Thursday, April 18, 2019
That law, passed in 2016, was quickly challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union in court. They argued it violated First Amendment rights to free speech and protest.
U.S. District Court Judge Diane J. Humetewa agreed and blocked the measure, writing:
"The Court also finds that the balance of equities tips in favor of Plaintiffs [contractors]. Defendants [the state] will experience little to no hardship by enjoining the enforcement of a law that does nothing to further any economic state interest and infringes on First Amendment protections. Although generally barring discrimination on the basis of national origin is a legitimate state interest, the State clearly has less intrusive and more viewpoint-neutral means to combat such discrimination. Plaintiffs, on the other hand, have shown a likelihood of irreparable harm if the Certification Requirement is not enjoined. Moreover, public interest favors an injunction as the public has little interest in enforcement of unconstitutional laws."
The state appealed that decision to the Ninth Circuit Court, which scheduled oral arguments for the appeal on June 6. However, Arizona lawmakers successfully passed SB 1167, which avoids another loss in court.
The new law, introduced by Republican Senator Paul Boyer, "limits the anti-boycott certification to for-profit companies with more than 10 employees and government contracts worth more than $100,000," according to the ACLU. This means that many individuals and businesses who contract with the government are no longer subject to the certification.
BDS "works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law," according to the Palestinian BDS National Committee's website.
This new move is expected to make the anti-BDS law less problematic by decreasing the amount of contractors affected, but could still see further pushback from the courts.
Tags: BDS , Israel , Palestine , Arizona , Legislature , Boyer , SB 1167 , First Amendment , Free Protest , Free Speech , Image
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , Mike Pence , Mayor Pete , daily cartoon , Image
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Is Trump our Racist/Antisemite-in-chief, or does he just play at it on TV and Twitter?
The nicest thing you can say about Trump's racist and antisemitic comments and tweets is what Andrew Gillum said about Ron DeSantis when the two of them were running for Florida governor: "I’m not calling Mr. Desantis a racist," Gillum said. "I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist."
I'm not running for office so I don't have to be as careful as Gillum. I'll say it without equivocation: Trump is an antisemite. Trump is a racist. Full stop.
Except that, some will counter, we know Trump will say or do anything to win the news cycle, pander to his base and vilify his enemies. Can we separate the actual prejudices festering inside his fevered brain from his slash-and-burn political tactics?
After the 2018 clashes between participants in the neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and protestors, Trump said there were "fine people on both sides." Was that Trump's honest opinion or a way to assure the continued allegiance of people like neo-Nazi leader Richard B. Spencer whose post-election speech praising Trump's victory included Nazi salutes and the triumphant call, “Hail Trump. Hail our people. Hail victory!”
Me, I'd say anyone who can find a way to defend people chanting "Jews will not replace us" is an antisemite. But we're talking about Trump who lies whenever it suits his needs, so the point is open to debate.
Trump has joined other Republicans in turning Rep. Ilhan Omar, who is black, Muslim and has a foreign accent (she was born in Somalia) — she's a bigot's trifecta — into the Democratic villain du jour. Is he just looking toward 2020, or does he despise Omar as much as he says?
It's hard to tell the difference in Trump's most public statements, but we can get at the genuine bigotry inside that twisted head of his by looking at less publicized moments.
Let's start with his antisemitism. Yes, I know Jared, Trump's son-in-law, is Jewish and Ivanka converted, making her children, his grandchildren, Jewish. He dotes on his daughter and, to the extent he's capable of affection, it's possible he may actually love his grandchildren, but as anyone who has taken a close look at bigotry knows, that doesn't stop him from accepting stereotypes and harboring ill feelings toward Jews.
Tags: Donald Trump , Antisemitism , Racism , Jews , African Americans , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , Paris , Notre Dame , fire , Trump , response , Image
Monday, April 15, 2019
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , conspiracy theories , D.O.J. , D.O.C , Barr , Trump , investigations , Image
Friday, April 12, 2019
Take a look at the per student expenditures in three Arizona districts.
Alpine Elementary District: $16,338 per studentThat's twice to four times the average spending in the state. Now take a look at another set of figures: the number of students in each district.
Bouse Elementary: $31,381 per student
Young Elementary: $34,400 per student
Alpine Elementary District: 60 studentsAnother school district consolidation bill is being pushed in the legislature by members of the "Schools have plenty of money, they're just wasting it" club. Consolidation may be a good thing for some districts, but having the state set up mandated guidelines for consolidation is a bad idea.
Bouse Elementary: 25 students
Young Elementary: 21 students
(I often wonder: How is it that conservative States Rights advocates oppose city and county rights so adamantly? A possible answer: They fell in love with the Goldilocks story as children, and it carried over into their adult lives. "Congress is too big. City Hall is too small. But the State Legislature is just right.")
Coincidentally, while I was doing research for a recent post, I looked at what small districts spend per student. I came across 32 districts with fewer than 100 students that receive between $14,000 and $34,000 per student, with one outlier receiving a whopping $47,000. Looking at the state's map of school districts, I found most of the districts were large and sparsely populated, which accounts for the greater cost of educating the students.
Admittedly, this is only indirectly related to the district consolidation issue, but it demonstrates how different districts have unique sets of circumstances which can't be taken into account in a one-size-fits-all consolidation plan. Besides, the research presented me with a new and interesting perspective on Arizona education, so I figure it might be interesting to some of you too. If so, read on.
Tags: Small school districts , Per student costs , Bouse Elementary School District , students , teachers , education , funding , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , Trump , black hole , WikiLeaks , Image
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , Trump , Cabinet , mop , job , agency , Image
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Ernesto Portillo, in a column in the Star, criticized Stegeman for his vote. Stegeman, never one to allow a criticism to go unanswered, wrote an op-ed defending himself.
Portillo is right. Stegeman is wrong.
I guess I could have said I respectfully disagree with Stegeman. But the reasoning which led Stegeman to his No vote is the same cold reasoning which so often leads him to take destructive educational stands on the school board. So, no.
My respect goes to all the students in the district who deserve a better board representation than Stegeman offers them. My respect goes to the district's Native American students and members of their community who worked hard to have their flags in the board room, and won despite Stegeman's objections. No respect for Stegeman on this one.
It's not just that Stegeman voted against hanging the flags. It's the argument he leaned on to support his vote: that placing the flags in the board room is mere symbolism and has no substantive educational value. It's not just this one vote. After ten years of serving on the TUSD school board, Stegeman continues to act like he is incapable of understanding that K-12 education is about more than factual knowledge and academic skill building.
Let's take a look at what Stegeman wrote in his op-ed. In explaining his No vote, Stegeman complained,
"TUSD too often focuses on symbolism rather than substance."He criticized a board member for saying that hanging the flags in the board room is related to education.
"I respectfully disagree. Education means teaching facts and skills."The two statements encapsulate why Stegeman gets so much wrong when it comes to K-12 education. He believes "substance" in education is synonymous with "facts and skills." Other parts of schooling — symbolism, emotional responses, personal interaction — are peripheral.
He's wrong. K-12 education has an essential emotive level. Our schools should be helping students grow as people at the same time they learn facts and skills. In a functioning education system, the two realms reinforce one another. Often, the best way to promote academic learning is for teachers, administrators and school districts to create an emotional connection with the young people they are striving to educate, making it clear they respect who the students are and what they are capable of becoming.
Tags: TUSD school board , Mark Stegeman , Flags , Tohono O’odham , Pascua Yaqui , students , education , K-12 , learning , Image
