Common Dreams:
"NAACP's Call for Charter School Moratorium Invites Corporate Criticism. ...Despite pressure from corporate media and education reformers, the nation's largest civil rights organization voted on Saturday to approve a resolution calling for a moratorium on charter school expansion at least until issues of non-transparency and inequity are meaningfully addressed. ...
Before and after the vote, major American newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal came out against the resolution—as did a slew of corporate education reform organizations. ...
What do the drafters of the NAACP resolution understand that these editorial boards do not? They know that the charter industry was the creation of some of the wealthiest billionaires in America, from the Walton family heirs of the Walmart fortune, to Microsoft's Bill Gates [who have] pumped billions into creating a new privatized school system where those running schools can profit and evade government oversight." http://www.commondreams.org/news/2016/10/17/naacps-call-charter-school-moratorium-invites-corporate-criticism
-- >The NYT is sticking up for the billionaires as usual, just like our pay to play Governor Cuomo. Our guest next week, George Joseph, will talk about the nine billionaires who are out to destroy public education.
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Huffington Post:
"Nation’s Largest Seniors Group Is Using Conservative Scare Tactics On Social Security. AARP is promoting alarmism about the program and giving awards to Republican lawmakers who want to cut it. ...
The 'Take A Stand' initiative rankled progressive retirement security advocates virtually from the moment it started, because it focused on getting politicians to propose any detailed plan ― and didn’t distinguish between reform proposals that would cut benefits and those that would not.
The new television ad has only heightened liberal concerns. Critics of AARP’s approach say that the influential seniors group, which has 37 million members across the country and incredible influence in Washington, is making Social Security’s financial challenges seem much more dire than they really are. In doing so, the group is playing right into the crisis framing favored by conservatives, who want benefit cuts to seem inevitable." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aarp-conservative-social-security_us_57fbe10be4b068ecb5e0d0f3
-- >The AARP has long been doing the dirty work of the insurance companies that fund the organization. Why can't our mainstream media point out AARP's obvious sell out of both our nation's seniors and middle class workers?
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Common Dreams:
"As Flint Suffers, Big Pharma Slammed for Lead Poison Drug Price Hike of 2,700%. Drug company Valeant described as 'poster child for pharmaceutical greed.'
Outrage is growing this week amid revelations that the pharmaceutical company Valeant raised the price for its critical lead-poisoning treatment by more than 2,700 percent in a single year. ...
'This is a drug that has long been a standard of care, and until recently it was widely accessible at an affordable price,' Dr. Michael Kosnett, an associate clinical professor, told STAT. He also contacted the U.S. Congress. 'There's no justification for the astronomical price increases by Valeant, which limit availability of the drug to children with life-threatening lead poisoning.' "
-- >Let's face it, billionaire speculators should not be allowed to destroy public education or our children's access to affordable drugs. Seems so clear to us, but the NYT didn't bother printing this story.
