Tag Archives: Secretary of Education

This is the galvanizing moment we’ve been waiting for… Democratic Senators are filibustering, teachers are outside the Capital protesting, and we’re effectively shutting down the offices of those who haven’t yet come out against Betsy DeVos

By Mark | February 6, 2017

[above: Photo by Evan Sutton from today’s protest in D.C. against embattled Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos.] The Senate vote on Betsy DeVos, the pyramid scheme billionaire turned anti-public education crusader who’s attempting to buy her way into Trump’s Cabinet, was supposed to happen today. And, the way things looked this morning, she was […]

Posted in Civil Liberties, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Betsy DeVos, buying influence, buying politicians, charter schools, confirmation hearings, Dean Heller, Deb Fischer, Debbie Stabenow, Department of Education, dismantling of public education, education reform, filibustering, for-profit charter schools, get the money out of Washington, John Hoeven, Pat Toomey, Patty Murray, protests, public education, Senate, threats to public education | 20 Comments

The fight over the future of public education in America moves to the full Senate, as Betsy DeVos’s nomination for Secretary of Education passes out of committee

By Mark | February 1, 2017

The above photo was taken by my friend Al Hoff today outside an elementary school in Pittsburg. While I imagine it’s possible that someone could have hung the flag upside down by mistake, I suspect it probably has something to do with what’s happening right now in Washington relative to public education. [The upside down […]

Posted in A2Awesome, Education, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Al Hoff, Alaska, Anchorage, Betsy DeVos, Cabinet, charter schools, confirmation hearings, Dick DeVos, dismantling of public education, education reform, for-profit charter schools, Lisa Murkowski, Maine, PTA, public education, religious fundamentalism, religious intolerance, Senate, Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions, Susan Collins, threats to public education, virtual charters | 22 Comments

Elizabeth Warren grills Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos, saying she’s unprepared to protect American tax-payers against the waste, fraud and abuse of higher ed swindlers like Trump

By Mark | January 18, 2017

There’s a lot to discuss about DeVos’s performance during yesterday’s confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. There’s one part in particular, however, that I’d like to share. It’s an exchange between the billionaire anti-public education activist and Senator Elizabeth Warren on the subject of how, as Trump’s Secretary […]

Posted in Education, Uncategorized | Also tagged abuse, Bernie Sanders, Betsy DeVos, confirmation hearings, dismantling of public education, Donald Trump, education reform, fraud, public education, threats to public education, Trump University, waste | 30 Comments

Elizabeth Warren gives a preview of the DeVos confirmation hearing in a scathing 16-page open letter to Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education

By Mark | January 9, 2017

Apparently, it’s not just Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow that’s decided to come out aggressively against Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, in advance of the Amway billionaire’s Wednesday confirmation hearing. Earlier today, Senator Elizabeth Warren, who sits on the Senate committee that will be considering Devos’s nomination, sent the candidate a scathing 16-page […]

Posted in Education, Michigan, Politics, Uncategorized | Also tagged Betsy DeVos, conflict of interest, Debbie Stabenow, dismantling of public education, Elizabeth Warren, ethics, Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions, threats to public education | 11 Comments

Betsy DeVos likely to be confirmed Secretary of Education this Wednesday without vetting, in violation of Senate protocol… Call your Senators today!

By Mark | January 8, 2017

As I understand it, the confirmation hearing for Amway billionaire Betsy DeVos, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, will likely begin in the Senate this Wednesday, in spite of the fact that the bipartisan Office of Government Ethics, which is responsible for vetting Cabinet nominees, has yet to conduct a thorough investigation into her finances. […]