Tuesday, January 22, 2019
Saturday, a group of high school students appeared to be taunting and harassing a Native American near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. It looks pretty bad, but in this case, it may not be as bad as it looks at first glance.
In a video taken after the Indigenous People’s March in D.C., a Native American man is seen chanting and drumming. Male high school students, some wearing MAGA hats, most of whom are Kentucky students attending the anti-abortion event March for Life, are gathered around him. Some students are making tomahawk chops in the air, and others are clapping in rhythm to the drum beat and jumping up and down. One student is standing directly in front of the Native American man with a smile that looks both derisive and intimidating.
However, as more video surfaced, the nature of the incident itself and the intentions of the students became less clear. It could have been an act of vile racist bullying on the part of the students, but it also could have more to do with boisterous adolescents acting up while acting out Native American stereotypes. That would make their actions on a par with the adults at Atlanta Braves games chanting and chopping in the stands, making the students' actions less about bullying and more a display of their ignorance encouraged by a society which fails to teach them respect for cultures different from their own. (Here's a thoughtful, careful analysis of the events where the writer neither condemns nor excuses the students' actions.)
But there is no gray area in another incident which took place last week. During a high school basketball game, front row fans from a predominantly white Minnesota school displayed a large Trump 2020 banner while their team was playing a predominantly black school. Their racist intent was unmistakable. For these students, the Trump banner was the new Confederate flag.
And during two other high school games, one during the 2016 campaign and another during 2017, students from predominantly white schools shouted "Build the Wall!" at their predominantly Latino opponents. Their use of Trump's racist slogan was a deliberate attempt to bully and intimidate the other schools' Latino students.
But examples are only examples. They don't necessarily indicate a trend. The question remains, has race-based bullying increased among high school students who are Trump supporters? A few studies make it look like that is the case.
Tags: Bullying , Students , Trump , Racism , children , Trump effect , schools , education , Image
Monday, January 21, 2019
Four humanitarian aid workers were found guilty Friday on misdemeanor charges involving leaving aid in a restricted area of Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge after a three-day legal battle.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco found No More Deaths volunteer Natalie Hoffman guilty of all three charges brought against her, while Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse and Zaachila Orozco-McCormick were found guilty of the two charges brought against them.
As the defendants await sentencing, they face a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $250 fine each.
The legal battle the four volunteers fought this week surrounds an incident on Aug. 13, 2017 when they entered Cabeza Prieta without permits.
Hoffman, who drove the vehicle into the wildlife refuge, is charged with operating a vehicle in a wilderness area. All four of the volunteers are charged with entering the refuge without a permit and abandonment of property for the gallons of water and pallets of beans they left in the refuge.
No More Deaths has been leaving aid for crossing migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border for more than a decade. The group specifically leaves the supplies in Cabeza Prieta, which shares 56 miles of the border with Mexico.
In his verdict, Judge Velasco chastised No More Deaths for not properly warning the defendants of the legal repercussions they could face upon entering the refuge.
“No one in charge of No More Deaths ever informed them that their conduct could be prosecuted as a criminal offense nor did any of the Defendants make any independent inquiry into the legality or consequences of their activities,” Velasco wrote in his ruling.
In a press release Friday, No More Deaths stressed the significance of the verdict.
“This verdict challenges not only No More Deaths volunteers, but people of conscience throughout the country,” No More Deaths volunteer Catherine Gaffney said. “If giving water to someone dying of thirst is illegal, what humanity is left in the law of this country?”
Tensions with legal authorities are nothing new for the group, but the last time a humanitarian aid volunteer along the border was found guilty was a decade ago.
Four more No More Deaths volunteers are scheduled to begin their trials on February 26.
Caitlin Deighan is charged with driving in a wilderness area. Deighan, Zoe Anderson, Logan Hollarsmith and Rebecca Grossman-Richeimer face charges of entering a national wildlife refuge without a permit.
Scott Warren, another volunteer with No More Deaths, is awaiting trial for charges involving harboring undocumented immigrants, which is considered a felony.
During events held in support of the four volunteers’ legal defense last week, No More Deaths volunteer Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler spoke to the possibility that they are found guilty.
“It’s not over until it’s gone all the way up, you can continue to appeal, and people are certainly prepared for that,” Orlovsky-Schnitzler said.
Tags: news , politics , No More Deaths , No Mas Muertes , Tucson , desert , water , court , U.S. Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco , guilty verdict , Natalie Hoffman , Oona Holcomb , Madeline Huse , Zaachila Orozco-McCormick , Image
Friday, January 18, 2019
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , State of the Union , Republican funeral , fast food , Image
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Tags: comics , cartoons , politics , Claytoonz , manly , toxic masculinity , Gillette , commercial , Image
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Yeah, it was Ducey's State of the State address, I know that. But I'm calling it the State of the Schools address because I'll be looking exclusively at the portion where the governor deals with education, with one quick exception in the next paragraph.
Ducey said Arizona needs to deal with our current and future water shortage problems, but he didn't mention climate change. Because if you're a Republican, you dassn't say "climate change."
Ducey said our public schools need more transparency, accountability and oversight, but he didn't mention charter schools. Because if you're a Republican, you speak no ill of charter schools.
Those moments of cowardice and deflection aside, let's look at what Ducey's education proposals bode for the state.
The two biggest educational issues the legislature should be dealing with are increasing public school funding and adding charter school accountability and oversight. Let's see how Ducey did on those issues.
I hope Ducey has his chiropractor on retainer. His habit of patting himself on the back whenever he talks must wreak havoc with his body alignment. The education portion of Monday's speech was no exception. He claimed to have solved the school funding problem by pushing for the passage of Prop 123, which brings in $300 million-plus a year, and endorsing a bill extending the life of Prop 301, which brings in about $670 million a year. OK, but . . .
Prop 123 filled in a bit of the decrease in education funding over the past few years, but only a bit, and most of the money is being stolen from our children's trust account — the state land trust fund. Boosting the amount of the students' inheritance spent today at the expense of what they'll get tomorrow isn't exactly an act of generosity. (Yeah, it's true, I held my nose and voted for the damn thing, and I'd do it again, but that doesn't mean I like it.)
Extending Prop 301 was necessary, but all it did was keep a six-tenths of a cent sales tax in place which was about to expire. It didn't generate any new revenue for schools.
Tags: Doug Ducey , State of the State address , School funding , Teacher salaries , RedforEd , Charter school accountability , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoons , Claytoonz , RBG , Supreme Court , Justice , health , Image
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
Education funding and the looming threat of water shortages were among the key issues Gov. Doug Ducey emphasized in his State of the State address in Phoenix Monday afternoon.
The Arizona Republican opened his speech in House chambers at the State Capitol saying, “The challenge before us is to lay the groundwork today to make sure the Arizona of tomorrow remains strong. Doing so requires action now to do the things that matter and secure Arizona’s future.”
But with Democrats gaining seats in the November election, party leaders vowed things will be different in the current legislative session.
Ducey said he was “ready to get back to work” and that both Republicans and Democrats “think there is common ground to work together.” He highlighted some major topics.
Water
“It’s first on my list,” he said. “We’re in a 19 year drought, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
The governor stressed that it is “time to pass the drought contingency plan, and we have 17 days to do it.”
Arizona and much of the West have been in a drought since 1994, according to the state’s Department of Water Resources. The federal government has given Arizona until Jan. 31 to hammer out a plan to deal with expected water shortages across the vast Colorado River Basin.
Education
Ducey touted his administration’s achievement of delivering a 20 percent pay raise for teachers after several statewide walkouts last year.
Tags: news , politics , State of the State , Ducey , Governor Doug Ducey , address , State Capitol , Phoenix , Image
Tags: comics , politics , cartoon , Claytoonz , hamburger , fast food , Trump , Russia , dinner , food , junk food , traitor , cheap , Image
Monday, January 14, 2019
