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Speak out!
Someone once said that politics is show business for ugly people. If that's the case, then we've got a political Vaudeville revue in the South County that somebody whupped with an ugly stick hard.
I'm talking, of course, about Trish Wilson's attempt to display an anti-Bush bumper sticker on her car that read, "Let's Not Elect Him in 2004 Either." If you read the article in last week's paper, then you know that Wilson returned to her car one afternoon and found a nasty note affixed to her windshield, penned by someone who thinks Bush is all-around super duper.
Wilson, not one to be cowed by stupid threats, went on an expedition to ferret out the letter writer, and in so doing got the community talking about the upcoming election, free speech, and other such topics that people tend not to talk about all the time.
Lest you think otherwise, let me make it clear that I don't consider anyone in the South County to be ugly, no more so than yours truly, and I happen to be stunning in a rough-and-tumble sort of way. Like other sane bipeds, I just think Wilson should be able to display a screw-Bush sentiment without worrying that someone's going to organize an anti-Wilson campaign to tow her car because of her political beliefs. There's one exception to the rule: anyone displaying their support for Assemblyman Abel Maldonado. I think that's going too far.
But never mind what I think. Our letters department has been overflowing this week with angry letters. For example, here's one from "Tim" in Arroyo Grande:
"I think she [Wilson] should stop being such a crybaby and grow up. People have just as much right to tell the world what they think as she does to tell what she thinks. And that's the truth."
"Tim" needs a lesson on Truth, and that's the truth. Like I said earlier, the truth is that you should just read what I said earlier.
"These anti-Republicans don't seem to like it when someone criticizes THEM."
That's "Dolores" talking through her pen. Shhh. Let's let her blather on a little further.
"... and furthermore, they don't have the good sense to switch party affiliations and be on the side of God and country, which is too bad because it's the right and proper thing to do when - "
Let's take another letter, shall we?
"YOU MAY ALREADY BE A WINNER!!! Call us immediately to find out YOUR PRIZE, which we're holding for YOU and - "
Never mind that one. Here's "Paul" from Grover Beach:
"I think all the letters you run in your column are fakes. You just make up the names on the fly and stuff them in your column, thinking we'll all believe they're real when they're not. In fact, I think you're the biggest phony on the planet - "
Whoa, "Paul," I think you'll be interested to know that the only phony letter here is yours. The rest of them are just fraudulent. Now, shoo - get outta here.
What did the woman who disliked Wilson's politics write in that nasty note? For those who missed last week's news piece, shame on you, but here it is again, and you owe me: "We who live in this neighborhood do not appreciate your politics. If this is the way you feel about our President, please park in the parking lot below the school. This is really where you are supposed to park, anyway."
I like that last, helpful sentence. I half expected her to tell Wilson it was also time to rotate her tires.
REPORT RETORT: I see the 2002-04 Grand Jury Report is out, hand-delivered to our office just seconds ago, which gives me precious little time to read it and tell you what I think, but I'll do it anyway.
The most notable item is probably the grand jury's trashing of the SLO County District Attorney's Office over its handling of the Kenneth Freitas vehicular manslaughter case, which will be tried next week due to a delay. You'd think this would please Freitas' attorney, Ilan Funke-Bilu, but no, not when the report also concluded that the city of Grover Beach did no wrong in its investigation of the death of Sarah Scruggs in September of 2002, and Funke-Bilu was suggesting this would be part of his defense strategy.
This, of course, puts both sides in an awkward position. Funke-Bilu gets blown out of the water by an obviously unbiased source, while the district attorney has to deal with a double-edged sword that hurts as much as it helps: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I call your attention to page six of the grand jury's report, which states that the Grover Beach Police 'conducted a thorough investigation of the accident,' - thorough and complete! - and to page nine, which details how utterly incompetent my office is. Let's start at the top, shall we? 1) The filing deputy did not act to perform his duty to file or reject this case; 2) When questioned, the filing deputy had no acceptable explanation - "
For more on this nonsense, check out Dan Blackburn's story on page 12. Then get yourself a copy of the report. It's a hoot.
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