Legendary public school reform advocate, Jonathan Kozol, joins us to discuss his latest book “An End To Inequality: Breaking Down the Walls of Apartheid Education in America.” Then, we do a deep dive into the scourge that is kratom, the dangerous so-called pain relief supplement our guest, lawyer Matt Wetherington, calls “gas station heroin.”
When I attended the NEA Assembly in Boston, Jonatha Kozol met with the Bad Assed Teachers Association who organized in the early 2010's in the Northwest, to make changes in the state education associations and went national to put forth changes in the NEA. He listened and talked with everyone on that evening and room was packed, He is absolutely right. I've watched the racialization in Seattle but the teachers who reach out to make change are ignored. There is an incredible program developed by the Education Department of University of Washington Bothell. Northwestern University, Tilth Alliance and Seattle Schools called Learning In Places. Go to their website. I've also attended conferences put on by Northwest Teaching for Social Justice also supported by Rethinking Schools. What I witnessed in the school administrations were people who had not spent time in the classroom or schools and a lack of respect for those who do,.
More recently, the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) passed the following resolution which offers significant protection to teachers trying to give their students perspective on the Israel-Palestine issue: That the BCTF continuously lobby the Ministry of Education and Childcare to include, where applicable, the following as part of the Grades 6-12 Socials and History curricula....
a) The Nakba
b) The 1948 Arab-Israel War
c) Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank
I cannot tell you what this means to me as an Arab teacher in BC. I have always been terrified when discussing this issue and I never dared to even say the word "Nakba" in the classroom. Now I know that my union has my back. This is HUGE.
Because candidates that used economic populist rhetoric won higher vote shares in the 2022 general elections Francesco jumps to the conclusion that broad-based, left wing economic populism works.
That depends on how you define rhetoric and works.
If you define rhetoric only as a persuasive way of speaking without including the part about rhetoric often being regarded as lacking sincerity or meaningful content you can say it works to get candidates elected.
But if you include the part about lacking in sincerity or meaningful content then you can only say it works to get candidates elected that have no intention of following through with any economic populist action as legislators and not working to advance the economic populism that citizens think they are voting for.
As for the DNC's anti-third party squad, we should counter it with an anti-binary choice squad led by Ralph Nader.
First we point out how it is not a binary choice between big money Democrats and big money Republicans because they both works for the big money interests.
Then we point out how 90% of congressional districts are gerrymandered so that only one of the two halves of the one big money party can win in the general election.
Then we encourage the 40% that would vote for the Democrat in a Republican district and Republicans in a Democrat district to use a write in vote in 2024 to register a vote against the big money candidates on the ballot and to create and demonstrate demand for small donor candidates in 2026.
We point out how voting for a big money candidates that can't win in 2024 will only lead to the same lack of choice in 2026 but casting a write in vote could change the dynamic for 2026.
Just 10% of citizens nationally participating in 2024 is achievable and could have an effect in 2026.
With 10% national participation in 2024 there would be some districts below the national average but some districts above the average at 12-15% of that district in 2024.
Instead of a 60-40 split in 2024 the results could be 55-30 with 15% casting a write in vote.
In many districts only around 20% of citizens that vote in the general elections vote in the primaries. The Democrat in a Republican gerrymandered district might only get 8-10% of the general election voters in the primary. A small donor candidate running in the primary getting that 12-15% of general election could win the primary against the big money Democrat that only would get 8-10% of the general election votes in the primary.
Now the 2026 general election would be between a small donor Democrat and a big money Republican which would tighten the gap considerably in the 2026 general election in that district. Just a few victories and some close calls by small donor Democrats in Republican districts and small donor Republicans in Democrat districts in 2026 would show it is possible and encourage more citizens and candidates to participate in 2028.
Then instead of having no choice other than big money candidates in 2028 there could be many districts where citizens can choose to elect small donor candidates.
This could make many districts unpredictable in 2028 and going forward.
Predictability is not only the enemy of democracy it is also in integral part of gerrymandering.
If even 30-40% of districts are unpredictable by the redistricting after the 2030 census it won't be just dividing between big money Democrats and Republicans it will also be about small donor candidates which will make it difficult to gerrymander districts to protect big money candidates without creating small donor districts.
It's time for a new version of Nader's Raiders to use the tools provided to take the battle into the voting booth instead of the courtroom.
We can call it Ralph's Write-ins.
No more delays or excuses.
We need Ralph to lead Ralph's Write-ins right now.
These are profound words from Mr. Kozol. I’m glad that the person in charge of making the RNRH website text for this website decided to put a spotlight on that statement. The concept of the ‘myth of scarcity’ is something which must be understood and must be overcome to achieve progress in schools and in every other public sector.
Comparing the military budget to school budgets may seem like a folly at first. After all, the military budget is a federal matter where there is no possibility of running out of money without artificial constraints such as the debt ceiling. School budgets are generally a matter of state or other local entity governance and those bodies must live within fiscal constraints since they are currency users rather than being a currency issuer like the federal government. However, if the federal and local governments are willing to work together, federal grants can be used to truly try to give every student a safe and inviting learning environment with plenty of resources and staffing.
On that note, if anyone has been following Texas state politics recently, they know that rural Texas Republicans, mostly in the Texas House of Representatives, have been in quite a battle with the urban Texas Republicans...mostly those in the Texas Senate. The urban Republicans and the governor want a school voucher program. The rural Texas Republicans are vigorously opposed to this type of privatization scheme and are working with Texas Democrats to oppose the mostly urban Texas Republicans.
Now, why would rural Texas Republicans oppose something that corporate lobbyists and the Christian religious lobby are so strongly for given that the rural Texas Republicans are often in cahoots with such groups? It is simple. In rural areas especially, the public school districts in Texas are some of the biggest employers in those areas. In fact, they might be the biggest employers in many rural areas. The rural Texas Republicans know they need votes and they won’t get it tearing apart labor in their districts. With this in mind, and I don’t mean this just in reference to public education, why do progressives completely forget about the power of labor and employment when advocating policy?
We really need to stop with the ‘taxpayer money’ austerity language which says that we can only fund ABC if we stop funding XYZ. It is not true. That most certainly does not mean we must support things like militarization, but we must ensure that those working in fields we wish to curb remain employed or else there is no chance for progressive reforms. Families who want their children to have nicer schools will not support pro-education policies if it means the livelihoods of the parents are at risk. Nicer schools are useless if the kids don’t have adequate housing, food, healthcare, and so forth. Enough with the taxpayer money myth of scarcity.
Jonathan Kozol is a long-distance runner for education that addresses the reality of education for Black and Brown kids compared to their middle-class and affluent fellow students. Kozol was required reading to a generation of educational idealists/realists who taught kids in schools that denied the promise of equal schooling to many. He continued looking at poverty, homelessness, and always schooling through the eyes of someone who knew from experience what the denial of equality in segregated schools meant and means today.
It is heartening to hear his words today at the release of his new book. Many were chastened by their experiences, but Kozol refuses to allow cynicism to modify his outlook for the promise of schools that provide for the development of kids in ways that enhance both their lives and the life of the nation.
NOT IN OUR GENES: Biology, Ideology, and Human Nature, by Richard C. Lewontin, Steven Rose, and Leon J. Kamin. Copyright 1984, Pantheon Books, New York.
“This is a riproaring dismantling of the rise of biologistic interpretations of why we behave as we do. The three authors are among the most distinguished in their respective fields of expertise — genetics, neuroscience, and psychology. It is, without question, the best book of its kind and should be required reading for every responsible citizen.” — Ashley Montagu.
I’ve joked in the past that we should sue the Democratic Party to change their name. Blocking third party ballot access is about as undemocratic as it gets. As I’ve argued in the past you can’t blame Dr. Stein for Clinton’s failures and even if I were to play Devil’s Advocate and claim that those votes “belonged” to Hillary, there’s still the matter of more people voted for Gary Johnson by an order of magnitude. Surely Gary Johnson “took” votes away from Trump, right?
But the Democratic Party is out of touch with the populace and rather than self-reflect, they just blame us for not voting for them. Shame.
The segment with Matt Wetherington was riddled with outdated, inaccurate, and plainly distorted information on kratom. I would be glad to discuss this in detail. My name is Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy with the American Kratom Assocation. My email is mhaddow@americankratom.org
Well, I've taken kratom for pain for at least five years, if not more, and it is the best pain medication of all. "Gas station heroin"? I don't think so. This is the last refuge for sufferers of chronic pain who have been cut off due to the hysteria over supposed over-prescribing of opiates to legitimate users. Kratom has been an absolute life-saver to me, while simultaneously being abandoned by the medical establishment that has grown so timid about legitimately prescribing opiodes that those of us who need them are unfairly deprived. Kratom is an excellent natural alternative that may have potential for abuse, but has far greater well-known legitimate application as a home remedy for intractable pains of all types. Bone up on your facts.
Thank you for another enlightening thought provoking episode and teaching current status of overlooked social problems. Where do you think executive order 13985 can factor into this? Or even executive order 14035? And how can the people implement this with their local city councils to mitigate these horrendous disparities?
These are severe problems. It seemed the first black mayor of Boston had perhaps short tenure to intervene, since they have a different mayor now?
Please Ralph, address the weaponization of Identity Politics in K12 Curriculum. DCs Totalitarian Fascists “HATE PUBLIC EDUCATION!” and “HATE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACHERS!” Propaganda Machine RAGES-ON in their determination to create a FinalSolution to conquer THEFT of PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDS.
This is absolutely heartbreaking. We can talk about the dangers of Trump, but I don’t see our Democratic legislators rushing to address these problems. What will it take? Interested in getting the book….
My kids’ schools are pretty nice, but even in our community the school lunches are horrible, much worse than I remember back in the 70s. Don’t tell me: “public-private partnership”?
This radio hour, Kozol putting light into dark places - yes. Wetherington, I'm not sure if it's bright light but I appreciate airing the issue. I went back to listen to the March 9th airing with Col. Wilkerson's complaints of the presidential campaign with no decent candidates. Where are you at? I've broken through the trance spun by the legacy media canceling RFK Jr. Listen to his Tuesday speech and the speech of his VP pick. Clean your filters and truly see who they are. See them as the greatest threat to the status quo and why they're being cancelled. See how courageous and how clear RFK is of what's been dividing us and taking us down. See through the lies and you may see the beauty and the revolutionary moment of what Team Kennedy represents.
The claim that kratom extracts are more dangerous than "pure leaf" is certainly true, and the industry is moving toward more concentrated products. But the claim that natural kratom leaf is "safe" is wrong. Many people can use it with little or no trouble, but not all.
Kratom leaf killed my nephew at age 21. This happened because the stuff is addictive. He'd started using it to cure his alcoholism, and it worked. But then he was hooked on kratom. He had two grand mal seizures triggered by kratom. He was trying to taper. He died with no other substances in his body, save his normal dose of an anti-depressant.
I'd never heard of the stuff until the morning he died. Then I looked into the industry. What I found astonished me. I wrote the first in-depth investigations of the kratom industry for Courthouse News. Part 1 is here: https://www.courthousenews.com/can-kratom-kill/
When will Ralph add a comments section to his blog?
Until he does I will just have to comment here on his recent half of an article where he points out how the Dems are offering the same old big money candidates and strategies and suggests the Dems change course before it is too late.
While I appreciate everything Ralph has done and does, in this case Ralph is offering the same old playbook that has not succeeded in getting the Dems to change course for decades.
Physician, heal thyself.
"At the least, concerned, engaged voters should demand that unresponsive Party campaigns return their calls for input."
"The same playbook will produce the same failed Democratic efforts. Change course before it is too late."
Ralph offering advice to the Dems that they ignore and advising citizens to demand that unresponsive Party campaigns return their calls for input is not working because it does not contain what should make up the second half of the article of how citizens can provide an incentive to politicians to pay attention to the citizen's input and demands.
As described in my previous comments, the politicians will pay attention to the input from citizens in the voting booth.
It is time for Ralph to change course and lead citizens in demanding small donor candidates and enforcing that demand with our votes.
If we keep voting for them when they do not change they will never change.
If you say that this strategy will not work then you are saying democracy will not work.
Please, Ralph, either explain why democracy won't work or lead citizens in this effort to use the basic principles of democracy to save democracy before it too late.
When I attended the NEA Assembly in Boston, Jonatha Kozol met with the Bad Assed Teachers Association who organized in the early 2010's in the Northwest, to make changes in the state education associations and went national to put forth changes in the NEA. He listened and talked with everyone on that evening and room was packed, He is absolutely right. I've watched the racialization in Seattle but the teachers who reach out to make change are ignored. There is an incredible program developed by the Education Department of University of Washington Bothell. Northwestern University, Tilth Alliance and Seattle Schools called Learning In Places. Go to their website. I've also attended conferences put on by Northwest Teaching for Social Justice also supported by Rethinking Schools. What I witnessed in the school administrations were people who had not spent time in the classroom or schools and a lack of respect for those who do,.
I have some positive news from British Columbia, Canada.
First, a government minister who tried to get a university professor fired for making pro-Palestinian comments was forced to resign after she was exposed for making racist statements toward Palestinians (for more information, here is an article on the subject: https://troymedia.com/politicslaw/bc-politics/the-selina-robinson-saga-is-a-lesson-in-political-accountability/ ).
More recently, the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) passed the following resolution which offers significant protection to teachers trying to give their students perspective on the Israel-Palestine issue: That the BCTF continuously lobby the Ministry of Education and Childcare to include, where applicable, the following as part of the Grades 6-12 Socials and History curricula....
a) The Nakba
b) The 1948 Arab-Israel War
c) Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank
I cannot tell you what this means to me as an Arab teacher in BC. I have always been terrified when discussing this issue and I never dared to even say the word "Nakba" in the classroom. Now I know that my union has my back. This is HUGE.
Because candidates that used economic populist rhetoric won higher vote shares in the 2022 general elections Francesco jumps to the conclusion that broad-based, left wing economic populism works.
That depends on how you define rhetoric and works.
If you define rhetoric only as a persuasive way of speaking without including the part about rhetoric often being regarded as lacking sincerity or meaningful content you can say it works to get candidates elected.
But if you include the part about lacking in sincerity or meaningful content then you can only say it works to get candidates elected that have no intention of following through with any economic populist action as legislators and not working to advance the economic populism that citizens think they are voting for.
As for the DNC's anti-third party squad, we should counter it with an anti-binary choice squad led by Ralph Nader.
First we point out how it is not a binary choice between big money Democrats and big money Republicans because they both works for the big money interests.
Then we point out how 90% of congressional districts are gerrymandered so that only one of the two halves of the one big money party can win in the general election.
Then we encourage the 40% that would vote for the Democrat in a Republican district and Republicans in a Democrat district to use a write in vote in 2024 to register a vote against the big money candidates on the ballot and to create and demonstrate demand for small donor candidates in 2026.
We point out how voting for a big money candidates that can't win in 2024 will only lead to the same lack of choice in 2026 but casting a write in vote could change the dynamic for 2026.
Just 10% of citizens nationally participating in 2024 is achievable and could have an effect in 2026.
With 10% national participation in 2024 there would be some districts below the national average but some districts above the average at 12-15% of that district in 2024.
Instead of a 60-40 split in 2024 the results could be 55-30 with 15% casting a write in vote.
In many districts only around 20% of citizens that vote in the general elections vote in the primaries. The Democrat in a Republican gerrymandered district might only get 8-10% of the general election voters in the primary. A small donor candidate running in the primary getting that 12-15% of general election could win the primary against the big money Democrat that only would get 8-10% of the general election votes in the primary.
Now the 2026 general election would be between a small donor Democrat and a big money Republican which would tighten the gap considerably in the 2026 general election in that district. Just a few victories and some close calls by small donor Democrats in Republican districts and small donor Republicans in Democrat districts in 2026 would show it is possible and encourage more citizens and candidates to participate in 2028.
Then instead of having no choice other than big money candidates in 2028 there could be many districts where citizens can choose to elect small donor candidates.
This could make many districts unpredictable in 2028 and going forward.
Predictability is not only the enemy of democracy it is also in integral part of gerrymandering.
If even 30-40% of districts are unpredictable by the redistricting after the 2030 census it won't be just dividing between big money Democrats and Republicans it will also be about small donor candidates which will make it difficult to gerrymander districts to protect big money candidates without creating small donor districts.
It's time for a new version of Nader's Raiders to use the tools provided to take the battle into the voting booth instead of the courtroom.
We can call it Ralph's Write-ins.
No more delays or excuses.
We need Ralph to lead Ralph's Write-ins right now.
“I call it the myth of scarcity.”
These are profound words from Mr. Kozol. I’m glad that the person in charge of making the RNRH website text for this website decided to put a spotlight on that statement. The concept of the ‘myth of scarcity’ is something which must be understood and must be overcome to achieve progress in schools and in every other public sector.
Comparing the military budget to school budgets may seem like a folly at first. After all, the military budget is a federal matter where there is no possibility of running out of money without artificial constraints such as the debt ceiling. School budgets are generally a matter of state or other local entity governance and those bodies must live within fiscal constraints since they are currency users rather than being a currency issuer like the federal government. However, if the federal and local governments are willing to work together, federal grants can be used to truly try to give every student a safe and inviting learning environment with plenty of resources and staffing.
On that note, if anyone has been following Texas state politics recently, they know that rural Texas Republicans, mostly in the Texas House of Representatives, have been in quite a battle with the urban Texas Republicans...mostly those in the Texas Senate. The urban Republicans and the governor want a school voucher program. The rural Texas Republicans are vigorously opposed to this type of privatization scheme and are working with Texas Democrats to oppose the mostly urban Texas Republicans.
Now, why would rural Texas Republicans oppose something that corporate lobbyists and the Christian religious lobby are so strongly for given that the rural Texas Republicans are often in cahoots with such groups? It is simple. In rural areas especially, the public school districts in Texas are some of the biggest employers in those areas. In fact, they might be the biggest employers in many rural areas. The rural Texas Republicans know they need votes and they won’t get it tearing apart labor in their districts. With this in mind, and I don’t mean this just in reference to public education, why do progressives completely forget about the power of labor and employment when advocating policy?
We really need to stop with the ‘taxpayer money’ austerity language which says that we can only fund ABC if we stop funding XYZ. It is not true. That most certainly does not mean we must support things like militarization, but we must ensure that those working in fields we wish to curb remain employed or else there is no chance for progressive reforms. Families who want their children to have nicer schools will not support pro-education policies if it means the livelihoods of the parents are at risk. Nicer schools are useless if the kids don’t have adequate housing, food, healthcare, and so forth. Enough with the taxpayer money myth of scarcity.
Jonathan Kozol is a long-distance runner for education that addresses the reality of education for Black and Brown kids compared to their middle-class and affluent fellow students. Kozol was required reading to a generation of educational idealists/realists who taught kids in schools that denied the promise of equal schooling to many. He continued looking at poverty, homelessness, and always schooling through the eyes of someone who knew from experience what the denial of equality in segregated schools meant and means today.
It is heartening to hear his words today at the release of his new book. Many were chastened by their experiences, but Kozol refuses to allow cynicism to modify his outlook for the promise of schools that provide for the development of kids in ways that enhance both their lives and the life of the nation.
NOT IN OUR GENES: Biology, Ideology, and Human Nature, by Richard C. Lewontin, Steven Rose, and Leon J. Kamin. Copyright 1984, Pantheon Books, New York.
“This is a riproaring dismantling of the rise of biologistic interpretations of why we behave as we do. The three authors are among the most distinguished in their respective fields of expertise — genetics, neuroscience, and psychology. It is, without question, the best book of its kind and should be required reading for every responsible citizen.” — Ashley Montagu.
I’ve joked in the past that we should sue the Democratic Party to change their name. Blocking third party ballot access is about as undemocratic as it gets. As I’ve argued in the past you can’t blame Dr. Stein for Clinton’s failures and even if I were to play Devil’s Advocate and claim that those votes “belonged” to Hillary, there’s still the matter of more people voted for Gary Johnson by an order of magnitude. Surely Gary Johnson “took” votes away from Trump, right?
But the Democratic Party is out of touch with the populace and rather than self-reflect, they just blame us for not voting for them. Shame.
The segment with Matt Wetherington was riddled with outdated, inaccurate, and plainly distorted information on kratom. I would be glad to discuss this in detail. My name is Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy with the American Kratom Assocation. My email is mhaddow@americankratom.org
I buy lots of things in gas stations: sushi, sandwiches, sodas, beer, liquor...why not an untested, unapproved opioid replacement drug?
Well, I've taken kratom for pain for at least five years, if not more, and it is the best pain medication of all. "Gas station heroin"? I don't think so. This is the last refuge for sufferers of chronic pain who have been cut off due to the hysteria over supposed over-prescribing of opiates to legitimate users. Kratom has been an absolute life-saver to me, while simultaneously being abandoned by the medical establishment that has grown so timid about legitimately prescribing opiodes that those of us who need them are unfairly deprived. Kratom is an excellent natural alternative that may have potential for abuse, but has far greater well-known legitimate application as a home remedy for intractable pains of all types. Bone up on your facts.
Thank you for another enlightening thought provoking episode and teaching current status of overlooked social problems. Where do you think executive order 13985 can factor into this? Or even executive order 14035? And how can the people implement this with their local city councils to mitigate these horrendous disparities?
These are severe problems. It seemed the first black mayor of Boston had perhaps short tenure to intervene, since they have a different mayor now?
Just my thoughts..
Please Ralph, address the weaponization of Identity Politics in K12 Curriculum. DCs Totalitarian Fascists “HATE PUBLIC EDUCATION!” and “HATE PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACHERS!” Propaganda Machine RAGES-ON in their determination to create a FinalSolution to conquer THEFT of PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDS.
This is absolutely heartbreaking. We can talk about the dangers of Trump, but I don’t see our Democratic legislators rushing to address these problems. What will it take? Interested in getting the book….
My kids’ schools are pretty nice, but even in our community the school lunches are horrible, much worse than I remember back in the 70s. Don’t tell me: “public-private partnership”?
This radio hour, Kozol putting light into dark places - yes. Wetherington, I'm not sure if it's bright light but I appreciate airing the issue. I went back to listen to the March 9th airing with Col. Wilkerson's complaints of the presidential campaign with no decent candidates. Where are you at? I've broken through the trance spun by the legacy media canceling RFK Jr. Listen to his Tuesday speech and the speech of his VP pick. Clean your filters and truly see who they are. See them as the greatest threat to the status quo and why they're being cancelled. See how courageous and how clear RFK is of what's been dividing us and taking us down. See through the lies and you may see the beauty and the revolutionary moment of what Team Kennedy represents.
The claim that kratom extracts are more dangerous than "pure leaf" is certainly true, and the industry is moving toward more concentrated products. But the claim that natural kratom leaf is "safe" is wrong. Many people can use it with little or no trouble, but not all.
Kratom leaf killed my nephew at age 21. This happened because the stuff is addictive. He'd started using it to cure his alcoholism, and it worked. But then he was hooked on kratom. He had two grand mal seizures triggered by kratom. He was trying to taper. He died with no other substances in his body, save his normal dose of an anti-depressant.
I'd never heard of the stuff until the morning he died. Then I looked into the industry. What I found astonished me. I wrote the first in-depth investigations of the kratom industry for Courthouse News. Part 1 is here: https://www.courthousenews.com/can-kratom-kill/
When will Ralph add a comments section to his blog?
Until he does I will just have to comment here on his recent half of an article where he points out how the Dems are offering the same old big money candidates and strategies and suggests the Dems change course before it is too late.
While I appreciate everything Ralph has done and does, in this case Ralph is offering the same old playbook that has not succeeded in getting the Dems to change course for decades.
Physician, heal thyself.
"At the least, concerned, engaged voters should demand that unresponsive Party campaigns return their calls for input."
"The same playbook will produce the same failed Democratic efforts. Change course before it is too late."
Ralph offering advice to the Dems that they ignore and advising citizens to demand that unresponsive Party campaigns return their calls for input is not working because it does not contain what should make up the second half of the article of how citizens can provide an incentive to politicians to pay attention to the citizen's input and demands.
As described in my previous comments, the politicians will pay attention to the input from citizens in the voting booth.
It is time for Ralph to change course and lead citizens in demanding small donor candidates and enforcing that demand with our votes.
If we keep voting for them when they do not change they will never change.
If you say that this strategy will not work then you are saying democracy will not work.
Please, Ralph, either explain why democracy won't work or lead citizens in this effort to use the basic principles of democracy to save democracy before it too late.