Racial Bias in the Local News: Setting the record straight

In response to criticism of an article published in the local city paper:

Please report responsibly. 

TELL THE WHOLE STORY! 

Although I am not familiar with the statistical validity and reliability of the ACT, fam quite certain that this "standardized" test is quite similar to other high-stakes tests (e.g., the S.A.T.) used to evaluate student performance in the "good old US of A". 

Although the College Board and ETS (Educational Testing Service) will have you believe that these exams are an accurate measure "aptitude," in reality, most entrance exams are just another barrier discouraging 

disenfranchised youth from pursuing their dreams of a "higher education." 

Studies consistently show that standardized entrance exams such as the 

SAT and ACT do not accurately predict academic performance or ability. 

These high-stakes test show one thing and one thing only: that some students are better test-takers than others! 

The inherent biases of these gateway examinations provide just one more opportunity for the cultural elite to maintain the status quo in this country. 

By printing such tidbits of information without further inquiry, the Nashville 

City Paper is contributing to the educational crisis in public schools today 

by failing to offer a more in-depth analysis of what these scores represent. 

By releasing such timely factoids out of context, the City Paper  is lending credence to bogus, intellectual theories such as "The Bell  Curve." 

High-stakes, standardized entrance exams are not only culturally biased, 

but also politically motivated in their agenda to help bring back a "return to  basics" type of core curriculum. 

Please report responsibly and tell the whole story- at best, if, as stated in 

your article, this test is desi9ned to demonstrate academic mastery of the "core curriculum," then all we are proving is this: our schools are fail miserably at educating those students most in need of a "decent" education. 

Equal opportunity 's a myth when it comes to public education- if you truly want No Child Left Behind, give them the" need to move forward! 

Next time, think of the message you are sending to the general who have neen known, st times, to accept Faux News at face value. 

Sincerely, 

Elyssa D. Durant, EdM 

Although I am not familiar with the statistical validity and reliability of the newly formatted ACT, I am quite certain that this "standardized"  test is quite similar to other high-stakes tests (e.g., the S.A.T.) used to evaluate student performance in the "good old US of A". 

Although the College Board and ETS (Educational Testing Service) will have you believe that these exams are an accurate measure "aptitude," in reality, most entrance exams are just another barrier discouraging 

disenfranchised youth from pursuing their dreams of a "higher education." 

Studies consistently show that standardized entrance exams such as the 

SAT and ACT do not accurately predict academic performance or ability. 

These high-stakes test show one thing and one thing only: that some students are better test-takers than others! 

The inherent biases of these gateway examinations provide just one more opportunity for the cultural elite to maintain the status quo in this country. 

By printing such tidbits of information without further inquiry, the Nashville 

City Paper is contributing to the educational crisis in public schools today 

by failing to offer a more in-depth analysis of what these scores represent. 

By releasing such timely factoids out of context, the City Paper is lending credence to bogus, intellectual theories such as "The Bell Curve." 

High-stakes, standardized entrance exams are not only culturally biased,  but also politically motivated in their agenda to help bring back a "return to basics" type of core-curriculum. 

Please report responsibly and tell the whole story- at best, if, as stated in 

your article, this test is designed to demonstrate academic mastery of the "core curriculum," then all we are proving is this: our schools are fail miserably at educating those students most in need of a decent" education. 

Next time, think of the message you are sending to the general who have neen known, st times, to accept a sound byte from the local news at face value. 

Equal opportunity 's a myth when it comes to public education. 

If you truly want No Child Left Behind, give them the tools they need to move forward! 

Sincerely, 

Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M.

The Restructuring of Metro Schools Disrupts Community Program

Reorganization or Disorganization: Metro Nashville Public Schools Undermines Teacher Autonomy and Professionalism

The Restructuring of Metro Schools Disrupts Community Program 

Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M.

If I didn't know better, I would think that the local media is supporting the ridiculous decision to transfer MNPS principals from one failing metro school to the next after reading "State reorganization moves on to school principal assignments," (Nashville City Paper, July 9, 2008.)

I find it deeply disturbing that the media (and the community) have failed to recognize this for what it is: a desperate attempt to convince the community that we are actively working to improve the quality of education in our public schools. This last minute attempt to restructure neighborhood schools will most likely do more harm than good to the community at large.

The high rate of student mobility in Metro (approximately 40% per year) is compounded by the constant shifting of district-wide changes to school personnel by transferring teachers, administrators, and support staff on a regular basis. Everything we know about the sociology of education in urban schools shows us that there is a strong correlation between parental involvement and student performance.

One thing that makes magnet, lottery, charter, parochial, and private schools so good is the fact that parents, teachers, students and administrators fight to get in, and fight to stay there. The act of choosing, in effect, leads to an enhanced sense of community and builds a supportive, consistent, and structured environment. Good schools are a place where all members of the community, including school administrators, teachers, parents, and community leaders create a sub-culture with a common set of goals and expectations that are reinforced both in and out of the classroom environment.

Successful schools are an extension of the community at large, where everyone works together to create a common set of experiences; creating an environment that encourages parental involvement and community participation. If Metro continues to alienate educators by disemboweling the organizational structure within public schools, we may just lose the few experienced and dedicated teachers we still have left to surrounding districts, cities, and states.

By failing to examine the issue in further detail, the press and our community leaders are failing in their mission to provide the community with the information they need to participate in the political process that is MNPS. The media have a responsibility to examine and provide the community with the information they need to make informed policy decisions.

Elyssa D. Durant © 1995-2013

CROSS PUBLISHED: Nashville News under Metro Nashville Public Schools Undermines Teacher Autonomy and Professionalism

Top Down Policy Failure in Public Education

Top Down Policy Failure in Public Education by Elyssa D. Durant, Ed.M.

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) does not have the answers, nor does our newly elected Mayor who recently launched an aggressive media campaign to recruit new teachers willing to work within the constraints our over-regulated, under-funded public schools. This article MNPS News glossed over the magnitude of the desperate situation in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

But it does raise questions about the hiring and retention practices by the Board of Ed. The basic fact that students are not making adequate progress is a reflection of the top-down policy failure by MNPS and the Board of Ed. Students are not making adequate progress, and teachers are being shuffled around in a desperate attempt to fix a problem that they do not fully understand.

This data seems to support the need for performance based incentives such as the study on performance incentives at the National Center for Performance Incentives on the Peabody Campus at Vanderbilt University. Teachers in the experimental group receive a $15,000 bonus if their students demonstrate a pre-determined level of achievement and demonstrate proficiency. In conjunction with the RAND corporation, data will be collected twice a year: at the beginning of the academic term to establishing the baseline level of competency for each student. Data is then collecting at the end of the year to measure achievement. Several waves of data will be collected and evaluated over the next several years will be evaluated in conjunction with the RAND Corporation.

In order to fix our broken schools, we need to look at schools that work. There are in fact public schools in urban neighborhoods that are successfully educating the students despite limited budgets, supplies, and adequate funding. So what is it about these schools that allows them to successfully educate disadvantaged, at-risk students and how can we replicate their success?

As an educator employed by MNPS, I earn $10.46 / hour (without benefits) teaching at-risk students. What does this say about the fiscal priorities of our community? My graduate degree in education is from the very same university that Mayor Karl Dean attended in New York City. What does that say about our values as a society? What does that say about the value of a graduate degree from the Ivy League?

I called HR and the "Certificated Office" to inquire about obtaining a provisional teaching license and alternative certification, I was simply told that I was not eligible for alternative certification and without additional coursework, and tuition and fees, I was not deemed qualified to teach in Metro. I am not qualified to teach in Metro since, apparently, Metro "does not teach education." What a joke. To make matters worse- I had to pay them to find out that I was not even qualified to work with Head Start. I went to Head Start! Shouldn't that be enough? I find it difficult to believe that a city so desperate for teachers is not willing to bend the rules just a little or waive the application fee for anyone who is willing to work in such a hostile environment.

The state Department of Education could not offer any realistic solution to the simple fact that I cannot afford to pay the fees associated with the application fees certification requirements. If the Mayor really needs applicants, perhaps the city should comp the application fees necessary to be considered for employment. They are strangely unfamiliar with the political process, and teachers are expected to implement and carry out policies that were designed by academic professionals or educational consultants. If MNPS truly wants a better-qualified staff, then the Mayor, the Board of Education, and school administrators need to take a closer look at the methods used to recruit, retain, and reward qualified individuals willing to sacrifice their financial stability for a career in public service.

The high rate of student mobility is compounded by the constant shifting of school personnel. Many schools may just lose the few experienced, dedicated teachers they still have left have, to surrounding districts, cities, and states. Such instability in the system may even prompt the younger set to leave the profession all together and discourage future teachers from applying for jobs in Metro. Now that I realize my education was a complete waste of time and money, is it any wonder that I am ready to give up on teaching and maybe even ready to leave Nashville for good. The local hardware store has more to offer including benefits!

Everything we know about the positive outcomes in neighborhood schools is their strong reliance upon community buy-in and parental involvement. One thing that makes magnet, lottery, charter schools, parochial, and private schools so good is the fact that parents, teachers, students, and administrators fight to get in, and fight to stay there. The act of choosing, in effect, leads to an enhanced sense of community and builds a supportive, consistent, and structured environment.  Calling rezoning and teacher shuffling in Metro "Project Fresh Start" is ridiculous-- it would be more accurate.

The state Department of Education could not offer any realistic solution.

The high rate of student mobility is compounded by the constant shifting of school personnel

The Board need to take a closer look at the methods used to recruit, retain qualified educators.

Elyssa D. Durant © 2009-2017

ALSO PUBLISHED News: Top Down Policy Failure in Public Education

Educrap From an Educrat: Elyssa Durant's "Harangue" 📚

Fan Mail for ELyssa D'Educrat 📰

EDUCRAP FROM AN EDUCRAT

After reading Elyssa Durant's antf-standardized testing harangue in the Nashville City Paper ("Equity in Education," Aug. 21), I was not at all surprised to learn that the author is a product of a graduate-level education program. Schools of education have long taught future teacher - and other members of the education establishment - to blame everyone but themselves for children not being able to read, write, and do simple math.

The assertion that the ACT and SAT are racially biased is pure poppycock. A student's score on the ACT or SAT is an excellent measure of his or her ability to do college-level math, science, and writing. If a student cannot solve a simple algebraic equation, or if the same student has but a rudimentary grasp of the rules of grammar, the test that points out the student's shortcoming should not be impugned. Instead, the parents, teachers, and educrats who allow students to march toward graduation without receiving a proper education are the ones who deserve derision.

Furthermore, Durant's contention that standardized tests "do not accurately predict academic performance at the college level" is in desperate need of qualification. Some 40 percent of college freshmen require remedial courses in reading, writing or mathematics. These courses, according to Harvard education professor Bridget Terry Long, intended to address acadennc deficiencies and to prepare students for subsequent college success." Thus, high school students who a generation ago would have been forced into the workforce are given a fifth year to complete their high school coursework. And let's be clear: remedial classes may be, well, remedial classes; but students enrolled in such classes are expected to learn the material or face the consequences, i.e., a quick and inglorious end to their college experience. For many - nay, most - remedial students, it is the first time in their academic careers that they are forced to learn.

Jottin' Django ®

📰 Woo hoo! Made you look!

This was my first public lashing in the news. Definitely not the last.

I stand by my the original article and think this guy has a clear agenda. Long live Harvard, you elitist snob.

^ed

Posted from DailyDDoSe

EXPERTS: Where There's A Tax, There's a Way to Cheat || Philadelphia Inquirer

EXPERTS: WHERE THERE’S A TAX, THERE’S A WAY TO CHEAT

Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)

April 17, 1995
Section: PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS
Edition: FINAL
Page: F01

IRS TRIES TO IMPROVE ITS RATE OF COLLECTION ACCORDING TO EXPERTS, WHERE THERE’S A TAX, THERE’S A WAY TO CHEAT.

Julie Stoiber, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Today is tax day. Listen to how easy it was for one man to rip off the Internal Revenue Service:

My Company filed a total of 9,000 returns in 1992, for tax year I 991, which netted my customers approximately $8 million in total refunds. Of that total, I would guess that roughly half of the returns contained false information about dependents, wages, or filing status. That year . . . I recognized how easy it was.”

Richard M. Hersch, a tax preparer from Ardmore, kept his scheme going for two years.

Testifying this month before a U.S. Senate committee, Hersch gave a glimpse of the opportunities for fraud just in the IRS’s electronic filing system: “In all modesty, it would take several hours for me to share with you the virtually endless possibilities.”

Hersch is a big fish in the murky pond of tax deception. He has plenty of company, and they come in all sizes.

Tax cheats inhabit every neighborhood and economic stratum, and they have endless ways of paying less than they owe. They are your doctor, your neighbor, your lawyer, your favorite waitress at the corner tap. Even your Aunt Betty is ripping off Uncle Sam.

“The number of criminal prosecutions is rising. The number of cases we are working is rising,” said Steven J. PeterseII, a Criminal Investigation Division chief in the IRS’s Philadelphia office. “One could assume there is pIenty of it.”

The tax gap - the difference between what the government collects and what it is owed - runs about $127 a year, according to IRS estimates. A 100 percent collection rate for just one year could make a big

The federal budget deficit, which stands at $200 billion.

Not to mention what it could do for the legions of honest taxpayers: If everyone woke up tomorrow and deckiec~ to play it straight with the IRS, Congress could cut tax rates across the board.

Peter R. Merrill, an economist in Price Waterhouse’s Washington office, concluded that rates could go down by as much as 10 percentage points. He came up with that number by dividing the tax gap by the amount the government would collect if everyone suddenly started paying his or her fair share. human nature being what it is, though, that is not likely to happen.

“I think most people are honest - and most people practice tax avoidance,” said Jeffrey M. Miller, the Center City lawyer who represents Hersch. “Most people try to pay as little tax as they can.”

Miller declined to discuss Hersch, who pleaded guilty and is to be sentenced later this month. But he was willing to share observations gleaned during seven years in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and 17 as a criminal defense lawyer. Tax avoidance takes all forms, Miller said. “Some are legal, some are illegal, and some are questionable.”

* A man buys a house at the Shore with four bedrooms. In one of them, he puts a desk - and writes off one-quarter of the cost of the house as a business expense.

* A video shop owner makes a deal with her workers to pay half their salary in cash; nobody declares the full amount, and both employer and employees get a break on their taxes.

* A waitress, on her feet till 2 in the morning, earns $150 in tips. She has three kids at home with their noses pointed toward college. For income tax purposes, those tips become $15.

*A contractor withholds taxes from his workers’ pay, but puts the money back into his business instead of in the mail to the IRS. At tax time, his workers file for refunds - and get them - even though their boss never actually paid taxes on their behalf.

Mom and Pop at the deli down the block take in $7,000 cash a week, and tell the IRS it is $4,000.

“Next time you go into a store and buy something, see if it gets rung up,” said Martin Enterlin, another criminal investigation chief at the IRS. “If not, that’s a pretty good indication it’s not going to get reported.”

Penalties for those who get caught range from fines to jail time.

And the IRS, some say, is not bad at catching them.

Marc Durant, a Center City lawyer who represents white-collar criminals, said the IRS’s criminal investigators are competent and well-trained, with strong accounting backgrounds.

John B. Stine 2d, a tax partner at Price Waterhouse, said that the IRS’s computer programs are increasingly sophisticated, and that, as a result, the reporting of stock sales, real estate sales, on-the-side income and dividends and interest has improved.

But the tax gap suggests that there are plenty of evaders out there, particularly those in cash businesses.

Durant, like Miller, worked as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office before switching to criminal defense.

“Economic sociopaths” is what he calls the big tax cheats, the schemers. “They will steal from anybody at any time. The rest, he said, “are really basically just regular people.”

 And many of them don’t think of themselves as criminals.

In a country jaded by tales of government waste, fat-cat favoritism, and crooked congressmen, taxation based on the honor system is a tough sell.

“The system depends on taxpayers’ willingness to comply,” Durant said. “The whole sense of the public . . . That the government does not deserve their faithful compliance.

“I’m near certain that the incidence of tax evasion in World War II was a . . . fraction of what it is today,” he said. “I’m certain, intuitively, that there is more tax evasion today. During World War II, people felt the country needed the money.”

Today, they are more likely to feel that the government will throw it away on $600 toilet seats or some congressional perk, like the publicly subsidized hair salon for legislators that only recently was eliminated.

“People are struggling,” Durant said. “I think they feel that the money goes to better use to them than to the government.”

He remembers one case in which a business owner kept two sets of books - one with actual revenues, the other with what he reported to the government - for the sheer joy of knowing how much he was getting over on the IRS.

When he got caught, the evidence was overwhelming.

"I don’t want to sound like an apologist for these people,” Durant said. “I’m not an apologist. I’m just telling you the kinds of things I hear.”

Miller hears the same thing.

“Everybody who pays taxes thinks about the guy who is not paying taxes.”

And they come up with ways to keep more for themselves.

The IRS, in its efforts to stop them, devises new measures to detect cheaters. And just as quickly, the tax cheats come up with ways to circumvent them. “Fraud perpetrators . . . adapt continuously to new fraud controls,” IRS Commissioner Margaret Milner Richardson recently told Congress.

Hersch, the Ardmore tax preparer, rode to riches on electronic filing and the Earned Income Tax Credit, a refund for the working poor, which he dubbed “Easy Income for Tax Cheats.”

Big-time schemers like Hersch are often brought down when a relationship goes awry. Someone with an ax to grind - disgruntled employee, ex-spouse - goes to the IRS.

“Despite how straightforward my schemes were, I was caught only because several employees of my company became informants and went to the authorities,” Hersch told his Senate audience. “I am confident that if the employees had not turned me in, the IRS would never have caught on and that I would still be in business today.”

Illustration: PHOTO

PHOTO (2)

1. Martin Enterlin (left) and Steven J. Petersell, employees of the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, at the Philadelphia office.

2. Marc Durant, a Center City lawyer, says IRS investigators are well-trained and have strong accounting backgrounds. He said big tax cheats are “economic sociopaths” who “will steal from anybody at any time.” The rest “are really basically just regular people,” he said.

(The Philadelphia Inquirer VICKI VALERIO)

via powersthatbeat.blogspot.com

Posted from DailyDDoSe

PRESS RELEASE: AutismAid Kickoff Postponed due to Tragic Death within the Autism Community

PRESS RELEASE: AutismAid Kickoff Postponed due to Tragic Death within the Autism Community

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: AutismAid Kickoff Campaign Postponed due to Tragic Death within the Autism Community

September 14, 2012

STATEMENT FROM  AutismAid™

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steve and Aric's Family. 

AutismAid's Race Across America and national Introduction has been postponed until further notice.

On behalf of the AutismAid family, we wish to express our deepest sympathies and heartfelt regrets for this unexpected tragic loss of life.

Aware to Care... Aware to Share

Tim Welsh, Zidlow Marx, and Elyssa Durant and the AutismAid Family

AutismAid™

 

Statement from Steve Knowlton:

"We lost an incredible Friend Aric True and it has hit deeply and I will be speaking at his funeral and a Pall-bearer on Friday at Hosanna Lutheran Church 11:00 in Mankato MN I hope as many as possible will attend. 

Saturday is his burial so for now the "Run" is postponed. I want to be here and help and come to closure with this tragedy, I will run though, definitely have the record by May, for now this is my priority."

Steve

Steve Knowlton World Record Run for Autism and Aspergers

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE RACE:  AutismAid "Beyond The Limits Campaign"

AutismAid to launch "Beyond The Limits Campaign" to support individuals impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism And Aspergers World Record Run

Press Release Steve Knowlton Guinness World Record Run

 Catlin, IL: AutismAid is proud to support ultra-marathoner Steve Knowlton. Steve has committed to help us introduce a message of service support equity for those individuals impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorder from coast to coast as he runs to break the Guinness World Record this fall. The journey, which we are calling our "Beyond the Limits" Campaign will consist of Steve running from San Francisco to New York in 45 days commencing on September 1st. 

"Last year, with inner determination and help from God, I ran Solo 3,717 miles across America,from Seattle to Key Largo. This fall I plan on breaking a 32-year-old World Record set in 1980 by Frank Giannino who averaged 67 miles a day for 46 days and 8 hours running across America. I will set the New World Record by averaging over 70 miles a day for 45 days... This September, I will begin my Record Run starting in San Francisco, California and head through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and finishing in New York City, New York for a total of 3,100 miles." - Steve Knowlton 

We want to support Steve in every way that we can and we are so very grateful for his commitment and sacrifice. We are in the process of looking for sponsors as well as in-kind donations to help Steve with his journey. Our growing organization welcomes contact from all members of the community as we address the service needs of individuals on the spectrum through our partner Non Profit groups. 

About AutismAid: AutismAid is a National Consortium that will change the way Local Autism Service Non Profits Raise Donations, Collaborate, and Operate. Our mission is to raise funds, confidence, and community action levels. AutismAid For more information contact Executive Director Tim Welsh tim@autismaid.org or Creative Director Zidlow Marx zidlow@autismaid.org

3,100 miles San Francisco to New York Launching this September 15th 2012 Steve Knowlton will smash 32 year old ultra marathon record for AutismAid AutismAid Steven Knowlton

AutismAid Kickoff Campaign

 PLEASE VISIT OUT SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION....

 AutismAid™

 

 

 

From an "Undisclosed Location" 

Just me,

e

via thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Steve and Aric's Family.

AutismAid's Race Across America and national Introduction has been postponed until further notice.

On behalf of the AutismAid family, we wish to express our deepest sympathies and heartfelt regrets for this unexpected tragic loss of life.

Respectfully yours,

Tim Welsh, Zidlow Marx, Elyssa Durant and the entire AutismAid Family.
AutismAid.org

"Aware to care, aware to share."

Posted from DailyDDoSe

Obama faces delicate decisions as cyberattack fears rise

White House photo

At the height of the economic crisis in 2008, Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” comedy news show rolled out the character Oscar Rogers as a faux financial commentator. His advice on how to restore the economy? “Fix it! It needs to be fixed! Now!”

Four years later, lawmakers are grappling with a cybercrisis, and despite rising concerns, legislative debates over how to secure U.S. networks and infrastructure have often resembled nothing so much as Oscar Rogers yelling “Fix it!”

Now, with Congress looking unlikely to act anytime soon to fix vulnerabilities in the nation’s computer systems that leave them open to cyberattacks, President Obama is weighing the pros and cons of using anexecutive order to do what Congress hasn’t.

Experts in government and industry alike report a tide of attacks aimed at stealing information from individuals, companies, and government agencies, potentially making a strong case for presidential action.

Further bolstering the case are warnings from top national-security officials that a catastrophic attack on a critical system like those that run energy grids or chemical plants could cause damage to the economy or even loss of life.

But Obama needs to consider his options carefully, because any unilateral steps could invite accusations from his critics of overstepping his authority. As the acrimonious debate over antipiracy legislation illustrated earlier this year, simmering Internet issues can easily explode.

In the final days before the August recess, the Senate hit an impasse on broad cybersecurity legislation that the White House and national-security and defense leaders support. The bill stalled after businesses and Republicans said the legislation would create burdensome regulations for industry without doing enough to shore up defenses against cyberattacks.

Top White House counterterrorism aide John Brennan said earlier this month that Obama was looking at the possibility of an executive order but that there is no decision yet.

Lee Hamilton, a Democratic former House member who sits on a board that advises the Homeland Security Department and who examined government security failures as cochair of the 9/11 Commission, said that Obama is right to consider moving forward on his own. He said the stalemate in Congress is a “serious breakdown” reminiscent of failures before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“The preference would be to work together with Congress, but the threat is serious enough that an executive order is in line,” he said. “There is certainly a lack of urgency in dealing with this, and it’s not a business-as-usual problem. Given the fact that Congress hasn’t acted, the president has the obligation to put together options to secure the country.”

While the debate in Congress largely broke down along party lines, some prominent Republicans support the cybersecurity standards backed by the White House.

Top national-security advisers for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, such as former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and former National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency chief Michal Hayden, differed with Republicans in Congress and publicly called for the Senate to pass provisions that have Obama’s support.

Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul declined to elaborate on the Republican candidate’s assertion that more needs to be done to secure American networks, or comment on whether he would favor using an executive order in the absence of legislation. But she reiterated Romney’s promise to make cybersecurity an early priority and didn’t rule out executive action. Romney's plan would require agencies to begin developing a new national cybersecurity strategy within the first 100 days of his administration. “Once the strategy is formulated he will determine how best it can be implemented,” Saul said in an e-mail.

Polls show that while Americans express concerns over cyberattacks, they, too, are divided over what should be done.

Separate surveys published by United Technologies/National Journal and The Washington Post over the summer found that a majority of Americans prefer that the government either not create standards for private companies, or keep any standards voluntary.

Backers of the White House’s proposals, however, say an executive order could add clarity to the debate and prove to skeptics that the government can play a greater role in protecting American networks without violating privacy or burdening private businesses.

“I think it’s hard to make things any messier than it was politically,” said James Lewis, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “If done right, an executive order could help critics reconsider their arguments.”

That’s an analysis echoed by University of California (Berkeley) professor Steven Weber who said many people seem to be “sleepwalking” when it comes to the threat of cyberattacks. An executive order, he said, could reform cybersecurity policies before a catastrophic attack galvanizes public opinion.

An executive order could give Obama the chance to take a strong stand on a rising national-security concern while portraying Republicans in Congress as ditherers.

But an order is unlikely to accomplish all of the White House’s aims. It couldn’t hand DHS wider authority to ensure that certain private networks are secure. Nor could it entirely ease legal restrictions that prevent businesses from sharing threat information. Even policy changes for some federal network-security policies would likely need congressional action. Additionally, any action would need to avoid inciting privacy watchdogs who fear cybersecurity could be used as an excuse to undermine civil liberties.

And some analysts said the politics of an executive order could cut both ways for Obama. Presidents often win political debates that pit them against an unpopular Congress, especially one perceived as unable to do anything substantive, said Peter Feaver, a former National Security Council staffer during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. But if Obama were to take unilateral action, it would give his critics on the right an opening to paint him as an “imperial” president and to accuse him of saddling business with new regulations, Feaver said.

“In general, White Houses win in these fights with Congress, but this White House has played this card many times,” Feaver said. “This is an issue where there are bound to be unintended consequences and any cybersecurity measures will need a system to fix and update the provisions down the road. This administration has a hard sell assuring people to trust them to fix things later.”

Paul Rosenzweig, a consultant and visiting fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said a cybersecurity executive order could play into both the “imperial presidency and do-nothing-Congress” narratives, but said he thinks there is a genuine possibility for a future compromise and unilateral action by Obama would do little to actually help secure private networks

via m.nextgov.com

http://m.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2012/08/obama-faces-delicate-decisions-cybe...

Posted from DailyDDoSe

Autism Light: honors Executive Director of AutismAid >> Meet Timothy Welsh @Tannersdad

Timothy Welsh

Autism Light #81 is Timothy Welsh.
A Backlight Encore!
Original Post: November 9, 2011

Tim Welsh Works With His Son Tanner

Timothy Welsh is from Catlin, Illinois.  His teenage son Tanner has autism.  Timothy Welsh has survived two heart attacks and today thrives as an autism parent advocate and co-founder and Executive Director of the new organization called AutismAid. Timothy Welsh is an Autism Light because of his influential advocacy for the needs of families dealing with autism. His outreach on social media and expertise in diverse subjects impacting autism families helps him share light on autism to the world on a regular basis.

Twitter:  Timothy Welsh's handle on Twitter is @TannersDad.  He chose the handle in honor of his son Tanner who has autism. The last words Timothy Welsh remembers Tanner saying before he withdrew into the nonverbal world of autism were, "My name is Tanner!  My name is Tanner!" At the time this story was updated Timothy Welsh had posted 72,500 tweets on Twitter. A Few days after this post was originally published he passed 10,000 followers on Twitter. The following YouTube video is a 45 minute interview that David Kaufer did with Timothy Welsh for his YouTube series called "Behind the Tweets". It is a very helpful interview to understand today's autism light.

Autism Aid: Tim continues his mission to build unity in the community #UWAC, provide a base line safety net for families and end discrimination. In partnership with Successful BusinessMan Lawrence "Larry" Goldfarb (Father of a 14 year old with Autism), they are proud to introduce AutismAid. They will be working with Corporations to fund critical need projects in the Autism community through the most effective and efficient service orientated regional non profits. Their goal is to lead by example ending politics, returning the most to communities for direct local service and Paying it forward. Tim says it is very important that families, friends, and relatives stand up and be counted. He asks that we encourage everyone go to the facebook page and like share and nominate your Local Service provider for grants. The website for Autism Aid is www.autismaid.org, and Facebook page is www.facebook/AutismAid. For more information on AutismAid contact Tim Welsh at the email of RealTannersDad@Gmail.com.

Timothy Welsh was interviewed by Craig Evans of Autism Hangout about his new role as Executive Director of Autism Aid.  Craig Evans was Autism Light #178.  Here is the video of that interview.

Generation Rescue: Timothy Welsh is a blogger for Generation Rescue. One of his blog posts for Generation Rescue that tells more about his story was called "An Ordinary Family".  Timothy Welsh is also a "Rescue Angel" for Generation Rescue which is the designation for a family that has seen an improvement in the life of someone with autism due to biomedical intervention.  Part of Timothy Welsh's biomedical plan for his son Tanner includes a gluten and casein free diet, vitamins, and the use of Methyl B12 cream.

Board of Directors: Timothy Welsh serves on the Board of Directors of the following important Autism organizations.

• Autism Society of Illinois: Timothy Welsh is on the borad of directors of the Autism Society of Illinois. This is one of the most respected state chapters of the National Autism Society of America organization.
• Mason Allen Medlam Foundation: Timothy Welsh serves on the board of directors of the Mason Allen Medlam Foundation.  Safety for those with autism is one of Timothy Welsh's passions.

Social Media: You can connect with Timothy Welsh at the following social media areas. He is likely to interact with you if you engage him in conversation.

• Facebook
• Google+
• Twitter @TannersDad

Speaker: Timothy Welsh also is a conference speaker.  One of his sessions at a past Autism One conference is available at this link.

Special thanks for Timothy Welsh for being an Autism Light and being tireless in advocacy for autism.  Timothy Welsh is truly an example of how one parent can make a difference for autism through the world of social media.

Autism Light honors diverse heroes to the world of autism. 

Photos: The Photos in this post are used with the permission of Timothy Welsh.

via autism-light.blogspot.com

http://autismaid.org/founders.htm

Posted from DailyDDoSe

‘A Faint Whiff of Vigilante Hysteria’: Weinergate’s Kimberlin Connection : The Other McCain

FROM AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
The phrase quoted in the title is from a Firedoglake diarist who accurately calls the Brett Kimberlin story a “complex saga, as densely peopled and subplotted as a 19th century Russian novel.” While I resent the suggestion that I’m involved in any sort of “hysteria” — vigilante or otherwise — I’m linking the FDL diary because it offers a rather concise summary of how this story connects to the WeinerGate scandal.

As explained in a previous post, Neal Rauhauser’s involvement with Brett Kimberlin apparently began in 2011. In February of this year, Rauhauser published a bizarre eight-page document (“Andrew Breitbart’s ISR Cell?”) expressing the belief that he and Kimberlin were targets of a conspiracy involving Andrew Breitbart and many others, including Mike Stack, who played a key role in exposing Democrat Rep. Anthony Weiner’s online sexcapades.

Rauhauser is a fanatical “Weiner Truther,” believing in a conspiracy theory version of the WeinerGate scandal in which the congressman was the victim of a “set up” hoax perpetrated by Andrew Breitbart and/or shadowy Republican operatives. This left-wing tinfoil-hat stuff doesn’t really interest me, but it explains Rauhauser’s apparent obsession with Mike Stack, who is believed to be the only person who knows the true identity of “Dan Wolfe,” the guy who first spotted the incriminating Twitter message from Weiner. It also explains some other things, as reported by Rosie Gray at BuzzFeed in her story on the “Weiner Truthers”:

A major locus of modern Weiner trutherism is BreitbartUnmasked.com, a site “dedicated to unmasking the underbelly of Andrew Breitbart and his crew of rogues, criminals, wannabe journalists, various right wing extremists and the religious intolerant,” per its “About Us” section. Breitbart Unmasked features a large GIF of Breitbart’s face morphing into a mask, and lists the name of everyone in Breitbartworld, from editors of Breitbart.com to people only tangentially related.
One of its related Twitter accounts, @OccupyRebellion, regularly tweets about Weinergate and the alleged conspiracies therein. . . .
[Joseph Cannon observes:] These twilight warriors are obsessed with hacking and related matters. Some of them claim to have worked with Anonymous and LulzSec and allied organizations.

There is widespread suspicion that Brett Kimberlin is behind the “BreitbartUnmasked” site, which has access to information that could only have come from Kimberlin, and which is fixated on Kimberlin’s enemies to the exclusion of nearly everything else.

Now ask yourself: Why would hackers who claim affiliation with Anonymous and LulzSec be so obsessed with the WeinerGate scandal?

Rather than suggest an answer to that now, let’s trace back how it was that Kimberlin and Rauhauser became allies. In late 2009, the non-profit Velvet Revolution (a partnership between Kimberlin and blogger Brad Friedman) launched “StopTheChamber.com,” offering a $200,000 reward “for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue.” Fox News quoted a lawyer involved in that effort:

“On every issue, the Chamber is kind of the lead corporate advocate for the status quo,” said Kevin Zeese, a lawyer who sits on the board for Velvet Revolution, calling Donohue a “knee-jerk reactionary” and the Chamber a “right-wing extremist group.”

Liberal blogger Seth “Socrates” Allen noted at the time that he was suspicious of Friedman and Kimberlin’s bona fides, explaining that Velvet Revolution (VR) had previously raised money and gained publicity by offering rewards for proof of Republican vote fraud in the 2004 election, claiming that Karl Rove was part of a conspiracy to suppress such evidence. In September 2008, VR’s “Prosecute Rove” site urged its supporters:

Tell Congress to investigate Karl Rove’s cyber strategy to illegally manipulate elections. . . . [S]end an email to your Congress Members demanding immediate public hearings on whistleblower allegations that Rove architected and directed illegal attacks on Democratic candidates through the improper use of corporate funds channeled through fake Web-based front organizations, the improper political use of the Justice Department to prosecute opposition candidates, and the use of Internet based IT networks to alter election results.

Crazy? Sure. But notice something else from that site:

One of our targets is the US Chamber of Commerce which has spent close to a half billion dollars on lobbying since George Bush was inaugurated. The attorneys assert that Rove has used the Chamber to bankroll many of the illegal attacks using fake front groups posing as advocacy organizations.

The Chamber of Commerce, then, was a demonized scapegoat in VR’s rhetoric for many months prior to their offering a reward for “evidence” against the Chamber’s CEO.

Meanwhile, in September 2009, Breitbart had launched BigGovernment.com with the undercover ACORN “sting” videos by James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles. In July 2010, Kevin Zeese — the same Velvet Revolution lawyer who had called the Chamber of Commerce a “right-wing extremist group” — send a letter to Maryland authorities demanding the prosecution of O’Keefe and Giles.

On Oct. 11, 2010, Breitbart published Mandy “Liberty Chick” Nagy’s 3,600-word exposé of Kimberlin’s criminal background, “Progressives Embrace Convicted Terrorist.”

When Patterico published a post based on Nagy’s article, Kimberlin responded with an e-mail threatening to sue Patterico:

Please take this email as an intent to sue you for your Oct 11, 2010 post on Patterico.com which has defamed and libeled me. I have just sued Socrates on which you rely for cyber stalking, defamation, libel, violation of privacy and interference with business. Socrates has been banned from many sites and forums for stalking many people including me. He is under criminal investigation for cyber bullying and cyber stalking. By corresponding with him and relying on his defamatory posts, you are conspiring with him and are just as liable as he.

Notice that Kimberlin accuses Patterico of “conspiring with” Socrates (Seth Allen’s online moniker), even though Patterico’s post was based on reporting by Nagy, an experienced researcher who had cited multiple published sources, including accounts of Kimberlin’s crimes in the Indianapolis Star, a 2007 article by Time magazine’s Massimo Calabresi and Mark Singer’s 1996 book, Citizen K: The Deeply Weird American Journey of Brett Kimberlin.

On Dec. 2, 2010, Kimberlin’s Velvet Revolution announced a new site called “Indict Breitbart” with the avowed purpose “to seek accountability for the violations of criminal law committed by Andrew Breitbart, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles.”

In February 2011, “Anonymous” hackers illegally obtained nearly 70,000 e-mails from HBGary, a security firm that had been working with two other firms to prepare a proposal to help the U.S. Chamber of Commerce fight its critics, including Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks. The contract was never awarded and the HBGary plan was never implemented, but the e-mails revealed suggestions of what Andy Greenberg of Forbes called “Nixonesque tactics.” One of the hacked e-mails, sent in November 2010 from HBGary’s Aaron Barr to Patrick Ryan of Berrico Technologies, included a link to Mandy Nagy’s article about Kimberlin with the note, “We could do so much with this.”

Nagy discussed the HBGary hacking in a Feb. 14, 2011, post at Breitbart, as did Patterico at his site. Rauhauser has described himself as a “hacker,” and in 2011 Rauhauser (blogging as “Stranded Wind” at Daily Kos) started showing interest in the “Anonymous” hackers and their targets at the Chamber and HBGary:

• Feb. 28, 2011: Congressman Johnson Goes After Chamber Leaks
• March 23, 2011: Aspects Of Anonymous
• April 6, 2011: Anonthropology: Native Dialect
• April 25, 2011: Apple & HBGary : Spying Together
• May 19, 2011: Is Berico Sheltering Aaron Barr?

Meanwhile, in a May 25 post at Daily Kos — two days before the WeinerGate scandal broke — we find Rauhauser linking Kimberlin’s “Indict Breitbart” site, and boasting that Breitbart had responded to him on Twitter. A few days later, Rauhauser began blogging constantly about Weiner at Daily Kos:

• May 30, 2011: CNN Spreads Latest Breitbart Smear
• June 1, 2011: CNN Knew Breitbart Was Lying
• June 2, 2011: Bringing Breitbart (And Thomas) To Justice (Action Alert!)
• June 3, 2011: Punishing Breitbart’s Enablers
• June 4, 2011: Daily Crawler Smears Markos Over My Weinergate Coverage
• June 4, 2011: Breaking: Christian Infowar Militia Attacked Congressman Weiner
• June 4, 2011: Christian Infowar Militia: Wrecking Crew

Rauhauser consistently promoted the hoax-hack theory of the WeinerGate scandal, continuing to argue that Weiner had been the victim of some devious hacker, even after Weiner admitted his guilt and resigned from office. Rauhauser also repeatedly linked Kimberlin’s “Indict Breitbart” site and, along the way, made several interesting statements. For example, in his May 30 post, Rauhauser bragged about having FBI connections:

OK, kids, in addition to being a mouthy blogger I’m also an Infragard member and my day job gets me occasional meetings with the FBI. I just called the agent for my district who covers cybercrime and we need to get this muddle distilled down for him.

In his June 2 post, Rauhauser offered this bizarre claim:

Congressman Anthony Weiner was stalked, set up, smeared, and this was coordinated to protect Clarence Thomas from scrutiny.

What did Rauhauser link? A petition by Kimberlin’s Velvet Revolution demanding impeachment and prosecution of Justice Thomas.

In his June 3 post, Rauhauser invokes two of his Twitter nemeses and threatens to get Dana Loesch fired from CNN:

When you read this, Ms. Loesch, and I know you will, I have a personal request for you. Go get with discredited, disorganized dullards @SwiftRead and @GregWHoward of Twittergate fame, and then show me those pretty, pouty lips of yours saying my name on PJTV again. That’s the only TV outlet you are gonna have, honey, because we’re going to make it impossible for CNN to keep you …

Uh, “Twittergate fame”? The MSM never covered TwitterGate, the 2010 episode in which Rauhauser was accused of organizing a crew of online thugs to harass Tea Party activists on Twitter, and so the “fame” of the participants exists only in Neal Rauhauser’s warped mind — but there seem to be a lot of things that exist only in Neal Rauhauser’s warped mind, eh? Right-wing super-hackers who can hijack a congressman’s Blackberry to send pictures of the congressman’s wang over Twitter as part of a genius scheme to protect Clarence Thomas, for example. Also, the “Christian Infowar Militia“:

Congressman Weiner was stalked and set up by a Christian Infowar Militia cell based largely in Oklahoma City.

I’m sure residents of Oklahoma City were deeply alarmed to discover that this particular figment of Neal Rauhauser’s depraved imagination was located in their midst. The “Christian Infowar Militia cell” delusion eventually faded, however, as Rauhauser’s attention focused on the real villain of WeinerGate: Los Angeles deputy district attorney Patrick “Patterico” Frey!

• July 4: Weinergate: Patterico’s Penalization
• July 4: Disingenuous Chart, Dishonest D.A. (Weinergate)
• July 17: Weinergate: Patterico’s Petulance
• July 19: Patterico’s Personal Pipsqueak
• July 23: In Which Patterico Imperils Breitbart
• July 25: Patterico’s Prattling Puppets

By July 27, 2011, Rauhauser declared that Patterico “looks to be a pretty good candidate for the planner/operator behind Weinergate.”

Patterico had been one of Kimberlin’s prime targets since October 2010, and by late July 2011, Rauhauser was using his DailyKos diary to attack Patterico every other day. If you’ll read Rauhauser’s July 4 post, you’ll find that this isn’t exactly a coincidence:

Who has been in sight, frantically flogging explanations that don’t add up, is Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney John Patrick Frey . . .
And when someone forwarded me the complaint regarding Frey running a cyberstalking campaign in conjunction with South Easton, Massachusetts resident Seth L. Allen, well, maybe this whole situation is about to become much clearer.

Click. Three days later, on July 7, Rauhauser announces on DKos his plan to move from Illinois to Washington, D.C., for a job that would “provide for me more in a week than I make for a whole month at my part time day job here in Illinois.” And in October 2011, Rauhauser described himself as doing “protective service work” for a client who is “the head of a Washington D.C. NGO.”

This description fits Kimberlin, whose 501(c)3 Justice Through Music Project has collected about $1.8 million in contributions since its founding in 2005. In December 20, 2011, Seth Allen himself made that connection in a post titled, “Sadistic Cybersmearing and the Roots of Blogging Fascism.”

Having pointed out all these dots in the pattern, do I really need to connect them for the perceptive reader? Rauhauser’s February conspiracy-theory treatise (“Andrew Breitbart’s ISR Cell?”) shows his ongoing obsession with the HBGary “Anonymous” hacking as well as WeinerGate– and the “Weiner Truthers” at the “Breitbart Unmasked” site are “obsessed with hacking and related matters.”

Kimberlin has been targeting Patterico since October 2010, and it was evidently Rauhauser’s anti-Patterico blogging that brought him into Kimberlin’s orbit so that, by October 2011, Rauhauser seemed to be describing Kimberlin as his client.

As Investors Business Daily reporter David Hogberg observed at Aaron Walker’s hearing last week, Rauhauser is now accompanying convicted felon Brett Kimberlin to court.

Another coincidence: What do “SWATting” victims Patterico and Mike Stack have in common, other than the fact that, as Patterico himself notes, Rauhauser hates their guts?

Is Rauhauser being paid by Brett Kimberlin — with proceeds from tax-exempt non-profits — to pursue these vendettas?

Back in October 2010, when his “beandogs” scheme was blowing up in his face, Rauhauser boasted that he is armed with a pistol. Is it really wise to leave such a man, clearly obsessed with getting revenge on his enemies, running around with a firearm?

Far be it from me to encourage “vigilante hysteria,” but if Rauhauser and Kimberlin aren’t under investigation by the FBI yet, why not?

– Robert Stacy McCain, Whereabouts Unknown

via theothermccain.com

Posted from DailyDDoSe

Are You F*%$ing Kidding Me?

Are You F*%$ing Kidding Me?

Elyssa,

I am sorry if you feel that paying $7.50 for an article is too much. The reason as to why we charge for an article is because we offer breaking news before any other publication in Nashville. We have a three-month trial subscription for just $19 if you would like to purchase that. It is only $11.50 more than a single article and you will have full access to our site as well as receive emails alerting you of breaking news.

Please let me know if I can help you.

Thanks,

Allison Anderson
Circulation Coordinator
Nashville Post
624 Grassmere Park
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 301-9228 (desk)
My Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
________________________________________
From: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu [elyssa.durant@columbia.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 4:32 PM
To: feedback
Subject: NashvillePost.com Feedback from Elyssa Durant

I think it really sucks that I can't read the article posted in account login and password. I have enough of those.

I wasted enough money at Vanderbilt. I should not have to pay $7.50 to read about someone else who feels the Powers That Beat are playing a sophisticated game of bait and switch.

Will someone please forward the text of this article to me online?

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/2/3/former_vu_student_sues_university

Thank you in advance!

Elyssa

via darknightdurant.blogspot.com

[I was the one who fed them the story]

#oopsies

Posted via email from DailyDDoSe