Chicago: A Disaster of “Seismic Proportions”

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1. philaken says:

   March 24, 2013 at 10:45 am

   Is Rahm Emanuel deciding to be on a skiing trip in Utah as thousands of lives are decimated by the ruling elites abandonment of public education in Chicago his version of “Let them eat cake!”

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   • Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

     March 24, 2013 at 12:39 pm

     Amen to that statement!

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2. Marge Borchert says:

   March 24, 2013 at 11:10 am

   Mr. Rogers asks: “Can you spell coward?” “Sure you can!”

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   • Linda says:

     March 24, 2013 at 11:21 am

     Exact same thought I had…for a tough little guy with a potty mouth he is a C O W A R D !

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     • Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

       March 24, 2013 at 12:41 pm

       Yup! So true. He is just another puppet in a suit.

3. Michael Fiorillo says:

   March 24, 2013 at 11:17 am

   The Gates/Broad/Walton endgame for urban public education is now in sight, enabled by cat’s paws such as Emanuel, Rhee, Kopp and Randi Weingarten: disenfranchisement, dispossession, authoritarianism…

   Suburban and rural districts, beware: you’re all next.

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   • Linda says:

     March 24, 2013 at 11:22 am

     And Obama says, “Yes, we can!”

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4. paula says:

   March 24, 2013 at 11:26 am

   Amazing, public school education destroyed under the 1st Black President’s watch, way to go Obama.

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   • brutus2011 says:

     March 24, 2013 at 11:51 am

     I never figured Obama to be a Judas goat.

     The evidence is becoming more and more revealing as to what he stands for.

     I’m disappointed although I should know better.

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     • Susan says:

       March 24, 2013 at 11:28 pm

       I read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein, a book that details disaster capitalism and the role of the University of Chicago in formulating these theories. During the 2008 primaries, some of the people mentioned in the book surfaced as Obama advisors, and the red flags went up. I did not vote for him in 2008 or 2012. He’s a shill whose corporate masters know that people will be reluctant to associate these policies with the first black president. His role is to keep the democratic base neutralized.

   • Michael Fiorillo says:

     March 24, 2013 at 12:00 pm

     Well, that’s what the Overclass hired him to do: be the Trojan Horse to destroy the public schools, open the door to the destruction of Social Security and Medicare, and sever the remaining fragile ties connecting the Democratic Party to the New Deal and Great Society. while doing it in blackface to divert and distract criticism.

     It’s why Glen Ford correctly described Obama as “the more effective Evil,” and it’s cynicism playing out on an truly infernal, society-smashing level.

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   • Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

     March 24, 2013 at 12:43 pm

     Sad, isn’t it. Big bucks are behind this one….campaign contributions and more.

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5. Linda says:

   March 24, 2013 at 11:35 am

   Quotes by Rahm:

   “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

   “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values. They’re not respectful of our residents, our neighbors and our family members. And if you’re gonna be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect Chicago values.”

   “As individuals, we will be judged in our lives by the totality of our actions. Not one thing will stand out. And I think that’s how we get judged by our colleagues and that’s how we get judged by the good lord.”

   Rahm Emanuel

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   • TeacherEd says:

     March 24, 2013 at 12:16 pm

     “As individuals, we will be judged in our lives by the totality of our actions. Not one thing will stand out.”

     Tell that to all the people affected by murder ONCE, Rahm.

     And tell it to all of us effected by ONE 75 year contract privatizing Chicago parking meters.

     Many of us will NEVER forget that Rahm ducked out when his business plan was put into action and 30,000 Chicago school children were displaced and abandoned. He may count this as just “one thing,” but it will impact those kids and their families every school day next year and for years and years to follow, not to mention the teachers and communities affected.

     Rahm could stand to learn something about cause and effect. And about people. And about how traumatic events that uproot our lives land us on completely different planes where feelings reverberate and can last a lifetime.

     In the next mayoral election, we need to repeatedly remind people that they are voting for the person who will be in charge of our children’s education. Hopefully, the new mayor will be properly vetted, to ensure we are electing someone with a brain and a heart and courage.

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     • Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

       March 24, 2013 at 12:45 pm

       Too arrogant to listen and learn. Besides he doesn’t care one iota.

6. TeacherEd says:

   March 24, 2013 at 11:36 am

   Didn’t Rahm diss and can former CPS CEO Brizzard for going on his annual family vacation during the teacher’s strike? Always a double standard for those at the top.

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   • Marge Borchert says:

     March 24, 2013 at 12:01 pm

     TeacherEd– Another big blow out — just like BP’s CEO Tony Hayward the most hated and clueless man in the world who couldn’t wait to get his life back and go yachting after the devastating oil spill in Louisiana. Emanuel is in Utah taking in the Sundance festival.

     Here’s a direct quote from Emanuel as reported in the BBC:

     White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said the boating incident has “just been part of a long line of PR gaffes and mistakes.”
     “To quote Tony Hayward he’s got his life back” added Rahm Emanuel, referring to an earlier comment by Mr. Hayward. “I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR consulting”, he told ABCs’ This Week programme in an interview to be broadcast .
     Moral: Takes a clueless person to know one when he sees one.

     Does Hayward have investments in Pearson?? Does Emanuel ??

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     • Linda says:

       March 24, 2013 at 12:10 pm

       Oil spill: school closures as yachting:skiing so I guess we can all conclude that Rahm is not going to have a second career as a human.

     • Marge Borchert says:

       March 24, 2013 at 12:23 pm

       Linda- I believe that Rahm Emanuel fired Jean Claude Brizard for taking a vacation just as the Chicago teachers were going on strike. Now Emanuel takes a vacation as black communities lose their schools. People in Chicago should ask for his resignation.

     • Jennifer Baker says:

       March 24, 2013 at 8:38 pm

       Just a minor correction: the Sundance Festival ended weeks ago.

     • Marge Borchert says:

       March 24, 2013 at 9:42 pm

       Jennifer— Thank you for reading my comment so carefully. It was. Rahm Emanuel’s aide Sarah Hamilton who cited that he was taking in the Sundance Festival. Perhaps he was really meeting with those in support of privatization. I’m not sure if he can ski—- make skid marks is another story…….
       Marge

7. Dr. Dianna Lindsay says:

   March 24, 2013 at 12:50 pm

   Again and again the poor pay more: lost time, lost opportunities and lost education for each child. Why? Because a few expect an industrial designed model to overhaul a relationship designed delivery system we call public education. How sad and how predictable. Many schools rise and fall on charismatic leaders when indeed the emphasis must be charismatically educated faculty who love working in schools centered on the needs of the learners not the whims of corporations.

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8. TC says:

   March 24, 2013 at 1:23 pm

   Operation Get on the Bus:
   Obliteration of neighborhood schools and destabilization of communities and lives.
   Short term savings, long term costs.

   Obama, Duncan, and Emanuel own this one. They can take a bath in tomato juice the rest of their lives and still not smell so well.

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