Schmidt on RICO Investigation of CTU and Substance Coverage of NEA

Substance is putting up reports from the NEA convention written by Jack Gerson of Oakland. Many people have met Jack over the years, and he needs no introduction from me. I think that for NEA there will be multiple sources of information, and that will be good for all of us.

So starting late tonight or early tomorrow, you'll be able to read Jack's reports from NEA at www.substancenews.net.

Then, beginning next Thursday, you can read our staff reports from AFT on the same site.

Thanks again to everyone who convinced AFT that it was a good idea to let Substance cover the AFT convention.

We just got work yesterday that the feds are conducting a RICO kind of investigation into the recent silliness inside the Chicago Teachers Union. While these factual realities make great grist for Antonucci, we've got to be careful how loudly we cheer. If AFT gets through the Chicago convention without some major blowup based on Chicago's local stupidities (that's a huge plural), it will be a miracle.

At least we got our press credentials for the Substance team coverage. Janet Bass asked that we try to be "complete" and "accurate" and I promised her that's what we intended from the beginning. Accuracy doesn't mean that we agree with what we're reporting, but merely that we will begin with the facts and double check the main ones. For example, that RICO fact I report in the first paragraph of this e-mail is well sourced. Anyone who cares about Randi and our strength as a union (factions aside) might let her know that's brewing here in the host city of the upcoming convention. She's going to have enough headaches running AFT without having to deal with Chicago's sandbox stupidities.

By tomorrow night, we should have out Web updates well in hand, testing he functions on our newly re-coded site (it should be about five times faster) the next couple of days with Jack Gerson's reports from Washington, D.C. and then providing daily coverage from July 10 through July 15 from and about AFT.

George N. Schmidt
Editor, Substance

www.substancenews.net