Undernews For July 14, 2008
FROM THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW
Washington's Most Unofficial Source
611 Pennsylvania Ave SE #381
Washington DC 20003
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Editor: Sam Smith
14 JULY 2008
WORD
Hi, this is Senator Tom Bromwell. I can't come to the phone right now because I'm in jail. If you care to leave a
message, I'll call you back in six years. By the way, I'm doing okay. -- Recent phone message from former Maryland state senator (D-Baltimore County) as reported by the Washington Post.
Bromwell entered a federal pen in Massachusetts on July 1 to begin his sentence on racketeering and tax-crime charges.
SWAMPOODLE REPORT: WHEN WILL THE MEDIA DITCH THE RIGHTWING ECONOMIC CULT?
Sam Smith
Even before the current mortgage crisis, evidence that rightwing economic policy since Reagan has been a failure was
overwhelming. The problem was that nobody seemed to notice. In no small part, this was thanks to a media - heavily
comprised of ex-political science, history and English majors - accepting without question propaganda from the right
that, in many ways, was the same thing to economics as creationism is to evolution.
Even now, with news of collapse unavoidable, journalists try to sound intelligent by suggesting government involvement
in the rescue from two and a half decades of corporatism might be a violation of the allegedly sacred principles of the
free market. This is not an ideological matter on the media's part - after all, NPR has been a regular enabler - but
rather reflects the journalists' willingness to rely on whatever "expert" happens to be in power at the moment.
Thus, the average reader or viewer may not realize that during the glory years of the second robber baron era, things
like these have fallen significantly:
Minimum wage as percent of average wage
Real income
Real manufacturing wages
Percent of single women and mothers in the workforce
The bottom 40%'s share of national wealth
Older families with pensions.
Workers covered by defined benefit pensions.
The savings rate
US manufacturing jobs
And here are some of the things that have grown:
Top 1% share of total income
Income gap between rich and poor
Foreign debt as a percent of GDP
Age at which one can receive Social Security
Hunger
Consumer credit debt
Housing foreclosures
Severe poverty rate
With the media almost completely blacking out all but conservative economic viewpoints, the public has little idea of
how well socialism often works or how a blend of capitalism and public involvement can solve many problems, or that we
actually function on a principle Paul Soglin, the former mayor of Madison, Wisconsin, labeled lemon socialism, of which
the current bailout of the big housing insurers is a classic case and in which the capitalists both get to make money
and then get bailed out by the government when they fail.
This has been one of the media's greatest sins, one that stems from ignorance, groveling to power and infatuation with
the cliches of the moment.
Just as examples, why are we not allowed to debate regulations on credit care usury? Or an equity sharing program in
which the government helps people buy homes rather than helping the banks when the loans go bad? Or letting the
government as well as the banks print money - to be used for non-inflationary public works instead of putting
generations in debt for stupid wars?
The Republicans lack the intelligence, the Democrats lack the courage. The media can continue to contribute to our
downward economic slide or it can help introduce us the ideas, principles and approaches that will show the way out of a
quarter century of greed and stupidity parading as economic theory.
PAGE ONE MUST
NY ATTORNEY GENERAL EXPANDS EFFORT TO CENSOR INTERNET
John Timmer, Arstechnica Last month, the New York state Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, announced that a sting operation had uncovered an
indifference on the part of Internet service providers regarding complaints about child porn accessible through their
networks. Using a combination of legal threats and public shaming, Cuomo was able to get three ISPs to drop access to
the entire alt.* hierarchy of Usenet, a move that encouraged California to request similar measures. Now, in a sign that
these efforts against child porn were becoming a movement, Cuomo has announced the launch of a web site, nystopchildporn
and agreements with two more ISPs.
AOL is the subject of one of the new agreements, which isn't much of a surprise, given that its corporate sibling, Time
Warner Cable, had already signed on with Cuomo. It will apparently require no changes on its part, as CNET reports that
the company had already implemented a policy of blocking child porn access. AT is the other, and, given that it's apparently the US' largest service provider, it represents a significant
accomplishment for the AG. Apparently, AT's efforts will be as indiscriminate as those pursued by Verizon, in that they plan on blocking access to the entire
alt.binaries.* hierarchy. . .
Regardless of how you feel about Cuomo's efforts or the implementation of his agreements by the ISPs, it's difficult to
interpret the new site as anything more than an effort in self promotion. Its intent is signaled by the entry page,
which is entitled "Press Releases" and contains an animation that rotates through four photos of Cuomo announcing the
site's launch. Three of the four sentences in the draft letter to ISPs include Cuomo's name, and the fourth refers to
him by his title.
The letter is also notable for the fact that it no longer focuses on the actual accessibility of child porn via the ISP,
and instead simply requests they join in Cuomo's campaign. The rapid shift of focus from an identifiable problem to a
high-publicity campaign seems as likely to produce cynicism as it is to lead to progress on the underlying issue.
TELCOM IMMUNITY VIOLATES CONSTITUION'S BAN ON EX POST FACTO LAWS
Stephen Neitzke, Populist America No matter the blizzard of bullshit from the elite channels of discourse -- political party bosses, law school
professors, CEOs, and sundry dignitaries -- there is no such thing as legal retroactive immunity for crimes already
committed. The Constitution does not say, "We don't like ex post facto law, but Congress can go ahead and pass it, and
then let the courts sort things out." The Constitution says, "No ex post facto law . . . shall be passed". Any and all
retroactive immunity for crimes already committed would require ex post facto law. And ex post facto law is
unconstitutional, anti-Constitutional, and blatantly illegal. No ifs, ands, or buts.
SOUTH AFRICAN APARTHEID VETERANS VISIT OCCUPIED PALESTINE, FIND THINGS THEY NEVER HAD TO FACE
Donald Macintyre, Independent, UK Veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle said last night that the restrictions endured by Palestinians in the
Israeli-occupied territories was in some respects worse than that imposed on the black majority under white rule in
South Africa.
Members of a 23-strong human-rights team of prominent South Africans cited the impact of the Israeli military's
separation barrier, checkpoints, the permit system for Palestinian travel, and the extent to which Palestinians are
barred from using roads in the West Bank.
After a five-day visit to Israel and the Occupied Territories, some delegates expressed shock and dismay at conditions
in the Israeli-controlled heart of Hebron. Uniquely among West Bank cities, 800 settlers now live there and segregation
has seen the closure of nearly 3,000 Palestinian businesses and housing units. Palestinian cars (and in some sections
pedestrians) are prohibited from using the once busy streets.
"Even with the system of permits, even with the limits of movement to South Africa, we never had as much restriction on
movement as I see for the people here," said an ANC parliamentarian, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge of the West Bank. "There
are areas in which people would live their whole lifetime without visiting because it's impossible."
Mrs Madlala-Routledge, a former deputy health minister in President Thabo Mbeki's government, added: "While I want to be
careful not to characterize everything that I see here as apartheid, I just do find comparisons in a number of places. I
also find differences."
Comparisons with apartheid have long been anathema to majority Israeli opinion, though they have been somewhat less
taboo since the Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, last year warned that without an early two-state agreement Israel
could face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights.
Fatima Hassan, a leading South African human rights lawyer, said: "The issue of separate roads, [different registration]
of cars driven by different nationalities, the indignity of producing a permit any time a soldier asks for it, and of
waiting in long queues in the boiling sun at checkpoints just to enter your own city, I think is worse than what we
experienced during apartheid." She was speaking after the tour, which included a visit to the Holocaust Museum at Yad
Vashem and a meeting with Israel's Chief Justice, Dorit Beinisch.
One prominent member of the delegation, who declined to be named, said South Africa had been "much poorer" both during
and after apartheid than the Palestinian territories. But he added: "The daily indignity to which the Palestinian
population is subjected far outstrips the apartheid regime. And the effectiveness with which the bureaucracy implements
the repressive measures far exceed that of the apartheid regime.". . .
Andrew Feinstein, a former ANC parliament member, said that the visit to Yad Vashem had been "extremely moving" because
his mother had been a Holocaust survivor who lost many members of her family. "As you walk into Yad Vashem you see a
quote that says in effect you should know a country not only by what it does but what it tolerates," he said. "So I
found it very shocking to then come and here and see footage of teenagers heaping abuse on Palestinian children as they
come out of school, and throwing stones at them. And that this should be done in the name of Judaism I find totally
reprehensible.
"What the Holocaust teaches us more than anything else is that we must never turn our heads away in the face of
injustice."
SAUDIS SEND MIXED MESSAGES ABOUT THEIR OIL SUPPLY
We have received this note from a reader with extensive experience - both governmental and scholarly - in the field of
energy:
Recently and whatever their intentions, the Saudis have been sending mixed messages about their future crude-oil
production.
(1] In March, the King said that discoveries of new reservoirs of crude oil must be reserved for future generations.
[2] In June, Oil & Gas Journal tabulated Saudi projects recently completed or close to completion which would add more than four million
barrels per day to Saudi capacity. [ No mention of the rates of decline for reservoirs already in production. ]
[3] The same report stated that production from these projects will peak in 2008 or 2010. In other words, production
will begin to decline very soon after the projects are completed. This is very strange. Do these projects represent acts
of desperation?
[4] In June, Saudi officials announced a national goal of increasing capacity to 12.5 million barrels, with the
possibility of 15 million barrels later on, "if necessary" to meet world demand. This is from a current level reported
as 9.5 million barrels.
[5] Now comes Business Week and says that Saudi production of crude oil will peak in 2010 at only 12 million barrels per
day. Moreover, this level can only be sustained for short periods of time. The sustainable level will peak at 10.4
million barrels. The source of this information is said to be Saudi sources who are both reliable and have access to
statistics for individual reservoirs.
Whatever the truth of the matter, the most important news is that which has not been reported. After five decades of
official optimism, of portraying Saudi Arabia as the cornucopia of crude oil, there is no longer any certainty nor even
a coherent party line about its future capacity. And without Saudi Arabia as the cornucopia, the illusion of oil forever
has been shattered forever.
Of the 80 plus countries with significant crude-oil production, 63 admit that theirs is in permanent decline, including
Mexico, the North Sea countries and the USA. Meanwhile, expansion of production in Iran, Iraq, Nigeria and Russia is on
hold for political reasons, while the Saudis say that Iran and Nigeria cannot expand in any case.
With so many errors, omissions and bald-faced lies in oil statistics, I still doubt that we can pinpoint the year of the
peak in world crude-oil production. But more than ever, we can be sure that it is coming and coming sooner than a lot of
people think.
OBAMA WILL GET THE TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ. . . EXCEPT FOR THE ONES HE LEAVES THERE
Progressive Review - Although Barack Obama is commonly described as the candidate who would end the war in Iraq and remove our troops, the
reality appears to be somewhat different. For example, in a July 14 New York times op ed, Obama wrote, "As I've said
many times, we must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely redeploy our combat
brigades at a pace that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 - two years from now, and more
than seven years after the war began. After this redeployment, a residual force in Iraq would perform limited missions:
going after any remnants of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, protecting American service members and, so long as the Iraqis make
political progress, training Iraqi security forces. That would not be a precipitous withdrawal."
Leaving aside the remarkable circularity of leaving troops in Iraq to protect "American service members" and the fact
that we went to Afghnistan to go after remnants of Al Qaeda, Obama's plans leave unclear just how large his force will
be.
Democracy Now, Feb 28 - Jeremy Scahill reports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will not "rule out" using private military
companies like Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. Obama also has no plans to sign on to legislation that seeks to ban the use
of these forces in US war zones by January 2009. Despite their antiwar rhetoric, both Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton
have adopted the congressional Democratic position that would leave open the option of keeping tens of thousands of US
troops in Iraq for many years.
Eli Lake, NY Sun, April 4 - A key adviser to Senator Obama's campaign is recommending in a confidential paper that America keep between 60,000 and
80,000 troops in Iraq as . . . The paper, obtained by The New York Sun, was written by Colin Kahl for the center-left
Center for a New American Security. In "Stay on Success: A Policy of Conditional Engagement," Mr. Kahl writes that
through negotiations with the Iraqi government "the U.S. should aim to transition to a sustainable over-watch posture
(of perhaps 60,000–80,000 forces) by the end of 2010 (although the specific timelines should be the byproduct of
negotiations and conditions on the ground).". . .
Mr. Kahl's approach would call on the remaining troops in Iraq to play an "over-watch role." The term is used by
Multinational Forces Iraq to describe the long term goal of the coalition force presence in the country, Mr. Kahl said
in an interview.
"It refers to the U.S. being out of the lead, largely in a support role. It doesn't mean the U.S. does not do things
like targeted counterterrorism missions or continue to train and advise the Iraqis," he said. "It would not be 150,000
Americans taking the lead in counterinsurgency."
Mr. Obama's policy to date also allows for a residual force for Iraq. In early Iowa debates, the senator would not
pledge to remove all soldiers from Iraq, a distinction from his promise to withdraw all combat brigades. Also, Mr. Obama
has stipulated that he would be open to having the military train the Iraqi Security Forces if he received guarantees
that those forces would not be the shock troops of one side of an Iraqi civil war.
AMY GOODMAN: Senator Obama, quick question: 70 percent of Iraqis say they want the US to withdraw completely; why don't
you call for a total withdrawal?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, I do, except for our embassy. I call for amnesty and protecting our civilian contractors there.
AMY GOODMAN: You've said a residual force-
SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Yeah, but-
AMY GOODMAN: -which means [inaudible] thousands [inaudible].
SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Well, no. I mean, I don't think that you've read exactly what I've said. What I said is that we do
need to have a strike force in the region. It doesn't necessarily have to be in Iraq; it could be in Kuwait or other
places. But we do have to have some presence in order to not only protect them, but also potentially to protect their
territorial integrity.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you call for a ban on the private military contractors like Blackwater?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I've actually-I'm the one who sponsored the bill that called for the investigation of Blackwater in
[inaudible], so-
AMY GOODMAN: But would you support the Sanders one now?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA: Here's the problem: we have 140,000 private contractors right there, so unless we want to replace all
of or a big chunk of those with US troops, we can't draw down the contractors faster than we can draw down our troops.
So what I want to do is draw-I want them out in the same way that we make sure that we draw out our own combat troops.
Alright?
JEREMY SCAHILL, DEMOCRACY NOW: I started looking at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's Iraq plans, and one of the things
that I discovered is that both of them intend to keep the Green Zone intact. Both of them intend to keep the current US
embassy project, which is slated to be the largest embassy in the history of the world. . . . I think it's 500 CIA
operatives alone, a thousand personnel. And they're also going to keep open the Baghdad airport indefinitely. And what
that means is that even though the rhetoric of withdrawal is everywhere in the Democratic campaign, we're talking about
a pretty substantial level of US forces and personnel remaining in Iraq indefinitely. . .
Obama is saying he wants to keep the embassy. Obama is saying he wants to keep the Green Zone. Obama is saying he wants
to keep the Baghdad airport. Who's guarding US diplomats right now at this largest embassy in the history of the world?
Well, it's Blackwater, Triple Canopy and DynCorp; it's these private security companies. . . And so, the situation right
now is that Obama seems to have painted himself into a corner on this issue, . . .
JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, let me ask you, in terms of this whole issue of mercenaries in general, I mean, are we facing the
possibility that a Democratic president would in essence reduce the troops but increase the mercenaries?
JEREMY SCAHILL: . . . Joseph Schmitz, who's one of the leading executives in the Blackwater empire, recently said this:
"There is a scenario where we could as a government, the United States, could pull back the military footprint, and
there would then be more of a need for private contractors to go in." So apparently these contractors see a silver
lining in that scenario. You know, the reality is, right now, that these forces are one of the most significant threats
to Iraqis in the country. I mean, we've seen scores of incidents where they've shot at them, etc.
AFGHANISTAN TO REMAIN COLONY OF U.S.
Washington Post Congress has quietly used fiscal 2008 legislation on military construction to signal that it plans on a long-term
military presence in Afghanistan. In the recently approved supplemental funding bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,
legislators approved construction of a $62 million ammunition storage facility at Afghanistan's Bagram Air Base, where
12 planned "igloos" will support Army and Air Force needs. "As a forward operating site, Bagram must be able to provide
for a long term, steady state presence which is able to surge to meet theater contingency requirements," the Army said
in requesting the money. . .
In another sign that U.S. troops will be there a long time, the Army requested, and Congress provided, $41 million for a
30-megawatt power plant at Bagram. It is capable of generating enough electricity for a town of more than 20,000 homes.
On the other hand, Congress eliminated the Army's request for $184 million to build power plants at five bases in Iraq.
Those are to be among the final bases and support locations where troops, aircraft and equipment will be consolidated as
the U.S. military presence is reduced.
WORLD'S FORESTS THREATENED BY POPULATION GROWTH
New Scientist Two reports [say] that booming demand for food, fuel and wood as the world's population surges from 6 to 9 billion will
put unprecedented and unsustainable demand on the world's remaining wooded ecosystems.
"Arguably, we are on the verge of the last great global land grab," says Andy White, co-author of Seeing People Through
the Trees, one of the two reports which are both published by Rights and Resources Initiative, a US organization.
White's report said that unless agricultural productivity rises sharply, new land equivalent in size to 12 times the
area of Germany will have to be cultivated for crops to meet food and biofuel demand by 2030.
Virtually all of it is likely to be in developing countries, principally land that is currently forested.
"Unless steps are taken, traditional forest owners, and the forests themselves, will be the big losers," says White. "It
will mean more deforestation, more conflict, more carbon emissions, more climate change and less prosperity for
everyone."
The second report, From Exclusion to Ownership, notes that governments still claim ownership of most forests in
developing countries, but says they have done little to ensure the rights and tenure of forest dwellers.
It says people whose main source of livelihood is the forests were usually the best custodians of the forests and their
biodiversity.
STUPID POLICE CHIEF TRICKS: MAKING SAGGY PANTS A CRIME
Ben Schmitt, Detroit Free Press Flint residents now have to watch their butts because Police Chief David Dicks is on the lookout. Dicks, who took over
the department last month on an interim basis, announced that his officers would start arresting people wearing saggy
pants that expose skivvies, boxer shorts or bare bottoms.
"Some people call it a fad," Dicks told the Free Press this week while patrolling the streets of Flint. "But I believe
it's a national nuisance. It is indecent and thus it is indecent exposure, which has been on the books for years."
On June 27, the chief issued a departmental memorandum telling officers: "This immoral self expression goes beyond
freedom of expression."
The crime, he says, is disorderly conduct or indecent exposure, both misdemeanors punishable by 93 days to a year in
jail and/or fines up to $500.
Dicks, 41, broke down his interpretation of the laws as such: Pants pulled completely below the buttocks with underwear
showing is disorderly conduct; saggy pants with skin of the buttocks showing is indecent exposure, and saggy pants, not
completely below the buttocks, with underwear exposed results in a warning.
The American Civil Liberties Union is already scrutinizing the enforcement, something Dicks fully expected. But he said
he's not backing down until the pants stop falling down. . .
On Monday, a Free Press reporter and videographer rode with the chief as he confronted teens sporting the sag look. He
issued verbal warnings to several people and said the style also gives police probable cause to search those wearing
no-rise jeans.
As he drove through Flint's north and east sides, he flipped on the flashing lights of his departmental-issued Chevy
Tahoe as he stopped a shirtless young man walking in the street with saggy shorts and exposed boxers.
"Did you hear about the law?" the chief asked.
"I heard about it the other day," the man responded.
"I'm gonna issue a warning. I need you to get a belt because it's indecent exposure," the chief said to the
twentysomething man on Delaware and N. Franklin. "Spread the word, put your shirt on and don't expose your underwear.".
. .
"If I pay for my pants, I should be able to wear them how I want to," said 16-year-old Montez Phifer, taking a break
from playing hoops in the city Monday. "Everyone thinks it's gangster, but it's a fashion. Nothing more."
His friend, Lorenzo Johnson, 14, said his mother warned him about the chief's stance on sagging.
"I pulled them up to respect her," he said. "When she left I pulled them back down."
Another friend, Senita Abrams, 18, said: "I think it's cute when boys sag.". . .
Greg Gibbs, a lawyer and chair of the ACLU Flint chapter, said the crackdown sounds like a "vast waste of resources."
"We are concerned that the enforcement of the chief's memo may lead to some constitutional violations on a case-by-case
basis due to the failure of his memo to define what constitutes indecent exposure," Gibbs said. "From a First Amendment
standpoint, I still have to crack the books to find out what the courts have said on this issue.". . .
TEACHERS UNION CALLS FOR END OF NO CHILD LAW
George N Schmidt, Substance - In a major address to the 3,000 delegates to the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers, outgoing
president Ed McElroy announced that the union was no longer in favor of tinkering with the federal "No Child Left
Behind" law and called for the abolition of NCLB.
According to the press release summarizing McElroy's remarks: "McElroy pledged that the AFT would work with the next
president to move beyond the No Child Left Behind Act (which he called 'an idea whose time has gone') to 'create a new
education law that respects the knowledge of classroom professionals and helps teachers and paraprofessionals provide
our students with the high-quality education they deserve."
To the loudest cheers of his valedictory speech, McElroy repeated that No Child Left Behind cannot be repaired, and had
to be replaced. . .
When No Child Left Behind was originally proposed by the administration of President George W. Bush in 2002, it received
widespread bipartisan support, including the support of U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy (D, MA) and U.S. Representative
George Miller (D, CA), who at the time were the ranking minority leaders in the Senate and House on matters of
education. Senator Kennedy stood beside President Bush at the signing of NCLB.
AFT long maintained in public that NCLB was basically an "unfunded" mandate, and publicly clamored for more funding for
NCLB. Kennedy and Miller followed their lead. When NCLB came up for reauthorization in 2007, however, widespread
national opposition to the law was even heard inside the Beltway in Washington, D.C., and at the offices of the two
national teacher unions . . . By mid-2007, it was clear that NCLB was in trouble, and even its staunchest supporters
inside the Democratic Party were being forced to retreat. Rep. Miller returned to his home district in California to
find himself followed by teachers and others who were actively opposing NCLB. . .
By the summer of 2007, two of the contenders for the nomination (U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Governor
Richardson of New Mexico) told people across the county that there were opposed to NCLB, and that the law should be
eliminated. The two leading contenders for the Democratic Party nomination -- New York Senator Hillary Clinton and
Illinois Senator Barack Obama -- were less emphatic in their opposition to the renewal of NCLB. Both continued
throughout the 2008 primary season to discuss NCLB as if it might be improved, and not simply eliminated. . .
Although U.S. Senator Barack Obama appeared before a high-priced fundraiser at one of the two main convention hotels on
the night of July 11, his campaign has continued to announce that his address to the AFT will be by satellite, as he
addressed the NEA two weeks earlier. Many at the AFT convention consider Obama's refusal to appear in person before the
convention a personal snub. Chicago's teachers were among the first supporters Obama had when he was gathering support
for the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2003 and early 2004. In fact, without the support of the
Illinois Federation of Teachers, Obama would not have received the backing of the Cook County Democratic Party and the
junior senator from Illinois today would be Dan Hynes, a member of a prominent Democratic Party family in Chicago who
was the early favorite in 2003 for the nomination. By July 11, there was some speculation that Obama was reconsidering
his decision to snub the AFT as he had snubbed the NEA by refusing to appear in person.
LOCAL HEROES: SOME WHO HAVE STOOD UP AGAINST SCHOOL TEST MANIA
Fair Test Examiner Individual teachers, parents and students sometimes respond to high-stakes testing by putting themselves on the line:
- Carl Chew, a 60-year-old sixth grade science teacher from Seattle, wrestled annually with his conscience about
administering the Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests to his students. "Each year I would give the WASL, and
I would promise myself I would never do it again," he said. "I decided, 'I'm not going to wimp out this time.'" His
refusal resulted in a nine-day unpaid suspension along with accolades from parents and teachers around the nation. Chew
explained his reasons in a Seattle Post Intelligencer commentary: "I performed this single act of civil disobedience
based on personal moral and ethical grounds, as well as professional duty. I believe that the WASL is destructive to our
children, teachers, schools, and parents. . . "
- North Carolina special education teacher Doug Ward could no longer bring himself to give the state's alternative
assessments to his students with severe disabilities. He was fired for his act of civil disobedience this spring. Ward,
who had been teaching special needs students for three years, said he did not want to give a test to his students that
was invalid and that they could not pass. "Someone needs to use a little common sense and say, 'I am just not going to
do it,'" Ward said. Like Chew, Ward has received support from parents, colleagues and the community. Bob Williams, whose
son Kyle was taught by Ward, said he admires his son's teacher for what he did, and that the test doesn't measure what
Kyle has learned. "If you ask me as a parent is (Kyle) succeeding, you are darn right he is succeeding," Williams said.
"When he started third grade, he couldn't walk down the hall. When he started school as a kindergartner, he was in a
wheelchair. Now he can walk down the hall on his own. The test doesn't test that."
- Parent Craig Haller of Brookline, Mass., whose daughter Hannah is a high school freshman with severe disabilities, has
launched an exhaustive effort to exempt his daughter from the state test and alternative assessment. State authorities
failed to respond to his many requests that 15-year-old Hannah not be tested because she is unable to communicate and
her individualized education plan does not align with the state curriculum frameworks. Haller contacted every local and
state official he could find and alerted the news media. . . In a letter to state Commissioner of Education Mitchell
Chester, Haller wrote, "She will experience heightened stress and anxiety at the time of the exam by not being
physically able to respond to any part of the exam. She will experience loss of self esteem and self image by completely
and totally failing an exam that is not designed to test or assess her knowledge but the mastery of the Massachusetts
curriculum frameworks."
- Virtually the entire 8th grade of a South Bronx, New York City, middle school boycotted a practice version of the
state exam. Their teacher was disciplined for supposedly fomenting the rebellion. The 160 students from six classes at
Intermediate School 318 handed in blank answer sheets rather than take a three-hour practice round of the state social
studies exam. "We've had a whole bunch of these diagnostic tests all year," said 13-year-old Tatiana Nelson. "They don't
even count toward our grades. The school system's just treating us like test dummies for the companies that make the
exams."
The students also submitted a petition to school authorities saying they were tired of the "constant, excessive and
stressful testing" that takes time from instruction. The students insisted the boycott was their idea, but
administrators blamed Douglas Avella, the students' probationary social studies teacher, and reassigned him to New
York's notorious "rubber room" for teachers accused of various kinds of misconduct. "Now they've taken away the teacher
we love only a few weeks before our real state exam for social studies," Nelson said. "How does that help us?"
- St. Lucie County, Florida high school Assistant Principal Teri Pinney resigned from her position in June rather than
comply with her principal's request that she suspend students for sleeping or "Christmas Treeing" (filling in bubbles to
make a pattern) during state testing and other requests she believes were unethical. Neither Pinney nor another
assistant principal complied, but the principal suspended the students. Pinney said, "Two of the kids he suspended were
good students, never got in trouble, and had excellent attendance. They were children of migrant Mexican workers. The
parents pleaded with me and I gave in and lifted the suspensions. Of course, that opposition with my boss got me in
trouble." In a newspaper commentary, Pinney expressed her dismay at the role played by testing in schools today: "I
believe that misuse or overuse of standardized testing is creating a maddening race for everybody to that elusive
finishing line."
GREEN PARTY PICKS MCKINNEY AS ITS CANDIDATE
Reuters The U.S. Green Party, which captured far less than 1 percent of the vote in the last presidential election, chose
former Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney as its 2008 presidential candidate on Saturday.
McKinney, 53, will be joined on the ticket for the November election by vice presidential candidate Rosa Clemente, a
hip-hop artist and activist. . In 2004, the Green Party drew 119,859 votes, or 0.1 percent of the total, finishing in
sixth place behind the two major parties and three other third-party tickets.
The party's best performance came in 2000 when Ralph Nader headed the ticket, and won 2.8 million votes, or 2.7 percent
of the total. . . McKinney served six terms in Congress and lost her 2006 bid for re-election. She was the first black
woman to represent Georgia in the U.S. House of Representatives.
READER COMMENTS
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MCCAIN AS TOAST
I'm reading Karp's Indispensable Enemies right now and it may be - if I follow Karp´s analysis - that the Republican organization has
decided that McCain is to lose anyway and that is why he was selected. The Republicans don't want to win because then
the problems would have to be dealt with that were in part created by them, but heavily supported by Democrats. Now if
he goes too badly - sort of like McGovern in 1972 - that could pose problems. But if not as bad, well that would be
preferable for them. On the Democratic side - following Karp again - the Democratic organization wants to win but not
win overwhelmingly because that would put their organization at risk, make it harder to control the politicians, and
give some hope for a change or many changes in the political landscape. Obama is tacking to center and right to recover
from collecting support for those who want substantial change and hence it is time to dump them. By moving right he can
claim that he cannot win without moving right and hence, if and when in power, has hamstrung himself. Pelosi and Reid
(and the majority of Democrats) colluded so much with Bush that to become unstuck would raise issues of substantial
change. Better to treat the voting public cynically and in turn be treated cynically. Makes for status quo. - Rick
Harkin
Well written. You have successfully explained how America became a fascist state. Yet you incredibly believe that the production of
MBA graduates is the cause of this. Perhaps one should think of that as another effect of the wide ranging and idiotic
evolution of our government from caretaker of freedom to nanny and tyrant.
In other words, our economy (and nation) are in trouble not because young people see the future in the MBA or because
the university creates an MBA program, but because the drive for an ever more powerful national nanny to guard us from
every worry and relieve us of every responsibility forces us to major in business or management and schools to
standardize education.
In other words, it is all the natural result of a massive federal monarchy which, in essence, now "owns" everything.
Clark is too close to the Clinton/Arkansas political scene and as such would be a liability on the ticket. I think that Barry and the Dems
know this, as well. It is more than likely that they have trotted out old Wes to do what he does best, be the hit man.
Look at his past accomplishments in the service of the Clintons and the DLC. His tanks rolled on Waco, he pulverized the
citizenry of Kosovo for 70+ nights, he managed to derail the Howard Dean candidacy, and now they have him making bad for
John McCain.
Obama would be wise to avoid further diluting the Democratic position in the Senate by choosing a running mate from
there. For the time being my money is on Governor Richardson of New Mexico. Not only does he help solidify the Hispanic
vote, being from a Southwestern state he'll be able to negate to some extent McCain's appeal on his home turf. He's also
as versed as Barry with the mock progressive spiel, so liberals will think they're getting something out of the deal.
Big money and the real brokers of power will respect his family connections to the Mayflower, old fashioned business as
usual, and of course, Citibank, so they'll know they're getting something out of the deal.
In all seriousness, when the USA acknowledges and atones for the atrocities it has committed throughout history, learns from history, and
ceases to commit such atrocities, then I'll be feeling good about America again. Start with the genocide of Native
Americans, the graves of which the USA's "birthday" is built. Until then, even non-politicized small-town celebrations
are not enough to erase and heal the uncomfortable historical truths that so many choose to ignore.
It is clear the Boston PD are a bunch thugs and jerks. They've been a bunch of thugs and jerks for as long as memory serves.
They've continually demonstrated little interest with regard to the legitimate service of up-holding the law.
It is also true that Boston sports fans are given to moments of savage behavior. So mix in a Celtics victory, a group of
testosterone poisoned young men pounding down beers all night, still at it and saying stupid shit, a bunch of neurotic
power-crazed cops, and there's the perfect recipe for an incident.
When in Boston during a sporting frenzy, mind your own business and watch what you say. It's probably also a good idea
to leave the Yankee hats home.
Nowhere in the Boston Globe story, nor the police charges, nor the Commissioner's statement was it alleged that he was
"mouthing off." What is not in dispute is that he was killed at the hands of the police. Neither drinking in public nor
"mouthing off" carry the death penalty in the U.S. Common sense would be to jail police who abuse their power to
properly ensure public safety. Seems that common sense isn't so common any more.
More words of advice, coming from a Boston resident just waiting to get the hell out: stay away from Boston athletic events. The Celtics, the
Socks, and heck, even the Pats all help to make this rude, violent and--above all--stupid city all the more rude,
violent and stupid. Everyone in this city is always itching for a fight, and the booze and testosterone that accompanies
athletic events around here just compound matters. It's too bad; Boston is a beautiful city with a great history and
lots of opportunity. Unfortunately, a culture of rank meanness has taken over, and the city is being held back from its
potential glory as a result.
Of course the wind blows hard in Washington environs, but you left out two of Barack's best "friends": Jeremiah Wright and Hilary Clinton. One he
abandoned for expediency and the other he embraced for the same reason.
That's too bad for these rich people. Maybe there should be some sort of affirmative action for them so that they don't have to go
through this humiliation.
There is and G. W. Bush took advantage of it. If your parents went to an Ivy League school, there is a place reserved for you there regardless of your grades or
what prep school you went to.
Having lived in Northern California, I can attest that the region has some of the most enlightened laws and policies regarding conservation anywhere. This
is particularly true regarding issues surrounding water usage. Sacramento is no exception. So, there has got to be more
to this story, something doesn't ring quite true.
The source of the story is the Sacramento Bee, a once fine and respected newspaper gobbled up by the McClatchy Company.
That ought to be enough to raise a few caution flags any discriminating reader.
For one thing there's a good chance the editors of this very story have never even seen Sacramento as McClatchy has been
'outsourcing' editorial duties of the paper to India.
McClatchy papers are also given to sensationalism and distortion. Such is the case with the article at hand.
Should one choose to read the complete story, somewhere among the last few sentences it is revealed that the Hartridges
didn't just allow their lawn to go into dormancy, they tore it out completely in 2005 and were cited then for having
inadequate ground cover---the yard was bare dirt. The most recent citation has been given because the front yard is
still bare dirt---their efforts at establishing a new having repeatedly failed. The Hartridges had claimed they
initially wanted to plant a vegetable garden in the front yard. Extrapolating from the results of their efforts with
grass one can only imagine what that garden was like.
Conclusion: Not everybody has a green thumb, and maybe, it was true that the Hartridges' yard represented a genuine
eyesore for nearly three years and they were rightfully cited for failing to maintain their property.
HAPPIEST COUNTRY
Re: Denmark is the happiest country in the world. Given the peril to the planet, humankind and individual freedom represented by the corporate dominated
neocon governments of US, UK,WB, IMF, NATO, et al, I'm not sure "don't worry, be happy" is a good survival mechanism.
Isn't it also possible that Cargill, ADM, and ConAgra just happened to decide that they ought to raise prices because they can? When three or
four transnational companies control nearly 90% of a market they can do whatever they want. Who's going to stop them?
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