Archive for October 15th, 2012

Almost as much fun as the circus.

Monday, October 15th, 2012

I’ve written previously about the election results in the notoriously corrupt California city of Vernon. When last we left Vernon, the city council had decided they were going to hire a hearing officer and conduct their own inquiry into alleged voter fraud, after the LA County registrar refused to throw out some of the ballots.

Well, the results of the hearing are in.

If approved by the City Council, the decision would tilt the race in favor of candidate Luz Martinez, a former secretary to Vernon’s top administrator, who had trailed 34 votes to 30. It would also reverse a previous decision made by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder, which dismissed the voter challenges this summer and called the race for Martinez’ opponent, Reno Bellamy.

Mr. Martinez was endorsed by the Vernon Chamber of Commerce, which also supported the vote challenge.

To be fair, however, the hearing officer (who was paid “nearly $1,000 an hour” by the city) “sided against the Chamber in two cases where voters claimed multiple residences”. Good to know.

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Law, Politics | Comments Closed

Mulligan update.

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Remember Brian C. Mulligan, the Deutsche Bank executive who was suing the city of LA for $50 million dollars after a series of unfortunate events? (The whole story is too long and bizarre to summarize here; the above link takes you to a longer account.)

It seems that Mr. Mulligan had an encounter with the Glendale PD a few days before his wild night with LAPD. It also seems that Glendale PD recorded that encounter. And it seems that Mr. Mulligan admitted using “bath salts”.

On the recording, Mulligan acknowledged snorting the bath salts as many as 20 times. He said he had been trying to find something to help him sleep because he has a “stressful job” and travels extensively. He said he tried to throw the bath salts away and promised the officer to never buy more.

(You may recall from the previous article that Mr. Mulligan was prescribed “medical marijuana” for “insomnia”. Guess that didn’t work.)

Posted in California Über Alles, Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

Last night I dreamt I went to Rikers again.

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting the arrest of Mark Hotton, the man who allegedly faked four investors for a Broadway production of “Rebecca”, the musical. (Previously. Previously.)

This hasn’t been picked up by the NYT yet, from what I can tell, but the arrest only took place a few hours ago; I expect more coverage later in the day or tomorrow.

(Subject line explained for those who don’t get the reference.)

Posted in Clippings, Law, Theatre | Comments Closed

Obit watch: October 15, 2012.

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Arlen Specter. (NYT. WP.)

Whenever I think of Arlen Specter, I think of the story Jerry Della Femina tells in his book, From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-Line Dispatches from the Advertising War:

I had a special project to do a campaign for a Philadelphia politician named Arlen Spector (sp?). “When do I get to see Arlen Spector?” I asked. “You don’t.” Spector was a district attorney in Philadelphia, running for mayor. He wanted New York advertising but he had placed through a Philadelphia agency. I complained about not being able to see Arlen Spector. “Are you crazy?” his people said. “Nobody gets to meet Arlen Spector. We can’t even see him.” “All right,” I said, “what’s Arlen Spector for?” “Arlen Spector is for getting elected.” “All right,” I said, “what’s Arlen Spector against?” “Arlen Spector is against losing.” I did the campaign, but Arlen Spector lost.

Also among the dead: Norodom Sihanouk, former king of Cambodia.

…King Sihanouk allied himself with the Khmer Rouge at the urging of his Chinese patrons, giving the Cambodian Communists his prestige and enormous popularity. Their victory in 1975 brought the ruthless Pol Pot to power, with King Sihanouk serving, for the first year, as the figurehead president until he was placed under house arrest and fell into a deep depression. Over the next four years, the Khmer Rouge regime led to the death of 1.7 million people and nearly destroyed the country.

Posted in Clippings, Obits, Politics | Comments Closed

Your loser update: week 6, 2012.

Monday, October 15th, 2012

Sorry for the late update, folks. I was away for computers most of the day yesterday.

NFL teams that still have a chance to go 0-16:

None.

Cleveland’s long nightmare is over. My relatives are happy. And thus endeth the loser update for 2012. (I need to go back through my records, but I don’t recall there being no teams without a win this early in the season.)

Posted in Loser, NFL, Sports | 1 Comment »