In light of the appointment of "reformer" Arne Duncan as US Secretary of Education, that's where it stands. People are saying this is a compromise appointment, with Joel Klein being the pick of the lunatic fringe and Linda Darling-Hammond the choice of reasonable humans, because Mr. Duncan is looked at as acceptable by part-time AFT President Randi Weingarten.
Regrettably, Ms. Weingarten has enabled "reform" as much as Joel Klein, Michelle Rhee, or just about any "reformer" who tramples upon unionized workers while posing as an advocate for children. And while Bill Gates, and Eli Broad, and others toss around their cash to ensure these children won't have worthwhile unions, job security, health care or other frivolities enjoyed by those awful socialists in Canada and Europe, Ms. Weingarten shakes her head, enables them all, and says, "What a good girl am I." And indeed, Ms. Weingarten has gone far with her accomodating attitude. After all, were she actually standing up for working people, how on earth could she treat the Presidency of the largest teacher local in the country, the UFT, as part-time work?
On the other hand, President Obama can still stand up for working people by passing card check. Other moneyed interests, posing as protectors of working people's rights, are campaigning against card check, stating it deprives them of a secret ballot. Pardon me, but when was the last secret ballot at Wal-Mart? This bill will make it easier for working people to exercise their right to unionize, and that's why forces who don't give a damn about us are so up in arms about it.
This, along with health care, will be a good measure of whether or not Obama is really an agent of change. I'm afraid the appointment of Arne Duncan, approved by anti-teacher, anti-labor, anti-working person Joel Klein makes him nothing more than an agent of status quo.
He's going to have to do better than that, or the future of this country will just as doubtful as it's been under GW Bush and cronies.
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