School District Tells Principals To Create Fake Curriculum To Send Parents After Complaints Of Indoctrination.

Faced with complaints from parents about the indoctrination of children, an official in Rockwood School District, Missouri, instructed teachers to create two sets of curriculum: a false one to share with parents, and then the real set of curriculum, focused on topics like activism and privilege, according to a memo obtained by The Daily Wire.

Natalie Fallert, EdD, 6-12 Literacy Speech Coordinator, wrote to all middle and high school principals that parents had repeatedly complained that “we are pushing an agenda,” “we are pushing Critical Race Theory (I had to look this one up!),” “we are making white kids feel bad about their privilege,” we are “stereotyping,” “we are teaching kids to be social activists,” and “we are teaching kids to be democratic thinkers and activists.”

The problem was that, for the first time, parents could see what teachers were telling their children thanks to virtual learning, where assignments were visible for at-home learners in a tool called Canvas.

Fallert’s solution:

This doesn’t mean throw out the lesson and find a new one. Just pull the resource off Canvas so parents cannot see it …

Keep teaching! Just don’t make everything visible on Canvas. This is not being deceitful. This is just doing what you have done for years. Prior to the pandemic you didn’t send everything home or have it available. You taught in your classroom and things were peachy keen. We are going old-school. …

You could Duplicate an entry/lesson in Canvas (making 2 copies) Publish ONE for the whole class that is a LEAN version of the lesson. The “original” that has all the stuff on it, can be published and only assigned to specific students (IF NEEDED), OR you could specifically email those students a copy of what they need.

The reason I say “make a copy” You can publish the NEW one that has less information on it. Then for that kid who is all virtual and needs to full lesson, you can publish it and assign it ONLY that kid…

Anything that “could” be picked apart I would suggest using this above approach… Again I wouldn’t throw it out, but you could just not give them access to the story.

When you get to Power Imbalances – You might remove the two examples and just go over them in class (same as above). …

I hate that we are even having to have this conversation. 29 days and counting!

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WaPo/ABC poll: Enthusiasm drops for gun-control legislation — but why?

Context matters, and so does polling consistency. The Washington Post/ABC News poll taken in 2018 after the Parkland mass shooting demonstrated a peak of enthusiasm for gun-control laws, 57/34. Three years later, that has shifted sixteen points in the gap, 50/43. So what happened?……..

So why has there been such a loss of enthusiasm for gun control? We’d know better if the WaPo/ABC polling units committed to proper interval polling on public opinion, but it’s likely due to the Democratic embrace of ‘abolish/defund the police’ sloganeering and a sharp rise in crime, especially violent crime, over the past year. If we’re abolishing or rolling back police departments, then self-defense becomes even more crucial as crime rises. Democrats are trying to argue two entirely contradictory points at the same time — that only cops should have guns, and that we shouldn’t have cops……….

n.b. Texas’ legislature only convenes every other year, and then only for 140 days with the Governor having the power to call special sessions. So………..

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Says He Will Sign Constitutional Carry Bill

Gov. Greg Abbott (R) says he supports constitutional carry for Texas and will sign legislation with a permit requirement if it reaches his desk.

On April 16, 2021, Breitbart News reported the Texas House passed legislation to abolish the requirement that law-abiding citizens get a permit from the state government before carrying a concealed handgun for self-defense.

KVUE/Texas Tribune notes when the legislation first appeared in the Senate, there did not appear to be enough support to pass it. However, “momentum” for passage of the legislation is now growing at an “unprecedented” rate in the state Senate.

Abbott is speaking about the possibility of ending the permit requirement.

On April 27, 2021, Abbott told WBAP radio that he will sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.

Abbott said, “Once the Senate passes it out, the House and Senate will convene and work out any differences and get it to my desk. And I’ll be signing it.”

Currently, 20 states do not require residents to acquire a permit before carrying a concealed handgun for self-defense: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (NOTE: Tennessee’s constitutional carry law goes into effect July 1, 2021.)

New Group Wants To Harness Buying Power Of Government To Push Gun Control

A new outfit called the Gun Safety Consortium is hoping to advance the gun control agenda, but not necessarily through legislation. The group, which is made up of mayors, police chiefs, and other public officials, say they want to use the purchasing power of local governments to compel firearms manufacturers to adopt policies and practices favored by gun control advocates, starting with so-called smart gun technology.

“This is a group that has decided to take local action to create a market that doesn’t exist or up until now hasn’t existed,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said.

The Gun Safety Consortium met Tuesday morning to call for smart gun technology, or innovative gun locks that will keep firearms secure, as data shows that more than half of registered gun owners in the country don’t keep their weapon locked up because they want quick access to it.

“I think any time you talk gun violence, you have to have a multiprong approach and it has to be multifaceted and this is just one of the facets of a gun prevention and gun violence initiative,” Lansing Police Chief Daryl Green said.

Quick-release gun locks or tracking technology are some of the proposed ideas.

The group hopes to use its purchasing power, made up of 31 jurisdictions — including cities, counties and individual law enforcement entities — to buy the products and encourage others to do the same.

“Government buys four out of every 10 guns sold in America, 40%, and when you combine military and law enforcement, it made sense that we could have a consumer revolution,” Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said.

Here’s the thing; it’s not legislation that’s preventing “smart gun” tech from coming to market. It’s a lack of consumer demand. The reason why no market exists is because few gun owners are interested. What the new gun control group is hoping to do is to create an artificial demand for these products with the expectation that the industry will automatically follow suit.

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6 out of 11 states that have gone from No/May Issue to Shall Issue/Permit-Less Carry since 1999 have seen their murder rates DECREASE in the years they allowed concealed carry

Source spreadsheet

The point being that there being no correlation between concealed carry and gun violence, which is significant in that it undercuts most of the rationale behind those people who want gun control.

Political Cartoons by AF Branco

Kerry’s Denial on Leaking to Iran Doesn’t Add Up

‘The Kerry–Zarif Special Relationship’

For what it’s worth, former secretary of state John Kerry denied late yesterday that he had informed Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about 200 Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Syria. “I can tell you that this story and these allegations are unequivocally false. This never happened — either when I was Secretary of State or since.”

Kerry defenders need to reread the New York Times piece that started all this. The comment comes from Foreign Minister Zarif, who met with Kerry many times while Kerry was secretary of state during Obama’s second term. In fact, you may recall Kerry and Zarif continuing their conversations after Kerry left government service, in an effort to preserve the nuclear deal. The two men are on a first-name basis, and were characterized as “friendly but not friends.” The Financial Times characterized it as “the Kerry-Zarif special relationship.”

Sure, the Iranian regime lies all the time. But if this is a lie, why would the foreign minister lie about his favorite negotiating partner in this case?

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Parents Revolt After Texas’s No. 1 School District Tries To Institutionalize Racism.

Parents of kids attending Texas’s top-performing school district found out what their schools have been teaching in the name of ‘racial justice,’ and they are livid.

A suburb of Dallas, Texas has exploded into national media coverage and arrests of school board members after parents found out what their schools have been teaching in the name of “racial justice.” They’re fighting back with lawsuits and challengers for two school board seats in an election that finishes May 1.

Carroll Independent School District of Southlake is the top-achieving school district in Texas. It has no racial achievement gaps, which is nearly unheard of. That’s because Southlake attracts high-achieving families of all races.

The local median income is more than four times the national average and poverty there is statistically nonexistent. According to district data, “microaggressions,” bullying, and racially charged incidents happen approximately three times per month in the district of 8,500 students, meaning they involve 0.3 percent of students a year.

Yet, beginning in 2018, the district rushed into an eye-popping “cultural competence” plan after two videos of students singing the n-word along with rappers went viral on social media. Media outlets went nuts on the story, and so did local school board meetings, where sometimes-crying taxpayers, parents, and students spent hours insisting their lives have been forever damaged by the kind of “institutional racism” in Southlake illustrated by the rap sing-alongs.

They weren’t complaining that rappers stud songs with racial slurs, or that parents let their kids listen to such music. They were complaining about things like teasing and graffiti. They demanded the school district end such annoyances, and even treat them like crimes, or be convicted in the court of public opinion of enabling “institutional racism.”

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I’ll take “Questions that ‘Yes’ is the answer to” for $#500, Alex.

Did John Kerry Commit a Crime When He Spilled Intelligence Secrets to Iran?

I mean, it’s not a headline that would scream ‘John Kerry is a bumbling idiot.’ It simply reads: “Iran’s Foreign Minister, in Leaked Tape, Says Revolutionary Guards Set Policies.” Hey, being that Iran is the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, that’s not quite shocking. What is shocking is what’s buried towards the end of this story featuring Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, which our friend Ed Morrisey wrote about over at Hot Air earlier today. John Kerry is at it again, spilling secrets to Iran about covert actions against them.

It’s literally at the end where the publication discusses the rocket attack that was launched as a US base in Iraq after Donald Trump decided to turn Iran’s top terrorist, General Qasem Soleimani into an ashtray in January of 2020 (via NYT) [emphasis mine]:

On the night that Iran decided to retaliate against the United States for the killing of General Suleimani, two Quds Force commanders went to see the Iraqi prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, to inform him that in about 45 minutes Iran would be firing missiles at a military base where U.S. troops were stationed, Mr. Zarif said. The Americans knew about the strike before he did.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry informed him that Israel had attacked Iranian interests in Syria at least 200 times, to his astonishment, Mr. Zarif said.

Come again? This isn’t the first time Kerry has acted against the interests of the United States. After Donald Trump won the 2016 election, Kerry allegedly engaged in ‘shadow diplomacy’ to keep the shoddy Obama-era Iran Deal on life support at least. Hey, isn’t this a Logan Act violation?

Remember, these are the Left’s rules.

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The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class?

This is the first scholarly study of the history of the right to bear and carry arms outside of the home, a right held dear by Americans before, during, and after the Founding period; it rebuts attempts by anti-gun advocates to rewrite history and “cancel” the Founding generation’s lived experiences bearing firearms.

The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the individual right to keep and bear arms, but courts in states that have extreme gun control restrictions apply tests that balance the right away. This book demonstrates that the right peaceably to carry firearms is a fundamental right recognized by the text of the Second Amendment and is part of our American history and tradition.

Halbrook’s scholarly work is an exhaustive historical treatment of the fundamental, individual right to carry firearms outside of the home. Halbrook traces this right from its origins in England through American colonial times, the American Revolution, the Constitution’s ratification debates, and then through the antebellum and post-bellum periods, including the history surrounding the enactment of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This book is another important contribution by Halbrook to the scholarship concerning the text, history and tradition of the Second Amendment’s right to bear and carry arms.

Census: TX Gains 2 House Seats, CA, NY Lose One As US Political Map Is Redrawn.

The first set of results from the 2020 census are in, and reveal that the red state of Texas is set to gain two House seats, while California and New York will each lose one. This will bring the red state of Texas to a total of 38 seats and 40 electoral college votes – the 2nd highest behind California.

Also gaining seats are Colorado, Florida, Montana, Oregon and North Carolina, while states losing House seats also include Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The states which gained seats are largely those won by former President Donald Trump in 2020, while states which Biden won during the election are “losers” according to Bloomberg.

And because the Electoral College factors in House representation, those states will lose influence in the 2024 presidential vote.

There is one bright spot for Democrats, as demographic changes also mean that Republican strongholds such as Texas are becoming more Democratic, putting the party closer to its long-term goal of someday moving the Lone Star state out of the Republican column.

According to the Census Bureau, the US population grew by 7.4% over the past decade to a total of 331,449,281 people.

The constitutionally mandated count of all people living in the US was delayed due to the Trump administration’s unsuccessful efforts to remove undocumented immigrants from the count, which would have likely increased the number of GOP-held districts in the next Congress.

The Census Bureau announced the first installment of figures during a 3PM Monday press conference. More detailed data on demographics will be released Aug. 16. It will show the growth in various population centers which will guide states in redrawing congressional district maps.

19-year-old shot and killed in Rock Hill, officials said shooting was in self-defense

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A disorderly call to an apartment on Saturday morning left a 19-year-old shot and dead, Rock Hill Police Department said. Officials said the shooting was in result of self-defense and the defense of others.

On April 24 around 4:30 a.m. police received a disorderly call to an apartment in the 1500 block of Eagles Place. While on the way to the apartment, officers received information that a shooting had occurred.

Once on the scene officers located a 19-year-old male with two gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

“It definitely gives me an uneasy feeling,” neighbor Ben Cagle said.

During the initial investigation process, officials learned the 19-year-old allegedly initiated a verbal altercation with others in the apartment. Authorities said the altercation then escalated when the 19-year-old began assaulting those in the apartment and threatened to kill them. The 19-year-old strangled a male who he assaulted, officials said, and was then shot by another person in the apartment in an attempt to stop the attack.

Officers said the 19-year-old then turned and started strangling a female in the apartment. He was then shot a second time, then collapsed.

“It’s usually pretty quiet around here, everyone usually just minds their own business and goes about their day. I talk to my neighbors every once and awhile but other than that it’s business as usual,” Cagle said.

Rock Hill investigators said after conducting interviews to collect details of the incident, they reached out to the York County Solicitors Office and it was determined the shooting was in self-defense and the defense of others.

Those involved in the incident will not be charged.

Hartsgrove Township homeowner shoots 26-year-old armed robber in the chest

HARTSGROVE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WOIO) – A 26-year-old Ashtabula man who opened fire during an armed robbery is in critical condition after the homeowner shot him, the Ashtabula County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

Sheriff William Niemi said deputies were called to the 6000 block of Hurlburt Road just before 8 p.m. on Thursday for a report of a shooting.

The preliminary investigation determined the man and two other individuals went to the home to retrieve some property, according to Niemi.

The man went into the home with a gun and demanded his property, the sheriff said.

A short time later, witnesses who stayed outside heard a series of gunshots before the man ran out with his hand on his stomach, Niemi said.

The sheriff said investigators believe the man fired at the homeowner before he was shot.

Niemi said the man actually suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was driven to the Windsor Township Fire Department where he was treated before being flown to University Hospitals in Cleveland.

According to Niemi, he was listed in critical condition, but is stable and expected to recover.

No arrests have been made in this ongoing investigation.

Former Federal Prosecutor: ‘More Gun Control Laws Not the Answer’

Writing Friday at the Dallas Morning News, a former federal prosecutor reached what may have been an unpleasant realization by acknowledging, “More gun control laws would not have prevented what happened in Dallas, Atlanta or Boulder.”

Erin Nealy Cox, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, also stated a fact routinely lost or at least misunderstood by the press and public: “There’s no question that we need to limit access to weapons for these extremists, but contrary to the popular view that such limitations don’t exist, those of us in law enforcement know that they do.”

Translation, though Cox may not realize it, is that criminals—including people intent on doing great harm though they have no prior criminal record—do not obey gun laws.

The country does have background checks, even at gun shows. Unlike voting, gun buyers must show photo ID to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Simultaneous to Cox’s Op-Ed in the Dallas Morning News, Rutgers political science Professor Ross K. Baker laments at USA Today that “gun control is a lost cause.”

“What kills (gun control) efforts in Congress,” Baker complains, “is the recognition in the minds of politicians that there are voters in their states and districts who are Second Amendment absolutists, whether they be the kind of people who shoot at targets for practice or those who might shoot at people because of malice or derangement.”

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Carrying a gun saved my life

I write in response to the April 18 letter from Max Schreiber of Cedar Falls. He laments the recent gun laws in Iowa. He said the Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment when firearms were single shot muzzle loaders. So, you are saying the only weapons that fall under the Second Amendment are ones in use in the 18th century? I guess that would also apply the First Amendment. This is the one that protects (not gives) your right to express your opinion. I would imagine you expressed it on a computer. Sorry, those weren’t around in the 18th century, so you had no right to express that opinion.

I have had a carry permit for over 36 years. I have never broken a law with my guns. I once had my life saved because I was carrying a revolver when I caught a guy trying to break into my house. I never even pointed it at him. My training kicked in and the sight of it made him want to leave.

I will continue to carry weapons to protect me and my family. If that scares you I suggest you go to a safe room.

Jim Whitmer, Waterloo

Man acted in self-defense in fatal motel shooting

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Deputies with the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office say a fatal shooting near Siegen Lane Saturday night was an act of self-defense.

According to EBRSO, Aaron Hudson, was shot and killed by Kenneth Jobbers April 24.

The shooting happened at Motel 6 on Rieger Road around 7:45 p.m.

Allegedly, Hudson began questioning Jobbers about dealing drugs in his area.

Deputies say Hudson then entered Jobbers’ motel room and pulled out a gun.

Jobbers allegedly retrieved his own gun and shot Hudson.

At this time, the alleged shooter is not being charged for the homicide.

He was arrested on other charges including possession of marijuana and possession of schedule I drugs.

Gun Control Advocate Declares Movement “Lost Cause”

Rutgers University political science professor Ross Baker thinks we have too many guns in this country and not enough gun control laws. He also thinks the gun control movement that he’s a part of is a lost cause, declaring in a new column at USA Today that it stands alongside “legitimating polygamy and scrapping the national anthem for something more singable” in the pantheon of failed movements.

Obviously Baker isn’t happy about this, but he does seem to be seriously giving up on the idea that Americans are ever going to wholeheartedly embrace a gun ban agenda.

The brief flicker of hope that somehow the financial problems of the National Rifle Association, and the profligate spending of members’ dues by one its top executives, might stifle the effectiveness of the opposition to even the most modest efforts to control firearms or reduce their lethality became an iridescent dream — and seemed to prove that the organization itself was never much of a factor in blocking gun-control legislation.

As my colleague Tom Knighton pointed out recently, despite its legal challenges, the NRA hasn’t disappeared. In fact, it’s launching a $2-million campaign to defeat Joe Biden’s ATF nominee. Still Baker is on to something; the power of the NRA comes from its members, not its executives. And who are those members? Millions of American gun owners, and even if the Second Amendment organization were to be dissolved by the New York Attorney General, those gun owners aren’t suddenly going to decide that their right to keep and bear arms is unimportant to them. In fact, I’d imagine that an assault like that would end up energizing millions more gun owners to become politically active.

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Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act – A Threat To Privacy

The gun grabbing circus lead by Nanny Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action, Everytown, Giffords, Brady United (Handgun Control Inc.), etc. would just love to see every protection for responsible gun owners abolished. Coming from none other than Senator Bob Menendez, from the freedom crushing land of New Jersey, is S. 974: Gun Records Restoration and Preservation Act. The bill’s description is a little misleading, “To repeal certain impediments to the administration of the firearms laws.” If you start to dig through what on earth this is or might be all about, you’ll be greeted by a nice pile of legalese gobbledygook, but the intent is clear; to destroy the privacy protections for gun owners built into current law and to lay the groundwork for a national gun registry.

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Editorial Argues That We Don’t Actually Have Gun Control

People who write for a living aren’t required to be knowledgeable on the subjects they write about. That doesn’t stop most of them from writing about stuff like gun control, though. They do it all the time.

In fairness, there are plenty who don’t think I know what I’m talking about most of the time either, so what can you do?

Regardless, though, sometimes someone gets so far out of their lane that it’s almost comedic. Other times, not so much.

I’m not really sure which time this one is.

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