The Democrats want our vote, no, in fact they expect it and pretty much demand it. Why are NEA and AFT and NYSUT simply throwing in with them no questions asked when this party features first rate motherfuckers like Rahmbo Emanuel who's looking to help disgraced cheating scumbag Michelle Rhee and her merry band of wanskters to Chi town? This is after he's closed schools, fired teachers, cancelled a raise, increased class sizes and hired a CEO to run the schools on about the same message Rahm had for the UAW when Obama had him on a long loose leash in D.C. that message being : Fuck em. The same message Rahm had for the liberal base someone tried to warn him that Obama's middle of the road Republican policies were alienating. That message was "they're a bunch of fucking retards." I remember this because mainly because Sarah Palin got up on her snowmobile and tried to shame Emanuel for using such talk conveniently remembering that she was in fact the mother of a Down's Syndrome child. Well to keep the fun going Rush Limbaugh saw a chance to chime in and used the word "retard" 27 times in telling Palin to shut up and showing her who was boss. Rush was also canoodling with a like minded misanthropic piece of shit from the other party and effectively bonding in misanthropy with Emanuel, rubbing Palin's ( a dumb broad after all) nose in the dirt and using a word most of us abandoned in 7th grade when someone explained how hurtful it was. But after all Limbaugh only used it to denigrate people he finds offensive and unAmerican according to Rush Limbaugh's America anyway. The Prez in typical charter school style appointed Arne Duncan a lawyer he plays basketball with as Secretary of Ed. Arne has no teaching cred, no classroom experience and no love for public education. He is a charter schooler all the way. If this sounds strange to you look up the credentials of the #2 NYSED appointee Katie Campos a dear friend of Sam Hoyt who leapfrogged over thousands of seasoned educators, administrators and janitors to be installed in Albany and write the teacher evaluations for public school teachers. She has never taught, has no teaching certifications, has no educational credentials, period. She has a Bachelor's in Political Science and that's it. Oh yeah and she's pals with Sam Hoyt another charter schooler who is so clueless he once advised NY State Thruway travelers to pay their tolls in pennies as a protest against local tolls. Yeah, the ones Carl Paladino went to court and had taken down with a lot less horn blowing and self congratulation. Of course as a silver spooner Sammy didn't really get how his Homer Simpsonesque notion of a protest was just working people screwing other working people and I am sure none of us were so fatheaded that we rolled up on Henrietta or Pembroke with our piggy banks and yelled Viva la Resistance! at the bedraggled fume addled dude in the booth who just wants to take our money and tell us to have a good one.
Of course there's no voting for Romney (Americans should get as much education as they can afford, he says with no hint of irony) and we are definitely stuck with the guy we helped get elected last time. My point here is to say listen fools, we threw in behind you last time and got screwed. What's the difference which party does it when no matter who wins we're going to get it again? I say fuck you Democrats, earn my vote or I'll just pull a straight Socialist ticket cause you're not going to do me any favors anyway. Our unions need to get something from these clowns and we can't take the half baked promises and the doubletalk that simply turns into another bending over once the votes are counted.
Earlier this month Wisconsin held a recall vote to get rid of Governor Scot Walker who had turned on labor and took away their rights to collective bargaining. It's the most critical labor referendum of the past decade if you ask me. The Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schulz went on record as blithely observing that the race held no national significance. The day before the election President Obama sent along a tweet. The Koch Brothers et al poured in some 30 million maybe more, these days we don't get to know do we ? And the Dumbassocrats kicked in a dismissive remark and a fucking tweet. That doesn't add up to my vote in November. And if this isn't enough New jersey's morbidly obtuse Governor and teacher hater Chris Christie has voiced his admiration for the way Obama treats teacher's unions. Kinda like having the Klan or the Aryan Nation show up to support your cause, gee thanks guys but Get the hell outta here before somebody sees me with you! In case you aren't much for patterns let me trace a quick one here. Rush Limbaugh and Chris Christie, two union hating fat rich white guys have crossed the aisle to admire the way our Democratic Party President and his former Chief of Staff are abusing labor and the very people who got them to Washington. We need to make this party earn our support and stop acting like dupes and dopes AFTER we've been screwed by them - AGAIN.
Bravo, Crowley! Finally someone is voicing on the Internets what I've been saying for years! The dumbs have lost me. I'm voting Socialist all the way fer shur.
ReplyDeleteBernie Sanders is not wrong about very much. This party is just as out of touch as the other one when it comes to labor. They expect us to vote for them as a given yet when they get in office they act like republicans -- hear that Gov. Cuomo ? I am looking to start a third party or actually a second called None of the Above. Do we really feel good about Chris Christie and Limbaugh supporting certain Dems because of their hostility to unions and labor ?
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ReplyDeleteBernie Sanders is the man! I have engaged in much Twitter conversation about this very topic: state and national teacher's unions throwing their support behind O. The choice for educators is really cutting off their hand or their entire arm. No winning here. Mitt would be more extreme and hurt workers rights and public ed, but O is only better by a degree. You are correct, unions should have held back any endorsement for firing Duncan and going in a new direction in the Dept of Ed.
ReplyDeleteYou know I would love that. To a lesser degree some folks had issues with Amber Dixon on a few points and I couldn't argue but I also see her as being stuck in a maelstrom and having to play some politics with a few for the greater good of the many. If Obama would at least address this issue I would feel better about a second term but our union leadership in the grand strokes doesn't even bring it up they just try to tell us to run out and wave the flag and send money. It's just not that simple. Great hearing from you Chris. Solidarity with Springville Teachers too btw. You guys have had your own little looney bin from the bits and pieces I catch.
ReplyDeleteJust want to throw a little wet washcloth at one of the biggest union sellouts ever, Randi Weingarten. She was recently quoted as saying that the loathsome Joel Klein was "a man of integrity". She has also recently sung the praises of Chicago teacher-hater Rahm Emanuel. And don'tforget her cozy relationship to Bill Gates, even inviting that union buster to the last AFT meeting in Seattle. Here's a little quote: "The AFT is what you call a "company union" who does not really challenge anti-worker policies, and endorses political leaders who sell out the workers to hedge funds and other corporate movers and shakers who hate unions." We are so lucky in Buffalo to have Phil, who does not fear the creative facial hair of Commissioner King.
ReplyDeleteWeingarten is the poster child for the exact type of duplicitous bag of shit we need to jettison from any and all union leadership. No wonder she finds a slimeball like Klein to be her kinda guy. Her partner the self appointed troll and Obama surrogate Hillary Rosen whe she's not busting up Napster or making an ass of herself taking potshots at Ann Romney on MSNBC is as foul a lobbyist troll as ever bought her way into a cocktail party. Like Mittens posing with Chris Collins in WNY the other night, turds of a feather.
ReplyDeleteI just don't get it. Why are we not rising up and overthrowing these people who are leading our unions into a huge vat of boiling oil? Soon enough any workers' rights we have will be boiled away. Seriously, though, most people I work with don't seem to understand the gravity of what is happening to us. At lightning speed, I might add. And they don't seem to care either.
ReplyDeleteI've been saying it for a few months, I have no plans on voting in this year's presidential election. I don't have a dog in this race.
ReplyDeleteMel I am not sure what the source of this tuned out state so many of our colleagues seem to exhibit could be, I know we are all busy paying mortgages, raising our own kids after 3 and someone else's between 8 and 2;30 but I think the high schools in my experience tend to have more politically active teachers than the lower grades. These days I really can't fathom not knowing or caring that we are under a well funded aggressive attack from powers who want us to accept shitty conditions, shitty pay and a general hum of disrespect in the air from pretty much all corners. I would like to know why Weingarten still holds that position. Why Rahm Emanuel is even considered as a Democrat, why DFER are allowed to call themselves democrats. These pompous contemptuous asses are a far cry from Harlan County. Rahm and Weingarten are way more Don Blankenship than they ever were Joe Yablonski. About now we need Joe not Big Don.
ReplyDeleteSchool, I have always voted whether I am naive or things have just never been as pointless as they are today I can't tell. It's clear neither party has any use for labor the day after the votes are counted. I think a little message to the Democrats and the union leadership is in line :
ReplyDeleteDear Democrats,
Since you obviously don't give a damn about public school teachers we would like to offer you as much help as you lent to the citizens of Wisconsin in their attempt to recall a blatantly anti labor anti teacher Governor. Would you prefer we sent you our tweet the on election night or shall we wait until the day after ? Also union leadership if you can sign on with a party that is poised to sell out labor to highest bidders you really need to step down immediately. Too many lives have been sacrificed by too many courageous people in the labor movement for us to be represented by invertebrates whose only hope is to skim as much as possible before the train gets to the station. Please step aside and yield to labor representatives who are willing to fight for the good of their constituents.
Thank you,
Public School Teachers
USA
P.S. We ARE NOT voting for OBAMA or YOU
You could be right, but I'm not sure. I tend to think MOST teachers overall don't seem to be paying attention. Seriously? How could one possibly vote for O (not Oprah, although I really really dislike her immensely and would not vote for her either) and work in a union of any sort, especially a teachers' union? And, yes, why are these people allowed to be called Democrats? Really. There is absolutely no difference between the two parties. The Republicans seem to be a little more OUT about what they stand for. I really dislike hypocrites. As I said in 2004 when people elected Bush for the first time, "The people will get what they ask for." I said it again when Obama won the Dem nomination and will say it yet again in 2012. It just seems like we are headed for something that will take 100 years to recover from.
ReplyDeleteDo people not read their history books?
No they don't have time to read those they are busy getting ready for standardized testing.
ReplyDeleteI've had the same feelings as Schoolteacher about not voting at all in the next election. I think I'll go to Canada for the day because I have never missed a vote, and I hate to ruin my record.
ReplyDeleteWe used to have a choice " good or not so good" . This year the choice is "dreadful or disastrous". Some friggin' choice.
It seems to be a choice. of whether we want our right leg amputated, or the left one.
The appalling result of the recall in Wisconsin demonstrates how badly our rights are being compromised by the greedy guys with lots of money. I can't believe that a Governor can deprive even one person of the right to bargain for the pay and conditions of his/her employment, let alone thousands of us. That doesn't sound like anything that could happen in America. China, Siberia, the Middle East, maybe, but not here.
P. Princess is right about Phil. He has never let anyone walk on his face in the 31 years he has led the BTF. Many teacher unions across the state wish that their unions were as strong as ours. The BTF is strong because the teachers are not wimps here. We have gone on strike when we had to take a stand. I remember the $5.00 dollar paychecks, and the loan payments as a result of the fines....and the pride we had when we stood together. Tom Pisa before him was a strong leader too. He went to jail for us after the 1977 strike.
After the unions have been "gelded", every "worker" will make minimum wages, and have no benefits. It seems like bad joke to read the "taxpayers'" comments about how much teachers, and other public service workers cost them. Maybe we didn't do a good job of teaching them to think things through, and ignore the hype that politicians regurgitate.
The 1930's will look like "Glory Days" when the new depression sets in.
"Right On again, Sean!
Chalk, my goal is to let them know I won't vote for Willard Romney if Beelzebub his own self held me at very stave's end and I mean the real one not Phil Rumore. BUT, here's the BUT Dumbocrats : I refuse to vote for you because of the way you have facilitated and fostered if not directly engaged in abusive actions directed at unionized professionals. You want my vote ? Earn it then. as has been pointed out by wiser folks than me, we're screwed either way and if the thunder doesn't get us any Deadhead worth his ultimate frisbee tattoo will tell you, then the lightning will. I kinda feel like one of those irrational laryngectomy cranks smoking through the portal my windpipe croaking " well it's my life I can have some say in how it ends dammit..." In a no win scenario I guess style points are all we can shoot for.
ReplyDeleteSean, your a tool,teachers are over payed morons,time to bust your pathetic union!
ReplyDeleteWell troll, let's do a little analysis of your dizzying intellectual output shall we ? You managed to ejaculate a grand total of ONE word before committing a 4th grader's error. The correct form you are shooting for here would be "you're" the contraction of you and are which uses an apostrophe to hold the space for the a that was removed in the combining of the two words. You follow up with a comma where you might have used a period since the word tool completes an entire thought. Allegedly. You managed to get out two more entire words, respect really, before blowing it again on the devilish spelling of "overpaid." Not sure what your native tongue is but here in America we tend to go with the -aid for the terminal more than, say gluing -ed to the end of the word and hoping it stays. Major props for not spelling it "morans" as the famous Teabagger meme of the 08 election has immortalized himself in full mullet, bandana and banana hammock cut off shorts. Again the killshot is a little iffy, are you going to bust my pathetic union? Do you think you can do what James Williams and 6 whole years failed to do? Do tell, I can't wait to hear who you are and what your Scot Walkerian manifesto looks like....p.s. I let this go because your inability to communicate in the host language speaks more loudly to your ignorance than any rebuttal I could dream up. In the future, unless you are always this gifted in making a complete ass of yourself in writing your remarks will be deleted unless you log on with twitter or facebook or something linked to prove who you are. If everybody gets to know who I am they sure as shit are going to know who you are too. That's called holding you to the same standards I live by. I hope you have the balls to handle it but I somehow doubt it.
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