An Important Message from Carol Swain

This is long. This is important. Are you always hearing about and talking about racism and disadvantages? Read this by Carol Swain. Copied from Facebook.

WHAT I CAN TEACH YOU ABOUT RACISM

Carol Swain

Let me tell you how my story ends: I become a tenured, award-winning professor of political science at an Ivy League university, and then at one of the leading universities in the South.

Now let me tell you how my story begins: I grow up in rural Virginia, literally dirt poor. I drop out of school in the eighth grade and have three children by the time I'm 20.

I consider myself to be a reasonably modest person, but even I have to admit that's quite a journey.

How did I do it?

I worked hard. Not crazy, 24/7 hard—just hard. I made good decisions. Not brilliant, three-dimensional-chess decisions—just good ones. I met people along the way who helped me and sincerely wanted to see me succeed—not because they had something to gain, but because they were decent people. Almost all of these individuals, by the way, were white.

But mostly, I think I was blessed in one crucial way: I was born in America, a true land of opportunity for anyone of any color or background. In this country, where you start your life does not determine where you end up.

That works in both directions, by the way. You can start out with every advantage and waste them all. Or you can start out with nothing and become a success. It all depends on you. Your attitude is far more important than your race, gender, or social class in determining what you will accomplish in life.

When I hear young blacks—or anyone, for that matter—talk about systemic racism, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I want to laugh because it's such nonsense. I want to cry because I know it's pushing untold numbers of young blacks into a dead end of self-pity and despair. Instead of seizing the amazing opportunities America offers them, they seize an excuse to explain why they're not succeeding.

I was born into a world where systemic racism was real—no-fooling, outright-bigotry, back-of-the-bus real. But here's what you need to know: Yes, that racism shaped the black experience—but even then, it did not define it. Change was in the air. Call it systemic reform.

The modern Civil Rights Movement was in its infancy, and the leaders who fought for equal rights for blacks were men and women of all races. They believed in America and were determined to see it live up to its highest ideals—ideals manifest in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution.

Did I know, growing up, that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves? I don't think I ever thought about it. If I did, I'd like to think that I would have had enough common sense to know that we can't judge men who lived 250 years ago by the moral standards of our own day.

But I know that Jefferson wrote the words in the Declaration of Independence that made slavery ultimately impossible: that all men are created equal. And I know that Washington, Hamilton, Franklin, Adams and the rest of the Founders risked everything to make my world, my America, possible. How could I not be grateful for that and for the sacrifices so many others have made to preserve it?

The truth is I cannot remember a time when I did not love America and feel pride in the belief that I live in the greatest country in the world. I knew if I diligently pursued my ambitions, I could leave the poverty of my early years, with all its abuse and depression, behind me.

I was fortunate in another way. I was spared the life-sapping, negative messages about America that are crippling a generation of young people. These ideas are poison:

☆ White privilege.

☆ Whiteness as a form of property.

☆ Unconscious racism.

☆ Reparations.

☆ Microaggressions.

☆ Police have it out for blacks.

☆ That the United States was created to protect and promote slavery.

These are the ideas young people are told they must accept. And then they're told to reject the ideas that can save them—the antidote: the success principles that enabled me and millions of other Americans to escape lives of poverty.

These principles aren't complicated: work hard, learn from your mistakes, take personal responsibility for your actions. When I made the decisions to get my high school equivalency, attend a community college, and then earn four additional college and university degrees, I believed that my education would open doors. And it did.

It was only when exposed to academic theories of oppression in graduate school that I was informed that because I was black, poor, and female, I could never do what I had already accomplished.

Thank God, it was too late for these toxic messages to stop me. Don't let them stop you.

—Carol Swain

Criticize equity training - Get Fired?

Could this happen in Richland 2 School District?

Read this article about an advisory board to the Loudoun County (Va.) Public Schools. This is what the world is coming to. Recall what Joe Biden said about "unity". For him unity, as I see it, is when you agree with him! 

Read the liberal nonsense spouted by Keaira Jennings in an alleged (according to the FoxNew article)  message to the Board and the superintendent:

"If our teachers and staff cannot be open and willing to learn how to be culturally competent then they do not need to be in the classrooms any longer as they will only hinder the process and most importantly cause irreparable harm to the vulnerable hearts and minds of our students."

Toe the line, teachers. Think and speak as you are told, and only as you are told! Or else.

All those buzzwords are becoming increasingly frequent: equity, inclusion, diversity, cultural diversity, cultural training, identifying and eliminating "whiteness", systemic racism, injustice, critical race theory, identity politics. Anyone else getting sick of it?

If Keaira gets her way, a teacher in Loudoun County, will get fired for criticizing equity training in private. Has she heard of the U.S. Constitution and freedom of speech? A school board is considered "government" and cannot infringe on the First Amendment. Even in Virginia. Even in Loudoun County.

And not in Richland County, either.

Who is the "Keaira Jennings" in the Richland 2 School District? Put your answer in the Comments. If you fear retribution or retaliation, email your answer to gusphilpott@gmail.com or text it to 8479717083  I'll put it in a Comment without your name. And then I'll delete your email or text.

We have a school board (majority) fully capable of instituting such a policy right here. All it takes is a majority of four out of seven. Who would vote for it? Holmes, McKie, Caution-Parker, McFadden. Who would not? Agostini. Who might vote for it? Manning and Scott (Elkins).

Of course, the problem continues to be that Holmes and McKie are not legal members of the Richland 2 School Board and should not be voting on anything. None of their votes since November 13, 2018 should count - for anything! One of these days the School Board is going to have to go back to November 13, 2018 and remove every vote by McKie and Holmes.

That will cause some decisions to change. Where a vote was 4-3 (passing) when the votes of McKie and Holmes are counted, the revised result will be 2-3 (failing) without their votes. The longer Richland 2 waits to correct these errors, the farther back it will have to go. Some students should not have been expelled; some students should have have been sent to Blythewood. Votes on some financial motions will change.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/us/virginia-advisory-board-calls-for-school-district-to-fire-teachers-if-they-criticize-equity-training

How much? $900,000???

 Reporter Travis Bland's article in yesterday's The State needs to be read by all.

This sentence got my attention. "Two lawsuits also were filed against the sheriff’s department and Richland District 2 officials. One of the lawsuits was settled last year for $900,000."

Many will already be familiar with previous local media reporting about former RCSD Deputy Jamel Bradley. Bradley had been an SRO at Spring Valley High School.

Read the article about the allegations and charges against Bradley.

Perhaps I missed previous reporting about this pay-out. The reporter did not mention yesterday what portion of the $900,000, if any, was paid by Richland 2. I've asked him to report this in a future article.

The other thing I wonder about is how widespread was the suspicion of Bradley's involvement with students at SVHS. The article mentions "sexual assault". If Bradley is in a car with a 15-year-old behind Target, wasn't it by plan? By agreement? He didn't drag her off the street, did he?

When kids play with fire, they need to be held accountable for their actions and activities. Sure, there is no excuse for a cop in a car with a 15-year-old at 10:30PM. It's "assault" only because she cannot give "legal" consent. Maybe the laws need to change, so that consensual activity cannot be charged as "assault". I totally "get" that she cannot consent, because she is a minor and is not legally competent to consent.

But just talk to any 15-year-old girl today. She is sexually aware. She's probably sexually active. Should every boy in high school worry about being charged with rape? Maybe he should.

Edited: Thanks to a reader with keen eyes, I learned of an article published on December 1, 2020 (edited on December 4, 2020) in the Post and Courier that reported Richland 2 School District's share was $600,000! If it was published also by The State newspaper, I didn't see it, and no one alerted me to it. I wonder when the School Board approved that payment! And what action was taken against the administrators responsible for it!

After reading that article, all I can say is, "Seriously?" In the second paragraph, the first words were "The girl alleged that Jamel Bradley assaulted her multiple times...

So, do I think he "assaulted" her several times? Or did they meet up for an illegal activity that is called "assault" in the penal code because she was a minor? 

There is no reason to dole out $600,000 unless the girl really was assaulted which, in this case, I would guess she was not, if it occurred several times.

One of the girl's attorneys, James Moore, "praised his client for having the courage to come forward with information that helped lead to Bradley’s arrest." As our fearless leader would say, "Come on, man." Courage? Information that helped lead to Bradley's arrest? Was any willing participation just overlooked? Was she one of the "babies" so often mentioned by one school board member? Or was she truly an uncooperative victim who was kidnapped and forced to do any despicable act (s)?

Get Hired?

Looking for a temporary job? One of this blog's readers sent this to me. Hit this barcode and see what happens.

Whaddya think? Would they hire me?

I was reminded of a temp job I had in Richmond, Va. I wanted another couple of bucks an hour, so I sent what I used for a resume to a different agency.

The manager called and asked if I were a job-hopper, because I hadn't listed dates for the few past jobs I had put on it. I told her I was looking for temporary work and that, if she gave me a job, I would guarantee not to hop before I finished it.

Then she said that she couldn't tell how old I was because I hadn't listed the year of my graduation from college. I immediately asked if the concept of age discrimination had reached Richmond yet.

Then she said, "You know? They want a woman for this job, anyway.

You can guess what I said, but here it is. "Has the concept of sex discrimination reached Richmond, Va. yet?

There was a long silence.

Then I said, "It's a good thing I'm not recording this conversation. I wouldn't have to work for five years!" She gave me a great assignment the next week, and I finished it. And then moved away from Richmond.

School board sticks it to the taxpayers

Read this first paragraph of the press release published tonight right after the school board meeting. And I do mean, right after the meeting. The press release was published to media at 8:02pm. The District couldn't even show the courtesy of waiting until tomorrow to send it. Obviously, it was written before the meeting!

Why didn't the Board take under advisement the administration's proposal and think about spending $9,950,000 for a couple of week???

"COLUMBIA, S.C. — At the March 23, 2021 board meeting, the Richland School District Two Board of Trustees approved the administration’s proposal to allocate the $11.3 million surplus from the Fiscal Year 2019-20 General Fund Budget. The allocations include:

·        a one-time bonus of $1,580 to all full-time permanent employees and $789 to all part-time permanent employees (roughly $1,000 and $500 after taxes, respectively). The estimated cost of this investment is $6,450,000, which includes related fringe.

·        a one-time transfer of $3.5 million for the Building Fund to help lessen the impact on taxpayers for the funding of annual capital improvement expenditures."

The District had collected that $6,450,000 from the taxpayers and other sources of income. Rather than either holding onto it as a future reserve or refunding it to "those what brung it in the door", the District leadership and the School Board chose to provide a bonus to employees.

This smells like the decision in Congress to give $1,400/week to Federal employees who stay home while their kids are not in school. YOU won't get $1,400/week, but the Federal employees will. For how many weeks? And that's in addition to the $1,400 Stimulus check(s).

What kind of responsible fiscal management is that?

An $11.3 million surplus can vanish in a heart beat (or one good disaster).

Richland 2 needs more people on the Board who understand financial management. Right now, there are at least five who do not.

False Police Report = Felony or Misdemeanor

Thanks to a posting on NextDoor.com by Jamie Raub last week (since removed, but not before being copied), I was reminded of a complaint filed against me by Teresa Holmes in March 2019. 

Two years ago a Richland 2 School District trustee-elect reacted to an email I had sent to the full board, on Wednesday March 20, 2019 at 10:30AM. She is believed to have left work in Fairfield County shortly after I sent the email. She went straight to the Richland County Sheriff's Department to file a report that I had been harassing her.

In my email to the full board I had written that, if the District did not inform me by Friday, March 22 (2019), that Teresa Holmes and Amelia McKie would be sworn in before the following Tuesday's board meeting, then I would go to the Sheriff's Department and file a Complaint that they were illegally in office.

No doubt you've heard "the best defense is a good offense". Right? But only if that offense works...

Teresa Holmes complained at RCSD to Deputy Robert Jenkins. In his report dated 3/20/2019 at 1:45PM, Deputy Jenkins wrote:

"C/V (School Board Member) came into RCSD to report that a man that has approached her at several Richland County School Board meetings is harassing her. C/V states she feels threatened by the subjects [sic] behavior. Besides the meetings where she has been approached by the subject, the C/V states he has sent her numerous emails attacking her. The emails provided by the C/V have the subject's PH# listed as 847.971.7083. A case number was issued to the C/V."

Here is the law about filing false police reports. See South Carolina Code of Laws 16-17-722.

SECTION 16-17-722. Filing of false police reports; knowledge; offense; penalties.

(A) It is unlawful for a person to knowingly file a false police report.

(B) A person who violates subsection (A) by falsely reporting a felony is guilty of a felony and upon conviction must be imprisoned for not more than five years or fined not more than one thousand dollars, or both.

(C) A person who violates subsection (A) by falsely reporting a misdemeanor is guilty of a misdemeanor and must be imprisoned not more than thirty days or fined not more than five hundred dollars, or both.

(D) In imposing a sentence under this section, the judge may require the offender to pay restitution to the investigating agency to offset costs incurred in investigating the false police report.

What was false in Holmes' report?

The man she is accusing is I, Gus Philpott. I had not approached her "at several meetings". We spoke at the front of the room after one (only one) meeting, and a Richland County Sheriff's deputy was standing right alongside us the entire time.

I never harassed her. Not even once. Don't you think the sheriff's deputy would have interceded, had I harassed her?

Holmes felt threatened by a polite, short conversation in a public meeting room with a deputy standing right next to her? Seriously?

Holmes claimed "meetings". She and I spoke after only one meeting!

Holmes claimed I had sent numerous emails attacking her. I sent NO EMAILS to her alone. All email communications were sent to the full board. 

I never "attacked" her. 

I did write about Holmes' (and Amelia McKie) taking the oath of office illegally, entering upon official responsibilities illegally, and never taking the oath of office after they had become eligible to do so on December 4, 2018 by filing their Statements of Economic Interests Reports. They still haven't!

When I asked RCSD for copies of the emails "provided by the C/V", they didn't have them.

So, did Holmes file a false police report? Should RCSD have charged her with so doing, after it completed its investigation and determined that no crime had been committed?

I have a copy of that follow-up report, which had to be written by an RCSD Sergeant after I asked for it. The follow-up closing report states no crime was committed.

Are you watching?

Are you watching what is happening to our country on the southern border? 

Are you explaining to your children what Pres. Joe Biden is doing to destroy the U.S.A.? 

Are you explaining what the Democrats in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate are doing to this country?

Are you explaining to your children the kind of country they are going to grow up in, if the trend is not stopped and reversed?

You got the $1,400; right? Plus money for other family members? Have you explained to your children what their cost is going to be for that "free" money?

Are you explaining to your children, the students in Richland 2 School District, that Nothing is free?

Who will pay for the $1,400 of "free" money? Who will pay for all the pork (90% of the $1.9T stimulus bill)? Are you explaining to your children what is even in that bill, now Act?

Start by explaining the cost of money borrowed from Chase Bank and Discover, when you don't pay your credit card statement in full every month and on time. Then explain about payday loans and pawn shops (400% interest). Next time they want to borrow some money, loan it to them at 400% - until they understand what that really means.

Ask them about the increase in the price of gas for the family car in the past few weeks. Better fill that buggy up now, during the little dip in gas prices.

Ask them if they understand what a $15.00/hour minimum wage would really mean, in terms of lost jobs and reduced hours for the low-paid employees. 

I doubt your students will learn any of these important things in our "premier" school district. Are there classes in basic money management? They'll be busy getting drenched by cultural diversity, inclusion, equity, socialism, racial injustice, police brutality. And why men playing in girls' sports is okay. 

They'll all know who George Floyd. Michael Brown. Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice were. 

But they won't be able to tell you who retired St. Louis Police Captain (retired) David Dorn was. Or name any cops (white or black) who have been assassinated or killed in the line-of-duty.  Or name very many of the Founding Fathers. Or recognize the names of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices.

Be informed of new postings. Follow this blog

Would you like to know when new postings are made to this blog?

It's simple. All you need to do is look at the upper right of the page and enter your email address in the box to the right of "Follow by Email".

In the pop-up box, check that you aren't a robot, and then confirm your request to follow. If there is a warning message at the top, disregard it. Then be sure to watch your email for a Confirmation message, and click on the link to confirm.

Each time a new article is posted, you'll receive an email. From it you can come straight to this blog and read the new article and everything else.

No use will be made of your email address, other than the automatic alert to you. I do not see your email address. I don't even know where it is stored. It definitely will not be rented or sold.

If you ever want to unsubscribe from alerts, each email will contain instructions for doing so. That is automatic, too.

I won't ever know that you have subscribed or unsubscribed. 

Why should you follow? From time to time, time-sensitive information may be posted. It won't do you much good to read of it after it happens.

Give it a try. I believe you'll like it. 

R2 School Board ignores community member request

On October 13, 2020 I addressed the School Board and asked two questions about The 1619 Project. I requested a response.

Does anyone agree that a 4½-month wait for a response is too long?

On March 1, 2021, I sent the following email to the School Board:

Members of the board and trustees-elect McKie and Holmes,

At the School Board meeting on October 13, 2020, I addressed the board and requested answers to two questions. My questions were:

To what extent is The 1619 Project being introduced, taught or discussed in any classrooms in the Richland 2 School District?

If it is not yet in the Richland 2 School District, will the School Board be consulted before it is taught?

I'll add this third question. Is the book A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, being used anywhere in Richland 2 schools?

Will you please provide me with answers to my questions by March 13, 2021, which will be five months after I asked two of them?

Sincerely,

Gus Philpott

As you will read, I requested a response by March 13, 2021. No one on the board and no one from District bothered to extend the courtesy of acknowledging my message or to reply to it.

On Friday, March 12, 2021 I submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request to the School District. That started clocks ticking on response time. The School District cannot legally disregard a FOIA Request. 

If no response is received by April 5, 2021, the next step will be taken.

So, PARENTS, what are your children telling you about The 1619 Project, when they come home from school or step away from the computer screens. Does any of them read from Howard Zinn's textbook that is being used in many schools now in the U.S.?

McKie and Mosby have this in common

What do Amelia McKie, trustee-elect of the Richland 2 School Board, and Marilyn Mosby, Maryland State's Attorney for Baltimore, have in common?

Each owes $45,000 or more to a government.

As has been written here for many months, McKie owes $51,000+ to the South Carolina Ethics Commission, and the Commission filed a judgment in Richland County Common Pleas Court to secure the debt. Her debt totaled $51,800 as of February 8, 2021.

FoxNews reports today that Mosby and her husband, Nick Mosby, who is president of the Baltimore City Council, owe $45,000 to the IRS. IRS filed a lien against Mosby's home in October 2020 for unpaid Federal taxes.

The South Carolina Department of Revenue is charged with collecting money owed to the State. The lien against McKie was filed on July 10, 2019, and there is no recorded activity in the court since the filing date. Is the SC DOR doing anything at all on this collection?

What could the SC DOR do? It could foreclose on the family home. It could garnish McKie's pay from Richland 2 School District. It could place a lien against McKie's automobile and other assets in her name. 

Why hasn't McKie paid even a dime toward her debt? 

Should a person with this amount of debt and this type of debt hold a fiduciary position involving multi-millions of dollars of assets and a $300,000,000 budget of the school district?

Jamie Raub brings up old, inaccurate newspaper article

Does anyone read the NextDoor.com website for northeast Columbia information?

There was quite a thread about pit bulls this week and it finally got shut down.

Today a resident in the Jacob's Creek neighborhood complained about kids cutting across her lawn and littering. I added what I thought would be read as a sarcastic comment that she should chain up a pit bull in her front yard.

Then someone I don't know, Jamie Raub of Briarcliffe Estates, decided to take a pot shot at me with

"What a shocker...Gus Philpott you continue to show what a class act you are https://www.postandcourier.com/free-times/news/local_and_state_news/school-board-member-alleges-harassment-after-ethics-complaints/article_c483ad91-346d-5653-9515-cf387c86e471.html"

I replied to her:

"Jamie Raub Thank you for referencing that Post & Courier article of 3/29/2019. I had not seen it before. The article contains numerous incorrect statements. Notably, I did NOT say, "Having not filed, they should not take office, as both were not properly elected,” What I did say was, "Thus, having not filed the required statement (SEI), neither was eligible to take office." Check the school board 3/12/19 meeting video at 32:30."

I tried to add "I will contact the reporter. I considered having Ms. Holmes charged with filing a false police report, but I decided not to do so. If you are interested in the correct story, see www.Richland2.info 

"McKie and Holmes are still illegitimately on the Richland 2 School Board. They have never taken the oath of office legally.

"So, I wonder, are you interested in Facts or the Truth? Are laws important?" 

but NextDoor didn't like it the rest of my comment.

I reviewed the video of the March 12, 2019, school board meeting and realized that was two years ago.

What has the Richland 2 School District done to correct the problem? Absolutely nothing.

One statement of mine stood out. I told the board that if they did not fix the problem, then they were complicit in allowing McKie and Holmes to continue as board members.

When board members knowingly and wilfully disregard laws, I believe they have no coverage under Officers and Directors Liability Insurance purchased by the District. They will be on their own and will have to defend themselves at personal expense.

The legal option open to me is to, at my personal expense, get leave from a Circuit Court judge and then file legal action against McKie and Holmes at the S.C. Supreme Court for usurping public office. 

It should be an open-and-shut case, because their Oath of Office affidavit is dated three weeks before the date of their Statements of Economic Interests Reports.

My thanks to Jamie Raub for bringing this up. 

Do State Voting Laws Matter?

Is it important to protect fair and legal elections? For yourself? For your kids and students? For theirs?

Read this analysis of H.R. 1, Nancy Pelosi's "For the People Act".

Then call your out-of-state friends and ask them to call their U.S. Senators and ask them to vote against this Bill. Especially to call their Democrat U.S. Senators. I think we can depend on Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Lindsey Graham to vote against it, but contact them, too

Can't you hear the train coming down the track? It's like we are sitting in a school bus, stuck on the railroad tracks. The gates are coming down; the warning lights and bells are flashing; we can see the headlight on the locomotive. We have only a limited amount of time to stop it.

Act now!

Who is the author of that article? Hans von Spakovsky is "an authority on a wide range of issues—including civil rights, civil justice, the First Amendment, immigration, the rule of law and government reform—as a senior legal fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and manager of the think tank’s Election Law Reform Initiative." Source: https://www.dailysignal.com/author/hansvonspakovsky/

Kids heading for college?

Parents, if you have kids heading for college, get ready to have "the talk" with them. No, I don't mean the talk about keeping your hands on the steering wheel when a cop stops you and not making any furtive moves.

I mean the talk about what happens behind closed doors in those co-ed college dorms.

Read the story following this headline: "Biden Prepares to Strip College Students of Due Process Rights".

Published on the daily email message of The Heritage Foundation, a respected conservative organization, that article is here.

Is Due Process important? Of course, it is. And it's the law.

During the last week The State newspaper has reported on a college student who was accused of raping a female student with whom he had previously had sexual relations. The school found him, in effect, not guilty. After the appeal period passed, the girl raised her complaint again. With no new evidence, the boy was found guilty. He is fighting that. Was that fair? Can you just whine until you win?

Inspirational Moment - 3/9/2021. Long Intro., shorter Moment

Once again, it happened.

When trustee-elect Amelia McKie took the stage for her introduction of the Inspirational Moment, she blathered on and on for almost three minutes! 

At one point she was describing Dr. Sheley's accomplishments and said, "...huge, huge, huge, five huge..." At times I think she doesn't even know what she is saying. McKie could have just said, "Tonight's Inspirational Moment will be given by our own Dr. Sheley."

Dr. Sheley took just 3½ minutes for her Inspirational Moment - quite a refreshing change from previous speakers.

Near the end of the meeting a number of board members felt it necessary to ramble on and on in their appreciation for everybody on the planet except the Queen of England (and probably Donald Trump), as they proceeded to lavish praise on staff, employees and presenters. Board members should stop hogging the spotlight and leave some crumbs for the Board Chair. The Board Chair can be the one to thank staff. 

Trustee McFadden was wise in passing on comments. Others could learn from her, the newest member of the board.

Even the superintendent went overboard on praise. The staff members just did the jobs they are paid to do. They are told to prepare and present reports to the board. How much praise should that merit?

School Board Policy ADD - Face coverings (re Holmes)

Richland 2 School District has a policy regarding face "coverings". A covering is a mask. The District can approve an accommodation of a face shield in place of a mask.

At school board meetings Trustee-elect Holmes refuses to wear a face mask. Instead, she sometimes wears a face shield.

So the first question is, did she request an accommodation? The second question is, did the District approve her request? And the next question is, did the Board or the superintendent approve her request, if one was submitted?

Since the Board is superior to the authority of the superintendent, any request should have been considered by the Board, not by the superintendent. Was it? Did I miss that meeting?

Holmes must wear a face mask or face shield. At last night's meeting (3/9/2021) why did she remove it to speak?

Policy ADD reads, in part, "Staff members/School volunteers will wear a face covering while in indoor common areas (e.g. [sic] main office, lobby, hallway, workroom, cafeteria, etc.), at any time when physical distancing is not possible or optimal and while conducting business on behalf of the district ..."

Board members are subject to staff requirements.

The keyword is "and" (and while conducting business). The word "and" is used, not "or". 

Since Holmes was conducting business last night, she should have worn her face shield at all times.

Since Trustee Scott (f/k/a Elkins) refuses to attend board meetings in person when Holmes refuses to mask up, it is important to examine Board Policy 

Board Policy BEDM governs a board member's teleconferencing. The allowance for attending by telephone (or Zoom) "will be made only in exceptional circumstances, e.g., special medical and/or travel situations, military service, or job constraints."

Scott absents herself for her own health and for that of her mother. 

Did Scott request an accommodation of teleconferencing in writing? Did the Board consider and approve it? Are her concerns "exceptional circumstances"? Can "exceptional circumstances" run week and week, month after month, rather than one time only?

If Holmes wore a mask, not just a face shield, presumably Scott (Elkins) would attend board meetings.

Scott (Elkins) was elected to serve on the board, and she needs to be at board meetings. 

It is rude, unprofessional and narcissistic for Holmes to refuse to wear a mask. Holmes should be challenged by Board Chair Manning, the other elected trustees, and backed up by the school district's legal counsel. What is her claim for refusing to wear a mask? Holmes should not be allowed to rule the board in this way.

Are you following H.R. 1?

Have you heard of the "For the People Act", currently wending its way through Congress on the way to Joe Biden's desk.

H.R. 1 is being popularized by the mainstream (liberal) media as a voting-rights bill. 

If you really care about your voting rights and the U.S. Constitution, figure out what's going on and pounce on your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators.

What does the National Review say about H.R. 1?

"It would override hundreds of state laws governing the orderly conduct of elections, federalize control of voting and elections to a degree without precedent in American history, end two centuries of state power to draw congressional districts, turn the Federal Elections Commission into a partisan weapon, and massively burden political speech against the government while offering government handouts to congressional campaigns and campus activists. Merely to describe the bill is to damn it, and describing it is a Herculean task in itself."   Source: The Daily Signal, March 10, 2021

Critical Race Theory and Colleges - Pass the barf bag

As high schoolers and parents go about selecting a college for post-secondary studies, one item on the checklist should be Critical Race Theory.

What is Critical Race Theory? "Critical race theory holds that whites use their social status or their legal and economic advantages to create or maintain power over people of color." Source: The Daily Signal, March 10, 2021

Now, if you don't think that's the biggest pile of hogwash to come down the pike in a long time, do some more homework on it. Read this article in the newsletter of the conservation Heritage Foundation and then check the list of 230 colleges that may be indoctrinating students with CRT.

South Carolina schools listed are Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, and University of South Carolina. See the list of schools. It'll make you sick!

And ask straight-forward questions of Richland 2 School District about CRT. Is it being pushed here?

And ask about The 1619 Project. I did, on October 13, 2020. I asked the School Board, directly and in-person, to what extent The 1619 Project is being taught in Richland 2.

The Board and the superintendent must be busy, because no one has responded. Last week I emailed the board and asked for answers to my two questions. No response.

Next step? File a FOIA Request. How much simpler and most cost-effective would it have been for the District just to answer the questions?

Holmes - why no mask???

At the March 9, 2021 school board meeting which board members wore masks? Agostini, McFadden, McKie, Manning, Caution-Parker and Supt. Davis.

Trustee Scott (f/k/a Elkins) attended remotely because Holmes does not wear a mask.

Who did not wear her mask? Trustee-elect Holmes!

Holmes spoke without her mask. If anyone's voice will carry through a mask, hers will.

Holmes removed her face shield once again during the Board and Superintendent Comments. 

Doesn't she realize that when she speaks and breathes, her breath is projected out into the room. That's the reason that Trustee Scott (f/k/a Elkins) is not attending board meetings. If Holmes wore a mask, Scott would be present.

It's a selfish decision that Holmes is making, and Board Chair Manning should TELL Holmes to wear a mask!

Wakanda Salute - it's not here, is it?

Read this article about two 30-year teachers who were fired because they refused to follow other sheep off the cliff by giving the Wakanda Salute.

Click here to read this article.

Is that or similar nonsense occurring anywhere in Richland 2? 

See the discussion in the article about the difference between equality and equity. 

Is Richland 2 conducting "implicit-bias" workshops? What happens to teachers or staff who refuse to participate in "re-education" programs? Are you ostracized? Do you get lunch duty for 60 days? Or worse?

If you know about any of this, but are unwilling to speak out for risk of retaliation, contact me by phone or email. Confidentiality is assured. Nothing you tell me will ever get traced back to you.

When I lived in Illinois, I wrote a blog and numerous law enforcement officers were confidential sources of information. The county sheriff and a few police chiefs were going nuts trying to uncover the leaks, but they never did. Who was my hero? Judith Miller, that NYT reporter who sat in jail for refusing to reveal her sources!

President being kept out of view?

Has there ever been a time in U.S. history when a new President of the United States has been kept out of view?

Even a meeting with the his own party, the Democrats of the U.S. House Democratic Caucus, was cut short yesterday, before lawmakers (I used that term loosely) could ask Pres. Biden any questions. FoxNews covered it. I can't find any mention on CNN of it. 

Who are Biden's handlers that cut short the virtual meeting before questions could be asked? Was VP Harris behind that? Were members of Biden's cabinet behind that? 

Did he really say, "I'd be happy to take questions if that's what I'm supposed to do, Nance. Whatever you want me to do."

Does that sound like the words of an aware, conscious, cognizant, in-control POTUS?

"Whatever you want me to do." 

Seriously?

Every parent, adult, teacher, staffer, student, community member of Richland 2 should be demanding that the President of the USA be out front. In control. Operating as the leader of the free world.

Is Joe Biden capable of that? Many think not.