If school choice to you means telling parents how they can and can’t educate their own kids, it’s not school choice.

A Nazi commander loaded his pistol, pressed the cold metal barrel directly against the forehead of an American soldier, and gave a chilling ultimatum: "Order the Jewish soldiers to step forward, or I will shoot you right now." What happened next in that frozen prisoner-of-war camp changed history forever, yet the man who stared down death kept it a secret for the rest of his life. It was January 1945, and the bitter winter of World War II was at its peak. Inside Stalag IX-A, a notorious German prison camp near Ziegenhain, thousands of American soldiers were trapped behind barbed wire. Among them was Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds, a twenty-five-year-old from Knoxville, Tennessee. As the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer in his section, Edmonds was responsible for the lives of 1,275 men. One day, the camp commander, a fanatical Nazi major named Siegmann, issued a terrifying directive. He ordered that the following morning, all American prisoners of Jewish faith must step out of the ranks during roll call. Everyone knew what this meant. Separating the Jewish soldiers was the first step toward sending them to extermination camps. Inside the dark, freezing barracks, the prisoners panicked. Some of the Jewish soldiers considered stepping forward willingly to protect their Christian brothers from Nazi wrath. But Edmonds refused to let that happen. He looked at his men and gave a clear, definitive order: "Tomorrow, everyone steps forward. Everyone." The next morning, the ground was thick with snow. Major Siegmann walked out onto the parade ground, expecting to see a small, isolated group of Jewish soldiers standing apart from the rest. Instead, he stopped dead in his tracks. All 1,275 American soldiers had stepped forward together in perfect unison. The commander turned red with anger and stormed over to Edmonds. "They cannot all be Jews!" Siegmann screamed. Edmonds stood completely still, looked the Nazi straight in the eyes, and replied: "We are all Jews here." Enraged, Siegmann drew his Luger pistol and pressed it against Edmonds' forehead. The tension was suffocating. Hundreds of men held their breath, waiting for the gunshot. But Edmonds did not blink. "According to the Geneva Convention, we only have to give our name, rank, and serial number," Edmonds said, his voice steady and calm. "If you shoot me, you will have to shoot all of us. And when the war ends, you will be tried for war crimes." Edmonds knew the German army was collapsing and the Allies were advancing. Siegmann knew it too. The Nazi commander looked at the wall of unified men, realized he could not break their spirit, and slowly lowered his gun. He turned around and walked away without saying another word. Because of that moment of defiance, two hundred Jewish-American soldiers survived the Holocaust. When the war ended, Edmonds returned to Tennessee, married his sweetheart, and raised a family. He never bragged about his actions, never looked for medals, and never even told his own children what he had done. To him, protecting his men was simply his duty. Decades after his death in 1985, his son uncovered the truth by talking to the survivors. In 2015, Edmonds was officially recognized as Righteous Among the Nations, the highest honor Israel bestows upon non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. He remains the only American soldier to ever receive this recognition. True heroism does not look for applause, and love will always be louder than hatred. By standing together in the snow, those soldiers proved that when we refuse to abandon each other, ordinary human beings can become absolutely invincible.

Rollovers, competitive administration, and auditing instead of pre-approval. Great to see it, @ColleenHroncich! Love that these ideas are being talked about more and more (and thanks for citing my work). Free market administration of ESAs *IS* possible. cato.org/policy-analysis/let…

New UT law going effect will make voters’ party affiliation public on May 6. And now federal govt wants surveillance tech in all new cars in 2027. I resisted the privacy “paranoia” for a long time, but getting harder to do….

Step 1: Idaho enacts a 5k refundable tax credit for educational expenses incurred by students who choose private or homeschooling over public schools. Step 2: Opponents sue to stop it. Step 3: Supporters triumph in court. Step 4: 13k students quickly sign up, exceeding the $50 million program cap. Step 5: ??? idahoednews.org/voices/idaho…

Was doing this math on Friday as well. Looks to be 1% and also, it’s been detected so will be addressed! ESAs work. And they work well.

Fun day giving the lunch keynote at the 2026 Western Hybrid and Microschools Forum! Keep going, work together, and don’t let policy and regulation get in the way of serving students! Thanks @eric_wearne @KSUHybridSchool for the invite! @edchoice @RobertEnlow

BREAKING NEWS: 7,923 students applied in the first hour of the TEFA application window. 4,100 students were automatically verified. The longest wait time for families has been 8 minutes. INCREDIBLE START. Thanks @GregAbbott_TX @txcomptroller @edchoice @TXCatholic @ALEC_states

“[School choice improves] the quality of the schooling available to the rich hardly at all; to the middle class, moderately; to the lower class, enormously.” - Milton & Rose Friedman, Free to Choose. @edchoice @RobertEnlow

“So are you for school choice or not?” - @CondoleezzaRice at the Reagan Library, 2024 🔥

“By aligning incentives through both positive and negative reinforcement, we can encourage all ESA users to spend responsibly—keeping misuse to a minimum—while protecting the flexibility and customization education choice is intended to promote.” @KKBathgate @StatePolicy @edchoice spn.org/rethinking-esa-polic…

Well that’s a depressing way to end the day.

Parents: don’t just look at your kids’ report card. Find out if they are actually learning something. An “A” doesn’t mean what it used to.

MS is a state to watch! Excited to see the push for universal school choice in the Magnolia State. Mississippi has already made amazing gains in reading policy. A broad school choice program would be another arrow in the quiver.