'Chilling': Erik Prince Recruited Ex-Spies to Help Project Veritas Infiltrate Groups 'Hostile' to Trump Agenda | Common Dreams News

'Chilling': Erik Prince Recruited Ex-Spies to Help Project Veritas Infiltrate Groups 'Hostile' to Trump Agenda | Common Dreams News

'Chilling': Erik Prince Recruited Ex-Spies to Help Project Veritas Infiltrate Groups 'Hostile' to Trump Agenda
"They didn't succeed in their attempt to hurt our union," said American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, "but note what the right wing will do to try to eliminate workers' voice."

An explosive New York Times report revealed Saturday that notorious war profiteer Erik Prince recruited former American and British spies to work with the right-wing group Project Veritas to infiltrate at least one Democratic congressional campaign and organizations "considered hostile" to President Donald Trump's agenda.

"Secretary DeVos' brother was directly involved in a spying scheme in her home state against a teachers' union she's been hostile with for years. If this doesn't clear the bar for an immediate Congressional investigation, nothing does."
—Derek Martin, Allied Progress

Prince is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and founder of the mercenary firm Blackwater. Through a spokesperson, he declined the Times' request for comment on the piece, which is based on interviews and documents obtained by the newspaper, including internal Project Veritas emails.

"Both Project Veritas and Mr. Prince have ties to President Trump's aides and family," the Times noted. "Whether any Trump administration officials or advisers to the president were involved in the operations, even tacitly, is unclear. But the effort is a glimpse of a vigorous private campaign to try to undermine political groups or individuals perceived to be in opposition to Mr. Trump's agenda."

The results of the Times' investigation were described by readers on social media as "chilling," "stunning," and "insane." Jacobin magazine assistant editor Alex Press declared, "My paranoid fantasies are all true!" In response to a tweet about the reporting, author and activist Naomi Klein simply wrote, "Read."

The consumer watchdog group Allied Progress responded with a statement Saturday night, calling on the House Oversight Committee to conduct an immediate investigation into what DeVos knew about Prince's activities.

"There's not a lot of dots to connect here," said Allied Progress director Derek Martin. "Secretary DeVos' brother was directly involved in a spying scheme in her home state CONTINUE READING: 'Chilling': Erik Prince Recruited Ex-Spies to Help Project Veritas Infiltrate Groups 'Hostile' to Trump Agenda | Common Dreams News

Coronavirus: Northern California school district cancels classes - Los Angeles Times

Coronavirus: Northern California school district cancels classes - Los Angeles Times

Northern California’s largest school district cancels classes amid coronavirus fears

The largest school district in Northern California, the Elk Grove Unified School District, canceled classes and sports games through Friday after a family associated with the Elk Grove Unified School District was exposed to the new coronavirus and placed on quarantine to see if they were infected with coronavirus and would get sick.

All school activities were also canceled, though officials stressed there were no confirmed cases linked to the school.

The move comes as schools across California are responding to coronavirus.

Murrieta school officials said 71 students have been placed in self-quarantine after a school employee was tested for the coronavirus.

The employee had recently been to a country where the coronavirus was spreading, according to the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, which said Murrieta Valley High School would be closed Monday and cleaned.

Stanford University said Friday night that it will move classes online for the final two weeks of the winter quarter. Stanford also said large events would be “canceled or adjusted.”

USC said Friday that it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week as a test should it be forced to suspend in-person contact.

San Francisco’s Lowell High School announced it would close and cancel events and gatherings for at least the rest of the week after it was learned that a relative of one of  CONTINUE READING: Coronavirus: Northern California school district cancels classes - Los Angeles Times

If Coronavirus Closes U.S. Schools, What to Expect - The Atlantic

If Coronavirus Closes U.S. Schools, What to Expect - The Atlantic

What Could Happen if the Coronavirus Closed Schools for Days, Weeks, or Even Months
We can get a sense of what to expect from Hong Kong, where students have already been out of school for more than a month.

On Wednesday afternoon, Pete Lewis—the superintendent of the public-school district of the small town of Colville, in the northeast corner of Washington State—was awaiting the test result that would determine whether Colville schools would stay closed for a fourth consecutive day.

Over the previous weekend, administrators had received word that a member of the Colville School District community was being tested for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19 (for privacy reasons, Lewis did not specify whether it was a student, staff member, or another affiliated person). After consulting with health officials, Lewis and his colleagues decided on Sunday night to close the schools starting Monday, until further notice. Colville schools’ staff and their 1,700 K–12 students stayed home while the schools—as well as administrative buildings, buses, and other vehicles and properties associated with the school district—underwent a two-day deep cleaning.

On Wednesday, the cleaning process had been completed, and Lewis was sitting in his recently disinfected office, waiting for the call. “We’re at the mercy of waiting for those results,” he said. In the meantime, he was thinking through the logistics of getting student-athletes back to practice. If negative test results came in soon enough, he reasoned, perhaps some could be back on the field later that afternoon.

As of Thursday morning, the novel coronavirus had spread to more than 80 countries, and roughly a dozen countries have reported widespread school closures that aim to help contain the spread of the disease. Globally, more than 290 million children between preschool and 12th grade have been dismissed from school due to COVID-19, some for weeks now.

Lewis eventually got the result he was hoping for, and schools in Colville reopened on Thursday. But while Colville’s closure was brief, if the virus becomes more widespread in the U.S. it’s likely that many areas will see longer-term closures. This is what is currently happening in Hong Kong, where an abundance of caution has kept schools CONTINUE READING: If Coronavirus Closes U.S. Schools, What to Expect - The Atlantic

EdAction in Congress March 8, 2020 - Education Votes - Schools and coronavirus: what you need to know

EdAction in Congress March 8, 2020 - Education Votes

EdAction in Congress March 8, 2020

Schools and coronavirus: what you need to know

Congress took quick, bipartisan action to address the public health emergency posed by COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. An $8.3 billion emergency supplemental appropriations package passed the House 415-2, and the Senate 96-1. In a letter to lawmakers, NEA underscored the need to protect educators, education support professionals, and other public-facing workers. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) called on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to outline a coronavirus preparedness plan for students of all ages.

What can you do? Preparation and handwashing are key, but there are the other things you should consider as well. Learn more

DeVos forced to backtrack on cuts to rural schools

In the face of a bipartisan outcry, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos retreated from a bookkeeping change that would have caused more than 800 rural, low-income schools to lose critical funding from the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP). The change entailed how districts report the number of students living in poverty. For the last 17 years, REAP payments have been based on the number of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch. DeVos prohibited that approach and decreed that schools must use census data instead, claiming the law requires it. She agreed to maintain the status quo for at least a year after receiving a strongly worded letter signed by 21 senators from both parties, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Take the pledge to fire Betsy DeVos.

$100 billion for schools added to infrastructure package

NEA President Lily Eskelsen García joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), NEA member and former National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes (D-CT), Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and national education leaders for a press event about adding the Rebuild America’s Schools Act (S. 266/H.R. 865) to House Democrats’ Moving Forward infrastructure framework. The bill makes a $100 billion investment in repairing and improving the physical and digital infrastructure of public schools across America. “The most important investment a country can make is in the education of our children,” Pelosi said.  Learn more

Cheers and Jeers

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jack Reed (D-RI) and Reps. Susan Davis (D-CA) and Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced bipartisan resolutions in their respective chambers designating March 2, 2020, Read Across America Day.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jon Tester (D-MT) led the letter that got Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to maintain the current approach to calculating REAP payments for a year.

“Don’t give me a block grant,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said at a HELP Committee hearing on the Trump/DeVos 2021 budget proposal.

Asked why the Trump/DeVos 2021 budget proposal eliminates public service loan forgiveness, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos responded, “The administration feels that incentivizing one type of job or one type of work over another isn’t called for.”

EdAction in Congress March 8, 2020 - Education Votes

CATCH UP WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) TODAY

NewBlackMan (in Exile)

CATCH UP WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) TODAY

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