To update a previous post on the privatization of the public school system, here, it’s good to watch the video and read Ian Millhiser’s Center for American Progress white paper that offers today a devastating but confirming view of the fear many have of the changes being planned for our country under the corporatist, neoliberal leadership controlling our government. Education – the guardian of all freedom, our public school system and all federal education programs, are on the “chopping block”:

    Social Security and Medicare
    Medicaid, SCHIP, and other health care programs
    All federal education programs
    All federal antipoverty programs
    Federal disaster relief
    Federal food safety inspections and other food safety programs
    Child labor laws, the minimum wage, overtime, and other labor protections
    Federal civil rights laws

However sad, it’s a good paper and deserves sharing and much discussion. Changes are taking place relatively quickly now. Diminishing transparency, outright secrecy, and our mass media’s refusal to report on critical issues, upcoming hearings and alternative ideas to the ones being considered by our lawmakers, will all play effectively into to the changes that threaten “the very union itself”. This Thinkprogress piece has some good links in it:

Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) routinely grills education secretaries at congressional hearings, insisting that the Constitution does not authorize any federal involvement in education. Similarly, Rep. Foxx insists that “we should not be funding education” because she insists doing so violates the Tenth Amendment. And Sen. Coburn does not “even think [education] is a role for the federal government.”
What If the Tea Party Wins?
They Have a Plan for the Constitution, and It Isn’t Pretty

From the white paper:

Conclusion

America has long endured the occasional politician eager to repeal the entire 20thCentury, but, as President Dwight Eisenhower observed nearly 60 years ago, “Their numbers [were] negligible and they are stupid.”

Sadly, this is no longer the case. Tenthers increasingly dominate conservative politics and their numbers are growing. If this movement succeeds in replacing our founding document with their entirely fabricated constitution, virtually every American will suffer the consequences. Seniors will lose their Social Security and Medicare. Millions of students could lose their ability to pay for college. And workers throughout the country will lose their right to organize, to earn a minimum wage, and to be free from discrimination. Worse, because the Tea Party believes their policy preferences are mandated by the Constitution, they would do far more than simply repeal nearly a century of essential laws. Once something is declared unconstitutional, it is beyond the reach of elected officials—and beyond the voters’ ability to revive simply by tossing unwise lawmakers out of office. For this reason, the Tea Party’s agenda is not simply one of the most radical in generations, it is also the most authoritarian. They do not simply want to eliminate decades of progress; they want to steal away “We The People’s” ability to bring it back.

This video can’t say it all, but gives a good impression of what we’re up against:

DCKennedy