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DIARY OF A MAD COUNTY

Vol. 11 No. 14 December 9 - 15, 2005

by STEVE LOWERY



Thursday, Dec. 1

Alleged public safety/personal illumination menace

Theresa Dang is found not guilty of stealing a Garden

Grove police officer’s flashlight during a May

demonstration protesting the appearance of Minuteman

founder Jim Gilchrist. The cops say they have

videotape of Dang taking the flashlight, but some

question why DA Tony Rackauckas would go to court over

a $100 flashlight, especially since the trial and its

buildup cost taxpayers somewhere in the neighborhood

of $50,000. Defenders of Rackauckas’ decision say that

the moment we appease flashlight takers is the moment

the terrorists, torch-carrying terrorists, win. It’s

right there in the Bible, people, St. Paul’s Letter to

the Everreadians, as well as the classic O. Henry

story “The Gift of the Maglite.” (“My stars, I sold my

batteries to get you this flashlight.” “But dearest, I

sold my flashlight to get you these batteries . . .

Hey, is Tony Rackauckas getting this on videotape?”

“My stars, what’s a Tony Rackauckas videotape?” “About

$50,000.”) Now, I’m not saying the DA thought a guilty

verdict was in the bag, but his underlings had already

scheduled several people to speak at the trial’s

sentencing phase, including the flashlight’s owner as

well as some of the flashlight’s friends, who were

going to talk about its work with troubled teens.