CNews 29May10
OT:
 |
| King Canute holds press conference. |
CNews 24May10
"In tracing evils of any kind, which exist in society, we must, after all, be brought up against the great cause of all mischief—mismanagement in education; and this remark applies with peculiar force to the leading fault of the present day, viz. extravagance. It is useless to expend our ingenuity in purifying the stream, unless the fountain be cleansed. If young men and young women are brought up to consider frugality contemptible, and industry degrading, it is vain to expect they will at once become prudent and useful, when the cares of life press heavily upon them. Generally speaking, when misfortune comes upon those who have been accustomed to thoughtless expenditure, it sinks them to discouragement, or, what is worse, drives them to desperation. It is true there are exceptions. There are a few, an honorable few, who, late in life, with Roman severity of resolution, learn the long-neglected lesson of economy. But how small is the number, compared with the whole mass of the population! And with what bitter agony, with what biting humiliation, is the hard lesson often learned! How easily might it have been engrafted on early habits, and naturally and gracefully 'grown with their growth, and strengthened with their strength!'"— Lydia M. Child, The American Frugal Housewife (published 1832)
CNews 20May10
OT: It's Everybody Draw Mohammad Day. Here's our contribution*:
 |
| The Prophet Mohammad: A Self-Portrait This is actually one of those trick images. Stare into it intently for about a minute, and you will see quite clearly Islam's collective head buried within the center. Another minute will reveal Europe's tongue. |
* We actually stole this image from the blog Vonnegut's Asshole, misremembering it as Papa Kurt's drawing from Breakfast of Champions. It is not; on another post, the blog displays the finely detailed and surprisingly realistic Vonnegut original (embedded in a hilarious account of blogster Eric Spitznagel's first encounter with the novel).
Update: You'll find a rather pitiable & childlike attempt to equal our artistic genius over at the Weasel's, bless her heart.
In keeping with today's colon abuse theme, David Seals has a new book out—The Real AIM of Ward Churchill: and the Murder of Anna Mae Aquash —available here for 50 bucks in paperback (!!) or $6.95 in downloadable PDF. (ht Paul Wolf, et al).
Thought for the Day: It's only difficult to achieve surgical precision with a wood-axe if you intend to save the patient.
CNews 12May10
Speaking of friends of the court (and who isn't?), we've heard that the State of Colorado, through Attorney-General John W. Suthers and Solicitor-General Daniel D. Domenico, filed an amicus curiae brief Monday in the Churchill v. Everybody Else appeal. We'll post a link to the actual brief as soon as we find one.
Update: That was fast. TurtleTalk has it, as well as links to amicus briefs from the usual suspects like the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild, which we've already covered here and here, respectively.
CNews 7May10
CU filed today its answer to
The money shot:
Summary of the Argument
There are three issues before the Court of Appeals, and Professor Churchill has failed to demonstrate that Judge Naves’ ruling on any of them was erroneous.
On the first issue, whether Judge Naves appropriately granted a directed verdict on Professor Churchill’s claim of unlawful investigation, his decision was consistent with precedent in the Tenth Circuit and around the country determining, as a matter of law, that “an investigation of potential misconduct . . . will generally not constitute an adverse employment action.”[...]
On the second issue, whether Judge Naves appropriately granted the Board of Regents quasi-judicial immunity, Colorado law is clear that the Board of Regents’ decision to dismiss Professor Churchill was quasi-judicial.[..] Professor Churchill cannot avoid this conclusion and instead distorts the question before the Court of Appeals by cherrypicking and misstating testimony in an effort to demonstrate that the Board of Regents did not fairly consider his particular case. His efforts fail because quasi-judicial immunity does not turn on the facts of a particular litigant’s case. Instead, “our cases clearly indicate that immunity analysis rests on functional categories.” [...] Because the Board of Regents performed a duty that is “functionally comparable” to those performed by judges when it reviewed the P&T Committee’s findings and imposed a sanction, quasi-judicial immunity applies. Professor Churchill’s remedy, which he did not employ, was review[ed] under C.R.C.P. 106.
The third issue, whether Professor Churchill was entitled to reinstatement, was a question firmly committed to Judge Naves’ discretion. In light of Professor Churchill’s own statements demonstrating his hostility to the University and his unwillingness to comply with accepted academic standards, reinstatement was not an appropriate remedy.
Read the whole thing, if for nothing else but the exquisite schadenfreude. (yes, we know: this is all argument, and the appellate court may in fact find for The Perfesser. In the meantime, we're gonna schaden the hell out of that freude)
CNews 4May10
Arizona is not messing around: Arizona Ethnic Studies Classes Banned, Teachers With Accents Can No Longer Teach English
Naturally, the HuffPo uses the colors of conflation and exaggeration to paint its picture. The first part of the headline refers to Arizona House Bill 2281 (passed by both Arizona''s Senate and House, and currently on Gov. Brewer's desk for signature), which
Prohibits a school district or charter school from including in its program of instruction any courses or classes that:Promote the overthrow of the United States government.
Promote resentment toward a race or class of people.
Are designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.
Advocate ethnic solidarity instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.
...which pretty much covers the itinerary of every class The Perfesser has ever taught. Note that the bill does not ban ethnic studies classes, only those that meet the listed criteria.
Meanwhile, the second part of the HuffPo headline refers to a Wall Street Journal article, which says the Arizona Department of Education is telling school districts "that teachers whose spoken English it deems to be heavily accented or ungrammatical must be removed from classes for students still learning English." (big ht to Waldo Pepper)
