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Stars gas station owner gets employees to burn his Ramona house
I certainly agree with Visduh that this was a 'miserable' story. A genuinely sad affair with not a single 'winner' anywhere near any part of it. I followed it to some degree during its progression, but I had no clue as to the magnitude or gruesomeness of all the circumstances. Firstly, the notion the jury couldn't totally agree on the 'murder' charge scares me, At least in the sense that if ever there was a case to put a guy in prison for a long long time, this was one of them. Having one of your minions (a young, naive, loyal one at that) do your 'dirty work' so you can not only appear 'clean', but also ultimately counting on coming out the other side more 'whole', is as cosmically immoral as any. No amount of legal argument or rhetoric can supersede the actual 'truth' in such a matter. Steigerwalt & Pfingst should ALMOST be ashamed of themselves. This story also isn't about a 'mistake' made by a seeming desperate man attempting to fix some wrongs in his life by questionable means. We have to get past this notion that everybody is ultimately good and that they just screw up sometimes. This is a guy who systematically never could get enough or take enough from the world around him. He always wanted more. Apparently at any cost. He had become what they call a 'benevolent dictator'. He might 'give', but only as much as he had to. The ultimate goal is him getting what he wants and, simply, he knows it won't necessarily come free. The minions might get a crumb or two - just enough to keep them hanging on - but in the end it is he that gets the whole loaf (and sadly, believes he's the only one entitled to it). Finally - overlooking the perverse reality of it - I use stories like this to vividly teach my children about the evils of the world. The simple fact of the matter is real evil does exist. And you don't have to have any 'religious leanings' to know and believe that. It's personified flawlessly (ironically) in guys like Kurtenbach. He is truly evil. His real intentions may have been muddied up by a 'hung jury', but the truth is he never had any intention of owning up to his life's mistakes the proper way and take his lumps like honest, respectable people might. He wanted all of his bad decisions to be cured quickly and by a simple, expedient means that would cost him very little, but produce serious relief from his self imposed 'prison' of debt. It doesn't appear he gave any 'serious' consideration to solving his problems the usual way a legitimate business might in, say, declaring bankruptcy etc. He wanted it only on his terms and his way and with his own 'hopes and dreams' being the sole arbiter of the righteousness of it all. I would bet dollars to donuts that if you asked him today if he has any regrets or believes he was truly in the wrong, he would say "no way". The good news is at least now his 'prison' has four walls.— October 11, 2011 5 p.m.
Corporate America Keeps Profits Strong, Jobs Weak
Don Bauder, once again, hits it square on the head. Your honesty is always refreshing. And while claiming no credit for its originality, for too many years now I've been saying the same thing you mentioned above: "...The mentality that the shareholder is the only significant constituency of the board of directors is ruining capitalism..." It sure is.— September 2, 2010 6 p.m.
Reader writers' favorite drinks and where they drink them
Just as I'm pouring the bourbon in what was gonna be my FIRST new Old-Fashioned, I read where Ollie says "...Really, drinking an Old-Fashioned in this updated and fresh way (don’t forget the oranges, backgammon, and girl) is delightful." <spitting up> Delightful? DELIGHTFUL? I guess I can only hope and pray he NEVER uses that word again. I've yet to have that New-Old-Fashioned.— April 28, 2009 2:45 p.m.
San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith fires John Serrano after Brown Field dust-up
Where now are all those in-left-field-looking-for-a-clue 'Aguirre Haters For Goldsmith Because He Just Has To Be Better' that used to frequent this Reader website? He wasn't better was he!? For them and others of their ilk I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. And in this very forum/venue. To offer the group a little wisdom: the ultimately inevitable demise of our civilization WILL NOT be at the hands of people like Mike Aguirre; but of the likes of Sanders and Goldsmith. The kind of people whose 'basis of character' is dependent on the wind and ALWAYS for sale. The 'public good' is not, nor will it magically become, Sanders' true cause. Not ever. For that matter, isn't that phony-self-indulgent-brain surgeon Casey Gwinn in jail or something YET? Cripes, he's not going huh!?— January 29, 2009 6:03 p.m.
Reengineering the City
I guess creating more and more venues for (likely) corruption is necessary if Sanders and the City of San Diego are to sustain the long held, and apparently long embraced reputation of 'All Corruption All The Time...And Cheap Too'. Sadly, the whole 'privatization' thingy is, arguably, a good idea - in another place and time - certainly not in this city at this time.— January 19, 2009 5:27 p.m.
Aguirre Preparing Paper on Derivatives Market; His New Firm Will Specialize in Derivatives Legislation
In my opinion, the Aguirre 'haters' have absolutely missed the moral of the story. I'd ALWAYS rather have a conscience wielding, maybe sometimes bumbling, but EVER FAITHFUL 'servant' like Aguirre than a money, power and politically motivated 'crash test dummy' like Sanders or Goldsmith, where the propensity for immoral, corrupt and underhanded dealings is not just a possibility, but an inevitability.— December 10, 2008 7:44 p.m.