Billionaire Betsy DeVos claimed that she was not a member of the board of her mother’s foundation, which gave generous grants to extremist anti-LGTB groups, Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council. When the Washington Post pointed out that Betsy’s name was on the foundation’s tax reports for 13 years, her spokesperson said it was a “clerical error.”
A reader comments:
“There is no way this is a true statement. Every foundation of this size is required to submit annual reports to the IRS and provide documentation of its board of directors, its income, its dispersals, and the process of selecting areas for distribution. I do not find it credible that the lawyers and accountants who prepared these documents and the board of directors that reviewed and approved these documents NEVER verified the membership of the board of directors. It also seems strange that Ms. DeVos, who appeared to be familiar with the documents, had never noticed that her name was listed on the board of directors. She either does not pay attention to very important management details, or she lied about not knowing she was listed on the board of directors. Clerical error? Really? Either way, this is one more example of her lack of competence for this post.”

They are not mutually exclusive.
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Agree Jon…both apply to Betsy. Every 501c3 is mandated to have an Annual Report…that should also reveal her status as a member of the Board.
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Betsy DeVos and her family own Michigan. She’s a lot of things but incompetent is not one of them.
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She is neither lying nor incompetent. She is evasive because she’s laughing all the way to the Sec of Ed. She has all the votes to be confirmed. She had them before she walked in the door of the hearing and she knew it.
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Sandra:
Exactly right. She was smirking.
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More here from a journalist who has followed the Prince foundation: https://theintercept.com/2017/01/18/trump-education-nominee-betsy-devos-lied-to-the-senate/
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She dodged just about every question with evasive answers and she dodged this one too.
“That was a clerical error. I can assure you I have never made decisions on my mother’s behalf on her foundation’s board.”
She never actually denied she was on the board.
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I had never heard of the Family Research Council.
“Family Research Council believes that homosexual conduct is harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large, and can never be affirmed. It is by definition unnatural, and as such is associated with negative physical and psychological health effects. While the origins of same-sex attractions may be complex, there is no convincing evidence that a homosexual identity is ever something genetic or inborn. We oppose the vigorous efforts of homosexual activists to demand that homosexuality be accepted as equivalent to heterosexuality in law, in the media, and in schools.”
http://www.frc.org/homosexuality
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It’s an evil organization that has been active in DC for decades. Check out their “sister” organization the Concerned Women of America, who, in the early 90s pushed the lie that school nurses were distributing birth control and arranging abortion procedures. These groups were fake news before it was a thing.
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She’s a lying incompetent, as is the one who is promoting her in the first place. Any binary view is redundant. It will be fun to see which of the Republicans has the political courage to tell the Orange Emperor that he’s wearing no clothes. It certainly isn’t Committee Chair Lamar Alexander who has limited Senatorial access to Princess Betsy to 5 minutes each. DeVos’s mantra is keep ’em in the dark by throwing a semi-transparent cloak of religiousity over the public’s heads by calling it accountability. The Orange Emperor doesn’t much care, as long as he continues to make money.
JVK
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Ed reformers themselves should insist she withdraw her name.
Now she’s the national leader of ed reform. Everything she does will be attributed to that “movement”, including this hearing, which was embarrassing.
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It was probably a tip-off that she doesn’t feel obligated to follow any of these rules or laws regarding public schools when she didn’t turn in her disclosure forms in time for the hearing. Clearly not much interested in following the rules everyone else has to comply with.
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It’s always interesting to me that ed reformers see no need to speak to any of the issues public schools parents care about.
There’s no effort or interest expended there. It’s as if public schools don’t exist, which is remarkable, since we’re talking about 90% of parents.
DeVos does it herself. Ask her anything about K-12 schools and the answer is “choice”
They’re oddly irrelevant to 90% of us.
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Yes.
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File under: We don’t answer questions, only the little people answer questions.
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Off topic, but relates to other sleaze in the wealthy income bracket.
A Google search, “Stop the Attacks on Public Pensions”, displays a website with a petition directed at John and Laura Arnold. Apparently, the Arnolds (of Enron and hedge fund enrichment) are ratcheting up their unconscionable campaign against working people, especially in Texas and South Carolina.
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That is exactly to reflect on President Elect and his Cabinet.
How sad for those high level of legal experts in academe and in GOP to intentionally support and obey President Elect and his Cabinet,
I guess that the curse will have its merits and its place on all authorities who intend to destroy American Public Education and American democratic way of life. Back2basic
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Both.
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Dear Dr. Ravitch:
Before January 20, 2017, and before presidency is officiated, would you please clarify THE REASON why Democrat Party and all D-Senators + ALL congressmen/women DO NOT ask President Elect to submit
1) his income tax return in the past 16 years?
2) His connection with all FOREIGN trading partners?
3) His cabinet’s and his own BASIC competency regarding diplomacy, RELATED experiences and HONESTY TO American Public in their JOBS?
I think that most of “intelligent” Americans would want to know the TRANSPARENT reason SINCE NOVEMBER 17TH! What is going on and swept under the rug???
Very respectfully yours,
May King
NB:
1) I am not joking with the line in some movies: “I can tell you, but you must be gone or disappeared after hearing the TRUTH”. Ha ha ha.
2) This is the only reason that I can answer to myself as WHY all medias, as scrutinized as Michael Moors and as smart as all Senators, all congress men and women, they all are quiet.
3) I can visualize how people suffer in the concentrated camps from both vocal and quiet activists.
4) SOLUTIONS: a peaceful protest and “THE” bared to the bone consumption STRATEGY will STARVE the GREEDY CORPORATE beasts.
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Like the guy who appointed her, she is a big-time liar.
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It they confirm her, then it will be just another injustice against our children.
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