Commentary: Could COVID-19 End the Government Monopoly on Education?

by Daniel J. Mitchell   The coronavirus has been horrible news, most obviously because of death and suffering. But the disease has also wreaked havoc with the economy and given politicians an excuse to push counterproductive policies. But if you want to find a silver lining to that dark cloud, the virus may be putting pressure on America’s government school monopoly. For instance, John Stossel explains that it may lead to more homeschooling. Given the large amount of evidence showing superior outcomes for home-schooled students, this is definitely a much-needed bit of good news. Matthew Hennessey, in a column for the Wall Street Journal, also opined about how the coronavirus may produce a permanent expansion of homeschooling: Most students will return to traditional classrooms when the crisis passes. But some families—perhaps many—will…decide that homeschooling is not only a plausible option, but a superior one. …An economy of high-quality online educational materials has sprouted in the past decade. All you need is a laptop, headphones and a quiet corner of the house, and your kid can study everything from calculus to ancient Greek. …Education has managed to stave off innovation for a variety of reasons. Inertia is one—most people have a hard time reimagining something as basic as school. …Teachers unions…

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Harvard, Yale Enrollments Down 20 Percent After Moving Online

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, about 20 percent of Harvard and Yale University students will not re-enroll at the Ivy League schools this fall.

An email sent to Harvard students from Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Claudine Gay iterated the same fate for Harvard, the Harvard Crimson reported. A similar, if not identical announcement,  was posted on Harvard’s website, confirming that 5,231 students intend to enroll for the fall semester. As the Harvard Crimson noted, data from the previous year show that 6,755 enrolled at Harvard in 2019. 

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NBA Promises $300 Million Towards New Foundation to Help Black Community

The National Basketball League Board of Governors announced plans Thursday to give $300 million over the next decade towards a new foundation supporting economic opportunities for black communities.

The NBA will donate $30 million each year for the next ten years towards the NBA Foundation, according to an NBA press release. The 30 NBA teams will each donate $1 million every year to the fund, NBC News reported.

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Dr. Simone Gold of America’s Frontline Doctors Responds to Twitter’s Censorship of Her Account

Dr. Simone Gold, a board-certified emergency physician and the founder of America’s Frontline Doctors, has responded to Twitter’s removal of her tweet about treatments for COVID-19 and locking her out of her account.

In her response, Dr. Gold – who also graduated from Stanford Law School after completing her medical degree – called out her temporary Twitter ban, calling the action “another classic case of tech censorship against anyone who speaks out against the media narrative.”

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AP Sources: Whitmer Met with Biden as He Nears VP Decision

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer traveled to Delaware last weekend to meet with Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s first known in-person session with a potential running mate as he nears a decision.

Whitmer visited Biden Sunday, according to two high-ranking Michigan Democrats who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The first-term governor of the battleground state has long been on his short list of possible running mates.

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Herman Cain Is Mourned, Celebrated at His Funeral in Atlanta

Herman Cain, the former Republican presidential candidate, businessman and close ally of President Donald Trump, was guided by his Christian faith in politics, business and his personal life, his pastor said at his funeral Friday.

Cain “made his mark on this world” and his life will be celebrated for years to come, the Rev. Kenneth Lamont Alexander of Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta said.

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Where Does Joe Biden Actually Stand with the Catholic Church?

CNN and reporters called 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden a “devout Catholic” Thursday after President Donald Trump said the former vice president would “hurt the Bible, hurt God.”

Biden has frequently referenced his Catholic faith throughout his political career, describing his faith as “the bedrock foundation” of his life. The former vice president also supports policies that are explicitly opposed to Catholic teaching, such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

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Trump Signs Executive Orders to Extend Unemployment Benefits, Suspend Some Payroll Taxes, Defer

President Donald Trump on Saturday signed executive orders to supplement unemployment benefits for workers who lose their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic by $400 a week and suspend payroll taxes for those earning less than $100,000 a year.

He also signed orders freezing evictions in federal housing and deferring student loan payments through the end of 2020.

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More Than 100 NYPD Officers Injured in Protests Since June 10

Approximately 111 New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers have been injured in demonstrations across NYC’s five boroughs since June 10, a law enforcement spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

A total of 461 NYPD officers have been injured since the start of violent demonstrations on May 26 that followed the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for over eight minutes, NYPD spokesperson Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell told the DCNF in an email.

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Justice Department Sends Federal Officers to Memphis and St. Louis to Help Quell Nationwide Violence

Memphis

Federal officers from five different agencies are set to arrive in Memphis and St. Louis to aid in crime reduction and investigations, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Memphis will receive an influx of 40 federal agents from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Homeland Security — 24 of which are permanent assignments, according to a DOJ press release. St. Louis is set to receive an unspecified number of agents from the ATF, DEA, FBI and U.S. Marshals Service with an additional 50 Homeland Security agents, the release said.

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Critic of Trump Ukraine Policy, Co-Author of Infamous 2016 ‘Ukraine Plank’ Joins Trump Administration

President Donald J. Trump nominated Ilan L. Berman, a critic of his Ukrainian policy and one of the three authors of the proposed Ukraine plank to the 2016 Republican Platform that was cited as proof of the Russian Collusion Hoax, to be a member of the International Broadcasting Advisory Board for a term of three years, according to an Aug. 3 statement from the White House. Berman is the senior vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, as well as a  member of the associated faculty at Missouri State University’s Department of Defense & Strategic Studies. Berman also fed the hysteria over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s influence over Trump in the early days of his administration. Ok, tweeps, a bit of personal news… https://t.co/kgvD8dpWNc — Ilan Berman (@ilanberman) August 3, 2020 Berman stoked rumors Trump gave Putin green light in Ukraine Berman, who is considered a regional expert regarding the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Russian Federation, wrote in a Feb. 6, 2017 column “Trump’s Ukraine Dilemma” for U.S. News & World Report there was reason to believe that Trump in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, gave the Russians the green light to ramp up…

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, Sen. Bernie Sanders Push Bill Taxing Billionaires 60 Percent to Fund One Year of Healthcare for All

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) introduced a bill Friday to tax billionaires sixty percent of their pandemic-earned assets. The proposed bill, “Make Billionaires Pay Act,” would use the tax money to cover individual healthcare expenses for one year.

In a tweeted video, Sanders argued billionaires have profited off the coronavirus pandemic while the rest of the country has suffered.

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Metro Nashville Council Member Wants People Not Wearing a Mask to Be Charged with Murder or Attempted Murder

Metro Nashville At-Large Council Member Sharon Hurt said Wednesday during a virtual meeting of the Joint Public Safety and Health Committee that there should be stronger legislation for those not wearing masks and suggested they be charged with murder or attempted murder.

Hurt said that she works for an organization that, “If they pass the virus, then they are tried for murder or attempted murder.”

Hurt thinks the same standard should apply to the general public.

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