Caz
Last Chance Saloon
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 836
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 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 6:55 am Post subject: Manhattan Institute pushes Vouchers for Schools |
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http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cci.htm
| Quote: | Education Reform
Education reform, particularly in low-income urban areas, is one of the top public policy concerns today, so it should come as no surprise that the Manhattan Institute has the best education reform experts in the country to offer practical advice to policymakers. Leading the Institute’s efforts in this area is the nationally renowned education researcher Jay P. Greene, Ph.D., Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow and endowed chair and head of the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Greene has conducted evaluations of school choice and accountability programs in Florida, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and San Antonio. Dr. Greene was the only researcher cited in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion and Justice O’Connor’s concurring opinion in the landmark Zelman v. Simmons-Harris case upholding the constitutionality of school vouchers. He is author of the book Education Myths. His articles have appeared in policy journals, such as The Public Interest, City Journal, and Education Next, in academic journals, such as The Georgetown Public Policy Review, Education and Urban Society, and The British Journal of Political Science, as well as in major newspapers, such as the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.
CCI’s work on education reform focuses on improving two main reforms of public education: school choice and accountability. School choice reforms (including charter schools and school vouchers) are dedicated to improving the options available to parents of children in public schools, and making public schools more directly accountable to parents for education outcomes. Accountability reforms are devoted to improving educational achievement by focusing on imparting knowledge and skills and making teachers, administrators, and students accountable for success or failure. |
The other face of the Manhattan Institute:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Manhattan_Institute_for_Pol icy_Research
| Quote: |
Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
The Manhattan Institute (MI) is a right-wing non-profit think tank founded in 1978 by William J. Casey, who later became President Ronald Reagan's CIA director.
The Manhattan Institute is "focused on promoting free-market principles whose mission is to 'develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility.'"
"The Manhattan Institute concerns itself with such things as 'welfare reform' (dismantling social programs), 'faith-based initiatives' (blurring the distinction between church and state), and 'education reform' (destroying public education)," Kurt Nimmo wrote October 10, 2002, in CounterPunch.
History
The Institute describes its policy agenda over its 25-year history as having spanned "taxes, welfare, crime, the legal system, urban life, race, education, and many other topics. We have won new respect for market-oriented policies and helped make reform a reality."
In its publication Buying a Movement, People for the American Way describes the Manhattan Institute's agenda as "The Institute '...advocates privitization of sanitation services and infrastructure maintenance, deregulation in the area of environmental and consumer protection, school vouchers and cuts in governmental spending on social welfare programs; it is a preferred source of information'" for New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
They describe their communication strategy as being based around the strength of their "senior fellows". "Their provocative books, reviews, interviews, speeches, articles, and op-ed pieces have been the main vehicle for communicating our message," they state.
"Books are central to our approach. We make every effort to ensure that our authors are published by respected trade publishers and that their books receive as much review attention and publicity as possible. Nothing allows us to make a sustained, comprehensive argument more effectively," the website states.
Charles Murray was one author who was based at the Manhattan Institute while writing the book Losing Ground. Murray is "a far right ideologue who wrote The Bell Curve in 1984, a book that essentially argues black people are genetically and intellectually inferior to white people."
Tobacco issues
Tobacco industry documents reveal relationships between the Manhattan Institute and tobacco companies. The Institute sought funding from tobacco companies, including Brown & Williamson.The Institute has received funding from R.J. Reynolds. In 1991, Lorillard Inc. budgeted a $4,000 contribution of the Manhattan Institute and the same amount in 1996. Philip Morris budgeted $25,000 for the Instutite in 1995.
A 1997 R.J. Reynolds memo reveals RJR's intent to use the Manhattan Institute as a third party to help the company reduce the public's perception of danger from exposure to secondhand smoke:
"Devise ways to educate the public about epidemiology and put risk in perspective. For example, work with Steven J. Milloy, Michael Fumento, CEI Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Manhattan Institute and others to put together a 1/2-hour or 1-hour TV
show explaining epi[demiology] and risk. Create an epi/risk website to educate the general public, maybe working with the Harvard School of Public Health. Do the same for journalists."
War on terrorism: axis of evil
In 2001, David Frum left the Manhattan Institute "to join the Bush administration as a speechwriter. It was there that he coined the term 'axis of evil' to describe Iraq, Iran and North Korea. This became the signature phrase of President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union speech and shorthand for Bush's war on terrorism."
Immigration: covering all the bases
"In the think-tank world, a leading advocate of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants is Tamar Jacoby..., an expert at the conservative Manhattan Institute. One of the most implacable voices against any such 'amnesty' is Heather Mac Donald - also of the Manhattan Institute."
Manhattan Institute Board of Trustees
The following are members of the Board of Trustees:
Dietrich Weisman, Chairman of the Board; Neuberger & Berman
Byron R. Wien, Vice Chairman; Morgan Stanley & Co.
Roger Hertog, Chairman Emeritus; Alliance Capital Management
Charles H. Brunie, Chairman Emeritus; Brunie Associates
Richard Gilder, Chairman Emeritus; Gilder, Gagnon, and Howe & Co.
Lawrence Mone, President
Robert J. Appel, Appel Associates
Eugene D. Brody, Picanet Partners
Christopher H. Browne, Tweedy, Browne Inc.
Andrew Cader
Timothy G. Dalton, Jr., Dalton Enterprises
Michael J. Fedak
Peter M. Flanigan, UBS Warburg
Mark Gerson, Gerson Lehrman Group
William B. Ginsberg
Maurice R. Greenberg, American International Group
Fleur Harlan
John W. Holman, Jr., Hintz, Holman & Robillard
Bruce Kovner, Caxton Corporation
William Kristol, Editor of the Weekly Standard
Frank J. Macchiarola, St. Francis College
Rodney W. Nichols
Edward J. Nicoll, Instinet Group Inc.
Peggy Noonan
Joseph H. Reich, Beginning With Children Foundation
Richard Reiss, Jr., Georgica Advisors
Joseph L. Rice, III, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Inc.
Frank E. Richardson, F.E. Richardson & Co., Inc.
Robert Rosenkranz, Delphi Financial Group
Nathan E. Saint-Amand, MD
Andrew M. Saul, Saul Partners
Paul E. Singer, Elliott Associates, L.P.
Robert Skidelsky
Thomas W. Smith, Prescott Investors
William K. Tell, Jr.
Thomas J. Tisch, FLF Associates
Donald G. Tober, Sugar Foods Corporation
Bruce G. Wilcox, Cumberland Associates, LLC
Kathryn S. Wylde, The Partnership for New York City
Financiers of neo-conservatism
The "financing of neoconservatism doesn't come from D.C.", Mark Gerson is quoted as saying in the April 27, 2003, New York Observer.
"Instead, said Mr. Gerson, it comes from New York moneymen like Bruce Kovner, chairman of the Caxton Corporation, and Roger Hertog, the vice chairman of Alliance Capital Management. Last year, both financiers helped fund a new newspaper, The New York Sun, now fighting its anti-liberal battle with its New York Times –counterprogrammed slogan, 'A Different Point of View.' Both Mr. Kovner and Mr. Hertog also chipped in to join neoliberal Martin Peretz as co-owners of The New Republic. Mr. Kovner and Mr. Hertog, as enlightened neoconservative businessmen-intellectuals, are also on the board [of trustees] of the Manhattan Institute, where Mr. Gerson and William Kristol are also trustees, as well as the Washington, D.C.–based American Enterprise Institute."
Funding
Between 1985 and 2005, the Institute received $20,629,883 (unadjusted for inflation) in a total of 296 grants from only nine foundations.
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Caz
Last Chance Saloon
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 836
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| Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 12:52 am Post subject: |
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If anyone thinks the following does NOT apply in the UK (or Australia for that matter) note that the new academy in Swindon (UK), takes children from 0-19, and is sponsored by Honda with ULT (a subsidiary of UCST, United Church Schools Trust) involved. It's a package deal. Young into school, a faith school and 'School to Work' programme all rolled into one. (And friends of mine still tell me this is a great idea, and ignorantly tell me that this academy school has no sponsor????) So, do we have here 'from the cradle to the grave', from school to Honda. (I know someone working for Honda in Swindon, it runs on military precision.)
http://ww2.swindon.gov.uk/moderngov/Published/C00000285/M00003041/AI00 013348/$ExpansionofSwindonAcademyfinalversion.docA.ps.pdf
| Quote: | 2. Detail
2.1 The Swindon Academy, sponsored by Honda UK, and under the
governance of United Learning Trust (ULT), opened in September 2007.
The 0-19 Academy incorporates Headlands School, together with
Pinehurst Infant and Junior Schools. |
The following are Charlotte Iserbyt's comments about the situation in the US:
http://www.uhuh.com/education/noamer.htm
| Quote: | 1. CONTROL OF EDUCATION-
The chairman of the Communist Party, U.S.A., 1932, William Foster, in his book Toward a Soviet America, called for a U.S. Dept. of Education, the teaching of evolution, elimination of nationalism and religion in schools, the teaching of internationalism, and for the use of the Pavlovian method (direct instruction) on the students, etc., etc. Note: School choice is a Trojan Horse. The only requirement left to implement school choice is tuition tax credits or vouchers which will take over the private sector. If those choice proposals do not fly in legislatures or in Congress, federally-funded charter schools will be used, as is already the case in many states, to implement the school to work planned economic system.
2. CONTROL OF ECONOMY-
The planned economy will come to us through school to work legislation. There will be quotas for jobs; no upward mobility for children. Students must select their careers by 8th grade. It is the same as the Cuban system. STW is implemented in all states. This is the failed elitist system which brought the Soviet Union down but which is still being used worldwide. And, now our Congress has voted to implement it. How deliberately dumbed down our Congress seems to be! They don't even know what form of government and economy we are supposed to have. Of interest is that Lynne Cheney, wife of Vice President Richard Cheney, spoke eloquently, prior to the election, in opposition to the STW agenda being implemented in the United States. How sad that her advice was not sought or listened to in regard to this most controversial initiative which will result in changing our economic and political system.
3. CONTROL OF CHURCHES AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS-
The Washington Post refers to President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative as "communitarianism" which is defined in most dictionaries as "a member or supporter of a communistic community" or "a communistic form of government." The camel's nose is under the tent right now with Bush using/funding churches to "tutor" students in failing public schools. Churches which accept federal monies will be controlled by the government as in fascist/communist countries. The same federal control applies to private schools or homeschooling families who accept one penny of federal money.
4. CONTROL OF NATION THROUGH UNELECTED COUNCILS AND DROPPING OF COUNTY, STATE, NATIONAL BORDERS-
This control takes place through regional government which was referred to by a communist writer for Daily World as the Soviet system that has "worked so well in the Soviet Union!" Regional government is being implemented worldwide. The European Community is a good example of a major region being set up for the world management system (Lenin's international socialism). Does anyone need to be reminded that unelected councils are appointed councils? Regrettably, we're getting participatory democracy. You get to participate IF chosen!
5. CONTROL OF PHYSICAL/MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM-
The government will direct and fund health care through the schools (school-based clinics for all children regardless of income). Hilary's health care system (socialized medicine) is being implemented without a whimper from those who fought its implementation. This seamless web includes all services under the umbrella of the school district (birth through death).
6. CONTROL OF LOCAL POLICING-
Community monitoring will be accomplished through the Community Oriented Policing System (COPS), put in under President Clinton. His administration laid ground work for a strong community crime control strategy with federal, state, and local partnerships to fight crime. From the Clinton Administration's Law and Enforcement Strategy, March 1999, we read, "Across the country an expanded number of community police officers have been working together with block watches, neighborhood patrols, high school guidance counselors, probation and parole officers, religious groups and local businesses . . . ". President Bush is focusing more on community policing in schools. His recently passed Patriot Act will enforce this totalitarian agenda and limit citizen resistance. Eyes will be watching over us continually!
7. PARTNERSHIPS-
Business, education and religious partnerships with the government, pointed out above, extend the socialist/communitarianism agenda. An international conference entitled "Community Schools and Education Policy in Transition Countries During the 21st Century" was held October 9-13, 2000, in Omsk (Siberia) Russia. The goal was "to establish partnership between government education departments and the community school movement" (taken from Russian URL on Community Education.) Community Educator, out of Alaska, in the early 1970s at a Community Education conference in Washington, D.C., defined community education as the Chinese Communist system. Community education now comes under a variety of names including site-based management, regionalism, community 'whatever', school-based 'everything', lifelong 'anything', sustainable development, communitarianism and other terms. (For those interested in this subject, education researchers are in possession of filing cabinets loaded with community education research, and may be contacted through Iserbyt. Deliberate Dumbing Down of America also carries several important entries on Community Education.)
8. CONTROL OF LAND
Environmental legislation and sustainable development efforts (beginning with the Earth Summit, Rio 1992 and now finished with Earth Charter in 2000), implement controls on the right to own and use property as one wishes. The President's Council on Sustainable Development (Clinton in 1996) helped form a joint effort between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties. They came together to form The Joint Center for Sustainable Communities. And the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution endorsing the Earth Charter in 2001.
9. CONTROL OF BEHAVIOR USING SKINNERIAN/PAVLOVIAN
This psychological method is stimulus-response-stimulus dog/animal training. It has recently been referred to as the Direct Instruction method, which is failed OBE mastery learning. Direct Instruction (same as mastery learning) is now being used to teach reading and math and is especially necessary for workforce training for dumbed down "third world" skills. Skinner said "I could make a pigeon a high achiever by reinforcing it on a proper schedule." Following this reinforcement method, teachers are forced to read from a script, use hand signals as in dog training, clap their hands and, pop candies in students' mouths when they get the correct answer. President Bush is mandating this method in his legislation that calls for retraining teachers to use "scientific research based" teaching methods.
Not only is above reward and punishment method being used in the schools, one sees it all around in our communities with citizens who conform to the government agenda receiving rewards and those who resist being ignored, isolated or punished. |
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Caz
Last Chance Saloon
Joined: 23 Apr 2006
Posts: 836
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| Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:32 am Post subject: |
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How vouchers (aka Manhattan Institute) is used to control the schools.
from: http://www.constitutional.net/Luksik/mallon.html
| Quote: | Now, I've heard some people say that school choice is a mixed blessing, if at all. Some strongly Catholic people have reservations about it, because of a sense of government involvement. How do you see school choice?
Unfortunately, in some circles school choice is defined as vouchers, and those who fear vouchers have good reason to fear them. The history of vouchers has been that when government gives a shekel, it gives a shackle. And I think we're seeing that played out across the country. Just to give you an example, in the state of Virginia, at the college level they have what are called tuition-assistance grants, which are like vouchers. For a number of years everything was wonderful and after everyone got hooked on the program, the government came in and told, for example, Liberty University, which is Jerry Falwell's very evangelical college, you have to change your chapel attendance policies, you have to change your faculty hiring practices, to keep the money. The school complied, because they could no longer afford to do without the money long enough to fight the ruling. So it was a devil in the deep blue sea argument.
There are other ways to do school choice. For example with tuition tax credits. A universal tax credit. Actually what we've put together is a universal tax credit approach, allowing parents to take credit against their local school taxes, property wage, whatever, and allowing businesses to take a dollar for dollar credit against their property tax, to contribute to the school that they want to contribute to.
It could be a benefit they offer to their employees' children. You keep your money in your pocket, never enters government's grasp, it doesn't get caught in the government's grip, and it's a way to do it that maintains government and maintains the autonomy of both the family and the non-public school, but solves the school-choice program. So, we have to help people understand that school choice doesn't have do be done through vouchers. There are other more appropriate, more safe, and frankly more fiscally sound ways to do it, that can solve the problem, and accomplish the objective without opening the doors to government intervention.
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