Tuesday, January 04, 2022



Oklahoma Proposes Bill That Would Allow Parents to Remove Sexually Graphic Books From School Libraries

The bill, Senate Bill 1142, would give parents a right to ask for the removal of “books that are of a sexual nature that a reasonable parent or legal guardian would want to know of or approve of prior to their child being exposed to it,” according to the bill’s language.

“No public school district, public charter school, or public school library shall maintain in its inventory or promote books that make as their primary subject the study of sex, sexual preferences, sexual activity, sexual perversion, sex-based classifications, sexual identity, or gender identity,” the bill says.

If a student’s parent or legal guardian believes a public school library is maintaining books in violation of the bill, they would be able to submit a written request to the school district superintendent or charter school administrator to remove the books from the library, if the bill passes, and such books would need to be removed within 30 days of the request.

If the books are not removed within 30 days of the request, the responsible school employee would be “dismissed or not reemployed” and “be prohibited from being employed by a public school district or public charter school for a period of two (2) years,” if the bill passes.

Additionally, if the bill passes and a book meeting the above conditions is not removed, a parent or legal guardian could seek monetary damages, including a minimum of $10,000 each day the book requested for removal is not taken off of school library shelves. “This act shall become effective July 1, 2022,” the bill says.

The debate about whether or not books featuring sexual themes belong in school libraries has been ongoing in school districts across the country.

In Virginia, Stacy Langton, a Fairfax County Public Schools mother, complained to the school board about two books featuring child pornography and pedophilia available to young teenagers at school libraries. After reviewing the books, Fairfax County Public Schools decided to put the two books back on library shelves as part of what it said is an “ongoing commitment to provide diverse reading materials.”

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Why are COVID restrictions tightening like a noose around what's left of millions of American childhoods

It felt – for a fleeting moment – that 2022 was dawning into a new reality. Maybe, just maybe, we could learn to live our normal lives amid the COVID pandemic. Adults would return to work, and children would return to school.

The CDC announced new guidelines recommending that people can return to public life following a positive COVID diagnosis, after just five days of isolation (instead of ten) if they were symptom free.

But it was not to be.

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the CDC is considering updated--updated guidance requiring Americans to test COVID negative before exiting the newly shortened virus isolation.

And as usual -- the kids get it the worst.

Perfectly healthy children - those least at risk of serious illness and death - are watching their lives slide back towards March of 2020.

Schools around the country are either announcing closures, or a one or two day 'break' to do COVID testing on their entire student and teacher population before returning to in-person learning.

In the nation's capital, negative tests are required for all students to return to class after winter break.

Schools in New Brunswick, New Jersey; Madison, Wisconsin; and Charles county, Maryland have all decided to start the new term virtually – just to name a few.

The requirement from both public and private schools to test before returning to class has clogged testing sites across the country and sent emergency rooms into overload as people request testing there.

The sudden new testing requirements and surprise closures even sparked a surprisingly amount of left-wing outrage.

'Parents in NYC public schools are being asked to try to get our children tested b4 returning to school tomorrow. This is an abject failure. If the city wanted testing, they should have provided home tests before the holiday or rapid testing for every student at the door tomorrow,' tweeted author of the 1619 Project, Hannah Nikole-Jones on Sunday.

'What the [f***]? School was already set to be closed Monday and Tuesday, but now due to snow on Monday they are also closing on Wednesday???' tweeted liberal journalist Matthew Yglesias, who was triggered by a DC storm extending his neighborhood school's temporarily closure for testing.

And if you think that these closures will last for just a few days or weeks, I've got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn and it's called 'Two Weeks to Stop the Spread.'

We're able to live our lives: go to sporting events, the gym, restaurants and parties, but our children continue to be yanked in and out of school and subjected to onerous rules.

Many in public health (most notably Dr. Leana Wen, a CNN medical analyst, emergency physician and visiting professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health) now say that cloth masks are useless.

So are schools are changing their masking regulations? Are they coming to the realization that they have been operating safely for a year with nothing more than 'facial decorations,' as Dr. Wen called cloth masks?

As restrictions on adults loosen, they tighten like a noose around what's left of millions of American childhoods.

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UK: Backlash against face masks in secondary schools as Covid cases ease

Plans to force children to wear face masks in secondary schools were hit by a backlash on Sunday night as figures showed a fall in the number of new Covid cases.

Tory MPs, a government scientific adviser, charities and parents' groups warned of the long-term impact of masks on children's mental health and said restrictions must be balanced against the risks of the virus.

It came as data showed that new cases in England dropped by almost a quarter on Sunday after five days of successive rises. Daily Covid hospital admissions also fell by a quarter in two days, declining from 2,370 on Wednesday to 1,781 on Friday.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, said the data showed imposing face masks in classrooms was "premature", while David Jones, a former minister, urged a rethink. Prof Russell Viner, a Sage adviser, called for the order to be kept under constant review because masks impact young people's ability to learn and socialise.

Dame Rachel de Souza, the Children's Commissioner for England, said it was "concerning" that pupils were being asked to wear masks to school when the same was not expected of adults going to work.

Jo Campion, the deputy director of advocacy at the National Deaf Children's Society, said the return of masks would "fill thousands of deaf students with dread" as it made lip reading impossible, and Molly Kingsley, the founder of the parent campaign group UsForThem, said children need "an unrestricted, normal school life".

On Sunday night, government sources confirmed that there was likely to be a statement to the Commons on the latest rules when MPs return on Wednesday.

Both Sir Iain and Mr Jones rebelled against the Government on Covid restrictions last month, when Boris Johnson faced the biggest Commons revolt of his premiership. The latest masks move risks further backbench anger, although there will not be an opportunity for a formal rebellion because it is guidance, not law – meaning it will not be put to a vote.

However, concerns are likely to be fuelled after unions warned that the measures would not be enough to prevent "inevitable" disruption to education, with staff sickness levels likely to mean classes, and in some cases entire schools, are sent home.

In a letter to schools, Nadhim Zahawi, the Education Secretary, urged retired teachers to return to the classroom to cover any shortages, while officials told schools to consider measures such as combining classrooms.

A government source said on Sunday: "Nobody in the Government wants to see children wear masks for a day longer than necessary, which is why we have built review points into this guidance."

The measure is set to be re-examined on Jan 26, along with other Plan B rules that are expected to be rolled over at the first review point this Wednesday. The insider said the "time-limited decision" had been made to help keep schools open and children in classrooms.

It came as the latest figures for England showed 123,547 cases reported on Sunday, falling from 162,572 the day before – a 24 per cent drop and the first after five days of rises.

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My other blogs: Main ones below

http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)

http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)

http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)

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