If you support Public Education - please vote no on Betsy Devos

[formergothardite]

I"ve called. I will be shocked if Richard Fucking Burr doesn't vote for her. 

[clueliss]

I'm seeing on twitter that with the Dems voting in a block (NO) they only need 3 votes.  Focus is on Collins, Burr and Murkowski as most likely to cave.  (but harrass the hell out of all of them)

[clueliss]

Sessions & DeVos protests at 5 pm local time are being organized (yes that's today).  Outside of local senate offices.  

https://twitter.com/womensmarch

[candygirl200413]

My PA senator Toomey is voting for her cause he's a spineless POS. I low key am planning a few shots to take if it really goes south

[ShepherdontheRock]

This is why I've decided to be politically celibate. 

Can't risk having a kid who'll have to go to a public school when this woman's education secretary.

 

[ShepherdontheRock]

Live-watching the hearing on Betsy DeVos. Naturally, the democrats are on point. The Republicans are doing all kinds of mental gymnastics to justify why they're voting for this disaster. 

Murkowski is disappointing because it basically looks like she said "Well, my constituents hate her and I know she sucks, but she's a nice lady so I'm going to move her through."

[bashfulpixie]

I'm horrified and sick to my stomach at what's going to happen to our educational system now with that religious nut job in charge. Our schools were already failing our children, now they're screwed. 

 

I cant believe this is happening. It took me five minutes to figure out how to write this because literally every other word was an f bomb. 

 

I hate this country right now

[RoseWilder]

Besty DeVos passed in the committee vote, but there is still the full senate vote, so keep calling your senators. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-education-secretary-nomination_us_588f77bbe4b02772c4e80681?

Quote

A Senate committee voted to advance the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education Tuesday.

The vote was split along party lines, with all 11 Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voting to reject DeVos, and all 12 of the committee’s Republicans voting to approve her. Next, DeVos faces a full Senate vote. 

 

[candygirl200413]

Has anyone's senator changed their minds? Toomey for example has just been like "yeah I get calls but I'm still voting for her". I also know that the senator of North Dakota I think decided to vote against her cause they actually listen to their people.

[clueliss]

Make is hard for them no matter how they vote.   And then hold them accountable when they come up for re-election.  (Which in the case of my resident republican Senator is not for another 6 years since he was just re-elected - and I didn't vote for him then either)

[Childless]

Ugh.  We basically go without in order to send our kids to private school.  Now I'm glad.  The problem is that there is only one private school in my town (it's an excellent one though) and it only goes through the sixth grade.  After that, our choice is move or put the kids in public school.  Looks like we'll be moving and my commute to work will in increase by an hour if we're still here (the nearest city with private junior and senior high schools is an hour away).  Hopefully, we won't still be in this craptastic state in 6 years.

[GreyhoundFan]

"DeVos questionnaire appears to include passages from uncited sources"

Quote

President Trump’s nominee for education secretary, in written responses to questions from senators, appears to have used several sentences and phrases from other sources without attribution — including from a top Obama administration civil rights official.

The responses from nominee Betsy DeVos were submitted Monday to the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is voting Tuesday morning on her confirmation.

In answering a set of questions from Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on how she would address bullying of LGBT students, DeVos wrote: “Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, thrive, and grow.”

That sentence is almost identical to language used by Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division under President Barack Obama, in a news release announcing the administration’s controversial guidance to schools on how to accommodate transgender students.

“Every child deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment that allows them to thrive and grow,” Gupta said in the May 2016 release.

Rob Goad, a White House education adviser, said in an email: “This is character assassination. The secretary designate has long been referencing the need for safe and supportive learning environments, free of discrimination, for all students, so that they can learn, achieve, thrive, grow and lead successful productive lives. To level an accusation against her about these words included in responses to nearly 1,400 questions — 139 alone from the ranking member — is simply a desperate attempt to discredit Betsy DeVos, who will serve the Department of Education and our nation’s children with distinction if confirmed.”

The revelation comes as Democrats are making an all-out push against key Trump nominees — including DeVos, attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), treasury secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin, and others. But Democrats cannot block those confirmations unless they can convince a handful of Republicans to break with the new president.

DeVos has come under withering scrutiny from Democrats who have raised concerns about her advocacy for school privatization initiatives, her financial ties to the education industry and the seemingly weak grasp of federal civil rights laws she demonstrated at her confirmation hearing this month.

Murray made reference to the apparent copying in remarks at the committee vote.

“This nominee is being jammed through with corners being cut and with the minority being brushed aside,” she said. “We just received responses to hundreds of written questions yesterday, less than 24 hours before this scheduled vote, and with no time to fully review and ask any follow-up questions. Though, I will say, upon initial review, many of the responses look copied and pasted from previous statements or are simple reiterations of the law and no true responses at all.”

In a set of questions about her views on lesbian, gay and bisexual students, including about whether transgender students should be able to use bathrooms that match their gender identity, DeVos answered: “Every student deserves to attend school in a safe, supportive environment where they can learn, achieve and thrive and are not discriminated against. Period.”

That language is similar to language appearing in an article in a magazine published by ASCD, an organization devoted to education leadership.

The article outlines what educators can do to create schools that are supportive of transgender students, and concludes: “You — as an educator and an ally — can dramatically shift the school climate to one that is safe, supportive, and inclusive: a place where all students can learn, achieve, and thrive.”

In other instances, answers that DeVos submitted in Murray in her 62-page response used text verbatim from federal statutes and Education Department materials without direct quotation.

In one response, to a question about whether she would continue the practice of publishing a list of schools under Title IX civil rights investigations, DeVos said, “Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has made a determination about the merits of the complaint.”

That language mirrors an Education Department website: “Opening a complaint for investigation in no way implies that OCR has made a determination with regard to the merits of the complaint.”

Other responses refer to a requirement that the department’s assistant secretary for civil rights “make an annual report to the Secretary, the President, and the Congress summarizing the compliance and enforcement activities” of the department’s Office of Civil Rights and that the assistant secretary is authorized “to collect or coordinate the collection of data necessary to ensure compliance with civil rights laws within the jurisdiction” of the civil rights office.

Those are verbatim excerpts of a 1979 federal statute, but the law is not quoted or cited.

 

Sigh, just sigh.

[clueliss]

And as was pointed out by author Susan Wittig Albert - she left the same grammar error as in the original.  

[Childless]

What is it about Trump's people and plagiarism?  Do any of them have their own original thoughts? 

Nevermind.  I already know the answer to that question.

[ShepherdontheRock]

At my university, I had been caught plagiarizing like Ms. DeVos had, I'd have 

a)gotten an "F" on the relevant course. It would be recorded on the transcript with a note that made sure the reader knew I failed because I had cheated. And unlike a normal course, where I'd be able to get the "F" excluded from my GPA if I repeated the course, this "F" would forever bring down my average

b)been blacklisted from having any of the professors recommend me for anything

c)possibly risk getting suspended or even expelled 

This is what we've come to. 

[candygirl200413]

I was just thinking that too @ShepherdontheRock, like I would love to be a part of the government now if I could just plagiarize anything I want! I remember being so anal about making sure my work was fine for every assignment I turned in cause it terrified me for the repercussions but it just seems so easy right now with Trump's administration.

Plus, we will become the biggest laughing stock (not that we are already now with Trump in office) because our secretary of education not only has no experience, so many shady deals but also can't write without citing her sources.

[RoseWilder]

Apologies if this has already been posted.  I just watched this video about Betsy DeVos: 

 

[onekidanddone]

7 hours ago, clueliss said:

And as was pointed out by author Susan Wittig Albert - she left the same grammar error as in the original.  

D'oh!

[loveformusic]

...so is this grizzly bear/dumb as rocks lady ACTUALLY headed into the direction - of being appointed as Secretary of Public Education? Please tell me she isn't...please? Someone's got to be denying her entry, right?! Never have I ever felt this strongly about someone being rejected of an position - but after watching those senators grill her, along with her ridiculous responses (like I said, grizzlies...) she sure takes the spot, alright.

[candygirl200413]

@RoseWilder that video made me so emotional, just like you @loveformusic DeVos and just adding Session have been my BIGGEST rejection for cabinet positions. That video is disgusting because it will only be time assuming she somehow gets this position that our education will go to complete shit (it's already one of the lowest as a western developed country). It just kills me how SO MANY children are going to suffer and as someone who loves to learn I cannot imagine not being able to get a nice normal sensible education because of the crazy curriculum that DeVos wants to implement.

 

Just like that article that's been floating around about the individual who left the Christian right, this is just one step closer for their agenda to pollute our education systems, and I'm afraid to see the possible results.

[sophie10130]

As an educator, please don't take your kids out of public school if this is the result. Instead, vote vote vote VOTE fucking vote at your local levels. I just voted in special elections to continue a tax levy to help my local school district fill in the gaps of what the state gives them in terms of education. That is something that has a real tangible affect on students in my area. Not saying what DeVos is going to do is not going to be horrible, but don't just say "not my problem anymore" as you pack your kids up and cart them off to private school. That doesn't help anyone.

If you need reasons, please look to the St. Louis school system. They have a huge network of very good private schools and a failing public school system because anyone who's anyone with any kind of money sends their kids to private school. So who's left in public school? Poor people. Most of whom are POC. If it's not good enough for your kid what does that say about the kids stuck in public school?

Instead, keep your kids in those public schools and demand that they get the education they deserve! Lift up great teachers and great principals. Lift up aides and cafeteria workers. And most of all, lift up your students and help them fill in the gaps if you think their education is lacking in certain areas. 

Public school should be a right for all and it is a necessity. DeVos will never change that.

[RosyDaisy]

Jeff Sessions is my Senator. He is a nasty vile man who has/had ties to the KKK. He was also made Trump's short list for VP. That son of a bitch needs to ousted from office. By that, I mean peacefully. Richard Shelby is my other Senator, an he's no better. Fuck both of them!

[Childless]

7 hours ago, sophie10130 said:

As an educator, please don't take your kids out of public school if this is the result. Instead, vote vote vote VOTE fucking vote at your local levels. I just voted in special elections to continue a tax levy to help my local school district fill in the gaps of what the state gives them in terms of education. That is something that has a real tangible affect on students in my area. Not saying what DeVos is going to do is not going to be horrible, but don't just say "not my problem anymore" as you pack your kids up and cart them off to private school. That doesn't help anyone.

If you need reasons, please look to the St. Louis school system. They have a huge network of very good private schools and a failing public school system because anyone who's anyone with any kind of money sends their kids to private school. So who's left in public school? Poor people. Most of whom are POC. If it's not good enough for your kid what does that say about the kids stuck in public school?

Instead, keep your kids in those public schools and demand that they get the education they deserve! Lift up great teachers and great principals. Lift up aides and cafeteria workers. And most of all, lift up your students and help them fill in the gaps if you think their education is lacking in certain areas. 

Public school should be a right for all and it is a necessity. DeVos will never change that.

Unfortunately, I can't do this.  I have to do what's best for my kids.  Doesn't mean I won't still fight for good public education and vote for it also (as I've always done).  I have to make sure though that I do everything I possibly can within my ability to give my children a good education.  That's my job as their parent.  If private school is better and I can afford it, I will send them there until such time as the public schools catch up.  I'm still very pro-public schools and anti-charter schools and I believe if you want to send your kid to a private or parochial school, you should do it on your own dime.

[candygirl200413]

GREAT NEWS!: 2 GOP senators have said they are voting no (only name I gotten so far is susan collins) in addition to Lisa Murkowsk. Now it's tied and Mike Pence would do the tie breaker UNLESS we can get one more GOP senator to come over, if your GOP senator hasn't made a public acknowledgement, CALL THEM!!

[LeftCoastLurker]

According to DailyKos, the following are likely GOP No voters. If they are your senators, fire up those phones!

Rob Portman, OH, Pat Toomey (PA), Shelley Moore Capito (WV)

Spoiler

According to Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) no Democrat is going to support DeVos. That means we need just one more Republican to defeat her confirmation. The best targets: Jeff Flake (AZ) and Dean Heller (NV). Both  Flake and Heller were opposed to Trump and even cagey about whether they'd vote fro him in the general election.

Both are up for reelection in 2018. Both represent states with large rural populations, small towns that rely on their local public schools as the backbones of their communities. Just like Murkowski. And just like with Murkowski, they can be swayed by phone calls and emails. So let's bombard them. Contact Flake and Heller and tell them what you think. And please, call now