Welcome to the SASS Report – where we change the format every week because we listen to you. Our focus on local events continues, but due to popular demand, we will now include news from around the world and around our nation.
To start, a significant development locally. The Montgomery County Board of Education changed its standard for public testimony before meetings. Up to this point it was a 9 am first come first served sign up and the board had the right of refusal for any testimony it deemed inappropriate.
In a moment of candor, I agree with this decision. A lot of the testimony was pretty one sided lately, what with actual medical doctors and scientists testifying and that does NOT make for a good sass report. Truly we need the most ignorant among us to provide public testimony or this show has no material.
While the board of education could easily have moved to a format where all submitted testimony was posted to the board of education website for review prior to the meeting, the board enjoys having 6 or 7 hour meetings every few weeks that put people to sleep as early as possible so they can then get to the meat of the matters and vote and pass things when people are no longer physically capable of paying attention. And public testimony is a very large part of that strategy to stretch meetings out as long as possible.
After all, they could move to a weekly 2 hour meeting and get more done. But that would be, I don’t know, efficient and logical and why start with that type of nonsense now?
The new standard for the board is recognized and approved organizations are guaranteed half of the agenda slots with the Principals union, the Teachers union, and employees union. The Board of Education has basically announced that it is outright run by the unions. I ask the following: why even have a Board of Education anymore? None of the members are education experts. They get their information directly from MCPS and get their walking orders from the unions. Why not just cut out the middle man and let the unions and administration run things?
Individuals get the remaining 5 slots with a limit of 2 minutes. Because organizations, like corporations, are far more important than the individual voice. After all they provide large campaign donations and endorsements, while you, the individual, can only give a single vote. You thought you were important in politics? How naïve…
So, congratulations, a clearly more and more lazy and corrupt Board of Education introduced an entirely new layer of defense to prevent your individual voice from being heard.
This was done in the spirit of diversity, to ensure that all voices, no matter how silly or ignorant, no matter how small the organization, are heard as long as the organizations politics and agenda are vetted and their donations and endorsements support the appropriate people.
Have no fear, they’ll all be reelected because you have no power, while the organizations and corporations will see that the people they want to sit in elected positions will get the money and coverage they need to win election.
Unless…we all get a little Sassy…
I’d like to announce that this show will now be appearing on Wednesday night at 10 PM on Channel 21 Public Access. I’d like to welcome our new audience and ask that you buckle up. In case you haven’t noticed, this is not your usual programming.
In International News
While the United States bickers on about the corruption and results of the Presidential election of 2016 we may not have noticed that other countries around the world are having similar election issues. Myanmar or Burma, your choice, both are correct, erupted in a military coup on February 1 over their November 2020 election. The military declared it fraudulent and took control for the next year when elections, run by the military will be held.
This is not the first time that the military has been in charge of Myanmar or Burma, your choice, either is correct. This echoes the countries government from 1962 to 2011. You may recall, if you’re over 40 or have a very specific trivia knowledge of Southwest Asia, that the civilian government, headed by On San Suu Chi, politician, author and recipient of the 1991 Nobel peace prize, was under house arrest as the democratically elected leader of Myanmar or Burma from 1989 to 2010 until the ending of military rule. Some may also recall that she was less peace loving and more “I need the military for a few of my own atrocities” in 2016 with the mass ethnic cleansing or genocide, of the Rohinja Muslims.
What is it with Nobel Peace Prize winners going on to bomb large numbers of civilians?
Myanmar joins a growing list of former British colonies struck with war and chaos that the western world seems to be regretting giving back to self rule. The East, including China and Myanmars neighbors, such as Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines, have told the western world that this is a large case of an eastern philosophy known as “mind your own business” and “put your own house in order before you start worrying about ours.”
The coup occurred after the ruling party had yet another landslide victory, ensuring that the government stayed in the hands of the Democrats. The challenging party, let’s call them Republicans, tired of moving from a military government to single party government, called foul. The military in response, not one to pass up an opportunity, headed up by Commander in Chief Min Aung Long, who had a significant role in the slaughter of the Rohinja muslims, took over the government, making this look more like a lovers breakup as Min and On grew apart over differences in how to go about killing mass amounts of people.
The citizens of Myanmar are not happy with the military coup and have taken to the streets to protest where they are met with water cannons and rubber bullets. Given the history of the country, they should all be happy with the choice to not just outright slaughter them.
Meanwhile, on the topic of genocide, people continue to protest the Chinese as hosts of the 2022 winter Olympics due to concerns of human rights violations. These are not new issues, mind you, it’s just that people saw an internment camp in the background of a Disney film and it was upsetting.
It is the treatment of the weegur, wait for it, muslims, one of China’s 55 recognized ethnic minorities that the United States has conveniently reduced to “Asian”. This is a tradition here in the United States of “don’t name the ethnicity of people you don’t care about seeing mindlessly slaughtered in the thousands.”
The International Olympic committee, the bastion of independent monitors, free from scandal and corruption…
Has decided that a country hosting millions in “re-education camps” is not a negative to either China’s, or the Olympics, image, and have actually suggested that the Chinese response may just be that they are over-eager fans who have been gathered together to watch the ceremonies well in advance.
Countries have stated that they may boycott the 2022 winter Olympics in protest, which brought the response from China that they will “Seriously Sanction any country that boycotts” and by that they mean, they will consider putting the population in reeducation camps and slaughtering dissidents.
It had to be explained to the Chinese that they do not rule the entire world. Yet.
Canadian Dick Pound, who once competed with Dick Butkus, and Penis McWangsickle for most likely name to get made fun of on a playground, is the longest serving member of the IOC and has responded with the new IOC slogon “Boycotting: It won’t change a thing.” In a moment of clarity and realization that yelling, censoring and cancelling people not only don’t have any impact at all, it just tends to piss them off and make the situation worse.
This was met by groups representing Hong Kong a former British Colony, Tibet a former British Colony, and others, probably British Colonies long regretting throwing that yoke off for the chains of a far more repressive regime, but DEFINITELY NOT TAIWAN – definitely never a British colony and very much in favor of being left the hell out of this. The protest groups, again WITHOUT TAIWAN, DON’T EVEN REMIND THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT THEY EXIST, met this rather down to earth new slogan with the counter proposal that China would see the IOC’s response as tacit approval of the treatment of various dissident groups.
The IOC has not responded to this claim, as they are probably too busy counting the cash and too distracted driving the new cars that the Chinese government has donated to the IOC.
Meanwhile in a final shot, Free Tibet Students recalled the image of the 1936 Olympics that mitigated the image of Germany and Hitler in the worlds eyes and are concerned that the 2022 Olympics will be used by the Chinese in the same manner.
Like history EVER repeats itself. And besides, these aren’t Jewish people, so it’s not the same.
While we’re on the topic of Socialist countries, lets check in with our – Socialist Watch
Still no successful Socialist countries .
Death Toll from Socialism now sits at 161,990,000. It is not looking good on the world stage for that economic theory.
In National News
We begin with coverage of Donald Trumps Impeachment Democrats inability to find a new boogey man to rail against, and the medias sudden concern at the collapse of ratings as 24/7 coverage of Donald Trump is coming to a close and there is really nothing else to cover. Based on news coverage of the last 4 years, nothing else is happening or really worth mentioning.
And continue on it will, with the decision to call witnesses meaning we will all get to keep hearing his name throughout the first 100 days of President Biden’s term. So while the circus continues, the promise of bread hangs over our heads while the Senate continues to discuss Pandemic relief packages with he promise to borrow more money from future generations to spend at businesses that remain closed.
No matter what is said, at the end of the day it ends with a whimper not a bang as the Senate wrapped-up of the impeachment trial for the removal of Donald Trump from the office of President…who left the office prior to the start of the trial.
While arguments continue as to the constitutionality of the procedure, this was a moot point based on the lack of a Supreme Court Justice to oversee the trial. This is significant for two reasons. One, the Impeachment trial should be neutral, with a moving political party not seen as “Judge, Jury and Executioner” and two, it means that Chief Justice Roberts is not compromised for the inevitable Supreme Court case on the impeachment trial.
But the result was a done deal before it began as they did not have the 2/3 majority required to convict, so at the end of the day, this is just about fundraising for the two parties, with Democrats looking to demonize the Republicans for not convicting and Republicans looking to demonize the Democrats for wasting tax-payer dollars and going after private citizens. So it’s politics as usual.
Why did we end up with the post-coital Impeachment? Because it is based on British Common Law, as is most of our rules, and in England “public civil servants” are appointed for life. It was developed as a method of removing lifetime appointments from office so as a concept has failed in our current situation.
We will see this same situation play out in California With Governor Newsome after he is appointed to a role in the Biden Administration before they can have the recall vote.
Biden has put kids in cages and no one cares. No, really, they just renamed the program and the media, much like under Obama, just says it’s normal. KIDS ARE IN CAGES AGAIN! See, no one cares unless it’s a Republican administration.
On the second day of Black History Month, WRAL.com printed a political cartoon with the Lt. Governor of North Carolina in KKK hood and robe. This was due to his position on the state Board of Education rejecting public schools teaching the debunked Critical Race Hypothesis and Systemic Racism courses. The punchline? Lt. Governor Robinson is the first black Lt. Governor for the state. Don’t worry, WRAL.com doubled down and defended it because you can’t be racist to black Republicans.
You know, I’m beginning to think that the Democrats are fortunate to have double standards, or they wouldn’t have standards at all.
And speaking of Black History Month
In State News
Black History month kicked off in Maryland, the home state to Harriet Tubman, who has not one active school named for her in the entire state. Go Maryland.
Usually a reliable exercise in education for youth in schools to explore the accomplishments, achievements, fights and goals of black Americans in their rise from slavery, through segregation, to the equal rights amendment and beyond to modern day, but with schools not in person and most kids playing playstation or xbox while a teacher drones on in the background, we’re probably losing ground there too.
And what better time than to call for police reform over treatment of minorities and impoverished in Montgomery County?
I have worked as a social worker and an attorney in impoverished communities with the mentally ill for decades. I don’t sit on committees, because I actually do the work. People on committees don’t like me. Because they are immediately revealed for the frauds they are both in the fact that they’ve never actually done the work itself and their theories have no grounding in reality.
There has never been a time I was unhappy with either a police escort or that I carried a concealed weapon. There is a reason I no longer wear ties because of an incident where a floridly psychotic client got a hold of it. The idea that social workers can or will go into a situation with a mentally ill client who is off medication and on a substance without a police escort is, quite frankly, a sign that the person saying they should probably needs medication themselves. As a matter of fact, I’m going to request that be added as a test for mental competence.
It’s ludicrous. I agree that a social worker or mental health professional should accompany police on these issues, if for no other reason than it will be a professional who can, hopefully explain to the public, why the half naked man with the katana was not affected by pepper spray or a taser. These people who think someone listening to auditory and visual hallucinations can be talked down by someone live in worlds where fairy unicorns poop glitter rainbows.
I do think that we need reform, but not in the way proposed. In Maryland there are state police, county police, sherrifs, local police, and federal police. Lord forbid that someone shoots two people on state property, the weapon is thrown onto county property, one of the victims rolls down a hill and pass away on city property, while the second climbs up the hill only to pass away on federal property.
It will take the better part of a few years just to figure out who has jurisdiction.
Communication, deployment, equipment, and eliminating bureaucracy are all keys to police reform and reducing the number of agencies would go a long way toward that.
And in Local News
Well, the board of education is at it again.
Don’t get your hopes up, they’ve promised this before. And it is a form of cognitive dissonance for the Board to be telling the teachers it’s safe to go back, while they refuse to meet in person.
I’ll ruin the surprise and cut to the chase. Kids will be in classrooms with monitors, teachers will be at home teaching virtually. Why? Well, there’s a serious divide in who is going back to the classroom based on class – wealthy are returning, poverty stricken are not. And this has raised a serious concern when we have a learning gap because of poverty. Given that our most at-risk children are most likely not to return to the classroom, if we had live instruction the gap would become even more enormous. To prevent that divide from increasing, a deal was cut with the devil. Everyone would receive online instruction, even in the classrooms, to prevent any student from having an advantage over another. So really, the rest of today’s testimony is just an exercise in education theory.
Oh look…benchmarks…
Why are we lower? Conspiracy theories abound. Do we care? Nope, because it lessens the argument to return to school. But students will return to school! Yes, but without teachers. With classroom monitors. Who have high school diplomas. And aren’t vaccinated. Good Luck!
Who is going back to school March 1? Anyone that is in a position to either sue or file a complaint with Health and Human Services under the FAPE. Oh, and the high school kids who, if they don’t get some hands on experience, will have to repeat the entire year of high school.
Here’s a list of those technical programs in case you’re curious.
No school should ever have a FARMS rate above 50%. Title I should really be lower, but when you have so many of them already…
Those return dates…look…familiar…
The A/B rotation means that your children go for one week, then are remote or virtual for one week. Single mom’s, don’t start looking for work just yet, unless you’re in a qualified Title I or Focus school. Then you just need to be home on Wednesdays!
If you’re kids are in Middle or High School, week to week rotation all around!
Well, we’re back in school – at least the kids are. In a bizarre turnabout, children and non-professional monitors will be in the schools, while teachers are at home.
They have now redefined direct instruction to be virtual instruction. Don’t let their constant stream of talking cause obfuscation – the live students have to be broken in half, along with the online students. That is one class now reduced to three groups. One teacher cannot be in three places, as mentioned. So the other two places
Well, there you have it. An utter failure in leadership all around. The board of education is clearly run by the union and unwilling to challenge a single thing the MCPS brings before it. No dissatisfaction, no issues, no problems, just a group of people marching children towards disaster.