Liberal Forum

The Right-Wing Attack on Public Education Began in One Elite Illinois High School – Mother Jones

Teacher explains why she burned out: 'We do too much with too little and for too little'

Michigan gubernatorial candidate blames parents and 'critical race training' for school shootings

GOP candidate who wanted to protect children from 'the progressives left' arrested for allegedly masturbating near preschool | The Independent

FROM THE MOUTHS OF THE VERY YOUNG

Students walk out on Mike Pence's speech where he suggests he's running in 2024 - 'Hate has no home here."

"I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED." (D--- TRUMP)

Controversial 'Stop WOKE,' parental rights rules get go-ahead as Florida LGBTQ advocates object

Marjorie Taylor Greene warns young adults about the pitfalls of a COLLEGE EDUCATION
 

THE SO-CALLED FREEDOM PARTY ONLY BELIEVES IN THEIR FREEDOM 
.FLORIDIAN NIGHTMARE: 

Florida’s educational gag order is More extensive and damaging than you realize. 

Florida, in insisting there is “no purported right to academic freedom,” maintain that the government of Florida “has simply chosen to regulate its own speech.”

Florida’s argument, if accepted by the courts, poses an existential threat to public schools that could destroy the commitment to free and unfettered inquiry that has made American colleges and universities preeminent throughout the world.  

ALSO: Florida’s New Book-Banning Committee Is a MAGA-Run Nightmare 

Dawn Peters, Right-wing Candidate for School Board in Florida, releases a statement disavowing a number of conspiracy theories after social media posts BUSTED HER as a QAnon QUACK.  

MEANWHILE: 

An Oklahoma GOP Candidate Has Vowed to Make Teachers Undergo 'Patriotic Education' based on 'Judeo-Christian values'  

FROM THE MOUTHS OF THE VERY YOUNG 

These high schoolers are showing more integrity in one day than GOP Gov. Stitt has in his entire career  

AND A New Study Reveals the Anti-CRT Agenda is Really about Denying Racism and Revising History

B.See » 20 Aug 2022, 1:13 am » wrote: ↑

20 Aug 2022, 1:13 am

When I created my first thread on what Republicans are doing to education in America, I called it an assault.

However that assault has since become an all out, uncloaked in dog-whistle subterfuge, WAR... on not only education, but on KNOWLEDGE ITSELF. 

 

They understand that ignorant people are easier to control.
 

E
 Misty
They understand that ignorant people are easier to control.

EXACTLY. And the MORE ignorant the BETTER. That's why Trump said he "loves the poorly educated." That's why they use the term "woke" as a pejorative. 

To the MAGAS, being "woke" or possessing knowledge and INFORMED WITH FACTS has become TABOO.

There was an interesting article on the gap between white Trump voters with and without a college degree that ran in the Washington Times (Tuesday, September 29, 2020) titled "Donald Trump is Still King of the 'Poorly Educated'"  (It looks like a link but it's not. I can't post the link because I've been BARRED from posting links).  But here's an interesting excerpt from it:

"Mr. Trump’s lead over Democratic nominee Joseph R. Biden among White voters without a degree is 25 points in Monmouth polling, Mr. Murray said. But Mr. Biden holds a 15-point lead among White college-educated voters."

The author went on to call it an "unprecedented yawning gap between these two groups." 

That was back in 2020. And AFTER Trump's resounding LOSS TO BIDEN, his supporters and election deniers have retreated even FURTHER down the rabbit hole.

Anyone who wants even a GLIMPSE of how far from reality they've become need only watch a few Jordan Klepper Trump rally interviews on Youtube.  They'd be FUNNY, if they weren't so TERRIFYING.

(I'll try to post the youtube link to a recent one he did. If it doesn't come up it means I've been barred from posting those as well):

youtube /watch?v=qs6mBh2uXRM

 
 

THE RIGHT WINGED ASSAULT UPON EDUCATION CONTINUES

Angry right-wing moms are trying to have librarians arrested by "constitutional sheriffs." - SLATE

School employee: Libraries may need Holocaust denial book - FORWARD

MALEVOLENT MINDED MAGA: Kari Lake pitched for less math, science, and history in public high schools - Boing Boing

A Decorated Public School Teacher Was Alarmed to Find Kansas Republican Elect Paul Waggoner Taking Photos of Her Home - RAWSTORY

The Midterms Brought Some Bad News for Public Education – Mother Jones

As a Florida teacher, Ron DeSantis' Don't Say Gay bill makes the job nearly impossible - SLATE

Libertarian dad sues school district over Pride flags in classroom, thanks to Don't Say Gay law - DAILYKOS

ON THE PLUS SIDE:

GOP education message falls short as Democrats sweep Michigan’s statewide education board seats - Raw Story

Colorado Voters Pass Universal Free Lunch For Students | HuffPost Latest News
 

B.See » 20 Aug 2022, 1:13 am » wrote: ↑

20 Aug 2022, 1:13 am

When I created my first thread on what Republicans are doing to education in America, I called it an assault.

However that assault has since become an all out, uncloaked in dog-whistle subterfuge, WAR... on not only education, but on KNOWLEDGE ITSELF. 

Back then I spoke of right wing threats to teachers and administrators as to what could and couldn't be taught, laws limiting and dictating curriculum, hate base demagoguery that demonized minorities, transgenders, and gays, right winged efforts to monitor, police, report, and even prosecute educators and administrators,

and the resultant exodus of teachers and administrators BECAUSE of it. 

And NOW that war has ALSO devolved into attacks, intimidation, and even violent threats, directed not only at teachers and school administrators, but toward school board members, elected representatives, libraries, librarians...

and EVEN STUDENTS THEMSELVES.
 
PG THREAD RULES: applies to this thread as all my PG enabled threads: rational discussions, points counter points, rebuttals and responses are welcome, but NOT personal insults, name calling, fabricating 'direct' quotes, hate speech, drive by **** posting, trolling, and senseless content. Some who've habitually engaged in such have already been uninvited, while others have NOT been uninvited...yet.

None of this true. You can maybe cherry pick a handful of cases, but this is not the norm. Can you prove that this is a regular occurrence across the country? If not, then cherry picking a small number of incidents is intellectually dishonest. 

Vegas » 16 Nov 2022, 7:39 pm » wrote: ↑

16 Nov 2022, 7:39 pm

None of this true. You can maybe cherry pick a handful of cases, but this is not the norm. Can you prove that this is a regular occurrence across the country? If not, then cherry picking a small number of incidents is intellectually dishonest.

ALL of it is true, as evidenced by the links I've posted (when I able to post) and the news items and current events I've referenced, hence. And in occurrences that have become INCREASINGLY REGULAR.

CASES IN POINT:

REPUBLICANS WORKING OVERTIME TO KEEP AMERICANS 'UNWOKEN' (i.e. IGNORANT AS ****) 

What a far-right school board takeover looks like in South Carolina: Summary firings, bans on CRT (i.e. slavery, racism, black history, MLK), and teachers walking the fk out - Dailykos 

Glenn Youngkin Pushes Racist School Curriculum Update - Newsone 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin suggests new school history curriculum that removes, slavery, MLK, and respect for diversity - Dailykos 

Texas School District Bans Neil Gaiman Novels, Game of Thrones and More - CBR 

Neo-Nazis terrorize attendees at a Harvard bookfair: report - Raw Story 

Nearly 300 titles, including graphic novel about the Gettysburg Address, banned in Missouri schools - Dailykos 

Not just ‘Maus’: A Missouri school district removed several Holocaust history books, too - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
 
 

B.See » 18 Nov 2022, 9:01 pm » wrote: ↑

18 Nov 2022, 9:01 pm

ALL of it is true, as evidenced by the links I've posted (when I able to post) and the news items and current events I've referenced, hence. And in occurrences that have become INCREASINGLY REGULAR.

CASES IN POINT:

   REPUBLICANS WORKING OVERTIME TO KEEP AMERICANS 'UNWOKEN' (i.e. IGNORANT AS ****) What a far-right school board takeover looks like in South Carolina: Summary firings, bans on CRT (i.e. slavery, racism, black history, MLK), and teachers walking the fk out - Dailykos Glenn Youngkin Pushes Racist School Curriculum Update - Newsone Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin suggests new school history curriculum that removes, slavery, MLK, and respect for diversity - Dailykos Texas School District Bans Neil Gaiman Novels, Game of Thrones and More - CBR Neo-Nazis terrorize attendees at a Harvard bookfair: report - Raw Story Nearly 300 titles, including graphic novel about the Gettysburg Address, banned in Missouri schools - Dailykos Not just ‘Maus’: A Missouri school district removed several Holocaust history books, too - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

You are putting your own spin on it. It's not uncommon for leftwingers to censure anyone that opposes them. That's just what you guys do. You favor tyranny. You believe that your side is always right, and everyone else is wrong. Period. That couldn't be further from the truth. You guys are almost always wrong. 

Parents have a right to know what their kids are being taught. Just because you feel that parents shouldn't even dare stand up to you, doesn't mean that you are right. In fact, everything you say is on a borderline dictatorship mentality. Its sick. 

Now you're sesorting to mischaracterization and persona atacks
 Vegas
You are putting your own spin on it. It's not uncommon for leftwingers to censure anyone that opposes them. That's just what you guys do. You favor tyranny. You believe that your side is always right, and everyone else is wrong. Period. That couldn't be further from the truth. You guys are almost always wrong. 

Parents have a right to know what their kids are being taught. Just because you feel that parents shouldn't even dare stand up to you, doesn't mean that you are right. In fact, everything you say is on a borderline dictatorship mentality. Its sick.

Spin?? Seems YOU'RE the one resorting to mischaracterizations, suggesting what I "favor" and **** personal ATTACKS.  Did I attack YOU?  All I did was disagree with YOUR wholesale dismissal of the TRUTHS contained in this thread.

Also let the record show that not only did you attack me, but the guy who FRAUDULENTLY claimed he couldn't post in these threads CONTINUES to create threads attempting to question MY credibility.

PROVE where the stories I posted herein are UNTRUE. PROVE where WE are almost ALWAYS wrong. Granted some of these articles contain spin, even opinion. But the FACTS therein speak for themselves.

Attack me in thread again and I will respond by doing what you've ALWAYS LIED about my doing.

 
 

TRUTH OUT: The anti so-called "CRT" movement is simply about ERASING BLACK PEOPLE.

Virginia's GOP governor Deleted MLK Day and Barack Obama From Its History Curriculum - MSN

With new standards draft, critics say Virginia’s Youngkin wants to rewrite history - Yahoo

Missouri Law Bans X-Men, Walking Dead, Watchmen, Batman From Schools - CBR

The "Don't Say Gay" law is instilling fear in Florida kids and classrooms - LGBTQ Nation
 

MAGA'S FASCIST WAR ON EDUCATION KNOWLEDGE AND TRUTH

How to identify fascism and why public schools are on the GOP's hit list - Raw Story

Why Public Schools Are On the GOP’s Hit List - Daily Kos

MEANWHILE:

Parkland mom who lost daughter in shooting ousts DeSantis appointee from school board - Salon

Florida teen defies "Don’t Say Gay" law and teaches class about Stonewall uprising - Upworthy

Anti-LGBTQ activist who warns of "groomers" forced out of teaching for inappropriate relationships with students - Raw Story  (FIGURES)
 

THE RIGHT WINGED ASSAULT ON EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE CONTINUES

How MAGA culture warriors have escalatedthreats against teachers and school administrators: study - Alternet

Conservative Florida School Boards Begin Educator Purge - Second Nexus

DeSantis-backed school boards begin ousting Florida educators - POLITICO

Connecticut school board drops Jewish holy days from school calendar, nixes Hindu festival of Diwali - Washington Times

School officials burned out by bananas MAGA parents who think they're trying to inject kids with microchips: survey - Raw Story
 

The continuous MAGA ASSAULT upon EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, HISTORY and even TRUTH has now evolved into underhandedly sinister efforts on the part of fascism's KEY players (like DeSantis) to subvert school boards, faculties, curriculum, teacher's unions, hiring, instructional content etc.

Theirs is no less than a multi-faceted effort to ostracize and erase that and those who they seek to DEHUMANIZE, and even to SUPPLANT REALITY ITSELF with their own sick, twisted IDEOLOGY.

Some recent articles I'd saved over the holidays:

Most HBCU students, other private school attendees excluded from using school IDs to vote in Georgia - Yahoo News

Ohio lawmakers to circumvent the will of the people with school board bill - Yahoo News

excerpt from the above:

An undemocratic bill is being pushed as part of an effort to take away the rights of Ohio voters pertaining to education issues.

Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman wants to remove most of the education duties from the school board and put them in the governor’s office, according to a recent article by Anna Staver, a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau which serves the Columbus Dispatch and 21 other affiliated newspapers.


MEANWHILE:

Right Wing Commentator Dennis Prager Blames School Deterioration on Female Teachers: "I know it sounds misogynist, but..." - Mediaite

STRAIGHT UP NAZI ****: Gov. DeSantis asks Florida universities for names of all staff, programs linked to diversity and CRT - Yahoo

Strife in the Schools: Education Dept. Logs Record Number of Discrimination Complaints - Yahoo News

Texas bill outlaws diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Texas Higher ed. - Boing Boing

Alabama’s education system was designed to preserve white supremacy. I should know. - al

DeSantis Takes Aim at Teachers' Unions in Latest Education Plan - Business Insider

Far-right takeover of Idaho community college becomes living example of how right wing power grabs hollow out institutions - Dailykos

Texas schools now refusing dictionary donations thanks to GOP-backed book restrictions: report - Raw Story

How one right-wing activist is fighting to ban over 3,600 books from Florida schools - Raw Story

Shut down...by force: Michigan GOP official calls for aggressive closure of public library over LGBTQ books - Alternet

Florida book-banning English teacher known as ‘openly racist’ - Dailykos
According to former and current students, the Florida high school English teacher on a crusade to ban more than a hundred books by LGTBQ and Black authors has a yearslong history of making racist, sexist, and homophobic comments in her classroom.  Vicki Baggett teaches at Northview High School in the Escambia County School District.

THE RESISTANCE:

Kentucky High Court throws out School Choice funding law - Dailykos
The high court sided with a lower court decision that legal voters, not lawmakers, must approve any change in taxation when it comes to funding public schools in Kentucky.

Michigan librarian goes viral after ripping board over anti-LGBTQ book bans, threats on her life - Dailykos

Right wingers withdraw DeVos-backed voucher initiative after Democrats control Michigan - Raw Story


 

"WOKE" (adj) - to be all TOO aware of the MAGA CON.

THE MAGA ATTACK UPON EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, FACTS, AND TRUTH:

School Ends Dr. Seuss Reading When Students Recognize Its Racism Lesson - CBR

DeSantis hopes to grow his base by banning education | Boing Boing

Ron DeSantis Blocks Advanced Placement African American Studies Program from Florida Schools - Claims It "Lacks Educational Value" – Rolling Stone

White House calls Florida rejection of AP African American studies course ‘incomprehensible’ | The Hill

Missouri bill would ban so-called 'critical race theory' which isn't being taught in grade schools and instead, offer teacher training in 'patriotism' - CNN Politics

Florida State Colleges Will No Longer “Fund or Support” Critical Race Theory – Mother Jones

Ron DeSantis Is Banning Black Studies in Schools and It's Disgraceful | Opinion - Newsweek

Florida says AP class teaches critical race theory. Here's what's really in the course - WAMC

 

CONTINUED FROM ABOVE:

"WOKE" (adj) - to be all TOO aware of the MAGA CON.

THE MAGA ATTACK UPON EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, FACTS, AND TRUTH:

Republicans weigh bill that would imprison librarians who refuse to pull books about LGBTQ people - Dailykos

North Dakota weighs ban of 'sexually explicit' books from ALL public libraries- ABC News (AND they want criminal charges for librarians who fail to remove them)

North Dakota Republicans want banning of books from public libraries that discuss sexual or gender identity - Raw Story

MEANWHILE:

School board meeting goes off the rails amid furious battle with a right-wing 'parental rights' activist - Raw Story

Jayme McElvany, a well-known activist who said she attended the Jan. 6, 2021, rally in D.C. that resulted in a mob storming the Capitol building, and who has also prominently posted debunked election fraud conspiracies and QAnon rhetoric, addressed the board during which she launched into reading three minutes of sexually explicit dialogue from an adult magazine in front of several minors who were present, all without their parent's permission.
 

There was so much in the news last week on this topic I'll have to make THIS a two or three parter as well:
.WOKE: The state of being all TOO AWARE of the MAGA CON.
. THE FASCIST, AUTHORITARIAN, MAGA WAR ON EDUCATION AND KNOWLEDGE (PART ONE):

Opinion DeSantis defends banning African American studies course as Black leaders call for action - POLITICO

‘Don’t say Black.’ That’s the gist of what Florida just told its students and teachers: Eric Foster - cleveland

Step by step, this is how white Missouri parents wiped out 3 diversity programs
Illinois - Yahoo

Desantis Administration Aims to "Curb Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in State Universities, 'not a priority' Lt. Gov. Nuñez says - Miami Herald

Gov J.B. Pritzker Warns College Board Not to Bow to DeSantis’ ‘Racist’ Attack on AP Courses - The Daily Beast

Sorry, Twitter, but Florida's war on books is no joke. Ron DeSantis wants to keep kids from reading - Salon

SC bill would prevent teaching about slave owners, ‘including George Washington’ - The Hill

The 1619 Project, now on Hulu: Why are states banning it in schools? - Talahassee (dot com)


DOMESTIC TERRORISM, MAGA STYLE:

‘I’ve never seen anything like it’: Florida teachers strip classroom shelves of books in response to DeSantis ban - Yahoo News

Teachers are scared, and schools’ books have become contraband. This is Florida? - Miami Herald

Florida Might Lock Up Teachers Who Expose Students To 'Unvetted' Books, With Woke Words In Them - Wonkette

Florida teachers forced to remove or cover up books to avoid felony charges | Florida - The Guardian

Florida Teachers Are Being Told to Remove All Books in Classroom Libraries to Avoid Lawsuits - MSN

Students fearful of red state laws aimed at LGBTQ influence in schools - USA Today

WOKE: The state of being all TOO AWARE of the MAGA CON.  (continued from above)

Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Banned From Fla. School District - Black America Web

The Bluest Eye is the latest victim of Florida’s thought police - Tampabay (dot com)

"Nobel Prize Winner Toni Morrison’s book is a masterpiece. “The Bluest Eye,” published in 1970, is the latest casualty in a wave of American anti-intellectualism hitting particularly hard in Florida.

Supporters of such measures would call it a win against wokeness, increasingly Batman villain code for anything that attempts to recognize the experience of people who aren’t straight and white."

Philadelphia High School Librarian Ordered to Remove Poster with Quote by Holocause Survivor and Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel - The Times of Israel

Our Librarian Was Forced to Remove a Quote by a Holocaust Survivor Elie Wiesel. It's a Bad Sign of Things to Come. – Kveller (dot com)


MEANWHILE, MORE FASCIST, REICH WINGED, NAZI ****:

Parents start home-schooling group to help others raise their children as Nazis - Raw Story

Inside The Online Community Where Home-Schoolers Learn How To Turn Their Kids Into ‘Wonderful Nazis’ - HuffPost Latest News

Right wing Utah lobbyist Allison Sorensen gets caught on hot mic saying she wants to "destroy public education," - Wonkette

North Dakota Republican Declares LITTERBOX EMERGENCY. Don't Laugh At Her, She Is A Child Of God! - Wonkette

Florida School Vouchers Next Frontier in GOP K-12 Assault - Miami Herald

‘Holy tax scams’: Kansas lawmakers fight over plan to fund private schools with tax write-offs - Raw Story
 

WOKE: THE STATE OF BEING ALL TOO AWARE OF THE MAGA CON

MAGAS CULTURAL RACE WAR IN AMERICA'S SCHOOLS:

Gov. DeSantis pushes ban on diversity programs in state colleges - CBS Miami

Unable to burn digital books, Orange Unified School District bans the whole virtual library | Boing Boing

What it's Like When Ron DeSantis Takes Over Your College - Vice (dot com) DeSantis engineers radical far right takeover of small liberal arts college replacing board with anti crt, anti lgbtq extremists.

A Christian K-8 school was forced to close after publicly acknowledging ‘inclusive theology’ - Daily Kos

The College Board Just Watered Down Its New AP African American History Course – Mother Jones They claim it had nothing—definitely nothing!—to do with caving to right-wing racism.

Commentary: I fought for Black studies at UCLA. The College Board just erased U.S. history - Yahoo News

‘Freewater,’ the book that won the Newbery Medal this week, could quickly be banned in Florida schools - Fastcompany (dot com)

‘When kids speak about the country’s history of slavery,’ says author Amina Luqman-Dawson, ‘I want them to feel unencumbered by the fear of learning that we often encounter among adults today.’

Jim Jordan issues subpoenas targeting Biden administration's response to school board threats - CNN Politics   Jim Jordan on Friday subpoenaed the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Education for documents as part of its investigation into whether the Justice Department's addressing of threats against teachers and school officials targeted conservative parents.

(i.e. those MAKING the threats)

FIGHTING BACK:

Alabama community rallies in support of a Black author after school district cancels Black History Month event | CNN

Publishing company will offer free Black history e-books, especially in Florida | The Hill
 

The fascist MAGA party and Co. continue their relentless assault upon educational institutions.

Recall back when they started with this critical race theory **** attack, I SAID CRT would be a catch all dog whistle, one that they would use to eliminate ANYTHING, ANY fact, historical or otherwise, that doesn't align with their IDEOLOGY...

would be THEIR all out effort to ERASE those and that which they considered "other."

And to no surprise, that's exactly what they're TRYING to do:

Montana Republican introduces new bill banning 'scientific theory' from being taught in schools - Dailykos

Florida professors consider fleeing the state after DeSantis’ ‘un-American’ mass search of texts, emails - Dailydot

Florida Griped for Months to College Board About African American Studies - TheDailyBeast

Florida NOW will not ask for student-athletes' menstrual histories, will ask about sex at birth - NBC NEWS

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Unveils Education Plan: Hike Teacher Pay, Wreck Public Schools - Wonkette

FIGHTING BACK:

Angry Parents Forced Florida to Back Down From Forcing Student Athletes to Reveal Menstrual History - News (dot) Yahoo (dot com)

The Rev. Al Sharpton to lead protest after Florida governor's ban of African American studies course - UPI

FSU, FAMU students march against DeSantis targeting diversity programs - Tallahassee (dot com)

Students walk out after told to limit Black History program - News (dot) Yahoo (dot com)

Parents in Florida inspired to teach Black history to their kids after AP course banned - NBC NEWS

7 Black Activists and Scholars DeSantis Doesn't Want Students to Know - INSIDER

College Board says Florida’s statements about AP African-American studies are untrue - MiamiHerald

ACLA Calls for the Resignation of Presidents of 28 Florida Public Universities - Dailykos   In an open letter, the American Comparative Literature Association (ACLA) charge that the Presidents of 28 Florida public universities in stating that critical race theory is an ideology without any educational value have abandoned their educational responsibilities, and called on each to resign their position.
 
 

"I LOVE THE POORLY EDUCATED." - TRUMP

well, so does BABY TRUMP:

Ron DeSantis’ academic restrictions show he hopes to change history by censoring it | Libraries - The Guardian

NAACP leader criticizes DeSantis for rejecting Black AP history course - DetroitNews (dot com)

Ron DeSantis' culture war benches baseball great Roberto Clemente biography - Raw Story

“Slander”: College Board Blasts DeSantis Attacks on African American Course – Mother Jones

College Board Rips ‘Slander’ Of AP African American Studies - HuffPost

A librarian’s frontline view of Florida’s ‘vetting’ process for school books, and the titles being banned - News.Yahoo (dot com)

and OTHER MAGAS, TOO:

Tuscaloosa school district addresses student walkout amid claims a Black History program was censored - Revolt (dot TV)   Students at a Tuscaloosa County high school claim that faculty advised them to omit historical events that took place prior to 1970.

Ohio middle school teacher resigns over racist Black History Month display - News.Yahoo (dot com)

MEANWHILE:

Virginia lawmakers approve anti-queer bill that mandates public schools 'out' youth to parents - Dailykos

FIGHTING BACK:

Alabama community rallies behind author after cancelled event - Upworthy (dot com)