Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Trump's bikers on security. A 'wall of meat' or load of B.S.?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Trump's bikers on security. A 'wall of meat' or load of B.S.?:

Trump's bikers on security. A 'wall of meat' or load of B.S.?

DT is counting on a right-wing biker battalion to pull security duty at his inauguration. He imagines a horde of thousands of "Bikers for Trump" are rolling into D.C. at this very moment, to save him from what he imagines as an assault from the half-million angry, but peaceful protesters expected at the Women's March on Washington.

Chris Cox, the founder of “Bikers for Trump,” promised “Fox & Friends” on Sunday that the group will attend the inauguration and will form a “wall of meat” if necessary, signaling that biker gangs would try to stop protesters attempting to disrupt the swearing-in ceremony.

It's a neo-fascist wet dream.

This from MediaMatters:

During the Chairman’s Global Dinner pre-inauguration event, President-elect Donald Trump bragged about the “record crowds coming” to celebrate his inauguration, including a group called “bikers for Trump.” Trump regaled his audience with tales of photos showing thousands of bikers purportedly making their way to Washington D.C., a fake news story uncovered by BuzzFeed hours before Trump went on stage.

I saw the bikers for Trump. Boy, they had a scene today. I don't know if I'd want to ride one of those, but Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Trump's bikers on security. A 'wall of meat' or load of B.S.?:

The DeVos Hearing, In Their Own Words : NPR Ed : NPR

The DeVos Hearing, In Their Own Words : NPR Ed : NPR:

The DeVos Hearing, In Their Own Words

After Betsy DeVos' Senate confirmation hearing yesterday — all three hours and change — we know a little more about Donald Trump's pick to be the next education secretary.

Appearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, DeVos faced questions on a range of issues, from private school vouchers and charter school oversight to guns in schools.

We've reported extensively on DeVos' background, her advocacy in Michigan and on the research behind school choice.

Below, we've pulled out some of the highlights from her hearing (with a little context where needed):

Local Control

"President-elect Trump and I know it won't be Washington, D.C., that unlocks our nation's potential, nor a bigger bureaucracy, tougher mandates or a federal agency. The answer is local control and listening to parents, students, and teachers."

This came from DeVos' opening remarks, and succinctly captures her education philosophy: Limit the role of government in America's schools and trust that the free market — and parent choice — will lead to innovation and improvement.

Privatizing Public Schools

DeVos' faith in the free market led to several tense exchanges, including this one with the committee's top Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington:

Murray: "Can you commit to us tonight that you will not work to privatize public schools or cut a single penny from public education?"

DeVos: "Senator, thanks for that question. I look forward, if confirmed, to working with you to talk about how we address the needs of all parents and all students. And we acknowledge today that not all schools are working for the students that are assigned to them. And I'm hopeful that we can work together to find common ground and ways that we can solve those issues and empower parents to make choices on behalf of their children that are right for them."

Murray: "I take that as not being willing to commit to not privatizing public schools or cutting money from education."

DeVos: "I guess I wouldn't characterize it in that way."

Murray: "Well," she said, laughing, "OK."

Ideology Meets Legal Reality

The committee's chairman, Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican and former education secretary himself, asked DeVos whether she would try to push school vouchers onto states even though the federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act, does not include or allow it.

"No," she answered. "I would hope I could convince you all of the merit of that in maybe some future legislation, but certainly not any kind of mandate from within the department."

Qualifications

Former senator — and former Democrat — Joe Lieberman introduced DeVos at the hearing. He has worked with her as a board member of her school choice advocacy group, The American Federation for Children. DeVos has never taught in, managed or The DeVos Hearing, In Their Own Words : NPR Ed : NPR:

Betsy DeVos' Secretary of Education Hearing Was an Insult to Democracy

Betsy DeVos' Secretary of Education Hearing Was an Insult to Democracy:

The Betsy DeVos Hearing Was an Insult to Democracy

Who are the real grizzlies?

WASHINGTON, D.C.—It was not a hearing. It was the mere burlesque of a hearing, rendered meaningless by a preposterously accelerated process that rendered all questioning perfunctory and that left all cheap evasions hanging in the air of the committee room the way cigarette smoke used to canopy the proceedings back in the day. You would not hire a gardener through the process by which Betsy DeVos likely is going to become the Secretary of Education. A public school system wouldn't hire her to work the cafeteria line at lunch. It was appalling. It was unnerving. It was a grotesque of how an evolved democracy should operate. It was business as usual these days and it likely isn't going to matter a damn.

As nearly as I can tell, the nominees for the president-elect's Cabinet fall into several different categories. There are the people you'd pretty much expect from any Republican administration. (James Mattis, Stephen Flynn, Ryan Zinke). There are the people who understand the mission of their departments and have spent their lives undermining it. (Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, Rick Perry at Energy, Andrew Puzder at Labor). And there are the people who are fundamentally clueless about the general nature of public service. (Rex Tillerson at State.) On Tuesday night, DeVos demonstrated that she is that rarest of Trump administration fauna: Someone who fits capably into all three categories.

She and her family and the Amway gozillions they control have been a bottomless reservoir for the dark money that is the engine behind a dozen different conservative fetish objects, from right-to-work laws, to gutting campaign finance regulations, to injecting splinter Protestantism into every part of the political commons. So she's pretty much what you'd expect from any Republican administration. She understands the mission of the Department of Education and truly dislikes it. And, as was graphically demonstrated even in the truncated questioning Tuesday night, she doesn't know enough about education policy to feed to your guppies.

This was most clearly demonstrated during an exchange with Senator Al Franken. Franken asked her about the distinction in education between proficiency and growth. Then, this happened.

Franken: This brings me to the issue of proficiency, which the senator cited, versus growth. I would like your views on the relative advantage of assessments and using them to measure proficiency or growth.

DeVos: I think if i am understanding your question correctly around proficiency, I would correlate it to competency and mastery, so each student is measured according to the advancements they are making in each subject area.

Franken: That's growth. That's not proficiency. In other words, the growth they are making is 

Betsy DeVos' Secretary of Education Hearing Was an Insult to Democracy:

 

Instant Replay: President Obama holds final press conference | PBS NewsHour

WATCH LIVE: President Obama holds final press conference | PBS NewsHour:

WATCH LIVE: President Obama holds final press conference

Watch President Barack Obama’s final press conference at 2:15 p.m. EST Wednesday.

President Barack Obama will conduct today the final press conference of his presidency, scheduled for 2:15 p.m. EST. He is expected to address questions about his decision to commute the sentence of former U.S. Army soldier Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of leaking classified information about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars to WikiLeaks. WATCH LIVE: President Obama holds final press conference | PBS NewsHour:

Betsy DeVos Must Not Be Confirmed | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

Betsy DeVos Must Not Be Confirmed | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

Betsy DeVos Must Not Be Confirmed

Bernard Keller

Dave Greene

  Warren Buffet said, “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” This statement has powerful implications because it clearly speaks against the “only today matters” philosophy making the rounds in education today. Today, the emphasis is on the twenty-first century, its technology, creating new “shiny” things that will turn everything around.

The Buffet quote makes the point clearly and powerfully that there can be no today without a yesterday. The shade being provided to the person in the quote wasn’t planted by the person in the quote- it was planted in the past- the past that today’s education reformers claim is outdated and lacking in its ability to educate students in the twenty -first century. Much like the tree providing shade, a tree that was planted before now, yet is providing shade now, education is not just about now- it is cumulative- it didn’t just arrive today! Like that tree, it was “planted” by someone in the past so people would be able to take advantage of it today.

In our careers as teachers, we did not start by “planting trees.” We enjoyed the “shade”, the knowledge, the wisdom, the “trees”, others had already planted in order to get our careers started, to have some idea of what to do and how to do it right. As time went by, we learned more, gained more wisdom, and “planted some trees “of our own, so those who came along after us might have some “shade” to enjoy.

As educators, it troubles us greatly that the past is being treated by the education reformers like some sort of nuclear wasteland in which everything old is radioactive waste with no value.

It troubles us that they see no importance in knowing what came before or why. We get it when students see the world this way, after all, they believe they are the creators of slang “new” dance moves, and “new” music when the truth is there has always been slang, dance moves and music. Those things have always existed- all they have done is add on to them. In fact, in some cases, some of their dance moves and slang are actually “recycled” (even though the young people do not know it!)

We get it when kids, with a limited understanding or perspective of the world discount or deny the past’s significance or existence, however it is simply unacceptable and the height of irresponsibility when people claiming to be the answers to “fixing” education, the people who are “preparing students for the 21st century” and providing them with a “world class” education, see the world exactly the same way.

That is why Betsy DeVos must not be confirmed. Betsy DeVos Must Not Be Confirmed | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

For John Lewis: Hero and Champion (With gratitude and honor) 1/15/17

by David Greene / 6min

by. B. Keller He has never stopped standing, never stopped marching. He has never stopped rising up before pharaohs, or walking through Red Seas. He has never stopped seeking truth, never stopped finding a way to get in the way, never stopped doing whatever he could do to help bend the moral arc of the universe towards justice.

Find The Good and Praise It…. B.Keller

by David Greene / 6min

Alex Haley wrote, “In my writing, as much as I could, I tried to find the good and praise it.” As I look around at the contentious relationships making the rounds in our government and in the education arena, it strikes me that we‘d solve a whole lot of problems by simply applying Haley’s statement. When I listen to the vitriolic, vituperative exchanges taking place daily between the members of t

Let’S Try Optimism

by David Greene / 6min

The Sunday, January 15 th New York Times editorial is titled “The Optimism of Barack Obama”. It begins by saying , “ Barack Obama is leaving the White House with polls showing him to be one of the most popular presidents in recent 

Brave New Films Video: Protect Public Education by Stopping Betsy DeVos From Becoming Next U.S. Secretary of Education | Alternet

Brave New Films Video: Protect Public Education by Stopping Betsy DeVos From Becoming Next U.S. Secretary of Education | Alternet:

Brave New Films Video: Protect Public Education by Stopping Betsy DeVos From Becoming Next U.S. Secretary of Education

"You lured me in with the promise of a high-quality education and you lied."

Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos for education secretary is a threat to public education. DeVos has spent millions funding the privatization of education in Michigan. The result? A failing school system where almost 80 percent of schools are run by private, for-profit companies.

The charter schools in Michigan, influenced by DeVos’s agenda, perform lower than national averages, have been criticized for misuse of taxpayer funding, and frequently shut down doors without warning or community input. Adding to the alarm is the fact that DeVos has never held a professional position in education in her life, but plans to lead the Department of Education, where she would be in charge of overseeing and providing equal access to quality education for all Americans.

Discover how the DeVos effect has harmed families and the education system in Michigan and contact your senators at 202-224-3121 and tell them to oppose her nomination! Brave New Films Video: Protect Public Education by Stopping Betsy DeVos From Becoming Next U.S. Secretary of Education | Alternet:

SPECIAL: The Morning After Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing #BetsyDeVos #DeVosHearing #dumpdevos

SPECIAL: The Morning After Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing #BetsyDeVos  #DeVosHearing #dumpdevos

DeVos says she won’t force private school voucher plan on states | EdSource

by mike simpson / 34min

DeVos says she won’t force private school voucher plan on states | EdSource : DeVos says she won't force private school voucher plan on states At a contentious confirmation hearing that mostly broke along party lines, Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be secretary of education, said she wouldn’t try to force states to adopt private school voucher programs along the lines of t

Diane Ravitch's blog | Is Trump's Pick for Education Secretary an Enemy of Public Schools?

by mike simpson / 44min

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : Is Trump's Pick for Education Secretary an Enemy of Public Schools? DeVos: Schools May Need Guns to Protect Against Grizzly Bears 2 by dianeravitch / 17min Betsy DeVos was questioned resistance to federal threats to public schools, California educators will join with parents, students, labor and civic leaders and communities on Thursday in cal

Answer Sheet Valerie Strauss covers Betsy DeVos’s confirmation hearing - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 1h

Answer Sheet - The Washington Post : Answer Sheet Valerie Strauss covers Betsy DeVos’s confirmation hearing Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing 4K by Valerie Strauss / 9h At her contentious confirmation hearing as Donald Trump’s nominee to be education secretary on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was asked a question by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) about a

WATCH: Al Franken destroys Education appointee Betsy DeVos over her support for gay conversion therapy

by mike simpson / 1h

WATCH: Al Franken destroys Education appointee Betsy DeVos over her support for gay conversion therapy : WATCH: Al Franken destroys Education appointee Betsy DeVos over her support for gay conversion therapy Mi nnesota Sen. Al Franken (D) processes on school choice and other issues in a recent commentary for The Oklahoman . Among other things, Loveless wrote that he believes in

CURMUDGUCATION: Meanwhile...

by mike simpson / 1h

CURMUDGUCATION: Meanwhile... : Meanwhile... It has been one of those days. Not bad, but about sixteen hours long, and so I have followed the DeVos hearing via occasional peeks at Twitter, and I'll catch up over the hours ahead in short burst so that my blood pressure does not shoot the nails off the ends of my fingers. But I will confess that as strongly as I believe we should tell our senators r

In Penetrating Analysis, Joanne Barkan Predicts Likely Direction of a DeVos Education Department | janresseger

by mike simpson / 2h

In Penetrating Analysis, Joanne Barkan Predicts Likely Direction of a DeVos Education Department | janresseger : In Penetrating Analysis, Joanne Barkan Predicts Likely Direction of a DeVos Education Department Joanne Barkan has published another of her remarkably lucid and well-written articles at Dissent , this time a profile of Betsy DeVos. Barkan explicitly predicts how DeVos, if she is confir

Betsy DeVos and the Prince of darkness. | Fred Klonsky

by mike simpson / 2h

Betsy DeVos and the Prince of darkness. | Fred Klonsky : Betsy DeVos and the Prince of darkness. Okay. So the next Secretary of Education doesn’t know what the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is. She thinks schools should have guns in case of Grizzley bears. I have to admit that I found Al Franken’s gotcha on the debate over growth scores and competency a little confusing mysel

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Song and Dance

by mike simpson / 2h

CURMUDGUCATION: DeVos Song and Dance : "DeVos Song and Dance" DeVos Song and Dance I am grateful that work kept me from experiencing the DeVos hearing in one long take, like a thousand fingernails being dragged down a twenty-mile report about student assessment in our public schools is due to come out soon, has asked all the wrong questions. We, therefore, can’t have any confiden

Ignorance and Arrogance – the Defining Characteristics of the Betsy DeVos Hearing | gadflyonthewallblog

by mike simpson / 2h

Ignorance and Arrogance – the Defining Characteristics of the Betsy DeVos Hearing | gadflyonthewallblog : Ignorance and Arrogance – the Defining Characteristics of the Betsy DeVos Hearing Betsy DeVos wouldn’t commit to protecting students with special needs. She wouldn’t commit to keeping guns out of school campuses . She wouldn’t commit to holding charter and voucher schools to the same standard

Betsy DeVos Confirmation Hearing and Special Education

by mike simpson / 2h

Betsy DeVos Confirmation Hearing and Special Education : Betsy DeVos Confirmation Hearing and Special Education I was asked to write about the Betsy DeVos confirmation hearing and special education. So here is a quick rundown. I was pleasantly surprised at some of the questioning by Democrats. I know education reform is often bi-partisan, but the Dems hit some high notes tonight. I came away with

Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 3h

Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing - The Washington Post : Six astonishing things Betsy DeVos said — and refused to say — at her confirmation hearing At her contentious confirmation hearing as Donald Trump’s nominee to be education secretary on Tuesday, Betsy DeVos was asked a question by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) about an important educatio

DeVos Meets Warren - Living in Dialogue

by mike simpson / 3h

DeVos Meets Warren - Living in Dialogue : DeVos Meets Warren DeVos Meets Warren - Living in Dialogue :

Here Are Just Some of the Stunningly Bad Moments From Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing | Mother Jones

by mike simpson / 3h

Here Are Just Some of the Stunningly Bad Moments From Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing | Mother Jones : Here Are Just Some of the Stunningly Bad Moments From Betsy DeVos' Confirmation Hearing "Do you not want to answer my question?" Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing to become President-elect Donald Trump's education secretary was originally scheduled for last Wednesday but was ultimately postpon

Betsy DeVos’ Opening Statement at Her Nomination Hearing– and a Question Asked by Bernie Sanders | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 3h

Betsy DeVos’ Opening Statement at Her Nomination Hearing– and a Question Asked by Bernie Sanders | deutsch29 : Betsy DeVos’ Opening Statement at Her Nomination Hearing– and a Question Asked by Bernie Sanders Below is the text of US ed sec nominee Betsy DeVos’ opening remarks at her January 17, 2017, hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. First, a few obs

Schooling in the Ownership Society: From Davos to DeVos

by mike simpson / 3h

Schooling in the Ownership Society: From Davos to DeVos : From Davos to DeVos As the world's super-wealthy and super-powerful gather this week in Davos for the World Economic Forum, the spotlight is once again on the widening chasm of wealth these, but… law school. Student Empowerment - Culture and Languag

YESTERDAY

RECAP: FULL COMMITTEE HEARING #BetsyDeVos Nomination Sec of Ed #DeVosHearing #dumpdevos

by mike simpson / 16h

RECAP: FULL COMMITTEE HEARING #BetsyDeVos Nomination Sec of Ed #DeVosHearing #dumpdevos