Whistle-blower: HHS workers helped COVID-19 evacuees without proper training, equipment

#KAKISTOCRACY

By Brian P. Dunleavy & Daniel Uria

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar was back on Capitol Hill Thursday testifying to the House Ways and Means committee about his agency's 2021 budget proposal. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Health and Human Services workers interacted with Americans evacuated from the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in China without proper training for infection control or appropriate protective gear, according to a whistle-blower complaint.

The whistle-blower, a senior leader at the HHS, said the team was "improperly deployed" to two military bases in California to help process Americans who had been evacuated from Wuhan, China, and other areas affected by the coronavirus, according to a complaint submitted to the Office of the Special Counsel.

The staff members were not provided training and safety protocols until five days later and some of the exposed staff moved freely around Travis Air Force Base and March Air Reserve Base after entering quarantined areas.

Many of the staff were unaware they needed to test their temperature three times a day and at least one stayed at a hotel nearby and left California on a commercial flight.

NOW THAT IT HAS SPREAD IT IS A PANDEMIC 
RELATED Fears of pandemic stoked as more countries confirm COVID-19 cases

"I soon began to field panicked calls from my leadership team and deployed staff members expressing concerns with the lack of HHS communication and coordination, staff being sent into quarantined areas without personal protective equipment, training or experience managing public health emergencies, safety protocols and the potential danger to both themselves and members of the public they come into contact with," the whistle-blower wrote.

Lawyers for the whistle-blower said the workers did not show symptoms for infection and were not tested for COVID-19.

HHS spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley said the agency was aware of the complaint.

NOT COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION BUT SNAFU TRANSMISSION
RELATED CDC confirms first possible U.S. community transmission of COVID-19

"We take all whistle-blower complaints very seriously and are providing the complainant all appropriate protections under the Whistle-blower Protection Act. We are evaluating the complaint and have nothing further to add at this time," Oakley said.

Public health labs across the country are also ramping up to test for the new coronavirus, just as concerns grow about the global epidemic spreading in the United States, officials said Thursday.

In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said at least 40 public health labs can currently test specimens for COVID-19. That figure could more than double as early as Friday, he added.
RELATED 500 new coronavirus cases in South Korea as total nears 1,800

Azar made the statements as part of hearings for the agency's 2021 fiscal year budget.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has to date tested 3,625 specimens for the virus in its facilities in Atlanta, according to Azar. The 40 public health labs are using test kits that were previously manufactured by the CDC and modified to test for coronavirus.

The agency rolled out those kits two weeks ago, but technical glitches meant some of them yielded inconclusive results. Azar said Thursday that a newly manufactured CDC test is ready to be shipped to 93 public health labs by Monday.

In addition, a privately manufactured test based on the new CDC platform could be sent to those same labs as early as Friday, pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Also on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence appointed Debbie Birx as a new White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator. Birx, who currently coordinates the U.S. government's global response to HIV/AIDS, will report to Pence and guide the administration's COVID-19 preparations, according to the White House.

She will also join the White House's coronavirus task force, which is led by Azar.

Birx's appointment marks the latest step by the Trump administration in its COVID-19 response, after it was announced Wednesday that Pence would lead the effort, taking over for Azar. Azar had told lawmakers on Capitol Hill earlier in the day that he was the administration's "lead" on the outbreak.

Meanwhile, officials in Nassau County, N.Y., announced that more than 80 people remain under voluntary quarantine for possible COVID-19 exposure after traveling to China. To date, there have been no confirmed cases in New York, though nearly 200 people have been placed in voluntary quarantine statewide after traveling to China.

Nassau County Health Department officials said Wednesday that the CDC has contacted the agency each time someone who has spent time in China flies in, with the department then contacting and interviewing them within 24 hours to determine if they need to be quarantined.

BE AFRAID VERY AFRAID NOT OF THE VIRUS BUT OF THE COUP UNDER MARTIAL LAW THAT TRUMP WILL USE THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK AS AN EXCUSE TO DO

ACA reduced risk for catastrophic health expenses by 30%, study finds

By Brian P. Dunleavy


For lower-income Americans, the Affordable Care Act has helped avoid catastrophic financial situations because of greater access and lower costs. Photo by TBIT/Pixabay

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- While the Affordable Care Act has been controversial, and continues to be the subject of lawsuits, the appears to be protecting some Americans from financial disaster when they face unexpected health problems.

A new analysis published Friday by JAMA Network Open found that the law, also known as Obamacare, reduced the risk for "catastrophic health expenditures" among U.S. adults who experienced "traumatic injuries" by more than 30 percent.

Having health insurance under the law also reduced out-of-pocket expenses by as much as 30 percent for some, the researchers observed.

"For this class of really unpredictable and potentially very expensive healthcare costs, the Affordable Care Act really is accomplishing one of its primary goals -- to protect families from catastrophic healthcare costs," study co-author Charles Liu, a general surgery resident at Stanford Hospital and Clinics in California, told UPI. "This is true even when you take premiums into account -- total spending including both premiums and out-of-pocket costs has gone down significantly for low-income families that had a family member with a traumatic injury."

RELATED One in five receive 'surprise' out-of-network bills after surgery

Since then-President Barack Obama signed the ACA into law in 2010, its impact on healthcare, and how it's paid for, in the United States has divided political opinion, typically along partisan lines. A decision on the law's constitutionality currently rests with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, after the Supreme Court refused to fast-track a decision last month.

A number of recent studies have attempted to assess the economic effects of the law's Medicaid expansion component.

For the new research, Liu and his colleagues analyzed data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. The data, collected from January 2010 to December 2017, covered American adults 19 to 64 years of age who had a hospital stay or emergency department visit for a traumatic injury, such as those sustained in a fall or motor-vehicle accident.

RELATED Medicaid expansion led to earlier breast, colon, lung cancer diagnosis

Specifically, the researchers focused on the effects of the ACA on expenditures based on the law's income thresholds for eligibility.

Of the 6,288 cases included in the analysis, researchers found the impact of the ACA was greatest for lowest-income Americans -- those earning 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less -- who experienced 30 percent reductions in out-of-pocket spending, including 26 percent savings on health insurance premium costs.

In all, these lowest-income Americans -- many of whom qualified for Medicaid under the ACA's expanded eligibility provision -- were 39 percent less likely to experience "catastrophic health expenditures" as a result of suffering a traumatic injury.

RELATED Study: 2 million lost health coverage, access in Trump's first year

In addition, low-income Americans -- those earning 139 to 250 percent of the federal poverty level -- saw their insurance premium costs drop by roughly 22 percent, but were not protected from catastrophic health expenditures under the ACA.

"Our study shows that the benefits have been uneven and there are still some gaps," Liu said. "For low-income folks who became eligible for Medicaid, protection against catastrophic costs from injury really has gotten better, but for too many Americans, a traumatic injury still leads to catastrophic or high-burden levels of out-of-pocket spending."

Indeed, based on their analysis, Liu and his colleagues estimated that 1 of every 11 Americans suffering a traumatic injury -- and one in five of those with the lowest incomes -- continued to experience catastrophic health expenditures annually, even under the ACA.

"There has been a lot of debate over trouble accessing care under the ACA, or healthcare costs going up under the ACA," Liu noted. "That was partly why we set out to do this study, to add some empirical evidence to this debate and to try to understand what American families have really been experiencing in terms of financial burden."

"Our study shows that when you look at everything together -- changes in premiums and changes in out-of-pocket costs -- spending and financial risk for families of adults who had a traumatic injury has gone down after the ACA was put in place," he said.

Greta Thunberg: Young people 'will not be silenced' on climate change

FRIDAYS FOR THE FUTURE

GLOBAL SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE ACTION

By Don Jacobson


Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg addresses thousands of striking schoolchildren and adult supporters Friday in Bristol, Britain. Photo by Neil Munns/EPA-EFE

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg told a crowd of thousands of striking schoolchildren and adults in the British city of Bristol Friday that young people "will not be silenced" in demanding action from leaders.

Speaking at the Youth Strike 4 Climate event, Thunberg, 17, excoriated adult political leaders for inaction on climate change and said it should not be the responsibility of the young to implement change.
"World leaders are behaving like children, so it falls on us to be the adults in the room," she said. "It should not be this way, we should not be the ones to have to lead on this and tell the uncomfortable truths.

"Once again they sweep their mess under the rug for us young people, for their children, to clean up for them.

RELATED Airlines making little headway on climate change

Organizers estimated 30,000 people from across Britain, many of them students skipping school with the tacit approval of their teachers, attended the rally despite rain and muddy conditions.

"This is an emergency," said Thunberg to chants of "Greta, Greta."

"People are already suffering and dying from the consequences of the climate and environmental emergency. But it will get worse, and still, this emergency is being completely ignored by the politicians, the media and those in power. Basically, nothing is being done to halt this crisis despite all the beautiful words and promises from our elected officials.

RELATED Greta Thunberg at Davos: 'Pretty much nothing' done on climate change

"We will not be silenced," she said, "because we are the change and change is coming whether you like it or not."

The Swedish environmental crusader arrived in Bristol by train and was taken to the rally in a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle with a police escort.

RELATED Thunberg's father originally thought his daughter's activism was 'bad idea'

Mideast leaders arrive in Qatar to sign U.S.-Afghanistan peace deal

THIS IS WHAT AMERICAN VICTORY LOOKS LIKE IN AFGHANISTAN

NOT WITH A BANG BUT WITH A WHIMPER

AN IGNOBLE DEFEAT BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS SWEET

By Don Jacobson

Afghan soldiers man a checkpoint in Helmand, Afghanistan, on February 22 

at the start of a seven-day "reduction in violence" agreement between the 

United States and the Taliban. Photo by Watan Yar/EPA-EFE

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Foreign leaders arrived in Qatar Friday to prepare for a peace agreement that will end nearly two decades of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan.

Foreign ministers of seven nations and representatives from 50 others are expected to attend the signing ceremony in Doha on Saturday. The ratification of the deal is dependent on a successful conclusion of a week-long partial truce this week.

Saturday's signing is scheduled to occur at the Taliban's Doha headquarters. The dignitaries began arriving Friday. U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will visit Kabul Saturday to announce a joint peace declaration with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

"Tomorrow is a big day for Afghanistan and for Afghans. It's a great opportunity," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi said. "Afghanistan is moving towards peace and reconciliation. So, tomorrow can set the tone for an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue."

RELATED Over 20 GOP lawmakers seek assurances on U.S.-Taliban deal

U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan since late 2001 after the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., and President Donald Trump for months has indicated a desire to withdraw American troops.

"We want very much to be optimistic first, and, secondly, of course we welcome the peace process," added Uzbekistan Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov. "Uzbekistan is immediate neighbor of Afghanistan and over the past many centuries, we had very close humanitarian culture, economic ties with Afghan people."

The peace deal is seen by the United States as a precursor to the more challenging prospect of direct talks between the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Afghan government, which was not involved in the truce negotiations.

RELATED Pompeo: United States will sign Taliban deal if violence pact holds

Under terms of the deal, the U.S. military will begin a phased withdrawal and the Taliban will start negotiating with the Afghan government, which has always refused to recognize a permanent cease-fire or a power-sharing structure. The format and details of the future talks have not been finalized, but analysts say they could be complicated by division between Ghani and Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah over certain issues.

SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=HARPERS+WAR


SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=AFGHANISTAN

Why Invent the Jesus? • Richard Carrier Ph.D.

Humanists, Atheists, and Agnostics of Manitoba
Did Christianity really begin without a Jesus?
HAAM welcomed historian and philosopher Dr. Richard Carrier 

to Winnipeg on his Canadian speaking tour, August 19, 2017

Atheist Canada
Centre for Inquiry Calgary was proud to host Dr. Richard Carrier on October 19, 2014.
 His talk was entitled "How Does History and Science Prove or Disprove a Religion".

Center for Inquiry Calgary is a branch of Centre for Inquiry Canada.

Centre for Inquiry Canada is a registered educational charity with a mandate to promote the values of reason, science and freedom of inquiry. We are a community of freethinking people who put on events, workshops, conferences and work as activists to promote evidence based reasoning in Canada and abroad.

At CFI Canada we focus on three broad areas of education and activism: 1. Religion 2. Pseudoscience, Paranormal and Fringe-science claims, 3. Medicine and Health. In all of these areas, we work to promote a scientific worldview, one that challenges established norms and customs and one that believes in the freedom of all individuals to ask important questions about life, nature and the world around them.

Centre for Inquiry is the largest Freethought, Skeptic and Scientific Advocacy group in Canada. We operate through 10 branches across the Country and incorporate the tireless efforts of hundreds of volunteers in our daily mission to advance knowledge and education in all areas of human endeavor.

CFI Canada is supported entirely by voluntary donations and works across the country on issues that matter most to people like you. In our short history we have had influence in LGBT issues, in community service, on skeptical activism and had an unprecedented influence in print, radio and television media.

The World As Hologram

Leonard Susskind of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics discusses the indestructability of information and the nature of black holes in a lecture entitled The World As Hologram.

WHEREUPON WE LEARN LEONARD IS HAVING A VERY BAD DAY




What may have started as a science fiction speculation—that perhaps the universe as we know it is a computer simulation—has become a serious line of theoretical and experimental investigation among physicists, astrophysicists, and philosophers. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium, hosts and moderates a panel of experts in a lively discussion about the merits and shortcomings of this provocative and revolutionary idea. The 17th annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate took place at The American Museum of Natural History on April 5, 2016. #IsaacAsimov #debates #simulations #universe 2016 Asimov Panelists: David Chalmers Professor of philosophy, New York University Zohreh Davoudi Theoretical physicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology James Gates  Theoretical physicist, University of Maryland Lisa Randall Theoretical physicist, Harvard University Max Tegmark  Cosmologist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology The late Dr. Isaac Asimov, one of the most prolific and influential authors of our time, was a dear friend and supporter of the American Museum of Natural History.  In his memory, the Hayden Planetarium is honored to host the annual Isaac Asimov Memorial Debate — generously endowed by relatives, friends, and admirers of Isaac Asimov and his work — bringing the finest minds in the world to the Museum each year to debate pressing questions on the frontier of scientific discovery.  Proceeds from ticket sales of the Isaac Asimov Memorial Debates benefit the scientific and educational programs of the Hayden Planetarium.

1177 BC: The Year Civilization Collapsed

Eric Cline, PhD

(A GREAT BOOK, MUST READ)

From about 1500 BC to 1200 BC, the Mediterranean region played host to a complex cosmopolitan and globalized world-system. It may have been this very internationalism that contributed to the apocalyptic disaster that ended the Bronze Age. When the end came, the civilized and international world of the Mediterranean regions came to a dramatic halt in a vast area stretching from Greece and Italy in the west to Egypt, Canaan, and Mesopotamia in the east. Large empires and small kingdoms collapsed rapidly. With their end came the world’s first recorded Dark Ages. It was not until centuries later that a new cultural renaissance emerged in Greece and the other affected areas, setting the stage for the evolution of Western society as we know it today. Professor Eric H. Cline of The George Washington University will explore why the Bronze Age came to an end and whether the collapse of those ancient civilizations might hold some warnings for our current society. Considered for a Pulitzer Prize for his recent book 1177 BC, Dr. Eric H. Cline is Professor of Classics and Anthropology and the current Director of the Capitol Archaeological Institute at The George Washington University. He is a National Geographic Explorer, a Fulbright scholar, an NEH Public Scholar, and an award-winning teacher and author. He has degrees in archaeology and ancient history from Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania; in May 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree (honoris causa) from Muhlenberg College. Dr. Cline is an active field archaeologist with 30 seasons of excavation and survey experience. The views expressed in this video are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › 1177_B.C.:_The_Year_Civilization_Colla...

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed is a 2014 book about ancient history by Eric H. Cline. It was published in 2014 by Princeton University Press. ... Before this book, the leading hypothesis during previous decades attributed the civilization collapse mostly to Sea Peoples of unknown origin.

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Eric Cline ...

https://www.amazon.ca › 1177-B-C-Year-Civilization-Collapsed

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so ...

Review of Eric H. Cline, '1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization ...

https://www.insidehighered.com › views › 2014/04/23 › review-eric-h-clin...

Apr 23, 2014 - 1177 B.C. was the kind of year people try to forget. ... recounts in 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed (Princeton University Press).

Eric Cline, 1177 B.C. The year civilization collapsed.

https://journals.openedition.org › lectures

by R Delafontaine - ‎2016 - ‎Related articles

In the final decades of the 12th century B.C. a number of centuries-old empires in the Eastern Mediterranean collapsed. The notable exception being Egypt ...

1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed

https://journals.openedition.org › lectures

by EH Cline - ‎Cited by 322 - ‎Related articles

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh's army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so ...

Black And Brown New Yorkers Who Lived Under Mayor Bloomberg Are Urging Voters To Reject Him

"He had trouble personalizing the impacts of his policies — I guess that’s just his business way," New York City’s public advocate said of Bloomberg.

Ryan Brooks BuzzFeed News Reporter February 25, 2020

A group of 90 New Yorkers of color who lived in the city during Michael Bloomberg’s time as mayor have signed onto a letter asking communities of color across the country to reject Bloomberg’s bid for president as Super Tuesday approaches.

The letter includes signatures from New York elected officials and political organizers including New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, New York state Sen. Julia Salazar, New York City Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Working Families Party Director of Strategy Nelini Stamp, and family members of people killed by New York City Police Department officers during Bloomberg’s time in office.


The letter details the surveillance of Muslim communities in New York City after 9/11; an increase in marijuana arrests for people of color; housing policies and rezoning efforts which they point to as one of the reasons for the affordability crisis and gentrification of neighborhoods; and stop-and-frisk, a policing tactic which disproportionately targeted New Yorkers of color.

“In recent days, Michael Bloomberg has attempted to rewrite his legacy, but we haven’t forgotten,” the signers wrote. “The extent of harm, humiliation and terror that the Bloomberg administration’s daily racial profiling and police violence caused in Black, Latinx and other communities of color cannot be overstated.”

In response to the letter, Bloomberg’s campaign shared statistics from various articles and polls about his time in office. The campaign pointed to New York Times reporting which said Bloomberg had improved race relations across the city and favorability ratings among black and Latino New Yorkers when he left office.

"In deep contrast to his immediate predecessor in office, Mike Bloomberg's City Hall was open to and listened to all New Yorkers. But as much as we encourage everyone's right to speak their minds, not all of the facts in this letter line up with Mike's real record,” campaign adviser Stu Loeser said in a statement to BuzzFeed News, pointing to changes in SNAP benefits and the city’s earned income tax credit under Bloomberg. “Our critics are welcome to offer alternative opinions, but the broader range of facts presents a different picture.

Mark Sagliocco / Getty Images
Jumaane Williams at a press conference at Irving Plaza, May 26, 2016.

Since launching his presidential campaign, Bloomberg has faced scrutiny for past comments, policies enacted during his time as mayor, and the women who have sued the candidate and his company for sexual harassment and sexist remarks (three of those lawsuits specifically name Bloomberg). In one resurfaced and viral audio clip from a 2015 speech, Bloomberg could be heard saying you could “Xerox” the description of murder suspects, which would be minorities between 16 and 25, to hand out to cops.

“A decade ago, the mayor was pretty obstinate and obtuse on issues related to black, brown, and working communities and how his policies affect that, and the most powerful one is policing, but there are other ones as well,” Williams, who was on the City Council during Bloomberg’s last term as mayor, told BuzzFeed News. “He refused to listen, and the callousness with which he would use to discuss the impact, you know, talking about Xeroxing the descriptions, throwing them up against the wall — he had a way of talking about people in terms of numbers and widgets.”

“He had trouble personalizing the impacts of his policies — I guess that’s just his business way,” Williams added.
New Yorkers who’ve signed the letter support other presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who’ve gained support from progressives like Williams and Salazar, and the Working Families Party, respectively.

“The beautiful thing is that we can all be united in this, and this isn’t about our candidates, to be honest,” Stamp said. “People are all over the map for their respective reasons, but I think the one thing that can unite progressive New Yorkers is Bloomberg ever seeking office again because of the pain he’s caused in our communities.”


MORE ON MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
Michael Bloomberg Had To Face The Other Candidates For The First Time. It Didn’t Go Very Well.Rosie Gray · Feb. 19, 2020

Michael Bloomberg’s Campaign Is Huge. That’s The Point.

Rosie Gray · Feb. 17, 2020 

The Democratic Primary Is A Mess. Michael Bloomberg Is Taking Advantage.Rosie Gray · Feb. 8, 2020

Ryan Brooks is a politics reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.

She Showed Her Students A Picture Of Her Fiancé And Was Suspended. Now She Has A Huge Payout.

"If you are a school district that thinks you can bully a gay teacher out of their job, I hope you remember my name and I hope you think twice," said Stacy Bailey.

Stacy Bailey

A Texas teacher who was suspended for showing her students a photo of her then-fiancé has reached a $100,000 settlement with her school district, her attorney announced Tuesday.

Stacy Bailey will donate $10,000 of her settlement money from the Mansfield Independent School District to a charity helping LGBTQ students in schools.

"If you are a school district that thinks you can bully a gay teacher out of their job, I hope you remember my name and I hope you think twice," said Bailey during a press conference on Tuesday.


Bailey, who twice won Teacher of the Year awards at Charlotte Anderson Elementary School in Arlington, filed a discrimination lawsuit against MISD in 2018.

The 33-year-old teacher was suspended in September 2017 after the district "received complaints from parents about Ms. Bailey discussing her sexual orientation with elementary-aged students," according to a press release from the school district.

The complaint related to her showing a photo during an introductory slideshow of her and her then-fiancé, Julie Vazquez, dressed as Finding Nemo characters, telling students it was her "future wife."


Julie Vazquez
The photo of Stacy (left) and her wife, Julie, in the Finding Nemo costumes.

A parent had complained to the school district that the award-winning teacher promoted a "homosexual agenda."

Speaking on Tuesday, Bailey said the parent's complaint was without merit.

"When a straight teacher happily announces that she and her husband are expecting a baby to her elementary class, is she saying something inappropriate to very young and impressionable students? Is she announcing her sexual orientation? Is she presenting her life in a way that promotes her political beliefs?" asked Bailey. "Of course not. She’s simply sharing facts about her life."

Under the terms of the settlement, the school district will withdraw the suspension from Bailey's permanent record, provide staffers with mandatory training on LGBTQ issues, and vote on whether to add "sexual discrimination" to its list of antidiscrimination categories.

MISD also has to pay a total of $100,000 to Bailey and her attorney, Jason Smith. Bailey and her wife plan to donate $10,000 of their share to a charity for LGBTQ students, while Smith will donate $10,000 to the Human Rights Campaign.

After an eight-month suspension from her job as an elementary school art teacher, Bailey was reassigned to a local high school.

In October, a federal judge ruled that Bailey's lawsuit claiming discrimination and a breach of her constitutional rights could go ahead.

“If the community’s perception is based on nothing more than unsupported assumptions, outdated stereotypes, and animosity, it is necessarily irrational and […] provides no legitimate support for Mansfield ISD’s decisions,” wrote Judge Sam Lindsay. "The private antipathy of some members of a community cannot validate state discrimination."

The case was heard at the Northern District of Texas federal court in Dallas.


Stacy Bailey
Julie (left) and Stacy (right) with their dogs, Gal and Guy.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Bailey told BuzzFeed News that when she started at her new school, she was nervous about how students would react as news of her suspension for being gay had been all over local and national media.

Instead, on her first day, around 15 LGBTQ teens flooded her classroom with baskets and candy, introducing themselves. Some even cried as they welcomed her.

"I don't think they’d ever seen a teacher out loud say they were gay. To see a grown-up who was successful and educated and not afraid? I don't think they had ever seen that before," Bailey told BuzzFeed News.

And she used the exact same introductory slideshow presentation with the photo of her wife when meeting her new high school students at the beginning of the school year.

"I've seen my classroom turn into a safe space for all kinds of kids who feel marginalized," she added.

Bailey said when the suspension first happened, she considered moving to a nearby urban school district but worried the next gay teacher at MISD would encounter the same anti-gay prejudice she did.

"There have always been gay educators," said Bailey. "Some of your best teachers may have been gay but too afraid to tell you."


Ms. Clayton@msclayton_cae
Congrats again to our 2016 Charlotte Anderson Teacher of the year, Ms. Stacy Bailey! #MISDOscarNight2017 #youmakeusproud @msbailey_cae09:02 PM - 08 May 2017
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Bailey said that although the last few years have been extremely stressful and anxiety-inducing for her personally, she plans to continue working as a high school teacher with MISD and watch the district change from within.

"Even though you’re made to feel small and made to feel less than, you can stand up in your own power and you can also make a change," she told BuzzFeed News.

She encouraged other queer teachers facing discrimination in their conservative districts to avoid the temptation to move to more progressive districts. "I challenge you to change the one you're in," she said.

"It may not be easy. You may get pushback. And if what happened to me happens to you, I want you to know you can survive it," said Bailey. "You do not have to give up your passion or profession."

MORE ON THIS
A School Board Admitted It Suspended A Gay Art Teacher For Saying Jasper Johns Had A Male PartnerAmber Jamieson · Aug. 14, 2018

An Elementary School Art Teacher Was Suspended For Telling Her Students She Was GayAmber Jamieson · March 29, 2018

The Wife Of A Teacher Suspended For Being Gay Says They're Suing To Help Other LGBT TeachersAmber Jamieson · May 11, 2018

The Texas Teacher Suspended For Being Gay Is Suing Her School District For DiscriminationAmber Jamieson · May 8, 2018

Amber Jamieson BuzzFeed News Reporter Posted on February 25, 2020
Amber Jamieson is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.

Contact Amber Jamieson at amber.jamieson@buzzfeed.com.

ICE DENIES PORTLAND SCHOOL BOARD'S CLAIMS THAT AGENTS ARRESTED FATHER AT BUS STOP

BY CHANTAL DA SILVA NEWSWEEK ON 2/27/20 

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has denied claims agents arrested a father at a school bus stop in Portland just after dropping his children off.

Earlier this week, a Tigard-Tualatin School District official told The Portland Tribune that, from the school board's understanding, Tomas Galvan-Rodriguez had been arrested at a bus stop after walking his two children there last week.

"Two of our students...their [parent] walked them to the school bus, the kids got on the school bus and ICE came and arrested the parent," Jill Zurschmeide, school board director, told the outlet on Monday.

At the time, it was unclear whether the children had witnessed the arrest.

Marked school bus stops are considered "sensitive locations" by ICE, meaning agents should avoid performing an arrest there.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, ICE claimed that it was not true that Galvan-Rodriguez was arrested at a marked school bus stop, nor was he arrested on foot, according to agency spokesperson Tanya Roman.

"The location of Galvan-Rodriguez's traffic stop and subsequent arrest did not occur at a known marked school bus stop or a location that was previously known to the officers," Roman said.

Galvan-Rodriguez, she said, had been arrested on February 19 during a routine traffic stop. The father had been in a vehicle at the time of his arrest, she asserted.
According to Roman, the father is a citizen of Mexico and has been living in the u.S. undocumented. The ICE spokesperson also added that he has a criminal history, which includes a 2004 conviction for a hit-and-run and a 2008 conviction for larceny. According to The Oregonian, court records showed that Galvan-Rodriguez damaged property in the hit-and-run, but had not injured anyone.

Roman said Galvan-Rodriguez is "currently pending immigration proceedings before a federal immigration judge." It is unclear whether he will be deported out of the U.S.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent 

preparing to arrest alleged immigration violators at Fresh Mark, 

Salem, June 19, 2018.SMITH COLLECTION/GADO/GETTY

It is also unclear whether the father's children have someone else to take care of them. District Superintendent Sue Rieke-Smith told the Tribune that the children had been connected with supportive services to make sure their housing and other basic needs would be met.

The list of sensitive locations, she said, include: "Schools, such as known and licensed daycares, pre-schools and other early learning programs; primary schools; secondary schools; post-secondary schools up to and including colleges and universities; as well as scholastic or education-related activities or events, and school bus stops that are marked and/or known to the officer, during periods when school children are present at the stop."