Facebook CEO gives $100 million to detroy Newark teachers' unions, charterize -- on Doprah

[Hannah Bell]

LOS ANGELES — N.J. Gov. Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Cory Booker will make a surprise appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show Friday to announce an unprecedented restructuring of Newark's school system and the gift of $100 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, two officials with direct knowledge of the plan told The Star-Ledger tonight.

Christie and Booker will proclaim that the long-troubled Newark schools, which have been under state control for 15 years, are going to be placed under Booker’s authority. Together, Booker and the school system will embark on a massive program of educational change long opposed by teachers unions.

It will include an expansion of charter schools, new achievement standards and methods for judging which schools and teachers are effective, the sources said.

The announcement was confirmed by a third person with knowledge of Booker and Christie’s arrangements. The sources detailed the plans on the condition they not be identified because they were not authorized to go public before Friday's show. . . .

http://www.schoolsmatter.info/

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

1. Sooo... you propose they not take it?

What are you offering?

[Hannah Bell]

2. glad you recognize it for what it is: sale of democracy to the highest bidder.

i don't have $100 million, so i guess i'm out of luck.

i'm sure that sleazebag zuckerberg is all about "the children"

another prepschool asshole (phillips exeter, educating the ruling class since 1781)

[Luminous Animal]

5. Yep. A hike in taxes to adeqately fund education leaves too much control in the unwashed masses...

100 million gift to those who exercise authoritarian political control? You have that politician in your pocket.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. so, basically you are opposed to philanthropy

on this and all other issues, you are after all the one who clutches your pearls at the thought of modern agriculture taking place in Africa.

[Hannah Bell]

8. so, basically you enjoy straw.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

10. Please identify a few philanthropic efforts you don't equate with a conspircy

[Hannah Bell]

11. all those that actually are philanthropic, rather than tax-free investment & policy arms of the

ruling class.

[Luminous Animal]

13. This is not philanthropy. This is hiring the district to do his bidding.

[Hannah Bell]

15. +100. jesus christ, bribes in broad daylight & they call it "philanthropy".

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

23. who is the founder of Facebook bribing?

[msanthrope]

19. The founder of Facebook's bidding? n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

21. report cards will now be posted to the kids facebook page,

sponsored by the survey that identifies which Pirates of the Caribbean character you are,

[msanthrope]

28. See, NOW you've identified the conspiracy!!!

This is to insure a new generation of Facebook users!!!!

I expect a chart tracing the lineage of the Facebook founder back to the Carnegies (the Facebook/library connection.)

[Luminous Animal]

32. If the district said, "We will take your $100 miilion, but we will do want we want...

no charter schools, no standardized testing, no mass firings, etc." Would they still get the money?

[msanthrope]

42. You've asked an interesting question.

But, the district hasn't had the option of accepting or declining a dime since 1994.

[Luminous Animal]

22. If the district said, "We will take your $100 miilion, but we will do want we want...

no charter schools, no standardized testing, no mass firings, etc." Would they still get the money?

[Hannah Bell]

31. don't expect an answer from those two spinsters.

[msanthrope]

38. I'll answer, once I stop laughing....

on edit....the district hasn't had the option of accepting or declining a dime since 1994.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

35. what makes you think the asshole even cares?

This is a charm offensive, I doubt Mr. Facebook gave a thought to the subject until a media consultant told him to.

[Luminous Animal]

41. Because there is money to be made in them thar hills.

Charter Schools’ New Cheerleaders: Financiers

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/charter-schools-new-cheerleaders-financiers/

[msanthrope]

45. Wrong State.

The article you posted was about New York State charter schools and for-profit management companies--which, according to your link, only run a dozen schools in the entire state---

From YOUR link--

"New York State United Teachers, the statewide union, produced a report last month listing what it called abuses by charter school officials, including instances in which for-profit management companies signed questionable loans or property rental deals with the schools they were hired to run.

Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, has melded these companies — which run only about a dozen of the 140 charters in the state — into all pro-charter forces in his talking points, accusing hedge fund managers of putting “profits above education.”"

Not for anything, but you are speaking of 12 schools---in the wrong state....

[Luminous Animal]

47. I posted this as a cautionary tale. This scenario is playing out state after state.

[msanthrope]

51. of course you did--because 12 schools in New York State are the bellwether

for the entire nation.....

[Luminous Animal]

55. There are bellweathers for good or bad...

In the 50s & 60s there were a mere few that broke the desegregation barriers for the common good.

[msanthrope]

61. So why didn't you pick a Newark one?

Right---because what you might find doesn't fit your narrative.

I get why you chose what you did. Newark charter founders like James Verrilli don't fit your agenda, so you went to another state.

[Hannah Bell]

70. Some NJ history: the EMO, Advantage, Inc. and Bret Schundler and Golden Door Charter

Golden Door Charter School in Jersey City, N.J., with the help of Mayor Bret Schundler, who at the time took advantage of the state’s charter-school legislation and worked to establish five charter schools in one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse cities. In collaboration with the mayor of New Jersey, EMO Advantage Schools Inc. implemented every detail of Golden Door’s curriculum and staffing in a record six month period of time. Golden Door, at the time, was one of eight charter schools Advantage had established in the late 1990’s and early 2000 across the country, serving a total of 4,500 students. Schundler the shill. He set up the water slide for the corporation to command a takeover...

In September of 1999, Golden Door moved into a new $8.75 million structure that Mayor Schundler financed with public municipal-bond money. The public bond deal underwrote the cost of construction for the school and obviously saved Advantage millions on start-up costs, costs they would otherwise have had to bear as a private company. To buttress his decision to ally with for-profit EMO Advantage, the mayor pointed to a $30 million dollar public elementary school the city was currently building, evidently implying he was both investing in public education and privately run corporations. The public elementary school would serve the same number of students in the same square footage as the new Golden Door Charter School, the mayor argued. And it came as no surprise nor did it seem to bother many residents of New Jersey that the city’s mayor sat on Golden Door’s board when he made the financial deal; certainly a conflict of interest by any stretch of the imagination. The press even went so far as to applaud the move. According to Business Week, Mayor Schundler made what the publication called “a shrewd deal for the city”. Schundler even went on to try to rationalize the decision to publicly underwrite Advantage’s costs by claiming the public investment in the EMO charter really needed to be seen as an investment in a New Jersey community center...

But that was not the whole deal: By state law, Golden Door got only 90% of the $9,200 allocated per public-school pupil in Jersey City. Out of that amount, Advantage paid $1,500 per student in rent, which went back to the municipality, and then paid salaries, benefits, and operating expenses for the school. According to the mayor’s office, this translated into a 40% reduction in the per-pupil cost to the taxpayer (ibid). In 2000, Schundler, writing in a publication produced for the conservative Heartland Institute, noted: “There’s more. The Golden Door Charter School educates children for approximately $8,000 per child per year, including operating costs, space rental costs, and staff pensions. By contrast, the Jersey City School District will spend between $13,000 to $15,000 per child per year, including capital and pension costs, for children attending any of the new school facilities being planned by the district to decrease class over-crowding..."

Yet in spite of its claims, trouble ended up ensuing for the New Jersey charter school and its EMO, Advantage, almost directly after the conception of Schundler’s financial business deal with the company. In March 2000, New Jersey’s education department put Golden Door on ninety day probation, ordering it to fix more than a half-dozen accounting and other fiscal problems, including running a $600,000 deficit on a $4.4 million budget the previous year (Greenberger 2001). This can hardly be touted as the “schrewd deal” for the public interest that Business Week would have liked the public to believe, nor could it be seen as a ‘budget saving opportunity’, as Schundler and his corporate partners promised.

So not only did the New Jersey City’s Golden Door Charter School end up with a $600,000 deficit in 2000 due to the management by EMO Advantage Schools, Inc., but class sizes were a third larger than advertised (ibid) and the amount spent on students went down. Realtors made money, administrators sucked salaries through a McDonald’s size straw and the city just deteriorated.

Now Schundler is the Superintndent of education in New Jersey (until he was fired in august). He did such a good job with Golden Door and Wall Street he got promoted and Booker took his place. Sound familiar?

http://dailycensored.com/2010/05/10/cory-a-booker-rappers-big-zoo-and-new-jersey-charter-schools/.


Golden Door Charter School
IN THE MATTER OF PAUL SCHAEDER, GOLDON DOOR CHARTER SCHOOL HUDSON COUNTY (N.J. School Ethics Commission report, September 23, 2003)


PROCEDURAL HISTORY: This matter arises from five complaints filed against Mr. Paul Schaeder, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Golden Door Charter School, for violations of the School Ethics Act, N.J.S.A. 18A:12-21 et seq. Specifically, they alleged that he, without the consultation of the Board, forced the Chief Academic Officer to resign and that he appointed his former fellow trustee as a consultant within a month after he resigned from the Board. The complaints also raised various allegations that he misused his position in connection with the number of trustees on the Board, that he had police called to a public meeting on January 16, 2003 and that he discriminates against African-American parents and trustees...

DECISION: For the foregoing reasons, the Commission finds that Mr. Schaeder violated N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24.1(c) and (d) in connection with the termination of Ms. Jones and violated N.J.S.A. 18A:12-24(b) in connection with the hiring of former trustee Barry Fields.

The Commission considered Mr. Schaeder’s response to the finding of probable cause that argued that the matters for which he is being disciplined were decisions of the full board, but the evidence showed the opposite. Regarding Ms. Jones, the Board’s approval was sought only after Ms. Jones had been presented with the severance agreement. Regarding Mr. Fields, the Board’s approval was never sought. Mr. Schaeder has acted as a one-member board and in so doing has violated the Code of Ethics and the standards of conduct expected of board members in general. The Commission finds his conduct to be so egregious that only the penalty of removal would be appropriate. Therefore, the Commission recommends that Paul Schaeder be removed from the Golden Door Charter School Board of Trustees.

http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/search/label/*New%20Jersey

[msanthrope]

74. Jersey City, 2003, isn't Newark, 2010. And the Trustee in question was removed, wasn't he?

So unlike public school teachers, in the charter system, you can get rid of people.

[Hannah Bell]

75. you must have missed this: "Now Schundler is the Superintndent of education in New Jersey"

kicked upstairs until he screwed up a rttt application & got fired last month.

the only time they get rid of corrupt shills is when they screw up on the MONEY.

yeah, jersey city 2003 isn't newark 2010. in fact, newark sept 22 2010 isn't newark sept 23 2010. your point?

first you bitch because someone brings information from new york -- because it's not new jersey. now you bitch because it's not newark, nj, 3:15:03 sept 23 2010, earth orbit.

[msanthrope]

78. Dude--the Trustee was PAUL SCHAEDER--not Schundler. Sounds like you

are conflating two different people.

And you still haven't explained what either Schundler, Schaeder, or whoever you are trying to make a point about has to do with Cory Booker....

[Hannah Bell]

79. dude, i'm talking about SCHUNDLER, who arranged the public financing for the fraudsters -

because he's a fraudster himself.

[msanthrope]

80. Then why are you posting an article about Paul Schaeder?

And again--what do these men have to do with Cory Booker?

[Hannah Bell]

82. why don't you review the thread & quit playing games.

Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology - Evidence of Affiliation with Gulen Movement


Paterson Charter School of Science and Technology is a publicly-funded charter school located in Paterson, New Jersey.


Yucel Ari

Paterson Charter School Board of Trustees
Pioneer Academy of Science, coach 2004
Participated in Interfaith Dialog Center, NJ event


Note: Pioneer Academy of Science is a private Gulen school in New Jersey. The Interfaith Dialog Center in New Jersey is a Gulenist organization; Fethullah Gulen features prominently on their website.


Kemal Aydin a.k.a. Ken Aydin

Founder of Paterson Charter School
Board of Trustees, Paterson Charter School
Founder, Turkuaz Foundation

Lead person, proposed New Century Charter Public School, Morris County NJ

Note: Turkuaz Foundation in Virginia was a non-profit Gulenist organization. The New Century Charter Public School was a proposed Gulen charter school; the application was apparently unsuccessful.


Emrah Ayhan

Board of Trustees, Paterson Charter School
Co-founder, Math teacher, Horizon Science Academy Toledo
President, Board of Directors, Horizon Science Academy Toledo
Director, Math teacher, Horizon Science Academy Denison
Board Member, Chicago Math and Science Academy
Co-Founder of Breeze, Inc

Note: Horizon Science Academy Toledo and Denison, and Chicago Math and Science Academy are publicly-funded Gulen charter schools in Ohio. Breeze is a for-profit Gulenist corporation that leases school buildings to Concept Schools in Ohio, including Horizon Science Academy. Concept Schools is a Gulenist organization running a number of publicly-funded Gulen charter schools in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan.

more.....here....http://gulencharterschools.weebly.com/paterson-charter-school-of-science-and-technology.html




Gulen schools and their booming H1B visa applications
Consider the following (based on the list Top 100 H1b Visa Sponsors In Secondary School Education Since 2008 appearing on 7/23/2010):

The Gulen schools and their related organizations account for 31.5% of all H1B visa applications requested by the top 100 secondary school education H1B visa sponsors. (Table 1)

http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulen-schools-and-their-booming-h1b.html

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

88. Do you keep a chalk board in your kitchen by any chance?

just wondering...

[The Doctor.]

50. What an utterly irrelevant comparison.

Are you certain Zuckerberg would have contributed regardless of the agenda?

It's a yes/no question.

Are you certain there were no conditions?

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

54. I seriously doubt he has much of an agenda

A movie is coming out that makes him look like an asshole, a top shelf media consultant told him doing this would make him look good. He having seven billion dollars can trade 1.5% of his wealth in exchange for being celebrated in the media for months on end.

[Luminous Animal]

60. Evidence?

[msanthrope]

64. You are the one claiming an agenda--hell, you're having conversations in your

head between the mayor and the founder of Facebook...

You are the one claiming an agenda....YOU PROVE IT.

Until you do, I maintain that there's simply not enough public evidence to make any assumption as to Zuckerman's motives.

[The Doctor.]

93. Then the most generous thing you can say is that he's ignorant.

Either he agrees with undermining the public school system, or he has no idea what the money is being used for. Either way, not good.

[msanthrope]

4. Demanding ideological purity while offering no real solutions to actual problems

is a hallmark of certain political agendas.

For the kids and parents of Newark, having more localized control through Cory Booker will be a positive.

Cory Booker is a great mayor...and a terrific guy. (Handy in a snowstorm, too!!! Locals know what I'm talking about!)

[Hannah Bell]

6. another vote for dictatorship counted. lol "more localized control". what bullshit.

how do you keep from laughing when you spout such stuff?

The son of African-American trailblazers (Cary and Carolyn Booker were among the first African-American executives at IBM), Booker was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in the predominantly white, affluent town of Harrington Park in Bergen County, New Jersey.<1> stanford, oxford, yale.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker

and he has his own tv show! or advertising & propaganda show, whatever.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

9. What the hell is wrong with Cory Booker?

you seem to associate any degree of accomplishment or simply competence with a grand bourgeoisie conspiracy.

[Luminous Animal]

12. Why no elected school board representing a diversity of opinions to hold meetings...

and hearings in order to democratically decide what to do with this $100 million gift? Maybe the parents and teachers in a neighborhood might not want their school to close and the teachers fired, but perhaps, want to use a share of that $100 million to hire the music teacher and the art teacher back. Maybe a school doesn't want to blow their "share" on a un-proved corporate testing system but rather offer breakfast every day.

[msanthrope]

16. Um, dude--there's no elected school board because NJ state is running

Newark schools.

Use the google and find out why.

Having the MAYOR OF NEWARK have control over the money, as opposed to the NJ legislature is an important step in regaining local school control....

[Luminous Animal]

20. Um, dude. That is my point. I get the MAYOR THINGY. And I undestand that the MAYOR THINGY...

is more local than the state thingy. But, the MAYOR THINGY is still authoritarian control beholden to the benefactor.

This is the scenario:

OUTSIDE GUY: I'll give you oodles of money if you buy these testing systems from these corporate organizations that may compel you to close schools to turn them over to these other private corporate organizations.

MAYOR: Okay. But what if your systems, etc., prove to be a failure? Can we count on you, while we abandon local funding sources, to continue to provide a revenue stream that is responsive to each individual school's needs?

OUTSIDE GUY: What? Hahaha! Hell no.

[msanthrope]

26. Is that the actual scenario? Or just the one in your head?

Do you have any evidence that founder of Facebook is making the demands you claim?

Any?

[Hannah Bell]

34. you're funny.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

30. oh for fucks sake, this is a billionaire narcissist looking for attention

This guy probably doesn't give a fuck what they do with the money, he just wants to do the whole morning show circus, go on Charlie Rose and be praised for giving back to the community.

[Luminous Animal]

43. Ahem... Charter Schools’ New Cheerleaders: Financiers

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/10/charter-schools-new-cheerleaders-financiers/

[msanthrope]

46. Again--this is the wrong state.....

As I noted upthread, this is about schools in NEW YORK, not NEW JERSEY.....

[Luminous Animal]

52. Yes. Because capital limits itself to investing in only one state. Indeed...

none of the charter school and testing corps and property speculators operate outside of the state of NY.

What is happening in NEW YORK is happening ELSEWHERE..............


Somebody, somewhere, wondered why a capitalist would be interested in the New Jersey school system outside of mere philanthropy. I used NEW YORK STATE as an example why.

[msanthrope]

57. Unlike NYState, NJ doesn't allow out-of-state companies to operate charters.

Nor are private companies allowed to operate without staff and parent shared control....

So, again, you picked the wrong state....

Perhaps you might try googling such evil Newark, NJ charter founders such as James Verrilli...but he doesn't fit the narrative, does he?

[Luminous Animal]

65. Link. Link. and link. You assert a lot but offer no evidence.

I am anticipating that you will prove that NJ operates charter schools that have zero connection to out of state companies. That includes proof that no out of state companies have taken business licenses to operate in the state of New Jersey.

[msanthrope]

69. I offer you the actual charter law. Note it does not allow for net profits, either.

18A:36A-4. Establishment of charter school

a. A charter school may be established by teaching staff members, parents with children attending the schools of the district, or a combination of teaching staff members and parents. A charter school may also be established by an institution of higher education or a private entity located within the State in conjunction with teaching staff members and parents of children attending the schools of the district. If the charter school is established by a private entity, representatives of the private entity shall not constitute a majority of the trustees of the school, and the charter shall specify the extent to which the private entity shall be involved in the operation of the school. The name of the charter school shall not include the name or identification of the private entity, and the private entity shall not realize a net profit from its operation of a charter school. A private or parochial school shall not be eligible for charter school status.

http://www.nj.gov/education/chartsch/cspa95.shtml

If you think there are companies violating the law, you may cite them. But this time, please try to locate companies in New Jersey--not New York State.

[Hannah Bell]

71. funny that KIPP is in new jersey, then, since their base is san francisco.

in fact, they're in newark.

http://www.kipp.org/school-content/newark-collegiate-academy-a-kipp-school


paterson school for science & technology is one of the nation-wide gulen schools, you can read about them here:

http://charterschoolscandals.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulen-schools-and-their-booming-h1b.html


i'm sure there are others.

[msanthrope]

76. The schools in question are both run by NJ organizations--

In the case of the former, TEAM is in Newark. Follow your own links. They may be affiliated with KIPP, but that doesn't violate state law.

In the case of the latter, Patterson is not chartered by Gulen.

[Hannah Bell]

77. lol. any corporation can set up a state organization. so now we know that in fact, national

(& international, because gulen is an international religious cult, and there are also international emos & cmos) organizations or corporations can indeed set up shop in nj.


typical: charter school advocates pretend these phoney "rules" actually mean something when they're absolutely meaningless, just window-dressing for the rubes.

[msanthrope]

81. So now the Facebook conspiracy is international? Whatever. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

83. back to the conspiracy crap. cause you got nothing.

[dkf]

40. You don't want government officials involved in education?

Isn't that part of the Democratic process? To elect officials who are in charge of the school system? It seems that all this time while we thought it was run by the people we elect when they want change we do see who is blocking things. I'm beginning to think maybe the officials never had any authority after all.

[Luminous Animal]

44. Is the mayor of Newark the sole representative of all the people in that city? Nope...

So why should the mayor be the sole controlling representative of the education system?

[dkf]

48. Either there is an elected BOE or there is some elected official in charge who gets to make the

Decisions. The people can have input but they don't get to make the decisions. That is like saying the people can decide to get out of Afghanistan when it is Obama's decision.

[Luminous Animal]

59. BOE's in most districts hold regular meeting and hearings.... Mayors don't.

and there is a greater chance that and ordinary citizen will have an opportunity to meet with and corner a BOE member. As for your Obama argument? It illustrates why we'd be better off as a parliament IRV system of government.

[msanthrope]

62. I'm falling down and laughing over this post-----you know NOTHING about Newark.

"There is a greater chance that and ordinary citizen will have an opportunity to meet with and corner a BOE member."


1) Um--there haven't been BOE members in Newark since 1994.

2) Newark's mayor is reachable on Twitter. Use the google and find the snowstorm story.

[Luminous Animal]

66. Actually, what you don't get is that I know that NJ does not have a BOE

and I am advocating for a BOE. Because....


"There is a greater chance that and ordinary citizen will have an opportunity to meet with and corner a BOE member."

Yes. Let the entire city of Newark engage in a meaningful discussion with his twitter staff in 140 characters or less.

[msanthrope]

67. Newark, you mean?

I agree. Newark SHOULD have a BOE. But it hasn't, and one isn't going to materialize anytime soon. But that's another thread.

[msanthrope]

53. It's fairly apparent you know NOTHING about the City of Newark.....

The mayor isn't "the sole controlling representative of the education system."

It would help if you could identify who actually controls Newark schools.

[Hannah Bell]

24. lol. $100 million = zuckerberg control. that's $2500 for every kid in the district, about 17%

of current per-pupil spending.

newark charter schools *already* get more per pupil than district schools.

http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/Budget1011/budgetpresentation.pdf

[msanthrope]

33. The founder of Facebook wants to control Newark City Public Schools?

Do you think he wants to give them all laptops with cameras?

[Hannah Bell]

37. you're funny.

still waiting for that massive kiddie porn stash.

[Hannah Bell]

14. he's a school deformer. republican voucher & religious school proponent christie is going to

"cede some control" to booker so he can do it.

so far as i read, cory failed to get mayoral control -- but now that he has $100 million & the batshit fundie governor's ok, i guess that doesn't matter anymore.

[msanthrope]

18. Is Cory Booker part of Montsanto-Detroit conspiracy? The Obama/Oprah

International Harvester one?

Or is he in one all by himself?

I'm losing track....

(not kidding--these are all recent conspiracies floated by the OP)

[Hannah Bell]

25. you're not fooling anyone. the monsanto-detroit & international harvester-obama conspiracies

are your bullshit spin.

one wonders why you're so eager to avoid examination of what interests fund school deformers & city downsizers.

the mccormick-blair billions & the chicago commercial club endure.

[msanthrope]

39. Look, the threads are there for anyone to read...

Hannah--You are the one who posts lists of "elites" and their "connections" and you get pissed when someone actually reads them?

[Hannah Bell]

49. yes, it's there for anyone to read. here, i'll post it again:

msanthrope
143. Please, enlighten us all on which "chicago elites" you speak of.
Specifically, who?


Hannah Bell (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-21-10 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #143
147. you can get some clues here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6460960&mesg_id=6460960

(Titled: Chicago's (Duncan/Daley) Renaissance 2010 School "Reform": How Private Capital Makes Public Policy: Let's look at who footed the bill. List of donors to Chicago's "Renaissance 2010" School Deform Initiative follows, with notes)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7085958&mesg_id=7085958

(Titled: The "Harvester Trust" to Obama, a history of Chicago's McCormick family (International Harvester/Navistar, Chicago Tribune, & McCormick donations to Renaissance 2010)

Here's a list of Chicago's "Renaissance 2010" charter school initiative funders:

http://romanticpoet.wordpress.com/2009/01/25/obamas-arn... /


The first thing you'll notice is the overlap between Ren 2010 sponsors & Obama campaign funders: Gates, Pritzker (Hyatt hotels) & Crown (General Dynamics) are the biggest names, but many of the lesser-known on this list were also Obama backers.


What's less immediately obvious is the number of big Ren 2010 donors with McCormick-derived money:


1. McCormick Foundation ($1,000,000-$1,999,999 category)

The McCormick Foundation is the charitable trust est. 1955 upon the death of Robert R. McCormick, grand-nephew of Cyrus. It derives from the Chicago Tribune fortune.

The McCormick family married into the Tribune. In the mid 1800s, the Chicago Times was a McCormick mouthpiece. The rival Chicago Tribune was run by Joseph Medill, also Chicago mayor 1871-73.

One of Medill's daughters married Robert Patterson. This founded a New York/DC publishing dynasty (NY Daily News, Newsday, Washington Times-Herald). His G-grandson Joseph Albright married diplomat Madeleine (nee Korbel).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Medill
http://www.nndb.com/people/042/000205424 /
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Albright


In 1876, when Cyrus's nephew Robert Sanderson McCormick married another Medill daughter, Katherine, that was the end of the Times-Trib rivalry, & the beginning of another publishing dynasty.

Control over two major Chicago papers was helpful in political disputes - like Haymarket, e.g.:

"Such apocalyptic rhetoric was further bolstered by the Chicago Tribune's terrifying post-Haymarket reports of citizens stumbling across (hidden bombs)..."

"The Chicago Times described the defendants as: "arch counselors of riot, pillage, incendiarism and murder."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket


The Tribune McCormicks were the chief fundraisers for the Haymarket memorial to the police (blown up by the Weathermen in the 60s).





2. Northern Trust ($2,000,000-plus category)

Northern Trust was originally an investment fund for Chicago's elite. The McCormicks were among its original shareholders. Over the years McCormick progeny worked for it in various capacities (& may still).

NT administers various McCormick trusts & charities, including the afore-mentioned RR McCormick Foundation:

http://www.secinfo.com/dsvRm.9j4.htm .

NT received TARP funds:

http://www.thedeal.com/dealscape/2009/03/tarp_deposits_...



3. Kirkland & Ellis LLP ($500K to $999K donor)

KE is the law firm founded by Robert R McCormick, Chicago Trib publisher. It's now 11th in the world by revenue & also a Top 20 Obama donor. KE became the Tribune house counsel when Robert took over the Trib.

Steven D. McCormick, current partner:

http://www.kirkland.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=220&i...



4. Commercial Club 'Civic Committee' ($1,000,000 - $1,999,999)

Chicago muckety-mucks business club; McCormicks presided over it 1899, 1940-41,
1948-49, 1976-77. Close McCormick associates held the President's office in other years as well.

For example, current Chairman Madigan is an ex-Tribune exec, & President Janotta ('94-'95), is Chairman of William Blair & Co., the investment firm founded by Cyrus McCormick's brother's grandson William McCormick Blair.

Jannotta ran the firm with William's son Edward McCormick Blair for decades before taking the chairmanship.

http://www.commercialclubchicago.org/organization/past-...

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/2207.h...

http://people.forbes.com/profile/edgar-d-jannotta/6352



5. William Blair & Co. (<$24,999)

As previously noted, this is the Chicago investment house founded by the grandson of Cyrus's brother & business partner William S. McCormick.

Grandson William McCormick Blair (b. 1884) was Yale, Skull & Bones 1907.

He started his post-college career at Northern Trust, then joined Lee, Higginson, which went bankrupt by financing the Swedish Match King Ivar Krueger.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee,_Higginson_&_Co .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivar_Kreuger

He passed the management reins to his sons Edward (Yale 1938) & Bowen in 1961, but remained Senior Partner until his death in 1982. Janotta joined the firm in 1959.

Incidentally, among the principals listed in this 1997 filing:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1026682/00009501...


HARVEY H. BUNDY III Manager-Research

= Harvey Hollister Bundy III, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth '68 & now Trustee, & grandson of bonesman/spook Harvey I:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Hollister_Bundy
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/about/staff/overseers.htm...


Ed Jannotta has some interesting connections too....which brings us to Donald Rumsfeld. But that's another story.


not that i actually think you're interested in anything but snark.


msanthrope (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-21-10 01:37 PM
Response to Reply #147
160. So International Harvester set Oprah and Pres. Obama on their thrones?
This is the kind of conspiracy nonsense normally posted on Free Republic.

I understand the Freeper reasons for assuming that successful African-Americans are merely tools of powerful elites, but I wonder why you would think so.

Your links merely list a lot of rich people and their foundations. Do have any actual evidence to back up your claims?


Hannah Bell (1000+ posts) Tue Sep-21-10 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #160
172. so the commercial club crowd doesn't run chicago, & mccormick/blair money isn't still big in the mix?

i consider a list of the biggest political donors in chicago to be "evidence". you apparently want to label it "conspiracy theory".

whatever. par for the course.

but most people don't buy your schtick.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9171716#9172001

[msanthrope]

63. Thank you for listing the conspiracy in such detail. n/t

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

27. tell me more about the international harvester one...

[JTFrog]

84. LOL!

WSWS must have had a special on tin foil!

:rofl:

[msanthrope]

85. Or maybe they finally instructed their readers "Shiny side out."

I can't make up my mind which conspiracy theory in GD I like best. Maybe I should do a poll.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

103. No kidding.

Criticizing his policies is one thing, but using his and his family's success as some sort of slur is just odd.

[Pisces]

89. I absolutely agree. The naysayers, do nothing crowd is always out in force.

THis is about helping children now, yet some want to argue about ridiculous notions that this is an attack on teachers.

[Luminous Animal]

3. Well, there goes the argument that Friday's show was about giving equal time to parents and teachers

Not that I believed it for a second, anyway.

[LAGC]

17. You do realize that article acknowlegdes there ARE problems with the public schools, right?

I'm not saying Arne Duncan's vision of charter schools everywhere is the answer by any means, but clearly some changes need to be made to improve the situation.

What types of public school reform would you support?

[Luminous Animal]

29. Educator based reforms. Signifantly smaller classes... 15 or less.

Administration back up for discipline issues (this is a big one... admins are cowards). Team teaching, less tracking for age and more for ability... more arts, music, more play ground. Giving students, from 1st grade on up, some democratic input on our their school is run. More Admin responsibility for engaging the parents in the eduction process.

[Hannah Bell]

36. the same program obama's kids get.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

56. oh, a religious one?

[msanthrope]

58. You smart spinster!!!

(We got called that, upthread...)

[Hannah Bell]

72. show me the religion classes.

http://www.sidwell.edu/data/files/pages/documents/upper_school/Curr_%20Overview_10-11pdf.pdf

you guys are a laff riot.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

91. All Sidwell students attend weekly mass or whatever Quakers call it

It is a religious school, http://www.sidwell.edu/about-sfs/quaker-values/about-quaker-education/index.aspx

I suppose all the radical Madrasahs in the DC area were full,

[Hannah Bell]

101. uh, we call it "church" (or meeting). & attendance at church isn't required of sidwell students.

and it doesn't say that it is on the page you linked, either.

Sidwell Friends School is committed as an institution to the ideal of diversity with regard to age, economic background, ethnicity, gender, physical disability, political affiliation, race and sexual orientation in its student body, faculty and staff. The School does not discriminate in the administration of its admissions, financial aid or loan practices; curricular offerings, including inter-scholastic athletics and physical education; other School-sponsored programs and activities; or in the hiring and terms of employment of administrators, faculty and staff.

Except for special considerations that may be given to members of the Religious Society of Friends because of the School's Quaker affiliation, the School does not discriminate on the basis of religion.

http://www.sidwell.edu/about_sfs/index.aspx


you must not know much about the friends if you think they have mandatory religious classes or church attendance.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

102. "Each week a Friends school community gathers for meeting for worship."

What the hell do you call that?

http://www.sidwell.edu/about-sfs/quaker-values/about-quaker-education/index.aspx

"Meeting for Worship

Each week a Friends school community gathers for meeting for worship. The form of worship is simple - believing that each person has within him or her the ability, with God's help, to discern the truth, Friends worship silently, waiting upon the Spirit. Students and teachers are encouraged to speak from their hearts, if so moved.

The unstructured nature of meeting for worship, with its focus on the power of the gathered group, gives children of all faiths a powerful tool for spiritual growth. They are asked to turn to their Inner Light for guidance in living their lives. Meeting for worship makes explicit the connection between the inward and outward life that is unique in Quaker education."

[Hannah Bell]

104. friends = quakers.

peruse the sidwell course offerings & try to find the mandatory religion.

quaker meeting = sitting in silence, no preacher. congregants may say something if they feel so moved. about anything. that's what "weekly worship" at sidwell is. 40 (30 now) minutes of sitting in silence.

only 5-6% of students & faculty are friends. even the head administrator isn't required to be a friend.

you're comparing it to a madrassah; i can only guess that's to divert from the original comment, which was "What types of public school reform would you support?"

i'd support every child getting a sidwell education.

sidwell friends has 12 students/class, each advisor has 10-12 advisees, & every grade has classes in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, Visual & Performing Arts, Languages, PE, Technology, Library (Research) - & "Quaker Values," aka diversity, simplicity, honesty, personal standards, peaceful resolution of conflict, kindness, friendship... plus several days of community service projects.

They have a 15 acre campus.

Sidwell friends has *three* librarians. Students & parents in Chicago are currently occupying their school because they don't even have a fucking *library*.

I think every child should have a sidwell education.

but that's too good for the peons. they'll get a school deform kipp education: shut up, listen, take tests, fail, join the military.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

105. So, religion in school is okay as long as they call mass "quite time"

consistency please.

[Hannah Bell]

106. only if you think "mass" and sitting silent without a preacher are the same thing.

and having the occasional person pop up to say she felt bad when her friend was mean to her but realized she should forgive her because she was only hurting herself by being angry. or having someone else pop up and say the war has to stop.

yeah, a veritable madrassa.

i think all kids deserve a 15 acre campus & a 1:12 teacher-student ratio.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

107. when that gathering is called a "meeting for worship" yes, that is a mass

Thank you Ms. Bell for coming out in favor of religion in schools,

[Hannah Bell]

112. define "mass"

Definitions of mass on the Web:

•the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field

•batch: (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money"

•an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)

•(Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist

•a body of matter without definite shape; "a huge ice mass"

•multitude: the common people generally; "separate the warriors from the mass"; "power to the people"

•bulk: the property of something that is great in magnitude; "it is cheaper to buy it in bulk"; "he received a mass of correspondence"; "the volume of exports"

•a musical setting for a Mass; "they played a Mass composed by Beethoven"

•join together into a mass or collect or form a mass; "Crowds were massing outside the palace"

•a sequence of prayers constituting the Christian Eucharistic rite; "the priest said Mass"

•aggregate: formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole; "aggregate expenses include expenses of all divisions combined for the entire year"; "the aggregated amount of indebtedness"

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn


must be in your private language.

[Ignis]

108. Wow, it's pretty obvious you know NO Quakers.

Please go meet one. They don't bite, I promise. You can usually find them at the nearest anti-war, anti-poverty, or pro-equality demonstration, if you're the type of person who attends those.

A Quaker "meeting" is a religious service in exactly the same way that a "moment of silence" is a prayer.

[LWolf]

87. The ubiquitous question.

From those who don't listen or pay attention to actual educators, assuming that politicians and the excessively wealthy are the only ones who can "save" education.

One of my many answers:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=219&topic_id=26438&mesg_id=26493

[Skidmore]

68. I would like to hear from you just once what you believe the

role of teachers to be in this failing educational system of ours, besides being persecuted saints. There is enough blame to spread around and clearly what exists is not working, from the funding to the support systems to the curriculum and , yes, to the teaching. Stop whining and be part of the problem solving. It is not about you or teachers in general. While the adults are throwing fits on all levels from having to pay taxes to talking about compensation and seniority, it is the CHILDREN of the next generation who are the true losers. Both the public and private sector educational systems have their own distinct set of problems which deserve our attention as a nation.

[Hannah Bell]

73. school performance correlates with parents' income better than any other factor.

you seem to be under the impression i'm a teacher. i'm not, & never have been a teacher in the public schools.

[Skidmore]

86. To tend to give the impression that you are a teacher

from your posts in this area.

Second, what is your point with the statistical correlation you just put out there? Have you tied this into anything beyond just an opportunity to slap another group around as part of your activism? Is there any study that ties income to parenting time available or parental education to types of jobs worked? Or is it just a dumpon lower income people?

[Hannah Bell]

90. because it's a fact. my sympathies if being against plutocracy gives

the impression i'm a teacher.

[Skidmore]

92. Ceased to be impressed with

your zealotry long ago.

[Hannah Bell]

94. doubt you ever were; small loss.

[JVS]

96. I think you're peachy though.

:thumbsup:

[Hannah Bell]

99. thanks, i was feeling sooooo bad when that mean man made fun of me.

[NJGeek]

95. uhh this is good, right?

$100M going to newark school
reforming a trouble school system

only on DU is this a bad thing. to the booker haters, way to pick your battles!

and you suppose more taxes/teacher union power is going to help those kids in newark?

[Hannah Bell]

97. wrong.

[EFerrari]

113. Yeah, that $100 million is to reform schools like the War on Terra

was to fight terrorism or like the Help America Vote Act was election reform. That's the ticket. :)

[JVS]

98. K&R

[ibegurpard]

100. stop the privatization of our public school system at the expense of our poorest communities.

They want to be philanthropists?
Donate the money directly to the school district...no strings attached.

[Liberal_in_LA]

109. kick

[WinkyDink]

110. Do all these quislings have speech impediments?

[Nikki Stone1]

111. Kick

To bad I cannot R