New Public Guardian starts work (OC Reg)

Lyon replaces Williams, who'll continue to be paid by, well, you 'n' me

     Adam Elmahrek of the Voice of OC reports today about John Williams’ replacement (yesterday) as OC Public Guardian:

Supervisors Name New Public Guardian

     The Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday appointed Lucille Lyon, who most recently served as a higher-up in Los Angeles County government, to the vacant public guardian position.
     Lyon replaces John Williams, who held both public guardian and public administrator positions. Earlier this year, Williams was stripped of his public guardian position and resigned as public administrator after long-running allegations that he mismanaged the offices.
. . .
     Most recently, Lyon was a division chief for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and also served as interim deputy director for the department.
     However, in a strange twist, Lyon was passed over as the permanent hire for that position for someone who had worked under Williams, [Supervisor John] Moorlach said. This caused Moorlach to vote no on her appointment.
     "I don't want to have one John Williams problem and replace it with another John Williams problem," Moorlach said.
     Williams was ensnared in controversy beginning in 2009 when two scathing grand jury reports criticized his management of the county agency, which oversees complex estates of those without heirs as well as those of the indigent.
     Later on an appellate court found that Williams mismanaged the estate of deceased Charles "Mask" Lewis. Williams had inappropriately usurped control of the estate, the court found.

CACITYGUY, with whom I am familiar, leaves this comment:

     I really found Moorlach's comments interesting and disturbing. Just because this person did not get the top job for LA County when it was open disqualifies her for the PG job in Orange County? Also, Supervisor Bates makes her come to the podium and state for the "record" that she is not interested in running for the PA job when and if Williams retires in January. What was that all about? Hopefully, Ms. Lyons will clean up the rest of the mess that the BOS and CEO has not done and fire the Chief Deputy, the Personnel Director and the highest paid employee in the department - head of accounting, who is not even an accountant.

     Yesterday, just prior to the BOS vote, OC Weekly’s Matt Coker opined that

     ...John Williams is poised to officially lose for good his Public Guardian role today….
     So, how do OC taxpayers still end up losing? Because Lucille Lyon will get paid to be the Public Guardian while numbnuts Williams continues to draw his full $153,206.40 yearly salary.
     The Orange County Register's Kimberly Edds recently presented the troubling scenario. The Board is to be applauded for its due diligence in getting rid of GOP hackload Williams as the person in charge of estates that go unclaimed….
     But walking turd Williams had been ceremoniously appointed to the post after being elected Public Administrator, where he's no doubt screwed up handling the affairs of living people who cannot care for themselves and have no heirs to do it for them.
     The Board was able to strip brain-dead Williams of most of his Public Administrator duties and appoint an executive to watch him like he's a drunk toddler. But the elected Board can't fire the elected Administrator. So, in comes Lyon, whose first day on the job is Friday….
     Steaming-pile Williams claims he won't seek reelection to his elected seat once it runs out in a couple years, but that does not appease county waste watchdog Shirley Grindle, who is fighting to stop taxpayer funding of what appears to be sanctioned and continuing government incompetence.

Reagan bust artist busted for dumping statue acid on public land

antiqued with acid

     As Tere’s Board Meeting Highlights make clear, at last night’s board meeting,

     Chancellor Poertner highlighted a special donation from Trustee Tom Fuentes, a bust of Ronald Reagan on a marble pedestal, gifted to the South Orange County Community District for the Ronald Reagan Board of Trustees Room. Chancellor Poertner shared the story behind the artwork created by the late Orange County artist Woodrow Butterfield and the special significance to Trustee Fuentes who was instrumental in the naming of the board room in 2008 after the former President. The board looks forward to sharing the artwork with the community as soon as it can be properly secured in a display case.

     A friend of this blog emailed a link to an old (1991) Times story about the late Woodrow Butterfield. The upshot? Butterfield, who owned a statue place, dumped lots of acid on adjacent public land. He repeatedly blew off demands that he clean it up. Ultimately, he paid a $17,000 fine and was placed on probation:

Statue Maker Fined for Leaking Acid

     In West Orange County Municipal Court this week, [Woodrow] Butterfield and his two sons … pleaded no contest to charges that they dumped muriatic acid from Statueland, at 13960 Harbor Blvd., onto adjacent public land. The trio was charged in August with two misdemeanor counts of improperly disposing of hazardous waste, crimes that carry penalties of up to $100,000 and a year in jail, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Gerald G. Johnston.
. . .
     Municipal Judge Daniel J. Didier fined shop owner Woodrow Butterfield $7,000 and assessed additional penalties of $10,000. The judge suspended $5,000 fines for both sons, but placed all three men on three years' probation.
. . .
     The Butterfields used the acid to clean the statues and make them appear to be antiques, Johnston said. They then hosed the residual acid and cement onto public property where it created a standing pool 35 feet long by 10 feet across, he said. A sample of the liquid was so acidic it could burn flesh, Johnston said.

     It’s a little thing, I suppose. What’s a little acid on public property? I mean, why shouldn't the public deal with a private company's messy acid?
     Butterfield had been on the Garden Grove City Council. He died in 2003.
     If I were Gary, I'd check that Reagan bust for, um, acid.

c. 1974

"You know, a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look at?" —Ronald Reagan

July's meeting of the SOCCCD board: live and direct!

Operation GlennDrop

     (Be sure to read Tere's Board Meeting Highlights. Board agenda pdf here.)
     Well, here we are again for the meeting of the South Orange County Community College District's board of trustees. It's nearly 6:15, and the meeting hasn't started yet.
     All trustees are present and accounted for except for Tom Fuentes. Well, he's accounted for, I guess. (He's very ill.)
     For some reason, as I entered the room three minutes ago, there was much buzzing among the high number of district and college "usual suspects". WT....
     Ah, the board is starting the meeting! (6:16 p.m.)

● Nothing to be reported out. (No action taken in closed session.)

● Invocation and pledge. (Moment of silence; the Lord is not invoked)

● No resolutions. But a recognition for IVC Prez Glenn Roquemore.

   A recruiter officer (he manages 300 or so recruiters in SoCal) addresses the board. Says: it's a special period for us. We depend on the local community. We depend on people like Glenn Roquemore. Therefore, we've invited him to jump out of a plane--with the Army's skydiving team.
   We see a video. The Golden Knights. Lake Elsinore. We see his family. Big smiles. There's Glenn walking up into the plane. He's still smiling. There he is wearing his helmet. They're playing "Show me what I'm looking for." Odd choice. Then some similarly lame music. There's Glenn, falling like a rock, proving once again the gritty reality of gravitation. He seems to have four arms and two and a half legs. Whatever.
   Glenn's still falling. He gives the thumbs up. Now He's landing. Much sliding on grass. "We gave you a little bit of a taste of Army strong today," says someone. A freeze frame of Glenn falling. Very inspiring.
   On behalf of the U.S. Army, we present to you [it's a pin].. he is Army Airborne Qualified. They pin the thing on him. It's silver.
   Poertner comes up and sings Glenn's praises. He has helped create a positive image for the Army, says Poertner. So he gets a certificate of recognition. In a few months, no doubt, he'll get a certificate of recognition for his having received a certificate of recognition. And ad infinitum.
   Glenn speaks. He had lunch with soldiers. "I'm gonna wear these wings very proudly."

     I guess somebody decided that Glenn needed to raise his profile. "Why not drop like a rock from the sky?" Yes, why not.
     Glenn doesn't run his college. His VPI, Craig Justice, does. And Craig is ruthless and controlling and doesn't give a damn what any other group wants. He plays the faculty leadership. Others are scared to death of him.
     And where's Glenn?
     He's falling out of airplanes, smiling.
     Behold our next Chancellor, dropping and smiling.
     And Craig: the next Prez of IVC?
     Good Lord.

Fuentean donation
(artist's rendering)

● PUBLIC COMMENTS: nope.

● Board reports: (got one?)

Bill Jay: nope
Frank Meldau: nope
Marcia Milchiker: go see "Oklahoma" at Saddleback College. Incredible. Otherwise: nope
TJ Prendergast: nope
Nancy Padberg: nope
Lang: You give the term "taking a flying leap" new meaning (says to Roquemore). Har har. Nope.
Student trustee: nope

Chancellor's report: a quick comment. He points out a bust of Ronald Reagan up there behind the trustees. It looks like a brown turd from here. It's here only temporarily for safe keeping. You'll recall that Fuentes urged the board to name the room after RR. And Fuentes arranged for this bust, too, years ago. It was given to Fuentes, and Fuentes showed it to RR, who said he preferred it to other busts, I guess. It has been donated by Tom Fuentes (to the district, I guess).

● Discussion item: none

● Consent calendar: 5.5, 5.1, and 5.6 pulled.
The rest passes/is approved

5.1 Minutes. Passed.
5.5. Bugay asks amendment to attachment, 2nd page. Etc. Matter carries unanimously.
5.6 Lang puls it. Lang's being paid for a meeting he missed. The trustees always do this for each other. Wants the language clarified. His request to move the meeting was "denied." (Oh my. A little tension here?) He had a conflict, yada yada. Approved by all, Lang abstaining because, you know, he's very principled. That's why I always call him Dave "Quisling" Lang, betrayer of friends for private gain.

● Action items:

6.1: special services: Liebert Cassidy Whitmore legal services. A rate increase change. Item carries unanimously.
6.2: Board Policy revisions. Second time before the board. Carries unanimously.
6.3: for review and study: board policy revisions. Some questions about the basic aid policy. No other comments. Unanimously voted to accept for review and study.
6.4: this item is pulled.
6.5: Academic personnel actions. Approved unanimously.
6.6: Classified personnel actions. Approved unanimously.
6.7: Intra-budget transfer. Prendergast asks: transfer what from where to where? Laughter.
New Admin explains. Prendergast satisfied. Roll call vote. Unanimous.

● Reports:

7.1: Student trustee explains. I was asked to run. More publicity for our district. (?) He'll be the state wide student trustee, evidently!
7.2: basic aid. Lang: notes the first report that "breaks it down." Have we always gotten that? Poertner says: nothing new, Davy-Do.
7.3: no questions.
7.4 Retiree trust fund. All are comatose.

● Reports:

Academic Senate (SC): Carmen has moved to an admin position in College of the Canyons. "She will be missed." Stuff like "Oklahoma," I guess.
Union: Lewis Long: no report
Academic Senate (IVC): nobody here tonight. That's worse than no report.
Peebles: no report
Roquemore (IVC): I'll let my written report stand. Appreciate opportunity to work on accred issues this summer. "Very rewarding." (Sure it is. Is he running for office?)
Burnett (SC): you're first to see flex week brochure. They're dazzled. (Not. Mass Droolage.)
Padberg explains that she's taking a class at the college. (Spinning?) "Orange Appeal" is SC magazine. A copy was provided. Very glossy. Photography is beautiful, says Nancy.
Bramucci: got an award somewhere. The IT people, I guess.
Bugay: Roquemore is my hero. Jumping out of a plane, supporting the military. Also: Our chancellor is on track on all six of our accred issues.
Etc.
It's 6:54, and it appears that the meeting is about to end! Good Lord! Such speed, such efficiency!
6:56--over and out.

Board meeting tonight: “preventive education”

     The board of the South Orange County Community College District will conduct its July meeting tonight, starting at 6:00 p.m. Here’s the agenda: Board Agenda
     I glanced at the agenda outline. It seems unremarkable.
     I did notice item 6.1:

“Agreement for Special Services: Liebert Cassidy Whitmore”:
Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Special Services with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore establishing a new range of rates for professional services effective July 1, 2011

     The firm’s website is here.
     Among other things, the firm claims to be a leader in “preventive education.”
     That’s quite a phrase. They explain it as follows:

One of the firm's greatest sources of accomplishment comes from its record of success in counseling and advising its clients on the best ways to avoid becoming a party to adversary proceedings.

     Item 5.5 is a “Faculty Hiring Addendum” for IVC. This seems to concern the replacement of Lise Telson and Bob Kopecky.
     Also, I see that we’ll be paying an extra $3762 for continued membership in the Community College League of California (CCLC) (dues have gone up from $ 36,238.00 to $40,000). (Item 5.12)

Another agenda:

     Meanwhile, the Voice of OC reports that

     Topping this week's public agendas is the appointment of a new Orange County Public Guardian. ¶ Former Public Guardian John Williams (who also had the job of public administrator) was fired from the post last month after a slew of controversies that eventually resulted in the splitting up of the two jobs. ¶ The Orange County Supervisors are scheduled to appoint Lucille Lyon, who previously worked as Riverside County's chief deputy public guardian, according to a staff report.

     Williams, of course, served on the SOCCCD board from 1992 until about 8 months ago, when he resigned. He's a rat bastard.

Random news:

Group targets Yorba Linda council prayer (OC Reg)

     A group that believes in a strong separation of church and state wants the Yorba Linda City Council to abandon its practice of praying at the council's biweekly meetings.
     "Local governments should not be in the business of performing religious rituals," the letter from the Freedom From Religion Foundation states. "Calling upon Yorba Linda City Council members and citizens to rise and pray is coercive, embarrassing and beyond the scope of secular city government."
. . .
     Prayer during City Council meetings in Orange County is widely practiced; occasionally, council members or department heads will offer the invocation.
     Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges have agreed to discontinue the use of invocations at some events, like scholarship ceremonies and faculty training sessions. The decision, which came earlier this year, was the result of a 2009 lawsuit by the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State….

Ted Rall opines cartoonishly

Past, Present, and Future

     Just noticed this: OC Weekly Captures 10 or 11 OC Press Club Awards (Naval Gazing)
     Matt Coker explains that

     OC Weekly won 10 or 11 awards at Wednesday night's Orange County Press Club Journalism Awards Dinner at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. Among these were eight first-place awards. ¶ It's 10 or 11 total because the same Weekling tied for first place in the same category, something Kedric Francis, Firebrand Media group editor and the press club vice president emceeing the awards portion of the evening, believes may be unprecedented in club history.

     Be sure to read all about it. And Congrats to the OC Weekly crew!
     You might recall that Kedric Francis, the MC, has a connection with DtB and was in fact a cub reporter for the Irvine Valley College Voice in the mid-90s.
     It appears that Ked first broke the Trustee-Frogue-Holocaust-denier story: See.

See also: Voice of OC Wins Press Club Investigative Awards

The grunt of the Neanderthal

     GUN DOLT. You’ll recall that, recently, a San Juan Capistrano City Councilman—and Saddleback College adjunct!—proposed changing a rule that bans guns in city parks. You see, this fella, Derek Reeve, thinks Americans have a right to carry guns just about everywhere and anywhere. Why not in city parks?
     Well, according to today’s OC Reg, Reeve’s Neanderthalic proposal has been rejected. Last night, relatively safe and sane members of the City Council decided that allowing guns in the park would make people feel unsafe, and, besides, it would brand the city as some kind of Wild West. That’s bad for business, man.
     But Reeve claims that the decision to preserve the old rule puts the city in legal jeopardy!

     …Reeve said the city rule could prompt a lawsuit. City Attorney Omar Sandoval said the rule likely was created about 10 years ago and that there hasn't been a lawsuit since.
     San Juan Capistrano resident Steve Behmerwohld said, "If you hadn't brought the whole thing up, I think the chances of us being sued (would be) a lot less."

     Um, dude. What about that?
     Reeve offered a lame retort:

"There's already been talk about going after cities. I saw that, and that's why I'm trying to head it off at the pass."

     Going after “cities,” eh? But not SJC in particular?
     You’re an asshole.
     Evidently, the Council also shot down Reeve’s idea to allow fishing in city creeks.

     IRVINE IS CLEAN, ISN'T IT? Meanwhile, today in court a former Irvine Planning Commissioner pleaded guilty to felony interstate wire fraud. Read about it in the OC Reg.
     His name is David R. Sparks. He’s described as a “family man.” No doubt he’s very pious, too. He could spend some serious time in prison polishing his piety.
     I noticed that Sparks was a contributor to Don Wagner’s 2010 run for the State Assembly.
     Just sayin’.

Red Emma: persistent redness (Red Emma)

IN FACT: Commentary by Professor Obvious (aka RED EMMA)

DtB’s International Media Analyst & In-House Culture Crank

Rebecca of Scummybrook Farm…Meet Billy Bragg

or

Color Me Shocked!

or

Less Fun in Funny

"God bless the brick house that was! God bless the brick house that is to be!"

—Rebecca Rowena Randall

“If this does not reflect your view you should understand

That those who own the papers also own this land.”

—Billy Bragg

My bad

     WHAT'S SO FUNNY—not funny ha-ha—finally, about the arrest of Rebekah Brooks, what makes the fun News of the World/News International un-scandal so unfun is, finally, how indeed predictable it is and not, alas, all that funny. Popping open a cold can of Schadenfreude feels good just about now, you bet, but it also only further numbs everybody to the obvious. Gilding the lily like this, wise-ass-wise, means that you miss the lily, covered in all that gold plating. Alas, like King Midas, you and I cannot eat irony.
     This, finally, will be the lasting legacy of the episode, by which I mean not lasting at all. And not the last. That R. Murdoch and The Sun and Fox News (sic) are sensationalist, rightist, GOP-serving distraction machines, intentionally full of pro-corporate positions and photographs of naked ladies and Glenn Beck and the odious Chris Wallace — a stick stuck up his bum as if to render the project legitimate “journalism” — should make Ms. Brooks’ comeuppance not at all shocking. Except that, once again, as soon as this one is knocked down, another house of bricks will be again constructed, a façade, a structure painted to look like bricks with a sign on top which says Journalism.

Say it isn't so

     Friends, it’s not even news. The Guardian began reporting the story two years ago. As if it needed to report at all. It’s barely a story. Who, after all, didn’t know what these people are? Which real journalists didn’t understand what Rupert and Rebekah were up to? And, you might wonder, what next shall be revealed?
     Glad you asked!
     Here, then, more headlines that might shake us all to the core. Or not.

News flash! Grover Norquist discovered to be not such a nice man!

Shocking revelation! Newt Gingrich raises millions in campaign donations to actually never run for president!

Finally Confirmed! George Bush was misinformed about WMD in Iraq! 

This Just In! Ron Paul, freedom-loving right-wing anarchist Libertarian opposes a woman’s right to choose! 

Startling Confession! Glenn Beck, author of Glenn Beck’s Common Sense: The Case Against An Out-of-Control Government Inspired by Thomas Paine, has never really actually read anything by Tom Paine!

Breaking Story! Sarah Palin has never read anything at all, and knows not who Tom Paine was!

Research Study Released! Michelle Bachmann’s law degree is from Oral Roberts University! Really!

Amazing Discovery! People who watch Fox News actually know less about U.S. history, how government works and public policy than those who listen to NPR and read the New York Times!

gosh he's smart

     Friends, you can be disillusioned, to quote the late civil rights activist Alice McGrath, only if you had illusions in the first place. Sure, more illusions mean easier comedy. Yet pretending to be amazed, shocked, embarrassed, amused only allows us to keep playing the fools, and to be played— all the while missing, not so entertainingly, the point, which is something less, a lot less, than the fun and hardy-har-har of obviously very bad people resigning their jobs and (remember you heard it hear first!) never doing a single day in jail.
     By the way, please contact me at Dissent the Blog Realty immediately if you had no idea and were surprised that Murdoch and his crowd were unethical, reactionary crooks who didn’t play by the rules of the mainstream corporate news world. I am eager to sell you some swampland in Afghanistan.

     Postscript: please don’t mistake this rant for cynicism or fatalistic criticism. I am enjoying, laughing, delighting as much as the next guy. It’s just that, truly, sincerely, I want so much more than only dumb, easy laughter. For instance:

     Let’s all download and then turn up Billy Bragg’s “It Says Here,” written in 1984. Lyrics included.

It says here that the unions will never learn
It says here that the economy is on the upturn
And it says here we should be proud
That we are free
And our free press reflects our democracy

Those braying voices on the right of the house
Are echoed down the street of shame
Where politics mix with bingo and tits
In a strictly money and numbers game

Where they offer you a feature
On stockings and suspenders
Next to a call for stiffer penalties for sex offenders

It says here that this year’s prince is born
It says here Do you ever wish
That you were better informed?
And it says here that we can only stop the rot
With a large dose of law and order
And a touch of the short sharp shock

If this does not reflect your view you should understand
That those who own the papers also own this land
And they’d rather you believe
In coronation street capers
In the war of circulation, it sells newspapers
Could it be an infringement
Of the freedom of the press
To print pictures of women in states of undress?

When you wake up to the fact
That your paper is Tory
Just remember, there are two sides to every story

When reason becomes useless

     OK, on Saturday, OC Weekly’s Michelle Woo posted about how only one guy showed up for the new Sarah Palin film being shown at The Block in Orange (Sarah Palin Movie Debuts in OC to an Audience of . . . One Lone Atlantic Reporter):

     While in town visiting his parents, Atlantic editor Conor Friedersdorf decided to work some reporting into his trip by checking out last night's premiere of The Undefeated, aka the Sarah Palin documentary, and interviewing the folks who made their way out to the late-night showing. AMC at The Block in Orange is one of only 10 theaters in the country rolling out the film. He figured there'd be a huge turnout in a county where "even Richard Nixon's association with this place is treated as a point of pride."
     What he came back with was a sad yet hilarious account of being the only one in the theater.

     OK, good. That made me smile.
     But what do I find in today’s OC Register? Why, it’s this:

Distributor: Strong opening for Palin film in Orange (Frank Shyong)

     Sarah Palin's documentary "The Undefeated" grossed just $68,000 nationwide on its opening weekend, but the film's debut in Orange was met with enthusiasm and strong numbers.

     Huh? Reporter Shyong was working with factoids provided by the film’s distributor:

     According to a news release from the film's distributor, ARC Entertainment, "The Undefeated" earned a per screen average of more than $11,000 on its opening weekend at the AMC 30 at the Block.
     The news release called the opening "stronger than expected." The film debuted at just 10 theatres nationwide, with Orange representing its second most popular location with Atlanta the most popular. ARC Entertainment CEO Trevor Drinkwater said they selected Orange after extensive demographic research that identified the town as a pro-Palin market.

     Good grief. So many stupid people. So little chance of avoiding them.

     Palin supporters and others [gosh, exactly who?] have fought to shape the film's media hype since its opening. An article on the Atlantic's website on Friday described an empty theater on opening night and several major news outlets picked up the news.
     But Ron Smith, a member of the California chapter of Organize 4 Palin, said that comparison is ridiculous because the reporter only attended the midnight showing. He saw the movie twice on Friday, once at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m.
     "If I had known there was a midnight showing, I would have been there," said Smith, who drove from Long Beach to see the movie. "But most of us conservatives have a job, and things to do at night, like sleeping."

     Really, Mr. Smith? You’d watch the same goofy movie two (or three) times in one day?
     Smith claims that the halls were 80% filled at the two showings he attended.
     Gosh, maybe we can hear from an objective party. Shyong contacted the theater but they refused to comment on how much business the Palin film has been getting.
     So, what are we to make of all of this?
     I believe the Atlantic guy. But of course he only attended the midnight showing. His inference that the movie wasn’t doing well seems reasonable to me, even if, in the end, the film does well.
     But would the film’s distributor lie? —Sure. That “$11K per screen” business sounds hinky to me. (Remember, nobody showed up for midnight.) Smith? —He might have exaggerated a bit, but I doubt that he was lying.
     My guess is that, on Friday, business was lots better for the earlier showings—maybe not 80%, but decent; hence the reports by Smith, et al. And the Atlantic guy likely really did find the theater empty for that midnight showing. That would leave an impression on me, too.
     Woo notes that The Atlantic’s Friedersdorf has inspired pushback and right-wing conspiracy theories (How I Became the Subject of a Conspiracy Theory). Friedersdorf explains that someone claiming to be involved in marketing the film blogged that the midnight showing was never advertised and that, therefore, Friedersdorf must have attended a “secret showing” provided by theater employees! No wonder nobody attended!
     Now, in fact, the midnight showing was advertised (e.g., in the LA Times and elsewhere), and Friedersdorf collected proof of that. He sent it to the blogger, asking for a correction and an apology.
     The blogger’s response? “The film's listing in the LA Times only proved ‘how elaborate such a setup could be.’”
     Ah, yes. The refutation of his charge is in fact just further evidence for it! Unbelievable.
     Sarah Palin supporters have busily promulgated this ridiculous and incompetent conspiracy theory. Unsurprisingly, Andrew Breitbart joined in the fun, repeating the daffy theory that is so easily refuted with perfectly available facts. And, beyond all that, Friedersdorf has been subject to vulgar ad hominem attacks.
     But of course!
     There have always been stupid (and loutish) people. So, OK, nowadays, some of ‘em are called “tea partiers” and Sarah Palin fans. And, as usual, lots of ‘em live right here in Orange County.
     But I worry that these people will actually get their candidate elected.
     If someone like Palin or Bachmann secures the Presidency, I just don’t know what I’ll do. Obviously, reason would be useless on their supporters.
     What do you do when reason becomes useless?
     I have no idea. Hide.

State Chancellor’s Audit: the missing piece of the puzzle

     In recent months, denizens of the campus community here at Irvine Valley College have witnessed and bemoaned the closing of centers, canceling of classes, and decimation of programs. Much (or all) of this concerns BSTIC, IVC’s much ballyhooed “Business Science and Technology Innovation Center”—you know, Business and computers, the Media Resources Center, etc.
     If you are a regular DtB reader, you have encountered angry and concerned reader comments about what's happened to business, to the MRC, etc. Much of this anger has been directed at the VPI and the President.
     One aspect of the situation is a seeming lack of transparency: things keep happening without public discussion or explanation—even at the academic senate. I’m in the academic senate, but I have received no information that sheds light on these worrisome events. Prima facie, that's troubling.
     WELL, it has come to my attention—through informal channels—that many of the actions that have caused concern are responses to serious problems that have recently come to light. Evidently, the State Chancellor’s Office felt it necessary to send down an “audit” team, and their inquiries have revealed some excesses and deficiencies, including troubling behavior on the part of some faculty.
     Evidently, whole curricula must now be rewritten, a process that cannot occur overnight.
     The audit, I’m told, is now completed, and it is only a matter of time before its contents will be revealed. Look for that.
     Faced with a situation in which long-established highly problematic practices have come to light and a serious state response was afoot (I guess we haven't seen that yet), administration has had to proceed carefully, quietly, etc.--and also decisively. No doubt, it’s a delicate and difficult situation. I’m in no position to assess whether our administrators have proceeded responsibly and wisely, but I have no reason to suppose that they have not.
     I'll see if I can get more information.

Breaking Bad not broken!

     Did you catch Sunday’s season premier of Breaking Bad?
     The Times kinda wrote about it: Shattering All Vestiges of Innocence.
     The story went where it needed to go.
     Way cool.

They've got a beef with Irvine Valley College administration

VPI Craig Justice

     [UPDATE: please see Missing piece of the puzzle]
     Readers have persisted in expressing their disappointment—or fury—over recent actions by top Irvine Valley College administrators concerning the business building and labs:

Anonymous says:

   There is another lab on the second floor of the BSTIC building. The only problem is that it's only open from 3pm - 6pm, Mon - Thu. I'm taking a programming class this summer that starts at 7pm, and as is often the case with night classes, there are a good chunk of students who work full-time jobs. Students in the class are supposed to log 6.2 hours in the lab each week to receive credit in the course, but it's just not possible for many of them given the limited hours of the lab. The prof. wasn't left with much of a choice but to ignore the lab requirement. Granted, students probably spend at least 6.2 hours outside of class studying and working on homework, but it's not the same as having lab hours with the professor.
   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:00 AM, July 18, 2011

Anonymous says:

   Students at IVC do care, and we are very articulate about making our needs known. Speak up, students, and demand that IVC be a whole college, not just a transfer center. Let your board members know how you feel.
   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:39 AM, July 18, 2011

Anonymous says:

   Clearly the admin wants to attract students who don't care and staff who care less. Easier for everyone.
   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 11:03 AM, July 18, 2011

Prez Glenn Roquemore

Anonymous says:

   And here is the accreditation commission student complaint form for those who wish to speak up about the student computer center that now exists only in IVC's accreditation report. 

http://www.accjc.org/complaint-process/complaint-form  

   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 2:10 PM, July 18, 2011

Anonymous says:

   Aw, they're not really such bad guys, are they?
   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 9:55 PM, July 17, 2011

Anonymous says...

   2:10, Thanks for the link! I will have my complaint done today and I urge all others affected, students and their parents, to follow suit ASAP.
   —Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 3:12 PM, July 18, 2011

Another defeat for the Red Handed League

     You’ll recall that one of Tom Fuentes’ “Red handed league,” former OC Treasurer Chriss Street, lost a lawsuit last March that left him owing $7 million to the group he defrauded. Well, Street has pursued a lawsuit against the victors, but that hasn’t gone so well for the pious fellow.
     Today, the OC Reg (Court throws out Chriss Street’s $40 million suit) reports that

A Delaware bankruptcy judge refused to let former Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street pursue a $40 million lawsuit against the same people who won a $7 millionjudgment against him last March.....

     Concerning the earlier litigations, the Reg reminds us that,

Within days after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard Neiter imposed the judgment, county supervisors stripped Street of his authority to invest county money.

     Street's political career was already dead. Now it's seriously dead.
     Just like Red Handed Leaguer John Williams’ political career.

● California Watch Investigative Journalism Nonprofit Setting Up Shop at Orange County Register (Naval Gazing)

● Public pension systems hit investment jackpot (OC Reg)

Pissed off readers take aim at Irvine Valley College administration

     Lately, some of our readers have been spouting off about this and that, especially IVC top administration, which has been making some big moves in their usual opaque or process-deficient manner:

18.3%!

Anonymous said...
I hear administration is closing-off the MRC [Media Resources Center, in BSTIC] to students. Is this true?
--1:04 AM, July 15, 2011

syeds said...
Yes i too heard that [a while ago].
Confidentiality Contracts
--3:18 AM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Isn't that like cheating our community? I wonder who makes these decisions?
--2:20 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
The great “decider” that’s who
--10:29 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Regarding cutting off the Media Resource Center (MRC), it is a done deal. It just sits empty … collecting dust while students march to the dean's office complaining about the lack of support for their computer classes. Did I say computer classes? Oops! Those are gone too. Just finished cutting the ribbon on the new BSTIC … and before the guests can make it to their cars, half the rooms have been confiscated and the centerpiece of the building, the MRC, is shut down. No discussion, no open planning and decision making, things just "happen" as a misinformed administrator spends taxpayer's money and destroys programs. 

Anonymous said...
What IS the MRC????
--5:13 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
MRC=Media Resource Center in BIZTC [sic]
--6:04 PM, July 15, 2011 

Anonymous said...
Yup, before the door even shut behind [computer guy] Dave Shinnick’s exit, they dismantled the whole network lab. So much for technology classes, huh? Now I guess I’ll have to go to Orange Coast or Golden West to finish my IT program.
--9:49 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
What's a BIZTC? [It is BSTIC, the relatively new “Business Sciences and Technology Innovation Center]
--9:56 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Since IVC’s crown jewel BSTIC [the relatively new “Business Sciences and Technology Innovation Center”] building is now sans technology, ya think they ought to pull the T down from the sign so it reads, BSIC? or “Be Sick” Yes?
--10:06 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
The administrator, Craig "Craizy" Justice, so hell bent on shutting down IVC technology programs and facilities (while canning needed staff and creating more administrators) is probably more "malevolent" than "misinformed." True he has spent his entire adult career in academia and knows nothing of the real world where most of IVC's students are struggling to prepare for … and cares even less. But combine that with an authoritarian, vindictive, control-freak personality, and a laissez-faire figurehead look-the-other-way hen pecked president, you've got a recipe for just the kind of disaster occurring at IVC, a loose-cannon bull-in-the-china-shop VP wrecking what took 30 years to build. Wake up, faculty sleepy heads!
--12:56 AM, July 16, 2011

B. von Traven said...
Wake up? There's little chance of that. I've given up on this crew. [Note: I was responding to the comment, “Wake up, faculty sleepy heads!”]
--1:48 AM, July 16, 2011

Anonymous said...
bVt, if dissenters, their union pals & senate went after “this crew” with the [same] veracity [ferocity?] they devoted to Williams, Fuentes and the Ghu-ster, wouldn’t you think some positive change could finally come about? It appears now IVC is much worse off with the new Glenn-Craig tag team. Yes, the employee survey is atrocious and since, conditions have only gotten much worse. You may chuckle inside at other programs/departments being dismantled, but you can be sure it ain’t stop’n there; humanities could be next.
--12:24 PM, July 16, 2011

B. von Traven said...
I don't disagree that the Roquemore/Justice regime is really bad. I've tried to make that point in many ways for years. When I referred to "this crew," I wasn't referring to them, however. I was referring to the existing campus community, and especially faculty. They've always been lazy, passive (I'll leave it at that), and willing to let others do what needs to be done. But I've finally tired of being on the front lines, either as an actor or as a reporter. People, it seems, get the government that they deserve.
Of course, I could have said (and probably did say) the same thing a year ago, two years ago, ten years ago, etc.
--1:27 PM, July 16, 2011

Williams:

Anonymous said...
Not much here in the "new developments" category [sic]. Talk about beating a dead horse. How about students at IVC being permanently locked out of their new MRC? Who makes these kind of decisions? [I wasn’t “beating a dead horse.” Rather, I simply posted a recent OC Reg article about the Williams saga, without commentary. –BvT]
--5:10 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
at least you got one point right, williams gets to sit there for the next three years collecting 150k plus benefits and an ever increasing pension. who cut that deal[?]
--9:17 AM, July 16, 2011

President Obama and gay rights

Anonymous said...
Right on.
--6:21 PM, July 13, 2011

Anonymous said...
Ooh! How dare you use his middle name!
--12:36 PM, July 16, 2011

Anonymous said...
So, you are for a despot federal govt. and a corrupt DOJ? People should really get off this race thing because it’s not working anymore, nobody’s buying it. Most people are accepting of interracial marriages today.
--12:44 PM, July 16, 2011

Roquemore drops like a lead balloon

Anonymous said...
Meanwhile, his next-in-command was running the college with absolutely no management skills. He manages everyone by boring them to death with his long-winded stories. They should have doubled.
--8:26 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Living high on the hog I see...
--9:53 PM, July 15, 2011

The Irvine Valley College “Employee Satisfaction Survey"

Anonymous said...
   Has anyone taken a hard look at the current VPI? He is cunning, a liar, and has total disregard for others especially faculty and classified staff. He has to go! If Glenn won't wake up and take a hard look at him, then they both need to go. Everyone is afraid of him because of his reputation for seeking revenge. He micromanages the deans and the schedule.
   Also, the curriculum committee once again needs a total revamp. Administration is running it by manipulating things in the background. The committee needs to be more open and transparent. How about streamlining the process while you are at it?
   Nepotism reigns with the President. Do we have to hire all of your wife's relatives?
--6:54 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Yes he must hire ALL her relatives. That was a central condition of their marriage contract.
--7:00 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
Sounds like administration’s getting pretty smelly over there. What to do about the maggot problem?
--10:15 PM, July 15, 2011

Anonymous said...
--How ‘bout we give facilities a call to come clean it up? Oops! Not enough janitors! No paper towels or toilet paper either.
12:58 PM, July 16, 2011

Further opinery:

Anonymous said….
The organizational culture @ IVC is in the toilet for sure. B Sick!
--Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 3:44 PM, July 16, 2011

Anonymous said….
   C. Injustice has recently removed all instructors from the computer lab. He staffed it with student help even though students earn credit for the lab. A week later, he commandeered another classified staff for the job.
   After several programming students complained they couldn't get help, he allowed one instructor to work in the lab a couple of hours a week. I think you call that leading by "exception." The way he sees it is if only four students complained, then you don't need that much coverage. What about the other students who are heading to OCC where they get a quality experience? Where they actually have technology courses.
   He intends to do the same thing with all the other labs on campus. Be warned.
   Glenn does't give a crap. The faculty and staff are afraid of Dr. Injustice. If the bully becomes the IVC president, everyone, especially the students, are in for a wild ride. Glenn better pull his head out of the sand. Or is it stuck up his wife's ass?
   C. Injustice, who probably can't log on to a computer, is destroying the T in IT at IVC.
--Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 5:24 PM, July 16, 2011

Anonymous said….
   BvT, thanks for bringing all this to the forefront. My son is a computer science student at IVC and I’m outraged! He’s been trying to explain something about an MRC… or something like that, but I’ve been so busy at work and all – haven’t really been paying much attention I suppose. Now I think I have a much better picture, thanks! I feel like we’ve been robbed! This is unacceptable! I look forward to seeing the board about this.
--Posted by Anonymous to Dissent the Blog at 5:41 PM, July 16, 2011

Anonymous said...
   Gosh, the ink was barely dry on IVC’s 2010 Accreditation Report when the MRC was shut down by you know who.
   Ooh and gee wiz, I even recall what the report said:
   "The Business Sciences Technology and Innovation Center (BISTIC) building also has a new Media Resource Center (MRC) WHERE STUDENTS HAVE ACCESS to NEW COMPUTERS running both Windows and Mac OS applications. The Resource Center IS DESIGNED as a CENTRAL MEETING and LEARNING CENTER WHERE STUDENTS CAN MEET AND COLLABORATE on PROJECTS FOR ANY DISCIPLINE in the College" (Standard II.a, page 168).
   HOLLY DECEPTION BATMAN! Doesn’t this “MAJOR DESIGN CHANGE” now call for a "SUBSTANTIVE CHANGE REPORT" filed with the ACCJC?
   Currently on “WARNING” status pending a progress report and revisit in October, IVC risks losing its accreditation completely by pulling this kind of bait and switch on the commission, the state & the students.
--8:45 PM, July 16, 2011

Roquemore drops like a lead balloon or maybe a sack of rocks

Earlier today, IVC President Glenn Roquemore leaped out of an airplane and then smiled broadly.

 

More Williamsian ignominy

New public guardian named to troubled agency (OC Reg)

     Lucille Lyon, a division chief for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, has been named Orange County’s new public guardian. Lyon, who has more than 35 years of experience, will also serve as the county’s assistant public administrator.
     The Board of Supervisors must formally approve the appointment. The board is scheduled to vote July 26, and if approved, Lyon’s first day will be July 29, according to a memo county Chief Executive Officer Tom Mauk sent county supervisors.
     Orange County Public Administrator John S. Williams was fired by the Board of Supervisors from his appointed job as the county’s public guardian last month after being hounded by accusations of mismanagement, questionable promotions and a claim filed against the county that accuses Williams of negligence in the handling of the multimillion dollar estate of TapouT co-founder Charles “Mask” Lewis Jr.
     Assistant Public Administrator/Public Guardian Peggi Buff has already been removed from her position as a result of the county’s investigation into the department. [Reportedly, Buff is OC DA Tony Rackaucas’ fiancé.]
     Orange County’s Public Administrator/Public Guardian has been a department under so much fire county supervisors voted to split it into two departments; approved a ballot measure that gives voters the option to make the public administrator an appointed, not an elected position; and repealed a county ordinance that makes the elected public administrator the ex-officio appointed public guardian.
     Williams has denied any wrongdoing. The county spent months slowly stripping control of the departments from Williams while he refused to step down.
     Williams remains the county’s elected public administrator. Williams is paid $153,206.40 a year to head the combined Public Administrator/Public Guardian departments – a paycheck he will keep despite losing half of his job. Longtime county watchdog Shirley Grindle argued that paying Williams for his public guardian role is an illegal gift of taxpayer funds since Williams is not doing the job he is being paid to do.
     The public guardian handles the affairs of Orange County’s ill and elderly who have no one else to care for them. The public administrator handles the estates of those who die without legal heirs.
Bill Mahoney, a retired deputy chief executive for the county and an attorney with probate experience, was hired in April as a temporary stopgap to help revamp the struggling Public Guardian and Public Administrator departments.

Money for nothing

     The county can do little to interfere with an elected official – but the public guardian is a board-appointed position. With Mahoney in place in April, Williams was not supposed to do anything except sign his name on official court documents as the public guardian. Everything else – including hiring and firing personnel, overseeing day-to-day operations, making budget decisions and overhauling the troubled agency’s culture – were handed to Mahoney.
     But according to a staff report to county supervisors, that arrangement was not working.
     “Recent operational challenges that have arisen as a result of continuing to have John S. Williams as the appointed public guardian” prompted staff to recommend firing Williams and hiring Mahoney to replace Williams until a permanent replacement could be hired.
     If approved by supervisors, Lyon, a former Orange County supervising deputy public guardian, will replace Mahoney.
     Lyon also served as chief deputy public guardian for Riverside County and is past president of the California Association of Public Administrators/Public Guardian, according to her résumé. She holds a master of public administration from California State University, San Bernardino and a bachelor of arts in political science from UCLA, according to her résumé.

18.3%!

UC system tuition going up 18% (OC Reg)

     Undergraduate tuition at the University of California will rise 18.3 percent this fall, hitting $12,192 under a plan approved by university officials Thursday to help offset reduced state funding.
. . .
     “It’s a devastating decision for every student,” said Patrick Manh Le, 20, a UC Irvine senior and executive vice president of the university’s student government. “When you look at how our fees have increased exponentially, it’s just unacceptable for a public university. It’s becoming almost as expensive as a private university.”
     UC tuition does not include about $1,000 in campus-based fees, or room and board.
     Under the plan, the price tag to enroll at a UC school will be nearly double what it was just six years ago. Undergraduate tuition was $6,141 annually in 2005-06.
     The UC tuition increase is made up of two components:
     UC families already have been bracing for a planned 8 percent tuition hike that was approved last fall; this hike will raise tuition by $822 beginning this fall, to $11,124 annually.
On Thursday, the UC Board of Regents approved a 9.6 percent hike that will raise tuition by $1,068 more, to $12,192 total.
     Last month, state funding for UC schools was slashed by $650 million.
     UC officials said they would have been able to absorb a $500 million cut, as proposed by the governor earlier this year. But after $150 million was added to that amount in last month's state budget agreement, UC announced it would need the 9.6 percent hike to stay solvent.
An additional $100 million cut is possible by early next year if state revenues come in lower than projected, UC said….

Local coaches kickback scheme update! Things are heating up

District finds possible embezzlement by coaches (OC Reg)

Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use

     Capistrano Unified acknowledged Wednesday that some of its high school athletic coaches may have embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars of district and parent money in an elaborate kickback scheme involving a local athletic supply company....
     Capistrano Superintendent Joe Farley said the initial findings of a nine-month, internal district investigation indicate that Laguna Hills-based Lapes Athletic Team Sales, now defunct, may have overbilled the district for athletic supplies and then shared the excess cash with coaches who placed the orders.  
     "We believe there could have been criminal misconduct," Farley said in an interview Wednesday. "The findings are significant enough that it merits being turned over to the sheriff's department."
. . .
     The district's private investigator ... is working on a report summarizing the findings, Farley said. The report likely will be turned over to the Orange County Sheriff's Department by the end of the summer.
     Capistrano ... was the first district to look into allegations brought forth by Geoff and Teresa Sando of Irvine, who inherited the Lapes company....
     After reviewing thousands of invoices, receipts and canceled checks, the Sandos concluded that coaches at about 30 high schools and community colleges in Orange County may have received illegal money and gifts from Lapes.
     All of the school districts implicated by the Sandos have since launched investigations, said Orange County schools Superintendent Bill Habermehl. Many have concluded that while their coaches received kickbacks from Lapes, the funds were used appropriately for team-related expenses.
     "They found out there was nothing wrong, or there was an error of judgment but no misappropriation or misuse of funds," Habermehl said. "Ninety-nine percent of our coaches are doing nothing wrong. It's just a matter of a few who broke ranks and had a poor error in judgment."
     Others are continuing their investigations, including Irvine Unified and Saddleback Valley Unified. Habermehl also has requested that the sheriff's department launch a countywide investigation….

President Obama, of All People, Should Know That Some Rights Can’t be left to the States

1963: public opinion in Alabama supported Wallace

GUEST COMMENT

Tony Phillips

In 1961, when Barack Hussein Obama II was born in the brand new State of Hawaii, laws on the books in 22 of the other 49 United States forbade the marriage of his White American mother to his Black Kenyan father. Arizona’s anti-miscegenation law prohibiting marriage between whites and any persons of color was repealed in 1962. Similar laws in Utah and Nebraska were overturned the following year. Indiana’s law prohibiting interracial marriage held out until 1965, Maryland’s until 1967, the same year that such laws were finally overturned in Alabama*, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loving v. Virginia that ended all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

By the time race was removed as a barrier to marital choice in America, Barack Obama was in the first grade. By the time inter-racial marriage was fully accepted in America . . . well that hasn’t really happened yet. While it’s more and more common for men and women of different heritage to tie the knot, there remain – and you know this as well as I do – a mostly closeted but occasionally verbose cadre of bigots in this country who, had they their way, would continue to see our country divide itself along lines not yet fully erased by centuries of blood and toil.

Yes, we all know about America’s racially conflicted past, so what’s the point?

The point is that it’s incomprehensible to me that Barack Obama, a man whose legitimacy as an American has been publicly questioned by hate-rousing provocateurs, a man whose early life confounds the prevailing norms of his generation, a man whose ascendency in the 21^st Century was made possible only by the bravery of justice-seekers in the 20^th, that he, of all people, would be behind the times on marriage equality. How is it possible that his stance on gay marriage is still evolving?

In 1969, Barack Obama was just finishing the second grade when, on June 28, almost precisely 42 years ago, thousands of gay men and more than a few women rose up for the first time against the systematic, institutional, sanctioned mistreatment and exclusion under which they suffered in this country. At the time of the Stonewall Uprising, homosexual behavior was a crime in 49 states. The last of the states’ sodomy laws weren’t officially laid to rest until the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Lawrence v. Texas in 2003, 36 years after Loving, and what interracial couples got in 1967, same-sex couples are still waiting for today.

I struggled with whether to even write on this topic since I don’t really have a dog in the fight. I’m a man married to a woman. Maybe this particular issue is one I should leave alone. Maybe it’s just something I should let time work out in its inexorable way. Maybe, but then when it comes to fairness, time is too sluggish a vessel. Rather than wonder, “Who am I to speak?” I wonder, “Who am I to withhold an opinion where one is clearly called for?” About something as fundamental as the question of whether all American adults have the right to flourish in the loving marriage of their choice, not taking a position is taking a position – the wrong one.

Being fair to the president, no president ever has done more or could have done more to advance the rights of gays and lesbians in this country. The repeal of the military’s policy of feigned ignorance and self-abnegation was, in itself, a triumph. The withdrawal of his administration’s support for the Defense of Marriage Act was another blow for progress. Maybe on this one issue, an issue that perhaps has the president torn over the significance of a mere word, perhaps as a straight man with no ax to grind, he just doesn’t think it’s his place to weigh in. That would be understandable. It would also be unforgivable.

It was a White president from Missouri who integrated the Armed Forces. It was a White president from Texas who signed the Civil Rights Act. Maybe it just has to be a straight president from Hawaii via Illinois who removes that lingering, ugly, codified divide that stands Americans apart from one another, mounting the hate and rot that still enlace our public discourse. Words matter. The words “marriage” and “union” are separate and therefore unequal and even if no one else can see why, surely Barack Obama can.

Taking the president at his word, or at the word of his staff, perhaps he honestly believes that deciding who can marry whom is a matter best left to state electorates. The public will, after all, is the fuel that runs the engine of our democracy and there’s no purer fuel than the public’s expression of that will through voting its opinion. I would accept that, but for the fact that any government’s most vital function is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority.

Were it left to public opinion, our country would be a very different place. When the National Guard met George Wallace at the University of Alabama in 1963, most public opinion in Alabama was on Wallace’s side. When 110,000 Japanese Americans were herded into internment camps in 1942, public opinion largely supported it as good common sense. A fair share of American public opinion once opposed women’s suffrage and supported removal of American Indians from their land.

Some things are too important to be pushed at from behind; they must be led, kicking and screaming if necessary, from the front. The president’s failure to identify marriage equality as a civil right, not something for the states to muddle stopping one step short of an unqualified embrace of all Americans’ rights to enter into the sanctioned marriage of their choice – that, in a word, is cruel. It’s small, it’s weak and it’s cruel.

Four years ago I was fortunate enough to ask then candidate Obama a question and even more fortunate to get a response. It was at the California Democratic Convention and Obama was not yet encircled by Secret Service agents at all times. In a recess of the San Diego Convention Center I saw him on the move and thought, what should I ask this man whose passion is so evident, whose love of life and country so vividly expressed? So I asked, “Senator Obama, what do you hate?”

In an instant of pure candor he replied, “I hate cruelty. I don’t know why people are cruel.”

Neither do I, Mister President. Neither do I.

Tony Phillips

---

* Actually, as of 1999, Alabama’s anti-miscegenation law remained on the books, though it has not been enforced since Loving. I’m not aware of any other such laws remaining nominally in place, nor do I know if the Alabama law has since been officially repealed by legislation. I’m actually kind of afraid to find out.