On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
On March 7th 2009 people from all over the state descended on Fullerton to enjoy their right to political free speech. Depending on whom you talk to, the crowd, that came by bus, train, bicycle and by foot, numbered in the thousands, with some accounts placing the total over ten thousand.
The “tax revolt” sponsored by popular radio entertainers Ken and John of KFI, was big news. No matter how you figure it.
And yet the non-Friends of Fullerton’s future over at The Fullerton Observer ignored the story completely. Check out their mid-March and early April issues to see if you can find a single reference to this huge event. None.
Okay, later in the month the Observer’s patron saint Obama the Good hove into Orange County and we gagged our way through Pam Keller’s giggly tribute to the event, complete with her characteristic abuse of the perpendicular pronoun. Still, not a single solitary mention of the largest crowd ever assembled in downtown Fullerton? Yet room for all the usual Observer dross?
If the crowd had assembled to support raising taxes and spending more money on government employee unions you can bet your bottom dollar that the Observer would have been all over this like flies on… well you get the point.
Update: thanks to James Crum’s comment I indeed did discover an article in the mid-March edition by a T. DeMoss; relegated to page 8, of course, under the “ObserverHeader” headline: Radio Fans In Fullerton. Hardly a clear statement of any content relating to the assembly. When I reviewed the Observer headlines I naturally missed the connection. Actually the DeMoss article was really pretty objective and kudos to him/her. But to remind our friends of the typical Observer editorial bias, a story about a demonstration by locals against cutbacks in the local schools made the front page, as usual.
Also lurking at the bottom of the second page was this gem at the end of the letters section, but not signed by anybody. Hmmm. Now this is the Observer we’ve come to know and love. Some kooks show up at an event and everybody gets painted with the same brush. Almost like racial stereotyping.
Racists at the Tax Revolt Radio Show
Among the raving fans of the selfserving Clear Channel radio talk show hosts who invaded Fullerton on March 7th were notorius members of several hate groups including KKK off-shoots and the Minute Men. How did this group get a permit for this gathering? Let’s hope they aren’t allowed back in town. To see for yourself go to http://www.youtube.com and punch in Racists at KFI AM 640 event
It’s like you said before. It’s not a “newspaper.” Selectively ignoring storires makes it what it is. A uselesss birdcage bottom staffed by burned out old liberals.
Oh, they didn’t ignore it…
There was a mention of “hate groups” and >gasp!< “RACISTS” at the event.
It was a rather pathetic attempt at disparaging a truly huge event.
As I left, with the girls chanting “Heads on a stick!”, there were more people coming. So, while there may have been 3-5000 at the site at one time, they also kept coming and going throughout the afternoon, into the evening.
Our beloved lunatic Sharon Kennedy. The Observer is becoming irrelevant just as the nightly news. By trying to control what is worth reporting the stories have just found themselves skipping the Observer altogether.
I suggest FFFF start accepting adds on your site. Once the advertisers leave, the lunatic herself (Kennedy) will be left publishing an 8 x 11 sheet with her bizarre rantings.
Maybe your readers can start asking businesses to stop allowing that worthless scrap of paper to be distributed on their premises.
Finished reading latest edition of fullerton observer and was given the impression that only geriatric citizens write for this rag. they should change the title of this “newspaper” from Fullerton Observer to Cryptkeeper Observer.
Hey, what do you want for free? It’s a community newspaper with a long history of covering local issues that “major” media ignore. Where else are you going to find a regular recap of the school board, city council, and other meetings, as well as a local calendar of events. And let’s not forget about the General Plan update process. Did you read about that one in the Register? I thought not.
Sure, it’s idiosynchratic, opinionated, and uneven, but it’s written by volunteers. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. There are things I don’t like in it (and on FFFF), but I still read it.
And I can’t believe FFFF is criticizing Sharon Kennedy for printing unsigned letters and articles when nearly everything I read on this site is posted under lame pseudonyms. Not professional? Right back at you!
“Commissioner’s” suggestion that people work to see the Observer’s distribution limited strikes me as a brownshirt fascist tactic. Maybe “Commissioner” would feel better living in Iran or China if she/he(?) wants fewer news sources rather than more of them.
Ah, Matt the difference between a blog and newspaper should be pretty evident. We deal in opinion based on the news and don’t pretend to be anything we are not.
Fullerton is chock full of people who have been the target of Observer (read Ralph and Sharon Kennedy) innuendo, snideness, mischaracterizations and untruths, etc., all claoked in a self-serving flag of righteousness. And now the Observer has taken to hardcore shilling for the very governmental agencies you described that it “covers.”
Sorry Matt – no sale!
The Harpoon is right – I don’t come to this blog for news. I come here to find out who is behind the news and why.
By the way, Matt, I couldn’t agree more about trying to limit Observer access to distribution. I’m not for that at all.
P.S. Is there such a thing as a “professional” blogger?
Points well taken–this is a blog and not a newspaper (what a quaint term that now seems to be). What’s the main difference between a newspaper and a blog? Here’s a clue: blogs still exist.
Yes, newspapers that are managing to hold on to life should attempt to abide by basic standards of journalism, but there really isn’t any such thing as an objective one anyway. My point is that some time in the near future we may end up with nothing but a web full of blogs and no newspapers. Wonderfully democratic, but it does beg the question of who will pick up the banner of professional journalism when that day comes.
Will if be FFFF or is this just a place to post snide remarks behind phony names?
“Will if be FFFF or is this just a place to post snide remarks behind phony names?”
No it will not be FFFF. We are not “journalists” we have no ambitions in that direction and we have no responsibility tacit or otherwise to deliver news. We want to be informative and entertaining about what we think is important.
Read the banner at the top of the website. All that stuff is subjective – according to our own little precepts about the way we think our little corner of the world should work. Anybody who comes here for “truth” – well, caveat emptor.
As for phoney names, lots of people have said all kinds of important things in history under aliases, so let’s not get too precious here.
BTW, puting up with nut jobs is part and parcel with blogging!
Well, I can’t argue with your ambitions for the site Mr./Ms. X, but I do think it is a worthwhile question to ask where we are going to get local news when the newspapers are gone. Who will be brave enough to suffer the slings and arrows of the likes of FFFF?
I think Matt is trying to say that he wants to contribute.
In typical Fullerton Observer style, its article about KFI’s call to revolt against excessive taxation was loaded with these bon mots: raving, self-serving,invaded, notorious, hate groups, racists. Is the FO describing itself?
“I think Matt is trying to say that he wants to contribute.”
He should contribute.
And his question about the demise of newspapers is legitimate – just improperly directed. This is a blog. Anyboby who doesn’t question my motives is a damn fool.
On the subject of psuedonyms – some posters use them because speaking the truth in Fullerton can lead to unjust retribution. For instance, there is a certain councilmember who uses his powers as an elected official to seek vengeance for personal disputes. That is wrong.
I will never get tired of seeing those video clips.
Matt, enough of the Brown Shirt reference. My point was that people are desirous of a venue other than the Observer because they have had a monopoly. As a result we have had to tolerate a lot of the nonsense Kennedy spills out. Now that there is at least one other place (here) to voice one’s opinion maybe Kennedy will actually be responsive to her audience (doubt it).
Many of the writers along with the advertisers feel as though they have to put up with the bull to get to the local audience. Choice has a way of forcing change. Since Kennedy has never struck me as one to have any sense of awareness,my gut tells me she would rather ride her ship till it sinks.
to the commissioner, if sharon kennedy had the courage to post her education and experience in the fullerton observer, it would be obvious why people have had to put up with the bull. I know she wont rise to this challenge; she would rather ride her ship till it sinks
I must be a racist if I do not want any tax increases of any type.
Years ago I was a “Brown Beret wanna be”, I also carried the “little red book” of communism because I was an extreme liberal.
I was a young teen and many of the adults I emulated were revolutionary in their the political views.
I believed white people were all out to make it difficult for us “minorities” (now majorities)
I was an angry liberal and felt that taxes were the way so we could get more welfare , food stamps, etc.
I believed Society owed us.
All of it changed after I got my first job as a teen then I gradually transformed over a course of years to a 50 year old liberal Republican.
I do understand how ridiculous many of the pro-tax constituents, the unwillingness to make changes on spending habits or shall I say addiction?
I for one would have attended the rally but I had a previous engagement reserve for 2 weeks.
I am a Mexican American and have experience more racism from people from Mexico than from white people (what they call and group together as Americanos) because I do not speak Spanish (I am 4th generation).
I have been in physical altercations to protect myself because I was a “chile choker” by blacks.
My union president stole 1.2 billion dollars from the pension fund of all of his liberal union brothers, and liberal politicians kissed his bum, check out Maddoloni and Ullico.
So to declare that you do not want to be abused by anybody fiscally or physically by being anti-tax is racist?
That is bullcrap, it is realizing that all government entities need a house cleaning because they have periodontal disease in the brain.