Is teaching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion a form of indoctrination? Specifically, is teaching black feminism in an AP African American Studies course indoctrination?

No.

*Banning* DEI is indoctrination, however.

A Thread Indoctrination is defined as forcing students to absorb/internalize a belief or narrative uncritically and without question.

Banning DEI is calculated to do exactly that.

One way to indoctrinate is to teach students that a belief or narrative is the absolute, singular "truth."

This is a thread/open letter to:

@DougJones,
@Sen_JoeManchin,
@MittRomney,
@SenatorCollins,
@SenatorSinema

I give you five reasons why you should vote to convict Trump on Wednesday.

A Thread First, listen to your GOP colleague Senator Lamar Alexander. Even though he voted against witnesses, he fully admitted that there is overwhelming evidence that Trump engaged in wrongdoing.

There's a huge hole in Trump's defense that he withheld Ukraine aid because of corruption.

Problem?

If it was truly about corruption, his *only* legal option was to seek to *CANCEL* the aid, not temporarily withhold it.

His defense proves the illegality of the hold.

Thread Trump's central defense for "temporarily" withholding aid to Ukraine has been his supposed concern about Ukrainian corruption.

And, once his concerns about corruption were met, he immediately released the aid.

It’s time for Democrats to stop saying “quid pro quo,” and instead frame Trump's misconduct as extortion and bribery.

And between extortion and bribery, emphasize extortion.

Why extortion? Because extortion lets you tell a compelling story with a bad guy & a victim.

Thread First, here’s how I would describe Trump’s misconduct: Trump threatened to cancel 400 mill in military aid unless Ukraine agreed to smear Biden.

That’s extortion, and it's a story that we want to be telling.

There's one question that absolutely needs to be asked of the Ukraine scandal witnesses.

If the answer to that question is yes, it would transform a corrupt quid pro quo into an utterly insidious extortion scheme & a clear high crime.

Thread The question: Did Trump or any of his officials inform the Ukrainians about the Sept 30 date?

What's significant about Sept 30? That's the day the federal fiscal year ends. If there are appropriated funds that haven't been spent by that date, the funds then are permanently gone.

Trump’s withholding of military aid to Ukraine, by itself, was illegal and an abuse of power.

In fact, that act is very similar to what Nixon often did during his presidency, something that nearly got Nixon impeached,

Thread Ultimately, Nixon’s actions led Congress to enact the very law that Trump violated when he withheld the aid.

What Nixon did was to impound funds that had been appropriated by Congress.

Mueller made findings and conclusions regarding whether Trump engaged in criminal conduct based on federal criminal law.

That makes Mueller's report extremely narrow in scope.

Why? Because an impeachable offense doesn't have to be a federal crime.

Thread First, let’s be clear about what impeachment is about.

Impeachment is a non-criminal process that is solely about removing a president from office. See Art II, Sect 4.

"Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office." Art I, Sect 3, Cl. 7.

The Mueller & Barr reports are very narrow in scope, so people should be careful of drawing broader conclusions.

The following three conclusions are false or premature.

1. Conclusion #1: Trump didn't commit any federal crimes.

FALSE. The SDNY named Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator in committing campaign finance violations regarding the hush payment to Stormy Daniels.

The Mueller report doesn't contradict the SDNY's conclusions on this issue.

A person has to overcome his natural instincts in order to kill another person.

So, how did the NZ terrorist so easily and almost casually take the lives of innocent human beings?

Because to him, the Muslims he killed were not really human.

Thread It is so difficult for a person to kill another that the military has to "train" soldiers to be able to kill. One tactic they use is dehumanization.

Dehumanization is the process or treatment of another person or group of persons as less than human, even subhuman.

Nancy Pelosi's declaration that she opposes impeachment disappointed those who want Trump "brought to justice."

However, the passion for impeachment may stem from an erroneous belief that if impeachment is successful, that means Trump goes to prison.

That is incorrect.

Thread The confusion stems partly from the language of impeachment. The Constitution states that a president can be impeached by the House of Representatives for "high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

It also talks about the requirement that the President be "convicted."

Virulent xenophobic and racist anti-immigrant sentiment is pervasive in today's political climate.

To what extent is President Trump responsible for the rise in & intensity of anti-immigrant bigotry and prejudice?

According to a study, perhaps to a significant extent.

Thread Specifically, it's Trump's use of dehumanizing language to describe Latino immigrants which actually produces or intensifies strong anti-immigrant sentiment and support for punitive immigration policies.

Dehumanization is the key.

There's a long history of dehumanizing immigrants in the United States. Dehumanization has gone hand in hand with invidious discrimination and violence towards immigrants.

History is repeating itself with President Trump's systematic dehumanization of Latino immigrants.

Thread Dehumanization is the treatment of a group of people as subhuman. By subhuman, people are likened to animals, vermin, and diseases.

When there is dehumanization, these terms aren't just used as metaphors. Rather, people are literally considered subhuman animals or creatures.

If impeachment of President Trump is to succeed, it must seem like a natural, inevitable response to a convergence of significant events, evidence, & narratives.

Impeachment cannot seem forced or partisan.

The time-line of the Watergate scandal is informative.

Thread 1/9 On June 17, 1972, the Watergate break-in occurred and Nixon's cover-up ensued.

Despite steadily accumulating evidence of presidential misconduct, the House did not quickly initiate impeachment proceedings.