NEA General Counsel: Union Dues, Not Education, Are Our Top Priority » The Foundry

Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas; it is not because of the merit of our positions; it is not because we care about children; and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child.

The NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power. And we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of million of dollars in dues each year because they believe that we are the unions that can most effectively represent them; the union that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.

This is not to say that the concern of NEA and its affiliates with closing achievement gaps, reducing drop rate rates, improving teacher quality, and the like are unimportant or inappropriate. To the contrary these are the goals that guide the work we do. But they need not and must not be achieved at the expense of due process, employee rights, or collective bargaining.

That is simply too high a price to pay.

via NEA General Counsel: Union Dues, Not Education, Are Our Top Priority » The Foundry .

Reuters AlertNet – Netanyahu adviser raises “MAD” nuclear scenario

Source: Reuters

JERUSALEM, July 9 (Reuters) – Israel must have “tremendously powerful” weapons to deter a nuclear attack or destroy an enemy that dares to launch an atomic strike, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted on Thursday as saying.

The Climate Change Showdown: Dealmaking Begins Anew with Bill in U.S. Senate | GreenOrder on GreenBiz.com

If you thought automakers and banks were the only companies getting a blank check from the government — think again.

As part of sweeping climate change legislation under consideration in Congress, energy companies and utilities will receive hundreds of billions of dollars from the government to help them comply with a new program to regulate greenhouse gases.  Which companies will cash in and how much money will get back to consumers hit with higher energy prices are shaping a summer showdown in Congress.

Yesterday morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held the first in a series of July hearings to develop legislative policies to address climate change.  While it was largely a cheerleading session by four top Obama Administration officials on the need for Congress to act quickly, the hearing kicks off a complicated set of negotiations to secure the 60 votes needed in the Senate to avoid a filibuster that would slow and even halt action on climate change this year.

via The Climate Change Showdown: Dealmaking Begins Anew with Bill in U.S. Senate | GreenOrder on GreenBiz.com.