College Board Caves To Conservative Pressure, Changes AP U.S. History Curriculum

Casey Quinlan ThinkProgress
The College Board has revised its guidelines for teaching Advanced Placement History, which has broad influence in high school history courses, to accommodate right-wing pressures. Among the changes: Manifest Destiny is given a more benign treatment and violence against Native Americans is downplayed.

Street Art for Hope and Peace

eL Seed delights in juggling multiple cultures, languages and identities. His Arabic poetry artwork, inspired by street art and graffiti, aims to create art so beautiful it needs no translation.

Key & Peele - Pro Teaching

Boyd Maxwell and Perry Schmidt report on the latest developments in the exciting world of pro teaching.
 

Scalia's Poetry Slam

It seems only fitting to use Antonin Scalia’s own words for a poetry slam, since the justice’s snarky dissents are filled with so many poetic gems. The Affordable Care Act victory was followed quickly by the same-sex marriage win, and Scalia’s dissents have become increasingly irate and colorful. 

Court Backs Labor Board on Speedy Election Rule

Sean Higgins Washington Spectator
The policy shortens the timespan from when the board approves a union's request for a workplace organizing election to when that election is held to as little as 11 days. Previously, the process often took one to two months. The board formally announced the rule in December and it went into effect April 14.

THE TORTURER DESCRIBES HIS JOB

Charlotte Muse WinningWriters.com
California poet Charlotte Muse tries to enter the mind of a person capable of committing torture, justifying torture, an issue from the George W. Bush era that refuses to fade away.

Nightmare Gaza Conditions meet Resistance in Max Blumenthal’s ‘The 51 Day War’

BEN LORBER In These Times
Max Blumenthal, whose book The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza allows the young men and women of Gaza to speak, offers a gripping and unembellished look at the misery on the ground in the Gaza Strip during the Israeli government’s homicidal Operation Protective Edge in summer 2014, the third war in this tiny stretch of land in the last six-and-a-half years.

A Crash With Chinese Characteristics

Sean Starrs Jacobin
The massive $3.2 trillion destruction in financial value hasn’t sparked a broader financial crisis in China — an illustration of how China’s financial system is different from other major powers. While the People’s Bank of China has sufficient firepower to reverse a crash of several trillion dollars (far more than most other countries), China’s financial system is also comparatively isolated relative to both global finance and China’s own domestic population.

Bernie Sanders Hosts a Nationwide House Party for Over 100,000 Would-Be Foot Soldiers

Nick Corasaniti The New York Times
The national organizing day, which featured more than 3,500 events and house parties across the country, centered around a technological infrastructure that uses text-messaging sign-ups and a deep database of volunteers. Attendees at the house parties were asked to text a number to opt in and show interest.