http://conservablogs.com Free-Markets, Limited Government, Less Regulation. Fri, 16 May 2008 17:39:52 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As the largest union in the United States, the National Education Association makes the news multiple times, every day. I thought a roundup of their newsworthy items a good exercise in disseminating information to taxpayers like you who fund their activities.   (Just so we’re clear: you pay taxes to the ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=551 Proving once again that we live in an overly litigious society, a teachers union in Belleville, Illinois has decided that instead of working through the regular channels to fix classrooms and to eliminate mold and dampness caused by building maintenance troubles, they had to stampede straight for the courts to ... http://theunionlabelblog.com/2008/05/15/teachers-union-sues-illinois-school-for-bad-air-quality/ AWB’s Don Brunell has a good blog post on the Vancouver School District’s decision to join a lawsuit against the state for "inadequately funding." The district will kick in $30,000 to help fund the effort. The lawsuit is spearheaded by the Washington Education Association, the state PTA, and numerous school districts. ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=550 John Tyler Hammons, a 19-year-old and freshman at the University of Oklahoma was recently elected mayor of Muskogee, Oklahoma, a city with a population of 38,000.   According to an Associated Press article, Hammons said a key to his platform that resonated with voters was openness of government and keeping citizens better ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=549 King County’s report on taxpayer-funded elections released on Monday made a rather stunning admission. Statewide taxpayer-funded election programs seem to have succeeded better than local programs (page 35). No doubt, state legislators will use this to rationalize any future proposal to create a statewide program with your tax dollars.   The report ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=548 Today’s Columbian has another story about the $13.2 million grant that the teachers unions thwarted for Washington public schools. Tom Koenninger gets it, so why don’t teachers, union brass, legislators, or the governor?   But the grant was killed when the Washington Education Association refused to set aside collective-bargaining rules. The ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=547 http://ofrg.blogspot.com/2008/05/governor-snubs-landowners-with-veto.html The WEA is now calling for performance evaluations of its former President and current Superintendent of Public Instruction for Washington State, Dr. Terry Bergeson.   The union is trying a more subtle ouster campaign this time around. A few weeks ago, the Washington Education Association sent a confidential memo to each of ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=546 After the Supreme Court's recent affirmation of the constitutionality of Indiana's photo ID requirements for voting, I suggested that Washington and other states could use that ruling to push similar laws like requiring proof of citizenship. Apparently my idea wasn't original (no surprise), as twenty states are working on proof ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=545 Many in our state are outraged at how the Washington Education Association has prevented students and teachers benefitting from a generous $13.2 million grant aimed at improving and expanding Advanced Placement programs at several high schools.   This kind of self-serving union interference in education isn’t limited to our state. New York ... http://www.libertylive.org/blog_main/post.php?post_id=544