Shame on National Education Association

In May 2006, EEOC San Francisco District Director Joan Ehrlich stated, “It is shocking that a union dedicated to representing the rights of teachers and other public school employees would permit this harassment to happen in its own backyard."

(She was talking about the harrassment discussed in my previous post.)

Are you listening, David A. Sanchez, president of California Teachers Association? And Jim Groth, on the board of directors?

I'm afraid these "leaders" listen only to Carolyn Doggett and Beverly Tucker, the Executive Director and Chief Counsel who seem to have all the real power in CTA.

EEOC still functions during Bush admininstration--when the target is NEA

Well, it took me about ten minutes to find out I was wrong in thinking that the $700,000 settlement by the EEOC in 2000 that I mentioned in my previous post would still be holding the EEOC record for biggest settlement. (Well, I might be right that it still holds the record for Arizona, and it might hold the record for racial discrimination.)

I'm glad somebody is holding National Teachers Association (NEA) accountable for wrongdoing, but I wish the administration would go after all organizations equally.

Here's the story:
NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION AND ALASKA AFFILIATE TO PAY $750,000 FOR HARASSMENT OF WOMEN
Female Former Employee in EEOC Case Said Male Boss was ‘a Ticking Time Bomb’

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today at a press conference the $750,000 settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit against the National Education Association (NEA) and its affiliate NEA-Alaska on behalf of three female former employees who were subjected to persistent verbal abuse and intimidation by a belligerent high-level male manager. In addition to the monetary relief, the unions agreed to make policy changes to address any future discrimination.

EEOC’s suit (Civil Action No. A01-0225-CV (JKS)), filed in July 2001, charged that manager Thomas Harvey, then interim assistant executive director for NEA-Alaska, subjected Carol Christopher, Carmela Chamara and Julie Bhend to abusive treatment on a daily basis. Harvey targeted the female staff by screaming and yelling at them with little or no provocation, often using profanity and frequently berating them in public, the EEOC said. The women described Harvey as turning bright red with bulging neck veins as he screamed, coming so close they often felt his saliva spit on their faces. He also physically intimidated the women by sneaking up behind them and watching over their work for no apparent reason. Further, Harvey would shake his fists at the women and come within striking distance, raising fears that he would physically attack the women.

The Alaska Federal District Court had dismissed the EEOC’s case on the ground that the behavior was not overtly sexual and thus not unlawful sex harassment. The EEOC appealed that ruling and in September 2005, the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit, stating that it was wrong for the lower court to dismiss the case because harassing conduct does not have to be motivated by lust or blatant misogyny to be illegal sex discrimination.

The Ninth Circuit quoted Chamara describing her work environment as, “working with a ticking time bomb because you’re sitting by and you’re waiting for your turn to be next. You know its going to happen when you hear the sound of his feet walking towards your area. It… raises the hairs on your neck because you just don’t know what you’re going to get.”

Although top NEA-Alaska management officials, such as the president and previous executive director, personally witnessed some of Harvey’s behavior and received complaints about him, they failed to take action to stop the harassment. In fact, despite the complaints, Harvey was subsequently promoted to be NEA-Alaska’s executive director.

After filing the lawsuit against NEA-Alaska, the EEOC uncovered evidence that the national NEA helped place Harvey at the Alaska affiliate, despite knowing of his lengthy record of targeting women for abuse (including his behavior while working at NEA’s Mississippi affiliate). As a result, the EEOC added the national teachers union as a defendant to the lawsuit.

After the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the case to the lower court, the unions and the EEOC engaged in mediation resulting in the settlement. In addition to the monetary relief to be shared by the three women, both NEA-Alaska and NEA agreed to review their employment policies, provide effective means to address discrimination complaints, and educate their employees about their rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

EEOC Regional Attorney William Tamayo said, “More and more women are in the workforce and may work for less enlightened but nevertheless powerful supervisors. These facts were all about the abuse of power. This lawsuit and $750,000 settlement send the message that abusive behavior targeted at women is unlawful and will not be tolerated by the EEOC. We’re glad that the Ninth Circuit’s decision not only gave these women a chance to press their claims against the NEA and its Alaska affiliate, but affirmed that abuse targeting one gender is illegal. We commend the unions for working with us to resolve this matter. ”

EEOC San Francisco District Director Joan Ehrlich stated, “It is shocking that a union dedicated to representing the rights of teachers and other public school employees would permit this harassment to happen in its own backyard. This case sends an important message to millions of working women nationwide: abusive behavior targeted against women or any other protected group is illegal, and employers will be held accountable for it.”

Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov.

This page was last modified on May 22, 2006.

$700,000 settlement for racial discrimination

This story is about a settlement reached between the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and an employer accused of racial discrimination. No, don't fall off your chair. The date is May 2000, back before the executive branch of US government got turned into a political campaign organization.

In 2000, this was the largest monetary settlement, $700,000, for race discrimination in the State of Arizona. My guess is that the record still stands.

Here's the story:
PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that several African American former employees of Direct Marketing Services' Peoria, Ariz., facility will receive a total of $700,000 as part of the terms of a consent decree settling charges of racial harassment and other race-based discrimination issues filed against the company. The decree, the largest monetary settlement of a race discrimination case in the history of the agency's Phoenix office, was also approved today by federal district court Judge Stephen M. McNamee.

EEOC Chairwoman Ida L. Castro said that each of the eleven individuals who suffered the discrimination will receive a letter of apology from the company. "This might help bring closure to the humiliation they suffered," she said, "but, from the perspective of the EEOC, it merely highlights the unfortunate fact that the American workplace is far from turning the corner on race bias. The EEOC will continue to root out racial harassment and other forms of illegal discrimination through vigorous enforcement of the laws prohibiting such practices."

The consent decree settles a lawsuit filed by the EEOC after an investigation concluded that the former employees of the telemarketing firm were racially harassed, paid unequal wages, and denied promotions at the company. Efforts by the EEOC to conciliate the charges prior to filing suit were unsuccessful.

Under the decree, which will be enforced over the next two years, Direct Marketing Services will provide mandatory training on Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to all employees at its facilities. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The decree further enjoins the company from engaging in race, sex and national origin discrimination and from retaliating against anyone who opposes discrimination.

The company also has been ordered to maintain all relevant records, post a notice about its anti-discrimination policies, and to institute policies, practices, and procedures that ensure a discrimination-free working environment. One such procedure will be to evaluate supervisors, managers and human resource personnel on their performance in responding to complaints of discrimination.
http://www.eeoc.gov/press/5-5-00.html

Welcome home, Genarlow Wilson

21-year-old Genarlow Wilson is back home with his mother and nine-year-old sister in Georgia, thanks to four Georgia Supreme Court justices who decided that it was cruel and unusual to keep him incarcerated.

This was a big disappointment to prosecutor David McDade of Douglas County, who kept Genarlow in jail for four extra months while he appealed a previous ruling that Genarlow should be released.

Genarlow spent two years in prison for going to a party when he was seventeen, and allowing a fifteen year old girl to have oral sex with him. He would have spent 8 more years in prison if Georgia legislature had had their way. Did I mention that Genarlow is black? The case doesn't make sense without that information. (The case doesn't make sense anyway, but this fact makes it easier to believe that this happened.)

What's up with Bill Brown, Sheriff of Santa Barbara County?

Dear Sheriff Brown:

When Jim Anderson was sheriff, I had no trouble getting the sheriff’s designee to come to a deposition. I just mailed a $150 check and a subpoena to the sheriff’s office.

Is the policy still the same, or do I have to hire a process server in Santa Barbara to personally serve you?

If I continue to receive no response from you to my many communications, I will assume that either you are trying to keep the facts covered up in this particular case, or you have changed Sheriff Jim Anderson’s policy.

Yours truly,
Maura Larkins

Medical fraud

Who can we trust?

Not insurance companies.

Here's a Bloomberg.com article:

WellCare Shares Lose Half Their Value After FBI Raid
By Catherine Larkin
Bloomberg.com

Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- WellCare Health Plans Inc., the manager of medical care sponsored by the U.S. government in three states, lost more than half its value on the New York Stock Exchange after disclosing investigations by U.S. and Florida prosecutors.

WellCare dropped by $68.83, or 60 percent, to $46.34 in composite trading at 2:36 p.m. and earlier sank 76 percent. The decline was the biggest since WellCare began public trading in June 2004. WellCare's market value fell to $1.94 billion.

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Attorney General's Medicaid fraud unit searched WellCare's headquarters in Tampa yesterday, according to a statement from James Klindt, acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Officials didn't describe what they were seeking, and the company declined to elaborate today.

``The underlying reason is unknown, and may not be known for days if not weeks or months,'' said Thomas Carroll, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore, in a note to clients yesterday. When federal agents ``raid a health-care company, the outlook on earnings, legal proceedings, and the entire operations of the company can be questioned.''

Carroll was one of at least three analysts who downgraded WellCare shares to ``sell'' from ``hold'' or ``neutral'' after the raid was announced...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7H8Ypk.hczM&refer=home

Blackwater evades taxes

Reuters
Lawmaker accuses Blackwater of tax evasion

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of a congressional committee said on Monday that documents obtained by his panel suggest that private security contractor Blackwater USA "engaged in significant tax evasion."

But the company -- under scrutiny already because of deadly shootings in Iraq involving some of its personnel -- told Reuters the lawmaker's assertion was incorrect.

Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House of Representatives Oversight and Government Reform Committee, accused Blackwater of "failing to withhold and pay millions of dollars in Social Security, Medicare, unemployment and related taxes."

James Watson needs to get out more

Apparently 79-year-old Nobel Prize winner James Watson (co-discoverer of the double-helix structure of DNA) doesn't get out much.

He's spent too much time locked up in the lab with white scientists. He hasn't met a scientific sampling of blacks.

He seems to think you have to be smart to be successful, and you have to be white to be smart.

I know lots of successful people who are as simple as celery.

And lots of white people who are puzzled from morning until night, decade after decade.

Recently I read an article about how shrinking frontal lobes cause people to lose their inhibitions as they get older, resulting in a rise in racist language. I'm guessing that's what's happening to Mr. Watson.

Bonnie Dumanis and the Axis of Virtue

Apparently Bonnie Dumanis has changed her mind. Last July, she was aiming for an appearance of integrity. Now she's quit pretending that her "Public Integrity Unit" is anything but the cynical use of power for political purposes.


From a SDUT article by Gerry Braun
"Axis of Virtue"
July 2007

"Early in our lunch, we learned that Dumanis does not want anyone to think political considerations influence the Public Integrity Unit. For that reason, she has sworn off endorsing fellow politicians, or seeking their endorsements."


Scott Lewis of Voice of San Diego
10-19-07
Scott Lewis reminds us that Bonnie Dumanis made these remarks about endorsing candidates:

"To underscore the unbiased and transparent mission of this office, I am announcing today that I will no longer personally endorse political candidates except in unusual circumstances. In the past, I have endorsed political candidates where I felt it was in the public's best interest. However, public integrity work is difficult enough without the possibility of having our motives questioned or impaired by politics. So let me be clear: I will not allow this office to be used as a pawn during political campaigns or allow the incorrect perception that we are anything other than completely objective."

Bonnie Dumanis thinks we should not tolerate bullies--unless they work for her

Bonnie Dumanis, speaking with a forked tongue, says, "Public officials should never be permitted to govern by fear and we should never tolerate bullies terrorizing our citizens."

Unless, of course, the bullies are the District Attorney and sheriff's deputies, right, Bonnie?

In that case, a little fear and terror goes a long way. Say, for example, if a sheriff's deputy kills his wife in front of his own young son. Or if his buddies assault the parent of the dying woman. In cases like this, a girl has to protect her own if she wants to hold on to her office, right, Bonnie?

But if a Democrat takes two hours off work to try to get a picture of Cheryl Cox and David Malcolm, well, a girl's got to take a stand. File five felonies against him!

Which makes me wonder: was it just William Gentry working alone who came up with the shameful Bruce plea deal, which was rejected by Judge Exarhos, or did Gentry get guidance from Bonnie Dumanis?

Shame on Bonnie Dumanis for supporting the friend of a wife-killer

Bonnie Dumanis has sunk to a new low. She is supporting William Gentry, Jr. for city attorney.

The two of them have a bad habit of covering up wrongdoing.

Gentry came up with a plea deal for Lowell “Sam” Bryan Bruce, a sheriff's deputy who killed his wife in front of their young son, that raised questions about whether Bruce was getting special treatment because of his job in law enforcement.

"The judge said prosecutors should either try Bruce on murder charges as planned or refile the case on lesser charges if they think Bruce should get a lower sentence," according to a SDUT article on July 13, 2007.

Apparently Bruce's buddies in the sheriff's department were also anxious to take his side in the wife-killing.

The victim's father said sheriff's deputies doused him with pepper spray, hit him with a baton and kept him from getting to his daughter as she lay dying on a stretcher in the driveway of their home.

The 38-year-old wife was shot once in the jaw, and died an hour later waiting for medical care. Why didn't they just drive her to the hospital?

Taxpayers would be better off if public employees were held accountable, not let off the hook by craven prosecutors like Gentry. The family of Bruce's wife has a good case against the county. Our current policies regarding crimes by sheriff's deputies will cost us plenty. County employees like this killer and his friends, including William Gentry, should be fired.

"Prosecutor" William Gentry, Jr. couldn't get his shameful plea deal past a judge

This guy wants to be city attorney?

William Gentry Jr. is so soft on crime that the plea deal he arranged for a sheriff's deputy who fatally shot his wife in front of their young son was rejected by a judge who said, "I do not feel this is in the best interest of the administration of justice."

San Diego Superior Court Judge Herbert J. Exarhos said the disparity was too great between the prison term Bruce would get under the agreement and the 40-years-to-life maximum penalty he faces if he's tried and convicted, according to a July 13, 2007 article by Ray Huard in the San Diego Union Tribune.

UPDATE:
NOV. 9, 2007
LOWELL BRUCE STILL HASN’T BEEN SENTENCED. HIS ATTORNEYS HAVE FILED A MOTION SAYING THAT THE SECOND JUDGE IN THIS CASE, ALLAN J. PRECKEL, IS JUST AS PREJUDICED AGAINST HIM AS THE FIRST JUDGE. THEY ARE ASKING FOR A THIRD JUDGE TO BE CHOSEN IN THE CASE.

They appear to be looking for a judge who thinks cops who murder their wives deserve better treatment than others who murder their wives. They want a judge who thinks like William Gentry, Jr., the prosecutor who is running for city attorney of San Diego. He reduced the charge from murder to voluntary manslaughter. How can we have the rule of law when those who are supposed to enforce it don't follow the laws themselves, Mr. Gentry?

Jim Groth's October report to San Diego teachers

Jim Groth of the California Teachers Association Board of Directors (and Chula Vista Elementary School District) likes to explain how things work at CTA--leaving out some important facts. Here are some snippets from his October 2007 report entitled, appropriately enough, "Power and Resources."

1) Jim says:

"Legal Services is 3.6% of CTA dues. Legal Services provides CTA members and Chapters with comprehensive legal protection."

What Jim doesn't say:

"The 'comprehensive legal protection' only applies to teachers who are in favor with Beverly Tucker, the CTA chief counsel. These include child molesters like Albert Truitt, and probationary teachers who flunk exams, but not victims of crimes committed by me and my friends, such as the crimes committed at Castle Park Elementary School in CVESD. People like me and Robin Donlan and Peggie Myers are the ones who get the comprehensive protection, not competent, innocent teachers."

2) Jim says:

"Governance is 4.3% of CTA dues. Governance includes all direct membership involvement in the control, operation and direction of CTA."

What Jim doesn't say:

"The salaries of us folks who run the union are none of your business. But someone who will reliably parrot what Beverly Tucker and Carolyn Doggett dictate, and never disturb our board meetings with complaints about illegal actions and actions that harm children, can conceivably become president and live in luxury in Burlingame with a very comfortable income."

3) Jim says:

"The CTA budget is broad and far-reaching. It provides the financial resources so that we can exercise our power..."

What Jim doesn't say:

In this case, I've got to give Jim credit. He said it all.

High school student dies of antibiotic-resistant staph infection

Why are so many microbes becomes drug and chemical resistant?

Because we use antibiotics and antiseptics too casually. The strongest bugs survive, and the drugs and chemicals won't work against them the next time they cause trouble.

Farmers know this. So do doctors. The best solution? We should use our immune systems to fight infections whenever possible, and save the drugs and chemicals for the most serious illnesses.

Kudos to the schools who are being open and honest about this, and giving the public the information it deserves.


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 17, 2007
RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 17 — A high school student hospitalized for more than a week with an antibiotic-resistant staph infection died on Monday, as schools across the country were reporting outbreaks of staph infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain.

The student, Ashton Bonds, 17, was a senior at Staunton River High School in Moneta, Va., and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, was diagnosed in him, his mother said.

Officials shut down all 22 schools in Bedford County for cleaning today in an effort to keep the illness from spreading, after students at Staunton River organized a protest overnight Monday, using text messages and social networking sites. On Tuesday, the student organizers led the Bedford County schools superintendent, James Blevins, on a tour of the Staunton River school to show him the state of its sanitation, particularly in its locker rooms...

I like San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender

Lots of people like San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender, me included. People who like Kolender are discussing whether it's a good idea for him to run again. The recent San Diego Union Tribune article about him was both respectful and informative. Bill is slowing down, so it's appropriate to think about a replacement.

I'm glad Bill has friends like Walter F. Ekhard and Bob Burgreen, who defended him in today's SDUT Letters section, but I'm afraid that his friends are seeing Kolender's impressive past, and missing the current situation. "I have seen no evidence of dementia," says Burgreen. Well, I haven't either. But that doesn't mean everyone who works with him has to keep his mouth shut.

Churchill declined mentally; so did Ronald Reagan. It can happen to the best of us. It's more noticeable if a person was high-achieving, and it sure beats dying young. I would prefer that John F. Kennedy be suffering from Alzheimer's now, than to have died in 1963.

My concern is that a leader who is weak can be used by others. This concentrates too much power in the hands of those who are doing the using. Perhaps this is exactly why some people want Kolender to run again: they want to use him.

Chula Vista Elementary isn't the only secrective school board

Chuck Wheeler writes, at Dissent the Blog:

Ah, but infamy is fleeting. It looks like the Capo school district’s board are the new paragons of arrogance, incompetence, and secrecy. Check out this morning's LA Times: "Capistrano Unified secret meetings criticized":

"Capistrano Unified School District trustees routinely violated the state's open-meetings law, discussing in secret topics such as construction contracts, how to silence a district critic and ways to prepare parents for bad news about schools, all of which should have been debated in public, according to a report released by the Orange County district attorney's office Tuesday.

"Trustees tried to keep the community from participating in district decision-making and to manipulate public opinion, the report said.

"'That such discussions are undertaken in secret by a body charged with the community's most important obligation, to adequately educate its young, is nothing short of disturbing,' said the report by Assistant Dist. Atty. William J. Feccia.

"The 58-page report is the latest blow to the beleaguered southern Orange County district, which this year saw its former superintendent and another top administrator indicted on felony charges of using public funds to influence an election and create an enemies list. Although the alleged violations of the state's open-meeting law do not meet the bar for criminal prosecution, if the district disputes the findings, prosecutors could file a lawsuit to prove the violations occurred, the report said.

"…Though most of the district's 56 schools are well-regarded, its trustees and administrators have been mired in conflicts in recent years. Critics have loudly protested the location of a new high school, opposed attendance boundary changes and fought construction of a $35-million administration complex while hundreds of classes were being held in aging portables…."


http://dissenttheblog.blogspot.com/


The full Los Angeles Times article is at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-capo10oct10,1,3975985.story?coll=la-editions-orange&ctrack=1&cset=true

For CVE President Peggie Myers, it's all about what's best for #1

Anyone who has listened to Chula Vista teacher Peggie Myers rant regularly about uncooperative students must have been shocked to learn that Ms. Myers didn't think her daughter should have to attend class when a standardized test was being given.

Logical consistency is apparently not something Ms. Myers strives for.

Myers' behavior, particularly the behavior that earned her a place among the "Castle Park Five," indicates that she thinks her students should obey her, but she shouldn't have to take direction from any principal.

In May 2005, the San Diego Union Tribune reported:

"Parent Peggie Myers said her daughter, also a junior, was afraid she'd be unable to get the letters of recommendation she needed for her application to Columbia University's summer school program, which she was in the process of applying for last week. "The pressure these kids are under is ridiculous. It's out of control," Myers said. "Something has to give, and it can't be the emotional health of our children." "So no, I didn't want her taking the standardized tests," Myers said. "It's not going to get her into a better college."" (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040505/news_6m5tests.html)

Ms. Myers was outraged when the CVESD superintendent called her in and told her she was being transferred in August 2004 in order to improve the educational program. She claimed it was a violation of the contract that she not be given a more specific reason.

But it didn't bother her one bit that another teacher was transferred without any meeting with the superintendent, and absolutely no reason given. In fact, the transfer was done to aid the cover-up of illegal actions by members of the Castle Park Five. In that matter, Myers was represented by Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz.

Sadly, Myers has climbed her way to the top of Chula Vista Educators, thanks to assistance from Jim Groth. (She is president; he preceded her in that position.) The two of them have repeatedly shown themselves willing to discard the contract and the law in order to achieve power for themselves.

Seattle's Public Records Hero

I was honored to get a message from Seattle public records hero Armen Yousoufian. He spent ten years trying to get public records about a sports stadium. Finally, the court became so frustrated with with King County that it imposed a $15 fine for every day the documents weren't turned over. The documents still haven't been turned over!

My guess is they have something to hide--and they're happy to waste tax dollars as they keep it hidden.

I checked out Mr. Yousoufian's website, and it's terrific. Lot's of good links, too.

Here's the message from Mr. Yousoufian:

"I just discovered your blog and comments at it about my 10 year plus long old Public Disclosure Act litigation in King County, Washington state, over sports stadium documents I originally requested in May, 1997. If readers want to know more, and want to follow the future litigation in this still ongoing case, they can go to my website or blog, or email me."

www.ArmenYousoufian.com (website);
www.Yousoufian.blogspot.com (blog);
ayousoufian@comcast.net (email).

What teachers do instead of helping obviously-troubled students

Michael Grassie, a teacher shot by 14-year-old Asa Coon at the SuccessTech Adademy in Cleveland, says, "that some teachers at SuccessTech wanted to send the boy to another school so "some other teachers, some other students would have to deal with him."

There's a plan. Do nothing, and keep hoping he'll go away.

I have often heard teachers expressing similar demands that someone else deal with their problems, but I never saw the sentiment so frequently and blatantly stated as I did when I was at Castle Park Elementary School in Chula Vista.

Why do so many people want someone else to do their job?

It seems that many people fall into teaching these days because it's a steady paycheck. And many of these accidental teachers don't seem to understand how to teach kids.

It also seems to me that fewer and fewer teachers are hungry for a challenge. What happened to a sense of responsibility toward others? Or even a sense of joy at accomplishing something?

Teaching jobs should be harder to get--and better paid--to make sure that teachers are highly capable, instead of barely qualitied.

Information was obtained from a Newsweek October 22, 2007 article by Joan Raymond.

The haves and have-mores

"In 2000, Bush called his base 'the haves and the have-mores.' "

Daniel Gross, Newsweek, October 22, 2007

Bishop who sent witness out of country is facing criminal charges

Bishop Tod D. Brown of Orange County sent Monsignor John Urell out of the country before he could finish testifying in a child molestation lawsuit.

The lawsuit was settled, but the bishop faces criminal contempt-of-court prosecution.

Apparently Monsignor Urell was upset after testifying for half a day. Testifying about hiding crimes against children is stressful for priests. I guess high-ranking priests belong to a different culture than ordinary Catholics, for whom confession is a comforting and regular practice.

Oops! How did those 19 lawyers miss 200,000 emails?

19 lawyers were asked yesterday in federal court in San Diego to explain how they could have failed to discover more than 200,000 e-mails related to a case that their employer, Qualcomm, had filed against another chip maker.

The lawyers have offered no explanation. Maybe they were thinking what I was thinking: "Isn't such behavior par for the course in our justice system?"

U.S. Magistrate Barbara Major begs to differ. Her review of the record found "gross misconduct on a massive scale."

Qualcomm's lawyer Bill Boggs had the usual response: "Mistakes were made."

Who believes him? Not anyone who is familiar with the way lawyers in the US practice law.

Judge Major said, "If there is no sanction for misconduct, then where is the deterrence?"

I referred to a San Diego Union Tribune article by Bruce Bigelow for the above information.

Victims of sexual abuse in schools lose one

Here's a recent boast from the Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz website:

"...In a precedent setting decision, the California Supreme Court upheld the stricter time limitations for alleged victims of childhood sexual abuse to file suit against public entities. The reversal of the local Court of Appeal, obtained by attorneys Dan Shinoff, Jack Sleeth, Bill Pate, Jeff Morris and Paul Carelli, all partners with the firm Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, protects public entities from the so-called “revival” statutes.

"As the name suggests, the Legislature (under Gray Davis) passed the revival statutes to revive really old claims, which normally would have expired under statutes of limitation.

"Revival statutes have been the vehicle for the highly publicized clergy abuse claims against the Catholic Diocese. This decision virtually eliminates the ability to bring similar cases against government entities."

That's your tax dollars at work, folks! Keep a close eye on your kids!

Catholic churches have a financial motive to watch priests more closely, but your local elementary school doesn't.

Shirk v. Vista Unified School District August 20, 2007

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. San Diego Education Report is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate and public entity accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Burma (Myanmar) on its way to becoming the next North Korea?

Why do so many confused, dim-witted people become leaders of countries? It happens all over the world. Is it perhaps a matter of luck? Or is the world just an enlarged version of a television program in which the smartest people are voted off first, as the mediocre work to make sure that one of their own prevails?

Schulman admits illegal behavior

Schulman #1:

New York attorney Steven Schulman, formerly with the law firm of Milberg Weiss, pleaded guilty yesterday to participating in a $250 million kick-back scheme for class action lawsuits.

His plea follows the guilty plea of famed San Diego lawyer William Lerach, another Milberg Weiss attorney. Lerach reached a plea agreement a few weeks ago. The firm's co-founder Melvyn Weiss has been indicted.

It's about time. The investigation took seven years. You can't hide the truth forever, but sometimes it seems that way.


Schulman #2:
Elizabeth Schulman, a San Diego attorney who calls herself the "Queen of sexual harrassment lawsuits," also has a little problem with honesty. Her behavior in one case is described here. Elizabeth seems to be having a little better luck than Steven in keeping the truth hidden. The California Bar Association says that there is nothing illegal about this behavior.

3 years 10 months in federal prison for teacher Vencent Donlan

A federal judge yesterday sentenced San Diego teacher Vencent Donlan to 46 months in prison for stealing more than $6 million in stock options from Wireless Facilities, and failing, along with his wife, to pay taxes on it.

Donlan's wife, Robin Colls Donlan, was in court, "rocking back and forth in her seat in the gallery." Robin has been an important figure in Chula Vista Elementary School District, first for initiating a series of crimes that cost the district $100,000s of dollars to defend, and then as one of the Castle Park Five, a group of teachers who, with the help of former Castle Park Elementary PTA presidents Kimberlee Simmons and Felicia Starr, wrested control of the school away from the principal. Kimberlee Simmons was arrested for embezzling $20,000 from the Castle Park PTA, Felicia Starr was appointed to the Chula Vista Ethics Board, and Castle Park Five teacher Peggie Myers recently became president of Chula Vista Educators.

It seems that crime pays at CVESD, but then, how can we expect teachers and their associates to be honest when school board members are not?

Kinda makes you want to throw up your hands in resignation, doesn't it?

Blackwater update: Nisoor Square

Nisoor Square

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months. They also want the firm to pay $8 million in compensation to the families of each of the 17 people killed when its guards opened fire with a heavy machine gun last month at Nisoor Square, in an upscale section of Baghdad.

The fiasco began when a Blackwater gunner opened fire on an approaching white car, instantly killing the medical student who was driving. The car kept moving, so Blackwater gunners shot at it some more, killing the mother of the student. A ten-year-old boy in the car behind the white car was also killed.

The other 14 civilians were apparently killed when four Blackwater vehicles were called to the traffic circle and began shooting without provocation.

Apparently, Blackwater has been operating without a license in Iraq since June 2, 2006, so it has no immunity from prosecution. Iraq wants the shooters to be turned over for trial.

Jonathan Kozol and Randy Ward need to get together and make a real speech

As I listened to Jonathan Kozol tonight, I was shocked at how deep his voice is. Kozol is not a big man, but he can sure fill a large church--both with his voice, and with people. St. Paul's Cathedral in San Diego was packed to the gills.

Kozol wants to get rid of No Child Left Behind Act. Fine. Lots of people agree with him, including me.

So we go back to before the NCLB was passed. But wait--before the NCLB was passed, everyone agreed that SOMETHING HAD TO BE DONE. WE WERE CIRCLING THE DRAIN. AMERICAN EDUCATION WAS DEEPLY DYSFUNCTIONAL. Kozol offers nothing to do in place of NCLB, except the refrain heard over and over again in teacher education classes: pay attention to the individual child, inspire him, value him. I heartily agree, but many, if not most, teachers already do this. And many other teachers won't, or can't, do this, no matter how many Jonathan Kozols trot around the country. Or they will do this, but won't or can't do all the rest of the things a teacher needs to do.

Kozol left me wanting more. He bemoans the fact that most black and Latino kids get inadequate educations, but ignores the fact that ghetto schools have, ON AVERAGE, weaker teachers, when they need above-average teachers to compensate for the students' impoverished lives.

San Diego County Superintendent Randy Ward knows better. When he was up in northern California, he came up with a great idea for getting good teachers to go to bad schools. He would allow schools a certain amount of money, which they could use for regular teachers, and for extra teachers and programs. Poor schools could give up the extras, and use the extra money to offer to good teachers, to attract superior educators to their schools.

THE IDEA IS BRILLIANT. So why does Randy Ward sit silent in the front row at St. Paul's?

Get together, Jonathan and Randy. Tell us what we need to hear.

by Kathleen Hogan, Voice of San Diego, October 9, 2007, Letters

Blackwater answers to no one

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post has written a short but enlightening description of the testimony of Erik Prince, the chief of Blackwater before a House committee on October 2, 2007:

"...How much does Blackwater, recipient of $1 billion in federal contracts, make in profits? "We're a private company, and there's a key word there -- private," Prince answered.

"What about the 2004 crash of a Blackwater plane in Afghanistan, when federal investigators said the pilots acted unprofessionally? "Accidents happen," Prince explained.

"The lack of prosecution for a drunken Blackwater worker who shot and killed a security guard to an Iraqi vice president? "We can't flog him," Prince said...

"Republicans, meanwhile, proved content to shill for a major donor. Prince's father helped to bankroll the religious-conservative movement, and his sister, Betsy DeVos, is a big Republican fundraiser who married into the Amway fortune. Prince himself has given $236,000 to GOP candidates and conservative causes -- typical of a defense contracting industry that, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, gave nearly $1 million to members of the oversight committee since 2003 -- 83 percent of it to Republicans...

"We should take care not to prejudge," said Tom Davis of Virginia ($717,829).

"We should not be holding this hearing," protested John Mica of Florida ($145,454). "Therefore, I move that the committee do now adjourn..."

Original story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100202022.html

San Diego County employee of the month: Lori Spar, Blackwater lawyer

KPBS TV in San Diego published the following story about a lady with interesting ethics.

Blackwater Opponents Say County Employee Has Conflict of Interest
Jul 24, 2007
by Amita Sharma

Opponents of a proposal to build a training camp in East County for military and police personnel say a San Diego County employee -- who until recently was working on the review process for the project -- has a conflict of interest. Full Focus reporter Amita Sharma has more.

The opponents have honed in on Lori Spar. According to Raymond Lutz, coordinator for Citizens' Oversight Projects, Spar's work history raises questions about whether the review of the Blackwater project for Potrero by the county's department of planning and land use is truly objective.

Lutz: She worked at the department of planning and land use as a planner and then went out and got her law degree and passed the bar exam and so forth, and was working at the law firm that was representing Blackwater -- and you can see the file at the department of planning use that she was the person at the meetings representing their point of view. And then just a month later she had gotten a job back at the department of planning and land use, was working on the Blackwater case, and was now representing the county.

County officials, including Lori Spar, did not return phone calls to Full Focus.

But earlier this year Glenn Russell, chief of the regulatory section of the department of planning and land use, confirmed at a meeting on the Blackwater Project that Spar used to work for the county as a planner. He said:

Russell: Then she decided she didn't like being a lawyer and wanted to be a land-use planner and then she came back to us. She actually was working on the project team. As soon as it was brought to our attention that her firm was actually the firm representing the applicant, we took her off the project. We are very concerned that there might be an appearance of a conflict of interest.

Lutz says county officials need to rethink whether Spar should be on the payroll at all while the department of planning and land-use assesses the Blackwater project.

Lutz: We should take a look at these hiring practices because to hire someone and then to just assign them to a project that they're on, this doesn't make any sense to anyone I can talk to -- except for the people at DPLU, they think it's fine.

Legal observers are split on the appropriateness of Spar's employment at the county. Some say it's legal but ethically questionable. Others say Spar has a conflict because working for the county requires her to disclose all she knows about Blackwater.

But her prior role as that company's attorney precludes her from such disclosure because of attorney-client privilege rules.

Welcome to California, Mr. Bonfiglio

NBC Blackwater Report

The Following Is A Transcript Of A Report Broadcast Aug. 9, 2007 On KNBC (NBC4 Los Angeles):

They say they are not a mercenary outfit, but Blackwater USA has one of the most profitable private armies in the world, with outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now they're coming to California, and one Los Angeles activist is gearing up to take them on.

PAUL MOYER: They're unforgettable...horrific images from Iraq in March 2004...the bodies of four American civilians burned and strung up by an Iraqi mob. Few of us knew at the time that the victims were employees of a company called Blackwater, one of the fastest-growing private security outfits in the world

RICK JACOBS: They are former seals and former highly trained army personnel. They have helicopters. They have tanks. They report to no one.
MOYER: Rick Jacobs first learned about Blackwater while making this documentary about the 180,000 private contractors, including Blackwater's own, who work in the war zone outnumbering even American troops.
JACOBS: We told the story of Blackwater as probably the most egregious of the private contractors that have really privatized the war in Iraq.
MOYER: Now Rick is worried about another aspect of Blackwater's agenda – its plans to create a massive training base in a desert east of San Diego.
JACOBS: Blackwater arguably is on its way to becoming auxiliary policemen in this state.
MOYER: Jacobs, an LA-based political activist, has organized a grass-roots crusade to keep Blackwater out of California -- and he's attracted some powerful allies, like Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego.
BOB FILNER: The same group that is training for foreign mercenary groups can be used in domestic situations whether it's a riot or some other a disaster. That worries me that we don't have any way of knowing what they're doing really.
MOYER: Why does Blackwater inspire such intense emotion? Speaking broadly, it's just a private company doing business here and abroad.
BRIAN BONFIGLIO, Blackwater West: We're not a mercenary army.
Blackwater as a whole, as a company, does not engage in offensive operations. Never have, never will. And we've never worked for any other state than the United States of America. So mercenary doesn't apply.
MOYER: And he says the company is accountable – to the law and whoever contracts its services. Not everyone is reassured.
JEREMY SCAHILL, Author Of Book Blackwater: Out of the rubble of 9-11 it has risen to become one of the most powerful private actors operating in the so-called war on terror.
Blackwater operates the largest private military base in the world in North Carolina. It has operatives deployed in nine countries around the world. They boast of having 20,000 troops at the ready that could be deployed at a moment's notice.
MOYER: After the Faluja disaster, says Scahill, Blackwater took legal action to keep the families of its own slain operatives from questioning its policies in open court. And, he says, it got more government contracts from the conservative friends of its billionaire founder Eric Prince.
SCAHILL: It is a company that is operated in secrecy and is largely protected by the uber-secretive administration of George Bush. They don't appear to be accountable to the elected officials of the US Congress or the taxpayers who foot the bill.
MOYER: Gradually, says Scahill, Blackwater has begun to move in a new direction.
SCAHILL: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments inside the United States.
MOYER: During the Katrina disaster, says Scahill, he spotted armed Blackwater operatives in New Orleans… initially looking for work…finally hired as protection by FEMA and private citizens.
SCAHILL: Where I think it gets terribly disturbing is when you have the prospect of wealthy individuals hiring what is essentially a militia to quote unquote protect their private property.
MOYER: Last April a top Blackwater official, Cofer Black, became senior adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, thus expanding the company's political potential. Meantime, Blackwater has set up shop at various locales across the country – a development that particularly troubles Rick Jacobs.
JACOBS: Blackwater's objective is to have a base of operations in just about every geographic area of the US. They have one in Chicago, they have one in North Carolina.
MOYER: And now, he says, they're looking to snap up this patch of territory near San Diego
JACOBS: This one's close to the Mexico border. Some people argue that Blackwater's attempt to be near the Mexican border is a way to militarize that border with private security people… with mercenaries so that the federal government doesn't have to get its hands dirty
MOYER: Jacobs says Blackwater wooed local officials into green-lighting the project.
JACOBS: Their facilities consist of, and in this case they have advertised will consist of a driving range of 10 football fields in length, several firing ranges, about 350 people there at any given time.
MOYER: It's a picture confirmed by Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West.
BONFIGLIO: A lot of if not a majority of this facility will be leased by law enforcement organizations, and the same holds true for the military.
MOYER: Publicly the proposed facility is touted as a training base for police and security personnel.
BONFIGLIO: They'll have their unit instructors come out with units prior to deployments, conduct their training and then go back to their bases. Small arms training, no explosives taking place out here, no artillery, no tanks.
MOYER: Whatever the training, says Jacobs, if the police or military are involved, this gives Blackwater a relationship with them it could exploit in an emergency.
JACOBS: Imagine that organization just loose in this state, not answering to any one.
MOYER: Sound far-fetched? Jacobs points out that a former spokesman for Blackwater, Chris Bertelli, has, until recently, been working for Governor Schwarzenegger's homeland security committee and is still attached to his administration
JACOBS: Governor Schwarzenegger comes out of a certain heroic film background. You can imagine him in various roles where he saves the day. And Governor Schwarzenegger may have a very good heart about all of this. He really probably does want to save the day, if there's ever a reason to do so. Now he has a guy next to him whose history and background is hiring guns.
MOYER: Bertelli declined to be interviewed, and Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West says he's had no dealings with the former company official. But he does confirm Blackwater is hoping to get into Border Patrol work.
BONFIGLIO: I do believe that augmenting much needed force here on the border, whether it be on the Mexican border or the Canadian border is something that we'd potentially look at.
MOYER: Some people who live near the proposed Backwater facility support it.
LOCAL CITIZEN: Anything that can seal or tighten that border is for the good.
LOCAL CITIZEN: The engineers have come up with a computer model for the noise that indicated that the community would not hear any noise coming.
MOYER: Other locals are opposed.
LOCAL CITIZEN: The fire danger will be enormous from their armory. The noise will be intolerable for people who live within five or six miles. The traffic will be enormous.
LOCAL CITIZEN: We love the beauty of the place and want to keep it that way.
MOYER: Jacobs says his campaign against the proposed facility is gaining support and Congressman Filner is planning to sponsor legislation to bring private security outfits like Blackwater under tighter Federal control.
FILNER: We have seen democracies undermined by mercenary armies. This is something that all Americans need to watch very carefully.
MOYER: Blackwater emphasizes in a written statement that it supports enforcement of all US and international laws. The California Office of Emergency Services tells us in writing it is unlikely to contract from the private sector in an emergency.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. San Diego Education Report is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

NBC Blackwater Report: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments...

LOS ANGELES -- They say they are not a mercenary outfit, but Blackwater USA has one of the most profitable private armies in the world, with outposts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, it wants to come to San Diego County, and one SoCal activist is gearing up to take them on.

JACOBS: We told the story of Blackwater as probably the most egregious of the private contractors that have really privatized the war in Iraq.

MOYER: Now Rick is worried about another aspect of Blackwater's agenda – its plans to create a massive training base in a desert east of San Diego.

JACOBS: Blackwater arguably is on its way to becoming auxiliary policemen in this state.

MOYER: Jacobs, an LA-based political activist, has organized a grass-roots crusade to keep Blackwater out of California -- and he's attracted some powerful allies, like Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego.

BOB FILNER: The same group that is training for foreign mercenary groups can be used in domestic situations whether it's a riot or some other a disaster. That worries me that we don't have any way of knowing what they're doing really.

MOYER: Why does Blackwater inspire such intense emotion? Speaking broadly, it's just a private company doing business here and abroad.

BRIAN BONFIGLIO, Blackwater West: We're not a mercenary army.

Blackwater as a whole, as a company, does not engage in offensive operations. Never have, never will. And we've never worked for any other state than the United States of America. So mercenary doesn't apply.

MOYER: And he says the company is accountable – to the law and whoever contracts its services. Not everyone is reassured.

JEREMY SCAHILL, Author Of Book Blackwater: Out of the rubble of 9-11 it has risen to become one of the most powerful private actors operating in the so-called war on terror.

Blackwater operates the largest private military base in the world in North Carolina. It has operatives deployed in nine countries around the world. They boast of having 20,000 troops at the ready that could be deployed at a moment's notice.

MOYER: After the Faluja disaster, says Scahill, Blackwater took legal action to keep the families of its own slain operatives from questioning its policies in open court. And, he says, it got more government contracts from the conservative friends of its billionaire founder Eric Prince.

SCAHILL: It is a company that is operated in secrecy and is largely protected by the uber-secretive administration of George Bush. They don't appear to be accountable to the elected officials of the US Congress or the taxpayers who foot the bill.

MOYER: Gradually, says Scahill, Blackwater has begun to move in a new direction.

SCAHILL: This is a company that increasingly has its sights on domestic deployments inside the United States.

MOYER: During the Katrina disaster, says Scahill, he spotted armed Blackwater operatives in New Orleans… initially looking for work…finally hired as protection by FEMA and private citizens.

SCAHILL: Where I think it gets terribly disturbing is when you have the prospect of wealthy individuals hiring what is essentially a militia to quote unquote protect their private property.

MOYER: Last April a top Blackwater official, Cofer Black, became senior adviser to GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, thus expanding the company's political potential. Meantime, Blackwater has set up shop at various locales across the country – a development that particularly troubles Rick Jacobs.

JACOBS: Blackwater's objective is to have a base of operations in just about every geographic area of the US. They have one in Chicago, they have one in North Carolina.

MOYER: And now, he says, they're looking to snap up this patch of territory near San Diego

JACOBS: This one's close to the Mexico border. Some people argue that Blackwater's attempt to be near the Mexican border is a way to militarize that border with private security people… with mercenaries so that the federal government doesn't have to get its hands dirty.

MOYER: Jacobs says Blackwater wooed local officials into green-lighting the project.

JACOBS: Their facilities consist of, and in this case they have advertised will consist of a driving range of 10 football fields in length, several firing ranges, about 350 people there at any given time.

MOYER: It's a picture confirmed by Brian Bonfiglio of Blackwater West.

This editing of the NBC news story was posted at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x1561865

Protest against Blackwater in Potrero

Yesterday, campers, bicyclists and hikers came to Potrero to listen to speakers regarding the Blackwater military security contractor's proposed training camp in Potrero.

They were joined by some who came just for the afternoon education session, which included a slide show by Ray Lutz, president of East County Democratic Club. Carol Jahnkow presided over the scheduling. The Sierra Club gave a presentation regarding wildlife in the area, and Enrique Morones spoke about violence at the border.

I was captivated by the beauty and quiet of Potrero. It is certainly a loss to the world to transform this place into a school for mercenaries, especially at a time when Blackwater has been banned from operating in Iraq. The September 16, 2007 incident in which Blackwater killed 17 civilians for no apparent reason has earned the company persona non grata status from the Iraq governement.

Why does Blackwater need more training camps if its theater of operations is diminishing? Are they training mercenaries for domestic actions?


The San Diego Reader reported in April 2007 on the history of Blackwater:

"People who lost loved ones when four employees were massacred in 2004 have charged that the company provided the men with inadequate equipment. In its defense, Blackwater has hired famed attorney Ken Starr and sued the lawyers who filed the case. Last month, five more Blackwater employees were killed in a helicopter crash. The company's owner, Erik Prince, has given lavishly to politicians, including former representative Tom DeLay, who left Congress in a lobbying scandal, and Duncan Hunter ($1000 in 2004)."



Blackwater representatives met with Rep. Duncan Hunter and Sup. Dianne Jacob in May, 2006. A month later the project opened at the San Diego County Department of Planning and Land Use (DPLU). Blackwater made a presentation to the Potrero Planning Group in Oct. 2006 and that group voted 7-0 to approve the project in Dec. 2006. A lawsuit was filed opposing the actiions of the Potrero Planning Group. Jan Hedlun, who opposes the Blackwater takeover, was sworn into office in January, 2007. A December 11, 2007 Recall Election has been approved by the Registrar Of Voters.


Miriam Raftery and Muriel Kane wrote on April 3, 2007 for Raw Story:

"One citizen opposed to the project revealed that Lori Spar—listed with the California Bar Association as an attorney with a law firm representing Blackwater on July 31, 2006 —has since unexpectedly surfaced as a land use/environmental planner for the Department of Planning and Land Use.

""She walked into our Mar. 1, 2007 Save Potrero meeting, representing the County," said former Potrero planner Carl Meyer.

"After RAW STORY inquired about her ties to Blackwater, the Department of Planning removed her from the project...

"Documents filed with the county indicate Blackwater officials have been meeting privately with Department of Planning and Land Use personnel since at least May of 2006. Members of the public in Potrero did not learn of the proposed project until Oct. 12 at the earliest. One whistleblower contends that failure to notify the public until late in the planning process may violate the California Environmental Quality Act; others allege that County planners may have violated the Brown Act, which mandates open meetings.

"Environmentalist Duncan McFetridge questions why residents weren’t included in early planning.

""It is as close to collusion as you can get without actually being illegal,” McFetridge says. “I am convinced that one of the main reasons that Blackwater came to San Diego is that we are the capital of privatization where lines between private and public sectors is a total blur.""

San Diego County Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Greg Cox should extract themselves from the grasping fingers of developers, at least for this useless and harmful project, and vote against allowing Blackwater to take over part of the Cleveland National Forest and other sensitive land.

Noose found at Poway High School

From Fox News, Channel 6 in San Diego:

Parents of Poway High School students are being told about a disturbing discovery. A noose has been found on campus.
The noose was found in a boys' bathroom at an earlier date. The school reported the discovery to the Poway Sheriff's Department and an investigation is underway.

On Friday, the school principal emailed a letter to parents. It read in part, "This individual act does not represent who we are or what we believe in on our campus. Any act that threatens the sense of safety of an individual or group of students will not be tolerated.

"We are hopeful a student comes forward with information so that we may continue to move our school in a positive direction."

Anyone with information on this case can contact the school or the Poway Sheriff's Department.

10/06

Pretty good at lying

A lot of people are very good at lying while they present themselves as role models for the world. Floyd Landis continues to deny he used illegal drugs during the Tour de France.

I've got to say that Marion Jones has a lot more class than bicyclist Floyd Landis. The Tour de France winner should quit denying the obvious truth, and say he's sorry. So should some people I know at San Diego county schools.


Pretty Olympic-gold athlete Marion Jones sounded familiar to me as I listened yesterday to recordings of her indignant protests of innocence going back to 1995. I've listened to administrators and teachers from my school district (Chula Vista Elementary) denying the truth under oath with the same strong conviction in their voices.

But yesterday Marion Jones also asked forgiveness for her wrongdoing, and pleaded guilty to using banned substances and lying to investigators.

It's apparently quite easy for some people to lie. They do it masterfully, and people believe them. Part of the trick is to show contempt for people whom they are falsely accusing. It really helps set up the aura of righteousness around the deceiver. Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham was an ace at showing contempt for the morals of others, before he was sentenced to years in prison for selling military contracts.

Dishonesty is apparently one of the best ways to rise to power on this planet.

More swiftboating, from Rush Limbaugh and Moveon.org

Rush Limbaugh says soldiers who oppose the war are "phony soldiers."

Moveon.org says General Petraeus is General "Betray Us."

George Bush says any American who opposes the war is a supporter of terrorists.

Which statement was censured by Congress? Only the one by Moveon.org.

Swiftboating is alive and well, but those who are most likely to dish it out seem to be the least able to take it.

Would conservatives and Republicans support the war if they had to pay for it?

US Representative David Obey, Chairman of House Appropriations Committee


George Bush says that the war in Iraq will make us safer, and protect Americans from terrorism.

We want to be safe from terrorism, right?

And we are willing to pay what it costs to achieve that goal, right?

Or maybe not. We'll soon see how war-supporters react to Rep. David Obey's call for a war tax.

Mike Aguirre can wear two hats easily; all he has to do is help the city change when it is in the wrong

I must respectfully disagree with Robert Fellmeth, founder of the University of San Diego's Center for Public Interest Law, regarding San Diego's City Attorney Mike Aguirre.

The San Diego Union Tribune reports Fellmeth as saying, “You can't wear both hats. [Aguirre's] got to put on one or the other.

Of course you can wear both hats, Mr. Fellmeth. That's what every public entity does. It represents the citizens, and it defends itself.

Public entities tend to run into trouble when they defend themselves. They often pay attorneys to violate the law in order to hide wrongdoing by the entity. Public entities like to claim the moral high ground, claiming that they represent the common good. But when individuals in charge believe it is in their interest to violate the rights of citizens, they drop everything and run to the closet to find that beloved old stained hat, the one they use when they do their dirty work.

To their shame, most public entity attorneys wear this second hat at all times. That’s what they are hired for: to help the powerful get what they want when it conflicts with the best interests of the people they represent.

This second hat should be burned in a fire pit on the beach. It should be eliminated completely from the sartorial accoutrements of every public entity in San Diego.

San Diego needs a new second hat, to be worn when an entity is intelligently dealing with its own wrongdoing. An honest, uncorrupted attorney protects the public entity against those who try to damage it, whether they are office holders, campaign donors, employees, or citizens. This attorney makes sure the law is followed in every case, which requires him to settle meritorious lawsuits, and file lawsuits against wrongdoers.

Jonathan Kozol in SD on October 8, 2007

Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS)
Excellence Comes In All Colors (ECIAC)

Presents
Jonathan Kozol

Monday, October 8, 7 P. M.
Book signing to follow.

St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral
2728 Sixth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103

Join the JCCS ECIAC Committee, fellow educators, students, parents, and community members in an evening with noted educator, author, and social justice advocate Jonathan Kozol. His books include Death At An Early Age, Savage Inequalities, Amazing Grace, Illiterate American, Rachel and Her Children, The Shame of the Nation: The Restoration of Apartheid Schooling in America, and the upcoming Letters to a Young Teacher.

Jonathan Kozol has continually combined teaching with activism. Working with African American and Latino parents, he helped set up a number of freedom schools in storefronts and church basements and later taught at South Boston Senior High School during the city's desegregation crisis.

At the forefront of social and educational examination, Jonathan Kozol's books are now considered required reading at most universities and part of the curriculum for future teachers and religious leaders.

Please RSVP by Thursday, October 4 for this exciting event!

"Pick battles big enough to matter; small enough to win." Jonathan Kozol

ECIAC Contact Information
Phone (619) 573-6330
www.sdcoe.net/excellence
eciac@sdcoe.net

Iranian University Invites Bush to Speak

Last week, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University. George Bush now has the opportunity to do likewise at a university in Iran.

Below is the story as reported by Voice of America News:
02 October 2007

An Iranian university has invited U.S. President George W. Bush to speak about such issues as the Holocaust, terrorism and human rights. Perhaps Bush fears being introduced in as hostile a manner as Ahmadinejad was introduced in the US.

Iran's Fars news agency reports Ferdowsi University in the northeastern city of Mashhad asked Mr. Bush to attend a question and answer session with students and professors.

The White House says it is not taking the invitation "too seriously."

Spokeswoman Dana Perino says Mr. Bush might consider making the trip if Iran was a free and democratic society and allowed its people freedom of expression, and if Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons and advocating the destruction of Israel...

In introducing Mr. Ahmadinejad, Columbia University's president, Lee Bollinger, called the Iranian president a "petty and cruel dictator." Iranian state media condemned Bollinger for those remarks.

Some information for this report was provided by Reuters.