Tag: woke

I Was Banned From Entering CPAC Hungary’s ‘Woke Free Zone’

[ad_1]

In fact, the MAGA faithful flocked to the event to profess their admiration for the Hungarian miracle. Former Arizona candidate for governor Kari Lake recently declared on Steve Bannon’s show that “Hungary is doing things right.” One thing Orbán is apparently doing right is cozying up to Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Friday morning, Lake announced at the conference that there was a simple solution to ending the Ukraine conflict — sellout Kyiv to the Russians. “The only way to stop this war,” she said, “is to turn off the money spigot. I say we should invest in protecting our borders, not Ukraine’s.”
In a video message presumably taped before his abrupt ouster, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson told the Americans who were in Budapest that they were “very brave” as the State Department was “keeping track, you went to a forbidden country.” Later that day Orbán hosted Lake, Gosar and more than a dozen other American conservative activists and politicians for a photo-op at his office, including the Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec and former Sen. Rick Santorum. Hungary, Orbán said, has become an “incubator where the conservative policies of the future are being tested.”
Despite the democratic erosion in Hungary and on the American right, the theme of freedom was omnipresent as various speakers denounced the European Union, among other things, as a totalitarian organization intent on inflicting gender policies on Hungary that would endanger the traditional family. Croatian parliamentarian Stephen Bartulica decried the “anti-Christian” elites in Brussels, while Roger Köppel of the far-right Swiss People’s Party likened the ideology of “woke culture” to National Socialism. The Hungarian historian Maria Schmidt stated, “We want to preserve our own culture, we want to hold on to our language, our roots, our traditions, our identity. We don’t tolerate people crawling under our duvets and interfering in our private lives.”
Throughout, the idea was clear: Liberalism is synonymous with tyranny. Hungarian Justice Minister Judit Varga, who spoke on Thursday, congratulated the delegates for successfully completing a dangerous journey — flying over authoritarian countries to reach Hungary, the only truly free country in Europe.
The fealty that leading American politicians are paying to Orbán as they troop to Budapest allows him to fortify his image in Hungary as an international statesman. Fully embracing the Republican Party is a gamble that will likely antagonize President Joe Biden, but it’s also one that could elevate Orbán should Trump return to the White House — allowing him to bypass his European detractors and exercise outsized influence.
The Biden administration, by contrast, has taken a fairly hostile approach to Orban’s Hungary, including terminating a Hungarian-American tax agreement in retaliation for Budapest preventing the EU from adopting a global minimum tax. It’s also gone to war with Biden’s ambassador, David Pressman, who regularly trolls the regime.
CPAC has been good for Orbán. A return by Trump would be even better. “A Republican president,” Balázs Orbán said, “is in Hungary’s interest.”

[ad_2]
#Banned #Entering #CPAC #Hungarys #Woke #Free #Zone
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

May 6, 2023
Alabama education director ousted over ‘woke’ training book

[ad_1]

Ivey’s statement comes as conservative politicians have made a rallying cry out of decrying so-called woke teachings, with schools sometimes emerging as a flashpoint over diversity training and parents’ rights.
The governor’s office said Ivey first asked Cooper to “send a memo to disavow this book and to immediately discontinue its use.” Ivey’s office did not say how Cooper responded but that the governor made the decision to replace Cooper and accepted her resignation. Cooper could not immediately be reached for comment.
The book is a guide for early childhood educators. It is not a curriculum taught to children.
The governor’s office, in a press release, cited two examples from the book — one discussing white privilege and that “the United States is built on systemic and structural racism” and another that Ivey’s office claimed teaches LGBTQ+ inclusion to 4-year-olds. Those sections, according to a copy of the 881-page book obtained by The Associated Press, discuss combating bias and making sure that all children feel welcome.
“Early childhood programs also serve and welcome families that represent many compositions. Children from all families (e.g., single parent, grandparent-led, foster, LGBTQIA+) need to hear and see messages that promote equality, dignity, and worth,” the book states.
The section on structural racism states that “systemic and structural racism … has permeated every institution and system through policies and practices that position people of color in oppressive, repressive, and menial positions. The early education system is not immune to these forces.” It says preschool is one place where children “begin to see how they are represented in society” and that the classroom should be a place of “affirmation and healing.”
NAEYC is a national accrediting board that works to provide high-quality education materials and resources for young children. In an emailed response to The Associated Press, the group did not address Ivey’s statements but said the book is a research-based resource for educators.
“For nearly four decades, and in partnership with hundreds of thousands of families and educators, Developmentally Appropriate Practice has served as the foundation for high-quality early childhood education across all states and communities. While not a curriculum, it is a responsive, educator-developed, educator-informed, and research-based resource that has been honed over multiple generations to support teachers in helping all children thrive and reach their full potential,” the statement read.

Cooper is a member of the NAEYC board. In a previously published statement on the organization’s website about the latest edition of the book, Cooper said that book teaches, “applicable skills for teaching through developmentally appropriate practices that build brains during the critical first five years of life.”
Alabama’s First Class voluntary pre-kindergarten programs operates more than 1,400 classrooms across the state. The program has won high ratings from the National Institute for Early Education Research.
[ad_2]
#Alabama #education #director #ousted #woke #training #book
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 22, 2023
GOP, Manchin look to nullify ‘woke’ Biden rule

[ad_1]

Biden has threatened to veto the rollback, but the move is still providing fodder for GOP lawmakers who are making anti-woke criticism of socially minded big business a centerpiece of their political messaging.
Rep. Andy Barr, the Kentucky Republican who sponsored the resolution, said on “Fox and Friends” Tuesday that the votes will put members of Congress on the record regarding “whether they are going to put their constituents’ retirement security first or their own progressive political agenda.”
“Whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, we think most Americans don’t want politics to be a factor in allocating their capital and determining whether or not they’re going to have a secure retirement,” he said.
The votes this week are the latest milestone in the GOP’s populist turn when it comes to corporate America. Rather than defending the rights of asset managers to offer investment products as they choose, Republicans at the state and federal levels are using tools of government to beat up on Wall Street for its embrace of decision-making tied to environmental and social goals. It has forced major corporations to play defense in Washington and state capitals across the country, scrambling the traditionally friendly dynamic between big business and the Republican party.
The Labor Department rule Republicans are targeting this week was an attempt by the Biden administration late last year to clarify that retirement plan managers can consider environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments. The rule was intended to reverse Trump-era policy that tried to discourage ESG investments.
While the rule doesn’t require that climate and social issues factor into retirement planning, Republican critics argue that it opens the door to the politicization of investing at the expense of returns. It’s a critique that’s become widely embraced by GOP politicians and conservative groups. Former Vice President Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom is among the organizations backing this week’s rollback attempt.
“The Department of Labor’s new rule would allow woke asset managers to use the nearly $11.7 trillion in assets from the retirement accounts of over 150 million Americans to fund the Left’s political agenda,” Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson said in a statement.
The Biden administration and most Democrats in Congress are fighting back. The giant labor organization AFL-CIO is among the dozens of outside groups lobbying Congress to vote against the Republican resolution, arguing that incorporating ESG factors in investments “helps protect the hard-earned retirement savings of working people.”

The White House said in a statement Monday that reverting to more restrictive, Trump-era policy would “unnecessarily limit the options available to retirement plan participants and investors.”
Despite the opposition, the GOP effort has started to attract support and consideration from Democrats up for reelection in 2024 in conservative-leaning states. It means that Republicans may only need one more Democrat in addition to Manchin to pass the proposal in the Senate. The Congressional Review Act, the law that allows lawmakers to nullify executive branch actions, offers a fast-track process that requires only a simple majority vote to undo recently released regulations like the DOL rule.
Senate Democrats hold a one-seat majority, but Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is out for treatment for clinical depression. Republicans still likely need one more Democrat to support the measure beyond Manchin because of the absence of Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), according to Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who is sponsoring the rollback.
Manchin was an early co-sponsor of the Senate GOP’s resolution, and he blasted the Biden administration as “irresponsible” for issuing the rule.
Tester, who is likely facing one of the toughest 2024 reelection campaigns among Senate Democrats, said in an interview Tuesday that “I’ve got my leanings” but that he was still reviewing the policy and wasn’t ready to share his position.
“My challenge is this: Why’d the administration put it out?” Tester said. “It seems to me if I’m an investor of money, I’m not gonna put money in things that aren’t good investments. And then I’ve got to figure out if any of it’s mandatory.”
[ad_2]
#GOP #Manchin #nullify #woke #Biden #rule
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

February 28, 2023