In September 2020, in the midst of a panic about Critical Race Theory (CRT) infiltrating the government and schools, former President Donald Trump issued an executive order. The executive order, however, does not take on CRT directly — or even related concepts like structural racism, implicit bias, and affirmative action. Instead, the order prohibited federal funding for programs that promote general concepts such as "an individual should be discriminated against… solely or partly because of his or her race" or "an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive." Would discussions of implicit bias violate this provision? Federal employees and contractors were left to guess.
We are in a battle against those who are anti-women, deeply racist, and frightened that their religion can't control others. This country remains stuck in the 1860's with the Confederate states actively determined to keep the blacks in subservient positions; Trump's loud and ignorant mouth is echoing all of these far Right positions intent on taking away precious freedoms [cf 14th Amendment]. We can see how important the appointment of qualified judges has always been.
How will we stay competitive as a country if we don't teach our kids to observe, think, and reason? Our red states' motto is becoming "All kids left behind."
These laws are ridiculous. Isn't it equally racist and demeaning to be taught "white race theory", especially if you aren't white yourself? I see no solution that doesn't include everybody on an equal basis.
For far too many of these pathetic snowflakes, "white racist theory" is just the world as it should always be. They've got no claim to being worthwhile, productive members of society, so they have to stoop to making themselves feel better by using the psychological dodge, "I many not be everything I should be, but I'm still better than other people because I'm not a _________."
We've been gradually taking away all the old ways of filling in that blank over the past 50 years. These pathetic little white snowflakes are all afraid (at a deep psychological level where they'll never consciously go), that once there's no one left to fill that blank, everyone will see that white people are not, and never have been "superior," and they're just average (or below average) schmucks.
White supremacy is all they've got and they're pathetically desperate to keep it because without it, they know the rest of us will realize that all they are is "sound and fury signifying nothing." Reality is, it's already too late to hide that fact.
I just think you should judge people by what they do, not how they look, but also keep a sense of calm and care in your judgement because you don't know what kind of day a person may be having.
The key problem (or feature) of these laws is their vagueness. They don’t define the supposedly illegal activity in a way any reasonable person can understand or that can be consistently enforced. That leads to non-enforcement personnel (school boards, principals and department heads) making up restrictions that may well exceed the scope of the law simply out of fear of arbitrary prosecution. The politicians get the benefit of restrictions they were unable to lawfully legislate, yet remain insulated by being able to deny the intent. It’s the self-censorship of fear working as designed.
Unclear rules and arbitrary enforcement are psychopathic traits of a value system. It seems the 14th Amendment exists to protect us from these. It's the biggest problem I see here as well!
The culture wars have an economic impact that nobody seems to be covering. Knowledge workers and their families will avoid states where education is weakened by these distractions. They recognize the value of high quality education and will gravitate to locales where education is supported without fear or favor. These families are the ones who create jobs, high paying jobs, jobs that have a future. It would be interesting to contrast and compare these hillbilly states and their jobs creation versus “elite” states. How many jobs are created, how much do they pay, what happens when diversity and cultural exploration are encouraged?
We already know that most southern states are poor, uneducated, and unhealthy. I'm assuming we can extrapolate that to say everything would be worse there- except real estate prices.
Real estate prices in weak-education areas are not a sure bet...I live in a town known for its schools. We had a town vote to raise taxes specifically for school improvements. The "pro-tax" folks said (something akin to): "improve our schools and your house value." A real estate friend said she had a couple offers contingent on the tax increase passing. BTW, it passed.
As a resident of Shenandoah County VA (90 min from DC) where our MAGA school board just reinstated Confederate names on 2 schools, I HOPE we'll see an economic penalty to this overt racism. Tourists, please spend your money somewhere else. Don't even stop for gas on I-81!
My kid lives in Winchester. I understand your frustration. He, we, are from the Midwest. It’s always hard for me to swallow ALL the confederate names when we visit. A pure mix of old English and hatred. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in Missouri and it’s a nightmare, albeit without the names of awful generals plastered everywhere.
If it weren’t so tragic for the children and the future of our country, New Hampshire’s “education” commissioner’s lament about teachers actively dismantling parental value systems would be laughable. Teachers are paid to instill knowledge and skills that teach children to think and question, which is exactly what dismantles ignorance, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, and all of the other tenets of right wing republican ideology.
When the "parental value system" is "white supremacy" it needs to be dismantled. If school's can't challenge "parental value systems," how can they prevent the student body from being shaped by Nazism, Satanism, or a Pedophilic cult in the area? Over the years, such families as these have existed in many places. Is the school system supposed to avoid teaching the truth when it causes such people discomfort?
"Parental value systems" are not sacred. Parents are still (within legal limits) free to raise their children however they see fit, and to express, within their own homes and churches, as much disagreement with the facts and truth the school system teaches as they wish. They do not, however, have the right to force the school system to desert the teaching of facts and truth so that those parents will never have to explain to little Timmy or Becky, why what they believe is provably false (which nearly every adolescent child thinks about their own parents at some point anyway, regardless of what the schools are teaching).
If you can't deal with kids expressing adolescent rebellion, or explain why you still believe what you believe even though your "faith" has gaping holes in it, it's not the school's fault. The school system doesn't have to protect you from your own kids (especially when they may very well be smarter than you). Get help if you need it, or face reality and find a more adequate, reality-based faith.
I was recently touring the UK, where I had occasion to visit several historical sites and museums, including portrait galleries in Edinburgh and Oxford. In every case, paintings of prominent noblemen, merchants and military figures were captioned with short explanatory essays of how their wealth and actions as servants to the Crown were related to the trade in African slaves, the sugar trade, exploitation and subjugation of indiginous people in colonized territories, etc. Anyone viewing this would learn that The British Empire was built on the backs of enslaved and subjgated people, and draw their own conclusions as to how the splendor of upper British society seen in the paintings was achieved. This is the sign of a mature civilization, able to look at its past honestly. We apparently are not there yet.
How anyone with a functioning brain could ever vote republican is beyond me. They are such pathetic excuses for human beings. Every single one of them is a racist and a homophobe.
Democracy remains challenging and I absolutely love it! Citizens should continue to fight the legal good fight to keep this ideology of fear, hatred and self-imposed existential culture threat perspective to annihilate these ridiculous republican “laws.” Democracy will win and US citizens will progress together. Keep the faith and vote democracy!
The confederate mindset is alive and well in the United States, especially in the southern states, and kicking and screaming to subvert anyone who isn't white and male and willing to serve them. It is the same old racist behavior that has been around since the country was founded, the reason why the Declaration of Independence, written by old white men, states that "...all Men are created equal...", with the word 'men' capitalized throughout.
The real pity is that after 250 years, that mindset is still rampant and growing, with minorities being told repeatedly through deceptive tactics that this is 'how it's supposed to be'. (minorities being black people, women, and any thing other than white males).
Women, Blacks, and other minorities are growing and will soon outnumber (if not already) the white male population in this country. That is what the right wing fears, which only makes them work harder to dominate and spread that despicable ideology. That is why we must show up at the polls and vote out those who support it, and replace them with people who understand that 'All People Are Created Equal'. Because all people ARE created equal, (yes, white people too) and it should be taught in our schools at a very young age.
We as a culture are trying to keep educating with the times, to keep moving forward as the years progress, while others are moving in the opposite direction, I enjoy 2024 much more than 1938, not that I was here in 1938, but I have read lots of history about those years, The white christian movement is killing us, or a least the idea of white Christin nationalism is doing the job. Our world view and culture should be getting more educated and moving with the times. Some tho think quite the opposite, want to curtail our freedom and choice that we have fought for years to move ahead. I still think we are better that what is being sought after by the radical movement of the mostly republican movement of white power, remember when it was confined to small groups of mostly hidden groups, who kept to the shadows, well mien trump has changed all that. Vote blue, thru and thru.
All these "conservative" white folk are such pathetic little snowflakes! Face it, folks, your ancestors did some pretty detestable things. It's long past time you owned up to those things, grieved the loss involved in realizing that your great, great grandma or grandpa or great grand uncle or aunt was a racists a_hole (and that they were WRONG to be that way).
Once you've allowed yourself to realize that those kinds of people were part of your family and grieved that reality (which is what these snowflakes are tying so desperately to resist), you can move forward with renewed determination avoid the mistakes of your family's past and build a better future.
If, on the other hand, you don't think that racist past was a mistake, I'd suggest the woman who filed the original complaint and all those like her, give up their cars, take off their shoes and report to the kitchens where they will spend their lives cooking on a wood fired stove while pregnant with their next child, because that's where most rural women were when this racist crap ruled the day.
Why is a district judge who has been declared unqualified by the ABA allowed to continue holding court? Who has the power to remove unqualified judges from the American court system?
Great summary. This past week I posted a blog that I carefully and thoughtfully crafted to illustrate the systemic repressions of many groups over the millennia. I’ve combined my writing and my interactions with others to gently sway people. Slowly but surely, I see it making a difference. But I’m only one person. I beg all readers who see what’s going on to figure out ways to do something similar. It’s the personal touch that ultimately changes hearts and viewpoints.
We are in a battle against those who are anti-women, deeply racist, and frightened that their religion can't control others. This country remains stuck in the 1860's with the Confederate states actively determined to keep the blacks in subservient positions; Trump's loud and ignorant mouth is echoing all of these far Right positions intent on taking away precious freedoms [cf 14th Amendment]. We can see how important the appointment of qualified judges has always been.
How will we stay competitive as a country if we don't teach our kids to observe, think, and reason? Our red states' motto is becoming "All kids left behind."
Nice reporting folks!
These laws are ridiculous. Isn't it equally racist and demeaning to be taught "white race theory", especially if you aren't white yourself? I see no solution that doesn't include everybody on an equal basis.
For far too many of these pathetic snowflakes, "white racist theory" is just the world as it should always be. They've got no claim to being worthwhile, productive members of society, so they have to stoop to making themselves feel better by using the psychological dodge, "I many not be everything I should be, but I'm still better than other people because I'm not a _________."
We've been gradually taking away all the old ways of filling in that blank over the past 50 years. These pathetic little white snowflakes are all afraid (at a deep psychological level where they'll never consciously go), that once there's no one left to fill that blank, everyone will see that white people are not, and never have been "superior," and they're just average (or below average) schmucks.
White supremacy is all they've got and they're pathetically desperate to keep it because without it, they know the rest of us will realize that all they are is "sound and fury signifying nothing." Reality is, it's already too late to hide that fact.
I just think you should judge people by what they do, not how they look, but also keep a sense of calm and care in your judgement because you don't know what kind of day a person may be having.
Shhh, stop talking sense. People will think there's something to this. :)
The key problem (or feature) of these laws is their vagueness. They don’t define the supposedly illegal activity in a way any reasonable person can understand or that can be consistently enforced. That leads to non-enforcement personnel (school boards, principals and department heads) making up restrictions that may well exceed the scope of the law simply out of fear of arbitrary prosecution. The politicians get the benefit of restrictions they were unable to lawfully legislate, yet remain insulated by being able to deny the intent. It’s the self-censorship of fear working as designed.
"It’s the self-censorship of fear working as designed."
Precisely targeted and deployed.
Unclear rules and arbitrary enforcement are psychopathic traits of a value system. It seems the 14th Amendment exists to protect us from these. It's the biggest problem I see here as well!
The culture wars have an economic impact that nobody seems to be covering. Knowledge workers and their families will avoid states where education is weakened by these distractions. They recognize the value of high quality education and will gravitate to locales where education is supported without fear or favor. These families are the ones who create jobs, high paying jobs, jobs that have a future. It would be interesting to contrast and compare these hillbilly states and their jobs creation versus “elite” states. How many jobs are created, how much do they pay, what happens when diversity and cultural exploration are encouraged?
We already know that most southern states are poor, uneducated, and unhealthy. I'm assuming we can extrapolate that to say everything would be worse there- except real estate prices.
Real estate prices in weak-education areas are not a sure bet...I live in a town known for its schools. We had a town vote to raise taxes specifically for school improvements. The "pro-tax" folks said (something akin to): "improve our schools and your house value." A real estate friend said she had a couple offers contingent on the tax increase passing. BTW, it passed.
As a resident of Shenandoah County VA (90 min from DC) where our MAGA school board just reinstated Confederate names on 2 schools, I HOPE we'll see an economic penalty to this overt racism. Tourists, please spend your money somewhere else. Don't even stop for gas on I-81!
My kid lives in Winchester. I understand your frustration. He, we, are from the Midwest. It’s always hard for me to swallow ALL the confederate names when we visit. A pure mix of old English and hatred. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in Missouri and it’s a nightmare, albeit without the names of awful generals plastered everywhere.
If it weren’t so tragic for the children and the future of our country, New Hampshire’s “education” commissioner’s lament about teachers actively dismantling parental value systems would be laughable. Teachers are paid to instill knowledge and skills that teach children to think and question, which is exactly what dismantles ignorance, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, and all of the other tenets of right wing republican ideology.
When the "parental value system" is "white supremacy" it needs to be dismantled. If school's can't challenge "parental value systems," how can they prevent the student body from being shaped by Nazism, Satanism, or a Pedophilic cult in the area? Over the years, such families as these have existed in many places. Is the school system supposed to avoid teaching the truth when it causes such people discomfort?
"Parental value systems" are not sacred. Parents are still (within legal limits) free to raise their children however they see fit, and to express, within their own homes and churches, as much disagreement with the facts and truth the school system teaches as they wish. They do not, however, have the right to force the school system to desert the teaching of facts and truth so that those parents will never have to explain to little Timmy or Becky, why what they believe is provably false (which nearly every adolescent child thinks about their own parents at some point anyway, regardless of what the schools are teaching).
If you can't deal with kids expressing adolescent rebellion, or explain why you still believe what you believe even though your "faith" has gaping holes in it, it's not the school's fault. The school system doesn't have to protect you from your own kids (especially when they may very well be smarter than you). Get help if you need it, or face reality and find a more adequate, reality-based faith.
It's still laughable. Can't you hear my bitter laughter all the way over there? I assure you that I am not the only one!
I was recently touring the UK, where I had occasion to visit several historical sites and museums, including portrait galleries in Edinburgh and Oxford. In every case, paintings of prominent noblemen, merchants and military figures were captioned with short explanatory essays of how their wealth and actions as servants to the Crown were related to the trade in African slaves, the sugar trade, exploitation and subjugation of indiginous people in colonized territories, etc. Anyone viewing this would learn that The British Empire was built on the backs of enslaved and subjgated people, and draw their own conclusions as to how the splendor of upper British society seen in the paintings was achieved. This is the sign of a mature civilization, able to look at its past honestly. We apparently are not there yet.
Such good news, Judd, not reported anywhere else this morning! I hope this is the beginning of a major push back for the silencing of education.
How anyone with a functioning brain could ever vote republican is beyond me. They are such pathetic excuses for human beings. Every single one of them is a racist and a homophobe.
I am even more amazed in a frightful way, everyGD day by what the RW'z get up to!
Hey, isn't that a prohibited concept?
It’s heartening to read that we are winning some important battles in courts of law. Thanks for this.
Democracy remains challenging and I absolutely love it! Citizens should continue to fight the legal good fight to keep this ideology of fear, hatred and self-imposed existential culture threat perspective to annihilate these ridiculous republican “laws.” Democracy will win and US citizens will progress together. Keep the faith and vote democracy!
The confederate mindset is alive and well in the United States, especially in the southern states, and kicking and screaming to subvert anyone who isn't white and male and willing to serve them. It is the same old racist behavior that has been around since the country was founded, the reason why the Declaration of Independence, written by old white men, states that "...all Men are created equal...", with the word 'men' capitalized throughout.
The real pity is that after 250 years, that mindset is still rampant and growing, with minorities being told repeatedly through deceptive tactics that this is 'how it's supposed to be'. (minorities being black people, women, and any thing other than white males).
Women, Blacks, and other minorities are growing and will soon outnumber (if not already) the white male population in this country. That is what the right wing fears, which only makes them work harder to dominate and spread that despicable ideology. That is why we must show up at the polls and vote out those who support it, and replace them with people who understand that 'All People Are Created Equal'. Because all people ARE created equal, (yes, white people too) and it should be taught in our schools at a very young age.
We as a culture are trying to keep educating with the times, to keep moving forward as the years progress, while others are moving in the opposite direction, I enjoy 2024 much more than 1938, not that I was here in 1938, but I have read lots of history about those years, The white christian movement is killing us, or a least the idea of white Christin nationalism is doing the job. Our world view and culture should be getting more educated and moving with the times. Some tho think quite the opposite, want to curtail our freedom and choice that we have fought for years to move ahead. I still think we are better that what is being sought after by the radical movement of the mostly republican movement of white power, remember when it was confined to small groups of mostly hidden groups, who kept to the shadows, well mien trump has changed all that. Vote blue, thru and thru.
All these "conservative" white folk are such pathetic little snowflakes! Face it, folks, your ancestors did some pretty detestable things. It's long past time you owned up to those things, grieved the loss involved in realizing that your great, great grandma or grandpa or great grand uncle or aunt was a racists a_hole (and that they were WRONG to be that way).
Once you've allowed yourself to realize that those kinds of people were part of your family and grieved that reality (which is what these snowflakes are tying so desperately to resist), you can move forward with renewed determination avoid the mistakes of your family's past and build a better future.
If, on the other hand, you don't think that racist past was a mistake, I'd suggest the woman who filed the original complaint and all those like her, give up their cars, take off their shoes and report to the kitchens where they will spend their lives cooking on a wood fired stove while pregnant with their next child, because that's where most rural women were when this racist crap ruled the day.
Why is a district judge who has been declared unqualified by the ABA allowed to continue holding court? Who has the power to remove unqualified judges from the American court system?
Because the ABA has no power and whoever selected this dude wasn’t interested in qualifications.
Great summary. This past week I posted a blog that I carefully and thoughtfully crafted to illustrate the systemic repressions of many groups over the millennia. I’ve combined my writing and my interactions with others to gently sway people. Slowly but surely, I see it making a difference. But I’m only one person. I beg all readers who see what’s going on to figure out ways to do something similar. It’s the personal touch that ultimately changes hearts and viewpoints.