Wake County schools

Watch the video in its entirety. Listen to Margiotta's arrogance toward the end of the video.

Even if you're not a citizen of Wake County, you have to be proud of the results delivered yesterday after a full-court press in their local elections. Sanity prevailed in mayoral and city council races, as well as in the Wake County School Board elections. Progressives carried the day on almost every front.

There will be much written about whether these results signal trends that will influence the 2012 elections. So far, the main thing I've learned is that Art Pope Republicans can win elections, but they can't govern. Their instinct to divide and conquer spills into their policy agenda, pitting people against one another in ways that most fair-minded citizens won't tolerate. That's what happened on the Wake County School Board with the dramatic ouster of Ron Margiotta. With any luck and a lot of hard work, that will happen with Thom Tillis, too.
I sure do miss Joe Hackney.

Just found a new video from Brave New Foundation on Wake County schools, Koch Brothers and Americans for Prosperity-and the fight of 2009. Look here.
It is entitled, "Why do the Koch Brothers want to end public education". Send the link to all your friends and family.

As usual, it is well done.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mbJhjCbwo8

Poor Puppymaster.

In the spirit of "what's good for the good is good for the gander," I applaud the take-no-prisoners strategy being advocated by Mark Dorosin at the the UNC School of Law.

"The only way someone can be held accountable for breaking the law is to be declared to have broken the law," said Mark Dorosin, a senior attorney for the UNC School of Law's Center for Civil Rights, who will argue the case Thursday for the group who filed the lawsuit. "Having the court recognize that will be important to citizens under the open meetings law."

We won't play your games.

With Mr. Pope's frazzled strings showing every step of the way, the Wake County School Board this week again demonstrated the gross incompetence of extremist Republicans when it comes to doing the public's business. Isn't this just what Wake County needs: a national spotlight showing the toxic aftershocks of Mr. Pope's corporate takeover. I'm sure "no accreditation" for public high schools will be a big draw for all those corporate headquarters Raleigh is trying to attract.

From Indy Week:

Tata said he'll chart his own course and be “my own man,” not a puppet of the Republican school board majority. With Board Chair Ron Margiotta listening intently, Tata added: “Anybody who thinks I’m in their pocket has another think coming.”

This is not the kind of thing I'd expect to hear from the guy I just hired, which means that the whole "puppet" posturing is nothing but an orchestrated public relations charade. Yet there may a kernel of truth in the general's comments. He can't be a puppet of the Republican school board majority, because those Republicans themselves are already puppets of Art Pope. Is it possible to be a puppet-once-removed?

In the wake (pun intended) of Art Pope choosing an inexperienced general to lead the largest school system in North Carolina, I did some reading to see exactly what the fuss is all about. Simply put, the guy's a doozie. For starters, he doesn't seem to have the brains god gave an animal cracker, as evidenced in this cliche-ridden tribute to Sarah "I quit" Palin:

She has a gritty determination borne in the salmon hauls and caribou hunts that make her pioneer tough.

Nor is he in touch with what most people would consider reality. At least four of the six adjectives he uses in this sentence are demonstrably not true:

Sarah Palin is precisely what the American people are seeking: an honest, intelligent, passionate, practical conservative who is nonpartisan and a tough decision maker.

There's a lot to read about the one-star wonder out there on the intertubes, most of which can probably be traced back to his brainwashing at West Point.

And there's this sweet little picture of his final status in his ultimate ego trip. Too bad Wake County didn't come to the same conclusion:

One-star lunatic.

Tata, 51, spent 28 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general. He also written action thrillers, contributed to political blogs and appeared as a commentator on network news talk shows.

Oh golly. Doesn't that sound ever-so spiffy?

According to a post on Facebook, Tata wrote a glowing review of Sarah Palin's book on the a website operated by conservative activist Andrew Breitbart. He said that Palin "is far more qualified to be president of the United States than the current occupant of the White House" and that the former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate is "precisely the kind of leader America needs."

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It's a light week this week, since everyone is focusing on WikiLeaks (*gasp* the CIA spies on people?!?) This week: Raleigh's greenways; cable rates rising; a football player blames God; and bailing out Ireland and Portugal.