Christie Fires Schundler; The Fallout Continues

On Friday morning New Jersey Governor Chris Christie fired Education Commissioner Bret Schundler in the wake of the controversy regarding the denial of $400 million in RACE TO THE TOP money for Garden State schools because of a clerical error. The HOME NEWS TRIBUNE's editorial board contended that Schundler lied to Christie. My Letter To The Editor below says there is no smoking gun saying that Schundler lied, to the best of anyone's knowledge.


"Education Commissioner Bret Schundler got caught in an apparent lie- worth $400 million- and got canned by Gov. Chris Christie as a result".

This is how your editorial regarding Christie's firing of Bret Schundler in the Saturday (Aug 28) edition of the Home News Tribune began. I have a real problem with the wording of that statement.....it should read "Bret Schundler was fired partly because Governor Christie says Schundler was caught in an apparent lie".

After New Jersey lost out on the RACE TO THE TOP millions, Christie decided to blame Washington bureaucrats and the President of the United States for New Jersey finishing out of the money. When the tape surfaced that showed the New Jersey's representatives in the application process were at fault, Christie said that Schundler gave him bad information of what happened during the process.

Now, according to other media sources- broadcast, online, and in print-  Schundler denies that he gave the governor bad information. According to those sources Schundler told Christie not to make the claims against Washington and President Obama....but Christie did so anyway. Schundler has emails that support his claims, but other than that it's a "he said- he said" scenario.

Schundler had to go; with this $400 million clerical error somebody had to take the fall, and the ball was in Schundler's court. But your newspaper has no impirical evidence whatsoever that Schundler lied to the Governor. Christie made the situation worse with his over the top and foolish fixing of blame on the Obama administration when the fault was with his own team. The Governor once again played tough talking prosecutor and made sure the other guy- Bret Schundler- was painted in the worst possible light.

The bottomline- a very embarrassing performance by all involved. And maybe with some investigating- and with time- the truth about what really happened will surface.

Update! According to The Auditor in Sunday's Star-Ledger, the United States Department of Education held a workshop last year regarding the second round application for RACE TO THE TOP funding. Tips were given on the correct way to submit the application, as well as reminders to proofread, and that no new information could be submitted after the June 1 deadline.

The workshop was held on April 21 in Minneapolis. In all, 37 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico sent representatives to the workshop.

New Jersey did not, and finished eleventh, out of the money

The ten states that finished ahead of New Jersey and received funds attended the workshop.

According to The Star-Ledger Governor Christie's office has declined comment.

Gina's Phoenix

In late June, I ran into Gina in Penn Station and complimented her on a tattoo she had on her back. At the time, she was wearing something with straps that covered part of the design. I gave her a flier and she remarked that she had just recently discovered the site through this post on the tattoo of Julie Powell.

Alas, like so many folks to whom I give fliers, I didn't receive any emails or photos. But a month passed and one day I was pleasantly surprised to see an email from Gina, with the following photos of her phoenix tattoo:

I'll let her explain the rest:

"... I had completely forgotten [about sending in the photo] until I found the picture I took for you on my camera... This was done by Junii at the Diamond Club in San Francisco. [Bill Salmon, Junii's husband, is the studio owner]. She does amazing line work.  She's also incredibly conscientious about design and her clients.  For both my tattoos, she spend a lot of time talking with me, looking at the 20 pictures I had brought in of bits or aspects of what I wanted, then went off and did her own research, always coming back with exactly the right drawing.

This one - I got it after a really, really difficult year. So, obviously, not the deepest symbolism - just wanted to remind myself of the possibility of renewal."

Thanks to Gina for sharing her tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

Katrina + 5; New Orleans Today

Hurricane Katrina first hit the Florida coast on August 23, 2005, and then crossed the peninsula to the Gulf of Mexico, where it reorganized into a strong Category Three storm.

Five years ago on this date, August 29th, Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast in Southeastern Louisiana. We all know the stories of the levies breaching, flooding New Orleans, causing more destruction than any natural disaster in US history.

When the storm finally fizzled out there were 1,836 dead and $81.2 billion in damages done to the Gulf Coast states, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Images shocked us then, they shock us still.

Most shocking of all were the images of New Orleans, a national treasure, 80% under water, with men women and children dead or dying in the streets, and on rooftops, and in the New Orleans Superdome waiting for rescue that too often came late or not at all.

There was recovery, but still work to be done in New Orleans and the region when the BP oil spill occurred, another blow to people of whom we must ask; how much more can they take?

But there is will, there is faith, there is progress....and New Orleans looks at tomorrow, hoping to never to repeat that chapter of it's past.

Below, video from NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams, one of the first journalists in New Orleans five years ago, comes back to take a look at the city. Among those he interviews are actor/activist Brad Pitt and New Orleans native, musician/actor Harry Connick, Jr.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What a story...I do believe they're going to make it.

Bringing the dead back to life

Many people have extinct animals tattooed in their bodies but not everyone notice it. Some people think extinct animals are strictly dinos and never realize there's more to it than a reptile. Here are some examples of those who are no longer with us.

The Way I See It; Patriotism Should Be A Quiet Virtue

Opinion

A certain issue has been bugging me for a very long time- and it's the segment of our society that self describes themselves as being patriots.

But before you read on, please note; I have nothing against patriots, and I am not indicting or criticizing people for love of the United States or of any other country (should the reader be from another nation). Hopefully readers and others may find me to be patriotic. But what I find disturbing is when a person feels the need to describe themselves as being a patriot.

Because in my eyes, being a patriot is a virtue. It's like being honest, or being a good parent or spouse, or being wise. You can even throw in the attribute of possessing beauty, internally or externally, or having talent. And to me, if a person is truly virtuous they don't extol their virtues.

I can tell another person they are wise, or possess genius, or are a good son to aging parents. But for a person to crow about their own virtues- "I'm a good son" or "I'm the smartest guy here", for example- is really bad form.

And it's not very humble.....and humility might be the greatest of all virtues.

Some of these feelings that I have no doubt come from the "Rally To Restore America" that Glenn Beck is holding in Washington today on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He'll be addressing tens of thousands of patriots later on today.....and I know they're patriots, because so many of them say they are. I guess all one has to do is join "Tea Party Patriots" and that does the trick, like baptism or a bar mitzvah sanctifies and admits you to a realm of faith.

I grew up during a time where I was surrounded by quiet patriots, that of The Greatest Generation.  This includes my Dad, my uncles, my Mom, grandparents, cousins, family friends and others who came of age during the Great Depression and then fought the Nazis and Japanese in World War II, or made sacrifices here on the home front, or worked in factories aiding the fight against Axis oppression. They always talked about the Depression and WW2 when I was a little kid, and we listened to stories of gas rationing and boot camp and Grandma driving rivets as she helped put together tanks and jeeps at the old GM plant that was converted for the war effort. There many different stories from many different people, but they all had one commonality....

Each one said they were just doing their share. They didn't ask for extra credit. None of my acquaintances from that generation ever pointed to themselves and said "I'm a patriot". They would talk about the other guy and say, "He was a great patriot", or "She sure was patriotic". But they never made it about themselves....they were old school. You left it to others to praise your virtues, you never praise yourself. It was something called humility.

And that, in our narcissistic age where there are no secrets and a multitude of lies, is something seemingly lost in America.


Maybe a look in the mirror.....and a dose of humility directed at one's self, and to one's country, is what really needs to be restored.

Alex Shares a Floral Tattoo, Roots and All

Sometimes I see tattoos before I see people.

Back in July, for example, I approached a guy on the West 4th Street subway platform to ask him about this tattoo on his right forearm:

It was only after I said hello to him that I realized he was someone named Alex who lives in my neighborhood in Brooklyn.

In fact, Alex had a tattoo featured here back in 2009, after I stopped  him in the laundromat.

This floral tattoo is a representation of how a flower overcomes obstacles and pain to lay down roots, rises up, and blooms.

He draws the comparison to life, as nothing comes without hard work and bypassing obstacles.

The tattoo was created by Shon Lindauer at Thicker Than Water in Manhattan. Shon is the same artist that did the tiger on my calf. Other work from Thicker Than Water has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Alex for once again sharing his work with us here on Tattoosday!

Glenn Beck To Save America- From What?

Very briefly.....

Tomorrow, Saturday August 28, Glenn Beck will lead his "Rally to Restore America", an allegedly non-partisan affair on the National Mall in Washington, DC on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. The rally is being held on the same location where Dr. King delivered that famous address.

To date Beck has been very cloudy as to just what he is restoring America from, but here's a clue. Take a look at the video below.






The first African American President of the United States will be vacationing and not in Washington when the rally takes place. But the symbolism of Glenn Beck's selection of the date and location of the rally is pretty clear. When one looks at the video above, and Beck calls Barack Obama a racist, a reasonable person can see where Beck is coming from, and what his intent is.

I just wonder what music will be played when Beck takes the podium.

I've got 5 to 1 that it's "Jesus Christ, Superstar".