On July 5th, 2009 NEA Peace and Justice Caucus members let their voice be heard and their voice loudly called for change. A change in the national leadership chair took place as challenger Nancy Porter from Iowa (seen in file photo at left) overtook incumbent Andy Griggs (California) with a near 2:1 vote.
Nancy has promised a national website for the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus where members can come together to work on new business, stay informed, take action, and where regions can blog. Preliminary work on this website has already begun.
We are excited about the future of the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus here at the Midwest blog, and we look forward to the leadership of Nancy Porter. Too many members have been lost over the last few years, and it's time to invite those members back to our Caucus.
During the campaign, Senator Obama said he will never abandon or turn his back on the people of Darfur; now President Obama appears to be close to unveiling his plan. Our President's plan must be clear and concise in regards to what will be done to end the attrocities that have gone unchecked for far too long. Our President must make saving this region in Sudan a national priority, rather than an issue that we will get to when we can.
Former President Bush didn't take the issue in Darfur seriously and refuese to send aid or troops to the region to help the struggle. He made a last ditch effort on January of 2009 by sending an emergency airlift to the region; too little too late.
Our new President cannot follow this strategy. In his campaign, Obama promised to make Darfur a priority and you can help make him own up to his promise. Visit the site below and fill out a form to send a letter to the President urging him to make a plan for the region public and a priority.
This was sent our by Andy Griggs, the National NEA Peace and Justice Chair and forwarded to me by Tom Wolfe, the Midwest Regional Chair. Please download or read this this and pass it on to those who may be interested.
It is estimated that somewhere in the neighborhood of 200,000 veterans call the streets their home, an unfortunate and absurd number. President Barack Obama has asked Americans to honor our fallen heroes on Memorial Day, by honoring our Veterans. President Obama pledged to provide expanded care for our veterans when they return home; care that includes mental health services and a transformation of the U.S. Veterans Affairs. Candidate Obama's website said the following during the election season:
"Barack Obama supports our troops – both in combat and at home. He voted to provide armored vehicles and body armor for our troops fighting abroad, and will fully fund veterans’ medical care and restore competence to VA planning to ensure our veterans have the resources they need when they return home." http://www.barackobama.com/issues/index_campaign.php
It now appears that the President is attempting to live up to his pledge. In the President's budget, he asks for an increase in $25 billion for the VA. "With this budget, we don't just fully fund our Veterans Affairs health care program, we expand it to serve an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013," said the President. The funding would provide for mental health screenings and services for returning veterans. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/16/obama.veterans/index.html
Ultimately (by that I mean immediately) we need to end all wars, but let's remember that those who do fight are worth our thanks and praise. They deserve to be welcomed home with open arms, and the services they need, both monetarily and cognitively, to acclimate themselves back into everyday civilian life. The most accurate statistics we have on this problem are:
Visit the following web site that is full of ideas of how you can help locally and nationally by donating, joining advocacy groups, and attending conferences.
NORTHAMPTON, MA – National Priorities Project (NPP), in partnership with the American Friends Service Committee, has released The Cost of War in Afghanistan, a four page primer on the war's current economic and human realities.
With this primer, National Priorities Project launches a commitment to track the US cost of the war in Afghanistan through an individual cost of war counter, state-level numbers and trade-offs. This new series of information is similar to NPP's Iraq War fact sheets and counters which have been used by national media outlets including CNN, National Public Radio and MSNBC while attracting more than 2.5 million web hits each month.
“The purpose of this resource is to help people across the United States reflect on the current Afghanistan war and its proposed expansion,” notes NPP Executive Director, Jo Comerford. “With President Obama moving forward with his campaign promise to increase troop levels in Afghanistan, the US public faces two important questions as we reach his administration's auspicious 100-day milestone: What will be the cost and impact of more troops, for both the US and Afghanistan? And what are the Obama Administration’s long-term goals?”
Seven years ago, the “global war on terror” began in Afghanistan as a military response to the September 11 attacks. In March 2003, the United States also invaded Iraq. Today, US forces are deeply engaged in both countries with some 200,000 US troops in the region, of which 137,000 are in Iraq and about 40,000 in Afghanistan, with the Obama Administration requesting an additional 21,000 troops.
Visit www.nationalpriorities.org to access this information and other timely federal budget analysis tools and reports. The American Friends Service Committee can be found on-line at www.afsc.org.
Family members of an 11-year-old boy who committed suicide in DeKalb County, Ga., on Thursday afternoon say that relentless bullying is to blame for their son's death, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution .
Jaheem Herrera, a fifth-grader at Dunaire Elementary School in the Atlanta area, hanged himself in his room after enduring extreme daily bullying that included antigay taunts. His 10-year-old sister discovered his body.
Herrera’s mother and stepfather say they were aware of the consistent bullying, although their son tried to hide the extent of it. His mother, Masika Bermudez, complained to the school, reports WSB-TV, and she talked with his best friend about the situation.
“He said, ‘Yes, ma’am. He told me that he’s tired of everybody always messing with him in school. He is tired of telling the teachers and the staff, and they never do anything about the problems. So the only way out is by killing himself,’” Bermudez told WSB-TV.
Jaheem was an excellent student who moved with his family to the Atlanta area last year from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, said stepfather Norman Keene.
The suicide of Jaheem follows the death earlier this month of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a sixth-grader in Springfield, Mass., who hanged himself after reportedly enduring relentless antigay bullying.
In March, the parents of Eric Mohat -- a Mentor, Ohio, 17-year-old who shot and killed himself in 2007 following what his parents characterize as months of merciless antigay harassment -- filed a lawsuit against Mentor High School with the U.S. district court in the northern Ohio district; they're not seeking compensation for themselves, but rather an admission that Eric's death was a "bullycide," and they're asking that the school put in place an anti-bullying program to prevent future such tragedies.
Visit the sites below for more stories and books and donate to the suicide hotline. Most importantly, as a teacher/administrator, it is your job to stop bullies in your school. If you think there is something wrong with a student, assume there is and investigate. You never know the difference you can make just by simply asking a child if something is wrong, or how they are doing. Don't turn your head when you see bullying, Stop It!
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was passed on July 25, 2006—20 years after Adam Walsh's abduction. The act established a National Sex Offender Registry law, but recent news reports reveal most states will not be in compliance with the law by the upcoming July 2009 deadline. If senators and state representatives don't comply with and fully fund the act, it will expire.
One Iowa thanks Governor Culver for his careful consideration of Friday's unanimous ruling and we echo the governor's call for elected officials to focus on issues of common concerns like the economic recession and rebuilding after the flood for all Iowans.
We are not out of the woods yet, but one thing is clear: Your voices were heard loud and clear by Governor Culver, and we'd like to tell him thanks for standing up for the Iowa Constitution and all Iowans!
However, many public officials have yet to take a stand on this issue! We need you to contact them NOW to prevent movement on a Constitutional Amendment.Here's how you can help:
1) Call House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at (515) 281-7497 and/or email him not to push for a constitutional amendment repealing the court's unanimous decision. Thank him for his previous support and ask him to again stand against discrimination.
2) E-mail or call your legislator.
Call Iowa Senate switchboard at (515) 281-3371 to connect with your state senator and the Iowa House switchboard at (515) 281-3221 to connect with your state representative.
3) Go to oneiowa.org and contribute to the ongoing effort to uphold the ruling.
The Midwest Peace and Justice Causcus is smiling from ear to ear today. One of our best representatives, and beautiful souls, was awarded with the Charles F. Martin Award from the Iowa State Education Association.
Nancy Porter has been an active Association member at the local, state, and national levels for decades. She has worked as a Reading Recovery teacher in the Iowa City School district for 16 years and has been involved in education for 40 years.
Locally, she's served as President and Vice President of the Iowa City Education Association and received many honors including Eduactor of the Year.
At the state level, she served on the ISEA Executive Board for 13 years, and was a delegate to NEA Representative Assemblies, a delegate to the ISEA Delegate Assembly for over two decades, a member of the ISEA PAC Central Committee, and a presenter and attendee at the ISEA Summber Conference in Storm Lake.
Nationally, she serves as Secretary of the NEA Peace and Justice Caucus.
Nancy has mentored many ISEA members, encouraging them to attend weekly legislative forums, and hosting barbecues at her house to socialize and organize. She has become engaged in the political processes necessary to guarantee students' and teachers' needs are met and to provide the very best education possible for students everywhere.
The prestigious Charles F. Martin Award has been presented annually since 1972 as ISEA's top honor to a member who has made a significant contribution to the teaching profession through Association involvement. It's named in honor of the late Charles F. Martin who served as ISEA president in 1945 and then as executive director from 1946 to 1961.
We are so proud of our very own Nancy Porter. Congratulations to you Nancy, and thank you for all the wonderful work you do on behalf of our Caucus and our students here in Iowa. We couldn't be more proud of you.
On July 5th, 2009 NEA Peace and Justice Caucus members let their voice be heard and their voice loudly called for change. A change in the national leadership chair took place as challenger Nancy Porter from Iowa (seen in file photo at left) overtook incumbent Andy Griggs (California) with a near 2:1 vote.
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