Hi folks, It’s me, UFT President “Punchy” Mike Mulgrew, and and usual you'll drag my Common Core from my cold dead arms! Guess what? I have a new message. A committee in the Senate passed some encouraging legislation to reform NCLB. Ain’t that great? Sure, it hasn’t passed the Senate, and it hasn’t passed the Congress, and it hasn’t gone through any sort of conciliatory processes, and it hasn’t been vetoed by the President we supported with your COPE money, Barack Obama. But If all of those things happen, except the veto, and it still looks anything like the way it does today, NY State won’t be required by law to pass bills like the one they just did.Of course, even if all that stuff happens and the bill passes as written, it won't mean NY will have to repeal any of the law they've already passed, or that Cuomo's reformy pals will stop giving him money to push this stuff, but I'm Punchy Mike, not Gloomy Gus, so let's not dwell on stuff like that.
As long as we're not dwelling on stuff, will you please stop reminding me that I said that we had stopped Governor Cuomo dead in his tracks, and I thanked the legislators for passing that bill. In fact, I’d like you to just not remember that, and pretend it didn’t happen. Because now, I’ve taken your COPE dollars, and made a commercial critical of Governor Cuomo. So that should prove once and for all which side I’m on.
Now the blogs, which I don’t read and about which I know absolutely nothing, will no doubt say things like we blocked Zephyr Teachout’s nomination in the Working Families Party, and even suggest we threatened to withhold funding and perhaps end the party altogether. Now let me be clear. While I have no idea what the hell is in these blogs, I have to characterize them as purveyors of myth. Now I say that to be nice, because I’m just a regular blue collar construction guy with no impulse control whatsoever, and I don’t want to call them a bunch of lowlife stinking liars. That would be not nice.
You see, in my position, a guy has to be careful, I mean, you send out an email to tens of thousands of people thanking the legislature for their hard work in passing a blatantly anti-teacher bill, and saying that we have won, and all of a sudden people jump to the conclusion you support the bill. Well, it meant nothing of the kind. All it meant was what it said, and I have to tell you I’m just a little bit miffed at those dirtbag bloggers, who I never read, coming to conclusions that just because I said that stuff it was what I really meant? I mean, who can really see into a man’s soul? Isn’t there a deeper meaning? I don’t know, because I’m just a regular blue collar guy.
That's why I'm really sick of those damn bloggers, who I never read, coming to conclusions that just because I don’t call opponents to resolutions that I don’t follow Robert’s Rules or democracy. Some even suggest voting is rigged. So now I’m very careful, because I can get into trouble. You see, that means I’m evolving. So don’t believe them when they say I support bills simply because I praise them and thank people for passing them. I’m evolving.
So maybe I wrote the thing saying we had beaten back Governor Cuomo and thanking the legislature for voting for the anti-teacher bill, and maybe I said our hard work had paid off, but that is like, so two weeks ago. Today I’m spending your money to make an ad attacking the governor, and that’s where you should be focused.
Remember, when those bloggers, who I never read, say things like we should’ve attacked Governor Cuomo during the WFP nomination procedure, during the Democratic primary, or during the general election, they’re full of crap, or rather purveyors of myth. Stop looking backward, and start looking forward.
In summary, remember, committee passes bill, good, current commercial, good, punchy prose from Punchy Mike, good, past does not exist except as modified by us, good, pro-Heavy Hearts email in memory hole, good, a thousand points of light, good, and God bless the United Federation of Teachers.
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