Month: February 2013

The manufactured MAS crisis

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by David Safier

Tim Steller has a strong column in this morning's Star discussing the TUSD deseg decision that came down from Judge Bury. But I want to reconfigure his emphasis a bit.

[NOTE: Steller is proving to be a serious columnist. He knows his stuff and digs into his subjects laboriously like the investigative reporter he is. I'm not always going to agree with him, but I'm going to read his columns carefully because they deserve serious consideration, something that hasn't always been the case with past columnists — and I'm likely to learn something, which also hasn't always been the case with Star columnists. I should also mention, Steller and I email back and forth on occasion and talk now and then. That doesn't mean he reaches the same conclusions I do, but he listens like a good journalist should, and he brings his own informed opinions to the discussion.]

Steller's column is about the difficulty TUSD faces enacting the revised Unitary Plan, especially the part that calls for culturally relevant core courses in Mexican-American and African-American studies. He's right, it's going to be a major battle, with the pro-MAS people on one side, the Horne/Huppenthal/Republican juggernaut on the other and infinite gradations of opinions in between.

But Steller doesn't mention that this whole fight is a manufactured crisis created by Arizona's anti-Hispanic right wing, not something that sprung naturally from the MAS program or previous deseg orders.

Syrian Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

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Posted by Bob Lord The Times is reporting that the flow of Syrian refugees has reached 5,000 per day. This is a horrific humanitarian crisis. The challenges in preventing death from starvation or exposure are enormous. If you want to help, the Syrian American Alliance is doing great work. Here's the link. This is a … Read more

NNU: Where There is Struggle, Nurses Will be There (video)

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Power339-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

National Nurses United (NNU) is one of the most creative and most activist unions in the US.

Long before anyone was talking about the financial transaction tax (AKA the Robin Hood Tax), NNU and its members were in the halls of Congress– pushing for this innovative revenue-generating tax on Wall Street– and in the streets bringing attention to it.  

When Wisconsin rose up against anti-union "austerity" measures proposed by Governor Scott Walker, the nurses were there.

When the Occupy Movement needed support, the nurses were there in solidarity.

After the jump, watch a short Loneprotestor video featuring Karen Higgins, head of NNU.

Syria: Beneath The Headlines

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Posted by Bob Lord

I've always had trouble understanding the world's failure to react more quickly to genocide. Syria today is a case in point.

Very recently, I was told something that I'd not seen in the media. Apparently, the Free Syrian Army is asking for very modest help from the White House. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are prepared to provide invaluable anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry to the Free Syrian Army, but, because it is American weaponry, White House consent is required. Obama is unwilling. Reportedly, McCain doesn't want to enter the debate, becuase he is reluctant to criticize Obama on an issue of foreign policy. Huh? All McCain does is bash Obama's foreign policy.

So, how does this make sense? I really don't know, but I can think of three possibilities:

Pictures for peaceniks: Why the US military budget should be cut

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pt 10-350-flagby Pamela Powers Hannley

Remember the Super Congress? It was a gimmick that Congressional Republicans came up with after the huge debt ceiling and budget battle in August 2011.

The Super Congress was supposed to balance the US budget during the fall of 2011, but they failed to do so. As a result, the country is now facing "sequestration"– a fancy name for automatic budget cuts and tax increases that were trigger by the Super Congress' failure and the regular Congress' failure to negotiate and agree on humane budget cuts coupled with revenue-generating and economy-growing measures.

Thanks to Congressional foot-dragging, sequestration is upon us. The biggest budget that is up for trimming is the military budget. Although hawks are wringing their hands over potential cuts, the US military budget is by far the largest in the world. In fact, in 2011, the US spent more on the military than the next 13 countries combined! Wonkblog has provided great charts and background information on military spending– perfect ammunition for anyone who in more invested in peace than war. Check out it out after the jump.