Sobbing For Richie Riches
The complete cluelessness of our elites knows no limits:
"I think (the ultra-wealthy) actually have an insufficient influence," Griffin said in an interview at Citadel's downtown office. "Those who have enjoyed the benefits of our system more than ever now owe a duty to protect the system that has created the greatest nation on this planet." [emphasis mine]Hedge-fund billionaires like Griffin have a "duty" to protect the system that made them billionaires off of schemes like credit derivatives - schemes that nearly destroyed our economy. Gosh, too bad no one listens to them...
I guess I'll have to give some away - but not to poor people:
In the 2012 election cycle, Griffin has given $150,000 to Restore Our Future, the
Jonah Edelman: Smarmy Update
It's been a while since I've followed the exploits of the smarmy, self-satisfied Jonah Edelman. What's one of America's premiere teacher bashers and his group, Stand for Children (do these guys have any shame?), up to now?
School Choice is indeed the buzzword of another Mind Trust recruit, Stand for Children. Originating in Portland, Oregon, Stand for Children used $242,300 from the Mind Trust and $150,000 from the Joyce Foundation to sweep into Indiana and lobby for Senate Bill 1, the legislation which makes it easier to fire teachers and make annual teacher evaluations based primarily on student performance, or the ISTEP test. As Steve Hinnefeld has noted, Stand for Children lists the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association address for its office and has “two high-priced Statehouse lobbyists and a ton of positive publicity courtesy of Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully.” Linda Erlinger, Stand for Children’s executive director in Indiana, previously served as Development Director with Teach for America and as Manager of Applications of Research with the Chicago Panel on School Policy. Thus, it is not surprising that Arne Duncan lauds Stand for Children in a Mind Trust press release.You know, I imagine it's very rewarding to work at many of the great non-profits we have in this country. "What do you do?" "Oh, I work to raise funds to cure cancer," or "I work to eliminate childhood poverty," or "I help build
War Against Teachers = War Against Women
Digby has been on a tear over the last couple of weeks about this idiotic battle conservatives are waging against women's health and reproductive rights. And while there are fringe benefits to this nonsense - such as the enormously satisfying spectacle of Rush Limbaugh imploding - I am ultimately left agreeing with Digby that this sign sums it all up:
Or, as Cory Rubin, quoted by Digby, puts it:
The priority of conservative political argument has been the maintenance of private regimes of power—even at the cost of the strength and integrity of the state. We see this political arithmetic at work in the ruling of a Federalist court in Massachusetts that a Loyalist woman who fled the Revolution was the adjutant of her husband, and thus not be held responsible