Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
WHAT'S THE OVER-UNDER?
The following letters are in response to R. Scott Moxley's Nov. 9 article, “She's the (Under) Sheriff,” which mentions newly indicted Sheriff Mike Carona's relationship with Don Haidl, the wealthy assistant sheriff and father of a convicted rapist.
Well done! But Haidl has a much deeper and more sinister history. But I am glad there is finally a reckoning. It's not enough, but it's a start!
Ken McCormack
via e-mail
You forgot to point out the fact that Undersheriff [Jo Ann] Galisky only has a G.E.D.
Anonymous
via e-mail
Anyone connected to the sheriff is just like him: A liar. Why even listen to their garbage? I know there are some good men working in that dark, ugly place who are happy that someone finally caught the sheriff in the act. Shame on him.
BJ
via e-mail
GET YER GUN!
The following letters are in regard to R. Scott Moxley's Nov. 15 article, “Draw Your Own Conclusions,” about the Orange County Sheriff's Department's promotion of now-San Juan Capistrano Police Chief Michael Betzler, who admitted to doctoring a crime-scene photo.
Betzler is a good guy—you have this story wrong. He most likely received the promotion because he earned it and deserved it. It is common to use “black humor” in high-stress professions to try to ease the tension. It was very serious to shoot someone, and this was just a poor use of humor. You would have to have been in law enforcement to understand.
Deb
via e-mail
I am glad you opened this nasty can of worms, but please keep digging. OCSD is not the only department that cleans up “in-house messes.”
Christy
via e-mail
The $700 million law-enforcement agency is corrupt from top to bottom. Oh, don't get me wrong: There are a few decent officers and administrative staff there, but they are few and far between. The corruption goes so deep that the whole agency/department—whatever you want to call it—needs to be replaced. It's unfortunate for the few decent ones aboard, but they needed to band together and stand up for themselves. I know that is much easier said than done, so whichever way Carona's [indictment] goes, they will lose.
I was disappointed but not surprised that Carona got two months' paid leave, then what? Business as usual! By June 2008, everyone will be kissing his ass, or he will be rolling over on so many (so-called) influential people that the stench will be smelled in the next century—it will be interesting to see what happens!
Rocket
via e-mail
¿CÓMO SE DICE 'FEEDBACK'?
The following letters were sent in regarding Gustavo Arellano's special-edition ¡Ask a Mexican! featured in the Nov. 16 Feedback music issue.
How do you say “poseurs” in Spanish? Really, the breakup of one band doesn't presage the end of a whole movimiento. Maybe there just wasn't enough room in the tour van for the leaf blowers?
Also, just so you know, in the Google targeted ads below your story was a link to “End Illegal Immigration Now!” Kind of ironico.
Andrew Haynes
via e-mail
¡Por favor!Saying “the La Brea Tar Pits” assaults these gringo ears as much as “La” Puente and “Las Anjelus.”
Dean Whinery
via e-mail
It is sad that Spanish-language rock is a slowly declining genre, and the fact that the radio station Super Estrella won't even help it (they even started to play what is on gabacho radio!) is even sadder.
Is it so wrong to celebrate your culture using traditional instruments and music? Of course, there's always going to be the norteño groups, but what about the rock!?
Thank you for that interesting read—finally, someone other than my parents have noticed this sad case.
Samantha
Anaheim
Rock en español nowadays sucks. The genre is in a such pathetic state that the return of the Argentinean rock band Soda Stereo to Los Angeles, after a hiatus of 10 years, has become the event of the year. During the '80s and early '90s, Latin America was buzzing with bands like Los Prisioneros (Chile), Cafe Tacuba (Mexico), Enanitos Verdes, GIT, Charly Garcia (Argentina), and Los Ilegales, Mecano and Hombres G (Spain), just to name a few. Now what have we got? Maná, Shakira, Paulina Rubio and all the commercial crap that Super Estrella plays 24/7. The scene is so mediocre right now that this sickening pop garbage is being called “rock en español” by music critics and radio DJs alike. It is like saying that Jethro Tull is heavy metal.
How did this musical movement end up like this? All these great rock bands emerged as a reaction from the military dictatorships and oppressive political regimes that plagued Latin America in the '70s and '80s. These rock bands and singers were musical rebels, and their lyrics represented the spirit of an entire generation. It represented those who grew up among soldiers, curfews, kidnappings, torture, civil war, censorship, repression, poverty and U.S. intervention. All of them stood for something. But once the dictatorships ended and globalization and U.S. capitalism were embraced by the political elites, it was only a matter of time before the entire movement came to an end. Adios to all that creativity and rebelliousness. Hola to anything that is pop and bling-bling. That's the reason rock en español is dead.
I didn't see how a band like Los Abandoned was going to fit in the U.S. rock scene. To sing in Spanglish is great if you are playing in a bar or some small festival, but if your goal is to sell records or win a Grammy (i.e. be recognized), you have to sing in English. There is no other way around it. Ritchie Valens and “La Bamba” were very exceptional cases. I hope that all Latino rockers in the U.S. learn from Los Abandoned's breakup and the sorry state of rock en español.
Fernando Tacuri
via e-mail
SHAGADELIC
“Wall-to-Wall Shag” by Greg Stacy [Nov. 16] is an excellent review of Shag's show at Laguna Arts Museum. I like this kind of writing—ambivalent, studious and thoughtful. His opinion of Shag the artist is right-on. I know next to nothing about the study of art, film, wine or anything cultural, really. That is why it is helpful for me to read something and recognize my own opinion in it, even when I didn't realize I had formulated one. My only disagreement is in Stacy's opinion of Hell. I still don't want to go there. Even if it is like a big swanky Shag illustration. Thanks, Greg Stacy—you are helping me become the intellectual liberal-art-school snob I always wanted to be.
Suzanne Broughton
via e-mail
