Don't fall for bogus claim they are a "grassroots movement"
Maurice Cunningham
FAKE ACTIVISTS - “If your mother says she loves you, check
it out” is a bromide drilled
into every journalist. So it is baffling why, if an interest group includes the
words “moms” or “parents,” it is just taken at its word, especially when a
little digging can reveal that many of these groups are the creations of
billionaires out to destroy public education.
As the author of Dark
Money and the Politics of School Privatization, I have been following
billionaire-backed education interest groups for more than a decade. Since big
money lacks public credibility, it often masquerades as organizations claiming
to represent the interests of “parents,” “moms,” “educators,” and “families.”
The concocted stories about how these groups were created are often repeated by
an incurious press, which misses the opportunity to tell its readers a more
interesting story: how billionaires and right-wing activists pour money into
upbeat-sounding organizations to further their aim of privateering our public
school system.
These astroturf operations have been proliferating resulting
in serious negative impacts. Consider the havoc wreaked
on some school boards by Moms for Liberty (M4L). M4L even got into presidential
politics in 2024, boosting Donald
Trump, at the behest of the donors, who co-founder Tina Descovich termed as
M4L’s “investors.”
Consider a November 2024 Washington Post story on
Linda McMahon’s nomination to be secretary of education. The article contrasted
remarks from National Education Association (NEA) President Becky Pringle with
an alternative view from Keri Rodrigues, founding president of the National
Parents Union (NPU), which the reporter Laura Meckler called “a grassroots
group,” thus giving the impression that NEA and NPU are similar organizations.
They are not. NEA is a well-established teachers’ union that
credibly claims 3
million members and is governed by a democratic structure. NPU
appeared on the scene in 2020, surfing in on millions of dollars from the foundations
of American oligarchs, including the Walton family, Mark
Zuckerberg, and Charles Koch.
In 2024, Rodrigues, a fixture at education privateering
groups, told
the Boston Globe that NPU could get its message to “250,000 families
to vote against” a ballot question sponsored by the teachers’ union and would
“put that network to work.”
There is zero evidence that this extensive network exists or
that it did anything on the ballot question. There is also no proof to validate
Rodrigues’s claim that
the organization has 1.7 million members nationally.
Narcissists feel ostracized more frequently than their less
self-absorbed peers, according to research published by the American
Psychological Association. This may stem not only from being shunned due to
their personalities but from a tendency to misinterpret ambiguous social
signals as exclusion.
"Feeling ostracized is a subjective experience based on
the perception of social cues by the individual. Some may be intentionally
ostracized, while others may merely believe they are being excluded when that's
not the case," said lead author Christiane Büttner, PhD, of the University
of Basel. "Our findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of
narcissism are more sensitive to exclusion cues, leading them to perceive
ostracism more frequently."
The research was published in the Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology.
While narcissism can take various forms, the researchers
chose to focus exclusively on grandiose narcissism, which includes traits such
as entitlement, dominance, a strong desire for admiration and a tendency to
seek status and recognition.
Thousands of tons of plastic pollution could be escaping into the environment every year … from our mouths. Most chewing gum on sale is made from a variety of oil-based synthetic rubbers – similar to the plastic material used in car tires.
If you find that thought slightly unsettling, you are not alone. I have been researching and speaking about the plastic pollution problem for 15 years. The people I talk to are always surprised, and disgusted, when they find out they’ve been chewing on a lump of malleable plastic. Most manufacturers just don’t advertise what gum is actually made of – they dodge around the detail by listing “gum base” in the ingredients.
There’s no strict definition of synthetic gum base. Chewing gum brand, Wrigley Extra partners with dental professionals around the world to promote the use of sugar-free chewing gum to improve oral health.
The brand’s Wrigley Oral Health Program states that: “Gum base puts the "chew” in chewing gum, binding all the ingredients together for a smooth, soft texture. We use synthetic gum base materials for a consistent and safe base that provides longer-lasting flavor, improved texture, and reduced tackiness.“
It almost sounds harmless. But chemical analysis shows that gum contains styrene-butadiene (the durable synthetic chemical used to make car tires), polyethylene (the plastic used to make carrier bags and bottles) and polyvinyl acetate (wood glue) as well as some sweetener and flavoring.
The chewing gum industry is big business, worth an estimated US$48.68 billion (£37.7 billion) in 2025. Three companies own 75% of the market share, the largest of which is Wrigley, with an estimated 35%. There are few reliable statistics available about the amount of gum being produced, but one peer-reviewed global estimate states 1.74 trillion pieces are made per year.
What are the chances of getting approval from an FDA controlled by RFK Jr.?
By Bruce Goldman, Stanford Medicine
Imagine a world where getting vaccinated is as simple as
rubbing a cream onto your skin—no needles, no pain, and no unpleasant side
effects like fever, swelling, or soreness. No long lines at the clinic, and
best of all, it’s affordable.
Thanks to researchers at Stanford University, that future
may be closer than we think. By harnessing a common skin bacterium found on
nearly everyone, scientists are exploring a revolutionary approach to
vaccination.
“We all hate needles — everybody does,” said Michael
Fischbach, PhD, the Liu (Liao) Family Professor and a professor of
bioengineering. “I haven’t found a single person who doesn’t like the idea that
it’s possible to replace a shot with a cream.”
Trump tried to make this long-standing pledge a reality on March 20, 2025, by signing an executive order that he said will “begin eliminating the federal Department of Education once and for all.”
Trump said that he hopes Democrats would support his executive order. “I hope they’re going to be voting for it,” said Trump, speaking from the White House in front of a group of children seated at desks. “Because ultimately it may come before them.”
Trump’s new executive order calls for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure (of) the Department of Education and return education authority to the States, while continuing to ensure the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely,” according to a White House statement distributed to media.
Education policies in the U.S. are largely carried out at the state and local levels. The Education Department is a relatively small government agency, which as late as February 2025 had just over 4,000 employees and a US$268 billion annual budget. A large part of its work is overseeing $1.6 trillion in federal student loans as well as grants for K-12 schools.
And it ensures that public schools comply with federal laws that protect vulnerable students, like those with disabilities.
Why, then, does Trump want to eliminate the department?
A will to fight against so-called “wokeness” and a desire to shrink the government are among the four reasons I have found.
MAGA reason #1. Education Department’s alleged ‘woke’ mentality
First and foremost, Trump and his supporters believe that liberals are ruining public education by instituting what they call a
“radical woke agenda” that they say prioritizes identity politics and politically correct groupthink at the expense of the free speech of those, like many conservatives, who have different views.
Diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives promoting social justice – and critical race theory, or the idea that racism is entrenched in social and legal institutions – are a particular focus of MAGA ire.
So, too, is what Trump supporters call “radical gender ideology,” which they contend promotes policies like letting transgender students play on school sports teams or use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity, not biological sex.
Trump supporters say that such policies – which the Education Department indirectly supported by expanding Title IX gender protections in 2024 to include discrimination based on gender identity – are at odds with parental school choice rights or, for some religious conservatives, the Bible.
For MAGA supporters, “radical left” wokeness is part of liberals’ long-standing attempt to “brainwash” others with their allegedly Marxist views that embrace communism.
Trump supporters also argue that “woke” federal public education policy infringes on people’s basic freedoms and rights.
This idea extends to what Trump supporters call “restoring parental rights,” including the right to decide whether a child undergoes a gender transition or learns about nonbinary gender identity at public schools.
Diversity, according to this argument, should include faith-based institutions and homeschooling. Project 2025 proposes that the government could support parents who choose to homeschool or put their kids in a religious primary school by providing Educational Savings Accounts and school vouchers. Vouchers give public funding for students to attend private schools and have been expanding in use in recent years.
For the MAGA faithful, the Education Department exemplifies government inefficiency and red tape.
Project 2025, for example, contends that from the time it was established by the Carter administration in 1979, the Education Department has ballooned in size, come under the sway of special interest groups and now serves as an inefficient “one-stop shop for the woke education cartel.”
To deal with the Education Department’s “bloat” and “suffocating bureaucratic red tape,” Project 2025 recommends shifting all of the department’s federal programs and money to other agencies and the states.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota also introduced a bill in November 2024 to close the department.
Trump has dismantled other government agencies in his second term, chiefly the U.S. Agency for International Development, without the required congressional approval. A federal judge ruled on March 18 that the dismantling of USAID likely violated the Constitution and ordered the Trump administration to restore all USAID employees’ email and computer access.
Abolishing the Department of Education would legally require congressional approval and 60 votes to move forward in the Senate, which is unlikely since Republicans only have 53 seats.
Regardless of such legal challenges, Trump’s March 20 executive order will further weaken the Department of Education even as it remains in the crosshairs.
This story was updated on March 20, 2025, from an earlier version published originally on Feb. 7, 2025.
Researchers have a new explanation for why we experience the
"happiness paradox" -- a phenomenon wherein trying to make ourselves
happier actually makes us less happy.
Studies have documented the paradox for more than a decade,
yet few have dug into what causes it. It turns out, according to new U of T
Scarborough research published in the journal Applied Psychology:
Health and Well-Being, trying to be happier is mentally exhausting in a way
that drains our ability to use self-control and willpower.
As a result, we're
more susceptible to temptation, and to making the kind of self-destructive
decisions that make us less happy.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who oversees the health of more than 340 million Americans, says vitamin A can prevent the worst effects of measles rather than urging more people to get vaccinated.
In an opinion piece for Fox News, the US health secretary said he was “deeply concerned” about the current measles outbreak in Texas. However, he said the decision to vaccinate was a “personal one” and something for parents to discuss with their health-care provider.
Here’s what the vitamin A study actually says and why public health officials are so concerned about Kennedy’s latest statement.
Why is a measles outbreak so worrying?
Measles is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus. It spreads easily including when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes.
Measles initially infects the respiratory tract and then the virus spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include a high fever, cough, red eyes, runny nose and a rash all over the body.
Measles can also be severe, can cause complications including blindness and swelling of the brain, and can be fatal. Measles can affect anyone but is most common in children.
Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in the film classic "Some Like It Hot"
A state law signed Feb. 28, 2025, removes gender identity as a protected status from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, leaving transgender people vulnerable to discrimination. The rights of transgender people – those who present gender characteristics that differ from what has historically been expected of someone based on their biological sex traits – are under political attack across the United States. There are now hundreds of anti-trans bills at various points in the legislative process.
Bias against trans people may not always feel like bias. For someone who believes it to be true, saying there can only be biological men who identify as men and biological women who identify as women may feel like a statement of fact. But research shows that gender is a spectrum, separate from biological sex, which is also more complex than the common male-female binary.
We are social psychologists who study and teach about the basic social, cognitive and emotion-based processes people use to make sense of themselves and the world. Research reveals psychological processes that bias people in ways they usually aren’t aware of. These common human tendencies can influence what we think about a particular group, influence how we act toward them, and prompt legislators to pass biased laws.
The administration accidentally fired civil servants who were responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear weapons, preventing a bird flu epidemic and overseeing the nation’s electricity supply.
A Veterans Administration official told NBC, “It’s leading to paralysis, and nothing is getting done.” A spokesperson at a nationwide program that provides meals to seniors, Meals on Wheels, which the government helps fund, said, “The uncertainty right now is creating chaos for local Meals on Wheels providers not knowing whether they should be serving meals today.”
Our recent book, “How Government Built America,” shows why the administration’s aim to eliminate government could result in an America that the country’s people have never experienced – one in which free-market economic forces operate without any accountability to the public.
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