Today’s Ruling in Capeheart/NEIU Defamation Case

Today in Capeheart v. Terrell (2013 IL App (1st) 122517), an Appellate Court of Illinois overturned a state court’s previous ruling that NEIU (Northeastern Illinois University) officials were protected by Illinois’ anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law against a defamation suit by NEIU professor Loretta Capeheart. The appellate ruling reinstates Capeheart’s lawsuit, and means…

Reign of Error: the important new book by Diane Ravitch

This is crossposted from Daily Kos at the request of Aaron Barlow: The testing, accountability, and choice strategies offer the illusion of change while changing nothing. They mask the inequity and injustice that are now so apparent in our social order. They do nothing to alter the status quo. They preserve the status quo. They…

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez Wows the AFL-CIO 27th Constitutional Convention

These are the Secretary of Labor’s prepared remarks. He apparently diverged in some instances from these prepared remarks in reaction to the very enthused response from the crowd at the convention. _________________________ Good morning, brothers and sisters! What a great honor to be here with this extraordinary gathering of dedicated and powerful champions for working…

A Warning to Mitch Daniels – My Book is Dangerous, Too.

Guest blogger Peter Dreier is Dr. E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics and Chair, Urban & Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College. His latest book is The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame (Nation Books, 2012). Dear Mitch Daniels: I’ve learned from recent news reports that thanks to your efforts as governor to…

Adjunct Faculty Association at Nassau County Community College Strikes and then Suspends Strike

At the outset, I want to apologize if I have gotten any of the details of this story wrong. It’s very complex, and I have had to piece it together from a number of sources. The Adjunct Faculty Association had not gone on strike since 1982. The Taylor Law makes public-employee strikes illegal in New…

A Howitzer in Every Garage

Yesterday I received yet another e-mail reporting on the results of this week’s elections. This is an excerpt from an e-mail sent by Americans for Responsible Solutions, the PAC headed by Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly: “While we were organizing nationally for the Colorado recalls, our Americans for Responsible Solutions members in Missouri…

Ravitch at the Bridge

Last night, at a church by Washington Square Park, Diane Ravitch spoke. She’s not the most long-term opponent of No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and all the other “reform” battalions, but she is proving the best. She is becoming our champion, our Horatio defending Rome: Alone stood brave Horatius, But constant still…

Why Every Progressive Group in the Nation Needs to Focus Relentlessly on Voter Registration and Voter Turnout

I received the following e-mail yesterday afternoon: ________________________ Martin, last night the NRA successfully recalled two Colorado state senators who had voted to pass good gun safety laws. Democrats had more money and district demographics were in their favor. But the election came down to turnout and Republicans had more intensity and more reliable voters. The biggest challenge facing…