solidaridad: Yellow Journalism

Friday, December 06, 2013

Sunday, October 30, 2011

LA Weakly proudly pushes propaganda for Broad/Gates astroturfers

No question: the Business Roundtable and its bedfellows insist that schools become data-driven depots, or, as Frederick W. Smith, CEO of Federal Express puts it on the Business Coalition for Education Reform website: "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." One would point out to Smith and his allies that kids aren't packages to be delivered from one teacher to the next."Kathy Emery and Susan Ohanian

Best part of Don't Hold Us Back astroturf coalition? None of their leaders make less than six figures. It's all about kids!

Best part of Don't Hold Us Back astroturf coalition? None of their leaders make less than six figures. It's all about kids!

The repulsive libertarian rag the LA Weakly has inked mendacious material supporting corporate education reform for years, and their latest assault on the public commons keeps that tradition alive. The trashy masseuse and porn ad pennysaver's Simon Wilson puts together an article so full of lies and deceit, that only Parent Revolution's Gabe Rose, who once posed as a Compton parent, would be proud.

Choking back bile, I read Wilson's garbage and responded thusly:

I know facts are of little consequence to yellow journalists like Ms. Wilson, but for those of us outside of the Ayn Rand circle of influence, there are some egregious factual errors in this piece.

"self-serving antics of our local teachers union -- ahem, Occupy L.A."

No need to tell the truth that many of us at OccupyLAUSD were not members of UTLA, or any union for that matter, since that would get in the way of the false narrative this drivel presents. Unlike the well paid members of the "Don't Hold Us Back" astroturf coalition, we were grassroots activists demanding former Gates Executive Deasy to hire back librarians in our schools and to stop wasting our money on programs proven not to work.

"may not see the correlation between failing students and teachers' job protection."

Please cite one legitimate peer reviewed study that backs this wildly specious statement. I know you aren't really a journalist, but this goes beyond the pale. Yolie Flores' wholly uneducated opinions, policy papers or preliminary reports from right wing thinks like the NCTQ, or the vile Gates Foundation itself are not considered peer reviewed studies. You won't be able to find any such studies, since none exists, but don't let that inconvenient fact muddle your mendaciousness Ms. Wilson.

Another amusing oversight of this article is to state that the individuals on the list above are in addition to the Broad/Gates backed groups that comprise the so-called "don't hold us back coalition."

I know this would require Wilson to research her writing, but she might want to look at names like Kwoh, Buik, Avila, Taylor, and Mack and see if they have anything in common with the groups already onboard the reactionary anti-public education groups comprising "don't hold us back." Here's a hint, they are the CEOs and Executive Directors of those selfsame organizations, each of whom make massive six figure salaries and collect money from anti-public school foundations including the Broad, Gates, Milken, and others to advocate their policies and ideas. Now that's self serving!

The handful of other 1%ers on above list that aren't Gates Foundation hacks are some folks really concerned about inner cities? I mean, the Chamber of Commerce? That's a bastion or worker and civil rights if we've ever seen one.

I'm sure this disgusting piece of propaganda will be well received by those who read the Weakly in between chapters of The Fountainhead, but for those of us that actually possess critical thinking skills, it is repugnant. Aside from her extremist boss, Wilson has an uncanny ability to write on education without ever having to tell the truth or reference factual information. Bravo.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Open note to Jim Newton regarding his July 18, 2011 Los Angeles Times Op-Ed

"When you have total control over the media and the educational system and scholarship is conformist, you can get that across." — Professor Noam Chomsky (Media Control)

We've come to expect this non-stop charter cheerleading from the Times. Newton and Stanton come off as Jed Wallace's personal public relations firm.

Mr. Newton:

I'm not a member of UTLA or any union for that matter, but I find your constant vilification of UTLA offensive and caustic. You come off as nothing more than a shill for the lucrative charter-voucher industry, and your prose reads as yellow journalism of the worse kind. I've written about your shameful defense of the vile Ben Austin in the past, but your recent disgusting op-ed smearing UTLA and public education deserves attention as well. It's disconcerting to see you use your high media profile to push reactionary ideas and serve as a spokesperson for school privatization. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Advocating public education and social justice

Robert D. Skeels

Candidate District 2 LAUSD Board Seat 2013