How to unify the country [and how Biden has failed]

Author: 949havoc

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#1
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How? Why, it's simple as saying "progressive:" Simply call your parents of school children "domestic terrorists."

Yeah, Mr. Joe, that will certainly attract those people with children who also happen to be voters, In both parties. Tell them they are Bin Laden cousins.
Yep, I see them beating down their doors to get out the vote for SloJoe again. For for the hairy guy to get out of town.
#2
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As ever, I had to remember to look at what Tucker Carlson said last night to figure out what your were on about:

#3
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AP NEWS

POSTS MISCHARACTERIZE SCHOOL BOARD ORGANIZATION's LETTER to BIDEN
By TERRENCE FRASEROctober 5, 2021


CLAIM: The National School Boards Association is asking the Biden administration to label parents who protest school policies domestic terrorists.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. The organization — the NSBA, for short — is not asking Biden to label parents who protest at school board meetings as terrorists. The NSBA asked the administration to do an interagency investigation of threats of violence against school board members and said the threats “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.” Biden has yet to publicly comment on the issue, and there’s no indication he or the Department of Justice has called protesting parents “domestic terrorists,” despite false claims to that effect by social media users.

THE FACTS: Local school boards around the country have become political battlegrounds over issues such as COVID-19 mask rules, the treatment of transgender students and how to teach the history of racism and slavery in America, The Associated Press has reported.

The National School Boards Association, a non-profit representing U.S. school boards, said these disputes were also leading to harassment and threats of violence against school board members. On Sept. 29, the NSBA sent a letter to President Joe Biden, asking his administration to investigate these threats.

According to AP reporting, the NSBA’s letter documents more than 20 instances of threats, harassment, disruption and acts of intimidation in California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio and other states. It cites the September arrest of an Illinois man for aggravated battery and disorderly conduct for allegedly striking a school official at a meeting.

But on Sept. 30, social media users took to Instagram to spread misinformation about the letter.

A popular Instagram post circulated widely last week, showing a screenshot of a tweet by Chris Rufo, an anti-critical race theory activist and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. “The National School Boards Association asked the feds to crack down on anti-critical race theory protests as ‘domestic terrorism,’” Rufo said in the screenshot image.

Another Instagram post shared a screenshot of a tweet by an account called Fight for Schools, which advocates for the full reopening of public schools and against the teaching of critical race theory.

“The National School Boards Association is asking the Biden administration to label parents who protest school policies as domestic terrorists,” the tweet said. An article from EdWeek is also shared as part of the tweet. “The White House should aid education leaders facing disruption and harassment over COVID-19 rules, a national group says,” the linked article says.

Rufo, in a comment emailed Thursday to The Associated Press, said the Biden administration is “using the FBI to suppress parents and criminalize dissent.”
In fact, the request for a law enforcement review did not come from the Biden administration. It came from the National School Boards Association, which, in its letter, requested that federal agencies conduct a review to “examine appropriate enforceable actions” in cases of “crimes and acts of violence.”

The NSBA says comments made by Rufo and Fight for Schools aren’t accurate because violence and threats are the issue, not protests from parents.

“This is absolutely false. NSBA and school board members don’t want to stop parents from expressing their First Amendment rights or label them as terrorists,” NSBA CEO Chip Slaven said in a statement emailed to the AP. “Our letter to President Biden was about stopping dangerous and threatening acts that school board members and other education leaders are receiving,” Slaven added.

NSBA’s letter to the Biden administration does state that threats against school board members “could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes”that could be prosecuted under anti-terrorism and anti-hate crime statutes. But the NSBA has not asked Biden to label parents in any particular way. Rather, NSBA asked the federal government to assist local law enforcement in investigating the level of risk posed by threats.

“NSBA believes immediate assistance is required to protect our students, school board members, and educators who are susceptible to acts of violence affecting interstate commerce because of threats to their districts, families, and personal safety,” the NSBA letter said.

The letter goes on to request that federal agencies coordinate with local law enforcement and provide them with training. The letter also asks the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to intervene against threatening letters and cyberbullying attacks sent to teachers, students, school board members and district administrators.
“We want to stop the death threats, threats to family members, and other harassment and acts of intimidation,” Slaven said.
___
This story has been updated to add comment from Chris Rufo.

#4
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

#5
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NORFOLK SCHOOL OFFICIALS, POLICE MONITORING THREATS MADE TOWARDS NORVIEW SCHOOLS

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A Norfolk schools spokesperson says they are aware of social media posts threatening the Norview High and Middle School community.
The school district has requested more Norfolk police in that area for school Wednesday and is working to keep the community safe.
The posts have been reported to police.

The threats come as numerous schools in the region have faced similar issues. In addition, on Monday, a 15-year-old student allegedly shot and injured two other 17-year-old students at Heritage High School in Newport News.

Two schools in Suffolk received threats Tuesday, according to an SPS spokesperson.


Smithfield High School also planned to have a large law enforcement presence Tuesday, particularly at arrival and dismissal times, after a social media post was made with apparent threats to the school. Police said later there was no active threat.

#6
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


#7
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EDITORIAL: MOB's ACTIONS at SCHOOL BOARD MEETING UNACCEPTABLE
Protesters’ verbal abuse and disruption of a Marysville School Board meeting should not be tolerated.

By The Herald Editorial Board

The conduct on display at a recent Marysville School Board meeting is disturbing and infuriating, particularly so for parents and students who are eager for a return this month to in-classroom instruction that was largely denied them for much of the last two school years during the coronavirus pandemic.

But it’s also maddening for the troubling lack of respect shown local elected officials and school district employees whose job it is to deliver a quality education to public school students while ensuring the safety of students, teachers, staff and the public.

And it should be recognized for what it is: a threat to public meetings and local democratic decision making.

Two weeks ago, as reported last week by The Herald’s Joseph Thompson, a group of protesters, organized by a nationwide group calling itself Unmask Our Kids, held a demonstration outside the Marysville School District offices, during a scheduled workshop and regular meeting of the Marysville School Board.

Prior to the board’s regular meeting, protesters demonstrated against Gov. Jay Inslee’s recent orders requiring students, teachers and staff to wear facemasks indoors and mandating vaccinations for teachers and other school employees. While members of the public were allowed into the meeting, others were barred from entering because they had not signed up in advance or had refused to wear masks as required.

Disruptions outside the meeting room, including protesters banging on windows, forced a recess of the meeting. Then, as shown in a Facebook Live recording, protesters, in reaction to a vote by board members to adjourn, begin yelling obscenities. “You f***ing cowards,” erupts one man. “Get back here and do your f***ing job,” another yells. As the shouting continues, one man, grasping a U.S. flag on a flagpole walks quickly to the dais to confront board members, followed by Marysville police officers who step between the man and board members. “Yeah, run away,” taunts a protester, as board members file out of the room. “Go lick Inslee’s boot,” says one. As board members left the room, an object is thrown in their direction.

The confrontations continued outside as a group of protesters surrounded a district official’s car, preventing the driver from leaving.

The incident has prompted district officials to close in-person meetings to the public and resume remote meetings and testimony.

Prior to the obscenities and threatening actions, the protest was merely misdirected. Marysville, as is the case for all of the state’s school districts, is not in the position to defy a state order regarding masks or the vaccine mandates. Both mandates were orders recommended by the state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, then made official by the governor. Any district failing to enforce either mandate — and so far no district has indicated it won’t comply — faces a loss of state funds.

When the meeting devolved into shouted obscenities and physical confrontation, however, it became obstruction of a legal public meeting and a violation of democratic principles, one with all-too-familiar overtones of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Simply put, the Marysville School Board was there “to do its job,” until it was shouted down, threatened and forced to adjourn to deescalate an increasingly dangerous situation.

Not that it will matter to those who continue to argue against both masks and vaccinations, but both mandates are essential to ensuring students can safely return to school campuses this month, hopefully for the entire school year. For much of the previous two school years, kids had either limited time in classrooms or were kept out all together, relegated to virtual lessons that could only provide varying levels of interaction with teachers.

Yet — prior to the widespread availability of vaccines — it was really the only option to safely continue the school day.

Since then schools have had the opportunity to make changes to ventilation and prepare other precautions for distancing and disinfection. Paired with widespread use of vaccines and masks, this is how the state and its school districts can assure the health and safety of all involved, while welcoming a return to classrooms and — it’s hoped — a school year that is closer to normal.

And it must be noted that both masks and vaccinations of staff and students are made even more essential because a significant number of students — those 11 years of age and younger — are not yet eligible for vaccination. At best, some level of authorization by the Food and Drug Administration for those students is not expected until late this year or early next year.

Regarding the objections to masks because of speculation that they lower children’s blood-oxygen levels, risk carbon dioxide poisoning and interfere with the facial cues students use in learning language, the arguments are not convincing.

Studies and findings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the American Lung Association — the folks who put a particular importance on the act of breathing — have found either no difference or statistically insignificant differences in oxygen saturation levels for those wearing surgical-style or cloth masks.

As for carbon dioxide, those molecules — which are far smaller than the respiratory droplets the masks are meant to trap — easily pass through the masks’ material.

And as far as masks impeding a child’s learning, those are obstacles that child and teacher can manage, certainly more easily than those imposed by remote learning.

Marysville, of course, is not alone in hearing from angry protesters. On the same day as the Marysville protest, similar demonstrations were seen in Snohomish and in Kennewick, although without having a public meeting shouted into adjournment. But other meetings and the work of teachers and administrators have been interrupted — sometimes violently so — by antimask protesters. A parent in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., allegedly assaulted a student who confronted him after he attempted to enter a school building without a mask. Teachers elsewhere have had masks ripped from their faces or have otherwise been assaulted by antimask protesters.

It’s no surprise that school board members and others nationwide have resigned their posts or at least considered it.

But the incident in Marysville pertains specifically to Snohomish County residents and is serious enough to require some reflection by everyone, regardless of their positions on masks and vaccination.

What happened at the school board meeting is not acceptable and should not be condoned nor easily excused.

Those who object to the mandates can make their case to those who made those decisions, in this case the governor and the state schools superintendent. Peaceful protests and even pointed criticism are among the things for which statewide elected officials are paid to deal with; school board members for most districts are unpaid and serve voluntarily.

While most school board members expect little thanks for their public service, they shouldn’t have to endure verbal abuse and threats of violence.
At the same time, what happened should prompt the county’s other elected officials — on school boards, the county council, city councils and other public representatives — to stand with the members of the Marysville School Board and make clear to their own constituents that such disruptions — to public meetings and the testimony and participation of residents who follow the rules of basic civility — will not be tolerated.

Public meetings attended by our elected officials are the foundation for the decisions they regularly make on our behalf. If local government is going to serve us, those meetings cannot be surrendered to a mob.

#8
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


#9
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GOV. ROY COOPER ADDRESSES 'THREATS, BULLYING, INTIMIDATION' at SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS over MASK REQUIREMENTS
Cooper was joined by members of the Coronavirus Task Force to share the update at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WBTV) - As schools continue to debate whether masks are required or optional inside the classroom, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper addressed on Tuesday the behavior he has heard about during recent school board meetings.

While most school boards have voted to require face coverings in schools, there are several districts where masks are optional, including Union and Lincoln counties, in the WBTV viewing area.

There have been arguments, disruption and anger geared at school leaders based on their decision on masks.

“Many are concerned about the fevered pitch that many school board meetings have reached in recent weeks. I am, too,” Gov. Cooper said. “Threats, bullying, intimidation. None of this belongs in our public schools, particularly by adults. Remember – our children are watching.”

Gov. Roy Cooper spoke Tuesday to address the fight against COVID-19 in North Carolina.

He was joined by members of the Coronavirus Task Force to share the update at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh

The StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit recommends all students wear face coverings in school no matter their vaccination status.

Gov. Cooper backs those recommendations, however, it is up to the school district to decide on masks in schools.

Gov. Cooper says that, no matter what schools boards decide, it is up to the adults to set a good example.

“(Children) are absorbing everything they see and hear, even if we think they aren’t paying attention,” Gov. Cooper said. “Being civil and respectful of one another is important to navigate another COVID school year. Let’s behave the way we ask our kids to act. We owe it to them and we owe it to each other.

Gov. Cooper says masks and vaccinations are the best way to keep students in the classroom safely throughout the year, which is the state’s primary priority.
“Keeping children safe, healthy and learning, while in person, and in the classroom – that’s the number one priority,” Gov. Cooper said. “We cannot lose sight of that critically important goal.”

‘Get off social media’; Gov. Cooper urges vaccinations, pushes for masks in schools and touts monoclonal antibody treatment

According to state health leaders, only 38 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 17 have been fully vaccinated in North Carolina.

“All schools should require masks to keep our students in schools,” said NCDHHS Sec. Many Cohen. “The decision to get vaccinated for some is easy. For others, it is much more difficult. Please talk to doctors and nurses or go to reliable sources. I want you to get the facts to get vaccinated.”

Earlier this week, the Union County Board of Education approved a motion to recognize quarantines of students and staff who are considered close contacts of positive COVID-19 cases, in accordance with state law.

According to the motion, the school board will continue to follow its legal obligations of reporting positive cases to Union County Public Health and provide relevant information to county health officials.

Additionally, Union County Public Schools will require students who are symptomatic or positive for COVID-19 to stay home.

During the brief public meeting, board members said Union County Public Health has taken over primary responsibilities of contact tracing and has reduced the length of the quarantine period of asymptomatic individuals, in accordance with state law.

According to the district, those in quarantine will not be allowed back in school until completion of their quarantine orders from Union County Public Health.

The board reversed course from a week ago, when the members made the controversial decision to end contact tracing and quarantining within Union County Public Schools.

Days after that decision, North Carolina State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen sent the district a letter asking Union County to comply with state guidance by Friday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m., or legal action could be taken.

By the end of the week, officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said their attorneys had “productive conversations” with Union County School Board attorneys about their safety protocols in order to avoid legal action against the district.

On Sept. 7, the Union County Public School Board has decided to keep masks optional in schools despite thousands of students in quarantine within the district due to COVID-19.

The last time Gov. Cooper held a press conference about COVID-19, he urged vaccinations, pushed for masks in schools and touted monoclonal antibody treatment. The governor said COVID-19 vaccines are continuing to do their job by stopping most of the severe illness and death and they remain the “best tool to end this pandemic.”

In early August, parents poured into the Union County board meeting and rallied outside before it even started.

It was a heated debate that had both sides of the spectrum fired up.

Things got heated between those wanting masks optional and those who want them to be mandatory in the classroom.

There were signs, chants -- and inside -- a packed room of parents and educators.

“Easy to see from the evidence kids don’t face real danger from this virus,” one parent said.

Others pushed to make them mandatory.

“Every medical organization in the world that says masks need to remain,” another parent said.

Back in May, dozens of angry parents fought against the required mask mandate for their students in Iredell County.
In a heated debate, those parents think their children wearing masks for eight hours a day is unnecessary.

Some parents picketed outside, with signs saying, “My child, my choice.”

Inside the Iredell-Statesville School Board, exchanges became heated.

Parents chanted, “No more masks! No more masks!”

Passions in the crowd quickly went from disappointed to angry to enraged.

“You have to take it off or it never ends,” a parent said.

North Carolina health officials reported 4,381 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday. To date, there have been 1,350,697 confirmed cases since the first case was reported in North Carolina on March 3, 2020.

Officials also reported 3,464 people are hospitalized due to the virus. The total number of people who have died of complications with the virus is now 15,811 in North Carolina.

Officials also say 17,205,478 tests have been given in N.C. and the daily percent of positive tests reported was 11 percent.

#10
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


#11
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MAN ARRESTED; ACCUSED of STRIKING SCHOOL OFFICIALS at SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

by KHQA News
Thursday, September 2nd 2021

Mugshot of Alex Felde courtesy of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office

Mendon, Illinois — A Mendon, Illinois man was arrested Wednesday night following a reported disturbance at a Mendon school board meeting at Unity High School.

According to a news release from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched at 8:17 p.m.

They were told a man identified as Alex S. Felde, 30, had been removed from the school after becoming involved in a physical altercation.

Witnesses told authorities that Felde had been causing a disruption.

When school officials tried to escort him out of the meeting, they said Felde struck one of the school officials and left.

Deputies later found Felde a short time later at his Mendon residence and was taken into custody.

He was taken to the Adams County jail with no bond on charges of aggravated battery and disorderly conduct.



#12
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


#13
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NAZI SALUTE, INSULTS HURLED at CHAOTIC BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS MEETING over MASK MANDATE
Posted By Steve Neavling on Thu, Aug 19, 2021 at 1:33 pm

Police are investigating a man who flashed a Nazi salute and chanted “Heil Hitler” during a raucous Birmingham Board of Education meeting over a mask mandate for students.

Unruly anti-maskers booed and hurled insults at board members and speakers, including a high school student, who spoke in favor of face coverings during the meeting Wednesday evening.

The anti-maskers spewed falsehoods about COVID-19, telling board members that masks are dangerous and that children aren't at risk of spreading the virus, despite a plethora of evidence to the contrary. Several parents said they're removing their children from school because of the mandate.

The remarks came after the board and superintendent announced that students, staff, and teachers will be required to wear masks indoors for the start of the school year.

Parents packed two rooms at the school, and dozens were not wearing masks.

While a Black woman and Jewish woman were addressing the board about their support for the mask policy, a man in the audience flashed the Nazi salute and repeated “Heil Hitler.” Two men behind him also uttered the phrase.

Police questioned the man during the meeting and are investigating whether he committed a crime.

Superintendent Embekka Roberson notified parents of the Nazi salute in a letter Wednesday and said the district has no tolerance for hate.

“Birmingham Public Schools emphatically denounces and will not tolerate any act of racism, disrespect, violence, and/or inequitable treatment of any person, including actions and statements made at Board of Education meetings. It is in situations when people feel strongly about a matter, and emotions run high, that we most need to model appropriate behaviors for our students,” Roberson wrote. “Last night’s meeting did not consistently display the behaviors that we expect from our students and community.”

During the meeting, some parents compared masks to child abuse.

Nicole Humphrey said she’s removing her daughter from school because masks make her uncomfortable.

“Hearing that the only way she can attend in-person learning is by wearing a mask is unconscionable,” she told the board. “It is not going to happen. It is like asking us to knowingly send her to a place that is abusing her and being like, ‘Oh well.’ … It’s not Ok.”

Another parent said God didn’t intend for people to wear masks, which she falsely claimed are “ineffective” and increase the risk of cancer.

“Our children will never see the freedoms we enjoyed growing up,” she said. “They are not even free to breathe fresh air. If God wanted us to cover our mouth and nose, he would have made us that way.”

Since masks aren’t effective, parent Sarah Flynn said, the school board imposed the mask mandate “to protect yourselves politically.” “COVID poses almost zero risk to children,” Flynn said. “Forced mask mandates for something that has almost zero percent chance of killing them is child abuse.”

During the meeting, Roberson said the mask mandate is intended “to make sure students can attend in person.”

Lori Ajlouny, the board’s president, repeatedly ordered anti-maskers to stop disrupting the meeting and said the mask mandate is a common sense measure to protect children from a highly contagious and dangerous virus.

“We are doing this for the safety of our children,” she said. “I’m not fond of wearing masks, but I’m going to do what’s best for the children.”

Health experts say masks are critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19 in schools. On Sunday, Francis Collins, the director of the National Institute of Health, warned about a sharp increase in the number of pediatric cases from the more powerful "Delta" variant of the virus that causes COVID-19.

On Tuesday, a Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would bar school districts from requiring students to wear masks.

On Thursday, two state lawmakers expressed disgust over the Nazi salute.

“I am shocked and appalled to see the use of racist, Nazi language and imagery in our community, particularly by parents attending a school board meeting. Let me be clear: racism, anti-Semitism, and any other forms of bigotry and hate have no room in our discourse or our community, and I forcefully condemn the use of this phrase and gesture at yesterday’s Board of Education meeting,” Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, said. “For the last 18 months, our state, country, and world have suffered a collective trauma. But the use of Nazi phrases and gestures is beyond the pale in any context; it disrespects the memory of those murdered in the Holocaust and dishonors the values of our community. Actions such as these must be forced out from our society as every level, and we must resume engaging with each other in the spirit of understanding, kindness, and mutual respect – themes which form the core of the values taught within BPS."

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Southfield, said, “The Holocaust was the systematic state-sponsored persecution and annihilation of European Jews and others. As someone with family members who suffered heinous and violent deaths at the hands of Nazis, I can assure this BPS community member that the Holocaust is not a school board meeting."


#14
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


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#15
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The foregoing, ladies and gents, is the perfect example of a one-on-none conversation.
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NJ MASK MANDATE for STUDENTS SPARKS SCHOOL BOARD DISRUPTION, SUSPENDS MEETING
Joe Strupp
Asbury Park Press

The fallout from Gov. Phil Murphy’s school mask mandate continued this week as one school board postponed a meeting after attendees refused to wear masks and another cut short public comment after yelling and name-calling disrupted a mask discussion.

“When the argument started to ensue, I had to shut it down,” said Dotty Porcaro, president of the Manalapan-Englishtown Board of Education, which had to kick out one resident Tuesday night who refused to wear a mask to its regular meeting. “They started talking about concentration camps and comparing (the mask mandate) to Nazis.”

The school board eventually approved a resolution urging Murphy to reverse his mandate but stressed that it would be followed when the new school year begins Sept 9.

“They were stating that if we allow this it is the beginning of the government taking away rights,” Porcaro said about some meeting attendees. “Then there was hollering back and forth. I don’t want to deny anyone the right to speak, but this was a board meeting and I can’t have people screaming and fighting amongst themselves.”

In Wall, the regular school board meeting was suspended Tuesday just after roll call when at least 60 people refused to wear masks.

Board attorney Athena Cornell stated that due to some of those in attendance not wearing masks in violation of Murphy's executive order mandating them, it would be rescheduled to Aug. 31.

“The Wall Board of Education is following Executive Order 251 (the mask mandate for schools), effective Aug. 9, and Executive Order 253 (outlining exceptions), effective yesterday,” Cornell said. “While we understand many disagree, the board is required to follow the executive orders.

"Going forward all in-person meetings will require masks. As a result, the meeting will be rescheduled for Aug. 31 at 6:15 p.m.”

Some in the crowd yelled out, “cowards, cowards.”

Wall Township Board President Ralph Addonizio said later that at least 60 people in attendance refused to wear the masks. The rescheduled meeting will be virtual-only.

He said the virtual meeting is the best way to avoid future controversy, for the moment: “It protects the district from any liability and it protects the parents who are very strongly against masks.”

Addonizio had written a letter to Murphy two weeks ago opposing the mask mandate and asking that it be removed.

“Your blanket orders do not reflect what is in the best interest of the students and staff of the Wall Township Public Schools and infringe on home rule,” Addonizio wrote in the letter.

He continued: “In your new executive order, you cite ‘the CDC now recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors in K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.’ This is a recommendation, provided to offer guidance to states and families. The district Pandemic Response Team used this guidance to make their final recommendation for the school year.”

The incidents are the latest in an ongoing battle over Executive Order 251, signed Aug. 9, which requires all school staff and students to be masked in school buildings.

Opposition has also come from school administrators and board members in Holmdel, Toms River, and Middletown.

Just days after sending a letter to parents stressing that the governor’s mask mandate for students will be enforced and those disobeying would be sent home, the Manalapan-Englishtown board passed a resolution Tuesday urging the governor to rescind the directive.

Manalapan-Englishtown school leaders have had to walk a tightrope in recent weeks between a growing vocal opposition to the governor’s executive order and efforts to ensure that the district does not break the law.

The conflict bubbled up several times during recent meetings, including Tuesday night’s board meeting that resulted in one resident being removed for not wearing a mask. Public comment at the meeting was stopped after 40 minutes after it grew into shouting and accusations of Nazi behavior by some speakers, according to Board President Dotty Porcaro.

The mask mandate drew similar anger at the Middletown Board of Education, which reluctantly passed a resolution Tuesday mandating masks for students, teachers and staff — anyone entering a school building — when the fall term begins.

The pared-down policy was more restrictive than the board had originally intended. As originally written, it would have empowered parents to excuse their children from the mandate by asserting some medical reason why their children could not wear a mask. But it was changed after Murphy clarified that such provisions would be opposed legally. 

For Manalapan-Englishtown, the mask battle dates back to June when former Superintendent John Marciante took a leave of absence rather than oversee the removal of a previous mask mandate after angry parents demanded it. 

He retired just weeks later.

Since then, his replacement, Nicole Santora, has found herself in the middle of a tug of war between Murphy’s mask mandate and parents opposed to it.
Things were so tense that district officials waited more than two weeks to affirm their plans for implementing the governor’s mask mandate, which was announced Aug. 9. It will require all students to be masked in class, with some exceptions for excessive heat, health concerns and other specific issues.

Santora informed parents of the implementation plan in an Aug. 20 letter that stated the mask mandate would be in place when school starts on Sept. 9 and those not following it will be forced to leave school grounds.

“Students, staff, and visitors will be required to wear masks in the indoor portion of school district premises,” the letter stated. “Additionally, we recognize that the exceptions … are there for medical necessity; and, therefore, we will be implementing the exemptions as they are part of the executive order.”

But it later made clear that anyone not wearing a mask and failing to meet an exemption would be separated from other students until a parent or guardian picks them up.

“I do not think that it is in the best interest of any child to be in a position of deciding whether they should defy their parent or the law. Nor, in this instance, will I suspend a child for listening to their parent,” the superintendent wrote.

She later explained, “If a child comes to school without a mask, they will be offered one. If they refuse, we will call their parent/guardian.

“If the parent/guardian states that they will not have their child wear a mask, we will isolate the child until their parent/guardian can pick them up. The child will be given asynchronous work to complete while waiting for their parent/guardian. The child will be excluded from school until they follow Executive Order 251.”

A recent Gallup poll found that two-thirds of U.S. adults and 60% of K-12 parents support mask mandates for unvaccinated teachers and staff members. A slightly lower percentage of U.S. adults (64%) and 57% of parents of school-aged children favor mask mandates for unvaccinated students. 

Parents in the 5,000-student Manalapan-Englishtown district, which serves grades K-8, have made their opposition known for months at several school board meetings, with many claiming their children are unable to breath in masks, come home depressed and discouraged, or become frightened at the atmosphere.
Some even claim the masks do little to protect students or believe the virus is not as contagious as they are told.

In an apparent effort to appease those in opposition, the school board on Tuesday passed a resolution urging that opponents of the mandate reach out to the governor’s office to register complaints. It also formally asked Murphy to rescind the mandate.

“While the Board recognizes the risk of COVID-19, the Board also recognizes and acknowledges that many residents of Manalapan and Englishtown believe that individuals, parents, and health care providers should have the flexibility to make their own decisions about their health and the measures they take to protect themselves, including the decision to wear a mask,” the resolution stated.

“The Board recognizes that those residents call upon Governor Murphy to immediately rescind EO 251 and allow individuals and the parents of children to make their own decisions regarding mask wearing.” 



#17
SkepticalOne
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@oromagi
As ever, I had to remember to look at what Tucker Carlson said last night to figure out what your were on about:


Ahhh, now I see. Thanks for that!
#18
oromagi
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TERRORIST
/ˈterərəst/

noun

  1. a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.


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#19
949havoc
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And, thus, the state of affairs in the defense of Joe Biden. A useless effort of one-on-none. 
Identity politics, is, indeed, alive and well.
Evidence: Joe Biden: "I'm going to beat Joe Biden."  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A30Ac85ZMMA
#20
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How to unify the country [and how Biden has failed]

How? Why, it's simple as saying "progressive:" Simply call your parents of school children "domestic terrorists."

Yeah, Mr. Joe, that will certainly attract those people with children who also happen to be voters, In both parties. Tell them they are Bin Laden cousins.
Yep, I see them beating down their doors to get out the vote for SloJoe again. For for the hairy guy to get out of town.
So, a more cogent summary might be:

  • Trumpists and other conspiracy theorists have been violently disrupting free speech at school board meetings nationwide
  • After several acts of violence, hundreds of explicit threats against the safety of school board members and thousands of disrupted school boards meetings, the National School Board Association writes a letter to Biden asking for a Federal investigation.
  • The Attorney General agrees to investigate.
The NSBA called these assaults "equivalent to domestic terrorism" but that is downplaying the matter.  By definition, if you are attacking, threatening, or interrupting local elected politicians while they are fulfilling their elected duties, you are a terrorist. 

Let's note that, contrary to FOX News claims, Biden has said nothing regarding the politicians' request and AG Garland has only just agreed to look into it.

Fauxlaw blames Biden for failing to unify the country but fails to note that the terrorists he endorses represent the minority opinion.  If any science or democracy was on the side of the terrorists, they probably wouldn't be resorting to attacks on local politicians. Contrary to Democracy, fauxlaw only thinks unity is achieved when the majority submits to a violent minority.  That's like blaming Buchanan for failing to unify the country because he arrested John Brown-  a total distortion of the larger political landscape.

Fauxlaw claims that the terrorists are bi-partisan but that's quite false.  All traditional Republicans and Democrats believe in law and order and public meetings, good conduct that allows free speech and above all non-violence in politics.  Sorry, but people who endorse violence at public meetings are not acting  in accordance with their responsibilities as Americans.  Presidents and law enforcement officials are quite obligated to investigate and prosecute these crimes.


#21
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So-

You claim Biden is to blame for disunity in the country because he won't allow attacks on local politicians to proceed unimpeded by law and order.

but

You won't condemn Trump for disunity in the country even after yesterday's report that Trump's own appointees in the DoJ testified that Trump demanded on at least 9 occasions across 10 days that the Dept of Justice falsify evidence of voter misconduct and overthrow American Democracy.

I question your understanding of National Unity- looks to me like you are demanding subjugation of the majority to a corrupt and deluded minority.
#22
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VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I’m prepared to say that I have a record of over 40 years. And that I’m going to be Joe Biden. Look at my record. The fact is that some areas that I think, for example, I think health care is a right not a privilege. I do not support Medicare for All. I will not support Medicare for all. But I do support, making sure that Obamacare is around with a public option, for those who can afford, those who qualify for Medicaid and they don’t get in their state, they would be able to buy it and be able to automatically enroll in the public option, Medicare, that would — but I do not support, you know, forgiving debt loan for every single solitary person no matter where you went to school. But I do support the idea that if in fact you have student debt as a consequence of going to a public university, and your income is under $125,000, it should be forgiven. I do believe that anyone going to school, that in fact goes to a public university and or Community College, they should be able to go for free if income is under $125,000. My wife has a great expression: any country that out-educates is going to out-compete us. We have a whole generation that’s being put behind the eight ball, Joe. You know that. They’re in real trouble. They’re in real trouble right now.



He said, I'm going to BE Biden.
#23
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I've given him that transcript and video before but fauxlaw is clearly not the master of his own opinion and he's not permitted to change his mind based on facts or even the evidence of his own eyes and ears.
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#24
949havoc
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@FLRW
Yes,  some media apologists have so said. I happen to have a professional sound studio, complete with voice analysis tracking. The voice print track indicates there is a definitive plosive consonant at the end of "be[a]...," namely, a 't.'  Sorry, voice prints do not lie. It's there.
#25
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@949havoc
The foregoing, ladies and gents, is the perfect example of a one-on-none conversation.

We dont need to hear from a trumpeteer who primary focus is to wreak havoc { chaos } on humanity and repeated spread  false narrative aka lack of moral integrity if not also intellectual integrity. Take some where that respects immoral false narrative.

Trumpet needs prison time as does those he pardoned. Sick in the head fascists, all of them.  
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#26
949havoc
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@ebuc
Sorry, but you do not run the site. What "we" need... who's "we?" You and your sock puppet? You can shove your suggestions in your pie hole, for all I care. I get it; you don't like Trump. Fine. I don't like Biden. Also fine. We disagree. And?
#27
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@949havoc
Sorry, but you do not run the site. What "we" need... who's "we?" You and your sock puppet? You can shove your suggestions in your pie hole, for all I care. I get it; you don't like Trump. Fine. I don't like Biden. Also fine. We disagree. And?

I dont like immorals like you, Trumpet and the long list of trumpeteers ---74 million--- in USA.  Most of you need to be in some kind of prison for immmoral indecency, and re-educated with some bare common decency for truth all humans.
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#28
949havoc
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I dont like immorals
No? How immoral is Biden, who can't even tell the difference between his wife and sister? A bit twisted to me, but, have it it, buc. You get off on numbers, so...
#29
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@949havoc
Never ceases to amaze me how the same people who criticize Biden as not doing a good enough job of unifying the country, always seem to support Donald Trump.
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#30
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Why should that be amazing? Just woke?
Hint: They're on opposing sides.
Go back to sleep.