Response to wild accusations by Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc.

"[S]ome charters are known to discourage less academically inclined students from enrolling." — Los Angeles Times

Don't know if anyone caught the evil empress of privatization's comments in the Los Angeles Times that the voting process she inflicted on our communities was "disgusting," but that was the first round of Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc.'s vicious invective against those who chose public schools over her corporate CMO charter allies.

Ralph Nader once described George W. Bush as "a corporation in the disguise of a human being." The same can be said of LAUSD VP Yolie Flores Aguilar, except for the disguise part. Her assault on our communities on behalf of her billionaire bankrollers and corporate CMO charter companions is probably the most remarkable part of the neoliberal assault on public education. In her amateurish op-ed in the Los Angeles Daily News entitled "Challenge to status quo good for LAUSD students" [1] Flores Aguilar displays her amazing propensity for arrogance and dishonesty that have become her trademarks. Here's the comments I made in response to her drivel.

It's despicable that an elected official can be as obtuse towards their constituents as VP Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc. has been.

None of the public school supporters have ever said:

"that their special needs children or English learners will not be served"

What we have said is that they will be under-served. Let's take Ms. Flores Aguilar's country club buddies and fellow elitists from Green Dot Corporation as a key example. Green Dot's exclusionary schools have an average of 7.4% Special Education students compared to 11.3% for District schools. The frightening part is that their corporate CMO is actually far better in terms of their Special Ed and SWD percentages than most of the other corporate CMOs bidding to take over and privatize public institutions.

I welcome all readers to familiarize themselves with the Modified Consent Decree exposing corporate CMO charter-voucher school discrimination and exclusivity. Very telling is the statement that children with disabilities are "significantly underrepresented" at CMO run charter schools. The executive summary of the report (http://bit.ly/4GfFm9), and the data tables from the report (http://bit.ly/dho8Ee). Charter school operators are concerned special education programs for children cut into the massive salaries for their executives. Until these corporate run schools are obligated legally, ethically, and morally to educate every child they shouldn't get a penny of our taxes or the buildings we paid for! As social justice activists, public school advocates, and progressives, we implore charter schools and other outsiders to stop putting EXECUTIVES and CEOs before children!

Of course, Ms. Flores Aguilar, Inc. is intimately familiar with these documents and all the other statistical data proving how CMO corporate charters do everything in their power to avoid educating every child. She's also aware of how the CCSA and the individual charters have fought every attempt to change their discriminatory practices -- to the point that they're trying to get reactionary State Senator Romero to change the law and make it legal for them to discriminate. The fact that VP Yolie Flores Aguilar knows all this, but then goes on to say anyone discussing it is dealing in "fear tactics" speaks volumes to her character.

I think we'd be challenged to find anyone more disingenuous, dishonest, and beholden to corporate interests than LAUSD Vice President Yolie Flores Aguilar. Her disrespect towards parents, students, teachers, and taxpayers goes beyond the pale.

One last thing. Telling the truth is not a fear tactic. We in the social justice community understand Ms. Flores Aguilar is frustrated that many parents and community members have seen through her attempt to increase CMO market share, and in turn the massive salaries of the insatiably greedy CMO executives. We understand that she doesn't want people reading documentation of the major shortcomings of the various CMO corporate charter schools. In the end however, we will speak truth to power. Her "shock doctrine" tactics are unconscionable, and her high handed attacks on our communities on behalf of her corporate handlers will not be forgotten.

NOTES:
[1] http://www.dailynews.com/opinions/ci_14337785

Response to wild accusations by Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc.

Austinwatch - Green Dot Ben Austin Watch 10W07

"You know, I'm amused. I can't tell you how many foreign leaders who are heads of center-right governments say to me, I don't understand why people would call you socialist, in my country, you'd be considered a conservative." -- President Barack H. Obama (CNN's State of the Union 2009-09-20)

Despite all of Ben Austin's constant lies and accusations that hard working public school teachers are child molesters, [1][2] are a "special interest," [3] and aren't accountable to parents and communities, [4] those same parents and communities voted overwhelmingly for school plans drawn up by teachers and parents.

As soon as the corporate CMO cavalcade realized they weren't able to buy off the population despite busing in outsiders into neighborhoods to vote for corporate charters, the CMO/CCSA spokesworms started with their usual campaign of fear and lies. The same slime that smear teachers began complaining they weren't able to steal the community votes: "Educated Guess: Cheating has made PSC voting process has been turned into 'farce,' Cortines should 'shred the ballots'" [5]. Generalisimo Pinoche would have been proud of a statement like that.

Remember Austin claims to speak for all the parents in Los Angeles, despite the fact that he has no school age children himself, and despite the fact that his little astro-turf Green Dot spin-off has no significant grass roots base. Let's be generous to the highly paid LAPU/PR employees and say that they have 4,000 parent members. In a city of 9,862,049, they represent less than half of a one hundredth percent of the population (0.04%), an infinitesimally small figure, and certainly not a groundswell of parents even by Austin's standards of hyperbole and Ayn Rand fantasies. What's more, with no board for parents to drive LAPU/PR policy, little to no parent fundraising, and the fact that Green Dot counts parent participation in their LAPU/PR front group as part of their "community service" requirement, claims that LAPU/PR is anything but a vehicle for the Billionaire/DLC/DFER agenda are specious at best.

This wouldn't first time Austin has lied or made outrageously false accusations.

Recall in his recent LA Times Op-Ed [6], where Austin was immune to the usual Op-Ed fact checking. He blatantly lies when he says "50% of kids in L.A. public schools aren't graduating." The Los Angeles Times has recently printed the truth about this outrageously erroneous statistic.

Another example of Austin's inability to tell the truth is when he attacked me over my groundbreaking expose of LAPU/PR's nefarious "organizing" methods on the affluent side of Los Angeles. [7] Unable to refute any of the factual information in the piece, Austin used his considerable rhetorical skills to draw attention away from the truth by trying, unsuccessfully, to discredit me. Let's look at some of the things he accuses me of:

...opponents of reform who tend to communicate in the language of personal invective and childlike imaginations...

opponents of reform have said some surrealistic, bizarre and mean things

Really Mr. Austin? I have a "childlike imagination," and have written "surrealistic, bizarre" things about your Walton, Broad, Gates Foundation funded astro-turf group? I suppose I'd understand your sentiments if I was the only one who ever made the accusation...

Vindication! Unexpected voices from Emerson.

In November, the very conservative Jewish Journal featured a cover story entitled Healing the World, One School at a Time. In this excellent piece, the author speaks to precisely the same issues I discuss in my piece Code Words and Green Dot's Pandering to Westside Racism. Here are some quotes:

"There are people who think, 'The school is too black, the school is too Mexican,' and all of a sudden you see a lot of ugly things about people," Ritter Simon said. "Prejudice still exists. For a lot of people, that's a very uncomfortable zone."

Of Emerson, Bollinger said, "We heard horrible things -- that there were gangs, there was bullying, that it wasn't a safe place and the scores were so bad you couldn't get a good education.

The issue raises tough questions about race and class that many find difficult to face, parents said.

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Bear in mind this is the very right leaning jewishjournal.com that just printed a fact free fluff piece on how great Ben Austin is, and how he single handedly created LAPU/PR (obviously the journalist never read the infamous "Annenberg Document." which unequivocally proves LAPU's existence years before Mr. Austin jumped on that cash cow).

While I found Austin's comments about me laughable, it's still good to know that I was dead on in my article. Suddenly the surreal and bizarre are mainstream, and my alleged childlike imagination was actually the factual writings of a community activist unafraid to speak truth to the power of wealthy elite like Austin. While I could have easily written a polemic that went through point by point discrediting Austin's attack on me, I feel the Healing the World, One School at a Time piece proves my point sufficiently and vindicates me entirely. If Austin and his ilk want to avoid accusations of unsavory organizing tactics in the future, maybe they should stop their unsavory organizing tactics.

With Austin, it's always about the money. I'm not the only one following the money when it comes to Mr. Austin. Check out the massive figure quoted by Kenneth Libby at the end of this article: Can Ben Austin Speak for Parent Revolution without Speaking for Green Dot?.

Right Wingers Funded Austin's Campaign?

Right Winger Ben Austin's Campaign Contributors for his LAUSD Run, courtesy of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. This is a list of ideologically charged individuals who contributed to Green Dot's head school privatization and hostile take over expert's aborted LAUSD school board run for District 4. Some will argue that things would be worse had he succeeded in getting elected. Given the reactionary performance of Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc., it's hard to say that's the case. Maybe we can thank all these Gen. Pinoche/Ben Austin fans by having a "thank a fascist day," where we contact these right wingers on the list and thank them for contributing towards the destruction of public education. Bear in mind, these campaign contributions were supposedly returned to the plutocrats that made them. I've included a copy of the document below the notes here for people who don't want to follow the link.

NOTES:
[1] LAPU's Ben Austin Creating Hysteria Again
[2] Is Green Dot's Ben Austin projecting when he discusses pedophiles?
[3] The irony of a guy, who works for billionaires, and himself grosses more than five times that average pay of the hard working women and men who teach in our communities to call teachers a "special interest" isn't lost on astute readers. Here's one of the many times the pathological liar from Franklin Canyon accused our working class brothers and sisters of being "special interests" http://ourla.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=847&Itemid=3235
[4] Because KIPP and Green Dot are so accountable? KIPP hucksters managed to steal a fat six figure sum, while Barr pilfered a cool $51K. Remember, the so called "charter movement" is funded and spearheaded by right wing billionaires and supported by a cheerleading squad of hedge fund managers like white supremacist Whitney "we need a lot more well-off, well-educated white folks" Tilson, so its no wonder these folks have Goldman Sachs style morals that have an upside down notion of accountability. For examples of Austin and Rose discussing accountability, just scan their astro-turf blog amid all the charter school endorsements where they keep saying the "teacher" (really teacher parent) plans have no provisions for accountability. While laughable and false on its face, reactionary tools like Rick Salen, Bill Grundfest, and Jaemin Yi seem to buy into this false line of reasoning.
[5] http://twitter.com/parentrev/status/8733781576
[6] http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-austin16-2009dec16,0,3809285.story
[7] Code Words and Green Dot's Pandering to Westside Racism
[8] So I Guess We Touched a Nerve http://www.parentrevolution.org/index.php/blog/entry/so_i_guess_we_touched_a_nerve/


Right Winger Ben Austin's Campaign Contributors for his LAUSD Run

Austinwatch - Green Dot Ben Austin Watch 10W07

Political Success is Civil Rights Failure (Charter Schools Study)

Click if you can't view the video.

Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA (Feb 11 2010) talks about new Study, titled "Charter Schools' Political Success is a Civil Rights Failure" http://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu

INTERVIEW ON DEMOCRACY NOW by Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez: http://www.democracynow.org/

Political Success is Civil Rights Failure (Charter Schools Study)

Community School Choice: Teacher and Parent Plans. NO to greedy corporate CMO charters!

Everyone should visit UTLA's School Choice Parent/Teacher Advisory Voting Guide (Feb. 2nd & 6th)

"[S]ome charters are known to discourage less academically inclined students from enrolling." — Los Angeles Times

The corporate CMO charters and their billionaire backers have spent millions of dollars trying to degrade our communities and teachers. While the entire process inflicted on us by Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc. is anti-democratic and biased towards those with the most financial backing, the next few days will allow communities a modicum of input. The facts are, corporate CMO charters, and charters in general, under-serve SWD, Special Needs and Special Education children, and English Language Learners. These are not fear tactics, as the wealthy charter backers keep claiming — they are well documented facts. Since they can't refute these facts, they just keep carrying on and on about unions are trying to scare people. The unions aren't trying to scare anyone, except the charter operators who are scared when the truth shines on their discriminatory practices.

I'm not in a union, and am not paid by a union, but unlike those pushing privatization, I read. I read things like the recent documents from the Modified Consent Decree exposing corporate CMO charter-voucher school discrimination and exclusivity. Very telling is the statement that children with disabilities are "significantly underrepresented" at CMO run charter schools. The executive summary of the report, and the data tables from the report. Charter school operators are concerned special education programs for children cut into the massive salaries for their executives. Until these corporate run schools are obligated legally, ethically, and morally to educate every child they shouldn't get a penny of our taxes or the buildings we paid for! As social justice activists, public school advocates, and progressives, we implore charter schools and other outsiders to stop putting EXECUTIVES and CEOs before children!

Before voting on any plans, look at the percentage of Special Ed, SWD, and ELL students Camino Nuevo, Celerity, Alliance, Green Dot, and other charter schools serve in comparison to Public Schools. The difference is staggering! These organizations should be ashamed of themselves, especially Green Dot, which gets millions upon million in extra funding from billionaires and millionaires like Broad, Gates, the Waltons, Fisher, and Hastings, but despite all that extra funding that public schools will never get, Green Dot's exclusionary schools have an average of 7.4% Special Education students compared to 11.3% for District schools! Shame on you Green Dot. You want to claim the mantle of how education should look? Educate every child! It's that simple.

Those are facts, not scare tactics. I defy any CMO corporate charter supporter to refute them with documented evidence to the contrary! These outsiders have no ties to our communities!

Everyone should visit UTLA's School Choice Parent/Teacher Advisory Voting Guide (Feb. 2nd & 6th) To learn the details on the process and which teacher/parent plans should they should vote for. Remember the teacher/parent plans include educating every child! As a community member in proximity of Gratts ES, I'll be voting for the community plan written by teachers and parents instead of outsiders backed by big money.

Community School Choice: Teacher and Parent Plans. NO to greedy corporate CMO charters!

March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education

March 4 National Day of Action to Defend Education

Advocating Public Education Roundup 10W04

Save the Dates February 9 and March 4, 2010 Save Public Education

This roundup has been a long time coming. Family illness, writing deadlines, and other commitments/obligations have kept me from keeping up with the blog the way I should. With the incredible onslaught by the corporate charter industry against our communities, it seems as if we social justice advocates are loosing ground every day.

Before beginning, I want to express my condolences to UTLA's Julie Washington and her family for the tragic loss they just suffered. Anyone wanting to contribute to the Educational Fund to help with Ivison Washington's daughters' college fund, please let me know and I will provide you with the appropriate contact information.

We also lost social justice educator and activist Howard Zinn. I will write about that in a separate post soon. But I figured this quote needs constant repetition, especially in the current dystopian "world according to Eli" education atmosphere we're struggling against. "I wanted students to leave my classes not just better informed, but more prepared to relinquish the safety of silence, more prepared to speak up, to act against injustice wherever they saw it." — Howard Zinn

First off, right wing reactionary DFER/DLC corporate elitist filth Arne Duncan was recently interviewed. Mocking the deaths, destruction, diaspora of people of color, gentrification, and widespread misery Hurricane Katrina caused, Duncan had this unconscionable thing to say about schools in relation to Katrina: "best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans." That such a monster is Secretary of Education goes way beyond the pale — Duncan is a throwback to Generalissimo Francisco Franco. Diane Ravitch's take is a little less critical of the well heeled Harvard businessman than I am, but even her measured response captures the inappropriateness of Duncan's schadenfreude.

The Educational Justice blog introduces California majority rule initiative. If we had laws that served the people of California instead of corporations, put people before profits, and actually funded education the way the ideologically bankrupt billionaires bankroll their corporate charter school projects, then we wouldn't need to try to save public education from insatiably greedy CMO executives like Judy Burton, Steve Barr, Jed Wallace and Ben Austin. If we had a majority rule budget process, we'd be able to spend money on the important things, and keep those funds out of the hands of those who deserve it the least. You can bet your bottom dollar Ben Austin will campaign against this and anything else that threatens the privileged status of he and his fellow plutocrats.

People might want to start planning for an afternoon with Diane Ravitch in April. From the UCLA SMP site "She will be speaking about her soon-to-be-released book The Death and Life of the Great American School System. She will also engage in a conversation with Professor Mike Rose, and take questions from the audience."

Following in master thief Steve Barr's footsteps, is KIPP = Knowledge Is Perpetrator Program. Jim Horn's KIPP Joins Charter School Corruption Nationwide with Six Figure Embezzlement Scheme gives a short introduction to a mainstream media piece looking at what has become commonplace now that corporations, entrepreneurs, and right wing zealots take over what used to be public institutions — malfeasance! More CMO Charter Charlatans caught pilfering public and kid's money! Couple accused of embezzling from Chandler charter school, and here's one Ben Austin constantly accuses public school teachers of as part of his ongoing fear tactics and union bashing, but it's a charter school teacher engaging in inappropriate behavior. We know in Jason Song and Ben Austin's world, only public school teachers are very bad people™ (especially those scary unionized ones). Too bad none of the politicians pushing school privatization down our throats can speak to the high level of embezzlement and other scandals associated with charter schools. Maybe Randite and social injustice filmmaker Jaemin Yi can find a way to put a creative spin on all these CMO corporate charter embezzling schemes. He seems to have a knack for making ugly lies pretty.

Don't Forget South Central (DFSC) asks if Villaraigosa privatization allies on LAUSD board like Yolie Flores Aguilar, Inc. will be denied tenure over the missing $200 million dollar scandal. The wise @avalonsensei also pointed out "21 charter schools applied for district campuses, with only one charter operator applying for an existing, failing school."

Dr. Danny Weil asks is Green Dot 'Public' Schools using their non-profit status illegally? Bath tub gin from the PR astroturf organization.

Lastly charter-voucher corporate values in action. Texas edreform camp wants to eliminate Cesar Chavez from school texts.

Advocating Public Education Roundup 10W04

14 of 15 Green Dot schools are "failing," by Parent Revolution's definition

"The lowest-performing, based on test scores, is the large Green Dot chain." — Los Angeles Times

Caroline Grannan's brilliant 14 of 15 Green Dot schools are "failing," by Parent Revolution's definition article points out that neoliberal darling Ben Austin's capricious standards for failings schools, when applied to his employer's schools, leaves only one of them considered "passing." Lacking a way to refute facts, several right wingers attacked Caroline Grannan over her article. I had this to say:

The reason these "rumors" persist is that so many parents from Garfield High School (GHS) have made the charges. I've personally had a score and a half of parents from Garfield tell me they were offered money, gift certificates, or other compensation. However, when I asked them for proof they were unable to produce anything worthwhile other than t-shirts. I been informed by an even larger number of parents that Green Dot/LAPU/Parent Revolution's Mary Najara, would go to their churches after the Misa, approach monolingual Spanish speakers with English petitions and tell them to sign it if they wanted their children to go to college. Ironically, after all of Green Dot's mendacity and shady manipulations, they abandoned Garfield High School in the end to chase after a shiny new building paid for by hardworking taxpayers.

While Ben Austin's reactionary sycophants take misguided shots at Caroline over these rumors, we need to ask why they are so persistent. Given Green Dot's other organizing incidents, like those documented here, and the ongoing conflict of interest with Ben Austin's two jobs (City Ethics Case # 2010-36), could it be there's more than meets the eye? Let's follow the money. What's more likely; that a self-serving Beverly Hills [1] lawyer, whose ongoing employment, bonuses, and future are tied to increasing Green Dot Corporation's market share might bend or break rules, or dozens and dozens of parents and students are liars? I'd wager the former and not the later.

Given the abject performance of most of Green Dot's campuses, if Austin was genuine, he'd have his blue shirts petitioning parents at the Animos. I guarantee that'll never happen. The cavalcade of corporate CMO charter executives are only interested in parent involvement up to the privatization conversion. Then parents learn they aren't welcome to the secret board meetings held by unelected boards packed with plutocrats. So much for parent power, choice and accountability or really caring about kids. If Green Dot spent as much time fixing their own failing schools as they did on hostile takeovers, they might actually help children.

[1] More accurately an exclusive gated community in the most coveted part of Beverly Hills — Franklin Canyon. We all know about how Beverly Hills loves parent choice (read Jim Crow), they choose to throw out all children who don't live in Beverly Hills. But the wealthy west-side isn't about segregation at all — rIght Bill Grundfest?

14 of 15 Green Dot schools are "failing," by Parent Revolution's definition

Leonard J. Martin for Superintendent of Public Instruction

We need to end the privatization and "restructuring" of our schools. — Leonard J. Martin

Leonard J. Martin is a progressive candidate trying to get on the ballot for Superintendent of Public Instruction to run against bought off corporate lackeys like Sen. Gloria Romero whose extreme right wing privatization agenda would have made even Generalissimo Augusto Pinoche blush. Social justice activists, public education advocates, and progressives should check out Mr. Martin's site and his refreshing respect for students, parents, AND teachers. Mr. Martin has staked out progressive positions on the following platform points:

• School Financing
• Privatization and Restructuring
• Health and Safety
• Standardized Testing and Bilingual Education
• Politicians Taking Over Schools
• Military Recruitment in Schools
• Commercialization and Fundraising
• Yearly Conference

Leonard J. Martin for Superintendent of Public Instruction

Dr. MLK Jr.: Struggling Not To Lose Him

Click if you can't view the video.

Activists, including the incomparable Brian Jones, speak to the real legacy of Dr. King.

Dr. MLK Jr.: Struggling Not To Lose Him

Where's the crocodile tears for the undocumented now Garcia, Flores-Aguilar, Melvin, Casillas, & Sanchez?

"We have our cake, and are eating it too." — Eli Broad (Predatory Pseudo-Philanthropist & Charter School Backer)

Reading the Association of Raza Educators' open letter to Peoples College of Law and observing how even formerly progressive institutions will support immigrant rights in word, but not in deed. A.R.E. was right to call out P.C.L. on this incident of discrimination against the undocumented.

Notice too, the corporate friendly opportunists Monica Garcia of LAUSD, Yolie Flores-Aguilar of LAUSD, Veronica Melvin of Alliance for a Better Community, Maria Casillas of Families in Schools, Jarad Sanchez of Alliance for a Better Community, Mary Najara of Green Dot Public [sic] Schools/LAPU/Parent Revolution, and Gabe Rose of Green Dot Public [sic] Schools/LAPU/Parent Revolution—who crowed about civil rights and immigration when it fit their corporate privatization and union bashing agenda—are now nowhere to be found when actual incidents of civil rights abuses occur. Didn't LAUSD President Garcia make an impassioned speech about civil rights on November 11, 2009? Where is she now? I guess Steve Barr, Antony Ressler and Marco Petruzzi didn't call her up and tell her how they wanted this handled. I wonder why? Maybe the 501c3 crowd can make up another phony flyer and blame it on UTLA again.

Since Garcia, Flores-Aguilar, Melvin, Casillas, Sanchez, Najara, and Rose only care about the issue of immigrant rights as it pertains to continuing the flow of money from their reactionary right wing benefactors like the Broad Foundation, Annenberg Foundation, Walton Foundation, and Gates Foundations into their non-profit cash cows; it's no wonder there hasn't been a peep out of the very same people who had the nerve to stand in front of UTLA and slander the hard working women and men who teach children in our communities. Maybe one of you can write to me and explain what it's like to place profit before principles.

Hope all the lunches, donations, and benefactors you've garnered through your association with the well heeled Corporate CMO Charter Voucher Establishment have been worth your dignity.

Advocating Public Education

Robert D. Skeels

Where's the crocodile tears for the undocumented now Garcia, Flores-Aguilar, Melvin, Casillas, & Sanchez?

A.R.E. OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLES COLLEGE OF LAW

A.R.E. OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLES COLLEGE OF LAW
RE: DISCRIMINATORY ADMISSIONS POLICIES REGARDING UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS

January 8, 2010

Dear Peoples College of Law,

The Association of Raza Educators (A.R.E.) applauds your efforts to "bring legal resources to under-represented communities and train legal advocates to secure progressive social change and justice in society." [1] Furthermore, we are pleased to hear that progressive attorneys and advocates for the disenfranchised have come from your ranks. We embrace your stated goals of recruiting progressive law students who "have demonstrated a commitment to progressive social change."

However, we have received notice that an otherwise qualified student is currently denied admission to your school by virtue her immigration status. The Association of Raza Educators implores you to open your admissions to all students, regardless of immigration status, and pro-actively recruit working class, raza students who demonstrate not only progressive politics but a true commitment and record of advocacy for the rights of the disenfranchised.

There are an estimated 65,000 undocumented students that graduate from U.S. high schools each year, the bulk of whom have lived in the country for more than five years and are of Latino/a descent. Federal funds are denied to them, as are the majority of private scholarships. Yet a select few of these students, assisted by AB540 in California, have navigated through higher education, are now graduating, and seek to further their studies as social workers, teachers, attorneys, doctors, etc. Moreover, in your current admissions application, these immigrant students, despite being fully qualified and aligned with PCL's progressive mission, are denied admissions to PCL. Despite official PCL statements such as, "At the present time we are only able to take permanent residents, green cards or social security numbers," [2] or "All students at PCL as well as every other law school in California must register with the California Bar as a law student and this requires the student to have a legal right to be in the US," [3] undocumented students are, however, permitted to attend other accredited and unaccredited law schools and are doing so in increasing numbers. [4]

After repeated attempts by A.R.E. members and others to bring this issue to the PCL Board, the Association of Raza Educators now demands that this student, and others who may have been denied admissions to PCL, be formally notified that admissions to the Peoples College of Law is open to all students regardless of their immigrant status. Further, given the unsubstantiated statements by PCL Board members regarding why they cannot admit undocumented students, we are requesting that a letter of apology be written immediately to this student. Finally, we strongly suggest that PCL Board members and admissions staff receive cultural sensitivity training in working with undocumented students. We have every reason to believe that the way the situation is being handled, and the way PCL representatives have interacted with this student, discount the psychological terrorism that undocumented immigrants repeatedly encounter with school administrators and officials who many times do not understand their situation nor are looking out for their interests.

Sincerely,

The Association of Raza Educators, Los Angeles Chapter

NOTES
[1] General Information About Peoples College of Law. http://peopleslaw.pbworks.com/about
[2] Formal email response by Interim Administrator to prospective applicant asking about the Social Security Number requirement on the Peoples College of Law admissions application, dated June 24, 2009.
[3] Formal email response by PCL Admissions Committee representative, dated September 22, 2009.
[4] The pretext that undocumented students are not allowed to take the California Bar is unwarranted, given the California Bar's official statement that "there is no requirement of citizenship or residency" to practice law in California. See
http://search.calbar.ca.gov/search?start=0&restrict=&client=default_frontend&site=public_collection&output=xml_no_dtd&num=10&filter=1&ie=&lr=&oe=&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&q=cache:BR8kpVocRNoJ:http://calbar.ca.gov/calbar/pdfs/admissions/Outside-Ed-Qualif.pdf+residency+requirement

A.R.E. OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLES COLLEGE OF LAW

Re: Austin's 'Put power over California's schools in hands of parents'

From: Robert D. Skeels
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2009 9:19 AM
To: Nick.Goldberg@latimes.com, Sue.Horton@latimes.com, howard.blume@latimes.com, russ.stanton@latimes.com, ana.mata@latimes.com, reshaffer@csupomona.edu, rdsathene@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Re: Austin's 'Put power over California's schools in hands of parents'

Editorial Staff:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-austin16-2009dec16,0,3809285.story

Anyone wonder how much power Green Dot/LAPU/PR has? The Los Angeles Times has rejected countless op-eds criticizing the charter-voucher establishment from people like Prof. Shaffer, myself, and others. However, when charter-voucher power-broker Ben Austin wants to vent about not being able to subvert democratic processes in Sacramento, he has no trouble getting published.

Moreover, the usual fact checking editors subject op-eds to are not applicable. Austin gets away with blatant lying when he says "50% of kids in L.A. public schools aren't graduating" once again, despite the fact the the Los Angeles Times has recently printed the truth about this outrageous erroneous statistic. (http://articles.latimes.com/2009/aug/04/local/me-lausd-dropout4). In the biased, overtly pro charter-voucher Los Angeles Times Austin can play fast and loose with the facts. I'm not accusing the Los Angeles Times of scare tactics here, but why isn't Austin held to even a modicum of honesty?

Moreover, no mention that Parent Revolution is a subsidiary of Green Dot? No mention that Austin is also an Assistant City Attorney? He can get away with saying "I've been advocating school reform for years" (more like 19 months), without mentioning his six figure salary as compensation for doing so?

I'm certain that if any of us in the progressive pro-public education community submitted an op-ed criticizing the "corporate charter trigger" language that Green Dot sycophant politicians like Sen. Gloria Romero are trying to sneak in, it would be promptly rejected.

I understand Eli's money stacks the deck in the corporate charter-voucher establishments' favor. I understand the Los Angeles Times has little interest in presenting all sides of these issues, but could you at least insist corporate hacks like Austin tell the truth in their bombastic fact-free rants?

Re: Austin's 'Put power over California's schools in hands of parents'

Evidence against Mr. Ben Austin of LA City and Green Dot Public [sic] Schools Part One

"It would force the district to learn how to run great schools by forcing them to COMPETE." -- Ben Austin (Executive Director LAPU/PR)

"There's nothing the matter with teachers that a little less unionization and more COMPETITION couldn't cure." -- Ann Coulter (racist reactionary right wing pundit)

November 9, 2009

Attn: Investigator currently assigned to Mr. Ben Austin Case # 2010-36

Enc: PDF file with scans of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's official blog

I reported Mr. Austin of the City Attorney's office, for what I perceived as possible violations of the City's Code of Ethics, around mid-July of this year. While I finally received a response from the Ethics Commission in August, I have never once been contacted regarding evidence, nor asked why I reported Mr. Austin to begin with. While I find this highly irregular, I understand your department is probably understaffed and overwhelmed.

In light of this, I will begin sending evidence against Mr. Austin on a frequent basis, as my schedule permits. Some of this information I will republish publicly. Some information is sensitive in nature, so I will only send it to the Commission and select persons on the CC list. Given the breadth of my readership in the various publications I'm published in, the ones made public will find a large audience.

The first thing I want to submit is the enclosed attachment. It is a print out of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's official blog from September 1, 2009. The post in question dates from August 12, which was the third page of the print out. I also have paper copies available for viewing.

Ben Austin being given carte blanche to post on the Mayor's blog is problematic on several levels. First off, the biography for Mr. Austin under the post makes no mention of Mr. Austin being a city employee. Many taxpayers would be furious to learn they subsidize Mr. Austin's efforts to privatize education, when he is really supposed to be working at his city job. However, it's more telling that Mr. Austin choose not to reveal his city employment since many would want to know if he used his connections to the Mayor as a member of the City Attorney's Office to press his political agenda on the Mayor's high profile blog. It's not as if Mayor Villaraigosa invited school privatization opponents to post their thoughts on his official blog, I know that neither I, nor any public school advocates were asked to contribute.

Another problem with Mr. Austin being able to shamelessly promote the organization he moonlights for on a public venue like the Mayor's official blog, is that Mr. Austin stands to gain financially from the outcome. His bonuses and continued employment with Green Dot (LAPU/PR) is entirely contingent on his ability to press through the political agenda of the CMOs and the wealthy benefactors that subsidize the CMO/charter/voucher establishment. Mr. Austin's role in the passage of the corporate charter school choice resolution was critical. The fact that he was able to use his status as a city employee to garner favors from the Mayor's office, obtain inside information from LAUSD, and manipulate public institutions is unconscionable.

While the damage to our communities as a direct result of Mr. Austin's actions will be difficult to mitigate, at least the citizens of Los Angeles deserve an explanation as to how such a seeming conflict of interest can continue unabated.

Please look forward to more such evidence being submitted in the near future.


Advocating Public Education


Robert D. Skeels

Evidence against Mr. Ben Austin of LA City and Green Dot Public [sic] Schools Part One

Grannan looks at Reactionary Schwarzenegger's Affinity for Green Dot Public [sic] Schools

"The Obama administration is using its unprecedented billions to advance a strategy of deregulation and deprofessionalization." -- Diane Ravitch (celebrated education professor and author)

Thank you Caroline for your A sharp-eyed press view of Schwarzenegger and charter schools

Recently, Kenneth Libby of "Schools Matter" had a brilliant piece on how the sociopath Schwarzenegger spouts love for charters, choice, and other Milton Friedman cum Ayn Rand fantasies in Governator, Charter Schools, and the Market

While others here will take shots at the hard working women and men who teach children in our communities, a job teacher critics could never handle, your piece here is discussing the extreme right wing ideologues, charter-voucher charlatans, and corporate backers of the Governor and his failed charter-voucher vision. At least Schwarzenegger's close political ally, wealthy Beverly Hills Barrister Ben Austin, stands to gain even more financially, should their "race to privatization" package pass the state legislature.

Nor will teacher bashers speak to the millions upon millions in extra funding charters schools like Green Dot Public [sic] schools receive from nefarious right wing ideologues like AIG bailout recipient Eli Broad, convicted insider trader Michael Milkin, convicted predatory monopolist William Gates III, and the criminally exploitative Walton children. Sums so vast that the CTA figures mentioned above pale in comparison. I always love the contradiction of being told throwing more money at education won't solve any problems, while all the while the rich and powerful are throwing money into the democracy subverting kick back laden cronyism that is the charter-voucher school empire.

Schwarzenegger, Duncan, Romero, Villaraigosa, Barr, Petruzzi, Flores-Aguilar, Garcia, and Austin don't care at all about children or communities, as their vicious budget cuts have shown time and again! So why sudden enthusiasm about Duncan's blackmail plan? Follow the money:

"The education industry represents, in our opinion, the final frontier of a number of sectors once under public control... represents the largest market opportunity... the K-12 market is the Big Enchilada." -- Montgomery Securities prospectus quoted in Jonathan Kozol's "The Big Enchilada"

The Kozol quote pretty much sums up everything we need to know about the so called charter-voucher "movement." Rich executives keep getting richer, the sycophantic politicians keep getting donations, and our communities are left to languish in abject misery.

In response to an uneducated and unqualified comment following mine:

Is Mr. Krause serious? "there is nothing to skim off once expenses are paid" Have you seen the astronomical six figure salaries people like Austin, Petruzzi, Ressler, and Barr make? Have you heard about Green Dot's Steve Barr embezzling $51K, and then merely having to return it with no consequences once caught? Mr. Krause better warn all the CMO/EMO investors, as corporate charter-voucher schools are now all the rage for filthy predatory venture capitalists and hedge fund managers. There's far too much information available for people to claim charter-vouchers schools represent accountability, efficiency, or even public good. Available studies, statistics, and outrageous scandals like that mentioned above prove otherwise. Sorry, Green Dot hasn't "collected and folded up" just yet. In fact, Secretary of Education Duncan claims they've "cracked the code." I suppose he's right, the charter-voucher charlatans have cracked the code to malfeasance, mendacity, and MONEY!

Grannan looks at Reactionary Schwarzenegger's Affinity for Green Dot Public [sic] Schools

CCSA'S Jed Wallace's woeful corporate charter chicanery, defending the indefensible

Private money is paying for key senior staff positions... raising questions about transparency and the direction of reforms in the nation's second-largest school system. -- Howard Blume (Los Angeles Times Education Staff Writer)


While the Los Angeles Times is decidedly pro corporate charter-voucher in both concept and content, they are still a news source that needs a modicum of credibility in order to survive as a viable business. Their recent Learning about ethics discussing the utter unaccountability and lack of transparency in the corporate charter-voucher school syndicate was a major step towards exposing the kind of criminality school privatization opens the door to. Discussing the ethics issue (or in Barr's case the lack thereof) of charter school executive Steve Barr making off with a cool $51K was something we in the social justice community were heartened by. Howard Blume's brilliant Key L.A. Unified staff positions are funded privately exposed the incredible prospect that the billionaires club isn't satisfied with buying off politicians like Romero, Villaraigosa, Garcia, and Flores-Aguilar. The nefarious charter-voucher advocating plutocrats including the Waltons, Gates, Milkins, and Broads are now placing their "Made Men" inside public institutions that were at one time accountable to the tax payers. We public education activists knew Matt Hill was a bad guy with deep ties to Green Dot Public [sic] Schools, but we didn't know he was on Eli Broad's payroll. Great way to subvert democratic processes, Ben Austin must be proud.

In light of this tepid chastisement of their extremely profitable industry, Jed Wallace, the well heeled President and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) launched an amateurish and fact free polemic entitled Who's watching charter schools [1] which the Los Angeles Times saw fit to publish in their online blowback section. Kenneth Libby of Schools Matter has fun picking apart Wallace's nonsensical Ayn Rand cum Milton Freidman fantasy land in Charter Lies.

Here's my letter to Mr. Wallace.

Mr. Wallace:

RE: "Who's watching charter schools" [1]

If regular working class people were "missing" $51,000 in receipts like Steve Barr, we would be FIRED and ARRESTED! What's more, Green Dot, like all EMO/CMO, suck up our tax dollars with the above-mentioned type of "accountability" going on. Only in the corporate charter-voucher school realm is such malfeasance and mendacity rewarded. Defending your fellow plutocrats in your fact-free diatribe is tantamount to being an accomplice to burglary.

In fact, we've been waiting for years to see a recent 990 come out of Green Dot's LAPU/PR subsidiary. Last one available was 2006 when Ryan Smith held the highly paid CEO post before moving on to Mayor Villaraigosa's education wrecking crew. I know Ben Austin wants his additional income to be kept secret, but rumor is his moonlighting gig at LAPU/PR pays more than his City Attorney day job. I guess that's the kind of "self policing" you are referring to here, no?

What's next Mr. Wallace? A defense of the AIG and Goldman Sachs' bailout financed bonuses? They claimed they'd do an adequate job "self policing" after deposing Glass-Steagall. They too fleeced the tax payers. No wonder hedge fund managers love charter-voucher schools!

Advocating Public Education

Robert D. Skeels
http://rdsathene.blogspot.com/

PS: $51K is a lot of fancy lunches with Romero, Garcia, and Flores-Aguilar. I hope your fellow country club elitist, Barr, enjoyed each and every one of them. It (privatization) is broke, and must be fixed!

NOTES

[1] http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-oew-wallace16-2009dec16,0,5385585.story

CCSA'S Jed Wallace's woeful corporate charter chicanery, defending the indefensible

Justice for Nativo Lopez and Overhill Farms Workers

Fact Sheet

"An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

INTRODUCTION. Nativo Lopez is known nationally for his organizing and support of immigrants, workers, and students. As president of the Mexican American Political Association and national director of the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana, Nativo is a vocal advocate for the rights of undocumented immigrants who face persecution because of their status: be it at their workplace, school, or communities. Most recently he founded a new independent union, the General Brotherhood of Workers International Union, and has been working closely with terminated employees from the company Overhill Farms and assisting in their fight against unjust firings. Overhill Farms is the largest food processing and manufacturing company in California with between 800 and 1,000 employees, based in the city of Vernon, and supplies packaged food product to companies such as Jenny Craig, Panda Express, El Pollo Loco, American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Safeway, and many other super-market chain stores.

• Nativo faces eight felony charges by the Los Angeles District Attorney, Steve Cooley, that include: fraudulent voter registration, fraudulent document filing, perjury, and fraudulent voting. On July 8th, 2009, Nativo declared himself "NOT GUILTY" to a judge during his arraignment. These charges are based on allegations that he used a business address (of his organization) to register to vote and vote in an election, while allegedly residing at a different location. The period in question was January 2006 to March 2008. He voted on one single occasion, and never in multiple jurisdictions. The California Secretary of State investigated the case for one-and-a-half years, while the department could have decided to take administrative action, instead turned it over to the Los Angeles County District Attorney for prosecution.
• These charges could have been resolved administratively due to their technical nature. Instead, they are being pursued as felony charges. It is a clear example of selective prosecution. Where others have never been prosecuted for similar infractions, Nativo has been targeted at a time that he has been vocal against the broken immigration system and stood up in defense of the workers at Overhill Farms, and the 1,800 workers terminated recently at American Apparel.
• An arrest warrant was issued on June 22, 2009, however, false reports of his arrest have painted a flawed image of the actual nature of these charges and the events that followed. Nativo in fact presented himself to a judge at the Los Angeles Superior Court on June 24, 2009, the day before reports were made, and allowed to leave on his own recognizance.
• The workers at Overhill Farms that stood up against their unfair boss have also been targeted by a lawsuit of the company. On July 1, 2009, a civil lawsuit was filed against Nativo Lopez and six worker leaders - charged with extortion, defamation and intentional interference with the company's customers, employees, and the union, which represents the majority of the employees. The company claims that they are being pressured to rehire the terminated employees but fails to mention anything about the procedure it took to select the almost 300 employees who were accused of a discrepancy in their social security numbers and given only 30 days to clear up the matter. These 300 employees had worked for the company between 5 and 20 years and had established their seniority and benefits under their union contract. When the employees questioned the company about their discriminatory practices, the company changed their story a few times and terminated them. Overhill Farms was not under any obligation by the Social Security Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, or any other government entity to fire the employees. The company also chose to terminate workers who presented evidence to correct the discrepancy. Overhill Farms turned around and hired part-time employees (so classified), but works them 50 to 60 hours weekly, at minimum wage and provides them absolutely no benefits. This was clearly the scheme of the company to eliminate seniority employees and replace them with lower wage part-time workers.
• The charges (both the felonies and civil charges) against Nativo and the workers are a clear attempt to distract them from their call for a national boycott against Overhill Farms until the company rehires the dismissed workers. The charges are aimed at distracting the public from the real issue at hand.
• Nativo's preliminary hearing will be on December 17, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. at the Los Angeles Superior Court at 210 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, 90012, Dept. 36 on the 3rd Floor.

For more information on assisting in the Justice for Nativo and Overhill Farms Workers Defense Committee please contact Taina Reyes at treyes@hermandadmexicana.org or call (323) 269-1575.

Justice for Nativo Lopez and Overhill Farms Workers

Sadly, it's not Sayonara for the Silver Lake Snake Oil Salesman Steve Barr

"It's like me saying, 'Duffy's a pig fucker.' Have I seen him fuck a pig? Do I have photos?" -- Steve Barr (Founder and (former) Chairman, Green Dot)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kk/
CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

To be sure, Steve Barr lost his position because of the malfeasance of the missing $51,000 scandal, his embarrassing falling out with Michele Rhee during Green Dot Public [sic] Schools' negotiations in D.C., and his constant wrangling with the one man at Green Dot who is greedier than he is -- Marco Petruzzi. The money grubbing Green Dot Public [sic] Schools machine would have discarded the Silver Lake snake oil salesman completely, except their decade long public relations campaign portraying Steve Barr as the "friendly face" of the neoliberal dismantling of public education by corporate interests has been so successful, it would have harmed the corporate charter-voucher establishment in the long run. In the interest of "market share" Green Dot kept Barr on to serve as the corporate spokesperson for the sycophantic right wing business press and other corporate sociopaths to dote on him while they eliminate the last vestiges of the public commons, and give themselves bailout financed bonuses.

Steve Barr's corporate charter-voucher establishment in Los Angeles, like all EMO/CMO factory schools with their unelected and unaccountable boards, have been a paradigm of parent and community disenfranchisement. Recent definitive studies citing both charter school racism and CMO charter-voucher school discrimination and exclusivity toward children with special needs are further proof that the decades long failed experiment of the corporate CMO supporters must end.

Steve Barr's astro-turf parental "involvement," via LAPU/PR under wealthy Ben Austin is highly suspect as well. Aside from unsavory incidents of class oppression and racism the Green Dot/LAPU/PR tactic of organizing parents in front of LAUSD was typified in that he allowed parents to count it against their contractual "community services" clause they signed to get their children into Barr's factory schools. In addition to paying massive salaries to executives like Ben Austin Green Dot and its marketing division LAPU/PR is funded by nefarious billionaires like the Waltons, Gates, Milkens, and Broads, who dump millions into corporate CMO/EMO charters since it furthers their extreme right wing agenda and fuels their Milton Friedman cum Ayn Rand fantasies.

"We need to say no to the neoliberal fatalism that we are witnessing at the end of this century, informed by the ethics of the market, an ethics in which a minority makes most profits against the lives of the majority. In other words, those who cannot compete, die. This is a perverse ethics that, in fact, lacks ethics. I insist on saying that I continue to be human...I would then remain the last educator in the world to say no: I do not accept...history as determinism. I embrace history as possibility [where] we can demystify the evil in the perverse fatalism that characterizes the neoliberal discourse in the end of this century." -- Paulo Freire and Donaldo Macedo, "Ideology Matters"

Sadly, it's not Sayonara for the Silver Lake Snake Oil Salesman Steve Barr

Universal Human Rights Day - Calling for the immediate release of Alex Sanchez

This press release was held at noon today along Wilshire. Alex Sanchez is a friend and a fellow activist, so I'm sad I was only able to spend about 15 minutes there. Here's the letter announcing the event:

The We Are Alex Chapters of LA, NY & DC invite you to join us this Thursday Dec 10th - Universal Human Rights Day - to call for the immediate release of Alex Sanchez.

The circumstances under which Alex has been detained are in direct violation of multiple articles stated within the UN's mandated Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore we call upon the U.S. Department of Justice to issue the release of Alex Sanchez and the complete restoration of his human rights.
 
If we are truly a democracy then it is imperative that we uphold human rights and due process -- once we start denying rights for one individual or group of people, it puts all individuals' rights at risk.  We hope you will you will join us.

In Peace & Justice,

We Are Alex

We Are Alex Site
We Are Alex Twitter
We Are Alex Facebook

Universal Human Rights Day - Calling for the immediate release of Alex Sanchez

Where was the Beverly Hills Barrister Ben Austin and his Blue Shirts contingent?

"This is a legitimate threat to the school district. And this is how we have to play to be heard. This is going to steamroll." -- Mary Najera (hostile takeover specialist, Green Dot Corporation)

Yesterday LAUSD voted to harm thousands and thousands of kids through further unconscionable cuts which will balloon already bloated class sizes. Where was wealthy Ben Austin and his throngs of Green Dot Parent Revolutionaries? In fact why haven't Beverly Hills Ben Austin and his shock troops been at any pro-parent-student-community protest, hunger strike, rally, or event that was held by the community? Why is it that Austin only mobilizes parents or writes op-ed pieces full of sophistry and rhetoric for issues only effecting Green Dot, Alliance, and Bright Star? Oh yeah, Austin and Green Dot/LAPU/Parent Revolution are in it solely for the money!

Mr. Austin, you've proven time and time again, through your actions, not your grandiose speeches, that you are completely disingenuous and don't care about kids at all. Did your absence at yesterday's LAUSD vote to immiserate and victimize Los Angeles children reflect your hackneyed policy of advocating "what's good for kids, not grown-ups?" Please tell us Mr. Austin how Green Dot Public [sic] Schools and Parent Revolution view yesterday's board vote as giving "children the education they need and the future they deserve."

We're waiting.

Where was the Beverly Hills Barrister Ben Austin and his Blue Shirts contingent?

Stop Gloria Romero's Corporate Charter Trigger aka SBX5 1 Race to the Abyss

CALL YOUR ASSEMBLY PERSON AND TELL THEM YOU VEHEMENTLY OPPOSE GLORIA ROMERO'S SB 1 LEGISLATION

While spending more than 3.6 billion a month (which will increase with their bellicose "surge") on the vicious occupation of Afghanistan, trillions on bailing out the banksters, this administration doesn't seem to have much left over in terms of education spending. Instead of discarding the failed NCLB laws of their extreme right wing predecessor and fully funding public education, President Obama and Secretary Duncan have decided to force feed their own abject failure of Renaissance 2010 to the rest of the country. Rather than investing public bailout funds with no strings attached, like what was done for AIG, Goldman Sachs, et al, Duncan's Orwellian-named "Race to the Top" funds are only available to states that implement reactionary policies that the extreme right wing has been clamoring about for years.

All of this for just a pittance, the President is merely offering the entire State of California just 700 million for the year. A drop in the bucket compared to his massive war and defense budgets. While any money would certainly help at this point, we should be taxing the rich instead, and absolutely not give into the "pound of flesh" funding demands "rac[ist] to the top" requires.

State Senator Gloria Romero, a former liberal, who just passed a bill (SB 592) handing public school property over to private corporations [2], is pushing a version of a new bill in Sacramento. SBX5 1 aka SB 1, which doesn't just give in to Duncan and Obama's demands, tantamount to blackmail, but adds Ben Austin and Marco Petruzzi's anti-democratic corporate charter-voucher trigger language. Here is what SB 1 would codify if passed.

1. A regressive merit pay system to discourage hard working teachers



2. A removal of the already ridiculously high cap on corporate charter-voucher schools displacing public schools



3. A wholly undemocratic corporate charter-voucher trigger mechanism that would let corporations like Green Dot seize public schools with greater ease than they do now

The first two have been discussed at length, and with the exception of fake academics at right-wing think tanks including Cato, Hoover, and Hudson, have been thoroughly discredited.

The last one was snuck into SB 1 on December 3rd, as a favor to Senator Romero's right wing friends at the Parent Revolution [3], and to the appease the likes of the Gates, Broad, Walton, and Annenberg foundations.

Here's the anti-democratic corporate charter-voucher trigger language of the bill:

  1116(b)(8)(B)  of the federal Elementary and
Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.)  ,
including those activities required in the regulations and guidelines
for the federal Race to the Top Fund, authorized under the federal
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5),
and the guidelines for the federal School Improvement Grants,
authorized under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.)  . 
   (b) For any other school which, after one full school year, is
subject to corrective action pursuant to paragraph (7) of Section
1116(b) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20
U.S.C. Sec 6301 et seq.) and continues to fail to make adequate
yearly progress, and where at least one-half of the parents or legal
guardians of pupils attending the school, or a combination of at
least one-half of the parents or legal guardians of pupils attending
the school and the elementary or middle schools that normally
matriculate into a middle or high school, as applicable, sign a
petition requesting the local educational agency to implement one or
more of the five federally mandated alternative governance
arrangements pursuant to Section 1116(b)(8) of the federal Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), the local
educational agency shall implement the option requested by the
parents unless, in a regularly scheduled public hearing, the local
educational agency makes a finding in writing why it cannot implement
the specific recommended option and instead designates in writing
which of the other federally mandated alternative governance
arrangements it will implement in the subsequent school year
consistent with requirements specified in federal regulations and
guidelines for schools subject to restructuring under Section 1116(b)
(8) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Sec. 6301 et seq.). If the local educational agency indicates in
writing that it will implement in the upcoming school year a
different alternative governance arrangement than requested by the
parents, the local educational agency shall notify the Superintendent
and the state board that the alternative governance option selected
has substantial promise of enabling the school to make adequate
yearly progress as defined in the federally mandated state plan under
Section 1111(b)(2) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education
Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).  

I'll get back this the topic soon, but it is imperative we fight back against this disgusting right-wing legislation. Contact your assembly person and tell them you oppose SB 1!

For those harboring illusions about State Senator Gloria Romero, her ideology, and her intentions. Long time immigrant rights activist Alvaro Maldonado, who led the fight against the racist Prop 187, had this to say about State Senator and Privatization Pontiff Gloria Romero:

I just saw her the other day! She use to be a left liberal, now she's just a plain capitalist liberal! Gloria Romero was an 1970's activist turned Democratic politician just like Fabian Nunez. I think, it should be a good lesson to all that those liberals who tie themselves to the Democratic party are almost without exception, turn into promoters for the capitalist system; be they co-opted, sold out, or just believe that there is no alternative (I generally I don't buy the argument on practicality claimed by the "progressive" Democrats... Their excuses generally hide their opportunism). The UFW traditional leadership (Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, etc) gave us years of union and Democratic party opportunism in their stances on many an issue... but thats too long a story to get into on this comment page... it should suffice to be weary of "progressives" keeping close ties to the Democratic party.

NOTES
[1] More on race to the abyss, er, top: Resisting the blackmail of "Race to the Top," three articles

[2] More on SB 592: Advocating Public Education Roundup 09W47 Part 2, Good News for Charter School Chains in California: Asset Stripping Gives Them Titles to Public School

[3] Ben Austin was a Republican Deputy Mayor, for those who don't remember.

[4] The Debate Over Differentiated Pay: The Devil is In the Details

Stop Gloria Romero's Corporate Charter Trigger aka SBX5 1 Race to the Abyss

Another racial profiling incident at Green Dot Public [sic] Schools?

"There are people who think, 'The school is too black, the school is too Mexican,' and all of a sudden you see a lot of ugly things about people. Prejudice still exists. For a lot of people, that's a very uncomfortable zone." -- Robyn Ritter Simon (quoted in "Healing the World, One School at a Time")

Wall Street privatization darling Marco Petruzzi (above) leads a beleaguered Green Dot through charges of racism, embezzlement, and now assault. Rev. Tulloss (below) faces a dilemna.

Beleaguered Green Dot and proxy group LAPU/PR have been getting a great deal of press lately. Whether we're discussing the malfeasance of Steve Barr pocketing a cool $51,000, and then having to pay it back when caught, to LAPU/PR's discriminatory organizing tactics on the west side, past incidents of staff violence towards students, or the new UCLA study just released revealing charter schools like Green Dot violate civil rights, foster racial isolation, and exacerbate segregation, there's an overwhelming amount of information finally revealing what Green Dot Public [sic] Schools is really about -- profit and profiling.

I've been researching a Green Dot story from rumors I heard about a week ago that has been covered up for weeks. As part of my research, I had to contact the parties involved. This made me realize that if the story is true, then Green Dot would have a chance to spin the incident before the truth came out. I've decided to share my letter exposing the rumor to LAUSD, and another letter I wrote to one of the parties involved in order to keep Green Dot Public Schools from trying to cover this ugly situation up. I'll be following up on this post and the subsequent story shortly.

Ms. LaMotte and staff:

Something has come to my attention that I think you should know about. Feel free to share it with anyone you want.

Several social justice minded people have contacted me regarding some Locke parents who witnessed an incident with Locke's security three of four Fridays ago following the football game. Ironically, the incident involved one of Green Dot's most ardent supporters, Rev. K. W. Tulloss.

From what I've been able to piece together from various sources, Locke security had detained one of Rev. Tulloss' relatives. Rev. Tulloss and his mother approached security who then roughed up and handcuffed his mother, while threatening to use a taser on Rev. Tulloss if he interfered.

Clearly this is yet another incident of racial profiling perpetrated by Green Dot's outsourced security thugs, we have all heard about students being pepper sprayed earlier this year. From Kenneth Libby and Dr. Danny Weil's recent article: "A major assumption lies behind this praise of order, discipline, and security: militarized environments are acceptable – even necessary – for urban youth, particularly youth of color.  At a recent event, high-level Green Dot employees revealed the Locke school operated with a $1.2 million security budget in its first year, employing subcontracted security guards armed with handguns and pepper spray.[5] The charter chain hopes to reduce security expenditures to a mere half a million dollars within the next few years." -- http://bit.ly/56xctc

I think that sums up everything that needs to be said about Green Dot's view of our communities and people of color.

Why Rev. Tulloss hasn't gone public with this is beyond me. I wrote him and he responded "Mr. Skeels thank you for the email of concern." I'm also shocked this hasn't made the front page of the Daily News or Los Angeles Times, but given both those papers' ideological attachment to charters, it's understandable they wouldn't want to publish such an incendiary story, especially on the heels of the recent UCLA study on charter school racism. If Green Dot and its racist security represents the best of corporate CMO charter-voucher schools, then we need to fight even harder against this current wave of privatization.

I'm writing a story about the incident, despite limited information. I have left a message with Locke's principal requesting an interview and have done the same with Rev. Tulloss. While it is doubtful either will do so, it is at least worth the attempt.

I'll be happy if I learn this entire story is just a rumor or a misunderstanding. All of the people who contacted me demanded anonymity, and said Locke has threatened expulsion of any student talking about it. This makes it hard for me to write an article with quotes and references. However, my years of research into Green Dot lead me to feel the story is entirely genuine and needs investigating.

In closing I want to thank you Ms. LaMotte for your courageous defense of our communities, children, and schools.


In struggle and solidarity


Robert D. Skeels

My note to Rev. K. W. Tulloss

Requesting an interview regarding the recent Locke incident

Rev. Tulloss

I've written you in the past about my concerns for your enthusiastic support of the reactionary, and frankly racist organization Green Dot and it's proxy group LAPU/PR. I understand you choose to ignore my concerns, as that is your prerogative.

Imagine my shock, however, when several social justice minded parents informed me of the horribly racist incident involving Locke security attacking you and your family. Although the details are sketchy since only a handful of people witnessed the incident, it's clear the thuggish, racist, outsourced security at Green Dot's Locke has added another incident to their list of egregious treatment towards people of color.

I've called Locke's principal and left a message to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. I am writing you for the same reason, to get your side of the story before my article gets published. I've also notified my friend Ms. LaMotte of LAUSD that I'm working on this story and provided her with an outline of what I know.

You can contact me at rdsathene@sbcglobal.net

In solidarity

Robert D. Skeels

Another racial profiling incident at Green Dot Public [sic] Schools?

Cynthia McKinney: Is President Obama’s Surge A Trap?

Is President Obama’s Surge A Trap?

By Cynthia McKinney

December 2, 2009

Last night, President Obama announced both his decision to add 30,000 U.S. troops to the mire in Afghanistan and his desire to see other countries and N.A.T.O. match his surge. Thanks to U.S. taxpayers, mercenaries will continue to be a part of the foreign presence in Afghanistan. The Republicans support the President’s move and are expected to reward President Obama with the bulk of their Congressional votes to pass his plan.

However, there is deep disquiet today within the ranks of the President’s own base in the Democratic Party, with independents, and with middle-of-the-roaders called “swing” voters. In unprecedented numbers, voters in the United States of all previous political persuasions went to the polls and invested their dreams and, most importantly, their votes in the “hope” and “change” promised by the Obama campaign. But in light of the President’s defense of Bush Administration war crimes and torture in U.S. courts, the transfer of trillions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars to the wealthy banking elite, continued spying on environmental and peace activists as well as support for the extension of the Patriot Act, and removal of Medicare-for-all (single payer) as a central feature of proposed health care reform, Obama voters are rethinking their support.

Already, according to a Daily Koss report written by Steve Singiser: “Two in five Democratic voters either consider themselves unlikely to vote at this point in time, or have already made the firm decision to remove themselves from the 2010 electorate pool. Indeed, Democrats were three times more likely to say that they will ‘definitely not vote’ in 2010 than are Republicans.” By contrast, Republicans are happy today. Almost giddy with glee as far as I can see. Warmonger John McCain and most Republicans will make sure the President gets what he wants. And in 2012, they will abandon their support of this President and support the candidate that comes from their base.

War-weary voters in this country are committed to peace. They reject the notion, as put forward by Vice President Dick Cheney that “the American way of life” is something worth fighting for when that means that war becomes an energy policy.

Tragically, the major unstated U.S. interest in the region that the President has bought into is the unacceptability of a proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (I-P-I) pipeline at a time when our country is saber-rattling against and threatening Iran with more sanctions. Earlier this year, Iran and Pakistan decided to move forward with their pipeline even if India decides to drop out. Ironically, I-P-I is also known as the “peace pipeline.”

The alternative pipeline route, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (T-A-P-I), is supported by Washington because it denies an important economic benefit to Iran. Sadly, nowhere in the President’s remarks did he mention the pipeline on which construction is slated to begin in 2010.

U.S. policy is not only guided by pipeline politics. There is also the consideration of chessboard geo-positioning necessary to contain Russia, China, and ensure U.S. empire—for those inclined to traditional Cold Warrior “containment” thinking. Apparently, behind what some are calling a “shadow war in Muslim lands,” are targeted assassination teams that have wreaked tri-border havoc in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Fortunately, this time around, I’m convinced that U.S. voters will vote for peace. President Obama has now ensured this outcome. Imagine, John McCain and Joe Lieberman have just been made very happy by the President’s choice while that same choice leaves swing voters, independents, and some Democrats who enthusiastically supported Obama’s campaign looking for somewhere else to go.

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Cynthia McKinney: Is President Obama’s Surge A Trap?