Pedroza Helped People “Out” Anonymous Bloggers In 2004

March 11, 2008 Uncategorized 13

As we have been reading here on the Liberal OC and elsewhere in the blogosphere there is a debate raging the outting of anonymous bloggers. My fellow blogger Chris Prevatt and this blog have come under attack from folks angry over Chris revealing that homophobic slurs posted on this blog originated from a computer at Tardif Sheet Metal in Santa Ana. Mike Tardif, the owner of the company, has since taken responsibility.

One of the loudest voices attacking Chris, myself and this blog in response to the Tardif outting has been the Orange Juice’s Art Pedroza. Pedroza is a political ally of Mr. Tardif and Tardif gave money and support to the “No on D” campaign that Pedroza was so heavily involved. He wrote a post on Friday which seriously attacked Chris and myself over this issue in an attempt to provide cover for his ally and friend.

The outting of Tardif was not the first time something like this has happened in the local blogosphere. In 2004 on the Yahoo Santa Ana Citizens site two bloggers using the pseudonyms “John McRickenidge” and “Edwin Marinez” were outted and identified as a staffer for then State Assemblyman Lou Correa. The reason for the outting of these two identities was do to the difference of political opinions with many in the Santa Ana Citizens group. At the head of that list was none other than Art Pedroza.

I spoke to a source familiar with that 2004 controversy on the condition of anonymity earlier this evening and they told that it was indeed Pedroza and another unnamed political operative that were behind the exposing of Correa’s staffers and that it was done entirely for political revenge. As a result of their efforts a Correa staffer, Douglas Vogel, was fired.

Pedroza even went as far as contacting the Assembly rules committee and the Attorney Generals office to call for an official investigation of Lou Correa and his staff. Pedroza was driven to destroy Correa and his office because he did not the political pontificating of certain posters on the Santa Ana Citizens site. For the record it was this site that led Pedroza to create the Orange Juice.

During the course of my investigation into finding more information about the outting of “McRickenidge” and “Marinez” I found a very interesting posting from Pedroza in which he explains to readers on the site how to track the IP addresses of those posting. The January 27, 2004 post clearly demonstrates Pedroza’s hypocrisy in attacking Chris, myself and the Liberal OC over the Tardif fiasco.

RE: Proof that state computers were used by “McRickenidge” and “Marinez”

Tue Jan 27, 2004 11:15 pm

Here is what you need to do to verify the allegations:

1. Go to message 8910 in our email group – the link is
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantaAnaCitizens/message/8910
2. Click on “View Source.” This is the third link available just above
the message itself.
3. You will now see what appears to be a bunch of gibberish. Go down
until you see “From: John McRickenidge.” The next line is:
X-Originating-IP: 165.66.229.35. Copy the numbers “165.66.229.35.”
4. Now go to http://centralops.net/co/. Click on the first link
offered “Domain Dossier.”
5. Paste the numbers “165.66.229.35” in the box titled “domain or IP
address. Now click the “go” button.
6. Now go down the page to “Network Whois Record.”
7. You will clearly see that the IP address for the computer that “John
McRickenidge” used originated from this physical address: 1020 N Street,
Suite 420, Sacramento.
8. Now go to message 5727, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SantaAnaCitizens/message/5727?source=1.
9. Same drill. Click on view source, copy the IP #, and then go to
http://centralops.net/co/. and so through the same steps you went through
last time. Voila. It turns out that “Edwin Marinez” is also a fake name
and the fellow who sent that message did so from the same office in
Sacramento.
10. As far as I know, Correa’s office in Sacramento is in room #6025;
however I believe that a little more research could help us identify who
used this computer to send the message in question. No question that the
computer was a state asset, and as such we could compel the legislature to
give up the information. I think a Senate investigation would not be out of
line.

I have taken a lot of heat since I asked Correa to step up and explain all
of this, especially from you Howard. The proof as they say is in the
pudding, so now I fully expect you to join me in calling on Correa to
explain why his surrogates, or others in the employ of the State Assembly,
joined our group using a false identity, and why they attacked community
leaders in our city under a cloak of lies – and why they did so on state
computers.

Art Pedroza

When Chris Prevatt asked Art how outting Tardif was any different from his exposing Rutan&Tucker for being on the Orange Juice site Pedroza responded, “No. It is quite different. It is one thing to show that someone is reading a site. Anyone can dig that up using Sitemeter. It is quite another to do what you did. To purposefully research an IP address in order to put the screws to someone because you disagree with their opinion.”

Well it certainly appears that Pedroza thought much differently back in 2004. He will claim that he only did it to expose someone for using a state computer and engaging in political activity with it. However the question you must ask yourself is why did Pedroza want to investigate who “McRickenidge” and “Marinez” were in the first place?

Clearly the answer is it was because he disagreed with their opinions and once he found out who they were he sought to put the screws to them. This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black when Pedroza attacks Chris and this blog. As I said previously this is just a case of faux outrage and hypocrisy on the part of Pedroza.

Now lets see if he’ll man up and admit as much. I won’t hold my breath. Will you?

13 Comments

  1. Is it at all weird that three blogs posted on this blog today were in regards to Mike Tardif and his comment from a week ago in one way or another. Only two blogs on real news, wow Mike really is becoming famous.

    Mike did Sean Mill tell you “I’ll make you famous”…sorry I just watched Young Guns. You can’t even take these articles seriously anymore, Sean is seeing to that.

  2. Sure looks like Art P. is guilty of hypocrisy. But really Sean is this news? Everyone knows Pedroza is the OC blogospheres King of Hypocrisy. And “who cares” it is Art P. that shouldn’t be taken seriously.

  3. oy vey!, this has just turned into a pissing contest between the two of you hasnt it? do either of you need a hug? do either of you want to pet one of my chickens? i find people always feel better when they get a hug or pet a chicken.

  4. Sean,

    Way to do your homework. The information you posted came to me from someone else in the Santa Ana Citizens Yahoogroup. I just passed it along. He was, and remains, a computer expert. I, by myself, would have had no chance of digging up that info.

    But on to the issue that differentiates this episode from the Tardiff outing. You and I both know that while Vogel took the hit, the real culprit was Chris “Shallow Hal” Leo. Secondly, the problem was that Correa’s staffer was blogging on a state computer while on state payroll. And he was using the fake names to attack people in our community. These weren’t anon identities. They were names he wanted us to believe belonged to real people.

    So yes, we sank his battleship. I was actually a bit player in the drama. But even in 2004, I was good at passing info on to the people.

    Bear in mind that NONE of this episode took place on any blogs. You know that. This entire drama took place on a Yahoogroup. In fact, I think I was on hiatus from blogging at the time.

    Fast forward to the present. Prevatt, and you, outed Tardiff because you disagreed with him. Not because he was using state resources on state time, something Prevatt ought to find familiar. Furthermore, I believe that Claudia Alvarez and Sal Tinajero egged you on. They clearly wanted revenge because Tardiff opposed Measure D and the screwed up Renaissance Plan that is so precious to Claudia.

    We have issued you, and Chris, a challenge on our blog. Let me repeat it here. We are promising our readers that we will NOT out any of our anon commenters. Will you do the same?

    One more thought. You guys really beat up Tardiff over his comments. Do you REALLY think that someone who has his philosophy is going to come around and respect homosexuals when you guys beat him over the head? Really?

    I was raised in a hardcore fundamentalist religion. I was brought up to be reflexively homophobic. Having people scream at me and berate me did not change my mind. You want to know what did?

    It was Mike Lawson’s quiet dignity. It was Paul Cook-Giles sweet devotion to his husband. It was Andrew Davey’s infectious personality. It was Chris Prevatt’s strength in the eye of the storm.

    I changed my mind because the lot of you presented me with the truth – homosexuals are just like the rest of us. They have the very same likes and dislikes. The same problems. And the same love for freedom and country.

    Consider this – attacking conservatives who disagree with you will never change their minds. Never. There is another way. That way is to be proud of the way God made you and to treat other people the way you want to be treated.

    One more note for you Sean. I don’t hate you. When I asked you to blog for me, no one took you seriously. My own blog team was mad at me for putting you on our team. We helped make you a blog star Sean. Yes, when you took a trip down Pulido lane I dismissed you. But I have no particular animus for you. I am just disappointed that you sold out for so little. For a damn commission appointment. I thought you were worth more than that. Maybe you still are. But not as long as you are pimping for Pulido and his cabal. Nothing personal Sean, but you are on the wrong side of the fence now. That’s just how it is…

  6. Sean, Dan, Chris, et al,

    NOW do you believe that IP addresses can reveal personal and private information.

    I’m tellin’ ya, you’re treading on dangerous ground. Time for a policy review!

  9. If this isn’t faux outrage, but indeed the genuine article, then why it exploit it by posting this FOURTH rehash of the issue? Isn’t THAT hypocrisy too? Or an outright lie? Sorry, but something smells funny and it’s not sour Orange Juice.

    SMS

  10. Sean and Art, spend your time taking on real problems, like Ware Disposal and the inaction on real problems facing Santa Ana. Attacking each other solves nothing! The more you attack each other, the less respect people have for either of you.

  11. “If this isn’t faux outrage, but indeed the genuine article, then why it exploit it by posting this FOURTH rehash of the issue? Isn’t THAT hypocrisy too? Or an outright lie? Sorry, but something smells funny and it’s not sour Orange Juice.”

    SMS,

    It seems as if you are trying to hijack this blog and use it to spew your manifesto. You attack everyone and everybody that dares to disagree with you and rant, even if they do so ever so slightly.

    For you to complain that this is the “FOURTH rehash of the issue” is quite laughable indeed. You have been melting down on this blog for days and it is getting real old and real stale real fast.

    If you want to attack Gila, Dan, myself or our posters why don’t you do so on your blog? If you want to add to the debate go ahead, but your lengthy diatribes and attacks are quickly leading to folks wanting to go away.

    Why don’t you go over to the Orange Juice? You seem to have an affinity for those folks and I think your style and your personality are much more to their liking.

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