Category: Political / Governments / Nations / Countries /
Why New York’s Billionaires’ Row Is Half Empty
How the Grinch Stole the Post Office | Robert Reich
Republican Slaps Colleague For Not Supporting Trump Enough
Anti-Vax Washington State Senator Dies Of Something
Florida Is Hunting Down Double-Voting Snowbirds
NOT ABOUT THE BOOKS.
ICYMI, book banning is now being pushed by county officials in Texas. This week Williamson County commissioners withheld CARES funds from @LeanderISD & @RoundRockISD based on false allegations about "X-rated" material available. More thoughts & links ahead in thread.
Good start coverage from @mikemarut of @KVUE here, but we need to put a finer point on these issues and get eyes on the situation. Because as with Abbott and Mike Kraus's claims–this is politically motivated & NOT ABOUT THE BOOKS.
How do I know? Because districts that DID receive funds–like @GeorgetownISD–also have targeted books like OUT OF DARKNESS available to students… AS THEY SHOULD. These highly vetted & celebrated works of literature serve the needs of students. (See "additional info" below.)
A reminder: in all cases, the books in question are options AVAILABLE to teens, not required course material. The only difference is that the districts denied funds (@LeanderISD & @RoundRockISD) have struggled with public controversies driven by politicized attacks on books.
And this comes AFTER @LeanderISD officially removed 11 books, including OUT OF DARKNESS, from HS book lists and classroom libraries. What is the commissioners' message? You didn't ban ENOUGH books to appease our base, so no $$ for your students.
Again: the opposition to the books is NOT ABOUT THE BOOKS. Conservative groups (links to follow) are using this to signal who matters in schools and whose very existence is "controversial"–just like the books under attack. That's a destructive message for marginalized teens.
"Concerned" adults at SB mtgs may have convinced themselves that they are worried about "sexually explicit content," but if that were true, they would be showing up to protest the many more books with sexual content that center white, straight characters. Hmm.
What's really going on, then? Knowingly or not, these parents are mouthpieces for GOP-funded orgs that direct them to harass and exhaust school personnel and attack books like OUT OF DARKNESS for quick wins to mobilize a conservative base. Some examples ahead.
No Left Turn categorizes books by "trouble" topics:
https://www.noleftturn.us/exposing-books/
Texans Wake Up goes a step farther by telling parents exactly what to object to, a letter to use, then "go get 'em!"
Moms 4 Liberty & Defending Ed encourage burdensome FOIA requests: https://defendinged.org/expose/
https://www.momsforliberty.org/resources/
(Targeted ISDs say these requests are relentless–& that those making them have the $$ to keep asking–targeting every purchase order, teacher survey, etc.)
Attacks on books & relentless FOIA requests divert resources away from student learning. The values & attitudes of those bringing them do not reflect the community at large. Most folks appreciate their schools are doing & are too busy trying to make ends meet to harass them.
Central Texas: these folks are holding your kids' education hostage. Even if you don't care about your kids' right to read OUT OF DARKNESS or the targeted books, you should care about the harm of these attacks. The endgame here is not the books. It's undermining public ed itself.
And when I say conservatives are "holding your kids' education hostage," this is NOT A METAPHOR. I just got access to this email from commissioner @cynthialong to @LeanderISD, & it could be summarized as "Ban Books for Bucks."
It's extortion, plain & simple.
That should be @CLongTX 👆 Thanks for helping me catch that, @LISDFuss
"Good" news: you (yes, YOU!) can push back. Take 4 minutes to file a complaint against the Williamson County Commission for misuse of CARES Act funds, & spread the word. This concerns EVERY taxpayer, EVERY community member.
Originally tweeted by Ashley Hope Pérez (@ashleyhopeperez) on December 18, 2021.
See Bernie Sanders’ reaction to Joe Manchin’s bombshell
There is no CC on this video. However if you can please watch / listen to the video. Finally Manchin is called out. Bernie gets tired of the dancing around the bush and flat out tells what the problem is, says Manchin is getting bribed legally by the wealthy corporations, Manchin is not representing the people of the state, Bernie even offered to pay for a poll of the people in Manchin’s state. Bernie lays this right on Manchin.
Daily cartoon / meme roundup: It was never about the cost it is about forcing the public to struggle for the necessities in live. In the worlds wealthiest country it doesn’t have to be this way.
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Scottie’s world today
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No one ever asks, ‘how are you going to pay for it?’ with the military, and they waste trillions.
Elon Musk has gotten rich off others all his life. Elon Musk’s father was wealthy and owned an emerald mine in South Africa. His mother was from Canada, but was raised in South Africa. Elon Musk moved back to his mother’s homeland to avoid the military draft in South Africa. Shades of Donald Trump! (But a lot smarter and much more successful in multiplying his father’s fortune.)
Elon Musk was successful in developing software, and made a fortune developing X.com and PayPal, which he then parlayed into a role in a new company founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk did NOT found Tesla; he joined a company that was already being developed, and eventually ousted the founders and took full control himself.
Musk had developed enormous wealth DUE TO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT and government contracts, subsidies and guarantees. And there are certainly many legitimate public policy interests in developing clean, green, renewable energy.
But, while Musk certainly has demonstrated his own brilliance, imagination, drive and success, he has always developed his wealth on the backs of others — government, the public, and workers who transform his visions into actual products.
Forced birth?
Where are the forced birth crowd here and above? Where is all the support needed for these forced births? It is simply a tactic to control women’s bodies and their sex organs.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1472185834258501633
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Misleading right wing media cartoons / memes
Wow talk about causing the problem you are complaining about. This is not on Biden, it’s on willfully ignorant anti-vaxxers. The right wing media is doing everything they can to fight any attempt by the Biden administration to fight the Coronavirus. The right wing is actually encouraging spreading the virus. Yet now the blames Biden for not stopping the very virus the right is spreading? And the Republican party is happy about this, they are planning to run on it this next year. The Republicans plan to tell voters to vote for them because Biden has done a bad job fixing what the Republicans are deliberately breaking.
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And now some for fun
The Real Truth About Marjorie Taylor Greene – Steve Hofstetter
Another great video from Randy. Thanks brother you found me some good ones. Hugs
Scottie's Playtime 
You would think the Republicans would be happy. The deficit has actually decreased around a third of a billion under President Biden. Not a surprise, since we don’t have a grifter in the White House anymore.
This is why the Republicans needed to focus on the debt ceiling and be over dramatic about the whole thing. Most American’s don’t understand the debt ceiling has nothing to do with the actual deficit. They also understand if Biden keeps reducing the deficit, they may not need to increase the debt ceiling again for quite some time. If we could roll back some of the tax cuts to the wealthy, perhaps never.
Well, until the Republicans gain full control again, as they believe in deficit spending, but only when it’s them doing the spending.