Tuesday, May 26, 2015

A 'Mussolini' for the schools?

Take your pick. Mussolini, Ivan the Terrible, or Rahm. 
An editorial in Friday's Trib calls on CPS to put a turnaround expert at the top of the school system, with "Mussolini-like powers to execute and implement."

Two things -- First, it's probably not workable. Don't we already have an autocrat running the schools? Rahm may not be a turnaround expert, but he is the Little Emperor. Does the Trib board want another dictator under the mayor? Who would dictate to whom?

Secondly, who was it on the editorial board that thought the Mussolini reference was a good idea? I mean, did one of the board members actually say: "Hey, I've got a great idea. Let's recommend that the schools be run by someone like Hitler. No...that might be pushing it a bit. How about Mussolini?"

They could have just said, "You know. We really need an education czar," and no one would have blinked. Czarism is still very popular in this country, even after the dismal performances of the White House drug czars, energy czars, healthcare czars, economic policy czars, and even the ebola czar, to name but a few. Here's a complete list of White House appointed czars.

How about someone like Ivan The Terrible to run the schools? Enough of this child-centered crap. Right?

A final thought... Mussolini didn't really make the trains run on time. And even if he had, I would gladly have waited a few extra minutes and been late for work, rather than endure fascism. Wouldn't you?

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4 comments:

  1. P.C.May 26, 2015 at 9:29 PM


    The Chicago Tribune editorial talks of giving this person "Mussolini-like powers to execute and implement." Nice choice of words, "execute," given that Mussolini had his goons kill the Socialist leader Matteotti, sent his airplanes to drop poison gas on the Ethiopians, and let his country's Jews be shipped off and gassed.

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  2. Not a Trib ReaderMay 27, 2015 at 5:29 AM

    dziedzic1 Posted this comment on the Tribune's editorial:

    "Mussolini-like powers to execute and implement?" Did anyone there take a history class? Mussolini was a fascist thug who destroyed Italy. Have they finally lost their minds at the editorial board?

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  3. Maureen CullnanMay 27, 2015 at 8:46 AM

    Newspaper writers are supposed to avoid cliched 'phone-it-in' writing, I thought. Be nice if the writer had learned something of history, too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. B.P.May 27, 2015 at 9:14 AM

    Brilliant blog!
    Bob

    ReplyDelete

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