According to Dr. Michael Walker Jones of the Louisiana Association of Educators, low-income parents “don’t have a clue” when it comes to making decisions about their children’s education. Last week, in an interview with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he stated: “If I’m a parent in poverty, I have no clue because I’m trying to struggle and live day-to-day.” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) was quick to respond to Jones, who leads the state’s largest education union: The union leader’s comments are just the type of top-down, arrogant, elitist mentality that …
As the new year unfolds, governors are beginning to outline their education plans for 2012. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) called for changes to teacher tenure in his State of the Commonwealth speech: Our teachers are well educated and motivated professionals who deserve to be treated as such. Just like workers in most other jobs get reviewed every year, and are therefore able to be more accurately promoted and rewarded for their success, so too should our teachers. Last year, Virginia introduced a pilot merit pay program for teachers. This …
Over the last four weeks, The Heritage Foundation sent multiple teams of respected energy, environment, homeland security and response experts to the Gulf to study the federal response to the oil spill. These three delegations, with more to come, have traversed the areas hit hardest by the crisis, talking to response workers, affected oil crews, fishermen, elected leaders and BP representatives. What we found is simple: President Obama’s administration has turned a crisis into a disaster, and someone needs to be held accountable. Accountability is in short supply in Washington these days. …
This week over 11,000 people flocked to the Cajundome in Lafayette, Louisiana to send a simple but important message to Washington: give us our way of life back. Lift the moratorium, stop unnecessarily killing jobs, let us clean up the Gulf and get back to work. Representatives from the oil, seafood and tourism industries as well as local politicians and residents of the Gulf rallied by Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser’s words: “This moratorium will turn Louisiana into a state of bankrupt businesses.” Louisiana’s state think tank, the Pelican Institute …
Today, a team of experts from The Heritage Foundation left port at Myrtle Grove, Louisiana to tour marshes, wetlands, estuaries and lakes from Venice to Grand Isle, and spoke with officials leading the cleanup and protection efforts. One message was made extremely clear: The lack of urgency from the federal government remains. The Heritage team witnessed workers collecting boom saturated in oil and other boats maintaining and placing new boom. The edges of several marsh patches were visibly stained black and although some areas already showed signs of recovery, had …
NEW ORLEANS — With the Gulf oil spill approaching its 90th day, Gov. Bobby Jindal outlined an ambitious plan Wednesday to restore confidence in Louisiana and revitalize its oil-infested coast. His four-point plan puts the federal government and BP on notice for their role in the cleanup. Jindal was joined at the Port of New Orleans by 10 local leaders, including Jefferson Parish Councilman John Young, who will headline a Heritage Foundation event today at 2 p.m. They came with a clear message: Louisiana isn’t going to rest until the …
The Gulf states thought they finally caught a break last month when a federal judge struck down the Obama administration’s deep-water oil drilling ban, but it turns out they were wrong. With the federal government holding all the cards, a de facto ban on drilling continues, as does the economic harm to the region. Today, a three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments on the lower court decision, with the Obama administration seeking to reinstate the ban and oil companies looking to uphold the …
If there were ever a time to pull out the Ronald Reagan quote “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help,” it would be here and now with this oil spill. Either no one’s in charge or everyone is. Either way, it’s not working and is creating needless delays that waste valuable time to suck up the oil and protect our coastlines. The latest example of federal government obstruction is the United States Fish and Wildlife Service preventing the …
President Obama’s ban on offshore drilling has come under heavy fire. The industries directly and indirectly affected by the offshore moratorium made their voice heard that they oppose the president’s moratorium, and just yesterday Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal argued in an amicus brief that “The drilling moratorium imposed by [the government] will only compound the State’s problems, effectively turning an environmental disaster into an economic catastrophe for the State.” Today, federal judge Martin L.C. Feldman issued an injunction that would block the White House’s offshore drilling ban. Feldman wrote, The …
First there was Hurricane Katrina, then there was the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal now says that the newest threat to the economy of his state is President Barack Obama’s moratorium on deepwater drilling. Jindal today joined in support of oil service companies who are suing to halt the six-month ban on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, issued by the Minerals Management Service on May 30. A federal district court judge is hearing arguments on the lawsuit today and will rule no later than Wednesday. In an …
