Hi all: I can't help on this, because I wasn't there either, but I do want to
encourage people to tune into WYSO, a great public radio station which features
leftist political programming and news, tomorrow at 11 AM.  They have a 2-part
series going on about how some groups, basically "Christian" coalitions with
their "stealth" candidates filling school boards across the USA, and with their
other allies' celebrations of private school vouchers and anti-teacher union
attacks, are determined to eliminate public education by the year 2000.  And
even if they aren't succeeding--I say they are--they are making it harder for t
eachers to teach, harder for the people we claim to support to attend school
and college.  I spoke to a colleague about this program--this person brushed of
f my concerns with a "oh, that'll never happen, don't worry, be happy" response
...just the kind of complacency we need.  Some people thought AFDC and the USSR
would be around forever.  And with Slick Willy in cahoots with Newt and co.,
this makes our responsibilities to CRUSH     these pigs who are out to eliminat
e  public education even harder to meet.  So, as I continue on my self-righteou
s screed, let me just request...we all need to take one hour tomorrow off from
our personal worries: job market, hard-drive crashes, conferences, espresso
machines...and listen to this show, and decide what the fuck we're going to do
about this situation.  We talk about wanting diversity here at Miami, but if we
don't take a stand against these people who are trying to destroy what little i
left for people in the inner cities, we are going to be teaching classrooms ful
of lilywhite acolytes of Dan Quayle and William Bennett WHEREVER we go...and we
will deserve those consequences.--R. Pence