The teachers strike revolution will not be televised (on MSNBC)

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 7:17pm

The West Virginia teachers strike is the biggest wildcat strike in decades, and no one is not covering it better than that bastion of liberal politics MSNBC.

Save for one two-minute throwaway report from daytime show Velshi and Ruhle (2/27/18), MSNBC hasn’t dedicated a single segment to the strike—despite the strike’s unprecedented size and scope, which garnered major coverage from major outlets like CNN (3/1/18), the New York Times (3/1/18), Washington Post (3/2/18), Vox (2/24/18) and dozens of others.
The most glaring omission is from the three highly paid primetime hosts: Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell and former In These Times and Nation writer Chris Hayes. None of the three big hosts have tweeted about it, much less mentioned the subject on air.

Obviously someone should tell Rachel Maddow is that Putin is behind the strike.
That would change coverage.

Of course covering the strike would involve talking about subjects that their corporate owners would rather not be spoken of. For instance, corporate tax cuts.

“They’re saying we can’t afford it,” Ted Boettner, director of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy, said of legislators. “Well, we can’t afford it because we’ve done these large tax cuts.”
A decade ago, West Virginia began gradually winding down certain business taxes that could have helped pay for the across-the-board raises that teachers haven’t seen in four years. They also could have helped fill the funding shortfall in the Public Employee Insurance Agency, or PEIA, which many workers list as their top concern.
...All told, those cuts diminished state revenue by more than $425 million each year, the center estimates.

That conversation could lead people to talking about Trump's recent corporate tax cuts.
Another reason to not talk about it is that you might run across the widespread support for the teachers with the public.

The state could try to call in substitute teachers, but according to Lofaso, substitute teachers are standing in solidarity with full-time educators. And even if they did cross picket lines, there would still be vacancies.
...And the injunction process would be difficult. Lofaso, who formerly worked for the National Labor Relations Board, explained that the state would have to file an injunction in every county in the state, then successfully argue that the strike endangered a child’s constitutional right to an education more than the state’s own inadequate funding of the public school system.

I would love to attend that court case, and hear how underfunded schools are OK, but striking teachers are a danger.

Either way, MSNBC may not be able to ignore the strike much longer, because it might be part of a trend.

Oklahoma public school teachers are planning a statewide strike for sometime in the coming weeks.
More than 25,000 people have joined the Facebook group “Oklahoma Teacher Walkout – The Time Is Now!” and a group of educators met Friday to discuss plans for the walkout, according to Tulsa’s KTUL.
“We are to the point where we have no other option,” one teacher told KTUL.

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west virginia

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Comments

Submitted by gjohnsit on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 7:22pm

What else isn't MSNBC covering?

peace is bad

Another major topic that’s non grata at the Comcast-owned cable network is recent efforts by senators Bernie Sanders, Chris Murphy and Mike Lee to end US backing for the brutal, human rights-abusing war on Yemen. Wednesday, the independent, Democrat and Republican introduced a bill to cut off financial and logistical support for Saudi Arabia’s bombing and blockade of Yemen, which has left over 15,000 dead and created more than a million cases of cholera.
As FAIR has noted before, the US-created humanitarian crisis is a total non-issue to MSNBC. During the Obama years, it was ignored entirely (FAIR.org, 10/14/16), and MSNBC hasn’t done much better under Trump’s tenure—reporting on Russia-related stories 5,000 percent more often than on the largest man-made famine on Earth (FAIR.org, 1/8/18).

This is a so-called "liberal" media outlet

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 7:52pm

Libruls and Conservatives are interchangeable.

@gjohnsit They agree on everything except maybe 1% of the issues. And that is all we're allowed to argue over.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by BORG_US_BORG on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 8:11pm

@The Aspie Corner

@The Aspie Corner
[Vigorous debate over a narrow range of choices] -Chomsky ?

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 8:21pm

More or less.

@BORG_US_BORG [video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFW5vyyypOA]

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by lotlizard on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 8:46pm

“Is MSNBC now the most dangerous warmonger network?”

@gjohnsit
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/msnbc-now-dangerous-warmonger-network/

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 10:36pm

Great article

@lotlizard

This deserves its own essay because of what Rachel and company are doing to the country.

—

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 9:35pm

Cue Bernie being blacklisted from the media...

@gjohnsit

and, of course, portrayed as an UnAmerican 'Soviet sympathizer', despite it being long-defunct - due to US PTB electoral meddling, which the delusional electoral meddlers themselves apparently haven't quite come to understand, either. Thick skulls just take longer to absorb solid facts, I guess... really just shows that the ancient Cold War propaganda of the past century can't really be recycled without updating that won't work on obsolete technicalities, however misrepresented.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 7:50am

And expect Sanders to totally capitulate to the Porky Dems

@Ellen North every step of the way just as he's done over the last 2 years.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by dkmich on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 8:11am

I think Bernie missed the boat.

@The Aspie Corner

I know I won't send him any money because I don't trust him not to hold back and not to quit.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 8:16am

He should have joined Jill.

@dkmich Had he done that, he would have taken a huge chunk of the electorate with him.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by jim p on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 8:16pm

Robots make excellent scabs.

The Teacher Bot cannot be long in coming. Prototypes must already exist.

—

Orwell: Where's the omelette?

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 10:11pm

Great point, Jim

@jim p

There are robots that can do surgery and some can do it without even being in the room for it. I too think that it's not going to be long until robots or just computers are going to teach kids. This is where basic universal income comes into play. This is coming sooner or later because robots are.

—

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Submitted by Hawkfish on Mon, 03/05/2018 - 6:47pm

Not UBI: Job Guarantees

@snoopydawg

There was a great article on the difference linked from here a few weeks back. The big differences are that JG is affordable and it puts a floor on the price of Labour.

—

We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed.
- Greta Thunberg

Submitted by Ellen North on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 9:02pm

Thanks for the essay/updates, much appreciated!

How ignorant does anyone have to be to not treasure freaking teachers and a decent public educational system? Ooooo, I think I see a link here, between the two!

But please, don't give them ideas of where they've missed at least something to blame on Putin! It was so refreshing in this case...

... Obviously someone should tell Rachel Maddow is that Putin is behind the strike. ...

Wanna bet we're going to wish that that hadn't been written out loud? lol.

Why on Earth would teachers want decent pay, respect and a properly funded and directed-as-sensitively-inclusive/broadening educational system for well-rounded humans, if evil Russians hadn't posted cute puppy pics somewhere to put them up to it as an anti-Hillary gesture?

For the good of all, I'll keep my toes crossed that strikes/boycotts begin to take off nationally; the system is broken and apparently has to be taken off-line in order to be fixed. At this point - before more automation - people stopping work en masse also slows the money-flow upward for a bit and TPTB get to imagine life without the country supporting them.

Who knows, maybe they'll all just run off in terror to hide in their NZ luxury bunkers while their political lackeys and lobbyists collapse from lack of funding and borrowed power, to let Americans have their country back. I haz dreamz... but in any event, congrats and the best of luck to the teachers! Let them instruct others in how to use leverage to get the parasites cleared from the system, please, FSM.

—

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Submitted by snoopydawg on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 10:16pm

Easy, Ellen

@Ellen North

How ignorant does anyone have to be to not treasure freaking teachers ?

People have been brainwashed into thinking that teachers are bad for...reasons. They also think that unions are bad because they cost employers too much money and they get nicer pensions than they will.

The Kochs have spent years telling people whatever they want them to think and they do. Look at how they worship the troops and think that they are really helping people in the countries they invade. "Spreading freedoms and democracy" while not seeing what they really bring to those countries.

—

There were problems with running a campaign of Joy while committing a genocide? Who could have guessed?

Harris is unburdened of speaking going forward.

Submitted by wendy davis on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 9:09pm

just as an fyi, gjonsit,

wsws.org is covering it, seven related reports from their reporters in west virginia on the left-hand column.

Submitted by eyo on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 7:04am

Workers of the world unite!

@wendy davis @wendy davis thanks, I am reading the socialists news too. Fuck MSNBC. MicrosoftNBC lol too cheap to change the name back after they broke up. Cheap bastards, Intellectual Property failures. Eat 'em!

Support grows for West Virginia teachers as unions, Democrats scramble to end strike

The actions of rank-and-file teachers and other school employees have already pointed to an entirely different course. By rejecting the union-backed agreement with Justice and continuing their strike, they have taken a courageous stand in defense of the interests of the entire working class.

To defeat the conspiracies of the big business politicians, the struggle of teachers and school employees must be extended. This requires the formation of rank-and-file strike committees, independent of the unions, to appeal to every section of the working class—miners, public employees, energy workers, hospital workers, factory workers, young people and others—to mobilize the full strength of the working class to back the striking school employees.

Mass meetings and demonstrations should be called and discussions held on preparing a general strike to defend teachers against injunctions and threats of firings, fines and jail time. Appeals must be made to teachers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Arizona and other states fighting to defend the right quality public education. This struggle must lay the basis for an industrial and political counter-offensive against austerity and social inequality.

Where's Bernie ~~and the Ds~~? This is a his big chance to do something meaningful. Edited: confusing bad grammar, it already says where the Ds are, scrambling.
General Strike!
Huelga!

solidarity

Submitted by Lily O Lady on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 9:44pm

Remember the extensive coverage Maddow gave the

teacher protests in Wisconsin back in 2011? You’d never know it now. Fame has gone to her head, I guess.

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by Socialprogressive on Sat, 03/03/2018 - 10:38pm

It's not the fame that went to her head

@Lily O Lady
it's the money.

—

I'm great at multi-tasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at the same time.

Submitted by Lily O Lady on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 12:22am

And maybe cocktail parties. I suspect that is where

@Socialprogressive

the rot sets in.

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by dkmich on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 8:14am

That was back when

@Lily O Lady

Obama was pretending to be a Democrat.

—

"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Submitted by Lily O Lady on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 8:30am

The “hope” was fake, but the “change” is real. Democrat

@dkmich

is the new Republican.

—

"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"

Submitted by lotlizard on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 2:14am

Not hearin’ nuthin’ from MSNBC / the usual “progressive” sources

about unions like the California Nurses Association, either.

Of course, by endorsing and canvassing for Bernie, the California nurses showed themselves guilty of wrongthink. And as we all know, anyone doing that deserves to fall permanently out of favor with Her Heinous’s media servants and accomplices.

Submitted by Dr. John Carpenter on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 12:09pm

I wish I could talk to my parents

And get their take. They both were public school teachers. Mom even went on stike once in the 80s. Both retired early in frustration about 15 years ago due to what was going on then.

However, both are diehard republicans who watch Fox all day...hence why I can’t talk anything political with them. It’s always interesting to hear the disconnect, but I just can’t stomach it anymore.

—

Idolizing a politician is like believing the stripper really likes you.

Submitted by Mark from Queens on Sun, 03/04/2018 - 8:00pm