Wednesday, October 29, 2008

You Won't Like Me When I'm Angry

I am absolutely sick to death of opening up the paper and reading things like this.

What year is it again? This is 2008, goddammit and I'm so bloody sick of people who want to act like the Civil Rights Movement never happened. It is not OK, not OK, not OK. It's vile. It's disgusting. And to think that I live so close to it makes me sick to my stomach!!

You watch footage of people coming out of McCain/Palin rallies calling Obama the N-word, "Terrorist," putting on Obama stickers on stuffed monkeys, and people around the country lose their goddamn minds!

This is sickening and I'm so tired of it.

I don't even know where to start or end, or what to say next. This whole thing has just depressed me. Here we are, on the precipice of history, and things like this occur.

Friday, October 24, 2008

I know it's not WeCo, but...


After hearing that Sarah Palins duds cost $150,000 (paid for not by her, but by unsuspecting Republicans hoping their money went into ads, mailers, strategists, etc.), I thought nothing the McCain-Palin camp would shock me. Then... I read this.

I'd be SO PISSED if I were a Republican. Since I'm not, I think it's effing HILARIOUS! What's even more hilarious is she wants us to think she's an all-around, gosh-darn-it, folksy, middle class hockey mom.

My wife is a middle class soccer mom and she buys her duds at H&M and Target, Macy's if she's feeling especially dangerous.

OMG!

Before I go into the diatribe about what the heck I found in my inbox, I'm just going to say I had a fantastic vacation -- family, foliage, football and Philly Cheeseteaks! Though it's nice to visit back East, I'm glad to be home. Man, those Phillies fans are outta control! I wore my LA Dodger cap and you'd think I was a serial rapist who targets deaf mutes!

Anyway... let's get on with it.

Shelley Sanderson in a sex tape?!?! WTF???? You know, I made it a point to leave alone the Internets when I want on vacation. Actually, it was my wife who kind of gave me this silly little ultimatum, "If you type in 'www' into anything on this vacation, I'm going to dress you up in Dodger Blue and handcuff you to the Broad Street Line." I will NEVER forgive her.

Seriously, my jaw couldn't hit the ground any harder. In case you missed it, or were too lazy to click on the above link, some woman named Charlynda Lamb was busted for "stalking" my girl, Shelley. Apparently, this Lamb woman posted a sex tape that purportedly shows Shelley doin' some naughty stuff and then making threatening phone calls to the councilwoman.

I'm going to play if it's true:

If it's true ... Why would anyone with political aspirations be so stupid?
If it's true ... Why would anyone with four kids, some of whom are probably old enough to use the Internets, be so stupid?
If it's true ... Why did I find out about this AFTER it was taken DOWN from the Internets???
If it's true ... All she needs is a DUI arrest and we have our own little celebrity!

Good god! Now, according to the story, the police say it was not Mrs. Sanderson on the tape, even though Mrs. Sanderson didn't really deny it herself.

Now, because I don't know if it's her or not, I'm just going to go ahead and assume it's not. Still, why would this Charlynda Lamb be stalking Mrs. Sanderson? The woman doesn't even live near West Covina, even though Mrs. Sanderson recalls meeting her -- though she doesn't know where or when, which I find a little odd. If someone was threatening me, I'd wrack my brain trying to figure it out so I can start connecting some dots. But that's just me.

And seriously, google this woman's name and you'll see she calls herself a "model."


OK, then. I had myself, sent Ms. Lamb an email, hoping to get a clue as to "Why?" If she writes back, I'll be sure to let you know about it. And, if you happen to know where this tape is, please let me know so I could settle this nonsense ONCE AND FOR ALL!

Thanks, readers. It's so good to be back.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Vacay!




Hey, Watcher Readers!

I'm going on vacation for two bliss-filled weeks starting at 5 p.m. today.

Along with shutting off the cell, I promised myself not to look at any screens-- TV, computer, Blackberry, etc. so please hold off on your emails, and don't get offended if I don't reply in a timely manner. I'm outta here!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

If you ain't got da scratch....

Poor Anthony and Theresa Byrne.

In case you don't know, the Byrnes are a West Covina couple with a family, much like a lot of us here in this fair city. They had spent thousands on their quaint Crumley Street home by converting their garage into a bedroom.

Now, I know what you single-family home purists are thinking: That is illegal! Well, it's against city ordinance, and that's why they sought a variance from our illustrious City Council.

But I think what should be said here is that this bedroom is definitely not one of those mattress-on-the-ground, light bulb-hanging-from-the-roof, milk-crate-as-a-table places. This job was done up rather nicely. And no, the Byrnes aren't looking to rent the place out -- they stay there themselves as it is their master bedroom. They built a closet, a bathroom, the works!

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for the council, which voted 3-0-2 to strike down the Byrnes' appeal. And I got to thinking, "Why?" when I heard the news from a few of my readers.

I think I can tell you why: The Byrnes' probably haven't spent a dime in the 3's campaigns, unlike OTHERS who ask for variances and get them.

So, the Byrnes wanted ONE variance, right?

Back in May of 2007, the City Council was more than happy to not only approve a far more severe variance, but also an entire ZONE CHANGE for a 20-unit, 2-story condo complex to be built smack dab in the middle of some of West Covina's "beautiful homes."

So, the Council thinks it's OK to completely change the character of an entire neighborhood, but there's something fundamentally wrong about some regular Joe who wants to sleep in his pimped out garage? How does that make any kind of sense? (For the record, my girl, Shelley, and Roger were the two who abstained from the Byrne vote. They probably wanted to allow the variance, but didn't want to go on record as someone who 'ignores' city ordinances; also, Roger was the lone dissenting vote in the approval of the condos)

I'll tell you how: Bill McIntyre wanted to build those condos and he has poured thousands and thousands of dollars into the campaigns of those who approved the project, well except Councilman Mike "The Recuser" Touhey, who had to recuse himself from that vote because he is basically an employee of Good Ol' Bill's.

The Byrnes? I'd be surprised if they gave 50 bucks to any of those politicians for their campaigns.

Next up on "Pissing on the Little Guy: The West Covina Edition" Cell phone towers. About 3 or 4 parks have cell towers. Shadow Oak Park is the only one with two, and last night, a third carrier was added to that mix. Coincidentally (or not), the Shadow Oak Park issue is what united a bunch of residents who -- before they heard a portion of their park was likely to be sold to condo developers -- weren't even paying attention. They united, formed a group, and, somehow, helped to unite some homeowners who fought against that 20-unit condo project and beat it.

Payback, maybe? I'm just speculating. I may be "green behind the ears," but I know how to add, and the sum on this equation doesn't smell too good. (I love mixing metaphors in the morning)

What are your thoughts?

Friday, October 3, 2008

When "Investigation" Goes Nowhere

I find it interesting that people put so much stock into "investigations," particularly when it comes to their local elected officials.

This comes to mind after reading about Baldwin Park Mayor Manuel Lozano being "investigated" by the Fair Political Practices Commission, and Baldwin Park Councilman Anthony Bejarano being "investigated" for being drunk in public.

Well, the term "investigation" makes some sexy headlines, as well as remarkable hit-piece fodder. You could just pick and choose those headlines, stick them on a mailer, and there you have it: The perfect mail strike.

People who put together hit pieces generally are reliant on the fact that you won't bother to get your lazy ass up from the latest episode of "Flavor of Love" to check the facts on that mailer and take it as gospel. That's what I ALMOST did last November when I was going to stupidly cast my vote for Steve Herfert and some blonde broad who thought having a firefighter husband made her an expert on public safety. (By that logic I'm an expert on coral bleaching results when the symbiotic zooxanthellae are released from the original host coral organism due to stress. Hi, Honey!)

I've shared the story before.

What I'm getting at is this: It's not hard to get anyone "investigated." All you gotta do is file a complaint against the person you want investigated. The end. The investigation could last two hours or two years. It is far too easy.

In Bejarano's case, the DA found he did nothing wrong, but is that going to stop his political adversaries from using this highly suspect arrest on future mailers? Absolutely not.

The moral of the story: Do your own research. Don't believe hit pieces. It really doesn't take that long; I'm sure "Flavor of Love," "Rock of Love," "I Love New York," "Real Chance at Love" will re-run the episode.