The Story of Broke (2011)

And they want us to believe the problem is public pensions.

Nov. 8, 2011: Ohio Voters Repeal Anti-Worker Law

Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to repeal Senate Bill 5--Gov. John Kasich's attack on middle-class jobs that was designed to destroy collective bargaining rights in Ohio.

We pieced together a short, powerful video summing up the amazing energy that went into this. I hope you'll take a moment to watch: 

[ http://act.aflcio.org/c/18/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6115 ] 

Tonight's victory represents a turning point in our collective work to protect good jobs, working families and workplace rights. But it's more than that. It's a long-overdue return to common sense. 

Sanders: Fed's 'veil of secrecy' lifted

Dec. 2010. How the banks did it to us.

Rally to Defend Your Education

Defend public education in California

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/make-or-break-moment-public-education-california

Make or Break Moment for Public Education in California

Posted on 07 November 2011

By Pablo Rodriguez
Communities for a New California

On Friday, November 4th, I proudly joined a growing movement of students, teachers, parents, and workers and sent the open letter below to the fifty corporate elite who serve on the boards of California's public colleges and universities. We are the 99%, and through our taxes we are already paying more than our fair share to save public education and vital social services in California.  We are at a make-or-break moment for the future of public education.

We have endured $17 billion in cuts to public education and 200% increases in tuition for the University of California, California State University and community college students since just 2008. Now, $2.5 billion in additional cuts to education and essential services are under consideration for December.  We call on those corporate elite to sign theReFund California pledge[1] to make Wall Street pay for refunding public education.

A week of actions at fifteen California university campuses[2] will begin at Fresno State University on November 8th[3] (see video below) and will demand the corporate elite on the boards of our colleges and universities sign the pledge.   The week of campus actions will conclude Nov. 16 at the meetings of the University of California and California State University governing boards and reinforce the message, “It is time banks, corporations, and the wealthiest 1% PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE.

Rallies Call for Tax on Wall Street

Let’s Talk Democratic Socialism, Already -- In These Times

Let’s Talk Democratic Socialism, Already -- In These Times

Senator Harkin and Representative DeFazio Introduce Financial Transactions Tax Proposal

Senator Harkin and Representative DeFazio Introduce Financial Transactions Tax Proposal

This is a tax that would improve the economic situation.

Report: Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-2010 | Common Dreams

Report: Corporate Taxpayers and Corporate Tax Dodgers, 2008-2010 | Common Dreams

Demonstrations and violence in Oakland

While thousands marched to support OCW in Oakland, a group of less than 200 anarchists stepped on the media coverage and encouraged police repression.

This is how the AFL-CIO reported on the march on their blog:http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/11/03/occupy-oakland-unions-march-together/

“More than 7,000 Occupy Oakland protesters, union members and community and faith activists peacefully rallied against Wall Street greed, bank foreclosures and for good jobs yesterday in one of the largest demonstrations since the Occupy Wall Street movement began last month.

The Alameda County Labor Council endorsed the Day of Action and encouraged local unions and union members to take part. Many of the union members who joined in the action took unpaid time off work to make their voices heard. Unions also worked with the city government, the Oakland school system and other employers to make leave arrangements.

Bravo Papandreou!

Bravo Papandreou!

The Greek Prime Minister does the right thing for the people.

Paul Krugman: An Indispensible Man

Paul Krugman on the economy.

The Class War Has Begun

The Class War Has Begun

California Progress Report

California Progress Report; Proposition 13 pay off for the Big Boys

AFL-CIO President Trumka Denouces Proposed Cuts to Social Security, Medi...

Medicare, Social Security

The 1 % unmasked, in the Bee

The Bee in its home delivery version has an excellent piece on The 1 % unmasked, and more than 500 critical responders.  I do not know why this article which the web says was published on Saturday appeared on Monday.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/28/4014086/who-are-the-regions-top-1-of-earners.html

This is an excellent background piece.  As a democratic socialist, I want to be clear. I do not object to salary inequality in the range of 10 to 1, or even 20 to 1.  Such inequality may reflect background preparation, inherited positions, etc, and may encourage innovation and risk taking.

I do, however, object to differences of 100 to 1, or even 400 to one, such as developed in the 1990’s, and the first decade of  2000.  In particular I object when these financiers added little or nothing to the economy except gambling, and then the crashed the economy costing us all a loss of over $ 13 Trillion. 

They should be arrested and tried for grand larceny.  Bernie Maddoff was a small timer compared to the CEO’s of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, AIG, and the others.  See, The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. By William Black.

The reason that the super rich are not on trial is that they have bought the government.  This larceny was once illegal, before de regulation.  They have now cost the jobs and the homes of millions.

www.choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com

Why California students ( and most teachers) do not know Chicano History

Workshop: Teaching Chicano/ Latino History in Grades 8-12.  Curriculum ideas for teaching about César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, Civil Rights Movement, and economic justice.  With Duane Campbell, Director of the Education and Democracy Institute., Sacramento.   Dolores Delgado Campbell.  Professor. American River College. 

Presented  as a part of the  annual conference of The Bilingual Multicultural Education Department (BMED)  Sat . Nov. 5, 2011.  10;35  Am. In the University Union, at  Sacramento State.

 California has the largest population of any state, with more than 6,252,000 students  in school in 2008.   California students make up more than 11 percent of the United States total. California, along with some 16 other states, adopts textbooks for the entire state instead of district by district purchasing.  This makes the California adoption the largest single textbook sale in the nation.

California has failed to revise its k-12 history curriculum since 1987.  Since 2008, the failure was caused by the way the legislature and the governor responded to  the state’s budget crisis.

Ruben Navarrette is a fool

Ruben Navarrette is a fool.  And, he is published in the Sacramento Bee as an informed essayist on the Latino population.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/10/30/4015119/latino-numbers-are-up-why-isnt.html#ixzz1cJJKqYNI

Navarrette is a paranoid fool who spends too much time reading  Tea Party/ Republican talking points developed and funded by the Koch brothers. He is primarily  a source  on the fringe party element of the Tea Party.  Read his other writings on Cesar Chavez and the UFW, you will see his very conservative perspective.

  RE: bilingual education establishment. I guess he hasn't read the paper since 1996. Bilingual Education was eliminated in almost all California schools with Prop. 227. - an anti immigrant proposition much like those of Arizona and Alabama.  In Sacramento City Schools, for example, there are 77 schools.  Five of the schools have a bilingual program for less than 20% of the students in the schools. It usually lasts 2-3 years of schooling at best.  Only one school is fully bilingual, The Language Academy.  The Academy is a charter school.  It uses a dual immersion approach in which students learn both English and Spanish.  Only parents who want to have their children there are enrolled.  The same campus has an English language school.  The hypocrisy of Navarette and his Tea Party allies is revealed by their actions.

Michelle Rhee takes $35,000 from students

Michelle Rhee takes discounted speaking fee of just $35,000 from public university +*

Michelle Rhee doesn't just peddle her brand of education "reform" for political power and media stardom—she does it for cash. Earlier this month, Rhee spoke at Kent State University at Stark, which as you might guess is a public university. Her fee was a mere $35,000,

plus expenses of not more than $5,000 that the school was to provide, including:

— first-class airfare

— a VIP hotel suite

— meals and “all reasonable incidentals”

— town car and driver for ride from Rhee’s home to the airport, airport to the hotel, hotel to the engagement “or any combination thereof”

But it's not like Rhee's greedy or anything—for this relatively small public university, Rhee offered a substantial discount from her usual rate of $50,000 for a speaking engagement. Blogger At the Chalk Face notes that:

Becoming Biliterate- BMED Conference

Becoming BILITERATE AGAINST THE ODDS : A Cause for Celebration:---  Nov. 5, 2011.

                  The entire Sacramento community is invited to attend the 18th Annual Multicultural Education Conference at Sacramento State University, Saturday, November 5, 2011 from 8:30 am-1:00 pm in the University Union, Sacramento State.  Admission and parking (in Structure II) is free.

                  The keynote speaker is Dr. María de la Luz Reyes, author of Words Were All We Had: Becoming Biliterate Against the Odds.  At the 9:00 am keynote address Dr. Reyes will explain why growing up bilingual in America should be a cause for celebration.  The success of today’s Latino educational professionals dispels the “at risk” myth regarding native languages, suggesting that knowledge of Spanish supports English literacy while emboldening resistance English-only ideologies.