Derek Black

And without going through all the details, Congress embeds public education in the very fabric of what it means to be a state before we even have a Constitution. And so that's very important is where we start.

And without going through all the details, Congress embeds public education in the very fabric of what it means to be a state before we even have a Constitution. And so that's very important is where we start.

At the end of the Civil War, right, where we almost lost our democracy, Congress, as a condition of readmitting Southern states into the Union, says that one of the terms of readmission is that you create a public education system and you never take those rights away, right, forcing public education into the South in places where it never had been before.

At the end of the Civil War, right, where we almost lost our democracy, Congress, as a condition of readmitting Southern states into the Union, says that one of the terms of readmission is that you create a public education system and you never take those rights away, right, forcing public education into the South in places where it never had been before.

At the end of the Civil War, right, where we almost lost our democracy, Congress, as a condition of readmitting Southern states into the Union, says that one of the terms of readmission is that you create a public education system and you never take those rights away, right, forcing public education into the South in places where it never had been before.

People are more familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, so I won't go through all that. But just to take one more pause, I mean, Congress created a Department of Education in 1867, right, to get this public education project off the ground. So this isn't some wild new sort of fantasy of liberals or unions that we need a department so that we can – hand over the spoils to teachers.

People are more familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, so I won't go through all that. But just to take one more pause, I mean, Congress created a Department of Education in 1867, right, to get this public education project off the ground. So this isn't some wild new sort of fantasy of liberals or unions that we need a department so that we can – hand over the spoils to teachers.

People are more familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, so I won't go through all that. But just to take one more pause, I mean, Congress created a Department of Education in 1867, right, to get this public education project off the ground. So this isn't some wild new sort of fantasy of liberals or unions that we need a department so that we can – hand over the spoils to teachers.

This is an idea about what it means to have democracy in America. And public education is a centerpiece of that. And the federal government has been pushing it for 250 years.

This is an idea about what it means to have democracy in America. And public education is a centerpiece of that. And the federal government has been pushing it for 250 years.

This is an idea about what it means to have democracy in America. And public education is a centerpiece of that. And the federal government has been pushing it for 250 years.

Yeah, so you're picking up on a thread that's much bigger than a department, right? So when Congress is willing to hand the keys over to the president, then we no longer really have a democracy, or at least the constitutional democracy that was created a couple centuries ago here, in which the president executes the law, the president doesn't make the law, right? Congress

Yeah, so you're picking up on a thread that's much bigger than a department, right? So when Congress is willing to hand the keys over to the president, then we no longer really have a democracy, or at least the constitutional democracy that was created a couple centuries ago here, in which the president executes the law, the president doesn't make the law, right? Congress

Yeah, so you're picking up on a thread that's much bigger than a department, right? So when Congress is willing to hand the keys over to the president, then we no longer really have a democracy, or at least the constitutional democracy that was created a couple centuries ago here, in which the president executes the law, the president doesn't make the law, right? Congress

funds programs, not the executive. But if ultimately Congress is going to shift all that authority over like that, that's a dangerous place for democracy to be. There are no checks anymore. So I think what you're raising up is the fear that there aren't any checks in place. Fortunately, there still is a legal apparatus.

funds programs, not the executive. But if ultimately Congress is going to shift all that authority over like that, that's a dangerous place for democracy to be. There are no checks anymore. So I think what you're raising up is the fear that there aren't any checks in place. Fortunately, there still is a legal apparatus.

funds programs, not the executive. But if ultimately Congress is going to shift all that authority over like that, that's a dangerous place for democracy to be. There are no checks anymore. So I think what you're raising up is the fear that there aren't any checks in place. Fortunately, there still is a legal apparatus.

I mean, even if Congress isn't standing up, shouting and complaining, it's still the case. The president can't just do whatever he wants, and hopefully the courts would step in. I use the word hopefully. I think courts would step in to limit his ability to do things that go beyond his statutory power. So the bigger danger, I think, is that through law itself,

I mean, even if Congress isn't standing up, shouting and complaining, it's still the case. The president can't just do whatever he wants, and hopefully the courts would step in. I use the word hopefully. I think courts would step in to limit his ability to do things that go beyond his statutory power. So the bigger danger, I think, is that through law itself,

I mean, even if Congress isn't standing up, shouting and complaining, it's still the case. The president can't just do whatever he wants, and hopefully the courts would step in. I use the word hopefully. I think courts would step in to limit his ability to do things that go beyond his statutory power. So the bigger danger, I think, is that through law itself,