Trump appointees https://www.morningsidecenter.org/ en The Rise of the Alt-Right in U.S. Politics https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/rise-alt-right-us-politics <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>The Rise of the Alt-Right in U.S. Politics</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>To the Teacher:</h4> <p><br> "Alt-right" is a term we’ve been hearing with increasing frequency since the 2016 presidential campaign. The term, which is short for "alternative right," once referred to an obscure group of internet forum participants associated with the website 4chan. Today, the alt-right has come to refer to a broader range of people on the extreme right who are seen as an important force in the rise of Donald Trump.</p> <p>Watchdog organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center have labeled the alt-right as a hate group that embraces racism or white supremacy as well as misogyny, homophobia, and anti-Semitism. These organizations have raised serious concerns about the association of some Trump advisors with alt-right websites. The alt-right was in general highly supportive of Donald Trump’s candidacy.</p> <p>This lesson consists of two readings designed to have students think critically about the alt-right, its relationship to the Trump administration, and online cultures of hate. The first reading provides general background on the alt-right: What is it? Where did it come from? The second reading considers its relationship to the Trump administration. Questions for discussion follow each reading.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Reading 1:<br> The Alt-Right: What Is It? Where did it come from?<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p>"Alt-right" is a term we’ve been hearing with increasing frequency since the 2016 presidential campaign. The term, which is short for "alternative right," once referred to an obscure group of internet forum participants associated with the website 4chan. Today, the alt-right has come to refer to a broader range of people on the extreme right who are seen as an important force in the rise of Donald Trump.</p> <p>Watchdog organizations have labeled the alt-right as a hate group that embraces racism or white supremacy as well as misogyny (hatred of women), homophobia, and anti-Semitism. These organizations have raised serious concerns about the association of some Trump advisors with alt-right websites. The alt-right was in general highly supportive of Donald Trump’s candidacy.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/alternative-right">Southern Poverty Law Center</a>, a civil rights advocacy organization that focuses on hate groups, includes a page on its website defining the alt-right and describing some of its core beliefs:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The Alternative Right, commonly known as the Alt-Right, is a set of far-right ideologies, groups and individuals whose core belief is that "white identity" is under attack by multicultural forces using "political correctness" and "social justice" to undermine white people and "their" civilization. Characterized by heavy use of social media and online memes, Alt-Righters eschew "establishment" conservatism, skew young, and embrace white ethno-nationalism as a fundamental value.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The Alternative Right is a term coined in 2008 by Richard Bertrand Spencer, who heads the white nationalist think tank known as the National Policy Institute, to describe a loose set of far-right ideals centered on "white identity" and the preservation of "Western civilization." In 2010, Spencer, who had done stints as an editor of The American Conservative and Taki’s Magazine, launched the Alternative Right blog, where he worked to refine the movement’s ideological tenets.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Spencer describes the Alt Right as a big-tent ideology that blends the ideas of neo-reactionaries (NRx-ers), who advocate a return to an antiquated, pseudo-libertarian government that supports "traditional western civilization"; "archeofuturists," those who advocate for a return to "traditional values" without jettisoning the advances of society and technology; human biodiversity adherents (HBDers) and "race realists," people who generally adhere to "scientific racism"; and other extreme-right ideologies. Alt-Right adherents stridently reject egalitarianism and universalism...</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Spencer describes Alt-Right adherents as younger people, often recent college graduates, who recognize the "uselessness of mainstream conservatism" in what he describes as a "hyper-racialized" world.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>As journalist Jason Wilson wrote in an August 23, 2016, article for the <em><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/23/alt-right-movement-white-identity-breitbart-donald-trump">Guardian,</a></em> a central concern of the alt-right is what they see as "PC (Politically Correct) Culture" run amok. To the alt-right, the movement is an effort to defend "white manhood" in the face of growing racial and gender diversity in the United States.</p> <p>Wilson writes:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Perhaps the most potent element of alt-right activism is the effort to build a sense of a specific white identity, and to claim that this identity is under attack.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">"Anti-white animus in society at large is palpable," says Spencer. Demands for diversity in the workplace mean "less white males in particular." More openly extreme alt-right accounts on Twitter talk about immigration in terms of "white genocide."</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">This sense of injured white identity is what defines the alt-right, according to Dan Cassino, a Fairleigh Dickinson University political scientist and the author of a new book on Fox News and American politics. "The founding myth of the alt-right is that the disadvantaged groups in American politics are actually running things through a combination of fraud and intimidation. By doing this, they’re actually oppressing white men."</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The "original sin" of current American politics, according to Cassino, is that neither liberals nor conservatives have a very good answer to the question of what is to be done about "the people who get screwed over" by economic policies.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">If these sentiments are growing, it may mean a larger and more receptive audience for the more radical message of the alt-right. Adherents claim that the movement is expanding.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Spencer does not have solid figures, but claims to have seen many new faces at his events, including young people who have been "redpilled" — or racially "awoken" — in the last year. Enoch claims that the Right Stuff’s suite of podcasts gets more than 100,000 listeners a week.</p> <p>What distinguishes the alt-right from more traditional conservative political movements such as the Tea Party and white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan is the fluency of its members with the internet, particularly the use of memes and trolling.</p> <p>Indeed, as Dylan Matthews wrote in an August 25, 2016, article for <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/4/18/11434098/alt-right-explained">Vox.com</a>, many alt-right members are drawn into the movement through sites like 4chan and Reddit:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">4chan is mostly still a forum for trolling and random nonsense. It was started to discuss anime, and insofar as it's been political it's been in a not strictly left-right way, and usually through the avenue of Anonymous, the activist group that split off from 4chan to do direct action...</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">But in recent years, a vocal right-wing contingent has popped up. As <a href="http://nymag.com/following/2015/11/inside-pol-4chans-racist-heart.html">New York magazine's Brian Feldman</a> explains, part of this is an artifact of 4chan gaining popularity and its popular catchall board — /b/ — losing ground to alternatives, notably /pol/, or the "Politically Incorrect" chat board. "To the extent that there is a shared political ideology across /pol/, it’s a heavily ironic mix of garden-variety white supremacy and neo-reactionary movements," Feldman writes.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>Southern Poverty Law Center fellow Keegan Hanke says: "I constantly see 4chan being mentioned by the more internet- and tech-savvy guys in the white nationalist movement. They’re getting their content from 4chan." He notices the same trend on Reddit. He notes in a <a href="http://gawker.com/how-reddit-became-a-worse-black-hole-of-violent-racism-1690505395">Gawker essay</a> that "Reddit increasingly is providing a home for anti-black racists — and some of the most virulent and violent propaganda around."</p> <p>According to Matthews, "This branch of the alt-right has also played an important role in the Gamergate movement, an ongoing effort to harass women in the video game industry until they shut up about equality and representation." <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/11/22/geeks-for-monarchy/">Klint Finley</a> writes on the website Tech Crunch:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">&nbsp;It’s not hard to see why this ideology would catch-on with white male geeks. It tells them that they are the natural rulers of the world, but that they are simultaneously being oppressed by a secret religious order. And the more media attention is paid to workplace inequality, gentrification and the wealth gap, the more their bias is confirmed.</p> <p>In 2016, these online subcultures that were once confined to the dark underbelly of the internet flooded into the mainstream and began to have a tangible impact on political discourse.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> For Discussion:<br> &nbsp;</h4> <ol> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, what is the "alt-right"? How is it different from existing conservative political movements?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">Do you have any experience with the websites 4chan and Reddit? If so, what sort of content have you seen on these sites?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">In response to demands that offense or hateful discussion groups on Reddit should be shut down, the site’s former CEO argued, "We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we personally condemn it." What do you think of this argument? Do you think Reddit has any responsibility to moderate discussion groups that might include, for example, overtly racist content?<br> &nbsp;</li> </ol> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Reading 2:<br> The Alt-Right in the White House</h4> <p><br> While the alt-right had been simmering beneath the surface of public consciousness for several years, it was thrust into the headlines during the 2016 presidential election as the movement’s chosen candidate, Donald Trump, advanced closer and closer to the White House.</p> <p>"Alt-right" became a widely discussed term when Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic challenger in the general election, noted Trump’s apparent coziness with the movement in an August 25, 2016, speech on the campaign trail. As Matt Fegenheimer reported in an August 25, 2016 article for <em><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/us/politics/hillary-clinton-speech.html">The New York Times</a></em>:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Hillary Clinton delivered a blistering denunciation Thursday of Donald J. Trump’s personal and political history with race, arguing in her most forceful terms yet that a nationalist conservative fringe had engulfed the Republican Party.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">In a 31-minute address, building to a controlled simmer, Mrs. Clinton did everything but call Mr. Trump a racist outright — saying he had promoted "racist lie" after "racist lie," pushed conspiracy theories with "racist undertones" and heartened racists across the country by submitting to an "emerging racist ideology known as the alt-right."</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">"He is taking hate groups mainstream," Mrs. Clinton told supporters at a community college here, "and helping a radical fringe take over the Republican Party."</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Mrs. Clinton said that while a racially charged and "paranoid fringe" had always existed in politics, "it’s never had the nominee of a major party stoking it, encouraging it and giving it a national megaphone, until now." ...<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>The Times noted that at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump portrayed Clinton’s &nbsp;attacks as directed not only at him, but also at his supporters. And in response to Hillary Clinton and those "pushing her to spread smears and her lies about decent people," Trump said, "I have three words: Shame on you."</p> <p>Despite Trump’s disavowal of racism and anti-Semitism among his supporters, some of his closest advisors have ties with the alt-right, including chief strategist Steve Bannon. Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon served as executive chair of Breitbart.com, a far-right news and commentary website that Bannon himself described as the "platform for the alt-right." As Josh Dawsey, Eliana Johnson, and Annie Karni reported in a January 29, 2017, article for <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/donald-trump-steve-bannon-234347">Politico.com</a>, Bannon has been a driving force behind some of the most controversial acts of Trump’s young presidency:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Bannon and senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller helped lay the political and ideological foundations for Trump’s rise before Trump came on the scene. Breitbart was instrumental in promoting the idea that establishment Republican lawmakers had betrayed American workers on issues like immigration and trade, a theme Trump rode to victory in November.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">They’ve been responsible for setting an "action plan" for Trump’s first weeks in the White House, developing executive orders and memoranda, and deciding when Trump would sign each new document, according to people familiar with the process.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The plan has so far produced executive actions weakening Obamacare, beefing up immigration enforcement and freezing federal hiring — and on preventing refugees and visa-holders from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. ...</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Bannon’s rise has worried Trump’s critics because he led Breitbart News, which associates itself with the alt-right and groups supporting nationalism and other fringe beliefs. After he was hired in the White House, the Southern Poverty Law Center called him "the main driver behind Breitbart becoming a white ethno-nationalist propaganda mill." Bannon and his friends have denied the attacks and say he is neither racist nor anti-Semitic.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>Given that the Trump administration has not renounced ties to the alt-right, questions remain about the connection between the hateful beliefs and talking points of this community and government policy-making.</p> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4><strong>For Discussion:</strong><br> &nbsp;</h4> <ol> <li>How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What do you think? Should the president formally renounce ties to the alt-right given hateful memes that circulate on discussion boards associated with this community? Or are his promises that he personally abhors racism and anti-Semitism sufficient?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Steve Bannon, White House Chief Strategist, described Breitbart news, the conservative website he previously ran, as the "platform for the alt-right." Given that, do you think that we should be concerned that hateful beliefs will make their way into government policy-making?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Can you think of any specific policies that might reflect alt-right beliefs? What might these policies look like in practice?</li> </ol> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-04-20T16:09:00-04:00" title="Thursday, April 20, 2017 - 16:09">April 20, 2017</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Thu, 20 Apr 2017 20:09:00 +0000 fionta 334 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org DeVos and a Controversy over Public Education https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/devos-and-controversy-over-public-education <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>DeVos and a Controversy over Public Education</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>To the Teacher:</h4> <p>This lesson includes a student reading and small group activities focusing on Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration’s Secretary of Education, and education reform. You may want to print out in advance:</p> <ul> <li>copies of <a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Reading(2).pdf">this student reading</a></li> <li>copies of <a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Quotes.pdf">these quotes</a>&nbsp;for small and large group discussion&nbsp;</li> <li>copies of&nbsp;<a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Chart.pdf">this pdf chart</a>&nbsp;for small groups to complete</li> </ul> <p>Begin by asking students to take a short quiz.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Quiz&nbsp;</h4> <p><strong>1.</strong>&nbsp; What does the U.S. Department of Education do?</p> <p>a) Provides educational services for the children of senators, representatives and members of the Supreme Court</p> <p>b) Provides most of the funding for K-12 schools</p> <p>c) Gives grants to states and local school districts to support programs that are aligned with federal policy</p> <p>d) Writes rules of conduct for grades 6, 7 and 8</p> <p>e) Runs all public schools and two-year colleges</p> <p><br> <em>Answer: </em>C. The federal Department of Education (ED) provides grants and other support for schools that are aligned with federal policy. The federal government also enforces civil rights laws in public schools to ensure that they do not discriminate and provide equal access to education. Most of the funding for public schools comes from state and local governments, and public schools are operated by local school districts.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>2.</strong>&nbsp; Advocates for "school choice" support a variety of ways of channeling tax dollars to support private education.&nbsp; One way is by providing school vouchers.&nbsp; What is a <strong>school voucher</strong>?</p> <p>a) A certificate signed by the governor of a state affirming that a school is properly credentialed</p> <p>b) A government allotment to families that can be used to pay for private school tuition</p> <p>c) The system by which public school teachers teach one class a day in a private school</p> <p>d) A full course meal delivered daily to non-profit charter schools</p> <p><br> <em>Answer:</em> B. A voucher is an allotment of money from the government that families can use to send their children to a private school.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>3.</strong>&nbsp; Another policy supported by school choice advocates is using public money to support charter schools.&nbsp; What is <strong>a charter school</strong>?&nbsp;</p> <p>a) Any school that is not publicly funded</p> <p>b)&nbsp; A school that is funded by the government but run independently.</p> <p>c) A school which specializes in writing contracts, by-laws and charters.</p> <p>d) A school affiliated with a specific religion</p> <p>e) All of the above</p> <p><br> <em>Answer:</em> &nbsp;B. A charter school is a school that is funded by the government but managed independently. Generally this means that the charter school (or group of charter schools) has more flexibility over things like the curriculum, personnel and budget.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p><br> <strong>4.</strong> The Secretary of Education becomes president when which of the following occurs:</p> <p>a) The president dies</p> <p>b) The president dies on school property</p> <p>c) The president dies and 15 other congressional leaders and cabinet members are also unable to take over</p> <p>d) When there is an educational emergency</p> <p>e) Never, ever</p> <p><br> <em>Answer:</em> C.</p> <p>Next, ask students read the following. (See this&nbsp;<a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Reading(2).pdf">this pdf version of the reading</a>.)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Student Reading:<br> The Department of Education, DeVos &amp; Education Reform<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p><strong>The Department of Education</strong></p> <p>The U.S. Department of Education (ED) does not build or run or directly control schools or colleges. Nor does it provide most of the funds for K-12 public education - that is the job of state governments. What the ED <em>does </em>do is administer a large array of programs aimed at improving schools. The department does give grants to states and local school districts for specific programs that advance the goals and policies set by the leadership of the department and ultimately by the President. &nbsp;</p> <p>For instance, President Obama’s $4 billion Race to the Top initiative rewarded state education systems that put a priority on teacher assessments, that accepted charter schools, and that had a sizable low-income student population. The initiative gave school systems, many of them cash-starved, a financial incentive to adopt the policies the administration was advocating.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Betsy DeVos</strong></p> <p>On February 7, 2017, Betsy DeVos was sworn in as President Trump’s secretary of education. She had been confirmed by the Senate earlier that day by the narrowest possible margin, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tiebreaking vote - the first time that a vice president’s tiebreaker was needed to confirm a Cabinet secretary.</p> <p>DeVos’s nomination was extremely controversial. Much of the debate centered on DeVos’s level of knowledge and experience and on her stances on education policy, including her support for "school choice."</p> <p>Betsy DeVos is a well-known name in Michigan. She chaired the state Republican Party, chaired an investment firm, and led several education reform organizations. DeVos grew up in a billionaire family and married into another billionaire family. Her brother, Erik Prince, is founder of Blackwater—a firm that supplied mercenaries and security guards for conflicts in Africa and the Middle East. Her husband is the heir to the Amway fortune.</p> <p>The family has contributed over a billion dollars to a variety of causes, including the Republican Party, and organizations that support education reform.&nbsp; Betsy DeVos has been a leader in the campaign to use public funds to support private schools and charter schools. She has founded and led national organizations that lobby for reform legislation and support school choice candidates for office. She and the DeVos family have contributed tens of millions of dollars to fund these organizations, Christian schools and think tanks. Opponents to her nomination were concerned that public education will suffer under an Education Department devoted to privatization.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Education Reform</strong></p> <p>What is the "education reform" that DeVos supports?&nbsp;</p> <p>While education reform has taken on different meanings over time, the current movement for reform supports policies including:</p> <ul> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">"High stakes" testing. That is, using students’ standardized test scores to determine punishments (such as sanctions, penalties, or funding cuts for schools or educators), advancement (such as student grade promotion or graduation), or compensation (salary increases or bonuses for educators).</li> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">Assessing teachers and using those assessments to reward or sanction them.</li> <li style="margin-left: 0.25in;">"School choice" - that is, using public money to support private schools or independently run schools through various funding mechanisms. This can include vouchers and charter schools.<br> &nbsp;</li> </ul> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Small-group Activity</h4> <p>Give students this&nbsp;<a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Quotes.pdf">this pdf of quotes</a>&nbsp;(the quotes also appear at the bottom of this lesson) related to Betsy DeVos’s appointment as Secretary of Education. Some of those quoted speak in support of the DeVos nomination; others speak in opposition.</p> <p>Next, ask students to break into small groups. Ask each group to fill out&nbsp;<a href="/sites/default/files/files/DeVos%20Chart.pdf">this pdf chart</a>&nbsp;based on the quotes, the reading, or other information they have. (Alternatively, have each group draw the chart on a piece of chart paper and fill that in.) &nbsp;</p> <p>Give students time to complete the chart, perhaps 15 minutes. While they are working, reconstruct the chart on the board. &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> Classroom Discussion</h4> <p>When the small groups are ready, reconvene the class. Ask each group to share from their list, and add their contributions to your chart. Discuss the issues as they come up, and clarify any misconceptions.&nbsp; Make a list of questions for further research, if necessary. &nbsp;</p> <div>Once you’ve completed the chart, discuss the DeVos debate with students, asking questions such as:</div> <ul> <li>What issues are most compelling to you?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>The National Review asserts that school choice is a "better-performing alternative" to public schools, while Diane Ravitch asserts that charter schools and vouchers are not only undermining public schools, but that they are not better performing.&nbsp; Which argument do you find more persuasive?&nbsp; What evidence might establish the accuracy of either assertion?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How might charter schools and vouchers undermine public schools?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Jeb Bush asserts that more local control of schools is a positive. What do you think might be positive about greater local control of schools? What might be negative about it?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>The New York Times editorial argues that DeVos’s personal lack of experience is an important concern. Do you agree?&nbsp; What about her family’s contributions and financial connections?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Of the quotes we read, what stood out for you the most? Why?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What statements from the quotes do you think are questionable? How might you investigate the accuracy of these statements?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How do you think the debate over school choice is relevant to our school?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Optional Homework</h4> <p>Ask students to choose one controversy over school choice or Betsy DeVos’ nomination. Research that controversy, including multiple points of view on it. &nbsp;Then write a 5-paragraph essay that argues for your own position on this issue. It should include:</p> <ul> <li>A summary of the issue and your thesis.</li> <li>Three points in support of your thesis, with evidence.</li> <li>A concluding paragraph.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Quotes about the DeVos Nomination&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p><strong>1. The National Review</strong> supported the DeVos nomination. In an editorial, the conservative publication condemned the size and scope of the ED and applauded the idea of school choice. The editorial noted a slippage in reading and math scores in&nbsp; 2015 (as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress), and argued that this shows that the recent education initiatives have not worked. They also pointed to the success of DeVos' American Federation for Children in helping to elect reform-minded candidates.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">DeVos has long been bullish about the prospects for school choice in its many forms, observing that the ineffectiveness of the public-school monopoly, often ruled by thuggish teachers’ unions, has become obvious. It’s part of the reason that Congress passed and President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act last December, the most sweeping education-reform bill since No Child Left Behind, and the most significant deregulation of American education in recent memory — now in need of a secretary who will enforce its terms.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Meanwhile, school choice — a term, she has said, that ought to encompass everything from "vouchers and tax credits [to] virtual schools, magnet schools, homeschooling, and charter schools" — is taking root as a viable, and better-performing, alternative. As education secretary, DeVos will be in the ideal position to roll back the mess of federal regulations that have hamstrung teachers and kept students in failing schools, to restore to states a measure of power over their own education systems, and to help make the government a resource for, not an impediment to, student success. Conservatives opposed to another four years of top-down meddling in the nation’s classrooms should applaud this principled choice.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>2.&nbsp; Diane Ravitch,</strong> and author and historian of American education and a best-selling author, writes in In these Times that DeVos and Prince families "have contributed generously to anti-gay and anti-labor causes over the years, but Betsy DeVos and her husband, Dick, have shown a special passion for privatizing public education." Ravitch, who has written extensively about education reform, argues against DeVos’s deep support for "school choice."</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">School choice advocates seldom mention that every dollar allocated to vouchers or charters is a dollar subtracted from public schools, which are compelled to lay off teachers, increase class sizes and cut programs in response. Meanwhile, voluminous research on charters shows that they do not necessarily offer better quality education. Even those schools that get high test scores often achieve this by cherry-picking new students and culling existing ones through high attrition rates. Vouchers, meanwhile, help prop up religious schools that teach creationism and employ few, if any, certified teachers.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The DeVoses and their foundations have spent millions nationwide to elect pro-school choice candidates to school boards, state legislatures and Congress. Anyone who wants to understand the failure of the school choice movement should look to Michigan. Charter schools were first authorized in the state in 1993. In 2014, a&nbsp;year-long investigation&nbsp;by the&nbsp;<em>Detroit Free Press</em>&nbsp;concluded that the state was spending $1 billion annually on charters that performed poorly, and were neither accountable nor transparent. Today, 80 percent of the state’s approximately 300 charter schools are operated by for-profit management. Since the onset of school choice, Michigan’s performance on national tests has steadily declined.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>3. Former presidential candidate Jeb Bush</strong>&nbsp; was enthusiastic about DeVos' appointment. Writing in USA Today, Bush reiterated the anti-big government positions he took in his campaign. He also condemned teachers unions, and opined that school choice benefits lower income children.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">While the vast majority of K-12 spending is done by state and local governments, the bulging layers of bureaucracy that administer education policy are the direct result of federal overreach into our education system. As a result, too many education dollars are wasted on bureaucrats and administrators instead of being driven down into the classroom where they could make a bigger impact on learning. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Instead of defending and increasing Washington’s power, Betsy will cut federal red tape &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; and be a passionate advocate for state and local control of schools. More importantly, she will empower parents with greater choices and a stronger voice over their children’s education. In the two decades that I have been actively involved in education reform, I have worked side-by-side with Betsy to promote school choice and put the interests of students first. I know her commitment to children, especially at-risk kids, is genuine and deep.</p> <p><br> <strong>4. The New York Times</strong> editorialized against DeVos’s nomination. The editors noted her record in Michigan to stop legislation designed to hold charter schools accountable. They also noted her reluctance in the hearings to support Education Department efforts to prevent fraud by for-profit colleges.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">"Government really sucks." This belief, expressed by the just-confirmed education secretary, Betsy DeVos, in a 2015 speech to educators, may be the only qualification she &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; needed for President Trump.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">Ms. DeVos is the perfect cabinet member for a president determined to appoint officials eager to destroy the agencies they run and weigh the fate of policies and programs based on ideological considerations.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">She has never run, taught in, attended or sent a child to an American public school, and &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; her confirmation hearings laid bare her ignorance of education policy and scorn for &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; public education itself. She has donated millions to, and helped direct, groups that want to replace traditional public schools with charter schools and convert taxpayer dollars into vouchers to help parents send children to private and religious schools.</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>Sources</h4> <p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/senate-to-vote-today-on-confirmation-of-betsy-devos/2017/02/06/fd4b7e9c-ec85-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html?utm_term=.d9e5e63d50f1">https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/senate-to-vote-today-on-confirmation-of-betsy-devos/2017/02/06/fd4b7e9c-ec85-11e6-9662-6eedf1627882_story.html?utm_term=.d9e5e63d50f1</a></p> <p><a href="https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/betsy-devos-swamp-denizen-named-secretary-of-education">https://rethinkingschools.org/articles/betsy-devos-swamp-denizen-named-secretary-of-education</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/01/dick_and_betsy_devos_lift_the.html">http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/01/dick_and_betsy_devos_lift_the.html</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442452/betsy-devos-trump-education-secretary-conservative-reformer-school-choice">http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442452/betsy-devos-trump-education-secretary-conservative-reformer-school-choice</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.betsydevos.com/education/">http://www.betsydevos.com/education/</a></p> <p><a href="http://inthesetimes.com/article/19786/diane-ravitch-betsy-devos-secretary-education-charter-public-schools-trump">http://inthesetimes.com/article/19786/diane-ravitch-betsy-devos-secretary-education-charter-public-schools-trump</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/what_is_the_goal_of_school_reform_20130904">http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/what_is_the_goal_of_school_reform_20130904</a></p> <p><a href="https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/devos-and-alliance-for-school-choice-where-the-ultimate-choice-means-vouchers-to-private-schools/">https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/devos-and-alliance-for-school-choice-where-the-ultimate-choice-means-vouchers-to-private-schools/</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2017/01/30/devos-nomination-senate-vote/97243810/">http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2017/01/30/devos-nomination-senate-vote/97243810/</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/01/17/devos-school-choice-education-florida-jeb-bush-column/96173842/">http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/01/17/devos-school-choice-education-florida-jeb-bush-column/96173842/</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/opinion/betsy-devos-teaches-the-value-of-ignorance.html?_r=0">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/opinion/betsy-devos-teaches-the-value-of-ignorance.html?_r=0</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?421224-1/education-secretary-nominee-betsy-devos-testifies-confirmation-hearing">https://www.c-span.org/video/?421224-1/education-secretary-nominee-betsy-devos-testifies-confirmation-hearing</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-02-20T13:36:28-05:00" title="Monday, February 20, 2017 - 13:36">February 20, 2017</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Mon, 20 Feb 2017 18:36:28 +0000 fionta 347 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org Why the Controversy over Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions? https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/why-controversy-over-attorney-general-nominee-jeff-sessions <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Why the Controversy over Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions?</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>Quiz</h4> <p><strong>1.&nbsp;</strong>Who of the following has been appointed by President Trump for a cabinet position?</p> <p>a. Rep. Steve Lessons<br> b. Gov. Pat Cushions<br> c. Sen. Jeff Sessions<br> d. Rev. John Grisham<br> e. Steve Bannon</p> <p><em>Answer: </em>c. Steve Bannon (e) is a special advisor to Trump; not a member of the cabinet</p> <p><br> <strong>2. </strong>After a president (or president-elect) announces a cabinet appointment, which of the following occurs?</p> <p>a. Nothing<br> b. A big party<br> c. The Supreme Court swears the person to uphold the Constitution<br> d. The Joint Chiefs of Staff give the nominee a written test<br> e. The Senate votes on the nomination<br> f. &nbsp;All of the above</p> <p><em>Answer:</em> e</p> <p><br> <strong>3.</strong> True or False</p> <p>Senator Sessions stated that "Good people don't smoke marijuana."</p> <p><em>Answer:</em> True (at a Senate hearing on drugs in April 2016)<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3>&nbsp;</h3> <h3>Student Reading:<br> Attorney General Nominee Jeff Sessions</h3> <p><br> During the week of January 9, 2017, the Senate Judiciary held hearings to confirm Donald Trump's appointment of Jeff Sessions to be Attorney General of the United States. Sessions is a conservative senator from Alabama and was the first senator to endorse Trump in the presidential primaries. Democrats and a broad array of civil rights organizations oppose Sessions' appointment because of the senator's longtime opposition to civil rights enforcement.</p> <h4>What does the Attorney General do?</h4> <p>The appointment of Attorney General may be the most important of all presidential appointments. The Department of Justice, which the Attorney General leads, is enormous, with over 100,000 employees and a $30 billion budget. The DOJ handles all legal work relating to the federal government. This includes the enforcement of criminal, civil, anti-trust, environmental, and tax law. And, civil rights law. The Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Marshals, the FBI, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are all within the Department of Justice. In addition to supervising these agencies, the Attorney General is in charge of all 93 U.S. Attorneys assigned to specific states and regions. The Attorney General has extensive powers relating to immigration (a top priority of Jeff Sessions). He or she enforces immigration laws and oversees immigration courts.</p> <h4>Background</h4> <p>Sessions began his political career as Assistant U.S. Attorney and then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. In 1986, he was nominated by President Reagan to be a federal district judge. The nomination drew opposition from individuals and groups presenting evidence of Sessions' prejudice against African-Americans. Some of the allegations were verifiable and some were never proven. The instances included:</p> <ul> <li>referring to a Black Assistant U.S. Attorney as "boy" and warning him to be careful what he said to "white folks"</li> <li>saying that he thought the Ku Klux Klan was "okay" until he found out they smoked pot</li> <li>calling the NAACP (and ACLU) un-American and teaching "anti-American values"</li> <li>stating that a white civil right lawyer was a "disgrace to his race"</li> </ul> <p>Sessions denied that he made some of the comments and attributed others to misunderstandings, but the Judiciary Committee voted against his nomination--with two Republicans joining the committee's Democrats.</p> <p>Jeff Sessions continued as U.S. Attorney, was later elected as Alabama's Attorney General, and in 1996 was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he became a member of the Judiciary Committee.</p> <h4>Confirmation Hearings</h4> <p>In an article in Politico, Sen. Ted Cruz wrote that Sessions was a highly qualified candidate for Attorney General who "believes in the foundational idea that we are governed by objectively knowable, written rules, and that we should not be subject to the interpretive whims of unelected, power-hungry bureaucrats."</p> <p>The Trump transition team argued that Sessions had "worked inside the Department of Justice for 15 years&nbsp; and loves the department, its people, and its mission."</p> <p>But opponents to Sessions' appointment cite his consistent opposition to civil rights and civil liberties throughout his career. They note that Sessions:</p> <ul> <li>used the Voting Rights Act (which is designed to protect the rights of African-Americans to vote) to prosecute three Black voting rights advocates for helping elderly black voters fill out ballots. (The judge threw out some of the charges and the jury acquitted them of the rest.)<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>supports voter ID laws, which disproportionately affect Black voters<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>defended Alabama's execution of mentally ill and intellectually disabled criminals convicted under an Alabama justice system that is tainted with a history of racially discriminatory prosecution<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>worked to make state executions easier and applied more broadly<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>voted for a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriages<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>expressed doubts that "secularist" attorneys can claim to understand the "truth"<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>opposed legislation that would extend protection against hate crimes to gender minorities<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>opposed bipartisan criminal justice reform aimed at reducing sentences for nonviolent (mainly drug) offenses<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>labeled the Voting Rights Act as "intrusive"<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Sessions has argued against those who charge that our law enforcement system is biased. He stated: "In the last several years, law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the actions of a few bad actors and for allegations about police that were not true."</li> </ul> <p><br> Sessions is a hard-liner on immigration issues. He led an effort to undo executive orders by President Obama that loosened restrictions on immigrants. Sessions also led the uphill battle to defeat the immigration reform bill supported by the Democratic and Republican congressional leadership. The bill was defeated.</p> <p>Senator Sessions has denied that he was (or is) a racist, and several Black colleagues vouched for his fairness. He characterized the accusations that he used racist language as "damnably false." Supporters also pointed to Sessions' consistent efforts to memorialize civil rights activist Rosa Parks. Sessions said he did not endorse President Trump's campaign promises to reinstate torture to interrogate terrorism suspects, create a registry of Muslims in America, or ban Muslims from entering the country. Questioned by Democratic senators, Sessions insisted that he would uphold even those laws he disagreed with (e.g. legalization of abortion).</p> <p>Two Black members of Congress testified against the nomination.&nbsp; Alabama Rep. John Lewis, a leader and hero of the civil rights movement, spoke of his concern that Sessions would not see helping people who are discriminated against as part of his job:</p> <p class="rteindent1">It doesn’t matter whether Sen. Sessions may smile or how friendly he may be, whether he may speak to you. We need someone who will stand up and speak up and speak out for the people who need help, for people who are being discriminated against. And it doesn’t matter whether they are Black or white, Latino, Asian or Native American, whether they are straight or gay, Muslim, Christian or Jews.</p> <p>Sen. Corey Booker also made the point that the civil rights struggle did not end with the Supreme Court-ordered desegregation or the Voting Rights Act. Booker &nbsp;sees a commitment to simply uphold the law as insufficient.&nbsp; He said he views the <em>active </em>pursuit of&nbsp; civil rights for all as a central responsibility of the Attorney General. "Law and order without justice is unobtainable," he said.&nbsp; "They are inextricably tied together."</p> <p>Protesters interrupted Sessions’ confirmation hearings on numerous occasions. They denounced the nominee's statements and positions on women's rights, immigrants’ rights, and the rights of people of color. Two men dressed in Ku Klux Klan attire were escorted out, as the hearings began. Code Pink and a group called Refusefascism.org took credit for organizing the protests.</p> <p>Sen. Sessions needs only 51 votes to win confirmation. As of January 17, that confirmation looks likely: no Republican has voiced opposition and one Democrat (Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia) has vowed to vote with the Republican majority to confirm.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>For Discussion</h3> <ol> <li>Is it fair to judge a candidate on the basis of statements or actions thirty years on the past?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Should appointees for Attorney General be held to a higher standard of civil rights advocacy than other appointees (because one of their duties is to enforce civil rights laws)?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Do you think that disturbing the hearings is a legitimate form of protest?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>Several Black colleagues of Sessions have testified that he is not a racist. How much weight should be given to this testimony?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>During his testimony, Sen. John Lewis made the statement below. What did he mean? How did the "rule of law" violate people's rights before the civil rights legislation of the 1960s? How might the rule of law violate the rights of the dispossessed today?</li> </ol> <p class="rteindent2">We can pretend that the law is blind. We can pretend that it is even-handed. But if &nbsp; we are honest with ourselves, we know that we are called upon daily by the people we represent to help them deal with unfairness in how the law is written and enforced. Those who are committed to equal justice in our society wonder whether Sen. Sessions’ call for "law and order" will mean today what it meant in Alabama, when I was coming up back then. The rule of law was used to violate the human and civil rights of the poor, the dispossessed, people of color. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Sources</h4> <p><br> <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/jeff-sessions-blocked-black-judges-alabama">http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/jeff-sessions-blocked-black-judges-alabama</a></p> <p><a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-we-learned-and-didnt-about-jeff-sessions-at-his-confirmation-hearing/">https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/what-we-learned-and-didnt-about-jeff-sessions-at-his-confirmation-hearing/</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.bluejersey.com/2017/01/transcript-sen-cory-bookers-testimony-against-sen-jeff-sessions-for-attorney-general/">http://www.bluejersey.com/2017/01/transcript-sen-cory-bookers-testimony-against-sen-jeff-sessions-for-attorney-general/</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/jeff-sessions-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general-is-a-fierce-opponent-of-civil-rights/" target="_blank">https://www.thenation.com/article/jeff-sessions-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general-is-a-fierce-opponent-of-civil-rights/</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442411/jeff-sessions-attorney-general-nomination-justice-department-should-enforce-law" target="_blank">http://www.nationalreview.com/article/442411/jeff-sessions-attorney-general-nomination-justice-department-should-enforce-law</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/18/10-things-to-know-about-sen-jeff-sessions-donald-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general/?utm_term=.f90cd645d4aa" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/18/10-things-to-know-about-sen-jeff-sessions-donald-trumps-pick-for-attorney-general/?utm_term=.f90cd645d4aa</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/01/cory_booker_shattered_illusions_about_racism_at_the_sessions_hearing.html" target="_blank">http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/01/cory_booker_shattered_illusions_about_racism_at_the_sessions_hearing.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;<a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/why-lawyers-are-freaking-out-about-jeff-sessions-as-ag-w460272" target="_blank">http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/why-lawyers-are-freaking-out-about-jeff-sessions-as-ag-w460272</a></p> <p><a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/as-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-would-destroy-the-dojs-crown-jewel/" target="_blank">https://theintercept.com/2017/01/10/as-attorney-general-jeff-sessions-would-destroy-the-dojs-crown-jewel/</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/the-case-for-jeff-sessions-214615">http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/the-case-for-jeff-sessions-214615</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-01-19T09:12:28-05:00" title="Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 09:12">January 19, 2017</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Thu, 19 Jan 2017 14:12:28 +0000 fionta 358 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org The Power of Appointment & Trump's Controversial Nominees https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/power-appointment-trumps-controversial-nominees <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>The Power of Appointment &amp; Trump&#039;s Controversial Nominees</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4>To the Teacher:</h4> <p>The power of U.S. presidents doesn’t just come from their speeches or their legislative initiatives. Presidents also have the power to appoint high government officials -- including the &nbsp;Cabinet members who head fifteen federal departments.</p> <p>This lesson consists of two readings designed to spur student discussion about the president’s power of appointment. The first reading looks broadly at the president's power to name leaders within the executive branch of government. The second reading looks more specifically at two of the most controversial appointments proposed by incoming President Donald Trump. Questions for discussion follow each reading.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Reading 1:<br> The President's Power to Appoint</h4> <p>Many people think about the power of U.S. presidents in terms of their ability to give landmark speeches and set the agenda for the country. Or perhaps they think of the president's signature legislative initiatives—for example, President Obama’s Affordable Care Act or President George W. Bush’s tax cuts. However, a big part of the power of the Presidency, and a part that is often overlooked, is the power of appointment.</p> <p>In addition to appointing White House staff, the president selects the heads of fifteen departments under executive authority. These departmental leaders serve in what is known as the president's Cabinet. The Cabinet members, in turn, are in charge of more than four million employees in the federal government. The ideology and political priorities of a senior administration official or Cabinet member can go far in shaping the priorities and functioning of the federal government’s bureaucracy.</p> <p>In a December 7, 2016 article in Mic, reporter Eric Lutz <a href="https://mic.com/articles/161357/here-is-a-breakdown-of-all-the-cabinet-positions-and-what-they-do#.cVwyFYNBy">described</a> the historical role of the president’s Cabinet in setting U.S. policy:</p> <p class="rteindent1">The Cabinet, which was established in Article II, section two of the Constitution, dates back to George Washington's administration. Back then, it was a four-member council comprised of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Since that time, the Cabinet has grown, and its officials now have a hand in everything from the creation of the food stamp program to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to the Environmental Protection Agency.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Today, the Cabinet is comprised of the vice president and 15 department heads, as well as a handful of Cabinet-level positions, such as White House chief of staff.</p> <p>Cabinet members not only have a hand in creating policy, they have a powerful role in determining how government will enforce laws and regulations. In a January 29, 2016, editorial for the New York Times, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/opinion/elizabeth-warren-one-way-to-rebuild-our-institutions.html?_r=1">argued</a> that presidential appointments can have far-reaching implications for the government:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Presidents don’t control most day-to-day [decisions about how to enforce laws and regulations], but they do nominate the heads of all the agencies, and these choices make all the difference. Strong leaders at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Labor Department have pushed those agencies to forge ahead with powerful initiatives to protect the environment, consumers and workers. The Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a tiny office charged with oversight of the post-crash bank bailout, has aggressive leaders — and a far better record of holding banks and executives accountable than its bigger counterparts.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission, suffering under weak leadership, is far behind on issuing congressionally mandated rules to avoid the next financial crisis. It has repeatedly granted waivers so that lawbreaking companies can continue to enjoy special privileges, while the Justice Department has dodged one opportunity after another to impose meaningful accountability on big corporations and their executives.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Each of these government divisions is headed by someone nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The lesson is clear: Personnel is policy. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>As reporter Robert A. Rankin <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1996-12-01/news/1996336096_1_cabinet-secretary-bureaucracy">explained</a> in a December 1, 1996 article for the <em>Baltimore Sun</em>, Cabinet members often have a powerful role in determining the exercise of presidential power:</p> <p class="rteindent1">While low-profile Cabinet posts may appear to be fillable by interchangeable faceless functionaries, experience teaches that each Cabinet pick is important. Poor choices undermine presidencies. Good ones extend the president's reach throughout government and society...</p> <p class="rteindent1">"I think it's enormously important," said Martin Anderson, who organized Ronald Reagan's initial Cabinet selection in 1980. "Unless he puts people into those places who are competent, within a short time they will create policy messes that he'll spend all his time cleaning up."</p> <p class="rteindent1">Like any executive, a good Cabinet secretary must be able to manage a big bureaucracy - but experts say that's only the start. He or she must be both a leader and a loyal follower simultaneously, and for many executives, that's not so easy.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"These people must understand that the president got elected, the Cabinet secretary did not. These people are part of the president's team. That's a difficult role for a CEO to accept sometimes," said one former White House manager who asked not to be identified. "They see themselves as the head of the department, but the truth is they are guiding that department at the president's direction."<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>As with all incoming presidents, many people in the United States are watching president-elect Trump’s proposed cabinet appointments as a way of gathering information about what a Trump administration will look like, both in terms of policy and enforcement of those policies.<br> &nbsp;</p> <h4>For Discussion</h4> <p><strong>1.</strong>&nbsp;How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?</p> <p><strong>2.&nbsp;</strong>According to the reading, what is the president’s Cabinet and why is it significant?</p> <p><strong>3.&nbsp;</strong>U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has stated "personnel is policy." What does she mean by this statement? Do you agree with this idea?</p> <p><strong>4.&nbsp;</strong>Can you think of a department in the federal government that affects your life? (Examples might be the U.S. Department of Education or the Environmental Protection Agency.) How might presidential appointments to these departments result in noticeable changes in your school or neighborhood?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>Reading 2:<br> Donald Trump's Controversial Cabinet Picks</h4> <p>For an incoming president, selecting members of the Cabinet and White House staff is a central part of establishing the new administration. Accordingly, since the election on November 8, 2016, President-elect Donald Trump has been meeting with the people he plans to nominate for various senior positions. Several of Trump's proposed nominees have generated significant criticism and public debate. Two potential nominees in particular, for attorney general and for White House adviser, have proven extremely controversial.</p> <p>For the post of attorney general, Trump has indicated that he intends to appoint Senator Jeff Sessions, who previously served as the attorney general of Alabama. Sessions, an early Trump supporter, reportedly played a big role in shaping Trump’s policy proposals on immigration, counterterrorism and trade. As Associated Press reporters Eileen Sullivan and Chad Day <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-offers-jeff-sessions-attorney-general-post/">wrote</a> in a November 17, 2016, article, Trump’s nomination of Sessions has drawn criticism because of the senator’s history of racist comments:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Nominated for a federal judgeship in 1986, Sessions, R-Ala., was dogged by racist comments he was accused of making while serving as U.S. attorney in Alabama. He was said to have called a black assistant U.S. attorney "boy" and the NAACP "un-American" and "communist-inspired."...</p> <p class="rteindent1">"Mr. Sessions is a throwback to a shameful era, which I know both black and white Americans thought was in our past," the late Massachusetts Democrat, Sen. Edward Kennedy, said during the 1986 confirmation hearing. "It is inconceivable to me that a person of this attitude is qualified to be a U.S. attorney, let alone a U.S. federal judge."</p> <p class="rteindent1">During the hearing, a former assistant U.S. attorney, Thomas Figures, who is black, said Sessions referred to him as "boy," and told him to be careful what he said to "white folks." Sessions said he never called Figures "boy," but Kennedy produced a letter from an organization of black lawyers that said Figures made the allegation about Sessions to the organization's investigators at least twice.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Sessions told the committee that he told Figures to be careful what he said to "folks."</p> <p class="rteindent1">"I believe that the statements and actions of Mr. Sessions regarding race, and regarding civil rights, impact tremendously on whether he is decent," Figures told the committee. Figures died in 2015.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Sessions was also criticized for joking in the presence of an attorney with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division that the Ku Klux Klan was "OK" until he learned they smoked marijuana. During his confirmation hearing, he said his comment about the Klan "was a silly comment, I guess you might say, that I made."</p> <p>In the same article, journalists Sullivan and Day report that some Senators argue that Sessions is well qualified for the position of Attorney General and will therefore have their support:</p> <p class="rteindent1">South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said he would support a Sessions nomination.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"I'd vote for him. I like Jeff. He was the early, only supporter for Donald Trump in the Senate," Graham said. "And I believe Jeff Sessions has earned the right to serve President Trump in the highest levels, and I think he's a good, competent, capable man."</p> <p class="rteindent1">Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, would also support Sessions, spokesman Conn Carroll said. "Sen. Lee has worked closely with Sessions in the Senate and has the utmost respect for his abilities," Carroll said.</p> <p>Jeff Sessions’ proposed appointment to Attorney General is not the only pending nomination by President-elect Trump that is generating controversy. Trump’s proposal to appoint Steve Bannon, head of far-right media outlet Breitbart News, as chief strategist and senior counselor at the White House has brought an outcry from critics. Writer and civil rights activist Shaun King <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/king-bannon-prefer-property-owners-vote-article-1.2889868">argued</a> in a November 28, 2016 article in the New York Daily News that Bannon’s racism, homophobia, and anti-Semitism should disqualify him from a position at the White House. King lists the various ways Bannon has demonstrated his prejudices:</p> <p class="rteindent1">His ex-wife said he openly and repeatedly made anti-Semitic statements about Jews.</p> <p class="rteindent1">His hero, Andrew Breitbart, boldly compared him to a Nazi propagandist as a compliment. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p class="rteindent1">Bannon himself recently admitted that he built Breitbart into "the platform for the alt-right," which is little more than Neo-Nazism with a new name.</p> <p class="rteindent1">A former Bannon colleague, Julia Jones, who worked alongside him as a partner on a Ronald Reagan film project, revealed to the New York Times that he not only spoke on issues of "genetic superiority," but that he "once mused about the desirability of limiting the vote to property owners." &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p class="rteindent1">When Jones offered the rebuttal that such a plan "would exclude a lot of African-Americans," Bannon allegedly quipped back in return that "maybe that’s not such a bad thing."</p> <p>Countering these critics, Bannon’s defenders argue that presidents should be able to appoint whomever they prefer to serve as advisors. In their November, 15, 2016, New York Times journalists Michael D. Shear, Maggie Haberman, and Michael S. Schmidt <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/15/us/politics/donald-trump-presidency.html">detailed</a> one defense of Bannon’s proposed appointment:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser [to Mr. Trump], defended Mr. Bannon in brief remarks to reporters in New York, describing him as the "general of this campaign" and saying that "people should look at the full résumé."</p> <p class="rteindent1">"He has got a Harvard business degree. He’s a naval officer. He has success in entertainment," Ms. Conway said, calling him a "brilliant tactician."</p> <p class="rteindent1">Ms. Conway denied that Mr. Bannon had a connection to right-wing nationalists or that he would bring those views to the White House. "I’m personally offended that you think I would manage a campaign where that would be one of the going philosophies," she said.</p> <p><br> Despite such disavowals from the Trump camp, Bannon’s prospective appointment has drawn protest from groups including IfNotNow, a Jewish activist organization. Salon reporter Ben Norton <a href="http://www.salon.com/2016/11/21/jewishresistance-protests-trump-adviser-steve-bannon-racism-islamophobia-at-pro-israel-group-gala/">described</a> a protest of Bannon’s proposed appointment in a November 21, 2016 article:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Hundreds of people from the Jewish community gathered in New York City on Sunday night to protest the racism of the Donald Trump camp...</p> <p class="rteindent1">"I am outraged that a white supremacist, who has been at the helm of a news organization trafficking in racism, anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish bigotry, will have a desk in the West Wing and the ear of the President," Sarah Lerman-Sinkoff, a member of IfNotNow, said in a statement about the protest.</p> <p>Given such protests, scrutiny of Trump’s appointments is likely to continue as his administration commences.<br> &nbsp;</p> <h4>For Discussion</h4> <p><strong>1. </strong>How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?</p> <p><strong>2. </strong>According to the reading or other information you may have seen, what are some of the concerns about the appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General? What are some of the arguments in support of his appointment?</p> <p><strong>3. </strong>&nbsp;According to the reading or other information you may have seen, what are some of the concerns about the appointment of Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor? What are some of the arguments in support of his appointment?</p> <p><strong>4. &nbsp;</strong>What do you think? Should presidents be able to appoint anyone they want for these positions, or are there some actions that disqualify someone from being a suitable pick for a Cabinet member or presidential adviser?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-12-19T16:42:33-05:00" title="Monday, December 19, 2016 - 16:42">December 19, 2016</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Mon, 19 Dec 2016 21:42:33 +0000 fionta 361 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org