End of the Line

We're all heading there - even the Koch Brothers...and Bloomberg...



What is it Michael Corleone says about Hyman Roth in the Godfather II?

He thinks he's going to live forever...

Kinda like these corporatists who take and take and steal and steal and screw and screw and exploit and exploit as if they can take all their money and toys and technology and owned human beings with them when they go.

But they can't.

They're heading for the end of the line just like the rest of us.

Nothing but ash and dust.

Hazel Dickens

Dead at 75. Rest in peace:

An Even Worse NCLB Blueprint Than Obama's

Yikes - the Fordham blueprint for NCLB reauthorization is even scarier than Obama's:

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an influential think tank with a couple former top federal education officials on its staff, has issued its preferred blueprint for reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind Act.

Some of the ideas they put forward have been kicking around Capitol Hill for awhile now—like the idea of setting tighter expectations for student learning but giving more flexibility for how states and school districts get there, and establishing more competitive federal funding for school improvement and innovation, rather than across-the-board mandates and formula funds.

Fordham's authors are obviously familiar with Beltway culture. They note that they've structured their document like the briefing books that Capitol Hill and U.S. Department of Education staffers deliver to their bosses.

The report calls for "a radical rethinking of the federal role in education," one that is "much more limited and focused than it is currently, and it should be tailored to Uncle Sam's capacity and expertise."

The recommendations cover a lot of ground. I'll touch on a couple of them, and I'll let you peruse the rest on your own.

Fordham, which has a favorable view of the "Common Core" state academic standards, says states should be required to develop standards at least as rigorous as those guidelines in order to secure federal Title 1 dollars. A external body (possibly a panel with members selected by both states and federal officials) would be review states' standards, to judge whether they're up to snuff.

States should also be required to set tough achievement levels—at least as tough as those set by the Common Core—and tests based on their academic standards, Fordham argues. States that choose not follow the Common Core would have to show a panel that their achievement levels are pegged to "college and career readiness."

Fordham also calls for doing away with No Child Left Behind's mandate that teachers become "highly qualified," saying it's done little to improve the system. They also don't like the idea of the feds imposing mandate on states to develop teacher-evaluation systems. Instead, the envision a competitive program that incentivizes states to develop their own, innovative approaches to evaluating teachers and encouraging them to improve.

One reviewer with a dim view of Fordham's vision is education researcher and blogger Jay Greene, who sees some of their suggestions as too fed-heavy, particularly on standards and tests, and others as too vague, such as judging states and students on "college and career readiness."

"Fordham folks have no idea what that phrase means," Greene writes, "No one knows what college and career ready means."

Greene punctuates his blog post with a photo of noted scholar John Blutarsky—which seems to sum up his skepticism on many levels.

More testing, more federal standards, Title 1 dollars tied to "reform," fast food industry regulations for teachers - gee, sounds great...

...If you're a corporate whore or a member of the Chamber of Commerce...

Obama Convicts Bradley Manning Before Trial

Gee, this doesn't seem like change we can believe:

President Barack Obama’s assertion at a California fundraiser Thursday that Bradley Manning “broke the law” may have run afoul of presidential protocol, according to legal analysts who have been tracking the case of the Army private charged in the WikiLeaks case.

“I have to abide by certain classified information,” Obama is shown saying in a video that quickly began to circulate among media outlets Friday. “If I was to release stuff, information that I’m not authorized to release, I’m breaking the law…We’re a nation of laws. We don’t individually make our own decisions about how the laws operate… He broke the law.”

Obama’s remarks about Manning were made after a group of protesters interrupted him at another fundraiser earlier in the day to sing a song asking for Manning’s release.

Until now, the biggest point of controversy surrounding Manning had been about the conditions under which he was being detained at a marine base in Quantico, Va. Former State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley offered his resignation after criticizing the Defense Department’s treatment of Manning, and Obama’s only comments about the accused whistle-blower had been about that issue.

“I have actually asked the Pentagon whether or not the procedures that have been taken in terms of his confinement are appropriate and are meeting our basic standards. They assure me that they are,” Obama told reporters at a news conference in March. “I can’t go into details about some of their concerns, but some of this has to do with Private Manning’s safety as well.”

But the president’s comment to a group of donors that Manning “broke the law” drew immediate fire from some tracking Manning’s case.

“The comment was not appropriate because it assumes that Manning is guilty,” Steven Aftergood, a classified information expert at the Federation of American Scientists, told POLITICO. “The president got carried away and misspoke. No one should mistake a charge for a conviction – especially the nation’s highest official.”

Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice and military law expert, even predicted that before the end of Friday, the White House will have issued a corrective statement.

“Commenting on Manning’s conditions of confinement is one thing — I would have strongly advised him to not comment about Manning’s guilt,” Fidell told POLITICO.

However, Aftergood and Fidell agreed that Obama remarks – while unfortunate — will probably not affect whether Manning will receive a fair trial. “It’s not that hard to ensure that unlawful command influence hasn’t in fact prejudiced the right to a fair trial,” Fidell explained. “If the case goes to a court marshal, the military court will have to make sure that none of the members of the military jury have been influenced by the president’s stated belief that Manning broke the law.”

And what about Obama’s assertion that “I have to abide by certain rules of classified information”? There seems to be an error in this assumption too, as the president has the power to define and authorize what information is considered “classified.”

“It’s a misstatement: It presumes that the classification rules are a matter of law, when in fact they are a matter of they are based in executive order,” Aftergood said. “There are rules and procedures governing the de-classification process, but those rules also are based in presidential authority. The president has supreme authority over what is classified.”

In other words, Obama can “declassify” anything he wants, Fidell said. “That one got away from him a little. In a way, it’s a hypothetical that could never happen.”

Perhaps the president, who himself is a legal scholar, was thrown off by the earlier incident. <

“He seems to have had a bad day, because he said a number of things that really were not coherent,” Aftergood said.

The White House said it would not comment on the president’s remarks.

This is the kind of evil shit that Bush and Cheney regularly engaged in with relish.

Now Obama does the same.

Not enough bad stuff can happen to this evil little man.

Bloomberg Wants To Fingerprint Every U.S. Citizen

The Mayor of Money pushes more Big Brother policies today:

Mayor Bloomberg says he's in favor of putting people's fingerprints on Social Security cards.

Critics say such a system would raise cost and privacy concerns, but the mayor says this would make it easier for employers to judge whether someone has legal permission to work in the United States.

Bloomberg says it would reduce the supply of work to illegal immigrants, leading fewer to enter the country.

"If your social security card had your fingerprint on it for example, the companies could just run it through a computer, and if you're undocumented, illegal, they just don't give you a job," Bloomberg said. "And you're not going to come here if you can't get a job."

If Bloomberg gets his way, there will be dozens of cameras on every street in the city to catch you smoking in the wrong place or eating transfats or whatever and all they'll have to say is "Let me see your papers, please."

And they'll run your prints right there on the computer and have you right into the system on the spot.

What a fabulous new way for the oligarchs to control people.

I don;t know why New Yorkers don't have as much disgust and disdain for Bloomberg as they did for Saint Rudy of 9/11.

To be frank, he's as bad.

Teacher Data Reports

I know nearly everybody around the education blogosphere has seen this letter to Mulgrew about the Teacher Data Reports from a veteran teacher.

It is important that we get this letter to people outside the education world who may not know what a travesty the Teacher Data Reports are or what nonsense the value-added measurement stuff is.

If you're not in the know, then you may think this stuff sounds like a common sense way to hold teachers accountable for their students' performances.

But given the flawed nature of both the data and the measurement mechanisms, given the reductionist nature of what the TDR's measure, and given the damage this is doing to public education, it is REALLY important that people outside of the education sphere learn about the dangers of the TDR's.

So send this letter to people you know who aren't teachers.

Send it as wide as you can.

And write the newspapers about the travesty that is the Teacher Data Report and ask just why they think this is such a great way to improve public education.

Do the same to the White House.

These are the people promoting this garbage.

I tend to think they know EXACTLY what kind of damage they are doing to teaching and public schools.

But I think it's important we make them defend it.

High Ranking City Officials Involved In NYPD Scandal

Is this NYPD ticket-fixing scandal Mayor Bloomberg's Parking Meter Bureau Waterloo?

It sounds like the NYPD ticket scandal, far from being a "union-issue," is reaching ever higher into the corridors of power -and maybe as far as City Hall:

NEW YORK -- Several high-ranking members of city government and a New York Yankees official are among those who had their traffic tickets fixed by police officers, a person familiar with a probe into the practice at the New York Police Department told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The person, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, did not name the officials or say how many were involved. The person also confirmed an online news report that Yankees senior director of operations Douglas Behar had a traffic ticket fixed.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is the subject of a secret grand jury investigation. The Yankees didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The details shed light on the prevalence of the practice - undoing paperwork on traffic citations before they reach court as favors to officers' friends or relatives. The practice has been going on for years but came under fire recently after the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau stumbled across evidence of widespread fixing in Bronx precincts while investigating an officer suspected of wrongdoing in a drug case in 2009, law enforcement officials said. On a wiretap, authorities overheard talk of ticket fixing and decided to begin secretly recording other officers.

No criminal charges have been filed. But up to 40 officers are being eyed for possible official misconduct and criminal charges in the Bronx, and scores more could be disciplined administratively, law enforcement officials have said. The criminal cases could be brought as early as July, and the charges are expected to be misdemeanors, they said. Investigators also are probing whether any of the officers accepted money or gifts.

There are generally three ways the citations are fixed: They are voided by a ranking official, a copy is ripped up before it reaches court or the officer doesn't appear on the day of the summons.

...

A former commanding officer of the NYPD's movie and television unit in the 1990s, Milton Maldonado, said movie crews filming in the city would get dozens of summonses that would be taken to the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting to be voided.

"The movie industry understood that if anything happened during the time they were shooting, if they didn't show their permit or whatever and they were issued a summons, they'd flock to the mayor's office to get it fixed," said Maldonado, who retired in 1995.

Maldonado left years before Mayor Michael Bloomberg's tenure.

City Hall did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the practice existed.

The head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, Ed Mullins, has said the intensity and scope of an investigation that's relied heavily on wiretaps are overkill.

"I have been on the job for nearly three decades, and it was never deemed unusual to get calls from high-ranking department members when a summons was given to their family members," he said in a letter to members. "These phone calls were as much a part of the culture of the department as arresting criminals."

I am going to guess that the high ranking city officials and pols are current and former City Council members, and probably some members of the Bloomberg administration as well.

Any potential mayoral candidates on that list?

I would have to think that if de Blasio, Quinn, Liu, Weiner or any other potential 2013 mayoral candidate is tied to this scandal, that could be the end of their campaign.

But note too how the always free with words Bloomberg administration p.r. people refused to comment on whether the fixing of tickets for movie people continued under the Bloomberg administration.

Clearly the Bloomberg administration is up to their necks in this, which is why the Mayor of Money himself has taken pains to say that with the new electronic system in place for tickets, the ticket-fixing practice is effectively ended.

Ah, but how long has it been going on, who was involved in it and why didn't Bloomberg konw about it or do anything about it if he did know about it?

War Criminal Obama Insists Bradley Manning Is Guilty

President Accountability got his own accountability moment when progressive activists confronted him at a fundraiser in San Francisco yesterday over his administration's treatment of Bradley Manning.

Obama called Manning a criminal and said everything he's getting, he deserves.

Even though Manning has not been convicted of any crime.

Change we can believe in?

Uh, no.

Just more Bush/Cheney/Obama war crimes.

You know, when the Republicans finally impeach this son of a bitch (and make no mistake, they will try if they get more seats in the House), I for one hope he is thrown into his own Gitmo cell and treated just the way Bradley Manning, not convicted of any crime, has been treated.

Maybe if one of his kids ended up in a similar situation and got similar treatment, then Obama would understand.

Maybe.

But probably not.

War criminals tend to be light on the empathy gene.

Bad enough when Bush/Cheney did this shit - but they at least were OPEN about it.

Obama, in addition to engaging in torture, abuse and war crimes, is a hypocrite about it.

NYPD Ticket Scandal NOT A Union Issue

From the NY Post, no less:

Internal Affairs cops got a big break in their exploding ticket-fixing probe when they caught a Bronx sergeant shamelessly trying to make a traffic violation disappear for an honorary NYPD deputy commissioner, The Post has learned.

The incident shed light on the widespread practice of cops quashing tickets for big shots, sometimes at the orders of their superiors.

Early last year, police-connected businessman Albert Thompson -- who shares his deputy-commish title with celebs like Donald Trump and rubs shoulders with top brass, including Commissioner Ray Kelly -- called his buddy, Sgt. Keshawn Hickman, saying he needed to get rid of a moving violation.

Hickman found out the ticket was already being heard in Bronx traffic court, and allegedly dispatched two rookies to take care of the problem.

"He told them to go down to traffic court and see officer so-and-so and have him take care of the ticket and say it's for the chief so-and-so," a source said.

That officer would then make up an excuse to the judge why the ticket should be voided, and the problem would be solved.

But the plan quickly unraveled when the cops sent to the courtroom started wandering around like lost puppies and drew the attention of a sergeant who was not in on the scheme.

"A sergeant comes up and says, 'Can I help you?' and they say they're there to take care of this ticket, and the sergeant says, 'What?' and he reports them to IAB," the source said.

When the unidentified chief learned of the plot, he said he'd never heard of Thompson -- and Hickman was yanked from his cushy post at Bronx Borough headquarters near Crotona Park to the 41st Precinct near crime-ridden Hunts Point.

It's unclear what happened to the rookies, who spilled details of the plan to the IAB investigators.

Police conversations about this ticket-fix incident were later caught on wiretaps set up as part of the larger probe that began in 2008.

A source said the example proves that the fixing epidemic "is not a union issue, it is a job issue coming from all ranks, even much higher than sergeant."

As many as 400 cops -- most of them assigned to 12 Bronx precincts -- could face departmental charges for allegedly fixing tickets. If found guilty, they could be fired, lose benefits or be reprimanded.

And Bronx DA Robert Johnson has convened a grand jury that is weighing criminal charges against another 40 officers accused of taking bribes for fixing tickets for relatives and friends.

At least one Yankee executive saw his ticket go away, The Post has learned.

"I have been on the job for nearly three decades, and it was never deemed unusual to get calls from high-ranking department members when a summons was given to their family member or friends," said Edward Mullins, head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association.

Thompson, who falsely claims he is the brother of former Comptroller Bill Thompson, played dumb when confronted outside his Harlem brownstone last night.

"Look, people drop my name all the time. I don't know what you're talking about," said the businessman, who was head of the honorary deputy police commissioners foundation.

"Al's always there during the good times and bad, at funerals, fundraisers and celebrations," the source said. "He's on a first-name basis with all police brass."

Honorary deputy police commissioners are civilians who've given money or benefits to the department or its charities. The plum honor includes a badge and ID card.

Bloomberg is going to try and hang this scandal on the union and union reps.

But it certainly looks like it goes up the chain of command much further than that.

New York Number One in Income Inequity

All right - WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!!:

Within its borders and around the world, New York is known for its contrasts -- urban grid and Adirondack expanse, hard-charging finance and farm life, the very rich and the crushingly poor.

That last divide can be seen once again in U.S. Census data that concludes the Empire State has the highest level of income inequality in the nation. The census employs a statistical tool known as the Gini coefficient, which measures inequality of distribution -- in this case, income.

Taken from 2009 surveys, the findings were recently compiled by the financial website 24/7 Wall Street.

Used by economists and statisticians to measure income inequality, the Gini coefficient is scaled to run from 0 to 1, with 1 being the highest level of inequality.

It starts by taking the pool of money in a given state or nation and creating an imaginary model in which everyone has an equal share, set at 0. That share-and-share-alike model is then plotted against the real distribution of income. (In Census surveys, household income above $200,000 is the highest bracket offered to respondents.)

New York rates a 0.502 on that scale, followed by Connecticut at 0.480 and Texas at 0.474.

This latest sign of the sharp gaps between rich and poor in the state was no surprise to those involved in public policy. "There are lots of people with very high incomes, and lots of people with very low incomes," said Algernon Austin, a sociologist at the Economic Policy Institute, which has done similar studies looking at individual metropolitan areas.

...

Here are the top two states ranked by the inequality of income:

1. New York

Median income: $50,216 (22nd highest)

Households earning $200,000 or more: 6.15 percent (5th highest)

Population living below poverty line: 14.20 percent (25th highest)

2. Connecticut

Median income: $63,851 (highest in the U.S.)

Households earning $200,000 or more: 7.87 percent (highest)

Population living below poverty line: 9.40 percent (4th lowest)

Listen, consumerist culture is near collapse. Income disparity is growing, it is the largest it has been since the Gilded Age, the middle class is disappearing, the working class is growing larger and larger, job security has all but disappeared and long-term unemployment is a reality of life for a lot of people.

The oligarchs of our society - including Sarah Palin's favorite socialist, Barack Obama - blame the income inequity, the disappearance of the middle class, and the long-term unemployment problem on public education and teachers.

But that is NOT who and what has caused the problem.

The problem, plain and simple, has been caused by globalization and a capitalist society that privileges the predatory bankers, brokers and hedge fund traders over everybody else.

Until people go and TAKE BACK BY FORCE what the hedge fund criminals are STEALING every day, until people go and FORCE the corporate politicians from Scott Walker to Mitch Daniels to Rick Scott to Little Andy Cuomo to Barack Obama to stop shilling for the top 1%, until people force General Electric to STOP forcing employees to take pay and benefit cuts while it rakes in more money than ever, THIS WILL NOT STOP.

The oligarchs, the bankers, the hedge fund criminals and the politicians they own will NOT stop grabbing more and more until they are AFRAID that if they continue, they will be destroyed.

Power and money does not cede power and money willingly.

It must be forced to do so.

We can start this process by boycotting the industries that promote some of the worst policies.

Start with Brawny, Northern Tissue and other products made by the Koch Brothers.

Move on to General Electric and all the products and services they provide.

Buy less, consume less, spend less, debt less.

As Arlo once said about something else, if one person does this, they'll think you're sick, and if two people do it, they'll think you're a couple, but if a whole bunch of people do it, they'll think it's a movement.

And it can be.

The Anti-Consumerist/Anti-Oligarchy Movement.

In four part harmony, of course.

It's time to take back by force the power that the oligarchs have seized over the last thirty years (and especially the last ten.)

Their oligarchy CANNOT exist if nobody buys the shit they make.

Obama Blows Up Head Start With Drone Missiles

Literally.

Well, at least he gets to feel good about his "manhood".

Just another sad example of the "Bigger Dick Foreign Policy" as described by George Carlin in action.



I would have thought that the "Bigger Dick Foreign Policy" would have gone out with Bush and Cheney.

But I was wrong.

NY Times Poll: Americans Say Raise Taxes On People Making Over $250,000 A Year

Somebody tell Little Andy "No Taxes For Millionaires!" Cuomo - Americans want to tax rich people:

Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

At a time of rising gas prices, stubborn unemployment and a cacophonous debate in Washington over the federal government’s ability to meet its future obligations, the poll presents stark evidence that the slow, if unsteady, gains in public confidence earlier this year that a recovery was under way are now all but gone.

Capturing what appears to be an abrupt change in attitude, the survey shows that the number of Americans who think the economy is getting worse has jumped 13 percentage points in just one month. Though there have been encouraging signs of renewed growth since last fall, many economists are having second thoughts, warning that the pace of expansion might not be fast enough to create significant numbers of new jobs.

The dour public mood is dragging down ratings for both parties in Congress and for President Obama, the poll found.

...

Mr. Obama has considerable support for his proposal to end tax cuts for those earning $250,000 a year and more: 72 percent of respondents approved of doing so as away to address the deficit; 24 percent disapproved.

And, in what he can take as a positive sign for his argument the nation has a duty to protect its most vulnerable citizens, about three-quarters of Americans think the federal government has a responsibility to provide health care for the elderly and 56 percent believe it has a similar duty to the poor.

“Keep people’s taxes and give them medical benefits,” Richard Sterling, an independent voter of Naugatuck, Conn., said in a follow-up interview.

People don't want taxes increased on THEM.

But given how few people actually make over $250,000 a year, you can raise taxes on THOSE PEOPLE, reduce budget deficits, keep services AND run a country that isn't THIRD FUCKING WORLD.

And wouldn't that just be peachy?

But instead, "Democrats" like Little Andy Cuomo (or Christie-Lite, as Spitzer dubbed him yesterday) want to reduce taxes on millionaires, throw old people out onto the street with food or health care and slash school budgets to the bone so the only thing left being funded is the FUCKING STANDARDIZED TESTS.

This sounds like a fabulous plan to complete the feudalization of America.

It is NOT, however, a plan to "share the sacrifice," as Little Andy and other corporate pols claim.

Study: Illegal Immigrants Paid $11.2 Billion In Taxes, General Electric Paid $0

But illegal immigrants are the freeloaders, right?

I bet most of you didn't know undocumented immigrants contributed more - much more - to the national treasury last year than General Electric. Surprised? Yet it's true.

While GE - which earned a whopping $14 billion last year - is reported to have paid nothing, nada, zero in taxes (GE denies it), the undocumented paid billions in state and local taxes in 2010.

No, it's not me talking; it's the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (itepnet.org), a prestigious, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that works on federal, state and local tax policy issues.

Obviously the old saying, "Nothing is certain but death and taxes," is not to be believed anymore. Or rather, only half of it can be believed.

Because death, of course, remains as dreaded and inevitable as ever, but with taxes the story is different.

"The rich are different from you and me," the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald quote, is a much more accurate description of what's going on in the country.

To no one's surprise, taxes are still as certain for working people - and whatever is left of the middle class - as they ever were. But for, well, GE and other corporate giants, the only certainty is that many found ways to contribute as little to the country's coffers as possible.

At the same time, Republicans in Washington are involved in a mighty struggle to protect the tax breaks of the country's richest 2%, while happily proposing to cut the most basic social services to Americans who really need them.

Closer to home, Gov. Cuomo has announced the so-called millionaires tax will not be renewed once it expires in December, although since it was established in 2009 it has brought in as much as $5 billion annually.

There is no doubt, when it comes to taxes the rich are really different.

Ironically the vilified undocumented population, among the poorest and most vulnerable in the country, does its part when it comes to taxes.

They pay sales taxes and property taxes - even if they rent, ITEP said. At least half of them pay income taxes. And, I believe, if they were ever legalized, close to 100% would do the same. "Add this all up," ITEP said, "and it amounts to billions in revenue to state and local governments."

ITEP estimates that households that are headed by undocumented immigrants (which may include members who are U.S. citizens or legal immigrants) paid $11.2 billion in state and local taxes last year. That included $1.2 billion in personal income taxes, $1.6 billion in property taxes and $8.4 billion in sales taxes.

New York is fourth in the country in tax revenue - $662.4 million - from households headed by undocumented immigrants, after California, Texas and Florida.

"These figures should be kept in mind as politicians and commentators continue with the seemingly endless debate over what to do with unauthorized immigrants already living in the United States," ITEP wisely advises.

"[These] immigrants - and their family members - are adding value to the U.S. economy; not only as taxpayers, but as workers, consumers and entrepreneurs as well."

General Electric of course has added value to the economy as well.

Think about all the money people will make trying to clean up the nuclear holocaust the GE-designed power plants in Japan have wrought.

General Electric Rolls In Dough, Pays No Taxes Even As It Forces Unionized Employees To Take Cuts

How is President Obama's favorite multinational corporation, General Electric, doing these days?

Pretty damned well:

General Electric, the conglomerate that is regarded as an economic bellwether, started the year with first-quarter results on Thursday that easily topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Net income was $3.4 billion in the first three months of 2011, or 31 cents a share, compared with $1.9 billion and 17 cents in the quarter a year ago.

Excluding one-time items, earnings were 33 cents a share, topping the average estimate of 28 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Earnings from continuing operations were $3.5 billion compared with $2.4 billion in the quarter a year ago.

With the results, G.E. joins other companies in the manufacturing sector that have topped forecasts this quarter, including United Technologies, Eaton and Honeywell.

The chief executive of G.E., Jeffrey R. Immelt, said in a statement that the company had emerged from the recession a stronger company.

“GE Healthcare, Transportation and Aviation delivered strong results,” Mr. Immelt said. “Strategic investments in high-growth segments have strengthened the company’s energy portfolio and position that business to return to growth in the second half of this year. We ended the quarter with a record high backlog of $177 billion.”

“GE Capital also had a strong first quarter, earning $1.8 billion after tax,” he said.

Over all, revenue rose 6 percent, to $38.45 billion in the first quarter, exceeding analysts forecasts of $34.64 billion. Revenue in the same quarter a year ago was $36.2 billion.

Are all General Electric employees sharing in the wealth?

Uh, no:

Last week, the New York Times reported that, despite making $14.2 billion in profits, General Electric, the largest corporation in the United States, paid zero U.S. taxes in 2010 and actually received tax credits of $3.2 billion dollars. The article noted that GE’s tax avoidance team is comprised of “former officials not just from the Treasury, but also from the I.R.S. and virtually all the tax-writing committees in Congress.”

After not paying any taxes and making huge profits, ThinkProgress has learned that General Electric is expected to ask its nearly 15,000 unionized employees in the United States to make major concessions.

This year, 14 unions representing more than 15,000 workers will negotiate a new master contract with General Electric. Among the major concessions GE has signaled that it will ask of union workers is the elimination of a defined contribution benefit pension for new employees, a move the company has already implemented for its non-union salaried employees. Likewise, GE is signaling to the union that it will ask for the elimination of current health insurance plans in favor of lower quality health saving accounts, a move the company has already implemented for non-union salaried employees as well.

In addition, General Electric may ask some workers for a wage freeze. Since the recession began in 2007, GE threatened to close plants in Schenectady, NY and Louisville, KY unless workers took wage concessions and adopted two-tier wage structure. In an interview with ThinkProgress, Mark Haller, a machinist at General Electric locomotive factory in Erie, PA, said:

The company I work for paid no federal taxes last year, but we all get these mass emails from GE asking us to call our Congressman to fund the useless, alternative GE engine for the F-35. As taxpayers, we are subsidizing the profits of this company to a huge extent and now after making the company even more profitable, they are asking us to make concessions on pensions, benefits, and perhaps even wages. You wonder why there is a jobs crisis in this country with a guy like G.E. CEO Jeff Immelt heading the President’s Jobs Commission.

In 2003, union workers at 16 different General Electric factories engaged in a strike when G.E. proposed to cut their health care. Workers are mobilizing again this year. They have planned a rally that is expected to attract 10,000 workers from all over the country at the General Electric Locomotive Factory in Erie, PA on June 4th.

So General Electric is now, in the words of its own CEO (and Obama's jobs czar), a "stronger company" post-recession than before the economic collapse, pays no taxes and actually received a $3.4 billion tax credit from the government, and is forcing its employees to take wage freezes, benefit cuts and other concessions or they will move these jobs out of the United States.

A very able emblem of EXACTLY what is WRONG with capitalism in general these days and the American economy specifically these days

Polluting Bloomberg Introduces Environmental Programs

The jet-setting Michael Bloomberg took the transfats out of his mouth long enough to make the following announcement:

Just in time for Earth Day, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is announcing on Thursday plans to improve the city's air quality.

Aides say the mayor will announce later today that the city is going to launch a loan program to support energy-saving projects.

The mayor is also expected to talk about building solar power plants on top of city landfills.

The Daily News is also reporting the city will force buildings to stop using the dirtiest types of fuel oil, in an effort to reduce soot and pollution.

It is all part of PlaNYC, the city's renewal plan that Bloomberg launched in 2007.

Hey, Mike, you want to clean up the air in NYC and around the world just a little bit?

Stop flying to Bermuda every weekend in your private jet.

52 New Standardized Tests A Year

The future looks very scary indeed:

To see where public education is being driven, let’s look at a school district in North Carolina where students in every grade were used as guinea pigs this spring to help field-test a total of 52 -- yes, 52 -- new standardized tests this spring, kindergarteners included.

This is happening in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Schools, which spent nearly $2 million to test the tests so that a new teacher evaluation system can be implemented that grades teachers on how well their students do on standardized tests, the Charlotte Observer reported.

As a result, next year there will be more standardized testing experiments in subjects, such as art and music, currently without a standardized test to call their own.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg officials conceded on the district website that the testing and pay-for-performance program “have generated intense interest and in some cases, anxiety or fear.” but then tried to explain why opponents are misinformed and incorrect. They aren’t.

Many educators and parents are petrified because they know that high-stakes standardized tests don’t measure real learning and result all too frequently in narrowed curriculum, cheating and a climate of fear. And linking student test scores to teachers’ grades is plain unfair, given that teachers don’t control most of the factors that go into how a student is prepared to take a test on any given day.

This is just one of the districts in states across the country -- with the support of the Obama administration-- that are implementing new evaluation systems that link teachers’ pay to test scores.

Some grade teachers on their own students’ scores, while others grade them on the school’s scores. Either way, teachers unfairly lose. Assessment experts say that these tests weren’t designed to be used in this fashion, and that the results are invalid and unreliable.

That hasn’t stopped Charlotte-Mecklenburg Superintendent Peter Gorman, according to the Observer, from “proudly” declaring that his district will lead the nation when the tests are officially inaugurated. That will be quite the accomplishment.

The tests were created by an organization called Measurement Inc., at a cost of about $1.9 million, the Charlotte Observer reported. The total number of exams given across all grade levels was 52. Each of the tests taken by students in kindergarten, and first and second grades, had about 30 “tasks”; the tests for students in grades three through 12 had about 60 multiple-choice questions, according to the district’s website.

And as I have noted over and over, THIS has been wrought by Obama.

THIS is his policy, promoted through Race to the Top and eventually No Child Left Behind Jr. or whatever he is calling the reauthorization these days.

He can say teaching to the test is damaging to education all he wants when people ask him questions at events.

He is FULL OF SHIT when he answers that he doesn't believe education should be reduced to tests and tests scores.

He clearly does or he wouldn't promote an education system that does EXACTLY that.

Change we can believe in indeed.

Fifth Wisconsin Republican Faces Recall

It is starting to look like there WILL be a price paid by the politicians who voted for the union-busting bill in Wisconsin:

Dems will file a massive amount of signatures tomorrow to trigger a recall election against a fifth Wisconsin GOP state senator, I’m told.

Graeme Zielinski, the spokesman for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, confirms to me that Democrats will submit approximately 30,000 signatures for the recall of Alberta Darling — nearly 150 percent of the 20,343 required.

This is the fifth time Dems have collected far more signatures than necessary for a recall — all but ensuring that all five recall elections will actually happen.

This comes as there are signs that Republicans may be able to trigger two recall elections against Dems, though in one case Republicans have apparently only collected a couple of thousand more signatures than required, which isn’t much of a cushion. Republicans have less than a week until their deadline, and they still haven’t filed anything, though that appears ready to change tomorrow.

Darling is in a district that gave Scott Walker 54% of the vote, but also gave Obama 51% in 2008, so while she is less vulnerable than the other Republicans facing recall, there might be a chance to oust her.

Given that Republicans plan to recall two Dems, I think it is important that EVERY Republican who voted for the Walker bill who CAN be recalled BE recalled.

Yes, ultimately this kind of politics of destruction is probably harmful to the union as a whole, but given that Republicans (and their corporate brothers in the Democratic Party Like Little Andy Cuomo, Michael Bennet, et al.) will continue to push this union-busting class warfare until they are MADE TO PAY A POLITICAL PRICE, I think it is important that we have this fight.

Neo-Feudal America

This is the future for many of us if the corporate Republicans and corporate Democrats get their way:

They want jobs. They need to work. From Laguna Boulevard in Elk Grove to Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights, job seekers lined up before dawn Tuesday and crowded McDonald's restaurants across the region late into the afternoon on the restaurant chain's national hiring day.

The fast-food chain hoped to hire 50,000 employees for its more than 14,000 U.S. locations, including about 600 employees at its 165 sites in the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto area Tuesday.

That averages to less than three jobs per outlet nationally, although some local sites said they were planning to hire as many as 15.

...

McDonald's didn't have a complete count on how many applicants showed up Tuesday, but so many arrived on some local McDonald's doorsteps that restaurant owners were nearly overwhelmed.

"At one point, we had 120 people outside the door, but we were able to get all 120 interviewed," said Courtney Ristuben at her Citrus Heights location on Sunrise Boulevard and Old Auburn Road.

Halfway through her four-hour afternoon hiring session, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Ristuben and her team had seen 300 job seekers. She anticipated another 300 by dinner time.

"We've seen 15- and 16-year-olds looking for their first job to people 50, 55 and over, first-time high schoolers to 20 years' experience looking for anything we have to offer," Ristuben said.

It's a sobering sign of the times in Sacramento and across the country.

McDonald's and other fast-food chains, once a first job for teenagers, appear to be turning into an employer of more adults: The average age of a fast-food worker is 29.5, up from 22 in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For many older job seekers, a job with health benefits is as important as the paycheck. Medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, 401(k) retirement and educational assistance are offered at some McDonald's locations.

John Ritchey Jr., part owner of a McDonald's at Arden Way and Howe Avenue, had made his way through 35 interviewees Tuesday afternoon and 80 more were waiting for face time.

"We're committed to getting everybody down the list," he said.

Steve Ramirez, owner of a McDonald's at 8282 Laguna Blvd. in Elk Grove, anticipated as many as 300 applicants to fill five openings.

About 50 would-be employees, some of whom had been there for hours, were waiting by 11 a.m., and Ramirez started conducting interviews at that point, two hours earlier than their scheduled 1 p.m. start.

"It's going to be tough when it comes to making a decision," Ramirez said. "There are so many talented folks who are willing to work. I wish I had more jobs."

The scenes were repeated across the nation and throughout California, where unemployment remains stubbornly stuck at 12 percent.

The fast-food jobs looked particularly inviting in a Sacramento region where unemployment is 12.7 percent, and there's no sign that things will improve anytime soon.

That was punctuated by a report released Tuesday by the Business Forecasting Center at University of the Pacific. The report predicted more grim economic news for the region, noting that the "housing-dependent Sacramento economy remains the only area in Northern California still mired in recession."

Grim. Mired. Recession. The words have become synonymous with the economically battered region, and they resonated Tuesday.

"In a year where employment opportunities are limited, it's affected all ages and walks of life," said Jake Mossawir, a Sacramento-area McDonald's spokesman.

"The numbers of people looking for jobs is overwhelming, it runs the gamut," he said. "There's a wide range of stories of how they got here."

Nancy Blanchard of Elk Grove retired from her state job a year and a half ago after 34 years as an analyst, only to find out that "retirement doesn't pay for the food bill."

With two children in college and a car payment, Blanchard was at the Laguna Boulevard McDonald's, waiting for her name to be called.

Kheyland McNeil, a 17-year-old Franklin High School senior from Elk Grove, wants to become an engineer someday, but first things first.

"I really want to work at McDonald's. I want to get the experience and interact with people," he said.

McNeil might just get the chance. Ramirez, owner of the Laguna Boulevard location, was impressed.

"He looks you straight in the eye. He knows what he wants and that's exactly what we're looking for," Ramirez said.

And there was John Davis of Sacramento, on unemployment for nearly a year at 59 after a long ride in auto sales, succinctly summarizing the life of the Sacramento job seeker.

"They're not hiring or they're out of business," he said at the McDonald's at 30th and K streets. "First, you've got to find who's hiring, then you've got to be the one they pick."

A few minutes later, he sat down for an interview.

Depressing - but with all the attacks on unions and the working and middle classes, this will undoubtedly be the future for many of us.

59 years old, out of work for a year and interviewing at McDonald's with little chance of getting the job.

Fascism Comes To Indiana

Bad news:

Today, the Indiana Senate concurred with the House version of Senate Bill 575.

It goes to Senator Mitch "Big Jerk" Daniels for his signature either this week or next. He will almost certainly sign it.

This is a huge loss for teachers here in Indiana. As I've been saying for some time the victory parties regarding union labor and public education in the Hoosier state were quite premature. In concurring with the House Version of this bill, the Indiana Senate approved measures that would:

* allow annual evaluations to be conducted by other teachers or contracted outside agencies

* eliminate the ability of a local associations to bargain or discuss the evaluation tool

* restrict collective bargaining agreements to wages and wage related benefits

* ban the bargaining of contractual hours or number of days worked.

* eliminate current contractual reduction-in-force processes

* eliminate contractual grievance procedures except in cases related to wages and wage related benefits.

I added the bold for the two worst elements of this bill. Do the parts in bold sound familiar?

They should, if you've been following the labor struggles in Wisconsin and Ohio.

I'm lucky in that my own local union was able to negotiate a two-year extension on my contract, and in that our union has a pretty good working relationship with the administration and the school board. Other locals were not so lucky, and will now see huge chunks of their contract left entirely to the mercy of the local administration and school boards.

Should such entities decide that teachers ought to work an additional forty-five minutes to an hour a day, at no additional pay, they will be able to insert that kind of language into the contract. And if the locals don't like that? They can get bent, as far as the state GOP is concerned.

This is a sad day for teachers in Indiana.

Indeed, it is.

But remember that it is NOT just Republicans doing this to unions.

Rahm "Corporate Whore" Emanuel in Chicago plans to unilaterally impose longer work hours and days now that the Illinois legislature has given him that power.

Gotta love a country where corporate contracts are sacrosanct, but employee contracts are worthless.

They call that kind of country a fascist country.

And the politicians who engage in this kind of politics are fascists - whether it is Mitch Daniels in Indiana, Scott Walker in Wisconsin, Rah Emanuel in Chicago, Chris Christie in New Jersey, or Bloomberg/Cuomo in New York.

Obama's Re-Election Chances

Not as good as the Sultan of Triangulation thinks:

A new McClatchy-Marist Poll finds 44% of American voters say they definitely plan to vote against President Obama in 2012, while 37% report they definitely plan to vote for him, and 18% are unsure.

If only progressives and union members would hold the president accountable by tying votes to policies, they might have him thinking twice about consistently screwing the liberal and union base of the party.

But that would mean progressives and unions would have to get over their co-dependency issues with the politicians they support and I just haven't seen any evidence that is going to happen - not on the left, at any rate.

That's why Dems take progressives and union members for granted and bash them again and again until GOTV time.

You'll note that ever since the right started to hold their politicians accountable for policy, Republicans FEAR their base.

Leave aside the policy stuff for a second - from a politics perspective, that is the best way to NOT get taken for granted and abused.