What The NEA Leadership Tells The NEA Rank-And-File

It's or  interesting to see what the leadership of an organization, any organization, says to the rank-and-file. Everybody does it--churches, businesses, organizations like NRA, or...labor unions. OS thinks the folks who turn out this copy, day after day, lull themselves into thinking they are holding a private conversation. They forget that, when they hit than 'Print' of 'Send' button, it actually means 'Publish'.

The following is a sample from today's 'NEA Today' email, which arrives every morning in OS's mailbox. OS, as a public service, shares them with you...with explanatory notes included.

• Ohio Senate Passes Collective Bargaining Overhaul (Those Wascawy Wepubwikans,Winning That Election Without Our Permission)

• Public Adamantly Opposed to Cuts in K-12 Education, Social Security (Sit tight! We've got those conservatives cornered!)

• NEA Kicks Off Read Across America Day

The National Education Association launched its annual Read Across America campaign on Wednesday with a star-studded celebration of reading at the Library of Congress.
A proclamation by President Obama declared today Read Across America Day, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel told the event’s crowd of students decked in “Cat in the Hat” stovepipe hats.“Today, there are 45 million people doing what we’re doing: wearing funny hats and reading!” he said.

You really must must must hit the link to see The First Lady in front of a crowd of Cats-In-Hats. Words fail. Not even Dr. Suess is equal to this occasion.

• Wisconsin Governor is Waging ‘Jihad’ Against Unions (Beheadings? Honor Killings?)

• What You Need to Know About State Pensions (It's all the fault of greedy legislators and the housing meltdown. Stand fast, brethren, we'll get every penny. There is no real crisis...)

• House of Representatives Slashes Education for Low-Income Kids (Those Wascawy Wepubwikans, With Their Dwaconian Cuts!)

Day-in, day-out, year-in, year-out, the copywriters grind the verbiage out. Little wonder they, and their audiences, come to assume that they have a true and unique grip on reality, sharing a unique knowledge with a private audience.

Little wonder we witness the protests in Madison and Providence.

As he types out his thoughts, to be launched in a blog-bottle onto the sea of the internet, OS is watching Waiting For Superman, currently available on DirectTV Pay-Per-View movie service. It is staggering to watch, dismaying to view. The segment showing the lotteries for spaces in the good schools is agonizing to view.

The 4.99 spent keeps the movie going for twenty-four hours, and OS will be viewing it again.

The NEA loathes it, preaches against it, vilifies it at every turn. Little wonder. Prophetically, some of the most damning anecdotes are told about Madison, Wisconsin.