Critical race theory lurks in schools (addended)

[Terry McLaughlin is a regular columnist for The Union.  This column, posted here by permission, appears in the 17jun21 Union and its online edition (here).  This piece is the first of a three part series.  gjr]

Terry McLaughlin

Parents are becoming aware of the use of critical race theory in their children’s instruction, particularly as distance learning has given them a window into their classrooms.

Since the California Department of Education in March adopted an ethnic studies curriculum based upon critical race theory, (the fourth version, after more than 100,000 earlier objections), we have seen parents sending open letters to schools and passionately speaking up in protest at school board meetings across California and the nation.

The curriculum presents the view that our legal, economic and social institutions are inherently racist. Critical race theory advocates for, among other things, “liberating” students from capitalism, patriarchy, and settler colonialism.

Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the second version of the curriculum, much to the dismay of critical race advisers, some of whom resigned.

The 100,000 objections resulted in some of the most egregious material being removed from successive versions of the curriculum, such as convicted murderers of police being portrayed as positive role models and a benign narrative presented about Pol Pot, whose regime murdered as many as 30 percent of Cambodians.

Documents from the Santa Clara County Office of Education, obtained by journalist Christopher Rufo, indicate a series of teacher-training sessions were held on deploying ethnic studies in the classroom. The leaders encouraged teachers to hide materials from parents. One panelist said, “We have to be extra careful about what is being said, since we can’t just say something controversial now that we’re in people’s homes {with remote learning}.”

In Missouri, a teacher encouraged other teachers to remove from school websites accessible to parents any classroom materials that promote ideas such as “white privilege.”

Attendees at a training session in Wake County, North Carolina, received a handout that read, “You can’t let parents deter you from the work.”

Media and supporters have given us the impression that critical race theory is a harmless idea which, as described by a CNN columnist, “seeks to understand and address inequality and racism.” But if these ideas are harmless, why are some teachers and school officials attempting to hide the content from parents? What kind of education program suggests materials be hidden from parents?

In California, apparently even mathematics “upholds capitalist, imperialist, and racist views.” This statement is from “A Pathway to Equitable Math Instruction: Dismantling Racism in Mathematics Instruction,” a set of six instruction books for California math teachers.

The workbooks offer “critical approaches to dismantling white supremacy in math classrooms.” Examples given of white supremacy in math include when “students are tracked,” when “the focus is on getting the right answer,” when “students are required to show their work,” or when “control of classrooms is valued over students’ agency over their learning.”

There are some ideas of value within the 82 pages of workbook No.1, such as addressing errors by students not as failure but as an opportunity to expand upon their understanding of the math concept. But these methods would be of value to all students, regardless of race, economic status, or ability.

Yet the workbook’s focus is clearly and repetitively on how “white supremacy culture shows up in the math classroom.”

Are these workbooks being used to train your child’s teacher? Check it out at https://equitablemath.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/11/1_STRIDE1.pdf

Disguising her voice for fear of retaliation, a California public school teacher recently called a radio program to lament about how she was required by school administrators to attend a critical race theory seminar, and was told that “facts, data, and the scientific method are white concepts.”

“So,” she said, “if you use facts and data to disprove an argument against an oppressed person, you are proving you are racist because facts and data are the result of whiteness.”

As part of her training, this teacher was given a 20-page handout published by Epoch Education, a training center in Oakland. The first page instructed her to “Express skepticism toward dominant legal claims of neutrality, objectivity, color blindness, and meritocracy”.

The document included articles about white privilege and how racism will never end. The Epoch Education website displays a video narrated by program specialist Nicole Kukral from the San Juan Unified School District, east of Sacramento, in which she explains how she created an “equity audit rubric” for use by California districts to evaluate social studies curriculum being considered for adoption.

Kukral instructs teachers to evaluate history textbooks in a positive light only if the narrators were “people of color and other diverse communities.” There seems to be no concern regarding whether the history is accurate, only that history told by western white men should be considered suspect.

The fourth version of critical race theory curriculum is riddled with inaccuracies and omits facts that are at variance with its narrative of oppression, imperialism, white supremacy, and exploitation.

Nonetheless, the California Department of Education approved this version, one which The Wall Street Journal calls “radical indoctrination.” Has this curriculum been implemented in your child’s school district?

Gov. Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign into law Assembly Bill 331, which would make it a requirement of graduation for every public high school student in California.

Left to their own devices, children are naturally color blind. We are desecrating the legacy of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King with curriculum that teaches our kids to judge themselves and each other based upon the color of their skin — the very definition of racism.

Ms McLaughlin lives in Grass Valley.

[Addendum]  "A question needs to be put to the left in America. If your adversaries in politics are indeed fascists, racists, sexists, homophobes, xenophobes, and bigots, as you describe them, why would, or should, such people accept and embrace your rule over them—simply because you managed to rack up a plurality of ballots in an election? Free elections to decide who governs are, it is said, the central sacrament of democracy. But why should people who are described with every synonym for "deplorable" not reject the politics of compromise and instead work constantly to overthrow the rule of people who so detest them?"    Patrick J. Buchanan (more here)

A more comprehensive critique of CRT can be found here.  (H/T to reader)

Comments

[Scott O]

The most interesting part of the column are the various comments. Most of them claim McLaughlin has made it all up. I wonder how they account for all the quotes from backers of CRT? The one from MAW Campbell rambles off into some sort of nonsense that has nothing to do with the essay. MAW gives it away at the end with "After Jan 6, A Vote for A Republican is a Vote for Treason. I have the text of the Constitution on my side. Due to her words it's clear what side Ms Mclaughlin has chosen.."
Okie Dokie.
So much for an intelligent conversation.

[Scott O]

On the other end we have Timothy May.
https://www.theunion.com/opinion/columns/timothy-may-where-ignorance-is-bliss-is-it-folly-to-be-wise/?__vfz=medium%3Dconversations_top_pages
The gentleman is completely ignorant of what CRT is and what it purports to indoctrinate children with. He has managed to get on with life in the spring of 2021 with the strange idea that certain states want to ban discussion of the history of the US and past and current day race relations. He will have a hard time actually finding any facts to back up his beliefs, but then again - he probably feels no need to as facts are symptoms of 'white supremacy'.

[Don Bessee]

Well the good news is -

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/16/poll-58-of-americans-hold-unfavorable-view-of-critical-race-theory-38-favorable/

;-)

[scenes]

Scotto: "The gentleman is completely ignorant of what CRT is"

Oh well, people tend to fight with the technology and tactics of the last war. I doubt that he has any clue what a CRT full-court press looks and sounds like, but you have to actively search the stuff out. CNN over your morning coffee will just present the happy-face version.

He did get me to thinking about how to present history though. I'm perfectly willing to accept a re-write of a text or presentation. I really like the idea of a truthful narrative with no ugly truth unexposed. Nobody comes out smelling like a rose. OTOH, you'd need to work in an explanation of the value of in-group preferences, historical cycles, and the like. You'd need to be careful to stick to 'what' and avoid the 'why', this last is where the crazy people get their talons on the matter. They think of groups as having the same logic as individuals.

lol. I can imagine the uproar of a textbook with a chapter on slavery practices among indigenous Americans or their torture techniques. A ten year-old boy would probably love it.

[Gregory]

MAW is the same Linda Campbell who tried to derail NC Tea Partiers from a 4th of July parade... retired principal of NU Technical High school which is technically a high school. Former NJUHSD board member. Strange bird.

[Scott O]

I'm reading his latest book.
https://spectatorworld.com/topic/identity-crisis-politics-race-wreck-america-charles-murray/
I can just imagine the outrage from 'progressives' over having this book introduced into the public schools. They claim they want inclusive and free-ranging discussions.
Hahaha!

[fish]

Posted by: Gregory | 17 June 2021 at 06:55 AM

MAW is the same Linda Campbell who tried to derail NC Tea Partiers from a 4th of July parade... retired principal of NU Technical High school which is technically a high school. Former NJUHSD board member. Strange bird.

....and who is almost certainly a regular sock puppet jockey here.

[Gregory]

fish 832

Her sock puppet here is from the irregular bin.

[fish]

Against my better judgement I looked at the "offering". So much smug self satisfaction.....I swear it's something in the water up there!

And who decided it was a good idea to give never left the 60's homeless guy a byline?

I am glad glad to see that Rich Howell has gotten away from prefacing every comment with, "As an educator......."! "As an educator, I'd like to Supersize my order"! "As an educator I think I prefer the whitewalls"! "As an educator, I seem to take my role as educator way too seriously"!

It was a bad look Rich....kudos on the self reflection.

[George Rebane]

ScottO 750am - Great minds and all that ;-) I am also in the middle of Murray's 'Facing Reality: Two Truths About Race In America'
https://www.amazon.com/Facing-Reality-Truths-about-America-ebook/dp/B08PL6C4RQ/ref=sr_1_1

Thanks for posting Murray's piece on it; we will have a lot more to say about it soon.

[Bill Tozer]

Critical race theory school battles are deepening the red-blue divide

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/op-eds/critical-race-theory-school-battles-are-deepening-the-red-blue-divide

[Bill Tozer]

‘NBC Left Out Key Details on Critical Race Theory Fight at Maine School, Parent Says’

When NBC News did address critical race theory, or CRT – a self-avowedly activist political movement – they watered it down to be nothing more than “the academic study of racism’s impact,” and a “catch-all term” that activists and parents use to refer to “equity programs, teaching about racism or LGBTQ-inclusive policies.”

The report failed to mention CRT’s Marxist roots, or that its adherents often call for radically altering the American and capitalist systems. For example, while the NBC story did note that the Maine school district had paid over $12,000 to the nonprofit Community Change Inc. for diversity and equity training, it failed to mention that Community Change Inc. also advocates to “end capitalism” and to “look at other economic models … such as socialism and anarchism.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/nbc-left-out-key-details-in-story-on-critical-race-theory-fight-at-maine-school-parent-says/
———————-
‘Vanity Fair Is The Latest Outlet To Botch A Smear On Republicans Opposing Critical Race Theory’
Staff writer Charlotte Klein proposes conservatives are delusional for noticing what transpires in schools across the country

https://thefederalist.com/2021/06/17/vanity-fair-is-the-latest-outlet-to-botch-a-smear-on-republicans-opposing-critical-race-theory/
——————————-
For those unfamiliar with the details and full picture involved in CRT, just consider it Marxism for Dummies.

[Scott O]

re BT's post 1:50
Community Change Inc: "...and to “look at other economic models … such as socialism and anarchism.”
Total hilarity!
Yeah - let's go for anarchy as an economic model.
And I thought our local ex-newsboy was a little light with the grey matter.
Well - they did pull in 12K - so I guess the idiot grifters stumbled onto an even more whacked-out crew.

[Don Bessee]

Team Trump is still in the fight -

While President Joe Biden was barnstorming across Europe, America First Legal, a group founded by former President Donald Trump's top White House lieutenants, secured its first substantive win in an effort to obstruct the Biden administration's agenda.

Former senior adviser to the president Stephen Miller launched AFL in the spring of 2021 with a clear, stated objective: "Stop the constant onslaught from the radical left in Washington" through the courts.

The litigation outfit — which now boasts former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, and former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker among its board of directors — secured favorable rulings in three related lawsuits, forcing the Biden administration to halt nearly 3,000 approved payments from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, a Small Business Administration pandemic relief program, on Monday.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/top-trump-officials-secure-first-192100958.html?.tsrc=fp_deeplink

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

Blow back. Libs are now backtracking, watering down 1611 and backing off having organisms at the mere mention of Ibram X. Kendi, anti-racism star. Since CRT is the favorite of liberal academia and the Lamestream media, the odds of not getting CRT shoveled down our throats (with a mere 38% support) is not good.
The Totalitarian despots are in charge, but bless ALL with the courage to stand up against the anti-Americans and American haters. As Charles Barkley recently said, “A lot of our bosses are cowards.” It takes courage to stand up to the bullies and crackpots.

‘Parents Are Rapidly Organizing Against Public School Indoctrination. ‘Moms For Liberty’ Is Zeroing In On School Boards’
Founder of a group called “Moms For Liberty” says “we have a plan to turn this ship around.”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/parents-are-rapidly-organizing-against-public-school-indoctrination-moms-for-liberty-is-zeroing-in-on-school-boards?

The fight is were we can push back and push back hard: at the local and state level. Don’t mess our Mother Hens and brave parents as they fight to keep their children from being taught that all their children are racists and White Supremacists due soley to the color of their skin.

We don’t punish the children of illegals for the sins of their fathers, yet the Lefty Commie Bastards want to hold our kids responsible for the sins of people 200 years ago.

Yo lefties and school administrators and State Board of Education and County Superintendents of Schools in CA: Fuck off and die. Yes, fuck of and die. People of courage are gunning for you.

[Bill Tozer]

Looney Campbell in Minnesota?

THE BATTLE AGAINST CRT GETS PHYSICAL

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/the-battle-against-crt-gets-physical.php

[The Estonian Fox]

DB @ 2:29 PM-

I understand that John Durham will be submitting a lawsuit to stop the Brits from marching on, and setting fire to, the White House. John was quoted by the Washington Post "Someone has to stop the darn redcoats- er, the British Warfighting Team." Have to give credit to John, he had quite a rapid response on this suit.

[Don Bessee]

On point to say the least -

Political cartoon of the day: Threat to homeland

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cartoons-slideshow

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

WATCH: Black Father Explodes At Critical Race Theory During School Board Meeting

https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-black-father-explodes-at-critical-race-theory-during-school-board-meeting?

[Bill Tozer]

My, my. Don’t they get all upset when they realize they get outplayed by citizen journalists (of all uneducated people) and to add insult to injury, they realized their narrative is waning and they don’t have a lock on information. Without further ado..l.

NBC ‘Journalist’ Furious That Critical Race Theory Critics Are Doing Better Journalism Than She is
Should we be shocked that a so-called journalist is criticizing a legal process used by people to understand what their own governments are doing? Absolutely not.

The NBC reporter decries the Freedom of Information Act then claims those who file FOIAs are operating under the erroneous impression critical race theory is a real phenomenon hijacking the school system. Along with many leftists, Zadrozny therefore pushes the idea critical race theory is a voodoo conspiracy Republicans have cooked up.

“Virtually all school districts insist they are not teaching critical race theory, but many activists and parents have begun using it as a catch-all term to refer to what schools often call equity programs, teaching about racism or LGBTQ-inclusive policies,” she wrote in an article jointly bylined with others. “Now, conservative activists are setting their sights on ousting as many school board members as they can, and local Republican Parties have vowed to help, viewing the revolt against critical race theory as akin to the tea party wave from a decade ago.”

A day later, Zadrozny thought she struck gold. She published a hit piece on Republican activists based on a Media Matters report decrying the idea that parents could also be political.

One of the people she discussed, Fight for Schools Executive Director Ian Prior, told The Federalist, “It says a lot that an NBC News ‘reporter’ thinks that moms and dads fighting for their children is a problem because they have appeared on Fox News or are conservative.”

“What these ‘reporters’ that are now writing hit pieces on parents fail to understand is that this is not political for any of us — it’s 100 percent personal,” Prior added.

https://thefederalist.com/2021/06/18/nbc-journalist-furious-that-critical-race-theory-critics-are-doing-better-journalism-than-she-is/

[Don Bessee]

About that -

Illinois father goes viral for speech against critical race theory: 'Bunch of nonsense' and virtue signaling
'How do I have two medical degrees if I’m sitting here oppressed?' Ty Smith asked

https://www.foxnews.com/media/ty-smith-father-viral-video-critical-race-theory-school-board-nonsense-virtue-signaling

;-)

[scenes]

..and for those who think that Clownworld is limited to the US.

"School Board cuts honours programs
School board says honours programs create inequities between students"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-school-board-cuts-honours-program-1.6068578

Is it possible to have a peaceful divorce? I sure hope so.

[scenes]

huh. Somebody had a good point in the article mentioned above.

What they are doing is basically matching education to the needs of government jobs.

[George Rebane]

Unbelievable. Tomorrow we'll hear that having job-required skills is not longer necessary since it discriminates between those who have them and those who don't. From my experience in dealing with government, it seems that in one way or another this policy may have been in place for years.

[Bill Tozer]

Scenes @ 2:06 pm

If the Woke want to be consistent, the Lefties should drop the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globe, Toni, and all music awards henceforth. It is obvious to everyone that such events are celebrations of those who can act better, perform better, write better, compose better, sing better than everyone else. They promote inequity with gusto. Shameful display of exalting the privileged, the more talented, and the least equitable.

[Scott O]

Mayor Garcetti sez: "Systemic racism is racism that’s built into systems. Slavery was systemic racism. Segregation is systemic racism. The idea that a child who is born into a black family, on average, that family has $17,000 of wealth, and a white family has $171,000 of wealth? That’s economic systemic racism. Freed slaves were promised “forty acres and a mule.” Didn’t get it.
OK - since we haven't had slavery for quite a few hours now and segregation is something that only blacks now say they want - I'd say that using those examples to prove we now have 'systemic racism' aren't really a good look if you want to appear to have at least a room temperature IQ.
Then there's the most brain dead example imaginable.
"...a black family, on average, that family has $17,000 of wealth..."
Hey - shite for brains - lots of people of all color skin are in that boat. If that is proof of racism...?
40 acres and a mule.
No, wait -
Are you one of those ultra right wing facists that think the US govt isn't straight up honest all the time?
My ancestors in this country didn't get 40 acres or a mule.
Where are my reparations?
Maybe Oprah can help a brutha out, here?

[Don Bessee]

Also the party of evil -

The documents released by the Barrington Public Schools reveals that Barrington High School teachers used classroom assignments – including earning extra credit points – to organize students in a coordinated campaign to influence legislation in Rhode Island. Their assignments were a thinly-veiled attack on the legislation. That was obvious in the email by a teacher who explicitly sought out students voices to support her testimony against the bill. This campaign by the Barrington High School teachers underscores a disturbing national trend in which school teachers, officials and administrators are exploiting their power to indoctrinate – not educate – students.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/18/teachers-reward-bonus-points-to-students-who-testify-on-anti-critical-race-theory-bill/

;-)

[Scott O]

I'm sure they mean well.
"If we just give voice to the oppressed!"
OK, here goes -
"“I’ve worked so long in this business, and I’ve done so many things that I felt were not appreciated or overlooked or things that were not considered to be worthy of promotion — and this is like my first promotion,” Mackie told Variety."
Pretty sure this fragile little boy is the VERY first person in Hollywood to 'feel' this way.
https://www.breitbart.com/entertainment/2021/06/18/marvel-star-anthony-mackie-america-keeps-black-men-from-seeing-their-potential/
Here's total proof:
"In one scene, Mackie’s Sam Wilson was turned down for a loan by a bank officer, a scene that the series showrunner, Malcolm Spellman, said was meant to highlight the real-life experiences of blacks in the U.S. today."
Yep - only blacks get turned down for loans in America today.
And no blacks can get a loan in America.
"In another scene, Sam Wilson discovers that the U.S. government lied to him and led him to believe he would take over as the new Captain America. Instead, the government gave the role to a white soldier."
OK, what is up with this idea that the US govt is lying to us?
C'mon, man!
"Spellman also noted that the producers specifically aimed to hire only black writers for the series to focus on race issues on the Disney show."
And that is a big improvement over wanting to hire only white writers.
See how far we've progressed?

[Scott O]

I just finished the book and then found this:
https://www.takimag.com/article/last-men-standing-charles-murray-vs-ibram-x-kendi/
Can you imagine X-Kendi vs Murray in a straight up debate?
Another reason I have zero respect for the left.
Crooks, con men and cowards.
Shine the light and just like cockroaches, they scurry.

[Don Bessee]

You have to have a spine and the strength of your foundations if you really believe -

Bill Maher rips Lin-Manuel Miranda for 'In the Heights' diversity apology: 'This is why people hate Democrats'
HBO host urges 'Hamilton' creator and others to stand up to 'bullies' on social media

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/bill-maher-lin-manuel-miranda-apology-in-the-heights

;-)

[Scott O]

Aha! So this is how George supplements his retirement:
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/06/20/cornell-belcher-outrage-over-critical-race-theory-not-grassroots-organized-and-is-being-paid-for/
Fess up, George - how much are you being paid?
From Belcher: "This is not grassroots, and Brad, you know this is organized and is being paid for.”
I guess Belcher is relying on the Paul Emery school of establishing fact.
"It's obvious!"

[Gregory]

SO 820am

I've not gotten my anti CRT warrior check this quarter... where is it?!!

[George Rebane]

ScottO 820am - For months now, I too continue to languish checkless after being promised riches.

[fish]

Posted by: Gregory | 21 June 2021 at 10:09 AM

Hey...did Truckee's foremost public intellectual ever get back to you about CRT? It just seemed that he wanted so desperately to set you straight on the matter.

[Scott O]

Gregory and George - Contact Cornell Belcher immediately to correct this oversight. According to Belcher the checks went out some time ago. He seems to have the details.

[Bill Tozer]

AstroTurf!!! The Koch Brothers. Astro-turf!! Warning. Do not be fooled, it’s Astro-Turf! The Tea Party is a front. Take us to YOUR leader.

Yo, Dr. Rebane. Remember when it was not so subtly insinuated that when you, yes you attended one of the first Tea Party local events at the Horseman’s....that you, wretched sir, kept the secret membership list that folks had to sign to join the “Tea Baggers.” Tell us about those secret membership roles, Dr. Rebane.

Nothing new under the sun. The check is in the mail, my Mercedes is in the shop, let’s do lunch, and I won’t jism in your mouth. And, of course, CRT is not a grassroots movement.
——————-
Scenes: way off topic, but I remember the name of the outfit I was employed at on my Bill Tozer FB page. The company was called Satisfying Bowel Movements. Indeed, I was most satisfied when the local lefty Sherlock Holmes (former award winning journalist) sniffed that one out. Must say, that was one clean smooth, consistent satisfying bowel movement dumped right on a 3 digit address, Podunk City. Quainty Town, USA.

[Gregory]

fish 1035am

Nuth'in from Frisch but his Doppelganger, "Corniglio Digli" on The Union viafoura pages, has been giving it the old CalState 'frisco try.

[Don Bessee]

If you didnt know it was serious it looks like a joke -

Critics are slamming the Washington Post for a video they published in which ‘experts’ encourage white people to create "white accountability groups" and to go through a "period of deep shame."

On Friday, the Washington Post released a new video as part of its podcast series titled "The New Normal." The five-minute segment titled "What is White racial identity and why is it important?" featured an array of mental health experts and scholars in which they discussed the "understanding your whiteness and the ways that white supremacy benefits you."

One of the ways experts suggested to "understand whiteness" included, among other things, joining or creating a "White accountability group."

Fellow trauma specialist Ilyse Kennedy said that White people needed "period of deep shame for being White and for acknowledging the harm that our ancestors have caused.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/washington-post-video-deep-shame-white-people

;-)

[Barry Pruett]

Statistics don’t lie. The vast majority of murders in Chicago are of young black males. Only 20% were shootings.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-chicago-homicides-data-tracker-htmlstory.html

[scenes]

re: Ilyse Kennedy

https://www.inclusivetherapists.com/united-states/austin/therapy/ilyse-kennedy

You do have to wonder about a site called Inclusive The Rapists, but Lord knows what they shove into their clients' minds, being crazy and all.

My favorite thing here is my New Word For the Day. 'Desettling'. I think I get the flavor of it. Love it. 'Ally' is in here, but I already know that one (Ally: (n) Person not to be hurt 'cuz I'm really on your side when the violence breaks out at least don't break my windows).

[scenes]

More Ilyse (which, unfortunately, scans too much like 'Ilsa' of She Wolf fame).

"Speakers in the video encourage White people to self-segregate into 'White accountability groups'"

Now this is not a bad idea. I'm envisioning a group of reprobates that gives Mr. Gregory rifle-buying advice. We can call it the Sierra Boomstick Council.

Say, that reminds me, can you buy a Saiga shotgun in California? Now *that* would make for a good 'Hello Kitty' casemod.

[Gregory]

" We can call it the Sierra Boomstick Council."

Not a council of boomsticks...
Maybe Sierra Boomstick Counsel.

6.5 Creedmoor is great. .308 is good enough, and ammo is likely to not be the limiting factor if i be the one pulling the trigger. 308 cheaper and readily available...

CRT will get worse before it gets better.

[Bill Tozer]

Its corporate racist crap

Ben Shapiro. Worth catching for a minute or two.

https://fb.watch/6i2-2IFWTg/

[Don Bessee]

A good example of the 'thinking' of folks who push this crap -

Readers puzzled by 'word salad' Washington Post column decrying 'In The Heights' as insufficiently diverse
Column fretting about 'White Latinxs' in Lin-Manuel Miranda's new movie compared to a bad Oberlin term paper

"‘In the Heights’ picks and chooses mythical "universal" Latino experiences over letting the truth stand in its entirety. The deprioritization of lived and racialized experiences in favor of a nonexistent mono-cultural "Latinidad" has no function beyond fantasy. How can we honor those who came before us and risked everything to exist despite the challenge of erasure? Are we willing to let them be sold out so that White Latinxs can use our keys to open their own doors? No. We must hold people such as Miranda accountable for writing us out of our own story. There is absolutely no community without accountability,"

https://www.foxnews.com/media/readers-puzzled-by-word-salad-washington-post-column-decrying-in-the-heights-as-insufficiently-diverse

;-)

[Bill Tozer]

THE BOTTOMLESS ABYSS OF CRT

Liberals have long hooted at Julian Simon and others who argue that people are the “ultimate resource,” and not physical matter, especially not gold. So, what the Derrick Bell story really makes clear is which segment of opinion thinks African-Americans are a liability on America’s balance sheet, and, by implication, who the real racists are at the present moment. Only a liberal would find “Space Traders” to be a plausible scenario. Perhaps “liberal guilt” isn’t so silly after all. But they need to stop insisting that the rest of us have to join their collective guilt madness.

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/06/the-bottomless-abyss-of-crt.php

If the aliens arrive, hope against hope they won’t ask to see our leader in the basement. He would probably start sniffing the backs of their heads.

[Bill Tozer]

‘Down a Black Hole’
Even the hard sciences are no longer immune to the ongoing racial hysteria.
Heather Mac Donald

https://www.city-journal.org/cornell-black-hole-class-racializes-astronomy?wallit_nosession=1

[Bill Tozer]

Blow back at the local levels.

'Woke militants blunder into a parental buzz saw'

"Not a day passes without mothers and fathers rebelling against left-wing indoctrination of their children at school. Like magma erupting through the Earth’s crust, superheated parental anger is cracking the natural disinclination of ordinary people to speak up on controversial issues. Videos of parents confronting an education establishment that has been entirely captured by the radical Left are going viral so often that they’ve become a new social media genre, as Max Eden noted in the Washington Examiner magazine.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/woke-militants-blunder-into-a-parental-buzz-saw

[Bill Tozer]

‘CRT Backlash Is Not Astroturf’
By THE EDITORS

“K–12 education is where CRT has finally hit a popular backlash among American parents of all colors, who do not want their children indoctrinated in racial animosity and grievance, self-hatred, and crackpot history. The merest glimpse at public meetings on the topic, and the raw emotions of concerned parents, should disabuse anyone of the progressive notion that this is a concocted “Astroturf” movement put up by shadowy right-wing billionaires. It turns out that ordinary Americans and first-generation immigrants want their children to learn American ideals instead of Ivy League faculty-lounge jargon. They also do not appreciate the bullying and climate of fear that inevitably accompany CRT wherever it grows.

State legislation is a blunt instrument, and many of the first-generation anti-CRT bills could be more carefully written. The long game should be more grassroots involvement in ensuring that schools teach American history and values with fairness and accuracy. That includes the many racial injustices in our history that have deviated from our founding ideals. It is not improper, censorious, or unconstitutional for the people to decide what should be taught to children by government employees in government schools on government property. In this case, common sense, and devotion to a truthful version of our history, demands nothing less.“

https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/06/crt-backlash-is-not-astroturf/

[Bill Tozer]

As numerous videos emerge of parents voicing opposition to CRT at local school board meetings across the fruited plains, one quote stands out from a black father: 'How do I have two medical degrees if I'm sitting here oppressed?” That quote stuck with me.

“You talk about critical race theory which is pretty much teaching your kids how to hate each other, how to dislike each other,’ averred Tie Smith addressing the Bloomington Public School Board in Illinois on June 9. Smith explained that CRT was taking away his accomplishments as a successfully self-educated black man.”
——

‘Meet the CRT burghers’

The populist parent uprising against critical race theory

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/crt-burghers-parents-schools-critical-race-theory/

[paul emery]

George
After reading your piece I am still confounded why you hardly said a word on this blog about the 7.8 Trillion in debt that your guy Trump ran up in only four years. Am I missing something on this?

[paul emery]

this was meant to be on the Open Letter... post

[Gregory]

A fresh must-read on the subject at hand. I apologize for the source...

https://www.heritage.org/sites/default/files/2020-12/BG3567.pdf

[Bill Tozer]

To quote (paraphrase)a local lefty, “What does the debt have to do with THIS discussion? Stay in your lane, slim.

Ok, a more accurate quote would be, “ What is the Cotton Futures Act of 1916 and why is it relevant to this discussion?”. Lol.
—————-
Why States Should Bar CRT

....”We do not want our children taught that that they bear the guilt of oppression simply because of their race or sex. We do not want them taught that they bear the onus of hatred, whether they are conscious of it or not. Nor do we want them taught that citizens should receive special status or entitlement simply by virtue of identity-group membership. We want our children taught by both precept and example that in the public sphere we are individuals first and foremost.

Mr. Chairman, it is important to emphasize that H.B. 322 does not prohibit discussion of the various concepts itemized in the bill. Indeed, H.B. 322 does not prohibit discussion of critical race theory, however defined. The only things prohibited by H.B. 322 are attempts to “inculcate” the illiberal concepts listed in the bill. Anything may be discussed. What is prohibited is the attempt to teach the specific concepts listed, as truths worthy of assent and belief.

This is well within the rights of a state or school district. K-12 teachers in the process of imparting lessons do not have academic freedom in the sense that university professors do. There is every good reason for this difference. Public school students are a captive audience. And crucially, K-12 students are not adults. Adults have reached a level of maturity where they are able to be exposed to a wide variety of perspectives and left to themselves to judge which to accept. Children are not so mature, nor so fully formed, and are therefore more vulnerable to shaping by their schools and teachers. Parents should not have to tolerate schools that saddle their children with guilt or remorse for their skin color. No child should be subjected to such teachings. That is not freedom. On the contrary, it is pernicious indoctrination, and any school system is well within its rights to prevent it.“

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/why-states-should-bar-crt/

[George Rebane]

PaulE 817am - Probably for the same reason you kept very quiet about Obama, with the sound of silence now continuing under Biden. According to the OMB, Obama raised national debt by 74% and Trump by 33%. And what does all this have to with CRT, unless progressives' lying about presidential debt is the point you want to make?
https://www.thebalance.com/us-debt-by-president-by-dollar-and-percent-3306296

[George Rebane]

Gregory 851am - Thanks for the heads up on the article, but I didn't understand the reason for your apology.

[paul emery]

Interesting that the link you cite has Reagan with the biggest increase in modern times with 186% increase. Bush is second with 101% followed with Obama 74%. Your link confirms my belief that it is the Repubs that abuse the debt with no negative feedback from the so called fiscal conservatives. Also Trumps numbers are just for four years not eight as you site for Obama.

[Gregory]

GR 931am

I am not a fan of Heritage.

Punchy 940am

I believe Wm.F. Buckley said Democrats are socialists; Republicans are reluctant socialists. Had his Democrat Speaker honored his promise, the Gipper would have held the line on spending.

[Bill Tozer]

Might be CRT related.

Thieves, Not Corporations, Are Responsible for Car Thefts

“As the decay of America’s urban centers continues, Milwaukee, Wisconsin has experienced a nearly 200 percent increase in car thefts this year, prompting city council members to take action.

But rather than calling for more police officers, or even the left’s preferred curative of social workers, to be hired, Alderman Khalif Rainey and Alderwoman Milele Coggs wrote some strongly worded letters instead: to car manufacturers.

Once again, any idea of personal culpability for one’s own actions has been thrown out the window in America. It cannot be the fault of the vehicles’ owners that their car was stolen, and woe unto you should you dare to fault the actual thieves! No, only the big bad corporations can be faulted, as their cars are simply too easy to steal.

“KIA and Hyundai are directly responsible, in my view, for the drain on police and other city resources that have been sadly directed to deal with the rash of vehicle thefts and the havoc those thefts have brought to our city,” Rainey wrote in a press release. “It’s time for these companies to fix the problem they created.”

Yet the ease with which one can steal something does not make it less of a moral failing on your part if you do steal it. It should be common knowledge that even if a complete stranger drives up, leaves the door to their car wide open, and hands you the keys saying, “Hey please watch my car, I need to run inside but I’ll be back in 15 minutes,” you still should not steal the car.

But this condemnation of car manufacturers is at least consistent with similar positions on the left. Just as guns make it easier for people to kill others, and thus must be banned, so certain cars make it easier for people to steal them, so they must be modified, and perhaps eventually banned as well if Kia and Hyundai do not comply with Coggs and Rainey’s demands.

Coggs and Rainey’s statement is especially rich considering they both voted to reduce the Milwaukee Police Department’s budget by 10 percent last year. That the two fail to see a connection between their votes and the current problems demonstrates a failure of true critical thinking, a skill that is sorely lacking in a great many of America’s contemporary politicians.

More profoundly, their letter shows just how little the contemporary American political system values personal responsibility. For anyone who finds themselves in an unfortunate or unethical situation there are a myriad of ready-made excuses provided by academics and leftist politicians. Rather than prosecuting or verbally chastising people for their own failings in life it is far easier and more politically expedient to berate nebulous and impersonal things such as corporations or systemic racism.”

https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/thieves--not-corporations--are-responsible-for-car-thefts/

[Gregory]

Another good quote from CRT proponents:

"The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power. The movement considers many of the same issues that conventional civil rights and ethnic studies discourses take up, but places them in a broader perspective that includes economics, history, context, group- and self-interest, and even feelings and the unconscious. Unlike traditional civil rights, which embraces incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law."

Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefanic, widely credited as key architects of CRT

I like my Enlightenment rationalism.

[scenes]

"The critical race theory (CRT) movement is a collection of activists and scholars interested in studying and transforming the relationship among race, racism, and power."

Of course, more than a little (most? all?) of this is simply picking the corpse for juicy tidbits of meat. The fact that the corpse is still moving makes it more interesting.

If you are incompetent in any practical sense, sometimes it's easier to change the definition of competence.

It isn't like a guard at Kolyma was an expert in the subtleties of a subtheory of Marxist thought. He just knew that he ate regularly, got to safely beat up enemies of the state, and got his pick of the women. Maybe not so different from working for Timur the Lame. To the average foot soldier, CRT is simply a word salad giving you a right to conquest.

[scenes]

moi: "If you are incompetent in any practical sense, sometimes it's easier to change the definition of competence."

But see, here is where my own self-doubt creeps in.

Taking a list of 'White Culture Assumptions' (h/t to Judith Katz)...self-reliance, competition, property rights, avoid emotion, time schedules, nuclear family etc....

https://www.cascadia.edu/discover/about/diversity/documents/Some%20Aspects%20and%20Assumptions%20of%20White%20Culture%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf

...perhaps it's just that those features have become bugs, or at least less important, due to some other reason or no reason at all.

CRT is sensing a power vacuum and moving in. No persuasive or physical force needed, simply an open door.

[Bill Tozer]

‘Why the Fight over Critical Race Theory Matters’

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2021/07/12/dewey-defeats-critical-race-theory/?

[Don Bessee]

Its a vast right wing conspiracy and its not true they say despite all the evidence -

California university offers faculty $1,200 stipends for course on CRT, eradicating 'whiteness': report
First session revolves 'deepening our understanding of Critical Race Theory and Critical Pedagogies'

https://www.foxnews.com/us/california-east-bay-eradicating-whiteness

;-)

[Don Bessee]

The chi coms just love using crt against us to stir the pot -

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/06/29/chinese-media-anglo-saxons-dna-makes-them-genocidal/

;-)

[Don Bessee]

Embrace and promote crt, check. Slam the jews, check. Teach kids to competence, naw. -

Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union to Consider Resolution Condemning Israel’s ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of Palestinians

https://news.yahoo.com/nation-largest-teachers-union-consider-160018723.html

;-)