Russia invades Ukraine

Biden reacts as Russian troops act on Putin’s ‘war of choice’

After weeks of positioning troops all around Ukraine’s borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine on Feb. 24 in an attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government there and replace it with an authoritarian regime that favors Russian interests.

U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation shortly afterward on Thursday morning, saying, “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war, and now he and his country will bear the consequences.” Some of the sanctions Biden and the rest of the free world have agreed upon include limiting exports, freezing assets on multiple Russian banks, and providing weapons and other war machinery.

Germany made news Saturday when it agreed to send grenade launchers it controls from the Netherlands to Ukraine, a shift that signals the democratic world stands together in trying to stop Russia’s naked aggression.

Here’s what you can do:

This is a chance to work with the experts in your school to help explain the situation in Ukraine now and to combat the disinformation coming out of pro-Russia media. Is Ukraine really full of Nazis, as Putin falsely claims?

Ask your history teachers and social studies teachers about the history of war in Europe, and if Putin’s aggression mirrors that of fascists such as Hitler in the 193os and 1940s or Mussolini during the same time. What is NATO and how did it come to be? If Ukraine isn’t in NATO, why are NATO nations so strongly supporting Ukraine? That’s a good geography and geopolitical lesson.

Here’s some good background from The Conversation.

It also would be instructive to look back at the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, who tried to hold up aid to Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invented propaganda to smear Trump’s rival in the 2020 presidential campaign, now-President Biden.

And finally, do you have any Ukrainian neighbors or the descendants of Ukraine in your city or school? How do they feel? Are they as angry as the woman in this video?

Texas governor limits trans rights

Gov. Abbott asks residents to report parents of transgender children for child abuse

In a letter penned to the Department of Family and Protective Services, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asked the department to investigate any “elective procedures for gender transitioning” among minors.

This letter came after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that medical treatments that affirm gender identity should be constituted as child abuse.

Abbott said that investigations should also look into “all licensed professionals who have direct contact with children who may be subject to such abuse, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, and provides criminal penalties for failure to report such child abuse.”

Here’s what you can do:

This letter specifically targets teachers in addition to medical professionals who could face criminal penalties for not reporting this as “child abuse.”

Talk to the teachers in your school. How do they feel about this proposed penalty? Have they worked closely with trans students in the past, and do they constitute gender affirmation as child abuse in most cases?

How about parents of trans kids? How do they feel? And is your state planning a similar crusade against trans families?

Biden picks Supreme Court nominee

Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson to take Judge Stephen Breyer’s spot

President Joe Biden announced his pick Friday for the U.S. Supreme Court seat being vacated by the retiring Stephen Breyer. Judge Kentaji Brown Jackson is currently serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

If she is approved by the Senate, Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Jackson holds two degrees from Harvard, and at age 51, would be the Supreme Court’s second-youngest justice ever. FWIW, she attended Palmetto High School in Miami and was on the speech and debate team.

Here’s what you can do:

Who is appointed to the Supreme Court dramatically affects the shape of our country. These justices have the ability to structurally change the way our nation works. What do the experts at your school — your social studies teachers and others who teach legal concepts — think about her appointment and her ability to shift the Court back toward the political center?

During his campaign two years ago, President Biden promised to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court if a vacancy occurred. Why did he do that? Why is it important to have a variety of voices and backgrounds on the court? Will Brown Jackson serve as an inspiration to other Black women? Can she also help repair the damage done by a justice system that historically has not treated persons of color fairly?