In Oklahoma, the public schools are under-funded, and teachers are buying their own supplies in many schools. Last fall, a number of teachers ran for legislative seats. Needless to say, none of them was lavishly funded. But their opponents had the backing of Betsy DeVos’ American Federation for Children. How AFC can be “for” children when they oppose funding their schools and paying their teachers a decent salary is a mystery.
Oklahoma Watch reports that DeVos’ AFC PAC contributed at least $180,000 to defeat teachers running for the legislature.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
OMG. Diane, seems like we are living in THE AGE of CORPORATIONS. Big money and congress go hand-in-hand more than ever before.
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“Citizens United”
When Citizens united
The billionaires and pols
Our fate was then decided
We’d have to pay the trolls
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“Trolling for Dollars”
The trolls are waiting under bridge
To pounce upon the passing kids
Disguised as Broads and Billy Goats (sp?)
With candy and with diet Kochs
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You are amazing. Thanks for these gems.
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Because she’s anti-public schools. This would be a better debate if she’d just admit it. There’s nothing really “wrong” with being ideologically opposed to public schools. It’s an opinion. There IS something wrong with telling the public you’re an “agnostic” when that is demonstrably and clearly not true.
Show me something Betsy DeVos did for a public school, anywhere, in 30 years. I can go on and on with her advocacy and political donations to promote charters and vouchers.
I got news for her. She’s not an “agnostic”. Why won’t she debate privatizing public schools? Because 90% of kids attend public schools and despite best efforts of this “movement” many, many Americans both attended public schools and support their local schools? That’s a political problem and it has nothing to do with students. I’m not interested in her political problems.
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“Antagonisticism”
Not agnostic
Antagonistic
View is caustic
And sadistic
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” She’s not an “agnostic”.”
No, she is not. She is a prevaricating, disseminating xtian dominionist fundamentalist whose ultimate goal is to have mandatory for all children tax supported xtian madrassas to instill her brand of extianity*.
*extianity (n.) Pseudo Christian faith beliefs that even the gentle man who was known as Jesus Christ, were he alive today, would reject.
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I went to a school meeting last night. Very interesting, the difference between the ed reform narrative nationally and the story locally.
They say their biggest problem is the constantly shifting standards and directives in Ohio. This is an extremely reasonable request. They aren’t even asking to be consulted on ed reform. They’re simply asking that it not CHANGE every month because that is CHAOS and despite the slogans of the “disruptors” chaos is bad for children.
So when DeVos goes out and stumps for her privatization revolution be aware that she is ignoring the reasonable requests of public schools that they be given at least a fighting chance of succeeding at whatever fads and gimmicks are fashionable this year.
You know, we were scolded that public schools should “welcome” DeVos as if we have a duty to persuade the secretary that public schools have value. That’s backward. She’s supposed to add value. We don’t work for her. She works for us.
The way this is supposed to work is she asks public schools how she can add value. They don’t make their case to her. She makes hers to them. We’re not supplicants begging for favors. We should stop behaving as if we are.
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C, Have you phoned/contacted Ed Dept w requests for public schools? What type of response did you get?
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“That’s backward. She’s supposed to add value. We don’t work for her. She works for us.”
Exactly, Chiara. Well stated!!
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Why are voters so stupid that they can’t realize/find out who’s backing these POS candidates and vote against them?
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The voters in our big-city disrict which has now seated a full pro-reform school board have been dazzled with advertising (TV commercials, doorhangers, newspaper ads, slick mailings) which always promotes pro-reform candidates as being physically involved with kids, especially non-dominant-culture kids. It is the lie which sells, over and over.
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Big Lies work for a time.
Eventually people catch on.
You just have to keep saying, “Lies, lies,lies,lies.”
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Oh, I wish I could say that Denver is catching on…but there’s so little sign of it. (Did you happen to see that both Jarad Polis and Michael Johnston have joined the list of those likely running for governor?)
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I think we also have to keep asking the question: Who do they think is running the show? Our elected officials, in their constituents’ name, or a bunch of wealthy people, in THEIR name ONLY? Remember the Romney speech that was captured on film by a restaurant worker. The substance of that speech, or its audience and their bad intentions, didn’t go away.
Look at Paul Ryan, for example–he exists in the Ayn Rand echo chamber and is too stupid to see, for instance, that most of the country doesn’t want to give up their health care. Good grief . . . would he?
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Here is a new and timely book to consider: The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America, One State at a Time. by Gordon Lafer
On Tuesday, April 4 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, the Economic Policy Institute will host Gordon Lafer as he presents his new book, The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America, One State at a Time. In The One Percent Solution, Lafer traces the workings of the country’s largest corporate lobbies as they have promoted anti-union and anti-worker legislation across all fifty states legislatures in the years since Citizens United. Lafer shows how corporate strategies have been shaped by twenty-first-century conditions—including globalization, economic decline, and the populism reflected in the 2016 presidential election—and how the corporate agenda is coming to endanger the scope of democracy itself.
Joining Lafer in discussing how progressives are pushing back on corporate-financed efforts to shape labor and economic policies on the state level is U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, Dianne Stewart of the Economic Policy Institute and Christian Dorsey, Board Supervisor for Arlington County, VA.
This event is free and open to the public. Your RSVP will help us prepare.
Tuesday, April 4th at 10:30 a.m. Eastern
Gordon Lafer, author of The One Percent Solution
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
Dianne Stewart, Economic Policy Institute
Christian Dorsey, Board Supervisor, Arlington County, VA
http://www.epi.org/event/the-one-percent-solution-how-corporations-are-remaking-america-one-state-at-a-time/?utm_source=Economic+Policy+Institute&utm_campaign=dfea5d83a3-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_03_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e7c5826c50-dfea5d83a3-58683765&mc_cid=dfea5d83a3&mc_eid=09afd82598
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I know John King isn’t popular on this site and I’m not in NY so maybe I don’t know enough, but I have to say between Duncan, King and DeVos I’d take King in a heartbeat.
He seemed solid in a way none of these other people do. Not a zealot. Not a wholly political animal. It’s a shame Obama didn’t pick him first. Public schools might be in better shape and the former President might have a better legacy on education.
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“Standard Setters”
You know the bar is low
When lowest point on earth
Is where you need to go
To gauge the standard’s worth
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“Not a zealot. ”
He’s got you fooled, Chiara.
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King is the guy who set out on a stump trail to sell his boss Duncan’s policies in NYS & gave up barely 2 stops up the Hudson Valley because he couldn’t hack listening to/ discussing issues w/folks on the ground. He is a rigid ideologue. He’s also the guy that as acting secy D of Ed (replacing Duncan) hurriedly rounded up a host of ESSA ‘implementation regs’ designed to re-write ESSA back into NCLB/RTTT w/all their worst features. Thank god the new admin quashed them in toto. The only thing the Trump admin has done I agree with.
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DeVos is not different from other billionaires, including Donald Trump, who expects a return on the investment of their dollars, whether that is for a school board election or the spectacular offering of a bribe to members of Congress from the Koch empire, in this case to kill the Trump/Ryan health care plan…yep…kill it. Koch network spending millions to stop GOP health care bill …
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“Koch-care”
The plan from brothers Koch
Is smother them with smoke
And charge ’em when they choke
Until they’re dead and broke
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It is called “Free Speech”. See US Constitution, First Amendment. Also see Buckley v. Valeo 1975 https://www.oyez.org/cases/1975/75-436
Individuals (and PACS) are permitted to support candidates with financial contributions.
Are there any other freedoms and rights that you are opposed to?
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Some animals are more worthy than others on the farm, eh, Chas!
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I do not get your comment. Freedom of Speech is the same for all people. This includes people with whom you disagree. The Supreme Court ruled in Buckley v. Valeo, that arbitrary limits on free speech were unconstitutional.
The solution to speech with which you disagree, is more speech.
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No, freedom of speech is not the same for all people when it comes to campaigning and the costs of that speech. Only a few have the wealth to buy the speech venues, which in essence gives them “more” freedom of speech than the rest of us peeons. While the courts don’t see it that way, they also saw separate but equal fine for many decades before realizing their mistake. I can only hope that over time, more likely than not after you and I are gone the Supreme Court will see it’s mistake in originally granting corporations “personhood” and thereby granting them and their owners more free speech than the rest of us.
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Gates gives $2.2 mil. to the Center for American Progress, while remaining the richest man in America (largely due to extended patent protections and underpaying employees, through a rigged political system). To get the same seat at the table, 1.1 mil. people can ante up $20 each, foregoing their weekly treat, of a McDonald’s meal.
Charles, keep peddling your false equivalencies, at the peril of your soul and humanity.
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Madame Devos = BEE-ATCH…
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To Charles:
Here is what you wrote:
“Charles
March 23, 2017 at 12:45 pm
Individuals (and PACS) are permitted to support candidates with financial contributions.”
Please read these links:
1) http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/27/the-reclusive-hedge-fund-tycoon-behind-the-trump-presidency?mbid=social_twitter
2) http://www.npr.org/2017/03/22/521083950/inside-the-wealthy-family-that-has-been-funding-steve-bannon-s-plan-for-years
In short, those greedy corporate DID NOT support, BUT TRULY control candidates with their financial contributions in order to LOOT billions of dollars from 300+ millions tax payers’ fund of MANY YEARS AND MANY GENERATIONS’ contribution.
Please try to understand that these corporate are rich from exploitation from their workers’ wages, benefits and pension fund, Most of all, corporate buys legal system to have BIG TAX BREAK, EXEMPTION, and SUBSIDY FOR THEIR BAD INVESTMENT.
It is funny that you undermine the populace’s intelligence. However, it is sad that those movers’ and shakers’ IMMORALITY and GREED are the crucial factor to diminish humanity and American spirit of democracy. Back2basic
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