Pushback: Three teachers blacklisted by Rhode Island for refusing the jab score total victory in court
Oppressive Rhode Island
Bring a gun to a knife fight: After a legal battle lasting more than a year, three teachers in Rhode Island have won a full victory in court after their school district fired them for refusing the COVID jab in 2021.
The school committee has agreed to full reinstatement with back pay, as well as attorney’s fees, it announced today: “The three teachers have the opportunity to return to teaching positions within the Barrington School District should they choose to do so, at the steps they would have been at had they worked continuously. Each individual will receive a payment of $33,333, along with back payments: Stephanie Hines ($65,000), Kerri Thurber ($128,000), and Brittany DiOrio ($150,000). Attorney fees totaling $50,000 will be paid to the teachers’ legal counsel.”
Piccirilli says the school has also agreed to pay punitive damages totaling $100,000 to be split three ways among the teachers. The teachers’ two-year battle with the district also took a toll on their names and reputations. The agreement requires their termination records to be expunged, Piccirilli explained today in an interview.
The teachers have been made whole in every respect, he says. It is as if they were never fired. [emphasis mine]
These three teachers join the small select group of blacklisted individuals who lost their jobs because they refused the jab but later won in court. Sadly, they are the exception, not the rule. In general, the vast majority of people hurt by all the COVID mandates — from lockdowns to jab mandates — have not been made whole. For example, even though the Biden administration has lost in court repeatedly over its attempt to force government employees to get the jab, it continues to refuse to rehire the many military and civilian employees it fired. In the case of the military this refusal is even more insane and petty, as the Pentagon has been in the last few years falling far short of its recruitment quotas.
Note also that the full announcement by the Barrington school district (available here) not only admits no error, it even underlines how correct it considered its draconian policies. Despite extensive data beginning in the summer of 2021 that the various COVID shots did nothing to prevent transmission, the district still claims everything it did was proper. To quote:
Our District was navigating an unprecedented health pandemic and leaned on the important recommendations by the CDC and the Rhode Island Department of Health to ensure the safety of our students and school community. Our then-policy helped combat the pressing public health crisis of the time, while keeping schools open, and one that nearly all faculty and staff adhered to.
Shall we count the number of lies and false statements in this one paragraph? First, COVID was not “unprecedented.” It mimicked in all ways all the past flu epidemics of new strains coming out of Asia, whether natural or man-made. Second, those government health recommendations were proven invalid almost immediately upon their issuance, and any honest-minded person could have seen it. Third, the jab never did anything to “ensure the safety” of anyone, since it did nothing to stop transmission.
Finally, add these all up and we find that the district’s “then-policy” did nothing to “combat the pressing public health crisis.” All it did was to allow these petty dictators to smash their boots into every one of their employees’ faces, forcing them to take an experimental drug against their will that has since shown to carry serious health risks.
That three teachers stood firm and won in court has apparently taught these petty dictators and control freaks nothing. Their announcement shows that government officials in Rhode Island continue to think they are gods who can do no wrong. And if you don’t believe me just consider the other blacklist stories I’ve covered from Rhode Island.
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island Democrats propose oppressing everyone who hasn’t gotten COVID shots
- Pushback: Lawsuit forces Rhode Island to let oral surgeon to reopen his practice
- Pushing back harder: Blacklisted oral surgeon Skoly amends lawsuit against Rhode Island to note CDC new guidelines
- Pushback: Teacher wins victory against Rhode Island school district that tried to blacklist her
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island still pushing racist hiring practices despite civil rights complaint
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island school district blacklists Christian afterschool club because it is Christian
- Blacklist followup: Rhode Island school district fails to respond to lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against Christians
While losing in court repeatedly, nowhere have I found any sense of remorse by any of these officials over their abuse of power. If anything, it appears they are willing to double down on that abuse. If they can’t win one way, they will try another. They appear quite willing to continue their harassment of all dissenters.
I wonder what the experience of these teachers will be should they return to their jobs. They certainly should not be surprised if they find their treatment by their superiors to be negative and hostile.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
Oppressive Rhode Island
Bring a gun to a knife fight: After a legal battle lasting more than a year, three teachers in Rhode Island have won a full victory in court after their school district fired them for refusing the COVID jab in 2021.
The school committee has agreed to full reinstatement with back pay, as well as attorney’s fees, it announced today: “The three teachers have the opportunity to return to teaching positions within the Barrington School District should they choose to do so, at the steps they would have been at had they worked continuously. Each individual will receive a payment of $33,333, along with back payments: Stephanie Hines ($65,000), Kerri Thurber ($128,000), and Brittany DiOrio ($150,000). Attorney fees totaling $50,000 will be paid to the teachers’ legal counsel.”
Piccirilli says the school has also agreed to pay punitive damages totaling $100,000 to be split three ways among the teachers. The teachers’ two-year battle with the district also took a toll on their names and reputations. The agreement requires their termination records to be expunged, Piccirilli explained today in an interview.
The teachers have been made whole in every respect, he says. It is as if they were never fired. [emphasis mine]
These three teachers join the small select group of blacklisted individuals who lost their jobs because they refused the jab but later won in court. Sadly, they are the exception, not the rule. In general, the vast majority of people hurt by all the COVID mandates — from lockdowns to jab mandates — have not been made whole. For example, even though the Biden administration has lost in court repeatedly over its attempt to force government employees to get the jab, it continues to refuse to rehire the many military and civilian employees it fired. In the case of the military this refusal is even more insane and petty, as the Pentagon has been in the last few years falling far short of its recruitment quotas.
Note also that the full announcement by the Barrington school district (available here) not only admits no error, it even underlines how correct it considered its draconian policies. Despite extensive data beginning in the summer of 2021 that the various COVID shots did nothing to prevent transmission, the district still claims everything it did was proper. To quote:
Our District was navigating an unprecedented health pandemic and leaned on the important recommendations by the CDC and the Rhode Island Department of Health to ensure the safety of our students and school community. Our then-policy helped combat the pressing public health crisis of the time, while keeping schools open, and one that nearly all faculty and staff adhered to.
Shall we count the number of lies and false statements in this one paragraph? First, COVID was not “unprecedented.” It mimicked in all ways all the past flu epidemics of new strains coming out of Asia, whether natural or man-made. Second, those government health recommendations were proven invalid almost immediately upon their issuance, and any honest-minded person could have seen it. Third, the jab never did anything to “ensure the safety” of anyone, since it did nothing to stop transmission.
Finally, add these all up and we find that the district’s “then-policy” did nothing to “combat the pressing public health crisis.” All it did was to allow these petty dictators to smash their boots into every one of their employees’ faces, forcing them to take an experimental drug against their will that has since shown to carry serious health risks.
That three teachers stood firm and won in court has apparently taught these petty dictators and control freaks nothing. Their announcement shows that government officials in Rhode Island continue to think they are gods who can do no wrong. And if you don’t believe me just consider the other blacklist stories I’ve covered from Rhode Island.
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island Democrats propose oppressing everyone who hasn’t gotten COVID shots
- Pushback: Lawsuit forces Rhode Island to let oral surgeon to reopen his practice
- Pushing back harder: Blacklisted oral surgeon Skoly amends lawsuit against Rhode Island to note CDC new guidelines
- Pushback: Teacher wins victory against Rhode Island school district that tried to blacklist her
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island still pushing racist hiring practices despite civil rights complaint
- Today’s blacklisted American: Rhode Island school district blacklists Christian afterschool club because it is Christian
- Blacklist followup: Rhode Island school district fails to respond to lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against Christians
While losing in court repeatedly, nowhere have I found any sense of remorse by any of these officials over their abuse of power. If anything, it appears they are willing to double down on that abuse. If they can’t win one way, they will try another. They appear quite willing to continue their harassment of all dissenters.
I wonder what the experience of these teachers will be should they return to their jobs. They certainly should not be surprised if they find their treatment by their superiors to be negative and hostile.
Now available in hardback and paperback as well as ebook!
From the press release: In this ground-breaking new history of early America, historian Robert Zimmerman not only exposes the lie behind The New York Times 1619 Project that falsely claims slavery is central to the history of the United States, he also provides profound lessons about the nature of human societies, lessons important for Americans today as well as for all future settlers on Mars and elsewhere in space.
Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space, is a riveting page-turning story that documents how slavery slowly became pervasive in the southern British colonies of North America, colonies founded by a people and culture that not only did not allow slavery but in every way were hostile to the practice.
Conscious Choice does more however. In telling the tragic history of the Virginia colony and the rise of slavery there, Zimmerman lays out the proper path for creating healthy societies in places like the Moon and Mars.
“Zimmerman’s ground-breaking history provides every future generation the basic framework for establishing new societies on other worlds. We would be wise to heed what he says.” —Robert Zubrin, founder of founder of the Mars Society.
All editions are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all book vendors, with the ebook priced at $5.99 before discount. The ebook can also be purchased direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit, in which case you don't support the big tech companies and I get a bigger cut much sooner.
Autographed printed copies are also available at discount directly from me (hardback $24.95; paperback $14.95; Shipping cost for either: $5.00). Just email me at zimmerman @ nasw dot org.
This is a disturbing video. A woman on a New York subway gets punched in the face and New Yorkers are afraid to protect themselves and others for fear of the full weight of the leftist establishment coming down on them and destroying their lives.
Frau PATRIOT @TrueFrauPatriot
Notice how no one comes to the defense of a woman being assaulted by a wannabe Jordan Neely on the subway in NYC? That’s because being a good samaritan in NYC gets you a manslaughter charge, just like Daniel Penny! #MoralBankruptcy = #SocietalDecay
4:27 PM · May 11, 2023
https://twitter.com/TrueFrauPatriot/status/1656803149120782337?cxt=HHwWgoC-4fPrkv4tAAAA
James Street nails it – as far as “it” goes.
If the race between individual freedom and responsibility (capitalism!), and endless brands of collectivism – in all their cloaking devices, was simply about what each “produces,” then freedom would have won – “HANDS DOWN(!)” centuries ago! Alas, the “race” is about morality. The ideas and ideals that define virtue!
The defenders of freedom mount their stallions of practical utility – i.e., capitalism (individual freedom) “works;” it incomparably improves “the human condition;” it dramatically lowers sickness, disease, poverty, and human suffering; its “democratic.”
These things are undeniably true, yet freedom and capitalism continue to be discredited. Those who ride their unquestioned “steeds” of capitalism’s utility, fail to win-over their collectivist antagonists. Worse, freedom has now become rejected/dismissed “out-of-hand,” as if it should obviously be so. In the inescapable “face” of what it provides, why do you suppose that is?
It is because capitalism is thought to be “immoral!”
Yes, James, they admit to no “error.” That is because in their minds (ALL MINDS!), the choice between what is best and what is “right” will always yield to what is thought to be right! Morality trumps utility!
Ayn Rand is the ONLY human being in history to challenge the ideas of what constitutes the morally “right!” Unless or until humanity sheds its collectivist tribal morality, creatures such as that school board can be counted on to continue to do “what is right” in the face of whatever obscenity “doing right” produces!
I SO enjoy your site, Robert!
Dave: Thank you for your kind words about my work. And though I agree with your comment on almost all points, I must disagree with your claim that Ayn Rand is the only person to “ever challenge the ideas of what is morally ‘right'”. Western civilization is filled with many others, all of whom have had a fight on their hands for doing so.
For just one example, the entire philosophy of the Jewish people, based on the Old Testament, infuriates the left and all its variations throughout history. It is why the treatment of Jews is always the canary in the coal mine to tell us when the left has gained power.
My only comment, Robert, is one that I will share from my upcoming book.
At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, this arrogant contemporary imagines himself present as one of the representatives from the colonies. He is addressing the collection of delegates who perhaps represent the greatest gathering of enlightened political thinkers of the time. I would argue, at ANY time, in history.
He has been inspired by their intelligence, moved by their intellect, and impressed, as they resolve issue upon issue impeding their progress toward their goal, by their resolute determination.
As he is recognized and rises to speak, his manner is somber and reserved – unusual for such an arrogance.
“Gentlemen (There were no women present. Additionally, it would be quite a while before the ideals expressed in Jefferson’s profound Declaration would include women, black Africans, and Native Americans): The political institutions you envision, and have remarkably fashioned, do not have the moral foundation to secure the ideals stated in Mr. Jefferson’s unprecedented Declaration. Specifically, one cannot argue on behalf of a human being’s political right to their own life, creating political institutions designed, debated, and adopted to then secure same, while at the same time accepting of a morality that a human being has a universal higher moral obligation to live their life in service to some other purpose – either to other human beings, or an imagined greater entity or abstraction.
Those for whom you wish to politically-secure such a right, and from whom its respect and recognition must be universally observed and defended, will disagree with it, while they maintain that each among us has a “higher” moral duty to fulfill, one that makes the “right to one’s own life,” subordinate.
This tirelessly repeated moral prescription has destroyed whatever individual rights may have been temporarily recognized in past societies, without exception. In the absence of a proper moral defense of them, this body’s unprecedented attempt at their political consecration shall become doomed as well.” – David Walden, August 12, 2009.
Rand made the argument that we each must maintain moral responsibility for our own life, and the right to it such responsibility entails. Succinctly stated, rational selfisness versus sacrificial selflessness!
Thank you again, Robert, for what you continue to do!
Dave
Dave Walden: One of the great failings of Rand’s philosophy is that she completely excluded the raising of children in her equations. While it is essential each person put the moral responsibility for their own life first in almost all cases (what used to be called “individual responsibility” when we weren’t condemned as white supremacists for saying so), this necessity fails once you are married and have children to raise. Those children cannot fend for themselves, so you must sacrifice some of your own life’s needs to fulfill theirs.
This fact is why the Old Testament puts so much value on family. Humans really don’t live as single human beings. In a healthy society they live as family units, the parents obliged to not only maintain moral responsibility for their partnership and their lives together, but to also maintain the moral responsibility of their kids, who aren’t capable yet to do so on their own.
In this context, Rand’s selfish ideal goes out the window.
Robert:
While I acknowledge your point, I would reply that it belies the critical importance of the decision to have children, and the commitment it represents to their well-being. Your happiness and well-being become inextricably linked with theirs!
Yes, upon taking responsibility for your creation, you must dedicate aspects of your life to their security and well-being. Just as it is entirely moral to provide whatever help to anyone else you determine is of value to you, in whatever amount you determine is appropriate.
Rather than impugn Rand’s unprecedented moral defense of the sanctity of human life, its abiding “humanity,” and what is the “good” versus the logically “bad” – moral values that have plagued the politics of humanity for millennia, I would argue your point underscores the rational in her moral tenet of “rational self-interest!”
As I make the case in my book, instead of being our “brother’s keeper,” we – in an important sense, must be his “guardian!” Guardian against what, you may ask? Guardian against those who would “keep” him!
I am enjoying the exchange.
Dave
Lex Fridman Podcast 178
(April, 2021)
“Michael Malice / Yaron Brook: Ayn Rand, Human Nature, and Anarchy”
https://youtu.be/Pl3x4GINtBQ
4:25:18
Malice at the Movies #1:
(April 2020)
“Rand on Donahue”
https://youtu.be/vxxzMB6oC5I
(1:46:06)
and
Malice at the Movies #2:
(May 2020)
“Rand on Mike Wallace”
https://youtu.be/fIzVzKSr8VA
(1:24:04)
I sure hope the School Commitee enjoyed their helping of Crow and Humble Pie