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MOXIE
R. Scott Moxley's piece on District Attorney Tony Rackauckas (“Out Of His Skull,” August 15) is clearly the product of a great deal of research and investigation and I'd be willing to bet that Rackauckas is a bad guy just on the likelihood that half of what Moxley says is true. But Moxley is a man with a vendetta and such people have been known to omit some facts and abridge a few others that don't fit in the building of their vendetta. When he says Stuart Pfeifer of the Los Angeles Times was warned he might “join me on the DA's enemies list,” his paranoia is revealed. Does Moxley feel he's worthy of being on an enemies' list? Does the district attorney live or die based on what Moxley thinks? Moxley questions the integrity of Register reporter Larry Welborn at length. Welborn should have followed the lead of Pfeifer and refused to comment for this one-sided treatise. I have never met Rackauckas, so I'm not coming to his defense here. But I have known Larry Welborn for more than 30 years and Stuart Pfeifer for perhaps 20. They are exceptional reporters of impeccable integrity. Moxley? He's just a guy with an agenda. I don't care what he says about Rackauckas—it sounds like he's on the right track—but I don't like seeing serious, capable journalists like Welborn and Pfeifer being used to grind an ax. Moxley sounds like a guy who may have been turned down when he applied for a job at the Times or Register.
Jay Berman
Manhattan Beach
Tony Rackauckas' behavior should shock no one, it's endemic of DA offices everywhere. I can say with 100 percent certainty that the most Machiavellian, manipulative and amoral individuals I have ever met were colleagues at the San Diego District Attorney's Office. While working there I heard such noble comments as a deputy district attorney saying, “I don't care who you get, just nail someone for it.” When they were pursuing someone of uncertain guilt, they justified it by asserting that the person was probably guilty of something, anyway. I accepted a job there because I used to believe in the American legal system. On several occasions I was ordered to use PhotoShop to doctor screen-capture images to cover up blunders and to make information look more favorable. When I questioned this and other nefarious activities, I was told that if I ever complained again, they would “make [my] life hell” and ensure that I never got a decent job again. After several years in that environment, however, I believe that the greatest obstacle to true justice are elected DAs. Like TR's reign in Orange County, [San Diego DA Paul] Pfingst's regime exists solely for the purpose of re-election. Not surprisingly, I've concluded that the quickest way to lose faith in our legal system is to work for it. As I have no doubt about the ability, “and willingness,” of these individuals to exact revenge, please do not show my e-mail address.
Anonymous
Via email
BITCH, BITCH, BITCH
In Diary of a Mad County (August 15) Steve Lowery writes: “But I won't fund any recalls and then cry like a little bitch.” No, Steve, you're too busy crying like a little bitch about the presidential election. Even my angry girlfriend doesn't hold a grudge that long. The fact that Jim Washburn, Lowery, and Rick Perlstein are all crying like little girls about the recall means it MUST be a good thing. Besides, the Democrats are just mad that they didn't think of it first. Just because you guys can't read the rule book (a.k.a. the state CONSTITUTION) doesn't make it unfair. If you don't like the state constitution, then change it! I look forward to democracy in action on October 7th. I also look forward to the next hilarious left-wing lunatic rant from Jim Washburn.
P.S. Kudos for the GREAT investigative journalism. OC Weekly has done a fantastic job covering the ongoing Garofalo and Rackauckas stories!
Mike Winter
Newport Beach
ADMITS KILLING GOD
It's true there was a Holocaust where the Germans killed about 6 million Jews; it's also true that there was a crucifixion where the Jews killed one Son of God. It's also true that as He was dying, He asked, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” The real adversary is the Satan-disguised-as-a-snake, whom Mel Gibson exposes with a bit of artistic license. The message, as I'm sure Gustavo Arellano would have heard at the Harvest Crusade (“Raising Mel” August 15) if he were listening, is not that the Jews killed Christ, but that Jesus died for our sins. Our sins killed Him, whether we're Jewish or not.
John Denny
Irvine
PHAT-FREE
Re: Chris Ziegler's article on Alice Bag (“Alice's Got A Brand New Bag” August 15): I'm glad Chris is able to appreciate Alice's punk rock contributions in the '70s. But it's amazing that nearly two and a half decades later he would have the same expectations of her appearance and performance. Instead of producing a bad re-issue of her punk roots as so many bands have done since the resurgence of punk rock, Alice has reinvented herself and continues to be controversial. My recommendation is that Chris take a good listen to the lyrics and stop being so preoccupied with the image and being wowed. That's the point in the phat and sassy song “I'm Fat, Get Over It!”
Betty B
Via email
DEATH UNFASHIONABLE
Rich Kane's article on Noah Korda's Goth Day at Disneyland (“When You Wish Upon A Scar,” August 22) still has me in stitches (pun intended). Anyone who's ever met Korda in person would swear that Saturday Night Live's Chris Kattan based his hilarious “Azrial” Goth character on him. The sad part is how these pasty-faced, sweaty, rash-crotched and -chafed leather-clad dysfunctionals still don't understand how their pitiful fear of death—manifested by dressing like The Addams Familyrejects—is now totally out of fashion in the new millennium. Even Robert Smith of the Cure has stopped wearing lipstick. And aging science-fiction fans trudging down Disneyland's Main Street in fishnet stockings with black nail polish is better suited to “Gay Day,” not “Bat Day.” Someday they'll look back at those Haunted Mansion group photos, cringe and ask themselves, “What was I thinking?” Whether dressed like a Klingon or Marilyn Manson, a geek is still just a geek. To quote the squid squad commander William Shatner, “Get a life.”
Vince Odoni
Los Angeles
