WHO IS TO BE DETAINED?
Look out – here comes Halliburton again! With its own personal sugar daddy occupying the vice-president’s chair, this giant government contractor keeps getting multibillion-dollar, no-bid contracts from the Bush-Cheney regime, despite having been found guilty of shoddy work, massive cost overruns, and fraudulent billings.
Its latest windfall, however, should not merely be worrisome to taxpayers, but also to anyone concerned about the Bushites’ anti-democratic penchant to extend ever-more police and military power over We the People. Halliburton has been granted a $385-million contract for a most unusual project: building a network of detention centers across our country. Up to 5,000 people could be “detained” and held in each of these centers, which are to be run by Homeland Security authorities and possibly located on unused military bases. “Detain,” of course, is a euphemism for “incarcerate” – or “lock up.” And “center” is a gentle term for “prison.”
So, why does America suddenly need to spend a third-of-a-billion dollars to establish a new mass prison complex in our country? The feds and Halliburton cryptically say the detention centers could be needed for “some kind of mass migration” or for “the rapid development of new programs.” When asked what is meant by the ominous term “new programs,” a Halliburton spokeswoman said she could provide no additional information. Another curious aspect is that the Bushites refer to this as a “contingency contract,” saying that the detention centers might never be built, but that Halliburton will have the cash and authority to move quickly if and when given the go-ahead. The corporation’s executive vice-president says that Halliburton is “gratified,” because the deal “builds on our extremely strong track record in the arena of emergency management support.” Manage who? And in support of what policy?
CONSTRICTING HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
As if George W. hadn’t mucked up public education enough by requiring all schools to conform to his regimented, teach-to-the-test scheme, along comes brother Jeb Bush with another wacky scheme for social engineering in our schools.
Jeb, who likes to call himself the “Education Governor,” wants Florida to require every incoming high schooler to make a career choice and declare a major – as they enter the ninth grade! Every student would then have to have their four-year high school education narrowed, concentrating on subjects within their declared major – whether that’s music or auto repair.
The ninth grade! You’re only 14 years old! How do you know at this tender (and confusing) age what career is best for you? When I was 14, I decided that I should become a civil engineer and build bridges. Was I good at math or adept at solving structural problems? Not at all – I was simply infatuated with the notion of bridge-building, having seen a war movie called The Bridge on the River Kwai.
We don’t let kids vote at 14. We don’t let them get all roiled up in a hormonal rush and go marry someone at 14. We don’t let them join the army at 14. Then why force them, at 14, to choose a career path, when they’ve had such limited exposure to the possibilities?
Jeb says it’s all about getting scattered high schoolers to focus their minds so they can prepare themselves for college and the working world. Well, excuse me, but what about the broader role of education – letting kids sample a wide range of learning, offering a well-rounded view of the world, and developing each student’s ability for critical thinking? High school represents the coming of age, and it should be a time for opening minds and exploring opportunities. There’ll be plenty of time later for narrowing one’s path in life.
Jeb and George are twisting our education system to implement the corporate dream: a society of highly-skilled automatons who do not think to question authority.
Jim Hightower is the bestselling author of Let’s Stop Beating Around the Bush, on sale from Viking Press. For more information, visit www.jimhightower.com.
This article appears in May 5 • 2006.