Written and edited by Norm Scott:
EDUCATE! ORGANIZE!! MOBILIZE!!!
Three pillars of The Resistance – providing information on current ed issues, organizing activities around fighting for public education in NYC and beyond and exposing the motives behind the education deformers. We link up with bands of resisters. Nothing will change unless WE ALL GET INVOLVED IN THE STRUGGLE!
Wonderful honesty by our governor -- first time I've heard this said other than by critics of the UFT leadership. And despite looking pretty bad at times Nixon did a good job in defending the right to strike with this point -- if the unions don't have public support the strike will fail.
In this light I also want to point to another voice that is for the right to strike: Libertarian Mike Antonucci, who is critical of teacher unions. His answer is not 2 for 1 penalties but to not have make-up days. His assumption being that not getting paid will cause people to cave. Interesting given labor history. I wonder how long people would accept having kids out of school? But then again, how long would the public support a teacher strike if it lasts a long time.
School Scope: Shsat Testocracy, More on Socialism, Trump complaints on press
By Norm Scott
There were so many issues to cover this week and I took so long deciding on what to write about I ran out of time. I wanted to continue the series examining the center-left and some of the misunderstandings, especially since after a half century of the sharks circling to bite off your head at the mention of the word it has been safe to go back into the water and talk about socialism. Before I point you to a few articles in the NY Times, let me say that those who equate liberalism and socialism because they are viewed as “left” are absolutely wrong in their assumptions. As they are in equating social democracy and socialists who are Marxists and Leninists and Trotskyists. I don’t have the space here so if interested check out a wiki near you.
The NYT August 26th Sunday Review had this front page item: “The New Socialists: The argument against capitalism isn’t that it makes us poor. It’s that it makes us unfree.” What an interesting twist, arguing that socialism offers more freedom than capitalism. This is about the workers not the bosses, who have a lot of freedom. In our vaunted democracy, exactly how much freedom to employees have? The only protections for workers are unions and they are being pushed into extinction. One of the interesting ideas on the table is to put worker reps on corporate boards – that corporations don’t owe allegiance only to shareholders and the executives at the top. Check it out at: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/opinion/sunday/what-socialism-looks-like-in-2018.html.
Shsat is not a dirty word, though the NY Times shat on it
So, what is the Shsat? It is the test used for generations to get into the elite schools here in NYC.
De Blasio has been trying to kill the test as the sole means of admission to these schools. There are a lot of nuances to this story, including the Asian community, which gains a lion share of the positions despite being a relatively low percentage of the population, has strongly objected. Black and Hispanic children have gotten less and less seats as the Asian community has expanded. I would expect the NYT to support the tests but they have been taking a closer look. Read: James B. Stewart’s Should These Tests Get a Failing Grade?
We have mail
Dr. Harold Paez sent a letter to The WAVE on its editorial regarding the Trump criticism of the press and objected strongly. I have always objected to the way the mainstream press covers many issues, especially education which is something I know about. So, yes, there are legitimate reasons to be critical of the press. But Paez’ cries over how poorly Trump is treated made me laugh out loud. And we all could use a good laugh, so thank you doc and keep ‘em coming.
Norm never cries over how Trump is treated at ednotesonline.com
Published Friday August 24, 2018 - www.rockawave.com
School Scope: The NY
Times Tackles Socialism – Oy!
By Norm Scott
When I read articles or talk to people not attuned to “the
left” or “progressivism” I find those who are not on the right are being lumped
into the same category of leftist – I even see the NY Times as being branded as
“left.” The major media has been mocked as being anti-left by the hard core
left since I first came in contact with active leftists in the early 70s. A guy
who had become my good friend, after only knowing him for a few months, told me
he was a communist and his parents were too – he was what is known as a red
diaper baby. I was astounded – I was a classic liberal at the time. Since
Stalin, liberals have generally been opposed to communism and socialism because
nations who called themselves such had histories of denials of individual
rights and suppression of critics. Liberals are savaged by many on the left.
The NY Times has had a recent spate of columns and articles
on the Bernie Sanders brand of socialism, known as social democracy. Paul
Krugman, far from being a radical leftist, had disparaged Bernie Sanders
throughout the 2016 election and beyond. His August 17, 2018 column (Something
Not Rotten in Denmark https://tinyurl.com/y9q8n4do)
was a reversal of sorts where he examined the state of Denmark, a paragon of
social democracy, which had been lumped in on FOX News to Venezuela. Calling
that fake news would be a kindness. Krugman gave Denmark a very favorable
report. Here’s a small portion:
American politics has
been dominated by a crusade against big government; Denmark has embraced an
expansive government role, with public spending more than half of G.D.P. American politicians
fear talk about redistribution of income from the rich to the less well-off;
Denmark engages in such redistribution on a scale unimaginable here. American
policy has been increasingly hostile to organized labor, and unions have
virtually disappeared from the private sector; two-thirds of Danish workers are
unionized.
Apparently the election of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has
galvanized attention for social democrats. I guess Bernie was looked as an old
lefty grouch, but when a pretty 28-year old says she is a socialist, the media
goes nuts. Chris Cuomo was no less aggressive than his brother in questioning
her on CNN and her intelligent response on the costs of health care shut him
up. See the video: https://tinyurl.com/y8w5ejk9.
Social Democrats are viewed by segments of the radical left
as being to the right because they support liberal democracy and multi-party
systems and elements of capitalism. Last week I touched on some of the
differences between Marxists, Leninists and others with the SDs and I’ve been
reading historical works going back to the last half of the 19th
century and up to the 1917 Russian Revolution on the differences.
Understanding historical context on almost every issue on
the table today is crucial to gaining a deeper understanding. When history and
context are ignored or swept under the rug, we are dealing with versions of
tainted news. We may disagree on interpretation, but let’s at least have all
the facts- as long as we can agree when
a fact is in fact a fact, which in today’s world of “truth not being truth” may
be a hard case to prove.
Read Norm’s version of The Truth at ednotesonline.com
Liberals
have lost their minds over Trump and, unable to deal honestly or
realistically with the politics he represents, are happy to valorize
and get in bed with the professional liars in the intelligence
agencies... Michael Fiorillo
It’s
weird to live in a society in which launching an illegal $2 trillion
war based on lies that kills 100s of thousands of people is seen as
totally fine & not even an impediment to a high-profile pundit
career, but possibly paying $100K hush money to a porn star is
impeachable.... David Sirota on Twitter
My wife and I had just seen the Yiddish language version of Fidler... yesterday afternoon at the Jewish Memorial Museum. Lots of food for thought on immigrants, pogroms, authoritarian rule, etc. And later at dinner we talked about the excitement at the possible impeachment of Trump or end to his rule. We both said "Pence, hell no!" He would be more likely to win in 2020 than Trump would. Our best bet is to prop Trump up for as long as we can so we can bring back the Democratic crooks.
Does Trump make Bush and people like John Brennan and drone king and deporter in chief Obama look good? Hell no. Was Hillary and Bill crooks? Hell yes. Underlying some of Trump's lies and attacks are kernels of truth.
Michael Fiorillo posted the Sirota tweet and comments:
Grifters and war criminals of the McResistance... They may bring down Trump, but Trumpismo will remain, and emerge more dangerous in the future, with someone more competent and disciplined...
Liberals have lost their minds over Trump and, unable to deal honestly or realistically with the politics he represents, are happy to valorize and get in bed with the professional liars in the intelligence agencies...
Past
contract negotiations have been about wages and benefits, but the union
under Lewis and Sharkey also has emphasized broader issues. Their caucus, called CORE, believes the teachers union should lead in the battle against the privatization of public education.... WBEZ News, Chicago
I am going to be doing a batch of blogs on the various social justice teacher groups around the nation, not as a fan boy as so many on the left seem to be, but with an eye towards analysis. The three biggest cities - NYC, Chicago and LA all have versions of social justice groups, with the latter in control of the union while MORE in NYC has made little progress and in fact I would say it has gone backwards since its founding in 2012 as an outcome of the victory of CORE in Chicago in 2010. I found this comment interesting:
Lewis
and her leadership team became a force by taking on broader social
justice issues affecting students, schools, and their members. Since
their election in 2010, they have fought for strong, equitable public
schools, peaceful neighborhoods, and affordable housing. The CTU’s
current leadership says these battles are still of the utmost
importance, but they also plan to focus squarely on bread and butter
union issues.
One of the charges in Chicago has been that the leadership was too focused on SJ and not enough on bread and butter, leading to the formation of a caucus called Members First, which will challenge CORE in the upcoming elections. We have had the same discussion in MORE here in NYC which caused so much rancor, it led to people leaving or being pushed out. (More on the MORE divides in upcoming posts.)
I will post updates on Chicago and LA teacher unions. They are of particular interest in that the leaderships of both are social justice oriented. The CTU has been run by the CORE caucus since the 2010 election, an event that inspired teacher groups around the nation to organize local caucuses. MORE in NYC is one such example. With Karen Lewis, a black woman, about to retire, VP Jesse Sharkey, a white male, is expected to take over. In the world of identity politics so dominant on the left/SJ world, this can get sticky. Thus there is some battling going on over who will be the VP and identity politics is playing a role from what I hear. The 2012 strike by the CTU was a sort of shot heard around the world in education activist circles.
In LA, I'm not clear whether there is one controlling caucus or a coalition of progressives. But Alex Caputo-Pearl, also a white male, is a strong and progressive leader and will almost definitely lead them into a strike -- as I write this Diane Ravitch just reported the strike vote was in:
Diane Ravitch's blog:
Los Angeles: Teachers Authorize Strike
-
This just in: ** MEDIA ADVISORY ** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
First up today is a story about the CTU from WBEZ News with what seems like a fairly honest assessment of where things are with the CTU where there will be an election taking place this spring at the same time there will be one here in NYC. Note this:
Emphasizing
wages and benefits, as well as firing up members around contract
negotiations, could be a strategic move for a union coming under
pressure from all sides.
Internal and external struggles
At
the moment, there’s an internal struggle in the union about how and
when to replace Lewis. Also, Lewis and Sharkey’s leadership team, which
faced so little opposition three years ago they didn’t hold an election,
looks like it will face a challenge this spring when their term
expires.
The story delves into the finances of the CTU - from one of the CORE founders George Schmidt, who has been on the outs with the CORE and CTU leaders over his reporting, we have heard some questions over expenditures but I don't have the full story at this point.
Could Soviet-style communism be reconciled with the dignity and freedom of the individual? In 1968, the question was put to the test when the leader of Czechoslovakia’s Communist Party, Alexander Dubcek, initiated a project of liberalization that he said would offer “socialism with a human face.” What followed was a rebirth of political and cultural freedom long denied by party leaders loyal to Moscow. The free press flourished, artists and writers spoke their minds, and Mr. Dubcek stunned Moscow by proclaiming that he wanted to create “a free, modern and profoundly humane society.” A season when hope and optimism were in bloom, it became known as the Prague Spring. But nearly as soon as the movement came to life, it was crushed under the treads of Soviet T-54 tanks. ---50 Years After Prague Spring, Lessons on Freedom (and a Broken Spirit)
Here's another interesting take on socialism in the NY Times that fits my recent theme of: Can socialism with a liberal face actually work? Given the realities of the times, there is no way the Soviets could have allowed it -- we saw 20 years later how quickly the virus spread and tore down the iron curtain in no time.
The article speculates about the liberalization in Czechoslovakia in the spring and summer of 1968 - before the Soviet tanks came. Could Dubcek have ushered in a different version of socialism? Hard to say as long as there was a one party system - the Communist Party. I don't remember if there was even talk of open elections --- I doubt it -- but would have to do more research.
I was a history major and was still going for my masters at Brooklyn College in history at that time and had done some serious work in studying eastern Europe Soviet domination as an undergrad in 1966 under in my a senior thesis under the guidance of Bela Kiraly, Hungarian revolution fighter against the Soviets in 1956 who was my teacher.
I wrote about an encounter with Kiraly on our visit to Hungry in October 2006 (A Memorable Evening with General Bela Kiraly)
- a coincidence in that we were there a few days before the 50th celebration. He was in his mid-90s and died a few years later.
I certainly remember the hope for the Czech Spring in a year of so many major events. Remember the Democratic convention in Chicago and the election of Nixon a few months later?
......the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia killed the dreams of the reformers, broke the spirit of a nation and ushered in an era of oppression whose effects are still felt today. Moscow succeeded in restoring the supremacy of the state, but the ultimate cost of victory was high. Perhaps more than any other event during the Cold War, the invasion laid bare for the world to see the totalitarian nature of the Soviet regime.
As the article in the Times points out, hope for some half way
liberalization in the Soviet block was dashed. I don't hold that things
were totally better when the entire communist block fell -- that free
reigning capitalism is better than a liberal and moderated socialist
system. And I think current events are proving that unfettered
capitalism is ultimately destructive --- actually just think of our former beloved chancellor Joel Klein's comments about his creative destruction of our school system. How has free-market capitalism as applied to education worked out?
Afterburn:
My mom was born in Belarus and came here in 1920 as a 15 year old and my dad's father was from Odessa - and my mom's older and only brother went off to join the Bolsheviks (and they never heard any more from him), so I do have some roots in Eastern Europe.
Memo From the RTC: A Visit With Renee Taylor and View from Bridge Set Goes Up
By Norm Scott
Last Sunday, twenty members of the Rockaway Theatre Company family trekked to the theater district to see Renee Taylor’s one woman show, “My Life on a Diet” at the Theatre at St. Clement’s on West 46th St. The connection of the RTC to the 85 year old Renee Taylor, the actor and writer, was cemented when the RTC put on “Lovers and Other Strangers,” last May, the play she wrote with her late husband Joseph Bologna and she attended a performance. Co-director Peggy Page promised Renee she would get a crew of RTCers to come to her show and most of the cast from the RTC production, who had been so delighted when they saw her at their performance, attended. Peggy organized the entire day, even creating Renee Taylor fan club buttons we all wore.
I remembered Renee from when I was a kid staying up late and watching the Jack Paar show in the early 60s when she was a frequent, hilarious and often whacky guest. She was (is) a naturally funny person, not just a comedian, and I used to make sure to watch when she was on. But frankly, from that time until I met her at the RTC, I didn’t pay much attention to her, even when she played Fran Dresser’s mom on “The Nanny.” So I never expected to spend such a delightful hour and a half listening to her tell stories about her life and the amazing cast of characters she befriended (including Marilyn Monroe) over her almost 7 decades in show business. I can truly say this was one of the best experiences I’ve had and I urge readers to get tickets before Renee leaves town.
Peggy Page, John Gileece, Taylor, Susan Jasper
After the show, Taylor came back on stage to meet with the RTC crew and take photos and sign programs and gave us a generous portion of her time. Peggy invited her to join us for dinner just down the block. She said she would try to make it but after doing a performance, most of us figured she would beg off. Thus we headed off to Becco’s on 46th street not expecting to see her again, especially after we were put upstairs – a long flight of stairs. But low and behold, a half hour later she showed up (why didn’t you sit downstairs?) and delighted the people at her table. For all of us it was a memorable day and thanks Peggy for helping to make it possible.
Monday, the next day, I joined Tony Homsey’s RTC construction crew in working on the set for the upcoming Arthur Miller’s “View From the Bridge”, directed by Frank Caiati, which opens Sept. 21
and runs for three weekends. The previous Friday we commenced construction on the elaborate set which required us to build an entire state on top of our regular stage, but tilted, which complex ramps going this way and that. Oy! But by 3 PM on Friday, the basics of the set were up. Another Homsey-led miracle.
Get your tickets at: www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org
I'm continuing my series of posts in The WAVE trying to sort out "the left" for myself - and maybe others who are as confused as I am. I have begun reading more deeply from current and historical sources to gain more clarity. And I am talking to people on the left. Some of my closest friends lie within the "socialist" spectrum. How can we not have doubts about the problems with capitalism when we see what is going on in this country and others as power and money accumulates in fewer hands? On the other hand, the prediction that as capitalism fails -- or succeeds too well until one person or syndicate owns everything -- it will be followed by a form of socialism which will be a better system for most - seems to be a fantasy especially as we've seen how easy it is for massive numbers of people to be manipulated through propaganda. There are too many examples to name going back to the dawn of civilization where we can see how a small number of people always seem to gain power under any system. I bet they had many similar problems in the caves.
School Scope: Socialism and Confusion
By Norm Scott
Published in The WAVE, Friday, August 17, 2018
www.rockawave.com
The UFT was founded by social democrats who were members of a party called Social Democrats USA (SDUSA). Albert Shanker and most of the early UFT leadership were members. They were virulent anti-communists who came out of the Trotskyite wing of socialism, which had been the main enemy of Stalinism. In the early 70s’ the almost 100 year old Socialist Party of America split into right and left factions and the UFT was a key player in the right wing faction.
There are so many brands of socialism, when I finish counting on both hands, I have to take my shoes off. When discussing politics with a right winger at a recent dinner, in the midst of disparaging the very idea of socialism, he said the idea of socialism and democracy were contradictory, so how can people call themselves Democratic Socialists? Even among Democrats and people who view themselves as “progressive”, there seems to be confusion about socialism. If you don’t follow the left, you wouldn’t be aware of the differences between Marxists, Marxist-Leninists, Trotskyists, Maoists, and too many more to name here.
Does being a socialist mean you favor Soviet communism, a system that lasted for 75 years and has been viewed as a failure? Consider the past 25 years of post-communist Russia under Putin. A bit more democracy, though basically a one party system under Putin’s control and if you speak too loud you get bumped off. A very nice deal for kleptocrat billionaires who were handed most of the entire state owned industry on the cheap. But most people in Russia would still vote for Putin over the old system - at this point. (Def. of kleptocracy - a form of corrupt government that allows the ruling class to accumulate great wealth and power while neglecting the mass of citizens – sound familiar?)
How about China? Not much democracy but with more than a touch of capitalism, though the state can dictate a lot. China was a massively devastated nation in 1949 when Mao’s revolution began. On the timeline of less than 70 years of history, the outcomes have been impressive, though with great human costs. There were liberalization, but the current leader has been wringing signs of democracy out of the system. Most people in China seem content with a deal that allows them to do well economically. But if that changes, watch out.
Moving on to democratic socialism - a multi-party system, more economic leeway, including various levels of capitalism, though highly regulated to avoid exploitation of the workers – and the consumer. There are often very high tax rates but people do get a lot more for their money, i.e. most of the Scandinavian nations which provide very generous social services. European nations have versions of social democratic parties, but outside Scandinavia they have been struggling of late.
Bernie Sanders identifies himself as a social democrat. Since Trump’s win, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has grown tenfold. DSA is a big tent socialist organization, founded in 1982 as a remnant of the old socialist party of Norman Thomas and founder Eugene Debs, who got 6% of the presidential vote in 2012. They are not a political party and do not run candidates under their party banner on separate lines like the Green Party, but back think-alike candidates running in Democratic Party primaries and in the general election. DSA received a lot of main stream press publicity after socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her recent primary. Our mayor has jumped on the socialist bandwagon, as has Cuomo primary opponent Cynthia Nixon. In last week’s primary a DSA endorsed Michigan Muslim woman won a primary, which may give DSA endorsees at least two seats in Congress plus other seats in local races.
The very idea has right wingers in a frenzy, a frenzy which even infects many Democrats who despise Bernie Sanders and blame him for Trump’s win. The so-called coming blue wave of victories by Democrats in the 2018 mid-term elections may just include a small wavelet of social democrats.
Norm promotes his own version of kleptocracy at ednotesonline.com
Greens will sometimes justify these runs as movement-building tools, but they never seem to actually build a movement....
The new generation of left-wing activists, by contrast [to the Green Party], is good at
self-multiplication. The Democratic Socialists of America [DSA] alone has done
more to build left political power since the 2016 election than the
Green Party did in the 18 years after Nader helped elect George W. Bush.
In truth, there’s nothing surprising about left-wing candidates losing their primaries. The happy surprise is how many are winning. Unsexy as it sounds, the real story of progressive politics right now is the steady accumulation of victories — some small, some major — thanks to a welcome and unaccustomed outbreak of left-wing pragmatism.
Her point about the Democratic Socialists of America in contrast to the Green Party, which has built little and wasted resources on national campaigns that could have been used to build grassroots is one I agree with. And I voted Green in a bunch of elections.
I see constant reminders on social media of the DSA's incredible level of activity on so many fronts - the venture into Democratic Party politics is only a sliver.
Goldberg brings some perspective to the move to the left within the Democratic Party and also from critics of the Dem Party on the left of the party that have worked for change outside the Party. Since Trump won many have come to the conclusion that changing the Dem Party is the only pragmatic way to effect change from below at the grass roots.
The left has been ineffective at working at the grass roots - my feeling is that many leftists are theorists and unable to talk to people outside their bubbles - nor do they really want to despite the essence of socialism is organizing the working class. Most leftists have eschewed the American political system as hopelessly corrupt and a waste of time. But given the alternatives, over the past year we have seen people begin to change their minds -- and I may be one of them.
Not unexpected, given Goldberg's politics and political connections to the progressive wing of the Dems, is her take-down of the Green Party, which has been competing with the Dems and all too often being the reason Republicans have won. See the recent race in Ohio where a Trump endorsee won by a sliver due to the Green Party vote of .05 per cent.
While Greens refute charges that they put George Bush and Trump in power (they say most of their voters would not have voted for Dems anyway), the Greens have faced vilification from center and from segments of the left that had also been critical of the Dems but have decided to get more involved to force them to the left. Contrast the Greens who compete with the Dem party and the Democratic Socialists, most of whom are critical of the Dem Party but are using the election structures to push it left and are embedding themselves in the roots.
Inside the DSA there is some criticism from segments of the Marxist-Leninist left that this venture is hopeless -- that what is needed is an independent third party.
The Pragmatic Left Is Winning
For once, Democrats are not in disarray.
My column in The Wave this past Friday - August 10, 2018
School Scope: On The
Importance of The Wave, Local News, Socialism, Capitalism and More
By Norm Scott
The gutting of the Daily News has raised the issue of the
assault on print publications, exacerbated by the Trump tariff on Canadian
paper (not an accident) which has raised costs and other assaults on weakening
the press with constant attacks financially on their ability to cover news and
also attacks on the integrity of the press. Now I too have always been
skeptical of the way some of the press covers the news. I assume all coverage
has some bias and try to read a balanced variety so I can make my own decisions.
But if you watch Fox or read the right wing press it is clear we are living in
different universes.
The Daily News story has been viewed as the coming end of local coverage. We
are left with the Post which is Fix news and the Times which doesn’t devote
major resources to local coverage. Recently we have also heard of smaller local
papers under attack. In Maryland a guy with a grudge shot up a local paper’s
newsroom, killing five people. In California we hear of a local paper that was
bought by its former editor and his wife, both avid Trump and right wing
supporters. Fears in that community are that they will be getting a barrage of
biased coverage.
Even more local papers have been bought up by chains. Most people who can
afford to own a newspaper are generally wealthier than the population in
general and thus tend to be more conservative, so coverage of the left and
liberal causes, despite the right wing’s branding of the press as biased left,
does not get covered adequately.
Independent papers like The Wave are increasingly important to communities like
Rockaway and I give them credit for heroically trying to cover the Rockaways as
extensively as possible with very limited resources. And for being willing to
give people like me the opportunity to offer alternative views from the left.
Here’s hoping that our local independent newspaper can maintain its ability to
offer us this service that is disappearing from so many places in this nation
and around the world.
As I’ve been trying to point out, there are many brands of
liberals, Democrats and socialists. Remember, the Democratic Party was the
party of slavery and the Dixiecrats ruled the party even in the Franklin
Roosevelt years, only going Republican when Lyndon Johnson pushed through the
Civil Rights Act in the mid 1960s. There are also many brands of socialists. We
think of socialists as communists – the Soviet Union, China, Cuba and even
Venezuela. Given that we are seeing mainstream articles and columns even in the
NY Times about capitalism and socialism, I will continues to explore these
issues in portions of my upcoming summer columns, in addition to resuming
education coverage in the fall.
So in this spirit, let me give you a homework assignment for
next week: Is a Democratic Socialist Really
a Socialist?
Norm does his homework every day at ednotesonline.com
Just two months after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was celebrated by environmentalists for banning donations from fossil fuel companies, it voted 30-2 on Friday to adopt a resolution from Chair Tom Perez that critics said effectively reverses the ban and represents "an absolute failure by the DNC."... Common Dreams
A good chunk of the socialist left despises the Democratic Party and believes working within the party is a dead end. Stories like this helps them make a case. I have been tilting back and forth myself -- paint me confused -- which is why I am reading all sides and posting various points of view --- I just don't want to be trapped in a left bubble.
Whenever you think it's safe to jump back into the fight for the Democratic Party you read a story like this. I still think there are not currently any realistic alternatives than to put leftward pressure on the party from below. But despite tilting left, the center is strong with money being a major factor. Changing the party at the top will not be easy -- but from below, maybe. Right now electoral politics is the game and will a blue wave sweep the party and if so how does that play in the nation as a whole?
Oh -- NY Times columnist David Brooks just said on Meet the Press "How will the Democrats manage to screw it up this time because they always do?" Then he said as long as they don't swing too far left -- and he says other than a few places, they haven't. [More about this soon where the NY Times columnist Michelle Goldberg makes the opposite case - that the left is making important inroads.]
Is this a screw up or a smart move? I think making the left enraged will not help the Dems. I mean they can try to snare the more progressive Republicans but this is a short term solution. I just don't see how to bridge the distance between so many disparate points of view even if the uniting factor is despising Trump.
On the other hand, the DNC is claiming it is not a reversal so is this a bit of distorted reporting?
DNC Passes Perez Resolution Reversing Ban on Donations From Fossil Fuel PACs
from DNC epic: “After hearing concerns from Labor that this was an attack on workers, this resolution acknowledges the generous contributions of workers, including those in energy, who organize and donate to Democratic candidates.”
But the resolution opens the door donations from fossil fuel “employers’ political action committees" and nods to “forward-looking employers” that are “powering America’s all-of-the-above energy economy."
UPDATE FROM JACK GERSON: Norm, Mike Antonucci predicts that UTLA will strike in early October.
But they have just asked for impasse. Typically impasse is followed by
mediation, which in itself can take well over two months After mediation
comes PERB Factfinding. Another one to two months. My guess is a strike
in about January. JackGerson
Caputo-Pearl
and the rest of the UTLA leadership want to regenerate in Los Angeles
what teachers did in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona last spring.... Mike Antonucci, EIA, LA School Report
Solidarity with a potential strike in LA in October will be a key priority for MORE in the fall... Peter Lamphere, MORE listserve
The
other school employee unions in the Los Angeles Unified School District
are settling contracts and going home happy. But not United Teachers
Los Angeles. UTLA has wanted an occasion for a strike for two years, and it isn’t
going to let anything stand in the way. I think I even know exactly when
it will be.
Get the details at LA School Report.
Last week I predicted UTLA will go on strike. This week I predict the authorization will be more than 90%. Read why at LA School Report.
There's a lot of excitement over the potential LA teacher strike, which would bring red state type action to biggest blue state and to the 2nd largest school system in the nation. UTLA leader Alex Caputo-Pearl, whom I first met 9 years ago, is organizing on many levels.
Mike A. comes at things from an anti-union perspective but does report accurately while also looking to punch as many holes as he can to burst the bubble.
In the interest of providing wide coverage I will be posting more from Antonucci whose analysis is always interesting.
Here are two views of the coming strike in Los Angeles. One from the UTLA and the always useful view from the right from Mike Antonucci, who has been writing extensively about the upcoming strike which he predicts will take place in October.
I maintain that Eva Moskowitz alone has cost the UFT more union jobs - and dues - than Janus ever will. For our union to support darlings of hedge fund charter supporters (Paul Tudor Jones, Hedge Funds, Charter Schools, and the IDC), is outrageous.
NYSUT/UFT supporting pro-charter and IDC traitor Alcantara (against pro-teacher stalwart Robert Jackson) is akin to giving Janus himself an award.
When I posted about the endorsements a follower in twitter -- a fairly young teacher, tweeted back:
Glad I pulled my cope money. They went with the moderate over the progressive in pretty much every race. They will never learn.
[The] UFT is the big dog in NYSUT, and I don't believe NYSUT does anything of
significance without our approval. That said, I'm struck senseless by
our opposition to education hero Robert Jackson. Jackson stood with us
through CFE. CFE was a lawsuit under which we won lower class sizes.
It's never been enforced, even though the city came up with a plan to do
so that was approved by the state. Jackson is running against Marisol Alcantara, who caucused with IDC.
What is more dangerous to teachers and ultimately anti-union and will cost more jobs - and more dues, the Janus decision or the the anti-union charter school expansion? If the UFT had mobilized the membership to stop charters we might be in a very different position. But they wanted to play in the ed deform game themselves.
Alcantara was instrumental in passing the law that will minimize the
effects of the Janus decision, which imposes a right to work regime on
all public sector employees, including teachers. As a union, stopping
freeloaders is critical if UFT and NYSUT will continue to thrive. This
was the highest priority of the union, and she delivered. That and she
voted in line with UFT and NYSUT's positions. If the charter school
people want to give her money, so what, if she always ends up voting
with the UFT and NYSUT. That is just them investing badly...
WTF, justifying their endorsement. The charter schools investing in Alcantara badly or the UFT investing its endorsement badly and sending a message to future supporters that they will knife them in the back like they are doing to Robert Jackson? (I just sent Jackson a donation.) More good stuff from Arthur's post:
Alcanatara....lists an Eva Moskowitz PAC
as one of her top donors. Another is NYSUT Vote-Cope. Why the hell are
we giving a dime to someone who supports a great enemy of New York
City's schoolchildren, parents and teachers? How on earth can we turn
against Robert Jackson for someone like that?
NYSUT made a great point of saying they opposed Senators who supported charter expansion. How does support from Moskowitz not
translate into supporting charter expansion? Eva Moskowitz eats charter
expansion for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we're supporting someone
who takes her money. It's not a coincidence, NYSUT endorsers, that
Alcantara called for a lifting of the charter cap. It's outrageous that
we're putting resources behind someone like that. How do you think that
will go over at the next COPE drive?
Arthur does a great job collecting for COPE in his school. COPE is not union dues and even those who hold their noses and stay in the union may not like the smell of endorsing an IDG pro-charter slug.
I posted the comment on a listserve and a retired UFT member commented:
The Writer... must think we are all idiots. Robert Jackson would’ve voted to do the same thing and minimize the impact of Janus. What Robert Jackson would not have done for the last four years is organize with the Republicans and stop all kinds of good legislation and school funding from going through. The UFT and NYSUT looks ridiculous opposing Robert Jackson.
The writer says if the charter school supporters, meaning the hedge fund community, want to give her money so what. Really? those are the people who support Eva Moscowitz and her horrible agenda. If the UFT keeps this up they will have trouble convincing members to voluntarily signed up to pay dues.
That Robert Jackson is the victim is incredible. There are few people who have done more for education than Robert.
Alcantara won last time when the seat was unoccupied, the opposition was split and people didn't know how bad she would be. There is a lot of activity and fund raising for Jackson. But the hedge funders are pouring money in. The real estate interests, biggest power player in NYS, also likes having a Republican senate.
If you know people in the 31, that runs from the west 30 along the river all the way to the top of the Bronx and maybe into Westchester, tell them about Robert Jackson.
Janus vs the people who voted to have di Blasio pay rent for charters or offer them space in public schools, which ends up undermining the school? Which is doing more to weaken the union?
In one of the [Bushwick's] storefront’s Gothic windows, someone has taped up a recent cover of the New York Times
Sunday Review section. “Millennial Socialists Are Coming,” reads the
headline, while beneath it a metal placard nailed to the building’s
facade cautions visitors striding through the parlor’s entryway to
“Watch Your Step.”... Peter Rugh, The Indypendent, The Next Big Socialist Win
The Independent has a story on Julia Salazar, 27 years old and a
democratic socialist, running for state assembly in Brooklyn against the candidate who is out of the old Vito Lopez empire - so she may have a tougher go than Ocasio-Cortez did -- her older male opponent is also Hispanic.
This district covers
the area where I spent most of my teaching career -- I'm thinking of
going up there to help out. I still sort of know the politics -- the
young candidate has a more uphill battle in that she is going up against
the machine but it is also run by Hispanics. But she has the growing DSA machine working for her:
Peter Rugh's story is a
must read for its insights into the left and the DSA methods.
The Next Big Socialist Win (in North Brooklyn)
Julia Salazar wants to put working-class demands front and center in Albany. But first, she has to defeat a wily old party boss.
First there was Ocasio-Cortez, now it's Julia Salazar running an
energetic campaign across North Brooklyn to become the first openly
socialist New York state legislator in decades.
FOX was crowing about the losses of long-shot candidates endorsed by the new socialist wing of the Democratic Party let by Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders. But the game is in its earliest stages.
Every day I seem to read a reference in the NY Times to socialism or stories talking about capitalism.
Bernie Sanders certainly has raised the issue, but he was presented as an outlier and just an old lefty grouch. Then came the Ocasio-Cortez victory in the Dem Party primary that shook both conservatives and liberals - that a 28-year old would openly declare herself a socialist. Then came Cynthia Nixon and even de Blasio jumping on the bandwagon. Who's next, Cuomo?
After almost 8 decades of red scares and witch hunts, it's safe for socialists to go back in the water. But watch the intense attacks to come from both the right, center and even the left, especially from the left wing purists who disparage Bernie and Ocasio-Cortez for not being "authentic" socialists ---- in future posts we will get into the differences between the social democrats and the Marxist-Lenists and its various wings from the Trotskyists to other sects. For those of you who ask what does this have to do with the UFT? Well, a lot, but I'll keep you in suspense.
Peter Rugh, author of our lead story here (I did a long interview with him for an ed story he was doing and found him so knowledgeable), makes this point:
the fact that a high-profile candidate like Nixon would
embrace ideas that once elicited visions of Stalinism in American minds
indicates how far socialism has risen in the public’s estimation and how
much political clout DSA is garnering. But the organization’s growth
and electoral success have also posed new strategic challenges.
Peter goes on to talk about the isolation of socialists in this country and part of the reasons why -- these little competing sectarian grouplets which all think they are the only ones with the answers.
Banished from the mainstream political arena in the United
States, Marxism has survived — barely — through two main poles of
activity. One, in academia; the other, through small grouplets whose
members, never numbering more than a few hundred, tout a near-unified
political outlook and attract recruits in ones and twos through
social-movement activism.
By avoiding engaging in the mainstream political arena -- mostly by disparaging the Democratic Party -- which does deserve its share of disparagement - but then attacking those on the left who venture forth and at times feel they have to shave back their positions. That affects the purists on the left.
Socialism has thereby avoided sullying itself
with the form of political activity Americans engage in most: the
two-party electoral process. It has maintained its ideological purity
while managing to be awesomely irrelevant.
He could be talking about how MORE is organizing. Rugh does not neglect the dangers of working in the Dem party:
Not that fears of engaging with the Democratic Party
aren’t well founded. It has a way of vacuuming up social movements’
energy and subverting the outcomes activists are fighting for.
DSA is an attempting a new method of electoral engagement... In addition to his role as a co-leader of DSA’s local New York chapter,
Younus helps train DSA activists across the country in basic campaign
organizing. Canvassing is covered, obviously, but also communications,
social media, research, district analysis and resource allocation. “The
goal is to strip away the power of the consultant class,” he said.
“There’s this idea that there are keepers of secret information, but
really, that information should be democratized and shouldn’t cost
absurd sums of money. Candidates who truly represent the communities
they are coming from should have access to that, their campaigns should
have access to that and grassroots activists especially should have
access to that, so that they can be engaged at this level and not need
millions of dollars to do it.”
I will be publishing left wing attacks on people who work with the Democratic Party -- I've been called an opportunist for even bringing it up
Here are some of the stories I am collating for those of you who have missed them -- they are tied together by my own weird logic.
=====
Here's another DSA endorsed candidate who will probably be in the House with Ocasio-Cortez --- things are looking interesting
Detroit: Rashida Tlaib Just Won An Election That’ll Likely Make Her The First Muslim Woman In Congress
Tlaib raised more money than her Democratic competitors, and won the endorsement of the Detroit Free Press. She was also backed by a host of organizations on the left, including the Sanders-aligned Our Revolution and Greater Detroit Democratic Socialists of America, which identifies Tlaib as a member.
===
I posted this before (https://ednotesonline.blogspot.com/2018/08/can-pro-coal-democrat-in-west-virginia.html) but wanted to include it in this list.
This is counter article on a center Dem who had been in the military and then went into teaching and was a leader of the teacher strikes and a hero to many other teachers. He also voted for Trump but now regrets it. This is the other side of the "let's everyone go left" even if the district is 97% white and conservative.
Jul 17, 2018 - He has built support in a deep red coal-country district by riding a wave ... are focused almost exclusively on flipping seats in suburban districts, ...
===== Then look at this review from last Friday's NY Times Arts: Review: In ‘Prairie Trilogy,’ All-American Stories of Socialism
What does it mean to be a socialist in America, and why do people get so angry, and angrily terrified, when some Americans espouse socialism as a fairer system than the one in place? These questions have been coming up more frequently in recent years, prompted by the rhetoric and policy propositions of the recent presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders and the ascendance of younger politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the congressional candidate from New York who is unabashedly aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America.
You may find an engaging answer to at least the first of the above questions in “Prairie Trilogy,” a collection of three short documentaries made between 1977 and 1980 and directed by the regional filmmakers John Hanson and Rob Nilsson. Now playing in New York in restored form, the movies are companion pieces to Mr. Hanson and Mr. Nilsson’s 1978 feature “Northern Lights,” a fictionalized tale of the real North Dakota labor union called the Nonpartisan League, which formed about a half a decade before America’s involvement in World War I.
Hard to understand NYSUT endorsement of IDC Alcantara not only b/c of Robert Jackson’s stellar education record but
also b/c Alcantara is one of the biggest recipients of donations from
the charter lobby incl the billionaires boys club Waltons, Daniel Loeb,
etc. etc. ..... Paul Tudor Jones, Hedge Funds, Charter Schools, an..
When
Cuomo "brokered" the "return" of the IDC to the Dems he began twisting
the arms of the unions and others to support them against challengers....
There has been no one more loyal to teachers, parents and students than Robert Jackson and many of us appreciate it (I just sent him a 100 bucks). But not the UFT or their clones in NYSUT.
I published a few pieces including a letter from the dissident Ex Bd members urging them to not endorse any IDC backstabbers.
Mr. Ojeda’s apparent surge has prompted comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,
the populist Democrat from the Bronx who knocked off a senior member of
the House leadership in a primary. But Mr. Ojeda is not a leftist
candidate: he does not want to abolish ICE or provide Medicare for all.
He is pro-coal, while denouncing how coal companies stripped the state’s
resources and left none of the wealth behind. He supports a public
option to buy into Medicare and a pathway to citizenship for some
undocumented immigrants, but he opposes universal background checks for
gun buyers. And like 73 percent of voters in his district, he voted for Donald J. Trump in 2016. It is a choice he now regrets.... NYT, July 17, 2018
I've been trying to post pieces on both sides of the Democratic Party divide. Go Left or Go center and even right - blue dog. The left says this is Hillary territory and a loser. In West Virginia districts like this the idea of going left may be a sure loser. But when you are bringing back unions you are framing a left argument in terms people can understand - where left and right working class can unite. I was immediately caught by the opening:
The woman in the Grateful Dead T-shirt approached the man in combat boots with the military haircut.
“Are you … ?” she asked hesitantly.
“Ojeda,” he confirmed.
“Thank you!” the woman gushed. “I’m a teacher.”
Richard
Ojeda, who became the political face of a statewide teachers’ strike in
West Virginia, posed for a selfie with the woman, Jennifer Renne, who
teaches middle-school math.
An
outspoken populist, Mr. Ojeda is running for Congress on a wave of
labor activism thanks to voters like Ms. Renne, and he is doing
surprisingly well as a Democrat in a district that President Trump won
by nearly 50 points. Some Democrats see in him a model for how they can
win in Middle American places where their party used to prevail, but has
been decimated in the Trump era.
Ojeda would be anathema to many on the left, but the left has been overjoyed at the West Virginia teacher movement, so I see him as part of a unifying factor between left and center and even right -- he and many of the red state teachers did vote for Trump. If we see a resurgence of the Dem Party in areas where they were turned to waste, even if it is not left, is that a bad thing? Some on the left think it is but I will get to that another time.
Imagine Ojeda and Ocasio-Cortez in Congress together. I bet that would work.
Can a Pro-Coal Democrat in West Virginia Carve a Path for His Party?
Image
Richard
Ojeda, a Democrat running for Congress, campaigned in Logan, W.Va., in
early July. He has built support in a deep red coal-country district by
riding a wave of labor activism sparked by a successful statewide
teachers’ strike.CreditAndrew Spear for The New York Times
https://indypendent.org/2018/08/the-next-big-socialist-win/
