Time For A Dose Of The Chuckmeister

ONCE AGAIN...
My pal, The Chuckmeister, is at it again.  He decamped to parts south from his long-time home in Costa Mesa a couple years ago to enjoy the proximity of his family and the growing wine region inland from Camp Pendleton and created a blog - Chuckmeister Unleashed -  to provide an outlet for his pent-up frustration on a variety of issues.  I know the feeling well.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE
Under normal circumstances I'd simply make a little entry on Facebook and link to his piece and let my friends and others go nuts as they read them.  Not today.  Today the message my pal sends is too important, and too timely, to simply leave to the Zuckerbergians who run Facebook.  Today I want my broader audience to have a chance to read his words.  I will link it on Facebook, where folks there will have to take one more step to read Chuck's words.

JUST A LITTLE TEASE

I'm not even going to paraphrase his entry... I'm going to make you follow the link, HERE, to his site and take your time reading it.  I will, however, provoke you with the title, "A Front-Row Seat for Slow-Motion Suicide...", and tell you it deals with the state (small "s" intended) of California.

MEDICATE IF NECESSARY, BUT READ IT...
So, take a Valium if you need to, or pour yourself a relaxing libation and click on that link.  I won't tell you that you'll "like" what you read, but I think you'll understand it and maybe even appreciate it.

Numbers

COMMENT PIQUED MY INTEREST
In a recent post another Costa Mesa-based blogger made mention that a site he follows is ranked high on scale provided by Alexa, so that got me thinking about my site and others around the area.

DECIDED TO TAKE A LOOK
Alexa, HERE, is a site that analyzes web sites - blogs and the like - and does a calculation to "rank" them both from a global standpoint and when comparing them to the countries in which they originate.

INTERESTING RESULTS
So, I did some research, slammed it into a little spread sheet and now present it for your viewing pleasure.  The information surprised me.  I listed these sites by "Global Rank" since some didn't have enough data to produce a number in the "United States Rank" column. The calculations were taken from the site today. 

(click on the image to enlarge it)

HAVE FUN WITH IT...
You'll see some familiar names on the list.  The top three shouldn't surprise you.  I was interested in how those of us further down the list compared - not that it means anything.  Enjoy...

Need A Smile? "Chuckmeister" Obliges

LOOKING FOR LAUGHS?
Sometimes the "news of the day" just leaves you wishing for a little more levity in your life, right?



CHUCKMEISTER AT YOUR SERVICE
Well, as I've reminded you many times in the past, my old pal, Chuck Cassity, always provides a little comic relief on his blog, Chuckmeister Unleashed. . His most recent contribution to the enlightenment of our populace is certainly no exception. You can read it HERE.

JOIN ME...
So, take a couple minutes and chuckle along with Chuck (and me). Have a great weekend.

Push Pollin' With Adam...

STOP WORKING OF THE QUIZ NOW...
As mentioned in my last post, Tuesday the Costa Mesa City Council will begin their serious consideration of the 2011-2012 municipal budget. For those of you still working on my quiz, you can stop now and just go to City Hall at 4:30 or tune in to Costa Mesa TV and have much of the information explained to you.

ACC-OC PENSION REFORM POLL
The second item on the agenda is a brand new poll conducted for the Association of California Cities-Orange County, HERE, that recently gathered data in Orange County on the public's views on pension reform. You can read the PowerPoint presentation we will see tomorrow evening HERE.

TOO MANY POLLS LATELY
It seems Costa Mesa has been awash in polls lately - even my pal, Chuck Cassity at the Chuckmeister Unleashed blog chimed in with his views of push polling to which he had recently been exposed. This one, while not Costa Mesa-specific, certainly addresses one of the current hot button issue in our town.

THE POLLSTER
The polling organization, Probolsky Research, HERE, is operated by Adam Probolsky, a major player in Orange County Republican circles. I've read some of his work product in the past and found it interesting how the results were exactly what his clients were looking for. Funny how that happens, isn't it? Perhaps we'll get a clue if we read the final sentence on their "About" page, which says, "Principal, Adam D. Probolsky always works closely with our clients - on every project - to deliver the right results."

RIGHEIMER WAS A CLIENT
For example, on his web site you'll find an entry dated January 1, 2010, which recaps the performance of clients in recent elections. Near the bottom of that little essay is a paragraph which includes this segment... "And, while Jim Righeimer’s campaign for Costa Mesa City Council fell short of victory, his near-win as a first-time candidate demonstrates broad community support and all but assures his success in obtaining a council seat in 2010.”

TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT
I've read through the poll and if you do the same, including reading the teeny little print on the bottom of each slide in the PowerPoint presentation which gives you each question that was asked. For example, one question was: "When many local government employees retire they can receive nearly 100% of their salary in retirement benefits. Do you support or oppose pension reform for local government employees that would cap the amount of benefits they receive when they are no longer working?" It won't surprise you that 72.6% of the respondents said "Support". I suspect this information has some value if you take it with a grain of salt. Considering the way the questions were asked, this is a classic "push poll". Still, I'm a little leery about giving too much weight to a poll that sampled only 325 people in a county of more than 3 million. Heck, Adam Probolsky may have just meandered through his cell phone contacts list for folks to poll.

STRAPPIN' IN FOR THE PRESENTATION
Still, I'm looking forward to how this will be presented tomorrow. I'm going to look for a seat in the council chambers with a seat belt, because I have this feeling that there's going to be a whole lot of spinnin' going on. See you there...

Push-Pollin' Along With The Chuckmeister

TIME TO READ THE CHUCKMEISTER AGAIN
From time to time I'll nudge you to visit my pal, Chuck Cassity's blog, Chuckmeister Unleashed, when he presents us with a particularly provocative/entertaining epistle. Today is one of those days. He turns the spotlight on an issue that certainly needs illumination.


OCEA PUSH POLL PARTICIPANTS
The Chuckmeister and his lovely spouse were the recipients of a recent push poll, assumed to be funded by the Orange County Employee Association, and he shares his views on this poll HERE. I won't try to characterize his views on this poll - you've got to read it for yourself.

CM TAXPAYER'S ASSOCIATION DID IT, TOO
However, I will remind you that the Costa Mesa Taxpayer's Association, the unofficial yappers for the council majority, published a very similar push poll recently and have been crowing about the results ever since.


UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE...
Personally, I think it's important for all Costa Mesa residents to understand that such polls, regardless which side is conducting them, are just part of the propaganda apparatus constructed to influence public opinion. The tactics are the same on both sides - ask questions that can only be answered in a way to provide the folks paying for the poll with the answers they want. It's like the question, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" - How do you answer that one? Push polls are like that.

EXPECT TO SEE THE POLL RESULTS SOON
I expect to see the results of the latest poll splattered all over the media. Those of us who write a little bit about stuff here in town will likely receive a press release hooting about the results. Those results will likely appear as another media ad and also be part of the pop-up ad infection that has been turned loose on your computer in recent weeks. If we don't see the poll results it will likely mean that they didn't get the answers they wanted. We'll see.

SO FAR, NO POLLS AT "THE CAULDRON"
So, if you choose to participate in these things be sure you understand what's going on. So far neither Ms. Potstirrer nor I have not been included in any of these polls. Good thing, too. I've already decided I would answer the questions exactly the opposite of what they expect - in an effort to provide a balanced report. Of course, we always try to do that here - provide a balanced report on issues - but sometimes it's not easy. It can be difficult to snatch the truth out of a spinning cup, but we try.

Chuckmeister Gets It Right - Again

HE'S AT IT AGAIN!
May I, once again, turn your attention to my friend, Chuck Cassity's blog, Chuckmeister Unleashed!, for some crystal-clear thinking? His essay - Jobs, Jobs, Jobs - will reach out and tweak the noses of some readers.

READ IT ANYHOW
I know some of my slightly left-tilted pals will find this particular contribution to the enlightenment of the masses to be offensive. That's OK with me... they need to read it anyhow! :-) Simply click HERE and enjoy the ride.

I'M WAITING...
If you feel the need to rant about this one you've got two places to vent - over on his blog and here, because I agree with him 100% on this one. Let the fun begin...

Barlow's Report, Bloggers + Phil and Kirk

INVESTIGATION REPORT DUE TONIGHT
By around 8 p.m. tonight we should have received and digested Costa Mesa City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow's report from her investigation of the Jim Righeimer/DUI checkpoint incident from September 16th. I sincerely hope she does more than say something like, "I looked into this situation and nobody was at fault." That would not only be a shame, but it certainly wouldn't serve the community well. This has been an incendiary issue since it occurred so the residents - and voters - deserve more detail, regardless the outcome.

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY AND HOW?
I, for example, would like to know how many police officers she interviewed that were at the scene? How many recordings did she review - she released three, two of which were useless? How many civilian witnesses did she speak with who were actually at the scene that evening? Were any of the officers at the scene given discipline for their actions that evening? Did Righeimer eventually meet with City Manager Allan Roeder and Police Chief Chris Shawkey so he could set them straight on just where DUI checkpoints should or should not be placed? I guess we'll see tonight.

"CIVIL THINKING" AWAKENS
Costa Mesa resident Bruce Krochman has nudged his blog, Civil Thinking, awake and is posting on it again. You can read his most recent entry, "How Comfortable Have You Become Wearing Masks?", HERE and you can always slide over to the link on the right side of this page any time to visit the blog.

MORE "CHUCKMEISTER UNLEASHED"
And, Chuck Cassity has another very interesting post entitled, "Who Owns Your Money?" on his blog. You can read it HERE.

ANOTHER GREAT "CITY TALK" SHOW
Another reminder of the quality television available to you on Costa Mesa Television, Channel 24 on Time Warner Cable and Channel 99 on ATT Uverse. Late last night I finally carved out a half hour to watch the outstanding interview Dane Bora conducted with Costa Mesa High School principal Phil D'Agostino and Estancia High School principal Kirk Bauermeister. This piece should be required reading for everyone who really cares for Costa Mesa schools. You can view it on streaming video on the city web site HERE. Or, you can catch it on television on the following schedule:

Weekend Potpourri

EASIER THAN HERDING CATS...
While driving up to a luncheon with high school classmates on Saturday, I noticed a CHP cruiser driving very slowly along the shoulder of the Glendale Freeway, with his two left wheels in the right traffic lane. As I approached the CHP cruiser from the rear I noticed, off to it's right, a scruffy coyote walking erratically parallel with the cruiser. It seems the CHP officer driving the cruiser was herding the coyote, trying to keep it off the freeway traffic lanes just as a cowpoke might use a quarter horse to herd a heifer. My off ramp was just beyond the cruiser, so I didn't see if this operation was a success. Hopefully, for the coyote's sake, he was able to direct it down the offramp and away from the freeway traffic. After driving the California freeways for more than a half century, this one takes the cake!

CITY HALL DEMONSTRATION GARDENS
Sunday my wife and I took advantage of perfect weather and went to Costa Mesa City Hall to view the recently-completed drought-tolerant demonstration gardens that surround the building. The eight separate areas were designed by a cadre of local landscape architects and the plants were donated and installed by Village Nurseries. We both were impressed by the new plantings, which should really be beautiful in a few months, once they've had a chance to adapt to the new locations and grow a little bit. If you are considering using drought-tolerant plants in your gardens a trip to City Hall for a peek at these new gardens will certainly be helpful. The complete plant list for each is available online at the city web site.


NO COUNCIL MEETING UNTIL APRIL 6TH, BUT...
We don't have a regularly-scheduled City Council meeting again until April 6th, but that doesn't mean the wheels stop turning by any means. The staff has begun preparation of the 2010/2011 budget even as they continue to refine methodologies to balance the current budget.

WAITING FOR THE DGS TO DROP ANOTHER SHOE...
And, the seemingly never-ending drama of the Orange County Fair and Events Center continues to percolate. The State Department of General Services has promised Governor Schwarzenegger that they will move "promptly" to get the Fairgrounds sold, so I wouldn't be surprised at all to find a special council meeting being called before the next regular one.

VISIT "CHUCKMEISTER UNLEASHED" OFTEN
A reminder that my pal, Chuck Cassity, is producing some very interesting stuff over on his "Chuckmeister Unleashed" blog. You can find the link to it on the right side of this page. Whether you enjoy Chuck's ideas or not, he will certainly provoke you to think a little.