Study war no more

There was no where to go, no channel to turn this past 3-day weekend, to escape the hyper-commercialized Veteran's Day war culture. College and NBA basketball teams playing in camouflage uniforms. But little was said about the growing veteran suicide epidemic -- 8,000 each year, 22 each day.

Fredy Guiterrez

While last night's Dolphin/Bucs game was turned into a military extravaganza, there was no break in the action to show 59-year-old vet Fredy Guiterrez out on the turnpike near the Ft. Lauderdale Airport, dangling his legs over the overpass with a rope around his neck.

According to the police who finally talked him down, Guiterrez has had difficulty getting help from the Veterans Affairs and he is facing deportation.

Yes, we love our veterans until the wars come home, along with the bills that have to be paid for wars fought on the national credit card. The price of this gift to virtual tax-free corporations is felt in our inability to pay for schools, veteran health benefits, retiree pensions and general disintegration of our country's living standards. 

Here in Chicago, the Mayor is turning the public schools into military training academies for the poor, an easy substitute for the academics and pathways to the shrinking world of good-paying work found in predominantly-white, middle-class suburban schools. Chicago now leads the nation in publicly-funded military high schools and middle schools. 

Ames Middle School community member Delia Borillas informs neighbors about plans to turn Ames into a military academy.  (Sun-Times)

The latest militarization target is Ames Middle School which was originally built to house Small Learning Communities focused on personalization and experiential learning. After first threatening to move a Marine Academy into the "underutilized" Ames building, Rahm shifted gears and is now planning to militarize the entire school elevating military programs at the expense of music, sports, and art. But it is the mostly-Latino community and parents who are up in arms. 

Today is Report Card Pick-Up Day at CPS schools. Ames LSC members will be setting up a voting booth at the school (1920 N. Hamlin Ave.) to ask for a parent vote on the future of Ames. Parents can stop by the voting booth between 11:30am - 6:30pm or contact Leticia Barrera lbarrera@lsna.net or (773) 727-9941 for more information.