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Is Cory Heidelberger really calling Pat Powers a New Age pagan goddess worshipping warlock?

In a recent post, Cory Heidelberger says this about Pat Powers:

And now, eight months after falling under Chad and Annette's spell, Powers finally wakes up and does his first honest-to-Gaia blogging on Team Bosworth-Haber.

I am very familiar with Gaia, but the phrase "honest-to-Gaia" puzzled me. The only thing that I could find was this Honest to Gaia pledge on eating the right kind of food, which does fit into the Gaia hypothesis:

Anyone who has studied the global green movement has no doubt heard of "Gaia". Believers in Gaia, or ‘Gaians’ as they often refer to themselves, claim that the earth is a sentient super-being, an ancient goddess spirit, deserving of worship and reverence. Sir James Lovelock, in his book Gaia: ‘A new look at Life’, states that “all of the lifeforms on this planet are a part of Gaia - part of one spirit goddess that sustains life on earth. Since this transformation into a living system the interventions of Gaia have brought about the evolving diversity of living creatures on planet Earth.” Gaians teach that the "Earth Goddess", or Mother Earth, must be protected from destructive human activity. It is this belief that fuels the environmental movement, sustainable development, and a global push for the return of industrialized nations to a more primitive way of life.

Gaians claim that “we are part of Nature and Nature is part of us, therefore God is part of us, and God is everywhere, and everything is God”. In reality Gaia is actually a revival of the “Earth-goddess” found in many ancient pagan religions. The current Gaia Cult is a cunning mixture of science, paganism, eastern mysticism, wicca and feminism. While researching this subject I have been astounded by how many prominent environmental leaders, politicians, scientists, and religious leaders profess a literal belief in Gaia. Gaians appear to have infiltrated every level of power at the United Nations and risen to prominent positions in many Governments. I strongly believe that they are the most dangerous and devious cult on the face of the planet.

And yes, it is a component of the New Age movement:

The Gaia hypothesis was eagerly accepted by the emerging new age movement in the 1970s as it combines neatly with eastern mysticism and neopagan theology, but “science” was needed to convince biologists. For these people, Gaia was made palatable by Lovelock's Daisyworld model, a mathematical and scientific theory designed to refute the criticisms of Darwinism. Just as evolution eliminates the need for a divine creator, the Daisyworld model provided a theory of evolving life on earth that incorporates natural selection with a sentient lifeforce. It eliminates a personal yet separate God, and makes humans a part of the divine spirit that is Gaia.

Interestingly climatology was the first branch of science to actively endorse the Gaian theory that Earth was a single, self-regulating system. Steven Schneider, Professor of Climatology at Stanford, organised the first international scientific conference to discuss “the implications of Gaia.” It was Schneider who later became the most vocal climatologist supporting Global Warming and once famously stated “we need to get some broad based support, to capture the public's imagination... So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements and make little mention of any doubts... Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.” The Gaia hypothesis, absent the spiritual connotations, has now been accepted into mainstream science and renamed the Gaia Theory. It can be found in most environmental science textbooks.

As mentioned previously the Gaia theory found its greatest resonance with the New Age movement who were entranced by the mystical side of Gaia. They found it easy to conceive that humans can have a spiritual relationship with Gaia. A connectedness to nature and the belief that humans are a part of this collective consciousness called Gaia appeals strongly to their worldview. A simple google search for gaia pagan, will reveal thousands of organisations proudly proclaiming themselves to literally be pagan priests and disciples of the great Goddess Gaia. There are dozens of Gaia Groups in most major cities. Wicca, which is said to be the fastest growing religion in the United States, is intimately connected with Gaia worship. In fact many Gaians call themselves witches and warlocks.

So is Heidelberger saying Pat Powers is now beginning his transformation into a New Age pagan goddess worshipping warlock? I doubt Pat would agree that he is becoming a fellow New Age Theocrat with Cory after coming out of some spell concocted by Annette Bosworth.

Giving parents the option to protect their children and their family's privacy defeated by South Dakota's House

Representative Jim Bolin only wanted HB1187 to be added to yesterday's South Dakota House calender in order to have a discussion on whether parents should have the right ot opt their children out of the Smarter Balanced testing. Family privacy rights have been gutted so this data mining can occur. Smarter Balanced's agreement with the feds, in exchange for Obama's Race To The Top grant money, requires Smarter Balanced to give the US Department of Education access to the student-level data. Here are the legislators who refused to allow HB1187 on the floor:

Nays:
Bartling; Cammack; Conzet; Cronin; Dryden; Duvall; Feinstein; Gibson; Hajek; Hawks; Hawley; Heinert; Hunhoff (Bernie); Johns; Killer; Kirschman; Langer; Lust; Magstadt; Mickelson; Munsterman; Novstrup (David); Otten (Herman); Parsley; Peterson; Ring; Romkema; Rounds; Rozum; Schoenfish; Schrempp; Sly; Soli; Solum; Stevens; Tulson; Tyler; Werner; Westra; Wink; Wismer; Speaker Gosch

Here are the brave legislators who supprted parental rights in South Dakota:

Yeas:
Anderson; Bolin; Campbell; Craig; Ecklund; Erickson; Feickert; Greenfield; Haggar (Don); Haggar (Jenna); Heinemann (Leslie); Hickey; Hoffman; Kaiser; Kopp; Latterell; May; Nelson; Olson (Betty); Qualm; Rasmussen; Russell; Schaefer; Stalzer; Steele; Verchio; Wick

There should be political consequences in regard to this most important vote of the session.

Governor Daugaard misleading South Dakota on Common Core

On Friday Governor Daugaard's column on Common Core made this claim:

The standards, adopted by South Dakota in 2010, lay out expectations in math and English only.

He also asked us to read the standards as adopted by South Dakota. If you do, you will see this:

Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects K–5

Looks like more than just math and English. Today's Mitchell Paper confirms South Dakota is implementing Common Core beyond Math and English:

Graves also said during the report that there are 18 parents of middle school students who have shown interest in continuing the Mass Customized Learning pilot program for their children as those students enter high school.

MCL is a multi-grade program that creates individualized learning programs for students based on state common core curriculum standards in math, science, social studies and English.

So far, the addition of science and social studies is voluntary. But give them an inch and they will...

Common Core: Obama, a continuation of a scheme set in motion By George Herbert Walker Bush

In South Dakota's legislature there is a coalition of Democratic Establishment members and SDGOP Establishment members protecting the Common Core command and control agenda. This analysis provides insight as to why:

Recently FOX News Judge Napolitano did a video in which he asked “What if both parties are the same.. What if the two parties simply make you think you have a choice–

What if many of the questionable actions by the Obama Administration were nothing more than a continuation of a scheme set in motion By George Herbert Walker Bush………………

Scary Thought Huh?

Recently many American’s were shocked to find out Barack Obama was giving some Islands off the Alaskan Coast to Russia– It was called treasonous, it probably was.  But as most Conservatives now know, except the ones who limit themselves to FOX News– It was George Bush Senior who actually cut the deal with Russia

...

What most people do not know is that George Bush Senior signed UN Agenda 21 for the United States.

Most Americans have come to believe that the invasion of Iraq by the younger George Bush was probably more of an attempt to finish his father’s war that it was a necessity for the security United States. Even if Saddam had Weapons of Mass Destruction, he couldn’t use them against the US and was unlikely to use them against any of our friends in the region.  He wasn’t going anywhere, he could have waited.

I have often wondered why Jeb Bush spends so much time trying to help Obama force his education agenda Race To The Top on the states. At least publicly Obama has been the Bush family’s biggest critic.  Why would Jeb help someone who has spent hours blaming his brother for all the worlds problems.

It might not be that complicated.

In 1990: George H. W. Bush signed an international agreement entitled, “World Education for All (EFA), the result of a United Nations “World Conference on Education for All” summit. (link)

One of the central features of Barack Obama’s educational agenda is something called, Common Core Standards.  Common Core is a very thinly disguised attempt to give the Department of Education absolute control of the nations school curriculum. This is a direct violation of United States law. But it is one of the necessary requirements for the United States to comply with UN Agenda 21.

I only found out in the last day or two it was George H W Bush, Jeb Bush’s father who decided that the United States needed to bow to the educational goals of the United Nations. Just like with the Alaskan Islands giveaway and the implementation of Agenda 21 via Regulation, Barack Obama is simply executing part of an agreement that George Bush Senior signed.  It looks like Jeb is helping Obama impose his fathers Globalist Agenda

Vocational schools originated in Germany and now part of South Dakota's crony capitalism

Governor Daugaard has applies over $8 million to convert public schools to subsidized job training:

Gov. Dennis Daugaard is showing exactly how vital he believes career and technical education will be to South Dakota's future.

Wednesday, Daugaard announced 12 recipients of the Governor's Grants for Career and Technical Education, including a grant of $1,240,228 awarded to Mitchell School District.

...

The statewide grants, which are a combined total of more than $8.5 million, assist school districts in developing CTE programs and strengthening programs that already exist. The funds will help middle schools and high schools to partner with each other, other school districts, postsecondary institutions and those in the industry.

They were made available through the South Dakota Future Fund, which was created by Gov. George Mickelson to invest in South Dakota's workforce and build its economy. They are available on a one-time basis, so grant projects must be self-sustaining beyond this initial investment.

In all, 26 applications were received, requesting a total of $20 million.

"CTE programs are crucial in preparing South Dakota students for all the opportunities awaiting them after graduation," Daugaard, a Republican, said in a news release. "Programs are strongest when all the key players work together: secondary education, postsecondary education, and business and industry."

So we have another public/private partnership that forces taxpayers to subsidize the cost of business. And this is not an American idea. It comes from Germany:

The German vocational training system, with its combination of classroom and business, theory and practice, learning and working, is recognized worldwide as a basic and highly effective model for vocational training. The dual system is firmly established in the German education system, having, as it does, firm roots dating back to the Middle Ages. An essential characteristic of the dual system is the cooperation between largely private companies, on the one hand, and public vocational schools, on the other.

Here is how it came to America:

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the US Department of Education (ED) agreed to an intensified cooperation on the topics of "qualifications standards in automotive production" and "green occupations". The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Bonn maintains a long-lasting cooperation with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) based on a cooperation agreement signed in 2003. On this basis, joint conferences, expert seminars and study visits in Germany and the USA took place.

Challenged by the current global economic crisis and climate change, Germany and the USA are interested in viable competitive models for education and training, which adequately address the demands of sustainable economic development.  At a first bi-national expert workshop called “Globally Competitive and Sustainable Qualifications in Vocational Education and Training,” held in Bonn in May 2010, eight bilateral cooperation initiatives in the fields “automotive production” and “green occupations” have been set up.

When Common Core advocates mention "college and career ready", they actually mean "community college and career ready". And community colleges include South Dakota's vocational schools. Public education is now less about education and more about producing grunts for corporations with the taxpayers paying for much of the training costs. And instead of getting a job and receiving a pay-check with on-the-job training. Now with this German dual education system, more and more employees are going into debt while attending community colleges before they get a job. You would think Marxist Democrats like Cory Heidelberger would have a problem with this fascist crony capitalist agenda implemented via public/private partnerships.

Larry Pressler, a Rhodes Scholar using the gay agenda to destroy America's sovereignty and return America to British rule?

Larry Pressler sent an email to Cory Heidelberger opposing SB 128, thus arguing that sodomy is a civil right and free speech is not:

I am very strong on civil rights—I marched with Martin Luther King as a young man. I was about the only Republican member of the Senate to be a co-sponsor of the equal rights amendment for women in the 1980s, and I was a co-signor of the Amicus Brief to the Supreme court on gay marriage [Larry Pressler, e-mail to Madville Times, 2014.02.04].

Pat Powers is questioning Pressler's claim that he marched with Martin Luther King. What we do know is the degrees he holds:

Oxford University, Oxford, England – Oxford Diploma in Public and Social Administration, Rhodes Scholar, 1964

My research over the years has lead me to understand that Rhodes Scholars should bring up a red flag. Here is why:

Cecil John Rhodes the empire builder, held a lifelong burning ambition to bring about “the ultimate recovery of the United States of America as an integral part of the British empire.” Today many American Rhodes scholars are working assiduously to make the dream of their imperial patron come true.

These American Rhodes scholars have been going to Oxford university for education and indoctrination in the British way of thinking since 1904. The Rhodes diamond and mining fortune foots the bills. Each year 32 leaders are carefully se1ected for the schooling abroad. Only two world wars temporarily halted the annual crop.

Rhodes cherished schemes for a world power federation dominated by Anglo-Saxons. His American scholars returning from England are the leaders in the drive to sink Uncle Sam deeper in the morass of the affairs of other countries.

...

Rhodes told intimates it might take a century for his “great dream” to be fulfilled. Less than half a century has passed. To an extent the decision reached by the American revolution has been reversed already, in the opinion of historical observers.

Politically, It is pointed out, the United States has surrendered some sovereignty to a supra-body, the United Nations, in which the British foreign office wields tremendous influence. Militarily Americans are fighting for foreign interests as they did in the French and Indian wars. Economically the country is pouring out its wealth in the form of foreign “aid” just as it did before the Boston tea party.

How are Rhodes’ American proteges throwing their weight around? More than a third of the living American scholars are in the educational field, mostly at Harvard and other eastern institutions. In their teaching and writing they pass along the views they soaked up from the Oxford Dons.

But in recent years the scholars have infiltrated the government in increasing numbers. They hold key positions, particularly in the vital foreign policy-making state department.

Right Wing Watch has noticed that there is an argument that the homosexuality movement will destroy America:

Responding to the White House’s LGBT Pride celebration, Pastor Larry Tomczak in Charisma magazine maintained that gays and their allies are putting America “on the path to destruction.” Tomczak writes that events which “brazenly celebrate, legitimize and promote the gay lifestyle in America” are part of the country’s “downward spiral” and gay “tsunami.”

After the pastor shared a story about how his father-in-law, a veteran of World War II, confronted his church for not speaking out more aggressively against homosexuality, Tomczak drew parallels between gays in America and Nazis in 1930s Germany: “It would do us well to recall that in Nazi Germany, only a small percentage of the people were part of the Nazi party. Amid the atrocities, the overwhelming majority were apathetic and afraid to speak up…. Is history repeating itself?”

Research also ties the German racism of the Nazis with the British Anglo-Saxon racism:

The Anglo-Saxons were a people who inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. They included people from Germanic tribes who migrated to the southern half of the island from continental Europe, and their descendants; as well as indigenous people who adopted the Anglo-Saxon culture and language. The Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period of British history after their initial settlement, until the Norman conquest, between about 450 and 1066.

Here is more on that:

Theodism, or Þéodisc Geléafa originally sought to reconstruct the beliefs and practices of the Anglo-Saxon tribes which settled in England. þéodisc is the adjective of þéod "people, tribe", cognate to deutsch. As it evolved, the Theodish community moved past solely Anglo-Saxon forms and other Germanic tribal groups were also being reconstituted; Theodism, in this larger sense, now encompass groups practicing tribal beliefs from Scandinavia and the Continent, following in the model set forth by the Anglo Saxon theods founded in the 1970s. The term Theodism now encompasses Norman, Frisian, Angle, Saxon, Jutish, Gothic, Alemannic, Thuringian, Swedish and Danish tribal cultures. This relaxing of the original term "Theodism" functionally identifies Germanic Neopagans who practice or advocate Neo-Tribalism.

More on the Germanic Neopagans:

Germanic neopaganism, also known as Heathenism, Ásatrú, Odinism, Forn Siðr, Wotanism, Theodism, and other names, is the contemporary revival of historical polytheistic Germanic paganism. Precursor movements appeared in the early 20th century in Germany and Austria, and a second wave of revival began in the United States, Great Britain, Iceland, Australia, and other places in the late 1960s. Dedicated to the ancient gods and goddesses of the North, the focus of Germanic neopagans varies considerably, from strictly historical polytheistic reconstructionism to syncretist (eclectic), Jungian, occult or mysticist approaches. Germanic neopagan organizations cover a wide spectrum of belief and ideals.

Now we should understand the pagan source of the 1960s New Age movement. Now we have Larry Pressler along with Cory Heidelberger helping the New Age Theocrats implement their British Anglo-Saxon racist imperialist agenda. I have been trying to warn Cory, but he refuses to understand. Note the reference to "goddesses of the North". I have already covered Cory's involvement with wannabe goddesses. But I don't think they are Anglo-Saxon racists. Like most people in America, Cory and Erin have been deceived by people like Larry Pressler and other Rhodes Scholars like Bill Clinton. Yes, they come from both political parties.

Keloland, major propagandist for Common Core, flunks math

Keloland news reports this:

Senate Bill 142 would boost pay from $6,000 to $10,000 for each legislative session, which comes out to be an additional $420,000 per year to cover all 105 legislators. But lawmakers say, this isn't as self-serving as it sounds.

A 60-percent pay increase may sound like a big raise for most of us, but South Dakota lawmakers say it's long overdue.

A $4,000 increase on a $6,000 base amount represents a sixty six and two-thirds precentage increase. Keloland has been a big propagandist for keeping Common Core, yet they fail to comply with its standards in math.

Former Governor Mike Rounds is on board the Common Core railroad, while Finland became number one by abandoning high-stakes testing

This Northern Plains News report was published in one of the back pages of Mitchell's paper today:

Former South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and several other former governors continue to support Common Core educational benchmarks that they helped develop.

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Governors' Council includes seven former Republican and Democratic governors: Phil Bredesen, of Tennessee; Jim Douglas, of Vermont; Brad Henry, of Oklahoma; Linda Lingle, of Hawaii; Sonny Perdue, of Georgia; Mike Rounds, of South Dakota and Ted Strickland, of Ohio.

Governors and chief state school officers created the Common Core standards, according to BPC. These standards are state-driven and state-implemented and will hold all students to the same academic rigor while forestalling the need for federal intervention in an area traditionally left to the states.

The governors will devote this year to clarifying much of the misinformation including claims that Common Core is a federal initiative and that it dictates exactly what will be taught in each individual classroom. The effort will begin with an event with current Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and the Chamber of Commerce Foundation this month.

I doubt that they will mention how Finland became number one in student achievement:

For a country that famously avoids competitive, high-stakes tests, Finland has been garnering a lot of acclaim for its students’ scores on the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment test. Finland’s 15-year-olds topped the science tests given two years ago, besting students from 56 other countries, from Argentina to Uruguay. Combined with its high scores on the most recent reading and math tests, this gives Finland teens the top ranking in the world.

I fought with the Rounds asdministration for years against legislation to implement his early childhood agenda. Here is Finland's position on that:

Although Finnish children don’t start formal schooling until the age of 7, by the end of their first year, they all know how to read and write, says Bryan Luizzi, principal of Brookfield High School in Connecticut. Luizzi visited the country this year with a Connecticut contingent from Education Connection.

And how do they do it? It is not with national standards. It is the teachers:

The third reason is the degree of respect and trust teachers are given in Finland. Walker compared it to the status that doctors enjoy in the United States.

Flynn agreed, adding, “I was left with the most amazing sense of respect for the teaching profession. It’s how they were viewed in this country 75 years ago.”

One of the reasons for that reverence is how hard it is to become a teacher in Finland. Only one of eight applicants to teacher education programs is accepted; each teacher has a master’s degree. “The best and the brightest want to become teachers in Finland,” says Keith Krueger, CoSN’s CEO. “In our higher education system, the bottom third of the students are becoming teachers.”

A member of the National Education Association on the CoSN trip inquired about the teacher salaries, no doubt expecting that Finnish counterparts would be better paid. But it wasn’t the case. Salaries are roughly comparable, and in total Finland spends about $1,200 less per student than the United States’ $8,700 per-pupil average.

So as the Republican lead South Dakota legislature looks to passing a 3.8% increase in state aid and the Democrats cry about low teacher pay, no one is talking about how America is wasting education dollars:

Students start school at age 7 and  complete secondary school at 15 or 16. Based on grades, students then go to either vocational school or upper secondary school. Slightly more than half of Finnish students attend upper secondary school.

While Finland famously supports its residents and students, it is notable to mention what’s missing at its schools. There are no sports teams, no marching bands, no cocurricular activities, and no school busing system.

The biggest surprise visitors find in Finland schools is a lack of technology. “It was a bit disarming,” Luizzi says. “I didn’t see a single student with a laptop.” He added that outside of school, most students have two or three cell phones, with many of them boasting better features than Americans see.

Walker says the people on the CoSN trip were disappointed by what they didn’t find. While there are computers available and students searching for digital information, “I would say in any semi-wealthy U.S. school district, you’d see more technology.”

One anecdote that truly illuminates the difference between U.S. and Finnish culture came when visitors asked librarians how they filter the Internet for students. Finnish educators didn’t understand the question, Walker says, because the concept was so foreign to them. Finally, the two responses the group got were, “Students know these computers are for learning,” and “The filters are in students’ heads.”

Sad that personal accoutability is a foreign concept in America.

So as South Dakota has decided to go down the path of nationalized (I did not say federal) Common Core standards, Finland did the opposite:

The last major change in education Finland made was to loosen the national curriculum and give teachers more control. “They still give out objectives and expected outcomes,” Luizzi says, “but they allow teachers to determine how to get there.” This, of course, is counter to the direction that the U.S. education system has been heading.

South Dakota is heading down the wrong path if the purpose is to increase student academic achievement. We are being lead down the wrong path because our Governors are listening to the private Washington DC non-govermental organization, The National Governors Association. We are going lead down the wrong path by our secretaries of education, because they are members of the Washington DC based private non-governemntal organization called the Council of Chief State School Officers. Both entities have copyrights on the Common Core Standards, and there lies the confict of interests our Governor and Secretary of Education are clouded by. They are the ones that are misleading the citizens of South Dakota their legislators in Pierre.

We can achieve higher student learning with less money in a shorter period of time. Finland has, why can't we? All we have to do is gwt rid of teh centol control and command collectivists who run both political parties.

Cory Heidelberger has made me the Jim Crow of the Madville marketplace of New Age totalitarianism

Cory Heidelberger and his New Age political activists continue to use Jim Crow to attack those who want to protect their civil rights on free speech as he bans me from defending the truth at Madville. It is bad enough when you have to sit at the back of the bus, but Cory does not even let me on the Madville bus.

And yes, there are GOP members who are on his bus that allows sodomy as a civil right, but not free speech. The culture war has been lost, and American has already gone to hell. The thing for Christians to do is to continue to speak for the Gospel of Jesus and not be stopped by the totalitarian New Age persecutions that is now dominate both political parties as they work to establish Satan's kingdom, the Beast of Revelation:

In many Christian circles, there is plenty of speculation of exactly what this ‘mark’ in Revelation will be.  I have heard sermons and read tons of forum speculations of everything from Social Security numbers, to bar codes, to implanted RFID chips being the acceptance of this mark.

In this author’s understanding, when letting the bible interpret itself, I hold that this mark is not necessarily a physical branding – but rather a signet of thought and belief (forehead) and acting on that allegiance (right hand).  The history of totalitarian regimes on earth often demonstrate how this mechanism works as I understand it;  one must support and work for the party, leader or regime that holds power. Those who do not, are persecuted and have had their livelihoods seized and/or prohibited.  Loyalty to despotic regime in thought and deed is often how advancement, wealth and safety is achieved. Speaking out against tyranny and atrocity paints the target that the regime will hunt down and destroy.  And if not the regime, then the mob supporting the regime will do the silencing and intimidation of opponents.

I believe that Political Correctness is a form of this mechanism, and the rancor against Chick-Fil-A and now a bakery in Colorado – highlight how this ‘mark’ operates and illustrates the intolerant militancy of the Homosexual Agenda.

It was a major mistake for Americans (and liberal Christians) to have surrendered morality and virtue to a Satanic deception that taught them that ‘tolerance’ of an abomination of sin (as the bible describes homosexuality), is a more perfect morality.  The ‘judge not lest ye be judged’  perversion of scripture has rendered the Christian faith mute and impotent in the face of evil.  The lie deceived the easily compromised into believing that showing ‘compassion’ and tolerance for an evil lifestyle and perversion of what God intended, would establish fairness and equality and demonstrate non-judgmentality.  They refused to understand the truth.  The truth is that sin is NEVER content to exist alongside righteousness or morality.  Sin will ALWAYS demand that it subjugate, dominate and then exterminate, morality and those who practice it.  That is the nature of sin and evil.

There is no tolerance with the homosexual agenda.  The agenda DEMANDS that we not only accept their sin as ‘normal’ and ‘legitimate’,  it will go so far as to impose it’s acceptance by law.  It will teach it’s acceptance and practice via brainwashing and lecture through the media.  Eventually it will demand it’s practice among all via intimidation and violence, and that is already begun.

Christians are now the Jim Crows in America today. Be careful or you may get run over by a bus.

South Dakota Legislature needs to stand tall for parents and fend off the Common Core command and control of children, from craddle to career

I have posted a letter published by the Mitchell paper that explains how student-level data is to be delivered to the US Department of Education via the Smarter Balanced assessment testing that is to start in just weeks. On January 22, I provided that research to the Senate State Affairs committee in order to argue that SB 63 does not go far enough as it does not close a huge loop hole. Now we have the South Dakota Against Common Core report this:

On January 23, 2014, thirty-four Chief State School Officers, including our Dr. Melody Schopp, sent a letter to United States Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, regarding students’ personally identifiable data being shared with the federal government. This was done to try to assure the public that their childrens’ information is safe. You can read that letter here.

Karen Effrem, MD, president of Education Liberty Watch, has compiled a formal response, with documentation, to the Chief State School Officers’ letter. South Dakotans Against Common Core joined with 35 other groups across the country in signing the National Anti-Common Core Statement on the State School Chiefs’ Letter Regarding Data Privacy. Thank–you Karen Effrem for all your hard work.

I have reported on Dr.Melody Schoopp's effort to bully a parent who wants to shield her child from the Smarter Balanced Assessment testing. In Novemeber of 2010, I used some of Karen Effrem's research to advise the South Dakota Board of Education not to adopt Common Core standards. I am now advising all South Dakotans to make serious study of Effrem's Formal Response to the Chief State School Officers’ Letter on Student Data Privacy:

On January 23^rd, 2014, thirty-four chief state school officers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan trying to reassure the public that individual student test data will not be given to the federal government and that that data is safe as the Common Core national standards and federally funded and supervised national tests are put into place.

Here are the important quotes from that letter:

“We are writing today to confirm that the consortia will not share any personally identifiable information about K–12 students with USED or any federal agency.”  (Emphasis in original)

“Our states have not submitted student-level assessment data in the past; the transition to the new assessments should not cause anyone to worry that federal reporting requirements will change when, in fact, the federal government is prohibited from establishing a student-level database that would contain assessment data for every student.”

“As we have historically done, our states will continue to provide USED with school-level data from our state assessments as required under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended in 2002. Our states and local education agencies will continue to retain control over student assessment data and will continue to comply with all state and federal laws and regulations with regard to the protection of student privacy.”

“We are confirming that our states will not provide such information to USED and that everything we have said here is consistent with our understanding of the cooperative agreement between the consortia and USED.”

These statements are problematic on a multitude of levels for the following reasons:

The testing consortia are under obligation to the U.S. Department of Education to provide individual student test data via the cooperative agreements that they signed:

“Comply with and where applicable coordinate with the ED staff to fulfill the program requirements established in the RTTA Notice Inviting Applications and the conditions on the grant award, as well as to this agreement, including, but not limited to working with the Department to develop a strategy to make student – level data that results from the assessment system available on an ongoing basis for research, including for prospective linking, validity, and program improvement studies; subject to applicable privacy laws” (Emphasis added)

The most applicable privacy law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), has been so weakened via regulation that there is no real protection of individual student data.

There is a whole section of current federal FERPA regulations allowing the disclosure of individual student data without consent (All quotes in this next section are from §99.31 of the FERPA regulations):

 §99.31   Under what conditions is prior consent not required to disclose information?

Individual student data may be released without consent to organizations and entities that have “legitimate educational interests,” which basically means for any reason that a state or the federal governments or researchers or corporations want to use the data in conjunction with any state or federal program.

(a) An educational agency or institution may disclose personally identifiable information from an education record of a student without the consent required by §99.30 if the disclosure meets one or more of the following conditions:

(1)(i)(A) The disclosure is to other school officials, including teachers, within the agency or institution whom the agency or institution has determined to have legitimate educational interests. 

The regulations give private corporations, foundations, and researchers or even volunteers access to our children’s data without parental consent.

(B) A contractor, consultant, volunteer, or other party to whom an agency or institution has outsourced institutional services or functions may be considered a school official under this paragraph provided that the outside party—  (Emphasis added)

(1) Performs an institutional service or function for which the agency or institution would otherwise use employees;

(2) Is under the direct control of the agency or institution with respect to the use and maintenance of education records; and

(3) Is subject to the requirements of §99.33(a) governing the use and redisclosure of personally identifiable information from education records.

FERPA currently allows data to be given without consent to authorized representatives of the following entities including the US Department of Education, which combined with the cooperative agreement quoted above make the state chiefs letter MEANINGLESS.  The authorized representatives include the “contractor, consultant or volunteer” entities quoted above :

(3) The disclosure is, subject to the requirements of §99.35, to authorized representatives of—

(i) The Comptroller General of the United States;

(ii) The Attorney General of the United States;

(iii) The Secretary [of Education]; or (Emphasis added)

(iv) State and local educational authorities.

The regulations  give the states and the consortia carte blanche to “legally” give individual student test and other data to the federal government without consent to continue to develop and evaluate the national tests and “improve instruction” meaning the NCLB waivers that require the Common Core standards.

(6)(i) The disclosure is to organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, educational agencies or institutions to:

(A) Develop, validate, or administer predictive tests; (Emphasis added).

(B) Administer student aid programs; or

(C) Improve instruction.

So, even though the letter says the states will comply with current federal law and regulations, nothing is stopping the states entering into an agreement with the consortia and the consortia from “redisclosing” this data to the feds.

(ii) Nothing in the Act or this part prevents a State or local educational authority or agency headed by an official listed in paragraph (a)(3) of this section from entering into agreements with organizations conducting studies under paragraph (a)(6)(i) of this section and redisclosing personally identifiable information from education records on behalf of educational agencies and institutions that disclosed the information to the State or local educational authority or agency headed by an official listed in paragraph (a)(3) of this section in accordance with the requirements of §99.33(b).  (Emphasis added.)

The data is supposed to be protected but may be given to any entity with a “legitimate interest” in the information, which as has been explained is defined very broadly.­­­­­

Although there is a prohibition against a national student database in one section of federal  law called the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) that says, “Nothing in this title may be construed to authorize the establishment of a nationwide database of individually identifiable information on individuals involved in studies or other collections of data under this title; (Section 182)” that language appears to be negated by this language in Section 157:

“The Statistics Center [meaning the National Center for Education Statistics] may establish 1 or more national cooperative education statistics systems for the purpose of producing and maintaining, with the cooperation of the States, comparable and uniform information and data on early childhood education, elementary and secondary education, postsecondary education, adult education, and libraries, that are useful for policymaking at the Federal, State, and local levels.” (Emphasis added).[Note from Sibby Online: this is referred to as craddle to career by  the pro-Common Core activists] 

That language is even more worrisome in light of the grants to fund and promote state longitudinal databases in section 208 of ESRA, in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and even more heavily promoted in the Race to the Top K-12 and Early Learning Challenge programs.  Although the federal government will not be developing a national database, the SLDS and other regulatory language allow it to happen in a de facto manner.  (Here is a  full analysis of the federal issues).

This loss of data privacy when the federal government is both funding and supervising the development of the national tests is extremely worrisome, especially, as shown below, because the standards and assessments are meant to teach and test psychological parameters.

“The [federal] review will focus on two broad areas of assessment development: the consortium’s research confirming the validity of the assessment results and the consortium’s approach to developing items and tasks.”   (Emphasis added)

Given that the federal government admits  that the Common Core standards will be teaching and the aligned national tests will be assessing psychological or “non-cognitive” traits, parents should not be reassured by this letter:

“In national policy, there is increasing attention on 21st-century competencies (which encompass a range of noncognitive factors, including grit), and persistence is now part of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.”  (Emphasis added.)

“[A]s new assessment systems are developed to reflect the new standards in English language arts, mathematics, and science, significant attention will need to be given to the design of tasks and situations that call on students to apply a range of 21st century competencies that are relevant to each discipline. A sustained program of research and development will be required to create assessments that are capable of measuring cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal skills.” (Emphasis added).

The only way to truly protect our children’s data is to restore local control of education that has been usurped by the unconstitutional presence and actions of the US Department of Education.  Until that ultimate goal is reached, we will work to remove each of our states from the state longitudinal data systems and demand genuine state developed standards and assessments, instead of name changes, cosmetic adjustments to the Common Core standards, and deceptive reassurances about state control of test data.

The above research supports the passage of:

HB 1187; Purpose: provide for the exemption of certain students from the requirement to take certain academic assessment tests.

SB 129; Purpose: supplant the Common Core State Standards.

SB 148; Purpose: ensure that parents may direct the rearing of their children without undue governmental infringement.