Greetings From California! 2: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go

Greetings from California is the debut studio album by The Madden Brothers, whose members consist of Joel and Benji Madden from pop punk band Good Charlotte, which was released on September 16, 2014 in the United States. The album's first single, "We Are Done", premiered on May 30, 2014 on 102.7 KIIS FM. The music video for the single premiered on June 30, 2014.[1] The album was made available for pre-ordering on the iTunes Store on July 4, 2014, with "California Rain" made available for immediate download.

Greetings From California! 2

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A golden phonograph record was attached to each of the Voyager spacecraft that were launched almost 25 years ago. One of the purposes was to send a message to extraterrestrials who might find the spacecraft as the spacecraft journeyed through interstellar space. In addition to pictures and music and sounds from earth, greetings in 55 languages were included.

NASA asked Dr Carl Sagan of Cornell University to assemble a greeting and gave him the freedom to choose the format and what would be included. Because of the launch schedule, Sagan (and those he got to help him) was not given a lot of time. Linda Salzman Sagan was given the task of assembling the greetings.

The story behind the creation of the "interstellar message" is chronicled in the book, "Murmurs of Earth", by Carl Sagan, et al. Unfortunately, not much information is given about the individual speakers. Many of the speakers were from Cornell University and the surrounding communities. They were given no instructions on what to say other than that it was to be a greeting to possible extraterrestrials and that it must be brief. The following is an excerpt by Linda Salzman Sagan from the book:

"We were principally concerned with the needs of people on Earth during this section of the recording. We recorded messages from populations all over the globe, each representative speaking in the language of his or her people, instead of sending greetings in one or two languages accompanied by keys for their decipherment. We were aware that the latter alternative might have given the extraterrestrials a better chance of understanding the words precisely, though it would have raised the thorny question of which two languages to send. We felt it was fitting that Voyager greet the universe as a representative of one community, albeit a complex one consisting of many parts. At least the fact that many different languages are represented should be clear from the very existence of a set of short statements separated by pauses and from internal evidence - such as the initial greeting "Namaste," which begins many of the greetings from the Indian subcontinent. The greetings are an aural Gestalt, in which each culture is a contributing voice in the choir. After all, by sending a spaceship out of our solar system, we are making an effort to de-provincialize, to rise above our nationalistic interests and join a commonwealth of space-faring societies, if one exists."

All the greetings, written in the appropriate language, translated to English, and with the name of the speakers, are included in the book. A CD-ROM, which accompanied the 1992 version of the book, included the spoken versions.

In Kern County, the Latinx population is burdened with worry about not only police brutality, but also racist violence from the general public and anti-immigrant sentiments that place the lives of undocumented peoples in danger of incarceration and deportation. The lack of attention paid to the systemic racism and law enforcement related deaths in Kern County faced by the Latinx population also stems from two other issues. One of these is the fact that race relations tends to be viewed in binary terms as a black-and-white problem. This continues to marginalize Latinx peoples from the broader narrative of race and ethnic relations throughout history, and prevents an accurate understanding of the diverse multicultural society that is twenty-first century California. The second issue is the mainstream U.S. American social and cultural notion that Latinx peoples are only recent arrivals. This misconception stretches even further to wrongfully rationalizing that Latinx peoples have no meaningful history or roots in the present-day U.S., and as such make little contributions to society. The presence of a vulnerable undocumented population, as well as flawed notions of race relations and the Latinx-American experience, fuels a collective inability to bring greater oversight to the law enforcement corruption and systemic racism in Kern County.

Officer Wimbish, one of the figures who fired on Alderman, was the son of a former Kern County Sheriff and a twenty-five-year veteran of the Bakersfield Police Department. Prior to his encounter with Alderman, he was involved in four fatal shootings in a two-year period, firing with other officers in one instance on an unarmed confidential informant and member of his own department, Jorge Ramirez, during a planned operation. None of these shootings, however, prevented Wimbish from earning a salary and benefits package that totaled $200,000 annually as he continued to work as a police officer, while also instructing other officers and teaching local schoolchildren about the important role performed by law enforcement officials in the community.

In addition to the systemic racism in the criminal justice system, in July 2017 several civil rights groups including the Dolores Huerta Foundation, reached a settlement with the Kern County High School District regarding a lawsuit which alleged that Black and Latinx students were unfairly targeted for suspension and expulsion. In 2009, the district reported 2,205 expulsions, the highest number in California. This is in a school district where the Latinx population comprised sixty-four percent of the student population.[16] These findings and the lawsuit against the school district illustrate the way in which Black and Latinx students are tracked from the schools to the prisons at a much higher rate than the white community. Between the 1990s and the 2010s, funding for prisons and jails in California rose three times faster than spending on schools, and allotment for higher education in the state remained relatively flat.[17]

While racism against African Americans was prominent in the city in the 1990s despite the level of denial expressed by some white community leaders, from the 1990s onward; the growing Latinx population became the new target.

Shawn Schwaller received his Ph.D. in history from Claremont Graduate University in 2015, and is currently a lecturer in the Department of History at California State University, Chico. His work engages California history, questions around identity politics, race and ethnic relations, and popular culture.

Plaintiff William G. Clement has been employed by defendant American Greetings Corporation ("American Greetings") for approximately 19 years. American Greetings is not a party to the instant motions. Defendants Mlod and Folken are plaintiff's immediate supervisors at American Greetings. Plaintiff alleges that on April 18, 1983, he was demoted from his position as a District Manager for American Greetings in violation of his employment contract and for discriminatory motives. Plaintiff also alleges that Mlod and Folken conspired with American Greetings and others to harass and retaliate against him for filing an age discrimination suit with a state agency.

By order dated November 6, 1985, the Court, per Judge Enright, granted plaintiff's motions to join Mlod and Folken in this action, and to file his proposed amended complaint, but denied plaintiff's alternative motion to remand and motion for relief from jury waiver.

The cases defendants cite to support their motion to dismiss either applied California procedural law, Wise v. Southern Pacific Co., 223 Cal. App. 2d 50, 35 Cal. Rptr. 652 (1963); Mallard v. Boring, 182 Cal. App. 2d 390, 6 Cal. Rptr. 171 (1960), or were *1330 decided on a motion for summary judgment. Los Angeles Airways v. Davis, supra. It is not clear from the face of the complaint that plaintiff cannot "prove any set of facts in support of his claim." Accordingly, defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiff's claims because the defendants' actions are protected under the "Manager's Privilege" is denied, without prejudice, to be raised, if warranted, on a motion for summary judgment after suitable discovery has been conducted in this case.

Plaintiff also pleads in the alternative that in inflicting emotional distress, the defendants "so acted negligently and carelessly." Amended Complaint at 36. Defendants argue that plaintiff sets forth no specific facts to support these allegations. Memorandum at p. 20, line 12. Support for this theory, however, may be culled from discovery. Therefore, the defendant's motion to dismiss the claim for negligent infliction of emotional distress is denied without prejudice to be raised, if warranted, on a motion for summary judgment after suitable discovery has been conducted in this case.

In general, a 12(f) motion is the primary procedure for objecting to an insufficient defense. 5 Wright & Miller 1380. It is neither an authorized nor a proper way to obtain dismissal of a complaint or portions of a complaint. It is generally viewed with disfavor and not frequently granted. Id. Wright & Miller states that the 12(f) motion "is designed to eliminate allegations from the pleadings that might cause prejudice at some later point in the litigation." Id. at pp. 785-786. In this regard, it should be stressed that upon "its own initiative at any time, the court may order stricken from any pleading any insufficient defense or any redundant, impertinent, or scandalous matter." (emphasis added).

The California cases relied on by the Ninth Circuit in Davis & Cox, supra, 751 F.2d at 1526, do not, however, support the latter proposition. See Gruenberg v. Aetna Ins. Co., 9 Cal. 3d 566, 108 Cal. Rptr. 480, 510 P.2d 1032 (En banc 1973); Mayes v. Sturdy Northern Sales, Inc., 91 Cal. App. 3d 69, 154 Cal. Rptr. 43 (1979); Wise v. Southern Pacific Co., supra, 223 Cal. App. 2d 50, 35 Cal. Rptr. 652 (1963). These cases hold, either impliedly, Gruenberg, supra, 9 Cal. 3d at 576, 108 Cal. Rptr. 480, 510 P.2d 1032, or expressly, Mayes, supra, 91 Cal. App. 3d at 78-79, 154 Cal. Rptr. 43; Wise, supra, 223 Cal. App. 2d at 72-73, 35 Cal. Rptr. 652, that employers and agents of a corporation are insulated from allegations of conspiracy only if their actions are privileged. The court has already ruled that an issue exists concerning whether Mlod and Folken's actions were privileged. Section B, supra. At this state of the proceedings, the court is not convinced that plaintiff's allegations of conspiracy should be stricken. Accordingly, defendants' motion to strike plaintiff's allegations of a conspiracy is denied without prejudice, to be raised, if warranted, on a motion for summary judgment, after suitable discovery has been conducted in this case. 2ff7e9595c