SACRAMENTO, CA - In 1864 the union army attacked a confederate regiment named “Hood’s Corps” (after General John Bell Hood). In this particular battle, Hood’s regiment prevailed, despite several attempts on the part of the union to dislodge them. The landmark pictured at left marks the location where the battles occurred, and Hood’s victories remain a point of pride among many southerners.

Fast forward to 2008. Today another HoodCorp (led by General Kevin Johnson, Sacramento mayoral hopeful), is under attack, this time in the form of a federal audit into allegations it failed to report an abandoned groping allegation, and allegedly did not spend its federally subsidized dollars precisely like Grandpa Sam says it should. The difference between KJ’s HoodCorp and the confederate army’s “Hood’s Corps” is that KJ’s regiment is not attempting to defend a culture that disenfranchises voters and promotes socio-economic oppression of its citizens, it is in fact working towards eradicating one.

But you’d never know that if you read today’s local newspaper. Dorthy Korber–one of the paper’s lead KJ prosecutors throughout the election season– has spent another untold number of hours transforming what many would call a simple “audit” into an international incident. Her puff piece in today’s Sacramento Bee goes to great lengths to tell us the feds have “expanded” their investigation of St Hope and HoodCorps and are now looking into reports that federal tax dollars were spent on a variety of unauthorized activities such as augmenting teachers’ salaries and assisting kids with their job searches. The humanity!!

Look, I’m not saying St Hope should be able to spend federal money any way they want, I understand with federal money comes federal regulations. And yes, if St Hope is found to have violated those rules, I believe they should draw a small fine and slap on the wrist…. BUT is this where our priorities should be right now?! Lest we forget, this is the same federal government that brought us the FEMA horror flick in New Orleans. Personally I don’t trust the federal government as far as I could throw them.. do you? Who says their guidelines are even FAIR? And, really, don’t they have bigger fish to fry?

The Bee USED TO BE the kind of paper that would attack the government for beating up on a small philanthropic organization like St Hope. But not under the new leadership’s TMZ based business model apparently. Remember, we’re talking about a paper facing 86 layoffs.

If the Bee REALLY cared about the issues facing this city and country, they’d be calling the “feds” out for hosting a trillion dollar religious war in a country on the other side of the planet. They would be hammering away at Fargo for Sacramento’s crime rate, which continues to soar into the stratosphere along with the state high drop-out rate responsible for the majority of property crime. And they would be piling up the criticism of Fargo for neglecting the health and welfare of citizens outside the city’s pre-designated magazine cover-worthy zones. But instead, we see them cheering the feds on like they are doing something good for our community by singling out St Hope (and “100 other” oprganizations– yeah right).

In my opinion Fargo and her short-sighted supporters and in-pocket media outlets are leveraging this petty investigation as a vehicle to support their position that KJ is a lying, cheating, louse who doesn’t hold a candle to Heather Fargo. It IS polical in nature. It’s ALL political. These people attempting to make these molehills into mountains only have one agenda, and that is to get Fargo re-elected. Period.

Want to get serious about accountability Bee? Let’s investigate your girl Heather Fargo for clearly violating the city charter and misappropriating taxpayer dollars for unauthorized trips around the world while the city was losing $1 million worth of water meters and racking up a deficit that will cost Sacramentans countless jobs and untold social ills for at least the next decade.

No matter the outcome of this investigation, or the ridiculous newspaper opinion-columns-posing-as-front-page-news-stories about it, in my opinion the issue at hand as we head to the polls this November should not be how St Hope may have spent federal dollars; but how Fargo and her blind supporters clearly lack the “big picture” perspective we need so desperately to take our city to the next level.

OBVIOUSLY the smoke from area fires is causing some sort of hallucinogenic effect on people. Otherwise how can you explain people deriding philanthropic endeavors (ones that are taking troubled kids off the streets), and hoping for their downfall?! I highly recommend people stay indoors until all the toxic smoke clears!