Unionists Call 9/11 Attacks ‘Blowback’ – Do National Leaders Agree?

By Kyle Olson | Published: September 8, 2010

Members of the American Federation of Teachers, along with AFSCME, SEIU and several other national labor unions, are showing their true political stripes by joining the “Labor for Palestine” movement.

These groups are not just calling for a Palestinian homeland in the Middle East and a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian/Israeli standoff. They’re suggesting that the creation of Israel has been a disaster for the Palestinian people.

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It’s clear that they don’t share the commitment to Israeli security that American presidential administrations – Republican and Democrat – have maintained since 1948. They are radically anti-Israel, and they offer no apologies for that. The following passage can be found on the Labor for Palestine website:

The establishment of Israel in 1948 inflicted on the Palestinian people a continuing campaign of displacement, discrimination, exploitation and brutality that has continued to this day.

The anti-Israel rhetoric is just the tip of the iceberg. The group suggests that American foreign policy was to blame for the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001. In other words, 3,000-plus people deserved to die due to American support for the continued existence of Israel.

The group also protests recent U.S. military actions in the Middle East – calling them an endless “war of terror,” – and suggests that Iran may be the next innocent victim of American “colonialization.”

Their allies — including racist demagogue Pam Geller, the Anti-Defamation League, Rudolph Giuliani and prominent Neocons — promote bigotry to fuel increasingly unpopular U.S. wars against the Muslim world, while shielding Israeli apartheid from growing international isolation.

Workers, abroad and at home, have long paid the price for these disastrous policies. On 9/11, we suffered blowback from decades of U.S./Israeli war, occupation and colonialism.

9/11, in turn, has been the pretext for an endless bipartisan war of terror. This war has devastated Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Somalia, Yemen and other countries.

It has left thousands of G.I.s dead or maimed. It has tortured prisoners and undermined civil liberties. It has squandered trillions of dollars.

Now it targets Iran.

For these reasons, it is essential for trade unionists and all workers to stand up in defense of the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian communities.

Excuse me?  The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were “blowback” for the “US/Israeli war?”

The leadership of these unions can’t possibly believe that a majority of their members buy into this left-wing rhetoric.  They ought to denounce the radicalism within their ranks, or risk being tainted with it.  Or does AFT President Randi Weingarten really believe we deserved what we got on 9/11?

Meanwhile teachers, many of whom are professionals and work hard every day, ought to demand better than the radical positions of their union leaders.

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Several Adults Assist in Keeping Perp in Michigan Classroom

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 15, 2010

Education Action Group continues to dig on a truly sad story out of the Okemos school district in Michigan.  The basic story is that a male teacher had an inappropriate relationship with at least one female student.

A parent of one of the students agreed to a financial settlement, $70,000 to be exact, with the teacher and all went on their merry way.  The teacher returned to the classrom with the school district completely unaware.

The teacher was represented by a go-to attorney for the Michigan Education Association.  I personally was involved in a Freedom of Information Act case with this attorney, Jeffrey Donahue, in 2009.  He was seeking to block my request for a union president’s e-mails as public records, as she was using a district-provided e-mail account to conduct union business.

He handles a lot of the MEA’s legal work.  Last fiscal year, the MEA paid his firm, White, Schneider, Young & Chiodini over $1.3 million for legal services, according to page 101 of the union’s LM-2 report.

According to the police report, the student confided in another teacher, who did nothing and allowed the perpetrator to continue to have access to students.

EAG will continue digging on this story, as I believe the MEA is being less than honest in its involvement in keeping this offender around students.  They know this will finally prove they really are opposed to removing bad teachers from the classroom.

See EAG’s latest newsletter, the [Michigan] Insider, here, for more details.

Good teachers deserve better pay and our admiration.  Bad teachers need to be removed from the classroom and find another line of work.  A quality education for every child should trump the interests of adults.  Every day.

And whoever thinks or acts otherwise should be held accountable.  Every day.

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$10 Billion Public School Bailout Unnecessary

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 5, 2010

Unions moved one step closer to receiving their own bailout Wednesday when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the U.S. House back from recess to vote on a stimulus bill for unionized public employees.

The House will vote to create a $10 billion “Education Jobs Fund,” a euphemism for a public school bailout.  Those aren’t my words – that’s American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten’s line.

And Pelosi made a telling admission when she announced via Twitter, “I will be calling the House back into session early next week to save teachers’ jobs…”

It’s not about student achievement.  It’s about protecting the adults.

Public schools have a spending problem, not a funding problem.  Pelosi and her regime are perpetuating the problem at a time America literally can’t afford it.

According to The Hill, Pelosi’s action came about after urging from a public employees union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

Taxpayers must now foot the bill for the demands of unions and the politicians that kowtow to them.

We look forward to members of Congress returning to the campaign trail to explain why this action was so necessary.

The unions and Pelosi should drop the mantra about putting children first.  They should admit that this bill doesn’t include one penny for student needs, and is designed to spare teachers unions from having to make wage and benefit concessions.

At least then, for once, they won’t be accused of completely trashing the truth.

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Teachers Unions Fear Competition and Will be the Downfall of American Education

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 4, 2010

There is a weird dichotomy in American education: many teachers across the country impress upon their students that they must succeed for our nation to remain competitive in a global economy.

But at the same time, teachers unions fear, and downright besmirch, competition.

Competition is what has made America the greatest country in the world.  Capitalist inventors have created new products to make money, not to mention improve society.  Investors have put their money behind products that have great potential.  It’s clear competition improves products and lowers cost.

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So why do teachers unions fear competition?

Like the robber barons of the 20th Century, unions oppose choice because it will likely impact its monopoly on the market.  About 85% of American kids go to traditional public schools – most of which are unionized.

Unions oppose competition among teachers and instead want the same rate of pay for employees, based on years of service, regardless of success or effectiveness.  So the best teacher in the building is paid exactly the same as the worst.  How does that foster improvement?

And lately, the unions have been critical of President Obama’s “Race to the Top” education reform initiative.  Consider American Federation of Teachers’ president Randi Weingarten’s latest press release:

While we encouraged our local and state affiliates to be involved in every aspect of Race to the Top, we have always been troubled that this competition, by its very construct, leaves out millions of students across the country. Rather than picking winners and losers, our education policies should represent a comprehensive approach focused on preparing every student to succeed in college, work and life.

Let’s all hold hands, sing Labor’s favorite song, “Solidarity Forever,” and enjoy the ride on the sinking S.S. Public Education.

Previous AFT leaders have admitted there is a problem, but nobody from that union, or the National Education Association, have ever seemed willing to do anything meaningful about it.  In 1989, AFT president Albert Shanker told this to the Wall Street Journal:

“It’s time to admit that public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybody’s role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. It’s no surprise that our school system doesn’t improve: It more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy.”

So the American public education system is closer to communism than capitalism, thanks to the teachers unions and union-enabling politicians.

It’s no wonder the system is failing in its obligation to educate American kids and prepare them to be future world leaders.  Until the adults in the system realize why they’re there – to serve children – we should expect to see little difference.

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Dems School Bailout Deception

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 3, 2010

Senate Democrats were set to vote on a $10 billion bailout for public schools, claiming all along the measure was “paid for with spending cuts.”  When the Congressional Budget Office revealed it was going to add $5 billion to the deficit, the vote was delayed until Wednesday.

The National Education Association, the biggest beneficiary of the legislation, perpetuated the lie on its website.  The NEA stands to gain about $36 million in dues dollars.

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While news reports indicate it could come up again Wednesday, here’s to hoping it won’t see the light of day again.

Americans can ill afford to continue adding to the deficit for a jobs plan that does little for the future and continues funding the status quo.  Public education has become little more than a public works project, throwing good money after bad.

Democrats in Washington are throwing a bone to the teachers unions – a very expensive bone at that – and it should continue to be opposed by sensible Senators from both parties.

Senate Democrats, though, acknowledge this is a bump in the road.  And they’ll continue putting us further in debt however they see fit.  From The Morning Call:

If the Senate can’t get it passed, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said the chamber would try again until it does.

“It’s likely we’ll have to keep going back to the drawing board and going back to a different way to pass it,” Casey said. Republicans have held it up over concerns about federal spending amid high deficits.

But even if the Senate does get it passed before adjourning for its August recess, the House, which has already left, still needs to take up the bill when it returns in mid-September.

The school year, of course, starts prior to when the House could possibly vote on this, so school personnel decisions would have already been finalized.  So this is little more than a gift to the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers – financed with money from our children.

Taxpayers should continue fighting against this type of reckless spending with everything we’ve got and force government to live within its means, just as American families have to.

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Can We Clone NJ Gov. Chris Christie?

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 2, 2010

“Governor Wrecking Ball” is showing it is possible to stand up to special interests and do what is best for taxpayers and schoolchildren.  When human cloning begins, can Michigan have a copy of Chris Christie?

Christie is cleaning up the mess of previous politicians who bought off special interest groups, such as the New Jersey Education Association, with lavish benefits, unsustainable pay increases and a retirement system that, like many other states is becoming a major black hole.

Unlike other American politicians, Christie doesn’t appear to care much about what people think of him.  He’s there to do a job and fix the problems, even if it means his elected life is short lived.

Others should follow Christie’s lead because taxpayers and voters will have their backs.

On a recent Today Show appearance, Christie responded to an exchange with a school employee.  What’s interesting from the clip is that most politicians would be tepid for fear of having the crowd turn on them.  Instead, Christie’s crowd, which was not hand-picked, went wild – for Christie’s answer.

 

Taxpayers are beginning to realize that it’s the politicians that have created this budgetary mess and it’s going to require leaders like Christie to stand up to the powerful special interests to fix it.

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Impending Senate Vote for More School Spending Won’t Improve Education

By Kyle Olson | Published: August 1, 2010

The two top teachers unions and Senate Democrats are proving the old adage that dead bodies float to the surface.  Just when we thought the wrong-headed “Education Jobs Fund” was dead, it comes back to life.

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The U.S. Senate is poised to vote Monday on the “public school bailout,” the brainchild of teachers unions to stave off tens of thousands of school employee layoffs.  Progressive blogs say it will come at 5pm.

When Democrats realized the bailout wasn’t going to pass attached to the Afghanistan war spending.  It’s now riding on a Federal Aviation Administration bill.

The American Federation of Teachers claims the $10 billion in ”debt-financed” spending (ie. spending the money of the children unions’ purport to care about) will prevent the firing of 300,000 school employees – the vast majority of which are union members.

House Democrats and the Obama administration claim the public school bailout will save 140,000 jobs.  It would be nice if they’d use the same talking points and give us a somewhat accurate number – assuming one actually exists.

But using the union’s number, the school bailout would also result in a major dues windfall for teachers unions: an estimated $36 million for the NEA and roughly $14 million for the smaller American Federation of Teachers.

Not a bad haul for using children as props and a major lobbying campaign, complete with prizes.

There is no evidence that increased spending improves student achievement.  If that were the case, Washington, DC public schools would be the best in the country.  Clearly, thanks in large part to the adult-focused teachers unions, they’re not.  In fact, while they’re improving thanks to the tenacious efforts of Chancellor Michelle Rhee, DC schools are among the lowest performing in America.

But student performance, at a time that it means the most, apparently is irrelevant.  What is relevant to teachers unions and Congressional Democrats is employed adults.  After all, they need the union members as foot soldiers for the November election, right?

The assembly line model of our public school system is hurting kids, their success and America’s future.

This is the time for public schools to right-size.  Get spending in check.  Fix bloated compensation systems, like woefully underfunded pension systems.  End frivolous spending, like paying bad teachers to go away.  Have the appropriate number of staff for the number of students.  The Education Intelligence Agency reports student enrollment is down yet adult employment continues to rise.

Are America’s public schools employment agencies or institutions of learning, whose prime focus is preparing students and having the best adult possible teaching?  Senate approval of this measure will show the focus is on protecting adults and not students.

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‘Civil Rights’ Organizations Stand with Unions, Against Obama and Education Reform

By Kyle Olson | Published: July 28, 2010

Every now and then, I kind of feel sorry for President Obama.  If there’s anyone that has seen bad schools, it would be a community organizer from the south side of Chicago.

President Obama has rolled out a series of education reforms, tepid as they may be, with the goal of improving America’s schools.

To say the least, many of America’s schools, particularly in urban areas, are downright pathetic.  You can almost count on dismal student performance, union employees sucking the financial life out of the district, and an assembly line, one-size-fits-all mentality that actually produces graduates who can’t read their own diplomas.

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A quality education has been called -  rightly so -  the civil rights issue of the 21st Century.

It’s no secret Big Labor stands opposed to any meaningful education reform:  Labor leaders oppose charter schools because they’re usually not unionized, performance pay because it rewards hard work and innovation, and tenure reform because it threatens the concept of lifetime employment that’s not tied to performance.

President Obama has made tiny steps towards addressing these problems, but instead of demanding better results from urban schools, “civil rights” organizations like the NAACP and the Urban League are standing with the adults, not the children.

Shame on them.

I understand the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers often purchase political allies with lavish contributions.  In 2008, for example, the NEA gave the NAACP $200,000 for political activities.  The AFT has given smaller sums to the NAACP and other “civil rights” organizations.

It’s clear that the NAACP and similar organizations are more concerned with their friends in the teachers unions than they are about the well-being of minority students. It’s disheartening that they are standing with the unions and fighting Obama’s efforts to improve conditions and opportunities for inner-city children.

But it goes to show that, in some quarters, political ideology trumps what is best for our future: children who can read and are prepared to continue making our country the greatest in the world.

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Teachers Unions Fail to Secure Pork for Public Employees

By Kyle Olson | Published: July 23, 2010

It appears the millions of dollars the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers spent electing President Obama and a Democratic Congress is turning out to be a bad investment, because the Democrats in power failed to deliver the $10 billion “education jobs fund” for the unions.

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Even the trimmed amount, originally $23 billion, was more than election-weary Democrats could handle and they removed the pork spending from the Afghanistan appropriations bill.

According to Politico, the Senate-passed version of the bill, minus the education pork, will now head back to the House, where leaders are anticipating quick passage so troops won’t be left stranded in the battlefield.

Thank goodness.

Now the teachers unions will see how the other half lives.  They, and the school districts they strong-arm, will have to made do within their means, just like American families and businesses.

Previous reports indicated that if the Afghanistan bill strategy failed, Big Labor would seek other methods, such as attaching the public school bailout to the unemployment extension.  That bill has been passed and signed, so that idea has failed, too.  The unions’ “vehicle bill” ideas are growing fewer and fewer as the Congress wraps up legislative work to return home and defend its record.

Democrats could use this vote as evidence of their willingness to reign in spending.  But, of course, it comes at the expense of one of their biggest campaign funders.

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Candidate Mom Escapes Clutches of Chicago Machine

By Kyle Olson | Published: July 21, 2010

Cedra Crenshaw proved to be too quick to be the latest victim of the Chicago Machine.  She’s running for the Illinois state Senate as a Tea Party Republican, and Democrats did their best to keep her off the ballot.

Though the district is reportedly 2-1 Democrat, she’s still making them sweat and they tried their best to find anything to prevent voters from having a choice – even stooping so low to nit-pick about wording on Crenshaw’s petition.

Crenshaw has been fighting, sometimes alone, for public school accountability and parental choice.  It’s those types of leaders that make the power brokers nervous.

If wording on a petition could defeat Crenshaw, then Democrats and power brokers in Chicago and Springfield wouldn’t have to answer to voters for their record.  So sad, Machine: Crenshaw will be given the opportunity to hold the entrentched power to account.

EAGtv caught up with Crenshaw to hear about why she’s running and what she’s fought for to improve education.

Author’s note: AJ Wilhelmi (the Democratic candidate) and the Chicago Machine best gird for a tough fight.  Crenshaw and a whole lot of citizens have your number.

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