Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Tales Of The New Crown: Betsy DeVos & Her U.S. Marshal Silence On Education In The U.S. Federal Courts

Sometimes, the most restrictive environment can be your own home, but, hey, what do I know?

I know the U.S. Marshal has the ability to be deputized in special operations.

U.S. Marshal Operations Each year the USMS carries out hundreds of special missions related to its broad law enforcement authority and judicial security responsibilities. It also responds to homeland security crises and national emergencies. The USMS Special Operations Group is a specially trained, tactical unit comprised of Deputy Marshals, who can respond immediately to incidents anywhere in the United States or its territories.

Betsy has lots of pending litigation before the courts.

NAACP Sues Betsy DeVos Over Federal Aid Money For Private Schools

I also know the U.S. Marshal does lots of other stuff.
Asset Forfeiture The USMS is responsible for managing and disposing of seized and forfeited properties acquired by criminals through illegal activities. Under the auspices of the DOJ’s Asset Forfeiture Program, the Marshals currently manage nearly $2.2 billion worth of property, and promptly disposes of assets forfeited by all Department of Justice agencies. The Program’s goal is to maximize the net return from forfeited property and then reinvest the proceeds for law enforcement purposes.  
Witness Security The U.S. Marshals ensures the safety of witnesses, who risk their lives testifying for the government in cases involving organized crime and other significant criminal activities. Since 1971, the Marshals have protected, relocated and given new identities to more than 8,500 witnesses and more than 9,900 of their family members. The successful operation of the Witness Security Program has been recognized as providing a unique and valuable tool in the government’s battle against major criminal enterprises and international terrorism. Witness Security Program personnel are the world’s leading authorities and foremost experts on witness security matters, providing guidance and training to numerous government officials throughout the world.
Cyberchatter has it she stiffed staff on the PPP frontlines essential workers.

#maytheheavensfall 

Betsy DeVos publicly absent as critical decisions are made on public school reopenings

Image: FILE PHOTO: Education Secretary Devos attends signing ceremony at the White House in WashingtonAs public schools grapple with the challenge of reopening during a pandemic, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is getting criticism for her low profile.

DETROIT — As public schools grapple with the challenge of reopening during a pandemic, public education advocates are criticizing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for working remotely from Michigan, where she owns a sprawling waterfront estate with a round-the-clock security detail paid for by taxpayers.

And while keeping herself largely physically distanced as the coronavirus continues to spread, DeVos has been a forceful advocate for President Donald Trump's demand that schools reopen in full and in person — potentially placing millions of teachers and students at risk of infection.

It's a striking bit of mixed messaging for DeVos, a billionaire heiress, major GOP donor and charter school advocate who had no experience with public education before she became education secretary. DeVos is the nation's top education official as school administrators deal with one the biggest health crises facing the nation: how to safely bring 51 million American children back into classrooms or administer virtual education during a pandemic.



As budgets are gutted, Betsy DeVos funnels money into private schools, educators say
AUG. 10, 202004:56
Questions persist as to why DeVos requires full-time protection from the U.S. Marshals Service, which NBC News reported she began receiving shortly after she was confirmed — the only Cabinet official with such an arrangement. In all, her security detail has cost taxpayers at least $25 million, NBC News has learned.

The Marshals Service wouldn't comment on the arrangement or any specific security threat DeVos faces.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Rather than actively offer guidelines to public schools as they struggle with the immense financial and logistical challenges of reopening, DeVos told the Washington Examiner in June that she was working mostly remotely from Michigan, her home state — where she owns the 22,000-square-foot estate on Lake Macatawa — with a public schedule that has been mostly empty for the past several weeks, including no events on her public schedule for this week.

Education Department spokeswoman Angela Morabito said DeVos has been dividing her time among Michigan, Washington and road trips.

DeVos has been holding events not listed on her public calendar, including several sponsored by the conservative Federalist Society, according to Federalist Society postings. She has also participated in a few events related to private schools and advocacy for vouchers, including a roundtable July 23 at a private Christian school in Ohio and two events in the Carolinas with Vice President Mike Pence.

Her press office said she has been in constant contact with governors and state superintendents virtually and in person. Yet NBC News couldn't find a record of similar events with public school officials; Noelle Ellerson Ng, associate executive director for advocacy at AASA The School Superintendents Association, representing public school superintendents in 49 states, said the group hasn't heard from DeVos this year.

"We would stand ready to answer that call. That's my job, to be a direct liaison to the federal government," said Ellerson Ng, who said she facilitated many such meetings for previous education secretaries of both parties. The group has been critical of DeVos' proposed education budget cuts.

State officials are also pleading for more assistance.

With school reopening in three weeks, Gov. Ned Lamont, D-Conn., told MSNBC on Friday that he still doesn't know "what, if anything, the feds are going to do to help."

Days after DeVos' and Pence's visit July 29 to a classroom at Thales Academy, a network of private nonsectarian community schools in North Carolina, to highlight the school as a model for reopening, several fourth-grade students were asked to quarantine after a student tested positive for COVID-19. "Thales is a great example more schools could emulate," DeVos said during the visit. "You didn't wait for guidance from the Department of Education. You didn't ask for permission."

DeVos had no events on her public calendar last week.

Still, she continues to echo the president's demand that public schools reopen for in-person instruction, regardless of the levels of infection in their communities. She also insists that it isn't her job to help localities determine how to do so safely.

There was no mention of Betsy, but, then again, Emperor Pence was there, by Trump's side, in his Mephistophelesic fashion.

This is about Parental Rights.



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