My latest op-ed - "The Legacy of Warren Baker"

News item: Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker Announces Retirement...


Warren J. Baker (Photo: www.calpoly.edu)

For those of you outside the realms of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo or higher education...feel free to move on.

Otherwise...

Here is my latest op-ed at Cal Coast News: "The Legacy of Warren Baker." I don't know if it's as much a tribute as it is an attempt to set some things straight.

Downtown SLO... Photo: The Old Seth-Meyer.com

In case you weren't aware, I worked for Dr. Baker...back in the day. During my four years or so there as director of Public Affairs, I had the opportunity to work with him on everything from the university's Centennial celebration to hitting up state legislators for additional funding. I didn't always see eye-to-eye with President Baker, but I always found him to be a straight-shooter. While some of the university's bureaucrats didn't always serve him - or Cal Poly - well, I know from my experiences at the school/with him that he put the university (and others) ahead of himself - consistently.

Among the issues he struggled with on a regular basis was the ages-old one of "town-gown" tensions. With an enrollment of close to 20,000 students, Cal Poly is the force majeure in and around SLO. The results are, predictably, good and bad. And because he's Poly's leader, most of the blame gets dumped on him...for whatever the reason (correctly or incorrectly).


The Cal Poly campus...

While there is always room for improvement in the way it relates to its SLO neighbors, Poly goes the extra mile when it comes to attempts to do right by the community. I know what I speak of. I've worked at three different universities - public and private - and Poly (under Baker's direction) has worked very, very hard to be a good neighbor. But that is a near-impossible task to accomplish. At one university I worked at, the men's basketball coach once told me that it was nerve wracking to "...watch a bunch of college kids run up and down the court with [his] paycheck in their mouths." In other words, you can do everything possible to teach the students - in and out of the classroom, but when it comes to the bottom line it's up to each individual...not the president, teacher, etc...Add to this a hypersensitive community with more than its share of NIMBY types and you get the picture; you understand why Baker hasn't received his due.

Enjoy...

Terror, fear and loathing

Homegrown terror: fact or fiction? Fact. “Five young Muslim American men from the Washington suburbs who disappeared late last month were detained in Pakistan on Wednesday in a police raid on a house linked to a militant group, American and Pakistani officials said.”



Add Pakistani terrorists: the American who was arrested for his alleged role in last year’s massacre in Mumbai, India, is said to have been “a U.S. drug informant.” This story is just beginning to be told…


Terrorists - from America?

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”


The brains behind the idea to bring terrorists back to the city targeted for the 9-11 attacks...

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”

From Copenhagen (and its in-house newsletter, The New York Times) comes this headline for Most Obvious Observation of the Year: “Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag” Obvious reply: Ya think?!


This week's home to most of the hot air being generated anywhere...

Europe…feelin’ the love? Our bestest friends, the Brits, aren’t.

Add Climate Change: Apparently, the prez has some nifty ideas on ways to fix that-there-global-warmin’…

Last add Climate Change: Reportedly, not all of the president’s fellow Dems are on-board with his view on the weather of the world. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) sent Barack Obama the following letter:

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to express my concern regarding reports that the Administration may believe it has the unilateral power to commit the government of the United States to certain standards that may be agreed upon at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The phrase “politically binding” has been used.

Although details have not been made available, recent statements by Special Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern indicate that negotiators may be intending to commit the United States to a nationwide emission reduction program. As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country.

I would very much appreciate having this matter clarified in advance of the Copenhagen meetings.

Sincerely,
Jim Webb
United States Senator

In other words, “Who made you king?”


The president and the senator who reminded him he's just a president - not an emperor...

Outside!

If you like professional surfing, big waves and Hawaii, you’ve got to check out the coverage from the “The Quicksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, Waimea Bay, Hawai’i, ’09-‘10.” (Live/streamed video.)

In a word: breathtaking.

Enjoy!

(Aloha!)


The late Eddie Aikau, whom the contest honors...

Radio Free Copenhagen

I’ll be on Dave Congalton’s Big Broadcast this evening (beginning at 6:05 p.m. PST) to discuss the Copenhagen Climate Conference. If you are on/near the Central Coast, you can listen via KVEC 920 AM. If you’re outside the area, you can tune in via the station’s website. See you on the radio!

Added bonus: If you haven't had a chance to see The Daily Show's take on the "Climate Gate" scandal, check it out here.

Special added bonus: The always-great-to-read Tunku Varadarajan has a terrific "A Skeptic's Guide to Copenhagen" in today's edition of The Daily Beast. (I'm proud to say I contributed an idea or two to the piece.)

Listen up!

You’re obviously wondering what to do with your spare time tonight. Here’s a suggestion – turn on your radio from 8 – 8:30 p.m. PST and tune in another edition of The John Batchelor Show. As part of the weekly political roundtable, my fellow panelists and I will discuss the events and news of the week. You can listen to the show at KSFO-AM 560 San Francisco/Northern California, WABC-AM 77 NY, WMAL-AM 630 Washington, D.C., and on XM/Sirius Satellite Radio (throughout the universe). If you’re not in one of the listening areas, you can tune-in via any of those stations’ websites. See you on the radio!

Live from Vegas!

Waiting for Mr. Batchelor's call...

I'll be joining John Batchelor's (now nightly) radio show tonight, live from the Strip in Las Vegas.

My segment starts around 8:50 pm PST, and we're slated to discuss the current economic situation in Nevada (read: not good) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who is having a tough time in the Silver State in the run-up to next year's election.

If you're in the NYC or Washington, D.C. metro areas, you can listen on WABC-AM 77 or WMAL-AM 630...respectively. If you don't live in those broadcast areas, you can listen via the stations' websites.

Thanks for listening!

News you can use...

Can you hear the bubble popping? (Get ready for another big dive…)

You know Van Jones, the former “Green Jobs Czar” who quit? Um, that whole quitting thing? Yeah, not so much…


The red, er, "green jobs czar"...

How many more are going to Afghanistan? The word is 30,000-35,000. (John Batchelor tells me a full one-third will be “trainers” or non-combat support troops.)

A war tax? Really? Isn’t that something our tax money is supposed to pay for, already?

More on the way to Afghanistan? It looks like it...

Will this be Mike Huckabee’s “Willie Horton?”

Iran seizes Brit yachtsmen. Will this result in, a.) a British special forces operation to free the hostages; b.) additional sanctions on Tehran; c.) a terse complaint – in writing – from the America’s Cup Competition Committee; or, d.) Mahmoud Ahmadinejad enjoying next Sunday afternoon on the new “Presidential Yacht?”

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: air quote or devil horns?

Here’s some more great foreign policy news: “The United States is about to lose a key arms-control tool from the closing days of the Cold War -- the right to station American observers in Russia to count the long-range missiles leaving its assembly line.” (h/t: Lucinanne.com) Meanwhile, those pesky Rooskies are going to start building weapons in nearby (friendly!) Venezuela…aka: the House of Hugo.

He can see Russians from his house...

You know, if you’re going to campaign for a greener/cleaner Earth is taking private jets everywhere the best way to make a statement?

Some not-so-smart moves by some supposedly “smart” people…

That sound you hear is John Harvard spinning in his grave (or sitting down really hard on his chair)...

Finally, The latest on the gatecrashers…

Samantha Appleton/The White House

In a photo released by the White House, President Obama greeted Michaele and Tareq Salahi, right, at his first state dinner on Tuesday. (h/t: NYT)