Perdido Street School:
Perdido Street School Week
Cuomo's Independence Party Shenanigans
Steve Kornacki: Cuomo Re-Election Is Immaterial, What Matters Is What Happens Legally
Two NY Post reports that make you wonder what deals Governor Cuomo made for the Independence Party ballot line.First:ALBANY — Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino refused to give a top Independence Party leader a patronage job in exchange for the party’s ballot line, he claimed Friday. Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption panel had conducted a preliminary probe of accusations that Westchester Indepen
Steve Kornacki: Cuomo Re-Election Is Immaterial, What Matters Is What Happens Legally
Steve Kornacki at MSNBC talking to Blake Zeff, Salon Politics Editor, and Peter Henning, Wayne State Law Professor and former federal prosecutor, about the Cuomo/Moreland scandal:With a federal prosecutor involved now in looking around, it almost becomes immaterial whether he survives and by what margin this fall politically because the big question here is whether something is going to happen leg
Cuomo Meddled With His Other Commissions And Panels Too
Michael Grunwald reports in TIME Magazine that the Moreland Commission tackling public corruption is not the first time Andrew Cuomo has meddled in one of his panels:Before New York Governor Andrew Cuomo set up a supposedly independent commission to investigate political corruption in Albany—a commission he later shut down after it began poking around his own operations, a commission that is now c
YESTERDAY
When Does Governor Cuomo Surface?
It's been five days since Governor Cuomo appeared in public, three days since the now infamous NY Times/Moreland story revealed the extent of his administration's tampering into the Moreland Commission.Capital Confidential puts all this in context:It’s been five days since @NYGovCuomo has appeared in public. We are unable to find a weekday gap that long in recent public schedules.— Capitol Confide
Microsoft Lays Off 18,000 Employees Based Not On Performance Or Worth To The Company, But By Algorithm
The people going after teacher tenure and seniority protections always claim that they want these gone so that when layoffs come, teachers can be retained based upon performance and value, not time with the district.But according to one former employee, Microsoft - the company founded by one of the major opponents to teacher protections, Bill Gates - just let 18,000 people go randomly:At the end o
The Close Ties Between Christie And Cuomo
Zach Fink has more on the close ties between Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo in his State of Politics piece exploring why Christie, as head of the Republican Governors Association, may not be helping GOP gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino against Governor Cuomo in this year's election:Finally, there is the Cuomo-Christie connection. Astorino raised this on Tuesday, suggesting Cuomo may have help
What If There's No Legal Jeopardy For Cuomo In The Moreland Mess?
Nick Reisman writes Three Reasons Why Moreland Won't Stick, And Why It Might.He notes that the scandal is an insider baseball one, without hookers or indictments in the executive, and the latest Siena poll shows "corruption" way down the list of public concerns in 2014.He also notes that it's not clear if Cuomo administration tampering into the Moreland Commission constituted any law-bre
Governor Cuomo Remains In Hiding For A Third Straight Day
State of Politics:Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in New York City, with nothing public planned.When will the governor face the public and explain himself on the Moreland/NY Times story?He kept out of sight yesterday too, instead issuing press release after press release about everything in the world except Moreland. Is he going to stay hidden for the rest of the summer, then re-emerge in September and claim
JUL 24
Cuomo Remains In Hiding After NY Times Moreland Story
Governor Cuomo was supposed to appear at a fundraiser last night:Cuomo slated to appear at Bronx County Dems dinner tonight, a public event. Info here: pic.twitter.com/Qxr3DnRFDG— Blake Zeff (@blakezeff) July 23, 2014But after the NY Times ran their Moreland tampering story, this happened: .@NYGovCuomo cancels only public appearance of day. #inhiding— Bill O'Reilly (@wfbor) July 23, 2014State of P
Bharara Reiterates He's Taking Moreland Investigations Wherever The Evidence Leads
This sounds like a reply from US Attorney Preet Bharara to Governor Cuomo's thinly-veiled message to Bharara that was in the Times yesterday, the 13 page "response" to the Times story about Cuomo's Moreland tampering in which Cuomo restated that he couldn't tamper with what was already his:ALBANY -- U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara vowed that he has the “fearlessness and independence” needed
Did Cuomo Break The Law By Tampering With The Moreland Commission?
The answer is, maybe:Cuomo's camp contends his office had the right to guide the panel under the language of the 1907 Moreland Act, which allows the governor to investigate any executive branch agency or related entity. While past governors have used the statute to examine the inner workings of government and specific industries, it does not give the governor power to directly investigate the Legi
JUL 23
Oldie But Goodie: Cuomo's Moreland Commercial
Says right there, he appointed an "independent commission."The NY Times report from this morning showed beyond any reasonable doubt that there was nothing "independent" about it: With Albany rocked by a seemingly endless barrage of scandals and arrests, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo set up a high-powered commission last summer to root out corruption in state politics. It was barely two
Cuomo And His Aides Under Federal Investigation For Moreland Commission Meddling
That's one of the takeaways from this NY Times extraordinary epose on Cuomo's Moreland Commission meddling that appeared today:The commission developed a list of promising targets, including a lawmaker suspected of using campaign funds to support a girlfriend in another state and pay tanning-salon bills. The panel also highlighted activities that it saw as politically odious but perfectly legal, l
JUL 22
Al D'Amato Says Rob Astorino Needs To Apologize For Calling Christie And Cuomo Corrupt
Talk about ironic - the corrupt governors of New York and New Jersey getting defense from a corrupt former senator of New York:Republican former Sen. Al D’Amato — a key GOP ally for Gov. Andrew Cuomo — called on GOP candidate for governor Rob Astorino to apologize to both the incumbent Democrat and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after remarks made this morning on the radio. “I strongly urge Rob A
Rob Astorino: Cuomo May Be Helping Christie Cover Up Bridgegate Scandal
Rob Astorino today outside Tweed courthouse, reacting to statements made by Chris Christie that he, as head of the Republican National Governors Association, won't help Astorino in his race against Cuomo:At a press conference in Manhattan Tuesday, Astorino said, “If Gov. Christie is unable to help a Republican candidate for governor, then maybe he should consider stepping down as chairman of the R
Teachout And Astorino Make Joint Appearance To Hammer Cuomo On His Lack Of Ethics
Nick Reisman at State of Politics:Astorino, meanwhile, due to make a joint appearance with Zephyr Teachout this morning at the Tweed Courthouse — an eyebrow raising event that could garner both campaigns more attention during a relatively slow summer.Teachout, a Fordham law professor, is challenging Cuomo on the Democratic primary ballot (Her petitions are being challenged by the governor’s re-ele
If Christie Doesn't "Invest In Lost Causes," Why Is He Running For President?
From Politics on the Hudson:New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie offered a harsh assessment of Rob Astorino’s candidacy for New York governor, saying tonight that the Republican Governors Association won’t “invest in lost causes.”Christie heads the association and met with Astorino, a fellow Republican, last November in Arizona, when Astorino was first starting to seriously consider a run for governor.“
JUL 21
How Quickly New York Has Soured On The Common Core
Dave Weigel at Slate reacting to the Siena poll that found 49% of New Yorkers want Common Core implementation stopped - including 53% of independents: The new Siena poll doesn't contain many surprises—Andrew Cuomo easily leads his re-election race, challenger Zephyr Teachout has yet to register, etc. It's really just the question, and answers, about the Common Core education curriculum that surpri
Edu-Entrepreneurs And Lobbyists Flood Cuomo's "Smart Schools" Forum
Not a surprise - that "Smart Schools Commission meeting" I blogged about earlier was filled with edu-entrepreneurs and corporate lobbyists looking to feed off the public trough: Rather than being filled solely with educators, many of the roughly 100 people who came to a Smart Schools Public Symposium earlier Monday were lobbyists and representatives of telecoms, networking companies, sof
Cuomo's Dumb Schools Initiative Meets Later In The Week
From State of Politics:At 1 p.m., the first meeting about the broadband availability enhancement component of the Smart Schools Initiative will be held, Blue Room, second floor, state Capitol.Seems like Cuomo's "Smart Schools Initiative" could have made Frederick Hess' 10 School Reform Phrases That Should Trigger Your BS Detector list:Education is filled with jargon, buzzwords, and BS. I
Daily News Continues To Shill For The Common Core
A Siena poll released today found the following:BY a 49-39 percent margin, voters want to see implementation of the Common Core stopped rather than continued.Despite these numbers, Common Core-supporting newspaper the Daily News reports voters are "split" on the Core here in New York.Here's their headline:Voters back Cuomo; split on Common Core and hydrofracking: Siena PollSince when is
Siena Poll Finds 49% Of New Yorkers Say Common Core Needs To Go
These poll numbers are going to make NYSED Commissioner King and Regents Chancellor Tisch very, very sad:BY a 49-39 percent margin, voters want to see implementation of the Common Core stopped rather than continued.Digging into the numbers:"While a majority of New York City voters and a plurality of Democrats think Common Core standards continue to be implemented, a majority of Republicans, i
JUL 20
You Could Do A Lot Worse
More paeans to James Garner and the character he created on screen for so many years.The Guardian: Through many films and two influential television series, Maverick and The Rockford Files, James Garner, who has died aged 86, developed a persona with a subtly different appeal. It began as original and accrued familiarity over the course of four decades: a coward who was the soul of honour, a hero
Another Banskter/Wall Street Mess
Gee, this story doesn't sound familiar at all:Rodney Durham stopped working in 1991, declared bankruptcy and lives on Social Security. Nonetheless, Wells Fargo lent him $15,197 to buy a used Mitsubishi sedan.“I am not sure how I got the loan,” Mr. Durham, age 60, said.Mr. Durham’s application said that he made $35,000 as a technician at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, N.Y., according to a copy of
Too Bad Bloomberg Didn't Run For President
From the NY Post:Georgina Bloomberg reveals she was relieved that her dad, Michael, didn’t make a run for president, “because it would have been so difficult on him,” she says. “I’ve seen the process of a campaign . . . I know how brutal it is.”If anybody could use a little brutality - in this case ego deflation - it's Michael "I Know Best About Everything!" Bloomberg.Nothing would have
James Garner
It has been announced that James Garner has died at the age of 86.Garner wrote one of my favorite pieces on actors and politics in 2011:James Garner's memoir "The Garner Files" was published today, and far from being a glossed over look at his career, it's very much matter of fact. Although he defends actors who express their political views, he is critical of those who run for office. &
JUL 19
Common Core Texts Students Are Sure To Learn From
I left the following reply to a tweet by NYSED Commissioner John King:@JohnKingNYSED My favorite CC$$ text? Meeting minutes from Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Kids love 'em too!— realitybasededucator (@perdidostschool) July 19, 2014It's not the first time I've taken this jab at King or other Common Core supporters when they talk about all the exciting reading teachers can have students do
Building A Tea Party Of The Left
From Dave Weigel at Slate:The story of “Andrew Cuomo, closet right-winger” is well-known among progressives and obscure for everybody else. Cuomo won an easy 2010 race against one of the year’s most self-destructive Tea Party candidates, and when he’s made national news, he’s done it by driving left. He signed gay marriage into law. He signed a gun safety bill. He warned “extreme conservatives” no