Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Why all that calling and protesting matters ...


... athough we don't, now, have the votes in the Senate to derail President Trump's cabinet of deplorables.

... there’s a reason to fight President Trump’s nominations even if they can’t be derailed. More dissent means more critical stories in the press, means sharper-elbowed hearings, means defensive guarantees made to mollify wobbly senators, means a brighter spotlight on the secretaries once they’re in office. The resistance to Trump is in part about boxing in the people charged with enacting his will. The less latitude the Cabinet can enjoy, the weaker the Trump administration is.

Jim Newell, Slate

The graphic comes from those tireless fighters for their own public education, the young people of Californians for Justice.

DeVos’ confirmation is not about challenging the status quo to create a better public education system. It is about providing a false narrative that public education is “flush with billions of dollars.” It is about reinforcing a system of winners and losers.

... We believe that every neighborhood should have quality schools. A system that creates winners and losers should never be a choice.

We will ensure that public education remains a public good. That the voices and truths of students are uplifted in a time when their leadership matters most. We will continue to ensure that we invest in school staff and create spaces that build relationships in a time when fear and hatred are becoming ordinary.

It is in this time now, we are called to protect public education because as Nelson Mandela reminds us, “education is the most powerful tool which you can use to change the world.”

Watch out Republicans. You are digging your own graves.

1 comment:

Classof65 said...

I, for one, did not understand what was going on during Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearings. It seems that Ms DeVos is not there to manage the Department of Education, she's there to dismantle it (http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/318310-gop-lawmaker-proposes-abolishing-department-department-of-education)

On the same day the Senate confirmed President Trump's secretary of Education pick by a historically narrow margin, a House Republican introduced legislation to abolish the entire department Betsy DeVos will lead.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie's bill is only a page long, after merely stating the Department of Education would terminate on Dec. 31, 2018. Massie believes that policymakers at the state and local levels should be responsible for education policy, instead of a federal agency that's been in place since 1980.

They'll be able to slice and dice, selling off our public schools under the guise of "state control." Now that public school funding can be used to create a network of new Christian schools and, as Betsy DeVos says, "advance the kingdom of God." From Mother Jones: (http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/betsy-devos-christian-schools-vouchers-charter-education-secretary)

So long separation of church and state. It was nice while it lasted, but the American Taliban is in charge now. (daily kos)