Tag Archives: ACORN

If you aren’t a regular reader of Mike Antonucci’s Education Intelligence Agency (EIA), you don’t know what you’re missing. Mr. Antonucci is one of the best national experts on teachers unions, has a very keen perspective on the significance of issues in unions and education politics, and breaks many stories with his vast network of (mostly anonymous) sources. That’s why when he took a break from his online reporting and commentary for nine or 10 days a little earlier this month, I was suffering from a mild case of withdrawal. But EIA’s Intercepts blog is back, with two new pieces I commend to your reading enjoyment and enlightenment: “NEA & ACORN: The Details” (adding more depth to an issue my Education Policy Center friends covered recently on our Independent Teachers site) How the two national teachers unions now face the equivalent of a political “electric chair” in their education policy discussions with a Democratic presidential administration … big stuff EIA is back with a bang. Happy Monday!

I’m 5 years old. Generally speaking, I like puppets and think they’re pretty cool. Recently learning that Kermit the Frog himself was a puppet (or muppet, you know what I mean) only increased my respect for him. But when heavily-funded teachers unions use other groups as puppets to oppose education reforms like choice and accountability — reforms that help kids like me, but especially kids in more dire straits — that’s a different story. Case #1: Thanks to the hard work of the Education Intelligence Agency’s intrepid Mike Antonucci, we learn that there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the group Republicans Opposing Voucher Efforts (ROVE). The company that registered the ROVE website is run by a former high-level National Education Association (NEA) staffer. As Greg Forster notes, it “sure looks a whole lot like it has the NEA’s arm sticking out the bottom”.

The National Education Association (NEA) has contacted Josh Pullen of Michigan 19 times (10 phone calls, 9 postcards) asking him to support their preferred presidential candidate. Some of you might say, “Yeah, so what? It’s election season.” Well, Josh’s father disagrees. The most recent postcard urging a vote for “Barak” Obama put him over the edge. That’s right … Josh’s father. Josh is only 6 years old! Maybe if Josh were 7 years old – like O’Jahnae Smith from Connecticut – ACORN (a group under investigation in many states for potentially fraudulent activities) could register him to vote. Blogger Matthew Tabor wonders about NEA’s priorities: The NEA and its brethren consistently moan about low pay for teachers, shortfalls in school budgets, teachers buying their own supplies, etc. If you’ve got an example of hardship and martyrdom, someone at the AFT or NEA is whining about it. All these gripes – and many of them are real problems – and the NEA spends its time, money and other resources on contacting a 6-year old 19 times. When I turn 6, I hope I don’t end up getting harassed like that. Of course, the election will be over by then, too.