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A teacher in a community just south of Tampa, Florida is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) over an "anti-woke" school policy that has effectively required him to cover up books in his classroom.
In an interview with Business Insider published on Friday, Don Falls highlighted what it's like to be in public education in the Sunshine State right now under the "Stop WOKE Act" — and argued that DeSantis' education policy is nothing more than a cynical stunt at the expense of teachers and students.
"This year I'm teaching government and economics. I've taught just about every subject in social studies over the course of my 38-year career. I love teaching. And I love it every day," said Falls. "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis openly said in his swearing-in inauguration that this is the state where woke goes to die. And so he has made it his goal to do everything he can to stop what he perceives as a woke ideology that's prevalent, particularly in schools. It's all fabricated. If you know anything about education, you know that that doesn't really exist on any scale and in schools, especially in Florida. But that's what he campaigned on. That's his base, and so he has continued to push those things. "
"The latest change is a sweeping act of legislation that requires all public schools to go through a vetting process for their books. The books have to be reviewed by a trained media specialist or librarian to make sure they're appropriate for children," said Falls. "So, last week, I, an educator of Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida, got a memo that gave me three choices: I could pack up all the books from my classroom, cover them up, or run them through their vetting process. If I chose to go through with the last option, I'd have to get approval for them to remain on my classroom shelves."
Ultimately, explained Falls, "the point is that it would take me weeks, probably, to have to go through the process of trying to vet all of these books and get them in the system. So to me, this is just Big Brother looking over our shoulders, and fundamentally a violation of our first amendment right, right to free speech, and students' first amendment rights of free speech."
DeSantis has made fighting what he calls the "woke" agenda integral to his administration, and schools are only one part of it. Most famously, last year he signed legislation stripping special district status from the Walt Disney Corporation for speaking out against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill that effectively prohibits LGBTQ people from even mentioning their orientation or gender identity in classrooms.
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'A dog being beaten' would've gotten more help: Van Jones shreds cops behind fatal beating of Tyre Nichols
January 27, 2023
The release by the Memphis Police Department of the brutal traffic stop beating of Tyre Nichols has already sent shockwaves around the nation and elicited horrified reactions from President Joe Biden and legal experts.
On Friday's edition of CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360," analyst Van Jones broke down what made the footage so stunning.
"Van, I want to emphasize again," said Cooper. "We are not replaying it ... this is still happening. Nothing has happened. The beating is now more than 12 or more minutes ago and he's just still lying on the ground."
"Brutal, inhumane, unacceptable, unjustifiable," said Jones. "I mean, he's just now getting attention. A dog being beaten would have been helped by somebody at this point. Also, you know, talk about the images. The voices are so telling. Tyre's voice, the first time you hear him, he's calm, he's trying to calm the police down. He's saying, all right, all right, all right. He goes from a voice of reason and calm. They are so brutal toward him that he runs. The next time you hear him, went from calm to panicked. Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma, Ma! Screaming for his mother. He's a hundred yards from his house, hoping that somebody can help him. And then he goes from a voice of calm to panic to agony, completely incoherent. Unable to form a word."
What the video shows, Jones said, is a "deterioration of a human being."
"And then the cops' voices, profane, 'I hope they stomp his ass,' unbelievable level of viciousness," continued Jones. "And the only sympathy is for themselves. Because they're so busy pepper-spraying him, they're pepper-spraying each other. Look at the reaction of the police to the pepper spray. They can't stand the burning, the sensation. They need help from each other, and yet it's continuing for someone else and no aid to someone else who got the full force of the pepper spray."
"So even if you didn't see these images, just the voice of Tyre, you can tell that he was — the only calm person at the beginning. At the end, he can't even form a word," added Jones. "This is disgusting, it's despicable, it's inhumane, it is shocking. It's as bad as people said, but even if you can't see it, you could hear the inhumanity here."
Van Jones reacts to Tyre Nichols beating footage www.youtube.com
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In a statement released by the White House on Friday, President Joe Biden reacted to the footage of Memphis police officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop.
"Like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death," said Biden in the statement. "It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, the pain, and the exhaustion that Black and Brown Americans experience every single day."
"My heart goes out to Tyre Nichols’ family and to Americans in Memphis and across the country who are grieving this tremendously painful loss," the president continued. "The footage that was released this evening will leave people justifiably outraged. Those who seek justice should not to resort to violence or destruction. Violence is never acceptable; it is illegal and destructive. I join Mr. Nichols’ family in calling for peaceful protest."
"I spoke with RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells, Mr. Nichols’ mother and stepfather, this afternoon," Biden continued. "There are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a beloved child and young father. Nothing can bring Mr. Nichols back to his family and the Memphis community. But Mr. and Mrs. Wells, Mr. Nichols’ son, and his whole family deserve a swift, full, and transparent investigation."
"We must do everything in our power to ensure our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all," said Biden. "Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again. That is why I called on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to my desk. When Senate Republicans blocked that bill, I signed an executive order that mandated stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement, as well as measures to strengthen accountability at the state and local level."
The five officers who carried out the beating have been fired and charged with second-degree murder. The paramedics who failed to administer proper medical attention are also under heavy professional scrutiny.
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