For-profit chicanery

Whistle-Blower Alleges That For-Profit College Paid Incentives to Student Recruiters (Chronicle of Higher Education)

The Education Management Corporation, dinged in a Frontline program this week for allegedly stampeding students to enroll at its Argosy University by pushing their "hot button," now faces a whistle-blower lawsuit alleging that student recruiters at its South University Online had been paid based on how many students they drummed up, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The practice, if proven, would be a violation of federal student-loan law and could be costly to the university – the False Claims Act, under which the lawsuit was filed, calls for triple damages. The allegation, from a former employee, doesn't specify how much money is at stake, but the university is disclosing the lawsuit in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing today, suggesting it could have a material affect on its finances.

According to SOCCCD Chancellor Raghu Mathur’s biography, “Mathur serves as an Advisory Board Member for the School of Education at Argosy University where he also teaches courses in educational leadership and management to doctoral students.”

One of our deans here at IVC has a history of promoting for-profit universities, including Argosy, where she teaches as an adjunct.

Wagnerian episodes (red meat tossing for the Lord)

.....The always uninspired Matt Cunningham of Red County today reported on the race for the Republican nomination in the 70th Assembly District. (AD70 Watch: Jerry Amante Starts Mailing)
.....That’s the race that SOCCCD Board President Don Wagner hopes to win. He’s up against Tustin Mayor Jerry Amante and Irvine Councilman Steven Choi.
.....Matt notes that Amante has raised more money than Wagner or Choi, but Wagner and Choi have more money in the bank, in part because both have put up a fair amount of their own cash: $122,000 and $100,000 respectively.
.....Gosh, I didn’t know Don was so wealthy!
.....(On his website, Don crows that he has "bested all other candidates in the race with $145,700 raised to date and $109,300 in the bank." Odd, isn't it, that he fails to mention that he "bested" the others thanks to donating himself $122,000.)
.....Amante put out a mailer earlier this week that has raised eyebrows. It sports a photo of Amante with County GOP chief Scott Baugh. But Baugh has not endorsed Amante.
.....Matt, ever the Boy Scout, spoke with Baugh and, he says, the latter has instructed Amante “not to use his image anymore.”
.....I checked out Amante’s campaign webpage. It lists Orange County Public Administrator (and SOCCCD trustee) John Williams among those who have endorsed the fellow.
.....Oddly, on his campaign website, Don Wagner also lists John Williams as among those who endorse his candidacy!
.....He also lists Tom Fuentes!
.....Elsewhere on the site, Don offers an “editorial” entitled The Fight for God in the Public Square. There, he declares:

Not long before the Christmas Holidays, a group of leftist community college professors and a couple of anonymous students, working with lawyers from the atheist group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, filed a federal lawsuit against the South Orange County Community College District and several members of its Board of Trustees, including me. The gist of their complaint was that a speech I gave in support of religious freedom, a joke another trustee told based on the Biblical story of Jonah and the Whale, a patriotic slide show with a single mention of Jesus, and the college district's practice of opening commencement ceremonies, awards ceremonies, and other events with prayer, all violated the U.S. and California Constitutions.

Wagner goes on to refer to his opponents as “the atheist left.” But Don should know better. In fact, theists are among the group who have brought this suit. (I am an agnostic.) The suit is not an attack on religion by atheists; rather, it is an appeal to the Constitutional notion that the government may not act to “establish” religion or a religion. Of course government does that when its officials, in their governmental capacities, offer prayers, at least in some settings.
.....Neither is Americans United an "atheist" organization. As AUSCS explains on its website, “Americans United does not take positions on theological questions and does not oppose any group because of its religious beliefs.”
.....Well, I get it. Don’s just tossing red meat is all. Gotta give those rubes what they want, eh Don?
.....And dude! When are you gonna thank me for my assist in your candidate statement?

P.S. For what it’s worth (not much), Art Pedroza calls Don a “knuckle-dragging social nutter": Should Steven Choi be at all worried about Don Wagner and Jerry Amante? (OJ Blog) OJ’s Vern Nelson is even less flattering, describing “the execrable Don Wagner” as “an inveterate knuckle-dragging ‘social conservative,’ a fanatic adherent of the Orwellian-named Education Alliance and a firm believer in bringing spanking into our schools.”

College students who pray won't be punished (San Francisco Chronicle)

An East Bay community college district has agreed to respect students' freedom of religious expression in settling a lawsuit filed by two women who were threatened with suspension after one of them prayed with an ailing teacher in an office at the College of Alameda. ¶ In the settlement, announced this week, the four-campus Peralta Community College District recognized the right to "non-disruptively pray on campus." The district also agreed to remove all records of disciplinary action against the students and pay their attorneys' fees, said Kevin Snider, a lawyer with the Pacific Justice Institute, which represented the students. ¶ Students still won't be allowed to lead organized prayers in class, but can pray in other campus locations "to the same extent that they may engage in any other free speech," Snider said….

Williams loses on appeal

AN ODD DEVELOPMENT. Surfin’ the net, I happened upon a successful appeal, published today (here is the download).

It is the reversal of a court decision made back in May in favor of John Williams, OC Public Administrator. It concerns the estate of Charles David Lewis Jr., aka “Mask”—some sort of celebrity, who died a year ago in an automobile accident in Newport Beach. (See Charles Lewis, Jr..)

His Ferrari was hit by a Porsche driven by a drunk driver.

The appeal was filed (I believe) by Diane Larson, the mother of Lewis' two children.

Why would Williams seek to administer the estate of this guy?

Here are some excerpts:

Diane Larson appeals from the court’s order appointing the public administrator to administer the estate of the deceased father of Larson’s two children, who are decedent’s sole heirs. We reverse because Probate Code section 8464 did not authorize the court to make such an appointment.

FACTS

On April 1, 2009, Larson petitioned to administer decedent’s estate. The petition stated decedent died intestate in Orange County, California on March 11, and was survived by two children who lived with Larson in Illinois.

On April 7, the public administrator petitioned to administer decedent’s estate, claiming Larson was “not the court-appointed guardian of the estates of the minors” and, even if she were, the court had discretion to appoint “another person entitled to appointment” as administrator. The public administrator stated he was “best suited and qualified . . . to act as administrator” due to the “potential size and complexity of this estate.”

Also on April 7, the public administrator petitioned for letters of special administration. His petition stated decedent was believed to own a 28 percent interest in “TapouT LLC,” a successful clothing and marketing company “associated with the sports of mixed-martial arts and ultimate fighting.” Media reports suggested the value of that interest exceeded $10 million. Decedent was also thought to have substantial bank accounts, securities, “valuable automobiles (including a Porsche Turbo S and a Bentley) and potentially valuable intellectual property rights.”

The next day, Larson petitioned for letters of special administration. Larson stated the minors were decedent’s sole heirs and she was their biological mother and legal guardian. Larson submitted a brief stating that under Illinois law, she could not be appointed the minors’ guardian since she is their living, custodial parent currently caring for them. The court responded to the competing petitions by appointing the public administrator as the special administrator of the estate, and later extended the letters of special administration through May 13. Prior to the May 13 hearing on the petitions, Larson reported that an Illinois court had appointed her the legal guardian of the person and estate of each minor, and that both minors had nominated her to act as administrator of their father’s estate.

At the May 13 hearing, the public administrator argued he was “better suited to handle” the large, “complex” estate. Shortly before his death, decedent had stated his net worth to be “15 million dollars, and his annual income [to be] 1.5 million dollars.” The estate required “a lot of leg work to track down the assets,” such as taking custody of the cars. The public administrator had “three attorneys assigned to this case,” and “a team of investigators and professional fiduciaries . . . .” The public administrator was local, whereas Larson lived in Illinois. The public administrator advised the court that section 8464 gave the court the discretion to appoint as the estate’s administrator either the minors’ guardian or “another person entitled to appointment.”

Larson argued for appointment as the estate’s administrator because she is the minors’ guardian. She asserted there was no conflict between the children and her. … She argued she was qualified, is bondable, and had competent experienced counsel; moreover, the “two sole heirs want their mother to take care of it.” She asked the court, in exercising its discretion, to “consider what would best benefit the children.”
…
After reviewing the moving and opposing papers, the court approved the public administrator’s petition, appointed him as the estate’s administrator, and denied Larson’s petition.

After an extensive “discussion,” the document ends with:

The court’s order must be reversed because, in the absence of a finding that Larson was not competent to act as personal representative, the court lacked statutory authority to appoint the public administrator, instead of Larson, to administer decedent’s estate and thereby abused its discretion under section 8464. (In re St. John’s Estate (1937) 8 Cal.2d 175, 176-177) [court’s order appointing administrator reviewed for abuse of discretion].)

DISPOSITION

The order is reversed. Larson shall recover her costs on appeal.

SEE C.A. Reverses Order Naming Administrator of TapouT Founder’s Estate (Metropolitan News-Enterprise)

The matter is "under review"

.....I want to apprise readers of new developments in the John Williams “disturbing discrepancies” matter. (For background, see this.)
.....Early yesterday, I went online to the Orange County government website and found an organizational chart that seemed to indicate that the person Williams answers to is the County Executive Officer, Thomas Mauk.
.....So I wrote him, explaining the “disturbing discrepancies in public records concerning” Mr. Williams. I wrote: “At appears that, in several instances, Williams claimed a full day’s work at his county job on days when, according to SOCCCD records, he was at conferences.”
.....I closed with: “If you are not the person to contact, please advise.”
.....Mr. Mauk did not write back, but, after a day and a half, I heard from Howard Sutter, CEO of Community/Media Relations (County):

I am writing in response to your e-mail of May 4, 2010 sent to Thomas G. Mauk, County Executive Officer. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. The matter you referenced is currently under review.

As I expected, I was also apprised of “the nature of the reporting relationship between elected department heads and the County Executive Officer.” It’s kind of complicated.
.....I was glad to hear that “the matter” is now “under review.” But that’s pretty vague. So I wrote Sutter back immediately:

Would it be possible to shed any light on the "review" to which you refer and that is currently under way? Who is performing the review? To whom will that person report? When will the review by done?

Soon, I heard back. Sutter wrote:

I am not directly involved in the matter, so I do not have any additional information at this time.

Well, that won’t do. I pressed for more information.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE:

At 6:55 this morning (May 6), Mr. Sutter wrote to say

After my e-mail to you yesterday, I learned the matter has been referred to the
Internal Audit Department. That is all of the information I have at this time.

Read about the IAD here.

Listed on the site is a fraud hot line: “Report to us [IAD] about questionable behavior, waste, and abuse involving county vendors, employees, and processes.”

There is an Audit Oversight Committee (AOC). According to the website, "The AOC members are as follows:

• Chair, Board of Supervisors
• Vice-Chair, Board of Supervisors
• Auditor-Controller
• County Executive Officer
• Public Member
• Treasurer Tax-Collector, Ex-Officio Member (Non Voting)"

The Death of Public Education, UCI, May 4

Photos by our pal Jason (Davis).

Still more to ignore

TOM’S APPALLING LEGACY.
.....Some day, Tom Fuentes will leave the board, and we will be able to assess his legacy as a SOCCCD trustee.
.....That legacy will include the lasting marks of his sustained efforts to associate the district and its colleges with his right-wing pals in government.
.....Who would that be?
.....Well, it would be, among others, the ethically-challenged OC DA, Tony Rackauckas, the ethically-challenged OC Treasurer, Chriss Street, and the even more ethically-challenged former OC Sheriff, Mike Carona.
.....Carona. You remember him. He used to show up and pray and salute a lot. Now he’s a convicted felon.
.....Today, the Reg (Ex-sheriff heads back to court for appeal) provides a heads up regarding Carona’s appeal. The hearing will be tomorrow.
.....The Reg explains the basis of the appeal:

The former law enforcement official was found guilty of witness tampering in January 2009 for trying to persuade ex-assistant sheriff Don Haidl to lie during a grand jury probe….
. . .
Carona's lawyers argue that prosecutors broke an ethical rule when they arranged for Haidl to secretly record an August 2007 conversation despite knowing Carona had retained a criminal defense attorney at the time….

That recording, played repeatedly during the jury trial, was the basis for Carona's witness tampering conviction….

.....The upshot is this: Carona does not dispute that he tampered with a witness. Rather, he argues that the manner in which the damning recording was acquired by prosecutors violated ethics rules.
.....There’s a Plan B: “The former sheriff's legal team also contends that Carona was convicted under the wrong statute, and therefore was wrongfully convicted.”
.....If Carona prevails, he will of course announce his complete vindication. But no. Clearly, he did tamper with a witness.
.....On the various tapes played during his trial, Carona said a great many things that contradict his image of staunch right-wing Fuentean rectitude—racist remarks, etc.
.....If he prevails, Carona will pretend that those tapes do not exist, that he never said and did those awful things.
.....If he prevails, no doubt Fuentes will again arrange for the Mikester to be named the Irvine Valley College “Hometown Hero.”

CAPO’S NEW MYSTERY SUPE.
.....The Reg also reports that the

Capistrano Unified's school board has tentatively selected a successor to outgoing Interim Superintendent Bobbi Mahler, but has not released the finalist's name pending a reference check and visit to his school district….

.....The Reg indicates that the individual is “male and a superintendent at another school district.”
.....The board president is quoted as saying, "We're very proud of our choice…. He was notified right after our board meeting [Monday night], and he was very excited and very energetic and looking forward to it.”
.....She also explained that “Three district trustees will visit the finalist's school district, likely this week, and also will contact its [?] school board to do a reference check.”
.....Our insiders tell us that Mathur is not the guy.
.....The Capo board president is none other than Anna Bryson. And who is she? Well, she works for OC Treasurer--and pal o' Fuentes--Chriss Street.

THE DAY EDUCATION DIED.
.....Meanwhile, the OC Weekly’s Matt Coker reports that

UC Rebel Radio presents a mock funeral for education this afternoon at UC Irvine. ¶ Faculty, staff and students wearing black are expected to participate in a 1 p.m. gathering at the flagpole, where speakers will eulogize young people's future before departing for a procession around the campus.

"The desire for the free and equitable cultivation of thought which spurred the creation of the University of California has been smothered, due in part to privatization and the increasing lack of availability of an excellent UC education," states a letter from a group of participating groups.

.....Matt notes that May 4 was chosen for this event because it is the 40th anniversary of the Kent State massacre.

EVEN MORE FOR IVC TO IGNORE.
.....Our own Rebel Girl (Lisa Alvarez) appears in the May issue of Connotation Press: An Online Artifact, along with the likes of Andrei Codrescu—you know, that NPR guy with the cool Romanian accent and dry, Transylvanian wit—and various other writers and artists.

John Williams' ethics

This morning, I visited the SOCCCD website, where I found board policies, including BP1400, the "code of ethics for members of the board of trustees."

Point 3 of the code is the following:

As you know, recently, we came upon copies of timesheets submitted by trustee John Williams for his county job as Public Administrator/Guardian. It appears that, on those timesheets, Williams claimed full work days (presumably in his office in Santa Ana) on days in which, according to SOCCCD records, he was many miles away (in Orlando, Tampa, etc.) at conferences in his role as college district trustee.

Assuming that the fellow cannot be in two different places at once, and assuming that district records of trustee travel are accurate, it would appear that Mr. Williams claimed to work (as a county official) when, in truth, he was not working (in that capacity).

According to my Mac's dictionary, fraud is "wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain." Filing multiple false claims of full work days (for which one is paid) would seem to qualify as fraud.

We at DtB would like to hear from readers. Is there an ethical problem here?

If so, is this a matter for the Academic Senates to pursue? The board? The DA?

Tell us what you think.

For-Profit, for Chrissake! Your tax dollars at work

Public TV Takes on For-Profit Colleges (Inside Higher Ed)

Airing tonight on PBS at 9 p.m. is Frontline's College, Inc., an hour-long look at for-profit higher education, its investors, and the U.S. Department of Education's efforts to regulate it. ... It tells stories of students plunging deep into debt and unable to get jobs, touches on traditional academe's criticisms, and looks at the negotiated rule-making process aimed at reining in abuses of the Title IV federal financial aid system, with a particular focus on career colleges.

But it is likely to garner lots of attention -- from ordinary Americans, think tankers and Congressional staffers -- and to stir up press releases, editorials and conversations that will skew against the for-profit institutions just as the Education Department ratchets up its criticisms of the sector. The storyline is more balanced than many major-media examinations of for-profit colleges, but it's still a less-than-favorable depiction of the sector.

At the "Frontline" link, we’re told that

The biggest player in the for-profit sector is the University of Phoenix—now the largest college in the US with total enrollment approaching half a million students. Its revenues of almost $4 billion last year, up 25 percent from 2008, have made it a darling of Wall Street….

…[T]he cash cow of the for-profit education industry is the federal government. Though they enroll 10 percent of all post-secondary students, for-profit schools receive almost a quarter of federal financial aid. But Department of Education figures for 2009 show that 44 percent of the students who defaulted within three years of graduation were from for-profit schools, leading to serious questions about one of the key pillars of the profit degree college movement: that their degrees help students boost their earning power. This is a subject of increasing concern to the Obama administration, which, last month, remade the federal student loan program, and is now proposing changes that may make it harder for the for-profit colleges to qualify.

See also: Financial Affairs: TV Documentary on For-Profit Colleges Will Hit Some Nerves—at Times, Rightly So (Chronicle of Higher Education)

You'll recall that, at Irvine Valley College, at least one administrator has urged faculty to allow the U of P to come into their classrooms to make their pitch.

See also: Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits (NYT)

Capo recall on track

Capistrano district activists collect 32,000 recall signatures (OC Reg)

A group of Capistrano Unified activists attempting to recall two district trustees from office this November has collected more than 32,000 petition signatures per trustee from community members, about 50 percent more than the minimum number required to put the issue on the ballot, organizers said…. (Continued)

CUSD Recall Group Gathers over 32,000 Signatures (OC Progressive)

That’s right, Parents for Local Control sent out a press release that they’ve gone above and beyond the 2,000 signatures needed to recall Winsten and Maddox from the Capistrano Unified School District and done it in more than half the time required from the OC Registrar’s office, with no paid signature gatherers…. (Continued)

Yesterday's protests, Santa Ana

The Reb and Limber Lou at yesterday's protests in Santa Ana

Hundreds in Santa Ana protest Arizona law (OC Reg)

Red and the Reb (and even Limber Lou) are there!

(Last photo: OC Reg)

Middlesex to phase out philosophy (Times Higher Education)

John Williams, a man of many discrepancies (like an electron, he manages to be in two places at once!)

Once again, Pen Pal has sent me some government records that, like so many we've already seen, paint a curious and disturbing picture of Mr. John Williams, SOCCCD trustee, County Administrator/Guardian, and alleged "fiscal conservative."

This time, they're time sheets.

Here's one of them:

This time sheet was submitted by Williams on November 22 of 2005. As you can see, he claimed to have put in 8 hours of work per day (as OC Public Administrator/Guardian) from November 14 to November 18, 2005. (Click on the graphics to enlarge them.)

Here's the problem. Not long ago, Pen Pal requested records from the South Orange County Community College District regarding Williams' travel and expenses as an SOCCCD trustee. Here's a detail of some of what he received:

According to the district's records, Williams was at a conference in San Francisco from the 17th until the 19th of November, 2005. (Doubtless, the district paid for his air travel and lodging.) But if he was in San Francisco on the 17th and 18th, how could he have put in 8 hours at his office in Santa Ana on both the 17th and 18th?

Gee Willikers! I wonder if, in turning in that time sheet, John was claiming to have done work that in fact he did not do?

As you know, this is not the first time we've noticed discrepancies in records of Mr. Williams' work and travel. (See At a hotel in Tampa, Florida?)

Here's another time sheet that Pen Pal recently acquired:

As you can see, Mr. Williams claimed to be working for 8 hours (presumably at his Santa Ana office) on December 5 and 6 of 2005. And yet the above SOCCCD document has Mr. Williams at a conference in San Diego from the 4th until the 6th of that month. Was it really possible for Williams to attend a conference in San Diego while working full days in Santa Ana?

Here is yet another time sheet that Pen Pal recently received:

On this document, Williams claimed to be working (for 8 hours) on the 3rd and 4th of April, 2006. But the above SOCCCD document indicates that Williams was at a conference in Orlando, Florida (he has family there), from the 1st until the 4th.

Pen Pal received this time sheet as well:

Here, Williams claimed to put in a full day of work on both the 29th and 30th of January, 2007. But, again, the district document (above) indicates that Williams was at a conference in Orlando, Florida, from January 27 to 30 in 2007. How could he be at his County office on the 29th and 30th if he were in Florida on those days? 

Another time sheet:

Williams claimed to put in full work days on April 12 (not shown), 13, 16, and 17, 2007. According to SOCCCD records, however, Williams was in Tampa, Florida, at a conference from April 12 to 17, 2007. (Pen Pal has the time sheet for 4/12 as well.) (We covered some of this on a prior post.)

Pen Pal writes that, "From 11/15/07 through 11/21/09, when [Williams] did not have to fill out a timesheet, I am seing approximately 58 additional days where he was out of town on SOCCCD business." He notes that, for a two year period, that's an awful lot of time taken from his county job.

I wonder if the County paid him for any of those days? Perhaps we'll never know.

SEE ALSO:

• Is Mr. Williams accountable? Apparently not
• OC Public Administrator/Guardian claims to be at work despite being at a hotel in Tampa, Florida

Big thanks to Pen Pal, who, for the time being, prefers to remain anonymous. He acquired the time sheets via a formal request to Mr. Howard Sutter, Manager, CEO Community/Media Relations, County of Orange. He acquired the SOCCCD "travel" documents via a request to Tracy Daly, the district’s Director of Public Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations.

I have read Mr. Pal's correspondences with these officials, and it appears that they have been very professional and cooperative. We thank you both!

Report Hits For-Profit Colleges for Aggressive Recruiting at Homeless Shelters (Chronicle of Higher Education)
U of Phoenix, natch

A Tardy Report on Democracy from the 2010 LA Times Festival of Books

By Red Emma

The purposeful failure of the anti-immigrant law and order folks to consider the conditions which create—no, demand—the predictable migration of Mexican and Central American workers to El Norte (NAFTA, for example) suggests a clear choice about how far to think. Anybody who allows themselves to consider cause and effect will of course find it logical and reasonable to choose not to draw a line at Tijuana or in the desert sand, to let their minds break through somebody’s wall or fence. But that would mean looking (and learning) beyond the border, itself a contrivance of wealth and privilege, history and empire and violence, a demarcation, finally, of the lack of imagination.

No duh, right? Oh, and sorry for the Big Speech.

Meanwhile, the very best—and worst—moment of the two days I sat at my own modest booth last weekend at the 15th annual Festival of Books at UCLA offered an amusing illustration of this variety of choosing, and choosing where and when to think. Or not. It arrived when I saw the Scientologist from the “Galaxy Books – Fiction by L. Ron Hubbard” booth next door offer a tract to Father Gregory Boyle, walking by on his way to be interviewed about his memoir, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, recounting his work at Dolores Mission and as founder of Homeboy Industries. Talk about not knowing, or caring about your audience!

Dressed like a cowboy ("Hopalong" L. Ron, I dubbed him) the cultist offered the radical priest a copy of his silly magazine proselytizing for a Ponzi scheme-religion founded by an insane sci-fi hack writer. You could not make this up, and yet it must happen all the time. It spoke to me of the boundaries and assumptions which define discourse in our fitful democracy, and the need to understand what we are willing to consider, to imagine.  And what we should perhaps not, and how best to respond.

Helpfully instructive and yet wildly funny this moment was, for at least two reasons, but who’s counting?  First, the cluelessness of the cultist as regards the famous figure himself, author of a stunning autobiography telling the story of his ministering to former gangbangers and founding a business to employ them. Why would he want to join Scientology? Second, funny because it’s possible that only Reporter Red saw this perfect scene at all, through a throng of attendees there to learn, listen, read and think, a singular celebration of the life of the mind and of civic engagement struggling itself with the rip-off artists and parasites, all of whom can also rent a booth at this ad hoc Marketplace of Ideas. 

You’ll have to trust me that, indeed, the moment actually occurred in the alphabet soup tureen of democracy and literacy, reaction and hucksterism that is the Festival, where are sold “book products” and stupid genre fiction, self-help and, yes, that one book somebody has written and self-published, ridiculous or heroic. 

Under "heroic," file of course Father Boyle and one Frank Dorrell, whose publication and distribution of Joel Andreas’s comic book narrative Addicted to War finds Mr. Dorrell and his volunteer crew at their very own booth every year. The poor guy must cringe when he sees Red Emma coming, each late Sunday afternoon, to shake his hand and offer thanks and admiration. Dorrell has sold, given away or otherwise gotten out into the world something like half a million copies of this amazing comic book critique of US imperialism. 

Under "ridiculous" or maybe just "clueless," consider the religionists. The Holy Koran was available, it seemed, at every corner. For free! Imagine. Amusingly, its promoters stood hollering their “truth” at one location not fifty feet from the nutty Ayn Rand “Objectivist” crowd and an Asian mother-goddess cult filming visitors to its booth posing with people dressed in furry animal creature costumes. (Science fiction is religion. Religion is science fiction. I cheered myself later by purchasing a big bumper sticker from the atheist booth: “No Gods, No Masters.” But that’s just Red.)

I hoped, wickedly, that the Islamists or goddess-worshippers or other believers might get into it with the Scientologists or Jews for Jesus or the Buddhists, all of them also at the Fest. Alas, they are all respectful of each other because, well, no crook wants to mess with a good deal, a con game with thousands of potential marks, rubes and innocents. The Space Monkeys next door actually persuaded grown adult American parents to surrender their names and email addresses (!) after posing the saps’ defenseless children for photos—not with a big stuffed animal but with, yes, a Scientologist pirate, Captain Thetan maybe. Aaargh!

But there was, thankfully, redemption, though you had to look for it. Against and beyond the spectacle of the religionists, cultists and parasites, highlights for Red included meeting the founder of PM Press, a legendary fellow named Ramsey Kanann who thirty years ago started the alternative publishing house AK Press.  

At his booth I purchased my very own Chumbawamba t-shirt

—and a newly re-released copy of my friend Monona Wali’s award-winning film “Maria’s Story” on DVD. 

I also got to shake hands with cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz at the KPFK booth, where he was giving away free copies of his U.S. Census 2010 comic book, available in English and Spanish, and check in with the good folks at Heyday Books and The Nation magazine and chat with artist J. Michael Walker, author of the magnificent and beautiful All the Saints of the City of Los Angeles.

So many good people, doing such good, true and honest work. Even as so many of our fellow citizens are, it seems, not able or allowed to see the beauty and power of art to inspire resistance and community because somebody is trying to convince them that pretend is real. But finding the genuine would mean knowing where to look for it.  Perhaps next year Red will write up a helpful critical guide to the Festival? Do Festival attendees even know who the Galaxy Fiction people really are? Do they know the appropriate response to offer proselytizers? Clearly, the religionists and cultists imagine they know us. Because they don’t know us, we are their potential victims. We should fight back.

We should identify ourselves.