This is getting ridiculous

Michigan Republicans are getting ready to inflict further catastrophic damage on our state’s schools with the passage of a package of bills designed to pay for road and bridge repair, a major priority of Governor Rick Snyder. The bills say nothing about education or the School Aid Fund but the impact is there to the tune of more than $770.1 million.

Click through for all the gory details and information on how you can take action TODAY!

Let’s just remember who our opponent is in this race. The race to win South Carolina’s 1st District Congressional seat in a special election on Tuesday is virtually a dead heat. Former Republican Governor Mark Sanford has closed in on Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch’s early lead, with at least one poll putting him one point ahead. From what I’ve seen, […]

The Florida legislature rejected Medicaid expansion. This is not a good precedent.

When Governor Rick Snyder announced his support for Medicaid expansion in Michigan, most Republicans (and Democrats) were shocked. Almost as shocked as they were when Florida Governor Rick Scott did the same, considering what a vocal opponent he’d been of Obamacare.

But credit to both Republicans for putting aside politics and doing what’s right for the citizens of their states. Too bad their Republican-controlled legislatures don’t feel the same way.

Last Friday, the Florida legislature adjourned after passing a budget that did not include the funds necessary to support Medicaid expansion.

Click through for details.

That’s not a relationship built for education

Last year, Michigan’s Republican-dominated legislature passed a bill that was then signed into law by Governor Snyder that expands cyber schools in our state. Michigan already has nearly a quarter of the county’s charter schools and upwards of 80% of them are for-profit, run by corporations who make decisions based on their impact on the corporate profit statement.

I’ve been concerned about this ever since the law was passed because cyber schools rob our children of the human contact and relationships that are essential for helping them become happy, productive adults with the social skills needed to be successful. The bill was, ironically, part of a package of bills the Republicans, without a trace of irony, called Parent Empowerment Education Reform (PEER.) Except that kids who “attend” cyber schools won’t actually have any peers, at least not the kind of peer you can interact directly with.

Rita Pierson is an educator who feels deeply about this topic. A teacher for 40-years, she has come to see the essential value of the relationships teachers develop with their students. She gave a TED Talk recently where she speaks in direct terms about this topic and her message is one legislators in Michigan would benefit from hearing.

Watch it after the jump.

Sunlight extinguished

A couple of weeks ago on Tax Day, April 15th, Congress passed a bill that gutted the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, a law passed just last year to stop insider trading by government employees and elected officials. Later that day, President Obama signed it into law. The justification for the removal of disclosure provisions in the STOCK Act is that putting the financial information of congressional aides and executive branch staffers would endanger national security.

Details after the jump.

I’m feeling burned out on politics. Here’s some garden porn: – fresh picked asparagus from our garden: Self-portrait by Anne C. Savage G’night.

You’ve probably heard the House Republicans are planning another useless vote to repeal ObamaCare. This 30-somethingth display of their impotence is the kind of sabre-rattling that appeals to GOP primary voters — the only voters they care about — while wasting our precious time and money as millions of Americans struggle to find work. Imagine if House Republicans had voted […]

THIS is leadership

State Representative Sam Singh from East Lansing gave a terrific speech on the House floor last week, asking Republicans to “open their hearts” and do the right thing with regard to the expansion of Medicaid. “I’m not asking you to listen to me,” he said. “I’m asking you to listen to your Governor, to small business owners who will be penalized if their employees can’t find affordable health insurance and to the hospitals that are often the economic engines of your districts.”

Watch after the jump.

Because the poor simply haven’t been screwed over enough already, right?

Two bills passed by the Michigan House of Representatives this week have the effect of punishing one group and one group only: the poor. One bill, House Bill 4118 would force Michiganders applying for a renewal of their welfare benefits to undergo drug testing if they are “suspected” of being on drugs. The other, House Bill 4388, would kick families off from welfare if they have a child who skips school.

As egregious as this legislation is, what’s worse is that Democrats aided and abetted the Republicans in the passage of both bills.

Details await you after the jump.

The Michigan branch of the Center for Progressive Leadership is taking applications now for their summer Local Candidate and Campaign Manager training. If you’re considering a run for office in Michigan or are interested in helping to run a campaign, this training is for you. Though I have never taken the training, I know many people who have and they all rave about it. Details are below, deadline is May 15th.

Thank heavens they weren’t “ready”

Out in Halfway, Oregon, a group of teachers were meeting for an in-service training. Suddenly, two masked gunmen burst into the room and began firing handguns at the teachers, administrators, and trainers.

Click through to find out how this school narrowly avoided an unintended tragedy.