{"id":16195,"date":"2015-03-15T00:10:02","date_gmt":"2015-03-15T08:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=16195"},"modified":"2015-03-15T00:10:02","modified_gmt":"2015-03-15T08:10:02","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-preserve-the-vietnam-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-preserve-the-vietnam-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Preserve the Vietnam Syndrome."},"content":{"rendered":"

We Say Fight Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"ferguson-residents-protest-police-shooting-data\"<\/a>Anti-Racist Protests Continue in Ferguson, Madison\u00a0 <\/strong>Protesters gathered near the Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters and chanted slogans like “the whole damn system is guilty as hell” in what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration one night after two police officers were shot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators briefly blocked a road during the protest on Thursday night. About 100 protesters and 20 police officers were visible, NBC affiliate KSDK reported.\u00a0 www.nbcnews.com\/storyline\/michael-brown-shooting\/security-change-ferguson-after-2-police-officers-are-shot-n322491<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Marx<\/a>Seniors Vote for Prom-unism\u00a0 <\/strong>They\u2019re calling it \u201cprom-munism.\u201d\u00a0Seniors at an Albuquerque school want their prom to have a Communism theme.\u00a0Seniors at Cottonwood Classical Preparatory School near I-25 and Paseo del Norte voted online this week for the theme of their prom this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted prom-munism, so that\u2019s what got voted for the most,\u201d said senior Sarah Zachary.<\/p>\n

She voted for \u201cA Night in the Reef,\u201d because the prom is expected to take place at the Albuquerque Aquarium on April 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a lot of jokesters in our grade, so they wanted it to be funny and a lot of them are really intense with politics,\u201d Zachary said.<\/p>\n

However, students who asked to remain anonymous don\u2019t believe Communism is a joking matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hope Cottonwood would realize the seriousness of having a very powerful and destructive idea as the theme for a prom,\u201d one student wrote.<\/p>\n

Another said, \u201cWhile the seniors meant no harm in their choice of theme, it is not appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students are in the International Baccalaureate program, so they are very academically focused,\u201d said Sam Obenshain, executive director at Cottonwood. \u201cOne of the classes they enjoy the most is a world history class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obenshain said, despite the vote, this is not a done deal. He said he plans to talk with the students about it next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure we honor the students\u2019 voices but at the same time we use this as a learning experience for them,\u201d Obenshain said.<\/p>\n

At this point, he and many students aren\u2019t even quite sure what \u201cprom-munism\u201d is supposed to look like. krqe.com\/2015\/03\/05\/seniors-vote-for-communism-themed-prom\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Venezuela<\/a>Sydney demonstration against the empire<\/p>\n

UC Irvine Flag Ban Petition <\/strong>“We admire the courage of the resolution’s supporters amid this environment of political immaturity and threat, and support them unequivocally,”\u00a0 www.socjobrumors.com\/topic\/please-sign-this-in-support-of-uci-students<\/a><\/p>\n

Support Grows for UC Irvine ant-nationalists <\/strong>more than a week after the vote, students and faculty at UC Irvine are beginning to raise their voice over the angry condemnation of the students who created a national stir with their vote.\u00a0 A petition signed by hundreds from universities statewide said the aggressive and sometimes shrill response to the resolution embodies the exact aspects of nationalism the six had hoped to eliminate \u2014 racism, xenophobia and intimidation.\u00a0 www.latimes.com\/local\/education\/la-me-0313-uci-flag-20150313-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Buck<\/a>Detroit’s Buck Dinner, 2015\u00a0 www.buckdinner.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Maduro May Come to the US to Challenge Obamagogue <\/strong>Ridiculing the U.S. qualification of Venezuela as a security threat, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday he may travel to Washington to challenge American counterpart Barack Obama.<\/p>\n

“We demand, via all global diplomatic channels, that President Obama rectify and repeal the immoral decree declaring Venezuela a threat to the United States,” Maduro said.<\/p>\n

In the worst flare-up between the ideological enemies since Maduro took power in 2013, Washington earlier this week declared a “national emergency” over “the unusual and extraordinary threat” from Venezuela and sanctioned seven officials over allegations of rights abuses and corruption.<\/p>\n

The Maduro government has demanded evidence of how it threatens U.S. security.\u00a0 news.yahoo.com\/venezuelas-maduro-says-may-u-challenge-obama-022600069.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mexico<\/a>Families of Mexico’s 43 Missing Students in US <\/strong>Relatives of 43 students who disappeared last year in Guerrero, Mexico, are scheduled to visit Houston next week as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the case.<\/p>\n

“The purpose of this visit is for the Mexican government to know that they (the families) are getting support from other countries,” said Pamela Martinez<\/a>, spokeswoman of The People’s Assembly of Houston<\/a>, an organization created in November following a Houston rally about the disappearance of the students.<\/p>\n

Felipe de la Cruz Sandoval<\/a>,a representative of the group of relatives, said in a written statement: “It’s important that both residents and government leaders from other countries know the injustices (occurring) in Mexico.”<\/p>\n

In January, the Associated Press<\/a> reported that the Mexican attorney general had said investigators were certain that the 43 students of Teaching School<\/a> in Ayotzinapa missing since September were killed and incinerated after they were seized by police in southern Guerrero state.\u00a0 www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/houston\/article\/Families-of-the-43-missing-students-in-Mexico-6131056.php<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Revolution<\/a><\/p>\n

The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>Fat Bonus for Detroit Emergency Manager\u00a0 <\/strong>Detroit Public Schools’ third emergency manager left the job with something his predecessors did not: a hefty bonus from the state, totaling $50,000.<\/p>\n

The Michigan Department of Treasury gave Jack Martin the performance bonus in two payments \u2014 the first for $23,000 in 2013, and the second for $27,000, which went out around the time he stepped down in mid-January from his 18-month tenure. The total was the maximum amount outlined in his contract.<\/p>\n

“While there were no particular benchmarks (for the bonus pay), Martin worked to stabilize enrollment, restored numerous programs at the elementary and middle school levels, redesigned career tech programs and sold or leased numerous unused or vacant properties which generated millions of dollars for the district,” Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, wrote in an e-mail.\u00a0 www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/detroit\/2015\/03\/08\/state-gives-dps-emergency-manager-bonuses\/24612615\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Reactionary Eagle Forum easily joins Liberal-Nationalist Opt Out Movement <\/strong>Americans are waking up to how bad Common Core really is for education, but its nightmare does not go away quickly. Liberal education bureaucrats (\u201ceducrats\u201d) are now trying to enforce Common Core through the courts, with one lawsuit already filed in Oklahoma, and another likely in Louisiana.<\/p>\n

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In both states the governors tried to get rid of Common Core, but parents are shocked that it may return by court order as unelected educrats claim they have more power than the state legislature and the governor combined. The Oklahoma legislature approved a law to repeal Common Core and the governor signed it, but now its state board of education has filed a lawsuit to bring it back\u00a0 www.eagleforum.org\/publications\/column\/common-core-becomes-a-nightmare.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Detroit’s Renaissance High May Lose the Music Program <\/strong>A premier Detroit high school that attracts students from all over the metro area is in jeopardy of losing one its signature programs.<\/p>\n

Cuts to Detroit Public Schools are forcing schools districtwide to reduce staff. At Renaissance High School, that may mean the loss of its music program.<\/p>\n

Jody Childress, president of Renaissance\u2019s parent group, said school administrators informed her that district cuts will mean an end to the school\u2019s fine arts curriculum and could result in teachers having as many as 43 students per classroom this fall.<\/p>\n

Childress said she was told that the dance and band instructors retired<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/a> at the end of the last school year and will not be replaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re taking away scholarship opportunities,\u201d she told the Free Press Wednesday after the first day of new-student orientation at the high school on the city\u2019s west side. \u201cIt\u2019s terrible what they\u2019re doing to these schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Wasko, spokesman for Detroit Public Schools, confirmed that cuts are happening at several schools around the district, including Renaissance, much of which is related to new class-size and enrollment numbers, from which state revenue is determined. He said he did not have specific information on Renaissance readily available Wednesday afternoon.\u00a0 archive.freep.com\/article\/20140821\/NEWS01\/308210056\/Renaissance-High-School-teacher-cuts<\/a><\/p>\n

LAUSD Distributes 609 Layoff Notices (add in all those sub cutbacks) <\/strong>The Los Angeles Unified School District Board, facing a nearly $160 million budget deficit, will consider authorizing layoff warning notices for 609 teachers, counselors and social workers at its board meeting Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Included on the proposed list are more than 260 adult education<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/a> teachers, 59 counselors, dozens of foreign-language teachers and 63 psychiatric social workers.<\/p>\n

The board will also consider authorizing notices to \u201ccertificated administrators, confidential employees and supervisory employees,\u201d along with \u201call certificated and classified contract<\/span>\"\"<\/span><\/a> management employees with expiring contracts.\u201d\u00a0 losangeles.cbslocal.com\/2015\/03\/09\/facing-budget-deficit-lausd-to-consider-layoffs-for-609-employees\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Pearson Isn’t a Spy Agency, they’re just keeping track of property\u00a0 <\/strong>Bob Braun, an education blogger and former journalist, got ahold of a note from a school superintendent advising parents in the district that a student in NJ had tweeted outside of school hours about a PARCC test he had completed earlier when school was still in session.* (The exact contents of the tweet are unknown now.)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pearson, a multinational corporation which monitors its brand on Twitter for reputation defense and intellectual property rights violations, saw the tweet and contacted the New Jersey Department of Education which then reached out to the superintendent of the school district where the child attends. Pearson labeled this a \u201cPriority 1 alert\u201d breach of the confidential nature of the test\u2019s contents and the NJDOE instructed the superintendent to have the student remove his tweet and he complied.<\/p>\n

The framing of this by Braun as \u201cspying\u201d<\/a> has caused the hair of many education activists to catch on fire. HOWEVER.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Pearson is not \u201cspying\u201d on student tweets, it\u2019s enlisting public school officials \u2014 the New Jersey Department of Education \u2014 to defend its intellectual property. The latter is worse and a bigger problem.\u00a0 thewire.k12newsnetwork.com\/2015\/03\/14\/pearson-is-not-spying-on-student-tweets-its-enlisting-public-school-officials-to-defend-its-intellectual-property\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n