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cpetrella wrote a new diary post: Sandy Hook, National Neuroses, and the Militarization of Everything
What does it say about the ubiquity of modern violence that Amnesty International, arguably the world’s most notable pro-peace movement, organizes its central purpose around a “mission statement,” an organizational articulation originating in military strategy? (How about a statement of purpose???) Such an abiding paradox demonstrates the depth of the contradictory cultural cues that inform [...] -
cpetrella wrote a new diary post: 82 Percent of the “Town Hall” Presidential Debate Audience was White (and Why that’s a Problem)
Since last May the Obama and Romney campaigns have intransigently refused to release their “Memorandum of Understanding” governing the 2012 presidential debates. The Commission on Presidential Debates—the corporate-sponsored organization brokering the legally binding contractual agreement—has also remained silent. I can only assume that the candidates were a bit chagrined last week to learn that Time [...]
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cpetrella wrote a new diary post: A Short “Education Reform” Primer for the 2012 Presidential Election
Though politicians bloviate abstractly on the theme of public education, it’s pretty clear that they’re often unprepared to address explicitly their policy proposals or the unspoken ideological assumptions upon which they rely. Sadly, education policy discourse has become vacuous and apolitical. It finds expression in platitudes aimed at dissolving the relationship between individual educational experiences [...]
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cpetrella wrote a new diary post: Presidential Debate or Corporate Echo Chamber?
If you’re planning on watching the first so-called presidential “debate” tonight, just remember this: 1 . Presidential “debates” are organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a private bi-partisan (as opposed to non-partisan) corporation financed by Fortune 500 companies like Anheuser-Busch http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000042510 and Southwest Airlines http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000785 .The lobbying activities of both companies over the course of [...]
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cpetrella wrote a new diary post: Michelle Kosilek, Gender Non-Conformity, and Prisoner Rights
After appealing her case for nearly ten years, Michelle Kosilek, a Massachusetts inmate serving a life-sentence for a murder she committed in 1990, finally won the right to sexual reassignment / gender confirmation surgery subsided by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/17/michelle-kosilek-inmate-robert-kosilek-legal-fees-sex-change_n_1890043.html A district court recently ruled that Michelle Kosilek, born Robert Kosilek, is entitled [...]
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cpetrella became a registered member
