It used to be that on my way home I would turn on WFAN and listen to the bloviating of His
Popeness, Mike Francesa. Hasn't been that way for a few months now.

I have found a new voice to listen to, that of Michelangelo Signorile on SiriusXM Progressive Channel 127. I have to tell you, I am hooked. Heck, I don't even listen to Sternthology in the afternoon.

Michelangelo has had me mesmerized with his take on the entire 2016 election and it's aftermath. The way he has deconstructed Trump's petty excuse of living has me on the edge of my seat as I drive up the Major Deegan in the afternoon. His progressive agenda, his realistic look at the world has let know that I, and others who feel the same, or not alone in the screwed up, messed up, crazy country we live in nowadays.

Michelangelo is a true defender of those who need defending. Whether they be of the LGBTQ community, African-American, Hispanic, Asian-Americans, Jews, women, or just anyone in need, and anyone being shat upon by those with the privilege to be in power. Death

Listening to him mock Steve Bannon, the Alt-Right, Trump, Christie, Palin, Guiliani, and all the other Trump hangers on and sycophants have left me in stitches so often I have almost driven off the Sprain!

But, and I say this with a heavy heart, Michelangelo has disappointed me in one regard. His silence and lack of understanding on Herr Trump's stance on education.

Right after the election I got a phone call from a friend of The Crack Team who happened to be in a panic. She was convinced that Reichsführer Trump will annihilate education in this country, sending billions of dollars away from public education and in the process putting the final nail in the coffin of teachers unions and urban education.

I did my best to reassure her that it won't happen, that Trump is all talk and he will never shut down the Department of Education and besides she, as well as myself, have just over 4 years till retirement and hopefully we'll be out before the proverbial doody hits the proverbial fan.

So back on November 10 I decided to call into Michelangelo's show and share with him what teachers are thinking and how horrible a Trump presidency will be to education in this country. I felt the need to do this due to the fact that of all the things that Trump is for not once had I heard Michelangelo bring up Trump's threat to education.

So Mike, I hope you are reading this. You took my call during the 5 o'clock hour. I told you I was Pete from White Plains and that I am a NYC teacher. I told you about Trump's plan and how teachers are scared. I told you how he will be wanting to take monies away from public education and put those monies into charter schools and vouchers for parochial and private schools as well as into homeschooling. Oh, and I shared how with being able to fill Scalia's seat teachers run the risk of Friedrich's being reheard and losing our right to organize. I will give you credit. You heard me. But you did not listen.

All I got from you Mike was, and I am paraphrasing, "Don't worry, your unions are too strong to allow this to happen." Say what? I tried to get in a word but you just kept talking over me.

Guess what? Our unions are not strong enough to fight back. Have you seen what has happened alone in New York State with education? With the testing, the BS evaluations, junk science, etc...? Who do we have to thank for this? The United Federation of Teachers. OUR UNION!!! That of course acts this way due to the directing of the AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS!!!

Have you noticed a trend across the country? In Wisconsin, North Carolina, California? Where have you been?

Where were you when Eva Moskowitz's name was being floated as Education Secretary? Do you know about Eva? Just in case you don't, check this out! Were you appalled that Princess Trump visited her Success Academy 1 School to tout her as an innovative educator  whilst ignoring the GREAT WORK of the teachers in the same building who teach our most needy students?

Where were you when Michelle Rhee was floated as Education Secretary? Yeah, that Michelle Rhee who I wrote about on the Huff Post in 2010, you know, about duct taping her student's mouths shut.

And guess who enabled the Moskowitz's, the Rhees, and the countless education deformers of the world? The DEMOCRATS! Yeah, without the Democrats, we never get NCLB and Race to the Top. If Democrats can't stop Republicans, or at the very least roll over for the Republicans, how can Trump be stopped?

How can Trump and the Republican controlled Congress be stopped when our unions have been rolling over, throwing teachers under the bus for 15 years?

Hey Mike, how about putting up that same fight for our children, the communities, our unions, and teachers that you put up for everyone else?

I know you can, and I know you are a good person that can make a change.

 Happy 2016!

So now the cat can be let out of the bag, at least the way I feel since the show is no longer being done and so much to share. My fifteen minutes of fame in the world of Hoard Stern.

Almost two years ago I was an invited guest on "Leiberman Live" hosted by current or former Hoard Stern news team member Jon Leiberman. For those that don't know "Leiberman Live" was a 15 minute topical news show on SiriusXM channel Howard 101 in which a news maker or someone with something to say debates to members of the "Wack Pack." I was to go up against some of the greatest minds ever.

Me and Jon Leiberman

I was hoping against hope that one of the Wack Packers I would be debating would be Eric the Actor. But it was not to be. Since I would appear on a Monday, it meant that High Pitched Erik would be sharing his opinion on that show's topic, Charter Schools.

I reached out to my debate mate Erik on Twitter and we built up a rapport. I found out that he lives i the Bedford Park area of the Bronx and suggested we meet before the show. He said OK, and was even more excited when I suggested we meet for dinner.

Thinking that if we met at a diner Erik would order everything off the menu I decided that it would be best if we went to a place where only one item was offered, Frank Pepe's Pizza in Yonkers. Aside from pizza, only salad was on the menu and I need not worry about Erik ordering that.

I had originally planned on bring my son along with my wife (He was 12 at the time) but changed my mind at the last minute and it was just to be myself, my wife, and Erik. We were to pick him up at his home at 6 PM and hopefully he would fit in the car and limit himself to two medium pies.

As we were just about to leave Erik tweeted me he was stuck on the D train at the Herald Square subway station and would be 30 minutes late. OK. So we waited. And then waited some more as Erik tweeted several times asking for another 30 minutes.

Erik finally tweeted that he was on his way and had one more small request. He asked me to bring $50 so he can pay his cell phone bill. It was at this point I figured meeting and dining with Erik was not worth it and I politely suggested that we do this another time. But he said he was depressed and wanted to do it the following night which I couldn't.



Sadly, Erik must have been hurt for he never appeared in the studio with me that day. Instead I was to debate Wack Packers Sour Shoes and Speech Impediment Man that day regarding Charter Schools.

So for the first time ever, I now present those slightly edited down 15 minutes, down to 11 minutes, of fame for all to hear.

Ba-Ba-Booey. Ta-Ta Toothy. Ma-Ma-Monkey. Fa-Fa-Flunky.