Speaking in Chicago yesterday (10-7-09) with Mayor Daley and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan said this concerning young people in Chicago who are involved in street violence: "We must engage with them at every stage of their lives and teach them that violence doesn’t solve anything. And that respect for others is the foundation for a safe and healthy society.”

Not bad advice. The irony of this statement and the man making it, however, is palpable. Not only does Arnie Duncan choose to be a member of an Obama administration that is conducting two overt wars around the world (not to mention whatever military operations go on covertly) but as CEO of Chicago Public Schools he also oversaw the transformation of CPS into the most heavily militarized school district in the nation with a third of U.S. public military academies for high schoolers located in Chicago. And if the U.S. military is not a violent institution, what is?

Does he really believe that "violence doesn't solve anything?" Young people can see right through hypocritical statements like this one. His actions speak louder than his words.