Tag: Todd Juvinall

The Union’s Op-Ed page: “The left wants to force is (sic) all into Mao suits”

(Credit: eBay)

The Union newspaper seems more confused than ever about its mission statement. On the one hand it thinks its future is a “mobile first” game plan (witness the new website). But its op-ed page remains stuck in the McCarthy era.

The latest example is this little gem from Todd Juvinal titled, “A big thank you to the Democratic Party.”

It is an illiterate, rambling screed (at best). I wondered about this line: “The left wants to force is (sic) all into Mao suits.” Did Todd mean “force us” (not “is”) into Mao suits?

Then there’s this thought: “You ever seen a train to Hawaii? This is a loony idea but embraced by almost all the Democrat running for president. Is this getting a bit more clear?”

Well, no, it is not getting a bit more clear.

And the conclusion: “They (Democrats) are all about changing our great country into a Third World one at best. We cannot let them.”

Well, of course we can’t?!

Upon reading this, I think it’s time to borrow a “line” from Barry Pruett: 😂😂😂 Or from Todd himself: “You can’t make this stuff up!”

I’m reminded of the song “Lord I was born a ramblin’ man” (as in ramble on and on).

Local elections show we’re center-left, but KVMR still promoting Rebane’s extreme right rants

The last local election results showed we’re center-left: The returns are HERE and show our County continuing to go “blue.” Democrats Newsom, Yee, Becerra, Hallinan (not Gaines), Denney (over LaMalfa 55-45), Morse (routing McClintock 76-24), even Sisk (over Dahle), and “no” on gas tax repeal, among others, all won — much to the chagrin of our local Republican Central Committee.

I’m glad to see some diversity among our electeds too — in offices such as Sheriff (Shannan Moon), Grass Valley City Council (Hilary Hodge) and Clerk-Recorder (Gregory Diaz). We’ve turned the corner politically — and I doubt we’ll be turning back. Truckee has been a leader, and the rest of the county (sometimes begrudgingly) is going along. Meanwhile, our national demographics are changing — in the year 2044, white Americans are projected to fall below half the population and lose their majority status, according to Census Bureau data.

The Union newspaper — with a long-deserved reputation as being the “Tea Party Gazette” — is becoming more center-left. The newspaper showed real courage in banning righwing blogger and resident loud-mouth Todd Juvinall from posting at TheUnion.com for a month. (Some users claimed Todd was offensive; Todd said The Union had “no balls.” You go, Todd!) Rebane himself has been more critical of The Union’s politics — a sign that he’s not getting his way (think Baby Huey).

With the winds of local political change blowing through our towns, locals would think KVMR — long a local beacon and pioneer of progressive ideas — would be feeling good about its precient programming.

Instead it is stuck with extreme rightwing blogger George “Raghead” Rebane — a Simi Valley transplant —as the commetator on its news hour. Huh?

Rebane’s post this past week was another over the top, even outrageous, “rumination.” On KVMR, he claimed the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was somehow “resolved.” An excerpt: “So now the Saudis execute one of their own on foreign soil but in their own consulate, and the world’s ‘moral majority’, led by the US and its allies, gets their collective undies in a bundle, decrying the murder and demanding confessions and justice from the Saudis.

“So, despite the public gnashing of teeth and rending of garment by Trump’s political opponents, everyone understands that this is the correct way to end the affair.”

“Undies in a bundle”

That’s right “undies in a bundle” over a brutal murder and this is the “correct way” to end it.

Meanwhile, The New York Times is calling Trump’s statement “extraordinary”; a Washington Post columnist writes: “In effect, Trump is doing his best to help the Saudi regime get away with the murder of a U.S. resident and one of the Arab world’s most prominent writers. If the administration continues down this path, it will further destroy whatever is left of America’s moral credibility on global human rights and freedom of expression.” Turkey ripped Trump for turning a “blind eye” to the killing.

I have also heard from prominent local business leaders who were outraged at the killing and our President’s response. It created a long thread of local outrage.

What is KMVR thinking? The rest of us are becoming more open minded politically, and the commentator that KVMR chooses during the “news hour” is a political troglodyte — all but parroting Trump’s lame defense of this brutal act. Rebane’s bizarre “rumination” is here.

What a hoot! TheUnion.com appears to have banned Todd Juvinall from commenting for a month

You can’t make this stuff up! I’m in London, attending the London Literature Festival, visiting some friends and sightseeing. This morning (local time), I was catching up with the news back home, and I stumbled across this item in the Nevada County, CA, blogosphere:

“It appears the Union has banned me from commenting online for 30 days,” Todd Juvinall, local right-wing activist, blogger and former county supervisor (yup, he was), writes on his blog “SierraDragonsBreathe.com” (sic) under the headline: “The Grass Valley Union bans free speech”

Imagine that! Of course it’s all The Union’s fault, Todd tells us.

“I am like Trump in that if you attack me I hit back twice as hard. Hit as in comments and words. …  The results are they banned ME! You cannot make this stuff up. So I will use the FB groups and connections to get the conservative messages out as best I cam (sic).”

You go Todd!

Todd’s conclusion: “This opened my eyes more to the bias that exists even in our little paper that I have subscribed too (sic) all my life as did my parents.  All because the Editor has no balls to defend his own paper from liberal attacks.”

I sometimes comment at TheUnion.com, and I do notice a preponderance of personal attacks and outlandish remarks. It’s the same few people — again and again.

Of course, being editor of The Union is like being a “bouncer in a bar,” a former editor John Seelmeyer once told me — and I couldn’t agree more.

To borrow an expression from Todd: What a hoot!

(Note: Please be judicious in commenting here, and no personal attacks. I don’t want to monitor this while I’m on the road). Cheers!

 

Ignorant: Juvinall’s rambling rightwing rant in The Union gets female U.S. Senator’s name wrong

Mazie K. Hirono (Credit: Her website)

What a hoot!

The Union published another rambling rightwing rant from one-time Supervisor and local blowhard Todd Juvinall today on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings but didn’t bother to correct his own egregious error: Todd referred to Hawaii’s U.S. senator as “Minnie Hirono.” WTF?

Memo to Todd and The Union editors: The Senator’s name is Mazie Hirono, not “Minnie.” Ms. Hirono is the Senate’s only immigrant and its first female Asian-American.

Ms. Hirono’s story is interesting, as she write on her website: “As an immigrant who grew up under difficult circumstances, I recognize that my path to the Senate was unlikely. At the same time, my experiences have shown me the incredible opportunities available in America and have fueled my desire to give back.

“Thanks to my mother’s courage, I was able to take advantage of the educational opportunities available in Hawaii’s public schools. … I went to law school to develop the skills I would need to more effectively advocate for others.”

Meanwhile, Todd wrote about Ms. Hirono in our local paper, stating: “Hawaii’s Senator Minnie Hirono says all you men need to shut up and believe the woman. She is telling the truth and all you men are liars. Wow!”

It is an ignorant remark and a Freudian slip to be sure (for Todd’s benefit, “Freudian slip” refers to “an unintentional error regarded as revealing subconscious feelings”).

And for The Union, more ignorant and sloppy editing. Can you spell “podunk”?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The excerpt from Todd’s rant is here:

Our political bumpkins

Nevada County is “purple.”

“The moderate people of the community are being inundated by SF and Bay Area radicals, leftovers from the 60’s,” our local extreme right-wing political blogger/ activist Todd Juvinall writes with glee. “Why? Because they can grow their own drugs!  Small towns are a hoot! Even liberal radical transplants think they are in charge!”

No, Todd. Step away from your keyboard, take a deep breath (or “breathe” as you would spell it) and look around: Our community is “purple,” thanks to the left of center political moderates, who are college educated, embrace political and cultural diversity, and generally acknowledge the realities of the 21st century. Think about enclaves such as Truckee, Todd — not you and your political like-minded friends, sitting around a table playing poker on Banner Mountain.

Look around Todd: The local newspaper is “purple” (Todd’s “best pal” Jeff A. is long gone; the current publisher, whom I exchange friendly emails with regularly, embraces the political and cultural diversity of our community). The board of supervisors is “purple” (Heidi Hall and Richard Anderson are Democrats; the District 3 race was very close). The DA’s endorsements include local progressives such as Michael Funk (co-founder of UNFI), and the Clerk Recorder is a Democrat. The Clerk Recorder, who is African-American, garnered 70 percent of the votes in a county that is lilly white. The frontrunner for Sheriff is gay. The county has more registered Democrats than Republicans. (look at the map, Todd: Our county is purple).

Todd, you are on the outside looking in, not the other way around. You are the minority, not the majority. Let it go, man. Quit bellyaching. Time marches on. Change is all around you.

Readers skewer Todd Juvinall’s latest column: “Pure idiocy”

We’ve been hanging out in Livermore this weekend where our son has a  volleyball tournament against teams from the Bay Area and Central Valley. We like to expose him to the “outside world” whenever possible.

The Op-Ed page of The Union is a “living, breathing” example why it’s important to expose western Nevada County youth to the  outside world. It often is filled with myopic, provincial, insular, hermit-like voices — and lo and behold, one from Todd “You can’t make this stuff up” Juvinall graced the pages this weekend. When you read The Union’s Op-Ed page from out of town, our little community seems even further away — like Brigadoon for wing nuts.

“I would like to see unicorns and sweet blueberries too, but let’s get real,” provincial Todd writes, framing politics as a simplistic “winner take all” blood sport, sort of like cage fighting. That’s all he knows.

And as predicted, here’s the reader response:

• “Perhaps it is best that your 1992 Assembly bid was unsuccessful. If your view of our laws is that they are designed to ‘hobble Americans,’ then you have no business in our Assembly.” (Todd, believe it or not, was once a county supervisor. His political views are a little to the right of Atilla the Hun. Predictably, he was a one-term supervisor, even back in the heyday of local wing nut politics).

• “Mr. Juvinall’s world view seems to be driven by a ‘winner takes all’ mentality. As humans, driven at our basic level toward survival, we all have an innate need to conquer. But as humans, we also have an innate need to cooperate.”

• “Our founding fathers, despite their passionate differences, found a path that led them to compromise. Today’s winner take all attitude is the result of the extreme wings of political parties having too much power.”

• “Your comment indicates an intolerance for any view that contradicts your own. That is the crux of the problem, partner. By the way, I am not an ilk of any kind. I’m an individual speaking my mind the same as you, Todd. Or, do you see yourself as simply an ilk with opinions that are of no consequence?”

• “His letter is wrought with misinformation and pure idiocy. His comments on abortion are a good example of one individual trying to generalize a belief.”

• “Todd what I read is your rants and lies and your inability to ascertain the difference between what is good for our nation and what is only good for the GOP. True to form you insult when you have no argument. My reading comprehension is fine, but what about your ability to spell and use proper grammar?”

• “Todd you are the epitome of embarrassment.”

As Todd puts it, “You can’t make this stuff up”!

Travis Allen’s mostly false claim about crime in California

Hard-right political activist Todd Juvinall is gushing on his blog about meeting Travis Allen, the Orange County Assemblyman who is running for governor.

Todd and his like-minded retirees  “Norm Sauer, Don Bessee, Crawford and Josie Bost” gathered for salad and pizza at the Realtors building to hear Allen.

What Todd left out was Allen’s mostly false claim about crime in California — a dog whistle for his white fan base in a state that is become more Hispanic.

“I have seen crime increase in every major metropolitan area (in California) … Crime is on the rise in every major market,” Allen has stated on the campaign trail.

But Polifact California poked a giant hole in Allen’s narrative: “California has seen dramatic long-term crime reductions since the 1990s,” it noted, and it showed a chart to illustrate it.

You can read more about Travis Allen here, here and here.