Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
Judy Garland And Mickey Rooney In The Age Of Common Core
Cory Booker, Mitch McConnell Have Same Donors
Take Working Families Party Survey, Tell Them Cuomo Must Go!
Imagine, if you will, an updated serial version of Babes in Arms, the 1939 movie musical that starred Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in a plot that is described like this at Fandango:This fun-filled spin-off of the Rodgers & Hart Broadway musical by the same name, features Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney as two young children of vaudevillian parents who aren't included in their parents travels,
Cory Booker, Mitch McConnell Have Same Donors
If you're even dimly aware of the fevered ego that is neo-liberal Senator Cory Booker, you're not surprised by this news:Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) share at least one thing: campaign donors. Booker, a Senate newbie, and McConnell, the Senate minority leader, show up dipping into the same donor pool more than any other opposing-party members of Congress.They shared 74 do
Take Working Families Party Survey, Tell Them Cuomo Must Go!
Link here.Hell no, Cuomo gotta go!
All The Good Walmart Does
Former Bloomberg DOE minion of school closings in NYC, Marc Sternberg, is featured prominently in this morning's NY Times piece on the Walton philanthropy-industrial complex and charter schools:In 2013, the Walton foundation spent more than $164 million across the country. According to Marc Sternberg, who was appointed director of K-12 education reform at the Walton Family Foundation last Septembe
YESTERDAY
Obama Doubles Down On Test Scores, VAM
Some people like to blame Arne Duncan for all the fetishization of test scores and value-added measurements that have come from the Obama administration over the past six years, but as this Stephanie Simon article from Politico makes clear, the impetus comes from Obama:The formulas for measuring how much “value” a teacher adds to a student’s test scores are complex and often carry a sizable margin
Rahm Emanuel's Political Team Coordinated Parts of CNN Documentary Chicagoland
Just another example of how the mainstream media is simply an extension of the ruling class:"If it seemed as though some scenes of CNN's documentary series Chicagoland were coordinated by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's City Hall and the show's producers, that's because they were," the Chicago Tribune reports. "More than 700 emails reviewed by the Tribune reveal that the production team worked
APR 24
Using Andrew Cuomo's Own Ad Against Him
This was a campaign ad Andrew Cuomo ran last July touting the formation of his "independent" Moreland Commission:This was Cuomo to the Crain's editorial board responding to criticism that he had "tampered" with his independent commission and might now be investigated by the US Attorney for the Southern District, Preet Bharara: In an interview Wednesday with the Crain’s editoria
Andrew Cuomo To Preet Bharara: There's Nothing You Can Investigate Me For
Andrew "I Am The Government" Cuomo says Preet Bharara can't investigate his Moreland Commission tampering:Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that any possible interference by his administration into the operations of the recently disbanded Moreland Commission would not be subject to investigation.In an interview Wednesday with the Crain’s editorial board, Mr. Cuomo responded to recent comments by So
More Evidence Jeb Bush Will Never Be President
From Political Wire:A new Economist/YouGov poll finds just 18% of self-identified conservatives want Jeb Bush to run for president in 2016.Other findings: "26% of Republicans want Bush to run. That puts him behind Paul, at 36%, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 30%. Some 35% of Republicans do not want Bush to run."He's been out of office for years, the Times has already reported he's
Cuomo Blames State Senate For Not Enacting His Progressive Agenda
The reason why the State Senate is not in Democratic hands is because Andrew Cuomo helped Republicans and the Independent Democratic Caucus to keep control of it.Yesterday Cuomo responded to criticism that he is not progressive enough by blaming the State Senate for failing to enact his "progessive agenda":“I support public finance, I support the Dream Act,” he said. “The Womens’ Equalit
New Anti-Cuomo Bill Sweeps Across NY State
Cash denouncing @NYGovCuomo spreading across state http://t.co/TYmN3CaHbq pic.twitter.com/3vrdW0YRqC— David Andreatta (@david_andreatta) April 23, 2014Haven't seen one of these yet, but am not surprised these bills are sweeping across the state.From both the right and the left, Cuomo has a core group of New Yorkers who want to see him GONE from office.
APR 23
Cuomo Says You Can't Get More Left Than Him
I checked the calendar, but it's not April Fool's Day.Still, have to assume this is some kind of joke:Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave a defense of his progressive credentials on Wednesday after he was asked about a potential challenge from a liberal gubernatorial candidate this fall. “I don’t know if there’s a lot of space to my left,” Cuomo said. He cited the legalization of same-sex marriage, along with
Cuomo Seeks To Pit Unions And Working Familes Party Activists Against Each Other
Blake Zeff at Capital NY with another illuminating column - this one on how Cuomo is working to undercut a WFP challenge from the left by pitting unions and activists in the party against each other.That's why he's gotten a little friendly to the unions lately, including TWU 100 with last week's contract, as well as CWA (killing some deregulation that was in the Senate and his budget bill), 1199 (
Howie Hawkins Says Working Families Party Should Nominate Him To Take On Cuomo In General Election
State of Politics has Howie Hawkins' reaction to the Siena College poll released yesterday showing a third party lefty candidate nominated on the Working Families Party ballot line could do some real damage to Andrew Cuomo in November:“The poll confirms what I heard from voters as I went around the state last week announcing my campaign. Voters are upset with Cuomo’s rich man’s budget that pays fo
APR 22
Working Families Party Leadership Doesn't Sound Like They Want To Take On Cuomo
In response to the Siena College poll that showed a liberal Working Families Party candidate could do some serious damage to Governor Cuomo's totals in the 2014 general election, Working Families Party Executive Director Dan Cantor released this statement: “Most people are decent, and they want decent, progressive policies from their government. That’s why the Working Families Party was originally
Rob Astorino: Andrew Cuomo Not Ideological, Just Greedy For Power
Via State of Politics, here's Rob Astorino hitting Sheriff Andy Cuomo hard on ethics and corruption:My favorite part of the video was excerpted at State of Politics: “It shows what Andrew Cuomo has sadly always been about: Power. Accumulating it, keeping it, meting it out to punish, intimidate, and reward,” Astorino says in the video. “That’s the Andrew Cuomo insiders have always known and feared,
What The Siena Poll Means For Cuomo's Re-Election Chances
The Siena poll released today revealed some vulnerabilities for Sheriff Andy Cuomo and his re-election campaign, including the revelation that a third party candidate from the left could take a big chunk out of Cuomo's re-election totals and the finding that an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers think the quality of education under Cuomo has either stayed the same or gotten worse (41% say gotten
Siena Poll: Overwhelming Majority Of New Yorkers Say Education Hasn't Improved Under Cuomo
We're going to have a whole host of bad news for Sheriff Andy Cuomo from the Siena poll that was released today.The biggest piece of bad news from the poll is that a third party candidate would do some serious damage to Sheriff Andy's totals against GOP challenger Rob Astorino, as I posted about earlier.But there's more bad news for Sheriff Andy in the poll too - bad news like this:The survey by S
Siena Poll: Third Party Candidate Cuts 15Poijts Out From Cuomo's Totals
Just like we've been saying all along, a decent third party candidate from the left could throw serioius frights Sheriff Andy Cuomo's way:While the latest poll from the Siena Research Institute shows Gov. Andrew Cuomo maintaining his 2-to-1 lead (58-28 percent) lead over Republican Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, there is a thunderhead on the horizon: When a generic Working Families Par
Surprise, Surprise: It Sucks Working For Cuomo
The NY Post reports that the Cuomo administration is such a miserable, nasty place to work that a mass exodus is expected if Cuomo wins a second term - and that's not counting the rats who are already jumping:ALBANY — A “mass exodus” is expected from the Cuomo administration after November’s election, according to several sources.“They all want out,” one source said of top Cuomo staffers.A former
APR 21
Winning A Big Battle, Still Focused On The War
Great news that Gates Foundation-funded inBloom will shut down - here's the letter sent from the CEO:Friends and colleagues: In 2011, an alliance of educators and state leaders, non-profit foundations, and instructional content and tool providers formed the Shared Learning Collaborative (SLC). The vision of that group was simple: create a resource that allows teachers to get a more complete pictur
How To Fight The Testing Industrial Complex
Michael Fiorillo left this comment on NYC Educator's post about why NYSED and Pearson insist the NY State 3rd-8th grade tests must remain secret:The destruction of public education hinges on everyone's passive acceptance of high stakes exams encroaching more deeply into every classroom. They are the weapon used to close schools, deprive students of a well-rounded education, and beat teachers into
Fred Dicker: Cuomo Will Get No Support From Dems If He Runs For President
If it's Monday, it's time for a Fred Dicker column slamming Andrew M. Cuomo.Today's no different:Gov. Cuomo, long known for his presidential aspirations, won’t enjoy the support of his own Democratic Party if Hillary Rodham Clinton decides not to run for president in 2016, top state Democrats have told The Post. The Democrats said Cuomo’s worsening relations with his party have led many to look el
APR 20
Andrew Cuomo's Budget Causes SUNY Tuition Increases
From Newsday: Students at Suffolk County Community College will face a tuition increase of $250 this fall, bringing the annual charges to $4,390 at the two-year school. The tuition hike is part of the $208.4 million 2014-15 operating budget that college trustees sent to county officials Friday. The increase comes even though the Bellone administration agreed after two days of talks with college of
APR 19
How Rahm Emanuel Got Chicago's Crime Rate Down
To quote from The Sting, it's simple - he cheats: It was a balmy afternoon last July when the call came in: Dead body found inside empty warehouse on the West Side. Chicago police officers drove through an industrial stretch of the hardscrabble Austin neighborhood and pulled up to the 4600 block of West Arthington Street. The warehouse in question was an unremarkable-looking red-brick single-story
Chicago Police Brass Reclassify Murder Victims To Bring City Murder Rate Down
From The Guardian:Stung by a 16% spike in killings in 2012 that led Moody’s, the ratings agency, to downgrade the city’s debt due to its "unrelenting public safety demands", Emanuel promised a tough response. Amid spending cuts, the former White House chief of staff to Barack Obama has ploughed tens of millions more taxpayer dollars into policing. Sure enough, in January he proudly annou
How Union Contracts Get Covered In The Media
From the ever municipal union-friendly NY Post: A day after the MTA offered its workers a new contract with retroactive pay, Mayor de Blasio insisted the deal doesn’t set a precedent for the city’s ongoing negotiations with its unions. “We have a very different reality here — we have our fiscal circumstances. We have a separate history in terms of labor relations than that which state and MTA has,
