Why Is Fabian Nunez Trying To Prevent The State Board of Education From Opening Charter Schools?
Why is Fabian trying to keep the State from opening Charter Schools?
by Zuma Dogg
First of all, remember Fabian Nunez wants to extend his own terms as Speaker of the Assembly so he has a place to chill until he can run for some other office, like Mayor of Los Angeles, based on the guy one notch higher up the ladder (or at least used to be) Antonio Viagrasosa.
Now to get something like your own term extension passed, you have to make enough special interests and unions happy until you know you “have” it.
So first of all, he made the Native American Casino operators happy with his casino expansion efforts. (So they won’t get in his way.)
And now, those pesky teachers are hittin’ Fabian up with their demands, or else they’ll vote against his own term limit extension plan. And although the teachers union is really supposed to like Charter schools, because they hope Charters hire these union teachers; the teachers union is against Charters because they don’t hire enough union teachers.
[I heard that at Green Dot, only 40%=50% of teachers are fully credentialed. In one school, only 3 out of 22 teachers are credentialed. By state law, this number must be equal to LAUSD, which is 90% credentialed across the general district.]
So Fabian has to run through these motions (Senate Bill, actually) that will prevent the California State Board of Education from operating Charters for more than three years, at which point the local school board in the area would have say over the re-approval or denial of the Charter. (And most local school boards aren’t thrilled about Charters from the outside operating on their “turf”.) So the Charter operators like Green Dot wouldn’t want to get into the game with only a three year profit-making opportunity. (I mean, they wouldn’t want to help kids for only three years.)
HOWEVER, Zuma Dogg would like to point out that like all of these political stunts put on by these political dancing monkeys, the people (in this case the union) doesn't end up getting what they wanted:
First of all, Nuckhead Nunez already knows Arnold will veto it. Even though they tied $18 million in “warm and fuzzy” money that is supposed to go to Charters, The Terminator will not let you “terminate” his ability to operate Charters in his own state. (That’s giving away a whole lot of political power and leverage.)
So he makes the teachers union happy by going through the motions they want him to go through, knowing the Governor will veto the damn thing. And there is no way Nunez will be able to get THAT ball into the end zone with Schwarzenegger and Eli Broad watching the end zone and making sure that 2/3 majority never happens.
But here’s the magic of Fabian’s political double-dipping that is so transparent I either must be wrong, or people aren’t worry about this stuff:
SB 92 wants to put an end to The State Board of Education from opening up Charter Schools. But it doesn’t say that the local school boards cannot continue to approve Charter schools. As a matter of fact, I think LAUSD and other local school boards can still approve Charters in their districts.
So then, all that this would really be accomplishing is clearing out any competition from the State so that the Nunez-friendly LAUSD can approve all the Charters in their kingdom, without interference from State. And remember, there is a lot of money to be made running Charters, because there appears to be less accountability than at regular LAUSD schools. (And if the teachers union felt these Charters were going to be a viable employment source for teachers, I think they would be for the schools, instead of against them.)
So ZD was thinking to himself, “Why would Nunez want to prevent Charters from being approved, when I thought that was his main mission to accomplish under AB 1381?
So you have to ask yourself: What is the most important thing to a politician? Answer: Remaining in office. And Fabian needs a term-extension until he finds some other office to hold. (Like Mayor of LA City, when Antonio moves on.) So he had to make the casino operators happy, and the other powerful entity, the teachers union made their voices heard and so Fabian had to go into “survival” mode and do the homework his teachers gave him. But who cares anyway…cause Arnold will never sign it, the powers that be will never let it get a 2/3 majority; and it appears that all it would do anyway, is clear out the State competition. So don’t expect Simon Cowell to be showing up to any Charter approval hearings (if this is passed) proclaiming, “It looks like we have a REAL competition!” (And we all know competition is good for any market. But if Nuckehead Nunez gets his way there will be “less” competition.)
by Zuma Dogg
First of all, remember Fabian Nunez wants to extend his own terms as Speaker of the Assembly so he has a place to chill until he can run for some other office, like Mayor of Los Angeles, based on the guy one notch higher up the ladder (or at least used to be) Antonio Viagrasosa.
Now to get something like your own term extension passed, you have to make enough special interests and unions happy until you know you “have” it.
So first of all, he made the Native American Casino operators happy with his casino expansion efforts. (So they won’t get in his way.)
And now, those pesky teachers are hittin’ Fabian up with their demands, or else they’ll vote against his own term limit extension plan. And although the teachers union is really supposed to like Charter schools, because they hope Charters hire these union teachers; the teachers union is against Charters because they don’t hire enough union teachers.
[I heard that at Green Dot, only 40%=50% of teachers are fully credentialed. In one school, only 3 out of 22 teachers are credentialed. By state law, this number must be equal to LAUSD, which is 90% credentialed across the general district.]
So Fabian has to run through these motions (Senate Bill, actually) that will prevent the California State Board of Education from operating Charters for more than three years, at which point the local school board in the area would have say over the re-approval or denial of the Charter. (And most local school boards aren’t thrilled about Charters from the outside operating on their “turf”.) So the Charter operators like Green Dot wouldn’t want to get into the game with only a three year profit-making opportunity. (I mean, they wouldn’t want to help kids for only three years.)
HOWEVER, Zuma Dogg would like to point out that like all of these political stunts put on by these political dancing monkeys, the people (in this case the union) doesn't end up getting what they wanted:
First of all, Nuckhead Nunez already knows Arnold will veto it. Even though they tied $18 million in “warm and fuzzy” money that is supposed to go to Charters, The Terminator will not let you “terminate” his ability to operate Charters in his own state. (That’s giving away a whole lot of political power and leverage.)
So he makes the teachers union happy by going through the motions they want him to go through, knowing the Governor will veto the damn thing. And there is no way Nunez will be able to get THAT ball into the end zone with Schwarzenegger and Eli Broad watching the end zone and making sure that 2/3 majority never happens.
But here’s the magic of Fabian’s political double-dipping that is so transparent I either must be wrong, or people aren’t worry about this stuff:
SB 92 wants to put an end to The State Board of Education from opening up Charter Schools. But it doesn’t say that the local school boards cannot continue to approve Charter schools. As a matter of fact, I think LAUSD and other local school boards can still approve Charters in their districts.
So then, all that this would really be accomplishing is clearing out any competition from the State so that the Nunez-friendly LAUSD can approve all the Charters in their kingdom, without interference from State. And remember, there is a lot of money to be made running Charters, because there appears to be less accountability than at regular LAUSD schools. (And if the teachers union felt these Charters were going to be a viable employment source for teachers, I think they would be for the schools, instead of against them.)
So ZD was thinking to himself, “Why would Nunez want to prevent Charters from being approved, when I thought that was his main mission to accomplish under AB 1381?
So you have to ask yourself: What is the most important thing to a politician? Answer: Remaining in office. And Fabian needs a term-extension until he finds some other office to hold. (Like Mayor of LA City, when Antonio moves on.) So he had to make the casino operators happy, and the other powerful entity, the teachers union made their voices heard and so Fabian had to go into “survival” mode and do the homework his teachers gave him. But who cares anyway…cause Arnold will never sign it, the powers that be will never let it get a 2/3 majority; and it appears that all it would do anyway, is clear out the State competition. So don’t expect Simon Cowell to be showing up to any Charter approval hearings (if this is passed) proclaiming, “It looks like we have a REAL competition!” (And we all know competition is good for any market. But if Nuckehead Nunez gets his way there will be “less” competition.)
Posted by Zuma Dogg @ 8/26/2007 06:11:00 PM
19 Comments:
My goodness...
Either that was one of the few ( <5%) good posts by ZD or I'm really stoned....
Good point 7:10-
This must be one of those hacked posts. There were no ads for zuma blogs, no paragraphs of capitals and somewhat well thought out ideas.
If you get off his back which makes him defensive; you might realize that the guy has some good things to say.
Mr. Nunez, I sang with Fabian Forte: I knew Fabian Forte; Fabian Forte was a friend of mine. Speaker of the Assembly, you're no Fabian Forte.
This is a Mayor Sam post, trying to give the dogg street creds. Zuma dogg would never start a paragraph with: "So you have to ask yourself:" because that's not how he talks OR thinks. He never asks himself anything, just blurts. Is Sam trying to groom the dogg for some sort of run for office, like one of those movies where the idiot gets mistaken for someone making an ironic comment on the system? Too late for that.
710, 750, 857,
Thanks! I'm glad you like this post, and I always try and do MORE of what people like, but I wish I knew what I did differently on this one? But I'm glad it at least appears I am judged on a post by post basis.
Charter School – Academia Semillas Del Pueblo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TMwLq8tMfs
Think of Zuma as the Chauncey Gardner of our generation.
Now go look it up, dummy.
Think of 9:41pm as the desparate, jealous, crybaby-loser of our generation. (You don't have to look that up, just look in the mirror.)
And p.s. I know you are, but what am I? Do you want to steal my shiny Red bike when I run into the magic store you crybaby loser?
Now we are having a debate on whether Zumma Dogg wrote this post to the blog, and how he accepts constructive criticism. I provide you the video. Now if Zumma could be as funny as a sock, and not just obnoxious, maybe more people would listen to his message.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poLzGY3cZnc
Fabian needs to come out of the closet. Who does he think he's kidding?
Anyone who dares to say one word about Zuma is jealous of this homeless bum?
Any "street cred" you got from this post was just expended by your stupid ass response.
People who are schizophrenic almost always react just like this person, Zuma Dogg.
He is the demon to a real person, and the criticism is not acceptable to him, probably because the real person senses how truly it strikes home. The demon reacts quickly, in a knee jerk fashion.
Note that the usual words "crybaby" and "loser" so often occur. Most likely, as a child or as an adult, the real person was called that often.
He cites a red bike being stolen when he went into a store; more than likely that did occur to the real person, or something close happened.
This character is on the edge of a serious mental breakdown, and it is likely to happen at any time. It is most likely to happen in a public setting when someone denies him something to which he feels himself entitled.
Steer clear of this fellow, he's a walking time bomb.
Nunez is a reconquista idiot.
"He cites a red bike being stolen when he went into a store;"
That was a reference from Pee Wee's Playhouse, that I'm sure most people understood.
Meanwhile, while you are waiting for the timebomb to explode, as you have been mentioning since the day I arrived on this blog...I sure have cranked out a few threads in the meantime, huh? You can keep worrying about me, I'll keep posting about what I am posting. How's that sitting with your boss?
MEChA and its Imprint on California Politics
MEChA, which stands for Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (Chicano Student Movement of Atzlan), is a student organization that was born in 1969 in California and has spread to college campuses all over the nation. One of their main stated aims is to assist young members of the Hispanic community in entering higher education, a worthy goal. Other aspects of its philosophy are more controversial and strike many as divisive in the extreme.
Rather than use my own or others' characterizations of MEChA's philosophy, let me quote from their national webpage (nationalmecha.org):
"MEChA is a student organization that promotes higher education, cultura and historia (culture and history) . MEChA was founded on the principles of self-determination for the liberation of our people. We believe that political involvement and education is the avenue for change in our society.
Each word in MEChA symbolizes a great concept in terms of la causa (the cause). Movimiento (Movement) means that the organization is dedicated to the movement to gain self determination for our people. Estudiantil (Student as adjective) identifies the organization as a student group for we are part of our Raza's (race's) future. At the heart of the name is the use of the identity: Chicano. At first seen as a negative word, now taken for a badge of honor. In adopting their new identity, the students committed themselves to return to the barrios, colonias (neighborhoods/districts), or campos (fields) and together, struggle against the forces that oppress our gente (people). Lastly, the affirmation that we are indigenous people to this land by placing our movement in Aztlan, the homeland of all peoples from Anahuak.
On campuses across Aztlan. MEChA and Mechistas are often the only groups on campus Raza and non-Raza (Race and non-Race) alike that seek to open the doors of higher education para nuestras comunidades (for our communities) and strive for a society free of imperialism, racism, sexism, and homophobia. An inspirational statement in El Plan Santa Barbara that speaks to these notes:
"MEChA must bring to the mind of every young Chicana and Chicano that the liberation of her/his people from prejudice and oppression is in her/his hands and this responsibility is greater than personal achievement and more meaningful than degrees, especially if they are earned at the expense of her/his identity and cultural integrity. MEChA, then, is more than a name; it is a spirit of unity, of sisterhood and brotherhood, and a resolve to undertake a struggle for liberation in a society where justice is but a word. MEChA is a means to an end" (El Plan de Santa Barbara).
* (Translations of Spanish words in parentheses are added by me).
The motto for MEChA is as follows: Por la Raza todo. Fuera de la Raza nada -For the race everything. (For those) outside of the race-nothing-Not exactly a motto designed to inspire confidence in MEChA's desire to promote harmony.
Aztlan is an Amer-Indian term referring to the present-day southwest area of the US. According to MEChA, this area is illegally occupied by the US. El Plan de Santa Barbara refers to the plan of action that was part of the 1969 beginnings of MEChA at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
As you can see, the language is right out of the 1960s, but still appears on MEChA's website today. Divisive? You make the call. Critics of MEChA claim that the organization still believes that the US southwest should revert back to Mexico and that MEChA is in fact, a racist organization that sets back efforts to assimilate recent Latin immigrants and promote harmony between ethnic groups. MEChA, of course denies the racism charges and stresses its present-day efforts to promote higher education among Hispanic youth. Of course, MEChA supports the cause of illegal aliens in the US.
One interesting sidelight is the prominance in California politics of many of MECha's former members. Many of the state's leading Democratic politicians belonged to the organization during their collegiate years. This has caused many critics to question the commitment of these figures to represent all of their constituents.
California's most visible former Mechista is LA Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, who was a MEChA ;eader while attending UCLA. After UCLA, he attended the "People's Law School", which Frontpage Magazine referred to as "a factory for the manufacture of radical leftist lawyers" (See Frontpage 9-10-2003/License to Kill by Lowell Ponte) Prior to becoming mayor, Villaraigosa was speaker of the lower house of the California legislature and later LA city councilman. Until the recent disclosure of the break-up of his marriage and affair with Telemundo reporter, Mirthala Salinas, Villaraigosa had attracted the most attention as mayor by openly supporting the city's massive illegal alien population, appearing at many of their marches and proclaiming on one occasion, "We clean your toilets!". Under Villaraigosa's stewardship, LA is one of several "sanctuary cities" around the US-that is- cities that will not cooperate with immigration authorities and will not allow their police to inquire about immigration status when they come into contact with suspects.
Until the recent love scandal broke, Villaraigosa had been considered a leading candidate to become governor-and then go on to national office.
In statewide politics, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez is probably the most prominent former Mechista. Nunez was previously the political director of the LA County Federation of Labor and later the head of government relations for LA Unified School District. As the Democratic Party's top legislator, Nunez has been a vocal supporter for the measure that would have allowed illegal aliens to obtain California drivers licenses. In the 1990s, he led protests against Proposition 187 passed by California voters that would have denied benefits to illegal aliens. In one protest in October 1994, which was organized by Nunez and his colleague, Juan Jose Gutierrez, protesters waved Mexican flags and displayed an American flag with 13 stars. Governor Wilson was called a "pig", and "Anglos" were called upon to go back to Europe. Nunez's opponents, to this day, consider him a "Reconquista" (one who favors the return of the southwest to Mexico.)
Cruz Bustamante, who served as Lt. Governor under the disasterous administration of Grey Davis, was also a MEChA member in the 1970s at Fresno State. When Davis was recalled by voters due to his gross ineptitude, Bustamante unsuccessfully ran to succeed him, losing to current governor, Arnold Schwartzenegger. A career political technocrat, who bounces from one position to another, Bustamante's campaigns have been controversial for campaign finance irregularities, i.e. diverting campaign funds into other causes, such as defeating Ward Connerly's Racial Privacy Initiative. Bustamante, not surprisingly, is a strong supporter of racial preferences. He did have one slip-up a couple of years back when, speaking before a group of African-Americans, he let slip the N-word, immediately offering profuse apologies. Did that end his political career? Hardly. He is, after all, a liberal Democrat. Those stories don't have legs, as they say in the news media.
State Senator Gil Cedillo, who represents East Los Angeles, was a MECha activist at UCLA in the 1970s. Like Villaraigosa, he followed UCLA by attending the aforementioned "People's Law School". Cedillo is derisively referred to by many as "One Bill Gil", a reference to his continuing promulgation of legislation that would give drivers licenses to illegal aliens.
Another former Mechista is Joe Baca, member of the US House of Representatives from the Inland Empire area around Riverside and San Bernadino (Rialto). Previously, he was a California state senator. Not long ago, he made headlines by referring to Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) as a "whore". This all evolved in connection with strife within the Latino Caucus in Congress as well as Sanchez's criticism of Baca's use of campaign funds.
One point I would like to make here is this: MEChA would deny that they are a racist organization. They would state that their main purpose is to facilitate and assist other young Hispanics in obtaining a higher education, as I said, a worthy goal. Yet, they should realize that many are troubled by the fiery rhetoric of their motto and the questionable language on their website. Also troubling is the langauge emenating from their founding in 1969 and the "Santa Barbara Plan". It implies that they are promoting separatism from mainstream American society. Let me quote further from their national website (nationalmecha.org):
"The Mexican-American (Hispanic) is a person who lacks respect for his/her cultural and ethnic heritage. Unsure of her/himself, she/he seeks assimilation as a way out of her/his 'degraded' social status. Consequently, she/he remains politically ineffective. In contrast, Chicanismo reflects self-respect and pride on one's ethnic and cutural background. Thus, the Chicana/o acts with confidence and with a range of alternatives in the political world. She/he is capable of developing an effective ideology through action" (El Plan de Santa Barbara).
Is this what MEChA still thinks today? Or is this just a slogan from the past? I would hope that the latter is the case.
Now for a little personal imput: I am not Mexican-American nor Hispanic. I am a 62 year old, white Anglo who grew up and went to school with Mexican-Americans in West Los Angeles. This term, Chicano, I recall well from my teenage years. It was a street word for Mexican-Americans- a term many Mexican-Americans still reject. Unfortunately, it became trendy in the universities during the 1960s, and today, some universitities still have what they call "Chicano Studies Departments". My wife is a (legal) Mexican immigrant who came to this country with her family about 40 years ago. I myself speak Spanish, and we have done everything we could to raise our children to speak Spanish and, while being Americans, not to ignore their Mexican heritage. But it comes down to this: While the Mexican influence has always been a part of the fabric of southern California and, indeed, the southwest, this is still the United States and the language that everyone needs to know is English. If there are voices in the Mexican-American community that encourage people to reject their American heritage, to not assimilate with other Americans-including other ethnic groups, then they are doing a huge disservice to their community. Whether we are succeeding or not, our goal should be to accept immigrants from wherever and encourage them to assimilate and become Americans. It should not matter whether their skin is white, black, yellow or brown-we are Americans. More than ever, we Americans need to stand together against the forces that wish to destroy all of us. The politics of ethnicity and the so-called community leaders who practice it are wrong. They are only dividing us all.
As to the above-mentioned political leaders, all of whom are Democrats, there is no record of any of them repudiating their past membership in MEChA nor any of the language that MEChA has used or still uses. They insist that in their political lives, they are representing all of their constituents, but none of them (that I am aware of) have publically stated that MEChA's language is intemporate or out of date.
As for MEChA, if your goal is to help other Hispanics obtain higher education, I am with you on that. If, on the other hand, your goal is to drive a wedge between Hispanics and other ethnic groups and further, to achieve some sort of "reconquista" of the southwestern United States back to Mexico, then you are dead wrong. You would not only be hurting our country, but your community even more so because you are creating an impediment to assimilation. Any Mexican-American family that wants to teach their children Spanish and about the Mexican culture is always free to do so, but that is a personal decision. This is the United States, and we are made up of many ethnic groups. Our task is to come together.
gary fouse
fousesquawk
Gary Fouse, good insight! Do you know if CA Senator Gloria Romero is part of this movimiento (Movement)?
I don't know if Romero was in Mecha, so I left her out. Same for other divisive figures like Mario Obledo, Nativo Lopez and Richard Alarcon
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