May 4, 2023

Thursday,May 4, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Learning more about Tucker Carlson each day. It ain’t pretty.

Here 👇 is Tucker Carlson’s now infamous racist and violent text.

It was written to a Producer.

Take in the violence, as well as the racism. He went over the line, even to himself.

Carlson’s Text That Alarmed Fox Leaders: ‘It’s Not How White Men Fight.’

A text message sent by Tucker Carlson that set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox on the eve of its billion-dollar defamation trial showed its most popular host sharing his private, inflammatory views about violence and race.

The discovery of the message contributed to a chain of events that ultimately led to Mr. Carlson’s firing.

In the message, sent to one of his producers in the hours after violent Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Carlson described how he had recently watched a video of a group of men — Trump supporters, he said — violently attacking “an Antifa kid.”

It was “three against one, at least,” he wrote.

And then he expressed a sense of dismay that the attackers, like him, were white.

“Jumping a guy like that is dishonorable obviously,” he wrote.

“It’s not how white men fight,” he said. But he said he found himself for a moment wanting the group to kill the person he had described as the Antifa kid.

For years, Mr. Carlson espoused views on his show that amplified the ideology of white nationalism. But the text message revealed more about his views on racial superiority.

The text alarmed the Fox board, which saw the message a day before Fox was set to defend itself against Dominion Voting Systems before a jury. The board grew concerned that the message could become public at trial when Mr. Carlson was on the stand, creating a sensational and damaging moment that would raise broader questions about the company. (New York Times).

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Happening in the States.

Montana State House Legislator not returned to the State House.

Texas.

North Carolina

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Looking at the Midterms.

Abortion rights brought out the voters in 2022 but who came and the way they like to vote is also valuable information, as we plan for 2024.

As Joyce Vance wrote in her newsletter tonight, reflecting on the shooting in Atlanta today, “it’s likely going to take a solid 60-vote majority in the Senate, along with control of the House and of the White House, for Democrats to make progress on an issue where an overwhelming number of Americans favor new laws limiting guns that will make us all safer.”

That is what we must do to protect our children and ourselves.

As you know, we have other legislative priorities too -codifying Roe into law, passing the ERA, implementing racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights, ending poverty, expanding voting rights, protecting our planet, funding education, fighting for fairness, minimizing inequality, and more - that depend on big, big wins in 2024.

Almost half of midterm voters cast ballots early or by mail.

Almost half of all voters in the 2022 midterm elections cast their ballots before Election Day either by mail or through early voting, with Asian and Hispanic voters leading the way, according to new data the U.S. Census Bureau released Tuesday.

The heavy use of both early voting and voting by mail occurred even as Republican-led states have tightened rules on both voting methods over the last two years, and it marked a steep rise from the two previous midterm elections in 2018 and 2014. Only the 2020 presidential election, during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, had a greater share of of U.S. voters who cast ballots early or by mail — more than two-thirds of voters did so.

In the 2022 midterm elections, two-thirds of Asian voters and almost three-fifths of Hispanic voters cast ballots by mail or at early-voting sites, while less than half of white and Black voters did so, according to Census Bureau survey data. (Associated Press).

2022 turnout was 2nd highest for midterm elections since 2000.

With 52.2% of adult U.S. citizens casting ballots, voter turnout for last year's elections was the second highest for a midterms since 2000, according to estimates the Census Bureau released Tuesday.

The 2018 midterms — the first major national contests after former President Donald Trump's election — saw slightly higher turnout than last year's races.

The 2022 midterm elections also saw a continuing shift toward early and mail-in voting since the COVID-19 pandemic, as 49.8% of voters opted out of the more traditional way of casting their ballots in person on the last day of voting.

The estimates come from the bureau's Current Population Survey, which checked in with about 50,000 households in November 2022 after voting for last year's midterm elections ended.

Other key findings about the 2022 midterm elections include:

• The rate of voter registration — at 69.1% of U.S. citizens age 18 and older — was the highest for a midterm race in at least the last two decades. 

• More registered nonvoters reported that they "forgot to vote" in last year's elections than in the 2018 midterms (up 2.2 percentage points). Still, the most common reason for not casting a ballot last year was "Too busy, conflicting work or school schedule" (26.5% of registered nonvoters), followed by "Not interested, felt my vote wouldn't make a difference" (17.6%) and "Illness or disability" (12.5%).

• Among racial and ethnic groups, Asian American voters were most likely to vote early or by mail, while Black voters were the least likely. Black voters notably had the lowest rate of voting by mail out of all the groups, at 20.7%. (NPR).
  

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#RedMeat Republican Governor of Florida continues to destroy education in the “Sunshine” state.

A Professor at New College of Florida Quits in Dramatic Fashion. Here’s Why He Felt He Had to Go.

Matt Lepinski, a New College of Florida trustee and professor, walks out of a Board of Trustees meeting.
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Matthew Lepinski decided he’d had enough. At the very end of New College of Florida’s contentious Board of Trustees meeting last week, Lepinski, who is a board member, faculty chairman, and an associate professor of computer science, announced that he was “very concerned about the direction that this board is going,” wished everyone luck, and resigned. Then he exited the room.

It was another head-turning moment at New College, the small, public liberal-arts institution that Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has turned into a talking point by nominating six trustees to execute an ideological overhaul. The college’s top diversity officer was fired, as was the president. Christopher Rufo, a board member best known for crusading against “wokeness,” has taunted those who complained. Meanwhile the interim president, Richard Corcoran, a former Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, has promised that the changes are all part of an effort to increase enrollment, improve the educational experience, and transform New College into the best liberal-arts college in the country.

Whatever happens at New College, Lepinski, who was hired as a faculty member in 2015, won’t be along for the ride. Plenty of other professors are weighing their options, too, and it’s likely more resignations will follow. But they probably won’t be as dramatic. The Chronicle spoke with Lepinski about why he finally lost faith in the board. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Did you walk into that board meeting knowing that you were going to resign?

No, certainly not. I was — perhaps wrongly so — optimistic that the meeting would go better than it did. Obviously, I had some concerns about the direction that the board was taking New College, and I worried about how bad the meeting might be, but I really went into the meeting looking for some sign the board was really willing to work with our current students and our current faculty to try to make the school better and that there might be some room for compromise. But by the end of the meeting, it was clear to me that there was nothing that I could point to indicating that the board was valuing our current students and what they were going through.

Was there a particular statement or moment during the meeting that sealed your decision?

We had an unusually large number of students who were coming to speak at the meeting. A number of those students talked about their personal experiences working with the professors who were up for tenure. They talked about the wonderful experiences that they had both in class and in research with these professors, and I found those stories to be very moving and I was hopeful that the other board members were paying attention to these students and would be moved as well. And somewhere along the process I just thought, like, what am I going to tell our students the next day? What am I going to say to students who are working with these professors? And how am I going to explain what just happened here and why these professors’ contributions to their fields aren’t valued?

One of the other board members, Christopher Rufo, tweeted after your resignation that faculty who “prefer the old system of unfettered left-wing activism and a rubber-stamp board are free to self-select out.” Is that what you prefer?

These are not professors who have put themselves in the middle of the culture war. These are professors who are trying to challenge our students and teach them skills and critical thinking and problem-solving.

No, certainly not. I welcome robust debate with my fellow board members. But what we saw was not a robust debate. What we saw was a summary judgment that some of these files were deficient and that the board wouldn’t be granting tenure to anyone this year due ar due to current circumstances. And when I look at these five tenure cases, I don’t see people who are doing left-wing activism on this campus. I see serious historians, professional musicians, bio and organic chemists. These are not politically charged topics. These are not professors who have put themselves in the middle of the culture war. These are professors who are trying to challenge our students and teach them skills and critical thinking and problem-solving.

What would you say to the argument that New College is struggling and therefore radical change is required?

I and quite a number of other faculty members were eager to work with the new trustees because we certainly did see the challenges that the college was facing and were looking for ways to strengthen the college and ensure its success in the future. I would have welcomed discussion about the curriculum, about whether or not there were things that we didn’t teach that we could teach, whether there were ways of structuring the curriculum that would be more attractive to students and would help position ourselves in the marketplace. But instead, it seems like what our trustees have decided to focus on are things like dismantling our Office of Outreach and Inclusive Excellence, which was doing a lot of good work strengthening our reputation and helping us recruit in the local community. This doesn’t feel like a serious discussion about how we can make our college better.

You’ve said that a lot of students reached out to you since you resigned. What have they said?

I have been overwhelmed by the love and the support that I have received from our students. A number of students have told me that they felt heard and that I was with them. I think too often it felt like people who were sitting around the table at the Board of Trustees meeting were not hearing our current students. I think to have somebody at the Board of Trustees table stand up and show solidarity with our current students is something that resonated with them.

It’s been strangely bittersweet. The day after I resigned was my 45th birthday. A student gave me a handmade birthday card, and they had printed out a “We Love Lepinski” thread from a discussion forum that faculty members don’t have access to. They stuffed it into the birthday card. And when I saw that, I just completely lost it. (The Chronicle of Higher Education).

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Update on children.

We have to do better.

Child marriage will take 300 years to wipe out at the current pace of progress.

A 14-year-old schoolgirl in Bangladesh poses with friends and neighbors on her wedding day. A new UNESCO report looks at progress — and the lack thereof — in ending child marriage.

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The world has made headway against the practice of child marriage, but progress has been frustratingly slow, according to a new report by UNICEF.

The percentage of women age 20-24 who were married in their childhood fell from 23% to 19% in the past decade. And yet, every year, 12 million girls across the world are married before the age of 18.

"The report confirms that we have made progress in eliminating child marriage," says Claudia Cappa, a senior adviser at UNICEF and an author of the new report. "But the report also indicates that the progress is not universal and is not fast enough."

At the current pace, the report says, it will take 300 years to completely eliminate the practice – long after the original target of 2030 set by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. (NPR).

National test scores show decline in history and civics proficiency.

Knowledge of civics among the nation’s eighth-graders fell for the first time since the federal government began testing children under the current framework in 1998, according to new results that come amid a broader concern about pandemic-era learning loss.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress tests, known as the Nation’s Report Card, also show a 5-point decline in average scores in history. (Politico).

Raphael Warnock said his own children were put on lockdown due to a shooting in Georgia — and asserted that thoughts and prayers were "not enough." 

Details: The Georgia Democrat begin his remarks expressing "shock and sorrow" for the lives affected by the tragedy, disclosing on the Senate floor that his own two children were put on lockdown within their schools. Warnock, a pastor, said that while he was praying for their safety along with those impacted by the shooting, there needed to be more action.

Historical context: Warnock's "pray with our legs" line appears to be an allusion to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who wrote these words after participating in the Selma-to-Montgomery March with Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1965. Warnock is the senior pastor at King's former church, Ebenezer Baptist.

Warnock applauded the chamber for passing the first package of gun reform policies in nearly 30 years, but called for further steps forward — particularly on universal background checks.

Background: Atlanta police officials reported that at least one person is dead and four are injured following an active shooter situation in midtown Atlanta, near Northside Hospital Medical Midtown. (Politico).

One more thing.Someone else we know 👇 is trying to help our children.

Michelle Obama launches a food company to produce healthier options for kids.



Michelle Obama is taking on a new role as the co-founder of PLEZi Nutrition, which aims to market food and beverages for kids that are both tasty and healthy. The company, which announced its launch Wednesday, is starting with a line of low-sugar, nutrient-dense kids' drinks made from a fruit-juice blend.

"I believe there is a way to build a successful company and do right by our kids," Mrs. Obama said during remarks at the Wall Street Journal Future of Everything Festival on Wednesday. "I'm putting some skin in the game to put this theory to the test," she said.

As first lady, Mrs. Obama promoted healthy habits with the Let's Move campaign, which touted nutritious school meals and asked food companies and restaurant chains to commit to lower sugar, lower salt and lower-calorie options.

"I've learned that on this issue, if you want to change the game, you can't just work from the outside. You've got to get inside," Mrs. Obama said. "You've got to find ways to change the food and beverage industry itself," the former first lady said.

The launch comes at a time when about half the young children in the U.S. don't eat fruits and vegetables daily, but most consume an excessive amount of sugary drinks. While pediatricians have long called for limiting sugar and sweetened juices, the majority of families do not follow this advice and some products advertised as healthy may still contain lots of sugar or sweeteners.

Mrs. Obama will not be the face of the PLEZi Nutrition brand. Her plan is to work behind the scenes to help navigate the mission to drive change in the food supply.

The company's first product is a line of kids' drinks called PLEZi, which has about 75% less sugar compared to top brands of fruit juice, and no added sugar. Fiber is blended into the beverages as well as nutrients such as potassium, magnesium and zinc. The drinks come in flavors including Sour Apple, Blueberry Blast and Orange Smash, and will be sold at retailers including Target and online at Walmart. A four-pack of 8 ounce drinks will cost just under $4.00. (NPR).
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