So we meet again dear readers. It’s been quite some time since last we spoke. I’m sure many of you AOC Watcher fans have been wondering just where I’ve been. Well, all will be explained with just one phrase: Life. It happens. Although I’m sure some thought that I had probably been scared off by the AOC’s stormtroopers, the truth is much simpler and a whole lot less interesting. I got swamped with life.
Now, however, my life has quieted down just a wee bit to the point where I thought I could start blogging again. And if you really want to know why I’m even bothering starting up the blog since it’s been almost a year since last I wrote, the truth is, I feel inspired to start writing again because of what I’ve seen during my time off.
AOC stormtroopers react to California’s judicial crisis.
A lot has changed in the past year. Some of the changes have been positive and encouraging. The circle of people who are disillusioned with the AOC and the Judicial Council has grown exponentially. Nothing the AOC says is taken as gospel. More and more judicial officers are adding their voices against the AOC and have joined the Alliance of California Judges Association. Legislators now see the AOC for the bloated and byzantine bureaucracy of bloated buffoons that it is and are now willing to question it. These are just some of the positive things I’ve seen this past year.
But all the positive changes can’t make up for the negative and discouraging things that I’ve seen that only give weight to that old adage that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The AOC’s continued mismanagement and misappropriation outright thievery of court funds serves as an inspiration for banana republics everywhere. The AOC and the Judicial Council continue to support the infamous CCMS program that has swallowed $500 million of Californian’s hard earned monies with nothing to show for it. And nobody knows for sure just what the final cost will be and when it will ever be truly operational and whether it’ll even be relevant. And just this past week we’ve seen the result of what happens when you have overpaid bureaucrats running the show. The San Francisco Superior Court issued layoff notices to over 40% of its workforce and it will result in the closure of 25 courtrooms. Layoffs also affected the courts in San Joaquin County. Other counties continue to operate with depleted funds and depleted workforces. And the judicial crisis in San Francisco is just a spark that will result in an inferno that will consume more and more courts.
All the while, the building of multi-million dollar courthouses in tiny municipalities goes on and CCMS’s appetite for tax dollars continues to grow with no end in sight.
The AOC and the Judicial Council’s blunder cannot continue without comment or criticism. And so dear AOC Watcher readers and followers, I say unto thee: Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more!
AOC Watcher 
Welcome back!
If you listen, you can hear the sounds of a bunch of cursing and profanity eminating from the 5th floor at 455 Golden Gate Avenue.
Welcome back, AOC Watcher.
Long live the ACJ.
It is an undeniable fact that life does have a way of imposing upon one’s free time. You were greatly missed by many during your absence. It is great to hear that all is well and that you are back in the battle! Yes, it looks like the game’s afoot!! LOL Welcome back.
Silent since Autust 2010….welcome back.
Fine wines need time to rest and mature.
Let us hope everyone stays on theme.
.My good friend Judge Maino: I fervently share your hope. It is sure death to this or any blog when one or two people with an extremely narrow personal perspective hijack things by posting endlessly on matters only tangentially relevant, if at all, to the theme underlying this site. People simply won’t show up if it means wading through post after post (often lengthy ones) dealing with such matters. Sort of like convening a statewide
meeting to discuss reining in the bureaucracy, only to find the discussion taken up with relitigating a small claims case that somebody feels they unfairly lost ten years ago. Wrong place, wrong time.
My humble suggestion would be that such posts are either filtered out somehow (probably easier said than done) or at least taken down when recognized. Just my two cents. I recognize that people have their own views of relevance.
Great to have you back—!!!!
This is a great day for the rebel alliance against the death star. Welcome back into the fight AOC watcher. We have missed you. Between you and the JC watcher, the heat in the AOC kitchen is going to be turned up. Thank you so much for returning. May the force be with you.
The pursuit of justice can never have too many voices. Welcome back AOCW!
I became aware of AOC Watcher right around the time Ron George mentioned “bloggers in jammies” at a Judicial Council meeting. RG’s agitation and exasperation were palpable– an irreverant third branch message he couldn’t control! Someone was actually daring to call him out, publicly, and calling him “King George” to boot!!
“A single spark can start a prairie fire. “– author unknown
Indeed.
“Bloggers in Jammies?”
I far prefer blogging from the tub immersed in a bubble bath with a chilled bottle of Chardonney, a two pound box of Sees “nuts and chews” and a stack of People magazines to leaf through – dreaming that one day maybe I too can be a star. As my spelling and grammar worsen with each sip – I can put my I-PAD to the side and look at pictures.
Welcome back AOC Watcher.