What is “The Alliance for California’s Tomorrow”?

I have friends all over California and some of them are very generous.
I have friends all over California and some of them are very generous.

You’ve gotten a lot of junk mail from them lately, about the 72nd Assembly race, and  mostly reprehensible attacks on Chris Norby. Never heard of this operation with the lame name? Don’t feel bad. Hardly anyone else has either. That’s because it doesn’t make anything, doesn’t stand for anything, and doesn’t even exist – except on paper. It is a political Independent Expenditure “Committee” that’s sole reason for existence is to funnel lobbyist money into political campaigns.

But let’s let Repuglican Bigmouth Jon Fleischman tell it:

“Just heard from Jim Nygren the consultant for the Alliance for California’s Tomorrow, the Sacramento insider crowd that is ponying up big-time to try and elect Linda Ackerman in AD 72.”

Jim Nygren. A political “consultant” who operates a slush fund for “insiders” to get one of their own in power. Redevelopment abusers, gambling interests, etc., etc. These are the real supporters of Team Ackerman. And boy, oh boy do they want their cardboard cutout up in Sacto. where they can put her to work over rigatoni with clam sauce at Spataro.

And check out Fleischman’s post: they’ve lined up the punch drunk Bankhead to provide testamonials for Linda Ackerman, the woman whose husband, Dick, famously coined the moniker “Blankhead”! One letter is meant for Reeps the other for Dems. Geez, they think of everything! But given Bankhead’s embarrassingly vacant performance on the council dais lately, one has to wonder if his support is worth much.

I'd like soup. Are we having soup today?
I'd like soup. Are we having soup today?

10/28/09 72nd Absentee Ballot Totals

At the Registrar of Voters site you can keep track of how many absentee ballots have been mailed in. As of yesterday just a little under 13,000 were returned. Since Wednesday’s counts were significantly lower than Tuesday’s it looks like the hump is past and the majority may have already been cast. It will be interesting to see if the Ackerman, Inc. continues its barrage of junk mail in pursuit of a dwindling number of likely voters.

Here’s hoping they waste a lot of their lobbyist money. And here are the totals:

November 17 , 2009 Statewide Special Election
Raw Count of Vote-by-Mail Ballots Returned

date count
10/21/2009 63
10/22/2009 1,851
10/23/2009 2,441
10/26/2009 3,571
10/27/2009 3,235
10/28/2009 1,746
Total: 12,907

The Ackerman Anti-tax Pledge. What a Hurl

UPDATE: This post was previously published on October 18th. Our Friend Joe S. asked that we repost as a reminder that the Ackerman campaign is really built on nothing but hot air and bad intentions.
 
We received an e-mail from our long-time Friend, Joe Sipowicz, yesterday and decided to share it with you. It has Joe’s trademark frankness so please don’t get mad at us. We just pass it along as Joe sent it, with a couple of spelling corrections:

 

Sure, I'll sign anything.
Sure, I'll sign anything Dick tells me to. We're a team.

I came home from work the other day and brought in the mail. Among the rest of the junk was a Linda Ackerman campaign mailer. One side included some bullshit about how Norby voted to raise his Sanitation District stipend, something I had already read about: he didn’t actually cast a vote so we don’t even know if he was in the room. But the Ackermans just decided to say he voted for it. Throw it up, see if it sticks.

 The other side showed the Ackerman woman in her staged “experienced businesswoman” pose and costume – a blatant fraud already well debunked as a con by Grover Cleveland’s excellent posts.

But the best (worst) part of this flier was the little corner dedicated to a facsimile of some asinine “no tax pledge” signed by this woman. No new taxes. And a signature.

Then it hit me. What kind of a goddamned idiot would be impressed with this horse crap, and what kind of cynic would think they would be? Well, clearly this flier was meant to appeal to some brain-dead jackass who actually thinks a politician’s pledge is all that meaningful. And of course I understand that the Ackerman woman has no record on anything, and needs to make up stuff. So she signed some stupid piece of paper to see how many of the rubes would go for it.

Given that fact that the Ackerman “campaign” has been nothing but a load of lies from the beginning – residency, experience, etc. it’s hard to believe why anybody would take this lame-ass pledge seriously. 

And another thought: people like the Ackermans with their political money machines and their lobbyist enabled free trips to Hawaii know how to game anything in government – even signed “no tax” pledges. There are all kinds of ways to raise government revenue in Sacramento, the most obvious being the notorious “fee” increase, often nothing more than user taxes applied to government services or facilities that have already been paid for by the taxpayer. And raising these fees is just another way of raising general fund revenues through the back door – without actually “raising taxes.”

Well, the back door seems to be the place of preferred entry for the Ackermans: from Sacramento to Lindendale, in Fullerton; through which they must be sneaking in at night since nobody has seem them going through the front door of their rented address.

Facebook Funnies

I did it. So can you!

I did it. So can you!

Just because we had nothing better to do we took a cyber stroll through Linda Ackerman’s Facebook site and lookit what we turned up. Note the name: Carol Rudat, the erstwhile candidate for City of Orange City Council who was busted as a carpetbagger and narowly escaped having her candidacy tossed out by a judge. And now she and her husband Dave strongly endorse fellow carpetbagger Linda Ackerwoman! Too funny!

O, bitter irony! Matthew J. Cunningham had a veritable conniption over Rudat’s carpetbagging in Orange, but now looks the other way when the wife of El Commandante does it in the 72nd Assembly District race!

What a collection of miscreants.

72nd Assembly District Pre-ballot Mail-Out Recap: What We Know About Linda Ackerman

Isn't being a "proud grandmother" enough?
Isn't being a "proud grandmother" enough?

UPDATE: as absentee ballots roll in we thought it would be a useful public service to republish our run down about what we know about Linda Ackerman. If you haven’t voted please read, or read again. If you have already voted have fun reading it anyway. 

We’ve been reading up on our would-be 72nd Assembly District representative, Linda Ackerman, of Irvine. We’ve done some digging, too, and have perused her website. We have had quite a bit of fun shredding the supposed testimonials by endorsers, statements so false that they hardly needed debunking.

Now, with only a month (Ed. now three weeks) to go before the Special Election primary, and with absentee ballots soon to be landing in mailboxes we have decided to do a recap of the territory we have covered. Consider it a public service.

  • Linda Ackerman is a carpetbagger who has lived in a gated community in Irvine for ten years.
  • The Ackermans have “rented” a fraudulent address on Lindendale, in Fullerton to meet the minimum enforceable election law, even though it is a violation of the State Constitution.
  • Despite her campaign claims of being an “experienced businesswoman” she has provided no evidence to substantiate that claim. She does sit on the Board of a collection agency whose clients are organized as Sacramento lobbyists.
  • She created an operation called the Pacific Policy Research Foundation, a putative “charitable” corporation; a dodge whose sole purpose is to provide politicians a free trip to Hawaii to be lobbied by big business interests.
  • She has received at least two $3900 contributions from bogus political campaign “slush funds,” including that of her own husband.
  • She was paid $76,000 by her own husband’s campaign as a “consultant.”
  • She is responsible for perhaps the sleaziest campaign mailer seen since her own husband ran for the Assembly in 1995.
  • She has zero record on any issues. None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

In sum, Mrs. Ackerman is a cipher, a virtual non-entity, trading on her husband’s name and hoping to succeed by raising enough money from her Sacramento pals to smear her opponent but good. And there you have it.

We will add as an addendum that it became clear during the Dave Lopez Mike Duvall/Linda Ackerman story that Dick Ackerman “speaks for his wife.” And that blatant puppetry ought to give any conscientious citizen cause to pause, especially when we learn that Ackerman is regarded as Mike Duvall’s “political godfather.”

And the desperate hit pieces on Chris Norby by Ackerman, Inc. and its big business and Redevelopment abuser surrogates has not only gotten slimier, but incessant. A new generation of North Orange Countians now knows how low Team Ackerman will go to keep its grubby mitts on power. Any power at all, really. 

Well, the voters have a clear choice. And in a democracy you always get the kind of representation you deserve!

Another Day, Another Phone Call

Van
Oh, no. Not again!

Following hot on the heels of their last snagged conversation between Dick Ackerman and his various high-minded associates, we have received this sparkling gem from our Undercover Surveillance Unit.

It appears to be a conference call between Dick Ackerman and two of Repuglican OCs minor water bearers, Adam Probolsky and Matthew Cunningham. It is so unbelievable that we will obviously forgive you Friends for treating it as fiction, but here goes, anyway.

It's all coming together...another term in Sacramento!
It's all coming together...another term in Sacramento!

(Cunningham and Ackerman were already conversing when the interception began. A faint ringing sound is heard in the background)

Dick Ackerman: (snort) You missed the rear tires again.

Matt Cunningham: Sorry, sir. Thought I got them. Won’t happen again.

DA: (grunting noise) Yeah, well it better not…and use Armor All next time…

(ringing stops)

Adam Probolsky: Hey there, Senator. So glad I could join –

DA: (guttural sounds) Shut up and listen Problobsky. Your girlfriend has already got me into plenty of hot water. That shit with Jones Day isn’t going to be free.

AP: I’ll tell you what –

DA: (bark) No, you’re done talking, putz. Clam up. You’re almost as bad as that donkey Fleischman.

AP: Sorry, sir I just –

( a low grade snarl, unattributable)

DA: That asshole Lacy did a poll. Showed Linda down by ten. We go down, you go down. Now get your fat ass out there and refute it. And you, you –

MC: Me? Yessir?

DA: Your job is to screw with that FFFF operation and Bushala. That bastard is putting up signs attacking me. I mean attacking Linda. Nobody attacks me. It can’t be legal. They’re making me look bad. Making Linda look bad. Making us look bad. (several low growls and a snort). Ughhhmmmmph.

MC: He’s fringe. Crazy. I really hate him. I hate his guts.

AP: He’s a terrrorist. They all are, you know.

DA: Shut up, Plobrosky. What are you still doing on the line? You’ve got your assignment now get lost.

(a distinct clicking sound) 

MC: Anything else you want me to do, sir?

DA: (snarl) I want you to start going after Norby, goddammit!

MC: Okay….well…its hard…I mean. I haven’t endorsed him…

DA: (several growls)Nobody gives a rat’s ass about your punk endorsement. Just take a shit on him every day.

MC: Well, I’m trying, but you see, John is telling me the same thing, so –

DA: Don’t play hard ball with me you little (unintelligible). If I go down you’re coming along, too see, just like Porbolsky and Fleischberg. And all that Carona shit may come out, too. You and all your little…(loud sound of exhalation).  And don’t forget to shut up that Bartlett piece of crap. Thinks he’s so goddam pure and self-righteous. (growling sound)

MC: Well, we’ve been deleting some of his posts and Chip has –

DA: (muffled sounds of indeterminate origin) Shut him up. Now. I’ll take care of him but good after I win. So go after Bushala. Make him look bad. (several quick grunts)

MC: Well, it’s a little hard – he doesn’t seem to care what I say about him. He’s crazy.

DA: Goddamit, call him a liar and a crook. I don’t give a shit. Use some big words. Goddam Jones Day. Worthless. Can’t count on anybody. All out to get me. (a muffled snarl)

MC: Okay, sir. I’ll keep up the pressure. We really need Linda.

DA: Who? Oh, yeah. Right. Now start blogging or your gravy train’s gonna come to a screeching halt, you got it?

MC: Yessir!

DA: And next time get the tires right or I’ll let Fleischman do it.

Another Day, Another Plop

This post was written by Joe Sipowicz and we just received it by e-mail. Joe seems pretty steamed up so we’re posting it immediately. We reproduce it unedited.

If only I knew what I was talking about I could be relevant...
If only I knew what I was talking about maybe I could be credible...

It’s getting a little weird – not cyber-stalking scary, but pretty weird, nevertheless. Poor Matthew Cunningham seems to have developed an unhealthy obsession with your blog. Everyday brings a new charge against FFFF and its proprietor of some misfeasance, lawbreaking, or general attack. It’s true you have been pretty frank in displaying your dislike for political sycophants and stooges, and have singled out Mr. C on more than one occassion as an example of the type. But still. He seems bent on a vendetta!

Today on his blog he accused Tony Bushala of cyber-squatting on a URL address in violation of campaign laws. Here’s what Clarence Darrow Cunningham had to say:

Yesterday, I came across Section 18320of the California Elections Code, known as the “California Political Cyberfraud Abatement Act.”

It says:

Political cyberfraud includes, but is not limited to, any of the following acts:

(D) Intentionally preventing the use of a domain name for a political Web site by registering and holding the domain name or by reselling it to another with the intent of preventing its use, or both.

And wouldn’t you know it — who appears to be in violation of that section but noted election scofflaw Tony Bushala of Fringe for Fullerton’s Future. In July, he reservedthe domain name “Tom Daly for Supervisor.” Since Bushala has an extremely negative view of Daly, it’s fair to assume he reserved it with the intention spelled in subsection (D). But almost I forgot — it’s Bushala and his pals who are cleaning up politics, restoring the dignity of the Republican Party, etc, etc, blah, bah. Who has time for nuisance’s like election laws? 

The only problem is that Cuningham’s comprehension skills have obviously been stunted by asphyxia. It is crystal clear that Tony is using that site for (drum roll, please) political speech! As a matter of fact, Cunningham undercuts his own effort to play attorney by helpfully providing a link to the site (Tony, remember to thank him for the advertisement!) showing a political statement.

Tony is not “squatting” on it to keep anybody from using it. And he hasn’t sold it to someone else to do so. Cunningham’s precious subsection D remains unviolated and the Republic can still muddle along. 

As far as cleaning up politics I have never read anything on this blog that stated such a noble purpose. But cleaning out rats like Cunningham and all the other political parasites in the Orange County Republican machine would indeed be a public service!

Joe Sipowicz, Jr.

Attorney Jim Lacy Stands Up For Little Guys

Jim Lacy
Jim Lacy

Orange County lawyer James Lacy has leaped into the breach to defend Art Pedroza’s Orange Juice blog from the intimidation by legal monster Jones Day – reportedly the fourth largest law operation in the nation. Here is Art’s post on the subject.

You may recall that Art, like us, received a threatening letter from Jones Day lawyer Thomas Reed Malcolm (who just happens to have been at the same college and law schools at the same as Dick Ackerman. Hmm). Malcolm, it seems, is representing one Desiree Mouzoon – who was the subject of a KCAL investigative piece by Dave Lopez. Several local blogs were targeted (including ours) for merely passing along news of an event that occurred in our city.

Lacy has also agreed to defend FFFF against potential legal harassment, although we never took down the post.

So our thanks to Mr. Lacy for doing the right thing. If the political machines – republican or Democrat – can deploy their pals in big law firms to bully and harass their opponents, then we’re all in big trouble.

Still Reeling From Methane Intoxication Fart Boy Can’t Clear Head

How come when I let fly with a salvo nobody salutes?
How come when I let one fly nobody salutes?

Over at his dreary and deserted Repuglican blog  Brown Klownty, minor grade GOPer lackey and Fart Boy Matt Cunningham accused FFFF of violating campaign finance laws. He showed pictures of NO ACKERMAN IRVINE CARPETBAGGER signs that he got from our site.

First, thanks Jerbal for the additional publicity for our blog; and also to the cause of running Ackerwoman out of Fullerton and back to Irvine. Oh, wait. We can’t do that BECAUSE THE STUPID CARTOON CUTOUT NEVER LEFT IRVINE!

I resemble that remark!
I resemble that remark!

What a maroon. It pleased Fart Boy to accuse FFFF of not making the necessary reporting on expenditures over a thousand dollars. First it doesn’t seem to have occurred to him that you can make signs for a lot less that he may imagine. But since he has no idea how many signs were even made he’s just making up shit and tossing it around again. Pretty low for the self-described model of character and virtue, but that’s the business he’s in.

The absolute funniest part is how he assumed that it was FFFF who failed to do the reporting! He portentously linked to the FFFF page at the Secretary of State’s website. It may come as a surprise to this pin head but the FFFF IE isn’t spending a dime in this election!

Well, Maybe She Is a Businesswoman After All

Thanks to red vixen from the Orange Juice blog for this discovery. Since we can’t confirm whether or not this is the same Linda Ackerman who is carpetbagging the 72nd Assembly District election, and whom we have accused of lying about being a “businesswoman,” we may owe her an apology! Dog grooming is a real business. But if it is our Linda, why didn’t she put this on her resume. It would have helped.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Kv3w_zR3I