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Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Status quo regresses society, democratic possibility


Center for Responsive Politics image
 Super PACs
Excerpt and brief comment by Carolyn Bennett
From Center for Responsive Politics

“As of April 9, 2012, 412 groups organized as Super PACs have reported total receipts of $155,547,779 and total independent expenditures of $86,322,408 in the 2012 cycle.
U.S.
Congressional Mansion

U.S.
Executive Mansion
“Super PACs are a new kind of political action committee created in July 2010 following the outcome of a federal court case known as SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission.
Technically known as independent expenditure-only committees,

“Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates.

U.S. Supreme
Mansion
“Super PACs must, however, report their donors to the Federal Election Commission on a monthly or quarterly basis — the Super PACs’ choice — as a traditional PAC would.

“Unlike traditional PACs, Super PACs are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates” [Center for Responsive Politics].

Does voting matter in the United States? 

Does “democracy” really exist in a country where government officials are bought and sold like chattel, where money is laundered,  and concentrated money buys and sells governance and government policy and practice?

Center for Responsive Politics image
How much of this WASTE would  fund quality education for every child in every state of the Union (USA)? 


How much would go a long way in bringing to peoples of underdeveloped and war-torn countries basic healthcare, education, housing, employment?

Super PACs’ reporting as of April 9, 2012
GroupSupports/OpposesIndependent
Expenditures
ViewpointTotal Raised
Restore Our Futuresupports Romney $40,495,254Conservative$43,220,562
Winning Our Futuresupports Gingrich $16,454,135Conservative$18,856,189
Red, White & Bluesupports Santorum $7,478,733Conservative$5,764,734
Endorse Libertysupports Paul $4,090,755Conservative$3,679,464
Make Us Great Againsupports Perry $3,959,824Conservative$5,485,885
Our Destiny PACsupports Huntsman $2,804,234Conservative$3,166,244
House Majority PAC$1,798,141Liberal$3,020,215
Freedomworks for America$1,246,461Conservative$3,496,417
Campaign for Primary Accountability$1,136,257$1,856,719
American Crossroads$1,016,332Conservative$26,851,088
Priorities USA Actionsupports Obama $956,515Liberal$6,489,224
Club for Growth Action$574,097Conservative$5,203,955
Majority PAC$509,210Liberal$2,524,425
Citizens for a Working America PACsupports Romney $455,000Conservative$858
9-9-9 FUNDsupports Cain $436,055Conservative$617,620
Santa Rita Super PACsupports Paul $317,542Conservative$234,096
American Jobs PAC$254,969Conservative$0
Women Vote!$241,374Liberal$632,631
American Foundations Committee$214,693Conservative$0
Strong America Nowsupports Gingrich $211,692Conservative$249,434
Americans for Rick Perrysupports Perry $202,865Conservative$433,256
Winning Freedomsupports Gingrich $170,135Conservative$0
Rethink PACopposes Brown $156,000Liberal$626,736
Leaders for Familiessupports Santorum $135,468Conservative$150,050
Revolution PACsupports Paul $128,396Conservative$683,201
Communications Workers of America$107,000Liberal$920,971
Hoosiers for Economic Growth & Jobs$103,545$0
Conservative Action Fund$103,159Conservative$86,771
Cooperative of American Physicians$102,184$2,470,364
Americans for a Better Tomorrow,Tomorrow$79,493$1,077,777
New Prosperity Foundation$52,888Conservative$236,953
YG Action Fundsupports Cantor $52,000Conservative$255,000
Indiana Values Super PAC$51,694$10,000
Strength & Liberty PAC$50,000$0
Conservatives for Freedom$31,500Conservative$33,500
Keep Conservatives Unitedsupports Bachmann $22,380Conservative$27,162
Lantern Project$20,435Liberal$26,805
Suburban Voters for Choice$18,900$0
Independent Source$18,805Liberal$102,025
DGA Action$14,344Liberal$226,141
Saving Florida's Future$12,234Liberal$135,661
1911 Unitedsupports Obama $8,660Liberal$46,095
Strong Utahsupports Hatch $8,000Conservative$11,250
Sam vs the Machine$6,114$0
Turn Right USA$5,792Conservative$420
United Mine Workers of America Power PAC$4,782Liberal$0
Raising Red$2,125Conservative$206,435
Matthew 25 Network$1,100Liberal$0
America for the People$737$780
Tea Party Fund$400Conservative$4,134
Texas Aggies for Perry 2012supports Perry $0Conservative$0
Brady Bunch PAC$0Liberal$0
Legislating Effective American Democracy$0$0
ABO 2012 Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Ron Paul Volunteerssupports Paul $0Conservative$0
New Independent Party$0$0
Liberty Action PAC$0$0
American Sunrise$0Liberal$0
Protecting Our Vote$0Liberal$0
Patriot Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Citizens Fireup Super PAC$0$0
Fund for Freedom$0$0
Building a Better Bluegrass$0$0
Hispanic Vote$0Conservative$0
Civitas$0$0
Occupy Politics$0Liberal$0
American LP$0Liberal$0
The Internet$0$0
A SuperPAC for Hire$0$0
California for Integrity in Government$0$0
Citizens for Prosperity & Good Governmen$0$0
Better Tomorrow$0$0
FFP PAC$0$0
Bucket Tea Party$0Liberal$0
Friends for Democracy in Libya$0$0
Patriots for a Better Tomorrow$0$0
Pride PAC$0Liberal$0
Christians for a Change$0$0
Blyth Americasupports Blyth $0$0
A Congress That Works$0$0
Central Pennsylvania Republican Council$0Conservative$0
Congressional Elections PAC$0Conservative$0
American Values Coalition$0Liberal$0
Protect America Today$0Conservative$0
Michigan Jobs Alliance$0$0
Moving Arizona Forward$0Liberal$0
Occupy Wall Street PAC$0Liberal$0
Navajo Natani$0$0
Americans for More Rhombus$0$0
Defending Libertysupports Paul $0Conservative$0
United States for Everyone$0Conservative$0
Gulfstream America Super PAC$0$0
Live Free or Die PAC$0$0
National Security for America$0$0
Tea Party Express Presidential Campaign$0Conservative$0
Men Against Prostitution & Trafficking$0$0
Reaching Stars - Securing Our Future$0$0
Real Street Conservatives PAC$0$0
We Are the 99% Movement$0Liberal$0
Citizens Against Super PACs$0$0
Family Faith Future$0Liberal$0
Citizens for a Better Kansas$0$0
Joe Six PAC$0$0
TTBO Super PAC$0$0
Texas Conservatives Fundsupports Dewhurst $0Conservative$0
Citizens for Justice$0$0
Conservative Renewal$0Conservative$0
Damian Palmer & Jack Pilgrim for a Bette$0$0
Jobs, Opportunity & Freedom PAC$0$0
EMPOWERWI.ORG$0$0
EMPOWERNE.ORG$0$0
Res Publica$0$0
Americans for Accountability in Leadersh$0$0
The Anti-Corruption Revolution SuperPac$0$0
Liberty Principles PAC$0$0
America for Americans$0$0
Hoosiers United and Strong PACsupports Bates Jr $0Conservative$0
Americans Wanting Truth in Politics$0Conservative$0
Why Not ZoidPAC?$0$0
Liberty for All Super PAC$0$0
Proper Role of Government Action Fund$0$0
Coastal Florida's Future PAC$0$0
Unity 2012$0Liberal$0
Restoring America Project$0$0
Citizens for Good Government$0$0
People for Creating Sustainable Jobs in $0$0
Young Democrats of America$0Liberal$0
Restoring America$0$0
Veterans for Liberty Super PACsupports Paul $0Conservative$0
Grassroots for Libertysupports Paul $0Conservative$0
Independence Virginia PAC$0Conservative$0
Citizens for Conservative Leadership$0Conservative$0
Inland Empire Taxpayers for Jobs$0$0
American Values$0Liberal$0
I Ride Inside - The Pets Against Romney opposes Romney $0Liberal$0
Dogs Against Romneyopposes Romney $0Liberal$0
We the People for a Constitutional Ameri$0$0
Accomplish Our Missionsupports Romney $0Conservative$0
Now or Never PAC$0$0
Freedom Fund for America's Future$0$0
Parents Against Child Access to Pornogra$0$0
Central Valley PAC$0$0
Voice of Freedom Super PAC$0Conservative$0
We Believe USA$0$0
The Wednesday Morning Conservatives$0Conservative$0
Neutralizing Force$0$0
Peeps PAC$0$0
Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Yesterd$0$0
DogPACopposes Romney $0Liberal$0
Thank You Citizen's United! Super PAC$0$0
A Better Congress PACsupports Herrera $0Liberal$0
Friends of Traditional Banking$0$0
Mitt is Mean-The Animal Lovers Against Ropposes Romney $0Liberal$0
Democracy Stewards Super PAC$0$0
Bluegrass Votes Super PAC$0$0
Freedom PAC$0$0
Freedom Pioneers Action Network$0Conservative$0
Prosperity First$0$0
UTE PAC$0$0
COMMITTEE FOR THE RE-ELECTION OF THE PRE$0$0
LETOURPRESIDENTLEAD.COM$0$0
GRASSROOTS ACTION POLITICAL ACTION COMMI$0$0
USA SUPER PAC$0$0
Pro-Life Super PAC$0Conservative$0
The People's SuperPAC$0$0
Citizens Against the Peripheral Canal/Ot$0$0
Americans for Growth, Opportunity and Pr$0$0
Twelve Is Enough Super PAC$0$0
Just Drink the Koolaid$0$0
American Promise PAC$0$0
Citizens Benighted PAC$0$0
Putting America First$0$0
EMPOWERMN.ORG$0$0
Freedom of Web$0$0
Vietnamese American PAC$0$0
Carpenter's Dist. Council/KC & Vicinity$0Liberal$0
Texas Strategic Alliance PACsupports Romney $0Conservative$0
Texans for Action PAC$0$0
Arizona for Liberty$0$0
Environmental Action$0$0
New Virginia PAC$0$0
Students Winning American Government$0$0
American Latino Alliance$0$0
National Right to Life Victory Fund$0Conservative$0
Freedom Trail Action Network$0Conservative$0
Freedom Plains Action Network$0Conservative$0
Taxpayer Network$0$0
Advancing Manufacturing & Industry in Am$0$0
Protect Alaska's Future$0$0
Republican Truth Squadsupports Romney $0Conservative$0
2010 Leadership Council$0Liberal$0
50 State Strategy$0Liberal$1,695
A Promise to Our Children$0Conservative$325
Accountability 2010$0Liberal$598
Action 4 Liberty$0Conservative$0
AFL-CIO Workers' Voices PAC$0Liberal$3,706,497
Alaskans Standing Together$0Conservative$8,337
Alliance to Protect Taxpayers$0Liberal$0
America Get Up$0Conservative$31,720
America Votes Action Fund$0Liberal$927,135
America's Families First Action Fund$0Liberal$160,373
America's Next Generation$0$36,708
America's President Committee$0Conservative$124,343
America's Super Alliance PAC$0$0
American Bridge 21st Century$0Liberal$3,729,559
American Citizens of Modest Means$0$0
American Conservative Union$0Conservative$4,556
American Crosswinds$0$0
American Dental Assn$0$18
American Freedom & Growth$0$0
American Legacy Alliance$0Conservative$2,226
American Pheonix Super PAC$0$0
American Working Familiessupports Warren $0Liberal$292
Americans for a Better Tomorrow Today$0Liberal$1,080
Americans for a Better Way Forward$0$100,000
Americans for New Leadership$0Conservative$18,113
Arizonans Working Together$0Conservative$0
Article II Super PAC$0Conservative$4,321
Blue America PAC$0Liberal$2,084
Cain Connections PACsupports Cain $0Conservative$50,000
California Association of Physician Grou$0$40,000
Campaign for American Values$0Conservative$423,100
CARMEN'S List$0Liberal$5,228
CAs for Fiscally Conservative Leadership$0Conservative$1
CatholicVote.org Candidate Fund$0Conservative$100
CAUSE PAC$0Liberal$1,540
Chase Bank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Christians United$0$0
Christine PAC$0Conservative$299,362
Citizens Alliance for Better Candidates$0$0
Citizens for Economic & Natl Security$0Conservative$1
Citizens for Strength & Security$0Liberal$74,944
Citizens Protest Non Profit$0Liberal$35,815
Citizens United$0Conservative$6,577
Club for Growth Advocacy$0Conservative$0
Cmte to Elect Effective Valley Congressmsupports Berman $0Liberal$1,000
Cmte for a New Start in the Right Direct$0$0
Coalition for American Values$0Conservative$50,000
Coalition to Protect American Values$0Conservative$0
Concerned Taxpayers of America$0Conservative$0
Congressional Leadership Fund$0Conservative$130,604
Conservative National Committee$0Conservative$100
Conservative Victory$0Conservative$0
Conservatives for Truth$0Conservative$627
CREDO Super PAC$0Liberal$567,690
Downtown for Democracy$0Liberal$3,498
Draft Christie For President$0Conservative$5,680
Economic Innovation Action Fund$0Liberal$210,000
Economic Strategy Group$0$0
Efficient America$0Liberal$555
Emergency Cmte for Israel$0Conservative$18,278
Ending Spending Fund$0Conservative$0
Environment Colorado Action Cmte$0Liberal$2,500
Faith Family Freedom Fund$0Conservative$222,219
Bank of America Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Feel the Heat PAC$0$0
Florida Freedom & Growth$0Conservative$0
Florida Is Not for Sale$0Liberal$0
Frack Action USA$0$0
Freedom & Liberty PACsupports Johnson $0Conservative$0
Freedom Born$0$100
Freedom Frontier Action Fund$0Conservative$100
Freedom Path Action Network$0Conservative$100
Friends for a Democratic White House$0Liberal$0
Global Diaspora PAC$0$0
Government Integrity Fund$0$0
Grow PAC$0Conservative$21,497
Heartland Revolution Citizens Fund$0Liberal$63,680
Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes$0Liberal$0
indyamericans.comopposes Perry $0Liberal$1,813
JAN PAC$0$21,912
Jobs for Floridasupports Perry $0Conservative$0
Jobs For Iowasupports Perry $0Conservative$136,000
Jobs for South Carolinasupports Perry $0Conservative$0
LA Forward$0$5,000
Social Security Administration Employees$0Conservative$0
League of Conservation Voters$0Liberal$160,672
Let Freedom Ring America PAC$0Conservative$11,000
Lincoln Club of Orange County IE Cmte$0Conservative$0
Louisiana Truth PAC$0Liberal$15,250
Lunch Pail Republicans Indep Expenditure$0Conservative$100,000
Majority Action$0Liberal$32
Middle Resolution$0Conservative$404,075
My America$0$36,410
National Assn of Realtors$0$844
National Republican Women's Cmte$0Conservative$4,709
Natl Nurses United 4 Patient Protection$0Liberal$0
NEA Advocacy Fund$0Liberal$510,951
New Hope PAC$0$0
New House Independent Expenditure Cmte$0$0
New Power PAC$0Liberal$18,572
No 2 Sides PAC$0$0
No Mercy PAC$0Conservative$365
Ohio State Tea Party$0Conservative$0
Ohioans for Opportunity$0Liberal$52,490
Our Future Ohio PAC$0Liberal$5,075
Our Voice$0Conservative$65,350
Parents for a Brighter Future$0$302
Partnership for America's Future$0Conservative$0
Patriot Majority PAC$0Liberal$10,947
Patriots Fund$0Conservative$20,500
Peach Tea PAC$0$551
People's Majority$0Conservative$0
Planned Parenthood Votes$0Liberal$1,053,519
Playoff PAC$0$16,157
President Downgrade$0$312
Progressive Kick$0Liberal$211,090
ProgressOhio$0Liberal$0
Protecting America's Retirees$0Liberal$6,153
Protecting Choice in California 2010$0Liberal$2,348
PURO PAC$0$222,933
Real Leader PAC$0$250,000
Rebuilding Americasupports Berman $0Liberal$20,000
Remove Weiner Support Ulrich$0Conservative$0
Renew Delawareopposes Carper $0Conservative$50,000
Republican Governors Assn Ohio$0Conservative$183,096
Republican Presidenital Elections Victor$0Conservative$0
Republican Super PAC$0Conservative$1,500
Restart Congress$0Conservative$0
Restore America's Voice PAC$0Conservative$31,278
Restore Our America$0Conservative$20,679
Restore Trust PAC$0$0
Secure Arizona PAC$0$100
Sierra Club Independent Action$0Liberal$0
Small Business Political Alliance$0Conservative$0
Solutions 2012supports Gingrich $0Conservative$64,107
Speak Out For America$0Conservative$19,171
SpeechNow.org$0Conservative$8,539
Spirit of America Solutions$0Conservative$0
Stop Public Unions Now$0Conservative$31,609
Students, Mothers & Concerned Citizens$0$31,201
Super PAC for America$0Conservative$789,225
TEA PAC$0Conservative$100
Texans for America's Futureopposes Perry $0Conservative$125,000
Texas Tea Party Patriots PAC$0Conservative$305,418
The American Worker$0Liberal$112,713
Triple Crown Project$0$10,000
Trust In Small Business$0Conservative$64,149
United Food & Commercial Workers Advcy$0Liberal$0
Yale University Grads Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Hillary Clinton For A Better America Sup$0Conservative$0
Bill Clinton for a Better America Super $0Conservative$0
Alaska Natives Tribe Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Bloomingdale's Depart Store Customers Su$0Conservative$0
MLB Sports Players Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Regions Bank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
USAID Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Billionaires Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Harvard University Graduates Super PAC$0Conservative$0
State Farm Insurance Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept of Commerce Employees$0Conservative$0
United Nations Diplomats Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Sears Department Store Customers Super P$0Conservative$0
Dick Cheney for a Better America Super P$0Conservative$0
American Indians Tribe Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Republican 2012 Presidential Candidates $0Conservative$0
United States Dept of Defense Employees $0Conservative$0
General Motors Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
AIG Insurance Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Treasury Employees Super P$0Conservative$0
Amtrust Bank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept of Justice Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept of Energy Employees S$0Conservative$0
Allstate Insurance Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States HUD Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Wells Fargo Bank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Marriott Hotel Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
American Airlines Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Fidelity Investments Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Costco Store Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
George W Bush For A Better America Super$0Conservative$0
United States Dept Of Health Employees S$0Conservative$0
Native Americans Tribe Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Wal-Mart Stores Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Macy's Department Store Customers Super $0Conservative$0
Citibank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept of State Employees Su$0Conservative$0
United States DOT Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Federal Reserve Bank Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
JC Penny Department Store Customers Supe$0Conservative$0
IRS Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Democratic Presidential Elections Victor$0Conservative$0
USCIS Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept Of Labor Employees Su$0Conservative$0
United States Dept of Interior Employees$0Conservative$0
Goldman Sachs Group Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
NBA Sport Players Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Westgate Resorts Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
NFL Sport Players Super PAC$0Conservative$0
American Red Cross Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
USDA Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States Dept Of Ed Employees Super$0Conservative$0
Suntrust Bank Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
United States DHS Employees Super PAC$0Conservative$0
Hilton Hotel Customers Super PAC$0Conservative$0
US Israel Friendship PAC$0Liberal$0
United States Transportation Technology $0$0
Valley-Israel Alliancesupports Berman $0Liberal$2,605
Veterans for Rick Perrysupports Perry $0Conservative$16,625
Virginia Tea Party Alliance$0Conservative$0
Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy$0Conservative$442
Voters for Common Sense$0$0
Voters for Justice$0Liberal$20,510
We Love USA PAC$0Conservative$0
We're Not Going Back$0Liberal$0
West Hollywood/Bev Hills Stonewall Dems$0Liberal$0
WOLF PAC$0Liberal$52,241
Working for Us PAC$0Liberal$2,911
Working for Working Americans$0Liberal$0
Young Republicans for a Better Florida$0Conservative$2,105
Young Voters$0Conservative$0
Your America$0
Based on data released by the FEC on Monday, April 9, 2012 — Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center [Center for Responsive Politics.] http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/superpacs.php?cycle=2012

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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Monday, April 9, 2012

American education — BREAKDOWN continues


 Washington bloats war budget destroying millions abroad, destroying thousands at home by denying essential quality education 
Excerpt, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett
From recent article at World Socialist Web Site “U.S. Schools in Crisis”

“Pennsylvania’s Chester Upland school district is responsible for the education of nearly 7, 000 students in and around the working class city of Chester” and Chester Upland is in financial crisis [BREAKDOWN]. This school district hangs on month-to-month to meet expenses.

Two-party complicity in BREAKDOWN

School districts map
The crisis in the Chester public school system is an illustrative “episode of far-ranging attacks” waged by members of Democratic and Republican parties on U.S. public education.

Pennsylvania Governor Thomas (Tom) Corbett early in his tenure (2011- ) “pushed through $765 million in cuts to primary education and recently proposed an annual budget implementing another $422 million in cuts. Corbett also eliminated a funding formula that was designed to provide more state support to lower-income districts with little in the way of residential property tax revenue.

“Chester Upland might be only the beginning in a wave of public school closures in the state. Six other Pennsylvania school districts are reportedly on the edge of insolvency.

“The Obama government’s ‘Race to the Top’ initiative has intensified the attack on public education by implementing ‘turn around’ interventions targeting school districts like Chester Upland and introducing merit pay for teachers. …”

Public-private tear down, kick back

Chester Upland, as is the case with other U.S. school districts, “has been starved of funding by semi-private charter schools. Nearly half of Chester Upland’s students attend either the Chester Community Charter School (CCCS), considered to be a ‘nonprofit’ institution, or the much smaller Widener Partnership Charter School. …”

The public-private scheme involves “The Pennsylvania Department of Education [sending] a certain amount of per pupil funding to the school district, district officials then being expected to forward a share of that funding to the charter school, then the charter school’s paying its private management.…” Amidst Chester Upland’s budget crisis, Chester Community Charter School — further obstructing or sacrificing teaching and learning — filed “an injunction demanding $3.8 million in overdue funding from the district.”

Chester Community Charter School (CCCS) “is managed by Charter School Management, Inc., a private company” whose owner, Vahan Gureghian, “was the largest single donor to now Governor Thomas Corbett’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.”


Sources and notes

“Chester, Pennsylvania schools in crisis”  (Trent Novak), April 9, 2012,
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/ches-a09.shtml

Author Trent Novak recommended:
“Defend public education!” [February 22, 2012]; “Charter schools in the U.S.: Wall Street’s education model” [July 11, 2011]; “Obama administration continues assault on public education” [March 31, 2011]

U.S. politician Thomas W. (Tom) Corbett (b. June 17, 1949), a member of the Republican Party, has been Governor of Pennsylvania since 2011. One of his first actions as governor was the proposal of a new state budget that would decrease spending by 3 percent. The proposed budget received significant criticism due to its cuts in state-supported higher education by 50 percent.

Under the new budget, funding granted to the 14 universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and state-related universities Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple, and Lincoln would be cut in half, totaling $625 million.

Before the governorship, Corbett was the Attorney General of Pennsylvania (1995 to 1997), appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to fill the unexpired term of Ernie Preate following Preate’s indictment; then elected Attorney General (2004) and served from 2005 to 2011, assuming the governorship January 2011.


Corbett is a baccalaureate graduate of Lebanon Valley College, J.D. graduate of St. Mary’s University Law School, a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard 28th Infantry Division (1971-1984), a 9th grade teacher for one year and various positions between private practice and civil service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Corbett

Images
Pennsylvania Chester Upland School District, http://www.cusd.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=196275
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Chester+Upland+School+Of+The+Arts&view=detail&id=0EE57CCC31AEB4B04D8F02010A49CDB9545E7FC7&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR
“Chester-Upland School District, one of the poorest in the state, is rapidly running out of cash, and will not be able to make payroll unless the state fronts them $18.7 million in expected funding.”
PA map: http://www.map-of-usa.co.uk/images/pennsylvania.gif


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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Western-made Islam, a required state of ignorance, global violence against women


Tsunami of lies flooding context washes out road to clear understanding
Except, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett

From an essay by the author of The State of Islam:  Culture and Cold War Politics in Pakistan
Dr. Saadia Toor, Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work

“Globalization—defined as the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world at economic, political, and cultural levels—has intensified the dynamics of social change across the developing or postcolonial world.

“Such rapid and intense social change produces anxieties in the societies and communities experiencing this change, anxieties which feminist scholars have shown to result in greater regulation of women. This was just as true of Europe during the period of capitalist modernization in the 18th and 19th centuries as it was of colonized and decolonizing societies in the mid-20th century.…

Historical context (in brief)

“The British politicized religion during the course of their rule in the subcontinent [India/Pakistan], and religious discourse and identity became a crucial part of the anti-colonial struggle.

“During the Cold War, the United States found it expedient to use religious ideology to counter ‘God-less’ communism across the globe and followed a conscious strategy of funding and otherwise supporting the most virulent forms of political Islam across the Muslim world ….

“Although the well-read American may today make the connection to the proxy war with the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and 1980s when the United States and the Pakistani army created the mujahideen and consciously bolstered their ideology of jihad, this relationship actually went much further back, to the 1950s and 60s when the U.S. began to support the neo-fascist Jama’at-i-Islami of Abu Ala Maududi, which was geared towards producing Cold War propaganda about Godless communism. The JI, not surprisingly, grew significantly as an organization in this period, going from being marginal in national politics to being a serious political player under the martial law regime of General Ayub Khan (another American-supported dictator) in the 1960s. …
 
In a society defined by a history of disenfranchisement of the people by dictatorial regimes (with support of the United States), and under siege from joint pressures of a corrupt ruling class, a heavy debt burden, predatory and conspicuous consumption, and ongoing (neo-)colonial intervention, cultural identity becomes a contentious issue and — as is invariably the case regardless of the kind of state/society under question — women’s bodies become sites for these cultural politics and the class struggles they embody. 


The regulation of women and their sexuality becomes the key hegemonic move through which consent across social classes can be secured.…

“Issues related to women and gender in contemporary Muslim societies must be understood within the same framework.…

No shortcut to clear understanding

Caught in continuing war
Violence against Women in Iraq
Deutsche Welle image
“… There is no shortcut, no way around historically and socially contextual analysis that is simultaneously also implicitly or explicitly comparative—and that, too, not simply across ‘Muslim societies.’ There is need for analysis that begins with empirical reality and moves out towards generalization but a generalization that is not predetermined by a priori [presumptive] categories such as ‘Muslim nations’ and ‘Muslims societies.’

“This means acknowledging that — far from ‘unveiling’ the insidious workings of an actually-existing ‘thing’ called ‘Islam’ — current Western discourse actually actively constructs it and does so in order to legitimize certain political projects.  This is a discourse that is deeply ideological.”


Sources and notes

“Gender, Sexuality, and Islam under the Shadow of Empire” (Saadia Toor), The Scholar and Feminist (S&F) Online, Issue 9.3: Summer 2011: Religion and the Body, published by The Barnard Center for Research on Women, www.barnard.edu/sfonline,  http://barnard.edu/sfonline/religion/print_toor.htm

Dr. Saadia Toor is Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work at the College of Staten Island. Her scholarship centers on issues of culture, nationalism, gender/sexuality, state formation, and international political economy.

In addition to her latest book The State of Islam: Culture and Cold War Politics in Pakistan, she is author of Child Labor in Pakistan’s Export Industries. Forthcoming in Child Labor World
Atlas: a Reference Encyclopedia, edited by Hugh Hindman. Published by M. E. Sharpe.
“Moral Regulation in a Postcolonial Nation-State: Gender and the Politics of Islamization in Pakistan”. Special issue of Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, vol.9, issue 2 (July 2007), pp 255 – 275.

“A National Culture for Pakistan: The Political Economy of a Debate”. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies. v. 6, n. 3 (2005), pp. 318-340.

“Engendering Violence: Boundaries, Histories, and the Everyday”, introductory essay for special issue of Cultural Dynamics with S. Banerjee, A. Chatterji, L. Chaudhry, M. Desai and K. Visweswaran. Cultural Dynamics v.16 n 2-3, 2004. pp. 125-139. http://www.csi.cuny.edu/faculty/TOOR_SAADIA.html

Also: Dr. Saadia Toor appeared in the April 7, 2012, edition of Behind the News with Doug Henwood — a terrific interview.

Images

AlterNet, Pakistani women march during a rally on violence against women in Lahore in 2010,
http://www.alternet.org/rss/breaking_news/806808/pakistan_makes_domestic__violence_criminal_offence/
muslims‑against‑violence‑against‑women.jpg
womenmed.wordpress.com
Domestic violence afflicts women all over the world.
http://dayofthegirl.org/girls-issues/global-gender-based-violence/

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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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Saturday, April 7, 2012

Indigenous woman’s cautionary tale


Mi’kmaw regalia
  “Nothing can silence…”
Article by Mi’kmaw lawyer and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation, Dr. Pamela D. Palmater — Excerpt, minor edit by Carolyn Bennett 

“…I shiver at the thought of how we might unify ourselves into oblivion instead of protecting our inherent differences which make us who were are ….

“… Canada imposed these discriminatory laws and concepts on us — excluded our women, changed our leadership to be top down and male-dominated — but we have a choice.

“We can open our eyes and make the changes we want for our peoples. It won’t be easy; the government backlash might even seem intolerable at times but we have an obligation to give a voice back to our grassroots Indigenous peoples.

First Nation women
Our ancestors did not give up their lives so that a few hundred Indigenous peoples could speak for the rest of us. Every single Indigenous person in every Indigenous Nation deserves to be heard. They are entitled to express their pain and frustration at slow progress and entitled to be critical about the current political relationship that is simply not working. To do so, they do not need PhD’s or law degrees or official appointments as ‘critics’.

“Grassroots Indigenous peoples hold all the power and yet their views and critiques are often ignored or downplayed. We expect them to be there when our leaders call for a day of action or to stop a pipeline or halt mining — but how often do leaders take the time to listen to them?  What about all of our children trapped in the child welfare system, men and women caught in the prison system or lost on streets of major cities? How many of our leaders have visited a homeless shelter for Native men and heard their stories of pain, their desires to make their communities better?

“…Our grassroots get to see some of their leaders only from afar as they address government officials or corporate Canada at fancy dinners or speaking events.

“Over time, however, I have noticed many First Nations leaders’ coming to see the colonization project for the destructive force that it is. Some of the same chiefs who kicked me out of meetings when I was younger are now my good friends. I have also had the privilege of working with numerous First Nations communities and leaders on issues of critical importance to our peoples and have developed great working relationships. They have come to realize that we are on this journey together and all I am trying to do is help and to be part of the solution. Sadly, though, some on the national political scene remain unmoved (unmoving), still discounting the opinions of Indigenous women and grassroots peoples.
Dr. Pamela D. Palmater

“My best advice therefore to those seeking to deny my voice or to deny the voices of other grassroots Indigenous peoples is that you can cease the insults, taunts, cowardly sideswipes and threats — because the power of the people exists and the sooner you climb aboard, the faster we can get on with our resistance to Canada’s aggressive assimilatory attacks and together reassert our sovereignty.


Sources and notes

“Nothing can silence grassroots First Nations” (by Pamela Palmater), April 4, 2012, http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/pamela-palmater/2012/04/nothing-can-silence-grassroots-first-nations

Dr. Pamela D. Palmater is a Mi’kmaw lawyer and member of the Eel River Bar First Nation in New Brunswick.  She teaches Indigenous law, politics and governance at Ryerson University and heads their Centre for Indigenous Governance.

Distribution of
North American Peoples and Cultures
(Canada)
Her publications include:

Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity. Saskatoon: Purich Publishing Ltd., 2011.

Review of Beyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights, Tom Flanagan, Christopher Alcantara, and André Le Dressay. LRC: Literary Review of Canada 18:3 (April 2010): 6-7.

The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples’ Response to Canada’s Engagement Process Affecting Indian Registration and Band Membership (McIvor v. Canada). Ottawa: Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, November 2009.

“In My Brother’s Footsteps: Is R. v. Powley the Path to Recognized Aboriginal Identity for Non-Status Indians?” In J. Magnet and D. Dorey, ed., Aboriginal Rights Litigation, 149. Markham: LexisNexis, 2003.

“An Empty Shell of a Treaty Promise: R. v. Marshall and the Rights of Non-Status Indians” (2000) 23 Dal. L.J. 102, http://www.ryerson.ca/politics/facultyandstaff/bio_PamelaPalmater.htm

See also: http://www.nsmdc.ca/; http://www.nsmdc.ca/content/16921

Britannica note
New Brunswick, Canada
“Mi'kmaq,  also spelled  Micmac: the largest of the North American Indian tribes traditionally occupying what are now Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island) and parts of the present states of Maine and Massachusetts (USA). Because their Algonquian dialect differed greatly from that of their neighbors, it is thought that the Mi’kmaq settled the area later than other tribes in the region.”

Images
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Indigenous+Micmac+women,+First+Nations,+New+Brunswich+Canada&start=386&um=1&hl=en&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4RNQN_enUS478US478&biw=962&bih=526&tbm=isch&tbnid=JyXAmrgZzLCSFM:&imgrefurl=http://lyndon001.blogspot.com/2008/01/first-nations-of-canada-mikmaq.htm
http://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/news/news/images/20100331_pampalmater.jpg
Mi’kmaw regalia, http://www.native-dance.ca/index.php/Mi'kmaq/Traditional_Dances

Maps Britannica


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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy

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Thursday, April 5, 2012

Elite’s shameful distraction deepens disturbing status quo


Beware the Jackson-Sharpton (even Democracy Now!)-Left-Right-Center exploitation of the Trayvon Martin killing “to undermine and preempt,” in Joseph Kishore’s words, “any development of independent class consciousness, which poses a threat to the capitalist system”
Edited by Carolyn Bennett

Joseph Kishore’s thoughts posted today at World Socialist Web Site (wsws.org) seem spot on to me. This is an excerpt from that article.

Buttressing status quo

Figures like [Jesse] Jackson (net worth $10 million) and [Al] Sharpton (net worth $5 million) speak for a highly privileged social layer. A substantial group of black executives and politicians has emerged as a principle constituency for the Democratic Party — even as conditions for the vast majority of African Americans have worsened.

Their attempts to present racism as the ‘core’ of American society are false and reactionary. Racial inequalities exist and racism is promoted by sections of the ruling class. However, this is one particular expression of the fundamental division in society: class. Indeed, the most horrific levels of poverty and unemployment for black workers are to be found in cities overseen by black mayors, politicians, police chiefs and businessmen.

The crisis of capitalism cuts across the racial and identity politics that have been promoted for decades as a basis of ideological and social support for capitalist rule in the United States. Since the ghetto uprisings of the late 1960s in particular, the ruling class has sought to divide the working class while cultivating a small layer of African Americans and other minorities to police the cities and provide a new base of support for the status quo.

What lies under?
Unemployment and poverty, repression-driven inequality, paranoia-driven violence

Racial prejudice may have played a role in the killing of [Trayvon] Martin, who was African-American. The initial public reaction, however, did not focus on race, but rather on the gross injustice involved. As Martin’s mother, Sabrina Fulton, put it, ‘It’s not about black and white; it’s about right and wrong.’

The background to the killing of Martin is the promotion of law-and-order vigilantism and the passage of reactionary legislation like Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law. Police and prosecutors have cited this law in justifying their refusal to take action against [George] Zimmerman.

 At the same time, the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression contributes to immense tensions building up in American society, which find expression in different forms, including violent actions by disturbed individuals such as Zimmerman.

The year 2011 saw the eruption of major social struggles on a world scale that raised the fundamental issue of social inequality. Mass working class demonstrations and strikes in Egypt and other countries initially eclipsed religious and sectarian differences and focused on the basic questions of unemployment, poverty and political repression.


Sources and notes
“The killing of Trayvon Martin and racial politics in America,” April 5, 2012, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/apr2012/pers-a05.shtml

“Interview with Joseph Kishore of the Socialist Equality Party (Posted On Tuesday, March 6, 2012 By Matt J. Stannard. Under Context2012), http://politicalcontext.org/blog/2012/03/interview-with-joseph-kishore-of-the-socialist-equality-party/

WSWS.org is the voice of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), a pro-Fourth International Marxist group with affiliates in several countries. The predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party was the Workers League. The Workers League initiated the process of transformation into the SEP in 1995. The founding congress of the SEP was held in 2008. In the United States headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, the SEP National Chairman is David North and its National Secretary is Joseph Kishore. 

IMAGES
JACKSON/Sharpton image: http://www.sodahead.com/
Race bludgeon image: http://www.lloydmarcus.com/


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Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy