I'm a Proud Democrat, Trump Supporter

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Saturday January 14, 2017 · 9:48 PM PST

2017/01/14 · 21:48

I voted for Trump and I do not regret it.

There. I said it. I’m just putting it out there because I’m relieved to see him get into office. I voted for Obama because he promised to ‘fix’ the healthcare system. It’s been eight years and I’m still one healthcare bill from bankruptcy. I’m literally poorer then I was in 2008.

If Hilary hadn’t stolen the nomination from Bernie; I’d have voted down the democratic ticket. But this year I had to vote for Trump because it was a change away from the status-quo.

Wish all of you the best. Looking forward to inauguration!

Obama Vs. Limbaugh

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 28, 2014 · 1:58 PM PST

2014/11/28 · 13:58

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday May 23, 2014 · 5:56 PM PDT

2014/05/23 · 17:56

Australia announced a staggering 92% cut to their global warming budget. The budget will adjust from $5.75 billion this year to $500 million over the next four years. Environment Minister Greg Hunt promised $2.55 billion for CO2 reductions–however budget discussions with Minister Tony Abbott required that budget a cut to approx. $1.14 billion. “The carbon tax is an act of economic vandalism,” Abbott said in March. Academics and Scientists are expected to emigrate following the mass-elimination of a spectrum of science spread-out across several academic fields.

http://dailycaller.com/...
Robson also found that a year after being enacted, the carbon tax caused electricity prices to rise 15 percent. The country’s unemployment rate shot up by 10 percent after the carbon tax was implemented.

“The carbon tax is bad for the economy and it doesn’t do any good for the environment,” Abbott told The Washington Post last year. “Despite a carbon tax of $37 a ton by 2020, Australia’s domestic emissions were going up, not down. The carbon tax was basically socialism masquerading as environmentalism, and that’s why it’s going to get abolished.

http://guardianlv.com/...
The budgetary facts are inescapably grim for researchers and scientists based in renewable energies and research. The funding for all government programs related to climate change is set to shrink at an alarming rate, going from $5.75 billion this year to a scant $500 million in the next four years. Additionally, the Emissions Reduction Fund which is meant to help lower greenhouse gas emissions in Australia is going to be reduced to only $1.14 billion. This was devastating news after Environment Minister Greg Hunt had gone on record promising to provide $2.55 billion to fund the program. Nevertheless, it is not only climate change programs that are feeling the pinch of the Abbott budget. The Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency, will have $111 million worth of funding slashed over the next four years, which will affect an uncertain number of programs and a loss of tenth of the CSIRO workforce.

The outlook is bleak from the standpoint of scientists and researchers in Australia, many of whom will probably leave the country in order to find work elsewhere. This represents a loss of a skilled workforce for a country that is already seeing a six percent unemployment rate. Despite harping on the jobless rate, the Abbott government has not provided a solution to getting more people working. Cuts to climate change programs and scientific research are only the tip of the unemployment iceberg. Under this budget, unemployment rates are set to rise to 6.25 percent by June next year. This is worrying news for the hundreds of thousands of Australians currently out of work or who are facing the prospect of unemployment in the wake of the new budget plan.

http://www.reddit.com/...

America Willing To Hire Marijuana-Hacktivists Against China?

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 20, 2014 · 7:46 PM PDT

2014/05/20 · 19:46

Recently, the justice department was able to formally charge five (5) members of the Chinese government in relation to subterfuge activities. Mostly, in-relation to the ongoing hacks against the New York Times for their coverage of "Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader".

Gizmo Link
"It's a real conundrum. However, it's a conundrum the FBI is working through. On Monday—the same day the agency made headlines by issuing wanted posters for Chinese Army hackers—FBI director James Comey told an audience at the White Collar Crime Institute about this little pot problem. 'I have to hire a great work force to compete with those cyber criminals, and some of those kids want to smoke weed on the way to the interview,' Comey said. Exactly how to do that is the hard part. Comey added that the agency is 'grappling with the question right now.'"

FBI Guidelines
11. How does the background investigation process work? Because of the sensitive nature of the FBI's missions, all FBI positions require at least a Top Secret Security Clearance. Before employees can start work with the FBI, they must undergo an intensive background investigation that includes a polygraph examination, a test for illegal drugs, credit and records checks, and extensive interviews with former and current colleagues, neighbors, friends, professors, etc. Please also note that there are certain employment requirements that may disqualify you from consideration for employment with the FBI. Before applying for any position with the FBI, please be sure that the FBI Employment Disqualifiers do not apply to you.

So what does this mean for America? Is the FBI more willing to hire Blackwater groups to our dirty work for us or will they embrace the stoner-culture within the hacker community? To be honest--I'm sure they'll never get the 'hardcore' lot that hang out with the hacktivists (the sort who have a peaceful cause to fight for).

But I'd like to hear what you think.

America's Global Warming Legacy

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday May 18, 2014 · 8:05 PM PDT

2014/05/18 · 20:05

http://southwestmuckraker.com/...

These days, the question of whether climate change is 'real or not' is not simply of interest to scientists. It is an issue of importance for the American camping community. Over the past two decades we have seen a dramatic rise in carbon emissions which currently stands at an astounding 401.30 parts per million [1]. The global PPM in 1980 was 338.80 [2]. The world at large increased our global parts-per-million by eighteen percent (18.447%) over the course of 34 years! The situation posed by global warming raises questions about predicting trends in lung cancer, national park attendance, and, even, national security.

http://southwestmuckraker.com/...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association has stated that carbon emissions are a very real threat to the American people and our way of life. They cite the atmospheric burdens will dramatically change the way humans live in our environment. Our domestic energy plan needs demands new methods of dealing with this new, global scourge.

“Careful and comprehensive scientific assessments have clearly demonstrated that the Earth’s climate system is changing in response to growing atmospheric burdens of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and absorbing aerosol particles.” (IPCC, 2007) “Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for—and in many cases is already affecting—a broad range of human and natural systems.” (NRC, 2010a) “The potential threats are serious and actions are required to mitigate climate change risks and to adapt to deleterious climate change impacts that probably cannot be avoided.” (NRC, 2010b, c)"

They have also stated that "[O]ur ability to quantitatively predict how the future climate will respond to continued and increasing greenhouse-gas and fine-particle emissions is still limited. Even more limited is our ability to precisely predict how the Earth’s ecological and human systems will respond to climate changes.[3]" An example of the climate change would be the recent California fires. The dry period, during which many of these fires occur, has expanded by 78 days since the 1980's [4]. We've seen many more fires caused by climate change which makes an already bad carbon problem--worse. This is confirmed by western states like Organ who has stated "Large emissions are usually accompanied by dry and hot climate.[5]" Without human intervention; Global warming will cause a carbon-feedback loop in regards to climate change that will, probably, damn our children to a horrible climate.

http://southwestmuckraker.com/...

An argument that lobbyists of the fossil fuel industry or FOX News correspondents might cite is that 'we are trying to scare them'. It was only last week that Bill Nye had to face down a Fox News correspondent while simultaneously bearing the burden scientific of proof.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0-l7F44MQ4

But that's not really fair. One correspondent demanded to be educated on the facts of global warming, but then demanded that Bill “look [her] in the eye and tell me in good conscience that climate change is our most urgent, number one priority right now.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjuGCJJUGsg

What kind of country will we leave our grandchildren if we refuse to respond? To continue down the avenue of obsessive carbon-dioxide consumption will be our undoing. It's unto us to be leaders in the international community for coming up with real solutions for carbon-dioxide.

http://southwestmuckraker.com/...

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday May 12, 2014 · 6:47 PM PDT

2014/05/12 · 18:47

http://time.com/...

or decades, the FCC has regulated traditional phone service under common carrier provisions that require phone companies to connect all calls to people around the country. But in 2002, the FCC made the fateful decision to classify broadband as an “information service” not a “telecommunications service” — paving the way for internet fast lanes and setting the stage for a decade of legal wrangling.
The FCC’s Internet governance policies have been in limbo since a federal court struck down most of the agency’s 2010 Open Internet order in January. That order prohibited broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon from blocking traffic like Skype or Netflix on wired networks or putting them into an Internet “slow lane.”

http://www.usatoday.com/...

Responding to waves of criticism, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is revising his net neutrality rule proposals to include a ban on certain types of "fast lanes" for content companies that are willing to pay Internet service providers for the upgrade.
The revision, which seeks comments from the agency's other commissioners, will be circulated today as they get ready to vote Thursday on the proposals.

http://www.theverge.com/...

The FCC officials told the publication that Wheeler has redrafted his rules in an attempt to address the backlash to his initial proposal. That draft proposal, which offered an internet "fast lane" for bloated internet providers, was lambasted by some of the United States' biggest investors, technology companies, senators, and even Wheeler's own colleagues at the FCC. Wheeler himself has responded to public opposition, first in a blog post on the FCC's own site, in which he claimed that reports stating the FCC was "gutting" the open internet rule were false, and later in a letter published by The Washington Post.
An unnamed FCC source said that "the draft is explicit that the goal is to find the best approach to ensure the internet remains open and prevent any practices that threaten it," but it's still unclear how effectively the new proposal responds to criticisms of the previous draft. The Wall Street Journal says it will include "language that would make clear that the FCC will scrutinize the deals," but also that Wheeler is not deviating significantly from his previous proposal, sticking instead to "the same basic approach" as before.

http://www.sfgate.com/...

He's an apostle of "paid prioritization" - his words for a two-track world - but he's backed off slightly. He's tempering this idea by suggesting that the agency screen any deals on faster service and consider regulating the Internet like a public utility.
It's a major change from the previous hands-off attitude of the agency. The Internet's legal category would switch from "information service" largely immune from federal oversight to "common carrier" subject to FCC scrutiny.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...

To outsiders, the FCC may seem like a black box: We haven't even seen a draft of the proposed rules that have critics so alarmed. But on the inside of the commission, a charged political battle is playing out that could set the tone for the commission's future. And the fault lines are mostly leaving the agency's head, Tom Wheeler, cut off from the rest of his colleagues.

http://www.politico.com/...

Aides to Wheeler’s fellow Democratic commissioners, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, declined to comment on the revisions. Wheeler will have to find support from the Democrats because the two Republican commissioners oppose any network neutrality rules.
Rosenworcel and Republican Commissioner Ajit Pai last week called for the vote to be delayed. The FCC also plans to seek comment on two other net neutrality proposals offered by Mozilla and Tim Wu, the Columbia University law professor credited with coining the term “net neutrality.”

Many lawmakers already have weighed in. A group of 11 senators — including Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon, Chuck Schumer of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — urged Wheeler in a letter last week to drop the Internet fast lane approach.

Marco Rubio Denies Global Warming

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday May 11, 2014 · 4:05 PM PDT

2014/05/11 · 16:05

http://www.motherjones.com/...

As speaker of the Florida Legislature, Rubio shepherded a landmark bill to limit greenhouse gas emissions, voiced caution about drilling off the Sunshine State's coast, and argued that climate change was real. "Global warming, dependence on foreign sources of fuel, and capitalism have come together to create opportunities for us that were unimaginable just a few short years ago," he told his House colleagues in 2007. Of drilling, he said it should only be done if it could be proven environmentally safe, and it wasn't a silver bullet: "Even if we started drilling tomorrow morning, it could take close to 10 years before we start seeing the benefits."

But as soon as he jumped into the US Senate race, his love for Mother Earth faded. He stumped for a Palinesque pro-oil campaign called "Drill Here, Drill Now." He ridiculed cap-and-trade emissions plans as "European-style" or "California-style" social engineering. And he attacked his Senate opponent, the moderate Republican-turned-independent Charlie Crist, as "a believer in man-made global warming." "I don't think there's the scientific evidence to justify it," he told the Tampa Tribune.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/...

Human activity has been increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (mostly carbon dioxide from combustion of coal, oil, and gas; plus a few other trace gases). There is no scientific debate on this point. Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv), and current levels are greater than 380 ppmv and increasing at a rate of 1.9 ppm yr-1 since 2000. The global concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere today far exceeds the natural range over the last 650,000 years of 180 to 300 ppmv. According to the IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES), by the end of the 21st century, we could expect to see carbon dioxide concentrations of anywhere from 490 to 1260 ppm (75-350% above the pre-industrial concentration).

FOX Rewriting Cummings & Issa Conflict

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 06, 2014 · 2:15 PM PST

2014/03/06 · 14:15

In a recent article by Fox News, they report that:

http://www.foxnews.com/...

"Issa’s comments came just hours after he ended the rancorous committee hearing when Lerner refused to answer questions – a move that infuriated the panel’s top Democrat.
"I am a member of the Congress of the United States. I am tired of this," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md, shouted into a turned-off microphone."

However, as I watched the video of the event, it seems that Cummings was directing his comments towards Issa -- not Lerner. He prefaced the statement with, "Mr. Chairmen, you cannot run a committee like this. [. . .] No, let me say what I have to say"

http://youtu.be/....

Clearly, FOX would rather that the media concentrate on Lerner rather then Issa.

Warren's Senate: Grimes, Nunn and Tennant

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday December 07, 2013 · 7:00 AM PST

2013/12/07 · 07:00

Yesterday morning I received an email from the Warren Campaign. She's pushing hard for three new female candidates in the senate. It sounds like this is her plan to push for a liberal senate.

Warren, E. (2013, December 6). That's What Little Girls Do. [Personal Correspondence].

[. . .]
We need a lot more women to make the same decision I did - to run for office, to make thier voices heard, and to fight for what they believe in. We've got 20 women in the United States Senate. That's great - but we need a lot more.

That's why I'm happy to be supporting three smart, strong omen running for the Senate in 2013: Alison Grimes in Kentucky, Michelle Nunn in Georgia, and Natalie Tennant in West Virginia. They are in tough fights, and they need strong grassroots support.

Alright, Warren, I'll do my part and do a quick write up--for you. Also, because I have no idea who any of these people are.

-----

Alison Grimes

Fullname: Alison Grimes. She used to be a practicing defense attorney from Lexington, Kentucky. She claims that her victory in a domestic abuse case is what inspired her to run for the Senate.

An in-depth poll from November puts her in a "dead heat" with Mitch McConnell. An upset here would spell disaster for the Republican party.

Lake Research Partners. (2013, November 8). New Poll Reveals McConnell Vulnerabilities. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/...

The data reveals a dead heat between Alison Grimes and Mitch McConnell among likely voters. the sitting Senator attracts just 37% of the vote, putting him on equal footing with Grimes' 37%. Not only that, he lags slightly behind Grimes (27% to 29%) in strong support. Meanwhile, 19% of the voters are undecided, and the third party candidates absorb the rest of the vote (2% for Patterson, 4% for Marksberry).

For more context please consult the following article:

Horn, R. (2012, November 2). This Woman's Work: Secretary of State Alison Grimes Goes to Frankfort. Retrieved from http://ctkschool.net/...

-----

Michelle Nunn

Fullname: Mary Michelle Nunn. She's a former non-profit CEO of Points of Light, an organization that, "bring[s] the power of people to bear where it matters most" as it's mission statement. She's been working as at least an executive of PoL since 1990. She is the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn.

Public Policy Polling. (2013, August 6). Georgia Senate Starts As Toss Up. Retrieved from http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/...

Nunn herself is not all that well known- 61% of voters don't have an opinion about her and those who do have one are closely divided with 20% viewing her favorably and 19% unfavorably. But there's no doubt that the Nunn family brand remains very strong in the state- her father has a 56/12 favorability rating even after nearly 20 years out of office and his appeal cuts across party lines- he's at 64/7 with independents, 58/16 with Republicans, and 50/12 with Democrats.

Everyone seem to appreciate the work she does. See below citation:

Strauss, D. (2013, December 2). Conservative Georgia Newspaper Praises Senate Dem Candidate Michelle Nunn. Retrieved from http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...

-----

Natalie Tennant

Fullname: Natalie E. Tennant. She's the current Secretary of State for West Virginia. Before that she worked as a television news anchor for several affiliates.

She clearly faces an uphill battle with Shelly Capito, but could easily win an election against Pat McGeehan.

Public Policy Polling. (2013, September 23). West Virginia Survey Results. Retrieved from http://images.politico.com/...

[. . .]
Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Natalie Tennant?

Favorable ----- 39%
Unfavorable ----- 32%
Not Sure ----- 20%

[. . .]

Q7 If the candidates for Senate next year were Republican Shelley Moore Capito and Democrat Natalie Tennant, who would you vote for?

Shelly Moore Capito ----- 50%
Natalie Tennant ----- 36%
Not Sure ----- 14%

[. . .]

Q9 If the candidates for Senate next year were Republican Pat McGeehan and Democrat Natalie tennant, who would you vote for?

Pat McGeehan ----- 32%
Natalie Tennant ----- 42%
Not Sure ----- 26%

Tennant will have to sell herself to a more conservative audience then Nunn and Grimes. She faces an uphill battle from the get-go there. However, her current Secretary of State roll let's her start the campaign cycle with the additional funding required for such an uphill battle--I hope.

No citation there. If she doesn't have campaign cash then she's probably screwed.

For the offical biography on Tennant, check her State-provided webpage below:

Harris, B. (2013). West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie E. Tennant. Retrieved from http://www.sos.wv.gov/...

Microsoft Compares Government to Cyber Criminals

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday December 06, 2013 · 12:45 PM PST

2013/12/06 · 12:45

When does our national security budget become a national security risk?

Now, I'll be the first to take Microsoft word with a grain of salt. I feel that Microsoft's legacy of awesome business decisions don't always equal technological advancement for the rest of society.

But today they made an excellent point.

Brad Smith, Executive Vice President for Microsoft's Legal and Corporate Affairs, summarized the situation on the official Microsoft blog. He cited the government as an "advanced persistent threat" which roughly translates to "cyber criminals". You can read the details below:

Smith, B. (2013, December 4). Protecting customer data from government snooping. Retrieved from http://blogs.technet.com/...
Many of our customers have serious concerns about government surveillance of the Internet.

We share their concerns. That’s why we are taking steps to ensure governments use legal process rather than technological brute force to access customer data.

Like many others, we are especially alarmed by recent allegations in the press of a broader and concerted effort by some governments to circumvent online security measures – and in our view, legal processes and protections – in order to surreptitiously collect private customer data. In particular, recent press stories have reported allegations of governmental interception and collection – without search warrants or legal subpoenas – of customer data as it travels between customers and servers or between company data centers in our industry.

If true, these efforts threaten to seriously undermine confidence in the security and privacy of online communications. Indeed, government snooping potentially now constitutes an “advanced persistent threat,” alongside sophisticated malware and cyber attacks.

In light of these allegations, we’ve decided to take immediate and coordinated action in three areas:

· We are expanding encryption across our services.

· We are reinforcing legal protections for our customers’ data.

· We are enhancing the transparency of our software code, making it easier for customers to reassure themselves that our products do not contain back doors.

All of these changes in policy I agree with . It's a well documented fact that the federal government has been pouring NSA and CIA funds into silicone valley. This last year it was approximately 30 to 50 Billion dollars (the real number has been kept secret and the CIA cites "national security" rationale). Microsoft reported Microsoft reported $21.76 billion in profits for fiscal year 2012.** Microsoft needs to come up with a dynamic methods to prevent NSA agents from stealing their intellectual property. The NSA spends maybe twice (2x) as much money lobbying silicon valley as Microsoft reports as profits!

These points made by Smith are particularly poinent in the shadow of the recent revelations regarding NSA's claim that they no longer need search warrants for digital tracking as you can read below:

Soltani, A. & Gellman, B. (2013, December 4). NSA Tracking Cellphone Locations Worldwide, Snowden Documents Show. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
The National Security Agency is gathering nearly 5 billion records a day on the whereabouts of cellphones around the world, according to top-secret documents and interviews with U.S. intelligence officials, enabling the agency to track the movements of individuals — and map their relationships — in ways that would have been previously unimaginable.

The records feed a vast database that stores information about the locations of at least hundreds of millions of devices, according to the officials and the documents, which were provided by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. New projects created to analyze that data have provided the intelligence community with what amounts to a mass surveillance tool.

Kravets, D. (2013, December 6). NSA Wrongly Says Warrantless Mobile-Phone Location Tracking Is Legal. Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/...

National Security Agency snoops are harvesting as many as 5 billion records daily to track mobile phones as they ping nearby cell towers across the globe.
That alarming scoop by The Washington Post via documents provided by NSA leaker Edward Snowden included wishful thinking from an unnamed government “intelligence lawyer” interviewed in the story. This official, according to the Post, said that the data “are not covered by the Fourth Amendment,” meaning a probable-cause warrant isn’t required to get it.

In reality, however, the case law on cell-site locational tracking — while generally favorable to the government — is far from clear, with federal courts and appellate courts offering mixed rulings on whether warrants are needed.

Overall, I'm glad to see that at least one multi-billion dollar enterprise standing in support of the 4th Amendment. I hope that they continue to push the government on why search warrants are necessary in our modern democracy--even if they are doing it out of their own self-interest.

Bill Donohue: Calling Out Liberals, Disobeying Pope

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 05, 2013 · 1:38 PM PST

2013/12/05 · 13:38

This first video puts Bill Donohue in the perspective he deserves.

CNN. (2013, September 20). Watch As CNN's Cuomo Calls Out Bill Donohue's Homophobic, Anti-Semitic Smears. Retrieved from "http://mediamatters.org/...

He claims to be an independent spirit of Christ, but he is among the most divisive members of the catholic community.

A few months later, we find that Bill Donohue is about to pick a fight with Dan Savage and Bill Maher over the clip below:

HBO. (2013, November 22). Bill Maher Interviews Dan Savage on Cheneys, Baldwin, and Kiddy F*cking Catholic Priests. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/...

Which he posted this personal comment on the catholic league website:

Donohue, B. (2013, November 25). http://www.catholicleague.org/...

And then put this in context of his anti-liberal blogposts you can see at this website which proclaims itself as "Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias". http://newsbusters.org/...

I'm not buying. Why do conservatives get away with insindiary comments on the TV, but Martin Bashir can't even call out Sarah Palin for the foul slave master she is. Typical America. Read More

Texas School Bans 50% Students From Speaking Native Language

dsteve01

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday December 05, 2013 · 9:52 AM PST

2013/12/05 · 09:52

Isn't the whole concept of a school to be a place of safety, cultural diversity for students? I met many young hispanics in my generation that cannot speak Spanish because the grandparents refused to teach them the language out of fear for the children ability to adapt.

Who are we to judge these people to the point of forced cultural conversion? Maybe if you actually sat down to learn some Spanish you could better accommodate your students? Examples like the Hempstead school district really bring down the quality of our education system as a whole.

The federal government awards you money to help your students, not force them to adopt your world view. What's the point of this whole exercise in education if you are not enabling your students to participate?

Karades, D. (2013, December 2). Hempstead students say principal tried to ban them from speaking Spanish. Retrieved from http://www.khou.com/...
“People don’t want to speak it no more, and they don’t want to get caught speaking it because they’re going to get in trouble,” said sixth-grade student Kiara Lozano.

A number of students believe the principal’s announcement has given some teachers and fellow classmates a hall pass to discriminate.

“There’s one teacher that said, if you speak Spanish in my class, I’m going to write you up,” said eighth-grader Tiffani Resurez.

More than 50 percent of the students enrolled at Hempstead Middle School are Hispanic. That’s according to greatschools.org.

Students said the school has not resolved the confusion surrounding the principal’s attempt to ban the Spanish language in class.

“She was like no speaking Spanish,” explained eighth-grader Yedhany Gallegos. “I was like that’s my first language. She said, well you can get out.”

Gallegos and many of her classmates grew up speaking Spanish at home. She said speaking Spanish with her friends at school comes as second nature.

Some parents feel the district has yet to get to the root of the problem.

“Why are you punishing our children like this?” asked mother Cynthia Zamora.

Associated Press. (2013, December 3). Principal Forbids Students From Speaking Spanish. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/...
A Texas middle school principal has been placed on paid leave after she banned the speaking of Spanish by students while in class.

A Hempstead school district spokeswoman confirms that Amy Lacey has been placed on leave pending investigation of her Nov. 12 announcement on the intercom at Hempstead Middle School.

More than 50 percent of the school enrollment of about 330 students is Hispanic. KHOU-TV (http://bit.ly/...) of Houston reports a letter sent by the district to school parents assured that neither the district nor any campus has any policy banning speaking Spanish.

Kossak, A. (2013, December 4). School Principal Amy Lacey On Paid Leave After Announcing Students Weren’t Allowed To Speak Spanish In Class. Retrieved from http://www.opposingviews.com/...

Edwards, D. (2013, December 4). Texas principal bans Hispanic students from speaking Spanish to ‘prevent disruptions’. Retrieved from http://www.rawstory.com/...
A group of students told KHOU that Hempstead Middle School Principal Amy Lacey announced over the intercom on Nov. 12 that they were no longer to use their native language in order to “prevent disruptions.”

It was over two weeks later before the superintendent sent a letter home insisting that “neither the district or any campus has any policy prohibiting the speaking of Spanish.”

But the students said that the effect of the ban had been chilling.

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I'm a Proud Democrat, Trump Supporter

Obama Vs. Limbaugh

Australia Cuts Global Warming Budget by 92%

America Willing To Hire Marijuana-Hacktivists Against China?

America's Global Warming Legacy

Tom Wheeler Burns Down Internet Community

Marco Rubio Denies Global Warming

FOX Rewriting Cummings & Issa Conflict

Warren's Senate: Grimes, Nunn and Tennant

Microsoft Compares Government to Cyber Criminals

Bill Donohue: Calling Out Liberals, Disobeying Pope

Texas School Bans 50% Students From Speaking Native Language