Yves here.Tom Neuburger describes how Biden Commerce Secretary candidate Ursula Burns has hitched her wagon to a series of corporate ethical train wrecks. If anything, Tom soft-pedaled Nestlé’s child slavery. You can find more sordid details at Slate:
The [Supreme Court] case involves a class-action lawsuit filed by six citizens of Mali.These individuals were allegedly trafficked to the Ivory Coast between the ages of 12 and 14. Once there, they were allegedly forced to work on cocoa plantations for no pay and little food. They say they were regularly whipped and tortured by overseers who routinely inflicted sadistic punishments. One plaintiff tried and failed to escape; when he was caught, his overseers allegedly cut the soles of his feet, rubbed chile pepper into the wounds, then tied him to a tree and beat him until he sustained severe, permanent injuries. Such atrocities on the Ivory Coast’s cocoa plantations are well documented.
President-elect Joe Biden. (AP)
President-elect Joe Biden has chosen Miguel Cardona, Connecticut’s education chief and a lifelong champion of public schools, to serve as education secretary.
The selection delivers on Biden’s promise to nominate someone with experience working in public education and would fulfill his goal of installing an education chief who stands in sharp contrast to Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Unlike DeVos, a school choice advocate whom Biden says is an opponent of public schools, Cardona is a product of them, starting when he entered kindergarten unable to speak English.
In the announcement of his nomination, shared first with the Associated Press, Biden said that Cardona would offer America “an experienced and dedicated public school teacher leading the way at the Department of Education.”
Biden picks Education Secretary committed to opening schools as pandemic rages
On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden said that he will nominate Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education for his incoming administration. Cardona has been Connecticut’s commissioner of education since 2019 and his chief qualification is heavily promoting the reopening of schools during the pandemic, which Biden has stated will be a top “national priority” upon taking office.
Miguel A. Cardona [Credit: Connecticut State Colleges & Universities]
In selecting Cardona, who is of Puerto Rican descent, Biden is furthering the promotion of racial politics to pursue his thoroughly reactionary agenda. In this case, Cardona’s background as an English language learner and his supposed sympathy for students struggling with remote learning will be invoked to justify the opening of schools throughout the US in the interests of Wall Street.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
toggle caption Carolyn Kaster/AP
Miguel Cardona, President-elect Joe Biden s intended nominee for education secretary, speaks Wednesday in Wilmington, Del. Carolyn Kaster/AP
In a speech praising educators, President-elect Joe Biden announced Miguel Cardona was a real easy choice to be the next secretary of education.
On Wednesday, Biden reiterated his focus on getting schools open amid the pandemic and touted Cardona s experience this fall balancing online and in-person learning in Connecticut, and getting students connected and outfitted with a device for learning. That s the vision, resolve and initiative, that s all gonna help us contain this pandemic and reopen our schools safely, Biden said.