What Does RIORDAN Mean?

It Means Asshat

Published on July 9, 2004 By CS Guy In Blogging

Richard Riordan is California's State Education Secretary and former Los Angeles mayor. On July 1 Riordan was taped having a conversation with a 6-year-old girl named Isis D'Luciano. During the conversation Isis asked Riordan if he knew her name meant "Egyptian goddess."

This man, who supposedly has been a strong supporter of education in California, replied, "It means stupid dirty girl."

What an asshat.

He claims he was just teasing the girl. Good to see that the State Education Secretary of California has such great self-esteem that he has to tease 6-year-old girls.

The girl, however, was obviously much more mature. Her mother commented, "Obviously it hurt her feelings, but she didn't take it personally. She knew he was wrong and she let it go."

Good for you, Isis!

Comments

Gene Nash

on Jul 09, 2004

"It means stupid dirty girl."

And to think he was my pick for Governor.

He should receive some sort of serious consequence for such a hurtful and stupid remark.

David St Hubbins

on Jul 09, 2004

He claims he was just teasing the girl.

People today think a possible explanation is just as good as a plausible one. I the standard of truth in our society has been deprecated to the point that if you can raise a remote suggestion of doubt, that's enough to counter overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I think it has to do with the fascination our society has with the legal system.

Anyhoo, I deal a lot with a field of study devoted to analysing imperfect data called Bayesian analysis. That's called 'sterotyping' by most people; kids today are specifically taught this sort of thing is evil. The very basis of science, the scientific method, was effectively illegal in Europe for many hundreds of years because it offended the Church's sensibilities. I think there is a parallel there.

Colin Powell recently said "Acting when you know 99% of the facts is management, acting when you have 70% of the facts is leadership." Similarly, I don't need 99% proof that someone is lying before forming my opinion, that's an abdication of reason in my book.

Nominal, on-topic comment: I took a two week vacation to Southern California when I was 21. I watched the welcome message from then-LA mayor Riordan, you know, the type of thing on channel 2 in most major hotel rooms. Anyhoo, my then girlfriend and I both remarked how fake he looked when he smiled at the end of his infomercial. Even by politican standards he seemed fake. Just a memory I had.

From Encyclopaedia Brittanica: (Bayes, Thomas (b. 1702, London - d. 1761, Tunbridge Wells, Kent), mathematician who first used probability inductively and established a mathematical basis for probability inference (a means of calculating, from the number of times an event has not occured, the probability that it will occur in future trials) Link

CS Guy

on Jul 09, 2004

From Encyclopaedia Brittanica: (Bayes, Thomas (b. 1702, London - d. 1761, Tunbridge Wells, Kent), mathematician who first used probability inductively and established a mathematical basis for probability inference (a means of calculating, from the number of times an event has not occured, the probability that it will occur in future trials)

Yea, Bayesian mathematics are used in a number of filtering algorithms. Today Bayesian filtering is very popular in spam filters.

"Acting when you know 99% of the facts is management, acting when you have 70% of the facts is leadership.

I like that. I like that a lot.
"

citahellion

on Jul 09, 2004

I just read somewhere else that someone who had been calling for his head on a platter dropped the matter when they found out that the girl he insulted was not black:
(taken from www.tonguetied.us]

A California lawmaker who was going to raise a stink about a repugnant wise crack by state Education Secretary Richard Riordan changed his mind when he found out the victim of the crack was not African-American, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, a Democrat from Los Angeles, had planned a news conference to demand Riordan’s head but cancelled it when he learned that the girl subjected to Riordan's joke was white.

Since race was not a factor,' Dymally said in a statement “It is time for us to move on.''

bakerstreet

on Jul 09, 2004

"Since race was not a factor,' Dymally said in a statement “It is time for us to move on.''

OMG, lol. That's as shameful as Riordin's stupidity. Saying something like that to a child is okay unless they are black... gah...

CS Guy

on Jul 09, 2004

I just read somewhere else that someone who had been calling for his head on a platter dropped the matter when they found out that the girl he insulted was not black

Yea, I had read that as well, but decided not to include it. I figured one asshat at a time was enough.

pseudosoldier

on Jul 09, 2004

While the activities of said asshat make me raise my eyebrows in disapproval...

the use of the word "asshat" warms my cold, cold soul. Thanks.

CS Guy

on Jul 09, 2004

the use of the word "asshat" warms my cold, cold soul. Thanks.

I was thinking about this on my way home from work today. I've been using "asshat" and "assclown" for years now, but I can not remember where I first heard them. I've noticed you using them, so I thought maybe they were military terms. I've worked with and had friends that were military (as well as a father and brother) for a long time.

Gene Nash

on Jul 10, 2004

Well, Vegas news showed video of the comment last night. I don't know if it is better or worse actually seeing it. He immediately laughs after saying it -- but then so do racists and bullies (they always seem to think they're so clever, don't they?). Whether he intended it as a joke or not, I can't imagine anyone, let alone an "Education Leader," finding that an acceptable thing to say to child. It sounded like a lot of the kids gasped and yelled "Noooo!" after his remark. I guess we know who the smart ones in the room were.

As for that crusading Democrat -- what, he thinks only black people give their kids odd names such as Isis? He heard only the name and assumed it was a little black girl? How racist is that?

pseudosoldier

on Jul 10, 2004

CS Guy - I had picked up the terms mostly from greywar, but I know I've heard them elsewhere. He attributes Assclown to Chris Jericho, but it could be older than that. Most recently, I've seen Asshat in a game called Kingdom of Loathing. It's armor in the head position.

On the plus side, you've used it quite appropriately.

You're not in the military, then? I thought it was possible, with the CS used in training...

CS Guy

on Jul 10, 2004

You're not in the military, then? I thought it was possible, with the CS used in training...

No, I'm not in the military... I would have been, but I got this problem with authority. My father was a Naval officer for 22 years, with 3 tours in Viet Nam. My brother is currently a Chief in the navy. I live in a town with 3 military bases (I think it is 3... it's at least 3... Peterson, Schriever, and the AF Academy). I'm not sure where Ft. Carson is, but it is somewhere near too. Several of my friends are Army enlisted. I write software for the military, and work with military officers. And I have, in the past, trained Army and Air Force officers for CMOC work. So while I am not military, I do have more than average exposure.

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