Who said, ‘Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed’
The United States Department of Education was created by President Jimmy Carter and signed into law on October 17, 1979 under the Department of Education Organization Act. The creation of this federal Education Department began the process of inextricably and fundamentally transforming our Constitutional Republic, over the past 44 years, into a totalitarian state.
According to the U.S. Department of Education website the mission of the DOE is,
ED’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
ED was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. ED’s 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to:
- Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
- Collecting data on America’s schools and disseminating research.
- Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
- Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.
“Education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed.”
So who holds the Education Department’s weapon in its hands and at whom is it aimed?
Education in America
This Department of Education’s bureaucracy has grown not only in terms of its size and budget but more importantly in the scope of its policies.
Today’s education is no longer about reading, writing and arithmetic. It is about equity, a.k.a. social justice, inclusion and diversity.
Since Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, the former commissioner of education in Connecticut, was sworn in as the 12th U.S. Secretary of Education on March 2nd, 2021 public education has taken a dramatic.
Dr. Cardona’s biography reads in part,
Across all these areas, Secretary Cardona has highlighted the urgency of seizing this moment through intentional collaboration—particularly working in partnership with parents, families, students, and educators—and the opportunity we have, as a nation, not only to recover from the pandemic, but to reimagine a higher-performing and more equitable education system that works better for all.
However, in 2022 Cardona solicited a National School Board Association letter comparing parents to “domestic terrorists.” According to Fox News, NSBA Secretary-Treasurer Kristi Swett recounted that NSBA interim CEO Chip Slaven “told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona.”
In response, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland directed the FBI to use its authority to identify threats and prosecute concerned parents.
But there’s more.
Before the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday [April 18th, 2023], Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) grilled U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on biological male athletes participating in women’s sports, as Cardona repeatedly and awkwardly refused to offer a definition of the term “woman.”
“Following the civil rights movement of the 1960s, lawmakers established Title IX — rules to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and federally-funded education programs, making a historic impact on girls and women sports,” Clyde said. Prior to that, he noted, “female athletes only received two percent of college athletic budgets and athletic scholarships for women were quite rare.”
According to Clyde, Title IX “unquestionably transformed women’s sports, ensuring female athletes enjoy the same opportunities as their male counterparts.”
Turning to Cardona, the congressman from Georgia said, “Earlier this month on April the 13th, your department filed a proposed rule, amending Title IX regulations that would unilaterally force schools to allow biological males to participate in women’s athletics,” he said. “This proposed rule would withhold federal assistance from schools across the nation seeking to maintain the integrity and safety of women’s sports.”
Due to the relevance of determining the difference between men and women, Clyde asked: “So can you please tell me or can you please define for me what is a woman?”
“Our focus at the department is to provide equal access to students, including students who are LGBTQ, access free from discrimination,” Cardona responded.
“So what’s the definition of a woman? You haven’t given me that. You haven’t answered my question,” Clyde fired back.
“I think that’s almost secondary to the important role that I have as secretary of education,” Cardona replied.
Clyde explained that his question was “not secondary.” He pressed, “My question is very simple: what does HHS say the definition of a woman is?”
“I lead the Department of Education, and my job is to make sure that all students have access to public education, which includes co-curricular activities,” he said. “And I think you highlighted pretty well the importance of Title IX and giving students equal access, whether it’s scholarship and facilities and participation as well.”
“OK, so you’re not going to answer my question,” Clyde said “Do you believe that a biological male who self-identifies as a woman should be allowed to compete in women’s sports?”
“I believe our focus needs to make sure that all students have access to public education,” he said.
“A yes or no is sufficient,” Clyde retorted.
“I think it’s not answered with a yes or no,” he said. “I think all students should have access to co-curricular activities.”
“I think that is a yes or no question,” Clyde said. “Do you believe that a biological male who self-identifies as a woman should be allowed to compete in women’s sports?”
“I believe all students should have access to all things that public education—” Cardona replied.
“So you’re not going to answer my question: do you believe allowing biological males to compete in women’s sports benefits female athletes?” Clyde interjected.
“I believe it’s important that we take into account the needs of all students when they’re engaging in co-curricular—” he began to say.
“So again you’re not going to answer my question: do you believe allowing biological males to enter women’s private spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms is safe for female students?” he asked.
Cardona responded: “It’s critically important that we make sure all students feel safe in their school environment… It means that the perspective of all students should be taken into account when decisions are made around facilities.”
A person who can’t, or rather won’t, define what a woman is should have no position in government at any level, from President down to dog catcher. That person shouldn’t even be allowed to graduate from grade school.
The Bottom Line
Discover the Networks says this about Secretary of Education Cardona,
In 2011, Cardona joined a state task force committee that made policy recommendations intended to close the “academic achievement gap between racial and socioeconomic groups in Connecticut.” Upon its inception in January 2011, the task force affirmed its belief that “it is morally and economically imperative that Connecticut eliminate the academic achievement gap between racial and ethnic minority and white students, and between poor and middle-income students, by the end of the current decade.” In a 2014 report, the committee recommended remedies that included increased access to public housing, social services, and anti-hunger programs.
[ … ]
In 2013, Cardona began working as a Performance and Evaluation Specialist for Meriden Public Schools. In 2015 he was promoted to Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, a role in which he pursued an array of ambitious measures designed to support minority students. These measures included: (a) flying to Puerto Rico to attract bilingual teachers; (b) hiring school climate specialists to interact with students in their native languages; and (c) ensuring that those same specialists were of the same racial and/or ethnic background as the students whom they served.
[ … ]
During his Senate confirmation hearings in early 2021, Cardona expressed his firm support for the acceptance of transgenderism in public schools: “It’s nonnegotiable to make sure that our learning environments are places that are free of discrimination and harassment for all learners, including our LGBTQ students,” he declared. Cardona also indicated his support for legal protections that would enable transgender students to participate on sports teams in accordance with their own “preferred gender identity.”
The current Department of Education has now become “a weapon” and that weapon is aimed at parents, Christians, Jews, Muslims, girls, straight white men and those who understand scientifically that there are only two genders (XX and XY).
“He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.”
The U.S. Education Department has become a weapon of mass destruction. It is intent on teaching children what to think, not how to think.
The DOE is now in his hands of ideologues like Cardona who:
- Blames racism for the “academic achievement gap” between black and white students
- Supports the tenets of Critical Race Theory
- Views America as a racist nation
- Promotes the acceptance of transgenderism in public schools
- Advocates free community college
- Favors the forgiveness of student loans
Each of the above destroys not only our children’s minds but also sets the stage for centralized state control by those that it is raising and teaching children to hate America.
Be warned that the swamp goes from the school house to the White House and they are winning the hearts and minds of our children. Their most effective weapons of mass destruction are K-12 public school students.
©2023 Dr. Rich Swier, Ed.D. All rights reserved.
When we re-elect POTUS Trump he should push to eliminate the US Dept of Education. All education functions should be under the control of each state.
Federal funding for education should also be eliminated so that they have zero control over it.