I hate to get crude, of course, but sometimes the right analogy is indelicate: the recent denials by Anaheim Chamber of Commerce President Todd Ament that the Chamber has anything whatsoever to do with Matt Cunningham’s AnaheimBlog.net website remind me of arguments that I have heard at times from women and men engaged in the sex trade (or some more legal but morally similar equivalents, such as when an extramarital girlfriend is set up with her own apartment and credit card — and, in the old days, a pager.)
These arguments are along the lines of the clients of (or the “vendors” in) a illicit massage parlor saying: “I am (or he is) only paying for the massage.”
If that “massage” culminates in a “happy ending,” why, that’s just a free and unrelated post-massage add-on — a separate voluntary interaction between consenting adults rather than a commercial transaction itself — and it’s therefore legal and no more immoral than any other sexual activity between adults. (Besides, the “masseuse” wasn’t paid; the client just happened to leave some money on the dresser!)
(Note: I’m not specifying what I mean by “happy ending” because some of the innocent children watching Fox News at 9 p.m. that Megyn Kelly wants to reassure that “Santa Claus just is white” may also be reading this blog.)
So with that metaphor in mind, let’s look at some of the statements that have recently been made about the relationship — or purported lack thereof — between the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce and AnaheimBlog.net — the latter not to be confused (except inevitably) with the City of Anaheim’s anaheim.net website.
Sad goings-on in front of Anaheim’s City Hall: a hapless figure in a raincoat has the stuffing kicked out of him.
Now that the story has gone (mildly) national, the hometown Register has picked up on it.
Cunningham is a longtime Republican operative and considered part of Anaheim’s power structure. He was deputy press secretary for former Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, when Pringle was State Assembly speaker, and he worked on Rep. Darrell Issa’s, R-Vista, first campaign for Congress.
In 2004, Cunningham launched OC Blog, which is now defunct but was the premier county blog for Republicans for several years. His current blog, anaheimblog.net, focuses on “city government, candidates and campaigns, issues and events, moving and shaking.”
Cunningham also consults for the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, which is a major player in the current political power structure. Some media reports linked the chamber to the blog. On Wednesday, the chamber issued a statement saying it didn’t own or control the website, but that it works with Cunningham on other communications projects.
“While we also believe that this post was insensitive,” Chamber President Todd Ament wrote, “Mr. Cunningham has since apologized for the post and removed it. At this time, we will continue to engage his professional services on unrelated matters.”
Cunningham’s wife, Laura, is also active in Republican politics and has served as executive director of the Republican Party of Orange County. She is also a Mexican immigrant, Cunningham noted.
I will probably follow up on this in time (or maybe OJB’s friends Cynthia Ward and Jason Young will be able to recite the facts from memory in comments), but Cunningham didn’t used to blog much about Anaheim. Anaheimblog.net was set up relatively recently — and, in appears to many of us observers, at right around the time when Cunningham started doing work for the Chamber. That the website does the PR work of the Chamber — and of the Pringle Ring that controls the Council majority until and unless Councilmembers Kring and Eastman (or, sigh, Brandman) wise up to the inevitable political price — should be beyond rebuttal. (Go ahead, guys, make us prove it.)
So what exactly is the argument of Cunningham and Ament here? Is it that Cunningham got a contract from the Chamber to do something else and coincidentally started and ran his Anaheim blog, running the views of Pringle and Ament through his site like a pressure hose? Did the Chamber not realize that he was doing this? If they were not involved, did they ever say “hey, buddy, maybe while you’re under contract with us you should ease up, because what you’re doing there could easily be misconstrued as coming from us”? Was Cunningham just acting out of sudden but heartfelt love for the Chamber, not because they were paying him, but because he just appreciated how great they were?
Or was Cunningham going to be “paid for the massage” so long as the Chamber (and those funneling money through it) were, um, “satisfied by the end”? Did he know that he had to perform as desired to obtain return business?
Well, let’s see what people have had to say.
Jason Young was blunt and to the point:
“Todd Ament is a liar. Matt is paid by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce to write AnaheimBlog.net.”
His critics will say that Young can’t prove that. Well, if he can prove that Cunningham was hired (even if only for a message massage) and that he keeps providing the Chamber stories with happy endings, then we just have to ask the question of what we think the evidence suggests. Proof, even in criminal prosecutions, need not be 100%.
Cunningham himself isn’t quoted in the Register article addressing this question, but in comments he offers his exculpatory apology:
Matthew Cunningham · Top Commenter · Principal at Pacific Strategies
I appreciate the opportunity to talk to Mike Reicher about what happened, and express my apologies for any hurt my post has caused to anyone. Even though that was absolutely not my intent, feelings were clearly hurt nonetheless, independently of anyone’s politics, and for that I am sorry. I understand the pain of losing a family member, and the loss of a child must be the most inconsolable of all, and I sincerely wish I’d had more awareness when writing the post. I have four children, and cannot imagine losing any of them. I’m sure it’s the same for any parent, no matter the circumstances of the death or the path of decisions made and not made that led to it. But I had absolutely no intent or thought of diminishing anyone’s grief or loss.
As a clarification: there might have been a miscommunication when I spoke to Mr. Reicher, but contrary to the how the article can be read, I didn’t do anything to the teddy bear, but found it as it was. Also, in the post I did not “liken the bear to racially charged police shootings” or make “light of activists’ responses.” But again, I see now how someone could take it that way – which is why I removed the post and would again like to apologize.
This suggests that Cunningham still doesn’t get what he did.
He didn’t just innocently and inadvertently trigger the grieving mothers’ memories of “the pain of losing a child” (although he certainly did that too.) He also visually likened the corpses on the streets of Anaheim to toy brown bears with the stuffing spilling onto the street. (What was the bear to represent if not a victim of violence? And if it wasn’t police violence in his story, why have Dr. Jose Moreno come out to talk about it? And how was that NOT “making light of activists’ responses”?) And in one picture — the one with the candles — he went out of his way to evoke the culturally predominant mourning rituals of the affected community.
But beyond that — sorry, I can’t help myself — the three photos without the candles prove that someone did do something to the bear, apparently prior to Cunningham’s shopping trip for hilarious candles of mourning. Take a look at the Voice of OC story, under the “Why This Post Is Gone” message, at the trio of photos. In the one on the right, the bear in perched on the ledge of a planter. (Somewhat precariously, it seems to me, given its apparent center of gravity — suggesting that it was placed there deliberately.) Now either this happened before the other pictures or after. If before, how did the bear get down onto the ground? If it happened after, how did the bear get onto the ledge?
I hate to accuse Matt of being parsimonious with the truth, but the phrase “I didn’t do anything to the teddy bear, but found it as it was” suggests an easy explanation: Matt had at least one accomplice. Some commenters have already suggested that the Anaheim Police may have been involved — perhaps upset at Theresa Smith’s memorial for her son Cesar Cruz the previous day. If one of them put the bear there and then told Matt to show up — regardless of whether such an appointment had been previously planned — then Matt himself “found it as it was.” And if someone else moved the bear around for him, or for their own purposes but allowing him to take the different shots, then he can accurately say “I didn’t do anything to the teddy bear.”
This is technically accurate — just as it’s true that if someone leaves cash on a dresser and then after a transaction another person picks it up (and, if I have this procedure wrong, pardon my lack of direct knowledge of how such things work) then the first person can accurately state that the other person “never gave them money” — but it’s not honest. In court, witnesses are told to tell “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.” That’s what Cunningham should do now. The whole story, leaving nothing relevant out, of how this situation came about — including whether anyone planned it and anyone else participated in it.
Finally, let’s take a look at what Cynthia Ward had to say in a comment to Gustavo Arellano’s story on Cunningham. (Gustavo’s story itself can be boiled down to the following excerpt: “May this episode show Orange County once and for all what we’ve been saying for years: Matty Cunningham is a powerless wuss who folds like the wuss that he is the moment anyone challenges him.”) Cynthia transcended wuss-baiting:
I would suggest sharing your thoughts on this issue with those who employ him. The Chamber of Commerce is run by CEO/President Todd Ament, and if you think Matt Cunningham is a bully you should see the guy who signs those checks. Pure evil open to anything for a buck. Todd Ament answers to a Board of Directors who run the non-profit organization, thus far they have looked the other way, I assume Todd produces something of value, not sure what yet, his leadership drops the Chamber further into the red with each passing year, including a six-figure tab for unpaid payroll taxes. If you discover what Todd or Matt bring to the table in terms of benefit to the Chamber let me know. In the meantime, you may send your thoughts, prayers, poems, to the Board of Directors at the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, 201 E. Center Street Anaheim CA 92805 or anaheimchamber.org but I suspect they go straight to Todd and I have no reason to believe he will pass along those messages to the board, where mail is harder to stash.
Should you wonder where a flat-on-their-ass-broke Chamber of Commerce gets the scratch to pay Matt to fund Suite C, as a non-profit they are not required to disclose donors, but we do know their benefactors that make up the Anaheim City Council majority are very good at inventing little make-work projects for the Chamber at inflated price tags. Yep, there is a fairly good chance that if you are an Anaheim resident or business owner it is YOUR tax money that eventually worms its way into the bank account of the scum-bucket who finds it humorous to mock the mourning customs of Latino families one day after a candlelight vigil was held at Anaheim PD in memory of the shooting death of Cesar Cruz. Cesar’s Mom, Theresa Smith, was at Council tonight with Donna Acevedo, mother of Joel, whose shooting death helped spark the “unrest” in July 2012. Both mothers spoke about the mocking of their sons’ deaths and their own pain and mourning in the loss of their children, Theresa held up a photo of her son on a coroner’s slab, along with the teddy bear screen shot. You wanna talk about being ashamed to be part of the same human race as Cunningham in that brief moment, it was AWFUL some of us openly weeping in Council Chambers…and while Gail Eastman expressed sorrow that the women endured that loss not one of them addresses the issue of the Chamber funding this crap, much less that the biggest funding source for Matt’s employer is the City Council themselves. Accountability? Nope, just whining about how we don’t offer them civility and respect when we come groveling to them from the podium. I have spent the last few days needing to scream or vomit, or both.
As it happens, I spoke just before Theresa Smith, finishing just as Cynthia arrived at the meeting, and in that speech I suggested that the Council majority address this very question of Chamber funding for Cunningham’s blog. None did. Gail Eastman, in fact, said that she has never read it. Maybe if she does, this long-time etiquette advocate and her critics will be able to find some common ground.
(Oh, and a special message to Matt: even someone married to a Latina may do something mind-bogglingly racist. Your or your spouse’s ethnicity doesn’t mean that you won’t do something like that; it just means that you really ought to know better.)
“parsimonious with the truth”
Perfectly pithy. I don’t hate to make that accusation. He’s been deliberately lying about me for months. But that’s okay. I’m a big boy.
Nice graphics, by the way.
Yes Todd, we see you peeking out from behind that palm. The real question is how much longer you’re going to be around running errands for the Kleptocracy.
The earlier draft of this graphic will not see the light of day.
I just hope that when Matt finally acknowledges that the bear did somehow move from planter ledge to ground with the aid of human hands, as opposed to the wind or an earthquake that everyone else failed to notice, readers will figure out how closely one has to read and parse his writing to avoid being snookered.
lets accept the premise that matt is a tool, anaheim is corrupt and ament is a stooge. and, lets even accept the argument that the bear was in bad taste (despite the fact that I thought it was funny, but then again I was an early proponent of andrew dice clay). they still have the right to spew their rhetoric, just as the duck dynasty guy has the right to say what he thinks. and nobody should have to apologize for allowing, regardless of how stupid or insensitive or politically incorrect the statement may be, somebody to use the media (regardless of how you define it) to express those opinions. we do not only get free speech when we agree with that speech. we get to suffer free speech when the person saying whatever it is they are saying is boorish and repugnant
lighten up. do what greg did, run for office and change they culture but do not deny anybody their right to say whatever it is they want to say.
Boorish and repugnant, yes. And I will – like Voltaire – put my ass on the line for Cunningham to have the right to post his boorish repugnant shit. In fact it’s only thanks to me that you can still see it. (Anyone want the screen shots?)
And we’ll make sure everybody remembers who pays for Cunningham’s boorish repugnant shit, and what their agenda is!
Done? Cheers.
vern, when you are right, you are right
Free speech is an issue between a private individual on his own dime and his government. In this case the only government-related issue has to do with whether or not that ludicrous blog is being indirectly funded by the City of Anaheim.
which is no different than the ludicrous blog that berkeley or santa monica puts out
Right. So if the citizenry don’t want to pay for it they can tell their city council to shut them down. That’s not a freedom of speech issue either.
And if matt is really so PASSIONATE about these Anaheim “civic” issues (like damaged teddy bears) he can continue on his own DIME.
you have the right to go on the anaheim blog and state your opinion, just like matt and his friends
And if he doesn’t like it he will delete the comment. And I don’t want to pay for it, either.
we all pay for a lot of things we don’t want to pay for…tell you what, i will get them to stop making you pay for the blog if you get them to stop making me pay for obamacare
Yeah, except why should I pay for a blog that insults and peddles lies about me? Seriously?
No thanks willie. I think I stand a much better chance by myself dealing with the blog. Good luck with the Obamacare thing, though!
Willie don’t wanna hafta pay for contraceptives because … i dunno, he figures he’s got that covered on his end, altho when the poor people’s babies get born and wanna get on welfare he might think back fondly to the day he coulda helped em not get born…
see, there you go, making assumptions with no basis in fact
a) i might actually be pro choice
b) i might actually need them to breed to man my child labor factories
c) they might be mine
I have never seen so many blog posts about Matt Cunningham , where Matt Cunningham hasn’t had numerous comments posts defending his own righteousness. Yet……now, …crickets.
He’s against the ropes and silently grunting through the tightening clinch….but he’ll be back.
He’s like herpes. He just in remission.
Calling my metaphor and raising, I see? OK, let me take a peek at my cards….
I just received a text message from Dan C.. I’ve previously informed him that he should no longer have any reasonable expectation of privacy in contacting me, so I presume that he wants this to be published:
I’m surprised that Dan had had no idea that massage parlor visits involving sex workers sometimes culminate in a male orgasm. I’m a little unnerved that he’d be impressed by my having such knowledge — which, admittedly, is entirely secondhand.
I need help from readers in interpreting the last bit, though. Is Dan asking me whether I’ve had a “personal experience” with a massage parlor — for reasons I don’t really want to contemplate — or is he asking whether I’ve ever personally experienced an orgasm? How basic do you think I’d need to get with explaining things to him here?
I’m reminded of how Monty Python;s Eric Idle closes the “wink wink nudge nudge say no more” sketch, wherein he asks: “What’s it like?” It may be best not to answer at all.
He is just a classy guy, isn’t he?
“just is.” As in, “just is white.”
He has now indicated in a follow-up text that my problem is that I don’t understand sarcasm. So that’s classy, I guess.
Him and Matty really have trouble with the humor thing eh. And everyone’s all “conservatives can’t do humor” … and Dan would be the last person to call himself a “conservative.” And meanwhile Zenger, Ryan, and Cynthia – real conservatives – crack me the fuck up.
It’s DEFENDERS OF PRIVILEGE who can’t do humor. I say vote ’em off the island!
Of course they can do humor. They found breaking people on the rack hilarious.
F—n classic:
Jeez that kind of ignorance about the facts of life suggests a monastic education.
aren’t those mostly found in janet’s district
If you’re talking kept mistresses, my guess is that you should look around closer to home.
Wait till he gets his payday from the Risperdal settlement!
Yes, Matt is free to say anything he pleases, on the blog that both he and the Chamber insist is not part of his work contract and therefore is on Matt’s free time.
And the Chamber’s Board, as a non-profit corporation whose duty to their members is to promote the mission of the Chamber in promoting Anaheim as a great place to do business, including a contract from the City for public outreach to the very population insulted by Cunningham in his spare time, can then decide on the wisdom of retaining a consultant who enjoys insulting the prospective new members of his client as a hobby. They can also consider the wisdom of retaining the services of the thug posing as a CEO who hired Cunningham knowing he is using his “free time” to insult the public the Chamber is tasked with communicating with, and the prospective members the Chamber needs to cultivate.
The free market at work, it is a beautiful thing.
Oh, man. And this is a PR professional? From Norberto in today’s Voice of OC:
Perhaps the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce can raise money to fund a proper survey of Anaheim’s Latinos to assess their views on invoking their culture’s mourning traditions to mock the deaths of young Latino men. Heck, I’d even try to get DPOC to chip in $1000 for that sort of public educational effort. Apparently, it’s not obvious enough to some people what they would think of it.
Noberto’s post (once again) reek’s of political opportunism.
As much as I don’t like Matt, He’s right. Two supposed complaints (and I don’t know if they spoke up, if so=Valid) out of a city of a half million.
The Voice Of OC, along with other left leaning publications (is a blog a publication???) repeatedly champion the supposed “disenfranchised” or hurtful actions/language of others without really checking out who the affected are.
I doubt Noberto has much in common with the average working class Latino, or that he can even identify with them (much like his college, a Middle Class Jewish kid from Mission Viejo, crying about the Santa Ana political situation). These are wanna be do gooders in my opinion. Not wrong, but too far removed.
I laugh at this political theatre aimed at removing an effective adversary. It’s akin to scoring on a botched snap in football.
Most notable above is GD’s comment “I’d even try to get DPOC to chip in $1000 for that sort of public educational effort”. Why not put your money where your mouth is and the DIAMOND family do that!
This is all about political posturing and if it has to be done at the expense of some silly ritual, by all means both sides will exploit it!
What’s your point? You doubt that latinos – or humans in general – find Matt’s comedy repugnant? Just because the journalist only talks to two sources – would twenty do the trick? My own talks to everyone I know – who’s a helluva lot of white conservatives – shows that MOST people find it repugnant.
You know what my point is, or you should. MATT’S AN ASSHOLE, HE ALWAYS HAS BEEN, but when Noberto and Adam jump on it is somehow newsworthy or more important…You even said as much.
But more direct, I would hope that the aforementioned “journalists” walked down that street where the bad guys were killed (they were BAD guys, perhaps not be deserving of execution, but BAD, BAD individuals.) and spoke to the community members. I applaud the efforts to even out the voting rights, Vern, but honestly, do any of the “activists” roll in the “Haster Huvel”. Anaheim is bigger than Anna Drive.
Let’s see someone OTHER than the parade of Los Amigios activist out there. I watched this FIRST HAND in Santa Ana, look where that got the city. The reality is they are NO CLOSER to fair representation than in Sinaloa (although there is NO FREE HEALTHCARE IN MEXICO).
Matt is a pig, but he represents EXACTLY what most white voters in ORANGE believe.
WAIT! DID I SAY ORANGE???????
WHY IS MATT RUNNING AN ANAHEIM BLOG?????? DUHH!!!!
Noberto is about as effective as a used Gillette Razor.
Um, all ill say at the moment is find out a little bit about Joey, Caesar, Daniel, Manuel, etc before you make any noise about them “deserving” anything.
Nameless, it is correctly spelled “Haster Hovel” and being a former resident myself, I can tell you that nobody wants anyone else shot, not by cops, not by other gang members, enough already! I managed to get out of that type of area, but I have friends who live on Guinida Lane, Anna Drive, and over in Ponderosa, good law abiding people who would love to work with the Police, but the Police and their us cs. them mentality see ALL people in that area as scum.
Try reporting a crime or ask what you can do to help, and people are told (happened to me too) “Well you know you don’t live in the best neighborhood.” So help me that is probably on a test somewhere at the Academy along with memorizing radio codes. The better cops are trying to tell you they have pretty much written you off as living in a war zone, and good luck to you, the worst scenario are the cops who have included you in their view of the bad guys, because after all, you have clearly CHOSEN to live with gang bangers and drug dealers or you wouldn’t be there, therefore you must like them and side with them.
Thank God not all cops end up seeing the City as enemy territory with the PD being the occupying force keeping down the insurgents, but the very, very small minority of those stuck with this mentality give a bad name to the good cops, and our current system not only fails to weed them out, it often rewards them, because the more busted skulls produced during a review translates as “aggressive, go-get-em cop, anything to get the job done” and they are patted on the head and sent out again.
There are a lot of law abiding citizens stuck in the middle, hating the gangs who will eave them alone if you leave them alone, wishing they had law enforcement they COULD call without retaliation from the gangs, and without getting their sons shot. Welcome to Anaheim, nameless, we have a lot of work to do, and I pray the new Chief will keep doing the fabulous job he has started in regaining lost trust in the community. If morons like Matt might be forced to stop pouring lemon juice and salt into the wounds, perhaps our city could heal.
Sorry “Suburu John” took me for our XMAS party, we over induldged, I shared the plight of the local blogesphere.
Ten minutes in he agreed who the ASSHOLES were.
TO ALL: READ THE NO ASSHOLE RULE by Robert Dutton\
What I want to know is why did the Voice of OC invite Matt Cunningham to write op-eds for them? http://ocpoliticsblog.com/why-did-the-voice-of-oc-allow-matt-cunningham-to-write-op-eds-for-them/
Wait — did you publish this slam AFTER Norberto told you yesterday that he’d sue you if you kept running VOC articles (beyond the amount allowed by Fair Use, I presume) in your blog?
VOC presumably had Matt on their editorial board because he has represented a significant portion of political opinion here in OC — and they presumably want to insulate themselves from criticism (I won’t say by the likes of whom) that they are too ideologically narrow. Doesn’t seem like much of a mystery.
Noberto Santana a real hard hitter! the dude can’t even get his subjects names right. Could you imagine if he called someone whose name was Hernandez “Lopez” The guy was a by mistake!
The guy was a B reporter at a B newspaper before the OCEA and Joe Dun decided to turn Goebbels on us.
I think that you must be making a joke there at the beginning, because you must know that Joe’s name is spelled “Dunn.”
I think that Norberto’s track record with the VOC is excellent. So, clearly, do many others — journalists included. We’ve made a lot of progress over the past couple of years and I don’t know how much of it would have been possible without the VOC on the job.
As for “Joe Dun decided to turn Goebbels on us” — I’m just leaving this up so that people can judge you.
(P.S. I mix up surnames all the time, when they’re similar culturally and phonologically. There’s a cognitive science explanation for this, but I doubt you’d be interested. I also mix up first names — I have some interesting “Linda/Lisa” and “Virginia/Veronica/Victoria” stories to tell, none of which is as bad as what you’re probably imagining. To err is human; to forgive, humane.)
I have a shitty keyboard. Sorry about the Dun “Dunn” thing.
I was pretty familiar with the “Dunn’s” as I watched my kids and DOZENS of others get shipped to Willard while his and Dianne’s got a special sixth grade class at Santiago back in the 1990’s.
When I speak of political opportunism, I look at Floral Park circa’ 1999 and see Gray Davis and Loretta running roughshod, and the people getting fucked. In the vortex were assholes like the Dunn’s, Pulido’s, Commie Girl, That Fat Jew pretend lawyer, Rob Richardson and others who hosed a bunch of ordinary folks. Fast Forward fifteen years, and you have Perez, moving into the Den, and playing his game.
By my guess, Dunn’s house is paid for the kids in college and they are ready to bail.
I have no doubt you think Noberto is “excellent” he is selling your brand.. I wish he was better prepared, more honest and factual. That’s all.
I think the silly scarf is weird, but that’s just me. Does he drive an MG convertible too?
Stupid attempt at “balance” – somebody probably told Norberto that Matt was a “conservative.” Probolsky and Lucy Dunn also don’t deserve to be on their roster. Paid hacks all.
I love it, Julio Perez holding a vigil!
Political buzzards I tell you.
Can’t argue…
Really? He’s heading a group with strong ties to both OCCORD and Los Amigos, that is making a priority of community organizing and focus on the working class and poor throughout the county but especially in the cities of Santa Ana and Anaheim, and he doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt?
It’s one thing when Mr. “I’ll attack people anonymously as much as I can because no one can get back at me” hurls feces at the wall” does it, but do we have to encourage it? It the complaint comes from Donna, I would be glad to set up a meeting today or Monday between her and Julio; I was surprised to hear that they haven’t really met (enough to say more than a few words at most.) She’ll be able to distinguish him from a buzzard. (For one thing, he’s interested in what’s happening in and around Guinida Ln.)
Matt is completely discredited and out of the game … how far are we going to try to surf this unfortunate wave?
You know Vern, I was actually starting to feel a bit sorry for this asshole this afternoon. And then I re-visited the Voice of OC pdf that captured the original post and some of the comments (including my own and Cynthia’s) Even two days after the original post he was still defending it and himself and attacking us. The lame remorse and contrition were forced on him, Jimmy Swaggart-like, but it was far too little, far too late.
Pringle will find a straw-filled crate for his pet skulk. In the meantime it’s time to unload on the Little Chamber of Horrors and their toad of a CEO.
I’m not really feeling sorry for him, I’m just asking, how far can we ride this wave. In what way does the fact that Matt has an asshole-ish sense of humor move any progressive or populist or good-government ideas forward? I mean … it seems limited…
okay … if we can really get this to move on to the Chamber then maybe it’s worthwhile.
My view is: pursue justice. That’s what they really don’t want to hear.
On the other side of the fence, Vern, how did Clinton’s dallying with Monica Lewinsky by its nature move forward the agenda of those like Gingrich (who was cheating on his wife at the time) in the mid-90s? (Take that away and Gore — now willing to embrace Clinton — wins the 2000 election.) Matt’s auto-da-fe does not of its own nature upend the corruption in Anaheim (and OCTA), but it sure can facilitate it! Look at what we just learned about how much Pringle was making off of Matt’s OCTA contract. Maybe that info was already out there, but I didn’t know it — and I’m pretty tuned in to this stuff. That’s how it helps: elliptically.
The most interesting thing I learned about the OCTA contracts is this:
So Pringle needs that straw for his own crate, too. Do you ever get the feeling that we’re reading about the exploits of Milo Minderbinder in Catch-22?
He, himself was just a pale shadow of the Kleptocracy that employed him. The sense of entitlement, the lies, the half-truths, the insinuation, the utter disregard for anything that doesn’t confer power or wealth – these are the attributes of the people who run this town and the OCTA and all the other grafts large and small that feed their appetite. In this sense alone he was important as a barometer of the contemptuous attitudes held by his keepers to the public.
Yes, this wave is already wasting itself on the sand; hopefully a bigger wave will scour the beach of all the Ottmanic detritus once and for all.
If you want to travel in the political ocean without a boat, a wave is how to do it. Matt’s not the wave, he’s just the board.
Yes, at some point it could get gratuitous. I don’t think that Julio organizing a vigil commemorating youth shot by police even gets near that point. You know the guy; he’s practically a Boy Scout.
well, when it’s Julio, it’s the unions doing it. And how are the unions aggrieved by Matt’s boorishness? It just seems kinda … manipulative I guess. Take-advantage-of-ish, is there an adjective there?
But with you and Zenger in agreement, you’re probably right. Carry on…
I’d certainly listen to what Donna had to say about it.
This error plays directly into issues of the representation of poorer and Latino areas within the city’s power structure. That’s not exactly new territory for Julio, eh? If it the Council’s desire to distance itself from the ugliness make them more willing to sign a consent decree with OCCORD, that’s good. If it makes them take their policing practices more seriously, good. If it makes them be more realistic about not abusing the gang injunctions, good. It’s all related.
I find the union angle very unsavory, also anybody holding a vigil for political capital.
At first I was thinking about going. Now, not so much.
I would like to demonstrate to the police department that the fact of people protesting the killing of civilians is just something they’re going to have to live with. Likewise memorials to the dead. Take it like men, boys.
For God’s sake, David — what did FFFF do after the Kelly Thomas killing? They held vigils for political capital — and they were right to do so!
There are different skeins within the union movement. One might be characterized as saying “just give our workers as much money and work as possible, period.” I understand why you oppose that — although at least people who do so are often fighting for a more robust middle class rather than for greater income inequality (like Pringle), so it strikes me more as more a strategic error than as actually evil. (Yes, this applies to some unions more than others.)
Others within the union movement — and the Orange County Labor Federation under Tefere Gebre, Julio, and Rick Eiden are recognized as one of the most significant national incubators of this approach — make a point of trying to aid the poor and workers in their communities even when they are not part of unions themselves! You can look at this as branding, as good PR, as coalition-building, etc., but even if those cynical suppositions are true it’s still working on the same side of the street as you and Cynthia are. Three of the strongest voices among DPOC officers against corruption in Anaheim — me, Jeff LeTourneau, and Gloria Alvarado — have ties to the “community-oriented” reform approach of OCLF (ranked there in increasing order, with Gloria having a large role in OCLF itself); we have been leaders in getting the party actively on the record against the abuses of the Council majority.
I’ve had to learn to distinguish between conservatives who want good government from those who don’t. You have to learn to do the same when it comes to the union movement. I’d hope — I’d even bet — that if you come to the rally you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much you and they are speaking dialects of the same language. And the stronger that tendency within the labor movement gets, the more people will embrace it — and the more that good governance becomes possible.
You are dead wrong about Kelly Thomas vigils. I know because I went to one or two even though I live in Anaheim; I think Cynthia Ward went up to Fullerton too. Those were virtually spontaneous and attended by Kelly’s Army people. The was ZERO political angle. I also went to a couple of the Saturday protests. There all sorts of people from different places on the political spectrum (except the self-satisfied Cunningham middle) but no political gesticulation (except for the day AnswerLA showed up uninvited).
Anyway…
This Perez guy just finished running for the Assembly in a district some people say he didn’t live in. Whatever. This is not a labor issue or a party issue. This is about basic equality and equal protection under the law. And in some cases equal protection (or any protection at all) from some of our own “servants.”
Grandstanding is not welcome (at least by me).
I was at some Fullerton vigils myself. There was no PARTISAN angle, but of course there was a POLITICAL angle. Kelly’s Army was tied to Tony Bushala. Tony’s gal Marlena was a leader of it — and did a good job of it. (I attended as many Fullerton Council Meetings in 2012 as I have Anaheim Council meetings in 2013; I saw a lot of them and then worked in concert with them at the post-killing rallies and marches at the Anaheim Police Dept.)
They were fighting to the recall of the Three Blown Gaskets (or whatever FFFF had called them), which Tony paid for, and which had to happen. That is intrinsically political. I don’t say that disparagingly — I mostly agreed with the recall — it’s just what it was.
Perez had moved into the district to run prior to the the statutory limit. There’s no more real disagreement left about that. (What that has to do with any of this, I don’t know.) But when Labor makes “basic equality and equal protection under the law” as part of its community outreach, you would be wise to recognize it — and, ideally, even to appreciate it. It too is part of the political change in Orange County.
“That is intrinsically political. I don’t say that disparagingly — I mostly agreed with the recall — it’s just what it was.”
You agreed with getting rid of nominal Republicans so you could replace them with Democrats like Mr. Chaffee and Mrs. Flory who proudly wore “Save FPD” T-shirts at council meetings on the dais and who have locke-stepped with the cops who killed Thomas ever since. That’s partisan. That in no way is justice for Kelly. Cut the bullshit.
No, David, I agreed with getting rid of the 2011 Council majority because they were completely incapable of restraining the FPD. Better the 2012 Council majority than that. Unfortunately, Travis in particular had his own problems in office.
“Justice for Kelly,” in my opinion, has included:
(1) significant reform in FPD leadership and procedures
(2) a whopping judgment in a civil suit to underscore the costs to the community of bad policing
(3) Cicinelli, in particular, goes to jail for what he did
(4) Ramos busted from the force and whoever failed to train/supervise him held responsible as well
(5) removal of McKinley (definitely) and Jones (almost surely) from the Council; Bankhead deserved it too, but I was concerned about how bad a Whitaker/Sebourn/Kiger Council majority might overreach — concerns that were borne out
(6) serious reform of how the City (and ideally the County) dealt with the homeless population
Taking them one by one:
(1) I think that Dan Hughes has been a significant serious improvement over the previous Chiefs. Is he enough of one? Probably not, but that’s true of pretty much anyone in that position. (It’s similar to Quezada in Anaheim — he’ll probably be better, but you don’t presume that he won’t continue to need civic pressure — which needn’t be vicious, just persistent — in order to strengthen whatever inclination he has towards reform as he tries to instill better discipline and ethics within APD.) The alternatives offered in Fullerton were that Joe Arpaio buddy most recently in SJC and the OC Sheriffs Dept., neither of which I think would have been expected to do any better. (Preferring the OCSD was about avoiding city responsibility for pensions — and pension issues ARE outside of the “Justice for Kelly” ambit.) I’m sure that Hughes would be even more responsive on these issues if pressed — but what I really didn’t anticipate was FFFF folding and the movement holding the FPD accountable falling apart after Kiger lost and Hughes got the permanent appointment.
(2) Mission Accomplished so far as Kelly’s mom is concerned; in progress as regards Ron Thomas.
(3) Fingers crossed. Rackauckas still undercharged him, unfortunately.
(4) Ramos off the force; not sure about whether those higher in the hierarchy have yet faced consequences.
(5) The three 2011 incumbents were all bounced out — and Bankhead got a bonus humiliation to boot. (And I was at the meeting I think you reference; only Chaffee wore that shirt.) I’m not sure what you mean by “lock-stepped with the cops who killed Thomas”; obviously, given their fiduciary duty to the City, they are not supposed to be screaming out for the City to be punished harder.
(6) Following along with Shawn Nelson (whom we needn’t discuss), Flory and (surprisingly to me, but that just goes to show you) Fitzgerald did come up with a decent plan for dealing with the area’s homeless; the three men on the Council, including the two with FFFF ties, spiked it. I hope that that won’t be the end of it. Of course, the difficult problem with the homeless group at the library was a step backwards, but I don’t think that changing the election results would have changed that outcome.
I don’t know what to make of your conflating “political” and “partisan,” because I know that you’re smart enough to know the difference. Kelly’s Army’s appearances at Fullerton Council meetings were a direct intervention in electoral politics — that’s political — and were generally promoting the FFFF-approved slate as well, which is partisan or factional, take your pick. Our main point of disagreement is whether Dan Hughes was a reasonable appointment — and I recall that, when his appointment finally came up, significant voices from Kelly’s Army did support him as the best available hope for reform — so I think that you’re misreading the situation. (You’re also misreading my own position over time, which is all archived here and at FFFF for your convenience if you’re interested, but I’ve gotten used to that from people.)
[Editor’s note: This was formerly a comment that would have been left up if the author had had the guts to sign it with their own name, but as an anonymous attack is part of what is dooming American to moral catastrophe, or something. Seriously, you can’t have a decent argument when one side has to box with shadows.]
Rather Dan like if you ask me.
I notice above that you “choose” what you allow based on “the Diamond principal” ie. If it is bier liberal it stays if it reasonably questions Julio Perez or Beth K rom, See Ya.
Just like DC and Matt and Art.
No one asked you.
And no, when you are over the top I try to intervene regardless of target. But that’s only because your being anonymous makes the fight unfair.
A vigil strikes me as unnecessary and self serving. Especially two days before Christmas.
I find Julio Perry’s personal and professional ambitions being blurred. I watched and listened earlier this year as he tried fire up young people at a Santa Ana City meeting. It as if he was rallying the masses for a coup.
Now I read this.
Maybe Matt will revive his VoiceLESS of OC blog now!
I don’t like political buzzards.
“You agreed with getting rid of nominal Republicans so you could replace them with Democrats like Mr. Chaffee and Mrs. Flory who proudly wore “Save FPD” T-shirts at council meetings on the dais and who have locke-stepped with the cops who killed Thomas ever since. That’s partisan. That in no way is justice for Kelly. Cut the bullshit.”
That is a classic Zenger zinger.
I swear to god Vern, at times you are a big pussy. “I’m not really feeling sorry for him, I’m just asking, how far can we ride this wave. In what way does the fact that Matt has an asshole-ish sense of humor move any progressive or populist or good-government ideas forward? I mean … it seems limited… ”
Pussy! The idea here is not to score a touchdown – but to beat the shit out of the oppositions players – to break his leg – to knock him out of the game. Sack up man!
Diamond: “I was at some Fullerton vigils myself. There was no PARTISAN angle ..”
That’s real funny Greg. You have mastered the art of stating an obvious untruth in order to get a guffaw.
Define “partisan” — as you appear not to understand the term. If there was any “partisan” angle at all, it would have been the North OC amalgam of Libertarian and Green Party, but it wasn’t really even that. It was solidly issue-based — and political in that it was aimed at removing the Council Majority.
As far as you and Vern were concerned the efforts of the OJB were aimed at removing an R council majority in favor of a D majority – or at least additional D’s on the council. For you or Vern proffer otherwise would be dishonest.
Yes, I wanted more Democrats on the Council, but that’s not why I wanted to eliminate the 2011 Council majority. I wanted to get rid of them because they were completely hapless at best — and actively destructive at worst — when it came to trying to control the FPD. (Seriously, I’ll bet that you could find comments from me to that effect written at the time — including at FFFF where you can’t argue that I’ve changed anything.) I expect that Dan Hughes wouldn’t say so, but I think that he’s far stronger having a Council behind him now that will support him in reasonable reform actions rather than the 2011 majority that resembled the “See No Evil” monkeys.
Leave me outta this, dillwad. Any records will show i backed Green Jane Rands and teabagger Barry. Never trusted Flory or Chaffee.
Wrong election. Your pics one dem, one green, and one indy.
Both of your efforts worked at cross purposes to the effort to remove the a-holes from the council. Every vote you siphoned off hurt the effort to remove the a-holes. You only cared about your own agenda. Stop trying to re-inventing history leave that to Obama.
To whom are you referring when you say “the a-holes”? I think that you may be confused.