DISSENT the BLOG

• Praying mantis

  MORE MEDIA COVERAGE. This morning, the Chronicle of Higher Education finally covered the SOCCCD “prayer” lawsuit. Their report appears to be a truncated version of the OC Register story. It mentions the notorious “Christ” video.
  
  WAGNERIAN RED-MEAT SPIN. Well, it was bound to happen. Don Wagner, Republican candidate [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 6:28pm EST
  

• Rebel Girl's Poetry Corner: "Our dreams drink coffee with us"

  A little poetry, a little thanks.
  
  This one is featured on the website of the Poetry Foundation:
  
  A poem by Joy Harjo
  Muskogee Creek heritage
  born in 1951
  
  Perhaps the World Ends Here
  The world begins at a kitchen table. No matter [...]
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  Posted: November 25, 2009, 9:16am EST
  

• “The showing of that video was a mistake,” Llewellyn said.

  A new wrinkle!
  
  In this morning’s Inside Higher Ed (Religious Meets Litigious), the SOCCCD’s new lawyer, David Llewellyn, acknowledges that his clients committed an error:
  Llewellyn did make one concession about an incident specified in the suit.
  
  At the Chancellor’s Opening Session [8/18/09], [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 7:11am EST
  

• The OC Reg reports on the "prayer" lawsuit

  The OC Register has at long last noted the SOCCCD “prayer” lawsuit:
  
  Prayers land college district in legal dispute
  
  The article covers mostly familiar ground, but it does explain some of the history leading up to the lawsuit:
  [Plaintiff Karla] Westphal, who has [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 9:35pm EST
  

• Questions? Read the lawsuit for yourself

  If you visit the Americans United for Separation of Church and State website, you will find a story about the SOCCCD “prayer” suit.
  
  Upon linking to that story, you’ll find a link to the “complaint,” i.e., the lawsuit. Click on it.
  
  Or just [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 10:54am EST
  

• Girl From the North Country

  
  
  If you're traveling in the north country fair
  Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
  Remember me to one who lives there
  She once was the true love of mine.
  
  See for me that her hair’s hangin’ down
  If it curls and falls all down her' [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 9:02pm EST
  

• On being named in a lawsuit

  
  
  There may be some confusion concerning the status of the defendants in the “prayer” lawsuit (“Westphal v. Wagner”). As you know, several people, including each of the SOCCCD trustees, have been named as defendants in that suit.
  
  But they are not all being sued in [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 3:42pm EST
  

• It is what it is

  
  
  On Thursday, young Mr. B wrote me. He asked:
  
  How do you feel about a phrase like, "It is what it is..."?
  
  I responded as follows:
  Excellent question. ... [T]he expression does seem to express something of significance. I say this because there [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 2:01pm EST
  

• That Raghu sure can pick 'em

  
  I’ve done a little quick ‘n’ dirty research on the lawyer Raghu hired to defend plaintiffs in the “prayer” lawsuit: David Llewellyn. He’s seriously right-wing. According to the website for Llewellyn’s law firm,
  David Llewellyn is a legal advocate, civil rights lawyer and law professor now practicing [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 8:16pm EST
  

• Raghu saves the day, hiring an expensive lawyer!

  
  OC Weekly’s Matt Coker has noted our “prayer” lawsuit (here) and has managed to dig up some cool facts! One cool fact concerns the Chancellor, that clever fellow who played a certain video three months ago--you know, the one that ends with that remarkable assertion [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 6:22pm EST
  

• AUSCS press release: targeting SOCCCD's "prayer practice"

  
  
  Americans United Challenges California Community College Prayer Policy In Federal Court
  
  Americans United for Separation of Church and State has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging official prayers during public ceremonies at a Southern California community college.
  
  The lawsuit challenges the South Orange County [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:12pm EST
  

• The SOCCCD’s “prayer practice” in the courts

  
  "Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you—Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom."
  —From a video played during
  the Chancellor's Fall Opening Session
  
  Today, a complaint concerning our district was filed with the' [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 10:31pm EST
  

• No plotting or scheming behind anyone’s back, we’re assured

  Some points of information and clarification re the curriculum chair resignation:
  
  A CURIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. On Monday, IVC faculty received an email "announcement" from the President of the IVC Academic Senate that stated: “The responsibilities of IVC Curriculum Committee Chair have passed from [KS] to [JT] effective immediately.” That statement [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 9:17pm EST
  

• Questions to ponder (for those chained in a cave, staring at shadows)

  What is likely to occur next month at the Board’s yearly organizational meeting (Dec. 7)? Who will emerge as President of the Board?
  
  Trustee Wagner, the current Board President, seems to be doing well in his pursuit of office as a California Assemblyman. If he can reasonably expect to [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:08am EST
  

• "accessible, affordable, high-quality and accountable"

  from the SF Chronicle: "Higher education master plan getting ignored" by Nanette Asimov:
  California's Master Plan for Higher Education - which set academics ablaze with the promise of a nearly free college education for all who qualified - is limping toward the' [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 9:05am EST
  

• More Nooooz

  
  • UCI Anteaters Bound for Bruinsville to Protest Tuition Hikes (Matt Coker, OC Weekly)
  • UC Budget Protest at UCLA is Rowdy. Cal State Protest in Long Beach? Not So Much (Matt Coker, OC Weekly)
  • UC regents to vote on tuition hike [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 6:00pm EST
  

• Opacity and power

  
  Towering Irvine monolith, signifying nothing—or perhaps avarice—earlier this evening
  
  Available: Tracy Daly's Board Meeting Highlights (for last night's board meeting), here.
  
  opacity: the condition of lacking transparency
  
  
  COMMENTS
  
  Anonymous said...
  The IVC Academic Senate seems to have a transparency problem. Maybe that’s it. The only [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 4:00pm EST
  

• Nooooos

  Cuesta College President Quits, Criticizing His Own Leadership (The Chronicle)It's hot, ain't it? [...]
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  Posted: November 18, 2009, 8:50am EST
  

• The November board meeting: uneventful

  8:22 — A friend who attended tonight's meeting of the SOCCCD board of trustees just informed us that nothing of earth-shattering importance occurred. She noted, however, that the meeting was very brief and that at least one trustee focused on "efficiency." He thus requested reports concerning our colleges' efficiency' [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 8:23pm EST
  

• Ominosity?

  
  Ominous: giving the impression that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen; threatening; inauspicious
  
  Anonymous said...What do you mean? Are you talking about the board meeting?
  4:41 PM, November 17, 2009
  
  Anonymous said...The board members are at each others' throats. They've never been [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 4:21pm EST
  

• Tomorrow's board meeting

  The SOCCCD Board of Trustees is scheduled to hold its November meeting tomorrow (closed session: 5:00 p.m.; open: 6:00 p.m.).
  
  (As per my earlier announcement, I won’t be attending or reporting on the board meeting.)
  
  The agenda, a pdf file, is available here.
  [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 6:34pm EST
  

• Wanted: A New Mascot for IVC

  For nearly 25 years, IVC has distinguished itself as a college with an element as a mascot: the IVC Laser.
  
  While our sister school is home of the mislabeled racist stereotype (Go Gaucho!) and UC Irvine long ago embraced an anteater named Peter, IVC [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 9:32am EST
  

• In these mountains

  
  Earlier this evening, along El Toro Road.
  
  
  Santa Ana Mountains, 1913
  
  
  1913
  
  
  Tin mine in the Santa Anas, 1903
  
  
  Somewhere in the Santa Ana Mountains, 1945
  [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 6:44pm EST
  

• Southwestern College scandal over

  Yesterday, Save Our Southwestern College reported the following:
  
  SWC Drops Case Against Suspended Profs Shortly Before Free Speech Protest
  At 9:44 am this morning, Acting Superintendent/President Nicholas Alioto issued a message addressed to "the college community," informing us that the District has decided not to [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 12:54pm EST
  

• "Dad" as in "Baghdad"

  
  
  One of the standout songs at last night’s concert at Royce Hall.
  
  Good Lord, the man’s awesome!
  
  "Dad" as in "Baghdad."
  
  
  
  
  Royce Hall, built in 1929
  It's hot, ain't it? [...]
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  Posted: November 14, 2009, 11:28am EST
  

• Old, strange OC

  
  I'm fixin' to go to the Richard Thompson/LW concert tonight at Royce Hall. Should be good.
  I'll leave you three old OC pics to contemplate. The first depicts the famous 1938 flood. It was a big deal, man. The second is old Yorba Linda.  The third' [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 3:46pm EST
  

• Don Wagner versus “imported crime and violence” and "kangaroo rats"

  Denizens of the 70th Assembly District (that includes me, almost) will be glad to hear that, on his campaign website, Republican candidate and SOCCCD trustee Don Wagner now offers his take on the issues. Here are some highlights:
  Protect Families
  
  The family is the [...]
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  Posted: November 13, 2009, 9:10am EST
  

• Tom and Raghu and Virtue Boy

  
  
  Today, the SOCCCD community received a delightful email from SOCCCD's head of "Public Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations," Tracy Daly:
  Sharing Education Perspectives
  
  Clerk of the Board Thomas A. Fuentes and Chancellor Raghu P. Mathur were special guests at a luncheon recently' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 5:49pm EST
  

• SLO doesn't mean San Luis Obispo anymore

  
  Lassen College faculty brings first "Student Learning Outcomes" charge to PERB charge
  
  In what may be the first test case, the California Public Relations Board (PERB) will decide whether a college can require instructors to submit Student Learning Outcomes without having bargained them into [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 7:43am EST
  

• Old OC

  
  Santa Ana, 1890s
  
  
  Wallop's Grocery, Anaheim, 1886
  
  
  Santa Ana
  
  
  Santa Ana, earthquake damage, 1933
  It's hot, ain't it?' [...]
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  Posted: November 12, 2009, 12:02am EST
  

• News, news, empty news

  ● John Dean to speak at Chapman [University] Wednesday (OC Register)
  
  ● AAUP Announces Effort to Shore Up Academic Freedom at Public Colleges (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
  
  ● Oscar-winning actor [Richard Dreyfuss] speaks at Dodge (The Chapman University Panther)
  
  ● OCC Bookstore under investigation (OCC [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 10:21pm EST
  

• Gustavo Arellano v. Saddleback's "Gaucho"

  
  Separated at Birth? Ask a Mexican's Logo, Saddleback College's Gaucho (OC Weekly)
  
  …Look, Saddleback: if you're going to use Latino stereotypes, at least use the right ones. Compare your gaucho to the one below used by the University of California, Santa Barbara. Notice the flat' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 8:17am EST
  

• The Southwestern College Scandal: the ACLU weighs in

  
  
  The blog Save Our Southwestern College (here) reports that
  In an extensively documented letter to SWC President Raj Chopra, David Blair-Loy, legal director for the San Diego/Imperial County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, outlines how the college's actions and policies violate' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 11:07pm EST
  

• Horsesh*t watch

  When I was 18, I interviewed for a job at Disneyland. At one point, the HR person looked at me and asked, “Do you like people?” Something made me say no. (That wasn't even true.)
  
  They spun me out the door. But I don’t hold it' [...]
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  Posted: November 10, 2009, 10:46pm EST
  

• Higher Ed digest

  Students Win Right to Protest With Empty Holsters (Inside Higher Ed)
  
  A federal judge in Texas on Friday granted a temporary injunction allowing two students to wear empty holsters in public spaces at Tarrant County College as part of a national series of student protests [...]
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  Posted: November 09, 2009, 3:37pm EST
  

• "Not a police state"

  
  
  Evidently, yesterday, the conservative San Diego Union Tribune finally printed some letters critical of the paper’s obnoxious Oct. 31 editorial. (See our Nov. 1 post, Oddly, they seem to have disappeared!)
  
  Cuts and protests at Southwestern
  
  1. MAKE YOUR FEELINGS KNOWN [...]
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  Posted: November 08, 2009, 11:21am EST
  

• Marvelously succinct!

  When I was a child people simply looked about them and were moderately happy; today they peer beyond the seven seas, bury themselves waist deep in tidings, and by and large what they see and hear makes them unutterably sad.
  —E.B. White
  
  Today, Angus Johnston's Student Activism ([...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:50am EST
  

• Chapman U: from selflessness to selfishness

  Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.
  —Albert Schweitzer
  Chapman president earns more than U.S. president
  
  That’s right. The OC Reg’s Gary Robbins has been reading the Chronicle of Higher Ed, where he learned that the obnoxiously omnipresent Mr. [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 8:35am EST
  

• Photos, late in the night

  
  Phiney house, Tustin, 1910
  
  
  
  James & Coralinn Rice house, Tustin, 1895
  
  
  
  
  Marcy Ranch, Newport Avenue, Tustin, ca. 1915
  
  
  
  Newport Bay and Balboa Pavilion [...]
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  Posted: November 07, 2009, 11:59pm EST
  

• Black letter day for The Southwestern Three

  Our pals at Save Our Southwestern College (SOSC) have posted that It's NOT Over.
  
  As you know, the three “suspended” instructors—Dinorah Guadiana-Costa, Philip Lopez, and Andrew Rempt—were allowed to enter campus again yesterday.
  
  Yeah, but they also received letters of reprimand, signed by “acting”' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 7:28pm EST
  

• Iraqis. Boy, are they dumb!

  Physicist and pesky logical trouble-maker Bob Park today reports several lunacies, including:
  There it was, on the front page of the New York Times: the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1500 devices known as the ADE 651 to use at checkpoints. [ADE] stands for Advanced Detection [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 6:50pm EST
  

• Meanwhile, in Texas...

  
  from this morning's Inside Higher Ed:
  
  Community College Sued Over Limits on Rallies
  
  Two students -- backed by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education -- are suing the Tarrant County College District, charging that its limits on rallies are violations of First' [...]
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  Posted: November 06, 2009, 8:25am EST
  

• The Huffington Post takes note of the Southwestern College Scandal

  by REBEL GIRL
  
  It's true.
  
  Ariana Huffington's preeminent newsblog has noted the ongoing crisis at Southwestern College.
  
  Excerpt:
  
  Professors Suspended At Californian College for Peacefully Protesting Outside of "Free Speech Patio"
  If speaking your mind about issues facing the college where [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 8:15pm EST
  

• Roy Bauer, signing out

  I’ll simply repeat something I wrote earlier today:
  In my experience—as a writer for what is essentially a newsletter in the "watchdog" tradition—one encounters the greatest pushback, not when one gets things wrong, but when one gets things right.
  
  Things are getting dicey. Might have [...]
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  Posted: November 05, 2009, 5:27pm EST
  

• Spanky, aka Library Boy

  The Orange Juice blog today posted some campaign copy that's being used by Don Wagner’s Democratic competitor for the 70 AD, Melissa Fox:
  
  A Right-Wing Extremist or Melissa Fox?
  Will it be one of two extreme far right-wing ideologues or will it be progressive candidate' [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 7:20pm EST
  

• Fashionable?—YES. Nonpartisan?—NOT SO MUCH.

  TRUSTEES 'R' REPUBLICANS 'R' TRUSTEES. Today, Tracy D sent out a district “Update,” which has news about H1N1, Jim Wright—and something entitled “Leadership in Fashion.”
  
  Mention was made of this "fashion" thing at the last board meeting. It seems that at least three trustees (note: [...]
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  Posted: November 04, 2009, 4:35pm EST
  

• FIRE's letter to Chopra

  The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) announced today that it has “intervened” in the “Southwestern College suspended faculty” case. (See FIRE intervenes)
  
  It asserts that:
  FIRE has written a letter to the Superintendent/President of California's Southwestern College (SWC), Raj K. Chopra, regarding' [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 6:15pm EST
  

• George Orwell's Southwestern College

  Wackiness and Orwellian weirdness persist at Southwestern College. Today’s Save Our Southwestern College blog updates us on the "suspended dissenting faculty" situation:
  The college has referred the case to the San Diego County District Attorney. An online case search suggests that a case number has not yet been assigned, [...]
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  Posted: November 03, 2009, 2:45pm EST
  

• Casino night at the college: fun photos

  
  If I'd o' showed up, I would o' come as freakin' Rin-Tin-Tin.
  
  Something called “Casino Night” occurred at Irvine Valley College two weeks ago. Its theme: Hollywood: past and present. Evidently, it was a fundraiser put on by the IVC Foundation.
  
  Near as I can tell, [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 5:51pm EST
  

• If it quacks like a duck...

  Inside Higher Ed has an update on the Southwestern “faculty suspension” story: When Is a Suspension Not a Suspension?
  On Friday, Angelica L. Suarez, vice president for student affairs at the college, contacted Inside Higher Ed to say that reports … that professors had been suspended [...]
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  Posted: November 02, 2009, 3:21pm EST