Archive for the ‘Rambling Rose’ Category

Written by Rambling Rose

What is truth?

Christians know that Jesus Christ is the Truth. But they and He are rejected in the post-truth world of today. So readers, researchers and journalists (term used loosely) quickly turn to electronic sites to arbitrate “the truth.”

But every day we learn more of the bias coming from the Silicon Valley and the agencies that are engaged more with indoctrination than with information. That bias has earned the name “Speech Code Cartel,” including Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Amazon.

Why is this a concern? In the second quarter, the Soros Fund Management based in New York City and owned by ultra-liberal billionaire George Soros purchased 159,200 shares in Facebook (valued at $31 million), 250,000 shares in Twitter (valued at $11 million), and 54,500 shares in Apple (valued at $10 million). Soros has ties to more than 30 mainstream news outlets, including The New York Times, Washington Post, the Associated Press, NBC and ABC, according to Media Research Center. He is known to be an ultra-leftist that aspires to influence the future of this country and the world.

Some of that influence is manifested when conservative posts are censored and deleted from social media. Some people are even banned. Just last month, that included blogger Elizabeth Johnston, also known as “The Activist Mommy,” PragerU, and Dr. Robert A.J. Gagnon of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Johnston summarized the basis for the attacks and censorship in these words: “The truth is, Facebook is owned and run by radical leftists who intentionally keep the community guidelines very subjective and vague, which gives them unlimited power to silence and marginalize anyone whose voice they want to shut down. The Left fears our voices because we are effectively persuading and dismantling their lies about abortion, homosexuality, Islam, radical feminism, and a host of other issues that are an all-out assault on our Christian values.”

Various polls have confirmed a great deal of skepticism and distrust among the citizens about the media. 72% believe that the media distort the news with a liberal bias.

What about checking the facts? Yes, like Snopes. Well, that is another facet of the bias.

On September 11, 2018, Joseph Farah, author, journalist and editor-in-chief of the WorldNetDaily, wrote about Facebook’s official “fact-checker.” In his words: “Welcome to the thoroughly unprofessional, politically biased, widely discredited and scandal-plagued world of Snopes.com – now one of the premier gatekeepers in the wacky and warped world of “truth detection…” Farah coined the phrase “Speech Code Cartel” to portray the function of Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Apple and Amazon as determined by their founders/owners/shareholders.

Farah outlined the founding in 1995 and growth of Snopes into a recognized source for checking out myths and rumors on the internet. In order to get answers for their questions, David Mikkelson and his then-wife, Barbara, posed as the leaders of “San Fernando Valley Folklore Society.” The group did not exist but afforded the Mikkelsons a façade, probably not illegal but reveals that Snopes started on a questionable foundation. Mikkelson admitted to the Los Angeles Times in 1997: “When I sent letters out to companies, I found I got a much better response with an official-looking organization’s stationery.”

Initially, the research was done by the duo using primarily secondhand internet sources.

The marriage ended in a nasty divorce in 2015, and legal disputes continue yet today. Barbara charged David with embezzlement and infidelity. The business apparently had prospered since David asked that his salary be increased from $240,000 to $360,000, noting that his work merited compensation of $720,000. The settlement involved millions.

David hired Elyssa Young as an administrative assistant and married her in 2016. In 2004, Young ran for Congress in Hawaii but garnered only 3% of the vote. While employed as an administrative assistant, she identifies as a courtesan.

Some have questioned Snopes lack of any “standardized procedure” in fact-checking. Mikkelson defends his system of fact-checking in this way: “[It] involves multiple stages of editorial oversight, so no output is the result of a single person’s discretion.”

Another legal dispute grew out a business relationship with Proper Media from August 2015 through March 2017. Mikkelson terminated the advertising agreement in hopes of regaining control of Snopes. When Proper Media stopped payments, Mikkelson opened a GoFundMe page that initially generated $665,000, but contributions have dwindled although appeals for funds continue on the SaveSnopes.com website.

Many question if Snopes can be fair, balanced and unbiased. Snopes defends some of its findings for not getting the right answer because they did not get the right question.

Even Mikkelson agrees that “bias is in the eye of the beholder.” He notes that it is often conservatives that detect bias in the Snopes reports.

And yet, Snopes is the official fact-checker for Facebook and many reporters. That may add credence to the belief that much news is “fake,” “controlled,” or at least “distorted.”

The First Amendment? Censorship? PC? Truth? Let the citizens beware.

Follow the money—again!!
Written by Rambling Rose

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the investment (current years/dollars as reported) in K-12 education with state and federal tax dollars:

Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary schools in the United States in 2013–14 amounted to $634 billion, or $12,509 per public school student enrolled in the fall (in constant 2015–16 dollars).

One would expect good returns on such investments, but the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as The Nation’s Report Card, released earlier in April, gives the nation’s schools a failing grade. Only 37% of the high school seniors tested as proficient or better in reading, and only 25% in math. Among the black students, the results were even lower: 17% proficient or better in reading, 7% ‘at least proficient’ in math.

It gets worse. Nationally, the graduation rate is over 80%. That means that the high school diploma has lost its meaning. With the high school diploma in hand, 63% of the graduates are declared proficient in reading at the 12th grade level when the test scores reveal the opposite. Likewise, 75% of high school graduates are deemed proficient in math skills when they are not. For black students, the numbers are even lower as noted by the test scores in the previous paragraph.

What does that diploma certify? Attendance? Are those young people ready to continue their postsecondary education?

Apparently. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that “70 percent of white high school graduates in 2016 enrolled in college, and 58 percent of black high school graduates enrolled in college.” Studies report that two-thirds of community college students enroll in at least one remedial course as do 40% of those in a four-year institution. Many universities hire special tutors to assist their athletes, many who read at the fourth- to eighth-grade levels.

College professors admit that they have had to “dumb down their classes” in order to teach their inadequately-prepared students. Others have removed the analytical components of the programs. Majors have become “studies” with the emphasis on social issues. Sadly, the cycle continues. Many of the least prepared enter education, as revealed by their intended majors reported by SAT scores—26th of 38 options.

The executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the organization that represents every state’s top education official, Carissa Moffat Miller, stated “Today’s release of The Nation’s Report Card confirms that there is still much work to be done to close achievement gaps and ensure that our young people are ready for success in college, careers and life.”

Yes, there is much work to be done—by teachers, administrators, politicians, students and PARENTS. Parental involvement and schools with a focus on academics and not ‘justice’ issues would be a start.

It appears that dollars alone are not the answer.

Whose Values? What Values?
By Rambling Rose

Protests about gun control and efforts to update an “antiquated” Second Amendment abound in the media. However, there is little to no coverage of student-led protests to protect the yet-to-be-born babes in the womb or those that speak out in favor of use of guns for defense. Only by chance did I see a post by Franklin Graham on Facebook that alerted me to the April 23rd “sit-out.” On the 24th, I still found only one article that published coverage of the protest.

Parents entrust their precious children to the schools in good faith and trust that the instruction follows traditional values of the USA society. WRONG!

Just as parents were unaware of the educational boondoggle of the Obama administration, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates and forced upon 45/46 states of the nation by Arne Duncan with Race to the Top, known as Common Core (still alive in many states as per the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2015), so are parents unaware of the leftist infiltration of the curriculum and the perverse values that even the youngest learn. Some call this health curriculum “Pornography 101.”

In North Carolina, the elementary schools initiated a program called Welcoming Schools to promote “family diversity” (interpret—same sex parents) and “gender-inclusive, non-binary schools” (interpret—same-sex and transgender platforms). “The program, developed by the LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, subjects students to opposite-gender role-play, and encourages them to cross-dress and to view traditional attitudes of family structure as harmful…” Students who question the curriculum are referred to Planned Parenthood.

In Cumberland County, North Carolina, another Planned Parenthood program, Get Real, was introduced into the sixth and seventh grade program. When parents objected to the promotion of homosexuality and gender confusion and explicit descriptions of sex acts, the schools dropped the program.

The progressives have utilized other names to promote similar programs, including Making Proud Choices and Safe Schools. Sadly, their agenda for gender identity and sexual behavior has integrated the entire curriculum. Sadly, too, is the guise of promoting the inclusion of these deviant practices as a program to combat bullying—a farce, a lie…but a strategy that has not received much attention by anyone.

Thanks to the vigilant eyes of parents in North Carolina, programs were changed. Thanks to those same parents a global protest did occur (reportedly) on April 23, 2018. How many parents are still unaware of the pervasive practices occurring daily in this country’s schools? Whose values should be included in the classroom? The parents/the family, naturally. But is that reality?

Parents need to be involved—ask your children about their classes, discuss the books that they read, ask about “ceremonies” performed/celebrated in their classes…VISIT the schools and ATTEND classes.

Many have predicted the fall “from within” without a single gunshot. Yes, the LGBTQ community indoctrinates the next generation and has radicalized young people against their parents and their values to embrace “what they learned in school.”

Written by Rambling Rose

The adage “Spare the rod and spoil the child” is not Biblical, nor does it have to be interpreted as a call for corporal punishment. But current discipline policies that provide no accountability may be just as bad or worse.

Public outrage is graphic and loud after events such as the most recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida in mid-February. Indignation was expressed after the previous massacres but not to the extent of the nationwide protests by teachers and students, politicians and activists…many who marched without knowing the reason for the manifestation because they were too young. Yet they marched because their teachers/parents told them to do so. This week, central Minnesotans are asking at what age should children be deemed to have attained the age of accountability for violent actions.

But the hype and media coverage do not always reveal the whole truth. Fortunately, not all are willing to take news coverage at face value. RealClearInvestigations (RCI) is the investigative arm of RealClearPolitics. Their publication on April 15th reveals that there is more to the story—WHY the officers did not enter the school during the shooting—WHY the perpetrator knew the school and its policies—WHY he had little to fear with a firearm in a gun-free zone, etc.

After the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many learned of PROMISE (Preventing Recidivism through Opportunities, Mentoring, Interventions, Supports & Education). It is far more than a program to keep students in school for minor infractions. The truth is very disturbing.

The program was adopted by the Broward Schools in 2013 with a strong push from Superintendent Robert Runcie. Prior to that, Runcie had worked in Chicago for Arne Duncan, Obama’s Secretary of Education…the plot thickens.
“That new discipline policy took effect in 2013. It was at the vanguard of the Obama administration’s efforts to address the “school to prison” pipeline. Beginning in 2009, it opened hundreds of investigations or sued to force districts to adopt lenient discipline guidelines. This push was formalized in a 2014 “Dear Colleague” letter to the nation’s public school superintendents and board members that not only discourages student arrests, but holds districts liable for the actions of school resource officers.”

“After meeting with Obama officials in the White House, Runcie persuaded the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and Fort Lauderdale Police Department to agree to stop arresting students who committed misdemeanor crimes the district deemed “nonviolent” – including assault, theft, vandalism, drugs and public fighting. Runcie argued that diverting minor offenders from jail to ‘restorative justice’ counseling and other positive behavioral interventions would help close the academic “achievement gap” by disrupting the flow of black students into the so-called ‘schoolhouse to jailhouse pipeline.’ Though African-Americans made up about 40 percent of the Broward student body, they accounted for more than 70 percent of juvenile arrests in the county.'”

This sounds very similar to the local news about a week ago. District 742 and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights are dealing with issues related to restorative justice policies, the demographics of the student population and the demographics of those named as offenders in efforts to eliminate the disparity in suspensions and expulsions. By looking at data and not specific reports about offenses, it was decided that the racial percentages of the student body and the violators should be equal. Who determined that there is a direct correlation between the racial makeup of a community and the number of violations committed? Is that a reasonable expectation in schools or in society? Is there a direct correlation between the ethnic/racial demographics in society and that of the incarcerated?

Accountability does seem any longer to be addressed by discipline policies in many schools. The explanation comes again from Florida:

“Thousands of arrested Broward students have had their records deleted in the system as part of a program to end ‘disproportionate minority contact’ with law enforcement, blindfolding both street cops and school resource officers to the criminal history of potential juvenile threats.”

So deleting disciplinary records is a way to make the numbers balance, right? No, wrong. What is restorative justice? How has restorative justice worked for Broward county?

“In a related program, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel also agreed to back off arrests of students who commit such crimes outside of schools, offering them civil citations and the same restorative justice counseling instead of incarceration, even for repeat offenders. Restorative justice is a controversial alternative punishment in which delinquents gather in ‘healing circles’ with counselors – and sometimes even the victims of their crime – and discuss their feelings and the ‘root causes’ of their anger and actions.” In Broward County, the juvenile recidivism rate grew much faster than the rate for the entire state. Is that a measure of success?

The level of violence has risen in the schools and spread to the community. The community is uneasy. According to the County’s chief juvenile probation officer, Broward County now boasts the highest percentage of “serious, violent [and] chronic juvenile delinquents in the state. Meanwhile, murders, armed robberies and other violent felonies committed by children outside of schools have hit record levels, and some see a connection with what’s happening on school grounds. Since the relaxing of discipline, Broward youths have not only brazenly punched out their teachers, but terrorized Broward neighborhoods with drive-by shootings, gang rapes, home invasions and carjackings.”

Prosecutors and probation officers lament the number of violent crimes involving Broward youths has risen dramatically while juvenile arrests overall have dropped. “Juvenile arrests for murder and manslaughter increased 150 percent between 2013 and 2016. They increased by another 50 percent in 2017. County juveniles were responsible for a total of 16 murders or manslaughters in the past two years alone, according to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.”

“Last year, the number of Broward juveniles collared for armed robbery totaled 92, up 46 percent from 2013, department data show. Arrests for auto thefts jumped 170 percent between 2013 and 2017 – from 105 to 284. Juveniles charged with kidnapping, moreover, surged 157 percent in 2016 and another 43 percent last year.”

The evidence indicts the leniency policy of restorative justice, whatever the name. Max Eden, education policy expert and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, declared that the no-arrest policies have emboldened crimes by Broward youth. The infractions became steadily more violent regardless of race. He noted that the crimes committed become more violent when petty crimes are not punished.

Tracy Clark, Chief Public Information Officer of the Broward schools, denied that district policies have weakened safety. The administrators have refused to provide any documents to support those claims. However, the parents whose children have been bullied and beaten do not agree. Those victims were bullied and beaten repeatedly by fellow students who suffered few or no consequences for those actions. Lowell Levine, whose Stop Bullying Now Foundation is in Lake Worth, Florida, has collected dozens of complaints from those parents. When he contacted Runcie’s office about the complaints of school violence in 2015, the superintendent rejected outside advice, claiming that he had the situation under control.

Under control? “After Broward schools began emphasizing rehabilitation over incarceration, fights broke out virtually every day in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias and campuses across the district. Last year, more than 3,000 fights erupted in the district’s 300-plus schools, including the altercations involving Cruz. No brawlers were arrested, even after their third fight, and even if they sent other children to the hospital.”

In 2017, even without cooperation from the Broward county schools, federal data reveal that nearly half of the Broward middle school students were involved in fights, many requiring medical attention. Parents are aware; parents are contacting school administrators; parents are not being heard. One of the teachers in one of the Broward schools explained why when fights are more frequent and more violent but not reported with these words, “because of politics.” What a sad commentary on those schools, on today’s culture.

News media sources seem to suggest that male students are the aggressive ones. Females are also offenders:

“In a December 2016 fight caught on video at Plantation High School, several girls beat and dragged another girl to the ground and took turns kicking her. Campus police did not break up the fight and the girls who jumped her were not arrested. The attacked girl’s mother said the school failed to stop bullying before it escalated into violence, and then swept the incident under the rug. Three other fights reportedly broke out the same day at the school.”

Such attacks by females do not occur only in Florida. A similar event was shared with me by a family member of the victim at a school in St. Cloud, Minnesota. There was no video to capture the attack. The victim was thrown to the ground and kicked by the others. She had a hall pass; the attackers reportedly did not. The victim reported the incident to the school’s administrator but did not know the names of her attackers. When the offenders approached the principal with their version of the story, there was no discipline measured out for them. However, the victim was suspended for an extended period of time. Yes, the victim was white. The attackers were not.

In Broward schools, the perpetrators participate in the PROMISE program but are not held accountable and no records are kept. They are restored. One wonders if the attackers in the St. Cloud school participated in restorative justice or was it just ignored?

Other shootings were avoided prior to the February 14th shooting by observant students who were brave enough to report them to security, and security intervened. There are other reports of physical attacks to teachers for trying to maintain discipline within the classroom. No arrests were made. No entries were made in the attackers’ school records. They suffered no consequences. Recall the words of Max Eden cited above. The lax policies have “emboldened” the unpunished perpetrators to escalate the violence of their continuing crimes.

Maria Schneider, Broward juvenile prosecutor, signed the original PROMISE agreement but warned a few months later that a failure to arrest and prosecute the delinquent students could have undesired consequences of “making the schools a more dangerous place.” While administrators were worried about criminal records “stigmatizing” minority students, the prosecutor retorted that “There has to be accountability for bad behavior.” At a recent Juvenile Justice Circuit Advisory Board meeting, the prosecutor reported that “the actual police reports are being destroyed.” There appears to be no accountability for bad actions at any level in Broward county.

Even though the schools discontinued a 21-year-old practice of surveying the students about their school climate and safety, federal data revealed “a deterioration in safety indicators after the discipline reforms were adopted.”

Sadly, PROMISE and the Behavior Intervention Programs have not achieved their core objectives of “closing the racial disparity in suspensions, expulsions and arrests between black students and white students.” Since 2013, despite the aggressive implementation of restorative justice policies and the destruction of official police reports, as noted by Schneider, internal school district reports show that black students are suspended more than white students. In 2013, the disparity was 2.3 times greater for black students, and last year, after the implementation of the race-based discipline reforms, the rate was 3.4 times more frequent for the targeted group.

“The PROMISE and Behavior Intervention Programs have not accomplished the core objectives they were created to achieve in 2013 – closing the racial disparity in suspensions, expulsions and arrests between black students and white students. That gap is now wider than ever, in spite of a “very aggressive” Broward system goal of decreasing the black arrest rate by 5 percent each year and 33 percent overall.”

Rather than re-examining the effectiveness of the program, the teachers and administrators are being compelled to participate in training programs to examine their “whiteness” and eliminate their “implicit biases.” (This seems strangely similar to the “White Privilege” training forced upon some educators in central Minnesota.)

Or as reported by RCI, “…instead of blaming these students for committing a higher rate of infractions, Runcie and his team are putting teachers and principals on the spot for harboring deep-seated prejudices that lead them to “subconsciously” mete out harsher punishments for them.”

Efforts are underway to extend this training to local police officers as well.

This adage is Biblical. From Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

What training does society owe its young people? Do we teach, through modeling and policies, that there is accountability for bad decisions/actions? Or, do we perpetuate the racial divide and allow a “free pass” for special groups and sensitivity training for others?