AARP versus NEA

[JailBush]

Now that so many workers have been betrayed by their unions and AARP has flushed senior citizens down the toilet, I wonder if people will FINALLY begin to ask what the National Education Association has done for teachers or children?

I like the Oklahoma governor who said the best cure for the NEA is homicide. I also liked what Bob Dole said about the NEA when he ran for President. It wasn't enough to convince me to vote Republican, but it was one of the best statements I've ever heard from a presidential candidate.

I expected a war of words to erupt between the NEA and George W. Bush. Reality Check: They're in bed together. The NEA spouts just enough rhetoric to make the public think it isn't going along with Big Business, but that's all it is - rhetoric.

[funkyflathead]

1. The NEA has become a political lobbying group

I don't think they care about kids. Prove me wrong.

[JailBush]

2. I spent sixteen years in public education, and those bastards never lifted

a finger to help me - even sixteen years ago. When I realized the extent to which they sh*t on children, it made me even angrier.

It's kind of a Catch-22 for liberals, because they feel they need the NEA's lobbying power to get their candidates get elected. The problem is, the NEA supports CORRUPT Democrats - not to mention the fact that it exploits children - or helps corporations exploit them.

It's interesting that Bill Gates chose as his personal spokesman the spokesman for the Washington Education Association, possibly America's most maligned NEA affiliate.

[funkyflathead]

3. Thanks for the reply n/t

[jiacinto]

4. Never knew the NEA was so bad

I never did.

[JailBush]

5. It's a hard nut to crack.

There are perhaps four major reasons the NEA is one of America's best kept secrets:

1. The NEA does a very good job of promoting itself.

2. The NEA is extremely secretive. Several years ago, I decided to research the Seattle Education Association - the largest local NEA affiliate in the Pacific Northwest - only to discover that there are virtually no references. I found no information in the Seattle Public Libary or on the Internet. The SEA's website is a sham.

3. The public is clueless about education in general. Few people would recognize a problem with the NEA when they don't understand school politics.

4. Teachers don't speak out. I've heard many Seattle teachers complain about being stabbed in the back by the NEA or one of its affiliates, but it's almost impossible to find evidence of discontent in the media or on the Internet. One exception is The National Association for the Prevention of Teacher Abuse at http://www.endteacherabuse.org I'm a charter member of this group, most of whose members hate the NEA as much as they do the corrupt school officials the NEA never protected them from. If you explore their website, you might find a few interesting stories about the NEA.

[jiacinto]

6. Interesting

Do you work at all with the national right to work foundation? So then how do you explain this to others on the left?

[JailBush]

7. No, I don't work with the National Right to Work Foundation; I really

know little about it.

Explaining the NEA to the left is extremely tough. I live in liberal Seattle, a place you would THINK would offer strong opposition to coroprate crooks and their gatekeepers, such as the NEA. On the contary, Seattle politics - including school politics - is a complete joke.

The simple truth is that very few leftitsts really care about education or children. Most claim they do when pressed, and many Democratic and Green Party candidates talk about education in their campaigns. But the concern is about a mile wide and an inch deep.

One reason, as I stated earlier, is that people are afraid to rock the vote. I've actually been approached by teachers who told me I shouldn't criticize the Seattle School District, because I was only giving ammunition to the enemy - the conservative hordes. They said we need to present a unified front. But who's "we" - clueless teachers and a corrupt teachers union?

The fact is education has been going downhill under Democrats and Republicans alike. My education reform website is currently in a state of disarray, but I hope to get the revised site online at http://www.edrevolt.org in the not too distant future. There's more than children at stake; public education is a very potent political force.