Remember Dan Froomkin?

• OC Weekly’s Nick Schou reports (Washington Post fires ex-Register scribe turned White House watcher) that former OC Reg reporter Dan Froomkin has been let go by the Washington Post:

Dan Froomkin...who is best known as the author of the Washington Post's widely-read White House Watch blog, is out of work. According to a story today by Politico blogger Michael Calderone, the Post apparently decided to let Froomkin go because it no longer felt the need for his column. Froomkin drew ire from the Post's conservative readers for his tough coverage of the Bush White House as well as his perceived pandering to President Obama.

Some of you will recall that Froomkin was the reporter who exposed student and parent complaints concerning Steve Frogue’s teaching at Foothill High. According to numerous students, Frogue, a history instructor, repeatedly denied the Holocaust and made racially insensitive remarks. Actually, I think that Froomkin’s article came after Ked Francis’ interview of Frogue, in Irvine Valley College’s Voice, in which Frogue expressed approval of the Institute for Historical Review’s publications and voiced skepticism of the usually-reported extent of the Holocaust. That’s right. IVC used to have a newspaper, and it occasionally did some great work. Let's hope Froomkin finds another gig soon. As I recall, according to former SOCCCD trustee Harriett Walther, after Froomkin's article came out, during board meetings, Frogue would refer to Froomkin, enunciating his name in a deliberately leisurely fashion—allegedly to draw attention to its Jewishness.

• REMEMBER KIMBERLY KINDY? I noticed that, these days, Kimberly Kindy is a staff writer for the Washington Post. For several years, as the OC Reg "education" reporter, she covered the various scandals and issues regarding our district, especially stories concerning Raghu P. Mathur.

• REMEMBER THE ECONOMY?

UCI workers face possible 8% pay cut (OC Register)

UC Irvine faculty and staff could have their pay cut by 8 percent, unless they earn $46,000 or less, in which case the cut would be 4 percent, says University of California President Mark Yudof. Yudof issued a letter … that says the cuts are needed at all 10 UC campuses to help balance the state budget, which currently has a $24.3 billion deficit. It’s possible that the pay cuts would be smaller; the Legislature could raise taxes and create other forms of revenue to soften the blow. But that would take a two-thirds majority vote by lawmakers, and the public soundly defeated ballot initiatives in March that would have raised some additional public revenue….

• REMEMBER THAT EMERITUS STORY?

As of 5:00 today, the number of angry comments that Monday’s story about Emeritus fitness courses has garnered is over 40. Sheesh.

REMEMBER CHIP BERLET?

In a post earlier today (On the alleged importance of presenting "opposing points of view"), I noted that the “experts” that Trustee Steve Frogue had invited to his 1997 “Warren Commission” (JFK assassination) forum were, well, crackpots. I recalled that noted author, Gerald Posner, for one, had made that point in an LA Times article. I decided to look up the article. Found it. It reminded me that Chip Berlet, senior analyst at Boston’s Political Research Associates, expressed the same view: LA Times (front page) 8/21/97 O.C. College Course Claims JFK By Michael Granberry

…Chip Berlet, who has studied the assassination extensively and is a senior analyst at Political Research Associates, a nonprofit think tank in Somerville, Mass., that examines authoritarian thinking, laughed upon hearing the names of [Frogue’s] panel of experts. "Oh, get out of here!" Berlet said. "You couldn't find ... more embarrassing conspiracists in America. Even among conspiracy theorists, these people represent the outer limits." … The speakers, [author Gerald] Posner said, "are not even mainstream conspiracy theorists. This is the very edge of what passes for somewhat sane discussion, and I find it even more egregious based on the sense of false history they espouse. Clearly, this is the most inflammatory and least supportable edge of that false history."

Well, oddly enough, as I was driving home from the gym tonight, I tuned in to Fresh Air, and Terry’s guest was none other than Chip Berlet: Extremism, Conspiracy Theory And Murder Fresh Air from WHYY, June 18, 2009 ·

Chip Berlet has studied extremism, conspiracy theories and hate groups for more than 25 years. In a recent report for PublicEye.org, he says that the murders of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller and Holocaust Museum guard Stephen T. Johns exemplify the potential for violence that often lurks within extremist groups. Berlet argues that right-wing pundits share some of the moral responsibility for the actions of their followers. He summarizes the analysis in his report in a June 10 Huffington Post article about Johns' murder: "Apocalyptic aggression is fueled by right-wing pundits who demonize scapegoated groups and individuals in our society, implying that it is urgent to stop them from wrecking the nation."

You can hear the whole interview by using the above link. Check it out!