The Reg can't win

Today, Orange Juice’s Larry Gilbert—some kinda Tea Partier, I think—reported on yesterday's Veterans Memorial dedication at Saddleback College:

Veterans Memorial Dedication Saddleback College

That OJ crew is nothing if not querulous. Gilbert made a point of carping about the OC Register’s coverage of the event:

I think the Register reporter needs to walk with me at the next event they cover. For some reason I actually counted the chairs and those standing in the rear and sides of this quad. There were 1,000 attendees, not 500 as reported in today’s Register, but that should not take away from the success of this event.

Check out the peevish comments at the end of Gilbert's post.

Bye

Some Students Want Out of Arizona (Chronicle of Higher Education)

The University of Arizona's president said Thursday that the institution is losing some top students because of the state's new immigration law, a law many view as encouraging ethnic profiling and other forms of discrimination against Latinos. President Robert E. Shelton released a letter in which he said: "We have already begun to feel an impact from SB1070. The families of a number of out-of-state students (to date all of them honors students) have told us that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states. This should sadden anyone who cares about attracting the best and brightest students to Arizona." A spokesman for Arizona State University said that institution has received "several phone calls of applicants saying they won't come now."

Veterans Memorial at Saddleback College

Veterans Memorial dedicated at college (OC Reg)

Though it's just burnt-orange bricks and meticulously made waterfalls from afar, the monument up close is the visualization of the struggles and victories of those who live and those who died for this country.

The quad at Saddleback College was standing-room only Thursday – over 500 people strong – for the dedication of that monument, the college's Veterans Memorial, a football-shaped sculpture 14 feet high and 90 feet long highlighted by water features and life-size silhouettes of a soldier in full gear.

Each brick was created on campus, and the installation was completed with the help of people at the college and in the community.

The official unveiling of the $400,000 sculpture, designed by Saddleback art professor Richard White and ceramicist Fred Olsen, was attended by representatives for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, lawmakers, active and former members of the armed services and college students and staff.

A flag donated by the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 785, which was flown over Washington, D.C., and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, was raised over the monument during the dedication. That flag will have a permanent home in the college's Student Center.

Originally conceived in 2004 and intended to be a memorial for those who lost their lives in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the scope of the project was expanded to include veterans and active service members.

Construction began about two years ago and though the monument has been unveiled, about $75,000 of its cost still needs to be raised, mostly through families purchasing bricks, stones or benches to commemorate loved ones.

"This is about the veterans; you don't want to put a lot of your own ego into it," White said. "We tried not to. We wanted to make it something people could put their own meaning to."

Jason Huebner of Laguna Niguel, who served in the Navy during Operation Desert Storm, said the sculpture lets veterans know their efforts don't go unnoticed.

"Anything we can do to not forget our past is going to help us in the future," he said.

Laguna Niguel resident Raymond Constantino, a veteran who recently completed two deployments in six years with the Navy, attends Saddleback and praised the college for keeping servicemen and women in mind.

"It's absolutely an honor to be recognized, especially at a college that I go to," he said. "It's good to remember the people that served, the people that are serving and the people that will be serving."

As the ceremony came to a close, people walked through the monument, took pictures and read the inscriptions of those whose names have been recorded in the bricks.

"I'm really proud we did it," said Michael Milberg of Mission Viejo, who helped craft the structure. "I'm kind of surprised all of these people came to see what I worked on."

Obituary of the Day: Nazi Child Molester Evangelical Preacher and Pinochet Supporter Finally Dies

Just the first paragraph is stunning enough, but read on.

from the Los Angeles Times:

Paul Schaefer dies at 89; Nazi founded Chilean colony

Paul Schaefer, a former Nazi Luftwaffe medic who founded a secretive, commune-like colony of German immigrants in Chile, died of heart failure Saturday in a Chilean prison where he was serving time for child molestation and human rights abuses dating to the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. He was 89.

Schaefer immigrated to Chile from his native Germany in 1961 and started Colonia Dignidad, or Dignity Colony, a strictly regimented enclave 210 miles south of Santiago that was home to several hundred Germans and Chileans.

According to witnesses' testimony in court documents, Schaefer allowed Pinochet's security forces to operate a clandestine prison on the grounds where they detained, tortured and executed dissidents during the 1973-1990 military dictatorship.

Colony members say he ruled them cruelly as well. Married couples were forced to live apart, and children were separated from parents. Residents were prevented from leaving. Those who angered Schaefer were subject to electric shocks, high doses of tranquilizers and long periods of isolation.

Many "became real slaves of Schaefer, like robots dedicated only to obey his orders and not displease him," members said in a newspaper ad they took out in 2006 acknowledging human rights abuses at the colony and asking for forgiveness. The colony is now called Villa Baviera.

There were also dozens of allegations of child molestation, leading Schaefer to flee the country in 1997. He was arrested in neighboring Argentina in 2005 and extradited back to Chile the same year.

Schaefer was convicted in 2006 of sexually abusing 20 children who attended the colony's school and clinic. He was sentenced to 20 years, plus three additional years for an illegal weapons conviction.

In two separate cases in 2008, Schaefer received more prison time for the torture of seven colony residents and for the fatal poisoning of a renegade security agent during the dictatorship.

After his World War II service, Schaefer became an evangelical preacher. He fled Germany after being accused of molesting boys at the orphanage he ran.

This is the kind of thing that make Rebel Girl want to drive on over to the Richard M. Nixon Library in nearby Yorba Linda just to see once again what kind of present Pinochet gave to Nixon.

She remembers the gift - or a description of it - being on display in a room dedicated to such gift from foreign heads of state and dignitaries who were near and dear to Tricky Dick. You know, like his pal, the Shah of Iran who offered up a tapestry portrait of Nixon in a cloisonne design wooden frame.


Or maybe she'd peruse the the Nixon Library's Pinochet Files themselves. To see what's available, click here.

*

Tea: the last beverage of scoundrels

"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel."
                  —Samuel Johnson

WHITHER MATHUR? On Monday, the SOCCCD BOT passed a resolution honoring Dr. Eddie Hernandez, retiring chancellor of the Rancho Santiago Community College District. Good for them.

It is reasonable to suppose that our own soon-to-be-unemployed Chancellor, Raghu Mathur, might be interested in the soon-to-be-available RSCCD Chance gig.

–And the Capo gig (no firm verification yet that Mathur was a finalist in the search for a new Superintendent).

BTW, I’ve heard (from an insider) that Capo has hired its new Superintendent and will make an announcement perhaps on Monday.

It’s not Mathur.

DON WAGNER, TEA PARTIER? Did you know that our own Don Wagner is a Tea Partier?

Well, evidently he is. Nearly two weeks ago, Larry Gilbert of the Orange Juice blog posted a recap of the Mission Viejo TEA Party of April 15. Gilbert, apparently an idiot, describes the event as a huge and glorious success. Garsh, he says, the dang OC Reg underestimated attendance. “Three different participant,” he notes, told him that the crowd was larger than last year. In some areas, he says, “patriots” were “crammed together 4 or 5 deep….”

Tea Partiers call themselves “patriots.” As I recall, those Liberty Lobby bozos that descended upon the district twelve or thirteen years ago also called themselves “patriots.”

You know what Samuel Johnson said about patriotism. Yeah.

Gilbert is sensitive to the charge that some Tea Partiers are racists:

[MC] Mark [Dobrilovic] opened [by] saying this isn’t about black and white. This is not a racist event. In fact he said the first person we will go after is a white Republican foreigner named Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Foreigner? Is there something wrong with Americans born in another country?

Like I said, Gilbert is an idiot. Dobrilovic too.

Upon noting that the crowd listened to the “patriotic music of Charlie Daniels and Lee Greenwood,” Gilbert lists the “event speakers,” including “Assembly Candidate” Don Wagner.

I wonder if Don is a “birfer” too?

Who you callin’ worthless?!

Tustin base project called worthless

Two units of J.F. Shea Co. say they want to back out of a deal to develop an 820-acre parcel at the former Tustin Marine air base, saying that falling land values make it impossible to build homes, shops, offices and a hotel in today’s economy.

Shea maintains that land once valued at $236 million is now valued near zero, one city official said.
. . .
The development is the biggest project at the 1,600-acre air base. Plans included 2,105 housing units, up to 6.7 million square feet of office, retail and inudstrial [sic] space and a 500-room hotel. Development is to be built around a two-mile-long linear park. ¶ The first blow to the project came in April 2007 when an earlier partner, Centex Corp., backed out of the partnership….(Continued)

Schwarzenegger Promises to Veto Future Cuts to California Colleges (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Mentor and friend and wacko

I FORGOT TO MENTION one funny moment during last night’s board meeting. Saddleback College’s "Utt" library is going through renovation. The building is named after a notorious OC Congressman.

Trustee Tom Fuentes therefore found it necessary to announce that “James B. Utt was a mentor and friend in my youth….”

Why, of course he was!

According to Wikipedia, “one of [Utt’s] unachieved goals was to remove the United States from the United Nations.” Further, he “voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1960, 1964, and 1968, and against the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”

Further,

In 1963, [Utt] claimed that "a large contingent of barefooted Africans" might be training in Georgia as part of a United Nations military exercise to take over the United States. [See OC Almanac.] In that same year, he also claimed that black Africans may be training in Cuba to invade the United States.

Other than that, he was a really swell guy.

Dave "Quisling" Lang participates in Treasurer face-off on KOCE

"Um, what makes you qualified, College Boy?"
"Well, I am a bean counter. An Irvine bean counter."
"Yeah?"
"Absolutely."

SEE Poll: Who won the treasurers debate?

As of this moment, 90% of Reg readers judge that Mr. Rodenhuis won. 10% judge that Ms. Freidenrich won.

Nobody thinks that Bean Boy won.

So they tell me

MORE RIGHT-WING POLITICS. A source tells me that IVC's Performing Arts Center (PAC) was rented this past Sunday. He says that he is under the impression that the PAC people thought it was an earthquake event. Instead it was a Republican Party Rally -– including Trustee Don Wagner, local candidates, etc. I’ll seek confirmation. UPDATE: an anonymous person emailed me to say that "they were told it was a mtng about water issues - which it was - it just also became a rally." I did some looking, and it appears that the event concerned the California "water crisis." The issue is very popular among the "patriot" or Tea Party crowd. See, e.g., "California Water Crisis." 

As far as I know, political groups are entitled to rent the PAC. On the other hand, we sure do see lots of right-wingery in this district. Doesn't look good.

MR. GOO AT CAPO? Another source tells me that a reliable friend insists that Raghu Mathur is a finalist for the Superintendent job at CAPO (i.e., the Capistrano Unified School District). Again, I’ll seek confirmation.

Education Alliance is the right-wing political group that hovers in the background of the CAPO board's policies and actions--at the very least EA is a major funder of CAPO trustee campaigns--and Mathur has connections with EA. Gosh, I hope the CAPO teachers union knows about this (well, if it's true).

UPDATE: I recall a meeting two or three years ago in which Mathur referred to his attendance of an Education Alliance gathering. So I checked the SOCCCD website and found the September 07 Board Meeting Highlights. There, we're informed that

Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur...thanked Trustee Wagner for inviting him to the Education Alliance dinner....

UPDATE #2: for the Spring '08 SOCCCD "Chancellor's Opening Session," Mathur invited Lance Izumi as his special guest.

Izumi is on the Director of Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute (PRI). PRI and Izumi appear to be aligned with the Education Alliance-affiliated trustees of CAPO.

Back in December of 2009, we posted Trojan horses in public schools, a portion of which follows:

TODAY, the Reg reported that

A libertarian think-tank that prominently features the Capistrano Unified School District in a documentary about how the U.S. public school system is broken will screen its 49-minute film this afternoon on Capitol Hill. [The documentary] recounts a five-year effort by the CUSD Recall Committee parents group to bring reforms to a school district plagued by scandal, community unrest and allegations of corruption reaching into the highest levels of its administration.… The 2:30 p.m. screening will be hosted by two leading GOP lawmakers....

Co-hosting the screening will be the film's executive producer, Lance Izumi, and [the director]….

Lance Izumi? Does that name sound familiar? It should. Izumi was Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur’s super-special guest speaker at the Spring ’08 “Opening Session.” He was co-billed with Elvis. Remember?

The filmmakers highlight the much-criticized construction of Capistrano's sprawling district office building, the grand jury indictment of a former superintendent, and the unpopular decision to build a high school on a hilly site bordered by high-voltage transmission lines, landfills and a high-pressure gasoline pipeline.

The filmmakers also traveled to Nashville, Tenn., to profile a family's unhappiness with local public schools, to Sweden to examine that country's school voucher system, and to Oakland to chronicle the turnaround of an inner-city charter school.
...
Several Capistrano trustees who ran on the CUSD Recall Committee's "reform" platform attended the May premiere of the film, drawing ire from critics who questioned why public school officials were apparently supporting a film calling for sweeping reforms to public education, including school choice [i.e., programs allowing parents to spend government vouchers on private schools].

That is mighty strange, isn’t it? Public school officials in favor of the private school “voucher” concept? Gee willikers! It's almost perverse!

Tonight's board meeting: we need a billion

First, check out Tracy's always colorful Board Meeting Highlights!

NOTHING earth-shattering occurred at tonight's meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees. Tom Fuentes asked that the discussion of the "nepotism" report be put off until next month. There was some push-back—the board was not pressed for time—but Fuentes got nasty, glowering and repeating his request, and so Wagner relented.

Predictably, much attention was paid to Saddleback College's securing of the Men’s State Basketball Championship. Briefly commenting on the team, the coach said that they weren’t the most talented team there (ouch!), but they worked very hard, etc. T-shirts were distributed. The trustees permitted themselves big smiles and enthusiasm.

Bob Cosgrove, whose tenure as Saddleback's Academic Senate President is coming to an end, again noted the absence of an apostrophe in the golden phrase hovering above trustees' heads: "Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Room." Wagner offered a mock slow burn.

During his report, Trustee Fuentes noted that he recently gave a speech at Tulane U (in Louisiana). After his speech, said Tom, a 5-year student came up to him to say, “You are the first conservative speaker that I have had the opportunity to hear in my college studies.” Fuentes intoned that this fact does not reflect well on academia.

The discussion of the consultant/committee's recommendations for a few (non-radical) changes in the Chancellor hire brochure caused some sparks between Fuentes and Wagner. Fuentes took the opportunity to issue some (perhaps unwarranted) "told you so's" and referred to the majority's rushing through the process, but Wagner couldn't let that go unchallenged. There's been no rush; everything is going as per plan, he said, echoed by Marcia Milchiker. Very cool.

The report concerning capital and scheduled maintenance needs (over the next twenty years) was "sobering," to use Mathur's term. (Mathur said virtually nothing during the meeting, and he didn't look good.) It appears that we'll need close to a billion dollars (for the twenty year period). That means that we're gonna have to get seriously creative to pull together that kind of scratch. Some guy named "Dante" (sans Inferno) dazzled us with a dozen or so cool (or hinky?) revenue-producing ideas, but, in the end, he seemed to say we'll have to raise taxes just a little bit to make that billion we need.

This board hates the "T" word.

Asked Fuentes, "Is a little bit of tax increase like a little bit pregnant?" He added that he was quite serious.

Nope. No slippery slope here, said Dante.

That didn't go down well. Fuentes glared.

One of the revenue ideas was inspired by something that board already does. If the district were to put aside $20 million of basic aid per year, that would add up to $400 million (in the twenty year period).

Mathur piped up to suggest that the colleges must pursue much more online instruction--something that goes beyond merely adding more classes. Raghu didn't sound like a "bricks and mortar" guy at all.

I'll have more tomorrow. Maybe.


THIS JUST IN:

Capistrano Unified teacher strike is over

The 5-day-old strike standoff between the Capistrano Unified School District and its teachers union ended late Monday, with the two sides coming to a tentative mutual agreement that will end three days of teacher picketing.

“We are really, really happy for our teachers and our schools, to have our family back together again,” school board President Anna Bryson said of the agreement that was reached about 11:30 p.m. “It’s a really wonderful feeling to know our kids will have their teachers.”

Details of the agreement were not immediately available, but Bryson said the school board was pleased with the outcome and that teachers would all return to their classrooms Tuesday....

Community College Association (CCA) supports CUEA

Over the weekend: I do believe the occasion was the CCA Board Spring Conference (April 23-25) at the Rio in Las Vegas.

CCA is the higher education affiliate of the California Teacher's Association (CTA). The SOCCCD Faculty Association (aka the faculty union), of course, is an affiliate of CCA and thus CTA.

Saddleback College's Ken Woodward addresses the group, making a plea for support of CUEA (the Capo Unified Education Association)--a resolution and cash.

In the end, the body supports the resolution (for CUEA) and increases the financial support from the proposed $2000 amount to $5000.

Striking union calls trustees 'inconsistent' (OC Reg)
NEA message of support for CUEA

Some Scenes from the Festival of Books

Another sunny weekend at the LA Times Festival of Books. UCLA always looks its best.

Rebel Girl with IVC students Henry Pruette, Michele McCormick and Benjamin Hernandez Lang. 

Michele McCormick opened the DimeStories reading. 

Henry Pruette closed it. 

Quiet, playful moments in the sculpture garden.

Red Emma represented Santa Monica College and broadcast live from the KPFK booth on Sunday. Here he is with literary agent BJ Robbins. 

Signs of protest everywhere.

*

He's making a list and checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty and nice

SATAN BOY IS COMING TO FROWN. I skimmed through the agenda for Monday's meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees. I found a few things that might interest DtB readers.

• $25K FOR G.O.P.'s GREER. We've reported the curious fact that Chancellor Raghu Mathur got some seriously pricey representation when he negotiated the terms of his exit from the district. Pricey—and unethical. I'm talking about defense attorney to the corrupt and incompetent OC GOP politicians (Street, Williams, et al.), Phil Greer.

He was paid $25,000 of taxpayer money for his work.

Gosh. That's seems like an awful lot.

The payment is reflected in item 5.10, "payment of bills." Check it out:

• POERTNER RETIRING. Among "Academic Personnel actions" (6.7) are some resignations:

That's right. Gary Poertner is set to retire. Rumors have been flying that Gary has been, or will be, asked to serve as interim Chancellor should things go badly with the current Chancellor search. Maybe. In any case, it does appear that he's planning for retirement.

• UNION PROPOSAL. 6.9 is the faculty union's proposal re the contract. Tomorrow night, the public will have an opportunity to comment on the FA's proposed changes (see exhibit A below):

• CRONY BOY SEEKS NEPOTISCULAR SIN. Trustee Tom Fuentes is nothing if not contemptuous of public education and its employees. Naturally, therefore, much of what he does and says amounts to tossing red meat to his clueless Neanderthalic constituency, who readily believe charges of instructular corruption of youth, 15-hour work weeks, and devil worship.

Recently, Fuentes requested a report on "nepotism." Item 7.1 is that report. Here is its summary:

If you'd like to peruse the report's lists of alleged heinous SOCCCD nepotizers, go to pages 237-243 of the agenda, which can be downloaded at the district website. (At the home page, look for the blue box at right. See "click here for current agenda.")

Well, I will mention one interesting name that I came across. Evidently, IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore's father-in-law works for IVC as a "certified test proctor." I did not know that.

• RICH RETIREES. Another report requested by Trustee Fuentes is a list of SOCCCD retirees who receive at least $100,000 annually. (Pensions for public employees has become a major Republican sore point in recent months.) Here it is:

Almost all of these people were administrators. There are some faculty names here too. At least two of them were in the gang of secretive and ruthless creeps who controlled the faculty union in the mid-to-late 90s and who brought us a dozen years of "conservative board majority" dominance.

Gosh thanks.

Raghu Mathur was an important member of that group. Steve Frogue was his pal. That's how he got the IVC Presidency gig, despite having zero experience as a full-time administrator and a history of unprofessional and unethical conduct.

Among this gang's achievements: making sure that senior faculty were well taken care of at retirement. How about new hires? --No so much.

• BASIC AID DWINDLING. Item 7.5 is the "Basic Aid Report." Until recently, the district received about $50 million a year in Basic Aid money. Here's the projection for the future:

Strike: to be continued

Capistrano teachers’ strike may continue into next week ( LA Times)
Talks failed to resolve issues. Negotiations are to resume Saturday, but the teachers union chief is not optimistic.

Strike update: Talks resume Saturday (OC Reg)
Day 2 of settlement talks between the Capistrano Unified School District and its striking teachers ended Friday afternoon without a resolution, although the two sides were expected to reconvene Saturday afternoon. ¶ District and union bargaining teams met for about four hours Friday, ending just after 6 p.m., but had nothing to report, a union spokesman said. ¶ A loud but peaceful crowd protests in support of teachers as seen from Capistrano Unified headquarters in San Juan Capistrano. Capo attendance drops to 30% in Day 2 of the teacher's strike. ¶ If an agreement can’t be hashed out this weekend, the district’s teachers union says teachers will return to the picket lines Monday

*Photos "borrowed" from Gila

Capo strike closely watched across state

“I am the most outgoing person on this campus”

What’s this about “homecoming” at Irvine Valley College?

Isn’t that a high school thing?

It is. I avoided all such activities in high school--nearly forty years ago now--preferring to hang with the nonconformists. (Of course, I was never invited to join the conformists. They did not notice me.)

We listened to Jethro Tull. We did not flourish. We only survived.

I seem to recall contemning those kids, real joiners, who went in for dances, clubs, and student government. Especially student government. We knew enough to hate freakin' student government. We probably couldn't say why. I don't recall.

I'm trying to remember. I sensed that, somehow, some kids—the smart and “active” ones—recognized a fork in the road ahead and saw immediately that one path was for “winners”—those who accept how the elite rides upon the backs of, or simply proceeds oblivious to the needs of, the “losers.” What disturbed me, I think, was my sense that, for the winners, there never was any question about which road to take; further, these winners moved quickly and quietly along their way, escaping guilt, like a Victorian lady who, upon accidentally observing the horrors or misery on which her privileged life rests, hurries along and soon thinks about proper things.

High school. That was a very long time ago. Long story short, these days, it is easy for me to like young people, almost all of them, despite and even because of their folly.

Still, I do seem to encounter students who remind me of that long-ago type and that long-ago feeling. These students are a special breed, I guess. They always seem to know just what to do. They are confident. They have no doubts. They are always busy, busy, busy. A blur.

What's the matter with 'em?

* * * * *

I went to IVC’s webpage and found a page entitled 2010 Homecoming Court Nominees.

It lists, first, the “Homecoming King Nominees,” their photographs, and their statements—designed, evidently, to persuade students to vote for them.

Mr. AU, we’re told, “plans on majoring in business management….” Clearly, AU does not “plan on” majoring in English. Like all of the nominees, he describes a life of activities and memberships that no one person could possibly manage unless he were insane. His statement closes with this odd remark: “One of his favorite activities…is spending all day at Disneyland and loves Tigger!”

Mr. EL’s statement tends to lapse into vacuousness. “If you guys vote for me,” he chirps, “I will smile.” The latter sentence ends, not with a period, but with a smiley face emoticon. Upon depositing a remarkably stark ESLism, he lists his many offices and activities—again, there are too many—and then ends with “Thank you! God Bless You all :)”

Mr. PM, pictured squatting in the grass wearing a black Stetson, tells us: “I am the most outgoing person on this campus.” He oversees “35 clubs.” (How is that possible?) “One day,” he writes, “I aspire to become a police officer.”

He ends with a non sequitur: “My hobbies include surfing, dirt biking, and horse riding. Pretty much anything that deals with the outdoors. So vote for me as your next homecoming king!!”

Do you suppose he really means “so”? If so, what could he possibly be thinking?

Mr. RC asserts that he loves “any and all outdoor activities,” including, oddly, “computers.” He busies himself with “connections and networking” and works at the Student Recreation Lounge, which evidently pulses with activity and new faces. He would be honored, he says, to be “the face of IVC for the 2010 Homecoming King.”

The face for the King?

The “Homecoming Queen Nominees” are an attractive bunch.

Miss AG explains that she has attended IVC “for quite some time now.” Despite many obstacles, “she has always known that Irvine Valley College was her home, and that she could turn to her friends and professors here when needed.” Like the others, she seems to be insanely busy, what with two jobs, theatre productions, the vice presidency of one club and the presidency of another.

Miss JH asserts: “I am bright, friendly and outgoing.” Her passion is criminal justice, which developed “over the many years of watching Law and Order SVU.” She works at a restaurant, participates in student government, and volunteers at a shelter. Whew!

Miss KH boldly explains what homecoming queen means to her: it reflects “Irvine Valley College’s tradition of excellence in providing outstanding faculty, staff, departments, organizations and events for student success.” (Whoa!) She seems to run IVC’s cheer team/club. She’s in the Honors Program. She volunteers at the Child Development Center. She works for charities. She helps take care of her great grandmother.

Finally, Miss JJ explains that she expects eventually to earn a doctorate in “Corporate Law.” She “shows dedication and passion,” she says. She is in many programs and is a member of several clubs. She volunteers at a rescue mission. She’s working on a novel. She appears to be doing ten or twenty things. How? Why?

She ends by saying that she “has a soap collection of little bars of soap shaped like animals and famous landmarks. She likes penguins, singing in the shower and walks on the beach (haha).”

Five of these eight kids appear to be “ethnic,” as they say, representing four or five cultures. But all eight of them seem to be essentially the same impossible and inexplicable kid, whirring aggressively, confidently, unimpeded by thought or worry.

Good grief.

In the shuffling madness

Of the locomotive breath,

Runs the all-time loser,

Headlong to his death.

He feels the piston scraping --

Steam breaking on his brow --

Old Charlie stole the handle and

The train won't stop going --

No way to slow down.

He sees his children jumping off

At the stations -- one by one.

His woman and his best friend --

In bed and having fun.

He's crawling down the corridor

On his hands and knees --

Old Charlie stole the handle and

The train won't stop going --

No way to slow down.

He hears the silence howling --

Catches angels as they fall.

And the all-time winner

Has got him by the balls.

He picks up Gideon's Bible --

Open at page one --

God stole the handle and

The train won't stop going --

No way to slow down. -- 1971

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

I am a dull and simple lad

Can not tell water from champagne

And I have never met the Queen

And I wish I could have all that he has got

I wish I could be like David Watts

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

And when I lie on my pillow at night

I dream I could fight like David Watts

Lead the school team to victory

And take my exams and pass the lot

(Wish I could be)

Wish I could be like David Watts

(Wish I could be)

Wish I could be like David Watts

(Wish I could be)

Conduct my life like David Watts

(Wish I could be)

I wish I could be like David Watts

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

He is the head boy at the school

He is the captain of the team

He is so gay and fancy free

And I wish all his money belonged to me

I wish I could be like David Watts

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

And all the girls in the neighborhood

Try to go out with David Watts

They try their best but can't succeed

For he is of pure and noble breed

Wish I could be like

Wish I could be like

Wish I could be like

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa

Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa (1967)

Day 2

Strike Day 2: Capo attendance drops to 30% (OC Reg)

Capistrano Unified schools are refining their operations and adjusting their lesson plans for students on Day 2 of a teacher strike that has crippled many programs and pushed attendance rates below even Thursday’s levels.

Orange County teachers strike continues into second day [Updated] (LA Times)

More teachers joined the strike Friday morning compared with the first day, according to district spokeswoman Julie Hatchel. ¶ About 200 classroom teachers — 11% of the teachers — crossed picket lines to get to their classrooms, down from 12% Thursday. Nearly 600 substitute teachers were hired to supervise classrooms. ¶ Attendance in the 51,000-pupil district was down substantially on Friday. High school attendance was 10%, down from 23% on Thursday; middle school attendance was 27%, down from 39%; and elementary school attendance was 45%, down from 48%.

Tea Party: Don’t Know Much About History

The Tea Party Challenge (Inside Higher Ed)

When considering the political scene of the moment, it is difficult not to see how historical allegory plays an important role in the public spectacle known as the Tea Party movement. From the name itself, an acronym (Taxed Enough Already) that fuses current concerns to a patriotic historical moment, to the oral and written references by some of its members to Stalin and Hitler, the Tea Party appears to be steeped (sorry) in history. However, one has only to listen to a minute of ranting to know that what we really are talking about is either a deliberate misuse or a sad misunderstanding of history.

Misuse implies two things: first, that the Partiers themselves know that they are attempting to mislead, and second, that the rest of us share an understanding of what accurate history looks like. Would that this were true. Unfortunately, there is little indication that the new revolutionaries possess more than a rudimentary knowledge of American or world history, and there is even less reason to think that the wider public is any different. Such ignorance allows terms like communism, socialism, and fascism to be used interchangeably by riled-up protesters while much of the public, and, not incidentally, the media, nods with a fuzzy understanding of the negative connotations those words are supposed to convey (of course some on the left are just as guilty of too-liberally applying the “fascist” label to any policy of which they do not approve). It also allows the Tea Partiers to believe that their situation – being taxed with representation – somehow warrants use of "Don’t Tread On Me" flags and links their dissatisfaction with a popularly elected president to that of colonists chafing under monarchical rule….(Continued)

Earth Day Celebration at Irvine Valley College

Evidently, I missed the third act, which (readers report) was excellent. Had a class to teach. But I liked the first two, which are represented here. Anybody know the bands' names?

Just sayin’

I just noticed a recent article in the OC Reg: Hispanic Chamber holds annual dinner

Ron Gonzales reports, among other things, the latest accomplishments of our own Rebel Girl:

Lisa Alvarez, a professor of English at Irvine Valley College, contributed a short story to the recently released "Sudden Fiction Latino: Short-Short Stories from the United States and Latin America." ¶ The editors of the anthology settled on a 1,500-word limit for the 60 stories in the book, and combed through a variety of sources to find the works. Contributors include Junot Díaz, Sandra Cisneros, Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende.

Alvarez said her work, "Cielito Lindo," deals with the tentative reconciliation between a daughter and a father.

In addition to writing and teaching, Alvarez hosts an Orange County literary arts blog at http://themarkonthewall.blogspot.com/

So, um, the Reg has no problem celebrating the career and achievements of the Reb. Just sayin'.

UPDATE ON STRIKE:

5:40 UPDATE: Attendance plunges during Capo strike

Student attendance plunged well below 50 percent across the Capistrano Unified School District on Thursday as hundreds of teachers picketed outside schools, but there still weren’t enough substitute teachers to go around and at least one high school was reportedly vandalized by unsupervised students.
. . .
Initial attendance figures released Thursday afternoon indicate about 52 percent of elementary students were absent, plus about 59 percent of middle school students and about 76 percent of high school students. The district cautioned, however, that the figures were preliminary and subject to change….