Saturday, September 23, 2006
Disappearing Sites, More Bogus Voters & Contemplating Wendy
You know, there's an interesting phenomenon that occurs here
in Costa Mesa. That phenomenon is the mystery of the
disappearing web sites.
Several years ago there was a site called Concerned Costa Mesa Citizens (CCMC), hosted on Yahoo! by what appeared to be a group of Westside residents as a forum for them to chatter among themselves and vent their collective spleens on issues that bugged them. Many familiar names were frequent participants on that site, including our young jailer/mayor, Allan Mansoor and one particularly prolific activist who resembles my theoretical character, Your Neighbor.
This particular site became controversial when Mansoor posted an anti-homosexual entry by Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame. At that time Mansoor was a member of the Costa Mesa Human Relations Committee (which he and his majority on the council recently disbanded). Shortly thereafter the Daily Pilot published a three-part series on the site, the Orange County Human Relations Commission got wind of it, signed on and began nosing around.
All that notoriety apparently became too much for the owners of the site, because they quickly folded up their tent, stopped archiving postings and slid back into the shadows.
Then, earlier this year, one of their stalwarts created his own web log and began posting his "words of wisdom". I heard about it, visited it a couple times and commented on it here. Then, very shortly after he launched it, the site was gone - poof!
More recently, Wendy Leece launched her campaign web site. I saw it, commented on it and - poof - it was gone, leaving only a blank page. At the same time her personal web site became a study in suspended animation, with no action on it for more than two weeks and counting. However, Leece's message has popped up on the campaign site of her benefactor, our young jailer/mayor.
It's very strange, don't you think, that these folks just don't seem to be able to stand the light of day? Once you shine a little illumination on their sites they just disappear like a bunch of cockroaches scurrying behind the kitchen cabinets when you flip the light on.
However, there is an exception. That would be our prolific old buddy, Your Neighbor. This guy has more words running out of his head than mucous out of the nose of a two-year-old with a cold. He publishes his racist rants on many internet sites on an almost weekly basis, publishes his "little newsletter", which has morphed into a blog and a friend recently directed me to yet another blog that has his paw prints all over it. I guess that explains the occasional lapses on his other site recently. It might also explain the low profile he's been keeping at public forums of late. Of course, I think that's just an election strategy, since he's become such a lightning rod for controversy. With his re-election on the line, our young jailer/mayor needs this guy hanging around right now about as much as he needs a rattlesnake in his shorts.
The web sites of the mayor's posse kind of reminds me of that children's game where you try to guess which hole the critter will pop up from, then bop it. Well, I'm not in the bopping business, but I'll continue to observe and comment whenever they pop up.
***
In my last posting on Wednesday I commented on a concern I had about the apparent ease with which persons might fraudulently register to vote. This concern came from comments by the Orange County Registrar of Voters as he spoke before the City Council last Tuesday.
An interested reader subsequently wrote to me and accused me of falsely portraying the facts of this situation. I encouraged him to view the streaming video of the event and make his own decision. He apparently did that, and also spoke personally to Mr. Kelly, the Registrar, and is now satisfied with my explanation of the situation. As it stands, based on my understanding, a person can fraudulently sign the affidavit when he registers to vote and there is no cross-check to catch the lie. There is a bill pending before Congress that would require positive identification at the time a voter registers, but there is no timetable for it's consideration and/or passage.
I'm sure this information will give you comfort as you consider the election in November.
***
As fate would have it, my wife and I were joined for breakfast recently by an acquaintance and his wife. This man is well known in these parts and is a repository of much knowledge of this area. Eventually, our conversation found it's way to a discussion of local politics, including the circumstances of the elections in both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. He's read many of the things I've written in the local newspapers and I've read his contributions, too.
This fellow - a man I hold in high esteem - apparently is a friend of Wendy Leece, so you can only imagine how our conversation went. He explained to me that he thought she was treated badly while on the school board. I explained to him that I thought she didn't have what it takes to be an effective council member, and why. I think we both understood each other's viewpoint by the time we cordially parted on the street, heading to our respective cars. As we parted he turned and shouted across the street, "I don't think Wendy knows what she's getting into!" I replied, "I'm sure she doesn't." He responded, "I think she's being taken advantage of." I replied, "I'm sure she is." We both continued on our way, contemplating that exchange.
10:38 pm pdtSeveral years ago there was a site called Concerned Costa Mesa Citizens (CCMC), hosted on Yahoo! by what appeared to be a group of Westside residents as a forum for them to chatter among themselves and vent their collective spleens on issues that bugged them. Many familiar names were frequent participants on that site, including our young jailer/mayor, Allan Mansoor and one particularly prolific activist who resembles my theoretical character, Your Neighbor.
This particular site became controversial when Mansoor posted an anti-homosexual entry by Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family fame. At that time Mansoor was a member of the Costa Mesa Human Relations Committee (which he and his majority on the council recently disbanded). Shortly thereafter the Daily Pilot published a three-part series on the site, the Orange County Human Relations Commission got wind of it, signed on and began nosing around.
All that notoriety apparently became too much for the owners of the site, because they quickly folded up their tent, stopped archiving postings and slid back into the shadows.
Then, earlier this year, one of their stalwarts created his own web log and began posting his "words of wisdom". I heard about it, visited it a couple times and commented on it here. Then, very shortly after he launched it, the site was gone - poof!
More recently, Wendy Leece launched her campaign web site. I saw it, commented on it and - poof - it was gone, leaving only a blank page. At the same time her personal web site became a study in suspended animation, with no action on it for more than two weeks and counting. However, Leece's message has popped up on the campaign site of her benefactor, our young jailer/mayor.
It's very strange, don't you think, that these folks just don't seem to be able to stand the light of day? Once you shine a little illumination on their sites they just disappear like a bunch of cockroaches scurrying behind the kitchen cabinets when you flip the light on.
However, there is an exception. That would be our prolific old buddy, Your Neighbor. This guy has more words running out of his head than mucous out of the nose of a two-year-old with a cold. He publishes his racist rants on many internet sites on an almost weekly basis, publishes his "little newsletter", which has morphed into a blog and a friend recently directed me to yet another blog that has his paw prints all over it. I guess that explains the occasional lapses on his other site recently. It might also explain the low profile he's been keeping at public forums of late. Of course, I think that's just an election strategy, since he's become such a lightning rod for controversy. With his re-election on the line, our young jailer/mayor needs this guy hanging around right now about as much as he needs a rattlesnake in his shorts.
The web sites of the mayor's posse kind of reminds me of that children's game where you try to guess which hole the critter will pop up from, then bop it. Well, I'm not in the bopping business, but I'll continue to observe and comment whenever they pop up.
***
In my last posting on Wednesday I commented on a concern I had about the apparent ease with which persons might fraudulently register to vote. This concern came from comments by the Orange County Registrar of Voters as he spoke before the City Council last Tuesday.
An interested reader subsequently wrote to me and accused me of falsely portraying the facts of this situation. I encouraged him to view the streaming video of the event and make his own decision. He apparently did that, and also spoke personally to Mr. Kelly, the Registrar, and is now satisfied with my explanation of the situation. As it stands, based on my understanding, a person can fraudulently sign the affidavit when he registers to vote and there is no cross-check to catch the lie. There is a bill pending before Congress that would require positive identification at the time a voter registers, but there is no timetable for it's consideration and/or passage.
I'm sure this information will give you comfort as you consider the election in November.
***
As fate would have it, my wife and I were joined for breakfast recently by an acquaintance and his wife. This man is well known in these parts and is a repository of much knowledge of this area. Eventually, our conversation found it's way to a discussion of local politics, including the circumstances of the elections in both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. He's read many of the things I've written in the local newspapers and I've read his contributions, too.
This fellow - a man I hold in high esteem - apparently is a friend of Wendy Leece, so you can only imagine how our conversation went. He explained to me that he thought she was treated badly while on the school board. I explained to him that I thought she didn't have what it takes to be an effective council member, and why. I think we both understood each other's viewpoint by the time we cordially parted on the street, heading to our respective cars. As we parted he turned and shouted across the street, "I don't think Wendy knows what she's getting into!" I replied, "I'm sure she doesn't." He responded, "I think she's being taken advantage of." I replied, "I'm sure she is." We both continued on our way, contemplating that exchange.
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