The Ministry of Truth was one of four government bureaucracies that rule fictional Oceania in George Orwell’s classic novel 1984 – the propaganda arm of Ingsoc; its job to twist stated reality to suit the extant needs of the Party.
The full-page political advertisement purchased by CATER in yesterday’s Anaheim Bulletin ad embodies the spirit of the Ministry of Truth, from the “Stop Lying” headline down through the catalog of straw man arguments rolled out by these gadflies:
Ignorance is Strength
The “Stop Lying” logo is, ironically, more accurately directed at the authors of this ad. Let’s start with the headline:
“The Truth About The Angel Stadium Deal”
The truth is there is no Angel Stadium deal. There is only a non-binding MOU that establishes a framework for the negotiations between the city and the Angels. CATER’s claim that there is an “Angel Stadium Deal” is an untruth.
There follows a misleading list of “Lies” that CATER imputes to those who support a making a deal based on the MOU framework. In reality, it is CATER inventing “lies” no one is telling, and then responding to them with more distortions.
For example, take this straw man: “The Angels are going to leave Anaheim if a lease isn’t approved immediately.” The problem with that claim is no one is making it. This is CATER’s way of distorting criticism of how they and Mayor Tait have been attacking the negotiation framework from the get-go. The longer the relentless public browbeating of the Angels continues, combined with dragging out the negotiations, does increase the likelihood that Moreno will take the Angels elsewhere.
Or how about this one: “Anaheim must pay $150,000,000 to repair Angel Stadium“? Again, CATER attacking an argument that no one is making. The truth is the city-owned stadium needs at least $150,000,000 in repairs. Does CATER dispute that? The MOU framework is a pathway for generating the revenue for that investment via tapping the economic potential of the stadium district – land that has languished unproductively under the city’s stewardship for many years.
Here’s another whopper from CATER: LIE: “Giving Arte Moreno everything he’s for and more is the vets Anaheim can do.” That is indeed a lie – but it’s CATER’s lie, a wholly fabricated claim from Cynthia Ward or Jason Young or whichever fabulist concocted it.
One could go on with the rest of this syllabus of misrepresentations, but readers get the point. It’s a sign of the intellectual feebleness of the CATER claque that they have to fabricate the arguments they disagree with, rather than responding to arguments proponents of keeping the Angels in Anaheim are actually making.
Keep in mind that CATER’s self-stated mission is “carrying on propaganda” – just like Orwell’s Ministry of Truth.
I would be curious to know how many emails the city ACTUALLY gets in response to this garbage.
I fully support the right of CATER to lie about anything. I also support the right of responsible people to hold them accountable for their lies.
Hey Cynthia Ward: exactly what are the Angels “obigations”?
Next time, try spell-checking your ad copy.
And you need to put a comma after Angels when you use the possessive case.
This was classic Greg Diamond and Cynthia Ward dogma. It is shrill and pointless – the spelling and typos are icing on their fruitcake. They are the lead lieutenants of the Tait Hate Brigade. Fortunately, residents in Anaheim are catching on.
I think Jason Young wrote this. Cynthia Ward and Greg Diamond couldn’t be that concise. The text has Jason’s blocky, staccato writing style and dishonest flavor.
so how much is a full page ad in this publication? “Learn more about us?” Like, who are all the members?
What we have seen from CATER this week is deeply disturbing. From partnering with the likes of “civic ambulance chaser” Cory Briggs, to running full page ads with outright deceptions, CATER has moved beyond anything Anaheim has seen before and poses a serious threat to the future of this city. I am truly concerned that there is a group out there that is either this dedicated to harming Anaheim or so incredibly deluded that they don’t see what they are doing.
Sadly – this group and their members are agents of Mayor Tait. They are carrying out his agenda in the courts and press because he can’t succeed as a lawmaker. The City can’t take four more years of this type of destructive politics.
It doesn’t take five years to build a stadium.
The new Vikings Stadium in Minnesota is taking about 2-1/2 years and they have a shorter construction season than SoCal has…
Additionally, what exactly has Arte Moreno asked for? I don’t recall the Angels having issued any demands for negotiations or anything.
It’d be nice if someone paid for a response ad.