My website is dianeravitch.com. I write about two interconnected topics: education and democracy. I am a historian of education.
Diane Ravitch’s Blog by Diane Ravitch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at dianeravitch.net.
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I listened to the first minute of that anti-WOKE video and that was enough. I think I may have to start buying more ammo for my firearms and buy some body armor for what’s coming.
I really do not want to end up on the BLUE-WOKE side of a civil war at my age, but I do not see anyway out, unless I die first before it starts.
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And people still think zombies are fictional!
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From what I’ve read, there appears to be about 35 million hard core Traitor Trump supporters that would vote for someone like DeSantis or Abbott if the Traitor wasn’t running in 2024. Everyone else that votes Republican will hold their noses and vote Republican anyway, no matter who runs.
The FBI should be watching the MAGA explaining what WOKE means to him in that first minute because someone that thinks like him is behind almost every mass shooting in this country that isn’t gang related. AR-15s on automatic hosing down grade schools, churchs, temples, movie theaters, music festivals, shopping malls, et al.
Seldom do we see these MAGA moron killers targeting someone that’s ready to fight back. They pick the easiest targets to slaughter.
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With recent Fox politicos advocating shooting first and idiots like Tuberville advocating the end of elections, we are in for a rough road going into the 2024 campaign.
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Idiots indeed!
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Paul and all Isn’t there a religious tract called “Awake”? I wonder what those people are thinking about the “woke” phenomenon, not to mention it’s basic grammatical opposition to dreaming and sleepwalking (again, “zombies.”) CBK
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MAGA-Zombies – impossible to reason with. Dangerous!
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Recently I read that MTG was speaking to a white racist group of some kind and she was ranting and raving about throwing out the trash (everyone that doesn’t think like her and doesn’t agree with her – that’s about 300,000,000 Americans) and taking back “their” country. “Their” meaning everyone that thinks like MTG.
What does ISIS and MAGA Zombies like MTG have in common? They’re both terrorist groups and enemies to the U.S. Constitution. One is foreign and the other is domestic.
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Lloyd writes: What does ISIS and MAGA Zombies like MTG have in common? They’re both terrorist groups and enemies to the U.S. Constitution. One is foreign and the other is domestic.
. . . and by that definition, they are joined at the hip with DeSantis . . . though I wonder what would happen if they were put together. Would MJG and De Santis get along . . . as in “work together”? My guess is that this putting-together is what will kill the present insanity . . . it doesn’t work in the long run. Like with Hitler, the leftover question is how many have to die before the “arch of history” finally shows its face? And THAT is in part up to those who are actually doing battle? CBK
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While some vets and active duty military would end up becoming dangerous MAGA Zomblies (if they aren’t already), most of the vets and military would fight to stop them.
Since the US has been in so many wars, veterans of foreign wars adds up to a hefty number — millions.
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Lloyd Yes about the Vets. But for all the talk about woke, or “being awakened,” Diane’s earlier note here . . . from the Washington Post about the Michigan evangelical extremes taking over city councils . . . tells me that many reasonable people (shall we say?) are not waked up enough yet. The below is from that note, with my caps. But it seems to have started with the “problem” of masks. CBK
“And so began a new era for Ottawa County. Across America, county governments provided services so essential that they were often an AFTERTHOUGHT. Their employees paved roads, built parks, collected taxes and maintained property records. In an era when Americans had never seemed more divided and distrustful, county governments, at their best, helped define what remains of the common good . . . Ottawa County stood out for a different reason. It was becoming a case study in what happens when one of the BUILDING BLOCKS of American democracy is CONSUMED by ideological battles over race, religion and American history.
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Yes, the MAGA-RINO Zombie Fascists are taking over local school districts and smaller local areas easier to outspend during elections. The autocratic fascist loving billionaires are funding these takeovers.
Studies show that the candidates that spend the most money wins the most elections.
Local elections, in the past, might have a campaign budget in the 100s but with often out of state fascist billionaires throwing dump trucks of cash at these local elections, the competitors can’t compete with the heavily funded libertarian, Federalist Society, fascist candidates.
https://www.opensecrets.org/elections-overview/winning-vs-spending
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/money-and-elections-a-complicated-love-story/
The extreme right (so far right, they do not fit on the political specture and are closer to Klingons and/or Romulans) is attempting to buy America by winning local elections using more money to fund their lunatic candidates. That tactic is to win from the bottom as as they win more local races, they start winning more primaries controlling who the candidates become. Even though most of those zombie candidates lose state wide and federal elections, they don’t lose all of them and the creep continues like a localized, non threatenging cancer spreading from organ to organ until the body dies.
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Lloyd Lofthouse, I hope that you are blessed with many more years of life. Having said that, your sentiments seem to indicate an apocalyptic mindset.
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“The over-triggered fight-or-flight response is the biggest problem for most people with PTSD. This intense anxiety and hyper-awareness can cause serious panic attacks. Though someone may be completely safe at the time of one of these attacks, they can still feel like their life is in danger.”
That is the reason I belong to two PTSD support groups through the VA.
PTSD support groups are all combat vets living with PTSD. If the VA counselor in charge of the group thinks we are a danger to ourselves or others, they are legally required to report us and that might lead to being committed to a VA hospital for mental health care/watch. One of the Special Forces vets in one of those two groups has ended up in a VA hospital twice when he was considered a danger to others and himself. When he’s in public, he always goes out with his PTSD trained dog who will step in between him and some asshole that triggers him to protect the asshole from being killed in seconds by the former Special Forces vet who has been to hell-and-back too many times during the more than 12 years he served all over the world.
Serving in combat and being shot at, mortared, rocketed … a lot … tends to do that to many combat vets.
So, I warn those fascist-loving MAGA freaks, beware of combat Vets living with PTSD that still honor the oath they took to defend the U.S. Constitution against all enemies domestic (meaning Traitor Trump and all of the traitor’s MAGA supporters) and foreign (Putin, North Korea, ISIS, Taliban, al-Qaeda, et al).
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Lloyd Lofthouse, I share your thoughts, however, both democrats and republicans have the most to benefit from the chaos. As far as I can tell, the libertarian-type people seem to have the most consistent thinking on this issue.
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Libertarians are not Democrats or Republicans. Please explain how you think chaos will benefit the Democrats. Chaos benefits fascist dictators, not democracies. The tactics Trump is using to spread chaos has been used before by other fascist dictators. Trump isn’t inventing anything new. He’s doing what his mentor Roy Cohn taught him back in the 1970s.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20240517-roy-cohn-the-mysterious-us-lawyer-who-helped-donald-trump-rise-to-power
“The Libertarian Party is a political party in the United States. It promotes civil liberties, non-interventionism, laissez-faire capitalism, and limiting the size and scope of government.”
Here’s the link to that political parites home page.
https://lp.org/
the chaos Trump is using to benefit his fascsit goals will not benefit the Libertarian party.
“As of August 21, 2025, the Libertarian Party reported having 713,526 members. In general, the number of people affiliated with the Libertarian Party can vary depending on whether the figure includes dues-paying members or all registered voters.”
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It may be too late to take back the Republican Party from the convicted rapist, fraud, felon, and January 6, 2021, mastermind, instigator-in-chief, and traitor’s loyalist fascist MAGA hate cult. The MAGA hate cult is made up of fascist, racist fanatics, and they turn out to vote in the GOP’s primaries. When they do, they vote for whoever their fake messiah tells them to vote for, and that is how Trump has been evicting conservatives from the Republican Party and filling it with fascists.
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Ragnarsbut,
Go away. I’ll block you whenever you appear.
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I’ll be honest. I didn’t “get” Rep. Bowman until today. I had a generally good opinion about him, mostly because everyone here writes so highly of him, but watching this is the first time I think I got to see who he really is. I’m sure many of you have experienced it before. So refreshing. The way he framed every argument explains why he’s an elected representative. He’s got a Barbara Jordon-authentic vibe transplanted to the northern suburbs of NYC.
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Yes. Jamaal Bowman is the real deal.
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Here’s a longer video, which just makes it clear she’s a liar. Or she just doesn’t live in reality.
I taught middle school for 14 years. Congress leaving their offices loooks a lot like middle school dismissal – totally Jamaal’s milieu.
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I agree with every word Bowman said, but considering how lame-brained the MAGA zombies are, I think they will not only not understand many of the multiple syllable words he used, but tune out after 15 seconds (and that is a long time for a zombie to pay attention) because of their extremely short attention spans.
That’s why slogans like MAGA, WOKE, BLM are so short so the fascist loving zombies won’t forget them. It doesn’t matter if the zombies understand what those slogans are supposed to mean, if they mean anything. All they know is they hate anything their leaders label WOKE, BLM, et al. and to them, the only patriots in America are the MAGA zombies. I doubt any of them know what a real patriot is or they would have all turned on Trump when he declared war on John McCain, a dead man who served his country in war and was a POW.
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A disturbing investigation from Pro Publica on courts ordering “therapy” for so-called “parental alienation” cases. It’s an outgrowth of the view that children are property.
https://www.propublica.org/article/family-reunification-camps-kids-allege-more-abuse?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow
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Another new member of Congress to pay attention to:
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She speaks the truth powerfully, but the fascist loving MAGA RINO zombies and the other Republicans they have bullied and cowed are not hearing one word. For sure, they have tuned her out and are planning how to troll her back.
Who is that guy sitting behind her?
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https://espaillat.house.gov
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Thanks. I thought from his texting and expression that he was a Republican.
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I just read “A Sharp Turn Right” and am aghast! Horrors! To think that schools should actually teach grammar, and the classics while encouraging children to have a sense of pride for our great country!?! Awful. All in an effort to produce educational results far superior to those occurring in public schools. Oh, the humanity. Success must be stopped.
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I worked 38 years in public schools, in two states, where we taught all of this. Your ignorance is quite astounding.
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I taught in the public schools in California for thirty years (1975 – 2005), and I agree with Paul. Your willingly obvious ignorance, Charles Lawrence, is quite astounding.
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Another extreme-left-wing incompetent. Join the club.
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There are incompetent individuals across the spectrum.
Still, since the extreme-left-wing (that doesn’t exist in the U.S.) is more educated than the extreme, fascist right (that does tragically exist), I think the level of incompetence is much lower on the left.
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Control people through cruelty: republican party keystone:
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A little levity is good for us all:
https://t.co/XwKA0tEL2f
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Rewriting history and resisting it:
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“Providing trauma kits, as this amendment would do, acknowledges that you accept a reality where kids have to prepare to be shot.”
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Next step, sending children to the military to learn how to become combat medics. Once trained, those children return to the public schools with combat medical kits, where our public classrooms have been turned into potential war zones thanks to the GOP.
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I can’t find it now, but I recall seeing a news report about a program, in Texas I think, in which teachers were taught how to administer first aid to shooting victims and it implied the help of other students might be needed. When the instructor described how to keep stuffing gauze into a wound until it was packed, I kind of lost all sense of reality for a little bit. This is nuts.
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It is nuts but everyone isn’t nuts. The trouble is the insane ones are playing dirty with lies, bribes, manipulation, pushing the limits. As long as they keep getting away with it, they will keep pushing until there’s nothing left to push. Then the country will collapse and insanity will rule the streets.
What happened in Lebanon when that country’s government collapsed will be child’s play compared to what might happen here.
If the insanity prevails and wins, this country will become a menace to the world. To survive, the world may have to unite to destroy what’s left of the U.S.
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Virtually every word in this story about teachers prepping students for tests makes my stomach turn. I don’t blame the teachers, but if they really think this is good, they are employees, not educators.
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/05/as-state-proficiency-tests-loom-for-almiras-fifth-graders-teachers-manage-pandemic-learning-gaps-clevelands-promise.html
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“Nonunanimous jury policies were rooted in post-Civil War policy and designed to make conviction of Black defendants easier, even with one or two Black jurors.”
https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-nonunanimous-verdicts-jim-crow-juries-bba8d37fa518b67f9a0ab81f05ed3f59
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I always say young people are the best people. Here’s an extraordinary example of high schoolers making a way out of no way to perform a play that was banned because of one community member’s Bible beliefs.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/31/marian-school-theater-lgbtq-indiana/
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Diane and All FYI: The below link is to an opinion piece, an article about “Microschooling” published in Edweek Update. It’s in the form of an interview with Don Soifer, head of the National Microschooling Center (initiated apparently in 2022). Here is the introductory paragraph by Rick Hess, ” . . . a resident senior fellow and director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.”
“In The Great School Rethink, I talk a bit about microschooling and have learned that the topic tends to generate puzzled queries along the lines of ‘microwhat now’? Well, it’s worth learning more. This spring, EdChoice reported that huge numbers of parents express interest in the microschools. Meanwhile, Don Soifer, the head of the National Microschooling Center, estimates that today there are more than 120,000 microschools educating over 1.5 million students. All of this made it seem like a good time to check in with Soifer, who served previously on the District of Columbia charter school board and as a member of the Nevada State Public Charter School Authority. Here’s what he had to say.” CBK
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-what-the-heck-are-microschools/2023/05?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=eu&M=6951199&UUID=19a3bfa50e7c3500ca6359b823d96d69&T=9290147
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I would be really interested in the demographic break down of participants. I have suspicions, but would like to see the data. I have known many middle class friends who have gone this route with their kids for some of the reasons listed in this article. Those I know did this because the schools focused too stringently on math and reading. The high stakes movement has been a terrible drag on families who see learning more expansively. Another concern is that past is prologue here. There are numerous entities who have, and will, see this as a chance to make a buck. Therefore, this will do nothing, in terms of opportunity, for kids in poverty. Finally, my limited understanding of the history of public education is that one of the reasons we moved to the common school and compulsory education was because too many children were left out and a healthy democracy requires a meaningful level of education. It seems to me that a vigorous micro schools movement would return us to the problem of large swaths of uneducated children.
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That’s the first I’ve heard of microschooling so I Googled it for an explanation and found this:
“Microschooling is the reinvention of the one-room school house, where class size is typically smaller than that in most schools (15 students or less in a classroom) and there are mixed-age level groupings.”
I do not think it will work. Still, I support the 15 students or less in a classroom.
The reason I do not think it will work is because of who might end up teaching in these microschools. Will they be highly educated and supported teachers like Finland has or whoever wants to teach… as long as they get that public money?
I have no problem with the concept as long as the teachers are real teachers and those miscroshools are held to the same legislated accountability and transparency real public school are held to.
The problem with public money going to private schools through vouchers or to charter schools is there are few if any legislated rules and no transparency.
Imagine the difference between an AOC vs a Marjorie T. Greene opening a one room school with 15 students, with no accountability and no transparency. I’d trust AOC. I wouldn’t not trust MTG.
Publicly funded, private-sector microschools would only make the mess we have today a worse nightmare!
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Paul You write: ” . . . too many children were left out and a healthy democracy requires a meaningful level of education. It seems to me that a vigorous micro schools movement would return us to the problem of large swaths of uneducated children.”
Also, with a lack of oversight (by those who are elected by, paid by, and accountable to citizens, and who take their oath seriously, aka: a working Government, the question of the curriculum becomes a Big Red Flag.
I saw three basic issues that made me think “cancer” on the body of education in a democracy:
First, CORPORATE . . . regardless of tax status, . . . and, as you say, money/capitalist principles as the master. They are, on principle, NOT beholden to ALL children. (Jefferson is turning over in his grave.)
Second, Soifer states: “Our team also works hard to keep microschool leaders out of harm’s way, with guidance to help them understand regulatory frameworks and pro-bono assistance in those cases when they do encounter regulatory harassment. And where there are opportunities to work with policymakers to streamline and update frameworks to support the thriving of diversified microschooling sectors in their states, the center is always eager to help.” (my emphases . . . “regulatory harassment”?)
Translation: In the first part above, they are openly “booing” public schools and, again, breaking the heretofore unbroken power line of responsibility and accountability between “the people” and the public services we all expect and pay for.
It’s like capitalist interests have started fires to either/ both take advantage of public education for $$ and/or burn it down; and now they want to point fingers at how awful it is and take the credit for putting out the fires and giving those poor parents a better “choice.” It’s the manifestation of a very long right-wing plan. (The money barons haven’t gotten over Roosevelt yet.) In that last part . . . I smell anti-democratic money and power, the likes of Betsy Devos, Koch, Gates, etc., and their puppets in Congress.
Third, besides publishing their own analysis of the movement (are we to presume it’s a critical analysis, and by what evaluative principles?), Soifer writes: “As the interest in evaluating microschools grows, it’s crucial that their impacts be measured in ways that align with their diversified missions. That’s not been the case in other schools of choice movements, but it’s important that we measure places of learning according to their stated goals.”
Translation/critique: The question for these kinds of “scribes” is whether such stated goals and their accountability “measures,” which WILL sound oh-so-good, are honestly meant or written in capitalist/corporate double-speak. And who keeps them accountable to the public they are presumably serving? Also, how quickly Soifer abandons the charter school movement–it was supposed to be so good. But he is “relentless.”
Below is more from the article. To me, however, Soifer may even believe what he says . . . many of these guys, and even otherwise excellent teachers, really don’t understand the import of dark money and the powers behind the privatization movement and so are just politically undereducated pawns. But Soifer’s interview sounds less like education and more like another corporate scheme, with all the bells and whistles to appeal to working parents; and that, once public education is drawing its last breath, will expose the real intent of its funders’ dark money, when it’s too late to get back education as a public service. To me, this is just more long-term corporate cover. CBK
More from the article: “It is the nation’s preeminent nonprofit empowering hub for pioneering small learning environments; relentlessly pursuing our mission of movement; building for a thriving, diversified microschooling sector that lives up to its transformative potential. We’re foundation-funded and don’t charge microschools for our work supporting their launch and growth. We now have members in 23 states. We offer a dedicated program of supports and trainings for new leaders, including offering popular learning tools along with our platform-specific training. Our in-person and online informational events with local partners help raise community understanding about microschooling.” (my emphasis)
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Paul My comment/response went to moderation. CBK
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“This spring, EdChoice reported that huge numbers of parents express interest in the microschools.”
Unless I know what EdChoice meant by “huge numbers” I will doubt what they claim. 120,000 microschools education over 1.5 million students in a country with more than 330,000,000 people is not HUGE.
“According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), there were 3.7 million homeschooled students in the USA during the 2020/2021 school year. The institute’s data also shows that from late March to early May of 2022, 5.22% of all school-age children were homeschooled.”
“Meanwhile, Don Soifer, the head of the National Microschooling Center, estimates that today there are more than 120,000 microschools educating over 1.5 million students.”
I suspect this is about the homeschooling movement but with a new term. I’ve read that parents who homeschool have a website where they can connect with othe rhomeschooling parents and create micro classrooms taught by one or more of those homeschooling parents.
I had one student during my thirty years of teaching who was homeschooled, until he reached high school age and rebelled, demanding he go to a local high school that happened to be where I taught.
His parents were concerned he’d end up with horrible, incompetent teachers and asked that he only get the toughest teachers in the school. They had a meeting with the 9th grade counselor and asked her who the toughest teachers were in each subject. Then they interviewed those teachers before they approved.
In 9th grade he ended up in of my four English classes.
By the end of the year, I recruited him into my one period of journalism right after lunch, and he stayed in journalism for all four years of high school, and joined the Navy after graduation. His parents were against that, too. He defied them. After the Navy, he went to college and defied his parents again, earning a journalism degree. The last time i talked to him he was a news anchor for a small CBS station out of Palm Springs or maybe Palm Desert. That was decades ago. During that conversation, I learned that he’d also dumped his parent’s dogmatic religion and wasn’t religious anymore. When he was in the Navy, when his ship stopped there, he met a girl in Brazil that he married. His parents didn’t approve of that marriage either. Her skin was too dark.
His parents were extremely religious. I suspect they were evangelical fundamentalists.
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Although many education policy makers bend over backward to deny class size matters, parents know otherwise. Public schools are losing families because of this issue. It’s one of the first things independent schools mention in their recruiting. I was principal of a magnet school in a very wealthy neighborhood. Throughout stellar reputation we were seen by many parents in this community as a discount for the elite schools they would have attended otherwise. These parents were very active in their support of minority and impoverished students that came to the school. I frequently communicated to the district that it was important that we competed for the wealthy in the district to maintain prominent advocacy for the public schools. A strong faculty and small classes would attract many who have chosen private options.
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Paul and all I’m going offline. Everything I write goes to moderation.
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And how many of those parents that know class size matters, vote no on tax increase that the public school require to lower class sizes and higher more teachers.
The US already has a shortage of qualified public school teachers. Where’s the country going to find those qualified public school teachers… if voters said yes to increasing taxes that fund our public schools?
For California, most of the money for public schools comes from property taxes. And I do not want higher property taxes either. My annual property tax is already about $5,000 annually. My former wife lives in a house worth three times my house and pays about $15,000 a year. She will not vote for higher property taxes to pay for smaller class sizes and more teachers.
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Correction. Most of the money for schools in California comes from income taxes, not property taxes. You can find more details in Ed100.org. Hope this helps
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I stand corrected.
Still, “The majority of funding for California K–12 schools is provided by the state. Since 1990, the state share of school funding typically has hovered between 54% and 61%, with the local share between 32% and 36%. These shares vary across school districts.”
The local share comes mostly from property taxes that includes fees local communities have added to property taxes.
“On average, California public K-12 schools receive most of their funding from the state and some from the federal government, with local revenue through property taxes making up about 30 percent of the revenue, according to the most recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).”
“California collects more than $60 billion in property taxes annually. Revenue from the proposition would be split among K–12 public schools and community colleges (40 percent) and other local government services (60 percent) such as infrastructure, police protection, and hospitals.”
40% of property tax (about $24 billion) goes to K-12 public schools and community colleges, usually based on student attendance (when a student is absent, the district doesn’t get that daily allotment for that one student). Each student is worth the same amount of money. Unless that’s changed, too.
“California largely relies on three revenue sources — the personal income tax, the sales and use tax, and the corporation tax. Together, they make up 95% of General Fund revenues.”
In 2021–22, state, local, and federal funding for California K–12 public schools was roughly $136 billion. That leaves about $112 billion after the public schools get their share of property tax, almost 22% of total state revenues from income tax, sales and use tax and corporate taxes.
California’s total expenditures in fiscal year (FY) 2022 were $510.0 billion, including general funds, other state funds, bonds, and federal funds.
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Correction: Most of the funding for schools in California comes from personal income taxes, not property taxes.
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I am sure I am in the minority here, but I believe if the Federal Government took over teacher pay, the aggregate tax bill for individuals could be reduced significantly. This could be sold as a way to reduce property taxes and also make affordable housing achievable. I live in the unincorporated part of Decatur, GA (Atlanta). In the incorporated portion of the town, property taxes are almost double because the citizens in town make the quality of their schools a priority. This has also resulted in costs for housing that result in predominately high end neighborhoods. These families understand that money matters.
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FIRST, let’s consider the cost to the federal government, and while we’re doing that let’s not forget the current national debt and the interest it costs to feed that debt of almost $32 trillion dollars.
“Teachers are notoriously underpaid in the U.S. with a median annual salary of just over $61,000 a year, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.”
“How many teachers are there in the U.S.? All together, there are 4,007,908 teachers in the United States. This includes all K-12 public and private schools, plus adult education and career/technical schools. Teachers account for about 2.5% of the working population.”
Using the median annual salary x 4,000,000 teachers in the U.S. = $244,427,000,000 (if my numbers are correct). Currently, in FY (I don’t know what FY means) 2023, the Department of Education (ED) had $174.97 Billion distributed among its 10 sub-components. Agencies spend available budgetary resources by making financial promises called obligations . Since that funding is already spoken for, the rest of the money to pay teachers across the country would have to be an additional expense without a revenue stream to pay for it, since the GOP has been blocking increasing revenues for decades and continues to blog increasing taxes while also fighting to keep lowering taxes.
That’s more than China spends annually on its military budget, and China is #2 in defense spending ($230 billion).
The U.S. is #1 ($773 billion in 2023).
While the U.S. could easily cut defense spending by a quarter trillion dollars and maintain an adequate defense force, and use that cut to pay teacher without raising revenues or increasing debt, that isn’t going to happen.
SECOND, as long as the Republican Party continues to “hate” a powerful federal government, continues to cut taxes for corporations and the wealthiest 1%, et al. — funding teachers pay across the US would never make it through Congress.
THIRD: Even if that longshot happened and the federal government took over the cost of teachers salaries, there would be court challenges and I think it is a safe bet that would be found unconstitutional.
“While education may not be a ‘fundamental right’ under the Constitution, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment requires that when a state establishes a public school system (as in Texas), no child living in that state may be denied equal access to schooling.”
I suspect that educating our children K -12 will continue to be the responsibility of each state and the mess the US is in with states publicly funding vouchers, charter schools and in some states religious schools will continue probably for decades. The only way it would end earlier would be if the voters voted out Republicans across the country and voted in liberals and progressives to replace them. I do not think that will happen, ever.
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Lloyd “While education may not be a ‘fundamental right’ under the Constitution, the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment requires that when a state establishes a public school system (as in Texas), no child living in that state may be denied equal access to schooling.”
The education of citizens is explicit to the U.S. Constitution but also of ANY democracy, by its very power structure. (My guess is that education was assigned to the States for completely different reasons than we commonly think; e.g., Jefferson et al already knew about its intrinsic importance. The argument goes like this:
(1) The power structure of a democracy moves from below upward (of/by/for the people) to order the laws and institutions that arise in a democratic culture.
Thus, political power does not flow DOWN from a king, potentate, fascist totalitarian idiot, or charismatic religious leader, or any kind of “top-down” order. In this way, the power is tensional and circular but always dynamic according to the changes that history presents us with: DEMOS/people, CRASIS/power; and according to the presence or lack of education in The People.
(2) The focus then lands on The People . . . but the people are intrinsically developmental; and the history of the world keeps changing and demanding that we understand what the heck is going on if WE are to survive and even live well (pursue happiness); . . . so that we don’t run afoul of our own complexities and developmental patterns, or run off course, or act in our lives out of ignorance, or cannot fix our own problems, or out of our ignorance, or get swallowed up by those who do not wish “the people” well, or who are themselves too ignorant to understand or chart a good course for all concerned.
With (1) and (2) in mind, then, we might be able to see ongoing education of The People (with an ability to read), and as having a direct and dynamic relationship with our chosen governing officials, as fully explicit to the U. S. Constitution.
I think education probably was not written into the U. S. Constitution as such precisely because the founders understood the dangers of singular “from above” order (centralized government for this one thing at least), and because they already assumed its importance . . . but they understood much more about democracy than most that I experience regularly today. And BTW this is why political philosophy is so important to teach in our K-12 schools today. My view is that the drift away from historical, and such developmental political education, has been deadly and is becoming more so. CBK
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Good point, that when it came to education, “the founders understood the dangers of singular “from above” order (centralized government for this one thing at least)…”
If that’s what the founders were thinking, they were right. All we have to do is look at Red States like Florida to see what happens to public education when one man, one governor, holds all the reigns of power.
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Lloyd Yes, and we have to remember the Founders’ political context. Not to mention that Jefferson studied history in its original languages. But if they didn’t know anything else, they understood the difference between democracy and every other kind of political order under the sun. cbk
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I understand your argument and the shortcomings, but if we were rational about this, I know that’s a big if, we could do this if we could get states and localities to reduce property tax burdens along with income tax increases. This would be a heavy lift, but our debt is as much the result of tax cuts and an unwillingness to force those of means to pay what they owe. The trick is getting the electorate to understand that teachers are an investment that would allow us to develop a more productive and less government dependent populous. Also, if we could get the general public to understand that too much of our military budget is going to corporate interests. The latest concern about reduced ammunition stock piles was dramatically oversold to get Congress to raise defense spending. One of the benefits of national pay for teachers is that it would level the playing field for states that can’t compete for salaries. The way to get around the constitutional ramifications is to emphasize that the states would continue to have control over facilities, curriculum, et al. I know, I know. With the current Supreme Court this would be impossible. But all life is finite after all. So the court will have to change some day. We are the wealthiest country ever. We could do this if we chose to. I guess just call me lefty.
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There’s always hope. That’s why people keep losing money in casinos, hoping they’ll win one day. Just another quarter in the slot, then another….
Still, what’s happening in the EU and the Nordic countries does offer fuel for that hope. That one day there’d be a majority of sensible voters in every state.
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Lloyd About your journalism student: A probably too-common experience. I didn’t go to college until my early 30’s; but when I did, I fell in love with school and began to have interesting stuff to think and talk about. But, as with your student, some of my family members (to remain unnamed) disapproved and told me I had been brainwashed by my leftist professors. Sigh . . . .
Different, however, is that I also began to understand what was so totally wrong with their “brand” of evangelical religion; but also how, within some religious traditions (and mine now), collaborative study, reflection, and the pursuit of understanding thrive. You don’t need a stage, a bullhorn, big hair, or a large collection plate for that. CBK
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How many children that grow up in fundamentalist homes, declare their freedom and escape after reaching adolescents or legal age?
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Diane and All FYI: This from the scientific online publication: “Nature Briefing” this morning: (covers scientific news worldwide)
“Periodic table cut from India’s textbooks”
“Schoolchildren in India will no longer be taught about evolution, the periodic table of elements, sustainability, pollution or energy sources such as fossil fuels and renewables. Chapters on all of these topics have been cut from the textbooks and curricula for students aged 11–18. The National Council of Educational Research and Training, which is behind the changes, has not yet explained its rationale to teachers and parents. Experts are baffled, and more than 4,500 have signed an appeal to reinstate the axed content on evolution.” Nature | 6 min read
“Read more: India’s curriculum body needs to explain why it has removed foundational topics from school textbooks, argues a Nature editorial. (5 min read) briefing@nature.com” CBK
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Lloyd Another of my notes (this one to you) went into moderation. CBK
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Be patient. That moderation think could be a WordPress glitch of some kind.
Does WordPress have their own AI program now?
Self learning AI programs are popping up all over the place, for writers, for artists, et al.
AI is not exclusive to Google, Microsoft and Apple. Those are the bigger self learning AI programs.
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I’m sorry, CBK. WordPress does what it wants.
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Diane Don’t worry about WordPress. I do want to let others know that I am not avoiding notes that are directed to me, however. So just ignore them from your end. CBK
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Have you seen today’s New Yorker cartoon. When I read the caption, I roared with laughter.
The cartoon shows a jury box with 12 jurors and one of the jurors is standing reading this verdict:
“We find the defendant guilty but will support him if he’s the nominee.”
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By middle school all teachers in Finland know which students are going to college prep high school.
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No libraries or librarians, camera survelliance in classrooms, and lesson plans “centrally” written by people who aren’t responsible for teaching them. Sounds like the the military? Yeah, Mike Military Miles in Houston.
https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/houston-independent-school-district-hisd-takeover-tea-mike-miles/
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This fascist movement to destroy our public schools is worse than the military.
Everyone that voluntarily joins the military, is elected to Congress or the presidency, serves in federal law enforcement agencies (et al.) takes an oath and lives by that oath to defend the US Constitution against domestic and foreign enemies.
That Oath is part of the US Constitution before any amendments were added. George Washington was the first president to take it.
Traitor Trump may be the first president who lied when he took that oath. Anyone that still supports that traitor and will vote for him in 2024 is also a traitor.
Why did the traitor come up with MAGA as his campaign slogan back in 2015?
Because MAGA is one letter earlier in the alphabet than Nazi, MAGA is four letters, too. Traitor Trump always has to beat anyone he thinks he’s competing to outdo, cheat, and beat. In his case, he’s competing to be more evil than Hitler.
MAGA fascists are only loyal to their leader, be it Trump, DeSantis, Abbott or whoever will step up to fill the vacancy when there is one. Currently, most if not all, MAGA fascists are still loyal to Traitor Trump. They think anyone that is not loyal to their traitor is a traitor to fascism.
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This is quite an interesting article about the first “drag queen.”
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-first-self-proclaimed-drag-queen-was-a-formerly-enslaved-man-180982311/
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Two transgender actors won Tony awards tonight. The first made history. The second did too.
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Although she doesn’t do the make-up or lighting nearly as well as Kari Lake, pay attention to Nancy Mace. She’s running a strategic campaign to become vp nominee for whichever cult member gets the republican nomination.
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I just read “A Sharp Turn Right” and am aghast! Horrors! To think that schools should actually teach grammar, and the classics while encouraging children to have a sense of pride for our great country!?! Awful. All in an effort to produce educational results far superior to those occurring in public schools. Oh, the humanity. Success must be stopped.
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Looks like UNC-Chapel Hill took whatever steps it could to rein in that uppity Black woman, Nikole Hannah-Jones, after she decided to leave and move to Howard University, taking her Ida B. Wells Society with her:
Replying the next day, Reis apologized.
The school had “not been communicating with you as often as we should throughout this process,” he said. Reis provided some updates on funds that had been returned to organizations for re-granting and said he and Richardson aimed to have the funds fully transferred by the end of June — a full six months after the school had first been notified of the society’s move.
Reis agreed to an emergency meeting with the society’s cofounders and staff from the school. No reasonable explanations were given for the extensive delays in transferring the money and the lack of transparency about the details, Hannah-Jones said.
When society leaders told the university officials that they intended to go public if this wasn’t resolved, transfers began almost immediately. On May 12, the day after the meeting, the school wire transferred $502,983.42 in unrestricted gifts to Morehouse and another $106,133.86 in CUNY funds. On May 18, another $100,000 from the Walt Disney corporation was transferred.
https://ncnewsline.com/2023/06/12/ida-b-wells-society-canceled-programs-for-young-journalists-after-unc-withheld-millions-in-funding/
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If you have the patience, you can scan through this to get all of Goldberg’s comments.
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A couple of days ago, we had a thread about how the right parrots criticism of them in the same, lying way to make the words meaningless. Here is a perfect example.
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That is disgusting!!!
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More of the same. Listen to this carefully. By lying with the language he uses, he is setting a precedent for future judicial interpretations to justify his “they did this to me, so I can do this to them” schtick. This, folks, is fascism. The real thing. Yesterday’s high tech lynchings will become tomorrow’s legally sanctioned restrictive covenants determining where people live, how they are represented, and what jobs and pay will be open to them.
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Trump said at his NJ rally—after the arraignment—that the records he took were declassified by him (the nation’s top secrets) and that under the Presidential Records Act, they are his personal property. A lawyer on CNN said this was a confession that 1) he took the records (remember when he said they were “planted” by the FBI?); 2) he thinks he declassified them (he didn’t, as he did not follow any process, which requires written records); he insists they belong to him (they don’t).
The Presidential Records Act says: all Presidential records belong to the federal government the minute the president leaves office.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/14/politics/fact-check-trump-bedminster-speech
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This is not why Trump was indicted. He not only took these documents, but refused to return them for over 1 year. Cover-up anyone? The indictment does not mention a single document that he actually returned only those he refused to give back under subpoena. It does not matter that he had the documents, it’s that he brought this all on himself when he could have been forgiven simply giving them back, then he could have reviewed them within the rules to give his version of his Administration’s history, which is what all of his modern predecessors did. One can only wonder who knocked those boxes over and if they found what they were looking for.
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Traitor Trump knows his MAGA fascist loving zombies never fact check anything and wouldn’t believe the fact checkers anyway. That’s why he keeps telling them the same lies. They will believe “anything” he tells them.
Then the dumber than dumb zombies keep giving him their money and threatening to start a war for him. How many of the January 6h insurrections are in permission for doing what he told them to do, “Fight like hell or you won’t have a country anymore.”
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I so wish I could share a story about how the incompetence of one state was exploited by another decades ago, but I’ve been sworn to all secrecy beyond what I just wrote. I can say that it convinces me that competent spy services from throughout the world, enemy and friend, had a field day with these documents. Micro-cameras and lookouts couldn’t believe their luck. If there were sensitive documents upon which people’s lives depend, the people who want to know likely do now. And those people are either dead or will be soon.
Intelligence services during the Cold War had individuals inside Iron Curtain countries providing accurate information about Eastern Bloc military, economic, and social life to us upon which to make strategic military decisions that put millions of peoples’ lives on the line without their knowledge. The people who conveyed that information risked not only their lives, but those of family and acquaintances. They knew the risks. Why would any of those kind today even consider putting their lives on the line for the United States? Knowing that the people you work for might give away your identity at any time to the people you are spying on and would kill you immediately if they knew you were?
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The New York Times wrote about a surprising number of American spies killed in October 2021. No one knew why. Can we guess?
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It goes a little something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbbm2-Xt59g
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And this:
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2023-06-13/ty-article/.highlight/trump-doc-probe-concern-in-israel-former-presidents-actions-compromised-its-security/00000188-b621-d1d6-a7b9-fff57b640000
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Trump will sell out anyone—friend or foe—if the price is right.
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I pride myself in not slowing down and gawking at traffic accidents, but I could help but come to a full stop and stare at this. Which is real and which is Memorex?
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Happy, happy, joy, joy! https://www.opb.org/article/2023/04/12/black-tennessee-lawmakers-have-been-reinstated-after-being-expelled-by-gop/
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When has Naomi Klein been wrong? Seldom, and she’s correct here, too. We ignore RFK Jr.’s campaign at our peril.
We also have to consider the possibility that Kennedy may have a greater ambition, one that requires those carefully worded hedges, and which would explain his backpedaling on gun control (he has floated the idea that mass shootings in US schools are caused by Prozac), and make sense of his recent trip to southern border, seemingly for the sole purpose of dog-whistling that he is on board with the Republican war on migrants.
Perhaps it’s a plan to run as an independent – or a hope for a spot in a Republican administration. Or … “Yeah. Trump-Kennedy. I said it,” Republican operative and Trump ally Roger Stone wrote on Twitter shortly after Kennedy announced his candidacy.
Trump’s former campaign manager and top advisor, Steve Bannon, likes the idea, too. “Bobby Kennedy would be, I think, an excellent choice for President Trump to consider,” he told his podcast audience, adding that when he shared the idea at a function for fellow Trump diehards, it received a standing ovation.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/14/ignoring-robert-f-kennedy-jr-not-an-option?CMP=share_btn_tw
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Waking up this morning to the news about Russia’s militia revolt, we finally have a timely, concrete example of how the second amendment has been distorted to create the world we live in today. Its purpose was to provide the means to call up militias made up of citizens to protect a vulnerable nation. It was never, ever intended to give citizens the “right” to protect themselves against a potential “tyrannical” government. Nor was it ever intended to provide constitutional protections to allow neighbors to shoot neighbors or anyone else. It was intended to ensure national stability, not undermine it.
But if you take the perverse view that it is all about individual rights and/or tyrannical government — both which are categorically not — and combine that with the language of militias to make that right stronger, look to Russia right now. Roaming bands of militias destabilizing civil and military life is what many right wing Americans dream about. And the support for them is not small, especially if it were to become reality. It’ll be the mother of all bandwagons.
So, as we watch events unfold in Russia, don’t forget, this is the logical, extreme conclusion where present extreme interpretations of the second amendment will lead us.
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Still, as much as I don’t want extreme right militias in the United States doing what the Wagner group is doing in Russia, I’m not against it happening In Putinland. If private militias are going to run amok anywhere, my vote is for it to happen in Putin’s Russia — not in the U.S.
Russia also doesn’t have a 2nd Amendment.
Compare civilian gun ownership and Russia is not near the top of the list.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-ownership-by-country
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Guess I didn’t write clearly. I’m focused more on the idea of militia in the second amendment than gun ownership. The latter was dependent on the former in the original intent of the amendment, something one side chooses to ignore and distort, the other for some reason thinks is not important. Under our Constitution, the idea of militias is ONLY in service to the government, that is very clear. There is no constitutional mechanism or authority for militias to overthrow their government, and that is the lie upon which much of second amendment support rests. The situation in Russia is a timely example of just exactly what the framers feared. I can already see the idiots claim, “See, that’s why citizens need to be armed to fight tyranny.”
The idea of any right of gun ownership the framers envisioned was subordinate to protecting the nation, ensuring its stability in perpetuity. Once gun ownership threatens either, the framers would surely have responded in favor of order over arbitrary chaos. The experience of the War of 1812 made the references in the Constitution to militias and quartering moot. As the oft cited clip goes:
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When it comes to the U.S. 2nd Amendment I agree with you. My reply to your comment focused on what’s happening in Russia. I want Putin’s regime to collapse.
Still, we have to be careful what we wish for since we don’t know what will replace Putin’s regime.
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I get it, just didn’t think I was clear. With respect to Russia, we have a militia that is more extreme than the current extremists in power. All those people represented by the post Diane made of citizen resistance in Russia have nowhere to go. It’s like Nazis fight the John Birch Society. How can anyone sane person pick a winner in that fight?
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We don’t know what the outcome will be between these two faction. The winner might end up with a pyrrhic victory opening the door for other factions to sweep in and get rid of them, too. It won’t be over until it’s over.
It all depends on who the CIA is backing (with approval from the White House) during the struggle and if that element turns out to be the best option in the end.
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Randy for President!
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Imagine President Rainbow dealing with MTG.
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I would rather see Randy as Speaker of the House. C-Span would be must see TV.
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True. Saturday Night Live would lose a lot of eyes. It’s easy to imagine Randy dressing just like MTG and mimicking her ironically. MTG might have a stroke.
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Learned today about the National Association of Scholars. What a looney bin. They’re easy to Google. Here’s a good summary:
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Some fun for people of a certain generation. Love the security. Good for when you a need a break from the world.
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First and foremost Diane, I am so very grateful for the work you do here online to protect our nation’s founding principles. I’m also humbly honored that you’ve shared some of my post here on your site.
Thank you most kindly,
Paul
To contribute to this discussion, please allow me to add the following regarding protecting public education from the MAGA crowd.
https://www.truthaboutthreats.com/p/fighting-the-maga-crowd-in-order
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Dear Paul Cobaugh,
I admire and respect your long experience serving our country, and I always learn something new from your posts!
Diane
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Article on Orthodox Jewish education policy in Israel. Links your posts on extremism and public policy.
https://www.science.org/content/article/science-free-schooling-israel-s-ultra-orthodox-draws-fire
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What a cool line-item veto trick to help kids in public education! “Bizarre veto triggers 400 years of funding for Wisconsin public schools: report” https://www.rawstory.com/400-years-of-school-funding/
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Diane Ravitch, regardless of the disdain for Donald J. Trump, at least he kept us out of completely unnecessary war started by his predecessors.
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Greg, oh, yea, you’re talking about Bush #2, who went to war in Afghanistan because of what Al Qaeda did on 9/11, in New York City, and your talking about the Iraq war that Bush #2 also started. Then there was Bush 2’s father, Bush #1, also a Republican that started the first war with Iraq. They made such a mess of all three of those wars that it couldn’t be fixed after Obama was elected president, who did not start any wars. He inherited them from the GOP.
Traitor Trump managed to end the war in Afghanistan by giving it back to our enemy who returned to continue where they started, killing and brutalizing the Afghan people, and selling weapons to terrorists that want to destroy the United States.
The traitor made sure to set the pull-out day to happen in such a short time, the U.S. military didn’t have time to remove many of the equipment and weapons that were there, and he set that date after the 2020 election so the traitor could blame Biden, with more lies, for something the traitor did — I’m talking about TRUMP.
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Thanks, Lloyd!
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Um…Biden got us out of Afghanistan. OF course Trump did send cruise missiles into Syria…
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Jabberwocky in Oklahoma. Rod Serling would have loved to do a show on this theme.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/walters-tulsa-race-massacre_n_64a83b65e4b0b6417636ffea
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Hundreds were killed, many by AERIAL BOMBING, in Tulsa because they were black. Over 300 were killed at wounded knee with gatling guns because they were unarmed Native Americans. Over a century some 4500 were lynched because they were black. Dozens were killed, including government officials, in a coup in Wilmington, North Carolina in the 1890s because they were black. The list goes on and on. Nine states formed an insurrection we call our Civil War explicitly (as written in all articles of secession) to maintain a black chatel slave economy. My legacy is that of a plantation economy that owned slaves. Both of my parents were civil rights activists in Chattanooga and their ancestors fought for the Confederacy. My advocacy for equality is not out of guilt but because it is right. I know our history is troubling and I would like to rectify that through opportunity for all sectors for social and individual prosperity. Contemporary right winged thought is not conservative. It is depraved. The reason for Anti-CRT legislation is that these Republicans know America has a problematic history in regard to race. What’s worse is that they demonstrate that they have no problem wearing their bigotry on their sleeves (or bumpers). Snowflakes indeed!
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Pretty good piece on school choice on Breaking Points. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh_w6y1pv9g&t=611s
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Lloyd Lofthouse, if we used the U.S. military to see to the collapse of Vladimir Putin’s regime, the end result would be no different than what happened during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. There is no real difference except for the geographic location.
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Where did that come from?
The United States is not going to invade Russia with the U.S. military.
If Putin’s regime collapses, there is concern that some of Russia’s nuclear weapons might end up in the hands of lunatics like ISIS, al Qaeda, or MAGA.
There are two scenarios where the U.S. and/or EU or NATO might send troops or attack Russia
The first scenario is if they were invited by the next leader of Russia and his faction because of instability and a real threat that some of those nuclear weapons might fall into the wrong hands. For that to happen, that faction and its leader would have to be sane and rational.
“Russia is estimated to possess roughly 5,977 nuclear warheads, of which 1,588 are actively deployed. A slight majority of these weapons are designated as strategic, while the minority appear to be non-strategic (tactical). Consistent with arms control agreements such as START and New START, Russia’s strategic arsenal has decreased significantly since the end of the Cold War.”
Those same nuclear weapons will stop the U.S., Nato, or the EU from attacking Russia … unless Russia attacks the west with its nuclear weapons first, then all bets are off.
When the sky clears, there will be no Russia left. The west will be hurting bad too. North America has almost 400 million people. The EU has more than 700 million people. Russia has about 145 million. It will be easier to get rid of most of the Russians than Russia blowing up most of the west.
There might be some Russians left but the survivors probably live in remote areas of Russia away from military bases and large cities that will surely all be craters. Just people. No government unless they are in some deep bunker somewhere hiding.
In that scenario, the west’s military would be needed to maintain order in the west and protect what is left of the west from Islamic terrorists groups and MAGA.
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Lloyd Lofthouse, that was a hypothetical scenario. We have been sticking our noses into the affairs of other countries for far too long and basically played the role of king maker.
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Why are you changing the subject?
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You are also wrong about the U.S. being king makers. If the U.S. had that kind of power, there would be no Putin in Russia.
If the U.S. is playing at being king makers, it is failing horribly.
The EU is not following the U.S. playbook. The U.S. is the only developed country without universal health care. The U.S. has no high speed rail. The EU has more than 11,000 kilometers of high speed passenger rail lines.
The EU doesn’t need to rely on the U.S. military. Each country in the EU alliance has its own military. If Traitor Trump and the fascist loving, isolationist MAGA lunatics came into power and left NATO, the EU alliance would still stand and with Traitor Trump and the MAGA fascists ruling the U.S., who would win a war between the EU and the US?
NATO and the EU are two difference military alliances. Most of the members of the EU are also members of NATO. The EU has the 2nd most powerful military on the planet and is moving to create a unified military that would fight as one force.
https://www.globalfirepower.com/countries-listing-european-union.php
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Terrific video from More Perfect Union on vouchers’ impact in Arizona.
https://perfectunion.us/how-right-wing-grifters-are-destroying-public-schools/
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Hello Diane,
We have corresponded several times over the years. I’m a long-time fan and avid reader of your blog. Here’s my little take on the name-change for Twitter, using an anagram for Elon Musk.
Seeing himself as the epitome of the alpha male and a champion of beleaguered patriarchy, it isn’t surprising that Lone Skum ditched the bird–a symbol of femininity going back to prehistoric times. Perhaps his dignity could have tolerated the mascot if it were a raptor. But how could this fragile boy accept a pretty, pastel-blue, plump and curvy, soft and harmless songbird: a creature that, in the human imagination, seeks to do nothing but beautify the world with its “tweets.” Instead, he chose masculine straight lines and sharp angles. He didn’t include the gentle curve of the algebraic x, and not even serifs, which can soften a letterform. And to boot, he removed color altogether, setting his new logo in stark black and white.
This is the true logo of Lone Skum:
Scum, because it is humorless, beautiless, and incapable of seeing ambiguities or subtleties; because it divides things into light and dark, into hierarchies with itself at the top; because it juts out into the world aggressively with sharp angles.
Alone, because it can think of nothing to do with its fellow creatures–avian or human–but to use them to express its own dominance. The naive hope of Twitter, at its founding, was that it would connect people in meaningful and positive ways. It has more often done the opposite, dividing people, driving users into isolation and narrow-mindedness. So of course, no cute, cuddly bird would do, singing for its mate or for the simple joy of communicating. No, give us the stark and solitary X, the mark of missing humanity, of pornography and booze, alone, alone, limbs flailing as it hurtles through the void.
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The Twitter logo was inspired by a hummingbird.
Lone Scum stomped that symbol flat, and replaced it with a Cassowary.
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P.S. I’m a high school English teacher in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
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For a bit of comic relief, Alexandra Petri nails it here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/04/donald-trump-arraignment-fantasy-courtroom-satire/
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Next ploy from Traitor Trump’s shark team (running scared and on the lookout for a pack of hungry hunting orcas that love the taste of shark liver): Claim insanity using this WP comic relief opinion piece as evidence.
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Teachers develop a sense of what’s normal behavior (over a wide range) because we interact with so many humans everyday, thousands cumulatively over a career. That’s why teachers quickly grasped Trump ain’t on the normal spectrum.
I believe he knows he lost, but his twisted psyche doesn’t accept it, because he IS NOT a loser. Totally irrelevant to his guilt, of course.
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Trump is NOT a loser because he is a LIAR, a CROOK, and a CHEATER. If he had grown up an honest person, his family may have given him an apartment building to manage and made sure he had a competent assistant manager to do the job right when he made mistakes, which would have been often.
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Of course, he knows he lost.
But he can’t accept it.
He is a sore loser.
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Congressman Al Green of Texas connects all the dots for the crowd, including Uncle Miltie Friedman.
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Good report here, which reveals the astroturf groups targeting schools:
https://link.theplatform.com/s/rksNhC/a1khL_EOKnCq?formats=M3U&format=redirect&manifest=m3u&format=redirect&Tracking=true&Embedded=true&formats=MPEG4
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Our dear friend, Susan Ohanian, eviserates the NYT and their hand wringing on Why Jhonny Can’t Read (typo deliberate!) Enjoy!
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It’s as if the New York Times is bought and paid for…
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The NYT may not be bought and paid for but the owner/s and CEO/Editor of the paper may be behind leaning right. This is nothing new. The history of journalism in the United States is filled with examples of newspapers being for one party or the other even calling themselves the Republican *** or Democratic ***
“The publication of the Federalist Papers, as well as the Anti-Federalist Papers, in the 1780s, moved the nation into the party press era, in which partisanship and political party loyalty dominated the choice of editorial content.”
https://pressbooks.online.ucf.edu/americangovernment2e/chapter/the-evolution-of-the-media/
Still, according to Media Bias Fact check.com, the New York Times has a Left-Center bias.
“Overall, we rate the New York Times Left-Center biased based on wording and story selection that moderately favors the left. They are considered one of the most reliable sources for news information due to proper sourcing and well-respected journalists/editors. The failed fact checks were on Op-Eds and not straight news reporting.”
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Seems worthy of a post, Diane.
In his book Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope, Johann Hari makes the case that depression is really loss of human connections, and the very first lost connection he discusses is disconnection from meaningful work. Reading his chapters on this subject, I realized I was depressed because the work I love and pour my heart and soul into was being rendered meaningless by people who have tried to data-fy and standardize it. Reformers. In Daniel Pink’s book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, he identifies three main things that motivate people intrinsically: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Education reform has stomped on autonomy, which has made mastery impossible, and has sucked all the purpose out of our profession. Sorry, higher test scores are not my life’s calling. Oh, and your extrinsic motivators aren’t so hot either. I’ve been “distinguished” in my evaluation for several years, only to receive about 11 dollars minus taxes as a bonus. That’s not a motivator. That’s a slap in the face.
I ask you, reformers and those who support them, is this what you had in mind? People act baffled at our teacher shortage. But I know why we have one. Aside from the way teachers are badmouthed by press and by certain groups that call us “groomers” and “pedophiles”, there is the basic fact that everything that makes teaching meaningful to teachers has been systematically stripped away from the profession in the name of “improving” the profession. Teachers are leaving in droves. Teachers colleges are closing for lack of students wanting to sign on to the profession.
https://mrfitz.com/blog/an-open-letter-to-education-reformers-reform-cheerleaders-and-others-who-have-tried-to-fix-education/
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Most education reformers, pushing vouchers and charter schools, are no better than pirates, thugs, bullies, trolls and serial killers. Their motive is not to improve education for children. It’s greed.
Just like Traitor Trump, they have a mind sickness and most of them have no empathy.
“Lack of Empathy | Definition, Signs & Causes – Video & Lesson …
Two psychological terms particularly associated with a lack of empathy are sociopathy and psychopathy. Psychopathy, which comes from the Greek roots psykhe, which refers to the mind, and pathos, which means suffering, has shifted in popular meaning over the years, but it has always been associated with mind sickness.”
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Cameron began the news conference by apologizing for “any comments” from members of the Republican Party that have made educators feel “less than valued.”
This guy is horrible!
https://www.lpm.org/news/2023-08-15/daniel-cameron-unveils-education-plan-hones-in-on-covid-19-learning-loss
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Dan Rather has a good post in defense of public education on his substack:
The ideal of quality, integrated public schools for all children in the United States epitomizes the promise of our country’s founding as a place of equality and opportunity for all. It thus makes sense that would-be autocrats and protectors of privilege would seek to undermine our public schools by whatever means necessary. We must see this as what it is: as much a threat to the nation as was the violent storming of our Capitol.
The future of the United States depends on an educated and empathetic citizenry. It requires us to share a sense of common purpose and recognize our common humanity. It requires an environment that allows every child to thrive and see themselves included in the American story. It requires quality public education. Full stop.
https://steady.substack.com/p/the-battle-to-save-public-education?publication_id=247881&isFreemail=true
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I get the feeling that too many politicos forget Rather’s perspective. The prevailing opinion is too often about specific tasks, reading, math, and job training, over the value of human endeavor. I don’t remember the specific, but when I first encountered Dewey, I recall thinking he got it. It’s been a century since the progressive movement that offered so much promise, and now we face policies of simpletons who have minuscule imaginations. There has been a great deal written about our country’s current state of loneliness and the rejection of community. Public schools are critical for all of us. There will be no choice for most of us if we defund the enterprise.
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Public schools are where children get their first job, to learn what they are taught. How much effort they put into learning and how much they learned is revealed through GPA, not test scores. All test scores do is reveal who has the best ability to remember what they were taught.
Just because a teacher taught their students something, doesn’t mean they will remember it. Still, students with high GPAs stand a much better chance of remembering what they were taught and also, through that high GPA reveal they are someone who gets things done — they set goals to study and do homework and accomplish those goals.
A high or low GPA also reveals an individual’s work ethic. Still, there may be other factors involved in a low GPA like living in poverty where a child will have to work harder over a longer period of time to escape the hardships caused by poverty. From what I’ve read, some do, many don’t.
Test scores do not, in any way, reveal any of that.
The results of an IQ test also do not reveal how hard someone works at a jbo or to learn. If a student works hard to learn with a high GPA the odds favor they will also work hard at a regular job that pays them money instead of just grades.
There are other things an employer might learn about an young adult joining the working class through the electives they took when they were in middle, high school, and college, if they went to college.
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In 1990 I participated in a conference called “WorkForce 2000.” My role was to act as a facilitator of a discussion among business people and educators. Again and again the business cohort said what they needed was critical thinkers, problem solvers, and hard workers. What education policy makers gave them over the next three decades were test takers.
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When my daughter was at Stanford, she told me that Steve Job’s son was in one of her classes. He never did any work. Never participated. Did nothing. Just sat there, and he always earned A’s.
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Coverage from the resuscitated Texas Observer about the insulting and chaotic PD teachers from HISD were forced to endure, including “Mike Miles, the Musical”.
Hundreds of Houston’s teachers gathered at the NRG Center early morning Wednesday, where they were directed to wear school colors, wave school banners, and shake sparkly pom poms. Facilitators started the Harlem Shuffle dance in the aisles. And then, as the teachers were motioned back into their seats, the room turned dark and silence fell.
A single spotlight shined on a student performer in an aisle belting the lyrics to West Side Story’s “Something’s Coming”:*
Something’s comin’, something good
If I can wait!
Something’s comin’, I don’t know what it is
But it is
Gonna be great!
The stage lit up to reveal a 1950s diner with red and white checkered tablecloth tables and red rubber stools. In walked new district superintendent Mike Miles, playing “Mr. Duke,” owner of the joint who doubles as a counselor who listens to the teachers’ and students’ grievances.
https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-isd-takeover-the-musical/
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Oh, no! Miles staged a musical performance starring himself when he began in Dallas.
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He also threatened teachers because they wouldn’t be respectful:
and there was chaos generally:
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S, did he arrive in a Delorean?
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This may be one of the best paragraphs I have read in a long time…
“First, it’s a misuse of the concept of academic rigor to suggest that the AP course lacks rigor. “Rigor” is one of those words that gets abused by people who want the cloak of respectability and patina of scientific strenuousness to apply to, shall we say, less than rigorous work.”
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/embarrassing-week-arkansas-education-leadership
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If you haven’t yet read this article by Katherine Stewart in The New Republic, set aside the time. The crazies have gotten big bucks from many of the usual billionaires: DeVos, the Bradley Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation and Donors Trust. It seems the echo chamber they travel in leads them to conclude they are rational actors.
https://newrepublic.com/article/174656/claremont-institute-think-tank-trump?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Slate dissects what’s going on at West Virginia University, where serial higher ed dismantler Gordon Gee is busily tearing down liberal arts majors. The Wikipedia entry for Gee has this bit:
Gee was president of Brown for only two years, and his tenure was mired in controversy.[10] According to The Village Voice and The College Hill Independent, one of the university’s campus newspapers, Gee was criticized by students and faculty for treating the school like a Wall Street corporation rather than an Ivy League university.[11]
Critics pointed to his decisions to sign off on an ambitious brain science program without consulting the faculty, to sell $80 million in bonds for the construction of a biomedical sciences building, and to cut the university’s extremely popular Charleston String Quartet, which many saw as part of Gee’s effort to lead the school away from its close but unprofitable relationship with the arts.[11]
Gee’s tumultuous tenure at Brown is commemorated annually with the “E. Gordon Gee Lavatory Complex,” a collection of portable toilets that appears during Spring Weekend.[13]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Gordon_Gee
From Slate
This, perhaps, is the ugly truth we’re learning through WVU’s budget controversy: Gordon Gee plans to retire in 2025. I have no doubt his grandchildren will benefit from a private education similar to his own, consisting of a thorough liberal arts education with access to subjects now increasingly reserved for the elite, such as math and foreign languages. They will have their choice of careers in the arts, humanities, government, finance, security, diplomacy, business, or tech. Those who decide what is worth learning, what is worth teaching, what counts as a “structural deficit,” will never bear the brunt of their own choices.
West Virginians, trapped in the clutches of economic hardship, find themselves mercilessly shackled to a state most can ill afford to abandon, left to suffer the full weight of the WVU administration’s harrowing decisions. We will learn only subjects aligned with the preferences of the rich, driven by their financial motivations. We will work for the oligarchs for the rest of our lives, just like our parents and our grandparents did for the global coal industry. We will continue to amass inconceivable riches for the nation’s privileged elite until our last breath, and we will find our resting place in unadorned cardboard coffins beneath West Virginia soil.
https://slate.com/human-interest/2023/08/west-virginia-university-cuts-programs.html
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This piece in the Times articulates the real motivation:
For many of the anti-intellectual proponents, this is about corporatists denying education to keep their sheep in line. One of the primary motivators for the science of reading is that implementation takes time away from other learning that is just a waste of time for those who are put on this earth to serve the learned class. Federal tax cuts were implemented to keep resources from the majority of the populous and it has worked. The defunding of any form of public education, except to read a manual and do basic math, is intended to keep a compliant workforce. This may sound conspiratorial, but actions such as this in West Virginia, New College et al is meant to keep intellectual acuity for the privileged at the expense of everyone else. The liberal arts is what brought us out of monarchy to a government ideal focused on individual rights. These elite want their castles back.
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The majority of the wealthiest 1%, the ruling class, has decided it is a waste of time to educate the human working class or provide health care for them, because future generations are being replaced with robots and AI.
By cutting those expenses, the wealthy ruling class living in their isolated bubbles of privilege, thinks that will increase their profits, and solve global warming in one swift strike while adding decades to their lifespans and starving the masses so they all die young.
If only the 1% survive and the rest of us die off, the planet’s population will plunge from 8 billion to 80 million. The AI robot working class will grow their food, clean their homes, wipe their bottoms, clean their houses, fly or drive them wherever they want to go and fight their wars for them when the wealthy fight to just fight as if its just a chess game.
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F l o r i d a
Even worse than we thought possible.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8FxRe2y/
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Diane Ravitch, you claim to have a rule against cursing. I have seen different times where the f-word was used by a few select people, as well as the a-word. You clearly don’t enforce your rule or arbitrarily make exceptions.
Lloyd Lofthouse, Bernie Sanders is as much a crackpot as Alex Jones is. The only difference between them is only in terms of ideology.
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I delete the F- word.
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Bernie Sanders is not comparable to Alex Jones. Sanders is an honest individual. Jones is a greedy, scheming liar who doesn’t care who he hurts to make another dollar.
Alex Jones is no different than a wildfire burning everything in its path to make money, no matter how many lives he destroys with his lies.
The Sandy Hook Hoax is one of many. “Connecticut jury orders Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to Sandy Hook families”
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/10/12/alex-jones-sandy-hook-shooting/
Bernie Sanders dedicated his life to improving the lives of the working class, not terrorizing them by lying about their dead children to get rich.
You may not agree with his politics but at least he doesn’t lie that children being slaughtered in classrooms was a staged publicity stunt that tormented the parents, friends and families of those dead children.
Bernie Sanders has won every election he has contested since his first election to the House of Representatives in 1990, except his presidential runs.
More than thirty years serving the people in his state. And they keep reelecting him. You’d think after all that time, he’d be worth millions. He isn’t. His net worth is estimated at about $500,000.
https://www.opensecrets.org/personal-finances/bernie-sanders/net-worth?cid=N00000528
https://rollcall.com/2018/03/02/every-member-of-congress-wealth-in-one-chart/
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bernie-Sanders
Greg, thanks to you BS, I took some time to learn about Sander’s accomplishments in Congress to learn how much he has achieved to turn his beliefs into reality through legislation. Looks like the score is close to zero.
Bernie’s honesty shines bright while Alex Jones is a thick toxic fog that destroys everything it touches.
Still, the extreme right has used his honest beliefs shared with others as a cudgel to make him look like the monster he isn’t. Sanders is no threat to the current political order.
Alex Jones is a clear and present danger to everyone, but not even close to the danger that Traitor Trump represents.
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Greg, the f-word is a vulgar word; it is not a curse. A curse is asking God to cause harm to someone or out right blasphemous. Vulgar words offend me.
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Mehdi Hasan offers a much needed corrective to the current narrative of the covid school building shut down. Well worth 30 minutes of your time.
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Alison Polidor is the woman in Tennessee who refused to lower her 8 x 12 inch piece of paper in the House and was removed by the Tennessee Highway Patrol officers.
https://www.newsweek.com/i-was-kicked-out-tennessee-house-holding-sign-1823906
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Diane, have you read about what the Governor of New Mexico did to fight firearms deaths in her state. She’s being attacked viciously by the extreme right. All she did is suspend the right to carry weapons in public in the state’s larger cities. Yet the extreme right is saying she’s taken away their 2nd amendment rights.
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Diane,
I thought you might be interested in this week’s posting from my blog which describes the experience of a teacher in Atlanta, a former student of mine, who courageously challenged the current atmosphere of book censorship and won the support of her administration. I hope reading it would encourage other teachers to resist the chilling effect that’s in the air.
Unfortunately, I don’t know how to send it as an attachment in this format, so here is the full text of my blog post. Best, Marv Hoffman
Let me reintroduce someone who has been a character in my blog postings almost from the beginning. Alex was my student in the University of Chicago’s Urban Teacher Education Program 12 or 13 years ago. Our relationship didn’t end with her graduation. In fact, it’s grown and deepened. I have been her thought partner and sympathetic listener through her work in classrooms in Chicago and LA. I’ve learned just as much from her as she’s learned from me. This summer she, her husband and 7-month-old son have relocated to the Atlanta area to be closer to Zubair’s family, where Alex is teaching 8th grade language arts in a DeKalb County public school.
I worried about what kinds of constraints Alex would have to adjust to in her new setting. Georgia is not exactly a red state. After all, it has two democratic senators and it voted Democrat in the last presidential election. Nonetheless, its history has been shaped by a long conservative tradition, much like its other Southern neighbors. It’s also important to mention that Georgia is a non-union state, so the protections from her union membership in Illinois and California are no longer available to her. After all those years in blue Chicago and LA where Alex taught with virtually no political constraints on subject matter and pedagogy what adjustments would she have to make in a very different setting?
I’ve attached below our most recent exchange which contains some surprising and heartening answers to that question. What you need to know before you read Alex’s letter is that the book in question, The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, tells in free verse the story of a young woman who finds salvation and love through her poetry. It contains some unrestrained criticisms of traditional religious practice, as well as some muted “sex” scenes which depict masturbation and, as Alex describes it, heavy making out. No actual intercourse.
Hi Marv,
I recommend The Poet X book! I haven’t read her other books yet but hope to. I had a really interesting experience at school the other week! A parent complained about the book choice. I understand her concerns — it includes a page on masturbation and has many other descriptions of sexual thoughts and a heavy makeout scene. To her credit, she read the whole book. She really liked it but believes that, due to the sexually explicit language, it would be an appropriate high school book, not 8th grade book. She also wanted a permission slip for the book. Her initial emails were quite disgruntled. I spoke with my principal to get some guidance, then called the parent and we had what I think was a very good conversation. She felt better knowing there were some pages I wouldn’t read out loud, and I explained different ways I’m presenting the book and the various topics. I told her I’d notify parents about books ahead of time, even though it’s not the standard practice for my school. We’ll see if she takes any further action, but her concerns seem to be assuaged enough.
One of the most notable parts of this experience was how supportive my school was. My principal has read the book and is completely supportive of our using it as an 8th grade class novel. After my phone call with the parent, the principal, school librarian, and another teacher all showed up at my classroom, to hear how it went, ready to support me. With fewer state and district protections for teachers here in GA, things seem to be on a school- to-school basis, and so I feel lucky to be in my school community.
I think you once said something along the lines of: If you don’t get fired during your career at least once, then you aren’t doing it right. You aren’t pushing the envelope enough. I could be imagining that Marv-ism! I’m not trying to get fired, but I think that if I can nudge the boundary in this kind of way, address the conflict, and come out the other side with some resolution AND having pushed for the instructional materials I wanted, that’s the perfect kind of educational moving & shaking that I want to do.
Love,
Alex
Hi Alex,
Let’s start with The Poet X. When you mentioned it in our last exchange, I immediately decided it was something I wanted to read, so I ordered it from the library. It’s here now on the top of my pile, waiting for me to finish the book I had already started. (Note: My wife and I have since both read the book and were really impressed by it.) But now, I’m going to pause the current book and read the Acevedo because your story about the questioning parent and the way your administration has handled her and supported you is one of the most heartening stories about the current state of education I’ve heard in a long time. It proves that gutsy educators can still do the work the way it should be done. With your permission, I’d like to try to tell the story in my blog because it has the potential for encouraging other teachers and administrators to not be intimidated by the censorship efforts that are happening almost everywhere. I don’t know if I can do justice to it, but I’d like to try.
I give the questioning parent a lot of credit because unlike most parents in her position, she actually read the book. I’m sure I’ve told you what happened to me early in my teaching life in NH. I had a book in my class library (it wasn’t even a whole class reading assignment) which was about a teenager who gets hooked on drugs. To support her habit, she gets involved in turning tricks. Awful things happen to her and she dies. In its way, it’s a very moral(istic) book because she pays the ultimate prize for her sins. A student who was clearly out to do me in showed a few of the juiciest pages to her mother who NEVER read another page of the book and therefore had no context for the pages she had been shown, the way girls in too many YA novels used to get pregnant the first time they have sex, as a punishment for their sin. That parent called the district superintendent to report me; of course, she never contacted me directly the way your parent did. Now, my superintendent was a really impressive and visionary man. He didn’t fold immediately the way so many cowardly administrators have who are all too quick to throw their teachers under the bus. He called me, asked me to give him a summary of the book and an explanation for why I had included it in my class library. That’s all he needed. He said, “Thank you. I’ll take care of it,” and that’s the last I heard of from him or the complaining parent.
You are so fortunate to find yourself in the hands of an administration whose first impulse is to support you and not to panic about the potential political fallout. You deserve a lot of credit for the successful resolution of this episode because of the way you handled the contact with the parent. She deserves a second shout out for not trying to ban the book, but to raise a legitimate question about whether it would be more appropriate for older students. You may not be as lucky in the future in the kind of parents who challenges you. They could be more unreasonable and less willing to be collaborative in problem solving, but it sounds like your administration has enough backbone to withstand less rational confrontations. I wish that for all teachers.
By the way, I’ll take credit for that comment about every teacher needs to at least risk getting fired at some point in their careers. I went through it in my own teaching years, and it clarified for me what principles I was willing to fall on the sword for. I’m sure you would be up to the challenge.
Love,
Marv
This exchange with Alex offers hope that there are still places where courageous and determined people can still prevail in the schoolhouse against the book banners, those opposed to “causing students discomfort” and those who will fold when the first shrill parent voice protests. I worry that the negative, repressive attitude toward teachers that prevails in so much of the country creates a chilling effect which leads teachers to back away from any risk taking, even though they feel their children need it and will benefit from it.
I am not naïve about the fact that in many states where legislatures and governors are really dug in to their hardline conservative positions about books and teaching, there is a real threat of getting fired for doing what Alex has done with The Poet X. Here’s where the discussion in our email exchange about firing becomes relevant. Most teachers enter the field because they want to do something positive for children. When the system erects obstacles to your ability to make good on that, what’s left beyond the paycheck? That’s playing a big part in our loss of current and prospective teachers.
We need more stories like this to remind us of what’s still possible when teachers and administrators put their minds to it. Thanks, Alex, for showing the way.
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Well, there you are. There are some sane, courageous, principled educators out there.
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Oh, and Marv. You can share a blog post by simply pasting its URL into a WordPress comment box.
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Thanks, Marv. Great story. I will share it.
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Is your primary concern about public education the influence of the Chinese Communist Party? Then tune in when the subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education platforms Parents Defending Education’s Nicole Neilly and OK’s Superintendent Ryan Walters to address this threat to the American way of life!
Risible if not for the waste of resources.
https://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=409522
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Yes, I’ve been staying up nights worrying about the Chinese Communist party and its spies, but I thought they infiltrated the religious schools to groom students to be Communists.
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You may have been jesting, Diane, but what you wrote makes sense.
Religion is a weak point for the United States because in the US religions are allowed to be political. Separation of church and state in the US is eroding fast.
If China takes over the private religious schools in the US, that gives them a leg in the door of US’s divisive politics. It would be easier too since most of the religious schools are owned by a few major religions. Easier to take over than almost 14,000 public school districts with locally elected school boards.
In China, separation of church and state is total and has been for thousands of years. Religions are not allowed to be involved in politics in any way or else, and it has been that way for most of China’s history going back more than three thousand years. A few times, even centuries ago, when a religion got too much power, they were eradicated and it wasn’t pretty.
During the Taping Rebellion it’s estimated that to get rid of the Christian Taipings and their Christian emperor who had a harem of hundreds, it’s estimated 30 to 100 million died. The Taiping’s Christian emperor claimed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and wrote his own gospel and added it to the Taiping version of the Christian Bible.
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Another thought on China taking over schools in the US.
It would be easier to buy publicly funded, corporate owned charter schools than take over public school districts with locally elected school boards. The land public school sit on is owned by the local communities and is not private property.
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Scott Schmerelson is without a doubt the best school board member LAUSD has had during my teaching career. Please consider donating to his campaign. He is a staunch advocate for public education. https://www.efundraisingconnections.com/c/ScottSchmerelsonForSchoolBoard2024
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I donated to Scott Schmerelson. He’s a friend of real public schools.
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In wealthy Colorado ski towns, teens are building tiny homes for teachers who can’t afford a place to live
https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-build-tiny-homes-teachers-wealthy-colorado-ski-towns-2023-9
This is so sad. How about paying teachers like other highly skilled professionals with advanced degrees?
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Josh,
That’s a sad commentary that shows how little the local residents care about teachers or Education. Teachers should be paid as professionals, not objects of charity.
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“S.F. to build hundreds of units of teacher housing. Here’s where the next two projects will land”
“With the 134-unit Shirley Chisholm Village teacher development in the Outer Sunset set to be completed during the 2024 school year, Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that $32 million has been allocated for two more educator projects: one in the Mission and one near Hayes Valley.”
https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/teachers-housing-projects-18257695.php
At least San Francisco is building teacher housing instead of volunteers and nonprofits building tiny houses crammed together, I’ll bet. Building these houses is a one time expense. If they raise teachers salaries, that is a long term expense. Health care is an expense to school districts, too, and district also take short cuts there.
There are about 1,000 public school district in California and the only one I know where teachers retire with health care is LA Unified. The district I taught in for thirty years didn’t come with health care when I retired. If I wanted health care, I had to pay $1,500 a month for a health program called COBRA and that only lasted until I qualified for Medicare.
When I retired, I took a 40% pay cut with no health benefits. If I hadn’t been a former Marine and combat Vet eligible to get health care through the VA, I would have gone without health care for about 8 years.
Now taht I’ve been with the VA health care system since 2006, I can compare that health care with what the school district provided. Even thought it can be a pain to navigate, the VA is a lot better.
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We’re not too far off from the days of Ichabod Crane, when teachers rotated among the families of their students. Imagine having to board with a Mom4Lib?
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That would be a living nightmare.
I’m imagining the headlines:
Mom4Lib arrested for enslaving and torturing teacher.
Lead paragraph:
Teacher assigned a basement room from Mom4Lib family forced to memorize scripture and teach for free. Police discover basement torture chamber instead of bedroom. No bed. Only the floor. No toilet. Only a bucket. Mom4Lib fed teacher half rations of stale, moldy bread and toxic tap water.
Teacher was chained to the wall every night and waterboarded when students didn’t get high test scores.
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Correct!
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I hate when that happens.
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Red Alert! LAUSD has lowered the bar for teacher investigations. Now they can choose to bypass the 5-day inquiry period. Red Alert! LAUSD has lowered the bar for teacher pulls. https://my.lausd.net/webcenter/wccproxy/d?dID=140492
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I am a former educator and just found your blog. Education is crucial, but not at the risk of the educator’s sanity! I read your blog about the Two Santas…WOW! I would be interested in your thoughts about student loan repayment! I have followed you to keep getting future posts!!!!
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Thank you, Mandy.
My personal belief is that public colleges should be very low-cost or free. Students should not go through life paying off student loans.
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Mandy, have a look at Diane Ravitch’s amazing books. A good place to start is here:
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This tell-all by a McKinsey alum has some TFA parallels. I was drawn in by the bits about Kalief Browder, who spent 700 days in solitary at Rikers. He was accused, but never charged, with stealing a backpack at the age of 16. Kalief could have been any one of so many of my students.
The second way to penalize McKinsey lies with the prestigious universities that the firm so obsessively recruits from. Schools could ban McKinsey from recruiting on campus or could provide dossiers to prospective candidates outlining the firm’s troubling conduct—a counterweight to the deluge of glossy pamphlets that promise you the ability to do well by doing good.
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/mckinsey-whistleblower-confessions/
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How Anne Frank’s Diary became porn in Texas.
https://x.com/oneunderscore__/status/1706334663071994201?s=20
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Thank you for sharing Mr. Collins’s moving comments about this, Christine!
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One of the first steps the MAGA Fascist Not-so-Deep state is doing as they goose-step to power in the U.S. is to white wash (pun intended) Hitler and to do that, they have to ban all books that reveal the truth about the Third Reich so they can launch the Fourth Reich.
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David Pearce’s suggestions for improved teacher investigations at LAUSD. This was posted on “Parents Supporting Teachers” My recommendations for improved LAUSD teacher misconduct investigations.
1. The accused should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, they should be treated with respect and kindness at all times. Teachers are idealists. Teaching is a stressful job that doesn’t pay a lot of money. The only thing teachers have is the satisfaction of knowing that when they shuffle off this mortal coil, they can say that they dedicated their life to making the world a better place. Mistreating someone who “tried to make the difference” might result in mental illness and/or worse.
2. It should always be remembered that the objective of a teacher investigation is truth, not a discipline file for the teacher. There is a teacher shortage in this district. If there is an anti-teacher bias, then teachers will leave the district. Love, trust and respect your teachers, don’t mistreat them.
3. There needs to be firm timelines in place that are strictly adhered to. If 5 days is not enough for a preliminary inquiry, then change it to 10, or the amount of time necessary to determine if the allegations are credible or not. Bypassing the preliminary inquiry is unacceptable and might cause all teachers to be “pulled” for 90 days. If the allegations are found to be credible, then the 5 W’s should be revealed at that time so the teacher can document the day in question and prepare a defense.
4. Everyone involved in the process should be open, honest, and transparent. If a mistake is made, own up to it, don’t try to cover it up. I’ve discovered from direct experience that when I’m truthful the outcomes are always positive. I think the same is true for organizations as well.
5. The teacher should not be given a “boiler plate” directive not to communicate with teachers, parents, and students. According the Perez vs LACDD such boiler plate directives are a violation of a teacher’s union rights. A teacher should be allowed to gather testimonials from all stakeholders when the reputation as a teacher has been called into question.
6. When the investigation has concluded there should be some kind of official conclusion such as “the evidence did not rise to the level needed to conclude that the individual was guilty of the allegations.” Etc.
7. Make that teacher feel loved and valued if they are reinstated with no discipline. That way the teacher will have no bitterness when the process is complete.
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Quarter funding ends for Scott Schmerelson this Saturday at midnight. If enough money is raised, the charter candidate funders might throw in the towel and walk away. https://www.efundraisingconnections.com/c/ScottSchmerelsonForSchoolBoard2024
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Diane Ravitch, you probably already addressed this, however, I would like to know your thoughts on the home school movement in the USA.
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Greg,
My view about the home school movement is “live and let live.” Parents have the right to make that choice. But: home schoolers should not get public funds. I wish there were government oversight—say, a requirement for annual testing, a once-a-year inspection. Some assurance that children are well cared for.
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Diane Ravitch, there are different opinions on these topics, however, I would like to get your take on the following matters: 1: The benefits and pitfalls of homeschooling as you see them. 2: How to encourage vaccines and yet also make room for underlying worries that people have. 3: Speaking to it from a scientific perspective, I would like to know your inclination on the magic bullet theory surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
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I see no benefits to home schooling. I think it’s good for children to socialize and make new friends and learn from a certified teacher. Very few parents have the knowledge to replace a teacher.
I believe that everyone should comply with the requirements of public health authorities.
I have no opinion about JFK’s death. I watched all the events in 1963. Some questions have no definitive answer.
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Very important charter accountability bill is on Gavin Newsom’s desk. “Right now sitting on Gov. Newsom’s desk is AB1604 (Bonta). This bill will tighten loopholes on the selling of charter school properties. AB1604 is important as it will capture public dollars that should be returned to the state but instead end up in the pockets of charter school operators. Wanna read more about this scam? Check this out- https://medium.com/…/the-charter-school-real-estate…
Public school families in Los Angeles need to call the Governor and tell him to sign this bill by October 14!!!
Just a heads up, we should be aware that billionaire political donors like Reed Hastings (he owns Netflix and LOVES charters) will be putting their thumbs on the scale. Of course, the usual suspect, the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) wants this bill to die. Let’s fix it by pushing the Governor to sign the AB1604.
Phone number and email below. I am going to put a script/template as the first comment. Do this today!
CALL Governor Newsom
916-445-2841
EMAIL
https://www.gov.ca.gov/contact/
Choose “education” in the drop-down menu.
Jenna Siegel SchwartzRachel Wagner”
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DONE
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Interesting look at Department of Defense schools, where all children have housing, health care, and at least one employed parent. Teachers are well paid and there is no shortage of supplies. No paywall.
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One reason DOD schools succeed is that the parents are in the military, and disobedience is not tolerated.
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Yep
Military families tend to be more stable, too. Except for the moving part every few years to another base somewhere in the US or the world.
There’s also this: “On July 26, 1948, President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, creating the President’s Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. The order mandated the desegregation of the U.S. military.”
Military schools also don’t have problems with classroom supplies. Teachers get paid a lot more and have better benefits. Children of generals share the same classrooms with children that come from homes where the parent may be a private.
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Mike Morath authorized a takeover of Houston’s public schools because of low grades for one school out of 270, but failing charters get expansions. File under things that make you say hmmm.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-mike-morath-underperforming-charter-schools-expand?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter&utm_content=river&utm_term=The%20Daily%20Digest
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Have the politicians and business people analyzed the problem with the public school and their scores? Don’t they see that there are several problems plaguing school systems: besides the pandemic, the Common Core mandates and their horrible text books which still hover around and along with its indifferent, uncaring, ruthless approach to teaching. Give the teachers freedom to do what needs to be done. Number one: address individual needs – in the primary grades teach the students on their readability level. You can’t teach the whole class with the same level text.
If the students struggle, the text is too difficult and they will regress. Make the material meaningful by an interactive approach e.g.comparing the characters in the stories to the readers. And above all teach comprehension skills via graphic organizers. Make each lesson an interesting and fun lesson viz, dramatizing story; using words from text and poetry to teach phonetic elements. Respond to the text read via writing, illustrating, Readers’ Theater… Above all develop higher order thinking skills: pretending, imaging, reflecting, observing, comparing, contrasting, solving problems, predicting, using deductive reasoning to pull together key elements; reviewing and responding critically to and judging; using ideas, processes, or skills in new situations; creating new ideas… John Dewey maintained that “Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.”
Provide reading material to take home so they can read each night to themself as well as their care givers. That should be their home work: reading at home – none of this paper and pencil work. Paper and pencil work requires different homework for each group of students. Whaat teacher has the time to individualize homework?!
How asinine to think one can create a reader by just teaching phonics! And above all no standardized testing! Standardized testing is inaccurate and unethical in evaluating students. Every student has strengths and weaknesses- does the Standardize test address individualization? As Professor Scott Newstok said back in 2016, “what really matters: the four C’s: critical thinking; clear communication; collaboration; creativity; and curiosity.”
As one study maintained: Anything taught directly, then drilled with the expectation of regurgitation is futile. Memorized facts are short lived. We Learn….
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we both see and hear
70% of what is discussed with others
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we TEACH to someone else
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Here’s another factor that few if any are focusing on when it comes to K-12 public education.
“Socialising allows kids to build skills that will help them be confident and autonomous later in life. Social interactions will help children develop their self-esteem and build resilience towards the unknown and in turn, create connections that make new social interactions less scary.”
Still, “Social Quotient (#SQ): This is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time. People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go farther in life than those with high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize in improving IQ level while EQ and SQ are played down.”
IQ (often linked to the result of standardized robotic tests) is not important ever.
What’s important over test scores by far is SQ.
Turning public schools into harsh book camp environments to raise test scores is not going to improve SQ. In fact, that will not only play down SQ, but ignore it.
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Below is an article everyone on this blog should read. It lays out what those who believe in privacy, the public schools, and democracy are up against. Leonard Leo is a threat to the well being of our country. The Democratic Party has to wake up and we all need to make 2024 a battle to regain sanity in our polity. The right winged movement in this country has significant wealthy puppet masters. They have taken control of the Republican Party, many of the states, and now has its eyes on Washington. I hate to sound alarmist, but we had better be alarmed and act on it.
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-man-behind-rights-supreme-court-supermajority?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=4ccc94d5-21df-449a-a90c-e26cbc144f04
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Public school teachers in Texas are protesting vouchers. They’ve enlisted plumbers to help.
https://www.tpr.org/education/2023-10-16/public-school-teachers-in-texas-are-protesting-vouchers-theyve-enlisted-plumbers-to-help
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Sometimes I just despair. The New York Times is busy claiming that the correlation between high SAT scores and income is because wealthy people’s children are better prepared.
The researchers matched all students’ SAT and ACT scores for 2011, 2013 and 2015 with their parents’ federal income tax records for the prior six years. Their analysis, which also included admissions and attendance records, found that children from very rich families are overrepresented at elite colleges for many reasons, including that admissions offices give them preference. But the test score data highlights a more fundamental reason: When it comes to the types of achievement colleges assess, the children of the rich are simply better prepared.
And the comments are a hot mess of classism and racism.
Do you know anyone over there, Diane?
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Wouldn’t it be ironic if Florida’s Anti-Drag Queen Gov. was wearing high heels while campaigning? https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/31/desantis-boots-shoemakers-00121044
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From Missouri, Jess Piper links school choice to poisoned water.
https://jesspiper.substack.com/p/poisoned-water-in-missouri-public?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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New York moves to cut reliance on Regents examination as HS graduation requirement
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Amazing! A Texas school board does the right things for its theater kids.
Gift link, no paywall:
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Gah! The NYT is avidly hand wringing over pandemic “learning loss”. They cite the NAEP results which claim kids have lost two decades of learning, as defined by test scores. They imply federal aid was wasted. They say attendance has “cratered.” They cite HGSE prof Tom Kane’s recommendation for extending the school day and year. They cite CREDO to recommend increasing class size:
One way is by exposing them to teachers who have had an extraordinary impact on their students. The center proposes offering these excellent teachers extra compensation in exchange for taking extra students into their classes.
No paywall to this link, but do not leave without reading the comments. They’re a combination of “schools are terrible, especially those with unionized staff”; “kids these days”; “personal responsibility of those people is completely lacking”.
I despair.
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I saw that NYT ignorance and biased based OpEd.
I wonder how much the paper made for publishing that flawed and lying opinion piece. I think the opinion pages have become the section where newspapers like the NYT makes their corporate advertisers happy, so they keep buying ads.
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The main “win” out of this piece is that they didn’t mention test scores or “the science of reading.” Most of the problems they identified are issues that have existed well before the pandemic. The greatest negligence in this piece is the fact that the Times does such a poor job calling out policy makers and politicians who have exacerbated the “reform movement” as an excuse to defund public education. Of course they will never denounce the radical privatization that is dismantling many public services. The Times is part of a corporate culture that just cannot help itself.
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Opinion pieces, no matter how those opinions are supported, are just that, opinions.
The individual or team that wrote this opinion piece started out knowing what that opinion was going to be before the writing.
If there isn’t much reputable evidence from primary sources to support that opinion, the opinionators have to use stronger biased language and never mention there is no evidence that supports what they think. When there is no evidence or a shortage of reputable evidence, if they cite any sources, the odds are that those sources are unreliable and often are other opinions from other sources that are just as biased. When citing them, the OpEd writers must use language that makes that source sound like they know what they are talking about.
I took a graduate course back in the 1980s out of Cal State LA on writing opinions. The opinion writer isn’t writing to educated people with facts. Their primary purpose is to convince, fool, and/or influence others to believe what they think. A writer that knows what they are doing will also attack the other side of the opinion to discredit them. When they don’t have any reputable evidence to cite, once again, they attack with stronger biased language — loaded words that sound good but mean nothing.
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Great post by Tracy Abbott regarding Charter School waste and the unbalanced coverage by the LA times. “Today I saw one of the first articles ever about the closing of charters in the LA Times. While I appreciate the effort, I saw that the article emphasized declining enrollment and ‘anti-charter’ sentiments as the cause of the closing of three KIPP campuses. But of course there is so much more going on with charters in LA than framing their closures on just those two points. Unfortunately, the LA Times is in the mix.
Below is a list of 105 charter schools in Los Angeles that have closed in the last twenty years.
Tens of millions of California public tax dollars were poured into these operators. And even more tens of million of federal grant dollars as well.
And they failed.
Public dollars burned up like space debris hurling to earth.
No other city or school district in the USA has as many charter schools as LAUSD.
Since 2000, the media in Los Angeles, in particular the Los Angeles Times, spent an inordinate amount of energy and resources to bestow the virtues of charter schools and the power of ‘innovation’. But where has been the coverage of the problems and the closures of these “innovators” in the last 20 years?
Poof went our public dollars! And yet, no stories in the LA Times on 105 schools closing?
This summer North Valley Military Institute closed. A charter school that had so many financial, academic and management citations that it was rejected by LAUSD (a rare event). NVMI charter was then authorized by the Los Angeles County office of Education where it once again had financial, academic and management issues including a $90,000 staff trip to Las Vegas. It was such a mess this summer and worthy of a multiple piece article. And yet no story in the LA Times?
In 2020 KIPP charter bought land in Cudahy for a future campus. This property held a smelter plant where they made bombs for WW2 and the land was so toxic that a member of the community filed a lawsuit. There were multiple protests by the folks in Cudahy who had to deal with the health issues being downwind of the Exide battery plant for decades and earlier in 2020 Cudahy had an airline dump aviation fuel on them (including a school). These folks were tired of being victimized by environmental injustice. Where was that articles about toxic dirt for KIPP school and the protests in the LA Times? Nowhere but today there is an ‘oh by the way’ aside in the article. Neighborhoods deserve better coverage of these issues and baked in charter greed so bad as to buy toxic dirt for a kid’s school.
Every neighborhood is impacted when LAUSD Charter School Division says “Oh yes, let’s bring in a charter school”, or says yes to a Prop 39. And god knows what happens when the land that is bought with public dollars is sold, who benefits? Privateers? The list of complex issues is so great with charters and it is more deep than ‘anti-charter’ sentiments but waiting for LA Times to do the real work of a 4th Estate and go up against the big money seems to be too big a task.
Land developer and philanthropist Eli Broad’s own support of charter schools and his relationship with the LA Times was always troubling on the matter of their coverage of education. I guess the ghost of Eli is still walking the halls of The Times.
Per the California Department of education here are the closed charters in LA:
Nuevo Sol Charter
Discovery Charter
Design High
Global Education Academy Middle
Westchester Secondary Charter
Frederick Douglass Academy High
Lou Dantzier Preparatory Charter Middle
Animo Film and Theater ARts Charter High
Animo justice Charter High
Animo Locke Technology High
Celerity Dyad Charter
Crescendo Charter Academy
Crescendo Charter Conservatory
Crescendo charter Preparatory Central
Crescendo Charter Preparatory South
Crescendo Charter Prep west
Frederick Douglass Academy Middle
Full circle Learning academy
Thurgood Marshall Charter High
Alliance College Ready Academy High No 7
Academy of Science and Engineering
Antecello Preparatory Academy
Apple Academy Charter Public
City High
Clemente Charter
Executive Preparatory Academy of Finance
Pathways Community
PUC Community Charter Early College High
Urban Village Middle
Alain Leroy Locke 3 College Preparatory Academy
Anahuacalmecac International Preparatory High School Of North America
Animo Locke ACE Academy
Aspire Huntington Park Charter
Cornerstone Prep Center
Fernando Pullum Performing Arts High
Futuro College Preparatory Elementary
Magnolia Science Academy 5
Animo College Preparatory Academy
Giraffe Charter
Alliance College Ready Middle Academy -7
ABC Charter Middle
Alliance Alice M. Baxter College- Ready High
Alliance College- Ready Middle Academy – 5
Animo Locke Charter High School #3
Animo Locke II College Preparatory Academy
Animo Phillis Wheatley Charter Middle
Animo Westside Charter Middle
California Collegiate Charter
Calliope Academy
Camino Nuevo Charter High
Camino Nuevo Charter Middle
Celerity Imalia
Celerity Rolas Charter
Celerity Troika Charter
CHIME Charter Middle
CityLife Downtown Charter
CLAS Affirmation
Community Harvest Charter
Community Preparatory Academy
Excelencia Charter Academy
Future is Now Preparatory
GANAS Academy
Gifted Academy of Mathematics and Entrepreneurial Studies
HOPE Leadership Charter
Ivy Bound Academy Math, Science and Technology Charter Middle 2
Larchmont Charter West Hollywood
Legacy Charter High
Lincoln Heights Value
Los Angeles Big Picture High
Los Angeles Educational Achievement Partnership
Lou Dantzler Preparatory Charter High
Metro Charter
Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy
Opportunities Unlimited Charter High
Optimist Charter
Pacifica Community Charter
Pacifica Community Charter #2
Prepa Tech Los Angeles High
Progressive Education Entrepreneurial Charter
Public Policy Charter
PUC CA Academy for Liberal Studies Early College High
PUC CALS Charter Middle
PUC International Preparatory Academy
PUC Nueva Esperanza Charter Academy
PUC Santa Rosa Charter Academy
PUC Triumph Charter Academy
Renaissance Academy Charter High
Renaissance Arts Academy K-12
Resolute Academy Charter
Soledad Enrichment Action Charter High
Southern California School of Arts and Sciences
Student Empowerment Academy
Summit Preparatory Charter
The City
Thurgood Marshall Charter Middle
Today’s Fresh Start Charter
Valley Community Center
Via Nueva Academy
Wisdom Academy for Young Scientists
Xinaxcalmeac Academia Semilias del Guaynabo”
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Correction: Tracy Abbott Cook shared this
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Texas, again! Darryl George, who has just returned to his assigned school from a “disciplinary” school, has been suspended again, because of his HAIR. It’s a dress code violation that only occurs in the imagination of school officials.
School officials say Mr. George’s hair violates the dress code, which mandates that a male student’s hair not “extend, at any time, below the eyebrows or below the earlobes.”
Mr. George has a hairstyle in which he pins his locs on his head in a barrel roll.
When pinned, Mr. George’s locs do not extend below the eyebrows or below the earlobes, but officials have told his mother that her son’s hair is still in violation of the policy because it would extend lower than allowed if let down.
No paywall:
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The biggest programmers of children, turning them into obedient religious cult puppets, racists, and maybe mass killers, in the country are on the extreme right.
And the extreme right shouts the loudest that it’s the liberals doing the brainwashing, but we never read anything about liberals doing something as stupid as this BS.
Instead, without a shred of evidence, liberals are a accused of brainwashing the few hundred 13 – 17 year olds that have surgery annually to change their sex, making it sound like that is an epidemic.
The actual numbers many be found here.
Top surgeries U.S. patients ages 13-17 undergoing mastectomy with a prior gender dysphoria diagnosis and it isn’t an epidemic.
2019 — 238
2020 — 256
2021 — 282
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-transyouth-data/
Traitor Trump with help from his MAGA RINO supporters contributing to more than a half million deaths during the pandemic was an epidemic.
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Bill Ackman – whatta guy! When Chris Rufo is endorsing billionaires vs university presidents, it’s predictable. Claudine Gay has some nerve to be a Black woman in charge of Harvard.
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It’s all about the Benjamins in the Ivey League and one who gives the most gets the most. The three schools before Congress were not exactly a representative sample of higher education in America. I find it ironic that all of those bemoaning anti-semitic speech on college campuses have focused on these schools as evidence of the universal malfeasance of the left in this regard. Although I have limited sympathy for the university presidents giving testimony, I also believe that they were set up for conservatives like Stefanik to claim that progressives are the real problem. Joe McCarthy lives!
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The NYT has posted an investigation into the practice of hiring child migrants as roofers. Horrifying.
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Christine, your comments are going to Diane’s Home Page. To respond to an item in a post, go to that post and choose an item to respond to.
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WordPress is making me crazy! I’ve tried to post on About with little success. Thanks for flagging it for me!
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About is the Home Page. So, that is where you posted. I thought that you did that by mistake. Sorry.
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WordPress was driving me crazy. Tired of being driven crazy, I moved my primary domain name to a new landing page website from WordPress to Blogger and linked that new set up with a new blog to my existing blogs on WordPress. I won’t be adding many new posts to my old WordPress blogs but they still get hundreds of views a month.
Blogger is much easier to use. Eventually, over time, subscribers of my old WordPress blogs will click on the new links to the new landing page and blog. Some will subscribe to those, too.
Link to new landing pages and blog.
lloydlofthouse.com
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I have come to love WordPress. I learned a lot about developing for it when I was working on a website for my daughter’s business.
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WordPress lost my “love” when my more than a decade old landing page crashed thanks to problems between their new block editor and the Classical Editor, I built it in.
WordPress happiness engineers admitted it was the new block editor that caused my original landing page to crash. Still, WordPress offered to rebuild that landing page for me if I paid them with a starting price of $500 that might possibly turn into the thousands. They have a page for that on WordPress. And it says thousands.
I said no. I told them I wanted to use the old classical editor to rebuild it myself.
WordPress said I could do that, but I’d had to pay for an upgrade, $40 a month to be able to use the classic editor I was used to.
I said no.
Instead, I attempted to learn how to use blogger and failed repeatedly causing too much stress for the lost time and repeated failures.
The Happiness Engineers tried to help but kept failing to help me and eventually they started to admit that even they were having trouble with the new Block Editor because it was changing too fast for them to keep up with the changes. It was admitted that I wasn’t the only one having problems with the new Block Editor.
WordPress is open source. That is the problem. The dashboard in block editors is different depending on who built each one and added them to WordPress. There are hundreds of different block editor designs, and their dashboards are not all the same.
Blogger is closed source. The dashboard never changes.
I even tried to hire indies through Fiverr for less than what WordPress charged to rebuild through Blogger. The first two to say yes, never completed the job and stopped communicating with me. Since they dropped out, I didn’t have to pay them.
The third one said yes but she wanted me to move my domain names from WordPress to Blue Host or another one I can’t remember the name of now that I refused to do business with because the billionaire that owns that one is one of the fascists that probably supports people like Trump, DeSantis or Abbott.
She also wanted me to upgrade to the $40 plan that would allow her to rebuild my site with the Classic Editor. Then she said I’d have to pay several hundred more, so she’d be available to fix any problems that cropped up after she rebuilt my landing page.
I said no.
I started looking for alternatives. In the end i decided to move to Blogger and it was easy to find someone to build that new landing page for me for a lot less than all the others wanted, including WordPress.
The four blogs that my author’s landing page website were linked to were also built with the Classic Editor and are still working so I’ll leave them be for now.
Still, I do have the option of migrating those blogs from WordPress to Blogger if the situation with those blogs changes. And it is changing.
Last year, when I posted anything new, WordPress started forcing me to use the new Block Editor. I think it is only a matter of time.
I HATE that block editor and I try not to use the word HATE because it is such an absolute term. The stress it causes is not worth the effort.
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I love the block editor. I used it to build my daughter’s business website. I use some of its features on my own free website.
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I refused to use the WordPress upgrade when it happened.
A “Happiness Engineer” gave me instructions that enabled me to stick with the original program.
No payment. But it wasn’t easy.
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Near the end of my rope, I found one Happiness Engineer who went the extra mile to help me. Instead of sending me a link to a video that was supposed to do the job, he spent time putting together step-by-step instructions with images on how to use the classic block editor.
There are now so many versions of block editors, that the first one WordPress created is now a classic.
WordPress now has to classics. The original one that I performed using, and the first block editor.
The classic block editor is still free to use. The original classic editor, that was free to use for years, is now behind a paywall I refuse to pay.
My last novel was in its final stages before release, and I was busy at the time. So, I planned to use the instructions that one Happiness Engineer spent time putting together later. I hope he didn’t get fired for going the extra mile like he did.
When later came and I went to open the file, again, it no longer existed. WordPress couldn’t explain why that happened. Much later, I recieved up updated explanation that someone had deleted that file from their system during some sort of purge, but no explanation why.
That broke the straw.
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There are some typos and wrong words in my reply. But I can’t edit them to fix.
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Yeah. I’m so glad I’m not the only one who does that, Lloyd! Much love to you and yours, and Happy Holidays!
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I would have stayed with WordPress if I could have kept the classic editor without the $480 annual upgrade I didn’t want. Then I was told WordPress had a classic block editor that I could use without the upgrade, the first block editor WordPress created before the flood of Block Editor designs that are not all the same, built by outsiders thanks to open source.
I gave the classic block editor a try. And even the classic block editor was confusing and triggered stress to the point that I wanted to shoot my computer.
I didn’t of course. Can’t afford that.
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A group which calls itself Mothers for Democracy has published this ad on the eleventh anniversary of the murder of 20 children and six educators at Sandy Hook. Share!
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Peter Greene posted this link on his webpage, but for those who haven’t seen it, here’s quite the exposé on the Bradley Foundation, which too often flies below the radar.
The Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and its “aligned” donor advised fund funneled a total of $86.4 million to right-wing litigation outlets, national and state policy groups, media outlets, youth groups, and higher education in 2022, according to an analysis of its most recent IRS filings obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD).
The Bradley Foundation disclosed $991.9 million in net assets and its sister Bradley Impact Fund disclosed $114.2 million in net assets at the end of December 2022. This represents a decrease of $191 million in net assets for the foundation and an increase of almost $35 million in net assets for its donor advised fund.
https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/12/13/bradley-funneled-86-million-to-right-wing-litigation-policy-media-youth-groups-and-higher-education-in-2022/
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I want to scream.
Indiana is introducing legislation to allow kids to leave school after the EIGHTH grade to work on CAFTA farms.
On Monday, the opening day of Indiana’s legislative session, Republican Rep. Joanna King filed a bill that would allow kids as young as 14 to effectively drop out of school following 8th grade and go to work full-time on a farm. If the teenager “has been excused from compulsory school attendance after completing grade 8” and obtains their parents’ permission, they can work up to 40 hours a week all year round, including during school hours.
https://substack.perfectunion.us/p/indiana-bill-would-let-14-year-olds?publication_id=1581149&post_id=140602420&isFreemail=false&r=1cllq
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I thought others here might be interested in several merchandise items Joe Biden dot com is selling. Maybe everyone will get this email. Still, I almost didn’t check what was being sold. Usually I delete without opening since I’m seldom interested in merchandise with someone’s name on it.
I’m glad I opened this one. Five of the 12 don’t say Biden or Harris.
Proud Public School Family stickers
Product Product of Public schools stickers
Give Teachers a Raise stickers
Give teachers a Raise – yellow (navy Pencil)
Give Teachers a Raise – White (Navy Pencil)
There are other items that focus on Biden and Harris.
I’m more interested in the merch that supports teachers.
shop.joebiden.com/varsity/
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Ah, the Waltons of Walmart! I had no idea how deep they are into America’s pocketbooks. From ProPublica:
Walmart’s weaknesses provided an opportunity for Chen, whose operation is the largest gift card laundering scheme ever prosecuted by U.S. law enforcement, based on a ProPublica analysis of court records. Including Chen, at least 28 state and federal defendants — almost all from China — have been convicted of using gift cards obtained from fraud victims to transfer tens of millions of dollars through Walmart. It’s likely that many more have avoided detection. One prosecutor called gift card schemes a “worldwide effort to empty the United States of its retirement funds.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/walmart-financial-services-became-fraud-magnet-gift-cards-money-laundering
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Have you seen this Mark Fiore cartoon about Moms for Liberty
The title: Book Bans and right-wing Boobs
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Diane, have you seen this recent (about an hour ago) PBS Newshour video? It runs for about 7 minutes and goes into detail about the Christian nationalist cult supporting Trump.
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No, but I will watch tonight
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Did you see Sunday night Frontline “Democracy on Trial”?
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Hi Diane, There’s an angry discussion by parents at LA Unified going on about the misuse of prop 28 bond funds that were supposed to be used to supplement the Arts program. This year it was announced at the first principal’s meeting that the funds would be used as the base fund for the Arts program, not a supplement. I was told this by a principal today. I had no idea that this was happening. What can parents do in order to get these funds used like they were intended? Any help or advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
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Go to the next board meeting, Artsmart. Speak up.
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Can do! I’ll keep you posted.
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Vanity Fair does a terrific job of dissecting events in a Pennsylvania school district when Hillsdale curriculum fans initiated a takeover. Even the conservatives recognize that their children need facts as a basis for their education.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/far-right-pennsylvania-school-board
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Both major teachers union in Massachusetts, local affiliates of the NEA and AFT, have proposed legislation, with a good number of legislative sponsors, to increase teacher diversity and retention within our ranks:
https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S311
So who shows up to undermine teachers’ rights? Why, Educators for Excellence, of course. But we’re wise to their evil ways.
Q2. In a nutshell, what would the E4E bill do, and why is AFT Massachusetts opposed to it?
The E4E bill would change Massachusetts law governing how educator layoffs are handled by a school district. In doing so, the bill would harm educators of all backgrounds by weakening their professional teacher status (PTS) rights, making educators more vulnerable to the whims and biases of Management in a layoff situation.
Put simply, the E4E bill is a management rights bill. Management rights and prerogatives would be strengthened, and teacher rights and voice would be weakened.
The bill would also hurt students, as teachers – through the undermining of their PTS rights – would feel less secure in advocating for their students’ needs.
https://ma.aft.org/E4E
For anyone who needs a refresher about E4E, here’s the inimitable Maurice Cunningham:
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Thank goodness for Maurice Cunningham! A truth teller
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Hi Diane, I thought I posted this yesterday, but I don’t see it. California has a “Science of Reading” bill on the table. https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2024/02/science-of-reading-2/
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ArtsSmart,
I didn’t see that comment. I’m not surprised that California is cohsideeed a ”science of reading” bill. Many states have already passed such laws. This pendulum has been swinging for a long time.
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I think the pendulum is stuck.
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The pendulum never stops. It may move slowly but it always moves.
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Hi Diane, did you see the detailed article in the New York Times about the network of underground CIA spy bases in Ukraine? The times has been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s war effort, so it seems bizarre to me that the they would suddenly go with a story that justifies Putin’s invasion. Matt Taibbi speculates that the article is foreshadowing a break between US and Ukrainian intelligence. What do you think?
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Interesting. And the head of Ukrainian intel just stated that Navalny died of natural causes, contradicting the Western narrative.
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Freezing outside in the arctic while taking a walk might be considered natural causes.
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Freezing outside in the Arctic after having been imprisoned there on trumped-up charges because one is a political opponent and after having been doused with water and then shoved outside to “take a walk” under orders from Putin might be referred to by the Russian propaganda machine as “taking a walk.”
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How would anyone know how Navalny died? The day before his death, his hearing in jail was live-streamed and he looked fine.
Being jailed in the Arctic for 20 years on phony charges by a vicious dictator was the cause of his death. If Navalny had been allowed to lead a normal life, he would be alive.
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To fact check this statement from ArtSmart, I ran two Google searches.
“it seems bizarre to me that the they would suddenly go with a story that justifies Putin’s invasion”
Here’s what I learned from the first search.
“According to the New York Times, the American agency has trained and equipped Ukraine’s intelligence officers in underground bunkers over the past 10 years, as well as fully financing and partially equipping them.”
I ran the first search to learn how long those underground bunkers had been there.
TEN YEARS
The second search was to learn how many times Putin has invaded Ukraine.
The answer was THREE.
Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present)
Putin’s first military campaign: Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation 2014
Putin’s second military campaign: War in Donbas 2014–2022
Putin’s third military campaign: Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022–present
The CIA’s underground bunkers to train Ukraine’s spies is not justification for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The first two military campaigns starting in 2014, were justification for the United States establishing those underground training centers. The CIA could have done the training in an above ground building, but Putin would have ordered it hit by missiles to blow it up and kill those CIA agents and the Ukrainians they were training.
AND, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t his first move to establish a Russian empire. To build a larger army, Putin needs to increase his empires population.
That’s why Putin invaded Chechnya to establish a puppet state he controlled on 1 October 1999
“The Chechen conflict entered a new phase on 1 October 1999, when Russia’s new Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declared the authority of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and his parliament illegitimate.”
Then there was Putin’s 2nd war in 2008, as he continues to reclaim what was once the Soviet Union as he builds his Russian empire as ruthless authoritarian kleptocracy.
The 2008 Russo-Georgian War[note 3] was a war between Russia, alongside the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and Georgia.
In fact, the U.S. has been at war with Russia since Korea and Vietnam. The Soviet Union was responsible for the Korean War. The Soviet Union backed Vietnam when it invaded Laos and Cambodia.
Obama threatened Putin’s choke hold on Cuba when he instituted the Cuban thaw (Spanish: deshielo cubano, pronounced [desˈʝelo kuˈβano]) was the normalization of Cuba–United States relations that began in December 2014 ending a 54-year stretch of hostility between the nations. In March 2016, Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.
One of the first things Trump did when he became president, was to reverse what Obama had done so Putin could get Cuba back as a vassal state in his empire.
Putin was involved in the collapse of Venezuela’s democracy and its collapse as a country. Putin was behind the UK leaving the EU.
I think Putin is also somehow behind the current war in Israel with Hamas and what is happening in the Red Sea with the Houthis. To build his empire he’s allied himself with Iran, thinking, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Everything Putin has been doing for decades is part of his long term goals to become the world’s dominant superpower and he couldn’t do that if all he had was Russia with its meager 145 million population and its GDP ranked 8th in the world.
But, I think the cancer scared him and he feared he would die before achieving his final goal, to rule the world as the dictator of the most powerful country on the planet. So, he sped up his timetable and that didn’t work out so well in Ukraine. I think his plans to take Ukraine weren’t meant to happen in 2022 in one all out invasion. His plans were to nibble at it until it didn’t exist as a country anymore.
Putin’s threats over Sweden, Norway and Finland are his reaction to losing three other countries he had his eyes on to add to his empire.
His threat of nuclear war is probably true if NATO sends troops into Ukraine, because that would end his dream for sure.
Putin does not need justification for what he’s doing.
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Sorry, I forgot Russia’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, that lasted for 9 years before their military left with their tails chopped off. Afghanistan is a disaster waiting for anyone who invades it unless you are Alexander the Great. Putin wasn’t behind that one, but the Soviet Union’s goals were still about the same back then.
I think it’s a safe bet, Putin also wants Eastern Germany back or maybe just all of Europe, like Napoleon and Hitler attempted and failed.
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United States intelligence services have worked diligently to support our ally, Ukraine, against its Russian invader for years now. Wow. What a surprise. ROFL.
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I’m not taking Putin’s side on the death of Navalny, I’m wondering why the head of Ukrainian intel is contradicting the US narrative. I view legacy media like the NYTs as serving a propaganda function to further our country’s national interests, so I’m wondering what the purpose of them dropping this detailed story about CIA spy bases in Ukraine at this time.
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Just wanted to share this excerpt from an interview with Gary Gerstle, author of “The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal” on youtube’s New Economic Thinking channel. I don’t know the name of the interviewer. Gerstle says that the fall of Neoliberalism is why Hillary lost the election.
Interviewer: When I was in Detroit around the time of the 2016 election one of the primary aides to Hillary Clinton said she saw no prospect for winning Michigan. When I asked why she said there are three pillars-NAFTA, welfare reform and criminal justice reform, and the people of the Detroit metropolitan area are not going to offset the out state-they’ll stay home, and that proved to be the case.
Gerstle: I still wish she had stayed in Michigan because she didn’t lose by a lot of votes.
Interviewer: 13,000
Gerstle: And by 2016 the neoliberal order has fractured and Hillary Clinton who had been so central to the construction of the neoliberal order is on the outside part of her journey
Interviewer: She was the poster girl-yeah.
Gerstle: The 2016 campaign is coming to terms with her sudden marginality, not in terms of people who know her, but suddenly policies that she thought were the way of the world in America in the democratic party are being looked at skeptically and Bernie Sanders is as much a phenomenon of 2016 as Donald Trump and in the book I treat them as players of equivalent significance. One trying to blow up the neoliberal order from the left and the other trying to blow it up from the right.
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That’s “The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order”
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Arts Smart, do you know the difference between neoliberal and liberalism in the United States since liberalism tends to have a different meaning outside of the US?
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/neoliberalism.asp
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another “learning” link
https://study.com/academy/lesson/classical-liberalism-vs-neoliberalism.html
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Thanks for sharing the definition Lloyd. Yes I know the difference between neoliberal and liberal. I did get the definition of neoliberal very wrong on this blog once some time ago and had to eat crow.
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I have never been a fan of the neoliberals and neoconervatives.
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That’s basically what Michael Moore said when he predicted Trump’s win. I think there are still elements of the Democratic Party that don’t get this.
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Traitor Trump’s 2016 win was a fluke, explaining why the serial liar claims he won the popular vote too.
The Traitorous liar, recently convicted rapist, and convicted fraud did not win the popular vote. Hillary lost the Electoral College with the biggest popular vote win in US history for an Electoral College loss.
https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-popular-vote-final-count/index.html
What is it that elements of the Democratic Party don’t get?
That Traitor Trump had help from Putin?
That Traitor Trump had help from the 2nd email scandal that hit right before the election and by the time the news got out that investigation went nowhere, too, it was too late to make a difference?
That the election was decided in these battleground states in 2016:
“Trump’s battleground states were Arizona, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida. Clinton’s were Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Crucial to Trump’s victory were Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.”
https://www.politico.com/blogs/swing-states-2016-election/2016/06/what-are-the-swing-states-in-2016-list-224327
Almost 3,000,000 more voters turned out to vote for Hillary than Trump.
I think most Democrats got it. They had to vote.
In 2020, Biden beat Trump with 8,000,000 more votes but could have still lost the Electoral College because the margin of winning enough battle ground state to beat Trump was silver thin. If Biden had lost about 400k votes in those few battle ground states, from his popular vote total, he would have lost the Electoral College with about 7.6 million more votes than the traitor.
Still, Democrats and never trump independents and republicans have to do better to insure the popular vote swamps the electoral college. I’ve read that number is more than 15-million more votes than the traitor.
Every citizen that can vote that knows who Traitor Trump really is has to get out and vote for Biden in 2024 in ratios this country has never seen.
They also have to vote Blue into the majority in both houses of Congress, because Traitor Trump has already revealed the Republican Party is now part of his criminal family enterprise and what he says goes. Even Republicans taht can’t stand him go along so they don’t lose their seat’s in the GOP primaries like Liz Cheney did.
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If neoliberalism wasn’t a factor why did Biden offer a more progressive platform and promise to end the Afghanistan war? Here’s Noam Chomsky’s rational for taking the focus off Russia Lloyd. He said this April, 2019.
Hope you don’t mind the long post. I agree with Chomsky. It would be better for Dems to focus on a good platform, rather than Russia
.
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Biden didn’t have to promise to end the Afghan war. Traitor Trump already did that. All Biden did was extend the timeline the traitor set for the Taliban to return to power so our alliance would have more time to pull out and evacuate people.
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-middle-east-taliban-doha-e6f48507848aef2ee849154604aa11be
As the AP piece says, Biden could have pulled out of the Trump deal, but he didn’t. He decided to follow through and end our role in that war. If he’d been elected with no Traitor Trump deal in place, we have no way to know if he would have ended the war on his own.
Pull quotes ahead:
“Renegotiating, though, would have been difficult. Biden would have had little leverage. He, like Trump, wanted U.S. troops out of Afghanistan. Pulling out of the agreement might have forced him to send thousands more back in.
“He made that point Monday, saying in a televised address from the White House that he would not commit to sending more American troops to fight for Afghanistan’s future while also harkening back to the Trump deal to suggest that the withdrawal path was predetermined by his predecessor.
“The choice I had to make, as your president, was either to follow through on that [Traitor Trump’s] agreement or be prepared to go back to fighting the Taliban in the middle of the spring fighting season,” Biden said.
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In the Hur Report, we learned that Biden was always opposed to the war in Afghanistan and as VP, urged Obama to get out.
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Trump made a deal with the devil and Biden didn’t, but he followed through and let that unwinnable war end. Except for Alexander the Great, Afghanistan has been where foreign armies go to lose. I’ve read that Genghis Khan avoided Afghanistan as he was invading China and the rest of Asia.
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In Trump’s agreement, he agreed to the release of about 2000 Taliban regulars in Afghani prisons and closed numerous American air strips. He set Biden up. There was no way to leave without disarray, but it needed to happen.
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I agree, it was a set up.
At least Biden extended the deadline and managed to evacuate more Afghans that were in danger if they had stayed. As much as the MAGARINO right tried to make the withdrawal Biden’s fault, compared to the pullout from Vietnam, this one appeared better organized up until the last few days when Afghans scared for their lives, that hadn’t got out yet, panicked.
Under Biden, the US “welcomed roughly 90,000 Afghan refugees. Source: Wilson Center dot org
The majority fled to Pakistan, an estimated 600,000, and another 500,000 to Iran. Source: Lowy Institute dot org
I’m surprised Traitor trump didn’t do something similar to his one sides tax cuts that benefited the wealthiest 1% the most. The tax cut for the wealthy (his economic class) was permeant. The one for the rest of us ends December 31, 2025.
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I think it can be all of the above. Chomsky is obviously brilliant and he has forgotten far more than I know. However, the recent revelations with this double agent Smirnoff and his Russian handlers is eye opening. Putin has been leading Republicans by the nose since 2016 after totally owning Trump in the process. I don’t tend to believe that the email dump after Trump asked Russia to drop them was an accident. Yes, corporate meddling is a profound problem, but Putin’s “useful idiots” have given him far more leeway with Americans than even he expected.
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The ELIMINATE “Freedom Caucus” in the House are also useful idiots for Putin.
“Only 5 percent of Republicans support Russia over Ukraine, but the MAGA wing of the GOP has continually sided with Putin and against Ukraine.”
Meet the pro-Putin Republicans and conservatives – Republican Accountability
And the 95% of elected Republicans who do not support Russia over Ukraine fear Trump’s power to win primary elections, so they go along with the traitor, to avoid being primaried out of midterm and general elections. They must be praying every night and day that Trump ends up dead or in prison and the traitor’s MAGARINOs slither back to their caves and whatever rocks they crawled out from under.
I think if someone pops the traitor, it will be a NEVER Trump Republican exercising their 2nd Amendment rights.
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I think it’s been going on for far longer and in more subtle ways than most of us are aware. I remember in December of 2015, listening to an NPR call-in show when an older woman with a verry distinct Minnesota accent called to claim that Russia was a far better place for religious people to live than the US, because there were so many more churches and everyone was free to wish you Merry Christmas.
The show host was completely befuddled and I’ve remembered it all this time, in light of what has happened.
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I wonder if she ever visited Russia.
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No need, Diane!
Fox TV’s on all day at her house, in the kitchen, the den, the family room, the bedroom.
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Sounds like FOX fake NEWS follows the fast food recipe the adds addictive chemicals to enhance flavor and trap customers who crave day and night to eat themselves into a miserably unhealthy life and early grave.
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Curious how MAGA GOP became admirers of Russian kleptocracy.
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“In the Hur Report, we learned that Biden was always opposed to the war in Afghanistan and as VP, urged Obama to get out.”-I was very impressed at his resolve on this issue.
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Obama disagreed with Biden. Instead of starting a negotiation to end the war, he did a surge in troops.
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Obama’s mistake. I think Biden was right.
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Let’s not forget who invaded Afghanistan and Iraq in the first place, when Afghanistan should have been the only target, the only focus to stop Islamic extremism. Instead, Bush Jr’s administration focused on Iraq and often neglected and bungled our efforts in Afghanistan.
His father was still alive when Jr. did that, and I read that he cried, because he knew it was a mistake, opening a Pandora’s box.
Sadam was a brutal dictator but as long as he was blocked from building the empire he dreamed of, he wasn’t an Islamic extremist and would have stopped them, and did at times, if they threatened his dictatorship.
When Bush #2 removed Sadam, he opened a door for ISIS and Iran. And they rushed through it spreading like a malignant cancer.
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Gerstle gives Trump too much credit by comparing him to Sanders. Bernie Sanders is a smart, intelligent man with deep experience in government. He has an ideology that emerged from reading, thinking, acting.
Trump has no ideology. He used to be a pro-choice Democrat. He donated to the Clinton’s’ campaigns. He is a lifelong grifter and party boy. He doesn’t read. He goes where he can get the most attention and make the most money.
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I agree Diane. Trump is an opportunist. A faux populist saying what his team told him to say to get elected. Bernie Sanders is the real deal.
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I disagree. Neoliberalism was always a malignancy that had to die before it destroyed the united States. Just like neoconservatism.
“As neoliberal has come to describe a wide range of figures, from Bill and Hillary Clinton to Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates, its meaning has become stretched thin and caused fuzziness and disagreement.”
https://www.vox.com/polyarchy/2019/6/11/18660240/democrats-neoliberalism
The reason Hillary Clinton lost the Electoral College with the largest popular vote margin in U.S. history (almost 3,000,000 more than Trump) was due to Putin’s focus on the key battleground states casting doubts on Hillary, that allowed Traitor always lying Trump to win through the Electoral College by slim margins.
And the second email investigation right before the election.
“Factbox: Key findings from Senate inquiry into Russian interference in 2016 U.S. election”
WASHINGTON (Reuters)t – Below are key findings of the U.S. Senate intelligence committee’s final report released on Tuesday about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S presidential election in which Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The bipartisan report, three-and-a-half years in the making, found Russia used Republican political operative Paul Manafort, the WikiLeaks website and others to try to influence the 2016 election to help now-U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN25E2OY/
Trump goes on the offensive as Clinton’s lead narrows
Donald Trump called Hillary Clinton a threat to the country on Monday, saying that if she is elected a probe into her emails could shadow her entire term in office, as the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Clinton’s lead narrowing slightly.
https://www.france24.com/en/20161101-trump-goes-offensive-clinton-lead-narrows-emails-fbi
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I missed the point of the Vox article you shared Lloyd. Are you defending democratic neoliberalism or just providing a detailed description of democratic neoliberal policies? Do you think neoliberalism under the Clinton’s was good for the country? I have no faith in US intelligence assessments Lloyd. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on the factors that caused the rise of Trump.
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I don’t think neoliberalism propelled Trump. He is a charlatan, a natural huckster. He could sell ice to Eskimos. He latched on to racism as his ticket to power, and racists came out from under rocks to put one of their own in the White House. I repeat: he has no ideology and he doesn’t read. He has narcissistic charisma, like other dictators. He’s a salesman, and he sells promises that he will never keep. Remember that he said Mexico would pay for the wall? Remember he said he would replace Obamacare with his own plan that would be better? A million lies, but who remembers?
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Trump only compromises if he gets something out of it and that always translates to money. As a dictator, he’ll stop compromising and just have anyone that refuses to do what he wants shot in the back of the head or tossed out of 20 story windows that weren’t designed to open. Just like his role model in Russa, Putin.
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I remember when he met Kim of North Korea, and Trump said admiringly, he has total control and life tenure.
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Another of many clues that Trump was leaking his thoughts about what he wanted if he ruled a country with total power.
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I think the real damage of Trump’s willingness to share secrets will hurt us for years to come.
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My dark suspicion is that he sold the names of our secret agents to Putin. They are being picked off and killed.
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I think what Traitor Trump shared with Putin and other US enemies may be the reason why Putin is threatening nuclear war with NATO over Ukraine.
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Putin plays Trump like a fiddle. I don’t think it would bother him if Trump ended up in jail. It would give Putin the excuse to abandon him.
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Trump is only one joker in Putin’s evil deck of playing cards. That brutal beast has other cards for other stooges around the world doing his bidding. rasPutin has been spreading his malignancy to destroy democracy for more than twenty years on every continent.
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Considering Trumps actual business record, I don’t think Trump could sell water to a thirsty Arizonan.
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We should all read Trump’s Doha agreement with the Taliban or at least understand what it is.
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It’s funny that we didn’t hear much about that in the Times while they continue to pile on regarding the evacuation.
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In a democracy, compromise is the rule. When neoliberals held power in the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton made compromises with them. Biden has probably done the same thing.
The same thing happened in the Republican party with Neoconservatives. I think neoliberals and neoconservatives are two sides of the same coin.
View at Medium.com
Correct me if I’m wrong, Clinton’s demonstration didn’t run deficits and even reduced the national debt. Clinton also kept us out of wars, not counting the small fires here and there around the world.
Clinton also compromised with the republicans over the legislation that would lead to the economic crash under the 2nd Bush. Still, Clinton later said he regretted signing that bill. I fact checked that to see if President Clinton could have vetoed that bill and from what I learned, if I got the right Congress, he couldn’t have vetoed it, so it was a done deal either way.
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I think Bill Clinton represents a cautionary tale for willingness to over compromise. Of course it’s easier to write this after the fact. The financial crisis that occurred in 2008 certainly had its roots in Clinton’s willingness to end depression era regulations that opened the door for Wall Street grift. However, it was Bush’s unwillingness to compromise that brought us the tax cut that accelerated the inequality and housing crisis we face now. Now we have a Republican Party that not only rejects compromise but democracy altogether. Winning is only reserved for one side in the current Republican equation.
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Paul,
You point out the new winner-take-all politics of our era. When Republicans gain control, they gerrymander districts to cement their advantage, and they introduce vote changes that disadvantage Democratic voters. A GOP politician in Florida boasted that his party had reduced Democrats to “road kill.”
That’s not the spirit that enables competition and bipartisanship to thrive. The old way was “win some, lose some.” No more.
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More than a million Floridians with certain felony convictions remain unable to vote because of unpaid court fines and/or fees. Florida is home to about 20% of all Amercian citizens who cannot vote because of felony disenfranchisement.
Florida Bans Voting Rights of Over One Million Citizens – The Sentencing Project
Where felons can and can’t vote, mapped (axios.com)
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“In a democracy, compromise is the rule. When neoliberals held power in the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton made compromises with them.”-Yes. Hillary’s health care plan bombed and he had a huge loss in both houses of congress. The only way for Clinton to survive politically was to become one of them.
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To compromise, not become one of them. There is a difference.
“All Democrats must compromise to pass economic plans, just like 1993”
“With the benefit — and the challenge — of very narrow Democratic majorities in Congress, a first-year president attempts to pass his major economic plan to reanimate the American middle-class. The president cannot expect a single vote from the minority Republican Party. Moreover, a subset of Democrats on both left and right are suggesting they may defect from the president’s agenda. Yet, as votes on the legislation loom, a handful of members of Congress on left and center indicate they may not back the bill after all, putting the president’s economic and social programs at risk, and with it his new presidency.
“Sounds familiar? To those who have been following Washington closely since the early 1990s, it should. Because it’s precisely what happened in 1993 when new President Bill Clinton faced a recalcitrant Congress as he pursued his economic plan.”
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/574889-all-democrats-must-compromise-to-pass-economic-plans-just-like-1993/
“A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as Governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1992. Clinton, whose policies reflected a centrist ‘Third Way’ political philosophy, became known as a New Democrat. Hope, Arkansas, U.S.” — Bill Clinton – Wikipedia
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I agree concerning Ezra Klein. I find him more interested in apologizing for his progressive perspective than defending them. His recent hit piece on Biden was my last straw.
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Diane, Did you see where Trump threatened to withhold federal funds for all public schools that required vaccines? OMG!!! See this: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-public-school-threat-vaccines/
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If that happens, children will die.
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Florida is the testing ground for Christian nationalist (CN) MAGARINO’s Anti science agenda — trust in god instead. Notice, I did not capitalize god as required when speaking about Him or Her or Them.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-measles-outbreak-unvaccinated-kids-school/
Eventually, children will die or live crippled lives without proper healthcare.
And the CN-MAGARINO lunatics will say it was the children’s fault, their parents’ fault, liberals’ fault, for not believing in their god.
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Lloyd,
One of the trolls that I block writes again and again to assert that unvaccinated people are safer than the vaccinated.
Every health organization in the world says the opposite.
There is no getting through to such people. They believe lies and distrust facts.
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True. The internet offers good things, but one of the worst is letting lunatic have a voice and a place to gather to spread their lunacy.
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I recall how thrilled and relieved my mom was in the 50s when the polio vaccine came out, and other vaccinations, too –as were most parents then.
This seems to be a political stunt based on the ages old conflict between religion and science aimed toward people who want to believe that G-d has a hand in everything EXCEPT science. That’s primarily the poorly educated, low information MAGA cultists who trust a convicted rapist & fraudster, who is also an ignorant, self-centered, hate-mongering, vengeful fascist dictator-wannabe, over a plethora of highly educated physicians across the country.
It’s sooo sick to drag innocent children into political wars. I think most moms won’t be buying into this crude & vicious attempt to solidify and expand his base. But it comes as no surprise that this know-nothing self-aggrandizing jerk would sacrifice so many children in his attempt to seize power again. Gotta hope he pays highly for this!
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Most parents will get their children vaccinated but they will be vulnerable to the few children who did not get vaccinated. Diseases are contagious. Most states have laws requiring vaccinations.
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Hell on earth for Trump would be total isolation (TOTAL) in Leavenworth cut off from the world, with military guards that despise him, and his diet is broccoli, cubes of soft raw tofu, bread, and water. His only luxury a tiny sprinkle of salt for his food.
And to eat, he has to exercise, really exercise, with weights, stationary bikes, planks, et al, and work up a sweat each time. No sweat, no food. No exercise, no sleep. No exercise, no mattress, only concrete.
Exercise will also be in total isolation with cameras watching him to make sure he exercises as told. If he breaks the rules, he sleeps in a bare concrete room on the floor that goes from sweltering heat to freezing temperatures several times every 24 hours, with bright spotlights shining on him and loud acid rock music blaring all night, loud enough to almost make him deaf.
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I’m afraid if Trump is sent to prison, the media will line up to give soft ball interviews. 60 minutes and Maggie Haberman will be first in line with Welker of NBC right behind them.
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That’s why Traitor Trump must be sentenced to total isolation with no contact with other inmates, guards, or the outside world. The best place for him would be the Supermax in Colorada or Guantanamo living in a cage.
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Sorry, for the typo, I meant to write know-nothing.
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In my state, even though vaccines are required to attend schools, including private child care centers, parents can use religious grounds to circumvent the vaccination requirements.
I went through this when I was the director of a child care center & a family, who had just come from Romania, wanted to enroll 3 children who had Hepatitis. They refused to get any vaccines at all for their kids, which they said was based on their Jehovah’s Witness religious beliefs. I was very concerned about our students catching that and other illnesses, so I called the state, but they said I had to take those kids because the family claimed an exemption based on religious grounds.
The parents had also said their kids could not be involved in any holiday activities or birthday celebrations, so I explained that we implemented a holiday curriculum and celebrated each child’s birthday, so our school would not be a good match for them, but they still wanted their kids to attend. So I said their kids would have to be isolated during all those times. Initially, the parents went for that, but I made sure the teachers planned holiday related activities and birthday celebrations every day, and not long later, the family withdrew their kids –to my relief.
Why does religion outweigh the health of children? Educators should not have to creatively jump through hoops to protect kids from catching diseases! If states contest this matter in court & it goes all the way up to SCOTUS, with their Trump/Christian Nationalist majority, there’s a pretty good chance that states and children will be THE biggest losers in this battle!
(BTW, it’s partly because of having done stuff like this for kids that I feel the need to be anonymous. I think that’s especially necessary in a society that does not value enlightenment, calls it “woke” as if that’s a horrible thing –even though our country’s creation was based on the Enlightenment, not religious beliefs–) and so many people follow a leader who plans to take revenge on anyone who disagrees with him if empowered again…)
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You may be interested in this WaPo story about RKF Jr’s involvement in hiring a rare bird smuggler to work at a nature conservancy. His anti-vaccine history isn’t the only indication this man has not recovered from the trauma of the assassination of his uncle and father at such a tender age.
https://wapo.st/4bZMtBB
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Near the end of my 30 years as a public-school teacher (1975 – 2005), a student in the high school home economics class told her teacher she (the student) had tested positive for a very infectious disease. I don’t remember what the disease was, but I do remember it was the kind that scares people to learn they had been exposed to it.
The student had been infected for some time before she discovered she had the disease. She was the kind of student who never missed a day of school. The kind of student teachers love to teach.
If the student hadn’t told Rita (the teacher), she would have never known. Every teacher that student had wouldn’t have known. Every student that girl came in contact with wouldn’t have known.
The student warned everyone after she found out.
In California at the time a student’s privacy regarding health issues no matter how serious or infectious (and probably other stuff) was considered more important than the health of the other students and teachers. The teacher went to her doctor, was tested and she hadn’t been infected.
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Prop 28 funds misuse update. There is a debate between admin and UTLA about the use of prop 28 funds. Admin says the funds are being used properly and are supplementing the Arts budget as intended. The head of the UTLA arts committee says the funds are clearly supplanting, not supplement the Arts budget. It seems quite obvious to me that the funds are supplanting because the arts program did not grow as the prop intended, nor or the funds being pooled so that more arts teachers can be hired to grow the program. If anyone wants more info leave me your contact info and I’ll send you an email.
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This post was from ArtsSmart
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Have people here seen this? “Trump winning in 2024 would spur many Americans to flee the country: report” https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2024-americans-flee/
I’ve been thinking the same thing and I wonder how many others here are contemplating that as well. I’m very fortunate to have traveled abroad alot in my youth and early adulthood, when I even lived in another country, so I know exactly what country I would like to move to, which is England. I adored it there and their conservatives have long been much less radically-right than they are here, especially now.
Last time I checked though, England required most immigrants to be econimcally stable and self-sufficient, with savings or a job and liveable wages. However, my Social Security Retirement Income is poverty level (due to all the decades I taught kids for minimum wage in child care centers) and I can’t even live on it here, so I doubt they’d take me there. I’m not sure if Canada is the same way and I like that country as well, but it’s too cold for me there. And while I think Mexico was a great place to visit, I have no desire to live there. Plus at my age, I’d rather not go to a country where I don’t know the language. So now I’m feeling like I’m stuck here and I feel very frustrated and upset about it. Anyone else?
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I haven’t said I’ll leave the country if Traitor Trump cheats and lies his way to victory in 2024. I’ve thought it.
I suggested to my 30 something daughter (with two pre-K children, 2 and recently 5) that her husband has high tech skills that makes him hirable in any developed country at high pay, even in China, and that they may want to consider leaving.
Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could. My income is based on my teacher retirement and a VA service-related disability. Social Security pays a little but not enough to eat out more than three or four times a month. And I think if Traitor Trump follows through with being a dictator on day one and the country does nothing, like rise up and start shooting everyone that supports the Traitor, Trump’s family and MAGA mafia will end up taking all of the money in those retirement accounts to build their walls, concentration camps, and fatten their offshore numbered accounts, probably the same bank Putin uses.
If my daughter’s family leaves, she’d have to be willing to take me with her knowing that my income might vanish under a Traitor Trump MAGA dictatorship. Too much of a gamble. I love them but do not want to end up living with them, giving up my autonomous freedom.
I’m gambling that IF Traitor Trump cheats and lies his way to victory, the only way he can win, most of the military will refuse to obey him and the majority of the population will agree to leave the union, reigniting the Civil War the never really ended.
And as long as the military that won’t serve under the traitor has control of the nuclear weapons, maybe I can live out the few years I have left fairly safe in a solid BLUE state that left Trumpistan.
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Thanks for sharing this, Lloyd!
According to Navalny, Putin and his friends (who became oligarchs) own the banks and all else that used to be state owned –which was virtually everything under Communism. He said that Putin is the richest man in the world and he built himself a billion dollar palace, which Putin denied –no wonder Putin killed him after he let the cat out of the bag. (Of curse, it’s no surprise why Trump would love Putin…:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMxqTae75Fs
I lknow what you mean about living in a blue state. My state is blue and we have a really great progressive governor (even though he’s very wealthy!) That’s the key redeeming feature for me about living in America right now.
However, I live in a neighborhood which, in 2016, the local newspaper said went overwhelmingly for Trump and more than any other community in my city. I know a lot of the people who voted for him, too, and had tried to reason with a lot of them before that election, but their religious leaders were pushing Trump so most could not hear me. Due to the pandemic, I didn’t see many of those people before the 2020 vote, but I”m probably going to see them a lot more this year and I anticipate going through what I experienced in 2016 again this year –unless their religious leaders come to their senses.
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From what I’ve read, those religious leaders are almost all if not all Christian Nationalists that want their religious beliefs to lead this country. I think those religious leaders see Traitor Trump as someone who will give them what they want if they give the traitor what he wants.
“More than half of Republicans support Christian nationalism, according to a new survey”
“Researchers found that more than half of Republicans believe the country should be a strictly Christian nation, either adhering to the ideals of Christian nationalism (21%) or sympathizing with those views (33%).”
Christian nationalism on the rise as it enjoys more Republican support : NPR
During an interview at a Turning Point USA event last August, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said party leaders need to be more responsive to the base of the party, which she claimed is made up of Christian nationalists.
“We need to be the party of nationalism,” she said. “I am a Christian and I say it proudly, we should be Christian nationalists.”
Still, more than two-thirds of US citizens do not agree with this small, loud and dangerous cult that calls itself Christians.
And according to The Hill, America is facing a threat of biblical proportion.
America is facing a threat of biblical proportion: The rise of Christian nationalism | The Hill
It’s very concerning to me that the Speaker of the House, who is 2nd in line to be president if Biden dies in office, is one of them. Two heartbeats separate the United States from becoming a diabolical, evil in every way, dystopian nightmare.
I think Trump may choose Mike Johnson as his VP running mate in 2024.
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We are two different countries. Governing these as one is looking more and more impossible under the system laid out by our founders and kludged together by the courts over the years.
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I’d be fine with splitting the country between RED and BLUE states, but most if not all RED state leaders think God gave them the right to control what everyone in every state is allowed do, say and think.
There will probably never be a RED United States and BLUE United States.
The extreme right with or without Traitor Trump are going to be around for a few generations — lying, threatening, cheating (because their god said they could) — in their final goal to rule us all as they see fit.
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Sally Jo Mae, whoever they are, is a toxic troll. I suggest blocking them.
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“Sally Jo Mae” is Ragsnarbut, who writes frequently to attack vaccines and other things he does not like. He constantly changes his name, and hsualky I can catch him because WP recognizes him and puts him in moderation.
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This sounds like deplorable Trumpish behavior.
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Sally Jo, aka Ragsnarbut, is blocked again.
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Did anyone see Ryan Grim’s summary of the French intelligence report leaked to the french publication Maryanne on BreakingPoints? Maryanne is considered to be a far-right magazine.
The report concludes that Ukraine cannot win the war against Russia.
Manpower has been depleted on the Ukrainian side. Zelensky needs 30 thousand conscripts a month and he’s getting half of that.
Russia is able to draw 30 thousand volunteers a month and able to cycle troops in and out with its veterans and reserves, whereas Ukraine is often relying on troops that have no more than 3 weeks of training. This lack of experience was debilitating in the 2023 counteroffensive.
Russians have gotten very good at communications jamming which interferes with Ukraine’s use of drones.
Here’s an excerpt from the report. “The Ukrainian armed forces have tactically shown that they do not possess the human and material capabilities to hold a sector of the front that is subjected to the assailant’s effort. The Ukrainian failure at Avdiivka shows that despite the emergency deployment of an elite brigade Kiev is not capable of locally restoring a sector of the front that collapses.”
What do you think? Is this an accurate assessment?
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A report like that could have appeared in February 2022. Ukraine was supposed to fall in a few days.
What makes this report suspicious is the claim that Putin can rely on volunteers. Putin has been using prisoners and sending them to the front lines.
As former Ambassador Michael McFaul said in the interview I posted a week ago, one million of Russia’s best educated young men have fled the country to avoid the war. He said Putin was sacrificing the future of Russia.
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Good point Diane. Strange that the French would characterize Russia’s troops as volunteers.
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I Googled your allegation that the French said Russia’s troops were volunteers. Couldn’t find anything.
Still, I did find this.
“Putin allies tell Macron: Any French troops you send to Ukraine will suffer fate of Napoleon’s army”
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-allies-tell-macron-any-french-troops-you-send-ukraine-will-suffer-fate-2024-02-28/
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/12/poland-biden-ukraine-military-aid-00146513
Why do you think Putin moved nuclear weapons to one of his dictator allies that shares a border with Poland?
“Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Poland against sending troops to Ukraine, saying that any such attempt would lead to further escalation and may end up with a long-term occupation.” — reported two days ago.
https://www.firstpost.com/world/attempts-to-send-polish-troops-to-ukraine-may-end-up-with-a-long-term-occupation-says-putin-13748336.html
The only edge Russa has is its population of more than 143 million (Well, that and thousands of nuclear weapons), meaning Putin has more cannon fodder to sent through the meat grinder of combat to wear Ukraine down until they collapse. Once Putin has Ukraine, he forces its people into Russia’s military to fight for him, growing his numbers for the next war. Every conquest adds more numbers that can be forced into more wars and meat grinders.
Ukraine’s population is less than 44 million.
Poland’s population is less than 40 million.
For Putin, it will be taking one straw at a time, adding to his numbers, while he counts on the other members of NATO and the EU to fear the nuclear war Putin threatens if they try to unify and stop him.
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If it was a French report. It might have been Russian disinformation.
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What I think.
There are EU countries that have talked about sending their troops into Ukraine. I’ve read that Poland and France are two of those countries.
As for volunteers joining Russia’s military. How did you spell drafted or conscripted or forced wrong?
“Once approved by the Russian Senate and signed by Vladimir Putin, the law will take effect on January 1, 2024. The main change is that the maximum age for conscription has been raised from 27 to 30. In addition, the age limit for reservists has been raised by five years, from 60 to 65 for senior officers.Jul 29, 2023″
f”rom 1 January 2008. As of 2021, all male citizens aged 18–27 are subject to conscription for 1 year of active duty military service in the armed forces, but the precise number of conscripts for each of the recruitment campaigns, which are usually held twice annually, is prescribed by particular Presidential Decree.”
Conscription does not mean the same as volunteer.
“compulsory enrollment of persons especially for military service : draft. During the war the armed forces were heavily dependent on conscription.”
Still, I’m sure Brutal Putin’s administration has changed the definition for conscription in Russia to mean volunteer … or ELSE!
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-lawmakers-vote-raise-conscription-age-limit-30-2023-07-25/
Here is an example of the real meaning of volunteers
20,000 volunteers
“Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that by 6 March 2022 more than 20,000 volunteers from 52 countries had enlisted to fight for Ukraine; several thousand more reportedly joined after the announcement.”
****
“Ukraine needs more troops fighting Russia. Hardened professionals from Colombia are helping”
https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-colombian-foreign-fighters-professional-soldiers-07b5cb7949bd10234e7456f9c1c20b08
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Interested in helping the school shooting generation to get elected to political office; an EMILY’s list for young people like Maxwell Frost of Florida?
https://leaderswedeserve.com/about/
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Evening Diane, I’m a friend of Andy Hargreaves and would love to connect.
seantslade@gmail.com
Cheers
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An app that allows Christian evangelicals access to troves of data about their neighbors; what could go wrong?
https://newrepublic.com/article/179397/evangelical-app-targeting-immigrants-surveillance
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!!!!!
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41 agencies, including the ACLU, have sent a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona decrying the use of AI to surveil children in our public schools. It’s quite concerning, far beyond what one might think.
In recent years, school districts nationwide have adopted a wide range of controversial AI-enabled and data-driven technologies that are transforming public education. Driven by concerns about school safety, schools have embraced a suite of problematic technologies, including facial recognition, automated weapons detection, social media surveillance, automated license plate readers, behavioral threat assessments, police-networked smart cameras, predictive policing, and
aerial drone surveillance, among others.vi A 2023 national survey of educators conducted by the Center on Democracy and Technology found that–
38 percent of teachers reported that their school shares sensitive student data with law enforcement;
● 36 percent said their school uses predictive analytics to identify children who might commit future criminal behavior;
● 36 percent said their school tracks students’ physical location through their phones and other digital devices;
● 37 percent said their school monitors students’ personal social media accounts and
● 33 percent reported their school uses facial recognition to regulate access to school
https://static.politico.com/e6/4d/d94194fb4c1db13b8b697f1bea38/coalition-letter-to-doe34.pdf
Let your imagination fill in the blanks as to what a second Trump administration might do with this kind of information.
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Diane, another award winner from the Lincoln Project
The Phantom of the MAGA (instead of the Phantom of the Opera)
(53) Phantom of the MAGA – YouTube
The phantom of the MAGA doesn’t wear a mask, but he wears a MAGA hat, begs for money to pay his legal bills and plays golf.
LOL!
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Thanks, Lloyd, for the laugh I didn’t know I needed.
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That’s a good one!
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Department of Labor Secretary Julie Su uses the 113th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire to educate the readers of Teen Vogue about their rights as workers. Worth sharing:
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/secretary-of-labor-julie-su-triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-op-ed
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The Los Angeles Times did a story on the misuse of prop 28 funds for the arts by LAUSD and other districts. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-01/powerful-unions-allege-schools-are-misusing-arts-education-money-demand-state-intervention
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More Perfect Union is doing an excellent job of reporting on the renaissance of unionization. Here are two recent posts:
Private equity buying up fast food franchise businesses (named for the protagonist in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead:
https://substack.perfectunion.us/p/the-evil-company-buying-subway-and
The push to unionize a Mercedes Benz plant in Alabama by the UAW:
https://substack.perfectunion.us/p/breaking-mercedes-workers-in-alabama
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Media Matters has a summary of all the ways the Heritage Foundation is planning to break democracy if Trump gets a second go-round. Hint: if you’re not White, male, straight and Xtian, you’re in a whole lot of trouble.
https://www.mediamatters.org/heritage-foundation/guide-project-2025-extreme-right-wing-agenda-next-republican-administration#paragraph–section-heading–3459067
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The New York Review of Books has an excellent analysis of Trump’s plan to destroy the civil service and replace civil servants with people loyal to Trump.
The article was written by Walter Shaub, who previously was in charge of the U.S. Office of Ethics.
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/04/18/the-corruption-playbook-trump-walter-shaub/
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Not all Christians (Xtians) Just Christian Nationalists who do not practice what Jesus Christ taught and act and think more like members of the KKK.
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Correct, pardon my omission of Nationalists.
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:o)
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This is extraordinarily important, Christine. Thank you for sharing it!!!! I have reposted widely.
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I know this is a heart warming story; without a doubt, Lillian Orlich was an exceptional human being. But I’m leery of her arrival at school at 3:00 AM and that she never married or had children. School was her whole life. It becomes easy to glorify self-sacrifice in the service of education. Balance is healthy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/04/06/lillian-orlich-teacher-counselor-donation/
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Great story about a science teacher who as a 22-year old in 1979 started telling his students that they would reunite for the eclipse in 2024: https://www.democratandchronicle.com/videos/news/local/2024/04/08/webster-teachers-solar-eclipse-pact-fulfilled-as-students-reunite/73254333007/
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Wow. The McCarthyites in Congress are having quite a moment today.
“By bending over backward to be agreeable, Shafik emerged from the four-hour grilling largely unscathed. All that’s been damaged is Columbia’s guarantee of academic freedom.”
“Shafik appeared with two chairs of Columbia’s board of trustees, Claire Shipman and David Greenwald, and with David Schizer, a former dean of Columbia’s law school who is one of the chairs of the school’s antisemitism task force. The university, said Shipman, was taking steps to restrict student protests: ‘One of the excellent recommendations of our antisemitism task force is that they have said that if you are going to chant, it should only be in a certain place, so that people who don’t want to hear it are protected from having to hear it.’ ”
She called in the NYPD, a thing that hasn’t happened since 1968; not quite as far as 1864 in Arizona, but still.
No paywall:
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