Militants against the military.(Scan: short news and commentary)

The 9/11 attacks gave many Americans a deeper seriousness about the outside world and the necessity of defending ourselves against dangerous extremists. But not everyone.

Some Californians recently formed the Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, under the oddball slogan: "A war budget leaves every child behind."

In a November 2005 interview with the BBC program "The World," broadcast on many American public radio stations, the coalition's press chief, Arlene Inouye, described her organization as an association of teachers, parents, and citizens that aims to "protect" high school students from military recruiters visiting their schools. Such recruiters, she warned, use tactics like giving away pencils to lure young people into dangerous work. Inouye explained, "We don't allow junk food into our schools, so why allow military recruiters into them?"

Inouye identified herself during the interview simply as a speech therapist working in the Los Angeles public schools. A quick Google search, however, reveals that she is not only a teachers' union official, but the author of an article ("Kick the Military Out of Your School! We Did in L.A. and So Can You!") recently published in Dynamic magazine--an organ of the Young Communist League. ...