It should be obvious that appointing a corporate lobbyist to the Massachusetts K-12 Statewide Graduation Council as a “parent” is a bad idea. Just in case, I wrote the following letter to Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler urging him NOT to consider appointing National Parent Union’s Keri Rodrigues as a parent representative to the…
Category: Keri Rodrigues
Latest OCPF Filings; and the Larsen A. Whipsnade “Never give a sucker an even break” Media Awards
The latest reports are posted at the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, and they confirm: Question 2 on MCAS is a contest between capital and labor. The “parents” frame is sought by the No side and though it is false it has been swallowed whole by numerous media outlets. They will be awarded the…
Protect Our Kids Future Committee Flips Off Massachusetts Political Press. How Will They Respond?
The Protect Our Kids’ Future: No on 2 campaign announced a new ad featuring Keri Rodrigues of National Parents Union as a typical Massachusetts parent. It’s a direct challenge to Massachusetts media outlets: are they going to swallow Rodrigues as a typical Massachusetts parent, or report her her as a highly compensated professional spokesperson for…
Framing the MCAS Opposition: “Business Community” or “Parents”?
How the media frames the opposing sides on a ballot question is important. On the MCAS question one side is easy: it’s the teachers unions, especially the Massachusetts Teachers Association. According to the media the opposing side is either or both of the “business community” and “parents” (actually, one parent: Keri Rodrigues of the Walton…
Bull from Pope Maurice I
Sometimes I talk to reporters and I wonder what they would do if I asked to be identified as “Pope Maurice I.” That temptation arises when I see a story that identifies a billionaire created “parent” or “educators” group taken at face value. Like in this WCVB report accepting that the National Parents Union is,…
Keri Rodrigues and Walton Allies Join to Solve a Biiiiig Problem
National Parents Union is tweeting out its participation in a South by Southwest panel and this caught my eye: “The heart of advocacy is the belief that those closest to problems should have the biggest stake in solving them. Vote to put @PIENetwork leaders @EvanRStone @MMartinCadogan @radiokeri & Emma Bloomberg on stage at #SXSWEDU.” Boy…
Why Is The Boston Globe’s Sports Coverage So Much Better Than Its K-12 Political Coverage?
When we read an article in the Boston Globe sports page about the Boston Red Sox, we frequently see a critique not just of the performers on the field but also of manager Alex Cora, the coaches, team president Craig Breslow, the geeks in “baseball ops,” the minor league staff, and owner John Henry, who…
Keri Rodrigues Lolling in Fox Love
Fox News favorite “liberal” “Democrat” Keri Rodrigues is once again swaddling in love from America’s most penalized media outlet. This time Fox gets to use Rodrigues’ criticism of the Biden administration from the “liberal” position, allowing Rupert Murdoch’s $787,500,000-poorer outfit to get huffy from the left. Unless of course you know and acknowledge absolutely anything—a…
The Big Shill: Jon Keller and Keri Rodrigues Conjure Some Sunday Morning Hocus Pocus
Jon Keller hosted Keri Rodrigues of the Walton-Koch National Parents Union on Sunday to plump the corporate wish list on MCAS testing. If you don’t accept the masquerade the appearance was revealing. The part about the statewide testing falls against the unstated backdrop of teachers’ unions seeking legislative modification of MCAS. The Walton political team…
Banned in Boston (Globe): the Walton Family’s 2021 Political Team
We all love us some Market Basket so imagine if the Walton family of Arkansas (d/b/a WalMart) bankrolled a takeover of our local grocer! News coverage would be constant—the Globe, the two NPR radio stations, local TV descending on shoppers to ask about their favorite possum pie recipes (it’s an Arkansas delicacy). But the Waltons…