Challenging our public school district’s obedience of county ‘health’ ‘orders’ of mask requirement and ‘non-essential workers’ forced poverty, or face-fines and imprisonment (2 of ?)

Below is my second email to our NorCal public school district’s designated contact for answers regarding “health” “orders.” Three weeks ago I started by writing our teachers’ union leadership with similar questions, followed-up with them last week, and have yet to receive a response. This is the first email.

My plan is to politely seek an explanation. Without plausible explanation how masks are within limited government, the alternative explanation seems to be these “orders” are workplace harassment.

My second email to our district contact, teachers union, superintendent, school board members, and school principal:

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“Students recognize that under the American democratic political system the United States has achieved a level of freedom, political stability, and economic prosperity that has made it a model for other nations: the leader of the world’s democratic societies and a magnet for people all over the world who yearn for a life of freedom and opportunity. Students understand that Americans’ rights and freedoms are the result of a carefully defined set of political principles that are embodied in the Constitution.”
~ California History-Social Science Framework, “United States History and Geography: Continuity and Change in Modern United States History,” page 432 (emphasis added)

Dear (name omitted),

Six days ago I requested HUSD to explain how their new and extraordinary work conditions were legal. I asked specific questions I hope all our students would appreciate as consistent with what they’re learning about American limited government. These questions are likely on the minds of thousands of our community members, millions of Californians, and perhaps 100 million Americans.

I haven’t heard from you, and request at least a status-response by the end of this week: by September 11. As these orders direly affect thousands of our community, I’m now including in this email our district superintendent and school board members.

Here again are my obvious questions:
What is the authority the county has to demand wearing masks or be fined and/or imprisoned?
If that authority comes from the governor’s emergency declaration in March, what is the definition of “emergency”?
How have emergency conditions been demonstrated as real?
If required emergency conditions of overrun hospitals never happened, nor need for military field hospitals that were built, nor need for military hospital ships, how do the required conditions for an emergency still exist?
Because hospitals have been and are operational (so empty that most laid-off staff according to all professional testimony I’ve heard from dozens of expert medical witnesses), doesn’t that remove emergency dictatorial authority? If not, please explain.
For those reading who are understandably confused, perhaps this will help:
Our community and state are experiencing the worst economic attack in history to close or limit businesses declared “non-essential.”
Our community members are ordered to never approach within 6 feet of another human outside your home, and “wear a Face Covering when outside and when anyone else other than just members of their Social Bubble is within 30 feet (10 yards).”
Our community is threatened by fine and/or be locked in a cage for failure to comply.
As an example of what I’m asking HUSD to do in accepting these “orders,” if a person asked what the law is for drivers to stop at a stop sign, one could be clearly shown the law.

If HUSD cannot clearly and transparently explain the law along with the emergency conditions authorizing such restrictive orders, then on its face the authority for such orders do not exist. The emergency conditions seem to be “overrun hospitals” according to California law I documented in our first email. If hospitals are overrun, that data must be transparent and independently verifiable. Objective evidence to substantiate claims is exactly what we teach our students to demand for democratic consideration for reasonable public health and safety laws.

And again, all medical professionals I’ve personally spoken with, as well as dozens going public via video, claim the opposite of emergency conditions.

HUSD should not give the obviously incomplete response that all our Social Science teachers would return to students for further work: “We just follow orders.”

I also hope I don’t have to emphasize to this community of professional educators how wrong and dangerous blind obedience to authority is in essence and consequences. Indeed, in the first study I’m aware of, three Ph.D professionals with direct academic training and work experience document the “lockdown” will cost Americans ten times more “life years” than the virus.

Again, all I am asking you to do what California students are required in Grades 6-8 (page 81 of Common Core Standards):

“Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.”

If the authority for “health orders” cannot be shown, then this is outside their authority, and a textbook example of unlimited government. Without such authority, illegal “orders” are void, and therefore seem to be illegal workplace harassment, threat, and intimidation.

Of course, individuals are free to wear masks and social distance at their choice.

If I’m wrong about this as a teacher of AP US Government and with experience working closely with political leaderships of both parties over 18 years that led to two UN Summits for heads of state (1990 World Summit for Children, and 1997 Microcredit Summit), then please talk me down.

If I’m right, then our Oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic” requires HUSD to amplify this message to downgrade status from “orders” to “guidance.”

We all share this Oath.

I respectfully request that you honor your Oath.

I cited California law that the limit to the governor’s emergency powers seems clear:
If local hospitals are overrun, then the governor has emergency authority.
If local hospitals are operational, the governor has no emergency authority.
Therefore to honor your Oath, it seems you either need to provide an explanation that these are lawful orders along with verifiable data of overrun hospitals, OR to ask county officials to honor their Oaths to downgrade their threatening illegal orders to “guidance.”

All of our students, parents, staff, and community members deserve a clear explanation, especially since thousands of our school families and friends are direly affected by being ordered they are “non-essential” workers, and are forbidden to earn income in those jobs to feed, care for, and house their families.

To emphasize: I’m respectfully and professionally asking HUSD to explain how your support of extraordinary “orders” is lawful with reasonable and obvious questions that likely thousands of our community members also have.

Again, my intention is only and always for win-win outcomes. In this case, we model truthful and professional scholarship for objectively accurate and comprehensive facts.

Are you aware of the original factual claims at the origin of economic strangling “lockdown”?
The Imperial College computer model led by Neil Ferguson predicting over 2 million American dead was both false and so incompetently contrived that it is likely a criminal lie.
The “official expert” making the prediction at the source of the “lockdown” was caught having an extramarital affair in multiple violations of “ordered” healthy persons’ “quarantine.”
Ferguson predicted in 2009 that 65,000 would die in the UK from Swine Flu (he was off by 64,500+).
Ferguson also predicted up to 200 million dead from Avian Flu in 2005 (low hundreds died).
While you’re probably aware that children are relatively safe from infection, did you know that Stanford and UCLA also find our adults are also relatively safe? Their findings: even without masks or “social distancing” (an Orwellian term) the risk of death for adults ages 50-64 is just 1 in ~19 million, with chance of hospitalization 1 in 852,000. For magnitude figure of HUSD having 1,000 adult teachers and staff, this means the risk of hospitalization is currently one hospitalized HUSD adult between now and the year 2872.

We teach the principles of Gandhi, a practiced attorney, who used the power of overwhelming factual evidence to demonstrate hypocrisy from his own government. I recommend taking Gandhi’s words to heart:

“One thing we have endeavoured to observe most scrupulously, namely, never to depart from the strictest facts and, in dealing with the difficult questions that have arisen during the year, we hope that we have used the utmost moderation possible under the circumstances. Our duty is very simple and plain. We want to serve the community, and in our own humble way to serve the Empire. We believe in the righteousness of the cause, which it is our privilege to espouse. We have an abiding faith in the mercy of the Almighty God, and we have firm faith in the British Constitution. That being so, we should fail in our duty if we wrote anything with a view to hurt. Facts we would always place before our readers, whether they are palatable or not, and it is by placing them constantly before the public in their nakedness that the misunderstanding between the two communities in South Africa can be removed.” ~ Mohandas K. Gandhi, Indian Opinion (1 October 1903)

HUSD has the opportunity to model what Gandhi and Dr. King provided in leadership for equal treatment under just laws.

HUSD can continue our Hayward legacy for justice and freedom.

I promise to share your responses to our community so that everyone clearly understands the unprecedented changes to our schools, and why so many of our businesses are being “ordered” under threat of fine and imprisonment to remain closed.

In all respect and support,

Carl Herman
National Board Certified Teacher
National Board Certified Teacher Coach
[email protected]