Asked whether she is using crisis to support private school choice, DeVos says 'yes, absolutely'

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Tuesday that the coronavirus pandemic has offered a chance to advance a longstanding goal of hers: to use public dollars to support access to private schools.

In a conversation with DeVos on SiriusXM radio, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic archbishop of New York, suggested that the secretary was trying to “utilize this particular crisis to ensure that justice is finally done to our kids and the parents who choose to send them to faith-based schools,” including through a new program that encourages states to offer voucher-like grants for parents.

“Am I correct in understanding what your agenda is?” Dolan asks.

“Yes, absolutely,” DeVos responded. “For more than three decades that has been something that I’ve been passionate about. This whole pandemic has brought into clear focus that everyone has been impacted, and we shouldn’t be thinking about students that are in public schools versus private schools.”
[link:https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/5/20/21265527/devos-using-coronavirus-to-boost-private-schools-says-yes-absolutely|

I love Dr. Gupta. The other Dr. Gupta on MSNBC. Vin Gupta

I notice that more often than not, the doctors that are contributors or interviewed, stay away from directly criticizing Trump or this administration. Dr. Gupta does not. He has righteous anger, he never declines to say honestly what he is feeling. He can't even hide his disgust.

Why did you tear up Michelle Obama's vegetable garden and tell us to eat more cookies?

Said by David Frum

You can't blame American people for being sick now when you have been in office for 3.5 years now. You could have addressed the health issues. Why did you tear up Michelle Obama's vegetable garden, remove healthy food from kids' lunches and laugh at her initiative to get Americans to improve their health and tell us we should eat more cookies?
That sounded good to score political points then. Now you are using Americans' health problems against them for politics.

I swear you can't make this shit up with these folks.

Is there a run on flour?

I went to 4 stores today and one yesterday could not find any whole wheat flour. Only one store had regular flour and it was only a few on the shelf. I don't eat flour so I don't know if this has been the case for a while. I was planning to make something for a friend and was looking for Sprouted Flour which I can get at Whole Foods or Sprouts. They had none, so then I started looking for whole wheat flour instead and none to be found. I went to Publix and Winn Dixie. Publix did not have any flour at all. Winn Dixie had a few packages of white flour on the shelf.

1990 Donald Trump - I wouldn't trust the Russians

The only thing that has changed about Trump is his stance on Russia and Abortion. If you listen to the tapes - the themes are the same - America was greatest in the 1950's, make our allies pay,
too many immigrants and a bunch of grievances. Oh and by the way, he said he would want to be a president for only one term back then. Lets make sure that wish is fulfilled.

Yup, I'm sure this has to do with just wanting to work. Noose at protest

Has security been beefed up for Gov.Whitmer? This is disgusting.

Interesting.. I wonder who left this note at the Arbery murder scene?

‘I Should Have Stopped Them’: Note At Ahmaud Arbery’s Death Site Raises Questions


A note left at the site where Ahmaud Arbery was killed raises questions, considering residents of the neighborhood have suggested that they wished the tragic incident never took place.

According to TMZ, a card was left at the makeshift memorial for Ahmaud on the exact street where he was killed in February. The local news station, News4JAX, took the photo of the card and what it says.

“Ahmaud, I am so sorry. I should have stopped them,” reads the note. “I am so sorry.” The card was not signed by a name and no more information or context was provided, including when the card was left

[link:https://newsone.com/3941057/note-ahmaud-arberys-death-site-raises-questions/|

Melissa Etheridge's son, Beckett Cypher, dies at 21- due to opioid addiction

(CNN)Beckett Cypher, the son of Melissa Etheridge and her former partner Julie Cypher, has died, a representative for the singer told CNN. He was 21.

The singer mourned her son in a social media post on Wednesday.
"Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction," Etheridge wrote on Twitter. "My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today. He will be missed by those who loved him, his family and friends."
She added: "My heart is broken."

[link:https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/13/entertainment/melissa-etheridge-beckett-cypher-dies/index.html|

Why the fuck is he on tv? Anybody watching Cuomo- man that shot the Abery video

He doesn't want to answer questions. Lawyer telling him not to answer. The lawyer is an asshole! He even said his client is a poor mechanic with only a high school education. And we know what the schools are like around here? WTFuckityfuck?

Ugh! My dad has found a new conspiracy theory about Covid 19 to latch on to

My dad is sensible most of the time. I would say 85% of the time. But every now and then, he finds something on the internet to latch on to. He called me for Mother's Day and I didn't feel like going down the rabbit hole with him. He did say he's not sure what to believe, but still wondering why they were planning for relief before the pandemic. I will send him this tomorrow. I can't right now. Plus I'm tired and cranky.



Quick Take

Social media posts falsely claim that the CARES Act was introduced Jan. 24, 2019 to perpetuate the falsehood that the COVID-19 pandemic was planned or known about in advance. The CARES Act was introduced March 25 as a substitute amendment, replacing the title and language of an older, unrelated bill.

false claims online that the pandemic was either planned or known about in advance.

Full Story
The COVID-19 economic stimulus bill, called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, wasn’t introduced as a separate bill. Rather, it was introduced as a substitute amendment to an unrelated existing tax bill — H.R. 748, the Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2019
The Senate uses this approach to craft legislation affecting taxes because, under the Constitution, the House of Representatives is supposed to originate “all bills for raising revenue.” The Senate, however, is allowed to amend such bills
That ability to amend has been broadly interpreted to cover the process of taking a revenue-related bill delivered to the Senate after passing in the House, striking the language, and replacing it with a whole new bill — thus using the original bill as a shell. Both parties do it; Democrats did it with the Affordable Care Act in 2009.