#Arkansas Department of Education

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Two members of the Little Rock Nine — the group of Black students who in 1957 integrated the previously all-white Little Rock Central High School while being threatened by an angry mob — are blasting the Arkansas Department of Education over restrictions placed on an Advanced Placement African American Studies course set to be offered this year.

After Arkansas earlier this week said that the course, which remains in its pilot stage, would not be counted toward high school graduation credits, six schools said that they would still continue teaching the course. In the North Little Rock and Jacksonville North Pulaski school districts, officials announced that the course would count as a "local elective" instead.

The Arkansas Department of Education has argued that there is uncertainty as to whether or not coursework goes against an executive order signed earlier this year by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders that bars "critical race theory" from being taught in the state's classrooms.

In interviews with NBC News, Little Rock Nine members Elizabeth Eckford and Terrence Roberts spoke out against the state's actions.

"I think the attempts to erase history is working for the Republican Party," Eckford told the news outlet. "They have some boogeymen that are really popular with their supporters."

Roberts, who told the outlet that the group "suffered physically and emotionally" in the effort to integrate Central High, said that at a "bare minimum" laws prohibiting what students can and cannot learn shouldn't be on the books.

Roberts recounted that at some commemorations of the group integrating Central High, some have sought to shield the images of the angry mob incensed that Black students dared to believe that they could belong at the high school as well. He also slammed the prohibition of critical race theory — which is almost exclusively taught at a collegiate level — as "ridiculous."

The Arkansas Department of Education in a statement stood by its decision.

"Until it's determined whether it violates state law and teaches or trains teachers in CRT and indoctrination, the state will not move forward," the Department said. "The Department encourages the teaching of all American history and supports rigorous courses not based on opinions or indoctrination."

During a Thursday interview on Fox News, the Governor reaffirmed the decision of the Education Department and stated that she wanted schools to focus on "the basics of teaching math, of teaching reading, writing and American history."

"We cannot perpetuate a lie to our students and push this propaganda leftist agenda teaching our kids to hate America and hate one another," she said.

The AP African American Studies course was offered by Central High during the previous school year, and it will also be an option for students during the new school year.

One of the defining images of the civil-rights movement is a photograph of a then-15-year-old Eckford as she walked to Central High wearing sunglasses and holding her schoolbooks as she faced an angry mob.

Huckabee Sanders, who was elected to the Governorship last November after serving as White House press secretary under then-President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, is also a graduate of Central High.

[bikerpoliticalreport]

Epic Republican Rally: Moms for Liberty Ignite Revolutionary Change in Education Policy

 In the bustling heart of Philadelphia, the Moms for Liberty “Joyful Warriors” National Summit stood resolute against a cacophony of insults such as “bigot” and “fascist,” hurled by a handful of protesters. These protesters, engaging in a transgender “dance protest,” starkly contrasted the conservative gathering within the summit venue on Friday and Saturday.

   Amid vibrant rainbow flags, loud music, and public speeches, the protest outside the summit was hardly discreet. It was heavily publicized in media stories, social media posts, and various signage placed strategically throughout the city. They had prepared for a larger crowd with stacked placards for on-the-spot protestors, assorted snacks, sidewalk chalk for ground-based insults, and tables loaded with persuasive literature. However, the protest’s anticipated impact seemed overestimated, with the cardboard signs barely utilized.

   Inside the venue, supporters of the Moms for Liberty Summit displayed a stark contrast. Encouraging messages echoed throughout the room, advocating conservative values. Attendees made it clear they would continue defending their beliefs, regardless of the labels imposed by those opposing their cause.

   Moms for Liberty is a grassroots conservative group born out of parents’ concerns regarding policies perceived as destructive during the Covid-19 pandemic two years prior. This concern culminated in a formidable political movement that attracted significant attention from five Republican presidential hopefuls, including Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, and former President Donald Trump, along with Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas Governor, and Vivek Ramaswamy on a subsequent day. This attention drawn to the group was believed to be the cause of the protest.

   Ramaswamy, joined by his wife, a throat surgeon, and his two children, engaged in a lively discussion with Tiffany Justice, the co-founder of Moms for Liberty. They discussed proposed national policies, including his proposed changes to the educational system. His policies, particularly the idea of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education to facilitate school choice, found favor among many of the moms present. His suggestion of overhauling various federal agencies like the FBI, IRS, ATF, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission also stirred a positive response.

   Ramaswamy, at 37, stands as the first millennial U.S. presidential candidate. His positions, such as acknowledging two genders, embracing fossil fuels, and recognizing parents’ rights to decide their children’s education, resonated with the crowd. He warned against the growing “woke” culture and what he described as a moral void being filled with damaging ideologies like “wokeism,” “transgenderism,” and “COVIDism.”

   The summit also hosted former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, an advocate for the future of education, particularly in computer science. As governor, he championed a comprehensive education program for computer science. If elected president, he aspired to establish such programs in all American high schools. Hutchinson, who had also been a federal prosecutor, stressed his commitment to border security and a balanced budget, further enhancing his appeal to the conservative audience.

   The Moms for Liberty “Joyful Warriors” National Summit served as a beacon for conservative values in the face of protest and opposition. Despite the external noise, the summit successfully hosted influential figures in the Republican Party, showcasing the strength of grassroots movements in shaping the national political conversation.

[porterdavis]

The Arkansas Department of Education continues to ratchet up it's attempts to eradicate all vestiges of African-American History in schools. First, they refused to pay to take the AP Exam, then they said they were going to refuse credits for the course.  But that wasn't enough for Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who claims that the class teaches people to "hate America." Now, the State Department of Education has sent out a letter demanding that every school hand over all books and course materials in their possession on African-American history to the state.

https://www.meidastouch.com/news/arkansas-sanders-african-american-materials

Presumably the State of Arkansas will burn the material...you know, a good old-fashioned book-burning.

[todaysdocument]

88-1142: Larry Milton, et. al. v. Bill Clinton, et. al.

Record Group 21: Records of District Courts of the United StatesSeries: Civil Case Files.

N THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS ELDORADO DIVISION LARRY MILTON, On Behalf of Himself and Infants Shanna Milton and Shana Milton; DR. WILLIE D. HARRIS, On Behalf of Himself and Infant MARK NEIL; BOBBIE RAY CHEEKS, On Behalf of Infant BOBBIE RAY, JR.; DR. LEE NAYLES, On Behalf of Himself and Infant JON NAYLES V. NO. 88-1142 BILL CLINTON, Governor of the State of Arkansas; THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS; THE ARKANSAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION; THE MEMBERS OFHTE ARKANSAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF ARKANSAS: JEFF STARLING, EARL LOVE, ROBERT L. NEWTON, L.D. HARRIS, DR. HARRY MCDONALD, ALICE L. PRESTON, ELIANE SCOTT, WALTER TURNBOW and NANCY WOOD; THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CAMDEN, ARKANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 35, a Public Body Corporate; THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OTHE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF CAMDEN, ARKANSAS, a Public Body Corporate; THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF HARMONY GROVE, ARKANSAS SCHOOL DISTRICT, a Public Body Corporate; and THE CAMDEN, ARKANSAS FAIRVIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT, a Public Body Corporate DEFENDANTS COMPLAINT 1. This is an action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. SS 1331, 1343 and 2201. Relief is sought under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and 42 U.S.C SS 1981, 1983 and 2000(d).

[soberscientistlife]

History will not look kindly on the fools trying to change history.

[reasoningdaily]

Arkansas appears to be trying to compete against Florida and Texas in the White and Fragile Red State Olympics, and, specifically, the sport of stifling Black history.

Earlier this month, we reported that the Arkansas Department of Education just up and decided two days before classes started that it would not recognize a new Advanced Placement course on African American history for course credit for the 2023-24 school year. Now, the department is demanding that every K-12 school in a six-district radius turn over all of their African American studies materials so they can be scanned for violations of the state’s anti-critical race theory law.

MORE: The Importance Of African American Studies

Related Stories

Here’s another way to put that: Arkansas and its governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, are out here confiscating Black history because it might violate anti-CRT standards they propagandized into anti-CRT legislation. It’s basically iron sharpening iron if both blades of iron are actually white supremacy.

But seriously, is government officials using anti-“woke” propaganda as a green light to invade places of learning and demand educational materials be turned over for inspection not exactly the kind of thing that links right-wingers to fascism? Please tell me the same people who boast that the government would have to pry their guns from their “cold dead hands”—despite no notable effort by government officials to confiscate citizens’ guns anywhere in America—are not going to stand for history books being taken by way of government overreach. (Yes, I understand that they’re public schools. No, that doesn’t make the optics any less Orwellian, not to mention racist AF.)

Ok, but let’s be fair here. After all, maybe the department has some reason to believe dangerous messages are being spread to indoctrinated school students. Perhaps schools are teaching step-by-step “kill whitey” instructions or, as conservatives often suggest, teaching Black kids to hate America and white kids ot hate themselves.

Let’s just take a look at what they’re so concerned about.

“Given some of the themes included in the pilot, including ‘intersections of identity’ and ‘resistance and resilience,’ the Department is concerned the pilot may not comply with Arkansas law, which does not permit teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as Critical Race Theory (CRT), (See Ark. Code Ann. § 6-16-156, as amended by Section 16 of the LEARNS Act),” the letter sent out to the superintendents of the districts reads.

“To assist public school employees, representatives, and guest speakers at your district in complying with the law, please submit all materials, including but not limited to the syllabus, textbooks, teacher resources, student resources, rubrics, and training materials, to the Department by 12:00 pm on September 8, 2023, along with your statement of assurance that the teaching of these materials will not violate Arkansas law or rule. Items can be scanned and emailed to ade.commissioner@ade.arkanasas.gov.”

Well, there you have it, good people. The Arkansas Department of Education has important work to do here! The school districts in this great state simply cannot be left to their own devices lest the children—the precious, impressionable children—be insidiously indoctrinated by horrific lessons on—God, I can hardly even say it—”intersections of identity” and “resistance and resilience.”

Again, Arkansas wants to be Florida so bad. The Sunshine (or sundown) state is requiring lessons about enslaved people benefiting from slavery, and accepting “educational” materials from PragerU, a demonstrably racist organization that teaches children that Frederick Douglass would agree slavery was a necessary evil to preserve America. Now, Arkansas is picking up the white nationalist indoctrination tiki torch by eliminating Black studies materials that teach about the “resistance” and the “resilience” of oppressed people.

This is white supremacy at work. This is exactly what critical race theory was created to examine.

SEE ALSO:

Florida Approves Teaching Students That Slaves Benefited From Slavery

Florida’s New Black History Curriculum Whitewashes Slavery, Victim-Shames African Americans, Critics Say

[ausetkmt]

CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN RACE RIOTS AND RACIAL VIOLENCE p.3

1911

National Urban League founded. 1914 Marcus Garvey establishes the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). November William Monroe Trotter confronts Woodrow Wilson in the White House over the president’s support for segregation in federal offices. 1915 Debut of the D.W. Griffith film, The Birth of a Nation. Failure of African American lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department for compensation for labor rendered under slavery. CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN RACE RIOTS AND RACIAL VIOLENCE lvii November William J. Simmons refounds the Ku Klux Klan at Stone Mountain in Georgia. 1916 Madison Grant publishes The Passing of the Great Race, detailing his drastic prescription—including eugenics—to save the white race from being overwhelmed by ‘‘darker races.’’ May Jesse Washington, a seventeen-year-old illiterate black farm hand, is lynched in Waco, Texas. 1917 May–July East St. Louis, Illinois, riots. August Houston, Texas, mutiny of black soldiers at Camp Logan. 1918 After protesting the lynching of her husband, Mary Turner, then eight months pregnant, is herself brutally lynched in Valdosta, Georgia. April Congressman Leonidas C. Dyer of Missouri introduces an anti-lynching bill into Congress (the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill is defeated in 1922). July Chester and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, riots. 1919 NAACP publishes Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States: 1889–1918 by Martha Gruening and Helen Boardman. May Charleston, South Carolina, riot. Summer Known as ‘‘Red Summer’’ because of the great number of people killed in various race riots around the country. July Longview, Texas, riot. Publication of Claude McKay’s sonnet, ‘‘If We Must Die.’’ Chicago, Illinois, riot. Washington, D.C., riot. August Knoxville, Tennessee, riot. September Omaha, Nebraska, riot. September– October Elaine, Arkansas, riot. 1920 Founding of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, a major interracial reform organization in the South. 1921 April Tulsa, Oklahoma, riot. 1922 Anti-Lynching Crusaders are formed to educate Americans about lynching and work for its elimination.

Chicago Commission on Race Relations issues its influential report on the 1919 Chicago riots. lviii CHRONOLOGY OF AMERICAN RACE RIOTS AND RACIAL VIOLENCE 1923 January Rosewood, Florida, riot. February U.S. Supreme Court decision in Moore v. Dempsey leads to eventual release of twelve African Americans in Arkansas who were convicted in perfunctory mobdominated trials of killing five whites during the Elaine, Arkansas, riots of 1919. 1929 Publication of Walter White’s Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch. 1930 Nation of Islam (Black Muslims) is founded in Detroit, Michigan, by W.D. Fard.

Formation of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching, the first organization of white women opposed to lynching. October Sainte Genevieve, Missouri, riot. 1931 Scottsboro Case occurs in Alabama; the case comprises a series of trials arising outof allegations that nine African American youths raped two white girls in Scottsboro, Alabama. 1932 Supreme Court renders a decision in Powell v. Alabama, a case related to the Scottsboro, Alabama, incident of 1931. 1934 Elijah Muhammad assumes leadership of the Nation of Islam. 1935 March Harlem, New York, riot. 1936 First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt addresses the annual conventions of both the NAACP and National Urban League. 1939 Billie Holiday’s first performance of the anti-lynching song Strange Fruit occurs at Cafe´ Society, New York’s only integrated nightclub. 1941 Supreme Court decision in Mitchell v. United States spurs integration of first-class railway carriages. 1942 Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is founded as the Committee of Racial Equality. February Double V Campaign is launched to popularize the idea that blacks should fight for freedom abroad to win freedom at home. 1943 May Mobile, Alabama, riot. June Beaumont, Texas, riot. June ‘‘Zoot Suit’’ riots in Los Angeles, California. July Detroit, Michigan, riot. August New York City (Harlem) riot. 1944 Publication of Karl Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy.

[anarchywoofwoof]

Arkansas education department won’t allow credit for AP African American Studies course

The AP African American Studies course won’t be eligible for early college credit in the upcoming school year, according to TV news station KHBS, based in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Teachers may offer the curriculum, but the class will not be weighted the same on students’ grade point averages as other AP courses offered in the state, the Arkansas Times reported.  Kimberly Mundell, director of communications for the department, told KHBS that the class was being piloted at some Arkansas schools and is still undergoing revisions.  “Arkansas law contains provisions regarding prohibited topics,” she told KHBS, alluding to state education restrictions. “Without clarity, we cannot approve a pilot that may unintentionally put a teacher at risk of violating Arkansas law.”

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton led a group of fellow GOP senators Wednesday in denouncing pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

WHY IT MATTERS: Republican congressional campaign arms are already cutting footage and are ready to launch ads slamming vulnerable Democrats for not condemning the campus protests that have erupted over Israel's war in Gaza.

The escalating tension in recent days has put a spotlight on one of the most sensitive and divisive issues within the Democratic Party.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING: "These little Gazas are disgusting cesspools of antisemitic hate full of pro-Hamas sympathizers, fanatics and freaks," Cotton said in a press conference Wednesday.

"Every university and every student has the right to be able to speak their mind to be able to test out new ideas," said Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford, also a Republican.

• "But when you're talking about screaming at Jewish students, and rabbis [are] saying no longer is this university a safe place for you to be, it violates the very principles that all these universities supposedly stand for."

REALITY CHECK: No encampments or sit-ins have been reported at Arkansas or Oklahoma college campuses.

FLASHBACK: Cotton took to X last week, encouraging "people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: take matters into your own hands."

• The post was later edited, adding "to get them out of the way" to the sentence.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, would require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism in its enforcement of anti-discrimination laws.

• "That's a bill we should promptly bring to the floor and pass over here, as well," Cotton said.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Leigh Ann O’Neill and William E. Trachman

Published: Feb 4, 2024

Seventy years after the Supreme Court struck down racial segregation in education, it’s somehow making a comeback.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education. For the past 70 years, race discrimination in public schools has been illegal and unconstitutional. In some cases, even the National Guard has been called out to enforce the law.

But in Evanston, Ill., it’s still a pre-Brown world. As reported elsewhere last year, Evanston Township High School offered racially segregated classes such as AP calculus for Hispanic students only, and English classes for only black students. It did that purportedly in the name of shrinking the achievement gap between Caucasian and non-Caucasian students. Yes, it’s hard to believe, but the doctrine of separate-but-equal still lives on, even today.

What was the school district’s defense to such obviously illegal division of students by race? Just that no one is forced to take such classes, so they are optional, and therefore not discriminatory. But that logic doesn’t fly.

First, it’s obvious that Evanston is engaged in brazen racial segregation. If Hispanic students take the math class designed specifically for Hispanic students, that means that non-Hispanic students will generally take math classes without any Hispanic students. The same is true for English classes that are only for black students. So much for diversity and inclusion!

Second, the rationale behind the classes sounds a lot like the arguments made by segregationists of days past, who contended that Jim Crow was actually good for black Americans. As Evanston’s superintendent, Marcus Campbell, stated: The classes give non-white students “a different, more familiar setting to kids who feel really anxious about being in an AP class.” You could be forgiven for mistaking this statement for something that segregationist Arkansas governor Orval Faubus might have said to defend racial separation.

Evanston isn’t just violating the Constitution. In 1964, Congress also passed a statute that deprives schools of federal funds if they discriminate based on race. That statute — called Title VI — gives the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights the authority to investigate public schools engaged in race discrimination and to force them to come into compliance with the law, under the threat of losing all federal funding.

Let there be no doubt: The text of Title VI doesn’t distinguish between “mandatory” and “optional” school programs. There is no exception to the bar on race discrimination for schools that merely encourage and facilitate racial segregation. And that’s obviously true. No one thinks that public schools could host “optional” racially segregated proms, homecoming events, back-to-school nights, or sports teams. The classroom is no different.

The Biden administration recently reminded us that a host of school programs can violate Title VI if the school fails to allow all students to participate equally. In guidance published after the Supreme Court struck down Harvard’s affirmative-action program, the Department of Education wrote:

A decision to restrict membership or participation in activities and spaces based on race . . . would raise significant concerns and trigger strict scrutiny under Title VI. In determining whether an opportunity to participate is open to all students, OCR may consider, for example, whether advertisements or other communications would lead a reasonable student, or a parent or guardian, to understand that all students are welcome to participate.

Yet Evanston remains undeterred, apparently. While the district has dropped the word “restricted” from the class descriptions in question, it nevertheless continues to encourage students to segregate themselves. An English II class is now described as one that “will emphasize examples that some individuals in the Black community identify as shared experiences.”

But if you thought that means that Caucasian students are welcome now, you’d be wrong. In an August 2023 interview, Superintendent Campbell explained that “if push came to shove,” and “there’s nothing else that works and that kid is white,” then the district would reluctantly let a Caucasian student enroll in a math class for another racial group. But how do you imagine that lands on the ears of a “reasonable student” who is wondering whether he or she is genuinely welcome to participate?

It’s time for systemic change. The Office for Civil Rights should be launching an investigation into Evanston. But unfortunately, it seems that politics have persuaded the powers that be to look the other way, even when it comes to Evanston’s previous blatant violations of Title VI.

Yet now is the time to course-correct. Anything other than a full investigation into Evanston is a complete abdication of the Department of Education’s legal responsibility to stomp out federal funding going to support racial discrimination. With classrooms once again being literally racially segregated, it’s never been more clear that the Department of Education isn’t doing enough to crack down on race discrimination in K–12 schools.

As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in his opinion striking down affirmative action once and for all, “eliminating race discrimination means eliminating all of it.” And in Evanston, Ill., they have 70 years of progress to start catching up to.

Leigh Ann O’Neill is the managing director of Legal Advocacy at FAIR, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism. William E. Trachman is a former deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. He is the general counsel of Mountain States Legal Foundation.

[ Via: https://archive.md/Rm4rV ]

==

Apparently, the lesson that "segregation is bad" didn't sink in the first time.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. -- George Santayana

[orangesarenttheonlyfruit]

Jocelyn Elders

Today I want to talk about Jocelyn Elders, who, like Mary Putnam Jacobi, held many firsts throughout her career, and became the first African-American surgeon general. She grew up in poverty and first visited the doctor at age 16, where she first knew she wanted to become one. After a 3 year stint in the army, receiving a B.S. degree in Biology and working as a nurse’s aide, she went on to study Medicine, finish her residency, and specialise in, and become the first board certified, Pediatric Endocrinologist in her state. 

During her time running the Arkansas health department, she doubled child vaccinations, improved prenatal healthcare, and expanded on support for elderly in care. She worked with public schools to promote sex education, proper hygeine and preventing substance use.  

From what I have read about Jocelyn Elders, I believe she is a dedicated, passionate and well educated individual who’s career in medicine stretched far beyond treating her patients, but improving and striving for excellence in healthcare for all.  

Thank you so much for reading, see you tomorrow!!

[arizonaconservativegal]

Student Loans: DOJ Says Overruling Biden’s Forgiveness Could Lead to Lawsuits Over ‘Virtually All Federal Action’

David Nadelle

Mon, January 9, 2023 at 2:39 PM EST

While the fate of borrowers’ loan repayments remains in limbo until the end of February, experts are waiting with apprehension of what an upheld Supreme Court ruling will mean, not only for federal student loan cancellation, but for future legal arguments on federal policy.

See: Can Unpaid Student Loans Affect Social Security Money? Student Loan Forgiveness: Timeline of Events Leading Up To the Supreme Court Review

The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the legitimacy of President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for federal borrowers making under $125,000 on Feb. 28. On Jan. 4, the Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a filing to justify the legality of Biden’s program.

According to Business Insider, as part of its 86-page brief, the DOJ expressed concern that if the Supreme Court decides to stand by the 8th Circuit’s November ruling and invalidate Biden’s debt forgiveness program, it will set a bad precedent for future legal judgments.

The federal student loan forgiveness plan has been delayed since October due to two lawsuits filed by GOP-endorsed groups. The suits — one led by six Republican-led states arguing relief would hurt their states’ tax revenues and diminish the value of investments tied to student loans, and another by two student loan borrowers who did not qualify for the full $20,000 amount of relief — have been refuted by the Biden administration as baseless and politically-motivated.

Complicating the state-led lawsuit — pursued by Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina — is the involvement of a third party, St. Louis-based student loan company MOHELA, which has been dragged into the legal challenge by the state of Missouri. MOHELA, one of America’s largest student loan servicers, currently has a contract with the federal government to service student loans.

Take Our Poll: Are You in Favor of More Inflation Relief in 2023?

Missouri contends that MOHELA will lose money under Biden’s relief program because it will have fewer student loan accounts to manage, make less money and “will make it more difficult for MOHELA to make required payments to a state fund that helps its public colleges and universities,” according to Politico.

If the Supreme Court quashes this particular cancellation program and rules in favor of the plaintiffs in the two cases it is hearing in February, it could have “startling implications” for future claims, according to the filing.

“Virtually all federal action — from law enforcement to collecting taxes to managing property — has some side effect on government finances,” the filing read. “If such side effects were enough to stand, then every state would have the right to challenge almost any federal policy.”

“(B)anks could sue anyone who causes financial harm to their borrowers, credit-card companies could sue anyone who causes financial harm to their customers, and governments could sue anyone who causes financial harm to their taxpayers,” it adds.

Student Loan Forgiveness: What Is the Income-Driven Repayment Account Adjustment? Social Security: Garnishments for Delinquent Student Loans Might Resume — and Could Cost You $2,500

The current student loan pause extension runs through 60 days after June 30, 2023, or whenever the lawsuits are resolved — whichever happens first. If the Supreme Court decrees Biden’s loan forgiveness plan to be legal, the Department of Education can begin to process the 26 million applications it has already received and will re-open the application process, per Forbes.

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Student Loans: DOJ Says Overruling Biden’s Forgiveness Could Lead to Lawsuits Over ‘Virtually All Federal Action’

https://openweb.jac.yahoosandbox.com/0.8.1/safeframe.html

As the kids say these days: like to charge, reblog to cast

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

[Michael Egan]

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 24, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

MAY 25, 2023

The Department of Homeland Security today issued a bulletin warning, “Lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances continue to pose a persistent and lethal threat to the Homeland.” Both domestic extremists and foreign terrorists are using online extremist messaging and calls for violence to motivate supporters to launch attacks. Individuals upset about the 2024 election and new laws or court decisions might attack “US critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions, individuals or events associated with the LGBTQIA+ community, schools, racial and ethnic minorities, and government facilities and personnel, including law enforcement.” The advisory is in force for six months. The announcement warned that a key factor in potential violence is “perceptions of the 2024 general election cycle,” a reference to disinformation suggesting that U.S. elections are rigged. This false allegation is a staple of former president Trump’s political messaging. That disinformation led to the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, of course, although many of those who have stood trial for participating in that attack have expressed regret—at least in front of the judge. But not all of them. Today Judge Christopher Cooper noted that Richard “Bigo” Barnett had “not shown any acceptance of responsibility” for his actions before sentencing him to four and a half years in prison. Barnett is an Arkansas man who was convicted on eight counts for his participation in the attack, during which he was famously photographed with his foot on then–House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre informed reporters about the budget negotiations and averting default, calling it a “manufactured crisis.” She called out members of the far-right Freedom Caucus for referring to the full faith and credit of the United States as a hostage, and reiterated that it is the duty of every member of Congress to avert the default that will cost millions of jobs lost, devastate retirement accounts, and throw the United States—and the world—into a recession. “Let’s be clear about what Republicans are demanding in exchange for doing their job and preventing a default,” she said. “Earlier this year, they put forward an extreme package of devastating cuts that would slash…support for education, law enforcement, food assistance—the list goes on and on and on and on—by what now would be about 30 percent.” While Jean-Pierre didn’t say it, the Republicans’ insistence that spending is out of control does not reflect reality. In fact, discretionary spending has fallen more than 40% in the past 50 years as a percentage of gross domestic product, from 11% to 6.3%. What has driven rising deficits are the George W. Bush and Donald Trump tax cuts, which will have added $8 trillion and $1.7 trillion, respectively, to the debt by the end of the 2023 fiscal year. The U.S. is far below the average of the 37 other nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an intergovernmental forum of democracies with market economies, in our tax levies. According to the Center for American Progress, if we taxed at the average OECD level, over ten years we would have an additional $26 trillion in revenue. If we taxed at the average of European Union nations, we would have an additional $36 trillion. What Jean-Pierre did say is that the Republicans’ demand for cuts in the name of fiscal responsibility and deficit reduction is belied by their protection of tax breaks skewed for the wealthy and corporations. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said those tax cuts would add $3.5 trillion to the debt over the next decade. As the credit rating of the United States totters, House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) repeatedly told reporters the debt ceiling crisis is not his fault. Indeed, he cannot corral the votes of members of the right-wing Freedom Caucus, who say they will not agree to raise the debt ceiling unless the Senate passes the extremist bill McCarthy got through the House by assuring party members that it was designed only to increase his bargaining power with Biden and that it would never become law. That passage is a nonstarter for Democrats and also for a number of vulnerable Republicans. And yet without it, McCarthy can’t get the votes he needs from the Freedom Caucus. And yet, the Republicans refuse to work with the Democrats, so the extremists can dictate what the House Republicans do. We’re right back to the same fight we saw over McCarthy’s speakership, where extremists held the trump cards. “We’re not going to default,” McCarthy insisted. In contrast, all the House Democrats have backed a discharge petition that would force a bill to increase the debt ceiling to the floor, but they need five Republicans to sign on to it. So far, no Republican has publicly stepped up. Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s announcement today that he is running for president was awkward. He made the announcement on Twitter, whose owner, Elon Musk, has said he supports DeSantis, but the technology didn’t work and Twitter crashed repeatedly, leaving DeSantis’s audience unimpressed. The campaign of rival Republican candidate Trump scoffed. A spokesperson said: “Glitchy. Tech issues. Uncomfortable silences. A complete failure to launch. And that’s just the candidate!” His commentary later in the day was even harsher. President Joe Biden also threw shade. His team tweeted: “This link works.” The link went to the Biden-Harris campaign donation site. On a more serious note, the president today used the one-year anniversary of the massacre at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and 2 teachers died and 17 more were injured, to call for gun safety measures. Since the Uvalde murders, Biden said, the U.S. has experienced 650 mass shootings and well over 40,000 deaths from gun violence. Guns are the top killers of children in the U.S. Biden called for a ban on AR-15-type firearms and high-capacity magazines, and for the establishment of universal background checks, national red-flag laws, required safe storage of firearms, and an end to the immunity from liability that gun manufacturers enjoy. He noted that these commonsense measures are popular. “To the families of the children and to the educators…we know that, one year later, it’s still so raw for you. A year of missed birthdays and holidays, school plays, soccer games, just that smile. A year of everyday joys gone forever. The bend in his smile. The perfect pitch of her laugh. “God bless those 21 blessed souls lost on this day in Uvalde,” Biden said. “And may God bless their families. We’re thinking of you.”

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[lboogie1906]

William Caesar Warfield (January 22, 1920 – August 25, 2002), was a concert bass-baritone singer and actor. One of his earliest professional engagements was in Marc Blitzstein's Broadway opera, Regina. His breakthrough came when he gave his recital debut in New York's Town Hall in 1950. He went on to produce a highly acclaimed album of selections from Porgy and Bess with Leontyne Price in 1963. He was born in West Helena, Arkansas, the oldest of five sons of a Baptist minister. He grew up in Rochester, New York. In 1938, as a senior at Washington High School in Rochester, he won the Music Educators National Song Competition in St. Louis and expressed an interest in pursuing a career on the concert stage. Inducted into the Army in November 1942, a senior at the Eastman School of Music, presented his graduation recital before an overflow audience at Kilbourn Hall, Eastman Theater. He graduated in 1942 and served in the military, he returned to the Eastman School to complete a MA in 1946. He gave his recital debut in New York's Town Hall on March 19, 1950. He was quickly invited by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to tour Australia and give 35 concerts. In 1952, He performed in Porgy and Bess during a tour of Europe sponsored by the US State Department (he made six separate tours for the Department of State, more than any other American solo artist.) In this production, he played opposite the opera star Leontyne Price, whom he soon married, but the demands of two separate careers left them little time together. They divorced in 1972 but were featured together in a 1963 studio recording of excerpts from Porgy and Bess. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/Cnt8expL-sK/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=