From: atropos@mac.com   
      
   These protocol-communist teachers are allowed to tweet and protest and scream   
   obscenities at and about the police all day, they can even put anti-ICE   
   propaganda on the walls of their classroom, but one teacher takes the opposite   
   viewpoint and he loses his job.   
      
   How is that even remotely legal? The government is now telling its employees   
   that they can only express their political opinions in public if they support   
   the government's views?   
      
   Either prohibit political activism for all school staff or allow it regardless   
   of opinion. Can't have it both ways. Not legally, anyway. Heidorn should   
   contact FIRE or the IFF, see if they will take his case. I'd say the ACLU, but   
   they rarely take a case these days if the client isn't a far-left   
   'progressive'.   
      
   ----------------------------------   
      
      
   https://nypost.com/2026/02/15/us-news/james-heidorn-speaks-out-a   
   ter-losing-career-over-two-word-online-post/   
      
   A veteran Chicago-area gym teacher was pushed out of his job over a two-word   
   social-media post in support of ICE and calls the experience devastating and   
   surreal.   
      
   James Heidorn, a "beloved" longtime educator at Gary Elementary School in West   
   Chicago, came under heavy fire by hysterical community activists and local   
   lawmakers when he wrote "GO ICE" on Facebook last month in response to a news   
   story about local cops pledging to cooperate with immigration enforcement.   
      
   "This process has been professionally and personally devastating and surreal,"   
   Heidorn told Fox News Digital on Sunday. "I've spent 14 years building my   
   career, pouring my heart into teaching kids, building relationships and being   
   a positive role model. To see it all upended over two simple words where I   
   expressed my personal support for law enforcement felt like a severe blow to   
   my career."   
      
   Heidorn's "GO ICE" posting had sparked an outrage brushfire in his heavily   
   Hispanic school district, culminating with the teacher being placed on leave   
   and then dragged in to meet with HR on Jan. 22. The phys ed instructor briefly   
   quit before rescinding his resignation later that day and was going to return   
   to school the following Monday as the investigation continued, but the   
   torch-and-pitchfork brigade already had already been whipped into a frenzy.   
      
   Illinois state Sen. Karina Villa, who in September was caught on video chasing   
   ICE agents down the street, condemned the teacher's "disturbing" Facebook post   
   while claiming she stood in "unwavering solidarity" with families who were   
   upset by it.   
      
   Before the investigation even ran its course, West Chicago Mayor Daniel Bovey   
   posted a video of his own on Facebook denouncing Heidorn's pro-ICE post as   
   "hurtful and offensive" to many in the community. "The issue is we have   
   trusted adults who are the ones that care for those kids when they can't be   
   with their mom and their dad. So to have someone cavalierly rooting on-- as if   
   it's a football game or something, yeah go-- events which have traumatized   
   these children... that is the issue," Bovey said.   
      
   Bovey even arranged for a "listening session" for members of the school   
   community-- complete with a Spanish translator-- in which parents and locals   
   raked Heidorn over the coals, calling his post cruel and claiming kids do not   
   feel safe as a result.   
      
   "First, this started with a two-word comment on my personal Facebook page   
   supporting law enforcement-- nothing more," Heidorn said. "It wasn't directed   
   at any student, family or school community. Second, I was placed on leave and   
   faced intense pressure before any full investigation or fair process could   
   play out, which it led to my resignation. Third, I lost my career, my income,   
   and the chance to close out my time with my students properly-- no farewell,   
   no goodbyes."   
      
   The ousted educator told the outlet that the hardest part of being pushed out   
   of his job was the loss of close relationships with students he cultivated   
   over the years-- which included pupils from all backgrounds. "Emotionally,   
   it's been a roller coaster that has me feeling a great deal of shock, loss and   
   deep sadness over losing daily contact with my students. Feelings of anger and   
   frustration at how quickly things escalated without real dialogue, and grief   
   for not getting to say a proper goodbye to the kids I cared so much for. I've   
   had sleepless nights. But I'm trying to stay focused on my family and the   
   support I've received from people who know the real me."   
      
   After a hearing with school officials, Heidorn resigned a second time before   
   he could be fired. As a result of the uproar, Heidorn also lost his gig   
   coaching soccer at a nearby private school,and he will be required to explain   
   to jobs he applies for why he resigned from Gary Elementary School, leaving   
   his future in education up in the air.   
      
   "I really don't know what is next for me, as the teaching profession has been,   
   up to this point in time, all that I ever wanted to do. It is all I have ever   
   studied for and teaching is what has defined me, even advancing my education   
   with a master's degree in educational leadership because I wanted to become   
   the best teacher I can be," Heidorn said.   
      
   Some supporters in the community have rallied behind Heidorn, even launching a   
   GoFundMe page on his behalf, calling him a "beloved physical education teacher   
   who showed up every day for his students."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)