Which President Trump Will Show Up Jan.20

Which President Trump Will Show Up Jan.20

Here Is What Donald Trump Wants To Do In His First 100 Days

Below is the 100-day plan Trump's campaign released in October, called "Donald Trump's Contract With The American Voter."

---

What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between myself and the American voter — and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington

Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:

* FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;

* SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);

* THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated;

* FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;

* SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.* FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;

On the same day, I will begin taking the following 7 actions to protect American workers:

* FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205

* SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership

* THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator

* FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately

* SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward* FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars' worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.

* SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America's water and environmental infrastructure

Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

* FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama

* SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States

* THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities

* FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won't take them back

* FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
2. End The Offshoring Act. Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.
3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.
5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.
6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.
7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.

This is my pledge to you.

And if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people.

To comment, go to this story on NPR's Facebook page. Here Is What Donald Trump Wants To Do In His First 100 Days

Everyone's saying-give #Trump a chance. Then he names White Nationalist #SteveBannon as his Chief Strategist. #TheResistance #WereStillHere pic.twitter.com/qgkw9wfsYd

— W Smith 📎 (@WesSmith123) November 14, 2016

Ohio Has Dabbled in Charter School Oversight but Huge Problems Remain | janresseger

Ohio Has Dabbled in Charter School Oversight but Huge Problems Remain | janresseger:

Ohio Has Dabbled in Charter School Oversight but Huge Problems Remain

Buried in all the election news this past week was a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the closure of the OAK Leadership Institute charter school by its sponsor, now under pressure after the Ohio legislature began last winter to require the authorizors of these schools to close chronically under-performing charters.

Tucked  into the very end of that story are a couple of paragraphs about another aspect of the state’s recent efforts to regulate charter schools.  Patrick O’Donnell, whose story focuses on the auctioning off of the school’s equipment, explains: “Most of the proceeds should eventually go to the Cleveland school district. House Bill 2 changed state law to make sure that charter school supplies bought with state tax dollars are returned to schools.  Most of whatever is left after all school expenses are covered will go to the local school district.”

Ensuring that equipment purchased with tax dollars benefits the public when a charter school is closed is one of the biggest reforms accomplished with our state’s pitifully minimal new regulations. It used to be that the charter management organization got to keep the equipment (or money from sale of the equipment) that the public purchased for the now-out-of-business charter school.

Strengthened oversight is definitely not the whole story of Ohio’s relationship with its charter school sector.  The state’s failure to regulate fraud and abuse is typified by the long-running story of the notorious Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, an online academy that continues to operate thanks to the political power and political contributions of its operator, William Lager.

Now that the election is over and we move toward a lame duck legislative session when increased oversight of online charter schools’ attendance records is once again supposed to be considered, here is the most recent outcry from the editors of the Columbus Dispatch: “Imagine the public outrage if a state agency was caught forking over more than $100 million a year in taxpayer dollars to a wealthy business that submitted invoices for phony work. Oh, Ohio Has Dabbled in Charter School Oversight but Huge Problems Remain | janresseger:

With A Brooklyn Accent: Real Talk About Affirmative Action

With A Brooklyn Accent: Real Talk About Affirmative Action:

Real Talk About Affirmative Action

At various points in the campaign, commentators have referred to Affirmative Action as one of the issues driving white working class and middle class support for the Trump campaign
There are a lot of misconceptions about Affirmative Action in college admissions which I need to clarify. It always surprises people in my classes when I present them with this information.

When it comes to admissions preferences by universities, especially by elite universities, advantages given to under-represented minorities come in a distant THIRD. Here in order of importance are the way admissions advantages are distributed

1. Admissions advantages given to children from very wealthy families who can pay full tuition and/or make contributions to the school. These advantages used to benefit only wealthy Americans, now they benefit global elites as colleges scour the globe to recruit full tuition payers. For documentation of this read Peter Schmidt's book "Color and Money:How Rich White Kids are Winning the War Over College Affirmative Action." The situation is actually worse now when colleges have gone "global" to seek wealthy students

2. Recruited athletes. Every Ivy League school gives 20% of its admissions sports to recruited athletes, the vast majority of whom are white. They are in sports like volleyball, soccer, lacrosse, sailing, tennis, golf, hockey softball and swimming as well as football and basketball. My children both went to Yale on sports affirmative action- my daughter because she was ranked 37 in the nation in junior tennis; my son because he was a left handed pitcher who threw 85 miles an hour. Both were smart kids, but it was sports that got them into one of the nation's most competitive schools For documentation of this read Bowen and Shapiro "The Game of Life"

3. Underrepresented minorities, a category which keeps shifting over time. Ironically, the vast majority of those recruited for elite schools under this rubric are from middle class families.
Now, if you are wondering why Affirmative Action remains such a source of resentment among many whites, consider this: most working class and middle class white kids fall into NONE of these categories.

But overwhelmingly, their resentment is directed at the SMALLEST group among those getting admissions advantages- those falling into category three.

And so we repeat one of the most depressing themes in US History: economically disfranchised whites are much more prone to blame those below them than those above them for their plightWith A Brooklyn Accent: Real Talk About Affirmative Action:

glen brown: "The time for ignoring the American people is over. It’s time for us to come together to work on America’s agenda."-Elizabeth Warren

glen brown: "The time for ignoring the American people is over. It’s time for us to come together to work on America’s agenda. Democracy demands that we do so, and we are ready"-Elizabeth Warren:

"The time for ignoring the American people is over. It’s time for us to come together to work on America’s agenda. Democracy demands that we do so, and we are ready"-Elizabeth Warren

“In her first post-election speech—delivered Thursday to the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations’ executive council—Elizabeth Warren pledged to work with Donald Trump on their shared populist proposals to rebuild the economy and working class. But the Massachusetts senator also forcefully pledged to not compromise on her progressive principles during the Republican presidential-elects tenure”—Nik DeCosta-Klipa

Read the full remarks as prepared for delivery below:

---

“We’re now two days removed from an incredibly close and hard-fought election, and many people here in Washington and around the country are trying to make sense of what happened.

“This wasn’t a pretty election.  In fact, it was ugly, and we should not sugarcoat the reason why.  Donald Trump ran a campaign that started with racial attacks and then rode the escalator down.  He encouraged a toxic stew of hatred and fear. He attacked millions of Americans. And he regularly made statements that undermined core values of our democracy.

“And he won. He won – and now Latino and Muslim-American children are worried about what will happen to their families. LGBT couples are worried that their marriages could be dissolved by a Trump-Pence Supreme Court. Women are worried that their access to desperately needed health services will disappear.  Millions of people in this country are worried, deeply worried. And they are right to be worried.

“[Now], as President-Elect, Donald Trump has an opportunity to chart a different course: to govern for all Americans and to respect our institutions. In his victory speech, he pledged that he would be ‘President for all’ of the American people. And when he takes the oath of office as the leader of our democracy and the leader of all Americans, I sincerely hope that he will fulfill that pledge with respect and concern for every single human being in this country, no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, no matter what they believe, no matter whom they love.

“And that marks Democrats’ first job in this new era:  We will stand up to bigotry. There is no compromise here.  In all its forms, we will fight back against attacks on Latinos, African Americans, women, Muslims, immigrants, disabled Americans-on anyone.  Whether Donald Trump sits in a glass tower or sits in the White House, we will not give an inch on this, not now, not ever.

“But there are many millions of people who did not vote for Donald Trump because of the bigotry and hate that fueled his glen brown: "The time for ignoring the American people is over. It’s time for us to come together to work on America’s agenda. Democracy demands that we do so, and we are ready"-Elizabeth Warren:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES -- Election post mortem

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES -- Election post mortem:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES -- Election post mortem

Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, a crack in everything / That's how the light gets in -- Anthem

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla)

“I’ve been on the phone with giddy Republicans for about 48 hours now. Everybody assumed we’d come back and be the firewall [against a President Hillary Clinton], and now we see the opportunity to be the point of the spear.” --Washington Post

Bernie Sanders

In the coming days, I will also provide a series of reforms to reinvigorate the Democratic Party. I believe strongly that the party must break loose from its corporate establishment ties and, once again, become a grass-roots party of working people, the elderly and the poor. We must open the doors of the party to welcome in the idealism and energy of young people and all Americans who are fighting for economic, social, racial and environmental justice. -- New York Times Magazine

Author Teju Cole 

Evil settles into everyday life when people are unable or unwilling to recognize it. -- A time for refusal

Rahm Emanuel

 "I want to assure all of our families that Chicago is Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES -- Election post mortem:

NYC Educator: No Direct Political Talk in Classrooms, Says the Chancellor

NYC Educator: No Direct Political Talk in Classrooms, Says the Chancellor:

No Direct Political Talk in Classrooms, Says the Chancellor

I really struggled with the results of Tuesday's election. I'm in shock, actually. Robert de Niro says he feels as he did after 9/11, and so do I.

On Wednesday, I didn't know what to do. I simply gave the class I planned to give. I couldn't think about it. In fact, I didn't even think about the DA I'd planned to go to. I understand even Mulgrew was unable to go through with his usual filibuster and actually allowed people to express themselves. 

In my car, going home, I cried. How can my country make a choice like this one? How can we spit in the faces of the children I serve? How can we tell working people they can just go to hell? How can we elect a repulsive purveyor of snake oil to the highest office in the land?

And yet we did.

Shaun King posted the graphic at left on Twitter. He said it came from a Chicago school somewhere. I fell in love with it. Some time on Wednesday, I asked that my school reproduce it so I could hang it my classroom. That request was denied on the basis that it was too direct a repudiation of President-elect Donald Trump.

On Thursday, I put it on a flash drive and displayed it on the LED screen in front of my room. I read it to my students. I told them no one in my classroom was a threat to them. I told them they were in a safe place. I read each of the little notes and told them no one would contradict anything they said. I never mentioned Donald Trump, but my students did, repeatedly, and they knew exactly why I was saying this.

Chancellor Fariña declared there would be no overt political talk in class. To a degree, I understand that. It's not my place to tell kids who I voted for. It's not my place to tell them who to vote for either. I would never do such a thing. But I knew they would ask me anyway.

Nonetheless, on Monday, I wore a tie a little bit like the one on the right. You wouldn't notice what was on it unless you looked closely. When the kids asked me who I was voting for, I showed them the tie. I told them that a donkey represented Democrats, and an elephant represented Republicans. They didn't know that. They looked at my tie and said, "Oh, you're voting for Hillary." I was glad they asked, because I needed them to know I would not vote for someone who hated them and everything they stood for, to wit, the American dream.

I also needed them to know that I stood against all the bigoted and xenophobic statements our President-elect made. I'm sorry, Chancellor Fariña, but I'm a teacher, and unlike Donald Trump, I stand for basic decency. My classroom rule, really my only one, is, "We will treat one another with respect."

Donald Trump failed to treat a wide swath of people with respect. He's a hateful, vicious bully. There are all sorts of anti-bullying campaigns that go in in city schools, and I fail to see why Donald Trump should get a pass simply for having lied his way to the Presidency. So I specifically repudiated a whole group of his insidious statements. I also added LGBT to my group, and told my kids that we would not tolerate slurs to gay people in my classroom. Even my kids seem to expect a pass on that. They won't get one.

For tonight, I've asked that the UFT Executive Board either make a poster like the one above left, or give me the means to project it from my flash drive. I'm going to ask that UFT do a campaign of tolerance that specifically rejects the vicious and disgusting statements of our President-elect. I'm going to ask that UFT campaign for respect for all, specifically in response to Trump's bigoted and hateful appeals otherwise.

And Chancellor, Fariña, if you don't like what I did in my classroom, I invite you to place a letter in my file. It will be a virtual badge of honor. I'll frame it and treasure it always.NYC Educator: No Direct Political Talk in Classrooms, Says the Chancellor:

NYC Public School Parents: So what happened? And how we need to be ready for the fight to save our public schools

NYC Public School Parents: So what happened? And how we need to be ready for the fight to save our public schools:

So what happened? And how we need to be ready for the fight to save our public schools

I've been hesitant about writing about the Presidential election for many reasons.  I am as shocked and appalled as many others, and have no special insights or expertise to explain what happened.  But one of the smartest guys I know, Tad Devine, a top adviser to Bernie Sanders, was on NPR and explained Trump's election this way: "most voters in the states that decided the election wanted change. He represented that change. She did not. And I think that was enough for him to win the election."

Clearly, many people, especially the Rust Belt voters who decided the election, wanted change desperately.  There was no way to argue that Hillary represents change.  The more that Obama tried to point to what a great job she did in his administration and her years of experience probably just underscored how she had been part of the system for 20 years or more. 

I remember that Bill Clinton’s convention speech was focused on the claim that Hillary represents change.  He was  smart to focus on that issue as he had correctly diagnosed the temperature of the electorate, but in the end his argument was unconvincing.

Does that mean Bernie Sanders would have won?  Who knows.  No matter how anti-establishment Sanders is, Trump could have argued that he’s been in Congress for 27 years.  On the other hand, Bernie beat Hillary in some of the primaries in the same states that went for Trump. Whether Trump will deliver the sort of change these voters yearn for or bring their factory jobs back seems unlikely, and how much damage he will do to marginalized groups of immigrants, Latinos, blacks and others in the process we will have to see.

The other reality is this: Because Hillary has been part of the system for so long, a lot of negative feelings and even hatred has accumulated towards her personally over the years.  This attitude is largely irrational and unfair, but it was not easy to dispel – especially when the email scandal erupted twice via FBI director Comey’s letters during the last two weeks of the campaign.   To witness just how intense the hatred is for Hillary among many women and men, you should watch this excellent CNN series with Van Jones interviewing Trump supporters in Gettysburg PA.  

The real tragedy is that Obama could have probably brought more real change into these communities if the GOP in Congress hadn’t blocked nearly everything he tried to do, whether it was increasing the minimum wage, infrastructure spending, tax reform etc.  The GOP in the House and the Senate had a highly partisan strategy to stand in the way of Obama accomplishing nearly anything since they took control -- including reforms that could have helped a lot of those people in the Rust belt  and throughout the country -- and their strategy won.

I also think we need to remember the stunning data that came out last year showing that for the first time in this nation’s history white death rates are increasing sharply – which seems to be the result of increased rates of addiction, alcoholism and suicide. Meanwhile, black and Latino mortality rates are NYC Public School Parents: So what happened? And how we need to be ready for the fight to save our public schools:

The Trump Time Capsule #1: Rushing to dangerous judgment |

The Trump Time Capsule #1: Rushing to dangerous judgment |:

The Trump Time Capsule #1: Rushing to dangerous judgment

James Fallows of The Atlantic Monthly

Editor’s Note: In the spring of 2016, James Fallows, the senior editor of The Atlantic Monthly magazine, began what he called a series of “time capsules” that could, in the future, provide a key as to what Americans were thinking during the election campaign–as Trump began his march to the presidency. He finished with 152 of the “time capsules” just before the vote. This site will publish one of the capsules every week or so and that should bring us to the doorstep of the 2020 election. 

What follows is Fallows’ explanation of what he did–and the first “time capsule.” All the material shown, except my introduction, is copyrighted by The Atlantic Monthly and there is no intention here to claim editorial credit for any of it:

People will wonder about America in our time. It can be engrossing to look back on dramatic, high-stakes periods in which people were not yet sure where things would lead, to see how they assessed the odds before knowing the outcome. The last few months of the 1968 presidential campaign: would it be Humphrey, Nixon, or conceivably even George Wallace? Or 1964: was there a chance that Goldwater might win? The impeachment countdown for Richard Nixon, in 1974? The Bush-Gore recount watch in 2000?

The Trump campaign this year will probably join that list. The odds are still against his becoming president, but no one can be sure what the next five-plus months will bring. Thus for time-capsule purposes, and not with the idea that this would change a single voter’s mind, I kick off what I intend as a regular feature. Its purpose is to catalogue some of the things Donald Trump says and does that no real president would do.

***

Is this implicitly anti-Trump? No, it’s explicitly so. I’ll vote Democratic this fall, because I disagree with the current Republican party’s stance on tax policy, budget policy, health policy, climate and environmental policy, voting-rights policy, labor policy, educational policy, gun policy, infrastructure policy, foreign and military policy, and judicial appointments too. But if Donald Trump were the Democratic nominee, I would not vote for him.

I believe he should not become president mainly because of his temperament. Presidents make an astonishingly large number of hour-by-hour judgment calls. Nothing about Donald Trump’s judgment is reassuring from my point of view. His The Trump Time Capsule #1: Rushing to dangerous judgment |:

A Time for Dynamic Compassion in Our Schools By Dr. Michael Flanagan - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

A Time for Dynamic Compassion in Our Schools By Dr. Michael Flanagan

During the last decade or so, there have been countless attacks on public education. Over-testing of our students, the implementation of Common Core, test-based teacher evaluations and the proliferation of charter schools are but a few of our challenges. All this is on top of the lives of poverty and violence too many of our children face. As if this is not enough, since the Presidential Election, our schools are now being inundated with outright in-your-face racism, bigotry and misogyny.

In the past, hate-filled attacks occurring in schools have generally been considered unacceptable. Administrative discipline on these matters reflected the social norms of tolerance and equality, achieved through generations of struggle. Demonstrations of these biased behaviors were considered abhorrent. Our schools and legal system increased penalties for proven bias attacks, sexual harassment and hate crimes, reinforcing for our children that it was wrong to be a bully. Now, as of November 9th, bullying and hate have free reign. Civility has been disregarded, and terror tactics in our schools have erupted.

New York Daily News writer Shaun King has been leading the charge in identifying incidents of bias throughout the country in the wake of the election. In addition to an increase of racism, there has also been a disturbing rise in the number of reported sexual assaults on female students. After a 10-year old boy was being disciplined for grabbing the genitals of a 10 year old girl, his defense was, “If the president can do it, why can’t I?”. That is what is happening in our schools right now. Glorified during the presidential campaign, these behaviors are now being demonstrated by our children.

Nazi graffiti. Emails targeting black students for lynching. Pulling hijabs off of young Muslim girls heads. Blocking Hispanic students from entering a school.  Placing “White” and “Colored” signs above water fountains in school hallways. Middle school children screaming “Build the wall!”. Children telling classmates they will be Badass Teachers Association:

Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Faces the Press about the Upcoming Trump Presidency | deutsch29

Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Faces the Press about the Upcoming Trump Presidency | deutsch29:

Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Faces the Press about the Upcoming Trump Presidency

President-elect Donald J. Trump has entered what seems to be uncharted territory for a man of wealth and privilege, one who is used to being the man in charge.

The truth is that being president of these United States does involve working with Congress. It is not a job in which a CEO speaks the word and his/her underlings jump to fulfill commands.

Even decisions that on their face appear to be at the sole discretion of the president are often negotiated behind the scenes in exchange for Congressional support on other decisions.

That is why it is important to pay attention to how Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, responds to media questions regarding controversial components of the agenda that Trump promoted during his presidential campaign.

On November 09, 2016, McConnell participated in a post-election news conferenceduring which he answered questions from the press for about 18 minutes. In this post, I highlight much of McConnell’s Q & A with the press in an effort to understand a possible (probable?) tempering influence upon Trump’s often outlandish campaign promises.

First of all, McConnell seems to realize the importance of working with Senate Democrats; he realizes that a Senate Republican majority is not forever (and likely that the Senate Republican majority is a slim one).  In this case, McConnell identified a member of the press, “Paul,” who had this question:

Senator, the last time there was a unified control of the White House and the Senate and the House, your belief was that the Democrats in 2009-10 acted too fast on their own, unilaterally, with no real bipartisan on stimulus, ACA, Dodd-Frank. How do you avoid those mistakes given the views of your voters, help your base voters right now?

McConnell: Well, let me just answer it, sort of, broadly. I think it’s always a mistake to misread your mandate, and frequently, new majorities think it’s Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Faces the Press about the Upcoming Trump Presidency | deutsch29:

How and why to send your comments in opposition to a federal student data system | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

How and why to send your comments in opposition to a federal student data system | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy:

HOW AND WHY TO SEND YOUR COMMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO A FEDERAL STUDENT DATA SYSTEM

See also our press release and our letter to the Commission, sent Nov. 14, 2016.

Recently, Dan Greenstein, director of the Gates Foundation ‘s Postsecondary Success Strategy, released the Foundation’s top advocacy priorities for 2017.  Chief among them was to “push Congress” to overturn the prohibition against the federal collection of personal data of all students, called the federal student-unit record system.   The ban on the federal government collecting the personal data on all students has existed since the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, in 20 U.S.C. sec. 1001.

The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (CEP) was established by Congress last year.  One of the goals of this Commission is to consider “whether a Federal clearinghouse should be created for government survey and administrative data.”  The Commission held hearings in DC on October 21, 2016.   At the hearing, several Gates-funded groups testified, including New America, Data Quality Campaign, Education Trust and Young Invincibles.

All these organizations testified in favor of overturning the ban on federal student-unit record system, or to weaken the ban. Though they said the purpose of this would be to allow for “improvements in information on postsecondary progress and outcomes,” but the actual goal of the Gates Foundation and their allies is far more ambitious: to allow for the creation of a “national data infrastructure” that would incorporate the personal data on all public school students, starting in preK through high school, college and beyond, and to connect all data now held by different state and federal agencies.  This was revealed in the summary and chart in the Gates Foundation’s recent report on their top advocacy priorities:

GOAL

Support the development of a comprehensive national data infrastructure that enables the secure and consistent collection and reporting of key performance metrics for all students in all institutions. These data are essential for supporting the change needed to close persistent attainment gaps and produce an educated and diverse workforce with career-relevant credentials for the 21st century.

A chart was included to demonstrate the overarching and comprehensive nature of the data infrastructure envisioned:

On November 14, the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy sent a letter to the Commission to strongly oppose the overturning of the ban on a proposed federal student-unit record system.  Groups that signed  include the ACLU, Network for Public Education, NPE Action, Parents Across America, and NY State Allies for Public Education. We believe that the potential risks to student privacy that such a centralized, comprehensive federal database are enormous, as expressed in our press release.

Please send your own comments to the Commission, in opposition to allowing the federal government to collect personal data and track every public school student in the nation.

The deadline for comment is December 14, 2016 at 11:59 PM.

Below are instructions on how to submit your comments, as well as a sample comment you can use,  but please feel free write your own and/or edit this any way  you wish.

Thanks!  Rachael and Leonie, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Instructions:

1. Visit the Federal Register at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=USBC-2016-0003
2. Click on the “Comment Now” button in the upper right hand corner.
3. Copy our “Sample comment” below and paste it into the window on the Federal Register webpage.
4. If you would like to write your own comments, don’t forget to add to the start of your message: Docket ID USBC-2016-0003-0001 “Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Comments”
5. Enter your name and check the box if you would like to add your contact information.
6. Encourage others to submit their comments too!

Sample comment:

Docket ID USBC-2016-0003-0001 “Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking Comments”

I strongly oppose any proposal that would lead to the creation of a centralized, federal clearinghouse of the personally identifiable information of all students, commonly referred to as a student unit-record system or national database.

The risk that such a federal database would pose to student privacy is immense; including the very real possibility of breach, malicious attack, or the use of this information for purposes not initially intended.  Ever since a federal student unit-record system was banned by the Higher Education Act in 2008, the reasons against creating it have only become more compelling.

In the past few years, much highly personal data held by federal agencies has been hacked, including the release of the records of the Office of Personnel Management involving more than 22 million individuals, not only federal employees and contractors but also their families and friends.

The US Department of Education has been found to have especially weak security standards in its collection and storage of student data, and received a grade of D for its security protections.

In addition, preK-12 student data currently collected by state departments of education that would potentially be shared with the federal government include upwards of 700 highly sensitive personal data elements, including students’ immigrant status, disabilities, disciplinary records, and homelessness data.

I am also very concerned about recent revelations of the widespread surveillance on ordinary citizens by the federal government, and the way in which a national student data system would be used to expand the tracking of students from PreK into high school, college, the workforce and beyond. A federal data clearinghouse of student information could effectively create life-long dossiers on nearly every individual in the nation.

I urge you to strongly oppose the creation of any centralized federal data system holding students’ personally identifiable information and to support the continuation of the  ban in the report you provide to Congress.

Yours,  [name, state, and organization affiliation if any] How and why to send your comments in opposition to a federal student data system | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy:

Lawsuit Warns That Lead Exposure in Flint Schools Raises Special Education Concerns - Education Law Prof Blog

Education Law Prof Blog:

Lawsuit Warns That Lead Exposure in Flint Schools Raises Special Education Concerns

Students in Flint, Michigan, recently filed suit in U.S. District Court against the Michigan Department of Education, the Flint and Genesee school districts.  They allege that exposure to lead in the school system can exacerbate learning disabilities and warrants a response under the IDEA.  Those who followed older research may recall a study a couple of decades ago in Maryland showing that racially disparate lead exposure in the state contributed to long term racially disparate educational outcomes.  Kudos to the Education Law Center and the ACLU of Michigan for recognizing the issue in Flint and coming to these students' aid.  Gregory Little of the White & Case has also stepped up to provide pro bono services in the case.  The press release offers this:

The lawsuit demands that the Michigan Department of Education, Flint Community Schools and the Genesee Intermediate School District take immediate action to ensure that all students who require special education services are identified and provided with the programs and supports they require.

“We know that Flint schools are not currently meeting the needs of special education students, and we know that exposure to lead in drinking water can be highly toxic for children, potentially leading to or exacerbating disabilities” said Jessica Levin, ELC Staff Attorney. “It is imperative that the local district and the State of Michigan make sure students are evaluated and provided with appropriate programs and services, especially now that the number of affected students could grow significantly.”

The lawsuit amply documents the systemic violations of federal law, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), in Flint’s public school system. To remedy this situation and prepare for an expected increase in students requiring services, the plaintiffs ask for screenings and evaluations to identify all students in need of special education services and the provision of those services by sufficient and qualified personnel.

“The lead crisis in Flint has put all children at risk, and the state and local education authorities must take action to ensure the public schools meet their legal mandate of addressing students’ educational needs,” said David G. Sciarra, ELC Executive Director. “It is our privilege and our obligation to represent the families of Flint. We will do all we can to come to a speedy and appropriate resolution of this case.”

For more information about the Flint lawsuit, please read this joint ELC-ACLU of Michigan press release.

Education Law Prof Blog:

After the Election: A To-Do List | Cult of Pedagogy

After the Election: A To-Do List | Cult of Pedagogy:

After the Election: A To-Do List

Since the election results were announced, I haven’t mentioned them in any public forum. I was too overwhelmed, and I didn’t want to muddy the waters here; I wanted to stay focused on teaching.

But everywhere I look, the waters are plenty muddy. Over the past five days, the pain I’m hearing in the voices of friends, family members, and total strangers online, the acts of hate and violence I’m seeing on the news, they’re not letting up. And not using this platform to share my thoughts would be cowardly. It would be lazy. It would also be a wasted opportunity: Most of my readers are educators, people who will shape the next generation. So if I can influence those teachers in any way, I have a responsibility to give it my best shot.

I’d like to propose a few ideas for things educators can do to move us forward in a way that’s healing and productive.

Let me be clear: I’m not talking about moving ON, dismissing what has happened, or “getting over it.” I have seen too much heartbreak, confusion and fear this week—on both sides—to suggest we move on. I’m talking about forward motion, the work we have ahead of us.

What Teachers Can Do Now

Although this list is directed at teachers, I believe it’s also relevant for parents and anyone else who works with children, teens, or college students. In some places, I have provided links to good resources that can help. If you have other suggestions, please let me know in the comments.

1. Keep building relationships with and between your students.

If this election has taught us anything, it’s that a whole lot of us don’t trust each other. This division pushes us more deeply into our own corners, which only exacerbates the problem. The more we can do to make our classrooms places where real people know and trust one another, where we learn each other’s stories and uncover the things we have in common, the better we’ll get at embracing our differences.

So look for opportunities to build these relationships: On days when you can opt to show a video or play a game, go with the game. If a student seems troubled, but you’re busy, try to find five minutes to talk to him anyway. When you have extra time at the end of a class period, chat with students instead of catching up on email. All those little moments will add up.

Here are a few other resources from this site that can help:

A 4-Part System for Getting to Know Your Students

The Compliments Project

How Dialogue Journals Build Teacher-Student Relationships

2. Practice and teach respectful disagreement.

We have to learn new ways of talking with people who disagree with us. The skills are nothing new, but so many of us are completely out of practice when it comes to thoughtful discourse. It can be taught. And we need to provide students with plenty of practice in speaking honestly about their opinions without being insulting.

These resources would be a good place to start:

Respectful TalkThis Teaching Channel video shows how one teacher works with her students on having calm, respectful conversations with clear discussion guidelines and support materials.

The Big List of Class Discussion StrategiesAny of the activities on this list will give students practice in healthy discourse.

3. Strengthen your approach to bullying, racism, and other acts of hate.

Recent acts of violence and hate scare me to death, and those are just the ones that made the news. Obviously, this is a bigger problem than I can handle in a single bullet point, but these two resources struck me as worth sharing, because each one addresses the problem from an angle I don’t often see.

5 Ways to Disrupt RacismAlthough the strategies presented in this video are intended for acts of racism, they would be just as effective in any situation where a bystander witnesses an act of aggression or bullying.

How to Develop a School Culture that Helps Curb BullyingThis article approaches the problem of bullying holistically. It explains why zero-tolerance policies are After the Election: A To-Do List | Cult of Pedagogy:

NAACP | NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

NAACP | NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION:

NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Baltimore, MD – NAACP National President and CEO Cornell William Brooks issued the following statement regarding the results of the 2016 presidential election:

“Even as we extend our congratulations to President-Elect Donald J. Trump, the NAACP, as America’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, must bluntly note that the 2016 campaign has regularized racism, standardized anti-Semitism, de-exceptionalized xenophobia and mainstreamed misogyny. Voter suppression, as the courts have declared, has too become rampant and routine.

From the day that General George Washington accepted the people’s charge to become their first commander-in-chief, to the day that we elected Barack Obama as our country’s first African-American president, America has come together to ensure a peaceful transition of power. This most recent presidential election must meet this distinctly American standard. President-Elect Trump’s victory speech avoided a divisive tone and thus invoked this standard.

During this critical period of transition, we are now calling upon the next president to speak and act with the moral clarity necessary to silence the dog-whistle racial politics that have characterized recent months and have left many of our fellow citizens snarling at one another in anger and even whimpering in fear. The more than 120 million Americans who cast ballots in this election – as well as the more than 100 million more eligible voters who declined to vote – deserve no less.

The NAACP stands ready to work with a new administration to realize the racial justice concerns that not only compelled millions of people to go to the polls on Election Day but also inspired millions to protest in the streets in the preceding days and months. Depending upon the new administration’s fidelity to America’s ideals of liberty and the NAACP’s agenda for justice, we will either be at its side or in its face. We will not let this election distract or dissuade us; the NAACP will continue to stand strong at the frontlines, advocating for voting rights, criminal justice reform and equality for all.   

This election comes as a surprise to many, an affirmation to some and a rejection to others, and yet it is also a defining moment for the NAACP and the nation. Let us come together as a country – come together with the principled and practical unity that the needs of our nation and the need to govern demand.

Our beauty as a country shines brighter than the ugliness of this election. It is up to all of us to reveal the beauty of who we are as a people as we yet see the possibilities of the nation we can become. 

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas here.

NAACP | NAACP STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: