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Tag Archives: United States
5,000 Year Old Stone Monument ~~ Israel
Jindal Versus Louisiana Schoolchildren … a repost
Another Republican chooses to sue the Administration
Bobby Jindal, the Republican Governor of Louisiana, filed suit against the Obama administration on Wednesday. He argues that the Department of Education has exceeded its constitutional authority by offering states grants if they choose to opt-in to the Common Core standards.
Jindal’s Complaint claims the Common Core is “an attempt by the executive branch to implement national education reform far beyond the intentions of Congress; in fact, in contradiction to 50 years of Congressional policy forbidding federal direction or control of curriculum, the cornerstone of education policy.”
While this lawsuit makes little sense for a variety of reasons, perhaps the strangest is the complete about-face Jindal made. Not only did he sign the legislation implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), his administration actively pushed the legislature to enact them. Back in 2012, Stafford Palmieri, Jindal’s top education policy adviser, wrote: “I frankly don’t foresee a controversy over this and if there is one and we come out swinging about how impt [sic] this is that helps not hurts our case. We stand very firmly behind CCSS as you know,” according to emails obtained The Times-Picayune.
However, in Louisiana, Bobby Jindal is one of only a few politicians to choose politics over kids.
Back in May, a bill to repeal the Common Core didn’t even make it out of the Louisiana Senate Education Committee. And in April, the corresponding House committee shot down two Jindal-backed repeal bills. While a fraction of the state legislature tried to stop implementation by suing Education Superintendent John White, their request was denied. White, too, remains an ardent supporter of the standards.
Jindal marks the far-right on Common Core: only a handful of states are not participating in the voluntary program. If Jindal gets his way, he will join a select group of flip-floppers:
- Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, who once supported their implementation, signed a bill this June to repeal them.
- South Carolina first adopted the standards in 2010, but also had them repealed this summer.
- Indiana led the way with its repeal in March, though its new state standards are remarkably similar.
By choosing to sue the Obama administration, Bobby Jindal enters a league of his own on the Common Core. He himself has protested unnecessary lawsuits, once remarking: “This bill will help stop frivolous lawsuits and create a more fair and predictable legal environment, and I am proud to sign it into law.” Unfortunately, he and other Republicans are gumming up the legal system instead of helping ordinary Americans.
BOTTOM LINE: When your duly elected state legislature and elected members of your Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Superintendent of education that you appointed all believe that the Common Core is good for Louisiana’s students, you should listen. Choosing politics – and a possible 2016 presidential run – over schoolchildren is wrong.
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WA meet Tami Green, Democratic Party
There’s a lot to be excited about this year –
Tami Green is running for State Senate in the 28th District
Click here and say:
I’m with Tami
We have a great opportunity to unseat one of the most conservative voices in the State Senate.
In his one year in office, State Senator Steve O’Ban has led efforts to allow businesses to deny services to gays and lesbians.
He’s worked to allow insurance companies to deny coverage for basic services, like mammograms, diabetes, and autism screenings.
Our state needs leaders who will move our state forward.
Rep. Tami Green has been representing the 28th District for 10 years. She has a strong record of accomplishment in the 28th District, and she is challenging Steve O’Ban for State Senate.
Will you sign our petition and show your support for Tami Green for State Senate?
Tami Green is a trusted nurse and legislative leader known for her integrity, courage, and willingness to bring people together.
In her 10 years in the Legislature, Tami has earned a strong reputation as an experienced leader who is focused on results.
She is a strong advocate for the values we share. She’s worked to strengthen the middle class, protect our environment, expand access to health care, and protect a woman’s right to choose.
With Republicans in power in the State Senate, we haven’t gotten the results that will help Washington’s working families.
This year, the Republican State Senate majority refused to compromise and failed to pass a Transportation or Capitol Budget. This has killed jobs and hurt our middle class.
Steve O’Ban was in step with the State Senate majority the entire way.
We need to elect leaders who are willing to come to the table, get to work, and do what’s best for our communities and working families.
We need Tami Green in the State Senate. Join us now and sign on as a supporter today.
In solidarity,
Jaxon Ravens
Washington State Democrats Chair
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Too much Democracy?
Georgia Republicans Lament Efforts To Expand Voting Access, Try To Stop Them
As November approaches, Georgia finds itself home to a toss-up Senate race between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue. With such a competitive race, voters are registering at a higher rate than usual and county election boards are taking steps to expand access to the polls. America has one of the worst turnout rates of any developed country in the world, so you’d like to think that everybody would be cheering this news. But some Republican officials are worried that these measures are resulting in the increased participation of minority voters, and that that fact could spell trouble for their own candidates.
Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp is one of these officials. Think Progress’s Josh Israel reports on new audio released by progressive voting rights organization Better Georgia that captures Kemp sharing his frustration over it’s grassroots effort to register minority voters for the election. Here’s an excerpt from the tape:
Democrats are working hard, and all these stories about them, you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November.
Using the power of his position, Kemp plans to fight back. On Tuesday, Kemp launched a “voter fraud” investigation into the voter registration effort, which he says he suspects may have “forged voter registration applications, forged signatures on releases, and applications with false or inaccurate information.” (As a reminder, the problem of voter fraud is essentially non-existent.)
Kemp is not the only one feeling threatened. Just the day before he launched his investigation, another Republican, state senator Fran Millar, complained that voting is too convenient for black people. One of Georgia’s largest counties announced last week that it will allow early voting on a Sunday in late October and will open an early voting location in a shopping mall popular among local African-Americans. Millar penned an angry response, explaining that “this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist.” When asked to stand by his comments, Millar only got more offensive, writing in a Facebook post, “I would prefer more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters.”
BOTTOM LINE: Expanding voting access by increasing opportunities to vote and increasing voter registration is something that deserves to be celebrated in our democracy. Instead, some officials in Georgia, feeling threatened by what might happen if more people exercise their constitutional right, resort to name calling and launching specious investigations that are more likely intended for voter suppression than anything else.
Be a Seed for Change 
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