You know why anti-CRT activists only ever use the word "transparency", and then leave you to fill in the blanks? Because they want to distract you from this.
Here's the reality. The only way these bills get passed is if they keep YOU from knowing what's inside them. That's why Chris Rufo, who can't shut up about these things, only ever posts screenshots. Never links to the actual bill.
Never.
Ever.
Half of these people have no idea what's inside the bills they're pushing. The other half has an inkling but actively suppresses that knowledge. Maybe a fraction of a percent actually knows what they're talking about. One day, I'd like to meet that fraction.
CODA: Needless to say, all of these bills are currently live. If you want to read more, @PENamerica has you covered. Here are some places to start.
🚨The IHRA definition of antisemitism, if adopted and enforced by public universities, is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination. So says a federal judge in Texas. A terrific (if, for reasons I'll explain in a second, somewhat inconclusive) decision. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
Here's the gist. Last March after a series of protests by SJP and related groups on college campuses, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed GA-44, an executive order requiring public colleges and universities to prohibit and punish antisemitic speech. gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/…
To define antisemitic speech, TX higher ed was told to use the IHRA definition and its attendant examples, which the legislature adopted in 2016. At the time, it was framed as simply a diagnostic tool for spotting antisemitic speech in the state. statutes.capitol.texas.gov/docs/GV/htm/GV…
This is actually part of a much larger and quite significant story. The entire “anti-woke” strategy in Florida is in full retreat. @PENamerica noticed it fairly early on and put together a good piece on it.
There is no person on earth with a stronger claim to my house than me because when I am in it, I remember that it is where my daughter took her first steps. No theory of Indigeneity or ethno-religious descent is more powerful than that.
IOW, what matters is community.
A rant:
It's important to keep in mind what the real crime of settler colonialism is. Not "theft" per se. No single ethnic group or cultural lineage can own the land, and if your political theory claims otherwise, it is evil and I want nothing to do with it.
The real crime of settler colonialism is the destruction of communities, the loss of one's home, the denial of self-determination. After all, that's what really matters to you, right? The freedom to move through the world how you like and in the company of those you love.
Another lawsuit has been filed against an anti-CRT bill. This time it's in Tennessee. @ThePlumLineGS has the details, which are pretty crazy. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
@ThePlumLineGS The 2021 law at issue is what @PENamerica calls an "Inclusion" ban. That means it forbids K-12 teachers from including certain ideas in classroom instruction. The other types of bans, Compulsion and Promotion, are also bad, but less so.
@ThePlumLineGS @PENamerica In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that the law is unconstitutionally vague. It permits discussion of "controversial issues", but only if they're "impartial". What do "controversial" and "impartial" mean? I have no idea, nor (I suspect) does the state. tnea.org/_data/media/82…
This incredible admission comes after plaintiffs pointed out (and a lower court agreed) that the law's ban on saying that "[a] person, by virtue of his or her race, color, national origin, or sex should be discriminated against...to achieve DEI" would bar support for AA.
Is affirmative action good or bad? Does it achieve its stated goals or not? Should we keep it, change it, or get rid of it all together?
What plaintiffs were trying to do was make a reductio: Florida's argument, taken to its logical conclusion, would ban faculty -- and even...
The brain drain is real. Tampa Bay Times pulled records on faculty retention at four Florida universities. Resignations are way up, failed searches are common, fear and self-censorship are palpable. A disaster in the making.
“These may be the times that try men’s souls (Thomas Paine, The Crisis, 1776), wherein the masses, yearning to breathe free (Colossus, 1883, Statue of Liberty) were instead everywhere enchained (Rousseau, Social Contract Theory…