First Lady Michelle Obama is a Role Model for Young People to Dream High!

“She saw firsthand the impact of Brown v. Board of Education in her own life,” said Valerie Jarrett

This is a tribute not only to Michelle Obama but to her parents who refused to keep the status quo and instead encouraged her to do well in school and qualify for the first desegregated magnet high school in Chicago.  Sounds like in Chicago like Dayton, Ohio, whites fled the neighborhoods as soon as a black family moved in so you had your all black high schools on the west side and all white on the east.  Both sides of town were filled with GM/Frigidaire factory workers who worked side by side but their kids were in segregated high schools in the city of Dayton.  Never made sense.

To move out of your neighborhood because a black moves in left a lot of people outside of Dayton asking why?  They sold their homes for pennies on the dollar -- Dad used to say it was real estate agents who were part and party to the scare tactics as they made money off the sale and again off the purchase of a new home.  After dealing with them over the years, he was probably right.

Cannot even fathom what it would be like to be a young child and have a teacher tell you not to dream high -- every child in this Country has the right to have the best education we can provide them.  It is time for Republicans to get with fully funding education for all students or get out of the way.  We can no longer tolerate this mentality we are seeing out of our elected officials who keep cutting education and underfunding poor school districts to give the wealthy more tax cuts.   It is imperative all kids get a good education to break the chain of low expectations for some.

Parents, teachers, educators need to follow the lead of Michelle's parents who taught their children to aim high and not settle.  It is a tribute to her tenacity and willpower that she overcame the odds and is a role model for young people today of what they can accomplish with an excellent public school education to fulfill their dreams.

A Decision That Helped Shape Michelle Obama
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERGMAY 15, 2014 

WASHINGTON — She was born into the segregated Chicago of the 1960s, when public schools actively resisted integration. But in 1975, the city, under pressure to comply with the landmark Supreme Court decision desegregating public schools, opened a racially integrated high school for high achievers that changed the young woman’s life. 

Michelle Robinson, a graduate of that integrated school, is now Michelle Obama, the first African-American first lady of the United States. In this season of civil rights anniversaries — in particular the 60th, on Saturday, of the 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. — she is talking in new and more deeply personal ways about race. 

“She saw firsthand the impact of Brown v. Board of Education in her own life,” said Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser and close friend of Mrs. Obama. “What she appreciates is the strength of diversity, how important it is to be in a community, a classroom, where you are hearing from all perspectives.” 

On Friday evening, President Obama will meet privately at the White House with the families of the plaintiffs in the Brown lawsuit and two of the lead lawyers. Aides say he wants to pay his respects. Mrs. Obama will take center stage in Topeka, where she will visit the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site — formerly an all-black school — and address graduating seniors at the Kansas Expocentre. 

The anniversary comes at a time of historic milestones, including the anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which have repeatedly put a focus on the Obamas’ place as the first black occupants of the White House. But Brown v. Board of Education had more of a direct impact on Mrs. Obama than on her husband and shaped her life in ways she does not always openly discuss. 

While Mr. Obama grew up partly in Indonesia and attended an elite prep school in multicultural Hawaii, Mrs. Obama was raised on the South Side of Chicago, first in a one-bedroom apartment and later in a house in South Shore, a neighborhood experiencing rapid white flight. By 1980, the year she turned 16, it was 96 percent black, and so were its schools. 

.... 

In 1969, Mrs. Obama started kindergarten at Bryn Mawr Elementary, her neighborhood school. Data from the federal Department of Education show that in 1970, out of 1,258 students, 1,214 were black. 

One of her kindergarten classmates, Dr. Theodore Ford, described their class this way in a 2012 article in The Chicago Sun-Times: “There were five little white faces and 23 shades of brown faces and one Middle Eastern face, a subtle shade darker than that of the Jewish kid to his right in our class photo.” 

The school appears to have had more resources than most. In the sixth grade, Mrs. Obama was selected to participate in its gifted program, which allowed her to take French, and to study biology at the local community college, according to Ms. Mundy’s book. She graduated as its salutatorian. 

But it was the creation of Chicago’s first public high school for high achievers — the Whitney M. Young Magnet High School — that really changed the trajectory of Mrs. Obama’s life, by getting her out of her neighborhood and giving her exposure for the first time to an educational environment that was truly diverse. 

“She often speaks about the importance of diversity as a strength, that her education was enriched by listening to people who had different life experiences and differences of opinion,” Ms. Jarrett said. 

Click Link to read more

This is an amazing story of what a young person can do when they refuse to be told they will never fulfill their dream of where to go to college.  Now it is time for all of us to put pressure on our elected officials to FULLY fund education and make this the most educated country in the world instead of a Country that fails so many of its students.

Oklahoma Republicans Have Cut More Than $200 Million from Education since 2008

Oklahomans need an accounting of what the Republican legislature has done with over $200M they have taken from education since 2008.  Where did they spend the money?  We have a right to know where over $200M has gone since it did not go to education for our children.

Oklahoma Policy Institute email this morning delivered the latest from Oklahoma Governor Fallin and the Oklahoma Legislature when it comes to education.  We have lived in five other states before coming to Oklahoma due to a transfer because of the BRAC Closure of Kelly AFB depot.  Not one of those states has the pathetic record on education as Oklahoma since the Republicans took total control of State Government in 2010 and before that the legislature in 2008 although Texas is striving to catch up with a Governor who has now gone hard right along with a legislature that has lost all common sense.

We chose to live in Norman, OK, which has an outstanding public school system and the absolute best Superintendent of Schools Joe Siano that I have ever seen anyplace we have lived.  We have a rainy day fund and a community that supports our schools.  We pass operating levies and bond issues because our school board never overreaches unless you are a Republican who always vote against anything the schools need with their 'smaller government' mantra.

First time I had a Republican tell me that the Bible needed taught in the Norman schools along with a Christian prayer every day, I had all I could do to keep from blasting them.  Instead I said we will just have to agree to disagree and was told to get out of the GOP if I support our schools because Republicans don't support public schools.  That said it all!

Sit here day after day and read the attacks on education by the Governor, State School Superintendent, and members of the Legislature as they don't see the need to fully fund both education and infrastructure. They are proud of themselves of their cuts to education and no raises for teachers which was the first hint that the vast majority Oklahoma Republican office holders are bought and paid for by wealthy donors and ALEC who is fronting for the Koch Bros.  Social issues have become a priority of the Oklahoma Legislature along with more tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy instead of fully funding education.  Some legislators now want to take money from infrastructure like roads and bridges when we have some of the worst in the Country to give more to education.  

Oklahoma Policy Institute which is a non-partisan has done an excellent job on tracking Education in Oklahoma which shows what the Governor, State School Superintendent,  and Legislature are doing in their attempts to destroy public education including our universities.  The GOP reaction is that OK Policy is liberal because they disagree with Republicans on the way they are handling education and other issues when they are telling it like it is without spin.

Latest Email from OKPolicy.org:

This year Governor Fallin and legislators are pushing more tax cuts in Oklahoma, even as the state faces a $188 million budget shortfall and support for public schools has been cut more than $200 million since 2008. State lawmakers have justified their actions by claiming that tax cuts will boost the economy and create jobs. A new fact sheet from Oklahoma Policy Institute makes that case that investing in education is a much better proven strategy for growth and job creation.

You can view the fact sheet on our website or download it as a pdf.

The fact sheet shows that:

• With few exceptions, the states where workers earn the highest wages are those with the most college graduates. And despite Oklahoma's recent economic successes, both our median wage and educational attainment are well below the national average.
• The wage premium for a college degree has increased significantly since the 1990s and 1980s. Those with more education earn higher pay and have fewer periods of unemployment.
• Oklahoma has made the largest cuts to K-12 funding in the nation, and state funding for higher education is down 26.2 percent after inflation since 2008. Oklahoma is consistently ranked near the bottom for education funding and teacher pay.
• Education cuts put Oklahoma’s economic future at risk. Over the longer term, the cuts make it less likely that Oklahoma can develop the highly skilled workforce needed to compete in today’s global economy.

You can find more of our research and materials about education issues at http://okpolicy.org/issues/education.

Click Here to sign up to get their daily emails with what is happening in State Government that affects all of us.  It is the best site I have found in any state we have lived to keep you up to date.  

A local democrat had a bet with me that education was going to be what drove me away from the GOP years ago.  He was right as I have always been a big proponent of public schools giving our children a good education based on facts not some junk science the hard right wants to teach in this State.  The very idea they want to bring religion into the public schools and make teachers teach the Bible which was in the GOP State Convention Platform at the last one I attended in 2010 sent me over the edge.  By the summer of 2011, I completely had it with Republicans in Oklahoma as they fully adopted the ALEC and the Tea Party agenda which many of us know is the Koch Bros Agenda. Seems money talks with Republicans today who put donors over what is good for the residents of their states.  They have lost all empathy for those less fortunate.

Just don't understand any state that would not want their children educated.  Is it because they want to be able to control what they think?  You can do that better with an uneducated populace.  Whatever the reason, I am embarrassed to ever have been a Republican in Oklahoma not to mention an active Republican.  One of the people I met said he was a conservative in Texas and a liberal in Oklahoma. Now we would both be liberals in the GOP in Texas which has gone hard right since we both lived there.  The hard right I thought was only in Oklahoma has gone all over the Country with this anti-public education and pro-charter schools owned by hedge fund and GOP donors.  Not hard to figure out what they are up to and must be stopped in November 2014 by everyone who values education for our children getting out to vote to send the neanderthals to the unemployment line.

Republican War on the Unemployed, Poor and Education

When doing the research for this article, totally forgot about the 'chastity training' that wasted $250M of our tax dollars in the Welfare Reform Bill signed by Clinton.  If you count up all the waste on programs that were useless over the years including the War on Drugs, the deficit might be cut to zero.  Feel good titles don't make programs good programs.  

One program that I thought was outstanding was 'Reading is Fundamental (RIF)' which focused on teaching children to read in the public schools plus encouraging parents to read to their kids.  Today that is a program you hear nothing about.  It was replaced by the bi-partisan "No Child Left Behind" which is still being attacked by Republican Conservatives in the States.  It needed some tweaks but it was a good idea that Senator Ted Kennedy fully supported along with President Bush.

My grandchildren are read to by my kids all the time -- it shows up in how well they are doing in school. My son brings a book home every time he travels and has been doing it since his son was very young. RIF was worth every nickel because reading is the basis for all that we do throughout life from reading a newspaper or book to reading recipe's to reading how to do something you have never done around your home and the list is endless.  No child should be left behind when it comes to reading because it is something that stays with them throughout their whole life.  That also means they need start to the day with breakfast to be able to do their best and be able to concentrate.  If you are hungry, concentration is hard.

Worked many book fairs when my kids were in school, bought a lot of books, and now my daughter is doing the same with my two granddaughters.  Kids love going to book fairs at their school so they can pick out a book, take it home, show their parents, and have it read to them or the child read the book to their parents.  At one school my children attended, we had a fund so every child in the school could buy a book at the book fair.  Remember one little girl in first grade who was in a foster home with her siblings leaving the book fair clutching her book.  Later that morning when I worked with her on her reading, we read the book, and she gave me a hug to thank me as I helped her pick it out and paid for her book.  All these years later it still touches my heart and wonder how I was ever in the same party with these bunch of heartless Republicans today because I believe in public education and helping those that need the help the most.

You want to end the cycle of poverty?  Give these young kids a good education.  Instead many red states like mine are cutting back on education to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.  In our case, the Court ruled the tax cut was against the Constitution so now Oklahoma Republicans want to change the way judges are chosen.

Looking back at 1996 and the War on Poverty signed into law by Clinton and pushed by the GOP, it was actually a culmination of the conservative attacks against the poor starting with Barry Goldwater's run for President.  President Bush tried to use the words 'compassionate' conservative to describe himself because unlike a lot of conservatives he believed in helping the poor and those less fortunate. Shame he had Dick Cheney as his VP.   This country went from the War on Poverty of the 60's started by LBJ to end poverty to undermining of the War on Poverty 50 years later by the GOP by cutting food stamps, unemployment benefits, and welfare payments treating the poor like second class citizens.

One thing that bothered me out of the Agriculture Committee in the House in 2013 chaired by Frank Lucas was the drastic cut to food stamps while keeping most of the subsidies to the big farmers some of who are in Congress.  Lucas subsidies are small compared to other members some who get over $1M. Committee chairman Lucas said that the bill’s proposed cuts to SNAP “won’t take a calorie off the plate of anyone who needs help.”  Something is wrong with this picture when a Chairman who receives subsidies says cuts to SNAP food program for the poor won't hurt them.  My comeback is that all farm subsidies should be discontinued for any farmer making over $75,000 a year.  The very idea that the US Taxpayer pays for subsidies to some of the big corporate farms and members of Congress makes me furious.

To this day, I never figured out President Clinton's going along with the GOP led by Speaker Gingrich to undermine the safety net for the poor.  Not everyone on food stamps or assistance is a 'Welfare Queen' as declared by Ronald Reagan.  One big problem at the state level more then any welfare fraud has been the inept Department of Human Services in some states like Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Florida for starters.

Oklahoma DHS was so bad it had to pay $6M to a New York advocacy group who exposed how bad they were so would expect that now they are fixing the problems.  WRONG!  In this article from The Oklahoman, it details the first report of the independent group which shows DHS needs help to improve child welfare practices which they were told to fix by the Legislature.  Guess they couldn't handle the fixes:

THREE out-of-state experts who are monitoring the state's child welfare reform efforts rapped the Department of Human Services pretty good in their first progress report Wednesday. The report also included this message for the Legislature and the general public: Their help is also needed.

Think Progress has the history of the War on Poverty from LBJ to the current time which spans 50 years.  Still trying to figure out why Republican Conservatives were and are so against those less fortunate and what is their objection to giving them a helping hand.  Makes no sense.  But it made no sense to me that in 1996, President Clinton gave into Speaker Gingrich and Republicans:

In 1996, President Clinton signed the law that did away with guaranteed income assistance for poor families with children and replaced it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The program provided states with federal block grants to support income assistance and other services for low-income families with children and included a “work first” requirement. 

The GOP-backed measure was based on the principle that “Having children out of wedlock is wrong — not simply economically unwise for the individuals involved or a financial burden on society, but morally wrong.” Even Clinton’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, Donna E. Shalala, fully embraced the argument in a comment that stigmatized single mothers, telling Newsweek, “I don’t like to put this in moral terms, but I do believe that having children out of wedlock is just wrong,” In fact, the original bill “appropriated $250 million over five years for ‘chastity training‘ for poor single mothers.”

In the lead-up to today's attacks on the safety net, we had former MA Governor Romney running for President when he talked about The 47 percent at a fundraiser for wealthy donors in FL.

The height of the GOP opposition came during Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, when the candidate argued that 47 percent of Americans are “dependent upon government.” Speaking to donors in the days following the election, the former Massachusetts governor echoed the arguments of the 1960s, speculating that Obama won because he was “very generous” to his base. “The President’s campaign,” he said, “focused on giving targeted groups a big gift—so he made a big effort on small things. Those small things, by the way, add up to trillions of dollars.” 

Romney’s running mate, House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), authored budgets that would make extreme cuts in the social safety net laid down by Johnson’s War on Poverty, and disproportionately impact women and people of color. For instance, under Ryan’s leadership, the GOP budget would repeal the Affordable Care Act, a law that provides health care security for millions of working poor Americans by expanding Medicaid for individuals and families earning above 138 percent of the federal poverty line, push more than 12 million Americans out of the food stamps program, and secure steep reductions for child care, Head Start, job training, Pell Grants, housing, energy assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and TANF. The majority of those who rely on these programs are the groups who were the targets of attacks on the War on Poverty over the last half-century.

Just when I thought the Republican Party couldn't get any dumber after the 2012 Presidential campaign when it comes to the unemployed, I have been proven wrong once again with the latest out from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on how Republicans need to spin their lack of support for the unemployment bill.  Sitting here shaking my head realizing the GOP can be that dumb!

House GOP Issues Unemployment Insurance Talking PointsBy Matt FullerPosted at 5:52 p.m. on Jan. 7 

House Republican leadership sent out four talking points Tuesday for GOP members who may be worried that Democrats have some traction on the unemployment insurance issue. 

Here is the full memo: 

KEY POINTS:  EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE EXTENSION

• For every American out of work, it’s a personal crisis for them and their family. That’s why House Republicans remain focused on creating jobs and growing the economy.

• Dozens of House-passed jobs bills remain sitting in the Democratic-run Senate awaiting action, including the SKILLS Act which helps long-term unemployed get training often needed to re-enter the workforce.

• Washington has lost its priorities if it’s more focused on making unemployment easier to tolerate than it is getting people back to work and restoring independence all together.

• If Democrats can produce a plan that is fiscally responsible as well as does something to actually create jobs, the House will give it proper consideration. Until then, our focus will remain where it belongs: on creating jobs and putting Americans back to work.

The memo also provided a link to the website of Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, where members can read “more details about House-passed jobs bills awaiting action in the Democratic-run Senate.” 

Anyone with a brain knows that any jobs bills that passed the House left a lot to be desired like everything but leave it to the GOP to spin a narrative devoid of facts.  Voters need to realize that this worthless GOP House cares more about making the President look bad then getting anything done.

Suggested on Twitter today:

Think it is time Congress got paid by the hour instead of a flat rate.  US Treas could save money w/so few days GOP House works!  

Big question is why are they paid full time for part-time work?  The GOP House plans to work less days this year then last year when they were the least productive House in history.  Now they are out to break that record.

If you are in a Republican Congressional District, please help get out the vote to oust some of these worthless Congressman taking our tax dollars and doing little!

Oklahoma Governor Fallin Pushes Tax Cuts for Wealthy

What takes the biggest hit for the tax cuts for wealthy Oklahomans?  EDUCATION and INFRASTRUCTURE!  

Citizens of Oklahoma said no last year to tax cuts and wanted full funding for education and infrastructure.  Following the lead of the National Republicans, the Oklahoma Republican officials forge ahead with this idea we must have tax cuts for the wealthy even though it cuts into programs.  It is disgusting that the GOP at all levels cannot see the forest for the trees.  The money for wealthy tax cuts would be better spent on education to fix some of our poor performing high schools which sit within miles of the State Capitol.

It has taken years to get money to fix bridges in Norman that were losing concrete.  Try driving some of our accordion roads like I-40 eastbound or drive across crumbling bridges and you discover if the Federal Government has not funded or local bond issues, Oklahoma is way behind in fixing infrastructure.

Then there is fixing the State Capitol building that IMHO should not have had a dome added until you made sure the original building was fully repaired and structurally sound for the dome.  Now the Capitol sheds concrete while our GOP Legislature wants to wait 6-8 years to fix until they can pay cash but with the $100M hit for wealthy tax cuts, that's a pipe dream.  Just let it deteriorate more instead fixing the problem now using low interest bonds.  Are there no Republican engineers in the Legislature that are will to speak out about fixing the Capitol?

With the lack of funding for education and infrastructure, the state finds enough money to keep funding defense of social issues that keep getting overturned by the Courts as Unconstitutional.  Governor Fallin also turned down Medicaid funds from Obamacare so now over 100,000 people will not have healthcare but the wealthy are going to get a tax cut if the GOP has their way.  Let me get this straight -- there is not enough money to pay for additional people on Medicaid with Obamacare Exchanges but there is enough money for tax cuts?  Once again GOP is proving the wealthy come first no matter what.

Let's not forget the money wasted for the OK Attorney General to sue to block and/or end Obamacare which was declared Constitutional.  Shaking my head at the amount of money wasted in this state on using the Attorney General's office to defend bills that are Unconstitutional or in this case end Obamacre which is not going to happen.

All the while Oklahoma Republicans short change education and infrastructure not to mention state employees who very seldom get raises including 2013 where a pay raise for 34,000 state employees is not included in the budget.  Yet, they want to cut tax rates for the wealthy!  If I was a state employee, I wouldn't vote for a Republican if you paid me - actually I am getting that way as regular citizen.  Then there is this when it comes to Oklahoma education that was enacted before Republicans took control of the legislature:

This law was enacted just ten years ago, at which time it was unanimously adopted by both chambers. 

“It’s my understanding that the author of this bill as well as others consider the Fund Education First policy to be antiquated given the Legislature has effectively ignored this mandate for eight of the last nine years,” said Rep. Kay Floyd, D-Oklahoma City. “However, I am disheartened at this defeatist perspective, because as lawmakers we can and should champion the education of our children, and that goal begins with prioritizing appropriations to our public school system.” 

In 2004 the legislature met the Fund Education First deadline when the governor approved common education funding on March 22^nd, 2004. Every year since, however, the deadline has come and went without much hoorah or explanation. 

Although the law requires legislators to create a common education budget by April 1^st, there is no penalty if they fail to meet this deadline. 

In 2005 following 2004 election, Republicans took over the House and funding education no longer was a priority so they routinely go against the law they helped pass.  In 2004, Governor Henry, a Democrat, was in charge with an Oklahoma Democrat legislature so things got done.  Since the Republicans took over, the state has been going downhill on education and infrastructure funding in particular but number of ballot measures to push their hard right agenda has risen.

This headline is not something I would want to see as Governor if I was running for reelection:

Oklahoma Latest Republican State To Push Tax Cuts For The Rich 

By Travis Waldron on Mar 29, 2013 at 10:45 am 

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin (R) is the latest Republican governor pushing for cuts to the state income tax, and like the plans from other states, Fallin’s would give most of its benefits to the state’s wealthiest residents. The proposal is gaining steam in the state legislature, where it has passed the House and is awaiting consideration in the Senate. 

Fallin’s plan reduces the top income tax rate from 5.25 percent to 5 percent, and while it is modest compared to tax cuts other Republican states are pursuing, it would still cost the state roughly $100 million a year. And according to the Oklahoma Policy Institute, more than 40 percent of its tax cuts would go to the state’s richest 5 percent of residents while the bottom 60 percent would see just 9 percent of the benefits. The poorest fifth of Oklahoma residents would see no tax cut at all: 

Oklahoma’s tax code is already skewed toward the wealthy: the poorest Oklahomans pay an average of 10.3 percent of their income in taxes, while the wealthiest 1 percent pay just 4.6 percent of theirs, according to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy. And while Fallin is cutting taxes and reducing state revenues, Oklahoma will spend less this fiscal year on education than it did last year and is still spending 10.7 percent less on higher education than it did before the recession. 

Republican governors across the country are pitching tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, and like Fallin, they sell them as a way to boost their economies. A recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, however, found that after a similar round of tax cuts in the 1990s, states that cut taxes saw slower economic and job growth than states that did not. (HT Citizens for Tax Justice)

I opposed tax cuts last year along with many Oklahomans and oppose them this year as Republicans are going to take $100M out of the Treasury with nothing to show for it.  Wealthy are not going to create jobs but our education and infrastructure which future employers look at is going to take another hit.  What is with the GOP mentality about tax cuts for the wealthy is the end all be all?  It is shortsighted and foolish.

The people in the bracket below $175,000 better think twice before voting for any GOP for office in Oklahoma in 2014.  The small tax cut for wealthy Oklahomans is going to hurt the State in the long run but the stubborn GOP only cares about the wealthy so it makes them no difference.

Just say NO to Tax Cuts in Oklahoma!