Category: Uncategorized

“Consider the source” is always good advice. In our world of electronic media of head-spinning speed and volume, paying attention to bylines of newspaper articles, the organization funding an opinion-writer, and the quality and credibility of a quoted source is essential. Thanks to Jane Mayer’s book, Dark Money (see the Reference box below), many of us recognize the names in the intricate web of right and far right organizations funded by the Koch brothers donor group, names like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Americans for Prosperity, and the Club For Growth–and we view opinions emanating from those organizations with a recognition of the bias they represent.  I used to place trust in some other organizations based solely on their names, especially organizations with a medical tone. No longer. Case in point: The “Association of American Physicians and Surgeons” (see the screenshot above) was mentioned in an article by Judd Legum detailing the Food and Drug Administration’s revocation of its “emergency use authorization” for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19.  The name, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons” sounds really official. As “physicians and surgeons” the organization must be worthy of trust, right? The AAPS has a flashy website and logo. They’ve been around since 1943 and have “represented physicians of all specialties in all states.” Fox News thinks the AAPS is a reliable source. Just have a look at the Fox News clip on the Association’s website presentation of their article entitled, “Hydroxychloroquine Has about 90 Percent Chance of Helping COVID-19 Patients.” I am retired physician, and I am embarrassed to admit that had I not been closely following the story of hydroxychloroquine in Covid-19, I might have glossed over the name “Association of American Physicians and Surgeons” as a reliable source. After all, during my entire career I’ve read position papers by “associations” with the physician specialty names in the title, read them without much question.  Wikipedia provides a quick, thoroughly referenced orientation to the AAPS. Here’s how that page starts: The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a conservative non-profit association founded in 1943. The group was reported to have about 5,000 members in 2014. The association has promoted a range of scientifically discredited hypotheses, including the belief that HIV does not cause AIDS, that being gay reduces life expectancy, that there is a link between abortion and breast cancer, …and that there is a causal relationship between vaccines and autism. It is opposed to the Affordable Care Act and other forms of universal health insurance. The AAPS has about 5000 members. In contrast, the American Medical Association has a membership of 240,000. There are approximately 950,000 practicing physicians in the United States. Every profession has its outliers with an ax to grind. The AAPS is the prime example of that phenomenon in the field of medicine. Because it exists, sounds important, and says the right things Fox News touts the AAPS as authoritative. The AAPS is certainly not the only example of an outlier group with a deceptive name. In researching the article on Referendum 90 I ran across the American College of Pediatricians, purporting to represent the medical profession, and, doubtlessly, accepted as such by many casual readers. In fact, the American College of Pediatricians has a mere 500 members and is classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. Check out “The Religious Right’s Favorite Medical Association Is a Hate Group” at The Daily Beast. We all need to pay attention, look up the sources, and point them out for what they are. They exist to push the agenda of fringe groups while masquerading to the casual reader as authoritative sources worthy of respect. Beware. Keep to the high ground, Jerry P.S. Once again my hat is off to Wikipedia, not as the ultimate source, but as an aggregator of useful information. I am indebted to the now deceased wife of an Evangelical preacher, once my high school classmate, for asserting to me that “Wikipedia is not a reliable source,” a statement from her that, with further scrutiny, thoroughly convinced me of Wikipedia’s value. It seems sometimes that the entire strategy of the Trumpian Republican Party and its mouthpiece and guiding light, Fox News, is to convince its followers of an alternative reality bolstered by alternative expertise.

A Spokesman article on June 11 declared “Elected officials condemn ‘armed vigilantes’ attending Spokane protests.” The condemnation was in response to quasi-military, heavily armed, camo-clad folk who showed up in downtown Spokane a couple of weeks ago to “protect local businesses,” some of them claiming (without evidence) that they were asked to appear by local proprietors. (I saw that claim made by an AR-toting man in the dim light of evening recorded in one of those ephemeral Facebook-posted videos you can never find again). The signers of the condemnation included Mayor Nadine Woodward and new City Councilperson Michael Cathcart, both of whom, though technically in “nonpartisan” positions, count on local Republican, 2nd Amendment-waving, support. In the relatively liberal-voting City of Spokane one can feel free (once in office) to make a reasonable statement about armed vigilantes without fearing a Republican backlash. Contrast that to Spokane County officials: Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, and County Commissioners French, Kerns, and Kuney did not sign. (The article notes that French was asked and declined, while the other three may not have been asked.) No one interviewed for the article thought the presence of armed vigilantes was constructive and most suggested it added to the tension. 

What brought these people out with their camo and their weaponry? Echo-chamber rumors of “antifa” infiltration at the protests. The rumor was widespread through much of the United States. Fear of an “antifa” uprising was fueled by Trump and Attorney General William Barr (and Ozzie Knezovich locally, who immediately suspected “antifa socialists”) and spread on Facebook and across the web, inciting heavily armed defenders to parade around in small and medium-sized towns from Michigan to Sandpoint, Idaho, to Klamath Falls, Oregon, likely all of these folks believing they were offering essential service to their communities. 

Who benefits? To read the article in Spokesman it is certainly not the shopkeepers downtown, many of whom expressed dismay that the presence of armed militia-types was scaring away customers. Benefit accrues only to those hoping to sow discord, the folks hoping to ignite the “boogaloo,” the hoped-for (by some) Second American Civil War or to any group anxious to see the United States in flames. Fortunately, it didn’t happen–this time. One could hope a few of these people would have learned their lesson, but, in fact, there’s plenty of evidence they are drawing the opposite conclusion: that their presence actually prevented an imminent uprising by antifa. Check out “COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO STANDS UP…ANTIFA STANDS DOWN!” on a glossy website by an untraceable author writing from an unknown location under the name “The Media Accountability Collective.” Who is this collective, whom does it represent?

There are many parallels. The Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory of 2016 had a nearly lethal ending and, on account of that, lives on in memory. Possibly originating from a Tweet, and certainly spread in the electronic rumor mill, the theory led to a 28 year man from North Carolina shooting up the Comet Ping Pong Pizza Parlor in the nation’s capitol with his assault rifle in order to “save the children.” The gullible man and several others like him who were stimulated by the rumor are now serving time.

In the slower news era of World War II rumors of an imminent Japanese invasion on the west coast helped lead to the infamous Japanese internment camps. Check out The Battle of Los Angeles for an example of things that can happen when people are on edge.

I am reminded, too, of one of my favorite movies, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, from 1966, a film well worth revisiting–but I fear our current circumstances will end differently than the movie.

The folks most militantly pushing second amendment rights are same folks parading around in our streets with their assault weapons, accountable to no one but themselves, ready to intimidate, and, if they deem it necessary, based on rumor and circumstance, ready to pull their triggers. For me, as a gun owner, hunter, and one time competitive shooter, I’m done thinking these guys (and a few gals) with their assault weaponry represent a benefit of defending the Second Amendment. Their turning out in response to rumor was a chance for them to feel self important, even masterful; for some of them, perhaps a chance to get something started. Their congratulating themselves on a job well done is delusional. 

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

Sex sells. Talk of sex gets people’s attention, and, seeded with enough misinformation, it will surely rile up some folks–and the riled will vote in greater numbers.

Referendum 90 (Ref. 90) seeks to repeal the Washington State mandate to provide comprehensive sexual health education in Washington State public schools (See Ref. 90, Sex, Politics, and Religion, Part I). Last week its politicians turned in a record number of signatures to the Secretary of State before the deadline. This should come as no surprise. Two Republicans, both legislative hopefuls, sensed opportunity and filed the paperwork for Referendums 90 and 91 (91 was later subsumed by 90) two weeks before Governor Inslee even signed the bill into law (See P.S. below). 

Mindie Wirth, the filer of Referendum 90, is a “Senior Program Manager at Microsoft” and recent Republican candidate for the Washington State legislature. She understands politics, knows how to run a campaign, is apparently well connected in highly conservative churches, and understands the value of websites and flashy presentations. Deprived of large gatherings at which to gather signatures, “Signing events” in Spokane were mostly held through highly conservative church organizations (LDS, Assemblies of God, Mt. Saint Michaels, several Baptist churches, and one Roman Catholic Church, Lourdes) and a few businesses (including the Mariupol Bakery, and Ron’s Drive In). 

Have any of the excited signers actually read the law itself? The backers of Referendum 90 seem to be counting on people NOT reading it, but, instead, to accept the breathless and deceitful assessment they’re spreading. (Read the actual law here and/or the definition of Comprehensive Sexual Health Education in the P.P.S. below) Look forward to a barrage of misinformation all the way to November.

Allow me a couple of examples:

1) “Affirmative consent” used in the preamble of the law is defined in Sec. 1 (11) as “a conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity as a requirement before sexual activity.” The point is to equip students to understand what sexual activity is and to empower them to refuse such activity. Obviously, what sexual activity is discussed is tailored to the age of the child. In the case of an altar boy, that might include understanding what a sexual advance by a priest might look like and empower the boy to refuse it.

It is with a great deal of irony that I watched Bishop Daniel Muggenborg’s video posted to Mindie Wirth’s Facebook page on May 24th at 11:40PM. In that video the (presumably) celibate bishop (at 2m30s in the video), obviously reading off a teleprompter, stumbles through, “The law requires affirmative consent curriculum. What that means is ‘a conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity as a requirement before sexual activity.’ This requirement is not in accordance with church teaching that sexual activity be something properly and fully expressed in the context of marriage. This idea of (pause) of a, a, affirmative consent curriculum should not be presented to children in grade school and middle school settings.” My head spins. In the context of the Roman Catholic Church in this day and age, middle school students shouldn’t be taught they have the power to recognize refuse unwanted sexual activity? Really? 

2) They are well organized. It takes knowhow to put together a flashy website or make a video, but it isn’t costly. Here are just a few to visit to study their misinformation and twisted intent: 
Informed Parents of Washington, Parents for Safe Schools, The Family Policy Institute. There is a certain circularity. On the Parents for Safe Schools website “Our Coalition” listed ten entities, three of which are the Washington State Republican Party and the House and Senate Republican Caucuses. I cannot now locate it, but as a retired physician, I was startled to see on one of these websites the endorsement of the “American College of Pediatricians”–that is, until I looked them up. They sound like an authoritative group, but they are a “socially conservative advocacy group” of 500 members, NOT the American Academy of Pediatrics, the professional organization of 54,000 members that favors sexual education–but doesn’t hatch and maintain single-issue websites.

It makes me angry that these few well-organized reactionaries allied with the Republican Party are trying to politically benefit by mis-representing to the public one of their favorite hot-button issues. Familiarize yourself with the law. Push back against those who want to keep altar boys in the dark–and misrepresent the opinions of the majority of medical professionals.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. On March 13, 2020, Mindie Wirth filed Referendum 90 with the Secretary of State, just six days after passage of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5395 by the Washington State Legislature. On March 12, 2020, the day before Ms. Wirth filed, one Matthew C. Marshall filed a similar Referendum 91. Both Wirth and Marshall are or have been Republican candidates for the Washington State Legislature. Mindie Wirth (R) lost badly (43-57%) in 2016 to Democrat Guy Palumbo in a bid to fill an open WA Senate seat in District 1 (NE of Seattle). Matthew Marshall (R) is in a three-way top-two Primary bid for the WA House seat currently held by WA House Minority Leader J.T. Wilcox (R) in District 2-Position 2 (just east of Olympia). Wilcox has served in the WA House since election in 2010. Marshall is running from the far right. His campaign slogan is “Restoring Liberty–Let’s Drain the Evergreen Swamp.” 
The banner on his website reads: “Protect Our Children & Repeal Comprehensive Sex Ed.” I equate that with “Keep our children in the dark.”

P.P.S. The law, passed as ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5395 was passed by the State Senate on March 7, 27 Ayes 21 Nays and the House on March 4, 56 Ayes to 40 Nays. Governor Inslee signed it March 27. By clicking the blue link you can read the whole bill in its legal detail. Below is the section from the bill that defines what comprehensive sexual health education is meant to do and to cover. (I have removed the line numbering for ease of reading.) 

Comprehensive sexual health education for students in kindergarten through grade three must be instruction in social-emotional learning that is consistent with learning standards and benchmarks adopted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.478. 37 Comprehensive sexual health education for students in grades four through twelve must include information about: (i) The physiological, psychological, and sociological developmental processes experienced by an individual; (ii) The development of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to communicate, respectfully and effectively, to reduce health risks, and choose healthy behaviors and relationships that are based on mutual respect and affection, and are free from violence, coercion, and intimidation; (iii) Health care and prevention resources; (iv) The development of meaningful relationships and avoidance of exploitative relationships; (v) Understanding the influences of family, peers, community, and the media throughout life on healthy sexual relationships; and (vi) Affirmative consent and recognizing and responding safely and effectively when violence, or a risk of violence, is or may be present with strategies that include bystander training; (c) “Medically and scientifically accurate” means information that is verified or supported by research in compliance with scientific methods, is published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and is recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the field of sexual health including but not limited to the American college of obstetricians and gynecologists, the Washington state department of health, and the federal centers for disease control and prevention;…

P.P.P.S. I’ve pasted below one of the screeds about the Comprehensive Sexual Health Education Law. Every single statement is a lie or blatant misrepresentation. Read the law.

ESSB 5395 is a bad law that ignores the needs of both kids and parents.

• Mandates graphic sex education starting in elementary school.
• Orders school districts to “comprehensively” include sex ed in all curriculum — including math, social studies, science, business and computer classes.
• Denies parents and local school boards the power to decide what shall be taught.
• Unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats will enforce extreme curriculum in every public school in the state.

Keep the Olympia activists out of our classrooms. 

Parents and elected local school boards should be the only people deciding what is taught in our classrooms.

The members of the City of Spokane City Council need to hear from us. On next Monday evening, the June 15th Council meeting. The Council is supposed to vote on a new contract with the Spokane Police Guild (i.e. the Police Union). Neither for the union, nor for the mayor, Nadine Woodward, whom the union endorsed, nor for the City Council could there be a more glaring time for this contract to come up. 

The entire country has been roiling for two weeks in protests over the cold-blooded, extra-judicial killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman, an event captured in gruesome detail on a widely viewed video. Now the Spokane City Council faces a yes or no choice on a contract put forward by the police union and the mayor they helped elect.

To be fair, the City of Spokane police under Chief Meidl did well in interacting with peaceful protesters and dealing with the few agitators who tried to provoke riots during the last two weeks. They deserve praise for their efforts overall. The Spokane police have been working without a contract for three years. Many agree they deserve the raise that is part of the contract that comes up for a vote Monday night. 

BUT: What justifies a contract that grants the Spokane Police Guild more autonomy and less oversight? This is a city with a history. From Daniel Walters Inlander article from June 9th (well worth reading):

In 2006, [Otto] Zehm, a mentally disabled janitor, walked into a Spokane Zip Trip to get a Snickers, only to be tased, beaten and hogtied by Spokane Police officers. He died, and police officers lied about it. The officer who struck Zehm 13 times with his signature ironwood baton was sent to prison — though not before 50 officers in the courtroom, including future Police Chief Craig Meidl, stood up and saluted the convicted officer. 

That salute is a sickening image in an era where we are forced to reckon with video images of multiple police killings nationwide over succeeding years. We cannot know what was in the minds of those 50 fellow Police Guild (union) members as they saluted their convicted compatriot, but the symbolism of the image remains. Guild members stand in solidarity–regardless. That salute was a warning to the citizens of Spokane that resonates today.

It should escape no one that Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich is busy defending his choice to offer a course this fall, part of the message of which is the “warrior mentality,” desensitization to killing, and solidarity after the event. (for more on that: “Killology” and the Sheriff) What does this say about the overall law enforcement culture in the county and the city at its center?

Daniel Walters adds: 

…70 percent of Spokane voters supported an ordinance in February of 2013 to etch the ombudsman’s right to conduct independent investigations into city law, that power has remained at the mercy of the Police Guild’s contract.

The contract on the table next Monday at the City Council, negotiated out of the public eye between representatives of the Police Guild and the mayor the Guild helped elect, Mayor Woodward, (and her conservative predecessor, Mayor Condon) offers the Police Guild additional control over the ombudsman, the very existence of whom seems to rankle the Guild. The Guild (the union) refusing to cooperate with the Police Ombudsman is a persistent issue (See The Ombudsman & the Police Union). Now with Woodward apparently on board the union wants to diminish the autonomy and reach of the police ombudsman, an office the citizens overwhelmingly voted to establish–and right when the power and insularity of police unions is in the spotlight.

Even Councilman Michael Cathcart, a conservative and definitely a “law and order” sort of guy, is quoted by the Spokesman, “My struggle is I just don’t know how I could vote for a contract that in my opinion is outright noncompliant with the city charter,”

Daniel Walters writes in the Inlander article: “Cathcart says he wishes he could separate the financial piece from the oversight piece — granting the police department their long-overdue raises without approving the limitations on the ombudsman.”

That raises a legitimate question: Why is control of the ombudsman part of the negotiation of the police union contract at all? 

We understand the contract to be presented to the City Council on Monday is the result of three years of negotiations between the Guild and representatives of two conservative mayors leading the executive branch of city government. We might even agree that a raise is overdue. But this is not the time to weaken police oversight. 

Take this opportunity today to learn who represents you on the City Council and send them an email comment. Here’s the link for that: https://my.spokanecity.org/citycouncil/members/ They need constituents to speak up in defense of the oversight the voters endorsed in 2013. 

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

P.S. I keep returning to the image of 50 Spokane police officers in the courtroom saluting the convicted officer responsible for the death of Otto Zehm. The symbolism of that act is distressing. 

P.P.S. For more insight, check out the Fresh Air podcast, “Rethinking American Policing,” which aired Wednesday, June 10.

P.P.P.S. Even the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, not exactly a left wing newspaper, has weighed in with an opinion piece, “The Problem with Police Unions.” A quote from that piece that is particularly pertinent to our situation in Spokane: “The AFL-CIO’s legendary chief George Meany once said ‘it is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.’ Collective bargaining in business is adversarial. But public unions sit on both sides of the bargaining table since they help elect the politicians with whom they negotiate.” (the bold is mine)

P.P.P.P.S. In the course of writing this piece I visited the Spokane Police Guild website. For a group that advertises “Serving the City of Spokane Washington” on their homepage, it seemed more than a little odd to read, “Access for the site is open to Spokane Police Guild members only.” The deliberations of the City Council are open to public view, but the police negotiate as a secret society opaque to us, the citizens.

I found some grim humor in this headline from the Washington Post on Thursday, June 4th: “Armed white residents lined Idaho streets amid ‘antifa’ protest fears. The leftist incursion was an online myth.” The article came with a photo of three militia-types decorated in flag paraphernalia on Sherman Ave in Coeur d’Alene. (It’s worth clicking on the article just to see the photo.) The caption read: ” ‘We are not counterprotesters. We’re just going to make sure Coeur d’Alene is safe,’ said Conrad Nelsen, shown holding a flag during a protest Tuesday.” But, according to the Spokesman, “many Idaho protesters don’t feel safer with armed civilians showing up.” The whole scene would be laughable, except that these people actually have convinced themselves (or been convinced) they are addressing a real threat to the community. (see P.S. below)

The previous Sunday evening, May 31st, Spokane County Sherriff Ozzie Knezovich quickly labelled the window breakers and rioters in Spokane as outsiders and “antifa socialists,” echoing Donald Trump and Attorney General William Barr. Unaccountable electronic media (of dubious backing), like North Idaho News on Facebook (which seems to have one young video-producing talking head) fanned the flames of rumor with breathless posts like this one on Tuesday, June 2, “This evening’s protests in Downtown Coeur d’Alene. Peaceful so far. Black Lives Matter is peacefully protesting and the armed presence of locals are [sic] ensuring no one infiltrates the protest and turns it into a riot.” This self-appointed, self-aggrandizing, unaccountable right wing news geek would be risible if he weren’t firing up the fears and self-importance of militiamen toting enough firepower to mow down a whole parade in a few minutes. 

Sandpoint, Idaho, (pop. around 10,000) was not mentioned in the Washington Post article, but the fears of imminent rioting activated the militias from around Sandpoint, too. That prompted a surreal and disturbing scene on the Long Bridge where several hundred mostly young people, most wearing masks, and demonstrating in support of Black Lives Matter were followed closely by a cadre of older white men in camo with assault rifles and cartridge belts, claiming to “protect” the protesters. These riled-up militiamen have the endorsement of two of the three Bonner County Commissioners (Dan MacDonald and Pastor Bradford)* and Idaho State Rep. Heather Scott (a fellow traveler of Washington State Rep. Matt Shea). 

Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon in a Facebook Live presentationthrough the Sandpoint City Council on Friday, June 5th, avoided taking sides. Describing an encounter he had with a group of armed men at City Beach park Chief Coon said they told him, when he inquired of their intent, that if they saw anything suspicious on their patrol they would “call 911.” (“Shh. Be wery, wery quiet. I’m hunting wabbits,” to quote Elmer Fudd.) Chief Coon did not ask what the purpose was of all that weaponry if their plan was only to notify the police emergency number.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reported “a conversation” around the presence of armed militiamen “protecting the protesters,” a conversation that roiled the Sandpoint City Council meeting on Wednesday, June 3. One resident said the armed men were “fear mongers,” but I think that only captures part of it. They are not only “fear mongers” but they have, themselves, been “fear mongered,” that is, these men have been riled up by sources in their information echo chambers bent both on hyping an imagined threat and puffing up their sense of self importance. That’s a dangerous mix. All that’s missing to make this tragic is a struck match, an itchy trigger-finger.

Shelby Rognstad, the mayor of Sandpoint, said it best at the City Council meeting, as he was quoted in the Bee article:

“The difference is that our police officers are accountable to us. They are accountable to the city, to this elected body, to you as citizens. If they mess up, we know who they are, what they did, what they did wrong, there is accountability there. There is a process we can improve so maybe there was something wrong with the protocol. Vigilantes are not accountable … The law doesn’t support them taking law into their own hands.”

These heavily armed men seem universally thrilled with Mr. Trump as POTUS. Chillingly, Trump and Barr’s posting of Bureau of Prisons riot police in D.C. without identification of their unit or their names suffers the same worrisome defect of accountability to civilian society as Mayor Shelby pointed out of the militia presence in Sandpoint. 

We live in dangerous times. Open carry of assault weaponry by strutting militiamen on our streets isn’t helping. They may feel, in their self-importance, that they are “protecting,” but their effect is to intimidate those they profess to protect. Their response to the phony threat of antifa-agitated riots should make them the subject of laughter and derision, not praise, but it is hard to point that out to a man with an echo-chamber-instilled ideology brandishing an assault rifle.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

*These Bonner County Commissioners are the same ones spending time, effort, and the taxpayers’ money on a lawsuit against the City of Sandpoint over a prohibition against carrying guns into the Festival at Sandpoint (even though the prohibition is by the privately run Festival–which rents the grounds from the City and brings millions of dollars to businesses in Sandpoint each summer). 

P.S. The media echo chamber of the militia folk proclaims they performed a great service in “saving” the City of Coeur d’Alene from the grave threat. “Hey, they didn’t show up because they were scared of us (not because the whole threat was bogus, of course).” Check out one of their webpages, The MAC, the “Media Accountability Collective”‘s article “COEUR D’ALENE, IDAHO STANDS UP…ANTIFA STANDS DOWN!” Note that the MAC “consists of individuals around the world”–but no one actually identifiably accountable. Wow. For all the reader knows these articles by “Daniella Cross” could have been written in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Let’s pay attention, now, when there is a chance to make a difference. This coming Wednesday, June 10, a small, but politically organized group of Washington State Republicans will submit enough signatures to put sex on the November 3 Washington State General Election ballot. There is nothing quite like sex to get people’s attention, rile them up, and get them to the polls.  Sex and children? Even better for the purpose. Prepare for a ramp up of a misinformation campaign that is already in high gear.

Referendum 90 seeks to repeal a Washington State law passed last March that requires public schools to provide “comprehensive sexual health education” to each student. The whole law, ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5395, is just six pages long. Click the link and read, and/or scroll down and read the extracted definition of “comprehensive sexual health education” below. We need to read the law, present the facts, and push back against the flood of misinformation. Most who vote to repeal in November will not read the law. They will only read the hysterical objections to teaching comprehensive sexual health education.

Requiring comprehensive sexual health education in the public schools (as defined in the law) is in the best interests of society and of the greater good. Yes, parents should discuss these issues with their children in an age-appropriate manner. The law encourages such discussion. It contains a requirement to notify parents and provide access to the content to be covered appropriate to grade level. (p.4, line 30) If this law results in parents having these discussions with their children, discussions that otherwise are often put off until too late, then the law will have the proper effect. If accurate information is not provided, children will, often to their detriment, acquire misinformation that is readily available from their friends or, worse, through the internet, either by accident or intentional search.

For parents who are still uncomfortable: 

1) Parents may excuse their child from this curriculum. (p.4, line 15)

2) Approved curricula are to offered by the office of the superintendent of public instruction and available to the public. (p.3, line 18)  Go to this website, https://www.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/sexual-health-education/new-legislation-senate-bill-5395-comprehensive-sexual-health-education for a detailed discussion of the what the curricula contain. 

3) There is a mechanism for a school to choose and have approved a different curriculum. (p.4, line 3) However, while the curriculum “must include information about abstinence and other methods of preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases” (p.1, line 17)…”Abstinence may not be taught to the exclusion of other materials and instruction on contraceptives and disease prevention.” (p.2, line 1) 

The law bends over backward to provide interested parents options for involvement in their children’s education. For the disinterested or the uncomfortable the law mandates that children not be left in the dark. Familiarize yourself with the law. Talk about its importance for the good of society. Don’t let misinformation and fear-mongering win.

Keep to the high ground,
Jerry

The law, passed as ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5395 was passed by the State Senate on March 7, 27 Ayes 21 Nays and the House on March 4, 56 Ayes to 40 Nays. By clicking the blue link you can read the whole bill in its legal detail. Below is the section from the bill that defines what comprehensive sexual health education is meant to do and to cover. (I have removed the line numbering for ease of reading.) 

Comprehensive sexual health education for students in kindergarten through grade three must be instruction in social-emotional learning that is consistent with learning standards and benchmarks adopted by the office of the superintendent of public instruction under RCW 28A.300.478. 37 Comprehensive sexual health education for students in grades four through twelve must include information about: (i) The physiological, psychological, and sociological developmental processes experienced by an individual; (ii) The development of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills to communicate, respectfully and effectively, to reduce health risks, and choose healthy behaviors and relationships that are based on mutual respect and affection, and are free from violence, coercion, and intimidation; (iii) Health care and prevention resources; (iv) The development of meaningful relationships and avoidance of exploitative relationships; (v) Understanding the influences of family, peers, community, and the media throughout life on healthy sexual relationships; and (vi) Affirmative consent and recognizing and responding safely and effectively when violence, or a risk of violence, is or may be present with strategies that include bystander training; (c) “Medically and scientifically accurate” means information that is verified or supported by research in compliance with scientific methods, is published in peer-reviewed journals, where appropriate, and is recognized as accurate and objective by professional organizations and agencies with expertise in the field of sexual health including but not limited to the American college of obstetricians and gynecologists, the Washington state department of health, and the federal centers for disease control and prevention;…

This is the way Ref. 90 will appear on the ballot in November (if they, as expected, drum up enough signatures):

Ballot Title

The legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5395 concerning comprehensive sexual health education.

This bill would require school districts to adopt or develop, consistent with state standards, comprehensive age-appropriate sexual health education, as defined, for all students, and excuse students if their parents request.

Should this measure be: ___Approved    ___Rejected

Ballot Measure Summary

The legislature enacted a law requiring all school districts to provide comprehensive sexual health education, as defined, beginning in 2021-22 for grades 6-12 and in 2022-23 for grades K-5. Students must be excused from this program if parents so request. The curriculum must satisfy state standards. The content and frequency of providing comprehensive sexual health education would vary by grade level and must include affirmative consent and bystander training. K-3 instruction must be social-emotional learning.

We citizens of Spokane should count ourselves as fortunate that the afternoon protests downtown last Sunday were peaceful–and even more fortunate no one was gravely injured or killed in downtown Spokane last Sunday evening and night. The media, local law enforcement, and government officials all distinguished between peaceful protests in the afternoon and agitators, some of them apparently radio-coordinated, breaking store windows, trying to stir up unrest in the evening. We in Spokane were lucky the distinction between protests and agitation seemed fairly clear.  Scenes of law enforcement officers conversing with–and sometimes kneeling with protesters–on Sunday afternoon were heartening–and a great contrast to scenes from our nation’s capitol on Monday as peaceful protestors, media people, and clergy were tear-gassed and knocked down by shield and club-wielding police so that Mr. Trump could have his Bible-hoisting photo op in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church across Lafayette Square.  Law enforcement consists of individuals, individuals with lethal power, individuals called upon to make life-and-death decisions under stress. They are people, like all of us, people with a mindset honed through a lifetime of influences, background and training. Many law enforcement officers already come from military backgrounds. Part of military training involves identifying the “other,” often distinguished by a uniform, and, if necessary, quickly and dispassionately snuffing out that life.  Community law enforcement is requires a level of decency–and respect for the humanity of the people among whom the law is to be enforced. May we assume that the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department and the Spokane Police foster this decency? No, we cannot. We need to pay attention and communicate.  I encourage a visit to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, a WA State government website. https://www.cjtc.wa.gov/training-education  There, scrolling down, you find an ad for “Mindset Bootcamp,” an educational opportunity offered this October 27, 2020, at the Spokane County Sheriff’s Training Center in Newman Lake.  Both presenters, Dave “JD Buck Savage” Smith and Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, have military backgrounds. Lt. Col. Grossman tours the country peddling instruction to law enforcement from his “Killology Research Group.” In 1995 he authored a book entitled “On Killing.” Grossman argued, based on slim evidence, that humans have an innate resistance to killing other humans, a resistance which, for the sake of military effectiveness, must be trained out of recruits in order to psychologically prepare them to kill. Based largely on his book, Grossman has a career speaking not just to the military but to civil law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada, with over two hundred speaking engagements each year. Note the shift: A West Pointer, a military psychologist, a student of combat, makes a career out of training domestic law enforcement officers to lesson their resistance to snuffing out the life of another human being. Note also that it has been during the last twenty-five years since the publication of Grossman’s “On Killing,” that local police and sheriff’s departments have acquired a lot of military grade hardware, while Grossman encourages its use. Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich’s heart, I believe, is in the right place. He rightfully recognizes that the rioters last Sunday night were not from the African American community. He sympathizes with the peaceful protesters of Sunday afternoon. Unlike many local Republicans, he publicly stood up against Rep. Matt Shea (soon to be Pastor Matt Shea of Covenant). It is fair to ask Sheriff Knezovich, however, why Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, a military man and self-promoter, gets a venue to preach desensitization to killing to civilian law enforcement, particularly in light of a growing number of black and white citizens killed instead of subdued by these same enforcers. What role might desensitization have played in the death of Ethan Murray, a young, unarmed man shot dead in Spokane Valley last year by one of Ozzie’s deputies?  George Floyd is dead, dead thanks to the actions of a police officer evidently with no qualms about dominating and killing a completely subdued man crying out, “I can’t breathe.” How much more of Dave Grossman’s “killology” can our society afford? What happened to de-escalation? Read more. Ask Sheriff Knezovich ( OKnezovich@spokanesheriff.org ) and Chief Meidl ( cmeidl@spokanepolice.org ) how this came about. What are thinking? What message does hosting Dave Grossman’s “Mindset Bootcamp” at a County facility send to our community? Keep to the high ground, Jerry Additional reading: https://www.insider.com/bulletproof-dave-grossman-police-trainer-teaching-officers-how-to-kill-2020-6?fbclid=IwAR3Vd3tp0Z33IIpESSBBngzBkaX9n6e1NSJsDVUKtRCOO2DvDkkHRKifgvM https://sports.yahoo.com/george-floyd-death-in-custody-puts-spotlight-on-warrior-training-for-police-195640810.html In fairness to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, they do post a disclaimer: The courses labeled as WSCJTC are fully supported by Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, all registration, curriculum, and instructors are managed by Commission.  Courses labeled with Vendor are being advertised as a courtesy to the stakeholder agency hosting the course.  WSCJTC has not evaluated the content or presentation for these courses – these listings are merely a convenience to our stakeholders and should not be interpreted as an endorsement by WSCJTC. “Mindset Bootcamp” is labelled “Vendor,” but it is hard to conclude that the “stakeholder agency” is anything other than the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.