Editor’s Note: Anaheim has a million stories, most of them untold. This is one of them. This is Cynthia’s story, you understand. I’m just narrating it. In italics.
========================
Picture us at the Orange Juice Blog office. It’s early — about 2 p.m. Chairman Vern is out doing some story about “harvesting”; I, Managing Editor Greg Diamond, have been left in charge. I’m working on layout, assignments, when suddenly star reporter Cynthia Ward bursts in which what she says is a scoop. “Print this,” she yells! “Wait just a minute, Dollface,” I say. I stop talking to Vern’s life-sized doll, to which I’d been complaining — she’s discreet — and turn my attention to Cynthia, who is obviously trying to butter me up. She shoves the copy into my face and I begin to read:
“Our Greg Diamond did a fabulous job of dissecting the August 13 Anaheim City Council meeting, and the blatant give-way of our public funding to the Chamber of Commerce. Note how I stopped just short of saying “gift of public funds” because that phrase carries a legal definition, and until I talk to someone who went to law school for more than a concert series I am not willing to go there just yet. But I can see it from here.
“Greg very wisely asks throughout his recap (with a serious doff from the Mr. Ward who loved the Jefferson reference) ‘What meeting?’”
So far I like it — this is my kind of story! Plot, characters, setting — the whole nine yards! I read on:
“Well, Greg, I believe Kring and Murray may be referencing THIS meeting.”
August 7 — Mike Rossi Meets with Anaheim Chamber (17 photos)
Suddenly my journalistic instincts kicked in — could there have been a meeting about the Enterprise Zones issue on August 7?
Cynthia shoves forth another photo at me.
Shaking hands. Outside. The picture just screamed out at me: DON’T WEAR THAT TIE WITH THAT SUIT!
She speaks up:
“Someone tell me this photo does not look like an FBI surveillance pic!”
I was in no position to say that it didn’t. I looked at Dollface — but her mouth was shut. Well, not shut, but open no more than usual. Was Cynthia with the FBI? I decided to rat on Vern if she demanded it of me. No resistance.
Well, all that’s very interesting, Cynthia, I said, but you’re not going to try to sell me on something significant here based on just a couple of photos, are you?
She wasn’t.
Kris Murray! Lou Correa! Todd Ament! Woman behind Correa and Ament! Something was up!
Silence seemed like the wisest option. I spoke up:
“Go on….”
Cynthia seemed confused at this.
“I’ve already handed you the story,” she pointed out.
“So you did, so you did. Why don’t you read it out loud.”
She grudgingly complied, muttering something about “being used to dealing with actual copy editors.”
“It seems that on August 7, the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce (recipients of those public funds which may or may not be “gifts”) hosted a small, private hoot-nanny at their Board room inside the Kraemer Building (for now). Kris Murray helpfully described the gathering, while confirming she attended — and, like Greg, I will let readers in on a secret.
“Pay very close attention, because who was there becomes rather important.”
She was asking the impossible of me, but I was prepared to fake close attention. She went to the official Orange Juice transcript.
“KM: “I attended the meeting with Michael Rossi, that the Chamber hosted, in partnership with Sen. Correa, last Thursday, with some of our business leaders, and.. he was.. Mr. Rossi, I should say, is the Governor’s Job Czar, oversees all of the economic programs for the State of California.”
“Hmm…. ‘hosted in partnership with Sen. Correa’ — well that must have been rather awkward, given the presence of Lucille Kring, who ran against him in a Pringle-prompted suicide mission in 2010. Yes, if you are counting, that makes 2 of our elected leaders at a meeting to discuss information relevant to a vote the following week — in the offices of, and in the presence of, the principal players to benefit from that vote!
“Now again, I have to defer to the attorneys on that, but the phrase “ex parte communication potentially creating bias leading into a quasi judicial decision” sure might pop up in conversation (at least phrases like that pop up in conversation at my house, not sure about yours.)”
I made a mental note: don’t mess with this broad; she knows Latin!
“Continue,” I said. “Post hoc!”
“But of course the gathering of our elected leaders is not a Brown Act violation unless there is a majority of the City Council present for the discussion….and oops! There we go! Kring!”
I almost jumped out of my chair and looked to Dollface for reassurance. Turns out that that was just in the copy.
“Kring shows that she was at the meeting in her own part of the transcript.
“LK: Thank you. I’d like to respond to that. Actually, at this meeting last week the Chamber said that they are constantly going out — because the program does end on December 31st of this year, we still have September, October, November, December, we have a little over 4 months — that they are still going out, still talking to businesses.”
“That doesn’t mean that she was actually there,” I noted. “You’d need some sort of –“
Cynthia, as usual, was way ahead of me:
“– nameplates or something.” Cynthia nodded. “She’s also fully visible in another picture; I just wanted to point out the nameplates.”
Amazing! I did some quick mental calculations out loud.
“Murray … and Kring. That’s … two!” I was pretty sure I was right.
Cynthia nodded again, then spoke.
“Yes, and three would be a majority. So now we have to see if anyone else was there.”
Sounded fun. I was game.
“Take a look at the name plate in the middle of this one.”
Clearly, there was a cover-up of the lunch!
I slowly sounded out the letters on the nameplate — and then almost jumped out of my chair.
“Jordan Brandman is the blonde woman wearing purple!” I exclaimed. “Fitzgerald was right?”
Cynthia shook her head slowly.
“No, no — trick of perspective. He was sitting next to her.”
“That’s Kris Murray!” I pointed out.
“Other ‘next to,” Cynthia explained.
She suggested that she go back to reading directly from the story.
“While the chair may be empty (a metaphor if ever we needed one) Jordan Bradman left behind an almost empty water bottle, the remnants of his completed lunch (nicely covered by his used napkin, ‘cuz Mara raised him up right) and……right there above his lunch is … his nameplate.
“(By the way — does Kris Murray ever blink?)”
I assured her that she does not.
“And look in the background of this photo. Know what that is?”
I looked. Carefully.
Is it or isn’t it?
“Yes,” I finally said, “that appears to be a trompe l’oeil, a painting technique in which a hard flat surface is rendered to as to appear that it is a three-dimensional extension of space. Pretty big one, too! But not very interesting for all the effort.”
Cynthia looked at me blankly for a moment.
No, that’s real — and it looks like someone — it could be Jordan, who is absent from his seat — standing up to look through a window into another office. It’s not definitive. But this next one is!
No one who has seen that back of the head will soon forget it!
“And here, oh look, right next to Sherri VanderDussen — it’s the back of Jordan’s head.”
That was hard to dispute: badgers don’t wear suits. I nodded, feeling a little disappointed. Like, couldn’t she have shown me that one first?
“Oh, just wait for it. Matt Cunningham will be hard on our heels insisting that is the head of an imposter, and that we have no proof that is Jordan’s head. Why that could be any Mormon on a break from Missionary work, who just wandered into the Chamber’s board room looking for a men’s room and someone to “share” with, and was fed lunch out of the goodness of the Chamber’s heart. Why not, the taxpayers likely popped for the lunch too.”
Cynthia flung herself back into her chair, spent from her indignation, and then again began reading from the copy.
“By the time you read this I will have submitted a PRA request for meeting calendars and correspondence related to this meeting, just to confirm the presence of all three Councilmembers. Lucille Kring and Kris Murray disclosed during the Council meeting that they attended the Chamber meeting, Jordan did not mention it, but his head, ear, and nameplate appear to have attended.
“Gail Eastman may be off the hook with this one (and won’t she be proud of herself) we do not see her in the pics, nor did she mention being present. And honestly I doubt they even bothered to invite the Mayor. Why on earth would they want the independently elected leader of the City to be there gaining information that the others have clearly decided outweighs both common sense AND their own staff reports?”
I roused myself to do a little reporting myself later, prior to publication: the Mayor was apparently NOT invited to this meeting. This may explain his absence from the photos.
“I would like to thank the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce for the photos, courtesy of their Facebook page.
“I would also like to thank their leader for being dumb as a rock to post these. I tried to tag the pics just to be sure that those who don’t know Jordan’s distinctive head shape would still be informed of how we was working right through his lunch hour to make sure he would be as informed as possible, on behalf of the taxpayers.
“See apparently that is where we go wrong. The rest of us are simply critical of the Chamber’s deal, because like our views on Districting, the Gardenwalk, and the streetcar, we simply do not know as much as our leaders.
“Why, if we only knew what they know, we would cheer them on for the great visionary leadership they offer, following in the footsteps of the greatest leader in the history of Anaheim. Because if you use as your benchmark a complete lack of common sense, basic math, elementary business skills, and ethics or morality, (and you squint REALLY HARD) then these people might just look as smart as they believe themselves to be, making their leader the king of the description above.
“For those (Matt) who do not understand some of the phrases we have dragged out of the closet, I have shared them here. Feel free to twist and misinterpret them to your heart’s content … this particular bit of blatant cronyism is so egregious that it isn’t the court of public opinion that I am concerned with.”
Not the court of public opinion? Surely she didn’t mean — basketball?
“A ‘meeting’ is any gathering of a majority of the members of a covered board to hear, discuss, or deliberate on matters within the agency’s or board’s jurisdiction. (§ 54952.2(a))
“Note: No vote or action is required for the gathering to be a meeting, nor must the members meet face to face. (§ 54952.2)
“In enacting this chapter, the Legislature finds and declares that the public commissions, boards and councils and the other public agencies in this State exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. It is the intent of the law that their actions be taken openly and that their deliberations be conducted openly.
“The people of this State do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”
She looked at me meaningfully, while I stared back incomprehensibly. Finally she explained:
“That’s from California Government Code § 54950 et seq. — the Brown Act.”
“Yes, yes,” I said. “The Open Meeting Law … thingie!”
“One and the same. Now we just need to verify what they discussed at this meeting leading right up to the vote that was taken to review the Chamber’s contract with the City on August 13, where they dropped the ball — hard.”
“But how would we know who to ask about what was discussed there?” I pleaded. “Are there pictures? Have any of the Council members in attendance made any statements? We need something like that to go forward with this!”
Cynthia looked at me for a moment and slowly stoop up and gathered her things.
“You know, I think I’ll just leave a note for Vern.”
And with that, it was over.
===================
(Apologies for the use of silliness on my part to trick you into reading a story about the Brown Act; here’s a song that might help explain the approach here.) — GD
This is the first post of yours I have read all the way through. And I have to say two things:
1) It was very entertaining: and
2) it appears that a blatant violation of the Brown Act occurred. Cunningham’s going to have a tough time spinning this one.
Now, is it possible that Enterprise Zones were not discussed? The bigmouth Kring said the topic was discussed. Does it even matter? The fact that they were there indicates that whatever the topic(s) they had something to do with the Anaheim City Council’s authority, function, or jursisdiction; I mean, what wold be the point otherwise?
They certainly weren’t there to talk about Pre-Columbian pottery or the weather.
Chalk up another one for Cynthia Ward. She’s got them running around in circles.
The arrogance of the Anaheim 4 attracts a certain morbid fascination. This kleptocracy doesn’t seem to consider the law an even minor impediment.
I wonder if Brandman scurried off to finish that report for Tom Daly.
The only things running around in circles are Cynthia’s and Vern’s minds.
None of you were at the meeting. None of you have any idea any of the councilmembers in attendance said (if anything), how long they were there, when they arrived or left.
All you have are some photos from Facebook, and based on these you claim Brown Act violation took place (or at the very least try to create the impression one took place). Did you consult a Ouija board, too?
I was going to ask rhetorically if you all are really that stupid, but you all answer that question in the affirmative almost every day.
There was no Brown Act violation. When Jordan Brandman arrived, he saw that Lucille Kring was there. He drank some water (so much for Cynthia and Vern’ssmoking water gun). As self-introductions were made, Kris Murray arrived. Jordan excused himself.
How do I know this? I did what none of you bothered to do: I asked people who were there what happened.
All of you lurk here like a bunch ghouls, and hope that people you oppose politically break the law. You get excited about it! How twisted.
Who ate his sandwich?
Lou Correa
Still sticking with your “blatant violation of the Brown Act” claim, Zenger? You did leave yourself an escape hatch by inserting the word “appears.” Maybe you should use it.
Heh, well, let’s see.
I observe a picture of your friend Brandman sitting behind a plate with a fork on it. He was obviously there longer than he (or Murray) told you (or that you just concocted) since he has obviously consumed some of that prime Enterprise Zone fare.
It’s obvious that this paragon got up and left (dine and dash?) – for some reason. And maybe we can be generous and say it really was because Murray appeared upon the scene – late for breakfast. Sorry, to disabuse you, but because a majority of the Council attended the same private meeting discussing city-related business violation of the Brown Act occurred. And that begs the question of why Murray, seeing that a violation of the Brown Act was about to occur didn’t leave herself. Instead she came in and sat down.
Now run along and ask Curt what to say next.
You know, Matt, I feel bad about what I said to you before. I mean, if someone told you definitively that Kris Murray and Jordan Brandman were not sitting at the same table together during a presentation and or discussion of this issue, then of course the most straightforward explanation of why a Brown Act violation occurred would be eliminated.
So — can you explain to us who told you that Jordan quaffed some water and skedaddled when Murray entered the room? You said that you asked one or more person. Who gave you the information you needed to slay this hypothesis?
There’s no assertion in the story that there is definitely a Brown Act violation. But, uh, can you understand why someone might be suspicious?
What do you think a person might find suspicious about this, Matt? How many elements are met here?
You’ve stated definitively that there was no Brown Act violation. How did you come to that conclusion? What analysis did you do? You know: “so long as they didn’t do all of A and B and C, there was no violation.” You’ve come to the conclusion, so what was your reasoning? What questions did you ask the people who were there?
So the story you got was: Kring was there, then Brandman arrived — and then when Murray arrived, Brandman immediately left.
Is that your final answer?
Yeah, yeah, Greg. You made the right weasel moves. There’s a question mark in the headline, and strategically placed weasel words. Got it.
Now, if you were actually honest about it, you’d admit at least part of the intent of this post is to lead readers into thinking the Brown Act was violated and to call into question the integrity of your political opponents. Like I said, that would require you being honest.
I’ve made no allegation at all as to whether there is a Brown Act violation here, Matt. Part of my burden to bear is to have my ducks in a row before I do such a thing. If and when I conclude that there is sufficient reason to think so, I’m sure that you’d be informed.
I don’t assert knowledge of whether the Brown Act was violated. Even if I think that several elements were met — and that the spirit of the law was at least significantly bruised — I know the difference between that and a clear violation.
I will concede, forthrightly and honestly, that I (and readers) should question the integrity of your paymasters. But, again, to question and investigate is not to assert. All in due time.
Now I believe that I have a question on the table about who told you that Jordan left the room when Murray arrived. You’ll answer, right?
Oh my! A fork on a plate! Nothing gets by you, Sherlock! Clearly, there is no way Jordan could have arrived early to the meeting – as people usually do to these things – and eaten a coffee cake or whatever prior to the beginning of the meeting. Why, that would be unimaginable!! You must have kicked ass at “Clue”!
Do you want to volunteer anything else that you, with your mighty psychic powers, THINK happened?
“Now run along and ask Curt what to say next.”
Oooh, burn! That was really, really clever.
**Stay on topic, Matt. I’m more than happy to extend you the same courtesy of auto moderation that you’ve extended to me. The next time I see a comment from you like the one I just removed, your ass is on the curb.–RC**
I’m not sure about that bit at the end, but — did you just try to change the subject?
(Nice volley on the Zenger zinger, though.)
I wasn’t trying to change the subject, just returning firing at Zenger. He loves throwing crap at others.
Actually, I at first though his “volley” was more of your original tongue-in-cheek “how could this be happening” schtick in the post.
BTW, I didn’t “throw crap” at anyone. The principals involved voluntarily dunked themselves in the cesspool. OJB is just turning on the utility light so we can now see what they look like.
I was referring to his “Oooh, burn!” riposte. Now *that’s* blogging!
Mostly, though, I wanted to use the phrase “Zenger zinger.”
Really, Ryan? Because I said something that was true? **blah blah blah, redacted redacted redacted.**
**Last warning, Matt. Keep your personal beef off this thread.**
And it’s not a personal beef, Ryan. When you do it on AnaheimBlog, you refer to it as “calling me (or someone else) out.” And as you would say, this is “bad form” on your part.
“Jordan could have arrived early to the meeting – as people usually do to these things – and eaten a coffee cake or whatever prior to the beginning of the meeting”
Oh, dear, now you’re just getting desperate.
Look around the table. Everyone is well-settled in: your hero is sitting among attendees with plates with food on them and papers strewn all over the place. This meeting was obviously well-underway. You don’t need to be a detective to any of this You were lied to, or you are just making stuff up on your own again – what might be sold as plausible. Pigs could sprout wings and fly away.
There is plenty of pictorial and circumstantial evidence that your pals violated the Brown Act. Now why on Earth should anybody give the kleptocracy the benefit of some unlikely doubt about what might have happened?
You a very defensive about this, and rightly so. Your gang is acting with the sort of hubris that often ends badly. Go read some Greek tragedies.
Nice side-step, Ryan!
You’re not even clever anymore, Ryan. Just tiresome, and going along with the pack mentality here.
Back up what? That I think your comments have become tiresome and that you’ve joined the pack mentality of this blog?
I did. I enjoyed reading your comments and going back and forth with you. At some point you became more like a mosquito who only lands in order to bite. I suppose being around this malicious crew could do that to a person.
Yeah, just like if me and Cynthia would only call up Matt when it looks like he’s done something sleazy, we would always just find out – no, he DIDN’T!
Tom Regan to Johnny Caspar: “Yeah, right, just ask the Dane if he’s been selling you out, I’m sure he’ll come clean.” (Millers’ Crossing)
Good question. Who DID handle the invitations to this private meeting at the Chamber’s office with the Governor’s point man on the subject?
Not Rossi’s office itself, I presume. Probably the host, right? So: Todd Ament? Matt will probably know — and will surely tell us.
A frequently used word from the transcript has yet to fade from memory, and prompts my offer of an alternate soundtrack for those who prefer classic rock to stage musicals.–
let me voice of reason in this whole thing:
Who is that brunette in the corner?
Tom Tait will have an opponent in Bob Filner right away and Michele Johnson a satisfied student (I know that more like “sexting” than forced oral copulation, but hey, child rape is OK when it’s a public school union backed teacher and a woman on boy, just not when it’s a parochial school MALE on girl/boy).
Anyway, she I dig that look. She should run for office (or hide from a Democratic congressman/mayor/pervert).
Cynthia…one word; AMAZING!. thanks for amusing entertainment. Amen
We have an office?
SHHHHHHH!!!!!!
It’s certainly been quiet here for a long time Where is the mutual admiration society? And the self-congratultory comments? Cynthia? Vern? Ryan? Diamond ALWAYS has something to say (and say and say and say) and not a peep out of him.
Anyone? Buehler?
I was watching TV with my family, nitwit. In thinking that I’m always online, you’ve confused me with your hallucinatory parody of me.
I was starting to get some heavy fantasies towards Cynthia while reading this and then I discovered it was Greg! Damn it.
I need a cold shower and a therapist.
I wrote the stuff in italics and the dialogue that goes with it. Cynthia wrote the story itself.
And yes, you do need both of them.
And yes Matt, if Dave Ellis gets to bundle his assumptions about me to the FPPC packaged as a legitimate complaint, then I get to send these pics to the authorities with a complaint regarding the Brown Act. That is a first step.I will give you plenty to screech about before we are done.
If this meeting led to something that even remotely smacked of common sense, or a vote that held the best interests of taxpayers as the highest goal, you might have a defense, once all of those witnesses are done being deposed and sharing their remembrances of the timeline for discussion during the day. But when a Judge looks at the video of the City Council meeting the following week, and sees the outrageous snit that Jordan threw in full view of everyone, it was pretty clear to those of us NOT in attendance at the meeting, that the majority was worked up about something the Mayor was not privy to. Nobody cares what you think Matt, you do nothing but enable the continued financial rape and pillage of my city, all I am interested in at this point is how to get rid of you and your corporate crony robber barons-that and what a Judge might think of these pics combined with the behavior (and vote) of the Council the following Tuesday. Go yammer at your own blog, where nobody bothers you.
Boy, you don’t even have the nerve to admit when you’re wrong, huh? Gee, what a surprise.
Go ahead and take this stunning body of research and file a complaint: “Your honor, i have here a bunch of pictures i downloaded off of Facebook. If you look carefully you can see the names on the name plates. And here’s an almost empty bottle of water near where this councilman was sitting.”
“What’s that your honor? Do I know what any of the councilmembers said? Well, no I don’t, your honor. Do I know how long they were there or anything else they said or did? Well, no…you see I wasn’t actually there, but I am absolutely certain they broke the law, your honor! You don’t know these people like I do, your honor, and there are these Facebook pictures, see and…”
Good luck with that. Maybe you can hire Fred Woocher again (you did pay his tab, correct?).
Oh, Matt, don’t be a boob. It wouldn’t play out like you fantasize.
Greg, I will concede your expertise when it comes to being a boob.
Hahahahahahaha — they pay you for this?
Honest to God, Pringle must be dying inside when he has to read the likes of this. What a clown show he’s assembled!
He’s a smart guy — maybe he’ll wear the wire and testify against everyone else.
Depositions, Cynthia? You are going to depose every person in that room in pursuit of your vendetta? You could give Captain Ahab lessons in being obsessed.
Last year, you said Fred Woocher’s legal bill really hit you hard in the wallet. A few months ago, you were complaining about how copying bill for your PRAs. But now you have the means to mount a major legal assault.
No, Matt — that’s question is completely absurd. Cynthia will not depose anyone; she has no experience with conducting a deposition.
“You don’t have the money to nail us down” is a weak — but entertaining — defense, Matt!
What do you mean “us,” kemosabe?
Oh that’s right: there’s this big powerful conspiracy you’re all fighting against. I forgot.
But to the point: no one else but Cynthia is threatening legal action. Isn’t it still the Year of Kindness?
No, in Anaheim I believe that it is the Year of Overpayment. Again.
That’s hot!
There are two secretaries in the corners of the room.
One behind Lou Correa and one behind some other Pimp.
What if those babes were calling all the real shots?
“You gonna Enterprise this zone, Baby?”
huh?
“Well are you?”
“Or do I have to give the Mayor a call?”
Well?
“Do I?”
“have to give the Mayor a call?”
Smack! shut up you!
Double eye, Cynthia and Greg co-wrote it, although the better half of this frolic through the meadow of mental health issues belongs to Greg’s fevered imagination. Hopefully imagination is the only thing that gets fevered at this blog, because if you are turned on by the mind that invented “dollface” you might want to talk to someone in a more professional capacity.
Greg, AWESOME edit! I guess now I have to let you work on my book someday. (tomorrow’s headline at AnaheimBlog-“Cynthia Ward is creating lies and inventing fictional scandals to sell her BOOK!” )
Thanks, Cynthia! I had fun with it. I love the old-style newspaper farces and the old-style film noirs. You get credit for the substantial portions — including the photographic sleuthing.
Don’t talk to Double Eye. Leave that to us professionals.
Who needs a cold shower when you can have a hot jacuzzi with Greg and Cynthia and Matt at the same time!
Fred Woocher? Never met the man. Bryce Gee however, has not been stiffed on his Invoice, (which is more than i can say for those who service a certain C6.) I assume you collect your checks in advance, like the Chamber wants to do. Or do they make you wait until you have actually produced something? Do you have to justify your Invoices or does the Chamber just blindly pay you like they expect the public to do for them?
Tell me Matt, as a young man, all dewy eyed and filled with the promise of all that the future of mankind and Mommy and Daddy’s money could offer, when you imagined what kind of a man you wanted to be when you grow up, was this it? Did you really aspire to earning a living as the electronic version of Curt Pringle’s yappy liltle lap dog, running around nipping uselessly at the ankles of those who object to the blatant giveaways lining the pockets of political insiders? I will offer you this-you do it well, sir. I would go so far as to say that nobody does a better yappy little lap dog than you do.
I hope your employers see value in that specialized skill set. As long as they are wasting money, time, and energy helping you brainstorm half baked blog posts, they are not picking our pockets for that short period. I will take the reprieve, gladly. Carry on.
Oh my, I feel so terrible about myself in the wake of your devastating indictment, Cynthia. If only I possessed a fraction of your moral clarity, your nobility of spirit, your indominitable truth-telling, your towering integrity, your unyielding commitment to being the voice of the voiceless.
Did I leave anything out, Joan of Arc?
Truly, I’m amazed how quickly you’vr reduced yourself to making hackneyed, pretentious personal attacks.
Maybe you should try your hand at fiction, Cynthia. You’ve certainly been getting practice.
Gee Matt, thanks for the job offer, but I think you and “the Todds” have fiction pretty well covered over at your place, and I am sure any day now readers will figure out you are over there. Maybe if you put an ad in the Anaheim Bulletin?
Any babe that gives us knowledge of C6 invoices or checks distributed in Anaheim is ok in my books. DAMN! You are hot!
Nice GD, “badgers don’t wear suits.” too funny!
Brown Act violations are a serious offense that rarely get the kind of recognition they deserve. How hard is it to really play by the rules?
I keep asking…are we a nation of laws?
“Are we not men?”
No mention of Matt Cunningham would be complete without the part about how Matt Cunningham outed sex abuse victims. Fixed.
He did WHAT?????
You are right! He disappeared after your post…Too bad as his defense of his patrons was interesting. He must be consulting with somebody…
I have rarely seen a more venomous, grandiose and self-important gaggle of ankle-biters.
All of this ankle-biting talk is making my talus stiff.
Yeah, it’s sort of sad. Always the same retort.
*OK then…….and what part of the Brown Act was violated? And how does that wash
with the resignation of Bob Filner? And how much does any of this matter in the greater spin of things on the O’Reilly Factor? And please…….just one simple idea that may help to redeem our souls…..just one……please!
Final analysis: Leave our Lou and Lucille alone…they are good people!
If I send you a copy of the Brown Act, will you read it?
I nominate this thread as “The Worst Blog Thread of 2013” – it could be the worst thread of the decade.
The thread respectfully must decline the nomination.
Do you know what the Brown Act does, skally? Do you oppose its enforcement?
Preamble to the Brown Act: (I dig it)
Public commissions, boards, councils and other legislative 54950 Ch. I
bodies of local government agencies exist to aid in the conduct
of the people’s business. The people do not yield their
sovereignty to the bodies that serve them. The people insist on
remaining informed to retain control over the legislative bodies
they have created.
Dr. Greg…..OK…..don’t get your panties all in a uproar. Goodness, gracious……when people meet in smoke filled rooms (ooh…that was prior to 1985…..with the exception of Arnold of course!) and hide behind restaurant menus and mumbled about who was going to be the next Governor or President……like at the Jonathan Club…..and sipped expensive Louis the XIII…..and grabbed the cocktail waitresses underwear..those were the day that created the Brown Act. Then came the age of the “Cheapo Politicians” These are folks that get direct campaign funds from Slimey or Paid Off Sub-Contractor Developers and many Institutional Companies like Wal-mart, Costco and Banks. (Notice how many banks are on every corner now?) Used to be liquor stores, gun shops and tatoo parlors. OK, you have five folks on the City Council so you only need your basic three votes to approve any project. So, those surreptious “non representatives” join together to plan their strategy with a slice of pizza in one hand and a check from the bad guys in the other. Big Deal…….How are you going to stop the “The Grand Undergrounding of the Poltical Process”? Have to make every project a unanimous decision? Five votes will get you there. No Brown Act violation when they all attend the same Chamber of Commerce breakfast?
Let’s get real…..vote out who you don’t like and vote in who you do. That is called the American Way. Unless of course you are pregnant….and a founding Tea Party member!
Translation, anyone?
Not touchin’ it.
No, no, Cynthia — that comment belongs in the Carl DeMaio story.
Babel Fish was of no help. This is not one of the major languages.
Your panties were in an uproar, Greg?
Vern, can we please discuss this off-line?
*And the Correct answer is: Chelsea Manning…of course! Guess all you wonderful folks have never been on a Snipe Hunt. Try joining the Boy Scouts and get a few merit badges. Perhaps, it has just been too long since you went on Scavenger Hunt….or maybe a nice Grunion Run at the full of the moon.
Don’t bother to answer anything meaningful. Just kick the tires and talk about putting air in those “things” some day. Good grief…you people are vacuous at times! Have to remind ourselves at times however – that this is…… just politics….
Brown Act?…..Inform us; is that like a Brown Out?
Yes, for some values of “Brown.” And of “Act.” And “Out.”
Vern may recall seeing young Jordan meeting with Kris at an Anaheim Starbucks last October. This was an interesting meeting because Jordan was campaigning for Anaheim City Council at the time and Kris was on the Board of one entity that was actively spending Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee (IE PAC) money in support of Jordan. Kris was also the named officer on FPPC filings of ANOTHER IE PAC that was spending money in support of Jordan. Interesting…….
Also there that afternoon: Harry Sidhu, and that Adams guy from Building Trades.
So .. at the very worst, I see a possible minor error on the part of JB hanging on for a couple of minutes longer than he should have – probably discussing something of no consequence. Is that a federal case? – nah
Probably discussing something of no consequence? Yeah, you can come to that blissful conclusion by blissfully walling off your knowledge of the tantrums he had at council a few days later, ranting about the “recklessness” and “irreversible damage” that the Mayor was trying to visit on this very same Chamber.