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Florida Sheriff: Medical Marijuana Amendment a very bad idea

February 20, 2014/in Courts & Law, Featured, Healthcare, News/by Dr. Rich Swier

Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight did an op-ed in the Herald-Tribune on the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, Amendment 2. Sheriff Tom Knight is the 10^th Sheriff of Sarasota County, serving since January 6, 2009. To pursue this office, he left a 20 year career with the Florida Highway Patrol where he held the position of Troop Commander, managing a seven-county region with more than 300 employees, a central communications center and a $20 million budget.

According to Ballotpedia:

The Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, Amendment 2 is on the November 4, 2014 ballot in the state of Florida as an initiated constitutional amendment. The measure, upon voter approval, would legalize the cultivation, purchase, possession and use of marijuana to treat medical conditions when recommended by a licensed physician. The measure would also order the Florida Department of Health to register and regulate producers and distributions of medical marijuana and to issue identification cards to patients and caregivers utilizing marijuana.

The measure is sponsored by the People United for Medical Marijuana.

Sheriff Knight makes the following points in the Herald-Tribune op-ed:

There is overwhelming factual information pointing to the darker side of legalized marijuana, even when it is intended strictly for medical therapy. Messages in the $4 million-plus campaign to get this issue passed have tugged on our emotions and focused on isolated cases, without a thought or mention of the many negative, unintended consequences that are already playing out in other states that have legalized medical marijuana — even those whose ballot amendment language was far more restrictive than what is proposed in Florida.
Although many voters may think that medical marijuana will truly be limited to those with chronic, life-threatening conditions or severe, unmanageable pain, we must not delude ourselves into thinking that this will be our reality if it passes. Keep in mind that it will not be treated like real medicines — the kinds that are scientifically tested through clinical trials and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Instead, it will be more like a homeopathic substance, sold not by pharmacists but marijuana retailers.
In Colorado, where nearly 107,000 patients have approval for medical marijuana, the average user is a male in his 30s with no terminal illness and a history of drug abuse. Only 2 percent of Colorado medical marijuana patients report being treated for cancer, less than 1 percent report treatment for HIV/AIDS, and only 1 percent report treatment for glaucoma. The statistics from other states that permit medical marijuana show similarities.
What we will likely (almost certainly) see is a proliferation of marijuana dispensaries in our communities, because the profit potential here is enormous. Census data suggests that communities with populations comparable to Sarasota’s in states that permit medical marijuana have already experienced this. To evaluate this for yourself, visit www.weedmaps.com. Thus, Venice, Florida, could mirror Venice, California, where marijuana dispensaries are a common sight along the famous beach.
Because federal law makes marijuana illegal, corresponding banking and credit card restrictions make medical marijuana a largely cash business. As with any cash business involving a commodity that people crave, the infiltration of organized crime has followed. In November 2013, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided several Colorado marijuana dispensaries based on suspected ties to Colombian drug cartels. Given that Florida has almost four times the population of Colorado, this trend will easily migrate here.

Read the full op-ed by going here.

Recently Dr. Larry Reed was in Sarasota to discuss seven principles of sound public policy. In the context of the medical marijuana debate principle number three comes to mind:

Sound policy requires that we consider long-run effects and all people, not simply short-run effects and a few people.

Sheriff Knight is considering the long-run effects and all the people.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is attributed to Rachel S. O’Hara, Staff Photographer for YourObserver.com.

Common Core: George Soros and Hillary Clinton want your kids

February 19, 2014/in Education, Featured, News, Policy/by Dr. Mary Grabar

“Conceived as the Democratic answer to the Heritage Foundation,” the George Soros-founded and funded Center for American Progress (CAP) was considered Hillary Clinton’s think-tank at its inception in 2003. President and CEO John Podesta, once Bill Clinton’s chief of staff, was seen as its nominal head.

CAP was viewed as “a kind of Clinton White-House-in-exile – or a White House staff in readiness for President Hillary Clinton,” according to Nation reporter Bob Dreyfuss in his illuminating 2004 article entitled, “An Idea Factory for the Democrats.” Many of those mentioned have since populated the Obama administration, while CAP has become the president’s favorite think-tank.

Dreyfuss, who quotes Hillary Clinton, writes, “We’ve had the challenge of filling a void on our side of the ledger for a long time, while the other side created an infrastructure that has come to dominate political discourse. The center [CAP] is a welcome effort to fill that void.”

Podesta who has fulfilled the need for a “progressive counterpart” to the conservative Heritage Foundation is now back at the White House as presidential advisor. Neera Tanden the former aide to Senator Clinton is now CAP’s president. Before Podesta’s recent departure, the policy initiative known as Common Core became a major public education project for CAP.

Explaining the Plummet in Test Scores under Common Core

But students’ test scores are plummeting under Common Core, especially in New York State. What is the solution proposed by the Center for American Progress? A longer school day, of course. Never considering that the standards themselves might be flawed, they make the unsubstantiated assertion that drops in test scores show that the standards are more “rigorous” and therefore require more time. That’s their argument in their recently released report called “Redesigning and Expanding School Time to Support Common Core Implementation.”

One thing is for sure: the standards have never been tested, and even proponents like Dr. Dana Rickman, director of policy and research at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, have admitted that “It isbelieved they will lead to improvement.”

Are we to trust the beliefs of those promoting Common Core, like the authors of the report? One of them, Tiffany D. Miller, associate director for school improvement, has among other things been a fundraiser for the Democratic Party.

Two of the report’s authors come from the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL): David A. Farbman, a senior researcher, and David J. Goldberg, vice president for national policy and partnerships. NCTL itself, however, is an outgrowth of the Center for American Progress. It was “launched in October 2007 at an event at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. featuring Senator Ted Kennedy,” and grew out of the work of a Boston-based nonprofit, Massachusetts 2020, which led the first statewide expanded learning time grant program in the country, according to Wikipedia. NCTL was formed to expand that work to more states and to develop policies at the federal level.

The report serves this effort: to expand the role of public schools, fulfilling Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s vision of “community schools” on a national scale. These would pretty much replace home life by offering such things as homework help, three square meals, and health clinics.

The “report” masquerades as a legitimate report. But when one looks at the sources and methods used, it is clear that there is no real review of evidence.

Questionable Sources and Grandiose Claims

The first paragraph signals more hype than evidence with the grand claim, “Implementation of the standards, as currently planned in 45 states and the District of Columbia . . . means that the vast majority of students will soon be held to the highest set of English language arts and math literacy expectations in U.S. history.” This grandiose statement comes from the Fordham Foundation, itself a promoter of Common Core and recipient of funds from the biggest Common Core funder, the Gates Foundation.

The report is full of such sweeping, unsupported assertions and such frequently bandied terms like “deep” and “deeper,” as well as “critical thinking.” In Common Core promotional material such terms have become commonly accepted truisms; they are repeated by proponents as if they were proven measurements. (These are unstated references to Bloom’s taxonomy.)

The generalities abound: “Replacing lectures with interactive learning between teachers and students, especially learning to a richer and higher level, will require more classroom time, as teachers will have to personalize their attention to individual and small groups of students.”

The report’s authors quote a Chicago teacher who has been told that she needs to be a “facilitator” instead of a teacher in order to properly teach the Common Core standards. The source for the quotation is Catalyst Chicago, published by the Community Renewal Society, another progressive advocacy organization.

The report’s authors continue to bandy about terms that imply intellectual sophistication: “High-quality expanded-time schools are already using the opportunities inherent in longer classes to build in individualized instruction, critical thinking, and problem solving. . . .”

The authors refer to a report by the “policy group Achieve”: “Teachers will likely need more instructional time in order to teach more rigorous, higher-level content in more depth and to integrate literacy skills into their lessons.” Achieve is the well-connected non-profit that was the architect for Common Core.

For math, the authors write, “Common Core will bring a shift in focus from briefly and superficially covering many topics to studying fewer topics in much greater depth.” The authorities they cite are Common Core proponents: Educational Testing Service and EngageNY, of the New York State Department of Education, which has adopted Common Core.

For math, the authors claim that fractions will be introduced at earlier ages, but that as time goes on students will draw upon their accumulated knowledge to solve increasingly complex problems—hardly a new practice in education. What they don’t mention is that algebra is being moved to ninth grade from eighth grade, and that the standards impose tasks on young children far above their maturity levels.

Masking the Real Aims

Part of the overall (but often unstated) goal of Common Core is closing the “achievement gap.” Proponents like to hide the fact that slower learners will have endless opportunities to learn the material under the cover of “deeper learning.” Consider these two sentences in the report:

“Allowing students to both try and fail and requiring them to find more than one route to success will mean providing them with more time to explore and learn on their own than is the norm in today’s classrooms. Students will then be asked to explain their reasoning, a process that consumes time but fosters still deeper learning.”

Such demands to demonstrate deeper learning have led to bizarre math. Much of the parental opposition to Common Core has been instigated by the math homework. To truly understand how convoluted the new math is one needs to see the examples. One sign at an anti-Common Core rally at the Georgia state capitol, on February 4th, did this and exclaimed, significantly, “Parents Can’t Help.” Indeed, parents are being cut out in more ways than one.

The sign set side-by-side a long multiplication problem under traditional math and then under the new Common Core math. One glance will show how math is being unnecessarily complicated in the demand to have students “explain their reasoning,” while allowing credit for those students who get the wrong answer but provide pleasing explanations. (In English Language Arts, more time is to be spent on “deep reading” and “deep discussion.”) This is one way to close the “achievement gap.”

Cherokee Tea Party Patriots-Woodstock, GA’s Photos

Indeed, the CAP report states that the aim of a longer school day is to close the achievement gap: underprivileged students need time to catch up. However, the authors also claim that a longer school day is needed to teach the more rigorous standards. They want it both ways.

“Collaboration”: More Money for Failed Progressive Teaching Methods

Another reason for the longer school day is for time to “collaborate”—hardly a new idea in education,” as references to such practices as “cooperative reading” in the 1990s indicate. “Intra-student communication and collaboration” will presumably prepare students for what they will encounter in higher education and the work force. But this requires more time, even as the students seem to be left to themselves: “Having regular opportunities for student collaboration necessitates many group projects and the continuous integration of a technique known as ‘turn and talk,’ where students discuss the topic at hand with each other and seek to gain insights from their peers.”

Teachers are supposed to be “facilitators” to their students, and spend their time analyzing student data and determining which teacher fits best with which “cohort” of students. Extra time is needed for teacher collaboration and “professional development,” presumably to improve teaching. But as is the common wisdom among teachers, such “collaboration” is a means to control teachers, to make sure they don’t go off script and improvise.

Of course, the longer school day means spending more tax-payer money for keeping schools open and more pay for teachers. According to the report, the Department of Education is already spending money on longer school days through School Improvement Grants. Flexibility waivers allow funding to be set aside for tutoring under the Supplemental Educational Services program for “whole-school expanded learning time.” The 21st Century Community Learning Centers waiver also allows in-school expanded learning time. No doubt, there are cases where students require extra time and extra help. But it seems that the longer school day will mean for most students time to sit in groups endlessly discussing preselected topics with their peers, devising byzantine ways to explain through drawings and stories their thinking on otherwise straightforward math problems—all while gaining little actual knowledge.

Collaboration, facilitation, critical thinking, etc., are the hallmarks of progressive, student-centered teaching methods that have long been demonstrated to be counterproductive. As Jeanne S. Chall stated in her 2000 seminal survey, The Academic Achievement Challenge, “The major conclusion of my study in this book is that a traditional, teacher-centered approach to education generally results in higher academic achievement than a progressive, student-centered approach.” She found this to be particularly true for students who came from low-income and middle-income families, and had less school preparation. Unlike the authors of the CAP report and the reports which appear in their bibliography, Chall was a scholar, a Harvard University education professor and was recognized in the New York Times as “having written the definitive analysis of reading research.”

The traditional teaching methods that Chall describes are also much more efficient. But then again, efficiency and real education are not what the Center for American Progress is about.

Who are the top all-time political donors from 1989-2014? You will be surprised!

February 19, 2014/in Elections, Featured, News, Politics, Waste, Fraud and Abuse/by Dr. Rich Swier

American voters are increasingly concerned about the growing influence of money in the electoral process. Politicians and candidates are increasingly addicted to raising money, and with it comes political influence from donors. With political influence comes government fraud, waste and abuse. The major political parties have sophisticated systems for raising funds. So who are the top all-time political donors? If you listen to Democrats it is the Koch brothers. Republicans mention George Soros. Neither came close to making the all-time top list.

Opensecrets.org has compiled a list of the top “all-time donors” from 1989 to 2014. The totals include reported contributions from PACs and individuals affiliated with Heavy Hitter organizations, which are defined as the top overall donors to candidates, parties, Leadership PACs and other committees.

Contributions to outside groups like super PACs do not factor into an organization’s designation as a Heavy Hitter, however the totals below do include contributions by Heavy Hitters to such groups, as well as contributions to candidates, parties, Leadership PACs and other committees. Furthermore, the totals do not include contributions to politically active nonprofits, which are not disclosed to the public. For a full list of top top overall donors by cycle, independent of Heavy Hitters status, go here.

LEGEND: Republican Democrat On the fence
	= Between 40% and 59% to both parties = Leans Dem/Repub (60%-69%) = Strongly Dem/Repub (70%-89%) = Solidly Dem/Repub (over 90%)

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% as money can be given to third party
candidates or outside spending groups and PACs not affiliated with either party.
Rank	Organization	Total ’89-’12	Dem %	Repub %
1	ActBlue	$97,192,340	99%	0%
2	American Fedn of State, County & Municipal Employees	$60,667,379	81%	1%
3	AT&T Inc	$56,449,317	41%	57%
4	National Education Assn	$53,594,488	61%	4%
5	National Assn of Realtors	$51,207,902	44%	47%
6	Goldman Sachs	$44,847,951	53%	44%
7	Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers	$44,478,789	92%	1%
8	United Auto Workers	$41,667,858	71%	0%
9	Carpenters & Joiners Union	$39,260,371	74%	9%
10	Service Employees International Union	$38,395,690	84%	2%
11	Laborers Union	$37,494,010	85%	7%
12	American Federation of Teachers	$36,713,325	89%	0%
13	Communications Workers of America	$36,188,135	86%	0%
14	Teamsters Union	$36,123,209	88%	5%
15	JPMorgan Chase & Co	$34,527,277	48%	51%
16	United Food & Commercial Workers Union	$33,756,550	86%	0%
17	United Parcel Service	$32,214,128	35%	64%
18	Citigroup Inc	$32,198,122	48%	50%
19	National Auto Dealers Assn	$31,818,910	31%	68%
20	Machinists & Aerospace Workers Union	$31,313,097	98%	1%
21	EMILY’s List	$31,267,654	98%	0%
22	American Bankers Assn	$31,135,202	36%	63%
23	AFL-CIO	$30,938,977	61%	3%
24	American Medical Assn	$29,990,879	40%	59%
25	Microsoft Corp	$29,245,015	55%	43%
26	National Beer Wholesalers Assn	$28,976,510	35%	64%
27	Blue Cross/Blue Shield	$28,491,678	36%	63%
28	General Electric	$27,741,628	47%	51%
29	National Assn of Home Builders	$27,509,880	34%	65%
30	Lockheed Martin	$27,246,173	42%	57%
31	Bank of America	$26,822,749	41%	57%
32	National Assn of Letter Carriers	$26,106,359	84%	9%
33	Morgan Stanley	$26,074,770	42%	56%
34	Verizon Communications	$25,490,499	40%	59%
35	Deloitte LLP	$24,979,333	35%	63%
36	Time Warner	$24,463,922	72%	25%
37	Newsweb Corp	$24,387,371	41%	0%
38	Credit Union National Assn	$24,056,155	47%	51%
39	Plumbers & Pipefitters Union	$23,886,248	85%	4%
40	Altria Group	$23,750,298	28%	70%
41	Ernst & Young	$23,114,243	42%	57%
42	Operating Engineers Union	$23,036,848	82%	14%
43	International Assn of Fire Fighters	$22,963,260	79%	16%
44	American Hospital Assn	$22,909,326	52%	46%
45	PricewaterhouseCoopers	$22,461,596	35%	64%
46	Sheet Metal Workers Union	$22,372,978	95%	2%
47	American Dental Assn	$21,791,508	44%	54%
48	Boeing Co	$21,502,737	46%	52%
49	UBS AG	$21,354,742	40%	58%
50	Comcast Corp	$20,603,390	57%	42%
51	AFLAC Inc	$19,822,809	43%	56%
52	National Rifle Assn	$19,771,191	17%	82%
53	Pfizer Inc	$19,699,869	35%	64%
54	Northrop Grumman	$19,633,964	42%	57%
55	Union Pacific Corp	$19,617,968	27%	72%
56	Air Line Pilots Assn	$19,538,047	83%	16%
57	Honeywell International	$19,447,557	44%	54%
58	Natl Assn/Insurance & Financial Advisors	$19,305,624	41%	58%
59	Koch Industries	$18,083,948	8%	90%
60	American Postal Workers Union	$17,957,308	86%	2%
61	American Assn for Justice	$17,581,358	80%	3%
62	FedEx Corp	$17,506,083	39%	60%
63	Ironworkers Union	$17,386,345	92%	6%
64	Club for Growth	$17,271,352	0%	95%
65	Credit Suisse Group	$17,191,340	41%	57%
66	United Transportation Union	$17,096,750	87%	11%
67	New York Life Insurance	$16,898,487	49%	50%
68	Raytheon Co	$16,864,289	44%	55%
69	National Rural Electric Cooperative Assn	$16,552,363	47%	52%
70	General Dynamics	$16,549,202	46%	53%
71	Akin, Gump et al	$16,463,510	61%	37%
72	United Steelworkers	$16,426,444	99%	0%
73	American Institute of CPAs	$15,952,635	41%	58%
74	National Air Traffic Controllers Assn	$15,883,050	77%	20%
75	Chevron	$15,826,864	19%	64%
76	Anheuser-Busch	$15,612,613	48%	51%
77	Reynolds American	$15,574,198	22%	77%
78	Exxon Mobil	$15,220,537	13%	85%
79	KPMG LLP	$15,112,328	34%	65%
80	National Cable & Telecommunications Assn	$15,048,560	47%	51%
81	DLA Piper	$14,902,117	68%	31%
82	Merrill Lynch	$14,865,217	37%	62%
83	Wal-Mart Stores	$14,851,004	32%	67%
84	GlaxoSmithKline	$14,625,493	30%	69%
85	CSX Corp	$14,118,661	34%	65%
86	Walt Disney Co	$14,104,107	68%	30%
87	News Corp	$13,917,083	58%	41%
88	American Financial Group	$13,910,355	15%	73%
89	Indep Insurance Agents & Brokers/America	$13,731,200	34%	64%
90	American Health Care Assn	$13,727,858	51%	48%
91	Wells Fargo	$13,639,116	36%	61%
92	Associated Builders & Contractors	$13,577,082	1%	98%
93	Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance	$13,565,554	38%	60%
94	University of California	$13,552,056	89%	9%
95	American Crystal Sugar	$13,309,209	61%	37%
96	WPP Group	$13,257,197	53%	45%
97	American Society of Anesthesiologists	$13,166,537	41%	58%
98	Prudential Financial	$13,051,316	49%	50%
99	Southern Co	$12,973,439	29%	70%
100	National Restaurant Assn	$12,605,181	16%	83%
101	Securities Industry & Financial Mkt Assn	$12,438,248	40%	59%
102	Human Rights Campaign	$12,148,422	89%	8%
103	MetLife Inc	$12,038,047	51%	47%
104	American Optometric Assn	$12,034,433	57%	42%
105	Home Depot	$11,900,495	25%	74%
106	American Academy of Ophthalmology	$11,895,708	50%	49%
107	Natl Active & Retired Fed Employees Assn	$11,802,200	78%	21%
108	Saban Capital Group	$11,683,172	89%	0%
109	Eli Lilly & Co	$11,651,455	31%	67%
110	United Technologies	$11,577,894	45%	52%
111	General Motors	$11,281,497	38%	60%
112	Associated General Contractors	$11,198,897	14%	85%
113	Painters & Allied Trades Union	$11,081,080	85%	12%
114	National Assn of Broadcasters	$11,051,822	44%	55%
115	American Maritime Officers	$11,019,831	46%	53%
116	UST Inc	$10,930,093	22%	77%
117	Ford Motor Co	$10,739,089	38%	60%
118	Skadden, Arps et al	$10,700,094	77%	22%
119	BellSouth Corp	$10,680,784	43%	56%
120	AIG	$10,548,621	49%	50%
121	Seafarers International Union	$10,449,415	83%	15%
122	Exelon Corp	$10,448,670	43%	56%
123	National Cmte to Preserve Social Security & Medicare	$10,391,306	82%	17%
124	Independent Community Bankers of America	$10,367,285	42%	57%
125	Amway/Alticor Inc	$10,312,313	0%	97%
126	Freddie Mac	$10,294,709	43%	56%
127	MBNA Corp	$10,282,913	16%	83%
128	Patton Boggs LLP	$10,134,606	71%	27%
129	American Airlines	$10,071,131	43%	55%
130	American Trucking Assns	$9,975,648	27%	72%
131	American Physical Therapy Assn	$9,795,983	49%	50%
132	Lehman Brothers	$9,729,764	52%	46%
133	Blackstone Group	$9,658,975	46%	51%
134	National Fedn of Independent Business	$9,616,283	6%	93%
135	Greenberg Traurig LLP	$9,546,903	62%	37%
136	Transport Workers Union	$9,531,899	95%	4%
137	American Council of Life Insurers	$9,454,728	38%	61%
138	Amalgamated Transit Union	$9,453,918	93%	6%
139	Harvard University	$9,436,590	87%	12%
140	Archer Daniels Midland	$9,394,067	42%	57%
141	Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn	$9,337,413	43%	56%
142	Fannie Mae	$9,140,977	53%	46%
143	National Rural Letter Carriers Assn	$9,021,100	71%	28%
144	Wachovia Corp	$8,575,944	30%	69%
145	National Cmte for an Effective Congress	$8,447,690	99%	0%
146	Interpublic Group	$8,286,183	66%	32%
147	Marine Engineers Beneficial Assn	$8,155,379	73%	25%
148	Bristol-Myers Squibb	$7,926,699	23%	76%
149	MCI Inc	$7,659,226	45%	54%
150	Bear Stearns	$7,280,973	55%	43%
151	BP	$6,843,520	30%	69%
152	Enron Corp	$6,544,528	28%	71%
153	Andersen	$6,267,045	37%	62%
154	Vivendi	$6,037,717	60%	33%
155	MGM Resorts International	$5,831,055	45%	47%
156	Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp	$5,089,791	39%	60%

Based on data released by the FEC on December 16, 2013.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center. See something wrong or want to suggest an improvement? Contact us.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of Svilen.milev. The image is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.

TEA Party Positioned To Influence Republican Special Election In SW Florida

February 18, 2014/in Featured, News, Politics/by Javier Manjarres

While politicos and pundits continuing to try and gauge how much the TEA Party’s influence has fallen off since the 2010 midterm elections, prospective Republican candidates running for office are taking a cautious approach of aligning themselves with the TEA Party movement, as the Democrat Party will be quick to pounce on them and frame their “extremist” message.

This is certainly the case in Florida’s Republican special congressional election in District 13. The seat is up for grabs after former Congressman Trey Radel resigned amid a cocaine bust scandal, and has fielded five candidates vying to replace him.

Paige Kreegel

Former State Representative Paige Kreegel, who has significant name recognition with voters in the district, came in second behind Radel in the 2012 Republican primary race for Congress, and could have the upper hand in the race to win over the Republican grassroots.

Lizbeth Benacquisto

State Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto, the Senate Majority leader in the Florida Senate, also enjoys district-wide name recognition, and seems to Lizbeth Benacquisto appeal to all factions within that congressional districts Republican electorate. According to some of Benacquisto’s supporters, the Majority leader has a broad network of conservative grassroots support.

Benacquisto has said that her campaign “will be outspent, but will not be outworked.” And then there is Curt Clawson.

Clawson, the self-proclaimed “outsider” and hoopster in the race, is out running a 2010 Rick Scott-style, TV ad-driven congressional campaign, who will outspend Benacquisto and Kreegel.

Curt Clawson

During Clawson’s very first speaking engagement as congressional candidate, Clawson was asked about his support for the TEA Party. Clawson’s response:

I was busy running a company. I was not as, I wasn’t going to Tea Party meetings or a lot of other meetings-I of course was keeping up and felt it, but I have never been to a TEA Party meeting. But if you look at the philosophies, as I understand them-small government, reduce the debt, more freedom. I mean, if those are TEA Party tenants, then I support that. – Curt Clawson

Even though the TEA Party’s influence has diminished over the past several years, mainly due to individuals selfishly co-opting the movement, the conservative grassroots is still the lifeline of the Republican Party, and whomever is able to garner their support in the upcoming special election in Southwest Florida, will be the next member of Congress. You can bank on that.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared on The Shark Tank.

BREAKING NEWS: Fatal Shooting Along U.S.-Mexico Border Near San Diego Involves Border Patrol Agents

February 18, 2014/in Featured, National Security, News/by Dr. Rich Swier

Katie Pavlich reports:

There was a fatal shootout early Tuesday morning along the U.S.-Mexico Border near San Diego involving U.S. Border Patrol Agents. Border Patrol is not confirming at this time who was fatally shot. According to local news outlets, the San Diego County sheriff’s deputies are investigating. More from NBC 7:

NBC 7 has learned a shooting occurred along Otay Mountain Truck Trail near Alta Road, southeast of Otay Reservoir and east of State Route 125.

Deputies confirmed the shooting involved a Border Patrol agent but had no details on what prompted the shooting.

They did confirm one person was killed.

Deputies were loading into four-wheel ATVs to access the scene.

We will keep you updated as things develop.

FL: Sarasota County School Board wants more money to pay teachers for doing less?

February 17, 2014/in Education, Featured, News, Policy, Politics, Taxes/by Dr. Rich Swier

Sarasota County School Board members. Front row: Caroline Zucker, Shirley Brown. Back row: Dr. Carole Todd, Jane Goodwin and Frank Kovach. For a larger view click on the photo.

The School Board of Sarasota County is pushing for the extension of a 1 mill tax on all county property holders on March 25th. They are using school funds to lobby in favor of and promote the 1 mill tax. According to their official Report on the Uses of Referendum Funds since 2002, ”This vote allows the District to maintain existing programs, provide additional programs and continue the District’s commitment to quality education.”

In a previous column I questioned whether the School Board is really committed to a “quality education”. School Board Member Caroline Zucker responded to my column in an email stating, “There u go telling incorrect info.” I replied, “What is incorrect?”. To date Zucker has not answered my question.

Historically the revenue from the 1 mill tax goes directly into teacher’s salaries (see the District Report on the uses of referendum funds since 2002).This is why the School Board holds a special off cycle referendum at a cost to the School District of $.5 million. Doing so suppresses the vote.

However, teachers come out in droves to vote for their pay raise, and the union promotes the referendum via teachers and parents as a must have do-or-die effort to insure a “quality education.”

What the referendum does is make for a “quality union salary and benefit package” for teachers and administrators. For their $.5 million investment the School Board gets an ROI of an estimated $30+ million annually for four years. Not a bad deal but will it lead to a better education for Sarasota County public school children?

There are two issues. The first is that the School Board is all in with Common Core. This means that teachers have little or no control over what is taught, how it is taught, when it is taught and how it is tested. Parents are totally out of the picture. Common Core cuts out the ideal of local control of the education process, leading to a top down approach designed and implemented by the US Department of Education.

Terrence O. Moore, an assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College, states, “The Common Core Standards control the testing and curriculum of public schools and a large number of private schools in over forty states in the nation. Sold to the public as a needed reform, the Common Core nationalizes absurdity, superficiality, and political bias in the American classroom. As a result, the great stories of a great nation are at risk, along with the minds and souls of our children.”

So, teachers will be given what they must teach – in effect and in practice – Sarasota County teachers will be getting paid more, if the referendum passes, for doing much less due to Common Core.

The second issue is the children themselves. Which does research show truly enhances student achievement – teacher salaries or the child’s family?

Rod Thomson in an op-ed writes, “The debate over extending the extra tax for Sarasota County schools needs to be seen in light of the much larger debate over the future of our children and grandchildren and their opportunities for improved lives. In that context, the extra money taken by the school district is not just a waste of taxpayer money. It is a feel-good but ultimately empty distraction that allows us to vote for something without taking any action on the actual underlying, fundamental causes of poor student achievement and lack of upward mobility. But those root causes are hard to correct.”

“An extensive Harvard study was recently released titled ‘Where is the Land of Opportunity?‘ The four researchers concluded that the largest predictor of a child’s positive ability to move up in life is a family with both parents at home. For lack of upward mobility, they wrote, “the strongest and most robust predictor is the fraction of children with single parents. This study piles on top of a snow-capped mountain of data pointing to what all of us really know to be true — the metaphorical elephant in the living room. And spending more money on programs and salaries is simply irrelevant to the driving factor of family,” notes Thomson.

So why doesn’t the Sarasota County School Board recognize this disconnect between teacher salaries and student performance? Why they want to get reelected. Who gets out the vote for them? Why the teacher’s union of course. Are they buying votes? All we can say is that since the referendum was first introduced only one school board member wasn’t re elected – Caroline Zucker. But she ran again and was elected.

Three school board members are up for reelection in 2014. Perhaps that is why they are pushing the 1 mill referendum?

EDITORS NOTE: Stephanie Simon from Politico writes that with states such as Florida, Texas, and Washington state recently deciding not to require courses such as chemistry, physics, Algebra II or a foreign language for high school graduation, they are thumbing their noses at Obama’s call for a “rigorous college-prep curriculum” for all students, supposedly embodied in the Common Core State Standards.

President’s Day 2014: Do you remember when Presidents Upheld the Law?

February 17, 2014/in Featured, News, Policy/by Dr. Rich Swier

Rich Tucker from Heritage writes, “Today is known as ‘President’s Day,’ a three-day weekend retailers use to lend an air of Founding-era seriousness to their sales. But its legal name is Washington’s birthday—and how appropriate to reflect on a President who took his bearings from the Constitution while serving in office.”

George Washington “understood himself to be the President of a Republic in which the people, through their elected representatives in Congress, make laws,” Heritage’s David Azerrad writes. As the chief executive, Washington recognized that his constitutional charge to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” was a duty rather than an optional responsibility to exercise at will. Laws, no matter how unpopular, had to be upheld, so long, of course, as they were constitutional.

Perhaps no law was more despised in Washington’s time than the excise tax on whiskey. It fell especially hard on farmers on the frontier of Pennsylvania, for whom whiskey was the drink of choice and grain the most lucrative crop. Washington saw the farmers’ violent resistance to the tax—the so-called Whiskey Rebellion—as a direct threat to the rule of law.

If “the laws are to be so trampled upon with impunity,” Washington noted, “nothing but anarchy and confusion is to be expected hereafter.” The President’s response was therefore swift and forceful: He personally led more than 12,000 troops to western Pennsylvania and quashed the rebellion.

What a contrast to President Barack Obama’s “I can do whatever I want” attitude toward the rule of law. In light of Washington’s constitutional leadership, Obama’s dereliction of duty when it comes to enforcing Obamacare—today’s most unpopular law and the President’s namesake—is especially clear. The President has unilaterally made changes to the law that was passed by Congress.

7 times Obama did “do whatever I want” during his presidency

Other examples of the President’s selective enforcement of laws duly passed by Congress abound. Among those cited by legal experts Elizabeth Slattery and Andrew Kloster:

Abdicating the Administration’s duty to defend and enforce federal laws.
Gutting the work requirement from welfare reform.
Implementing the DREAM Act granting amnesty to some illegal immigrants by executive fiat.

See more Obama overreach

“We are not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help that they need,” Obama announced last month.

It is inconceivable that such words would have ever come out of President Washington’s mouth. The current occupant of the White House may want to take some time today to read up on how our first and greatest President understood his role.

Read the Morning Bell and more en español every day at Heritage Libertad.

Why don’t Republicans follow their own platform? Isn’t the lesser of two evils still evil?

February 16, 2014/in Featured, News, Policy, Politics/by Dr. Rich Swier

The preamble to the 2012 Republican Party platform reads, “The 2012 Republican Platform is a statement of who we are and what we believe as a Party and our vision for a stronger and freer America.” Many are questioning if Republicans at every level really adhere to their own platform. Some wonder if they have even read it.

Voters lament that they are faced with the choice of voting for the lesser of two evils. But isn’t the lesser of two evils still evil?

The Republican party platform states:

Put simply: The times call for trustworthy leadership and honest talk about the challenges we face. Our nation and our people cannot afford the status quo. We must begin anew, with profound changes in the way government operates; the way it budgets, taxes, and regulates. Jefferson’s vision of a “wise and frugal government” must be restored.

[ … ]

This platform affirms that America has always been a place of grand dreams and even grander realities; and so it will be again, if we return government to its proper role, making it smaller and smarter. If we restructure government’s most important domestic programs to avoid their fiscal collapse. If we keep taxation, litigation, and regulation to a minimum. If we celebrate success, entrepreneurship, and innovation. If we lift up the middle class. If we hand over to the next generation a legacy of growth and prosperity, rather than entitlements and indebtedness.

[ … ]

We possess an owner’s manual: the Constitution of the United States, the greatest political document ever written. That sacred document shows us the path forward. Trust the people. Limit government. Respect federalism. Guarantee opportunity, not outcomes. Adhere to the rule of law. Reaffirm that our rights come from God, are protected by government, and that the only just government is one that truly governs with the consent of the governed.

The platform mentions God eleven times. The Table of Contents lists the following: “We The People: A Restoration of Constitutional Government”; “Reforming Government to Serve the People”; “Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods”; and “American Exceptionalism.”

During an email discussion about how the Republican Party has abandoned social issues with Peter Feaman, the Republican Party of Florida state Committeeman, wrote:

To say Republicans have ignored the social issues is absolutely preposterous.

The RNC changed the start time of their annual meeting last month in Washington so that its members could attend the March for Life rally in Washington last month. Then the RNC hired and paid for busses to take members there and Reince Priebus attended himself.

The 2012 RNC Platform reaffirmed the party’s commitment to life while the Democrat Platform reaffirmed its extreme position on the killing of the unborn.

[ … ]

Also, in 2013, Reince Priebus created a new RNC position entitled Faith Based Outreach. He is Chad Connelly, former Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, now working full-time for the RNC.

Before you spew lies and distortions about the Republican Party, get your facts straight.

You want to insure the control of the Democrat Party at all levels of government? Promote your third party, then watch the country get destroyed.

Tom Trento responded with:

It is almost comical to compare the Republican 2012 Platform with the Democrat Platform, as one was written by adults and the others, by “potheads!” The disparity between the two indicates an enormous cultural shift over the last 30 years. This we know.

But sadly, and I think it is here that Rich wants to focus, many of the current GOP leadership in the Beltway are in more “functional” agreement with the Dem Platform than the Rep Platform!

It is essential to read both platforms and understand the political philosophy of each party and then compare current Republican policy solutions to the Republican political philosophy as articulated in the Platform, which I think is an amazingly wonderful document. It then becomes patently obvious that indeed there is a VERY strong Republican voice that is attacking those who want to affirm the Rep Platform (i.e.TEA Party) while that strong voice wants to water down the very principles that distinguish the GOP from the Potheads!!

There is growing dissatisfaction with Republicans who say one thing and do another. In Florida we have had Charlie Crist (former Republican governor turned Democrat), Senator Marco Rubio who became the Republican Party’s face of amnesty and Rep. Vern Buchanan, co-Chair of the Florida Delegation, who voted on October 16, 2013 to raise the debt ceiling and fully fund Obamacare.

For a growing number of voters the lesser of two evils is still evil. Over 1 million Christians either did not register or did not vote in the 2012 election. President Obama won the state by just over 74,000 votes. Libertarians are becoming the spoilers in races like the District 13 special election.

Perhaps it is time for Republicans to act and vote like Republicans, in adherence with their own party platform?

Click here to read the Democrat Platform and 2012 Republican Party platform.

Mitch McConnell on Debt Ceiling: I ‘Protect’ the Country

Amnesty, legalizing marijuana and gun control: Creating a “cartel of death” in America

February 16, 2014/in Culture War, Featured, Gun Rights, National Security, News, Policy, Politics/by Dr. Rich Swier

There has been much discussion about amnesty for illegal aliens in Congress. Democrats, led by President Obama, want amnesty at all cost. I recently had a conversation with Kelly Kirshner, the former Mayor of Sarasota, FL. He is planning a demonstration to promote “immigration reform”, which is code for amnesty. Kirshner believes he is doing good, when in fact he is promoting policies that will bring violence to America.

Dr. Lawrence W. Reed from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, created the Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy. Reed’s third principle states: Sound [public] policy requires that we consider long-run effects and all people, not simply short-run effects and a few people.

Amnesty (immigration reform) is inextricably linked to efforts to legalize drugs and control gun ownership in America. These three movements are joined at the hip and will, in the long term, lead to a “cartel of death” in America. By not taking into account the long-run effects and all people these policies will wreak havoc on our society, especially our youngest and most vulnerable.

The major Mexican drug cartels. For a larger view click on the map.

Many have documented how our borders are not secure. Dennis Michael Lynch in his documentary “They Come To America” focuses on the land border between the United States and Mexico. Many ignore the border states along the Gulf of Mexico. Drug cartels, like the Gulf Cartel, use these porous borders to come to America transporting not only illegal aliens but also drugs and the certain violence that is part and parcel of the drug business.

There is a push by Libertarians, Democrats and some Republicans to legalize medical marijuana. This effort is only the first step, like in Colorado, to the full legalization of marijuana, like in Florida. By legalizing marijuana you legalize the cartels and the culture of death that comes with them and their drugs. President Obama gave banks permission to do business with marijuana distributors.

Sheila Polk in her op-ed column “Legalized marijuana: Colorado kids are paying the price” writes:

On Jan. 1, Colorado opened its doors to this nation’s first legal sale of recreational marijuana. Lost in the buzz is the documented impact of legal marijuana on Colorado children.

The reality about today’s marijuana, an addictive substance whose average potency has dramatically increased from 3 percent THC in the 1990s to almost 15 percent, should change everything that people think they know about the drug.

[ … ]

Past 30-day use of marijuana by teens 12 to 17 is highest in medical-marijuana states. In Denver between 2004 and 2010, past 30-day users of marijuana ages 12 and up increased 4.3 percent, while the increase for the nation was 0.05 percent.

By 2010, past 30-day use for this age group was 12.2 percent, compared to 6.6 percent for the country. One in six kids who start using marijuana becomes addicted.

Free Marie Winkelman: Pray for Justice Now!

February 14, 2014/in Courts & Law, Culture War, Featured, News/by Dr. Rich Swier

Marie Winkelman’s guardianship has a large cast of characters who benefit from her status as a Ward of the State of Florida, including family members and quasi-family members, as well as a host of attorneys and numerous service providers that were unknown to Marie before she was forced into guardianship. This is the fifth in an investigative series on Marie’s case (see links at the end of this column).

A Large Cast of Attorneys

Judge Deno Economou, 12th Circuit Court, Sarasota, FL.

Marie’s first guardianship attorney, Erika Dine, was appointed by Judge Deno Economou, who single-handedly presides over the probate courts in Manatee and Sarasota Counties, Florida. Dine was also the attorney who represented the guardian (Aging Safely, Inc.) of Al Katz, who was an 89-year-old Holocaust Survivor, as is Marie. See this writer’s previous investigative series on the Al Katz guardianship.

Barry Spivey, Marie’s next attorney, prepared and signed a mediated settlement agreement that he asked Judge Economou to adopt in his incapacity and guardianship order, which declared Marie to be incapacitated and made Sabal Trust Company her Trustee. Spivey never showed the Agreement to Marie before or after it was signed and never told her he had a closed hearing with the Judge to declare Marie incapacitated and put her into guardianship, losing all control of her millions of dollars in trust.

Rebecca Proctor, P.A.

Also attending the secret hearing on December 2, 2013, was Rebecca Proctor, the attorney for Marie’s two guardians, Raymond Millman and Alina Koren, Marie’s sole blood relative, who was rescued by Marie from Poland as a toddler after the Holocaust. Attorney Proctor is a Director of Aging Safely, which is the agency that was Al Katz’s guardian for two months, during which time he went from fully verbal and mobile to “imminent death” status.

Both Proctor and Alina Koren (plus her husband, Dr. Yoram Koren) signed the Mediated Agreement that made Marie’s trust part of her guardianship and transformed it from revocable to irrevocable, thereby sealing the beneficiaries of the trust forever, including Alina Koren. Thus, its primary beneficiaries, Marie’s stepdaughters – Corinne Szychowski and Diane Winkelman – are set to inherit millions of dollars each from the trust.

Quasi-Family Members and Even More Attorneys

Corinne’s husband and Ruttger’s administrator, Robert Szychowski, initiated Marie’s guardianship, which automatically made him the successor trustee to her trust. All of his legal bills and transportation costs to fight Marie in court are paid from Marie’s assets without any oversight by Marie or the court. Robert Szychowski hired two attorneys, Christopher Likens and Kim Bald, who fought to have all of Marie’s civil rights taken from her. Their fees, likely amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, are paid from Marie’s accounts.

Audrey Bear, P.A.

At this time, Marie’s lawyer is Audrey Bear, a friend of Rebecca Proctor and Christopher Likens, who had promised Marie she would litigate her case zealously, but instead asked the court to once again mediate Marie’s incapacity and guardianship behind closed doors, with no record made and no evidence presented on Marie’s behalf. This mediation has been ordered by the court to take place on February 28 in the offices of attorney and mediator, Gary Larsen.

Medical Professionals Added to the Cast Members

Joseph J. Larkin, M.D.

Behind the scenes from the beginning of Marie’s case were medical professionals. Dr. Joseph Larkin, Marie’s physician, sent visiting nurse, Lori Gaetano, to Marie’s residence, and Gaetano then recommended a psychiatrist, Dr. Miguel Rivera, to see Marie. In early July 2013, Gaetano accompanied Rivera to evaluate Marie without telling her the purpose of their visit. It was Rivera’s subsequent report that was used by Robert Szychowski in court to initiate Marie’s guardianship. Rivera was later paid more than $900 from Marie’s assets by Robert Szychowski, who later hired Gaetano to be Marie’s “care manager,” at her expense without her knowledge for months.

Also hired by Robert Szychowski is an agency (Bright Star) that visits Marie twice everyday, although Marie is in good health for her age and has outstanding health for a Holocaust Survivor. Somehow, unbeknownst to Marie, Lori Gaetano is still being employed at Marie’s expense to supervise this staff of nursing assistants.

In a depressed economy, at least dozens of professionals are faring very well from fair Marie.

RELATED COLUMNS:

The taking of Marie Winkelman 1-2-3

Florida places Holocaust survivor in guardianship without due process

Marie Winkelman’s Case demands Litigation, not Mediation, to protect her Life, Liberty and Property?

Exposed: Florida’s Judicial Star Chamber

Anonymous’ hackers being used by Russian Intelligence?

February 13, 2014/in Featured, National Security, News, Uncategorized/by Dr. Rich Swier

Jeffrey Roman from Data Breach Today reported on the 2012 cyber attack against the Sheriff of Lake County, Florida computers. Roman wrote, “Hacktivists associated with Anonymous have reportedly released sensitive information from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. According to WKMG Local 6, hackers who came from an Internet server in Russia posted 16,000 files online, which include 911 calls, witness and victim statements, names of young crime victims, and names of Central Florida SWAT team members and their personal phone numbers, as well as the SWAT unit’s operating guide, the number of team members and number of snipers.”

“The hacking group LulzKnightz, which associates itself with AntiSec and Anonymous, has claimed responsibility, and took to a Pastebin page to post the data online, which equals 4.7 gigabytes of information,” notes Roman.

In a statement posted to that page, LulzKnightz explained its justification for the attack, saying, “More evidence that the illegitimate justice system protects their own, who get away with rampant corruption and theft, while the police apply unconstitutional profiling and pressure in their efforts to raise their arrest quotas and keep homeland security money rolling in.”

But is this attack about exposing an “illegitimate justice system”, “rampant corruption and theft” or something else?

Seal of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service – Служба Внешней Разведки

Who was really behind this attack on a Florida sheriff’s computers and why? The who: The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service – Служба Внешней Разведки. The why: International espionage.

The Lake County Sheriff’s computers were targeted, as are tens of thousands of other law enforcement computers, by a foreign government – Russia. The purpose is to gather intelligence. Russia monitors groups like LulzKnighz, AntiSec and Anonymous. In some cases, Russia embeds its own people into these and other hacker organizations to gather needed intelligence. These groups become a cover for Russian intelligence operations. As one expert in cyber warfare put it, “Some of these hackers may be ignorant of the fact they are being used, but they are not innocent.”

In this particular case the data traveled to an Adidas server in Romania and then to servers in Moscow. Foreign intelligence services monitor hacker groups daily and when they detect a breach, such as what happened in the Lake County Sheriff case, they tag along and take what they really want. Who gets the blame? Not the Russians, of course, but Anonymous who is more than happy to take the credit. The consequences of these attacks have a direct impact on US national security.

The Russians wanted the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) usernames and passwords on the Lake County Sheriff’s computers. Why? Because many of the members of the JTTF use the same username and password for their own department computers. This gives Russia access to a variety of federal computer systems like that of the FBI.

Anonymous is being used by Russian intelligence. Some members of Anonymous, and other groups, are actually plants. Others do it as proxies, a.k.a. spies, being paid by the Russians in Bitcoins for their work. Some just do it for the fun of exposing an “illegitimate justice system” and unknowingly are aiding and abetting treason against the United States.

Perhaps Anonymous needs to vett who their members really are? Some of them are part of Russia’s “illegitimate justice system”.

EDITORS NOTE: The feature photo is of members of the ‘Anonymous’ group travel on the London Underground system between Scientology’s Queen Victoria Street and Tottenham Court Road offices. The masks are those of everyman ‘V’ from the film ‘V for Vendetta’. It is courtesy of James Harrison.

U.S. drops to 46th in Press Freedom

February 13, 2014/in Featured, Government Transparency, News, Policy/by Jihad Watch

It’s worse than that, too. Reporters Without Borders didn’t take into account the mainstream media’s voluntary self-censorship and refusal to report on the truth about Islam and jihad, its demonization and smearing of foes of jihad terror, and its cowardly capitulation to Islamic supremacist intimidation and thuggery, adopting what are essentially Sharia blasphemy laws for fear of offending Muslims or provoking a riot.

If the freedom of speech is ever fully extinguished in the United States, as it could be far more easily than most people think, the responsibility will lie to a tremendous degree with those who should have been its foremost guardians: the mainstream media.

Allen Drury’s bleak and dystopian 1973 Cold War novel Come Nineveh, Come Tyre envisioned a weak, wishful thinking-driven, fondly Leftist U.S. President, Ted Jason, as given to fantasy-based policymaking as the present incumbent, presiding over the bloodless surrender of the United States to the Soviet Union. The media adores President Jason, cheerleads for him energetically, defames and denigrates his foes relentlessly, and does everything it can to make him look good, right up until the point when a few of them realize that the freedom of speech is gone, and they have outlived their usefulness.

In one scene, the nation’s top TV news anchors, columnists, and newspaper publishers, having turned against the President and his program far too late, are arrested wholesale and committed to St. Elizabeth’s insane asylum in southwest Washington, “on complaint,” scream the headlines, “of Domestic Tranquility Board and Justice Department Special Branch.” The group of once-powerful media giants is herded past the asylum’s gate:

As it passed out of sight and the heavy gate began to close, one last anguished cry, so desperate and filled with pain that it would have moved the observer, had observer there been, came from the lips of [famed columnist] Walter Dobius.

“We did it!” he cried. “We did it! We d–”

But who he meant by “we,” and what it was that he thought “we” had done, was never to be divulged, for at that point he was summarily, and no doubt roughly, choked off. The gates clanged shut and no further sound escaped the walls of St. Elizabeth’s.

When the freedom of speech is finally gone in the United States, will Christiane Amanpour, or Bob Smietana, or Niraj Warikoo, or Kari Huus, or Alex Kane, or Max Blumenthal, or Michael Kruse, or Anne Barnard, or Scott Shane, or Mark Hicks, or any other of the nakedly biased “journalists” who have in recent years sided with Islamic supremacist enemies of free speech and abetted their defamation of foes of jihad terror and defenders of free speech, be lamenting, “We did it!” as the gate clangs shut on them? Or will they be eagerly jockeying for power among the new authoritarian elites? More likely the latter.

“Report: US Drops to 46th in Press Freedom,” by Taheshah Moise for Breitbart, February 12 (thanks to Anne Crockett):

According to Reporters Without Borders, America dropped 13 spots on the World Press Freedom Index 2014, designed to rank 180 countries in terms of the freedoms journalists enjoy and the regulations placed on them by government authorities.

The Index, published Feb. 11, shows that America now ranks number 46, below countries like South Africa and France. The Index has been published annually since 2002, but the 2014 ranking for America marks one of the most significant declines ever reported.

According to Christophe Deloire, the Reporters Without Borders Secretary General, the World Freedom Index is based on seven criteria: the level of abuses, the extent of pluralism, media independence, the environment and self-censorship, the legislative framework, transparency and infrastructure.

Investigative journalist James Risen believes the Index rightly shows the drop in American journalists’ freedoms due to crackdowns on reporters and whistleblowers and the efforts of the Obama administration and the National Security Agency to limit the amount of information America has concerning the “War on Terror” and other subjects.

“I think 2013 will go down in history as the worst year for press freedom in the United States modern history,” James Risen said.

Risen, who has reported for the New York Times since 1998, said he has personally felt some of the backlash of the guarded Obama administration and has seen some of his colleagues suffer repercussions as well.

Rather than pursue journalists, the Obama administration has focused on their sources—the two most scrutinized whistleblowers being Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden.

“We have an administration that came in claiming that it was going to be the most transparent in history when in fact it is one of the most secretive in history, and certainly the most aggressive anti-press administration in modern American history,” Risen said….

EDITORS NOTE: The map featured in this column is courtesy of Reporters Without Borders.

Boehner gives Barack a Blank Check

February 12, 2014/in Featured, News, Policy, Politics/by Dr. Rich Swier

US national debt clock / billboard. Picture was taken on April 19, 2008 so add approximately $1.5 billion per day to get to the current amount.

Amy Payne from The Foundry reports:

Remember all those debt limit fights? Well, apparently Congress got tired of fighting. So now they’re working toward doing away with the debt limit altogether.

In recent years, conservatives fought to get at least some spending cuts, to begin putting the budget on a path to balance—after all, raising the debt ceiling means Congress has spent too much. Cutting spending before increasing the debt limit is necessary if Congress is to exercise some control over the debt.

But not this year. No one put up a fight this time—so Congress is essentially handing President Obama a blank check for the entire year.

“With almost $17.3 trillion in national debt, failing to put a debt limit in place to protect taxpayers from even more reckless spending by Congress is beyond irresponsible,” Heritage’s Romina Boccia, the Grover M. Hermann Fellow, told The Foundry.

That’s $140,000 per household, by the way.

Watch the Foundry explain in one minute what this “blank check” means:

[youtube]http://youtu.be/BLdjCUcrBFQ[/youtube]

“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, ‘the buck stops here.’ Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.”– Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image was taken on April 19, 2008 by Jesper Rautell Balle. Since this photo was take the national debt has risen over $6.6 trillion.

GOP leaders help Senate pass large increase in debt limit

Allen West: If Governor Scott does not “renounce Common Core” he will lose in November

February 12, 2014/in Education, Elections, Featured, News, Policy/by Dr. Rich Swier

Dr. Karen R. Effrem, MD from the Florida Stop Common Core Coalition (FSCCC)writes:

“During the [Educational Policy] conference, Colonel West also did an interview with the Report Card, and had a stern warning for Governor Scott and the Republican establishment that seem to be trying to do a stealth implementation of Common Core without really changing anything:

“Colonel West stated: ‘If Gov. Scott does not clearly renounce the Common Core for Florida, he WILL lose the upcoming election. The Republican Clubs and the Republican Executive Committees are overwhelmingly opposed to Common Core.'”

Chad Lincoln in a Facebook post states, “It’s rumored that Scott is going to wait for Crist to take a hard position. Then Scott will match it and take the issue to the sidelines.”

FCCC gives the following update on education related legislation for the 2014 session:

STANDARDS – HB 25 by Rep. Debbie Mayfield (R – Vero Beach) still has not been heard in committee and there is no senate companion bill YET.

On the other side, Rep. Janet Adkins and the K-12 Subcommittee passed the “Common Core Cover-Up” bill, AKA “Lipstick on a Pig” bill, PCB TKS 14-01, that merely removes references to Common Core from statute and changes the name to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards or Florida Standards. This matches the cosmetic and “minor” changes that the commissioner is presenting to the State Board of Education for rubber stamping on February 18th.

A full hearing report,including a link video of testimony by Randy Osborne, Catherine Baer, and Meredith Mears, and media coverage are available on our website.

DATA COLLECTION – HB 195 by Rep. Jake Raburn (R-Valrico) and SB 189 by Senator Dorothy Hukill (R-Port Orange) had their first hearings in committee this last week. These identical bills seek to ban the collection of biometric and other sensitive data on students. We are grateful for the efforts of these legislators and look forward to working with them to make this legislation the best that it can be.

Nationally, support continues to pour in for our statement against the deceptive data privacy letter from Commissioner Stewart and 33 other chief state school officers. We are up to 8 national and 36 state groups from 29 different states.

CURRICULUM – SB 864 by Senator Alan Hays (R – Umatilla) that seeks to put curriculum decisions at the local level was just filed a few days ago. We appreciate his efforts. A detailed analysis will be coming soon.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image is courtesy of Gage Skidmore.

Update – Boy Dies While Family Still Hassled About FCAT

S.Res.345: A resolution strongly supporting the restoration and protection of State authority and flexibility in establishing and defining challenging student academic standards and assessments

Occupy Wall Street “Tranarchist” who works for Google, wants to crowdfund private militia

February 11, 2014/in Featured, News, Politics/by Dr. Rich Swier

Justine Alexandra Roberts Tunney. Photo courtesy of OWS website.

Remember the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement? Remember when Nancy Pelosi stated, “God bless them [OWS] for their spontaneity. It’s young, it’s spontaneous, it’s focused and it’s going to be effective.” Remember when they defecated on police cars, trashed public parks across America and raped their own members?

Well now Yasha Levine from Pandodaily asks, “Remember Justine Tunney? The OWS-anarchist-turned-cultist-Google-employee who bashed my reporting on Google’s for-profit surveillance? Well, today she hit the big time.”

According to the official OWS website, “Justine Alexandra Roberts Tunney is the President and co-founder of OSN, a Software Engineer at Google, and a self-described ‘Champagne Tranarchist’. She wants to see a world revolution, starting with a popular uprising against the financial executives who plunder society without contributing any social utility. She hopes that her work will result in a friendlier and more compassionate society.”

Levine writes:

Over the last few days, Tunney has been causing a Twitter outrage tsunami after she took full control of the main Occupy Wall Street (OWS) Twitter account, claimed to be the founder of OWS and then proceeded to tweet out stream of ridiculous anarcho-corporatist garbage. She railed against welfare, described the government as “just another corporation,” argued poverty was not a political problem but “an engineering problem” and told politicians to “get out of the way.” She also debunked what she thought was a misconception: people thought OWS activists were protesting against concentrated corporate power, and that, she claims, is simply not true.

As I wrote before, Tunney’s sudden epiphany that not all corporations are evil just happened to coincide with her decision to take a well-paid job at Google. Since then she has become an astroturfer par excellence for the company, including showing up in a comment section to bash my reporting on Google’s vast for-profit surveillance operation. “It never ceases to amaze me how far people have to stretch in order to denounce the one corporation that gives away everything for free,” she wrote.

[ … ]

And this week Tunney’s shift away from her former Occupy pals broke the Twitter troll barrier. Her tweets caused such a social media backlash that even Buzzfeed’s Rosie Gray felt compelled to cover it:

Occupy Wall Street is dead — but its Twitter account is alive, and it’s become a fascinating hotbed of infighting between rival factions of the group that once slept out in New York’s Zuccotti Park.

Activist Justine Tunney, a Google engineer, has wrested control of the main @OccupyWallSt Twitter account away from other activists and is taking shots at important figures from the movement, including academic David Graeber, considered by some to be the intellectual father of Occupy. Though Tunney founded the account in 2011, other activists once had access to it.

The big question: who founded Occupy?