Christine Langhoff
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clanghoff.bsky.social
Christine Langhoff
@clanghoff.bsky.social
1.7K followers 870 following 7.9K posts
Public school aficionado since 1958.

John Dewey had it right:
“What the best and wisest parent wants for his child, that must we want for all the children of the community. Anything less is unlovely, and left unchecked, destroys our democracy.”
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clanghoff.bsky.social
Clarifying re: the use of force on the high seas.
www.justsecurity.org/126553/opera...
It is noteworthy that there is both international law and extensive State practice regarding the interdiction of drug trafficking at sea. For instance, Article 108 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea obligates States to cooperate in the suppression of illicit drug trafficking at sea, whereas Article 110 allows for the boarding of ships that are “without nationality,” as is likely to have been the case in these operations. Although the United States is not a Party to the Convention, it has often cooperated with other States in maritime drug interdiction and recognizes Article 110 as reflecting customary law. Moreover, Article 17 of the Narcotics Suppression Convention, to which the United States is Party, provides well-established procedures for the interdiction of suspected drug smuggling. Nevertheless, it cautions that “the Parties concerned shall take due account of the need not to endanger the safety of life at sea.” The point is that there is a robust international law framework for interdicting drugs at sea in place, and it does not include the use of lethal force. The United States has long been a key player in conducting these operations, often in cooperation with partners.
December 8, 2025 at 4:25 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
What is the definition of proficiency used here? Because if it's NAEP, that's actually A level work. And, as noted here, income levels play a huge part of test scores.
The city framed 2024 student test scores as a “model for urban education” in a recent report. But the English Language Arts proficiency rate for DCPS students across the whole district is just 37.6% (math proficiency rates are even lower than that). A notable exception to this is Deal Middle School, where the English Language Arts proficiency rate is over 80%. A number of factors are likely driving those high scores at Deal, not the least of which is the relative affluence of Ward 3, where the school is located. Another important component is absolutely the hard work of Deal’s English teachers.
December 6, 2025 at 4:48 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Please read this powerful essay. No paywall.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
We are far from the Christian nation Lincoln thought he was addressing, and tried to shape, when he gave his Second Inaugural Address. But we must still ask ourselves a fundamental, private question that, at scale, has broad political implications: Given that we are all, every day, imbibing madness, how do we guard our souls?
December 6, 2025 at 5:09 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Young people are the best people. Our country doesn't show it deserves them.
www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-m...
Lambert's team had advantages beyond audacity and brainpower. Their lab is college-level, funded by taxpayers and donors. This is one of Georgia's most affluent, high-achieving school districts. The student body is majority Asian-American – the iGEM team is entirely Asian-American, children of immigrants. She left Lambert three years ago after securing federal funding to take synthetic biology to high schools all across Georgia. But the Trump administration cut the money, claiming it fell under DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion. A judge temporarily restored the funding, but Standeven told us she's not sure it will extend beyond 2026. Bill Whitaker: What did you think--when your funding got cut?
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Our government should never make one of its citizens feel this way; especially not the son of a veteran.

Being present without authorization is a civil misdemeanor. Remember that when ICE spouts their propaganda.

www.nbcboston.com/news/nationa...
“He texted me to tell me, ‘Dad I'm sorry I haven't been home,'" Shasteen said. "And he told me what it was reminding him of, which was his mom passing, and he didn't want to be home because he doesn’t want to be in an empty house without her.” “One of the hardest parts of this current situation is the parallels I see every time I lay my head down to sleep at night,” his son wrote a letter to support her release. “I lay staring at the ceiling feeling hopeless and praying that she is okay, the same way I did when my mother was in the ICU fighting for her life.”
November 30, 2025 at 8:31 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
This includes thousands of Afghans who assisted our troops.
Also, Noem's spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, is married to Benjamin Yoho. @propublica.org reports he is the CEO of Strategy Group, which has a contract with DHS. (Corey Lewandowski works there too.)

www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin characterized the unheard of decision to review hundreds of thousands of refugee admissions retroactively as a needed corrective after the Biden administration “accelerated refugee admissions from terror and gang-prone countries, prioritizing sheer numbers over rigorous vetting and strict adherence to legal requirements.” “This reckless approach undermined the integrity of our immigration system and jeopardized the safety and security of the American people. Corrective action is now being taken to ensure those who are present in the United States deserve to be here,” she said.
November 25, 2025 at 7:55 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Well, hey, Kristi Noem is funneling our money into Corey Lewandowski's pockets over at DHS. So, goose, gander?
www.propublica.org/article/kris...
The Department of Homeland Security has kept at least one beneficiary of the nine-figure ad deal a secret, records and interviews show: a Republican consulting firm with long-standing personal and business ties to Noem and her senior aides at DHS. The company running the Mount Rushmore shoot, called the Strategy Group, does not appear on public documents about the contract. The main recipient listed on the contracts is a mysterious Delaware company, which was created days before the deal was finalized. No firm has closer ties to Noem’s political operation than the Strategy Group. It played a central role in her 2022 South Dakota gubernatorial campaign. Corey Lewandowski, her top adviser at DHS, has worked extensively with the firm. And the company’s CEO is married to Noem’s chief spokesperson at DHS, Tricia McLaughlin. The Strategy Group’s ad work is the first known example of money flowing from Noem’s agency to businesses controlled by her allies and friends.
November 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
IDK - the difference is Bitcoin, maybe?

From August, 2021.
gregolear.substack.com/p/american-g...
Most importantly, with Flynn, Stone, and Bannon, contest the pardons. As I understand it, there is not much legal precedent concerning presidential pardons, because the Constitution seems unequivocal on the matter—and also because previous presidents exercising the power have not been crooks doling out favors to their accomplices. But nothing is absolute. I mean, if some mobster gave Trump a briefcase of cash in exchange for a pardon, that would be illegal, right? Surely we can all agree on that? How are these bullshit pardons—in which the Former Guy materially benefits by not having to worry about his underlings squealing on him—any different?
November 20, 2025 at 6:04 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Here's another area where politicians ignor the will of voters: sex education.
19thnews.org/2025/11/sexu...
“Sex education has long been at the forefront of battles within education,” said Alison Macklin, director of public affairs for SIECUS. But sex ed is overwhelmingly popular with the public. SIECUS has found that 89 percent of likely voters believe sex ed is important in middle school, and 98 percent agree it is in high school, while a 2023 Planned Parenthood poll revealed that 84 percent of parents support sex ed instruction in middle school, and 96 percent support it in high school.
November 18, 2025 at 4:39 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Terrific, provocative thread you've written.
These figures are from Arizona. See: curmudgucation.substack.com/p/az-money-s...
Taxpayers funded vouchers in 2024-2025 to the tune of $888,000,000. In that same year, vouchers users were 7% of Arizona’s school students.
November 18, 2025 at 3:42 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
What else do you need to know?

curmudgucation.substack.com/p/az-money-s...
Taxpayers funded vouchers in 2024-2025 to the tune of $888,000,000. In that same year, vouchers users were 7% of Arizona’s school students.
November 18, 2025 at 2:46 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Hmm. One of these for sure:
The Beatles crossing Abbey Road Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon on their album cover.
November 17, 2025 at 9:40 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Segal is a volunteer intern for Massachusetts Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve. A spokesperson for Shortsleeve told WBUR on Thursday the campaign doesn't "answer for anyone else's social media." "Brian supports enforcing our law, including our immigration laws, and Brian supports due process,” said spokeswoman Holly Robichaud. The Massachusetts Democratic Party called on Shortsleeve to denounce Segal's actions.
November 17, 2025 at 6:41 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
It's not a problem they want to solve.

oklahomawatch.org/2025/11/14/t...
“It’s an epidemic of violence against Native women, Native people,” Senate Indian Affairs Committee member Tina Smith said. “If you want to solve a problem, you first have to see it and understand it, and that’s what that work was all about.”
November 17, 2025 at 3:58 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Voters like their public schools, as seen in the Ohio election results. But politicians haven't listened to voters. @janresseger.bsky.social with the details.

janresseger.wordpress.com/2025/11/13/n...
But in last week’s election, a majority of voters across the state chose to increase their local property taxes to protect their children’s public schools from massive program cuts. The Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s Anna Staver reports: “(S)chool levies passed at a higher rate than last year. Trumbull County didn’t reject a single property-tax question. Cuyahoga County approved 17 of 19… Schools make up the biggest part of most property tax bills, and voters gave them a boost on Tuesday. Ohioans approved 66% of the school tax issues… Most of those levies were renewals keeping existing tax rates in place, and they passed easily. Fifty-five of 60 renewal requests got the green light, a 92% success rate that’s up from 71% last year. New money requests were tougher, but still stronger than in 2024. Voters approved 33% of these requests, compared to 24% last year.”
November 14, 2025 at 3:53 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Elect a reality TV host, get a reality TV raid on innocents.

www.propublica.org/article/chic...
Agents scrawled the Venezuelans’ apartment numbers on their arms, bare chests and foreheads with black marker. Then they marched the detainees outside, lined them against a wall and questioned them, a scene filmed by a NewsNation camera crew that accompanied agents. Parra’s girlfriend said she tucked their cellphones under her shirt and between her breasts and walked out of the building. She carried her sick daughter, who was dressed in a onesie. She saw other mothers with half-naked children — some were barefoot, others wore only diapers. “They didn’t give them a chance to even put clothes on their kids,” she said.
November 14, 2025 at 3:54 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Accused of no crime, locked up for committing journalism.

"It’s becoming clearer to me that the government is attempting to lay a foundation for dissenting political beliefs as grounds for terrorism."

thebarbedwire.com/2025/11/04/h...
Ya’akub isn’t being accused of breaking immigration law — his DACA protection doesn’t expire until May 2026. In fact, Ya’akub’s lawyers say he hasn’t been accused of any crime.
November 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Look, this article is garbage. How do I know?
Every educator understands that "proficient"on the NAEP is equal to A work. This chart purports to say kids can't read because they are being taught in the wrong way. This is a fundamental error, so the rest of the post is untrustworthy.
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 AM
clanghoff.bsky.social
www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...
Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, and none of the Trump allies named were charged in federal cases over the 2020 election. But the move underscores Trump’s continued efforts to promote the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from him even though courts around the country and U.S. officials found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. It follows the sweeping pardons of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of attacking law enforcement.
November 10, 2025 at 4:08 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Scummy.
Consider that the starting salary for a teacher in OK is about $32,000, a $10,000 bonus is rather outrageous.
kfor.com/news/oklahom...
Cercy left OSDE in mid-October and went to work with Walters at the Teacher Freedom Alliance less than a month after getting that bonus. “Someone who has been there two months to receive a $10,000 bonus would be alarming,” Pogemiller said. “Even more so alarming to move with Superintendent Walters to another position makes you question what kind of conversations were happening again before he left office.” “The fact that they have continued to work together—it’s not illegal,” Gilpin said. “But it certainly raises the question of why she got the large bonus… One wonders if state money has been used appropriately.”
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Well, this is scary af:

www.authoritarian-stack.info
November 7, 2025 at 4:47 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Remember how Michael Cohen said Trump never gives a direct order, but you know what you have to do?

Also makes one wonder what else is being dismantled during the slow coup of a shutdown.

www.space.com/space-explor...
Another GSFC civil servant who asked to remain anonymous, "Peter," said that's by design. "Goddard management is very good at obfuscating its intentions directly, either through refusal to put any directives in writing or by working through chain of command, such that decisions don't necessarily reflect back on the individual who ultimately made them." Peter spoke with Space.com about ongoing building closures taking place at Goddard's Greenbelt campus, but months before, GISS was identified as the first in a chain of dominos to be knocked down.
November 4, 2025 at 8:26 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Important article.
theintercept.com/2025/11/04/t...
Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who served 3 tours in Iraq and worked in national security roles at the Pentagon and White House, sees Trump’s new lists as a gateway to further abuses. “They said that they were going to, again, make secret lists of terrorist groups inside the United States and send the full force of the U.S. government against those terrorist organizations. They are not telling anyone about this but asking that law enforcement come up with that list,” she warned in the Senate floor speech last month. “If this administration is not telling us who’s on their secret designated terrorist list for groups in the Caribbean, they’re definitely not going to tell us who’s on their list of domestic terrorist organizations.”
November 4, 2025 at 5:09 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
The harms to the poorest among us - and their children - continue to accumulate. Who does this serve?

abcnews.go.com/Business/wir...
A half-dozen Head Start programs never received grants that were anticipated in October, but there are now 140 programs that have not received their annual infusion of federal funding. All told, the programs have capacity to assist 65,000 preschoolers and expectant parents. Among the preschools closing as of Monday are 24 Migrant and Seasonal Head Start centers spread across five states. Those centers, created to assist the children of migrant farmworkers, typically operate on 10- to 12-hour days to accommodate the long hours parents work on farms.
November 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
clanghoff.bsky.social
Sage observations here from Lt. Gen. (retired) Mark Hertling that are worth your time.

www.thebulwark.com/p/the-mixed-...
Theodore Roosevelt once justified his ‘big stick’ by claiming that civilized nations must exercise “an international police power.” In his era, that line built empires. In our era, it corrodes alliances. Today’s measure of leadership is legitimacy, not intimidation. Power divorced from prudence is not strategy; it’s noise.
November 3, 2025 at 10:11 PM