THE PATRIOT RETURNS |
Vol. 38, No.2 November 20, 2007
THE DEAR LEADER'S DEMOCRATIC DEFICIT?
These have certainly been a busy few weeks for our Dear Leader. In addition to hosting the PSC's biennial Halloween Gala at the Great Hall of the Cooper Union (to which she came costumed as La Pasionara), Battlin' Barb has been rounding up support for the Writers Guild of America strike, as well as working twenty-six hours a day, seven days a week to deliver a new contract. A veritable Energizer Bunny of the militant labor movement, this girl is! The concerns of Barbara Bowen and her fellow New Caucasians have never been limited to such issues as higher salaries, lower teaching loads, and better benefits, of course. These mundane matters often seem of secondary importance to larger political goals, such as ending the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and preventing one with Iran. Indeed, the Dear Leader was one of the featured speakers at United for Peace and Justice's October 27th march to Foley Square. While some CUNY faculty and staff might take issue with UPJ's positions on Palestine and Israel, here at The Patriot, we do not question Barbara's First Amendment rights to free speech. It would be nice if she consulted with the membership before speaking on their behalf. We did find some of her remarks at the UPJ rally to be puzzling, however. The Dear Leader and Transit Workers Union head "Jolly Roger" Toussaint both attacked the Democratic Party for its failure to bring the conflict to an end. "We've got to stop working to elect Democrats to end the war," Bowen announced, while her ideological soul mate blasted the party for "waffling and wavering." And this with two Democratic council members on hand! Perhaps we are missing something here, but last time we checked, the Democrats were still the majority in the City Council, in the New York Assembly, and Eliot Spitzer was still governor. Elected members of this party, at the local and state-wide levels, draft and pass the budgets from which the tax-levy dollars that underwrite the university and fund the contract will come. Governor Bulldozer and his advisors will inform Chancellor Goldstein of the size and scope of the next financial package. How, then, is it to the membership's benefit when the PSC tells the party in power to p*** off? While we hardly expect Barbara to publicize the American Federation of Teacher's endorsement of Hillary Clinton (will AFT Local 2334 withhold financial support from her campaign?), we do expect that a leadership which declares that everything in the end is political to be more political. If these comments are part of the "new and exciting plans" to "build broad alliances" that Legislative Representative Steve London is rolling out, we can hardly wait to see the rest. If they are not, perhaps the Dear Leader and her beloved First Vice President should coordinate their party lines.
Helpful Holiday Hints From The Patriot
In response to requests from loyal, long-time readers, we've included a few new "Turkey Tips" for those heading to the kitchens for the holidays. 1. A Steve London Broil: this novel approach to holiday meal preparation features an energy saving, low heat method. Simply set the broiler on "very low," pop the turkey in the oven, and return in 1200 days, approximately the time it will take for Steve and company to negotiate a new contract. With any luck, prescription drugs for salmonella poisoning will still be covered by MEDCO in the next self-funding WF package. Enjoy! 2. Turkey De Sola: this far more rapid method features state-of-the art convection technology. Members should drop off their birds at the Union Hall in care of PSC Secretary Arthurine De Sola. She will place them in proximity of Barbara Bowen before the Dear Leader's next unhinged harangue. The birds are guaranteed to be quick roasted with hot air within an hour. Executive Director Debbie Bell will notify members when dinner is done!
O'MALLEY V. KARKHANIS In response to Susan O'Malley's $2,000,000 defamation and libel lawsuit, attorneys representing our editor-in-chief, Sharad Karkhanis, filed a notice of appearance and a demand for complaint in New York's Supreme Court on November 9th. Additional information and extensive commentary may be found at the Free Speech at CUNY weblog.
Happy Thanksgiving from
Sharad Karkhanis, Ph.D. Forthcoming issues of The Patriot may be accessed at http://www.patriotreturns.com |
