Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society

Fired High School Coach Sues Massachusetts School In Free Speech Lawsuit

There have been a variety of reported conflicts in school districts over curriculum changes and materials addressing racism, including the recent controversy in New York where white families were asked to chose between such “white identities” as “white supremacist” and “white traitor.” Such controversies make for poor lawsuits since they reflect policy, curricula, or programmatic choices of a given district. It becomes a legal matter when a district punishes parents for objecting to such material. That is part of the allegations raised in a recently filed lawsuit by the conservative group Judicial Watch. It is representing fired high school football coach Dave Flynn who alleges that he was terminated by the Dedham High School after raising objections as a parent over the course material in his daughter’s World Geography and Ancient History class. While I have not seen the school’s answer, the lawsuit highlights troubling allegations over how the district handled the matter and allegedly retaliated against Flynn.

By all accounts, Flynn was a popular coach who reportedly turned around a losing football program and had good relations with the students. (There were protests after he was fired). He is also a parent with two daughters at the school and became concerned after reviewing the material for the course. Here is what the complaint states:

20. During the first week of school, Plaintiff and his wife observed that the instruction their daughter was receiving in “World Geography and Ancient History I” was unrelated to the ancient history and world geography subjects described on the Dedham Public Schools website. Instead, the instruction concerned issues of race, gender, stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination, and politics, among others. In one assignment, Plaintiff’s daughter was asked to consider various “risk factors” and “mitigating factors” that two people identified as “white” and the other identified as “black” – purportedly might use to assess each other on a city street. Included among the various factors were skin color, gender, age, physical appearance, and attire. “Black,” “aggressive body language” and “wrong neighborhood” were among the “risk factors” purportedly assessed by the person identified as “white.” “White” and “Police officer” were among the “risk factors” purportedly assessed by the person identified as “black.”

21. Plaintiff and his wife also observed that the instruction materials included a cartoon version of their daughter’s teacher -a “Memoji” – wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt, which Plaintiff and his wife reasonably interpreted as the teacher expressing support for the Black Lives Matter movement during class time.

Flynn states that he raised his concerns with the school and was later fired. The school sent out a note to families with children in the football program on January 20th that stated “We met with Mr. Flynn today because he has expressed significant philosophical differences with the direction, goals and values of this school district” and, as a result, it decided that there was a need for “different leadership for the program at this time.”

However, Flynn says that he objected to the material as a parent and that his record shows no animus or discrimination or obstruction to school policies. Indeed, he was thinking of pulling his children from the school and ultimately did so. The lawsuit highlights the role of the Superintendent Michael Welch. Ironically, when Welch became the Superintendent he stated that attracting people to teaching was a priority. Flynn made such a choice and met with Welch to voice his concerns about the content of a class impacting his children. Again, this is from the complaint:

26. On October 23, 2020, Plaintiff and his wife met with Superintendent Welch, at Superintendent Welch’s invitation, to discuss the concerns raised in the October 14, 2020 email.

27. After the meeting, Plaintiff and his wife still did not feel that their concerns were adequately addressed, and, on October 23, 2020, Plaintiff sent an email to Dedham School Committee Vice-Chairperson White and committee members Bilafer and Briggs, the same three school committee members to whom he had forwarded the October 14, 2020 email. The email summarized Plaintiffs concerns and Superintendent Welch’s response. Plaintiff concluded by stating: The Superintendent has had the opportunity to make sure the Dedham teachers conduct themselves as professionals and to teach the courses objectively and without biased opinions. He chose not to. I believe that the real men and women in the world are the ones who have the ability to compromise, especially in extremely controversial situations. Compromise allows people to experience life as a team. This is where unity brings individual pride together and relationships begin to strengthen. I believe all relationships are based on compromise. The Superintendent was not willing to compromise. I explained to him that if the teacher teaches the course objectively and removes the BLM logo from the class, people will soon get over the fact that the class was purposely created without notifying parents and without having a visible course curriculum, syllabus and learning objective. Apparently, it does not mean much to him that the Dedham Public School System is losing two wonderful students.

28. Plaintiff also forwarded his October 23, 2020 email to approximately twenty other concerned parents. On information and belief, Vice-Chairperson White and committee members Bilafer and Briggs knew other parents had received Plaintiffs email. 29. On October 30, 2020, Plaintiff and his wife removed their children from Dedham Public Schools. At that time, they believed the issue was behind them.

It was not “behind them” obviously. Flynn was then fired.

We have to see the other side to this controversy from the school district but on its face it raises troubling questions on both the judgment of the school district as well as its respect for free speech.  The complaint advances to claims based on retaliation for exercising the right to protected petitions and protected speech. This will be an interesting lawsuit to watch.

259 thoughts on “Fired High School Coach Sues Massachusetts School In Free Speech Lawsuit”

  1. Red State vs Blue Progressive State.

    ‘Experts’ are puzzled why Florida was relatively open and California shut as tight as an irritated clam, but the Covid outcomes were about the same.

    We need better ‘Experts’.

    But the rest of the story goes beyond infection rates and into economics. Florida is far superior. See the graphs:

    https://thefederalist.com/2021/02/18/these-shocking-graphs-show-floridas-far-better-covid-outcomes-with-far-milder-lockdown-than-new-york-california/

    Apparently progressive tyranny is not an ideal governmental model for a state like California.

    1. That the kind of surface-level take qualifies as data analysis at The Federalist? The lady doesn’t even understand why Canadians visit Florida in January.

      My favorite bit is when she undermines her premise by providing a non-lockdown explanation for New York’s status as an outlier in many categories. I guess slamming Cuomo was more important than proving her point. Of course, it’s not like you have a strong case when you’re bolstering your statistical analysis with quotes like, “When I go around Florida, I will see New York license plates here. I doubt you see very many Florida license plates making their way to New York right now.”

      Her would-be strongest stat is an apples-to-oranges comparison of Florida infection rates during a time they were coming down from their second covid wave, to California during the height of their first wave. Is she disingenuous or stupid?

      No attempt to provide context, no attempt to find explanations besides the predetermined “libs are bad.” In short, it’s propaganda, convincing only to data illiterates. A real data scientist might be able to dig in and draw some better supported conclusions to slam libs with, but this is a fail.

      1. I have been watching the daily infection rates nationwide for some time [all are going down now] and locked-down California was leading the pack and accelerated when the lock down rules were made even stricter. Meanwhile, businesses were going under. I spoke with a couple of businessmen in California who were in anguish over the strict government rules which, in fact, seemed to be making things worse rather than better judging by daily infection statistics.

        Rather than calling people stupid in this case–which seems to be your ‘argument’–try looking at the actual infection rates. They are easy enough to find. Try talking to business owners in California and learn some facts rather than pontificate.

        This is part of what is wrong with Progressive thinking. It never makes it far from the faculty lounge or the local opium den.

        Go out and find out for yourself.

    2. Young, progressive economics fails as well. Jeff Atwater made a speech comparing 4 states from the start of the recession and then what happened afterwards. He compared Texas and Florida to New Jersey and Illinois. I think I posted the video earlier. Florida and Texas cut spending while the other two took on debt. All the economies contracted but when the recession was over NJ and IL were in tremendous debt while Florida and Texas were financially strong. That was followed with a good economy for Florida and Texas along with jobs. IL seems near bankruptcy and taxes rose in NJ where people were leaving for Texas and Florida. My understanding is that one of the richest persons moved out of NJ and they had to redo their budget due to the tax deficit.

      The speech Jeff Atwater (former CFO of Florida, to the Forum Club) gave was like an entire semester in economics. He used a fabulous graph.

      1. That sounds like a good speech backed up by real-world results. I don’t understand the grip Progressive thinking has on so many when history is littered with its failures.

        1. Reality is tough to bear and doesn’t result in results without hard work. Dreams are never realized. A few get rich and the rest are provided with dreams that are never realized. Then we are left with the Stupid. Anonymous the Stupid is a good example of that.

    1. https://justthenews.com/government/congress/republican-senators-receive-quick-and-decisive-backlash-over-voting-trump?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators

      This is the link.

      As of now, Cassidy and Burr have been rebuked by state party committees. Sasse, Murkowski, and Toomey have been rebuked by certain county organizations. No official rebuke of Romney or Collins. Romney’s approval ratings among Utah Republicans are around 30%, however. Romney’s presence in Congress is anomalous and I’ll wager he retires. Murkowski is either retiring or she’s calculating (given the advent of ranked-choice voting) that she can capture enough Republican and non-aligned voters to avoid being the trailing candidate on the first tabulation and then get enough 2d choice votes from Democrats to prevail (should she be facing a loyal Republican in the 2d round of tabulation) and enough from Republicans should she be facing a Democrat in the 2d round. I’d be amused if she runs and places 3d because she fundamentally pleases no one but her daddy.

      1. Sasse, Collins, Murkowski, and Cassidy switch over to join Manchin as blue dogs. Switches the senate blue in a big way. Romney couldn’t make the jump because of being the ’12 repub nominee, but he could effectively caucus a good deal with the blue dogs.

        Elvis

        1. Sasse, Collins, Murkowski, and Cassidy switch over to join Manchin as blue dogs.

          More wish-fulfillment from you. Sasse and Cassidy would be completely unsalable as Democratic politicians. Collins is 68 years old and likely in her last term. Murkowski is mindful of the reality that that the only Democrat who has won statewide office in Alaska since 1998 did so because the Republican candidate was subject to a criminal indictment during the campaign by a set of viciously abusive AUSAs (his conviction was later vacated and the prosecutors in question reprimanded by the judge).. She’s also mindful of the reality that if she runs as a Democrat, she has to bank on the starboard vote being split between several candidates (Republican, write-in, petition non-partisan, libertarian, Alaska Independence). The last time a Democrat won a statewide contest without that was in 1974.

          1. But now would be the time to distance a bit from status quo. Don’t sleep on, or assume, that the party writ large will not react to trump’s 1/6 boneheadedness.

            You’re probably right though, the republican party will have to suffer the pain of realizing they need the Sasse’s and Murkowski’s and the MTG’s both to have a shot.

            Elvis

            1. Don’t sleep on, or assume, that the party writ large will not react to trump’s 1/6 boneheadedness.

              Thanks for more wish fulfillment. Such an education.

              Between 82% and 94% of Republican respondents have been satisfied with the President. There is no popular base for a ‘neverTrump’ dispensation. The complaints are coming from the Capitol Hill / K Street nexus. And from a scatter of Acela corridor opinion journalists, nearly all with liberal patrons.

      2. Thanks, Art for correcting my link. Do you have any idea of how all this plays out? Both parties seem to have deep splits, but I think the Republican position for the future appears better.

        Any words of wisdom from your political eye?

        1. No clue. In contradistinction to McConnell and Cheney, I don’t see the seven votes in the Senate to convict as manifesting a distinct type within the Republican Party. They did what they did for idiosyncratic reasons.

          1. Yes. but if one looks at the Republican support for Trump at the beginning of his term one notes that many Republicans were afraid of him, not just 7.

            Those are the same Republicans that scare me when I realize they are supposed to represent the country, not themselves. Though they might sound better today, they are the same people.

  3. Another report that the US Attorney is investigating Cuomo for nursing home deaths.

    https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/cuomo-investigation-fbi-covid-nursing-homes-15957401.php?utm_campaign=CMS%20Sharing%20Tools%20(Premium)&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

    About 9 months ago I posted here that a plausible argument could be made for prosecuting Cuomo on one of the degrees of homicide in the NY Code and I included the appropriate code sections with it. The media and the government continued to cover for him, indeed praise him, in the intervening months.

    Now it seems that the Democrat enemies of Cuomo are pressing for an investigation and maybe the DOJ is interested.

    I am not confident about the outcome of a federal investigation. It might be Crime Laundering in the manner of Money Laundering. An apparently legitimate action that leads to legal absolution or a minor penalty, something along the lines of what appears to have happened to Clinesmith and which almost amounts to official obstruction of justice.

    But, with Democrats lining up for the attack, maybe something more will come of it.

    If family members decide to sue Cuomo I am not confident that sovereign immunity would protect him. If he simply shot one of the folks in the nursing home would sovereign immunity protect him? I doubt it, and there is very little difference between shooting someone and deliberately or recklessly infecting him with a lethal disease.

    1. I doubt Letitia James or the U.S Attorney’s office would pursue cases for disinterested reasons. There’s some angle.

      1. ” There’s some angle.”

        Yes. There always seems to be an angle and that is why so much of America now distrusts this once admired government organization. Actual law enforcement does not appear to be on their list of priorities. One building in Washington should be renamed the ‘J. Edgar Hoover & Richard Jewell’ building lest we forget.

      2. Art: “I doubt Letitia James or the U.S Attorney’s office would pursue cases for disinterested reasons. There’s some angle.”
        ***

        One outlandish thought I had was that maybe Kamala sees Cuomo as a future competitor and is using the opportunity to deal with him now. The new, Progressive DOJ would maybe go along with an autocrat like Kamala. I wonder if Cuomo has wondered why the worm has suddenly turned lately?

        Outlandish, yes, but outlandish seems to be in vogue these days.

    2. We can only hope in this scenario that capo de capo Cuomo gets taken out before his village idiot brother fredo. Justice delayed is justice DENIED !!.

  5. I see Soros sent in the second string, again. The trolls keep trying to change the subject.

    Trolls, get your own blog. Invite us. We’ll fillet you like flounders on your own comment boards, and I promise we won’t need to change the subject.

  6. If a male teacher was accused of bad behavior towards female students in class even to the point of having sexual relations with a student and if that teacher was not prosecuted and convicted the teachers union would step in an attempt to prevent harm to the teacher without much concern for the students.

    Even though the teacher should have been fired the teacher would likely end up sitting in an empty classroom during school hours, being paid his normal salary and benefits, being permitted to retire with full benefits.

  7. People are freezing in Texas without heat or electricity, and in some places they’re now being told they need to boil their water before drinking, as the treatment plants aren’t functioning properly.

    What Beto O’Rourke was helping with yesterday:
    “We made over 151,000 calls to senior citizens in Texas tonight. One of our vols talked to a man stranded at home w/out power in Killeen, hadn’t eaten in 2 days, got him a ride to a warming center and a hot meal. Help us reach more people, join us tomorrow …”

    Ted Cruz and his family flew to Cancun last night to vacation somewhere warm. He’s doing nothing to help the people of his state.

    Shame on Cruz, and shame on the conservatives in TX who reelected him.

    1. “What Beto O’Rourke was helping with yesterday:”

      That’s amusing.

      First a man kneecaps you. (Which nobody reports) Then he “helps” you by finding a pair of crutches for you to borrow.

      You want to “help?” Get the hell out of the way of the energy producers!

      1. Beto O’Rourke didn’t kneecap anyone, nor have you provided any evidence that he kneecapped anyone.

        You want to help? Make an honest argument.

        1. “Make an honest argument.”

          Anonymous the Stupid, since when have you taken your own advice? You are being nasty again.

          1. Allan the Abusive continues to respond with insults. Abusers shouldn’t be indulged as if they’re trying to engage in good faith.

            1. Anonymous the Stupid, you never seem to follow your own advice and you are abusive along with being a liar.. My record is clear, yours is not as demonstrated by your use of an anonymous name and icon, constant insults without content.

              Stop blaming everyone else for your faults.

              1. S. Meyer, your record obviously isn’t clear, since your comment includes multiple insults.

                Should I assume that you’re the same person who posted the anonymous comment referring to “Anonymous the Stupid” earlier? If so, then perhaps you also shouldn’t be calling anyone out for using an anonymous name and icon.

                1. When there is a clarification required I provide my alias and icon, but in general when I post to Anonymous the Stupid I mostly use an anonymous icon to save you the time of reading the foolishness that goes between Anonymous and myself. I do that because Anonymous The Stupid doesn’t provide content and mostly when I respond to such crazies I frequently don’t reply with content either. You will generally find content from S. Meyer.

                  I hope that this clears up the issue for you and thank you for pointing out your confusion.

                  1. S. Meyer, thanks for confirming that you engage in behavior that you condemn in others.

                    1. I fully admit that when I talk to Anonymous the Stupid I generally use his name and post anonymously. You should also thank me for letting you know not to waste your time on such posts. Yes, I condemn it like I do many things but I have to live in a world where people like Anonymous the Stupid exist.

                      I am glad I could assist you so that you can save time by deleting that series of responses. They are a waste of tie.

                      Let me know if I can be of any further help.

        2. Robert francis fake Mexican O’white-roarke is the biggest dolt , dumber than the box the rocks comes in type of feelgood vacant political whore out there next to the DNC “leadership”. He is a scatterbrained opportunist , the worst kind of trash in our political system. He got put out to pasture…let’s leave him there. Hell even the senile lord darth biden of chyna does not want him !!.

          1. He’s doing something to help the Texans who are freezing in Texas without heat or electricity, yet you have nothing but insults.

      2. For the metaphor challenged: “Kneecaps” is a metaphor for the environmental regulations that for some 30 years have been handicapping (a metaphor) the energy producers. That preening fool (O’Rourke) endorses those destructive policies (as, obviously does the Biden administration). He recently dismissed the suffering of those now unemployed because of those policies (see Keystone). If it hadn’t been for environmental fascists, the country would be awash in reliable, inexpensive energy — and there’d by no need for the likes of O’Rourke to locate warming centers.

        1. P.S. In a rational culture, totalitarians like AOC wouldn’t be allowed within 10 feet of an electric socket, let alone an electric grid.

        2. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Beto O’Rourke isn’t responsible for the huge ERCOT f-up in Texas.

          1. Says the person whose idea of “history” is what he ate for breakfast. And who can’t think broader than the name of a person.

  8. Obviously we only have half the story. While it does happen that schools and colleges fire teachers and coaches for stupid reasons, it is far more common that the there was behavior behind the scenes that was not made public. I would guess that the coach said some things in the meeting that was just outright racists. This puts the school district on notice and if he discriminates against a student than the district would be liable for extra damages.

    1. MollyG

      “I would guess that the coach said some things in the meeting that was just outright racists.”

      Any evidence to back up that Mr. Flynn is/was racist?

      Without more evidence than you are providing, you are just blackening his reputation – ie libeling him.

      1. “Without more evidence than you are providing, you are just blackening his reputation – ie libeling him.”

        This dude is holding the casual speculations of anonymous internet posters to higher standards than four years’ worth of presidential tweets. Curious.

        1. Brad:

          Once again, you are following the liberal playbook: “But Trump…”.

          Honest question. Will you ever get Trump out of your head?

          Many liberal posters who keep “circling back” to Trump are like divorced/discarded wives – unable to let go and move on.

          1. Monument, I think a lot of people on the left don’t understand the issue. It is not Trump. It is what he mostly stood for. People don’t have to like a person to stand behind policy. Whether or not Trump exists that very large group of angry will remain and if need be someone else will fill Trump’s shoes.

      2. That is why I said I was guessing. I was simply pondering a plausible reason for why the school did what they did.

    3. MollyGee, you were not in the room when coach Flyn met with the administrators. Somehow you come up with a scenario that depicts him as a racist. This is not the first time that you have made up things out of whole cloth. You forgot the part about how he might have been buddies with Genghis Khan. However, we should give you credit for having a vivid imagination.

      1. That is why I said I was guessing. I was simply pondering a plausible reason for why the school did what they did.

        1. MollyGee, in your guesswork you intimated that the coach was a racist. Now you excuse yourself with an “I was just guessing”. One dishonesty to cover a second dishonesty. Wait for it folks number three is coming.

          1. I clearly said that I was guessing in my first comment. I am saying that IF the coach said racist things in the meeting then that would explain the schools actions.

            1. MollyGee. Why couldn’t you guess that the school administrators might be wrong. Your guessing is a perfect example of thinking taught at the university of if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his but when he hops. Please give us another “I guess” piece of your wisdom.

            2. I am saying that IF the coach said racist things in the meeting then that would explain the schools actions.

              He’s white. He spoke out against BLM…RACIST!

              ‘Nuff said.

    4. it is far more common that the there was behavior behind the scenes that was not made public.

      Well, we know which public bureaucracy mollyG works for.

  9. As someone who coached high school basketball for 10 years, and then after that 5 years of junior high basketball I’m going to say that there is more involved than political outrage at what’s going on here. Getting people to put the time and dedication into coaching, for almost no money, when considering what’s actually involved with coaching well is a hard thing to do. Let’s just say it’s not about the money, or the status, or the prestige involved.

    Look, I took over a basketball program that chronically got beaten like a drum and within two years had won a state championship. Media was all over me after because, in effect, I coached the smallest town, in the smallest state, to a championship. The press saw Hoosiers. I saw Hoosiers meets Natural Born Killers because every single day was a huge challenge with that particular bunch — but even more so with the school and the families of the players. Went on to win another championship and play for a couple more besides that. I ground up against the school on a number of issues while definitely being a progressive myself…, but in the end, I was the person who could do the job at that point in time, and the school knew it. While that didn’t make them appreciate my POV any more, they did realize replacing me wouldn’t be such an easy task and they acted accordingly. Not by paying me any more (well, one superintendent who’d previously been a college AD did give me a raise, sent me encouraging notes saying he saw what I was doing, etc), or not by not getting up in my grill about things, but rather just that they knew I put a lot into it and push come to shove they recognized it.

    So when high school coaches get fired or quit in a huff there is *always* more to the story.

    Elvis Bug

      2. Just contextualizing, monument. I think it’s hilarious you thought this was humble bragging! I’ll take it as a compliment. I coached for 15 years and was never far from feeling like a total fraud the whole time.

        EB

        1. Good story EB, one you should be proud of, and one that is even on topic. The tiny minds and souls criticizing you above for relating it wish they had one as good, and so do I..

        1. Anonymous the Stupid, Phergus posts content that involves a mind that thinks. One only has to look at his prior comments. He may be smarter than me or less smart than me, but in no way does he stoop down to your low level type of thinking.

          Learn this, Anonymous the Stupid, anyone who is intelligent can see what a fool you have made of yourself. I don’t concern myself with the others.

          1. Allan the Abusive continues to respond with insults. Abusers shouldn’t be indulged as if they’re trying to engage in good faith.

            1. Anonymous the Stupid, funny you should say that when you are the one insulting Phergus for no reason. You are a pig and when you are caught you squeak like one.

    3. Elvis Bug your best explanation is that there must be more to the story. Why don’t you just say it. Why don’t you just say this coach must be a bad guy. Show us were the administrators say he was a bad coach. The best you have is a conviction based on speculation. We would hope that you might ask why a Geography and Ancient history teacher would be inserting her position on race into her class. A little to much to ask of the Elvis Bug. Why don’t you tell us about your entire life being based on fairness, justice for all, and the American way.

      1. Thinkit. JT posts one side by his own admission, and that side was complied by the right wing Judicial Watch. We can speculate however we want, or just say let’s wait. I know you all here prefer playing the victim again, and that just more MAGA porn churned out by Turley.

        1. AnonJoeFriday. If it was found out that an Ancient History teacher was presenting her case against abortion in the classroom you would go ballistic. There is no place in an Ancient History class for an indoctrination on abortion or an indoctrination on racism. There are some facts that we can consider. The coach protested about his children being taught about racism in a Geography class. The coach was fired. The question is should racism be a subject in a Geography class? These facts and questions don’t change wether they are presented by the New York Times or Judicial Watch. First your friends say he must have done something else wrong and now you say let’s wait and see. A grand attempt at trying to put the cat back in the bag.

          1. Thinkit, we only have the JW charge summarizing what the teacher said offended him. There is no text presented by JT. We may or may not agree that the summation is accurate. This is literally half baked.

            1. AnonJoeFriday, you might read the post again. There were references to emails with the date they were sent to the school by the plaintiff. These communications are documented. The texts presented are the actual emails with their dates provided. Joefriday is now telling us that there is no documentation of correspondence. It takes a lot of character to retract a statement. Let’s see what AnonJoeFriday is made of.

              1. Thinkit, those emails – which we haven’t seen – are like the legal document cited in the column, the plaintiffs version of events..

                I have admitted I was wrong here and more than once.When I have, I noted the facts, how I was wrong, and if corrected by another poster, ended on “I was wrong, (poster) was right.” I even did that with mespo on something – don’t remember what – and we can’t stand each other.

                Sorry to say, not many here will do that.

          2. It was a geography and ancient history class. Racism is part of ancient history, just like it’s part of current history.

        2. AnonJoeFriday, you have every right to speculate all you want and I have every right to point out that your speculations are only speculations and have no basis in fact. However, if one were to look into past statements on this forum it would soon be discovered that you and others post here only for a contrarian purpose. If Professor Turley were to say that kittens are cute you would say that he was a MAGA kitty supporter. Your lack of nuance only reveals the shallowness of your thinking.

          1. Thinkit, if Trump claimed there were hurricane warnings for Alabama and the Nat Weather Service said, no, that’s not correct, you’d swear the NWS was part of a Deep State conspiracy against Trump.

            You’ve probably already done that.

            1. AnonJoeFriday, regardless of what Professor Turley posts you are always in disagreement. Every single time. I don’t agree with CNN very often so I seldom go there. You are to be found on this forum every day. We must ask ourselves what your motivation is. Is it to find an array of opinion for the purpose of your education or is it for the purpose of setting the world straight to further a religious dogma. The readers hear can decide which it is.

              1. Thinkit, I have agreed with Turley several times, once at least within the last month. I said so, and praised his column.. It is rare, I agree.

            2. Word, Joe.

              And I’d be shocked if Think actually thinks versus obsessing, or isn’t just another of Allan’s identities.

              EB

      2. I did say it. Unfortunately it seems it didn’t reach your head so firmly wedged up your butt.

        EB

    4. EB, Thanks for your story. I like to read an interesting personal point of view from the commenters. Sal Sar

  10. Again….we see the Good Professor attacked by by the Loony Left with no attempt to discuss the issues raised in his Post.

    Why do they do that?

    Can they not for once just debate the issues in a calm reasoned manner?

    Is it they know they invariably lose when they do that and just do not want that embarrassment or is it just trolling being done to burden the comments here thinking such garbage can turn this Blog into something akin to the streets of a Democrat run City?

    The Sup and the School District are wrong….wrong in injecting such a thing into the teaching and refusing to admit their error in judgement by the Teacher, Sup, and District.

    Would they have condoned the use of N_____R or B___H and the use of a Confederate Flag emoji and turned the wording around to favor the “white side”?

    Professor Turley’s “Honest Man” practice would immediately say they would not….and should not…..thus indicting the other.

    The Left objects to challenges of any kind that demonstrate the evil of their agenda and precepts.

    School Kids should be taught how to think….not what to think.

    You want politics out of the school system….start by taking out the Racism….no matter which side is guilty of it.

    1. “Again….we see the Good Professor attacked by by the Loony Left with no attempt to discuss the issues raised in his Post. Why do they do that?”

      Ralph, the left has few if any answers. They want power to squelch the individual’s voice like any other fascist group.

  12. It’s another indication, in case we needed one, of two things:

    1. Teachers colleges attract, retain, and spit out people who manifest a mix of malice and stupidity.

    2. Liberals fancy common institutions are their property.

    1. Thanks, Arty. Always know where to go for cliched and reactionary right wing nonsense.

      Elvis

      1. Well when people like you Capt.EB Hubris , can not engage a cogent argument cogently…you ignore and or blaspheme. It’s your game , it’s all you got…and we know it.

        1. I can only work with what gets put out there, Phergus. Arty tosses out these sort of intellectually lazy aphorisms all the time. It’s essential to call them out as such.

          My cousin’s dog is named Phergus.

          EB

    1. Sadly we can’t have a modern Joseph Welch because if anyone stands up to these close-minded fascists the media will not anoint them as they did Welch. McCarthy was evil, mean, uneducated, destructive and coarse…but there were communists in our government. Of course this was back in the day when the media, hollywood, the campus and the “intelligentsia” all loved the Soviets. When they are our biggest enemy the powers that be love them, when they are a third world nation with only nukes and an army the left hates them. The new left China because the new left hates America. See the NBA hate the USA as they kowtow to China. Notice how the NY Times adored the Soviets and now shills for China as they ban Sen Cotton.

      1. True – but someone that they can’t cancel needs to stand up and say Stop. That was Welch. Who today?

      2. McCarthy was evil, mean, uneducated, destructive and coarse

        His education was quite satisfactory. To the extent he was ‘coarse’ it was a function of alcoholism.

  14. Here’s another racially based controversy in the news Turley missed. Victims aren’t white, so no surprise.

    ““You’re taking the Whitest demographic and richest demographic in Manatee County and putting them before everyone else,” County Commissioner Misty Servia (R) said at a meeting this week…..”

    Today’s WaPo:

    County officials blasted DeSantis over vaccine site in an affluent White area. So he threatened to take away the doses

    Lack of health services and transportation impede access to vaccine in communities of color

    Residents in Manatee County, which sits just south of Tampa, had grown increasingly frustrated by a randomized selection process used to distribute the vaccine. While about 180,000 people — half the population — had already signed up, Florida’s chaotic rollout and a limited supply have prevented many from getting their shots.

    “When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) unveiled a “pop-up” clinic offering coveted coronavirus vaccines in an affluent, mostly White part of Manatee County, Fla., lawmakers on both sides of the aisle slammed the plan for excluding residents in the rest of the county.

    But on Wednesday, the governor offered no apologies, warning that he could instead take the doses elsewhere.

    “If Manatee County doesn’t like us doing this, then we are totally fine with putting this in counties that want it,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “We’re totally happy to do that.”

    As wealthy individuals in Florida and around the country snap up a disproportionate number of vaccination appointments, critics say DeSantis’s plan for the “pop-up” clinic near Tampa is only bound to widen disparities.

    Some jurisdictions have targeted Zip codes that were hit especially hard by the virus, but many in Manatee County fear DeSantis’s plan will do the opposite, benefiting an area that has been least affected by the pandemic — including a few of the individuals who worked with the governor.

    “You’re taking the Whitest demographic and richest demographic in Manatee County and putting them before everyone else,” County Commissioner Misty Servia (R) said at a meeting this week.

    Lack of health services and transportation impede access to vaccine in communities of color

    Residents in Manatee County, which sits just south of Tampa, had grown increasingly frustrated by a randomized selection process used to distribute the vaccine. While about 180,000 people — half the population — had already signed up, Florida’s chaotic rollout and a limited supply have prevented many from getting their shots.

    As the Bradenton Herald reported, DeSantis sought to address the problem by quietly contacting a campaign donor: Rex Jensen, a real estate developer whose company built Lakewood Ranch, a mostly Republican, mainly White master-planned community in Manatee County.

    Working in private with the county commission chair, Vanessa Baugh (R), they struck a deal. If Jensen hosted an additional vaccination clinic on his development, the governor would offer state health workers to administer the vaccines and National Guard troops to control the flow of people. The supply of those doses would go beyond Manatee County’s weekly allotment of doses from the state government, the Herald reported.

    There was just one catch: Rather than opening the pop-up vaccination site to everyone in the county, it would only offer doses to residents in two Zip codes — 34202 and 34211 — which cover much of Lakewood Ranch and other well-to-do residential areas nearby and fall largely in Baugh’s district.

    “It wasn’t choosing one Zip code over another,” DeSantis said at the news conference on Wednesday. “We wanted to find communities that had high levels of seniors living in there, and this obviously has a high concentration.”

    But once the plan was announced this week, many on the Republican-dominated body took DeSantis and Baugh to task. According to the Herald, at least three commissioners had not been aware of how the pop-up clinic was planned — or that it would not be open to all residents.

    “What about the rest of the county? I’m shocked that we would do this without even the board knowing about it,” Commissioner Carol Whitmore (R) told the newspaper.

    Commissioner Reggie Bellamy, the board’s sole Democrat, said at a public meeting that he had “been fighting like hell to show people that the lottery is equal and we cannot compromise the system. All of a sudden, someone is telling me we were able to pull a certain demographic out.”

    Some, like Servia, also criticized the plan for vaccinating the most affluent neighborhoods ahead of underserved areas that had been pummeled by the pandemic.

    About 8 percent of Manatee County’s coronavirus infections were reported in the two targeted Zip codes around Lakewood Ranch, the Herald noted. While both of these areas had recorded less than 1,600 cases, more than 4,300 people tested positive in one Zip code farther west.

        2. Anonymous the Stupid has entered the ring. First hit by Olly, “Oh, snap! Brilliant.”

          …And it’s a knockout with Anonymous the Stupid hitting the ground before his stupidity could reach the last row of seats.

    2. ““You’re taking the Whitest demographic and richest demographic in Manatee County and putting them before everyone else,” County Commissioner Misty Servia (R) said at a meeting this week…..”
      “
      That is the left’s scientific reason for not following the science of who should get the vaccine first. She was saying white people that are elderly don’t deserve the vaccine until the non-whites get the vaccine regardless of need.

    3. Context is everything. The “richest” demographic is the group 65 and over. If after 45 years working, saving, and investing, I was not richer than my 26 y.old grandson, something would be very wrong.
      It just so happens that the same demographic is the most vulnerable to COVID.

  15. I am surprised that Turley does not find the 2.7 billion dollar defamation lawsuit against his boss, Fox News, “interesting” and not more newsworthy than commenting upon this obscure matter. Why is the professor ignoring the obvious? Or the fact that Trump called in to Fox News yesterday and was permitted by the hosts to air the Big Lie of a stolen election once again! You would think that Fox would have learned a lesson not to continue to spread this lie to its gullible viewers. And yet crickets on this blog.

    1. JS:

      With all the issues out there, Turley has to pick and chose.

      Writing about your own employer is a move fraught with peril; think 20 ways it can go wrong and maybe 2 that would work.

      That is not cowardice, that is common sense. Think how often we – all of us – have kept our mouths shut when it was not an issue of life or death (and even then most of us would keep our mouths shut).

      Your post is just trying to make Turley feel bad rather than scoring a legitimate point.

      1. monument, if Turley didn’t spend 1/2 his time going after CNN and MSNBC (the other 1/2 split between blaming Democrats for everything and making white people think they’re the primary victims of racism in America), the fact that he lays off on Fox for the exact same things would just be discretion instead of hypocritical BS.

        1. AnonJF

          Then why stay?

          You often (very often) rail at Turley for not saying the things that you want him to say.

          Bluntly, you demonstrate the liberal attitude – “I don’t like what you say, so I will make you change.”.

          Why not accept that it is Turley’s blog and his right to say what he wants. Don’t like it; either go away or politely request changes.

          B..ching might be satisfying, but is both impolite an ineffective.

          1. Monument, I just love your comments. The left sees a Fox News and wants it banned, the right sees a CNN or an MSNBC and they change the channel.

            1. Hulllbobby, you provided reality but I don’t know that those on the other side can understand that simple point.

              Congrats on the simplicity and concise response.

          2. Why not accept that it is Turley’s blog and his right to say what he wants. Don’t like it; either go away or politely request changes.

            monument,
            The interesting thing for me is the stories might change, but JT hasn’t. I’ve been on here for about 10 years and he’s as anchored in the law as always. I don’t always agree with him, but when I don’t, I look for what I’m missing first. These lefty narcissists think they are standing solid on principles and everyone else is moving to the extremes. Of course it won’t ever dawn on them that the opposite may be true.

              1. People would think better of you and you would contribute a little bit to keeping discourse civil.

                I don’t think you’ve figured out what gets Gainesville out of bed in the morning. (He’s using two of his handles on this thread).

        2. AnonJF. Why are you trying to change the subject through deflection?

          You’re just trolling.

    2. Jeffrey, as someone who has admitted your racial/cultural prejudices here towards “Shiska’s”, and “Schvatsa’s”, you should really avoid these topics.

    3. I thought most everyone knows the left has unlimited resources to file lawsuits to silence those who speak the truth/those they hate. Fox is a target and no doubt more lawsuits will be coming

    4. Maybe it’s because so far its a complaint and one wonders if they have even had time to file and answer. The fact of the suit is old news and there is nothing new in it

      Discovery however, should be interesting. Wait around for a year or so and maybe there will be something of interest

      Meanwhile Silverman, you will surely continue to needle our host rudely.

      Sal

  16. SUE the SCHOOL DISTRICT and the Town for everything including the Board Members. WOKE/Social correct has nothing to do with Geography/Ancient History. Its time they teach the WOKE Crowd a lesson and when you hit them in the pocket book it will mean somehting. Hope more parents do the same.

    1. Who needs Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Cicero and other ancients when the schools can teach hatred of cops in wealth Dedham, MA in an ANCIENT HISTORY CLASS! I agree with 234 Currancy!

  17. “Such controversies make for poor lawsuits since they reflect policy, curricula, or programmatic choices of a given district.” Why is that so? Taxpayers are required to pay taxes to support school districts — if there’s indoctrination going on, why is suing to get this to stop apparently unsuccessful? Are the cases using the wrong reasoning? For example, should “civil rights” be cited instead? Why can’t this indoctrination be stopped by parents and taxpayers who object to such racism? If adherence to God were taught or such things, that seems to be able to be stopped right away, so why can’t this racism and political activism (BLM, teachers rights, climate carbon tax, etc.) be legally stopped?

  18. Pingback: Fired High School Coach Sues Massachusetts School In Free Speech Lawsuit | Dawson County Journal

  19. Race matters. I lived in a town in Illinois which had a racetrack called Fairmount. The contests were fair and balanced. Yet some people wanted the track out of the area because it was based on race.
    We have to get beyond such dumb criticisms in America. Big Lakes Matter. I have a sailboat. BLM.

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