Letters

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JO N EDDIE: A GLAM SLAM

I took a political-science course taught by Jo Ellen Allen at USC in 1987. Not only was/is she very glamorous and beautiful, but she also had/has an extraordinary and superior knowledge of U.S. constitutional theory, formation, history and application. Jo Ellen and her husband, Eddie, made a very glamorous and romantic couple. That's why it hurts to see the OC Weekly maliciously rip, slam, insult and slander the Allens now. R. Scott Moxley's hatchet job failed to report that Eddie has some excellent prospects for an appeal. The bankruptcy judge erred in his finding of fraud because it was outside his jurisdiction. Bankruptcy is not supposed to be a forum for creditors, step-children and others to vent any and all vendettas and diatribes. A bankruptcy petition is about money and assets—not whether the petitioner was a “captain” as opposed to a “colonel” in the military. Part of being an investor is accepting the risk that investments don't always yield returns. I don't believe Eddie Allen “hypnotized” or “forced” people to invest with him. They gave Eddie their investments of their own free will because they thought he was a great guy. Both Jo Ellen and Eddie are great people. Vouching for their legions of liberal, non-Republican fans, you don't have to be conservative to think so.

Martin Wainer
Los Angeles R. Scott Moxley responds: First, a bankruptcy petition is what it says it is—a petition requesting the protection of bankruptcy law. Eddie's creditors were able to persuade a federal judge he didn't deserve that protection. Second, I never claimed that Eddie “hypnotized” or “forced” people to invest. I said a federal judge concluded Eddie lied about his qualifications as a financial advisor. Third, I'm delighted to hear that Martin is a “liberal, non-Republican”: that should make him a less likely target for the Allens.

Do not get me wrong, I feel the Allens are scum bags, and I offer my congratulations on an excellent story. But I just wish Moxley did not follow the mainstream media's example of emphasizing the “elderly” investors, as if Eddie Allen were taking only their money. It seems he would take anyone's money!

John Green
Los Alamitos SCHMITZ FOR BRAINS

Thanks to Rebecca Schoenkopf for the recent tribute to Johnny-boy Schmitz (“Hey, OJB!” Dec. 28). I'd wondered what had happened to the ol' bugger. During the summer of '66, I took two Santa Ana College classes from John and struck up a relationship with a busty redhead in the back row. One morn, we found ourselves the target of a large chalk piece as it sailed between our heads and crashed against the wall behind us. I shall never forget Schmitz's hateful stare because I encountered it three years later during a formal Army inspection in the 115-degree heat of Camp Roberts. Guess who the base CO was? Yep, it was Johnny-boy with his closely cropped 'stache. He stopped to inspect me and realized I had been a target in his past. His deliberate leer remained for more than just a few seconds before he moved on.

Bruce Boycks
Dana Point A LATE, GREAT NOTION

One minor correction to the sweet obit of Ken Kesey (David Weddle's “Love and Grief United,” Dec. 28): his elder daughter is Shannon, not Sharon. Also, I am passing along a Kesey quote from the program for his Nov. 14 memorial service in Eugene, Oregon: “The answer is never the answer. What's really interesting is the mystery. If you seek the mystery instead of the answer, you'll always be seeking. I've never seen anybody really find the answer—they think they have, so they stop thinking. But the job is to seek the mystery, evoke mystery, plant a garden in which strange plants grow and mysteries bloom. The need for mystery is greater than the need for an answer.”

Lee Quarnstrom
Merry Prankster, retired
La Habra A MIND STUCK IN IDOL

I read the story on Billy Idol (Stanley Laughner's “Face Value,” Dec. 21), and for the life of me, I could not figure out what the writer was saying. In an effort to not seem like a complete doofus, I checked with the brain next door, and he agreed. So, in the future, is it possible to get a writer who can make some sense at the general public's level? After all, what else do we want for free?

Steve
via e-mail

Stanley Laughner responds:The vital semiotic connections between obscure French pseudorevolutionary paradigm, ancient pagan ritual, William S. Burroughs, the Roman Empire (circa 50 A.D.), computer viruses as social experiment, a Harley motorcycle named Rude Dude and the rock star Billy Idol have never been more clearly presented, even (grudgingly) hammered down to theWeekly's typical fourth-grade comprehension level. To reduce my thesis past this irreducible minimum would be to court meaninglessness. The truth, friend, is never easy.

WHAT'S IN AN AMES?

If you are going to make fun of something, especially in big bold writing, you should at least get the spelling correct (Joel Beers' “We're Big in Aimes, Iowa!” Jan. 4). There is no Aimes. But there is an Ames, Iowa. It happens to be the home of Iowa State University. Even hog farmers know how to run a spell check.

Jama Peterson
Cypress (via Des Moines) 'Maybe' for an answer

In Rich Kane's story about the Ten Count bar in Huntington Beach, owner Dan O'Mahony says his old band No For an Answer was not straight-edge (LowBall AssChatter, Jan. 4). That is a complete lie. There are remaining members of that band who are to this day straight-edge.

Heather Beachner
via e-mail