Providence Mayor Follows the Law...Pearl Harbor-Like Attack Comparison Follows

Providence, RI is yet another American city facing a fiscal crisis and will probably be forced to close a few schools next year as well as fire some teachers. Because the law in Rhode Island requires it, Providence Mayor Angel Tavares was forced to send out nearly 2000 pink slips or else the government would have been on the hook to pay salaries to any teachers that they terminated after that date. He explained it quite clearly to MSNBC's Contessa Brewer:

The notices had not yet reached the teachers when the attacks on Mayor Tavares and this difficult decision began. The Providence Journal reports:

“This is beyond insane,” Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith said Tuesday night. “Let’s create the most chaos and the highest level of anxiety in a district where teachers are already under unbelievable stress. Now I know how the United States State Department felt on Dec. 7 , 1941.”

Mr. Smith, we understand that you felt as if the mailing of the pink slips was a sneak attack, but you really should not be surprised by this as it has happened in the past.  Just last year 100 teachers received the notices and in some difficult economic years, up to 500 were 'pink slipped.'  Is it really necessary to compare the fiscally responsible actions taken by the Mayor of Providence, as compelled by law, to a murderous attack on America that killed THOUSANDS of people?  The facts below are from the good people at Answers.com

According to the National Park Service, there were 1998 Navy personnel, 109 Marines, 233 Army personnel and 48 civilians killed at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941. This comes to a total of 2388 Americans killed.