Re-Segregated Schools - For Shame!

Recent national reports indicate that many schools across the country, most particularly in the south, are more segregated today than they were when Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954. How we forget our history! It's also due in large part to the school choice movement. Many of the choices, including charters, open enrollment, and various form of vouchers were creative ways to get around integration requirements. I warned about this in the book MYTHS OF EDUCATIONAL CHOICE in 1992 - but I forgot to warn about the consequences of forgetting our history. Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it - something like that!!

Government Shutdown - What Hypocrisy!

Republican Speaker Boehner announced tonight, just minutes before the deadline for a federal government shutdown, that a deal had been reached. He said that they (Republicans & Tea Partiers) had fought to cut government spending. Therein lies the total hypocrisy! The news all day long was about Planned Parenthood and abortion, not budget and spending. Senator Kyle said that abortion was 90% of the work of Planned Parenthood. That's not even close to accurate! FYI, Planned Parenthood does cancer screening, women's health, and birth control - which ironically reduces the number of abortions. The amount they wanted cut from Planned Parenthood - that held up the deal and threatened to keep pay from military families - is a tiny, insignificant part of the budget. The Republicans have been all about political and social issues, not the budget. Watch what they do, not what they say!

Wonder where their budget concerns were when we went into Iraq? And Bush pushed tax cuts with two wars ongoing?? Wonder what Iraq has cost us anyway? Wonder what the cost has been of taking the focus away from Afghanistan in 2003? Wonder why all the GOP noise about budget and spending ignores the costs of the wars started under GOP administrations?

Class Action Essential for Walmart

Most women - hell, most people of any protected class - cannot afford to challenge their employer individually. Even when they try, most drop out of the impossibly long, complicated, demeaning process long before any resolution for or against. We almost lost our house before winning the first federal lawsuit on job discrimination and then simply could not afford to appeal a bad summary judgment decision on the second lawsuit on discrimination and retaliation. There will be no justice for the 1.5 million Walmart women if there is not class action status. Any doubts, read the book PLAINTIFF BLUES, which describes just how difficult challenging can be for an individual.