10-20: Women Are Falling Behind

✅Hate Crimes Spiking Across Orange County, Up 89 Percent Since 2015, According to New Report 

It comes amid national focus on rising hate crimes, especially against Asian Americans during the pandemic. 

—Voice of OC 

     “In 2019, there were 83 reported hate crimes in Orange County, a 24% increase from 2018. Of the cases motivated by race, ethnicity and national origin, 53% were driven by anti-black racism. Of the cases motivated by religion, 52% were driven by anti-Semitism,” said OC supervisors’ Chairwoman Michelle Steel in a statement announcing the report. 

 . . . 

     Activists have criticized President Trump for using the term “China virus” and “kung flu” to describe the virus, warning it feeds into racist incidents against Asians, while supporters of the president say it’s accurate for him to say the virus came from China. 

     Trump’s use of the term has drawn criticism from some in his own party like Young Kim, a Republican candidate for the competitive 39th Congressional District in North Orange County. 

     “The President’s continued use of terms associating COVID-19 with the [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community is hurtful to many across our diverse nation,” Kim wrote in a Facebook post the day after the president called the coronavirus “kung flu” at a June rally. 

     “As I have said in the past, no American of any race or ethnic group, is responsible for this virus. Our leaders should be working to unite Americans to defeat this unprecedented pandemic and the President’s words last night did not do that,” Kim wrote. 

     Others, including Steel, have supported the president’s use of the term, noting the virus originated from China. 

     “You know what? It started from China, so that is what he is calling it,” Steel said in late March. 

✅Women Are Falling Behind 

Large-scale study backs up other research showing relative declines in women's research productivity during COVID-19. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

✅Report: 28% of College Students Come From Immigrant Families 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Students from immigrant families accounted for 28 percent of all U.S. college students in 2018, up from 20 percent in 2000, according to a new analysis by the Migration Policy Institute commissioned by the Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. The number of students from immigrant families -- those who were either born abroad or born in the U.S. to immigrant parents -- grew at a much faster rate than the number of U.S.-born students with U.S.-born parents. 

✅A Raft of Pay-Gap Lawsuits Suggests Little Progress for Academic Women. Why Is That? 

—CHE

✅COVID-19 death toll nears 17,000 in California -- While the number of daily COVID-19 deaths has fallen dramatically in California in the last few months, the state’s death toll has become the third-highest in the nation, with nearly 17,000 lives lost. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/20/20 

✅California’s feared surge of virus cases hasn’t happened -- Near the end of September, with coronavirus cases falling and more schools and businesses reopening, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration urged restraint, citing a statistical model that predicted a startling 89% increase in virus hospitalizations in the next month. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 10/20/20 

✅Candidates, outside groups spend nearly $39 million on Orange County House races -- Candidates have raised a combined $44.9 million and spent $27.5 million so far in the seven House races that touch Orange County, according to the latest campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 10/20/20 

✅California officials see boon in Biden’s climate plan -- Biden plans to use California as a template for a frenzy of advancements in clean energy and environmental justice. The state would reap big benefits. Evan Halper, Anna M. Phillips in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/20/20 

✅Pandemic-fueled safety fears fuel gun purchases in California -- Fears of unrest, early release of prisoners, government overreach, even government collapse, led an estimated 110,000 Californians to purchase firearms in the early months of the pandemic, say UC Davis researchers. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/20/20 

✅A look at Orange County as first in a wave of school reopenings in California -- The reopening of hundreds of Orange County schools for in-person instruction over the last month — the largest return to school in a major metropolitan area in California so far this year — is likely to be a test case for the rest of the state. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 10/19/20 

Raghu Mathur's surprising endorsement for Area 1 Trustee—an Indian-American Democrat and "Activist" (not old pal & Republican, Helen Locke)

You'll recall that there are four candidates running for David Lang's vacated seat on the SOCCCD board of trustees (area 1): 

South OC College Dist, Trustee Area 1

1. HELEN LOCKE

See statement

2. CAROLYN INMON

See statement

3. AARTI KAUSHAL

See statement

4. MATT WAID

See statement

We've noted that candidate Helen Locke, who seems to have the backing of the Republican establishment (matching Inmon's backing by the Democratic establishment) was (is?) a crony of the odious Raghu P Mathur, formerly the Chancellor of SOCCCD (until he got canned).

Thus I was surprised to learn today—thanks to the Reb—that Mathur is not endorsing Locke for this seat; rather, he is endorsing Democratic (?) candidate (and fellow Indian-American) Aarti Kaushal!? (See Locke's supporters HERE.)

Kaushal is an interesting candidate, concerned about safety. Check her out.

The above graphic is from Kaushal's campaign website, which can be found HERE.

Sidhu is a Republican. So is Tandon.

Presumably, Bhutoria is a Democrat.

Mathur

Kaushal, a self-employed "special education consultant," is endorsed by Young Dems, and they likely wouldn't do that unless she were a Dem, right? 

[UPDATE: yep, she ran for the Democratic Party County Central Committee back in March. She appears to have lost, which is easy to do.]

Mathur is notoriously conservative, very much a "staunch" Republican. You wouldn't think he'd support a Democrat for anything.

Mathur and Kaushal (and Sidhu and Tandon and Bhutoria) are Indian-Americans, so there's that.

More later.

(Kaushal, as a professional, has some affiliation with an "expert" associated with Oprah Winfrey. Oh-oh.)

See Indian American Educator, Activist Aarti Kaushal Vying for Southern California Community College Board Seat, IndiaWest (newspaper), Sept 22, 2020

Aarti Kaushal running for South Orange County Community College Board, The South Asian Times, Sept 30, 2020

Conversation with the phenomenal Aarti Kaushal Chopra—a South Asian immigrant woman’s voice, Archive StoryCorps, Jan 6, 2020

According to Ballotpedia, "Aarti Kaushal is running for election to the Irvine Ranch Water District to represent Division 4 in California. Kaushal is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2020." (They note her other race as well.)

Odd, that.

10-19: Trump calls Fauci and other health officials "idiots"; Democrats' deja vu worries; racism at VMI

✅Thousands of Trump supporters rally in Newport Beach as president arrives for fundraiser -- The rally along Pacific Coast Highway and Newport Boulevard was raucous and confrontational at times. A man from Tustin in a Trump-themed cowboy hat taunted a female Los Angeles Times reporter for wearing a mask. Laura Newberry, Stephanie Lai, Arit John in the Los Angeles Times$ Alicia Robinson, Erika I. Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 10/19/20 

✅2016 sequel? Trump’s old attacks failing to land on Biden -- The president’s attempts to recycle attacks he used on Hillary Clinton that year have so far failed to effectively damage Democrat Joe Biden. And Trump has found himself dwelling more and more in the conservative media echo chamber, talking to an increasingly smaller portion of the electorate. Jonathan Lemire and Jill Colvin Associated Press -- 10/19/20 

✅Biden leads Trump. So did Hillary Clinton. For Democrats, it’s a worrisome campaign deja vu -- The polls are once again delivering feel-good boosts to Democrats: Joe Biden beats President Trump by 10, 11 or 12 points nationally, depending on the day. His edge in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin averages eight. Propeller-heads promise better than 4 in 5 odds of a new president next year. But then the partisans remember they have been here before, four years ago this week. Michael Scherer and Scott Clement in the Washington Post$ -- 10/19/20 

✅‘Lock Them All Up’: Trump Attack on Michigan Governor Fits Damaging Pattern 

President Trump has continued to draw attention to his difficulties with women and older voters by minimizing the pandemic and targeting female leaders 

—NYT 

✅Den of dissent: Discord besets White House task force as coronavirus surges 

The U.S. response is increasingly plagued by distrust, infighting and lethargy, as experts predict cases could surge this winter and deaths could reach 400,000 by year’s end. 

—WashPo

✅‘People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots’: Trump attacks health officials in fiery campaign call 

—Politico 

✅Seeking Fair Pay 

Five female professors sue Rutgers, saying the university hasn't delivered on its new salary equity adjustment program despite demonstrated disparities. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

✅Racism Common at Virginia Military Institute 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     The Washington Post has reported that Black cadets at Virginia Military Institute endure an atmosphere of hostility, cultural insensitivity and racism. Over the past few years, several incidents of overt racism, such as a white student telling a Black student he would lynch him, have occurred. VMI administrators have also been among those accused of cultural insensitivity. The institute responded to those incidents with less stringent discipline than some students would advocate for. 

✅Pitt Law Lecturer Resigns After Using Racial Slur 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     An adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law has resigned after using the N-word in class, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported. The Pitt administration did not identify the professor but said that the word was used during a class discussion of a case involving offensive language.

Girl in the Mirror (anti-Trump ad by Lincoln Project)

Europe & North America are in trouble; in the U.S., Trump's negligence is allowed to continue, as tens of thousands die needlessly

Coronavirus: just fake news

     Recently, I wanted to get clear about Covid-19 cases/deaths around the world. Things aren't looking so good, especially in Europe and North America.

     I found a BBC article that provided useful graphs indicating comparative numbers. 

     The main graph listed countries by number of deaths, but I was more interested in death rates. So I modified the chart in order of rates: number of deaths per 100,000 people. I included only those nations with death rates of 50 or above (per 100K). The US is #11, with Mexico at #10 and the UK at #12.

     Obviously, a country can have a high death rate with low raw numbers owing to its small population. The real standout here is Brazil, with a rate of 74 per 100k and over 152,000 deaths. (On the other hand, the rate there has trended downward in recent weeks; good news.) 

     (Check out Peru as well.) 

     The US has far more deaths but its rate is much lower: 66 per 100k. (Our recent trends are not good, however. See below.)

Here's similar data from Johns Hopkins:

RECENT TRENDS:

Trends are also important.

The data below are also from Johns Hopkins:

Recent trends have been good in India, not so good in the US.
Note that India is low in deaths per 100k (8.4 compared to our 66.3).

In recent months, the trend has been good in Brazil (until very recently), but poor in France

The UK sucks about as badly as we do. What's that all about?
(Maybe the arsehole-as-leader factor.)

Big problems in Belgium

New cases of COVID-19 weekly for top 7 regions in the world.
European Union/UK and North America are standouts, in a bad way. South Asia, too, has
worrisome numbers, but, recently, trends have been good. Not so in Europe/US.

Above average death

From BBC, August 22:

Some argue that this is the truest measure of Covid's impact

Mysterious deaths in blue (Covidry uncounted)

In OC, things don't look too bad. Stable for now. But the cold is coming.
Then what? Rates will go up again.

10-17: Kanye West is American Independent Party’s candidate for vice president; Death Spiral?; Blood Bath?; the curious charm of pedophilia conspiracy theories

Greta Garbo (1905-1990)

✅California authorities and GOP clash again over unofficial ballot drop boxes 

State has subpoenaed more information on the boxes from the California Republican Party, but GOP officials argue details are confidential. 

—OC Reg 

✅In ballot box battle, Dems and GOP both claim victory. Why this fight fizzled -- In a press conference seemingly designed to deescalate a week-long legal standoff, declare victory and profoundly confuse the California press corps, Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Alex Padilla said they would not be taking legal action against the California Republican Party for its makeshift ballot box program. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 10/17/20 

✅California Republicans defend ballot boxes as subpoenas are issued -- California officials on Friday said that the state Republican Party has agreed to no longer deploy “unstaffed, unsecured, unofficial and unauthorized” private ballot boxes and that subpoenas have been issued in an investigation into how the containers have been used in at least three counties. Sarah Parvini, John Myers, Stephanie Lai in the Los Angeles Times$ Barbara Sprunt, Scott Rodd, Sam Gringlas Capital Public Radio Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/20 

✅Supreme Court to consider Trump effort to exclude from census any immigrants not legally in the U.S. -- The Supreme Court said Friday it would give President Trump another chance to exclude immigrants in the U.S. illegally from the 2020 census, in a case that targets the political power of California and other states with large immigrant populations. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/20 

✅Why do conspiracy theories about pedophilia hold such sway with some conservatives? -- In modern presidential campaigns, unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about pedophilia are now almost as routine as stump speeches, poll results and televised debates. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/17/20

✅Kanye West is VP pick in California for party of George Wallace -- Kanye West is the conservative American Independent Party’s candidate for vice president. And party leaders will let the rapper know as soon as they can find him. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/17/20 

✅Election of a board majority will shape the nation’s largest community college district -- With a dizzying 33 candidates, the election of four seats on the seven-member Los Angeles Community College District board has brought into focus the basic needs of some of the poorest college students in California amid the pandemic, as well as issues of declining enrollment, budget oversight and accountability over the chancellor. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/16/20 

✅Coronavirus: California’s cases stay flat despite nationwide surge -- In the past month, cases have gone down about 5% in California, while they have risen about 42% nationally. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/16/20 

✅‘Death spiral’: What happens in California if the Supreme Court invalidates Obamacare? -- Nearly 17 million Californians with pre-existing conditions could face higher health costs or loss of benefits. Five million Californians could lose health insurance coverage completely. California would lose $27 billion to cover health care costs for low-income families. Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/16/20 

✅Fearing a ‘Blood Bath,’ Republican Senators Begin to Edge Away From Trump 

—NYT 

✅Trump Reverses Decision to Reject California’s Request for Wildfire Relief 

—NYT 

✅Biden’s ABC town hall ratings beat Trump’s three-network NBC event 

—WashPo 

✅Pandemic schooling is producing a lost generation of coronavirus kids 

In Peru and across the developing world, remote learning is deepening the divide between rich and poor. 

—WashPo

✅Coronavirus live news: world sees record 400,000 new cases in a single day; Italy's PM to announce new measures 

Belgium and Austria’s foreign ministers test positive; UK adviser supports short ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown; Angela Merkel asks Germans to stay home 

—Guardian UK

10-16: Trump: "California is going to hell. Vote Trump!"

✅Christian College Faculty Aren't Lining Up for Trump 

Reflecting new polling that indicates college-educated white evangelicals are moving away from supporting Trump, many on Christian campuses are struggling to back him. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     …But while recent polls show Trump continues to hold a wide lead over Democrat Joe Biden among religious voters, a bad sign for the president is that some of his support is slipping, including among white evangelicals who, like the faculty at Christian colleges, have a college education. 

     At the nation’s Christian colleges, a number of professors described in interviews this week their struggle to reconcile their support for a president moving toward ending abortion with their discomfort, and even spiritual revulsion, over him.

✅President Donald Trump coming to Orange County for private fundraiser 

Tech mogul Palmer Luckey slated to host event at his Newport Beach home, as latest fundraising numbers show Trump falling behind Joe Biden. 

—OC Reg 

✅Trump, Biden clash in distant, dueling town halls 

The prime-time network events replaced the canceled second scheduled presidential debate and reflected jarring differences between the candidates. 

—WashPo 

✅Savannah Guthrie grilled Trump as few have done, taking heat off NBC for its town hall 

The network was criticized for accommodating Trump after he rejected a debate. But then the “Today” host started asking him questions. 

—WashPo 

✅Trump administration blocks California wildfire relief -- The Trump administration has rejected California’s request for disaster relief funds aimed at cleaning up the damage from six recent fires across the state, including Los Angeles County’s Bobcat fire, San Bernardino County’s El Dorado fire, and the Creek fire, one of the largest that continues to burn in Fresno and Madera counties. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/16/20 

Norma Shearer (1902-1983)

✅Trump’s immigration changes will affect California long after he’s gone -- It was a Monday morning in Washington less than three weeks from the November presidential election, and with the first day of Senate hearings for his Supreme Court pick and more than 210,000 Americans having died from COVID-19, President Trump tweeted: “California is going to hell. Vote Trump!” Molly O’Toole in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/15/20 

✅Schools shouldn’t reopen without adequate safeguards, California voters say -- Most California voters want schools to require safeguards like face masks, proper ventilation and social distancing in classrooms, and Covid-19 testing and tracing before schools return for in-person instruction, according to poll released Thursday by the California Teachers Association. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 10/16/20 

✅President Trump’s town hall turns contentious; Joe Biden focuses on policy -- As President Trump angrily refused to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory or accept responsibility for the surge of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., Joe Biden laid out his policy plans in a more muted style on a separate stage. Evan Halper, Eli Stokols, Melanie Mason, Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/16/20 

✅White House was warned Giuliani was target of Russian intelligence operation to feed misinformation to Trump -- U.S. intelligence agencies warned the White House last year that President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani was the target of an influence operation by Russian intelligence, according to four former officials familiar with the matter. Shane Harris, Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 10/16/20 

✅Trump’s Combative Town-Hall Event Stands in Stark Contrast With Biden’s 

—NYT 

✅Slamming Trump, G.O.P. Senator Warns of a ‘Republican Blood Bath’ 

—NYT 

✅Permanent Budget Cuts Are Coming 

—CHE 

✅Right-Wing Trolls Attacked Me. My Administration Buckled. 

On the cravenness and cowardice of the corporate university. 

—CHE