Tag: Jeff Jackson

More Matters of Concern

Here are some items I did not have room to include in this morning’s blog post.

Artist cancels showing at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery

Photo of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC
Photo by Sung Jin Cho on Unsplash

The artist of a 2018 portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama has withdrawn from her schedule showing at the National Portrait Gallery after being told one of her paintings was not acceptable in light of President Trump’s March Executive Order regarding museums.

Amy Sherald’s painting “Trans Forming Liberty” depicts the Statue of Liberty as a transgender woman. After being told she could not include the painting in her show, Sherald informed the secretary of the Smithsonian in writing that, “it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived.”

This would have been the first National Portrait Gallery’s showing… ever… by a Black contemporary artist.

The Smithsonian is “disappointed,” but not as disappointed as I am about what the Trump Administration is doing to free expression, science, medical research, and the treasure that was the Smithsonian Institution.

Columbia University caved in to Trump

Photo of part of the Columbia University campus in New York City. Photo by Tobias Pfeifer on Unsplash

So it can continue to admit international students and receive federal funds, Columbia University caved in to the bully. Under the guise of being concerned about Jewish students being discriminated against on Columbia’s campus, the Trump Administration strong-armed the university into bending a knee and paying $220 million for alleged violation of U.S. antidiscrimination laws.

In the agreement last Wednesday, Columbia is supposed to get to keep billions of dollars for research grants. Columbia must revise its admissions policies, campus protest policies, and its curriculum.

The university’s acting president, Claire Shipman, says the agreement protects Columbia’s values and autonomy, but it isn’t clear how that is possible with the Trump Administration dictating admissions, protests, and curriculum.

The Trump Administration calls the agreement “a road map for settlements” as it eyes other colleges accused of not addressing antisemitism.

When the students return to camp in September, it will be interesting to see if they are allowed to protest Israel’s bombing of Gaza and starving the Gazans by restricting food aid.

As I recall, that’s what started this whole thing.

And now Trump has turned his sights on the medical and law schools at Duke University. Anything to disrupt medical care and medical research, I guess. Some 600 Duke University staff have taken early retirement buyouts so far.

A reversal from the U.S. Department of Education

This is the first positive thing I’ve been able to report about the U.S. Department of Education since Inauguration Day. After North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson and 19 other state attorneys general and governors sued the U.S. Department of Education for freezing $5.5 billion nationally, the Department Secretary caved! That means North Carolina will get the $165 million it had counted on until the Trump Administration pulled the plug.

U.S. Aid to Gaza

While in Scotland on Sunday, Trump whined for several minutes because nobody thanked the United States for giving $60 million in aid to Gaza. He claimed that no other country had given Gaza anything.

No one wants to see a U.S. President whine. Of course, he also cheated at golf while in Scotland, too. And he bad-mouthed President Biden, the mayor London, and a bunch of other people.

Is Netanyahu delusional or what?

Netanyahu says there is no starvation in Gaza. The whole world sees it. Even U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia admits it is true. It has to be pretty horrific for Marjorie Taylor Green to admit something.

Sadly, the United States is complicit because it continues to support Israel in its war on Gaza. This stopped being “self-defense” a long time ago, Netanyahu. It stopped with the indiscriminate bombing of schools, hospitals, and residential areas. It stopped being self-defense when Israel stopped allowing food and medicine to enter Gaza. The food drop last week was too little, too late – and that’s the nicest thing I can say about it. Israel only did that to try to appease the growing public outcry about the starving children.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Randy Fine of Florida, who happens to be Jewish, put this on X on June 2: “Tell your fellow Muslim terrorists to release the hostages and surrender. Until then, #StarveAway.” As far as I can determine, he has not changed his anti-Gaza stance. He would probably say he is just anti-Hamas, but it is the total population of Gaza that is bearing the horrors of this war.

How can someone who is wealthy enough and well enough connected to be elected to the United States Congress and live in the richest country in the world – and probably never missed a meal in his life — have no compassion for starving children?

The level of white privilege and hatred in so many Americans who are in positions of power boggles the mind.

The First Lady Melania Trump Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Photo of Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Photo by Santeri Liukkonen on Unsplash

Yes, you read that correctly. U.S. Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho is chair of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee. He tucked the provision into the fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which passed the Committee on Appropriations 33 to 28.

The proposal was written into the fiscal year 2026 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. The measure was approved by the Committee on Appropriations with a vote of 33 to 28.

One has to wonder how long it will be before the name “TRUMP” will be plastered on the outside of the building in giant gold letters. How long will it be before the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is painted gold? 

Two Items of Good News

President Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, is not running for the United States Senate from North Carolina in 2026.

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is running for the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Thom Tillis in 2026.

Until my next blog post

I hope you are reading a good book.

Don’t forget the people of Ukraine and western North Carolian.

Janet

Public School Libraries in Texas and Monroe County, Tennessee

I was flabbergasted a couple of weeks ago to learn that a law had passed in Texas that will turn public school library book selection on its head.

Photo of opened books scattered on the floor
Photo by Vrînceanu Iulia on Unsplash

As of September 1, 2025, school boards in Texas will select all books for public school libraries instead of professional librarians. I’ll bet the Texas state legislators thought it would be easy-peazy, so let’s just let the local school board members do it.

Local school board members tend to be just regular people. Most of them do not have college degrees in library science. Dare I go out on a limb and say that none of them do? How many course hours have they studied library collection development?

Why is it that humans assume their job takes a high degree of training and skill, but no one else’s job carries any requirements?

Since I live with a retired public school librarian, I have a ton of questions.

Can all the local school board members in Texas read on a 12th grade level?

What do they know about reading levels?

What do they know about age appropriateness?

Do they know how time-consuming the book selection process is?

Do they know anything about book selection, such as where to even get a list of books available for school libraries?

Do they know how to balance book selection against a budget?

Do they know who the award-winning authors and illustrators are?

Do they know what books are already on the shelves in all the schools in their district so they can avoid duplication and maintain a balance of subject matter?

Do they know everything that is taught on every grade level so they can be sure to order books that will supplement or enhance what is being taught in every classroom?

Does a school board have to be unanimous and vote on each book?

I could list more questions. Those 10 are just the ones that came to me immediately when I read the news report.

What are they thinking in Monroe County, Tennessee?

I read on Sunday that in a report from PEN America that book banners are going after books about cats. No one seems to know why book banners have a vendetta against our little feline friends, but it is happening in Iowa, Florida, and in Monroe County, Tennessee.

Monroe County has banned almost 600 books from its public schools. The Complete Book of Cats and The New Encyclopedia of the Cat are just two of the cat-related titles being pulled from the school library shelves.

I don’t even know what to say about that. I love dogs. I don’t like cats very much (aside from being fascinated by the beauty of tigers), but I would never want books about cats to disappear from libraries.

But wait! On Monday, I learned that one of the books banned from schools in Monroe County is The Complete Book of Dogs, by Rosie Pilbeam! Now they have gone too far!

You can’t go around banning books about dogs! You just can’t! That’s un-American. Dogs are love universally. Every library in the world should have books about dogs – and even cats.

Why in the name of everything reasonable is Monroe County, Tennessee banning cat and dog “encyclopedias” from school libraries? What if that 8th grader or 12th grader aspires to be a veterinarian? Is that student not supposed to learn about animals until they get to college? How ridiculous!

In what universe does it make sense to ban books about cats and dog?

In what world does it make sense to ban ANY books?

Digging deeper into this on the internet, I found that this is the result of Tennessee’s Age-Appropriate Materials Act, which went into effect this summer.

In addition to apparently any book about cats or dogs, the usual book banners’ target are on the list: To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, Grapes of Wrath, Hidden Figures, Brave New World, Animal Farm; and Aztec, Inca, and Maya.

In my opinion the book above all others that should not be on anyone’s banned books list is Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterley. Heaven forbid a young black girl (or brown girl, or white girl) reads that book and is inspired to be a mathematician!

All kidding aside about dogs and cats, how dare they take Hidden Figures off the public school library shelves! How dare they!

There is such a thing as age appropriateness, but books should not be banned anywhere.

What are they afraid of?

Fortunately, Monroe County, Tennessee, only has a population of 46,250 as of the 2020 U.S. Census, so it’s book banning decisions won’t affect a huge number of children. But, since the Tennessee Age-Appropriate Materials Act applies to the entire state, will other county school systems follow Monroe County’s lead and ban the same 574 books?

North Carolina has some faults, but I’m so glad I don’t live in Texas or Monroe County, Tennessee! How embarrassing for the people there.

A bit of good news out of Washington, DC!

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced on Monday that the U.S. Department of Education decided to unfreeze the money it froze a week or two ago that was earmarked for after-school programs. This means North Carolina will get $36 million of the $165 million the Department of Education originally said it was freezing.

Jackson vowed he will see the U.S. Department of Education in court to try to recover the other $130 million.

Until my next blog post

Read anything and everything you can get your hands on.

Don’t let anyone tell you what you should not read.

Look for my blog post tomorrow about the 596 books the U.S Department of Defense has banned this month from the schools it operates for the children of our military personnel.

Remember the people of Ukraine and western North Carolina.

Janet