Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Free textbook; plus a defeat for opponents of same-sex marriage


• A VICTORY FOR STUDENT POCKETBOOKS.

This could be the start of something big. This morning’s Inside Higher Ed reports on a milestone in the “open textbook” movement (Open Textbook Meets Community Colleges).

The movement seeks to provide textbooks—written by reliable experts—on the web, downloadable free for use and modification.

Well, now that’s started, at least for Statistics:

Connexions, a prominent online “open educational resources” hub based at Rice University, announced Monday that it has published a statistics textbook [Collaborative Statistics, by Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean] online that’s widely used in transfer-level community college courses. Officials at the site hope the zero-dollar price tag will help students deterred by ever-increasing textbook prices.

The book’s content has been configured for easy editing. Ancillary materials will also be made available. (Dean and Illowsky are math professors at De Anza College in California.)

In my own courses, I use Blackboard. On my course Blackboard sites, I provide virtually all class readings (they are mostly lecture notes and commentaries of primary text that I authored), and so students don't have to buy textbooks. Students seem to be thrilled about that. And no wonder: a single text can cost one hundred dollars or more.

• A MINOR DEFEAT FOR OPPONENTS OF GAY MARRIAGE.

Meanwhile, according to this morning’s San Francisco Chronicle (Prop. 8 backers drop challenge on wording), the wording of a ballot initiative that seeks to eliminate gay couples’ newly-acquired right to marry will remain as written.

This is a defeat for opponents of same-sex marriage in California: “Sponsors of the measure argued that the title and summary drafted by Attorney General Jerry Brown were argumentative and designed to encourage voters to oppose Prop. 8.”

Twice now the courts have turned down a challenge by the “Yes on 8” forces. Evidently, Brown’s wording has been deemed accurate.

The “Yes on 8” people will not seek appeal.

Evidently, a major financial backer of “Yes on 8” is Orange County’s own Howard Ahmanson, Jr., a close friend of trustee Tom Fuentes, and, it seems, a proponent of Church=State. See Stoning gay people to death.

• TODAY'S CONTRA PALAVERITIES.

(Check out my post today on Contra PalaVerities: To the undergraduate ear. If a philosopher lectures about "A-ness," his students might hear something else.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Massachusetts and California do not have Marriage Equality! Marriage Equality is having ALL of the rights of marriage, including the 1138 federal marriage rights, not a legal category labeled "marriage" which is devoid of those rights. Barak Obama supports granting “civil unions and other legally-recognized unions" (including domestic partnerships and marriage) the 1138 federal rights of marriage. Presently, that includes 10 states! That would be Marriage Equality! Who cares what it is called? The vast majority of the LGBT community is more interested in their rights than the title.

The backlash to our marriage-only strategy has brought us an entirely new body of anti-gay laws: the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and 45 states passing laws or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. 17 of those laws/constitutional amendments went further by also prohibiting civil unions and domestic partnerships. However, domestic partnerships and civil unions have never been successfully reversed on a direct challenge. The difference between California's same-sex marriage and California's comprehensive domestic partnerships is moot. When will our community start putting reality before rhetoric? True Marriage Equality can only be won in the US Congress, signed by the President. That is where we should be focusing our energies.

www.EqualityWithoutMarriage.org

Chino Blanco said...

This Thursday, August 14th, from 5:30 p.m - 8:30 p.m. at 2020 Main Street, Irvine, California:

ACTION ALERT: Tell the Right-Wing Consultants NO to Prop 8!

Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...