David Cay Johnston has an interesting piece in the Columbia Journalism Review about the Obama press shop, and their over-reliance on “off the record” conversations. In my experience, albeit at a small opinion magazine, it was relatively easy during the campaign to have instant message chats and email exchanges with Obama spokespeople, but then almost […]
Dana Goldstein
Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.
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MICHELLE OBAMA’S EVOLVING ROLE.
Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker this morning at the White House reception honoring Lilly Ledbetter and the Fair Pay Act, which was signed into law today by the president. The event was a natural fit for the first lady, who, after making some supposedly controversial remarks on the campaign trail last February, has largely […]
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NEW NUMBERS ON SCHOOL SEGREGATION.
In 1968, when the United States first began to survey the racial and ethnic makeup of its public schools, 80 percent of students were white. Today, 44 percent of public school kids are minorities. Yet school desegregation reached its peak over 20 years ago. In 1988, one-third of black students attended schools that were at […]
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POTENTIAL RNC CHAIRMAN PROMOTED ANOTHER RACIST SONG…
If you loved “Barack the Magic Negro,” you are really going to be gaga for potential RNC chairman Chip Saltsman‘s less well-known track, “The Star Spanglish Banner,” which he also included on the infamous CD he sent to RNC members. And in case you like some anti-Semitism along with your nativism, keep your eyes peeled […]
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FAIR PAY ACT BECOMES FIRST BILL OBAMA SIGNS.
Excerpt from the White House statement: “…[I]n signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it’s not just unfair and illegal – but bad for business – to […]
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IN CASE YOU WERE HOPING TO REPAIR RELATIONS WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD…
The CIA’s chief in Algeria has been accused of raping two local women after slipping drugs into their drinks, and filming sexual encounters with many others. ABC News has the story. —Dana Goldstein
Posted inEducation in America
EDUCATION AND THE STIMULUS BILL.
On a conference call with reporters this morning, Congressman George Miller, chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, outlined how pre-school, K-12, and higher education will benefit from the economic recovery act the House is set to vote on today. Here are the highlights: $14 billion for school modernization and repair, including investments […]
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GILLIBRAND ON TRANSIT.
After being sworn in as New York’s junior senator yesterday, Kirstin Gillibrand laid out several policy objectives, one of which was making sure that the final economic stimulus bill includes funding for mass transit, such as high-speed and light-rail trains. Politico calls the move “upstatey,” but actually, as I reported for the print magazine in […]
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NO DRAMA OBAMA WHEN IT COMES TO CHOICE?
Some feminists wondered last week why President Obama overturned the Global Gag Rule the day after the 36th anniversary of Roe, missing an opportunity for some powerful symbolism. But with a press release on the order sent out after business hours last Friday, at 7 p.m., Obama signaled his desire to avoid political football on […]
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A GOOD DAY FOR REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE.
Today, one day after the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, President Obama will overturn the Global Gag Rule, which under the Bush administration prohibited American foreign aid from supporting health care organizations that provided abortion or referred women to abortion providers. And in related news, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dismissed Mark Dybul, […]
