Even California Attorney General union lover Jerry Brown has joined the stampeding bandwagon.  AG Brown is in the midst of conducting a criminal investigation for voter fraud in connection with the $800,000 per year salary of the city manager of teeny Los Angeles County city of Bell that will entitle the now disgraced–and suddenly retired–Robert Rizzo to receive some $12 million plus in retirement benefits at the opening level of $600,000 per year!  Establishing such voter fraud is apparently the only way to defeat even some of Mr. Rizzo’s exorbitant retirement reward for his “exemplary” (self) service.  (Apparently, Mr. Rizzo needs “we the people” to support the life style to which he has been accustomed, including his Huntington Harbor beachfront home and his Washington horse ranch.  But isn’t that just the “American dream,” to own your own home–but have “we the people” buy it for you?)

     The unions are nevertheless forgiving Mr. Brown for actually coming after them for once.  After all, he is the Democratic candidate for California governor this November–and his opponent is Republican union basher Meg Whitman.  What’s a union to do?

     The Los Angeles Times reveals another possible explanation why the unions are throwing millions of dollars–and member votes–behind Mr. Brown.  Sleepy Bell had no idea what Mr. Rizzo was making until a Los Angeles Times investigation dug it up.  Turns out, however, that CalPERS, the multi-billion dollar California public pension system knew all along about–and failed to blow the whistle on–Mr. Rizzo’s one time, extraordinary 47% pay hike to reach $800,000 per year.

     Asked to explain their failure to speak up, CalPERS has offered three explanations:

     1.  ”Three Wrongs Make A Right.” CalPERS points out that the next two senior Bell employees also received similar extraoridinary pay hikes at the same time Mr. Rizzo did.  Well, okay then, no big deal, right?

     2.  ”Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil.” Says CalPERS, we just administer the payment of public retirement benefits.  It’s not our job to prosecute, or deal with, wrongs like this.  Or, apparently, even to bring such wrongs to the attention of other public officials whose job it is to go after such wrongs.

     3.  ”Um, Er, Ugh.” When asked, several CalPERS Board members simply said they hadn’t been made aware of the facts–and that they cannot explain why CalPERS sat on the information.  (Is this “third” explanation really an explanation?  Yeah, but who’s counting?)

     NoPoli Network News (NNN) has two possible explanations of its own for this apparent CalPERS complicity:

     1.  ”Thick as Thieves.”

     2.  ”Um, Er, Ugh.” Hmm, maybe NNN only has one explanation–all these folks are just…thick as thieves.  Or maybe, it’s just the water out there in California.