Wait, school choice? you may well be asking yourself. Does she mean choice in the sense that, if these institutions had not been pioneers during the era of racial segregation, black students would have had the choice to go to school or gonowhere?Does she not know what the word choice means?
Well, unclear. Letssee what the statement has to say!
A key priority for this administration is to help develop opportunities for communities that are often the most underserved. Rather than focus solely on funding, we must be willing to make the tangible, structural reforms that will allow students to reach their full potential.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have done this since their founding. They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education. They saw that the system wasnt working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution.
HBCUs are real pioneers when it comes to school choice. They are living proof that when more options are provided to students, they are afforded greater access and greater quality. Their success has shown that more options help students flourish.
Their counsel and guidance will be crucial in addressing the current inequities we face in education. I look forward to working with the White House to elevate the role of HBCUs in this administration and to solve the problems we face in education today.
What?
HBCUs were created for African-Americans because they had no choice and were unable to attend schools due to segregation laws, said Texas Southern Universitys puzzled President Austin Lane, according to Politico.
There is no choice like, er, no choice!
If this is the kind of school choice that DeVos is hoping to bring nationwide, we are up a worse creek than previously thought. By this broad definition, tangible, structural reforms that will allow students to reach their full potential sound like they could includerestoring segregation to the land. After all, it was segregation that created this wonderful pioneering set of school choices in the first place.
Butmaybe I have been too narrow in my definition of what options are.Once you remedy that, history becomes a lot better.
Internment was just a lovely way of providing more housing options to people. Before, U.S. citizens and noncitizens of Japanese descent did not have the option of moving to a cool gated community with a watchtower and barbed wire fences, but, afterwards, they did. Similarly, with the Indian Removal Act, President Andrew Jackson created a whole range of options for many communities. Instead of the option of staying in the place where they lived, they had the option of moving! With help from the U.S. Cavalry.
This was clearlythe essence of Jim Crow laws: giving people a greater range of options.Without Jim Crow laws, there would only have beenoneset of water fountains for everyone.
Being denied the right to vote for years was a way of increasing womens options. Everyone else had to go to the polls but women were given the option to do literally anythingelse during that time. Except own land and property. But, again, those so-called restrictions were just ways of increasing their ability to do other things.
In a way, there are no limitations. Limitations are just in your mind.If you do not have enough money to afford private school, that is not a limitation. With Betsy DeVos in charge, soon you may havethe wonderful option ofnot sending your child to any school at all.
FULL SPEECH: President Donald Trump Speech to Joint Session Of Congress 2/28/2017 Trump Live Speech
Here are how claims made by President Trump during his speech to Congress stack up with the facts.
Trump overstates origin of terror suspects
TRUMP: According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon and yes, even the World Trade Center.
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THE FACTS: Its unclear what Justice Department data hes citing, but the most recent government information that has come out doesnt back up his claim. Just over half the people Trump talks about were actually born in the United States, according to research from the Department of Homeland Security revealed last week. That report said of 82 people the government determined were inspired by a foreign terrorist group to attempt or carry out an attack in the U.S., just over half were native-born citizens.
Even the attacks Trump singled out werent entirely the work of foreigners. Syed Rizwan Farook, who along with his Pakistani wife killed 14 people in the deadly 2015 attack in San Bernardino, California, was born in Chicago.
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Its true that in the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11, the FBIs primary concern was with terrorists from overseas feared to be plotting attacks in the United States. But thats no longer the case.
The FBI and the Justice Department have been preoccupied with violent extremists from inside the U.S. who are inspired by the calls to violence and mayhem of Islamic State militants. The Justice Department has prosecuted scores of IS-related cases since 2014, and many of the defendants are U.S. citizens.
***
As share of budget, Trump hike not the top
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TRUMP: His budget plan will offer one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.
THE FACTS: Three times in recent years, Congress raised defense budgets by larger amounts, in percentage terms, than the $54 billion, or 10 percent, increase that Trump proposes. The base defense budget grew by $41 billion, or 14.3 percent, in 2002; by $37 billion, or 11.3 percent, in 2003, and by $47 billion, or 10.9 percent, in 2008, according to Defense Department figures.
***
Trump distorts an immigration report
TRUMP: According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs Americas taxpayers many billions of dollars a year.
THE FACTS: Thats not exactly what that report says. It says immigrants contribute to government finances by paying taxes and add expenditures by consuming public services.
The report found that while first-generation immigrants are more expensive to governments than their native-born counterparts, primarily at the state and local level, immigrants children are among the strongest economic and fiscal contributors in the population.
The report found that the long-run fiscal impact of immigrants and their children would probably be seen as more positive if their role in sustaining labor force growth and contributing to innovation and entrepreneurial activity were taken into account.
***
Trump claims credit for jobs that predate him
TRUMP: Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.
THE FACTS: Many of the announcements reflect corporate decisions that predate Trumps presidential election, making it unlikely that his administration is the sole or even the primary reason for the expected hiring.
In the case of Intel, construction of the Chandler, Arizona, factory referred to by Trump actually began during Barack Obamas presidency. The project was delayed by insufficient demand for Intels high-powered computer chips, but the company now expects to finish the factory within four years because it anticipates business growth.
Still, even as some companies create jobs, others are laying off workers. The best measure of whether more jobs are actually being created are the figures in the monthly employment reports issued by the Labor Department, which nets out those gains and losses. The department will issue its report for February, the first full month of Trumps term, on March 10.
***
Trump actions threaten those he wants to help
TRUMP: We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth and we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted.
THE FACTS: Addicts and mentally ill people who gained access to treatment programs for the first time as a result of the Obama-era health care law are worried about the consequences if its repealed as Trump calls for. Repeal could end coverage for 1.8 million people who have undergone addiction or mental health treatment, and cut $5.5 billion in spending on such services, according to estimates by economist Richard Frank, a former Obama administration official now at Harvard Medical School.
The key question is what will happen to Medicaid as a result of changes Republicans are pursuing. Broadly speaking, Republicans want to transform the health insurance program for low-income people from an open-ended federal entitlement to a system that provides states with a limited amount of financing and gives them latitude on how to spend it.
If Congress is too stingy with the state allotments, states would be hampered dealing with emergencies like the opioid epidemic.
***
trump takes undue credit for F-35 savings
TRUMP, on his achievements in office: Weve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the F-35 fighter jet.
THE FACTS: The cost savings he persists in bragging about were in motion before he became president.
The head of the Air Force program announced significant price reductions in the contract for the F-35 fighter jet Dec. 19 after Trump had tweeted about the cost but weeks before he met the companys CEO about it.
Pentagon managers took action even before the election to save money on the contract. Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the aerospace consulting firm Teal Group, says there is no evidence of any additional cost savings as a result of Trumps actions.
***
Trumps overly downbeat view of health law
TRUMP, in prepared remarks: Obamacare is collapsing ... so I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.
THE FACTS: There are problems with the 2010 health care law, but whether its collapsing is hotly disputed.
One of the two major components of the Affordable Care Act has seen a spike in premiums and a drop in participation from insurers. But the other component, equally important, seems to be working fairly well, even if its costs are a concern.
Trump and congressional Republicans want to repeal the whole thing, which risks leaving millions of people uninsured if the replacement plan has shortcomings. Some critics say GOP rhetoric itself is making things worse by creating uncertainty about the future.
The health law offers subsidized private health insurance along with a state option to expand Medicaid for low-income people. Together, the two arms of the program cover more than 20 million people.
Republican governors whose states have expanded Medicaid are trying to find a way to persuade Congress and the administration to keep the expansion, and maybe even build on it, while imposing limits on the long-term costs of Medicaid.
While the Medicaid expansion seems to be working, the markets for subsidized private health insurance are stressed in many states. Also affected are millions of people who buy individual policies outside the government markets, and face the same high premiums with no financial help from the health law.
Larry Levitt of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation says implosion is too strong a term. An AP count found that 12.2 million people signed up for this year, despite the Trump administrations threats to repeal the law.
***
Trump on massive tax cut for middle class
TRUMP, in prepared remarks: At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class.
THE FACTS: Trump has provided little detail on how this would happen. Independent analyses of his campaigns tax proposals found that most of the benefits would flow to the wealthiest families. The richest 1 percent would see an average tax cut of nearly $215,000 a year, while the middle one-fifth of the population would get a cut of just $1,010, according to the Tax Policy Center, a joint project by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute.
Trump touts actions since taking office in speech to Congress
2017 Oscar Winners Predicted by Harvard Math Wizard
If you haven"t yet seen the movies that won this year"s Academy Awards, it"s not too late. Six filmsincluding Moonlight (best picture), La La Land (winner of six awards, including leading actress and best director), and Manchester by the Sea (which won for leading actor and original screenplay)are still playing in the Seattle area. Click through the film titles below to see complete movie times and theaters, watch trailers, and read our critics" full reviews. For other films playing in Seattle, see our movie times calendar.
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ArrivalArrival is an ominous, thrumming, beautiful thing that starts out being about aliens who need a decoder ring. It ends up being about something quite different. Based on Ted Chiangs 1998 short story Story of Your Life, with a screenplay adapted by Eric Heisserer, Arrival is about Big Thingsand the manner in which Villeneuve gets to them, as his camera slowly traces structures and landscapes both familiar and strange, cant help but surprise and impress. Arrival finds nuance and surprise in a way that not only echoes the nuance and surprise of language, but in a way that echoes other forms of communication, tooforms of communication that, like language, have the power to change how we feel and how we think. Visually and aurally remarkable, Arrival sometimes unfolds like a clever puzzle and other times like a raw-nerve thriller; throughout, with heart and wit, Heisserer and Villeneuve never lose sight of the films characterscreatures in a situation thats weird and mournful, exciting and threatening. ERIK HENRIKSENPlaying at: Thornton PlaceWon: Sound Editing
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them"I"m annoying," says Eddie Redmayne to Dan Fogler in the opening half-hour of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Hes like Doctor Who with gout, and yetjust like the good Doctor in even his lamest incarnations, theres just enough charm glimmering beneath the surface and shining through the contrivances that you cant write him off entirely. Fantastic Beasts, featuring an original screenplay by J.K. Rowling, is annoying in the manner of Scamander: It is eager to please and amaze, but undersells its spectacle until that spectacle becomes perfunctory. Its a goofy blast of kid-lit in love with Looney Tunes-inspired adventureexcept when its a sour metaphor for child abuse and intolerance that owes one h**l of a debt to Stephen Kings famous prom queen. But somehow, the two stories are sewed together just tightly enough that the TV pilot-esque clumsiness of Fantastic Beasts (there will be four more of these films, likely transforming ASAP into The Dumbledore Prequels) can be forgiven for the power in its climax. BOBBY ROBERTSPlaying at: Crest (Shoreline)Won award for: Costume Design
FencesRecently, while leaving a screening of the solid and engaging film adaptation of August Wilson"s play Fences, which was directed by Washington himself, a man walking behind me said to the woman walking next to him that this is not the kind of Denzel Washington film he likes. It"s too act-y, it"s all about the Academy Awards. Clearly, he wanted Washington to shoot more and talk less. But Fences has no guns and a whole lot of talking about lifeit deals with failed dreams, race relations in mid-century America, marital problems, parenting problems, working-class problems, drinking problems, problems with debts, mental health, and, ultimately, death. What might kill the character Washington plays in Fences, Troy Maxson, is not a car chase or a shoot-out, but blocked arteries to the heart. He is a normal guy with a very standard suite of personal and social issues. CHARLES MUDEDEPlaying at: Landing Stadium 14 (Renton)Won: Supporting Actress (Viola Davis)
La La LandYou guys, I LOVED La La Land, and you will too. Dont be afraid of it just because its a musical about a struggling actress (Emma Stone) and a pretentious jazz musician (Ryan Gosling) who meet and fall in love and sing and dance in a romanticized, cartoony LA. Yeah, its splashy and grandiose and full of hazy violet Southern California sunsets, but its emotional core is genuine. Take it from shriveled-hearted me, the Unearned Sentiment Police: La La Land is a grand, over-the-top, razzly-dazzly love story that wont make you puke one bit. It might even help you forget the horrors of reality, however momentarilyand after the year weve had, that practically makes La La Land a public service. MEGAN BURBANKPlaying at: Big Picture, Pacific Place, Seven Gables, AdmiralWon: Lead Actress (Emma Stone), Best Director (Damien Chazelle), Cinematography, Production Design, Original Score, Original Song ("City of Stars")
Manchester by the SeaIn Manchester, Lee Chandler (Affleck) seems content to shovel walkways and unclog toilets for a living in Boston, until word comes that his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler, seen in flashbacks) has died of a heart attack. Joes will stipulates that he wants Lee to move back to his titular hometown and become Patricks guardian. Lee, however, is haunted by past events and resists, with a toddlers tenacity, every effort by the people around him to help him come to terms. I feel for the guy, and you will too, but after two hours, I wanted to grab him by the collar and tell him to buck up. MARC MOHANPlaying at: Bella Bottega, Oak TreeWon: Original Screenplay, Leading Actor (Casey Affleck)
MoonlightEver get left speechless? Hear, see, touch, or taste something so rare that you don"t want to bruise its petals with your clumsy analysis? That"s how I feel about Moonlightyet that is exactly what I must do. Moonlight pulses with subtle, lived-in details that may just feel like breathing memory to a whole generation of African Americans. I can"t imagine what it must be like to be Black and queer and see something as vital and rare as Moonlight for the first time. But what"s most unexpected is that these lives may just get to live, happily and understood, at least to some degree. America hasn"t left much room for that outcome, and neither has the art we see about it. Our narratives deliver tragedy, spectacle, and melodrama. Stories like Moonlight, told humanely and intelligently, with complexity, nuance, and hope, may help more of its children envision their own. LARRY MIZELL JR.Playing at: Sundance Cinemas, CineramaWon: Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Mahershala Ali), Adapted Screenplay
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Paczki Recipe - How To Make Polish Donuts
paczki
Heard in the bakery line
Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the day of indulgence before the Christian fast known as Lent. For urban centers with large Polish and Polish-American populations, including Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago, indulgence often means a paczki. Or, like, 12.
Proper pronunciation of this sinful jelly- or creme-filled donut, at least among non-Polish speakers, incites a debate only rivaled by the fight over which bakery does them best. Most people land somewhere around POONCH-key. But add in local dialect, or the effects of other Fat Tuesday imbibing, and POWNCH-key or PAUNCH-key sometimes emerges.
The recipe is similar to German, Jewish and Italian filled donuts, but traditional paczki contain a splash of Polish vodka called Spiritus, says Eater.com.
Read: For Mardi Gras, try this rum that was born on the Bayou
Poland itself digs in on Fat Thursday, which was February 23, six days before Ash Wednesday and, this year, 52 days before Easter. Chicago bakeries report they typically fry tens of thousands of paczki (yup, thats the plural) per day from Thursday through Tuesday.
Opinion: The toxic tale of those coveted Mardi Gras beads
And with its own twist, Detroit turns its paczki into a hotdog bun.
About 120 customers lined up on Clark Street early Tuesday morning in Andersonville as today is the final day for Swedish Bakery. A neighborhood icon, the bakery will close today at 6:30 p.m., ending business after 88 years. There was an extra layer of excitement on this Fat Tuesday as the bakery is one of the many which celebrate a Polish-Chicago tradition, the paczki.
Customers showed up as early as 5 a.m. to line up, and others will arrive later today, but the latter may be left with only breadcrumbs. News crews descended to fill their morning broadcasts as head baker Dennis Stanton surveyed the scene from outside his bakery as customers slowly trudged inside. He quietly ducked inside through the side entrance.
Stantons family is Greek and German, and they purchased the bakery 38 years ago from a Swedish family. Andersonville, Chicagos Swedish enclave, counted on the bakery for nearly a century for birthday cakes, cookies, breads, and other baked goods. Many customers dont know where theyll go for baked goods after Tuesday.
I have no idea what Ill do without it, said Heather McAllister, one of the customers crammed inside.
Ashok Selvam
The historic bakery wasnt a spot to connect on WiFi with a laptop, which can be a requisite nowadays to draw younger customers. In a previous interview with the Tribune, Stanton said that millennials looked for a food experience, but Swedish Bakery was merely humdrum. It was time to close, he said, as the family doesnt have a younger member to take over the business. The building is up for sale.
The bakery limited available quantities in its final days. Some customers anticipated the rush and pre-ordered so they could skip the line and just pickup their food. However, if they wanted more than that pre-order, they needed to take a number for additional items. There was no circumventing the line. Some customers said theyll throw a few goods into the freezer for safe keeping, as theyll last for about five months when frozen.
Ashok Selvam
Katy Kraeger drove down from Milwaukee on Monday and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to come in today with her father, Pete Kraeger. Katy Kraegers grandparents moved to Andersonville in 1960. The bakery was a family tradition. Todays order would include cookies, marzipan cake, paczki and coffee cake.
It was a place to get something special, my parents had six kids so it wasnt like we could come up here and buy cookies [frequently], Pete Kraeger said. For special occasions we would come up here and get cookies or coffee cake.
Dont forget about the paczki, as the bakery had 16 flavors available. Surat Bashorun said shes sampled them all, but shes partial to one in particular. Oh my G*d, the pineapple is the best! she said, gushing.
Ashok Selvam
About 40 employees worked at the bakery, and the Stantons are working to find them new jobs. While many customers walked out with smiles, holding big bags loaded with pastries, there was also a bit of sadness even for those working behind the counter.
The U.S. senate confirmed wilbur ross as secretary of commerce Monday evening by a 72-27 vote. Ross, 79, a billionaire investor, is expected to play a crucial role in President Donald Trump"s plans to change U.S. trade policy, including renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement.
About 120 customers lined up on Clark Street early Tuesday morning in Andersonville as today is the final day for Swedish Bakery. A neighborhood icon, the bakery will close today at 6:30 p.m., ending business after 88 years. There was an extra layer of excitement on this Fat Tuesday as the bakery is one of the many which celebrate a Polish-Chicago tradition, the paczki.
Customers showed up as early as 5 a.m. to line up, and others will arrive later today, but the latter may be left with only breadcrumbs. News crews descended to fill their morning broadcasts as head baker Dennis Stanton surveyed the scene from outside his bakery as customers slowly trudged inside. He quietly ducked inside through the side entrance.
Stantons family is Greek and German, and they purchased the bakery 38 years ago from a Swedish family. Andersonville, Chicagos Swedish enclave, counted on the bakery for nearly a century for birthday cakes, cookies, breads, and other baked goods. Many customers dont know where theyll go for baked goods after Tuesday.
I have no idea what Ill do without it, said Heather McAllister, one of the customers crammed inside.
Ashok Selvam
The historic bakery wasnt a spot to connect on WiFi with a laptop, which can be a requisite nowadays to draw younger customers. In a previous interview with the Tribune, Stanton said that millennials looked for a food experience, but Swedish Bakery was merely humdrum. It was time to close, he said, as the family doesnt have a younger member to take over the business. The building is up for sale.
The bakery limited available quantities in its final days. Some customers anticipated the rush and pre-ordered so they could skip the line and just pickup their food. However, if they wanted more than that pre-order, they needed to take a number for additional items. There was no circumventing the line. Some customers said theyll throw a few goods into the freezer for safe keeping, as theyll last for about five months when frozen.
Ashok Selvam
Katy Kraeger drove down from Milwaukee on Monday and woke up at 5:30 a.m. to come in today with her father, Pete Kraeger. Katy Kraegers grandparents moved to Andersonville in 1960. The bakery was a family tradition. Todays order would include cookies, marzipan cake, paczki and coffee cake.
It was a place to get something special, my parents had six kids so it wasnt like we could come up here and buy cookies [frequently], Pete Kraeger said. For special occasions we would come up here and get cookies or coffee cake.
Dont forget about the paczki, as the bakery had 16 flavors available. Surat Bashorun said shes sampled them all, but shes partial to one in particular. Oh my G*d, the pineapple is the best! she said, gushing.
Ashok Selvam
About 40 employees worked at the bakery, and the Stantons are working to find them new jobs. While many customers walked out with smiles, holding big bags loaded with pastries, there was also a bit of sadness even for those working behind the counter.
