The thing about pattern analysis is that sometimes a piece seems unimportant and because of this it is quickly forgotten. However, the small piece may be the item that connects all of the dots in the future. Because of this, it is sometimes very difficult to make a determination if an action warrants further study or if it is just a waste of time.

Many years ago I started building a database of as many data points as I had the resources and the time to compile so that I could use them later in analysis for my blogging.  Initially it was about throwing everything, but the kitchen sink, into the data set and worry about analyzing it later. It quickly became information overload. Therefore I decided to spend some time analyzing the data before adding it in order to make a determination if it warranted being added to my archive.

However, almost immediately it became apparent to me that I was soon wasting too much time following rabbit holes and not much time actually producing something useful. In time, I decided to create a hybrid system whereby I attempted to create something useful from the immediate item I was looking at, at the time and if the initial review warranted it, I would add it to the database. This is not the perfect solution however I have yet to discover a better way of doing it.

Today, I’m going to share something with you what I noticed shortly after I published my piece on David Karlsruher. At this point I’m not sure if it really means anything but the pattern I am seeing warrants further investigation, at least for me, and adding it to my matrix.

I have never met Emma Acosta and as much as David Karlsruher tries to connect me with her the fact is that there is no connection to make. I noticed David’s ardent support for the baseball fiasco and it naturally caught my attention that he was attacking Emma Acosta. I inquisitively asked why. In “The Motives of Useful Idiot David Karlsurher” I laid out a pattern of his family’s business growth that I derived from the information I had at hand.

As I researched this I saw David Karlsruher start writing pieces about Emma Acosta that he derived from an open records requests he submitted about her. To be sure this was not the first time David Karlsruher had targeted Emma Acosta with his articles as his favorite targets seemed to be anyone against the ballpark fiasco. In the time span of June through August 2013, David posted an approximate average of 17 posts each month for a total of 51 total posts. In August he posted 21 posts of which three were about Emma Acosta (14%). In July he posted 11 posts, one of which was about Acosta (>10%). And, in June, of his 19 posts, three were about Emma Acosta (16%). For comparison, I went and looked at his posts for September 2012.

In that month he posted a total of 16 posts, four of which related to Emma Acosta (25%). The majority of David’s posts were not about pointing out political shenanigans but rather they seemed to follow two threads; (1) create the illusion that Stephanie Townsend Allala’s demand for transparency was having a chilling effect on officials using electronic devices to communicate, and (2) to embarrass Emma Acosta.

On September 10, after I published my piece on his possible motives David Karlsruher responded almost immediately with two pieces on that day, then a piece on the Times’ report about the Basilio Silva corruption topic followed by a piece on Emma Acosta as result of city council discussion regarding bloggers and access to information.

And then silence.

As of last week’s (September 17) city council David Karlsruher has been quiet on the blogosphere. Yes, he did write that he is traveling; however I noticed what looked like to me to be a pattern, a silent one in all aspects.

At yesterday’s city council meeting, item number 11D in the consent agenda that was approved by council, Karlsruher , Inc. dba CSA Constructors was awarded an estimated award of $330,942.41.

Now don’t get too excited this isn’t about his mom’s company getting the award but rather a pattern I noticed.

You will remember that on my earlier piece I wrote that the Karlsruher’s were awarded a $691,557.35 contract after being deemed an “unresponsive bidder” by city staff with city council ultimately ignoring staff and awarding the contract to them anyway on a vote of five-to-three. I didn’t write it then, but I found it ironic that the person who David had been targeting the most recently was the one that advocated for his family getting the contract by making the motion to award it.

So much for David’s writings alleging harassment of his family’s business by Acosta.

For public perception manipulators frequently the truth is an inconvenient thing. However this is not about the inconvenience but rather about a pattern I see.

In the Barker Road Street award on February 26, 2013 (Item 12) you will notice that the Karlsruher firm’s bid for that project was deemed “not responsive” and therefore the city’s Engineering & Construction Management Department recommended that the city “reject” their bid, although they were the lowest bidder. The reason for the department’s rejection of the bid was that the “Insurance, Bonds, and move-In/Move-Out Related Expenses”, in other words mobilization costs, were not to exceed five percent of the total bid. Karlsruher came in at 5.05%, according to the documentation.

The second highest bidder was SAAB Site Contractor, LP. who were $13,239.85 above Karlsruher. At the city council meeting, the council was asked to first determine if, in fact Karlsruher was “responsive” and then award them the contract based on their lower bid. The Karlsruher’s had argued that it was a “mathematical error” and therefore they deserved the contract.

As you already know they were awarded the contract on a motion by Emma Acosta seconded by Carl Robinson.

Fast-forward to yesterday.

Item 11D in the consent agenda again involves Barker Road Street. This time it is labeled as “Phase II” and is in the amount of $330,942.41. Interestingly it involves the same two bidders; Karlsruher, Inc. dba CSA Constructors of El Paso and SAAB Site Contractors, LP.

However, this time it was SAAB Site Contractors that were deemed “non responsive” because their bid came in over the five percent mobilization costs. It actually came in at nine percent. Although SAAB submitted a bid of $321,783.00 that is lower than Karlsruher’s bid of $330,942.41; a $9,159.11 difference they were deemed “un responsive” and therefore Karlsruher was awarded the contract. Since the item was handled in the consent agenda there was no discussion about it.

And now here is the pattern that I noticed.

• David Karlsruher goes on an uncharacteristic blog silence especially with all the recent hoopla surrounding the ballpark and the email scandal.
• Coincidently, on yesterday’s consent agenda an item appears that results in another award for the Karlsruher family business in the amount of $330,942.41.

Like I wrote above, I’m not sure what it all means at this point but a pattern exists that, as more information comes to light may connect some dots. In fact, I probably would not have noticed these two items had I not looked into possible motives for David Karlsruher’s blog postings. Take it as you will. It may result in nothing, however as my experience has shown over the years one item by itself may seem innocent at the time until it becomes that single piece the connects all of the dots.

Author’s note: At 9:11am on Setpember 25, 2013, El Paso time I went back and checked the city council video, and David Karlsruher is correct that the item was postponed for two weeks. No reason was given.

A quick note on ramping up useful idiots

By the way, if you haven’t noticed election season is starting up again. As a result, the stable of useful idiot dormant bloggers are starting to be activated. At least one dormant blogger is starting to blog again. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if this is an activation of one or more useful idiots in the continued quest to manipulate the public perception.