This series of articles will be long, and detailed, to hopefully articulate how the “interfaith” movement has led to a dangerous marriage between two religions, one whose savior is dead, and one whose Savior is alive. While there are other faiths involved with the this movement, these articles will focus on the Catholic connection.
In February 2019, the Catholic spiritual shepherd Pope Francis and Islamic Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar joined together to celebrate the Day of Human Fraternity. This celebration was based on the 2007 landmark alliance between the holiest Catholic and Muslim leaders spawned by a letter to the Pope titled “A Common Word Between Us and You”.
This letter was originally signed by 138 Muslim scholars and clerics from across the globe that came together historically to show the unification of all denominations of Islam. The final letter was presented at a conference held by the Royal Academy of The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan, with the theme “Love in the Quran”.
This document was the “common constitution” which would be the conversation openers for all interfaith gatherings to show that the teachings of the Koran and the Prophet were similar to the commandments in the Holy Bible, claiming despite their differences, both have the same edicts.
The following information explains why interfaith is a dangerous, hypocritical relationship. Words in bold are important to remember, as we will connect the dots with them as we proceed in coming parts.
It all seems so innocent. Interfaith events continue to grow in churches and synagogues across America, with the idea Muslims, Christians, Catholics, and Jews could all be friends to co-exist despite extreme differences within doctrines and laws.
To begin, we start with the doctrine of Islam. Muslims believe there is only one god, Allah, who through the prophet Muhammad revealed the words of the Koran. The traditions and sayings of the prophet are contained in the Sunnah and the Hadiths, this making the trilogy of books most important to Muslims. In order for a Muslim to be “good”, they must imitate the life of their prophet Muhammed. In summary the early years of Muhammad described as his years in Mecca, he was peaceful and while he desired to convert others to Islam, he accepted those that practiced their own religions, which led to very small numbers of Muslims.
On his hijra (journey) to Yathrib (Medina), Muhammed began to reject the offer of peaceful co-existence. It was in Medina Islam became political and militarized, showing to others Islam was meant to dominate, not to be equal. Before his death, non-believers (infidels) were evicted or enslaved and converted under the threat of death if they did not. Remember, In order for a Muslim to be “good”, they must imitate the life of their prophet Muhammed.
In stark contrast to Islam, The Christian Faith centers entirely on the person and work of Jesus Christ, and not just certain aspects of His life. Jesus rose from the dead – spiritually and physically.
Many religious leaders including Catholics have failed to study the context of what is written in the Koran between Muhammad’s Meccan life and his Medina one. Muslims utilize the practice of abrogation, and the use of Taqiyya (sacred deception). Islam denies the principle of the Golden Rule: the belief all human beings are equal in value and should be treated the same. No where in the doctrine of Islam does Allah speak of love or compassion for kafirs (non-Muslims). However, there are over 109 verses regarding violence against them. Here are a few:
Quran (8:12) – “(Remember) when your Lord inspired the angels… “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them”
Quran (8:39) – “And fight with them until there is no more fitna (disorder, unbelief) and religion is all for Allah”
Quran (9:5) – “So when the sacred months have passed away, then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captive and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them.”
Messages from the Hadith and Sira include more violence to non-believers:
Sahih Bukhari (52:177) – Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”
Sahih Muslim (1:33) – the Messenger of Allah said: I have been commanded to fight against people till they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.
Understand these verses are never discussed due to abrogation, meaning the later verses in the Koran over power earlier verse. In other words, anything revealed to Muhammad chronologically later in the Koran abrogates or overrules anything that came earlier.
Abrogation is contained in three verses in the Koran: Sura 17:106 And (it is) a Qur’an which We have divided (into parts), in order that you might recite it to men at intervals. And We have revealed it by stages. (in 23 years).
Sura 16:101 101. And when We change a Verse [of the Qur’an, i.e. cancel (abrogate) its order] in place of another, and Allah knows the best of what He sends down, they (the disbelievers) say: “You (O Muhammad ) are but a Muftari! (forger, liar).” Nay, but most of them know not.
Sura 2:106 106. Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?
During interfaith events, whenever a Muslims quotes a peaceful verse, it must be asked when it was revealed to Muhammad. In Mecca or Medina?
Taqiyya, or the art of deception (sacred deception) is a lie that advances Islam. In Islam, It is not considered a sin, but rather permissible. Renowned Islamic jurist, Imam Abu Hamid Ghazali defines this deception as “speaking is a means to achieve objectives..it is permissible and obligatory to lie if the goal is obligatory.
The question begs to be answered why would Catholic faith leaders want an interfaith dialogue with anyone that is allowed, and encouraged to lie and deceive? Lying and deception is in fact a sin to Catholics.
Coming up in Part two, a look into the letter to the Pope from Muslims, “A Common Word Between Us and You”..
Part 2 of this series is focused on the Tennessee Association of School Librarians’ banned books campaign.
The Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL) “Banned Books Week” campaign is coming to schools beginning September 18th. Self-described activist school librarians will dare students to “rebel” by reading an so-called “banned book”. Updated AASL (American Association of School Librarians) national school library standards adopted by TASL, endorse banned book lesson plans and displays in schools.
Murfreesboro, TN
The three-tiered library organizations’ “Banned Books Campaign”
Under the guise of “celebrating the freedom to read”, the ALA (American Library Association), the AASL, and TASL push the “banned books week” campaign as part of a political agenda generally described as a “left-of-center approach to public policy”.
Led by the ALA which co-launched the banned books campaign, library associations have been pushing the banned books campaign for 50 years and have helped spread its popularity to bookstores and schools. Restrictions applicable to digital collections are under attack as well.
The “banned books” campaign is based on what the ALA ’s Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF), deems “censorship” in any form which they say means removing a book from the library collection or in the case of “soft censorship”, restricting access to a book. TASL has likewise taken a forthright stand on censorship of books in school libraries.
It is not censorship, however, when a librarian declines to add certain materials to the library’s book collection. Nor was it censorship in 2019, when Katherine “Katie” Ishizuka and Ramon Stephen, founders of The Concious Kid, instigated a takedown of Dr. Seuss books based on allegations of racism. Their attack on the books convinced the National Education Association to remove Seuss from the Read Across America annual celebration in schools and instead, shift the focus to “diverse” books including “books about race, gender identity, and various other left-wing causes”.
The following year, Ishizuka was appointed editor-in-chiefof the School Library Journal (SLJ).
In a recent SLJ article titled School Librarians Must Lead the Ongoing Conversation About Problematic Titles and Library Collections, Nashville school librarianErika Long (who also serves as an AASL State Level Leader for TASL), says that when a librarian decides to remove a book it’s “basic [book] collection development”.
As another librarian put it, “[w]henever a book diminishes human beings through harmful stereotypes or racist language or imagery, that book has no business being on a school library bookshelf”.
In other words, librarians decide the which books make it into the library’s book collection and when librarians make value judgments to remove a book, it can’t be censorship because they were taught in school that “there’s pedagogy behind” these decisions.
The AASL is enthusiastically pushing “banned books week” out to state chapters like TASL whose website features past banned books displays from elementary, middle and high schools across Tennessee.
The TASL’s September 2022 Conference agenda
TASL’s 2022 annual conference will take place this year a week before ‘banned books week”. Many of the sessions align with the updated AASL Standards adopted by TASL including:
“ProjectLit + Ways to Advocate Through Book Clubs” presented by Nashville Cane Ridge high school librarian Tyler Sainato who will describe how she helped students become political activists around perceived anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation. Sainato was featured in a recent School Library Journalarticle centered around promoting the perceived needs of LGBTQIA+ students, including transgender students in elementary school. (political activism is a target goal of TASL’s advocacy directed at students).
Tennessee elementary school librarian Caroline Mickey (Alpine Crest Elementary School in Red Bank, TN), will talk about “Being an Ally” and “Activism for Introverts”. Mickey’s posted bio states that, “[s]he has been on a personal mission to expand her horizons and learn about her privileges so that she can acknowledge and work to help others recognize theirs. Caroline was recently quoted in a Washington Post article for standing up to book bans in front of her school board. She had recently become the chair for the EDI [equity, diversity & inclusion] Committee…
”Mickey describes her “Being an Ally” session here -“As educators, we are constantly learning howto better support our students. Our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students need to know they arewelcome in our spaces, we will respect them, and that their stories will be shared and reflected onthe shelves. My presentation dives into librarianship and activism and how we can be there for ourstudents.”
Three Tennessee school librarians (one from Rutherford County and two from Davidson County), will talk about state law related to school libraries and promote ideas to celebrate “Banned Books Week” in schools.
Dr. Cindy Welch, Clinical Associate Professor, UTK, School of Info Sciences, will speak about how “[i]ncreased scrutiny and edgier-than-ever diverse and inclusive materials has made it harder – and even hazardous – to do the best job for our children. This session will review related intellectual freedom policies and speak to strategies for stocking elementary school libraries, and continuing the good fight.”
The library associations define “Intellectual freedom” as “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored.”
Defending Intellectual Freedomisthe AASL’s guide to assist school librarians using the AASL Standards to help students access LGBTQ+ materials. Along with the activity guide, the AASL provides a detailed chart to support the expansion of LGBTQ+ school library book collections and instruction for students regarding the materials.
The working definition of “intellectual freedom” assumes no information or curation bias on the part of the librarian and that information representing “all sides” on topics such as gun control, legalization of marijuana, abortion and transgenderism, would be easily accessed in the school library. Suggested sources in the “curate” activity guide for students to use to verify information, suggest otherwise.
Similarly, the guide’s suggestion that students use the “ACT UP Method” to validate information should be questioned. As described in the AASL guide, “[t]he primary function of the ACT UP method goes beyond evaluating the credibility of sources. It helps learners to push against privilege and break out of the dominant narrative search cycles”. The “ACT UP” author describes the intent behind the method:
To ACT UP means to act in a way that is different from normal. Normal is defined as heteronormative, white, cisgendered, male and christian (just to name a few). Normal means patriarchy and the systemic oppression of marginalized groups.
To ACT UP means to actively engage in dismantling oppressions.
To ACT UP means pushing against dominant narratives, oppressive hierarchies of knowledge production, and academic ivory tower definitions of expertise and scholarship.
The “Banned Books” campaign and the AASL Standards
This year’s “Banned Books Week” theme is “books unite us, censorship divides us”, a theme which fits well with the new AASL Standards.
TASL, Tennessee’s state chapter of the AASL has been training school librarians in the AASL Standards even though these standards have not been adopted by either the Tennessee Department of Education or the State Board of Education. Regardless, the ALA and AASL require that any school librarian preparation program that wants ALA or AASL accreditation “must” use the ALA/AASL school librarian preparation standards which “reflect the ideals and language in the AASL [National School Library] Standards.” In fact, the first school librarians preparation standard requires that the AASL Standards be part of their training.
As explained in Part 1, the AASL Standards are supported by AASL activity guides which are written by teams of ALA “emerging leaders” who are librarians with fewer than five years of experience.
In one activity for example, AASL’s suggestion for school librarians confronting a book challenge is to “facilitate and share lesson plans that incorporate banned books”.
TASL’s current president agrees that school librarians should follow state law as it applies to the Age Appropriate Materials Act which was passed this legislative session. Lindsey Kimery, coordinator of library services for Metro Nashville schools, past president of TASL and chair of the AASL Chapter Delegates, likewise conceded to this bill and is confident that “TASL members do not purchase obscene or pornographic materials for school collections”.
It may, however, depend on whether books currently in Tennessee school libraries like Gender Queer, Lawn Boy and TASL recommendedFlamer meet the state law’s definition of obscenity or pornography.
In her May 2022 article posted in the American Libraries Magazine, Kimery tells how members of TASL and TLA “worked nonstop to counter [HB1944] this harmful legislation” which would have made the state’s obscenity law apply to school libraries and possibly result in books which violate the “harmful to minors” law, being removed from the school library.
Kimery is opposed to book bans, “worried that young readers could loose access to ideas and information in their schools” including,“titles written by or about marginalized communities, such as racial minorities or students who identify as LGBTQ”.
Rep. Sam Whitson introduced Kimery in committee to speak in support of his bill to reinstate a state-wide school library coordinator within the Department of Education.
Court rules that removal of book from school library is not a book ban
Inflammatory book ban rhetoric and school displays may get attention from staff and students, but telling the school community that the books are “banned” is misleading at best. For that matter, school administrators and school boards should question the propriety of the school library being used for any library associations’ political campaign. School administrators and school boards should carefully probe claims that students’ rights are violated when books are removed from school libraries.
In C.K.-W. v. Wentzville R-IV School District, an August 2022, federal case filed by the ACLU challenging a Missouri school district’s policies regarding book challenges and the removal of books from a school library, the court held that “[a] school district does not ‘ban’ a book when, ‘through its authorized school board’, it ‘decides not to continue possessing [a] book on its own library shelves”.
Two school board policies were involved in this case; one policy permitted school librarians to remove materials “ based upon the contribution to the education program and the age appropriateness of the materials”, while the other policy permitted a committee to review complaints challenging library materials resulting in possible removal.
Plaintiff C.K., a minor student’s case was filed by her parent, T.K. They claimed that the books, three of which were removed indefinitely violated students’ First Amendment rights “by restricting their access to ideas and information for an improper purpose.”
Law Professor Eugene Volokh, recognized as “one of the nation’s top experts on First Amendment law”, provides an instructive analysis of the case, concluding that as to K-12 public school libraries, “the [court’s] decision seems legally correct to me.”
This case is important for several reasons especially as it relates to Tennessee’s Age Appropriate Materials Act and Public Chapter 1137 (which sets forth the age appropriate standard), and the continued reliance by the three-tiered library associations on the Supreme Court’s case Board ofEd. v. Pico, an earlier school library book removal case also filed by a student.Generally, the library associations cite the Pico case for the proposition in Justice Brennan’s plurality opinion that “school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content” and that students have a “right to receive ideas [as] a necessary predicate” to the exercise of their First Amendment rights.
What the library associations don’t disclose about the Pico case is that it was not a majority opinion and as Volokh points out the decision has no real value as legal precedent.
According the most generous reading of the Pico case as it applies to a student’s First Amendment right to “receive ideas”, Volokh concludes that the takeaway from Justice Brennan’s plurality is that:
“‘local school boards have ‘a substantial legitimate role to play in the determination of school library content’ and that districts have ‘significant discretion’ to determine the books available in school libraries.” School boards, however, cannot remove books “simply because they dislike the ideas in the books”. But, books can be removed according to Pico, based on “‘educational suitability’ or if the books are ‘pervasively vulgar’”, the latter reason agreed to by all the Supreme Court justices.
In the same vein, the Wentzville court held that vulgarity and educational suitability “are at the heart of the determination of the ‘age sensitivity’ determination”; in other words, when books may or may not be age appropriate.
The AASL Standards activity guide for the shared foundation “curate” also recognizes that assessing books in the school library should “be appropriate for the subject area and the age ability level, learning styles, and social, emotional and intellectual development of the students for whom the materials are selected”.
The point is that a book may be removed from the school library without violating students’ rights, nor can the removal of a book honestly be labeled a book ban, ergo, school displays of “banned books” are nothing more than political propaganda.
Using students to advance political advocacy
As TASLsays, “students are at the heart of [TASL’s] work, and our purpose is to help them grow academically”. Students are also used to advance the political objectives of the three-tired library organizations.
For example, the School Library Journal is trying to help FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), find student plaintiffs to sue school districts and challenge decisions made regarding books removed from school libraries. FIRE admits to the weakness of the Supreme Court’s decision in Pico and is trying to help get lawsuits filed that might weaken school board authority related to school library book removal.
Students are included in TASL’s advocacy wheel which includes ideas such as helping students form student-led groups. Examples provided include, ProjectLIT, Sustainable Schools, Urban Green Lab, GSA [Gay-Straight Alliance].
A Knox County middle school librarian describes the purpose of a Project LIT book club is to both encourage reading but use the opportunity to “facilitate discussions on diversity, bias, and other relevant social issues.” In this particular book club students whose parents declined consent for the chosen book may not have been aware that the non-consented-to book’s content and themes were still part of the book club’s session.
Similarly aligned to the AASL Standards, a school librarian-supported, student-led banned book club was launched this year at a Georgia high school.
Tennessee law that may impact book challenges
PEN America uses “educational gag order” to characterize state laws which seek to counter the three-tier library association agenda related to advancing the elements of critical race theory, gender diversity and sexualization of students playing out in school libraries.
In 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law prohibiting the teaching of concepts that derive from critical race theory (T.C.A. 49-6-1019(a)), including for example, that “[a]n individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously”.
And yet, after the law was passed, TASL joined the “Teach Truth” campaign and published a recommended book list which included two books by Ibram X Kendi, one of the most vocal proponents of the elements that comprise critical race theory. It should be of equal concern that TASL has thrown their support to the Zinn Education Project, linked of course to Howard Zinn whose work has come under serious and credible scrutiny.
Public Chapter 1137, passed during the 2022 legislative session requires the Tennessee Textbook Commission to issue guidance for local school districts for reviewing library materials to ensure that the materials are appropriate for the “age and maturity levels of the students accessing the material and that the materials are suitable for, and consistent with, the educational mission of the school”. The Textbook Commission is also authorized to receive an appeal of a local school board’s decision regarding a book challenge.
Public Chapter 1002, also passed during the 2022 legislative session ensures that Tennessee’s “harmful to minors” obscenity law applies to digital and other online resources provided to students. It is important to note that the law removed the education exception that blocked the obscenity law from applying to materials in schools.
Public Chapter 744 dubbed the “Age-Appropriate Materials Act”, requires each public school to maintain and post on the school’s website a list of the materials in the school’s library collection. It also requires each local board of education to adopt a policy to establish procedures for the review of school library collections.
Conclusion
Using its library standards, the AASL which describes school librarians as “change agents”, has issued a charge to school librarians to wage a social justice campaign, create student activists, collaborate with educators in their school buildings and use the AASL standards to influence them.
TASL has adopted these standards and is using the standards to train school librarians. AASL and TASL suggest that school librarians should have the power to be the sole and independent determiners of what books reside in a school’s library and which ideas and books our children should be interested in and read.
School displays claiming that selected books have been “banned” mislead students, teachers and visitors to the school. The displays undermine the value parents and legal guardians bring to a student’s learning, the same parents and legal guardians who educators say they want involved in a child’s education.
Some might argue that pushing the idea of “banned books” invites acrimony between students and their parents and guardians, or undeserved distrust of elected officials. Displays that encourage students to inappropriately “act like a rebel” use the school library for a political agenda that is not really about “freedom to read” but rather, a protest against compliance with constitutionally sound state laws.
This is a three-part series that will explain how the three-tiered library organizations are taking school libraries from education to activism.
Part 1 of this series will introduce the three-tiered library organizations working to influence and “transform” school libraries including those in Tennessee using the new National School Library Standards also known as the AASL Standards. The structure of the standards is explained below. Part 2 will focus on the Tennessee Association of School Librarians’ banned books campaign. Part 3 will discuss how the three-tiered library organizations define and use “intellectual freedom” as it applies to students, librarians and school libraries and what it means for Tennessee school libraries.
Part 1 -Tennessee’s new state-wide school library coordinator
Lobbying by the Tennessee Association of School Librarians (TASL), succeeded this year with the passage of legislation re-establishing a State Coordinator of School Libraries in the state Department of Education (DOE).
The state library coordinator position has been an on-going legislative goal of the three-tiered library organizations. In 2019, the president of the American Library Association (ALA) and the president of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), co-signed a letter to Tennessee DOE Commissioner Penny Schwinn, advocating to “reinstate” the position. TASL likewise encouraged their members to use “TN Library Legislative Day” to advocate for the state library coordinator position. TASL is organized as a 501(c)(6) and is not prohibited from lobbying or engaging in other political advocacy.
The AASL is a division of the ALA. TASL is an approved state chapter of the AASL. The TASLhandbook requires that anyone serving as president of its organization must be a member of the TN Library Association, the ALA and the AASL.
SB1784/HB1667 sponsored by Senator Jon Lundberg and Rep. Sam Whitson, codified at Public Chapter 1048, passed unanimously in the Senate but with two abstaining votes in the House. The bill was signed into law by Governor Lee in late May.
In committee, Rep. Whitson explained that he had engaged with TASL over time and discussed with them about how they could best “lobby and promote their organization’s agenda”. Rep. Whitson invited Lindsey Kimery, coordinator of library services for Metro Nashville schools, to speak to the committee in support of his bill.
Kimery, is a past president of TASL and the past chair of the AASL Coordinating Team for AASL state chapters.
The new law requires that the new state library coordinator be a “certified school librarian”. Generally, this means that the individual would have completed a master’s degree program in either Library and Information Science or a master’s degree that awards a School Library Specialist endorsement. These programs are accredited either by the ALA or the AASL.
The new law also requires DOE’s new state library coordinator to “consult [with], guide and train school librarians to strengthen school library programs” and to promote “best practices among school librarians”. The new state coordinator is also required to help school librarians partner with classroom teachers to “support school and district-level instructional programs”.
On the House floor Whitson said his bill would “assist school librarians as they implement the Department of Education’s (DOE) policies including the requirements of the Age Appropriate Materials Act of 2022 in LEAs [local school districts] that have limited library staff or coordinators”.
According to James Ritter, Tennessee’s newly appointed State Librarian and Archivist, “[s]chool libraries fall under the TN Department of Education, so they would be the state agency implementing [education] standards across the state”.
Presumably this means that school librarians and the libraries they oversee, must comply with the same state laws applicable to the DOE. State laws include for example, TCA 49-6-1019 and the rules promulgated by the DOE pertaining to the prohibition on teaching concepts underlying critical race theory, the Age Appropriate Materials Act (Public Chapter 744), and Public Chapter 1002 which removes the education exception for obscene materials as defined in Tennessee law and requires steps to prevent using school computers to access materials “harmful to minors” as defined in Tennessee law.
The Three-tiered Library Organizations and Political Advocacy
Ritter also confirmed that prior to the COVID shut-down, TASL began training Tennessee school librarians in the new National School Library Standards (the AASL Standards) release by the AASL in 2018. TASL was awarded a grant from the AASL to help roll-out training to Tennessee school librarians on the new standards. TASL formed an AASL Standards Task Force to provide the training.
The AASL Standards are heavily influenced by the ALA’s advocacy positions including their platform on intellectual freedom. In line with the ALA and the AASL, TASL’s “advocacy” drop-down menu includes “intellectual freedom” and “banned books week”, both of which will be discussed further in this series of posts. TASL also includes a fuller description of what Tennessee librarian “advocacy” can include as applied to different groups such as students, families and elected officials.
For example, TASL suggests that as to students, librarians can “create, facilitate and encourage student led groups (ex. ProjectLIT, Sustainable Schools, Urban Green Lab, GSA [Gay-Straight Alliance]”. Librarians are also encouraged to help “young people” to become political activists by “teach[ing] them how to write to representatives about various bills”.
Political advocacy within the three-tiered library organizations flows top-down and bottom-up.
The new president-elect of the ALA, Emily Drabinski, made headlines when she tweeted the following:
I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is the president-elect of @ALALibrary. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity! And my mom is SO PROUD I love you mom.
Of greater concern than Drabinski’s public declaration of sexual preference are her goals for the ALA which are solidly grounded in her Marxist ideology:
I will direct resources and opportunities to a diverse cross section of the association and advance a public agenda that puts organizing for justice at the center of library work.
Learning for Justice seeks to uphold the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center: to be a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people.
Sarah Searles, Knox County School’s Library/Media Services Supervisor, chairs the AASLKnowledge Quest board. Searles has been a leader in rolling out the AASL Standards in Knox County schools and has written about her experience here. She has also authored the book about the shared foundation “explore”.
Three other Tennessee school librarians serve on the Knowledge Quest board. Metro Nashville Public School librarian Jennifer Sharp who announced the AASL grant to TASL, serves as an AASL director-at-large.
Structure of the AASL National School Library Standards
The AASL Standards have several moving parts which are described below. The AASL says that the standards framework is designed to connect the student, school librarian and the school library in a way that “standards-related activities would be mutually reinforcing, simultaneously building capacity among learners, school librarians and the school library”.
six “common beliefs” which are foundational to the standards:
– The school library is a unique and essential part of a learning community.
– Qualified school librarians lead effective school libraries.
– Learners should be prepared for college, career, and life.
– Reading is the core of personal and academic competency.
– Intellectual freedom is every learner’s right.
– Information technologies must be appropriately integrated and equitably available.
shared foundations
The six shared foundations are, “inquire”, “include”, “collaborate”, “curate”, “explore”, “engage”. The shared foundations “anchor” the standards and serve to “reinforce the core values that learners, school librarians, and school libraries should reflect and promote”.
key commitments
These are the expanded definitions of the shared foundations. For example, the shared foundation “include” is defined as “[d]emonstrate an understanding of and commitment to inclusiveness and respect for diversity in the learning community”.
domains
Each shared foundation contains four domains – “think”, “create”, “share”, “grow”. The chart below shows where each domain within each shared foundation is applied to the student, the librarian and the library. Each domain within each shared foundation is also supported by an activity guide directed to the learner (students), the school librarian, and the school library. Each activity is prefaced with a “scenario” describing an example of what could occur under a given set of circumstances. Included in the scenario is how to answer or approach the desired answer.
Below is a “framework” chart which demonstrates how a shared foundation integrates with each domain and samples from the activity guides. For example, applying the domain “create” to the student in the shared foundation “include”, the scenario describes 10th grader “Jonah (preferred pronouns he/him/his)” who realizes that his LGBTQ+ friends are being bullied, one of whom tells Jonah that he wishes he “had a support group to help them deal with feelings of anxiety and loneliness”. The two friends find the GLSEN website and decide to start a GSA (gay-straight alliance club). For the learner the domain “create” based on the scenario above, the activity guide suggests the students “create” a GSA.
Applying the same domain “create” to the school librarian in the shared foundation “include”, the suggestion is “the balancing act” for which activities are provided. The school library scenario is “dealing with book challenges” and recommended activities include “facilitate and share lesson plans that incorporate banned books”.
The activity guide for the shared foundation “include” is titled Developing Inclusive Learners and Citizens. This guide follows the standards organizational format with activities divided by the four domains in separate sections for students, school librarians and school libraries. The activity guide introduction advises that by “[u]sing the resources in this activity guide, learners and school librarians alike can seek balanced perspectives, global learning, empathy, tolerance and equity”. The guide also uses activities intended to make the school library a fully inclusive space.
While there are many creative and useful ideas in the activity guide, there are others that may well fall outside Tennessee DOE education policies and still others likely to be considered highly controversial in the community in which the school is located.
For example, in the “think” domain, there are four suggested activities. “Understanding Equity” is activity #4 for learners which includes students. The stated objective is for “learners to better understand various groups’ struggle for equity”: The suggested activity on page 14 is a privilege walk described as:
A privilege walk highlights how race, gender, and sexuality can affect individual success. Ask learners to line up in an open space and instruct them to move forward based on statements read related to race gender, or sexuality. The power of the lesson comes from the debrief after the lesson when learners see how it feel to be in the front, middle, or back of the group and their placement in relation to others position, which allows them to see others more clearly.
Similar exercises of recognizing personal bias and privilege is advised in the “grow” domain for school libraries as applied to educators and community members.
Included in the same guide are activities in the “share” domain for school librarians. Activity #1 is “inclusive research” with the objective for the school librarian to learn the pronouns used by learners in the school community – “hold a conversation about recognizing pronouns with a large same of learners of varied gendered expression and allow them to share their opinions honestly.”
Activity #2 builds on Activity #1 by using the information to “create a new gender inclusion and diversity policy protecting and empowering learner and their autonomy”. GLSEN’s model gender diversity policy is provided.
The “create” domain applied to school libraries advises about book collections, book challenge policies and an activity to “facilitate and share lesson plans that incorporate banned books”. This activity encourages the school librarian to design a lesson plan that “puts the spotlight on banned books”.
standards crosswalks
The crosswalks show the intersection between the AASL National School Library Standards and other sets of national teaching and learning standards.
AASL Library Standards and social justice charge to school librarians
The AASL says that the shared foundation “include” is the school librarian’s directive to wage a social justice campaign with their students and the wider community:
Thinking back to January 2019, when our Emerging Leaders group met for the first time, we could never have anticipated just how timely our discussions about equity, diversity, and inclusion would be. We focused our project on the Shared Foundation of Include from AASL’s National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries. As we prepare for the coming school year, whether it be in-person, virtual, or some form of hybrid learning, it is evident that our project is more timely than ever. We know that we must do even more to address intersectionality, bias, racism, and other social justice issues. Who better to lead the charge than school librarians?
TASL’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI) committee chair Brandi Hartsell, a Knox County school librarian is a contributor to the AASLKnowledge Quest publication. In one post, Hartsell describes a program she created for her school’s teachers to influence and shape their cultural competence. In another of her posts Hartsell encourages other librarians to ensure that the school’s library addresses the needs of LGBTQ+ readers and encourages the use of the AASL manual on Defending Intellectual Freedom: LGBTQ+ Materials in School Libraries. This publication will be the subject of Part 3 of this series.
Hartsell also writes for TASL Talks, a blog directed to Tennessee school librarians. Hartsell’s EDI committee posts book recommendations on a variety of issues including racism (including picture books for elementary school), illegal immigration, and LGBTQ. Book recommendations are divided by elementary, middle and high school.
Conclusion
The AASLsays it “empowers leaders to transform teaching and learning.” The AASLdescribes, the school librarian as a collaborator, change agent, and leader. (emphasis supplied) a characterization reinforced by the AASL’ssample job description for the school librarian. The AASL standards also elevate the school librarian from educator to activist.
However, the AASL standards are not state law and must not be used in any way to skirt any state laws applicable to the Department of Education and Tennessee schools including the teaching of critical race theory concepts, the age appropriate materials and obscenity laws. This oversight responsibility is inherent in the position of the new state-wide school library coordinator.
TASL has been training school librarians in the AASL standards which may not comply with Tennessee state laws. School librarian practices may require extensive review in light of legislation passed since TASL began training in the new standards.
Next week, The Tennessee Conservative will host its second Freedom Summitbilled as “A Gathering of Tennessee’s Most Influential Conservatives in Media, Policy, Advocacy & Activism”.
Brandon Lewis, founder of The Tennessee Conservative, will speak at the summit on “Corporatism Vs. Conservatism: Reclaiming the TNGOP”. Given the stated theme of the summit and in particular Lewis’ subject, it is ironic that a representative of the Koch-backed AFP whose immigration agenda is intended “to benefit big business and corporate interests”, will also be speaking at the summit.
AFP-TN state director Tori Venable, who was featured at last year’s summit, will be back again this year. Venable works for and represents the Koch-backed AFP. She also helps to promote the immigration agenda of AFP’s LIBRE Initiative.
It is at best confusing that AFP-TN is being lumped in with the state’s “most influential conservatives” since AFP goes to great lengths to NOT promote itself as a conservative organization. The reason AFP doesn’t promote itself as a conservative anything, is because it isn’t. Neither are its founders, largest funders or positions on critical issues like illegal and legal immigration.
This year AFP’s Venable wears two hats in her listing – as a representative of AFP and something called the “conservative braintrust panel”. The term “braintrust” may be used to designate a pool or network of individuals with a specific talent or expertise. For sure, AFP-TN has a “talent” for hiding AFP’s agenda on illegal immigration from Tennessee conservatives – unless of course you remember Venable’s 2019 oped about finding “common ground” on illegal immigration.
AFP’s Illegal and Legal Immigration Agenda
It is reported that the bulk of AFP and the AFP Foundation’s backing come from personal foundations funded and controlled by billionaires Charles Koch and his late brother David who used to chair the AFP Foundation board. AFP Action PAC is also heavily financed with Koch money.
Keeping it all in the “family”, Mark Holden, general counsel and senior vice president of Koch Industries who now chairs the AFP Foundation Board, co-chaired with David for the two years preceding David’s death in 2019.
AFP is a 501(c)(4) and the foundation is a 501(c)(3), which helps to shield its money sources.
While the Koch brothers were reputed to be fiscally conservative, David was a self-described “social liberal” who was pro-abortion. In 1980, David ran as a libertarian vice-presidential candidate promoting “full legalization of abortion”. The remaining Koch brother Charles appears to agree with his brother’s positions.
AFP characterizes its positions on legal and illegal immigration as intended to reform a broken immigration system.
The Koch position on illegal immigration was initially centered around amnesty for illegal aliens granted DACA.More recently, the Koch network which includes the Koch-funded LIBRE discussed below, “are cheering President Joe Biden’s automatic extension of work permits for border crossers and illegal aliens….Many of the work permit categories eligible for this auto-extension are earmarked for illegal aliens, including those who simply filled an asylum application that the government has yet to adjudicate and those with TPS”.
The illegal aliens with federal work permits which are being cheered by the Koch network, are now eligible for commercial and professional licenses under the new Tennessee law sponsored by Republican state senator Shane Reeves. The new Tennessee law advances the agenda promoted by AFP and LIBRE.
AFP-TN Venable’s 2019 oped urging Tennesseans to find “common ground” on immigration was co-authored with the president of LIBRE. AFP-TN’s silence on the Reeves bill and deliberate omission to score his “Workforce Expansion Act” seems like an almost deliberate effort to pretend that AFP-TN somehow stands apart from its parent organization’s policy and political objectives. It looks very much like the salaries of AFP-TN’s director and deputy director are paid by AFP and here, with additional support from Stand Together which will be discussed below.
Does anyone really believe that AFP-TN can disavow the AFP-LIBRE immigration agenda?
With regard to legal paths for immigration the Koch AFP, joined by the George W. Bush Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition including Bethany Christian Services, is pushing Biden to expand mass immigration to the U.S..
Bethany Christian Services is a Tennessee licensed provider of adoption and foster care services and operates in five locations in the state. They maintain a contract with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to receive and provide transitional foster care services to Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) who are typically smuggled across the border by family members who themselves are here in violation of immigration laws. A Bethany representative testified to last summer’s Joint Study Committee convened by the Tennessee General Assembly. Several committee members praised the work of Bethany despite the fact that their movement of UACs facilitates illegal immigration to Tennessee.
When the Koch network of “donor class organizations” talk about helping employers who are “struggling to find workers to fill jobs in many industries”, they are talking about cheap foreign labor regardless of whether it undercuts the U.S. working and middle class.
AFP has also made it clear that they will use their super PAC AFP-Action to endorse any candidate who supports AFP’s amnesty agenda. So, it is no coincidence that AFP-Action endorsed John Coryn from Texas and Thom Tillis from North Carolina, the two Senate Republicans who approached Democrats to resurrect discussions about amnesty for grantees of the illegal DACA program.
AFP’s advocacy for illegal and legal immigration run through the veins and interlocking leadership of AFP, its sister organization LIBRE, it’s Uniting for Immigration Reform PAC and their Stand Together initiative.
The LIBRE Initiative
In 2011, Daniel Garza launched the LIBRE initiative with almost $10 million dollars from the Koch’s Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce. LIBRE’s primary mission was to convert Latinos into Republican voters. Much like AFP, “[i]n an investigation [in 2015], ProPublica found that LIBRE not only receives millions of dollars of funding from the Koch network but appears to be controlled by it as well.”
As far back as 2013, LIBRE’s President Daniel Garza (who served in the Bush administration), has endorsed amnesty for DREAMERs, i.e., beneficiaries of Obama’s illegal DACA program.
LIBRE’s early “statement of principles” seeking legal status for children brought into the U.S. illegally by their parents required the parents to be working legally in the U.S.. The current revised LIBRE position focuses solely on advocating for ”permanent status” for “DREAMers” and those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). It no longer matters whether the parents or whoever may have transported the “DREAMer” to the U.S., is themself here legally.
In fact, in last year’s case in federal court where the DACA program was ruled “illegal”, and DACA grantees were acknowledged to be illegal aliens per federal immigration law, a document introduced by the U.S. government showed that half of the DACA grantees were visa overstayers and many DACA grantees entered the U.S. on their own. DACA only requires that the individual be at least 15 years old when they apply and have entered the U.S. before turning 16. According to FAIR, “the age range of eligible beneficiaries spans from 24 to 40 years old. No DACA recipient or DACA-eligible alien in 2021 is a minor.”
The “permanent status” that LIBRE and AFP want for illegal aliens typically means green card also referred to as legal permanent resident (LPR). Green card holders after a certain number of years, can typically become citizens.
As to the “undocumented population”, LIBRE wants a “permanent legislative solution” so that they can “come out of the shadows and get right with the law.”
LIBRE is talking amnesties for both groups of illegal aliens. Amnesty does not always mean citizenship, but rather, forgiving illegal immigration status and providing an immigration status that enables the otherwise illegal alien to remain in the U.S. without threat of deportation.
AFP and AFP Foundation’s tax filings from 2017 through the last available 2019, lists Garza as Executive Director. This is the same Garza with whom AFP-TN’s Venable co-authored the oped on finding common ground on immigration.
Jorge Lima, AFP’s Senior VP of Policy, listed as such in AFP and AFP Foundation’s tax filings from 2017 through the last available 2019, was variously the Executive Director and Policy Director of LIBRE between 2013 and 2018.
LIBRE’s position on amnesties tracks the 2013, bipartisan Gang of 8 comprehensive immigration reform bill which included a blanket amnesty called “registered provisional immigrant status” for illegal aliens in the U.S.. Even the Congressional Budget office agreed that the bill gave amnesty to illegal aliens, and also reported that the G of 8 plan would barely make a dent in reducing future illegal immigration.
The Gang of 8 bill also incorporated the goals of the DREAM Act to amnesty illegal aliens who entered the U.S. before age 16, whether brought by parents at a young age or entering on their own.
To no great surprise, Tennessee’s globicans Corker and Alexander voted for it.
In 2019, Charles Koch announced that he was reorganizing his variously funded entities to now be called “Stand Together”. One of the groups was the Seminar Network, “a network of nonprofits funded by Charles Koch and like-minded conservatives and libertarians who donate at least $100,000 annually to ‘help people improve their lives.’”
Along with many worthy issues affecting people’s lives such as encouraging businesses to hire formerly incarcerated individuals and help them restart their lives, the Seminar Network also tried to use its heft with Trump, to push amnesty for DACA.
In an effort to consolidate its influence, AFP put LIBRE and Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) under the AFP controlled “Stand Together”. Importantly, AFP reserved to itself, “all political and policy efforts of LIBRE and CVA.
This also means that wherever a state AFP chapter operates, so does LIBRE. AFP-Action and LIBRE Initiative Action also work together in state legislative races.
On the heels of this reorganization, AFP’s CEO and Senior Advisor for AFP-Action, issued a memo announcing four new super PACs that will “make contributions directly to candidates”. That way politicians seeking re-election and would-be politicians won’t be afraid of earning their AFP PAC money even if they make their constituents unhappy.
The new PACs are, “Uniting for Economic Opportunity”, “Uniting for Free Expression”, “Uniting for Free Trade”, and “Uniting for Immigration Reform”.
Conclusion
While Tennesseans watch the General Assembly’s House chamber move toward the center and the Senate drift left, it makes it much more important for The Tennessee Conservative news outlet to remain credibly conservative. Featuring AFP and worse still, promoting AFP as a conservative organization, raises legitimate credibility questions.
Too many of the Tennessee General Assembly’s GOP are redefining the “conservative” label similar to how leftists have changed the definition of terms like “woman”, “recession”, and “illegal alien.”
Three bills from the 2022 legislative session, one of which became law, leave little doubt that “what is to be conserved”, is instead, being trashed.
Second is one of the HPV vaccine bills (SB2026/HB2032) which was sponsored by Senator Bill Powers whose campaign website promised that he would “use common sense and conservative values to make our state even greater.”
Note:HPV stands for human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease which can cause genital warts and certain genital and cervical cancers. The CDC advises that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection.
Third is the otherHPV vaccine bill (SB148/HB946) sponsored by Senator Dr. Richard Briggs, who is promoting himself as a conservative in his recent facebook campaign ad.
Each of these bills began as caption bills and all three were championed by a significant number of Republicans.
Backgound: whatis a caption bill?
The Legislature’s website defines “caption” as a “[b]rief description of a bill’s contents appearing on a bill and the bill’s jacket. A bill’s content cannot be any broader than its caption.”
The critical part of the caption is the reference to the part of the state code to be amended. Whatever content is filled in below this heading often doesn’t relate to the language filed later as the “amendment to rewrite the bill”. This new language presented to a committee is what is intended to be the substance of the bill.
The problem for those who value transparency in government operations is that the amendment which “rewrites the bill”, i.e., the actual language of the bill, is not available for public review until after this amendment is adopted by the committee and subsequently posted on the legislature’s website.
This was precisely the case with all three bills referenced above. Each bill used bogus language such as filing or not filing an annual report or changing the number of days from 30 to 45.
Sometimes caption bills help legislators meet the bill filing deadline as a placeholder while bill language is still in process. Strategically using caption bills, however, to conceal a bill’s controversial subject-matter has been a long-standing practice by legislators. The caption bill satisfies the bill filing deadline and can shield the sponsor and their intended bill from potential bill-killing push-back. It also provides legislators time to gather support from their colleagues.
With this background and technical details addressed, consider the three following bills.
The Reeves licensing bill for illegal aliens
Senator Reeves’ illegal alien benefit caption bill stated:
Once the amendment to “rewrite the bill” was introduced and adopted by the committee, individuals with illegal immigration status who have a temporary federal work permit, were deemed eligible for the state public benefit of commercial and professional licenses.
Individuals with illegal immigration status who choose to make Tennessee their home can now apply for business licenses and become, for example, licensed teachers and lawyers.
Along with all Democrats present, 35 House and 15 Senate Republicans voted to pass this bill. The Briggs and Powers HPV vaccine bills
Senators Briggs and Powers’ HPV vaccine caption bills stated:
Once the amendment to rewrite each bill was filed and introduced in committee, these bills taken together authorized dentists and other licensed healthcare providers toadminister the HPV vaccine to minors without parental knowledge or consent. Once the intent of these bills became known (and the likely negative public reaction), Powers added consent from the parent or legal guardian to his bill before a dentist could administer the vaccine.
The Briggs bill, however, authorizing certain licensed healthcare providers to give the HPV vaccine to a minor without consent from a parent or legal guardian was not changed.
Both bills passed the Senate Health Committee. Both bills passed the House Health subcommittee but were ultimately stopped from moving forward by the House bill sponsor, ie, “taken off notice”.
Both Briggs and Powers were co-sponsors of Reeves’ licensing bill and Reeves as a member of the Senate Health Committee voted for both HPV bills.
As to the HPV vaccine bills, do generally understood conservative values which Senator Powers promised would guide him, support the state invading a parent’s right to manage their child’s healthcare? Does a self-described conservative like Senator Briggs believe it is good statecraft to give healthcare providers greater rights than parents or legal guardians, to make certain healthcare decisions for minors? Regarding the licensing bill, does Senator Reeves believe that it is a conservative principle or “solution” to ignore the law and reward illegal immigration?
When GOP legislators Richard Briggs calls himself a conservative and Bill Powers and Shane Reeves sell their bills as reflecting some element of conservative thinking, they seem to have another definition of “conservative” from the one I and many other Tennesseans share.These legislators need to find a different word to justify their actions because I’m not giving up my conservative principles and values.
Pearson’s 2021 annual report section on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion touts the company’s top score for LGBT workplace inclusion and further describes the company’s outreach efforts to recruit more LGBT specific employees. For “social impact”,Pearson committed to “continue its partnership with Career Accelerator, an LGBT+ Youth Mentoring Programme.”
In 2019, Tennessee Commissioner of Education, Penny Schwinn, announced that the state would finalize a 5 year contract with Pearson to take over the annual student assessment program called TNReady. One news outlet projected the Pearson contract to cost $93 million dollars by the 2023-2024 school year.
Getting in on the growing industry of companies and foundations peddling gender influence to students, Pearson, the self-described “world’s leading learning company,” was a “champion” sponsor of Gender Spectrum’s 2020 training.
According to its mission statement, “Gender Spectrum works to create gender sensitive and inclusive environments for all children and teens”. They list a broad range of “clients” who presumably share Gender Spectrum’s objectives.
Gender Spectrum’s 2022 annual training for “professionals” who have contact with children and/or work to influence the systems which provide services to children, including schools, convened last week on July 14-15, featuring a wide range of speakers promoting the full spectrum of gender diversity including transgenderism, at any age. One speaker presented “Gender Justice in Early Childhood” while another session featured the creators of “Gender Inclusive Classrooms” one of whom is a second grade teacher, teaching about establishing “Rainbow Clubs” for K-5 students.
“Rainbow Clubs” are “an elementary school version of a GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance).” GSAs are “student-run organizations that unite LGBTQ+ and allied youth to build community and organize around issues impacting them in their schools and communities. GSAs have evolved beyond their traditional role to serve as safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in middle schools and high schools, and have emerged as vehicles for deep social change related to racial, gender, and educational justice.”
The bottom line is that GSAs work to turn students into LGBTQA+ activists and to normalize everything on the growing alphabet of perceived gender.
GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) is a centralized national organization serving a variety of functions including helping to establish and support state chapters starting GSAs in schools. Tennessee’s GLSEN chapter sponsored the “East Tennessee Diversity Prom” in Knoxville.
GLSEN has a wide ranging set of leadership positions. To no great surprise, the board is led by a representative of the National Educators Association and senior advisors include representatives from Disney and TikTok.
Counted among GLSEN’s leadership is Michael Rady, the Rainbow Library Program Manager who describes himself as “a queer educator, organizer, and reader” who just also happens to have migrated from the Northeast, to Nashville, Tennessee.
Lyndsey Godwin is GLSEN’s Manager of Network Capacity Building who also has made an imprint in Tennessee.
GLSEN is another organization offering professional development for educators including tools for librarians regardless of whether they are community or school-based. One of GLSEN’s recommendations is for the librarian to provide meeting space for a GSA or, “better yet, become a sponsor of the club!” This is the same recommendation being promoted in the National School Library Standards.
Pearson UK is forthright about its efforts to promote LGBT+ to students, parents and educators, as an “inclusion” issue and says they have devoted employee resources to “explor[ing] all identities represented by the ‘plus’ symbol.” The glossary will be helpful to anyone who has not yet discovered that the “+” includes labels such as “quadgender”, “two-spirited” and “gray-ace”.
It requires a little more probing to reveal Pearson US advocacy for LGBT+ education and materials but it is definitely part of US product line.
Pearson advertises its “tuition-free online public school” called Connections Academy as a “safe, inclusive” space offering a “path forward for all kinds of students”:
At Connections Academy, we provide a LGBTQ inclusive education, giving students the space to gather and get to know one another, which helps in so many ways. Students learn that they are not alone and that they can depend on one another. Because so many students come to Connections Academy after feeling like they didn’t belong in their brick-and-mortar schools, our teachers and students go the extra mile to make all kids feel accepted and valued.
The Gay Straight Alliance Network can offer support and guidance to anyone interested in starting a group at a brick-and-mortar school for LGBTQ students and their allies.
We can change the world if we provide LGBTQ inclusion in schools, and create a space where students feel welcomed and valued.
It goes without saying that no student or adult for that matter for any reason whatsoever, should be bullied. At the same time, institutional providers like Pearson, schools, educators, and therapists should begin respecting the diversity of opinions, beliefs and practices across the full spectrum of students and families.
As we continue to educate and inform voters, we thought the following facts and questions should be food for thought as Coffee County voters head to the polls to elect our next Mayor. Margaret Cunningham is running for Mayor as an “Independent”. In a private message to me, the founder of dailyrollcall.com, Mrs. Cunningham stated she is a “conservative independent” yet accepts and acknowledges an endorsement by a Democrat. That is a Fact. Luke Cameron, who was also running for mayor, but as a Democrat, bailed out of the race and backed Margaret. In his public withdrawal he states Mrs. Cunningham will “embody our values”, but whose values?
Another interesting point to ponder involves Steve Cunningham, Margaret’s husband. Did you know Mr. Cunningham is the Chair of the Coffee County Planning Commission? In March of 2022, a proposal was made to double building permit fees within the county. It’s interesting to note this proposal was put off going to the full commission, which Margaret sits on, not once, but twice.. just prior to the May primary and now the August general election. Is it coincidence?
In the forum last week, Mrs. Cunningham spoke about not wanting inferior housing built by outside contractors to end up being the “slums”. Is Mr. Cunningham responsible for those “slums”?
Also during the forum hosted by Rooster radio last week, Mrs. Cunningham stated in reference to Judd Matheny’s experience, “it’s not about connections or who you know”. Wow! Mr. Matheny was our state representative for 16 years, and cultivated many solid friendships in many various walks of life, not just political ones. Those “connections” are invaluable for advise, and experience which always should be welcome. Will Mrs. Cunningham continue to rely on the same good ole boy rhinos steeped in stale ideas for our county? (One only has to look at Manchester to see how that plays out.)
If you follow dailyrollcall, you know we have exposed all parties, Republicans included. Mrs. Cunningham may be an “independent”, but bashing the Republican party, that is the conservative party shows her true colors. In a message sent to me by Mrs. Cunningham upon hearing I was going to write about her, she expressed anger I would “plant seeds” in voters minds. What seeds would she be worried about?
“To be so low to plant seeds from just your opinion and NOT FACT is typical of your kind and not unexpected.” Says Mrs. Cunningham.
As a candidate for public office, questions should be welcomed. If Mrs. Cunningham is worried about seeds, do you wonder why?
Since early voting begins July 15, we here at Dailyrollcall.com feel it is important for voters to be informed and educated regarding local elections. We believe voting for candidates because they are nice or they are a friend is a dangerous, antiquated idea that unfortunately has been the norm and we now are seeing the results of emotional voting.
So lets begin with Independent candidate for Coffee County Mayor, Margaret Cunningham. In a recent interview with the local news paper Manchester Times, Mrs. Cunningham implied she was for giving county employees raises: “Certainly for the Ambulance Service. We did it a few years ago for the sheriff’s office even before the current sheriff got in. But in some ways that wasn’t appropriately utilized,” Cunningham said. Cunningham said this year’s budget includes a “good effort to try to get, especially ambulance, back up to scale so we can maintain employees like we finally did with the Sheriff’s Department.
In the June 28th commission meeting minutes, Mrs. Cunningham abstained from voting for this item.
Another question surely to raise the ire of Mrs. Cunningham hits close to home..literally. In early June, the Coffee County highway department notified residents paving would begin on the same road Mrs. Cunningham resides on, which is approximately 2 miles long with about 8 homes. Another County road which leads to a heavily traveled event area, Bonaroo, has 37 homes within 2 miles and needs major repairs. Surely there must be an answer to how roads qualify to be resurfaced and repaired right?
Since our last article on Mrs. Cunningham was posted, we want to be clear that during the recent primaries, we wrote about several Republicans (Garth Seagroves, Josh Morris and others) so voters could get a sense of who they really were. Party affiliation does not matter when it comes to who we expose. Mrs. Cunningham declares herself to be a “conservative Independent”, and distances herself from the “R” party, while damming other she labels “R”. Her response to our article was angry and threatening, which frankly was unexpected from a woman so many have praised. Mrs. Cunningham does not like our “planting seeds” from “your kind” as it “discredits” her. This is exactly why we choose to inform voters on who candidates are.
Mike Stein:
The High School teacher from Coffee County High School, who chose to use the raised fist as he logo on his candidate signs, and supports all the radical ideologies of groups like Black Lives Matter. Stein’s choice of hardline social justice activism continues as he expressed gratitude for a virtual conference hosted by The Education Trust: Tennessee Coalition for Truth in Classrooms. No surprise The Education Trust is a recipient of George Soro’s Open Society Foundation grant program. In 2020, the Education Trust received $50,000 for “general support”. Stein also is a supporter of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and misled readers when he attempted to say students would no longer be able to critically think or discuss controversial topics due to a law in TN that bans CRT.
The time for electing political figures based on how nice they are, or because they are your friend or neighbor doesn’t cut it anymore. Stop voting with your heart and use your head. Strong leadership based on foundational values is necessary or say goodbye to America.
As early voting begins in Coffee County TN, (July 15th) the following is Part 1 of the summary of candidates you may want to rethink voting for. Whether you are Democrat, Republican or Independent, the most important aspect of voting is to vote for someone that is good for ALL, not just to advance an agenda or personal beliefs. Voting for someone because they are nice, sweet, or out of sympathy can no longer be the barometer on who serves the community best. America was founded on Judeo Christian principles, guided by faith and a Constitution and Bill of rights. While there may not be a perfect candidate, we must vote for those who believe and affirm our values as Americans.
Never before has our country been so divided, angry and chaos filled, driven by upside down values, antithetical to our founding principles. Beginning with local elections, it is time to recognize the dangerous path we are on. There also is no perfect party, as each one has its problems with rhinos and radicals.
America is not racist, or filled with bigots as many want you to believe. We are already diverse, and inclusive. Yes, we have problems within our history, but erasing it will only repeat it.
Rupa Blackwell, is a candidate for Tullahoma City Alderman. Ms. Blackwell is the perfect example of who wins based on emotions and sympathy. When a candidate is endorsed and supported by radical organizations, you can expect that candidate to be beholden to them. It also speaks volumes of the candidate beliefs. *Women for TN Future (WTF) has endorsed Ms. Blackwell both times she has run. WTF promotes “progressive” women, and supports BLM , whose founders announced they are “trained Marxists”. WTF also is pro-abortion, pro illegal immigration and pro LGBTQ+, all contrary to American values, whether you like it or not. If Ms. Blackwell knocks on your door, ask her what her stance is on abortion. Does she accept the new gender or trans movement? Will she be for allocating taxpayer money for those who came here illegally?
Some may argue her position on those issues do not affect her as an alderman, but quite contrary. Ms. Blackwell already attempted to form a diversity and equity alliance as a government entity, but fortunately it was voted down. In an article written and published by the local newspaper, Ms. Blackwell insinuates Tullahoma is somehow unwelcoming and racist. “I left Tennessee because of my identity but chose to return in spite of it. We came back- consciously aware that our daughter could be subjected to the same ridicule. But there are so many people here who have also experienced oppression- the underrepresented, and I came back with a desire to empathize with them, advocate for them, and fight for them.” Being an alderman means representing all, not just those she sympathizes with as oppressed or underrepresented.
There are many pressing questions the citizens of Tullahoma need to be asking of their candidate for alderwoman Rupa Blackwell.
Since you are supported and endorsed by Women for Tennessee’s Future, who are “pro choice” and are fighting for abortion rights in TN, are you pro-choice or pro-life?
Emerge TN, another supporter of you, and their national branch project our country to be primarily run by blacks, browns, lgtbq+ and indigenous people. Do you believe in identity politics, and that qualifications should only be based on race, gender and sexual preferences?
Since you have been endorsed again by these groups, will you be beholden to their agendas?
Do you still support BLM?
How do these organizations and their beliefs help the city of Tullahoma to become a better place to live?
Ms. Blackwell has in the past few years written many articles on her victimhood, and seems to lack the focus and attention to what makes a city better. Personal beliefs are one thing, projecting them into her policy making decisions are quite another. Time to rethink who will better qualify to make Tullahoma greater, not who appears nice and friendly. If you don’t believe or accept who is endorsing you, stand firm and reject that endorsement. In this case, Ms. Blackwell should have run.
Marian Galbraith
Once again many Democrats are hiding under the “Independent” banner knowing if they run as a democrat in a red county, they may handily lose. Such is the case with Marian Galbraith, running for county commissioner in the 8th district. As Ms. Galbraith’s political donations will clearly show, she is/has monetarily supported democrat after democrat, including some real winners.
So why is this information regarding donations candidates like Ms. Galbraith and Ms. Rupa Blackwell support so important? Because donations represent ideologies those donating adhere to. We all do it, donate to those who claim to uphold the values we want, and will instill once elected. That is why it is so important to understand who candidates donate to, but also are supported and endorsed by.
No matter what your political affiliation is, if you are tired of woke agendas, and the turmoil America is in be wise in your voting choices, It all starts on the local level.
Meet Mike Stein, a liberal, radical teacher from Coffee County High School who is running for Coffee County Commissioner in District 2.So if Mr. Stein shows up at your door and asks for your support, don’t allow his campaign sign in your yard, as you may be showing support for well known radical organizations.
Many may argue the sign Mr. Stein decided to use means nothing, but look at the current meaning of a clenched fist. In the short term, the BLM movement (whose founders claim to be Marxists ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyhy4IvkENguses) uses the clenched fist to promote resistance, black pride, and solidarity with their ideology, which left cities burned, and millions of dollars of damage to those cities. It’s no surprise Mr. Stein supports BLM.
The original Black Panther Party (a Marxist-Leninist black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California) used the raised clenched fist as a sign of defiance, and became known as “black power”
Antifa, one of the most violent, anti-American, lawless groups also uses the clenched fist on many of their flags.
Stein’s choice of hardline social justice activism continues as he expressed gratitude for a virtual conference hosted by The Education Trust: Tennessee Coalition for Truth in Classrooms. No surprise The Education Trust is a recipient of George Soro’s Open Society Foundation grant program. In 2020, the Education Trust received $50,000 for “general support”.
Stein is an ESL teacher at the Coffee County High School. In May of 2021, In an article penned By Cathryn Stout of TN Chalkbeat, teachers were asked how they will respond to legislation that prohibits teaching the tenets of Critical Race Theory, despite knowing “If the commissioner of education finds that an LEA or public charter school knowingly violates the prohibitions described in (1)-(11), then this amendment requires the commissioner to withhold state funds, in an amount determined by the commissioner, from the LEA or public charter school until the LEA or public charter school provides evidence to the commissioner that the LEA or public charter school is no longer in violation.”
Stein’s response was disingenuous and misleading as he commented “Both history and English content standards require students to think critically. Teachers are evaluated based on our ability to inspire critical thinking. How are we supposed to teach the standards and have our students think critically when we can only present and discuss one side of an issue?” None of his statement is true, as the law does not stop discussions or critical thinking. One source told us Stein had flippantly stated he would teach elements of CRT regardless of the new law.
Is anyone surprised Mike Stein supports the Elizabeth Warren just and equitable cannabis Industry?
Mike Stein is a mish mash of social justice and far left ideologies. Is this who Coffee County wants as a Commissioner, that makes policies for all?
Meet Mike Stein, a liberal, radical teacher from Coffee County High School who is running for Coffee County Commissioner in District 2.So if Mr. Stein shows up at your door and asks for your support, don’t allow his campaign sign in your yard, as you may be showing support for well known radical organizations.
