Conservatives Urge Trump to Bypass Blue States, Empower Local Schools and Parents with School Choice

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As education advocates from the national to local level praise President Donald Trump’s commitment to deliver the four-decade-old conservative policy goal of abolishing the Department of Education, they warn that Democrat-controlled states could implement worse curricula than the federal DOE and ask the president to consider directly funding local school districts or parents through school vouchers.

President Trump campaigned on shuttering the 45-year-old federal department in 2024, and shortly after taking office, he moved swiftly to keep his promise. “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely,” stated President Trump’s executive order, issued last Thursday, March 20. He also cut the number of federal employees working in the DOE by approximately half.

President Trump has largely signaled he will allow states to set their own education policies — something that concerns parental rights advocates living in liberal states such as California.

“If it does come down to the states, I would be a big advocate,” Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley (California) Unified School District Board of Education, told “Washington Watch” last Friday. But “if you give back to local control, in states like California, that could be kind of nerve-wracking for a lot of us here fighting the good fight.” Democrat-controlled states determined to promote such controversial programs as anti-American history curricula, critical race theory, or the history of the LGBTQ movement “can make it very, very difficult for districts like ours that are actually trying to educate and not indoctrinate” students.

Shaw faced death threats and official investigations from California officials for adopting a parental notification policy that requires teachers to tell parents if children begin to identify as another gender at school.

Instead, she favors the federal government awarding education dollars “directly to the districts based on merit,” said Shaw. “Give it to the counties. Local control is the best, right? And if you give it to the counties, they know exactly what is needed and where it’s needed, and they can disperse the money.” The awarding of federal education grants “needs to be merit-based,” determined by test score improvements, “because a lot of states are like California. We have some great [states], but we also have some horrific ones that have weaponized the Department of Education towards districts like ours that are trying to actually educate kids.”

Two former secretaries of education hope the president will go one step further: Bypass educational bureaucrats at the state and local level and simply give federal education funds directly to parents through school vouchers.

“A better approach is to simply give Title I money to poor parents and let them pick their schools. That is exactly what Trump’s order intends to do. Putting funding in students’ backpacks would eliminate the bureaucracy that reduces its impact when administered federally,” wrote Reagan administration Secretary of Education William J. Bennett in a Newsweek op-ed this week. “According to Gloria Romero, cofounder of the charter school Explore Academy, local and state education agencies employ approximately 50,000 people mainly to comply with burdensome (and often woke) requirements imposed by the then-4,400 Education Department employees.”

Bennett echoed his own call to treat federal public school dollars akin to Pell Grants as he co-authored a second op-ed with President George H.W. Bush’s secretary of education and 1996 Republican presidential hopeful, Lamar Alexander. Unlike local school funding based on “creaky formulas that distribute funds to schools in ways that may never reach the youngsters meant to benefit from them,” in college “we give Pell Grants to needy college students that accompany them to the colleges they actually attend. If such vouchers — which is what Pell Grants are — helped to create the best colleges, why not use them to create the best schools?” asked the secretaries. “That would eliminate layers of bureaucracy, inject needed competition into the education system, and shove Uncle Sam out of the way of state decision-makers and, especially, of parents making the best school choices for their children.”

For instance, Bennett noted in an interview with Fox News, classical academies have higher academic standards and “teach character.”

“Federal control of education has become a jobs program for bureaucrats, and it puts students last,” wrote Bennett.

Their successor, Trump-47 Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, has promised her deep personnel cuts will shear off “bureaucratic bloat” that has attended public schools due to decades of top-down federal policies.

Bennett concluded that “history and common sense show the solution is boosting education freedom, not preserving the failed Washington status quo.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has starkly criticized the actions Trump has already taken to rein in the federal education bureaucracy. “This overreach needs to be rejected immediately by a co-equal branch of government. Or was Congress eliminated by this executive order, too?” he asked.

That left Shaw bemused. “Let’s just lay out the facts,” she said. “Newsom put his kids in private school when he shut down schools here in California for the majority of the children. He also sued our district and other districts for just wanting parental involvement. So, of course, he’s going to be opposed to something that’s going to benefit our children, because he’s never been successful at helping our educational system here in California,” she noted.

“They have mismanaged and funneled monies through to the lobbyists, the special interests through these departments, all while failing kids at reading, writing, and math,” Shaw told the program. “Every time he speaks, he just exposes himself.”

Yet Newsom has legal backup. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed suit against the Trump administration in Massachusetts, while the National Education Association (NEA) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) sued the administration in Democratic Maryland.

Legal experts find the lawsuits ironic, because the Department of Education’s existence violates the Constitution. “The vast majority of functions carried out by the Department of Education are not authorized by the Constitution. That is because the Constitution grants the federal government only limited, enumerated powers, none of which encompass education policy,” wrote Thomas A. Berry at the Cato Institute. The enumerated powers, which states delegated to the federal government, may be found in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. All other powers are reserved to the states “or the people” under the Tenth Amendment. “The president and education secretary should make a clear case for why their oaths to defend the Constitution require this executive action. If they do so, this action could be an important step toward restoring the federal government to its proper role.”

Since the department was established by Congress, Congress must act to formally abolish it. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) reintroduced a bill to abolish the Department of Education for good (H.R. 899). The one-sentence bill reads in its entirety, “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2026.”

“When this department was put in place, it was pretty much a giveaway from [President Jimmy] Carter to the unions. And since then, the Department of Ed has not closed one achievement gap. Kids are still failing at reading, writing, and math,” noted Shaw. “Since this department was put in place, it just funnels money through to the special interest groups, which does not benefit our children.”

“We were doing fine educationally prior to the Department of Education being created on the federal level, and we’ll be okay afterwards,” said former Congressman Jody Hice, who hosts “Washington Watch” on Fridays.

“You have been really on the tip of the spear on this issue and so many other issues that the education in California is specifically dealing with, from LGBT indoctrination and [more],” Hice told Shaw. “I just want to say thank you. God bless you. Godspeed to you and others who are stepping up.”

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Court: NJ School Districts Can Scrap Secretive Trans Student Policy that Excluded Parents

EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

PODCAST: The Schumer Dilemma and Taking Down the DOE

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GUESTS AND TOPICS

ROGER ARONOFF

Roger Aronoff is the executive director and Editor of the Citizens Commission on National Security. Aronoff founded the Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi. He has produced and directed six documentaries, and produced a weekly series on PBS called “Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg.”

TOPIC: The Schumer Dilemma and a Lesson for the Left

REV. BEN JOHNSON

Rev. Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand. His writings have also appeared in The (UK) Guardian, Human Events, The Stream, Real Clear Policy, Conservative Review, The Daily Caller, and have been cited by National Review, CBS News, and Fox News. He was managing editor of FrontPage Magazine and U.S. Bureau Chief at LifeSiteNews. He is the author of two books on tax-exempt foundations, as well as Party of Defeat (2008, Spence, with David Horowitz). Before turning to online journalism and editing, he spent more than a decade in all facets of radio broadcasting, including news and talk.

TOPIC: ‘Unconstitutional, Ineffective, Incompetent, Unnecessary’: Trump Moves to Abolish Dept. of Education

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Illinois Bill Would Let Failing School System Send Homeschooling Parents To Jail

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Not a single student can do math at grade level in 53 Illinois schools.

Not a single student can read at grade level in 30 Illinois schools.

The Democrat’s solution? Jail parents who want better for their children.

Illinois Bill Would Let Failing School System Send Homeschooling Parents To Jail

By: Diana Sroka Rickert, The Federalist, March 21, 2025

A new bill requires parents to report themselves to their local school district, and parents who do not will be considered truant.

Homeschool parents would face fines, misdemeanor charges and even jail time if they do not report themselves to local public school officials, under a new proposal from Illinois Democrats.

Parents also would be required to provide public school officials with a “portfolio” of their children’s work at any time, at any interval and frequency, until that portfolio meets the public school’s satisfaction.

The bill, dubbed the “Homeschool Act,” requires parents to report themselves in writing to local school officials starting in 2026. Parents who do not will be considered truant. They face Class C misdemeanor charges, which are punishable by up to 30 days in jail. They also face fines and lengthy hearings forcing them to comply with the Act. Under this proposal, parents also face investigations by state child welfare officials.

“I would argue that it is actually a really good thing for the good homeschool parents,” says the bill’s sponsor, suburban Chicago Democrat Terra Costa Howard. “The ones who are doing it the right way … they’re going to be able to do that.”

The thinking from bill sponsors, of course, is that parents are inadequate to teach their own offspring how to read, write, and prepare them for adulthood. It is time to bring in the professionals, aka the government, to “protect” these children from mom and dad. Let’s take a look at how things are going at schools run by these so-called professionals.

1. A Majority Of Illinois Public School Kids Struggle in Reading and Math

More than two-thirds of Illinois eighth graders are not proficient in reading or math, according to results from the recent National Assessment of Education Progress. Worse, the public school system is failing minority children in a devastating way. Only 16 percent of black eighth-graders in Illinois are proficient at reading, and only 8 percent of black Illinois eighth-graders do math at grade level.

2. Extremely Limited Education Choices In Illinois

Unless your parents homeschool you, the only way to avoid public school in Illinois is to be rich enough to afford tuition at a private or parochial school, or lucky enough to earn a scholarship. Illinois has no education savings accounts, no school vouchers and no tax credit scholarships. In fact, Illinois notably became the very first state in America to shut down a school choice program funded by tax credits in 2024.

That’s how bad the state’s politicians want to trap kids in failing public schools.

3. Physical Abuse Was Only Recently Outlawed in Illinois Schools

Up until 2021, many Illinois public schools used seclusion rooms and face-down restraints to punish students. The practice was finally banned after the Chicago Tribune and other news outlets published exposés reporting that “some schools routinely locked children in closet-like seclusion rooms to force them to complete schoolwork, for being disrespectful to employees or for behavioral infractions as minor as spilling milk. Inside the small spaces, children sometimes cried for their parents, tore at the walls, or urinated when they were denied use of the bathroom.”

Worse, parents often were powerless against such treatment of their children and often viewed as part of the problem or kept in the dark about the practices altogether.

4. Sexual Abuse in Public Schools

Just this week, a special ed teacher in suburban Chicago was charged with molesting a student. Unfortunately, this story happens over and over again, every school year, statewide. In Chicago Public Schools alone, the office of the inspector general has logged more than 400 investigations into sexual assault involving district teachers and staff every school year since 2018.

In one case, a middle school charter teacher in Chicago met a 16-year-old student on an online dating app, and proceeded to have a sexual relationship with the student. But state child welfare officials refused to pursue the case. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, at the time led by the famed Kimberly Foxx, also refused to pursue charges against the teacher demonstrating that state child welfare workers and those tasked with protecting children are failing at defending minors truly put in harm’s way.

In another case, an elementary school teacher in Chicago Public Schools kissed a student on the lips during class. An investigation into this incident revealed at least six separate allegations against the same teacher dating back six years that had never resulted in the teacher being removed from the classroom.

5. The Law’s Flawed Premise

Costa Howard and her homeschool-hating colleagues have peddled a mistruth that homeschoolers are more likely to abuse their children. Per an Illinois Public Radio story: “An advocate for more homeschool regulation argued there is a link between homeschooling and abuse and neglect that often goes unnoticed.” (Yet this so-called “advocate” has failed to provide credible statistical data to that effect.)

Costa Howard continuously cites in interviews the tragic story of “L.J.,” whom she claims was abused because Illinois allows parents to homeschool their children without obtrusive government involvement. But in this sad story, as well as other examples cited by Costa Howard, the children in question weren’t actually homeschooled. Their parents did no actual educating at home and instead were simply crummy, abusive parents. But all of these children were under the surveillance of state welfare officials, who left them in abusive homes for a year or more.

Certainly, Illinois’ public education system has its fair share of problems. And in Illinois, the state’s lead child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Family Services, is universally accepted to be “beleaguered” and “troubled.” The five items mentioned above don’t even scratch the surface of what public-school families in Illinois face when it comes to a radical woke ideology that is pushed as normal, obscene transgender policies forced upon students, bullying so rampant it recently led an 11-year-old to suicide, peer pressure, school violence, and other problems that keep parents awake at night and checking their cell phones incessantly during the school day.

Homeschool families in Illinois are very aware of these issues, and these certainly are reasons enough to take on the task of educating their beloved children themselves. But parents also choose to homeschool for a litany of other reasons that are based solely on ensuring their children receive the very best education possible, in a way that is completely custom to each individual child.

Continue reading.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

POSTS ON X:

EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Training for Dogs, Not Students

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A fact is a piece of information that can be proved with concrete evidence. An opinion is a view or judgment about something, and can change often. Education is supposed to immerse the individual in facts, so that whenever a decision is needed, the individual can make the most logical, common-sense decision.

Historical Facts: Thousands of white people died in the Civil War trying to end slavery. The Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. The Great Society Legislation passed in 1964-65, spending millions of taxpayer money investment on urban renewal, medical care, housing, and transportation for rural and inner-city blacks.

Sensible conclusion: Discrimination/oppression of black people ended a long time ago.

A fact refers to something true or real, which is backed by evidence, documentation, etc. Example: the moon’s temperature ranges from -298F at night to 224F during the day, which has been determined and confirmed by astronomers, scientists, and lunar landings.

On the other hand, opinion is what a person believes or thinks about something. Example: I think the moon is made of green cheese; it sure looks like it on a cloudy night, don’t you agree?

Facts make use of the left brain, and by using proper skills, the individual can reason, prioritize, and come to a logical conclusion. Once these skills are realized, the individual can make quick, common-sense decisions. Example: If in multiplication 5 x 3=15, then in division 15 divided by 3=5.

Facts are universal and only change when solid, verifiable evidence is found that refutes the fact. Example: For centuries, wise men believed the earth was flat. When explorers returned with evidence there is no end-point, the earth is round, and you can circumnavigate it, the fact was changed.

Opinions use the right brain, where emotion guides the decision, often in making judgments without basis. Emotion is a learned response to a particular situation. Emotions are abstract, and often personal, so they are easily changed.

A person can only think of one thought at a time. If only the left brain is developed, then the individual has little time for issues that involve emotional responses, i.e., art, movies. If only the right brain is developed, the individual can not reason, lacks common sense, and will often make decisions based on how things look, rather than on how they operate.

YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED

Remember Star Trek: The Next Generation? Sure you do. Specifically, think now about the Borg episodes. Do you recall this quote: “You will be Assimilated?” This assimilation is what the current Department of Education has planned for our young people in public education, today.

It’s very difficult to understand the relationship between CRT, SEL, and CRT, because they are 3 different approaches to the same thing: Emotionally controlling the people.

Critical Race Theory: CRT is a Theory, a system of rules, procedures, and assumptions used to produce a result. Who’s opinion, who’s assumption, what if I disagree? Many common tactics in CRT training, including segregating people by race, race-shaming, ascribing certain attributes to people based on race, and ”claims that by virtue of race, a person is inherently racist, or inclined to oppress others.” You must assume things to be true.

Social-Emotional Learning: SEL forces the child to see all issues through an emotional lens, often shutting down the right brain to logic and reason. Too often, the child gets so emotionally charged that they become unruly (so involved in their emotion), and no longer have the ability to express themselves. They no longer have the ability to listen to an opposing viewpoint, because it doesn’t make them “feel better.” So Johnny, who had a bad feeling from reading about the boy who lost his life getting hit by a train, gets mad at the engineer, instead of asking why the boy was on the track to begin with. Emotion overplays logic.

The purpose of school is to disseminate factual information for a person to store in their brain, and use at a later time when needed to make informed decisions, i.e., common sense. However, a person thinking through emotion will never have a firm footing. They will constantly be thinking, how do I feel about that? How am I making others feel? Decision-making becomes a horror. Emotion changes constantly. Because Facts rarely change, once the individual knows facts, they become more secure in their decisions.

A student taught to think of everything in terms of SEL will become an emotional person incapable of having a conversation with an opposing perspective. They lack common sense, and don’t have the ability to draw conclusions logically. They allow others to make decisions for them, rather than risk hurting someone else.

Johnny White, Suzie Black, and Jose Brown are in class. The teacher asked, what is 2 plus 2?

Johnny knows the answer, but is afraid to raise his hand, because the rest of the students will think he has white privilege. Suzie thinks she knows the answer, but won’t say anything, because what if she is wrong, and the others laugh at her and hurt her feelings⏤she will just want to die. Jose knows the answer, but won’t talk because he will get a passing grade for coming to school.

How does this create excellence?

And the answer is…IT DOESN’T.

The goal is not Excellence, the goal is Division.

  • The ruling class of Globalists doesn’t want people to come together as Americans.
  • They don’t want the populace to think logically or to think factually.
  • They don’t want people to communicate, because they might have an opposing view.
  • They don’t care about the truth – because the ends justify the means.
  • They want the populace to be trained, to think about how they have designed the world to think emotionally.
  • Emotional people are easier to control – there is no opposition.
  • They want the people to “stay in their lane.”

Culturally Responsive Teaching is a pedagogy that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural references in all aspects of learning. CRT is a fancy term for multiculturalism (dividing people by ethnicity), which means “stay in your tribe”. No exploring America, or American values of being the best you can be, you must be the same as everyone else in your tribe. Instead of students learning the “new” ways of American exceptionalism, where they can make their own choices, they must choose from what the rulers have offered. Instead of people coming together as Americans, they stay apart, based on ethnicity. CRT constantly divides the population.

Culturally Responsive Teaching | Teaching Diverse Learners

The inability to make clear decisions based on facts too often pushes the person into an emotional dilemma. I am stuck, they think. I can’t make a decision. I am an emotional mess. Where are my pills? If I give the right answer, will my compatriots think I am a racist? I’ll kill myself rather than be called a racist. There is a reason why the suicide rate is climbing.

By eliminating facts, skills, and morality, the person never has a firm footing. Things change all the time. Not being on a secure footing destroys confidence and self-esteem. This type of training is now filtered throughout all disciplines. ELA, MATH, SS, Science are all seen through an emotional, racial lens called diversity, inclusion, reparations, equity, social justice, and etc.

They can’t eat, sleep. Can’t cope? Not to worry, there is a syndrome, psychiatrist, or drug for that. Must be something wrong with you⏤need a sex change?

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the vehicle used to guide CRT into the conversation. By claiming everything in life is dictated by racism CRT, students are inhibited from speaking, expressing their true feelings. Maybe Suzie Black gets the answer wrong, because she didn’t do her homework, which has nothing to do with race. Johnny White is stuck, because he is called a racist exercising his white privilege, if he gives the right answer. Everyone will think I am a racist. So rather than giving the right answer, the student is prompted to think – is this answer going to offend someone else?

(OR) The teacher asks the question, who knows what two and two are? Johnny thinks, why bother answering? They will just call me a racist. I’ll just play with my blocks; besides, if I don’t answer anything, I’ll pass anyway, and that is safer.

PINK HAIR

Rather than answer #4, learning the fact and moving to the next fact, children are now fearful of giving the wrong, socially acceptable, emotional response…that someone they don’t know decided they should have. They are inhibited, and are learning to keep quiet even when they are right. So if they can’t be right when they know they are, they do something else to get attention – drugs, sex, pink hair, body piercing, drinking, etc. Children do anything to get the attention they lack, from being right in school in front of their peers.

PAVLOV’S DOGS

SEL and CRT are just fancy names for Behavior Modification. A psychological trick used to elicit the appropriate required response for an action. All the child does is learn the responses approved by the textbook company. If you follow procedure, you will get the correct OUTCOME. No innovation, no creative thinking, no competition, no thinking outside the box. Now every child must think inside the box. There is no room for individuality, which is its purpose. No wonder why the STEM attendance is so poor. No thought. Just stimulus, response, stimulus, response…training for Pavlov’s dogs, not people.

We are not graduating individuals. We are graduating clones, who, given the right stimulus, give the correct pre-determined response. No reading, writing, or math is needed. Just respond the way you were taught! White people are bad, and the cause of your problems. If you are a minority, you are the victim and can blame someone else for your problems. You can riot without consequences. You can be like Jose, sit in a corner and play with blocks, because you’ll pass even if you don’t answer. You can be safe.

Why am I writing this today when President Trump is closing the Department of Education? After all education is now in the hands of the state and local community. To me, that is a frightening thought – unless you pay attention!

©2025 . All rights reserved.

VOTE “YES” ON THESE BILLS:

  • SB 1394 – Cursive Writing
  • HB 1539/SB 1692 – Removal of Materials Harmful to minors. Closes loophole; provides clarity
  • HB 1255 – Gives teachers ability to choose the right tools to enhance learning
  • HB 495/SB 352 – Whistleblower protection for teachers
  • HB 871/SB 1462 – Virtuaal rights, Parents would OPT IN for all student surveys, mental health

Vote “NO” on these bills:l instruction, provides Choice, military

  • HB 1505/SB 1288 – Parent
  • HB1565/ SB 1440 State control of Microschools
  • SB700 – Agriculture Bill, sections 74 and 75 attacks gun rights.
  • SB 1118 – Strips local government of authority to develop agricultural land. Gives authority to developers.

Join me on The Prism Of America’s Education, on Americaoutloud.news, as we discuss the importance of elections and a variety of laws that need your attention.

Contact your Legislator. Support President Trump and make sure our students get a traditional American education. Phonics in K-3, Cursive in 3-5, Singapore Math, civics.

Join the Florida Citizens Alliance goflca.org Help save America mentor a child.

Show Link https://www.americaoutloud.news/the-prism-of-americas-education/

Show: Sat and Sun 7AM ET and 5PM ET on

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Podcasts and Articles: karenbschoen.com karenschoen.substack.com

Guest: Eduardo Vidal, VP and general Council, Election Integrity Brigade of Miami Dade County, Doral FL ,713-725-6169, Ed@electionbrigade.com

Website: electionbrigade.com

Guest: Mike Hill, former Florida State Representative

Let’s Fix Education: “Big Picture Thinking”

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I am thrilled to post education reformer Bruce Deitrick Price’s podcast transcript, March 12, 2025, Let’s Fix Education: Episode 193, Big Picture Thinking:

TRANSCRIPT:

BIG PICTURE THINKING

I want to celebrate the work of Linda Goudsmit. She is that rare miracle today, a big thinker. Her topic is understanding life in the 21st-century, the forces that are dragging it down, and how we can make it better.

The academic world forces scholars into small niches. They must all be specialists of something in particular. So, you won’t find big thinking there. I think we need more big thinking. Linda Goudsmit shows, in clear candid prose, what that looks like.

Knowledge-phobia, that’s the disease so prevalent in our world today. Apparently, the public schools will have to call 911 if any students start to learn anything. Oh, the horror. I think we need more knowledge. From K onward.

Some of the world is just lazy. Another big part of the world is constantly propagandizing. No matter what they pretend to care about, they are always pushing the same message. I think we need less propaganda, more love of Truth.

A few years back, I sent an email to Linda Goudsmit asking her what is the most important theme in her work. She said freedom. I had already decided that was the single word I would pick for that question. We had never discussed philosophy but somehow knew that if you don’t have freedom, you don’t really have much else.

Myself, I am a rampant generalist. Pretty much all my life I’ve been a novelist, painter, poet, art director, and now a passionate voice for education reform. But compared to Linda Goudsmit, I am stuck in a rut. So I readily appreciate her range and the tremendous amount of work that goes into studying all the facets she studies.

Now Linda Goudsmit deserves some sort of Oscar. Her most recent book is titled Space Is No Longer The Final Frontier — Reality Is. There are more than 370 pages, in 45 chapters. You will find a tremendous range with chapter titles such as:

Ideological Invasion

Your Brain Is the Battlespace

Fomenting Race Wars Begins In Kindergarten

Artificial Intelligence and America’s Children

Legalizing Pedophilia — The Sorensen Report

Pronouns and Pantheism

Conflict Theory and the Hegelian Dialectic

Marxist Past, Present, and Future

Cognitive Warfare and the Battle for Your Brain.

I suggest this may be a book that people can keep by the bed, and read chapters every now and then, for a lifetime. At college, professors can build courses around this book. The main point is that humans cannot live by bread and water alone. You need big, seriously nutritious meals now and then. You need chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. Linda Goudsmit serves up big thinking.

At college, I tried to find courses that I knew nothing about. In my senior year I discovered a course in graduate school called Japanese Scroll Painting of the 11th Century. I had to talk my way into this course because I was not a graduate student. All the other people were preparing to be curators for major museums. I don’t think they ever understood why I was there. But it was a great decision and I’ve had so much fun name-dropping that exotic title. I recommend exploring while you are still young. You will have many pleasant memories. And whatever your age, you can explore Linda Goudsmit’s luxuriant pages.

If you go to Amazon, you can find many VIP endorsements and samples from the book.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Please visit Linda’s pundicity page: goudsmit.pundicity.com and her website: lindagoudsmit.com 

Linda’s book Space Is No Longer the Final Frontier––Reality Is is available in paperback, hardback, and ebook formats on barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and directly from Ingram in paperback.

Critically Thinking about the Arguments against DOEd

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There are few national decision that are more important than this, so we MUST get this right! 

In my prior commentary on the Department of Education (DOEd), there were several readers who took issue with AI’s conclusion that it would be better to reform DOEd than kill it. (I fully agree with AI.)

Many of these people were very passionate in their fervor to eliminate DOEd — but it’s a well-established fact that emotion and logic are often at odds.

Let’s apply some logic — i.e., Critical Thinking — to their stated objections:

1 – “The Constitution makes no mention of a Department of Education, therefore it is unlawful.”

The Constitution also makes no mention of the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, etc., etc — so to follow that reasoning almost all Federal departments should be scrapped. I don’t think so!

2 – “Our K-12 education is a disaster, and since DOEd is the top dog, it needs to be euthanized.”

We are in 100% agreement that DOEd has been terrible in the past. However, scrapping it does not remedy one iota of their prior bad behavior. On the other hand, properly reforming it does! (For example, see here.)

Another flaw in this thinking is that DOEd is actually NOT at the top of the K-12 education pile! In reality, the top of the K-12 heap is each State’s Board of Education (along with each State’s Department of Education). They — not DOEd — control the standards for each subject area. They — not DOEd — control the textbooks in each K-12 subject area. They — not DOEd — oversee state certification tests. Etc.

3 – “There is no point in reforming DOEd as four years from now the Democrats will undo that.”

a) Extending that thinking would mean that there is no point in making ANY policy changes in ANY area. That view makes no sense.

b) Note that the Left does not buy into this silliness, as when they are in power they go to great lengths to incorporate their ideology into every crevice available. Yes, some of it can be stopped, but they make large inroads in the meantime. For example, the current administration (including the Department of Energy) acknowledges the complete absurdity of industrial wind energy. However, the US has already been severely burdened by 75,000± turbines that we can’t just uproot and trash.

c) If sensible Education (and other) policies are implemented, most citizens will appreciate that, and will likely vote to have four more years of the same.

4 – “I’m against giving any more authority to a Federal Government agency.”

I support that idea, and if DOEd is properly reformed, it will end up with less authority. Furthermore, its remaining authority will be significantly different (more productive) than it was before.

It’s understandable to have a concern about Government overreach, but this can be irrational — like Trump Derangement Syndrome. Further, the States can be just as bad (or worse — e.g., California, NY, etc.) so turning things over to the States just gives them more power, which is the root of the overreach problem.

5 – “We should eliminate DOEd as we need less bureaucracy.”

No argument there — I advocated getting rid of 90% of DOEd. That said, the real creators of the K-12 education bureaucracy are States. For example, look at the huge increase in administration K-12 positions. Essentially all of this is due to poor State oversight rather than DOEd.

6 – “Our K-12 education system went downhill after the DOEd was created by Carter.”

Yes, but that is an example of “Correlation does not prove causation.” During this same period, the Left has made a much more aggressive effort to take over K-12 education — from teacher certification to State level Subject Standards (like NGSS). That is the reason for the decline in K-12 education, not DOEd.

7 – “States will do a better job with optimizing the K-12 curricula, etc. than DOEd will.”

a) No one is advocating that DOEd put forth national curricula standards, so that’s a strawman argument.

b) To date, 95%+ of the K-12 curricula have been determined and approved by the States (more specifically each State’s Board of Education). The quality of their work in that regard is abysmal — e.g., as a lifelong scientist, I can tell you that the K-12 Science Standards (NGSS) are terrible. (For some details see here.)

c) Not a single State is formally teaching students to be Critical Thinkers, which (after the 3Rs) is the single most important skill that high school graduates should have. DOEd has nothing to do with this abject failure.

d) To genuinely fix the K-12 education mess, DOEd should provide competent leadership. For example, DOEd should make clear in their Mission Statement, etc., that a primary goal of US K-12 education is to produce Critically Thinking graduates. How each State does that will be up to them, but the goal is then established.

8 – “We should be cautious about one-size-fits-all solutions.”

a) This over-used adage has resulted in more problematic outcomes than the Precautionary Principle. If a policy benefits 99% of students, should we trash it because 1% do not benefit? That is not Critical Thinking!

b) None of my DOEd recommendations is a one-size-fits-all idea anyway. For example (as explained in 7-d) even though DOEd would establish goals, the States would determine how to accomplish them on their own.

9 – “Getting rid of DOEd would allow parents to have more control of K-12 education.”

This is yet another misunderstanding. The States already control 95%± of the K-12 education (e.g., curricula), so getting rid of DOEd would provide zero benefits to parents. Further, the idea that parents will fix major K-12 problems is simply without merit. For example, arguably the single most serious problem in US K-12 schools is what is being taught via the NGSS. I’m aware of no parents, or major conservative organizations, who have publicly exposed the problems with NGSS, and are stridently advocating against using it. None.

On the other hand, DOEd has the pulpit and money to do something meaningful about the NGSS cancer.

10- “Getting rid of DOEd will get rid of CRT, DEI, SEL, etc in our K-12 schools.”

This is silly, but I’m listing it as people have made this claim. CRT, DEI, SEL, etc. are in State K-12 schools because the State Boards of Education (and State Departments of Education) gave them their blessing (like here). Getting rid of DOEd will not change that one iota.

Trump has already issued Executive Orders (EOs) on K-12 (e.g., on Critical Race Theory). But this would not have been needed if the States had already fixed this corruption of our education system. However, this top-down leadership is needed because States are more the problem than the solution!

11- “Core Knowledge is a curriculum built upon the concept of the Common School espoused by our founding fathers. We don’t need a DOEd to implement Core Knowledge throughout our 50 states.”

No one said we need DOEd to impart Core Knowledge. That is the purview of States — and they are NOT doing it! Please read my prior commentary, which discusses this and much more.

12- “We need to eliminate DOEd because they have supported inappropriate actions of teachers unions.”

Yes the old DOEd seems to have done that. So the new DOEd fires the people who were behind that, and changes policies so that it won’t happen again. Further, DOEd becomes a powerful force to see that teachers unions get on the same page as to what is in America’s best interests. [Note: no DOEd means that teachers unions will continue on as a negative force, as no State has the power or interest to take them on!]

13- “With DOEd gone, more money would go to the States.”

a) In 2024 DOEd had $80± Billion in discretionary money plus $170± Billion of statutorily required allotments. With DOEd terminated, Congress and DOGE would use that change to aggressively REDUCE this $250± Billion to lower our federal deficit, etc. There is almost no chance that it will be increased.

b) In the remote case that States did get more K-12 education money, that would be a horrific waste of taxpayer funds, as THE STATES ARE THE K-12 PROBLEM! So giving them more money would REWARD them for the failing system we already have! What sense would that make?

14- “If we turn K-12 education entirely over to the States, some will excel and some will fail miserably — but overall, we will be better off than we are now.”

The reality is that right now, States control 95% of the K-12 education system, so the extra 5% is trivial. Further, ZERO states are currently succeeding and ALL are failing miserably — and DOEd has absolutely nothing to do with that! Nothing is keeping any State from doing a superior job at educating K-12 students — yet none of them are. What’s needed is positive leadership, which has been missing from DOEd.

15- “President Trump wants to eliminate DOEd and I trust that he knows what he is doing.”

As a supporter of President Trump, I acknowledge that he has voiced his desire to eliminate DOEd. It’s now reported that he will soon sign an EO to do that. That said, President Trump has a few dozen major issues on his plate, and clearly he can not be an expert on all of them.

Regarding the K-12 Education system his intentions are admirable, but he does not have the experience to see that eliminating DOEd — rather than reforming it — is an extremely bad decision for America.

Also, every President is heavily dependent on the advice he is given. In this case, as I have explained above and here, it appears that he has not been given good advice.

It should be clear that President Trump’s real objective here is to significantly improve the US K-12 education system. We should all support that extremely important goal, and the best way to bring this about is to Transform DOEd, not Terminate it. Ironically, killing DOEd will make the K-12 education system WORSE!

Hopefully, Congress will step up and support DOEd transformation and stop its termination*.

The Bottom Line —

I’ve tried to list every objection to DOEd fairly. Most of the complaints are entirely legitimate — but getting rid of DOEd is simply NOT an appropriate resolution (as explained above).

Interestingly, almost all of the complaints about DOEd apply to the individual State Boards of Education (along with their sister player State Departments of Education) — yet the passionate attackers of DOEd pay almost no attention to the State level problems right in their own backyard that are easily 10x worse! Why is that?

Lastly, there are multiple HUGE benefits to properly fixing DOEd (here I list several), but none of the kill DOEd advocates appreciate or acknowledge that ENORMOUS upside.

*Transformed not Terminated

The most effective way to have a say here is to directly phone both your House (202-225–3121) and Senate (202-224–3121) representatives. (When the operator answers, just give them the name of your representative and ask to be connected.) When you are connected to each of your representatives’ office simply leave this message: “My name is ___. As a constituent I want the Department of Education to be Transformed not Terminated.”

THANK YOU! Making just two calls could result in our K-12 education system actually being meaningfully fixed!!!

©2025   All rights reserved.

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Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2024 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?

EXCLUSIVE: Linda McMahon Prepares To Shut Down Department Of Education Following Trump’s Order

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Education Secretary Linda McMahon is preparing to shut down the Department of Education by pledging to work with Congress and state leaders to “eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly” in a memo obtained by the Daily Caller as Trump signs an executive order aimed at dismantling her office.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday that directs McMahon to take “all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return education authority to the States.” In her first comments on the executive order, obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller, McMahon explains that the department “will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others” while working with the states to give them control over education.

“Closing the Department does not mean cutting off funds from those who depend on them — we will continue to support K-12 students, students with special needs, college student borrowers, and others who rely on essential programs. We’re going to follow the law and eliminate the bureaucracy responsibly by working with Congress and state leaders to ensure a lawful and orderly transition,” McMahon says in her statement.

“With today’s action, we take a significant step forward to give parents and states control over their children’s education. Teachers will be unshackled from burdensome regulations and paperwork, empowering them to get back to teaching basic subjects. Taxpayers will no longer be burdened with tens of billions of dollars of waste on progressive social experiments and obsolete programs. K-12 and college students will be relieved of the drudgery caused by administrative burdens — and positioned to achieve success in a future career they love,” she continues.

The executive order does not abolish the department, but rather sizes it down as it calls for “uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”

Abolishing the department would require Congressional approval. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller that the president would later address whether he wants Congress to codify his executive order.

“Today’s Executive Order is a history-making action by President Trump to free future generations of American students and forge opportunities for their success,” McMahon writes.

“We are sending education back to the states where it so rightly belongs. Education is fundamentally a state responsibility. Instead of filtering resources through layers of federal red tape, we will empower states to take charge and advocate for and implement what is best for students, families, and educators in their communities,” she continues.

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields told USA Today that the order “will empower parents, states, and communities to take control and improve outcomes for all students.” Fields also pointed to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data as a reason why the department needs to be paired down.

In January, new National Assessment of Educational Progress data showed that in 2024, one-third of eighth graders, the largest percentage on record, failed to reach reading level expectations. Students’ scores in reading have been on a decline since 2019.

“Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet. “Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement.”

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House correspondent. Follow Reagan on Twitter.

RELATED ARTICLES:

Trump Begins Process Of Redistributing Department Of Education’s Duties

‘Unconstitutionalucation, Ineffective, Incompetent, Unnecessary’: Trump Moves to Abolish Dept. of Ed

Soaring Levels Of Non-English Speaking Students May Be Driving National Reading Test Scores Into Ground

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Terror Sponsor Qatar Shaping Anti-Israeli Curricula for 8,000 American Schools in All 50 States

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After Iran, Israel does not have a greater enemy than Qatar. In addition to Qatar providing Hamas with financial and diplomatic support, Qatar is also funding the ‘Palestinian’ propaganda war against Israel in America. Most especially in our schools, but also on television and on social media.

Qatar’s goal is to erode American public support for Israel, thereby destroying American diplomatic and military support for Israel in the years ahead.

Qatar shaping anti-Israeli curricula for 8,000 American schools in all 50 states

By United With Israel, March 16th, 2025

Pro-Hamas, Iranian-aligned Gulf state using its petro dollars to shape the curriculum used by thousands of American K-12 schools in all 50 states, report warns.  

By World Israel News Staff

The Qatari government is using its funding of an American college where the curriculum for thousands of American K-12 schools is drafted to reshape the way school children in the U.S. are taught, injecting anti-Israel bias into primary and secondary school education, a recently published report warns.

Last week, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) published a report documenting the Qatari government’s extensive foreign influence and anti-Israel bias infiltrating U.S. K-12 classrooms through Brown University’s Choices Program.

This curriculum, used by over 8,000 schools across all 50 states and reaching more than one million students, operates with undisclosed foreign funding and has been found to systematically distort historical facts to delegitimize Israel.

The report also raises significant concerns about transparency, oversight, and compliance with federal disclosure laws.

According to the ISGAP report, Qatari funding has led to a systematic manipulation of educational materials used by the Choices Program within the same units over the last decade, gradually shifting its curriculum to present an increasingly anti-Israel perspective.

AI: Kill DOEd or Reform DOEd? An extraordinarily important decision!

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There are those who want to kill the federal Department of Education (DOEd) and leave our poorly performing public school system in the hands of fifty (50) states. Considering the dire situation K-12 public education is in, we simply can not afford to make the wrong choice here.

As I’ve spelled out here, dissolving DOEd would be a monumental mistake!

Since asking AI is all the rage, I posed a question to it. (Note, this was NOT about helping me take a position, as I had already clearly posted my position awhile ago. Rather it was about seeing if AI had some additional ideas that would strenghten my position — which it did.) My question to AI was:

Would it be better to: a) substantially reform DOEd and use the leverage of the federal government (e.g., discretionary federal funding) to encourage states to get their K-12 act together (e.g., by properly teaching Critical Thinking), or b) kill DOEd and let fifty States each figure out how to fix their K-12 education system and proceed at their own pace?

The AI answer was…

It would likely be more effective to make significant reforms to DOEd and then use the federal government’s influence to push for national K-12 education improvements (such as promoting critical thinking), rather than leave that responsibility entirely to 50 different states. Here’s why:

1. Consistency and Uniformity:

By tying federal funds to critical thinking initiatives, a reformed DOEd can assist with creating National Standards for teaching these skills. This would reduce K-12 education disparities between wealthier and poorer states, which would be especially important for subjects like critical thinking, which are essential for creating informed, analytical citizens.

2. Faster Implementation:

If each state is left to independently prioritize and develop things like critical thinking curricula, progress would be slow and uneven. Some states may embrace it, while others may not prioritize it at all. A reformed DOEd effectively leveraging discretionary funding would accelerate adoption nationwide, pushing states to act more quickly.

3. Avoiding Patchwork Solutions:

Delegating responsibility to 50 different states would likely lead to inconsistent outcomes. Some states might excel, while others lag behind due to differences in resources, priorities, or political will. Utilizing federal incentives ensures a more cohesive strategy, helping avoid a patchwork of varying quality and commitment.

4. Resource and Expertise Support:

DOEd can provide resources, training, and guidance to help states effectively implement K-12 education improvements, like critical thinking programs. Federal funding and federal policies can help states collaborate and pool resources, making it easier to implement large-scale reforms, such as teacher training or new curricula. States may struggle to do this alone, but with federal backing, they’ll have access to proven methods and expert support to make the transition smoother.

5. Accountability Mechanism:

By connecting DOEd discretionary federal funding to clear accountability measures, like improved student outcomes in critical thinking, the federal government can ensure that states follow through on their obligations. Without this, there’s a risk that some states may not prioritize these skills, or fail to implement effective programs.

6. Equity:

Federal involvement ensures that during the K-12 education rebuild, that historically marginalized groups, such as students from low-income communities, students of color, or students with disabilities, will be guaranteed certain protections and resources across all states.

In short, using the reformed DOEd approach would likely lead to more consistent, efficient, and measurable results across the country, rather than leaving each state to navigate this critical change independently.

Although some of AI’s reasons are a bit different than what I wrote here, the bottom line is that AI and I are on the same page:

Fix DOEd and do NOT turn over K-12 education reform to fifty states!

©2025 All rights reserved.

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Media Balance Newsletter: a free, twice-a-month newsletter that covers what the mainstream media does not do, on issues from COVID to climate, elections to education, renewables to religion, etc. Here are the Newsletter’s 2024 Archives. Please send me an email to get your free copy. When emailing me, please make sure to include your full name and the state where you live. (Of course, you can cancel the Media Balance Newsletter at any time – but why would you?

AWED MEDIA BALANCED NEWS: We cover Energy to Education to Elections — and more!

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Welcome! We cover Energy to Education to Elections — and more!

Here is the link for this issue, so please share it on social media.

Checkout the 2025, 2024, & 2023 archives, plus asterisked items below.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

— This Newsletter’s Articles, by Topic —

This Issue’s Best of the Best:

*** The US Dept of Education: Going Forward

*** Uncivil Education

*** Marc Andreessen breaks down how the University scam works

*** Mann vs Science — and Science Wins!

*** Mark Steyn’s Vanquishing of Michael Mann Continues

*** Top 10 Catastrophic Climate Predictions That Failed

*** On climate, common sense is in. Alarmism and spending are out

*** A Simplified Explanation of Climate Science for Policymakers as well as High School and College Science Students

*** Secretary Hegseth says the DOD does not do ‘climate change crap’

*** Bogus Myths Created to Promote Renewables

*** 9 Takeaways from the JP Morgan Chase Energy Study You Won’t Want to Miss

*** Epstein: How to Solve America’s Electricity Crisis

*** DOGE’s Key Revelation: A Federal Budget Made Into a Maze Impervious to Reform

*** EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History

*** Understanding EPA’s “Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History”

*** Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress (CEI)

*** National Poll: More than 85% of voters support five basic election reforms

*** More Americans approve of Trump than Biden on every issue, poll finds

*** Fifty Wins in 50 Days

*** Hard Work Is Good For You

*** The Scientific Fallacy That Spawned COVID Absolutism

*** The Uncomfortable Truth Behind “15 Days to Slow the Spread”- 5 Years Ago Today

*** The Disturbing Truth Behind Canada’s New Prime Minister

*** Will U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke be the next Pope?

*** I Didn’t Leave the Church — The Church Left Me

Federal Department of Education Related:

*** The US Dept of Education: Going Forward

Linda McMahon confirmed to lead Education Department

Education Secretary praises department for taking steps to eliminate ‘bureaucratic bloat’

Secondary Education Related:

*** Report: The Key to Fixing the US Education System

*** Uncivil Education

*** Trailer: 22 Words

Musk and studying physics

Short video: How We Learn by Stanislas Dehaene

The Upstart ‘Classic Learning Test’ Gets a Testy Welcome From the SAT

Higher Education Related:

*** Marc Andreessen breaks down how the University scam works

Report: State of the State Schools

George Will: The Perils of a Screen-Obsessed Society

Artificial Intelligence:

*** Meet Abby, the AI Ambassador!

Texas Needs Equivalent of 30 Nuclear Reactors by 2030 to Power AI Data Centers

Unreliables Energy Health and Ecosystem Consequences:

It’s a 100% flip: Reuters suddenly admits Net Zero policies have been a resounding failure

Wind farm owners admit liability to nuisance claims made by Irish couple

Unreliables (General):

*** Bogus Myths Created to Promote Renewables

*** The Green Energy Delusion

NY State’s green energy policy brings a world of hurt

Towns and States Don’t Want Green Energy

Wind Energy — Other:

Short video: Save the Wild West from Wind Industrialization

Solar Energy:

Hail storm destroys thousands of solar panels in Texas

Nuclear Energy:

Small Modular Reactors will benefit developing economies

The Future of Clean Energy Looks Increasingly Nuclear

Fossil Fuel Energy:

Surging LNG Exports Show US is a Global Nat Gas Superpower

Misc Energy:

*** 9 Takeaways from the JP Morgan Chase Energy Study You Won’t Want to Miss

*** Epstein: How to Solve America’s Electricity Crisis

*** Energy Secretary Vows Reversal of Biden Climate Policies

DOE Chris Wright: “We need more energy. Lots more energy.”

EPA questions 31 major energy regulations

False Pretense of Energy Transition: Long on Facts, Short on Truth

From Paris to Permian, Trump Restoring Rational Energy Policy

Trump energy choices saving America from economic disaster

Hydrogen Energy: Not Clean, Not Green, and Not Cheap

Mine, Baby, Mine!

Manmade Global Warming — Michael Mann:

*** Mann vs Science — and Science Wins!

*** Mark Steyn’s Vanquishing of Michael Mann Continues

*** A DC court sanctions climate scientist Michael Mann and his lawyers for misconduct “extraordinary in its scope, extent, and intent.”

*** SLAPPed!

*** Mann Ordered to Pay More than Those He Sought to Destroy: Lawfare Update

*** Trial of Mann v. Steyn: Post-Trial Motions Edition

Michael Mann Sanctioned for False testimony, Bad Faith

Manmade Global Warming — Some Deceptions:

*** Top 10 Catastrophic Climate Predictions That Failed

*** On climate, common sense is in. Alarmism and spending are out

*** Conflicts of Interest, Funding Support, and Author Affiliation in Peer Reviewed Research on the Relationship between Climate Change and  Geophysical Characteristics of Hurricanes

Prof. William Happer – Climate Scare Is Based on Lies

EPA Terminates $20 Billion in Grants for Climate Projects

CO₂ May Not Be the Villain

Manmade Global Warming — The Science:

*** A Simplified Explanation of Climate Science for Policymakers as well as High School and College Science Students

*** Trump Could Upend Every Facet of the Obama-Biden Climate Agenda in One Fell Swoop

CO₂ goes into rehab

Willie Soon gets wet; Jo Nova comments

Antarctica Ice Growing Across Large Areas for at Least 85 Years, Aerial Photos Show

Manmade Global Warming — Misc:

*** Secretary Hegseth says the DOD does not do ‘climate change crap’

Endangerment Unfound…but still sought

Climate Fact Check: February 2025

Amazon rainforest being CUT DOWN for UN climate conference

Good Riddance: Goodbye Global Warming And Climate Change

US Election:

*** National Poll: More than 85% of voters support five basic election reforms

Victory for Conservatives: Federal Court Says ‘No’ to Hiding Voter Data

Democrat Fundraising Machine Implodes: ActBlue Faces Chaos Amid Investigations

Democrats and Republicans call for changes to the voting system

US Federal Agencies — EPA:

*** EPA Launches Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History

*** Understanding EPA’s “Biggest Deregulatory Action in U.S. History”

*** Modernizing the EPA: A Blueprint for Congress (CEI)

Hey, EPA, Why Not Regulate Water Vapor Emissions While You are At It?

A New Beltway Intrigue: Follow the Biden EPA Money

US Federal Agencies — Other:

*** DOGE’s Key Revelation: A Federal Budget Made Into a Maze Impervious to Reform

DOGE News: $300 Million in Business Loans for Kids Under 11

USPS signs agreement with DOGE to cut 10,000 workers: ‘Broken business model’

Trump:

*** More Americans approve of Trump than Biden on every issue, poll finds

*** Fifty Wins in 50 Days

Some background to the US-Ukrainian situation

Trump Touts His Tireless Winning

Do Tariffs Create Inflation?

Misc US Politics:

The Curmudgeon Party

Congressional Oversight Committee: The Bidens’ Influence Peddling Timeline

Wayne Root: The Criminal Case Against Barack Obama – Part 3

Fantasy Land On The Right

Societally US:

*** Hard Work Is Good For You

*** Big Lies And The Demise of Mainstream Media

*** What is Wokeness, an Ideology or a Tactic?

Canada:

*** The Disturbing Truth Behind Canada’s New Prime Minister

*** A bit of background about Mark Carney, Canada’s new Prime Minister

*** Canada Is Now In The Hands Of Arch-Technocrat And Trilateral Mark Carney

Religion Related:

*** Will U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke be the next Pope?

*** I Didn’t Leave the Church — The Church Left Me

Without God, There is No TRUE Respect for Human Life

Science:

Military Starship: How SpaceX Is About to Make America Globally Dominant

Health:

Public Health Watch: Measles Alert

*** Landmark Alzheimer’s Study Retracted After Evidence of Data Manipulation

New Book: Thank You, Truckers! Canada’s Heroes & Those Who Helped Them

COVID-19 — Misc:

*** The Uncomfortable Truth Behind “15 Days to Slow the Spread”- 5 Years Ago Today

*** The Scientific Fallacy That Spawned COVID Absolutism

*** The Story Behind Mistakes Were NOT Made

The COVID-Era Smearing – and Resurrection – of Trump NIH Appointee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya

Israel/Ukraine:

Pray for the safety of the Israeli people

Latest Developments in Israel

Pray for the safety of the Ukrainian people

A well-rated source to make a Ukraine donation

Latest Developments in Ukraine

It’s Time to End the War Between Ukraine and Russia

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Note 1: We recommend reading the Newsletter on your computer, not your phone, as some documents (e.g., PDFs) are much easier to read on a large computer screen… We’ve tried to use common fonts, etc. to minimize display issues.

Note 2: For past Newsletter issues see the archives from 2022, 2023, 2024, & 2025. To accommodate numerous requests received about prior articles over all fourteen plus years of the Newsletter, we’ve put this together — where you can search ALL prior issues, by year. For a background about how the Newsletter is put together, etc., please read this.

Note 3: See this extensive list of reasonable books on climate change. As a parallel effort, we have also put together a list of some good books related to industrial wind energy. Both topics are also extensively covered on my website: WiseEnergy.org.

Note 4: I am not an attorney or a physician, so no material appearing in any of the Newsletters (or any of my websites) should be construed as giving legal or medical advice. My recommendation has always been: consult a competent, licensed attorney when you are involved with legal issues, and consult a competent physician regarding medical matters.

Copyright © 2025; Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (see WiseEnergy.org).

The ‘Smith-Mundt Modernization Act’ Signed by Obama is a Government License to Lie

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Have you ever thought how many people in our government lie to us, and no one is accountable?

Have you ever thought that the media lies on a continual basis, carrying the very same message that the government dictates, and no one is accountable?

Well, this past week, I happened to be listening to Glenn Beck, and he reminded me of an article that I wrote back in 2012.

This article is regarding the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act, signed by Obama.

The Act says: the government has the right to use propaganda lies, and use the same tactics that they used overseas on foreigners, on the American people.

What does that mean?

Let’s take a closer look!

Smith-Mundt Modernization Act

The original Smith-Mundt Act allows the American government to lie, to destabilize foreign countries in order to “spread democracy”. Analysis of this act is that it is so egregious, that it could never be used on the American people.Enter Obama.It is no secret that Obama was a Marxist, with his prime goal of transforming Western culture into a Marxist culture. He was groomed by his Marxist friends to become the Marxist leader for the Progressives. He learned all of the tools of propaganda, as laid out by Edward Bernays. He became a community organizer, and developed a huge following. Because Obama was such a great speaker, he was chosen over Hillary to become the Democrat candidate for President.A President must be a gifted speaker, and great communicator in order to be successful.You must be able to relay your message in a clear and concise manner. You must be able to persuade your audience to trust and respect you. Once accomplished, the audience will follow your ideas. Unfortunately, when it comes to the horrors of Communism, aka cultural Marxism, to prove your point, you must lie.

Now, let’s connect a few dots about lying. Lying is a behavior now acceptable throughout government and business. Its the norm. But when does acceptance of lying become acceptable?

In school.

Common Core Standards (CCS) education is called for in UN Agenda 21, Chapter 25. In order to get the Race to the Top grant, the districts had to accept CCS. This CCS Federal curricula promotes one- size-fits-all training, which is now called education designed to benefit businesses favored by government. Today, focus of school programs is on training to work, whereby our children, now known as Human Capital, are tracked early on, and selected for certain government-favored jobs in the future.Outcome-Based-Education (OBE)…breeds lying!In OBE, the answer is known at the beginning, so the method and procedure created to fit the outcome is often tainted, manufactured, and made-up lies, so that in the end, the answer will come out as described. Instead of working towards resolution to an answer, the answer is known ahead of time. Facts and steps to get to a resolution are made-up, and tailor-cut to fit to the final answer. This is reverse logic.Facts are no longer relevant.

So, if we have been teaching our Human Capital to lie in school, why then, are we surprised when they grow up to be liars?The CCS training itself is made up of lies using anti-American, anti family, and anti God focusing on the bad not good. The purpose of this training is to create a world citizen with allegiance to no nation only to a government/business who is in charge of the region in which they live. This New World Order (NWO) with its unaccountable Non-Government Organizations (NGO’s) will regulate Americans with more lies.Where do the lies come from? While the idea of CCS is bad, the real problem is the content of the materials that the Human Capital reads. Do you ever check what your family reads? Too many of us do not pay attention! Therefore, the content of many school materials are considered proprietary, so Department of Education members do not monitor content. International Baccalaureate (IB) content is written by UN sanctioned EU socialists and are Muslim bias. Cfns.usI personally believe that the Muslims (Saudi’s) own shares of many textbook/software companies. Below are a few of the lies promoted in school and instilled in your Human Capital, at their government schools:

  • Communism is held in the most favorable light, while the true history of Communism is ignored.
  • Capitalism is touted as selfish, while facts and history are ignored.
  • Human capital learn in clusters, and are only as good as their group, while individualism is shunned.
  • Cursive is out – this eliminates individualism, and the ability to read many of our country’s founding documents.
  • American history is taught from 1865 forward – the Reconstruction or Progressive era.
  • The National Data base, collecting about 400 data fields for an intrusive data base has no cost attached.

Basically CCS is an unconstitutional, unproven fad that benefits the providers (Gates, Bush, Kipp, Broad, Pearson, Achieve, Ignite) and businesses that no longer need to “train” their workers, as the responsibility of worker training is shifted from the business, to We the Taxpayer.

Education is Key… So let’s get directly to the point…The problem with education today, is that it has not changed. Lies in, Lies out. The content of the curriculum is made up of Lies! Unfortunately, lying has become the new normal. Lying has been trickled in for so long, no one notices, and everyone accepts it.No amount of money, choice, or vouchers fix anything, as long as the curriculum stays the same and Americans accepts LIES.The curricula is written by people who want to destroy America.

The curricula is built on LIES. You are seeing the results, the Destruction of America.

Let’s see how it works. Why lie?People lie to get what they want, regardless of the consequences, because the ends justify the means. They lie to get POWER. When you use the truth, and refuse to accept the lie, it takes the POWER away. It is that simple!What can stop a lie? A bigger lie? Hollywood is replacing family values by guiding your behavior, since mom and dad are incapable (you were taught this in school). Hollywood lets you know that:

  • It is acceptable to lie and be dysfunctional, because others lie and are dysfunctional, too.
  • You are not alone. You have company… just press an APP for your new computer friend.

Of course, they never tell you that if you knew the truth, you would not be dysfunctional!. But if you knew the truth, you would not need anyone – especially them – and that is the problem. In order for the Destruction of America to work, you must need them. Think of all the businesses that have been created by lying and convincing you that you are dysfunctional, or that you need something that you can only get from them. Once you rely on them, you are insecure in decision-making. You cannot trust yourself, or your family. They own you.Hollywood manipulates your mind through propaganda or suggestion. One goal of the Communists is to destroy the family unit, because after all, the government owns your children …Human Capital are necessary to work for the government. People can have no allegiance to anything, other than their government. In order to accomplish this, they must emasculate the men. Men were “the head of the family and the protectors.” American families were the strength of America. Everything in America centered around the family, until it no longer is.I will give you a very good example. Did you watch “Top Gun”, 1986, starring Tom Cruise? Maverick is portrayed as a person that is indecisive, when it comes to his best friend, Goose, and the memory of his own father. He balks. He waffles. He back-pedals. Maverick is a decorated test pilot. He never moved forward, his career stalled, due to insubordination.Flash forward to 2022, “Top Gun: Maverick”. Now, think back and contrast Maverick to Ice Man. You see it on the walls of Ice Man’s study. The awards. The certificates. The achievements. The Brass. Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet! Maverick, at this point, barely has a career.So, for all the slick glamour of Maverick’s character, what did he accomplish in the Navy? Nothing!! He is considered a wash-out, a total loser, incompetent, a WIMP, a NOBODY!He’s such a loser, he is offered a chance for a comeback by the Navy, to train new pilots for a difficult mission. Really? Is this realistic? Beyond this, you need to consider. These pilots are flying multi-MILLION dollar jets. Do you really think, for one minute, that someone would be permitted to pilot one of these jets, if they had issues making decisions? If they had mental issues, would they get to fly multi-million dollar, taxpayer-paid-for jets? Military pilots must make split-second decisions that preserves their lives, can impact many people, and even our country. I found “Top Gun: Maverick” to be a disappointing portrayal of US fighter pilots. Even the younger pilots, when confronted by Chinese enemy jets, waffle! “Top Gun: Maverick” is a classic example of my next topic.

How did they change America’s Character?

Now it’s TV time. Get a pad and pen, while you are watching these 3 shows, write down the character traits of the fathers and husbands of:

  • Father Knows Best – You will see a strong family unit with respect, accountability, and consequences. How does the family interact?
  • All in the Family – Look at the Dad! See anything different? Interaction?
  • Married with Children – Mission Accomplished. Family destroyed. Family has become dysfunctional.

Hollywood assisted the Communists with behavior modification, with a variety of suggested behavior and now Americans accept that Americans are liars, who are dysfunctional and that is OK, because they could be nice. A liar is not nice. A Liar is a Liar.

How do you tell a lie? Know the truth.

Lies not logical. There is always a human element, (even though the Communists try to suppress it with emotion) that wants to be logical. In order to do things out-of-character, you must read and follow the script, so you will not make a mistake! That is why Obama-Biden needs a teleprompter! Obama-Biden are telling so many lies, it is difficult for their minds to stay focused, so Biden needs to read the script. Once you tell a LIE, you must continue to tell LIES to cover up the Original Lie. Obama-Biden are LIARS!Hollywood conditioned you that lying in politics is OK, because they can tell you he is a nice guy and that is OK. Is Obama a role model for your children? Why would you accept a LIAR as a role model for your children? Why even accept him as a President?

What can you do?If the solution is not simple, it can not be accomplished.Simple Solution: Stop Accepting Lies.

It is only when you say, “No, I do not accept the LIES”, then will the power shift.”What if you stopped going to the movies, refused to buy a product, didn’t buy a song, food, or drug? Demand to speak to American customer service agents, went to meetings, and called out lies on the radio, or in writing, to your Legislator?

It is only by working together, there are more of us than them, that we Win.Contrary to what you have been told, Winning is the only thing.It is Everything.

They lie to increase their numbers, and to scare you. They tell you that Winning is not important, so they can Win. They want to scare you! If you know they are lying, are you scared? No, you can see through their plan, and stop it.

How did Obama improve the economy? He fired the statistician.

We now find out that the government lying to Americans…is now legal! In 2012, the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act was signed by Obama. HR5736, Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, amends the United States Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 to authorize the Secretary of State, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to provide for the preparation and dissemination of information intended for foreign audiences abroad regarding the United States, including about its people, its history, and the federal government’s policies, through press, publications, radio, motion pictures, the Internet, and other information media, including social media, and through information centers and instructors. (Under current law such authority is restricted to information disseminated abroad, with a limited domestic exception.)This Act amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1986 and 1987, to prohibit funds for the Department of State or the Board from being used to influence public opinion or propagandizing in the United States.Under this Act, programs like DEI, SEL, and ESG were filtered throughout our agencies and used to turn Americans against each other. The government lied to us, and told us we were racist, if we did not go along with their fantasies.

They told us:

Families are bad, Whites are terrorists, Parents know nothing, Christians and Jews are the devil, Babies destroyed your life, a fetus is nothing, drugs are good for you, take more vaccines, eat more processed food, war is peace, lies are truth, and the Government is here to help.

Under these programs, our agencies deteriorated.

The Army couldn’t get recruits, the police were demonized, people were jailed, canceled, DE-banked, or DE-platformed for having the wrong opinion, or using their free speech rights.We allow less than 1% of the population to dictate how our lives should be lived. We let them set the standards. We allow them to mutilate our children. Our Children! Because we let them take charge, our education system is in the toilet. We allowed them to tell us that our roads are racist, that pulling out in Afghanistan was Superior, that making sure race dictates who goes to space is not a qualification. We allowed them to inject us with drugs that have since been found to create major harm. We allowed them to fill our food with chemicals. We let them provide inferior forms of electricity at a higher cost. We allowed them to convince us that CO2 was a toxic gas when it is necessary for plants, food and life. In all we have allowed them to lie to us and we have been bobbleheads saying yes master.

Finally the truth is coming out. The question is: will Americans be strong enough to accept rough times ahead without allowing the lies of the left to become our way of life? Will we be strong and demand that Bills like Smith-Mundt be eliminated as they are totally 100% unconstitutional. Our silence gives these people power we must be silent no more.

To learn what’s going on in some of the agencies I suggest you listen to Glenn Beck’s episode on NASA. It is an incredible eye opener and once you understand that you will see how these programs have infiltrated every agency.

The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act gives our government a license to LIE. It is up to us to contact our Legislators, and demand that this act be REPEALED.

This means, YOU!

©2025 . All rights reserved.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: Is The Jig Up For Elite Higher Education?

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Over the last three decades, elite American universities have engaged in economic, political, social, and cultural practices that were often unethical, illegal — and suicidal.

They did so with impunity.

Apparently, confident administrators assumed that the brand of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and other elite universities was so precious to the nation’s elite movers and shakers that they could always do almost anything they wished.

By the 1970s, non-profit universities had dropped pretenses that they were apolitical and non-partisan.

Instead, they customarily violated the corpus of iconic civil rights legislation by weighing race, gender, and sexual orientation in biased admissions, hiring, and promotions.

Graduation ceremonies became overtly racially and ethnically segregated. The same was true for dorms and “theme houses.”

So-called “safe spaces,” in the spirit of the Jim Crow South, reserved areas of campus solely for particular races.

Affluent foreign students often openly protested on behalf of designated terrorist groups like Hamas.

First-Amendment-protected free speech all but vanished on elite campuses. Any guest speaker who dared to critique abortion on demand, Middle East orthodoxy, biological males dominating women’s sports, or diversity/equity/inclusion (DEI) dogmas was likely to be shouted down, or on occasion roughed up.

University administrators either ignored the violence done to the Bill of Rights or quietly approved when their rowdy students were turned loose on supposed conservatives.

But in their hubris, the universities began a series of blunders that may now end them as they once were.

They began gouging government agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation by grabbing anywhere from 30 to 60 percent of individual campus grants as “overhead.”

Yet they usually charged most private foundation grants a far more modest 15% surcharge — as if a lax government did not object to overcharging.

They pushed for a vast expansion of the student loan program, whose portfolio of federally guaranteed loans reached $1.7 trillion. But once the federal government guaranteed student loans against default, universities began jacking up their fees and tuition well above the annual rate of inflation.

Elite universities did not grasp that the more they began warping their curricula with DEI gut courses, radical green agendas, and postmodern race and gender theories, the less time they had to offer students their once gold-standard general education curricula of Western Civ, history, literature, philosophy, math, and science.

Soon employers started to notice that the new therapeutic courses were also married to race and sex-based admissions.

The SAT and ACT were, for a time, dropped. So were comparative rankings of high school grade point averages.

Soon, once iconic degrees were no longer any guarantee of the ability to write and speak well, think analytically, or compute competently.

Employers often began to prefer graduates from those state schools where DEI was muted, admissions were competitive, and teaching remained rigorous and non-ideological.

Finally, after October 7, 2023, growing antisemitism on campuses became unapologetic, overt, and violent.

Thousands of Middle Eastern guest students brazenly cheered on Hamas terrorists.

The campus Marxist orthodoxy that Jews and Israel were “victimizing white people” and Palestinians were noble “non-white victims” ensured that Jewish students were chased and physically attacked on campuses.

A disgusted public watched invertebrate administrators either greenlight the antisemitic violence or ludicrously deny it.

So, there was bound to be a public reckoning. And now it has arrived.

Congress will soon pass legislation that will tax the annual multimillion-dollar income from multibillion-dollar endowments at somewhere between 15 and 20%.

There will be no more “overhead” or “surcharges” on government campus grants allowed larger than 15%.

Those two reforms alone could cost some of the richest campuses nearly a half billion dollars a year in lost income.

Racially offensive DEI programs will disqualify schools from federal support.

Foreign student guests who break U.S. laws or violate university rules will have their visas yanked and be shown the door to go home.

Campuses will have to abide by the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the Bill of Rights or forgo federal funds.

All these remedies enjoy broad public support.

For the first time in memory, a majority of Americans disapprove of current higher education. Only 10% of Americans believe an Ivy League degree translates into becoming a better American worker.

In a nation of declining fertility, smaller numbers of youths choosing college, and a federal government $36 trillion in debt, universities have very little leverage.

They can return to the original mission of offering rigorous, meritocratic, and disinterested education, guarantee constitutional protections for all on campus, and slash their vast administrative bloat.

Or if not, they are free to continue as they are, ensuring only further mediocrity, public dislike — and eventual irrelevancy.

AUTHOR

Victor Davis Hanson

Victor Davis Hanson is a distinguished fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is a classicist and historian at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the author of “The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won,” from Basic Books. You can reach him by e-mailing authorvdh@gmail.com.

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Trump Fires 50% of Education Department Employees

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President Donald Trump’s order to reduce the U.S. Department of Education by half will improve education, give parents more resources, and save taxpayer dollars, says one congressman, who noted the greatest opposition comes from teachers unions and “Marxists who hate faith, family, free market, education.”

Department of Education (DOE) employees were told to leave their offices by 6 p.m. Tuesday night and not to report to work on Wednesday, as DOE offices remained closed and locked.

The reduction in forces reduces the total number of employees at the Department of Education from 4,133 to 2,183. Of those let go, 313 accepted buyouts and 259 came as part of the deferred resignation program. Former employees will be placed on administrative leave starting next Friday, March 21 and will receive full salary and benefits until June 9, with severance pay afterwards. The move will close seven of the DOE’s 12 satellite offices, affecting the cities of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

“That’s the way the real world works,” Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) told “Washington Watch” Wednesday night. “What we’ve had with the Department of Education since [the 1970s] is a terrible return on investment. Our kids have been dumbed down. We’ve been made to be more divisive. We don’t have the pride in our country — no connection with our Founding Fathers, and a God Who actually had His hands all over our nation.”

“If our children are trained to be ignorant, we’re going to lose our culture. It’s just a matter of time,” said Owens. With President Trump’s decentralizing actions, “We have a chance to reset this for generations to come.”

The firings may bring real taxpayer savings, experts say. At the DOE, “86 employees were making an average salary of $201,374; more than 1,000 employees were making between $167,603 and $195,200; and more than 1,000 were making between $142,488 and $185,234, according to Tommy Schultz, CEO of the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy organization.

Teachers unions and Democrats reacted to the layoffs with fury.

“Authoritarian Republicans have chosen to attack and demean our BIPOC, immigrant, and LGBTQIA+ students” with “white-washed history cloaked as ‘patriotism,’” said St. Paul (Minnesota) Federation of Teachers President Leah VanDassor. “Fascist regimes always start by targeting the most vulnerable populations.” In fact, fascist regimes rely on public education to indoctrinate impressionable students in their logically untenable ideologies.

“Dismantling the Department of Education” is “simply about taking away resources from our public schools,” claimed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).

“I’m really angry about this!” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told MSNBC about the department’s impending closure on Saturday. She claimed the administration plans to make DOE unable to work, and “reading programs, the computer programs, the after-school programs” will “go away … [I]f the funding goes away, a kid doesn’t get physical therapy or occupational therapy.”

On Tuesday, Weingarten also posted her “solidarity” with the Chicago Teachers Union, which has closed struggling Chicago schools five times in the last 13 years.

“Firing half of the staff so that the Department of Education cannot function will jeopardize the resources, programs, and protections that give millions of students the opportunity to succeed,” said the AFL-CIO, the nation’s largest labor union. The 12-million-member coalition returned to familiar Democratic talking points, accusing the Trump administration of “pushing a Project 2025/DOGE agenda.”

The backlash was expected, because unions “prioritize mediocrity instead of meritocracy,” Owens remarked on “Washington Watch.” Re-empowering local communities “will help your child to really thrive. You now have the funds to do it, because they’re not being wasted here in D.C.,” he said. “We the People can do much better without funding than having it for folks here in D.C., who have a totally different agenda and different priorities than most parents have in their in their hometowns.”

Owens noted the role of federal education bureaucracy in foisting a divisive social agenda on the nation’s children. “The reason why we’re having this conversation about men in sports and men in girls’ bathrooms [is] because of the Department of Education. The focus is totally different; it’s an ideology” promoted by “Marxists who hate faith, family, free markets, and education.”

The move begins the process of fulfilling President Trump’s campaign promise to close the Department of Education, which has had a contentious history since its founding during the Carter administration. Last week, The Wall Street Journal published a leaked administration document showing the president aims to close as many functions of the DOE as possible and transfer their control, and funding, back to the states, until Congress passes legislation closing the department altogether.

“Ready to bid farewell to the U.S. Department of Education?” asked Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), a conservative opposed to the existence of DOE on constitutional grounds.

“The president’s mandate, his directive to me, clearly is to shut down the Department of Education,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Tuesday night. “We know we’ll have to work with Congress to get that accomplished. But what we did today was to take the first step of eliminating what I think is bureaucratic bloat.”

“We’re not taking away education,” said McMahon. The president is instead “taking the bureaucracy out of education, so that more money flows to the states.”

If education returns to the state level, “10 states won’t be perfect, five states will be probably not so good, but they will be every bit as good as Norway, and Denmark, and Sweden, and all of the states that are rated near the top,” said President Trump last Friday. He told Secretary McMahon upon her confirmation one day earlier, “I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job.”

The most recent test results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) showed reading scores falling for fourth and eighth grade students in U.S. public schools. Eighth graders also saw their math scores decline since 2022. All students remained below pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

“When you think about high school students who are graduating, only 30% are reading proficiently,” McMahon noted.

Although federal education funding accounts for only about one-tenth of state and local education funds, it often comes with ideological strings. The Biden-Harris administration attempted to force local school districts to admit males into female showers, locker rooms, and sports events or lose education funding. Republicans foresee federal funding replaced with block grants controlled and managed by the states.

Education experts agreed the president’s mass layoff will not harm the quality of U.S. education. “Nothing about the U.S. Department of Education is essential, by design,” noted Neal McCluskey, director of the Cato Institute’s Center for Education Freedom. “Constitutionally, education is reserved to the people and states.”

“For a generation, our nation’s education system has been held hostage by bureaucrats and schooling unions who care only about preserving their own power, not the needs of American students. During that time, the Department of Education has ballooned in size while our students have fallen further and further behind,” said Schultz. “This news is another signal that the bureaucratic state is coming to an end in America.”

“Better education is closest to the kids with parents, with local superintendents, with local school boards,” McMahon told Ingraham. “I think we’ll see our scores go up with our students [when] we can educate them with parental input, as well.”

AUTHOR

Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2025 Family Research Council.

The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

PODCAST: Yale course asks if black and white women can be friends

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GUESTS AND TOPICS:

MATT LAMB

Matt Lamb is an associate editor for The College Fix. He also writes for LifeSiteNews, Headline USA, and has written for the Washington Examiner. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA, along with Open the Books. The College Fix regularly trains students and helps them find jobs in media, with alumni at Fox News, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, National Review, a host of other publications.

TOPIC: Yale course asks if black and white women can be friends

PAUL KAMENAR

Paul Kamenar is Lead Counsel for the National Legal and Policy Center… NLPC Former adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center teaching a separation of powers/appellate advocacy seminar Been a longtime Senior Fellow of the Administrative Conference of the United States and a member of its Judicial Review Committee.

TOPIC: Trumps Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

©2025 . All rights reserved.

Columbia University Human Rights Fellow Convicted For Having A Slave

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A British jury convicted United Nations Judge Lydia Mugambe on Thursday of forcing a Ugandan woman into domestic servitude after luring her to the U.K. under false pretenses.

Mugambe, who also serves as a high court judge in Uganda, brought the victim to Britain under the guise of securing her a job in a diplomatic household — only to make her work as an unpaid maid and nanny. She confiscated the victim’s passport and visa, leaving her trapped until she was able to contact a friend, who alerted authorities, according to a Thames Valley Police statement.

“Lydia Mugambe used her position to exploit a vulnerable young woman, controlling her freedom and making her work without payment,” Eran Clutliffe, an attorney for the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said.

The 49-year-old judge, who was studying for a doctorate at the University of Oxford at the time, according to her profile on the U.N.’s website, was found guilty on four charges, including forced labor, an immigration offense and conspiracy to intimidate a witness. Mugambe is also listed on Columbia University’s website as a fellow in their human rights program. Prosecutors argued she “exploited and abused” the victim’s lack of knowledge about her rights to keep her in a state of servitude.

Mugambe leveraged her connections within the Ugandan High Commission in London to secure a visa for the victim, presenting it as an official employment opportunity, according to court testimony. Instead of placing the woman in a diplomatic household, however, Mugambe brought her to her private residence and forced her to work without pay.

The case shocked observers, with audible gasps heard in the courtroom as the verdicts were delivered at Oxford Crown Court, according to the Associated Press. Mugambe reportedly appeared  distressed and unwell following the decision, prompting the judge to clear the courtroom.

Mugambe, who was appointed to a U.N. international court in May 2023, denied all changes. She is now scheduled for sentencing on May 2.

AUTHOR

Thomas English

Contributor.

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