Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Not Enough: "During this time of confusing rhetoric and uncertainty"

Today at Rep. Mimi Walters' office.
Tuesday afternoon, Rebel Girl was late getting to the Irvine office of Congressional Representative Mimi Walters who represents CA 45th so by the time she arrived, all the other protesters were gone.

Still, she was shown the door (locked) by a solicitous security guard who greeted her at the elevator and said, “Right this way” as if she had been expected. There were he said, over 200 people there earlier. She explained she had been teaching until 5:00 and that a student needed to talk to her after, as if he was asking for an excuse. “Where do you teach?” he asked. She told him and he shared that he takes classes at Golden West. They both agreed about the general fabulousness of the community college education and continued down the hall.

The office door was watched over by an utterly bored Irvine police officer, his badge hanging by a lanyard from around his neck, his head bowed toward the glowing screen of his smart phone. He had obviously judged her as peaceful as the ones who came before (Rebel Girl had asked if all had gone peacefully and been reassured it had) and just kept stroking his phone screen.

Rebel felt a little foolish. Without the others, what was she supposed to do? Her audience, it seemed, was the smiling security guard and the cop. So she told them about her student, the one who kept her late, after class to talk. The student had apologized for her work. The class activities had shown her, she said, that she wasn’t where she needed to be in her essay. Rebel Girl had reassured her that was fine, that that was what the activities were supposed to help her with. She had found it hard to concentrate, the student said, since the president announced his executive order. It affected her family, she told Rebel Girl, because of who they were. Her father was supposed to go on a business trip but he cancelled it, afraid he wouldn’t be allowed back in the U.S. They were now separated from their family overseas. The worse thing was, the student said, was that she felt that the U.S. government thought of her as a lesser person, and that now others had permission to look at her that way too. And they had. She could feel it. She had spent her childhood under a dictatorship and it had never felt as bad as this she concluded. Her eyes were wet, shining.

Rebel Girl said the things you say. She offered sympathy, moral support, free legal counsel and told her, yes, she was on her way to a protest about that very issue but Rebel Girl had the feeling that none of it was enough. How could it be? 

The security guard nodded. The cop said nothing. Rebel Girl thanked them for their service, snapped a photo and left.

By the time Rebel Girl got home, it was dark and this message waited for her in her email:

Jan. 31, 2017 – Our Commitment to All, Following Executive Order Affecting Seven Countries
Yesterday, California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Oakley issued this statement regarding President Trump’s executive order:
Over the weekend the Trump administration issued an executive order that restricts the ability of students, faculty and staff from certain countries from being able to enter the United States. The action caused great concern at colleges and universities across the nation. We also witnessed growing protests and confusion over the implementation of the executive order. As the California Community Colleges Board of Governors clearly stated, we support the ability of all students attending our colleges to attend without fear or intimidation.
During this time of confusing rhetoric and uncertainty, South Orange County Community College District, Saddleback College, and Irvine Valley College wish to reaffirm our values of inclusiveness and diversity. Our primary job is to educate all students who stand to benefit from higher education. We continually strive to create a welcoming environment where all people can learn and grow.

We are here to help all students. If you know of a student who may need confidential assistance, please contact our College Vice Presidents of Student Services: Dr. Juan Avalos, Saddleback College, at (949) 582-4566, javalos@saddleback.edu; or Dr. Linda Fontanilla, Irvine Valley College, at (949) 451-5624, lfontanilla@ivc.edu or visit the campus student services offices.

Dr. Debra L. Fitzsimons, Interim Chancellor
Dr. Tod A. Burnett, President, Saddleback College
Dr. Glenn R. Roquemore, President, Irvine Valley College
C.M. Brahmbhatt, Interim Vice Chancellor, Business Services
Dr. David Bugay, Vice Chancellor, Human Resources
Dr. Robert Bramucci, Vice Chancellor, Technology & Learning Services

 This is not enough either. How could it be?

 *

45 comments:

Grey_475 said...

Grow up snowflakes.

Anonymous said...

How can anyone who has an iota of intelligence deal with an administration bent on deception, not asking for advice of friendly nations or folks here at home, and tweeting undeveloped and unsuppported ideas?

And since when do snowflakes grow? Have you never seen one come floating down? But then you don't seem much interested in science or logic.

Anonymous said...

12:36, yes I've often wondered that about those who blindly followed and fawned over Obama and his phony administration of idiots and complete liers.

Check out "A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (and Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media." (Goldberg, Bernie, 2009) Excellent read.

Anonymous said...

So, what are you trying to say by holding up a picture of Anne Frank next to Mimi Walters' office door, that she's a Nazi? Shame on you! SHAME.

Anonymous said...

I think the point is that Anne Frrank's family were refugees who denied sanctuary by the U.S.:


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/24/anne-frank-and-her-family-were-also-denied-entry-as-refugees-to-the-u-s/?utm_term=.4785f00c0f39

Anonymous said...

12:36 Snowflakes do grow! It's science!

http://www.snowcrystals.com/videos/videos.html

You should probably stick to your discipline and avoid snowflakes, politics, science and logic.

Unknown said...

Ah 9:59 of January 31, the tried and true method of any Internet troll: insult them! Because actually putting in the effort to form an argument such that it might persuade others is much, much too complicated for the likes of someone who feels the need to tell others to "grow up snowflake". Not only is logic alien to you but so is commonsense; you waste your time attacking people on websites that promote ideas that run counter to your own. I think it is time you grew up, learned some manners (logic wouldn't hurt, either -- but hey, one step at a time here!), and stick to breitbart and the like as per your usual web-browsing.

Anonymous said...

I think we should all ignore Glenn's comments. We already know how he feels and how he votes. It's pretty obvious.

Anonymous said...

"Not only is logic alien to you but so is commonsense; you waste your time attacking people on websites that promote ideas that run counter to your own." (Bauer)

Gee, "attacking people" with... words? You can't be serious. What about sticks & stones? So much for tolerence and civility at UC Berkeley.

Anonymous said...

Mimi Walters criticized this policy of Trump's BEFORE he won - now she has fallen in step with it. SHAME, indeed.

Anonymous said...

Who ever said we have tolerance and civility for scummy little douchebags like you, 7:37? Fuck off. Go home and put a gun in your mouth.

Anonymous said...

Why don't you do a new thread on all the leftist violence and destruction at UC Berkeley last night? A gay Republican man was denied his right to free speech by all those crazies you call students, so much for diversity of opinion, civility and tolerance.

Where were the police and why did they neglect to get it under control? What has UC president Janet Napolitano said about it?

Anonymous said...

Looks like 10:22 has lost the debate. Thanks for demonstrating the meaning of tolerance, according to the liberal Democrat.

Anonymous said...

Excellent points, 11:54am. It used to be that if you didn't agree with a speakers views, you simply didn't attend the event. A lack of an audience would have spoken sooo much louder than a bunch of violent, intolerant thugs destroying property and endangering those around them. Is violent behavior now considered a form of free speech??

Anonymous said...

Mmmm; I hear crickets. Any response, liberals??? Didn't think so

Unknown said...

10:13 PM, February 02, 2017 your argument is comical at best. Do not confuse "crickets" and lack of an argument for ignoring trolls such as yourself.

Anonymous said...

Not only is Milo Yiabnopoulos a gay conservative, he's also European.

So, in addition to the leaked Clinton campaign team communications where they were caught mocking Jews, gays, etc..., we have this show of outright bigotry, specifically homophobia and xenophobia, toward Milo Yiabnopoulos at UC Berkeley.

I think this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, where the real bigotry and intolerance is coming from, the left; progressives, liberals, Democrats.

Anonymous said...

Again, 4:21, and I'll (metaphorically) speak slowly so you can understand: we're not tolerant of stupidity, greed, and the raping and pillaging of the country and its ecosystem. The little panoply of lies and misrepresentations in the comments here indicate that you and your ilk are simply polluting the gene pool. So, if you don't have a gun, find a reasonable alternative and rid us of your vile presence.

Anonymous said...

Roy, Lisa, Andrew, your silence on the violent, extrimist, intolerant students and faculty at UC Berkely and NYU is deafening. It's remarkable there's no condemnation from any of you. Silence has the appearance that you all condone it. I hope I'm wrong. Please prove me wrong. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

They don't have to do a thing in response to 1:24's petulant little demands. People like this troll, and those he supports, are responsible for disastrous wars and genocides. Intolerant? Damn right. Try jumping off a building. Love to hear a "splat" that will, in its profundity, eclipse anything else you have to say.

Anonymous said...

1:24, obviously, we are not obliged to comment on everything that "protesters" or "leftists" do in the world. Speaking for myself, I do not approve of the sort of reaction Milo Yiabnopoulos received up north; I've made that position clear in the past and there is no reason to repeat it.
Recall the obnoxious preacher who caused at stir at IVC last Spring? Yes, we immediately and strenuously defended his right to say what he had to say (against the view of much of the censoring crowd).
We've been writing about such things for twenty years and our views are not hidden.
Happy, 1:24? As usual, you are ignorant and you don't know what you're talking about. Please learn to pay attention to facts (yes, there really are facts) and to think critically. You need not off yourself. Just get up to speed, and learn to distinguish between reliable reporting and crap--i.e., the loutisphere, occupied by the right, with few exceptions.
FACTS (easily verified):
No, Obama did nothing like Trump's recent Muslim "ban." Comparing Obama's action of 4 or 5 years ago to Trump's action is utter nonsense, as journalists have repeatedly made clear.
Not that it matters much, but the crowds who appeared for Obama's inauguration were much larger than the crowd that showed for Trump's. But who really cares?
No, there's no evidence of massive voter fraud; there's no good reason to suppose that the official popular vote count is far off the mark, as even Trump's lawyers have acknowledged.
And on and on and on.

P.S.: 7:37, you attribute a comment to me that I never made. Get your shit together, man! --RB

Anonymous said...

If i recall correctly, Lisa and Andrew are nonviolence trainers with a long history of peaceful direct action that stretches back to the 80s, working with various community groups. Neither of them was in attendance at nor had any direct connection with the events up at Cal.

Anonymous said...

The question being begged here is that this awful little man gets to have a platform at a public university. Let's not jump on his ambiguous freedom of speech rights too soon. A public disapproval is just fine, and if the local Republicans at the university want to rent a hall off campus and have him in to preach to the demented converted, let them do so. Otherwise, fight these bastards.

Anonymous said...

Why is he awful? For speaking his mind? Yes, the conservatives should equally get a platform at public universities, just as the liberals do. Remember "equal time?" The conservatives shouldn't have to rent a private hall, they have as much right to voice their opinions in the public square as the PC, hypocrite, intolerant, thumb sucking, crybaby socialists do.

Oh, and I think the "bastards" here are those on the left trying to shut down free speech by violating the civil rights of others.

Anonymous said...

Yes, he's awful. No doubt about it. And if you want a "conservative" to have a platform, get one with a functioning cerebral cortex. Good luck.

Go ahead and dig up the remains of Joseph Goebbels while you're at it. There's all sorts of talk that just sorts of, you know, eats shit.

Maybe you've noticed that we on the left have finally, because it does not work with your ilk, eschewed rational, tolerant, reason based conversation with the likes of you. It's a new world, fuckwad. Fuck off and die, soon, please.

Anonymous said...

Thanks 3:38, for showing us what a big time creep you are along with all the major flaws in what is today's "democratic socialism." Because you and your ilk think you know better than the rest of us, then you get to decide and make the rules, Constitution be damned! The problem is that your side is now virtually powerless in government.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why you are not covering the Super Bowl. Shame. Very un-American. Very sad.

Anonymous said...

It's all ok, 4:48. After you get tucked in for the night and protected from the demands of having to make a living, someone will explain what all the big words mean. Mom will make sure that the service on the BMW she bought you will be handled.

Anonymous said...

Today's "progressives" are not really for progress at all. That is all a big liberal lie, they are out for totalitarianism. Watch "Why I Left the Left" (link).

https://www.prageru.com/courses/political-science/why-i-left-left

Anonymous said...

Prager is another money grubber who sucks the income out of the brainless and paranoid right wingers, much like the NRA. Try again. Fail better.

Anonymous said...

The point, 4:35, is that 3:49 cannot support his vague and unsupported remark about "progressives" by appealing to the opinion of notoriously unreliable blowhard (and self-appointed moral guru) Dennis Prager. 3:49 might as well simply declare that everything Trump says and does is golden, end of story. That's some rhetoric, 3:49. You've got nothin'.
Obviously, "progressives" or "leftists" comprise a fairly motley group, and it is absurd to suggest that they all embrace some sort of "totalitarianism." Such language, and this so-called "big liberal lie," sound like third rate propaganda from the usual right-wing, paranoid demagogues (Prager, et al.). Let's skip the idiotic demagoguery. Just offer clear reasoning without bullshit. OK?
And that goes for you too, 4:35. Make a point, a real point, or just shut the fuck up. --RB

Anonymous said...

The worst thing about having a blog like DtB is the low quality of most of the comments.
Please keep the mindless demagoguery to others and other blogs. We're a college blog and we have standards. Avoid mere name-calling. Make like an intelligent person--or just go away. Please. --RB

Anonymous said...

Neither 3:49 nor Prager is saying this, the gay guy, a former "progressive" in the video is and he is rock solid in his observations, analysis and reasoning.

Just because some disagree does not take away from his experience. President Calvin Cooledge said and warned us of the same things 90 years ago and it's just as true today.

As an educator I was also a progressive and eventually switched to conservatism after realizing the former could no longer stand on its own merits. I have observed our society becoming a lawless free for all where anything goes and I was so sick of lying to myself, so I too, left the left.

I'm so proud of my country now that we've finally elected the most competent leader who truly loves America and has sworn to work on behalf of, and in the people's interests, not government's interests.

Anonymous said...

So where's the criticism of 7:23 after the bizarre attack on 4:35?

Anonymous said...

They've too busy deleting posts. Academic dishonesty.

Anonymous said...

If anything were to be deleted, it would be this steaming pile of stupidity: "I'm so proud of my country now that we've finally elected the most competent leader who truly loves America and has sworn to work on behalf of, and in the people's interests, not government's interests."

It's so abysmally absurd that the poster is (a) a troll, just pissing people off or (b) sincere, which scares the crap out of me.

Anonymous said...

I too, see what they are doing. Shame on dtb for removing comments!

Anonymous said...

And patriotism scares the crap out of you, why? Let's have an honest conversation.

Anonymous said...

That removed post was an indictment on dtb, they have been caught yet again. Shame on them.

Anonymous said...

If patriotism means supporting a kleptocrat who is a litigious, lying, and profoundly incapable douchebag then I guess we now have a new definition of a term that was ambiguous in the first place.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you mean like how in 16 years the Clintons went from being broke to now having a net worth of over $350M?

Anonymous said...

What the fuck does whatever the Clintons have made over almost two decades, whatever it may be, have to do with the fact that you are bent over (along with the rest of us) while we all get ass raped by this piece of shit? Stick with the question and avoid the shiny objects, twit.

Anonymous said...

Ass raped, huh? Like how Obamacare was rammed up all our asses? Like how Obama's IRS screwed conservative groups up the ass, violating their civil rights? Where's the leftist 9th. Circus Court on that one? Like how the Little Sisters of the Poor was screwed up the ass, forcing them to violate their religious conscious? Like how the families of those killed in the Benghazi scandal were royally screwed up the rectum by Obama and Hillary? We can easily go on with many more examples of proud Americans being screwed up the ass by the leftist ideologues...

Anonymous said...

Funny how fast that last post, the indictment of dtb, was removed. What are they afraid of, why don't they answer the charges? They must not have lives if all they're doing on a Saturday is monitoring the blog, LOL.

Anonymous said...

Well, pal, if you want to live in a theocracy, go and live in Saudi Arabia. We'll miss you. I'm sure Fox "news" is probably allowed there, so you can have all the religious indoctrination you want.

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

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