Notes for November 15

I’m drinking ironwort tea from my Goodbye Columbus mug…

The tea is probably mixed with other herbs, and is popular in the Balkans. Or near the Balkans. The Balkans are badly defined, so let’s be careful. In any case, this one is from Croatia. They definitely have it in Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. I see it called mountain tea and shepherd’s tea and planinski čaj. It smells – herbal? a little anise-y? a little flowery? In any case, it tastes nice, and makes me think it should have medicinal properties. But the studies I found all seem to start from the conclusion that there should be those properties, so they don’t seem super convincing. They don’t seem super unconvincing either – anti-oxidants? Could be. Anti-inflammatory? Why not. Flavonoids? Sure. Phytochemicals? I’d be easy to convince.

There was a UFT Delegate Assembly tonight. I should figure out how to sign on and listen. But I did not. I went to them for almost 25 years. I’m taking a break. That’s what I’m claiming. In any case, I read several sets of notes. Highlight was a Gaza resolution – Ryan Bruckenthal tried to amend to add a call for a ceasefire. – Leroy Barr had already laid down the line – “no amendments” – every Unity person heard. And then some debate, and a vote, and the amendment failed. In the room it failed 111 to 153 (42% to 58%), and on the phone it failed 322 to 400 (45% to 55%). Altogether that’s 433 to 553, (44% – 56%) no call for a ceasefire.

It would have been a huge symbolic victory, to have the biggest teachers local in the entire United States call for a ceasefire. For those of you who support an immediate ceasefire (I do) this was a missed opportunity. On the other hand, those vote totals are MUCH higher than they would have been 20 years ago – something has clearly changed. Americans, or at least teachers in New York (but more than that) are far more sympathetic to Palestinians, despite Hamas, than a generation ago. Can you believe 44%? And on the other hand (I know, I already ran out of hands) there is no way we got that many yes votes without a bunch of Unity people voting our way, or as Unity leadership thinks, the wrong way. And that’s after Leroy gave an explicit speech about “no amendments.”

Something else at the DA, I story I am following. A delegate, well, Peter Lamphere, asked if Mulgrew would address the Queens Borough Rep being removed. That’s Amy Arundell. And Mulgrew said “no.” But it is important that the matter stays in front of delegates and chapter leaders. Amy was one of the most responsive UFT reps. Her removal hurts the members in Queens, and the chapters and chapter leaders especially. And, related to the previous point, she was removed after posting (actually retweeting someone else’s words) about war in Gaza on her social media, challenging narratives (that we later learned to be partially false).

Peter Lamphere: do you believe that members in Queens have the right to know why the boro rep was removed? (small applause) A: No. I don’t believe any member has any right to know personal information about any other. (similarly small applause)

This was my first post in November. My writing is inconsistent, and I do get busy, but mostly I have been overwhelmed by the world. And why, if I’m stuck, write today? I was stuck on something else, which is a good moment to try to blog. I was working on a podcast I could not manage to finish. Look for that one soon!