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Sunday, January 07, 2007

OC Marathon & Other Tidbits

This morning was the annual OC Marathon. Lynn ran in the half marathon and finished in under three hours. I'm so proud of her. I had heard that there were over ten thousand people signed up to run the thing, but it appeared to me that there were a lot more than that. I went to meet up her near the half way point at Yale & Michelson.

After that I went to IHOP to have breakfast and read the morning paper. I subscribe to the OC Register, but I forgot to bring it with me this morning. So against my better judgement I picked up a copy of the LA Times instead to reinforce why I don't subscribe to it anymore. The most interesting thing that stuck out to me was a piece on OC's own Michael Schroeder. Here's the link to the story. Let me preface by saying that I do not know Mr. Schroeder personally. I have had a chance to see him operate the last few years at some of the Central Committee meetings and a few other campaigns. Here's what I think from a dispassionate observer. I agree with Mr Schroeder politically on a lot of things(aside from his misguided love of all things USC). I think he is a very strong advocate for his side of the issue or campaign. I do think he's crossed the line a few times though lately. The Sheriff's race is the first thing to come to my mind. This was a horrible misuse of his power. Again I was not privy to any insider dealings and such on this race, but I and a lot of other activists for the party were not pleased with how the whole campaign played out. Then to advise the Sheriff(alledgedly... again this is just my guess& suspicion) to demote Lt. Hunt to traffic patrol??? That was very Nixonian of him and the Sheriff. You're a good enough political operator Mike that you don't need to seek retribution like that. I can't tell you the reaction of the rank & file activists after the demotion of Lt. Hunt was made public. It raised lots of eyebrows, even by Carona supporters. Another little tidbit in the story was the bot about Mike messengering his business card the next day to Wally Wade after the DAs race was over. That too was very "Godfatherish". Hey Bill, did you find a horse's head in your bed after you decided to take on the Sheriff...LOL? Anyway, it just seems to me that acheiving & keeping power is the only thing in the end that matters to Mike. I may be 100% wrong on this, but those are my perceptions

On balance I thought the piece in the Times was okay. I can see how Mike would not want he and his friends to talk to the Times reporter. They are one of... check that...the most biased newspaper in the history of journalism. I would like to see him sit down with Steve Greenhut or Martin Wisckol of the Register to air things out if pieces like these are going to be written. I would love for him to sit down and rehash all the strategy that went on behind the scenes in the Sheriff's race.

6 Comments:

  • At 12:05 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    They (LA Times) are one of... check that...the most biased newspaper in the history of journalism. I would like to see him sit down with Steve Greenhut

    And Greenhut isn't biased? I am lucky to still have bladder control after reading that line. When it comes to Greenhut I now borrow a line from his 12/3/06 Editorial.

    G.K. Chesterton had it right when he said: "I owe my success to having listened respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away and doing the exact opposite." So be sure to ignore almost all the advice you are given, even though lots of it already is coming forth.

    I read his column, and know that believing just the opposite is the right thing.

    As far as Schroeder is concerned. He may be effective in OC, but his influence quickly wanes once one travels past the Orange Curtain. Witness the line in the article:

    He was at the GOP's helm the following year when it suffered crushing losses to the Democrats. Republicans lost seats in the Legislature and their 16-year lock on the statehouse with Gray Davis' win over Republican Dan Lungren.

    That says it all. His resolution to yank the CRP's support of Arnold if he didn't fire Susan Kennedy says it all about his ability to startle the herd at statewide level. Arnold was endorsed and Kennedy is still his CoS.

    I got the feeling he is an individual afflicted with short man's syndrome desperate to be thought someone important.

     
  • At 10:15 PM, Blogger Dan Chmielewski said…

    Bias is in the eye of the beholder; the Republicans haen' done a lot of things right nationally and throughout the state. Reporting about it doesn't make a reporter biased. It means they are writing a story on deadline. Allan, might I suggested you pick up a copy of Eric Alterman's "What Liberal Media?" or Eric Boehlert's "Lapdogs" to get a sense of how much conservative bias there is in the press; or you could go to www.mediamatters.org or www.factcheck.org to see how accurate those Republican talking points are working for ya these days.

    I thought you'd lose it over the Governor's proposal to give free health care to uninsured kids -- even those here illegally.

    Congrats to Lynne on the half marathon; quite an accomplishment!

     
  • At 10:41 PM, Blogger Unknown said…

    Health care for people not here in this country legally is just wrong Dan. I don't know what else to say. Mexico doesn't give me or any others free care if I snuck in their country to work and live. Why should it be different here? All you're doing is creating a bigger magnet for illegals by giving stuff away for free. Remember the LA riots Dan? People went into stores indiscriminently and stole shit because in their mind they thought it wasn't hurting anyone. That's what the illegals here are doing. They're stealing from our citizens. I guess you condone that type of behavior from all your comments here. The next thing you're going to say is that illegals deserve Social Security benefits. After all, they worked hard to steal those identities and deserve those benefits right? Don't ask me how I know that you're for this...just a wild guess on my part.

     
  • At 9:58 AM, Blogger Dan Chmielewski said…

    I had no idea you were a Native American Allan.

    But if a child shows up in an emergency room after being hit by a car, I would not want the doctor looking for immigration papers. I want the doctor saving the kid.

    But back to the notion of bias and the LA Times, the original topic of your post, bias. You thought the Times piece was balanced despite the fact that the Schroeders not only refused to cooperate but enocurage their friends and colleages not to participate. They have revoled the righ to claim bias in reporting bu not participating.

    Greenhut is most certainly biased towards Republicans; Marty Wiskol is actually very balanced.

     
  • At 10:21 AM, Blogger Unknown said…

    Then have Martin do the interview. I'm not going to sit here though and debate bias in the LA Times with you. You don't think there is any, enough said. I disagree strongly.

    You keep talking about conservative bias, but you guys wrote the book on it. Just read any of Bernard Goldberg's books.

     
  • At 12:03 PM, Blogger Dan Chmielewski said…

    Oh I have; 100 People Who are Screwing Up America and only 4 tilt to the right..please!? Bernard Goldberg is too busy trying to cary Rush Limbaugh's jockstrap around to be credible.

    Do you want to know why Marty didn't do the interview? He doesn't work for the LA Times!!

    And going back to your comment on the LA Riots;I was living in Boston then and seen to recall the reason for the riots were not-guilty verdicts for police officers videotaped beating a black man into unconciousness. The riots were a result of a travesty of justice. And yes, people who loot are breaking the law. But your attempt to tie the LA Riots to paid healthcare for illegal immigrants gets an award for really bad analogies.

     

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