Tag Archives: political action

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Republicans who will retire

05/11/2015 Nativegrl77

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

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Jimmy Fallon and the Mom of Dragons !

05/10/2015 Nativegrl77

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

05/08/2015 Nativegrl77

By CAP Action War Room

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.

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Tuition- Free Community College

05/08/2015 Nativegrl77

In this week’s address, the Vice President laid out his and the President’s plan to make two years of community college free for responsible students.Access to higher education has a tangible impact on a student’s success: Those with an associate’s degree earn 25% more than folks who graduated high school, and those with a four-year degree make 70% more. Not only that, but a better educated citizenry is necessary to ensure that the United States continues to out-compete the rest of the world.

Making two years of community college free is good for workers, good for companies, and good for our economy. And this proposal is part of the President’s broader vision for middle-class economics: that everybody who works hard deserves their fair shot and the chance to get ahead.

Watch the Vice President’s Weekly Address here.