On Bernie Sanders and North High School

On Sanders and North High School

Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is coming to North High School on January 2, 2016. This is a good thing for North High School and Worcester.  Although it is not quite on the level of President Obama going to Worcester Voke, it is a big deal.

I cannot say I agree with Bernie Sanders on everything, but I agree that the excesses of capitalism need mitigation. Mr. Sander is trying to reduce the economic disparities of the profit system in order to save it from itself. Although he thinks this is revolutionary, it is not. Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the New Deal to save capitalism from collapsing in a crisis similar to the Great Recession of 2008.  Saving capitalism is almost a traditional or conservative political agenda.

I disagree with Mr. Sanders in that I do not think the profits system, economic disparities, and their superstructure of racism should be saved. Generation after generation, we go through an economic crisis of one sort or another. It is time we had a system where corporations are not legal persons and money is not speech.

Getting back to the issues of Senator’s Sanders visit to North High School, for years the students have been the butt of color blind racism. I remember when the old North High School on Salisbury St. was closed and the kids from the East Side had to go to a remodeled middle school building, the former Harrington Way Junior School.  Our children on this side of City did not have a new high school for 100 years.

In the 1990s the City had an opportunity to build a new high school. There was a discussion whether to build a New North High School or a New Voke. Some people suggested that the two high schools be combined. This discussion did not go far as many of the Voke Alums seems to look down on the students from North as not quite as good as the Voke kids. I have no other explanation for not combining the two schools except a sort of color blind racism.

Even after the new North High School was built, I remember  Councillor Konnie Lukes complained about the bad kids at North High School.  She quipped “ Maybe it was not a new building that they needed” I am even more upset that some of the teachers have taken the attitude of the need for full time police in the schools because of the “bad” kids. The hurtful words of the Marine who headed up JROTC comes to mind. Even the EAW says that the teachers need police protection because of bad students. All of this is hurtful and discouraging to the students.  Our children are no different than children elsewhere. I think color blind racism is a factor behind these comments and policies.

Kudos to Senator Sanders for choosing to come to this inner city school whose students have in many ways been emotionally and verbally abused by so many.  May this Bernie Sanders  event be the start of a good new year for North High, all of the children in Worcester, the City of Worcester, and Bernie Sanders.

I am not sure that Mr. Sanders will be the President of the United States. If he does become president, he can expect me to criticize him from the left for not doing enough.

Snow's Limited Judgment

Snow’s Limited Judgment

Snow, rain, freezing rain, and a flash freeze came to Worcester on December 29, 2015. As of late afternoon of December 30, 2015 many of the streets in Worcester are still ice packed and unplowed. The City Manager, Edward Augustus Jr., has stated in his December 30, 2015 public letter, “Many of our streets are not in the condition our taxpayers have the right to expect”.

Manager Augustus has admitted in his letter that the wrong decision “was made”. The use of the passive voice in the assignment of blame leaves open and unclear who is to blame for this mess. Most politicians are skilled at the use of the passive voice.

The manager in his letter also said that the Department of Public Works (DPW) deployed salters and sanders well before the precipitation arrived.  It did not call in the plows because the forecast was for “slush”. I suppose this makes some sense.

When it was clear to the DPW the weather and street conditions would be more than slush, the DPW called in the plows in the late afternoon of December 29, 2015. This does not seem to have been entirely accurate as many of the main streets are still ice covered in the late afternoon of December 30, 2015, especially the break down lanes. I have not seen one plow truck on my street or anywhere in Worcester on December 30, 2015.  Perhaps the Manager can say what streets were plowed.

Mr. Moosey of the DPW said that there was a limited response to the flash freezing of snow and rain as reported in the Worcester Telegram. Unfortunately his response not only did not excuse the error in judgment, but failed to address another important issue. 

The issue of pedestrians was not addressed. Because of the ice and snow the sidewalks have to be shoveled and treated. We pedestrians have gotten used to the failure of some property owners to shovel and treat their sidewalks. Even the City of Worcester fails to do so on some of their properties.  When a sidewalk is unshovelled or untreated pedestrians usually can walk in the break down lanes in the streets.

But this storm we could not. The breakdown lanes were not plowed and were as bad as the unshovelled sidewalks. Plowed streets are important for pedestrians which did not seem to be a concern for the Manager or Mr. Moosey of the DPW. Neither of whom mentioned us in their public communiqués.

This seems to fit the pattern of Worcester ignoring or marginalizing pedestrians. There seems to be about one pedestrian death per week in Worcester. There is a perception that the police look first to see if the pedestrian was at fault and then looking for the fault of the driver in a pedestrian motorist accident. It is time to have a default law assuming that the motorist who hits a pedestrian is always at fault for not yielding to a pedestrian.

Getting back to the snow and ice issues, the City Manager should review how decisions are made in terms of when to do more than a “limited” response to road conditions. The Manager should take full responsibility for any and all errors of judgment and stop using the passive voice in assigning blame.

It was shameful how Governor Baker shifted blame for last season’s MBTA failures. This season’s failures clearly are the responsibility of Governor Baker. I hope that Manager Augustus does not trap himself into this shameful practice of shifting blames. He should own up to this and other errors in judgments he has made.  

Are Electronic Pulses Dangerous?

Transmitting Technology, a Possible Danger to Some

The electronic pulses that come from transmitting 

devices are  concerning to Patricia Burke and

Judith Alden. They are a part of the opposition to 

the use of smart meters now being installed in 

Worcester in a pilot program. There are now 

15, 000 smart meters that have been installed by 

National Grid in the City.

A smart meter is electronic and transmits data to National

Grid which uses them to analyze electric usage by 

individuals and on a macro- level.

During my talk with Ms. Burke she pointed out that there is 

a recognized condition of hyper sensitivity to electronic 

pulses that are found in electronic and transmitting 

devices. She said that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 

monitors the cases of this condition.  Ms. Burke also said 

that the CDC does not consider the pulses to be per se 

dangerous until they raise a person’s temperature above 

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; she thought that the standard was 

not effectual should be changed.

Ms. Burke and Alden are opposed to all transmitting 

devices. They indicated that the natural gas utilities also 

have transmitting meter. They pointed out that some people 

are sensitive to smart phones, wi-fi, and telephone 

towers.  However smart meters are the priority.

A spokes person for National Grid, Danielle Williamson, 

responded that the smart meter transmissions were 

within the standards of the Federal Communication 

Commission, the CDC, and state regulations. She also said 

that the safety of its customers and workers are 

National Grid main concern.

More interestingly Ms. Williamson described the 

relationship between National Grid and the so called 

Sustainability Center at Clark University.  National Grid has 

leased space in the Center and hired student interns to talk 

about energy savings with customers. Included in the items 

discussed are smart meters and they are creating energy 

efficiency.

Ms. Burke take on this matter was that there are 

some environmentalists who do not see the harm caused by 

smart meters and are only concerned with the data 

collection for efficient energy use. National Grid has asked 

the State to allow government aid for the costs of the 

Sustainability Center. The Attorney General, Maura Healy, 

has written a report opposing State help with the 11 million 

dollar bill. Ms. Burke felt that this cost would be passed on 

to customers.

Ms. Burke and Alden belong to Halt Massachusetts Smart 

Meters. There is another group in opposition to smart 

meters is Worcester Opts Out, run by John Provost.

I remember when National Grid came to our house to install 

the smart meter. The installer did not say why he was 

changing the meter. I thought that it was a routine 

maintenance similar to the natural gas company swapping 

meters every 7 years. I knew something was different when 

National Grid started to send us letters saying we were 

using more electricity than our neighbors.

After talking with Ms. Burke and Alden, I am wondering 

how these impulses are affecting my family and me. They 

said we can ask the electric company to install a different 

type of meter, but I won’t be able to get the analog meter 

again. 

One of the things I would like to have changed is National 

Grid sending letters comparing my electric usage to my 

neighbors, a waste of paper and another guilting.   

The Politics of Safer Schools

Politics of Safe Schools

The Safety Audit for the Worcester Public Schools was discussed at the December 17, 2015 School Committee Meeting. The Safety Audit concerns itself mostly with keeping the students and staff at schools safe from outside threats. It talked about stronger doors, more security at the front entrances, comprehensive responses, etc. 

The Safety Audit rightly did not concern itself with internal “incidents” such as yelling, bouncing basketballs, cell phone use, or dress code which are things that students, who are still developing,  act out.  The Safety Audit did say that if the police were brought in to resolve these “incidents” many staffers and students would not cooperate with the police. This non cooperation caused by the criminalization of non criminal incidents could have an adverse effect on safety. The Audit recommended that for these “incidents” there should be a policy of no arrests and deferral to school disciplinary policy and not the criminal justice system.

It did not seem that many in the School Committee paid attention to this recommendation.

Many people spoke out against police in the schools and the arrests of students at school. Some in the opposition identified themselves as from the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), Mass. Human Rights, ACLU, and a Unitarian Church.

A speaker from PLP said that the City was not in compliance with State Statutes on the use of police in the schools. The required Memorandum of Understanding ((MOU) was out of date and the City faced lawsuits for any harm done by the police in schools.  Ron Madnick, a former teacher at Burncoat High School said that having loaded guns, carried by the police, was troubling in terms of accidents.

The student representative from South High School said that he agreed students should not be arrested at school unless there was an emergency.  Idella Hazard, a former police officer, said that the police in the schools was racist and a part of the school to prison pipeline. Gwen Davis said that most of the police make six figures salaries and that money would be better spent on more teachers and better students to teachers ratios.

There was one person who spoke in favor of the police arresting students at school. He is the head of the teachers’ union. He said that only bad kids get arrested. He then said that the armed gunmen could have stopped the tragedy in Newtown where 21 elementary school children and 6 staffers were killed. The Minister from the Unitarian Church replied that it was outrageous to bring up Newtown as there are no plans to station police in elementary schools in Worcester.

Dr. Rodrigues was disingenuous when he said that a working MOU existed. He said that it would be posted on the Worcester Public School website on December 18, 2015. It was not.  Dr. Rodrigues had said earlier in the month that the new MOU would not be written until after March 2016. He is learning quickly how to play the Worcester old boy network.

It is encouraging that some thought is going into making our schools safer from outside threats. It is sad that many other people think about school safety in terms of threats from students. Many in the schools and City seem to be afraid of young Black students and anyone adversely affected by poverty, especially teenagers.

It is clear that leadership on this issue will not come from the School Committee which has no person of color or even a progress. The leadership will not come from City Council which refused to discuss the lack of a policy about police in the School. It is not likely to come from the City Manager who made a mess of things with the Department of Justice Race Dialogues.  

There is hope to be found in the little group of people who are demanding that the students in Worcester be treated in a manner that will lead to their success and not to the criminal justice system.   

Dr. Rodrigues Speaks about Cops in Worcester Schools

Meeting Dr. Rodriques

Members of Mass. Human Rights met with Dr. Marco Rodrigues, the interim Superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools on December 8, 2015. The meeting was intended to clarify the City government’s policy about full time police officers (school resource officers) in the High Schools and the arrests of students at school. Dr. Rodrigues was open and candid.  The clarifications, however, raised new questions.

Regarding the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that is required by statute to be in place before the full time police officers are assigned to the schools, it has yet to be revised.  The revisions will be made, according to Dr, Rodriques, after the special training for SRO is specified.

Dr.  Rodrigues has been in contact with the National Organization of School Resource Officers (SRO) located in Alabama, regarding the development of training requirements for SRO. The training would be about 40 hours. The tentative plan is to have a trainer come to Worcester.  It was fairly clear that the details of the training plan did not exist or were in flux. Sometime in March 2016 is the date of the expected training.

Dr. Rodrigues was uncertain about how parents, teachers, students, or advocates could have input into the rewriting of the MOU. He said that the MOU would be based on the specifics of the training and was intended to be a document between the Police and School Departments of Worcester.  However he did not rule out a public review of the finished document. Ms. Davis said that Mass. Human Rights planned to reach out to the Parents Advisory Groups regarding the issues.

The Safety Audit for Worcester Schools is now completed and it should be presented to the Worcester School Committee at the December 17, 2015 meeting.  Dr. Rodriques did not go into detail about the audit. Ms. Davis said that her group was planning to attend the December 17, 2015 School Committee meeting to present a petition against arresting students at school. She also said that was interested in the details of the Safety Audit.

When the issue of the arrests of students at school came up, Dr. Rodriques did not seem to have all of the facts at hand. He said he could not comment on whether or not the number of arrests of students at school was up or down. He was not able to break down the arrests by race or by type. It was stated by one of the attendees that most of the arrests were for disruptions or disorderly which are not crimes or are subjective.

Ms. Rodriguez of Mass. Human Rights said that the Latino children are more disproportionately and wrongfully arrested than other groups of students. She said she was very concerned.

Dr. Rodriques said that Worcester has one of the highest graduation rates for an urban school district. He said that at 79 percent, it is much higher than Boston, Lowell, or Springfield. He also said that the dropout rate is continuing to decline. In regards to a recommendation from the State, the Worcester School System has lower suspension numbers than previous years.

My impression of Dr. Rodriques is he has the enthusiasm and the energy of the young with the professional experience and education to have a significantly good impact on the Worcester Schools. In a majority minority school district Dr. Rodrigues has the potential to make a positive difference that others would not be able to accomplish.  He is already making that difference and he certainly seems to want to do so.

No Place For Hate

Good People Asking For Normalcy

Stephen and Mona are people of the Muslim faith. They came to City Hall on December 7, 2015 to ask for a return to normalcy. They are saddened by the killings in San Bernardino, Paris, Beirut, and elsewhere.

The Worcester City government held a press conference to send message for tolerance and against mass murders and religious bullying. There were about a dozen city employees standing behind the speakers, Ms. Milner (Manager’s Committee Against Hate and Bias), Ms. Turchek ( Human Rights Commission), Manager Augustus, and Mayor Petty. They all said the right things and I hope something good comes from their efforts. There was a moment of silence for the murdered people of San Bernardino.

President Obama said much the same the night before in his talk from the Oval Office.  Like the Worcester City officials there was a sort of cynicism or fatigue in his words.

Stephen from the Islamic Center also spoke from the podium; however what he said after the press conference is more interesting. He was anxious to have his community be seen as any other community in the City. He invited us to come to the Mosques during prayers or to schedule a tour.  There are two Mosques in the City. The Mosque on East Mountain Street is associated with the Islamic Center and the Mosque on Laurel St. is associated with the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester. Stephen also said that there are no specific places for prayer and that Muslim go to either Mosque or sometimes both.

Mona is an administrator at the Islamic Center and married to Stephen. She spoke after the formalities about the fear faced by Muslims in this area.  Hate speech is common she said which has led to “minor” assaults such as bottles being thrown at the Mosques and some people nearly being run down in traffic.  Mona reported that many people call her after being the victim of hate speech, obscenities, or harassment.

Women especially, according to Mona sought out her advice on whether to stay at home or to go shopping or to send their make relatives instead. Women and children are most identifiable as Muslims because of their dress. Mona indicated that these more vulnerable are the usual victims of racial and religious harassment.

There are several Muslim umbrella groups in the area. The Center for American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Justice are two. Ascentia (formerly Lutheran Refugees) is working with the Muslim organizations in the transition of refugees to life in Massachusetts.

Even though Stephen said that Mosques were working with Worcester Interface, I did not see anyone from Worcester Interface or any ministers or priests.

Sometime this week there will be a meeting between government officials and some of the leaders of the Muslim community to express their concerns in a more appropriate venue. I think we all learned a lesson from the Department of Justice hearings on this matter.

Although theirs is a plea for normalcy, recent events do not bode well for any of us. Mass killings are the new normal.  Syria has become the new Balkans. The war hawks, Know Nothings, and some Presidential candidates have new people to bully and harass. 

The Children are the Losers in Cops in School Fiasci

The Children are the Loser in the Cops in School Fiasco

An umbrella group, Mass. Human Rights, of which I am a member, is reviewing the City’s policy of full time police officers in the schools. Some in the group think that the police have not helped in terms of safety or education, and the police have actually caused harm.

M.G.L. Chapter 71 Section 37 P requires that a School System have in place a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Police Department.

“The superintendent and the chief of police shall enter into a written memorandum of understanding to clearly define the role and duties of the school resource officer which shall be placed on file in the office of the school superintendent.”

Because of the political hysteria, based to some extent on racism, some in the City Council and the School Committee of Worcester ordered cops into the school without a MOU and any understanding of the cops' duties or restrictions. This action was not well thought out and now the City is out of compliance with the statutes. Being out of compliance might mean that all of the students arrested were done so unlawfully at school with right of private legal action.

Police Chief Gary Gemme has stated to the local press that he feels that the vast majority of people supports cops in the schools.  Unfortunately for us Chief Gemme is spinning as he offers no evidence of this assertion. The Mass. Human Rights group is collecting signatures for a petition on the issue with over 100 signatures at last count.

Police Gemme has made another spinning assertion in that he says the cops in the schools are doing good. Without a MOU it is not clear what the cops are doing. There is no evidence that the cops are improving safety or education. There are several reports, including an ACLU reports, that shows cops in the schools are a source of students leaving school and then going into the “school to prison pipeline” Many of these students are from poor and minority neighborhoods.

On the issue of the MOU Chief Gemme asserts that he does not want the cops to become school disciplinarians. The facts show that the cops are already the school disciplinarians. According to the Public Safety Liaison Officer for the Public Schools, Robert Pezella, most of the arrests of students was for disruption and disorderly. Disruption is not a crime anywhere and should have handled administratively per Chapter 222. Disorderly is vaguely defined and subjective. The actions of the students should likely have also been adjudicated under Chapt. 222.

The cat was let out of the bag when Mr. Pezzella stated to the local press that the MOU would likely not be approved until after a safety audit was completed.  The question Mr. Pezella has unintentionally pointed out is why cops were put into the school BEFORE the Safety Audit.

To a certain extent this fiasco of putting cops into the school is being covered up. Mr. Pezzella has not mentioned how parents, students, teachers, principals, and advocates will have input into the so called Safety Audit or the MOU. 

This following statement from Mr. Pezzella is also troubling.

“There’s a fine line between disciplinary and public safety and in some cases, student unrest could lead to a possible arrest of a student,”

Like his misstatement about disruptions, student unrest is not a crime either. For teenager it is normalcy. The question arises about a possible bias on the part of Mr. Pezella’s thinking about students. The use of the phrase “fine line” is curious as the statute makes it clear that cops are not authorized to enforce school policy, only law enforcement and security. Everything else should be administratively adjudicated.

''School resource officer'', a duly sworn municipal police officer with all necessary training, up-to-date certificates or a special officer appointed by the chief of police charged with providing law enforcement and security services to elementary and secondary public schools.

There were at least two arrests at the middle school level. I find it hard to believe that at this age children had to be arrested at school and that there was no other means to solve problems.There should be a City policy against arrest children at middle or elementary schools.

At least 19 students were arrests at Worcester Public schools between September and November 2015. It is clear that the arrests of children are on the rise, but as can be inferred from Mr. Pezella’s statements, most of those arrests could have handled in house.

The losers in all of this are the children in Worcester Public schools who are compelled to go into an environment in which they can be arrested on the most frivolous or subjective of reasons without recourse to their rights found in Chapter 222. The environment is filled with police officers who do not know for certain what they can or cannot do because there is no MOU. An environment created by the racist rants of some City officials.                            

The Changing Meaning of Thanksgiving

The Changing Meaning of Thanksgiving

Like everything else, Thanksgiving changes; nothing on Earth stays the same forever.

The traditional history of Thanksgiving is that of the English Pilgrims migrating to America and landing at Plymouth on December 11, 1621. During that winter the Pilgrims or Puritans lost 46 of their party of 102. The others would too have perished, if the Native Indians did not have pity and provided them with corn and other food stuffs.  With the help of the Native Indians the Puritans learned to farm and had a bountiful harvest in 1622. There was a celebration of bounty that Fall.

In 1676 Thanksgiving changed. Charlestown Massachusetts proclaimed a Thanksgiving for the victory over the “ heathen” Indians. This was the end of the King Phillip War in which the town of Quinsigamond, now know as Worcester, was burned to the ground. The Colonialists from Massachusetts and Connecticut killed most of the Native Indian children at Turner Falls in Massachusetts.

The Revolutionary War found Thanksgiving changing once again. This time in October 1777 there was celebration of the Colonialists victory over the Imperialist British at the Battle of Saratoga. All 13 Colonies participated.

 George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1789. Abraham Lincoln set the last Thursday of November as the date of celebration for the good fortune of the American Civil War. It was proclaimed to be a legal holiday in 1941 by Congress as the United States was entering World War II.

 Besides the traditional and sometimes religious celebrations there is a new meaning of the Day of Mourning for the Native Indians who have died do to imperialism and colonialism. This view of Thanksgiving is gaining acceptance, especially among the young.

When I think of Thanksgiving this year I think of my two friends Claire  and Scott Schaefer Duffy who have taken a vow of poverty. They live on less than $6000. 00 a year. Although they have their wants, as we all do, they live a good life. They make do by not living extravagantly and by socialization of needs. Essentially they do without or they share resources with others.

Today might be the time for all of us to do the same. Conspicuous consumption has led to the development of a world economy that creates poverty, war, disruptions, racism, and the destructive forces of global warming and climate changes. There is a need to reduce our standard of living. Some of us will have to share a car or get on a bus. We will have to eat more locally grown food. We will have to share our work.

The point of no return might have already been passed in terms of climate change. When the ice of the polar caps melts the temperature of the oceans will increase more rapidly than most of us can image.

This Thanksgiving I will be thankful to all of the people who have rejected the temptations of the profit driven economy and conspicuous spending to live a life where human resources are more valuable than that which glitters. I am thankful for having a family and friends.  I will be thankful for being able to still write these words.

Worcester, Hiding Its Policy on Police in Schools

Worcester Is Hiding Its Policy on Police in Schools

A small group of parents, students, and activists met on November 18, 2015 to discuss the City of Worcester’s policy on the duties of police officers in public schools. Earlier in the year the City Council voted to put a full time police officer in each of the five Worcester Public High Schools.  The Worcester Public Schools and the Worcester Police Department are required by statute to define the policy regarding police in schools in a document called a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). So far no one from the City, not the Superintendent, not the Mayor, not the City Manager, or the Police Chief has responded to requests for the MOU.

During the discussion several people said that because the policy of full time police in schools was implemented in a panic based on false assertions that the schools were unsafe, there was no time to think through the legal requirements. The required MOU likely does not comply with State laws at this time. Mr. Pezzella, public safety liaison for the Worcester Public school, said in October 2015 that the current MOU is outdated and needs revision.

The Mass. Human Right Commission (MHRC), a nongovernmental organization, functioned as the umbrella from which the people in the meeting will advocate for justice for the students and parent. Although not officially representing their respective organizations, there were people from the NAACP, an UU Church, Progressive Labor Party, a Latino group, a student group, and a social agency.

Ruth Rodriguez, a local activist, gave background to the “school to jail pipeline”. She said that some in the corporate world were financing programs designed to have schools fail. The children would then be more at risk for incarceration and poverty.  She stated that Latino children are most adversely affected by suspensions and expulsions, although every child in poverty was at risk.

Charter school, Ms. Rodriguez is also against charter schools for siphoning resources from public schools.

Gwen Davis, a Worcester resident, whose children went to North High School, said that cops in the school are a part of the school to prison pipeline and these are some of the issues of the BlackLives Matter civil rights movement.

Dr, Sonya Conner, a professor at Worcester State, said she thought that the way the City Council was able to ram through the policy of cops in the schools was to divide the teachers from the students. She thought that the group should reach out to the teacher’s union on this issue.

Another speaker said that the ACLU in Boston has helped with the effort regarding the MOU by providing outlines and guidance for the writing of MOU.

The guidelines from the ACLU indicated that

1. Police should not be used in any school discipline as these are covered by Chapter 222 of the Acts of 2012 and not the criminal statutes.

2. The police should be trained in childhood education, especially adolescent behavior.

3. The police in the school should receive training in disabilities accommodations for children.

4. There should no arrests on campus for any reason other than public safety emergencies.

The MHRC has been collecting signature on a petition to City Council and the City School Committee regarding the City’s policy of police in schools and planned to present the petition to City Council and the City School Committee after Thanksgiving.

The group also made plans to write to the Parent Associations of the high and middle schools to make a presentation about the MOU and the rights of parents and students found in Chapter 222. Another suggestion was to leaflet the students at the City high schools with hopes of getting the information to parents.

There is no apparent reason why the City is hiding its MOU, except that it wants to keep the students, parents, and the public ignorant of its policy or its lack of policy. This policy information is in the public domain.  Let us hope the City authorities respond in a positive way to this effort that can only help all concerned, especially the children, and reduced the City’s liability exposure.

His Excellency Charlie Baker and Refufees

Governor Baker’s Fascist Stunt

On November 16, 2015 Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts, proclaimed that he would not accept any refugees from the Syria Civil War. Twenty four other Republican governors made the same proclamation.

The actions of these governors are a political stunt. Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey, said that he would not a 5 year old refugee from Syria. States have zero authority in regards to immigration. Immigration is exclusively a Federal area of governance. Governor Baker has misled us in thinking that he has some power over refugees from war. This is certainly dishonesty on his part.

This dishonesty continues when His Excellency Mr. Baker uses the pretext of public safety to justify his false and malicious remarks. When he made his so called “proclamation” it was already known that not one of the attackers in France came from Syria. All of them were born within the European Union. One of the victims of the attack was from Syria. 

Governor Baker’s actions have likely done more harm than good in that it creates resentment and anger.  Already there have some push back. It is likely to be more push back.

His Excellency’s actions and their pretext are further evidence of the racist tendencies of Republicans and their Tea Party constituents. Please recall that His Excellency Mr. Baker also said he did want Hispanic children refugees from Central America coming to Massachusetts.

There is a history of racist anti immigrant fervor in Massachusetts. In 1854 the so called “Know Nothing” Party aka American Party won elections and was strongest in Boston. The Know Nothings consisted only of White Protestant men and they oppressed everyone else, including Catholics, Jews.  foreign born, women, and Blacks. Governor Baker seems to be following, at least partially, in their footsteps.

In the early Twentieth Century there was what was called the Red Scare in the United States after the Bolsheviks founded the Soviet Union in 1917. Immigrants, some of whom had socialist ideas, were arrested and deported in what are known as the Palmer Raids. Emma Goldman was caught up in this oppression and deported to Russia.

During World War II many Jews fleeing the Nazis were turned away by the United States and forced to return to Germany where they died in the Holocaust. In the 1990s the Haitian boat people were refused entry into the United States and were force to live for years in the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp.

His Excellency the Governor of Massachusetts has shown he has little compassion and a tendency to fascism. He did not speak of the refugees as people in need.

 It would make sense for the Governor to step back his proclamation. He is smarted then to follow the other Republican governors in what seems to be a locked goose step into a moral morass. He should welcome the Syrians and other refugees. He should make their transition to their new homes in the United States as smooth as reasonably possible.

This governor also should be spending more time on fixing the credible problems we have, such as the overloaded DCF, the ill functioning public transportation systems, and inequities of mandatory sentencing.  It makes sense to work on the credible problems, instead of the threats that are not credible.  

Worcester Will Be the Butt of Donald Trump’s Racism

2015 Immigrants Oppose Depostations

Worcester Will Be the Butt of Donald Trump’s Racism

On November 18. 2015 Worcester will choose between Donald Trump and BlackLives Matter. The racist Trump TV circus will be at the DCU Center on that day.  There is a BlackLives Matter meeting at Centro Las Americas about police arresting kids at school on the same day at 6 PM.

Trump will make Worcester MA the “straight man” and the butt of his offensive rants.  When thousands of people show up for his offensive and racist media show, the world will see Worcester as a backwards city full of backwards people. It is said that Worcester County has the largest number of Tea Party people.  Going to the Trump circus will give credence to that perception and have Worcester look stupid.

I guess I should not find it surprising that many people, even some who do not like Trump will go to the DCU center because they like the action and the lights of the TV camera. I suppose it is something of an event.

I think that other people like Councillors Lukes and Gaffney who have similar right wing politics as Trump will go and see him. School Committee women Colorio and Briancharia might like him as well. 

Trump might eventually be as credible as some European fascists who use a combination of racism, misogyny, nationalism, and anti communism to come into power. Poland seems to be the latest country moving in that direction.  Many in the United States are alienated and find it hard to deal with the lowering standard of living and the fact this country will soon have a non White majority population.  Several White Supremacy groups have already endorsed Trump.

The candidate Trump has said that he will create a new national police force of Deportation Enforcement and new forms of concentration camps. How else can you deport 11 million people? He has made racist comments about Mexicans and other immigrants. He has belittled the civil rights movement and he has devalued the contribution of women to society and he has made light of the heroism of soldiers.

 Some progressive people will say that they will go and oppose Trump and this is a good thing. However Trump will bully these good people on National TV and boost of his being a tough guy. The BlackLives Matter activists who met with Hillary Clinton were used by Clinton to further her campaign. It is likely Trump will do the same.

It might be better for people to boycott Trump and his racist circus. It might be good for people to go to the BlackLives Matter meeting at Centro Las Americas and help end the school to prison pipeline. There is no clear Worcester policy for the use of police power in the schools and the arrest of children. The City’s policy should be clarified and revised to ensure that the interests of the children are taken into account. The cops in the schools are not educators and are not trained in the appropriate age pedagogy of children in parentis loco.

Wednesday will tell us much about the character of Worcester.

Paris and theTargetting of Civilians

     2014 peace in Middle East Rally ( K. Ksen)

Paris and the Targetting of Civilians

The killing of scores of Parisians on November 13. 2015 is sad and a symptom of the corrupting culture in which we all live. Every premature death is tragic, especially when civilians are killed in wars in horrific ways. The people in Paris have my condolences and sorrow. The fascist who committed these murders should be arrested and punished.  ParisianLives Matter.

The targeting of civilians in war has its  modern beginnings in World War II. In 1937 the fascists from Japan committed the “Rape of Nanking.” This was followed by the bombing of Guernica by the German fascists in the Spanish Civil and then the so called blitz bombings of London. The Americans killed 100, 000 civilians in the fire bombings of Dresden. The atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima have been characterized as terrorist and crimes against humanity. CivilianLives Matter.

This year drone attacks have killed thousands in “collateral” damage. The civil wars in Syria, Nigeria, Kenya, Yemen, and Palestine/Israel have killed thousand more.  BackLives Matter. 

The civilians who died in conflicts outside of Europe and America, many connected to the Parisian attacks, do not get the same value as has the Parisians killed yesterday.  ISIS kills Muslim people too.

The price to pay for peace in the World is steep and the price to pay for the endless wars is steeper. All of this talk of striking ISIS or some other group is useless rhetoric designed to placate an angry nationalistic public.  France, Britain, Russia, and the United States do not want to send in millions of soldier to occupy a country for a generation as they did to Germany and Japan.

The American effort to build up an anti ISIS Syrian rebel army was worse than a joke. The 5000 fighters trained by the Americans joined ISIS.  I don’t think a draft would be viable in the United States, despite the chicken hawks.

Even if these powerful countries wanted to occupy vast stretches of the Middle East, ISIS is being supported by Saudi Arabia which sees it as a force against the Shia, and Turkey which is using ISIS to fight the Kurds and other Turkish minorities.

The forces that could stabilize the world were defeated decades ago and have not yet redeveloped; progressive secular humanists no longer are a force in the Middle East and many other countries. The forces needed to stabilize and reverse economic and political disparities, the forces needed to enforce tolerance of religious belief, and modernity for women were destroyed by West in its fight against the Soviet Union in the Cold War.  The CIA and others preferred the likes of Hamas over the seculars in the PLO and Al Qaeda over the Afghan socialists.

Six months from now there will be another 9-11 or another Paris or another attack by Boko Haran. We will all say the same thing about how sorry we all are.  This system we have now is madness for us who live check to check. I suppose the oil companies will make money.  It will take generations for progressive forces in the USA and the world to develop and bring an end to this madness around us.