is completely in thrall to the Chief Bureaucrat who is supposed to be working for them. It’s rather like the Stockholm Syndrome.
And you know what? A lot of electeds and their bureaucratic masters sure seem to like it that way.
