As many of you know, or might know, I am a major fan of Rush bordering on the cusp of fanboi status. I've
seen the band about 20 times in my life. My journey has included seeing the band during their Exit Stage Left tour at the Meadowlands in December 1981 through to their R40 tour last year at the Prudential Center.

So why am I sharing this?

For the last week or so, every time I log onto Facebook I am inundated with some ad for Michael Moore. What does Michael Moore have to do with Rush? Read on. Bear with me. Your jaw will drop when I get to the end!

So when I went to see Rush last year, my friend and I got to our seats about 30 minutes before the show. By the way, the seats were great! I had managed to finagle (Our original seats were in the 300 section of The Rock. I have my methods and they always work!) ourselves right next to the stage on Alex Lifeson's side. Check it out:
So we are talking with the people around us and who do I see being escorted on the floor by Rush's longtime manager Ray Daniels but none other than Michael Moore.

WOW! I thought to myself. How many teachers have been hoping, praying, willing to give up a child so that Michael Moore, the bane of the 1% and all that is bullshit, would take on our cause? Heck, back in 2010 after discussing this hope with an SBSB groupie I reached out by phone to one of Mike's producers, Rod Birleson, asking him, nay, imploring him, to let Mike know that all the stakeholders of education in the United States need Mike's involvement. Desperately.

So I decided not to pass up an opportunity.

I raced down, went up to Michael Moore and shared with him that I am a NYC teacher and that we in NYC, New York State, and across the country are hurting, that our students are hurting, and that our communities are hurting. Basically I was Princess Leia telling Obi-Wan that he was our only hope.

Mike listened and told me to get in contact with him. When I asked him how he told me through his agency, CAA. I thought fine, I can be tenacious at times. What harm can it do? But I was walking on air. I got to meet Michael Moore and it seemed that I had planted a seed in his head. He even agreed to a selfie with me (Shitty photo of me).

I said thank you and watched Mike go to his front row, or was it second row, seat. I went back to my seat and enjoyed 3 hours of Rush, perhaps seeing them for the last time ever (At the end of the tour Neil Peart more or less said he is retired from touring).


So later that week I decided to call CAA. It took me a few run arounds to find out who exactly represents Mike so I can leave a message with the right person (like a secretary). But eventually I found out who is agent is and when I did I knew I was lied to and I lost all respect for Michael Moore.

Michael Moore's agent is none other than Ari Emanuel. Yep, that Ari Emanuel, the brother of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. I knew then that Michael Moore doing anything for education is this country was never, ever, going to happen.

He is a man that has taken on General Motors, the NRA, health care, 9/11 and the Iraq war, the defense industry, and capitalism. He is, or appears to be, a man that has no fear at exposing those that are corrupt and in power. Heck, he is even taking on Donald Trump and don't be surprised if he comes out with a documentary about the 2016 elections.

But he will never take on nor expose how the powerful and Wall Street have corrupted education. Why? Because in this country the story how Wall Street and the politicians have screwed education starts at, and must include, Chicago and there is no way in hell that Michael Moore with do anything to make Ari's brother look like an incompetent putz.

This is the same reason why Michael Moore will not even touch Black Lives Matter, the use of force by police, or inner cities. Any reporting, any documentary must include the incompetence of Rahm Emanuel.

Michael Moore is nothing but a two bit, self serving con artist. Whatever is good for Michael Moore, to put him in the best light and to protect his friends his the direction Michael Moore follows.

In my heart of hearts I believe that Michael Moore has no core belief system and does come from the same mold has people like Donald Trump.

We as educators and community members need to stop hoping that Michael Moore gives a rat's ass. he does not and will not. Ever.

Michael Moore a man of the people? I laugh. If he were a man of the people he would have bought his seats  for Rush off of Stub Hub or bought seats in the 300 section and did what I had done.

Oh Joe Concannon, your true colors just keep showing.

Friday's post, "Why Does UFT Solidarity Work With Anti-Black Lives, Pro-Trump, Tea Bagger and Pro Rudy Joe Concannon?" still leaves open the question as to why any "caucus" such as UFT Solidarity claims it is, or in fact any teacher, would associate with Joe. What The Crack Team has learned in the last 48 hours brings up more questions and more reasons why UFT Solidarity should do the honorable thing and disassociate itself from such a person like Joe Concannnon and why teachers all over NYC should have nothing to do with him.  Just read the comments written by some of Joe's sycophants.

In this video here with super right winger Steve Malzberg on super right wing Newsmax TV Concannon whines that shootings of black are up in Chicago, Baltimore, and New York. While wrong and not acceptable Concannon does not understand the difference is that those being shot in those cities are not being shot because they are black.

How about this Joe, how do you explain a cop putting a choke hold on Eric Garner for selling loosies? There were not better ways to handle this? As an NYPD inspector shared with me once on what makes a good cop, he told me, "A good cop is someone who walks into a bad situation and calms the matter down." Did we see this in the Eric Garner video?

What is also distressing about Joe is the people he associates with. As mentioned on Friday, Joe comes across as a supporter of police and when he was running for city council had several rallies in Queens and Brooklyn. Guess who liked that idea?

Everyone's favorite meshuga New Yorker (No silly, it's not Governor Andy)

#SupportTheShield pic.twitter.com/kde0s9B4B6

— Carl Paladino (@CarlPaladino) January 7, 2015

Yeah, Uncle Carl Paladino. Carl has said lot's of crazy things. One of his craziest is...

"The Tea-Party backed candidate reportedly sent an e-mail depicting a horse having sex with a woman and another that included a pornographic video and the headline "Miss France 2008 F[***]ing." He also reportedly sent out an e-mail depicting President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as a pimp and prostitute and one showing an airplane landing near black men with the caption "Holy Sh*t. run ni**ers, run!"

Way to go Carl! And kudos to Joe Concannon for being his pal.

Yes Pal. You see, Joe Concannon is 1st Vice-President of the Queens Village Republican Club. Now knowing this, would it not be safe to assume that Joe has some say in whom the QVRC invites to break bread with? Let's have a looksee.


 Guess who?????? He kinda looks like Gomez Addams without the mustache. But Gomez was wayyyyy cooler. And crazy in a cool way.

So with all this information today and on Friday one must ask themselves, why does UFT Solidarity, a "caucus" that purports to fight for teachers so we can better able to educate those who are being most damaged by the education deform movement, those children who are a vast majority immigrants, of color, support someone who believes in and associates with all what we as teachers are fighting for?

@SoBronxSchool @realDonaldTrump @NYCRepublicans @Thanks2Police On the economy, immigration, schools, National defense, Law and Order, etc...

— Joe Concannon (@Joe_4_NY) July 22, 2016

We here are calling on UFT Solidarity to cut it's ties with Joe Concannon and repudiate his message of hate and intolerance. It is time to step up to the plate.

Black lives matter!

For those who like to claim that BLM is racist, or not caring of other lives, that's bullshit. If we say, "Save the Whales," does this mean that all other sea creatures do not matter? Does promoting breast cancer awareness mean that other cancer do not matter? Of courts not!

Better, where and how does wanting to save black lives, lives that are disproportionately being  snuffed out, be anti-cop? When too many black citizens are being shot and killed for driving while black, for walking while black, or just being black, what should a people do?

I am not anti-cop, anti-law enforcement, etc... There are just some f***** things happening of late. Can one be pro- cop and pro-black. It's simple.

But I won't paint all cops with one broad brush. As teachers we must not. We hate it when we are painted with that broad brush and to do so to any other profession is just morally wrong. The vast, vast majority of cops are good, are hard working, and are there to serve honorably. They don't deserve to be lumped in with the shoot first mentality of those cops that are besmirching the profession.

Say what you will about MORE, but you can know without any shadow of a doubt that MORE is aware that it not only serves it's members but the communities in which we teach in. Both go hand in hand. I differ on some of the tactics, some of the time spent on some of the social issue causes but at not time would I ever doubt anybody at MORE in what they feel in their heart about doing the right thing.

On the other hand we are still stuck with UFT Solidarity "caucus" and it's tone deafness to reality. You see, UFT Solidarity has a new patrón, NYC Council failedf candidate from Queens for the 23rd district, Joe Concannon.

From: Bozo T Clown
Date: July 12, 2016 at 9:12:14 AM EDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: [DTOE] Send school corruption issues to Joe Concannon

Joe Concannon, who is running for City Council in Queens, is collecting school corruption stories. You will remain anonymous and he will take the info to try and remedy from the political angle. See message below.

Joe Concannon, a failed Republican State Senate candidate and current president of the Tea Party-aligned Queens Village Republican Club, is the main organizer of the burgeoning anti-de Blasio protest effort. The retired NYPD captain and former Giuliani advisor is a close ally of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch. Lynch generated national headlines — and cheers from rank and file cops — when he claimed that de Blasio “has blood on [his] hands” just hours after Ismaaiyl Brinsley murdered Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.