Fight for fully funded schools! Boston Socialist Alternative

Fight for fully funded schools!

Boston Socialist Alternative<boston@socialistalternative.org>

9:04 AM

To  alfredjohnson34@comcast.net  

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View this email in your browser What: Public meeting to discuss how we can win fully funded public education! When: 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 13 Where: UMass Boston, Wheatley Building, room 22 Nationwide, we are witnessing a wave of educators and students walking out of their schools to fight for more funding and for better working and learning conditions. As our public schools are still under threat, we will see the #redfored movement continue this coming school year. Here in Massachusetts, our public schools have been underfunded by over $1 billion for Prek-12 education, and by over $500 million for public higher education every year, and this underfunding of our schools disproportionately hurts communities of color, and poor and working class families. Year after year, we are given false promises of better funding on the horizon—just last year the legislature failed to pass an updated education  foundation budget bill, and despite the promise of 2019 being the year our students and educators would get the funding we desperately need and deserve, legislators have thus far failed to deliver. We have heard enough empty promises from legislators, and must build the broadest union-led, community-driven movement to demand our students and staff get the funding we deserve! As union members and members of our communities, we must call for strike action and work stoppages this coming school year, and must begin to discuss the most effective strategies to win fully funded schools for ourselves and our students. In large part due to pressure from unions, students, and community members, the state legislature has just passed a recommendation to increase state funding of our pre-K through 12 public schools by $269 million in the current fiscal year (through an increase in Chapter 70 aid). The PROMISE and CHERISH acts have been pushed aside, and this stopgap of pre-k through 12 funding is a drop in the bucket given the decades of underfunding and cuts our public schools are faced with. UMass Boston has just announced a projected deficit of $14 million, and is going through with a second round of faculty and staff buyouts. The legislative response was to provide measly budget increases for the UMass system, but allow for tuition increases—once again, working class students at UMass Boston are paying the tab for mismanagement of their higher education institution.  Join union and community members to discuss how to carry the fight for public education forward--we need to consider strike action this school year to show corporate education reformers and our legislators that our students and our educators need more than temporary funding solutions! RSVP on Facebook and invite your coworkers, friends and neighbors!

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We have a responsibility to every living being on planet earth Shailene Woodley

We have a responsibility to every living being on planet earth

Shailene Woodley<info@ourrevolution.com>

10:52 AM

To  alfredjohnson34@comcast.net  

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Friend, did you know that last month was the hottest month ever recorded in human history across the globe? Well, July is now on track to break that short-lived record. It's time for the DNC to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and hold a presidential debate on the climate crisis. Demand the DNC host a climate debate » Despite the increasingly clear reality that we are in a spiraling climate crisis, the DNC is refusing to hold a presidential debate focused on the candidates’ plans to prevent a full-blown catastrophe. We have a responsibility to every living being on planet Earth to not allow the greatest crisis we have ever faced as human beings to be swept under the rug by the media. While the oil industry and the politicians they fund desperately try to keep feeding us both big and little lies, the truth is that the American people deserve a climate debate. But in order to make that happen, we all need to fight for it. We know that real transformational power comes from people — our unity, our commitment, our knowledge — and from our strength in numbers. Add your name here to join me in demanding that the DNC host a debate specifically focused on the climate crisis→ No one will be coming to save us. That’s why it’s essential for us to organize right now. It is up to us to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and demand a healthy, just, and sustainable planet. Our Revolution groups around the country are mobilizing at the local level to demand a climate debate because the fate of our shared planet literally depends on it. Sign here to stand with Our Revolution in telling the Democratic Party to host a presidential debate focused exclusively on the climate crisis→ Climate change and environmental justice can no longer be ignored. Thank you for being a part of the millions of people around the world who are standing up. In Solidarity, Shailene Woodley

Please explain to me Bernie Sanders 11:12 AM

Please explain to me

Bernie Sanders<info@berniesanders.com>

11:12 AM

To  alfred johnson  

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Alfred -

If you watch TV or browse the internet today, there’s a decent chance you’ll see an ad from a health insurance or pharmaceutical company attacking Medicare for All.

And what I want to know is why?

Why when so many Americans are dying because of a lack of insurance and more cannot afford their prescriptions, are they spending so much money on ads attacking Medicare for All? And how much do they plan to spend?

So I wrote a letter to health insurance and pharmaceutical CEOs, asking them.

Please read my letter below and add your name as a co-signer demanding answers on why they are spending so much money on ads against us when so many are suffering because of their greed.

Dear Mr. Eyles and Mr. Ubl: We pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs and healthcare. While over 30,000 Americans die each year because they lack health insurance and one out of five Americans cannot afford the medicine prescribed by their doctors, the private healthcare…

We should all be outraged at their spending during this process — and please know who they are trying to beat:

Not just me.

They are trying to beat us.

So please, co-sign my letter demanding answers. Use this link:

https://act.berniesanders.com/go/Pharma-Letter

These groups are likely prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to stop us and our agenda. It’s outrageous.

Thank you for co-signing my letter, and I will let you know if they respond.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

SIGN THE LETTER

Criminalizing the Truth Teller RootsAction Education Fund Thomas Drake

Criminalizing the Truth Teller

RootsAction Education Fund Thomas Drake<info@rootsaction.org>

2:24 PM

Via  info=rootsaction.org <info=rootsaction.org@mail.salsalabs.net>

To  alfredjohnson34@comcast.net  

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Years ago, Congress passed a resolution for National Whistleblower Day. But that doesn’t overly impress Thomas Drake. The U.S. government tried and failed to imprison him for the “crime” of telling crucial truths about his employer, the National Security Agency. “The plight of whistleblowers and the price they pay, both personally and professionally, are devastating and life changing,” Tom says. Tom certainly wasn’t expecting to become a whistleblower when he took the job of a high-ranking executive at the NSA eight years ago. He explains: “The vast overwhelming majority of people do not wake up one day and say ‘I want to blow the whistle today,’ because -- at a minimum -- that choice is more often than not career suicide.” While some whistleblowers have protections, that’s hardly the case for “national security” whistleblowers. As Tom points out, they “make themselves vulnerable to not just losing their jobs and blowing up their career and professional livelihoods, but also facing criminal exposure and felony jeopardy, as witnessed by too many whistleblowers over the past decade -- with too many ending up in prison for their ‘crimes against the state.’” The RootsAction Education Fund continues to support Tom Drake’s vital work on civil liberties issues, while he continues to pay a very high price for being a historic NSA whistleblower. Although Tom ultimately prevailed in court after a Kafkaesque ordeal that lasted years, the government completely wrecked his personal finances. If you click here to support Thomas Drake as an NSA whistleblower who continues to speak truth to -- and about -- power, you can make a tax-deductible contribution. Whatever you can afford would be deeply appreciated. Half of every dollar you donate will go directly to Tom, while the other half will support the Whistleblowers Public Education Campaign that he chairs. (If you’re not familiar with his courageous stand on behalf of the Fourth Amendment, please see the links under “Background” at the bottom of this email.) And now, here are some new comments from Tom Drake: ___________________________ Senator Ron Wyden tweeted out in social media the following to acknowledge the vital role played by whistleblowers as a check on abuse and misuse of power: “Being a whistleblower has never been an easy road to travel, but the difficulties they face now are greater than ever. As a cosponsor of the National Whistleblower Day resolution, I'm proud to celebrate those who bravely shed light on government abuse today and every day.” Becoming a whistleblower is one of the most difficult and challenging roads to travel and the dangers faced are greater now than ever before. The fact remains that whistleblowing is a dangerous undertaking when speaking truth to power -- and especially when that same power can come after you with the full force of the government out for revenge, retaliation and retribution and especially in the national security side of government, where the government uses secrecy to hide accountability for its actions (even when violating the law and statute), and works to actively avoid public scrutiny in the name of national security. I became an enemy of the state in the eyes of the government and they chose to go after me, precisely because I held up the mirror of transparency and accountability and would not break faith with the oath I had taken to support and defend the Constitution -- even against my own government violating that same Constitution with impunity through secrecy and under the exceptional exemption clause of national security. The irony of course is that plenty of books, TV shows and movies glamorize as cultural icons the intelligence operative, hi-tech military ops, the rogue spy and off-the-books executive actions taken behind the scenes -- where state secrets and shadow ops are used as a form of symbiotic power between the public, the access press and those in power -- duping us with the name and invocation of national security for the purpose of ostensibly keeping us safe as a form of state-sponsored propaganda. The reality is that whistleblowers are considered a direct insider threat in the national security arena when they expose state secrecy as a form of deception to keep the public uninformed regarding what the government is doing in the dark. While recognizing that modern states have intelligence agencies to keep legitimate secrets, the lines get very blurred when the corrosive effects of secrecy undermine the very democracy that same secrecy ostensibly defends. I took an oath four times in my government career to the Constitution and blew the whistle on those in power who used national security as both a shield to protect their wrongdoing and failure to provide for our common defense and keep people out of harm’s way, and then as a sword to attack those who would dare defend the Constitution against the government violating it. The price I paid was enormous, and I continue to dig out from the financial hardships and near bankruptcy I incurred as a direct result of my whistleblowing. I want to thank all of you who have donated and contributed to this Education Fund as I continue to speak out and take the time to address the central core questions we face as a society to include governance, secrecy, surveillance, national security, privacy and the abuse of power -- while standing on that long arc of history and helping bend it toward justice and the inalienable rights of each and every one of us. Thank you for continuing support and encouragement. I have dedicated the rest of my life to defending the heart of what it means to be human and the rights that protect our humanity. With appreciation, Tom Drake  ___________________________ PS from the RootsAction Education Fund team: Truth-telling can be inspirational. Another NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden, has said: “If there hadn’t been a Thomas Drake, there couldn’t have been an Edward Snowden.” Meanwhile, Tom Drake remains deeply in financial debt. Ironically, we are in his debt -- morally, politically and ethically. We owe him so much because he stood up for civil liberties and human decency. Let’s continue to help repay that debt to Tom Drake, who exposed extreme mass surveillance by the NSA. Living in what is supposed to be a democracy, we get vital information because of the courage of whistleblowers. Tom Drake has no intention of going silent. He wants to keep writing, traveling and speaking out. But he needs our help. Please make a tax-deductible contribution in support of his work. Thanks! Please share on Facebook and Twitter. Background:      >>  Daily Beast: “U.S. Intelligence Shuts Down Damning Report on Whistleblower Retaliation”      >>  Freedom of the Press Foundation: “Beware of Trump Administration’s Coming Crackdown on Leaks -- and Journalism”      >>  Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Former NSA Executive Urges Public Vigilance Against Government Overreach”      >>  “The Constitution and Conscience: NSA’s Thomas Drake”: Video of speech      >>  The Washington Times: “Donald Trump on Edward Snowden: Kill the ‘Traitor’”      >>  Jesselyn Radack, The New York Times: “Whistleblowers Deserve Protection Not Prison”      >>  Jane Mayer, The New Yorker: Thomas Drake -- "The Secret Sharer"      >>  Senator Ron Wyden: Tweet about National Whistleblower Day, 2019 www.RootsAction.org Click here to unsubscribe and stop ALL email from RootsAction.

Upon The 50th Anniversary Of The Death Of "King Of The Beats" Jack Kerouac-For Sax Man Johnny Hodge's 112th Birthday-Blowing The High White Note-The Legends Of Jazz- Duke And Satch, Natch

Click On Title To Link To YouTube's Film Clip Of Duke Ellington And Louis Armstrong Performing Ellington's "Mood Indigo". Step Back.

CD Review

In Honor Of The 110th Birthday Anniversary Of Duke Ellington

Louis Armstrong &Duke Ellington: The Complete Sessions, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and various side men, Capitol Records, 1990

Those who follow the reviews in this space may have read a response to a commenter that I wrote recently in reviewing John Cohen’s (from the old folk group The New Lost City Ramblers) “There Is No Eye” CD. That CD contained many country blues, urban folk, city blues and rural mountain musical treats (as well as a little tribute to the “beats” of the 1950’s). The gist of my comment was an attempt to draw a connection between my leftist sympathies and the search for American roots music that has driven many of my reviews lately. That said, no one, at least no one with any sense of the American past can deny the importance of the emergence of jazz as a quintessentially American black music form of expression. In short, roots music. And if you want to look at the master, or at least one of the masters (if you need to include King Oliver and Louis Armstrong), of the early years of this genre then look no further- you are home. Duke is in his castle.

Now I am by no means a jazz aficionado. In fact, if anything, I am a Johnnie-come- lately to an appreciation of jazz. More to the point I never really liked it (except some of the more bluesy-oriented pieces that I would occasionally hear like Armstrong’s “Potato Blues” that I was crazy for when I first heard them) as against the other musical genres that I was interested in. Then, with all the hoopla over Duke’s 100th birthday anniversary ten years ago, in 1999, I decided to investigate further. I had to ask someone what would be a good CD of Duke’s to listen to. Naturally this sessions album came up.

Until very recently I never had thought much of the work of Louis Armstrong. Part of this dismissive attitude may have been from being put off by his cringing “Uncle Tom” type roles in movies like “High Society (with Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby). It was only when I accidentally listened to his “Potato Blues Album” that I realized that I had been wrong about his music, if not his persona. As for the Duke, since the centenary of his birth in 1999 I have developed an appreciation for his wonderful jazz tone poems, for lack of better term to express these virtuoso works, especially those from the late 1930’s-early 1940’s when he was riding high in the jazz world. Well put these to legends together, any where, any time and you have a big moment in American musical history. Duke with his beautifully controlled use of the piano and Satch with his horn and be-bop, scat voice and you have one version of musical heaven. Highlights here include the classic “Mood Indigo”, “Solitude” and the instrumental “Black And Tan Fantasy”.

The Centennial Of Pete Seeger’s Birthday (1919-2014)- *Blues Legends Without The Frills- The Blues Of Sonny Terry And Brownie McGhee

Click on title to link to YouTube's film clip of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry on Pete Seeger's "Rainbow Quest " performing the classic "Key To The Highway".

CD REVIEW

Back To New Orleans, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Fantasy Records, 1989

Recently I reviewed in this space a DVD of “Rainbow Quest”, a 1960’s television show hosted by Pete Seeger, one of the premier folk anthologists, singers, transmitters of the tradition and “keeper” of the folk flame. One of the segments of that particular documentary (there are five in this series) featured Pete interviewing, playing along with and listening to the well-regarded folk/blues duo of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. Needless to say after watching that performance I went scurrying for my Sonny and Brownie CDs. Mainly the work that I have of theirs is in compilations with other artists like Big Joe Williams but the present CD is a total solo Terry and McGhee effort. It is something of a greatest hits compilation. In any case, it can serve as a decent primer of the work of the pair, especially for those unfamiliar with their long careers.

Pete Seeger’s relationship with Sonny and Brownie went back to the days of the Almanac Singers (that included Woody Guthrie) and New York City in the early 1940’s. That above-mentioned segment gives some details about various goings on of those times and the genesis of some of the songs that are sung in the set. I have read elsewhere that at some point in their joint careers Sonny and Brownie stopped talking to each other even as they continued their professional lives together. Here, at least, they appeared to be civil to each other as the combination of Brownie’s guitar and vocals, Sonny’s smokin’ harmonica and accompaniment by Pete on the banjo is a rare treat.

The CD is in the same highly professional mode as that of the television performance. It is only necessary to add a few comments about what to listen for here. To highlight Brownie’s vocals and guitar playing and Sonny’s harmonica the traditional blues classic about a man who went over the edge to please his lady and paid the price you can hardly do better than “Betty and Dupree’s Blues” (also has been done in other variations by other artists under different titles, but the story line is the same). Elizabeth Cotton’s super classic “Freight Train” is well-covered. A couple of novelty-type songs round out this selection, “Let Me Be Your Big Dog” and “Fox Hunt”. Whether they talked to each other or not Sonny and Brownie were a potent combo spreading the blues gospel.

"Double Trouble"

Yes I got double trouble
What am I gonna do now?
Wanna leave here

Well you had trouble, I've got troubles too
Got double trouble, what am I gonna do?
I believe I'll leave here
I don't feel good no more
Well the woman I been lovin'
Don't love me no more

"Death of Blind Boy Fuller"

He's gone, Blind Boy Fuller's gone away
He's gone, Blind Boy Fuller's gone away
Well he heard a voice calling, and he knew he could not stay

Well he called me to his bedside one morning, and the clock was strikin' four
Called me to his bedside one morning, and the clock was strikin' four
Brownie take my guitar and carry my business on, I won't stay here no more

Blind Boy had a million friends, north, east, south and west
Blind Boy had a million friends, north, east, south and west
Well you know it's hard to tell, which place he was loved the best

Well all you women of Blind Boy's, how do you want your lovin' done?
All of you women of Blind Boy's, how do you want your lovin' done?
I'll do my best, I'll do my best, to carry Blind Boy's business on

Goodbye Blind Boy!


I was goin' down the street
Didn't have one dime
The woman I been lovin'
Didn't pay me no mind
I believe I'll leave here
I don't feel good no more
Ah the woman I been lovin'
Drove me from her door

Play it for me boys!

My father told me
When I was only a kid
What you gonna do son
Things happen like this
I believe I'll leave here
I don't feel good no more
Yeah the woman I been lovin'
Drove me from her door

Well must I had now
Your heart in my hand
I would teach you little woman
How to treat a man
I believe I'll leave here
I don't feel good no more
I'm blamin' you woman
Drove me from your door

Play it for me boys! Yeah double trouble!