March 26, 2018


News and Views


I REALLY LIKED DAVE ZUCKERBERG, BUT I JUST CAN’T NOW. HIS “FRESH FACED” LOOK IS A FAKE – FAKE HONESTY! LET’S FACE IT. BUSINESS IS IN GENERAL A CESSPOOL. REASON # 50 WHY I DON’T VOTE FOR REPUBLICANS. LOOK AT THE PART IN THE ARTICLE WHEN FACEBOOK CLAIMED THAT THEY “DON’T COLLECT” CERTAIN DATA, SHORTLY TO BE FOLLOWED UP BY A FACEBOOK “SPOKESWOMAN” WITH AN EXPLANATION THAT THEY DO COLLECT THEM TO FACILITATE THEIR MESSENGER CONTACTS. TO SOUND HONEST, THEY NEED TO BE CAREFUL ABOUT MISTAKES LIKE THAT.

SO, IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THEIR “PRIVACY SETTINGS” AND THEIR SALES OF PRIVATE DATA IN GENERAL ARE NOT NARROWLY CONTROLLED ENOUGH. I ALSO ASSUME THAT THE OTHER BIG DATA COMPANIES HAVE SIMILAR PROBLEMS. IT MAKES ME UNHAPPY BECAUSE I LOVE THE INTERNET, THE PEOPLE I CAN REACH THROUGH IT, EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES, AND MOST OF ALL, WIKIPEDIA AND THE VARIOUS ONLINE DICTIONARIES. I HOPE NO MORE CASES LIKE THIS WON’T COME UP, BUT I’LL BET THEY WILL. HOLD ON, FOLKS. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE HUGE ROLLERCOASTERS THAT TWIST ALL AROUND AT 90 MPH. WE MUST ALL REMEMBER, TOO, THAT THE TRUMP 2016 BUSINESS IS RELATED DIRECTLY TO CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA. I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE TO COME OUT!

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/26/ftc-now-investigating-facebook-possible-data-misuse/458388002/?csp=chromepush
The FTC now investigating Facebook possible data misuse
Mike Snider, USA TODAY Published 11:27 a.m. ET March 26, 2018 | Updated 11:39 a.m. ET March 26, 2018

Video -- Facebook favorability is down following a security breach. Elizabeth Keatinge (@elizkeatinge) has more. Buzz60

The Federal Trade Commission says it's officially investigating the potential misuse of the personal information of as many as 50 million Facebook users by Trump-connected data analysis firm Cambridge Analytica.

The agency's action comes after it began a probe last week into the social network's admission that it had suspended Cambridge Analytica, which had worked for the Trump presidential campaign, from operating on its platforms while investigating whether it failed to delete information it received through an academic researcher.

"“We remain strongly committed to protecting people’s information. We appreciate the opportunity to answer questions the FTC may have," said Facebook's deputy chief privacy officer Rob Sherman said in a statement at the time.

Privacy activists and some in Congress have called for the agency to fully investigate whether the improper handling of Facebook users' data violated a consent decree reached with the FTC. In that 2011 decree, Facebook agreed to certain privacy protections to users' data on the network.

Reports in The New York Times and The Observer of London alleged that the data, which included Facebook profiles of more than 50 million users obtained without their permission -- 30 million of them with enough details to match users to other records and build profiles of them -- was used to target voters during the 2016 presidential election.

"The FTC takes very seriously recent press reports raising substantial concerns about the privacy practices of Facebook," said Tom Pahl, the FTC's acting director for its consumer protection bureau, in a statement Monday. "Today, the FTC is confirming that it has an open non-public investigation into these practices.”

Facebook (FB) shares fell 5% to $151.27 after news of the FTC investigation broke.

Facebook shares had already dropped 14% since the scandal broke more than a week ago, eroding Zuckerberg's net worth by $10 billion and the company's market cap by $75 billion.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took out ads in Sunday editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and six British newspapers to apologize for the recent scandal. "This was a breach of trust, and I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time," the ads read. "We have a responsibility to protect your information. If we can't, we don't deserve it."

Still, some advertisers are exiting amid the crisis. Mozilla last week said it would remove its ads over concerns Facebook's default privacy settings are not strong enough to protect user data from third parties.

Also pulling its ads is auto parts retailer Pep Boys and Commerzbank, Germany’s second-largest bank, The Wall Street Journal reported.

High-tech speaker maker Sonos is temporarily pulling its advertising from Facebook, as well as from Google, Twitter and Facebook-owned Instagram. It will remove its ads for a week. "Now is the time to have the hard discussions and to support those who drive things forward in an effort to make us all better technologists and more educated consumers of technology," the company said in an online post.

Also on Sunday, the website Ars Technica reported that some Facebook users found the network saved years of contact names, telephone numbers, call lengths and text messages on their Android devices.

In response, Facebook said in a website posting that it does not collect the content of text messages or calls. A spokeswoman told the Associated Press Facebook uses the information to rank Messenger contacts so they are easier to find, and to suggest people to call.

More: Post-Facebook data misuse, Apple, IBM CEOs say more protections needed

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.


BUSINESSES ALWAYS HATE “REGULATIONS,” BUT CLEARLY THERE IS A NEED FOR IT HERE. FACEBOOK AND SUCH SHOULD HAVE TO GET WRITTEN PERMISSION BEFORE SELLING EVEN ONE CUSTOMER’S PERSONAL DATA. 50 MILLION IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. I WANT TO SEE WHAT ROBERT MUELLER IS GOING TO SAY ABOUT ALL THIS. IT’S ONE MORE LINK – AND PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE – BETWEEN TRUMP AND PUTIN.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/26/post-facebook-data-misuse-apple-ibm-ceos-say-more-protections-needed/457911002/
Post-Facebook data misuse, Apple, IBM CEOs say more protections needed
Mike Snider, USA TODAY Published 10:02 a.m. ET March 26, 2018

Video -- Cambridge Analytica workers claim firm sent foreigners to advise in US

In the aftermath of Facebook's data miscues, two more tech giants agree there's a need for better regulations to protect personal data shared online.

Speaking at the three-day China Development Forum in Beijing, Apple CEO Tim Cook and IBM CEO Ginni Rometty both called for additional protections for user data.

“I’m personally not a big fan of regulation because sometimes regulation can have unexpected consequences to it, however I think this certain situation is so dire, and has become so large, that probably some well-crafted regulation is necessary,” said Cook, according to a report on the event from Reuters.

More: Timeline: Facebook becomes the Uber of 2018

His comments come after Facebook's admission that data involving as many as 50 million Facebook profiles may have been improperly misused. The personal data was gathered through a personality app and sold, in violation of the social network's terms of service, to Cambridge Analytica, a company that used the profiles to create election ad-targeting tools for the campaign to elect Donald Trump.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took out ads in Sunday editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and six British newspapers to apologize for the recent scandal.

Facebook has faced heavy criticism from lawmakers, users, consumer advocates and other tech executives in the wake of the incident. Several U.S. senators have called for regulations for social media and leaders in the Senate and House have requested Zuckerberg testify before Congress.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk deleted his companies' Facebook pages and Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, which Facebook bought for $16 billion, last week urged users to delete their Facebook accounts.

Speaking in Beijing, Rometty said the industry must do better. “If you’re going to use these technologies, you have to tell people you’re doing that, and they should never be surprised,” she said, according to Reuters.

“(We have to let) people opt in and opt out, and be clear that ownership of the data does belong to the creator,” Rometty said.

The growth in personal data collected by social media, apps and elsewhere requires new protections for the data itself and for business models, they said.

“It’s clear to me that something, some large profound change is needed,” Cook said.

More: Who's deleting Facebook? Elon Musk joins the movement

More: Zuckerberg takes out ads to apologize as Facebook data misuse crisis intensifies

Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.


I AM SO GLAD THAT I LIVED IN THESE TIMES OF IMPORTANT CHANGE, BUT I’M SAD THAT IN SPITE OF MANY YEARS OF EFFORT, THEY STILL AREN’T OVER YET. STILL, THIS IS MY AMERICA.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/linda-brown-center-brown-v-215522607.html?soc_trk=gcm&soc_src=937981b8-b832-11e5-a8a0-fa163e2c24a6&.tsrc=notification-brknews
Linda Brown, Center Of Brown v. Board Of Education, Dies At 76
HuffPost
Doha Madani
HuffPost • March 26, 2018

Photograph -- The children involved in the landmark civil rights suit Brown v. Board of Education: Vicki Henderson, Donald Henderson, Linda Brown, James Emanuel, Nancy Todd and Katherine Carper.

Linda Brown, the young girl at the center of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, passed away on Monday at the age of 76.

Brown’s sister, Cheryl Brown Henderson, confirmed the death to the Topeka-Capital Journal. Peaceful Rest Funeral Chapel of Topeka independently confirmed Brown’s passing with HuffPost.

“Sixty-four years ago a young girl from Topeka brought a case that ended segregation in public schools in America,” Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer tweeted Monday. “Linda Brown’s life reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely people can have an incredible impact and that by serving our community we can truly change the world.”

It was Brown’s father, Rev. Oliver Brown, who sued the Topeka school board to allow his daughter the right to attend an all-white school in the Kansas capital city. Four other school segregation cases were combined with Brown’s to be heard by the Supreme Court, but the justices’ unanimous ruling was named for Brown.

Brown, who was also known as Linda Carol Thompson after her marriage in the mid ’90s, was forced to attend an all-black school far away from her home though an all-white school was only blocks away.

Linda Brown (left) with her parents, Leola and Oliver, and little sister Terry Lynn in front of their house in Topeka, Kansas, in 1954.
Linda Brown (left) with her parents, Leola and Oliver, and little sister Terry Lynn in front of their house in Topeka, Kansas, in 1954.
More
Brown told MSNBC in 2014 that she remembered the embarrassment of being separated from her neighborhood friends and the long walk to the bus stop.

“I remember a couple of times turning around and going back home because I — you know, it was a small town,” she said. “I got really, really cold and would get home and be crying. And mother would, you know, she would try to warm me up and tell me it would be all right and everything.”

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Brown. In its decision, the court overturned the 1896 “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson, marking the case as one of the biggest legal victories of the civil rights era. It was due to Brown v. Board of Education that the federal government could force states to integrate schools, allowing children of color the opportunity for an equal education to white children.

Brown credited her father and the other families who took their cases to court for removing the “stigma of not having a choice” during a 1985 interview for the PBS documentary series “Eyes on the Prize.”

“I feel that after 30 years, looking back on Brown v. The Board of Education, it has made an impact in all facets of life for minorities throughout the land,” Brown said during the interview. “I really think of it in terms of what it has done for our young people, in taking away that feeling of second class citizenship. I think it has made the dreams, hopes and aspirations of our young people greater, today.”

Even with the decision, it took years of protest and legal battles before segregation would end. Only three years after the Brown case, nine black students had to be escorted by federal guards in order to safely attend the previously all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Linda Brown (center left) in 1984.
Linda Brown (center left) in 1984.
More
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

COMMENTARY:

Phillip24 minutes ago
A true pioneer and warrior of civil rights and part of one the most prominemet court cases in history. Each millennial should read about the history of these extrodinary people and this court case. God Bless her and may she Rest in Eternal Peace.
Reply252

Daneel
Daneel27 minutes ago
I remember these times and when this was all going on back then. What a brave, selfless woman, what an inspiration to everyone she was. Rest in peace you wonderful Lady.
Reply191

The Blue Mozi
The Blue Mozi27 minutes ago
God Bless Linda Brown!
#Respect!
Reply293

James
James30 minutes ago
Thank you for your strength and poise while showing America a better way....



THE LAW

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brown_(American_activist)
Oliver Brown (American activist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Oliver L. Brown (August 19, 1918 – June 1961) was the "Brown" in the landmark 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION. The Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, who, besides Brown, included Barbara Johns who was only 16 when she organized a student revolt at her badly-underfunded high school.

This decision overturned the separate but equal doctrine that had been used as the standard in Civil Rights lawsuits since the PLESSY V. FERGUSON CASE IN 1896, in effect declaring it unconstitutional to have separate public schools for black and white students.[1] The decision is considered a major milestone in the Civil Rights Movement.

St. Mark's A.M.E. Church
Brown was a welder in the shops of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, an assistant pastor at St. Mark's A.M.E Church.[2] Brown's daughter Linda, a third grader, had to walk six blocks to her school bus stop to ride to Monroe Elementary, her segregated black school one mile (1.6 km) away, while Sumner Elementary, a white school, was seven blocks from her house.[3][4]

Brown was only 42 when he died of a heat stroke in Springfield, Missouri in 1961. In 1988, the nonprofit Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research was founded by Topeka community members to honor Oliver Brown and to preserve the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement. His daughter Cheryl Brown Henderson works with the foundation. On October 26, 1992, after two years of work by the Brown Foundation, President George H. W. Bush signed the Brown v. The Board of Education National Historic Site Act, establishing the former Monroe Elementary School as a national park.[5][6][7] His daughter Linda Brown died on March 26, 2018 at 75 years old.


ANOTHER TRAGIC FIRE, THIS TIME IN RUSSIA.

THIS IS SO SAD, BUT SO COMMONPLACE. WHEN BUILDINGS GET TOO OLD, THEY SHOULD PERHAPS BE LEVELED BEFORE SOMETHING LIKE THIS HAPPENS. A MOUSE GNAWING INTO THE WIRING CAN CAUSE THIS.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43531684
Russia fire: Children killed in Kemerovo shopping centre blaze
March 26, 2018

Video -- Firefighters tackle fatal shopping centre fire

At least 64 people have died in a fire that engulfed a shopping and entertainment complex in the Siberian coal-mining city of Kemerovo.

Many of the victims are children. Ten people are still listed as missing.

The blaze started on an upper floor of the Winter Cherry complex during school holidays. The mall's shops, cinema and bowling alley were packed at the time.

Video posted on social media showed people jumping from windows to escape the flames.

"According to preliminary information, the roof collapsed in two cinemas," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement.

The cause of the fire is not yet known. The authorities have launched an investigation.

Four people have been detained for questioning, including the head of the company that manages the shopping centre, according to the Investigative Committee. The owner of the Winter Cherry complex is among those being held.

What do we know so far?

The fire broke out at about 17:00 (10:00 GMT) on Sunday. Some 660 emergency personnel were deployed in the rescue effort.

Firefighters said the building was still smouldering a day later, with smoke billowing out and the remaining structures at risk of collapse.

The region's deputy governor Vladimir Chernov was quoted as saying the fire probably began in a children's trampoline room.

"The preliminary suspicion is that a child had a cigarette lighter which ignited foam rubber in this trampoline room, and it erupted like gunpowder," he said.

However, Rossiya 24 TV, a national broadcaster, said an electrical fault was the most likely cause - as in most previous deadly fires in Russia.

Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Anna Kuznetsova, has blamed negligence, and called for urgent safety checks at similar entertainment complexes.

Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
Firefighters had to be lifted to a great height to tackle the blaze

Two witnesses told BBC Russian that they had seen the fire blazing in the trampoline room on the fourth floor but had not heard any fire alarm.

Meanwhile, witness Anna Zarechneva told Russian RBC News that "a woman burst into the cinema during the film and shouted 'Fire! Fire!', and we started running out".

"The lights didn't come on in there to help us escape. We got out by following the floor lighting. But at that point no alarm bells were ringing. I only heard an alarm when I reached the first floor."

Who were the victims?

At least nine of the bodies found so far are children.

As well as those killed, 11 injured victims are being treated in hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation.

Image copyrightAFP
Image caption
Smoke billowed from the building

The most serious case is an 11-year-old boy whose parents and siblings died in the fire, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said. He reportedly fell from the fourth floor and is in intensive care with multiple injuries.

An Instagram post from Kemerovo showed a big queue of volunteers waiting to donate blood at a clinic.
End of Instagram post by kemerovo_insta

Kemerovo, a key coal-producing area, lies about 3,600km (2,200 miles) east of Moscow.

The shopping centre, covering 23,000 sq m (248,000 sq ft), opened in 2013. It includes a petting zoo, all of whose animals are reported to have died.

Yevgeny Dedyukhin, deputy head of the Kemerovo region emergency department, said the area of the fire was about 1,500 sq m.

"The shopping centre is a very complex construction," he said. "There are a lot of combustible materials."



THE FOLLOWING IS AN ARTICLE SHOWING HOW FOX NEWS PRESENTED THE EVENTS AT THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S MARCHES AROUND THE COUNTRY. LOOK AT THE GRAPHS AND THE USE OF WORDS. THIS IS LIKE THE COVERAGE OF MARCHES DURING THE 60S AND 70S FOR BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS. YOU COULD DEPEND ON ONE POLITICO OR ANOTHER SAYING THAT THE PROTEST OR MARCH WAS DUE TO “OUTSIDE AGITATORS,” AND THEN HALF A DOZEN OTHERS WOULD ECHO THAT SAME FACE-SAVING LINE.

https://www.vox.com/2018/3/26/17163680/fox-news-gun-march-for-our-lives-data
How Fox News turned the March for Our Lives into an attack on the 2nd Amendment
On Fox News, it wasn’t about gun control. It was about taking away guns.
By Alvin Chang@alv9nalvin@vox.com Mar 26, 2018, 1:20pm EDT

The night before the March for Our Lives, Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson argued that we shouldn’t be listening to the logic of teenage gun control activists who organized the march. Then he vocalized the exact anxiety of gun rights groups:

Journalists agree with Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, so they’ve slapped them on the cover of Time magazine and declared that they’re heroes and you’re not allowed to disagree with them.

MARCH 23. FOX NEWS VIA THE TV NEWS ARCHIVE
Carlson articulated exactly why Fox News was on its heels. The network has generally been critical of this gun control debate and the teenage activists behind it. But it couldn’t ignore the massive amount of attention this march was getting, nor could it outright loudly disagree with their message while hundreds of thousands of people marched on Washington.

So there was a tightrope Fox News had to walk while covering this march. And it did so by finding ways to reframe the images of these huge and passionate crowds.

It did this in three steps: First, it limited coverage in the ramp-up to the march. Then it reframed this debate to be about the Second Amendment, not gun control. Finally, it put young gun rights activists, some of whom were school shooting survivors, front and center to counter the message of hundreds of thousands of people were shouting onscreen.

1) Fox News kept coverage of the march to a minimum
Normally, gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association combat the gun control movement in the aftermath of mass shootings by waiting activists out — staying quiet until the fervor goes away and things go back to the status quo. But this latest gun control conversation is lasting far longer than previous ones, and the teenage activists are continuing to keep gun control in the national conversation.

There was no way Fox News could ignore this march entirely. But it certainly limited coverage of the event:

In both the lead-up to the start of the march and during the event, Fox News talked about this protest less than the other cable networks.

The camera was still on the crowds for much of the event on Saturday, March 24. But there were far fewer mentions of key words describing the event — such as “march,” “shooting,” and “protest,” as well as “gun control.”

And after the peak of the protest, Fox News didn’t linger on gun control. It quickly moved on.

Now, you could be forgiven if you flipped to Fox News during the march and you thought it sounded like any other network — reporters on the streets talking to protesters, long shots of the crowds, and occasional cuts to the speakers. But if you stayed on the channel long enough, those segments were often contextualized by pundits and gun rights activists who tried to recenter the event and cast themselves as the voice of reason.

2) Fox News framed the coverage around the Second Amendment
For a long time, gun rights groups could control this debate because they were on offense; they were arguing for something, rather than against something, and that led to a kind of “intensity gap” on the issue of guns.

But this gun control debate is shifting that dynamic. As my colleague German Lopez writes, it’s making people more passionate about gun control. This is something we saw during the debate around arming teachers and the subsequent backlash, and Fox News couldn’t avoid talking about guns. Instead, it continued to talk about the issue — but reframed it in the context of the Second Amendment and gun rights.

And this is exactly what it did again during the protest.

There was a massive spike in mentions of the “Second Amendment” or “Constitution” during the peak of the march, and most of those mentions came from pundits and guests on the network.

For example, during the march, Fox News hosted Spencer Brown, a spokesperson for Young America’s Foundation, argued that the school walkouts and this march are excuses for liberals to take away guns from law-abiding citizens:

What we see in DC and across the country at this March for Our Lives is just the latest chapter in just the sad history of liberals trying to scapegoat responsible gun owners for the crimes committed by people committing crimes. ... It’s not a failure on the part of the Second Amendment.

March 24. Fox News via the TV News Archive
3) Fox News brought on other people to push back against the NRA
Brown wasn’t the only young person who came on Fox News to disagree with the message of those marching.

The day before the march, Fox & Friends hosted Kyle Kashuv, a Parkland shooting survivor, to show that not all survivors of the shooting are for more gun control and to make the case that the media is biased:


March 23. Fox News via the TV News Archive
Then it hosted Cabot Phillips, media director for CampusReform.org* and a young pro-gun activist. He said:

The more people I talked to, there was certainly a consensus, where everyone said, we want to see action, we want to see legislation passed, we’re here for that, to tell Congress that’s what they want. And when I asked people, “What do you want, what do you want to see?” There was very little knowledge of what they were actually advocating for.

March 24. Fox News via the TV News Archive

Later that night, Fox News host Jesse Watters had pop singer Kaya Jones on the show to say that the “left” want to “take this country over and force its hand into the world order.” Then she said liberals are using Parkland survivor David Hogg to push their narrative:

March 24. Fox News via the TV News Archive

Carlson pointed out that it feels like gun rights activists can’t disagree with these Parkland shooting survivors. So instead of having pundits and NRA spokespeople push back, they had lots of other people — mostly young people representing a younger generation — to make that argument for them.

I’ve said this time and again, but Fox News is responsible for shaping reality for a huge portion of American voters. It is the main source of news for 19 percent of 2016 voters, including 40 percent of Trump voters. Not just that, but it is likely the main source of news for the president — to the point that there’s evidence the hosts see their jobs as advising him.*

As the activists said time and again, they don’t want to ban guns. Rather, it’s a push for specific gun control measures.

But Fox News is painting this as a much larger war, waged by liberals and the media, to take away people’s guns. It is, again, leaning into the fractures of this country and triggering the anxieties of its viewers.

IN THIS STORY STREAM

Parkland shooting galvanized teen gun control activists across the country
How Fox News turned the March for Our Lives into an attack on the 2nd Amendment
It’s official: March for Our Lives was one of the biggest youth protests since the Vietnam War



FROM SCHIFF’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VIEW -- ADAM SCHIFF’S EVIDENCE FOR THE IDEA OF TRUMP’S COLLUSION WITH AN ENEMY STATE TO WIN THE PRESIDENCY IS IN THIS VIDEO. DO WATCH THIS VIDEO OF SCHIFF EXPLAINING THE PROOF THAT WE HAVE SO FAR.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/03/01/meghan_mccain_asks_rep_adam_schiff_if_there_is_evidence_of_treasonous_collusion_with_russia.html
Posted By Tim Hains
On Date March 1, 2018

Video -- Rep. Adam Schiff On Whether There's Tangible Proof Of Russia Collusion | The View

Thursday on 'The View,' co-host Meghan McCain challenged Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, to provide evidence for the Trump-Russia collusion allegation. Schiff did not provide any new information but explained that the already public allegations are "pretty damning."

McCain asked: "Is there enough [evidence] for Mueller to bring charges? Because if it isn't enough for Mueller to bring charges, what does that mean?"

"I've certainly said that there is ample evidence of collusion," Schiff replied before listing the evidence. "But I never used the word treason, only Steve Bannon has used that word."



Schiff also explained that whether Mueller brings charges or not, "it is the job of the Congress" to tell people what happened between Russia and the Trump campaign.

"Indeed there is no guarantee that the country will ever learn what Bob Mueller finds, apart from an indictment," Schiff said. "It is the job of the Congress to tell the American people what happened. Whether it reaches the standard beyond the reasonable doubt, or whether we merely find clear and convincing evidence of collusion."


MEGHAN MCCAIN, 'THE VIEW': I think at this point in time it’s really difficult for me and many Americans to differentiate between what is over-hyped and what is not. You’ve said on more than one occasion that you’ve seen ‘ample evidence’ of the Trump campaign’s Russia collusion. Last March you said you have more than circumstantial evidence of treasonous collusion with Russia.

What specifically were you referring to? And please be specific because if it’s true I do believe Americans have the right to know a year later what that is.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF: I've certainly said that there is ample evidence of collusion. But I never used the word "treason," only Steve Bannon has used that word.

But, if you look at the facts that are already int he public domain, they are pretty damning. Starting with what we now know about George Papadapolous --one of the few foreign policy advisors on the campaign. We now know that Papadapolous was approached by the Russians, and told back in April of the election year, even before the Clinton campaign knew, that the Russians had stolen Clinton and DNC emails. And we also know that they previewed their dissemination, the anonymous dissemination, of those emails with Papadapolous back in April.

It was only weeks later that the Russians made a second approach to the Trump campaign, this time at the highest levels --at Trump Tower-- in a meeting that they previewed by saying they wanted to offer incriminating information about Hillary Clinton.

MCCAIN: Is there enough [evidence] for Mueller to bring charges? Because if it isn't enough for Mueller to bring charges, what does that mean?

Charges of collusion.

SCHIFF: This is a very important question: What is Mueller's job and what is [Congress'] job."

Bob Mueller will make the decision whether there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt to indict and convict people.

It is not his responsibility to tell the country what happened. And indeed there is no guarantee that the country will ever learn what Bob Mueller finds, apart from an indictment. It is the job of the Congress to tell the American people what happened. Whether it reaches the standard beyond the reasonable doubt, or whether we merely find clear and convincing evidence of collusion.

So it is important that we set out the facts for the public... about what the Russians told Papadapolous, about what the Russians did in setting up that meeting in Trump Tower. Bear in mind, that meeting in Trump Tower took place after he is alerted that the Russians have these emails. Don Jr. is told, hey, at the highest levels ultrasensitive we have incriminating evidence about Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government's effort to help Donald Trump.

That looks a lot like collusion to me.

SUNNY HOSTIN, 'THE VIEW': And you're a former federal prosecutor.

MCCAIN: I just think if Mueller doesn't end up charging him, it just looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors.

WHOOPI GOLDBERG, 'THE VIEW': We won't know! Whatever is going to come out, we're going to hear it from you before anybody else. From the committee, not just you.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT VIDEO. I’VE BEEN WATCHING HIM ON RACHEL MADDOW FOR MONTHS NOW, AND SCHIFF IS DEFINITELY ONE OF MY HEROES, ALONG WITH BOB MUELLER, SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN AND BERNIE SANDERS. –

“Schiff also talked about the departure of Hope Hicks from the White House and the Russia probe in general” 8:32 MINUTES LONG.

Related Videos:
Trump: Democratic Rebuttal Of Nunes Memo Is "Nothing But A Confirmation," Adam Schiff A "Bad Guy"


CampusReform.Org*
https://www.campusreform.org/?

FOR MUCH MORE ON THIS SUBJECT, GO TO MY SECOND BLOG OF THE DAY FOR A SIZEABLE STRING OF RELATED ARTICLES AND COMMENTS.

CAUTION: THIS WEBSITE IS BASICALLY CONSERVATIVE, BUT IT DISCUSSES INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT ISSUES. AS ALWAYS, COLLEGE CAMPUSES TODAY ARE A FERMENT OF IDEAS. CAMPUSREFORM.ORG APPEARS TO BE A WINDOW INTO CAMPUS THOUGHT AND FEELINGS. LOOK AT THE WEBPAGE. IT CONTAINS LINKS TO A LARGE NUMBER OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. MANY OF THE ARTICLES LOOK VERY INTERESTING, THOUGH, ESPECIALLY ONE THAT I HAVE INSERTED HERE ON THE SUBJECT OF CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS’ SUSPICION OF MANDATED COURSES, THAT ARE INTENDED TO LESSEN THE HATE REACTIONS AS BEING “SUPPRESSION” OF FREE THOUGHT AND SPEECH.

IT’S ACTUALLY AN ATTEMPT TO MELT AWAY THE HARD ICE OF HATRED THAT IS IN THEIR SOULS. IT’S NOT ONLY A HARD JOB TO COMPLETE, IT’S A HARD SELL EVEN, ESPECIALLY TO PEOPLE WHOSE BASIC SELF ESTEEM IS BASED ON THEIR SPECIAL STATUS AND PRIVILEGE. THAT GOES ALONG THE LINES OF “MY FREEDOM OF THOUGHT AND SPEECH INCLUDES BEING A RACIST AND SPEAKING MY RACIALLY CHARGED VIEWS IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE, TO THE FACE OF MEMBERS OF MINORITY GROUPS.”

WHAT I REALLY DON’T UNDERSTAND IS THE FACT THAT THEY DON’T EXPECT ANY CONSEQUENCES FOR THAT. OF COURSE, THAT’S WHAT SUPERIORITY MEANS. IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU WANT TO, AND GET AWAY WITH IT. IT’S ALWAYS BEEN CLEAR TO ME WHY SO MANY MALICIOUS REPUBLICANS INSIST THAT THE USA IS NOT A “DEMOCRACY,” AT ALL, BUT A “REPUBLIC.” WE ARE CLASSED, HOWEVER, AS A “DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,” SO THEIR POINT IS RIDICULOUS. WHAT THEY MEAN IS THAT THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF BEHAVING IN AN EVENHANDED MANNER.

HAVING GROWN UP WITH THE PHENOMENON OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER HAVING LITTLE TRUST OR ATTRACTION TO EACH OTHER, IT CERTAINLY DOESN’T SURPRISE ME, BUT IT PAINS ME. I KNOW WHICH SIDE I STAND ON IN SUCH ISSUES, AND AM WILLING TO BE A VERBAL AND INTELLECTUAL SOLDIER FOR WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE THE SIDE OF GOOD OVER EVIL.

HOWEVER, THE QUESTION OF HOW ALL THE HATRED IS MAINTAINED IN THE FACE OF EDUCATION AND CHRISTIANITY, INTERESTS ME DEEPLY. I WANT TO KNOW ALL ABOUT HOW IT HAPPENS AND HOW TO STOP IT FROM HAPPENING. IT’S GROUP-SYNCH, A BASICALLY GOOD THING, CARRIED TO A DANGEROUS DEGREE. I TEND TO THINK OF IT AS MENTAL ILLNESS, NOT GROUP PRIDE OR PATRIOTISM. YET, IT IS THE SAME PATH THAT WE NEED TO WALK DOWN TO FIND THE LAND OF A GENUINELY CIVILIZED PEOPLE. I’VE HEARD OF IT ALL MY LIFE, SO I’M SURE WE MUST BE NEAR IT BY NOW.

I WOULDN’T HARP ON THAT QUITE SO MUCH IF WE DIDN’T CONSTANTLY PROCLAIM OUR SUPERIORITY IN ALL WAYS, CHASTISED BY THE ULTRA-PATRIOTIC GROUPS FOR NOT JOINING IN THEIR BRAGGADOCIO, INCLUDING OUR PERFECT AND CONSTANT SOCIAL FAIRNESS. WHITE PEOPLE DUMPING ON BROWN OR BLACK PEOPLE IS PERFECTLY FAIR, BECAUSE WE ARE SO OBVIOUSLY AND COMPLETELY SUPERIOR. RIGHT? I WILL ASSERT ALSO THAT THOSE BLACK/BROWN/ASIANS WHO HATE WHITES ARE NO BETTER IN MY VIEW THAN ARE WHITES HATING THEM.

NOT ONLY IS IT AMORAL, BUT IT KEEPS THIS PUSTULE OPEN AND DRAINING OUT SMELLY GOO EVERY DAY AND EVERY YEAR. PERSONALLY, I’M TIRED OF IT. WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY DO WE WANT THE USA TO BE, IS THE QUESTION; AND SINCE THE TRUMP/MERCER/KOCH CAPTURE BY SHAMELESS ARTIFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY, ALONG WITH A LARGE PART OF THE LEGISLATURE AND A FEW ON THE SUPREME COURT AS WELL, I CARE ABOUT IT EVEN MORE. I’M NOT ONLY AFRAID. I’M FURIOUS.

WHAT THOSE SO-CALLED “CONSERVATIVES” MEAN TO SAY TO OUR NATION IS THAT SINCE WHITE PEOPLE ARE SO SUPERIOR, WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO CALL OTHERS “N...R,” “CH...NK,” AND “SP...CK” AS A PART OF OUR RIGHT TO FREE THOUGHT AND SELF-EXPRESSION. IT’S IN THE CONSTITUTION, RIGHT? WHAT I WONDER, THOUGH, IS THAT IF WE’RE SO SUPERIOR, SHOULDN’T WE PRACTICE SOME MANNERS? DO WE NEED TO MAKE MORE LAWS TO ENFORCE WHAT EVERYBODY ALREADY KNOWS IS RIGHT? I PRAY THAT IS NOT THE CASE. ALONG THE SAME VEIN IS ANOTHER ISSUE – IF A PEDOPHILE IS UNSAFE AROUND STUDENTS, WHAT ABOUT A RACIST?

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS VERY INTERESTING WEBSITE, CAMPUS REFORM.ORG.

https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10661
Profs puzzled that conservatives resist social justice courses
Toni Airaksinen
New York Campus Correspondent
@Toni_Airaksinen
on Mar 20, 2018 at 10:30 AM EDT

Profs concerned by aspiring teachers with conservative views. Two education professors recently argued that conservative teachers who resist social justice theories may not be qualified to work with children.

Two UNC-Charlotte education professors interviewed 35 students who had recently completed one of their "early education diversity" courses in hopes of better understanding why many white students are resistant to social justice ideology.

The professors concluded that students who hold conservative views may become "less culturally sensitive and open minded" when exposed to diversity courses because they fear "alienation" from their "conservative white community."

Two education professors recently argued that aspiring K-12 teachers who hold conservative views and resist social justice theories may not be qualified to work with children.

Erin Miller and Tehia Stark-Glass, both professors at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, advanced the case in a March 8 article in the journal The New Educator entitled “The Maintenance of Whiteness in Urban Education,” expressing concerns that white conservative teachers will be unable to effectively teach minorities if they do not thoroughly internalize social justice.

"Their whiteness seemed to congeal when they perceived the course material as un-American, in contrast with their conservatism." Tweet This

The professors assert that some white students in their elementary education diversity classes have “impervious dispositions that would likely not qualify them to work with diverse children,” as evidenced by the fact that those who struggled most with the course content tended to “think they were being indoctrinated into Anti-American values.”

[RELATED: Clemson senators defeat ‘ideological indoctrination’ proposal]*

To study this, Miller and Stark-Glass used data from 35 teachers-in-training at UNC who took one of their recent classes, 30 of whom were white. The professors only retained data from white students, explaining that their “abrasively honest” responses give insights into how best to discuss diversity with “white students who do not simply give teachers what they want to hear.”

Lara, a conservative white student who supports the Second Amendment, was singled out in the paper for recounting an instance in which her AP English teacher had warned her that she would receive a 0 if she were to write a paper about her opposition to gun control.

Though Miller and Stark tell the reader nothing about Lara’s actual ability to teach, they cite her “conservatism” as especially troubling.

Lara’s “conservatism spanned many topics and surfaced repeatedly throughout the course,” the professors lament, adding that it is “safe to assume that Lara probably became less culturally sensitive and open minded” as she continued to raise her conservative views in class.

“Probing even deeper, however, we see that Lara may have feared alienation from her conservative white community if she openly accepted the content posed in the course,” they speculate. “It could be that her refusal to accept the ideas of the course (evidenced in many ways) was an act of solidarity with her family, whose values she perceived to be at odds with the course’s central themes.”

[RELATED: Mandatory diversity course not effective, prof discovers]

Throughout the paper, Miller and Stark-Glass frame conservative political views as antithetical to respect for racial minorities, but offer few insights into how their conservative students might actually interact with minorities while teaching.

Further, a review of the article shows that at no point did any of the students make racist comments about minorities, suggesting that the professors’ concerns have less to do with racist comments per se, than with conservative students’ unwillingness to blindly embrace social justice concepts like “privilege” and “marginalization.”

“It would be difficult to know whether the experiences the preservice teachers shared through their life stories—experiences that highlighted how they held on to conservative values, experienced marginalization, and interpreted violent acts—directly contributed to their inability to successfully demonstrate mastery of the course goals and objectives,” Miller and Stark-Glass remark, adding that “for these preservice teachers, their whiteness seemed to congeal when they perceived the course material as un-American, in contrast with their conservatism.”

[RELATED: Course uses ‘Pyramid of White Supremacy’* to teach diversity]

In their conclusion, the professors concede that many students don’t agree with their social justice theories on diversity and racism, saying they wish to better understand “why they feel so threatened by diversity,” albeit “not because we should be concerned about the discomfort of whites when discussing race and racism, but because we should be concerned about what will happen to children of color if we do not.”

The professors also proclaim that their “work is risky,” noting that they are often accused of “‘liberal’ indoctrination” by both students and their relatives.

“I was shocked to find out so far your curriculum is all hate, racism, and anti-White disguised under the teaching of culturally [sic] diversity,” wrote the relative of one student in an email to the professors.

Considering the statements the professors made, Campus Reform reached out to UNC to ask if the school employs any safeguards to prevent conservative students from being penalized for their political views, such as reduced grades or withheld recommendation letters, but did not receive a response.

Neither Miller nor Stark-Glass responded to requests for comment from Campus Reform.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen


WHAT IS THIS PYRAMID?

“AVOIDING CONFRONTATION WITH RACIST FAMILY MEMBERS” AND “REMAINING APOLITICAL” MAKE UP THE BASE, WHICH IS DEEMED CRITICAL FOR MORE EGREGIOUS THINGS LIKE MASS KILLINGS AND GENOCIDE.” THIS IS THE PART OF HUMAN SOCIETY WHICH MAKES SOME PEOPLE – BUT NOT ALL – LITERALLY AFRAID TO STAND UP FOR GOOD AND AGAINST EVIL; AND IN SOME CASES, THERE IS A SIMPLE DISINTEREST IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS – AS STATED IN THIS ARTICLE, “INDIFFERENT.” REMEMBER JESUS AND THE WAY HE STOPPED THE STONING OF WOMAN “TAKEN IN ADULTERY.” HE SIMPLY SAID, “LET HIM WHO IS WITHOUT SIN THROW THE FIRST STONE”; AND THEY ALL, ONE BY ONE, DROPPED THEIR STONES AND LEFT.

UNFORTUNATELY, SOME METHOD OF SUPPORTING THE VICTIM DOES NEED TO OCCUR, AND THAT TAKES PERSONAL COURAGE. IT’S BASIC TIMIDITY, LACK OF EMPATHY AND THE INABILITY TO THINK FOR ONESELF. IN PSYCH LITERATURE THE TERM “INDIVIDUATION” IS USED FOR THE DEGREE TO WHICH A PERSON SEES AND ACCEPTS HIMSELF AS BEING SEPARATE FROM OTHERS, SO DOING SOMETHING THAT MAKES HIM “STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD” IS VERY THREATENING.

THE NAME OF THE COURSE IS “DIVERSITY AND THE SELF.” IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING WE SHOULD ALL TAKE, WHETHER WE PLAN TO TEACH OR NOT. IT’S IMPORTANT TO VOTERS AND CITIZENS AS WELL.



https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10398
Course uses 'Pyramid of White Supremacy' to teach diversity
Kassy Dillon
Massachusetts Campus Correspondent
@kassydillon
on Jan 17, 2018 at 7:46 PM EDT

A course at Salisbury University in Maryland is using a “Pyramid of White Supremacy” to help teach students about diversity and “cultural competence.”

“Avoiding confrontation with racist family members” and “remaining apolitical” make up the base, which is deemed critical for more egregious things like mass killings and genocide.

A course at Salisbury University in Maryland is using a “Pyramid of White Supremacy” to help teach students about diversity and “cultural competence.”

The one-credit course, “Diversity and the Self,” is a required class for any student hoping to obtain an elementary education major.

"This class was extremely difficult to get through if you did not think like a liberal. Instead of teaching diversity, this class taught us that being white was a bad thing." Tweet This

The pyramid ranks various concepts on different levels according to severity, with “Indifference” forming the base of the pyramid and “Genocide” residing at the top.

“In a pyramid, every brick depends upon the one below it for support,” an accompanying caption explains. “If the bricks at the bottom are removed, the whole structure comes tumbling down.”

[RELATED: ‘White nuclear family’ perpetuates racism, CUNY prof argues]

Things like “avoiding confrontation with racist family members,” “remaining apolitical,” or saying “politics doesn’t affect me” make up the base of the Pyramid of White Supremacy, directly underneath forms of “minimization” such as “denial of white privilege” and “not believing experiences of POC [people of color].”

The next level up is “veiled racism,” which the graphic defines to include “cultural appropriation*” and a “Euro-centric curriculum.”

Worse still, according to the pyramid, are “anti-immigration policies,” “stop and frisk” policing strategies, and “funding schools locally,” all of which fall under the category of “discrimination.”

Above that the pyramid lists “calls for violence” such as “swastikas,” “Confederate flags,” and “the n-word,” followed by actual acts of violence like “unjust police shootings,” “lynching,” and all other hate crimes.

“We had to study the pyramid and also take a group quiz,” a student in the class who wishes to remain anonymous told Campus Reform, noting that the placement of certain elements on the pyramid raised eyebrows.

“I find it ridiculous that ‘unjust police shootings’ is at the top of the list next to mass murder and genocide,” the student remarked. “The pyramid was not only biased, the way they ranked the events did not make much sense.”

According to the syllabus, the course “reviews theories and aspects of cultural competence most relevant to teaching in diverse classrooms,” and “explores the ideals of freedom, democracy, justice, equality, equity, and human dignity from the perspective of the individual.”

[RELATED: Prof creates checklist for detecting white supremacy]

“This class was extremely difficult to get through if you did not think like a liberal. Instead of teaching diversity, this class taught us that being white was a bad thing,” the student complained. “We were told that we were only privileged because we are white and basically we did not actually work for what we have.”

Erin Stutelberg, the professor teaching the course, practices what she preaches outside of the classroom, as well. On her Facebook page, her display photo is a picture of her with a sign saying: “White Silence = Violence.”

Campus Reform reached out to Stutelberg for comment, but has not received a response.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @kassydillon



WHAT IS “CULTURAL APPROPRIATION?*” IT IS TO TAKE AND USE OR ABUSE SOMETHING FROM ANOTHER CULTURE WITHOUT RESPECT OR PERMISSION. BLACKFACE SHOWS IN THE SOUTH LAMPOONING BLACKS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF SUCH AN ACTION. (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/cultural-appropriation)


Prof creates checklist for detecting white supremacy
https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10377
Prof creates checklist for detecting white supremacy
Nikita Vladimirov
Investigative Reporter
@nikvofficial
on Jan 13, 2018 at 11:04 AM EDT

An English professor at Linfield College has developed a checklist that is intended to help individuals determine whether they are white supremacists.

Believing in meritocracy, promoting a "collegial" environment, and even deciding “to stay out of all of this ‘identity politics’” are all forms of tacit white supremacy, she claims.

An English professor at Linfield College has developed a checklist that is intended to help individuals determine whether they are white supremacists.

In a Friday op-ed for Inside Higher Ed, professor Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt explains that after many years of contemplation, she “created a list of qualities and attributes of those that overtly or covertly support or contribute to a culture of mundane and everyday white supremacy within our institutions.”

"You benefit so much from the system that you have decided to stay out of all of this 'identity politics.'" Tweet This

[RELATED: Prof: 'The modern GOP is nothing but white supremacy']

The academic then goes on to outline 15 of her core “troubles” that she “identified to help others in academe recognize your (un)conscious contributions to white supremacy.”

The first item on the lengthy list of transgressions is working “in a position of power in a predominantly white institution” and doing nothing “to change the white supremacist power structures within your departments, committees and institutional decision-making process.”

Likewise, another sign of aiding white supremacy is thinking that marginalized colleagues who complain about oppressive work conditions are “difficult,” and saying “I am so sorry. This is unbelievable” to colleagues and students who claim “that they experienced microaggressions*,” Dutt-Ballerstadt claims.

The checklist further asserts that wanting to nominate “‘stellar’ (mostly men) and obviously ‘white’” colleagues for leadership positions and awards is also a sign of aiding white supremacy, and implicitly supports “a logic of meritocracy that is built on this racist assumption that everyone has had the same access and opportunities.”

[RELATED: ‘Meritocracy’* is a ‘tool of whiteness,’ claims math professor]

“When it comes to understanding your own white privilege, you get very angry if a faculty member of color points out to you where and how your privilege is operating,” another bullet point states. “You deem such critiques as ‘uncivil’ and as not supporting a collegial environment.”

Among other points, the academic also contends that white supremacy is supported by those who “actively discourage” people of color when they “complain to you about discrimination and racism,” as well as by those who advise faculty of color to be more mindful “in respecting the viewpoint of our students.”

Notably, the professor’s checklist also includes individuals “who benefit so much from the system” that they decide “to stay out of all of this ‘identity politics,’” and those who have never thought of themselves “as an ally to any of the causes of faculty of color.”

[RELATED: Prof: ‘ALL white people are racist,’ ‘ALL men are sexist’]

“If you have made it to this point,” Dutt-Ballerstadt concludes, “you are probably feeling quite hypervisible or fragile and have decided to have some hot chamomile tea from a cup that reads ‘White Tears’ or ‘Black Lives Matter.’”

Dutt-Ballerstadt did not immediately respond to Campus Reform’s request for comment.

Follow this author on Facebook: Nikita Vladimirov


MICROAGGRESSIONS*
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microaggression

microaggression --
“: a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group (such as a racial minority)”

IF I WERE TO THOUGHTLESSLY USE SOME TERMS AND/OR JOKES I HEARD GROWING UP, THAT WOULD BE A MICROAGGRESSION. I DIDN'T DO IT PURPOSELY, BUT I DIDN'T TRY HARD ENOUGH TO AVOID DOING IT EITHER.


https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=10342
Meritocracy is a ‘tool of whiteness,’ claims math professor
Toni Airaksinen
New York Campus Correspondent
@Toni_Airaksinen
on Jan 08, 2018 at 7:53 AM EDT

A math education professor at Brooklyn College contends in a recent academic article that “meritocracy” in math classes is a “tool of whiteness.”
Laurie Rubel says that even "teaching for social justice" can be a "tool of whiteness" if teachers still believe in "the myths of meritocracy and colorblindness."

A math education professor at Brooklyn College contends in a recent academic article that “meritocracy” in math classes is a “tool of whiteness.”

Laurie Rubel implicates both meritocracy and “color-blindness” as ideological precepts that hold back racial minorities from succeeding in math classes in an article for the peer-reviewed Journal of Urban Mathematics Education.

"Teachers who claim color-blindness...are, in effect, refusing to acknowledge the impact of enduring racial stratification on students and their families." Tweet This

[RELATED: Prof: ‘Meritocracy’ is a ‘whiteness ideology’]

Rubel, who taught high school math for nine years before becoming a professor, argues that while meritocracy is commonly linked to hard work and talent, it also “functions as a tool of whiteness” because it “ignores systemic barriers and institutional structures that prevent opportunity and success.”

Color-blindness, too, can be an issue for math teachers, according to Rubel, who asserts that “Teachers who claim color-blindness—that is, they claim to not notice the race of their students—are, in effect, refusing to acknowledge the impact of enduring racial stratification on students and their families.

“By claiming not to notice, the teacher is saying that she is dismissing one of the most salient features of the child’s identity and that she does not account for it in her curricular planning and instruction,” Rubel adds, citing education theorist Gloria Ladson-Billings.

[RELATED: Profs say classroom ‘civility’ promotes ‘white racial power’]

Even math teachers who acknowledge race, such as those who indicate that they “can’t relate” in certain ways to students who are of a different race, are called out in Rubel’s paper.

If math teachers notice racial differences between themselves and their students, Rubel elaborates, “those differences are typically cast in terms of deficit constructions about students, their places, and their families.”

To mediate this, Rubel recommends that math teachers incorporate more social justice issues into math lessons, but warns that even “teaching for social justice” can be a “tool of whiteness” if teachers are not sufficiently attuned to the experiences of minority students.

This is because even social justice-minded professors may inadvertently hold the “belief that effort is always rewarded, [which corresponds] to various tools of whiteness, like the myths of meritocracy and colorblindness,” Rubel writes.

Campus Reform reached out to Rubel for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen


WHAT IS MERITOCRACY*? MY FIRST HUSBAND WAS TALKING ABOUT THIS BRITISH SYSTEM, AND SAID THAT ANY CHILD WHO, WHEN HE REACHED A PARTICULAR AGE DID NOT MASTER CERTAIN SKILLS, WAS NOT ALLOWED TO GET INTO THE COMPETITION FOR COLLEGE AT ALL. IF HE DIDN’T “MAKE THE CUT” HE WENT TO TRADE SCHOOL. THAT THINKING PATTERN IS MUCH TOO MECHANISTIC FOR ME AND FOR MOST PEOPLE I KNOW. THE OLD PHRASE “A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO WASTE,” IS VERY TRUE IN MY VIEW. FROM WHAT I KNOW OF KIDS AND HOW THEY LEARN, THIS IS UNFAIR AND ILLOGICAL, BECAUSE THEY AREN’T ALL AT THE SAME STAGE BY ANY GIVEN AGE.

ALSO, THERE ARE MORE THAN JUST ONE MANIFESTATION OF INTELLIGENCE. SIMPLY PHILOSOPHICALLY, WE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE NOT TRYING TO CUT OUT PEOPLE FROM COLLEGE, BUT RATHER TO HAVE AS MANY AS POSSIBLE GO ON TO COLLEGE. WE’LL HAVE TO KEEP DOING THAT, TOO, AS MECHANIZATION TAKES UP MORE AND MORE OF THE MANUAL JOBS. SOME BUSINESSES NOW WANT TO SAVE MONEY BY AVOIDING HAVING TO PAY WAGES AT ALL, HENCE THE ROBOTICIZATION OF WORK PLACES.

TO ME, EDUCATING ALL CITIZENS TO THE LEVEL THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ATTAINING IS A BETTER BASIS FOR A FAIR, PEACEFUL AND GENUINELY WELL-EDUCATED SOCIETY. IF WE WANT LESS STREET CRIME, WE WILL TRY TO AID STUDENTS IN ACHIEVING TO THE POINT THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO ADVANCE IN LIFE. PEOPLE WHO CAN’T READ ON THE COLLEGE LEVEL HAVE LITTLE CHANCE FOR JOB ADVANCEMENT, UNLESS THEY ARE VERY PERSISTENT.

OF COURSE, THERE’S ALWAYS THE ABRAHAM LINCOLN STORY, OF EDUCATING HIMSELF BY THE FIRE LIGHT AFTER THE FIELD WORK WAS DONE, AFTER WHICH HE “READ THE LAW.” HE HAD A STRONG THIRST FOR LEARNING. THAT IS EXACTLY THE SPIRIT THAT WE ALL NEED, IN ORDER TO BECOME ENLIGHTENED CITIZENS, OF COURSE.

WHETHER PEOPLE USE THEIR EDUCATION IN THEIR PAID WORK OR NOT, THE MORE MENTALLY AGILE WE ARE, THE MORE SELF-CONFIDENT AND OPEN TO OTHERS WE ARE LIKELY TO BE. IT’S THE ID THAT PRODUCES RACISM, NO MATTER HOW MUCH THE ALT-RIGHT TALK ABOUT WHITE SUPREMACY. PEOPLE WHO ARE CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING ON OUR OWN WON’T HAVE TO BULLY SOMEONE ELSE TO GET A LITTLE BOOST IN OUR SELF-IMAGE.

MANY KIDS IN THIS COUNTRY DO GIVE UP IN THEIR SCHOOL WORK RATHER THAN CONTINUING TO TRY IN SCHOOL. MANY DROP OUT AND DON’T EVEN COMPLETE HIGH SCHOOL. IT TAKES HOPE AND COURAGE TO FACE DIFFICULTIES AND MOVE ON THROUGH LIFE. THE FACT THAT TEACHERS (IN MY DAY AT ANY RATE) WERE MORE LIKELY TO PUNISH A KID WHO DIDN’T COMPLETE HIS ASSIGNMENTS RATHER THAN FINDING OUT WHY HE DIDN’T, MADE IT ALL THE WORSE. A FAILED STUDENT HAS A LOAD OF GUILT AND SHAME TO CARRY AROUND UNTIL HE WISES UP AND GOES BACK TO SCHOOL!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meritocracy

“. . . .

This is in contrast to the original, condemnatory use of the term in 1958 by Michael Young in his work "The Rise of the Meritocracy", who was satirizing the ostensibly merit-based Tripartite System of education practiced in the United Kingdom at the time; he claimed that, in the Tripartite System, "merit is equated with intelligence-plus-effort, its possessors are identified at an early age and selected for appropriate intensive education, and there is an obsession with quantification, test-scoring, and qualifications."[5]”