Bob Herbert *murders* Cathie Black.

>>>>A stark example of the potential for real conflict is being played out in New York City, where the multibillionaire mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has selected a glittering example of the American aristocracy to be the city’s schools chancellor. Cathleen Black, chairwoman of Hearst Magazines, has a reputation as a crackerjack corporate executive but absolutely no background in education.

Ms. Black travels in the rarefied environs of the very rich. Her own children went to private boarding schools. She owns a penthouse on Park Avenue and a $4 million home in Southampton. She was able to loan a $47,600 Bulgari bracelet to a museum for an exhibit showing off the baubles of the city’s most successful women.

Ms. Black will be peering across an almost unbridgeable gap between her and the largely poor and working-class parents and students she will be expected to serve. Worse, Mr. Bloomberg, heralding Ms. Black as a “superstar manager,” has made it clear that because of budget shortfalls she will be focused on managing cutbacks to the school system.

So here we have the billionaire and the millionaire telling the poor and the struggling — the little people — that they will just have to make do with less. You can almost feel the bitterness rising.>>>>

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/27/opinion/27herbert.html?_r=1



Can anyone here explain satisfactorily why Obama supports this nonsense? To the point where Duncan intervened to pressure the NYS Ed commissioner to issue a waiver ... which is REQUIRED BY STATE LAW....to Black allowing her to take office as Schools Chancellor ? ( BTW, I wonder why a waiver would be* required * by state law. Hmmmm.... could it be to keep hacks, know-nothings and dilettantes away from the gravely important educational policy-making process?)

Was not Mr. Obama nominated by the DEMOCRATIC Party? And what's with the vacation pow-wow confabs and semiprivate luncheons with Bloomberg ( Remember the golf-cart picture from the last presidential vacation? Is Bloomberg the only guy Obama can find who can't beat him?)

This more I see of this admin the less I want to keep it around.

epitome of The Peter Principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle), who has a needy ego, and a vacuum of experience in public schools. This is not an honorary position on a college board of trustees.

....reality in public school culture... at least in my experience.

Though neither model is a precise match. Too many variables in school systems. But there sure is more than enough incompetence to go around.

wiki:
>>>>>The Dilbert Principle refers to a 1990s satirical observation by Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams stating that companies tend to systematically promote their least-competent employees to management (generally middle management), in order to limit the amount of damage they are capable of doing. In the Dilbert strip of February 5, 1995 Dogbert says that "leadership is nature's way of removing morons from the productive flow".>>>>.

why is it that when Bloomberg and Obama meet , pictures are allowed ( I'm thinking INSISTED upon by Bloomberg, who literally can't get enough of himself) but no third party is present to hear whatever dialog takes place.

Screw the pictures. I want to know *exactly* what they are talking about.

Ver-friggin'-batim.

:-(

No sarcasm.


Just :-(