2, 4, 10! Heritage Dr. Pepper With Real Sugar

There are few treats in life I enjoy more than a cool Dr. Pepper. Coke or Pepsi don't thrill me at all, but nothing lifts my spirits like Dr. Pepper. So when I stumbled upon a case of Heritage Dr. Pepper made with real sugar, I couldn't resist. Normally, I shun all pops, including my beloved Dr. Pepper, since I'm uneasy with all of the sugar and, curiously, regular soda pop triggers an acne reaction. (And I completely disagree with the talk of "there's no way that pop causes acne" since I know from experience that it's a direct factor for me.) After drinking Coke with real sugar in Morocco, the prospect of real sugar mixed with Dr. Pepper's twenty-three flavors weakened my resolve and I found myself trudging home with a fridge pack. And, folks, I'm here to tell you, it was like a sneak peak at the rapture.

If you look at the cans, you'll notice the numbers 2, 4, 10. According to the Dublin Dr. Pepper website (see below), the numbers "represent the times of day when the human body needs a little “pick-me-up” to avoid an energy slump." I have no idea why it's heritage rather than throwback, which is the marketing term Pepsi is using. I presume, therefore, that the name difference is a marketing gimmick. What you might not know is that you can find Dr. Pepper with Imperial Cane Sugar bottled out of the oldest Dr. Pepper bottler located in Dublin, Texas. Although invented in Waco, Dublin produces and retails original formula Dr. Pepper. I might take the plunge and by a couple of extra fridge packs and pray that self-restraint carries the day so that I don't find myself paying for Dublin Dr. Pepper at ten dollars a case and five dollars shipping.

Neil MacFarquhar, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You A Happy Birthday

Neil MacFarquhar's 2008 The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You A Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East is a fun jaunt through the contemporary Middle East. MacFarquhar grew up in Libya on an Esso oil company compound before Qaddafi and his eccentricities seized power and booted the Americans. After a fairly elite upbringing--attending Deerfield and Stanford--he was an AP and NYT correspondent in the Middle East mastering Arabic and sloshing around the region encountering Islamists, the Ikhwan, mukhabarat, and men and women yearning for reform and openness. The 359 pages of text delve into a host of topics, even though Israel-Palestine, Algeria, and a few other countries are absent from his narrative. Even though it's a mouthful, the title is one of my favorites besides Brad Simpson's Economists with Guns detailing a sordid relationship between Indonesia and US development machinations and experts.

This isn't a conventional scholarly book and, as such, it's difficult to review its chapters apart from their journalistic bent. I'm impressed with MacFarquhar's ability to marry anecdotes and interviews with trenchant criticism. He relegates the bulk of his pique to the repressive regimes in the Middle East and the young leaders whose initial burst of promise faded rapidly and was replaced with the iron fist of the state, even if it was wrapped in a new, softer velvet glove. With contacts across the region, he stocked the book with revelatory chapters that portray a vibrant amalgam of people who seek the chance to provide opportunity to women, poor, and the working-class.

All of this serves another purpose in his epilogue, where he offers policy prescriptions to improve America's poor standing in most Arab speaking countries. Among several meaningful suggestions, one of the most salient is his encouragement for Americans to listen to the people he depicts, for they offer keys to grasping the intricacies of each country's unique challenges and hope for the future. In fact, he rejects the idea that technology's rosy potential isn't the US' greatest trait to share. On the last page he states "I would argue that there is an even more powerful export that has been uniquely American for decades. It is an export that no other country has been able to duplicate, and cheap knock-offs just don't exist. That export is hope" (359). If there was a contest, "hope" could win in spades as the single over-used word in 2008.

As I read the book, my mind drifted to an annoyance I've had with speaking on the contemporary Middle East among scholars, graduate students, or those who shun facile stereotypes. They are gun shy when the question shifts to criticizing Islam, Muslims, or regimes in the Middle East. I'm guilty of hemming and hawing when this topic arises, more often than not in reply to someone who proposes an essentialist vision of Islam as repressive, backwards, totalizing, and ancient. It's difficult to strike a balance when discussions meander toward Islam, terrorism, or foreign policy. Most people can't appreciate nuance, won't commit to understanding the faith, and are willing to generalize when it comes to Muslims from Morocco to Malaysia. The fact of the matter, as MacFarquhar points out, is that some people use Islam to preach a message of intolerance that enables or is manipulated to justify repression. One could easily retort with questions of normative behavior, Western cultural mores, Horky and Adorno, etc. One of MacFarquhar's strengths lies in his even-handed resolution to this dilemma by distancing Islam as the thorn in the side of development or freedom while still pointing out that it can be and is fashioned to oppress. Yet the faith also instills confidence in its adherents that an alternate, equitable vision of the future and society is feasible.

All in all, it's a fun book to read that opens a door to a Middle East that I don't know. Unlike hacks writing on the state of the region and directions for US foreign policy, he speaks Arabic fluently and has a insightful awareness of social and cultural currents across a wide spectrum of countries. There are a couple of chapters that an editor could have eviscerated. Despite its length and few a throw-away chapters, it's an impressive account and worth reading if you're inspired by human rights or desire to grasp the modern Middle East outside of the media drum beat of war, intolerance, and terrorism.

Ford's Resurgence

Detroit's standard bearer, Ford Motor Company, is uniquely poised to return to its prosperous days of yore. When its US competitors pulled their empty pockets out and accepted TARP funds, Ford plugged ahead without resorting to bankruptcy court thanks to smart business decisions before the economy went pear shaped. Motor Trend bestowed the Car of the Year award to Ford for the 2010 Fusion, and Ford reported its first annual profit in four years of 2.7 billion and predicted sales of 12.5 million for 2010. In the wake of Toyota's sticky gas pedal problem, the once leader is looking a bit tarnished at a time when Ford is shooting to regain its position as the leader in the automotive industry. In fairness, Ford halted production from the same Chinese plant that delivered the faulty gas pedals to Toyota. While Chinese products appear cheap, their durability and safety are still in question.

Ford is slated to commence production of the Ford Explorer in a Chicago plant on Torrence Avenue. With the Explorer comes 1,200 new jobs and increased orders for the Chicago Heights stamping plant. Thanks to tax cuts in Illinois and sacrifices by UAW members, the Explorer was lured away from Louisville, KY, which will shift to manufacturing cars. The new workers's wages will be cut in half from regular wages--a move the UAW did not oppose. It doesn't appear that Ford workers objected. According to NBC Chicago, Debra Green, a Ford employee for ten years, greeted the news by exclaiming "my heart is racing...I’m really happy to have a job. I can't believe we're going to two shifts." Her sentiments were echoed by John Orlando, who interpreted the announcement as evidence that a position with Ford is more than a simple job: it's a legacy and long-term relationship. "I'd be happy for my kids to work here now and do like I did....Everyone wants to come back to Ford." During this period of economic uncertainty, as I noted in my Labor in 2010 post, workers and unions are eschewing a course that might threaten their employment and the future of production and recovery. It's awfully difficult for me to advocate for romanticized labor radicalism from my chair. Still, EFCA is an important step forward for the rights of unions to compete with companies on an equal stage.

The Atlantic on TFA and What Makes A Great Teacher (According to TFA's Data)

The January/February issue of the The Atlantic features a three page electronic spread on Teach For America and teaching, in general. The story centers on twenty years of TFA's story and the coming release of its internal investigations on what characteristics makes a great teacher. For TFA, there are core traits, however--as the piece reveals--the process of discovering these aspects took TFA through winding courses of trial and error. For instance, earlier on, interviewees were asked nebulous questions such as "what is wind?" After reviewing the data, the TFA staff realized that past experiences in low income areas or presumed teacher qualifications (a master's degree in education, ivy league attendance, self-reflection, constant learning) did not determine an accomplished corps member. They boiled down their findings to several merits:

• Perseverance with attention to long-term goals that is labeled "grittiness," which is exactly how I like to describe myself (humor, folks, humor)
  
• Impressive or improved GPA in the last two years of college
• Measurable past performance in GPA, life goals, or leadership roles
  
• Life satisfaction

TFA interviewers quantify those indicators into thirty data points, then the information is forwarded to TFA's admissions center where a hiring recommendation, subject, placement are decided. As the article states, TFA received 35,000 applications in 2008/2009 and admitted 4,100. I can only presume that there will be a marked spike in the 2009/2010 submitted figures, although I believe the number of accepted will remain static or rise slightly.

There was plenty of hand-wringing in Denver and Rabat as I weighed my performance during the interview day, especially on the sample teach (the day's first activity) that establishes a tone. The article sheds light on the five minute sample teaching exercise and TFA's expectations. In contrast to a charismatic young man, the TFA representative praised a young woman that the author considered dull or formulaic with her lesson that was direct and lacked pizazz. Those elements, however, are the criteria TFA searches for in potential corps members. "What matters more, at least according to Teach for America’s research, is less flashy: Were you prepared? Did you achieve your objective in five minutes?" As a point of reference, I allocated a week for planning and testing of my five minutes on why the United States entered World War in 1917.

If you're considering TFA, the Atlantic piece is, simply put, revelatory and introduces you to the challenges corps members encounter from the moment when you submit your application until you finish.

Jefferson Cowie, Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy Year Quest for Cheap Labor

If you're looking for a work that weaves transnational history and theoretical inquiries, you've come to the right place. Jefferson Cowie revised his North Carolina dissertation into a fantastic book. Under the direction of Leon Fink, Cowie wrote a dissertation that became an intriguing work of history that is emblematic of the new methodological directions occurring in the field. Starting in Camden and wrapping up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, RCA loaded up the family and moved to...well, certainly not Beverly, but in search of cheap, docile laborers. In each spot, however, RCA discovered that unions and workers' demands for fair treatment (ie, dignity) cut into their profits and production over the course of seventy years of boom and bust. RCA settled in Ciudad Juarez where ample labor pools of young women, pliable unions, and state sponsorship awaited their shiny, new TV factories.

Capital Moves is a book worth emulating. Cowie speaks Spanish and utilizes Spanish language materials, drew upon approximately forty interviews (in-person and via archival collections), and bridged disciplinary bounds to fashion a concise chronological narrative, all in the space of 210 pages. Rejecting the concept of labor peace between capital and unions after World War II, he reveals how RCA consistently sought to undermine solidarity and boost its profits through the pursuit of low-cost labor. In other words, the concept of a corporatist utopia is in doubt. Cowie states "most historians date the disintegration of the pact [between labor and capital] in the mid-1970s or beyond, but RCA's plant location decisions in the 1930s and 1940s suggest that management may have been significantly less committed to its end of the bargain than many analysts presume" (6). RCA moved south and, along the way, nurtured communities and a sense of culture, which is one of the author's strong contributions.

In the acknowledgments, Cowie thanks Fink for allowing him to cross disciplines in his dissertation, and historians should be grateful he did. Geographers, along with anthropologists, are producing exciting work, and Cowie hints at their ideas throughout the book and their influence is on full display in chapter seven, "The Distances in Between," where he examines the concept of community, place, space, and the influence on solidarity. In addition to Karl Marx and Pierre Bourdieu, georgraphers Gordon Clark, David Harvey, Edward Soja, Michael Storper, and Richard Walker appear as he charts what RCA's southward march meant for those along its path. Fascinating stuff, and content you won't find among most labor historians or, for that matter, historians.

I think Cowie's introduction could have benefited from a discussion of neoliberalism and its derivates. As it stands, he peppers the chapters with the term and concept without delving into any of its roots. Thus it seems divorced from the broader conversation of it as an economic policy with considerable social and cultural ramifications. One could rebut this criticism with the standard "he's writing for specialists who know this scholarly terrain." But do they? I would wager a bet that a fair proportion of historians are unfamiliar with Harvey, who is the most prominent of neoliberal scholars, or neoliberalism's manifestations. Certainly some are fluent in this matter or at least cognizant, however, I think the book could have been on stronger footing had he broached the concept at the onset.

A related criticism stems from the focus on Latin America, and this isn't a pointed criticism of Cowie per se. I don't understand labor historians' preoccupation with Latin America. Jana Lippman, Julie Greene, Cowie, Fink, Beth McKillen, and Dana Frank wrote fantastic scholarship that is a credit to their subfield. Regardless, I am stumped for an answer when I ponder the effect or intention of this geographic focus. It was once related to me that some Latin Americanists view this attention with skepticism and question if it's another example of American(ist) hegemony in academia. I'm not qualified to venture into this territory, so I'll abstain from wading into this topic.

These criticisms notwithstanding, I think Cowie wrote an impressive book that well deserved the 1999 Philip Taft Labor History Prize. Chapter seven is an intellectual contribution--along with the book as a whole--and historians could do well to tackle the issues he raises and integrate his interdisciplinary approach in future works. In other words, a sterling example of history that is readable and intellectually compelling.

The National Security Archive Blog

For those serious about declassification and research, feast your eyes upon the National Security Archive's blog Unredacted. Unredacted offers news on government secrecy, tips for filing and pursuing pesky Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, as well as strategies to wind through the maze of accessing classified documents. For instance, here's a diagram breaking down the FOIA process, step by step. A neat blog worth your time if this sort of jazz tickles your fancy.

For those who are unaware of this organization, the National Security Archive is not a government agency or publication arm. Instead, the National Security Archive is staffed with academics, lawyers, and journalists based out of George Washington University. They rely on prodigious researchers and are not afraid to use their rights to documents with FOIA requests and lawsuits to confront government secrecy. Working on historic and contemporary issues, the National Security Archive is a conduit of knowledge and, in my opinion, unparalleled in their accomplishments.

Labor in 2010

This week I've been focused on resuming employment with my Chicago job and the disaster in Haiti, as most folks have been. I started this post last week and, since, my perspective on labor's status in the US improved thanks to the health care morass. Who would have considered that anything positive could emerge from this contentious, ridiculous debate? Rich Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, assumed a prominent role in negotiating taxes on Cadillac health plans. Even though Haiti justly dominated the news cycle, Trumka and others worked closely with the executive and legislative in hammering out differences in order to speed a finalized bill. (The one name that's absent from these news stories is Andy Stern, especially considering the role of SEIU in electing President Obama.) It appears that working-class households and employees who have collectively bargained contracts stand to gain in the future when the tax is levied.

Who is Trumka? Thus far, outside of Stern, he's using his office and prominence to fight for the working-class. He's steeling the movement and giving it some spine, and the LAT credited him with retaining an activist's passion. He realizes that it's now or never on some key matters, such as health care or EFCA, and is urging Democrats to seize the moment and avoid squandering their position. In another sign of the AFL-CIO's augmented national role, the labor giant is preparing to join the on-line degree crowd with virtual classes for union families through the National Labor College. The curriculum focuses on a wide-variety of subjects and the degree-granting program will begin with BAs and, according to Steven Greenhouses's piece, build to Associates and Masters.

So is labor poised to arise from the ashes of the last thirty years of reversals and a shrinking base--both in human and economic terms? I wouldn't break out the booty wax just yet. The poor economic news, unemployment, and potential electoral setbacks for Democrats in the fall will make legislative and executive allies reticent to champion EFCA or measures that are seen to pander to "Big Labor," a favorite conservative cudgel. Considering the level of GOP intransigence and obstruction to the Democrats' legislative efforts, it seems unlikely that EFCA can appear and pass into law before November.

As Jeanne Cummings of Politico writes, for Labor, there's always next year. As of now, the Democrats' and President's legislative calendar and agenda are full. I guess EFCA could slip in should employment and the economy perk up in tandem with Obama's approval rating, but I won't hold my breath. Even the hotbed of labor radicalism and wild cat strikes of UAW Local 1112 at the GM Plant in Lordstown, Ohio, see their survival linked to corporate success. Captain Wendy Morse of United's pilot union is also approaching management with reserved demands, a marked difference from the past. In these economic times, to ensure survival, the course of radicalism is eschewed in favor of one that guarantees employment and safety. I think it's a little misplaced to presume that Americans and their elected representatives will authorize a bill that provides for sweeping alterations to organizing practices in this climate. The thrust for jobs, jobs, jobs may offer a window of opportunity for EFCA or a similar bill. However, considering the willingness of the administration to shed the public option, EFCA could fall victim to political exigencies.

Regardless, it's important to balance pessimism with appreciation of how labor, under the leadership of Trumka and Stern, is scrapping back into the corridors of power. Hilda Solis, labor's number one ally, is striking a definite tone to reverse former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao's lackluster enforcement and equitability for workers in regulation of workplace safety measures, contract bargaining, and wage disputes. The National Association of Manufacturers and the Chamber of Commerce, with little surprise, oppose the course Secretary Solis has plotted thus far and yearn for her predecessor's pro-business policies. Of course, as the final death throes of debates over health care demonstrate, President Obama recognizes labor's relevance to his own success and as members of a coalition to preserve his power. It's not all bad and there's reason to appreciate that the environment for labor dynamism in politics is improving. EFCA might have a shot. Maybe, just maybe.

China's Rising Power and Workers Abroad

In a recent story in the NYT titled "China's Export of Labor Faces Scorn" in the Uneasy Engagement series, reporters examined China's policy of filling foreign commercial and industrial ventures with its own workers. In Asia, Africa, and the Middle East (notably in Iraq), state-owned and independent enterprises draw on China's elastic labor pool rather than hiring local workers. Countries that suffer from endemic unemployment feel the sting of this policy and it fosters resentment. Of course, with a labor glut, the Chinese government can insist on employing Chinese laborers and easily deport workers and replace them with little difficulty. It's a resourceful strategy to limit labor unrest that threatens production or, in many cases, extraction. China does not deserve a free pass. Its drive centers on natural resource extraction and neoliberal capitalism, which is no better than previous imperial dalliances.

Historically speaking the treatment of indigenous workers by colonial authorities--or how they were shaped by colonial dictates on labor--facilitated the birth of a vibrant and organized working-class in many parts of the world. That working-class rallied its members to oppose colonialism and laid claim to independence politics in the twentieth century. One can question the effectiveness of working-class resistance to a colonial power if they do not have the advantage of acting within the workplace. In other words, without presence in centers of industry and production, strikes and other forms of protest lose their power in crucial ways. At the dawn of a new empire, it's fascinating to analyze how China approaches the working-class and natural resources in developing countries as it speeds expansion.

(This post was written before I left for holiday travel and I'm publishing it today as part of a blogging blitz.)

Preparing for Colorado's PLACE Exam

The Program for Licensing Assessments for Colorado Educators (PLACE) exam is one of the first licensing tests a prospective teacher in Colorado must pass, followed by PRAXIS II. The early childhood education exam consists of one hundred questions that range from situational queries (eg, you're a teacher and this happens, what next?) to topics of professionalism. Due to two bouts of food poisoning last week and my return to the States followed by holiday travel, I could not prepare as adequately as I would have preferred and, as a result, I am uncertain if I will retake the exam. Here are some useful links to pdfs and websites for anyone who might begin preparing as I did: in the dark.

The official study guide - Despite the twelve practice questions, this study guide lists topics one should know with no exposition. From this, however, one can research these topics or read about them at length via other resources.

Denver Public Schools curriculum site

Colorado Department of Education Unit of Academic Standards

Colorado Model Content Standards: Reading and Writing

Building Blocks to Colorado's Content Standards: Reading and Writing - a multi-page pdf with the standards and how early childhood educators should approach the standards.

Building Blocks to Colorado's Content Standards: Mathematics - the same style as the above.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children's (NAYEC) Position Statements - especially relevant for PLACE is the Code of Ethical Conduct.

Bowen Theory - is a theory of human behavior that views the family as an emotional unit and uses systems thinking to describe the complex interactions in the unit. (descriptive text copied from website)

There are more links out there and study guides, as well. The above linked sites, however, are starting points and foundations for grasping the contours of your expected knowledge.

Julie Greene, The Canal Builders: Making America's Empire at the Panama Canal

As I mentioned in a previous post, I intended to bring Julie Greene's book, The Canal Builders, with me to Morocco. A friend's advice and limited space merged, resulting with the book sleeping on my shelf until I returned. Julie taught at CU and trained me to appreciate and strive for transnational and international history. She led a readings and research class in comparative labor history and labor history, respectively, and was one of my PhD oral examiners. Now that the caveats are out of the way....

The Canal Builders provides, at a basic level, a detailed examination of those who built the canal. However, that description simplifies her impressive accomplishment. In reality, the subject is those who constructed the literal and metaphorical world of the canal and the canal zone--from the imperious director, George Goethals, to West Indian laborers to Progressive Gertrude Beeks. An underlying concept Greene employs is that of "boundaries." She charts the boundaries produced and traversed by the white Americans (those on the higher gold pay scale), the mass of non-white or non-American laborers (those on the lesser silver wage rate), women who accompanied their husbands to the canal zone, Panamanians, American military officials, and hosts of workers and civilians who inhabited the conflicted imperial project. It was in the world of imperial, transnational, and gendered boundaries that construction transpired, and an imperial project thrived.

The book clocks in at 388 pages of text (with impressive notes following) and is filled with anecdotes from the above listed groups of actors. Greene weaves the rich, diverse voices with a narrative that interrogates and illuminates the processes of building the physical as well as social and cultural canal and canal zone. She rescues the stories of those who traveled far and wide (ranging from American steam shovel operators to Indians and Chinese) and who survived the perils of building the Panama Canal and the task of living under the Goethals' repressive regime that hurdled toward a singular pursuit: maximize labor output to complete construction; all resources diverted to build the canal. Although I skimmed the book quickly, I did not detect any gross repetitions of the anecdotes, which is a common error when an author employs this methodological approach. For instance, rather than repeat a story that would illustrate her point, she acknowledged its previous usage without retreading the same ground. I found that chapters two, "As I am a True American," and three, "Silver Lives," best display her research and analytical focus, as well as the human element of segregation and racism present in the canal. Also owing to her expert as a labor historian, chapters two and three explicated the labor dimension as well as the struggles to control and express labor rights.

What would a review be without criticism? The Canal Builders is a feat of research and writing, and does not suffer from the near tedium of Peter Way's Common Labor: Workers and the Digging of the North American Canals, 1780-1860. Still, canal building for 388 pages can be a tad long, even though the subjects shift and Greene avoids redundancies and dwelling upon one particular group. My principal complaint centers on Goethals' and others' aspiration. That is, the grander story of the canal's progress is oddly absent. In fact, until the final chapter, "Hercules Comes Home," the canal and steps in the direction of the Pacific float in a distant ether. The simple rebuttal is that David McCullough's book The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914, among others, recite the much-ballyhooed paths of the American ascendancy and triumph in Panama. Regardless, brief synopses of the chronological advances through the jungle could have supplied her narrative and the thematic chapters with a sense of cohesion. With that said, the complaint is minor for such a solid work of history.

The Panama Canal continues to be a stunning engineering and logistical feat. Greene's book eviscerates the easy narrative that romanticizes the intrepid rising imperial power's conquest of nature and geography. A model of transnational, labor, and foreign relations history, The Canal Builders reveals the messy steps and missteps that occurred in Panama, itself a product of US imperialism, as Goethals and workers from across the globe drove to the Pacific.