Okay. I can't leave it alone. I am so incensed by the 'cheek', the audacity, the conceit, the arrogance of Michael Bloomberg that I find myself talking out loud about it. Better to talk to you, my followers.
When Mayor Mike talks about how much he has done for the middle class, I am reminded of the same type of equally absurd comment made by John McCain during the recent Presidential campaign. Neither of these men has any idea what it's like to be middle-class and neither seems to be aware that because of them and people like them, there is virtually no more middle-class. An article in yesterday's local AM newspaper cites the fact that New York City has seen it's highest exodus since they've been keeping records. You can't afford to live here, exist maybe, live...No. The quality of Life has plummeted. From the crumbling roadways to the higher MTA fares to the higher bridge/tunnel crossing fees to the hordes of parking ticket minions, every day has become a challenge. There is no humanity left. Mayor Mike says that his Board of Education revisions have elevated the percentages of students earning better grades. Well, that's true. But it's because the teachers are handed a sample of the mid-term tests and the year end tests and teach the children question for question what's going to be on the tests. That's not a healthy school experience. The children are not really learning anything except how to score well on tests! If you stray beyond those questions, what do they really know? All the teachers I know are so frustrated with not being able to help students exercise their minds, but they are so afraid of losing their jobs that they just do as they're told.
It's a shame that Bloomberg will probably win the election. Not because he's done such an outstanding job as Mayor. But because he has now spent more than any political candidate in history on his campaign. He's a billionaire. His commercials and mail pieces are constant. People who are not astute will believe his distortions of the facts. They will shrug off his blatant disregard for the will of the people who twice voted to limit mayoral posts to two terms. Money is power, but does that make those of us who don't have it powerless? I hope not. We still have the power of the vote and I hope for a huge upset from the 'silent majority' on November 3.
Author: "Native Intelligence"
www.nativeintelligencethebook.com
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I feel your pain fellow New Yorker. It is one of many reasons I will not return to live. As far as the Board of Education is concerned, they have finally succeeded in centralizing after years of fighting to keep it decentralized. I remember marching with my mother and other protesters and Albert Shanker, who was president of the Bd of Ed Teacher's Union. The parents and community had a voice and fought hard to keep it. Now "forget about it". Now the only way to fight for changes is through lobbying our politicians and being a voice with our vote. It will be very hard to get back all that so many fought so very hard to maintain when there seems to be no one caring enough to wage war against the bureaucratic system. Where are our true leaders to stand for what is right?
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