February 10, 2023

Friday, February 10, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Florida.

Touch 👇 to watch the President.

Joe Biden speaks to crowds in Tampa, Florida – watch live - YouTube

Joe Biden discusses his plan to protect and strengthen social security and Medicare and lower healthcare costs

Who would ever imagine that high school athletes menstrual date would be of interest to the state?

Florida menstrual data plan for high school athletes votes down.

The Florida High School Athletic Association's board of directors has voted 14-2 to remove questions about high school athletes' menstrual history from a required health form for participation in high school athletics.

Thursday's emergency meeting focused on the debate around menstrual cycle information. But in a less-discussed change to the requirements for Florida athletes, the newly adopted form asks students to list their "sex assigned at birth." The previous version asked only for "sex."

The vote comes after weeks of controversy surrounding questions on the medical form, which is typically filled out by a physician and submitted to schools. The board approved a recommendation by the association's director to remove the questions, which asked for details including the onset of an athlete's period and the date of that person's last menstrual cycle.

The debate comes at a time of heightened concern around reproductive rights in Florida and around the country, following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Some members of the public also raised concerns that such information could be used to discriminate against transgender athletes. (NPR).

Was the College Board transparent about the African American Studies AP Curriculum?

Florida Officials Had Repeated Contact With College Board Over African American Studies.

Demonstrators rallied in Tallahassee in January to protest policies restricting how issues of race are taught in Florida schools, including the decision by the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis to reject a proposed Advanced Placement course in African American studies.

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While the College Board was developing its first Advanced Placement course in African American studies, the group was in repeated contact with the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, often discussing course concepts that the state said it found objectionable, a newly released letter shows.

When the final course guidelines were released last week, the College Board had removed or significantly reduced the presence of many of those concepts — like intersectionality, mass incarceration, reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement — though it said that political pressure played no role in the changes.

The specifics about the discussions, over the course of a year, were outlined in a Feb. 7 letter from the Florida Department of Education to the College Board.

The existence of the letter was first reported by The Daily Caller, a conservative news site. A copy of the letter was posted on Scribd. Its authenticity was verified by a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Education, which released a copy early Thursday.

The Florida letter suggests discrepancies with the College Board’s account of events. Florida publicly announced that it had rejected the A.P. course in January, a few weeks before the College Board released its final guidelines — too little time, the board said, to make any politically motivated revisions. But according to the letter, the state informed the College Board months before, in September 2022, that it would not add the African American Studies class to the state’s course directory without revisions.

The Florida letter also outlines a key Nov. 16 meeting to air differences between the state and the College Board over the course. In the meeting, the state claimed that the A.P. African American Studies course violated regulations requiring that “instruction on required topics must be factual and objective and may not suppress or distort significant historical events.”

According to the state, the College Board acknowledged that the course would undergo revisions, while pushing back against the state’s request to remove concepts like “systemic marginalization” and “intersectionality,” which the College Board saw as integral to the class.

Nevertheless, by the time the course’s final framework was released on Feb. 1, those terms had largely been removed, except that intersectionality was listed as an optional subject for the course’s required final project, in which students can choose their area of focus.

In its response to the Florida letter, the College Board said, “We are confident in the historical accuracy of every topic included in the pilot framework, as well as those now in the official framework.” The board has also said that students and teachers could still engage with ideas like intersectionality through optional lessons or projects and through A.P. Classroom, a free website that will serve as a repository for important texts for the class.

Even so, many scholars have noted the omission of terms that, according to the College Board’s own research documents, are considered central to African American Studies as it is taught on college campuses.

Intersectionality, for example, is an influential theory first laid out by the legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. It posits that race, class, gender, sexuality and other forms of identity intersect in ways that shape individuals’ experience of the world.

Professor Crenshaw’s work is important to several disciplines, including African American studies, gender studies and legal studies. She is also closely associated with critical race theory, a concept that has become a lightning rod among conservative curriculum activists, who object to schools emphasizing the concepts of racism or white privilege.

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Below 👇 is the letter the Florida Department of Education sent to the College Board.

Apfollowup Fdoe PDF | PDF | Advanced Placement

Letter to College Board

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Jack Smith, Special Counsel, issued an important subpoena yesterday.

Pence Gets Subpoena From Special Counsel in Jan. 6 Investigation.

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to office after he lost his bid for re-election, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

The move by the Justice Department sets up a likely clash over executive privilege, which Mr. Trump has previously used to try to slow, delay and block testimony from former administration officials in various investigations into his conduct.

The existence of the subpoena was reported earlier by ABC News.

It was not immediately clear when the special counsel, Jack Smith, sought Mr. Pence’s testimony. The move is among the most aggressive yet by Mr. Smith in his wide-ranging investigation into Mr. Trump’s role in seeking to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. He is also overseeing a parallel inquiry into Mr. Trump’s handling of classified documents.

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10% of Americans think our country should be a “Christian nation.”

Here is the PRRI/Brookings poll. 👇

A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture.

Introduction

The rising influence of Christian nationalism in some segments of American politics poses a major threat to the health of our democracy. Increasingly, the major battle lines of the culture war are being drawn between a right animated by a Christian nationalist worldview and Americans who embrace the country’s growing racial and religious diversity. This new PRRI/Brookings survey of more than 6,000 Americans takes a closer look at the underpinnings of Christian nationalism, providing new measures to estimate the proportion of Americans who adhere to and reject Christian nationalist ideology. The survey also examines how Christian nationalist views intersect with white identity, anti-Black sentiment, support of patriarchy, antisemitism, anti-Muslim sentiments, anti-immigrant attitudes, authoritarianism, and support for violence. Additionally, the survey explores the influence Christian nationalism has within our two primary political parties and major religious subgroups and what this reveals about the state of American democracy and the health of our society.

Here’s the analysis 👇 of the PRRI/Brookings poll, by Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post.

A new poll gives us insight into a troubling anti-American movement.

White nationalists and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 11, 2017.

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When you hear the phrase “Christian nationalists,” you might think of antiabortion conservatives who are upset about the phrase “Happy Holidays” and embrace a vaguely “America First” way of thinking. But according to a Public Religion Research Institute-Brookings Institution poll released Wednesday, Christian nationalists in fact harbor a set of extreme beliefs at odds with pluralistic democracy. The findings will alarm you.


“Christian nationalism is a new term for a worldview that has been with us since the founding of our country — the idea that America is destined to be a promised land for European Christians,” PRRI president and founder Robert P. Jones explained in a news release on the survey of more than 6,000 Americans. “While most Americans today embrace pluralism and reject this anti-democratic claim, majorities of white evangelical Protestants and Republicans remain animated by this vision of a white Christian America.”


The poll used the following beliefs to gauge how deeply respondents embraced Christian nationalism:



• “The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation.”
• “U.S. laws should be based on Christian values.”


• “If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore.”


• “Being Christian is an important part of being truly American.”
• “God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society.”
PRRI found that 10 percent (“adherents”) of American adults believe in these ideas overwhelmingly or completely; 19 percent agree but not completely (“sympathizers”); 39 percent disagree (“skeptics”) but not completely; and 29 percent disagree completely (“rejecters”).


Who are these people? “Nearly two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants qualify as either Christian nationalism sympathizers (35%) or adherents (29%).” Thirty-five percent of all Whites are adherents. Put differently, Christian nationalist adherents are a minority but when combined with sympathizers still comprise a stunning 29 percent of Americans — many tens of millions.

To continue reading Jennifer Rubin’s article, click here.

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At least DiPalo’s is still thriving on Grand Street in New York’s Little Italy. Shop there if you can.

Oldest US cheese shop to close after 130 years: ‘I was hoping this day would never come’.

A cheese shop considered to be the oldest in the US is set to close, after its owners struggled to pay rent during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alleva Dairy, on Grand Street in Little Italy in New York City, has operated for 130 years. Its current owner, Karen King, bought the store a decade ago with her husband.

“My husband was born and raised in Little Italy, his name was Cha Cha and he was the unofficial mayor of Little Italy,” King told NBC.

After Cha Cha died in 2015, King worked to keep the shop open. But in 2020, like many businesses, it was hurt by the pandemic as tourist traffic came to a standstill.

“There was literally like no one on the streets but we decided that we had to do something,” King said.

Many restaurants that ordered from the shop were closed, exacerbating the impact on King’s business. The shop also did not receive substantial government help, King said.

“I’ve written letters extensively to senators and government officials,” she told the New York Post. “We met with the governor’s office and got lip service.”

Business picked up as the pandemic receded, especially as the shop expanded to serving sandwiches and ready-made meals. But it has not been enough to make rent owed.

“It helped but it didn’t bring in the money that I needed,” King told NBC.

The shop, which started selling cheese in 1892, engaged in a lengthy court battle with its landlord over hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent. In September, the shop filed for bankruptcy. Fundraising efforts have not yielded enough to pay off the $500,000 owed.

Under a deal, the shop will no longer be responsible for back rent but will not have the rest of its 10-year lease honored, ABC reported.

“My landlord and I have reached an agreement releasing me from all financial obligations,” King said in a statement. “I was really hoping that this day would never come and it’s a sad one.”

The last day of operation for the historic shop is set for 5 March.

King has said she hopes to open the shop in another location. On Thursday, the Guardian was asked to call back for comment the following day. After news of its impending closure, staff said, the shop was extremely busy. (The Guardian).

DiPalo’s Fine Food

“When I want to remind myself why I love my city, I head down to Di Palo’s in what’s left of Little Italy. I walk in and inhale the fine aroma of parmigiano and salami that fills the air, join the jostling customers trading recipes, and settle in to listen to Lou or Sal or Marie telling stories as they fill orders. Nobody has better cheese or fresher mozzarella (come early and it’s still warm), and nobody is more generous. I love this shop so much, I set part of my novel Delicious! here. Five generations of Di Palos have been selling cheese here for more than a hundred years, and just being around them makes me proud to be a New Yorker.” — Ruth Reichl. (Edible, July 2022).

DiPalo’s, New York City.

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Tip-toeing toward equality.

Church of England OKs blessings for same-sex couples, but it still won't marry them.

After two days of divisive debate, the Church of England voted on Thursday to offer blessings to same-sex couples — but clergy members can opt not to use the prayers, and the church will maintain its ban on same-sex marriage.

The vote came at a meeting of the General Synod, the church's governing body, where the compromise approach was described in a variety of ways: as a breakthrough, a flawed compromise, or an outright mistake.

"I know that what we have proposed as a way forward does not go nearly far enough for many but too far for others," said Bishop of London Sarah Mullally, who has overseen the development of the proposals. But, she added, "This is a moment of hope for the Church."

The text of the adopted motion begins with a stark acknowledgement, as the synod's members said they "lament and repent" the historic harm done to LGBTQI+ people by the Church of England, in its failure to welcome them.

Same-sex couples still won't be able to marry in the church, but they can "come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God's blessing," according to the measure.

The vote by the church's General Synod came after a moment of silence and prayer. (NPR).
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Church of England Considers Gender-Neutral Language for God.

“The Church of England is considering whether to use gender-neutral terms to refer to God, a spokesperson said on Thursday, adding that there are no plans to “to abolish or substantially revise” the existing liturgy.

The church said in an emailed statement that Christians have recognized “since ancient times that God is neither male nor female.” The clergy is now weighing whether it could better reflect that in the language used in its services.” (New York Times).

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I had never read this or heard about this. 👇 Have you?

Rose Cleveland: The gay first lady wrote love letters to her longtime partner.

Left: Evangeline Simpson Whipple, circa 1890-1896. (Minnesota Historical Society); Right: Rose Cleveland, circa 1893.

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In the summer of 1910, Evangeline Simpson Whipple told the caretaker of her home not to move anything in her absence. The wealthy widow was going on a trip, but would be back soon, she said.
She never returned. When she died in 1930, she was buried at her request in Italy next to the love of her life — a woman with whom she had a relationship that spanned nearly 30 years. That woman, Rose Cleveland, had served as first lady.


The letters, preserved by the caretaker at Evangeline’s Minnesota home, are collected in a new book, “Precious and Adored: The Love Letters of Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple, 1890-1918,” and make clear that they were more than just friends, according to its editors.


When Grover Cleveland took office in 1885, he was a nearly 50-year-old bachelor, a fact that almost derailed his campaign when rumors spread that he had fathered a child out of wedlock. (He had.) Protocol for unmarried or widowed presidents called for a female relative to fill the role of first lady. In stepped his sister, Rose.


She was seen as an important counterbalance to her brother’s scandalous baggage: She was respectable, well-educated, a former teacher at a women’s seminary and the author of serious books.
Her term as first lady, however, was a mixed bag, according to the National First Ladies’ Library. Her book of essays, “George Eliot’s Poetry,” became a bestseller based on her fame, but she was frustrated with public scrutiny of her necklines and a ban on her going to private dinners or public markets.


Fourteen months in, Rose was relieved of her duties when the president married his 21-year-old ward, Frances Folsom. Rose returned to her family estate, nicknamed “The Weeds,” in Upstate New York.


[When presidents fall in love]
Rose met Evangeline Simpson in the winter of 1889-1890, less than a year after her brother left office for the first time. (Cleveland is the only two-term president not to have served his terms consecutively.) They probably met in Florida, where both spent the season making the rounds among the nation’s wealthier families. Rose was 43 and never married. Evangeline was probably 33 and had inherited a fortune from a late husband nearly five decades her senior.


The love letters begin in April 1890, once the two returned to their respective homes. (Evangeline lived in Massachusetts.)


Rose writes:
“My Eve! Ah, how I love you! It paralyzes me ... Oh Eve, Eve, surely you cannot realize what you are to me. What you must be. Yes, I dare it, now, I will not longer fear to claim you. You are mine by every sign in Earth & Heaven, by every sign in soul & spirit & body — and you cannot escape me. You must bear me all the way, Eve ...”


Then, in May:
“You are mine, and I am yours, and we are one, and our lives are one henceforth, please God, who can alone separate us. I am bold to say this, to pray & to live to it. Am I too bold, Eve — tell me? ... I shall go to bed, Eve — with your letters under my pillow.”


Because only Rose’s letters survive, we know little of how Evangeline responded. But, on a few occasions, Rose quotes Evangeline’s letters in her own: “Oh darling, come to me this night — my Clevy, my Viking, My — Everything, Come! God Bless Thee.” Rose flirtatiously replied, “Your Viking kisses you!”

To read the whole article, click here.

Rose Cleveland and Evangeline Simpson Whipple are buried side by side with matching gravestones in Bagni di Lucca, Italy.

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The New York Philharmonic has a new maestro.

N.Y. Philharmonic chief looks to Gustavo 'Dudamel era' after historic appointment.

When the New York Philharmonic's current music director, Jaap van Zweden, announced he would be leaving his post next year, president and CEO Deborah Borda had only one new maestro in mind: Gustavo Dudamel.

"There are so many things that are remarkable about Gustavo Dudamel," Borda tells NPR's Leila Fadel. "But I think number one is his ability to communicate with both musicians and audiences and to express pure joy in music. And this is something that we simply can't quite put into words. It's spontaneous combustion."

The 42-year-old Venezuelan's charismatic approach has made him one of the world's most sought-after conductors. He will officially lead the oldest symphony orchestra in the U.S. starting with the 2026-27 season, for an initial five-year term, beginning as music director designate in the 2025-26 season. Dudamel follows in the footsteps of giants such as Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini and Leonard Bernstein, all former New York Philharmonic music directors.

"He was the only one on our list ... This will be the Dudamel era," says Borda, who in 2009 ushered Dudamel into his current job as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's music director when she led that organization. That earlier nod — when he was just 28 — helped Dudamel hone his craft, both on and off the podium. (NPR).

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Next Thanksgiving, you will have this to be thankful for.

At last: Streisand memoir 'My Name is Barbra' coming Nov.

NEW YORK (AP) — Barbra Streisand’s very long and very long-awaited memoir, a project she has talked about for years, is coming out this fall. Viking, a Penguin Random House imprint, will release “My Name is Barbra” on Nov. 7.

Her memoir, fitting for a superstar of the grandest ambitions, is listed at 1,040 pages.

“The book is, like Barbra herself, frank, funny, opinionated, and charming,” according to the publisher. “She recounts her early struggles to become an actress, eventually turning to singing to earn a living; the recording of some of her acclaimed albums; the years of effort involved in making ‘Yentl’; her direction of ‘The Prince of Tides’; her friendships with figures ranging from Marlon Brando to Madeleine Albright; her political advocacy; and the fulfillment she’s found in her marriage to James Brolin.”

“My Name Is Barbra” also is the title of a 1965 Streisand album and television special.

Publishers have sought a Streisand memoir for decades, with the singer telling Jimmy Fallon in 2021 that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis asked her to write one in the early 1980s, when the former first lady was an editor at Doubleday. During an Associated Press interview in 2009, Streisand mentioned that she had been writing chapters about her life, in longhand. (AP).

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