1966: nearly forgotten, disquieting, vatic gems!

1966: Arthur Lee's LOVE, "My Little Red Book"

I just got out my little red book 

The minute that you said goodbye 

I thumbed right through my little red book 

I wasn't gonna sit and cry

1966: The Seeds, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine"

"...the glorious primitivism and narrower focus of their debut [album] ultimately works to their advantage; there are few albums of the era that mirror the delicious arrogance of a beer-sodden teenage misfit with the effortless simplicity of the Seeds, and it's justly celebrated as a classic of first-wave garage punk."

1966: The Standells, "Dirty Water"

"The Los Angeles band was actually hardly typical of the young suburban outfits across America who took their raw garage sound onto obscure singles recorded in small studios. They'd been playing L.A. clubs since the early '60s, with a repertoire that mostly consisted of covers of pre-Beatles rock hits. Drummer (and eventual lead singer) Dick Dodd had been a Mouseketeer on television, organist Larry Tamblyn was the brother of noted film actor Russ Tamblyn, and Tony Valentino was a recent immigrant from Italy."

Yeah, down by the river 

Down by the banks of the river Charles 

Aw, that's what's happenin', baby 

That's where you'll find me 

Along with lovers, muggers, and thieves 

Aw, but they're cool, too

1966: Syndicate of Sound, "Little Girl"

"...Syndicate of Sound singer Don Baskin and bassist Bob Gonzalez ultimately took that inspiration and penned a unique number incorporating sonic elements of Britpop and folk-rock with a dark, brooding, and dyspeptic lyrical sentiment, delivered with an almost discomforting level of sanguine indifference."

1966: 13th Floor Elevators, "You're Gonna Miss Me"

"The 13th Floor Elevators [of Austin, Texas] were trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene, and in time they'd pay a heavy price for exploring the outer edges of musical and psychological possibility, but along the way they left behind a few fine albums, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators remains a potent delight."

You're gonna wake up wonderin' 

Find yourself all alone 

But what's gonna stop me, baby? 

I'm not comin' home

1966: ? and the Mysterians, "96 Tears"

"It only took one song, the organ-driven number one smash '96 Tears,' to make ? & the Mysterians into garage rock legends. Eccentric frontman Question Mark ... cultivated an aura of mystery by never appearing in public without a pair of wraparound sunglasses; he frequently claimed he had been born on Mars and lived among the dinosaurs in a past life, and that voices from the future had revealed he would be performing '96 Tears' in the year 10,000. On a more earthly level, the Mysterians' sound helped lay down an important part of the garage rock blueprint, namely the low-budget sci-fi feel of the Farfisa and Vox organs (most assumed that '96 Tears' had featured the former, but ? later remembered using the latter)."

And when the sun comes up, I'll be on top 

You'll be right down there, looking up 

And I might wave...

1966: The Troggs, "I Can't Control Myself"

"...[T]he words weren't making suggestions but spelling sexual desire out pretty clearly. In particular the line about the slacks hanging low and hips showing, sung with unsuppressed hunger, didn't leave much to the imagination. Nor did the final parts of the verse, where the melody ascended dramatically before pausing for [singer Reg] Presley to seethe the title phrase, after which the band crashed conclusively on a chilling minor chord."

1966: The Monks, "Complication"

"If anything, the Monks were far wilder than their story would suggest; they may have looked bizarre in their matching black outfits, rope ties, and tonsures, but it was their music that was truly radical, with the sharp fuzz and feedback of Gary Burger's guitar faced off against the bludgeoning clang of Dave Day's amplified banjo (taking the place of rhythm guitar), as Roger Johnston pounded out minimalist patterns on the drums, Eddie Shaw's electric bass gave forth with a monstrous throb, and Larry Clark's keyboard bounced off the surfaces of the aural melee."

People cry, 

People die for you. 

People kill, 

People will for you. 

People run, 

Ain't it fun for you.

AND A PERSONAL FAVORITE:

1966: Love, "No Matter What You Do"

Do you remember me? 

I'm the one you talk about 

Do you remember me? 

I'm the one you booted out 

 [Chorus] No matter what in the world you do Hey, 

I'll always be in love with you 

No matter what in the world you say Girl, 

I'm gonna love you anyway

     The rhythm guitarist and second singer for Love was Bryan MacLean, who wrote some of the band's best songs, including the lovely "Alone Again Or." After his association with Love, MacLean underwent a conversion to Christianity and pursued Christian music. His half-sister, Maria McKee, formed the band Lone Justice in the 80s, and one of that band's best songs was written by Bryan: "Don't Toss Us Away," which was later a hit single for country singer Patty Loveless. Bryan died of a heart attack in 1998 at age 52. 

I wild night up here in the mountains

No passage for now. The oak tree is bigger than it looks!

     We're having a wild night here in Lambrose Canyon (Trabuco Cyn. area just above O'Neill Park). Officials are evacuating residents of nearby neighborhoods: Silverado Cyn., Modjeska Cyn., etc. The weather people are warning that we might get 5-7 inches of rain tonight! (That's a frightening thought.) 

     Already, a large tree has fallen and has blocked our exit from Lambrose Canyon. Anni sent me a pic. (See.) 

     Evidently, there was a construction worker at the rental (on our property) who discovered late this afternoon that he was no longer able to drive out (i.e., to drive home). Anni got on the horn to try to get help with moving the tree; she didn't get far; after a while she sought the guy out but could find neither him nor his pickup. But the tree's still blocking the road! Huh?

     I suggested taking a look up Lambrose in the other direction: the road peters out into non-existence and mud as it goes up a box canyon (back in the early 70s, it was still passable but it has steadily deteriorated). But Anni couldn't find him there, nor is there any indication anyone had driven up that way. 

     So it's a mystery. 

     Sounds like one of our neighbors has arranged for help with the tree in the morning. So there's that.

     We'll be all right, I'm sure, though we may experience some flooding tonight (especially down at the studio, which flooded a week or two ago during a relatively moderate storm). 

     And boy is it cold—about 49 degrees already! (My place doesn't have heat, 'ceptin for one or two space heaters.) Sheesh!

     As always, Teddy says "hey!"

Voice of OC photo

Now your Daddy don't mind

Some of my favorites ca. 1960:

 

Henry Gaston: amazing falsetto (1960)

IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT. The song was recorded in the Saint Bernadette Catholic School basement in New Haven, Connecticut in February 1956. Marty Kugell produced the song. The saxophone solo was played by Vinny Mazzetta of New Haven. The rhythm section was Doug Murray (bass), Bobby Mapp (drums) and Curlee Glover (piano). (Wikipedia)

Fred Paris and the boys: 1956

1961

LOVER'S ISLAND. The Blue Jays were an American vocal doo-woop group who surfaced fleetingly in the 1960s. Hailing from Venice, California, the group consisted of Leon Peels (who came from Newport, Arkansas), Van Richardson, Alex Manigo and Leonard Davidson. They formed n 1961, and landed a record deal with Milestone Records. Their only hit was their debut single “Lover’s Island” which broke into the Top 40 in 1961. (MentalItch)

Rosie and the Originals: 1961 hit. One
of John Lennon's all-time favorites

ROSIE: "I [at age 15] played [Angel Baby] for [the Originals] and I just had the arrangement as [I] knew it. It wasn't sophisticated. They liked it. They just started playing parts. The guy that was on the 45, that played on the record, was not our horn player, Alfred Barrett. He was Tony, who actually played bass guitar. We ended up going to the only recording studio we could find within a 100 mile radius. It was on the outskirts of San Diego, on a farm. He was an airplane mechanic. He'd taken part of his hanger and was gonna have a studio when he retired. So, we were there all day, playing it over and over, trying to get it sounding just right. I was playing piano on it. We called Alfred 'cause he wasn't there yet. He said he couldn't get out of the house. His mother wouldn't let him leave 'til he finished mowing and raking the yard. He didn't make the session, so, that's how the terrible horn solo got on there, 'cause nobody knew what they were doing." (Gary James’ interview of Rosie Hamlin)

Major campuses will start January Online

7 U of California Campuses Will Start January Online 

Inside Higher Ed

So will Loyola Marymount, Oakland and McDaniel as fear of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and its impact spreads. 

Seven University of California campuses announced Monday that they will start instruction online in January in response to the Omicron variant of COVID-19. 

The campuses are at Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz and Riverside. UC Santa Barbara announced on its website that “Given the uncertainties around the Omicron variant, UC Santa Barbara will begin winter quarter with two weeks of remote instruction. The quarter will begin as scheduled Monday, Jan. 3, and in-person instruction will resume Tuesday, Jan. 18, following the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday, subject to reassessment of the situation early in the quarter. The decision to delay in-person teaching is related to supporting students and instructors, particularly those who either test positive over winter break and cannot travel back to campus on time, or who test positive upon arrival and need to isolate.”… 

COVID-19 Changes Plans for Next Semester 

Inside Higher Ed

DePaul, Harvard and Stanford students won’t have in-person classes the first weeks of the semester; Penn State, UCLA and U of Southern California are considering such a move; Cornell has surge in infections; Bowie State, Towson and Tufts move finals online. 

COVID-19 is leading some colleges to alter their plans for the next semester, even as it continues to impact the semester that is finishing up. The concern is the Omicron variant of the virus, which transmits much more quickly than other versions and appears to infect some people who are vaccinated. 

In most cases thus far, the Omicron variant does not cause vaccinated individuals to experience anything but mild symptoms, according to public health experts. But college officials are still worried. .Stanford University announced that it will start the winter quarter online, from Jan. 3 until Jan. 18….

More Colleges Announce Changes for January

Inside Higher Ed

Lately overheard in Mayfair

 

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein

Lockerbie, 33 years on

Solstice. The shortest day of a long year. We begin to turn back to the sun today. The days grow longer. Rebel Girl is ususally on her way to Mexico about this time of the year but this year, like last year, she is staying put. This morning is cold.  Another storm arrives tomorrow.  This morning's headlines are all about the new variant, the ease of its transmission.  

33 years ago, Lockerbie Scotland, Pan Am 103, Cipper Maid of the Seas.

From 2013: 

Rebel Girl is a party girl and even though she does not ascribe to any particular faith, she enjoys this season of celebration with its stories of miracles and lights, pilgrimages and stars shining bright. She likes the solstice best and feels a sense of accomplishment on living through that day, the shortest one of the year. When she was a child learning of such things in a public elementary school classroom, Rebel Girl once imagined she could hear the gentle crack of the earth's axis as it tilted, once more, back toward the sun, toward light.

The past 25 years have usually found Rebel Girl and her family hurtling south to Mexico on the Solstice. This year, they will be a little late. But every year on the Solstice, they remember that first year they drove south for the season: 1988. She first wrote about on the blog five years ago.

from December 22, 2008
It was 20 Years Ago Today:
Twenty years ago, Rebel Girl and Red Emma first headed south into Baja, borrowing a friend's car and another friend's travel guide (what friends!). They fell in love with a part of Mexico that many find unlovable (the desert! The Sea of Cortez!) and have returned every year except for this one. This year finds them at home, unnerved by the brutal violence along the border, unwilling to be Americans who drive past other people's tragedies on their way to their own good time.

They usually leave on Solstice, the shortest day of the year. Rebel Girl can't remember if that was true for that first trip twenty years ago. She expects it might be. All she knows is that when they left, they knew about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

So they left on or shortly after December 21, 1988 and returned sometime after the new year, covered in dust and sunburnt. They hadn't followed the news very much, hadn't thought about the bombing except in the way that you do about such events, a distant awareness of someone else's heartbreak. So when they returned and found out that Liz Marek, fellow activist and friend had been on board the flight, there was shock. Liz was an activist of some standing in the LA area, a veteran of the so-called Great Peace March across that country and of many Nevada Test Site actions, a charismatic lead singer in a lesbian rock band and general all-round good person. Liz, working for a non-profit housing agency, had been instrumental in helping Red and Reb and their roommates obtain an apartment after their eviction from their home (long story).

Liz had once complimented Rebel Girl on her design of a banner for a Test Site demonstration even though Rebel Girl now understands that Liz was only being kind. Rebel Girl was on her knees painting it in the sanctuary of the Church in Ocean Park (some church!). Liz had stopped by on her way to a meeting. The banner was wincingly raw and earnest and the memory of it still possesses the power to embarrass Rebel Girl: "The Patriarchy Stops Here," it read, with an angry pregnant woman, her womb filled with a mushroom cloud, pushing back at the lettering.

Rebel Girl still remembers how Liz could belt out her band's version of "Devil in a Blue Dress" (she sang it as "Big Dyke in a Blue Dress"). Back then, she admired the courage, humor and vision of activists like Liz – they had fun at the same time they did good works. She wanted to be like them: gutsy, justice-loving good people.

Liz had been sitting in seat 36 C of the Pan Am flight, traveling with a friend, having got cheap seats for a holiday trip to England. She was 30 years old. The obituaries all identified her as an actress and peace activist.


Later, when Liz's memorial was held at the Church in Ocean Park, Rebel Girl couldn't look into the faces of Liz's family, of her mother; their grief was too stark. She concentrated instead on repairing the cake which had suffered some damage in transit. It was white frosting with blue cursive lettering spelling out Liz's name and some other message Rebel Girl can no longer remember, just as she can no longer remember the witty name of Liz's band.

So, while people gave eulogies and sang songs, told stories and wept, Rebel Girl repaired the sky blue letters, rejoining the links, restoring the integrity of the final loops of the lowercase "k." She smoothed the frosting, white as a cloud.

*

The original post inspired a few comments from other friends of Liz who found it via the web:

Anonymous said...
I was on the great peace march and searched out Liz's name today in memory of her great funny human self. I think [her] band was the Diet Cherry Cokes.

Anonymous said...
I knew Liz on the GPM and deeply appreciated her intelligence, wit and humanity. Thanks for your remembrance of her.

Dear Rebel,
I was at the memorial for Liz at Ocean Park and I visited the Pan Am Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery every year until I left DC in late 1999.

Her family was very kind to me at a time when they were grieving and I'll never forget how gracious they were/are. Especially when I told them about the couple of times I'd be so darned frustrated with knocking on the porta pottie doors and hoping folks would knock back so I could feel the vibration and not accidentally open the door and expose them. When Liz was around and saw me she'd grab my hand and pull me down the line of porta potties and would knock and knock until she found an empty porta potty for me. Her actions saved me a lot of time and she needn't've done it but did because she "got it" that I'm deaf and sometimes a helping hand helps just that much to make one's day a bit brighter. Just for this not so little kindness she's aces in my book.

Just so you know, I was shown kindness by every Marcher while I was on the 9-month walk. This made a huge impact on me. Huge. It still does to this day.

Jules
Peace Marcher

Twenty-five years is a long time.

Liz's mother still lives in Brookfield, Connecticut.

Rebel Girl found an article from Tuesday August 29, 1989: "Mother Makes Somber Visit to Lockerbie" which is exactly what its title suggests. The online version of the article features a tiny black and white headshot of Liz; it is not the best photo and the online scan of it fragments it even more but there's something there still in Liz's eyes that Reb likes to see. Her direct gaze. It's Liz all right. The article appeared in the Connecticut newspaper The Day.

Immediately to the right is another article: "Black, white African leaders meet: Kaunda, de Klerk talk in Zambia" and a larger photo of de Klerk, Botha (remember him?) and a skeptical Kaunda who is described as "a relentless critic of apartheid."

*

2021 update:

Others continue to find this story and share their own:

In 2015, Jonathan K Cohen said…
I sang at the funeral of a college classmate who perished in Pan Am 103. I was pretty numb, but I got through it. It had been arranged by my college, and the mourners thought I was much closer to Andrew than was actually the case, but I was filled with horror. Someone whom I liked and had had conversations with had been blown up and scattered over Scotland. It got to me in a way that not even 9/11 did.
9:29 AM, December 20, 2015 

In 2017 Zippy said…
Liz was my babysitter back in brookfield. I have fond memories of the Mareks, their home, and their kids. Liz was sweet and kind to me.

And finally Liz's mother Adelaide passed away in 2016 at the age of 86 on October 27, days before the election. Her obituary recommends: "In lieu of flowers, VOTE."

*

You and me won't be alone no more

 

Unsurprised. Unsupervised. Where’s Don? —By Red Emma

Unsurprised. Unsupervised. Where’s Don? 

By Red Emma 

Reading an advance copy of the forthcoming A People’s Guide to Orange County (UC Press, January 2022), co-written by my former OC Weekly editor, a CSUF professor and a UCI library archivist, I was pleased to be reminded of a defining moment in the political career of Supervisor Don Wagner, just now facing uncertainty as a result of likely redistricting changes. On page 130, you’ll find reference to one singularly over-the-top Wagnerian moment under the otherwise benign heading “Silverado Elementary School / Library of the Canyons.” The terrific and essential new guide organizes an alternative political, cultural, ethnographic, and popular history of the County through visits to actual locales, this one being especially familiar. I was a parent who fought against closure of the small school but, after its closure, embraced and celebrated the new Library of the Canyons, OCPL branch, which replaced it after thoughtful and gorgeous renovation, which you’d sort of think Don would’ve heard about. Todd Spitzer was there, as were our late, great County librarian Helen Fried, firefighters, law enforcement, Boy Scouts, and community members. 

DonQuest 

The episode recalled in this chapter either Wagner’s failure to do basic Google research or only his purposeful dissembling. After all, MapQuest alerts even a casual researcher to the existence of the new library, so that pretending to propose a homeless shelter at this address seems a pretty obvious, clumsy Wagnerian distraction if ultimately one which bought time for him – albeit pissing off canyonites and earning Don some media attention of the “no press is bad press” variety. Except when it is bad indeed! As then-spokesperson for a group of mayors of twelve South County cities, or perhaps only the fall guy, Wagner and their honors had to come up with something, anything, back in spring of 2018 to answer U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s requirement to house homeless people. It worked, sort of, for a few weeks. 

Turning Point, USA, USA, USA! 

So that when I shared reports of Wagner’s Saturday morning, December 6, appearance at an anti-vaccine mandate rally hosted by the far-right creeps from Turning Point, USA’s local UC Irvine and CSU Fullerton chapters with a friend, she responded that she was not surprised. We joked that Don might need help finding the location, but of course he worked at Irvine’s City Hall after time wasted in the state legislature, and for those of you with a long, disturbing memory, as a member of the SOCCCD board too. 

Don with pal Joe Arpaio

Red Emma could not attend the fascist wingding that morning, so he called the Sup’s office a week later asking for a transcript of his remarks, as might any curious fan. A jolly staffer told me that she had no idea that the event had occurred or that her boss had spoken, and surely that there was no speech as, I kid you not – “He just says the first thing that comes to his mind” – and that she would call me back. 

She didn’t. 

A second ringy dingy got me to the Deputy Chief of Staff, who also plead ignorance of Don’s attendance. He endured a few further questions from Red before affirming his boss’s position that mandates were government overreach, then transferred me to the Chief of Staff herself. The rally was also news to her, of course. Hmmm. 

Nobody knew or could confirm that Don the W had ever even been to the event. Helpfully (I thought) I read to her from a CSUF Daily Titan news article, with photos, including one of Don, with exaggerated numbers of attendees, and some pretty clueless reporting. There he was, unchaperoned by staffers it seems, at a rally sponsored by an outfit (Turning Point) identified by the Anti-Defamation League, Right Wing Watch, The Guardian and almost everybody as batshit crazy. Of special interest to instructors, TP (as I like to call it) sponsors the Professor Watch List – “Unmasking Radical Professors” – where Yours Redly has been featured, go figure. So I guess they have a longstanding position on masks, hardy har. 

From the article: 

Wagner said that vaccination should be to each person’s own discretion and not mandated by the government. He added that the government should not use science as a means to force policy, but should use the outcomes of science to help guide the formation of policy in an educated way. 

“You’re the sovereign. You get to make the decision,” he said. 

“He just says the first thing that comes to his mind”

Supervisor Watch List 

I’ll exercise my own sovereign power here. The photos suggest that there were considerably fewer possessors of supreme political power than reported. The portrait of Don suggests that, well, yes, he was of course there, and likely uttered the above remarks, or something like them. Maybe that’s all or most of what he said, which, absent an available transcript, means that I, your humble and devoted constituent of his Third District, have here provided a modest public service, if you can stand it, and for free and unmandated. 

Don, Meet Brandon 

As I write this on Monday evening, the OC Health Care Agency reports nine new COVID deaths, with 196 COVID patients in County hospitals. Sigh. Helpfully, the County of Orange, with or without our Sup, has responded to the State mask mandate (my emphasis) that beginning Wednesday, all residents must wear masks when going to indoor public places as the Omicron COVID-19 variant raises concerns from public health experts who predict a winter surge. 

“… the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is requiring masks to be worn in all indoor public settings, irrespective of vaccine status, for the next four weeks (December 15, 2021 through January 15, 2022).” 

Here’s one of Don’s constituents parked in a shopping mall in Mission Viejo today, living the dream. No doubt he’ll cast a vote for the Supervisor who stands for sovereignty, wherever he is or isn’t on a Saturday.

My whole life

 

My whole life 

Looked like a picture of a sunny day

Tell me when we grow up, do we ever go home?

Don't shout and stay
I don't want to let you down
Plead your cause
I don't want to let you down

Found these old modified cartoons from the late 90s:

A reference to Steve Frogue, Foothill High history teacher, Holocaust revisionist, and SOCCCD trustee.

A reference to John Williams, one-time SOCCCD board president—who later resigned from his lucrative County "Public Administrator" Office amid much scandal (in part thanks to our efforts at illumination here at DtB)

“I think it’s the hill to die on.”

 

Supervisor Don Wagner speaks at Turning Point USA rally. (Kassandra Vasquez / Daily Titan)

Rebel Girl couldn't make last Saturday's Turning Point USA rally at Irvine City Hall and so has been on the look out for coverage of the event.

It was a big story in the CSU Fullerton's The Daily Titan but that's about it, at least so far, in terms of coverage.

The article, "Opponents rally for vaccine mandate in Irvine" was written by Kassandra Vasquez.

Some highights:

"Wagner said that vaccination should be to each person’s own discretion and not mandated by the government. He added that the government should not use science as a means to force policy, but should use the outcomes of science to help guide the formation of policy in an educated way.

'You’re the sovereign. You get to make the decision,' he said.

... 

Deputy District Attorney Ernby spent her speech drawing parallels between the 1960s and present day. She said that in the 1960s, people faced losing freedoms to socialist ideas. Ernby added that the people were able to rally together to create change and protect threatened freedom.

...

Turning Point representative, Jacob Ornelas, said that hyper local solutions will be the way to solve the problems facing society today. Ornelas said the rally served as a way to initiate engagement from the religious community.

He added that he is pro-liberty and found a way to put his faith into action in this way.

“I think it’s the hill to die on,” Ornelas said about fighting for the freedom to choose to get vaccinated. He added that giving up the right to choose what is injected into your body gives away all other freedoms in the future.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Assemblymember "considers legal changes to prevent educator sexual misconduct from getting ‘swept under the rug’"

 

Rebel Girl has been following developments in Berkeley and Sacramento in light of recent investigations into sexual misconduct allegations regarding an educator. 

Porposed changes to the California Public Records Act and Education Code might be able to "amend Public Records Act law to mandate disclosure of records in cases of substantiated sexual harassment allegations." 

Your can read all about it here and here.

According to Ally Markovich reporting in Berekelyside about the Berkeley Unified case: "Under the separation agreement, [the educator] agreed not to sue, to go on paid leave immediately and to resign quietly at the end of the school year. In return, the district agreed to stay silent about his alleged misconduct to potential employers conducting reference checks, promising to only disclose his basic employment information, which can be a red flag for future hires."

Of course this allowed the instructor to pursue teaching in other districts which did not have information about the nature of his "separation" from his employer of many years.

As Markovich points out: "Separation agreements with gag orders are commonplace. They get teachers out of the classroom right away, but they leave the door open for predators to make their way back to young people in a practice widely known as “pass the trash.” Five states — but not California — have laws requiring districts to disclose if claims of sexual misconduct against an educator have been substantiated."

The apt term "pass the trash" was new to Rebel Girl but a quick inquiry revealed it is, sadly, in use.

More later.  

Turning Point USA & Don Wagner rally for "Medical Freedom and Privacy" at Irvine City Hall on Saturday

 

*

Banners over the 405 at Jeffrey: Howard Campbell, Jr. visits Irvine

Banner activity lately just down the road from the little college in the orange groves. Rebel Girl doesn't have a TikTok account but this twitter link should take you there.

The dress up and ethos reminds her of the film, Documenting Hate: Charlottesville which revealed, among other pursuits, the local Rise Above Movement's exploits in tunnels near this freeway overpass and the college. (OC focus starts about 25 minutes in...)

One of the banner hangers is featured below right.

This also reminds Rebel Girl of Kurt Vonnegut's Howard Campbell, Jr. an American spy turned Nazi propagandist who appears in Slaughterhouse 5, Mother Night and others.

“I had hoped, as a broadcaster, to be merely ludicrous, but this is a hard world to be ludicrous in, with so many human beings so reluctant to laugh, so incapable of thought, so eager to believe and snarl and hate. So many people wanted to believe me! Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith, I consider a capacity for it terrifying and absolutely vile.” - Howard Campbell, Jr. in Vonnegut's Mother Night.

Take care out there.
*

Board Meeting video

Nov 15 meeting of the SOCCCD Board of Trustees 

[click on link for YouTube video]

Public comments: 

6:55 “inject my body against my will.” “Mandate…unethical.” 

9:05 [Professor Seth Hochwald’s wife] California state employees given option of vaccinate or test. Why not allow those options for employees of the district. “I need an answer.” Marcia does not answer but refers to recommendations. 

Board Reports: [11:07] 

15:38 [Whitt’s report: “I ended up with Covid….” [Found out day of last meeting.] Weird account of hospital stay. “No one came to visit me.” “I thought of how scared I was, feeling of hopelessness…" Thought of all the people who died in that room. I’m vaccinated. You can’t talk about your experience until you have it….” --Very hard to follow. Weird, weird, weird. “Reconsider, all of you, what you are doing.”

What is "Critical Race Theory" (CRT)?

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack? 

Education Week 

By Stephen Sawchuk — May 18, 2021 

 

     ...Critical race theory is an academic concept that is more than 40 years old. The core idea is that race is a social construct, and that racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.

     The basic tenets of critical race theory, or CRT, emerged out of a framework for legal analysis in the late 1970s and early 1980s created by legal scholars Derrick Bell, Kimberlé Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others. 

     A good example is when, in the 1930s, government officials literally drew lines around areas deemed poor financial risks, often explicitly due to the racial composition of inhabitants. Banks subsequently refused to offer mortgages to Black people in those areas…. 

critical race theory (article) 

Encyclopedia Britannica 

Derrick Bell

     critical race theory (CRT), intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. Critical race theorists hold that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans. Critical race theorists are generally dedicated to applying their understanding of the institutional or structural nature of racism to the concrete (if distant) goal of eliminating all race-based and other unjust hierarchies....

Explainer: What 'critical race theory' means and why it's igniting debate 

By Gabriella Borter 

REUTERS 

September 22, 2021 

     …Critical race theory (CRT) is an approach to studying U.S. policies and institutions that is most often taught in law schools. Its foundations date back to the 1970s, when law professors including Harvard Law School’s Derrick Bell began exploring how race and racism have shaped American law and society. 

     The theory rests on the premise that racial bias - intentional or not - is baked into U.S. laws and institutions. Black Americans, for example, are incarcerated at much higher rates than any other racial group, and the theory invites scrutiny of the criminal justice system's role in that. 

     An often-cited illustration is America's War on Drugs. The 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act established harsher penalties for possession of crack cocaine than those for powder cocaine; Black Americans are more likely to be convicted of the former and whites the latter. Within four years, average federal drug sentences for Black offenders were 49% higher than those handed out to white offenders, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.... .

What is critical race theory? 

The spread of critical race theory in schools has sparked controversies across the country 

By Sam Dorman | Fox News 

     What exactly is critical race theory? The answer to that question appears to have eluded many, as controversies over racial diversity trainings and curricula have swept the nation's schools in recent months. Often compared by critics to actual racism, CRT is a school of thought that generally focuses on how power structures and institutions impact racial minorities. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the first annual CRT workshop took place in 1989 but its origins go back as far as the mid-20th century with the development of a more general precursor known as critical theory. 

     Advocates of these ideas view the world through the lens of power relationships and societal structures rather than individuals. The movement itself came in reaction to the perceived failures of classical liberalism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Race, according to this view, is a relatively recent social construct that is weaponized by dominant groups to oppress others. 

     Part of the problem defining CRT is that its contours are so vague…. 

Kimberlé Crenshaw, Kendall Thomas, Patricia Williams

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?  

Columbia Law School professors explain this method of research for legal scholars and how it’s being misunderstood. 

Columbia News 

July 01, 2021 

     …Critical race theory was a movement that initially started at Harvard under Professor Derrick Bell in the 1980s. It evolved in reaction to critical legal studies, which came about in the 70s and dissected the idea that law was just and neutral. Over time, the movement grew among legal scholars, mostly of color, at law schools across the country, including at UCLA, where [Kimberlé] Crenshaw lectured on critical race theory, civil rights, and constitutional law, and later at Columbia, where she was appointed a full professor in 1995, alongside [Patricia] Williams, a former student, research assistant, and lifelong mentee of Bell’s, and who is now professor of law emerita. 

     Although the scholarship differs in emphasis and discipline, it is united by an interest in understanding and rectifying the ways in which a regime of white supremacy and its subordination of people of color in America has had an impact on the relationship between social structure and professed ideals such as “the rule of law” and “equal protection.” 

     Put simply, according to Crenshaw, who coined the term intersectionality, which refers to how different forms of discrimination (such as sexism and racism) can overlap and compound each other, critical race theory is a way to talk openly about how America’s history has had an effect on our society and institutions today….

NOTES ON CRITICAL RACE THEORY 

By: Gregory Pardlo 

Pen America 

November 8, 2021 

     …The popular (among some) objection is that CRT teaches children and young people that America is racist at its core. This is true. That is, America is indeed racist at its core. And it is a dishonest—not to mention illogical—rhetorical move to make that assertion mean “all white Americans are racist,” which is what CRT-baiters would have us believe is the hidden agenda. Equally dishonest is the effort to have the words “racist” and “racism” describe only the willful and overt racial hatred expressed by a conscious actor. Defining racism like this prevents us from examining the ways that laws, policies, practices and institutional cultures might bear the imprint of earlier generations’ racial attitudes and beliefs. Defining racism in this limited way precludes the possibility that an institution can act on its own, independently from its individual constituents, which, of course, is the very thing institutions are designed to do….