{"id":21614,"date":"2018-07-01T00:24:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-01T08:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=21614"},"modified":"2018-07-04T22:17:50","modified_gmt":"2018-07-05T06:17:50","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-draft-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-draft-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Considering Voluntary Servitude, and Unfit Rulers."},"content":{"rendered":"

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

www.facebook.com\/koin6\/videos\/884625708405007\/?t=220<\/a><\/p>\n

With One Win, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Emerges as a Political Star<\/span><\/h1>\n

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One Hand Claps for DSA Win in New York
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What’s the problem with DSA and the other imitators of the Second International?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. No analysis of the system of capital as a form of exploited labor.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

2. No analysis of imperialism as the relentless and requisite quest for cheap labor, raw material, markets, and regional control–thus perpetual war.They are social-nationalists.
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3. A second tier analysis of racism and sexism, the former a product of the early development of capitalism in the US, and the latter, a centuries old remnant, both useful to divide and rule—hence profitable.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

4. No open declaration of class war as, in part, DSA’s operatives work as officers and staff in unions whose existence depends on denying class war. Hence, DSA, et. al, address parts of the props of capital and empire, in isolation.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

5. No critique of superstition, mysticism, which serves as a useful explanation for exploitation and war.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

6. No analysis of the capitalist state as an executive committee and armed weapon of the rich. Hence, support for it’s institutions and a denial of the reality of fascism–and what that is.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

7. All their efforts are designed to remain within the parameters set by capital and empire. Hence, they offer a “way out,” via a dead end. That commonly produces people who insist fundamental, revolutionary, change is impossible–closing the<\/strong><\/em> trap.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/27\/nyregion\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-bio-profile.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news<\/a><\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xmU-cQXGVNk<\/a><\/p>\n

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Congratulations on the re-publication of:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>New Issue of the week…..Americans really care about kiddies<\/p>\n

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

\"\"<\/a>above a Detroit school with Rouger Boyer<\/p>\n

Judge dismisses lawsuit against Snyder over Detroit kids’ literacy (Detroit kids have no right to learn to read)<\/h1>\n

A federal judge dismissed late Friday a headline-grabbing lawsuit that accused Gov. Rick Snyder and other state officials of depriving Detroit kids of their right to literacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a 40-page opinion, Judge Stephen Murphy III\u00a0wrote that the state is not obligated\u00a0to provide a minimal level of education by which students can obtain the ability to learn how to read.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs in the 2016 case were students who attended some of the lowest-performing schools in Detroit while\u00a0the city’s school system was under the control of state-appointed emergency managers.<\/p>\n

The children argued through their attorneys\u00a0that\u00a0literacy is a right under the U.S. Constitution. They\u00a0said the state had denied them that through\u00a0decades of “disinvestment” and “indifference,” with their schools in such poor shape that they hadn’t received even a minimally adequate education.<\/p>\n

“The conditions and outcomes of plaintiffs’ schools, as alleged, are nothing short of devastating. When a child who could be taught to read goes untaught, the child suffers a lasting injury \u2014 and so does society,” Murphy\u00a0wrote in his opinion.<\/p>\n

“But the Court is faced with a discrete question: Does the Due Process Clause demand that a State affirmatively provide each child with a\u00a0defined, minimum level of education by which the child can attain literacy? Based on the foregoing analysis, the answer to the question is no.”<\/p>\n

The lawsuit documented the low reading and math proficiency rates of Detroit students, as well as classes without teachers and outdated or insufficient classroom materials.\u00a0It\u00a0noted poor conditions in school buildings, including vermin and other problems.<\/p>\n

The students also argued they were denied access to literacy because of their race.\u00a0Murphy said there was no evidence of that.<\/p>\n

The defendants, in turn, said\u00a0the state and its officials never operated the children’s schools, that they were immune from being sued under the 11th Amendment and that\u00a0access to literacy is not a constitutionally protected right.\u00a0 www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/michigan\/detroit\/2018\/06\/29\/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-against-snyder-over-detroit-kids-literacy\/747732002\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Crowds growing to protest changes to Michigan social studies standards<\/h1>\n

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Sixty-five people attended a public forum in Saginaw Tuesday to voice their concerns about changes to social studies standards that cut references to LGBT individuals, climate change, Roe v. Wade and deletes \u201cdemocratic\u201d from \u201ccore democratic values.\u201d (Bridge photo by Ron French)<\/p>\n

…t was the biggest showing yet in a week that has seen an explosion of public concern since an article in Bridge Magazine revealed that proposed changes in statewide social studies standards slashed<\/a> references to gay rights, Roe v. Wade and climate change, and cut \u201cdemocratic\u201d from the phrase \u201ccore democratic values.\u201d\u00a0 www.bridgemi.com\/talent-education\/crowds-growing-protest-changes-michigan-social-studies-standards<\/a><\/p>\n

The Draft Michigan standards are here: <\/strong>www.michigan.gov\/documents\/mde\/SS_May_2018_Cut_Cap_Final_622356_7.pdf<\/a><\/div>\n
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Western Illinois Will Lay Off 24 Faculty Members, Including 7 With Tenure<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

Western Illinois University will lay off 24 faculty members, including seven with tenure, in the next year, the university announced on Thursday in a news release.<\/a><\/p>\n

In making the decision at a special meeting on Thursday, the university\u2019s Board of Trustees cited dips in enrollment and state funding.<\/a> Two academic-affairs positions are also among the cuts. An additional 62 teaching positions \u2014 which either are vacant or will be vacated due to retirements or resignations \u2014 won\u2019t be filled, according to the news release.<\/p>\n

The layoff notices, which will be sent to faculty members on Friday, give a one-year warning, as stipulated by the university\u2019s contract with the union, the University Professionals of Illinois. Cathy Early, chair of the Board of Trustees, said in the news release that more cuts may follow, although the university\u2019s president promised growth in other areas.\u00a0 www.chronicle.com\/article\/Western-Illinois-Will-Lay-Off\/243790\/#.WzY_2mkdDE4.facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Mao 101: Inside a Chinese Classroom Training the Communists of Tomorrow<\/span><\/h1>\n

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Democracy. Is it effective or flawed? Would it work in China?<\/p>\n

Debate.<\/p>\n

Those were the teacher\u2019s instructions on a recent Sunday morning when 17 college students met at Tsinghua University in Beijing for \u201cMao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,\u201d a mouthful of a course that is part of a government-mandated regimen of ideological education in China.<\/p>\n

The students were sporting dragon tattoos and irreverent shirts \u2014 one had \u201cObsessive Compulsive Disorder\u201d emblazoned on its back \u2014 and playing bloody shoot-\u2019em-up video games on their phones before class.<\/p>\n

But inside classroom 106-B, they echoed the party line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve learned democracy just can\u2019t last long here,\u201d said Zhang Tingkai, a 19-year-old architecture major, describing the upheaval of the Cultural Revolution under Mao.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can easily turn into populism,\u201d said Mao Quanwu, 20, a mechanical engineering student, \u201clike what\u2019s happening in Taiwan.\u201d\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/28\/world\/asia\/chinese-classrooms-education-communists.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fifteen other disqualified districts. Incompetence!<\/p>\n

Flawed applications cost other San Diego County school districts homeless funding<\/h1>\n

Records inewsource<\/em> obtained from the California Department of Education show two elementary school districts \u2014 South Bay Union and La Mesa-Spring Valley \u2014 also submitted incomplete applications. In all, 15 districts and county education offices<\/a> in the state had their applications disqualified because of missing signatures, copies or documents.\u00a0 inewsource.org\/2018\/06\/15\/san-diego-county-school-districts-homeless-funding\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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CALIFORNIA AG ACCUSES NAVIENT OF MISLEADING BORROWERS:<\/b> California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is suing Navient, accusing the student loan giant of misleading borrowers and other illegal practices. Michael has the full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The lawsuit in state court accuses Navient of a range of violations of California consumer protection laws<\/b> in how the company collected and managed the payments of federal student loan borrowers, including alleging the company steered borrowers into more expensive repayment plans and failed to adequately tell them how to remain enrolled in income-based repayment programs. The suit also says that Navient failed to properly discharge the federal loans of borrowers with a “total and permanent” disability.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Navient is one of the four major companies that collect and manage federal student loan payments on behalf of the Education Department.<\/b> The department also has separate contracts with two Navient subsidiaries, Pioneer and General Revenue Corporation, to collect defaulted loans. The lawsuit includes those subsidiaries as defendants, accusing them of misrepresenting the benefits and collection fees associated with a federal program to rehabilitate defaulted loans.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Navient president and CEO Jack Remondi said in a statement<\/a> that the company would “vigorously defend” itself.<\/b> “The allegations are unfounded, and the lawsuit is another attempt to blame a single servicer for the failures of the higher education system and the federal student loan program to deliver desired outcomes,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u2014 The California lawsuit comes after Remondi earlier this month met with a top official at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/b> as the company ramps up pressure to get the bureau to drop a separate suit against it. According to an official familiar with the meeting, Remondi met with Eric Blankenstein, the top political appointee for the CFPB’s enforcement division and other career staffers. Michael first reported the meeting here<\/a>. Politico<\/p>\n

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MORE BAD NEWS FROM MOODY’S:<\/b> Revenue growth has slowed at public universities for the second year in a row \u2014 and now also trails expense growth for the first time since fiscal 2014, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Nearly a quarter of public universities reported declining revenue and more than 60 percent reported revenue growth below higher education inflation, the new report says.<\/p>\n

\u2014 It won’t get much better, either, the firm predicted.<\/b> “Revenue growth will remain muted as public universities face tuition affordability concerns and ongoing state funding constraints, putting continued pressure on universities to curtail expense growth to maintain margins,” Jared Brewster, the lead author of the report, said in a statement. Politico<\/p>\n

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

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This combo of artillery and missile tech could solve the military\u2019s extended range problems<\/h1>\n

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A recent announcement by an aerospace and defense manufacturer could solve long-range <\/a>fire problems that have bedeviled military <\/a>planners for years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nammo, a Norwegian company, recently showcased a compact, solid-fuel ramjet artillery <\/a>ammunition they say will strike targets at ranges of 60 miles or more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s nearly double the farthest-reaching artillery <\/a>ammunition and far surpasses conventional artillery, which tops out at about a dozen miles.\u00a0 www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/06\/22\/this-combo-of-artillery-and-missile-tech-could-solve-the-militarys-extended-range-problems\/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=Socialflow<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Here\u2019s how the Army is trying to catch up to Russia and China on missiles, artillery<\/h1>\n
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While senior officials admit that the Army <\/a>is currently outgunned and outranged in its artillery <\/a>and missiles programs, the service\u2019s secretary and top general told Congress that fixing that problem at every level is their top priority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBoth China and Russia <\/a>have passed us up in terms of range and rapid fire,\u201d said Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma during the Army posture hearing Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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So, what\u2019s being done about it?<\/p>\n

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At the top of the list of six major areas of focus for the Army is long-range precision fires, said Army Secretary Mark Esper.<\/p>\n

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During his recent tours of the combatant commands, Esper told the Senate that each of those commanders \u201cconveyed the importance\u201d of long-range precision fires to their respective missions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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He and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley laid out the levels of programs that are getting attention:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the tactical level is the Paladin Integration Management program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On the operational level is the Extended Range Cannon Artillery program.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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At the strategic level are hypersonic projectiles.www.armytimes.com\/news\/your-army\/2018\/04\/12\/heres-how-the-army-is-trying-to-catch-up-to-russia-and-china-on-missiles-artillery\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Navy Boss calls it quits: Sudden retirement comes amid ongoing investigation<\/h1>\n
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Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (SG\/IW) Steven Giordano resigned Thursday as the Navy\u2019s 14th senior enlisted leader, leaving the top job vacant for the first time since it was created more than 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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His resignation comes amid an ongoing investigation by the Navy\u2019s inspector general into allegations he fostered a toxic work environment in his Navy office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The complaint was filed by a member of his own staff, according to sailors familiar with the investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Giordano\u2019s announcement was posted on the Navy\u2019s Facebook page, but gave no official date for the retirement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson acknowledged Giordano\u2019s resignation on his Facebook page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have accepted Master Chief Giordano’s offer to step aside as the MCPON effective immediately. I appreciate his recognition that the situation had become untenable,\u201d Richardson\u2019s message said….<\/p>\n

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Recent weeks brought forth the allegations that his office was a toxic work environment, resulting in a nearly 100 percent turnover in staff during his brief tenure as MCPON.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Multiple former staff members from his office spoke to Navy Times on condition of anonymity, numerous senior sailors painting nearly identical pictures of life in Giordano\u2019s Pentagon office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is a man defined by a passive-aggressive leadership style, laced with a horrific and unpredictable temper,\u201d said one former staff member.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cBehind closed doors, MCPON Giordano takes on an alter ego that is condescending and defaming to the senior leaders and junior staff alike on a regular basis, totally contradicting his own publicly preached values and beliefs of being a \u2018quietly humble leader,\u2019\u201d the former staff member said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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While researching that story, Navy Times learned that a current staff member had filed an inspector general complaint against Giordano, triggering the current investigation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Giordano took leave from his office shortly after Navy Times reported<\/a> about that investigation.\u00a0 www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2018\/06\/21\/mcpon-calls-it-quits-sudden-retirement-comes-amid-ongoing-investigation\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

www.facebook.com\/294441424220638\/videos\/625060467825397\/?t=62<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Red Zone: Inside Detroit’s deadly gang wars<\/h1>\n<\/section>\n
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Chapter 1: The Seven Mile Bloods’ turf is part pharmacy, part killing field and part launching pad for a bloody gang war<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/section>\n

Federal prosecutors are piecing together a rare death penalty prosecution against members of the Seven Mile Bloods, a notorious east-side Detroit gang blamed for terrorizing\u00a0neighbors, fueling the opioid epidemic and assassinating\u00a0rivals targeted on Instagram hit lists.<\/p>\n

The indictment of 21 alleged members and associates marks a crackdown on the close-knit Seven Mile Bloods, or SMB, which prosecutors hope to dismantle by using their own rap videos and social media against them.<\/p>\n

The charges, however, have not ended the violence. Three recent homicides and the shooting of rapper Phillip Peaks<\/a>, aka “Team Eastside Peezy,\u201d suggest the years-long FBI investigation has not quelled an ongoing\u00a0war among east-side gangs.<\/p>\n

The violence threatens to unravel progress reducing murders on the east side of Detroit, particularly on turf controlled by what prosecutors consider the strongest gang in one of the deadliest parts of America\u2019s most violent big city<\/a>.\u00a0 www.detroitnews.com\/story\/story-series\/death-by-instagram\/2018\/04\/22\/detroit-gang-war-red-zone\/432776002\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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‘We will not back down’: Canada announces $12.6-billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products (Trade wars become hot wars).<\/h1>\n

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Canada announced billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on Friday in a tit-for-tat response to the Trump administration’s duties on Canadian steel and aluminum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government released the final list of items that will be targeted beginning July 1. Some items will be subject to taxes of 10% or 25%.<\/p>\n

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“We will not escalate, and we will not back down,” Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said…<\/p>\n

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Many of the U.S. products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports just $3 million worth of yogurt from the U.S. annually and most of it comes from one plant in Wisconsin, the home state of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan. That product will now be hit with a 10% duty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Another product on the list is whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The taxes on items including ketchup, lawn mowers and motor boats amount to $12.6 billion.\u00a0 www.latimes.com\/world\/la-fg-canada-us-tariffs-20180629-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Rick Scott had a good year. His net worth jumped by $83 million.<\/h1>\n

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott had a very good year in 2017, as he saw his net worth increase by more than $83 million, a surge in his millionaire status as he launched a campaign for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

Scott, a Republican and former businessman who is termed out of office this year, filed his annual financial disclosure form Friday. It showed that his net worth was more than $232 million at the end of 2017, a 55 percent increase from the previous year.<\/p>\n

Scott, a former hospital executive, has maintained most of his assets in the Gov. Richard L. Scott 2014 Qualified Blind Trust, which likely saw a surge in profits as the result of the sale of a Michigan-based plastics company in which the governor’s firm was reportedly a principal owner.\u00a0 www.tampabay.com\/florida-politics\/buzz\/2018\/06\/29\/well-rick-scott-had-a-good-year-his-net-worth-jumped-by-83-millon\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Inside the White House\u2019s Quiet Campaign to Create a Supreme Court Opening<\/span><\/h1>\n

…they had a connection, one Mr. Trump was quick to note in the moments after his first address to Congress in February 2017. As he made his way out of the chamber, Mr. Trump paused to chat with the justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay hello to your boy,\u201d Mr. Trump said. \u201cSpecial guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Trump was apparently referring to Justice Kennedy\u2019s son, Justin. The younger Mr. Kennedy spent more than a decade at Deutsche Bank, eventually rising to become the bank\u2019s global head of real estate capital markets, and he worked closely with Mr. Trump when he was a real estate developer, according to two people with knowledge of his role.<\/p>\n

During Mr. Kennedy\u2019s tenure, Deutsche Bank became Mr. Trump\u2019s most important lender, dispensing well over $1 billion in loans to him for the renovation and construction of skyscrapers in New York and Chicago at a time other mainstream banks were wary of doing business with him because of his troubled business history.\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/28\/us\/politics\/trump-anthony-kennedy-retirement.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Emergence of Fascism as a Popular Mass Movement and <\/strong><\/span>The War on Reason<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n