You Say You Care For The Children

We hear the phrases every time the school unions have contract talks coming up, or every time there is an election: "Put our children first", "Vote YES for school bond xyz and support out children", "Support your local schools", or any one of hundreds of guilt-inducing slogans we've all heard. Then, if the taxpayers don't pay up, the unions will dangle the children from a rope - yep - strike. Some "for our kids" events just last month:

• April, 2006 - After contract talks broke down, teachers went on strike Wednesday at the four schools of the small Southern Oregon town of Rogue River.
  
  
• April, 2006 - Medford district - Wearing blue shirts, the teachers union hallmark color, and sunglasses to shield the late afternoon sunshine, teachers cheered and clapped for their bargaining team just three hours before district officials made new concessions on pay and benefits.
  

No matter where you are in the USA the most important politician that can have control whether your child will have what it takes to compete in our highly competitive world is the Governor. In our country we have no national minimum education standard - unlike, for example, Japan. Each state sets their own education requirements - what they feel is best for the students. Well, that is the theory.

It is no secret our public schools are controlled by the unions, not by the states. Unions finance the candidates that they know will keep pumping up the money flow into their coffers. In Oregon, most every candidate for Governor is endorsed by some union; the very worse is Peter Sorenson. If he were to become Oregon's next Governor, the taxpayers in Oregon would be assured of that money pipeline to the school unions to be opened even more that it was under the current Governor. A puppet of the unions, you as a parent, can kiss any chance of educational choices goodbye - and like I stated, the unions control the destiny of your child. From the union puppet's own website:

In Oregon , public education is under-funded at every level. We must have a greater investment in Head Start, public schools, community colleges, and public universities, as well as graduate scientific and medical programs. Oregon requires a multi-billion dollar investment simply to compete with other states.

I was pleased to hear that Jason Atkinson has just received the endorsement of PEAPAC - the Parents' Education Association Political Action Committee. From their website:

We had intended to only endorse judicial candidates in the 2006 Primary. However, the presence of an excellent candidate for Governor in the Republican Primary has caused us to change our minds. We strongly urge you to vote for Jason Atkinson in the Republican primary.

And don't just vote for him! Talk to your friends and neighbors about Jason and volunteer to help his campaign. He is strongly anti-abortion, pro-family and has been a strong supporter of private and home schools. He is also committed to private property rights and low taxes.

Now personally whether a candidate is anti, pro, semi abortion is not as important (since the Federal government controls this) as education issues - which they have a direct say on. Besides, with better education I believe there would be less need for children to need abortions!

Would you, as a parent, like to have a school voucher in your hand, and have the choice where you send your child - either to the failing public school system or a charter or private school that actually teaches academics? Maybe you'd rather see that overspending school simply replaced with a Charter School? Would you like to have the same choice as politicians have? If so, you should demand it - do so by voting for a Governor that is not a school union puppet.

Or perhaps you think the George Orwellian government dictated, union extorting, liberal loosing curriculum is good enough for your child.