War metaphors

Forrest Claypool, "wartime consigliere".

Some friends are critical of my use of war and military metaphors to describe the post-election atmosphere hanging over public employee unions, over city schools and over City Hall. But I'm sticking to my guns slingshot. It's war out here, folks. OK, it's one-sided class war to be sure, being waged by Gen. Arne Duncan, Gov. Private Equity and Mayor 1%, but war nevertheless.

Need more evidence? Look no further than Rahm's newly-appointed Chief of Staff Forrest Claypool, brought over from the CTA (like former schools CEO Ron Huberman --remember him?) to manage pension theft, negotiate a teachers contract, find a replacement for Byrd-Bennett (she's gone AWOL) and to cool out the feds investigation of the $20 million, no-bid SUPES deal.

S-T's Fran Spielman writes:

To do all of that without losing momentum on the mayor’s second-term agenda will require a wartime consigliere, to borrow a term made famous in the movie classic, “The Godfather.” Claypool fits the bill.

See!

POWs I couldn't help comparing the long prison sentences handed down to black educators involved in the Atlanta cheating scandal (convicted of "racketeering") with...No jail time for former CIA Director Gen. David "Betray Us" Petraeus who leaked military secrets to his bed-mate Paula Broadwell. Petraeus currently is with private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

Jon Stewart compared the “eerie” similarities between the Atlanta teacher cheating scandal with fraud on Wall Street, and discovered that the only difference between the two seems to be who was actually punished.

Want more? How about all the fuss over Spike Lee's naming of planned new film, "Chiraq"? Why not? Chicago streets have been turned into a war zone as a result of current policies of neglect, youth joblessness, school closings, easy access to guns, poor community policing strategies, etc...

It's war.