by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Robert Cruickshank

One of the most popular stories at SFGate is about the Quaker who was fired from her job at CSU East Bay for changing the text of the required loyalty oath that all California public employees must sign as a condition of employment:

"I don't think it was fair at all," said Kearney-Brown. "All they care about is my name on an unaltered loyalty oath. They don't care if I meant it, and it didn't seem connected to the spirit of the oath. Nothing else mattered. My teaching didn't matter. Nothing."

“A veteran public school math teacher who specializes in helping struggling students, Kearney-Brown, 50, had signed the oath before - but had modified it each time.... “

Each time, when asked to "swear (or affirm)" that she would "support and defend" the U.S. and state Constitutions "against all enemies, foreign and domestic," Kearney-Brown inserted revisions: She wrote "nonviolently" in front of the word "support," crossed out "swear," and circled "affirm." All were to conform with her Quaker beliefs, she said.

“The school districts always accepted her modifications, Kearney-Brown said.

“But Cal State East Bay wouldn't, and she was fired on Thursday.”

by Robert in Monterey [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]