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Recent
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May
8, 2003
Julie
Hilden
When It's a Crime to Visit Your Son
Mickey
Z.
Partisan Protests?
Mark
Zepezauer
Evil is as Evil Does
David Lindorff
The Coming Senior Revolution
Abu
Spinoza
The Detention of Dr. Huda Ammash
Ben
Tripp
The Other "F" Word
Norman
Madarasz
God in the Service of the Security
State: a Dispatch from Brazil
Stew Albert
Pushovers
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/08
Website
of the Day
Department of Sexual Security
May
7, 2003
Alexander
Cockburn
Quoting Under the Influence: Breasts,
Martinis, Hitchens
David
Krieger
Winning the War; Alienating the World
Sen.
Robert Byrd
Bush's Troubling Speech
Bruce Jackson
Bill Kunstler's Last Big Speech
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/07
Website
of the Day
The Truth About Bush's Military Records
May
6, 2003
Paul
de Rooij
An Activist in the Trenches: an Interview
with Gretta Duisenberg
Anthony
Gancarski
Money to Burn: in Defense of Bill Bennett
John
Stanton
Bush's War on Jesus
Sam
Hamod
W. Bush: the Little Snot, the Little
Bully
Robert
Fisk
Bush Says the War is Over: Tell It to
the Shi'a
Kathleen
Christison
A Roadmap to Nowhere
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/06
May
5, 2003
Gary
Leupp
Phase Two: Syria and Iran
Jorge
Mariscal
The Militarization of US Culture
Ishmael
Reed
A Family Values Man
Tarif Abboushi
Sharon's Confidence: Bush Won't Come to Shove on Roadmap
Leila
Matsui
Regime Change Begins at Home...Literally
Steve
Perry
Bush's Wars
Sam
Smith
Coalition of the Shilling
May
3, 2003
Ron
Jacobs
Tears of Rage: Remembering May 1970
Elaine
Cassel
William Bennett, a Freudian Perspective
Sam
Hamod
Understanding the Shi'a of Lebanon
Scott
Fleming
Getting Shot on the Oakland Docks
Mickey
Z.
Cuba and Puerto Rico: 100 Years of Terror
William
S. Lind
Don't Take Col. John Boyd's Name in Vain
Dr.
Bruce Blair
The New Nuclear Terrorism Threat
Joanne
Mariner
Cluster Bombs Over Iraq
Anthony
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Hot Fun in the Summertime
Ilian Pappe
Searching Jenin
William
MacDougall
America's Kids Are All Right: Pre-Teen Conservative Commentators
Seth Sandronsky
Incarcerated and Invisible
Rich
Procter
Over Our Dead Bodies
Lenni Brenner
How Bob Dylan Found His Voice
Adam
Engel
American Bulk
Poets'
Basement
Reiss, Guthrie, Albert
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/03
May
2, 2003
Caoimhe
Butterly
Crowd Control American-style
Neve
Gordon
US: No Right to Know About the Disappeared
John
Chuckman
Tom Friedman's Life as a Pet Hamster
Bradley
Burston
Betting on Abu-Mazen...To Lose
Harvey
Wasserman
Bush's Military Defeat
John
Troyer
Question Those Writing History
Saul Landau
The Cuba Conundrum
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/02
Website
of the Day
Moussaoui's
Quiz
May
1, 2003
Jeffrey
St. Clair
Santorum: That's Latin for Asshole
Iain
Boal
A May Day Message to the FCC: "We
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Diana
Johnstone
About Cuba
Sam
Hamod
Killings at Al Fallujah, City of Mosques
Veteran
Intelligence Professionals for Sanity
Intelligence Fiasco
Lee Sustar
Greed Air: Airline Workers Agree to Pay Cuts, While Bosses Stuff
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Peter
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May Day at Kut and Kenthal
Stew Albert
Straight Shooters
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/01
Website
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South Bay Mobilization
April
30, 2003
Ashley
Smith
Under Uncle Sam's Thumb: a History
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Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 4/30
Gary
Leupp
Shooting Schoolboys: Preliminary Thoughts on the Fallujah Massacre
Robert
Jensen
Fighting Alienation in the USA
Wayne
Madsen
The Four Horsemen of Propaganda
Ahmad
Faruqui
Bush's Strategic Myopia About the Middle East
Gabriel
Kolko
Iraq, the US and the End of the European Coalition
Adolfo
Perez Esquivel
A Nobel Laureat's Letter to Bush:
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April
29, 2003
Gary
Leupp
Disorder and Opportunity: the Results
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Uri
Avnery
Don't Envy Abu-Mazen
Anthony
Gancarski
Brush with the Law
Mickey
Z.
POWs: Then and Now
CounterPunch
Wire
How to Spin Israel on the Hill: Internal Lobbying Documents
Robert
Fisk
Did the US Murder Journalists?
Chris
Floyd
Bush Telegraphs His Punches on Syria
Wayne Madsen
About Those Iraqi Intelligence Documents
Wallace
Gagne
Pilgrimage or Demolition Derby?
Eliot Katz
Playing Catch with Cracked Globes
Steve
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Bush's War Web Log 4/29
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Watch
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Uzma
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The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
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Paul de Rooij
Arrogant
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Gore Vidal
The
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Francis Boyle
Impeach
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May
10, 2003
The War on Teachers and Students
The Devil in
New England
by RON JACOBS
Police states don't exist without help and acquiescence.
Here in Vermont, where opposition to Washington's war on residents
of the United States has been opposed by librarians, teachers,
booksellers, town meetings, and others groups and individuals,
there is another current that not only supports the war on the
Bill of Rights, but stretches current laws to enforce that war.
Most recently, a cop in the small town of Barre-home of some
of Vermont's first labor unions and one of Emma Goldman's favorite
places to speak when she toured the US in the early part of the
twentieth century-took it upon himself to do some reconnaissance
in the Bush war on the world.
According to the Times-Argus (the daily
paper that serves this region of Vermont), office John Mott had
heard that one of the history teachers at the local high school
was encouraging his students to think critically about the war
on Iraq and other controversial actions of the Bush administration.
The teacher, Tom Treece, is a pacifist who has made it clear
that he opposes the current administration's warmongering. Although
most of the high school's students don't seem to have a problem
with Treece's stance and vocal support of it, certain citizens
do. Indeed, some of them have gone so far as to form a small
citizen's group called Citizens Advocating Responsible Education
(CARE), to oppose Treece's teaching. An underlying motive of
the group is to scuttle the school district's budget.
For those who don't live in Vermont,
the issue of school budgeting is quite controversial ever since
a piece of legislation intended to provide a more equal level
of funding to all schools in the state known as Act 60 was passed
a few years back. This Act is an attempt to redistribute property
tax receipts targeted for education from very wealthy school
districts to those districts that exist in perpetual poverty.
Of course, those in extremely wealthy districts do not want to
share their wealth and have done whatever they can (including
refusing to turn over their collected revenues to the state)
to prevent this redistribution. The opponents to Act 60 are funded
by a who's who of the Vermont's right wing-many libertarian in
nature and others more traditionally rightist. Of course, the
opposition to the act is funded by conservative businessmen and
women.
Anyhow, back to Mr. Treece and Mr. Mott.
The facts are these. At 1:30 in the morning of April 9, 2003,
Officer Mott, in full uniform, convinced a custodian at Spaulding
High School in Barre, Vt. To let him in to the high school and
enter Treece's classroom. Mott was on duty at the time and was
out of his assigned jurisdiction. Upon entering Treece's classroom,
Mott began photographing a number of student projects concerning
the war on Iraq and other aspects of Washington's current policies.
Mott defended his actions in the Times-Argus, stating, "Having
spent 30 years in uniform, I was insulted, I'm just taking a
stand on what happens in that classroom as a resident and a voter
and a taxpayer of this community." Mott's recon mission
took place the day after he attended a school board meeting where
CARE presented their complaints to the board regarding Treece's
instructional approach. CARE's founders claim that the issue
is not free speech. To them, "It's an issue of balance and
it's an issue of professionalism."
Mott's actions were immediately criticized
by the school district's superintendent, who wrote a letter to
the Barre Police Chief condemning Mott's entering the school
at that "unusual; hour" by intimidating a custodian
and photographing student's work. She went further, defending
Treece's teaching methods and stating clearly that Treece was
a good teacher who wanted his students to think critically. Furthermore,
she said, "As a teacher he (Treece) does present all sides
of an issue." Mott dismissed the superintendent's comments
as "tap-dancing" and insisted that he did not intimidate
anyone. Instead, he claimed to have "found" an unlocked
door through which he entered. Why Mott would consider that explanation
as justifiable is beyond many in the town. In a subsequent
meeting of the school board, petitions were presented addressing
both sides of the issues this incident has raised. CARE's petition,
signed by a couple hundred residents, calls for limits on academic
freedom and the appointment of citizens to the school board.
A petition in support of Treece that was circulated by some of
his current and former students was also submitted. In the discussion
that took place, the lines were clearly drawn. According to the
Times Argus, one of the opponents of Treece and his class (called
Public Issues) said: "The purpose of education is to teach
students facts and how to use these facts to compete in the real
world." Academic freedom, continued this speaker, is a waste
of time.
The previous teacher of the class, Paul
Poirier, rejected this opinion and the attempted character assassination
of Treece by certain elements of the community. Poirier explained
that there is a difference between "pushing students to
think" and form their own opinions and "brainwashing."
Other speakers condemned the attacks
on Treece, which they claimed were based on rumor. One student,
who describes himself as a conservative who argues frequently
with Treece, relayed the results of an informal poll he took
of the school's junior and senior classes on whether or not Treece
provided a balanced perspective in his classes. The poll results
showed an overwhelming response of yes, he does. In addition,
of the 78 students this student asked to sign a petition in support
of Treece, 75 signed. Many others in attendance attended the
meeting to express their alarm at Mott's questionable entry into
the school and his taking photos of students' work. Of those
people, most of them found Mott's lack of repentance over his
actions even more disturbing.
Indeed, Mott has expressed no remorse
over the forced entry into the school, nor has he expressed any
doubt as to his right to use his police uniform to do so. It's
clear that Mott and his supporters have forgotten (if they ever
knew) the reasons that certain of our country's founders insisted
on the Bill of Rights before they would approve the constitution.
It's also clear that these folks' leaders in Washington like
things that way. This is why the minds of the young are their
battleground. After all, if young people can think critically
about their government and its actions, they might want to change
it. If young people start asking why their friends are being
asked to go to war and why there are military recruiters in their
schools and their mailboxes, they might decide to oppose those
wars and the liars who try and sweet talk them into fighting
them. If young people start questioning why policemen can use
their uniform to commit acts that would be illegal for anyone
else, they might want to rein in the police.
Ron Jacobs
is author of The
Way the Wind Blew: a history of the Weather Underground.
He can be reached at: rjacobs@zoo.uvm.edu
Yesterday's
Features
Julie
Hilden
When It's a Crime to Visit Your Son
Mickey
Z.
Partisan Protests?
Mark
Zepezauer
Evil is as Evil Does
David Lindorff
The Coming Senior Revolution
Abu
Spinoza
The Detention of Dr. Huda Ammash
Ben
Tripp
The Other "F" Word
Norman
Madarasz
God in the Service of the Security
State: a Dispatch from Brazil
Stew Albert
Pushovers
Steve
Perry
Bush's War Web Log 5/08
Website
of the Day
Department of Sexual Security
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