Category: Chicago

Domine Domine Domine You're All Irish Now

March 17, 2010 by Bitch PhD

In the pantheon of American holidays of the diaspora, is there a holiday that ranks higher than St Patrick's Day?
No, there is not.
Consider the High Holy Days of America's sons and daughters and tell me which of them has anything near the appeal of St Patrick's Day?
There is Cinco de Mayo (which I used to think was a subholiday of St Pat's, celebrating those who emigrated from County Mayo). There is Juneteenth. There is Columbus Day. There is Sytennde Mai.
Not that the feast days of our constituent peoples aren't popular in themselves, of course. Well, Sytennde Mai is probably regionally restricted. If its observed outside Minnesota and a few Wisconsin hamlets, its news to me.

McCoshen leads the Lobbyist Crusade to put one of their own in the Senate

March 13, 2010 by Uppity Wisconsin

"Is there any group of people held in lower regard than lobbyists? Car salesmen? Journalists? Here's one possibility: Lobbyists who are thinking about becoming politicians."-- Dan Bice column in the Journal Sentinel,Dec. 6, 2007.

Bice was writing about Bill McCoshen, left, but it could have been about Tommy Thompson, who's thinking about coming back through the revolving door to run for office again.

Bill McCoshen's all over the news these days, talking like the unofficial spokesman for the might-be, could-be but maybe-not Tommy Thompson campaign for US Senate.

McCoshen also took time this week to trash the state's (and Democrat Jim Doyle's) record on job creation, in an appearance in Beloit where he relied on data from the conservative (read Republican) Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. "Forward may be the state motto, but it's going backward," McCoshen said. Cute.

Mass School Closures Loom - Especially In Communities of Color

March 9, 2010 by Calitics

Yesterday the California Department of Education released its list of "persistently lowest-achieving" schools - schools whose test scores have been low for several years and, unless improved, will be closed. The Tier I list makes it clear where these schools are concentrated - in California's low-income communities and communities of color.

Let's take two counties. First, my home county of Orange. You'll note that Tustin Unified, where I spent all 13 years of my K-12 education, has no schools listed. The only schools listed in all of Orange County are three in Santa Ana Unified - Century High, Valley High, and Willard Intermediate. 80% of Santa Ana residents are Latino and the median family income is $41,000 (statewide the median family income is $76,000).

Here in Monterey County, where I currently live, ten schools are listed. 8 of them are in the Salinas Valley, another two in Seaside. The Salinas Valley is 70-80% Latino and has median incomes in the $35,000 range. But you won't see Carmel or Pacific Grove schools listed here.