Let the people of New York see labor’s story!

Stop the censorship of The City at the Crossroads of History! An Open Letter to the Puffin Foundation and the Museum of the City of New York: As individuals deeply concerned about both the history and current status of the labor movement, we are writing to oppose the suppression and censorship of a major new…

Ruling in CCSF Accreditation Suit

As regular readers of this blog know, I have been posting reports on the accreditation controversy at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) ever since the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) issued its “show cause” order in early July 2012.  (The most recent post, from September 2014, is here, at the end…

Dr. King and Public Education

Today Diane Ravitch has made several posts to her blog that mark Martin Luther King Day. The first [http://dianeravitch.net/2015/01/19/in-honor-of-dr-martin-luther-king-jr/] provides a link to Dr. King’s speech that was the culmination of the March on Washington [http://www.ibtimes.com/mlk-i-have-dream-speech-full-text-read-martin-luther-kings-entire-march-washington-1787100 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs], as well as to the text of his “Letter from a Birmingham City Jail” [http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu:5801/transcription/document_images/undecided/630416-019.pdf]. The second…

Laying Claim to Dr. King’s Political Legacy

“Today we remember and celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Even today, on movie screens, his message still resonates and on the streets of our communities his example still leads us. I am proud that the Democratic Party carries on Dr. King’s fights: to encourage equality of opportunity for all Americans, to…

Are We Prepared for President Obama’s Free Community Colleges?

Earlier this month, President Obama proposed reducing the cost of community colleges to “zero.” Mr. Obama said: “I want to make it free.” As the Washington Post suggested in a subsequent editorial, “investing in education is a smart long-term strategy” when addressing income inequality and American competitiveness. The Post proposes means testing community college assistance…

University of Illinois Board Inappropriate Rejection of Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure Report

The University of Illinois Board of Trustees has issued its “final” ruling on the firing, summary dismissal and suspension of Dr. Steven Salaita for solidarity tweets with the civilian population during the latest Israel/Gaza conflict last summer. It explicitly rejected the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure report. While I found that report to be…

In Praise of “Mixed Feelings”

Daily Kos has run a post that includes samples of the work of Cabu, a long-time cartoonist with Charlie Hebdo who was gunned down at age 75. The title of the post is “The Charlie Hebdo Cartoons No One is Showing You,” and it is available at: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/01/11/1357057/-The-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoons-no-one-is-showing-you?. I find two of the cartoons to…