Republicans
The Far-Right Embrace of the Knights Templar isn’t Just About Faith, Tradition or History — It’s About Hate
In 1302, the island of Arwad, off the coast of Syria, fell to Mamluk forces....
The Republican War On TeachersThere’s a war being waged on...
The Republican War On Teachers
There’s a war being waged on America’s teachers, and we must stand up for them before it’s too late.
Teachers watch over America’s most precious asset — our children.
They dedicate their lives to caring for our youth, serving as role models, and making sure that future generations are set up for success.
So why on Earth are we treating them so badly?
Our nation’s teachers are not only working long, demanding hours inside and outside of the classroom — but they’re blamed these days for almost everything imaginable.
They are yelled at by parents over masks, reprimanded by school boards about books they assign or let their students read, vilified by politicians for teaching honest lessons about America’s history of racism and genocide, even told to arm themselves against the possibility that their classrooms might be invaded by murderous young men with semi-automatics.
Teachers are also making less money than they were ten years ago. Their average salary today is around $66,000, but when adjusted for inflation, that’s a $2,000 pay cut compared to 2012. As recently as 2018, nearly 600,000 public school teachers had to work a second job.
We’re also saddling our nation’s educators with huge debt. Nearly half of teachers, 45%, have taken out student loans to pay for the advanced degrees often required of them — with an average debt load of $55,800.
On top of all this, 94% of teachers have had to dip into their own pockets to buy school supplies. This, in the richest country in the history of the world! And at a time when the average Wall Street employee bonus for 2021 hit a record high of $257,500. It would take the typical teacher almost four years to make that much — and that’s just a bonus for Wall Street traders — a massive golden cherry on top of their ever-sweeter salaries.
I’m guessing Wall Street firms don’t make traders pay for their own pencils.
Are Wall Street bankers really worth so much more than the people we ask to care for and teach our children? P-l-e-a-s-e.
Yet none of this has stopped Republicans from accelerating their war on teachers, and turning educators into political pawns in their battle to advance a radical agenda.
Governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Ron DeSantis of Florida are poster boys for this campaign, even supporting legislation that intrudes on a teacher’s ability to craft lesson plans.
Republicans are quick to lob the terms “critical race theory” or “wokeism” against any curriculum that allows our youth to express their identities, advances critical thinking skills, and is honest about our nation’s tragic racial history — calling it “indoctrination” or “brainwashing.”
Why?
Because the biggest threat facing the Republican Party is a new multi-racial generation of young people unafraid to speak truth to power.
Ultimately, if we don’t learn from our history — which often means learning from our mistakes — there’s no way we can tackle our nation’s most pressing problems while building a better, more inclusive future. The foundation for this future begins in the classroom.
So how can we fight back against this war on America’s teachers?
First, pay them twice as much as they’re earning. Bare minimum.
Second, fight for their freedom to teach. Many of the decisions that affect teachers’ day-to-day work — as well as the lives of students — are made at local school board meetings. So, go to one. Better yet, run for a position on your local school board.
Third, listen to our teachers. Do you know what’s been lost in the cultural and political war against education in this country? The voices of ACTUAL teachers. If we’re going to truly support them and repair the harm done to our education system, they need to be heard.
Defend our teachers. Pay our teachers. Value our teachers. The work they do determines our future.
Cartoon: G.O.P. midterm messaging
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The Real Reason
The Real Reason Teachers Are QuittingThere’s a war being waged on America’s teachers, and we must...
Cartoon: Black hole seized from Mar-a-Lago
Trump could openly threaten to suck us all to our doom and the mainstream media would still treat it like some sort of political parlor game where every move to stave off apocalypse is motivated by "partisanship" and nothing more. The irony of this cynical take is that the Dems -- most especially Biden and Merrick Garland -- seem to avoid confrontation religiously, until they would be breaking the law themselves if they didn't do something. If that wet noodle of an Attorney General signed off on the raid, there was almost certainly a good reason for it! In fact, there's not even that much to discuss beyond what were they looking for, what did they find, and how violent will the right's response be.
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The F-WORD: Happy Hour with Hightower at the Lowdown Chat & Chew Cafe with Monika Bauerlein and Baratunde Thurston
Fascism – it’s a term we don’t use lightly. But when the overwhelming power of corporations over Congress and the courts combines with the authoritarian social measures of right-wing legislatures around the country, it’s time to call it what it is – and rise up to stop it. This Thursday, 6/23, at 7 pm ET, Hightower sit will down with Monika Bauerlein, CEO of Mother Jones, and Baratunde Thurston, host of PBS’ forthcoming America Outdoors, to pop some cold ones and dig into what we can do. (Warning: This show will include some laughs — because we need ‘em!)
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The post The F-WORD: Happy Hour with Hightower at the Lowdown Chat & Chew Cafe with Monika Bauerlein and Baratunde Thurston appeared first on Hightower Lowdown.
The transphobia “moral” panic
People contributing to anti trans rhetoric are playing a much more dangerous game than they realise. The current wave of anti-trans sentiment will lead to more violence and victimisation. Initially the attacks will hit people who are visibly trans women. Eventually, it will spread to anyone who is LGBTQI+. The same forces promoting this violence…
The post The transphobia “moral” panic appeared first on The AIM Network.
Cartoon: The guilty party
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Cartoon: Republicans call for school control
After I drew this cartoon I found out that some Republicans are, in fact, calling for homeschooling as a response to mass shootings in classrooms. Apparently someone was making this argument in The Federalist. Homeschooling advocate and '80s teen heartthrob Kirk Cameron is also trending for his outlandish comments about public schools. So, as is often the case these days, my comic is not really that great an exaggeration. (I'm not necessarily opposed to homeschooling in all cases, though as the daughter of teachers and a graduate of a public high school and university, I am a staunch defender of public education.)
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Suffer the Little Children
Detained migrant babies in the crosshairs of the GOP’s culture war.