Blog 4 History

Had a reader point me to the NEA (National Education Association) website this morning. (As a public school teacher I can’t tweet, blog, facebook, at all hours of the day unlike some on here! I have to teach 32+ students per class from 7:30 to 2:50, then it’s coaching and after school activities. So sorry so late on this.) I digress!

I never thunk to visit the NEA and peruse their recommended reading lists for EDUCATORS, just never occurred to me that there would be anything there to suggest that SOME members of the NEA MIGHT be proponents of Social Justice and also teaching the doctrines of Saul Alinsky. Who is Alinsky you say? Well he “wrote the book on American radicalism.” So why would the NEA have on their 2009 “Recommended Reading” one Saul Alinsky, and his Leftist classic: “The American Organizer”?

I know, it baffles many that this would even be an issue. The other two Recommended Readings: The Introvert Advantage and The Thin Book of Naming don’t sound or look like Conservative Classics. Now if one of them was an extreme Right Wing book by say Newt Gingrich, Sean Hannity or, gasp, Glenn Beck, you could argue that the suggested readings have balance. I still would say none of these should be “Recommended Readings.” I don’t pull out Glenn Beck’s Arguing with Idiots and spout from it or quote it! Have never purchased a book or read a book by any of the three. Yes, Mr. Levin, hard to imagine. (Note they do mention so-called “conservative radical” Michael Patrick Leahy’s, Rules for Conservative Radicals. But in an off hand way and not as a recommended reading and good, sounds like more of the same, but from the Right. Don’t want that either!)

But is the NEA asking SOME educators to do just the very thing with Alinsky? I wish we just had to deal with Social Justice proponents, this guy makes them look like boy scouts.

I know. No big deal. That this has nothing to do with what is going on in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan and maybe even to a city capital near you!, is naive at best.

All the NEA is asking of its members that they: “will discern from Alinsky’s books grassroots organizing strategies that will best help us bring our members together around the common goal of improving public education.” Sounds great, all for it! Yup, improving public education!

Let’s take a look, shall we!

From the NEA website:

Alinsky, the master political agitator, tactical planner and social organizer didn’t mince words…

“Liberals in their meetings utter bold works; they strut, grimace belligerently, and then issue a weasel-worded statement ‘which has tremendous implications, if read between the lines.’ They sit calmly, dispassionately, studying the issue; judging both sides; they sit and still sit.

“The Radical does not sit frozen by cold objectivity. He sees injustice and strikes at it with hot passion. He is a man of decision and action. There is a saying that the Liberal is one who walks out of the room when the argument turns into a fight.

“Society has good reason to fear the Radical. Every shaking advance of mankind toward equality and justice has come from the Radical. He hits, he hurts, he is dangerous. Conservative interests know that while Liberals are most adept at breaking their own necks with their tongues, Radicals are most adept at breaking the necks of Conservatives.

“Radicals precipitate the social crisis by action – by using power. Liberals may then timidly follow along or else, as in most cases, be swept forward along the course set by Radicals, but all because of forces unloosed by Radical action. They are forced to positive action only in spite of their desires …

“breaking the necks of Conservatives”… hmm.

Alinsky is an admitted radical who would absolutely support SOME teachers who blatantly left their jobs, lied about being sick, and encourage their students to “Agitate” with them. I know, I know, how could anyone have such a mindset!? Clearly I have issues. Clearly I am “disgraceful.” They are just striking, er, protesting for their rights.

More from the NEA website:

Alinsky devised and proved thirteen tactical rules for use against opponents vastly superior in power and wealth.

1. “Power is not only what you have but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. “Never go outside the experience of your people.
3. “Wherever possible go outside of the experience of the enemy.
4. “Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
5. “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
6. “A good tactic is one that your people enjoy.
7. “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. “Keep the pressure on.
9. “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. “Major premise for tactics is development of operations that will maintain constant pressure upon the opposition.
11. “If you push a negative hard and deep enough it will break through into its counterside.
12. “The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
13. “Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it

For Alinsky it is about: “Agitate + Aggravate + Educate + Organize.” Looks and sounds a lot like what I have seen on the news recently.

Great, just what we need to be recommending that our educators teach, or use or whatever it is SOME do with this great stuff!

LOTS OF QUESTIONS! Why does the NEA promote such a man and such a “radical” (their words not mine) ideology?

Look at the language in the above 13 tactical rules that the NEA is supporting: “Enemy”, “ridicule”, “pressure”, “threat”, “terrifying”!

Sounds like the new civility some people are talking about. This is not the reading that makes for better teachers or students. And is that even the goal here for SOME?

Do we want SOME (ALL, NONE?) OF our educators teaching… using…this?

Do we want SOME OF our teachers more concerned with activism than, I don’t know, proper education?

COULD THIS be PART of the reason why our education system is failing? You tell me!

I know, I know, conspiracy theorist and hate monger…. this is all simply harmless.

Mr. Levin?

The new civility on display in Madison, Wisconsin has given me as a teacher pause. As a teacher I have to be held to the utmost level of integrity, do I not? I spend 8 hours a day with other people’s children; often more time than the parents do. I encourage students to work hard, be honest, and disciplined. As a history teacher I point to the nature of our democracy where majority rules, and that elections are to be taken serious as they indeed, as our esteemed President noted, “have consequences.” Yet in Wisconsin teachers have decided to use what is a teachable moment, and demonstrate that lying, banter, and at times, incivility should be used when one does not get what one wants. But none of this should be surprising when we look at how educators are taught today and how they are encouraged to be exemplars of Social Justice and to teach for Social Change. (If you want more on Teaching for Social Justice please click the category tag above). For example, one e-newsletter I receive was very clear on how we should interpret and use the Labor unrest in Wisconsin. The publication offered this quote:

“If teacher unions want to be strong and well-supported, it’s essential that they not only be teacher unionists but teachers of unionism. We need to create a generation of students who support teachers and the movement of teachers for their rights.”

– Howard Zinn in an interview with Bob Peterson for Transforming Teacher Unions

“…teachers of unionism”? Really!

Today’s teacher unions and educators in America, in public schools, are failing their students and for multiple reasons; some of which have nothing to do with the teachers. But some aspects of this failure have to do with bad teachers and ones that have agendas. Take the literature that is being promoted by the late Howard Zinn and other radicals. In some Universities and Colleges we are producing activists and not educators, and this explains what is happening in Wisconsin. Those who willing lied, took phony sick notes from unscrupulous doctors, and railed against the democratic system, are sending students the wrong message and setting the wrong example. You want to protest, do it after school or on the weekends. Want to organize peacefully, fine. In trying to come up with an editorial on this subject I found another teacher who also had issues with what was happening in Wisconsin, so instead of my own words I’ll let her speak:

To the editor:

When did getting one’s political way justify lying, cheating and disrupting the legal political process? As a teacher and a parent, I always found that example was the strongest teaching tool there was. I will speak only to the teachers and politicians in Wisconsin since those are the people with whom I am identified. What kind of example are you setting?

I was horrified watching teachers accept “sick” notes handed out indiscriminately on the street. In effect they are saying, “I’m well enough to stand in the cold and protest politically, but I’m too sick to be in my classroom.”

What would that same teacher call a student’s note of that sort? A lie. That lie also breaks the contract those teachers signed with their schools and the taxpayers who fund them. Cheating. One teachers’ union official was filmed saying, “Our first interest is in educating our children,” yet he supported abandoning classrooms in favor of seeking political ends. Might I add hypocrisy to my list?

Finally, the duly elected officials, elected by a majority of all the people in their districts, are so afraid of or complicit with this vocal sector that they abdicate their sworn duty to uphold the constitutional law of this country and go into hiding, disrupting the lawful process.

I won’t comment on the merits of either side of the political argument, but when the belief that the end justifies the means becomes prevalent, the rule of law disappears. Historically, the next step is anarchy. From the title of an Alan Paton novel, “Cry the Beloved Country.”

Anne Paradis

Now that the situation in Egypt has essentially ended in a military coup, what will this latest Middle East Revolution ascend or descend into? Some say Western style Democracy. Others say a Sharia Law Theocracy. Is this movement a bottom up democratic one or something triggered by the Muslim Brotherhood? Who knows, hopefully some kind of democracy. But here’s a photo (one of many I have seen) that is in English and has a very interesting message. Why Social Justice!? Hmm….

Ever wonder what you can purchase in a store dedicated to “Social Justice”? Let’s take a look!

There’s actually some really nice things that you can purchase:

“The medieval feminist,” Joan of Arc. T-shirt, coffee mug, water jug, lots of goodies with that symbol.

You can also find t-shirts and other stuff with the slogan. “Diversity Rocks! Show your appreciation for diversity, equity, and justice!” Agree, diversity does indeed rock!

How about these (and remember this is a store for Educators and Activists! Maybe someone who is teaching your child some good ole Social Justice!!)

Old Boys Network
Meet Harry Slickman of the Old Boys Network. What a Jackass!

(You can get the following with this stereotype slogan, you know, all those rich white people, like myself, who are keeping everyone else down.)

Hats, Mugs, t-shirts, ect..

(But wait, there’s more: Infant outfits, bibs, boxer shorts, underwear, doggy t-shirt, mouse pads, coasters, and even a pillow. So you can go to sleep and dream about Mean Old Whitey!)

White Supremacy Sucks
White supremacy really does suck. White supremacy is white privilege is racism.

Kill Imperialism
Don’t kill people. Kill imperialism and advocate human rights.

Revolute!
If you care for social justice and peace, help foment revolution!

Got Revolution?
Black T-shirts with a variety of “got _____?” statments (their mis-spelling): got diversity? got peace? got justice? got feminism?

Outraged!
Pay attention! See racism, sexism, poverty, homophobia. And do something! (If you’re not outraged then you’re not paying attention!)

Karl Marx, defender of the working class. (That’s right, he’s a good guy!)

and my personal favorite:

Whitey O. Pressor Thong

(Image at top featured) Whitey is an anti- anti-racism advocate. I know, that doesn’t make sense. Make sure to see the back of the items for Whitey’s “You may be a White O. Pressor If…” list! (Just $23.99)!

Very catchy!! However, my main question here is, what does the Feminist think of such an item!? Are you a “Whitey”? Check out the image to the right and find out!

Anyway, Maybe that’s me, “Whitey O. Pressor.” Gonna get my Whitey on and purchase one for my Woman locked up in my house making my dinner!

I have not done a lot with the Teaching For Social Justice (and Teaching for Liberation) movement that is growing rapidly in our public schools across America, but I can assure you I am not done with this. I promise numerous stories this year on the movement that is infecting our schools. To kick off the New Year, I’ll leave you with this message from the fine folks over at the Education for Liberation Network.

FBI “File No. 100-360217 was begun in March 1949 in response to an order from FBI director J. Edgar Hoover to Edward Scheidt, special agent in charge of the Bureau’s New York office. Zinn’s name had previously surfaced in connection with other FBI investigations of Communist Party activities, but a new report from an unnamed agent marked Zinn as a subject of special interest.”

I could not care less that Howard Zinn was a communist. However, there are interesting questions and his ties do inform us of the political and ideological views of the social justice movement which Zinn is a founding father of.

From the report:

According to the FBI, this informant gave the agency a photo of Zinn teaching his 1951 “basic Marxism” class to fellow CPUSA members in Brooklyn. That photo wasn’t included in the documents released last week, but details of the 1957 report are certainly intriguing. In the late 1940s, Zinn lived at 926 LaFayette Avenue (not “street”) in Brooklyn. George Kirschner (not “Kirshner”) was a union official at a Brooklyn brewery who, decades later, became a teacher and collaborated with Zinn on a 1995 wall-chart version of A People’s History of the United States. The informant’s account indicates that the association between Zinn and Kirschner (who died in 2008) began in the Communist Party in the late 1940s. Like Zinn, Kirschner was a World War II veteran, and they could have met through the Communist-infiltrated American Veterans Committee, in which Zinn was a ranking local official.

Given this further corroboration of Zinn’s CPUSA activities from a former comrade, the FBI evidently concluded that Zinn’s denials of party membership were lies. By 1964 — at which time Zinn was publicly denouncing Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy for allegedly being reluctant to protect civil-rights protesters — J. Edgar Hoover described Zinn as having “a background of known membership in the Communist Party.” While Zinn’s CPUSA membership seems to have lapsed in the early 1950s, Hoover noted that the professor “has continued to demonstrate procommunist and anti-United States sympathies,” including outspoken support for Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

Zinn was still a relatively obscure academic in 1964, but he gained national prominence for his subsequent anti-Vietnam War activism, leading “teach-ins” at Harvard, MIT, and other campuses, and traveling to Hanoi in 1968 with radical priest Daniel Berrigan. It was not until 1980 that Zinn published A People’s History of the United States, which gained pop-culture fame after Ben Affleck and Matt Damon featured it in their 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Zinn later became a prominent critic of the Bush administration’s foreign policy and, not long before his death in January, was lionized in a documentary called The People Speak, co-produced by Damon and starring Danny Glover, Sean Penn, and other luminaries of the Hollywood Left.

Zinn’s 21st-century influence takes on a new aspect in light of the FBI’s revelation of his Communist Party activities. Anyone might have innocently joined a Communist “front” group — indeed, during his New Deal years as a self-described “hemophiliac liberal,” Ronald Reagan had naively joined two such groups. But Zinn was implicated as a member of multiple Communist fronts and, tellingly, was a local officer of the American Veterans Committee at the very time when that group was identified as having been taken over by Communists. Given the preponderance of evidence, it is difficult to dispute J. Edgar Hoover’s conclusion that Zinn was no mere sympathizer or “fellow traveler,” but was indeed an active CPUSA member in the late 1940s and early ’50s.

The timing of Zinn’s Communist involvement is also important. Many well-meaning liberals had been drawn into the CPUSA during the “Popular Front” era of the 1930s, when America was menaced by the Great Depression at home and the rising specter of fascism abroad. Misleading press accounts of the Soviet Union’s “progress” during those years helped convinced many idealists that the Bolshevik Revolution represented a hopeful future.

By the late 1940s, however, those illusions had been shattered by the reality of Josef Stalin’s brutal totalitarianism. Stalin’s cynical 1939 treaty with Hitler — the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact — had sacrificed Poland to the Nazis, and the Red Army’s post-war occupation of Eastern Europe had crushed all democratic resistance. Even as Zinn’s wife was collecting signatures on Communist petitions in New York, Winston Churchill was decrying the “Iron Curtain” that had descended across Europe. The Communist Party that Zinn joined was already widely recognized as the agent of an aggressive tyranny, in thrall to the paranoid dictator Stalin. Zinn evidently pursued his CPUSA activism even after the Soviets exploded their first atomic weapon in 1949 and after the Cold War turned hot with the June 1950 outbreak of the Korean War.

Angelica Chavez did not care for American history when she was in high school as, “You knew America was going to win,” she said. “We could do no wrong, ever,” she was quoted as saying in this article. Chavez, 29, is today a history teacher and was one of 20 instructors to receive free copies of Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States.” (For more on Zinn see, here, here, and here) from the Teaching for Change, Rethinking Schools, and the Zinn Education Project. Chavez, apparently “like many critics of traditional history books, that U.S. history is told solely from the perspective of the controlling class” (quote from the article). Therefore we need publications such as Zinn’s book(s) to balance the bias of history textbooks. I’m not sure what books Chavez is speaking of, but the vast (and I mean vast) majority of AP and regular History books I get sample copies of are very liberal in their representation (and presentation) of every minority group and of all the ill American’s have wreaked on the world (Slavery, Internment Camps, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ect.) So how there is still a need for some “context” of the kind Chavez means is beyond me. The context should be in every area, frankly. Chavez will be using a set of Zinn’s books this Fall to get kids, as she sees it, interested in American history by providing “context” that simply is a fallacy. I hope she counter-balances Zinn’s book with other materials? But don’t worry, Chavez stated that, “I would say I do a really good job of that because I don’t preach at my students.” Sorry, but Zinn’s book is all about bias, preaching and activism and not about good, honest history.

I have no doubt that Chavez has a passion for American history and feels she is doing what is best for her students. However, I use parts of Zinn’s book as a supplement and a discussion starter, not as the primary reading day in and day out. My concern is that her classroom will not be balanced no matter how good at not “preaching” she feels she is. I cannot help but wonder, where does the success of America fit in: the Founding of the Country and the spread of Republicanism, her contributions to ending World Wars and to defending the free world, ect.? Is it ok that America wins once in a while and can be viewed as a great place with great history and traditions? I seriously question whether or not any of this makes it into a lot of classrooms along with Howard Zinn’s biased presentation of American history.

In another article I found, title “Local history teacher brings the Zinn Education Project to the classroom,” History teacher Jeff Matlock is all about getting Zinn in the classroom. Matlock seems to use Zinn’s book far more effectively as he counters it with other materials, so kudos to him. He also has similar concerns about textbooks that I do when he said, ““The approved list of textbooks consists of books that are so wiped clean by the Left and the Right so as not to offend anybody, that it’s just a lot of pictures, a lot of color, a lot of bold face, and hardly any meat.” Not sure how much the Right is involved (though recently in Texas we have seen a swing), but whatever he makes a valid point.

Just following up on my last post concerning Social Justice and its impact (and potential impact) in public schools. On what is one of the more important T4SJ (teaching 4 social justice) websites (here OH AND THERE IS ONE — AND MORE –IN CALIFORNIA HERE) is a breakdown on their proposed curriculum. But just as importantly, on the right hand side of this page (linked above) is a listing of “Upcoming Events!” and right there is the US Social Forum (where they proudly claim, Another Education is Possible at the US Social Forum!) that some people seem to think would never, ever, on any significant level, be a part of any legit educator’s summer training schedule.

The curriculum suggested for a T4SJ educator has already been covered here, and it centers around A Plan Book for Social Justice Teachers.

This plan book offers space for daily planning, neat quotes to share with your students, and points of emphasis on a daily basis.

• Weekly planning pages packed with important social justice birthdays and historical events
• References to online lesson plans and resources related to those dates
• Tips from social justice teachers across the country
• Inspirational quotes to share with students
• Thought-provoking essential questions to spark classroom discussions on critical issues
• Reproducible social justice awards for students

The “List of Resources” by themes is very interesting (link). Some excellent topics and ones any teacher should use in balance with what some might call, I don’t know, traditional historical resources. You know, the Constitution, George Washington, Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, World War 2, ect.

T4SJ, however, is not interested in balance or objectivity and this is my main problem with the movement.

What I pointed out the other day I will admit is a very radical meeting of T4SJ proponents. Traditional Social Justice teachers focus on inequality and racism, which are important themes. Only for them, they teach that EVERYWHERE and EVERYTHING (White related) is about racism and injustice. They educate kids about White Privilege, as titled here “Teaching Against White Privilege and Other Atrocities” (This is from a list of Conferences presentations by one of T4SJ’s most important advocates). I know what they think “White Privilege” is as I sat in a seminar once. I refuse to teach it and “other atrocities,” enough said!

These educators agree with this statement made by one of their own: “Howard Zinn saw no contradiction between teaching and activism. In fact, for him they were inseparable.” (source). Meaning, your job as a teacher is not about education, it is about activism and indoctrination. That is also a big reason why I loath most aspects of T4SJ.

Now am I saying that T4SJ educators are radicals who hope that one day we can, for example, replace Capitalism with Marxism or Socialism? I sure hope not, but the US Social Forum doesn’t help T4SJ’s case.

Here is another interesting resource for T4SJ educators and proponents. (Note: I just love the hammer and sickle logo, you know like Stalin and the Communists used. Do they know that under Communism more people have been murdered than there were by the National Socialists — Nazis?)

We have Environment Justice, Human Justice, ect., and it all sounds great, who would not want justice? Great, but I am for “Equal Justice.” What do I mean by Equal Justice, I mean the complete opposite of T4SJ. Instead of explaining it here for you, I will point you to a lecture by Thomas Sowell, The Quest for Cosmic Justice. Dr. Sowell is an African-American professor of economics and author of a lot of books, and frankly is a lot smarter than I. Cosmic Justice addresses, in a unique way, the proponents of Social Justice.

Hope this helps some of you who can’t seem to wrap your head around my point. If not, I am sorry I do not know what more I can do for you.

I receive from various Social Justice sites alerts about conferences and literature, and today I got an invitation as an education to the US Social Forum which is taking place later this month in Detroit, Michigan. The event at first sounds like a great opportunity. From the home page of the site:

The US Social Forum will provide a space to build relationships, learn from each other’s experiences, and share analysis of the problems our communities face. It will help develop leadership, vision, and strategy needed to realize another world.

Another World is Possible. Another US is Necessary!

Sounds great. So I began to look at the programs/workshops offered, I’ll share some with you:

Marx vs. Keynes -Marx vs. Keynes: What is a way out of today’s economic crisis? Is it possible to break with capitalist value production?

This interactive workshop will have two brief (20 minute maximum) presentations on the nature of the present economic crisis of capitalism, which has sent many economists back to the 1930s for guidance for today’s reality. What is similar and what is different about today’s crisis? After financial markets were saved from a 1930s style collapse, the “Great Recession” persists with an effective unemployment rate of over 20 percent among an outraged population in the real economy where we as workers earn a living and support our families. The only alternative put forward by some to the failed policies of the past, monetarism and tax cutting, has been a Keynesian return to 1930s style government intervention in the economy including massive deficit spending. Can this work today? Can it be said to have worked then when it was WWII that finally ended the Great Depression? As against these two orthodoxies, what is Marx’s concept of a general crisis of capitalism and the inter-relation between the ‘Falling Rate of Profit’ and ‘Under-Consumption’? What direction does Marx’s approach lead to in this crisis? What is Marx’s concept of a break with capitalist crisis-prone value production?

Read the above carefully, is that an accurate historical analysis of the Great Depression and Keynesian economics?

A World in Crisis: The Case for Socialism – Socialism has re-entered the political debate–but how do we get there?

Marxism for the 21st Century: Capitalist Crisis, Socialist Solutions – Workshop on current crisis/Marxist thought: reoccurring crises of capitalism, eco-socialist solutions, “neo-left” collaboration with Obama.

Interesting that the above workshop mentions President Obama.

WTF is Socialism Anyway???: The Campus as a Battleground of Class Struggle – “Socialism” is used to describe everything from bailouts to Nazis. YDS will gladly clarify, presenting a history of socialism and describing campus organizing.

This one above, I think, really reflects the kind of people this conference is presented by and those who would attend. I’m sure this workshop will also be historically accurate. You know, I wonder how they will explain the National Socialists party in Germany in the 1930s?

Why Capitalism is Organized Crime & Socialism is the Alternative – Join us in a discussion about why it is only socialism that can solve the ills of capitalist society and bring about a different world.

Look what capitalism is being compared to. Simply mind-boggling!

21st Century Socialism: What It Is and How To Get It – A discussion of the interconnection of democratic and socialist tasks in the current situation, radical structural reform, strategic paths, and a vision for a new socialism.

Sounds like “Fundamental Change” and “change we can believe in!”

The “War on Terror” & the “War on People of Color”: Muslim, Arab, South Asians Build Movement as Black & Brown U.S. Struggle – In the post 9/11 ‘War on Terror’, Muslims, Arab, South Asians join African American, Latino, Native American voices in building a common history of U.S. structural racism and strategizing a unified struggle for justice.

Speechless.

Our Schools, Our Future: Transforming Education through Grassroots Organizing and Winning Youth & Parent-led Educational Equity Campaigns – Does your school feel like a business more than an education center? Do you see racial tracking, high disappearance, high dropout rates and low college-going rates in your school? Do students and parents feel powerless over the decision-making process of your school system? If you say yes to any of these questions, YOU need to be at this workshop! Schools act like labor training centers for a racially and economically stratified society, where the power is held by the few, at the expense of the masses. It is no question that the current education system is the foundation that holds together systems of capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy. The question is how do we transform it? In this workshop, you will learn how youth and parents in the Bay Area, California have take significant strides towards educational change within their school systems.

This is called teaching for Social Justice and it is not about truth or honesty, it is about radicalism, indoctrination, and propaganda in our schools. And we wonder why our public schools are failing us? There is little learning going on and instead, lots of indoctrination.

Capitalism is killing us. Fight for SOCIALISM! A collaborative conversation in 2 parts – A conversation on Reform, Revolution and Socialism in the Era of Low-Wage Capitalism; Multi-media, spoken word and open roundtable dialogue with and for revolutionary thinkers/fighters, young leaders and some with decades of experience on paths to united action for reviving the fight for socialism in the U.S. Organization representatives and individuals invited.

They are teaching educators about radicalism and revolution, and they in turn will teach the children!

FINALLY my two favorites as I am clearly a Fascists according to these fine folks!

A Strategy to Counter the Tea Party Fascists - we will discuss a psychologically and spiritually informed alternative to the growth of the Tea Party movement and its resonance with sectors of the American public who might become the base for a future American fascism. We start with an assumption that is often doubted in the Left: that there are real human needs that right-wing movements address, albeit linking those needs to racist, sexist, homophobic, and militarist solutions. Those needs are both economic needs and spiritual needs. Our task is in part to acknowledge the reality of those needs but to help people understand that they could better be addressed by challenging the global capitalist system in which those needs are rooted.

Glenn Beck’s Nightmare: What it Will take to Build a Movement for 21st Century Socialism – Glenn Beck and other right-wing pundits have drummed up the fear of a socialist takeover of U.S. society.

Drummed up! Have they looked at the workshops they are offering? Glenn Beck doesn’t need to work very hard if this is one of his goals. These folks will help make anyone’s job easier if they are concerned about socialism taking over in this country.

This is just more data that our educational system is being hijacked by a movement that seeks to do nothing more than fundamentally change this country into something it was never intended to be!

Go ahead, anyone, defend this, please… help me out here!

From DAY ONE, and I mean from day one, I discuss with my students the fact that America is unique in that it is a nation where the “collision of cultures” of different races in such a short period of time has probably never been seen before in the history on human kind. This collision has meant that the velocity of cultures mandated that there would be discrimination and conflict. It is less a melting pot than a traffic accident of high speed entities. Don’t get me wrong, the true immigrants who love this country want to “melt” into it and embrace it. My ancestors came to this country from Germany at a time when Germans were not welcomed (WWI) and had to literally change the pronunciation of our name (Wehner) in order to get jobs and feed themselves. To simply survive in this land of opportunity. They could have been really upset and joined the socialist movement (or any radical movement for example), but instead they adapted. They adapted the American culture and thrived. I don’t know if that is always the case anymore.

The conflict in culture has not just been between Whites and whoever else, the Irish, Germans and Italians were all discriminated against on some level during their migration here. Somehow they dealt with it. Anyway, I digress.

State Schools Superintendent Tom Horne debates his new controversial legislation that removes “race” based programs from Arizona schools in order “to get schools to teach kids to treat each other as individuals,” he says, is the key. Mr. Horne is interesting as he was a part of the March on Washington and claims that his law is based on Martin Luther King’s famous words that we should be judged by our character and not on our skin color. This video below is very interesting as the exchange brings up a lot of important points. La Raza is an organization, as we have seen, that can be very radical and is completely the opposite of what Dr. King would preach. Nonetheless, there are some issues with Mr. Horne’s legislation as there are some very good teen/school groups that do address the needs of a specific “race” of people and in peaceful and inclusive ways that will not be able to meet under this law.

I agree with Mr. Horne that we need to focus less on race, on exclusion, and to be “inclusive” and focus on individuals and the greatness of this country that provides such opportunity that all races flock here for some strange reason… you know, considering all our racism.

CW