Tag Archives: ~ Culture & History

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

My son Travis died in Iraq: Lynn Bradach via Change.org


My son Travis was accidentally killed in Iraq by a cluster bomb, which is a type of bomb that can explode months later, like a landmine. I’m calling on JPMorgan to stop funding companies that make these deadly bombs.

C –
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Resistance! Facing Down Goliath Oil Companies

Resistance!

Facing Down Goliath Oil Companies
TheAchuar andU’wa indigenouspeoples have me in awe of the immense power of grassroots resistance in the face of multi-billion dollar corporations. Years after graduating from university, I find myself once again a student. Throughout my tenure at Amazon Watch, Ihave been honored to “informally apprentice” under our wise and humble indigenous partners.Today’s teachers are the Achuar people of the northern Peruvian Amazon and the U’wa people of the Colombian cloud forest. In recent weeks, both have informed the world of important advances in their decades-long struggles to defend their homelands.
~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Republicans who will retire


Noracism

by Jaxon

There’s no place for racism in this day and age — especially not in our State Capitol.

Yet on Februrary 26th, at a meeting of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, State Senator Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside said: “The poor are more likely to commit crimes, and colored most likely to be poor.”

Later he doubled down on his offensive language, clarifying “that’s not just the negro.”1

Can you believe it? Not only is this language incredibly offensive, it’s spreading the worst stereotypes about people of color.

And here’s the irony: People of color make up the majority of Jim Honeyford’s district. With attitudes like these, how can he truly understand and fight for the people he’s supposed to represent?

While voters across the state immediately demanded that Honeyford leave office, his Republican leadership remained silent. Not a peep.

Even worse, instead of proving that there is no room for the attitudes of Jim Honeyford in their party, Republicans turned and blocked a vote on the state Voting Rights Act THE VERY NEXT DAY. This simple bill is targeted to address unfair aspects of our elections system — breaking the stereotypes and ignorance perpetuated by people like Jim Honeyford.

Republicans need to understand that it’s 2015, not 1965, and they cannot condone this behavior within their party.

Join us in demanding Republican Majority Leader Mark Schoesler and State Senate leadership ask Senator Jim Honeyford to step down.

These students were in Olympia on Friday to call for Jim Honeyford to resign

Saturday was the 50th anniversary of the Selma march, where 600 brave souls risked their lives and marched for the right to vote.

While we celebrate how far we’ve come, we are reminded by Republican leaders how far we still have to go.

The Yakima Valley – and our state – deserve better. It’s time to open the door to a new generation of leadership.

Send a message to Senate Republicans. Add your name and tell them to call for Jim Honeyford to resign today.

In solidarity,

Jaxon

1 http://www.thestranger.com/blogs/slog/2015/03/05/21834324/republican-state-senator-caves-to-pressure-apologizes-for-clueless-racial-comments

~ Youtube ...gotta listen to this

Jimmy Fallon and the Mom of Dragons !


https://tv.yahoo.com/video/kristen-wiig-dresses-mother-dragons-074637233.html

click on the link below for another Wiig video by Yahoo

Funny lady Kristen Wiig stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon dressed as Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. The actress came complete with a fake dragon perched on her shoulder and some fake breasts taped to her chest.

 

 

 

 

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Thank a Teacher


By

Three Policies To Support Teachers For Teacher Appreciation Week

We all know teachers in our lives who helped us more than we could ever fully appreciate. Well, this week is Teacher Appreciation Week, the time for all of us to let our teachers know how much they are valued by their students and the communities they serve. For the occasion, the Center for American Progress released this video showing what happens when you ask principals and administrators to thank a teacher.

But we can do more than just say thank you. We also must pass public policies that support and empower teachers to do their jobs well. Here are three such suggestions:

1. Pay them more: The average starting salary for teachers across the country is $36,141, 40 percent lower than the average starting salary of workers with college degrees, which deters younger teachers from staying in the field. We should boost teacher pay so they earn what they deserve, and so that students can learn from the best teachers we have to offer.

2. Give them meaningful leadership opportunities: Teachers should always feel valued in the work they are doing, but we should strengthen that by creating more teacher leadership roles in classrooms, schools and districts. A collaborative approach between management and teachers is crucial, especially for development new teaching materials and implementing reforms such as the Common Core. And student learning will improve as a result.

3. Reauthorize a federal education bill that supports teachers instead of failing them: The federal government has an important role to play in education by insuring that our students and teachers get a proper level of support. However, early versions of the federal education reauthorization bill would have opened the door to severe budget cuts, diluted targeted funding for teachers and cut $163 million of federal spending on Title II, funding designed to support teachers. Policymakers need to make sure that isn’t the case.

BOTTOM LINE: Be sure to take a moment thank a teacher this week. But also remember that a great way to thank our teachers is to support them with policies that give them the tools to help every student succeed.