Elizabeth Warren Vows That She'll Have 9-Year-Old Trans Boy Sign Off On Her Education Secretary Pick
Four years under Secretary of Education Betsy Devos hasn't been great for LGBTQ students across the U.S.
Perhaps hoping to improve upon the past, Democratic Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren told a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa she would be consulting a 9-year-old transgender boy on her pick for Devos' replacement.
While Betsy Devos has used her power to deprive transgender students of Obama-era protections and completely stop investigations into complaints of transgender discrimination, Elizabeth Warren hopes to take a different direction.
Warren says that she will have a "young trans person" interview her future Secretary of Education and only hire thi… https://t.co/sALvl6TxLJ— Mary Margaret Olohan (@Mary Margaret Olohan) 1580399383
Warren told the attendees of the Cedar Rapids event that she had several specific criterion any candidate for Secretary of Education would have to meet.
"For my secretary of education, number one it has to be someone who has taught in a public school."
Voting is going on now in MI! I’m voting for Elizabeth Warren because she has clear plans for how to fix public edu… https://t.co/2KLLknrlON— Sherri Masson (@Sherri Masson) 1580477362
Her second criterion was based on her past interactions with LGBTQ youth.
"Number two, a young trans person asked [me] about a welcoming community… I'm going to have a secretary of education that this young trans person interviews on my behalf, and only if this person believes that our secretary or education nominee is absolutely committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone will that person actually be advanced to be secretary of education."
“Elizabeth Warren assured voters that her selection for education secretary would be subject to the approval of a ‘… https://t.co/840PPdTUj4— The Post Millennial (@The Post Millennial) 1580685602
Warren's pledge was inspired by a young boy named Jacob, who asked her in October:
"What will you do in your first week as president to make sure that kids like me feel safer in schools? And what do you think schools need to do better to make sure that I don't need to worry about anything but my homework?"
Questioner asks warren what sort of people she would appoint as president. Part of answer: “my secretary of educa… https://t.co/q3ZqwpsBJT— Danielle Kurtzleben (@Danielle Kurtzleben) 1580598540
Which is to say: Yeah Iowa Dems dislike trump but some of the most INTENSE anger/dislike I’ve heard out here in the… https://t.co/wAxi9m3OM4— Danielle Kurtzleben (@Danielle Kurtzleben) 1580598841
Jacob's mother Mimi told Out about how proud she was of her son's journey.
"He has struggled with his own identity, with coming out to us and to himself. He struggled to find his voice. Now that he has found it, and he can speak for so many kids. As a parent, that's all I want for my child. The evening was so powerful for our whole family and I don't think we'll ever forget it."
One thing seems certain: things would be better for young students like Jacob with Elizabeth Warren as President.
Michael Bloomberg Tried To Make A Joke About 'Jeopardy!' Champ Ken Jennings, And Jennings Roasted Him For It
It seems Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who decided to buy his way into the Democratic Presidential Primary long after all the other candidates began running, was watching the Democratic Debate on January 14 and decided to send a joking tweet.
The subject of the tweet, recent winner of Jeopardy!'s "Greatest of All Time" competition Ken Jennings, made it clear how he felt being used by Bloomberg to gain support.
Remember, tonight’s winner goes on to face defending champion Ken Jennings. #DemDebate— Team Bloomberg (@Team Bloomberg) 1579057832.0
Remember, defending champion Ken Jennings wants you to vote for Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. https://t.co/aTwXK85iym— Ken Jennings (@Ken Jennings) 1579066013.0
Twitter is a fan of shade in all its forms, and Jennings's tweet was no exception.
@KenJennings @chrislhayes https://t.co/ArWPiPhrrX— FireDonaldTrump 🆘 🇺🇸 (@FireDonaldTrump 🆘 🇺🇸) 1579066186.0
Ken Jennings dunking on Michael Bloomberg could just as easily be something out of a strange dream from my childhoo… https://t.co/IshOhrodVl— K. Rambo (@K. Rambo) 1579075187.0
@KenJennings @MikeBloomberg Well great googly moogly, you have just won twitter, today. Again. https://t.co/rEeuGnAYmD— IrishGoddess (@IrishGoddess) 1577753369.0
People used the opportunity to speak out in favor of their candidates of choice.
@KenJennings https://t.co/Zt7dkXmSn4— Adam Koenig (@Adam Koenig) 1579066536.0
@KenJennings Ken, you nailed it exactly! And I want those two on the same ticket. This fighting between the… https://t.co/LPO9DoiwRt— Joe Calexit (@Joe Calexit) 1579068425.0
@KenJennings I promise to vote blue no matter who gets the nomination. @ewarren has my primary vote.— Timmy Dreamer (@Timmy Dreamer) 1579066852.0
@KenJennings Ken, you surprise me. I had you pegged as a Klobuchar guy.— M. Tullius Cicero (@M. Tullius Cicero) 1579066184.0
Others wished Jennings would keep his political opinions to himself.
@KenJennings Please don’t mix politics and @Jeopardy!!— Shelly (@Shelly) 1579069051.0
@KenJennings @BeckyIB Note to the GOAT ... we don’t care one iota who you want us to vote for!! Seriously!?— Patticosh (@Patticosh) 1579067525.0
@KenJennings Well, at least we know Ken has a limit to his intelligence. :)— Greg (@Greg) 1579067003.0
This isn't the first time Jennings has used Twitter to poke fun at the Bloomberg campaign.
As president, I'll turn the East Room into an open office plan, where I’ll sit with our team. I’ll use the Oval O… https://t.co/typEL2XC39— Mike Bloomberg (@Mike Bloomberg) 1577746142.0
hey @MikeBloomberg Shane in accounting is clipping his nails at his desk AGAIN— Ken Jennings (@Ken Jennings) 1577753176.0
running against bloomberg on the anti-open office slate https://t.co/LBiiIxwfyF— 🦉 kate woodpecker 🦉 (@🦉 kate woodpecker 🦉) 1577747943.0
Know your audience, Mr. Bloomberg. It seems Ken Jennings is not a huge fan.
Elizabeth Warren Comes Out Swinging With Plan To Cancel Student Loan Debt For Over 95% Of Americans
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren knows firsthand the importance of education.
The 2020 presidential hopeful chronicled her ascent from her humble beginnings as a school teacher, to a law school professor and Senator in a column in Medium and addressed the crisis of student debt affecting millions of families.
As a part of an ambitious policy plan, Warren declared she will be fighting for universal tuition-free colleges and for the cancellation of student debt for over 95% of 45 million Americans with student loan debt.
Her plan would waive $50,000 in student-loan debts for borrowers who make under $100,000, in addition to breaking large tech companies, and universal child-care coverage.
The debt cancellation would not apply towards those who earn above $250,000.
Student loan debt is crushing millions of families. That’s why I’m calling for something truly transformational: Un… https://t.co/64YJeJLHlV— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1555934550.0
Her broad debt cancellation plan, she called – "truly transformational" – includes the following:
- Cancel debt for more than 95% of the nearly 45 million Americans with student loan debt;
- Wipe out student loan debt entirely for more than 75% of the Americans with that debt;
- Substantially increase wealth for Black and Latinx families and reduce both the Black-White and Latinx-White wealth gaps; and
- Provide an enormous middle-class stimulus that will boost economic growth, increase home purchases, and fuel a new wave of small business formation.
Warren detailed the consequences of exorbitant student debts that prevent families from starting businesses while their home ownership rates continue on a steep decline.
"Today, it's virtually impossible for a young person to find that kind of opportunity. As states have invested less per-student at community colleges and public four-year colleges, the schools themselves have raised tuition and fees to make up the gap."
"And rather than stepping in to hold states accountable, or to pick up more of the tab and keep costs reasonable, the federal government went with a third option: pushing families that can't afford to pay the outrageous costs of higher education towards taking out loans."
Some details on @ewarren’s sweeping proposal to cancel student debt for over 40 million Americans Warren says the… https://t.co/Ja3oLrZ9Zy— Johnny Verhovek (@Johnny Verhovek) 1555938965.0
Warren is also proposing a universal free college program, that together with debt cancellation, would cost $1.25 trillion over the span of 10 years.
The Democratic candidate hopes that her ultra-millionaire tax proposal, which taxes 2% on every dollar of households with a net worth of $50 million or more, will cover the debt cancellation costs.
Overall, the policy is estimated to provide total debt cancellation to more than 75 percent of Americans with stude… https://t.co/KFPUB95PzC— Gideon Resnick (@Gideon Resnick) 1555934725.0
Warren also suggests instituting an annual audit for public colleges to address shortfalls for lower-income student… https://t.co/TSqYgMITVg— Gideon Resnick (@Gideon Resnick) 1555934994.0
Warren's bold strategy was met with opposing views.
@AdamHSays Which, again, leaves out those with 6-figure debt just because we happen to make a household income of… https://t.co/S8XSRp27HU— 🦄 Candace 🦄 (@🦄 Candace 🦄) 1555940574.0
@smallislandgurl @AdamHSays The 50k you could possibly get is better than the zero currently get. Anything is plenty.— Duane Face (@Duane Face) 1555941639.0
@duaneface @smallislandgurl @AdamHSays Exactly. 50k wouldn’t get me to zero but I will for sure accept and be grateful for anything.— Rachel Williams (@Rachel Williams) 1555952802.0
Lindsey Burke – the director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank – is concerned about Warren's plan's impact on tuition.
"Universities will continue to do what they've been able to do for decades, and that's increase tuition, because they [will] know there are policies like debt-cancellation and loan forgiveness. They enable universities to be as profligate as they always have been."
Tiffany Jones – the director of higher education policy at the Education Trust, a nonprofit focused on education equity – believes that the debt-cancellation policy benefiting those who need it the most is a good thing, according to The Atlantic.
However, people are concerned over the plan's focus on income over wealth. When looking at the racial-wealth gap, Warren's plan needs to be more specific to determine who needs the debt-cancellation the most.
Many Democratic candidates are addressing how student loans especially burden black students, but so far, Warren is the only hopeful who is promising to fund black colleges.
"For decades, Black Americans were kept out of higher education by virtue of overtly discriminatory policies. Even as the civil rights movement rolled back racially discriminatory admissions policies, the stratification of our higher education system kept students of color concentrated in under-resourced institutions and left them vulnerable to predatory actors."
She hopes to raise $50,000 towards historically black colleges and universities (HBCU), which have historically been underfunded.
Candidates have made a lot of talking about support for HBCUs this election cycle; but she's actually attaching wha… https://t.co/Mi6ddsxH7J— adam harris (@adam harris) 1555935011.0
@AdamHSays That’s actually a pretty smart plan and honestly she was smart as hell to beat everyone to that because… https://t.co/SYcxxKlS3L— Leon Webb (@Leon Webb) 1555952109.0
On Monday, Warren tweeted that her new plan will give "our students a fighting chance at the American dream again."
My new plan is a chance to talk about what’s broken and how we fix it. It’s how we can give our students a fighting… https://t.co/riEXxFVmFn— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1555946367.0
@ewarren Thank you! Education is critical to our nation’s continued success and student debt is a huge burden that… https://t.co/KGsMPFbIWq— David Parrish (@David Parrish) 1555946488.0
@ewarren @ThatShockratees Thank you for all you are doing and trying to do Ms. Warren.— @SaysDana (@@SaysDana) 1555951245.0
What are your thoughts about her proposal and its long-term impact?
Elizabeth Warren Just Wrote An In-Depth Analysis Of 'Game Of Thrones'—And She's Team Daenerys All The Way
Elizabeth Warren watches Game of Thrones, a show which is probably a sweet escape for her considering what's going on in American politics right now.
Oh, and she's team Daenerys Targaryen all the way, as she outlined in a piece for New York Magazine ahead of the eighth season's second episode:
"A queen who declares that she doesn't serve the interests of the rich and powerful? A ruler who doesn't want to control the political system but to break the system as it is known? It's no wonder that the people she meets in Westeros are skeptical."
Why do I love #GameOfThrones? It’s the women (duh!). Looking forward to tonight’s episode. In the meantime, you can… https://t.co/EKJqY9PLRZ— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1555884040.0
Warren also had a lot to say about Cersei of House Lannister, writing that the world needs "less" of people like her, a statement about power and economy:
"Unlike Dany, Cersei doesn't expect to win with the people — she expects to win in spite of them. When Cersei's brother (and lover) Jaime begs her not to wage a war — arguing that they don't have the warrior strength of the Dothraki or the allegiance of the other houses, she replies with all the confidence in the Seven Kingdoms: 'We have something better. We have the Iron Bank'."
"Rather than earn her army, Cersei's pays for it. She buys 20,000 Golden Company mercenaries — though they arrive without their legendary elephants — with funds from the Iron Bank. But Cersei has no intention of sending her private army north to help defeat the army of the dead — that's Jon and Dany's problem."
"No, Cersei's army will sit back and wait for whatever comes their way. Cersei's betting on the strength of the bank to get her through the biggest fight of her life. It never crosses the mind that the bank could fail, or betray her."
That's a loaded statement and it suits Warren perfectly.
She is running on a platform that focuses on monitoring and regulating big banks, institutions she's criticized for years. And people loved it.
Elizabeth Warren doing Game of Thrones takes is the content we both need and deserve. https://t.co/6izZ2ZLndf— Matthew Yglesias (@Matthew Yglesias) 1555885431.0
Elizabeth Warren on Game of Thrones. Suck it, Ulysses. https://t.co/dBM5sc93WK— Rebecca Traister (@Rebecca Traister) 1555884576.0
👀 Really tell us how you feel Liz. Elizabeth Warren on why she loves Game of Thrones. https://t.co/fXCNYHOx4E— Freeborn Black Woman First of Her Name 🖤 (@Freeborn Black Woman First of Her Name 🖤) 1555886609.0
Elizabeth Warren has been expounding the most sensible policy proposals so far on the campaign trail. She should be… https://t.co/MH11Uh2yfU— Tauseef Trumboo (@Tauseef Trumboo) 1555923898.0
If I could show this headline to my high school self reading the book GAME OF THRONES (and explain who Elizabeth Wa… https://t.co/M6lezNCLXP— 🦋Ellie, my neck looks like a vampire hit it 🦋 (@🦋Ellie, my neck looks like a vampire hit it 🦋) 1555909379.0
Elizabeth Warren wrote a review of #GameofThrones and honestly having them all review the various characters and ho… https://t.co/KXh0P2yQtO— Aaron Dy 👨🏻🔬 (@Aaron Dy 👨🏻🔬) 1555886489.0
And the answer to this is up in the air, but we figure she might be able to do it without an army of elephants.
i don't watch game of thrones, but from what i understand, elizabeth warren is going to get the iron throne, right?— varsha is a harm to ongoing men (@varsha is a harm to ongoing men) 1555938840.0
You can't say Warren's been inconsistent. She's making headlines today for her proposal to cancel student debt and eliminate tuition.
"This touches people's lives," Warren said in an interview with The New York Times.
"This is a chance to talk about what's broken and how we fix it. This is the American dream."
More to come as her campaign heats up.