‘Throw Out That Stinky Old Bong, Shut the Fuck Up, and Go Apply for Jobs at Six Flags’
Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to letters@ocweekly.com, or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/oOC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
PRESCRIPTION FOR PAIN
I have a few comments for the good doctor [Brian West, featured in Daffodil J. Altan’s “Cutting Remarks,” Aug. 15]: 1) You need to apologize to your ex-patients for the sloppy jobs you’ve performed. 2) You’d be surprised what an “I’m sorry” may do for your reputation/status when a patient is injured or unhappy with the outcome of a procedure. 3) You still have to answer to God when you knock on that golden gate someday.
I suggest you get on your knees and apologize to Him now, and then to the patients you are accused of injuring. You may be surprised how welcome that statement may be. My husband is dead because of the lack of competent medical care in the good ol’ USA. No one should be injured or die from seeking care. I am beginning to wonder if there are any real doctors anymore because of all the denial and cover-up attempts made on a daily basis. But I will let you in on a secret: As patients, we know who is guilty of our injuries. Patients are present during the procedure, too, you know?
Dianne Parker, via e-mail
BURGERS WELL-DONE
OMG! I love this place [Gustavo Arellano’s This Hole-In-the-Wall Life, “Brea Burger Bingo,” Aug. 15]. I cannot believe you didn’t mention the fried zucchini. It’s amazing. Good job on the review. I live in Huntington Beach but used to work close to the restaurant, and to this day, I still make the trip to PK Burger.
Berenice Perez, via e-mail
TIKI TORCHED
Unfortunately, this article was poorly written and extremely negative, something I have come to expect from Greg Stacy [“Where the Birds Sing Words and the Flowers Croon,” Aug. 8].
Art is, after all, subjective, so I don’t expect, nor would I appreciate, a “vanilla” review, but there should have been some attempt to explore the artistry and appeal of this popular, tongue-in-cheek take on the SoCal beach culture. There are many colors, layers and sides to our community, and let’s be honest, not many of them are represented in the Pageant of the Masters.
I attended the “Tiki FREAKout” show opening, and while I don’t completely understand or like everything the lowbrow scene has to offer, I can appreciate the raw talent and reckless abandon of these artists. Sure, many can paint a perfect, precious watercolor beach landscape, like that from a bored Orange County housewife with too much money in the bank and too little interest in her children, and yet none choose to entertain that kind of mediocrity.
Greg Stacy, on the other hand, revels in mediocrity and, once again, takes the easy way out by condescending his way through an empty review with underdeveloped thoughts and childish insults. The OC Weekly—and the community it supports—deserves better than that.
Erika, via e-mail
CHARITY CASE
Why must you and Homefront America have the need to condemn other volunteers or nonprofits [Gustavo Arellano’s “The Snow Job Express Rolls On,” Aug. 22]? It’s really in poor form.
The problem is, if charities’ key people aren’t paid, most will end up not doing much in terms of program execution. There is an industry standard to follow that typically requires the charity keeps its administrative costs below 15 percent to achieve a high charity rating with Guide Star and Charity Navigator. Habitat for Humanity raises millions of dollars, and without talented paid people, the “big” money just doesn’t get raised. The more funds for the program, the bigger the impact you can make, clear and simple.
Most nonprofits have paid administrators, which is perfectly legal and, in most cases, required. Even Mother Teresa’s financial needs were taken care of while doing her important work, and that takes nothing away from her amazing accomplishments.
It’s great that you are in a position, as I am, to volunteer your time. However, I could not do the great job that the executive director does for Habitat, who has a proven track record to spearhead a successful program that meets the mission and devotes the vast majority of the funds to the program.
Any nonprofit should open its books or expose tax returns to any donor, without hesitation. And if a director gets paid $100,000-plus, it usually means the director get results. Most worthwhile nonprofits typically pay much less than the for-profit companies, and employees work much harder for the same money.
I know Mike Kerr, and he is a dedicated supporter of our veterans and their families. I will never forget my experience with the Snowball Express, and Mike Kerr and his team of hundreds delivered everything he said they would and more—and I did my research.
Mike, if you are reading any of this garbage, don’t let the naysayers get you down!!!
Steven H, Newport Beach
ATTENTION DISORDER
I read your article [Matt Coker’s “Who’s Your Addy?” Aug. 29] with interest since I have a 9-year-old son taking Adderall for the past three years. Honestly, if putting my son on a healthy diet was the cure for ADHD, I would already have it. He was on an organic diet free of additives when I began getting calls from teachers. This is a home that supports a natural and healthy lifestyle, but without this medication, he is the kid you don’t want in your child’s classroom.
It is easy to sit back and suggest rubbing my son’s feet and taking away additives. But my son deserves to have friends. He was the outcast before he began taking Adderall. Kids would literally run away from him.
I’m sorry for the addict that blames his drug addiction on his early use of Adderall and sincerely glad that he has received help, but honestly, that was not the cause of his addiction. My son has never mentioned a “high” from his meds. That is an easy blame.
Sure, there are side effects. But every medication has them. No parent wants to medicate their child, but I assure you that my very, very creative writer and artist is actually more creative on his meds. His stories make sense, and we can read them.
Please try to see the other side the next time you print a similar article in ?your magazine.
Kathy Stanley, Dana Point
CONSPIRACY CONSCIOUS
I wanted to thank you for your article on the CIT [Nick Schou’s “PentaConned,” Aug. 15]. I thought it was very fair and well-done.
I appreciate what you included regarding Mike Walter, who is no doubt a hero. I have read accounts that he spent time in some of the most dangerous parts of the world covering various wars. It takes a special kind of person to put themselves in harm’s way so that the world can know what is occurring.
Craig Ranke and Aldo Marquis will never know this level of dedication, and it angers me to see the vile that they spew about Mike Walter. I can only imagine just how many vile e-mails you will now get from the “truth” community. Again, thanks for that article. You did an outstanding job!
Robert Simmons, via e-mail
It’s nice to see any form of media go out on a limb and print something other than the ol’ story the American people were sold. Like the couple was saying, it doesn’t take much research to realize that the “official conspiracy theory” has almost a zero chance of probability and even a lesser chance of efficacy. This rabbit hole goes deep. I guess most people just cannot or will not wrap their head around how big and complicit this event (9/11, Iraq, Patriot Act) really is.
Andy, via e-mail
Okay, so you ran out of newsworthy story ideas but had some empty space to fill, so you sent Schou out on this one. Right?
Jim Roberts, Long Beach
Thank you so much for the deeply annoying and preposterous tale of the smug but brain-dead “citizen investigators.” Now that my migraine has subsided, I’d like to question their brilliant scenario. Why in the world would the Bush administration bother to disguise a plane to look like an American Airlines passenger jet when they could just use the real thing? If the 15 people killed at the Pentagon were expendable, then why not just kill everyone? That’s what they did at the World Trade Center, right? And their witnesses outside the Pentagon were all lying, all “deep-cover operatives” or “assets.” What about the hundreds of other witnesses who weren’t questioned? Are they also lying, also “operatives”? Sure. And the 79 souls who “allegedly” died on Flight 77 did what? Change their identities, abandon their families and move to Alaska to wait for their next top-secret, deep-cover assignment? Jesus Christ. The world is going to hell on a greased rocket sled, and Marquis and Ranke are a perfect example of why. They need to throw out that stinky old bong, shut the fuck up, and go apply for jobs at Six Flags.
Bob Miller, via e-mail
What’s with all the lies most media use? Has Rupert Murdoch treated everyone or paid them off? Keep up the good work. Someone needs to start telling the truth. God Bless you and your family for not keeping secrets.
Ron Payne M.V., via e-mail
CORRECTIONS
In Nick Schou’s Aug. 29 story, “Toeing the Line,” Paul Lucas was reported to have had a falling out with Janet Nguyen over his refusal to criticize Dina Nguyen. In fact, Lucas says, his disagreement had nothing to do with Dina Nguyen, whom he didn’t know at the time. Also, Chris Prevatt is publisher of the blog the Liberal OC; Art Pedroza’s blog, the Orange Juice, is a conservative blog. The Weekly regrets the errors.
Also in the Aug. 29 issue, Hobey Echlin’s “Live to Ride” incorrectly called the new Japanese Motors album Single Fins and Safety Pins when it is actually self-titled. The Weekly regrets the error.
