"KILL IT & GRILL IT"--and other FUENTEIAN titles

I’m working on a piece about Trustee Tom Fuentes and his fascinating associations. For instance, there seems to be a Tom Fuentes/Robert Novak connection. Novak, of course, is the reporter/columnist/rat bastard at the heart of the Valerie Plame disclosure scandal that is currently preoccupying the country. He's the guy who allowed himself to be Scooter's megaphone in outing Plame!

Both Novak and Fuentes are on the board of trustees for Phillips Foundation. There are five trustees, including Thomas L. Phillips and Alfred S. Regnery--remember that name. (Phillips’ name has come up before in Dissent. Some of the trustees showed up at a ritzy party put on by Phillips in Corona Del Mar--days before Fuentes was appointed to the board.)

Novak has on occasion quoted Fuentes in his column, and I seem to remember reading an interview by Novak of Fuentes. Once, in a column that discussed the phenomenon of firms giving campaign contributions to both Democrats and Republicans, Novak quoted Fuentes as saying that, in Orange County, "we" call such contributors "whores." Novak seemed to like that. "Whores." (See Townhall.com, March 8, 2002)

Fuentes seems to be a “director” of Eagle Publishing, and Eagle Publishing appears to be the parent company of Regnery Publishing. --Yes, Regnery.

(Digression: according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, in the 30s, a man named William Regnery was one of the signatories of incorporation papers for the "America First Committee," an organization opposed to fighting Nazi Germany. William's brother, Henry, created Regnery Publishing. Henry's son (I think), William Regnery II, is a prime mover in the "white supremacy" movement in the U.S. William II is an heir to the Regnery fortune. As far as I know, William II is not otherwise tied to Regnery publishing. Alfred Regnery, the current director of Regnery, is Henry's son. Got it? Wait a minute! So Alfred is William II's brother, is that right? D'oh!)

If one goes to the website for Regnery Publishing:

http://www.regnery.com/eagle_manage.html

--one will find a section on “corporate information.” There, one finds that, indeed, Fuentes is one among six of the publisher’s “external directors.” (Pat "Wheel" Sajak is another one!)

Regnery’s catalog includes crackpot diet and health books, crackpot conspiracy books, crackpot anti-evolution books, and crackpot Ann Coulter books (is there any other kind?).

Here are some of the fascinating titles I found in Regnery’s catalog [see: http://www.regnery.com/catalog.html]:

Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?, … "Jonathan Wells has news for you. Everything you were taught about evolution is wrong. Icons of Evolution will light the fires of controversy and provide a brutally honest report of who what we've truly discovered about evolution in recent years"

Kill It and Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish, … “Filled with hunting anecdotes, detailed instructions on cleaning and dressing your game, helpful hints for those new to cooking wild game….

God, Guns & Rock and Roll, … "Rock and Roll legend, Ted Nugent, contends that a lot of what is wrong with this country could be remedied by a simple, but controversial concept, gun ownership….

Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption Into the Catholic Church, Michael S. Rose…“For anyone who has asked how pedophiles or predatory homosexual priests could possibly have been tolerated—here is the answer, in the most explosive book on the Catholic Church in a generation.”

The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos, Michael S. Hyatt…“Hyatt explains the depth or the millennium crisis in layman’s terms, and discusses how the upcoming situation will affect all of us—and what you can do to protect yourself”

Profscam: Professors and the Demise of Higher Education, Charles Sykes…“Sykes argues that the American universities are turning into professorial clubs where deviation from party lines means expulsion and exile, where perks are paramount, and where taxpayers, parents and students are treated with contempt”

Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry , John E. O'Neill and Jerome R. Corsi…“A shocking indictment of John Kerry by some of the men who know him best.”

Women in the Military: Flirting with Disaster, Brian Mitchell…“Now former Army officer Brian Mitchell offers a sober, thoughtful, but scalding analysis of how the integration of women into our armed forces has proved a national security nightmare”

For an old Dissent article about Fuentes’ associations, see “Trustee Fuentes: some background” in ARCHIVES: September 2002

Alt-right funder DEAD at 80

You'll recall that the late Tom Fuentes, who served as SOCCCD trustee from 2000-2012, was closely associated with Regnery Publishing. William's uncle, Henry, founded Regnery Publishing. I don't know to what degree, if any, William was associated/involved with that company. But what a family, eh? See "Kill it and Grill It"

William Regnery, who funded right-wing extremism, dies at 80 

AP 

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (AP) — William H. Regnery II, the heir to a family publishing fortune who was known for his quiet but influential support of extreme right-wing causes in the United States has died at 80. 

He died at his home in Boca Grande, Florida, on July 2…. 

Cassie Miller, a senior research analyst for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an email Saturday that Regnery’s material contributions helped to build networks of racist activists and a large body of pseudoscientific literature that Regnery hoped would legitimize his calls to build a white ethnostate. 

“Though he usually operated in the background, Regnery was an extremely influential figure in the radical right,” Miller said. 

In 2016, an Associated Press review of tax records found that the National Policy Institute, founded by Regnery, and three other groups at the forefront of the white nationalist movement had registered as charities and raised more than $7.8 million in tax-deductible donations over the previous decade. 

Regnery spent much of his life using his family’s money to build the institutional infrastructure that would support the so-called alt-right — an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism — and help to propel figures like Richard Spencer into the spotlight, Miller said. 

“Regnery’s real legacy is not what he built, but the immense harm that he caused,” she said…. 

In a 2017 article, BuzzFeed News said Regnery felt his ideas were redeemed by the candidacy of now former President Donald Trump. 

“I think Trump was a legitimatizer,” Regnery told the publication. White nationalism “went from being conversation you could hold in a bathroom, to the front parlor.”….

Creeps 'n' plagiarists

creep [noun]: an unpleasant or obnoxious person

1. THE UNLUCKY MR. TOM FUENTES. Poor Tom Fuentes. It must be such a drag to have his rotten luck. I mean, so many of the people he associates with turn out to be creeps.

Let’s get the creepiest of these creeps out of the way. According to Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly,

[C]hurch documents obtained by the Weekly reveal that [Tom] Fuentes for five years supervised a priest caught in flagrante delicto with a 13-year-old boy in a Sacramento area graveyard…[Pedophile priest Jerome] Henson first came to the diocese in 1983 to direct its television department, where he remained for six years. As communications director, Fuentes oversaw the television department five of those years.” (See Henson)

Sheesh. The Weekly tried to talk to Fuentes about all this, but he wouldn’t return their calls. Can you blame him? He must be mortified.


uentes is closely associated with attorney Mike Schroeder. Indeed, Tom was recently spotted at Mike's birthday party. Schroeder's the attorney and advisor of Mike “Scandal Boy” Carona, OC’s Sheriff, and Tony “Sleazeball” Rackauckus, the OC D.A.

No doubt thanks to some Fuentean string-pulling, the IVC Foundation gave Carona an award. And Tony Rackauckus? He showed up in the district a year or so ago to swear in new Trustee officers.

Carona and Rackauckus are total creeps. I bet Tom's really disappointed in those boys.

Fuentes is on the board of Eagle Publishing, which own Regnery Publishing. Regnery publishes such gems as Unfit For Command, the infamous fact-challenged “swift boat” expose that smeared Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry during the last Presidential election campaign. Check out their catalog! Regnery (hence Eagle) is a creep publishing company.

The chairman of Eagle Publishing is founder Thomas L. Phillips of Orange County. (N.b.: most of our board members have partied at one time or other at Phillips’ fancy schmancy home in Corona del Mar.)

Phillips is on the Board of Trustees of the “Phillips Foundation,” which includes our own Thomas Fuentes (plus Alfred Regnery).

Tom’s colleague on that board is uber-Creep Robert Novak—you know, the “journalist” at the heart of the Valerie Plame scandal. Novak, who writes a column, has been known to interview—

You guessed it! –His pal, Tom Fuentes.


hen there’s Tom’s boss, William Lange, who heads LFC (Lange Financial Corporation). Back in 1997, Lange was sued by the Justice Department for fraud. The case was settled out of court.

Jeez, if the guy was innocent (i.e., not a creep), why didn’t he insist on his day in court? Inquiring minds wanna know.

Let’s get back to Regnery Publishing. As I said, Regnery publishes Unfit For Command. You remember! For 13 weeks, it sat on top of the New York Times’ best seller list, and it helped Mega-Creep George Bush get elected.

The book was written by Jerome Corsi. Guess what? Corsi’s a full-on plagiarist.

I know this because I watched Keith Olbermann’s show on the 27th. On that day, the very funny Mr. Olbermann named Corsi his “worst person in the world”:

…our winner [is] Jerome Corsi, author of the infamous swift boat book “Unfit for Command.” He has admitted now to lifting research and information and seemingly entire passages from the column of another conservative columnist Debbie Schlussel. The admission comes after Schlussel complained about plagiarism and posted Corsi‘s WorldNetDaily column side by side with her original. Jerome Corsi, himself, evidently [is] the captain of a none too swift boat—and [he’s] today‘s worst person in the world. (Schlussel)

Corsi’s obviously a creep.

Another Regnery “star” is David Horowitz. According to Regnery, Horowitz’s new book—The Professors—is about “Terrorists, racists, and communists—you know them as The Professors.”

OK, you know lots of professors, right? Are they terrorists, racists, and communists?

Didn’t think so. Horowitz is another creep.

I could go on all day listing the creeps in Fuentes’ world, but let’s leave it at that for now.

Tom, you’ve got our sympathy.

2. ARE CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS VICTIMS OF DISCRIMINATION? Speaking of Horowitz, you might want to check out an article that appeared in the Chronicle on the 30th. As you know, Mr. Horowitz has promoted the idea that conservative students face “discrimination” in the college classroom. Well, a new study suggests otherwise.

Here’s an excerpt from that article ("Study Casts Doubt on Claims That Conservative Students Face Discrimination in Classes," by Jennifer Jacobson):

Study Casts Doubt on Claims That Conservative Students Face Discrimination in Classes

A study showing that conservative and liberal students do equally well in courses with politically charged content casts doubt on conservative activists' claims that liberal faculty members routinely discriminate against their conservative students.

The study found no difference in the grades conservative and liberal students receive in sociology, cultural anthropology, and women's-studies courses. It also found that conservative students tend to earn higher grades than their liberal classmates in business and economics courses.

Titled "What's in a Grade? Academic Success and Political Orientation," the study was conducted by Markus Kemmelmeier, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Nevada at Reno, who was the lead author; Cherry Danielson, a research fellow at Wabash College; and Jay Basten, a lecturer in kinesiology at the University of Michigan.

The researchers published their paper in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin last October, but it has attracted little attention, even as activists like David Horowitz continue to press state legislatures to adopt a so-called academic bill of rights to make college campuses more "intellectually diverse" and more tolerant of conservatives.

Mr. Kemmelmeier's study follows two others, published within the past seven years, that found that conservative students tended to earn slightly lower grades in majors such as sociology and anthropology. The professor, who describes his politics as slightly left of center, says he did not undertake the study to contribute to the ongoing discussion of political bias on college campuses, but to address ongoing questions in social psychology about the choices people make regarding their interaction with organizations and what personal characteristics contribute to their success within those organizations.

The earlier studies are "consistent with what Horowitz might suggest -- that conservative students are actually not doing all that well in fields that are thought more left-leaning," says Mr. Kemmelmeier. But there's a problem with that argument, he says: The students' performance "has nothing to do with bias" on the part of their professors.

In a four-year longitudinal study that began in the late 1990s, he surveyed 3,890 students at a major public university in the Midwest. Asked to describe their political orientation, 2.7 percent identified themselves as far left, 34.6 percent as liberal, 42 percent as middle of the road, 20 percent as conservative, and 1.2 percent as far right.

Mr. Kemmelmeier then compared the transcripts of a variety of students taking the same courses, specifically courses taught in the economics department and the business school (which Mr. Kemmelmeier considered "hierarchy-enhancing," or conservative) and those taught in American culture, African-American studies, cultural anthropology, education, nursing, sociology, and women's studies (which he considered "hierarchy-attenuating," or liberal).

He found that in the latter courses, students' political orientations had no effect on their grades -- which, the study says, suggests that disciplines such as sociology and anthropology "might be more accepting of a broad range of student perspectives," while economics and business classes "appear to be more sensitive to whether student perspectives are compatible with those of the academic discipline."

In economics and business classes, the study found, conservative students earned better grades. It also found that conservative students were likely to graduate with higher GPA's in those courses than liberal students who entered college with similar SAT scores….

Demea’s no dummy

.....As we’ve often noted, Trustee Tom Fuentes is among the directors of Eagle Publishing, of which Regnery Publishing is a subsidiary.
.....Regnery publishes books that are, shall we say, south of academe. They’re often south of honest, too. Consider the execrable Unfit for Command. You remember that one.
.....Occasionally, I check out Regnery’s “featured books.” Among them these days (see) is The Politically Incorrect Guide to Darwinism and Intelligent Design, by Jonathan Wells.
.....Regnery’s description of Wells’ book makes it sound like old news: the absence of transitional fossils, the Cambrian explosion. Evidently, Wells accuses some “Darwinists” of faking the evidence. Yeah, sure. It's all a plot. We'll meet at Disneyland later this summer and distribute the loot.
.....These days, no opponent of science leaves home without the “intelligent design” argument, which, in essence, judges that, since there exist complex natural phenomena the explanation of which we have not yet found, it follows that God (i.e., a grand intelligence) must be the explanation.

.....Imagine hanging with some ancient Babylonians. Suddenly, lightning hits a tree, sets it on fire. Everybody’s impressed. Babs (the Babylonian) says, “must’ve been God.” Lonnie (the Babylonian) replies, “Maybe it’s something else—something maybe we’ll figure out some day.”
.....Babs gets hostile. “Yeah, Mr. Wizard? Like what?”
.....Lonnie doesn’t come up with anything.
.....“OK, then,” says Babs. “It’s God.”

.....According to Regnery,

Wells … turns to the theory of intelligent design (ID), the idea that some features of the natural world, such as the internal machinery of cells, are too “irreducibly complex” to have resulted from unguided natural processes alone. [Yawn.] … As Wells explains, religion does play a role in the debate over Darwin—though not in the way evolutionists claim. Wells shows how Darwin reasoned that evolution is true because divine creation “must” be false—a theological assumption oddly out of place in a scientific debate….

.....I’m not sure what that last part's about. But it is often noted—by scientists and philosophers—that science is concerned with “the natural,” i.e., with nature. It is therefore not concerned with the “supernatural”—i.e., that which is beyond the natural. Bringing supernatural entities into the explanation of natural phenomena is, therefore, a mistake, like trying to open a bottle of beer with, say, a sentence fragment, or with a pain in one’s toe.
.....It’s just stupid.

.....The other day, I mentioned to one of my classes that there is, of course, a problem with the design argument, one noted 240 years ago by David Hume, among others. In his famous Dialogues, upon hearing a description of the design argument, the character Demea, a theist, immediately objects:

I shall be so free…, said DEMEA, as to tell you that from the beginning I could not approve of your conclusion concerning the similarity of the Deity to men; still less can I approve of the mediums by which you endeavour to establish it. What! No demonstration of the Being of a God! No abstract arguments! No proofs a priori! Are these, which have hitherto been so much insisted on by philosophers, all fallacy, all sophism? Can we reach no farther in this subject than experience and probability? I will not say that this is betraying the cause of a Deity. But surely, by this affected candor, you give advantage to atheists which they never could obtain by the mere dint of argument and reasoning.

.....Demea is saying that, if theists rely on this argument, they argue for a designer who operates at our level, the lowly level of human experience. That is, if we say that we must believe in God specifically because of what we see in the world, then we are talking about a God who makes worldly things, like cells and stars and cow pies. We are not talking about a God who makes things whose limits are only our wildest imaginings.
.....Demea may be a theist, but he’s no dummy. And he’s honest, too.
.....—Unlike the boorish yahoos of Regnery Publishing, including Jonathan Wells and Tom Fuentes—a man who helps to oversee South County's community colleges.
.....Good Lord!

March 2005: the community responds to Fuentes' nixing Spanish study-abroad:

The return of a nice bedtime story

The New York Times reports this morning that the see-saw battle between anti-science and pro-science forces on the Kansas State Board of Education has again tilted toward science. (Evolution Opponents Lose Kansas Board Majority.) Ralph Blumenthal reports:

Kansas voters on Tuesday handed power back to moderates on the State Board of Education, setting the stage for a return of science teaching that broadly accepts the theory of evolution, according to preliminary election results.

With just 6 districts of 1,990 yet to report as of 8 a.m. Central time today, two conservatives — including incumbent Connie Morris, a former west Kansas teacher and author who had described evolution as “a nice bedtime story” — appear to have been defeated decisively by two moderates in the Republican primary elections. One moderate incumbent, Janet Waugh from the Kansas City area, held on to her seat in the Democratic primary… If her fellow moderates prevailed, Ms. Waugh said last week, “we need to revisit the minutes and every decision that was 6-4, re-vote.”
…..
The results seem likely to give the moderates a 6-4 edge on the 10-member board when it takes over in January…Both moderate Republican winners face Democratic opponents in November, but the Democrats are moderates as well, favoring a return to the traditional science standards that prevailed before a conservative majority elected in 2004 passed new rules for teaching science. Those rules, enacted last November, called for classroom critiques of Darwin’s theory….The changes in the science standards, favored by advocates of intelligent design who believe life is too complex to be have been created by natural events, put Kansas at the vanguard of efforts by religious advocates critical explanations of the origin of life that do not include a creator …The curriculum changes, coming after years of see-sawing power struggles between moderates and conservatives, drew widespread ridicule and, critics complained, threatened Kansas’s high standing in national education circles….

What, you may ask, has any of this to do with the South Orange County Community College District?

Well, dear reader, at least one, and perhaps some, trustees on the SOCCCD board seem to be sitting out there on the benighted anti-science end of the see-saw.

The clearest case, perhaps, is Mr. Tom Fuentes, who has numerous ties to radical anti-science Christian leaders, a group that includes his pal Howard Ahmanson, the chief funder of the anti-evolution movement (see Discovery Institute). (See archives.)

Well, Fuentes has a finger in lots of wacky Neanderthal pies. Here's one of my favorites: the fellow is a director of Eagle Publishing, which publishes "Regnery" books.

If one goes to the Regnery website (Regnery Publishing), one will find the publisher's catalog. (Catalog.) As we explained ten months ago, anti-evolution books can be found listed there, including:

Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?, … "Jonathan Wells has news for you. Everything you were taught about evolution is wrong. Icons of Evolution will light the fires of controversy and provide a brutally honest report of who what we've truly discovered about evolution in recent years"

As we noted back in November, other books in Regnery's catalog are also kinda special. Here are some typical Regnery titles:

God, Guns & Rock and Roll, … "Rock and Roll legend, Ted Nugent, contends that a lot of what is wrong with this country could be remedied by a simple, but controversial concept, gun ownership….

The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos, Michael S. Hyatt…“Hyatt explains the depth or the millennium crisis in layman’s terms, and discusses how the upcoming situation will affect all of us—and what you can do to protect yourself”

Inventing the AIDS Virus, Peter Duesberg, 1996, “Peter Duesberg, M.D., an eminent scientist anda pioneer in the discovery of retroviruses (such as HIV), challenges the widely accepted belief that HIV is the cause of AIDS”

The Bible Is History, Ian Wilson, … "Ian Wilson looks at the latest findings of eminent Biblical archeologists and scholars in order to provide physical and scientific evidence of some of the greatest stories in the Bible"

The Myth of Heterosexual Aids, Michael Fumento, ... “Fumento exposes one of the disease’s most damaging rumors: that AIDS is no longer anchored to the high risk groups of homosexual men and intravenous drug abusers but is spreading from heterosexual to heterosexual through intercourse at epidemic speeds”

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, Tom Bethell, 2005,... "Part of the runaway bestselling series, this guide takes on the controversies of science, spanning evolution, cloning, AIDS, abortion, stem cell research, global warming, and more." [Bethell attempts to disprove global warming, evolution, etc.]

--Pretty scientific, eh?

Noontide Press and von Brunn; what Fuentes' Regnery publishes

Just a brief update on yesterday’s blog re Holocaust Museum shooter James von Brunn and the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), a local Holocaust denial organization with which one-time SOCCCD trustee Steve Frogue was associated. (Frogue praised IHR’s publications, especially the “Journal for Historical Review,” old issues of which are currently sold by IHR’s Noontide Press.)

In 1983, von Brunn was sentenced to prison for attempted armed kidnapping of members of the Federal Reserve board. After von Brunn was released from prison in 1989, he traveled to Southern California to work for the IHR. More specifically, he worked for the publishing arm of the IHR, Noontide Press, which evidently had (has?) a bookstore.

But where? The address given for Noontide Press these days is Newport Beach (same as for the IHR). But at one point (probably at least through the early 90s), Noontide Press was located in Torrance, a coastal town in southern LA county (not far from us). Torrance was also the initial home of IHR.

Noontide Press was founded by notorious anti-Semite Willis Carto in 1969. Carto founded IHR nine years later.

By the early 90s, Carto was “fired” from IHR, owing to alleged mismanagement/corruption. (Carto bought his wife a Cadillac, using IHR money, etc. The big issue was who controlled a big chunk of money that had been donated by the heir to the Edison fortune.) Eventually, there was a lawsuit, filed in 1993. Carto has been hostile to IHR ever since. Nevertheless, evidently under the direction of Mark Weber, IHR and Noontide Press have continued to pursue their original “populist” (i.e., racist) vision.

It appears that von Brunn ceased his employment with IHR/Noontide in the early 90s, right about when Carto’s relationship with Weber and crew soured. Carto claims not to have known von Brunn, which seems highly unlikely. IHR’s current leader, Mark Weber, also denies having known von Brunn, though he acknowledges having known of him.

There are reports that von Brunn has continued subscribing to IHR publications/newsletters.

Think of it! No doubt our boy Steve visited IHR's bookstore in the late 80s or early 90s. Picture him served by and talking to Mr. von Brunn! Yikes!

The loonies in our midst. Troubling, ain't it?

I do believe that most of the nuts who are drawn to racist organizations and publications are neither violent nor would they condone violence. I'm pretty sure that Frogue was in the non-violent category.

He's just a deluded fool. (It was troubling, however, to watch him fail to condemn the Nazis who descended upon board meetings in 1997 and 1998. What was that about?)

—Yeah, Frogue was "just a harmless nut"—or maybe not so harmless. People like Frogue—people in positions of power or authority who cozy up to racists and racist themes—make it easier to be a racist nutjob.

In any case, he was one of our trustees (until 2000)! Good Lord!

FUENTES AND REGNERY

To examine the publishing company with which Frogue's replacement, Tom Fuentes, is associated (along with the likes of Pat Sajak, Tom is an "external director" of Eagle/Regnery), visit Regnery Press and its very special catalog, which includes the titles listed below.

(Naturally, I'm not equating Regnery with Noontide, though it is surely scandalous that a college trustee is associated with the incompetent and dishonest "scholarship" presented in some of these books. I suppose that global warming denial and evolution denial are not as egregious as Holocaust denial. But what about Muslim bashing?)

The Bible Is History

The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House,

God, Guns & Rock and Roll

Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption Into the Catholic Church

How to Survive Your Doctor's Care

Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?

In Defense of Internment: The Case for “Racial Profiling” in World War II and the War on Terror

Invasion Within: Overcoming the Elitists’ Attack on Moral Values and the American Way

Inventing the AIDS Virus

Kill It and Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish

How Bill Clinton's Failures Unleashed Global Terror

Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America

The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos

The Myth of Heterosexual Aids

Onward Muslim Soldiers: How Jihad Still Threatens America and the West

Outrage: How Gay Activists and Liberal Judges Are Trashing Democracy to Redefine Marriage

The Party of Death: The Democrats, the Media, the Courts, and the Disregard for Human Life

Persecution: How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity

The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Darwinism and Intelligent Design,

The Politically Incorrect Guide™ to Global Warming and Environmentalism

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)

Power Grab: How the National Education Association is Betraying Our Children

Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America

Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't

The Truth about Muhammad: Founder of the World’s Most Intolerant Religion

Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry

When I Was a Kid, This Was a Free Country

Who Killed the Constitution? The Judges v. the Law

Women in the Military: Flirting with Disaster

IN THE NEWS:

GLOBAL WARMING DENIER ROHRABACHER FROTHS ON (OC Weekly)

Half who died driving [Live Oak Canyon] road were 18 or younger (OC Register)

...Of the 189 fatal or injury crashes along the road, 66 percent of the drivers were 25 years old or younger. Twenty percent of drivers were found to be between 26 and 40, while 14 percent were over 40.

Of the 12 people killed on the road since 1999, one was 16, two were 17, and four were 18 years old. Three people were 25 years old, one was 40, and the oldest was 48....

TJ Fuentes working for Regnery's Tom Phillips

A typically modest event at Tom Phillips' estate

     The OC Reg’s Brian Calle yesterday weighed in with his remembrances of Tom Fuentes: Brian Calle: Fondly recalling O.C.'s GOP godfather.
     Nothing new there. But Calle does provide some info about Tom’s son, TJ:

     In his final months, Tom symbolically began passing the torch to his eldest son, Thomas, "T.J." Fuentes Jr. T.J. accompanied his father to virtually every political event he had the energy to attend. Tom beamed with pride as his son delivered the invocation at last year's O.C. GOP's annual Flag Day fundraising dinner.
     T.J. Fuentes is running for a spot on the county GOP central committee and has already become an activist in such groups as the Orange County Young Republicans. He also is chief of staff to conservative publishing magnate Tom Phillips, one of his father's best friends.

     Tom Phillips, eh? The two Toms are affiliated with the conservative think tank Claremont Institute. Further, as we’ve reported previously:

     Ultra-conservative publisher Tom L. Phillips ... founded and serves on the Board of Directors of Eagle Publishing, which owns the notorious Regnery Publishing. [Tom] Fuentes is one of four “external directors” of Eagle Publishing.
     Among Regnery authors are Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, and Ted Nugent.

     It is rumored that TJ is interested in taking Tom’s spot on the SOCCCD Board of Trustees. Indeed, at the May meeting of the SOCCCD BOT, as I recall, Board Prez Nancy Padberg noted that one of Tom’s “relatives” is interested in that office.
     To learn more about Phillips' Regnery Publishing, see Kill It or Grill It.

Tom Fuentes with Jo Ellen Allen (left) Elizabeth Dole (in yellow) and
former IVC Foundation Director Al Tello (next to Tom)

Chunk visits Saddleback College and swoons

That's right. I finished my Friday morning class and decided, on a whim, to visit an old pal at Saddleback College.

I took my camera.

First thing I came upon was the Fine Arts area. Man, it's beautiful up around there. Then Patrick showed up.

I headed for the Library. Rode up to the 3rd floor. It was as quiet as a tomb. Saw some cadaverous individuals.

When I stepped back outside for much-needed air, I walked into a jasmine cloud. I was transported.


What's this about? How'd they get that sign up there so fast?

I know our trustees have a reputation for defiance, but sheesh! Now we'll never get re-accredited.

Came across a cool poster:


...And a peculiar sign.


I think somebody finally got tired of the college displaying a pissed off vaquero and then callin' 'im a "gaucho."

It was such a beautiful day. I checked out the area behind the pool. Nobody goes there, especially me. I was being watched. Beautiful trees, though.



ave you seen David Horowitz's new book? It's called The Professors:


It's published by Regnery Publishing. As you know, trustee Tom Fuentes is a director of Eagle Publishing, which controls Regnery Publishing, Eagle’s book subsidiary. (See http://www.regnery.com/eagle_manage.html)

Regnery’s website describes The Professors this way:

We all know that left-wing radicals from the 1960s have hung around academia and hired people like themselves. But if you thought they were all harmless, antiquated hippies, you’d be wrong. Today’s radical academics aren’t the exception—they’re legion. And far from being harmless, they spew violent anti-Americanism, preach anti-Semitism, and cheer on the killing of American soldiers and civilians—all the while collecting tax dollars and tuition fees to indoctrinate our children. Remember Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor who compared the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks to Nazis who deserved what they got? You thought he was bad? In this shocking new book, New York Times bestselling author David Horowitz has news for you: American universities are full of radical academics like Ward Churchill—and worse.

Do you suppose that Trustee Fuentes thinks that we're like THAT? Could he be that deluded?

I'm thinking about my office at IVC. Sure, my office mate is some kinda radical, but she never says or does the stuff that Horowitz is yammerin' about. There's a Bush Republican right across the hall. On one side of him, there are two liberal Democrats who leave people Valentines and such. They never spew. On the other side, there's another Republican (I think). She keeps to herself and looks intensely self-interested. Her office mate isn't political; he's neurotic. He spews all right, but only vomit.

I'm no radical; I'm a Communitarian. In Orange County, being a Communitarian is like being a screen door salesman on a submarine. (I remember that from 3rd grade. Swoonage releases childhood memories.) Or worse even.

I do some spewin', but it's the conservative Andy Roony kind. Like, "how come I can't get a lid for my coffee that's got an air-hole pre-poked in it? Goddamit, is it too much to ask for a friggin' pre-poked air-hole!"

I've got to say, you've got a beautiful--and fragrant--campus down there in Mission Viejo. It all made me swoon. You're lucky, you are.

A gathering of rich, corrupt rat bastards

In OC Blog/Red County this afternoon:

Tom Fuentes—60 Years and a Community College District

Posted by: Keith Carlson

Chairman Emeritus of the OCGOP, Tom Fuentes, celebrated his 60th Birthday last night at the Balboa Bay Club. The event also served as a rallying point for his re-election bid to the South Orange County Community College Board of Trustees. By the turnout, I'm assuming his competition is in deep trouble. Let's say it was a bit larger than your average community college board candidate event. In fact, it was a huge crowd. The President of Hillsdale College, Dr. Larry Arnn (former President of the Claremont Institute), flew in from Michigan to give the keynote address. It was an inspiring message, reminding us all of the importance the founding generation put on a well-educated society. It was, they felt, critical for a nation that is "by the people" to have people that could reason well, live well, and know their history.

The speaker was introduced by Brian Kennedy, the current President of the Claremont Institute—where Tom Fuentes is also a Director and Senior Fellow. In attendance were a whole host of GOP volunteer leaders, as well as numerous elected officials. It said something to me that Congressmen Rohrabacher and Royce—in the midst of their own re-election campaigns—would take time out of their busy schedules to support someone running for local office. But, of course, that someone was not just anyone.

That someone was Tom Fuentes, who led the GOP in OC for 20 years. But more recently, he also battled liver cancer—and won. So, as he addressed the crowd he noted that it wasn't really his 60th birthday, but really it was his 1st. It was moving stuff, especially with his family and so many old friends there to support him. All in all it was a great night to celebrate someone not only devoted to the conservative cause and public policy, but also someone that has come through a tough year and wants to keep serving the public.

Also on the Claremont Institute board: Howard F. Ahmanson, Jr. (According to Wikipedia, "Ahmanson told the Orange County Register in 1985, 'My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives.'") CI must be a helluva organization.

Mr. Fuentes is also among the directors of Eagle Publishing, which owns Regnery Books. Among Regnery’s more popular titles: Unfit for Command (yes, the infamous “swift boat” book). Regnery also publishes books that reject or attack Darwin's theory of natural selection.

Fuentes, as much as anyone, is responsible for the unfortunate circumstance that, for the first time in their history, the colleges of the South Orange County Community College District could lose their accreditation (for years, the Accrediting Commission has cited the SOCCCD board for micromanagement). (See Action Letter 1/7.)

Horowitz nearly creamed

● TIME FOR PIE. You remember David Horowitz. He's an incredibly stupid TV consumer advocate who tests cream pies for their cream content.

Well, yes, but that's not the David Horowitz I'm talking about. The "academic" David Horowitz writes books published by Regnery Publishing. As you know, our own Trustee Tom Fuentes sits on the board of directors of Eagle Publishing, which controls Regnery. Regnery publishes anti-evolution books and books about gun love. (Kill it & Grill It)

Horowitz is most famous, or most infamous, for proposed legislation called the "Academic Bill of Rights" (ABR). Trustee Don Wagner has implied that he supports ABR. According to the AAUP, ABR sucks bigtime. If you're an academic and you don't know that, then you're a knucklehead. Sorry, but it's true.

From Wednesday’s Newslink Indiana: Pie-throwing precedes Horowitz speech:

Moments before speaking to students Wednesday at Ball State University, …David Horowitz was accosted by protestors….

One student quickly approached Horowitz in a doorway…and attempted to hit him with a cream pie. The pie missed and hit Gene Burton, university public safety director and Horowitz's bodyguard for the night.

"There are problems on this campus, quite obviously," Horowitz said….

…After [two protesters] were removed Wednesday night, Horowitz went on with his program about fair presentation in the college classroom…A noted critic of higher education, he challenged several departments at Ball State, including sociology, women's studies and the peace studies program, headed by George Wolfe.

Wolfe made the list in one of Horowitz's most recent books, "The Professors: 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America." The two men are known for disliking each other.

"A professor should be professional in the classroom," Horowitz said. "They can teach about controversial issues, but they shouldn't try to force their students to take their view of a controversial issue."….

That's the trouble with intellectuals: lousy aim.


● ACADEMICS ARE SO DANG CONSERVATIVE. As you know, Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur has long been an advocate of urine therapy, and, consequently, he has created the District Urine Group (DUG).

Well, no, he's long been a promoter of distance learning and the like, and so he's created the District Distance Education Task Force (DDETF), which is moving forward with recommendations.

It's no secret that many faculty are skeptical about distance ed, including e-learning.

From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Growing Popularity of E-Learning:

More students are taking online college courses than ever before, yet the majority of faculty still aren’t warming up to the concept of e-learning, according to a national survey from the country’s largest association of organizations and institutions focused on online education.

Roughly 3.2 million students took at least one online course…during the fall 2005 term, the Sloan Consortium said. That’s double the number who reported doing so in 2002….

…The Sloan Survey…shows that 62 percent of chief academic officers say that the learning outcomes in online education are now “as good as or superior to face-to-face instruction,” and nearly 6 in 10 agree that e-learning is “critical to the long-term strategy of their institution.” ….

…The bulk of online students are adult or “nontraditional” learners, and more than 70 percent of those surveyed said online education reaches students not served by face-to-face programs.

What stands out is the number of faculty who still don’t see e-learning as a valuable tool. Only about one in four academic leaders said that their faculty members “accept the value and legitimacy of online education,” the survey shows. ….

...The Sloan report shows that about 80 percent of students taking online courses are at the undergraduate level. About half are taking online courses through community colleges and 13 percent through doctoral and research universities, according to the survey.

…The report indicates that two-year colleges are particularly willing to be involved in online learning….

That's cuz it's cheap.

I'm buyin' some pies.

● HOW DID THAT "BOTCHED" JOKE GO AGAIN? OK, I just couldn't resist. From yesterday’s New York Times: Marines Get the News From an Iraqi Host: Rumsfeld’s Out:

Hashim al-Menti smiled wanly at the marine sergeant beside him on his couch. The sergeant had appeared in the darkness on Wednesday night, knocking on the door of Mr. Menti’s home.

When Mr. Menti answered, a squad of infantrymen swiftly moved in, making him an involuntary host.

Since then marines had been on his roof with rifles, watching roads where insurgents often planted bombs.

Mr. Menti had passed the time watching television. Now he had news. He spoke in broken English. “Rumsfeld is gone,” he told the sergeant, Michael A. McKinnon.

“Democracy,” he added, and made a thumbs-up sign. “Good.”

The marines had been on a continuous foot patrol for several days, hunting for insurgents. They were lost in the hard and isolating rhythms of infantry life.

They knew nothing of the week’s news.

Now they were being told by an Iraqi whose house they occupied that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, one of the principal architects of the policies that had them here, had resigned.

“Rumsfeld is gone?” the sergeant asked. “Really?”

Mr. Menti nodded. “This is better for Iraq,” he said. “Iraqi people say thank you.”

The sergeant went upstairs to tell his marines, just as he had informed them the day before that the Republican Party had lost control of the House of Representatives and that Congress was in the midst of sweeping change. Mr. Menti had told them that, too.

“Rumsfeld’s out,” he said to five marines sprawled with rifles on the cold floor.

Lance Cpl. James L. Davis Jr. looked up from his cigarette.

“Who’s Rumsfeld?” he asked.

See also Slackery, Knuckleheadery, and Abject Doltitude

Horowitz's "Academic Bill of Rights"

Yesterday, I mentioned David Horowitz's book The Professors, which is published by Regnery Publishing. Trustee Fuentes sits on the board of directors of Eagle Publishing, which controls Regnery.

Horowitz is most famous, or most infamous, for proposed legislation called the "Academic Bill of Rights" (ABR). It has been introduced in 17 states in recent years.

During the recent board discussion in which Trustee Wagner led the board to end our colleges' memberships in the American Library Association, Wagner mentioned the ALA's opposition to the ABR. I could be mistaken, but Mr. Wagner seemed to imply that he favors the ABR. It's likely that Trustee Fuentes favors it too. (As far as I know, neither man has expressed a position on ABR.)


Some elements of ABR are unobjectionable. But, as the AAUP explains, "other parts of the proposal reach into the classroom to suggest that what you teach, how you teach it, what you assign, and what you hand out, should be overseen by the administration...."

Thus far, to my knowledge, the ABR has made no headway in any state legislature. It generally gets tabled or shot down.

The AAUP warns that, though ABR has not been adopted by any state, "Similar proposals may be offered on your campus by student organizations or even student governments." Therefore, we had better be clear about the ABR's content.

The AAUP has a web site that offers various resources re the ABR (Proposed Government Oversight on Teaching & Learning). The following summary is from a "handout" available on the AAUP web site (Coming to your campus soon).

Summary of the "Academic Bill of Rights" Proposals

"The Academic Bill of Rights ... threatens to impose administrative and legislative oversight on the professional judgment of faculty, to deprive professors of the authority necessary for teaching, and to prohibit academic institutions from making the decisions that are necessary for the advancement of knowledge... The AAUP has consistently held that academic freedom can only be maintained so long as faculty remain autonomous and self-governing." (Most responses in this section are drawn from the AAUP Statement on the Academic Bill of Rights, available on the AAUP web site, above.)

The "Academic Bill of Rights" proposals list the following rights:

A right of "access to a broad range of serious scholarly opinion." This section states that institutions should foster a "plurality of serious scholarly methodologies and perspectives." The problem, according to the AAUP Statement, is that "it invites diversity to be measured by political standards that diverge from the academic criteria of the scholarly profession. Measured in this way, diversity can easily become contradictory to academic ends."

A right to grading based on "reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects they study" and not on their "political or religious beliefs." AAUP's Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students agrees that students should be free of unfair academic evaluation. "Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled." Campus grievance processes are generally available to students. These processes usually support fair grading without infringing on the pedagogical judgment of the faculty. The legislative proposals would infringe on faculty rights by encouraging administrative oversight over this pedagogical function.

A right to be free of "instructors who persistently introduce controversial matter into the classroom or coursework that has no relation to the subject of study..." The problem is: Who is to distinguish between proper pedagogy and improper "indoctrination?" According to the legislative proposals, the question would be determined first by student complaint, and then by the administration or the courts. But according to the AAUP statement, this distinction "is to be determined by reference to scholarly and professional standards, as interpreted and applied by the faculty itself."


A right to have faculty in the classroom "make their students aware of serious scholarly viewpoints other than their own" and to have "curricula and reading lists in the humanities and social sciences [that] respect all human knowledge in these areas and provide students with dissenting sources and viewpoints." This provision is the most directly intrusive into the prerogatives of the classroom teacher. Who determines the "range of human knowledge"? Who would enforce this rule? Most likely, the administration, in order to avoid suit.

A right to have hiring, firing, promotion, and tenure decisions for faculty (and inclusion in committees that make such decisions) ... made on the basis of competence and appropriate knowledge in their field of expertise, not on the basis of religious or political beliefs. While the basic principle is sound, the Academic Bill of Rights is an "improper and dangerous method for its implementation," because of its reliance on administrative and legal intervention.

A right to have student fee funds distributed on a "viewpoint-neutral basis," maintaining a "posture of neutrality" with respect to political and religious opinions. The law on this subject is well settled in the 2000 Supreme Court case, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Scott Southworth, et al. The United Council of University of Wisconsin Students describes the Court's guidance on "viewpoint neutrality:" (Link).

And finally, notices of student and faculty rights should be included in course catalogues, student handbooks, and on the institutional web site. Most campuses have student and faculty handbooks, printed and on their web sites, describing the full range of faculty and student rights. Encourage your students to know and understand their rights and responsibilities.

Tom Fuentes: ubiquitous paid consultant

     I’ve been sifting through Tom Fuentes’ form 700 filings re his gig as SOCCCD trustee.
     What are those?
     Well, according to the FPPC (guidelines),

The Political Reform Act requires public officials to disclose assets and income which may be materially affected by their official actions. The Act requires governmental agencies to ensure that their public officials (board/commission members, employees and consultants) disclose their interests on or before the statutory deadline.

     Hence, officials, such as elected trustees, must fill out a Statement of Economic Interests: form 700.
     I’ve examined many (not quite all of) Fuentes’ 700 forms covering several years. Here’s a brief description of what I’ve found. Essentially, these are Fuentes’ acknowledged sources of income.

     Oddly, LFC (Lange Financial Corporation), a real estate auction firm at which, according to Fuentes’ former district bio, Fuentes served as Senior Vice President, does not appear in the documents that I have seen.
     Fuentes’ presently has an “LFC” email address. Odd.

• The Claremont Institute, Claremont (unaffiliated with Claremont Colleges)
Conservative “think tank”
Fuentes: consultant
Fuentes has checked the $10-100K box, many years

     In fact, Fuentes is on the CI Board of Directors. Among the Board of Advisors: Roberta Ahmanson (wife of religious extremist Howard) and Tom L. Phillips (see Phillips International)
     In a recent article for the Voice of Orange County, Fuentes acknowledges having had an office at LFC that, he says, the firm provided to the Claremont Institute, for whom Fuentes consulted. Naturally, this constitutes a substantial “gift” to CI.

     We’ll have more about that circumstance at a later date.

• Tait and Associates, Santa Ana
Real estate, construction
Fuentes: Senior Vice President
Fuentes has checked the $10-100K box for salary, some years.

     Tom Tait (of T&A) is now running for Mayor of Anaheim. Fuentes has endorsed him.

• Enterprise Counsel Group, Irvine
Law Firm (labor and real estate law)
Fuentes: advisor
Most years, Fuentes checks the $10-100K income box for ECG

     ECG’s David A. Robinson is on the Irvine Valley College Foundation Board of Governors. He is former chairman.

• Law Offices of Linda W. Lau, Los Angeles
Fuentes: consultant
A one-time fee, $1-10K

• Nguyen for Congress
Fuentes: consultant

     No doubt this Nguyen is Tan Nguyen, who sent those nasty letters to Latino voters a couple of years ago; he’s still in court over charges of “obstruction of justice.”

• Stanbridge College, Irvine
Fuentes: consultant
For several years, Fuentes checked the $10-100K income box for SC, a for-profit

• Landslide Communications, Irvine (Jim Lacy’s firm)
Marketing agent for right-wing slates/slate mailers
Fuentes: consultant
Fuentes has for many years checked the $1-10K income box for smearmeister Jim Lacy’s firm.

• 7G Innovations, Newport Beach
Electronic payment processing and customer relationships management
Fuentes: consultant
For several years, Fuentes has checked the $1-10K box.

• Shared Success, Costa Mesa
Venture capital; business management consultants
Fuentes: consultant
Several years, checked the $1-10K income box

• Western CPAC, Laguna Niguel
Fuentes: consultant

     Jim Lacy (see Landslide Communications) is the chairman; Tom Fuentes is on the CPAC board of directors. In recent years, CPAC events have provided a forum for some remarkably extreme right-wing views.

• Hewitt Wolensky, Newport Beach
Law firm
Fuentes: consultant

     Hugh Hewitt is a popular conservative radio host and blogger.
     Hewitt is friendly to Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine. Recently, troubling irregularities occurred in a new program that provides IVC credit courses at Crean.

• Silvaard Institute of Natural History, Coto de Caza
(Terry Singer)
Fuentes: advisor
Small amounts ($1-10K)

• Hilbrick Construction, Newport Beach
Fuentes: consultant
One year, Fuentes clicked the $10-100K income box; another year, the $1-10K box.

     I’m not sure Hilbrick still exists. The above site describes it thus: “For-Profit Organization, Veteran Owned Business, Construction Firm, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Contracts.”

• Investments:

Phillips International, Inc.
Publishing
I found two filings that checked the $10-100K box.

     Ultra-conservative publisher Tom L. Phillips appears to be a long-time Fuentes crony. He founded and serves on the Board of Directors of Eagle Publishing, which owns the notorious Regnery Publishing. Fuentes is one of four “external directors” of Eagle Publishing.
     Among Regnery authors are Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham, Newt Gingrich, Ann Coulter, Dinesh D'Souza, and Ted Nugent.

Texas is special

From this morning’s Inside Higher Ed: Creationist College Advances in Texas:

…On Friday, an advisory committee to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recommended that the state allow the Institute for Creation Research to start offering online master’s degrees in science education. The institute, which has been based in California, where it operates a museum and many programs for people who don’t believe in evolution, is relocating to Dallas, where it hopes to expand its online education offerings. ¶ …Raymund A. Paredes, commissioner of higher education for Texas, stressed in an interview Sunday that the advisory panel’s vote was just that: advisory. ¶ ….Officials of the Institute for Creation Research could not be reached for comment, but there is extensive information about the institute’s programs on its Web site. The list of courses required for the master of science education includes a number that are fairly standard ("Advanced Educational Psychology” and “Instructional Design,” for example), but also some that are not.

“Advanced Studies in Creationism” features this description: “Scientific study of the creationist and evolutionist cosmologies; origin and history of the universe, of the solar systems, of life, of the various forms of life, and of man and his cultures. Critical analysis of both creation and evolutionary theory using data from paleontology, astronomy, biochemistry, genetics, thermodynamics, statistics, and other sciences. Study of geologic principles and earth history in the light of Creation and the Flood; scientific comparative studies of recent creation; application of principles of Biblical creationism in various fields.” [My emphasis.]

…Asked for his views on evolution, Paredes said “I accept the conventions of science’ and “I believe evolution has a legitimate place in the teaching of science.” But he declined to say that evolution should be taught as the science….

Among the biggest funders of Creationist "research" in this country is Orange County's own Howard Ahmanson, Jr., a good pal of Trustee Tom Fuentes (who himself helps direct Eagle Publishing, which publishes [through Regnery Publishing] Creationist and anti-evolution tomes). To read about Ahmanson, go to The greatest bad for the greatest number