[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”26″ animation=”Fade In” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][vc_column_text]After navigating the troubled waters of the Augusta swamp as an elected Representative for eight years, I suppose I should have been better prepared for what happened when I testified before the Education committee on Wednesday.
But I confess, I still have to shake my head in disbelief some days when I deal directly with the current crop of swamp critters.
Is there anyone in Maine who honestly believes there isn’t a single teacher in our K-12 public schools who engages in political indoctrination in the classroom? The union boss who represents Maine teachers actually said so with a straight face!
In fact, she is mighty offended that anyone would suggest otherwise.
In a nutshell, here’s what she told the committee: Everything is great, kids are getting a fantastic education, nothing to see here, don’t pay any attention to those forgotten Mainers — those Deplorable peasants with pitchforks — who are outraged about what’s going on in their children’s classrooms.
You and I know better. And we don’t take kindly to being lied to by a smug, condescending union boss. Believe me, she has nothing but contempt for the parents who are pushing back against the racist, anti-American indoctrination their children are being subjected to.
I want you to know how proud I am of all the Maine First Project supporters who submitted testimony in support of LD 550. You did a great job speaking from the heart and from personal experience about the need for a statewide Code of Ethics for Maine teachers.
The overwhelming majority of the testimony submitted was in favor of the bill! In fact, there was NO grassroots opposition to be seen. All the naysayers were lobbyists, bureaucrats, and other loathsome swamp critters who feed at the state government trough.
Thanks also to Rep. Micky Carmichael (R-Greenbush) for presenting the bill and taking the slings and arrows from some of the willfully ignorant legislators on the committee.
Right now, I need your help to move the bill out of committee so we can get a robust debate — and a recorded vote — in the Maine House of Representatives. The Education committee will vote the bill up or down at its work session on Wednesday, May 12 at 10 am.
Based on what I observed during the public hearing on Wednesday, it appears that Republican members of the committee are wavering.
Some don’t believe there’s a problem, while others have bought into the idea that there’s a problem alright, but it can’t be fixed by the Legislature. That’s right, they’re saying the same Legislature that shovels hundreds of millions of dollars every year into K-12 education can’t rid classrooms of Marxist brainwashing.
Bunk!
Every one of these legislators needs to hear from you before the work session on Wednesday morning. Here is their contact information:
Rep. Paul Stearns pastearns1955@gmail.com (207) 343-2615
Rep. Heidi Sampson hsampson512@gmail.com (207) 590-1909
Rep. Tim Roche troche@wocsd.org (207) 337-5665
Rep. Sheila Lyman sheilalyman2020@gmail.com (207) 320-0588
Sen. David Woodsome dcwoodsome@gmail.com (207) 432-5643
Best Regards,
Hon. Lawrence Lockman, R-Bradley
Maine House of Representatives, 2012-2020
Co-founder & President
PS Yes, it’s true.
Some Republican legislators on the Education committee are in deep denial about the radical left-wing bias that permeates K-12 classrooms across Maine. Others acknowledge that there’s a problem, but insist there’s nothing the Legislature can do about it.
I’m not buying it.
If Maine taxpayers are required to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars a year for public education, their representatives in Augusta had better find a way to rid classrooms of political indoctrination.
Don’t tell us you can’t legislate a statewide Code of Ethics for teachers!
And don’t try to tell us you’re handcuffed, and that we have to keep paying for schools that are being transformed into training camps for another generation of brainwashed Bolsheviks.
Please contact the legislators listed above, and urge them to vote “ought to pass” on LD 550, Resolve, Directing the State Board of Education To Adopt Rules Prohibiting Teachers in Public Schools from Engaging in Political, Ideological or Religious Advocacy in the Classroom.
As always, thanks for all you do every day to make Maine such a special place![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]