Democrat Crying Cartoons

Arming teachers a decision for states, local districts, DeVos says

President Trump's education secretary said Friday that she has "no intention" of taking action regarding any possible use of federal funds to arm teachers.
"Congress did not authorize me or the Department to make those decisions" about arming teachers or training them on the use of firearms, Betsy DeVos said.
"I will not take any action that would expand or restrict the responsibilities and flexibilities granted to state and local education agencies by Congress," DeVos wrote in a letter to U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, the top Democrat on the House committee overseeing education.
DeVos' comments came after a top official in her department, when asked about arming teachers, said states and local jurisdictions always "had the flexibility" to decide how to use federal education funds.
Frank Brogan, assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education, said arming educators "is a good example of a profoundly personal decision on the part of a school or a school district or even a state."
Democrats and education groups have argued, however, that the funds are intended for academics, not guns, adding that arming teachers is dangerous and could make schools feel like prisons.
It would be up to Congress, not the U.S. Department of Education, to place any restrictions or barriers to use those funds for purposes not currently in the law, a department spokeswoman said.

Frank Brogan, assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education, speaks in his office in Washington, Aug. 30, 2018.  (Associated Press)

The debate arose earlier this month after a small rural school district in Oklahoma and the state of Texas asked the department to clarify what the funds can be used for.
"The position is: You have the language ... the language was written specifically to and always interpreted to mean 'This is your money,'" Brogan said.
Democratic lawmakers and teachers blasted the idea, accusing the Trump administration of acting in the interests of the National Rifle Association, and several Congress members called for legislation that would prohibit the use of those funds for guns.
Debate over whether teachers should be allowed to carry weapons intensified after President Trump voiced support for the idea following a massacre at a high school in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14 that left 17 people dead.
In the months since the shootings, DeVos has headed a panel on school safety that is supposed to issue a list of recommendations later this year, Politico reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate commission overseeing education, said on Twitter that she was "extremely disappointed that (DeVos) is moving forward with this awful plan to allow federal funds to be used to arm teachers."
"I hope she reconsiders and we need to keep pressure on her until she does," Murray added.

Yes, the Trump recovery really can keep going

President Trump’s opponents may not like his philandering past and midnight tweets but on the economy, only cynics can argue with the results.
The economy accomplished 4.2 percent growth in the second quarter and appears headed for an overall score of 3 percent for the entire year. A tight job market is finally rewarding workers with better treatment from employers, and low wage workers are receiving bigger pay boosts.
That’s a lot better than the less than 2 percent average growth and stagnant living standards recorded by Presidents Bush and Obama.
The big challenge for Mr. Trump and the Republicans in Congress—should they hold on in the midterms—is sustaining the pace. With unemployment already at 3.9 percent, most economists are pessimistic about continued 3 percent growth in 2019 and beyond.
I take exception!
The labor market still has lots of excess capacity among young people stuck in low level jobs in restaurants and other service businesses. Many of those positions hardly require the skills of a college education or provide high school graduates with a decent career track.
Now, expanding sales opportunities and a tight labor market are forcing employers to get more realistic and practical when hiring for better paying positions. Recruiters are abandoning requirements for specific technical degrees and specialized job experience. That’s helping self-taught software engineers get placed at Intel and high school graduates land entry level managerial positions at Bank of America.
To keep growth in high gear, businesses have to follow through by adding to training budgets and the many private apprenticeship programs that the Department of Labor certifies and helps young folks identify. The latter are not just in traditional building trades but also in technology, manufacturing and business services. Many pay about $15 an hour during training and average starting salaries of $60,000 for those who successfully complete programs.
President Trump is establishing an advisory council comprised of corporate, nonprofit, state government and educational leaders that will work to implement results-oriented job training programs in classrooms and workplaces.
Too many high schools dropped traditional vocational programs in recent decades under pressures from tight budgets and to channel students to college. Mostly that resulted in lots of young people who dropped out after a year or two or graduated from a degree program that did not adequately prepare them for the jobs market. The resulting burden of debt, especially for minorities, too often is overwhelming.
Job one for the president’s council should be getting more young people steered from college track and into vo-tech and apprenticeships, and incentivizing states to redirect funds now going to useless university programs back into those areas.
Finally, regulation has to make sense—not just for America but for the broader world.
Suspending disbelief about the missions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the World Trade Organization, the bottom line is that American compliance doesn’t mean much if other nations are permitted to violate the rules or intent of those agreements.
Handcuffing American industry does little good if Chinese emissions are growing in leaps and bounds and India and other developing nations are simply not adhering to the same standards as western economies. Until they are, more sensible regulations for U.S. auto efficiency and overall emissions standards are in order.
President Obama rushed through higher gas mileage standards after to his horrors Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 election to Mr. Trump. Consequently, freezing CAFE standards at their target for 2020—fleet averages at about 37 MPG—instead of going all the way to 50 MPG in 2025 would be prudent, and Mr. Trump has initiated the necessary public comment processes.
High tariffs on trade with China should not be our end goal but we simply can’t go on destroying millions of jobs and permitting Beijing’s bureaucrats to coerce American companies to transfer valuable technology in frontier areas like artificial intelligence and robotics.
If China can’t play by the rules of civilized nations, then trade with China must be managed outside the WTO so that we may preserve the global body for trade among western nations.
These are radical changes in policy that will reach deeply into our schools and affect relations with partners abroad but are necessary to provide Americans with a secure and prosperous future.
Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist.

Request to end DACA from multiple states denied by federal judge

Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over DACA program; Heritage Foundation's Mike Gonzalez has insight.
Seven states that sued to block the DACA program couldn’t demonstrate that permitting it to continue was causing irreparable harm, a federal judge said on Friday, declining to halt the Obama-era policy that protects young illegal immigrants from deportation.
U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen, who has previously ruled against DACA-related programs, argued that the states waited too long to seek a preliminary injunction.
"Here, the egg has been scrambled,” Hanen wrote in his ruling. “To try to put it back in the shell with only a preliminary injunction record, and perhaps at great risk to many, does not make sense nor serve the best interests of this country.”
Still, Hanen said that he thinks the program, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, is unconstitutional. "If the nation truly wants to have a DACA program, it is up to Congress to say so," Hanen wrote.
"As the Justice Department has consistently argued, DACA is an unlawful attempt to circumvent Congress, and we are pleased the court agreed today," Justice Department spokesman Devin O'Malley said.
On Friday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he was confident the courts would ultimately find DACA unconstitutional. He said an injunction was denied only because the states waited too long to request it.
Texas was joined in filing the lawsuit by Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and West Virginia. The states argued that former President Barack Obama never had the authority to create a program like DACA because it circumvented Congress.
WHAT IS DACA AND WHAT DOES THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WANT TO DO WITH IT?
The states filed the lawsuit in Texas, hoping Hanen would stop DACA recipients from continuing to renew their enrollment. That would have triggered a conflict with three federal orders that have required the U.S. government to keep accepting DACA renewals, even after President Trump tried to end the program last year.
The DACA program was formed through executive action by Obama in 2012 and allowed certain people who came to the U.S. illegally as minors to be protected from immediate deportation. Recipients, called Dreamers, were able to request “consideration of deferred action” for a period of two years, which was subject to renewal.

In-N-Out burger chain receives invitation from Alabama lawmaker amid calls for California boycott

Calls for an In-N-Out boycott are getting mixed responses on social media.  (iStock)

An Alabama state senator has invited the California-based In-N-Out hamburger chain to his state after some California Democrats called for a boycott of the chain over donations made to the state's GOP. 
State Sen. Phil Williams, a Republican from Rainbow City, Ala., tweeted his invitation Thursday night.
"Hey #InNOutBurger c'mon to Alabama! We love burgers, and we love #Republicans! #alpolitics," Williams tweeted.
In-N-Out reportedly donated $25,000 to the California Republican Party earlier this week, and the revelation has caused many who identify as Democrats — or just not Republican — to demand a boycott of the chain.
"Tens of thousands of dollars donated to the California Republican Party ... it's time to #BoycottInNOut - let Trump and his cronies support these creeps... perhaps animal style!" Eric Bauman, chairman of the California Democratic Party, tweeted Thursday.
This is not the first time In-N-Out has donated to the GOP. In 2016 and 2017, the company donated $30,000 to the Republican Party for general expenses, Los Angeles magazine reported. 
But the fast-food restaurant has also given thousands of dollars to support the Democratic PAC "Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy," a pro-business group created by Democrat David Townsend in 2009.
In-N-Out was founded in Baldwin Park, Calif., in 1948. Its headquarters is currently in Irvine, Calif. It operates restaurants in six states: California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah.