US continues to go backward...

Texas woman who threatened judge overseeing Trump’s Mar-a-Lago case sentenced to three years in prison cnn


A Houston woman who left a series of threatening voicemail messages for a federal judge overseeing one of former President Donald Trump’s legal fights in Florida has been sentenced to serve 37 months in federal prison for “using interstate communications to threat, kidnap or injure,” the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Friday.

In the voicemails, Tiffani Shea Gish threatened to have US District Judge Aileen Cannon assassinated in front of her family for “helping” the former president, as CNN previously reported. Cannon handled the former president’s request for a special master to review documents and other items the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago.

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Federal officials have seen a dramatic increase in threats since the search at Mar-a-Lago in 2022. Violent threats surfaced online against US Attorney General Merrick Garland, and the biography and contact information of the federal magistrate judge who signed the Mar-a-Lago search warrant had to be wiped from a Florida court’s website due to threats.

Gish’s case is just one of a number involving individuals threatening judges and other people involved in the numerous criminal charges the former president is facing.

In another instance, a Texas woman was charged in August with threatening in a voicemail to kill the federal judge overseeing Trump’s criminal case in Washington, DC, over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

Abigail Jo Shry called the chambers of Judge Tanya Chutkan and left a voicemail message threatening to “kill anyone who went after former President Trump” and also allegedly included racist comments against Chutkan, who is Black.
 

Republican Michigan lawmaker loses staff and committee assignment after online racist post​

Republican lawmaker in Michigan lost his committee assignment and staff Monday, days after posting an image of a racist ideology on social media.

House Speaker Joe Tate, a Democrat who is Black, said he will not allow the House to be a forum for “racist, hateful and bigoted speech.”

State Rep. Josh Schriver, who is white, shared a post on X — formerly known as Twitter — that showed a map of the world with Black figures greatly outnumbering white figures, along with the phrase, “The great replacement!”

The conspiracy theory says there’s a plot to diminish the influence of white people.

Schriver, who represents portions of Oakland and Macomb counties, can vote on the House floor. But Tate removed him from a committee and told the House Business Office to oversee his staff members, who still can assist constituents.

“Representative Schriver has a history of promoting debunked theories and dangerous rhetoric that jeopardizes the safety of Michigan residents and contributes to a hostile and uncomfortable environment for others," Tate said.

A message seeking comment from Schriver wasn't immediately returned. He defended his social media post last week.

“I’m opposed to racists, race baiters and victim politics,” Schriver told The Detroit News. “What I find strange is the agenda to demoralize and reduce the white portion of our population."

Schriver was elected to a two-year term in 2022. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, released a statement Friday calling his post "abhorrent rhetoric."

“We will never let those who stoke racial fears divide us," she said.
 
Are we living in the Twilight Zone or is it just strange and stupid satire? Whatever it is, I hope Missouri people will vote to revolt against moronic politicians promoting it.
 
don't like to judge a book by it's cover, but it's the human thing to do...sssooooo, this dude looks like an idiot....(probably not a good book)....but you read it anyway, and yep, it's a horrible book....
He does look like you would have to speak slowly.
 
What to know about Florida's new Black history curriculum as Harris prepares to speak NPR

Vice President Harris is expected to speak out in Florida on Friday against the state's new framework for how Black history will be taught in K-12 schools, including guidelines that slavery was beneficial to enslaved people.

"We're fighting back against attempts to gaslight us, cover up our history, and rewrite the horrors of slavery," Harris said Thursday night.


Changes to the social studies curriculum were approved by the Florida Board of Education on Wednesday. The divisive revisions come just months after the state rejected an Advanced Placement course on African American studies.

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Why some educators are against Florida's new approach on Black history​

The main criticism against Florida's new social studies standards is that they are a step backward in telling a full and accurate history of America.

Under elementary school guidelines, children will learn to recognize famous Black figures including Rosa Parks, Zora Neale Hurston and George Washington Carver. But educators argue those lessons don't go deep enough, failing to to include studies on their histories or struggles.

"These new standards will make sure that, through the fourth grade, elementary school students' knowledge of African American history doesn't extend beyond being able to know who a famous African American is when they see them," the Florida Education Association, a statewide teachers union, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, high school students will be taught that some racially motivated massacres — like the 1920 Ocoee Massacre in which dozens of African Americans were killed for attempting to vote — were "perpetrated against and by African Americans."

"That's blaming the victim," state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, who represents part of central Florida, said at a board meeting on Wednesday.

Arguably the most criticized were the guidelines for middle school students, which state, "Instruction includes how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

Critics, including Harris, called the assertion that slavery was remotely beneficial to enslaved people inaccurate and insulting.

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Apparently a Florida school district is making kids get permission slips signed by parents to approve of them hearing / reading books written by Black authors

Not sure of authenticity as buddyonly sent a pic below and said he took it from a News article about it
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Apparently a Florida school district is making kids get permission slips signed by parents to approve of them hearing / reading books written by Black authors

Not sure of authenticity as buddyonly sent a pic below and said he took it from a News article about it
View attachment 3617
Florida school requires parental consent for pupils to listen to Black author’s book the guardian

A Florida school has received backlash after it required parents to provide written consent allowing their children to engage with a Black author’s book. The permission form detailed an activity in which “students will participate and listen to a book written by an African American”.

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Walter’s post comes days after another Miami school, iPrep Academy, drew ire for asking for parents’ permission for students to participate in “class and school wide presentations showcasing the achievements and recognizing the rich and diverse traditions, histories, and innumerable contributions of the Black communities”.

The permission slips indicate how some Florida schools are trying to comply with the state’s “Parental Rights in Education” law, more commonly known as the “don’t say gay” law, and the “Stop Woke Act”, both signed by the governor, Ron DeSantis, in 2022. The former prohibits discussions of sexuality and gender in classrooms, while the latter regulates how race and race issues can be taught in schools. Critics have suggested that Florida lawmakers are aiming for erasure or to teach a false history to the state’s children.

The Florida commissioner of education, Manny Díaz, called the situation a “hoax”, posting on X: “Florida does not require a permission slip to teach African American history or to celebrate Black History Month. Any school that does this is completely in the wrong.”

But DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers in the state have created an environment in which teachers are severely limited in how they can discuss race, gender and sexual orientation in all grades, and officials have not provided concrete guidance on how to comply. As a result, some teachers and districts have created policies, like the permission slip policy, to ensure they are acting in accord with the law.

For Miami-Dade county public schools, compliance has included requiring parental consent for all club meetings and events, guest speakers, college adviser visits and other enrichment activities, the Miami Herald reported. Teachers now face time- and resource-consuming hurdles to ensure their students are able to hear from Black historians and Holocaust survivors, for instance, which has been a normal practice in local schools in previous years.

In an interview with NBC, Walter said that his daughter, a first-grader, almost did not participate in the activity because she had not mentioned the form or the event to her father, thinking it would be boring.

“The idea that kids can have a say in what activities they participate in is really strange,” Walter said to NBC. “And then the idea that some kids would be taken out of class, that just seems bizarre.”

Until clear guidelines on compliance are enacted, though, schools in the state are forced to create their own, perhaps overzealous, methods of ensuring their teachers are operating within the law.
 

Keller Texas School ISD trustee resigns after bringing Christian evangelist film crew to school without permission​


AKeller ISD trustee has resigned after bringing an evangelist film crew from the Netherlands to shoot a documentary inside Central High School without the school district's permission.

Parents and students say the incident violated student privacy and school security and are calling for another trustee to resign.

KISD Place 3 Trustee Sandi Walker posted to Facebook on Sunday night that she planned to step down.

"After spending time in prayer, conversations with family and close friends, I have made the decision to resign from my position as school board trustee," Walker wrote.

The statement came nine days after Keller ISD officials said Walker brought a European film crew inside Central High School on Feb. 9 to film a documentary without the district's permission.


"My son came home from school and mentioned that a film crew had filmed him and his friends at his lunch table," CHS parent Laney Hawes said.

Hawes's son took a video of the camera crew inside the school, informing his mother that he was told they were from the Netherlands and were accompanied by the Keller Board of Trustees members.



Another parent told NBC 5 that her son heard a trustee give a political interview on camera.

"My son came home, he was really upset because they were having a conversation around him making disparaging remarks about transgender students, celebrating the books they've had banned from our schools," Kristy Hill said.

Parents said after Feb. 9, they reached out to the school district, which initially said it wasn't aware of any camera crew on campus that day.

After researching, Laney Hawes discovered the crew was with EO, a Dutch evangelical television network that has produced prior documentaries on US politics.

Hawes said many parents were outraged.

"The concern is because we don't want culture wars in our kids' classrooms," Hawes said. "My kids don't need to be a pawn in some political game, and my son was used as a prop."

After the incident, the Keller ISD superintendent sent a message to CHS families.


"We have confirmed that a production company from the Netherlands visited our campus to film an interview with Keller ISD Trustee Sandi Walker and was later joined by Trustee Micah Young," Dr. Tracy Johnson said. "We understand that while there, the film crew toured the school with Trustee Walker and talked to some CHS students and employees."

"The District and Board were not aware of the scheduled interview," the statement to parents continued. "KISD administrators have been in contact with the film company, who have assured us that no students or teachers would be visible in the video they are producing."

Walker initially apologized before resigning on Sunday.

KISD Place 1 Trustee Micah Young also posted a Facebook message regarding the incident.

"I briefly assisted my colleague in an interview about Texas public schools," Young said. "During the time that I was there, I did not observe any students being interviewed. I regret if any students were captured on film."


CHS students filmed that day told NBC 5 the incident has continued to disturb them.

"It doesn't sit well because it's an invasion of privacy, and it's something that you can't just delete because they're from a different country," said CHS freshman Elliott Mullaney. "You can't really take legal action."

Keller ISD issued a new statement to NBC 5 on Sunday, saying, "The district will continue to pursue legal channels to ensure the footage of our students and staff will not be used in this production, and we will continue to have discussions about how we can assure that something like this does not occur in the future."

Some parents felt more action needed to be taken.

"We're waiting for the second trustee who was involved to resign," Hawes said. "And we really are trying to get to the bottom of whether or not the other trustees are involved."

NBC 5 contacted Sandi Walker and Micah Young for a response to parent concerns about this incident but have not heard back. We also contacted the Dutch TV network EO for comments and await a response.
 
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