http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/02/17/69091/pta-asks-parent-teacher-alliance-a-charter-school/
We are constantly told that charter schools are a huge hit with parents, but the California Charter School Association apparently feels it must deceive parents.
In the current Los Angeles school board election, the CCSA created a group called the “Parent-Teacher Alliance” to campaign for pro-charter candidates. Sounds suspiciously like the nonpartisan PTA.
Now the National Parent teacher Association is suing the “Parent Teacher Alliance” to demand that they stop using a name so similar to their own.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2017/02/17/69091/pta-asks-parent-teacher-alliance-a-charter-school/
“In the midst of a contentious race for Los Angeles Unified School Board, some voters have gotten knocks at their door from pro-charter school canvassers introducing themselves as “volunteers with the Parent Teacher Alliance.”
“They’re not volunteers for the well-known parent-run school fundraising organization, but for a group funded by the political affiliate of the California Charter Schools Association. The Parent Teacher Alliance has already spent $550,000 on advertising, phone banking and door-knocking in hopes of influencing the L.A. Unified race.
“Leaders of the California Parent Teacher Association – the aforementioned parent-run school fundraising organization – want them to find another name.
“This week, leaders of the National Parent Teacher Association sent a cease-and-desist letter to the charter association’s political arm, CCSA Advocates, saying the use of “Parent Teacher Alliance” in political advertising is muddying the PTA’s non-partisan brand.
“The letter accuses CCSA Advocates of “false advertising and deceptive practices,” according to a written statement from National PTA president Laura Bay.
“It’s the second time the Parent Teacher Association has made such a request.
“In the 2016 statewide primary elections, the Parent Teacher Alliance PAC and other pro-charter groups were huge sources of outside spending in legislative races. After the June vote, leaders of the National Parent Teacher Association sent their first cease-and-desist letter to CCSA, noting the national group holds trademarks on both their name and the “PTA” acronym.”
Why deceive voters?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
This is a well honed strategy of deception in California, and elsewhere. Sometimes the letterhead of the “other” organization is copied with a minor modification. My brother encountered this on a California proposition that was pending and again on a local school board contest. That was over 40 year ago. Now these copy-cat ventures are propogated as re-branding strategies.
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Yes, Laura, this is a clever and very purposeful form of deception, and the door knocking is generally done in inner city areas which have been targeted by Great Public Schools Now, Eli Broad’s group, to take over 50% of LAUSD.
With Billionaire cash they have endless clout and can hire the best PR and law firms, and donate vast amounts to school board candidates.
What they say is all smoke and mirror promises. Parent Revolution flacks are partners in all of this deception.
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Why else would Eli Broad give so much money to the LA Times? Why else would he try to buy the LA Times? His lies are of the greatest magnitude, and he wants to propagate them with the highest volume.
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It’s not called deception and lies, it’s called advertising and marketing, and it’s just the way that commercial entities have always operated. Why? Because they can. They have the scale of budgets that social institutions can never afford, and no expense on PR (public reprogramming) is too great so long as it can be used to harvest more profits.
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Decption and lies ala advertising and marketing seems to be the “American” way these days, Jon.
We need to “name” the propaganda techniques being used on us every single day of our lives in the name of profits for the few.
Homework assignment: Notice the propaganda techniques being used on you as you watch TV and read magazines, as well as other print and non print “stuff.”
With drumph, it’s easy. He’s one big propaganda machine.
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There is a simple answer to Diane’s question and that is because “they can”. CCSA used the same “PTA” logo two years ago in the last LAUSD board election. Apparently, they got away with it. Even if they were caught for ethics violations, it would only force CCSA to pay a fine. Well, with all their money, I would bet that fine would be considered a good investment. After all, as we have witnessed with Trump, lies and misrepresentations are very difficult to undo after the fact.
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There is a secessionist movement in California. If the state were to leave the union, many Americans would be glad to see them go.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-california-secession-calexit-htmlstory.html
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Charles, you are right. California doesn’t belong in Trump world. Too much creativity, innovation, and respect for diversity to tolerate life under an ignorant fool
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And last year, California surpassed France and is now the sixth largest economy in the world.
http://fortune.com/2016/06/17/california-france-6th-largest-economy/
I suspect that the rest of the country would ultimately wind up regretting it if California would ever secede, way, way more than Californians would.
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And if Calexit we will take all our huge industries like Silicon Valley and Venice Google, the entire entertainment industry, all our superb world class universities, the entire countries produce industry (no more broccoli and wine for the 49), our hospitals, our ball teams both basket and foot, our golf courses, our world class museums and music centers…and gee, we will gladly take all our undocumented workers who keep so much of this running…and we will take all our Dems and our Dem legislators. Bye bye, 49.
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…forgot…and then we will vet the hell out of every one who wants to cross our border to lie in our sun.
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..and swim, sail, surf, and yes, even parasail.
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CCSA and the malignant narcissist in the White House have two obvious things in common, lies and greed, and the greed drives the lies.
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Maurice Cunningham describes them in this article: “Dark Money: A Threat That Keeps Perverting Our Political System
Maurice Cunningham
If there is one lesson the public has learned during election 2016, it’s that the mainstream media is more or less content to leave the forces that traffic in Dark Money undisturbed. With the 2018 campaign cycle just around the corner, political committees are already filing their papers with the Office of Campaign and Political Finance. Here’s a handful of Dark Money committees, and what I’ve discovered about them.
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Link to Maurice’s full article/blog page…http://blogs.wgbh.org/masspoliticsprofs/2016/11/1/dark-money-threat-keeps-perverting-our-political-system/
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