Tuesday, October 20, 2009

"The basis of governance is our creator," he said

Hey, wasn’t it just two weeks ago that we celebrated “banned books” week? Sure.

I noted at the time that the OC is a book banning hotspot.

Well, guess what?

Today, the Reg reports that, last night, right-winger and former Westminster School District trustee Judy Ahrens addressed the Huntington Beach City Council, reading from Maya Angelou’s celebrated "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' which describes the rape of an 8-year-old girl. (Trustee: Ban Maya Angelou autobiography from libraries.)

Ahrens urged banning the book.

She wasn’t alone, natch. She was joined by Ocean View School District Trustee John Briscoe. He’s quoted as saying: "I am here to speak on behalf of the helpless children currently subject to inappropriate reading material in our local public schools.”

The Huntington Beach City Council didn't seem to think much of these two. I think they blew 'em off.

Briscoe became an OVSD trustee in 2006, and since then, he’s made quite a nuisance of himself. According to the Reg, his district “has spent more than $27,000 in legal fees answering his questions about the district and its schools.”

Guess who thinks that banning Angelou’s book is a bad idea? Well, it is none other than Don Wagner’s favorite punching bag (after Hanoi Jane), the American Library Association:
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,'' published in 1970, is a memoir tracing Angelou's childhood.... The theme of the book is using "the power of education and literature to save oneself from a bad living situation and overcoming adversity," said Deborah Caldwell, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom with the American Library Association. ¶ "There is this rape scene in the book but it is part of the larger theme where the character overcomes such obstacles to become a better person," she said. "Denying the entire community access to the book is a real issue especially when it is a publicly funded library."
Sure, but this is Orange County.

We first encountered Judy Ahrens back in 2004, when the OC Weekly chose Ahrens and some of her colleagues as the third scariest people in the county:
We keep explaining to anyone, including The New York Times, that OC’s reactionary rep is outdated hooey. But then the Weird Sisters of the Westminster School Board come along.

Roll call! Helena Rutkowski once said school libraries have too many books on Judaism. Judy Ahrens calls the teachers’ union “Communist” and talks about how her “rewards are going to be great in Heaven” by defying state law. And Blossie Marquez-Woodcock...has offered varying accounts of phony educational degrees before finally admitting all her degrees are from now-defunct, unaccredited ministerial colleges.

It all came to a delicious gestalt in March, when the Sisters refused to allow the district to pledge...against discriminating based on one’s perceived gender. The decision nearly cost Westminster $40 million in state and federal aid, but Ahrens justified it on her website by claiming “the legislative gay agenda . . . shortens the lifetime for the average male to 34 years if he becomes gay...just to get that tiny 1 percent vote of the gays the liberals have legislated a shortened life span for your child by approving an alternative lifestyle that is poison.” (OC Weekly)

We first heard about Briscoe a year ago, when the Reg reported
Just a week after the city of Fountain Valley nixed a proposal to display the national motto in Council Chambers, the local school board will discuss whether to display "In God We Trust" in its meeting room.

The Fountain Valley School District trustees will discuss Thursday whether to put a resolution on a future agenda to display the national motto in the boardroom.

The resolution proposed by Ocean View School District Trustee John Briscoe states that the words "In God We Trust" be placed behind the dais in letters 6 inches or taller.

The motto will "have people think about our country and our governance," Briscoe said. It "belongs up there. It reminds them the basis of governance is our creator."

Briscoe said that he wants to eventually bring the resolution to the elected leaders of the Huntington Beach City School District, Huntington Beach Union High School District and the Coast Community College District....

Do you suppose Ahrens/Briscoe and Don Wagner are pals?

How could they not be?

The saga of Hope



Cat lovers, you’ll definitely want to view the saga of Hope the baby bobcat, who was rescued (at four weeks old) by an organization in Florida called Big Cat Rescue. (I don't know their reputation.)

The tiny brat gets bottle fed for a few days, and then it joins a domestic cat and her brood. Hope is fully embraced as just another kitten, but with a stubby tail.

I’ve got episode 1 above. For the remaining episodes (there are 13), go to Hope the bobcat.

Gotta love these fuzzy varmints.

The Eurasian lynx (above) is the biggest of the lynxes (some are over 60 pounds).
The bobcat (lynx rufus) is the smallest (up to 30 pounds).

Bobcat spotted in Irvine:




Youtube: "We were at the San Joaquin Bird Preserve in Irvine, walking along the north side of Pond 4 when this Bobcat came out of the bushes about 50 yards in front of us. We froze and watched in amazement as the Bobcat slowly and calmly walked right toward us. He came within 10 feet and stopped. So we carefully backed up a few feet and he passed by and kept going. We were just thunderstruck."


From Dtb File B
Sunny was under six pounds. Not a bobcat. A brat cat.


From Dissent the Blog
I'm starting to think that TigerAnn (above) is just as much of a brat. She's a little more than six pounds. Loves to hunt.

19th Century Orange County (murders and such)

Pictures from the Orange County Public Library digital archive, which comprises hundreds of photos of "historic" Orange County.

House of Laura A. Mills Woodman where Baptist church was organized (Walter Harper holding horse), Garden Grove; 1896 or 1897.
Walter Harper's Blacksmith Shop was built in 1876 and was originally located on Acacia near Euclid (now Main St.), Garden Grove. (See photo, 1916.)


Mary Ware (early Garden Grove resident) at the beach; Christmas, 1891.


Hitchcock Residence (where Charles & Lois Hitchcock were murdered on January 23, 1888); 1888; Garden Grove.

This “is the home of Charles and Lois Hichcock. In an attempt to gain ownership of their property, the penniless Fred Anschlag murdered them on January 23, 1888. Anschlag was arrested and held in an Anaheim corncrib overnight to evade the lynch mob that had stormed the jail. Anschlag had decided to purchase the Hitchcock place and made a $25 deposit even though he had little in the way of funds. Apparently, his desire for the property outweighed his lack of financial resources. The irony was that Mr. Hitchcock had executted the deed and had it in his possession, ready for delivery, when the murder took place.”
(From “Images of America: Garden Grove.”)


Frank F. Bunker & Walter Bradley Hill (teacher and principal at Garden Grove Grammar School), going to Yosemite; July 1896.

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...