David Sirota, an author and talk-show host, here analyzes the election results and says they exposed the Big Lie of the corporate reform movement.
The public is not hankering to privatize their public schools.
The corporate leaders and rightwing establishment dropped millions of dollars to push their agenda of privatization, teacher-bashing and anti-unionism. They lost some major contests.
I will be posting more about some important local races they lost.
We have to do two things to beat them: get the word out to the public about who they are and what they want (read Sirota).
Two: never lose hope.
Those who fight to defend the commons against corporate raiders are on the right side of history.
Nothing they demand is right for children, nor does it improve education.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
The people I meet, even in education, are not aware at all of all this privatization (at least the scope) mess and threat. More needs to be done to get the word out without seeming whiny.
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You’re right – most people aren’t aware. Even most of the supposedly “liberal” news sources like Salon, The Nation, Mother Jones, etc. rarely look into educational issues. Sirota is up on things because his wife ran for a school board position and was blindsided by well-funded opposition. He did a good job of following the money and drawing conclusions.
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I’m open to suggestions. My letters to Congressional reps are acknowledged with a generic thank you for writing. We need some specifics and some solid talking points like the pirating privateers and Rheeists have. And then we need to pound it in repeatedly – ad nauseum. I’m glad Sirota is on the case. He has a platform. I’m curious about the type and kind of comments that may follow. Should be interesting.
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Alright David – Call it like you see it. Now, how can we get others to see it for what it is?
“The media barely noticed, but voters in three states rejected the profit-driven fraud that is education “reform”
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I’ve been writing letters to the editor about education lately. Here’s my most recent one:
http://www.rrstar.com/communitycontent/x1582302487/Letter-AYP-benchmarks-not-reasonable-beneficial-for-schools
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there are 2 kinds of “HOPE” (gag) I see out here in Wishy-Warshy, Pacified Northwest. The first is that we have a couple of outstanding blogs* following these liars, and, lots of other citizens who won’t genuflect at The Great Gate$ when they’re told. The 2nd set of “HOPE” (gag) stems from the fact that while my WEA / NEA union is staggeringly incompetent, except when they get a temp spine to sell us out, I do feel that the faster things go down the drain the faster more people might decide that they have to fight Gate$ and his yuppie sell out liars.
my union’s response to Gate$ charter initiative was worthy of the Mondale-Dukakis-Gore-Kerry Campaigns – and despite the yuppie liars outspending us normal people 17 to 1, or some such ridiculous thing, the charter bill is passing with appx. 45k votes out of 2.8 million.
How’s that for “HOPE” (gag)??
rmm
*google “Seattle Schools Community Forum” and “Seattle Education”
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