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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
January 3, 2021
"Peace to all who work with the children!"
This letter was put out by a superintendent in upstate New York (Voorheesvile) and all parents and teachers need to hear this 🙂
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when they finally return to school. My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of a pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country and the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. In our determination to “catch them up,” I fear that we will lose who they are and what they have learned during this unprecedented era. What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make those invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up telephone! They simply do not apply.
When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history.
I sincerely plead with my colleagues, to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement and greet the children where they are, not where we think they “should be.” Greet them with art supplies and writing materials, and music and dance and so many other avenues to help them express what has happened to them in their lives during this horrific year. Greet them with stories and books that will help them make sense of an upside-down world. They missed you. They did not miss the test prep. They did not miss the worksheets. They did not miss the reading groups. They did not miss the homework. They missed you.
Resist the pressure from whatever ‘powers that be’ who are in a hurry to “fix” kids and make up for the “lost” time. The time was not lost, it was invested in surviving an historic period of time in their lives—in our lives. The children do not need to be fixed. They are not broken. They need to be heard. They need be given as many tools as we can provide to nurture resilience and help them adjust to a post pandemic world.
Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is and what can be. Please, let what can be demonstrate that our children have so much to share about the world they live in and in helping them make sense of what, for all of us has been unimaginable. This will help them– and us– achieve a lot more than can be measured by any assessment tool ever devised. Peace to all who work with the children!
I am writing today about the children of this pandemic. After a lifetime of working among the young, I feel compelled to address the concerns that are being expressed by so many of my peers about the deficits the children will demonstrate when they finally return to school. My goodness, what a disconcerting thing to be concerned about in the face of a pandemic which is affecting millions of people around the country and the world. It speaks to one of my biggest fears for the children when they return. In our determination to “catch them up,” I fear that we will lose who they are and what they have learned during this unprecedented era. What on earth are we trying to catch them up on? The models no longer apply, the benchmarks are no longer valid, the trend analyses have been interrupted. We must not forget that those arbitrary measures were established by people, not ordained by God. We can make those invalid measures as obsolete as a crank up telephone! They simply do not apply.
When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history.
I sincerely plead with my colleagues, to surrender the artificial constructs that measure achievement and greet the children where they are, not where we think they “should be.” Greet them with art supplies and writing materials, and music and dance and so many other avenues to help them express what has happened to them in their lives during this horrific year. Greet them with stories and books that will help them make sense of an upside-down world. They missed you. They did not miss the test prep. They did not miss the worksheets. They did not miss the reading groups. They did not miss the homework. They missed you.
Resist the pressure from whatever ‘powers that be’ who are in a hurry to “fix” kids and make up for the “lost” time. The time was not lost, it was invested in surviving an historic period of time in their lives—in our lives. The children do not need to be fixed. They are not broken. They need to be heard. They need be given as many tools as we can provide to nurture resilience and help them adjust to a post pandemic world.
Being a teacher is an essential connection between what is and what can be. Please, let what can be demonstrate that our children have so much to share about the world they live in and in helping them make sense of what, for all of us has been unimaginable. This will help them– and us– achieve a lot more than can be measured by any assessment tool ever devised. Peace to all who work with the children!
January 3, 2021
Precedent? Ten Senators Expelled-July 11, 1861
Could happen, has happened, but not in awhile. Maybe it's time. 
A girl can dream...
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Ten_Senators_Expelled.htm
Ten Senators Expelled
July 11, 1861
Abraham Lincoln by Freeman Thorp
For what reasons should the Senate expel a member? The Constitution simply states that each house of Congress may "punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member." When the Senate expelled William Blount in 1797 by a nearly unanimous vote, it had reason to believe he was involved in a conspiracy against the United States.
Sixty-four years later, at the start of the Civil War, senators again turned to this constitutional safeguard. Between December 1860 and June 1861, 11 of the nation's 34 states had voted to withdraw from the Union. What was the status of their 22 senators at the beginning of the 37th Congress? Some were no longer senators because their terms had expired. Others sent a letter of resignation. Still others, believing their seats no longer existed, simply left without formal notice. Several remained, despite their states' departure.
During a brief special session in March 1861, weeks before the start of hostilities, the Senate decided to consider these seats as vacant to avoid officially recognizing that it was possible for a state to leave the Union.
On the Fourth of July 1861, with open warfare in progress, President Abraham Lincoln convened Congress to deal with the emergency. With all hope of reconciliation gone, the Senate took up a resolution of expulsion against its 10 missing members. The resolution's supporters argued that the 10 were guilty, like Blount years before, of conspiracy against the government. In futile opposition, several senators contended that the departed southerners were merely following the dictates of their states and were not guilty of personal misconduct.
On July 11, 1861, the Senate quickly passed Senate Daniel Clark's resolution, expelling all 10 southern senators by a vote of 32 to 10. By the following February, the Senate expelled another four senators for offering aid to the Confederacy. Since 1862, despite considering expulsion in an additional 16 instances, the Senate has removed no member under this provision.
January 3, 2021
California Funeral Homes Are Running Out of Room for Bodies
GRIM
Ana Lucia Murillo, Breaking News/Cheat Sheet Intern
Published Jan. 02, 2021 6:49PM ET
California Funeral Homes Are Running Out of Room for Bodies
https://www.thedailybeast.com/california-funeral-homes-are-running-out-of-room-for-bodies?ref=homeCalifornia Funeral Homes Are Running Out of Room for Bodies
GRIM
Ana Lucia Murillo, Breaking News/Cheat Sheet Intern
Published Jan. 02, 2021 6:49PM ET
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage across the country, funeral homes in the hard-hit area of Southern California are finding they don’t have enough space to hold all the dead. Funeral home directors “fear they won’t be able to keep up” with the continuing surge of deaths, Bob Achermann, executive director of the California Funeral Directors Association, told the Associated Press. One funeral director in the Los Angeles area told the AP she had to turn grieving families away before deciding to order at least two 50-foot refrigerators to help with the six-fold increase in bodies they’ve seen since the start of the pandemic. “I’ve been in the funeral industry for 40 years and never in my life did I think that this could happen, that I’d have to tell a family, ‘No, we can’t take your family member,’” she was quoted saying. California is seeing a higher rate of new coronavirus cases than any other state in the country. In Los Angeles County alone, 10,000 people have died of the virus. The U.S. reached 20 million coronavirus cases on Jan. 1st and is approaching 350,000 deaths from the virus.
January 2, 2021
Pence Says He Welcomes Objections to Electoral Tally
January 2, 2021 at 6:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Pence Says He Welcomes Objections to Electoral Tally
https://politicalwire.com/2021/01/02/pence-welcomes-objections-to-electoral-tally/Pence Says He Welcomes Objections to Electoral Tally
January 2, 2021 at 6:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard
Vice President Mike Pence’s office released a statement on efforts by some GOP lawmakers to invalidate the Electoral College vote:
“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.”
“The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
“Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.”
“The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
January 2, 2021
Tennessee Health Workers Accused of Turning Away Elderly Vaccine Recipient Hopefuls to Give Doses to Friends
Friends and Family Plan
Adam Rawnsley
Published Jan. 01, 2021 7:20PM ET
TN Health Workers Accused of Turning Away Elderly Vaccine Recipient Hopefuls to Give Doses to Friend
https://www.thedailybeast.com/tennessee-health-workers-accused-of-turning-away-elderly-vaccine-recipient-hopefuls-to-give-doses-to-friends?ref=homeTennessee Health Workers Accused of Turning Away Elderly Vaccine Recipient Hopefuls to Give Doses to Friends
Friends and Family Plan
Adam Rawnsley
Published Jan. 01, 2021 7:20PM ET
People over 75 lined up for hours in Tennessee to get a chance at a COVID-19 vaccine only to find out that staff distributing the inoculations gave away doses to friends and family after telling hundreds who’d waited for hours that no more shots were available. Reporters from WRCB-TV learned that staff at the Tennessee Riverpark vaccination center had phoned relatives and friends and told them vaccines were still available after the facility had turned away potential patients. Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said the incident was the result of a “miscalculation,” in which officials discovered they had more doses available only after turning patients away and sought to make use of them quickly before the vaccine thawed and spoiled.
January 1, 2021
The Next Big Challenge: Trump-Proofing the Presidency
By John Cassidy
December 29, 2020
snip//
Even if the voting system were retooled, however, that wouldn’t preclude the election of a demagogue who was more popular than Trump. So, whatever voting system we use, it’s imperative that we strengthen other types of defenses against an authoritarian leader, and, here again, there are a number of options available. To begin with, it’s vital to insure that no future President can get away with refusing to release their tax returns, which contain information about their financial obligations and other potential conflicts of interest. Until September, 2020, when the Times published an analysis of more than two decades of Trump’s tax data, which it had obtained, he had successfully hidden from voters the fact that, in the decade before he ran for office, he paid virtually nothing in federal income tax, partly because he secured a refund of $72.9 million in 2010, and that he had personally guaranteed more than three hundred million dollars of loans that will come due in the next four years.
By refusing to release his tax returns, Trump violated a Presidential norm that was established relatively recently. Richard Nixon instituted it in 1973, at the height of Watergate. “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I am not a crook,” Nixon famously said. In the wake of Trump, statutory requirements are in order. David Cay Johnston, an investigative journalist who has written widely on Trump and his finances, thinks that Congress should amend the U.S. tax code to require the Internal Revenue Service to make public six years of tax returns and other tax information, including the returns for any majority-owned businesses, of anyone who files to run for President. “We may not be able to require a president to release his or her tax returns as a condition of taking office, but we can shift the duty to the IRS,” Johnston, who is now working on a third Trump book, wrote to me.
Another area that requires immediate congressional action is the ethics laws that are meant to deal with potential conflicts of interest. Currently, these statutes contain a huge loophole for the President and Vice-President—which Trump exploited when, on taking office, he refused to give up ownership of any of his businesses, including a new Trump International Hotel situated just a few blocks from the White House. Since then, the hotel has become a meeting spot for diplomats, lobbyists, and others seeking to ingratiate themselves with the President. In violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, arguably, it has accepted payments from foreign governments.
Back in 2018, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington published an ethics-reform plan that could serve as the basis for future action. It called on Congress to create a legal requirement for the incoming President and Vice-President to divest any assets that created a potential conflict of interest. The group also proposed legislation that would mandate additional financial disclosures from Presidents and Vice-Presidents, limit contributions to Presidential Inaugurations and future Presidential libraries, strengthen existing anti-nepotism statutes, and require the full and prompt disclosure of White House visitor logs.
The group also noted that the problem isn’t just gaps in the ethics laws: it’s that existing statutes haven’t been properly enforced. A prime example is the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars federal employees, excepting only the President and Vice-President, from engaging in partisan politics, and prohibits the use of federal funds for political purposes. In June, 2019, the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that is supposed to insure compliance with the Hatch Act, recommended that Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser, be fired because she had violated the statute on numerous occasions. Trump and Conway ignored the O.S.C.’s recommendation. “When we used to film George W. Bush, we had to go to all sorts of lengths to avoid breaking the law,” Stuart Stevens, a veteran Republican political consultant turned Never Trumper, told me. He said that the Trump Administration had brazenly conducted campaign “events using official government employees and official government sites. These are taxpayer-funded events.”
more...
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-next-big-challenge-trump-proofing-the-presidency
The Next Big Challenge: Trump-Proofing the Presidency
The Next Big Challenge: Trump-Proofing the Presidency
By John Cassidy
December 29, 2020
snip//
Even if the voting system were retooled, however, that wouldn’t preclude the election of a demagogue who was more popular than Trump. So, whatever voting system we use, it’s imperative that we strengthen other types of defenses against an authoritarian leader, and, here again, there are a number of options available. To begin with, it’s vital to insure that no future President can get away with refusing to release their tax returns, which contain information about their financial obligations and other potential conflicts of interest. Until September, 2020, when the Times published an analysis of more than two decades of Trump’s tax data, which it had obtained, he had successfully hidden from voters the fact that, in the decade before he ran for office, he paid virtually nothing in federal income tax, partly because he secured a refund of $72.9 million in 2010, and that he had personally guaranteed more than three hundred million dollars of loans that will come due in the next four years.
By refusing to release his tax returns, Trump violated a Presidential norm that was established relatively recently. Richard Nixon instituted it in 1973, at the height of Watergate. “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I am not a crook,” Nixon famously said. In the wake of Trump, statutory requirements are in order. David Cay Johnston, an investigative journalist who has written widely on Trump and his finances, thinks that Congress should amend the U.S. tax code to require the Internal Revenue Service to make public six years of tax returns and other tax information, including the returns for any majority-owned businesses, of anyone who files to run for President. “We may not be able to require a president to release his or her tax returns as a condition of taking office, but we can shift the duty to the IRS,” Johnston, who is now working on a third Trump book, wrote to me.
Another area that requires immediate congressional action is the ethics laws that are meant to deal with potential conflicts of interest. Currently, these statutes contain a huge loophole for the President and Vice-President—which Trump exploited when, on taking office, he refused to give up ownership of any of his businesses, including a new Trump International Hotel situated just a few blocks from the White House. Since then, the hotel has become a meeting spot for diplomats, lobbyists, and others seeking to ingratiate themselves with the President. In violation of the emoluments clause of the Constitution, arguably, it has accepted payments from foreign governments.
Back in 2018, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington published an ethics-reform plan that could serve as the basis for future action. It called on Congress to create a legal requirement for the incoming President and Vice-President to divest any assets that created a potential conflict of interest. The group also proposed legislation that would mandate additional financial disclosures from Presidents and Vice-Presidents, limit contributions to Presidential Inaugurations and future Presidential libraries, strengthen existing anti-nepotism statutes, and require the full and prompt disclosure of White House visitor logs.
The group also noted that the problem isn’t just gaps in the ethics laws: it’s that existing statutes haven’t been properly enforced. A prime example is the Hatch Act of 1939, which bars federal employees, excepting only the President and Vice-President, from engaging in partisan politics, and prohibits the use of federal funds for political purposes. In June, 2019, the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency that is supposed to insure compliance with the Hatch Act, recommended that Kellyanne Conway, a White House adviser, be fired because she had violated the statute on numerous occasions. Trump and Conway ignored the O.S.C.’s recommendation. “When we used to film George W. Bush, we had to go to all sorts of lengths to avoid breaking the law,” Stuart Stevens, a veteran Republican political consultant turned Never Trumper, told me. He said that the Trump Administration had brazenly conducted campaign “events using official government employees and official government sites. These are taxpayer-funded events.”
more...
https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-next-big-challenge-trump-proofing-the-presidency
January 1, 2021
The Florida party scene was red hot even though the state reported 17,000 new cases on Thursday and confirmed it had detected a variant of the virus that is believed to spread much faster.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1344828931678081030
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/20-million-covid-cases-and-this-is-what-people-did-last-night?ref=home
20 Million COVID Cases and THIS Is What People Did Last Night
JFC 
A shitty governor will do that.
20 Million COVID Cases and THIS Is What People Did Last Night
WHAT PANDEMIC?
From Miami to Orlando, people jammed streets, bars, and restaurants as though the pandemic was history.
Tracy Connor, Executive Editor
Published Jan. 01, 2021 1:45PM ET
The United States passed the 20 million mark for COVID-19 cases on Friday, but some people apparently think the pandemic is over. In Florida, which is in the midst of a second surge, huge crowds milled in the streets and packed into bars and restaurants to ring in the New Year.
“We are not surprised that everything is open but there is no social distancing at all and people are packing together. No one cares,” Philip Farenholtz, visiting Miami Beach, told WGN.
The Florida party scene was red hot even though the state reported 17,000 new cases on Thursday and confirmed it had detected a variant of the virus that is believed to spread much faster.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1344828931678081030
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/20-million-covid-cases-and-this-is-what-people-did-last-night?ref=home
January 1, 2021
Posted on Thu, Dec 31st, 2020 by Alan Ryland
Axios Co-founder: Some Republicans Believe Trump is “Sabotaging” Georgia Race
During an appearance on CNBC, Axios co-founder Mike Allen said that some Republicans believe President Donald Trump’s erratic behavior in recent weeks is designed to “sabotage” the GOP’s chances of winning the Georgia runoff elections, which will determine which of the two major political parties will have control of the Senate.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/12/31/axios-co-founder-some-republicans-believe-trump-is-sabotaging-georgia-race.html
Axios Co-founder: Some Republicans Believe Trump is "Sabotaging" Georgia Race
Posted on Thu, Dec 31st, 2020 by Alan Ryland
Axios Co-founder: Some Republicans Believe Trump is “Sabotaging” Georgia Race
During an appearance on CNBC, Axios co-founder Mike Allen said that some Republicans believe President Donald Trump’s erratic behavior in recent weeks is designed to “sabotage” the GOP’s chances of winning the Georgia runoff elections, which will determine which of the two major political parties will have control of the Senate.
“There’s a big strain of thought among Republicans that President Trump is sabotaging this race. He’s done so much to be unhelpful to those candidates,” Allen told “Squawk Box,” referring to GOP Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who are up against Democrats Jon Ossoff and The Rev. Raphael Warnock respectively.
“I talk to Republicans and they look at what’s happening, and they say, ’You know, he must be thinking, ‘I want to send a message, If I’m not on the ballot, Republicans are in trouble,” he added.
“I talk to Republicans and they look at what’s happening, and they say, ’You know, he must be thinking, ‘I want to send a message, If I’m not on the ballot, Republicans are in trouble,” he added.
more...
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/12/31/axios-co-founder-some-republicans-believe-trump-is-sabotaging-georgia-race.html
January 1, 2021
Year in Search 2020
Google — Year in Search 2020
In times of uncertainty, people seek understanding and meaning. This year, the world searched “why” more than ever. This film features the questions we asked this year, with words and narration by Kofi Lost.
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,110
