The Sock Puppets Continue Their Hypocrisy

(edited October 11, 2006)

Words about "healing" keep coming out of one side of their mouths, but mud keeps dripping from the other side of their mouths.  Let's consider what they've been saying in their recent letters to the editor (mostly San Gabriel Valley Tribune, although some appeared in the Pasadena Star News):

1.  On October 9, a sock puppet letter said that getting the Wal-Mart open "in record time" was evidence of the "great relationship" between city staff and Wal-mart.  The letter also criticized John Tran for accepting Mike Lewis' inivitation to visit the new Wal-Mart and talk about ways in which the store could be a "good neighbor."

Comment:  First, city staff should not be trying to help Wal-Mart open "in record time."  They should take as long as is necessary for the builder (be it Wal-Mart or anyone else) to meet the conditions of approval.  The fact that three members of the city council had to override staff recommendations and order the issuance of a certificate of occupancy before those terms were met tells me that those city council members have totally sold out to Wal-Mart, the health and safety of Rosemead residents be damned.  Second, what do they want Tran to do now that the store is open?  They don't want him to attack the store and they don't want him to work with the store.  Talk about damned if you do and damned if you don't!

2.  On October 5, a sock puppet letter wondered why a truckload of teaching supplies was turned away from Rice School.

Comment (edited, October 11):  Apparently, the letter writer was mistaken.  The image of a truck being turned away at the gate was entirely the fabrication of the creative "heavyweight" who wrote that letter.  See Henry Lo's response, which appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on October 11: http://www.sgvtribune.com/yourview/ci_4471313

If Wal-Mart is sincere in wanting to help the students and faculty of Rice School, what could they do?  How about arrange their donations to meet the convenience of the teachers, and not the donor?  How about actually deploying the flashing beacon and crossing guard that they said they would pay for?  Otherwise, all this talk about being a good neighbor sounds like talk rather than action.

3.  October 4, a sock puppet letter attacked John Tran for his vote regarding the city's tree trimming contract that was recently awarded.

I wonder if her support for the contractor had anything to do with all of those No on Recall signs that surrounded the contractor's property, versus having anything to do with the ability of the contractor to actually fulfill the terms of the agreement?

4.  September 29, a sock puppet letter applauded the Tribune for its unabashed support of Wal-Mart.  And she just couldn't help herself, so she had to take a gratuitous slap and John Tran.  You see?  For all their talk of "healing," they just can't seem to get over the fact that someone had the audacity to actually question whether the city has been heading in the right direction these past thirty years.

5.  September 27, another sock puppet letter.  They blame John Tran, John Nunez, and Save Our Community for "wasting" our tax dollars.  Never mind that Jay Imperial's lawsuit cost the city at least four times what just holding the election itself would  have cost.  Poor sock puppets:  They never let facts get in the way of a good tirade.  Healing, indeed.

6.  26 September, another sockpuppet feels "vindicated" because his side won the election, and considers this victory to be "democratic activism at its best" (The fact that his "grassroots" organization of democratic activists needed $350,000 in Wal-Mart dollars to win is, oddly enough, not mentioned in this letter.

Are you keeping track?  That's six letters from their usual suspects, all "piling on."  If they actually wanted to heal, they'd talk about what could be done to improve our city, or to mitigate the ill-effects of a Wal-Mart supercenter.  They wouldn't continue to be recycling their quarter-truths (not even  half-truths!), or start talking about the store going 24-hours even before the paint is dry and the landscaping is completed.