UFT Elections: The Caucus of Goldstein and Schirtzer - Will They Throw Their Hat into the Ring?

Here is an astounding idea. Get yourself a pal and form a caucus and even though you need 40 to get a slate on the ballot, you can still get 2 pages in the NY Teacher in two separate issues to promote your ideas. That seems to be the outcome of rulings by the election committee, endorsed by the UFT Ex Bd at the Jan. 7 meeting.

As reported by Arthur in his Ex Bd Notes:

NYC Educator

UFT Executive Board January 7, 2018--We Support LA Teachers and Discuss Election

LeRoy Barr— All caucuses will get ads regardless of whether they have enough candidates to form a slate. 

NOTE: In the 2016 elections, Solidarity did not get a slate but did get the 2 pages in the NY Teacher, which we thought was Unity's way of trying to siphon votes from us. 

 Arthur Goldstein—If Mike Schirtzer and I decide that we want to run as a caucus, can we get 2 pages in the NY teacher for Schirtzer Goldstein caucus-The two of us could run and get two pages in NY Teacher to promote our duo--is that what Im hearing?
Barr—Those who don’t meet requirement want to have representation in NY Teacher. If you are saying you have two, will assume that is correct.
Washington Sanchez—In essence, what Arthur said is correct. The committee did not want to prevent this. We didn’t think that would happen. Committee reserved right to come back and revisit the issue. Was lengthy discussion, many different views. Because of Janus we did not want anyone to feel slighted.
Michael Shulman—Basically, what LeRoy laid out was essence of discussion. Was not unanimous. Some raised same concern Arthur did. Decision was any caucus would be allowed two pages. We will follow the practice of allowing space. Independents were given space in NY teacher. Perhaps individuals will get space allotted in line with what has taken place in past. 

And thus was born the caucus of Goldstein/Schirtzer. Will they toss their hat in the UFT Election ring? Will others join the caucus? Since they will not get the required 40 people in time to get on the ballot, they can run as independents and invite any of the other caucuses to endorse them.

Hey James! The caucus of Eterno/Scott? Nahhh! We have golf games to play.

Of course we know the game Unity is playing - divide and conquer.

The more the merrier and the more they can fragment the opposition. But speaking of MORE, guess who did the fragmenting of the opposition?

Petitions become available at the Jan. 16 Delegate Assembly. Come on down and become a caucus.

UFT Caucus Roundup: Rallies Galore - Ed Notes, Dec. 2000

I'm running a series from the Ed Notes archives on UFT Elections Past, where the ghost of ed notes makes an appearance to haunt the modern Scrooges in the UFT and use the past to show the opposition parties in the UFT the future - unless they change their ways.

That very same ghost of Ed Notes past also haunts me as I see how my views have changed over the years. Ed Notes published in hard copy from 1998-2005. Revisiting this history might be of some use for activists in the UFT. Or maybe not.

I offered Ed Notes as a vehicle for all the opposition groups in the UFT to get the word out. I some ways I regret having abandoned that model for getting involved in caucus politics with the founding of ICE.

Reprinted from Ed Notes, Dec. 2000, we can see a much higher level of activity on the part of the opposition in the UFT and by the Unity Caucus leadership itself. Wha' Happened?

Caucus Roundup: Rallies Galore
Caucus activity focused on a series of demonstrations: Progressive Action Caucus (PAC) and New Action Caucus (NAC) held a rally at the Board of Education on Oct. 19. Teachers for a Just Contract rallied at UFT headquarters on Nov. 9 and the Unity led UFT leadership held it’s big rally outside City Hall on Nov. 16 (see p.1). Ed. Notes was not present at the Oct. 19 rally as it was raining and we don’t like to get wet, but did cover the Nov. 9 event as there was some food available at a meeting on the 2nd floor of the UFT. Here are reports from the field. 

Oct. 20: The demonstration on Wednesday at the Board of Education was a tremendous suc- cess. I would like to thank everyone who came out in the rain. Your efforts were much appre- ciated.
We called for 11%,11%, 11% increases in sal- ary and demanded that the Union and the Board of Education not agree to a longer school day, year or merit pay. We also de- manded reductions in class size and a revision of the unfair licensing and certification pro- cess. In addition we called for major reforms of the schools for the benefit of the students. To our suprise as we called for Chancellor Levy to come down and talk to us, he actually came down and talked to us for about 15 minutes. In all it was a tremedous success. New Ac- tion/UFT and P.A.C. were united and both groups had an excellent showing. We look for- ward to more actions together.
On November 16th we will support our union by coming out and marching together in the U.F.T. demonstration, but we will do it as a united alternative to the Unity Caucus' pos- sible sellout.
Mark Pessin, Chairperson of PAC 

Nov. 16: It's November 2000! Do you know where your con- tract is? The UFT leaders wanted a contract by last June, but could not get the City to the table. This fall, they waited im- potently over a month for the City even to make an answer to our bargaining position. Moral sua- sion won't do it. Television ads won't do it. The teaching short- age won't do it: the Board will merely water down the require- ments again. We have no clout in collective bargaining, because our leadership has neglected the source of all union power: an organized, mobilized rank and file. 

WE WANT: PAY PARITY! NO EXTENDED DAY!
NO FORM OF MERIT PAY! NO GIVE BACKS!
Teachers for a Just Contract 

Commentary:
Randi Weingarten doesn’t agree with Mark Pessin. At Exec. Bd. & DA meetings, she criticized the Oct. 19 demo, claiming that a low turnout made the UFT look bad and requested that if people have demos, they do not do so under the UFT banner. 

A number of people in the opposition accused her of demagoguery, saying they could certainly could demonstrate as UFT’ers as they are dues paying UFT members. But no one challenged Weingarten’s statement at either meeting. 

Weingarten had no comment on the Nov. 16 demo. Though not opposed to demos at UFT headquarters (the very first demo I attended, May 1, 1971, was at the UFT protesting support for the Vietnam War) I raised questions with the demonstra- tors about the timing of the demo (a week before the big rally) and some of the slogans being used. 

Since then, TJC and Ed. Notes have been engaged in a spirited email debate on a number of issues, which I hope to summarize in the future. I counted about 60 people and was told there had been 100 there, pretty much all from HS. (The majority of HS teachers have voted NO to Unity for years.)

Despite reservations, the opposition groups did support each other’s demonstrations and have continued to promise unity against Unity in the upcoming UFT elections in the spring. 

Breaking UFT Election News: A Gaggle of Caucuses Throw Their Wings Into the Race

Ed. Notes has learned exclusively that even more caucuses will be running in the UFT elections [in addition to the current ones, New Action, Solidarity and MORE.] The more caucuses the merrier. I may join every caucus - and vote for all of them too.


Ed. Notes reprint from Spring ‘99.

Here are the names of the groups and their basic platforms: 

SERIOUSLY INACTIVE CAUCUS (SIC): Will do nothing after announcing they are going to run.

TELEPATHIC INDEPENDENT CAUCUS (TIC): Will put out no leaflets, but will reach out by projecting their thoughts. 

PULL-OUT INDEPENDENT PARTY (PIP): Proposes that every teacher should be a pull-out teacher.

PUSH IN CAUCUS (PIC): Split from PIP. Wants every teacher to be a push-in teacher. 

PARTY OF ENERGY CAUCUS (PEC): Wants a health club in every school.

New Inaction Caucus (NIC): Self-explanatory.

POLITICAL ACTION for TEACHERS (PAT): Every teacher should run for office in UFT elections.  

PAY EVERY TEACHER A LOT (PETAL): Advocates accelerated payments for teachers. 

CAUCUS in OPPOSITION TO POLITICAL ENTITIES (COPE): Union shouldn’t engage in political activity.

Rumor has it that PIC, PAC and PEC will merge and be known as: PIC ‘A PAC ‘O PEC 'O.

Logo got Pic 'o pac 'o

There are reports of a merger of Unity Caucus and Progressive Action Caucus. 

This new caucus will tentatively be known as:  
UNPAC or PACUP, UP-NAC, PAC-NU, PUAC, CUP, PUC,  UPCHUCK.

Federal Court throws out LAUSD’s request for strike injunction against special ed teachers

Desperate measure aimed at union fails. January 10 is strike date.


https://www.utla.net/news/federal-court-throws-out-lausds-request-strike-injunction-against-special-education-teachers

January 4, 2019

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Today, less than 24 hours after it was filed, a federal court denied LAUSD’s request to stop special education teachers from joining their colleagues on strike.

“The court’s swift and decisive action shows just how desperate a move this was,” said UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl. “Austin Beutner knew he didn’t have a legal leg to stand on but he went ahead anyway, spreading fear and confusion among the public, our members, special education students and families. The scare tactics must end now.”

On Thursday, LAUSD filed a claim in federal court to prevent UTLA special education teachers from striking. The threatened teachers immediately took to social media to vent their anger at LAUSD’s attempt to prevent them from exercising their right. This sneaky maneuver —especially coming from a district that has repeatedly ignored UTLA’s contract demands for special education class-size caps to relieve the burden of overcrowded special education classrooms – is beyond cynical and counterproductive.

(Read the conversations on numerous posts on our Facebook page here. <https://www.facebook.com/UTLAnow/>)

In two days, Beutner has used his high-priced lawyers to initiate two frivolous legal actions against UTLA and is now threatening a third. These tactics smack of disdain for the very school district he is meant to serve and protect.

On Wednesday, LAUSD officials went to PERB to seek an injunction based on unsubstantiated claims that UTLA has been preparing for a strike since 2016. Then today, the district threatened another lawsuit claiming UTLA did not give sufficient notice of our intent to strike, despite multiple notifications, including a Jan. 10 strike date announced on Dec. 19.

“Beutner is using his background as a corporate profiteer and downsizer. He has hired well-known privatizers and anti-union lawyers in an attempt to dismantle the school district as well as the solidarity of our union brothers and sisters. But we see right through this, and we will fight it every step of the way,” said Caputo-Pearl. “Rich people don’t like to lose, and having money allows you to shift the playing field. But public education belongs to the people of Los Angeles, not the super rich.”

It’s clear Beutner fears the collective power of educators, parents, students and the community coming together. We must stay united and focused on the goal: a contract that reinvests in our schools and improves our working and learning conditions.

We can expect to see more desperate actions by Beutner as our strike date nears. We are disappointed, but after 20 months of bad faith bargaining and disrespect, it is what we have come to expect from Beutner and LAUSD officials.

Regardless of this, we will sit down with LAUSD officials on Monday and expect them to provide a clear and legitimate proposal for us to consider, and that we can move toward an agreement.

UFT ELECTIONS ARE COMING! - 2001 edition --- If an opposition party runs in a union election and no one notices, did it really run?

I'm running a series from the Ed Notes archives on UFT Elections Past, where the ghost of ed notes makes an appearance to haunt the modern Scrooges in the UFT and use the past to show the opposition parties in the UFT the future - unless they change their ways.

That very same ghost of Ed Notes past also haunts me as I see how my views have changed over the years. Ed Notes published in hard copy from 1998-2005. Revisiting this history might be of some use for activists in the UFT. Or maybe not.

Reprinted from Ed Notes, Feb. 2001, Volume 4, No. 3

NOTE: New Action (NAC) was the dominant opposition group after the merger of two caucuses (TAC and New Directions) in 1995. 

The marginal Progressive Action Caucus (PAC) was formed in 1997/8 by a former leader of New Directions, Marc Pessin, to focus mostly in defense of teachers under attack over their licenses. Their vote totals were around 2-3%.

Teachers for a Just Contract (TJC) was not an election caucus until 2004 the same year ICEUFT formed as an outcome of the organizing efforts of Ed Notes.

[UFT] ELECTIONS ARE COMING! - 2001 edition
There’s an old joke about some political groups: Put 2 of them in a room and they’ll split into 3 groups. That seems to have happened to the opposition parties in the upcoming elections.  

New Action/UFT (NAC) and Progressive Action Caucus (PAC) are both running against Unity Caucus. It is not clear what role Teachers for a Just Contract will play. 

An email from Marc Pessin explains PAC’s position:  
“We will be running our own slate in order to project a radical education program. However we will run NAC candidates on our slate so as not to divide the opposition in areas like the JHS and HS where we have a chance of winning if NAC agrees. We will back their candidates. Others in our group also might want to run on the NAC slate as well.” 

This is a significant change from the ‘99 election where PAC ran a slate that almost prevented NAC from winning the HS Exec. Bd. seats. PAC now takes a rational approach to the UFT elections: run to make people aware of your point of view and don’t compromise your point of view to pander to the voters. Unity has so stacked the deck that it is impossible to win other than in certain select areas (See accompanying article “How Unity Stacks the Deck”). 

NAC has taken a different tack, attempting to find a broader base of support. But NAC often seems to appeal to the least common denominator, at times seeming to base its positions on the common bond of merely being anti-Unity. NAC has had a fairly low profile so far, considering the importance with which they view elections. (ie. No literature at the Jan. DA and a lack of coherance at Exec. Bd. meetings.) 

Ed. Notes will have an article in a future issue titled “The NAC Election Campaign: The Sounds of Silence” which poses the age-old philisophical question: If an opposition party runs in a union election and no one notices, did it really run? It will deal with the promises and failures of NAC. 

Teachers Came Together to Strike. What Will Happen Next? - Ed Week

...experts say social media is a tenuous connector for long-term organizing, and now that the strikes are over and the midterm elections have passed, organizers will have to find new ways to sustain the energy of fired-up teachers. For the most part, experts say, this is uncharted territory....
While protests have been organized on social media before—most notably in the Arab Spring—it's still a relatively new tactic. There's no blueprint for sustaining a movement on Facebook, experts say.
"There's a question about if the social-media [based] organizations are capable of keeping people connected over a long period of time as opposed to face-to-face relationships," said Warren, who studies community organizing and education reform.

Already, teacher organizers in North Carolina have learned that "likes" on Facebook and Twitter do not necessarily translate into a commitment to doing the time-intensive work of lobbying for political change, said Angie Scioli, a social studies teacher and the founder of the grassroots group Red4EdNC.
"If teachers really want systemic change to happen, they're going to have to commit to traditional organizing," she said. "Wearing red for ed. is not going to change a law."..... Ed Week

Activist teacher groups are so excited about the red4ed movement and with the LA strike about to hit there will be a fever pitch. The faction in control of MORE is particularly excited and making the connection to the movement will be a strong factor in the upcoming UFT election campaign. I have my doubts about making these connections here in NYC when teachers can make almost 100G by their 8th year. In LA they are making the defense of public education a big issue but I would bet that salary is an issue. I read somewhere that the top salary is far below that in NYC. Teacher willingness to go on strike must factor in just how much they will lose if they do.

So here is a prequel to this morning's post from Ed Week about future teacher actions: The Teacher Strikes and Protests Planned for 2019 - Ed Week.

It casts questions about the level of continuing organizing.

Teachers Came Together to Strike. What Will Happen Next?

About 40 protesters were cheered as they arrived in Oklahoma City last April in the final leg of a 110-mile trip from Tulsa to protest school funding.

—Sue Ogrocki/AP

By Madeline Will

December 10, 2018 | Corrected: December 18, 2018

 

The Teacher Strikes and Protests Planned for 2019 - Ed Week

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2018/12/teacher_strikes_and_protests_planned_2019.html?cmp=eml-enl-tu-news1-rm&M=58711495&U=1463638&UUID=46f4433a96c65581c91e38a11ba51860

The Teacher Strikes and Protests Planned for 2019

By Liana Loewus on December 27, 2018 3:40 PM

While 2018 was a pivotal year for teacher activism, with large-scale strikes in six states and more protests around the country, there's been some question as to whether momentum would continue into the new year.
So far, though, we know at least a few places where labor actions are likely to happen:

• Los Angeles teachers plan to go on strike Jan. 10. After 20 months of contract disputes with the district, the union—which was seeking a 6.5 percent pay raise retroactive to July 2016, class-size reductions, fewer required tests, and more support staff—announced teachers would stop work a few days after students return from winter break. The district's final offer included a smaller raise and class-size reductions in some schools, which the union called "insulting." This will be the first strike in the district in 30 years. 
• Teachers in Oakland, Calif., are also preparing for a possible strike. On Dec. 19, the union's executive board gave the president the power to call a strike-authorization vote, which is the first step in the process. Oakland teachers have been working without a contract since July 2017 and are asking for a 12 percent salary increase over three years and class-size reductions, reports EdSource. The district offered a 5 percent increase and some class-size reductions. Negotiations are ongoing, but according to the Oakland Education Association website, the union is planning a rally for Jan. 12 (a Saturday) and has collected more than $11,000 for a strike fund. And dozens of teachers at Oakland High School already held a wildcat strike, not sanctioned by the union, several weeks ago, KQED reported. Oakland has just 2,300 teachers, compared to Los Angeles' approximately 25,000.

• In Virginia, teachers across the state are planning a one-day rally for Jan. 28. The grassroots group "Virginia Educators United" is organizing the gathering, and if enough teachers participate it could shut down schools. Educators there are asking for pay to increase to the national average and for better pay for support professionals. Virginia is home to about 90,000 teachers. 

  We'll keep an eye on other places the #RedforEd movement may be spreading in the early months of 2019 as well, so check back here for updates.

Oysters in Croatia

Getting high on oysters

The Jan. 2 edition of the NYT had a fascinating story about oysters and Croatia, focusing on a place we had visited on our 2 week Roads Scholar tour of Croatia in October. We visited the town featured and had the same boat ride featured in the Times article. I always like a map so here is the one from the Times. I'm fascinated by the map of the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans, the source of so many issues over the past century and a half. The Times article makes that point.

Here are some of my photos, with the NY Times story and pics below.

The story mentions the famous wall. A useless wall if you look at it. A folly of a wall. Tell Trump.

The wall to nowhere.

Croatia Dispatch

Oysters Lead Lives of Excitement and Danger. Especially in the Balkans.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/31/world/europe/croatia-oysters-balkans-bosnia.html 

Shameful UFT Complicity as De Blasio Admin allows Corporate Reformers Take Control of Crucial DOE Policy Related to Closing Schools and Charters

....the people who are in charge of planning, at least in my area, are all coming from a Teach for America and/or Charter School background. I've read about how the TFA and their affiliate Leaders for Educational Equity (LEE) are working to infiltrate their members into elected and policy positions, but I didn't realize this was so pervasive in Brooklyn.... Stacie Johnson

....the corporate reform/charter school adherents have successfully embedded the higher echelons of several divisions of NYCDOE, even under an administration that ran for office as being less charter-friendly than Bloomberg administration.  Indeed, many of these individuals appear to dominate the primary office that’s supposed to deal with critical issues that will determine the future of the entire school system: overcrowding, space utilization and charter school co-locations..... Leonie Haimson, How corporate reformers have become embedded in the Office of District Planning.

Below is a blog post by Leonie with info you will never read in the NY Teacher or see reported anywhere. I hope someone brings this up at an Ex Bd meeting. Maybe I will the next time I get to speak there. Is our union up to its neck in complicity with ed deformers? See Leonie's comments on Hillsborough/Gates - and she left out Elia and the union.

Such in important piece of work, I am including it all below.

Monday, December 31, 2018

How corporate reformers have become embedded in the Office of District Planning

Recently Stacie Johnson, a sharp-eyed NYC parent, pointed out to me in an email how the DOE Office of District Planning (originally the Office of Portfolio Planning) is populated by many administrators who were formerly associated with charter schools. 

 She wrote:

I was planning to reach out to someone about enrollment at my daughter's school and came across the name of a few people in DOE's strategic planning department and noticed a trend. It seems like the people who are in charge of planning, at least in my area, are all coming from a Teach for America and/or Charter School background. I've read about how the TFA and their affiliate Leaders for Educational Equity (LEE) are working to infiltrate their members into elected and policy positions, but I didn't realize this was so pervasive in Brooklyn. Is this news to you?

 

I hadn’t noticed this but decided to look into it. 

 https://nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com/2018/12/how-corporate-reformers-have-become.html

Student Marxists Repressed in China While Defending Workers (Proletariat)

While China proclaims itself as a Marxist socialist state, the reality is far different and many current socialists outside China do not see China as socialist. Remember the proletariat? It seems some young Chinese idealistic Marxists do but the government isn't happy. This NYT story is just loaded with irony.

Students demonstrated Friday in Beijing against a change in leadership of a Marxist group at Peking University.CreditCreditEva Xiao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Students Defiant as Chinese University Cracks Down on Young Communists

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/world/asia/chinese-university-crackdown-students.html

By Javier C. Hernández

• Dec. 28, 2018

BEIJING — Students at one of China’s most prestigious universities on Friday denounced the government’s efforts to crush a student-led campaign for workers’ rights that has embarrassed the ruling Communist Party.

More than a dozen students from Peking University in Beijing, in a rare rebuke of authority, protested Friday on campus to draw attention to the university’s attempts to punish students for taking part in the campaign.

The students are part of a small but tenacious group of young communists using leftist ideology to shine a light on labor abuses across China and to call for better protections for the working class.

The students have put the government in an awkward position because they are invoking the teachings of Mao, Marx and Lenin, which President Xi Jinping has championed, to point to problems in Chinese society including inequality, corruption and greed.

The stern reaction by the authorities reflects the party’s deep anxieties about the young communists and their unusual campaign.

The party has long feared student-led protests, especially since the 1989 pro-democracy movement, which had deep student involvement and was crushed in a bloody crackdown around Tiananmen Square. Party leaders may be concerned that the 30th anniversary of the massacre, coming up in June, could inspire new protests.

“They don’t want to take any chances about students organizing politically,” said Eli Friedman, a labor scholar at Cornell who in October suspended an exchange program with Renmin University in Beijing because of the recent crackdown.

The protest on Friday came after Peking University officials tried to block a Marxist student group from organizing a celebration for Mao’s 125th birthday. On Wednesday, the president of the group, Qiu Zhanxuan, was taken in for questioning by security officials, students said, and he was later removed from his post. On Friday, students held signs demanding that the university reinstate Mr. Qiu and several other members.

The university did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.

The young communists began organizing in the summer, when dozens converged on the factories of southern China to stand with workers who were seeking to form a labor union without the Communist Party’s official backing.

Throughout their campaign, the activists have steadfastly voiced support for Mr. Xi and the tenets of communism. In celebrating Mao’s birthday this week, for example, they sang socialist anthems and chanted slogans like “Long live Chairman Mao! Long live the working class!”

While the students’ leftist critique of society has gained traction among a small number of students on university campuses, their numbers have dwindled in recent weeks as the government has intensified efforts to detain leaders of the campaign.

More than two dozen activists have been detained, gone missing or placed under house arrest over the past few months. In November, a recent graduate of Peking University who took part in the campaign, Zhang Shengye, was beaten and dragged into a car on campus and driven away, according to witnesses.

Since rising to power in 2012, Mr. Xi has sought to rein in dissent, especially on university campuses. Advocates said that the crackdown on the young communists showed that the government was becoming even less tolerant of criticism.

“The message is clear,” said Patrick Poon, a researcher at Amnesty International in Hong Kong. “No one can avoid control, even the Marxists.”

Here's a similar story:

Students Defiant as Chinese University Warns #MeToo Activist - The ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/24/world/asia/china-metoo-peking-university.html

Apr 24, 2018 - BEIJING — Students and professors in China denounced a leading university on Tuesday for trying to silence activism about sexual ...

Keeper of the Flame (1943) -- anti-fascist -- and a movie for today

Keeper of the Flame is "truly provocative in that it was one of Hollywood's few forays into imagining the possibility of homegrown American Fascism and the crucial damage which can be done to individual rights when inhumane and tyrannical ideas sweep a society through a charismatic leader.".....

[Forest] had been corrupted by the adulation he received and plotted to use his enormous influence to turn Americans to fascist ideals and gain control of the United States. She shows O'Malley papers stored in the arsenal which reveal how Forrest (backed by secretive, ultra-wealthy, power-hungry individuals) planned to use racism, anti-union feeling, and antisemitism to divide the country, turning social groups against another in order to create the chaos that would let him seize power. .... Wikipedia

WOW! Remind you of anyone?

I'm watching the movie and researching it at the same time. It matches my recent theme in blogging about right wing populist movements. Filmed in 1943 it was clearly an anti-fascist movie. Spencer Tracy finds out that a popular - populist - leader dies in an accident - he discovers some negative info indicating fascist tendencies.

Robert Forrest's organization was called "Forward America" and Spencer Tracy begins to smell a rat. There are self-organized chapters all over the nation, with a big youth movement -- modeled it seems on Hitler youth.

More from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeper_of_the_Flame_(film)

Keeper of the Flame (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Keeper of the Flame
Directed by	George Cukor
Produced by	Victor Saville
Screenplay by	Donald Ogden Stewart
Based on	Keeper of the Flame by I. A. R. Wylie
Starring	Spencer Tracy Katharine Hepburn Richard Whorf Margaret Wycherly Forrest Tucker Darryl Hickman
Music by	Bronisław Kaper
Cinematography	William H. Daniels
Edited by	James E. Newcom
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	January 28, 1943 [1]
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,172,000[2]
Box office	$3,222,000[2]

Keeper of the Flame is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) drama film directed by George Cukor, and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

The screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart is adapted from the novel Keeper of the Flameby I. A. R. Wylie. Hepburn plays the widow of a famous civic leader who has suddenly died in an accident, while Tracy portrays a former war correspondent who intends to write a flattering biography of the dead man, only to find that his death is shrouded in mystery. Screenwriter Stewart considered the script to be the finest moment of his entire career, feeling vindicated by the assignment as he believed that Hollywood had punished him for years for his political views. Principal filming began in the last week of August 1942, four months after the release of the novel, published by Random House. The entire picture was filmed on a sound stage, with no location shooting. Hepburn had already begun her extramarital affair with Tracy, and due to his heavy drinking, she became his constant guardian during filming.

The film was screened for the Office of War Information's Bureau of Motion Pictures on December 2, 1942, where it was disapproved of by the Bureau's chief, Lowell Mellett. Keeper of the Flame premiered to a poor reception at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, March 18, 1943. MGM head Louis B. Mayer stormed out of the cinema, enraged by his having encouraged the making of a film which equated wealth with fascism. Republicanmembers of Congress complained about the film's obviously leftist politics, and demanded that Will H. Hays, President of the Motion Picture Production Code, establish motion picture industry guidelines for propaganda. Cukor himself was highly dissatisfied by the film and considered it one of his poorest efforts. Nonetheless, today the film is seen more positively, with one critic concluding that Keeper of the Flame is "truly provocative in that it was one of Hollywood's few forays into imagining the possibility of homegrown American Fascism and the crucial damage which can be done to individual rights when inhumane and tyrannical ideas sweep a society through a charismatic leader."

 

Is Victor Orban the Worst Person in the World? Ethnic, Cultural, Nationalistic Cleansing - Plus Rewriting History

Hungarians Fume as Statue of Former Leader Is Downgraded  ---

The statue of Mr. Nagy, who was at once a reformist and a dedicated communist, is expected to be moved and replaced with a memorial to the victims of the Red Terror, a purge of anti-communist forces in 1919. The commission is led by the National Assembly’s speaker, Laszlo Kover, a member of Fidesz.

The Red Terror memorial was originally erected under the regency of Admiral Miklos Horthy, who was Hungary’s de facto leader from 1920 to 1944, a period during which severe legal restrictions were placed on Hungarian Jews.

--- NY Times, Dec. 28, 2018 - full article closes this blog post.

With Prof Kiraly, Oct. 2006

From today's Times about the removal of the statue of a major hero in Hungary, the Communist leader Imra Nagy, who defied the Soviets and led the Hungarian Revolution.

My late and great Brooklyn College history Professor Bela Kiraly, a hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, one week before the 50th anniversary celebration in Budapest in October 2006, told my wife and I when we visited him at his home in Budapest that Imre Nage was one of Hungary's greatest heroes, if not the greatest. A week later, after we had already left, Kiraly was one of the main speakers at the memorial of the revolution, not far from Nage's statue. What is funny is that many of the people I associated with on the left maintained that the revolution was CIA inspired, which I often scoffed at. But that night Kiraly did confirm that the CIA did play a role in his escape to the USA. He became a voice against the Soviets but also was passionate about democracy.

We had witnessed a right wing demo at Parliament earlier that day. He told us that we had witnessed the early stages in 2006 of the right wing anti-democratic movement -- he was concerned and he turned out to be right.

Fred Smith - The Day After Christmas - 2018 Version Plus Ghosts of Past Fred Xmas Posts

Once more my fellow  Skinny award recipient Fred Smith gives us his yearly treat. Below this year's version are some of his past greatest hits.

The Day After Christmas (2018)

It’s the day after Christmas; I’m sitting here stumped.
How could it happen that all the joy had been trumped?
Even Santa, dear Santa, had taken to bed,
And a platinum imposter had stolen his sled.
It was too late to stay him, this darkest year’s Eve
With a sack full of coal, wearing hate on his sleeve.
He grabbed at the reins on his miserable journey.
In the lead stood Rudolph the red-faced attorney,
Who was followed up close by his stable of does.
It gave us new meaning as he roared Ho, Ho, Hos.
“On Ivana and Marla—never feel bitter.
And don’t dare look back as I play with my twitter.
On Melania and Stormy, keep pulling my sleigh;
Onward Huckabee too, and on Kelly Conway.
And so now let me check to see who’s on my list
Who deserve prizes and who got me really pissed:
There’s nothing I have for folks in states that are blue;
And Puerto Rico gets less for all it’s been through;
Must take care of the red states, for that is my base;
And those bearing arms to protect our supreme race;
(And while it enters my mind during this flight,
I want a new flag that’s one hundred percent White.)
There’s goodies for Bibi, and the Saudi crown prince,
With much love for Kanye, who makes Obama wince;
And hail the electors who ensured my first term;
And anyone out there who made Hillary squirm;
Poison apples to prune-faced Nancy and Schumer;
I wish them each an inoperable tumor.
That goes double for Rachel and for O’Donnell;
But, for now, complete praises for Mitch McConnell.
For Kate McKinnon and the cast of SNL,
Here’s a one-way ticket—You can go straight to hell;
And I must heap scorn on all my hand-chosen elves
Whom I ousted for thinking of only themselves.
For every deserter, a replacement was found
As my cabinet door kept on spinning around.
Of course, I have nothing for immigrant children
Who have infested our land by several million;
Or all diseased terrorists and Muslim invaders;
I’ll squash them to save us from such infiltrators.
The question’s not will I, but rather when shall I
Turn against anyone who thinks I’m his ally.
Bless Betsy beside me, busy fixing each school;
Vouchers, charters and God’s mission supply her fuel.
While the stock markets crash, you know that I’m grinning.
Got plenty of hotels and cash—It’s called winning!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The wine soon wore off. The ride didn’t happen at all.
Should’ve known when his first stop was to visit The Wall
Would have thwarted and put a swift end to his game,
As he screamed and raged looking for someone to blame.
Noёl, no Wall, he became hair-trigger irate;
How can I go on to make America great?
Wound up with a Whopper home alone on silk sheets,
While he spouted off outbursts of unseemly tweets.
Still I’m shaken; I hope this was just a bad dream,
A scary clown Santa trapped in his deranged scheme.

======
2017: Fred Smith: Dispirit of the Season


2016: Fred Smith's Annual "Night Before Christmas"

2015: Fred Smith, Poet Laureate of Opt Out - 'Twas the night before...

And then there’s Mulgrew who must choose who is winning

To claim he was backing them from the beginning. 

I first met Fred, a testing expert who used to work for the NYCBOE, when he contacted me about getting ICE members to assist in gathering data for his exposures of the evils of testing. Over the years, his involvement with groups like GEM and Change the Stakes has grown.

Fred is also a statistician for the NY Jets - don't blame him for their absence from the Super Bowl for almost 50 years.

Fred Smith convincing Jets dancers to boycott field tests - he's the one in the middle

Last year (2014) Fred Smith gave us this gem.
Fred Smith: The Day Before Xmas (With Arne Duncan ...

~Fred Smith

Which Side Are You On? Adolph Reed on Identitarian politics in DSA and elsewhere

The Democratic Socialists of America are openly debating internal tensions regarding identity and class, but there are important lessons the broader left needs to learn. If Trump is to be defeated, the learning needs to come fast....  Adolph Reed, Common Dreams 

In my experience over the past almost 5 decades, the issue causing the most angst and tension have revolved around race and gender.

Michael Fiorillo sent this article along. It echoes debates on the left (also inside the Democratic Party) and debates internally in groups like MORE. Actually, in MORE there have been no open debates on this issue, only branding people who don't fall in line. The MORE story when I tell it will be very illustrative of why there will be divisions that might lead to the demise of the Dems' chances of defeating Trump or his ilk.

Those tensions resolve down to two basic alternatives: a strategy focused centrally on agitating for social-democratic programs—such as Medicare for All, free public higher education, public investment in physical and social infrastructure—intended to appeal broadly to working people of all races, genders, and sexual orientations and one that rejects that focus in favor of efforts to mobilize around issues purported to reflect the concerns of groups marginalized on the basis of race, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender or other categories of ascribed identity.

I can apply this to defeating Unity Caucus in the UFT too --- the same type of tensions exist. Focus on certain groups in the UFT and in the broader community or find common ground on a broader basis. These types of tensions have kept the opposition in the UFT divided. [Also see my recent post: People with single all-explaining ideologies have a tendency to let their philosophic blinders distort how they view empirical reality.

Just check out this mind-blowing article in the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/23/us/womens-march-anti-semitism.html

Women’s March Roiled by Accusations of Anti-Semitism

The back story of the woman's march is ugly - from all sides.

I imagine the Democratic Socialists will have a hard time avoiding a split of some kind along these and other lines.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/12/23/which-side-are-you

Published on

Sunday, December 23, 2018

by

Common Dreams

Which Side Are You On?

The Democratic Socialists of America are openly debating internal tensions regarding identity and class, but there are important lessons the broader left needs to learn. If Trump is to be defeated, the learning needs to come fast.

by

Adolph Reed Jr.

"As we approached the 2018 mid-term elections and since, it has become ever clearer that a major struggle between now and 2020 will be over how we define the 'progressive' electoral agenda," writes Reed, "whether it should be weighted toward advancing candidates who are nonwhite, female, and gender-nonconforming or those who support such policy initiatives as Medicare For All.  Of course, those goals are not necessarily in conflict. The question, though, is which should take priority when they are. We must be clear that they are not interchangeable." (Photo: via Facebook)