Tuesday, November 17, 2020

The Obama-Biden Transition Project

The Obama-Biden Transition Project 
by Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M. 


"We're often asked how we plan to take this unique moment in history - when a grassroots movement for change elected a president - and turn it into a force that can build stronger communities, block by block." -The Obama-Biden Transition Project http://change.gov
As I was thinking about how to respond to the numerous requests the Obama Transition Team that has been sending out to community organizers, political activists, advocates and non-profits across the country, I am reminded of the days I spent living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.


At the time, in the mid to late 1990's, the American Sociological Association (ASA) held its annual conference in New York City. Prior to that meeting, they sent out a fact sheet that may be of interest to ASA members. In this sheet, they too described the same social conditions and asked their members to take note of the changes that occur at 96th Street.
Oddly enough, the very same area was undergoing rapid transformation and gentrification at the time Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took office. As described by the ASA and other political sociologists, the South Bronx is one of the most severely segregated and poorest Congressional Districts in the United States. 

The members of this community have been segregated into a hell plagued with sickness, violence and despair. Kozol argues that this strategic placement serves to isolate the rich from the realities they have thrust upon their fellow man. 
New Yorkers do not stroll through the streets of Mott Haven, and taxicabs take no short cuts through Beekman Avenue. Many taxicabs will not even venture past East 96th Street. Out of sight is out of mind.

There is no excuse for the living conditions of these children and their families. No person should be forced into an apartment that has a higher ratio of cockroaches and rats than to human beings.

These children are desperately in need of the best schools, yet we give them the worst. They have few libraries, few safe havens, few doctors, and few role models. 
They have every reason to believe that they are throwaway children and we have certainly not shown them anything else. The social services we have provided are a bureaucratic nightmare. People in need are treated as sub-human, and made to feel ashamed of being poor.
These are among the sickest children in the world. Americans claim to be dedicated to the children and fool ourselves into believing that we are doing them a favor by providing them with medical care, public education, and public housing. Yet, the quality of their neighborhoods speaks volumes of our sentiment and intentions.

Shortly after the publication of Amazing Grace, managed care rapidly moved onto the New York scene. Around the same time, the Mayor announced he would be closing some of the hospitals that served the poorest of the poor because of financial problems associated with payment and large trauma departments.

Kozol makes the point that people could attempt to gain admissions at a better hospital than Bronx-Lebanon; yet, the privatization of Medicaid made this completely impossible. 
Further restrictions on medical care are inevitable as a direct result of Medicaid managed care plans. The law is not designed to protect the poor, the fragile, and the disenfranchised.
This was made obvious in a recent conversation I had with a friend who practices emergency medicine on the elite Upper East Side of Manhattan. My friend works as a board certified trauma physician at a private hospital on the Upper East Side. The last black patient he treated at Beth Israel was famed rock singer Michael Jackson.

This is the reality. The best doctors treat the healthy and wealthy instead of the people who have the greatest need. They give no thought to the equitable distribution of services; they just file insurance claims and billing statements. Doctors should consider who stands to could benefit the most from their skill and experience. Perhaps we should invert the payment schedule so physicians and other health care providers should receive a higher rate of reimbursement for treating the most vulnerable populations.

Patients with the greatest need get the worst care. Great teachers teach great students in great neighborhoods.

This makes no sense!

And we wonder why the division between the have and the have-nots continues to grow?
People often ask me why I am so angry about the living conditions of poor urban minorities. 
My response-Why aren't you? I cannot be the only one who places human kindness, dignity, and integrity above the lure of the almighty dollar!

We should feel enraged by the way we treat our own citizens. Children who did not ask to be born into poverty and substandard living conditions.

I have thought for many years that the system is upside down, and I become more and more convinced of that as I grow older.

To paraphrase the message of the new Windows Vista commercial, The Mayor's of Nashville's winning campaign.... it is all connected....

Clearly there is a level of inter-connectedness that exists between the various sectors of the American marketplace and economy otherwise Washington would not be at a complete standstill trying to figure out what to tweak, where, and just how much...

Did it really take a $700 Billion wake up call for our citizens to realize that that all is not well in America. It is time to get real about healthcare. It is time to get real about education. 
It is time to get real about the cost of education. It is time to get real about this god-forsaken war that we are still in! This country is in desperate need of a wake-up call, and we must develop a course of action that embraces a multi-dimensional approach and vast restructuring of the laissez faire way of regulating healthcare in the past.

Similarly, many different things influence the human condition by upsetting the delicate balance between those who can and those who do. We need to focus on improving the lives of those who might... People who can and do amazing things when given the chance. 

People who can excel under the right set of circumstances given the right support, the right guidance, the right tools, and the right opportunities. People who may not have the monetary (financial) resources to invest in themselves, their families, or their communities.

If we are to find some resolution to the unprecedented, simultaneous collapse of the economy, the market place and/or government and the collapsing housing market in United States, it seems obvious that people, the economy, healthcare, education confidence and faith in the American people it is time to take drastic efforts to strengthen our greatest asset and hope for the future: Our children! 

We must take action on a number of fronts to create some type of stability in our country, our economy, and the international marketplace. We need to start here, now, in our own communities, schools, and invest in ourselves.

Look at the facts; if we get healthy, they go broke! So let's shake it up a bit, and turn this sad state of affairs upside down!

I am not for sale, yet my healthcare company pimps me out based upon their ability to negotiate with fat cat for profit healthcare giants like HCA and First Health who are by no means the business to make people well! 

It does not take a rocket scientist to see the perverse incentive to keep people sick and dependent upon costly medications and treatment protocols.

Education:
Next year, I want Harvard to take in the worst students. Take the worst students who would not have made it past the front door of the admissions office. Take the worst students. Students who did not break a thousand on their SATs and barely made it through watered-down high school curriculum. Let them benefit from a first class education.

Guess what Harvard? The smart kids don't need you! They are already ahead of the game. 
We can sit them in a corner for a year or two because they do not need the Ivy League to succeed. By definition, they are already streamlined for success and they will no doubt be great with or without you!

There is no doubt that the prevalence of violence in urban neighborhoods affects the ability of children to perform well in school. There is a large body of empirical evidence that demonstrates the effects of chronic stress on memory and the learning process. 

Rather than taking the children out of these communities, we have constructed prison like buildings for them to attend school. They routinely have gunfire drills reminding them that danger is never far behind.

Children cannot learn in this environment. This constant stress triggers "hot-memory." Hot memory can be thought of as learning with your heart and not your mind. It is no wonder children perform inadequately in this environment. 

It is bad enough that children live in such conditions, must we educate in them too. If we want underprivileged children to learn and grow spiritually, we must create an environment that allows their cool memory systems to take over. 

It is only under these conditions that children will permit themselves to learn and develop their intellectual strengths.

We have failed to create a safe home environment for urban children, but we can give serious thought to creating a school environment outside of the community so they have fewer fear-driven hours each day.

It is any wonder that these children perform poorly in school. By every measure, these children are destined for failure.
 
Their home life is less than enchanting, and they do not benefit from enriched environments and educated parents. Certainly, there are many dedicated parents who care about their children, but is that enough? 

When I was in school, children frequently asked the teacher, how this would help later in life. As a young girl in a suburban classroom, there was an unequivocal reply, but it could be argued that what children in the South Bronx need to learn cannot be taught in the classroom.
Studies consistently report lower academic achievement in urban neighborhoods like Mott Haven in the South Bronx. Children growing up in urban neighborhoods have a much higher incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Most researchers believe this to be the direct result of living in stressed communities plagued with street crime and violence. 

The potential impact of chronic stress on academic performance and achievement is not known, but reading scores in neighborhoods like Mott Haven certainly seem to indicate some type of causal relationship. 

There is virtually no research on looking at the long-term effects of this inflated incidence of PTSD among urban populations. 

It is important to develop an understanding of the effects of fear on the academic performance of urban adolescents so we can begin to dismantle the myths regarding school performance and minority children.

Under these conditions, it is not surprising to learn that students also report pervasive feelings of fear and do not feel secure despite the added presence of security personnel on school grounds. 

For these students, school is a mere extension of the violent communities in which they live.
Since urban communities have many different sources of stress, it is important to examine how school policies contribute to the learning environment in public schools. 

The quick response has been to install weapons detectors and hire school security for urban schools. The presence of school security certainly affects the climate of American public schools and sends a symbolic message to members of the community, the world, and especially the students themselves regarding the role they are expected to play as they mature into adolescents and young adulthood.

The school rules mimic are not unlike those one might expect to find in a state prison. Students are rewarded for obedience and they are taught to follow the rules rather than to think critically. 
On the back of the No Child Left Behind legislation, we indoctrinate our youngest members of society with "core curriculum" and "Back to Basics." Students across the country are judged on their ability to regurgitate facts on high-stakes standardized tests.

Lesson plans are filled with repetition exercises and workbook pages rather than student projects or classroom discussion. We teach conformity, rules, and limits. 
We teach kids to be blind followers. The skills we are teaching are better suited for prison rather than the real world. Teachers are teaching the kids to follow rules, to conform, and to reward obedience rather than creativity.

The secured environment is an indication of the roles students are expected to play later in life. This is a lesson they will not soon forget. 

School rules and core curriculum makes classroom silencing an everyday event in the urban classroom. And as my list of "off-limit" subject matter grows longer each term, the need to bring such things into the dialogue becomes more and more apparent. 

I actually have a printed list of topics that I am forbidden to discuss in the classroom: The election, politics, race, religion, suicide, pregnancy. 

The more topics they add, the more relevant they become. The unspoken truth has becomes louder and louder the more we are silenced. There is a big pink elephant standing in the middle of my classroom! There is a big pink elephant in the middle of our community!

By focusing on student behavior rather than student skills, knowledge, and achievement, we are showing all members of the school, the community, and the children themselves that we have already given up. 

Together, the urban public school and the community it serves are a constant reminder of the perpetual cycle of poverty and the poor living conditions and social reality that continue to plague urban America.

Kozol makes it quite clear that there are several exceptional children in this community. There are probably as many exceptional children here as every other community around the country, yet, so few of them will make it out of the South Bronx. Kozol is careful not to dwell on the exceptional cases of children who successfully navigate their way into the main stream of society. 

Kozol does this so we do not develop a false sense of hope. If we cling to a few exceptional cases, we may come to believe that what we are giving enough to children like Anthony or Annabelle. 


Clearly, we can do more. Failure should be the exception-not the rule. Success should be the norm, and until it is, we should not give up hope for these children.

This is our time to let our voices be heard. Any number of social justice agencies from moveon.org, to Cover the Uninsured, to Families USA, Center for Community Change, Health Care for America Now; have opened the blogosphere so that everyday common folk like you and I can submit our opinions to the Transition Team in Washington.

They are begging us to participate, to give our opinions, to let our voices be heard. They need our help. Let us make this the country we are proud to call home. Let this be a new beginning for us all, and let us make this a land of real opportunity.

America claims to be dedicated to equal opportunity, yet equality is not sufficient in a urban communities. These kids need more. We need to think about equity, not equality. It is not enough to hide them away. Be silenced no more!


SUBMIT YOUR VIEWS ONLINE: The Obama-Biden Transition Project http://change.gov


Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M.
DailyDDoSe © 1995-2020

n_o_mje | mail | rss | sign out Moved to Tears November 2, 2016

n_o_mje | mail | rss | sign out 




November 02, 2007 


Moved to tears... 
Current mood: © peaceful 
Category: overjoyed Jobs/ Work; Careers 


Let's face it... my job pretty much sucks: 
The very nature of being a crisis counselor, therapist, casemanager or any other kind of mental health porofessional requires that 
I respond with professionalism to kids who have been abused and basically fucked over for years; first by their families, and then by a system that fails to protect them. 
I get calls in the middle of the night from children, adolescents, and even my friends who are in vaiying stages of crises— some are suicidal^ psychotic, angry, and pretty much just all kinds of fucked up. 


But today, TODAY!!!! 


Today, a child rolled up her sleeves to show me that her set finflicted wounds (cutting) were beginning to heal. She threw out her last razor blade from her hidden collection the night 
before. Today, I won a small battle. Today, I saw a life change and the healing begin, Not just for her, but for aii of us. Today,  I won a small battle. 


As one of my former clients told me, what I do is important— 
because even though I may not change hundreds or thousands of lives every day of my life, I make a difference one life at a time. At the time, I couldn't: stop the tears from my eyes^ now I can't stop the warm feeling that has taken hold of my body and me I s ^anng instead of the tears. 


Congratulations beaut  gs'i, I am so very proud of you'1

:32 PM_- 0 Comments - Q K_ydos - Add_Comment - Edit Remove 
riday, October 12, 2007 


Broken men.





Monday, November 16, 2020

Re: DailyDDoSe October 31, 2019



I still can't fucking sleep. I'm having myoclonic seizures every few minutes and it's so damn uncomfortable. I'm trying really hard not to go to the emergency room.


This country is so fucked.


I'm still thinking about leaving while I still have a chance. I'm pretty sure the wall is meant to keep people from leaving.


I have a friend in Canada who can't gain entry to the US and we joke about getting married so I can just cross the border. We were going to escape to the Bahamas, hide out and go snorkeling but now the Bahamas are gone and somehow climate change became a reality.



I have a few hundred bucks and a passport. Ijustt want to escape.



You don't know the whole story but this has become my theme song. 



htt Qs:/f.youtu.b_g/l RtvqLwMeY






"Are you up in the middle of the night? Like a fire fly drawn to the light. You were there like a blow torch burning.


So tired I couldn't even sleep. Promised myself I wouldn't weep. Only so many secrets I can keep.


It seems no one can help me now, I'm in too deethere's no way out. This time I have really lead myself astray.


Can you help me remember how to smile? Make it somehow all seem worthwhile?

 How on earth did I get so jaded? Seems life mystery has faded.


I can go where no one else can go. I know what no one else knows!! Here I am just drowning in the pain with a ticket for a runaway train!! Everything seems cut and dry. Day and night, Earth and sky.


Somehow I just don't believe it.


Runaway train never going back. Run away on a one way track. It seems I should be getting somewhere. Somehow I'm neither here nor there.


I bought a ticket on a runaway train. Like a madman laughing in the rain. Run away cuz it always seems the same."

Who do I talk to now that you're gone??


And here come the tears. My god this is painful. And some times I feel like I'm just holding on by a thread. And my friend would say, "as long as you're still holding on."


He's gone too. My god this hurts. I can't have my body fail at the same time as my mind.


Time to dry my tears, pick myself up. Brush off a little dust and put my game face on.

--
Elyssa Durant Research and Policy Analyst
--
Elyssa Durant Research and Policy Analyst

DailyDDoSe in DDoS December 9, 2019

December 9, 2019

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Hacked Account Password reset requested for your Google Account


No rush or anything... 

Sigh 


We


/ed70

Begin forwarded message:

From: Admin <dailyddose@gmail.com>
Date: November 15, 2020 at 1:51:44 AM EST
To: Dad

Subject: Re: Password reset requested for your Google Account



I didn't make this request, however you'll notice that I was able to bypass the password issue because I was able to get through the portal using alternative means (multi factor authorization) which is precisely why I'm beyond furious with Jonathan Gonzalez because he should have alerted me to critical security incidents which have been MANY.

I assume you saw the article I sent on Friday that Microsoft came out with a statement begging people to be aware of the huge security risk this poses and asked people to turn of 2MFA.

They also claim this is likely an attack from North Korea which is exactly what I reported to the FBI.   

What's sad is that this kid is giving me attitude rather than just working WITH me since I'm pretty good at what I do.

I was able to pinpoint the exact dates and find derailed logs that support what I've been saying for over 10 years now.

There are too many examples and citations to catch you up at this late date. BUT, it is Jonathan's job to make himself aware of security vulnerabilities that place every person affiliated with TC  Columbia University.

Since I contacted him I had the chance to catch up on my research and read the latest security trends and submit my current logs for further analysis.

There is absolutely no question that this goes back to my Columbia account and I had to hack my way in to take a further look.

I was able to bypass Microsoft , Google and Apple.

I of course  filed a police report and now have additional information that they monetized my sites and are making a killing with Viagra ads and using my Amazon and Comcast accounts for malicious purposes.

They charged a fortune to my accounts, thus my shock and horror to see a negative balance in my bank account.

Do not reply to this email address as we know for certain it is HACKED!

Just so you know it will escalate through Thanksgiving and my iPad and other devices have been wiped and reset.

That's all for now.

I love you,

Liz

/ed70



On November 14, 2020, at 3:09 AM, Google <no-reply@accounts.google.com> wrote:


Password reset requested for your Google Account
Hi E.D.,

We recently received a request to recover the Google Account dailyddose@gmail.com.

If you sent that request, you don't need to take any action. We'll investigate your account and respond to you within a few days.

However, if you didn't make this request, please click on t[omitted] ro cancel ll  it. The link will expire in 48 hours.

(If you've resolved your issue, that's great! In that case, please feel free to ignore this email.)

Thank you for your patience.

,
The Google Accounts Team

This email can't receive replies. For more information, visit the [omitted]
© 2020 Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Saturday, November 14, 2020

DDoS since July July2019

I've been suspended from Columbia do you to their inability to work with me regarding a Unauthorized billing I just had a data breach that happened 11 years ago and ever since then they have just blown me off and now it's costing me about $350,000 and I've had enough I've got a file formal complaints on and they don't even bother to return my phone calls so I need to now I am verify and prove that I wrote these articles so that I don't have to now since they refuse to 





https://lizdurant.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/investing-in-the-ivy-league-is-it-worth-the-money/


Investing in the Ivy League: Is it worth the money? || Elyssa Durant, Ed.M. (c) 2008

View all posts by Chilleh Penguin

April 14, 2011

Investing in the Ivy League


Is it Worth the Money?


By Elyssa Durant


Is an Ivy League Degree Worth the Money?

Two days before the voter registration deadline, and another laptop goes missing. Only this time, it was not stolen by thieves or lost by the Election Commission. This time it was the Board of Education loaded up with the social security data and personal information of local school teachers.


The Tennesseean openly discusses the salary of Metro teachers in the July 6 edition of The Tennesseean. The reporter makes it sound like she has uncovered some profound secret: Teachers are underpaid. No shit?


The papers seem to gloss over the magnitude if the situation of teacher pay and mobility within Metro Nashville. I wasted a ton of money at Vanderbilt and almost as much in the Ivy League. By investing in a useless program and a worthless degree, I am the first to admit I have made some bad choices, but now I am asking for some advice. I CAN'T FIND A JOB! I can't afford to complete the application, or find transportation to get to an interview. I am beyond broke. I am so far in debt that I don't even bother to open my mail since it consists only negative balances, bank statements, and letters from collection agencies and the Department of Education. When I found out that someone recently used my social security number to open an account in Jersey City, I was thrilled at the prospect that my credit score might actually go up!


There are a plethora of young, talented individuals like myself who would be more than willing to work for MNPS or any other company if we could simply access the resources necessary to complete the application. We all know that teacher salary is ridiculous to begin with, so no kudos to the reporter at the Tennessean for pointing out the obvious.


Currently, I work part-time as an educator with a "Masters + 30" degree. I earn $10.46/hour before taxes and without benefits. That doesn't go far. Unfortunately, I simply cannot afford the fees associated with alternative certification.


I never dreamed that I would have to apply for a social services grant simply to find a job. I never thought about fees for fingerprinting, TB tests, official transcripts, examination fees, processing fees necessary to apply a position that really only requires a GED.


The bottom line is this: regardless of good intentions or misguided mentoring, I am a financial burden to you all. I pay taxes out of your taxes. I am absolutely convinced that there must be a better way to live than relying upon government subsidies to keep a roof over my head and Ramen noodles in my tummy.


I am not too proud to beg for a job or take some free advice if it will help me to get from here to there. I need someone, anyone, willing to give me a chance to prove myself.


Help become the person I was meant to be. Try to the see the person I could become. I have so much to contribute, but few resources get there. I believe I deserve more out of life than this, and I think that if you knew me, you would think so too.


This is the reality I live in. This is poverty. This is why I'm hoping that someone out there knows someone or some way that I can contribute more to society than what I am taking.


Relying upon the "welfare" of others is a terrible way to live especially when you have something to give back. I live so far beneath the poverty line, that I am willing to work for the necessities in life that I simply can not afford such as toothpaste and Internet access.


If anyone knows of some funds to help with the application fees associated simply to access community programs, grant based training programs, transportation, or Internet access for career resources, I will continue to be a leach on society.


I need someone to invest in ME!


I have sent similar letters to every agency and non-profit that I have ever "worked" for. Surely the AT&T cable bill could have included a measure to assist the disabled and economically challenged such as free online Internet access to Internet and the online interactive PDF application— also the only acceptable format by HR and Applicant Services for the State of Tennessee.


Surely one of these big companies coming to Tennessee can help by hiring one over educated, underemployed, and dedicated employee. All I need is a chance.


via associatedcontent.com

HELL NO!


Author: Chilleh Penguin


A frisky penguin.




Sent from my iPhone




--
Elyssa Durant Research and Policy Analyst

DailyDDoSe (c)️October 3, 2020


DailyDDoSe ©️October 3, 2020


Greetings!


Feeling kind of yuck today. Have an insurance glitch. Well nightmare... they cancelled my health insurance again. It seems they always do that when I have an expensive procedure scheduled— so I have to change my radiology appointment tomorrow with my neurosurgeon. 


Normally it would have me ragey shouting profanities and screaming my head off but today it just has me sad and overwhelmed. 


Trying to balance my emotions through all these medication changes and hormonal changes (my body is starting to produce hormones on it's own again which is was not on the prednisone) is making my head spin. 


It's not much fun for the people around me. Plus, the construction next door has really taken away my safe place that I go to and sit, read, and relax. 


Now that the weather is cooling off I'll have to look for a nearby park I can go to and escape. 


Trump is coming down this weekend so the protest season has begun. I'm having some trouble walking again but I can probably go in a wheelchair or take an Uber to our meeting place and use my big mouth for good. 


That's all for me. Hope you're well. 


Elyssa


DailyDDoSe in DDoS ~ I’ll be back



Runaway Train 




I still can't fucking sleep. I'm having myoclonic seizures every few minutes and it's so damn uncomfortable. I'm trying really hard not to go to the emergency room.

This country is so fucked.

I'm still thinking about leaving while I still have a chance. I'm pretty sure the wall is meant to keep people from leaving.

I have a friend in Canada who can't gain entry to the US and we joke about getting married so I can just cross the border. We were going to escape to the Bahamas, hide out and go snorkeling but now the Bahamas are gone and somehow climate change became a reality.

I have a few hundred bucks and a passport. I just want to escape.

You don't know the whole story but this has become my theme song.

https://youtu.be/NRtvqT_wMeY



"Are you up in the middle of the night? Like a fire fly drawn to the light. You were there like a blow torch burning.

So tired I couldn't even sleep. Promised myself I wouldn't weep. Only so many secrets I can keep.

It seems no one can help me now, I'm in too deep, there's no way out. This time I have really lead myself astray.

Can you help me remember how to smile? Make it somehow all seem worthwhile?

How on earth did I get so jaded? Seems life mystery has faded.

I can go where no one else can go. I know what no one else knows!!

Here I am just drowning in the pain with a ticket for a runaway train!!

Everything seems cut and dry. Day and night, Earth and sky.


Somehow I just don't believe it.

Runaway train never going back. Run away on a one way track. It seems I should be getting somewhere. Somehow I'm neither here nor there.

I bought a ticket on a runaway train. Like a madman laughing in the rain.

Run away cuz it always seems the same."

Who do I talk to now that you're gone??

And here come the tears. My god this is painful. And some times I feel like I'm just holding on by a thread. And my friend would say, "as long as you're still holding on."

He's gone too. My god this hurts. I can't have my body fail at the same time as my mind.

Time to dry my tears, pick myself up. Brush off a little dust and put my game face on.


Sunday, November 1, 2020

CNN Business: A hacker gained access to 100 million Capital One credit card applications and accounts



A hacker gained access to 100 million Capital One credit card applications and accounts
In one of the biggest data breaches ever, a hacker gained access to more than 100 million Capital One customers' accounts and credit card applications earlier this year.

Read in CNN Business: https://apple.news/A_LjYWV3uQWuuMoUiy7r-2A

Totally wrong. And he's @citibank 


Shared from Apple News


/ed70