Images for a warm Tuesday evening

Got some images here for you.

Irvine Valley College's theater people (aka "the thespians") have displayed the same dang photos in their box display at the center of building A200 for--well, I figure it's been at least 15 years. The Reb insists this stuff has been hanging around for a lot longer that that.

It's like these two-dimensional performers—and IVC's neglectful theater people—are stuck in a time warp.

The Reb asserts that the children of these performers are now attending the college. Could be.

(We're pretty sure that nobody in the Theater area reads this blog. So we're not too worried about offending them here or alerting them to our machinations.)

A few days ago, at the Reb’s prompting, a few of us were examining the display. We stood back as though we were patrons of an art museum. We marveled at its antiquery, its ridiculosity, not to mention its abject cheesery (what is this, freakin' "Guys and Dolls"?).

While we were jawing, I grabbed my key ring and looked for a key that might open the display (see the two locks?). I found a tiny, silvery key. Don't remember where I got it. Something told me to try it. I stuck it in the lock, and—what do you know?—it turned!

We swung open the door and then marveled at these faded artifacts, seen unobstructed for the first time in, um, decades or something. We sniffed the stale air, noted the dust.

Everybody started staring at my mystery key. "Where'd you get that!" they barked.

"Um, I was the chair of the School of Humanities and Languages once," I offered.

"Yeah, for like five minutes," said a peevish Rebel Girl.

Well, we left word with the dean—about this absurd display, about my key, about what use might be made of this nifty display box—and then disappeared into Spring Break.

* * * * *
Late last week, we started finding these very attractive fliers (see below) around campus. As you know, Saddleback College's Santander, Spain, "study abroad" program is now legendary, owing to the brutal demagoguery of a certain mean-spirited trustee—and the vigilance (and camcorder ownership) of two Dissenters.

Before that absurd/terrible/wonderful moment (about five years ago), the Saddleback program was merely "highly-regarded and very popular."

Now, it's mythic.

Nice flier. OK, I made one tiny change. Just couldn't leave it alone.

A picture of some oaks down the hill from my place, taken a week or so ago

“I was used,” he said

Supervisors strip Street’s investment authority

OC Reg “Watchdog” reporter Jennifer Muir reports that

County supervisors [today] unanimously voted to revoke Orange Countys Treasurer-Tax Collector Chriss Street’s authority to invest county funds.
. . .
Supervisors said … that while Street has done a good job as treasurer, the move was needed to prevent the public and investors from losing confidence in the county’s investment pool….

“It’s a sad day,” Supervisor Bill Campbell said.

Street recommended last week that the board temporarily remove his ability to invest county funds, but he suggested handing over that authority to the county’s elected Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom. The board rejected Street’s plan and instead gave investing authority to the county’s Chief Financial Officer Robert Franz. Street was not at the supervisor’s meeting.

Street was the court-appointed trustee for the End of the Road Trust, successor to the bankrupt Fruehauf Trailer Corp., from 1998 until creditors forced him out in July 2005. Supervisor John Moorlach hired him as the county’s assistant treasurer in January 2006, in effect making Street his designated heir in the June 2006 election.
. . .
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Richard M. Neiter ruled that Street wasted millions of dollars trying to create a truck-trailer manufacturing business that he could run, rather than liquidating assets as he was hired to do. And he found that Street used trust money to pay for everything from fancy dinners to parking tickets.
. . .

And the judge dismissed Street’s sworn explanations for his conduct as “absurd”, “inconceivable” and “incredulous.” He wrote that Street’s conduct as trustee “amounts to gross negligence and willful misconduct.”

Moorlach said he’s known Street since 1994, when he ran against Robert Citron for the treasurer. Citron’s risky investments later drove the county into bankruptcy, and Street, Moorlach said, was one of the few people who knew what Citron was doing.

But Moorlach says that when Street expressed interest in running for treasurer, he never told Moorlach about his issues with Fruehauf.

“I was not informed properly. I was used.” Moorlach reiterated Tuesday. “Fruehafuf [sic] was not a fly on the wall in a room. It was a Doberman Pinscher.”
. . .
Supervisors Bill Campbell and Moorlach called for Street’s resignation after the ruling. Street declined, and he’ll remain in office until the beginning of 2011. He has decided not to run for reelection, and the filing deadline to fill his open seat closes Wednesday.

Big ticket items

Lately, I’ve been looking at district/college expenditure information, which is routinely provided on board meeting agendas (available here). The amounts can be stunning. Unavoidably, I guess, there are some legal, architectural, construction, or technological support firms that routinely get huge checks from the SOCCCD, i.e., from the taxpayer. No doubt some of these firms do a good job and don’t soak us. Yeah.

I thought it might be interesting to highlight some of these bills. I perused the November, December, and January agendas. Below, I’ve assembled some of the “big ticket” items—plus other items that struck me as interesting for one reason or another. Please remember that all of this information is readily available to YOU at the district website (here).

NOVEMBER 2009 agenda:

0085912 • 10/08/09 • KEENAN & ASSOCIATES • $174,166.00 • PROTECTED INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS 09/10

Founded in 1972, Keenan has grown to the 17th largest insurance broker in the United States. With a network of offices located throughout California and a staff of more than 600 insurance specialists, Keenan continuously provides unparalleled service and customized solutions to our clients.

Keenan is a full service broker, dedicated to providing superior insurance products and services. Our exceptional growth is directly related to our concentration on meeting the risk management, employee benefits, workers' compensation and property & liability consulting and brokerage objectives of public entities, health care systems and high-tech firms. (Insurance jobs)

0086042 • 10/13/09 • DELL MARKETING L.P. • $167,904.60 • BSTC COMPUTERS

0086043 • 10/13/09 • DELL MARKETING L.P. • $18,802.93 • BSTC COMPUTERS

0086153 • 10/14/09 • ACSIG/EDGE • $126,934.20 • DELTA DENTAL FY 09/10 FUND 01

0086159 • 10/14/09 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS • $1,034,409.00 • SISC (PPO) BENEFITS FY 2009/10 FUND O1

0086164 • 10/14/09 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS • $212,652.00 • BLUE SHIELD (RETIREE) BENEFITS FY 2009/10

0086209 • 10/15/09 • CLASS LEASING, INC. • $-489,945.00 • VILLAGE EXPANSION PROJECT & PORTABLE BLDG PURCHASE

0086215 • 10/15/09 • LAVEY ROOFING SERVICES, INC. • $183,100.50 • SSC BUILDING ROOFING SYSTEM

0086218 • 10/15/09 • PCN3, INC. • $246,972.18 • BID 296 B200 SCIENCE LAB ANNEX AND B239 CONVERSIO[sic]

PCN3, INC. was founded by Harry Abghari in 1999 in state of California. Ever
since, it has been involved in various public projects as Prime-contractor.
Over the years, it has performed variety of projects some of which are as
follows:
- LAX-soundproofing
- Santa Ana Housing Development
- School Modernization
- Public Park Renovation

0086266 • 10/19/09 • DELL MARKETING, L.P. • $58,623.62 • BSTC COMPUTERS

0086326 • 10/20/09 • EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPT. • $81,992.23 • UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE QUARTERLY P/R TAXES

0086358 • 10/21/09 • DELL MARKETING L.P. • $130,775.10 • BSTIC TABLETS

0086393 • 10/22/09 • CLASS LEASING, INC. • $440,950.50 • VILLAGE EXPANSION PROJECT & PORTABLE BLDG PURCHASE

0086397 • 10/22/09 • NEUDESIC, LLC • $124,003.00 • SOFTWARE ENGINEERING DATA WAREHOUSE DEVELOPMENT

Neudesic is a Microsoft Gold Certified and Managed Partner with a proven track record of providing reliable, effective solutions based on Microsoft's technology platform. Neudesic's technical and industry expertise empowers enterprises to leverage technology to respond to business opportunities with a greater level of efficiency. (About N)

0086566 • 10/27/09 • RGP PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT • $45,987.23 • ATEP PROJECT

RGP is a specialist in the design and entitlement of community college campuses including master plan development, facilities design, and environmental documentation pertaining to CEQA and regulatory requirements. ¶ Pictorially represented to the left is the new Advanced Technology & Education Park (ATEP) at the decommissioned US Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin. This campus, the third of the South Orance County Community College district, is focused to educate students for careers in the fields of photonics, product modeling, "behind the camera" film and entertainment skills such as set design, costume and make-up, catering, set construction, audio, digital arts and related industry skills. RGP has also completed work on the Victor Valley Community College District Master Plan and the Glendale Community College Expansion Program…. (RGP case study)

DECEMBER 2009 agenda:

0086831 • 11/04/09 • MJ CONTRACTORS, INC. • $81,810.00 • VILLAGE EXPANSION SITE IMPROVEMENT

0086854 • 11/05/09 • IRVINE VALLEY COLLEGE • $115,572.71 • PURCHASE TEXTBOOKS

0086858 • 11/05/09 • KEENAN & ASSOCIATES • $139,333.00 • PROTECTED INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS 09/10

0086958 • 11/06/09 • HCTD, LLC • $30,000.00 • ATEP PROJECT

[HCTD, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hudson Capital, LLC] Hudson Capital, LLC is a Los Angeles-based private real estate investment firm founded by Victor Coleman and Howard Stern. Hudson Capital seeks to invest primarily in assets focused in the Southern California markets. With over 50 years of combined real estate experience, the founding principals have successfully applied their real estate market knowledge, development and operations expertise in the entertainment real estate market. (Hudson)

0086996 • 11/09/09 • NEUDESIC, LLC • $149,183.00 • STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM YEAR 4

0086997 • 11/09/09 • NEXUS IS, INC. • $137,228.60 • BSTIC LP PHONES

Nexus IS, Inc. provides voice, video, data, and convergence networking solutions in the United States. It offers plan phase services, such as IP communications readiness assessments, IPCC design review and assessment, security architecture assessment, security vulnerability assessment, operations readiness assessment, operations detailed requirements plan, deployment project management, and detailed requirements plans…. (Nexux IS)

0087050 • 11/11/09 • QUALITY OFFICE FURNISHINGS • $51,106.74 • EXECUTIVE ASST. OFFICE IN STUDENT SERVICES

0087066 • 11/11/09 • gkkworks • $46,264.00 • CM SERVICES FOR VILLAGE EXPANSION

gkkworks is one of the fastest growing architecture firms in California. Our belief in the "master builder" concept is supported by inhouse construction professionals. We have offices in Irvine, Pasadena, Riverside and northern California. (gkkworks)

0087131 • 11/12/09 • DELL MARKETING L.P. • $30,902.48 • BSTC COMPUTERS

0087133 • 11/12/09 • ACSIG/EDGE • $127,225.00 • DELTA DENTAL FY 09/10 FUND 01

0087134 • 11/12/09 • ACSIG/EDGE • $42,605.92 • VISION SERVICES FY 09/10 FUND 01

0087140 • 11/12/09 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS • $1,036,091.00 • SISC (PPO) BENEFITS FY 2009/10 FUND 01

0087145 • 11/12/09 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS • $214,413.00 • BLUE SHIELD (RETIREE) BENEFITS FY 2009/10



JANUARY 2010 agenda:

087274 • 11/20/2009 • JACKSON, DE MARCO, TIDUS, & PECKENPAUGH • 51,130.85

At Jackson DeMarco Tidus Peckenpaugh, we provide practical legal advice and representation in a wide range of legal practice areas, encompassing business and corporate law, employment law, immigration, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, common interest subdivision, land use and environmental regulation, construction law, and tax and estate planning.

087278 • 11/20/09 • PCN3, INC. • 187,908.98

087343 • 12/01/2009 • NADEAU ENTERPRISES, INC. C/O CLIENT TRUST MCCLUNG & DAVIS • 36,581.13

We are dedicated to our families, our faith, our town, our state and our country. It is a time for paying attention to our hearts and forgiving those who threaten us. Our only refuge is ourselves. May each of us find peace right now. (McClung & Davis, lawyers)

087361 • 12/01/2009 • NEUDESIC, LLC • 300,950.00

087405 • 12/01/2009 • DOUGHERTY + DOUGHERTY ARCHITECTS LLP • 81,441.56

Dougherty + Dougherty Architects LLP specializes in the design of innovative environments for community and institutional clients. Dougherty + Dougherty is dedicated to designing facilities that meet functional demands, provide for future flexibility, enhance emerging technologies, respond to energy conservation and sustainability goals, and inspire and lift the human spirit…

087407 • 12/01/2009 • gkkworks • 48,149.71

087461 • 12/02/2009 • MJ CONTRACTORS, INC. • 97,335.00

087512 • 12/07/2009 • LLEWELLYN AND SPANN ATTORNEYS AT LAW • 19,046.19

David Llewellyn is a legal advocate, civil rights lawyer and law professor now practicing in Sacramento, California. He has a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of California at Los Angeles, the diplome from the International Institute for Human Rights, Strasbourg, France, a Master of Arts in English literature from the University of Tennessee, a B.A. from William Jennings Bryan College and has done graduate study at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is a member of the faculty of the Chapman University School of Law, where he has taught Constitutional Law and the First Amendment and currently serves as a law professor and legal counsel with the Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence. He was formerly Dean and Professor of Law at Trinity Law School, Trinity International University, teaching constitutional law, international human rights, jurisprudence and legal advocacy. Previous to that he was a founder, President and senior legal counsel for the Western Center for Law and Religious Freedom, a public interest law firm….

087582 • 12/07/2009 • THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A. • 98,637.44

087583 • 12/07/2009 • CALIFORNIA POWER PARTNERS, INC. • 127,882.26

Calpwr is an industry innovator with a proven track record of delivering powerful independent energy solutions, faster payback, and superior maintenance to manufacturing facilities, corporate & academic campuses, commercial buildings, hotels & resorts, municipalities, and mid- to large-scale service organizations.

087654 • 12/10/2009 • KEENAN & ASSOCIATES ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE • 139,333.00

087675 • 12/11/2009 • gkkworks • 46,264.00

087677 • 12/11/2009 • HCTD, LLC C/O HUDSON CAPITAL, LLC • 30,000.00

087678 • 12/11/2009 • JACKSON, DE MARCO, TIDUS, & PECKENPAUGH • 49,230.10

087681 • 12/11/2009 • PCN3, INC • 89,707.14

087684 • 12/11/2009 • ACSIG/EDGE • 128,097.40

087685 • 12/11/2009 • ACSIG/EDGE • 42,899.08

087690 • 12/11/2009 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE • 1,043,206.00

087695 • 12/11/2009 • SISC III HEALTH BENEFITS ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE • 211,274

087753 • 12/14/2009 • ATKINSON, ANDELSON, LOYA, RUUD & ROMO • 17,018.36

Over the last two decades, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo has earned a strong reputation as one of California's most widely respected law firms. Our uncompromising approach to high quality legal work enables us to provide consistently practical management solutions in the areas of employment, labor, construction, education, real estate, general business and business litigation, corporate, taxation, bankruptcy, and immigration.

087767 • 12/14/2009 • DELL MARKETING L.P. C/O DELL USA L.P. • 25,943.45

087780 • 12/14/2009 • NEXUS IS, INC. • 268,630.67

088008 • 12/18/2009 • AUDIO VISUAL INTEGRATION SYSTEMS, INC. • 75,178.88

088010 • 12/18/2009 • DOUGHERTY + DOUGHERTY ARCHITECTS LLP • 81,023.25

088011 • 12/18/2009 • gkkworks • 17,049.07

088223 • 01/05/2010 • ATKINSON, ANDELSON, LOYA, RUDD & ROMO • 12,808.54

Hydras can regenerate their heads and feet—and that's good, somehow

UC Irvine finishes [sequencing] genome vital to improving people’s health (Gary Robbins; OC Reg’s ScienceDude)

An international team of researchers led by UC Irvine is today publishing the genome of the Hydra, a primitive organism that’s been important in medical research since the 1740s, when Abraham Trembley discovered that the freshwater polyp could regenerate its head and feet.

Researchers found that the Hydra, which is less than a half-inch tall, has roughly as many genes as humans (about 24,000) and that some of its genes are linked to two of the most dreaded illnesses in humans — Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

The genome is being published online today in Nature, one of the world’s most influential scientific journals.

“This could potentially open up Hydra as a model system for Irvine researchers,” said Rob Steele, chairman of biological chemistry at Irvine and one of the leaders of UCI’s first major sequencing effort….(Continued)

The always-fabulous OC Reg readership has already commented on the news. For instance, "BoogerBoy" says:

Yay for science! Old timer’s disease just weirds me out....

Good Lord. It's too bad BB can't regenerate his head. —Oh yeah. It would be the same head, wouldn't it? Never mind.

SOCCCD HEAD REGENERATION:

I haven't heard anything new about the SOCCCD's efforts to regenerate, or replace, its Chancellor. [See 2nd comment below.] Now, if a professional consultant does the hiring, then there's no need for a search committee, right? One of the reasons that one might be assured that everything's on the up and up is that the right (honest) people are on the search committee. And groups can hold each other in check.

I'm not sure what stays and what goes now that we're taking the consultant route. [See below.] But can Don Wagner continue with his assurances that the process will be transparent and honest, etc., if it's being done by some professional organization?

Do you have any ideas on the matter? [See first comment below.]

UPDATE:

Board Policy 4011.6 ("employment procedure for chancellor”) can be found here at the district website (a pdf file) or HERE on this blogsite (as a blog post).

The term “consultant” is mentioned only once in the policy, in the section concerning “recruitment”:

SECTION II: RECRUITMENT
. . .
2. The Board of Trustees may consider employment of a professional consultant to assist with the Chancellor search process.
. . .

It seems to me that the policy is not explicit about the consultant’s relationship to the rest of the process defined by 4011.6. I suppose that the policy implies that the consultant would assist during the recruitment process only since consultants are mentioned only in the "recruitment" section and since the rest of the policy outlines a formal process involving such entities as the search committee, etc., that mentions no role, or possible role, for a consultant. <END UPDATE>

Comments:

Anonymous‬ said...
Roy, you've provided links to the chancellor hire policy. Read it. The consultant helps with the job description and recruiting, and brings objectivity to the process. But the policy is clear that the committee does the screening once the search is completed and the board does the hiring. The consultant doesn't do any hiring.
12:36 AM, March 15, 2010

Anonymous said...
Apparently the *special* meeting last week was quite the heated affair, with Fuentes coming down hard on Padberg at every turn. He is not a happy camper at the moment.
8:06 AM

Anonymous said...
The hiring policy remains intact and will be implemented under the oversight of a consultant who will be charged with keeping Raghu out of manipulating or stalling the process. The hiring of a consultant is an excellent move and happens routinely in hiring college presidents in single college districts as well as chancellors in mutlicollege districts.
9:23 AM

Anonymous said...
Consultants are routinely hired to oversee important search processes such as the hiring of a chancellor. This is a GOOD thing. The consultant will oversee the entire process ensuring that the entire policy is implemented in a fair and objective manner. These are companies that specialize in implementing hiring procedures across the state. Go online and google these companies for a clearer picture of what they do. This is a sign that the board majority wants to ensure a fair and open process. Without a consultant, Raghu and Fuentes would make sure that no one is hired. Fuentes has made it public and clear that he is going to bring Mathur back the minute the board changes. If there is no permenant chancellor in place when the board changes, Fuentes will bring Mathur back. The board majority is doing everything they can to make sure there is a permenant chancellor in place, hired through a fair and open process. This is the first great thing that has happened in the district for a long time. Let's get on board.
3:37 PM

Anonymous said...
Baron: Did they film the Special Meeting for our entertainment?
4:16 PM

B. von Traven said...
The special meeting was, I fear, a closed session. Hence there will be no record, aside from the memories of those who attended. And those are feeble. Feel free to put on puppet shows of what likely occurred. Fuentes is the ugly puppet in the corner.
10:53 PM

Anonymous said...
The meeting was public and recorded. It'll be on the district's web site. And well worth the watching.
11:04 PM

B. von Traven said...
If video will be made available, it will appear here. Usually, it takes 4 or 5 days (the meeting was 4 days ago).
12:15 AM, March 16, 2010

The last of the White Stripes

Seven or eight years ago I got to know this cute--and smart--girl who was the part-time secretary for another school. Her office was just down the hall. She had ambitions. And ambivalence.

One day we were talking about music and, the next day, she handed me a CD she had burned, something called "Elephant." "You'll love this," she said.

Well, she was right. Blew me away.

Jack and Meg don't seem to be together anymore. I think their little band--somehow that seems like the wrong word--is no more. But already it seems clear that Jack needs to play with Meg, needs that simple drumming, her peculiar presence, and her shy charms.

Was some kinda muse, I think. With her, he seemed always hungry, desperate, bizarre. Now, he's just a musician. Well, maybe he's more. But that old magic can be no more, I think. Strikes once, if you're lucky. Then no more. May as well go home and watch TV.

Stupid Texans rewriting history for schoolchildren everywhere

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change (New York Times)

After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.
. . .
The board, whose members are elected, has influence beyond Texas because the state is one of the largest buyers of textbooks….
. . .
Since January, Republicans on the board have passed more than 100 amendments to the 120-page curriculum standards affecting history, sociology and economics courses from elementary to high school. The standards were proposed by a panel of teachers.

“We are adding balance,” said Dr. Don McLeroy, the leader of the conservative faction on the board, after the vote. “History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left.”
. . .
Efforts by Hispanic board members to include more Latino figures as role models for the state’s large Hispanic population were consistently defeated, prompting one member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out of a meeting late Thursday night, saying, “They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist.”

… There were no historians, sociologists or economists consulted at the meetings, though some members of the conservative bloc held themselves out as experts on certain topics.
. . .
“I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”
. . .
Dr. McLeroy, a dentist by training, pushed through a change to the teaching of the civil rights movement to ensure that students study the violent philosophy of the Black Panthers in addition to the nonviolent approach of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He also made sure that textbooks would mention the votes in Congress on civil rights legislation, which Republicans supported.
. . .
…Conservatives passed one amendment, for instance, requiring that the history of McCarthyism include “how the later release of the Venona papers confirmed suspicions of communist infiltration in U.S. government.” The Venona papers were transcripts of some 3,000 communications between the Soviet Union and its agents in the United States.

Mavis B. Knight, a Democrat from Dallas, introduced an amendment requiring that students study the reasons “the founding fathers protected religious freedom in America by barring the government from promoting or disfavoring any particular religion above all others.”

It was defeated on a party-line vote.
. . .
Even the course on world history did not escape the board’s scalpel.

Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”)
. . .
“The Enlightenment was not the only philosophy on which these revolutions were based,” Ms. Dunbar said.

U. of California Must Refund $38-Million in Fees to Students, Judge Rules (Chronicle of Higher Ed)

The University of California must pay a total of $38-million to thousands of former students who say the university illegally raised their fees after it had promised not to do so, a judge ruled on Wednesday…. (continued)

Comments:

Anonymous said... ~ Oh, how I hate this. —ES ~ 12:54 PM, March 13, 2010

B. von Traven said... ~ I think that, when the likes of Texans and Rush Limbaugh threaten to separate from the rest of the country, we should immediately take 'em up on it.
I know some great people from Texas. Gotta remember that, I guess. ~ 4:53 PM

Anonymous said... ~ I lived in Texas for a while. Even had a boyfriend with a gun rack in his truck. He was not a redneck – the family was wealthy and had a big ranch we used to go hunting and stuff on...anyway, trivia. Still have cousins in Texas. They are pretty conservative, so I have no idea what they would think of this. 2/3 of my Face Book friends are Texans; I should post a link to the article and see what comments come up... ~ 5:54 PM

Anonymous said... ~ Ok, I put up the link on FB – now to see what the Texans say. I bet they like it. – ES ~ 5:57 PM

Anonymous said... ~ One thumbs-up already, but that was from a Californian...
– ES ~ 6:12 PM

Anonymous said... ~ This is pretty much what I expected (and now my brain hurts): –Lisa Jordan
Texas Conservatives Win Vote on Textbook Standards - NYTimes.com
www.nytimes.com
Because Texas is a large buyer of textbooks, the changes approved by the school board will have a broad influence.
31 minutes ago · Comment ·

Jamie Rudolph likes this.

Lisa Jordan
I'm not sure this is all good...
15 minutes ago ·

Jamie Rudolph
"stressing the superiority of American capitalism and questioning the Founding Fathers... See More’ commitment to a purely secular government" as the article says they want to do is good. Capitalism is the most prosperous economic model, America has been superior in freedom and prosperity and after just finishing "The 500 Year Leap" a history of the founding of our country, I can tell you that the majority of our founding fathers believed that America had to keep a focus on God and Godly principles in governing. ~ 6:31 PM

B. von Traven said... ~ Academia's grip on the culture is weakening. No longer respected, often hated, the professorate can yammer all they want, but the mob is making its move to grab the steering wheel. It thinks it has a destination. Silly me. Like I could ever do a thing about it. I'm beginning to wonder if I would if I could. ~ 7:22 PM

Quisling boy pulls papers

Well, the always mediocre Matthew Cunningham of Red County/OC reports that Dave Lang has pulled those dang papers afterall:

OC Treasurer Candidate Field Keeps Growing

Today, South Coast [sic] Community College District Trustee David Lang pulled candidate papers [for OC Treasurer]. A source had told me Lang, who withstood a faculty union challenger to his 2008 re-election, had ambitions for the OC Treasurer-Tax Collector seat, and the source was correct. Lang is closely allied with fellow SOCCCD Trustee and former OC GOP Chairman Tom Fuentes. That should prove immensely helpful to the relatively unknown Lang, since Tom Fuentes' has a wide and deep network he's built over the course of 40 years.

About five years ago, after consistently opposing Raghu Mathur (since 1996), Lang suddenly did an about face, becoming a staunch Mathur supporter. His closest faculty friends confronted him, asking him what he was up to. He never seemed to have an answer. He smiled his insipid smile.

Soon thereafter, the word was out that Lang had hooked up with Fuentes, who, of course, had embraced Mathur from the very beginning--in 2000, if not earlier. So Lang would support Mathur, and Fuentes would further Lang's political ambitions, which (according to the story) included securing the OC Treasurer/Tax Collector gig.

Nevertheless, for the election of 2006, Fuentes worked to get Chriss Street elected as OC Treasurer; no doubt Fuentes purred into Lang's ear: "not yet, my son." Street was elected, but, right away, his Fruehauf  Trucking troubles surfaced, and he commenced spending extravagant bucks on his County digs.

It soon became clear that he was a typical pal-o'-Fuentes: corrupt, unprincipled, self-serving.

So now Street's out. Will Tom finally come through for Lang?