As a framework, critical race theory asks teachers to use equitable approaches to curriculum, policy and structures in schools and school boards. For example, K-12 curriculum that is viewed through a CRT lens provides historical contexts and explains how history informs contemporary social, political, economic, cultural situations and issues.
Commentary
Does ‘Hardening’ Schools Make Students Safer?
Schools cannot be hardened enough to prevent gun violence. Schools can, however, become more physically and psychologically safe so students can learn and thrive.
Red Flag Laws Saved 7,300 Americans From Gun Deaths in 2020 Alone, and Could’ve Saved 11,400 More
In 2018, after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida passed a red flag law, and many other states followed suit. By the end of 2021, 19 states and the District of Columbia had done so. Not every state is on board: In 2020, Oklahoma banned its counties and municipalities from passing red-flag laws.
How Coastal Gentrification in Puerto Rico Is Displacing People and Damaging the Coast
Tourism income is central to Puerto Rico’s economy, especially in the wake of heavy damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017. But it comes at a cost: destruction of mangroves, wetlands and other coastal areas. Puerto Rico is no stranger to resort construction, but now widespread small-scale projects to meet demand for rentals on platforms like Airbnb are adding to concerns about coastal gentrification and touristification.
You Cannot Be Serious: Brian McMillan Leaves The Observer
Palm Coast Observer Brian McMillan announced today in a column that he was leaving the paper after 12 years. Though he leaves the paper in the equally qualified hands of Jonathan Simmons, it is no less of a gut punch and a loss to the community. McMillan had kept the Observer centered.
The Christian Arrogance Behind Praying Coach’s Supreme Court Case
Christian coach Joseph Kennedy’s prayer at a public school football field’s 50-yard line is not about religious freedom. It is not about God. It is not even about praying. It’s about imposing one version of Christianity in an increasingly pluralist society in one of the last places where that kind of favoritism has no place. It is intolerance by exclusivity.
Deepfakes: How To Combat Their Unethical Use
Malicious and unethical use of deepfakes can harm people. Organizations are increasingly vulnerable to this technology and the costs of this type of fraud can be high.
Why the Supreme Court’s Coach Decision Is a School-Prayer Game-Changer
The court has now decided that public school employees can pray when supervising students. It also helps close out a Supreme Court term when the current justices’ increasing interest in claims of religious discrimination was on full display, with another “church-state” case decided in religious plaintiffs’ favor just last week.
Octavia E. Butler, Sci-Fi Pioneer, and Her New Vision for Humanity
Octavia Butler was the first science fiction writer to be awarded a MacArthur Genius Grant. A pioneering writer in a genre long dominated by white men, her work explored power structures, shifting definitions of humanity and alternative societies.
Supreme Court Brandishes Second Amendment Rights to New Heights
For most of the history of the court, Second Amendment rights have been seen as distinct, more dangerous and thus more open to regulation. Now, the majority of justices has invoked a major change, with implications for many rights and regulations in American society.
My Son Leaves
Today’s the day. We’re taking our son to UCF. There will be bleakness. This day has been hurtling toward us since he was born. It was once a distant meteor, invisible to the naked heart. But impact is today at 3:30 p.m.
Republicans, DeSantis Among Them, Appear Willing to Lynch Democracy
The House hearings on the violent near-coup at the Capitol is the most exciting television since “Game of Thrones,” though with less sex and fewer beheadings. Since eight years of decent progress on social justice under Obama, it’s becoming clear something has gone very wrong with Republican brain-wiring.
‘A Revolutionary Ruling – and Not Just for Abortion’: A Supreme Court Scholar Explains the Impact
What does this ruling mean? Why is there now no right to abortion, when Roe recognized it? Is a fetus now a person? What effect will the ruling have on other issues?
An American Tragedy: The Roe Regression
In right-to-life theology, the woman’s right is non-existent. She’s a vessel. Pro-life? It might help us to look beneath our legal and social burquas once in a while. It’s not pretty, and it sure as hell isn’t nearly as moral or pro-life as you think.
Summer High: 5 Books on the Joys and Challenges of LGBTQ Teen and Young Adult Life
In recognition of LGBT Pride Month, Jonathan Alexander – an English professor with a scholarly interest in the interplay between sexuality and literature, and the children’s and young adult fiction section editor for the Los Angeles Review of Books, presents his “must-reads” for this summer.
Biden Thinks a Federal Gas Tax ‘Holiday’ Will Help. Not Likely.
Several states have temporarily waived their state gasoline taxes to reduce the burden on consumers. Does it help? Not substantially, other than to let politicians who feel a need to show voters they are doing something appear as if they are.
Understanding the Heat Dome: Why America Is Baking
A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and animals below to suffer through stagnant, hot air that can feel like an oven.
Endorsements Aren’t As Influential as You Think
So far, 94 percent of Trump’s favored candidates have won their Republican primaries. But most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races.
Wiccan Celebrations and the Permanence of Change
Summer solstice, a time when the northern hemisphere will experience the maximum hours of sunlight, takes place on June 21 – and will be celebrated by followers of Wicca, a form of contemporary Paganism, with a holiday known as Litha.
Privacy Isn’t In the Constitution. But It’s Everywhere in Constitutional Law.
For half a century, the Supreme Court has recognized privacy as an outgrowth of protections for individual liberty. This implied right is the source of many of the nation’s most cherished, contentious and commonly used rights – including the right to have an abortion.
Anti-Trans Legislation and Lawsuits Are Pushing back Against Chosen Pronouns
It’s a disquieting trend: The right of trans students to be free from discrimination is tenuous at best and under constant legal attack. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal group, is behind much of the anti-trans legislation in the U.S.
How Mike Pence’s Unremarkable Actions on Jan. 6 Saved the Nation
New revelations from the congressional committee investigating the events on and leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol show the crucial role then-Vice President Mike Pence played in thwarting the insurrection – and reveal the principles behind his actions.
Blaspheming Human Rights: The Hypocrisy at the Core of Authoritarian Muslim Nations
While Many Muslim nations howl at perceived blasphemy about Prophet Muhammad, authoritarianism in the Muslim world has tragic consequences for Muslim minorities in India and elsewhere. Muslim governments’ short-term, emotional reactions to some defamation cases do not help improve the conditions of Muslim minorities, who actually need a more consistent and principled support.
There Is No One ‘Religious View’ on Abortion
One in four Americans who have had abortions are Catholic, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for reproductive health. It’s a clear reminder of the complex relationship between any religious tradition’s teachings and how people actually live out their beliefs.
Inflation Is Spiking. Can the Fed Raise Interest Rates Without Spiking Unemployment, Too?
Economists fear that raising rates too fast and too steeply would likely put the brakes on economic growth, resulting in an economic recession and soaring unemployment. An economist who studies inflation believes there are several reasons the Fed can more fiercely fight inflation without worrying so much about unemployment.
Blaming ‘Evil’ Is Not Enough
Evil is one of the most complex and paradoxical words in the English language. It can galvanize collective action but also lead to collective paralysis, as if the presence of evil can’t be helped. As a philosopher studying moral concepts and their role in communication, I find it essential to scrutinize this word.
Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban Diminish Mass Shootings? Yes.
The risk of a person in the U.S. dying in a mass shooting was 70% lower during the period in which the assault weapons ban was active. The proportion of overall gun homicides resulting from mass shootings was also down, with nine fewer mass-shooting-related fatalities per 10,000 shooting deaths.
Crowded Primaries Are Good for Extremists, Bad for Voters
Each additional candidate who gets votes lowers the number of votes needed to secure a nomination. The outcomes of primaries with many candidates are unpredictable and may result in extreme, inexperienced or controversial nominees who may not truly represent a majority of voters. And a fringe candidate winning the primary and advancing to the general election can mean a risky candidate for their party.
To Get Safe Schools, Mental Health Resources Are Critical
School violence prevention requires professionals – counselors, psychologists and social workers – who know how to create an emotionally safe environment, which research shows is critical to safe schools. There is a critical shortage of such employees.
Antarctica’s Riskiest Glacier Is Losing Its Grip
Antarctica is a continent comprising several large islands, one of them the size of Australia, all buried under a 10,000-foot-thick layer of ice. The ice holds enough fresh water to raise sea level by nearly 200 feet. You don’t want its glaciers melting. They are.
The Legal Age to Buy Assault Weapons Doesn’t Make Sense
Considering someone an adult once they turn 18 is a relatively recent trend, and it’s not clear that it can stand up to public scrutiny as a meaningful threshold for legally purchasing firearms.
Meh Confidence: What It Means for Boris Johnson and Conservatives
The history of such confidence votes in Conservative leaders tells us that they almost always end up damaging both the leader and the party even when they support the incumbent. We have seen this happening on three successive occasions over the past 32 years.
Why the NRA Is So Successful at Stopping Gun-Safety Legislation
NRA has vigorously rejected any charge that its policies contribute to America’s gun problem, instead advancing proposals such as improving mental health responses, “hardening” schools with increased security, and potentially even arming teachers, which leaders claim, without evidence and against educators’ wishes, can serve as a deterrent.
‘Napalm Girl’ at 50: How Media Myths Distort an Image’s Reality and Exaggerate Its Impact
The Pulitzer Prize-winning “Napalm Girl” photograph by Nick Ut of terror-stricken Vietnamese children fleeing an aerial attack on their village, taken 50 years ago this month, has rightly been called “a picture that doesn’t rest.” But the image formally known as “The Terror of War” has also given rise to tenacious media-driven myths.
Trial Diary: A Journalist Sits on a Baltimore Jury
Could 12 strangers agree on justice in Baltimore, a city riddled with killings and distrust of the police, in a shooting case where the victim was an actor on the legendary drama “The Wire”?
‘Severance’ and the Folly of the Work-Life Balance
Imagining work as separate from home life has its roots in the Anglo-American suburban model: drive along newly built highways to the downtown office in the morning and retreat home to family in the suburban idyll. But the TV show Severance’s dystopian message mimics today’s all-encompassing digital capitalism: there is no escape.
‘Our Democracy Is At Risk’: FPC’s Jack Petocz’s Winning Essay in ACLU Contest
Jack Petocz, who will be a senior at Flagler Palm Coast High School next fall, won First Place in the ACLU of Florida Volusia/Flagler Chapter’s first Annual “Cary Ragsdale Future Voter’s Essay Contest.” The award carries a $500 prize underwritten by FlaglerLive, and publication of the essay here.
How Assault-Style Rifles and Ammunition Kill and Maim
The AR-15 usually fires a version of the ammunition used by many NATO soldiers to kill enemy troops. As shown in Texas, and many other mass shootings, that ammunition is also extremely effective at harming civilians. The Texas killer purchased 1,600 rounds of the ammunition.
Overcoming the Distorted Narrative of Christian Nationalism
I grew up in a church community that pitted people against each other and called it “Christianity.” As a pastor now myself, I know there’s another way. We work to transform systems of inequality rather than blame people for struggles outside of their control, the author writes.
Québec’s Dangerous Bill 32 on ‘Academic Freedom’
In addition to undermining the autonomy of universities and faculty, and creating myriad implementation problems, the bill blurs the important distinctions between free expression and academic freedom. Most troubling, it signals that politicians are turning academic freedom into a political weapon.
Why Are So Many Americans Fixated on England’s Monarchy?
In America, Elizabeth retains approval ratings that would leave most political leaders envious. No royal family from any other nation has induced the same level of scrutiny or celebration. But British royals have been eliciting similar responses on American shores for the past 150 years.
Mass Shootings Are a Boon to Firearms Stocks
A week on, and the market rally of gun stocks following the latest mass shooting hasn’t subsided. That’s been the case with recent mass shootings–but it contrasts with shootings a decade or more ago, when gun companies’ share prices would fall.
Memorial Day’s Forgotten History
Memorial Day was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday came into being.
Measure Up to What Vets Fought For: A Call to Flagler’s Community and State Leaders
It is time county commissioners, governors and legislators exhibited some plain common sense, balancing serious gun-safety regulations with responsible gun ownership. The politicians who let the carnage continue are the cowards for not taking action.
Roadside Safety Messages Distract Drivers and Increase Crashes
A study showed there were two to three per cent more crashes within one to 10 kilometres downstream of each dynamic message sign during the week fatality messages were shown. This suggests that this specific behavioral intervention backfired.
Our National Pathology Over Guns Is Inhuman
Insanity, as has been famously remarked, is doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for a different result. And that is the story of our lawmakers’ ongoing inability to pass even the simplest of gun violence reduction measures. And, then, under our very noses, we’re hit with another Sandy Hook.
Arming Teachers: Risks and a False Sense of Security
There are documented incidents of school staff using their firearm to neutralize a shooter. However, researchers have not found evidence that arming teachers increases school safety. Rather, arming teachers may contribute to a false sense of security for teachers, students and the community, when even highly trained police in gunfights hit their target only 18% of the time.
Cancel Student Debt and Bail Out Ordinary People for a Change
Donald Trump and the Republican Party passed a $1.9 trillion, high-end tax cut in 2017 that’s been called “socialism for the rich.” It led to billionaires paying a lower average tax rate than the working class for the first time in U.S. history. That sounds a lot more radical than helping regular people, Robert P. Alvarez argues.
Yes, Muslims Are Portrayed Negatively in American Media
The warm welcome Americans and Europeans have given Ukrainians in 2022 contrasts sharply with the uneven – and frequently hostile – policies toward Syrian refugees in the mid-2010s. Negative opinions on Muslims were mostly influenced by what they heard and read in the media, which projects “stereotypic beliefs, negative emotions and support for harmful policies” toward Muslim Americans.
The NRA’s Evolution from Gun-Control Advocacy to Anti-Restriction Zealotry
Despite the proximity in time and location to the Texas shooting, the NRA is proceeding with its plans to hold its annual convention in Houston on May 27-29, 2022. The featured speakers include former President Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican.