Nguyen-Nguyen Situation

By Alex Brant-Zawadzki Thu., Oct. 26 2006 at 2:10 PM

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Sigh. The LA Times reports today that the Los Angeled Police Department officer who paid for the now-infamous letter to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Orange County is none other than Mark Nguyen. Mark is said to have paid $4,000 for the letter's dissemination under a fake name, and he lives with the officially unnamed Tan Nguyen staffer who allegedly sent out the letter without Tan's knowledge. Mark is also Tan's close friend from back in 1992 when they met as fellow Bruins at UCLA.

Tan Nguyen and Mark Nguyen are not related. Nguyen is one of if not the most common Vietnamese surnames. Just check out Theo Douglas's great article this week on sculptor Tuan Nguyen. When you hear Nguyen, think Johnson. Think Smith. Think Doe. Tan and Mark Nguyen, John and Ken Doe.

I can't wait to see what kind of mix-ups and confusions occur now that we've got two Nguyens in the story, especially considering how confusing it's been so far. Example: The news swept 'round Ireland days ago that Nguyen was Schwarzenegger's opponent (why else would the governor get involved in a congressional election?), though they've finally corrected themselves. In THIS STORY, the headline originally read, "Schwarzenegger urges opponent to step down", and it can still be found in that format on Google News. According to Jill O'Sullivan at the Irish Examiner, "our US news supplier mixed up some facts." And then half the news outlets in the country ran with it until it was corrected half a day later.

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I'm pretty sure I'm not Steve. Let me check my legal state issued drivers license. Nope. Not me. I do have to say this is getting more and more intriguing. - I'm wondering if the person who forged the CCIR letterhead was the same person who forged the Rathergate Memo. Both were abysmal jobs... Or was CCIR in on it afterall? And who's idea was it to throw two unrelated Nguyens into the mix? As said before the thot plickens!
Don't be sorry. But who's Steve?
I wonder how nuanced a word "emigrado" is. If it's something that most Hispanics would be prone to interpret haphazardly, I wouldn't put it past the letter-writer of using maliciously. Similar to "republic", "democracy" and "State". Words that commonly mean the same thing to the general public, until someone with a Poli Sci background explains that, no, they're different. Same concept - purposeful use of a term known to have one meaning to the general populace, whose esoteric definition leaves wiggle room once the abysmal attempt is uncovered.
Robert - See my point above. I've learned enough languages to know that well-meaning people goof up translations all the time. And it's something that evil multilinguists can use to their advantage. My gut says it's HIGHLY unrealistic that scores of journalists from across the country conference-called this conspiracy in. Much more likely that the original writer of the letter was smarter than the average bear. More despicable, but smarter.
hehe - sorry for multiple posts. Steve - Apples and Oranges. Cop WILLFULLY giving a fraudulant name in the course of an ELECTION? Are you insane? How could this not be egregious on its face? For a COP?! Internal Affairs investigates off-duty cops' misbehavior all the time. It's their job. No matter where you stand on the left/right divide, you've GOT to see this is something they should check out, right? Once you strip away the party labels from everything.
trai_dep wrote: "I'd want to see LAPD pursue this, just on this basis alone. If LAPD officers falsify a print job, what other documents do they falsify? Authorities should look into this, even if not part of his official duties at the time. REALLY bad mark on the LAPD". If they investigate this, then they should also investigate the sources that mis-translated the letter from Spanish to English, to make it look like all immigrants, perhaps all Latinos, were being warned not to vote. They intentionally mis-translated the word "emigrado" (non-US citizen immigrant) to make it look like all immigrants and Hispanics were being targeted. But the whole point behind the letter was to discourage illegal votes from being cast.
Is anyone troubled that a POLICE OFFICER would transact anything using a fake name? (quit snickering, I'm speaking of how things should be, not are) I'd want to see LAPD pursue this, just on this basis alone. If LAPD officers falsify a print job, what other documents do they falsify? Authorities should look into this, even if not part of his official duties at the time. REALLY bad mark on the LAPD.
The fraud charge regarding CCIR letterhead matters only if CCIR decides to persue it. It's not likely because CCIR endorses Nguyen. They are on the same side. In fact, Nguyen was a guest speaker at one of their meeting last year. Barbara Coe, founder of CCIR, even called Nguyen "man who believes in America as a "nation of law", has made a commitment to uphold and defend our Constitutional rights and freedoms, has courageously publicly praised the Minuteman Project and publicly opposed any illegal alien "guest-worker" program or amnesty..."
The fraudulent letterhead and the threats against Barbara Coe. - Those seemd to have fallen by the wayside...
What about the CCIR letterhead? Does mail fraud matter?
muchado about nothing... Doesn't matter. The whole case relies on one word, "emigrado", which seems to be legitimate afterall. Doesn't matter who paid for what, who's friend with who, who lives with who. None of these things matter.
The Thot Plickens!