gay

Tea Party guide to legislative supporters

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The Dispatch ran an article titled "Tea party has had it with GOP"

Feeling betrayed by the Republican Party and its leaders, tea party groups in Ohio appear to be uniting and moving toward either a split from the GOP or action to punish Republican candidates who fail ideological purity tests.
[...]
It remains uncertain, however, just how much the Ohio GOP and its candidates could be hurt by an insurrection because it is difficult to assess the true strength of tea party groups. A 2012 poll by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about 28 percent of Republicans identified themselves as tea party supporters.

To gage how much support the Tea Party has within the Ohio GOP legislative House caucus, we took a look at who had signed on to the Tea Party's pet union busting "right to work" cause. Spread across HB 151 (Private Employees "Right to work" bill) and HB 152 (Public Employees "Right to work" bill), the following Republican state Representatives sponsored or cosponsored one or both of these Tea Party bills

Adams
Beck
Becker
Blair
Boose
Brenner
Buchy
Hood
Lynch
Maag (sponsor)
Roegner (sponsor)
Rosenberger
Stautberg
Terhar
Thompson
Wachtmann
Young

This represents 28% of the GOP house caucus, identical to the number of Republicans the Kaiser Family Foundation found identified as Tea Partiers. You will also note Rep Terhar on the list, he is the spouse of the Hitler referencing Debe Terhar, the President of the State Board of Education - quite the family of anti-working people policy advocates.

28% is quite a sizable rump for the more moderate Republicans to have to deal with, and it might be growing

But tea party leaders say their ranks are being swelled by social conservatives who oppose abortion and gay marriage and who are angry with the Republican Party.

This also corresponds with the information we published as to why some on the Ohio GOP were wanting to push "right to work" - it's all about bigotry

Harvey said the NEA has supported an “immoral, deviant and destructive” gay agenda for at least 25 years, citing its gay and lesbian caucus started in 1987. Harvey criticized the union for supporting a gay and lesbian history month, diversity training that included homosexuality, and pro-homosexual school counseling. She said the NEA has asked schools to protect students and staff from sexual orientation harassment and discrimination and has replaced the word “tolerance” with acceptance and respect.

“Kids are being trained as activists now,” she said.

Harvey said the NEA has voted to lobby for same-sex unions and said petitions are currently circulating to overturn the 2004 Ohio marriage amendment, which stated that that only a union between a man and woman would be recognized as a valid marriage. The OEA opposed the amendment.

It's hard believe that the "Tea party has had it with GOP" when at least 28% of the Ohio GOP's elected Representatives is made up of tea partiers.

Exposing the real "Right to Work" supporters agenda

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Efforts to pass "Right to Work" laws go back decades (a measure was defeated in Ohio in 1958, by the massive margin of 63.3% No to 36.7% yes), and have always been pursued by monied interests looking to put a dent in the power of workers ability to stand up for themselves and each other through collective action.

It should not be lost on anyone that the major backers of this latest anti-union push are billionaires and big business, none of whom actually belong to a union. Having seen previous "right to work" efforts defeated, the extreme right, and their big business backers have had to send their latest effort through a rebranding exercise and they have come up with a new catchy title "work place freedom".

Who doesn't love freedom? Well apparently the very people promoting the effort. LimaOhio.com reported on a meeting of Tea Party members discussing "work place freedom" and why they were pursuing it

Speakers at an Allen County Patriots meeting Thursday made the case that the National Education Association abuses teacher dues to support a liberal agenda that disrespects Christian values.
[...]
According to Boyatt, NEA gave close to $15 million to advocacy groups in the 2011-12 school year and $18 million in 2010-11. The advocacy groups, she said, included the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, Human Rights Campaign, Women’s Campaign Forum and Rainbow Push Coalition.

From there, it got uglier, much uglier

Harvey said the NEA has supported an “immoral, deviant and destructive” gay agenda for at least 25 years, citing its gay and lesbian caucus started in 1987. Harvey criticized the union for supporting a gay and lesbian history month, diversity training that included homosexuality, and pro-homosexual school counseling. She said the NEA has asked schools to protect students and staff from sexual orientation harassment and discrimination and has replaced the word “tolerance” with acceptance and respect.

“Kids are being trained as activists now,” she said.

Harvey said the NEA has voted to lobby for same-sex unions and said petitions are currently circulating to overturn the 2004 Ohio marriage amendment, which stated that that only a union between a man and woman would be recognized as a valid marriage. The OEA opposed the amendment.

This is why the Tea Party in Ohio wants to pursue "right to work" legislation, not to create any kid of "freedom", but to enable their ongoing bigotry by attacking organizations that have a long history of standing up for equality and fairness. Public opinion polls show strong majorities now supporting marriage equalityand how out of the mainstream these Tea Party "Patriots" truly are.

The NEA and its members should be rightly proud of their support for equality, even when it was unpopular to do so.

Big business backers of this effort ought to take a closer look at who some of their allies are. The world has moved on from 1958, but voters are likely to deliver an equally stinging defeat to the purveyors of this ugly bigoted agenda.

Education News for 02-04-2013

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State Education News

  • Governor’s office says school funding plan is a redistribution of wealth, not attempt at adequacy (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • On Thursday, Gov. John Kasich’s education experts stood in front of images on a screen and said they had arrived at a school funding formula that ends the inequity among Ohio’s richest and poorest districts…Read more...

  • Gov. John Kasich's school funding plan might hold little new money for many Northeast Ohio districts (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Northeast Ohio may not benefit as much as other parts of the state from Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to overhaul school funding, a Plain Dealer analysis shows…Read more...

  • Officials seek details of Kasich plan for gifted (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Compared to other states, Ohio’s support for gifted students has been among the best: Only one other state with comparable data gave more money for gifted programs in 2011…Read more...

  • Rules vague on suspending teachers for misconduct (Columbus Dispatch)

    • After being arrested and charged with assault, domestic violence and disorderly conduct, a Westerville teacher paid bond and left jail. Eight days later, when students returned to school from winter break…Read more...

  • Only limit on new voucher is the budget (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Nearly half of Ohio’s 1.8 million elementary and secondary students could qualify in the coming years for tax-funded tuition to private schools under Gov. John Kasich’s plan to expand the state’s voucher program…Read more...

  • Incentives plan raises questions (Columbus Dispatch)

    • The same component of Gov. John Kasich’s school-funding plan that would empower districts to add performance pay incentives for teachers also could push districts to trim teachers from the payrolls…Read more...

  • Public schools would incur some cost of voucher expansion (Dayton Daily News)

    • An adviser for Gov. John Kasich on Friday provided more funding details about his controversial plan to expand the school voucher program in Ohio…Read more...

  • Area school chiefs greet Kasich plan with optimism (Findlay Courier)

    • Gov. John Kasich's school-funding plan was met with optimism and apprehension Friday as area superintendents said they are eager to find out the specifics of the overhaul, which will see the state spend $15.1 billion on schools over the next two years…Read more...

  • Should schools consider arming staff? (Marion Star)

    • Imagine this scenario. A man with a gun enters a school, intent on killing. A locked door doesn’t stop him. He gets through security efforts and starts shooting…Read more...

  • Bullying study: It does get better for gay, bisexual teens (Youngstown Vindicator)

    • It really does get better for gay and bisexual teens when it comes to being bullied, although young gay men have it worse than their lesbian peers, according to the first long-term scientific evidence…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Ex-cop ready to serve if schools sign on to his idea (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • There has been plenty of talk but little else since Butler County’s sheriff publicly floated the idea of retired cops working as armed substitute teachers…Read more...

  • Groveport schools could try new option for levy (Columbus Dispatch)

    • To solve long-term budget problems, Groveport Madison school leaders have proposed a tax-levy approach that few districts in the state have pursued…Read more...

  • Schools ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Kasich’s funding plan (Middletown Journal)

    • While Butler County school officials are still awaiting more detailed figures next week, overall reaction has been positive to Gov. John Kasich’s new model for school funding…Read more...

  • Tecumseh teachers earn grant support (Springfield News-Sun)

    • Eleven Tecumseh teachers will receive grants to assist with innovative projects for their classrooms that don’t fit in the district’s budge…Read more...

Editorial

  • Finally, a real response to DeRolph (Canton Repository)

    • Mountains of number crunching will necessarily follow the unveiling of Gov. John Kasich’s school funding plan…Read more...

  • Call for early learning funding is good news - and good business (Cincinnati Enquirer)

    • About 90 percent of a child’s brain development happens by the age of 5. About 90 percent of public spending on education goes to the years after age 5…Read more...

  • A Playbook For Ohio Education Initiatives (I Teach Bay)

    • This is Super Bowl Weekend. Analysts have spent two weeks dissecting every possible factor that could impact the performance of either team in the big game…Read more...

Education News for 11-02-2012

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State Education News

  • State Board of Education: Voters to fill 7 seats on Tuesday (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Like a game of musical chairs, two members of the Ohio Board of Education are running for a seat representing Franklin, Delaware and Knox counties…Read more...

  • ACLU getting involved with Celina pro-gay shirt issue (Lima News)

    • The controversy over T-shirts supporting gay rights at Celina High School has attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Students put bullies on alert (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Consider them the neighborhood watch of Baldwin Road Junior High School. As part of the school’s new bully patrol, about 60 students are monitoring the building for any sign of kids who are calling names…Read more...

  • Technical problems ironic at meeting (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s third education briefing yesterday was to focus largely on new online technologies that could bring the most-skilled teachers into classrooms…Read more...

  • Cuts To Come In December If Licking Heights Levy Fails (WBNS)

    • Dozens of school districts are asking for more tax dollars in next week's election. But one community says its cuts will begin in less than 30 days, if voters say "no."…Read more...

Editorial

  • Burden on the schools (Akron Beacon Journal)

    • As many as 194 Ohio school districts have levies on the ballot on Tuesday, 123 of them seeking new money for facilities or operations. Whether they come from small, suburban districts or large urban systems…Read more...

Education News for 11-01-2012

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State Education News

  • Cleveland schools won't have promised details about school improvement plan before Tuesday's (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

    • Voters who want to know exactly how the Cleveland schools would spend money from the 15-mill tax increase…Read more...

  • Costumed kids seek treats as cold, wet weather is the trick (Columbus Dispatch)

    • With hands numb and clenched to an umbrella, the bumblebee in a winter coat agreed with her parents that it was time to head home. Warmth, after an hour-long walk through the soggy cold, trumped the lure of candy…Read more...

Local Education News

  • Charter-school embezzler gets 2 years (Columbus Dispatch)

    • Former board members defended a man who embezzled from their charter schools before a federal judge sentenced him to prison yesterday…Read more...

  • Students asked to remove pro-gay T-shirts (Lima News)

    • Celina schools officials said they didn’t step on anyone’s rights to freedom of speech when asking students to remove homemade T-shirts supporting gay, lesbian and bisexual classmates…Read more...

  • Teachers Keep Jobs Despite Participating In High School Prank (WBNS)

    • Four Belmont High School teachers were placed on three week paid leave after being accused of participating in a student Homecoming prank, according to the Dayton Daily News…Read more...