Dear Ms. Tina Descovich and Ms. Tiffany Justice, As spokespersons for Moms for Liberty, you know there is no group that has done so much to protect the innocence of America’s children as you! Whether it’s disappearing LGBTQ teens or exposing communists’ scheme to turn American children into “little sexual weirdo(s)” you’ve led our nation’s…
Moms for Liberty and Hitler: Love the Message, Hate the Messenger
Moms for Liberty has been trying to apologize for a chapter head quoting Hitler as an authority on public education but has a problem: they need the quote, they just don’t want the attribution. To recap, an Indiana chapter head put out a newsletter quoting Hitler: “He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.”…
Moms for Liberty Quotes Hitler. It’s No Accident.
The Indianapolis Star has the Moms for Liberty headline of the day: “Moms for Liberty’s Hamilton County chapter quotes Hitler in first newsletter.” This isn’t some overzealous nutty volunteer. M4L carefully vets its chapter heads. Here’s some more from the Star: Just below The Parent Brigade’s masthead was a quote Hitler used at a Nazi…
Maura Healey Leads Bi-Partisan Push to Sanctify Dark Money
As Matt Stout of the Boston Globe shows today in Healey created a nonprofit to bankroll her transition into office. But, the donors are secret, and so is how much they gave her, Governor Maura Healey has joined the bi-partisan effort sanctify dark money in Massachusetts politics. Shame. The Healey-Driscoll Transition Committee, Inc. paid for…
More on Walton and Barr Stakes in Voices for Academic Equity
Last week the Boston Globe’s Opinion page announced the principle that the funders of interest groups should be identified to the public! I almost swooned! But I recovered fast when I saw that it meant only union funded interests and not the Globe’s corporate allies. Boy Scout helpful as I always am I posted Boston…
Boston Globe and Corporate Elites Prop Up Their MCAS
In a weekend editorial the Boston Globe establishes the important principle that the funders of interest groups should be identified to the public. Then the paper went about establishing that this principle should not apply to interest group allies of the Boston Globe. I’ll fill in what the Globe left out. Here is the principle:…
The Big Shill: Jon Keller and Keri Rodrigues Conjure Some Sunday Morning Hocus Pocus
Jon Keller hosted Keri Rodrigues of the Walton-Koch National Parents Union on Sunday to plump the corporate wish list on MCAS testing. If you don’t accept the masquerade the appearance was revealing. The part about the statewide testing falls against the unstated backdrop of teachers’ unions seeking legislative modification of MCAS. The Walton political team…
Democrats for Education Reform: Let’s Meet the Funders
I often point out Democrats for Education Reform ’s far-right patrons like Rupert Murdoch and the Waltons but I haven’t given DFER MA’s Boston patrons enough attention. Let’s try. First, DFER is really at least three different legal structures under one roof. There’s the DFER PAC and DFER SuperPAC which have to report contributions and…
Educators for Excellence is Providing Lunch, The Waltons and Boston Oligarchs Are Picking Up the Tab
According to a recent Boston Teachers Union newsletter, Educators for Excellence “has been hosting free lunches at schools.” Let’s look at who’s picking up the tab. I won’t make you hang in suspense—E4E is a puppet of billionaire privatizers, Alice Walton’s fantasy of what a well-behaved teachers’ union should be. Remember Banned in Boston (Globe):…
My Unpublished Globe OpEd Urging Better Education Interest Group Coverage
A while back I submitted the following oped to the Boston Globe. It was not selected for publication. I’ll leave it here as submitted and have more to say about it soon. The Globe covers numerous aspects of education but never explores the enabling force behind interest groups like Massachusetts Parents United or Parents Defending…