🇺🇸 Nude Statues

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📉 Monday, March 27, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 47, Disapprove 51 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Monday, March 27, Direction of Country: Right Track 38, Wrong Track 57 (Rasmussen Reports)

🐘 Saturday, March 25, 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination: Trump 44, DeSantis 30, Pence 5, Haley 3, Cruz, T. Scott, Pompeo 1, Noem, Youngkin 1 (Reuters/Ipsos)

🐘 Friday, March 25, 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination: Trump 50, DeSantis 24, Pence 7, Haley 5, Cruz 2, T. Scott 2, Pompeo 1 (Harvard-Harris)

TRENDING

Left: Big Tech's Predatory Culture Fuels Failures Like SVB Roger McNamee, LA Times

Left: Alternative Facts: How Media Failed Julian Assange Andrew Cockburn, Harper's

Left: House Republicans Don't Have a Sherlock Holmes Jen Psaki, MSNBC

Right: Biden Admin's Censorship Efforts Extended to Facebook Jonathan Turley

Right: The Real Insurrection, and the Dirty Politics of Jan. 6 Frank Miele, RCP

Right: The government's "extraordinary amount of lying" Tucker Carlson, Fox News

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QUICK CLICKS

Nashville's Tragedy, Nuclear Threats, Netanyahu's Compromise

US: Nashville school shooter ID'd as transgender, was heavily armed with detailed manifesto and maps of Tennessee Christian school (NY Post)

World: Putin is trying to distract with fresh nuclear threat, Western officials say (POLITICO) + China Responds to Putin's Threat to Break Nuclear Weapons Pledge (Newsweek)

World: Netanyahu says he will delay his judicial overhaul. But will that be enough for protesters? (CNN)

US: Why was David Pecker back before the Trump hush money grand jury? (MSNBC)

Tech: Musk's brain implant company in search of human trials partner (Reuters)

Sports: NFL lineman says he was sexually assaulted by TSA agent (KTLA 5)

Sports: Aaron Hernandez's brother arrested after allegedly throwing brick with cryptic note at ESPN HQ (Fox News)

EDUCATION

Nude Statues

Last week, a Florida principal named Hope Carrasquilla was forced to resign after Michaelangelo’s David was included during a sixth grade art class. The school has a policy that parents are supposed to be informed ahead of time if controversial materials are to be introduced in class.

Reporting from the Left: Florida principal let go after failing to notify parents about lesson on Michelangelo's David (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: Florida principal forced to resign after showing students Michelangelo's 'David' statue (Fox News)

From The Flag: Some parents complained the David statue is pornographic, given it is nude and displays male genitalia. The school, Tallahassee Classical, is a K-10 charter school, and it’s affiliated with Hillsdale College, a conservative institution based in Michigan. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

There’s Seemingly More To Carrasquilla’s Dismissal, but Let’s Keep Statues in Perspective

• Principal Carrasquilla admits a notice was supposed to go out concerning the statue being presented in class.

• The statue is a standard of Renaissance art; it’s straightforward as well as nonsexual, and it’s not objectionable in a classroom setting.

• It’s difficult to form an opinion on this case because officials say there were additional “reasons” Carrasquilla was asked to resign.

“Florida school invited to view ‘David’ sculpture after principal’s ouster” David Propper, New York Post: “The Italian museum that houses Michelangelo’s ‘David’ dismissed the concerns of parents and students from a Florida school who say the masterpiece is pornographic — and invited them to come to check out its purity’ up close themselves. … The work, finished in 1504 by famed artist Michelangelo, depicts the Biblical David going to fight the Goliath armed with only his faith in God. … The marble statue came under fire when three parents of sixth graders at charter school Tallahassee Classical School complained about the lesson, including one parent calling it pornographic. Following the uproar, ex-principal Hope Carrasquilla said she was forced to resign by the school board. The two other parents complained they were not notified before the lesson took place, which is required by the school. Carrasquilla conceded to the Tallahassee Democrat the notification did not go out due to an administrative breakdown.”

“Is Michelangelo's 'David' Art or Porn?” Rick Moran, PJ Media: “Throughout the history of the statue, there have been efforts to cover up David’s nakedness. After a while, fashions change, and once again, David's nakedness is exposed to the world. … Of course, the issue here is whether parents have a right to keep their children from viewing something that, no matter how basic to the art history of western civilization, they find objectionable. There are a lot of subjects that parents might wish their young children not to be exposed to. But the David depiction was taught in a lesson given to 11 and 12-year-olds. There is nothing inherently sexual in the work. It is forthright, straightforward, honest, and extraordinarily beautiful. Giving pre-teens an opportunity to view and discuss this important artwork should have overridden any objections to David’s nakedness from parents.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Wait. What? A principal was fired over 6th graders seeing a photo of Michelangelo’s David sculpture Karen Townsend, Hot Air

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

This Is the Result of Parents and Right Wing Politicians Going Too Far

• This is reflective of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' push for censorship and authoritarianism – starting with schools.

• When studying Renaissance art you see nudity, and giggling through that in class is part of being a kid.

• Just three parents complained in this situation, but the school board says "parental rights are supreme."

“In Florida, parents are always right – even when they think a Michelangelo is porn” Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian Opinion: “Ah, the Renaissance. A period that saw the growth of intellectual reason, the flowering of art and culture, and a lot of very hardcore pornography. Such is the opinion of aggrieved parents of kids at Tallahassee classical school in Florida, anyway. Their sixth-graders (who are aged around 11-12) were shown a picture of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David during a Renaissance art class. Fairly normal, one might think – particularly for a school that advertises itself as providing a classical education. Nope: a firing offense. … This David-related drama… (is) just the latest example of a terrifying lurch towards censorship and authoritarianism in Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis, who has been described as the ‘Education Governor’... wants to completely reshape K-12 and higher education in the state and, so far, he’s been getting his way.”

“If only the Michelangelo mess in a Florida school was surprising” Stephanie Hayes, Tampa Bay Times Opinion: “It’s worth noting that this school is required to teach Renaissance art in sixth grade. For parents, I don’t see how this can be accomplished without looking at body parts. … The period captured the rise of detailed human forms… It’s Apollo playing a lute in his birthday suit vibes, do you feel? It’s women wrapped in fig leaves with one boob hanging out, comprehend? Nudity was, perhaps, the biggest art power move of the era, aside from getting snatched up by batlike hell demons while naked. The cherubs better watch out. Alas, with each moon, Florida schools are being remade into curio cabinets full of creepy Victorian dolls. And that’s sad. Because having a ‘tee-hee’ moment while checking out ‘St. Jerome in Penitence’ and punching Kyle in the shoulder during sixth period is a rite of passage each student deserves.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Principal fired over parent complaints on "pornographic" lesson showing Michelangelo’s “David” Chris Walker, Salon

FLAG THIS

Survey Says: Stick To the Basics When Educating Kids

Last year, controversy ensued when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law prohibiting discussion of sexuality and gender in classroom settings through third grade. Some critics dubbed this the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

But polling from last summer shows parents in battleground states tend to agree that schools should steer clear of certain topics. By a margin of +27 points, respondents said schools should be banned from teaching sexuality and gender through third grade.

Parents agree that transgender athletes should not compete in girls sports by a margin of +28, while a +32 margin said they’re more likely to vote for candidates who believe schools should focus on “core issues” rather than race and other aspects of identity politics (American Federation of Teachers/Hart Research).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Three Mile Island, World’s Lowest Fertility Rate, Best Food Cities

At 4 AM on March 28, 1979, the worst accident in the history of the US nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close.

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Today I Learned Americans throw out over 400,000 smartphones per day, on average.