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Never-Trumpers Respond to the New Political Scene

By dianeravitch
July 23, 2024 //
112

Jonathan V. Last, editor of The Bulwark, a site founded by Never Trump Republicans, explains how he sees the new situation, the withdrawal of Joe Biden and the ascension of Kamala Harris as the likely nominee:

The Democratic party is healthy. The Republican party is not.

Our greatest living president. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

1. Seven Lessons

(1) The Democratic party is a healthy institution.

On the night of June 27, the various power centers within the Democratic party began a difficult conversation: Was Joe Biden still capable of running a vigorous campaign?

Over three weeks the party reached a diffuse—if not unanimous—consensus: He was not. This consensus was the product of all levels of the party: Elder statesmen such as Nancy Pelosi, elected Democrats analyzing their own future prospects, donors making decisions about spending, and the main body of public opinion among Democratic voters.

Once this consensus was reached, the various power centers began a dialogue with the party’s leader, President Biden. The party expressed its choice. Biden pushed back. The party took up the question again and, after due consideration, held firm.

Joe Biden then stepped aside for the good of the nation.

This is how healthy institutions are supposed to work…

2. The process which elevated Kamala Harris was sensible.

The Democratic party made another institutional decision in parallel with the Biden question: It vetted Kamala Harris.

This subroutine executed in the background, but it was active. Democratic voters began to consider her as the nominee and polling showed that they were comfortable with her. Party elders evaluated her fitness. Donors and elected Democrats took her measure. The fact that no anti-Harris groundswell—or even boomlet—emerged is proof that the party decided that Harris was an acceptable nominee.

After Biden blessed Harris on Sunday afternoon, the party coalesced around her in much the way it did Biden after the New Hampshire primary in 2020.

The Democratic party will enter the election more unified than it had been pre-debate.

3. Kamala Harris can run as an insurgent, but with the advantages of an incumbent.

The largest advantage of incumbency is that a candidate does not have to take base-pleasing positions during a primary campaign that can hurt him during a general election.

Because of the extraordinary nature of her ascendence, Harris possesses this advantage. She will carry nearly every advantage of incumbency and yet she can credibly position herself as this election’s change agent.

4. Trump is holding the age bomb.

The Trump campaign spent two years creating a political bomb concerning old age. They assumed that they could plant this bomb at the feet of Joe Biden.

Trump is now the one holding the age bomb. He is not only a full generation older than Harris—everything about him looks geriatric by comparison. From his gait to his bronzed-over pallor; from the way he rambles and gets lost in sentences to his inability to keep facts straight.

Every split screen now makes Trump look old and decrepit by comparison. 

5. There was enormous pent-up demand among Democrats for a younger leader.

In the first 24 hours, Kamala Harris raised over $100 million from small-dollar donors.

Sit with that for a moment. $100 million.

That’s more money than any Democrat has ever raised in a single day. It’s twice as much as Trump raised following his felony conviction. If this doesn’t snap your head back, it should.

Because it’s as good a proxy as you’ll find for excitement.

It will be several days until we have polling with a more detailed view of Harris’s support from Democratic voters, but it is already clear that she will perform much better than Biden has within her party.

Here’s my advice: You should be open to the idea that Harris could ride a wave of excitement and passion that absolutely no one was seeing until Biden stepped aside. I’m talking Obama ‘08-levels of energy.

It’s not a given. But it’s in the realm of the possible. Keep your eyes peeled for it.

6. The Republican party is a failed state.

At the debate, Donald Trump also demonstrated (again) that he is unfit for office. He rambled and lied incoherently. He is a convicted felon. A jury found him guilty of sexual assault. He has said he wants to be a “dictator” and that he wants to “terminate” parts of the Constitution. He selected as his running mate a man who advised disobeying orders from the Supreme Court and forcing a constitutional crisis.

Until last week there was nothing stopping the Republican party from forcing Trump off the ticket. The party elders and elected officials could have demanded that Trump step aside. Republican voters could have said that they had no confidence in his ability to govern. Donors could have closed their wallets.

But the plain fact is that not one single Republican called on Trump to step aside.

Not one.

Why? Because the various precincts of the Republican party understand that they hold no power—at all—over Trump. They could not ask him to withdraw from the race. Even broaching the subject would be grounds for excommunication from the party.

The Democratic party is a functioning institution, with checks and balances; constituencies and power structures. Like any institution, it is amorphous and its decision making is mostly organic.

The Republican party is an autocracy where the only thing that matters is the will of the leader. All power flows through him. All decisions are made by him. There are no competing power centers—only vassal states overseen by his noblemen.

7. Harris is an underdog.

One of the reasons the last three weeks have been so difficult is because Democrats were not choosing between a “good” outcome and a “bad” outcome. 

Those sorts of choices are easy.

Instead, Democrats were tasked with deciding between least-bad options. Humans rebel against the idea of “least-bad.” When faced with choices, we want to believe that at least one of them is “good.”

When the first real Harris-vs.-Trump polling comes out next week we’ll see how big of a hole she’s in. But unlike Biden, Harris has the ability to spend the next three months on offense, all day, every day. If she can deliver the goods, she has a puncher’s chance.

2. In Praise of Biden

A slight push-back against those who believe Biden took too long to step aside:

It was three and a half weeks from the debate to Biden pulling out. That’s it.

Joe Biden is the president, but he’s also just a man. Coming to a decision like this one—an unprecedented decision—is hard. There’s a lot to weigh and there’s a tremendous responsibility to get it right.

My own view is that Biden made the call basically as quickly as possible. He couldn’t have done it the week of the NATO summit. Then Trump was shot in the ear. Then there was the Republican convention. To my mind, Biden’s timing on this was optimal, actually.

Nothing about Joe Biden’s presidency was inevitable. Not his candidacy. Not his victory over Trump. Not his withdrawal from reelection.

At nearly every turn, Biden did the right thing for America.

His legacy is assured. He will be remembered as one of the great modern presidents.

I said this last night and I’ll say it again. History had its eye on Joe Biden, and he met the moment. He did his part. Now it’s up to Kamala Harris and us to do ours.

This is the moment. Live it with us.

Categories Biden, Courage, Democracy, Democrats, Elections, Ethics, Extremism, Harris, Kamala, History, Hope, Republicans, Trump

Peter Greene on a Bill to Ban Federal Funding of For-Profit Charter Schools

By dianeravitch
July 11, 2024 //
6

Peter Greene wrote in Forbes about a bill just introduced in the House of Representatives to ban federal funding of for-profit charters. He explains how some ostensibly non-profit charters are actually managed by for-profits. Will Congress have the gumption to stop profiteering in charter world? Expect fierce opposition from the charter lobby. Bottom line: charter schools claim to be “public schools.” Public schools do not operate for profit.

He begins:

In almost every corner of the U.S., charter schools are non-profit. And yet, there are numerous ways to run a non-profit for profit.

In two reports (Chartered for Profit and Chartered for Profit II), the Network for Public Education showed numerous examples of the most common techniques. Some charters lease their buildings back from related businesses. In one New York case, a chartering organization leased a space from the diocese, then leased that space to its own charter school for over ten times the amount it was paying.

There are “sweeps” contracts, where a non-profit charter hires a for-profit management organization to handle everything, in return for nearly every dollar the charter takes in. As one EMO contract cited in the report states, it receives “as renumeration for its services an amount equal to the total revenue received” by the school “from all revenue sources.”

In many cases, a non-profit charter school simply serves as a pass through for money headed to a for-profit business.

Why be concerned? Because every dollar spent on students is a dollar that the company doesn’t get to keep. Every dollar that makes it into the classroom doesn’t make it into the company’s pocket. When profit-making businesses provide human services, there is a conflict of interest between the company and its customers.

Don’t public school districts use for-profit contractors? They do, particularly for big ticket items such as for preparation and bus service. But those contracts are overseen and approved by elected school board members who are responsible for looking after the interests of the students, not the vendors. Nor do public schools contract with vendors to conduct the main business of the school.

To address the issue of charter schools operated for a profit, United States Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Representative Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) this month introduced the Championing Honest and Responsible Transparency in Education Reform (CHARTER) Act. Said DeLauro,

The CHARTER Act would ensure that for-profit education management organizations can no longer jump through loopholes that have given them access to funding that has always been intended for nonprofit entities. Educating our children should be for their enrichment and future prosperity – not to maximize the profits of their owners and investors.

The bill adds to the definition of a charter school given in Section 4310 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. In addition to the other qualifiers already in the federal definition of a charter school, the bill would add that a charter school

does not enter into a contract with a for-profit entity, or have a charter management organization or other nonprofit entity enter into such a contract on behalf of such school, under which the for-profit entity operates, oversees, manages, or otherwise carries out the administration of such school, which may include curriculum development, budget management, and faculty management (such as hiring, terminating, or supervising school-level staff);

The bill also specifies that a charter school may contract for food, payroll, facilities maintenance, transportation services, classroom supplies or other ancillary services.

The bill then goes on to require the amended definition be used for ESEA and IDEA, thereby blocking charters that don’t meet the amended definition from receiving any federal funds.

The issue of charters operated for profit has been addressed before, when the Biden administration tightened rules governing the Charter School Program grants handed out by the federal government. Those changes required charters to be more transparent about where the money was going, and the grantee had to offer assurances that a for-profit CMO “does not exercise full or substantial control” over the school.

If the CHARTER Act gains traction in Congress, it will continue this trend of seeking greater assurance that federal dollars sent to charter schools will find their way to the classroom, and not some for-profit company’s bank account.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Courage, Education Industry, For-Profit

Jim Hightower: We Can’t Let the Supreme Court Destroy Our Democracy

By dianeravitch
July 10, 2024 //
30

Jim Hightower, activist Democrat and former elected official in Texas, says it’s time for “Do-It-Yourself Democracy.” We can’t sit back and let Trump’s Supreme Court whittle away our rights and laws.

He writes:

It’s July 4th week!

Sure, do a few 12-ounce elbow bends and set off some sparklers in celebration of our people’s democratic values. But wait – why are we celebrating the Spirit of ‘76, but meekly accepting the recent tsunami of autocratic, plutocratic dictates from a sextet of extremist, right-wing, partisan lawyers? 

These six unelected Republicans, put on the Supreme Court by a tiny group of billionaire-funded political operatives, are routinely imposing their anti-woman, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-worker, anti-environment, theocratic agendas on the vast majority of us who want none of the above.

Start with the fact that they are liars. Each one duped senators into giving lifetime appointments to them by loudly promising that they would never even consider rewriting the fundamental laws and legal precedents that form the egalitarian fabric of American society. Nor, each insisted, would they ever dream of being a part of a cabal working to turn the judicial branch into a repressive force routinely eliminating democratic power in order to erect a government of-by-and-for right-wing elites.

Then they proceeded, case-by-case, to do exactly what they swore on their honor they would not do. And now, with yesterday’s Trump v. United States edict, the six have haughtily attempted to rewrite the Constitution and 248 years of our People’s history by proclaiming, on their own whim, that America has an imperial presidency with executive authority to act with impunity.

We the People do not have to put up with their imperious crap. 

They’ve turned the Supreme Court into a political operation – so it’s the duty of us grassroots democracy champions to fight their usurpation, not only in the presidential race, but carrying the fight into every political forum. Don’t wait on national “leaders” – they lack the guts for standing up to runaway power. 

And while no individual can fix our democracy, a movement can. I think of a small hardware store here in Austin that had a can-do attitude, offering to help customers handle even the biggest tasks. The store’s slogan was “Together, we can do it yourself.” 

We’re collecting actions that grassroots people can take, and are collaborating with longtime friends and allies to light a fire under the butts of Democratic Party leaders. We’ll keep you updated on those efforts, but to start, here are two groups to join up with.

Share

Demand Justice has been advocating for the Judiciary Act, which would expand the court by four seats. They’re asking people to call their representatives, and to join their rapid response team. 

We’ve long been a fan of Lisa Graves (you can watch our 2022 Chat ‘n’ Chew episode with her here), and she’s teamed up with the folks at Court Accountability for a new round of intense actions called Justice Can’t Wait. They’ve shared with us a list of things you can do:

  • Share the Justice Can’t Wait updatedwebsite.
  • Raise awareness of the seeds being planted by Trump and his allies to deny the results of the 2024 election if it doesn’t go their way. Trump has refused to commit to accepting legitimate election results if he does not win, and his allies are laying the groundwork for election denial through lawsuits and false claims about election fraud.
  • Urge Congress to pass reforms clarifying the Insurrection Act, which Trump plans to invoke to deploy the military against the American people, on his first day in office.
  • Share Stand Up America’s Supreme Court Voter website, which aims to educate and mobilize voters on the impact the next president will have on the future of the U.S. Supreme Court.
  • Educate Americans on the economicthreats that the extremist Project 2025 poses. Economic concerns “consistently rank as top issues among likely voters,” and people need to understand the likely consequences and chaos for our economy and American families if Project 2025 affiliates are able to carry out their dangerous agenda.
  • Join United for Democracy in calling on Congress to rein in the out-of-control Supreme Court.
  • Drive home that this is Trump’s Supreme Court. Trump installed the corporatist majority that has taken away women’s fundamental freedoms and stripped away protections for Americans’ health and safety. Even after Trump led an insurrection, the Court that Trump built is now tipping the scales to help him win again in November and protect him from accountability for his actions.  
  • From the Hightower staff: And let’s not forget how the Supremes view actual bribery: as nothing more than a tip or a token of thanks for a job well done. They’re basically creating loopholes to legalize their own corruption!
Categories Civil Rights, Courage, Democracy, Education Reform, Justice, Trump

Arkansas: Volunteers Collect Enough Signatures to Put Abortion on the Ballot

By dianeravitch
July 5, 2024 //
6

In the first post today, I wrote that people in Arkansas were trying to collect enough signatures to get a state referendum on abortion. They did it! Under the malign leadership of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and a Republican legislature, the state government passed a highly restrictive abortion law.

The Arkansas Times writes:

They did it. They did it on a shoestring budget, with no organizational support from national groups. Just Arkansas women with clipboards, hustling.

With 100,000 signatures in hand and more still being counted, backers of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment say they’ve got the numbers they need to put reproductive rights on the November ballot. And so far 53 counties reached the qualifying minimum, more than the state’s required 50.

Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the Arkansas Abortion Amendment, will turn in petitions at the Arkansas Capitol today.

They’ll be bringing roughly 10,000 more than the 90,704 required to get on the ballot, although the number will certainly change as employees with the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office cull duplicates and weed out names of people who aren’t registered voters. There’s a cushion built into the calendar that gives volunteers another 30 days to collect more signatures to make up for any that are nixed by the state.

It’s easy to feel gloomy about politics in a red state that only seems to get redder. But today there is genuine cause to celebrate. It is only a first step in the process of restoring reproductive rights. But what a step! This is how you claw your state back from the tsk-tsking forced birthers who would gladly stand by while rape victims, pregnant children and women carrying non-viable pregnancies suffer unspeakably.

And they did it without glamorous celebrity endorsements or the financial muscle of major national groups. This effort was driven by smart and tireless Arkansas women who weren’t dissuaded by naysayers or the failure of national groups like Planned Parenthood or the American Civil Liberties Union to send them any cash.

On Friday morning Lauren Cowles, executive director of Arkansans for Limited Government, told supporters to celebrate a little bit, but be ready to work a lot between now and November:

We are grateful for and inspired by Arkansans, across all 75 counties, who signed the petition to put this amendment before voters in November. We believe that healthcare is personal and private. Bodily autonomy and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship are values that transcend party politics, economics, and religion. Healthcare decisions, including decisions about reproductive health, should be made between patients and their healthcare team. 

Right now, Arkansas is the most dangerous place in the country to be pregnant. Not only does Arkansas have the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, nearly half of Arkansas counties are maternity healthcare deserts, meaning they have no obstetric providers or options for delivery care. Arkansas deserves better than that.

This campaign is made up of Arkansas women and mothers, Arkansas healthcare professionals, and Arkansas faith leaders. We are grateful for their support. I want to recognize our 800+ courageous volunteers. Despite frequent harassment and intimidation, they worked tirelessly for months to ensure that we could reach interested signers in every corner of the state. Their relentless efforts, unwavering dedication, and unyielding passion inspires hope for a better Arkansas.

We are proud of our fellow Arkansans for rejecting the state’s extreme abortion ban and taking the first, important step towards protecting pregnant women now and in the future. We celebrate our accomplishments today, but on Monday we get back to work because women’s lives are at stake. The hardest job is ahead of us, and we will not fail. 

The Arkansas Times warns that anti-abortion groups will pull every trick in the book to smear and derail the referendum. Great thing about referenda is that they allow voters to speak out on issues where politicians don’t listen. That’s why every state referendum on school vouchers has failed.

Categories Arkansas, Courage, Elections, Gender, Health

Re-Elect Chris Reykdal as Superintendent of Public Instruction in Washington

By dianeravitch
June 5, 2024 //
4

At last, a state superintendent who is a passionate advocate for public schools! Chris Reykdal is running for re-election, and he richly deserves it.

Chris is a graduate of public schools and wants every child in Washington to have the opportunities he had.

He has been an amazingly effective leader and advocate for the state’s public schools. While other states are squandering money on choice, which subsidizes religious schools and wealthy parents’ tuition payments, Washington has focused on improving its public schools, whose doors are open to all. You can read about the progress made in recent years in the endorsement of Chris by NPE Action.

I am happy to add my personal endorsement of Chris Reykdal. It’s thrilling to know that he is working every day to improve the public schools, which enroll 90% of the state’s children.

Chris is a leader with knowledge, experience, wisdom, and vision. Washington’s students and teachers need him.

NPE Action is proud to endorse Chris Reykdal for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction. Chris began his professional career as a public school teacher. He served on a local school board, spent fourteen years as an executive in Washington’s public community and technical college system, served six years in the Legislature, and for the last seven years as Washington State School Superintendent. Chris has experienced education in Washington from nearly every perspective. Chris strongly believes that public education is the great equalizer. He will not yield to those who attack Washington’s  public schools for their personal gain.

In the six years that Chris has been the Washington Superintendent for Public Instruction, the state has seen several major achievements. Graduation rates are at an all-time high and the state college remediation rates are at an all-time low. Chris has fought hard to make sure more children have free school meals and as a result free school meals are given to over 300,000 additional students. During his tenure, Washington has increased funding to support students with disabilities and Washington has the highest number of students with disabilities learning in general education classrooms.

Chris has goals for the next four years that are centered around children and he will ensure that Washington public schools remain public. Chris believes that there is no greater fight in Washington’s public education system than to ensure schools are publicly funded, publicly operated, and publicly accountable. Chris will lead the state to maintain focus in all policy and budget matters to focus on closing opportunity gaps. 

Chris Reykdal is the benefactor of a state and a community that was committed to giving him opportunity, and he wants that for every child in Washington state. NPE Action urges public education supporters in Washington to get out the vote for Chris Reykdal in the primary election on August 6th. 

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee. Authorized and paid for by Network for Public Education Action, PO Box 227. New York, NY 10156. 646-678-4477

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Courage, Creativity, Education Reform, Elections, Supporting public schools, Washington State

Ken Burns on the Lessons of Life and History

By dianeravitch
June 2, 2024 //
24

The filmmaker and historian Ken Burns has produced some of the best documentaries ever shown on American television. He has brought history to life with gripping stories of people and momentous events. He is the master of the voice of ordinary people, many of whom are extraordinary.

He recently gave the Commencement speech at Brandeis University. It’s one of the best I have ever read or heard. Here is the link. Read it or listen to it. It’s magnificent.

A memorable paragraph about the current moment:

There is no real choice this November. There is only the perpetuation, however flawed and feeble you might perceive it, of our fragile 249-year-old experiment or the entropy that will engulf and destroy us if we take the other route. When, as Mercy Otis Warren would say, “The checks of conscience are thrown aside and a deformed picture of the soul is revealed.” The presumptive Republican nominee is the opioid of all opioids, an easy cure for what some believe is the solution to our myriad pains and problems. When in fact with him, you end up re-enslaved with an even bigger problem, a worse affliction and addiction, “a bigger delusion”, James Baldwin would say, the author and finisher of our national existence, our national suicide as Mr. Lincoln prophesies. Do not be seduced by easy equalization. There is nothing equal about this equation. We are at an existential crossroads in our political and civic lives. This is a choice that could not be clearer.

Categories Citizenship, Courage, Creativity, Democracy, Environment, Freedom, History

Idaho: High School Graduate Offers Banned Book to Superintendent at Commencement

By dianeravitch
June 1, 2024 //
24

A high school student in Idaho peaceably performed a quiet but powerful protest against censorship at her graduation ceremonies. For her courage, her commitment to freedom to read, and her sheer chutzpah, I add the name of Annabelle Jenkins to the honor roll of this blog.

An Idaho high school graduate staged an unusual form of protest at her graduation when she offered a book to the school district’s superintendent, who had banned it months earlier.

Annabelle Jenkins was one of 44 graduates to have her name called during the Idaho Fine Arts Academy graduation ceremony on May 23.

After she shook hands with administrators on the stage, Jenkins paused in front of West Ada School District Superintendent Derek Bub and pulled out “The Handmaid’s Tale” from the sleeve of her graduation gown.

Bub stood firm with his arms crossed and declined the book, leaving Jenkins to drop it at his feet as she moved across the stage.

The graphic novel version, written by Margaret Atwood and Renee Nault, was one of 10 the school district banned from its libraries earlier in the academic year over its graphic imagery, deemed unsuitable for the student body.

I hope that Annabelle read the full text version of the book, in addition to the banned graphic novel.

Categories Censorship, Character, Citizenship, Courage, Creativity, Democracy, Ethics, Freedom to Read, Grit, Honor Roll, Idaho, Literature

Jack Burgess: How War Ends

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2024 //
4

Jack Burgess, retired teacher, military veteran, added his own poem in the comments section. Thank you, Jack!

How War Ends

by Jack Burgess, Sp3, US Army, 894th Tank Battalion 

…and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. 

                             Isaiah

This is how war ends:

The guns stop everywhere.

Fifty-ton tanks roll to a stop,

war ships dock,

fighters and bombers come down from the sky,

and two moments of silence follow.

The war dead honored by the first,

the 2nd silence is for reflection,

for hearing frogs, and your own breath.

This is followed by a single voice,

then a murmur. Screwdrivers and crow bars

come out, and the green tanks are

dismantled, gas siphoned for school buses.

Troop ships sail home from a hundred shores,

so that husbands and wives can kiss unvirtually,

and children see the strong eyes of their fathers,

feel their love and their arms about them.

Uniforms become keepsakes and relics.

All flags are fine and flying.

Those in congresses clear their throats

apologetically and say, “What shall we do with

the leftover money?”  Children with swollen bellies,

working as lobbyists, shout, “Food!” Others say,

“Let’s build a thousand new schools and parks.” 

Lots of people hug and dance

and make love.  Some cry.

The news is good at 6:00 o’clock.

More at 11:00.

Categories Courage, Creativity, Hope, Joy

“Democracy”: A War Hero Who Deserves To be Honored

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2024 //
9

Our reader “Democracy” offered this comment, citing a post on another blog, EmptyWheel:

This piece at emptywheel was a goodie too:

“Memorial Day has its roots in the US Civil War, and has expanded to include remembrance of all those who have served their country… Hugh Thompson, Jr., Glenn Andreotta, and Lawrence Colburn were three members of the US Army, who received the Soldiers Medal on March 6, 1998 for their actions 30 years earlier…for their actions in 1968, Thompson. Andreotta, and Colburn received the Soldier’s Medal, given to ‘any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, including Reserve Component soldiers not serving in a duty status at the time of the heroic act, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving conflict with an enemy.’”

“Thompson’s medal was awarded with this description:

Soldier’s Medal, Hugh C. Thompson, Jr., then Warrant Officer One, United States Army:

‘For heroism above and beyond the call of duty on 16 March 1968, while saving the lives of at least 10 Vietnamese civilians during the unlawful massacre of noncombatants by American forces at My Lai, Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam. Warrant Officer Thompson landed his helicopter in the line of fire between fleeing Vietnamese civilians and pursuing American ground troops to prevent their murder. He then personally confronted the leader of the American ground troops and was prepared to open fire on those American troops should they fire upon the civilians. Warrant Officer Thompson, at the risk of his own personal safety, went forward of the American lines and coaxed the Vietnamese civilians out of the bunker to enable their evacuation. Leaving the area after requesting and overseeing the civilians’ air evacuation, his crew spotted movement in a ditch filled with bodies south of My Lai Four. Warrant Officer Thompson again landed his helicopter and covered his crew as they retrieved a wounded child from the pile of bodies. He then flew the child to the safety of a hospital at Quang Ngai. Warrant Officer Thompson’s relayed radio reports of the massacre and subsequent report to his section leader and commander resulted in an order for the cease fire at My Lai and an end to the killing of innocent civilians. Warrant Officer Thompson’s Heroism exemplifies the highest standards of personal courage and ethical conduct, reflecting distinct credit on him, and the United States Army.’”

There are Heroes, and Then There are Heroes

Categories Courage, Ethics

Memorial Day, 2024

By dianeravitch
May 27, 2024 //
20

Today is a day to remember and honor those who gave their lives and suffered for the sake of our nation. Young men and women enlist in the military to serve their country, and we owe them our gratitude.

We honor their sacrifice but not war itself. War represents a failure of reason, a failure of negotiations. In the face of aggression, war becomes necessary to preserve life and liberty. In the face of greedy and power-hungry fascists like Hitler and Putin, democracies go to war to avoid being conquered and subdued by them.

We have fought just wars, and we have fought unjust wars. It’s usually easier to know which is which when it’s over. Hindsight is 20/20 vision.

In honoring those who fought for our country, we honor them, not war.

I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell.

William Tecumseh Sherman

Go to the parades, fly the flag of our nation (not the flag of insurrectionists), read the Constitution and its amendments. Do your part as a citizen to strengthen our democracy and protect our freedoms in your community, your city, your state, and our nation.

Categories Courage, Democracy, Disruption
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