Quick Hits: Volume CCLXXXV

 - The city of Minneapolis made national news this past week. When that has happened over the past few years, it's typically not flattering. 

An agreement between the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers union and the school district states that White teachers will be laid off before teachers of color, regardless of their seniority.

The agreement, which was reached to end a two-week teacher strike last spring, says that starting this school year, "if excessing a teacher who is a member of a population underrepresented among licensed teachers in the site, the district shall excess the next least senior teacher, who is not a member of an underrepresented population."

Excessing teachers is the process by which staff are reduced at a particular school due to a drop in enrollment, funding or other reasons.

The agreement further goes on to say that when reinstating teachers, "the District shall prioritize the recall of a teacher who is a member of a population underrepresented among licensed teachers in the district."

Hmmm. If only we could come up with an adjective to describe prejudice against people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group.

Seriously though, sagas like this can be avoided if job status wasn't determined by these archaic seniority standards. Seems to me a meritocracy would be in the best interest of teachers and students. Or is merit now considered "privilege" these days? 

- It was one year ago this week when President Joe Biden made the decision to withdraw American forces from a near 20-year stint in Afghanistan. While such a move was correct (if not long overdue), the timing and execution of the withdrawal was a complete disaster. It was at that point where Biden's approval rating went underwater and has not been close to rebounding since. 

If you're wondering if the President will be in a position to face inquiries on this dubious anniversary, this will tell ya all you need to know: 

Joe Biden — fresh off a week-long beach vacation in South Carolina — will return to the White House today for just five hours before leaving on another vacation to Delaware pic.twitter.com/qZ5rnvC6OZ

— Jake Schneider (@jacobkschneider) August 16, 2022

And of course the prog media will provide all the cover he needs.  

- Normally there would be very little attention paid to the GOP primary election for Wyoming's only U.S. House seat. But we don't live in normal times. 

As expected, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, who heads up the January 6 Committee and was one of ten Republicans to vote for impeachment of President Donald Trump, was soundly defeated Tuesday evening by Harriet Hageman. 

Let's face it: Cheney's ouster was due solely to the fact she was anti-Trump. As such, you had other anti-Trumpers jumping around like poo flinging monkeys, shrieking ZOMG THIS IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY when in fact democracy worked perfectly. Wyoming voters overwhelmingly voted for Trump for President in 2016 (he garnered 68% of the vote) and 2020 (almost 70%). It stands to reason he's still very popular among the vast majority of residents there. Needless to say, voters were not enthused about Cheney's animosity towards Trump, so one could surmise her actions as not representing the interests of constituents. And when that happens, said constituents make their collective voices heard at the ballot box. 

In short --- THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE. 

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