All posts by Nativegrl77

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

a message from Patty Murray& Betsy DeVos’ first report card: Support pattymurray.com


 

Believe it or not, it’s almost September — back to school time once again.

And while students, teachers, and parents probably aren’t worried about report cards just yet, we thought someone deserved a report card on her performance so far: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

It’s been seven months since she was confirmed (after the closest vote in history for a cabinet secretary), and we know she had big plans for America’s schools — so before we head into the new school year, let’s look at where we stand. Share this graphic on Facebook with your friends and family today and show them how Betsy DeVos is failing parents, students, and teachers across the country.

Share on Facebook!

So we can see that even though Secretary DeVos took on a full course load in her first semester as Education Secretary, it seems she might not be up for the task. But because a change in major isn’t really something she’s looking for right now, we think she’s owed an explanation of her failing grades.

    • Education Budgeting 101: Secretary DeVos’ proposed education budget confirms her extreme ideological commitment to public school privatization — and it would come at the expense of millions of students around the country, from preschool to college and beyond. Her proposed budget would weaken communities by eliminating funding for afterschool programs, grant aid for struggling college students and teacher and principal training programs, and so much more. First Semester Grade: F.
    • Education Policy 101: Confusion is the name of the game with Secretary DeVos and has been since her confirmation hearing — where she suggested that guns should be allowed in schools to protect students from things like, grizzly bears. It seems like she’s not entirely sure how to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and she’s sending mixed signals to local superintendents and state education leaders. First Semester Grade: F.
    • Civil Rights 101: Secretary DeVos has made it clear through her actions that she isn’t committed to do everything she can to protect all students’ safety and civil rights. From her proposed cuts to the Office for Civil Rights, to rolling back Title IX protections intended to protect students from sexual assault, to overturning the rule protecting transgender students, and so much more — Secretary DeVos has moved the Department of Education away from the critical goal of promoting civil rights and student safety. First Semester Grade: F.
    • Writing 101: Given how little she answered in her hearing, many of us have been sending her letters asking some tough questions about what she is doing and how she is doing it. But the vast majority of our letters go unanswered! Either Secretary DeVos doesn’t have the answers, or she just doesn’t want to tell us about them in writing. First Semester Grade: Incomplete.
  • Principles of Business Management: You would think that even though Secretary DeVos has no specific education experience of her own, she might bring some business best practices to the table — like hiring the right folks and staffing up quickly. Wrong: She’s still the only Department of Education top-level employee confirmed by the Senate, and she only has two other nominees waiting for confirmation. First Semester Grade: F.

So many of us are teachers, parents, and students ourselves, and we know how difficult it can be to make up for a bad first semester. Only time will tell what’s next for Secretary DeVos, but for the sake of our students — I hope she turns it around.

Share this graphic today with your friends and family on Facebook, and let them know that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is failing students, teachers, and families.

Thanks,

Team Patty

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

FDA/USDA ~~ August 2017 Alerts&Safety pg.2


~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Important laws you’ve never heard of
This message is the latest in a series of efforts to help amplify citizen voices in service of political accountability and transparency in America.
Friends …

Next week, Congress returns to Washington to start tackling a long list of tasks. Will the federal government remain funded after September? What relief will be provided for the Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts? Can our elected leaders successfully tackle the complexities of tax code reform?

Though Congress has yet to secure any major legislative achievements this year, President Trump has signed 50+ bills into law since his inauguration. With plenty of legislative efforts at play, more laws will be passed before the end of the year that could directly affect you and your family.

Before recess comes to an end, read up on a few legislative efforts that are being powered by petitions on Change.org but may not be on your radar.

You’ll read about folks like Robert, whose campaign has pushed for investments in our nation’s infrastructure since the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. He believes Congressional action is necessary to protect public health and prevent similar crises in other towns and cities before it’s too late. If you agree, sign his petition here.

Lawmaker and media attention will likely focus on the big ticket items this fall, including the important work to help Gulf Coast residents recover from Hurricane Harvey. You can bring greater public attention to these causes right now by lending your signature and ongoing support.

Thank you,

Justin L.
U.S. Campaigns Team
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Things to know this week ~BossFeed Briefing from Working Washington


We are Working Washington

BossFeed Briefing for August 28, 2017. Last Monday, Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin flew to Kentucky to view the solar eclipse from atop Fort Knox, which holds much of the nation’s gold reserves. This past Friday, a Federal judge lifted the injunction against Seattle’s law providing Uber, Lyft, and other drivers the right to organize. Saturday was Women’s Equality Day, marking the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which recognized women’s right to vote in the U.S. And today is the 54th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. 

Throwing shade

Paul Ryan screenshot

Three things to know this week:

chat bubble Speaker of the House Paul Ryan came to Everett on Thursday to try and use Boeing workers as a backdrop to sell his latest plan to give billions of dollars of new tax breaks to CEOs & giant corporations. We flooded the livechat with so much feedback, he had to shut it down — but comments are still up, so enjoy!

medical staffA new study of British workers suggests that having a bad job could be worse for your health than having no job at all.People working in jobs that offered low pay, unpredictable shifts, and little autonomy had higher levels of chronic stress and a worse health outlook than those who were unemployed.

shocked face A woman who worked at a 911 call center is suing over being disciplined and then fired after “experiencing two incidents of sudden onset, heavy menstrual flow.” First she was told she would be fired “if she ever soiled another chair from sudden onset menstrual flow,” and then terminated for failured to practice “high standards of personal hygiene and maintain a clean, neat appearance while on duty.”

 

Two things to ask:

envelope Think he’ll write back? Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold wrote an open letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos calling on the multi-billionaire to lead a national conversation on wages and working conditions in the new economy. In her letter, Councilmember Herbold details poor conditions for Amazon Prime Now employees, contracted security workers, and others at the margins of the tech boom.

burger Is this any way for a burger chain to treat its employees? A former worker at local restaurant chain Blue Moon Burgers has shared his story after going public with a screenshot showing texts between a manager and the chain’s owner that used a racial slur to refer to employees. When the employee raised the issue, the owner told him that if he had an issue, he could leave and not come back.

 

And one thing that’s worth a closer look:

money with wings When online childcare matchmaking app Wondersitter went out of business, the site suddenly shut down and paychecks never arrived, so hundreds of sitters were left unpaid for work they had done, and hundred of parents who had purchased sitting credits in advance were left unable to use money they had already spent. As Catherine Ho explains in an eye-opening look at some lesser-known issues around app-based work for the San Francisco Chronicle, the app matched parents with sitters and collected a percentage of payments up front, but technically the sitters were classified as independent contractors rather than employees. While employees get priority to recover unpaid wages in the event their employer goes bankrupt, the legal rights of independent contractors in these circumstances are less clear.

 

Read this far?

tophat Consider yourself briefed, boss.