Gov. Christie shouldn't cozy up to muckraker of 'Teachers Union Gone Wild' | NJ.com

In the Friday October 29th edition of the Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), the editorial board chastised Governor Chris Christie for apparently choosing to ally himself with conservative muckraker James O'Keefe and, in the Star-Ledger's words, "(for co-opting) the questionable material for his political purposes".

The "questionable material" is a video called "Teachers Gone Wild" which supposedly shows less than extraordinary behavior by teachers (NJEA members), administrators, and union reps. For all of you newbies, Chris Christie and the NJEA, New Jersey's largest teacher's union, have been engaged in open warfare from Day One of the current administration.

Every taxpayer in New Jersey may have a beef with the NJEA; they might be the biggest lightning rod locally since Darryl Strawberry's days with the Mets or Patrick Ewing's near misses at titles with the Knicks. But for a sitting governor, and former federal prosecutor, to ally himself with O'Keefe's background is questionable in itself.

Conservatives and Tea Partiers love O'Keefe because of his videos that brought down ACORN last year. But then last January O'Keefe posed as a repairman to try to tap the office phone of Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu in a federal building, was caught along with his accomplices, and temporarily jailed with felony charges. The felony charges were dropped and reduced to a misdemeanor; O'Keefe was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service, and fined $1,500.

And then the James O'Keefe saga starts to get really weird.

CNN's investigative reporter Abbie Boudreau was putting together a series on young conservative activists in the United States. One of the persons Boudreau wanted to interview was James O'Keefe. O'Keefe agreed to a meeting with Boudreau aboard a boat in Maryland. Supposedly Boudreau and O'Keefe were to discuss a music video; O'Keefe told Boudreau the meeting on the boat was an attempt to protect his privacy.

But it was a setup, an attempt to "punk" and discredit Abbie Boudreau. O'Keefe had champagne and strawberries, and a plethora of sex toys and aids onboard the small boat. He was going to attempt to seduce Abbie Boudreau, and get it on tape in to discredit her and CNN. An associate of O'Keefe's tipped off Boudreau to the plot. This became one of the most bizarre stories to surface last summer.



It is amazing to me that a former federal prosecutor and current governor would ally himself to a man who'd enter a federal building under false pretenses to secretly tape a sitting member of Congress. Add to that, O'Keefe's lame and hairbrained plan to sandbag Abbie Boudreau and CNN for his own agenda.

But I suppose Chris Christie and James O'Keefe do share one thing in common; it's all about winning. It doesn't matter who gets hurt, it's all about painting the other guy as a villain, even if it means showing a distorted view to their true believers and to those sitting on a fence.

Some say "Chris Christie for President in 2012". Who knows? Maybe James O'Keefe can be his communications director.

Click the link below to read the Star-Ledger editorial about the Christie- O'Keefe relationship.




Gov. Christie shouldn't cozy up to muckraker of 'Teachers Union Gone Wild' | NJ.com

The Christie Administration's $400,000,000 Clerical Error; "It's Obama's Fault!"

As a practicing Roman Catholic, I was taught that the Pope, in matters of faith, is considered to be infallible....that is, the judgment of the Pontiff is always correct regarding matters of theology.

And as a New Jersey resident, I should feel doubly blessed....for we hath One Among Us, also a Catholic, who in his own mind claims infalliblity as well. He can be found in Trenton, the city that "makes and the world takes"....I knew about pork roll, but I didn't know so much baloney came from Trenton as well.

Harry Truman had a sign on his desk that exclaimed The Buck Stops Here! It's something Republican Governor Chris Christie should have remembered before he started finger pointing, shifting blame, or looking for an underling to throw under the boss when a clerical error by his administration cost New Jersey public schools $400,000,000 in grant money. This is happening at a time when state aid to municipalities has been slashed, several thousands of teachers are being laid off, and classroom and sports programs are discontinued. The State of New Jersey and it's schoolchildren needed that money.

And the Christie Administration let them down.

You've probably heard the story already. The Christie Administration applied for funds under the Race To the Top initiative; New Jersey hoped to get $400 million to aid its ailing schools. On Tuesday the announcement was made that nine states and the District of Columbia would be awarded Race To The Top money. New Jersey came in eleventh, and lost out on the cash.

The application for the grant was specific; it required budgetary data from the years 2008 and 2009. The application delivered to Washington had data for 2010 and 2011. The error in the application cost points in the application, dropping New Jersey to the #11 spot. and no money.

And, in the words of the Star-Ledger Editorial Board, the administration of Christopher James Christie, called by some "the future of the Republican Party" did do the following.....

"It (the error) may have been the most expensive clerical error in the history of mankind."

The full editorial of the Star-Ledger can be found here. And I agree with their statement. The mistake belonged to New Jersey; nine states and the District of Columbia got it right.... and we, the state of New Jersey, did not.

(Click for the August 25, 2010 front page of the Star-Ledger ).

Governor Christie then turned political, and needed to finger someone else. Forget about being a statesman and leader...a screwup like this tarnishes his political present and future.

So Christie needed to fix blame, and said the following.........

"When the president comes back to New Jersey, he's going to have to explain to the people of the state of New Jersey why he's depriving them of $400 million that this application earned because one of his bureaucrats in Washington couldn't pick up the phone and ask a question, couldn't go on the Internet and find information, or wouldn't accept the verbal representation" of the state's education commissioner during a follow-up interview,

What?

Christie's team messes up, and it's the President's fault?

Or let's try the rest of federal government. It seems to work for Boehner, Bachmann, Palin, Gingrich, and company. Here's more from Chris Christie.

""Does anybody in Washington, D.C. have a lick of common sense? Pick up the phone and ask us for the number."

Yes, it was a lot of paperwork, a ridiculous amount.... but the winners did it right. New Jersey didn't. And as the Star-Ledger mentioned in their editorial about Jim Furyk's disqualification from the Barclay's Golf Tournament because he arrived five minutes late.....those are the rules. If New Jersey got a mulligan for it's error, then every state that needed to do corrections to get millions of dollars would be doing so, and that would not only result in chaos, but it would be unfair.

So far Christie hasn't thrown anybody under the bus from his administration, but that could change. Here's an item from newjerseynewsroom.com.

"Gov. Chris Christie's Dog Days of August political nightmare continued Thursday as a new report surfaced that the $400 million federal education funding mistake apparently occurred when the governor nixed an agreement on support of aid application between his education commissioner and the NJEA, a statewide teachers' union."

That's right, they initially had the right figures, and had they submitted the original application, New Jersey could have gotten $400 million. Education Commissioner Bret Schundler worked out a deal with the NJEA and the state. But Governor Christie killed the deal. The application was redone, this time with the wrong information.....and it cost New Jersey $400 million.

There's more to come; the Democratic controlled New Jersey Assembly has said that an investigation is in order....and most New Jersey residents seem to agree.

Update!- Friday August 27 9:00am .....Last night news of a video from the US Department of Education broke. The video, in which representative from New Jersey led by NJ Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, presented the state's application for the Race To The Top grant. The video (from newjersey.com) clearly shows that New Jersey's delegation was asked by federal officials about the absence of the requested figures for 2008 and 2009, required on the application. The New Jersey representatives admitted that they did not have those figures available. The speaker from the US Department of Education asked if New Jersey could provide those figures....they were given a second chance.

On that second chance, New Jersey's delegation again was unable to provide the required data.

See the video below.

Excerpt of N.J.'s Race to the Top interview shows officials with no budget answer

More updated information may be found at nj.com.

As I type this at least two New York television stations, FOX 5 and PIX 11, have tried to contact Governor Christie for a comment on the video, which proves his claim that federal bureaucrats prevented New Jersey the chance to make corrections was totally false.

Christie's claim that the reviewers refused to accept corrections after the June 1 deadline was also not correct. New Jersey's delegation was given two chances to fix the problem, and was not able to do so.

Christie did respond to a question from a New Jersey radio station last night about the video and it's implications. He said he hadn't seen the video yet.

Update! Friday August 27 11:41AM NJ..... Education Commissioner Bret Schundler was fired this morning by Governor Chris Christie after Schundler refused to submit his resignation. Full story at nj.com.

30,000 Protest Cuts In Trenton While Governor Christie Goes To The Track

Opinion

Even Richard Nixon met with Vietnam War protesters at the Lincoln Memorial in 1970.

But yesterday when between 30,000 to 35,000 persons, mainly public employees, descended on Trenton, NJ to protest the proposed budget cuts by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration, he was no where near the statehouse. The Governor made sure to be at Monmouth Park, only 54 miles away where he signed legislation that would reduce racing from 141 days to 50 days and putting all thoroughbred racing in Monmouth Park. Christie addressed the crowd briefly between the fourth and fifth race, where he was met with a mix of cheers and boos.

And the Governor who likens himself to Working Class Everyman Bruce Springsteen was in the company of those who run a 4 billion dollar industry instead of meeting face up with the thousands who's jobs could be in jeopardy because of his fiscal policies. But hobnobbing and looking out for the well to do is something Christie does well....just last week Christie vetoed the so-called "millionaire's tax", which passed both chambers of the state legislature and would have provided property tax rebates and prescription drug benefits to the elderly and the disabled. On May 19, Christie did backtrack a bit and canceled  a $310 deductible and co-pay increase for seniors in the state's healthcare programs

Chris Christie is most adept at painting pictures of the other guy as an enemy, not just of Christie but of every man, woman, child, and all other species residing in New Jersey. The qualities that made Christie an effective federal prosecutor haven't translated as a chief executive; he comes across as an arrogant Boss of Bosses, who would ruthlessly throw anyone under the bus to achieve his political goals.....even if the innocent end up as collateral damage.

Protesters rally against budget cuts in Trenton

Thousands gather in Trenton for anti-Christie rally

Christie has inherited a budget crisis that has been three hundred years in the making, one in which towns broke away from other towns for various reasons, then set up their own home rule; and with that home rule came the responsibilities of paying their teachers, police, firefighters, and all other public employees. What was needed was co-operation, but Christie decided to go with confrontation. He mocked the ideas of Democrats, who control both houses of the legislature, by saying their ideas were "ridiculous". And the Governor referred to the leaders of the New Jersey Education Association as "bullies" and to students being used by teachers as "drug mules". The rhetoric coming from this governor is worthy of a wingnut AM radio gasbag, and not the chief executive of one of America's most populous and and affluent states.

And what is beginning to emerge is the sad fact of New Jersey being governed by a bombastic braggart who doesn't have the courage to take the heat in Trenton when it was applied yesterday, just as Governor Christie did when he ran away from reporters without answering questions after students began walking out of New Jersey schools in protest of his policies last month.

This is not to say that there are not bad teachers in our school systems, or that all are worthy of praise. But the vast majority are dedicated to their jobs and are just trying to make ends meet. In New Jersey the median salary is $57,467...not bad but far from a fortune. And much less than the affluence alluded to by a certain governor.

But where do are citizens stand on this? I mean the ones who are always decrying the obscene amounts of money entertainers and professional athletes make. The ones that say "teachers deserve more pay and respect", and then turn there backs on them when they try and get that little bit extra.

Thirty-five thousand people is the largest protest- ever- in the State of New Jersey. The events yesterday were larger than any anti-war event, or anti-tax event....even larger than recent Tea Party events that received wall to wall coverage from the national media. A few thousand Second Amendment gun guys and gals showed up outside of DC in an April protest and the media covered it like it was the third Battle of Bull Run.

But where were the same media yesterday covering what in essence signaled a revolt of New Jersey's public employees, protesting a governor who's main objectives seems to be vilifying, demonizing, and ultimately breaking public employee unions in the state? MSNBC's website features a story by the AP, with no video. And CNN...not a mention...no Anderson Cooper, no nothing. Huffington Post....absent as well.

The Tea Party claims they are spearheading a new American Revolution. But revolutions often spawn counter revolutions....and we just might have seen the the birth of one in Trenton on Saturday, May 22, 2010.


Many of the sources for this opinion piece came from The Star-Ledger, and in particular the columns and reports of Tom Moran, Bob Braun, Claire Heininger, Matt Freidman, and the paper's statehouse bureau. Thanks!

Letters To Governor Chris Christie

Many of you have been following the drama in New Jersey, where Governor Chris Christie has been waging a verbal war with the New Jersey Education Association and other educational groups in the Garden State. Christie wants concessions from the unions to close New Jersey's budget gap. In doing so Christie is using some of the tactics he used as a federal prosecutor. But the tactics used to put the "bad guys" in jail usually don't translate to reconciliation and consensus building. One of my "jobs" these days is to help edit and collate my Dad's correspondence. I want to share two letters to the Governor from two teachers, both union members, both committed educators. I've made the editorial decision not to disclose their names. Their eloquence is something that deserves to be shared with a wider readership.



The Honorable Governor Chris Christie
Governor’s Office
State Street
Trenton, NJ

April 20, 2010

Dear Governor Christie,

I am a teacher. As such, I have worked with all kinds of children, those who are bright and hard working and those who struggle to find success. Those who speak English and those who families speak a language different than English. I have worked with children from traditional homes and the homeless. Those children whose families fill their lives with rich experiences and activities and those whose parents are so overwhelmed with life that they have no time for anything else beyond survival. I have worked with children who are healthy and those who have severe medical issues, those children who are socially and emotionally well-adjusted and those who can’t cope with the world around them. I have taught kindergarteners and high school students how to read and write to the best of their abilities. I have dealt with the death of one of my first graders and the illnesses of my students and colleagues from sick buildings. With all of these diverse experiences I now know why it is that you hate teachers so much.

You see, there isn’t a teacher alive who hasn’t dealt with you in their career. We all know your secret. You are the 5 year old who shoves other kids around on the playground. You are the 8 year old who steals others lunch money. You are the teenager who pushes the weak kid into the locker or who flushes their coat down the toilet or the ‘cool kid’ who insults and humiliates those around you. You are the child who relentlessly picks on those who don’t, for some imagined reason, live up to your ideal of worthiness. Governor Christie, you are a bully!

I don’t say this lightly. You’re not a physical bully. You don’t punch or kick or provide physical harm. You sir, are a verbal bully defined by teasing, taunting, public humiliation, sarcasm, insults, name calling as well as spreading gossip and malicious rumors. With a bully it is never about the issue at hand, in this case, a salary freeze. It is about getting others to bend to your will. It is about making you feel self-important. A bully needs to intimidate others, break down their self-confidence and isolate them. You will not do that to me sir! We don’t tolerate bullying in today’s public schools!

Yes, I am a teacher and I am the target of your bullying behavior. You have called me names and insulted me. You have attempted to humiliate me and have been sarcastic about my behavior as a teacher. But the thing is, I know the truth! I know that I have done an incredible job as a teacher influencing the instruction of children for 33 years. I know my skill at my job has had a profound influence on the future of hundreds of children and families. I know I have no reason to apologize or feel badly about a salary that reflects my 33 years of experience and my BA degree, MA degree plus more than 45 credits beyond that. I know that my salary was frozen for 2 years while we negotiated. I know that my salary increased by less than 2% when we finally came to a settlement. I know that I have worked hard and earned and contributed to my pension every single day since I was 22 years old.

Yes, I am a union leader and member. I served as President of my local for 16 years, as a member of the NJEA Executive committee for 9 years and a member of the NEA Board of Directors for 6 years. I worked collaboratively in my district to resolve problems and provide “Great Public Schools”. I fought for clean and healthy school buildings. Many times I had to protect staff members from political interference and patronage, much like you did as the state Attorney General. While I didn’t hire, evaluate or fire staff members, my job was to make sure that due process and law was followed if someone had a problem. I know that in districts where there is a strong union, teachers feel free to be creative problem solvers and develop high quality educational programs for the students they serve.

I am a voter in New Jersey. I will vote yes today for the school budget to protect the programs and staff our children need to get a first class education. I know that as a contributing member of this society we call New Jersey, I will continue to pay more than $9,000 in property taxes this year. I will volunteer time and contribute to charities and continue to make New Jersey flourish as a vibrant state. I know that the economy of the entire country continues to struggle and that it has impacted on New Jersey. I know that I am not to blame for this happening. I know about ‘shared sacrifices”. I will be doing just that when my property taxes go up and I don’t receive my property tax rebate. I will share the sacrifice when I have to contribute more to charities that will no longer have state support in order to provide needed services. I will share the sacrifice when there isn’t paper for the classroom or books in the library or guidance counselors for the students in my school district.

Governor Christie, I don’t want a governor who is a bully. I want a man who can work with others. I want a governor who doesn’t look for someone who shows weakness but someone who appreciates the strengths that others have to offer and bring to the table. I want a governor who is inclusive rather than exclusive and an isolationist. I want a governor who makes others feel good about what they have accomplished, not someone who looks for others to fail. I want a governor who is meticulous with his facts and doesn’t use public forums to spread rumors and misinformation. I want a governor who is thoughtful when he speaks and not someone who resorts to name calling. I want a governor who knows the difference between the big issues and the small issues and who doesn’t blow either of them up out of proportion. I want a governor who can diffuse a situation instead of throwing gasoline on the fire and making it worse. I want a governor who is a statesman and a leader and not someone who is a prosecutor treating the world around him as criminals.


I am proud of who I am and what I have accomplished. I will not allow you to discredit me, intimidate me, or threaten me. I am a teacher. I am a union leader. I am a voter. I am a part of what makes New Jersey a great state.


Sincerely,

And below, a second letter to Governor Christie.

To The Honorable Chris Christie,

I am the enemy. I never realized this until your election to governor. In a few short weeks, you have made this fact explicitly clear to me. A large portion of your budget address was about my profession, and how we have caused the problems this state now faces. I want to thank you for opening my eyes to this fact. However, I am not sure I understand how I am the problem or how I have caused the state to be in such debt.

I have been teaching in our public school system for 9 years. I started at $36,000 a year. My college roommate started as an office worker at an accounting firm for $75,000. It was the same year. He told me he mostly made copies and plugged numbers into a computer. I was designing lesson plans, teaching classes of 30+ students, some of whom had problems with drug abuse, crime, and depression. After nine years experience I made $52,000 last year. I would like to point out that this is $8,000 less than your “media relations” person. You know, the 25 year old who runs your Twitter and Facebook accounts. My college roommate? He makes double what I do now. We both have bachelor’s degrees. But what do I know? I am the problem.

You tell the people of New Jersey that we teachers get a free ride on the pension “gravy train”. Well, I contribute to my pension. It has been deducted from every paycheck I have ever received. Thousands. You do not contribute to my pension even though it is legally and contractually required. You have lied to the people of New Jersey and your refusal to pay the pension just puts off the inevitable. Leave the problem for the next generation, I suppose. I also paid over $6,000 in property taxes. It’s convenient that you leave us to be blamed for property taxes when we pay just as much as everyone else. You and those who attack us seem to forget that. But what do I know? I am the problem.

During my time as a teacher, I have volunteered many late hours….volunteered. Although you seem to think all I care about is me, me, me, I have coached girl’s powder-puff football for nothing. I have chaperoned school dances, plays, and fundraisers. I have worked the concession stand at football games. I wasn’t paid for any of this. I have bought hundreds of dollars worth of shirts, cookie dough, pizzas and countless other items I didn’t really need because I wanted to help support my students and their activities. I have “canned” at football games to help needy students, stayed late waiting for parents to pick up kids who missed their busses, and bought classes pizzas and breakfast to reward them for their excellence. I cooked a class eggs and waffles once because they brought in over 500 canned goods for our local homeless shelter. I have been in a dunk tank not once, but twice to fundraise for my school. I have taken pies to the face and almost had to kiss a ram, all for my students. My coworker and I once organized a pancake breakfast for a student battling cancer. We and many of our colleagues whom you demean were at school at 4:30 in the morning to prepare pancakes for a school of over 2,000 students. We raised over ten thousand dollars for that student. I never asked once, “What is in it for me?”

You have declared open season on teachers. You have made us the bane of New Jersey’s existence. I know, I read the comments on the APP.com and Press of Atlantic City websites. Teachers are lazy, overpaid, underworked. We are whiners. I guess that is what I am doing right now. You have made it okay to bash us. Some of the public are rejoicing that my colleagues will lose their jobs. Until you opened my eyes and opened their mouths, I never realized what a terrible person I was.

When I decided to study education in college my mother warned me that I had better not teach unless it was a passion. She told me if I just wanted summers off I wouldn’t last. She was a teacher herself. She said I could get paid better doing other things. She told me my efforts would not be appreciated, that it was only a matter of time before politics made us the enemy again. I didn’t listen. Teaching was a calling for me, and I thought that even though I wouldn’t be paid a lot, at least I would have good benefits, a pension, and job security. What a fool I was. I thought I was doing the right thing, helping kids, improving society. Turns out the whole time I was none of these things. I was the enemy. I was the problem. My own government has forsaken me; my own community would like to banish me. For the first time in my career, I am questioning my decision, feeling my passion diminish.

Thank you for showing me the light. My only hope is that the next generation does not see the light, and does not listen to you, because if they do there will be no more problems like me, there will be no public education. You will have won your war against the middle and lower class. You will create a society where the rich get educated and the poor do not. But then again, what do I know? I am the problem.


Sincerely,
A 2007 Nominee for the Governor's Teacher of the Year Award

On FACEBOOK- Idiocy On The Left Breeds Copycat Idiocy On The Right

Do you need more proof that political discourse in this country has sunk to a level most of us have left behind us in the fifth grade?

Well....here's some more.

My cousin sent me an email alerting me to the existence of this group on FACEBOOK.

Here's what they're all about.

DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN

I find the group not only mean spirited and ugly, and at the least very unfunny....what's worse they're uncreative and hypocritical. Check out this editorial from THE STAR-LEDGER in New Jersey. It deals with a memo sent out by the Bergen County Education Association, a local affiliate of the New Jersey Education Association, to its membership.

"Dear Lord: This year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer, Michael Jackson, and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays . . . I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor."

My next question for the professional Obama haters....what, no Billy Mays?

The NJEA's comments about NJ Governor Chris Christie also appeared on the New Jersey Teachers United Against Chris Christie's Pay Freeze. According to another report by the Star-Ledger, one poster- a teacher- wrote "never trust a fat f_ck", referring to New Jersey's rather large governor.


Alright ladies and gents....anyone who's ever visited this blog doesn't have to be a member of MENSA to realize that I am a fan of President Obama, and not one of Governor Christie. The old adage of two wrongs don't make a right has once again been demonstrated by a bunch of angry and over the top "educators" who should know better and a over a million dopey wingnut types who didn't have the brains to realize that the "joke" they're laughing at was once directed at a Republican.

Bottom line....GROW UP! Wishing the death of another human being, particularly two of our elected officials....its childish. And its unAmerican.

What's gained by this level of incivility? Nothing at all. The other guys just become more entrenched in their beliefs that the other side is the personification of all what's wrong with our country and our society. The level of name calling and finger pointing has in itself become a very unfunny politcal version of PUNKED or JACKASS.

It doesn't matter if the so called joke was directed at Barack Obama or Chris Christie....its in bad taste, its offense, its wrong. There is no excuse, there is no explanation.....its all about "they started it". There's a few hundred thousand "adults" who should have their computer time taken away by Mom and Dad until they're eligible for Medicare.

There's a whole lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum who should be ashamed of themselves.

"Amen"