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Category Archives: For Your Reading
Sous-Veillance On Occupy Wall Street
The following was contributed by MYD member Jon Reznick: I am writing about this topic after spending roughly 15 hours at Occupy Wall Street over a few days in the past two weeks. I have attended and photographed numerous major protests and rallies in the NYC area, and my first piece of political photo-journalism was in fact the anti-war protest of February 15, ought-three, right here in NYC. This year, I have been fortunate enough to witness youth protest in Spain, and political turmoil in Haiti, in addition to the many happenings here in New York. To wit, I have 17 pictures of Reverend Billy from this year alone, and you all know every rally and protest goes on that … More >>
Tagged Occupy Wall Street, protest
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Redistricting TaskForce Comes To Manhattan – Wed Sept 21st
In mid- 2010 when State Republicans were not sure how the power pendulum would swing in New York State’s upper house the Senate GOP, lead by Dean Skelos, gave their support for the immediate creation of an independent redistricting commission and progressives saw a huge victory for government reform within reach. However after capturing the majority, those same politicians that cried for transparency proved that their words were as fragile as the paper the pledges they made were printed on and slowly back peddled away after realizing how heavily gerrymandered their districts had to be drawn to get in the position they were.
Are Democrats Slipping with Latino Voters ?
An eye popping headline on NPR’s website discussed the GOP strategically recruiting candidates and supporting the elections of Latinos in states like New Mexico, Florida and Nevada – all states won by Obama in 2008 – with the goal of shifting the loyalty of Latinos voters, one of the fastest growing ethnic groups nationwide. With an estimated 12 million registered voters (up from 9.7 million in 2008) looking for either party to convince them that their candidates will be the voice of their interests, Hispanics have been labeled as the “game-changer” constituency for 2012.
Tagged 2012 election, latino, obama, republicans
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Duncan Opens Wavier The Flood Gates For States Seeking Education Mandate Relief
With lawmakers on both sides of the ideological divide unable to come together on terms for a re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (most recently renamed “No Child Left Behind” in 2001) State Education Departments began to apply in earnest to Sec. Duncan for exemptions from the school rating and student achievements benchmarks written into the language of NCLB. States have expressed their fear that schools (and students) will be unfairly labeled as failing – some states facing as much as 85% of their school districts labeled as “in need of improvement”. On top of that, not meeting those benchmarks will carry with them penalties that could hold up badly needed federal funding for local school districts already … More >>
Tagged Duncan, education reform, ESEA Act, No Child Left Behind, obama, schools, waviers
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Friends in High Places
Well that didn’t take long. According to the Daily News, the state is poised to award a $27 million no-bid contract to a company overseen by Joel Klein. Yep, the same Joel Klein who left his post as NYC Schools Chancellor just six months ago. “It raises all kinds of red flags,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. “It just smacks of an old-boys club, where large amounts of public money are spent based not on ‘is this the best product?’ but ‘I know this guy and I like him and I want to be sure he makes a lot of money.’” State officials defend the move: “In a request to the state controller’s office to sign … More >>
Tagged education, joel klein
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“Providers” And “Consumers” In The Healthcare Debate
It is easy to lose sight of the big picture when the details of an issue become the focal point of a debate. Paul Krugman’s Op-Ed, Patients Are Not Consumers, gives us a critical reminder of the problems we in a progressive society want changed. Medical care, after all, is an area in which crucial decisions — life and death decisions — must be made. Yet making such decisions intelligently requires a vast amount of specialized knowledge. Furthermore, those decisions often must be made under conditions in which the patient is incapacitated, under severe stress, or needs action immediately, with no time for discussion, let alone comparison shopping. That’s why we have medical ethics. That’s why doctors have traditionally both … More >>
Tagged healthcare, paul krugman
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