If You Don't Do Your Job, Should You Still Get a Raise?

The teacher's union in our fair county has ratcheted up their rhetoric on a new contract....by wearing orange t-shirts, skipping the school open houses and telling our children that they deserve a raise and are not being treated fairly. That's right, my children have come home from school recently and asked me why the teachers are being mistreated? All this after the Tribune reported on August 12, 2008 that four of our schools are starting the year on probation and eight are on academic watch. All twelve are city schools.

This scenario brings up several interesting questions....1. We all know that teachers are under paid. Teachers especially know they will be underpaid when they choose to teach. When the school board has to pay bad teachers the same as exemplary ones, who benefits? 2. When the teacher's union refuses to allow more certification tests for teachers to prove they know the subjects they are teaching, who benefits? and 3. When schools do not show improvement year to year, do the teachers deserve a raise?

Here is the link to the Tribune article http://www.news-tribune.net/archivesearch/local_story_225120721.html

Dems turn out the lights, GOP turns up the heat!

Speaker Pelosi refused to hold a vote on off shore drilling today and instead adjourned for a late summer break over the objections of Republicans. Why would she not even schedule a vote or hold the members over for a special session? It is really simple once you gaze at the calendar. We are less than 100 days from fall elections and voting no on more oil exploration does not look good to the constituents. Let's take a look at how the House has voted historically on oil and energy bills:


ANWR Exploration
House Republicans:91% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Coal-to-Liquid
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 78% Opposed

Oil Shale Exploration
House Republicans: 90% Supported
House Democrats: 86% Opposed

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration
House Republicans: 81% Supported
House Democrats: 83% Opposed

Refinery Increased Capacity
House Republicans: 97% Supported
House Democrats: 96% Opposed

SUMMARY

91% of House Republicans have historically voted to increase the production of American-made oil and gas.

86% of House Democrats have historically voted against increasing the production of American-made oil and gas.

The numbers don't lie folks. Let me wrap this up with a quote from the next Congressman from the 9th district, Mr. Mike Sodrel. “When I was running my business, I never took a vacation while there was critical work to be done,” said Sodrel. “Congressman Hill voted twice to adjourn and take a 5-week long break while Hoosiers are suffering with high gas prices. I urge Speaker Pelosi to call an emergency session of Congress and schedule a vote on expanding America’s energy supply.”

Don't hold your breath Mike. Meanwhile, Hoosiers will try to hold onto their wallets.