"The American system of public education is the greatest mechanism for social and economic mobility in the history of the world." I wish I had said that. Actually, it was my friend Tim. Tim is a conservative Republican. Let me clarify that. At various points in his life Tim has been a professional conservative Republican, with credentials that make Scott Walker look like an over-promoted Boy Scout. Among other things, Tim was the Chairman of California College Republicans, a member of the CA GOP State Executive Committee, and a GOP nominee for state Assembly. In other words, there is nothing liberal or Democratic about recognizing the fact that an assault on public education is an assault on equality.

I do not man to minimize the extent of inequalities in American education that Jonathan Kozoll and Jennifer Hochschild have so ably documented. And Wisconsin is no different. Since 1993 the state has employed an insanely complicated system of "tiered" state and local funding that numerous analyses show has resulted in money being funneled toward wealthier districts and away from those most in need. The poorer districts in Wisconsin are already operating on a shoestring. But despite all its defects, it remains the case that in America, and specifically in Wisconsin, publicly funded education is a powerful equalizing force, almost the only one left.

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The backslapping over the bitterly contested passage of the Zadroga bill in the waning hours of the 111th Congress has quieted down. As the hard work of implementing the important $4.3 billion bill gets underway there has come the kind of news that forces us to stop once again and take notice. This time it's word of the death of retired New York City firefighter and ground zero responder Roy Chelsen. His passing is painful affirmation of the need for the kind of monitoring and research that will be made possible by the funds that flow from the Zadroga bill.

Chelsen, 51, had multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and a tough ticket for anyone. It is the second most common blood cancer in the United States after leukemia. There were 20,000 new cases diagnosed last year in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute, and half as many deaths. But multiple myeloma is generally considered a disease of the elderly. That's not to say that no one in middle age ever gets it.

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When I decided to fast from January 11 until January 22, in solidarity with the Witness Against Torture group in Washington, DC, I had little hope of lasting more than a day or two. The presence in Washington began on January 11 to mark the ninth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo to "war on terrorism" detainees. The fasting community in DC will be participating in vigils, lobbying, and public events each day of the Fast for Justice. The focus is the closure of Guantanamo, the release of the captives, and an end to torture, I wanted to see what the fast would feel like, would I get dizzy, faint, so hungry I would break down and eat anything near at hand? Years ago, at the New York Catholic Worker, I fasted for a day or two at a time, for spiritual focus. But I was much younger then, and I had the support of the fasting community.

The current fast is a liquid fast, which for me means coffee, tea, Pellegrino water, sometimes with a shot of orange juice in the water. I suspect the DC people, in their hoods and orange jumpsuits, are much more severe than I am, water and electrolytes, perhaps? I am aware of the irony of the case of Pellegrino resting at my feet as I write today.

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At the hearing of the Board of Regents on November 9 at Medgar Evers College, the interest of the audience, mostly educators and parents (sprinkled with a prominent handful of politicians), was divided between two connected issues:

1.Trying to get an explanation for why the "recalibration" of the state-wide test scores had been done in such a messy fashion. It left over 60,000 students back a grade and waived the needed remedial work to get them back on grade. After listening for almost an hour and a half to the elaborate "plan" to rectify the problems of the schools -- and establish "new standards" for "college-ready" high school graduates -- I did not hear a word about the test mess. Nor did I hear about how a "higher standard" of educational excellence could be achieved in the "Regents Reform Agenda Implementation Update," as the presentation was called. Especially since the same flawed "high stakes tests" would be used as "data" to determine student progress. The power point presentation by John B. King, Senior Deputy Commissioner of the State DOE, was as lucid as the earlier power point presentation I had seen several months before by the Resident Explainer of the City DOE, which showed that the low grades received were by the students were better if you looked at them a different way.

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