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SCV Talk
April 5, 2010· scvtalk.com · WordPress (SCVTalk 3.0) · Wayback capture

Hey Allan, it’s just a blog!

By Jeff — Jeff Wilson

Dear Allan Cameron,

Hi. My name is Jeff. I’m 33. I’m married and I have a dog. I’ve lived in Newhall for 17 years and it’s nice to meet you. I’ve seen you at City Council meetings. I’d like to compliment you on your style; you always arrive impeccably dressed, and you carry yourself very well. Do you have a tailor because if you do, I’d like his number! Swoon!

That said Allan, it’s come to my attention that you’re a bit upset about comments posted on this site. I’ve been reading comments like these from you this weekend (all the while imaging your booming Moses voice in my head):

This Is Allan Cameron. This comment is a request to the person who “manages” this thing,(I think your name is Jeff) and a challenge to all the nameless cowards. I understand that this is the “internet”. So what. Why not do something memorable? Why not show some guts? Why not display some real integrity? Establish pass words for the “posters”, which you verify as being from the real names of the poster, and than do this. BAN any “posts” from anyone who does not disclose their real identity with their “post”. Maybe the items on your web site would decline significantly. Again, so what. Why would any adult wish to waste seconds of the precious miracle of human consciousness reading the musings of cowards?

…

I have two additional requests. The first is that your respond to my challenge, now, on this site, and in public. The second request is this. If you will neither respond, or change the rules so that cowards can no longer have a platform, change the name of this “thing”. Call it “Cowards Corner”.

You’re quite right Allan that this indeed is the “internet.” And on the “internet” things can get a bit wild. I’ve run SCVTalk.com for four years now on my own dime and during my own free time, so let me share some things with you.

What you ask is impossible for me. The only way to force people to use their real names here or anywhere else would be to take credit card information from them. So let me ask you- would you be willing to hand over your credit card information so I could confirm your ID before allowing you to post?

No. I didn’t think so. And neither would anyone else.

You claim that people posting here anonymously are violating the Founder’s ideals; that if old Tom Jefferson and Ben Franklin had the courage to sign their name to the Declaration of Independence, then, doggonit, SCVTalk commenters should too.

While I’m thrilled you’re comparing my humble blog to one of the greatest documents in Western Civilization, I don’t think you get this whole blogging thing.

Blogging is short for “web log,” and blogs exist to encourage discussion, share opinion, and talk about things. SCVTalk was started back in 2006 when there wasn’t many places online one could go to to discuss all things Santa Clarita. Over the years, tens of thousands of comments have been posted here. Say what you will about this place, but it’s fulfilling a need in the SCV; people are using it to talk, to debate, and to discuss things freely.

In other words, commenters here are exercising their freedom of speech in the best traditions of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. We are not a threat to America or the Founders, honestly!

That said I understand comments can get mean, personal and petty on here. When that occurs, I turn on comment moderation and that drastically slows down the volume of comments, and encourages commenters to tone it down. It’s sort of like a time out. The regulars who comment here understand that.

Anyway Allan, that’s the best I can offer you. I’m not about to go and verify the identity of the  1000+ people who visit here everyday. If you don’t like what you read here, I invite you to email me at jeff at scvtalk.com, post a comment, or alternatively, click the little X up in the right corner of the screen and leave the site.

Welcome to the “Internet” Allan. Stay awhile. We’re really not so bad.

Regards,

Jeff

Comments (77)

  1. GangFangApril 5, 2010 at 9:40 am
    I just scheduled a “JEFF IS MY HERO” tattoo. Under an assumed name, of course.
  2. John QApril 5, 2010 at 9:42 am
    Well said, Jeff!
  3. drive66April 5, 2010 at 9:43 am
    That was awesome!
  4. PetzApril 5, 2010 at 9:50 am
    Petz will never tattoo anything on his body regarding Jeff. That being said it was very common for leading figures (Ben Franklin included) to use pen names or nom de plume. http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/l3_wit_name.html
  5. DamageincApril 5, 2010 at 10:22 am
    What ever Petz decides to tatoo on his body will be written in the third person. We didn’t join Alan… Alan joined us. If you don’t like it… go to another blog may I recommend Scvblogs.com, I hear Wally Caddow blogs there!
  6. PetzApril 5, 2010 at 10:27 am
    Petz tombstone: Petz said this would happen !
  7. damangeincApril 5, 2010 at 10:37 am
    HAHA! Nice one Petz
  8. scvfanApril 5, 2010 at 10:30 am
    I actually laughed out loud reading his comments about the Founding Fathers. I guess SCVtalk got a huge promotion this weekend! Allan: Have you read the Federalist Papers? The authors of the articles were a closely-guarded secret. Folks speculated for YEARS on who “Publius” , “Cato” and others were. This important dialogue, masked in deepest secrecy, helped form a little special thing we now call, the Bill of Rights. Now, I’m not saying that conversations on SCVtalk are at the same level as the Federalist Papers. I am implying that you can’t use the Founding Fathers as examples in this case. It doesn’t make much sense. And you really do sound like Moses.
  9. damangeincApril 5, 2010 at 10:37 am
    Excellent point. The 16 weeks that were spent drafting the constitution were done so in secret so the delegates could speak freely.
  10. JessApril 5, 2010 at 10:37 am
    Well said, Jeff. The internet is SERIOUS BUSINESS.
  11. janeApril 5, 2010 at 10:39 am
    How far back do I have to read to find out what set him off? Not, of course, that there really needs to be a reason with AC.
  12. ReaderMamaApril 5, 2010 at 11:00 am
    Jane, see the Katz’ Quid Pro Quo topic from over the weekend. Allan’s remarks are hard to miss. They are very long. Apparently he took strong exception to the posts of Coastal Sage. Excellent post, Jeff. I second everything you had to say, including the “swoon!”
  13. CoastalSageApril 5, 2010 at 11:04 pm
    Yes, poor Allan took exception to the fact that I said, in passing, that he and Berta were shills for the owner of Bermite way back in 2002, and that Berta had lost credibility with me back then. Berta ably defended herself. In contrast, Allan Cameron simply went off on a seemingly endless ranting tangent.
  14. OlenkaApril 5, 2010 at 11:01 am
    Hey Jeff, can I start an SCV blog and call it Cowards Corner? It’s catchy!
  15. GangFangApril 5, 2010 at 4:46 pm
    I think it’s a good name for a bar, as well.
  16. Kevin D. KorenthalApril 5, 2010 at 11:17 am
    I used to one of those new fangled bloggy-thingies and comment moderation was the bane of my existence in those days.
  17. Spineflower2April 5, 2010 at 11:59 am
    Looking at previuos blogs and forums, the need for anonymity is clear. GOing back to TITTS, HISC, and several others, there is group of maladjusted people in teh SCV who like to crash forums with pestering non-sequitor questions and pick on spelling and word choices like they wer WEbster himself, all in attmepts to blur the issue and derail debate. Jeff has shown a fair amount of restraint is blocking those who tried this hear, and on the whole it has survived and remains a viable means of dialog. The standard here in the blog is tigheter than thaton the foru,s, and for this reason I no longer post there, ahving grown tired of the meaningless and ill-intention games played there occasionally. But anonymity has another good basis, and that is in the dangerous pursuit and “outing” habits of some of those who seem to seek harm to those they disagree with. On some of the above prior forums, peoples employers, addresses, kids’ schools and names have been posted. This is a clear threat and as a result some of us choose to remain anonymous. As has been posted in the prior blog where Llan firs tposted, it doens’ ttake long to assemble a profile of the “anonymous” posters and understand their view, general situation, even location. But it takes more commitment to regular participatoin in a forum/blog to reach that level of recognition, and the malicous posters genreally lack the patience to reach it.
  18. Spineflower2April 5, 2010 at 12:00 pm
    My apologies for my terrible typing!. Google toolbar is not compatible with my PC/browsing software, so I have lost my former spell checker.
  19. navigatorApril 5, 2010 at 1:56 pm
    I really am glad you came back with this acknowledgment Spine cuz I was laughing so hard at the irony I couldn’t stand it!
  20. cashApril 5, 2010 at 12:59 pm
    I think Mr. Cameron, while a very eloquent speaker, may have an ego that outweighs the verbiage he often spews. Seems he has lost his long lasting post before the city council, and still needs an outlet for us to learn from him. Welcome to SCVTALK big guy.
  21. UrsulaApril 5, 2010 at 1:10 pm
    Ummmm i’ve been online for the last 15 years and even more if you count my BBS days and this is the first site i ever used my real name. This is also the first site i ever frequented reading that it was EVER an issue. Is it the specific topic (local new, local politics, LOCAL in general) or just the fact that there is a bigger non-net-nerd generation on here then I’m used to?
  22. UrsulaApril 5, 2010 at 1:43 pm
    Ha i said “bigger” crowd not “only full of”. Put down the pitch fork. After the CVC opening i don’t think there was any doubt which side of the geek fence you were on.
  23. Spineflower2April 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm
    Allan is a welcome and knowledgable addition to any discussion about the SCV. While I disagree with him on the need for anonymity here (and elsewhere), I hope he continues to post.
  24. navigatorApril 5, 2010 at 1:59 pm
    Knowing Alan I didn’t think it was him writing at first but when his post ran on and on I knew it had to be. Welcome to the board AC.
  25. CCApril 5, 2010 at 2:24 pm
    Good one Jeff! I like the way you moderate. People can freely exchange opinions and information without fear of retaliation and when they get out of line, you yank them back. Kudos.
  26. Silence DogoodApril 5, 2010 at 2:31 pm
    “Without Freedom of Thought, there can be no such Thing as Wisdom; and no such Thing as publick Liberty, without Freedom of Speech; which is the Right of every Man, as far as by it he does not hurt or countroul the Right of another: And this is the only Check it ought to suffer, and the only Bounds it ought to know. This sacred Privilege is so essential to free Governments, that the Security of Property, and the Freedom of Speech always go together; and in those wretched Countries where a Man cannot call his Tongue his own, he can scarce call any Thing else his own.” ~Silence Dogood
  27. Allan CameronApril 5, 2010 at 3:49 pm
    This is Allan Cameron writing. From the celestial to the cess pool, American History provides endless examples of both the devine and the damnable. Our American founders have much to teach us. Profound among their lessons, is that duality of nature is found in all of us. Some of the most transcendent concepts regarding freedom ever written were set to paper by slave holders. We can pattern our conduct quite selectively when we seek justification in our history. Some of the “Horde of the Hidden” who “post” here, perhaps startled to find they are, in fact, cowards, seek to explain their cowardice by looking to many of the less than admirable aspects of our history. Some of you are parents. Who would you have your children emulate from our history? Would you choose the slave owner or the slave liberator? For guidance, do you want your kids to look to the bold and the brave, or to the craven and the cowardly? O
  28. Blazing MonkApril 5, 2010 at 3:57 pm
    This is really your response… Weak.
  29. Jeff JApril 5, 2010 at 4:32 pm
    I don’t actually know you Allan, but just a quick tip… Above your post it says “ALLAN CAMERON SAYS: ” This makes your opening line of,”This is Allan Cameron writing,” a bit redundant and tends to make you sound a bit loopy. Just a bit of friendly advice, do with it what you will.
  30. Jeff JApril 8, 2010 at 10:32 pm
    Hehe, sorry ND, I can see where that would take all of the amusement out of the situation Won’t happen again.
  31. Silence DogoodApril 5, 2010 at 5:21 pm
    Apparently Mr. Cameron is without sin in this matter. He is liberally casting stones at us all. Search your heart Mr. Cameron. Are you free from sin? Confess!
  32. cashApril 5, 2010 at 5:48 pm
    This is cash writing. You must be kidding. Comparing this blog, in any form, to slavery, is absurd. Try to shorten the B and get to the S. You may enjoy writing and reading your work, but the short version would work fine for many.
  33. CCApril 5, 2010 at 9:49 pm
    LOL! Very funny. I will take care of it tomorrow. I am happy to support my ongoing habit!
  34. cashApril 6, 2010 at 8:49 am
    American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper It must be said, that like the breaking of a great dam, the American descent into Marxism is happening with breath taking speed, against the back drop of a passive, hapless people, excuse me dear reader, I meant people. True, the situation has been well prepared on and off for the past century, especially the past twenty years. The initial testing grounds was conducted upon our Holy Russia and a bloody test it was. But we Russians would not just roll over and give up our freedoms and our souls, no matter how much money Wall Street poured into the fists of the Marxists. Those lessons were taken and used to properly prepare the American populace for the surrender of their freedoms and souls, to the whims of their elites and betters. First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their “right” to choke down a McDonalds burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our “democracy”. Pride blind the foolish. Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different “branches and denominations” were for the most part little more than Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more than happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the “winning” side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the “winning” side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America . The final collapse has come with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America ‘ s short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Weimar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe . These past two weeks have been the most breath taking of all. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system, by the very thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, losses, and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look little more than ordinary street thugs, in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in the shear volumes. Should we congratulate them? These men, of course, are not an elected panel but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs and their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars, in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties, and powers of the American congress (parliament). Again, congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters. Then came Barack Obama ‘ s command that GM ‘ s (General Motors) president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader, in the land of “pure” free markets, the American president now has the power, the self-given power, to fire CEOs and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions. So it should be no surprise, that the American president has followed this up with a “bold” move of declaring that he and another group of unelected, chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automobile policies.. I am sure that if given the chance, they would happily try and redesign it for the whole of the world, too. Prime Minister Putin, less than two months ago, warned Obama and UK ‘ s Blair, not to follow the path to Marxism, it only leads to disaster. Apparently, even though we suffered 70 years of this Western sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish, drunken Russians, so let our “wise” Anglo-Saxon fools find out the folly of their own pride. Again, the American public has taken this with barely a whimper…but a “free man” whimper. So, should it be any surprise to discover that the Democratically controlled Congress of America is working on passing a new regulation that would give the American Treasury department the power to set “fair” maximum salaries, evaluate performance, and control how private companies give out pay raises and bonuses? Senator Barney Frank, a social pervert basking in his homosexuality (of course, amongst the modern, enlightened American societal norm, as well as that of the general West, homosexuality is not only not a looked down upon life choice, but is often praised as a virtue) and his Marxist enlightenment, has led this effort. He stresses that this only affects companies that receive government monies, but it is retroactive and taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive. The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at this and the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest, and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker.
  35. cashApril 6, 2010 at 9:40 am
    The afticle is from Pravda. The paper logo did not copy when I copied the article. I did not mean to calm any pride in ownership of the article. The irony of this article appearing in the English edition of Pravda (Russian on-line newspaper) defies description. Why can a Russian newspaper print the following yet the American media either can’t or won’t see it?
  36. CoastalSageApril 5, 2010 at 4:13 pm
    From Allan Cameron’s post on 4/5/10 at approximately 6:30AM commenting on yesterday’s discussion: “Lastly, I have given all of you my real name, my direct mobile phone number, and my email address. Use these in good will, as you wish. If anyone trys [sic] to harm me, my family, or my friends with this information, know this. I will find you.” Allan, I realize that you can no longer hide behind Roberta’s gigantic hat anymore, but give us all a break. Threatening people you didn’t agree with didn’t work when Roberta was alive, and it doesn’t work now either. And as of this week, why would anyone want to harm you, your family or your friends…assuming harm means physically hurt you or them? Just what are you afraid of Allan? Instead of listening to your own rhetoric, try reading New York Times v. Sullivan, a libel case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court many years ago. You and the people you have worked for are public figures in Santa Clarita. No one has the requisite malice against you Allan, as described by the court. People in Santa Clarita think you are a harmless, pompous blowhard. The New York Times case builds off the old expression “Sticks and stones can break your bones but names will never hurt you”. The case, and the old expression, applies to you Allan and anyone you are working for in this year’s election campaign. No one has “hurt” you Allan. No one plans on “hurting” you. Think about what you’ve said Allan. You sound more like a nut than a blowhard: “If anyone trys [sic] to harm me, my family, or my friends with this information, know this. I will find you.” Take a chill pill Allan and crawl back under your rock.
  37. janeApril 5, 2010 at 4:28 pm
    Do they not let him spout ad nauseam at Council meetings anymore…is that why he is here, to find an audience to listen to his baloney?
  38. Rick LottApril 5, 2010 at 5:40 pm
    Nobody told me we didn’t have to use our real names.
  39. BrianApril 5, 2010 at 6:10 pm
    Sheesh! Talk about coming across as elitist! I feel dirty as if I have just been talked down to. Consultant? So Allan doesn’t actually produce anything of value. Typical of the high and mighty who seek to lord over the rest of us with slick performances and thousand dollar suits. I am not impressed.
  40. Allan CameronApril 5, 2010 at 6:59 pm
    This is Allan Cameron. I must actually return to productive activity now. To the several folks who identify themselves by their real names, I salute you. You have a modicum of courage. With your display of this courage, you lend yourselves a useful amount of instant, deserved credibility, which the cowards, alas, will never enjoy. A few other people clearly also came to their senses, and, realizing that no real harm would come to them, disclosed their real names. These folks also deserve a bit of respect and admiration. Some kind folks contacted me and said I was in some kind of danger!!! I hardly think so. I cannot imagine anyone being foolish enough (even from this “thing”)to attempt to cause me any harm. There have been a few anonymous (of course) attempts at insults addressed to me. To the entrenched cowards, I am compelled to offer all of you this apology. An opportunity (a GLORIOUS one!) awaits you that I have previously failed to share. There will be somewhat of a problem, since a “spine transplant” will be necessary for most of you. Greed may trump fear, however, so, lick your chops and dream. America loves REHAB STORIES!! Remember “Tiger Woods”,”Paris Hilton” “Charlie Sheen”, ad nauseam!! Think “Confessions of an internet Coward!!” “From Cowardice to Courage on the internet!!If I did it, ANYONE CAN!!” “How I told them my real name on the internet, AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE!! And then there is the ever popular “12 steps to courage over cowardice”, a blog addicts story”. The possibilities are truly endless. Just that pesky “spine transplant” requirement, and your 15 minutes of fame and fortune (meager) beckons! “Oprah Awaits”. Again, sorry I didn’t mention this before. The day is always darkest before the dawn, and all that.
  41. Whiskey Tango FoxtrotApril 5, 2010 at 10:06 pm
    I’m just staying busy counting the number of times Allan can write the word “coward” in 24 hours. I no shrink but I think Mr. Cameron got his lunch money taken from him one too many times in the 5th grade.
  42. Fred ButlerApril 6, 2010 at 6:35 am
    Allan, My name is Fred. If you have read any of my comments I have left here over that last 6 months or so, you would know that I disagree with practically everything this blog holds dear. I think about 98 percent of the opinions offered here by the moderators is flat wrong. Except for maybe enjoying a nice cup of brewed coffee, watching Discovery Channel, riding bicycles, and liking competent film making, there is very little that Jeff, or any of his fellow bloggers and I agree upon. Still, they maintain one of the better blogs that covers events and news for the SCV and that is the reason why I enjoy coming around on a regular basis. That said, there is nothing cowardly with having a fake name on the internet. Yes. I know it allows for some cowardly trolls to post comments with abandon, but that is just the nature of the internet. Generally a wise thinking blogger will moderate such comments. Plus, I think – well, at least I hope – most people are discerning enough to realize an anonymous troll is a person with a chip on his shoulder and everything he writes as criticism against his hated cause should be taken with a grain of salt. Anonymous commenters can be a good thing. In some cases, it is necessary to keep the good guys from being the objects of persecution by the bad guys. I have a friend who writes critically of many liberal cultural issues who has no choice but to remain anonymous or he risks being fired unfairly from his job by secular bosses. My exhortation to you: Rather than being snippy about anonymous” commenters, you need to realize the internet is the internet and it’s the just the way things are. Stop being a petty finger wagger against “decorum” and instead, just engage the ideas.
  43. JackieApril 5, 2010 at 8:45 pm
    w00t! That was fun to read. I love a good bitch slap.
  44. BrianApril 5, 2010 at 9:03 pm
    Similar logic would do away with our secret ballot process for elections. What are you ashamed of? Sign that ballot! What enemies list?
  45. Allan CameronApril 5, 2010 at 11:11 pm
    This is Allan Cameron. Good Evening Jennifer. You may recall that I indicated how easy it is to find the true identity of someone who wishes to remain hidden on the internet. It is far simpler than I imagined. You have, in my opinion, an ability still unrealized to make positive contributions. We will all benefit if you make them. Your effectiveness will only be enhanced when your identity becomes known. As of now making that choice is still within your control and is still yours to make. Please accept my deepest apologies for the comment about “spine transplants”. I receive no benefit whatsoever from causing anyone pain or humiliation. The comment was made before I got the confirmation I sought. You have my number. Please call me.
  46. John AdamsApril 6, 2010 at 5:17 am
    ?????? That dude is whack!! Who is jennifer? Is it Ok to “out” people on this board?(I know jeff is allowed) Because if Phil Hoff disagrees with you allan you are in big trouble
  47. Derek ShawApril 6, 2010 at 12:15 am
    Dear Mr. Cameron: The last time you deigned to communicate with our family, it was in 2002. If you recall, you could not stoop so low as to communicate directly. You had the late and not so great Roberta Gillis, of the huge hats, call and threaten to harm several members of the Santa Clarita Democratic Party unrelated to my family if the Golden Valley Ranch Task Force did not shut up and stop criticizing a project you were being paid to lobby for, on a contingency fee basis. Ms. Gillis’ “threat” on your behalf was to tell her dear friend, Governor Gray Davis, that these Democrats were defying her wishes as High Muckety Muck of the Santa Clarita Democratic Party. Ms. Gillis’ threats were in the same nature which Mexican Drug Lords make “Do what we want or I will hurt your friends”. Ms. Gillis was told to stick her threats on your behalf where the sun doesn’t shine, because among other things, we are not Democrats, did not and still don’t care about the California Democratic Party, who we considered to be highly corrupt then and now. Ms. Gillis was quite taken aback, and her threat fell flat. And of course we all know what happened to Gray Davis. Next, Hunt Braly called and asked that we stop the Golden Valley Ranch Task Force from criticizing the project for which you were a lobbyist. Mr. Braly also specifically mentioned your involvement in the project. He, at least, had the good grace not to make any threats when he was told “No”. I hope you got your lobbying commission Mr. Cameron. I heard the developer filed bankruptcy. In case you and others from Canyon Country haven’t noticed, Pardee Homes grotesquely violated the boundaries of the “no grading area” established by the City Council for the Golden Valley Ranch project, butchering and completely destroying the hills and grasslands habitat the State Parks Department, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and Department of Fish & Game wanted preserved as a habitat for the California Endangered Species who lived there. When Santa Claritans drive along the 14 Freeway and look east at the Golden Valley off ramp, or look south from the Kohl’s Plaza, and see the ugly mess representing the residential portion of Pardee Golden Valley Ranch project, they can think fondly of you. You really need to stop telling developers that you can “control” SCOPE, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Santa Clara River, or any other long established community interest oriented organization, because you never could and still can’t. No one in my family has any reason to converse with people like you. You are a paid shill for any number of developers and businessmen. Nothing more.
  48. ReaderMamaApril 6, 2010 at 8:01 am
    The only Jennifer I can think of moved to Las Vegas years ago. But then I guess people can still post from Las Vegas.
  49. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 8:33 am
    Another reason why anonymity is desireable on a forum such as this is that employers routinely google potential new hires to see what they hav eposted online, or what is on their facebook pages. The long shadow of a potential employer choosing not to hire you because they disagree with a tone or idea you posted, while THEY can safely hide behind their OWN anonymity, is too much of a risk to bear for someone who has the burden of raising a family in a troubled economy like ours. Staying anomyumous online is just a way to level that playing field. I don’t think putting oner;s family’s well-being above silly internet word games shows cowardice, but rather wisdom. Allan should understand this well, since his own employers have been intimately involved in the political and developmental inner workings of the SCV.
  50. ReaderMamaApril 6, 2010 at 8:47 am
    Allan clearly isn’t interested in a participating in a reasoned discussion of the issue. He is on a mission to unmask someone who posts here and humiliate them. Ironically, his behavior is an argument for the very thing he argues against. I have a renewed respect for David Gauny who waded into this raucous den using his own name but maintained a calm and reasonable manner in responding to everyone — even those clearly trying to antagonize him.
  51. scvfanApril 6, 2010 at 8:55 am
    ReaderMama: I want to write like you when I grow up.
  52. CCApril 6, 2010 at 2:09 pm
    me too
  53. ReaderMamaApril 7, 2010 at 7:59 am
    Thank you!
  54. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 9:16 am
    “ReaderMama says: April 6, 2010 at 8:47 am Allan clearly isn’t interested in a participating in a reasoned discussion of the issue. He is on a mission to unmask someone who posts here and humiliate them.” I wondered about this… any ideas what issue he is trying to “out” someone over? SOMEthing set him off…
  55. scvfanApril 6, 2010 at 8:54 am
    Wait….am I missing something? Who the Sam Hill made “threats” to AC and his family? Were these “kind folks” really implying “danger” was immanent because of his postings? If so, Allan, please immediately get new friends. Preferably ones that are more balanced mentally and shy away from conspiracy theories. Oh….and are not cowards.
  56. blazing monkApril 6, 2010 at 8:57 am
    Write your own comments cash not copy and paste false propaganda. Your just lazy
  57. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 9:13 am
    And it’s childish nonsense he’s posting in this case. The Feds are not just dictating to a private capitalistic company what their CEO or salary should be, it’s a fair condition of that same companies’ acceptance of billions of OUR tax money to save their sorry asses from bankruptcy and oblivion. I laugh at the crybaby pseudo-capitalist corporations now whining about how Communist Obama is turning us all Red, but then watch them as they gladly accept and even demand government handouts/bailouts/tax shelters by the billions. The “free market” types don’t like to mention that GM failed on its own, that the bankers robbed us when left unregulated, and yet they cling to the myth of the “invisible hand” of capitalism that knows all, tells all, saves all. It’s nothing more than self-serving rhetoric designed to make the rich richer at our expense. Rubbish.
  58. cashApril 6, 2010 at 9:42 am
    The article is from Pravda. Seems you like the Socialist agenda.
  59. Fred ButlerApril 6, 2010 at 9:29 am
    Cash may be guilty of cutting and pasting, nothing in the cut and paste job was propaganda. That is a gross smear.
  60. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 9:32 am
    So you agree it is “childish nonsense”?
  61. cashApril 6, 2010 at 9:47 am
    The childish among us lack the depth to see what is happening, or perhaps they like the fact that goverment will take care of them. You probably believe the cash for clunkers was not a hand out.
  62. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 9:52 am
    “Cash for clunkers”? You mean I can turn you in and get a clunker?
  63. cashApril 6, 2010 at 9:57 am
    You would be trading one clunker for another. (<:)
  64. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 9:59 am
    Left unregualted, monopolirs result. Government “interference” with capitalism started by fighting the rail barons and still is relevent today. Unregulated banking got “too big to fail” and brought the economy to a halt with their irresponsibility, both in making bad loans and then in hiding that fact with blue smoke and mirror packaging of those bad loans, creating and then bursting the “housing bubble.” Do you want more of that “capitalism”? And remember how well “capitalistic” power companies managed to :wcrew grandma in California” and laugh about it just a few years ago? It is not “socialism” to regulate private corporations. Equating them just diminishes the credibility of those making the claim. As usual, the truth is far from the lunatics of either side, somewhere in the middle. But the Rovian oversimplified mindset of the Corporate Right has programmed us to see this an an “either-or” choice and not as a range of reasonable alternatives in the middle. Reject the programming, and look at the facts, not the fiction.
  65. cashApril 6, 2010 at 10:06 am
    There is some truth to what you write, but unless you have sat in the Board room you really only have one side of the story. I will admit that greed has run a muck, but now so is Obama and this group of socialist buddies. Middle ground works for me.
  66. navigatorApril 6, 2010 at 10:06 am
    “Unregulated banking got “too big to fail” and brought the economy to a halt with their irresponsibility, both in making bad loans and then in hiding that fact with blue smoke and mirror packaging of those bad loans, creating and then bursting the “housing bubble.” But it was the government forcing the banks to make loans to those who couldn’t afford them that was the REAL cause behind the failures.
  67. Spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 10:39 am
    Not that wiki is the end-all expert, but they cite several credible sources for their version of the root cause (emphasis mine), NOT the federal governemnt “forcing” banks to loan money. Rather, the banks CHOSE to make bad loans and then unload them on less-savvy institutions and creditors who were left “holding the bag”: While the housing and credit bubbles built, a series of factors caused the financial system to both expand and become increasingly fragile, a process called financialization. Policymakers did not recognize the increasingly important role played by financial institutions such as investment banks and hedge funds, also known as the shadow banking system . Some experts believe these institutions had become as important as commercial (depository) banks in providing credit to the U.S. economy, but they were not subject to the same regulations . These institutions as well as certain regulated banks had also assumed significant debt burdens while providing the loans described above and did not have a financial cushion sufficient to absorb large loan defaults or MBS losses.
  68. cashApril 6, 2010 at 1:08 pm
    Wrong. Fanny and Freddie is a major part of the problem. The Feds. definitely did as Nav indicated. Including allowing the banks to lower the threshold for loan approval.
  69. spineflower2April 6, 2010 at 7:26 pm
    ALLOWING the banks to do something is not the same as FORCING them do it!
  70. cashApril 7, 2010 at 2:54 pm
    Come on SF2 you know by now how the system works. The government was heavy handed about making sure people that did not deserve a loan, got a loan.
  71. brookApril 6, 2010 at 1:21 pm
    Oh this is some great reading! Ha Ha! I haven’t posted in a long time, but as a faithful scvtalk reader who loves the SCV I couldn’t resist. I have read about this AC guy’s appearances at City Council meetings. Classic! Thanks for the laugh AC, hope you don’t get too worked up over this little blog thing here. Jeff is right, its just a blog, and it does a fantastic job of generating discussion (albeit some comments are very negative, but the positive here far outweighs that). Or maybe we need to reroute those donations/gifts to help fund this site to a watchdog organization to expose us all, because from reading ACs comments, it must be some serious wrongdoing, watch out for scvtalkgate. Thanks again, will be snickering all night!
  72. blazing monkApril 6, 2010 at 2:49 pm
    This allowed banks to get too big to fail and allowed the subprime to jump from 5% to 30% by 2006. Please put your answer in the form of a question
  73. Vince HansApril 6, 2010 at 3:03 pm
    This is Vince Hans I’ll SEE your name-stating, Allan Cameron, and raise you my actual website address. A fun observation – It is interesting to see how some of you (us?) that normally lash out against one another on here, have now “joined forces” to do the same to an “outsider,” Allan Cameron
  74. cashApril 6, 2010 at 3:59 pm
    We’re tough on arrogant newbies. After the newness wears off the arrogance is OK. Though I am not sure if we can overlook a pompous ass for long.
  75. navigatorApril 6, 2010 at 3:11 pm
    Ok Vince! Let go of my hand, I’m changing sides!
  76. Wally CaddowApril 6, 2010 at 8:44 pm
    Wally Caddow here. I agree with Allan. In fact, I’ve made a little cubby hole for myself out there on the Internet, where I will share my musings, ruminations, witticisms, observations and all around good cheer. Catch me on the flip side, after the jump. Now you know the rest of the story, etc.
  77. Rory L. AronskyApril 6, 2010 at 10:23 pm
    This is Rory L. Aronsky Ok, good. Just making sure I am indeed who I say I am. Carry on.

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