WOW.
So, it turns out that story told by Senator Katie Britt, on national TV, as part of the Republican party rebuttal to President Biden, was bullshit.
It was an awful story about sex trafficking, which DID happen, but not the way Britt told it.
She made it seem like it happened on the border, in the United States and while Biden was President, but it happened between 2004 and 2008, when George W. Bush was President.
And it happened IN MEXICO.
It is DESPICABLE for a sitting U.S. Senator to weaponize the pain experienced by a real survivor of sex trafficking, just to try to create a false narrative.
It's even WORSE that Britt was part of the team negotiating to pass the border security bill before she decided to shit on the very thing that would help prevent awful things like that from happening.
SHAME ON YOU, @SenKatieBritt.
Watching the Republicans at the SOTU address, I was struck by many things like: look at all these old white men trying to force a multi-racial, diverse America, of all ages into their narrow Christian Nationalist conservative veiw.
A group of old white men all dressed in blue suits with red ties, I suppose to emulate their disgusting pig of a leader, they refused to cheer, or even acknowledge such things as patriotism, our veterans, good healthcare, infrastructure, clean drinking water for kids, education for kids, stopping fentanyl, keeping America safe, NATO, job growth or massive drops in inflation and crime.
A pall of fear hung over them: fear of stepping out of line (one angry word of contempt from Trump could spell their doom, and they knew that tyrant was watching their every move).
But also the whole MAGA party is bathed and drenched in fear - fear of change, fear of people who look differently and have different religious beliefs, fear of a future with powerful women, and LGBTQ, fear of disenchanted young people - a youth movement they don't understand, and maybe most of all, fear of losing their positions of power to these things they are afraid of.
Biden is a great choice to lead Americans through these changing times and challenges: he himself is a political chameleon who has changed dramatically throughout his long career. He's not the same man he was in his political youth, he has changed with the times, learning and absorbing from the people around him, people he genuinely cares about. His age, which fearful Republicans express so much concern about, isn't a detriment it's a fortunate blessing: we have a wise, politically savvy, empathetic man to guide us into the future. Yes, he occasionally stumbles and stutters, but he is the first to laugh about these things because he's a normal human. Not a programmed MAGA toeing the party line, afraid of everything.
There’s something so exciting about brand new teachers’ classrooms and watching them get it ready all summer long. So much wonder. So much self-drive. So much innocence.
The sad part is when we see a new teacher lose that because they don’t feel supported during their first year.
Support your new teachers.
🔺Check on them daily.
🔸Model lessons for them.
🔺Provide them an automatic coaching cycle with the instructional coach on day 1.
🔸Provide specific feedback.
🔺Model the first phone call home.
🔸Pre-plan their first parent conf and do it with them.
🔺Simply ask, “How can I help?” And ask often.
Teachers will be more likely to stay in the profession when they feel supported. Plain and simple.
What did I miss?