Chicago Teacher's Strike!

This week the Chicago teachers union could not come to a contract agreement and they voted to go on strike!

This has the right wing noise machine all up in arms.

So much so that they can not say enough bad things about the CTU and fill their supporters with as much hate and misinformation as possible. Here is a post from Americans for Poverty - Wisconsin.

Chicago teachers go on strike because the contract offered to them only included 2% raises each year for four years. Teachers are picketing schools and parents are confused about what schools are open and when they will be open.

How is this the best option for the kids of Chicago? Our country needs education reform. We need options that give our kids the best possible opportunity, not just line the pockets of the teachers unions.

Typically AFP-WI is lying to you!   Let's take a look at the real story:



So what are the teachers fighting for?

A better school day: A comprehensive education including not only curricula in math, science and history but also art, music, physical education and foreign languages in all Chicago Public Schools.

Wraparound services and adequate staffing to support students in need: This includes counselors, social workers, librarians and school nurses with defined job descriptions as well as preparation and break time.

Recall rights for educators and school staff: Hundreds of teachers have already been displaced by school closures across the city and more will be by the planned closing of at least 100 more schools in the coming years.

Fair compensation: No merit pay, less reliance on standardized tests and pay commensurate to increased time in the classroom as well as inflation. CPS reneged last year on the contractually obligated 4 percent pay raise negotiated in 2007 and is currently offering annual 2 percent raises over the next four years. An independent fact-finder's report released in July recommended pay raises of 15-18 percent next year.

Apparently,  the paid Kochies @AFP-WI do  not think its best for the students to have art, music, phy ed, foreign languages or less than 40 kids in a classroom.  Remember that when they cal you and want you to take them seriously.    Unfortunately for all involved, there is more(there's always more),  

This despicable post of desperaton, came from Tom Mcmahon:

Tom McMahon

Tomorrow, on 9/11, let's pause and reflect on the sacrifices of the highest paid teachers in country who are on strike. --- Pundit Review @PunditReview on the Twitters

How disgusting to try and tie the horrors of 9/11 to the Chicago Teachers strike to make a political point that really makes no sense.   

However the righty bloggers and astroturf organizations are not the only people lying about the teachers strike, so is Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel. 

But Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) has decried the action as a “strike of choice.” Emanuel and Chicago aldermen claimed the city and the teachers’ union had agreed on everything except the process for re-hiring laid off teachers and the new evaluation system.

 How do we know that Rahm is lying?  Because Paul Ryan supports him 100%! 










At least the people in Chicago who took to the streets to support the teachers get it!!

Shorter Tom McMahon

"Hypocrite! Misogynist!" cried the hypocritical misogynist.

No, Tom, Race Has Nothing To Do With It

Tom McMahon is a right wing blogger. My first introduction to him was, to say the least, not a favorable one. But at the urging of a mutual friend, I decided to follow him and found that he does have a good sense of humor, albeit a quirky one, and usually has insightful or at least interesting posts. But every so often, as all of us do, he puts up a clunker. Unfortunately, he did it again.

So in response, here is my version:

Imagine if the Democratic nominee for President was someone who:

1. Joked about mass murder


2. Was good friends, took money from, and defended a convicted criminal


3. Belonged to a group that supported terrorists and Nazis


4. Had so many houses he couldn't remember them all


5. And threw away all the values that he espoused, like his stand on taxes, torture, foreign policy, etc. and threw them away for political gain.

Would anyone take this guy seriously? As either a Republican or a Democrat?
If McCain wasn't a rich, old white guy, would anyone regard this guy as a
serious candidate?

Seriously, race is becoming too much of a factor in this race. There are many blacks that are voting for Obama simply because of racial identity. And there are too many whites of both parties that would never vote for Obama because he is black.

But I do not recall anyone calling McCain names like cracker or honky. What I am aware of is people making racist t-shirts, buttons, and such. I am aware of the right calling Obama a Muslim, nigger, Chocolate Jesus, and other disgusting racial epithets.

Another prime example, via Lady Kay, is the vulgar mailing that is going out in California, with this on the front:

The most alarming thing about this story is the quote from the head of the group that put this out there:

The president of the organization, Diane Fedele, didn’t understand the charges of racism: "I didn’t see it the way that it’s being taken. I never connected. It was just food to me."

How does one overcome such blatant stupidity?