'Dog Named Muhammad' Comment Irks Councilman
San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Larry Kramer takes offense at his colleague's public announcement of a pet's name.
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If an elected official names his dog Muhammad, San Juan Capistrano City Councilman Larry Kramer doesn't want to hear about it during a public meeting.
So he is asking his council colleagues to set some ground rules on decorum.
The move comes after City Councilman Derek Reeve's recent announcement that he named one of his family's new basset hounds Muhammad.
Kramer, in a letter to the council, labeled Reeve's comment "offensive." (In the Arab world, dogs are traditionally considered unclean.)
It's unclear whether Reeve, who didn't return messages seeking comment for this story, intended the pet's name as an insult. His other basset hound is named America.
Reeve mentioned both dogs' names Sept. 6, as the council voted to authorize staffers to draw up plans for a dog park in the Northwest Open Space. His remark drew laughter from some in the audience. But others were not amused.
"Words spoken from the dais should be appropriate," Kramer wrote in his letter, which was included with next Tuesday's council agenda packet.
Kramer asked the City Council to discuss "appropriate decorum" at its next meeting.
In an article published Wednesday in the Voice of OC, Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, called Reeve's dog-name announcement "childish."
"I'm sure the dog is more useful to the city than the city councilman [Reeve]," Al-Marayati told the online, nonprofit news outlet.
Reeve did not return an email request for comment for this story. On his Facebook page, he posted a link to the Voice of OC article with the comment, "Are you kidding me!"
The pet's full name, according to another Facebook post by Reeve, is Muhammad Winchester Boone.
Fellow councilman Kramer said he "supports" free speech but expects council members to observe common courtesy.
"I was brought up to be respectful to others and to not insult or demean them," he wrote in his letter. The council, he said, must decide "what action can be taken to ensure the decorum of the City Council."
Squonk
5:22 pm on Thursday, September 15, 2011
Reeve's doing it just to get attention... and he's gotten it!
First guns in the parks, then a dog named muhammad. He's a reporter's dream councilman but an embarassment for the rest of us.
sjcnative1
6:37 pm on Thursday, September 15, 2011
In honor of Larry Kramer I am changing the name of my male neutered dog to Larry Kramer and my female dog to Carole Matson ! I am thinking of taking them both on the ridge walk coming up with their new names on banners on their backs. Kramer and Matson get a life. Were you not ever told about sticks and stones?
Dan
7:44 pm on Thursday, September 15, 2011
What if he named the dog Jesus?
Shripathi Kamath
10:06 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Depends on whether it was a dog or a bitch.
Dan
11:27 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Yeah, you are probably right.
JessC
8:16 am on Friday, September 16, 2011
I think Kramer should have talked to Reeve in private about his remark. To bring this out into the open only makes SJC council look stupid. Now, instead of a room full of people hearing the comment, the world now gets to read about it!
The fact of the matter is "inappropriate decorum" amongst our councilmembers, or policitians in general, seems to be par for the course. Now, don't think that I condone the behavior, but surly you have not forgotten the frequent Allevato vs. Uso exchanges during council meetings?
judith anderson
10:35 am on Friday, September 16, 2011
Kudos to Mr Kramer for pointing out to a colleague that his comment was erroneous and characterless. At the inconvenient yet council meeting moment has the lasting effect needed.
WatchdogSJC
10:42 am on Friday, September 16, 2011
What happened to the part of this story that mentioned Reeve's submitted-but-unpublished blog post in which he specifically noted that "Muhammed is the bitch"? It was posted here yesterday.
Was that comment removed for some reason? I bet Reeve and the SJC Americans are OUTRAGED by this LACK OF TRANSPARENCY and the TRAMPLING of this patriotic Councilman's freedom of speech.
If Councilman Derek Reeve wrote "Muhammed is the bitch" in a blog and sent it to Patch for publishing, I believe its his first amendment RIGHT to have that noted.
The CONSTITUTION doesn't say anything about deleting specific segments of articles so I think it should be put back up.
You've really done it now, Patch. You've made your bed and now you're gonna sleep in it. I can't wait to see all the irate emails from the SJC Americans about this.
You just wait. I bet it will be any second now!
...
Any ol' minute it's coming and it's gonna be LOUD....
Well, it might be a few more minutes but believe me, the PROTECTORS of San Juan will be here soon with lots of CAPSLOCK and exclamation points!!!!
Could be any moment now....
(crickets chirping)
Yessir, any ol' second. it's coming...........
(air conditioning kicks on)
...
(tumbleweed blows by)
Jenna Chandler
11:50 am on Friday, September 16, 2011
We deleted that paragraph about Reeve's female dog, because he wrote to me to say he had intended to delete that part of the blog post, and wasn't sure how it remained in our queue. In fairness to him, we deleted it from this story.
Shripathi Kamath
10:07 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
"In fairness to him"? Why, that presumes that it was unfair to begin with.
rick lyons
11:00 am on Friday, September 16, 2011
It appears that Kramer really needs something else in his life to do. Now he wants to govern our dogs names? I thought we had freedoms in our country, not Kramer Korrectness?
Daisy
1:22 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
I think Mr. Kramer should put his big girl panties on and get a life!
JessC
6:47 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Our City is facing aging infrastructure that it cannot afford to replace, traffic issues, bloated salaries and pension, a worthless water enterprise, a huge deficit looming on the horizon, etc, and Kramer is concerned with a Bitch named Muhammad? What is wrong with this picture?
Orrie Brown
8:21 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Well said!
Shripathi Kamath
8:20 am on Saturday, September 17, 2011
It is missing the stroke where Reeve called his bitch (or maybe it was his dog) Muhammad during a public meeting. Considering you have the same traffic issues, bloated salaries and pension, a worthless water enterprise, a huge deficit looming on the horizon, etc.
Next Reeve might describe how he had to put his bitch (or dog) to death because it defecated on his Bible, again during a public meeting.
Dave Solt
7:19 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Council Member Reeves is quite free to name his dog as he pleases. However, he has shown himself to be unsophisticated and unworldly. He ran promoting himself as a patriotic values candidate, but has thumbed his nose at the tolerance preched by the founding fathers.
JessC
8:46 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Mr. Solt, I simply do not see how patriotism and the naming of ones dog "Mohammad" has anything to do with tolerance. That's a new one on me.
SJCNative
7:42 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
The Sunday Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1890354.ece lists Mohammad as the second most popular name. Jack comes in second. So far, no uprising in Britain over a name. Daisy said it best " put your big girl panties on (Kramer) and get a life".
SJCNative
7:53 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Google estimates 150 million boys in the world are name Mohammad, and now one dog.
JessC
11:00 pm on Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday's council meeting should be interesting. I would not be surprised if Kramer, Taylor, and Allevato have already strategized on how they can remove Reeve from the dais. I still remember the stunt these three pulled last December to pass Laura Freese up for the Mayorship. Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to politicians.