Commentary

Is Common Core Racist?  Check Out The Results

Is Common Core Racist?  Check Out The Results

Sandra Stotsky

The December 2015 re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act required all states that wanted Title I money to help school districts with low-income students to develop and submit a four-year plan, under the control of the state's education department. All state plans had to be "peer reviewed" by people chosen by the U.S. Department of Education and approved by the U.S. Secretary of Education. The bill, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, did not require or even suggest that these four-year state education plans be approved by a state's elected legislators or by the elected local school board members in the state.

Interestingly, no state's attorney general is on record as declaring the plan submitted by its state's education department illegal or unconstitutional.  No state attorney general pointed out that the federal government has no constitutional authority over a state's education policies.

Unreasonable FBI Searches: Why I Sympathize With Michael Cohen’s Recent Ordeal
Commentary

Unreasonable FBI Searches: Why I Sympathize With Michael Cohen’s Recent Ordeal

Benjamin Wey

Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, may not be a sympathetic figure to many. He's intelligent but sanctimonious, and he boasts a roster of clients that make many cringe. But I sympathize with him because I had a similar experience six years ago, when the FBI intruded into my private life.

As we opened my offices at The Trump Building in lower Manhattan on January 25, 2012, about twenty FBI agents wearing bulletproof vests and brandishing weapons suddenly descended on my investment company, New York Global Group. As they entered, the armed agents shouted "FBI, don't move," and then corralled my terrified and shocked employees into a conference room. The raid lasted for six hours, during which time the agents grabbed our electronics and walked out with our files, even though the search warrant specified no crime under investigation. Members of the press called our offices throughout the day about the raid. Although initially we were at loss as to what generated such intense press interest, we learned subsequently that news of the raid had been leaked by the FBI and the Southern District United States Attorney's Office, then under the leadership of Preet Bharara.

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