Ethnic Studies Community Forum
by David Safier I just came back from the forum on Ethnic Studies held at the El Pueblo Center. Very moving. It was clear, the program is the real deal, and losing it or even watering it down would be a serious loss to Tucson in general and the students who participate in particular. Advertisement … Read more
AFS Press conference on prison privatization
by David Safier This notice for a February 15 press conference in Phoenix organized by the American Friends Service Committee is a bit early, but they're organizing carpools for Tusconans to participate, so I'm putting it up now. PRISON PRIVATIZATION PRESS CONFERENCE 2-15 The American Friends Service Committee will send delegations of volunteers to meet … Read more
Mouth-dropping data on U.S. income inequality ranking
by David Safier Let's start with the assumption that the CIA doesn't have an ax to grind against the U.S. So I'll assume the CIA World Factbook isn't going out of its way to make this country look bad. But income inequality in the U.S. looks pretty damn bad on the Factbook's Distribution of Family … Read more
High stakes tests?
by David Safier Here's a comment from Phillip D, spotlighting a recent article on education in Finland — high scorer on international tests yet virtually standardized-testing free. And recess! And art and music! And high paid teachers! (If you read the article, look at the very telling comparison between Finland and Norway.) I am encouraged … Read more
Update: Neoconfederate insurrectionists in Arizona Legislature are destroying Arizona
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: I have already told you about our de facto governor, Sen. Russell Pearce, and his attempt to revive the long since discredited "nullification" theory to effectively secede from the United States. Neoconfederate insurrectionists in Arizona Legislature revive discredited 'nullification' theory. But the Looney Tunes insanity doesn't stop there, oh nooo. Proponents, including Gov. … Read more
Is it time yet to let Tucson know about the Pearce recall effort?
by David Safier Still no mention in the Star about the effort to recall Russell Pearce. There was another story about the recall in the Republic yesterday, including this interesting information about the chair of Citizens for a Better Arizona which is pushing the effort. He's a Republican and a Mormon. Chad Snow, a Phoenix … Read more
Halal isn’t quite Kosher (and Kosher isn’t quite Halal)
by David Safier I went to an interesting talk last night by Prof. Joe Regenstein from Cornell University whose field is food science and heads the Kosher and Halal Food Institute. I know a fair amount about Jewish kosher law but very little about Muslim Halal law. Basically, they're quite similar, with Kosher law being … Read more
