On May 16, a sea of red-clad teachers descended upon our legislative building to give voice to the frustration many across the state share about the drastic cuts to public education since the Republican super-majority all but hijacked democracy. These cuts are so deep and at times punitive that they seem part of an ideological assault on the very idea of public education rather than some sort of economic prudence claimed by GOP leadership. In the person of Betsy DeVos we see this ideology nakedly espoused on the national stage. Gutting public schools in favor of for-profit charters, Christian private schools, and homeschooling has been her life's work, aided and abetted by her family's billions. She and the NCGA GOP are following a playbook much in the manner of how the Koch brothers systematically attack attempts to address climate change. Meanwhile, the Cambridge Analytica scandal has revealed how compromised our personal data is, and to what lengths political operatives...
North Carolina and National Politics