Due to daughter's Facebook post, headmaster who sued for wrongful termination won't get $80,000 from Gulliver Preparatory School

A school administrator who says one thing and then immediately does the opposite?

It's good I was sitting down when I read this article.

Of course, Mr. Snay's and his dishonesty were probably of service to the trustees of Gulliver Prep for many years. I doubt that dishonesty is the reason the school let him go. More likely, he made the wrong parent angry.

I'm guessing he wasn't as tolerant of dishonesty among the students as he was with himself.

It appears that the school settled to avoid a legal battle. It would have been embarrassing for the school to have to reveal in court what really went wrong.

And I suspect that Mr. Snay didn't need the $80,000. He preferred to embarrass the school. I don't believe that he admonished his daughter to keep quiet about the agreement. And what about Mrs. Snay? Why didn't she warn her daughter to keep quiet? She was in on it, too, it would seem. She admits to helping her husband make the decision to tell the daughter about the settlement.


Patrick Snay's wife with daughter Dana
Dana Snay’s Facebook Post Cost Her Dad $80,000
American Wire
Posted by: Steven Kenniff
March 1, 2014

After Patrick Snay had sued the Gulliver Preparatory School for wrongful termination, and won, he was supposed to keep his settlement a secret. That was part of the deal when the school agreed to pay the former employee approximately $10,000 in back wages and an additional $80,000 out of court settlement. If Snay did not keep the deal a secret, he would lost the additional settlement. That should have been easy, except for one little problem. Patrick Snay had a daughter who attended and recently graduated from Gulliver Preparatory School, and she couldn’t “keep her mouth shut” about the settlement on Facebook.

Patrick Snay believed that he should tell his daughter, Dana Snay, about the settlement because she was a former student of the school at the time of her father’s wrongful termination. Patrick believed that his daughter suffered mental anguish due to the school attempting to lash out at her father through Dana. To help Dana have closure on the issue, Patrick told Dana about the out of court settlement, and had apparently agreed to pay for a European vacation for the girl.

In a typical teenage outburst, Dana Snay took to her Facebook account to brag about the settlement and tell her friends what she was going to get out of the money. Dana wrote the following message on her personal Facebook profile:

“Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver. Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT.”

Sadly for the Snay’s, the school found out about Dana’s outburst and did not pay the out of court settlement. They claimed that because Dana posted the status update to Facebook in reference to the settlement, that he broke his agreement to keep it a secret. A settlement court agreed that the Facebook post was enough proof for the school to not have to pay the Snay’s their $80,000 additional settlement portion due to Patrick breaking the clause.


Ex-headmaster who won $80,000 age discrimination settlement against his school LOSES entire payout after his daughter posted 'SUCK IT' message on Facebook
By Ashley Collman
Daily Mail
27 February 2014

Patrick Snay, 69, worked at Gulliver Preparatory for several years when his contract was not renewed in 2010 He claimed age discrimination and won a settlement of $80,000 from the school

Patrick Snay is now the headmaster at another school while daughter Dana is studying at Boston College

The former headmaster of a pricey Florida prep school lost his discrimination case against the school when his daughter decided to brag about the $80,000 deal on Facebook.

Patrick Snay was the headmaster of Gulliver Preparatory in Miami for several years when they decided not to renew his contract in 2010.

Snay, now 69, claimed the $30,000- a-year school was discriminating against him based on his age and that they retaliated against his daughter Dana, then a student at the school.

Let go: Patrick Snay (left) worked at Gulliver Preparatory for several years when they decided not to renew his contract in 2010. He claimed they discriminated against him based on his age (he is now 69) and won a settlement

Good deal: Gulliver attorneys initially agreed to pay Snay checks of $10,000 in back wages; $60,000 for his attorneys and an $80,000 settlement

In November 2011, the school agreed to settle with Snay, paying checks of $10,000 in back wages, $60,000 to his attorneys and a $80,000 settlement.

But Snay never got a dime after Dana boasted about the win on Facebook - violating the deal's confidentiality agreement.

'Mama and Papa Snay won the case against Gulliver,' she wrote to her more than 1,200 friends. 'Gulliver is now officially paying for my vacation to Europe this summer. SUCK IT.'

That post was seen by current and former Gulliver students, and eventually made its way back to the school's attorneys.

Four days after the deal was signed, Gulliver notified Snay that he wouldn't be getting any of the settlement...

While Snay initially won an order to enforce the agreement, Gulliver appealed and won the right not to pay in Florida's Third District Court of Appeals yesterday.

'Snay violated the agreement by doing exactly what he had promised not to do,' judge Linda Ann Wells said. 'His daughter then did precisely what the confidentiality agreement was designed to prevent.'

As part of the agreement, Snay promised not to tell anyone about the agreement besides his wife.

In his deposition, Snay said he felt he needed to tell his daughter because she suffered 'psychological scars' from her time as a student at Gulliver and knew that he was mediating with the school's attorneys.

'We knew what the restrictions were, yet we needed to tell her something,' he said.

Snay is now headmaster at $20,000-a-year Riviera Preparatory School in Coral Gables. His daughter is now studying at Boston College, according to her Facebook.

Snay can still file a motion for rehearing and appeal to the Florida Supreme Court in the case.

Two whistle-blowers--a teacher and a business manager--settle with Willamette ESD

Fired WESD superintendent Maureen Casey.

Two whistle-blowers settle with Willamette Education Serivce district (Oregon)

(See also Willamette ESD problems with open meetings.)

WESD finalizes $150,000 settlement with former teacher over whistleblower lawsuit
Nov. 1, 2013
Queenie Wong
Statesman Journal

A laid off Willamette Education Service District teacher and her lawyer will get $150,000 as part of a settlement to a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the district three years ago.

Former teacher Terri Moore claimed she lost her job because she repeatedly reported safety violations at the high school at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility and filed a formal complaint about harassment and bullying by Bill Conlon, the school's principal.

She filed a lawsuit in Marion County Circuit Court in 2010 asking for as much as $500,000, plus attorney fees and reinstatement as a full-time teacher.

Under the settlement, Moore will get $86,355.75 and the law firm representing her — Lafky and Lafky — will receive $63,644.25.

She won't be entitled to return as a full-time employee at WESD, but could still work as a substitute teacher, according to the agreement.

WESD’s liability carrier the Special Districts Association of Oregon decided to settle the lawsuit because of the costs of going to trial last month.

The district’s board chairman Ken Hector said in a statement Friday he understood the carrier’s decision to settle the case.

“Choosing to move forward to defend the case at trial would burden WESD with all attorney fees and costs, impacting our general fund,” Hector said. “The ultimate outcome of resolution for this case is best for WESD and the districts we serve.”

Moore taught health and physical education at WESD's youth correction education programs but was laid off in 2009 after 11 years with the district.

WESD has denied the allegations brought by Moore, noting that they have been thoroughly investigated and found to be without merit. The district’s settlement signed by Moore is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.

Moore’s lawyer Kevin Lafky said it’s clear Moore was retaliated against. She wanted to get her old job back, but since that did not happen they decided settling was the best thing for her to get some sort of compensation for the retaliation.

“The money she’s getting paid certainty doesn’t make up for losing a full-time job with benefits,” Lafky said. “For years, she’s been working as a substitute teacher to make ends meet since she was terminated from WESD.”

It’s not the first time that the education service district has settled a whistleblower lawsuit filed against a former teacher.

In 2010, the district settled a lawsuit for $45,000 with Maggie Vogenbeck in which the former teacher claimed state and federal discrimination, whistleblower retaliation and wrongful discharge.

WESD provides education services such as special education, home school registration and professional development to 17 school district in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties, according to its website.


SECOND WHISTLE-BLOWER STORY:

Oregon Whistleblower suit settled for $125,000
Legal News.com
July 25, 2012

SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- An agency that provides centralized services to schools in the middle Willamette Valley has quietly settled a lawsuit brought by a whistleblower.

Complaints from the former business manager of the Willamette Education Service District set off investigations of mismanagement and resulted in the firing of the district's superintendent, Maureen Casey.

The former business manager, Kathy Campbell, will get $125,000 in the settlement -- about a third going to her lawyer, the Salem Statesman Journal reported Monday.

The paper says the district signed the settlement June 1 but that came to light only recently, when the paper asked the district for documents.

Campbell alleged Casey retaliated against her. She filed suit in September 2010, asking for $1.58 million in damages.

The district said it settled with Campbell under pressure from its insurance carrier. If it had continued to litigate, the district would have borne the cost.

"The board has reluctantly agreed to settle this case," board member Larry Trott said in a statement.

Campbell declined to comment.

"Her only statement is that the matter has been resolved, and she's glad to put it behind her," said her lawyer, Larry Linder.

The agency serves 17 school districts in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. It's one of 17 such districts in the state that provide centralized services such as information technology or special education.

An internal investigation into Campbell's complaints confirmed management and financial improprieties.

Then a state audit completed in January 2010 found questionable expenditures, improper contracting, commingled funds and an effort to hide the district's true financial condition. The Statesman Journal's investigation documented further problems and showed that concerns about the problems were ignored for years.

Since then, the district has faced multiple lawsuits, shut down money-losing entrepreneurial ventures and laid off a third of its workers. With an annual budget of $95 million, the district ended the last school year $2.1 million in the red. Among the lawsuits is Casey's, alleging wrongful termination.

Oregon public meetings law allows public bodies to discuss lawsuits in sessions closed to the public, but final decisions must be made in a public vote. The board's minutes don't record a vote on the settlement.

District spokesman Brian Florip said a vote was not required because the district's contract with its carrier allows the insurance company and the district's lawyer to resolve the case without the board's approval.

A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM?

Willamette ESD mess stinks on so many levels
State officials must step in to take control of the situation
Statesman Journal
November 23, 2005

The Willamette Education Service District is a mess - a rotten, stinking mess. State and federal investigators should be crawling all over it, rooting out evidence and filing legal and ethics charges.

Stories in Thursday's and Friday's Statesman Journal revealed a WESD management that allowed widespread violations in the migrant-education program - and then rewarded them.

The WESD's own investigation found a roster of abuses by former migrant-education director Nicolasa Mohs and her program: Hiring of family members. Severe problems in the food services. Applying for outside jobs on ESD time. Outlandish requests for reimbursements, including for alcohol. Retaliation against employees and violations of worker laws and district policies. Lack of accountability for grant money. And on and on.

About the only people who seemed to have a handle on the situation were the leaders of area school districts who refused to do business with Mohs.

If these allegations were true, they should have gotten Mohs fired and strung up before the state ethics and teacher-licensing commissions. Firing was the recommendation of Assistant Superintendent Dave Novotney, who conducted the investigation.

Instead, WESD Superintendent Maureen Casey settled with Mohs, after Mohs filed a civil-rights complaint. The Statesman Journal's review of the documents found that Mohs was rehired as an independent contractor at her old salary, plus additional payments, in return for dropping the complaint.

That's unconscionable, but it gets even worse. The documents show that Mohs was promised a positive letter of reference, that the problems would not be disclosed to potential employers and that the results of the internal investigation would not be reported to state regulatory commissions.

If that's the case, neither Mohs nor Casey deserves to work in education one more day. The WESD board should get rid of them, along with any other staff members who allowed these problems to fester.

The board also owes the public a prompt accounting of what happened and why.

School boards are charged with protecting the public's interests. Where was the WESD board during all this? Either asleep, being manipulated by the district administration or both. Board member Jolene Garland resigned last week, saying in part it was because the board lacked any real say in district operations.

Board members said that they first learned of the civil-rights complaint during a closed-door meeting, which was of dubious legality. Casey, they said, did not tell them about the investigation report, the settlement agreement or the consultant contract until after the Statesman Journal started asking questions.

These tawdry dealings should send shockwaves through the state educational establishment. They are one more indicator that the 2007 Legislature should have the guts to either eliminate education service districts or put them under tighter control.

This case also calls into question the role of school boards and the accuracy of job recommendations. How many other school boards in Oregon are so trusting and unquestioning of their administrators that they lack an accurate picture of what's going on? How many problem educators are passed along from one district to another with glowing recommendations instead of being barred from the profession?

Under a 2005 change in state law, WESD board members now will be chosen by school districts instead of voters. That can't come soon enough.

Until then, state officials should exercise whatever emergency powers are available to take control of the Willamette ESD and clean up this mess.

WILLAMETTE ESD

Occidental College reaches an agreement with women who say that officials bungled campus investigations

Petition at Occidental College, 2013

We'd have better leaders if schools were interested in teaching more than how to make money. It seems that the officials at Occidental (and other colleges) don't understand what a real education is. Perhaps a year's suspension would help. And perhaps the transgressors would be required to complete other tasks, such as writing papers or participating in truth and reconciliation meetings and reparations, before they would be allowed to return.

Occidental College settles in sexual assault cases
Occidental College reaches an agreement with women who say that officials bungled campus investigations.
By Jason Felch and Jason Song
LA Times
September 18, 2013

Occidental College has quietly reached a monetary settlement with at least 10 current and former students who have alleged that the Eagle Rock liberal arts school repeatedly mishandled sexual assault accusations, according to three sources with knowledge of the agreement.

During confidential settlement talks last week, senior Occidental officials agreed to pay the women an undisclosed sum to avoid a lawsuit.

Under the terms of the pact, they are barred from discussing publicly the college's handling of their cases and participating in the Occidental Sexual Assault Coalition, a campus advocacy group of students and faculty that over the last year has been battling fiercely with the college administration over its handling of sex assault allegations.

The women, all represented by the firm of high-profile women's rights attorney Gloria Allred, were among 37 Occidental students and alumni who in April alleged in a federal civil rights complaint that the school deliberately discouraged victims from reporting sexual assaults, misled students about their rights during campus investigations, retaliated against whistle-blowers, and handed down minor punishment to known assailants who in some cases allegedly struck again. The settlement won't affect the federal action.

The federal complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, has since been revised to include allegations from an additional 13 people, including some supportive faculty members. A parallel complaint was filed the same month under the Clery Act, a federal law that requires colleges and universities to report campus crime.

Federal investigators are expected to visit the college in coming weeks to investigate both complaints, records show.

In a prepared statement on the Allred settlement, Occidental spokesman Jim Tranquada said:

"We cannot comment except to say that this matter has been resolved. It is a confidential matter and we intend to honor the confidentiality and privacy of those involved. The college continues to move ahead with its efforts to address this important issue and make Occidental a national leader in dealing with sexual misconduct."

After the federal complaints were filed, the college adopted an interim sexual misconduct policy and recently hired an advocate for abuse victims, Tranquada said. The college has created a 24/7 telephone hotline and expanded the preventative education programs for all students...

The Times has reviewed the federal complaints detailing the allegations of 10 of the women who settled their claims last week. They allege a pattern in which the college downplayed the incidents or tried to dissuade women from stepping forward.

Most of the men involved in the settled cases were ultimately found responsible for misconduct.

Not all of the incidents were reported to law enforcement, a decision left up to those who said they were victims.

According to the federal complaint, a female student who reported to administrators that she had been assaulted at a fraternity in February, said she was told by a school dean not to talk about the incident to prevent lawsuits against the college.

In addition, the complaint said, officials deliberately drew out the disciplinary proceedings. The case "fits a troubling pattern of school administrators running out the clock so alleged perpetrators who are found responsible can still complete their semester," the complaint alleges.

Throughout the complaint are allegations that men found responsible for sexual assaults at Occidental were given only minor sanctions.

In one case, a student admitted to administrators that he had sexually assaulted a woman in 2011 and went on to warn officials that other victims might come forward. The student was allowed to stay on campus while being barred from some campus activities and required to write an apology letter and a 15- to 20-page essay.

The final paper was "less than two and a half pages," according to the complaint. "The incredibly casually written paper was ridden with grammatical errors, incomplete sentences, and no works [footnotes] cited. It is an exemplary example of what a paper looks like that has been given zero effort, care or thought," the complaint alleges...

Parks and Recreation worker Nguyen settles for $450,000 with City of San Diego

Parks worker OKs settling sex, bias suit
By Craig Gustafson
San Diego Union-Tribune Staff Writer
July 11, 2009

A Park and Recreation Department employee who accused a supervisor of sexual harassment and sexual assault over a three-year period has agreed to settle her lawsuit against San Diego for $450,000...

Hoa Nguyen, 52, a grounds maintenance supervisor from Mira Mesa, filed the lawsuit last year, accusing her boss of sexual harassment, ethnic discrimination and repeated sexual assaults from February 2004 to March 2007.

Her boss, Angel Prado, 53, of Logan Heights resigned shortly after Nguyen leveled the allegations, said Deputy City Attorney Kristin Zlotnik, who handled the case. Prado said the two had a consensual sexual relationship but denied any wrongdoing, Zlotnik said.

Both Prado and Nguyen were married to other people at the time.

Nguyen, who has worked for the city since 1994, also sought criminal charges against Prado. The District Attorney's Office investigated but did not file any charges, Zlotnik said...

Zlotnik also said the city filed a cross-complaint against Prado, and he agreed to pay $5,000 toward any settlement...

Lawsuit settled; website wins freedom of speech case

Since school attorney Daniel Shinoff is suing me for defamation, I am always interested in stories like this one:

Gentle Wind Project Permanently ‘Becalmed’ by Lawsuit Settlement
November 11, 2006

Marking a landmark victory for freedom of speech, former members of Gentle Wind Project (GWP), Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey, husband and wife from Blue Hill, ME, are pleased to announce that they have written the terms for a Settlement Agreement that was requested by John “Tubby” Miller and Mary “Moe” Miller (AKA Panuthos/Carreiro), co-founders of GWP... The agreement ends 2 ½ years of lawsuits against the couple.

In an about turn from the GWP leaders’ determined verbiage in 2004 that they would take their case “to the Supreme Court” to force removal of the couple’s Internet stories, the Settlement Agreement insures that Bergin and Garvey will continue to operate, without interference of any kind, their website Wind of Changes...

Though the couple now admits to the unwanted stress they endured, at times, during the long lawsuit process, they quickly decided after being sued by the group that they didn’t want to live the balance of their lives with the regret of giving in to censorship.

“We have no regrets about our 3-year defense to maintain our public interest website,” say Bergin and Garvey, “even though it has been a serious hardship financially, physically, and emotionally. We couldn't ever imagine that the Millers would put themselves, and their activities, up for public viewing in a courtroom; yet their collective belief system, and apparent outrage at us for writing our personal stories, kept them going forward, spending hundreds of thousands of their donor’s funds.”...

Bakersfield School District apologizes for assault on teacher's character

From the archives:

Bakersfield School Won't Discriminate
Lambda Legal.org
LOS ANGELES
March 18, 1999

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund announced Thursday that client James Merrick had settled his sexual orientation discrimination case with a California school district.

As part of the agreement, the district will apologize for removing 15 students from the award-winning teacher's science classes and will strengthen district non- discrimination policy...

Lambda and the California Teachers Association (CTA) reached the settlement on behalf of Merrick, after the state Labor Commissioner ruled earlier this month that his Bakersfield school district discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation.

Officials at the Rio Bravo-Greeley Union School District removed 15 of more than 100 students from Merrick's eighth-grade science classes simply because some parents did not want their children in a gay teacher's class. Merrick is a recent recipient of the Teacher of the Year Award from the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce...

"Faced with a devastating assault on his character, he had the courage to seek justice. The result was a historic case that creates good law for all of us," said Lambda Staff Attorney Myron Dean Quon...

In addition, as part of the settlement, the district will not appeal the Labor Commissioner's decision," said CTA Staff Counsel Scott McVarish...

[Blogger's note: See also Scott McVarish and Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB)]

In the settlement, approved unanimously by the school district's five-member Board of Trustees, the school district agreed it would not remove students from any class for reasons relating to "the ethnicity, race, national origin, age, sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, disability, or political or religious beliefs of the classroom teachers."

... "The Board will, in writing, express support for Dr. Merrick as a teacher and regret comments and actions by some members of the public and staff that may have called into question his fitness to teach," the settlement said...

Message to: Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez, Cheryl Cox/David Bejarano

To Chula Vista Elementary School District trustees Pamela Smith, Bertha Lopez, Cheryl Cox/David Bejarano and to other public officials who stubbornly deny all claims:

Sometimes, in order to act in your own best interest, you have to act in the interest of someone you have harmed.

You would be wise to stop taking orders from insurance company shills Diane Crosier, Rick Rinear, Rodger Hartnett and Lisa Adrience-Jensen. They are harming students, teachers, and school districts with their advice to cover up crimes and other wrongdoing. If Randy Ward won't stop the wrongdoing, you should.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
*Definition of shill

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

noun
1. a person who poses as a customer in order to decoy others into participating, as at a gambling house, auction, confidence game, etc.

2. a person who publicizes or praises something or someone for reasons of self-interest, personal profit, or friendship or loyalty.

verb
3. to work as a shill: He shills for a large casino.
4. to advertise or promote (a product) as or in the manner of a huckster; hustle: He was hired to shill a new TV show.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary -

n. One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.


v. To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).
To lure (a person) into a swindle.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Online Etymology Dictionary

1916, "one who acts as a decoy for a gambler, auctioneer, etc." (probably originally circus or carnival argot), probably a shortened form of shillaber (1913) with the same meaning, origin unknown. The verb is attested from 1914.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet

noun
1. a decoy who acts as an enthusiastic customer in order to stimulate the participation of others

verb
1. act as a shill; "The shill bid for the expensive carpet during the auction in order to drive the price up"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

Worker Receives $600,000 Settlement

I found the following story on lawcore.com. What's the real reason this person was fired?

"Worker Receives $600,000 Settlement"

"A former employee of the Tom’s River Township [New Jersey] has been awarded $600,000 in an out of court settlement according to reports. The lawsuit was settled with the former personnel director of the township after being filed in 2004 following the employee’s dismissal.

"The employee, Richard Vasil, claimed that his firing was carried out for ‘purely political reasons’ after being dismissed from his post by the mayor, Paul Brush. Officials claim that he was fired for refusing to wear a tie to work, locking his office door during lunch breaks, and failing to update documentation.

"Democrat mayoral candidate Tom Rodgers stated: "I'm concerned that [Democratic] Mayor Brush and his all-Republican Council HAVE NOT PROVIDED THE PUBLIC WITH THE DETAILS OF THE SUIT AS WELL AS THE AMOUNT OF TAXPAYERS' DOLLARS SPENT ON LEGAL FEES AND THE SETTLEMENT AMOUNT." [Emphasis added.]

"As part of the lawsuit the plaintiff argued that he had never even received any warnings with regards to the issues over which the mayor claims to have fired him. He further claims that his employment was terminated because he "was neither a Democrat nor independent, and did not support Brush in the November 2003 election.""

December 18th, 2006
http://www.lawcore.com/legal-information/12-18-06.html

If you like the graphic above, you can get a three-dimensional version at http://wavyhands.net/acatalog/Out_line_printed_foam_hands.html

Presidential Advance Manual--Let's just say we're both wrong

Nicole and Jeff Rank

The following is from a Slate.com August 20, 2007 article by Dahlia Lithwick regarding "tips for dealing with demonstrators from the Presidential Advance Manual."

"Late last week, the federal government settled a lawsuit with a pair of Texans who were arrested in 2004 for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts at a Fourth of July event in Charleston, W.Va. That's right, friends, $80,000 (of your taxpayer dollars) will be paid out to Jeff and Nicole Rank, whose suit against Gregory J. Jenkins—former deputy assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Presidential Advance—has been dismissed.

"White House spokesman Blair Jones managed to turn lemons into lemonade with the statement last week that "the parties understand that this settlement is a compromise of disputed claims to avoid the expenses and risks of litigation and is not an admission of fault, liability, or wrongful conduct." This is, of course, vintage Bush, gloriously reminiscent of that Simpsons episode in which Homer arrives late to collect Bart in the pouring rain after soccer practice, then lectures: "I know you're mad at me right now, and I'm kinda mad, too. I mean, we could sit here and try to figure out who forgot to pick up who till the cows come home. But let's just say we're both wrong, and that'll be that."

"...Lest you believe that the Big Brother sheet represents the full extent of the speech suppression, however, the manual provides that, "As a last resort, security should remove the demonstrators from the event."

"The Advance Manual's finest moments come in its urgent, earnest drive to protect not just the television cameras but also the president himself from the ugliness of the dread "demonstrators." Certainly, "if it is determined that the media will not see or hear" demonstrators, event staff can ignore them. But event staff must involve themselves in "designating a protest area preferably not in view of the event site or motorcade route." In other words, all this suppression of dissent isn't just to create a puppet show for the cameras. It's also about sock puppets for the president, who—if he could just be shielded from the mean T-shirts—might still believe his approval ratings soar into the mid-90s. The Ranks' peaceful protest at the West Virginia state capitol somehow became an act of "trespassing" only because the president was there.

"It's disturbing enough to learn from the Advance Manual that the White House has adopted an official policy of shouting down or covering up dissenting viewpoints with large sheets in order to deceive Americans at home into believing the president is universally adored. But that this official policy also exists to protect the tender sensitivities of the president himself is beyond belief..."

http://www.slate.com/id/2172500/?GT1=10346

UW pays $480,000 to settle suit over sex abuse

Nick Perry of the Seattle Times writes about a man who was raped at age 13 by a female mental patient nearly three times his age. The lawsuit against the University of Washington was settled for $480,000.


"The alleged events took place 30 years ago in the summer of 1977, but the man's lawyer said the man in recent years had come to realize how damaged he was by the experience.

"The teen was admitted to a UW hospital psychiatric unit for a two-week evaluation. The teen was the only minor among a group of 25 to 30 adult patients who were free to walk about the ward and patient rooms, which didn't have locks. Patients, who were voluntarily committed, could also leave during the day and often visited the adjacent ship canal..."


July 16, 2007
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003791134_uwsettlement13m.html