tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47230935364367193912024-03-21T21:30:14.132-07:00National Public Voice EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO SAY, AND A STORY TO TELLBetsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.comBlogger304125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-78135878000001130302023-11-02T07:44:00.001-07:002023-11-02T07:44:20.103-07:00Larry Sand on The Failure of Government-Run Education<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KZ-XeQuGNeXZ7I-kEMeoZ8nQaDdcvdOEotNqUJofkind-W4GTv2m0PAEM_Q-jhGGXgLPEf6fJ1lINLc9HiCLgkOlf2RD9oXZbFbKdXApO83h4xTP48uHSz5PHxb3_tGiyKhX3bq95suA8B__Zh1DLCOiKaO4OgYwwltr-KkwxJzCz1eiH4RzmEOdtGg/s601/Failure-public%20schools.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="364" data-original-width="601" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KZ-XeQuGNeXZ7I-kEMeoZ8nQaDdcvdOEotNqUJofkind-W4GTv2m0PAEM_Q-jhGGXgLPEf6fJ1lINLc9HiCLgkOlf2RD9oXZbFbKdXApO83h4xTP48uHSz5PHxb3_tGiyKhX3bq95suA8B__Zh1DLCOiKaO4OgYwwltr-KkwxJzCz1eiH4RzmEOdtGg/w400-h243/Failure-public%20schools.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">picture: <a href="http://pennlive.com">pennlive.com</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><h1 style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: Merriweather !important; font-size: 2.66667em; line-height: 1; margin: 0px 0px 0.833333em; text-align: center !important;"><a href="https://heartland.org/opinion/if-public-education-were-a-business-it-would-be-bankrupt/">If Public Education Were a Business, It Would Be Bankrupt</a></h1><div><img alt="" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" decoding="async" height="150" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" src="https://heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Larry-Sand-Cropped-150x150.png" srcset="https://heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Larry-Sand-Cropped-150x150.png 150w, https://heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Larry-Sand-Cropped-250x250.png 250w, https://heartland.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Larry-Sand-Cropped.png 301w" style="border-radius: 100rem; color: grey; float: left; font-family: "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 20px; height: auto; margin-right: 1rem; max-width: 100%; width: 4rem;" width="150" /><div class="zn-authors" style="color: grey; font-family: "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><span class="zn-meta-name" style="font-size: 0.875rem;">By</span> <a href="https://heartland.org/about-us/who-we-are/larry-sand/" style="color: #194261; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Larry Sand</a></div><div class="zn-date" style="color: grey; font-family: "Proxima Nova", sans-serif; font-size: 20px;"><span class="zn-meta-name" style="font-size: 0.875rem;">Published</span> October 31, 2023</div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">There has been, for some time now, optimism about a post-Covid recovery for American public school students, but sadly, there is no good news to be had.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Looking through a long lens, government-run education has been an enterprise rife with failure. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_on_Excellence_in_Education#:~:text=The%20National%20Commission%20on%20Excellence,Seaborg.">The National Commission on Excellence in Education</a> released a report in 1983 titled “<a href="http://edreform.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/A_Nation_At_Risk_1983.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">A Nation at Risk</a>,” which used <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/40-years-ago-a-nation-at-risk-flagged-a-rising-tide-of-mediocrity-in-schools/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">dire language</a>, asserting that “the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.”</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">The report also stated: “If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.”</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Well, that war is still on, and it has been a massacre. A Gallup poll from earlier this year revealed that just <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/508169/historically-low-faith-institutions-continues.aspx" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">26% of Americans</a> have a “great deal/fair amount” of confidence in public schools. To wit….</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">ACT scores</span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">The average scores on the American College Testing (ACT) exams, which are used for college admission, have <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/four-things-to-know-about-lowest-act-scores-in-more-than-three-decades/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">fallen the last six years in a row</a> and are the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/act-scores-college-admissions.html" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">worst since 1991</a>. The average scores for reading, math, and science all fell below benchmark levels that are necessary for students to have a chance at succeeding in their first year of college.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">To make things even worse, the education establishment’s “fix” for the problem is to put lipstick on the proverbial pig. According to an ACT research report, while students’ ACT scores have deteriorated, student <a href="https://twitter.com/MrDanielBuck/status/1716778628560687562/photo/1" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">course grades have increased</a> sharply.</p><div class="pa-global-class pa-pl-7798 pa-pl-multiInsert" data-ci="5" data-pli="7798" id="pa-container-5" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; justify-content: space-evenly; max-width: 670px; pointer-events: none; position: relative; width: 670px; z-index: 10;"><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="7" id="pa-unit-7" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="8" id="pa-unit-8" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">The K-12 proficiency problem</span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">The ACT downturn is hardly surprising if you look at the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, which show that nationwide, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2022/pdf/2023010NP8.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">29% of 8<span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span>-graders</a> are proficient in reading, and just <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/subject/publications/stt2022/pdf/2023011NP8.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">26 % are proficient in math</a>.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In California, the most recent Smarter Balanced test scores released in late October indicate that just <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/california-student-test-scores-change-little-from-last-years-low/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">46.7% of students are meeting literacy standards</a>, and a meager 34.6% are proficient in math. The tests are given to all students in grades 3–8 and grade 11.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Big cities, notably, are not faring well. In <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-10-18/most-california-students-fall-short-of-grade-level-standards-in-math-and-reading-scores-show" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Los Angeles</a>, proficiency rates are 41.2% in English and a paltry 30.5% in math.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In Chicago, minorities are especially poorly educated, with <a href="https://wirepoints.org/new-cps-data-mayor-lightfoot-chicago-teachers-union-continue-to-keep-dozens-of-empty-failing-schools-open-wirepoints/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">11% of Black and 17% of Hispanic students reading at grade level</a>.</p><div class="pa-global-class pa-pl-7758 pa-pl-multiInsert" data-ci="2" data-pli="7758" id="pa-container-2" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; float: left; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; max-width: 970px; pointer-events: none; position: relative; width: 970px; z-index: 10;"><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7758" data-pli="7758" data-ui="2" id="pa-unit-2" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 969.997px;"></div></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">But Los Angeles and Chicago schools are exemplary compared to Baltimore, where the latest NAEP scores show that just <a href="https://www.mdpolicy.org/research/detail/better-off-truant" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">10% of 4<span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span>-graders and 15% of 8<span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span>-graders</a> are proficient in reading. Additionally, at 13 Baltimore high schools, <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/project-baltimore/at-13-baltimore-city-high-schools-zero-students-tested-proficient-on-2023-state-math-exam" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">not one student tested proficient</a> on the 2023 state math exam.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">Students aren’t showing up</span><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Additionally, as reported by <em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">The 74</em>, <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/post-pandemic-2-out-of-3-students-attend-schools-with-high-chronic-absenteeism/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">two out of three students</a> were enrolled in public schools with high or extreme rates of chronic absenteeism during the 2021-22 school year – more than double the rate in 2017-18. Students who miss at least 10% of the school year – for any reason – are considered chronically absent.<span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Also, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_203.20.asp" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">35 states</a> and more than two-thirds of school districts are serving <a href="https://www.the74million.org/school-staffing-map/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">fewer students</a> than they did five years before the pandemic shutdowns. Six and a half million more students missed at least <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/high-2021-22-chronic-absenteeism-levels-2022-23/696481/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">10% or more of school days</a> in the 2021-22 year than in 2017-18, which translates to 14.7 million students being chronically absent.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/accountability/article_07e9a9c6-c034-58b7-b1b0-a6f3a35531fa.html" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Ohio</a>, the student absentee rate has almost tripled in the past six years. Nearly 34%, or 565,651 students, were chronically absent in 2022. In <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/funding-spending/article_e29133ad-af36-5b43-b1c9-07ea593736b7.html" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Chicago</a>, a third of the city’s schools are at less than 50% capacity.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">Why are students ditching school?</span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">While there are many reasons for the great uptick in absenteeism, the education establishment is the prime factor. Most recently, schools abandoned their mission by hysterically shutting down as a response to Covid, thus alienating many families.</p><div class="pa-global-class pa-pl-7798 pa-pl-multiInsert" data-ci="6" data-pli="7798" id="pa-container-6" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; justify-content: space-evenly; max-width: 670px; pointer-events: none; position: relative; width: 670px; z-index: 10;"><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="9" id="pa-unit-9" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="10" id="pa-unit-10" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Also, the stress on whacked-out sexuality is certainly a contributor to absent kids. Many parents don’t want to subject their child to the <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/608359678/NEA-Pronoun-Guide" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">National Education Association Pronoun Guide</a>, which uses silly terms like “ze, zim and zer.”</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In Illinois, the Evanston–Skokie school district has adopted a curriculum that teaches pre-K through 3rd-grade students to “<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21694116-evanston-prek-3rd?responsive=1&title=1" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">break the binary</a>” of gender.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/oregons-proposed-k-12-health-standards-want-6th-graders-to-define-sex-acts/article_d84a0b66-386b-11ee-9bb3-33d4e16ec5aa.html?seyid=83294#Signup" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Oregon</a>, the State Department of Education’s health standards may soon require 6th-grade students to be able to define “<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/standards/health/Documents/Oregon%20Health%20Standards%20Public%20Comment%20Version%208.8.2023.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">sexual and romantic orientations</a>” and “<a href="https://www.oregon.gov/ode/educator-resources/standards/health/Documents/Oregon%20Health%20Standards%20Public%20Comment%20Version%208.8.2023.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">vaginal, oral, and anal sex</a>” if implemented.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">The drive to indoctrinate students with BLM, CRT, DEI, and other Marxist-driven drivel has also played a role in the public school exit. In California, the new <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ma/cf/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">math framework</a> contends that mathematics should be used to “both understand and impact the world.” It argues that math teachers should hold the political position that “mathematics plays a role in the power structures and privileges that exist within our society and can support action and positive change.”</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Rhode Island’s current <a href="https://www.ride.ri.gov/InstructionAssessment/SocialStudies.aspx" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">social studies standards</a> define “how power can be distributed and used to create a more equitable society for communities and individuals based on their <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-blue-state-education-nightmare/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">intersectional identities</a>.”</p><div class="pa-global-class pa-pl-7758 pa-pl-multiInsert" data-ci="3" data-pli="7758" id="pa-container-3" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; float: left; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; max-width: 970px; pointer-events: none; position: relative; width: 970px; z-index: 10;"><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7758" data-pli="7758" data-ui="3" id="pa-unit-3" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 969.997px;"></div></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In Buffalo, NY, students are told that “all white people” perpetuate systemic racism, and kindergarteners were forced to watch a <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/failure-factory" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">video of dead black children</a>, warning them about “racist police and state-sanctioned violence,” which might kill them at any time.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">All the while, the number of teachers is increasing</span><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;"> </span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">The faux ongoing teacher union mantra about a “nationwide teacher shortage” is holding less water than ever these days. <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-schools-staff-up-as-student-enrollment-drops/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Marguerite Roza</a> is the Director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University. She tracks staffing at the nation’s public schools and explains that staffing has been on the upswing since the Great Recession of 2008, as schools added back staff that they had been forced to cut in the economic downturn.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Then came seven consecutive years of strong economic growth beginning in 2013, followed by the pandemic-fueled hiring bonanza. In 2020, the federal government sent more than $200 billion in pandemic recovery funds to schools, which hired additional counselors, interventionists (tutors), and aides and increased their reserves of substitute teachers. While not every school has increased staffing levels, Roza asserts, it’s a widespread national trend. Her organization produced graphs for six states – <a href="https://edunomicslab.org/staffing-v-enrollment-trends-2/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Texas, Washington and Pennsylvania</a> – that release their staffing and student enrollment data publicly. It could be years before complete national data is available.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Roza reports that in the past decade, the population of K-12 students in Massachusetts dropped by 42,000, but the number of school employees grew by 18,000. In Connecticut, public school enrollment fell 7% while staffing rose 8%. Even in states with expanding populations, school staff has been increasing far faster than students. In Texas, for example, there are now 367,000 more students, a 7% increase over the past decade, but the number of education employees has surged by more than 107,000, a 16% jump. Staffing is up 20% in Washington state, while the number of students has risen by less than 3%.<span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;"><em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"> </em></span></p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">While the massive hiring has done virtually nothing for students, it has successfully picked the pockets of the country’s already beleaguered taxpayers.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><span style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111827; font-weight: 700 !important;">“I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”</span></p><div class="pa-global-class pa-pl-7798 pa-pl-multiInsert" data-ci="7" data-pli="7798" id="pa-container-7" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; justify-content: space-evenly; max-width: 670px; pointer-events: none; position: relative; width: 670px; z-index: 10;"><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="11" id="pa-unit-11" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div><div class="pa-unit-global pa-pl-7798" data-pli="7798" data-ui="12" id="pa-unit-12" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; position: relative; z-index: 1;"><div class="pa-observer-px" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: 0px; left: 0px; pointer-events: none; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 0px;"></div></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Can you imagine if your local market sold inferior food, and was staffed by some wonderful people but the not-so-wonderful ones could not be fired due to union protections? And at the same time, they kept adding employees and sold even more inferior food – would you shop there? Of course not.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">In all likelihood, that store would go bankrupt. But when the government runs something, there’s an endless supply of taxpayer money for them to use and abuse.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;">Ronald Reagan once quipped, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: “<a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/media/128648/newsconference2.pdf" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;">I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.</a>” Those words from 1986 still ring true today, especially in the area of education. We need to get the government out of the ed biz ASAP.</p><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Larry Sand, a former classroom teacher, is the president of the non-profit </em><a href="http://www.ctenhome.org/" style="--tw-border-opacity: 1 !important; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-text-opacity: 1 !important; border-bottom-width: 2px !important; border-color: rgba(152,197,231,var(--tw-border-opacity)) !important; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none !important; transition: all 0.3s ease 0s;"><em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">California Teachers Empowerment Network</em></a><em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"> – a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers and the general public with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues. The views presented here are strictly his own.</em></p>Also from the Heartland Institute:<br /><br /><a href="https://heartland.org/opinion/how-public-schools-cement-power/">How Public Schools Cement Power</a><div><br /></div><div>From <a href="https://fee.org/">Foundation For Economic Education</a>:<br /><div><br /></div><div><h1 class="article-republish-title" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Montserrat !important; line-height: 1.1; margin: 0px 0px 15px;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://fee.org/articles/the-failure-of-american-public-education/">The Failure of American Public Education</a></span></h1><div><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><i>Betsy Combier</i></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-size: medium;">betsy@advocatz.com</span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; padding: 0px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: quot;">Editor, </span><span style="color: #582995;"><a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ADVOCATZ.com</span></a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;">Editor, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Parentadvocates.org</a></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Court Corruption</a></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">National Public Voice</a></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Public Voice</a></span><br /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot;"><span style="color: #1a222a; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></span></b></div></span></span></div></div><p style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #374151; font-family: "Source Serif Pro"; font-size: 18px; line-height: 2rem !important; margin: 1.33333em 0px;"><em style="--tw-border-opacity: 1; --tw-ring-color: rgba(59,130,246,0.5); --tw-ring-inset: var(--tw-empty,/*!*/ /*!*/); --tw-ring-offset-color: #fff; --tw-ring-offset-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-ring-offset-width: 0px; --tw-ring-shadow: 0 0 transparent; --tw-shadow: 0 0 transparent; border-color: rgba(229,231,235,var(--tw-border-opacity)); border-image: initial; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;"><br /></em></p></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-435382684991150562023-09-05T07:03:00.001-07:002023-09-05T07:03:09.726-07:00John Cox: In Education, Parents Matter - Not Politicians<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEgLGBiJi__NYFm9xybh7CT0GU07SSgoHwHT7Xk8uXHKfzkZ4gOo0zIdHiTC7OnO9IwS_skW2xz3wHPG6cmlAkXuLjqrm4JzdrdmphkUfd5NgZVII_RYPwdoNwYt3cckFCJYeoni7lHXalJOWIe6BSboGua0Q6nlhA8V4wv9vScEya_0QV2sBJQgLrUQ/s938/parents-politics-education.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="938" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijEgLGBiJi__NYFm9xybh7CT0GU07SSgoHwHT7Xk8uXHKfzkZ4gOo0zIdHiTC7OnO9IwS_skW2xz3wHPG6cmlAkXuLjqrm4JzdrdmphkUfd5NgZVII_RYPwdoNwYt3cckFCJYeoni7lHXalJOWIe6BSboGua0Q6nlhA8V4wv9vScEya_0QV2sBJQgLrUQ/w400-h231/parents-politics-education.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div class="figure-caption" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: BentonGothic, arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">From left, Christopher Edwards, Vianka Rosales and Nazanin Soroush peer into a classroom during the first day of school at the San Diego Cooperative Charter Schools on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021 in San Diego, CA.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: BentonGothic, arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large; text-align: start;"> </span><div class="figure-credit" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; font-family: BentonGothic, arial, "helvetica neue", helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 5px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ana Ramirez/The San Diego Union-Tribune)</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/commentary/story/2023-09-04/opinion-john-cox-california-political-system-failing-education-conservative">Opinion: America’s political system is failing. For evidence, look no further than our schools.</a></span><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: var(--service-font),arial,"helvetica neue",helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.375rem; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">John Cox, Sept 4, 2023</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: var(--service-font),arial,"helvetica neue",helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 1.375rem; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">Politicians from both parties like to sensationalize issues, which has no place in our education system.</span></p><p><span style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: bolder;"><i style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box;">Cox </i></span><i style="background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px;">is a businessman, 2018 Republican nominee for governor of California and chairman of the Rescue California Education Foundation. He lives in Rancho Santa Fe.</i></p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">America needs better leadership. Positive, dependable solutions that can be trusted.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Possible? Or just an exercise in futility? Election cycles are here again, featuring partisan polls, platitudes, promises and pandering that increasingly fall on deaf ears. The marketing overload will get heavier, too.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">The results are the same. Political parties, politicians, bureaucrats and special interests win. The people lose, except when getting bought with occasional “gifts”: rebates and relief money said to be from government, but paid by taxes from the people, just in time to buy votes. Redistribution in its purest form.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Why does this keep happening? Because the deck is stacked. With lightning speed, assisted by rampant government power grabs during the seasons of COVID-19 and the growth of blatantly biased activist media, many Americans have become numb. Not just apathetic, but resigned to the idea that nothing they do changes much of anything.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">America’s education establishment is part of the problem. It’s more clear that many in our next generation have been marinating in radical policy and focusing on trivial social experiments rather than learning to understand our nation’s history, and a government by and for the people.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Education is the key to most ills of society and, frankly, our success as a nation. It’s not only the gateway to opportunity, but a prime element of a better life and the advancement of our nation’s standard of living.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Education is also necessary in order to keep up with worldwide competition, as other nations such as China, South Korea and countries in Europe mobilize to pass us as the leading economy and power in the world. That’s going to seriously affect our future.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">There are some bright spots, though. In several states, increasing numbers of parents are asserting their rights and bringing about positive results. In Virginia, such actions brought on a new governor and big legislative changes, with major focus on parental involvement in education. All in a place where political pundits assumed it just “couldn’t be done,” because the state had gone so far left that the right could never win again.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">In California, it’s going to take more work. Teachers unions have spent more than $300 million (and counting) over recent years. Not for education and the children, but for political advertising, lobbying and increased union power.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Meanwhile, politicians from both parties like to sensationalize issues, which has no place in our education system. This breeds history-erasing “cancel culture” moves. Today’s rhetoric about “book bans” are a prime example, with some leaders suggesting that keeping a book about sex out of the hands of an 8-year-old is somehow a “ban” while they endorse a drag queen show for an elementary school. And it’s considered controversial to fire ill-performing instructors. In no other service or industry does management put up with bad performers. But in our politically controlled education bureaucracy, evaluation based upon merit doesn’t happen.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">During the pandemic, students suffered through endless masking, remote classes and other experiments, impacting overall learning and adding psychological problems. The bonus to power brokers was seeing how people became more fearful, afraid to make a move without the government’s OK.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">The citizens are simply chess pieces on the board, there to be used in each “crisis” or election cycle.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">This is not how America is supposed to work. Elected officials and special interest are not a royal ruling class. Leaders are the people, not the “pros.”</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">Meanwhile, new alarm bells ring every day: The debt ceiling (signaling a dangerous national debt load), inflation, migrant surges at our borders, fentanyl, homelessness, crime and national security. We’re at a crisis level, and instead of true debates and long-form discussions of the things that matter most, it’s all about perception, image building and often flat-out lies and character assassination, watered down to 30 seconds or shorter ads.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px;">The current system is not working. It’s beyond time to get money and partisan politics out of our education process. Let’s agree that parents are more important to a child’s education than teacher unions or the politicians they control. It’s time to change this before citizens are left in the dustbin of history for all time.</p><p style="background-color: white; background-repeat: no-repeat; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "times new roman", times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 30px 0px 0px;">Let’s build innovative community solutions that dramatically change the balance of power and give it back to the people — before it’s too late.</p>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-86140612533815937162023-02-18T09:21:00.002-08:002023-02-18T12:59:10.518-08:00Andrew Cuomo and the COVID Hospital Ship<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVthA6vBH4hTfYdtBaI3_s6OD62VytoUB1YIk8qllnX85nDFfVXJszRk69KZdaXLR0cuFRUwdQVLsjGTcTl576Vf_kYWgphvSHz181ukvcm79GqKEQ-1k7ydhKN6FOE4bp3NWT_BLnjoJ2ZitKrfSFcHcyHNkUeRbFDXVJn9MOGaZhC_Iy-vxAx4Rq/s718/Cuomo-ship.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="574" data-original-width="718" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVthA6vBH4hTfYdtBaI3_s6OD62VytoUB1YIk8qllnX85nDFfVXJszRk69KZdaXLR0cuFRUwdQVLsjGTcTl576Vf_kYWgphvSHz181ukvcm79GqKEQ-1k7ydhKN6FOE4bp3NWT_BLnjoJ2ZitKrfSFcHcyHNkUeRbFDXVJn9MOGaZhC_Iy-vxAx4Rq/s320/Cuomo-ship.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #585858; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.14px; text-align: left;">Cuomo balked at the Vice Admiral's request.</span><span class="credit" face="Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #585858; display: block; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.17; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 0px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Pacific Press</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><h1 class="headline headline--single" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wp--preset--color--black); font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 2.625rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.05; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/top-navy-admiral-begged-melissa-derosa-to-fill-comfort-ship-during-covid-emails/">Top Navy admiral begged Melissa DeRosa to fill Comfort Ship during COVID: emails</a></h1><div aria-label="Byline" class="article-header__meta" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #585858; display: flex; flex-direction: row; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; justify-content: space-between; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wp--preset--color--black); font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">By <div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-jon-levine" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/top-navy-admiral-begged-melissa-derosa-to-fill-comfort-ship-during-covid-emails/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news_alert&utm_content=20230218?&utm_source=sailthru&lctg=6079a46a2bd6b2013b15f28e&utm_term=NYP%20-%20News%20Alerts#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jon Levine</a>, NY POST, February 18, 2023</div></div><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wp--preset--color--black); font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: var(--wp--preset--color--black); font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />A US Navy admiral begged the Cuomo administration to send patients to the nearly-empty hospital ship docked on the Hudson River during the height of the pandemic — but his pleas were met with politics and paranoia, The Post has learned.<br /><br />With city medical facilities packed with critically ill COVID patients in the spring of 2020 — and just days after the infamous edict by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to send COVID patients to nursing homes, which resulted in thousands of deaths — the Trump administration sent the USNS Comfort, a 1,000-bed ship, to relieve hospitals of patients with non-COVID illnesses.<br /><br />Another federal facility was set up in the Jacob Javits Center in midtown. Both famously sat mostly empty during their time of operation — with city, state and federal officials blaming each other for the issue at the time.<br /><br />But in a trove of recently unearthed government emails obtained by activist Peter Arbeeny and provided to The Post, a frustrated Vice Admiral Mike Dumont urged the Cuomo administration to act.<br /><br />“We could use some help from your office,” he wrote in an April 7, 2020 missive to Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa. “The Governor asked us to permit use of USNS COMFORT to treat patients without regard to their COVID status and we have done so. Right now we only have 37 patients aboard the ship. Further, we are treating only 83 patients at the Javits Events Center.<br /><br />“We have been trying for days to get the Health Evacuation Coordination Center (HECC) to transfer more patients to us but with little success. We are told by NYC officials the HECC falls under the State’s Department of Health,” the email continued. “Our greatest concern is two-fold: helping take the strain off local hospitals, and not wasting high-end capabilities the US military has brought to NYC. We appreciate the help.”<br /><br />Within minutes, DeRosa circulated the admiral’s message to the state’s top COVID officials, including Michael Kopy, director of New York’s emergency management office and city Health Commissioner Howard Zucker. Michael J. Dowling, the private CEO of Northwell Health, the state’s largest health care provider, was also tagged.<br /><br />Kopy, speaking for the state, became defensive — and blamed The Comfort for overly onerous regulations.<br /><br />“[HECC] are following criteria established by the comfort for admission to the comfort as well as criteria for the javits,” he wrote.<br /><br />DeRosa, sniffing a plot, pivoted to politics, telling the trio to be on guard and accusing Dumont of trying set up Team Cuomo to blame for the empty facilities.<br /><br />“They are setting this up to say that we are the reason the ship and javitts [sic] are empty –I’m going to loop you guys on the email. we need to make clear in writing that what he has written here is not true,” she told Kopy, Zucker and Dowling.<br /><br />Dumont, who retired in 2021, told The Post he was disheartened by DeRosa’s reaction, which was relayed to him by The Post.<br /><br />“It is discouraging to learn they completely misread and misunderstood the request for assistance,” he said. “We had neither the time nor the interest in setting anyone up for blame.<br /><br />“My request was solely to highlight the low numbers of patients being treated and ask for their help in better utilizing the military medical resources available. There was nothing in the request that was not truthful, and we never claimed anyone was preventing the transfer of patients to treatment sites provided by the US military. How they reached these conclusions is both perplexing and discouraging.”<br /><br />The flurry of communications between the officials took place just days after <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/03/19/federal-probe-into-nursing-home-covid-death-coverup-gets-closer-to-cuomo/">Cuomo’s executive order</a> forcing nursing homes to accept COVID positive patients. <a href="http://cuomo/">The March 25 order</a> led to at least 15,000 deaths. Team Cuomo justified the order by noting hospitals had been overfilled.<br /><br />Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), who reviewed the exchange of emails, said it followed a pattern by top Cuomo aides of “controlling the politics of the moment rather than actually fixing the problem.”<br /><br />“Everything was a conspiracy to attack the administration and I don’t think that is what the admiral or the US government intended,” Kim said.<br /><br />The Comfort arrived to much fanfare in New York City on March 30, 2020. New infections were spreading out of control, hospitals were overflowing with patients, and supplies were so short, first responders were reduced to <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/25/worker-at-nyc-hospital-where-nurses-wear-trash-bags-as-protection-dies-from-coronavirus/">wearing garbage bags</a>.<br /><br />In the end, however, the red tape proved too much for the ship, which only ever treated 182 patients before departing on April 30.<br /><br />“This was Trump’s federal government, which constantly played politics with everything related to New York and COVID and so it yes, it should shock no one that we were skeptical of their motives. As is evident from the emails, the red tape the admiral claimed prevented patient inflow did not exist. If his feelings were hurt, we’re sorry about that,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told The Post. DeRosa declined to comment.</span>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-78060282828177444252023-02-05T05:44:00.001-08:002023-02-05T05:45:15.942-08:00Pamela Paul: Congratulations To Stanford University For Cancelling the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY0OzEy7cS8R9GdcRsmtWs0YGlTOo-Rqqz0v0kipT1IGx_f14zIaQbQxLWOJeSdYUHUEvYdJ-lJJQnYJD5DWHb-Lz8yuA-IfSN84rxp9X-64PTKThZ1Z6jByxfGCCLx5M4dH0sueAcoVT5wrTJWGJ-AmkPBkxhsHrm9sfkoa0GNj7uBGadh99t7EN/s831/Forbidden-words.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="334" data-original-width="831" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY0OzEy7cS8R9GdcRsmtWs0YGlTOo-Rqqz0v0kipT1IGx_f14zIaQbQxLWOJeSdYUHUEvYdJ-lJJQnYJD5DWHb-Lz8yuA-IfSN84rxp9X-64PTKThZ1Z6jByxfGCCLx5M4dH0sueAcoVT5wrTJWGJ-AmkPBkxhsHrm9sfkoa0GNj7uBGadh99t7EN/w400-h161/Forbidden-words.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/03/opinion/free-speech-stanford.html">‘Hip Hip Hooray!’ Cheering News for Free Speech on Campus</a></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">OPINION, New York Times, Pamela Paul, February 3, 2023</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>The following is a celebration of the cancellation of the Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative, an attempt by a committee of I.T. leaders at Stanford University to ban 161 common words and phrases. Of those 161 phrases, I have taken pains to use 45 of them here. Read at your own risk.<br /><br /><br /></i>Is the media addicted to bad news? It’s not a dumb question, nor are you crazy to ask. After all, we follow tragedy like hounds on the chase, whether it’s stories about teenagers who commit suicide, victims of domestic violence or survivors of accidents in which someone winds up quadriplegic, crippled for life or confined to a wheelchair. We report on the hurdles former convicts face after incarceration, hostile attitudes toward immigrants and the plight of prostitutes and the homeless. Given the perilous state of the planet, you might consider this barrage of ill tidings to be tone-deaf.<br /><br />Well, I’m happy to report good news, for a change. You might call it a corrective, or a sanity check, but whatever you call it (and what you can call things here is crucial), there have been several positive developments on American campuses. The chilling effects of censorship and shaming that have trapped students between the competing diktats of “silence is violence” and “speech is violence” — the Scylla and Charybdis of campus speech — may finally be showing some cracks.<br /><br />Matters looked especially grim in December, when the internet discovered the 13-page dystopically titled “Elimination of Harmful Language Initiative.” A kind of white paper on contemporary illiberalism, it listed 161 verboten expressions, divided into categories of transgression, including “person-first,” “institutionalized racism” and the blissfully unironic “imprecise language.” The document offered preferred substitutions, many of which required feats of linguistic limbo to avoid simple terms like “insane,” “mentally ill” and — not to beat a dead horse, but I’ll add one more — “rule of thumb.” Naturally, it tore its way across the internet to widespread mockery despite a “content warning” in bold type: “This website contains language that is offensive or harmful. Please engage with this website at your own pace.”<br /><br />Before you get worked up, know this: A webmaster has taken <a href="https://itcommunity.stanford.edu/news/update-elimination-harmful-language-initiative-stanfords-it-community">the site</a> down and the program has been aborted for re-evaluation. Last month, in a <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/report/2023/01/04/it-website-in-the-news/">welcome display</a> of clear leadership, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Stanford’s president, said the policy, brainchild of a select committee of I.T. leaders, had never been intended as a universitywide policy and reiterated the school’s <a href="https://quadblog.stanford.edu/2017/11/07/advancing-free-speech-and-inclusion/">commitment to free speech</a>. “From the beginning of our time as Stanford leaders, Persis and I have vigorously affirmed the importance and centrality of academic freedom and the rights of voices from across the ideological and political spectrum to express their views at Stanford,” he wrote, referring to the school’s provost, Persis Drell. “I want to reaffirm those commitments today in the strongest terms.”<br /><br />Could this be a seminal moment for academic freedom? Consider other bright spots: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/19/arts/harvard-israel-antisemitism-roth.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare">Harvard recently </a>went ahead with its fellowship offer to Kenneth Roth, the former head of Human Rights Watch, which was earlier rejected, reportedly owing to his critical views on Israel. <a href="https://facultygovernance.mit.edu/sites/default/files/reports/20221221_MIT_Statement_on_Freedom_of_Expression_and_Academic_Freedom.pdf">M.I.T.’s faculty</a> voted to embrace a “Statement on Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom.” At Yale Law School, which has been <a href="https://www.vox.com/2015/11/7/9689330/yale-halloween-email">roiled</a> by repeated <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2022/03/23/law-student-protests-stifle-speakers-yale-uc-hastings">attempts to suppress speech</a>, a conservative lawyer <a href="https://freebeacon.com/campus/yale-law-school-bars-press-from-free-speech-panel-yes-really/">was allowed to</a> appear on a panel with a former president of the A.C.L.U. after protests disrupted her visit the year before. And <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/17/us/hamline-lawsuit-prophet-muhammad-religion.html">Hamline University</a>, which had refused to renew an art history professor’s contract because she showed an artwork that some Muslim students may have found offensive, walked back its characterization of her as “Islamophobic.”<br /><br />Finally, when an office within the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California <a href="https://dailytrojan.com/2023/01/11/dworak-peck-language-change-draws-mixed-reaction/">banned the terms</a> “fieldwork” and “in the field” to describe research projects because their “anti-Black” associations might offend some descendants of American slavery, U.S.C.’s interim provost <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/14/1148470571/usc-office-removes-field-from-curriculum-racist">issued a statement</a> that “The university does not maintain a list of banned or discouraged words.”<br /><br />It’s hard to know how much these shifting prohibitions distress students, whether freshman or senior, given how scared many are to speak up in the first place.<br /><br />But we do know two things: First, college students are suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues more than ever before, and second, fewer feel comfortable expressing disagreement lest their peers go on the warpath. It would be a ballsy move to risk being denounced, expelled from their tribe, become black sheep. No one can blame any teenager who has been under a social media pile-on for feeling like a basket case. Why take the chance?<br /><br />Yet when in life is it more appropriate for people to take risks than in college — to test out ideas and encounter other points of view? College students should be encouraged to use their voices and colleges encouraged to let them be heard. It’s nearly impossible to do this while mastering speech codes, especially when the master lists employ a kind of tribal knowledge known only to their guru creators. A normal person of any age may have trouble submitting, let alone remembering that “African American” is not just discouraged but verboten, that he or she can’t refer to a professor’s “walk-in” hours or call for a brown bag lunch, powwow or stand-up meeting with peers.<br /><br />“You can’t say that” should not be the common refrain.<br /><br />According to a 2022 <a href="https://knightfoundation.org/reports/college-student-views-on-free-expression-and-campus-speech-2022/">Knight Foundation</a> report, the percentage of college students who say free speech rights are secure has fallen every year since 2016, while the percentage who believe free speech rights are threatened has risen. Nearly two-thirds think the climate at school prevents people from expressing views that others might find offensive. But here, too, let’s convey some good news: The number of students who say controversial speakers should be disinvited has fallen since 2019. And one more cheering note: The editors of The Stanford Review, a student publication, <a href="https://stanfordreview.org/big-brother-is-watching-you-stanfords-new-harmful-language-guide/">poked gleefully</a> at the document before it was taken down, with the shared impulse — irresistible, really — of using a number of taboo terms in the process.<br /><br />Surely my ancestors from the ghettos of Eastern Europe couldn’t anticipate that their American descendants would face this kind of policing of speech at institutions devoted to higher learning. (While we’re on history, per the document, but news to all the Jews I know: “Hip hip hooray” was a term “used by German citizens during the Holocaust as a rallying cry when they would hunt down Jewish citizens living in segregated neighborhoods.”)<br /><br />Consider what learning can flourish under such constraints. In a speech last fall celebrating the 100th anniversary of PEN America, the novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie noted: “Many American universities are well-meaning in wanting to keep students comfortable, but they do so at the risk not just of creating an insular, closed space but one where it is almost impossible to admit to ignorance — and in my opinion the ability to admit to ignorance is a wonderful thing. Because it creates an opportunity to learn.”<br /><br />It is reasonable to wonder whether any conceivable harm to a few on hearing the occasional upsetting term outweighs the harm to everyone in suppressing speech. Or whether overcoming the relatively minor discomforts of an unintentional, insensitive or inept comment might help students develop the resilience necessary to surmount life’s considerably greater challenges — challenges that will are not likely to be mediated by college administrators after they graduate.<br /><br />Rather than muzzle students, we should allow them to hear and be heard. Opportunities to engage and respond. It’s worth remembering how children once responded to schoolyard epithets: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me.” Narrow restrictions on putatively harmful speech leave young people distracted from and ill-prepared for the actual violence they’ll encounter in the real world.</span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Pamela Paul became an Opinion columnist for The Times in 2022. She was the editor of The New York Times Book Review for nine years and is the author of eight books, including “100 Things We’ve Lost to the Internet.” </i></span></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-22268385086291958482023-01-20T06:47:00.044-08:002023-01-20T08:31:28.618-08:00Manhattan Institute On the Power of Teacher Unions Over School Board Elections<p><span style="font-size: medium;"> Are school boards under the influence of teacher unions?</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Michael Hartney at the Manhattan Institute says yes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">He writes,</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">"<span face="MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif">school board elections in the large and diverse states of California, New York, and Florida are neither pluralist nor dominated by a new breed of corporate school reformers or parents’-rights advocacy groups. Instead, I find that, with one important exception, school board elections continue to be dominated by teachers’ unions."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Betsy Combier</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">betsy@advocatz.com</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections">Still the Ones to Beat: Teachers’ Unions and School Board Elections</a></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Michael Hartney, October 27, 2022, Manhattan Institute Issue Brief</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Introduction<br /><br />Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation’s school boards were often praised as responsive and representative engines of American democracy. Especially when juxtaposed with our national and state political institutions, board members are portrayed as less polarized and less prone to special-interest capture. According to one widely cited study, not only are local school boards responsive to the preferences of ordinary Americans, but they are mostly immune from the influence of teachers’ unions that, these scholars conclude, do little to diminish the degree to which boards represent the public’s interest.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">1</a>]<br /><br />Experts aren’t the only ones who have tended to paint this rosy, pluralist perspective.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">2</a>] Teachers’ unions have also been reluctant to admit that they dominate school board elections, calling their clout more myth than reality. For example, education reporter Sameea Kamal recently interviewed a California Teachers Association (CTA) spokesperson who, in Kamal’s characterization, “disputed that teachers’ unions have too much influence over school boards, saying that ‘the real power resides in parents, educators, students and communities working together.’”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">3</a>]<br /><br />Occasionally, experts have acknowledged that school boards suffer from political inequality. Yet most of this criticism downplays union power and instead focuses on the lack of racial diversity on boards,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">4</a>] the power of business,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">5</a>] or the influence of homeowners.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">6</a>] Some scholars even claim that corporate influence in public education has grown stronger in recent years.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">7</a>] According to some of these critics, a neoliberal alliance of school choice advocates and corporate philanthropists is buying school board elections in its larger quest to privatize public education.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">8</a>]<br /><br />Contrary to these assessments, this paper marshals an array of evidence to show that school board elections in the large and diverse states of California, New York, and Florida are neither pluralist nor dominated by a new breed of corporate school reformers or parents’-rights advocacy groups. Instead, I find that, with one important exception, school board elections continue to be dominated by teachers’ unions.<br /><br />Drawing on a variety of evidence, this paper shows that:Teachers’ unions dominate local school board elections: they win seven out of 10 races.<br /> <br />Union support makes the difference for incumbents as well as challengers and is often more powerful than the incumbency advantage.<br /> <br />Nonpartisan elections enable union-favored candidates to win board seats in deep blue as well as deep red communities.<br /> <br />Contrary to some expectations, the Supreme Court’s Janus decision has not reduced union power and influence in school board politics. A full decade after the Tea Party–led union retrenchment movement, union-backed candidates still remain the ones to beat.<br /> <br />As parents’-rights groups seek to influence school board elections, the best evidence so far points to electoral reforms and gubernatorial advocacy as the most promising ways for these groups to counterbalance union power.<br /><br /><a href="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/still-the-ones-to-beat-teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections.pdf">DOWNLOAD PDF</a><br /><br />Why School Boards Matter<br /><br />Inattention to teachers’-union power in school board elections is not surprising. It is challenging to study local elections. Measuring union influence in these backwater elections is exceedingly difficult. University of California–Berkeley political scientist Sarah Anzia observes: “Research on local politics in the United States tends to ignore interest groups, and research on interest groups tends to ignore local government.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">9</a>]<br /><br />But the lack of good data is just one reason for this inattention. In recent decades, the increased centralization of American education drew scholarly and public attention away from local school districts and emphasized education politics at the state and federal levels.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">10</a>] But there are two important reasons to keep a close eye on teachers’-union electioneering in local school politics.<br /><br />First, the demise of local control in American education is greatly exaggerated. One need to look no further than the Covid-19 pandemic to see that the relationship between unions and school boards played a key role in prolonging school closures in the United States. Even after numerous studies showed that schools could reopen safely,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">11</a>] politicians learned how difficult it was to reopen schools when local boards and teachers’ unions resisted.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">12</a>] While more centralized education systems in other parts of the world reopened far more quickly, in America’s highly decentralized education system, the inability of school boards to ink reopening agreements with their local teachers’ unions played no small role in keeping half of all students out of school for a full year.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">13</a>] Education scholar Brad Marianno explains why we underestimate teachers’-union influence in education when we pay little attention to their power in school board politics: “There are far more education interest groups and competing education policy ideas at the state level, making it much more difficult for a single organization to garner a dominant voice among policymakers. When these [school reopening] decisions are brought down into local school board meetings, there remain only a few organizations that are organized enough to exert influence. The teachers’ unions are the largest elephant in the room.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">14</a>]</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Figure 1 illustrates these dynamics by comparing the amount of remote versus in-person instruction that students received relative to how generally active teachers reported that their local union is in local school board elections. As the figure shows, students who attended school in districts where their teachers’ unions are very active in electioneering were the least likely to receive significant in-person instruction during the 2020–21 school year.<br /><br />Figure 1<br /><br />Share of 2020–21 School Year Students Spent Learning Outside the Classroom by Teachers’ Unions Political Activity</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYSFLB31rsGl5ZmTNOBZL_BDy0oVl4xgFlYOoUQGChCPTQXCeCo5xI17aopnBa7LbRyMAwS4bmK4GZFvudjEiC7ohNRo3scIN6A3gv5LcGkLpyUnwUJWNp7btbZ1TFzCtzuECUbP1CdVnazJVjFyNiYlgIs-if5NvIWfCuhSVOsYxBsC4Hzs9SA0s/s768/MI%201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="669" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYSFLB31rsGl5ZmTNOBZL_BDy0oVl4xgFlYOoUQGChCPTQXCeCo5xI17aopnBa7LbRyMAwS4bmK4GZFvudjEiC7ohNRo3scIN6A3gv5LcGkLpyUnwUJWNp7btbZ1TFzCtzuECUbP1CdVnazJVjFyNiYlgIs-if5NvIWfCuhSVOsYxBsC4Hzs9SA0s/s320/MI%201.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><br /><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">A second reason to pay greater attention to unions in school board elections relates to their role in the policymaking process. Even when federal and state authorities enact promising reforms, school boards are often the ones that must implement them.[</span><a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes" style="font-size: large;">15</a><span style="font-size: large;">] Implementation is not just a technocratic process immune from interest-group politics. To the contrary, school board members can, and often do, face pressure (including electoral pressure) to satisfy the preferences of groups (like teachers’ unions) that remain among the most organized and active players in district politics.[</span><a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes" style="font-size: large;">16</a><span style="font-size: large;">] Narrowly focusing on federal and state politics will lead us to overlook all the important politicking that goes on beneath the radar.</span></figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Consider the claim that teachers’ unions lost political clout in recent years.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">17</a>] Proponents of this perspective often point to various education reform debates—on charter schools, teacher pay, and evaluation reform—that unions supposedly “lost” during the Bush and Obama years. But when one looks below the surface, many of those same reforms fizzled when local officials encountered resistance from teachers in the trenches. Even after states adopted tougher teacher evaluation laws, for example, most districts simply went through the motions—giving favorable ratings to most teachers and removing few low-performers.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">18</a>] Likewise, when states passed new laws encouraging districts to replace union-favored salary schedules with performance-based pay, districts tended to demur in the face of educator resistance.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">19</a>]<br /><br />Altogether, elected boards provide unions with another, often less competitive, political arena for them to shape education policy. Union power in American education, therefore, still hinges on the degree of influence that teachers’ unions can exert in school board elections. It is these elections that determine whether the officials who will implement education policies will be sympathetic to unions’ concerns or resistant to them.<br /><br />Union Supremacy or Political Pluralism: What Previous Research Shows<br /><br />Teachers’ unions attempt to shape the composition of school boards in two basic ways. First, they endorse candidates who they believe will be responsive to their members’ interests. Second, they recruit sympathetic educators and union members to serve on school boards. Has it worked? Here’s what existing research shows.<br /><br />The earliest studies were carried out by Stanford University’s Terry Moe in the early 2000s.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">20</a>] Drawing on a survey of about 500 candidates in more than 250 California school districts, Moe found that unions were enormously successful in getting their favored candidates (76% of them) elected to office. He also found that union support was as powerful a factor as incumbency in predicting whether a candidate won.<br /><br />Moe’s studies offered additional insights. First, he showed that occupational self-interest promoted union mobilization efforts. Teachers who lived outside the district where they taught were not very likely to vote in school board elections, which would elect board members for a district where they are not employed. But teachers who lived where they worked turned out anywhere from two to seven times more than other citizens. In short, Moe showed that the ability of unions to mobilize teachers to elect sympathetic politicians is driven by the rational self-interest of school employees—the chance for them to help elect their employers.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">21</a>]<br /><br />Evidence of this dynamic comes from other indicators, too. A few years after Moe did his California analysis, Rick Hess recalled how Moe’s 400-page treatise, Special Interest, “point[ed] out that the Michigan Education Association [had] distributed a 40-page instructional manual for local leaders that [was] entitled ‘Electing Your Own Employer, It’s as Easy as 1, 2, 3.’ ” Little wonder that “one high-ranking state union official” told Hess in an interview: “ ‘We knew the [public] school system wasn’t moving to Mexico,’ so there was no reason to work with the state negotiator on establishing a prudent salary structure.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">22</a>]<br /><br />Importantly, Moe’s research also showed that union electioneering creates the conditions for more union-friendly boards. Winning candidates who were endorsed by teachers’ unions held more pro-union attitudes, especially on collective bargaining issues, than unendorsed candidates who lost. A few years later, scholars Katharine Strunk and Jason Grissom found even more evidence that successful union electioneering begets more union-friendly board policymaking. Returning to California, these authors showed that school boards that were composed of more educators and more union-endorsed members adopted more union-friendly contracts.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">23</a>]<br /><br />Other research shows that teachers’ unions are quite successful at electing current and former educators (including their own members) to serve on school boards. My recent book, for example, examined nearly a dozen surveys of school board members that showed that more than 20% of all school board seats are held by current or former educators. About one in 10 boards in California were held by educator-majorities.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">24</a>]<br /><br />None of this is to say that teachers should not bring their expertise to the board table. Rather, it speaks to a lack of political pluralism in many districts. Former military officer Cara Marion, who lost her Florida school board election to a union-backed teacher-incumbent in August, put it this way: “We [elected school board members are] supposed to be a good cross-section of society. You know, people from all walks of life should sit on a board, not just career educators.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">25</a>]<br /><br />Marion is right on the trend. Educators are significantly overrepresented on the nation’s school boards relative to their share of the population. Does this state of affairs help teachers’ unions influence school board policy? There are certainly reasons to think so. Outside of education, research has shown that interest groups can secure more policy influence inside of government when they are able to elect public officials who share their occupational interests.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">26</a>] In a clever study that leveraged the order in which school board candidates’ names appeared on the ballot, economists Ying Shi and John Singleton found that California school districts that elected one additional teacher board member increased teachers’ salaries and authorized fewer charter schools.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">27</a>]<br /><br />Based on their own behavior, union leaders seem to believe that electing more educators, as well as more of their own members to school boards, can help them influence district decision-making. In New York, for example, the state’s largest teachers’ union, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), launched “Pipeline Project,” which can be used to help them “groom union friendly candidates.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">28</a>] In 2018, NYSUT described the operation as one that has “encouraged, trained and helped elect more than 100 educators to public office over the last four years.” In 2022 alone, the union reported that the program helped elect “60 NYSUT members … to school boards in every corner of the state.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">29</a>]<br /><br />Still, many have argued that the nation’s teachers’ unions’ most powerful days are behind them.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">30</a>] After all, a lot has happened in both American politics and education since the earlier studies of union electioneering were carried out. For example, the political environment facing teachers’ unions in the aftermath of the Great Recession has been characterized by greater austerity and significant labor retrenchment. Teachers have also faced greater competition from new education reform advocacy groups and, most recently, from parents’-rights groups during the pandemic. In 2018, teachers’ unions were dealt a major financial blow with the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision, which overturned state laws obliging nonunion employees to pay fees to unions that are their “exclusive bargaining representative.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">31</a>]<br /><br />Consequently, some scholars have begun to speculate that these changes may have narrowed union power in school board elections. In a recent study of board elections in five large districts, political scientist Sarah Reckhow and her colleagues found that networks of wealthy donors enabled reform candidates to match or exceed the funds raised by union-backed candidates. While these authors were careful to acknowledge that these competitive dynamics are probably not representative of “the broad universe of districts with elected boards,” they nevertheless see more pluralist dynamics at work in school board elections today. “Teacher unions,” they argue, “have often been portrayed as the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in local school politics—and our evidence already shows that this image is overblown—but the Janus decision throws up new barriers for unions’ political efforts.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">32</a>]<br /><br />Ultimately, quantifying how influential teachers’ unions are in school board elections is an empirical question. But until now, the absence of good data has made it an impossible one to answer with much certainty. In what follows, I discuss the creation of a new data set tracking union electioneering efforts in school board elections.<br /><br />Research Design to Analyze Union Electioneering<br /><br />As part of a few different research projects over a period of several years, I collected data on nearly 5,000 union endorsements in school board elections.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">33</a>] These endorsements were gathered for three of the nation’s four largest states: California, Florida, and New York. The California data include endorsements in contests held annually between 1995 and 2020. In Florida, where board elections are held in even-numbered years, the panel runs biennially, from 2010 to 2022. In New York, I have detailed data for 2022 elections, along with some aggregate results reported by the Empire State’s largest teachers’ union for 2015 and 2019.<br /><br />These three states were chosen for strategic reasons, with each state offering specific advantages and disadvantages. One goal of this paper is to compare the state of union influence today with that of the past; therefore, returning to California for comparison makes sense because the majority of research on board elections comes from the Golden State.<br /><br />However, one concern with focusing exclusively on California and New York is that public-sector unions are especially powerful there. These states’ labor laws provide some of the most teachers’-union-friendly environments in the country. Florida provides an attractive alternative. It, too, is a large and diverse state; but labor law in the Sunshine State has historically been less favorable to teachers’ unions. Although Florida teachers have enjoyed collective bargaining rights since the mid-1970s, the state’s long-standing right-to-work law has made it more challenging to organize teachers. In contrast to New York and (until recently) California, Florida’s elections are held “on-cycle,” when voter turnout is higher and research shows that unions may be less dominant.<br /><br />The process of gathering endorsements required triangulating from several sources.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">34</a>] In California, this approach yielded 4,075 endorsements conferred on 3,336 unique individuals running in 2,345 elections in 468 of the state’s 977 public school districts. Notably, these 468 districts—while by no means perfectly representative of California districts as a whole—combine to represent roughly half the state’s regular local school districts. Moreover, the 2,345 elections where I was able to find evidence of union electioneering combine to represent a little over 26% of all competitive school board elections held between 1995 and 2020 in the Golden State. In Florida, 1,109 board seats were up for election between 2010 and 2020. However, just 722 of those seats generated any competition. I was able to identify union electioneering in 361 of these 722 races (50% coverage).[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">35</a>] These 361 contests took place in 36 of the state’s 67 public school districts. For New York’s 2022 elections, NYSUT released information on just over 340 candidate endorsements. However, after eliminating write-in candidates and endorsements in noncompetitive elections, my roster of Empire State endorsements shrank to just under 320.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">36</a>]<br /><br />How representative are the school districts in my sample? With one exception, the districts are highly representative of districts in their respective states. The one exception is that endorsements were less numerous in smaller rural districts. On the one hand, this limits my ability to generalize my findings to very small rural communities. On the other hand, the districts in my sample—those where unions regularly make endorsements—are the ones that educate the majority of all public school students in each state (roughly 90% in California and Florida and about 50% in New York, after excluding New York City, which does not have an elected board).[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">37</a>]<br /><br />Before proceeding to the results of the report’s analyses, it is important to mention a few key differences related to how board elections work in these states. With the exception of districts that use ward-based elections, New York and California hold “multi-seat elections,” where citizens vote for several candidates in a single contest. By contrast, like many Southern states, Florida districts are large and countywide, meaning that voters vote only for a single candidate in each contest. Importantly, Florida holds its board elections entirely in even-numbered years, whereas California has only recently transitioned to a system where elections are uniformly held “on-cycle” and New York holds elections in May.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">38</a>] These two factors (the use of on-cycle elections combined with larger countywide districts) should, if anything, make it harder for any single interest—including teachers’ unions—to dominate district politics in Florida.<br /><br />Key Findings on Union Power<br /><br />Teachers’ Unions Win Most Competitive School Board Elections<br /><br />Consistent with Terry Moe’s findings from his early California studies, union-backed candidates are the ones to beat. As Table 1 shows, union-endorsed board candidates have done exceptionally well in competitive elections held across all three states. In New York, unions won 80% of competitive races in 2022 (that bumps up to 88% when one includes elections in which the union-backed candidate, typically a union-favored incumbent, scared off any would-be challengers). In California, union-backed candidates took seven out of every 10 seats. Finally, in Florida, where we should expect that unions won’t make much of a showing, they do surprisingly well: 64% of endorsed candidates there prevailed. Despite the fact that Florida’s teachers’ unions operate at a comparative disadvantage (relative to unions in California and New York), they appear to more than overcome the dual headwinds of on-cycle elections and a more conservative-friendly electorate.<br /><br />Table 1<br /><br />Percentage of Union-Endorsed Candidates Winning School Board Seats, by State</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="media-element file-default" data-delta="2" src="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/Table-1.png" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; float: none; font: inherit; left: 322.5px; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; position: relative; transform: translateX(-50%); vertical-align: baseline; width: 645px;" /></figure><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;">Union Support Is Often Pivotal, for Both Incumbents and Challengers<br /><br />Figure 2 disaggregates the results shown in Table 1 separately by candidate type, showing just how well incumbents and challengers fare when they run with (or without) union support. Three patterns in the data stand out.<br /><br />First, it is almost always better to be an endorsed challenger than an unendorsed incumbent. Although the incumbency advantage is typically huge in American politics, union support matters far more in school board elections. This finding is robust to more sophisticated statistical analyses that use multivariate regression to compare the effects of endorsements and incumbency directly. In fact, whereas previous studies have estimated union support to be equal to the power of incumbency,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">39</a>] I find that union support matters more than incumbency, particularly in more recent elections.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">40</a>]<br /><br />Figure 2<br /><br />Rate of Electoral Victory for School Board Candidates, by Incumbency Status and State</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAp-YaB0wn6Pzl16JHmF-ZMHFuLDL3_gjO5ZKx5b3FIpHs1N7Tdcj1r4sZKfk6t37krWp7C_xWJ5XUl-KhhKe_l6rWsXaW5jePDin7vFtEFiisQTJaqgtjHDsKyJQe4pJPfWXqTq7Y48wfnK45TjPzduxESf-_AlDweTZ9FSEhG4OAPEIzBoY_nlo/s707/MI%202%20Rate%20of%20Electoral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="707" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjAp-YaB0wn6Pzl16JHmF-ZMHFuLDL3_gjO5ZKx5b3FIpHs1N7Tdcj1r4sZKfk6t37krWp7C_xWJ5XUl-KhhKe_l6rWsXaW5jePDin7vFtEFiisQTJaqgtjHDsKyJQe4pJPfWXqTq7Y48wfnK45TjPzduxESf-_AlDweTZ9FSEhG4OAPEIzBoY_nlo/s320/MI%202%20Rate%20of%20Electoral.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Second, endorsed incumbents rarely lose, while unendorsed challengers are a long shot to win. These findings speak directly to why some of the new parents’-rights groups that emerged during the pandemic have found only mixed success in their first years of supporting candidate slates.[</span><a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes" style="font-size: large;">41</a><span style="font-size: large;">] Getting challengers elected to school boards is tough sledding, unless you have the resources and voter mobilization operations that can compete with establishment union interests.</span></figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Third, I probed whether union-backed candidates tend to win simply because the unions strategically support candidates who are already more likely to win. By following the same candidates over time, I compared how they performed in races where they received union support relative to ones where they were not endorsed. This analysis revealed that union support matters: gaining an endorsement enabled losers to become winners, and losing union support cost incumbents from winning reelection.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">42</a>] In other words, union-endorsed candidates are not more likely to win school board elections simply because they are stronger candidates ex ante but rather because union support confers an advantage that makes endorsed candidates more formidable on Election Day.<br /><br />Teachers’ Unions Win in Both Blue and Red School Districts<br /><br />The results presented in Table 1 and Figure 2 are just a starting point. Remember, some have claimed that union power has weakened in recent years, especially on the heels of a decade of labor retrenchment capped off by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus decision. To evaluate how influential unions are today relative to the past, I next examine: (1) whether their influence has narrowed to liberal districts; and (2) how successful union electioneering has been over time.<br /><br />Given increases in partisan polarization, the rise of culture-war issues in education during the pandemic, and more nationalization of local U.S. politics,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">43</a>] it is worth seeing whether union influence is geographically narrow. To investigate whether union electioneering packs a punch only in districts with liberal, pro-labor electorates, I calculated union electoral outcomes separately for Republican-, Independent-, and Democratic-leaning school districts. Drawing on two proprietary industry data sets that classify and predict every registered voter’s political party, I geocoded all registered voters to their school district of residence. After measuring the two-party registration advantage held by Republicans in each school district, I cut these data into terciles that range from strong GOP districts, independent-leaning districts, and strong Democratic districts.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">44</a>] Figure 3 shows how union-endorsed candidates fare in these various political environments.<br /><br />On the whole, union electioneering is successful in liberal, moderate, and conservative districts.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">45</a>] For example, union-backed candidates never win less than 60% of their elections, even in the most GOP-leaning districts. Only in New York (where data are the most current, since the elections occurred in May 2022) do we see union-backed candidates fare somewhat worse in Republican districts. Still, they win nearly 70% of the time in these GOP-friendly districts. This suggests that while partisanship may have begun to collide with union strength in our current political environment, it is constraining union power only at the margins. These findings are important because they suggest that—given our current system of nonpartisan school board elections—partisanship in and of itself is not enough to act as a check on union power in local school politics.<br /><br />Figure 3<br /><br />Union-Backed Candidates’ Election Rate by Partisan Lean of School District</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBhp7niZtFkbdxKEWs1HzUUjnOwswGPG4zdvheF54Goeit_qjDEKZGkYi9hbOuKXv3wnSPVQmTJAKm7vb6ayTk3nqWKvJJ3ppCRCozh30lmWgL1hXGrq9pM-V83PZYgUNI3CogDbLcjYdSGhaZc1Coio3tDbqJ7F2G_XvcnaviFwKHQCmHmsh8O82/s678/MI%203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="678" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBhp7niZtFkbdxKEWs1HzUUjnOwswGPG4zdvheF54Goeit_qjDEKZGkYi9hbOuKXv3wnSPVQmTJAKm7vb6ayTk3nqWKvJJ3ppCRCozh30lmWgL1hXGrq9pM-V83PZYgUNI3CogDbLcjYdSGhaZc1Coio3tDbqJ7F2G_XvcnaviFwKHQCmHmsh8O82/s320/MI%203.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Union Endorsements Still Matter</span></figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />What about the claim that teachers’ unions have grown less powerful over the last decade?<br /><br />There appears to be little support for this claim when we look at union electioneering outcomes over time, as illustrated in Figure 4, which highlights a number of important trends. First, union-endorsed candidates are consistently more successful than are unendorsed candidates, irrespective of the prevailing national political environment facing teachers’ unions at any particular point in time. For example, union-backed candidates did just as well during 2010 (when antiunion governors, such as Scott Walker in Wisconsin, rose to power) as they did during 2018–22, when the conservative brand was arguably weakening in national politics.<br /><br />Figure 4<br /><br />Union-Endorsed Candidates’ Electoral Success over Time, by State</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9fms2GRYq7iZOBVEwL4i6A9Z8qWSatNKo1SsW-MPPgQ_Ijbpt7KxF1D_Fs54afLLA6iQTSclnWCfGIMfhmD_xEN1rReQEkRSYvCkxDGPWOctab4aBgUdB1EbBzvGuq_YN6jR5NWrnYX3pFsyHG5Ir8TJ4qF-AvNm_mew-tW9psJUUAJ7VU2B6PW9/s762/MI%204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="725" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu9fms2GRYq7iZOBVEwL4i6A9Z8qWSatNKo1SsW-MPPgQ_Ijbpt7KxF1D_Fs54afLLA6iQTSclnWCfGIMfhmD_xEN1rReQEkRSYvCkxDGPWOctab4aBgUdB1EbBzvGuq_YN6jR5NWrnYX3pFsyHG5Ir8TJ4qF-AvNm_mew-tW9psJUUAJ7VU2B6PW9/w304-h320/MI%204.jpg" width="304" /></a></div><br /><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Across nine election cycles in California, in no year do union-endorsed candidates win less than 60% of the time. In Florida, union-backed candidates meet or exceed the 60% win rate in all but one election cycle (where they narrowly miss it in 2012). In New York, the unions report winning nearly nine out of every 10 contests where they get involved—an even higher clip than in California.</span></figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Second, careful attention to Figure 4 highlights the resilience of teachers’ unions in the post-Janus era. The comparison between Florida and California in 2016 and 2020, as well as Florida and New York between 2015 and 2019–20, is instructive. Florida’s right-to-work law always prohibited teachers’ unions from charging nonmember teachers agency fees prior to the court’s 2018 Janus decision. The ruling, therefore, had no direct effect on Florida’s unions. California and New York are an entirely different story. The labor laws in these states previously required that all teachers—union member and nonmember alike—pay union fees. To the extent that Janus weakened teachers’ unions politically, then, we should see a decline in their power in California and New York. Yet the data show no such reversal in either state.<br /><br />Political Lesson: Change the Electoral Environment for Voters<br /><br />For political conservatives, parents’-rights groups, education reformers, and school-choice advocates wishing to counteract union dominance in local school politics, there are important lessons to be learned. These groups cannot simply rely on favorable partisan tides in national politics or narrow legal decisions that weaken unions to advance their cause. After all, school board elections are fought and won in the trenches.<br /><br />According to American Enterprise Institute’s Max Eden:<br /><br />The fact that school board members are … elected in off-cycle, nonpartisan elections renders local control largely chimerical. If we want a public education system that caters to the cultural, policy, and pedagogical preferences of communities, then we should ensure that more citizens participate in local school board elections—and that they have a clear idea about what the candidates stand for. To boost election turnout, school board elections should be moved on cycle (i.e., held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of an even year). And to boost the signal as to what candidates stand for, school board ballots should allow partisan affiliation to appear next to candidates’ names.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">46</a>]<br /><br />Taking Eden’s two points in turn, what about the timing of school board elections?<br /><br />Looking back at Figure 4, union-endorsed candidates are far more likely to win their elections in off-year races. The difference is significant, and it is far more likely to be a story of causation rather than one of simple correlation. How can we know? In 2015, California enacted a sweeping election consolidation law (SB-415) that forced numerous school districts to move their elections from odd to even years.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">47</a>] By comparing changes in union win rates in districts that were forced to switch to on-cycle elections with changes in win rates for districts that always used on-cycle elections, I estimate that on-cycle elections reduce the share of union-endorsed winners by about 8 percentage points.<br /><br />But reforming the election calendar isn’t the only way to inject more balance and political pluralism into local school politics. Eden’s second idea—partisan school board elections—can be achieved without enacting a single actual electoral reform.<br /><br />Earlier in this report, I noted that in examining decades of union electioneering in three of the nation’s four largest states, I found just one exception to union dominance in school board elections. That exception was something of a natural experiment that took place in Florida’s 2022 primary contests (the de-facto general election for school board races with just two candidates). Although Florida’s school board elections are nonpartisan, something unprecedented happened in this most recent election: Governor Ron DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida put school board elections on their agenda.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">48</a>]<br /><br />During the summer leading up to the August primary election, DeSantis unveiled a 10-point education agenda and asked local school board candidates to pledge their support for it. After candidates decided whether to align with the governor’s conservative education agenda, DeSantis chose 30 candidates, offering them his official endorsement and financial support.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">49</a>] In certain hotly contested races, DeSantis even campaigned locally on behalf of the candidates. The move was unprecedented. “This is new, particularly for Republicans,” DeSantis told the News Service of Florida. “Because … [traditionally] unions would back candidates and that would be it. And so now, I think more parents are interested, some of our voters are interested. We have no consequential races, really, statewide that are competitive. So you have a situation where this may be one reason why people are motivated. So we tried to help out.”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">50</a>]<br /><br />Figure 5 shows the share of union-endorsed candidates in Florida who won a school board seat in 2022 when facing an opponent backed by DeSantis, compared with the share of union-endorsed candidates who won in the very same districts in the decade prior (2010–20) to the governor challenging union-backed slates.<br /><br />Figure 5<br /><br />Union Influence in School Board Races Before and After DeSantis’s Endorsements</span><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1jbDqF9LZkVuXenfptqz0fKhJoiRE36WH4GWaUZY_U8pHCP0tSG1tE_OmWKF_xSquREE17KL7NeWO8jsAkVfXTcdHu0Yvipm2_I3l5ioR-tV9druNaUyJIo9JDIzqmjIPrQqrP0BADDvTs5Bo-rlDbNfXu6rUnIg6eqBNwmxA-AGjv5qxZgff4NU/s727/MI%205.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="727" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_1jbDqF9LZkVuXenfptqz0fKhJoiRE36WH4GWaUZY_U8pHCP0tSG1tE_OmWKF_xSquREE17KL7NeWO8jsAkVfXTcdHu0Yvipm2_I3l5ioR-tV9druNaUyJIo9JDIzqmjIPrQqrP0BADDvTs5Bo-rlDbNfXu6rUnIg6eqBNwmxA-AGjv5qxZgff4NU/w320-h307/MI%205.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><figure class="m_article-picture m_article-picture__ noalign" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">DeSantis’s move worked on a scale unlike anything seen before. In the 19 elections where one of the governor’s candidates went head-to-head with a teachers’-union-backed opponent, the unions won just four races (and advanced to a general-election runoff in just three). Figure 5 shows how effective muscular gubernatorial advocacy proved to upset establishment union interests in Florida. The figure compares how union-backed candidates performed in the very same districts where DeSantis made his endorsements prior to 2022 with their showing in the most recent August primary. In those previous elections where voters did not have the same cues to follow, teachers’ unions won over 70% of the time when they made an endorsement. In contrast, the very best outcome that Florida’s teachers’ unions will be able to achieve in 2022 in districts where DeSantis got involved will be about 40% (depending on how they fare in the November runoffs).</span></figure><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The key advantage of the DeSantis strategy is that it requires no electoral reforms. Moreover, the DeSantis approach is available to both Democratic and Republican governors who believe that their education agendas are sufficiently popular with voters to provide coattails to local school board candidates who buy in. Although some election law scholars have made a good case for adopting electoral reforms that would allow political executives (mayors, governors) to make on-ballot endorsements,[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">51</a>] DeSantis proved that, even absent these formal legal changes, a recognizable political figure with a clearly articulated education policy agenda can make races more competitive by endorsing aligned school board candidates and campaigning on their behalf.<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br />The academic, media, and political establishment talk unremittingly about political inequality in the United States. To be sure, studies have shown that politicians often respond more to the preferences of wealthy elites than to the poor or downtrodden in state and national politics.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">52</a>] Similarly, using data from California, New York, and Florida, I find that school boards are characterized by a great degree of political inequality. But it is not the sort of inequality that critics of the education reform movement, parents’-rights groups, and the business sector decry when they raise concerns about democracy in public education today.<br /><br />Instead, the findings of this report build on a growing body of research showing that it is teachers’ unions and other public-sector unions that often wield unequal power in municipal and local school politics.[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">53</a>] To summarize, my findings underscore how the dominance of teachers’ unions in school board elections challenge pluralist characterizations of school board politics.Union-endorsed candidates still win roughly 70% of all competitive races.<br /> <br />Union support appears to exert a strong causal effect on election outcomes. By examining how the same candidates perform over time, I show that gaining a union endorsement enables losers to become winners the next time around.<br /> <br />Union-favored candidates tend to win in both strong (CA, NY) and weak (FL) union states and in conservative and liberal school districts. There is no evidence that the unions’ electioneering success is narrowly confined to districts where voters hold politically liberal, pro-union attitudes.<br /> <br />There is no evidence that the unions’ impressive win rates have declined in recent years. Neither the Great Recession nor the loss of agency fees has materially weakened their electioneering successes.<br /> <br />The best way to bring pluralism to school board elections is to move elections on-cycle and provide voters with more information (including partisan cues) that help counteract the low-information environment that is characteristic of nonpartisan contests.<br /><br />Taken together, the bigger-picture landscape of interest-group competition in school board politics is … well, that there isn’t much competition.<br /><br />It’s little wonder that, just when education-reform and parents’-rights groups have gotten more involved in school board elections because of the pandemic, the education establishment has begun to cry foul. Earlier this year, when Governor Ron DeSantis became involved in endorsing school board candidates, his detractors said that he was “politicizing” school boards. One Florida-based columnist even called it “a little scary,” asking, “Wouldn’t we rather have [school board] candidates who commit to serving our children and local taxpayers/communities first, rather than the governor? This isn’t some banana republic or socialist or fascist state, right?”[<a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections#notes">54</a>]<br /><br />One wonders where these critics were for the past three decades, when research showed (and continues to show) that teachers’ unions dominate local school board elections. While that dynamic is unlikely to change anytime soon, there appears to be a reasonable blueprint for advocates of more pluralism in local school politics on which to build.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd-Cn, HelveticaNeueLTStd-Cn, "Helvetica Neue Condensed", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.375em;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd-Cn, HelveticaNeueLTStd-Cn, "Helvetica Neue Condensed", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.375em;">Endnotes</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #636363; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: 1.557em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/still-the-ones-to-beat-teachers-unions-and-school-board-elections.pdf#page=15" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #7e92b3; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Please see Endnotes in PDF</a></p></span></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-66023120545076095202023-01-02T11:37:00.001-08:002023-01-02T11:37:12.114-08:00Poverty and Change in Troy, N.Y.<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk19__6PKENYDs8A4lqvdzovdnAJE6Oz-M_NCYEd7DhPVK-DcnPK4styI3J_UDfWaJxI15pbmXb81Ov0yMoq5JS0TwXrDFIygWbWGUkxbwNob_sZ6zVTGkEP-ggVLWvcr_cAldqtUH9_N4C0QKTPnRzWivPFZX7kLsiNkByxAfTaMeefhfgzydFJ1k/s1272/Kenneally1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="1272" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk19__6PKENYDs8A4lqvdzovdnAJE6Oz-M_NCYEd7DhPVK-DcnPK4styI3J_UDfWaJxI15pbmXb81Ov0yMoq5JS0TwXrDFIygWbWGUkxbwNob_sZ6zVTGkEP-ggVLWvcr_cAldqtUH9_N4C0QKTPnRzWivPFZX7kLsiNkByxAfTaMeefhfgzydFJ1k/w400-h129/Kenneally1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-UrHlS BaseText-fFrHpW CaptionText-cOiTlR boMZdO giPhWL gsdLeN caption__text" style="--type-token: globalEditorial.context-secondary; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-break: auto; line-height: 1.33333em; margin: 0px 0.5rem 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Brenda Ann Kenneally’s sprawling chronicle of life in Troy, New York, is a tribute to her subjects and an indictment of our times.</span><span class="BaseWrap-sc-UrHlS BaseText-fFrHpW CaptionCredit-cRZQOh boMZdO gpclku fcOoZC caption__credit" style="--color__token-name: colors.consumption.lead.standard.syndication; --type-token: globalEditorial.context-tertiary; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Graphik, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-size: 12px; line-break: auto; line-height: 1.16667em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; padding-top: 0.5rem; text-align: left;">Photographs by Brenda Ann Kenneally</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/a-portrait-of-love-and-struggle-in-post-industrial-small-city-america">A Portrait of Love and Struggle in Post-Industrial, Small-City America</a></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div class="BylinesWrapper-hlZHyb jKYZBu bylines ContentHeaderBylines-kaKNKu kzywai" data-testid="BylinesWrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; text-align: center;"><p class="BylineWrapper-ijrfvU esjjrR byline bylines__byline" data-testid="BylineWrapper" itemprop="author" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" style="--color__token-name: colors.consumption.lead.standard.accreditation; --type-token: globalEditorial.accreditation-core; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: NeutrafaceNewYorker, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600; line-break: auto; line-height: 1.33333em; margin: 0.5rem 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; text-align: left;"><span class="BylineNamesWrapper-cZQllk hOAzcr" itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: border-box;">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-UrHlS BaseText-fFrHpW BaseLink-ha-DYir BylineLink-faHQbD boMZdO fUpTVo jBgqbB eurixy byline__name-link button" data-uri="2631bb93e856b27a59e03542eddbc79d" href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/adrian-nicole-leblanc" style="--color__token-name: colors.interactive.base.light; --type-token: globalEditorial.accreditation-core; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-feature-settings: normal; line-break: auto; line-height: 1.33333em; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; text-align: center; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: color, background, text-shadow; transition-timing-function: ease-in-out;">Adrian Nicole LeBlanc</a></p></div></div><div><time class="BaseWrap-sc-UrHlS BaseText-fFrHpW ContentHeaderPublishDate-kcIbXB boMZdO hTDCnR hAfErI" data-testid="ContentHeaderPublishDate" style="--type-token: globalEditorial.context-tertiary; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: unset; display: block; font-family: Graphik, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-feature-settings: normal; font-size: 12px; line-break: auto; line-height: 1.16667em; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: normal; padding-top: 0.5rem; text-align: left; transition-duration: 0.2s; transition-property: color, background, text-shadow; transition-timing-function: ease-in-out;">November 16, 2018</time></div></blockquote><p><br /></p><p> I<span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">n 2014, Slate published ten photographs from a work in progress by the artist Brenda Ann Kenneally, documenting the lives of a group of twenty-first-century American teen-agers in Troy, a city in upstate New York. The subjects in her images were not doing much: in one, an obese teen-age boy lay on a mattress in a homeless shelter, disconsolate; an exhausted child at a kitchen table waited for his bottle to be filled with coffee, his favorite drink; a young woman named Kayla, one of Kenneally’s central subjects, smoked a cigarette as she held her baby son.</span></p><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Some of Slate’s readers responded to these scenes with expressions of anger and disgust—they indicted the choices of the people depicted and accused Kenneally of exploiting them. Usually, people living in poverty are newsworthy only when their actions are criminal—meriting a few lines in a police blotter—but now it seemed that living was an offense in itself. The debate surrounding the work became the story, reducing the photographs with obfuscating commentary, like grime. The images had been in the public domain for years by then, but never in a way that could be so easily and thoughtlessly consumed. The attacks on Kayla’s parenting became so malignant that Kenneally asked that the photograph of her be removed.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUhQAXjMOnTz8yCM3kFXaW1-Qoki4YNvk4KLgfKBSuweLKM6cRL7s84lpPtrR0Vh4kfQh2dmr1so7fhXhIv6dfR9roXr0z7E-fB4rOnatY78GHRBV8zfW6yIqqzdl1DlchCZLT3tTQ40AQYNUfrGI6_m91xERpzsDICxztlbQJCcuSBLliaI6hL8B/s1008/Kenneally2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="1008" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUhQAXjMOnTz8yCM3kFXaW1-Qoki4YNvk4KLgfKBSuweLKM6cRL7s84lpPtrR0Vh4kfQh2dmr1so7fhXhIv6dfR9roXr0z7E-fB4rOnatY78GHRBV8zfW6yIqqzdl1DlchCZLT3tTQ40AQYNUfrGI6_m91xERpzsDICxztlbQJCcuSBLliaI6hL8B/s320/Kenneally2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Tony Stocklas was three months old when his mother, Kayla, returned to high school.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Kenneally was born in Albany, but she left the area when she was a teen-ager and didn’t return for many years. In 2002, she and I worked together on a magazine assignment that brought us to Troy. She had recently finished a book that she’d been working on for ten years, about a community in Brooklyn. I had completed my own ten-year project, about an extended family from a poor section of the Bronx. Our upstate assignment, for the <em style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: inherit;">Times Magazine</em>, stemmed from that work. Kenneally met Kayla on our first trip; after that, she couldn’t stop going back.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz1CGF7E7VgwveckXH7hCJ71vR1HP2ZLyhcDYSdoYJR_3vXMoacd-CnZ0XarP4xwzXHptwVzwWb6JSSuzAscbcA9uwJuhwCm9ttZv7zujgEC6i9fNe9DeoWmtlrVhiwIKJdnNExxIQHhkCLUVh5k_xl5P0YAm4108cElIO0SQVjxZn4dRn69vfVLy/s656/Kenneally3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="656" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnz1CGF7E7VgwveckXH7hCJ71vR1HP2ZLyhcDYSdoYJR_3vXMoacd-CnZ0XarP4xwzXHptwVzwWb6JSSuzAscbcA9uwJuhwCm9ttZv7zujgEC6i9fNe9DeoWmtlrVhiwIKJdnNExxIQHhkCLUVh5k_xl5P0YAm4108cElIO0SQVjxZn4dRn69vfVLy/s320/Kenneally3.jpg" width="301" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Big Jessie celebrated her twenty-third birthday with pellet guns, which were given to her by a girlfriend.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">As she writes in a newly published book of the resulting work, “<a class="external-link" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLink","outgoingURL":"https://www.amazon.com/Upstate-Girls-Unraveling-Collar-City/dp/1942872836"}" data-offer-url="https://www.amazon.com/Upstate-Girls-Unraveling-Collar-City/dp/1942872836" data-uri="8b614187408355b1e263ab89aed82b7b" href="https://www.amazon.com/Upstate-Girls-Unraveling-Collar-City/dp/1942872836?ots=1&slotNum=0&imprToken=5cc2b9c3-fc4f-428c-70d&tag=thneyo0f-20&linkCode=w50" rel="nofollow noopener" style="--color__token-name: colors.interactive.base.light; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; line-height: inherit; transition: color 200ms ease 0s;" target="_blank">Upstate Girls</a>,” Troy was once a wealthy industrial city, the kind of place that “embodied the idea of America as a land where every person’s dreams were realized.” But, by the time Kenneally was a teen-ager, in the nineteen-seventies, the industrialization that originally distinguished the city had contributed to its demise, as factories left the region to chase overseas deals. Except for one aunt, who became a teacher, no one in Kenneally’s family had any higher education. Kenneally herself quit high school and hitchhiked to Miami when she was around the same age that many of her subjects were when she met them. But she found her way to A.A. and then, through her sponsor, to photography; the process of applying to college, where she studied sociology and photojournalism, further transformed her life. All of this granted her enough perspective to keep her from being destroyed by misplaced shame.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5vAIHDKEmVNHfKXp8wrAZqxnOHpDn_bC4XQ33oxFIWDtQt9amGGJ3okuXlibvu3ql4bID9K9y2yPRIasryXFxxjoeJukDwe-Lx5uAJ7HzzDeAFhQRejUpzpbLrElUdTejK3l6WWOyR8rHRE1h2Wf9cQSMHwXPkTUYfC0SEaPeq0_bpbsveGPnGAJ/s600/Kenneally4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="470" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5vAIHDKEmVNHfKXp8wrAZqxnOHpDn_bC4XQ33oxFIWDtQt9amGGJ3okuXlibvu3ql4bID9K9y2yPRIasryXFxxjoeJukDwe-Lx5uAJ7HzzDeAFhQRejUpzpbLrElUdTejK3l6WWOyR8rHRE1h2Wf9cQSMHwXPkTUYfC0SEaPeq0_bpbsveGPnGAJ/s320/Kenneally4.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">DJ with her oldest daughter, Little Vic, on her prom day, in June, 2009.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fqOuQMjSMPDj2lUw4CPqliVCKMt6G0_1eNw1r3jx9x-cbV2miW9aiwggxgk_mygzUATPaPB4Mc2wKB57cNGdMXBCTVTaL61ERIuiJsbrtEvTHd-GKnXB9sDxYQKW5WjpCo-3MqGSl8XFdHXkQNjvnkm_azN5YJaxUteDsT9SFaU5LbU3slzceR62/s806/Kenneally5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="664" data-original-width="806" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2fqOuQMjSMPDj2lUw4CPqliVCKMt6G0_1eNw1r3jx9x-cbV2miW9aiwggxgk_mygzUATPaPB4Mc2wKB57cNGdMXBCTVTaL61ERIuiJsbrtEvTHd-GKnXB9sDxYQKW5WjpCo-3MqGSl8XFdHXkQNjvnkm_azN5YJaxUteDsT9SFaU5LbU3slzceR62/s320/Kenneally5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Laurie with her son, Darien, and her daughters, Megan and Katie.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">“Upstate Girls” has taken many forms over the years—hundreds of hours of video and audio, an archive of local vocabulary, collaborations with the local historical society, a nonprofit arts camp, even a museum. Kenneally launched the North Troy Peoples’ History Museum in 2016, with “Upstate Girls” as its inaugural show. The museum was housed in an apartment where several of her subjects had once lived, until the bank foreclosed and they had to move; their absentee landlord had stopped paying the mortgage. Other subjects had lived next door, and down the block. While Kenneally hoped that the museum might bring middle-class residents into a neighborhood they ordinarily avoided, and in so doing seed an exchange, she most wanted it to give the kids she’d documented a perspective on their own lives, and to do so in the places where both she and they had been raised.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__yJRZa57PtLjayPwMly1K-yZOHSisa4kijLUhMpIKrzFrRrgVoXEY1PVBvI3-iyyR-IXyvvxKaiVS7X_gsnzKA2e_2JE0NVG9hiWrhTyBBvOl5tOdV8OQ6g9LZn9ZFP0dE1W7ckENYe_1PAY0kJYE6XdCnKun7FcwQ0UAW9KEF_MKaxWAgOdPQ6-/s570/Kenneally6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="369" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__yJRZa57PtLjayPwMly1K-yZOHSisa4kijLUhMpIKrzFrRrgVoXEY1PVBvI3-iyyR-IXyvvxKaiVS7X_gsnzKA2e_2JE0NVG9hiWrhTyBBvOl5tOdV8OQ6g9LZn9ZFP0dE1W7ckENYe_1PAY0kJYE6XdCnKun7FcwQ0UAW9KEF_MKaxWAgOdPQ6-/s320/Kenneally6.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Tony was in crisis—he was hyper, wouldn’t sleep or eat, and his medical trials had intensified. Playing video games was one of the only ways to quiet him down.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The show’s artifacts and ephemera included letters and art from incarcerated loved ones, receipts for furniture leased from rent-to-own businesses, prescriptions for the medications dispensed—in formidable doses—to the kids. One bedroom housed a library of scrapbooks made by the families who’d grown up in Kenneally’s photographs. There were also historical pictures of children in orphanages and in the crowded assembly lines on factory floors. A time line hung in the living room, like a monstrous mobile, tracking the decline in public health alongside once-lauded American products—tobacco, high-fructose corn syrup—and their code-switching, class-based marketing campaigns. These products had a particularly ruinous impact when they trickled down to North Troy residents, whose safety nets were being eroded by attacks on public education and other social supports. Kenneally had been studying inequality long enough to know that countering arguments about “personal responsibility” required that she expand the frame of her work to show exactly how lies about meritocracy cloak, and normalize, corporate greed. She obsessively gathered evidence—she calls it “hoarding”—to make us see these lives as she saw them, and to memorialize them as part of our nation’s history. At the Peoples’ Museum, this exhaustive contextualizing made it impossible to treat her subjects with contempt.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyFYgcHXTWW7C_vDJ-MvDmswk-UYS2voTzFtfwDeIft0MMIRcQW322HfhJ9-qGVAj_pzrVwa9H66Vp2wPc9FoPQuzk0VmvA6n3yCvXS6w3L2P3uRKxd0gpzBwMiW6sf8zudDJJ7KGlD6-8kOdSC0Dsu05kKAvVJQFRCk6pgxPqDRbuVhuL03Tcz1g/s668/Kenneally7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="652" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUyFYgcHXTWW7C_vDJ-MvDmswk-UYS2voTzFtfwDeIft0MMIRcQW322HfhJ9-qGVAj_pzrVwa9H66Vp2wPc9FoPQuzk0VmvA6n3yCvXS6w3L2P3uRKxd0gpzBwMiW6sf8zudDJJ7KGlD6-8kOdSC0Dsu05kKAvVJQFRCk6pgxPqDRbuVhuL03Tcz1g/s320/Kenneally7.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Terri and Big Jessie in their home.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns-tjoQrkPq-yPKoCXRDHDeoCeY1ZaGHafmZsJUCEHAIAU0aFFiawkTSJdQcIUct54O5-HBOFi1Z5dnDsLA3aWZk-4_dLfVXr6-FomnFSULgrq4wwlcnSS9Y7IsVWOk_FXcGHHptfPuzhl7bOyk40HUhf4fp4RjW36Mwk4QSWhtmHnj1ovgHC2j0A/s788/Kenneally8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="788" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjns-tjoQrkPq-yPKoCXRDHDeoCeY1ZaGHafmZsJUCEHAIAU0aFFiawkTSJdQcIUct54O5-HBOFi1Z5dnDsLA3aWZk-4_dLfVXr6-FomnFSULgrq4wwlcnSS9Y7IsVWOk_FXcGHHptfPuzhl7bOyk40HUhf4fp4RjW36Mwk4QSWhtmHnj1ovgHC2j0A/s320/Kenneally8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Robert Stocklas on his twentieth birthday, after a fight with his baby’s mother.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">The museum’s exhibition spread into every corner of the apartment, but it still represented only a portion of Kenneally’s sprawling multimedia archive. There are so many bodies in her images, in cramped back yards and on mattresses; exhausted, sleeping, loving, playing video games, dulled by pills, busting out, giving up, being born. So many bodies contained in physical spaces without enough light, or fresh air, or room to thrive.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwggMHAnqVW-7Pxw4Q9WqQG-FupP-bMjP5ZjwwVHAtwoEom7oXsRYxAbAqNAvsgTSRFIpQwzt1FU0u5MmLAIZ6K1rL4QdASTs61pqgDjJBeO1sCcYK8GrYa5EjjVTYLDvSbSZDlOowRgGMfouaKCwvxt4Ow_V8HT_fWyacuGyGewyanyTOZ6-7SbA/s555/Kenneally9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtwggMHAnqVW-7Pxw4Q9WqQG-FupP-bMjP5ZjwwVHAtwoEom7oXsRYxAbAqNAvsgTSRFIpQwzt1FU0u5MmLAIZ6K1rL4QdASTs61pqgDjJBeO1sCcYK8GrYa5EjjVTYLDvSbSZDlOowRgGMfouaKCwvxt4Ow_V8HT_fWyacuGyGewyanyTOZ6-7SbA/s320/Kenneally9.jpg" width="254" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">While Big Jessie was in jail, her sister Stacey became pregnant.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMLShnTE6i1yPTtJBURCKdth7EAKruYfFI9zqZ_fyHFvpaOTtHSy1UCWSyt0RWQ4EIuvBNKYAw4Q2pVe208cykcLJenVzOKNDMPvtQpvERKJVqCQM3QFy5Dauv-JzOOoCS5bhqB8mUU3duMjw5kROBUscr1A9ucMZQRjBMRhdiI0MhFjYKZs_HUkK/s922/Kenneally10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="922" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIMLShnTE6i1yPTtJBURCKdth7EAKruYfFI9zqZ_fyHFvpaOTtHSy1UCWSyt0RWQ4EIuvBNKYAw4Q2pVe208cykcLJenVzOKNDMPvtQpvERKJVqCQM3QFy5Dauv-JzOOoCS5bhqB8mUU3duMjw5kROBUscr1A9ucMZQRjBMRhdiI0MhFjYKZs_HUkK/s320/Kenneally10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Dasaun, Billie Jean, and Nanny Rose in the basement room at Deb’s.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Once shuttered and neglected, many of the buildings of Troy are now stirring again, reviving hope, as they are gutted and reclaimed by a wave of gentrification. Creatives—having pushed northward after getting priced out of Brooklyn—have begun making homes downtown. The young arrivals want the same thing that the subjects of Kenneally’s series want: a job, a home with a yard for the children, a safe neighborhood and a decent school, a place one can lay claim to. Is there a vision for the city sufficiently expansive to encompass former residents and newcomers alike?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAVj_EQFILf3SyQ-PJm_Q613_ZyT8RSYP0CBCE79mLNzaCsWj6z3w3iUsPcLGioOHwCN0h978_c8x4eACgtI4yEBLsDWbS6eBPh52C_V2zCfAxpWUQaPwtphf9EY_zfzAVV-3exA6L4kGLejCI6_RepUVFJULI4NKf8rPwAazXLmZ6Py06lWJpt7f/s667/Kenneally11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="667" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoAVj_EQFILf3SyQ-PJm_Q613_ZyT8RSYP0CBCE79mLNzaCsWj6z3w3iUsPcLGioOHwCN0h978_c8x4eACgtI4yEBLsDWbS6eBPh52C_V2zCfAxpWUQaPwtphf9EY_zfzAVV-3exA6L4kGLejCI6_RepUVFJULI4NKf8rPwAazXLmZ6Py06lWJpt7f/s320/Kenneally11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">During the winter of 2005, Kayla had been infatuated with Pops.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNqUvXF9P5S9Vn-0YkY_yCRQjuHPxtpLyjNjhZXaea9RsxDgZYHF81p6T_lz6wrxC1J0P4g_t7nURcDs7vVpsE9NlcRS-iw3QzQ8wfJod10fzJWLFoBQxJr-HUhHfNqcRcKOwUttLl_eG5ay6VI2EevQqkI-aF234Yo_gq5Ha4J-tOWI11hs2pAgA/s977/Kenneally12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="977" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXNqUvXF9P5S9Vn-0YkY_yCRQjuHPxtpLyjNjhZXaea9RsxDgZYHF81p6T_lz6wrxC1J0P4g_t7nURcDs7vVpsE9NlcRS-iw3QzQ8wfJod10fzJWLFoBQxJr-HUhHfNqcRcKOwUttLl_eG5ay6VI2EevQqkI-aF234Yo_gq5Ha4J-tOWI11hs2pAgA/s320/Kenneally12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Chantelle and Kayla began dating in October, 2009.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Just as the book was going to press, one of the most ambitious young mothers in “Upstate Girls” was blindsided by the arrest of her husband, who is currently in detention, awaiting trial on numerous charges of rape and sexual abuse, including sexual assault of a child. (He denies them all.) Kenneally thought that “Upstate Girls” might be her parting gift to Troy, but this devastating news compelled her to return. She has been photographing the young woman—newly tattooed—and encouraging her to write through the crisis, to use art, as Kenneally had, to become an activist in her own life. How do we teach ourselves to fully apprehend the horrors we live among?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMiYXrKjH5nCZJnd4KCBYxCjVr5CT9YKGhik3ZD1BTZVSG_K6buLmm0twmBGse2qg04akKBmEP9h-_M66pKZIYDzesn7pfIhOfmDqhQ2wVgAh9zj6As9uugp_kOgHVKZME7W7PYmTKljjfxFQcgDDIPLVwi1rS7pRWLQ86_l5Xf9yDnkPk1oUQZzd/s604/Kenneally13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="588" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMiYXrKjH5nCZJnd4KCBYxCjVr5CT9YKGhik3ZD1BTZVSG_K6buLmm0twmBGse2qg04akKBmEP9h-_M66pKZIYDzesn7pfIhOfmDqhQ2wVgAh9zj6As9uugp_kOgHVKZME7W7PYmTKljjfxFQcgDDIPLVwi1rS7pRWLQ86_l5Xf9yDnkPk1oUQZzd/s320/Kenneally13.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Dana Schubart nurses her baby.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgdqTf89wtEIfCTVSrZel3Ye8_X3aZKfgZoI5880oup9iaAQMGeILt40dY2jLM_UFzv-o2FPmMwfnqtYoU12VueuFsBBzaNL6YaY6b77PwJH4YJ4EnYWsoP5Eth3rx73e4loajY7s5xhW-J4qTpBD14B7Rr5EIonXj3tyCH_UGoAm610vVqgDsAx8/s659/Kenneally14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="626" data-original-width="659" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgdqTf89wtEIfCTVSrZel3Ye8_X3aZKfgZoI5880oup9iaAQMGeILt40dY2jLM_UFzv-o2FPmMwfnqtYoU12VueuFsBBzaNL6YaY6b77PwJH4YJ4EnYWsoP5Eth3rx73e4loajY7s5xhW-J4qTpBD14B7Rr5EIonXj3tyCH_UGoAm610vVqgDsAx8/s320/Kenneally14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Destiny looks out the window of her new bedroom.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;">Shaming people who live in poverty is an old reflex in America. Kenneally reminds us that the fault lines of capitalism are everywhere within our nation, running through the very foundation we keep building upon. Her excavations blast through any attempt to deny it. In her book’s opening essay, she refers to her photographs as “new fossils.” With taking pictures, Kenneally writes, “comes the power to manufacture a record that future generations will consider fact.” Whether we choose to look or not, these images are facts.</p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9RQaZzmgmnczB1aw2YKMz_o0jzaWlITkZYNy4RNNwE3mtjHoSM_peQRTH5OJi4RdX6izhy8nU3pgy4MdUCbst3NjcnyMUMTZ__N4V5ILXYemt_kXtLAo8THHx4x8SUPwiuRK5bgqCDv04Zm_ml_X3J2xlB9jncFDJLYQ3u9GPhloeg-WshEMDk7uA/s540/Kenneally15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="499" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9RQaZzmgmnczB1aw2YKMz_o0jzaWlITkZYNy4RNNwE3mtjHoSM_peQRTH5OJi4RdX6izhy8nU3pgy4MdUCbst3NjcnyMUMTZ__N4V5ILXYemt_kXtLAo8THHx4x8SUPwiuRK5bgqCDv04Zm_ml_X3J2xlB9jncFDJLYQ3u9GPhloeg-WshEMDk7uA/w296-h320/Kenneally15.jpg" width="296" /></a></div><br />Dana and Elliot in the supermarket.</div></span><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVRVKuVDJj_PqVkdJIwA8-V4R6AXso2FkuH6ryyBzhBgM8Qqh-3yZAP6Lfw1d2wwdw9i3mBMf0nSBy4wseqGlEFfa-2lbeza54AxWy1YjzNMxhxfjy5a342-lv6X3qNByU2oC2b2jgdt6bmnykx9VhO-k2jb7HHRcUPgjpHtYQtZAVE4bDy52X4s9/s620/Kenneally16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="620" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaVRVKuVDJj_PqVkdJIwA8-V4R6AXso2FkuH6ryyBzhBgM8Qqh-3yZAP6Lfw1d2wwdw9i3mBMf0nSBy4wseqGlEFfa-2lbeza54AxWy1YjzNMxhxfjy5a342-lv6X3qNByU2oC2b2jgdt6bmnykx9VhO-k2jb7HHRcUPgjpHtYQtZAVE4bDy52X4s9/s320/Kenneally16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; text-align: start;">Laurie’s daughter Katie found her Spider-Man costume among the boxes packed for the family’s move from their last apartment in Troy.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="paywall" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: TNYAdobeCaslonPro, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px;"><a data-uri="2631bb93e856b27a59e03542eddbc79d" href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/adrian-nicole-leblanc" style="--color__token-name: colors.interactive.base.light; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; cursor: pointer; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background 0s ease 0s, text-shadow 0s ease 0s;">Adrian Nicole LeBlanc</a><span style="font-size: 20px; font-style: italic;"> is a journalist living in New York. She will be the Elias Ghanem Chair at the Black Mountain Institute, in Las Vegas, in February, 2019.</span></p>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-22716876424820653882022-09-07T07:14:00.000-07:002022-09-07T07:14:01.502-07:00UNESCO Initiative Attacks 'Conspiracy Theories' Which "Foster Harmful Thinking Patterns and Exclusive Worldviews"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEld2H1hoZMfNLwnfYr55qlJotNUkvSPlsOii_h18RmgVwrEZZ6mOPVRB5hlhwthb3WnuaOjPRVTgAiwSyjfCyq50llXvvQHYfIF5PN0Yfh-WETPzdVqfnanCwGpIz6Lx3j1UQzVwVEG_4D_-qCU7yfMJ7kQ6_f4SZdFPEgbbRlXSWNxkVFEo0Rul/s635/UNESCO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="425" data-original-width="635" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQEld2H1hoZMfNLwnfYr55qlJotNUkvSPlsOii_h18RmgVwrEZZ6mOPVRB5hlhwthb3WnuaOjPRVTgAiwSyjfCyq50llXvvQHYfIF5PN0Yfh-WETPzdVqfnanCwGpIz6Lx3j1UQzVwVEG_4D_-qCU7yfMJ7kQ6_f4SZdFPEgbbRlXSWNxkVFEo0Rul/w400-h268/UNESCO.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Rational scrutiny and debate must not be placed into a sieve for truth by a single truth-finder. Even the word "rational" needs debating.<p></p><p>In the widely publicized initiative posted here below, critics are quoted:</p><p><a href="http://propagandastudies.ac.uk/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" target="_blank">Organisation for Propaganda Studies</a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> Co-Director Piers Robinson said these kinds of developments are “extremely dangerous.”</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Basic principles of freedom of expression remind us that, because we can never be sure who is right and who is wrong, all ideas and arguments need to be evaluated through a process of rational scrutiny and debate,” Robinson told The Epoch Times. “Censoring arguments and opinions believed to be wrong means we risk censoring the truth.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Explaining that these dangers have long been understood, Robinson quoted the great 19th-century British philosopher John Stuart Mill.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">“First: the opinion which it is attempted to suppress by authority may possibly be true. Those who desire to suppress it, of course deny its truth; but they are not infallible</strong>,” Mill said. “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.</strong>”</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif">Betsy Combier</span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">betsy.combier@gmail.com</div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ADVOCATZ.com</a></b></div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></b></div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #3660c1; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a><br />Editor,<a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Parentadvocates.org</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Court Corruption</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">National Public Voice</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NYC Public Voice</a><br />Editor,<a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></b></div><div style="border: 0px; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></div><h1 style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 40px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://libertysentinel.org/un-education-agency-launches-war-on-conspiracy-theories">UN Education Agency Launches War on ‘Conspiracy Theories'</a> </span></h1><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">According to the Paris-based U.N. education agency, which released a <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381958" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">major report</a> on the subject for educators this summer, conspiracy theories cause “significant harm” and form “the backbone of many populist movements.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Among other concerns, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">conspiracy theories “foster and reinforce harmful thinking patterns and exclusive worldviews,” the report said.</strong></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">They also “reduce trust in public institutions” and “scientific institutions,” </strong>which can drive people to violence or decrease their desire to “reduce their carbon footprint,” UN officials argued in the document.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">While “all conspiratorial thinking threatens human rights values,” the document says without elaborating, some conspiracy theories are more dangerous than others.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In some cases, teachers are even encouraged to report their students to authorities.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Examples of “conspiracy theories” cited in the report include everything from widely held and respectable beliefs such as “climate change denial” and “manipulation of federal elections” in the United States, to more far-fetched notions such as the “earth is flat” or “Michelle Obama is actually a lizard.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">“There are plenty of crazy thoughts on the Internet, many of which are patently false,</strong>” explained <a href="https://www.citizensforfreespeech.org/">Citizens for Free Speech</a> Director Patrick Wood. “The only thoughts being ‘corrected’ are those contrary to the globalist narrative. This proves that the focus is on protecting their own narratives and nothing else.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“UNESCO joins a censorship cartel that now includes the European Union, the U.S. government, the World Economic Forum, social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, and notably, Google,” Wood told The Epoch Times. “Anyone who does not parrot the globalist narrative is by default considered to be a ‘conspiracy theorist.'”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">At the heart of the global program to combat these ideas and theories are teachers and schools, according to the U.N. agency. Also central is the battle online and in the media, UNESCO documents explain.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The latest strategy was unveiled at UNESCO’s “International Symposium on Addressing Conspiracy Theories through Education.” Held in late June in Brussels, the summit brought together academia, governments, civil society, and the private sector to promote “joint action” against conspiracy theories and those who believe or spread them.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The plan includes strategies to prevent people from believing in conspiracy theories in the first place as well as tools for dealing with those who already believe them.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Several experts on propaganda and free speech, however, warned that the U.N. effort represents a “dangerous” escalation in what they portrayed as a global war on free speech, free expression, questioning official narratives, and dissent more broadly.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">What they mean by ‘conspiracy theory’ is any claim or argument or evidence that differs from the propaganda pumped out by the government and media</strong>,” warned New York University Professor of Media Studies Mark Crispin Miller, who studies propaganda and government misinformation.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">“I can’t think of anything more dangerous to free speech and free thought—and, therefore, democracy—than this effort by the U.N</strong>., which has no business telling us what’s true and what is not,” Miller told The Epoch Times. “That distinction is not theirs to make, but ours, as free people capable of thinking for ourselves, and unafraid of civil argument.”</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: DINOT, Impact, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px;">The Global War on Conspiracy Theories</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Official efforts to clamp down on “conspiracy theories” and “misinformation” are not new. In fact, Western governments—including the U.S. government—have for years been leading the charge.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In 2010, the U.S. State Department, with help from its “Counter Misinformation Team,” published “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100206065533/http:/www.america.gov/conspiracy_theories.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">Conspiracy Theories and Misinformation</a>” on America.gov claiming to debunk various “conspiracy theories.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">More recently, the Biden administration has also turned its focus to “conspiracy theories.” Last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security repeatedly suggested that belief in widespread voter fraud or alternative views on COVID-19 and public health measures represented a major terrorism threat to the United States.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">While the Biden administration’s proposed “Disinformation Governance Board” appears to have been shelved for now following a public outcry, the U.S. government has been working closely with technology giants to suppress speech surrounding election fraud, Hunter Biden’s laptop, alternative views on COVID-19, and more.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">National Public Radio, a tax-funded operation, has published numerous pieces over the last month echoing UNESCO’s talking points about the alleged danger and prevalence of conspiracy theories in schools and beyond.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Outgoing senior health official Dr. Anthony Fauci has chimed in recently, too. “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">What we’re dealing with now is just a distortion of reality, conspiracy theories which don’t make any sense at all pushing back on sound public health measures</strong>, making it look like trying to save lives is encroaching on people’s freedom,” he said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” on Aug. 22.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The World Economic Forum, which has become a lightning rod for criticism around the world over its “Great Reset” agenda, is also working to counter ideas it labels misinformation and conspiracy theories.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Key to stopping the spread of conspiracy theories is educating people to be on the lookout for misleading information—and teaching them to be suspicious of certain sources,” senior WEF writer Charlotte Edmond wrote two years ago in <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/conspiracy-theories-prevent-spread-covid-19-unesco/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">a piece for the organization’s website</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The U.N. has been central to the global effort. Indeed, the new program is actually an extension of a 2020 initiative by UNESCO and the European Commission dubbed <a href="https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced/thinkbeforesharing" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">#ThinkBeforeSharing</a> to combat conspiracy theories online.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">That effort included urging citizens to post links to fact-checking services and even report journalists who may be engaged in conspiracy theorizing to “your local/national press council or press ombudsperson.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In an October 2020 World Economic Forum podcast on “Seeking a cure for the infodemic,” U.N. global communications chief Melissa Fleming boasts of having enlisted over 100,000 volunteers to amplify the U.N.’s views and squelch competing narratives.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">So far, we’ve recruited 110,000 information volunteers,</strong> and we equip these information volunteers with the kind of knowledge about how misinformation spreads and ask them to serve as kind of ‘digital first-responders’ in those spaces where misinformation travels,” the U.N. communications chief said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The revelation came after years of U.N. and governmental efforts to quash what it describes as extremism, misinformation, and more on the internet. In 2016, the U.N. Security Council launched a “framework” to fight “extremism” online on the heels of a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2015/09/510462-growing-threat-violent-extremism-demands-unified-response-un-chief-tells-summit#.Vgz-vyuzlzi" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">program from the previous year to battle “ideologies”</a> that could lead to violence.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">But the fresh UNESCO efforts in education signal a dramatic escalation in the battle—especially in the targeting of school children.</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: DINOT, Impact, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px;">Combating ‘Conspiracy Theories’ at School</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Education and schools are at the center of the new UNESCO plan to combat conspiracy theories.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“The fight against conspiracy theories, and the antisemitic and racist ideologies they often convey, begins at school, yet teachers worldwide lack the adequate training,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay about the new effort. “That is why today, UNESCO is launching a practical guide for educators, so they can better teach students how to identify and debunk conspiracy theories.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Beyond working through education, the U.N. agency also hopes to expand its efforts to combat the spread of what it refers to as conspiracy theories in the realms of press and social media.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">This builds on the wider work we’re doing to strengthen media and information literacy to better prepare learners to navigate a world of algorithms, artificial intelligence and invasive data collection,</strong>” added Azoulay, who served in the French government as a member of the Socialist Party before taking over the UN education organization.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The UN strategy for fighting conspiracy theories in education lists a number of major objectives for educators.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">These include teaching teachers how to “identify and dismantle conspiracy theories,” how to develop students’ “resilience to conspiracy theories,” and how to tell the difference between a “real conspiracy” and a “conspiracy theory.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">One of the ways offered for educators to determine the veracity of information is to check fact-checking services, which have come under repeated criticism in recent years for being highly politicized and often inaccurate. Many of the services are funded by individuals, such as billionaire founder of Microsoft Bill Gates, who UNESCO says are frequently the target of conspiracy theories.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The document also contains multiple strategies for combating conspiracy theories. To fight “harmful information” among students, for example, UNESCO urges teachers to engage in what the agency describes as “prebunking.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Prebunking is also sometimes called ‘inoculation,’” the report reads. “Psychologists have proven that weakened forms of harmful information, carefully introduced and framed, can help to strengthen the resilience against wider harmful messages, much like a vaccine.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">When students believe in ideas because of parental influence, teachers are instructed to seek help from school officials and consider a “mediated conversation with parents.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">If a student were to express concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine, teachers are instructed to “state that the vaccine has been scientifically proven to be safe” and “that it is important to get vaccinated to curb the pandemic.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">It was not immediately clear whether the relevant section of the UNESCO document was written before public health authorities in the United States and around the world began acknowledging that the COVID-19 injections do not prevent infection from or transmission of the CCP virus that causes COVID-19.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In some cases where conspiracy theories involve alleged hate or discrimination<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">, teachers are urged to consider reporting students to “safeguarding authorities or safeguarding officers.”</strong></p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: DINOT, Impact, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px;">What Is a Conspiracy Theory?</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The document, titled “Addressing conspiracy theories – what teachers need to know,” defines a conspiracy theory as: “The belief that events are being secretly manipulated by powerful forces with negative intent. Typically, conspiracy theories involve an imagined group of conspirators colluding to implement an alleged secret plot.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The UNESCO report moves on to offer warnings about, and definitions for, misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and fake news.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">One term that is not defined in the document, however, is the word “conspiracy” itself.</strong> Most dictionaries define it as an illegal or immoral plot carried out in secret involving two or more individuals. State and federal law-enforcement authorities charge large numbers of people with the crime of “conspiracy” each year.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In its short guide for telling the difference between “real” conspiracies and mere “theories,” the U.N. report divides the thinking into two broad categories.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">The first, dubbed “conventional thinking” in the UNESCO document</strong>, uses Watergate as an example of a real conspiracy uncovered by following evidence and having “healthy” skepticism.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The other mode of thinking, labeled “conspiratorial thinking,” features a “birds aren’t real” theory that concludes birds are robots spying on people and the government creates replica eggs to cover it all up. This conclusion is reached as a result of “overriding suspicion” and “over interpreting evidence,” UNESCO said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">In the real world, experts say the line between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact is far less obvious.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">According to a 2020 YouGov-Cambridge Globalism poll cited in the UNESCO document, <strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">strong majorities believe in overarching “conspiracy theories” in many nations</strong>. Almost eight in 10 Nigerians, for example, said they believed in “a single group of people who controlled world events.” Almost six out of 10 Mexicans, 56 percent of Greeks and 55 percent of Egyptians believed that, too, the poll showed.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">One of the reports at the center of the new UNESCO effort, “<a href="https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/ConspiracyTheoryHandbook.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">The Conspiracy Theory Handbook</a>” by Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook, also acknowledges that conspiracies exist and are not uncommon.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">“Real conspiracies do exist,”</strong> the report admits at the start. “Volkswagen conspired to cheat emissions tests for their diesel engines. The U.S. National Security Agency secretly spied on civilian internet users. The tobacco industry deceived the public about the harmful health effects of smoking. We know about these conspiracies through internal industry documents, government investigations, or whistleblowers.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The U.N. documents also outline various reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories. These include feelings of powerlessness, coping mechanisms for handling uncertainty, or seeking to claim minority status. Evidence is not listed as a reason why people might believe in a conspiracy theory.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">One of the “case studies” listed in the UNESCO document refers to Mikki Willis’s documentary “Plandemic.” Among other points, the film and the experts who are interviewed argue that COVID-19 may have been created in a laboratory for sinister purposes.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Reached by The Epoch Times, Willis slammed the U.N. and its effort to “indoctrinate” people.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“When I hear that the U.N. is now directing its indoctrination towards teachers, I become concerned about the well-being of our future generations,” he said, adding that the U.N.’s attack on “conspiracy theories” was an effort to stop the truth.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“The fact that they continue to use my film series as an example of what they’re fighting against says everything we need to know,” continued Willis, saying the vast majority of scientists now agree with key points in his film and yet “propagandists” keep trying to “perpetuate the lies.”</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: DINOT, Impact, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px;">Critics Sound the Alarm</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Multiple experts in the field of propaganda warned The Epoch Times that the UNESCO initiative was a major threat to free expression.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><a href="http://propagandastudies.ac.uk/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #1470b2;" target="_blank">Organisation for Propaganda Studies</a> Co-Director Piers Robinson said these kinds of developments are “extremely dangerous.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Basic principles of freedom of expression remind us that, because we can never be sure who is right and who is wrong, all ideas and arguments need to be evaluated through a process of rational scrutiny and debate,” Robinson told The Epoch Times. “Censoring arguments and opinions believed to be wrong means we risk censoring the truth.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Explaining that these dangers have long been understood, Robinson quoted the great 19th-century British philosopher John Stuart Mill.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">“First: the opinion which it is attempted to suppress by authority may possibly be true. Those who desire to suppress it, of course deny its truth; but they are not infallible</strong>,” Mill said. “<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;">All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.</strong>”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Robinson, who also serves as co-editor of Propaganda in Focus and sits on the executive committee of Pandemics Data & Analytics (PANDATA.org), also cautioned that powerful actors with large budgets would likely be involved in deciding what is true and not.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“This means allowing powerful actors to define reality and, as history shows, they will define reality in a way that serves their own interests,” he said. “This is all contradictory to democracy and, of course, the reason why freedom of expression is understood to be so important: we must be free to scrutinize and criticize those in power in order to guard against tyranny and abuse of power.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Robinson also blasted the use of the term “conspiracy theory” as “deeply problematic,” saying it was a term often used to shut down discussion on serious issues and questions about powerful actors.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“If we value democracy and the ideas of freedom of expression and rational debate, UNESCO could do useful work on helping people of the world to think for themselves, and develop their own critical skills,” he concluded. “They should not be in the business of telling people what to think.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Another expert on propaganda, environmental political theory Professor Tim Hayward at the University of Edinburgh, also warned that efforts to demonize and silence “conspiracy theories” was really an effort to pathologize dissent and inconvenient lines of questioning.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Instead of reasoned arguments put forward by critics and dissidents being met with proper consideration and rebuttal, they are just dismissed out of hand; and the critics themselves are smeared with the name conspiracy theorists,” warned Hayward, who has written a number of peer-reviewed academic papers on the subject in recent years.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“Worse, of course, is that the general denigration of dissent is used to whip up moral panic about ‘disinformation’ and to try and justify increased censorship,” he added.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">Hayward views the focus on education to combat “conspiracy theories” as particularly concerning.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“It is truly worrying when those responsible for the strategic communications challenged by dissidents get to infiltrate education systems and implant prejudices in favor of ‘official stories’ which are only official because they are backed by political authority rather than actual epistemic authority,” he said.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">While Hayward cautioned that he was not necessarily accusing UNESCO of doing this, he warned that the organization and its programs needed to be watched as this was a troubling trend.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">It would be better to teach children “the fundamentals of critical reasoning” so they can detect falsehoods on their own, he told The Epoch Times.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">“You cannot reasonably identify disinformation or reject a ‘conspiracy theory’ unless you have a robust and defensible grip on what is reliable information,” he said, calling for “logical thinking” and “broad knowledge” to help people guard against disinformation from adversaries or even their own leaders. “That should be the focus of education.”</p><h2 style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: DINOT, Impact, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; line-height: 28px; margin: 0px;">Truth or Misinformation?</h2><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;">The fresh push to quash “misinformation” and “conspiracy theories” online comes as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies increasingly admit that much of what was labeled false during the pandemic turned out to be correct.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">For instance, today, the CDC admits that the COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission—an idea that was censored by multiple social media companies relying on government as “misinformation” as recently as a few months ago.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Also widely acknowledged by federal officials today is that the CCP virus may have, in fact, been created through “gain-of-function” research taking place at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in communist China. This, too, was blocked, censored, and labeled as misinformation.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Alleged conspiracy “theories” being ultimately proven correct is hardly a new phenomenon. Just this summer, Reader’s Digest published a list of “<a href="https://www.rd.com/list/conspiracy-theories-that-turned-out-to-be-true/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">12 Conspiracy Theories That Actually Turned Out to Be True</a>.” The list includes everything from CIA mind-control programs and government spying to tobacco companies conspiring to hide the negative health effects of their products.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Despite the escalating UN concern about conspiracy theories and the claims that they are proliferating at an unprecedented rate, <a href="https://news.miami.edu/stories/2022/08/study-debunks-rise-of-conspiracy-theories.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">new research</a> by the University of Miami suggests that is simply not true.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Critics, though, have repeatedly raised concerns about UNESCO’s leadership, and even those behind the new effort, including a number of individuals from autocratic nations and with ties to dictatorial regimes.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">There <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/beijing-takeover-of-united-nations-presents-existential-threat-to-us-experts_3349220.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">are numerous Chinese communists embedded</a> in the agency’s senior leadership such as Qu Xing, who serves as deputy director-general of the agency.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">The agency itself has been regularly condemned for extremism by U.S. authorities, including by the Ronald Reagan administration when it withdrew from UNESCO.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">The Trump administration ended U.S. membership in the controversial U.N. organization in 2018, citing anti-Semitism, “extreme politicization,” hostility to fundamental American values, and other concerns.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">However, <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/amid-scandal-and-ccp-influence-us-considers-rejoining-un-education-arm_4095313.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">as reported by The Epoch Times</a>, the Biden administration is seeking ways to circumvent federal statutes barring U.S. re-engagement in the global organization.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">None of the press officers, media liaisons, or spokespeople for UNESCO responded to requests for comment on the plan.</p><div class="top_row" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-alex-newman" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Alex Newman" src="https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2020/04/06/16034f696175d012_ttl7dayN5X_WEB_AlexNewman-1.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 50%; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;" /></a> <div class="names" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="name" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-alex-newman" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-size: 22px; line-height: 31px; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: capitalize;" target="_blank">Alex Newman</a></div><div class="title" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: "D-DIN Bold"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div><div class="follow_author right" data-id="109255" style="background: rgb(63, 110, 185); border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: D-DIN; font-size: 16px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; max-width: 128px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 22px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow</div></div><div class="bio" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Alex Newman is a freelance contributor. Newman is an award-winning international journalist, educator, author, and consultant who co-wrote the book “Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America’s Children.” He is the executive director of Public School Exit, serves as CEO of Liberty Sentinel Media, and writes for diverse publications in the United States and abroad.</div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, "Liberation Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px; margin: 0.25em 0px 0.75em;"><br /></p>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-6942584653927519762022-06-23T08:05:00.000-07:002022-06-23T08:05:03.988-07:00The Supreme Court Rules That New York's Concealed Carry Handgun Law Violates Second Amendment<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CgEQXhsN-tq8yFDFOqLhNZFTdfUn8Jl_YIplAQ2DeaNCUi1mEabupL6E4AwyrwJBfIgEbdYmtEweT2N5KH_Am_s9Oc7Mq_Oc0Kaslm-0DOZ9lh-gh9y2hLHA7g7j51lNdQqZmT9srOTOgEYEISIkQCJJMUL96MSl0-IB-0-wLMVzLNpTh5zT3PP0/s760/US%20Supreme%20Court-guns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="760" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CgEQXhsN-tq8yFDFOqLhNZFTdfUn8Jl_YIplAQ2DeaNCUi1mEabupL6E4AwyrwJBfIgEbdYmtEweT2N5KH_Am_s9Oc7Mq_Oc0Kaslm-0DOZ9lh-gh9y2hLHA7g7j51lNdQqZmT9srOTOgEYEISIkQCJJMUL96MSl0-IB-0-wLMVzLNpTh5zT3PP0/w400-h250/US%20Supreme%20Court-guns.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">U.S, Supreme Court</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #777777; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/new-york-elections-government/ny-supreme-court-new-york-gun-law-struck-down-20220623-mbknwsz3krfjzee5fnbposphqe-story.html">Supreme Court strikes down New York concealed gun law in 6-3 decision</a></span><div style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #777777; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;"><br /></div><div style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #777777; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;">By <span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a class="decoration_none hover_underline color_primary" href="https://www.nydailynews.com/tim-balk-staff.html#nt=byline" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #191919; text-decoration-line: none; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s;">Tim Balk</a></span></div><div class="flex " style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #777777; display: flex; font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;"><div style="box-sizing: inherit;">New York Daily News</div><div class="byline--dot-separator | margin-xxs-left margin-xxs-right" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-left: 0.25rem; margin-right: 0.25rem;">•</div><time style="box-sizing: inherit; color: unset; font-size: unset; line-height: unset;">Jun 23, 2022 at 10:38 am</time></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that New York’s century-old concealed carry handgun law violated the Second Amendment, a finding long feared by local officials who viewed the law as a linchpin in efforts to curb the proliferation of pistols on New York City streets.<br /><br />The 6 to 3 decision, which is the court’s most significant gun-rights ruling in more than a decade, voided the state’s Sullivan Act, a regulation that limited concealed carry handgun licenses to New Yorkers with specific defense needs.<br /><br />The court’s conservative majority was widely expected to gut the gun law after hinting at their opposition during <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2021/20-843_8n5a.pdf">oral arguments</a> in the fall. But the decision in the case, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, still landed a blow to New York Democrats and promised swift political outcry from Brooklyn to Buffalo and beyond.<br /><br />Mayor Adams said repeatedly in recent weeks the looming Supreme Court decision was <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-us-supreme-court-gun-crime-concealed-weapons-mayor-eric-adams-20220619-r66eht7zxzaijdh7wkivy2ii3a-story.html">keeping him up at night.</a><br /><br />“Can you imagine being on the 4 train with someone having a 9-millimeter, exposed?” the mayor said at a <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1533838131161620480">news conference</a> earlier this month. “This is not the Wild Wild West.”<br /><br />Gov. Hochul has said she would consider calling lawmakers back to the state capitol if the court invalidated the gun regulation. “We will have to figure it out,” she <a href="https://twitter.com/GovKathyHochul/status/1529471336988516353">told reporters</a> last month. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect the people of this state.”<br /><br /> But lawmakers will now be operating under judicial edicts from Washington that have significantly expanded constitutional gun rights in the 21st century. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in a landmark decision that Americans have a personal right to possess guns that is baked into the Second Amendment.<br /><br />That 5-to-4 ruling, in District of Columbia v. Heller, struck down a strict gun-control law in Washington that outlawed possession of handguns at home. The New York ruling went further, extending firearm protections in the public realm.<br /><br /><br />Two upstate New Yorkers, Robert Nash and Brandon Koch, had challenged the state’s law after unsuccessfully attempting to acquire unrestricted handgun carry licenses, saying their constitutional right to bear arms had been abridged.<br /><br />The Supreme Court agreed.<br /><br />This is a breaking news story</span>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-76604991206397349732022-05-22T08:19:00.000-07:002022-05-22T08:19:08.059-07:00Former New York State Insurance Fund Employee Melissa Saren Sues Gov. Hochul For "Retaliatory Termination" <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhN0kebvir4yWAj89_NO6AjwbGDo3S4T2ctnhy8TRkTrwifbPkfrKgY6cXPohryfTbAEBeOoKupDE7MW8AV9R9JBLG7bjLzOsW467dwryW0g9xuojczjTENyf5cxS_e-mCwAMRs4zxVqgbT7XwTeALCVfCOYbQS4bSpCh5rkgEauA-LZJyRZ2eMXbX/s813/Kathy%20Hochul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="545" data-original-width="813" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhN0kebvir4yWAj89_NO6AjwbGDo3S4T2ctnhy8TRkTrwifbPkfrKgY6cXPohryfTbAEBeOoKupDE7MW8AV9R9JBLG7bjLzOsW467dwryW0g9xuojczjTENyf5cxS_e-mCwAMRs4zxVqgbT7XwTeALCVfCOYbQS4bSpCh5rkgEauA-LZJyRZ2eMXbX/w400-h269/Kathy%20Hochul.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York State Governor Kathy Hochul</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><span style="font-size: medium;">New York State could be seen as the most 'corrupt' in the United States. Newspapers reporting on State business are full of stories about who is secretly taking money for favors, and how whistleblowers get retaliation as their award. The former Governor of New York State, Andrew Cuomo, resigned in light of misconduct charges, and Kathy Hochul, Lieutenant Governor, took his place. <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/11/gov-kathy-hochul-career-path-littered-with-lucky-breaks/">Hochul was not elected by the voters of New York State.</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Not everyone would believe that NYS Governor would violate State rules and laws against retaliation , but a former employee of the <a href="https://ww3.nysif.com/">New York State Insurance Fund</a> says that is what happened when she filed a complaint with the ethics board against an employee who uncovered some shady dealings.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fb8uyzwAN1p1aYve72hLC_B4mUEU_n3thSopUBnSv1zrvErIesyF_NhRjRJNByad34jyv7ANAd0p3gRwXerKZUL0ZgaxGAw7nRELfIWs59nqUGA3XiTLfDPojMRd7zwzZdLyYFmHp-gP8lEcT0dnnllyHVlqmV5Eilsma2zDTI8VPiUqSC_pXCEb/s226/Melissa%20Saren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="176" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5fb8uyzwAN1p1aYve72hLC_B4mUEU_n3thSopUBnSv1zrvErIesyF_NhRjRJNByad34jyv7ANAd0p3gRwXerKZUL0ZgaxGAw7nRELfIWs59nqUGA3XiTLfDPojMRd7zwzZdLyYFmHp-gP8lEcT0dnnllyHVlqmV5Eilsma2zDTI8VPiUqSC_pXCEb/s1600/Melissa%20Saren.jpg" width="176" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Melissa Saren, (picture above from Linkedin) NYSIF's <span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9);"><span style="font-family: times;">Chief Compliance Officer and Ethics Officer</span><b style="font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", "Fira Sans", Ubuntu, Oxygen, "Oxygen Sans", Cantarell, "Droid Sans", "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Lucida Grande", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"> </b></span>had the support of her Supervisor at the NYSIF, Mary Beth Woods, (picture below from Linkedin) when she filed her complaint. Days afterward, an aide to Hochul allegedly told Woods to resign, and three weeks later Saren was fired from her 23-year employment at NYSIF without explanation.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiu76dmtwf34_PUj0mVznFa1-6KjZIczU6YLjsha64OlGx6IE3xthhmxD3XJi6SsDAR8zIZ5ZElLkbGKDHs2q4Njj8zCKCnYuEbdMX9lYu5GFxW9rSL5jOftNY05JTASLF2f06fvEgcZfPClC6xeaSVex-BcBioI8V24WRRs0XgLaC5Qr2s8dB2zh/s234/Mary%20Beth%20Woods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="234" data-original-width="224" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKiu76dmtwf34_PUj0mVznFa1-6KjZIczU6YLjsha64OlGx6IE3xthhmxD3XJi6SsDAR8zIZ5ZElLkbGKDHs2q4Njj8zCKCnYuEbdMX9lYu5GFxW9rSL5jOftNY05JTASLF2f06fvEgcZfPClC6xeaSVex-BcBioI8V24WRRs0XgLaC5Qr2s8dB2zh/s1600/Mary%20Beth%20Woods.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">In our opinion, both Saren and Woods should get their jobs back with back pay and benefits. Hochul is running for Governor in the next election. She does not need this on her record.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif">Betsy Combier</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a222a; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">betsy.combier@gmail.com</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a222a; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ADVOCATZ.com</a></b></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a222a; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></b></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #1a222a; font-family: "Open Sans", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Editor, <a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a><br />Editor,<a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Parentadvocates.org</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">New York Court Corruption</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">National Public Voice</a><br />Editor, <a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">NYC Public Voice</a><br />Editor,<a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #203377; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></b></div><p><br /></p><p> <a class="m_7978668060904776644no_underline" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://link.timesunion.com/click/27786041.7932/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGltZXN1bmlvbi5jb20vc3RhdGUvYXJ0aWNsZS9Ib2NodWwtcy1vZmZpY2UtaW52b2x2ZWQtaW4tcmV0YWxpYXRvcnktZmlyaW5nLTE3MTc5NDgwLnBocD91dG1fc291cmNlPW5ld3NsZXR0ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1oZWFkbGluZXMmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXR1X2tuaWNrJnNpZD01YjBlMTQ1NDJkZGY5YzI4MjAwMzRiODQ/5b0e14542ddf9c2820034b84B4d013a46&source=gmail&ust=1653309974132000&usg=AOvVaw36Q5cDLcqEN4d8pSqzmFN5" href="https://www.timesunion.com/state/article/Hochul-s-office-involved-in-retaliatory-firing-17179480.php" style="background-color: white; border: none; color: #3c3c3c; display: inline; font-family: Lora, Georgia, serif; font-size: 28px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Lawsuit: Hochul's office involved in retaliatory firing of ethics officer</a></p><p>by Chris Bragg, Times Union, May 20, 2022</p><p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke: 0.45px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px;">ALBANY — The ethics officer for a state agency felt a colleague might be improperly steering a contract to a politically connected law firm.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke: 0.45px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">So last September, Melissa Saren filed a complaint with New York’s ethics oversight body. Before doing so, she'd received approval from her supervisor at the New York State Insurance Fund, acting Executive Director Mary Beth Woods.</p><div class="content-wrapper" id="paywall" style="-webkit-text-stroke: 0.45px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><p style="color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Three days after the complaint was filed, a top aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul allegedly instructed Woods to resign. Hochul's director of state operations, Kathryn Garcia, allegedly told Woods that her services were “no longer needed.” And less than three weeks later, Saren was fired from her longtime job at the Insurance Fund — also without explanation.</p><p style="color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Saren has filed a lawsuit against the state, contending that her “retaliatory termination” was “executed with the knowledge and approval of Gov. Kathleen Hochul’s Executive Chamber." The state Court of Claims lawsuit, filed in mid-March, contends Saren was fired simply for "doing the job that she was hired to" — to report unethical behavior.</p><p style="color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">The unrest at the obscure state agency played out during the hectic early weeks of Hochul's tenure, which began Aug. 24. Citing the ongoing litigation, the governor's office declined to comment on the allegations or Garcia's alleged involvement.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Saren’s ethics complaint last September contended that Insurance Fund General Attorney Tanisha Edwards may have improperly sought to steer a contract to a Manhattan law firm, Bradford, Edwards & Varlack.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">One of the three-person firm's partners, Camille Joseph Varlack, had been a high-ranking attorney in former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office from 2016 to 2019. Edwards had been a former colleague of Varlack’s in Cuomo's counsel's office, serving as assistant counsel for Taxation and Financial Services over the same three-year span. Denver Edwards, another partner in the firm, is not related to Tanisha Edwards.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In Saren’s complaint filed with the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, there was no allegation that Tanisha Edwards would have personally benefited from her former colleague gaining a NYSIF contract. According to state law, however, it's illegal for a state official “to secure unwarranted privileges” for themself or others — though it's rare for the ethics agency to pursue the latter type of case.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">JCOPE's general counsel at the time, Monica Stamm, allegedly advised Saren that it was unclear Edwards had violated ethics laws. In addition, until mid-August, Varlack had been the Cuomo-appointed chair of the ethics commission, though she resigned a month before Saren filed the complaint.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">As a result, Stamm allegedly advised Saren that it would be “cleaner” if Saren referred her concerns to the state Inspector General’s office instead of JCOPE. Inspector General Lucy Lang — who was appointed by Hochul in October — has “entirely ignored” the issues raised by Saren over the past seven months, Saren's attorney says. She has also heard nothing from JCOPE.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Lang's office declined to comment. An Insurance Fund spokesman said he could not comment on pending litigation. Woods, Stamm and Tanisha Edwards did not respond to requests for comment.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">NYSIF is a state agency and self-supported carrier of workers compensation and disability insurance; its purpose is to guarantee the availability of those products at the lowest possible cost to state employers. With premiums paid by policyholders, the fund makes substantial investments. As of last October, NYSIF managed about $21 billion in assets.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Beginning in 1986, Saren had a 23-year career at the state attorney general’s office, and according to her lawsuit was given the office’s highest award for “superior service by attorneys” in 2005. She joined the Insurance fund in 2009.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">At NYSIF, Saren had dual roles: as its ethics officer and as the head of its Investment Compliance Department. According to the lawsuit, Edwards did not have any oversight of investment compliance in her position.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">But last June, Edwards began raising concerns that the Investment Compliance Department was not adhering to a recommendation made during a prior outside review, concerning disclosure of possible conflicts when agency officials managed their personal portfolios.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">According to Saren's lawsuit, Woods was asked by the chairman of NYSIF, Kenneth Theobalds, to have an updated outside review done by a Minority and Women-Owned Business — a longstanding priority for Theobalds, who is Black.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px;">Bruce Menken, Saren's attorney in the lawsuit, contends Saren was not threatened by Edwards' implicit criticism of her job performance — Edwards, he noted, was not Saren's supervisor. If she hadn't later filed the ethics complaint against Edwards, Saren could have been accused of being "asleep at the switch" in her role as ethics officer, her attorney told the Times Union.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In late August, Tanisha Edwards had a lunch at the pricey Odeon restaurant in Manhattan with the three partners of Bradford, Edwards & Varlack; the Insurance Fund's deputy counsel, George Tidona, also attended. Everyone present was said to have paid for their own meal.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Afterwards, Tidona allegedly told Edwards that the law firm was “completely unqualified” for the work.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Tidona allegedly then told Saren he was “uncomfortable” with the lunch and follow-up discussions with Edwards, relaying that she had "yelled" at him when he recommended hiring other firms and had insisted on Varlack's. Tidona also allegedly told Saren that the law firm had first been referred to the agency staff by its chairman, Theobalds, who did not respond to a request for comment.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px;">After NYSIF’s head of procurement suggested issuing a public "request for information" as part of the contracting process, Edwards allegedly said that was unnecessary, and wanted to narrow down the search to the Bradford team and two other M/WBE firms.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px;">Edwards allegedly created her own specifications for an investment compliance review, pushing for an outside firm to conduct "full-blown and continuing oversight and management" of investment compliance, rather than the planned limited review. She allegedly tried to unilaterally have the solicitation expedited, have it only sent to the Bradford team and two other firms, and to set up a meeting between NYSIF's chief investment officer and the Bradford firm.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">On Sept. 21, Saren submitted the ethics complaint to JCOPE with Woods' assent. The complaint stated that given Edwards’ lack of a formal role in the oversight of investment compliance, the agency was concerned her "aggressive championing" of the Bradford firm may have been an attempt to "improperly direct work to that firm.”</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Three days later, Garcia allegedly asked Woods to resign.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">As part of her job, Saren had access to internal agency emails — and began seeing exchanges between Edwards and Hochul’s office that suggested Saren was about to be fired.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px;">Edwards allegedly emailed a senior Hochul senior advisor, stating that NYSIF needed to hire an employee for the exact titles Saren held. Edwards then forwarded that email to Julia Kupiec, an ethics counsel to Hochul.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">On Oct. 5, Saren wrote to Kupiec, stating that she was “stunned to read that you are planning to fill my position. First, my position is not vacant, and I have not submitted either a resignation or a request for retirement.” She wrote that Edwards had “no authority to terminate my employment” and that “Edwards’ effort to dispose of me, despite my superior record, is purely in retaliation for my recently reporting her misconduct to JCOPE.” Saren attached a copy of the JCOPE complaint.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Kupiec responded that she had “no plans to do anything with respect to your position, nor would I have that authority in any event.” She recommended that if Saren felt she was the victim of retaliation, she should report the matter to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">On Oct. 8 — a Friday — Woods formally resigned as acting executive director, allegedly at Garcia's prompting. Four days later, shortly after NYSIF reopened from a long weekend, the agency’s deputy executive director Joseph Mullen called Saren, identified himself as the fund's new acting executive director, and told her he had been “directed” to inform her that her services were no longer needed. Mullen later provided Saren with a letter simply stating the same.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">“At no time did Mullen or anyone employed by, affiliated with or representing NYSIF tell Saren why her long-tenured employment was abruptly ended,” Menken contends in the lawsuit.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In an interview, Denver Edwards said there was no connection between his law firm and Tanisha Edwards, besides Varlack and Tanisha Edwards being former colleagues in Cuomo’s office. He added that the law firm has no relationship with Theobalds, the NYSIF chairman.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">“I don’t know why they took an interest in our firm,” Denver Edwards said.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">When the Bradford firm launched in late 2020, it was widely publicized that “three very talented, experienced African-American professionals had taken a risk in starting a new business at the height of the pandemic."</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">“There are leaders of organizations that have made supplier diversity a very, very important thing for their companies,” Denver Edwards said. “There was nothing abnormal, under those circumstances, in having a meeting with an agency that routinely hires third-party law firms.”</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">He said the firm was especially qualified in investment compliance. Denver Edwards previously worked at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">After Saren's ethics complaint, momentum for retaining Bradford Edwards stalled; the law firm never bid on the NYSIF contract.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In late October, NYSIF enlisted Jackson Lewis, a national employment law firm, to investigate Saren’s allegations about Tanisha Edwards. (In 2020, Jackson Lewis had won contract worth up to $700,000 to provide NYSIF with legal services over five years.) </p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In mid-February, Jackson Lewis told Saren her complaint was “not corroborated” and “not substantiated." Jackson Lewis declined to release any further findings to her. NYSIF would not provide a copy of any investigation report to the Times Union, either.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">The same month, Edwards resigned from her nine-year appointment as NYSIF’s general attorney to take a job at the New York City Council speaker's office.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">In March, NYSIF offered to reinstate Saren to a position as associate counsel with the same pay, but did not offer a return to her prior position. Saren declined the offer.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Her lawsuit is seeking $700,000 for back pay and other alleged lost benefits, as well as full reinstatement to her prior position. In late April, Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which is representing the state agency, denied Saren’s claims in a court filing.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; color: #111111; font-family: ChronicleTextG2-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.6; margin: 0px 0px 30px;"><i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 16px;">Chris Bragg is a political and investigative reporter for the Capitol bureau and contributor to Capitol Confidential. You can reach him at cbragg@timesunion.com or </span><a href="tel:518-454-5303" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(0, 111, 186); color: #111111; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.375; text-decoration-line: none;">518-454-5303</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0.45px; font-family: HelveticaNeue-Roman, system-ui; font-size: 16px;">.</span></i></p></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-20677527130229119162022-04-17T13:18:00.000-07:002022-04-17T13:18:06.627-07:00Hunter and Joe Biden's Partnership in Business Dealings on the Wrong Side of the Track<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfqpWGMleYvLq0CslsRc7Y8uEuXcBgxqKFnEH5oL7uKdGUEueJ7bP8S336bK_VOWA2IeTrdictPsj8XHPn1qfj04CdGey33EXbI3PrxbFqicKLBu9zce8416-W06Ow9BKr8yy7N6xKtCxLnYIHqU6-ljOrxIp_VZu0zWUIGWoi_-iTRa3KHgc44dE/s722/Hunter%20Biden2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="722" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfqpWGMleYvLq0CslsRc7Y8uEuXcBgxqKFnEH5oL7uKdGUEueJ7bP8S336bK_VOWA2IeTrdictPsj8XHPn1qfj04CdGey33EXbI3PrxbFqicKLBu9zce8416-W06Ow9BKr8yy7N6xKtCxLnYIHqU6-ljOrxIp_VZu0zWUIGWoi_-iTRa3KHgc44dE/w400-h263/Hunter%20Biden2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><figcaption style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caption-side: bottom; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0.625rem 0px 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then-Vice President Joe Biden and Hunter played golf with Burisma board member Devon Archer in the Hamptons in 2014</figcaption><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><figcaption style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; caption-side: bottom; color: #585858; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="credit" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font-size: 0.75rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.17; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5rem 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;">FOX News/Tucker Carlson Tonight</span></span></figcaption></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/heres-a-dozen-times-joe-biden-played-a-role-in-hunters-deals/" style="font-size: x-large;">Here’s a dozen times Joe Biden played a role in son Hunter’s business dealings</a></p><div><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">By <div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-emily-crane" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/heres-a-dozen-times-joe-biden-played-a-role-in-hunters-deals/#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Emily Crane</a>,</div> <div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-miranda-devine" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/heres-a-dozen-times-joe-biden-played-a-role-in-hunters-deals/#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miranda Devine</a>,</div> <div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-steven-nelson" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/heres-a-dozen-times-joe-biden-played-a-role-in-hunters-deals/#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Steven Nelson</a> and</div> <div class="byline__author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-bruce-golding" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/heres-a-dozen-times-joe-biden-played-a-role-in-hunters-deals/#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bruce Golding</a>, NY POST, </div><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">April 6, 2022</span></div><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><br /></span></div><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"><br /></span></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">President Biden and the White House have repeatedly denied that he and Hunter Biden ever discussed the first son’s controversial <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">overseas business dealings</a> — yet there are at least a dozen times when Joe Biden had to know what his son was doing.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Joe “recommends”</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The latest example emerged Wednesday, when it was revealed that Hunter Biden got his dad to write a recommendation letter to Brown University for the son of a powerful Chinese business <a href="https://nypost.com/article/hunter-biden-china-timeline-business-ties/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">associate, Jonathan Li.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Jonathan, Hunter asked me to send you a copy of the recommendation letter that he asked his father to write on behalf of Christopher for Brown University,” Hunter Biden’s then-business partner, Eric Schwerin, wrote to Li on Feb. 18, 2017, in an email first revealed by Fox News.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Schwerin told Li the “original” was being shipped by FedEx to university president Christina Paxson “directly at Brown.”</p><div class="byline meta meta--byline" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.14; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 0.875rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"> </span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em;">Li is the CEO of the Chinese investment firm BHR Partners and in 2013 established a subsidiary — Bohai Harvest RST (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co., known as BHR — where Hunter Biden was a founding board member and held a 10% equity share through a company</span><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em;"> </span><a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/30/hunter-biden-continues-to-invest-in-equity-firm-linked-to-chinas-central-bank/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">called Skaneateles LLC.</a></div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">After the White House refused to say whether the first son remained a part-owner after resigning from the board in 2019, Hunter Biden’s lawyer finally told the New York Times that Hunter “no longer holds any interest, directly or indirectly, in either BHR or Skaneateles.”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2. The other kid, too</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hunter Biden also arranged for his dad to write a <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/06/biden-wrote-college-rec-for-son-of-chinese-exec-tied-to-hunter/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">letter to Georgetown University </a>— Hunter’s alma mater — on behalf of Li’s daughter, but neither child got into the elite institutions, The Post understands.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During Wednesday’s White House briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I have no confirmation of any recommendation letter the president wrote — when he was a private citizen, by the way, and not serving in public office.”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Joe’s “hopes”</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hunter Biden acknowledged in a 2019 New Yorker magazine article that he and his dad once discussed Hunter’s job on the board of the Ukrainian <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/hunter-biden-emails-show-leveraging-connections-with-dad-to-boost-burisma-pay/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">energy company Burisma</a> Holdings, which paid him as much as $83,333 a month when Joe Biden was vice president under President Barack Obama.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Dad said, ‘I hope you know what you are doing,’ and I said, ‘I do,’ ” he recalled.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Air Force 2 trip</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> In December 2013, Hunter and his daughter Finnegan Biden traveled to China on Air Force Two with then-Vice President Joe Biden during an official, <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/inside-hunter-bidens-murky-history-of-business-dealings-in-china/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">six-day trip to Asia.</a> Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials — and was also introduced to Li by his son in the lobby of the hotel where the American delegation was staying.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Afterward, Hunter Biden sat with Li for what both sides claimed was a social meeting, with Hunter Biden telling The New Yorker, “How do I go to Beijing, halfway around the world, and not see them for a cup of coffee?”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Half his salary?</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In a 2019 text message to <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/04/hunter-bidens-daughter-naomi-to-host-wedding-reception-at-white-house/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">his daughter Naomi,</a> Hunter Biden bitterly wrote, “I hope you all can do what I did and pay for everything for this entire family for 30 years.” He added, “It’s really hard. But don’t worry, unlike Pop [Joe], I won’t make you give me half your salary.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Meanwhile, White House chief of staff Ron Klain was <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/05/klain-solicited-funds-from-hunter-biden-in-2012-report/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">revealed this week</a> to have hit up Hunter Biden for help raising $20,000 for the foundation that maintains the vice president’s official residence.</p></div><div><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">6. Meet the partners</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As vice president, Joe Biden met with Hunter Biden business <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/02/28/devon-archer-sentenced-for-role-in-hunter-biden-fraud-scheme/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">partner Devon Archer</a> in April 2014, around the same time that Archer joined the Burisma board and shortly before Hunter Biden did so, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A photo that surfaced more than five years later reportedly shows Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and Archer posing with golf clubs on a course in the Hamptons in August 2014.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In February, Archer was sentenced to one year and one day in prison in an <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/27/bidens-silent-as-sons-former-friend-and-business-partner-faces-jail-financial-ruin/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unrelated bond fraud scheme</a> that targeted the impoverished Oglala Sioux tribe of American Indians.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">7. Meet the Ukrainians</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Vadym Pozharskyi, a Burisma exec and adviser to its board, sent <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/26/hunter-biden-played-role-in-funding-us-bio-labs-contractor-in-ukraine-e-mails/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hunter Biden an April 17, </a>2015, email that said, “Dear Hunter, thank you for inviting me to DC and giving an opportunity to meet your father and spent [sic] some time together. It’s realty [sic] an honor and pleasure.”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8. Meet the Kazakhs</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One day earlier, Joe Biden attended a dinner at Washington, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/05/28/joe-biden-regular-at-dc-hotspot-where-he-met-hunters-associates/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">DC’s Cafe Milano</a> with some of his son’s business associates from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An unverified photo apparently shows the Bidens posing between two of the guests who attended that night, Kazakhstani banking oligarch <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/03/28/prosecutors-eyeing-hunter-bidens-142k-fisker-sports-car-buy/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kenes “Kenges” Rakishev</a> and Karim Massimov, a former prime minister of Kazakhstan.</p></div><div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In January, Massimov was arrested in a plot to overthrow the former Soviet republic’s government, following his ouster as head of its counterintelligence and anti-terrorism agency.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">9. Meet Bobulinski</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Former Hunter Biden business partner <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/22/hunter-ex-partner-tony-bobulinski-calls-joe-biden-a-liar/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tony Bobulinski revealed</a> in October 2020 that he spoke with Joe Biden in May 2017 after being introduced by Hunter, who reportedly described Bobulinski as “the one who’s helping us with the business we’re doing with the Chinese.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to Bobulinski — who has identified Joe <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/04/hunter-biden-grand-jury-witness-was-asked-about-deal-with-chinese-firm-and-the-big-guy/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Biden as “the big guy” </a>with a 10 percent share in a planned deal with CEFC China Energy — the former vice president told him, “Keep an eye on my son and brother and look out for my family.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bobulinksi also said he later asked Joe’s brother James Biden about the possibility that Joe would run for president in 2020. “He looks at me and kind of chuckles and says, ‘Plausible deniability,’ ” Bobulinski said.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">10. Getting an office </h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Emails show that in September 2017, Hunter Biden asked for a new sign and additional keys to an office he was renting in Washington, DC’s House of Sweden office building, which is home to the Swedish Embassy.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The sign was to say, “The Biden Foundation and Hudson West (CEFC-US)” and the keys were for his father, stepmother Jill Biden, uncle James Biden and a Chinese executive <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/10/15/emails-reveal-how-hunter-biden-tried-to-cash-in-big-with-chinese-firm/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">named Gongwen Dong.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The building manager wrote back, “We are very excited and honored to welcome your new colleagues!” but a spokeswoman for the Swedish agency that oversees the property told the Washington Post that the sign was never changed and the keys were not picked up.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">11. Meet the Mexicans</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden hosted a group of his son’s Mexican business associates at the vice president’s official residence and posed for a photo with Hunter Biden and a group of possible business partners, <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/hunter-biden-used-joes-vp-perks-to-pursue-deal-with-carlos-slim/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">including Mexican billionaires</a> Carlos Slim and Miguel Alemán Velasco.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">12. Quid but no quo?</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In 2016, emails indicate that Hunter Biden <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/30/laptop-shows-joe-biden-was-with-hunter-and-his-mexican-biz-meetings/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">messaged Velasco’s son</a> from Air Force Two, which was en route to Mexico for an official visit. Hunter complained to the younger Velasco that he hadn’t received reciprocal business favors after “I have brought every single person you have ever asked me to bring to the F’ing White House and the Vice President’s house and the inauguration.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">See:</p><h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 30px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; position: relative;"><a href="https://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-hunter-biden-scandal.html" style="color: #af59af; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">The Hunter Biden Scandal</a></h3></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-21813081028555549322022-04-17T09:45:00.002-07:002022-04-17T09:47:49.068-07:00San Diego California Principal Michelle Irwin Cuts Honors Classes in the Name of 'Equity'<br />Parents are outraged not only at the "dumbing down" of the curriculum at Patrick Henry High School, but also at the lack of notice from the school to parents that this would be implemented. Irwin will not meet with parents and made this decision without any consent from the community and stakeholders.<div><br /></div><div>Betsy Combier</div><div>Editor, National Public Voice</div><div>betsy.combier@gmail.com<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4_lf1obz2wSu0N7HUi-zQcGYbTlYfXeRt-RrKGZ0qbYZnzPlNdGHsiV0urfEtwgLaULEPhsQox0rl4XACgH6rJlo15lX6DJJ_8w331FsxJuE5PXxiqaS5VDpZCCOh7N6fi8LC_HG7dn_FRaI1Ut8ar9H8J52PfV7NMGS5kabCk-01jjh7IzOrHxC/s593/Michelle%20Irwin.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="593" data-original-width="535" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ4_lf1obz2wSu0N7HUi-zQcGYbTlYfXeRt-RrKGZ0qbYZnzPlNdGHsiV0urfEtwgLaULEPhsQox0rl4XACgH6rJlo15lX6DJJ_8w331FsxJuE5PXxiqaS5VDpZCCOh7N6fi8LC_HG7dn_FRaI1Ut8ar9H8J52PfV7NMGS5kabCk-01jjh7IzOrHxC/w361-h400/Michelle%20Irwin.jpg" width="361" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><a href="https://www.kusi.com/patrick-henry-high-school-cuts-honors-courses-in-the-name-of-equity/" style="background-color: white; font-family: HelveticaNeue-CondensedBold, "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Patrick Henry High School cuts honors courses in the name of ‘equity’</a></p><div>April 13, 2022, KUSI Newsroom</div><p> <span face="HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #2b2b2b; font-size: 1.125rem;">SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – San Diego’s largest high school, Patrick Henry High School, has cut some honors courses without informing the student’s parents.</span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">As expected, parents are outraged and worry the lack of honors courses will hurt students' chances of getting accepted to prestigious universities.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">The principal, Michelle Irwin, claims she made the decision in the name of “equity.” Irwin also said cutting the honors courses would remove the stigma from non-honors classes and “eliminate racial disparities in honors enrollment.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">In an email thread obtained by KUSI News, Irwin told concerned parents the entire district has been embracing and promoting “inclusive environments.”</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">KUSI reached out to Irwin for comment on her decision, but we have not heard back.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">KUSI News obtained an email thread between a concerned parent of a Patrick Henry student, Principal Michelle Irwin, and Erin Richardson, Superintendent of Area 6 High Schools for the San Diego Unified School District.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2b2b2b; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">The entire thread is below (First email is at the bottom):</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">On Fri, Mar 25, 2022 at 11:44 AM Richison Erin <<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a>> wrote:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Dear Ms. OXXXXX,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you for reaching out and inquiring about some of the course changes at our high schools. I understand the concerns you have as you look forward to the success of your student(s). I hope this email will explain some of the reasoning behind those changes. We have scheduled some upcoming opportunities for parents to have their concerns addressed personally by academic leaders.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Our commitment as a district is to ensure that all students will graduate with the skills, motivation, curiosity and resilience to succeed in their choice of college and career in order to lead and participate in the society of tomorrow. Providing all students with access to a broad and challenging curriculum is one of the ways we work towards this goal.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Our schools help prepare students by offering classes that both contain the necessary rigor to maintain their academic growth and provide the necessary credit opportunities for those who plan to attend a four-year university.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Rigor</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Providing the most rigorous course of study with AP and Community College, with Honors courses if AP and Community college are not offered, to our students allows for them to be more competitive post-graduation in college, university and the workforce. Rigorous and advanced options continue to be offered in all our high schools: honors, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and college courses. If your student wishes to take a course with increased academic rigor, they will have that opportunity.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Credit</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Students also continue to enjoy the opportunity to take weighted courses like AP and Community College Courses as well as several Honors courses. While colleges, universities, and workforce partners recognize AP, IB and college courses as being more challenging than entry-level courses and therefore worthy of weighted credit, this is not true for the courses with the word “advanced” in their title..</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;"></p><div class="ad-manager-placeholder in_article_ad in_article_ad_18" data-ad-id="82498" data-google-query-id="COfAh9fAm_cCFR5LDQodcOYE0A" id="ad-manager-82498-12" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 500; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">College Readiness</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">We strongly believe the changes we’ve recommended will benefit all students by more accurately reflecting both the rigor and credit opportunities provided by courses to help students prepare for both college and career. However, it is equally important to us that all parents feel they have had the opportunity to discuss these issues fully and share their perspectives. For that reason, we are organizing an opportunity this spring for parents and the community to learn more about what college and career readiness means as a graduate of San Diego Unified. We look forward to parents talking directly with some of our educational partners at the university and college level, along with our workforce partners, so you may hear directly how these proposed curriculum changes will positively impact our students after graduation.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Sincerely,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Erin</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Erin Richison, Ed.D.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Area 6 Superintendent, High Schools<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />San Diego Unified School District<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />4100 Normal St.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />San Diego, CA 92103<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a>><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />(619) 581-0883</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">[SDUSD Primary]</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">________________________________<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />From: XXXX><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Sent: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 5:48 PM<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />To: Richison Erin<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Subject: Fwd: Elimination of Honors Classes</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Hello –<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />I am hoping you can help provide some additional information about what is going on at Henry. Parents are incredibly frustrated at what appears to be a unilateral decision by Ms. Irwin. We know that teachers are angry and unsupportive of these class eliminations. Are the classes made available completely at the discretion of the principal? If we want our children to be able to take the honors classes she is eliminating, are we supposed to just pull our kids out of the school?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />The communication on this and other changes have been abysmal and you now have parents who are normally incredibly supportive of the school and the teachers feeling utterly disregarded. I appreciate any context or advice you can provide. I would hate to have to pull my kids out of their neighborhood school.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Thank you,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />XXXX</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">———- Forwarded message ———<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />From: Irwin Michelle <<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Date: Wed, Mar 2, 2022 at 4:59 PM<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Subject: Re: Elimination of Honors Classes<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />To: XXXXX<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />CC: Richison Erin <<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a>>></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;"></p><div class="ad-manager-placeholder in_article_ad in_article_ad_23" data-ad-id="82498" data-google-query-id="CJ2Pv-LAm_cCFYGynwodSO4Jsw" id="ad-manager-82498-11" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; display: table; font-family: HelveticaMediumCondensed, TeXGyreHerosCnRegular, Helvetica, Tahoma, Geneva, "Arial Narrow", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19.2px; font-style: normal; margin: 10px auto; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 500; hyphens: auto; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Dear Mrs. XXXX,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you for your email.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">1. We had discussions about possible changes in our School Governance Team and then at our articulation meetings held last month. If there are additional changes in the future, I will send information via SchoolMessenger. Thank you for your feedback.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />* All students are required to take two years of PE in grades 9 and 10. This is one of our district expectations. While this does create a wrinkle for some students in our pathways such as Engineering, we have several options for our students. I have recommended students and parents to work directly with our Engineering Counselor, Ms. Labe to review our options.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">* There is no reason to stratify our college prep courses that are unweighted in 9th and 10th grade English as the curriculum is not different in classes such as Advanced Physics/Biology and Seminar English.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">2. As a district, we have embraced and are promoting inclusive environments. I cannot speak about other high schools however I can assure you at Henry, we are creating an inclusive welcoming environment where all students will to grow and thrive.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you for your support and understanding.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Most sincerely,<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Michelle<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />—–<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Michelle Irwin<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Principal<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Patrick Henry High School<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />6702 Wandermere Drive<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />San Diego, CA 92120<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />858.988.2700 ext. 3021<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />619.229.0370 fax<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><a href="https://patrickhenryhs.net/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">https://patrickhenryhs.net/</a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Privileged and Confidential: Information contained in this e-mail is confidential and is to be treated as privileged and confidential. It is intended only for the use of the addressee. If you are not the addressee or the person responsible for delivering it to the person to whom it is addressed, you may not copy, forward or deliver this to anyone else. If you received this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and notify me immediately. Thank you.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">From: XXXXX<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 2:57 PM<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />To: Local Admin <<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Cc: Richison Erin <<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:erichison@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">erichison@sandi.net</a>>><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Subject: RE: Elimination of Honors Classes</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Dear Mrs. Irwin –</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you for the reply. I understand that you are responding to numerous concerns and complaints about this decision. I have serious concerns about this course of action, which I share below. First, I had two questions in my original email that were not addressed in your response —</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">1) Was there a communication to parents letting them know about this decision? If not, why not? You said I have incorrect information. In fact, I have zero information from the school, and am only learning of the changes because from other parents. I’m happy to share correct information, but with no context, it is difficult to do that.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Also related, why did we not receive any communication when you decided to eliminate Advanced Physics and the Seminar program for English? I’m only learning just now that those were pulled. I have a student who would have been in the Seminar program, so certainly feel a communication to impacted parents was warranted. I am disheartened at the lack of transparency or proactive communications to parents when you are making significant decisions that will change and/or potentially negatively impact our student’s competitiveness in college admissions. At a minimum, you should have been proactive and shared your rationale ahead of rolling out changes rather than waiting for parents to hear about it and ask questions. I was also discouraged to hear that declined to sit down with parents to discuss changes like this one, the change to the grading policy, new changes impacting students in the Engineering program, etc. I hope you reconsider and offer parents a forum to understand the changes, and also to understand their options.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">2) Is this happening at other high schools in the district, or just at Henry? If this approach is superior, why is it not widespread?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">In terms of the policy itself, I believe that this approach will greaten the academic divide at the school, and put unnecessary pressure on higher achieving students. My junior opted to take Honors Chem this year because he was already taking AP US History class and didn’t need the added stress of a second AP class. Eliminating the option for students to take a weighted, more accelerated class and forcing them to take on more AP classes does not seem to provide the well-balanced course offering — rather, it seems like the opposite.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">I would also like to understand the “stigma of non-weighted course.” My kids take a mixture of accelerated and general classes and neither are aware of a stigma. Can you help us understand that stigma and how eliminating honors classes alleviates that?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Again, rather than having to answer these questions through individual emails, I hope parents will be given the courtesy of a dialogue with you so we can make the right choices about our children’s educations.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you –</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">XXXXX</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">From: Irwin Michelle <<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Sent: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 5:07 PM</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">To: XXXXXX</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Subject: Re: Elimination of Honors Classes</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Dear XXXXXX,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you for reaching out to me. After many conversations with key partners in education including SGT, I have decided to align our 11th grade courses with those that currently exist in 10th and 12th grade. This includes eliminating legacy English and history honors courses which are only offered in the 11th grade. (There are no Honors course offerings in 9th, 10th or 12th grades.) Next year, we will offer American Literature / AP Literature and US History / AP US History. There is very little difference in the curriculum between Honors/Regular so there is no reason to have two classes of the same curriculum. These adjustments will:</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">* Create more balanced heterogeneously grouped classes;</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">* Eliminate the stigma of non-weighted courses;</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">* Provide a well-balanced course offering for all students.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">The alignment of our 11th grade humanities course offerings to our other grade levels will provide a rigorous educational experience for all students at Henry because we believe opportunity should always precede student achievement. We will continue offer Honors courses in Pre-Calculus, Computer Science, Spanish 7-8, just to name a few, because there isn’t an AP or weighted equivalent. And, of course, we will offer a variety of Mesa College Courses that allow students to earn college and high school credits with a weighted GPA. So, the information you received that all Honors courses are eliminated is inaccurate.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Hope this information is helpful.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Most sincerely,</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Michelle</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Michelle Irwin</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Principal</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Patrick Henry High School</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">6702 Wandermere Drive</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">San Diego, CA 92120</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">858.988.2700 ext. 3021</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">619.229.0370 fax</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>></span></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;"><a href="https://patrickhenryhs.net/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black;">https://patrickhenryhs.net/</span></a></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Privileged and Confidential: Information contained in this e-mail is confidential and is to be treated as privileged and confidential. It is intended only for the use of the addressee. If you are not the addressee or the person responsible for delivering it to the person to whom it is addressed, you may not copy, forward or deliver this to anyone else. If you received this e-mail by mistake, please delete it and notify me immediately. Thank you.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">From: XXXXXXXXX</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Date: Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 10:18 AM</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">To: Local Admin <<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a><mailto:<a href="mailto:mirwin1@sandi.net" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;">mirwin1@sandi.net</a>>></p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Subject: Elimination of Honors Classes</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Hello – I’ve heard rumors that Henry is going to eliminate Honors classes, and I have a few questions.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">First, is that correct? Was there a communication to parents? Is this for Henry only or is it a SDUSD decision?</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">I am hearing that parents and teachers are upset and concerned – but was surprised that this hasn’t been explained ahead of students selecting classes.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">I’d appreciate any clarity or context you can provide.</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">Thank you –</p><p style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.125rem; font-style: italic; hyphens: auto; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 1em;">XXXXXX</p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.kusi.com/parents-outraged-at-patrick-henry-cutting-honors-classes/">Parents outraged at Patrick Henry cutting honors classes</a></span></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-76335096466655832312022-03-29T18:29:00.004-07:002022-03-29T18:29:37.159-07:00Managing Workplace Safety Obligations During COVID <p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSf-vB1FGFdviNV8tARvHqt9Y8YCI1WZLwwyyvCCfdgXSwO_DI5zIi4Whczgo6TGkievwNbtT62lcsBFnbDewJMiP0OyE_dYG2H9uOtfTe3HSFt2mrzCIzxi5Cy563i4wVcK02uBDBRMnMShnxdd4v_ZPHh5u-O5B9PGOpoFmOggDtlzFm9jKQWQjz/s629/Covid-mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="629" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSf-vB1FGFdviNV8tARvHqt9Y8YCI1WZLwwyyvCCfdgXSwO_DI5zIi4Whczgo6TGkievwNbtT62lcsBFnbDewJMiP0OyE_dYG2H9uOtfTe3HSFt2mrzCIzxi5Cy563i4wVcK02uBDBRMnMShnxdd4v_ZPHh5u-O5B9PGOpoFmOggDtlzFm9jKQWQjz/w400-h260/Covid-mask.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/Pages/Changing-Obligations-Under-COVID-19-Workplace-Safety-Rules.aspx" style="font-size: x-large;">How to Manage Changing COVID-19 Workplace Safety Obligations</a></p><div><span class="clearfix" id="ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_ctl10_lab_CreatedBy" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; display: block; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">By <a href="https://www.shrm.org/authors/Pages/Lisa-Nagele-Piazza.aspx" id="ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_ctl10_hl_CreatedByLink" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;">Lisa Nagele-Piazza, J.D., SHRM-SCP</a></span><span class="clearfix" id="ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_ctl10_lab_Created" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; display: block; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;">March 1, 2022</span><span class="clearfix" id="ctl00_PlaceHolderMain_ctl10_lab_Created" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #666666; display: block; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 5px;"><br /></span></div><div><p class="ZWSC-cleaned" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Employers may be tempted to lift their pandemic-related safety requirements as federal and state authorities ease masking and other COVID-19 rules. But employers should note that they have ongoing obligations to protect the health and safety of their workers.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"It's a lot to keep up with," said Marissa Mastroianni, an attorney with Cole Schotz in Hackensack, N.J. She recommended that HR professionals speak with a trusted employment attorney to ensure their policies are up-to-date.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"There's a lot of interplay between federal and local law, and decision-makers need help to wade through all the text and information that's coming out, seemingly on a weekly basis," she noted.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Lisa Koblin, an attorney with Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr in Philadelphia, said employers should stay alert and flexible. "While most state and local government agencies are rolling back [many] COVID-19 workplace safety rules, we know from the last two years that these rollbacks are subject to change at any time."</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Employers should prepare a transition plan that allows adequate time to communicate changes with employees and implement new policies, Koblin said. She suggested that employers create fallback rules and guidelines in case heightened safety precautions must be reinstated.</p><p class="shrm-Element-Subtitle" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 22px; margin: 30px 0px 20px;">Responding to Changes</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Some states dropped their masking and social-distancing rules after COVID-19 vaccinations became widely accessible in 2021. Other states introduced stringent safety requirements during spikes in COVID-19 cases caused by the delta and omicron variants. But even states with strict mandates are starting to roll back their directives.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Additionally, <a href="https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/Pages/CDC-Relaxes-COVID-19-Related-Masking-Rules.aspx" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">the latest guidance</a> from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows many communities to ease their indoor masking requirements.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">What does this mean for employers and their workplace masking rules? "This is a contentious issue and partially depends on your company culture," said Jessica Daley, an attorney with Newmeyer Dillion in Newport Beach, Calif. "At a minimum you need to abide by the rules applicable to each specific location. However, if you think your company culture would be better served by a stricter requirement than what the state or local rules require, then that is a discretionary call you can make."</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Some employees may feel safer with a masking requirement even if their state does not require it, Daley noted. Other employees might resist workplace requirements that are more stringent than the applicable rules. </p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">An employer's requirements may depend on the nature of the worksite and the likelihood of COVID-19 exposure, said Katie Erno, an attorney with Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C. For example, lifting mask requirements may be less risky if the worksite is in an area where COVID-19 cases are dropping and employees primarily work in offices and cubicles that are spaced at least 6 feet apart.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">However, if COVID-19 cases are rising in the area and employees are in a manufacturing setting where physical distancing is not possible, it would be prudent to continue to require masks, Erno said. </p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">When making decisions regarding mask requirements, employers should also review applicable guidance from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or their state OSHA plan, which may have heightened safety rules.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Although OSHA rescinded its <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/osha-vaccine-or-testing-directive.aspx" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;">vaccine-or-testing mandate</a> for large employers, the Occupational Safety and Health Act's <a href="https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/oshact/section5-duties" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">general duty clause </a>still requires workplaces to be free from known hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"Employers are responsible for the safety of their workers on the job, and OSHA has comprehensive <a href="https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">COVID-19 guidance</a> to help them uphold their obligation," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh.</p><p class="shrm-Element-Subtitle" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #888888; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 600; line-height: 22px; margin: 30px 0px 20px;">Handling Conflicting Rules<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"The job of a multistate employer is much more difficult these days," Mastroianni observed. Some states prohibit employers from requiring proof of vaccination, while others mandate vaccination for at least some jobs.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"Given the variants between state laws, it's almost impossible to have a companywide COVID protocol on vaccination policies," she explained.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Erno noted that employers can't always take the "lowest-common-denominator approach" by creating one multistate policy that incorporates the strictest rules. "This is particularly true when it comes to employee vaccine mandates," she said. For example, an employer with worksites in New York City and Florida cannot have a single vaccination policy that complies with the laws of both jurisdictions. New York City <a href="https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-vaccine-workplace-requirement.page#:~:text=Vaccination%20Requirement:%20Workplaces%2cof%20a%20COVID-19%20vaccine." style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1976d2; text-decoration-line: none;">requires private employers to mandate vaccination</a>, with exceptions only for those who cannot be vaccinated for religious or medical reasons. </p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Florida law, however, prohibits private-employer vaccine mandates unless the employer offers very specific exceptions that go beyond religious and medical objections.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Thus, multistate employers must carefully track state and local requirements and restrictions when creating and updating COVID-19 policies, Erno explained.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Employers that still decide to issue a policy for all worksites should be prepared to make adjustments or exceptions for employees working in any state that has outlawed vaccine mandates or other COVID-19-related practices that are otherwise required by the global policy, Koblin said.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">"Employers who operate in-person worksites in multiple states should continue to identify a point person or group of people who are responsible for tracking critical changes to COVID-related safety rules required for each workplace," she added. The point person should provide periodic updates to the employer's leadership team and work with experienced employment counsel to keep the employer informed of any new safety rules.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Mastroianni recommended that the designated person check the CDC, OSHA and state health department websites for new guidelines and rules on a daily or weekly basis.</p><p style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.85); box-sizing: border-box; color: #494949; font-family: proxima-nova, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 10px;">Employers should continue to provide updates. "It is important to communicate frequently with employees about changes and make clear that the workplace safety rules are evolving based on state and local requirements," Erno noted.</p></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-76696185015034832732022-03-14T14:40:00.000-07:002022-03-14T14:40:04.793-07:00Students and Staff Say They Are Shell Shocked at A Tiny Ukrainian High School in New York City <p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_O8hfP43KNPa90ofG3B9MEfBuJFuYIpVyX-8WI14v5j5LyAVTJseuWUI4OpMVqS90WSVsTGpLPkBGpF_-eEpnsexiIsiWqU3J8-KX7BJ8dtOSnvJDL-BwbDDGG_3P2TYgAgh2fYGdKwfwxOsvqN7nXx2BKXn-eQUHQLdj1VsfOYhAnficFPHYXMag=s666" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="666" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh_O8hfP43KNPa90ofG3B9MEfBuJFuYIpVyX-8WI14v5j5LyAVTJseuWUI4OpMVqS90WSVsTGpLPkBGpF_-eEpnsexiIsiWqU3J8-KX7BJ8dtOSnvJDL-BwbDDGG_3P2TYgAgh2fYGdKwfwxOsvqN7nXx2BKXn-eQUHQLdj1VsfOYhAnficFPHYXMag=w400-h285" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: soleil, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start;">Principal Andrew Stasiw points to a photo of his students at the Ukrainian American Youth Association Camp in Ellenville, New York. (Meghan Gallagher / The 74)</span></div><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/were-shell-shocked-a-tiny-ukrainian-school-in-new-york-city-struggles-with-war-in-homeland/" style="font-size: x-large;">‘We’re Shell Shocked’: A Tiny Ukrainian School in New York City Struggles with War in Homeland</a></p><div>The 74, <span style="background-color: white; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; text-align: center;">By </span><span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: white; font-family: soleil, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; letter-spacing: 0.5px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/545194/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: black; margin: 0px; opacity: 1; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Meghan Gallagher</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; text-align: center;"> | March 13, 2022</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: adriane, serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br />Every morning for the past few weeks, students and staff at St. George Academy in New York City start their day by checking to see if relatives and friends in Ukraine are still alive. <br /><br />“We’re shell shocked,” said Andrew Stasiw, principal of the tiny Ukrainian Catholic high school in the East Village. “We have students breaking down and crying. We’re trying to run school as normally as possible … but it’s impossible not to be thinking of Ukraine.”<br /><br />And because it is impossible not to be thinking of Ukraine, life inside the high school that opened in 1947 in the city’s Little Ukraine neighborhood has strayed far from class routines and schedules for its 80 students, their teachers and staff. <br /><br />For many at St. George Academy, the country currently under attack by Russia is home — and the pull toward home remains strong. <br /><br />A teacher is desperately trying to get her 11 grandchildren out of Ukraine. A guidance counselor’s job has shifted from discussions about college and career with students to discussions about life and death. <br /><br />Students are fearful Russian spies are hacking their laptops. A student’s escape from Ukraine meant leaving his father and friends behind to fight. Now the teen is grappling with guilt and worry — and the lingering question of whether he too should have stayed.<br /><br />“I know at least four young men that are here … many of them who would go [to fight Russia]. Parents have reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, try to talk to them, and let them know that they can do more good from here,’” Stasiw said, “Parents have that knee jerk reaction to protect their children.”<br /><br />Before the news broke, guidance counselor Nicole Giovenco’s day revolved around reading college applications and enrolling students in AP exams. Now, students come knocking on her door asking her to listen to their fears about the war.<br /><br />“Some of them have brothers over there fighting,” said Giovenco. “They get that one phone call or WhatsApp message a day from them, if they’re lucky, and if they don’t they have no idea what to think.” <br /><br />There have been moments when Stasiw has broken down, tearing up about the crisis. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, has inspired him to stay strong for his students. <br /><br />“Leadership has to lead, and in a microcosm, I’m a leader of a very small school here,” he said.<br /><br />Once, St. George Academy enrolled 900 Ukrainian students. Now just 40 percent are of Ukrainian heritage, though the school still emphasizes the country’s culture. Three Ukrainian refugee students have enrolled in recent days — and more are expected.<br /><br />At the urging of his mother in New York who had wanted him to come live with her, Maksym Kosar, 17, packed an escape bag with dried food, water and his passport a week before his hometown, Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine, was invaded. The morning he heard bombs going off he fled on his own. He made his way out safely, but his father stayed behind to fight.<br /><br />“My dad is in Ukraine because he couldn’t leave at the moment,” said Maksym during his first day at the school. “I will call him as soon as I get home.” <br /><br />School staff are also managing dire family affairs from afar: A Ukrainian teacher has taken days off, desperate to arrange the escape of her 11 grandchildren, who span 4 months to 11 years old.<br /><br />“She’s wrecked,” was all Stasiw would say about the situation.<br /><br />Irene Saviano, who teaches art and works in the office, was excited to start working on this year’s pysanky — Ukrainian Easter eggs — with her students, but the project has been put on hold because everyone at St. George Academy is focused on the war.<br /><br />Ukrainian culture, from learning about the eggs to singing traditional hymns, is woven into the school culture. Now, said Saviano, those traditions and lessons have taken on a new importance, giving students a renewed sense of pride.<br /><br />“Everybody’s singing Ukrainian,” Saviano said. “They don’t refuse it. They actually welcome it.”<br /><br />As Stasiw popped in and out of classrooms, students ran up to him eager to share updates. Many found it too painful and dangerous to speak about the war and, in Ukrainian, told their principal why.<br /><br />“They’re afraid the interview will get them in trouble with Putin,” Stasiw translated.<br /><br />Walking down a hallway adorned with blue and yellow posters, Stasiw was stopped by a student with another fear: He thought his laptop’s security had been compromised by Russian spies. <br /><br />“There are threats of cyber attacks happening in this neighborhood,” he shared, telling the student he would take a look.<br /><br />Stasiw said it’s been hard to know exactly what to do and say to students, so he prepared a presentation “to explain to them what’s going on, especially for the non-Ukrainian students. <br /><br />“I talked about how we have to be compassionate and how Ukrainians do not hate Russians,” he said. <br /><br />For students like Janna, 17, who lived in Ukraine until she was nine-years-old and still has family there, discussing the war is helping her cope.<br /><br />“It feels like a nightmare,” she said. “Raising awareness is good.”<br /><br />Sparking discussion and keeping his culture close, Oleh Holintayy, 15, like many other St. George students, has swapped out his uniform for a vyshyvanka, a traditional embroidered Ukrainian shirt.<br /><br />“This vyshyvanka was made by my great-grandmother, who’s still in Ukraine,” said Holintayy. The teen, who emigrated from Ukraine when he was three, has slept little in recent weeks and become obsessed with checking his phone for updates.<br /><br />Just like other students at Saint George, seniors Sophia Klyuba and Vitalina Voitenko can only think about the safety of their loved ones in Ukraine.<br /><br />“My whole family except for my dad is in Ukraine. My mom, my grandma, sister, nephew, aunt and uncle,” Sophia, 17. “You cannot really focus on anything else and think about anything else… You call your family to know that they’re still alive and well. I really want to be with them right now even though it’s very dangerous … I cannot imagine anything happening to them.”<br /><br />St. George students and staff have looked for ways to show support for their homeland — from singing the Ukrainian national anthem in front of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at their church, to sending messages to soldiers. Stasiw told students they could also help by spreading the word about the charity St. George Academy partnered with, <a href="https://razomforukraine.org/">Razom for Ukraine</a>, which raises funds to send over medical supplies.<br /><br />Together the students traveled to Washington D.C. to protest the war, toting the signs they assembled inside their small, proud-to-be Ukrainian high school.</span>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-34016079095126142702022-02-20T09:41:00.000-08:002022-02-20T09:41:26.892-08:00'Woke Ideology and Cancelling Joe Rogan<p> </p><div class="featured_image" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5QYhbKxPEOAbAHlqIP-S81YqHhgBNGrNh3-iEpcyx4MW11jMgFcUboUR0K8CfgVASG_Sk3vJea18nv-v2hiFPuh__HkZx-7_6sm2b5gy28N3gaGPE8BwbAUt5Bs5i496hCq9hwAfm4fC7kmpIBTp8UyGMHUXdy1ffAxh5A8r98sXfhItydvCwFVHp=s648" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="648" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5QYhbKxPEOAbAHlqIP-S81YqHhgBNGrNh3-iEpcyx4MW11jMgFcUboUR0K8CfgVASG_Sk3vJea18nv-v2hiFPuh__HkZx-7_6sm2b5gy28N3gaGPE8BwbAUt5Bs5i496hCq9hwAfm4fC7kmpIBTp8UyGMHUXdy1ffAxh5A8r98sXfhItydvCwFVHp=w400-h246" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Ringside Condensed", D-DIN, Arial; font-size: 17px; text-align: left;">Wokal Distance, a fellow at the Center for Renewing America, on EpochTV's "American Thought Leaders" on Feb. 9, 2022. (Screenshot via The Epoch Times)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="featured_img" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; width: 680.734px;"><br /></div><div class="featured_caption" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(172, 172, 172); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Ringside Condensed", D-DIN, Arial; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/c-cancel-culture" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Ringside Condensed", "D-DIN Condensed Bold", Arial; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.02em; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: uppercase;">CANCEL CULTURE</a></div><div class="featured_caption" style="background: transparent; border-bottom-color: rgb(172, 172, 172); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: initial; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: "Ringside Condensed", D-DIN, Arial; font-size: 17px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/expert-explains-roots-of-woke-ideology-and-deliberate-effort-to-cancel-joe-rogan_4279549.html">Expert Explains Roots of ‘Woke’ Ideology and Deliberate Effort to Cancel Joe Rogan</a></div></div><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px;">Wokal Distance, an expert in </span><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-postmodernism" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">postmodernism</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px;"> and </span><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-critical-theory" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">critical theory</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px;">, explained how the influences of these two ideologies created the “woke” mindset that is behind the attempt to cancel </span><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-joe-rogan" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Joe Rogan</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px;">. The woke believe they are justified to take anything someone says or does out of context, and criticize and shame them for it, he said.</span></p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“When Joe Rogan says, ‘But I’m not a racist,’ and he tries to give the context for what he said, what do we do? We say: impact, not intent. ‘It doesn’t matter what you meant, Joe. It matters how we’re interpreting it, and we’re allowed to do that,’” said Wokal Distance, a Twitter pseudonym for Michael Young, a visiting fellow at the Center for Renewing America, on EpochTV’s “<a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/wokal-distance-the-campaign-against-joe-rogan-and-the-basis-of-woke-ideology_4270523.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">American Thought Leaders”</a> in a Feb. 9 interview.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">He explained how, since the 1960s, postmodernism and critical theory converged to create the unforgiving <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-cancel-culture" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">cancel culture</a> that exists today.</p><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 5px auto 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“Critical theory says that the assumptions and presuppositions our society rests on need to be criticized ruthlessly,” he said. “And so that’s everything from reasoning, logic, beliefs, tradition, practices—anything that our society has produced needs to be critiqued along these lines.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“If you think about postmodernism as being like a solvent or an acid, when you throw the acid onto the piece of metal, the metal doesn’t just evaporate like that, it takes time. The dissolving of objective truth isn’t an overnight process, but it’s been chipped away at, it’s been rusting slowly,” he said.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Critical theory was made well known by a group of neo-Marxist thinkers at the Frankfurt School in Germany. “They forged a tool or discipline or way of doing analysis called critical theory,” he said.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“The underlying assumption of critical theory is that we are being dominated or oppressed by our society. So, questioning the legitimacy of every single aspect of our civilization is deemed necessary to achieve liberation from all of the oppression.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">A member of the Frankfurt School and philosopher, Max Horkheimer was famous for his work in critical theory and, “said that critical theory can’t just have any direction of moral vision, the moral vision must be geared toward the ‘Emancipation’ quote of human beings,” said Wokal Distance.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">He explained that the Neo-Marxist starting point is that some are oppressors and some are oppressed, who need to be liberated from the existing patriarchal, sexist, straight, racist, society.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">The woke “would say that all of the ideas that you put forth about human rights, all of this is a veneer for what’s really going on, which is people preserving their own power, maintaining their own privilege, trying to preserve their space in the hierarchy, trying to create and keep their own power,” he said.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“They would take our doctrines, they would rip them apart and show how the way that we’ve interpreted the world, the way that we’ve interpreted science, the way that we interpreted human rights, the way that we’ve understood the world is really a product of the biases and the power-seeking and clout seeking,” said Wokal Distance. “So, when they call literally everything racist, what they’re saying is ‘look, all of your presuppositions, all of your ideas are really just built to protect the power of white people.’”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">He said that the education system has been used to spread such ideology throughout the entire society.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“It is a view that has been kind of absorbed by people who live in the media ecosystem. So, people who work in music, movies, television, journalism, those sorts of people have adopted elements of this, they have adopted this kind of worldview,” he said.</p><h2 style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 0.83em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Deliberate Effort to Cancel Joe Rogan</h2><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Wokal Distance believes political groups have used the woke mob on social media to invoke outrage against an opponent, in this case Joe Rogan. “I absolutely think that there are political actors who are cynically ginning up woke people to cancel people all the time,” he said.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">He said these groups reposted the video of Rogan saying the “n” word and then other groups with leftist ideology reposted the same video to increase the outrage against Rogan.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“They just keep retweeting it over and over and over and over again. Why? Well, they didn’t just tweet the video in some kind of organic reaction. It was a pre-planned media strategy,” said Wokal Distance. “And what are they doing? They’re creating a narrative. This is a professional media shop.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">The video is a compilation of edited clips of Rogan from various interviews, using the “n” word out of context.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“And we see that with Rogan, what did we have? We have a video of Joe Rogan saying the ‘n’ word and what did they do? Did they include the big long conversation? So, we get all the context? Oh, they just sliced up him saying the ‘n’ word, and it’s one right after another,” he said. “And the nuanced discussion is lost.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“If you think about an analogy of a forest fire, sometimes lightning strikes a tree and causes a forest fire. And sometimes the guy grabs a bunch of twigs together, lights them on fire, fans the flames, and then throws gasoline on it,” said Wokal Distance. “What they’re trying to do is they want to burn down Joe Rogan’s life but they want it to look like lightning hit a tree.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">He thinks that these groups don’t like the power and influence Rogan has because he appeals to people from a broad segment of political views. He said that these groups are highly skilled at using language, communication, and the media to spread their message and make it look like everyone agrees with them.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“And all the normal people who don’t know these social media tactics and aren’t professionally paid, are just sitting there with their 50 followers going: ‘What do I do, I don’t want to get canceled. If they can cancel Joe Rogan, they can cancel me too.’ So, everyone just kind of puts their head down.”</p><div class="author_wrapper" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(222, 222, 222); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: auto auto 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="one_author_block round" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="top_row" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-masooma-haq" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Masooma Haq" src="https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2021/08/20/WEB_MasoomaZia1.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 50%; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;" /></a> <div class="names" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="name" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-masooma-haq" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 22px; line-height: 31px; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: capitalize;" target="_blank">Masooma Haq</a></div><div class="title" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: "D-DIN Bold"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div><div class="follow_author right" data-id="78562" style="background: rgb(63, 110, 185); border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: D-DIN; font-size: 16px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; max-width: 128px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 22px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow</div></div><div class="bio" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div class="social_row" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 4px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div><div class="author_wrapper" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(222, 222, 222); box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 17px; margin: auto auto 20px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="one_author_block round" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 24px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="top_row" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-jan-jekielek" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #0000ee; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Jan Jekielek" src="https://img.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2022/01/28/ATL-240x240.jpg" style="background: transparent; border-radius: 50%; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; height: auto; margin: 0px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 60px;" /></a> <div class="names" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 12px; vertical-align: top;"><div class="name" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-jan-jekielek" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 22px; line-height: 31px; text-decoration-line: none; text-transform: capitalize;" target="_blank">Jan Jekielek</a></div><div class="title" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #777777; font-family: "D-DIN Bold"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 14px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">SENIOR EDITOR</div></div><div class="follow_author right" data-id="762" style="background: rgb(63, 110, 185); border-radius: 4px; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: inline-block; float: right; font-family: D-DIN; font-size: 16px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; max-width: 128px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 22px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Follow</div></div><div class="bio" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jan Jekielek is a senior editor with The Epoch Times and host of the show, "American Thought Leaders." Jan’s career has spanned academia, media, and international human rights work. In 2009 he joined The Epoch Times full time and has served in a variety of roles, including as website chief editor. He is the producer of the award-winning Holocaust documentary film "Finding Manny."</div></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-23763366321389115902022-01-28T06:43:00.003-08:002022-01-28T10:30:46.819-08:00Miranda Devine: The Clandestine Invasion of America Across the Southern Border Betrays the American People<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNUiIyQDjin1LVVsgQWk_WPNGL5sdqOkL73or0Hoj5jALYKgc7CjXzo8rXyVCSNQaisw1jUlVAju5dZVpKzb3MrP-731atnESNCRvLfIRuFokt1SXeX4c5YlWoquoy91Mm_TLOxFapEhQ0n1_DPwaCnlNhzDxkjvd6XAtj9gxHUZiv_h9-AI4atzvj=s716" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="716" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjNUiIyQDjin1LVVsgQWk_WPNGL5sdqOkL73or0Hoj5jALYKgc7CjXzo8rXyVCSNQaisw1jUlVAju5dZVpKzb3MrP-731atnESNCRvLfIRuFokt1SXeX4c5YlWoquoy91Mm_TLOxFapEhQ0n1_DPwaCnlNhzDxkjvd6XAtj9gxHUZiv_h9-AI4atzvj=w400-h269" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #585858; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.14px; text-align: left;">Footage shows planes full of undocumented immigrants being unloaded at Westchester County <br />Airport in the middle of the night on Aug. 13, 2021.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p>President Biden heading up a secret government should be held accountable for his actions.</p><p>We think an investigation of the "clandestine invasion of America across the Southern border" exposed in the NY POST's Miranda Devine is called for.</p><p>Do it now, Attorney General Garland.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.85px;">Betsy Combier</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.85px;"></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; padding: 0px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px;">betsy.combier@gmail.com</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: quot; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, </span><span style="color: #582995;"><a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ADVOCATZ.com</span></a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Parentadvocates.org</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Court Corruption</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">National Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></span></b></div></span></div><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/26/leaked-video-reveals-joe-bidens-hush-hush-migrant-invasion/" style="font-size: x-large;">‘Betraying the American people’: Leaked video reveals Joe Biden’s ‘hush hush’ migrant invasion</a></p><div><span face="Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.14px;">By </span><div class="byline__author" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; letter-spacing: -0.14px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><a aria-controls="flyout-miranda-devine" aria-expanded="false" class="meta__link" href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/26/leaked-video-reveals-joe-bidens-hush-hush-migrant-invasion/?utm_campaign=nypevening&utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20220127&lctg=6079a46a2bd6b2013b15f28e&utm_term=Evening%20Update%20Control%20Group%20B#" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Miranda Devine</a>, NY POST, January 26, 2022</div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi go all out to protect <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/25/biden-ukraine-would-change-the-world-but-us-nato-wont-be-there/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ukraine’s national sovereignty,</a> at the same time they are orchestrating a clandestine invasion of America across the southern border.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Two million illegal immigrants from dozens of countries crossed over from <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/22/after-1-5-million-arrests-dhs-says-border-is-secure/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mexico last year,</a> and the Biden administration is facilitating the cartels’ <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/12/border-agents-in-texas-bust-human-smuggling-effort-arrest-24-migrants/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">people-smuggling</a> operation — at taxpayer expense.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Under cover of darkness, every night the federal government is <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/18/biden-secretly-flying-underage-migrants-into-ny-in-dead-of-night/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">transporting illegal migrants</a> as fast as it can away from the border on secret charter flights into unsuspecting communities around the country. Officials have lied and obstructed the few journalists who have tried to reveal the truth.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">This is nothing short of a betrayal of the American people.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And that’s not just me saying it — those are exactly the words of one federal government contractor employed to transport migrants from the southern border to the airport<a href="https://nypost.com/2021/10/18/biden-playing-deadly-game-using-secret-flights-to-move-migrants/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> in White Plains.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The government is betraying the American people,” the contractor told a Westchester County police officer in a conversation that was recorded on the cop’s bodycam on the tarmac of the county airport on Aug. 13, 2021. The men were standing beside a Boeing 737 flown in from Fort Bliss, Texas, by iAero Airways under charter by the federal government.</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Damning footage</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The 51-minute footage was obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request by former Westchester County Executive <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/12/30/new-york-gubernatorial-candidate-rob-astorino-tests-positive-for-covid-19/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rob Astorino,</a> a Republican candidate for governor in 2022.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Throughout the footage, police Sgt. Michael Hamborsky expresses frustration that local police have been given no information about the flights arriving after curfew at the airport, in breach of security protocols.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You’re on a secure facility here; we really don’t know anything and we’re in charge of security,” he tells one of the federal contractors.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“This is anti all our security stuff.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The iAero flight that so puzzled Hamborsky that night was just one of the almost nightly charter flights that began shuttling migrants into the suburban Westchester airport after curfew from places like <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/08/04/thousands-of-covid-positive-migrants-pass-through-texas-border/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">McAllen, El Paso</a> and Houston, Texas, last year beginning at least as far back as Aug. 8. The flights stopped only after The Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/04/flights-carrying-illegal-immigrants-land-in-pa-reports/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">revealed their existence</a> in late October.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The bodycam footage shows Hamborsky courteously but persistently questioning a dozen federal contractors who are bustling around the tarmac <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/17/thousands-of-immigrants-wait-for-asylum-under-texas-bridge/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">overseeing migrants</a> disembarking and boarding American Dream charter buses waiting on the tarmac between about 6:15 and 7 a.m.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky ascertains that the plane arrived at 11:48 p.m. the previous night with 142 migrants on board.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Also on board were 12 “chaperones” — employees of MVM Inc., a controversial private security firm that was a major contractor for the CIA and the NSA in Iraq, and which last year signed a <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/03/07/biden-administration-releasing-families-from-migrant-centers/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">$136 million contract</a> with the federal government to transport illegal migrants and <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/01/feds-lose-track-of-thousands-of-migrant-kids-after-release-report/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">unaccompanied children</a> around the country.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The bodycam begins in the pre-dawn darkness at 6:09 a.m. when Hamborsky parks his squad car on the airfield next to the hangar of Ross Aviation, whose employees are assisting with refueling the plane.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky asks to see the ID of the MVM contractors.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I can give you my state ID,” replies one man, “but work IDs we’re not allowed to.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky tells the contractors: “I’m just trying to figure out what’s what, who’s who and how I’m supposed to keep this secure.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The contractors start giving him the lanyards from around their necks.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One says: “We’re not allowed to have our picture taken when we get on base.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Un-f–king-believable,” Hamborsky replies. “And who’s that by? DHS [Department of Homeland Security]?”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Yes, and the United States Army,” is the reply. “You’re on a federal installation but DHS wants everything on the down-low.”</p><div><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky asks another contractor why they come to a small airport like Westchester.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You don’t want to be in somewhere the spotlight is,” is the reply. “You want to try and be as down-low as possible. A lot of this is just down-low stuff that we don’t tell people because what we don’t want to do is attract attention. We don’t want the media. Like we don’t even know where we’re going when they tell us.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another contractor tells Hamborsky: “Listen, my thing is I like to comply but technically we’re not supposed to show IDs or anything. Like I said, everything is supposed to be hush-hush.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky replies, with good-natured but mounting exasperation: “And if you don’t, I could just not let you out …</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I don’t care if it’s military or not … we gotta know who people are. The way TSA [the federal Transportation Security Administration] works is we’re supposed to have a certain designated number [of passengers] for each chaperone. Well, there’s 60 kids out here and there’s two guys.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Two [migrants] grab their bags out here and next thing you know we could be playing tag all night.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I have to take my shoes off when I get on a plane. These guys are grabbing their bags and getting on buses.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the bus drivers waiting for his migrant passengers to board tells Hamborsky he has no idea <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/09/22/team-biden-knows-how-many-illegal-migrants-its-welcomed/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of his destination.</a></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“They didn’t tell you where it’s going?” asks the cop.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The driver replies: “They never do.”</p><h2 style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: neue-haas-grotesk-display, sans-serif; font-size: 1.25rem; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.1; margin: 1.5625rem 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Security problem</h2><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky learns from one of the MVM contractors that Delaware and Virginia are two destinations. Later he is told two more buses are heading for Madison, NJ, with one continuing to Maryland.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“You’re trying to figure out what this is?” asks one of the bus drivers. “Good luck with that.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky replies: “You’re on a secure facility here and we don’t really know anything and we’re in charge of security. Hence why we’re having a problem here.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The driver sympathizes: “Yeah … I used to pick up basketball teams that have more security.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“One hundred percent,” agrees Hamborsky. “We still don’t know really what’s happening, how they’re getting here.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Meanwhile, in the background, migrants can be seen picking up identical bags laid out on the tarmac and heading toward buses. Most look to be in their middle to late teens, although there are a few older adult males. They can be heard speaking Spanish.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The drivers say usually the buses are waiting when the migrant flights arrive. But this night, “someone dropped the ball.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One says his boss rang him “in a panic” at 12:24 a.m., saying “we need four buses right away.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“We’re a family-owned business,” explains one driver. “We’re subcontractors of a government contractor … It’s one of those things you can’t turn down because once you sign the contract, you’re a slave to the grind.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Later in the bodycam recording, a contractor tells Hamborsky: “I get the whole secrecy and all that s–t but this is even above my f–king pay grade … the f- -k, you know what I mean?”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky replies: “And why? You know why?”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The contractor replies: “You know why, look who’s in office. That’s why, come on.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hamborsky says: “But what’s the big secret?”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Contractor: “You know why. Because if this gets out, the government is betraying the American people.”</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: -0.01em; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1.25rem; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">He knows. Everyone knows that Americans don’t want their country to be invaded by millions <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/25/video-shows-adult-male-migrants-released-for-transport-across-us-report/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of illegal migrants.</a> Hence the secrecy and lies from the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/01/25/biden-sets-yet-another-record-at-the-southern-non-border/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #c60800; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Biden administration.</a></p></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-49952867849070305812022-01-23T05:44:00.002-08:002022-01-25T05:59:42.077-08:00When Can This Be Stopped: NY's Finest Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora Shot In the Head While On Duty<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgODRTCVV3YusdZTQt8B8Ld5Nlb4PuaQD6TJtu0sRgsMFSDeaNbBe5WuFikr2tMzd3cMmDhsQaZqClSgTP7lz45ZEpJvqjVM9BrKO1l-Z9HqtiA1R6hqsDR_IqSZnM63HTTd-RQ9bT_6l-IMGzA7X-1ndu1OKYqMdsJB4Jcgh-sEPTmBy-NdihuoZLT=s730" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="730" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgODRTCVV3YusdZTQt8B8Ld5Nlb4PuaQD6TJtu0sRgsMFSDeaNbBe5WuFikr2tMzd3cMmDhsQaZqClSgTP7lz45ZEpJvqjVM9BrKO1l-Z9HqtiA1R6hqsDR_IqSZnM63HTTd-RQ9bT_6l-IMGzA7X-1ndu1OKYqMdsJB4Jcgh-sEPTmBy-NdihuoZLT=w400-h293" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason Rivera (left) and Wilbert More (right)</td></tr></tbody></table>From Betsy Combier:<p></p><p>We believe in our nation's finest, the men and women who serve to protect us all. Defunding the police is nonsense, built up by hysterical people who in the end <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/04/10/inside-blm-co-founder-patrisse-khan-cullors-real-estate-buying-binge/">profited greatly</a> from the sheeple who followed this insane road to social disorder.</p><p>Should officers of the law be given additional training? Absolutely, training in what to do in panic-driven situations where people with guns may be having mentally unstable episodes is a good place for taxpayer money. Let's do that, pronto.</p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.85px;">Betsy Combier</span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.85px;"></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; padding: 0px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px;">betsy.combier@gmail.com</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: quot; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, </span><span style="color: #582995;"><a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ADVOCATZ.com</span></a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Parentadvocates.org</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Court Corruption</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">National Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></span></b></div></span></div><p><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-they-served-us-all-20220122-pswaa76fbrhibcz3ffq2onbzzq-story.html" style="font-size: x-large;">They served us all: NYPD Officer Jason Rivera is dead and his partner Wilbert Mora is in critical condition because of an angry man with a stolen gun</a></p><div><br /></div><div><div class="byline-wrapper" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">NY DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD, January 22, 2022</div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><br />First, we mourn. Angrily, we mourn. For a man wielding a gun stolen in Baltimore five years ago — a grotesque weapon with a high-capacity magazine holding up to 40 rounds — <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-two-nypd-police-officers-shot-manhattan-harlem-20220122-rrth5td5rzezjcwmzvxr2p4i3a-story.html">has cut down two of New York’s Finest</a>. Jason Rivera, a 22-year-old rookie and son of Inwood who had written earnestly his desire to “better the relationship between the community and the police,” is dead. Wilbert Mora, just five years his senior, lies in critical condition at Harlem Hospital.<br /><br />Two officers with careers of service ahead of them and a third partner were responding to a mother’s 911 domestic violence call about her son. As they headed down the hall after a brief conversation with her and another son, police say Lashawn McNeil came out shooting. The 47-year-old was on probation after a 2003 felony drug charge; he had four arrests in other states including assaulting a police officer in Pennsylvania and a North Carolina gun charge.<br /><br />Fortunately, the third officer present shot and wounded the man who had just put bullets in his partners’ flesh.<br /><br />There is a sickness in this city. Twenty-two days into 2022, Rivera and Mora are the fourth and fifth cops hit with gunfire. New York is awash with firearms, and crawling with people emboldened to believe they can squeeze the triggers and risk or take lives without facing serious, certain consequences.<br /><br />And there is a still deeper sickness in this nation — when, even as there are already far too many weapons already in the hands of far too many criminals, the Supreme Court stands poised to invalidate New York’s strict gun laws, effectively allowing anyone to be legally armed anywhere.<br /><br />As the city wipes its tears and channels its rage, it falls to Eric Adams, as suited to rise to this challenge as any mayor in recent memory, to lead the charge to staunch the flow of deadly weapons into the five boroughs — and, just as if not more critical, to ensure that those who demand those guns, who put bullets in their chambers and wantonly squeeze their triggers at civilians and cops, know that there will be hell to pay for the lives they destroy and the fear they instill. May his honor find willing, able allies in every quarter.<br /><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/harlem-shooting-nypd-officer-shot-wilbert-mora-surgery-brain-pressure-sources/">‘It’s a significant injury’: Surviving NYPD officer rushed to brain surgery after Harlem shooting, sources say</a></span><div>by Mary Murphy, PIX11, Jan. 22, 2022<br /><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) — Wilbert Mora, the 27-year-old police officer who was shot in the head Friday night, and survived the gunfire that killed a fellow officer, was rushed into surgery “to alleviate swelling in the brain,” two high-ranking law enforcement sources told PIX11 News on Saturday.<br /><br />Both Mora and NYPD officer Jason Rivera were shot in the head, the sources said. Rivera, 22, died from his injuries. <br /><br />The two young officers had been responding to a domestic incident involving a mother and son. Chief of Detectives James Essig announced Friday evening a <a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/nypd-officer-shot-killed-in-harlem-renews-political-push-against-illegal-guns/">Glock .45 was recovered</a> near a back bedroom in the apartment where the shooting took place on West 135th Street in Harlem. <br /><br />Rivera, a rookie officer, and son of immigrants, was carried by fellow cops across the street to the emergency room of Harlem Hospital <a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/two-nypd-officers-shot-in-harlem-sources/">but was pronounced dead</a>. Mora’s condition was grave, as well. Police described his condition on Saturday as still “critical.”<br /><br />“He was rushed immediately up to the O/R,” a law enforcement official told PIX11 News about Mora. “It’s a significant injury. We hope he makes it through … It was a large-caliber bullet, a .45, which is a very significant, very powerful ammunition.”<br /><br />Regarding the high-quantity magazine that was attached to the bottom of the Glock, the source noted, “It’s like a drum, a small drum. It can hold 40-50 bullets. It makes an ordinary handgun into a killing machine.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/who-was-nypd-officer-jason-rivera-rookie-cop-killed-in-harlem-shooting/?ipid=promo-link-block1">Who was NYPD officer Jason Rivera? Rookie cop killed in Harlem shooting </a><br /><br />Mora, who joined the NYPD in 2018, was with Rivera and another officer from the 32nd Precinct responding to a domestic incident at the home. A mother called 911 about her 47-year-old son, identified by police as Lashawn McNeil, an ex-convict with multiple arrests for narcotics and weapons possession. McNeil was on probation for a drug conviction in New York City.<br /><br />When the police arrived at the apartment, they spoke to the mother and another son in the front room. Nothing was mentioned about McNeil being armed. That’s when Mora and Rivera approached the back bedroom. <br /><br />Chief Essig said Friday night McNeil <a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/harlem-shooting-leaves-nypd-officer-dead-2nd-officer-and-suspect-injured/">suddenly opened the door and ambushed them</a> with rapid gunfire. The law enforcement official said the incident was a reminder that “Everything has the potential to turn deadly … quickly.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /><a href="https://pix11.com/news/local-news/manhattan/nypd-officers-shot-suspect-lashawn-mcneil-was-on-probation-previously-arrested-for-assaulting-cop/?ipid=promo-link-block2">NYPD officers shot: Suspect Lashawn McNeil was on probation, previously arrested for assaulting cop, police say </a><br /><br />On Saturday afternoon, PBA President Patrick Lynch released a statement from his police union, saying, in part, “In the coming days, New Yorkers will get to know these heroes. What they’ll find is they know them already. They are your sons. They are your husbands, fathers, and brothers. They are your neighbors. They walked these city streets beside you.”<br /><br />On Friday night, Lynch had asked the public to come to Rivera’s funeral to show support for the men and women in NYPD Blue, who are trying to stem the gun violence in New York City. He repeated that call Saturday.<br /><br />“We respectfully ask you, once again: please join us to mourn Police Officer Jason Rivera as if he was your own flesh and blood. And please pray hard for our injured brother, because he is your brother, too.”</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/">Mapping Police Violence</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jan/24/violent-attacks-against-police-officers-rise-2022/">Violent attacks against police officers on the rise in 2022</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/01/21/utah-broke-record-most/">More Utah officers were shot at in 2021 than in recent history. Here’s why officials say violence against police is rising.</a></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-31204269607520943112022-01-12T11:09:00.001-08:002022-01-12T11:09:20.100-08:00Judicial Watch Uncovers Ineligible Voter Registrations Throughout the U.S.<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgR8vSfASrB9azqZ-N7ygHzP8dTvfMmy0p7inhuPbU9B3kPGkCAowHOmvNtBTSo_oJNcfaxptkUhI8l8dPF271LFpBQPPmh6tV2rXixCoM0B4xGki4TYuXXLLEH_w8MG3_MmfcHefd_4dmYgP5FnGpysTzkbF-tWvLBgchAQKcpr6gW__dvl_DXjtg=s453" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="453" data-original-width="424" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhgR8vSfASrB9azqZ-N7ygHzP8dTvfMmy0p7inhuPbU9B3kPGkCAowHOmvNtBTSo_oJNcfaxptkUhI8l8dPF271LFpBQPPmh6tV2rXixCoM0B4xGki4TYuXXLLEH_w8MG3_MmfcHefd_4dmYgP5FnGpysTzkbF-tWvLBgchAQKcpr6gW__dvl_DXjtg=w375-h400" width="375" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch</td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">The Advocatz team are fans of Tom Fitton and his Judicial Watch Group for many years.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">He is responsible for uncovering a lot of the hidden secrets of corruption and fraud in America, and we applaud his efforts to give us a clear view of what is going on.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Here is an Amici Curiae Brief recently submitted to the Supreme Court:</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/19-1257/162864/20201207151716120_201204a%20Amicus%20Brief%20for%20efiling.pdf">AMICI CURIAE BRIEF OF JUDICIAL WATCH, INC. AND ALLIED EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONERS</a></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;">and we urge you to read his book <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Corruption-Chronicles/Tom-Fitton/9781476767055">The Corruption Chronicles</a>.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; text-align: left;"><div style="color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><h1 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Acta, Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 40px; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><span face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Betsy Combier</span></h1></div><p style="color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-size: 14.85px;"></span></p><div style="color: #1a222a; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; padding: 0px;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span face=""arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif" style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px;">betsy.combier@gmail.com</span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="font-family: quot; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, </span><span style="color: #582995;"><a href="http://advocatz.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">ADVOCATZ.com</span></a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;">Editor, <span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><a href="https://advocatz.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; text-decoration-line: none;">ADVOCATZ Blog</a></span></b></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><b style="color: #1a222a; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Rubber Room Reporter</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://www.parentadvocates.org/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Parentadvocates.org</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">New York Court Corruption</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nationalpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">National Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor, </span><a href="http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;">NYC Public Voice</a></span><br style="font-size: 14.85px;" /><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: quot; font-size: 16px;"><span style="color: #1a222a; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Editor,</span><a href="http://rubberroom3020-a.blogspot.com/" style="color: #843ddf; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration-line: none;"> Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials</a></span></b></div></span></div></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong><br /></strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>Exclusive: Judicial Watch Uncovers Dirty Voter Rolls, </strong></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>Fights for Election Integrity</strong></span><br /> </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px;">In a high-impact case of potential voter fraud you’ll learn about only from <a href="https://www.judicialwatch.org/">Judicial Watch</a>, a new investigation reveals likely ineligible voter registrations around the country.<br /><br />In November, Judicial Watch’s election integrity team sent letters to officials in five states <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D26307%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvanctMTQtY291bnRpZXMtNS1zdGF0ZXMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw31ciCz3lE7Wjs8jDCIzyhh" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=26307&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvanctMTQtY291bnRpZXMtNS1zdGF0ZXMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ==" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">warning of apparent serious violations</a> of the National Voter Registration Act. The NVRA is a critical election integrity measure that directs the states to make “a reasonable effort” to remove from voting rolls “the names of ineligible voters” who have been disqualified from voting due to death or failure to provide notification of change of residence.<br /><br />Dirty voter rolls matter. Leaving the names of inactive voters on registration rolls creates opportunities for fraud, such as <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D18608%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbmV4YW1pbmVyLmNvbS9kZWFkLXBlb3BsZS12b3RpbmctaW4tY29sb3JhZG8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw2rEWsHm4UOF-h2mz_7ryV6" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=18608&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbmV4YW1pbmVyLmNvbS9kZWFkLXBlb3BsZS12b3RpbmctaW4tY29sb3JhZG8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">dead people voting</a> or <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D18609%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbmV4YW1pbmVyLmNvbS9uZXdzL2NhbGlmb3JuaWEtY29uZmlybXMtb25lLWNhc2Utb2YtZG91YmxlLXZvdGluZy1hbmQtcG9zc2libHktbW9yZS1kdXJpbmctc3VwZXItdHVlc2RheS1lbGVjdGlvbj91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw1Yg7aXA1Nwav7X_ZihQCwt" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=18609&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cud2FzaGluZ3RvbmV4YW1pbmVyLmNvbS9uZXdzL2NhbGlmb3JuaWEtY29uZmlybXMtb25lLWNhc2Utb2YtZG91YmxlLXZvdGluZy1hbmQtcG9zc2libHktbW9yZS1kdXJpbmctc3VwZXItdHVlc2RheS1lbGVjdGlvbj91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U=" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">double voting</a>. Sometimes it takes only a few votes to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D18611%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucG9saXRpY28uY29tL3N0b3J5LzIwMTgvMTIvMTIvc2NvdHVzLWRlY2xhcmVzLWJ1c2gtZWxlY3RvcmFsLXZpY3Rvci1kZWMtMTItMjAwMC0xMDU0MjAyP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw0B1baBDK43yYPG_KOp10bV" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=18611&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucG9saXRpY28uY29tL3N0b3J5LzIwMTgvMTIvMTIvc2NvdHVzLWRlY2xhcmVzLWJ1c2gtZWxlY3RvcmFsLXZpY3Rvci1kZWMtMTItMjAwMC0xMDU0MjAyP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ==" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">swing an election</a>.<br /><br />The numbers of potentially ineligible voters identified in the new Judicial Watch probe are staggering. The NVRA requires states to remove registrations of voters who fail to respond to an address confirmation request and then fail to vote in two consecutive elections. States are required by federal law to report to Congress how many ineligible voters are removed from their rolls for this reason. Judicial Watch mined the statutory reporting data for some astonishing revelations: over the most recent four-year reporting period, large counties in powerful states such as New York and California reported few or no removals of ineligible voters from voting roles.<br /><br />For example, in the heart of New York City, Manhattan, with 1.2 million registered voters, state authorities removed a grand total of two ineligible voters from voting rolls for failing to respond to a notice and vote, according to data New York itself provided to Congress.<br /><br />In Brooklyn, with 1.7 million registered voters, the number removed for this reason: zero. In Queens, with 1.3 million registered voters, the number removed as ineligible: zero. In the Bronx, with 867,000 voters: one ineligible voter removed. In Staten Island, with 344,000 voters: zero.<br /><br />The story is the same in California. Large counties show impossibly small number of ineligible voters removed from voting rolls for failing to respond to a notice and vote. In San Bernardino County in Greater Los Angeles, with a county population of 1.2 million registered voters, a total of fourteen ineligible voters were removed from the voting rolls for the entire four-year reporting period, according to data the state provided to federal officials. For Sacramento County, with over one million registered voters: zero removed. In Fresno County, with more than 500,000 registered voters: two ineligible voters removed.<br /><br />“About 10% of Americans move every year,” notes Robert Popper, Judicial Watch’s director of voting integrity efforts. “Those counties should generate hundreds of thousands of cancelled registrations. There is simply no way to comply with federal law while removing so few outdated registrations under its key provision.”<br /><br />Judicial Watch sent warning letters to state election officials in five states—New York, California, Oregon, Arkansas, and Illinois—noting the impossibly low numbers of statutory removals. The warning letters give the state 90 days to correct the record. “If the data are incorrect,” the Judicial Watch letters note, “please provide what you believe to be the correct numbers.” If the numbers are not corrected or otherwise resolved within 90 days, “we will commence a federal lawsuit.” Read the letters <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D26308%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvZG9jdW1lbnRzL3RhZ3Mvbm92ZW1iZXItMjAyMS1udnJhLWxldHRlcnMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw1kCUpH6bY8XxeomjVa6S8I" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=26308&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvZG9jdW1lbnRzL3RhZ3Mvbm92ZW1iZXItMjAyMS1udnJhLWxldHRlcnMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ==" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />Judicial Watch supporters know that this is not our first rodeo.<br /><br />In California, we uncovered 1.6 million inactive voters on electoral rolls in Los Angeles County and sued, forcing LA to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D17104%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvY2FsaWZvcm5pYS1hbmQtbG9zLWFuZ2VsZXMtY291bnR5LXRvLXJlbW92ZS0xLTUtbWlsbGlvbi1pbmFjdGl2ZS12b3RlcnMtZnJvbS12b3Rlci1yb2xscy1zZXR0bGUtanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtZmVkZXJhbC1sYXdzdWl0Lz91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw1M51UQa69pygFCWpolqXXi" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=17104&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvY2FsaWZvcm5pYS1hbmQtbG9zLWFuZ2VsZXMtY291bnR5LXRvLXJlbW92ZS0xLTUtbWlsbGlvbi1pbmFjdGl2ZS12b3RlcnMtZnJvbS12b3Rlci1yb2xscy1zZXR0bGUtanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtZmVkZXJhbC1sYXdzdWl0Lz91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U=" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">clean up its act</a>.<br /><br />We sued Pennsylvania for failing to make reasonable efforts to remove ineligible voters from their rolls. Pennsylvania revised its numbers, <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D20680%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvcGVubi1jb3VudGllcy1pbmNvcnJlY3Qtdm90ZXItaW5mby8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw0qbqxBxsusnFXS0HWXXEpT" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=20680&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvcGVubi1jb3VudGllcy1pbmNvcnJlY3Qtdm90ZXItaW5mby8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">admitting it had reported incorrect information</a> to a federal agency on the removal of ineligible voters. But even the new figures are too low. Pennsylvania now admits that in eighteen other counties—which together contain twenty-five percent of the entire state’s registered voters—it removed a grand total of fifteen inactive, ineligible voters in a two-year period.<br /><br />We went to court in Colorado, where studies have shown that a majority of the state’s counties have registration rates that exceed 100% of the voting-age population. Our <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D20863%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjAvMTAvSlctdi1Hcmlzd29sZC1jb21wbGFpbnQtMDI5OTIucGRmP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw2W1-RX_sBmxYwugqo6lDF8" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=20863&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvd3AtY29udGVudC91cGxvYWRzLzIwMjAvMTAvSlctdi1Hcmlzd29sZC1jb21wbGFpbnQtMDI5OTIucGRmP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ==" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">lawsuit</a> charges “an ongoing, systemic problem with Colorado’s voter list maintenance obligations.”<br /><br />We filed <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D18485%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtc3Vlcy10by1mb3JjZS1ub3J0aC1jYXJvbGluYS10by1jbGVhbi1pdHMtdm90ZXItcm9sbHMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ%3D%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw1DFvGC8Ay2gbt-C1MthUUj" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=18485&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtc3Vlcy10by1mb3JjZS1ub3J0aC1jYXJvbGluYS10by1jbGVhbi1pdHMtdm90ZXItcm9sbHMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9ZGVwbG95ZXImdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249cHJlc3MrcmVsZWFzZQ==" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">a lawsuit</a> in North Carolina for the same reason—large numbers of ineligible voters on the state voter rolls.<br /><br />We’ve successfully taken on Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana as well. In Ohio, a Supreme Court decision <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D17110%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtc3RhdGVtZW50LXN1cHJlbWUtY291cnQtZGVjaXNpb24tdXBob2xkaW5nLW9oaW8tZWZmb3J0cy1tYWludGFpbi1jbGVhbi12b3Rlci1yb2xscy8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw2j9tBScOnOtOUpSXjCjQ1e" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=17110&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtc3RhdGVtZW50LXN1cHJlbWUtY291cnQtZGVjaXNpb24tdXBob2xkaW5nLW9oaW8tZWZmb3J0cy1tYWludGFpbi1jbGVhbi12b3Rlci1yb2xscy8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">upheld</a> a voter-roll cleanup stemming from a Judicial Watch lawsuit. In Kentucky, we sued for a voter-roll cleanup and <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D17111%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtdmljdG9yeS1jb3VydC1vcmRlcmVkLWNvbnNlbnQtZGVjcmVlLXJlcXVpcmVzLWtlbnR1Y2t5LXRvLWNsZWFuLXVwLWVsZWN0aW9uLXJvbGxzLz91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U%3D&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw0ZbSo99T4LJC7anCIh6dkT" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=17111&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtdmljdG9yeS1jb3VydC1vcmRlcmVkLWNvbnNlbnQtZGVjcmVlLXJlcXVpcmVzLWtlbnR1Y2t5LXRvLWNsZWFuLXVwLWVsZWN0aW9uLXJvbGxzLz91dG1fc291cmNlPWRlcGxveWVyJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPXByZXNzK3JlbGVhc2U=" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">won</a>. Indiana <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY%3Djw%26M%3D7955%26N%3D57614%26L%3D18615%26F%3DH%26drurl%3DaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtdHJ1ZS12b3RlLWhpc3RvcmljLWluZGlhbmEtbGF3c3VpdC1mb3JjZXMtc3RhdGV3aWRlLWNsZWFuLXZvdGVyLXJlZ2lzdHJhdGlvbi1saXN0cy1wZXJtYW5lbnQtY2hhbmdlcy1lbGVjdGlvbi1sYXctcHJvY2VkdXJlcy8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl&source=gmail&ust=1642098405283000&usg=AOvVaw2HyjNn3wm4dNsWIngc9SHs" href="https://myjw.pr.judicialwatch.org/link.php?AGENCY=jw&M=7955&N=57614&L=18615&F=H&drurl=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuanVkaWNpYWx3YXRjaC5vcmcvcHJlc3MtcmVsZWFzZXMvanVkaWNpYWwtd2F0Y2gtdHJ1ZS12b3RlLWhpc3RvcmljLWluZGlhbmEtbGF3c3VpdC1mb3JjZXMtc3RhdGV3aWRlLWNsZWFuLXZvdGVyLXJlZ2lzdHJhdGlvbi1saXN0cy1wZXJtYW5lbnQtY2hhbmdlcy1lbGVjdGlvbi1sYXctcHJvY2VkdXJlcy8/dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1kZXBsb3llciZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1wcmVzcytyZWxlYXNl" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">agreed</a> to clean up its rolls after Judicial Watch launched an investigation.<br /><br />The new warning letters put California on notice (again) and expand Judicial Watch’s electoral integrity work into New York, Oregon, Arkansas, and Illinois. “Once again, Judicial Watch is leading the charge for clean voter rolls and election integrity,” says Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These letters are just the beginning of another sweep, in federal court if necessary, to clean voter rolls throughout the country.”</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><br />***<br /> </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif, Arial, Helvetica, Lato; font-size: 16px;">Micah Morrison is chief investigative reporter for Judicial Watch. Follow him on Twitter @micah_morrison. Tips: <a href="mailto:mmorrison@judicialwatch.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">mmorrison@judicialwatch.<wbr></wbr>org</a><br /><br />Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch. Reprints and media inquiries: <a href="mailto:jfarrell@judicialwatch.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">jfarrell@<wbr></wbr>judicialwatch.org</a></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-9500422391573633202022-01-11T16:01:00.001-08:002022-01-11T16:01:21.297-08:00Sarah Palin: Keep My 'Masked Singer' Appearance Out of My Defamation Case Against the New York Times<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPjjAi5rce8lNwPYqMHAmRglMxC7UZxCYnpp0s1zBMP5gH-PSBjYAGp-mowz7GP5u95BZlI1Z9naQBVBbOKZPJAhBJ3iuS1ZWkm_NJxxsqFlWLC8ppe8e5YZXGnguYjmtw-fWDDhiP5duPBKW53sItmhguFr4oSLzc3x7N_QAWqvtKT0VjeaZrm1ET=s720" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="720" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiPjjAi5rce8lNwPYqMHAmRglMxC7UZxCYnpp0s1zBMP5gH-PSBjYAGp-mowz7GP5u95BZlI1Z9naQBVBbOKZPJAhBJ3iuS1ZWkm_NJxxsqFlWLC8ppe8e5YZXGnguYjmtw-fWDDhiP5duPBKW53sItmhguFr4oSLzc3x7N_QAWqvtKT0VjeaZrm1ET=w400-h294" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah Palin</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-sarah-palin-new-york-times-masked-singer-reveal-trial-20220111-dswipdtagnhe5jksrdedw5rppe-story.html"><span style="font-size: large;">Sarah Palin wants ‘Masked Singer’ appearance kept from jury in New York Times defamation trial</span></a></div><div>By <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/noah-goldberg-staff.html#nt=byline">NOAH GOLDBERG</a>, NY Daily News, Jan. 11, 2022</div><div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></div>You betcha Sarah Palin wants to keep her “Masked Singer” appearance out of the courtroom.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEivOhFe-FO6zwFqlbkjwdTqw5I8HhUA0iIyTR-rhNzohku-7PE-HvDpsH4Bm_vU4mHm1kKNnoFaJ3XKZsQCKh1v_w7KvQ34GxIcZgeMafVq2yIAjJjAtBUb-NJ9YtE3XT9GByovAovD4ZvDWhyCLJcFeDWikiWXG7oYBEgCniyZ245u0SMZa4LQmZ=s700" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="700" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiEivOhFe-FO6zwFqlbkjwdTqw5I8HhUA0iIyTR-rhNzohku-7PE-HvDpsH4Bm_vU4mHm1kKNnoFaJ3XKZsQCKh1v_w7KvQ34GxIcZgeMafVq2yIAjJjAtBUb-NJ9YtE3XT9GByovAovD4ZvDWhyCLJcFeDWikiWXG7oYBEgCniyZ245u0SMZa4LQmZ=w400-h310" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;">L-R: Host Nick Cannon and Sarah Palin in an episode of the Masked Singer. </span><span class="credit--ctn" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;">(Michael Becker/FOX / HANDOUT)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>The former Republican candidate for vice president has asked a judge to keep her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ciC2asjoo0">shocking March 2020 reveal</a> as a contestant on “The Masked Singer” from jurors who will render a verdict in her <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-palin-nyt-defamation-20200828-bwgw5oq2wnfprdd3hbwb2ha4im-story.html">defamation trial against The New York Times</a>.<br /><br />Footage of Palin singing “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot while wearing a blue-and-pink fuzzy bear costume should not be shown to the jury because it would cause “unfair prejudice and confusion,” lawyers for the former Alaska governor argued in a Manhattan Federal Court filing Monday.<br /><br />“The bear is part of my nickname growing up, and the whole mama bear thing,” Palin explained on the show after taking off her mask.<br /><br />"Did you guys notice I changed the lyrics? it was all about men’s butts, not women’s!”<br /><br />“The Masked Singer” footage was one of an assortment of exhibits Palin hopes to keep out of the trial. Other proposed exhibits include the politician’s website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, as well as a 2008 Wall Street Journal article about how her vice presidential candidacy was exposing “divisions among women.”<br /><br />The Times has not yet responded to Palin’s request.<br /><br />Palin sued the newspaper in 2017, claiming that an editorial, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/opinion/steve-scalise-congress-shot-alexandria-virginia.html">“America’s Lethal Politics,”</a> defamed her by linking ads from her political action committee to the 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)<br /><br />The Times editorial said the ads put “Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.” But the crosshairs were actually over images of electoral districts rather than individual politicians.<br /><br />The Times ran a correction. The Times and former Opinion editor James Bennet, who <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-james-bennett-tom-cotton-new-york-times-opinion-20200607-srmkwhjxnjbh7kpnvny5ljqt2q-story.html">resigned</a> in 2020, are named as defendants in the lawsuit.<br /><br />Palin’s trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 24. A lower court judge initially ruled that Bennet’s mistake did not meet the legal standard for defamation of Palin, who is a public figure. That decision was <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-sarah-palin-new-york-times-defamation-appeals-20190806-3ytiobd7tndxrebd3tjgfyzaha-story.html">overturned by an appeals court</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-size: large;">Sarah Palin defamation suit against New York Times revived by appeals court on technicality</span></a><br /><br />By <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/ny-dave-goldiner-staff.html#nt=byline">DAVE GOLDINER</a> and <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/stephen-rex-brown-staff.html#nt=byline">STEPHEN REX BROWN</a><br />NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |<br />AUG 06, 2019 AT 10:46 AM<br /><br /><br />Sarah Palin won a legal victory Tuesday with a federal appeals court revival of her defamation lawsuit against the New York Times over an opinion piece that tied her to the 2011 shooting of then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.<br /><br />The ruling by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a decision by Judge Jed Rakoff, who had tossed Palin’s lawsuit on the grounds that an error in a June 2017 Times editorial was not “made maliciously.”<br /><br />The panel made no judgment on the merits of Palin’s claim that the Times improperly accused her of inciting the shooting that wounded Giffords in a Tucson, Arizona strip mall. Instead, the ruling revolved around an unusual evidentiary hearing in which Rakoff heard testimony from the writer, editor James Bennet. The three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals determined the hearing did not follow proper protocol.<br /><br />“District courts are not free to bypass rules of procedure that are carefully calibrated to ensure fair process to both sides,” Judge John Walker wrote.<br /><br />The Appeals Court said Rakoff had let Bennet’s testimony influence a “negative view” of Palin’s allegations. The judge was also too dismissive of Palin’s claims that Bennet had a personal connection to the shooting through his brother, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, the panel wrote. The districts of some of Michael Bennet’s Democratic allies were targeted in Sarah Palin’s map.<br /><br />“It is plain from the record that the district court found Bennet a credible witness, and that the district court’s crediting his testimony impermissibly anchored the district court’s own negative view of the plausibility of Palin’s allegations,” the appeals panel wrote.<br /><br />Palin’s suit alleged the editorial, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/14/opinion/steve-scalise-congress-shot-alexandria-virginia.html">“America’s Lethal Politics,”</a> defamed her by linking ads from her political action committee to the 2011 shooting. The editorial said the ads put “Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized cross hairs.” But the crosshairs were actually over images of electoral districts rather than of individual politicians. The Times ran a correction.<br /><br />"We are disappointed in the decision and intend to continue to defend the action vigorously,” a Times spokeswoman said Tuesday.<br /><br />Public figures like Palin generally face a very high legal bar when suing news organizations for defamation. They must prove not only that the material was false but also that the writers or editors acted with “actual malice” against them.</div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-8373325090893721332021-12-13T13:12:00.002-08:002021-12-13T13:12:13.623-08:00U.S. Supreme Court Refuses To Block Vaccine Mandate For Health Workers in NYC Despite No Exemption For Religious Reasons<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1XkL1-m8t7OJaS9-ieUm9O6FLV7WutLcCegmfNQmHrgTvTGyFROW_xZpeDAODVge9cTUtS1hABI9Fv45CJf7VsOKUCfHAB0NYnsQXsgwmP3piowbwHPRHPdSwnTd09Y0mUHlT2buvRuUU_to9NBk5MoZAYfxKPfFg9PXqCZwJUBtbNA8EEq5LChH_=s810" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="412" data-original-width="810" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1XkL1-m8t7OJaS9-ieUm9O6FLV7WutLcCegmfNQmHrgTvTGyFROW_xZpeDAODVge9cTUtS1hABI9Fv45CJf7VsOKUCfHAB0NYnsQXsgwmP3piowbwHPRHPdSwnTd09Y0mUHlT2buvRuUU_to9NBk5MoZAYfxKPfFg9PXqCZwJUBtbNA8EEq5LChH_=w400-h204" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-us-supreme-court-health-new-york-neil-gorsuch-69b771d29fa145f7c6b061e0fe421f8c" style="font-size: x-large;">Justices won’t block vaccine mandate for NY health workers</a></p><p>AP, December 13, 2021</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme
Court refused Monday to halt a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care
workers in New York that does not offer an exemption for religious reasons.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The court acted on emergency
appeals filed by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who say they are
being forced to choose between their jobs and religious beliefs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As is typical in such appeals, the
court did not explain its order, although it has similarly refused to get in
the way of vaccine mandates elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Justices Neil Gorsuch, Clarence
Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. “Now, thousands of New York healthcare
workers face the loss of their jobs and eligibility for unemployment benefits,”
Gorsuch wrote in a 14-page opinion that Alito joined.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">New York is one of just three
states, along with Maine and Rhode Island, that do not accommodate health care
workers who object to the vaccine on religious grounds.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The court had previously turned
away health care workers in Maine, who filed a similar challenge, with the same
three justices in dissent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As of Oct. 19, roughly 90% of
health care workers were fully vaccinated and most of the rest had received one
of two doses, the state told the high court. Fewer than 2% of nursing home,
adult care facility and hospital workers had sought a religious exemption, the
state said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In his dissent, Gorsuch drew a
link between the health care workers and the World War II-era Jehovah’s
Witnesses schoolchildren who refused on religious grounds to stand and salute
the American flag for the Pledge of Allegiance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The court at first refused to
intervene when a public school in Pennsylvania expelled the children. But three
years later, the justices overruled the earlier case in a landmark decision
that declared schools couldn’t force students to salute the flag or recite the
pledge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Today, our Nation faces not a
world war but a pandemic. Like wars, though, pandemics often produce demanding
new social rules aimed at protecting collective interests — and with those
rules can come fear and anger at individuals unable to conform for religious
reasons,” Gorsuch wrote.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-83302484483581332872021-10-22T13:54:00.001-07:002022-01-24T08:04:01.373-08:00Southwest Airlines CEO Says Unvaccinated Employees Will Not Be Fired<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kkNNFDpP60v0iqwUmtRnI3ZxDB6mOB0Y7cccfKBN8vojSwQ-z7uD6k_x3Qhvfdme9mpng8yxjfKZCNH6ms2liGywk6sZC3kBwNbHRY0zlniMOUtGjyczdWo0oJGUJ9atnugg0e2Omos/s576/Southwest+Airlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="576" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7kkNNFDpP60v0iqwUmtRnI3ZxDB6mOB0Y7cccfKBN8vojSwQ-z7uD6k_x3Qhvfdme9mpng8yxjfKZCNH6ms2liGywk6sZC3kBwNbHRY0zlniMOUtGjyczdWo0oJGUJ9atnugg0e2Omos/w400-h229/Southwest+Airlines.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/makes-no-sense-southwest-airlines-says-it-wont-fire-workers-who-dont-get-covid-vaccine_4063579.html"><span style="font-size: large;">‘Makes No Sense’: Southwest Airlines Says It Won’t Fire Workers Who Don’t Get COVID Vaccine</span></a></p><div><div class="author" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: D-DIN, Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: unset; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: text-bottom;">BY <span class="author_name" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-jack-phillips" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; text-decoration: unset;">JACK PHILLIPS</a>, The EPOCH TIMES,</span></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px;"> </span><div class="date" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: D-DIN, Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: text-bottom;"><span class="publish" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">October 22, 2021</span> <span class="update" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Updated: October 22, 2021</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;"><a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-southwest-airlines" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Southwest Airlines</a>’ CEO said the company will not fire employees who do not get the <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/t-covid-19" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">COVID-19</a> vaccine by Dec. 9 following a Biden administration mandate that was announced last month for federal contractors.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">In a statement to news outlets Friday, the Dallas-based carrier confirmed to Fox News it does not want to “lose any employee” over President Joe Biden’s mandate, adding that firing a worker over the vaccine “makes no sense.” It came a day after Southwest CEO Gary Kelly made a similar announcement during an earnings call.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“This is an evolving process working with the government in terms of what they expect, and very clearly, we wanted our employees to know that nobody is going to lose their job on December the 9th if we’re not perfectly in compliance,” Kelly said, according to news reports. The Epoch Times has contacted Southwest for comment.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“It is a work in progress, and we’re going to continue working in good faith to meet the requirements of the executive order. But I’ve already said, and I’m sure you’ve heard, we’re not going to fire anybody who doesn’t get vaccinated,” he continued.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Biden’s mandate will start on Dec. 8, requiring federal contractors to make sure their workers are vaccinated. Employees can be granted a medical or religious exemption.</p><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 5px auto 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="background: transparent; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">But Kelly’s and Southwest’s announcements this week mark a reversal in the carrier’s vaccination stance. Earlier this month, Southwest stated that workers would have to be fully vaccinated or receive an exemption to “continue employment with the airline” after it conducted a “thorough review of President Biden’s COVID Action Plan and determined that the carrier’s contracts with the U.S. government require full compliance with the federal vaccination directive.”</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Also on Thursday, Southwest said in its quarterly results that it lost some $75 million after thousands of flights were canceled and delayed earlier this month. The firm blamed the weather and unspecified staffing issues, although there was widespread speculation that pilots and other employees walked out over the vaccine requirement.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">“I’m not going to fire anybody,” Kelly told CNBC Thursday after the quarterly results were released.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Hundreds of workers and others also demonstrated outside Southwest’s Dallas headquarters on Monday, demanding an end to the vaccination requirement.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">Earlier in October, Southwest’s pilot’s union filed a lawsuit against the company, arguing that the COVID-19 shot could trigger potential career-ending side-effects for pilots. In court filings over the weekend, Southwest asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit and said an injunction against its vaccine mandate could potentially harm its business.</p><p style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Vollkorn, Georgia, Palatino; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin: 0px 0px 25px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; word-break: break-word;">American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said this week that unvaccinated workers also will not be fired by the Dec. 9 mandate, saying the company will “work with” those who haven’t got the shot.</p></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-29827594207580447092021-10-11T07:06:00.001-07:002022-01-24T08:04:34.086-08:00Judge Upholds University of California's COVID Vaccine Requirement For Those With "Natural Immunity"<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30-OyfI6vdfpf-ivom0I6_DdBYEE82ARHomTCcS2R_C_EC8BgmYgN-YaodCC7kWrugjoJI5PL8d-r8cTDL0yvmwA_WGVCskSMaYBMHE_QI16a5ylm3kGp1F3RHRUcz7wdBVaO6tRZGnw/s654/COVID+vaccine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="654" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj30-OyfI6vdfpf-ivom0I6_DdBYEE82ARHomTCcS2R_C_EC8BgmYgN-YaodCC7kWrugjoJI5PL8d-r8cTDL0yvmwA_WGVCskSMaYBMHE_QI16a5ylm3kGp1F3RHRUcz7wdBVaO6tRZGnw/w400-h310/COVID+vaccine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Raw-slyvem-0 Caption__DescSpan-bee4ah-1 eoeMbV iDqfTA" fontcolor="#333333" size="3" spacing="0" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 8px 0rem 0px; text-align: start; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">FILE PHOTO: A student receives a dose of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine on the <br />campus of the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S., July 22, 2021. <br />REUTERS/Karen Pulfer Focht</span><span class="Credit__Container-lfa4w-6-span Credit__SpanContainer-lfa4w-7 iInjbA Caption__CreditExposed-bee4ah-2 dEoEnj" style="background-color: white; color: #111111; display: inline; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; position: relative; text-align: right;"><span class="Span-sc-19wk4id-0 Credit__Target-lfa4w-8 kxHEBr DtkSs" color="#666666" size="2" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #666666; cursor: default; font-size: 0.75rem; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: 1.25px; line-height: 1.3; margin: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; text-transform: uppercase;"><svg class="Icon-sc-9wq8ul-0 Credit__CameraIconExposed-lfa4w-1 jXPyCS giwEGf" fill="#666666" height="1.5rem" role="img" width="1.5rem"><use filter="0" xlink:href="#camera"></use></svg>REUTERS</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-09-30/us-judge-upholds-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-those-with-natural-immunity" style="font-size: x-large;">U.S. Judge Upholds COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Those With 'Natural Immunity'</a></p><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p class="Paragraph-sc-1iyax29-0 VillainArticle__Description-sc-1jwu552-1 jWibfh cuhDzl" size="5" spacing="3" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 0.5rem; max-width: 1008px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"></p><div class="Villain__FooterContainer-sc-1y12ps5-7 JemKV" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: medium; margin-top: 1rem;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"></div><div style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="BylineArticle__RowBox-xxu6a-3 hPfOmT Hide-kg09cx-0 kRfYFr" style="-webkit-box-align: center; align-items: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap;"><div class="BylineArticle__AuthorWrapper-xxu6a-1 eyXnWz" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="Span-sc-19wk4id-0 egsWUD" size="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #666666; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">By <a class="Anchor-byh49a-0 BylineArticle__AuthorAnchor-xxu6a-2 ilqFaj eziKUg" color="#111111" href="https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-09-30/us-judge-upholds-covid-19-vaccine-requirement-for-those-with-natural-immunity" letter-spacing="0.6" prefix="\00ab\00a0" size="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #111111; cursor: pointer; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; transition: color 0.5s ease 0s;" tabindex="0">Reuters</a></span></div><div class="BylineArticle__Pipe-xxu6a-5 dZcSkr" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #cccccc; font-size: 1.5rem; padding-left: 0.5rem; padding-right: 0.5rem;">|</div><div class="BylineArticle__AuthorWrapper-xxu6a-1 eyXnWz" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="Span-sc-19wk4id-0 BylineArticle__DateSpan-xxu6a-0 egsWUD cgxhHe byline-article-date-span" size="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; color: #666666; display: inline-block; font-size: 1rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none; white-space: nowrap;">Sept. 30, 2021, at 5:29 p.m.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">By Tom Hals</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #111111; font-family: Roboto, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">(Reuters) - A U.S. judge upheld the University of California's COVID-19 vaccine requirement against a challenge by a professor who alleged he had immunity due to a prior coronavirus infection, in what appears to be the first ruling on the issue.</p><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_V._Selna">U.S. District Court Judge James Selna</a> in Santa Ana, California, said the university system acted rationally to protect public health by mandating the vaccine and not exempting individuals with some level of immunity from an infection.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">More than 43 million Americans have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 and some opponents of vaccinations have argued that immunity from an infection negates the need for an inoculation.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Aug. 6 that a study showed vaccines offer better protection than natural immunity gained from prior infection, which wanes over time.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">On Wednesday, a group of physicians who are Republican members of Congress wrote to the CDC to urge the agency to acknowledge natural immunity.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">The lawmakers said if the growing number of vaccine mandates ignore natural immunity it could lead to labor shortages as people are fired for failing to get a shot. Their letter said such mandates could even trigger a security crisis because up to 20% of the military faces "separation" and many of them "likely have natural immunity."</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">Selna's ruling denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by Aaron Kheriaty. And while Selna said the professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine did not show a likelihood of success, Kheriaty said he plans to continue the litigation.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">He told Reuters he plans to use the discovery process to determine how the policy was formulated and to question the university's expert witnesses about their reasoning for rejecting his arguments on natural immunity.</p></div><div class="Raw-slyvem-0 daVavl" size="5" spacing="4" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;"><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; font-size: 1.125rem; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px 0px 1rem; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; text-size-adjust: none;">(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Bill Berkrot)</p></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-12162023933311435812021-10-01T12:34:00.007-07:002022-01-24T08:04:58.656-08:00The Chicago Statement on Freedom of Expression<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorzu6qQ_YAnjqANda7eBGDSFkRfz4MNPf0EmNa5ttyaheOfrola7vMDoOSjcMkUuvyJ6wqCv_KgjlA9vVS0kwcaFWyuhawS1LxKsZJ966qDN7hEbS6tm-urfskRmpmDhf25JBQ-yfISk/s553/University+of+Chicago.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="553" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorzu6qQ_YAnjqANda7eBGDSFkRfz4MNPf0EmNa5ttyaheOfrola7vMDoOSjcMkUuvyJ6wqCv_KgjlA9vVS0kwcaFWyuhawS1LxKsZJ966qDN7hEbS6tm-urfskRmpmDhf25JBQ-yfISk/w400-h226/University+of+Chicago.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.thefire.org/first-amendment-library/">First Amendment Library</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.thefire.org/get-involved/student-network/take-action/adopting-the-chicago-statement/" style="font-size: x-large;">Adopting the Chicago Statement</a></div><br /><a href="https://d28htnjz2elwuj.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/22101147/adopting-the-chicago-statement.pdf"> Download PDF</a><br /><br />“Because the University is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, it guarantees all members of the University community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn . . . . [I]t is not the proper role of the University to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.”<br /><br />—Excerpt from the Chicago Statement<br /><br />What is the Chicago Statement?<br /><br />The “<a href="https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/FOECommitteeReport.pdf">Chicago Statement</a>” refers to the free speech policy statement produced by the Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago. In July of 2014, University of Chicago President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Eric D. Isaacs tasked the Committee with “articulating the University’s overarching commitment to free, robust, and uninhibited debate and deliberation among all members of the University’s community.” The Committee, which was chaired by esteemed University of Chicago Law School professor Geoffrey Stone, released the <a href="https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/FOECommitteeReport.pdf">report</a> in January of 2015.<br /><br />This Statement is part of a long tradition of reports emphasizing the importance of freedom of speech at institutions of higher learning, including the American Association of University Professors’ famous 1915 “<a href="https://www.aaup.org/NR/rdonlyres/A6520A9D-0A9A-47B3-B550-C006B5B224E7/0/1915Declaration.pdf">Declaration of Principles</a>” and 1940 “<a href="https://www.aaup.org/report/1940-statement-principles-academic-freedom-and-tenure">Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure</a>,” Yale University’s “<a href="http://yalecollege.yale.edu/deans-office/policies-reports/report-committee-freedom-expression-yale">Woodward Report</a>,” and the University of Chicago’s<a href="http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/07/pdf/kalverpt.pdf"> Kalven Report</a>.<br /><br />FIRE quickly<a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-endorses-university-of-chicagos-new-free-speech-statement/"> endorsed the Chicago Statement</a> because it embodies the principles that FIRE defends every day. The statement is also an important reflection of how the principles of free speech are essential to the core purpose of a university. Since its release, FIRE has been working with colleges and universities around the country to adopt their own version of the Chicago Statement, in order to combat censorship on campus and protect the free speech rights and academic freedom of students and professors.<br /><br />Who has adopted the Statement?<br /><br />Faculty bodies, administrations, and institutional governing boards have officially endorsed the Chicago Statement at <a href="https://www.thefire.org/chicago-statement-university-and-faculty-body-support/">over fifty-five institutions</a> including <a href="https://www.thefire.org/first-to-adopt-chicago-statement-princetons-free-speech-promises-more-than-just-talk/">Princeton University</a>, <a href="https://www.thefire.org/purdue-president-and-students-join-forces-for-free-speech-on-campus/">Purdue University</a>, American University, <a href="https://www.thefire.org/columbias-contradiction-university-adopts-free-speech-statement-keeps-restrictive-speech-codes/">Columbia University</a>, <a href="https://www.thefire.org/georgetown-university-adopts-chicago-statement/">Georgetown University</a>, and the <a href="https://www.thefire.org/faculty-council-at-university-of-north-carolina-at-chapel-hill-adopts-chicago-statement/">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a>, among others.<br /><br />Why is adopting the Chicago Statement important?<br /><br />When your school adopts the Chicago Statement, it shows that your institution values free expression for all students and faculty. Free speech rights benefit everyone on campus, and reaffirm the core purpose of a university – a place for free inquiry, debate, and discourse. Whether your goal is to campaign, protest, do research, or simply learn in an environment that promotes open inquiry and the free exchange of ideas, the Chicago Statement will help hold your institution accountable for protecting the free expression rights of students and faculty.<br /><br />My school maintains “yellow light” or “red light” speech codes. Can we still adopt the Chicago Statement?<br /><br />Yes. In fact, adopting a version of the Chicago Statement often gives the impetus for speech code reform. Thus, the adoption of the Chicago Statement by non-administrative groups can be an important step toward securing student and faculty free speech rights and achieving FIRE’s highest, “green light” rating. When a faculty senate, university-wide committee, or student government endorses the Statement, it sends a strong message to university leadership that students and faculty want their speech to be fully protected. <br /><br />My university earns a green light rating from FIRE. Do we still need to adopt the Chicago Statement?<br /><br />The green light rating is given to colleges and universities whose policies nominally protect freedom of speech. Even if your school has received FIRE’s green light rating, it is still important to adopt the Chicago Statement. A free speech statement is a set of principles the university community aspires to achieve. Adopting the Chicago Statement describes how the university hopes to cultivate an atmosphere of expression and debate – an endeavor that is important even if university policy already nominally protects free speech.<br /><br />How can I bring the Chicago Statement to my campus?<br /><br />Here are several tips for ensuring that your university will be the next institution to stand in solidarity with the Chicago Statement’s principles:<br />Work to pass a student government resolution calling on the university to adopt its <a href="https://www.thefire.org/model-freedom-of-expression-resolution-based-on-university-of-chicago-statement/">own version of the Chicago Statement</a>.<br />Reach out to faculty members and work with faculty governing bodies on campus.<br />Build a broad coalition of students and groups, particularly across the ideological spectrum, to support the Chicago Statement and raise awareness on campus.<br />Publish articles and op-eds in student newspapers and other outlets.<br />Host events on campus, such as debates, speakers, and panels to discuss the principles supported by the Chicago Statement.<br />Communicate and collaborate with members of your university’s administration.<br />Host a <a href="https://www.thefire.org/pledge-your-support-for-the-chicago-statement/">petition drive</a>, asking students to pledge their support for the Chicago Statement’s principles in a petition that will go to the administration.<br /><br />FIRE’s Chicago Statement Resources<br /><a href="https://www.thefire.org/model-freedom-of-expression-resolution-based-on-university-of-chicago-statement/">Model Freedom of Expression Resolution Based on the Chicago Statement</a><br /><a href="https://www.thefire.org/chicago-statement-template-endorsement-letter-to-alma-mater/">Template Letter to Alma Mater</a><br /><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/restoring-free-speech-on-campus/2015/09/25/65d58666-6243-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html">Washington Post op-ed by FIRE’s Will Creeley and University of Chicago Law Professor Geoffrey Stone</a><br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/every-university-in-the-c_b_8210542.html">FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff in The Huffington Post: “Every University in the Country Should Adopt the University of Chicago’s Academic Freedom Statement”</a><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-lukianoff/every-university-in-the-c_b_8210542.html"><br /></a><br />FIRE’s Newsdesk article “<a href="https://www.thefire.org/universities-should-endorse-free-expression-now-avoid-criticism-later/">Universities should endorse free expression now, avoid criticism later</a>”<a href="https://www.thefire.org/pledge-your-support-for-the-chicago-statement/">Pledge Your Support for the Chicago Stateme</a>n<a href="https://www.thefire.org/pledge-your-support-for-the-chicago-statement/">t</a><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://provost.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/FOECommitteeReport.pdf" style="font-family: "PT Serif", serif; font-size: x-large;"> Report of the Committee on Freedom of Expression</a><p> The Committee on Freedom of Expression at the University of Chicago was appointed in July 2014
by President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Eric D. Isaacs “in light of recent events nationwide that
have tested institutional commitments to free and open discourse.” The Committee’s charge was to draft
a statement “articulating the University’s overarching commitment to free, robust, and uninhibited
debate and deliberation among all members of the University’s community.” </p><p>The Committee has carefully reviewed the University’s history, examined events at other institutions,
and consulted a broad range of individuals both inside and outside the University. This statement
reflects the long-standing and distinctive values of the University of Chicago and affirms the importance
of maintaining and, indeed, celebrating those values for the future. </p><p>From its very founding, the University of Chicago has dedicated itself to the
preservation and celebration of the freedom of expression as an essential element of the
University’s culture. In 1902, in his address marking the University’s decennial,
President William Rainey Harper declared that “the principle of complete freedom of
speech on all subjects has from the beginning been regarded as fundamental in the
University of Chicago” and that “this principle can neither now nor at any future time be
called in question.” </p><p>Thirty years later, a student organization invited William Z. Foster, the Communist
Party’s candidate for President, to lecture on campus. This triggered a storm of protest
from critics both on and off-campus. To those who condemned the University for
allowing the event, President Robert M. Hutchins responded that “our students . . .
should have the freedom to discuss any problem that presents itself.” He insisted that the
“cure” for ideas we oppose “lies through open discussion rather than through
inhibition.” On a later occasion, Hutchins added that “free inquiry is indispensable to the
good life, that universities exist for the sake of such inquiry, [and] that without it they
cease to be universities.” </p><p>In 1968, at another time of great turmoil in universities, President Edward H. Levi, in his
inaugural address, celebrated “those virtues which from the beginning and until now
have characterized our institution.” Central to the values of the University of Chicago,
Levi explained, is a profound commitment to “freedom of inquiry.” This freedom, he
proclaimed, “is our inheritance.”</p><p>More recently, President Hanna Holborn Gray observed that “education should not be
intended to make people comfortable, it is meant to make them think. Universities
should be expected to provide the conditions within which hard thought, and therefore
strong disagreement, independent judgment, and the questioning of stubborn
assumptions, can flourish in an environment of the greatest freedom.” </p><p>The words of Harper, Hutchins, Levi, and Gray capture both the spirit and the promise
of the University of Chicago.Because the University is committed to free and open inquiry in all matters, it guarantees all members of the University the community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge, and learn. Except insofar as limitations on that
freedom are necessary to the functioning of the University, the University of Chicago
fully respects and supports the freedom of all members of the University community
“to discuss any problem that presents itself.”
Of course, the ideas of different members of the University community will often and
quite naturally conflict. But it is not the proper role of the University to attempt to
shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even
deeply offensive. Although the University greatly values civility, and although all
members of the University community share in the responsibility for maintaining a
climate of mutual respect, concerns about civility and mutual respect can never be used as
a justification for closing off discussion of ideas, however offensive or disagreeable those
ideas may be to some members of our community. </p><p>The freedom to debate and discuss the merits of competing ideas does not, of course,
mean that individuals may say whatever they wish, wherever they wish.TheUniversity may
restrict expression that violates the law, that falsely defames a specific individual, that
constitutes a genuine threat or harassment, that unjustifiably invades substantial privacy
or confidentiality interests, orthat is otherwise directly incompatible with the functioning
of the University. In addition, the University may reasonably regulate the time, place, and
manner of expression to ensure that it does not disrupt the ordinary activities of the
University. But these are narrow exceptions to the general principle of freedom of
expression, and it is vitally important that these exceptions never be used in a manner
that is inconsistent with the University’s commitment to a completely free and open
discussion of ideas. </p><p>In a word, the University’s fundamental commitment is to the principle that debate or
deliberation may not be suppressed because the ideas put forth are thought by some or
even by most members of the University community to be offensive, unwise, immoral, or
wrong-headed. It is for the individual members of the University community, not for
the University as an institution, to make those judgments for themselves and to act on
those judgments not by seeking to suppress speech, but by openly and vigorously
contesting the ideas that they oppose. Indeed, fostering the ability of members of the
University community to engage in such debate and deliberation in an effective and
responsible manner is an essential part of the University’s educational mission. </p><p>As a corollary to the University’s commitment to protect and promote free expression,
members of the University community must also act in conformity with the principle of
free expression. Although members of the University community are free to criticize
and contest the views expressed on campus, and to criticize and contest
speakers who are invited to express their views on campus, they may not obstruct or
otherwise interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even
loathe. To this end, the University has a solemn responsibility not only to promote a
lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom
when others attempt to restrict it. </p><p>As Robert M. Hutchins observed, without a deep commitment to free and open
inquiry, a university ceases to be a university. The University of Chicago’s long-standing
commitment to this principle lies at the very core of our University’s greatness. That is
our inheritance, and it is our promise to the future.</p><p> Geoffrey R. Stone, Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law,
<i>Chair</i> </p><p>Marianne Bertrand, Chris P. Dialynas, Distinguished Service Professor of
Economics, Booth School of Business </p><p>Angela Olinto, Homer J. Livingston Professor, Department of Astronomy and
Astrophysics, Enrico Fermi Institute, and the College </p><p>Mark Siegler, Lindy Bergman Distinguished Service Professor of Medicine and
Surgery </p><p>David A. Strauss, Gerald Ratner Distinguished Service Professor of Law </p><p>Kenneth.Warren, Fairfax M.Cone Distinguished Service Professor,
Department of English and the College </p><p>AmandaWoodward, Williams.Gray Professor, Department of Psychology
and the College</p><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomlindsay/2018/02/28/35-universities-adopt-the-chicago-statement-on-free-speech-1590-to-go/?sh=3f8732ca771b">35 Universities Adopt 'The Chicago Statement' On Free Speech--1,606 To Go</a></span></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-67051972539323481662021-09-13T05:55:00.004-07:002022-01-24T08:05:55.687-08:00Compassionate Enforcement: Cities Must Balance Public Services With Public Order To Reduce Homelessness<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRJjP6XkAdCrgHadAfIbDO0a64B2HAJ2pp3iaMdpUSuMya7WL3b1CZjT2spPUEU11ayMqeAfF1mHrMKhZcntRF4FSor2jiGNqJ-Jr0viUCCA5anKIyFATcMaRJ9Bod6zEQEUCv1Wr7z8/s625/homelessness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="625" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRJjP6XkAdCrgHadAfIbDO0a64B2HAJ2pp3iaMdpUSuMya7WL3b1CZjT2spPUEU11ayMqeAfF1mHrMKhZcntRF4FSor2jiGNqJ-Jr0viUCCA5anKIyFATcMaRJ9Bod6zEQEUCv1Wr7z8/w400-h271/homelessness.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: CJ-PalatinoLT, PalatinoLT, serif; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">Permissive policies have fostered the formation of homeless encampments in Los Angeles and <br />other cities. (REUTERS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.city-journal.org/cities-must-balance-public-services-with-public-order-to-reduce-homelessness" style="font-size: x-large;">Compassionate Enforcement</a></p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Cities must balance public services with public order to reduce homelessness.</b></span><div>by Christopher Rufo, City Journal, Summer 2021<br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Fifteen years ago, West Coast cities were confident that they could solve homelessness. In coordination with state and federal governments, cities throughout the region established high-profile commissions and released ambitious ten-year plans to end the problem. Seattle mayor Greg Nickels declared that homelessness would become a “rare, brief, and one-time” event; Los Angeles mayor James Hahn <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jun-13-me-homeless13-story.html">announced</a> a plan to “move people off the street and into places they can call their own”; and San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jul-01-me-sanfran1-story.html">promised</a> “not to manage but to end homelessness,” praising his city’s plan as “brilliant in its simplicity.”<br /><br />Armed with the latest academic studies on the success of “Housing First,” a program that provides long-term apartments to the homeless, experts argued that cities could simultaneously end homelessness and save taxpayers money. Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, <a href="https://www.cdaid.org/files/municipal_services/USIGHomeless.pdf">summarized</a> the prevailing mood: “Five years ago the notion of cities having 10-year plans to end homelessness was naïve and risky. No one thought it was possible. But the new research and new technologies have created such movement and innovation on this issue that it may now be naïve and risky not to have such a plan.”<br /><br />These ambitions proved delusions. Hahn’s plan to end homelessness in Los Angeles <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/did-americas-ten-year-pla_b_1394905">collapsed</a> before it began, Newsom watched homelessness expand in San Francisco and then statewide, and Nickels has been immortalized in a series of tent cities now called “Nickelsvilles.” In nearly every major West Coast city, homelessness is worse than ever—tents line the sidewalks, and some downtown neighborhoods have <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/skid-row-los-angeles">turned into</a> Brazilian-style favelas, with open-air drug markets and booming black-market economies.<br /><br />The new conventional wisdom is pessimistic: homelessness is an intractable feature of the urban landscape. Political leaders have abandoned any pretension of “abolishing homelessness,” focusing instead on strategies of containment and “harm reduction.” But this outlook, too, is wrong. Homelessness is neither intractable nor permanent, and policies of harm reduction have shown little capacity to reduce it. Rather than continue down this path, West Coast officials should learn from cities that have embraced a different model—compassionate enforcement—that has demonstrated significant success over the past decade. Though West Coast cities have dominated the headlines with bad news, cities such as Houston, which has reduced homelessness by more than 50 percent since 2011, show that another way is possible.<br /><br />Various misconceptions have kept major cities from reducing homelessness. A prevailing view holds that homelessness is a national problem; many service providers, local officials, and state governors have insisted that the federal government is responsible for solving it. This contention serves the dual purpose of shifting blame to Washington and obscuring the failure of the political class in West Coast cities, but it is false. Between 2009 and 2019, homelessness <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/5948/2019-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us/">decreased</a> 10 percent nationwide; moreover, on a geographic basis, homelessness declined in 40 out of 50 states. The reality is that homelessness is not distributed evenly across the country. It has become more concentrated in a handful of states, particularly California, Oregon, and Washington, which now <a href="https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/5948/2019-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us/">account for</a> one-third of the nation’s homeless population.<br /><br />Why? Activists and political leaders commonly point to weather and rising rents. Though it’s obviously easier to live on the streets in Los Angeles than in Chicago during a long winter, weather alone does not explain the distribution of homelessness in the United States. As the Council of Economic Advisers has shown, the rate of homelessness is high in California cities but low in Florida cities, which also have warm winter climates. Overall, according to CEA analysis, unsheltered homelessness is two to four times higher than predicted when accounting for weather in California, Washington, and Oregon, and lower than predicted when accounting for weather in Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Mississippi.<br /><br />The more deeply entrenched argument is that homelessness is a housing problem. Progressive leaders in West Coast cities have convinced the public that rising rents cause homelessness. There is a beguiling simplicity to this narrative: marginalized people are living paycheck to paycheck, the rent goes up—and they’re thrown onto the streets. The officials often cite in support of this claim a Zillow <a href="https://www.zillow.com/research/rents-larger-homeless-population-16124/">report</a> that purports to show that “rising rents mean [a] larger homeless population.” In the report’s headline, the researchers find a strong correlation between increases in rental prices and homelessness in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, and Washington, D.C. However, buried in the same report, the research shows that homelessness remained flat or decreased, despite rising rents, in Boston, Miami, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Denver, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix, St. Louis, Portland, Detroit, Baltimore, Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Riverside, and Tampa. Put another way, rising rents and homelessness are correlated in five of the top 25 metros but not correlated in 20 of the top 25 metros—undermining the conclusion that rising rents cause homelessness.<br /><br />To avoid misunderstanding, let’s concede this much: it is certainly true that weather and housing prices have some effect on homelessness. Warm weather allows for year-round unsheltered living, and expensive real-estate markets raise the economic floor for avoiding homelessness—it’s much easier to maintain housing where the rent is $300 a month, not $3,000. But these explanations go only so far.<br /><br />Public policy is a better explanation for the current distribution of homelessness in the United States. Researchers mostly have analyzed homelessness according to middle-class norms, believing that the homeless respond primarily to measures of poverty, rental prices, and housing policy. That overlooks an important distinction: the homeless have a different set of incentives from the average citizen. Their world is not like that of the middle class. The <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/progressive-narrative-on-homelessness">facts</a>, which have become taboo in progressive cities, are simple: 75 percent of the unsheltered homeless have a serious addiction, 78 percent have a mental illness, and, as a group, they are nearly 100 times more likely to commit crimes and get booked into jail than the typical citizen. Theirs is a world of tangled pathologies, driven by the economics of the drug trade, the psychology of addiction, and the culture of transient encampments.<br /><br />And yet, notwithstanding their high rates of addiction and mental illness, the homeless are essentially rational actors in the sense that, on their own terms, they respond to economic, policy, and cultural incentives. Consider one <a href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-los-angeles-homeless-neighboring-cities-sidewalk-lawsuit-20190605-story.html">situation</a> that illustrates the larger point. The Venice Boulevard underpass on the border of Los Angeles and Culver City is one of thousands of concrete structures in Los Angeles County, but its Los Angeles side has been seen full of tents, while its Culver City side was empty. Why? As neighboring cities, Los Angeles and Culver City have the same regional economy, climate, and rental prices—in fact, Culver City is slightly <a href="https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/culver-city/">more expensive</a> than Los Angeles. The difference is public policy. Los Angeles has effectively decriminalized public camping and drug consumption; Culver City enforces the law against them. After two Los Angeles city councilmen complained in the Los Angeles Times that Culver City was pushing its homeless into L.A., then–Culver City mayor Jeffrey Cooper shot back in a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-culver-city-homeless-20190609-story.html">letter to the editor</a>: “The encampment under the 405 Freeway on Venice Boulevard . . . has been the scene of numerous violent crimes. The Los Angeles Police Department does not check in with the homeless people living there nearly as often as Culver City police do. If I was a homeless person inclined to do drugs and commit crimes, I would feel safer in Los Angeles than Culver City, whose police are there to protect all residents.”<br /><br />The Venice Boulevard experiment provides a useful framework for reexamining the geography of homelessness. In California, the data are consistent with the enforcement principle: across the state, the homeless gravitate to the most permissive policy environments. In Los Angeles County, 35 percent of the homeless <a href="https://www.lahsa.org/documents?id=3437-2019-greater-los-angeles-homeless-count-presentation.pdf">migrated</a> to the county after becoming homeless elsewhere, including 19 percent who came from another state. In San Francisco County, 30 percent of the homeless came to the county after becoming homeless elsewhere, plus an additional 6 percent who became homeless after living in San Francisco for less than a year. The San Francisco Chronicle estimates that 450 chronically homeless individuals <a href="https://projects.sfchronicle.com/sf-homeless/civic-disgrace/">migrate</a> to the city each year because of the “perception that it is a sanctuary for people who are unwilling to participate in programs designed to get them off, and keep them off, a life in the streets.”<br /><br />In Washington State, the numbers from the Seattle metropolitan area provide more evidence for the enforcement hypothesis. According to <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/3480319/City-of-Seattle-Homeless-Needs-Assessment-March.pdf">data</a> from the City of Seattle, an astonishing 51 percent of the homeless migrated to the city after becoming homeless somewhere else. By the conventional wisdom’s middle-class logic, this would be an irrational choice: an individual with no shelter or stable source of income would not move to one of the nation’s most expensive cities. But again, the homeless operate under a different set of assumptions and incentives. They are strongly motivated to move to the most permissive environment. In a <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/3480319/City-of-Seattle-Homeless-Needs-Assessment-March.pdf">research survey</a> of homeless migrants to Seattle, 15 percent said that they came to access homeless services, 10 percent came for legal marijuana, and 16 percent were transients who were “traveling or visiting” when they decided to set up camp. These responses may obscure the largest incentive of all: the de facto legalization of street camping, drug consumption, and property crime. As former Seattle public safety advisor, Scott Lindsay <a href="https://downtownseattle.org/app/uploads/2019/09/System-Failure-Part-2-Declines-Delays-and-Dismissals-Sept-2019.pdf">has</a> <a href="https://downtownseattle.org/files/advocacy/system-failure-prolific-offender-report-feb-2019.pdf">shown</a>, the city is now home to a large population of homeless “prolific offenders” who commit property crimes to feed their addictions—and are rarely held to account by the criminal justice system.<br /><br />Some critics will dismiss these conclusions as an endorsement of an “enforcement-only” approach that “criminalizes homelessness.” But the lesson is not that cities should withhold help from the homeless; it’s that cities must balance the provision of public services with the maintenance of public order. Cities that fail to acknowledge the relationship between permissiveness, migration, and rates of homelessness will not make progress.<br /><br />Houston is perhaps the American city that best demonstrates the power of “compassionate enforcement.” Its Harris County is a moderate district, with conservative suburban areas and a liberal urban core. Houston’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, is a Democrat, but his rhetoric on homelessness is very different from that heard in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle. “It is simply not acceptable for people to live on the streets; it is not good for them, and it is not good for the city,” Turner has <a href="https://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/press/strategies-for-homeless-panhandlers.html">declared</a>. “We will tackle this complicated issue, and we will do it humanely with a meaningful approach that balances the needs of the homeless and the concerns of neighborhoods they impact.”<br /><br />Houston’s policy exemplifies what Turner calls a “tough love” approach. The city has built permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless, cobbled together a coalition of nonprofit partners, and lobbied the state government for more mental health and addiction services. At the same time, Turner has enforced a strict ban on public camping and proposed a citywide campaign to discourage citizens from giving money to panhandlers. The Harris County sheriff’s homeless outreach team attempts to connect the homeless with services but also enforces the law. The sheriff’s office acknowledges that “mental illness and substance abuse are common in [the homeless] population” and recognizes that it must maintain order in residential neighborhoods. The team shuts down tent cities and conducts regular cleanups, discouraging the permanent encampment culture seen in West Coast cities. The results have been stunning: between 2011 and 2019, Houston <a href="https://www.searchhomeless.org/houston-leads-the-nation-in-reducing-homelessness/">reduced</a> its homeless population by 54 percent.<br /><br />These outcomes lay waste to the conventional wisdom. Houston has <a href="https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/US/average-city-temperatures-in-january.php">warmer</a> winters than Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, and San Jose. During the same period that Houston reduced homelessness by more than half, the <a href="https://www.mynewplace.com/">average</a> rent for a one-bedroom apartment rose by 54 percent. Clearly, neither the weather nor housing prices can explain the outcomes in Houston.<br /><br />Some analysts have <a href="https://calmatters.org/explainer/96080/embed/f6c23e70-28dd-11ea-963d-8304ae9d247c">suggested</a> that Houston’s approach worked because the city built permanent supportive housing, created a coalition of partners, and implemented advanced data-tracking. But every major West Coast city has done these things. Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have also spent billions on permanent supportive housing and subsidized apartments, hosted conferences and working groups to increase coordination, and implemented the same Homeless Management Information System as Houston. And yet, over the same period, homelessness increased 15 percent in Los Angeles, 24 percent in San Francisco, and 25 percent in Seattle. If these interventions worked in Houston, why didn’t they work elsewhere?<br /><br />The truth is straightforward. Houston achieved different results because, in addition to these supportive policies, it also enforced the law. Unlike the West Coast cities, Houston did not enable and encourage the worst aspects of street homelessness. Where a Seattle politician <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/07/city-councilman-hosing-poop-covered-sidewalks-might-be-racially-insensitive/">opposes</a> hosing down feces-covered sidewalks because hoses supposedly have racist connotations, Houston <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/dec/29/houston-homeless-aclu-texas-ordinance">fights</a> in the courts for the right to clean up encampments. Where California leaders push for supervised injection sites and decriminalizing thefts under $950, Houston <a href="http://swamplot.com/city-dont-want-folks-living-under-your-local-overpass-then-show-us-where-to-put-them/2017-03-03/">pushes</a> for tighter restrictions on aggressive panhandling, windshield washing, and other “street obstructions.”<br /><br />Political culture currently prevents West Coast cities from implementing the same policies as Houston. As social scientist Jonathan Haidt observes in a study co-authored with Jesse Graham and Brian A. Nosek, liberals and conservatives operate on different moral foundations. Liberals base their views primarily on the values of care and fairness—that is, they value compassion above other concerns. Conservatives, on the other hand, “construct moral systems more evenly upon five psychological foundations,” showing concern not only for care and fairness but also authority, purity (in the sense of cleanliness and control of impulses), and in-group loyalty (the obligations one has as a member of a group or society).<br /><br />Haidt’s theory helps illustrate why progressive cities have been unable to reduce homelessness, despite billions in public spending. Progressives, <a href="https://www.projectimplicit.net/nosek/papers/GHN2009.pdf">according to</a> Haidt, have an “unconstrained vision” of the world and “an optimistic view of human nature and of human perfectibility.” They tend to believe that the homeless are victims of circumstance and inequality and simply need a helping hand to improve their lives.<br /><br />This understanding has three moral blind spots. First, because progressives discount the moral foundation of authority, they dismiss worries about crime, disorder, and violence when thinking about homelessness and generally are skeptical about the need for law enforcement. West Coast progressives have sought to decriminalize public camping, drug consumption, and property crimes because they view authority as the problem, not part of the solution. Second, because progressives discount the moral foundation of purity, they overlook and excuse the filth associated with street camping. Homeless encampments have proved to be havens for trash, needles, drugs, human waste, and infectious diseases, yet West Coast progressives have fought to “stop the sweeps” of tent cities and filed lawsuits against encampment cleanups. They prioritize “care for our curbside neighbors” over sanitation, cleanliness, and public-health concerns. Third, because progressives discount in-group loyalty, they do not see a significant homeless influx as a problem. They tend to make no distinction between the local and nonlocal homeless population and reject concerns about cities becoming magnets for homeless migrants as “xenophobic” and “homeless-hating.” Put simply, progressive cities have adopted a philosophy of all compassion and no enforcement that creates a cycle of permissiveness, enablement, and disorder.<br /><br />Critics might deny that the progressive approach is extreme, pointing to outreach teams as examples of authority, sanitation plans as examples of purity, and bus programs as examples of in-group loyalty. But at the practical level, the homeless-services apparatus has become one of the most ideologically radical sectors of West Coast government. In Seattle, the regional homelessness authority recently held its annual conference on the theme “Decolonizing Our Collective Work,” with sessions designed to “[interrogate] the current structures of power” and “examine the legacies of structural racism in our systems, and co-design a path towards liberation with black, indigenous, brown and other marginalized communities.” As part of the conference, the agency hired transgender stripper Beyoncé Black St. James to perform a drag show, give lap dances, and kiss attendees. What does any of this have to do with reducing homelessness? Nothing. It’s about repeating the nostrums of social justice, radicalizing homeless services providers, and advancing the larger progressive political project. Of course, these agencies have failed to reduce homelessness; any entity that prioritizes “decolonizing our collective work” over actually improving things is doomed to fail.<br /><br />Policies can change quickly, but ideologies have deeper roots. In the near term, there will likely be a continued redistribution of homelessness toward the warmest, most expensive, and most permissive cities, focused primarily on the coastal enclaves of California, Oregon, and Washington. West Coast cities have recently announced unprecedented multibillion-dollar expenditures on homelessness, but money alone cannot overcome deficient political cultures that have proved unable to cope with the dark side of homelessness: addiction, crime, violence, squalor, and disease. If the homeless-services apparatus continues to prioritize political convictions over practical plans, it will waste billions on programs that fail to address the need for both compassion and enforcement.<br /><br />The crisis presents an opportunity, however, for cities willing to try a different approach. As Houston has demonstrated, local leaders can meaningfully reduce homelessness through a strategy of tough love—leading with the provision of shelter and services but maintaining public order through outreach, cleanups, and enforcement of anti-camping laws. Some progressive leaders have complained that enforcement policies shift the burden of homelessness onto the largest cities. But Houston is the nation’s fourth-largest city. And cities already compete on taxes, infrastructure, amenities, and various other policy choices—why should homeless policy not be among them? Small and medium-sized cities should not lower their standards of public order; rather, it is incumbent upon neighboring cities to reduce the “magnet effect” of their own permissive policies.<br /><br />In the long term, it would be best for all cities to adopt compassionate enforcement. If cities can close down negative pathways—public encampments, open drug consumption, and uncontrolled property crimes—they will be able to redirect the homeless toward better outcomes. In cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, political leaders must reorient their policies and think more broadly about the moral dimension of homelessness.<br /><br />More than 180,000 people live on the streets of West Coast cities. Their fate depends, in part, on policymakers. Ultimately, compassion should be measured not by good intentions but by outcomes. If progressive leaders want to live up to their own values, they must demonstrate results on homelessness. Houston provides a model of how to do so.</span><p class="byline" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 175, 207); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: CJ-PalatinoLT, PalatinoLT, serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 20px; padding: 20px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://www.city-journal.org/contributor/christopher-f-rufo_1334" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #00afcf; font: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Christopher F. Rufo</a> is a <a href="https://www.manhattan-institute.org/expert/christopher-f-rufo" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #00afcf; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute</a> and a contributing editor of </i>City Journal. <i style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sign up for his <a href="https://christopherrufo.com/newsletter/" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #00afcf; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">newsletter here</a>.</i></p><p class="byline" style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-left-style: initial; border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(0, 175, 207); border-top-style: solid; border-width: 1px 0px 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: CJ-PalatinoLT, PalatinoLT, serif; font-size: 1.125em; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 600; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px 20px; padding: 20px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit;">Top Photo: An effective blend of enforcement with outreach helped Houston reduce homelessness by 54 percent between 2011 and 2019. (BRETT COOMER/HOUSTON CHRONICLE/AP PHOTO)</span></p><div class="l_ipage-container" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: MI-HelveticaNeueLTStd, HelveticaNeueLTStd, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 1040px; padding: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="donate-options" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #7a7a7a; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.25em; margin: 0px; padding: 20px 20px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">City Journal</em> is a publication of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI), a leading free-market think tank. Are you interested in supporting the magazine? As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, donations in support of MI and <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">City Journal</em> are fully tax-deductible as provided by law (EIN #13-2912529).</span></div></div></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-13688565591276175262021-09-10T05:28:00.003-07:002022-01-24T08:06:28.645-08:00The State of California Refuses To Disclose All State Spending<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvV_1tOHWrRvMlx-rG9VJlgwbweO1LaxIRZWM-1iBI0hu8FzunaKAiV7V8gUXEhVhE5ND9tEm9Ycg2pmZRQxhHGt-GrP8mhswMZKRVRvqN7wTvblw36GGBj_j2wyFrOMPWkR1zQa30RvQ/s513/Gavin+Newsome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="513" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvV_1tOHWrRvMlx-rG9VJlgwbweO1LaxIRZWM-1iBI0hu8FzunaKAiV7V8gUXEhVhE5ND9tEm9Ycg2pmZRQxhHGt-GrP8mhswMZKRVRvqN7wTvblw36GGBj_j2wyFrOMPWkR1zQa30RvQ/w400-h260/Gavin+Newsome.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p aria-expanded="true" class="color-body light-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 100%; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden;">LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 06: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom </p><div><p aria-expanded="true" class="color-body light-text" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: inline; height: 100%; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; overflow: hidden;">speaks during<span> </span><span class="expanded-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box;">election night event on November 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. Newsom defeated Republican Gubernatorial candidate John Cox. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><fbs-accordion class="expandable" current="0" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #737373; display: inline; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;"> </fbs-accordion><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #737373; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; text-align: start;"></span><small style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #737373; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; line-height: 2; text-align: start; text-transform: uppercase;">GETTY IMAGES</small></td></tr></tbody></table><p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2021/08/31/how-californias-lack-of-transparency-could-flip-the-us-senate/?sh=2ca524563aec" style="font-size: x-large;">How California’s Lack Of Transparency Could Flip The U.S. Senate</a></p><div><a class="contrib-link--name remove-underline" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 600; line-height: 16px; margin-right: 5px; outline-width: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;">Adam Andrzejewski</a><div class="contrib-label-container" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 600;"><span class="contrib-byline-type" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; height: 16px; line-height: 16px;">Senior Contributor, Forbes, August 31, 2021</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Polls <a aria-label="show" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/31/many-in-us-western-europe-say-their-political-system-needs-major-reform/" href="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/31/many-in-us-western-europe-say-their-political-system-needs-major-reform/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2021/03/31/many-in-us-western-europe-say-their-political-system-needs-major-reform/">show</a> that government corruption, waste and malfeasance are important issues to California voters.</p><div class="article_paragraph_2" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;"></div><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">But California is <a aria-label="the only state refusing" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html">the only state refusing</a> to disclose all state spending. Forty-nine states produced their line-by-line vendor payments <a aria-label="after auditors at OpenTheBooks.com submitted open-records requests" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.openthebooks.com/news/checkbooks/" href="https://www.openthebooks.com/news/checkbooks/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.openthebooks.com/news/checkbooks/">after auditors at OpenTheBooks.com submitted open-records requests</a>.</p><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">It’s a basic issue of accountability. The people, press, and politicians must be able to follow their tax dollars. After all, it’s their money.</p><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In 2020, we <a aria-label="sued California Controller Betty Yee" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html" href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/01/23/suing_california_to_produce_a_state_checkbook_142216.html">sued California Controller Betty Yee</a>, a Democrat, in state court after she argued that her office couldn’t “locate” any of the 50 million payments that the state admitted making last year. Our lawyers are the <a aria-label="public-interest law firm" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://causeofaction.org/" href="https://causeofaction.org/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://causeofaction.org/">public-interest law firm</a> in Washington, D.C., Cause of Action Institute.</p><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In a court <a aria-label="filing this month" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" href="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; outline-width: 0px;" target="_blank" title="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf">filing this month</a>, Yee argued that our organization seeks “…a ‘checkbook’ of California’s spending, such a checkbook does not exist…”</p><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In 2012, Illinois Comptroller Judy Baar-Topinka, a Republican, made a similar argument after denying our sunshine request: “The state doesn’t have a ‘magical’ checkbook.” We sued Illinois reminding her that the state didn’t have magical taxpayers either, and <a aria-label="won." class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.openthebooks.com/illinois-state-checkbook/" href="https://www.openthebooks.com/illinois-state-checkbook/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.openthebooks.com/illinois-state-checkbook/">won.</a></p><p style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">So, why hasn’t a Gov. Gavin Newsom challenger incorporated this good government, non-partisan issue in the recall election cycle? After all, a governor – even the current governor himself – could solve the state’s lack of transparency through an executive order.</p><div class="article-body fs-article fs-responsive-text current-article" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; line-height: 30px; max-width: 42em;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Today, such questions have national implications.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Consider this: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is 88 years old. If she dies in office or resigns her seat, the governor appoints her successor. If that governor is a Republican, then the balance of power in the U.S. Senate would flip away from the slim 50-50 Democratic majority that comes with Vice President Kamala Harris making the tie-breaking vote.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">It would certainly seem that the stakes are high in California. The issue of transparency can turn the ‘Golden State’ into an election battleground.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Here are five <a aria-label="arguments from Controller Yee to a California judge" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" href="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf">arguments from Controller Yee to a California judge</a> regarding her refusal to produce a single transaction subject to our open records request for state spending:</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">1. Certain records are stored on paper and magnetic tape. Magnetic tape? Paper? Are we in 1951 when magnetic tape replaced… punch cards?! Magnetic tape <a aria-label="was invented" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_tape" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_tape" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_tape">was invented</a> in 1928 in Germany according to Wikipedia. Papermaking was <a aria-label="finally brought to Europe" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_paper">finally brought to Europe</a> in the 11<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 13.5px; line-height: 0; position: relative; top: -0.5em; vertical-align: baseline;">th</span> Century.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">California is home to Silicon Valley and the electronic, technology revolution!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">2. Can’t “locate” the records. Mystifying, after admitting that records are stored on paper, magnetic tape, and other media. Furthermore, Yee disclosed making 50 million payments from her office.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">From the Controller <a aria-label="brief" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" href="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.openthebooks.com/assets/1/6/Defendant-Respondents_Opposition_to_Plaintiffs_Complaint_(1).pdf">brief</a>: “Respondents cannot produce records that are not in its possession.” “Petitioners’ attempt to obtain a record that does not exist…” Yee argued, “… the request at first may appear to be reasonable and specific – but when assessed in light of the limitations of and scope of documents possessed by the Respondent, the request is not reasonable…”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Really? The state’s top fiscal officer doesn’t have access to the state payment records when she has a <a aria-label="constitutional responsibility" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html" href="https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html">constitutional responsibility</a> to attest that the payments are free of waste, fraud, corruption and taxpayer abuse?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">From the Controller’s <a aria-label="website" class="color-link" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html" href="https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank" title="https://www.sco.ca.gov/state_and_local_agency_audits.html">website</a>: Under the State Constitution, the Controller is charged with the audit of every claim for payment of state and federal funds <span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">prior to the expenditure of funds</em></span>. (emphasis added)</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">3. Yee called the checkbook spending a <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">limited public interest</em>, in her court filings. Yet, it’s arguably the most important public record in the state – exactly where taxpayer money was spent and who received it. Yee, herself, is acting like she has a lot to hide.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">4. The request lacked clarity. Feigned ignorance – here is what we requested: check date, check amount, payee/vendor name, payee/vendor address, check number, check amount, description of services, organization/ agency identifier number, purpose of payment, department agency, type of payment (i.e. contract, grant, etc.).</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In fact, over 300 cities and municipal governments in California – and 11,100 governments across America – already produce records under the OpenTheBooks.com request. They can figure it out.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In a nutshell, Yee is arguing that her office is so incompetent that they can’t produce the basic financial record of who received how much taxpayer money.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Even the most corrupt governments across America comply with the OpenTheBooks sunshine request for payments, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It seems everyone except California can figure it out.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">5. The request is an “undue burden.” “The information sought would require an extraordinary effort to locate and produce… The [California Public Records Act} does not compel an agency to produce records which cannot be located with a reasonable effort.”</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Undue burden? It’s her job. Anyone that <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">makes</em> the payment can <em style="box-sizing: border-box;">track</em> the payment.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Are you beginning to think that the entire California state payment system is designed to hide waste, fraud, corruption and taxpayer abuse?</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">In 2018, the Wyoming State Auditor Cynthia Cloud, a Republican, argued that producing the state checkbook would take “years and years.” After we sued, Cloud’s successor, Kristi Racines produced six years of state spending within 30-days on the job!</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">All of these positions are embarrassing for California. None of the excuses would seem reasonable to a voter. The issue would resonate with regular people.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Challengers to Gov. Newsom could look to the 2018 insurgent gubernatorial candidate in Wyoming, Foster Friess – who went from 1% in the polls to nearly winning the Republican nomination– in months. His entire platform was to open the books on state spending.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Every state across America can produce a complete checkbook of public expenditures. Are we just dreamin’ to believe that California can produce a full record too?</p><div class="newsletter_signup_article" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem; min-width: 100%;"></div></div><div class="sigfile article-body fs-responsive-text" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures; line-height: 30px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Follow me on </span><a href="https://www.twitter.com/Open_The_Books" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamnorrisandrzejewski/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>. <span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem;">Check out </span>my <a href="http://openthebooks.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">website</a> or some of my other work <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1641770295?ie=UTF8&n=133140011" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #003891; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px 0px 1.2rem; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">here</a>. </div><div class="bottom-contrib-block" style="background-color: #fcfcfc; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "Work Sans", sans-serif; font-size: 17.8076px; font-variant-ligatures: common-ligatures;"><div class="fs-author-group-wrapper" style="-webkit-box-pack: justify; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-wrap: nowrap; justify-content: space-between; width: 528px;"><div class="contrib-byline" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: horizontal; -webkit-box-pack: start; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-basis: 100%; flex-direction: row; height: 68px; justify-content: flex-start; padding: 12px 0px; width: 446px;"><a class="fs-author-avatar" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; display: flex; float: left; height: 44px; margin: auto 12px auto 0px; max-width: 44px; min-width: 44px; position: relative; width: 44px;" title="Photo of Adam Andrzejewski"><img alt="Adam Andrzejewski" class="fs-author-image" src="https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f1f03bfb9c8bf6c4c4e0e128a6aa8730?s=400&d=mm&r=g" style="border-radius: 50%; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; display: block; height: auto !important; max-width: 100%; min-width: 44px; overflow: hidden; width: auto;" /></a><div class="contrib-info" style="-webkit-box-direction: normal; -webkit-box-orient: vertical; -webkit-box-pack: center; box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; flex-direction: column; justify-content: center; width: 390px;"><div class="author-wrapper" style="box-sizing: border-box; display: flex; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 600; line-height: 16px; width: 390px;"><a class="author-name contrib-byline-author speakable-author" data-ga-track="contrib block byline" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/" style="background-color: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; cursor: pointer; text-decoration-line: none;">Adam Andrzejewski</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4723093536436719391.post-61481778729559730482021-09-05T09:11:00.009-07:002022-01-24T08:07:37.449-08:00A National Question: Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglulR2luBJmfIxphNb5zKOI2x-WFOR4akSF0b3O2vI1yuxuSjXR9F5Os1dPznVvhk3-WIJx-epiEj-VNda8tTDNs8ThWY2ccNx7KcMa2IODBv8tImS8FajzF74M77aDOA041jePXHbDE/s522/vaccinations.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="522" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgglulR2luBJmfIxphNb5zKOI2x-WFOR4akSF0b3O2vI1yuxuSjXR9F5Os1dPznVvhk3-WIJx-epiEj-VNda8tTDNs8ThWY2ccNx7KcMa2IODBv8tImS8FajzF74M77aDOA041jePXHbDE/w400-h239/vaccinations.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-business-33ecd7a3bbc2d4b0f260db2abc147464">Can employers make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory?</a><br />by Mae Anderson, May 27, 2021<br />Yes, with some exceptions.<br /><br />Experts say U.S. employers can require employees to take safety measures, including vaccination. That doesn’t necessarily mean you would get fired if you refuse, but you might need to sign a waiver or agree to work under specific conditions to limit any risk you might pose to yourself or others.<br /><br />“Employers generally have wide scope” to make rules for the workplace, said Dorit Reiss, a law professor who specializes in vaccine policies at the University of California Hastings College of the Law. “It’s their business.”<br /><br />Rules will vary by country. But the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has allowed companies to mandate the flu and other vaccines, and has indicated they can require COVID-19 vaccines.<br /><br />There are exceptions. For example, people can request exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Some states have proposed laws that restrict mandating the vaccines because of their “emergency use” status, but that may become less of an issue since Pfizer has applied for full approval and others are likely to follow.<br /><br />How employers approach the issue will vary. Many might not want to require vaccination because of the administrative burden of tracking compliance and managing exemption requests, noted Michelle S. Strowhiro, an employment adviser and lawyer at McDermott Will & Emery. Legal claims could also arise.<br /><br />As a result, many employers will likely strongly encourage vaccination without making it mandatory, Strowhiro said.<br /><br />Walmart, for example, is offering a $75 bonus for employees who provide proof they were vaccinated.</span><p><a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/can-employers-make-covid-19-vaccinations-mandatory" style="font-size: large;">Can Employers Make COVID-19 Vaccinations Mandatory?</a></p><span style="font-size: medium;">National Law Review, Monday, August 2, 2021<br /><br />Now that the vaccines for COVID-19 are widely available in the United States, many schools are preparing for in-person instruction in the fall and more workplaces are starting to move away from remote work and bring their employees back into the office. Of course, many essential workers have remained in their workplaces throughout the pandemic. In order to protect their employees and customers from the pandemic virus, many employers in both the public and private sectors are requiring employees to get vaccinated before returning to work or as a condition of remaining at work. New York City has announced that all government employees need to get vaccinated by September 13, 2021, or else be subject to weekly COVID-19 testing. President Biden announced a similar mandate – vaccine or testing – for federal government employees and contractors on July 29, 2021. The proliferation of employer vaccine mandates across the country has spawned a number of legal challenges by employees who want to keep their jobs but do not want to get vaccinated, and by unions who do not think such changes should be implemented unilaterally by employers. This blog explores some of the legal issues that federal and state courts will be addressing as these cases proceed.<br /><br />Claims based on right to refuse “unapproved” COVID-19 vaccines<br /><br />Plaintiffs in several lawsuits have argued – thus far unsuccessfully – that employers cannot impose vaccine mandates because the COVID-19 vaccines have only received Emergency Use Authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, thus rendering the vaccines “unapproved” and “experimental.” Employees at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas (Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital), Dona Ana Detention Center in New Mexico (Legaretta v. Macias), and Los Angeles County schools in California (California Educators for Medical Freedom v. Los Angeles Unified School District) have all argued that their employers’ requirements that they get the COVID-19 vaccine or face termination amounts to compelling them to participate in a medical experiment in violation of their rights under federal law. <br /><br />Plaintiffs in all three cases point to 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3, a law governing the Secretary of Health and Human Services’ ability to grant Emergency Use Authorization to drugs or medical devices that have not received full approval from the FDA. The law says that the HHS Secretary must establish conditions to ensure that anyone who administers a product under an Emergency Use Authorization must inform patients “of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, [and] of the consequences, if any of refusing administration of the product,” 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3(e)(1)(A)(ii)(III). The plaintiffs claim that this law gives them a right under federal law to refuse the vaccine, and that any employer mandate to the contrary is unenforceable. Some of the plaintiffs point to other sources of law to claim a right to refuse vaccination. For instance, the New Mexico plaintiffs pointed to Griswold v. Connecticut and Roe v. Wade, two famous Supreme Court cases holding that the constitution recognizes a right to privacy that encompasses access to contraception and abortion. They argue that this same right prohibits the Dona Ana Detention Center from terminating their employment if they refuse the vaccine. The California and Texas plaintiffs pointed to the Nuremberg Code of 1947, international laws adopted in the wake of the Holocaust that prohibit forced medical experimentation without informed consent. The plaintiffs basically have argued that the employers’ vaccine mandates are tantamount to the horrifying medical experiments conducted by Nazi doctors on concentration camp prisoners.<br /><br />There is little chance that these arguments will be met with any sympathy by courts. Contrary to the claims of the plaintiffs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission both recognize that federal law does not prevent employers from imposing vaccine mandates. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/essentialworker/workplace-vaccination-program.html#anchor_1615585395585">CDC website</a> says: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not mandate vaccination. However, whether a state, local government, or employer, for example, may require or mandate COVID-19 vaccination is a matter of state or other applicable law.” Similarly, the EEOC says that “The federal EEO laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19,” so long as employers allow for legally required reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities or religious beliefs that do not allow for vaccinations. Furthermore, the Supreme Court first held more than 100 years ago, in its 1905 decision in Jacobson v. Massachusetts upholding a state law requiring smallpox vaccination, that the Constitution does not provide a right to opt-out of vaccine mandates in the midst of a public health crisis. Accordingly, lower courts are unlikely to hold that there is a constitutional right to opt-out of employer vaccine mandates in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.<br /><br />The only court to weigh in on one of these cases has shown no patience for these arguments. On June 12, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed all of the claims brought against Houston Methodist Hospital, bluntly stating that the plaintiffs’ efforts to portray themselves as unwilling participants in medical experiments misstate the facts, and that any analogy to Nazi experimentation in concentration camps is “reprehensible.” Looking at Section 360bbb-3, the Court held that the statute only regulates the conduct of the HHS Secretary and does not create any rights that a private individual can enforce in a lawsuit. Furthermore, the Court noted that none of the plaintiffs are actually being coerced into taking the vaccine. Rather, the Hospital gave them the option to refuse the vaccine and told them the consequence of their refusal, namely, that they would be terminated from their job. “If a worker refuses an assignment, changed office, earlier start time, or other directive, he may be properly fired. Every employment includes limits on the worker’s behavior in exchange for his remuneration. This is all part of the bargain.”<br />Claims based on religious and disability discrimination<br /><br />Even though employees will likely not be able to show that employer vaccine mandates violate federal law, particular employees may be able to show that they have a right to opt-out of an employer vaccine mandate based on their religious beliefs or medical conditions. For example, in Coronado v. Great Performances Artists As Waitress Inc., Antonio Coronado, a service worker, brought claims under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws in state court, claiming his employers’ decision to place him on furlough until he got vaccinated violated his “religious and ethical convictions” and discriminated against him “based upon his physical condition.” There are likely to be similar lawsuits brought by employees all over the country under federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws. Although the court has not yet weighed in on Mr. Coronado’s complaint, the EEOC has provided guidance that will help show how such claims are likely to fair under the federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of religion, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and disability, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Check out our blog post, “<a href="https://www.kmblegal.com/employment-law-blog/covid-19-vaccinations-what-employees-employers-need-know">COVID-19 Vaccinations: What Employees and Employers Need to Know</a>” to learn more.<br />Other vaccine mandate developments to come<br /><br />Although most vaccine mandate litigation is focused on federal law concerning Emergency Use Authorization and anti-discrimination law, some opponents to vaccine mandates are taking other approaches. For instance, a case filed in the United States Court for the Northern District of Illinois argues that the employer’s imposition of a vaccine mandate – even one that allows accommodations for employees’ religious beliefs and disabilities – alters the terms and conditions of employment in violation of Collective Bargaining Agreements entered into by the plaintiff-union. See International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 743 v. Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Health and Welfare Pension Fund. This claim sidesteps any argument about the vaccine approval process as well as the employer’s legitimate interest in promoting workplace safety. Instead, the claim characterizes the employer’s vaccine mandate, which requires unvaccinated employees to use all of their paid time off and then face discipline (up to and including termination) unless and until they get vaccinated, as imposing a new restriction on the union members’ employment without going through the negotiation process required by the agreements and federal law protecting union rights. For instance, the National Labor Relations Act requires an employer to collectively bargain in good faith with the union over subjects that directly impact “rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment.” 29 U.S.C. §§ 158(a)(5); 159(a). The Teamsters Union argued that the employer’s unilateral imposition of the vaccine mandate creates a new “condition of employment,” and requirements on how employees must use their paid time off unlawfully circumvented the mandatory bargaining process. It remains to be seen how the court will handle this claim, but other unions with members opposing vaccine mandates are likely to bring similar claims if the Teamsters Union has any success here.<br /><br />Some state legislators opposed to vaccine mandates are circumventing courts altogether and are proposing state laws that outright prohibit COVID-19 vaccine mandates. While many such laws are still under consideration, two states have successfully enacted laws curtailing employers’ ability to require their employees to get vaccinated. On April 28, 2021, Arkansas enacted Act 977, which prohibits any state or local agency or entity from requiring a COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment, education, entry to facilities, receipt of services, or issuance of a license, certificate, or permit. Ark. Code § 20-7-142. Montana went even further. As of May 7, 2021, it is unlawful in Montana for any private or government employer to discriminate against any employee based on the employee’s vaccination status or possession of an “immunity passport,” although health care facilities are allowed to inquire about employees’ vaccination status and implement reasonable accommodations to protect employees and patients from any dangers posed by non-vaccinated employees. See Mont. Code Title 49, Chapter 2, Part 3. It remains to be seen if employers or employees seeking a safe workplace will challenge these state laws in court, and how courts will weigh an employer’s interest in workplace safety against the state’s interest in regulating commercial activity and protecting individuals against employer restrictions.<br /><br />As more employers demand their employees get vaccinated and courts weigh in on existing lawsuits, the tactics of legal resistance to vaccine mandates are sure to adapt and change.</span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><h1 style="background-color: white; font-family: Oswald, sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px 0px 5px;"><a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/us-department-justice-gives-go-ahead-to-mandatory-covid-19-vaccines-workplace">U.S. Department of Justice Gives Go-Ahead to Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines in the Workplace</a></h1></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Monday, August 2, 2021<br /><br />As employers nationwide have begun to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the workplace, legal questions have been presented as to whether these vaccine requirements are legally permissible under various laws. While the EEOC has issued <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">guidance</a> that generally permits mandatory vaccine requirements in the workplace so long as reasonable accommodations are offered for those with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, questions still remained as to whether mandatory workplace vaccine requirements were permissible under other laws, such as the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), given the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) process.<br /><br />DOJ’s July 6, 2021, Memorandum Opinion now opines that mandatory workplace vaccine policies are permissible under the FDCA. Specifically, Section 564 of the FDCA permits employers to impose the COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment even when the vaccine is subject to EUA. This opinion applies to both public and private employers outside of the context of the armed forces.<br /><br />The DOJ emphasized that vaccine mandates are not coercive: They do not strip employees of their rights to refuse a vaccine or not. Although Section 564 states that recipients must be informed of “the option to accept or refuse administration” of the vaccine, Section 564’s mandates are merely informational. As with other conditions of employment, discipline up to termination can be an acceptable consequence for employee refusal to adhere to an otherwise valid employer vaccination policy. Employees can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine but will need to work elsewhere if they refuse vaccination against the employer’s policy.<br /><br />It is important to note that DOJ’s opinion is narrow, only addressing the permissibility of the COVID-19 vaccine under one federal statute. Many other state and local laws may apply, such as state and local equal employment opportunity laws and regulations. In addition, there are a multitude of practical considerations in mandating vaccination.<br />Practical Considerations for Employers:<br /><br />Employers must decide how to ensure a safe and compliant workplace while considering employee rights and concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations. The following are some considerations that are important for employers to address in light of the DOJ guidance:<br /><br />1. Determine whether to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or implement other avenues for increasing vaccination rates, such as incentivization;<br /><br />2. Consider instituting or updating company-wide COVID-19 vaccination policies;<br /><br />3. Review prior <a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/eeoc-issues-critical-guidance-vaccination-issues-workplace">EEOC guidance</a> to determine how to accommodate employees with disabilities or religious objections to the vaccine;<br /><br />4. Review current policies and procedures to ensure proper handling of any accommodation requests;<br /><br />5. Keep employee vaccination status as confidential medical information;<br /><br />6. </span><span style="font-size: medium;">Monitor CDC and OSHA websites to keep current with guidance;</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />7. Update COVID-19 policies to determine which employees will be subject to masking and social distancing in light of the CDC Guidance;<br /><br />8. Keep informed of any local public health rules and regulations requiring masking;<br /><br />9. Employers maintaining workplaces with employees subject to collective bargaining agreements must consider any bargaining obligations with the Union prior to instituting or modifying vaccination policies;<br /><br />10. Train supervisors and managers on COVID-19 policies.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><a href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/doj-releases-memorandum-supporting-employers-right-to-mandate-vaccines-approved-fda"><span style="font-size: large;">DOJ Releases Memorandum Supporting Employers’ Right to Mandate Vaccines Approved by the FDA for Emergency Use</span></a></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">NLR, Wednesday, August 4, 2021<br /><br />Growing numbers of private businesses and public entities have announced policies requiring employees and others to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment or as a condition of access to facilities or services. In response to this trend, some have argued that employers and other organizations may not lawfully mandate COVID-19 vaccines that have been only approved for use under an emergency use authorization (EUA) as opposed to full approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Commentators and legal advisors have been divided over whether the EUA approval precludes mandating the vaccine. On July 6, 2021, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum opining that private businesses and public entities are not prohibited from mandating COVID-19 vaccines that have only received approval for use under an EUA. The memorandum, “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/attachments/2021/07/26/2021-07-06-mand-vax.pdf">Whether Section 564 of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act Prohibits Entities from Requiring the Use of a Vaccine Subject to an Emergency Use Authorization</a>,” helps settle any remaining legal debate and affirms that employers may lawfully require employees to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.<br />Background and Prior Guidance<br /><br />COVID-19 hit the shores of the United States in January 2020. Almost immediately, universities, hospitals, and media began to anticipate the development and deployment of effective vaccines. In May 2020 came the announcement of Operation Warp Speed—a public-private partnership between the U.S. government and private companies to develop vaccines to combat COVID-19. Then, in June 2020, the FDA announced that any vaccine would need to be at least 50 percent effective in combating COVID-19 before receiving approval from the agency. Vaccines with effective rates of over 90 percent were announced in late 2020. Shortly thereafter, the FDA issued EUAs for the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, followed by the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine. Just as quickly, employers began considering whether to require employees to be vaccinated as a condition of employment or as a condition of performing work on-site at company facilities.</span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />The question of whether an employer may require employees to get vaccinated is <a href="https://ogletree.com/insights/mandatory-flu-vaccine-policies-dealing-with-employees-who-refuse-the-shot/">not new</a>. For years, some employers in healthcare and other industries have required employees to receive vaccines against influenza and viruses in connection with their employment. In that context, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recognized an employer’s right to insist on vaccinations. For example, in 2009, in connection with the H1N1 pandemic, the EEOC issued guidance entitled “<a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pandemic-preparedness-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act">Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act.”</a> There, the EEOC addressed the extent to which the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal employment laws restricted an employer’s ability to mandate influenza vaccines. The guidance, which has since been revised to address COVID-19, posed the question, “May an employer covered by the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 compel all of its employees to take the influenza vaccine regardless of their medical conditions or their religious beliefs during a pandemic?” In answering “No,” the EEOC made the obvious observation that under the ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 reasonable accommodation must be provided to employees, absent undue hardship, for their disabilities and religious beliefs, practices, or observances.<br /><br />The EEOC again addressed the issue in an <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/foia/eeoc-informal-discussion-letter-250">informal discussion letter</a> dated March 5, 2012. In that letter, the EEOC was asked to advise on the extent to which Title VII required giving exceptions to an influenza vaccine for healthcare workers who requested exemptions due to religious beliefs. The EEOC again affirmed that an employer could require an influenza vaccine in certain circumstances, but that Title VII and other federal employment laws required providing reasonable accommodation based on religious beliefs, disability, and pregnancy. The EEOC’s ultimate position was that employers should encourage employees to receive an influenza vaccine rather than require vaccination.<br /><br />In March 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the EEOC updated its <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pandemic-preparedness-workplace-and-americans-disabilities-act">pandemic guidance</a>. The EEOC reiterated that any vaccine requirement must provide for exemptions or other reasonable accommodations for employees who cannot get vaccinated due to a disability or a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance, absent an undue hardship. At the time the EEOC released its updated pandemic guidance, the agency noted, “there is no vaccine available for COVID-19.” The EEOC continued to opine that “ADA-covered employers should consider simply encouraging employees to get [a vaccine] rather than requiring them to take it.”<br /><br />As the COVID-19 pandemic gained ground, the EEOC issued more detailed technical guidance entitled, “<a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws</a>.” The EEOC has updated the technical guidance multiple times, most recently on June 28, 2021. In that guidance, the EEOC confirmed that, subject to reasonable accommodation provisions under the ADA and Title VII, “federal EEO laws do not prevent an employer from requiring all employees physically entering the workplace to be vaccinated for COVID-19.”<br /><br />As a result of this guidance and the increasing burden of COVID-19 in the workplace, a number of employers have contemplated or put into place policies requiring that employees get vaccinated against COVID-19, either as a condition of employment or as a condition of returning to the office for in-person work activities. This policy has been more prevalent among hospitals and other healthcare providers. Similarly, a number of colleges and universities have announced requirements for staff and students to get vaccinated, and a growing number of federal and state agencies are requiring employees to get vaccinated.<br />The Dispute Over EUA-Approved Vaccines<br /><br />Even before COVID-19 vaccines were released, political and legal challenges to mandatory vaccines developed, many of which were based on the notion that employees and others should not be compelled to receive any COVID-19 vaccine that had only received EUA approval from the FDA. For example, Montana enacted <a href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2021/billhtml/HB0702.htm">House Bill 702</a>, which prohibits discrimination based on vaccination status and provides that “[a]n individual may not be required to receive any vaccine whose use is allowed under an emergency use authorization or any vaccine undergoing safety trials.” Multiple lawsuits have also been filed against employer vaccine mandates, though none have been success as of yet. One such lawsuit is <a href="https://ogletree.com/insights/mandatory-vaccination-policy-lawsuit-update-nurses-take-a-shot-against-hospital-but-judge-jabs-back/">Bridges v. Houston Methodist Hospital</a>, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas by employees of a hospital after the hospital issued a requirement that all employees must get vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. In the lawsuit, the employees claimed that requiring them to receive the COVID-19 vaccine (or risk being discharged) violated numerous laws including: (1) section 564 of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (the EUA provision); (2) FDA regulations that require informed consent before human subjects may participate in human trials; and (3) the Nuremburg Code. Other lawsuits in the United States have similarly argued against mandatory vaccine policies based on the notion that the COVID-19 vaccines are “experimental” absent full FDA approval.<br /><br />The legal challenges based on the EUA status of COVID-19 vaccinations arise from a misinterpretation of the relevant provisions of the FD&C Act. In 2004, the U.S. Congress amended the FD&C Act to allow for EUA approvals as a way to more rapidly deploy protections and countermeasures against chemical, biological, nuclear, or radiological threats. The statute provides that in connection with an EUA approval, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services must establish certain conditions on an EUA “to protect the public health” and ensure that “individuals to whom the product is administered are informed … of the option to accept or refuse administration of the product, of the consequences, if any, of refusing administration of the product, and of the alternatives to the product that are available and of their benefits and risks.” Some have argued that this provision should be interpreted to mean that private and public entities may not mandate EUA-approved vaccines, while others have argued that the statute refers only to health consequences and/or that the FDA does not have the authority to regulate the employment consequences imposed by an employer due to an employee’s refusal to comply with a mandatory vaccine policy. In other words, the FD&C Act may require that vaccine providers and administrators advise recipients of their right to refuse the vaccine and that they will not suffer any healthcare consequences for doing so, but there is a compelling argument that nothing prohibits an employer from conditioning employment on an employee’s choice to get vaccinated.<br /><br />The July 26, 2021, DOJ <a href="https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1415446/download#:~:text=Section%20564(e)(1,to%20an%20emergency%20use%20authorization.">memo</a>randum addresses the argument. There, the DOJ notes that the EUA provision requires informed consent from those receiving the vaccine and that the EUA approval given to the currently available COVID-19 vaccines requires that recipients receive an FDA-approved “<a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/144414/download">Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers</a>,” which states: “It is your choice to receive or not receive the … COVID-19 Vaccine.” In assessing whether the FD&C Act and the fact sheet language prohibit mandatory vaccine policies, the DOJ concluded that “[the EUA provision] concerns only the provision of information to potential vaccine recipients and does not prohibit public or private entities from imposing vaccination requirements for vaccines that are subject to EUAs.” The DOJ further reasoned:<br /><br />Indeed, if Congress had intended to restrict entities from imposing EUA vaccination requirements, it chose a strangely oblique way to do so, embedding the restriction in a provision that on its face requires only that individuals be provided with certain information (and grouping that requirement with other conditions that are likewise informational in nature). Congress could have created such a restriction by simply stating that persons (or certain categories of persons) may not require others to use an EUA product.<br />Key Takeaways<br /><br />The DOJ memorandum is helpful to employers contemplating mandatory vaccine programs. While the DOJ memorandum is not binding on courts and does not carry the weight of law, it nevertheless affirms the interpretation offered by many that the EUA status of COVID-19 vaccines does not preclude a private or public employer’s ability to mandate that employees get vaccinated. Rather, as noted in EEOC guidance, federal law does not prohibit mandating vaccines, provided employers comply with the requirements of federal employment laws, such as the “direct threat” and reasonable accommodation provisions of the ADA and Title VII.<br /><br />Employers seeking to mandate COVID-19 vaccines may also want to take into account any restrictions arising from applicable state laws, as some states have passed or are considering legislation that would nevertheless restrict an employer’s ability to mandate vaccines. Employers may also wish to carefully consider the practical and legal implications of ADA and Title VII restrictions and assess whether their organizations have in place effective and compliant processes for identifying and addressing reasonable accommodations.</span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/texas-attorney-general-sues-six-school-districts-mask-mandates-2021-9">Texas AG sues 6 school districts over mask mandates as almost 100 districts defy Gov. Greg Abbott's executive order to ban them</a></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="left_content_article left_content" style="float: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>Betsy Combierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04775243858742937706noreply@blogger.com0