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

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Color Me Shocked!

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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