…I don’t know about you but this creeps me the fuck out
It was a Saturday in the spring of 2017, and a ninth-grade student in Pennsylvania was having a bad day. She had just learned that she had failed to make the varsity cheerleading squad and would remain on junior varsity.
The student expressed her frustration on social media, sending a message on Snapchat to about 250 friends. The message included an image of the student and a friend with their middle fingers raised, along with text expressing a similar sentiment. Using a curse word four times, the student expressed her dissatisfaction with “school,” “softball,” “cheer” and “everything.”
Though Snapchat messages are ephemeral by design, another student took a screenshot of this one and showed it to her mother, a coach. The school suspended the student from cheerleading for a year, saying the punishment was needed to “avoid chaos” and maintain a “teamlike environment.”
The student sued the school district, winning a sweeping victory in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia. The court said the First Amendment did not allow public schools to punish students for speech outside school grounds.
Next month, at its first private conference after the holiday break, the Supreme Court will consider whether to hear the case, Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., No. 20-255. The Third Circuit’s ruling is in tension with decisions from several other courts, and such splits often invite Supreme Court review.
In urging the justices to hear the case, the school district said administrators around the nation needed a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court on their power to discipline students for what they say away from school. “The question presented recurs constantly and has become even more urgent as Covid-19 has forced schools to operate online,” a brief for the school district said. “Only this court can resolve this threshold First Amendment question bedeviling the nation’s nearly 100,000 public schools.”
The Supreme Court next month will consider whether to hear the case of Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., involving a student’s freedom of speech while off school grounds [NYT].
…I mean…out of school is out of school…if you don’t get to act like it then I’m not sure I like where that goes…& I don’t know that the current make up of the supreme court is one that gives me any confidence that it’s the place that sort of thing ought to be decided…mind you, there’s another kind of talking out of school & it looks like the New York Post went that way
…not that I exactly trust anything that’s ultimately a murdoch business to be on the up & up about this stuff…although I guess they could try to pin it on that bout of covid he had
Small Number of Covid Patients Develop Severe Psychotic Symptoms [NYT]
…mind you…if “most had no history of mental illness” that would seem to argue against it explaining the poster-child for malignant narcissist syndrome…but at least where the NY Post is concerned it seems sort of like a sign that some semblance of sanity might be trying to break out…& it’s not like we couldn’t use a little of that
How much damage did Donald Trump do around the world, can it be repaired, and did he accomplish anything of lasting significance? Assessing the international legacy of the 45th US president is not so much a conventional survey of achievement and failure. It’s more like tracking the rampages of a cantankerous rogue elephant that leaves a trail of random destruction and shattered shibboleths in its wake.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/dec/27/trump-fed-our-worst-instincts-his-global-legacy-is-toxic-and-immoral
…so…how long until fox news tries a different tack?
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/dec/27/fox-news-rightwing-media-joe-biden
…well…for a given value of “different”, I guess…& while we’re about it…can someone explain how the hell this seems to be under kellyanne conway’s byline?
…it seems…a tad hypocritical, let’s say…which, to be fair is sort of a defining characteristic of the brand in question
President Donald Trump’s donors — the vast majority of whom are working-class supporters and retirees contributing just a few dollars a month — put $10.5 million into the erstwhile billionaire’s own personal businesses over the course of his presidency, a HuffPost analysis found.
Trump’s Donors Funnel $10.5 Million Into His Businesses During His Presidency
…either way, so long as they have OANN or newsmax to cling to they’ll probably keep throwing that cash his way
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/12/27/fox-news-viewers-switch-to-newsmax
…& as ever…a lot of that cash seems to be lying in some grey areas…since apparently even record levels of fundraising for the dem candidates in the georgia run-offs are being outspent by less direct donations to the GOP efforts
According to financial disclosure forms, Warnock and Ossoff both raised more than $100 million dollars over the past two months, outraising their Republican opponents Sen. David Perdue and Sen. Kelly Loeffler by a significant margin. But GOP outside groups are outspending Democratic groups.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/ossoff-warnock-warn-about-running-low-funds-seek-last-minute-donations
…but they aren’t the only ones trying to throw some cash about
Treasury, White House face enormous pressure to quickly disburse stimulus aid after Trump’s delay [WaPo]
…maybe even some “extra” cash?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/28/house-stimulus-checks
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-vote-increasing-coronavirus-stimulus-checks-to-2-000
…& if not now…then there’s always next time, by the looks of things
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/battle-more-covid-aid-far-over-biden-democrats-have-plans
…unless of course you were dumb enough to put mitch mcconnell in as your senate rep…but really, if you did then I guess you weren’t expecting help
Kentucky Is Hurting as Its Senators Limit or Oppose Federal Aid [NYT]
…but can we take a minute to acknowledge that it’s beyond fucked up that the pettiest president’s own people are “relieved” he signed that shit at all this go around?
…& maybe one more to wonder what the point of grandstanding with an impotent veto was even about?
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-set-override-trump-s-veto-740-billion-defense-bill
Republicans joined with Democrats to hand President Trump a rare legislative rebuke in the final days of his presidency. The bill will next be taken up by the Senate, where it is expected to pass.
House Votes to Override Trump’s Veto of Military Bill [NYT]
…I guess signing off on all those patronistic pardons must have made his tiny hand tired or something
Outside Trump’s Inner Circle, Odds Are Long for Getting Clemency [NYT]
…but whichever way you cut it they still seem to be trying to fuck shit up as their ship goes down
President-elect Joe Biden on Monday accused President Trump and his political appointees of obstructing the transition of power to his incoming administration, particularly on national security issues, an escalation in tone after reports of isolated difficulties in the transition process last week.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-trump-obstruction/2020/12/28/story.html
…which frankly seems redundant given how fucked up a lot of shit looks without (or arguably because of) them making the effort
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/food-banks-sound-alarm-child-hunger-covid-crisis-drags-on
…& while maybe not kids-going-hungry levels of fucked up…this shit is still pretty fucked
…there’s presumably going to be an after-covid…& we’re going to want this shit to still be an option, after all
…this shit…not so much
…but at least in some places people might not be losing their places
New York Will Ban Most Evictions as Tenants Struggle to Pay Rent [NYT]
…I guess we all need to just cling on a little longer & then we can try to claw our way back to something that seems like an even keel?
For Covid-19 Vaccines, Some Are Too Rich — and Too Poor [NYT]
…although in some cases business as usual might not be something to welcome
The expansion of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline is a breathtaking betrayal of Minnesota’s Indigenous communities — and the environment.
Not Just Another Pipeline [NYT]
…but then it seems that for some folks maybe destruction is the end more than the means?
Nashville Bomber’s Aim Seemed to Be ‘More Destruction Than Death,’ Official Says [NYT]
To add some location detail, the Mahanoy Area School District is in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. It covers 53 square miles comprised of 11,500 people. So it exists in white, God-fearing, small-minded Trump country.
But there are cases where I want people to be help responsible for voicing their opinions outside of work, especially in the police public sector. Did we discuss this fired bad actor already? And do you think that Parler can be soon considered a hate group?
…I think I’m with you on the being held responsible thing…it’s more that I figure there ought to be a line somewhere?
…if you hold public office & say some shit that ought to disqualify you then that ought to be the sort of consequence you face…or if you cultivate a public profile on a basis that your comments elsewhere contradict then that should mean something
…but at the same time there ought to be some ways in which you’re free to say some shit in one context that wouldn’t be ok in another provided the line between the two is clear?
…like federal employees ought to be able to have a personal political opinion on their own time without being done for violating the hatch act (assuming that’s still a thing aside from when the GOP want to fire one of them…which is unclear, I guess)
…& kids blowing off steam about school is maybe the thin end of that wedge…but I guess I’m a little uncomfortable with stuff like the BBC telling staff they can’t voice certain opinions on their own time/accounts & still work for the corporation…it just strikes me as overreach…or maybe just an overreaction?
…basically I’m a fan of the “do that shit on your own time” approach, I think
…but in the case of something like parler I might be kind of a hypocrite…an account on a platform which was designed more-or-less-explictly as a loophole to get away with saying shit that isn’t ok…even on “the T&Cs aren’t for everyone” twitter…that’s a red flag…so as a platform for enabling hate speech it doesn’t seem like a stretch to call account holders members of a hate group…although I guess some percentage of them are possibly just there to keep a watchful eye on what the natives are saying rather than buying in themselves…so I guess there could be some margin for nuance?
A worker at my company famously did such an act after 9.11 He participated in a peaceful (?) protest, on his own time and in no way represented the company. The incident got a lot of press. They tried to fire him 8 ways from Sunday, but he still works here.
Thing is, I grew up in two separate school systems over the course of my childhood–in two separate states. I likewise attended to undergrad colleges in two separate states. Between those experiences, I spent time in three different states, in different regions of the country. All of them, without exception, would tell students that they do not have a right of free speech while they are students, whether on campus or off. It’s bullshit, but it’s nothing new. The curious thing will be what right wing SCOTUS decides to do. The cheerleader’s outburst wasn’t political in nature so they don’t have an immediate knee jerk reaction to Holding The Tide on the Libs. I guess we’ll see just how they define Freedom(b).
So what about all these kids saying racist shit and having it come back to haunt them when they go to college?
https://abcnews.go.com/theview/video/harvard-rescinds-parkland-shooting-survivors-admission-past-racist-63789169
I read about one yesterday that I can’t find a link for of somebody saving a racist video for over a year to reveal it at the right time for major impact! I’m just glad we didn’t have social media when I was in high school with some of the shit we did. Parents/teachers really need to teach how to use social media responsibly and not everything you say/do needs to be online!
…I don’t exactly know what I think is the right call there…on the one hand I’d like to believe people can grow up & realize that wasn’t ok…which suggests that it ought not to bar them from college
…but it’s still something that wasn’t ok when they did it so I’d find it hard to shrug off…& competition for spots in some colleges is pretty fierce?
…some mistakes maybe are big enough to blight a person’s future but I’m not sure failure to be born woke necessarily ought to be one of them…not only does it run close to holding the child accountable for the sins of the parent…but if we throw out the possibility of second chances who’s going to learn from mistakes…theirs or anyone else’s?
I’d argue that police officers take an oath to uphold the law. That’s why they refer to themselves as “sworn officers.” And I’d further argue that their conduct outside work hours still needs to conform to that oath, and they should be held responsible if they violate that oath, regardless of when or where. I feel that’s true of any profession that involves taking an oath, be it attorney or accountant or doctor. I’m not sure accountants swear an oath — maybe it’s just they have rigid ethical standards.
A student, on the other hand, doesn’t swear an oath to abide by any sort of conduct rules. Yes, they are expected to follow the rules at school, but no one asks them to swear to follow them. I’d say you shouldn’t be held responsible for acts outside school hours or off school grounds, as long as they are not criminal, which throws things into an whole different arena anyway.
We seem to have a bunch of sheriffs going rogue in our state. The one that ran for governor was a Trumper asshat that refused to enforce our state’s gun laws. Now we have this one that will not enforce our mask rules and restaurant rules.
https://www.q13fox.com/news/lewis-county-sheriff-voices-support-for-spiffys-restaurant-defying-states-indoor-dining-restrictions
It is not YOUR job to pick which laws you want to enforce, it is your job to enforce the law!
Whatever happened to that strange registrar who dressed like a sister-wife (denim overall dress with a long-johns shirt underneath) who refused to register gay couples. I think she even got a jail sentence but was released after a day or two? Does she still have her job? I would google this but I can’t remember her name or even what state this was in, and searching for “homely nut job who has been married four times, twice to the same man” wouldn’t lead me to where I want to go, I don’t think. That’s all I remember about her. The joke about how she firmly believes, as a Christian, that marriage is between a woman and a man, then another man, then the first man again, then a third man.
You’re talking about Kim Davis from Rowan County, Kentucky. She was only in jail briefly for contempt. Then Mike Huckabee and some other GOP grifters swooped in to save her. She lost her re-election effort.
Mark Shrayber wrote on Jezebel about getting married in Rowan County instead of the elaborate wedding he’d planned. When they had the first Pride Day there the following year I emailed Shrayber and he and his husband spent their anniversary there too. I made sure he had contact information for the organizers and some friends of mine. They met up with them there, my friends said they were friendly and fun .
It seems like oaths aren’t really worth much any more. Most people now consider them optional, “I swear to do _________ as long as it’s convenient for me.”
I read a couple of articles about how Trump wouldn’t be able to convince the military to support a coup, because they swear to uphold the Constitution. And I’m like, yeah, didn’t all the Republicans in Congress swear to do that too? And how many have supported flagrant violations of the Constitution? A few hundred at last count?
Agreed.
As someone who works in a school, and whose Bestie** is a jailer (who eas *explicitly* told when she was hired 20+ YEARS ago that ANYTHING she posted online could be possible grounds for firing!!!), the whole “students have no 1st amendment rights!” thing, while paid employees of the public whinge about “Muh First Amendment Rightz were VY-OH-LAAAAATEDDDD!!!!”
The WHOLE situation is just infuriating, imo.
Cops & those in law enforcement KNOW GOING IN, that EVERYTHING they post online CAN be traced back & get them fired…
Frankly, just like those of us who work for Schools.
But for some reason, it’s ALWAYS the bigoted asshats who swore oaths to faithfully follow the laws, who are ALWAYSthe first ones to whinge, when they’re busted for breaking the rules they agreed to follow, as a condition of their employment agreement.🙄🙄😒
The kids, otoh, I very much believe ought to be cut some slack (unless there is an explicit threat of harm, of course!), because–of ALL PEOPLE–the adults in school districts ought to understand the impulsivety & lack of control inherent in those under 25, because brain science shows us that fact!!!
And appropriate slack & appropriate reconciliation ought to be made.
Not punishment. Not stripping of privileges,because of First Amendment actions.
Teach the kid–as we are supposed to be in the habit of *doing,* as that’s our profession!😒😒😒
But DON’T “punish” them for speaking their mind, unless it’s a threat of violence–because the ONLY lesson they’re gonna take, is that EVERY adult at that school is a goddamn hypocrite.
**we joke fairly often, about ME being in the business of working to keep folks OUT of her line of work, later in their lives.
And we ALSO talk often, about the gaps in the social safety net, the lack of GOOD mental health care & access, snd the long-term spiraling-out of traumas & poverty over generations.
I kinda feel that if you have any job that includes working with the public, then saying bigoted stuff, even in off hours, is a clear indication that you are incapable of treating people fairly, and therefore incapable of performing your job.
On the other hand, if a cop was… I dunno, passed over for promotion or something?, and twittered something like “fuck NYPD, fuck New York, fuck Brooklyn, fuck 99” or whatever, I wouldn’t really care.
The Mahoney case could potentially define this era. I don’t know of another case where the alleged crime(?) is such a non issue, yet the impending trial and case could take away our civil liberties. I am fascinated and frightened all at once.
Once again I say “Fuck Murdoch.” That bastard spent a ton of time and cash helping to create this monster, and now that the monster’s running amok, Murdoch is asking the monster to behave. No, moron, that’s NOT WHAT MONSTERS DO. That’s why Mary Shelley wrote a book about it in 1818, you illiterate fuck.
So I have triumphed in my Great Internet Battle of 2020 (2020 is not letting me get off easy) and in the nick of time: I wouldn’t want to miss a single pleading email concerning the Georgia Senate elections, of which I must get a dozen a day. Warnock and Ossoff have each already raised over $100 million. Loefler and Perdue are probably right up there too. $400 million altogether, in a state whose population is about 10.5 million. Let’s say half are eligible to vote. That’s $80 per voter and counting. Honestly, enough is enough.
My aunt lives in Savannah and she’s been keeping all the mailers so she can count them (she’s bored). She’s up to 38. Plus the canvassers who come to her door still knock, even though they can tell she’s already voted.
This is getting particularly absurd. Let’s go back to Georgia. Let’s say 5 million are eligible to vote., the rest aren’t for various reasons. Now, let’s say that 80% are registered, which would be a very high number. That’s 4 million. Let’s say that the same percentage voted as voted in the 2020 presidential election. That was 2/3, which was a recent high, but let’s say interest is abut the same. That’s about 2.7 million voters. I read recently that 2.1 million votes have already been cast. Six hundred thousand to go. Still, the emails persist. I’m up to 5 today and I don’t even live in Georgia. For reasons I don’t quite understand Republicans are more apt to vote in-person day of, so a lot of those voters will vote Republican. And they still need more money? I suppose to up the vote totals on the D side, but the election is inconveniently on a Tuesday and as far as I know there’s nothing else to vote on. Good luck, Warnock and Ossoff, I hope you both win, but I’m pretty sure the die has been cast.
I’m actually baffled how the two campaigns and a dozen other supportive groups got my contact information, or rather email address, no robocalls thank God. In 2016 I gave money to and volunteered for Bernie Sanders and got not a single contact for either time or money in 2020. The DNC knows better than to hit me up, same with the DSCC and the DCCC. I think I saw precisely two campaign ads during the whole 2020 campaign and one was for Bloomberg, which I thought was odd, because I can’t imagine anyone in the NYC metro area/media market hasn’t heard of him. This is a very strange game, money-driven modern politics.
It’s because “leftover” money is still money. So no politician is ever going to stop fundraising, ever. You’ll never see one on either side of the fence say, hey, no, I’m good, you keep your cash. Plus there’s a LOT of leeway in what campaign funds can get used for (see Trump, Donald J.).
There’s also a bit of the “sunk cost” fallacy going on. Feverish partisans aren’t going to stop and do the math like you did — they’ll just grab their wallets and yank out the credit cards. WE GOTTA STOP SOCIALISM GODDAMMIT
This has reached its apex under Trump, who is still banking millions to support his “voter fraud” scam. I’d also read that the billion dollars his campaign had last January was largely siphoned off by his family and some of the other criminals. The Trump cartel plans to live off this for years.
That said, I donated to Stacey Abrams. Twice. It’s hard to tell who the scumbags are, but I’m reasonably certain my money went to a good cause.
A bit of good, light, and sweet, in the shithole, which is our current timeline😉😁💖
“Success Kid”‘s parents raised a GOOD one, and I VERY much hope that he stays this sort of good💞
https://www.buzzfeed.com/watch/video/108823