Lack of Education or Lack of Control?

Union Leader is reporting that a special education class for emotionally challenged students is getting attention for all the wrong reasons.

MANCHESTER – Two teachers at Southside Middle School were injured this month by a student in a program for children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders, the latest in a series of violent incidents that have caused an uproar at the school.

A total of six employees have been hurt over the past year, according to Scott McGilvray, president of the Manchester Education Association, the union representing teachers. In every case, the employees were treated at local hospitals; two of them underwent surgery.

"It's a very serious situation," McGilvray said.

Principal Marilyn Azevedo said "disciplinary action" has been taken and students involved in the incidents have been relocated to another classroom. Meanwhile, plans are under way to divide the program into smaller, more manageable classes.

"We're addressing all the concerns of parents and staff," Azevedo said.

I'm taking a class on special education strategies in the regular classroom right now. I'm sure this will come up for discussion at the next class we have.

But regardless, I honestly don't know what the district can do in this case. The IDEA Act states that they should try to integrate them into a regular classroom, and No Child Left Behind covers this, too. Problem is, the laws assume that all students are the same and can perform at the same abilities. You would think that for severe cases like this the school would set something up to deal with it.

The Now Infamous NEA Phone Call

They posted the audio from the phone call that Big Hollywood blogger Patrick Courrielche participated in along with the transcript. I don't know what they were waiting for posting this, but it's at a time where Big Government is getting a lot of attention for the ACORN videos, so I think with the website getting a lot of attention this is actually probably the best time to release it.

This is potentially illegal, I should point out. No government agency should be used for a polotical agenda.

Listen to the whole audio.

Big Government Has Another Big Story Coming Down the Pipeline

The results are expected to come out around noon, but he's got "pre-game" posts up on the site.

Although from what I understand O'Keefe and Giles have more ACORN video, this isn't about that. This is about the National Endowment for the Arts.

I don't understand all the details yet, but the gist of it is that a conference call took place not too long ago that had the director of communications for the NEA at the time (since transferred) talking with artists on a conference call about producing art that would be favorable to President Obama's positions. The art would be paid for with taxpayer money. One of those people also in on the call was Kalpen Modi, who is the Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. If you don't recognize the name, it's because he went back to his real name when he started the job. He's better known as actor Kal Penn, who starred in the Harold and Kumar series of films.

This bombshell is supposed to be released around noon, so once it's up I'll put it up here.

Jay Leno Goofs on ACORN

BREAKING: House Votes To Defund ACORN

BigGovernment.com has the roll call. It was an amendment to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009, which right now will probably be the closest we have at the moment to a single payer system for student loans here in the United States.

The final count was 375 to 75, with 2 voting "present" and 11 not voting.

In relation to New Hampshire, both Shea-Porter and Hodes voted for the bill.

Who knew that two twenty-somethings could make this much of a difference?

Guest Bloggers Wanted!

Hi, folks!

I've been making the call for awhile, but thought I would make it again.

With school back in full swing, and the fact that I have three more classes after this term to take before I do my internship, I'm looking for guest bloggers for the site.

If you're interested, e-mail me at scooppc11@yahoo.com.

Newest ACORN Sting: San Diego

Where the ACORN worker offers to help them smuggle the young girls across the border and also propositions Hannah Giles (Eden).

Stay tuned...

San Bernadino ACORN Worker Tresa Kalke

I decided to do a Google search for the ACORN worker from San Bernandino, CA, who was featured on the most recent ACORN scandal, Tresa Kalke. I found something really, really interesting.

An order of protection AGAINST her by her husband Ronald Kaelke that was filed on July 14, 2008.

Now, this appears to be her second husband. But considering that the order is against her it at least makes the murder claim in the video somewhat plausible if she has a pattern of being a violent person. I'll put updates up as they occur.

Update: All of Kalke's ex-husbands are alive and well, so it looks like she was exaggerating at least that part of the story.

ACORN Roundup

I haven't been able to post as much as I would like on the breaking news on ACORN coming from BigGovernment.com. But I thought I would at least provide a roundup.

It all started in Baltimore, MD. As it stands, two people were fired, the filmmakers were threatened with prosecution for "breaking" wiretap laws, and it looks like they might not even be legally operating in Maryland.

Next, Washington, DC. Two more workers are fired.

Next, Brooklyn, NY. The filmmakers tried the Bronx office first, but it was locked. Same thing happened as at the other two offices, although right now there's no word on whether those ACORN workers are still there. But the Brooklyn D.A. is going to be conducting an investigation.

The fallout so far: the Census Bureau has severed their ties with ACORN, and so far the Senate has passed an amendment to stop funding ACORN, which is now going on to the house.

More video is scheduled to come out today, which is supposed to be even more shocking than the previous 3 days. We will see when it goes up...

Trailer Sunday Has Been Moved

Trailer Sunday has been moved to its own site: trailersunday.blogspot.com.

It has now been turned into a web show!

Check it out.

Project 2,299: Stephen P. Dimino

Name: Stephen P. Dimino
Age: 48
Occupation: Partner, Cantor Fitzgerald
Location: World Trade Center

From the NY Times:

When Stephen P. Dimino turned 9, his parents organized a special birthday trip into Manhattan from their home in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. They took Stephen and his sister to see "My Fair Lady," and then they all stuck nickels and dimes into the slots at an automat to get their lunch.

But then the boy spotted an old man sitting by himself who looked hungry. He brought his sandwich over to him. Then the rest of the Dimino family followed suit, said Gigi Ebert, Mr. Dimino's sister. "We ended up giving him all of our food," she said.

Mr. Dimino, 48, who was a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald, continued to be generous. "He was someone you'd want as your neighbor," said his cousin Robert Messina. He loved to give people presents, like venison steaks from the deer he shot and souvenirs from his travels abroad. At home in Basking Ridge, N.J., he showered his daughter, Sabrina, 15, with time, too, "hunting together, playing video games together, riding roller coasters together," Mrs. Ebert said. "He started taking her to Disneyland as soon as she was old enough to remember it. He really took delight in her and in her accomplishments. I thought he was going to burst the day she was born."

By Peter Genovese for the Star Ledger:

Stephen P. Dimino was the "Big Dog," and he never let you forget it.

"Steve referred to himself constantly as Big Dog," Robert Messina, a cousin, said, laughing. "We'd go to Yankees games, get crummy seats, he'd say, 'These are not Big Dog seats.' We'd get a crummy sandwich somewhere, he'd say, 'This is not a Big Dog sandwich.'"

"He was not afraid of making fun of himself," said GiGi Ebert, Mr. Dimino's sister. "He enjoyed life."

Mr. Dimino, 48, of Basking Ridge, was on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building Sept. 11.

"Can you believe it, a big plane hit the building?" he told his wife, Nancy, on the phone. "We're evacuating now."

Mr. Dimino was a limited partner and head of the Securities Lending Division at Cantor Fitzgerald. He had been in the World Trade Center at the time of the 1993 bombing, when he comforted two women, holding their hands all the way down from the 104th floor, according to his daughter, Sabrina.

GiGi Ebert said her brother was a shy but fun-loving kid in Brooklyn, where they grew up.

"When he played football on the street, he was always the smallest one," the Somerset resident recalled. "He played bass fiddle in the high school band. He was a big fan of Roman history. He was into the different Caesars, their reigns."

Mr. Dimino was a skilled trap and skeet marksman, and a fisherman and skier. He loved the peace and quiet he found up in the Poconos. He traveled extensively on his job and would always bring back gifts for his nieces and nephews.

"One of the highlights (of family gatherings) was Uncle Steve performing magic tricks," said Greg Ferris of Green Brook, his brother- in-law. "Every Christmas or Christmas Eve, he insisted all his nieces and nephews wear silly hats. It was the Crazy Hat Contest. He'd be the judge and give out awards."

Mr. Dimino had a stressful, high-level job, but he knew how to cut loose. GiGi Ebert said her brother was a very good dancer, a skill he picked up at a young age, with her help.

"He liked Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers," Ebert said. "He used to set the alarm clock in the middle of the night to watch a movie on TV. Our father could come in and see the two of us dancing."

Ferris described his brother-in- law as "a very easy-going, very positive upbeat" person.

"I'm sure he stayed with his friends and colleagues right until the last moment," Ferris said.

**********************

Niece Loren Messina talks about how her "Uncle Stevie" got her a job at Cantor Fitzgerald, and that she will never forget him taking her out on her 21st birthday. "I think of him every day of my life when I go to work and I know he's not there to send me e-mails to come visit me or to see him in the Cantor cafe where we would meet for lunch. I miss him dearly and loved him very much and appreciated everything he did for me, and I will make him proud!"

***********************

You are missed and loved by family and friends, Stephen.

Donations can be sent to the following address: Sabrina Dimino Trust Fund, P.O. Box 5056, Village Center Station, Basking Ridge, N.J. 07920

ACORN Workers Caught On Tape

This is just incredible and despicable.

An independent filmmaker decided to invade ACORN offices with the most ridiculous story they could think of: the guy was a pimp who wanted to run a brothel to funnel money into his upcoming campaign. The woman was one of his prostitutes. And they had plans to traffic in girls from El Salvador.

These ACORN reps bought it hook, line and sinker.





ACORN's response:

A spokesman for ACORN, Scott Levenson, when asked to comment on the videotape, said: “The portrayal is false and defamatory and an attempt at gotcha journalism. This film crew tried to pull this sham at other offices and failed. ACORN wants to see the full video before commenting further.”

Is it just me, or is this rather contradictory?

Press Secretary Gibbs Whining on Fox and Friend

So what's his complaint? That the Fox Network will not be showing the speech but instead "Dancing With The Stars."

Nevermind that the Fox News channel WILL be broadcasting the speech. But apparently Gibbs thinks that people want to hear the same lies on every station in the country.

Good thing I don't have cable.



Can we nominate him yet for Worst. Press Secretary. Ever?

It Makes Me Laugh, Anyway...

Kids Are Smarter Than We Take Them For

From The Citizen, regarding Obama's speech to school kids yesterday.

For at least 20 sophomores at the Belmont High School, President Barack Obama said very little that any of them would consider controversial during his 20-minute live address to the nation's school children.

After watching the speech as a class in the school library, a couple of the students said they thought the president was not being entirely straightforward when he urged them not to spend too much time watching television while using the T.V. to speak to them.

"He's using this to say, 'Don't do it,'" said one of the students as some others nodded in agreement.

I laughed when I saw that.

A Message To Rep. Paul Hodes

Hodes Telephone "Town Hall" Tonight

He's still too chicken to face us, so here are the directions for his "town hall" tonight.

Congressman Paul Hodes, D-N.H., will hold a telephone town hall for residents of the state's 2nd Congressional District today at 6:50 p.m. to discuss health care reform.

Those interested in participating should call 877-269-7289 and punch in 14631# as an access code.

Franklin Candidate's Night

I'm letting people know that Choose Franklin will be hosting Candidate's Night on September 28th at the Franklin Town Hall at 6:30 PM.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to attend because I have a class that night. If you can and would like to contribute a report to post up here and at Franklin TEA Party on what happened, let me know.

One Less Thing To Do This Weekend

There has been a lot of controversy this past week regarding a speech that President Barack Obama is planning on making to schoolchildren this week. Not so much the speech itself, but the suggested lesson plans that were to go along with it (before they were changed). Reading the lesson plan, I wouldn't write something like this as a question: "What can you do to help the President?" and "Write a letter to yourself on what you can do to help the President." It read like indoctrination to me.

So my plan this weekend was to "inoculate" the stepkids when they were here this weekend by reminding them that it isn't their job to do anything for the President of the United States.

But when I went to pick them up this weekend, I took a look at the newsletter and noticed a letter to parents from the superintendent of the Newfound Regional School District, Marie Ross, regarding the speech. She said the students wouldn't be watching it in class and if they wanted their child to watch it they should tape the speech.

Thank you, Marie Ross!

Cash4Gold and Consumerist

I'm sure everyone on the internet has heard about this story already, but for those who don't know about it, here it is.

Cash4Gold, who advertises that they pay "top dollar" for gold you send them, is suing two former employees and consumer site The Consumerist over claims that the "top dollar" figure is false advertising. The two employees had posted on a blog and a forum about the practices of Cash4Gold.

Consumerist, now being part of Consumer Reports, employed a different technique to test the employees claims by buying some relatively cheap gold, getting them appraised at pawn shops, then sending them in to Cash4Gold to see what they paid (along with two similar companies). The verdict -- Cash4Gold and the other companies didn't pay top dollar.

Now, to try to counter the bad PR, the Cash4Gold PR person's job has been going into overdrive to try to counter the claims and erase the damage of the story.

Too late. Story's out there all pink and naked.

Moral of the story: don't piss of The Consumerist.

Duggars Are Going To Have Baby #19

No matter how many children there are in the family, every baby is a blessing.

What makes this one more unusual is that their daughter-in-law -- oldest son Josh's wife -- is currently pregnant with their first child. So the grandchild will be older than his aunt or uncle. Hey, happened in my family, too -- an aunt on my father's side is younger than my oldest cousin by about 6 months.

And according to People Magazine, they're asking for a little help with the new baby's name -- they're looking for another J name to go with the rest of the kids.

People are going to begrudge them for having that many children. To me, you take a look at the kids, and they all look like they are in good health, clean clothes and provided for. If they can do it, more power to them.