Intercepts
A listening post monitoring public education and teachers’ unions.

Because you get an awful lot of this, and none of this.

Gwendolyn M. Hemphill, part of the Barbara Bullock mob that stole millions of dollars from the coffers of the Washington Teachers Union, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.

After her conviction Hemphill suddenly developed a mental illness, which included visions of being stalked by “a small, dark-skinned person with a thin Roman nose, small lips and a spear, who is dressed like a native African.”

EIA revealed Hemphill’s vision was of none other than the Zuni Fetish Warrior from the 1975 TV movie, Trilogy of Terror.

Prosecutors said Hemphill’s only real mental condition is “anxiety that her gig is finally up.”

Click here to read:

1) EIA Exclusive: District Hiring Practices Keep NEA Growing
2) “Great Public Schools Are a Basic Right”
3) Reading CTA’s Tea Leaves
4) NEA to Send $2 Million to Oregon to Fight Ballot Initiatives
5) Former NEA Alaska Employees Settle Discrimination Suit
6) Last Week’s Intercepts
7) Quotes of the Week

“Some progressive union leaders, facing this economic reality, have come to the same conclusion. Others are holding fast. Their behavior is partially a function of internal politics — and sheer habit. Not unlike members of Congress, union leaders are in the business of asking for more. That’s what their mentors and predecessors and heroes did. It’s very difficult to turn around and say that ‘more’ is not always possible.” — George McGovern in today’s Los Angeles Times.

You’ll love the part where he defends Wal-Mart.

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Miami-Dade school district and the United Teachers of Dade are planning to overhaul the collective bargaining agreement, which may include some form of performance pay.

Meanwhile in Rhode Island, the Westerly Sun is running a four-part, comprehensive look at the teacher contract, inspired by the latest study on collective bargaining in the state by The Education Partnership.

The more scrutiny, the better.

If you ask your kid, “What did you do at school today?” and he or she says, “We went on a field trip,” or “We had a guest speaker,” it might be a good idea to delve a little deeper.

The kids at Beverly Hills High are headed to the movies, while students at Tucson Magnet High heard a riproaring speech by Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers.

And a little fun to ring in the weekend — this has been around awhile, but is now getting the blogosphere buzz: The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation.

Michele over at AFT’s NCLBlog is tired of all the photos of Erica Lee in a bikini. So EIA Research went to work and found a photo she can really sink her teeth into.

The rest of us may want to adjust our Internet filters.