The September 2016 Issue of Substance
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We were forced to suspend subscriptions to our print edition a year ago, and after wishing we could get back into print have finally admitted that we can only continue as an online publication. Therefore, readers can no longer subscribe to Substance on paper, but those who wish to donate will be thanked.
BOOK REVIEW: 'Labor Pains' shares important lessons about organizing...
Even though it was published more than a decade ago, the book, Labor Pains, By Suzan Erem is worth studying today. Suzan Erem was very involved as an organizer, union representative and communications director for . . .
RAHMWATCH 2016: Chicago's mayor is clueless on September 26, 2016, as Republican candidate slanders the city and teachers vote overwhelmingly for another strike...
In an episode that might be called "Clueless in Chicago," on the day that the Republican candidate for President of the United States declared that Chicago is a "war zone" (interesting, from a guy who . . .
TRUMPUPDATE: Where are those tax returns, con man? On the morning of the first debate, let's re-demand those tax returns -- and also take a look at how many ways Donald and his family business have cheated and lied to African Americans while getting richer... One story from Gary Indiana...
As the drumbeats of Trumpisms and Trumpsterish nonsense continue, on the morning of the first 2016 Presidential Debate, let's again ask (1) Where are those tax returns, Donald? and (2) How many black people have . . .
TRUMPUPDATE... Donald Trump's many many many lies about his Mob connections...
[Editor's Note: The following article came out this weekend before the Presidential Debate of September 26, 2016, and is another necessary piece in the puzzle for intelligent people to understand the career and claims of . . .
TRUMPUPDATE... Where are those tax returns, Donald? An updated anthology of writings sharing the truth about Trump...
With about 40 days to go until the November 8, 2016 election, I'm going to update once a day with the question of the campaign: Where are Donald Trump's federal income tax returns? Following the . . .
TRUMPWACHT: Speaking about candidates' 'health,' Trump really is a fat cat... and anyone can get all the Trumpian trumpeting and other nonsense by doing the Mark of the Beast '666' solutions...
Who is the healthier candidate for President of the United States? With less than a week before the first of three presidential debates, the Donald Trump organizations have been escalating their feud with reality . . .
Charters and 'trickle down edunomics'... Why the NAACP position against charter expansion is so important today...
[Editor's Note: The following analysis originally appeared on the Huffington Post and is being shared here as the debate over charters continues to escalate in Chicago. As usual, the Trump campaign and most of Chicago's . . .
Education sorority give award to Lotty Blumenthal... Chicago union activist gets awards after nearly a half century of work on vocational education and women's rights...
On July 23, 2016, Phi Delta Kappa (PDK). a professional association of educators dedicated to "Service, Research and Leadership," honored CTU member Carlene (Lotty) Blumenthal (this reporter) at a luncheon. Blumenthal received two awards. She . . .
Obama and Duncan policies created the conditions for the surge in Chicago street gang and gun violence... Trump's privatization attacks on public schools is just a continuation of the policies of Obama, Duncan, and King...
We often disagree with Diane Ravitch's self-promoting blog work, but here recent compilation of documentation about how Chicago's violence is partly caused by the Obama administration's education policies is on target. But many fans of . . .
MEDIA WATCH: Bill Gates gets plaudits for his 'contributions' to education by uncritical media adulators... The Guardian is gulled by Gates's propaganda machine...
It's been said for as long as there have been economic classes in society that money buys influence, and today, in 2016, a billionaire who can't get good press is doing something almost Trumpian. And . . .
Many mourn loss of mother of Howard Heath...
The Mother of Howard Heath, The Mother of Howard Heath, former CTU Vice President, current Retiree Delegate and phone bank coordinator, passed away on August 26, 2016 and was memorialized on Friday September 2 with . . .
NIX THE NETWORKS: Chicago's Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Forrest Claypool's 'Final Budget' for the 2016 - 2017 school year, even though one key bit of basic math was off by about 300 percent!...
Hypocrisy? It's not hypocrisy if you have the power to lie and get away with it, and if the dominant media in Chicago look the other way while you are lying. If the members of . . .
Chicago Teachers Union gives 'another overwhelming Yes' in strike vote...
It was Monday, September 26, 2016, before the Chicago Teachers Union officially announced that the latest strike authorization vote was "Yes". Now the union's House of Delegates (of which this reporter is a member) will . . .
BOARDWATCH: Board members and expensive bureaucrats spend Board meetings texting -- and watching You Tube videos? -- rather than listening to public participants while the Board meets (only once a month)...
Chicago students taking Drivers Education classes are now reminded that 'distracted driving' in 2016 includes people who are texting or using cell phones while trying to drive as well. Maybe it's also time that we . . .
MEDIA WATCH: 'Democracy' Chicago-style... Tribune's hypocritical editorial attack on the CTU gets quick response from thousands...'a democratic militant union is what they despise...'... Readers need to remember the long reactionary history of Tribune's version of 'news'...
On September 22, 2016, the Chicago Tribune — now owned by the same Rahm-buddy millionaire Michael Ferro who owns the Sun-Times — fulminated agains the latest Chicago Teachers Union strike vote. In an editorial, the . . .
Chicago Teachers Union members begin three-day strike authorization 'petition' as CPS finances and other issues are debated widely...
More than 25,000 members of the Chicago Teachers Union (active duty teachers and others represented in the CTU bargaining unit) begin voting on September 21, 2016, on a second strike authorization vote since the union's . . .
BOOK REVIEW: Why is the Obama administration working to whitewash the history of crimes of the USA during the Vietnam War and create another 'Noble Cause' myth...
Responding to the lies and distortions of President Obama concerning the US war in Vietnam, and his phony “commemoration” of those Americans who fought in the war, John Marciano has written a short, but incisive . . .
Education for All: Backing the Wrong Horse... House bill 'a colossal mistake...'
The US House of Representatives quietly passed HR 4481 on September 7, the "Education for All" act. HR 4481 has rarely been mentioned in the media, and news of the House's action appeared only in . . .
'Teachers for Social Justice' group is trying to pit police against teachers with false history, damaging hysteria...
The Chicago group called "Teachers for Social Justice" has announced a program this month (and later) trying to pit teachers against police. The pitting will be based on a false history and a silly narrative . . .
Chicago Teachers Union votes overwhelmingly to move towards a strike in October at September 7, 2016, House of Delegates meeting....
The 27,000-member Chicago Teachers Union moved a major step closer to an October strike when the union's House of Delegates (of which this reporter is a delegate, representing some of the 3,000 retired teachers who . . .
UNION WATCH: It is hard for the CTU to move forward after stalling and surrendering for more than a year... Why is the CTU going back to work for the second September without a contract, while hundreds of brothers and sisters are being fired?!...
[Editor's Note: The following analysis by David Vance contains a great deal of information challenging the current official line of the leadership of the Chicago Teachers Union. As readers of Substance know, the union's contract . . .
BOARDWATCH: Board members make clear at August 24 meeting that they are not interested in improving public schools by challenging the plutocratic priorities they have been appointed to prolong...
It was repeated over and over by public speakers at the August 24, 2016, meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. Would the individual members of the Board support the resolution, now before the Chicago . . .
