Firecrackers and duds

     ABSOLUTE FIRECRACKER. Our own Wendy Gabriella is running for the 73rd Assembly District, which is about as right-wing as Derek Reeve’s little corner of hell (see below), so her chances looked mighty slim at the start. But she surprised everybody by coming out on top in the primary—she secured more votes than any Republican (natch, she was the only Dem). But, since then, she’s run an effective campaign and so, as things stand, she has a chance of clinching victory tomorrow.
     As she likes to say, her Republican competitor is “ethically challenged,” and he surely is (he doesn’t seem to be into the honesty thing).
     Meanwhile, Wendy's coming across like new-fangled motherhood and fiscally conservative apple pie. Check out Wendy’s whiz-bang campaign here.
     The 73rd Assembly District comprises these areas of South County:

• Aliso Viejo
• Coto de Caza
• Dana Point
• Ladera Ranch
• Laguna Hills
• Laguna Niguel
• Las Flores
• Mission Viejo
• Rancho Santa Margarita
• San Clemente
• San Juan Capistrano

     Here’s the Orange Juice Blog’s description of the race for the 73rd:

AD-73: Bill Brough (R) vs. Wendy Gabriella (D) — Gabriella, a first-time candidate, has turned out to be an absolute firecracker, while “experienced” candidate Brough has turned out to be a total dud. The Republican argument for supporting Gabriella is that it avoids 12 years of Brough. (There are plenty of more qualified candidates in this district.) It would be shocking if Gabriella could beat Brough in such a Republican district — but I think that it would be a lot less shocking inside of OC than outside of it. Do you want 12 years of “Unpaid Bill,” and a chance to try again, South County Republicans — or do you want a couple of years of a brilliant and fiscally conservative Democrat?

     DOUBLE D DUD. You’ll recall the sad and silly saga of Derek Reeve, a Tea-gulping, six gun-packin', right-winger who taught Political Science for Saddleback College and who, a few years ago, managed to get himself elected to the San Juan Capistrano City Council.
     DtB had a problem with Derek. Among other things, he was an outrageous serial plagiarist who made numerous fraudulent “contributions” to a local Patch. When caught red-handed, he defended his action to the hilt, which seems strange for an academic, but not for a knuckle-dragger. That cost him his gig at nearby Concordia—naturally, they’re a college and they frown on intellectual theft—and, ultimately, it cost him his Saddleback job, too.

     You'll also recall that ol' Derek also went out of his way to offend the Muslim community—he declared that he had named his dog “Mohammed”—and, as an adjunct prof, committed various sins of the “unprofessional” variety. Then there was the time he advocated allowing citizens to bring their guns to the park. Etc.
     None of this, of course, seems to matter to the gun-slingin' right-wing fools who elect him every four years. Check out his campaign website: Derek Reeve for City Council. (I looked, but I couldn't find his position on intellectual theft. I figure he's still Pro Plagzzh.)

And now for something completely different...

On Saturday Rebel Girl returned to her feminist performance arts roots and took to the streets of Santa Ana to bear witness to the 43 students of Iguala, Mexico who have been disappeared, as they say, for over a month now. The occasion was the Noche de Altares, Santa Ana's popular observance of El Dia de los Muertos.

Rebel Girl is wearing a costume she sewed and painted herself, made of newspapers and fliers over a thrift store petticoat.

She was stopped throughout the afternoon and evening by people who wanted photos.

There were three other altars dedicated to the missing students.  Rebel Girl was a kind of a walking altar. She didn't anticipate the response she received, but it couldn't have been better. She had to move slowly through the crowd because people wanted to take photos, many wanted to pose with her, wanted to tell her that their families were from Guerrero, that their uncles had gone to that school, that they knew people who had been disappeared, etc. They wanted to tell her what they felt about the Mexican government and how  sad and angry this event made them. They thanked her for being there. (Most of this in Spanish.)

When Rebel Girl used to do performance art protest like this, it was often in settings where one was not so welcomed. On Saturday, she was so welcomed. It seemed to be the perfect occasion for this. And she didn't have to say anything for the most part. Everyone knew what she was and why she was there and they wanted her to be there.

A demonstration has been called on Thursday November 20 at the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana.  Meet at  Cabrillo Park at 4:00 and march to the Consulate. 

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