Gene Maddaus' cover story about City Attorney — and would-be district attorney — Carmen Trutanich has L.A. buzzing ("Carmen the Barbarian," Feb. 24). As Maddaus revealed, Trutanich has taken a hard-line stance against street artists, pot dispensaries and political protesters — even while scaling back the prosecution of gang members. He also reneged on his promise to serve two full terms before running for higher office.
Jenny is impressed with Maddaus' sourcing. "Amazing how so many people who work for Trutanich are prepared to speak up about all the mistakes that he has made," she writes.
Alleycat is most stunned by the jail time Trutanich tried to get for political protesters: "A year in jail for nonviolent protesters? This guy is a lunatic!"
DavidHernandez17 takes a dissenting view. "This article is such typical L.A. Weekly bullshit," he writes. "There's not even an attempt to fake some sort of balance. I am not a Trutanich fan or critic, but I do know that he is better than Jack Weiss would have ever been, and he is aggressive — sometimes to his own detriment. Did you search out every single critic of Trutanich and throw them into this article? Seriously!"
Daphna responds: "If L.A. Weekly got every critic of Nuch the Thug, there wouldn't be enough room in the paper for any other news. Thanks to all the people in his own office who leak information about his shady dealings and filthy ethics, Nuch will create a new record for the shortest political career in L.A. He ought to move to Chicago where his talents would be appreciated."
Another dissenting view comes from Anonymous, who calls Maddaus' story "a hit piece based on the feedback from greedy marijuana shops and billboard companies that are not about to give up their ill-gotten millions."
He adds, "Any day, Trutanich is more ethical than each and every council member and the mayor. I'll vote for him for DA. Anyone has to be better than that useless Cooley and his cohorts in that office."
A different Anonymous — can't anyone come up with a good moniker these days? — responds, "This 'hit piece' had much more information than just feedback from marijuana shops and billboard companies. Trutanich is a proven liar based on him reneging on his pledge to not run for DA. Then he fails to take out the 'I Am a Liar' ad or donate to the after-school program, even though he was the one who contrived the terms of the deal as penalty for breaking the pledge.
"Remember, he is the one who said, over and over throughout his campaign, that he would fulfill his full term as city attorney and not seek higher office. No one forced him to promise this; he chose to make this the platform of his city attorney campaign. He is not credible and cannot be trusted."
Commentgirl1950 agrees: "I supported Trutanich in his campaign for city attorney because I believed him when he said, 'I am not a politician.' I believed him when he said he would not use the city attorney's office as a stepping stone to higher office. He has lost all credibility with me, and he will not have my support in his campaign for district attorney. It will be a sad day indeed if Angelenos allow a power-hungry, bullying thug to be our district attorney based on nothing more than name recognition. Wake up, Los Angeles."
Not Pinterested
Readers also responded to Ali Trachta's confession that the new social media site Pinterest makes her feel like she's failing as a woman ("Pinup Girl," Feb. 24). The site has attracted a record numbers of female users showcasing their love of crafts and cooking.
Some urge her not to give up. "Don't let your own insecurities color your interpretation of what Pinterest is," C writes. "It's an aspirational, creative collection of personal likes, which incidentally is shareable. It's meant to be a personal curation of what we like to do/eat/be/make/view and enjoy. I think your sense of competition stems from buying into the L.A.-based sense of being in competition with everybody else. If it makes you feel inferior, you're doing it wrong."
Adds Ab, "This article is nonsense. I use the board for tons of things, but none of them include impressing my friends or creating an unrealistic 'will never happen list.' You clearly are missing the point and genius of this site."
Others acknowledge Trachta has a point.
"I have to commend 'Pinup Girl' not only because it is spot on, but also because I am a narcissistic writer who feels that I and this Ali Trachta may be separated at birth," writes blogger Amanda Palasciano. "Our voices are identical, and I myself have written about this very subject in two entries on my blog, HollyWouldn't.Net. Needless to say, I think this girl is brilliant, and the article was extremely well written."
Adds Kelly Singleton Dalton, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I want to be your friend. And eat cake with you. Which we bought at the grocery store."
