A lesson for Betsy, a lesson for us
Betsy DeVos, America's new education secretary and an aggressive backer of publicly funded vouchers that public school students could use for private school tuition, last Monday praised historically black colleges and universities as "real pioneers when it comes to school choice."
We wonder what part of "no," as in no blacks allowed, did she never understand from the "whites only" signs of the pre-1960s?
So "Whites Only" offers "choice?"
If the sign said "No Betsys allowed," where's your "choice," Betsy?
Since when did "choice" mean go make your own?
DeVos made the clueless comment in a statement shortly after meeting with several presidents of historically black colleges and universities. She went on in the statement to praise the schools for making "tangible, structural reforms" that allow students, often underserved, to reach their full potential.
"They started from the fact that there were too many students in America who did not have equal access to education," she said in the statement. "They saw that the system wasn't working, that there was an absence of opportunity, so they took it upon themselves to provide the solution."
It was hard to know where to start with this, but Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, pretty much nailed it by tweeting: "Totally nuts. DeVos pretending that establishment of historically black colleges was about choice not racism."
The next day, DeVos showed that she could learn from her mistakes and the widespread outrage this gaffe created.
On Tuesday, she clarified in a speech that historically black colleges and universities were "born, not out of mere choice, but out of necessity, in the face of racism, and in the aftermath of the Civil War."
Donald Trump nominated DeVos, who's billionaire Amway family contributed large sums to his campaign. During her confirmation hearing, DeVos time and again displayed a striking lack of knowledge about federal education laws such as the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, and the role of the Department of Education in student loans and other policies. Her lack of preparedness prompted two female Republican senators to vote against her confirmation, forcing Vice President Mike Pence to cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm her.
But let's give credit where it's due. Unlike many others in the Trump administration, she hasn't doubled down on her errors. And apparently she hasn't spoken with the Russians, either - that we know of.
Speaking of Russia
Vox reported Friday that President Trump's response to growing concerns about his administration's ties to Russia was to troll Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer by tweeting out a picture of Schumer and Putin together, smiling over donuts and coffee.
"We should start an immediate investigation into @SenSchumer and his ties to Russian and Putin. A total hypocrite!," reads the tweet.
The picture was made in 2003 at a Russian-owned gas station opening in Manhattan. Apparently Trump didn't have enough characters left in the tweet space to note that the snapshot was 14 years old.
Vox notes that there is a difference between a senator publicly meeting with a world leader and the multiple and growing Russia scandals that Trump faces. The question is not merely whether Trump and his team met in public with Russian officials, but whether they actively worked with the Russian government to thwart Obama administration sanctions for Russia's hacking and meddling in our election. On whether the Trump team worked to support itself and Russian interests, then tried to cover it up.
For his part, Schumer tweeted back: "Happily talk re: my contact w Mr. Putin & his associates, took place in '03 in full view of press & public under oath. Would you &your team?"
How about it, Mr. President?
Watch what happens next
Several national news publications are reporting that Trump's advisers are locked in an internal debate over whether to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate deal - the international treaty to address global warming.
Trump has vowed to cancel the deal, and The New York Times reports that Stephen Bannon wants him to make good on the pledge. But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ivanka Trump are urging the president to stay in the deal, fearing that a defiant withdrawal would have "broad and damaging diplomatic ramifications."
Vox reports that if Trump opts for total withdrawal, he's likely to face all sorts of international condemnation and blowback. Europe, China and other countries might threaten to withhold cooperation elsewhere.
But, as Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn, hinted to the Times, Trump could decide it's smarter to just keep the U.S. in the Paris deal. After all, the individual countries' pledges are voluntary, so there's no concrete harm in hanging on.
Under that scenario, we - and the world - would be left to watch how many of the U.S. measures intended to help us meet our goals (and current accomplishments) would be scuttled or undone.