Midwest Peace & Justice Caucus

Winter Newsletter

2012-01-31T20:03:00.000-06:00

The Winter Newsletter is available. Just click here.

http://neadocs.wikispaces.com/file/view/P%26J+NewsletterWinter2012-2.pdf

Afghan Clock by Tom Wolfe

2012-01-31T19:48:00.001-06:00

This website featured a cost clock for the war in Iraq for a long time, but, like a Timex, it kept ticking even after the war ended. Because war has become our country’s chief export these days, we have finally replaced it with yet another war cost clock, this one on Afghanistan. That conflict is not of primary concern to most Americans today, but it should be. I live in the Quad Cities, an Iowa-Illinois area of some 375,000 people, and my local paper always deaths and injuries of our youth from our wars. My mind fixates on the photo of one of our local girls who was in ROTC at her high school and then enlisted in the Army, only to die at 19 in a far off land for a dubious cause. A cost clock isn’t all that impressive, I know, when what we really need is a death clock, but it’s all we have right now, so let’s pay some attention to it.

Tom Wolfe

P&J Midwest Regional Director

Newspapers Slant Presentation against Occupy

2012-01-30T21:58:00.000-06:00

I wrote an editorial to the local newspaper here in response to an ugly article about the police attack on Occupy Oakland. Articles like the one at the Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus must be dealt with immediately. We must not allow any negative press about our freedom of speech to go without vigorous push back. If teachers are attacked in the press, we must respond immediately and strongly. This is the article to which I responded. http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=579376 (Note: When finding the link, I found that the title of the article had been changed, and that there was no accompanying picture. I had fired off my response to them and got a phone call from them within 2 hours, saying my letter will be published. I suspect I was not the only one who complained.)

Here is my response.

Dear Editor,

I keep staring at the picture on the front page of The Argus/Dispatch today (Jan. 30) with subdued rage. The influence of a newspaper to make a political point without using the op-ed page and yet be inflammatory was shown on that picture with the headline “Assessing the damage.” The point, obviously, being made by the picture with its burning flag and the young cowards wearing kerchiefs over their faces was “Look at those dirty hippies and how much they hate America !” I want to gag.

How I wish the Argus/Dispatch had on its front page the tea party groups that put swastikas on our President’s pictures and spitting on Black Representatives as they walked by with a headline such as “Fascist tactics at protest” accompanying it. But I guess if you are trying to sway public opinion in your corporationistic point of view, you would never do that. Instead, you allow the moaning and groaning of public officials of Oakland when they talk about how much money it took to, in their minds, enforce the law against these hooligans. That explains why they beat up elderly women who exercised their First Amendment rights. People of all ages were there and were (and still are) justifiably angry. However, the police initiated the contact. This has been a tactic all across the country against groups that can not get jobs anymore, much like the WWI vets did in Washington during Hoover ’s Administration. There is no difference between the tea partiers expressions and the Occupiers’ expressions, except for one—the corporations love the tea partiers and have evidently made sure that they were not touched.

If Oakland or any other city wants to recoup money they spent in inciting action against these mostly peaceful people, then here is a thought for them. Enforce the law, and go prosecute the banks who illegally foreclosed on people. Enforce the law, and go prosecute the banks who illegally brought about the economic collapse of 2008. Recoup the money your own citizens lost when these criminals stole their economic way of life. Every local community that has a rash of foreclosures should be outraged against these banks, but instead they go after the ones who are hurt. You’re darn right these people are angry. Saying stupid things like “Go get a job” as a counter to these protestors means you do not get it. Attacking students who are sitting peacefully with pepper spray is the local government’s fault for the money they spent on this. If you intentionally support the corporate bankers over your citizens, you are corrupt, and you deserve to be protested against. This is the very thing that Thomas Jefferson encouraged.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

2012-01-29T15:12:00.001-06:00

My nom de plume (nom de keyboard) is Tomazulob. This is a combination of a character of a novel/movie and the initials of he movie: Tomaz from The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I have chosen this name because of the transformation of a man who went through the early part of his life doing good for society but taking care of his narcissism as well. His political views were minimal until one night he made a statement about the Russian occupiers of his native country, Czechoslovakia. When the Russians came into Prague in 1968 to reclaim control of Czechoslovakia from its liberal and independent ways, the Russians found citizens they felt were agitating their own homeland to resist the Russian control. He lost his ability to be a doctor; so, he had to resort to menial jobs. During this time he changed his personal philosophy from a harmful creator of pain to those that loved him into one who learned the true love to those close to him and to those he came in contact with.

Some of the situations in this novel parallel what we are seeing now with the so-called conservative tide overwhelming the common sense of how people should treat each other. We see a wave of oppressive and repressive corporate leaders moving in with the financial tanks, reclaiming what was lost before the FDR administration. When FDR and the Congress instituted the New Deal policies, the corporate overlords were seething. It got to a point in which they contacted Major General Smedley Butler (a James Cromwell look-alike) to try to lead an overthrow of the US Government. Gen. Butler, hero that he was, testified to Congress what had happened and stopped the insurrection in its tracks. However, they are back. Their tanks are loaded with huge wads of cash and misinformation. Their soldiers are politicians that they have bought and are using against the foundations of the Middle Class: collective bargaining, fair tax rates, Social Security, Medicare, and more.

We are living in an age similar to what Tomaz and the rest of the Czechs were in: a false sense that the overlords had been minimized, that their influence on society was not in the political equation. Some of us were voting for the overlords’ soldiers, thinking the consequences would not be dire. Then Wisconsin happened. While some of us saw the signs, many of us did not. Those union members who voted for Gov. Walker bought into the innocuous presence he led them to believe were his policies. While the Koch brothers were paying him to suppress the unions of the teachers and the fire fighters, many people were shocked to find that he completely misrepresented himself in his campaign. Now the tanks are rolling in, and the people need to fight back or lose their livelihood. While we wallowed in our lightness of being, the overlords took advantage of us and have come in for the end of our easy ways. They want us in poverty. They want us in ignorance. They want us in revolt against each other instead of against them. They want us to stop our ideals of helping children for our country’s future because their definition of a good future is a large savings account on the Cayman Islands. Will we allow them to do this, or will we stay awake from here on?

2012-01-21T12:51:00.000-06:00

"This country does in fact have a serious deficit problem. But the reality is that the deficit was caused by two wars - unpaid for. It was caused by huge tax breaks for the wealthiest people in this country. It was caused by a recession as result of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior on Wall Street. And if those are the causes of the deficit, I will be damned if we're going to balance the budget on backs of the elderly, the sick, the children, and the poor. That's wrong." Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Senate Budget Committee, 11/18/11

Possible Agenda for Regionals

2012-01-06T12:09:00.001-06:00

MIDWEST REGIONAL CAUCUS AGENDA, 2012
The NEA Peace and Justice Caucus does not speak on behalf of or for the NEA. It is a members only internal group.
I. Introduction of people present.
II. Distribute list of P&J goals.
Members promote economic and social justice and peaceful resolution of conflict.

Our goal is to……
Reduce violence.
Promote tolerance.
Increase awareness of basic human and civil rights.
Support the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively
Work for world peace & disarmament.
Reduce the military budget and increase funding of education and other social needs.

III. P&J Goals: Our extensive list of supportive NBIs and Resolutions at the RA have caused confusion and conflict. The Exec Bd decided to limit the support we will give to the following:

IV. New priorities Campaign which has many of the same goals as the PandJ caucus to put money into social programs as opposed to war including:
End the Wars, Cut the Pentagon Budget, Tax the Rich, Corporations and Speculators, Invest in Our Communities; web site for principles,
http://newprioritiescampaign.org/about/declaration-of-principles-full-text/

V. Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid have been on the chopping block of the Federal Government in looking at budget cuts. There is a way to sustain these programs.
VI. Student College Debt: (Obama plan will help because it looks at the maximum students can now pay back, but more needs to be done to help our system and our students.)
VII. Economic justice: voting rights/restrictions being placed on voting rights/languages of citizens such as Spanish speaker offers discrimination/elderly ability to get to the polls
VIII. Environmental issues: right to clean air and water

IX. Explain Chiapas initiative, and list website for Paul Mann School: http://www.schoolsforchiapas.org/english/photos/schools-of-hope/577.html.
X. Explain Paul Mann Award
XI. P&J Websites:
a. National site not working right now.
b. Midwest site, http://midwestpeaceandjustice.blogspot.com/. Send anything you’d like posted to Nancy Porter at PorterNancy@msn.com. Need new blood running the site. Volunteers?
Thanks to Tom Wolfe for putting this together.

Rethinking Schools: Stop the School to Prison Pipeline

2012-01-05T13:03:00.000-06:00

Special Issue

An exclusive interview with Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, centers Rethinking Schools' special winter issue. Our focus is the school-to-prison pipeline and how to stop it in our classrooms, our schools, and our communities.

"Arresting Development: Zero Tolerance and the Criminalization of Children" reviews the history, impact, and future of zero tolerance policies. Our investigative reporter is Annette Fuentes, author of Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse.

In "The Classroom-to-Prison Pipeline," master teacher and RS editor Linda Christensen faces a classroom revolt. She realizes that opting out of this "pipeline" requires us to continue to rethink our classrooms.

Then Jody Sokolower, policy and production editor, discusses how teachers can support students with incarcerated parents and other family members.

And much, much more.

This is one of our most exciting and thought-provoking issues. Don't miss it.

Resolution presented at Iowa Caucus Night

2012-01-04T10:34:00.000-06:00

by Maher A Josephson on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 4:24pm
Foreign Affairs, Israel/ Palestine
Because the conflict in the Middle East is critical to peace and justice worldwide, its implication on human rights, war, financial cost, and our cherished civil rights values;
We support (1) the rights of the Palestinian People to live in dignity in their own state on portions of historic Palestine as appeared before the Six-Day war of 1967. (2) Israel’s right to live within a secure border where all citizens regardless of religion are treated equally, and provided equal opportunity economically and politically. (3) A direct, active, and even-handed US role to facilitate a peaceful final resolution.
We oppose (1) Israel’s settlement activities in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. (2) Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem prior to a final resolution to the conflict. (3) All calls for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians who live behind the Green Line, who are Israeli citizens. (4) The Separation Wall for its symbolism, and for erecting it in the occupied territories, which resulted in de facto annexation of land. (5) The use of violence, human shields, and collective punishment, whether perpetrated by state or non-state actors. (6) Any violence directed against peaceful demonstrators in the West Bank & Gaza. (7) The sending of arms to the region actuated by the influence of the Military Industrial Complex.

2011-12-25T15:13:00.001-06:00

The officers and staff of USLAW wish you, your family and friends joy filled holidays and a new year that brings more peace, equality and justice to the world! NEA PandJ has been a member of USLAW for several years due to the donation of individual members on the Executive Board. You, too, can join this important group.
Peace and Justice Midwest wishes you a great holiday season.

Call Your Senator about the National Defense Authorization Act

2011-12-15T11:09:00.000-06:00

HR 1540, the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), was approved by the House yesterday on a vote of 283 - 136. Democrats were split, 93 -93. Rep. Braley was the only Iowa legislator to vote no. This bill includes a lot of stuff, including authorization of almost $670 Billion for FY 2012 expenditures for the Pentagon and for the Afghan war. It also includes provisions that allow for indefinite detention of anyone accused of terrorism, and eliminates a previous amendment which specified no Afghan war after 2013. This bill no longer bears the threat of a veto by the President.
It appears this bill will come to a vote in the US Senate today Dec. 15th. Please call Senators Harkin (202 224-3254) and Grassley (202 224-3744) or your US Senator and urge a NO vote.. Ask your friends to do the same.

PEACEFUL Demonstration

2011-12-08T17:59:00.000-06:00

What: Rally and Occupation of Pres. Obama's IA Campaign HQ in DM
Date: Sat. Dec 17, 2011
Time: 11:30 a.m.
Site: 621 E. Second St, DM IA

Please consider doing the Obama Pres. Offices occupation and risk
arrest. Or sponsoring someone from your group who can, by offering to
help pay a their fines and court cost. Please recommend to any peace
or justice groups and org. that you belong to sponsor someone in your
group to officially represent them at the occupation and risk
arrest...

Come the last week of Dec. the whole world will be watching. This is
as good a time as I have ever sense in my 35 yr peace making career
when doing a simple nonviolent low risk civil disobedience witness can
make a big difference in the political life of our nation.

Anyone considering joining Elliott Admans, IA VFP's Ed Bloomer and
Jeff Strottman, Rev. Robert Cook and DMCW Frank Cordaro (The five
people so far who have signed on the risk arrest.) must contact Frank
Cordaro and / or Gil Landolt before hand.....

Please feel free to pass this invite on to others...

DMCW Frank Cordaro

----

Gil Landolt 515 333-2180; Frank Cordaro 515 282-4781

Small World

2011-12-02T12:12:00.001-06:00

At this time of the year when giving is in so many minds, read what some are doing to make life better for children around the world.
Dear Friends,
I’m sharing this with you either because you are a parent, work with children or have demonstrated a commitment to our global community of children. My friend John is pioneering an initiative to create a global consciousness about the well being of children world-wide. Read and enjoy!
Alisa
###
Today we are launching a new organization called Small World. The mission is to create a global community of parents and families committed to ensuring a peaceful, livable, just planet for all children on earth.
We invite you to join us as a founding member by signing the pledge for all children.
The threats to the present and future well-being of children are many, but they can be overcome by a much more powerful force -- the united power of love and concern in action for our children, for all children everywhere.
We know what a challenge it is managing the day-to-day demands of life, much less fitting in a rally or letter to the President. With this in mind, Small World will provide ways to take meaningful actions in concert with others from the global to the personal level. Small World will help create, cultivate and connect parent & family networks. We’ll share ideas, resources, strategies and actions to bring about a world that is worthy of the imagination, laughter, joy and dreams of each and every child.
Together, we have the power to create a world where every child lives without fear of war and violence, on a livable planet with a stable climate and healthy life support systems, in societies that provide the necessities of life for all children, everywhere in our one Small World.
We are just beginning. We welcome and encourage your ideas, energy and commitment to make this vision a reality. Please join us by taking the first simple step of signing the pledge for all children.
Gratefully,
Alisa, Amelia, Ann, Ayize, Carolin, Dianne, Jacques, James, John, Jon, JP, Julie, Karen, Kathleen, Kim, Launa, Lynn, Mike, Pete, Rebecca, Steve, Zahara

Death Penalty

2011-12-02T12:07:00.001-06:00

Mike Farrell was our guest speaker at the RA in 2009. He is an activist who is making a difference. Below is an update on
Working for alternatives to the death penalty

2011 has been a year of tremendous achievements, heartbreaking losses and, at last, real hope for change in California.

In March, Illinois followed New York, New Jersey and New Mexico and abolished the death penalty. Two months later, we at Death Penalty Focus were thrilled to honor Illinois Governor Pat Quinn at our Annual Awards Dinner. Governor Quinn, who had long supported the death penalty, spent two months deliberating on his decision. At our event he spoke eloquently about his change of heart. "If the system can't be guaranteed 100% error-free, then we shouldn't have the system," Quinn said. "It cannot stand."

April brought the incredible Jeanne Woodford to Death Penalty Focus as our new Executive Director. For those of you who have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Jeanne, please hear me when I say that she is our secret weapon for ending the death penalty in California - and beyond. As the warden of San Quentin State Prison, Jeanne experienced the pain of overseeing four executions. After leaving San Quentin, she was appointed to head the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Today, the more people Jeanne has the opportunity to meet and talk with, the more support we gain for ending the death penalty. It’s almost that simple. Put Jeanne in front of a group of death penalty supporters and before long their support begins to evaporate. We are thrilled to have her on board.

I am also thrilled that, last week, Governor John Kitzhaber of Oregon halted executions in his state. In a simple but uncompromising statement, he echoed the growing distaste for capital punishment being heard in many of our courts, our legislatures, churches, and homes. "I am convinced,” he wrote, “we can find a better solution that keeps society safe, supports the victims of crime and their families and reflects Oregon values. I refuse to be a part of this compromised and inequitable system any longer; and I will not allow further executions while I am Governor." Bravo Governor Kitzhaber!

September brought the heartbreaking execution of Troy Davis. Yet, even on that most awful day, Mr. Davis himself understood that his death would galvanize support for ending this barbaric practice. On his last day he said, "There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country…Never stop fighting for justice and we will win!"

Quote of the Day

2011-11-22T12:29:00.000-06:00

“Let’s certainly not blame public employees for a financial crisis they had nothing to do with. And let’s not use this as an excuse to erode their bargaining rights. So whether it’s Wisconsin, the state of Ohio, I strongly disapprove.”

Barack Obama

Veteran's Day, 11-11-11

2011-11-02T14:22:00.000-05:00

The Veterans For Peace Chapter #161 is sponsoring an Armistice Day Observance to be held on Friday, November 11th at the Clinton St. entrance to Old Capitol. The observance will begin @ 10:30AM, and bells will be rung @ 11:00 AM, as they were rung around the world at the end of WWI in 1918 and on each November 11th for decades thereafter. Armistice Day is a day to promote peace and to remember the victims of war, both veterans and civilians. The entire community is welcome. Co-sponsored by Iowa NEA Peace & Justice Caucus, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and PEACE Iowa. Celebrate and recapture peace on 11/11/11/11!

WWW.OccupyIowaCity.org writes principles

2011-10-31T15:20:00.000-05:00

General Assembly Approves Statement of Principles

Submitted by frodopwns on Mon, 2011-10-24 22:32
The Occupy Iowa City General Assembly approved the following statement of principles over the course of a two part discussion on Oct. 23 and 24, 2011.

In the fierce urgency of now:

We observe the destructive power of militarism throughout the globe, increasingly spurred on by national and corporate greed, fear, and desire for complete domination over people and resources.
We witness the greatest disparity in the distribution of wealth since the Great Depression.
We observe corporate and individual greed on an unprecedented scale, resulting in the upward flow of capital, the impoverishment of the working class, and the dismantling of the democratic process.
We witness the exploitation of the Earth and its natural resources, and its disastrous effects on climate, agriculture, food, waterways, and all living beings.
We witness concerted efforts to criminalize and oppress human beings on the basis of ability, age, class, gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, religion, race, ethnicity, and nationality.
We witness political repression and incarceration of dissenting voices and political ideologies.
We witness the degradation of public schools which do not provide the skills needed for creative and free thought, or for full participation in economic or political systems.
We witness the infiltration of the profit motive into all spheres of life.

Therefore, Occupy Iowa City, based on the material and social conditions of the world today, and aware of the particular responsibility we bear as people who reside in the United States, articulates the following principles:

We stand in solidarity with the brave people participating in Occupy Wall Street and other Occupy movements throughout the world.
We affirm inherent human rights and recognize the utility of the United Nation’s “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” as a model for the articulation of these rights, but additionally affirm the need for protection of diverse and indigenous cultures.
We affirm the need for safe and affordable housing for all human beings.
We affirm the right of human beings to choose where they live and work, and to engage in these activities free from intimidation or harassment from the state, employers, employees, financiers, or the community.
We affirm the need to protect the environment and believe that a just world requires all people and organizations to take full responsibility for the ecological implications of their actions.
We affirm the right of all people to have access to appropriate health care as well as clean and nourishing food and water.
We affirm our commitment to peace and the belief that entities, including nations, states, and private capital, should never pursue war or brutality of any kind.
We affirm transnational interdependence, which rejects colonization, military occupation, and economic and cultural imperialism.
We believe in the equitable and just distribution of all resources, opportunity, and wealth.
We affirm the necessity of affordable public education for all people, so that they may be fully informed, creative and curious participants in a just society.
We affirm our commitment to the process of democratic decision-making, and believe all people deserve an equal voice and vote.
We affirm the interconnectedness of these principles and seek new paradigms to bring about systemic change.
This is a living document and is not all-inclusive.

Meeting type:
General Assembly

Elizabeth Warren on class warfare.

2011-10-31T10:00:00.002-05:00

"I hear all this, you know, 'Well, this is class warfare, this is whatever,'" Warren said. "No. There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own -- nobody.

"You built a factory out there? Good for you. But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police-forces and fire-forces that the rest of us paid for. You didn't have to worry that marauding bands would come and seize everything at your factory -- and hire someone to protect against this -- because of the work the rest of us did.

"Now look, you built a factory and it turned into something terrific, or a great idea. God bless -- keep a big hunk of it. But part of the underlying social contract is, you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along."1

I ask you to Check out her videos on "class warfare". She misses those who inherited millions and billions but don't forget, without our countries' regulations or lack thereof, the rich wouldn't have had it so easy, either. China demands joining forces with another company already established there before any other country can move in and take over corporate productions. That way, at least the Chinese profit, too. Now could that have something to do with the fact we are a debtor nation to China!? Mmm, government regulations and how it can help the economy....now that is a topic for discussion!

Chicago Substance News: Newsletter supporting Public Ed reports

2011-10-24T10:26:00.000-05:00

The arrest of Occupy Chicago peaceful protesters demonstrates that some laws are more important to civil order for the top 1% than others. Rahm Emanuel runs for mayor without a home residence to live in. Mayor Daley funnels more than $3 million in taxpayer TIF money to his favored charities including his wife's. Between 1972 and 1991, 135 African-American men and women were arrested and tortured by former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge and officers at Area 2 police headquarters, and Dick Daley as State's Attorney refuses to investigate. The city has paid out tens of millions of dollars in the last couple years to settle a variety of police abuse cases, but reforming Police Chief Jody Weiss – while improving all public safety numbers – run out of town on a rail because the police don't like his reforms. Daley destroys Meigs Field runways breaking federal laws and leading to $330,000 in fines for the taxpayers to cover. Last year, CME makes nearly $1 billion but gets $15 million in taxpayer TIF money to spruce up its building at 30 S. Wacker, and now Rahm is lobbying Springfield for CME to get more tax breaks while jacking up taxes on the rest of us. All of this waste and corruption is accepted by the powers that be. But Saturday’s arrests show that if you demonstrate peacefully against these iniquities you will be arrested for disorderly behavior. Do not let greed, corruption and unprincipled leadership silence our consciences and voices as taxpayers.

Op Ed in Press Citizen/Occupied by 99% of us and proving it

2011-10-18T11:04:00.001-05:00

The following account is embarrassing to share, but I feel there is something instructive in it. About three years ago, I was laid off from my $65,000 a year job. At the time, my wife and I had credit card and other debts approaching $48,000, this in addition to a home mortgage of $151,000. In the eight months that it took me to find a new job, we went through most of our liquid assets to pay off many of our debts and to stay afloat while foregoing personal bankruptcy.

We cut every corner that we could and we availed ourselves of the Crisis Center's food bank because we literally didn't have grocery money. Unemployment compensation helped us too, but at about a third of my then normal take home, it was barely paying the mortgage. I'm not going to lie, it was a dark time for my wife and I, but not without moments of grace from caring friends and the gift of shared time together while I interviewed for jobs.
When I found a new job in town, it was nearly $30,000 less than what I was being paid and with less benefits. But I was (and am) grateful to have a job, to be able to continue living in Iowa City, and to keep our home.

Since then, I very much enjoy my job in that I can assist others in their job search and career planning, And believe me when I say that I have a lot of empathy for the people I have a chance to help. Also, I have been able to take on part-time work and our income is back up to 80% of what we used to bring home. Most recently though, I've seen the money in our retirement account decrease by 14% while witnessing corporate profits skyrocketing.

I support the College Green campers and other protesters across the state and the US because there is something fundamentally wrong with the way that unscrupulous organizations are able to continue to profit astronomically on people who play by the rules, try to be personally responsible, and still find themselves barely making ends meet.

Beyond Wall Street, state and national politicians who supposedly represent us on Main Street, have let us down. Too many people I know are also trying hard to keep it all together. I regret to say that I do not trust most politicians to make a difference for me, not when they benefit from corporate underwriting to win and keep office and allow those interests to write the rules that we have to live by. On the other hand, I trust that things can change through people paying attention and protesting in their way.

In the past, I have put a lot of energy into actively changing politics, but find that I have so little left in the tank because of the day-to-day worries of paying the bills and meeting obligations. To those who are camping out and marching, I hope you can understand why I'm not out there with you. My wife and I thank you for your sacrifice. To those of you who don't think that this occupying movement is the right course of action, what are you doing?

Garry Klein is a current board member of PEACE Iowa, and an Independent voter.

March ON!

2011-10-14T06:39:00.002-05:00

Occupy Wall Street Marches Saturday, October 15, in Iowa. Meet at College Green Park at 10AM in Iowa City. Check sites for Des Moines and Dubuque!

Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-13T22:58:00.001-05:00

Occupy Wall Street hasn't made specific demands yet but they've already won their first big fight -- big banks and their right-wing allies in Congress have taken notice... and they're scared of what they see.

Occupy Wall Street has inspired occupations in hundreds of cities across the country -- from Atlanta to Boston to Los Angeles. Now, it's time to expand the fight beyond major cities and into the suburbs, the countryside -- everywhere.

The problem is local occupations outside of major cities may never be able to reach the kind of critical mass that will turn heads and force elected leaders to respond. Yet small towns and rural areas standing up and getting involved is the most likely way to help build this movement to the next level.

So we've spent the week asking members of Occupy Wall Street and DFA what's the best thing we could do right now to help build the movement for the long term. The answer was clear. Help us show support for Occupy Wall Street everywhere -- including our own front yard. That's why we put together "We are the 99 percent" lawn signs so Americans everywhere can join the movement.

Iowa City and Des Moines have an Occupy Wall Street. We use the one in Iowa City to promote peace.

Get an Occupy Wall Street yard sign right now.

Normally we give merchandise away for free, but yard signs are expensive.

It costs $1.29 to print each sign. It costs $2.50 to package them. It can cost up to $9.75 to ship them, depending on where you live. And when buying signs in large quantities, it costs up to $1,000 just to add a second color to the sign.

When it's all said and done -- each sign costs $13.76 to print, package and ship directly to your home. So, we're asking for a contribution of at least $16 to help cover all the costs. If you contribute more, we'll use the additional money raised to support our continued involvement, spreading the message, and supporting the people on the ground in New York and beyond who started this bold movement.

It's October. In New York, Boston, and even Atlanta, Occupy Wall Street needs sleeping bags, blankets, medical supplies and so much more. Making a contribution today not only gets you a yard sign so you can show your support, it will help us deliver more of the resources that people on the ground need right now.

Get your "We are the 99 percent" yard sign right now.

Thank you for everything you do.

-Charles

Charles Chamberlain, Political Director
Democracy for America

P.S. Our lawyers say we need to make it clear that the total amount of your purchase is a contribution to Democracy for America under the Federal Election Campaign Act. Please contribute now and get your lawn sign today.

Support Labor in Egypt

2011-10-04T08:17:00.002-05:00

The Egyptian revolution last winter was an inspiration to the whole world. And workers were at the heart of it. Their strikes brought down the Mubarak regime.

But today, Egypt's military rulers continue to criminalise strikes.

That hasn't stopped Egyptian workers from walking off the job in their hundreds of thousands. Today, a major strike wave is sweeping the country, with schools, hospital and public transport systems shut down.

Those workers face the risk of brutal repression unless the country's military rulers start recognizing their basic human right to join and form trade unions, and to strike.

Egypt's new independent unions and the International Trade Union Confederation have today launched a major campaign to pressure the new regime to enact a labour law that recognizes workers' rights.

It's extremely important that you and other members of your union act today by sending off a short message. It will take you less than a minute to do this.

Click link below to send off your message.

Please pass this message on to other members of your union.

Thank you!

Eric Lee

Link to support Egypt Labor

2011-10-04T08:16:00.002-05:00

http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1120
www.labourstart.org

Come to Chiapas!

2011-10-03T13:50:00.002-05:00

Support those who need your help!
Join us in the misty mountains and steamy
rainforests of the Mexican southeast!
J Help build freedom-loving Zapatista schools.
J Live and learn in indigenous Maya communities.
J Experience a profound people’s movement.
J Make friends with rebels from all over the world.

Chiapas Trips 2012
* Zapatista New Year’s Anniversary Celebration
Tues., Dec. 28, 2011 until Sun., Jan. 1, 2012
* Fruit Orchards & Reforestation Nurseries
Sun., Jan. 1 until Sat., Jan. 7, 2012
* Alternative Spring Break: Rainforest Ecology
Various dates during March 2012
* Mayan Corn and Organic Agriculture
Sun., July 29 to Sat., Aug. 4, 2012
* Zapatista Health and Education Systems
Sun., Aug. 5 to Sat., Aug. 11, 2012
* Special Chiapas Travel ~ You choose the date!
Chiapas Trips 2012
* Zapatista New Year’s Anniversary Celebration
Tues., Dec. 28, 2011 until Sun., Jan. 1, 2012
* Fruit Orchards & Reforestation Nurseries
Sun., Jan. 1 until Sat., Jan. 7, 2012
* Alternative Spring Break: Rainforest Ecology
Various dates during March 2012
* Mayan Corn and Organic Agriculture
Sun., July 29 to Sat., Aug. 4, 2012
* Zapatista Health and Education Systems
Sun., Aug. 5 to Sat., Aug. 11, 2012
* Special Chiapas Travel ~ You choose the date!
Chiapas Trips 2012
* Zapatista New Year’s Anniversary Celebration
Tues., Dec. 28, 2011 until Sun., Jan. 1, 2012
* Fruit Orchards & Reforestation Nurseries
Sun., Jan. 1 until Sat., Jan. 7, 2012
* Alternative Spring Break: Rainforest Ecology
Various dates during March 2012
* Mayan Corn and Organic Agriculture
Sun., July 29 to Sat., Aug. 4, 2012
* Zapatista Health and Education Systems
Sun., Aug. 5 to Sat., Aug. 11, 2012
* Special Chiapas Travel ~ You choose the date!
Chiapas Trips 2012
* Zapatista New Year’s Anniversary Celebration
Tues., Dec. 28, 2011 until Sun., Jan. 1, 2012
* Fruit Orchards & Reforestation Nurseries
Sun., Jan. 1 until Sat., Jan. 7, 2012
* Alternative Spring Break: Rainforest Ecology
Various dates during March 2012
* Mayan Corn and Organic Agriculture
Sun., July 29 to Sat., Aug. 4, 2012
* Zapatista Health and Education Systems
Sun., Aug. 5 to Sat., Aug. 11, 2012
* Special Chiapas Travel ~ You choose the date!
www.SchoolsforChiapas.org
Call 619-232-2841 or email
pedrocafe@schoolsforchiapas.org

Constitution Day

2011-09-16T14:05:00.002-05:00

Constitution Day commemorates the formation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by thirty-nine brave men on September 17, 1787, recognizing all who, are born in the U.S. or by naturalization, have become citizens.

The LWV begins a four part study beginning tonight at the Iowa City Public Library at 7PM, September 16, addressing the Constitution. Visit the Johnson County League of Women Voters web site for more information.

Child Poverty Continues to Rise in America...Anybody Noticing?

2011-09-11T19:12:00.002-05:00

From "The Kids Count" by William Fisher, Truthout

"Now, the Annie E. Casey Foundation gives us a set of hard and very grim data to support "60 Minutes'" anecdotal view. That data is very scary, very anger inducing and very heartbreaking. The new numbers on 2009 poverty among US children finds 31 million children living in families that are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Now, in 2010, they are higher still."

"The foundation's new report - "Kids Count" - tells us that poverty rates among children rose substantially, not just during the recession, but throughout the last decade. The official child poverty rate rose by nearly 20 percent from 2000 to 2009. And, in 2010, 11 percent of children lived with at least one unemployed parent.

That means that 20 percent of all American children are living in poverty. Twenty percent is 31 million kids. Think about it!

The foundation says that what's even more troubling in some ways is that the children who are on the edge of living in poverty, those children who live with families that are at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, now comprise 42 percent of all children living at that level."

Read the full article at this LINK!

Education: Our True Homeland Security

2011-09-11T18:59:00.001-05:00

Sunday 11 September 2011
by: William J. Astore, Truthout | Op-Ed

Today's students see education as a means to an end, the end being a respectable job with decent pay and benefits.

And who can blame them? With the national unemployment rate at 9.1 percent (a percentage that doesn't include part-timers seeking full-time employment and those unemployed who have simply given up looking for jobs), students are understandably worried about career prospects.

Many college students are also worried about paying back their student loans; operating under such financial pressure, a focus on salary and the possibility of pay raises and promotions is hardly surprising.

Combine these personal pressures with a stalled economy and a political realm that increasingly sees public service as wasteful and unnecessary, and it's no wonder that education is being reduced to another for-profit venture: another fungible commodity in a world driven by money and the bottom line.

But education is much more than a commodity. At its best, education is a transformative experience. It opens new horizons to us; it helps us to envision new possibilities even as it serves to sustain our freedoms.

How do we recapture education's idealism in an environment driven by parsimony and focused relentlessly on short-term issues of solvency and relevance?

How about redefining education as our true Homeland Security? A security based not on military power or intrusive surveillance but on creativity and critical thinking and informed citizenship? How about stimulating and facilitating a lifelong pursuit of fresh ideas and innovative solutions to national and global challenges?

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE AT TRUTH-OUT LINK

2011-07-25T00:58:00.000-05:00

RA Report from Bill Balderston: The massive gathering that is the convention (representative assembly) of the National Education Association , the nation's largest union with 3.1 million members, came together in Chicago on July 1st-5th.. Despite a lower number of delegates in the last couple years, slightly less than 9000 (down from the ten thousand in earlier times), it is still the largest delegated decision-making body in the world. This fall-off is partly due to massive layoffs of education workers, combined with the difficult economic situation many locals face in these times. Part a P.T. Barnum like spectacle, the RA is also an impressive demonstration of a democratic decision-making body, that despite considerable leadership manipulation, still proves the ability of working people to build broad institutions which allow real input of members. Even while acknowledging the spectacle and lesser figure of participants, the Assembly still dealt with a number of matters which not only clearly impacted the working conditions of members (and the learning conditions of students) and the level of political involvement of the union, but also related to the overall struggle for union rights and public services throughout the US.
The context for these debates is all too evident. Public education is the major battlefield not only for struggles over adequate funding for public services (most education funds are from the state and local levels), but a critical ideological testing ground for understanding the value of government-run services and the workers/unions which provide them.This conflict in part centers on battles over union rights (which are certainly not limited to Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan) and are increasingly national, bi-partisan attacks; teacher unions are portrayed as the most rigid and intransigent, attempting to protect members (often the most senior) who are "incompetent' . Additionally, we are labeled as obstacles to 'real reforms', which are said to be in the best interest of student/parents, many of whom are facing blatant economic and racial discrimination (note the recent film "Waiting for Superman"). Rarely do we hear about how curriculum has been bastardized to conform to numbing standardized tests, how charter schools are massively subsidized under this new approach, receiving public monies even while showing little accountability to the public and being mainly non-union, how new policy pushes divisive merit pay and seeks to undermine seniority. All this, while more and more working class youth are pushed out of the education system and/or have their opportunities severely curtailed. At the center of all these policies is the Obama administration and its Department of Education, using legal/funding measures such as "Race to the Top" (really the basement) to further this agenda.
Despite such major attacks on the rights and influence of the teacher unions (including the American Federation of Teachers, the other mostly education workers' union), the union leadership seem to respond with a combination of an Ali-like "Rope-a-dope' passivity and a lemming-like desire to co-operate in their own execution.
This is justified by the desire to have a 'place at the table' and have these politicians 'see reason'; it totally ignores the fact that there is a consensus on the austerity/'neo-liberal' program pushed by both parties, although the Democrats seek to have unions and others of their institutional base actually agree to this self-destruction.
Which leads back to the NEA Assembly. There were two major items of controversy which received national visibility.. The first was the early endorsement of the Obama re-election bid; this was already advocated by the national leadership, despite some resistance from several state affiliates, including the California Teachers Association (CTA). Most of the debate during the RA occurred within the state caucuses which was very contentious, not only in California, but states like Tennessee and Oklahoma. As Steve Neat, an Oakland delegate stated, "I fail to see what leverage we have with an administration which can only be classifies as unfriendly to teacher rights and disdainful of teachers' opinions." In addition, the NEA leaders called in Vice-President Joe Biden to speak on July 3rd; not only did it significantly disrupt the RA, but was an insult to members from the person we now know is the administration's chief negotiator around slashing federal social spending. The final vote of 5,414 to 2,102 for early endorsement (with nearly a thousand not voting) is not an adequate expression of the level of anger and frustration felt by so many delegates.
The second major debate concerned a new revised NEA policy on "Teacher Accountability and Evaluation". This item allows for (yet to be developed) "fair" standardized tests to be used as part of a teacher's evaluation. While there was some strong language around teacher/union input and due process for probationary teachers, there was general concern that this measure would serve as mainly a bargaining chip in negoatiations with the Obama administration and various levels of the education bureaucracy. Though the NEA leaders vowed to resist any ultimate determining role of such tests in teacher evaluation and compensation, the recent speeches by NEA President Dennis Van Roekel (and AFT President Randi Weingarten) indicate otherwise.
There were many other new business items focused on education policy. These included motions around encouraging parental resistence to the forced taking of standardized testing, and limiting the impact of programs such as Teach for America, which encourage a revolving door situation at most urban schools (whatever the good intentions of individual TFA participants). There was also considerable discussion on the impact of the Citizens United case which allows for unlimited spending on elections by corporations. As Jim Mordecai, one of those active around this issue, noted "Itis time to fight money power with people power." Although the NEA (and most of the AFL-CIO unions, supported the Supreme Court decision, since they are actually categorized as 'corporations'), one new legislative amendment passed at the RA calling for the NEA to support a Constitutional Amendment which would allow Congress and the States to regulate election expenditures and called for a fair system of campaign disclosure.
The NEA Peace & Justice Caucus raised a number of motions dealing with a wide range of issues . Nancy Porter of Iowa, speaking for the caucus called for the NEA to join the New Priorities Network and advocated for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She said, "As long as the government continues to back corporate programs aimed at bank bailouts and wars of occupation, teachers and students will never receive the resources we need and will continue to face major cuts." This motion was referred to the NEA Board, as were a number of other items dealing with organizing around social justice. While the general tone at the RA on such broader issues (the rights of teachers/students in the Mideast, militarization in the schools, et al) remained fairly conservative, we did make some progress on policy around single-payer health care (which the NEA nominally endorses); the delegates voted to have the NEA join the Labor Campaign for Single-Payer and to adopt a policy advocating for a Medicare-like system for all US youth, 22 years of age and under. The P&J Caucus also hosted an event for representatives from CORE, the rank-n-file grouping within the Chicago Teachers Union which has recently gained leadership in the CTU; a number of NEA delegates attended a 'teacher fightback' conference initiated by CORE after the RA.
The Assembly re-elected the current NEA top officers - Van Roekel and VP Lily Eskelsen, by over 90%, although this was the first contested election for these positions in many years. Despite this overwhelming majority, it is clear that there is need for an oppositional force inside the NEA (and the AFT). This would center around a program for the rejuvenation of public education, centered on smaller class size, expansion of programs for career developmen, culture/arts classes, ethnic studies, greater access to higher education, with little/no tuition/fees for the students, defense of and extending preschool, afterschool and adult education programs, improvement of compensation and support for teachers (and greater recruitment of teachers of color) and other visionary measures. This must be combined with a call for political independence, advocating a 'tax the rich' response to the austerity, efforts at mass organizing between teachers and parents/students, and most certainly, greater demonstration of union solidarity in the public sector and fighting to increase and improve quality public services.

NEA Peace and Justice Caucus Newsletter

2011-06-28T10:24:00.003-05:00

Click here for the most updated newsletter.

RA Update

2011-06-25T19:02:00.002-05:00

On July 2, Saturday, our National Paul Mann Youth Activist Award winner will be introduced at our Caucus in room S 503 B at the Convention Center. CORE Teachers representing the Chicago teachers will also be present. The Core teachers are sponsoring a forum on July 6 that anyone can attend, if you pre register on their web site, discussing current ills and concerns of public educators and directions for helpful solutions. President Dennis VanRoekel will call a lunch break a little after 2:30 and we will meet then. Plan to attend.

Look for Peace and Justice in the Cafe and during significant lunch breaks (more than 20 minutes) in S 503 B and at our booth in both profit and non profit exhibitions.

Attend Town Hall Meetings

2011-06-20T10:44:00.003-05:00

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold public town hall meetings in July before the Iowa Education Summit to listen to Iowans’ ideas about how to create world-class schools.

Please try to attend a town hall meeting to share your ideas about how to improve education.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 – 10 a.m. to noon
Waterloo Education Town Hall
Central Middle School, 1350 Katoski Dr.
Waterloo

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Davenport Education Town Hall
Davenport North High School Auditorium
626 West 53rd St.
Davenport

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Sigourney Education Town Hall
Sigourney Junior-Senior High School Auditorium
907 East Pleasant Valley St.
Sigourney

Thursday July 21, 2011 – 10 a.m. to noon
Boone Education Town Hall
Sacred Heart Elementary Parish Hall
1111 Marshall St.
Boone

Friday, July 22, 2011 – 10 a.m. to noon
Corning Education Town Hall
Corning Elementary School Gym
1012 10th St.
Corning

Friday, July 22, 2011 – 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Carroll Education Town Hall
Carroll High School Auditorium
2809 North Grant Rd.
Carroll

Saturday, July 23, 2011 – 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Spencer Middle School Cafeteria
1400 10th Avenue East
Spencer

MEDIA COVERAGE OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING LAWS

2011-06-15T17:48:00.003-05:00

According to Jeanne Mejeur, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, 820 bills seeking to restrict or eliminate collective bargaining rights of public workers have been introduced this year in state legislatures. Joe Nigro, the national general secretary-treasurer of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association has called this a “…a national campaign" against organized labor.

As the attack continues to broaden beyond the 13 states that have already made major changes to collective bargaining and worker rights (Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, New Jersey, Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming), a look at the role played by the media in this assault is long overdue.

Speaking specifically to the collective bargaining fight in Wisconsin, but generalizing his comments more broadly to the national media in a post on the website tax.com, Pulitzer Prize winning tax reporter David Cay Johnston wrote that:

“When it comes to improving public understanding of tax policy, nothing has been more troubling than the deeply flawed coverage of the Wisconsin state employees' fight over collective bargaining. Economic nonsense is being reported as fact in most of the news reports…the product of a breakdown of skepticism among journalists multiplied by their lack of understanding of basic economic principles. Governor Scott Walker says he wants state workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to ‘contribute more’ to their pension and health insurance plans. Accepting Gov. Walker’s assertions as fact, and failing to check created the impression that somehow the workers are getting something
extra, a gift from taxpayers. They are not. Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers. How can that be? Because the ’contributions’ consist of money that employees chose to take as deferred wages - as pensions when they retire - rather than take immediately in cash. The same is true with the health care plan.”

Journalists nationwide continue to fall prey to the same “deeply flawed…lack of understanding of basic economic principles” that Johnston laments and their unwillingness to uncover the real truth about these issues affects public worker rights and negotiations. The fact of the matter is that most public employees pay “100 cents on the dollar” toward their insurance and benefits.

In collective bargaining, the only relevant number for public accounting purposes is the total
compensation package. Once that figure is collectively negotiated and arrived upon by labor and management, the individual line items on the accounting sheet such as salary, and insurance are simply irrelevant in terms of the cost impact to taxpayers. Last year (2010), for example, the Des Moines Education Association (the teachers union in Des Moines, Iowa) accepted a total compensation package that was a 1.98% increase over the previous year. In doing so the union was able to maintain fully paid single and family health insurance at the cost of greater wages. It is a tradeoff that members overwhelmingly supported in a yearly negotiations survey. Why does it matter how the individual line items within that total compensation package are distributed? How is it relevant to the public discourse? It is completely understandable why the total compensation figure itself should be a subject of debate among taxpayers since they pay the salaries and benefits of public workers and it is the proverbial “bottom line.” If local newspapers or someone in a community wants to make the argument that those who teach our children are not worthy of a total compensation package like the 1.98% increase arrived at through collective bargaining in Des Moines, for example, where 43.7% of teachers took a virtual wage freeze, they have every right to do so and should feel free to make their case. But, they should be honest when doing so because calls from politicians and newspapers for educators to “pick up some of the cost” of their health insurance are actually calls for teachers and public employees to take cuts in pay.

Furthermore, the economic inaccuracies reported in the media feed a political (not a fiscal) movement that seeks far more than sustainable state and local budgets. It seeks to attack all things public. Numerous studies from organizations including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Economic Policy Institute have shown that salaries and benefits paid to public employees have contributed very little to state budgetary problems. A recent study by the Iowa Policy Project concluded that there is “no correlation between state budget shortfalls and union negotiating laws…The thing that's driving budget shortfalls is the impact of the national economy on state revenues,…rather than union agreements.” The media also ignores study after study showing that public sector wages and benefits continue to lag behind the private sector when levels of educational attainment are controlled for.

With the tacit, unquestioning approval of the media, many Governors have proceeded with attacks on public worker rights in the name of deficit reduction. In states such as Iowa and Indiana that have been quicker to recover from the Great Recession, the entire notion of “budget shortfalls” appear to have been concocted by Governor’s to serve their own political purposes that often include busting unions and doling out corporate welfare. Indiana’s legislature passed draconian restrictions on worker rights and collective bargaining despite a $1.4 billion budget surplus while handing out $80 million in corporate tax cuts. Iowa’s legislature debated significant restrictions on collective bargaining in the name of reducing budget deficits despite a $950 million budget surplus, large chunks of which the Governor decided to give away to out of state corporations who rarely reinvest such windfalls in the state in the form of jobs. The Iowa Fiscal Partnership noted that “Three-quarters of the corporate income tax is paid by multistate businesses…that are not domiciled in Iowa but sell goods and services at a profit in Iowa. Iowa’s corporate income tax actually ranks 40th among states in the amount of revenue it collects as a percent of private GDP. Corporations that pay Iowa’s income tax do so because they make a profit from sales to Iowans, even if their production facilities and employment are not located in the state. Reducing the corporate income tax rate does not provide a benefit to small, Iowa businesses unless they have very high profits.”

These Governors have very clearly placed their economic cards on the table: they are betting that tax giveaways to large out of state corporations will better grow the economy than investments in children and public education systems. In Iowa, for example, the Governor has proposed $300 million in corporate tax cuts and zero percent allowable growth for Iowa’s schools? This is a losing bet that will bust school systems all across the state. “A review of… hundreds of survey, econometric, and representative firm studies” by the Economic Policy Institute “that have evaluated the effects of state and local tax cuts and incentives makes clear that these strategies are unlikely to stimulate economic activity and create jobs in a cost-effective manner” especially when compared to expanding “the quantity and quality of public services.” Even conservative economists like Alan Viard of the American Enterprise Institute are alarmed by the high stakes wager on corporate tax cuts: "I am just struck by the constant refrain about corporate tax cuts," he said in a Reuters story. "States are more eager to get businesses now when their economies are weak; on the other hand the revenue loss is troubling if they do it now."

At the local level, many of the people who frame this issue as a matter of teachers and other public employees needing to "pick up some of the cost of health insurance" do so with full knowledge of the reality that the total compensation package is the only relevant figure. This frame serves as a public negotiating tactic that seeks to drive a wedge between teachers and the general public that is unfair, unjust, inaccurate and counterproductive if the goal is to attract and retain excellent teachers and maintain excellent schools. These frames are usually accepted without question by the media. As one enlightened school superintendent wrote: “While taking pot shots at public employees seems to be lawmakers' and journalists' sport du jour, the real problem is not that the benefits public employees have long earned and enjoyed with little or no objection are suddenly undeserved. The real problem is that the cost of what used to be an easily affordable and reasonable benefit has escalated in recent years at disproportionate rates. Instead of breeding resentment of teachers and other public employees, perhaps an exposé of out-of-control health care costs and legislative stinginess in the face of overflowing state coffers should be offered. And where do corporate tax breaks at the expense of funding for education fit into this scenario?”

On the national scene, some of the people who frame this issue in this way are now defending multi-million dollar bonuses for Wall Street CEO's and bankers who plunged our country into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. What is their argument? These bonuses, they say, are necessary to retain and attract the best and the brightest on Wall Street. Apparently benefit packages only retain and attract when they are in the multi-million dollar range and go to Wall Street CEO’s, bankers, and hedge fund managers living in gated communities and driving Ferraris. When it comes to public school teachers living in middle class neighborhoods, driving ’97 La Sabres, who collectively bargain $12,000 health insurance benefits for themselves and their families; or Education Support Professionals who, in many cases, earn wages below the poverty line and can afford to stay in the field only because of the benefits package, it’s time to ante up.

Warren Buffett once said that “The smarter the journalists are, the better off society is…People read the press to inform themselves-and the better the teacher, the better the student body.” When it comes to coverage of state tax and spending issues as well as the impact of collective bargaining rights on state budgets, our journalists are failing. As David Cay Johnston concluded: “Not every news report gets it wrong, but the narrative of the journalistic herd has now been set and is slowly hardening into a concrete falsehood that will distort public understanding of the issue for years to come unless journalists en masse correct their mistakes." From the Associated Press and The New York Times to Wisconsin's biggest newspaper, and every broadcast report I have heard, reporters again and again and again have written as fact what is nonsense. Compared to tax, this economic issue that reporters have been mishandling is simple. But if journalists cannot grasp the economics of this issue, then how can we hope to have an intelligent debate about tax policy?” Since journalists appear to be uninterested in correcting their mistakes, it falls upon all public employees to work tirelessly to inform their communities, through all means necessary, exactly how collective bargaining works, how public employees pay “100 cents on the dollar” toward their insurance and benefits and why our hard-fought collective bargaining rights are essential to a thriving middle-class in America.

Dave O’Connor

Des Moines, IA Middle School social studies teacher

IS A JUST WAR POSSIBLE?

2011-06-15T17:40:00.005-05:00

That war is unhealthy for women, children, and all other living things is clear to all who have eyes to see or brains to think, but do you suppose, as I do, that it is sometimes necessary anyhow? If so, I hope your mind is more at rest about it than mine.

Theorists usually say that nations should always wage war as a last resort, it must be fought only to correct a wrong suffered, there must be a reasonable chance of success, the methods used must only be in proportion to the injury suffered, there must be no civilian targets, and the goal must be to not only re-establish peace but to have a better one than that prevailed prior to the war. How’s that for setting the bar high?

How can accepting these basic precepts guide us today? Clearly, our involvement in Iraq violated nearly all rules of a just war, so we’ll leave it. Afghanistan is harder to call. We clearly were attacked in that instance, but it was by al Qaeda, not the Taliban, yet it is the Taliban whom we fight in Afghanistan today although we continue to fight al Qaeda in Pakistan. Has our damage to them exceeded what they did to us on 9/11? I think so, perhaps many times over. Have we targeted civilians? Maybe not, but every time we drop bombs civilians are killed. Is there a reasonable chance of success? I think not. Will a successful resolution create a better peace than what preceded it? Perhaps, but maybe not. It’s all very iffy, so much so that there is little justification for our prolonging the war.

It is generally accepted that self-defense is a basic criterion for retaliation in war, but what if a powerful nation acts on behalf of a weaker one which is attacked or is about to be? The U.S. coming to the aid of South Korea in 1950 comes to mind, or what about a powerful nation intervening to protect those suffering from a brutal dictator? Present day Libya comes to mind. If we can justify them, should we then say we should intervene in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, the Ivory Coast, and many other places as well?

Once a nation begins a war, rules of warfare are often forgotten. In World War II, the Germans and Japanese committed unspeakable atrocities, and the Brits and Americans wiped out whole cities with their bombing raids. In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Prince Andrey was once an idealist who believed he could fight the French in a just and honorable way, but he soon became disillusioned.

“I won’t take prisoners…. If there were none of this playing at generosity in warfare, we should never go to war, except for something worth facing certain death for…. The object of warfare is murder.”

Prince Andrey had it right. War is in fact unhealthy for women, children, and all other living things. The object of war is murder, and we should never forget it. Let us, therefore, not enter into the next one lightly.

By Tom Wolfe, P&J Midwest Regional Director

Iowa Education Summit - Look Who the Governor Just Invited!

2011-06-10T15:10:00.004-05:00

Shared from DMEA

The Governor decided to turn the Iowa Education Summit into a showcase for politics rather than education with the invitation of incendiary New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. What had been a panel of education experts has now added a polarizing figure that could turn the whole summit into a political sideshow rather than a reasoned discussion of the future of education in our state.

A quick look at the New Jersey governor's education "reform" ideas shows he supports:

- Vouchers to divert public money from public schools to private and for-profit schools.

- Performance pay based on student test scores.

- Billions of dollars in reductions in school funding.

- Elimination of senority.

- Freezing teacher salaries and pension contributions.

Need more? How about some of these quotes from the New Jersey governor....

Christie referred to the NJ Union as "political thugs."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jersey-governor-chris-christie-calls-teachers-union-political/story?id=13310446

Said teacher's unions are "universally self-interested" and “They’re there to protect the lousy ones so they continue to pay their dues every year.’’

http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-08/news/29397594_1_teachers-union-top-grant-application-education-policies

Accused the NJ Union of being "completely out of touch" and "using students like drug mules" in school board elections

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/gov_chris_christie_accuses_nj.html

Called the union "a political thuggery operation" that is "Fat, rich and entitled."

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/04/29/gov-chris-christie-calls-nj-teachers-union-fat-rich-and-entitled/

Cut $1.5 billion in school aid in his first 3 months in office

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/politics/90916879_Fact_checker__Christie_vs__NJEA.html

Appeared at a Branstad fundraiser in Iowa and said "The NJ Union /is/ about pure, raw power, to keep their folks, even the worst of their folks, continuing to be employed, so they can continue to be dues paying members, so they continue to perpetuate their power across my state."

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/10/05/christie_rips_nj_teachers_union_in_iowa.html

And called the union "bullies and thugs" saying he "doesn't know how they sleep at night."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/chris-christie-teacher-evaluations_n_846444.html

One has to wonder why Governor Branstad thinks such a polarizing figure is going to be a productive addition to an Iowa Education Summit.

Contact Governor Branstad today and tell him to dis-invite Christie so that the Education Summit can be about our children and not politics!

Raise Your Voice to Break Iowa Budget Deadlock

2011-05-26T08:36:00.000-05:00

Call Governor Branstad TODAY at 515-281-5211 to urge compromise on cuts to education and job creation!

“Top Ten” items at stake:

1. Our K-12 schools: Schools need 2 percent allowable growth. Without it we are facing layoffs, larger class sizes, and reduced educational opportunities.

2. Early education for four-year-olds: We need to fulfill our commitments to quality and access for all Iowa children, we should not cut funding and replace the current program with an inadequate voucher system that ignores quality and undermines access.

3. Our public universities (UI, ISU, and UNI): We must maintain current funding, not make cuts that would force double-digit tuition increases on our students.

4. Aid to private college students: It is important to maintain current funding; cutting $3.6 million from the Iowa Tuition Grant Program would take away support for Iowa students who qualify on a need basis for aid to attend private colleges.

5. Community colleges: Making cuts would force huge tuition increases on Iowa students.

6. Helping Iowans fill skilled job openings: Investing $10 million would take a successful job training pilot program statewide. With this investment, Iowa’s community colleges could help unemployed and underemployed Iowans earn industry-recognized certificates to fill skilled worker shortages hampering Iowa businesses.

7. Local workforce offices for the unemployed: In these economic times, we need to keep the current offices open to help the unemployed improve their skills and look for work, not cut many of the offices and “replace” them with a Web site.

8. Iowa Values Fund for high-wage jobs: This successful program was created with strong bi-partisan support to help businesses create high-wage jobs in advanced manufacturing, informational technology, and biotechnology. In addition, this program provides essential job training at our Community Colleges and economic development at our Regent universities. We can not afford to shut the program down.

9. Small business employee health insurance tax credits: A state tax credit to leverage federal tax incentives to help small businesses (with ten or fewer employees) provide health benefits for their employees has been proposed. We need to truly support small business, not just pay them lip service.

10. Jumpstart local renewable energy jobs: We need to provide $10 million in consumer rebates to leverage existing federal tax credits which help homeowners and businesses install small wind and solar projects. This means jobs for Iowa plumbers, contractors, electricians, and other small businesses.\

Call Governor Branstad at 515-281-5211 and tell him he needs to compromise to support education and job creation!

After you call, you can let us know how it went by sending us an email at SDinsdale@IowaCAN or calling 515-277-5077.

Veterans for Peace president argues for end to needless wars

2011-05-24T12:52:00.001-05:00

by Diane Heldt :: UPDATED: 20 May 2011
IOWA CITY — A national group that recently launched a second chapter in Iowa wants the U.S. government to better support military veterans but also to stop creating more veterans through unnecessary wars, the group’s president said Tuesday in Iowa City.

Elliott Adams, national president of Veterans for Peace, said his group works to make people aware of the costs of war, to support veterans and all victims of war, to reduce and abolish all nuclear weapons and to encourage the government to end unnecessary wars.

Adams uses the analogy that each veteran is like a drop of water falling into a pond, creating ripples across the larger area.

“What we’re dealing with now is like a rainstorm ripping up the surface of society,” Adams said during an interview with The Gazette Tuesday. “The social cost of war is unbelievably high and we don’t do well at seeing it.”

Adams was in Iowa this week for several events, including a conference on militarism and environment in Iowa City and the launch of a new Veterans for Peace chapter in Des Moines. Iowa City already had a Veterans for Peace chapter serving Eastern Iowa, and the Des Moines chapter is No. 163 nationally.

“We have all served in the armed forces and see a greater commitment to a higher cause, which is establishing peace,” said Adams, who was a paratrooper in the infantry, serving in Vietnam, Japan, Korea and Alaska.

The ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the two longest wars in American history. The financial cost and human toll have not left us safer as a nation, Adams argues.

“The war in Afghanistan is not making us safer,” he said. “It’s making us less safe.”

And he worries the U.S. military presence is spreading in other countries, like Libya and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, veterans at home don’t have the necessary government support or resources to deal with alcohol problems, drug abuse, mental health issues and injuries and brain trauma, Adams and Ed Flaherty, president of the Iowa City chapter, said. Homelessness and suicide rates among veterans of the Iraq War, for example, far exceed those of the rest of the U.S. population, they said.

“We want all veterans treated well, but most of all we don’t want more veterans created needlessly,” Flaherty said. “We’ll never catch up” with the needs.

Nuclear Abolition Road Show...

2011-04-18T07:31:00.002-05:00

..kicks off the 2011 Season and you are invited.

It is a different football game than what you may be thinking. What’s at stake is our future, our children’s future and life as we know it. It will require new thinking and new energy ..and the road starts here.

Join us for a preview:

Paul Deaton: a new narrative on nuclear abolition

Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 7:00 PM

Meeting Room B

Iowa City Public Library

123 South Linn Street

Iowa City, Iowa More Info: paul.deaton@gmail.com (319) 331-0899

ACLU Iowa Events

2011-04-18T07:30:00.002-05:00

Apr. 30, 2011 ACLU of Iowa 2011 Annual Dinner
Saturday, April 30, 2011

University Athletic Club

Iowa C

The 2011 ACLU of Iowa Annual Dinner is scheduled for the evening of Saturday, April 30, at the University Athletic Club in Iowa City. The Louise Noun Award winners will be the three Supreme Court Judges of Iowa who were recently voted out of office. They will attend and speak.

May 4, 2011 Equal Justice After Hours 2011

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 5 p.m.

Temple for the Performing Arts

1011 Locust St, Des Moines

Featuring a Lecture by Morris Dess -- "With Justice for All"
Morris Dees founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in 1971. The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society.
Equal Justice After Hours is the annual fundraising event supporting Iowa Legal Aid and its work to provide justice for all Iowans.

Sponsor's reception with Morris Dees: 5:00-6:30 p.m.
General reception: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Program at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets: -- Advance tickets required

* $ 50 for general reception and program.

* $125 for Sponsor's reception and program.

Event sponsorships available and welcome.

Book Signing: Mr. Dees will be available for a book signing after the event

Contact -- and to purchase tickets

Terri Bennett: 800-532-1275 x 1611, 515-243-2980 x 1611, or tbennett@iowalaw.org

State Revenue Forecast Improves

2011-04-01T13:46:00.002-05:00

Citing a growing state economy, a non-partisan budget panel this week raised state revenue estimates by $86 million, with $48.6 million falling in fiscal year 2011 and $38 million in fiscal year 2012.

Two members of the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) were very bullish on the strength of Iowa’s economy, citing employment growth estimates at 1.4% for the current year and 1.7% for the next year. Iowa’s strong farm economy and agricultural manufacturing has help Iowa’s economy speed its way to recovery.

Iowa has sustained several months of growth and more workers are earning over-time income, which is also a sign of an improving economy. One member of the non-partisan budget panel was much more cautious in his remarks on the economy. Raising concerns with oil hitting $100 a barrel, unemployment rates still above historic levels, building permits low, and slow recovery.

The REC estimates that the State will collect $5.855 billion in net general fund receipts and transfers for fiscal year 2011, which represents a $222 million increase from FY 2010. The fiscal year 2012 net revenue is estimated to be $6.189 billion, an increase of $333.3 million over the new fiscal year 2011 revenue estimate.

Even with these new estimates, by law the Legislature will use the revenue estimates from the December meeting.

0% Allowable growth is not acceptable!

copied from IA Rep Vicki Lensing's update...note of 0% not acceptable, mine. Nancy

Josh Casteel and Bishop Thomas Gumbleton Events

2011-03-31T15:04:00.000-05:00

Thursday, April 14th
7:30 pm
Flaherty Community Room of Basile Hall
Mount Mercy University , Cedar Rapids

Friday, April 15th
7PM
Newman Center, Iowa City

Josh Casteel is a native Iowan who became a Conscientious Objector while a military interrogator in Iraq.
Bishop Gumbleton (retired) preaches every week, usually in Michigan, since late 2001 on a theme relating to peace, and posts the sermon at The Peace Pulpit at National Catholic Reporter (http://www.ncronline.org/).

We Are One Rally~"Defend the Dream"

2011-03-30T13:20:00.002-05:00

On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, where he was supporting sanitation workers demanding their dream: The right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a better life. Today, that same demand is electrifying people across America. It's the demand of all people--black, white, Latino, and Asian American: The right to join together for our common dreams.

Join us at the Iowa State Capitol April 4, 2011, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on the West Steps of the Capitol (1007 Grand Avenue), to stand in solidarity with working people in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana across this nation where well-funded politicians are trying to take away the workers' rights Dr. King gave his life for. It's time to show: We Are One. For more information contact: IOWA AFL-CIO 515-262-9571 or il@iowaaflcio.org.

NEA's Japan Earthquake Solidarity Fund

2011-03-21T09:42:00.002-05:00

On March 11, Japan was hit with one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, soon followed by a massive tsunami. As all of us have seen in the news, the death and destruction have been enormous. During this time of crisis, NEA is working with Education International (EI) to establish a Solidarity Fund that will assist our colleagues at the Japan Teachers Union (JTU).

EI reports that the prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima have suffered great damage. In addition to the immediate humanitarian needs around shelter and medical care, there will be longer-term needs around rebuilding communities and schools.

NEA is participating in the EI Solidarity Fund, which support education union members who are negatively impacted by natural and man-made disasters.

To donate, checks should be made out to the National Education Association, with “Japan Earthquake Solidarity Fund” in the memo line.
Checks can be mailed to:

Japan Earthquake Solidarity Fund
National Education Association
1201 16th Street NW, Suite 614
Washington DC 20036

All donations will be directed to EI to provide assistance in Japan. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity and good will.

We are under attack!

2011-03-07T13:56:00.000-06:00

Dear Colleagues, we are in such a time when being under attack seems like a minimal statement. There is too much at stake for all of us not to stay in touch with our state and national directions. Please respond to the national need by March 8. Thank you.

The Coalition for Human Needs has spelled out the alternatives well--kids can’t afford an affirmative Senate vote on H.R. 1. Please read the following, and call your Senators today!

The Senate is expected to vote this week on alternative plans to approve spending for the rest of this year. They will vote on whether to agree to the extreme cuts passed by the House (H.R. 1) - $65 billion less than last year's spending for domestic programs. The House bill will deny vital services to millions of people, from young children to seniors. Please tell your Senators to VOTE NO on H.R. 1 and to vote FOR the Senate alternative. The proposed Senate bill cuts spending $6.5 billion below last year's levels, compared to more than $60 billion in cuts in H.R. 1. Most of the extreme cuts in the House plan listed below are not made in the Senate bill.

Call NOW toll-free 888-245-0215 (the vote could be as early as Tuesday)

Please call both your Senators and tell them to VOTE NO on H.R. 1 and FOR the Senate full-year FY 2011 bill. Tell them to vote NO on harsh and unprecedented cuts that will deny health care, education, food, housing, and jobs to millions of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans, while at the same time jeopardizing the economic recovery for all.

The House-passed cuts would be the largest one-year cuts in history. That is why it is so important that you call your Senators. Please forward this message to your networks.

If the House plan were to become law:

• 218,000 young children would not be able to receive Head Start services
• 10,000 people with long-term disabilities would lose their current rental assistance; most will be forced out of their homes
• 11 million patients would lose health care they've received at Community Health Centers (for more than 3 million, the loss of health care would be almost immediate)
• 20 million people, including 5 million children, 2.3 million seniors and 1.7 million people with disabilities, would lose some or all of the anti-poverty help now provided by community action agencies
• 9.4 million low-income college students would lose some or all of their Pell Grants
• 8 million adults and youth would lose access to job training and other employment services
• 81,000 low-income people, mostly seniors, would no longer receive supplemental food packages
• 1.2 million poor households in public housing will see their rental units deteriorate further because of cuts to maintenance and repairs; some units will no longer be habitable.

That's not all. Many thousands of jobs would be lost (for example: 10,000 teachers, 5,000 health care staff, 55,000 Head Start staff). And the cuts would slow down the economy, threatening our fragile economic recovery, and costing hundreds of thousands of jobs, just as we've started to make some progress. And remember: there are far smarter ways to reduce the deficit. A combination of fair revenue increases (examples worth many billion$: collect more revenue now sheltered offshore, end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy) and reductions in wasteful spending (many examples in the military, as well as oil and gas industry subsidies, etc.) can reduce the deficit without hurting those most in need or threatening the economy.

Your calls will make a difference! A big vote against the House plan will help protect the vulnerable and the economy as Congress continues to negotiate. Your silence will mean the cuts will be worse. It's as simple as that.

For more information about the House plan and other budget background, see the CHN report,A Better Budget for All: Saving Our Economy and Helping Those in Need. For state data from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities showing the impact of the House cuts click here.

Barbara Lee’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Resolution Passes Democratic National Committee Without Dissent

2011-03-04T12:36:00.000-06:00

By Tom Hayden, The Nation [Monday night]

The Democratic National Committee, whose leader is President Barack Obama, passed a resolution at last weekend’s Washington DC conference calling for an acceleration of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan more rapidly than the president’s current 2014 timeline. The policy resolution demands a “swift withdrawal” of troops and contractors starting with a “significant and sizeable reduction [of troops] no later than July 2011.”

The resolution may not be a game-changer, but certainly a shape-shifter in the months ahead, when war funding and exit strategies are debated in Congress and Obama announces how many troops he will “begin” withdrawing this July.

The goal of Democrats like Lee is to “change the president’s political calculus” and encourage his running on a 2012 platform promise of ending two wars – instead of the specter of trillion-dollar quagmires. Gen. Petraeus and national security hawks like John Nagl are lobbying for Obama to keep American combat troops in Afghanistan through 2014 or beyond. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has staked out a position supporting the generals.

According to Bob Woodward’s prescient book Obama’s Wars, however, the president himself told Sen. Lindsay Graham behind closed-doors last year that “I can’t lose all the Democratic Party. And people at home don’t want to hear we’re going to be there for ten years.” The president slipped his promise to begin withdrawals by July 2011 into his West Point speech in December 2009, without first informing the generals.

So why did the DNC just try to speed up the president’s clock.

First, the American public is catching up with Barbara Lee’s timetable. A January Gallup Poll shows that 72 percent of American voters prefer to “speed up” the withdrawal of troops from the 2014 date. Eighty-six percent of Democrats, 72% of Independents and 61% of Republicans favored the more rapid withdrawal. But Pentagon denial persisted. Nagl, the counterinsurgency expert who heads the Center for a New American Security, wrote in the New York Times [Feb. 21] that there was “surprisingly little objection” by the public to the 2014 deadline.

Second, despite the recently-revealed Pentagon “psy-ops” spin to visiting members of Congress, the war is not going well. The US is withdrawing from the Pech Valley in eastern Afghanistan which the Pentagon once described as “central” to the war against the Taliban. [NYT 2/24]. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, speaking at West Point last Friday, said that any future Pentagon secretary who advises a president to fight wars like Iraq and Afghanistan “should have his head examined.” [NYT, Feb. 25]. In a book review this weekend, the New York Times lead war correspondent, Dexter Filkins, wrote that progress in Afghanistan would take a “miracle” over many more years. {Feb. 27]

Third, the US budget crisis cannot be addressed without facing the trillion-dollar war costs. Afghanistan military spending is projected at $200 billion minimum for the next two years, more than the domestic budget gap for the fifty American states combined. [NYT, Feb. 27]. If, as the president has said, “the only nation I am interested in building is the United States of America”, the spending on the Long War has become an albatross.

Little gets by the White House, especially party resolutions disagreeing with the president. In fact, when Lee first submitted her proposal to the resolutions committee, the DNC staff pushed back with an alternative draft which mirrored the official line. The staff version removed language noting that a majority of Americans opposed the war. Instead of Lee’s call for a “significant and sizeable reduction” to be announced in July, and “swift withdrawal” after that date, the staff revision asserted the 2014 deadline.

Lee’s staff argued back. Then something happened. The DNC staff objections disappeared. Democratic insiders like Donna Brazille and Alice Germond signed on as co-sponsors of Lee’s language. The resolutions committee reported out the Lee measure [Amendment #13, as it was known] in a package of measures designed for voice adoption. There was no opposition. One member of the Resolutions Committee told this writer in an email that “I’m quite sure the White House is okay with it.”

The president may be encouraging his party to become a counter-weight to the generals and Republicans who desire a long occupation. He then can claim, as he did in the Woodward book, that he can’t lose the Democratic Party. That would be more than shape-shifting. It could be game-changing.

But that’s only speculation. The next step is likely to be a follow-up letter from 100 or more Congressional representatives- including a few Republicans like prospective presidential candidate Ron Paul- asking the White House to heed the call to speed up the withdrawal and shift to a diplomatic peace strategy. Then will come debates and votes on war funding and exit strategies.

Education Votes

2011-02-21T18:46:00.000-06:00

Please take a minute to sign this petition.

Education Votes

WI / Wear Red on Tuesdays

2011-02-21T12:21:00.001-06:00

Dear Iowa Peace and Justice Friends, below is a letter from NEA President Dennis and a list of WI Peace and Justice members. It would be great to show your support by sending a card or a phone or email message to our colleagues. They need our support. Life is not good for them and my personal opinion is that the media is not presenting a fair picture. Roberta Rosheim was in Madison on Saturday and said it was a calm but powerful gathering for bargaining rights. CA is sending a plane load on Wed - Fri, Davenport had a presence this weekend, some of us eastern Iowans plan to go there on Friday.

How about promoting the wearing of red...easy to do!!! every Tuesday! Wear Red for Public Ed!

Below is a message from the communications team on the ground in Madison that we are sharing for your reference:

--This protest is about public sector employees retaining a voice in their profession and Wisconsin's future. The proposed legislation strips away worker rights and destroys the collaborative partnerships that have been established between labor and management in Wisconsin. It's not about pay and benefits, pensions and health care.

--What is happening right now in Wisconsin is historic. Tens of thousands of citizens - unprecedented numbers - are gathering and speaking out to show their support for the state's public servants. They want to voice support for the third grade teacher who stays late to help a student with math - for the nurses who work every day to care for patients - for the firefighters who keep us safe -- and for the snow plow drivers who plow streets through the night so their neighbors can get to work in the morning. These public workers are on the front-lines everyday to support us - and they should have a say in their profession.

--The people of Wisconsin are asking the Governor and legislature to hear them out - and work with them to find bipartisan solutions that will address Wisconsin's challenges. Silencing the voices of public sector employees by busting up their unions is not a going to help Wisconsin move forward - and it will only divide the people of this state.
_________

Because we know everyone is looking for a way to lend their voice to our collective fights, here are three things you can do right now:

o Have members sign the petition on Education Votes website: http://www.educationvotes.nea.org/nationalpetition/

o Ask members to "Wear Red for Ed" to support public education beginning Tuesday, February 22nd , and every Tuesday this spring

o Email information about local or state solidarity actions to campaignhub@nea.org

I encourage you to share this message with other Association leaders and members.
Again, this is a national fight for working people. We're leaders in this fight. Let's get this note out widely, take action together, support each other. We're going to win this fight.

In solidarity,
Dennis (NEA president)

A New American Workers Movement Has Begun

2011-02-19T19:53:00.002-06:00

by Dan La Botz
Thousands of workers demonstrated at the state capital in Madison, Wisconsin on Feb. 15 and 16 to protest plans by that state's Republican Governor Scott Walker to take away the state workers' union rights. Walker cleverly attempted to divide the public workers by excluding police and firefighters from his anti-union law, and the media have worked to divide public employees against private sector workers. Yet, both firefighters and private sector workers showed up at the statehouse to join public workers of all sorts in what has been one of the largest workers demonstrations in the United States in decades. Only California has seen demonstrations as large as these in recent years.

Many demonstrators in Madison, taking a clue from the rebellions against authoritarian and anti-worker governments that are sweeping the Middle East, carried signs saying, "Let's negotiate like they do in Egypt." While the situation in Wisconsin is hardly comparable to the revolution in the Arab world, what we are witnessing is the beginning of a new American workers movement. Because this movement is so different than what many expected, it may take us by surprise.

Not What We Expected

Many of us, myself included, had for years expected a rank-and-file workers movement to arise out of shop-floor struggles in industrial workplaces, out of the fight for union democracy, and out of the process of working-class struggle against the employers. While that perspective still has much validity, something different is happening. The new labor movement that is arising does not start in the industrial working class (though it will get there soon enough), it does not focus on shop floor issues (though they will no doubt be taken up shortly), it is not primarily motivated by a desire for unions democracy (though it will have to fight for union democracy to push forward the leaders it needs). And it does not, as so many American labor movements of the past did, remain confined to the economic class struggle (though that too will accelerate). It is from the beginning an inherently political labor movement.

The new movement that is arising does not focus on the usual issues of collective bargaining -- working conditions, wages, and benefits -- but focuses rather on the political and programmatic issues usually taken up by political parties: the very right of workers to collective bargaining, the state budget priorities, and the tax system which funds the budget. The new labor movement, because it has begun in the public sector, will not be so much about the process of class struggle as it will be about how class struggle finds a voice through political program. This will have tremendous implications for the traditional relations between the organized labor movement and the Democratic Party, especially since the Democrats, from Barack Obama to state governors like Cuomo, are also demanding that public employees give up wages, benefits, conditions, and rights.

Not Your Grandfather's Working Class

We have for decades in this country thought of the working class as being made up of those workers of railroads, mines, and mills whose calloused hands produced the material wealth of this nation over 200 years, that is, since the first factories were opened in the Northeast in the 1790s. Industrial workers, though, have been declining as a percentage of the population since the 1920s and have diminished at an accelerated rate since the 1950s. Since the 1980s the decline of industrial workers as a proportion of the wage-earning class has been dramatic.

In the old days, skilled workers, almost all white men, came as immigrants from the countries of Western and Northern Europe, while the unskilled industrial workers were immigrants from the South and East of Europe, whites from Appalachia, and African Americans from the South's plantations. While most of those industrial workers were male, millions of women also toiled in textile mills, garment shops, and other workplaces. Those workers created the Knight of Labor in 1869, American Federation of Labor (AFL) in the 1886, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in 1905, and finally in the great labor upsurge of the 1930s won the legal right to organize with the Wagner Act of 1935 and built the Congress of Industrial Unions (CIO).

The Rise of the Public Employees

The post-war period saw the expansion of government as millions found jobs not only in streets and sanitation, the water works, and as teachers, but also as social workers, public health nurses, and college professors. Another labor upsurge in the 1960s and 1970s led to the establishment and rapid growth of public employee unions of all sorts: the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). These public workers were far more racially diverse than many of the private sector unions, made up of white, African American, and Latino workers, of men and many women.

Public employees in the 1960s and 70s won the rights to union recognition, collective bargaining, and the strike through hundreds of strikes, large and small, during those two decades. The newspaper's front page often carried the photo of some teacher or social worker, nurse or secretary, sanitation worker or park employee being carried off to jail for striking with the union. The most famous of these strikes, perhaps, was the AFSCME Local 1733 strike by African American sanitation workers of Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the leader of the civil rights movement, was there to help those workers with their strike, when he was assassinated.

The Unions at a Turning Point

Today we in the labor movement are at a turning point. American employers, political parties, and government at all levels have decided that the time has come to move against what is the last bulwark of American unionism: the public employee unions. As of the latest count by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 11.9 percent of all workers are in unions, and only 6.9 percent in the private sector. In the public sector, however, public employee unions represent some 36.2 percent of all workers, and the number is even somewhat higher among teachers. America's political and economic elite are looking for the final solution to the labor problem -- and we are not getting on the trains and going to the camps.

Public employees, now finding themselves now on the frontline of the labor movement, are fighting back from one end of the country to the other and nowhere at the moment so dramatically as in Madison, Wisconsin. Just as the Arab revolution spread rapidly from Tunisia to Egypt, so we can expect to see this public worker movement spread from one state to another as it resists Republican and Democratic party governors and local officials who want to strip workers of their rights.

What Sort of a Labor Movement Can We Expect?

What does labor history teach us about labor movements? First, we know that when masses of workers go into motion, as they have now begun to do, political consciousness grows and changes rapidly. Workers who today simply fight to defend their union rights will, if they succeed in resisting the Right's attempt to destroy them, go on to fight to expand not only their rights but to improve their working conditions and standard of living. Most important, workers will fight to expand their power. We are just at the beginning.

Second, when workers discover the strategy and tactics of their movement, those quickly spread to other groups of workers in society. When the rubber workers in Akron, Ohio discovered the sit-down strike in 1936, it quickly spread not only to the auto industry leading to the great strikes of 1937 and 38. Remarkably, the sit-down also spread to such unlikely workers as the "shop girls" of department stores. During the 1950s and early 1960s, African American civil rights activists rediscovered the power of the sit-down, transforming it into the sit-in in lunch counters, bus stations, and other private and public places across the South.

Today public workers in Wisconsin are in search of the strategies and the tactics that can defend their rights, and they are using the mass rally and the camp out at the capital. When they discover or rediscover the strategy and tactics that work, those will spread like wildfire across the country to other public workers -- and then jump to the private sector.

The Movement Is Both Economic and Political

Third, real labor movements ignore the artificial separation between economic and political, taking up either or both as they follow the logic of the struggle. Industrial workers' struggles for higher wages in the 1930s became transformed into struggles for the employers' recognition of the unions and labor legislation granting workers the right to organize. Similarly with public employees in the 1960s whose fight for the right to unions and collective bargaining flowed the other way, to a fight for higher wages. What is today primarily a political fight in Wisconsin -- that is to defend the right of public employees to have a labor union, bargain collectively, and strike -- will inevitably become a struggle for better conditions, higher wages, and health and pension benefits.

Fourth, when a real labor movement arises, that is, a movement not merely of thousands or even tens of thousands, but of millions, it necessarily becomes transformative. Labor union officials who hesitate, who waver, or who knuckle under will soon find themselves challenged by new, younger leaders who will either force those officials to fight or push them aside. Such a movement will change the unions -- often by changing the leadership first and sometime by changing the very institutions themselves. Such was the case with the rise of the industrial workers movement in the 1930s, which broke the shell of the old AFL to create the new CIO.

A Political Alternative

Fifth, and finally, a new American labor movement of millions will challenge the old political relationship between the unions and the Democratic Party. The unions will fight at first to force the Democratic Party to give up its own conservative budget, tax, and labor policies and, failing to do that, will seek another vehicle. Unions may first attempt to change the Democrats by running union candidates in Democratic Party primaries, or they may attempt to take over the state party. Whether the new American labor movement will have the power to put forward a political alternative remains to be seen.

Wisconsin though is famous for its long history of political groupings to the left of the Democratic Party, which, from time to time, have shown considerable influence: the Socialist Party held power in Milwaukee into the 1960s, the Farmer-Labor Party was once a power in the state, Progressive Dane (county) thrived a couple of decades ago, and the Wisconsin, Green Party has over a score of elected officials throughout the state. None of these was or is what a workers' movement needs to achieve real political power, but the presence of such political alternatives is indicative of a more tolerant and experimental attitude in the state. American workers have never in their history succeeded in creating a workers' party of any power, with the exception of the Socialist Party of the early 20th century.

Today, with the Democrats lowering taxes on the rich, cutting budget, and laying off public employees, we may be in for the kind of confrontation between workers and a pro-business Democratic party that can produce a political alternative. Certainly the struggle over politics and government is built into this contest as it seldom is so directly in the private sector. The task at the moment is to build the fight to defend public services and public employees' unions and their rights, but it leads directly to political confrontation.

--

Governor's Plan Reduces Preschool Access & Quality; Save Preschool Petition Launched

2011-02-18T10:12:00.003-06:00

After the House majority party voted to end Iowa’s statewide preschool initiative earlier this year, Governor Branstad released a preschool plan this week that would end Iowa’s statewide initiative, reducing both access and quality.

In an effort to continue Iowa’s statewide preschool initiative, a new Save Iowa Preschool petition has been launched at www.iowahouse.org/preschoolpetition and Iowans can also join the Save Iowa Preschool facebook page.

Wisconsin

2011-02-17T11:57:00.002-06:00

There is an all out assault on the collective bargaining rights of education employees, but think about this situation. If it can happen in Wisconsin, it can happen in Iowa. In fact, legislation has already been introduced that would drastically change our bargaining rights and require public employees to contribute no less than 30% toward health care costs. This is all in addition to the proposals to gut pre-school and provide zero percent allowable growth.

Yesterday 30,000 people protested at the Capitol in Madison. Check it out at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41644074/ns/us_news-life/

Ladies and gentlemen, it will serve us well if we pay attention to this assault on collective bargaining rights. Similar legislation has been introduced in Indiana, Ohio, and Tennessee that will drastically alter teachers and public employees rights to bargain collectively.

Tonight’s Ed Schultz Show on MSNBC at 9 p.m. will originate from Madison. His entire show last night was devoted to the issues in Wisconsin and the action being taken by your colleagues there. Many public schools are closed because of the number of teachers who have called in sick to demonstrate at the state capitol in an attempt to stop the legislation proposed by their new governor. NEA President Dennis Van Roekel will be on the Andrea Mitchell Show 2/17 on MSNBC at 1:30 to also talk about the situation. Most of you will be in class at that time, but I’m sure it will be available for viewing on the internet later.

Our collective bargaining bill has been in force since 1975 and is now taken for granted. It will serve us all well to pay attention to what is going on in Wisconsin (in fact Wisconsin was the first state to pass a law to allow collective bargaining for public employees). If legislation gutting collective bargaining rights of teachers in Wisconsin passes, be assured that similar legislation will be introduced and passed all around the country.

Once again, collective bargaining allows us to bargain about salaries, insurance, leaves, transfer and recall rights, staff reduction procedures, vacations, holidays, and other terms of employment in Iowa. Be aware of what’s happening. If this crops up in Iowa, we will support and action. For now, pay attention to the news. We hope it’s not a glimpse into our future, but a wake up call to define the next election.

Written by Coy Marquardt, ECUU Director, edited by Nancy Porter

The fight to save preschool in Public Schools is mounting in Iowa

2011-02-15T09:59:00.001-06:00

Read what the Republicans in Iowa are promoting and the direction they are pushing. The fight to save preschool in Public Schools is mounting. 2/15

Speaking on the Senate floor, Chelgren told legislators that the state’s universal preschool program amounted to “an indoctrination process by teachers.” Chelgren said, “Nazis, the Soviets, a whole variety of groups, a whole variety of countries, take their children because it’s not just up to age six they’re so malleable.” He was joined by other Republican Senators in arguing for the elimination of the state’s universal preschool program, which currently covers over 20,000 Iowa children.

Click here to listen to Senator Chelgren’s remarks and help us send a message that this type of rhetoric is unacceptable.

Earlier today, Governor Branstad joined the attack on preschool by releasing a proposal which would require all Iowa families to pay to enroll their children in the program. His proposal would require some households to pay thousands of dollars, undoubtedly reducing the number of families able to participate. Defending the cost, Branstad claimed a family of four, making $67,000 a year was “affluent” and could easily afford the program.

Rally to Support Wisconsin Workers and Stop Walker's Attacks

2011-02-13T12:18:00.003-06:00

Scott Walker is trying to push through a bill that will strip workers of their rights to bargain and negotiate their working conditions. He's doing this under the guise as a "budget repair bill." He's even saying he'll use the National Guard to stop any protest. Contact your legislator and tell them to stop this bill. Now is the time to stand up people. Now is the time to make your voice heard before Walker takes your voice away!

Please join us at the Capitol in Madison on Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. to urge our legislators to vote NO on Walker's "Budget Repair Bill." Come as soon as you can during those times and invite everyone you know (dress warm). Walker's bill hurts our families, our schools, our public services and our economy. The vote is likely Thursday so the time to act is NOW. To learn more about how the bill hurts Wisconsin and our workers, see www.weac.org. If you can't be there, please call or email your legislators to vote NO!

Iowa Peace Rally

2011-02-13T12:15:00.002-06:00

What: State Wide Peace Rally on Anniversary of US lead wars in the Middle East
Date: Sat. March 19
Time: Noon to 1 p.m.,
Place: Nollen Plaza, 3rd & Walnut , DM IA

...This rally is in recognition of nine,( yes 9!) years in Iraq. Join the cause.

Say "NO" to Branstad's Zero School Budget Growth!

2011-02-13T12:13:00.000-06:00

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has proposed a two-year freeze on school budget growth. Large cuts to staff, increases in property taxes, and fewer educational opportunities for kids will result.

Join the cause on facebook today!

We believe that the school allowable growth formula should be set at 4% for next year.
We believe corporate tax cuts should not come at the expense of our students.
We believe education is our state's first priority!

INVITE A LEGISLATOR OR CONGRESSMAN TO YOUR SCHOOL!

2011-02-06T14:26:00.004-06:00

Write them a personal letter of the great things going on.

Have you ever thought, "If my representatives in Congress spent just one day in my shoes, they would understand better what they can do to help America’s students – and where federal laws and regulations hamper rather than help?”

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Here's your chance to tell them what they would see in your classroom or school, and how they can help your students succeed. Congress is getting ready to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Act, known as NCLB, so your input is timely. (NEA info)

Public Schools are under attack. The goal seems to be to drain all our resources until there are none. The devastating letters written to parents from "Schools In Need of Improvement " caused another "bright flight". The suggestion that schools in Iowa can survive with a 0% allowable growth for 2 years is appalling.

Nancy Porter, after attending a public forum for our Iowa Legislators reflects on actions we need to take to keep our schools in their deserving position.

Children Defense Fund--2 Million More Children

2011-02-04T13:57:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends,

The Children's Defense Fund has just released its most current statistics concerning our children. Iowa is ranked 31st on its expenditures in education. Currently there is a suggestion from our Governor and House that 0% allowable growth will cover the next two years. Our children need more support, not less. Please look at the chart "Children in the States Factsheets". You should get angry, too!

Nancy Porter,
NEA Peace & Justice Chair

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

Dear Child Advocate,

Today marks the second anniversary of President Obama signing the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) into law. Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reports that health coverage was expanded to more than 2 million more children over the past year through CHIP and Medicaid. To celebrate CHIPRA’s birthday, HHS is highlighting the work of CDF-Texas as a national best practice in connecting uninsured children to health coverage, pointing specifically to the work they have done in partnership with local businesses over the past 10 years.

There is still much work to be done for the more than 8 million children who are still without coverage, two-thirds of whom are already eligible but not enrolled due largely to bureaucratic barriers and administrative red tape.

We must work together to break down these barriers, simplify the process and fast-track enrollment at the state level. Please visit our child health webpage to access new resources describing who the uninsured children are, new data from HHS, more information on CDF-Texas and our other state offices’ on-the-ground efforts to get children signed-up, and most importantly, to take action by contacting your governor asking him or her to expand health coverage to every child in your state, and to commit to getting every eligible child enrolled.

We are also now pleased to offer you our new Children in the States factsheets. Download these factsheets with the most up-to-date and reliable information on children in your state, including statistics and rankings on poverty, health, hunger, child welfare, early childhood development, education and youth at risk.

With hope and determination,

- Children's Defense Fund

All out for the Sat. Feb. 5, 1 pm, UN Plaza (7th and Market) San Francisco International Day of Protest in solidarity with the people of Egypt and Tunisia. U.S. Hands off North Africa!

2011-02-03T14:21:00.002-06:00

Yesterday and today, Feb. 1 and 2 the failing Mubarak dictatorship has gone on the offensive – sending hundreds of plainclothes cops pretending to be ordinary citizens in support of the regime to attack protesters.

Military leaders are calling for an end to protests.
This is very likely a prelude to a much bigger, organized attack, with indiscriminate shooting and mass arrests.
There is probably going to be a mass demonstration in Egypt on Friday after prayers, although the regime may try to break the back of the movement before then. But the Egyptian people have come too far to give up passively – which increases the likelihood that the regime will try to launch a massacre.

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

Immediately below is the International Call for Action launched by several Egyptian organizations across the country. Below that is the statement and two-sided flyer issued by the National Administrative Committee of UNAC. Join us on Sat. February 5! U.S. Hands of Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen!
Emergency Call to Action!

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MOBILIZATION - SAN FRANCISCO –
IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE EGYPTIAN AND TUNISIAN REVOLUTIONS
5 February 2011

What: Protest and march to stand in solidarity with the people of Egypt, Tunisia, and other countries in the region as they struggle against repressive governments.
When: Saturday, February 5th, 2011, 1 pm.
Where: U.N. Plaza, Market and 8th, San Francisco, CA
Who: Thousands of community members from the Egyptian, Tunisian, and Arab communities in the U.S., and all those in solidarity with popular movements for justice and liberation.
Why: On January 28th, Egypt’s Day of Anger, Egyptian activist groups issued a call for international solidarity, stating that: "We need your solidarity to support the demands and aspirations of Egyptians." It is in response to this call that we are holding the February 5th international day of solidarity.

Today, February 1st, millions of Egyptians marched in Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Mahalla, Suez, and other Egyptian cities to put an end to 30 years of dictatorship, poverty, unemployment, and torture. The dictator responded by declaring that he would finish his term and not seek re-election! The people of Tunisia continue to make history, struggling to defend their victory and demand a real end to Ben Ali's regime. Massive protests against dictatorships and misery are erupting in Jordan, Yemen, Libya, and other Arab countries.

This Saturday, thousands of community members from the San Francisco Bay Area will stand in solidarity with Egyptians, Tunisians, and all the people in the Arab world fighting for freedom and dignity. Nationwide, US residents are joining in solidarity with Arab popular struggles to voice dissent against the propping up of oppressive regimes globally by the US government. Egypt’s Mubarak-led regime, the second largest global recipient of US military aid, has utilized this funding to suppress free speech and political dissent for many years.

The International Solidarity Day events in San Francisco will include live interviews with journalists on the
ground in Egypt, and a march to call upon the American government to take a firm stance in support of the Egyptian people’s just demands

Endorsers (List in Formation):
ANSWER Coalition, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, Bay Area Against War Newsletter, Bay Area Labor Committee for Peace and Justice, Bay Area Solidarity, Bay Area Women in Black, Berkeley Egyptian Students Association, Berkeley Muslim Students Association, Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine, Cafe Intifada, CODEPINK Women for Peace, Global Exchange, International Socialist Organization, Jewish Voice for Peace - Bay Area, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Middle East Children's Alliance, Palestine Right to Return Coalition, Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, San Francisco Women In Black, San Jose Peace & Justice Center, Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian-Universalists, South Bay Mobilization, Rebuilding Alliance; Stanford Muslim Students Awareness Network, Stanford Says No War, Stanford Students Confronting Apartheid, Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change, United National Antiwar Committee, US Palestinian Community Network
Inquiries: Yasmine Samy, 510.379.8911, yassam123@gmail.com

Statement by UNAC
United National Antiwar Committee Emergency Appeal:
Mobilize to Stop US-Backed Attacks
on Egyptian Masses!

On January 28th we issued an appeal for all UNAC affiliates and supporters to turn out to last weekend’s demonstrations in support of the masses marching in Egypt for democracy and justice. Today we write in a follow-up emergency appeal for renewed mobilization to stop the murderous attacks going on today, February 2nd and likely to escalate in coming days.

On February 1st, two million marched in Cairo, a million or more in Alexandria, and hundreds of thousands more in towns and cities around Egypt. The response of Mubarak, after consultation with Obama, was to refuse to step down and to ignore ALL the demands of protesters.

Obama, in a speech two hours later, approved Mubarak’s stance, with duplicitous encouragement that he take some (unspecified) steps before the September elections, in which he pledged not to run.
As soon as the words left Mubarak’s lips, the millions in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, in Alexandria and elsewhere shouted their rejection of his speech.

Mubarak’s words were a clear indication that repression was imminent, and sure enough, almost immediately plainclothes police thugs began attacking protesters in Alexandria. This morning, February 2nd, the expected broader attack was launched in Cairo, as thousands more plainclothes police thugs attacked the masses in Tahrir Square.

Police mounted on horses and camels, armed with whips, began riding into the crowds. Other cops threw Molotov cocktails, rocks, stones and chairs from the roofs of buildings. Gunshots were heard in several locations. New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof reported that “mobs arrived in buses, armed with machetes, straight-razors and clubs.”

Cops began beating protesters mercilessly, and thousands were wounded.

Meanwhile the US media began featuring interviews with rich Cairenes characterizing antiregime protesters as lazy, ungrateful workers who should go back to work and stop complaining about the price of bread!
So far the army has not moved into action, neither heeding the calls of protesters for protection against the cops, nor yet dispersing the protesters. But the head of the army has told people to go home, that after Mubarak’s speech the time for protest is over.

Needless to say Obama bears prime responsibility for this situation, as he clearly coordinated his speech with that of Mubarak – that is, Mubarak would say he wouldn't run, then Obama would give back-handed blessing to that approach by calling for "faster" change but with no demands for release of prisoners, lifting of laws against assembly, free press, revocation of stolen election results, etc., etc.

Israeli officials have said they are rethinking their “security needs” in light of the possibility that a new government would reject collaboration with Israel’s policies.

But the people of Egypt are standing fast. They have pledged an even more massive march this Friday after mid-day prayers.

The Egyptian people have come too far to give up passively -- which increases the likelihood that the regime will try to launch a massacre.

More solidarity protests are coming up this weekend. In New York alone there are protests today, Friday and Saturday. And a call has been issued for protests around the world on Saturday, February 5th.

WE ENCOURAGE ALL UNAC AFFILIATES AND SUPPORTERS TO ATTEND RALLIES PLANNED BY THE EGYPTIAN COMMUNITY AND TO INITIATE THEM WHERE NONE ARE PLANNED.

What's more, as the revolution in Egypt and throughout the Arab world is clearly going to continue, we encourage affiliates to begin planning teach-ins on these events, and to work with local and national Arab groups in the US to discuss joint events up to and including the national marches on April 9th.

ADDITIONAL ACTION OPPORTUNITIES:
* Call the White House and State Department to demand complete withdrawal of all US forces in and around Egypt! [phone/email/fax #s here]
In mid-January, Connecticut newspapers reported that that state’s National Guard was sending an aviation unit to the Sinai Peninsula, supposedly as part of a regular rotation of about 1,000 US soldiers who are part of the Multinational Force and Observers stationed on the border between Egypt and Israel. Meanwhile Israel for the first time since 1979 “allowed” the Egyptian army to deploy 800 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. Needless to say, in the current situation this dramatically increases the likelihood that soldiers from any or all of the three militaries could be used against protesters.
* Demand an End to Sale of Tear Gas to Egypt’s Army and Police!
Protesters in Egypt have exposed before the world media the made-in-USA tear gas canisters fired on them. Protests have already taken place at the tear gas supplier, Combined Tactical Systems of Jamestown, Pennsylvania, as well as at the private equity firm which bankrolls them, Point Lookout Capital Partners of New York City. (This is the same firm that supplies the tear gas canisters which have wounded and killed Palestinian protesters.)
* Recall Obama’s “special envoy” to Egypt!
Obama sent a newly-appointed envoy, Frank Wisner, to Egypt to coordinate the content of their speeches on February 1st. Wisner works for corporate law firm Patton Boggs, which boasts of its connections to Egypt’s top corporations. The choice of Wisner was no accident – especially as Mubarak’s dictatorship has served first and foremost over his decades in power to impose austerity demanded by Western corporations and banks and the IMF and World Bank.
(see details at http://mideastwire.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/frank-wisner-paid-lobbyist-for-egyptian-govern ment-and-leading-commercial-families-in-egypt/ )
Call or fax Wisner’s office at Patton Boggs and demand he get out of Egypt! T: 646-557-5151 F: 646-557-5101

ALL OUT IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT!
SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY AND AGAINST EXPLOITATION AND OPPRESSION THROUGHOUT THE ARAB WORLD!
For more information: www.unacpeace.org, unacpeace@gmail.com
*************************************************************************************************************************************

The crackdown on freedoms is intensifying across Egypt as security forces use tear gas, water cannons, live rounds and lethal force against protesters.
Pick up the phone and help us call for human rights to be respected in Egypt!

Dear Jonah,

Thirty years of repression is spilling out onto the streets of Egypt in the forms of tear-gas, blood and bitter demonstrations.

For four days, Egyptian protestors have suffered at the hands of President Mubarak's security forces.

At least 14 protestors have been killed and scores more have been injured. The crackdown on freedoms is intensifying as authorities have cut all Internet and phone communications.

There's no telling how long the violence will continue or how many people will suffer in the end.

The number one request we're hearing from our fellow Egyptian activists is to have their voices heard at various Egyptian embassies and consulates.

We intend to do all we can to make that happen, but Egyptian authorities are making it very difficult.

Our emails are not getting through and it will take far too long for our letters to reach anyone who can make a difference.

That is why we're asking you to place an urgent call to the Egyptian embassy (202) 895-5400 and dial "1" to speak to a real person about the State of Emergency in Egypt.

Ask the person who answers the call to pass on this important message – and don't take "no" for an answer:

"Please urge the Egyptian government to respect human rights, rein in the security forces, and restore access to all communications in Egypt."

Help us make the Egyptian embassy's phone ring off the hook! Then tell us how your call went.

Three decades of living under the harsh and oppressive State of Emergency is unacceptable.

The people of Egypt deserve to have their voices heard and to organize peacefully. They deserve human rights.

Phone calls are best. But you can also support human rights in Egypt by making a gift to Amnesty International today so that we can strengthen our efforts to monitor and quickly respond to dangerous situations such as these whenever they arise.

Thank you for keeping watch over human rights in Egypt. We will continue to keep you informed.

Geoffrey Mock
Country Specialist, Egypt
Amnesty International USA

P.S. For the latest updates on the situation in Egypt, please follow our Human Rights Now blog and the worldwide discussion on Twitter.

LabourStart Report

2011-02-03T05:29:00.004-06:00

"Workers are angry" - reports from the front line in Cairo
Mexico: 4 years on and still no justice for Santiago Rafael Cruz
Trade unionists and the net: survey results

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

"Workers are angry" - reports from the front line in Cairo

It's come down to this: despite the regime's efforts to cut off all communications, worker-activists in Egypt are managing to make phone calls to overseas, reports are being transcribed and then translated, and the results are appearing on LabourStart.

You can keep track of the very latest happening in Cairo here:

http://www.labourstart.org/egypt/

Spread the word!

Mexico: 4 years on and still no justice for Santiago Rafael Cruz

On April 9, 2007, 29-year-old Santiago Rafael Cruz, an organizer for the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, was bound with rope and beaten to death in the union's Monterrey office.

Nearly 4 years later, the killers – and those who organized the assassination – are still at large.

To learn more and to send off your letter of protest, go here:

http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/722

Trade unionists and the net: survey results

Thanks to all of you who responded to our first annual global survey of trade union use of the net.

The results are interesting and you can read them here:

http://www.unionbook.org/profiles/blogs/results-of-the-first-annual

Thanks for your continuing support.

Plan to Ban Teacher-Student Texting Worries Educators

2011-02-01T11:21:00.001-06:00

By Courtney Cutright, The Roanoke Times, Va. (MCT)

Janette Espelage's school-issued cellphone started ringing before her feet hit the floor Monday morning, with a text message from a student asking about the schedule for semester exams.

By the time she arrived to work at Roanoke's Forest Park Academy, she had sent and received more than two dozen texts. Espelage, a student support specialist, said she easily exchanges at least a hundred text messages a day with teenagers from the city's alternative program for overage students.

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"It is just a great technology to get information to students and parents," she said.

Unfortunately, it is a form of communication that sometimes is abused. A proposed state model policy that could prompt local school boards to limit or ban electronic communication is creating concern among some Roanoke school employees.

Roanoke schools Superintendent Rita Bishop said that, when she read the state's proposal, she immediately thought of the useful way Espelage uses text messaging.

"Basically, we have got to do something about social networking to protect people," Bishop said. "It has wonderful applications that can really help students and all of us, and it has awful aspects, too."

Charles Pyle, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Education, said "private conversations, secret conversations that take place electronically between teachers and students" are a common factor in the sexual misconduct cases presented to the state board of education.

Since 2000, about seven of every 10 actions taken in Virginia against educators' licenses involved sexual misconduct with minors, according to the background information for the proposed model policy posted on the VDOE website.

"We are talking about a tiny percentage of Virginia teachers, coaches and school board employees," Pyle said. "Nevertheless, there are far too many cases, and the cases continue to come despite erecting barriers to offenders entering the system."

The General Assembly in 2008 passed legislation tightening the requirements for reporting instances of sexual misconduct by school employees and directing local school boards to adopt policies to prevent sexual misconduct. But by and large, the latter has not happened, according to Pyle. That is what prompted the state board to draft the model policy, which could lead local school boards to set limits on or even ban electronic communication between employees and students.

"I would be hurt and shocked if I couldn't text students," Espelage said.

The proposed model policy forbids school employees from using personal communication devices to text students and prohibits school employees "from interacting one-on-one with students through personal online social networking sites." The policy does not address use of personal e-mail accounts.

Espelage said she knows plenty of teachers who text students from personal phones. She initially used her own cellphone to text students, but, after routinely going over the allotted messages in her phone plan, she asked school officials to issue her a phone. It's an option most Roanoke school employees won't have.

Administrators were not too happy when they received the first bill for Espelage's phone. She thought the monthly plan included unlimited text messaging, but it really offered only 400 message credits, which she spent in a matter of days. Her plan since has been upgraded to unlimited messaging.

Espelage typically starts her workday at the student sign-in table in the Forest Park Academy lobby. As the start of classes nears, she sends text messages to students who haven't shown up for school: "Where r u 2day?"

She said most students, who might ignore a phone call, respond to a text message.

"That is the way I stay in touch with Ms. Espelage and my cheerleading coach," said Raven Phillips, 18, who dropped out of school in Montgomery County two years ago.

After marrying and moving to Roanoke, Phillips enrolled at Forest Park Academy, and she expects to graduate with a high school diploma in August.

"If I am running late, she will text me, asking where I am at," Phillips said. "It feels awesome to know they care enough to see where I am."

Phillips said she probably would not go to school most days if not for Espelage checking on her.

The pep squad sponsor at Forest Park Academy, Elizabeth Garst, sends text messages from her personal cellphone to squad members with information about what to wear and what time to meet at sporting events. Texting is much more convenient and timely than phoning the students one by one, she said.

Garst, who also teaches English and journalism, said Thursday that there have not been occasions for her to text students who are in her classes.

"But I probably wouldn't think twice about it," she said.

The texts pour in throughout the day, and, many times, students send texts to Espelage at night and on the weekends, too.

"Students do open up more through texting," she said. "They text me all kinds of things: 'I am going into labor,' 'We are getting evicted,' 'There was a domestic violence situation at home, and the police were called.' "

Espelage connects students with the appropriate community services in those instances. For her, text messaging is a vital tool she uses to do her job.

But one Roanoke School Board member cautions that the situations faced by students at Forest Park Academy may not reflect the reality of students across the city school division.

"Right now, I am on the fence with the issue," Mae Huff said. "I think texting can be a very good thing if used for instructional purposes."

Huff, who has worked on a draft of the social networking policy for the division, also is aware of the potential risks. She said that, sometimes, an uninhibited teenager may share too much information via text messaging, possibly texting things he or she may not disclose in a face-to-face conversation with a school employee.

Both teachers and students have to be "very careful" with the technology, Huff said. Bishop said she is not aware of any Roanoke teachers who have sent sexual text messages to students.

Roanoke's draft social networking policy has been placed on hold to see what action the state board takes with the proposed sexual misconduct model policy.

"What we seek to do is strike a balance, a balance that recognizes the appropriate uses of technology and social networking but at the same time provides guidance on boundary lines to prevent misconduct," Pyle said.

The 14-page proposal also addresses face-to-face communication and physical contact between school employees and students. A revised draft of the policy will be presented to the state board in March for final review.

Vol. 30, Issue 20

Afghanistan hits home

2011-02-01T09:56:00.002-06:00

The following article was written by Marvin Modder, the husband of newly enrolled P & J member, Mary Modder from Kenosha, Wisconsin. Her husband, Marvin Modder, is a retired teacher and the son of Christian Missionaries, who went to school in India. He recently went back for his class reunion, where they paid tribute to one of his classmates killed in Afghanistan last summer. It gives a different but badly needed slant to this horrible we are waging in that distant land.

Tom Wolfe
P&J Midwest Director
CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

I’ll never forget her quiet words: “Pray for the people of Afghanistan. Pray for the people who killed my husband.”

Speaking was Seija, Finnish wife of our classmate Daniel Terry, one of the ten aid workers slain by the Taliban last summer in Afghanistan. Though none of Dan’s three daughters was in attendance, Seija had made the trip from her home in Afghanistan to India and Woodstock School for his memorial service.
Of the 36 graduating members of the Woodstock class of ‘65, 16 of us had gathered at Parker Hall to honor Dan. There were tears for his loss but also a determination to keep his memory alive with an on-going scholarship and a “Dantri” lecture series dedicated to world peace.

Unable to pronounce the full name of the man who had befriended them for over 30 years, the Afghans knew him as Dantri. Now Dan Terry was gone, another victim of another senseless war in a country that has known nothing but war for decades.

Later, Seija showed us a shaky police video of the killing field taken with a cell phone. Behind the bodies sprawled across the valley floor could be seen the Land Rovers, bright red medical insignia clearly painted on their white panels. Nothing had been looted.

Two days later, however, our tears turned to joy. Complete with a Punjabi drum fanfare, it was another Parker Hall ceremony, this one for the entire student body and featuring the Distinguished Alumnus Award, which went to classmate Dr. J. Gabriel Campbell, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

At the faculty tea by the flagpole afterwards, our old Hindi teacher Mrs. Kapadia remembered how talkative Gabriel had been as a child, so much so that she took to taping his mouth shut in class; and now here he was, accomplished anthropologist and guest of honor.

At dinner that night I met the Director of Development, Abhrajit Bhattacharjee, himself a Woodstock grad. Over a delicious dinner of chicken curry, he shared with me how he originally came from a high caste Brahman family, was attracted by the gospel while a student at Woodstock, and the turmoil caused by his conversion.

“I slapped both my father and my mother, told them I repudiated everything they stood for, and said that I had found a new life in Christ,” smiled Abhra.

My mind couldn’t but help make the contrast—in Muslim Afghanistan, ten aid workers, including Daniel Terry, had been shot for “being U.S. spies and proselytizing Christianity,” the Taliban said; in Hindu India, Abhra had become a Christian and not only lived to tell about it but was prospering in his new life.
The next day we toured the campus. Much had changed. Though still a boarding school, Woodstock features a student body that is now primarily Asian instead of Anglo—seems fitting since the school is in Asia, after all. The long cold dormitories and iron bunk beds of yore had been replaced with comfy beds and comfy rooms with Internet hook-up and TVs.

Maybe too comfy. “We have a hard time getting them to go outside,” complained the Ridgewood supervisor, gesturing at the rugged mountains we hiked as kids. As we walked the old paths, our minds recalled the broken limbs, the winning shots, the games and study halls, the servants and matrons, the paddlings and Going Down Day.

All too soon it was time to say namaste to Mrs. Kapadia, Abhra, and all the rest of the wonderful Woodstock staff. Some of us jetted home to our various countries of origin; the luckier ones accompanied Gabriel to Kathmandu for another week of wonders. I mean how often do you get to ride on the back of an elephant and see rhinos and tigers and bears, oh my?

Using my rusty Hindi, one morning at breakfast at the Hotel Manaslu, where we stayed in crowded Kathmandu, I got to chatting with one of the waiters, said I had once been a waiter myself, and did he like it here? He grimaced, “Not so much. No opportunity, no escape.”

At beautiful Chitwan National Park, where we rode the elephants, around a campfire the last night, the locals told me that the jungle lodge, along with six others like it, might be shut down soon by powerful business interests hungry for the money.

You’re so right, Dantri. The problems endemic to the human race are not going to be solved with weapons of war. Shantih.

Indiana Teacher's Association Alert

2011-02-01T05:34:00.002-06:00

STATEWIDE RALLY FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

Tuesday, February 8

South Atrium, Indiana Statehouse
Downtown Indianapolis
5:00 - 6:00 p.m. (EDT)

Arrive early to find parking and go through Statehouse security.
This is our chance to let Indiana's elected leaders know that a strong public education system is vital to the future of our children and our state!

All Feb. 8 ISTA Lobbying activities have been moved from morning to afternoon to accommodate the Rally. A legislative briefing will be held from 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. in the South Atrium followed by lobbying with individual legislators.

Please join us for lobbying, but if you cannot, PACK YOUR CAR with family, colleagues and other supporters of public education and come to the 5 p.m. RALLY! THIS IS OUR CHANCE TO MAKE OUR PRESENCE KNOWN! The Rally will conclude by 6:00 p.m.
Wear bright colors!

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

Bring handmade signs &; banners!

Come prepared to let legislators know that Indiana's educators care about children and public education!
WE MUST PACK THE STATEHOUSE so that Indiana's elected leaders know that public educators are "in the house" and are not willing to turn their backs on one of the best public school systems in the country!
"The debate is not about how we will run our public schools. It is whether we will have public education. We must fight NOW. If it is not now, it may never be again!" -- Rep. Scott Pelath (HD 9)

3 Things you can do to SAVE PUBLIC EDUCATION in Indiana:
Please e-mail your representative and senator and urge them to meet with you on lobbying day and attend the Rally in person! http://www.facebook.com/l/1afb3sIlZz6ohIQ66oxkmuxY97w;capwiz.com/nea/in/state/main/?state=IN.
Please invite your colleagues and friends to come to the Rally with you. No one can afford to stay home! Click here to forward this newsletter to a friend.
Ask your colleagues to sign up for ISTA daily legislative updates at http://www.facebook.com/l/1afb3QJhtCmtT98W1FO8AVNqlAw;www.ista-in.org/blog.aspx?blogid=36954 and click on the "Subscribe via e-mail" below the calendar on the right.

Indiana State Teachers Association
150 W. Market St., Suite 900
Indianapolis, IN 46204
http://www.facebook.com/l/1afb3td-W6xhpsR9mVU3dkGQENg;www.ista-in.org

A Letter to Oprah...Use Your Network for the REAL Greater Good

2011-01-29T12:35:00.004-06:00

Dear Oprah:

It's very disappointing that you have chosen to become a shill for Michelle Rhee and the Billionaire Boys Club movement for education reform in America. Instead of giving Rhee a forum to express her jaded point of view about the state of American education, why don't you talk to real teachers--the true Supermen and women--who are heroes every day in our classrooms?

Instead of determining the state of American education by how well kids fill in bubbles on standardized tests, why don't you investigate the rich fine arts and social studies curriculum that is being squeezed out of our schools by our obsession with testing? Instead of buying into the anti-democratic "reformers" mantra about how our system is failing compared to other countries, why don't you take the time to study those other countries like Finland whose child poverty rate is 5% compared to America's OECD leading 20% with a teaching staff that is 90% unionized and REQUIRED to hold Masters degrees; or India who while churning out engineers in "Two Million Minutes" only manages to get seven percent through high school and doesn't even bother to educate over half of its population; or Singapore who sends delegations to the United States to try to figure out what WE DO to produce students who are creative and critical thinkers as adults as opposed to their test taking automatons who "fade out" after high school?

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

If we are really "losing the international competition" because of our "failing public schools" (as we will hear ad nauseum now that the latest PISA results have been announced), why has America been the most economically competitive nation in the world according to most indices for most of the last half-century? You can't have it both ways, Oprah. If education and economic competitiveness are really linked (and most studies say they aren't) than we must be doing something right in our schools which according to most of your alleged "reformers" have been failing since 1957 when the Soviets launched Sputnik or 1985 at the latest when "A Nation at Risk" was first unveiled. If only UNICEF's study of children living in poverty that ranked America 21st out of the 22 wealthiest nations received as much attention and breast beating as do the bubble sheets of 9 and 13 year olds!

Do we have major problems in our schools? Absolutely we do--especially in the inner cities. Are there bad teachers out there? Absolutely there are, just like there are bad talk show hosts, accountants, hedge fund managers and politicians. However, to lay all of the blame on America's public school teachers and their unions (like Duncan, Gates, Rhee, Broad, Walton, Guggenheim and a score of hedge fund managers who are the hidden underbelly of the current "reform movement" do), lets everyone else off the hook--especially the parents who don't read to or raise their children once they are brought into the world; the politicians who have allowed the rich/poor gap in this nation to expand to historic levels leaving millions of children in poverty and three years behind their middle class peers when they ENTER school; and the administrators who don't take the hard steps necessary to carry out the collectively bargained process created to remove bad teachers that they signed!

Be true to your legacy Oprah and give a voice to teachers who believe that Duncan, Rhee, Gates, Broad, Walton, et al are insulting, demonizing and de-professionalizing the most noble of all professions. We can't match the billions they are putting into their campaign to privatize the cornerstone institution of our democracy, but we can tell our story if someone will listen.

Dave O'Connor
Teacher--Merrill Middle School
1504 57th Place, Des Moines, IA, 50311
515-274-5378

Regional Conference Reports

2011-01-29T12:33:00.000-06:00

The Midwest Regional had a caucus meeting with about 10 attendees. Several new members were added to our caucus and about $296 was collected. This is far below what has been collected in the past and I contribute that to only selling 2 shirts....we need new ones and I am in the process of having some printed sooner rather than later. CR has a union printer. Tom Wolfe spent the whole regional time at a table and collected most of the money. The caucus meeting did not produce any new thoughts or ideas. Tom is entitled to the $100 assist from pandj.
NE Regional... only three people attended the caucus meeting which was run by Martha Allen, yes, our past vice chair. She wrote me all three were willing to join but didn't have member forms. The member forms were published in a letter I added...but apparently because it was not a visible part of the newsletter, it didn't get distributed. The information packet was sent to a local president....Chris Colbath-Hess. The best news is Dr. Gayle Nelson sees our plight as necessary and is willing to be the NE regional director but she will need support.

The West Regional was held with Jill Dudley as our contact, thanks to Elise Robilard our new West Director for finding her. She is entitled to the $100 if I hear some kind of report from her. Unfortunately, I do not have her address so phoning her has been my approach.

The Mid Atlantic is this weekend and Jameel Earnest Williams and Lisa Petry-Kirk are in charge. I sent them a small box of shirts and caps and ribbons and forms...and letters.

I am working on editing the newsletter and adding the Chiapas, Paul Mann Award, member form and Board member information. As the letter was published by Lisa with 350 copies, and I have sent some of these, used some at the Regionals, I will only print what is needed for a mailing. I am working on mailing labels, but found when I tried to email Iowa, 39 of the addresses were printed incorrectly. Transposing all that information has got to be most difficult. I know Tom Wolfe has worked on credible lists, I just wish I could get my hands on these. Stacey, you might be the person who can help figure things out electronically.

We have got to get our communications running. I have been making personal phone calls for lots of reasons. I'm sure a lot of folks are wondering why they pay dues since they have not gotten a newsletter. Our listserve is so extremely outdated with names and without current names.

Tom Wolfe just politely asks "Have you heard about our caucus?" and gives them the printed info...some come back, some join. Mo will be our voice at the Pacific Regional. I thought I had a couple of good guys for the SE Regional, but now I'm not sure.

Working to spread the word....

Nancy Porter,
NEA P&J Chair

Midwest Regional by Nancy Porter, chair, NEA Caucus

2011-01-28T08:06:00.002-06:00

Thank you to those who attended our social at the Legislative Conference. It is always great to be together with the ones who care. Welcome AnneMarie Kraus and Kris Wingate and Karen Person to our Iowa delegates who care enough to support the Peace and Justice Caucus and direction. Thank you for your membership dues and continued support.

The Midwest Regional Conference was well attended and interesting, but, perhaps, over shadowed with the doom and gloom of the legislature in Iowa being run by a majority of Republicans in the House. They are doing exactly what they said they would do and cut the budget. The budget cuts, however, are a scathing blow to Public Education which is getting attacked from every angle. Thanks to the Des Moines local for focus from the media attacks through movies. They have organized several awareness events. Thanks to our ISEA for organizing great speakers at the hearing for the defeat of the HF 45 bill which, hopefully, the Senate will be able to diffuse. Thanks to those who testified and attended.

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

The Midwest Regional attendees from other states are facing equally negative attacks to Public Education. We have a big job before us to educate all to the outcomes of Public Education attacks and the needs of our society. The NEA certainly is working to inform members and hire thoughtful, knowledgeable staff.

Thanks to ISEA for the coalition to gather the thinking educated of Iowa together to prevent a landslide of negatives to our education and fiscal system which is being usurped by corporate funds.

We have a lot to do and we can only work on the needs together. Together we stand in numbers to defeat those who say Public Education is not the way to inform our future and teach wise civic decisions.

Bookmark these sites for interaction and reaction:

National website: http://www.neapeaceandjustice.org/; (Author: Jake Wager: Joshua.wager@gmail.com.)

Midwest Blog: http://midwestpeaceandjustice.blogspot.com/; (Authors: Andrew Rasmussen, Razzman11-2000@yahoo.com; Joshua Brown: Joshua.brown@dmps.k12.ia.us; Tom McLaughlin: tvmclaughlin@cox.net, )

Regional Caucus Reports

2011-01-27T14:35:00.002-06:00

The Midwest Regional had a caucus meeting with about 10 attendees. Several new members were added to our caucus and about $296 was collected. This is far below what has been collected in the past and I contribute that to only selling 2 shirts....we need new ones and I am in the process of having some printed sooner rather than later. CR has a union printer. Tom Wolfe spent the whole regional time at a table and collected most of the money. The caucus meeting did not produce any new thoughts or ideas. Tom is entitled to the $100 assist from P&J.

CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

NE Regional... only three people attended the caucus meeting which was run by Martha Allen, yes, our past vice chair. She wrote me all three were willing to join but didn't have member forms. The member forms were published in a letter I added...but apparently because it was not a visible part of the newsletter, it didn't get distributed. The information packet was sent to a local president....Chris Colbath-Hess. The best news is Dr. Gayle Nelson sees our plight as necessary and is willing to be the NE regional director but she will need support.

The West Regional was held with Jill Dudley as our contact, thanks to Elise Robilard our new West Director for finding her. She is entitled to the $100 if I hear some kind of report from her. Unfortunately, I do not have her address so phoning her has been my approach.

The Mid Atlantic is this weekend and Jameel Earnest Williams and Lisa Petry-Kirk are in charge. I sent them a small box of shirts and caps and ribbons and forms...and letters.

I am working on editing the newsletter and adding the Chiapas, Paul Mann Award, member form and Board member information. As the letter was published by Lisa with 350 copies, and I have sent some of these, used some at the Regionals, I will only print what is needed for a mailing. I am working on mailing labels, but found when I tried to email Iowa, 39 of the addresses were printed incorrectly. Transposing all that information has got to be most difficult. I know Tom Wolfe has worked on credible lists, I just wish I could get my hands on these. Stacey, you might be the person who can help figure things out electronically.

We have got to get our communications running. I have been making personal phone calls for lots of reasons. I'm sure a lot of folks are wondering why they pay dues since they have not gotten a newsletter. Our listserve is so extremely outdated with names and without current names.

Tom Wolfe just politely asks "Have you heard about our caucus?" and gives them the printed info...some come back, some join. Mo will be our voice at the Pacific Regional. I thought I had a couple of good guys for the SE Regional, but now I'm not sure.

Working to spread the word....

Nancy Porter,
NEA Peace and Justice Caucus

Iowa Caucus Meeting

2011-01-04T08:48:00.003-06:00

The Iowa NEA Peace and Justice Caucus is planning to host a social and hold a short meeting at the ISEA Legislative Conference in Des Moines on Friday, January 7 at the conclusion of the evening session. More details will be announced at the conference.

Please join the Iowa Peace and Justice Facebook page!

Midwest Regional is Approaching

2011-01-04T08:47:00.001-06:00

Dear Midwest Peace & Justice Members,

Hello to all of you once again. It's been some time since I've last written you, and I apologize for that. I've had too much going on in my life, and I've tended to procrastinate some things, and this is one of them. I'm now trying to make recompense. I hope things are going well in your lives and that you are able to think a little bit about your membership in our Peace & Justice Caucus. It is my hope that many of you will be attending the NEA Midwest Regional in Kansas City this month from January 14-16. Our Peace & Justice Caucus plans to have a table in the hallway for all to see, and we hope you will visit. We also will hold a caucus meeting on Saturday morning, January 15. If you haven't yet registered to attend it, please consider doing so. You can eat breakfast in our caucus room, so there is no conflict there. At present, Nancy Porter, our national chair, and I plan to be there and preside, but if I can't be there Nancy will handle it all herself. Either way, we will have a presence.
After your winter break, I'll send you another message as a reminder and include the tentative agenda for our caucus. We will also welcome any help at our table, but I'll mention that in January. Once again, I wish to remind you that we have a national website, a Midwest website, and a listserv. You can click on the first two simply by following the addresses listed below, and you can become a part of our listserv by clicking on that address and following the hoops required. You will then receive much more information from a variety of sources. You can arrange to have it in digest form if you wish to prevent being flooded with emails. You can also stop receiving it by following the clicks at the bottom of any message.

National website: http://www.neapeaceandjustice.org/; (Author: Jake Wager: Joshua.wager@gmail.com.)

Midwest Blog: http://midwestpeaceandjustice.blogspot.com/; (Authors: Andrew Rasmussen, Razzman11-2000@yahoo.com; Josh Brown: Joshua.brown@dmps.k12.ia.us.)

P&J Listserv: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEApeaceandjusticecaucus/

Hope you had a pleasant break.
Tom Wolfe
NEA P&J Midwest Regional Director
1905 Emerald DR
Davenport, IA 52804
563/320-7220
wolfeman2@mchsi.com

Professional Educator's Creed

2010-12-13T14:59:00.002-06:00

Join other educators across this country and stand up for our profession by signing on to the Profession Educator's Creed at change.org.

Petitions by Change.org|Start a Petition »

Paul Mann Youth Activism Award

2010-12-13T14:57:00.000-06:00

Please nominate an individual youth activist, K through 14, who has been outstanding in the struggle for human rights, social justice, peace, and/or youth empowerment. The student selected as this year’s Paul Mann Youth Activist may be invited to the 2011 NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago, IL, or to the sponsoring state education association affiliate’s Representative Assembly to receive recognition for their achievements.

For nomination papers and more information visit http://www.neapeaceandjustice.org/content/paul-mann-youth-activism-award

Special Comment: Obama Turned His Back to the Base

2010-12-12T20:26:00.003-06:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Imprisoned trade unionist on hunger strike: Reza Shahabi

2010-12-12T20:22:00.002-06:00

URGENT ACTION: REZA SHAHABI ON HUNGER STRIKE

Reza Shahabi, a leading member of an independent but unrecognized trade union in Iran, remains detained in Evin Prison, Tehran, where he has begun a hunger strike. Although Saeed Torabian, another leading member, was released on 20 July, other union members have since been arrested, bringing the total in prison to six.
Reza Shahabi, the Treasurer of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), was arrested on 12 June, three days after the arrest of Saeed Torabian, the union’s spokesperson. Held incommunicado detention for some weeks, he later contacted his family and told them he was being held in Evin Prison, Tehran. He began a hunger strike on 4 December in protest at his continued detention.

Union members Gholamreza Gholamhosseini, Morteza Komsari and Ali Akbar Nazari have all been arrested since the beginning of November. Amnesty International believes that all four men are probably prisoners of conscience, held solely on account of their peaceful trade union activities, in which case they should be released immediately and unconditionally. Mansour Ossanlu and Ebrahim Maddadi, respectively head and deputy head of the union, are currently serving prison sentences; both are prisoners of conscience. Amnesty International is calling for their immediate and unconditional release.

Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 22 (1) of which states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests," and to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Article 8 of which guarantees the “right of everyone to form trade unions and join the trade union of his choice”.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:

•Urging the Iranian authorities to release Reza Shahabi and other recently detained members of the same union (naming them) if, as appears, they are held solely for their peaceful trade union activities, or else to bring them to trial promptly and fairly on recognizable criminal charges;

•Calling on the authorities to ensure that those held are protected from torture or other ill-treatment,and are granted immediate access to their families, to lawyers of their choice, and to adequate medical care.

•Urging authorities to release Mansour Ossanlu and Ebrahim Maddadi immediately and unconditionally;

•Calling on the authorities to uphold their obligations to allow the right to form and join independent trade unions.

Dream Act: House Passes Dream Act; Tell The Senate to Act

2010-12-12T17:43:00.000-06:00

Each year, thousands of undocumented students who have lived in the United States for at least five years graduate from U.S. high schools. Among these students, with whom NEA members work every day, are valedictorians, straight-A students, and idealistic youth committed to bettering their communities. Yet, because of their lack of legal status, they are unable to pursue higher education.

On December 7, the House passed the bipartisan DREAM Act by a vote of 216-198. The bill gives eligible young people the opportunity to resolve their immigration status and work towards citizenship.

On December 8, the Senate voted to table action on the bill, as supporters work to secure the 60 votes needed for passage. The Senate could take up the bill again the week of December 13.

Take Action:

Urge your Senators to support the DREAM Act
See how your House member voted on passage of the DREAM Act
See NEA’s co-sponsored ads (ad 1; ad 2; ad 3) in support of the DREAM Act

P&J Chair Nancy Porter, Panelist for the First Annual Iowa Peace Intitiative Conference

2010-09-26T13:57:00.002-05:00

The first Iowa Peace Initiative Conference was held in Dubuque 9/18/10 to celebrate the International Day of Peace established by the United Nations annually on September 21.

Over twenty groups concerned about keeping the peace movement alive were represented by about 200 people. Veterans for Peace and Physicians for Peace and the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus furnished the panel of three presidents/chairs to open the conference.

Iowa City, Iowa City Council and the Johnson County Board of Supervisors both endorsed peace proclamations in recognition of the Day of Peace. Data from the National Priorities web site on the cost of the war to the individual county and city were presented to these local governing Boards to reinforce the high cost of war.

Mike Ferner, author of In the Red Zone, (far right in picture) Dr. Jeff Patterson of the U of WI and Nancy Porter, PandJ chair shared the opening panel discussion and presentation.

Veterans for Peace have chosen to concentrate on the cost of war and "What has the war economy done for you?" theme. Mr. Ferner went to Iraq before the war began to meet the people. His book is about that experience.

Dr. Patterson is knowledgeable and extremely concerned about the nuclear armaments and their availability. Now 9 countries could easily send off a warhead and we have come within seconds too many times of destroying the world. Call your senator about the START bill (start disarming the nuclear weapons before more countries have the power to strike). Dr. Petterson has been active as a Doctor Without Borders for years.

Education Funding Still Getting Caught Up in War Funding?

2010-07-14T16:57:00.015-05:00

War Supplemental Stalls in the Senate
By Brian Friel, CQ Staff

The must-pass supplemental appropriations bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is stuck in a logjam that could delay action on the Senate floor for a few weeks, a key Senate Democrat said.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education , said Democrats are trying to find a set of offsets for $10 billion in funding to avert teacher layoffs across the country after the White House issued a veto threat over a House-passed version that cuts money from one of President Obama’s signature education programs to pay for the teacher funding.

“Maybe there are some different offsets or something we can use,” Harkin said. “Look, nothing’s going to happen this week. Nothing’s going to happen next week. So we’ve got time to work on it.”

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are stepping up calls for quick action on the fiscal 2010 supplemental bill after a meeting Tuesday with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

“He told us clearly today that it has to be done by the end of the month or he won’t be able to pay the troops,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said. “We need to figure a way to get the funding for the troops in the field, and we need to do it as soon as possible.”

The Senate passed a version of the supplemental in May (HR 4899) that included $58.8 billion for the wars, disaster relief and veterans. The House on July 1 added $22 billion for various domestic programs, including $10 billion to prevent teacher layoffs in local school districts.

House Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey, D-Wis., included a cut of several hundred million dollars to Obama’s “Race to the Top” education initiative to offset the added domestic costs and placate deficit concerns among House Democrats. Obama issued a veto threat in opposition to the proposed cuts in his education initiative.

Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., said, “We have some issues with the House on the supplemental. I don’t personally, but issues in terms of finding 60 votes in the Senate.”

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said he would not support the domestic funding that the House added on. “We’d like to fund the troops and not have a bunch of add-ons that don’t have the emergency status that these kinds of bills ordinarily require.”

Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., said the teacher funding issue did not come up at a White House meeting with President Obama and Senate Democratic leaders Tuesday morning. But Harkin said he’ll fight to keep the teacher funding in the bill.

“It seems to me the Republicans are drawing a line and saying no money for teachers,” Harkin said. “That’s an interesting position to take.”
Source: CQ Today Online News

Round-the-clock coverage of news from Capitol Hill.
© 2010 Congressional Quarterly Inc. All Rights Reserved

Why do we need to tie funding to save teacher jobs to funding for war? And why shouldn't we take money from the flawed "Race to the Top" to retain teacher jobs? These are some of the questions we need to be asking on this issue. Feel free to contact Senator Harking on this issue...

CLICK TO CONTACT SENATOR HARKIN

Choice Words from the Chair

2010-07-14T15:07:00.005-05:00

As I reflect on the whirlwind days at the Rep Assembly in New Orleans, I'm glad we were there. New Orleans has survived. The students can still stand on corners and play their musical instruments, although they'd like to be allowed to play later into the night. Bourbon Street is alive and well and the music and food and drinks flow richly. I was definitely affected by the air quality, but it was worth the inconvenience. I hope educators spent as much money as they could to help keep this city thriving. Louisiana needs our help. We would be naive to think otherwise. BP workers need our help. Our national work force needs our help. Our international friends at war and internal/international combustion neighboring nations need peace, acceptance and understanding.

Education is our goal and education is our salvation. As we educate each other to issues and situations around the world, we become so much better at making decisions that make a positive difference for our future. Our RA friends are becoming educated to some of our important issues. Peace and Justice Caucus had some wins and more losses at this 2010 New Orleans Rep Assembly.

We tried to lobby for separation of war funds from education funds when Congress sets a budget. We lost, and Senator Harkin is working on that today as I write. Money is the issue. We need to support our troops, but we need to support our troops and bring them home from Iraq and Afghanistan. NEA wants money for our kids. The money is tied to war funding. Sad.

We asked the Assembly to support the right of parents and students to have knowledge and written approval of military recruiting in schools and the access to test scores. It sounded simple. Isn't this a constitutional right of privacy? Our Constitutional rights are slowly eroding but we will continue to educate. Read Arlene Inouye's remarks on our web site to be posted soon with our newsletter. She did a great job presenting this NBI.

We worked for the removal of the troops from Afghanistan and the money to go directly to education here, at home, for the troops, their families, our kids, our future. President Sanchez from CA spoke to the issue. We give thanks for having such great folks on our side and leadership to suggest the strategies. We won an "object to consideration" and we won language modification both by vote. We lost the NBI but President Dennis VanRoekel had to call for division after two voice votes. We're educating. Read Noam Gundle's comments to be posted.

We couldn't come down on the big corporate banks, and we couldn't lobby for a decrease in the medicare eligibility age (single payer health insurance), but we could lobby for legislation to hold companies responsible for actions such as what BP has done to the Gulf. We kept our goal of making children and education our focus for whatever we do and present at the RA. We are here for the future, our children.

I really believe our biggest success is our NEW Executive Board (look for their names and positions on our site). We had competition and we had a full slate of members wanting to promote the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus. We had folks willing and able to go beyond for the good of the whole. Mark Emmons and Tom Yates are two of these folks. Tom Wolfe worked so hard for us, he succumbed to the heat. He has been a tireless leader in getting members. It will take ten members to replace his hard work. Andy Griggs wasn't there, but his hard work lives on.

We lost Gaza flotilla language to the Jewish presence in Iowa, but we gained members from MD and CA. These friends are willing to address and take on an NBI with language to support our need to address the Palestine/Israeli situation that grows in militant strength due to the big money behind the force. Our Education International friends are our support in this issue, too.

We win, we lose, we have friends such as Lisa Ossian and Frank Olbris who have knowledge that can give us new directions and insights. We have the experience of our local speaker, Tracie L. Washington, esq, LA Justice Institute. Please check out her speech and input concerning education in New Orleans in our upcoming newsletter to be published on our national and midwest sites.

Now we look to the future. The attending school youth of New Orleans were our honorees for the Paul Mann Youth Activist Award. Will you find a youth to honor for our future? Look for a postcard with highlights of the RA and keep posted to our website; www.neapeaceandjustice.org and the Midwest site. We need you, many members, many voices to join our peace and justice plight. We need YOU to help educate and carry the message. Our mission statement says it all.

Thank you, all, for this opportunity to make a difference in another way. Anyone who works in education makes a difference every day.

Make a difference in all you do. Support peace and justice.

Nancy Porter, chair

Peace and Justice Caucus Elections Bring New Leaders

2010-07-13T19:06:00.005-05:00

The NEA Peace and Justice Caucus was busy promoting a new business item on the war in Afghanistan but it also held elections for leadership posts for the coming year. Here are your newly elected and continuing leaders for the caucus...

CHAIR:

Nancy Porter Iowa City, Iowa PorterNancy@msn.com

VICE- CHAIR:

Noam Gundle Seattle, Washington noamjg@gmail.com

TREASURER:

Walter Domeika Fairfield, Connecticut waltercea@aol.com

SECRETARY:

Arlene Inouye Pasedena, California aginouye@aol.com

PACIFIC REGION DIRECTOR:

Mohammed Anegbeode Seattle, Washington mohdelzinn@yahoo.com

WEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR:

Sarah Hunnicutt Oklahoma City, Oklahoma magicpurplecrayon@hotmail.com

MIDWEST REGIONAL DIRECTOR:

Tom Wolfe Davenport, Iowa wolfeman2@mchsi.com

MID-ATLANTIC REGIONAL DIRECTOR:

Jameel Williams Henderson, North Carolina jam82565@yahoo.com

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR:

Lisa Petry-Kirk Willisburg, Kentucky Lisa.Petry-Kirk@Anderson.Kyschools.us

NORTHEAST REGIONAL DIRECTOR:

Nabia Meghelli Cambridge, Massachusetts nmeghelli@gmail.com

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATORS:

Jane Walling Nashville, Tennessee janewallingis@comcast.net

Stacey Kimberlin Ankeny, Iowa stacey.kimberlin@dmps.k12.ia.us

Mark Emmons Newport, Vermont markeemmons@myfairpoint.net

NEWSLETTER:

Lisa Ossian Des Moines, Iowa llossian@dmacc.edu

BOOTH:

Sari Kulberg Oakland, California sjkulberg@gmail.com

Gretchen Lipow Alameda, California gretchenlipow@comcast.net

FLOOR STRATEGY:

Carol Kula Iowa City, Iowa cmkula227@yahoo.com

ISSUES:

Bill Balderson Oakland, California BBalderston@earthlink.net

PAUL MANN YOUTH ACTIVIST AWARD CHAIR:

Mary Prophet Berkeley, California mlprophet@earthlink.net

Peace and Justice Caucus Supports NBI on Afghanistan

2010-07-03T17:39:00.008-05:00

The following New Business Item was actively supported by the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus it failed on a very close floor vote:

"Afghanistan and Reallocation of Federal Resources"
The NEA will call on the U.S. Government to end its war and occupation in Afghanistan and begin a safe and orderly withdrawal of all troops, contractors, and weaponry.

(a) The NEA will urge all levels of government to support returning troops, including significant expenditures to provide further education/student financial support, job training, and adequate health care for veterans.

(b) The NEA will publicly insist that the funds which would be otherwise spent on the war in Afghanistan be used for public job creation, especially for public education, health care, and other urgently needed social programs for American working people.

The fact that an "object to consideration" on this NBI was defeated and we got to our speakers before a close floor vote was another sign of small progress on these issues. A big thanks to the California state president, David Sanchez, speaking for the state delegation. His speech was impassioned and convincing. The language was crafted to bring schools and veterans to the forefront and the more we can connect our NBI's to the students in our classrooms the more likely we will move NEA towards a more "peace and justice" focused agenda.

A Pre-RA Note from the Chair

2010-06-23T18:32:00.004-05:00

See you in New Orleans at the RA Convention Center. Our caucus room and times are noted below. Please join us whenever you can. We want to meet and greet on July 1 if you are in town. July 2 is optional if you can't get there July 1 and July 3-6 are RA Assembly days.

July 1 – 4:00 to 5:30 pm, Room 238-239
July 2 – 12:00 to 1:00 pm, Room 352
July 3 – 9:30 to 11:00 am, Room 343
July 4-6 9:30 to 10:00 am and lunch breaks, Room 343

It's time. Do you believe it? Another school year comes and goes and we meet again as the largest democratic legislative body in the world. You , too, can be on the BIG screen. We need speakers, mic yielders, membership promoters and folks to decide which new Business items, resolutions and legislative lobby items will go to the floor. We need members at the caucus to vote on a few edited Constitutional changes. We need Regional Directors, State Contacts, Chiapas promoters, and we will have an election for vice chair and treasurer as well as other positions. Sari Kulberg and Gretchen Lipow will run the booth with Tom Yates help. You may stop by any time and offer ideas, assistance or spend your money! Contact me at portenancy@msn.com or 319 331 8088 to take part.

We will be honoring the youth of New Orleans for their perseverance in attending school against so many odds for the Paul Mann Youth Activist Award.

We will be running an election for new officers of vice chair and treasurer.
We will honor Andy Griggs, retired activist, although he will not be in attendance. Andy's memory and hard work will long be part of what our caucus stands for and continues to fight for. His knowledge and belief in the good fight for peace and justice will always be a cornerstone of our caucus.

Tracy Washington, chair of the Louisiana Justice Institute will be one of our speakers.

Just as important as pending elections, the "don't tell" bill in the senate, the sanctity of the work force and our country helping them thrive is our ability to get involved, stand up for our beliefs and forge ahead to a new peaceful day. There is power in numbers and the NEA represents a big number of people who care and want to educate. Make a difference Get involved. Get involved in PandJ!

Nancy Porter,
NEA P&J Chair

Join the Coalition Against War Spending!

2010-06-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost Americans over $1 trillion in direct costs, and over $3 trillion altogether.

At a time when our national debt exceeds $13 trillion, we can no longer afford these wars.

It's time for Congress to reject any funding except to bring all our troops safely home.

LINK

Time for Teachers' Unions to GET LOUD!

2010-06-22T23:57:00.001-05:00

I am a proud member of the teachers' union, the NEA and my state and local divisions of the union. I joined the very day I signed my contract and I am not afraid to tell everyone I am in the teachers' UNION. I don't cop out and call it the "professional organization" or some other cowardly term that tries to hide the fact that I am in a labor union. This post is my way of ranting a little on where I see my union now and in the troublesome future for public education. It is a call for my union leaders to ACT LIKE UNION LEADERS and not to play it safe to try and cultivate their influence gardens in the fancy back rooms of Washington D.C. No, the time is now for teachers in our union to get down and dirty, fight in the streets so to speak because we are truly and honestly fighting for the very heart and soul of American public education!

We are at a point now where the power grab by corporate interests has never been greater in the realm of public education. Testing corporations already greedily feed at the trough, force feeding us their "assessments" and soon they hope to up the ante by seeing that those tests influence what we as teachers get paid. Other fly-by-night for profit groups are eyeing with lust the chance to open up more charter schools to scrape up profits at the expense of the taxpayer and our students. So-called education "reformers" wait at the doors to let the wolves in and cut back on our benefits we fought hard to gain and maintain. Pensions, health insurance, and tenure are all squarely lined up in the firing range and the worst part of it is that the people with the guns are our supposed "friends" in the Democratic Party including the President of the United States we helped elect!

So with these forces aligning against us, now is not the time to be afraid of "rocking the boat" and making waves that get our so called "friends" sopping wet. NO! Now is the time to get mad and give them hell before they allow our public schools to be wrecked and picked apart by corporate greed fiends!

While they are more than happy to scapegoat us and blame us for all that is bad in schools we need to fight back with the facts.

FACT: Performance pay where teachers are paid in part based on the test scores of their students has not been shown to improve student performance.

FACT: Charter schools have not been shown to improve student performance.

FACT: Bad teachers are not protected by unions. Lazy administrators who do not do their job as evaluators are responsible for bad teachers continuing to practice. Unions merely make sure due process rights are followed when a teacher is evaluated. If an administrator was aware of what was going on in the classrooms they could easily and fairly gather enough evidence to let a bad teacher go.

FACT: Pensions and good health benefits are something unions have fought hard for and they in part make up for our lower pay. By the way, if more private sector employees were willing and able to unionize they too would have better benefits and pensions. They need to emulate us not scapegoat us!

These and other facts are pretty easy to prove in a public debate. The real problem is that our union leadership seems to timid to make these arguments LOUDLY and FORCEFULLY. We are so proud of our "seat at the table" but our leaders fail to reveal that the seat we have is at the "kiddie table". We are frequently ignored by the media and our leaders are not heard. Instead our leaders play the old game of Washington D.C. insider glad handing that gets us nothing but a knife in our backs. We need leaders that speak the truth even if it hurts our so-called "friends". We need teachers at public forums, teachers speaking loudly in the media, teachers educating our public about why we are not the scapegoats, we are the last line of defense between their kids and a corporate takeover of education! Get up and get loud NOW!!!!

P & J Leadership Responsibilities

2010-06-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

LEADERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES

CHAIRPERSON:

1. Preside at all meetings of the NEA P&J, the Board of Directors, and the annual Delegate Caucus;
2. Appoint the chairperson and members of all standing and special committees, except as otherwise provided in the bylaws, with the approval of the Board of Directors;
3. Make recommendations to the Board of Directors for interim appointments;
4. Be the spokesperson and official representative for the caucus;
5. Perform all duties usually prescribed for this office and those designated by the Board of Directors;
6. Make appointments to vacated board positions with the approval of the board at the next meeting of the Board of Directors;
7. Shall have organizational and strategic oversight; and
8. With the treasurer, shall approve and make expenditures within the purviews of the annual budget.

VICE CHAIR:
1. Assume all duties and responsibilities of the chairperson upon absent resignation, or inability of the chairperson to perform such duties;
2. Assist regional directors in the fulfillment of their roles, and
3. Serve as vice chair on the Board of Directors.

SECRETARY:
1. Record and keep a record of the proceedings of the meetings of the caucus and Board of Directors;
2. Report such proceedings and reports as stipulated by the caucus or the Board of Directors;
3. Establish and maintain a record of the officers and committee members;
4. Serve as Secretary on the Board of Directors, and
5. Secure and maintain an updated copy of the constitution, bylaws, and standing rules of the NEA P&J Caucus.

TREASURER:
1. Receive, record, and disburse all monies of the caucus;
2. Maintain the financial account of the organization;
3. Make a financial report to each meeting of the Board of Directors, the Delegate Caucus, and such other financial reports as required;
4. Disburse checks and make expenditures within the purviews and spending limits of the annual budget.
5. Recommend the budget to the Board of Directors;
6. Have fundraising oversight, and
7. Serve as treasurer to the Board of Directors.

REGIONAL DIRECTORS:

1. Coordinate activities within his/her region.
2. Conduct an annual meeting at the NEA Regional Conference.
3. Serve on the NEA P&J Caucus Board of Directors.
4. Serve as liaison between the region and the NEA P&J Caucus.
5. Recruit/coordinate memberships in designated regions.
6. Collect, record, and return membership forms collected (white copies only) to membership co-chairs.
7. Send money collected to treasurer – checks only.
8. Disseminate information/materials.
9. Maintain a regional master list.
10. Communicate with membership co-chairs.

DESIGNATED COORDINATORS

MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIRS:

1. Design, organize, and coordinate membership recruitment.
2. Establish and maintain membership lists.
3. Communicate with regional directors and caucus chair.

FLOOR STRATEGIST:
1. Design and coordinate the floor strategy for the NEA Representative Assembly.
2. Recruit speakers and mike yielders.

NEWSLETTER COORDINATOR:
1. Edit the newsletter.
2. Solicit and write articles.
3. Coordinate the printing and mailing of newsletter to members at least three times a year.

BOOTH COORDINATORS (at RA):
1. Coordinate the exhibition and non-profit booth spaces.
2. Purchase and supply materials.
3. Coordinate the volunteers for staffing the booth.

STATE CONTACTS:

• Disseminate information/materials.
• Collect/Return membership forms and envelopes to regional directors at RA.
• Recruit members.
• Communicate with regional director.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP:
• Recruit.
• Participate.
• Communicate with caucus.

MEMBERSHIP COLLECTION PROCESS AT NEA RA

Regional Directors:
1. Collect large envelopes from membership co-chairs.
2. Disseminate small envelopes to state contacts.
3. Record information.
4. Save yellow copies for records while white copies go to membership co-chairs.
5. Turn in daily collections to membership co-chairs and/or treasurer.

State Contacts:

1. Turn in daily envelopes to regional directors.
2. Inform directors of any concerns, etc.

Booth Coordinators:
1. Collect membership forms/record method of payment.
2. Place in the regional envelopes.
3. Turn in to co-chairs and/or treasurer.

FLOOR STRATEGIST DUTIES AT RA:

1. Ask the NEA copy room to make several copies (10-20+) of this document (2 sides, 1 sheet) and collect names for each microphone. (If there aren't 40, deletions or additions can be made either electronically or with white out or pen/pencil before you make this first set.)
2. After each mike has a yielder, make enough copies of that one for each issue for which we'll be doing floor strategy.
3. Circle the appropriate category and fill in its number and the names of the maker, seconder, and additional speakers.
4. Make about 50+ copies of each of these to distribute to each mike yielder, the speakers, and others helping with floor strategy.

What is the True Purpose of Public Education?

2010-05-26T18:16:00.009-05:00

Below you will find an excellent essay by Des Moines, Iowa teacher and activist Dave O'Connor that refocuses us on the true purpose of public education.

Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one.

For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.

“Breathe”, Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon

Lyrics by Roger Waters

One of America ’s preeminent education writers Alfie Kohn, asked in the September 19, 2007 issue of Education Week: “Is the main mission of schools really to prepare children to be productive workers who will do their part to increase the profitability of their future employers? Every time education is described as an ‘investment,’ or schools are discussed in the context of the ‘global economy,’ a loud alarm ought to go off, reminding us of the moral and practical implications of giving an answer in dollars to a question about schools.”

If Kohn is right, and I believe that he is, then alarm bells like those found on Pink Floyd’s seminal “Dark Side of the Moon” classic “Time” should be ringing in the headphones of all American educators who see public education as more than a punched ticket into a knock-down, drag out global competition where our students race toward Roger Waters’ “early grave.” Those of us who value the democratic purposes of education envision a higher calling; one that emphasizes a citizen’s role as a critical thinker who questions authority and hierarchies of military and corporate power. Because, as retired lieutenant colonel (USAF) William J. Astore has written: “If you view education in purely instrumental terms as a way to a higher-paying job -- if it's merely a mechanism for mass customization within a marketplace of ephemeral consumer goods -- you've effectively given a free pass to the prevailing machinery of power and those who run it.”
ARTICLE: "STUDENTS AREN'T CUSTOMERS, EDUCATION ISN'T A COMMODITY"

A politician’s beliefs about the true purposes of education are a fundamentally important issue that shines a bright light upon the policies he or she will pursue in office. Coming on the heels of 16 years of federal education policy that has put corporations at the forefront of policy development and the democratic purposes of education on the back burner, Obama’s approach is nothing new. However, given that he won election on the theme of change and on the backs of hard-working members of teacher’s unions, it is disturbing to note the singular emphasis he places upon the economic purposes of public education to the outright exclusion of the democratic ends.

Nowhere on the President’s “Organizing for America ” website, for example, does he discuss the democratic purposes of education. In fact, the “Education Issues” page of the Organizing for America site begins with these words:

“At this defining moment in our history, preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face. We need to stop paying lip service to public education, and start holding communities, administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable.”

LINK: ORGANIZING FOR AMERICA EDUCATION ISSUES PAGE

On the President’s White House page, under the heading “Guiding Principles” for education we find these words:

“Providing a high-quality education for all children is critical to America ’s economic future. Our nation’s economic competitiveness and the path to the American Dream depend on providing every child with an education that will enable them to succeed in a global economy that is predicated on knowledge and innovation. President Obama is committed to providing every child access to a complete and competitive education, from cradle through career... President Obama will reform America’s public schools to deliver a 21st Century education that will prepare all children for success in the new global workplace”

LINK: OBAMA WHITE HOUSE EDUCATION PAGE

Since becoming president, Obama has pursued these ends with great vigor, turning over the shaping of federal education policy to corporate interests who have unveiled Race to the Top as their first major offensive. Diane Ravitch has gone so far as to say that corporate interests are “directing national education policy.” The evidence is persuasive:

Arne Duncan’s signature Renaissance 2010 reform initiative in Chicago , in one publications opinion was all about “…shuttering public schools, replacing them with privatized or militarized schools, shutting out teachers' unions and taking power away from community members and citizens - all on the recommendation of the city's corporate elite.” As Obama’s choice for Secretary of Education, he is now the Elmer Gantry of federal/corporate education huckstering. http://www.truthout.org/041509B
Joanne Weiss, chief operating officer of the New Schools Venture Fund was appointed to run the Race to the Top grant competition. Jim Horn, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Cambridge College referred to the New Schools Fund as “…a vast web of corporate and corporate foundation cash strategically invested in the cause of privatizing education, all the while collecting huge tax credits for…vulture philanthropists.” http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/04/race-to-top-and-politics-of-corruption.html
The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has been intimately involved in the financing of Race to the Top initiatives at the state level providing significant funding to all of the 16 finalists chosen for the first round of the competition and the eventual Round One winners, Tennessee and Delaware . That should come as no surprise since in Horn’s words, “Not only does Gates have the house keys at the Department of Ed where the Gates and Broad Foundations have set up shop, but the Foundation has also tutored each state in how to write grants to fit the criteria of judging that /his/ Foundation ‘helped’ to develop.” http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/04/how-bill-gates-won-race-to-top-and-why.html
Obama has received his marching orders on education policy from Democrats for Education Reform who have uncomfortable ties with far right, anti-union organizations like the American Enterprise Institute who have long championed privatization. Three of DFER’s four founders sit on the boards of Charter Schools while the fourth waits to see if his application to do the same is accepted. http://www.edwize.org/peoples-democratic-republicans-for-education-reform

What are the potential consequences of continuing to cede education policy to corporate interests? Astore, a former military man himself, paints a very grim picture: “What do torture, a major recession, and two debilitating wars have to do with our educational system? My guess: plenty…It's a large claim to make, but as long as we continue to treat students as customers and education as a commodity, our hopes for truly substantive changes in our country's direction are likely to be dashed. As long as education is driven by technocratic imperatives and the tyranny of the practical, our students will fail to acknowledge that precious goal of Socrates: To know thyself -- and so your own limits and those of your country as well. To know how to get by or get ahead is one thing, but to know yourself is to struggle to recognize your own limitations as well as illusions…education should help us to see ourselves and our world in fresh, even disturbing, ways. If we were properly educated as a nation, the only torturing going on might be in our own hearts and minds -- a struggle against accepting the world as it's being packaged and sold to us by the pragmatists, the technocrats, and those who think education is nothing but a potential passport to material success.”

This corporate vision of education isn’t why we entered the profession. As Jonathan Kozol reminds us in The Shame of the Nation, good teachers “…refuse to see their pupils as…pint sized deficits or assets for America ’s economy into whom they are expected to pump ‘added value”.

Educators have a duty to resist the corporatization of our schools. As Alfie Kohn has written: “Our loyalty, after all, is not to corporations but to children. Our chief concerns—our ‘bottom line’ if you must—is not victory for some, but learning for all.”

LINK: ALFIE KOHN ARTICLE

Dave O’Connor

Humanities Educator

Merrill Middle School
Des Moines, IA

Iowa Update

2010-04-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

Our motion was debated on the floor. We were able to avoid the object to consideration block with some strategic movement.

The motion still failed on the floor, but at least we got an up-or-down vote. We will be working in the months to come to frame our issues and make sure the focus is clearly related to education as we bring forward NBI's at the NEA RA and future ISEA DA's.

If you have any ideas please let us know.

Midwest Caucus for Peace and Justice Minutes– Saturday January 22, 2010

2010-01-26T11:46:00.001-06:00

The NEA Midwest Regional was held in Minneapolis the weekend of January 22-24, and the Peace & Justice Caucus made itself known. We had a table with displays all three days, enrolled a record thirteen new members, and sold many materials, bringing in a total of around $445 for the P&J Caucus. (I don’t know the exact figure, but that’s approximately what I was told by Nancy Porter, our national chair and money holder at the table.) We also held a caucus Saturday morning, and you will find Roberta Rosheim’s minutes for it printed below.

Thank you,
Tom Wolfe
P&J Midwest Director

Midwest Caucus for Peace and Justice – Saturday January 22, 2010

Tom Wolfe called to order the meeting at the Hilton Hotel in Minneapolis at 7:20 AM. He explained the caucus and the goals that we have, reminding us that membership is the lifeblood of the caucus and that state contacts make this happen. When the state contacts are known before the RA and will work at the RA to get new members, it is most helpful.

Introductions: Nancy Porter is the national chair, Carol Kula is the floor manager at the RA, Roberta Rosheim is recording secretary for this meeting, Josh Wager is the national website author, Josh Brown and Andrew Rasmussen are the Midwest Blog authors, a state contact that was present was Carol Kula from IA. Nineteen people were in attendance: Michelle Cooper, Bryan Milz, Roberta Rosheim, Nancy Porter, Andrew Rasmussen, Joshua Brown, Michele Cooper, Erin Hinds, Bev Stolfus, Carol Kula, Gail Maison, Jodi Tupper, Joshua Wager, Stacey Kimberlin, Kristen Henningfeld, Curt Christenson, Rich Baldwin, Tom Mc Laughlin and Tom Wolfe.

Tom announced who the state contacts are: Germaine Light from IL, Rhondalyn Cornett from IN, Carol Kula from IA, Mary Anne Schwartz fro MI, Kimberly Corbert from MN, co-contacts Rebecca Bauer and Clara Hutchinson from MN, Lori Zanitsch from MO, and Stephanie Kortyna from WI.

HAITI – There is a fund called El Solidarity Fund for Haiti, which is a good opportunity to contribute directly to help teachers in Haiti. There are no administrative costs. Send donations to

Haiti Earthquake Recovery
National Education Association
1201 16th Street NW, Suite 614
Washington DC 20036

Constitution: Tom said there might be recommendations for changes in the Constitution because Retired dues are currently $5 and just one newsletter costs $3 to send out. State caucuses now need 50 members and there are only 3: California, Iowa, and Washington. States creating their own P&J caucuses must elect their own state chairs. In return, they will receive rebates from the national P&J Caucus to support states.

Websites: Josh Wager is the author of the national website. There is a blog and the newsletters are on it, and the Paul Mann Award for Youth Activism is explained and announced. He is working on the format now.

Andrew Rasmussen and Joshua Brown talked about the Midwest website. Andrew thanked Tom McLaughlin for helping to improve it. Andrew puts articles on the website, and he wants people to post comments so there can be discussions. It is a way to share and organize events and activities. Joshua Brown said it would be great to get people involved from throughout the Midwest.

Gail asked what the purpose of this meeting is. Tom said it is to persuade the NEA to promote our issues, for example to oppose torture, to ensure civil rights for everyone. We bring forth new business items to the Representative Assembly of the NEA. We try to change the climate of the NEA through the Rep Assembly and through state assemblies. Carol Kula said we also influence NEA to support international unions. We must emphasize that war funding affects students and explain how. Tom McLaughlin also mentioned that we are active in Chiapas. We raise money for schools in Chiapas, including one school that is named after an advocate for Chiapas, Paul Mann.

We were encouraged to seek those young people who best exemplify P&J ideals and nominate them for the Paul Mann Youth Activism Award and then recognize them at our various state assemblies here in the Midwest as well as throughout the nation.

Information was shared about the problem of Object to Consideration, which has been used at the RA and in our state assemblies to avoid discussion of our issues. Nancy said that Paul Mann helped to pass a rule in Iowa that the maker of the motion may speak at least once before the vote is taken to Object, a rule that has been in place at the national level for some time. Nevertheless, OCs block debate of our controversial issues, and that is frustrating.

Tom reminded us that our current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are hugely expensive and that it costs 1 million dollars per soldier per year to keep an American soldier in those two countries, money that could go a long way to funding our schools.

Nancy reminded us that we need to get new members and to volunteer to be at the booth. The minutes will be posted on our websites.

When the Executive Committee of the National Peace and Justice Caucus met last fall, it developed its own tentative list of major issues to focus on during this year and to develop a list of new business items around them, but any final list would await input from the regionals. Tom asked for our suggestions to make a list of items we believe are most important in order for the Executive Board to consider them before making its final list.

The items suggested were:

1. Support relief for Haiti;
2. Rebuild Haiti and keep an eye on the international effort to rebuild Haiti;
3. To relate each of our issues to public education;
4. Work for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan/
5. Focus on what wars do to people;
6. Promote schools in Afghanistan and use the Pennies for Peace program as a guide;
7. Teach social justice in the classroom and include within the curriculum the teaching of labor history and other examples of social activism; and
8. Promote soap drives for homeless shelters – to donate toiletries from the hotel to local shelters

Tom reminded us that we want to effect change in the NEA and then to effect the US Government through lobbying by the NEA. Andrew reminded us to continue this discussion on the blog.

The meeting adjourned at 8:05 a.m.
Respectfully submitted by Roberta Rosheim

Student's take action!

2010-01-25T22:01:00.001-06:00

Let's help support other organizations in their efforts---spread the word

The Student Peace Alliance engages our communities and policy makers in building sustainable peace. The Student Peace Alliance is active on over 80 campuses in over 30 states and is growing every day. Millions of young Americans are aware of the dangers created by relying solely on brute force to end violence both at home and abroad. We know that peace is more than the absence of war; it is a positive condition in and of itself. The goal of the Student Peace Alliance is to harness the power of this realization, mobilizing its adherents into a serious political constituency.

Our generation must begin to build the culture that supports not only a peaceful tomorrow, but a peaceful today. Student Peace Alliance members partner with local community organizations that are effecting change in the areas of violence prevention and conflict resolution. SPA members work to create an environment on campuses and in local communities that promotes education and discussion about peace building on both the domestic and international levels. SPA also works in close partnership with The Peace Alliance to advocate for breakthrough pieces of legislation, such as the Youth PROMISE Act, and to work towards our goal of establishing an infrastructure in the federal government that makes peace a priority.

Our network aims to create change not only at one level of society, but at all levels by combining a community service approach to building peace locally with a political advocacy approach to sustaining and funding peace through the government.

We, the youth and students of the United States declare that NOW is the time for peace, and NOW is the time for action. The people of the United States are rising up for change, and we the youth stand in solidarity with them. Please join us. While this is not the space to explain our entire philosophy, we encourage you to learn more about the movement by visiting www.studentpeacealliance.org or by joining us on our monthly conference calls. We are always willing to answer any questions or comments you may have!

Let's Get To Work

2010-01-23T09:48:00.000-06:00

We will post a quick summary or minutes from our caucus meeting at the Midwest Regional Leadership Conference later but we do not want to wait until we get those to get to action.

One of the things that is going on at the national level in our caucus is trying to find a focus and set some of our priorities as we work to influence NEA and the world.

Please post any suggestions you have and we will make sure to share those ideas with our national caucus chair and the rest of the NEA Peace and Justice executive board.

Once we have some topics from you, we can begin to discuss those ideas out as well on this blog to create action items to be implemented at the local, state, and national levels.

We are only as strong as those who join us and get involved so please share your ideas.

Problems with Race to the Top

2009-11-24T13:39:00.000-06:00

Everyone needs to read Yong Zhao's recent book, Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.

It is tremendous!

Here is a link to Yong Zhoa's blog where you find this recent satirical post on how to win at the RTTT game.

2009-11-21T09:19:00.001-06:00

Letter from our Director

2009-11-21T09:18:00.000-06:00

These may not be Dickens’ worst of times, but they certainly are not the best either. Not only is our president pursuing an education policy that is sometimes hard to distinguish from his predecessor’s, but it appears he may escalate our troop involvement in Afghanistan, perhaps the worst country in the world for anyone to wage a war and one that our Nobel Peace Prize winner seems determined to wage anyway. If we could accept the notion of a just war, could enough be gained to offset the undoubted fact that more people will die; intolerance will increase; and our economy, already reeling from recession, will have to absorb the additional cost of war at the expense of other more socially pressing needs? During the Bush years, 1,517 young Americans died in that war, and in about ten months of the Obama Administration, at least 509 young people with hopes and dreams for the future have had their promising lives ended. Is this what a peace prize winner should do? I urge everyone to prepare new business items for your state assemblies and for next summer’s RA that would force the NEA to lobby harder for peace in Afghanistan. We must get the attention of our Nobel winner!

The following link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygXW1QnV2pE, leads to a letter to President Obama read by an eleven year old Californian named Ethan Matsuda about education and Afghanistan. It is worth hearing. The boy won the Golden state’s youth activism award four years ago, is the author of two books, and makes a stirring appeal for peace. Please take the time to click on this link. Then prepare that NBI.

Tom Wolfe
P&J Midwest Director

Afghanistan by Tom Wolfe, P&J Midwest Regional Director

2009-10-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” I was a twenty year old collegian when I heard those words from President Kennedy in 1961, and I was proud and thrilled to be an American when I heard it. I was also, I think, mistaken and sadly naïve.

Kennedy used those stirring words to justify the growing American military involvement in Vietnam where the survival and liberty of Americans at home were not threatened, and President Johnson continued to use that same argument as we sank into the quicksand of that far off land until we finally abandoned the effort entirely in 1975. Our fundamental problem there was the belief that imperialism was an acceptable basis for foreign policy and that it was perfectly legitimate for our nation to establish hegemony over other people in any manner possible, even militarily.

What did we learn from that experience? Apparently nothing because as I write this it is the eighth anniversary of the American invasion of Afghanistan, where nearly 900 young Americans have died so far, along with the many more lost in Iraq in the last six years and thousands physically and mentally shattered in both wars. Beyond that are the massive numbers of Afghans, Pakistanis, and Iraqis killed in our quest for hegemony.

Now President Obama is trying to decide whether he should send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Clinton apparently favors sending even more than that, and Vice President Biden would have fewer troops but escalate the use of drones and rockets in Pakistan, bringing even more hatred to our nation while killing from on high. They would do this despite having no money to pay for it, no clearly explained reason for it, no agreement on just whom the enemy actually is, and no explanation of how we would ever know when we won so we could all go home again! There is also the unstated premise that we belong there in the first place, that shedding the blood of young Americans and that of countless other people’s blood to extend American dominion over others is actually a good thing.

Does putting Americans in harm’s way in Afghanistan “assure the survival and the success of liberty” for Americans at home? Of course not. This is a watershed moment in American history, and it appears President Obama intends to slide us into another Vietnam. He probably won’t remove existing troops and will more likely add some soon, and Vietnam will be repeated once again. We must voice our opposition loudly and now. Those of you who remember the movie “Network” will recall that Howard Beale stuck his head out a window and screamed, “I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” Please write or call your congressman, your senator, and especially President Obama. One way to write the president is to flood him with emails at this address: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/. Let our voices for peace be heard as we ponder the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."

Tom Wolfe
P&J Midwest Regional Director

Fair Trade Curriculum Courses

2009-09-04T18:07:00.000-05:00

Win Win Solutions: An Introduction to Fair Trade and Cooperative Economics.
Equal Exchange’s 124-page curriculum provides a link between personal actions and community efforts to create a more just and sustainable world. This interdisciplinary resource is designed for grades 4-9 and addresses standards from a wide variety of subjects. The flexible structure allows teachers to incorporate individual experiential activities into current lesson plans or use all four units. Addresses national curriculum standards from a variety of subject areas. Available online for free download at http://www.equalexchange.coop/educationaltools.

Setting a Higher Bar: Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Cocoa Unit for Kids. This full unit from Global Exchange has nine ready-to-use lesson plans using inquiry-based learning and encouraging critical thinking. The unit was written broadly for grades 2-5, but is suitable for younger and older students with adaptation. While primarily a social studies unit integrating language arts, it also includes art, math, and life science. Designed to be supported by the Global Exchange Fair Trade Chocolate Book. Book AND unit are available for free download at www.globalexchange.org/cocoa

Focus on Fair Trade from TransFair USA . Each unit highlights our global interdependence by focusing on three different Fair Trade foods: Chocolate Explorers (grades K-2), Banana Bonanza (grades 3-6), and Coffee Connections (grades 7-12). Units include lesson plans and address relevant national standards with ideas for accessible, interactive activities on topics ranging from geography, economics, social studies, history, environmental studies, and marketing. Download for free at http://www.transfairusa.org/content/support/classroom.php.

Maya Arts and Crafts of Guatemala /Artes y Artesanias Mayas de Guatemala, Bilingual Coloring Book. Pictures and text illustrate the importance of arts and crafts in the lives of the Maya. Two Teacher and Parent Guides are available online for free download: Kids and Fair Trade, which contains lessons designed to help children understand how Fair Trade helps address some of the injustices inherent in our present trading system, and Learning From the Maya About Diversity, Culture and Ecology. For more information about ordering the coloring book or to download Teacher Guides, visit: http://www.proartemaya.org/

Constitution - September 17th

2009-09-03T21:43:00.005-05:00

In this day and age, our students are witnessing massive changes in our country, perhaps even larger than they (or we) can comprehend.

On September 17, Constitution Day, schools receiving federal funds are required to integrate the Constitution into their lessons. The day offers an opportunity for all of us to teach students something about the Constitution, the document that unites us as Americans across our various political views. Taking some time to discuss the Constitution in your classroom can help students make sense of this unique historical moment by connecting the rights it protects to current issues like domestic spying, preventive detention, and the expansion of executive power.

Because it implicates so many subjects, the Constitution can be an apt subject for a lesson plan regardless of what you teach, or at what level. The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) has compiled and developed a series of resources to make it easier for teachers to bring these issues into their classrooms. Additionally, BORDC has grassroots volunteers in a variety of locations available to serve as guest lecturers.

Please consider a lesson focused on the Constitution and its current relevance on September 17. Several lesson plans are available online. Feel free to use them in any way you wish, and please share feedback on your students' experiences.

Finally, please contact Emma Roderick at BORDC if you're interested in (a) inviting a BORDC guest lecturer to visit your class, (b) helping compile lesson plans or other curricular materials about current constitutional issues, or (c) working with other volunteers to draft a report about troubling and pervasive security measures in schools. In your email, please include your school's zip code and a phone number where we can reach you.

Thank you for your invaluable work preparing our nation's future leaders.

Sincerely,

Flavia Alaya, Bridgeton, NJ
Barbara Ehrentreu, North White Plains, NY
Elizabeth Hanson, Lake Forest Park, WA
Meagan Magrath, Springfield, MA
Bradley Olson, Evanston, IL

and other members of the BORDC Educators Team

P.S. Feel free to share this email with your colleagues, both at your school and in other schools.

Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Address: 8 Bridge Street, Suite A, Northampton, MA 01060
Web: http://www.bordc.org/
Email: info@bordc.org
Telephone: 413-582-0110
Fax: 413-582-0116

Health Care: It's Broke. Fix It, Already!

2009-09-03T21:39:00.002-05:00

Lily Eskelsen
NEA Vice President

We’ve now seen that dangerous combination of bad information and sincere people who believe it because they read it on the internet:

Town Hall Q. Do you support death panels that want to murder my grandmother?
Town Hall A. Say what?

Yes, it’s entertaining, and there’s a musical in the works based on the actual transcripts of Barney Frank’s town hall meeting. But for now, let’s be party poopers and stick to facts. Let’s talk about what’s broken and what we could do to fix it.

I’m a teacher. We have pretty good health insurance. So why do we care? Well, we care about our communities. We care that a lot of our students and their families don’t have access to quality health care. Those kids miss a lot of school, and that hurts them academically.

And even if you have good insurance, you’ll notice it’s not as good as it was ten years ago. You’ll notice paychecks are smaller as employers pay ever higher premiums to insurance companies that spend 30 cents out of every dollar on administrative overhead.

Hopefully, you won’t be among the people with insurance who find out what isn’t covered when they get sick and make a claim. Or those who have faithfully paid premiums for years only to find their insurance cancelled just before their prostate surgery as they’re notified they neglected to report an unrelated but previously-existing hangnail.

One man’s job stops providing family insurance, and he can’t afford to pick up the $1,000 monthly premium. One woman can’t get insurance because she’s young enough to get pregnant. Another because she’s old enough to need hormone therapy.

We all need this reform. Without decent coverage, medical bankruptcies will impact more families and local economies. Wages will stagnate as more of our wealth is shoveled into the bureaucratic abyss of insurance companies. It will crash in the end.

And when it does, we’ll reach the critical mass of the motivated that allowed Medicare to pass. In 1965, there were no town hall shouting matches. Why? Because seniors tend to have bad hearts and bad eyes and bad hip joints. Insurance companies didn’t want them. There was no motivation for them to oppose it.

The motivated folks were terrified seniors rejected by health insurance companies as a bad risk whose greatest fear, other than getting sick, was becoming a burden to their families.

The motivated folks were the adult kids of seniors who were desperately caught between helping their parents pay doctor bills and risking their own financial security.

The motivated folks were the hospitals that were left with expensive end-of-life treatments and no one to pay the bill.

When some guy would stand up and call it socialized medicine, the motivated folks would tell him to sit down and shut up. People wanted a public option called Medicare. It isn’t perfect. But it fixed the worst of what was broken.

It’s important that House reform proposals contain a similar public option. If you like your private insurance, keep it. For working people who fit better with a public option, they would finally have the choice.

Premiums would be based on your ability to pay, so everyone can afford reasonably priced insurance. Reform would end the nasty gotcha game of pre-existing conditions – no insurance would ever again be able to deny or cancel coverage because of past illness. All proposals keep choices of private doctors, clinics and hospitals.

The problem is real. And now we have real solutions and a rare opportunity to bring common-sense to our crazy quilt of a non-system.

No more shouting of absurdities. This is too important. Speak the truth. Calmly but with conviction. Call your member of Congress. Your senator. Tell them it’s time to lead our country something that works for all of us.

Links:

TAKE ACTION! Sign up as a Cyber Lobbyists and send your health care message NOW!
http://www.nea.org/home/19546.htm

Health Care Lies Being Spread to Seniors
http://www.nea.org/home/ns/35328.htm

The Price of Private Insurance Overhead
http://www.governmentisgood.com/articles.php?aid=20&p=3

Cancelling the Insured because of Pre-Existing Conditions
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/business/smallbusiness/27sbiz.html

Medical Bankruptcies
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/health-care-reform/2009/06/new_study_shows_medical_bills.html

President Obama on a Public Option to private insurance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGJmi6JB4js

News From the Chair

2009-08-06T22:56:00.002-05:00

Peace and Justice Caucus
National Education Association

I am Nancy Porter. I am a reading teacher in the Iowa City Community School District. I have a long career as an educator but maintain my parent status with two daughters and their five offspring as an important part of my legacy. I’m not sure where being a mother in law fits, but I do know I have had the joy of my family presence these last weeks. Since they live in NY, I can’t often say that.

The thrilling part of my life is working with all the new and enthusiastic members of Peace and Justice who want to see positive change for the future of our caucus. Many of these members come from Iowa. There are too many for whom I am very thankful and expect great things from in the future. I do want to recognize the colleagues from Iowa who have continued in PandJ on the national level: Carol Kula recently elected floor chair, Tom Wolfe persevering Midwest Regional Director, Tom McLaughlin national blog site web master. I also want to thank all the current Board members and chairs for creating and continuing our caucus. They represent what is great about being an educator.

Like any organization we are only as strong, smart, viable and communicative as our members allow us to be.

You are the member and you are the one I want to hear from. In the near future we will have a web site reflective of the regions, needs, awareness, interests, action needed of our concerns at home and internationally. Hopefully you will be able to focus on what is most important to you and you can let us know if we miss your prime interests for peace and justice.

All input is welcome, new ideas can be implemented, and a forceful means of communication achieved. It is never too early to begin planning for the Delegate Assembly, and working for peace and justice is an ongoing direction for our caucus.

Summer R’s: renew, re-create, get ready to roll

Paul Mann: Schools for Chiapas

2009-07-13T09:18:00.008-05:00

The Schools for Chiapas is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to bringing schools, classrooms, and education to the indigenous Mayan people in the extreme southern region of Mexico. Specifically they support Zapatista programs in literacy, health, ecological agriculture, and productive community projects. They are truly a grassroots organization that is not connected to any for-profit organization or government.

Thanks in part to the sailboat cruises for Chiapas Schools, the Paul Mann Schools for Chiapas was able to raise over $6,000 during the NEA Delegate assembly in San Diego. A wonderful total, but still short of what is needed for the people of this region in Southern Mexico.

Each school of five classrooms requires $7,500 to build and that doesn't include desks, supplies and upkeep. The schools need our help year-round and here is what you can do to help. At the Schools for Chiapas website you can read about the origin of the the Paul Mann Schools, ideas and lessons for your classroom, as well as the history of the Zapitista people. At the website, you can give a one time donation for any amount, or a monthly donation. You can even buy Zapitista products such as coffee, artwork, dolls and so much more. Go to the Schools for Chiapas website and give whatever you can today.

Mission Statement:
Schools for Chiapas supports the autonomous, indigenous communities of Chiapas, Mexico in their efforts to create a just, democratic, and dignified education including autonomous schools, community health trainings, ecological agricultural studies, and alternative market development. In the face of corporate globalization, we join the Zapatistas and others in the effort to build capacity and skills for healthy, sustainable, and self-reliant communities. We join people of conscience everywhere in promoting alternative models of education and action that challenge and resist environmental degradation and human exploitation.
Written by Schools for Chiapas Coordinators
June 18, 2006

Turn Words Into Action

2009-06-19T10:16:00.014-05:00

During the campaign, Senator Obama said he will never abandon or turn his back on the people of Darfur; now President Obama appears to be close to unveiling his plan. Our President's plan must be clear and concise in regards to what will be done to end the attrocities that have gone unchecked for far too long. Our President must make saving this region in Sudan a national priority, rather than an issue that we will get to when we can.

Former President Bush didn't take the issue in Darfur seriously and refuese to send aid or troops to the region to help the struggle. He made a last ditch effort on January of 2009 by sending an emergency airlift to the region; too little too late.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/jan/Bushs-Darfur-Aid-Plan-Draws-Criticism.html

Our new President cannot follow this strategy. In his campaign, Obama promised to make Darfur a priority and you can help make him own up to his promise. Visit the site below and fill out a form to send a letter to the President urging him to make a plan for the region public and a priority.

http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/obamarollout/eu7u87k9r737j38w?

Stop the Bullies: It is Your JOB!

2009-04-26T12:59:00.008-05:00

April 21, 2009

Another Child Suicide Blamed on Antigay Bullying

Family members of an 11-year-old boy who committed suicide in DeKalb County, Ga., on Thursday afternoon say that relentless bullying is to blame for their son's death, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution .

Jaheem Herrera, a fifth-grader at Dunaire Elementary School in the Atlanta area, hanged himself in his room after enduring extreme daily bullying that included antigay taunts. His 10-year-old sister discovered his body.

Herrera’s mother and stepfather say they were aware of the consistent bullying, although their son tried to hide the extent of it. His mother, Masika Bermudez, complained to the school, reports WSB-TV, and she talked with his best friend about the situation.

“He said, ‘Yes, ma’am. He told me that he’s tired of everybody always messing with him in school. He is tired of telling the teachers and the staff, and they never do anything about the problems. So the only way out is by killing himself,’” Bermudez told WSB-TV.

Jaheem was an excellent student who moved with his family to the Atlanta area last year from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, said stepfather Norman Keene.

The suicide of Jaheem follows the death earlier this month of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a sixth-grader in Springfield, Mass., who hanged himself after reportedly enduring relentless antigay bullying.

In March, the parents of Eric Mohat -- a Mentor, Ohio, 17-year-old who shot and killed himself in 2007 following what his parents characterize as months of merciless antigay harassment -- filed a lawsuit against Mentor High School with the U.S. district court in the northern Ohio district; they're not seeking compensation for themselves, but rather an admission that Eric's death was a "bullycide," and they're asking that the school put in place an anti-bullying program to prevent future such tragedies.

Visit the sites below for more stories and books and donate to the suicide hotline. Most importantly, as a teacher/administrator, it is your job to stop bullies in your school. If you think there is something wrong with a student, assume there is and investigate. You never know the difference you can make just by simply asking a child if something is wrong, or how they are doing. Don't turn your head when you see bullying, Stop It!

http://www.jaredstory.com/

http://www.bullypolice.com/

http://www.bullycide.org/

http://www.suicide.org/donate.html

Help Pass the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act

2009-04-15T17:01:00.002-05:00

The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was passed on July 25, 2006—20 years after Adam Walsh's abduction. The act established a National Sex Offender Registry law, but recent news reports reveal most states will not be in compliance with the law by the upcoming July 2009 deadline. If senators and state representatives don't comply with and fully fund the act, it will expire.

For more information about this Act or to contact your Senator and/or Representative go to:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090220-tows-adam-walsh-act

To get a sample letter to send your Senator and/or Representative go to:
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090220-tows-adam-walsh-act/2

Congratulations Nancy Porter!

2009-04-03T10:02:00.007-05:00

The Midwest Peace and Justice Causcus is smiling from ear to ear today. One of our best representatives, and beautiful souls, was awarded with the Charles F. Martin Award from the Iowa State Education Association.

Nancy Porter has been an active Association member at the local, state, and national levels for decades. She has worked as a Reading Recovery teacher in the Iowa City School district for 16 years and has been involved in education for 40 years.

Locally, she's served as President and Vice President of the Iowa City Education Association and received many honors including Eduactor of the Year.

At the state level, she served on the ISEA Executive Board for 13 years, and was a delegate to NEA Representative Assemblies, a delegate to the ISEA Delegate Assembly for over two decades, a member of the ISEA PAC Central Committee, and a presenter and attendee at the ISEA Summber Conference in Storm Lake.

Nationally, she serves as Secretary of the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus.

Nancy has mentored many ISEA members, encouraging them to attend weekly legislative forums, and hosting barbecues at her house to socialize and organize. She has become engaged in the political processes necessary to guarantee students' and teachers' needs are met and to provide the very best education possible for students everywhere.

The prestigious Charles F. Martin Award has been presented annually since 1972 as ISEA's top honor to a member who has made a significant contribution to the teaching profession through Association involvement. It's named in honor of the late Charles F. Martin who served as ISEA president in 1945 and then as executive director from 1946 to 1961.

We are so proud of our very own Nancy Porter. Congratulations to you Nancy, and thank you for all the wonderful work you do on behalf of our Caucus and our students here in Iowa. We couldn't be more proud of you.

Iowa court upholds ruling; marriage no longer limited to one man, one woman

2009-04-03T09:14:00.002-05:00

Read the whole story

More information coming soon!

Teacher Resources

2009-04-03T01:44:00.002-05:00

Visit DMEA's wiki that was put together by Peace and Justice bloggers Stefanie Rosenberg-Cortes and Joshua Brown. It has a section that has valuable resources to teach Peace and Justice issues in your classroom.

DMEA Peace and Justice Wiki Page