Generally speaking, states that elect Democrats to public office spend far more money on public education than states that elect Republicans. The half dozen states that invest the least per student are Utah, Idaho, Oklahoma, Arizona, Mississippi, and Tennessee, essentially one-party states with solid GOP control who take all their orders directly from ALEC.
One of the brightest hopes for progressive governance in the L.A. area going forward-- not garden variety, corrupt Democratic Party hackish governance but progressive governance-- comes from Micah Ali, president of the Compton Board of Education and a candidate for the 64th Assembly District open seat.
Do you ever wonder why Republicans hate public education? A lot depends on which Republicans you're talking about. The Old Skool Conservatives just don't think wealthy men's taxes should go towards educating poor men's daughters. That kind of defines core conservatism. But the GOP New Skool isn't conservative; it's some kind of sick conglomeration of reactionaries, neo-fascists, racists and nihilists. They fear and oppose modern society in general; it almost makes no sense even discussing issues with them from the perspective of reason.
Not a single Democrat voted for John Kline's anti-education bill, H.R. 5. It passed Friday, 221-207, a dozen Republicans crossing the aisle and voting with Team Pelosi. The bill, which Kline and the rest of the GOP zombies call the Student Success Act, was supposed to rewrite No Child Left Behind. If anything, they've managed to make a terrible law even worse.Even Obama's way too corporate Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, couldn't stomach it. He said that beside locking in crippling cuts to education funding.
Daylin Leach is a candidate for Congress. Since Allyson Schwartz is running for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, he's running to replace her as the Representative for northwest Philly/Montgomery County. He's campaigning hard, but that doesn't mean he's neglecting his current job as a state senator. The video above was in response to the reactionary Republican budget, which passed the House 111-92 just hours before the Sunday deadline. Gov.
Boehner puppet, John Kline (R-MN)Last week, we warned that John Kline's House Education and Workforce Committee was dead set on raising the cost of college education. When Elizabeth Warren's amendment to lower the cost of student loans to 0.75%, just like the banksters get, it was voted down, every Republican plus Colorado New Dem Jared Polis voting against it in committee.
If you're interested in the space where education policy, politics and humor come together, you should be checking out EduShyster.com frequently. The site is premised on that fact that "behind every faddish, jargon-filled plan is a dirty little scheme that ends up making somebody a lot of money.
