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Sunday, July 31, 2016

JACK MARKELL, GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE TAKES ISSUE WITH ANTI-COMMON CORE WRITER/SPEAKER, PERPETUATES MYTHS & LIES HE HELPED CREATE

MARKELL ATTACKS ONE OF HIS OWN FELLOW SOCIALISTS WHO KNOWS & EXPOSES 
THE TRUTH ABOUT COMMON CORE

JACK MARKELL, GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE TAKES ISSUE WITH ANTI-COMMON CORE WRITER/SPEAKER
SEE: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/31/opinion/sunday/common-core-regrets.html?_r=1republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
EXCERPT: 
To the Editor: Re “Renouncing the Common Core” (Sunday Review, July 24):
Diane Ravitch perpetuates myths about the Common Core and doesn’t match reality. In Delaware — and in a majority of states — students of all backgrounds and income levels are rising to the challenge of higher standards and are gaining the skills they need to meet the demands of college and the workplace. While assessments aligned to the Common Core are just one measure of student performance, they are showing progress.
Recent test results in Delaware show that students improved nearly across the board in both English and mathematics. We also saw improvement among our students with disabilities, English language learners, low-income and minorities. The hard work of teachers, parents and students is paying off.
Teachers helped write the Common Core standards, and while their implementation has not been perfect, teachers overwhelmingly support them.
Let’s not turn our backs on the great work of our educators, students and schools. There is much more to be done, but we should build on the progress we’re making together, not turn backward.
JACK MARKELL
Dover, Del.
The writer, Delaware’s governor, served as co-chairman for the bipartisan, state-led effort that developed the Common Core state standards.
__________________________________________________

The Common Core Costs Billions 

and Hurts Students

BY DIANE RAVITCH
SEE: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/opinion/sunday/the-common-core-costs-billions-and-hurts-students.htmlrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

FOR 15 years, since the passage of George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind act, education reformers have promoted standardized testing, school choice, competition and accountability (meaning punishment of teachers and schools) as the primary means of improving education. For many years, I agreed with them. I was an assistant secretary of education in George H. W. Bush’s administration and a member of three conservative think tanks.
But as I watched the harmful effects of No Child Left Behind, I began to have doubts. The law required that all schools reach 100 percent proficiency as measured by state tests or face harsh punishments. This was an impossible goal. Standardized tests became the be-all and end-all of education, and states spent billions on them. Social scientists have long known that the best predictor of test scores is family income. Yet policy makers encouraged the firing of thousands of teachers and the closing of thousands of low-scoring public schools, mostly in poor black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
As the damage escalated, I renounced my support for high-stakes testing and charter schools. Nonetheless, I clung to the hope that we might agree on national standards and a national curriculum. Surely, I thought, they would promote equity since all children would study the same things and take the same tests. But now I realize that I was wrong about that, too.
Six years after the release of our first national standards, the Common Core, and the new federal tests that accompanied them, it seems clear that the pursuit of a national curriculum is yet another excuse to avoid making serious efforts to reduce the main causes of low student achievement: poverty and racial segregation.
The people who wrote the Common Core standards sold them as a way to improve achievement and reduce the gaps between rich and poor, and black and white. But the promises haven’t come true. Even in states with strong common standards and tests, racial achievement gaps persist. Last year, average math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress declined for the first time since 1990; reading scores were flat or decreased compared with a decade earlier.
The development of the Common Core was funded almost entirely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was a rush job, and the final product ignored the needs of children with disabilities, English-language learners and those in the early grades. It’s no surprise that there has been widespread pushback.
In 2009 President Obama announced Race to the Top, a competition for $4.35 billion in federal grant money. To qualify, states had to adopt “college and career ready standards,” a requirement that was used to pressure them into adopting national standards. Almost every state applied, even before the specifics of the Common Core were released in June 2010.
The federal government, states and school districts have spent billions of dollars to phase in the standards, to prepare students to take the tests and to buy the technology needed to administer them online. There is nothing to show for it. The Race to the Top demoralized teachers, caused teacher shortages and led to the defunding of the arts and other subjects that were not tested. Those billions would have been better spent to reduce class sizes, especially in struggling schools, to restore arts and physical education classes, to rebuild physically crumbling schools, and to provide universal early childhood education.
Children starting in the third grade may spend more than 10 hours a year taking state tests — and weeks preparing for them. Studies show that students perform better on written tests than on online tests, yet most schools across the nation are assessing their students online, at enormous costs, because that is how the Common Core tests are usually delivered. Computer glitches are common. Sometimes the server gets overloaded and breaks down. Entire states, like Alaska, have canceled tests because of technical problems. More than 30 states have reported computer testing problems since 2013, according to FairTest, a testing watchdog.
Standardized tests are best at measuring family income. Well-off students usually score in the top half of results; students from poor homes usually score in the bottom. The quest to “close achievement gaps” is vain indeed when the measure of achievement is a test based on a statistical norm. If we awarded driver’s licenses based on standardized tests, half the adults in this country might never receive one. The failure rates on the Common Core tests are staggeringly high for black and Hispanic children, students with disabilities and English-language learners. Making the tests harder predictably depresses test scores, creating a sense of failure and hopelessness among young children.
If we really cared about improving the education of all students, we would give teachers the autonomy to tailor instruction to meet the needs of the children in front of them and to write their own tests. We would insist that students in every school had an equal opportunity to learn in well-maintained schools, in classes of reasonable size taught by expert teachers. Anyone who wants to know how students in one state compare with students in other states can get that information from the N.A.E.P., the existing federal test.
What is called “the achievement gap” is actually an “opportunity gap.” What we need are schools where all children have the same chance to learn. That doesn’t require national standards or national tests, which improve neither teaching nor learning, and do nothing to help poor children at racially segregated schools. We need to focus on that, not on promoting failed ideas.

Diane Ravitch, a historian of education at New York University, is the author of “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.”
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SEE ALSO:
http://spectator.org/ravitch-right-on-common-core-wrong-on-everything-else/


CALIFORNIA TO PROCLAIM AUGUST "MUSLIM APPRECIATION & AWARENESS MONTH"

CALIFORNIA: 
A STATE THAT HAS MORE THAN A FEW QUIRKS
QUIRK IN HIS EFFEMINATE VOICE: 
"I HAVEN'T BEEN A VIRGIN 
FOR ABOUT 45 YEARS":

CALIFORNIA TO PROCLAIM AUGUST 
"MUSLIM APPRECIATION & AWARENESS MONTH" 
BY ROBERT SPENCER
SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/07/california-to-proclaim-august-muslim-appreciation-and-awareness-monthrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

This is being done at the behest of Hamas-linked CAIR. Is Assemblymember Bill Quirk aware that Hamas-linked CAIR is an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas terror funding case — so named by the Justice Department? CAIR officials have repeatedly refused to denounce Hamas and Hizballah as terrorist groups. Several former CAIR officials have been convicted of various crimes related to jihad terror. CAIR’s cofounder and longtime Board chairman (Omar Ahmad), as well as its chief spokesman (Ibrahim Hooper), have made Islamic supremacist statements. (Ahmad denies this, but the original reporter stands by her story.) A California chapter distributed a poster telling Muslims not to talk to the FBI, and a Florida chapter distributed pamphlets with the same message. CAIR has opposed virtually every anti-terror measure that has been proposed or implemented and has been declared a terror organization by the United Arab Emirates.
Does Quirk know or care about any of that?
Meanwhile, when do the families of the victims of jihad get their moment in the sun? When is Victims of Jihad Appreciation and Awareness Month?
And will there be special celebrations of Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month in San Bernardino?
#‎CAIR‬: California State Assembly to Proclaim August as ‘Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month’
(SACRAMENTO, CA, 7/29/16) – On Monday, August 1, the California chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) will join Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) in the presentation of House Resolution 59, which recognizes the month of August 2016 as “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month.”
WHAT: Presentation of HR 59, to Recognize August 2016 as “Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month
WHEN: Program begins at 11:30 a.m.; Resolution Presentation, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Program – Capitol Room 2163; Resolution Presentation – Assembly Floor
CONTACT: CAIR-Sacramento Valley Programs Consultant Maheen Ahmed, 916.605.6099 mahmed@sacval.cair.com; CAIR-Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim Elkarra, 916.441.6269 belkarra@cair.com
“I am proud to celebrate the first ever Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month by honoring generations of Muslim Americans for their many social, cultural, and economic contributions to California,” Assemblymember Quirk stated. “The rhetoric surrounding this election makes the presentation of this resolution more important for me,” he said. “It is appropriate to acknowledge and promote awareness of the myriad invaluable contributions of Muslim Americans in California and across the country, and extend to them the respect and camaraderie every American deserves.”
CAIR-CA’s recently-released Civil Rights Report indicates that bias incidents spiked by 58 percent between 2014 and 2015, which is attributed to public hostility generated by international acts of violence and hateful rhetoric utilized by candidates since the start of the election cycle.
A total of 1,556 incidents were reported to CAIR-California over the course of the 2015-year. These included complaints involving: employment discrimination, federal law enforcement questioning, housing discrimination, immigration issues, hate crimes, school bullying, and several categories.
“During these difficult times of increased anti-Muslim rhetoric and hate incidents, Assemblymember Quirk’s resolution and recognition of Muslim Americans is uplifting for our community and immensely appreciated,” said CAIR-Sacramento Valley Executive Director Basim Elkarra. “It is truly a historic moment for all Californians.”
________________________________________________________
MAN OR MYTH?

Saturday, July 30, 2016

REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS DIED AWAITING CARE~OBAMA SPENDS $100 MILLION EVERY HOUR OF EVERY DAY

REPORT REVEALS V.A. SPENT MILLIONS ON ART & SCULPTURES WHILE VETERANS 
DIED AWAITING CARE
BY RAVEN CLABOUGH
SEE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/health-care/item/23748-report-reveals-va-spent-millions-on-art-while-veterans-died-awaiting-carerepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

An oversight report by an independent taxpayer watchdog into the Veterans Affairs administration reveals more troubling information connected to the VA scandal, Fox News reports. According to the report's findings, the VA spent $20 million on artwork and sculptures and added nearly 40,000 new jobs, though just one in 11 were medical positions, all while more than a thousand veterans died awaiting medical care.
In 2014, the Veterans Administration became the subject of significant controversy after reports exposed that the Phoenix facility had been altering its scheduling books and that at least 40 veterans had died while awaiting care. Reports later revealed similar issues with lengthy waiting times in at least 10 states. Investigation into the Veterans Affairs wait-time scandal has revealed a number of startling revelations, including evidence of fraud and regulatory violations related to scheduling issues at over 50 VA medical facilities.
Multiple investigations ultimately found that more than 1,000 veterans have died while waiting to be seen by a doctor, and employees who dared to blow the whistle on conditions at the facilities have received retaliation while many of those responsible have virtually avoided punishment.
And just when it seems that the VA scandal has been fully explored and exposed, more disturbing revelations appear.
An oversight report by taxpayer watchdog group Open the Books and COX Media Washington, D.C., entitled “The VA Scandal Two Years Later,” reveals that while veterans had been waiting for care and facilities were altering its scheduling books to cover up the lengthy waiting lists, the VA was instead utilizing millions of dollars in financial resources to improve the artistic ambiance of its facilities, among other things.
The seven-page report is based on data obtained through Freedom of Information requests and examines the spending that took place at the VA during the same time period in which the VA has been accused of doctoring patient waiting times and allowing veterans to perish while they awaited care. The report reveals that an exorbitant amount of money was spent on artwork and sculptures, including at facilities wherein the patients were blind.
In an editorial for Forbes, Adam Andrzejewski, founder and CEO of Open the Books, draws attention to the report's findings:
In the now-infamous VA scandal of 2012-2015, the nation was appalled to learn that 1,000 veterans died while waiting to see a doctor. Tragically, many calls to the suicide assistance hotline were answered by voicemail. The health claim appeals process was known as "the hamster wheel" and the appointment books were cooked in seven of every ten clinics.
Yet, in the midst of these horrific failings the VA managed to spend $20 million on high-end art over the last ten years — with $16 million spent during the Obama years.
Items purchased by the VA included two sculptures costing $670,000, which were placed at the new Palo Alto Polytrauma and Blind Rehabilitation Center (shown).
“Blind veterans can’t see fancy sculptures, and all veterans would be happier if they could just see a doctor,” Andrzejewski opines.
The report primarily underscores that whatever the reason for the lengthy waiting times at VA facilities, it appears that it is not because of a lack of money.
The VA has in the past defended many purchases of art as being part of "healing gardens" to help soothe wounded soldiers to make them feel comfortable and heal.
The oversight report notes that during the same period of time on which the scandal is focused, nearly $100 billion in salaries and bonuses were paid out to just over 350,000 VA employees. Furthermore, the report found that between 2012 and 2015, the VA added 39,454 new positions to its payroll, of which just one in 11 were “medical officers,” also known as doctors.
Meanwhile, despite the attention that the scandal has received, 500,000 veterans remain on waiting lists for appointments.
Sadly, though the report was published in May of this year, it is only now getting some limited media attention.
_______________________________________________________
Under Barack Obama, National Debt Increases $100 Million Every Hour of Every Day

DONALD TRUMP DELIVERS SCATHING RESPONSE TO HILLARY CLINTON & DNC

Trump Slams Hillary DNC Speech: ‘Corruption And Devastation Follows Her’
Donald Trump Delivers Scathing Response To Hillary Clinton, DNC at Press Conference 7/27/16
Streamed live on Jul 27, 2016
Wednesday, July 27, 2016: Full replay of Donald Trump's remarks at a press conference in Doral, FL at the Crystal Ballroom at Trump National Doral.

TRUMP SLAMS HILLARY DNC SPEECH: ‘CORRUPTION AND DEVASTATION 

FOLLOWS HER’

GOP Nominee's campaign denounces Clinton's “globalist agenda"

BY STEVE WATSON
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/trump-slams-hillary-dnc-speech-corruption-and-devastation-follows-her/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

GOP nominee Donald Trump immediately reacted to Hillary Clinton’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, sending out a series of scathing tweets, hitting her on her economic and foreign policies.
While Clinton referred to Trump several times during her speech, Trump slammed “Hillary’s refusal to mention radical Islam”said she is “owned by Wall Street” and declared that her vision of the future “is a borderless world where working people have no power, no jobs, no safety”.
Trump slammed Hillary for being soft on the threat of terrorism, noting that Americans’ “way of life is under threat by Radical Islam and Hillary Clinton cannot even bring herself to say the words.”
The GOP nominee also focused on Clinton’s hawkish nature and her role as Secretary of State, overseeing regime change in the Middle East.
“Hillary’s wars have unleashed destruction, terrorism and ISIS across the world.” Trump declared.
In a final tweet, Trump urged that “no one has worse judgment than Hillary Clinton – corruption and devastation follows her wherever she goes.”
Clinton referred to Trump during her speech, asking her supporters to “Imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis… A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”
Trump’s senior policy adviser Stephen Miller also chimed in on Hillary’s speech, describing it as “an insulting collection of clichés and recycled rhetoric.”
“She spent the evening talking down to the American people she’s looked down on her whole life,” Miller said.
“Hillary Clinton says America is stronger together. But in Hillary Clinton’s America, millions of people are left out in the cold.” Miller added, also denouncing Hillary’s “globalist agenda” and saying her keynote address was “a speech delivered from a fantasy universe, not the reality we live in today”.
The Trump campaign also sent out 15 different email shots during Clinton’s hour long speech, all containing the opening line “Hillary’s With Us”, before hitting her on a range of topics.
Examples included “Hillary’s With Us … If You’re A Clinton Foundation Donor (Goldman Sachs Edition)” to “Hillary’s With Us … If You Break The Rules (Secret Server Edition).”
The emails all contained links to news reports and videos documenting Clinton’s involvement in scandals and controversy.
Meanwhile, leftist apologists for Clinton have accused Trump of ‘treason’ for saying that Russia should share Clinton’s 30,000 deleted emails.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said Wednesday, adding “I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press.”
The Trump campaign noted that it was laughable to suggest Trump should be charged for treason for pointing out that Clinton’s homemade server left classified material open to being hacked, while Hillary also illegally deleted the material after the FBI began investigating.



FETHULLAH GULEN, IMAM OF POCONO MOUNTAINS ISLAMIC CULT / TERROR HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT~TARGET: AMERICAN CHILDREN AT THEIR CHARTER SCHOOLS

Gülen: 'Explode yourselves like a bomb against the U.S.'

Published on Dec 22, 2014
A shocking audio record from 23 November 1979 of Fethullah Gülen has been found. Gülen was the subject of a recent arrest warrant for founding and managing a terror organization and is expected to be requested for extraction from the U.S.

In the audio record, Gülen makes a call for terror about Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, and urges Muslims to use violence against the U.S. and non-muslims in a speech given in Bornova Mosque, Izmir.

TERROR HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT~
TARGET: AMERICAN CHILDREN
By Debra Rae
July 30, 2016
NewsWithViews.com
Target: Innocent Children
Events surrounding the July 2016 coup in Turkey befuddle onlookers.[1] In its wake, thousands of political enemies to Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erodgen were arrested or purged, and public sector employees were prevented from exiting the country. Erodgen opportunistically declared a state of emergency, thereby facilitating heavy-handed authoritarian rule.[2]
Straightaway Erodgen fingered Fethullah Gülen[3] as the coup’s mastermind. At the time, Gülen’s followers held important positions within judicial, military, and political spheres.[4] Called the “Parallel State” by President Erodgen, the Gülen (Hiznet) Movement[5] has spurred controversy for years. Some even credit Gülen with “running Turkey” from the Poconos.
An Internet web cam preacher, this self-proclaimed “living prophet” is said by many to be a moderate-progressive advocate for tolerance and interfaith dialogue, yet Erodgen alleges Gülen orchestrated the coup from self-imposed exile within the guarded, gated compound of a small Pennsylvania town in the Poconos Mountains.
Fetullah Gülen: Recluse Humanitarian and Scapegoat, or Radical Revolutionary?
Ostensibly to fight “poverty, disunity, and ignorance” under leadership of their esteemed imam, several hundreds of followers live with Gülen at the Golden Generation Worship and Retreat Center in the Poconos. While advocates laud Gülen as a charismatic cleric, scholar, and humanitarian, others label the imam and his five million devotees a “sect” or “cult.”
United by faith, Gülen and Erdogan were one-time allies—this, during the rise of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). After assuming power (2002), Erdogan protected Gülen's opaque businesses, but no longer. Today the two luminaries purportedly disdain one another. Since 2013, when Erdogan closed Gülen’s tutoring centers, the Turkish government has scapegoated the movement for almost every tragedy, failure, and/or conflict in Turkey.
In the mean time, Foreign Policy magazine distinguished Gülen as the world’s Top Public Intellectual (2008); thereafter, he received the New York-based EastWest Institute’s Peace Award (2011). In 2013, Gülen made it onto theTIME 100 List of the most influential people in the world. He was awarded the Gandhi-KingIkeda Award for peace (2015), has held court with the Pope, is praised by Bill Clinton, heartily endorsed by the CIA, and unquestioned by state and local school boards.[6] What’s not to like?
Here’s the rub. Countless observers, including the FBI, allege that Gülen’s “peace movement” needs to be taken seriously as a “radical threat.” Among America’s top experts on Turkey and the Middle East former CIA agent Graham Fuller takes exception. With Fuller’s endorsement, Fethullah Gülen gained access to our country, purportedly for needed healthcare. When asked by Erodgen to return Gülen to Turkey, Fuller responded, “no,” and President Obama agreed. Despite controversy associated with his namesake movement, Gülen had been awarded extended visa status.
Revolution Hidden in Plain Sight
The FBI determined Fethullah Gülen to be a “radical Islamist.” The network is outlawed in Russia and Uzbekistan, and it’s under investigation in the Netherlands. Yet friends of Gülen in Obama’s White House, the CIA, and Clinton’s State Department prevented the FBI from indicting and deporting Gu¨len.
This Turkey-indicted, exiled imam is credited with establishing a lucrative network of charter schools—by definition, deregulated, unaccountable, privately managed public schools that are partially funded by American taxpayers. Incredibly, Texans eschew Common Core, but nonetheless welcome fifty-two of Gülen’s madrasas. Ohio welcomes seventeen.
Critics contend that H-1B visas were designed for companies to employ highly skilled, temporary foreign workers in biotechnology, chemistry, engineering, and other specialized fields. In reality, no one applies for more H-1B visas than Fethullah Gülen, who’s bringing in large (and growing) numbers of Turkish teachers, K-12. The object, many contend, is to “force feed” American children “radical Islamic” educational programs and incentives.
Despite alleged immigration fraud—not to mention FBI raids, possible scandal involving a national Internet program, bribes, and kickbacks—some 155 Gülen charter schools in twenty-five states (and counting) cost American taxpayers about $150 million each year; plus, no deportations, nor arrests, have ensued. Sadly, this anomaly is in tenor with Brennan’s CIA, which openly supports public school Islamic indoctrination, as fundamentally developed by the George Soros-supported Center for American Progress and by Fethullah Gülen himself.[7]
Follow the Money Beyond Education
Gülen aims to reach all power centers. In Turkey, Gülen’s reach extended to his own newspapers, television stations, and banks. Worldwide, Gülen runs thousands of secular educational institutions, hospitals, dialogue centers, and relief programs. Impressively, one thousand Gülen schools in 180 countries educate over sixty thousand students (with thirty thousand on waiting lists). In Turkey, Gülen called his network of private schools/ tutoring and dormitories “houses of light.” The movement is known for violence abroad, yet Gülen Charter Schools in the United States are effectively disguised by similarly nondescript names—e.g., Concept, Horizon Science Academy, Paragon, Sonoran, LISA Academy, and Magnolia.
Gülen believes it’s sinful not to seek ways to acquire wealth.[8] Problem is, the source of his immense wealth is unclear. Partially supported by moneyed foundations (i.e., Gates, Dell, Walmart), Gülen Charter Schools naturally invite corruption and crony capitalism. American taxpayers likewise support salaries of Turkish teachers to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. Disturbingly, their inflated incomes are skimmed twenty to forty percent. Kickbacks—i.e., mandated “tithes”—serve non-educational agendas abroad. Ostensibly, revolutionary interests have benefitted handsomely from the Gülen windfall.
Hijacking the Charter School Movement
Some contend that the charter school network is key to cherry picking underprivileged, and therefore easily molded, children for the express purpose of radicalization. So why would an exiled revolutionary imam be allowed to educate American school children at taxpayers’ expense? Why do overly compensated teachers from Turkey work without teaching licenses in public charter schools? And why, in some cases, are Turks imported into the States to teach (of all things) English?
One reason is that Newsweek voted two Harmony Schools among America’s Top Ten. American educators today tend to eliminate classroom competition in the name of egalitarianism. Deserving or not, all students get awards. In contrast, Gu¨len’s schools foster healthy competition for boys and girls alike. This policy appeals to ambitious parents who, to their credit, value healthy competition and measurable academic achievement.
Add to that Gülen’s emphasis on STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Impressive Gülen initiated Science Fairs stair-step the profile of the Hiznet movement; however, it’s claimed, students merely showcase projects that adults craft.
Thirdly, practice of hands-on, guided discovery methodology inspires students, whose summer studies take them to the exotic shores of Turkey to experience Turkish nationalism and identity. Presently, a Congressional Investigation is underway on the ethics of public servants courted by the movement who enjoy similarly choice trips.
Empowered through Intimidation
Against recommendations of legal counsel, a specially convened internal committee, and district residents, the Islamic Cultural Association in Michigan benefitted from a quietly negotiated, no-bid, below-market sale of valuable Farmington Public Schools property. Why? Intimidation prompted the sale (Ann Arbor, MI, 10 August 2012).
Worthy of a Closer Look [9]
When even a hint of malfeasance, as demonstrated above, shadows the education of American school children, a closer look is warranted.[10] Risk-taking documentary filmmaker, award-winning producer/ director, and attorney Mark S. Hall apparently agrees. His recently released, feature-length documentary film, Killing Ed (2016), takes an in-depth, first-hand look at the Gülen Movement.[11] Too much is at stake to yawn in the face of anomalies associated with Fethullah Gülen and his furtive enterprises. Our kids deserve better.
© 2016 Debra Rae - All Rights Reserved
Footnotes:
1. Meira Svirsky and William Reed. “Did Erdogan Stage the Coup?” The Clarion Project: Challenging Extremism; Promoting Dialogue Wednesday, July 20, 2016. (Accessed 20 July 2016)2. According to a May poll of the Gezici Research Company, close to 1 in 5 Turks support the Islamic State, and over 23 percent are sympathizers. Furthermore, 60 percent of Turkey’s Syrian asylum seekers, fleeing Syrian head of state Bashar al-Assad, view ISIS as a sort of savior.3. Related:
* [VIDEO] Fethullah Gülen comments on rumors about the coup attempt in Turkey
* [VIDEO] Mr. Gülen calls for an international investigation of coup attempt in Turkey
* [VIDEO] Fethullah Gülen: No return from democracy (Remarks in 1994 & 2016)
Fethullah Gulen issued the following statement on recent developments in Turkey
Who is Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed for coup attempt in Turkey?
Fethullah Gülen: Turkey coup may have been 'staged' by Erdogan regime
Turkey Coup Attempt: Who is Fethullah Gülen, The Cleric Being Accused Of Orchestrating The Turmoil?
Dialogue Platform’s Statement on Developments in Turkey
Turkey Coup: Who Is Fethullah Gulen and Is He To Blame?4. When the Turkish president demanded extradition of Gülen, President Erdogan was accused of using the failed coup attempt to launch a far-reaching purge of his opponent, whom Secretary of State John Kerry characterized as a “peaceful” Muslim. (Turkish Minute, Tuesday, 19 July 2016).5. In research paper entitled Fethullah Gülen and His Liberal Turkish Islam Movement (2000) (MERIA Journal. V4, No:4), Aras and Caha conclude that, Gülen’s ideas are primarily drawn from Islamic sources to inspire a powerful civic/social movement, called Hizmet (popularly known as the Gülen movement). A Turkish word, Hizmet is derived from the Arabic-Persian word,Kihdmat, meaning “service.”6. http://hizmetmovement.blogspot.com (Accessed 20 July 2016)7. https://www.americanprogress.org (Accessed 20 July 2016)8. Turkey Pulse9. Diane Kepus. “Danger: Gülen Charter Schools and the Fethullah Gülen Movement,” Parts 1 & 2, NewsWithViews, May 21 & June 4, 2016.
10. Debra Rae. “Talking Turkey: Gülen Charter Schools in America,”TRUTHTalk Beyond the Sound Bite with Shahram Hadian, 2 August 2016.http://tobtr.com/8949099 [Access 2 August 2016, 3 PM (PT)/ 6PM (ET) & thereafter in the Archives]11. http://killinged.com (Accessed 20 July 2016).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d8piSWX3kg (Accessed 20 July 2016). Further information on the Gülen Movement and its Schools:
Fethullah Gülen Historical Timeline by Prof. Joshua Hendrick
Fetullah Gülen Movement (AFPC World Almanac of Islamism)
Gülen Charter Schools Website (Anti-Gülen)
Fethullah Gülen’s Official Website
Harmony Public Schools (Texas)
Concept Schools (Ohio)
Magnolia Schools (California)

Friday, July 29, 2016

CLINTON VOWS AT DNC TO DEFEND HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION IF ELECTED PRESIDENT

HILLARY INVOKES GOD'S BLESSING
A VOTE FOR HER 
IS A VOTE FOR EVIL
CLINTON VOWS AT DNC TO DEFEND HOMOSEXUALITY & ABORTION 
IF ELECTED PRESIDENT
BY HEATHER CLARK
SEE: http://christiannews.net/2016/07/29/clinton-vows-at-dnc-to-defend-homosexuality-abortion-if-elected-president/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

PHILADELPHIA — During her speech on Thursday accepting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, Hillary Clinton again vowed to defend homosexuality and abortion if elected.
“We will defend all our rights—civil rights, human rights and voting rights—women’s rights and workers’ rights—LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities!” she declared to those gathered and those watching around the world.
“If you believe that every man, woman, and child in America has the right to affordable health care, join us. If you believe that we should say ‘no’ to unfair trade deals, that we should stand up to China, that we should support our steelworkers and autoworkers and homegrown manufacturers, join us,” Clinton said during another portion of her speech.
“If you believe we should expand Social Security and protect a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, join us,” she stated.
Clinton concluded her talk by noting that the world is watching, and wishing God’s blessing on her supporters and the nation.
“Yes, the world is watching what we do. Yes, America’s destiny is ours to choose,” she said. “So let’s be stronger together, my fellow Americans. Let’s look to the future with courage and confidence. Let’s build a better tomorrow for our beloved children and our beloved country. And when we do, America will be greater than ever.”
“Thank you and may God bless you and the United States of America!” Clinton declared.
Her daughter, Chelsea, had also referenced homosexuality and abortion during her introduction of her mother, drawing applause.
“So, this November, I’m voting for a woman who is my role model, as a mother, and as an advocate. A woman who has spent her entire life fighting for families and children,” she said. “I’m voting for the progressive, who will protect our planet from climate change and our communities from gun violence, who will reform our criminal justice system, and who knows that women’s rights are human rights.”
“And who knows that LGBT rights are human rights,” Chelsea Clinton continued.
As previously reported, Donald Trump likewise addressed homosexuality in his acceptance speech, telling those gathered that he would work to protect homosexuals if elected.
“As president, I will do everything in my power to protect LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump declared, being met with applause.
“And, I have to say, as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said,” he said in response.
Both candidates have asserted that they are the best for the “LGBT community.”

FRANCE ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NATIONAL GUARD AS STATE OF EMERGENCY CONTINUES

France Announces Formation of National Guard as State of Emergency Continues
FRANCE ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NATIONAL GUARD 
AS STATE OF EMERGENCY CONTINUES

Militarization turning France into autocratic police state

BY KURT NIMMO
SEE: http://www.infowars.com/france-announces-formation-of-national-guard-as-state-of-emergency-continues/republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:

The French government has moved to further militarize the country under an open-ended state of emergency following the latest terror attack.
In a statement released by the Elysee Palace on Thursday, the government announced a plan to form a national guard. “President of the Republic [Hollande] decided to establish the National Guard from the existing operating reserves,” the statement reads. Hollande said the government will “as soon as possible begin the establishment of this structure, which would serve to protect the French people.”
The Defense and Security Council will be officially notified of the plan in August and the national guard units will be formed in September, according to the statement.
The announcement arrives on the heels of a horrific attack and beheading of a priest at the Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray church in Normandy. Earlier this month, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel went on a rampage with a truck in Nice on Bastille Day, killing 84 people. In November, terrorists launched coordinated attacks in Paris, killing 130 people.
The attack in Nice prompted Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to call for “all willing French patriots” to sign up as reservists. Marine Le Pen, the National Front leader, demanded a return of compulsory national service.
Following the attack during the Bastille Day celebration, Hollande extended the state of emergency and added new measures. Police are permitted to search without a court warrant, detain children, seize data from computers and mobile phones, and to search luggage and vehicles without judicial approval.
Critics contend the measures will do nothing to prevent terrorism and are being used against political activists, for instance, environmental activists who were put under house arrest during the Paris climate summit in November.
In May, the law was used to ban activists from joining demonstrations against the government’s labor reform. The labor proposals touched off large demonstrations in the country.
It is not clear if the new French national guard will be used to enforce the state of emergency or will only be used following terrorist attacks.
According to Finian Cunningham, the French “trajectory in state power is in danger of becoming a self-reinforcing dynamic of increasing autocratic governance—dictatorship—where democracy, for all intents and purposes, ceases to exist. Even more disturbingly, this sinister watershed is hardly even questioned in public discourse…
“France is heading towards a militarized autocratic police state, not unlike Israel. Citizens are being conditioned to live permanently with fear and emergency powers that supplant democratic rights.”
Earlier this week, Germany also signaled it will begin domestic militarization.
In the aftermath of the Munich attacks last week, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper it “would be completely incomprehensible … if we had a terrorist situation like Brussels in Frankfurt, Stuttgart or Munich and we were not permitted to call in the well-trained forces of the Bundeswehr, even though they stand ready.”
Following WWII and the defeat of the Nazis, the German constitution forbade the military, known as the Bundeswehr, to be used domestically except in instances of national emergency.
The Greens and members of the Social Democratic Party warned against “domestic calls for more surveillance, isolation and military [intervention],” and added the Munich attack would be exploited politically.
The German government, however, had planned to lift restrictions on Bundeswehr prior to the Munich attack.
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Boosted reservist force a 'National Guard' for France, says Hollande