Free Republic

America's socialists -- I mean, progressives, are enraged that President-elect Trump chose Betsy DeVos to be his secretary of education. "Not a good appointment," yelled Al Sharpton. A "proponent of a for-profit institution! She does not believe in the public school system!" complained CNN's Bakari Sellers. Wait. Is your for-profit local supermarket less "public" than your kid's school? No! For-profit institutions serve the public and usually do it better than governments do. Let's stop calling government schools "public." Call them what they are: "government-run" schools. Anyway, the charter schools DeVos supports are public. They're just not controlled by the usual...

I have one great hope for a no-nonsense, business-oriented Donald Trump administration. It's that the Federal Government finally begin to ask what the return was, and is, for money spent – just as every private enterprise, from the window cleaner's one-man show to Exxon's army of thousands, is forced to do. Take for example WIC – the Women, Infants, and Children federal nutrition program. Very similar to food stamps, WIC spends billions and billions of tax dollars and in great measure was implemented because somebody noticed that drug-addled mothers were not feeding their children nutritious meals. Well? What happened? Have...

President-elect Trump was joined by his pick for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, at a "Thank You" rally Friday night in her home state of Michigan. DeVos, a longtime school choice advocate and billionaire GOP donor, was tapped by Trump to head the Education Department late last month after impressing him and Vice President-elect Mike Pence with her understanding of education policy and dedication to improving public education and expanding charter schools in the Great Lake State.

The billionaire philanthropist chosen by President-elect Donald Trump to be his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, has expressed her preference in the past to give Christianity a bigger part in schooling in the United States. . . . In the recording, the Devos couple reportedly discussed how they are motivated by the Christian faith in pushing for reforms in how the youth are educated in the U.S.

Lily spoke with MSNBC’s Craig Melvin to discuss President-Elect Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education.

President-elect Donald Trump has selected billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos, a relatively unknown figure on the national scene, to head the U.S. Department of Education. Calling her a "brilliant and passionate education advocate," Trump said in a press release that "under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families." Although DeVos earns high praise from conservatives for her pro-school choice positions, she is a polarizing figure to public education supporters, who claim she could destroy public schools...

WASHINGTON—In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:“The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education. “In nominating DeVos, Trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America. “DeVos has no meaningful experience in the classroom or in our schools. The sum total of her involvement has been spending her family’s wealth in an effort to...

Advocates of public education in the United States have worried that President-elect Donald Trump would tap an education secretary who would speed up the privatization of public schools, a move that many fear could destroy America’s public education system, the country’s most important civic institution. Well, they were right about the appointment — and then some. . . . Seen by her supporters as a tireless, driven supporter of school choice, opponents say she is the most ideological and anti-public education nominee ever to be put forward to run the the nearly 40-year-old department.

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team announces the choice of Common Core and charter school  supporter Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education.Anti-Common Core grassroots groups of parents and teachers urged Trump to abandon DeVos as his choice, citing her support for the education reform policies of pro-Common Core Jeb Bush and her influence through the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) in favor of Common Core.Karen Braun who writes at Stop Common Core in Michigan noted:

Q+A Q: What are 5 things we might not know about you? I’m a grandmother! My husband (Dick) and I have four children and five grandchildren. I was born and raised in Michigan. Born in Holland, MI, I’ve been a lifelong resident of Michigan. I’m an advocate for children. I’ve been involved with education issues for 28 years. I’ve been on the front lines fighting to make education better for all children. I’m an activist. I’m a total outsider to elective office and government, but I’m no stranger to the political process. A citizen volunteer, I have served in local,...

Eskelsen García: Trump nominee supports failed education policies that hurt students WASHINGTON - November 23, 2016 - The Trump administration announced today its plan to nominate Betsy DeVos, best known for her anti-public education campaigns, for the position of Secretary of Education.The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Lily Eskelsen García:“Every day, educators use their voice to advocate for every student to reach his or her full potential. We believe that the chance for the success of a child should not depend on winning a charter lottery, being accepted by a private school, or living in the right...

Betsy DeVos ‏@BetsyDeVos Many of you are asking about Common Core. To clarify, I am not a supporter—period. Read my full stance, here: http://betsydevos.com/qa/ https://twitter.com/BetsyDeVos/status/801505785742290945

President-elect Donald Trump is set to nominate Betsy DeVos, a billionaire and school choice advocate, as his secretary of education. "Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate," Trump said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "Under her leadership, we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families." Official @realDonaldTrump statement re @BetsyDeVos for Education Secretary: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cx92-bUWIAA6XDr.jpg:large DeVos is the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and currently heads the American Federation for Children, which aggressively pushes for...

BREAKING NEWS: President-elect Donald Trump has named Betsy DeVos, a conservative activist and billionaire philanthropist who has pushed forcefully for private school voucher programs nationwide, as his nominee for education secretary, according to a person close to DeVos.

The owners of the Orlando Magic are coming under fire for a 2009 donation they made on behalf of one of their executive's marriage beliefs.The Douglas and Maria DeVos foundation, which is financially supported by Amway president Doug DeVos, donated $500,000 to NOM, the National Organization for Marriage.The organization is among those leading the charge against same-sex marriage initiatives in several states.Now, gay rights activists are calling for a ban of the Michigan-based Amway and all of its affiliates, including the Orlando Magic, which is also owned by the DeVos family.Here's the official statement from Amway on the issue,...

The gay rights battle is now covering everything from soap to clucks. Following the uproar over Chick-fil-A and same-sex marriage, gay rights advocates are pushing for a boycott of cleaning and beauty products company Amway—and its affiliates, including the Orlando Magic basketball team. The boycott call is in response to a $500,000 donation to battle gay marriage made by a foundation funded by Amway president and founder Doug DeVos. The recipient of the donation, the National Organization for Marriage, "has been one of the most virulently anti-LGBT organizations in the country," says a statement launching the boycott by Rights Equal...

Mike Vanderboegh is drinking Diet Mountain Dew in the cafeteria of the Rayburn building on Capitol Hill, and he is pissed. Not because his flight from Alabama was almost “as bumpy as [his] first marriage,” nor because he almost got into a physical altercation with an “idiot street urban adventurer” outside the National Archives who said Vanderboegh looked like Newt Gingrich. The former militia man turned gun rights blogger is angry because he thinks the Republican “sons-a-bitches” on the House Oversight Committee put on the “ultimate display of public limp dickery” during a Thursday hearing in which Attorney General Eric...

WASHINGTON -- Democrats controlling the House of Representatives demonstrated this month the hollowness of their claim that they have ended the corruption of 12 Republican years. Rep. John Murtha quietly slipped into the Intelligence authorization bill two earmarks costing taxpayers $5.5 million. The beneficiary was a contractor headquartered in Murtha's hometown of Johnstown, Pa., whose executives have been generous political contributors to the powerful 17-term congressman. This scandalous conduct would be unknown except for reforms by the new Democratic majority. But the remodeled system is not sufficiently transparent to expose in a timely manner machinations of Murtha and fellow earmarkers...

Will he? Or won't he? He won't say for sure. But six months after he was thumped in a bid for governor, Dick DeVos sounds like he wants a second chance. Last week, in a speech in Ludington, DeVos told a gathering of Republicans he is ``open'' to running again. `If I'm the right man at the right time and Michigan calls, I can't help but answer.'' There are other signs. His ``Dick DeVos for Governor'' Web site is still up, inviting visitors to subscribe to an e-mail list. And the former Amway president is delivering what sounds like a...

Besides the Tigers, the main thing on the minds of Michigan residents is the state's tanking economy. So when the state's most prominent Republican businessman entered the gubernatorial fray...it should have been a home run. Instead, 10 days before the election, Dick DeVos has lost his 15-point summer lead ...and is now trailing by more than eight points... At a time when Michigan needs economic leadership, he has so far shown little charisma... That Michigan has become the Mississippi of the Midwest is no secret (actually, Mississippi is doing better...). While the rest of the country is experiencing real overall...