Chicago GRE: Arne Duncan has a record of exploiting school children

Although I disagree with those who are urging parents to keep their kids home tomorrow, I can't help but notice that they're being labeled as paranoid racists by Obama supporters, who seem to take it for granted that of course President Obama* would never indoctrinate or exploit school children to advance his political agenda--the thought itself is monstrous! But President Obama chose a Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, with a history of organizing massive (and massively expensive) political rallies of Chicago public school students paid for with Chicago public school funds. I cannot for the life of me understand why this record hasn't become a bigger part of the public debate over the proposed speech to school students, unless people simply don't realize it exists.

In June 2008, for instance, the Chicago public school district used over 1200 buses and drivers to bus a reported 30,000 students from all over the city to Soldier Field, where they were allowed to watch a free performance by area musicians like rapper "Ben One." The catch? The performance was part of a political rally. The students had to sit through speeches by Arne Duncan, Richard Daley and Jesse Jackson, and these weren't innocuous pep talks about staying in school.

The man who was in charge of that mess is now the head of education for the federal government, and there's nothing particularly paranoid or racist about pointing it out. Click the big blue button to read the whole thing, and if you like it, please take a moment to pass it on or vote on Digg, Windycitizen.com or Reddit.

---

Meanwhile, David Codrea, Gun Rights Examiner, asks "Can ATF be reformed?"
He's not talking about recycling transmission fluid, but questioning the wisdom of an effort to "reform" the BATFE by legislation. I would add the question: "If the ATF can't be reformed, but it can't be abolished at present, is it worth it to pursue partial reforms, even knowing they won't really solve the problem? David's last piece covered the return of Carolyn McCarthy's "No Fly, No Buy" bill, which would bar anyone placed on the naughty list by the government from purchasing firearms. That's a big step to take based on a list you can be placed on without due process or even a reason given!

---

* Seeing the President of the United States referred to as "Mr. Obama" or "Mr. Bush" in the press irritates me. Maybe it says in some style manual that the President is referred to as "Mister," but screw that.