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Black civil-rights activists canceled plans for a protest after discovering a child insulted by California Education Secretary Richard Riordan was not African-American as originally believed, but a blonde, white girl. In an incident captured on video [Requires Real Player], Riordan, the former Los Angeles mayor, stunned participants in a promotional event July 1 at the Santa Barbara library by jokingly telling a 6-year-old her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl." Alice Huffman, president of the California chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Thursday that Riordan "is not suitable to lead education in our state"...

JULY 9--In a bizarre public gaffe, California's education commissioner told a child that her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl." Richard Riordan, the former Republican mayor of Los Angeles, made the comment during a publicity event last week at a Santa Barbara library where he read to schoolchildren (below you'll find links to the video). When Isis D'Luciano, 6, asked Riordan if he knew her name meant "Egyptian goddess," the 74-year-old politician replied, "It means stupid dirty girl." While Riordan contends that he was just teasing the child, he apologized to D'Luciano, claiming that his joke was a "misunderstanding." That...

Calif. Education Secretary Urged To Resign Over Remarks To Child POSTED: 7:42 am EDT July 9, 2004 UPDATED: 9:14 am EDT July 9, 2004 LOS ANGELES -- The head of California's NAACP wants the state's education secretary to step down. During an event at a Santa Barbara library on July 1, Richard Riordan told a 6-year-old her first name meant "stupid dirty girl." The comment was recorded by a local TV station. After nervous laughter in the room, the girl reiterated to Riordan that her first name, Isis, means "Egyptian goddess." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's a longtime friend of Riordan's,...

<p>Bee Capitol Bureau Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, July 9, 2004 Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office continued to back embattled Education Secretary Richard Riordan on Thursday amid growing outrage and demands for Riordan's resignation over his bizarre comment to a 6-year-old girl.</p>

Stupid, Inappropriate Commissioner California education chief's "dirty" crack to six-year-old girl JULY 9--In a bizarre public gaffe, California's education commissioner told a child that her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl." Richard Riordan, the former Republican mayor of Los Angeles, made the comment during a publicity event last week at a Santa Barbara library where he read to schoolchildren (below you'll find links to the video). When Isis D'Luciano, 6, asked Riordan if he knew her name meant "Egyptian goddess," the 74-year-old politician replied, "It means stupid dirty girl." While Riordan contends that he was just teasing the child, he...

SACRAMENTO - A lawmaker who had called for Education Secretary Richard Riordan to resign for joking with a 6-year-old that her name meant ``stupid, dirty girl'' abruptly backed off Thursday after mistakenly suggesting that race was a factor in the quip. Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Los Angeles, canceled a news conference today with civil rights groups after learning that the girl subjected to Riordan's joke was white, not African-American. An aide to Dymally said the assemblyman had seen conflicting news accounts of the girl's race. In a press release canceling the news conference, Dymally, who is African-American, said Riordan had apologized...

The head of the California NAACP is demanding state Education Secretary Richard Riordan resign for jokingly telling a preschooler that her name, Isis, meant "stupid dirty girl." (snip) The conversation, videotaped by KEYT-TV, took place Thursday at a promotional event for summer reading at Santa Barbara's central library. The unidentified girl, who appeared to be a preschooler, asked Riordan if he knew that her name meant "Egyptian goddess." Riordan replied, "It means stupid dirty girl." (snip) A group of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, planned to protest Riordan's remarks at the Capitol Thursday. But the organizer, Democratic state Assemblyman...

No one ever accused Richard Riordan of being a prisoner to political correctness, but the feisty former mayor of Los Angeles and now the state's education secretary may have outdone himself last week when he called a youngster at a book event a "stupid, dirty girl." The incident took place Thursday at the Santa Barbara Central Library, where Riordan stopped in to promote a summer reading program. After reading a picture book to preschoolers and young elementary school pupils, he chatted with some of them. One girl asked whether he was aware that her name was that of an Egyptian...

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - State Education Secretary Richard Riordan has apologized for joking that a child's name meant "stupid dirty girl." In a videotaped exchange at the city's central library on Thursday, a girl asked Riordan if he knew that her name meant "Egyptian goddess." Riordan, who apparently believed he'd been asked what her name meant, replied, "It means stupid dirty girl." Some in the room laughed nervously, and the girl again told Riordan the meaning of her name. "Hey, that's nifty," he said.

RINO: An acronym for "Republican In Name Only." A confused creature most commonly found in the United States Senate. For more information, see "Olympia Snowe," "Lincoln Chafee" and especially "Arlen Specter." At some point, George W. Bush and his chief political advisor, Karl Rove, apparently decided that supporting so-called "mainstream" Republicans, without regard to their political ideology, was a wise political strategy. I cannot imagine why, since their previous endorsements of liberal Republicans have been embarrassing disasters. They did it in the 2002 California governor's primary by endorsing former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, a pro-abortion, big-government liberal, over a...

Richard Riordan, amateur comedian, former Los Angeles mayor and now California's Secretary of Education, just wanted to lighten things up at a speech to about 700 school superintendents in Monterey. So as he was advocating more authority for school principals, he threw in part of his comedy act. His idea of an ideal principal was one of the "sisters of little or no mercy" at his Catholic school in New York, he told the group last week. Sister Carmelita, the principal, could lift students up to the ceiling, and once hit a student 17 times before he crumpled to the...

<p>Barbara Kerr is proving that you can be president of the CTA, the muscular California Teachers Association, and a nice person at the same time.</p> <p>But in her press conference earlier this month with the equally muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger, she looked less like the primary schoolteacher she used to be and a lot more like the cat that swallowed the canary.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO – Secretary of Education Richard Riordan is preparing a major overhaul of state school funding that would bypass local districts and funnel taxpayer dollars directly to school principals.</p> <p>The proposal, which Riordan said he has discussed with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, would replace California's complex school funding formulas with a flat payment per student. Schools would be held to strict standards but would be given freedom to determine how they met those standards.</p>

<p>Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, now Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's secretary of education, says a friend tells him that the only time he opens his mouth is to change feet.</p> <p>But Riordan's take on what he calls "the mess" in financing California public schools and his hopes for reform are right on.</p>

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top education adviser is calling for a complete and dramatic overhaul of the way California pays for public schools.</p> <p>Education Secretary Richard Riordan said Wednesday that in light of The Bee's recent investigation of school financing, the new Republican administration is expanding its proposals for education reform to include a new kind of student funding formula.</p>

<p>SACRAMENTO (AP) - Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan has interviewed for a top education job in the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration and is looking at homes in the state capital, according to a published report.</p> <p>Riordan, a moderate Republican who campaigned for Schwarzenegger and headed an advisory education panel for the governor-elect, could serve as education secretary or in another, less formal role, the Los Angeles Times reported in Saturday's editions. The newspaper cited two unidentified people familiar with Riordan's prospects.</p>

Sorry for the vanity. Dick Riordan was just interviewed live on Fox Newschannel and told Fox reporter Brian Wilson that Arnold needs to add new taxes to help balance the budget in California. He said Arnold also needs to tax internet sales.

Mr. KABC announced on his show last night (and the night before) that he will be on vacation tonight and that Richard Riordan would be sitting in for him. The forum of the show is pure ‘call in’. Mr KABC encouraged people to call Riordan to ask questions re: the recall, Schwarzenegger, etc. There is no mention of Riordan's hosting on either KABC.com or MrKABC.comSpecial Guest HOST....Richard Riordan September 12, 2003, Friday, 9:00PM - 12:00AM1-800-222-KABC To listen via internet: ....http://www.kabc.com/listenlive.aspTo email Mr. kabc....mrkabc@kabc.comTo visit MrKabc website: ....http://www.mrkabc.com

It was 6 p.m. when the call arrived, an hour after actor Arnold Schwarzenegger had stunned California's political establishment by announcing on "The Tonight Show" that he would run to replace Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall election. Schwarzenegger was on the line, calling potential supporters at the New Majority, the Orange County-based group of more than 100 wealthy, moderate Republicans who'd backed Richard Riordan for governor last year and encouraged the actor to take a stab at public office. Schwarzenegger, the star attraction at a New Majority gala last year, arranged for a speaker phone to be...

Bush's Terminator Robert Novak August 14, 2003 WASHINGTON -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's late decision to jump into the California recall election was made after weekend meetings to plan what was supposed to be a campaign for governor by Richard Riordan. The two men, non-conservatives and only nominal Republicans, are friends and political allies. But the multi-millionaire movie actor was disturbed by the demeanor of the multi-millionaire former mayor of Los Angeles. As Schwarzenegger later related to associates, he was unpleasantly surprised by his old friend. In their private conversation, the 73-year-old Riordan duplicated his shaky performance in losing the 2002 Republican...