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Monday, April 16, 2012

Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:


Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public Education

Removing the Walker regime is within the grasp of Wisconsin voters. Walker’s policies, if allowed to continue, will make pain and suffering the order of the day for many people, while corporations and the wealthy will flourish.
As an advocate of public education, working for over 80,000 Milwaukee students, my goal is to steer education policy and funding away from privatization, and toward teaching all students with equity in funding and resources.
The past two years have seen education used as a political football to advance schemes that have nothing to do with improving the lives of all Wisconsin’s children. There was an attempt to take over Milwaukee Public Schools. With the new legislature coming to office in 2011, private school vouchers have been expanded, along with a move toward universal vouchers. The charter movement is working to flood the Milwaukee education market with so-called “miracle” schools.
Democrats should support public education at all levels because –
  1. An educated population is the cornerstone of democracy. This nation’s well-being depends on the decisions of its educated, informed cit

Stop the War on Mothers by Ellen Bravo

(View Ellen Bravo taking a stand against the “big boys” of the right-wing on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC:
http://video.msnbc.msn.com/melissa-harris-perry/46419672#47049605 )
By Ellen Bravo
I love the image of conservatives hiding behind the flag of motherhood to protect themselves against charges of gender insensitivity. It’s like kids who move the couch to cover up a stain and hope no one will notice.
By all means, let’s talk about the importance of motherhood.
We can start with the right to stay home after giving birth. Rush Limbaugh recently ranted that women have much more flexibility at work than men.
Unlike Rush, I like to begin with the facts.
The United States is one of only four countries in the world that doesn’t ensure new mothers can afford to stay home even for the briefest of times after they have a baby. Not surprisingly, millions of American mothers who’ve given birth go back to work before the six weeks needed just for healing. The majority of new mothers return before 12 weeks.
Why? For many, because they’ll lose their job otherwise. We have two laws protecting new mothers. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act says an employer can’t fire someone for being pregnant but doesn’t have to hold