Well said!

Sometimes I receive a comment from readers so well written and compelling that they deserve a separate post. Hell, they deserve to take over this blog, their verse is so eloquent.

I try to walk the line between being a reporter and an advocate, leaning far from center towards the advocacy role and therefore lose some credibility from establishment insider/media types who have all sorts of access to insider information, true or not.

The only insider info I get is from random tips and from Requests for Records.

My advocacy is for the welfare of all animals. The critics say my information is incomplete, one sided or unrealistic. My response would be for them to give me their 'insider' info and perspective. What we get are biased News reporting, Ed Boks' Truth vs. Rumor posts. press releases and Villaraigosa and Boks telling the world LA is number one in everything.

From a commenter:

Truthfully Ed, what you said about ADL and ALF is something I've been mulling for months now. Having said before that I don't think many of ADL's actions in relation to Boks were effective in converting people who aren't already in the choir, I do think they convey the degree of desperation people feel when all legitimate forms of protest, or even input, are ignored.

If you call the Mayor's office (in the case of Boks) or ANY of the Board of Supervisors' offices (in the case of Marcia Mayeda) you will be treated like you are an idiot.

If you try to contact the media you can expect much the same. It's a closed system, where it's much more important for people to keep their meaningless "access" to corrupt and/or do-nothing officials than it is for them to do their jobs.

When the Board of Supervisors ordered an investigation into the highly publicized and photo-documented death of Zephyr at County, the result was a seven page tissue of lies and evasions, into which already discredited lies by Marcia Mayeda were simply copied-and-pasted. What's more, Marcia Mayeda, ostensibly the SUBJECT of the investigation, was actually given a co-authoring credit on the report investigating her. Board of Supervisors didn't bat an eye. Nor did they even notice that she blamed Zephyr's death on "rescuers" even though the dog was in County custody the whole time.

The extent to which I have become an activist, the extent to which I have been radicalized when it comes to animal care issues in Los Angeles, stems not from this or any other blog (as fine as they are, and many thanks to you Ed for your hard and endless work), it stems from the absolute, contemptuous dismissal of my and everyone else's genuine concern about mistreatment of animals in this city and county. And this lack of caring, and lack of interest in the concerns of the public is reflected at every level, from ACOs all the way to the Mayor's office, and every Supervisor's office I've ever called - and I've called a bunch of them.

So, Boks, Bickhart and Villaraigosa, Marcia Mayeda, your crew of soulless flunkies, and every Supervisor, don't think Ed Muzika or Pamelyn Ferdin or anybody else has radicalized me. Don't think any one of us is so weak-minded that all we do is read a blog and become mindless automatons of Internet gurus. Don't continue to make the mistake of underestimating us. Your boredom, your jaded attitude, your easily discernible lack of honesty and logic, your abuse of power, and your unbelievable and overwhelming lack of respect for the citizens of Los Angeles City and County is what radicalizes us.

As for the guy who questions what Ron really lost - maybe you don't have a dog or a cat. Maybe you don't have a kid. But some people take on another life as a responsibility. Vulnerable living creatures showed up in Ron's yard and instead of looking them in the face and saying, "Tough luck little kitten, or stray cat who got hit by a car, I don't care if you live or die," Ron stepped up. He did what a real man does and he took care of them. He fed them, took them to the vet, gave them shelter and love. I'm guessing that in his mind and in his heart he felt a responsibility for their safety and health.

And when he knew he was overwhelmed, he went to the people this City pays to help in those situations. And because Ed Boks needed a fall guy to get him back in solid with a rescue community that had already seen through his lies, and because Ed Boks thought, "Here's a guy with no support system, not a classic 'cat lady,' but a 59 year old guy who I can suggest had nefarious reasons for having all these cats - who I can make an example of, to rehabilitate my image with rescuers."

And Ron, a nice guy who did more than he could afford, got his life destroyed. And I'm guessing one of the hardest things he has to face is the fact that this happened because he went to LAAS seeking help. Kittens and cats died because he sought help from people whose JOB it was to help him, who instead betrayed, arrested and character-assassinated him. He took on a responsibility for their lives, which is more than most people would do, and their lives were ended, for no other reason than Ed Boks needed a fall guy.

The only good thing to come out of this is that because of Ed Muzika the PR ploy didn't work. Ed Boks came out of this looking worse, more incompetent, and more heartless and corrupt than ever. But I'm guessing all that doesn't help Ron. I'm guessing he's still in pain because those cats and kittens were killed - for nothing. That's called being a good guy.