Whites Only: “Parody” John Birch Society Fundraiser for OC GOP BoE Candidates Screams Racism

February 24, 2016 Uncategorized 21

RacistFlyer

Certain Republicans in Orange County have distinguished themselves for posting overtly racist “humor” ever since Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.  First Dean Grose posted an image of watermelons on the White House lawn and Marilyn Davenport’s shared on a Photoshopped portrait of chimps with the president’s face superimposed over the baby chimp.  And with that, a flyer has emerged for a fundraiser for two Orange County Board of Education candidates, that sources have since said is a joke but one only die-hard racists would find funny.

Stealing a line from “American Graffiti” (Where were you in ’62?), the flyer features Orange County Board of Education candidates Ken Williams and Robert Hammond with the headline, “Where Were You In ’52?” with a tagline of “you’re invited to a trip down memory lane when Orange County was ruled by the John Birch Society?”

The flyer says Duke Pesta, the National Director of the John Birch Society” is a special guest speaker at the march 5 Pancake Breakfast inviting attendees to return…to a “happier time” when:

  • Public Schools were segregated
  • Public swimming pools were for Whites only
  • Real Estate Deed Restrictions in White neighborhoods prohibited sales to Blacks, Hispanics and Asians.
  • Landlords were allowed (indeed sometimes pressured) to rent to only certain races.
  • All high paying county jobs were limited to White Males.
  • Election Ballots were printed in English only
  • and best of all, all elected officials were White Males!

The flyer says “we must take back America and that cost (sic) money! The “disclaimer” at the bottom says “This Parodistic (sic) Flyer was designed by “The Committee of Crazy Old White Guys to re-Elect Ken Williams and Robert Hammond.”  There’s a phone number to call, that apparently belongs to Hammond’s wife.

TheLiberalOC reached Hammond this morning and he had no knowledge of the flyer at all.  When he was read the content of the flyer over the phone, Hammond gasped and expressed digust.  “I had no knowledge of this flyer before now,” he said.  “It’s repugnant.  It hurts children in Orange County.”

Because the flyer was sent to us in Microsoft Word, under “properties,” the creator of the piece appears to be David Boyd, who is a sitting member of the Orange County Board of Education in District 2 (Costa Mesa, HB, Seal Beach, Fountain Valley, and parts of Garden Grove area), or someone using the Microsoft Word program licensed to Boyd.

Boyd confirmed the parody flyer was created in his private office to embarrass Williams and Hammond.

“I’m old enough to remember the days of the John Birch Society and how they impacted life in Orange County,” Boyd said.  “I an outraged that these two members would hold a fundraiser featuring Mr. Pesta who hold a leadership position with the National John Birch Society.”

Boyd disavowed any agreement with the bullet points in the flyer, stating the bullet points are beliefs held by the John Birch Society.  But parody or not, the flyer points to political infighting at the OC BoE that undermines that body’s primary goal.

Pesta does hold a position with the national John Birch Society and is an outspoken critic of Common Core which has mixed support on the OC BoE at best.  And Pesta is a guest speaker at the fundraiser, with his talk strictly about Common Core.

Here’s Pesta’s bio on the John Birch Society webpage:

Dr. Duke Pesta received his M.A. in Renaissance literature from John Carroll University and his Ph.D. in Shakespeare and Renaissance literature from Purdue University. He has taught at major research institutions and small liberal arts colleges, on a wide variety of subjects at the graduate and undergraduate level, including courses on Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, the Bible, Russian literature, Christian Apologetics, and C.S. Lewis. He has been active in educational reform, and was instrumental in developing and implementing an elective Bible course that is currently available for public high school students in Texas.

Dr. Pesta is the Academic Director of FreedomProject Academy, the American Opinion Foundation’s Online Classical school. He is also a nationally-recognized critic of Common Core, having delivered over 400 talks in 40 states, and has done more than 2500 radio and television interviews on the subject. He speaks at home school conventions and educational conferences across the nation on topics including the necessity of homeschooling, the decline of morality and critical thinking in the public schools, and the myriad ways that colleges and universities indoctrinate students.

And right next to Petsa’s photo and bio on the John Birch Society web page, you’ll find a photo and bio of former Villa Park council member Deborah Pauly, who is currently a candidate for State Assembly in AD-68.

 

 

 

21 Comments

  1. This interesting PR debacle that Mr. Boyd created is rife with inaccuracies and shows the rather shallow depth of his character. He should be ashamed of himself for playing such dirty politics. He needs to apologize to Mr. Williams, Mr. Hammond, Dr. Duke Pesta, and to JBS, especially to the black Americans who are proud to hold membership. His behavior should be exposed to his constituents, who should recall him from the school board as an example to the students in the district to demonstrate that consequences follow inappropriate actions.

    –Bill Hahn, Director of Communications, The John Birch Society

  2. Dan:

    History tells me that political parody goes back as far as politics.

    The document, which was in draft form, was never intended for wide distribution. It was to be directed towards individuals and groups whose names were listed on the original invitation as supporters of Mr. Hammond and Dr. Williams.

    The goal was to make these individuals and groups aware of exactly who Dr. Pesta is and the history of the organization that he represents.

    Regrettably, the history of Orange County as set forth in the flyer is accurate. And regrettably I believe that the John Birch Society with its local control doctrine would like to take the county and the country back to a pre-civil rights era.

    I also point out that Hammond and Williams were already fully aware of Pesta’s JBS connections and the history of the JBS in Orange County. It was part of a presentation that I made at the September meeting of the OCBE.

    We apologize if anyone was offended by this attempt at parody. But to the extent that this controversy will get the public’s attention on a serious issue, the document will have served a valuable purpose.

    • Mr. Boyd once again demonstrates his shallow knowledge of The John Birch Society, while deflecting responsibility for his willful and ignorant actions. Anyone wanting to know the mission of the organization can certainly find it on our website (JBS.org).

      Dr. Pesta is a fine, accomplished academia professional. He has delivered 400+ talks in 40+ states regarding the dangers of Common Core. He was recently named to our National Council and FreedomProject Education, his employer, is one of our proud affiliates. If Mr. Boyd is insinuating that this connection was trying to be kept hidden, only a blind man would believe that.

      Dr. Pesta has done more to protect children from the overreaching tentacles of an out-of-control federal government in hopes that local districts and state legislators would return control of children’s education to those most affected by it: parents and local officials.

      If Mr. Boyd cannot see the harm that Common Core brings to children, then we suggest he either attend the event to learn more or resign entirely.

      It’s rather telling that he would allow his own paranoia of JBS to rise above the needs of children and educators in this district. Absolutely shameful!

      –Bill Hahn, Director of Communication, The John Birch Society

    • Mr. Boyd:

      This document has served no good purpose of any value. You have unjustly, untruthfully implied Robert Hammond and Ken Williams are racists. You owe them and your constituents an apology and a retraction.

  4. So Trustee Boyd sent this to you for whatever reason, not intending it for broader distribution (see his comment above.) Apparently, it was not from an email account identifying him, or you would not have done any sleuthing.

    But: because he didn’t take the precaution of creating a PDF version of the flyer, as one might do if sending it out to a recipient who was either hostile or idiotic, you figured out who sent it and published it here.

    As a result, rather than just taking the (damaging) material from the flyer to create your own post, you put Hammond (and by inference Williams) in a position where they can be aggrieved by the covert act of a fellow board member — and allow the issue to be turned into whether Boyd did something wrong, effectively helping their reelection campaigns.

    On the presumption that like me you DO actually oppose Hammond and Williams, who benefit here, perhaps I have underestimated your sense of fair play. Let this be a lesson to those who would send you Word documents.

    • No Trustee Boyd did not send it to me and I think the flyer hurts everyone. If you think this is a case of a “liberal” blogger giving aid and comfort to Republicans, that would be you Panda. Please go an light a candle to your altar of Tom Tait

      • *Someone* sent you the Word document that you then sleuthed. If it wasn’t Boyd himself, but someone to whom he had entrusted it, then your pointlessly outing him as (maybe) the original author becomes even worse. Surely you’re not so dull that this is beyond you — right?

        • I get stuff sent to me all the time. I actually take the time to ascertain if it’s real or not instead of guessing, like you did about who sent me the document. I called Hammond and Boyd and got both sides of the story. The document was amazingly offensive and highlights a Republican vs Republican battle. Your defense of Boyd doesn’t surprise me. and have Vern take a look at the national leaders of the John Birch Society and react to seeing Deborah Pauly there, since OJ props her up regularly

        • Greg — this is exactly why you’re on moderation here. Every comment has to have an insult. You are pathetic.

  5. I am not at all surprised by the official spokesperson from the John Birch Society trying to lob insults at Mr. Boyd rather than address all of our concerns about the organization. It does not change the facts of the organizations’ well known anchor being opposed to the Civil Rights movement, believing people of color and Jews are part of a larger communist takeover. After my Dad completed his service in the Air Force, we moved to Orange County in 1962 so he could start his pediatric practice. Being ‘openly Jewish’, our family was not allowed to join country clubs, tennis clubs, or yacht clubs and were stopped from purchasing a home in certain neighborhoods in the county. This effort at overt racism and anti-Semitism was attached to the leadership in the Orange County John Birch Society. Mr. Boyd owes no one an apology, rather this has exposed who this ‘guest speaker’ really is and how these school board members support his and Mr. Hahn’s beliefs and those of the National John Birch Society. What is most upsetting is Mr. Hahn has no understanding who in fact are the children being educated in County schools. Many of these are the exact children the John Birch Society have tried to keep segregated: children of color, homeless children, children of special needs, gay and lesbian children, transgender children, and those in the juvenile justice system. It would seem unlikely for this organization and especially their spokesperson to think they have any of these children’s best interest in their hearts given this known history. The finest example is this speaker’s push for home schooling when nearly all of these children have no ‘real nor consistent homes’ they live in. It is critical we speak up and allow those who have signed on as ‘supporters’ know their names are being associated with the John Birch Society and all of its Orange County based history.

  6. “Boyd .. (stated that) the bullet points are beliefs held by the John Birch Society.”

    That is a false statement. Boyd appears to be a lying douche-bag of the highest order.

  9. Hey Vern Nelson, thanks for the ping back to this story. It is not a defense of the John Birch Society in any way, shape or form. But if you think it is, I’d say the years of hard drinking have affected your judgement. It’s that, it you’re dumber..much dumber…than I thought. Pretty sure it’s the latter, not the former

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