I'M SORRY ABOUT YESTERDAY, It Was a Mistake, Asmongold BANNED, Joe Rogan Kamala Harris Backlash
PDS Published 10/15/2024
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Asmongold Faces Backlash For Calling Palestinians “Inferior”
People are pissed off at Asmongold and want him banned from Twitch.
This because of comments he made during a stream yesterday where he started talking about Israel and Palestine and said:
“If you want to consider it genocide as a systematic killing of a group of people, they have genocide built into Sharia law right now. So no, I’m not going to cry a fucking river when people who ave genocide thats baked into their laws are getting genocided. I don’t give a fuck, they’re terrible people.” (0:00-0:20)
“These people are not your allies. They are not the same as us. They come from an inferior culture that is horrible. It kills people for their identity and it is directly antithetical to everything western values stand for and it is an inferior culture in all ways.” (0:49-1:06)
And those remarks have outraged people online, with some saying he is actively advocating for genocide. ][[]
Tons of people also comparing his comments to Nazi rhetoric, [][][]
With the likes of Hasan Piker saying on his stream:
“Bro, this is straight up, 1:1, what Nazis said about Jewish people. The most right wing approach to this conversation. This is insane.” (1:15:29-1:15:40)
“I don’t think he understands like, how unimaginably, how unimaginably fucked up this statement is. (1:18:55-1:19:04)
Other people responding, writing things like:
“‘I’m not going to cry a river when people who have genocide baked into their laws are getting genocided.’....You live in the United States, skidmark. Genocide is ACTUALLY baked into the laws of your OWN country. Happy Indigenous People’s Day, you greasy fucking freak.”[]
“deserves to be perma banned off twitch for this. the level of moral depravity to say this shit.. i dont even understand how its possible.”[]
Tons of people pointing to Twitch terms of service his comments may have broken, and others thinking a Twitch ban is not even enough in terms of repercussions here. []
Pointing to his OTK network, and saying things like:[]
“If I were in OTK I would leave that org so fast as long as he is one of the owners. I'm not crazy about de-platforming people but we just watched a bunch of human beings get burned alive and this miserable piece of shit is calling them inferior.”
For his part, Asmongold ended up calling into Hasan’s stream where they discussed all this.
Their conversation a few hours long and they went back and forth on the context of cultural values and what calling a culture inferior means:
So you had them saying things like:
“A: You don’t think I support Israel, do you? I don’t.
H: No, I don’t think you support Israel, but I do think you saying Palestinans are immoral or evil or have an immoral or antiquated culture or barbaric…
A: I do think that.
H: It’s not only ahistorical,...
A: I do think that. I don’t know man, how can you be in support of a culture that tells people they can’t be who they want to be?” (1:53:31-1:53:57)“H: It’s not defensible, but I think most people, including gay Palestinans or queer Palestinans or queer Lebanese people understand that there is no room for advocating for civil liberties in your own domestic policies when you are escaping bombings.” (1:56:33-1:56:53)
“H: When you start talking about inferior cultures, that sets up the opportunity for, historically at least, dehumanization. And also, it justifies a lot of the atrocities that those people end up experiencing.” (3:27:28-3:27:42)
And like I said, their conversation was really long, it would be impossible to include everything, so I can link down to more of that below.
But later last night, this all led to Asmongold walking back some of his original comments on X, writing:
“Looking back on it, I was way too much of an asshole about the Palestine thing My bad. Of course no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressive. You guys deserve more than me saying stupid shit like that, I'll do better.”[]
But of course, given the outrage, not a ton of people are buying it, saying he is only doing this to save face amid calls he get banned or be removed from OTK.[]
Others writing:
“the most reflection you can do is "my bad". there's no sugar coating this: you wholeheartedly agree with the principles of nazism. log off.”[]
But I would love to know your thoughts on this one, on Asmongold’s comments, on the backlash, and if you agree with calls for him to be banned or held accountable in some way.
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Man charged for killing daughter’s stalker script
Y’all, if one of my kids goes missing, and then I find them inside a car with a creepy old man, I can assure you that dude is getting throat punched until his body and his head are two separate entities.
Now thankfully, I’ve never had to do such a thing, but we’ve gotta talk about a father who just did: 36-year-old Aaron Spencer of Arkansas. [Image]
Right, because last week, at around one in the morning on a weekday, he discovered that his 14-year-old daughter was not in her room, or even the house.
So he reported her missing to the police, and sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to his home.
But before they could even get there, they got another 911 call about a shooting.
You see, Spencer had apparently found his daughter on his own, and it turned out she was not alone.
Right, reportedly she was in a car with 67-year-old Michael Fosler [Foss-ler], a man whom the girl had a “no contact” order against, according to her mother. [Quote]
This stemming from an incident in July, when he was arrested for internet stalking of a child and sexual assault, according to the sheriff, who said the man was out on bond. [Quote, find “internet”]
So when Spencer sees his missing teen daughter inside a car with her alleged stalker-rapist, the confrontation leads to its logical endpoint.
With Spencer ultimately shooting and killing Fosler right there.
But when the cops arrived on scene, all they knew was the fact, whether justified or not, that one man killed another, and that’s homicide.
So they arrested Spencer on a preliminary charge of first-degree murder and booked him at the county jail, with him posting bond the next day. [Image]
Now since then, Spencer’s wife and his child’s mother, Heather, has explained their side of the story in a series of Facebook posts, saying:
“We had no idea this man was in contact with our child again. … He was looking at the rest of his pathetic life in jail, and our daughter was the only witness. We 100% in the moment thought he had taken her to kill her.” [Quote]
Then going on to thank community members who shared claims that Fosler attacked them too, and adding:
“We have gotten a clear picture of a predator who continuously worked with children and preyed on young girls. This man was Chief of police in Indiana and resource officer, giving us a better idea of why the Lonoke county courts have been protecting him and going after my husband.” [Quote]
With all that being compounded by the revelation that the sheriff and his former jail administrator were sued in August for ignoring female inmates who alleged sexual abuse by jail staff, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. [Headline]
So you have the sheriff telling KATV Channel 7:
[Clip, 02:29 - 02:43] Caption: “I am a daddy. In a situation similar to this I can’t tell you I wouldn’t act the same way. But now we are the fact finders. We don’t file the charges. We supply the information so the prosecutor can make a determination into whether it was justified or not.”
So we’ve gotta see if that preliminary charge against Spencer turns into an official charge, or if this whole thing blows over.
But if it does go to trial, an attorney tells Fox News Spencer’s lawyers have multiple arguments they could roll out.
First, that he shot Fosler in the “heat of passion,” which could downgrade the murder charge to manslaughter. [Quote, find “30 years”]
Or second, that he shot Fosler in self-defense, either to protect himself or his daughter. [Quote same link, find “self-defense”]
Either way, he and his wife are gonna need the money to retain a lawyer, which is why they’re fundraising online.
But according to Heather, GoFundMe took down their page and returned the money to their donors. [Quote, find “fundraiser”]
With a GoFundMe spokesperson telling USA Today that its terms of service prohibit fundraisers that raise money for the legal defense of anyone formally charged with "an alleged violent crime. [Quote same link]
So now they’re accepting donations through Venmo and Cash App instead, though most recently Heather said even Cash App is denying transactions for unspecified reasons. [Quote, find “denying”]
So for now it’s another one of those situations where you’ve got an entire community that feels very strongly one way, and an entire system that’s designed to go the opposite way.
But that’s the story; let me know your own thoughts and feelings in the comments.
Links:
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Utility Home Invasion
These guys pretended to be utility workers to get into an elderly couple’s home - before binding them with duct tape, killing the husband, and robbing them. []
Right, this whole situation kicked off last Thursday at about 10 o’clock at night in a suburb outside of Detroit.
The local sheriff’s department released Ring camera footage that shows two men wearing yellow vests and face masks - saying they’re from DTE, an energy company based in Detroit, there to check for gas leaks. [B Roll 0:00-0:09]
They’ve got a clipboard with a form that had the company’s logo and even ID badges.
The homeowners were Hussein Murray and his wife - both in their early seventies.
Notably, they owned a local jewelry and pawn shop - which the police says may have something to do with why they were targeted here. []
Anyway, according to the authorities, the couple turned the men away Thursday night.
And the “utility workers” promised they’d be back in the morning. []
And back they came - Friday morning at 10, they showed up again.
This time, Mr. Murray signed their paper and showed the 2 men into the basement. []
Prosecutors say that the two “workers” quickly returned upstairs alone and asked Mrs. Murray where they could find money and jewelry.
They duct taped her wrists and ankles and even hit her when she began to scream.
After they took her watch and phone, the two men left in a white pickup with the DTE logo on it and Mrs. Murray was able to free herself enough to call 911. []
When the authorities got to the house, Mr. Murray was found dead in the basement.
His wrists and ankles were duct taped and his injuries were so gruesome, the sheriff’s office said it was unclear whether he’d been shot or beaten to death. []
As for his wife, she was reportedly briefly hospitalized but is otherwise okay.
Then the manhunt started - with the sheriff’s office releasing the Ring footage and photos from Thursday night to help identify the fake utility men.
One of them, Carlos Hernandez, was arrested in Shreveport, Louisiana on Saturday after being spotted traveling south.
And he is currently facing charges of felony murder and unlawful imprisonment.
He was also wanted in Ohio on unrelated warrants for armed robbery. []
As of now, he’s being held in Louisiana but authorities say they’re working on extraditing him back to Michigan. []
And just yesterday, the local sheriff’s office said it arrested the second guy about 30 miles south of where the crime happened.
But they haven’t released his name yet and he’s expected to be charged in the coming days.
Now, DTE has released a statement about this whole situation - expressing sympathy for the victims and warning people that they will always notify them in advance before making a visit to their homes.
Saying it's rare for their employees to need to enter a home and adding that customers should always ask for a photo ID badge before letting the employee do so. []
And Mr, Murray’s family also released a statement, saying,
“We are heartbroken by the news of his death but our family will bond through this with the resolve he has instilled in us by being the man he was.” []
For now, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens from here - with the identity of the other fake utility guy, the charges he’ll face, and the rest of the fallout here.
But let me know your thoughts about this in those comments down below.
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Kamala Harris sets interview with Fox News, reportedly considering sitting down with Joe Rogan
Kamala (Comma-Luh) Harris is going on Fox News and Donald Trump is pissed.
Right, yesterday, the outlet announced that Harris would be sitting down for an interview with Bret Baier this Wednesday that is set to air at 6 p.m. Eastern.
And you might be thinking, “so what? A presidential candidate going on one of the single biggest networks? Groundbreaking!”
But this actually is a pretty big deal.
Right, top Democratic officials have long avoided Fox — in fact, President Biden hasn’t even appeared on the network ONCE since taking office.
But in recent weeks, Harris’ campaign has made a concerted effort to embrace Fox, with Tim Walz appearing on “Fox News Sunday” the past two weekends.
And this is part of the campaign’s broader media blitz to reach different audiences and voters.
With that including a mix of appearances on more mainstream news outlets as well as less traditional media sources including podcasts like Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy,” which we talked about in-depth last week.
Now, notably here, the goal with these appearances isn’t to turn a bunch of die-hard, far-right Republicans.
It’s to get their message out to people who might be more on the fence, like conservative-leaning Independents.
Right, according to research by Nielsen, more independent voters watch Fox News than CNN or MSNBC.
And so, as a result, it’s not at all surprising that Trump is big mad, with him lashing out at Fox in a series of Truth Social posts where he said that Fox:
“has grown so weak and soft on the Democrats, constantly polluting the airwaves with unopposed Kamala (Comma-Luh) Representatives.”[]
And going on to take shots at numerous Fox News personalities while claiming that Harris’ spokesperson “virtually owns the Network” and adding:[]
“It’s not worthwhile doing Interviews on Fox, because it all just averages out into NOTHING. FoxNews has totally lost its way!”
Now, with this, I think it’s important to point out that Trump has regularly appeared on Fox, even as he has more frequently condemned the network for not spouting his talking points as much as they used to.
Right, just last month, he did an interview with Fox & Friends, and he is literally participating in a town hall hosted by the network the SAME DAY that Harris is set to sit down with Baier.
So it really seems like he’s just feeling threatened by Harris appearing on more conservative media outlets.
But unfortunately for him, it’s unlikely that this is the only place Harris will go to court more conservative voters.
Right, we’re now seeing reports that Harris’ team is in open talks to set up an interview with Joe Rogan.
And that would be absolutely massive for Harris because not only does Rogan run the single-biggest podcast in America, but his audience is predominantly male.
A demographic that Harris is struggling with in the polls and one that she desperately trying to court.
And if that does happen, it’ll be really interesting to see how that interview would be received by Rogan’s audience — especially considering what happened after Alex Cooper interviewed Harris.
Right, as we talked about last week, Cooper got a bunch of backlash — mostly on Instagram — for talking to Harris.
And while her follower counts on both her personal Instagram and the show’s account initially dropped in the immediate aftermath, they have totally rebounded in the week since.[][]
Not only bouncing back, but actually seeing net increases from before she did the interview.
What’s more, her YouTube account NEVER saw any dips at all — it has only racked up MORE views and subscribers since the show aired.[]
So for now, we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens with Rogan, and in the meantime I’d love to know your thoughts in those comments down below.
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U.S. threatens to cut military aid if Israel doesn’t improve humanitarian situation in Gaza
The U.S. is threatening to cut military aid to Israel if it doesn’t improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
That is what the Biden administration said in a letter to top Israeli officials that has been obtained by several different media outlets.
Right, specifically, the letter was written jointly by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
And in it, the two noted that “the amount of assistance entering Gaza in September was the lowest of any month during the past year.”
With them explicitly blaming Israel for the drop in aid, as well as continued starvation and widespread suffering.
Arguing that Israel’s efforts to limit aid have directly increased lawlessness, looting, and a generation deterioration of conditions.
And going on to say that Israel has 30 days to “reverse the downward humanitarian trajectory” or else it “may have implications” for future weapons transfers under U.S. law.
And there, Blinken and Austin specifically cited a provision of the Foreign Assistance Act that bans the U.S. from providing military aid to any country that:
“prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”
With the two top officials also outlining a number of demands the country must meet if it doesn’t want to risk the suspension of security aid, including:
Permanently transferring 350 aid trucks to the Gaza Strip each day through all four border crossings.
Opening of a fifth border crossing.
Allowing humanitarian pauses to distribute aid for at least the next 4 months.
Allowing Palestinians concentrated along the coast to move inland before winter.
Ending the policy of forced evacuations from the northern Gaza Strip.
Permitting the Red Cross to visit Palestinian detainees.
And working with the U.S. to discuss incidents of mass civilian casualties during IDF operations, among other measures.
Right, and this letter is SUPER significant, with it being described as “the starkest threat by the U.S. since the war began last year” and “the most wide-ranging and comprehensive list of U.S. demands from Israel since the beginning of the war.”[][]
What’s more, this is also a major shift from how the U.S. has handled the situation in the past.
Right, Israel is HIGHLY dependent on U.S. military aid, relying heavily on it throughout this war.
And critics of Biden’s handling of the conflict have repeatedly accused him of failing to leverage that position of power to get Israel to fall in line with humanitarian issues.
Right, since the war began, the Biden administration has only stopped one shipment of U.S. weapons from going to Israel.
And back in May, it continued the flow of weapons after issuing a report that found that Israel’s “action or inaction” had contributed “significantly” to the insufficient flow of aid to Palestinian civilians —
But the U.S. didn’t determine that the Israeli government was blocking U.S. humanitarian assistance.
A claim that was widely rejected by the vast majority of international aid and development organizations working on the ground, and which accused the U.S. of “turning a blind eye” to Israel’s “clear” obstruction of aid.
But now, analysts and former officials say that this letter is essentially an implicit admission that the U.S. believes Israel’s actions in Gaza violate American law.
So, as far as what happens next, we’re just going to have to wait and see if the threat of losing an essential source of weapons will actually push the Israeli government to address the horrific humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
As well as if the U.S. will actually follow through on this very serious threat if Israel doesn’t comply in the next month.
So for now, we’ll make sure to keep a close eye on this, and meanwhile, I’d really love to know your thoughts — do you think Israel will comply? And if they don’t do you think the Biden Administration will have the balls to pull the aid?
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Canada expels Indian diplomats and accuses Indian government of a broader campaign of violence against dissidents abroad
India’s top diplomat in Canada may have blood on his hands.
Right, that’s according to the Canadian government, which has just named him and five other diplomats as persons of interest in the assassination of a Sikh activist in 2023, and then kicked them out of the country.
And beyond that, Canada is accusing the Indian government of waging a broader campaign of threats, intimidation, and physical violence against dissidents living in the great white north.
Which basically means Canadian-Indian relations have just hit rock fucking bottom.
Though, that said, they’ve been strained for a while.
Right, the Indian government has long been concerned about the movement to establish an independent Sikh state in northern India.
And Modi’s government especially? It’s been worried about influential Sikh activists living abroad keeping that movement alive.
And it’s raised these concerns with Canada in particular, where Sikhs make up nearly 2% of the country’s population.
But still,the whole issue really took center stage with that assassination in 2023.
Right, the man killed? He was a Canadian citizen born in India, but he was a leader in the Sikh independence movement, which is actually banned in India.
And with that, he had been designated as a terrorist by the country.
But of course, you’d think, he’d be perfectly safe in British Columbia.
Right, except that’s where has shot dead in a parking lot after leaving the Sikh temple he led.
And by September, the Canadian Prime Minister revealed that there were credible allegations that India’s government had links to the killing.
And with that, Canada expelled an Indian diplomat.
India denied the allegations and accused Canada of harboring “terrorists and extremists.”
And then, of course, expelled a Canadian diplomat in response.
And from there, the situation just continued to escalate.
In May, Canadian police arrested and charged three Indian nationals accused of involvement in the killing.
With them saying investigations were continuing, including into "connections to the government of India".
And that’s the investigation that yielded these explosive new findings, which not only linked these six diplomats to the 2023 murder but a whole bunch of other shit.
Right, with Canadian officials saying the investigation has uncovered evidence of Indian government involvement in home invasions, drive-by shootings, arson and at least one additional killing.
With the six expelled diplomats accused of being directly involved in gathering detailed intelligence on the Sikh separatists who were then either killed, attacked or threatened by criminal groups working on behalf of the Indian government.
And in fact, officials also said the diplomats may have themselves been involved in coercing Indians living in Canada to serve as informants against Sikh activists.
WIth that being done by not only threatening to deny them visas, but also making physical threats against them and their families back in India.
India, of course, has denied everything.
Right, it has responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s top diplomat in New Delhi.
And then, the country’s Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying the Modi government “strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda” of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
But of course, a key thing to keep in mind is that Canada is not the only country that has accused Indian officials of plotting an association on foreign soil.
Right, last year, for example, the US said an Indian official directed an ultimately unsuccessful assassination plot against Sikh separatist in New York.
And in general, western security officials and human rights organizations say that Modi’s government has become one of the world's biggest perpetrators of what’s known as “transnational repression.”
Right, which is basically just the use of violence and other means to deal with opposition who have escaped to other countries..
And it’s a widespread issue with a lot of countries doing it.
But in any case, we’ll have to wait and see if we learn any more about India’s efforts specifically, as well as just where Indian-Canadian relations go from here.
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Zelensky confirms North Korea is sending soldiers to the Russian front lines while tensions escalate on Korean peninsula
And then, in international news, we gotta talk about how North Korean soldiers are apparently fighting and dying for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine.
Right, Ukrainian and South Korean officials have now confirmed this, with Zelensky, for example, saying:
“We see an increasing alliance between Russia and regimes like North Korea. This is no longer just about transferring weapons. It is actually about transferring people from North Korea to occupying military forces.” (BROLL: 0:57-1:12)
And now, in some ways, this isn’t surprising.
Right, North Korea has been one of Russia’s most vocal supporters.
In 2022, for example, it was one of just four countries that sided with the Kremlin and voted against a UN resolution condemning the invasion.
And of course, like Zelensky said, it’s been sending weapons and ammunition as well.
In fact, North Korean ammunition shipments have reportedly been vital in allowing Russian forces to advance in eastern Ukraine this summer.
Right, as one example, the country is estimated to have provided around half the larger-caliber ammunition used on the battlefield this year, according to one Ukrainian source.
And with that, back in June, Putin and Kim Jong Un actually signed a mutual defense agreement, with the North Korean leader pledging his full support for the war effort.
But at the same time, it’s not been entirely clear what that really meant.
Of course, now, it’s clear that the agreement went beyond supplying ammo.
And really, the fact that North Korea is sending personnel is probably the clearest sign of just how close the two countries are becoming.
I mean, foreigners have fought as mercenaries for Russia, but this is seemingly the first time a foreign government has sent troops in uniform.
And with that, there are reportedly only a few dozen North Koreans behind Russian lines at the moment, with them being there to help out with the operation of the weapons systems they’re sending over.
And notably, despite not being engaged directly in combat, some North Korean military officers have reportedly already been killed and injured.
And even more notably, there may be a lot more on their way to replace them.
Right, an anonymous Ukrainian military intelligence official told The Washington Post last week that “several thousand” North Korean infantry are training in Russia now and could be deployed to the front line in Ukraine by the end of this year.
And now, today, there’s now reports that Russia is forming a battalion expected to include up to 3,000 North Korean troops.
WIth one Ukrainian military officer speculating that their role would likely involve high-risk operations, aimed at reducing the strain on Russian forces.
And that’s a big deal considering what we know about how Russia is struggling with manpower.
Right, with the anonymous Ukrainian official saying adding North Korean troops could free up reserve troops currently in Russia, which could have a, quote, “significant impact” in certain areas on the front lines.
Now, with all that, the Kremlin has denied that any of this is true.
And ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see what actually happens.
But in any case, there’s also the question, what’s in it for North Korea?
Well,for one, North Korea may be receiving Russian help to advance its own weapons.
And specifically, it might be seeking help to develop its spy satellite program, which has so far been a disaster.
And beyond that, as well as getting on Russia’s good side, some experts believe the country sees it as an opportunity to test weapons and gain combat experience for its troops.
With a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul saying:
“This might even be a driving factor behind sending North Korean soldiers – to provide them with diverse experiences and wartime training.”
And with that, we also gotta talk about the wild shit that’s been going on on the Korean peninsula lately.
Right, today, the North blew up roads linking it with the South (BROLL: 0:03-0:06, 0:18-0:22).
With this being its way of retaliating after accusing the South of flying drones over the North Korean capital.
It was more like a “fuck you” to the South than an act of aggression.
Right, the roads were fully on North’s territory, but they were built as a cooperative project between the two Koreas, with the South providing materials and equipment for construction.
And so, according to experts, while the incidents reflect an escalation of tensions on the peninsula, they don’t mean there’s gonna be a new a military conflict,
Right, as we know, North Korea pulls stunts like this all the time, and that’s especially true in the runup to major political events overseas, including American elections.
But of course, with the other stuff we talked about – the country also apparently trying to get its troops combat ready and cozying up even more to Russia – we're definitely gonna be keeping an eye on what happens over there.
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Ohio Using Taxpayer Money to Build Private Religious Schools Solo
This is unprecedented in modern history.
Ohio Republicans are using millions of taxpayer dollars to DIRECTLY fund the construction of private religious schools.
And this absolutely historic move was made totally under the radar.
In fact, this whole thing has been so quiet that there was barely ANY reporting on it before ProPublica published a story in mid-September.
Hmmm… it almost seems like they didn’t want anyone to know? I wonder why that could be!
Right, specifically, Ohio Republicans have allocated $4 million in grants to private religious schools for various construction needs such as expanding campuses, building or renovating classrooms, improving playgrounds, and more.
And they did that by quietly attaching the funding to a much larger budget bill to finance the government for the next fiscal year, with ProPublica reporting that:
“There was little debate in part because budget bills across the country have become too large to deliberate over every detail and, also, Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers in Ohio.”
And, according to an Ohio Legislative Service Commission report, the grants — some of which were over a million dollars — went to various Catholic schools.
While that might sound fairly normal on the surface, I really can’t emphasize how INSANELY significant it is.
National experts on education funding agree that what Ohio is doing is categorically different from ANYTHING we’ve seen before.
Right, for years, Republicans all over the country have been trying to find creative ways to divert public funds to private religious schools.
One of the most overt attempts came from Oklahoma — which we talked about on the show multiple times — where the GOP attempted to open a publicly-funded Catholic charter school, arguing that charters are public so the move is legal.
Though that was ultimately shut down by the State Supreme Court.
Then there have been the less obvious efforts, like what we’ve seen with the recent expansion of school vouchers.
Which are a form of public funding where the government gives families taxpayer dollars to pay for private schools — including religious ones — or other education costs.
Right, originally, these subsidies were created to provide more choices for students with certain needs who might not be properly served by the public school system.
Like kids with disabilities, students from lower-income families, and those who live in struggling districts.
But in recent years, conservatives have been massively expanding state voucher systems to cover more and more students.
And while those subsidies can be used at any private school, an analysis by The Washington Post found that the VAST majority have gone to religious education, thus funneling billions of taxpayer dollars to those institutions.
In fact, in Ohio specifically, a whopping 91% of students have used vouchers to attend private religious schools.
And that number rises to 98% when you don’t account for students with disabilities.
Now, notably here, part of the reason those numbers are so high is because most of the private schools in Ohio are religious.
But these figures are still super significant because they come just one year after the Republican-controlled legislature expanded the state voucher program so that EVERY SINGLE student in the state is eligible.
Now, you might be thinking: “isn’t it a violation of church and state to allocate taxpayer dollars to families who use it to pay for religious private schools?”
But courts have long ruled that vouchers are constitutional because the publicly funded subsidies aren’t technically being given directly to religious institutions.
It’s being given to parents, who then can decide to spend those taxpayer dollars on religious schools for their kids.
But, even if vouchers are legal, Ohio’s decision to pay for the construction of religious schools is fundamentally different because, as ProPublica explains, religious schools have never:
“been able to build schools expressly on the public dime.”
So how the hell is THAT legal?
Right, at least at face value, this policy appears to be blatantly unconstitutional.
What’s more, it also seems to directly violate the Ohio Constitution, which explicitly says that the General Assembly:
“will secure a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state; but no religious or other sect, or sects, shall ever have any exclusive right to, or control of, any part of the school funds of this state.”
But supporters of the move argue that religious schools in some communities don’t have enough space to accommodate the high demand of kids who want to attend following the expansion of the voucher program last year.
So allocating public funds to build more capacity is necessary to ensure that the school subsidy program can provide access to those schools.
With the executive director of the Ohio Christian Education Network — which notably has received grants for 6 of its schools — telling reporters:
“We want to make sure that from our perspective, Christian school options are available to any kid who chooses that in the state.”
So, in other words, in order to properly facilitate the voucher system and ensure every kid can choose to attend the school they want, more taxpayer funds are needed to increase religious school construction.
Now, if you don’t buy that as an adequate response to church and state concerns about public funds being directly used to build religious schools — you’re not alone.
But regardless, it is true that in many parts of Ohio — specifically rural areas — parents are unable to access that voucher money because the private schools they would use them at are too far away.
Or the few schools nearby are already at capacity.
And that is a MAJOR political liability for Republicans and other school voucher supporters for a number of reasons.
Right, first of all, Republicans have spent a TON on vouchers since they expanded them to every student in the state.
During the first school year that the universal program was implemented, lawmakers spent a record amount of $1 BILLION.
That’s nearly $400 million more than the year before — and over $30 million more than legislative analysts had predicted when lawmakers expanded the program.
But taxpayers — and particularly conservative taxpayers in rural areas — are becoming increasingly unhappy about footing the bill for a program they can’t even access.
Especially when you look at the makeup of people who ARE able to access these vouchers.
Right, when Ohio expanded school subsidies to everyone, they really meant everyone.
No matter how wealthy a family might be, regardless of whether they were already paying for their kids to go to private school and didn’t need the extra money, they are still eligible.
And while the amount of money given to each student is reduced progressively the higher a household’s income is, the tiered system still gives almost EVERY family thousands of dollars. [][]
With ProPublica reporting that “even the very wealthiest families [are] eligible for almost $1,000 per child.”
And it seems like those families are the ones who are capitalizing on the program,
Right, one that was originally designed to help low-income households and students with disabilities.
Now, since Ohio Republicans made vouchers universal, their usage has skyrocketed a whopping 313%, according to an analysis of Ohio Department of Education data by Dayton Daily News.
And with that absolutely massive surge of kids using these subsidies, you would think that we would also see a big corresponding increase in the number of kids now going to private school.
But private school enrollment has largely remained flat, increasing by just 3.7% during the same period.
And in some areas, private school enrollment actually DROPPED — even as the use of these subsidies grew by hundreds of students.
So how the hell does that happen? Well, it’s because many of the kids now getting hundreds or thousands of dollars WERE ALREADY ATTENDING PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
Yep, you heard me right: instead of helping public school kids switch to private schools, Ohio taxpayers are mostly just footing the bill for families who could already afford to send their kids to private school.
And, to make matters even worse, those enormous expenses end up bleeding money from already struggling public schools.
Which is so tragically ironic because the whole point of vouchers is to provide families with school choice and give parents the option to escape struggling public schools.
But in reality, they’re making public schools worse by diverting their funding while also failing to actually help students in those schools.
And, as a result, you have many people arguing that this program is essentially just a handout for wealthier families in urban areas that is being subsidized in part by rural families who don’t have access to the same privileges.
So, to offset those criticisms, Republicans are trying to expand access to private schools — which is exactly what they did with the $4 million in grants they snuck into this year’s budget bill.
Now, of course, none of that changes the very serious lingering questions about whether that move is illegal — and it already seems like groups are gearing up to file lawsuits.
But this situation also has the potential to go WAY beyond Ohio, because experts say that Republicans in other states will try to replicate this strategy.
Right, Ohio is not the only state where Republicans are facing backlash over similar programs.
Just in the past few years, at least 11 states have enacted universal or near-universal vouchers.
And, according to ProPublica:
“The beneficiaries in these states are mostly families whose kids were already enrolled in private schools, not families using the vouchers to escape struggling public schools.”
So if other states see this as an effective tool to appease disgruntled conservative voters, you can bet they’re going to try it out for themselves, with one expert telling the outlet:
“They get their foot in the door with a few million dollars in infrastructure funding. It sets a precedent, and eventually hundreds of millions will be going to private school construction.”
So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see.
But with this, I’d really love to know your thoughts — especially if you live in Ohio or another state with a universal school voucher system.
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