# Holy shit, DeVos was confirmed **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266 "2017-02-07T19:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/201 "2017-02-08T23:40:59Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So what? She’s not going to be a teacher herself. Like I said upthread, over here in the UK what is expected is that she masters her brief. Master her brief? Dumb that down for us poor uneducated colonials. I object to her mainly because 1. She is a religious fanatic, a Dominionist. 2. She has already said some incredibly stupid things. 3. She is a Dominionist. 4. She wants to completely gut the agency she will “head”. 5. She is a Dominionist. 6. Educators in her own state know her and HATE her - I’ve learned to listen when that happens. 7. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. Dominionist. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/202 "2017-02-08T23:48:14Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So what? She’s not going to be a teacher herself. Like I said upthread, over here in the UK what is expected is that she masters her brief. Sure. She didn’t know the first goddamn thing about public education **before she showed up to the hearing**. I mean, if I decided to run for Secretary of State, you know what I’d do? I’d memorize the names of all UN-recognized nations, along with their locations, capitals, and leaders. I’d learn about the major issues in the news involving other nations over the last twenty years. I’d do all that before my hearing, **and I still wouldn’t be remotely qualified for the position**. DeVos didn’t bother to do half that much. Brief: unmastered. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/203 "2017-02-09T00:11:13Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Sure. She didn’t know the first goddamn thing about public education **before she showed up to the hearing**. > > I mean, if I decided to run for Secretary of State, you know what I’d do? I’d memorize the names of all UN-recognized nations, along with their locations, capitals, and leaders. I’d learn about the major issues in the news involving other nations over the last twenty years. I’d do all that before my hearing, **and I still wouldn’t be remotely qualified for the position**. > > DeVos didn’t bother to do half that much. > > Brief: unmastered. Even admitting your own lack of knowledge in that area, you’d be a far far better choice than her, for the reasons I underlined. You’d at least TRY to run it properly. She’s not there to properly run the agency. That much is obvious. She is there to either turn it into a personal podium for preaching her own Dominionistic brand of heresies, or to destroy it. Both are unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/204 "2017-02-09T00:56:40Z")
I don’t think she cares about education, and she will be mostly absent from her office. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/205 "2017-02-09T01:12:43Z")
I would have preferred “Shit” as opposed to “ **Holy** shit” in the name of this thread. No doubt, DeVos will spend the remainder of her menopausal years in a state of ignorance and bat-shit cluelessness, ala Sarah “Shit-For-Brains” Palin. The carnage she may oversee could be substantial. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/206 "2017-02-09T01:40:28Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I grew up in the GOP. It has turned into a criminal racket protected by cult-like propaganda and brainwashing. Your low opinion may still be higher than they deserve. This could not possibly be true. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/207 "2017-02-09T01:41:28Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > … > She’s not there to properly run the agency. That much is obvious. She is there to either turn it into a personal podium for preaching her own Dominionistic brand of heresies, or to destroy it. Both are unacceptable. But not mutually incompatible by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/208 "2017-02-09T01:44:11Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So what? She’s not going to be a teacher herself. Like I said upthread, over here in the UK what is expected is that she masters her brief. She hasn’t. She didn’t even review the basics. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/209 "2017-02-09T02:33:18Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > So what? She’s not going to be a teacher herself. Like I said upthread, over here in the UK what is expected is that she masters her brief. Thanks for introducing a quaint Brit colloquialism. But surely, Brexit aside, not all Brits are _that_ ignorant. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/210 "2017-02-09T04:11:51Z")
[Betsy DeVos Orders Immediate Flattening Of All School Globes](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-schlarmann/betsy-devos-orders-immediate-flattening-of-all-school-globes_b_14639376.html) > [@](#): > > Upon hearing of her extremely narrow Senate confirmation, newly confirmed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issued an order that all globes being used in any American school are to be “flattened like God made it just 6,000 years ago.” > > Ms. DeVos’ order says she plans on putting the “pro back in quid pro quo.” > > Previewing some other plans she has for the Department of Education, Ms. DeVos told reporters she was “extremely pleased” that the millions of dollars given to Republican candidates over the years was “money well spent.” ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/211 "2017-02-09T04:21:58Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Betsy DeVos Orders Immediate Flattening Of All School Globes](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-schlarmann/betsy-devos-orders-immediate-flattening-of-all-school-globes_b_14639376.html) Her official [cabinet portrait](https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/16473276_10154892906143444_5258438179108808437_n.jpg?oh=aaabd703104f15e55daab8a59c08e53f&oe=593D5D76). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/212 "2017-02-09T04:41:39Z")
I think it’s probably a good thing she got the cabinet position, honestly. Here’s my logic. Whoever Trump picked was going to have a similar mindset and set of policy goals. If Trump wants vouchers and more school choice, then anybody he’s going to nominate is going to support that. Now, I don’t particularly like that position, but that’s irrelevant. So if that’s the case, isn’t it better (for people who are against that position) that the Education Secretary be less qualified? It means it’s going to be harder for her to implement her goals, which as far as I’m concerned, is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/213 "2017-02-09T05:38:11Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > What percentage of the right do you think shares this view? Enough that the person responsible for the department of education now holds this view. > [@doorhinge](#): > > (post shortened) > > The elected Democrats lost the DeVos confirmation six years ago when the voters began replacing elected Democrats with elected Republicans. It appears that the Democrat collective was so busy patting themselves on their collective backs and declaring themselves to be so much smarter that the rest of the country, they didn’t realize that they were steadily losing legislative power. > > Every high school graduate was supposed to have learned how the U.S. government works. It seems that some of them have forgotten the basics. Or as Obama famously claimed, “I don’t all the facts but…”, wait a minute, not that quote, it was the one about elections having consequences. > > If the Democrat collective’s self-proclaimed smart people were repeatedly being outsmarted by the Democrat collective’s so-called stupid people, maybe the self-proclaimed smart people are not as smart as they think they are? I feel the need to repeat myself, because clearly you didn’t _read_ the post you quoted. When someone asks you, “Dear god, why would you make that incredibly awful decision?!”, simply saying “because you couldn’t stop me” is not an answer. It just makes you out to be a _complete tosser_. You could explain _why_ you didn’t think that decision was so incredibly awful. Some right-wingers have done this, and it basically comes down to, “The status quo doesn’t work, so clearly a crapshoot on something which works _even worse_ is a great idea.” That, or “The Department of Education shouldn’t exist” - _take note, someone else I quoted who clearly is not paying attention_. Not great explanations. But just saying “Nyah, you couldn’t stop me from dumping the lead in the communal water source”? That just makes you an asshole. Do you _really_ want to be an asshole? Oh wait. ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/214 "2017-02-09T05:41:11Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] The worst hatred comes from folks who teach kids with exceptional needs and who heard her glib and horrifying answer on IDEA. [/QUOTE] This. She believes that states should decide whether schools will follow IDEA. My son’s IEP follows him wherever we may choose to live. Services and learning accommodations deemed necessary for his education cannot be arbitrarily removed from his IEP if we relocate to another state. Putting IDEA to the states means that disabled students would have no protection, no recourse if services are not provided because one district thinks they are necessary and another decides they aren’t. Further, students with disabilities are funded up to 5x the amount of a GenEd student. Currently there are clear restrictions on how that money can be allocated. How will funding for ESE students look if each states decides? Will ESE students even be funded at a level which ensures the necessary services needed to provide them with an appropriate education? IDEA also ensures that students disabled students receive an education in the least restrictive environment possible (ie with GenEd students to the full extent possible). Allowing states to decide whether to follow this mandate means that students could be placed into more restrictive environments than necessary at the whim of district officials. There is a reason that students with disabilities have protection under federal law. They have historically been a marginalized population in the educational system. The strides forward and the protection under federal law were hard won. I guess DeVos is fine with putting all the retards back into portables…out of sight out of mind, because that’s likely what will happen. ---
**Author:** ![arfurvirus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@arfurvirus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arfurvirus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/215 "2017-02-09T05:44:06Z")
The DOE needs to be eliminated, along with ATF, and a slew of other alphabet soup agencies and departments. The federal government has zero business in our schools, the schools have only gotten worse since Carter created the department in 1979. education should be a local matter. Where I’m from it is, besides when Mrs. common core and it takes a village gets in the way. If your school sucks, or community is garbage, do what I did when my son was a tot, send him to parochial school, and then move 200 miles away to a good community and schools. ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/216 "2017-02-09T05:53:58Z")
[QUOTE=arfurvirus] If your school sucks, or community is garbage, do what I did when my son was a tot, send him to parochial school, and then move 200 miles away to a good community and schools. [/QUOTE] What a great idea! Certainly a reasonable option for the 50 or so million Americans who live below the poverty line. Oh wait…not so much. But who cares about “them” anyway? You should only have the right to an appropriate education if you can afford one. #merica ---
**Author:** ![arfurvirus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@arfurvirus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arfurvirus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/217 "2017-02-09T06:10:34Z")
> [@Girlundone](#): > > What a great idea! Certainly a reasonable option for the 50 or so million Americans who live below the poverty line. Oh wait…not so much. But who cares about “them” anyway? You should only have the right to an appropriate education if you can afford one. #merica We sure weren’t rich, heck my wife son and I moved with nothing but a job offer, $700 scrounged up for an apt, our car and a Uhaul my old man was nice enough to rent for us. we left most of our crap behind. clean air, no crime, good svhools, and a real community made it worth it. Thank God it’s worked. The federal government fucks up everything it touches, including healthcare and education, if you want a better community, make yours better, contribute to a good one, or wallow in your shit. don’t cry to me. ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/218 "2017-02-09T06:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=afurvirus] The federal government fucks up everything it touches, including healthcare and education, if you want a better community, make yours better, contribute to a good one, or wallow in your shit. don’t cry to me. [/QUOTE] I’m not crying, but my eyes _are_ bleeding from reading your attempt at forming actual sentences. You do love a comma or two, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![arfurvirus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@arfurvirus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arfurvirus)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/219 "2017-02-09T06:39:58Z")
> [@Girlundone](#): > > I’m not crying, but my eyes _are_ bleeding from reading your attempt at forming actual sentences. You do love a comma or two, don’t you? ahh the Leftist comeback, once trounced on subject matter you revert to grammar policing. It’s right up there with calling everyone you don’t like “Hitler”. Wallow in your shit. ---
**Author:** ![Girlundone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Girlundone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlundone)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266/220 "2017-02-09T06:52:52Z")
[QUOTE=arfurvirus] once trounced on subject matter [/QUOTE] hahahaaa your post was a “trouncing on subject matter”? Get the fuck out with your dumb self. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-shit-devos-was-confirmed/779266.md?page=12)