[Marxism] update on colorado teacher

["MICHAEL YATES" <mikedjyates@xxxxxxx>]

Mr. Jay Bennish, the recently suspended Colorado teacher, will be back
teaching on Monday, after a meeting of the school board, superintendant,
etc. on Friday afternoon.  I don't know if any particular discipline was
imposed on him.  It is school policy not to discuss such thing publicly.

The student who taped the 20 minutes will probably not be going back to the
high school. He has been on all the local right-wing radio talk shows today.
The hosts can hardly contain their venom toward Mr. Bennish and are hailing
the taper as a hero.

Colorado is a scary place these days. A real witch-hunt mentality, very
reminiscent of McCarthyism, fueled by the religious far right, which is
centered in Colorado Springs.  The taper's dad said on one show he was
really humbled when soldiers from Iraq emailed his son to say that what he
was doing is what they are fighting for. Remarkable if true.

BTW, some time ago, another Colorado teacher, this one in grade school, was
placed on leave and will be discharged for showing her class a part of a
puppet version of Gounod's "Faust". She was apparently trying to show the
students the different operatic voices. A small number of parents accused
her of promoting devil worship.  Apparently there was also anger that she
had overseen a Christmas show in which some non(Christian)religious songs
were sung.

I should note too that Colorado's governor appeared on the worst of the
right-wing attack shows, that of "Gunny Bob" Newman, a crackpot and
fascist-like nut if ever there was one, and applauded the student who turned
Mr. Bennish in.  Bush even mentioned the Bennish affair in a speech today.

Michael Yates



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