31 Aralık 2012 Pazartesi

If thine eye offendeth, pluck it out

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The Iowa Supreme Court rules unanimously that a dentist could legally fire an assistant because she was just too cute.  The doc and his wife deemed the plaintiff as a threat to their marriage.  His attorney calls the decision a victory for family values.

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/240222/288/Iowa-Dental-Assistant-fired-for-being-too-attractive


  • You Can't Be Serious: Iowa Woman Fired By Thirsty Azz Boss For Being "Too Attractive"
  • Court: OK for man to fire woman because he was sexually attracted to her
  • Iowa court: Bosses can fire 'irresistible' workers
  • Iowa court: Bosses can fire 'irresistible' workers
  • In Iowa, You Can Be Fired For Being Too Good Looking
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Call for Papers: International Conference on Law, Regs & Public Policy

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Please view our online newsletter if you are unable to view the below message
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Keynote Address "Competition vs. Financial Stability: The Case of Merging Banks in Time of Crisis and the Role of the State" will be delivered by:
Professor Ioannis Kokkoris
Chair in Law and Economics
School of Law
University of Reading, UK
[Brief Profile]
Keynote Address "Public Participation in Law Making and Policy Formulation: Emerging Trends"
will be delivered by:
Dr. K. C. Sunny
Program Chair LRPP 2013
Dean, Professor and Head
Department of Law
University of Kerala, India
[Brief Profile]
LRPP 2013
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
GENERAL CHAIR
Prof. the Hon. Dr. Stephen Martin
Member, Board of Governors,
Global Science & Technology Forum (GSTF)
Former Speaker Parliament of Australia
Former Deputy Vice Chancellor
(Strategy and Planning)
Curtin University of Technology
Former Pro Vice Chancellor International, Victoria University
PROGRAM CHAIR
Dr. K.C. Sunny
Dean, Professor and Head
Department of Law
University of Kerala, India
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Professor Tony Carty
Sir Y. K. Pao Chair of Public Law,
Faculty of Law,
The University of Hong Kong
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Dr. Willem de Lint
Flinders University, Australia

Dr. Jianfu Chen
La Trobe University, Australia

Dr. Christoph Antons
Deakin University, Australia

Prof. Denise Meyerson
Macquarie University,
Sydney, Australia

Prof. Paula Baron
La Trobe University, Australia

Dr. Anqi She
Teesside University, UK

Prof. Jiunn-rong Yeh
National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Prof. Abu Bakar Bin Munir
University of Malaya, Malaysia

Prof. Mohd Altaf Ahangar
Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali,
Brunei

Dr Tom Mortimer 
Anglia Ruskin University, UK

Dr. Dipak Das 
Hidyatullah National Law University
India

Dr. Aruna B Venkat
Nalsar University of Law, India

Dr. Tarun Arora 
Central University of Punjab
India

Prof. Gurdip Singh
University of Delhi
India

Dr. Udapudi Shobhalata V.
Gujarat National Law University
India

Dr. Mamata Biswal
Gujarat National Law University
India

Dr. Amit Prakash
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Prof. Andy C. M. Chen
Chung Yuan Christian University,
Taiwan

For a complete list of Committee,
please visit
http://www.law-conference.org/
Committee.html
CONFERENCE THEME
The laws of the land lay the foundations of peace and order, and to ensure people progress in all aspects of their lives – whether in business, education, travel, health or recreation. The role of public officials is to create, scrutinize, implement and uphold the laws in order to protect the rights of every individual, corporate entity or institution.

Educators of law thus possess the task of not only shaping each and every generation of legal practitioners into knowledgeable and responsible agents, but also the study of issues which surround the practice of law and its implementation across jurisdictions.
HIGHLIGHTS
 The Conference Proceedings (Print ISSN: 2251-3809, E-Periodical ISSN: 2251-3817) will be indexed by EBSCO,CrossRefProQuestUlrichsweb and will be submitted to ScopusScienceDirect and Cabell's Directories amongst others, where applicable.

 Best Paper Awards and Best Student Paper Awards will be conferred at the conference (in order to qualify for the award, the paper must be presented at the conference).

 LRPP 2013 will also constitute a Special Panel Session.

 Panel Proposals are invited for submission to the LRPP 2013. A minimum of three papers centering on a specific topic will be accepted for submission under Panel Category.
IMPORTANT DATES
* Extended Paper (Full Paper) &
Panel Proposal Submission Due:
21st January 2013
Final Paper (Camera-Ready) Submission:15th February 2013
Early Bird Registration:19th April 2013
Late Registration:17th May 2013
Conference Dates:17th - 18th June 2013

Prospective Authors are invited to submit original papers not being considered for publication elsewhere.Submissions are subjected to independent and professional “blind peer review”.Submissions will be judged on originality, significance, interest, clarity, relevance, correctness and presentation.
PUBLICATION (additional opportunity)
1) Contemporary Social Science Insights

Selected authors will be invited to contribute book chapters in "Contemporary Social Science Insights" to be published by GSTF.

The book will be edited by Edward P. Wolfers, CSM CMG BA PhD, Foundation Professor of Politics, University of Wollongong (NSW, Australia).
2) GSTF Journal of Law and Social Sciences (JLSS)

Depending on their importance, originality, quality, relevance and other editorial considerations, eligible research articles will be invited for publication in the GSTF Journal of Law and Social Sciences (JLSS) (Print ISSN: 2251-2853, E-periodical: 2251-2861) which is indexed by EBSCOCrossRefProQuestUlrichsweb and Cabell's Directories

GSTF PARTNER UNIVERSITIES
Universidad de AlcalaUniversiti Malaysia Sarawak
University of Arkansas at Little RockUniversity of Bedfordshire
International Islamic University MalaysiaSSA School Of Management,
University of Turin
Texas Woman's UniversityNew York Institute of Technology
University of Wisconsin-MadisonMonash University
East Carolina UniversityUniversiti Sains Malaysia
University of SurreyEdith Cowan University
International Institute of Information TechnologyFaculty of Economics – Roma Tre University
Washington & Jefferson CollegeDhofar University
The University of TulsaUniversity of North Dakota
University of PiraeusMunich Business School
University of SzczecinPontificia Universidad Javeriana Cali
Al Ghurair UniversityMount Royal University
Asia UniversitySripatum University
Universitas Pelita Harapan Surabaya

Is the only way to thwart the bad to arm some good guys?

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English: The Bill of Rights, the first ten ame...
English: The Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution Česky: Originál Listiny práv, prvních deseti dodatků k Ústavě Spojených států amerických Deutsch: Die Bill of Rights genannten ersten zehn Zusatzartikel zur US-amerikanischen Verfassung, die den Bürgern bestimmte Grundrechte garantieren Español: La Carta de Derechos de los Estados Unidos, el término por el que se conocen las diez primeras enmiendas de la Constitución de los Estados Unidos de América (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
This writer thinks so... and, frankly, so do I.

http://personalliberty.com/2012/12/28/should-we-arm-our-teachers/

Realistically, we will never succeed in disarming all the bad guys in this country.  There are too many guns.  There are too many nuts.  And there's the Second Amendment, which the Supreme Court has only recently ruled gives each of us the right to bear arms.

I absolutely favor a ban on assault weapons and serious penalties for selling, buying and owning them.  I'm with those of you who favor getting the cuckoos off our streets, too.  But these steps alone won't stop this madness.

Israel deals with its own variety of the madness by placing armed guards all over the place and licensing a goodly number of private citizens --- most of whom have previously served honorably in the military --- to carry concealed weapons.  Lives have been saved.  ANd the Israelis have done it while maintaining an open society and a vibrant democracy.  Freedom and security need not be a zero-sum game.




  • US teachers take up arms after mass shootings
  • Gun Grab in US Precludes UN Arms Trade Treaty Talks to Disarm the World
  • MORE guns in schools: NRA's plan to thwart the next Lanza
  • The 2nd Amendment Is Clear, The Founders Meant It
  • Protect Our Children or Disarm the Nation?
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Let's drop pink slime from school lunches... our kids are fat enough already

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CREDO says:

Please spread the word to help increase pressure on the USDA to drop pink slime from school lunches. If McDonald's has dropped it, we shouldn't be feeding it to kids either.

If you are on Facebook, click here to post the petition to your Wall.

If you have a Twitter account, click here to automatically tweet:
Tell @USDANutrition: No ammonia-treated, pink slime beef scraps in school lunches! http://bit.ly/wfUlwZ @USDAgov

You can also send the following e-mail to your friends and family. Spreading the word is critical, but please only pass this message along to those who know you -- spam hurts our campaign.

Thanks for all you do.

--The CREDO Action Team

Here's a sample message to send to your friends:

Subject: Tell the USDA: No ammonia-treated pink slime in school lunches!
Dear Friend,


So-called pink slime is a beef-like product created by grinding together connective tissue and beef scraps normally used in dog food, and treated with ammonia hydroxide to kill salmonella and E. coli.

It is "not meat" according to a 35 year veteran USDA microbiologist, and was recently rejected by the likes of McDonalds, Taco Bell and Burger King.

So it's pretty disturbing that the USDA continues feeding this stuff to kids, and plans to buy 7 million pounds of it for school lunches.

I just signed a petition to the USDA. You can learn more and add your name here:

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/pink_slime/?r_by=36394-3441008-EZs5Arx&rc=confemail 




  • Judge bows out of 'pink slime' suit over ABC ties
  • No, Dr. Hagen, You're Just Not Getting It.
  • The 4 Biggest Food Stories of the Year (And What They Taught Us)
  • Let's Get Naked: A Guide to Brand Transparency
  • Pink slime attack!
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The Generation Gasp: December 29, 2012

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When the holidays go to the dogs

Saturday, December 29, 2012
By CLAIRE ANDJIM CASTAGNERA tneditor@tnonline.comJim:Dogs were a part of growing up in Jim Thorpe in the 1950s. We shared a back yard with my grandparents. Midway between our house and theirs was a dog coop with a pair of beagles. When I was five, my parents bought me a fox terrier we named Buttons. He was a frisky little guy, short of hair and springy of leg. He liked to run around the yard, while I shot plastic balls at him from a bazooka-like air gun. I don't think those balls had anything to do with what happened to him on Christmas Eve 1953.Buttons lived with the hounds. The night before Christmas, my Grandpappy went out to feed the three dogs as usual. An hour later, he sat me down in my Nana's kitchen and told me that Buttons was dead. We never knew what killed him. The beagles hadn't hurt him. He hadn't starved or frozen to death. He wasn't very old. Pappy saw no signs that he was poisoned.Maybe it was the Grinch who stole my Christmas.Whatever the cause of my dog's demise, it soured me on canines for a long, long time. Mom and Pop never offered to replace him, and I never asked.My life was pet-free until Claire came along fully three decades later. Once she outgrew plastic horses and stuffed Beanie Babies, I might as well have been a veterinarian. Our house was never again without animals. She led me on a guided tour of all the major phyla: amphibians (newts, salamanders and frogs); reptiles (chameleons that required a diet of live crickets purchased weekly at the pet store; turtles that roamed the back yard in mobile screened boxes, until the neighborhood cat got them; and Rambo, an iguana that grew to be four feet long and eventually terrified even my daughter); and rodents (mice, hamsters, gerbils, and Butterscotch the Bunny, who liked to bite me).Finally, when she turned 12, Claire was allowed to get a dog. The deal I cut was that everything else had to go, including the horrifying Rambo, the stinky mice, and the aquarium swarming with newts and two tiny but ferocious aquatic frogs that stalked the newts. Spike, a Bichon, was four when we adopted him from a rescue in Northeast Philly.No outdoor pen ala Buttons for 'ol Spikey. For ten years he enjoyed the run of the house. No pizza crust or candy bar was safe if in his reach. No couch or chair or bed was off limits, when he had a nap in mind. No mail slipped through our door slot went unmolested. (Whenever we got a late notice, we automatically searched our foyer carpet and doormat for the original bill.) And no Christmas stocking was ever hung in safety if it held any chocolate.Two years ago Spike died of old age and one or more of the maladies that it brings. I was yet again dog-free. But this Christmas Eve brought déjà vu all over again.Claire:For anyone out there who sat around the tree this Christmas, watching the kids open presents, and suddenly thought that a puppy might make a great gift for little Timmy or Madison next year, I'm here to warn you: don't do it. Just think of me as your own personal Ghost of Christmas Future.We never intended to get a puppy for Christmas, of course. I like to think of myself as a fairly responsible pet owner; I know all the rules, and "Don't get a pet as a Christmas present" is Rule #1. It's a bad idea, plain and simple. There's too much going on around the holidays, and a new puppy is bound to get too little attention, or too much attention, and invariably develop terrible habits when he should be learning the basics, like, "Don't poop in the house."But I'm also one of those poor souls known as a pet lover who also happens to be allergic to animals. It limits my options by quite a bit. As you may have noticed from the first half of this column, my first dog was a Bichon Frise, one of the few non-shedding, hypoallergenic breeds of dog. This time around, though, we decided we wanted a slightly larger dog, and eventually landed on the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. But as it turns out, Wheatens aren't exactly easy to come by.Like the good little planner I am, I made a first round of inquiring emails to all the breeders within a one-hour radius, and received only one response (a curt "we have no puppies at this time"). So I widened my search to two hours and still received only a handful of responses, all of them vague and noncommittal. I finally widened my search to three-plus hours, and finally made a bit of headway. One breeder wanted me to call him and have a chat.It turned out that "chat" was code for "interrogation." The breeder pumped me on every detail of my lifestyle, my knowledge of the Wheaten breed, and of dog ownership in general. Given that I am a previous dog owner who works from home, I thought I had a pretty good shot - but I guess I was wrong. After quizzing me for a full thirty minutes, the breeder finally informed me that he had no puppies available and that he could foresee no time in the future that he might. Apparently I had failed some sort of Wheaten owner hazing ritual, and I wasn't getting one of his precious pups.Eventually I did find a breeder who was willing to sell one of her dogs (for a princely sum that I assume eased the separation anxiety, I might add), and she only lived three and a half hours away - which seemed like nothing after all the work I'd put into finding her. Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons I only partially understood, we absolutely had to pick the puppy up on the 22nd of December. The situation was, to say the least, not ideal.We ended up having to take our brand new, eight-week-old, still-pees-on-himself puppy to every single holiday function. I spent Christmas Eve shivering in the snow along with my new pup, waiting for him to get in the mood to go potty. I spent all of Christmas day rushing home from various grandparents' and relatives' houses to get him outside or fed on time. I think I developed an ulcer dreaming about urine getting on my mother's carpet.Now it's the day after Christmas, and I'm sitting here trying to type up this article while simultaneously keeping a hawk eye on the puppy, who has no rhyme or reason to his bathroom schedule and seems to get into everything. It makes me suspect that parents secretly enjoy dropping their kids off at daycare.But cuteness does make up for a multitude of sins. In fact, it may be the only thing that's stopped me from driving straight back to New York and dropping him off on the front lawn of the breeder whom I naively paid for this experience. Hopefully he'll be trained in a few weeks and I can laugh about little Brody's first Christmas, having selectively forgotten all of the painful, exhausted, pee-soaked memories of the past.That's what keeps humans procreating, right?


  • A cry for innocence...
  • The 30 Best Dogs Of 2012

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27 Aralık 2012 Perşembe

Counter Terrorism Law in 2013

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Here's what I'll be offering on Counter Terrorism Law next year:

1.  Counter Terrorism Issues: Case Studies in the Courtroom
http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466571921

2.  "American Counter Terrorism Law" Online Course from Canvas Network

https://www.canvas.net/


3.  Al Qaeda Goes to College

http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?id=2147489357

4.  Ned McAdoo and the Molly Maguires

The Book:  http://www.amazon.com/Ned-McAdoo-Molly-Maguires-Educational/dp/1466248564/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347637046&sr=1-1&keywords=james+castagnera+ned+mcadoo

The Teacher's Packet:  http://jamescastagnera.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/teacher_s-packet1.pdf

The YouTube Ad:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmYbsO9RJz8

Employment and Labor Law in 2013

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Here's what I'll be offering in 2013:

1.  Termination of Employment: A Looseleaf Service and a Monthly Newsletter

http://store.westlaw.com/termination-of-employment/10278/17414737/productdetail?


2.  Employment and Labor Law: The 8th Edition of Our Textbook

http://academic.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=%2014%204294922453&Ntk=P_Isbn13&Ntt=9781439037270


3.  The Employment Law Answer Book: Also about to emerge in the 8th edition

http://www.aspenpublishers.com/Product.asp?catalog_name=Aspen&product_id=0735582033&cookie_test=1&utm_source=GAN&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_content=AspenPublishers&utm_campaign=k186085

4.  Compensation and Benefits Law Bulletin

http://store.westlaw.com/compensation-benefits-law-bulletin/148213/40740023/productdetail?

5.  "Hot Topics in Compensation and Benefits Law":  A CLE/CPA COurse soon to be offered via
McDevitt & Kline

https://www.ceworkshops.com/


NEA announces 2013 Higher Education Conference

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National Education Association 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036pwilliams@nea.org or rgrant@nea.org 

 


The 2013 Higher Education Conference will be held March 22-24, 2013 at the Portland Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Portland, Oregon. The theme of this year's conference is "Faculty, Students and the Common Good."
As our nation becomes increasingly partisan and polarized, especially between rich and poor, and as public education becomes increasingly underfunded and targeted by anti-egalitarian forces, what is the role of faculty, academic professionals, higher education support professionals and students in creating a more democratic, more decent society? What is the public good, and what does it mean to fight for it?

This year's conference is designed to provide participants an opportunity to engage in organizing training, professional development workshops, skill sessions in the areas of higher ed policy issues, funding, higher ed reform, negotiations, building stronger locals, organizing with social media, building internal and external relationships, engaging members and more. Here are some conference highlights:

  • Keynote Speakers
      • Dennis Van Roekel
      • Michael Gecan
      • Patrick Callan
      • Richard Lapchick
      • Lily Eskelsen
  • Leadership Day
  • Higher Education Local Presidents Training
  • Workshops on organizing, local best practices, engaging members, higher ed policy, higher ed funding, social media and more
  • Role alike "coffee" networking groups
  • Poster networking reception with NEA Almanac Authors
  • State and local "best practices" networking reception
  • Workshops facilitated by NEA Executive Committee members
      • Greg Johnson
      • Joyce Powell
      • Earl Wiman
  • Open space workshop opportunities to create your own agenda
  • Professional development workshop tracks

Early registration is $250.00Early registration will open December 20th and will close on January 20th. Early Registration Incentives:·        The first 20 people to register for the conference will receive free Wi-Fi on site for the duration of the conference.·        The first 75 people to register for the conference will be entered into a drawing for a $50.00 Starbucks gift card to be given away at the opening of the conference. General Registration [January 21-February 24is $300.00.  The general registration includes a reception, dinner and entertainment on Friday; breakfast and lunch on Saturday; and breakfast on Sunday.  Late Registration is $350.00 and begins on February 25, 2013.Non-members registration is $350.00. Online registration closes on March 10, 2013.  However, on-site registration will be available on March 22, 2013. Please share this information with members and staff.  If you need additional information please contact Phadra Williams-Tuitt (pwilliams@nea.org / (205) 249-4229) or Rachelle Grant (rgrant@nea.org / (202) 822-7338).   Click HERE to register for the 2013 NEA Higher Education Conference!CC:   NEA Executive CommitteeNEA Board of DirectorsState Executive DirectorsHigher Ed State StaffNEA Advisory Committee on Membership     NCHE Executive CommitteeJohn StocksJim RiceJim TestermanThad DaiseELA Class of 2013 NEA Regional DirectorsUniServ ManagersC4O All Staff
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Lincoln and Obama: Talented Amateurs in the White House

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Obama-Lincoln Portrait
Obama-Lincoln Portrait (Photo credit: nathangibbs)
Recently I published a review of the film "Lincoln."  http://www.populist.com/15.22.castagnera.html

So impressed was I with Spielberg's film that my wife  gave me Goodwin's "Team of Rivals," one of the sources on which Spielberg drew.  http://www.amazon.com/Team-Rivals-Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/dp/B004WZ9N02/ref=sr_1_fed1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356615972&sr=8-2&keywords=team+of+rivals%27

It's a big read.  I ventured into it last night.  On page 27 I found this:

"There was little to lead one to suppose that Abraham Lincoln,... who scarcely had a national reputation,... who had served but a single term in Congress, twice lost bids for the Senate, and had no administrative experience whatsoever, would become the greatest historical figure of the nineteenth century."

Consider, then, that Barack Obama went from the Illinois State Legislature into the Senate --- after having lost a bid for the House of Representatives --- and just four years later was elected president.

Two attorneys --- virtually amateur statesmen--- from Illinois, 150 years apart... and at crtical times in their nation's history.

Will Obama rise to greatness, like Lincoln?


  • The Truth About the 13th Amendment
  • "Lincoln" still the movie to see
  • RICK HOLMES: Lessons in politics from 'Lincoln'
  • PRESS Pass: Doris Kearns Goodwin
  • A few books tied to Spielberg's 'Lincoln'
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A Sea Change, Not a Cycle

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Obama-Lincoln Portrait
Obama-Lincoln Portrait (Photo credit: nathangibbs)
On New Year's Eve the U.S. reaches its statutory debt limit.  Treasury Secretary Geitner sent this letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:

http://www.treasury.gov/connect/blog/Documents/Sec%20Geithner%20LETTER%2012-26-2012%20Debt%20Limit.pdf

Whether the U.S. backs away from the so-called fiscal cliff or not, a sea change has swept across the country.  And it is impacting all of us.

1.  Organized Labor in the private sector, if not DOA on January 1, certainly enters the new year on life support.  Membership at this year's end stands at an historic low of 6.9% of all private-sector workers.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121124/ISSUE01/311249978/unions-have-a-new-enemy-their-own-members
Why? Because in this globalized economy, they can no longer protect their members' jobs nor deliver the compensation and benefits of days gone by, when America was the leading manufacturer in the world.

2.  The professions no longer insure their practitioners an upper-middle-class lifestyle.  Vets are working for Pet Smart.  Dentists are working for corporate dental chains.  http://www.publicintegrity.org/2012/06/26/9186/corporate-dental-chains-see-big-profits-adults-who-cant-afford-care  Young lawyers are suing their law schools for misrepresentation.  http://abovethelaw.com/2012/02/twenty-additional-law-school-class-action-suits-are-in-the-works-is-your-school-one-of-them/

3.  K-12 teachers and their unions are under siege.  http://theadvocate.com/home/4452402-125/lft-teachers-are-under-attack

4.  Higher education is being blasted by revolutionary changes, which don't necessarily benefit our students.  http://chronicle.com/article/The-False-Promise-of-the/136305/

So, when I say in my earlier Blog posting this morning that Obama, like Lincoln, is President at a critical time in our history, I mean that the Great Recession was not just a cyclical dip precipitated by an economic bubble. I am suggesting that a permanent paradigm shift is sweeping over us.  Whether the middle class will survive this deluge remains to be seen.




  • A lesson for Obama
  • Obama Has Long Work List To Tackle When He Returns
  • Mayans, Lincoln, Markets
  • Michael Hogan: Is 'Lincoln' A Memo To Obama From Liberal Hollywood?
  • Gaza: What Would Lincoln Do?
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