[The] man of sin [shall] be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 KJV)
Jesus saith, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6 KJV)
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13 KJV)
Showing posts with label Communism Is Alive and Well in America. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Communism Is Alive and Well in America. Show all posts
December 3, 2020
Biden Supports a Global Tax That Could Affect the Stocks, Mutual Funds, and Pensions of Ordinary Americans
Canada Free Press - In a classic case of misdirection, while the media are preoccupied with the fate of the Bush tax cuts, President Obama is preparing to attend a United Nations summit next week to endorse “innovative finance mechanisms”—global taxes—to drain even more wealth out of the U.S. economy.
A draft “outcome document” produced in advance of the September 20-22 U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)commits the nations of the world to supporting “innovative financing mechanisms” to supplement foreign aid spending.
The term “innovative financing mechanisms” is a U.N. euphemism for global taxes. But the document actually goes further, praising the “Task Force on International Financial Transactions for Development” for its work on the subject of mobilizing additional “resources” for countries to achieve the MDGs. This is a body tasked with proposing and implementing global tax schemes.
“We consider,” the document says, “that innovative financing mechanisms can make a positive contribution in assisting developing countries to mobilize additional resources for financing for development on a voluntary basis. Such financing should supplement and not be a substitute for traditional sources of financing.”
In other words, the revenue from global taxes should be in addition to foreign aid spending.
The document recognized the “considerable progress” made in this area, an acknowledgement that an international tax by some nations on airline tickets is already in effect and producing several billions of dollars of revenue for world organizations to fight AIDS and other diseases.
In an article in The Christian Science Monitor, under the headline,
One of their proposals is a tax on international currency transactions that could generate $35 billion a year.
The proposal, popular at the United Nations for decades and long-advocated by Fidel Castro, is called the Tobin Tax and named after Yale University economist James Tobin. Steven Solomon, a former staff reporter at Forbes, said in his book, The Confidence Game, that such a proposal “might net some $13 trillion a year…” because it is based on taking a percentage of money from the trillions of dollars exchanged daily in global financial markets.
He is referring to the fact that once such a tax is in place, it could be easily raised to bring in hundreds of billions of dollars or more a year to the U.N. and other global institutions.
Such financial transactions through banks and other financial institutions are commonplace on behalf of Americans who have stock in mutual funds or companies that invest or operate overseas. Hence, such a global tax could affect the stocks, mutual funds, and pensions of ordinary Americans.
The term “small global taxes” brought a stunned reaction from Senator David Vitter, when he was told of what is being proposed in advance of the U.N. summit. Vitter introduced Senate resolution 461, “Expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should reject any proposal for the creation of a system of global taxation and regulation,” to put the Senate on record against any such measure. He has vowed to maintain pressure on the world body to avoid implementing any of these schemes and thinks that the Congress has to use whatever financial leverage it has to frustrate U.N. demands for more power and authority in world affairs.
The Vitter resolution was sent to the liberal-controlled Senate Finance Committee, which declined to act on it.
Obama has been a major U.N. supporter since he was in the Senate and sponsored a bill, the Global Poverty Act (S 2433), to force U.S. compliance with the MDGs. Joseph Biden, then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tried to get it passed into law but ultimately failed.
As President, Obama is in a position to actively promote global taxation measures and clearly has done so. The “outcome document” his administration has already endorsed will be formally approved at next week’s summit.
The document affirms the so-called “Monterrey Consensus” that committed nations to spending 0.7 percent of Gross National Product (GNP) on official development assistance (ODA), otherwise known as foreign aid.
It says that “The fulfillment of all ODA commitments is crucial, including the commitments by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 percent of gross national product (GNP) for ODA to developing countries by 2015…”
Over a 13-year period, from 2002, when the U.N.’s Financing for Development conference was held, to the target year of 2015, when the U.S. is expected to meet the Millennium Development Goals, this amounts to $845 billion from the U.S. alone, according to Jeffrey Sachs of the U.N.’s Millennium Project.
“It takes from 15 to 20 years to demoralize a nation. Why that many
years? Because this is the minimum number of years required to educate
one generation of students in the country of your enemy, exposed to the
ideology of the enemy. In other words, Marxist-Leninism ideology is
being pumped into the soft heads of at least three generations of
American students without being challenged or counter-balanced by the
basic values of Americanism, American patriotism. The result? The result
you can see. Most of the people who graduated in the sixties, dropouts
or half-baked intellectuals are now occupying the positions of power in
the government, civil service, business, mass media, educational system.
You are stuck with them. You cannot get rid of them. They are
contaminated. They are programmed to think and react to stimuli in a
certain pattern. You cannot change their minds even if you expose them
to authentic information. Even if you prove that white is white and
black is black, you cannot change the basic perception and illogical
behavior. In other words, in these people the process of demoralization
is complete and irreversible. To rid society of these people, you need
another 15 years to educate a new generation of patriotically-minded and
common sense people who would be acting in favor and in the interests
of the United States society.” – 1985 Interview of Yuri Bezmenov,
Russian-Born, KGB-Trained Subverter Who Defected to the United States
G. Edward Griffin interviews Ex-KGB Soviet Defector Yuri Bezmenov on the four-step program of demoralization, destabilization, crisis, and normalization used by the KGB to subvert nations. This interview was conducted in 1985, but has only recently been re-highlighted. Yuri explains why people cannot recognize truth when presented to them and why America has difficulty resisting a Socialist agenda.
ED GRIFFIN (introduces Mr. Bezmenov):
Our conversation is with Mr. Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov.
Mr. Bezmenov was born in 1939 in a suburb of Moscow. He was the son of a high-ranking Soviet army officer.
He was educated in the elite schools inside the Soviet Union and became an expert in Indian culture and Indian languages.
He had an outstanding career with Novosti [Press Agency (APN)],
which was the -- and still is, I should say -- the press arm or the
press agency of the Soviet Union. It turns out that this is also a front
for the KGB.
He escaped to the West in 1970 after becoming totally disgusted with the
Soviet system; and he did this at great risk to his life. He certainly
is one of the world's outstanding experts on the subject of Soviet
propaganda and disinformation and active measures.
ED GRIFFIN:
Well, you spoke before about "ideological subversion" and that's a
phrase that I'm afraid some Americans don't understand. When the Soviets
use the phrase "ideological subversion" what do they mean by it?
(Turning to Besmenov):
When the Soviets use the phrase "ideological subversion" what do they mean by it?
YURI ALEXANDROVICH BEZMENOV:
Ideological subversion is the process which is [a] legitimate, old word, and open. You can see it with your own eyes. All American mass media has to do is to "unplug bananas" from their ears, open up their eyes, and they can see it. There is no mystery. It has nothing to do with espionage.
I know espionage, intelligence gathering, looks more romantic. It sells
more deodorants through the advertising, probably. That's why your
Hollywood producers are so crazy about James Bond type of thrillers.
But in reality, the main emphasis of the KGB is not in the area of
intelligence at all. According to my opinion, and opinion of many
defectors of my caliber, only about 15% of time, money and manpower is
spent on espionage as such. The other 85% is a slow process which we call either "ideological subversion" or "active measures", активные меры in the language of the KGB, or "psychological warfare".
What it basically means is to change the perception of reality of every
American to such an extent that despite the abundance of information, no
one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interests of
defending themselves, their families, their community and their country.
It's a great brainwashing process which goes very slow, and is divided into four basic stages.
The first stage being "demoralization". It takes from 15 to 20 years to
demoralize a nation. Why that many years? Because this is the minimum
number of years required to educate one generation of students in the
country of your enemy exposed to the ideology of [their] enemy.
In other words, Marxism-Leninism ideology is being pumped into the soft
heads of at least three generations of American students without being
challenged or counterbalanced by the basic values of Americanism;
American patriotism.
* * * * * * *
Most of the activity of that department [KGB] was to compile huge amount /
volume of information on individuals who were instrumental in creating
public opinion: publishers, editors, journalists, actors,
educationalists, professors of political science, members of parliament,
representatives of business circles.
Most of these people were divided roughly into two groups: those who
would tow the Soviet foreign policy, they would be promoted to positions
of power through media and public manipulation; [and] those who refuse
the Soviet influence in their own country would be character
assassinated OR executed physically, come Revolution.
Same way as in a
small town of Hua in South Vietnam: several thousands of Vietnamese were
executed in one night when the city was captured by [the] Viet Cong for
only two days. And American CIA could never figure out - how could [the
communists] possibly know each individual, where he lives, where to get
him; and [in order that they] would be arrested in one night basically
in four hours before dawn, put on a van, driven out of the city limits,
and shot.
The answer is very simple. Long before communists
occupy the city, there was extensive network of informers - local
Vietnamese citizens who knew absolutely everything about people who are
instrumental in public opinion - including barbers and taxi drivers.
Everyone who was sympathetic to United States was executed. Same thing
was done under the guidance of the Soviet Embassy in Hanoi, and same
thing I was doing in New Delhi. To my horror, I discovered that in the
files were people who were doomed to execution. There were names of
pro-Soviet Journalists with whom I was personally friendly.
ED GRIFFIN:
Pro-Soviets?
YURI BEZMENOV:
Yes!
They were idealistically minded Leftists who made several visits to
U.S.S.R. and yet, the KGB decided that come Revolution, for drastic
changes in political structure of India, they will have to go.
ED GRIFFIN:
Pro Soviet?
YURI BEZMENOV:
Yes, absolutely. They were idealistically minded leftist communists who had made several visits to the USSR; and yet the KGB decided, that come Revolution, or drastic changes in political structure of India - they will have to go.
ED GRIFFIN:
Why is that?
YURI BEZMENOV:
Because they know too much. Simply, because, you see the USEFUL IDIOTS; the leftists who are idealistically believing in the beauty of Soviet or Communist or Socialist or whatever system; when they get disillusioned, they become the worst enemies. That's why my KGB instructors specifically made the point, "never bother with leftists, forget about these political prostitutes - aim higher" - his was my instruction. Try to get into, uh, large circulation, established conservative media. Reach filthy rich movie makers, intellectuals in so-called academic circles. Cynical, ego-centric people who can look into your eyes with angelic expression and tell you a lie. These are the most recruitable people - people who lack moral principals, who are either too greedy or too, uh, suffer from self-importance, uh, they feel that they matter a lot. Uh, these are the people who KGB wanted very much to recruit.
ED GRIFFIN:
But to eliminate the others; to execute the others, don't they serve some purpose - wouldn't they be the one's to rely on?
YURI BEZMENOV:
No, they serve purpose only [up] to the stage of destabilization of a nation. For example, your leftists in [the] United States - all these professors and all these beautiful civil rights defenders. They are instrumental in the process of the subversion; only to destabilize a nation. When the job is completed, they are not needed anymore. They know too much.
Some of them, when they get disillusioned - when they see
that Marxist-Leninist come to power - obviously they get offended; they
think that THEY will come to power. That will never happen, of course;
they will be lined up against the wall and shot.
But, they may turn into the most bitter enemies of Marxist-Leninists when they come to power.
And that's what happened in Nicaragua. You remember most of these
former Marxist-Leninists were either put to prison or one of them split
and now he's working against Sandinistas.
It happened in Grenada when Maurice Bishop was - he was already a
Marxist - he was executed by a new Marxist who was more Marxist than
this Marxist.
Same
happened in Afghanistan, when, uh, first there was Taraki; he was killed
by Amin, then Amin was killed by Karmal with the help of KGB.
Same happened in Bangladesh when Mujibur Rahman - very pro-Soviet Leftist
was assassinated by his own Marxist-Leninst military comrades.
It's the
same pattern everywhere. The moment they serve their purpose, all the
useful idiots are either executed entirely - all the idealistically
minded Marxists - or exiled or put in prisons like in Cuba many former
Marxists are in Cuba and in prison.
So, basically, America is stuck with demoralization. And unless - even if you start right now, here, this minute, you start educating
new generation of Americans - it will still take you 15 to 20 years to turn the tide of uh, ideological perception
of reality, uh back to normalcy and patriotism.
* * * * * * *
YURI BEZMENOV:
The result?
The result you can see.
Most of the people who graduated in the 60s, dropouts or half-baked
intellectuals, are now occupying the positions of power: the government,
civil service, business, mass media, educational system.
You are stuck with them.
You cannot get rid of them. They are contaminated. They are programmed
to think and react to certain stimuli in a certain pattern [alluding to Pavlov].
You can not
change their mind even if you expose them to authentic information. Even
if you prove that white is white and black is black, you still can not
change the basic perception and the logic of behavior.
In other words,
[for] these people, the process of demoralization is complete and
irreversible. To rid society of these people you need another 15 or 20
years to educate a new generation of patriotically-minded and common
sense people who would be acting in favor and in the interests of United
States society.
ED GRIFFIN:
And yet these people who
have been programmed and as you say [are] in place and who are favorable
to an opening with the Soviet concept [meaning NEW WORLD ORDER]- these
are the very people who would be marked for extermination in this
country?
YURI BEZMENOV:
Most of them, yes. Simply
because the psychological shock, when they will see in [the] future what
the beautiful society of equality and social justice means in practice. Obviously they will revolt. They will be very unhappy [and] frustrated
people. And Marxist Leninist regime does not tolerate these people.
Ah, they obviously they will join the [ranks] of dissenters, dissidents.
Ah, unlike in present United States, there will be no place for dissent in [a] future Marxist-Leninist America. Ah, here you can get popular, like ah, Daniel Ellsberg, or filthy rich, like Jane Fonda, for being a dissident, for criticizing your Pentagon. In [the] future these people will simply be [he makes a squishy noise] squashed like cockroaches [ for criticizing the
government]. Nobody is going to pay them nothing for their beautiful, noble ideas of equality. This they don't understand. And, and ah, will be greatest shock for them, of course.
* * * * * * *
YURI BEZMENOV:
1. The demoralization process in the United States is basically
completed already, for the last 25 years, actually; it's
over-fulfilled because, ah, demoralization reaches such areas where previously not even Comrade Andropov [1911-1984] and all his experts would even dream of such tremendous success.
Most of it is done by Americans to Americans, thanks to lack of moral standards. As I mentioned before, ah, exposure to true information does not matter any more. A person who is demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. Ah, even if I shower him with information, with authentic proof, with documents, with pictures. Even if I take him by force to the
Soviet Union and show him the concentration camps...he will refuse to
believe it.... until he is going to receive a kick in his fat bottom.
When the military boot crashes, then he will understand. But not before
that. That's the tragedy of the situation of demoralization.
2. The next stage is destabilization.
This time, subverter does not care
about your ideas and the patterns of your consumption. Whether you eat
junk food and get fat and flabby doesn't matter any more. It only takes 2
to 5 years to destabilize a nation. This time what matters is
essentials: economy, foreign relations, [and] defense systems. And you
can see it quite clearly that in some... sensitive areas such as defense
and [the] economy, the influence of Marxist-Leninist ideas in the
United States is absolutely fantastic. I could never believe it 14 years
ago when I landed in this part of the world that the process will go
that fast.
3. The next stage, of course is crisis.
It may take only up to six weeks to bring a country to the verge of crisis. You can see it in Central America, now.
4. And, after crisis, with a violent change of power structure and economy, you have so-called a period of "normalization". It may last indefinitely.
Normalization is a cynical expression borrowed from Soviet propaganda.
When the Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia in 1968, Comrade Breznev
said: "Now, the situation in brotherly Czechoslovakia is normalized."
This is what will happen in [the] United States if you
allow all the schmucks to bring the country to crisis. To promise people
all kinds of goodies, and the paradise on Earth. Uh, to destabilize your
economy, to eliminate the principal of free market competition, and to
put a big brother government in Washington D.C. with benevolent
dictators like [1984] Walter Mondale, who will promise lots
of things - never mind whether the promises are fulfilled or not.
He
[the dictator] will go to Moscow to kiss the bottoms of a new generation
of Soviet assassins. Never mind. He will create false illusions that the
situation is under control. The situation is NOT under control. [The] situation is disgustingly out of
control.
Most of the American politicians, media and educational system trains
another generation of people who think that they are living at the peace
time. False.
United States is in a state of war: undeclared total war
against the basic principles and the foundations of this system.
And the initiator of this war is not Comrade Andropov of
course - it's the system. However, ridiculous it may sound, [it is] the
world Communist system or the world Communist conspiracy. Whether I
scare some people or not, I don't give a hoot. If you're not scared by
now, nothing can scare you.
You don't have to be paranoid about it. What
actually happens now, that unlike myself, you have literally several
years to live on unless United States wake up. The time bomb is ticking.
With every second, the disaster is coming closer. Unlike myself, you
will have nowhere to defect to, unless you want to live in Antarctica
with penguins.
ED GRIFFIN:
Okay, so what do we do? What is your recommendation to the American people?
YURI BEZMENOV:
Well, the immediate thing that comes to mind is, of course, there
must be a very strong national effort to educate people in the spirit of
REAL patriotism, number one. Number two, to explain [to] them the real
danger of socialist, communist, welfare state, Big Brother government.
If people fail to grasp the impending danger [of that development], nothing ever will help the
United States. You may kiss goodbye your freedoms, including [freedom to]
homosexuals, to the prison inmate. All this freedom will vanish in five seconds,
including your precious lives.
The moment [that] at least part of
[the] United States population is convinced that the danger is real,
they have to FORCE their government - and I'm not talking about sending
letters, signing petitions, and all this beautiful, noble activity - I'm
talking about FORCING [the] United States government to stop aiding
Communism....
Ideological subversion is the process which is “legitimate” — overt
and open — you can see it with your own eyes. All you have to do, all
American mass media has to do is to unplug their bananas from their
ears, open up their eyes and they can see it. There is no mystery…there
is nothing to do with espionage. I know that espionage and intelligence
gathering looks more romantic…it sells more to the audience…for the
advertising, probably. That’s why your Hollywood producers are so crazy
about James Bond type of thrillers.
But in reality, the main emphasis of the KGB is not in the area of
intelligence at all. According to my opinion, and the opinion of many
defectors of my caliber, only about 15% of time, money and manpower is
spent on espionage as such. The other 85% is a slow process which we
call either ideological subversion or active measures — Активные
мероприятия in the language of the KGB — or psychological warfare.
What it basically means is to change the perception of reality of
every American to such an extent, that despite the abundance of
information, no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the
interests of defending themselves, their families, their community and
their country.
It’s a great brainwashing process which goes very slow and was
divided into 4 basic stages. The first one being demoralization…it takes
from 15 – 20 years to demoralize a nation. Why that many years? Because
this is the minimum number of years which it requires to educate one
generation of students in the country of your enemy…exposed to the
ideology of the enemy. In other words, Marxism and Leninism ideology is
being pumped into the soft heads of at least three generations of
American students without being challenged or counterbalanced by the
basic values of Americanism; American patriotism.
The demoralization process in the United States is basically
completed already. For the last 35 years — actually it’s over-fulfilled,
because demoralization now reaches such areas where previously not even
Komrade Andropov and all his experts would even dream of such
tremendous success! Most of it is done by Americans to Americans, thanks
to a lack of moral standards. As I mentioned before, exposure to true
information does not matter anymore. A person who is demoralized is
unable to assess true information;the facts tell nothing to him. Even if
I shower him with information, with the authentic proof with
documents…with pictures…even if I take him by force to the Soviet Union
and show him concentration camps, he will refuse to believe it until he
is going to receive a kick in his fat bottom! When the military boot
crashes his butt…THEN he will understand. But not before that, that’s
the tragic of this situation of demoralization.
The next stage is destabilization. This time, subverter does not care
about your ideas and the patterns of your consumption…whether you eat
junk food and get fat and flabby…it doesn’t matter anymore. This time,
(and it takes only from 2-5 years to destabilize a nation) what matters
is essentials: economy, foreign relations and defense systems. And you
can see it quite clearly that in some areas, in such sensitive areas as
defense and economy, the influence of Marxist/Leninist in United States
is absolutely fantastic…I could never believe it, 14 years ago when I
landed in this part of the world, that the process will go that fast.
The next stage of course is crisis; it may take only up to 6 weeks to
bring a country to the verge of crisis…you can see it in Central
America now. And after crisis, with a violent change of power, structure
and economy, you have the so-called period of “normalization.” It may
last indefinitely.
“Normalization” is a cynical expression borrowed from Soviet
propaganda. When the Soviet tanks moved into Czechoslovakia in ’68,
Komrade Brehznev said, “Now the situation in brotherly Czechoslovakia is
normalized!” This is what will happen in the United States if you allow
all the schmucks to bring the country to crisis; to promise all the
people all kinds of goodies, and a paradise on earth. To destabilize
your economy…to eliminate the principle of free market competition, and
to put a Big Brother Government in Washington D.C. with benevolent
dictators like Walter Mondale, who will promise lots of things…never
mind whether the promises are fulfilled or not.
Your leftists in United States…all these professors and all these
beautiful Civil Rights defenders…they are instrumental in the process of
the subversion…only to destabilize the nation. When the job is
completed, they are not needed anymore…they know too much. Some of
them…when they get disillusioned…when they see that Marxist/Leninists
come to power, obviously they get offended…they think that THEY will
come to power…that will never happen, of course. They will be lined up
against the wall and shot. But they may turn into the most bitter
enemies of Marxist/Leninists when they come to power. And that’s what
happened in Nicaragua.
You remember most of these former Marxists/Leninists were either put
to prison or one of them split and now he’s working against Sandinistas.
It happened in Grenada, when Maurice Bishop was already a Marxist…he
was executed by a new Marxist who was more Marxist than this Marxist.
Same happened in Afghanistan…when first there was Taraki, he was killed
by Amin and he was killed by Babrak Karmal with the help of the KGB.
Same happened in Bangladesh when Mujibar Rahman, a very pro-Soviet
leftist, he was assassinated by his own Marxist/Leninist military
comrades. It’s the same pattern everywhere.
In summary, the Active Measures to subvert the West are:
Demoralization
Destabilization
Crisis
Normalization
Think about many of the issues we face today. This KGB developed 4
part process has been applied to just about every institution and
organization in this country to effect the enormous cultural changes in
the last half century. It is at the heart of every action taken by the
feminist movement in their efforts to lobby for what we now recognize as
the active effort to break the Patriarchal nuclear family as the
foundation for our society. The institution of marriage and basic gender
roles have been demoralized, destabilized and in a state of crisis for
an entire generation now…to the point to where it is now normalized.
As Yuri said, one only has to open their eyes to easily see that we have most assuredly been subverted.
October 14, 2017
West Point Alum Posts ‘Communism Will Win’ Photo
September 26, 2017
(The Washington Times) - Photos of a West Point alumnus holding a pro-Colin Kaepernick “Communism Will Win” sign while in uniform is riling up the military community.
Images of U.S. infantry Officer Spenser Rapone reached a popular military news site on Tuesday and set off a robust debate on NFL national anthem protests, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback that started it all in 2016, and the shock of seeing an unapologetic communist from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
“I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure Colin Kaepernick wasn’t protesting in favor of communism. #ThatGuy,” wrote“Doctrine Man,” the moderator of a well-known Facebook page frequented by active military personnel and veterans.
Readers were shocked to see Mr. Rapone, whose Twitter handle is “Commie Bebop,” raising a clenched fist in support of Mr. Kapernick; another photo featured the officer revealing a Che Guevara shirt under his uniform.
LawNewz.com by Dan Abrams confirmedMr. Rapone’s identity Monday evening with the officer himself, but he said was on a field exercise until Friday and would be unable to comment for the time being.
Gateway Pundit then aggregated a host of photos showing the officer promoting communism with Twitter hashtags like #CommunismWillWin, #Marxwasright, and #VeteransForKaepernick.
“Old school grunt here, I was in Berlin when the Wall fell,” wrote Rick Wynne on the Doctrine Man Facebook page. “I can tell you I would NEVER have expected to see photos like these. Wow! I mean, wow! What the hell has happened to the Army? No body policed this crap up when it happened?”
“This old First Sergeant recommends that this prior enlisted soldier be given UCMJ action, a thunk on the head for being stupid and a one-way ticket to the front gate,” added John Zehmisch.
Reader Stephen Stout concurred, saying, “He needs to be discharged for conduct unbecoming of an officer and failure to uphold his oath to defend the Constitution of the United States. Communist extremism is not compatible with being a Soldier in the U.S. Army. He needs to be punished by UCMJ to the fullest extent.”
An op-ed posted on Medium on Aug. 16 by Mr. Rapone — just days after violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, over Confederate monuments — called for the nation to “come together and dismantle [America’s] racist structures, both in word, but more importantly, in deed.”
West Point issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying the officer’s actions “in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army.”
“As figures of public trust, members of the military must exhibit exemplary conduct, and are prohibited from engaging in certain expressions of political speech in uniform,” the statement read. “Second Lieutenant Rapone’s chain of command is aware of his actions and is looking into the matter. The academy is prepared to assist the officer’s chain of command as required.”
West Point Grad Army Officer is ‘Official Socialist Organizer’ Who Spreads Communist Propaganda Relentlessly
Spenser Rapone is an infantry officer in the U.S. Army and a combat veteran who is gaining attention after posting a photo in support of Colin Kaepernick.
The Middle Class Has Become the Enemy of the State (Statists and Elitists)
Elitists and moral supremacists, referring to themselves as "progressives," believe that they know so much more about justice, the market, and how we should live. In his book “Intellectuals and Society”, Thomas Sowell explains how the “anointed” believe that their advanced education and depth of knowledge in one field automatically makes them an authority on any field in which they wield an opinion. Sowell further explains that the most educated among us know only the smallest fraction of what is to be known. That these highly educated people may know so much more than any one of us does not mean that they know a fraction as much as do all of us.
Sowell also said: "Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it.”
The excerpt below is from "Obama’s (Middle) Class Warfare" by Cheryl Pass, September 30, 2011:
The elitists, statists, and the greens are not attacking the poor or themselves. And Obama is not going after “the wealthy” to pay their fair share. The object of their hatred is all aimed at the middle class. They can, will, and have controlled the poor. In fact they’ve been doing that for 100 years, since Wilson and FDR. Statists believe they have conquered those in the lower economic tier through welfare programs, unemployment insurance benefits, social services, public education, housing subsidies, and whatever other give-away programs they have used as bribes. And I could not argue their success. The poor, with their hands out, are not in a position to fight back. Having accomplished their goals with the poor, they now are laser focused on the middle class. And it is this middle class who is giving them a fight.
The middle class is still the group closest to the Constitution. The middle class is the group who has sacrificed the most lives in wars and defense of the nation. The middle class is the group who produced the goods that made the country self-sufficient. The middle class is the group of citizens who are outraged and appalled at the assault on the nation from within by the elites. So who does Obama perceive as his enemy? Who is the next victim class of the elite and statists? The middle class.
How do you kill the middle class? You eliminate their income potential. You kill their jobs. You destroy manufacturing. You make their lives miserable with regulations. You make their energy so expensive they cannot function. You ridicule their cultural and moral codes. You promote things to undermine their family structure. You tax them to death. You take over their communications. You attempt to track all of their activities. You humiliate them in airports, schools, media, and through their health care. You call them names. You inhibit their mobility and use their tax dollars to limit auto traffic, telling them they must walk or bike. You limit their food. You limit all of their independent survival abilities and micro-manage every aspect of their lives.
The middle class has become the enemy of the state (statists).
How does someone advocate for a smaller government while having only ever received a paycheck from the government?
Maybe this is obvious to others, but lately I have been taken aback by the number of statists who have no understanding of the economic costs of socialism (to the individual or the greater society). The academic elitists use euphemisms such as "universal health care" to hide its true nature, but lately the masses have been calling it "free health care." The term "free-health care" is not a convenient shorthand for a complicated issue, but an indicator of a severe misunderstanding of basic economics.
Some of them just assume faceless wealthy people will take on the financial burden, but a lot of these statists genuinely believe that socialism is free. It's a simple concept that is obvious to libertarians/ancaps, but if their perspective is forgotten or ignored, the debate is over before it started, as any sophisticated defense of capitalism is built on a foundation of nothing.
The best scenario is that the capitalist will come across as a moron, and the worst is that he will come across as a monster. I'm getting called out for circlejerking and setting up a strawman. I posted similar thing joking around in /r/whowillbuildtheroads, but I'm being serious here about this phenomenon. There are plenty of lefties who believe in redistribution and social justice and whatnot, but if you project these arguments onto every single person and ignore the common existence of magical thinking, you are going to have a bad time.
I'm in medicine and I talk to people about health care every single day (especially outside of work when inhibitions are lowered). It is common for people to be sincerely confused about why anyone would be opposed to "free-health care."
My experience in real-life has not been the entitlement mentality of naive /r/politics "the rich owe us." They are an over-educated subgroup that is severely over-represented on the internet of the left-wing.
In real-life, a shockingly large number of people are somewhat illiterate. They can read enough to get by and fake it, but when you have them read out loud or explain concepts to you the facade they put on to fit into society becomes obvious. They have learned to repeat things that sound pretty good and are agreeable. Who do you think they are mimicking? Economists? OF COURSE NOT. Acknowledging that many, MANY people do not have a basic understanding of economics is not circlejerking or creating a stawman. It's accepting reality. Projecting economic understanding into their opinions is a strawman. [Source]
The Tenth Amendment Center - Universities are home to the academic elite — people who believe they
have more intelligence than and superior wisdom to the masses. They
believe they have been ordained to forcibly impose that wisdom on the
rest of us. Academic elitists have what they consider
to be good reasons for restricting the freedom of others. But every
tyrant who has ever lived has had what he considered good reasons.
America’s elite found on university campuses, in news media and in
political office are chief supporters of reduced private property rights
and reduced rights to profits, and they are anti-competition and
pro-monopoly.
They are pro-control and coercion by the state. Their plan requires
the elimination or attenuation of the free market and what is implied by
it — voluntary exchange. Their reasoning is simple. Tyrants do not
trust that people acting voluntarily will do what the tyrants think they
should do. Therefore, tyrants want to replace the market and voluntary
exchange with economic planning. Economic planning is nothing more than
the forcible superseding of other people’s plans by the powerful elite
backed up by the brute force of government.
In a 1991 speech, Yale University President Benno Schmidt warned:
“The most serious problems of freedom of expression in our society today
exist on our campuses. The assumption seems to be that the purpose of
education is to induce correct opinion rather than to search for wisdom
and to liberate the mind.”
Jonathan Gruber, MIT economist and paid architect of Obamacare, has shocked and disgusted many Americans. I watched the videos of Gruber’s speeches.
Academics raised little concern as to either the dishonesty of Obamacare
or the claim that Americans were too stupid to understand.
A study by my George Mason University colleague Daniel B. Klein,
along with Charlotta Stern of the Swedish Institute for Social Research,
titled “Professors and Their Politics: The Policy Views of Social
Scientists” (http://tinyurl.com/qxne3db) concluded:
“The academic social
sciences are pretty much a one-party system. Were the Democratic tent
broad, the one-party system might have intellectual diversity. But the
data show almost no diversity of opinion among the Democratic professors
when it comes to the regulatory, redistributive state: they like it.
Especially when it comes to the minimum wage, workplace-safety
regulation, pharmaceutical regulation, environmental regulation,
discrimination regulation, gun control, income redistribution, and
public schooling.”
Focusing only on Professor Gruber’s arrogance, we ignore the more
important fact that he is highly representative of the academic mindset —
the people who are brainwashing our youngsters.
August 17, 2014
Battle Between Government Collectivists and Parents: Parents Face Threat of Fines and Jail Time Over School Attendance, with Children Being Made Wards of the State
WhatIsCommonCore.WordPress.com - Lately, there’s been quite a buzz about ending compulsory education. Utah Senator Aaron Osmond propelled the idea when he wrote a piece on
this subject at the Utah Senate blog. Osmond pointed out that it is a
“parental right to decide if and when a child will go to public school,”
adding that “in a country founded on the principles of personal freedom and unalienable rights, no parent should be forced by the government to send their child to school under threat of fines and jail time.”
Public education started out as an opportunity, but over the years,
turned into a governmentally enforced mandate. The mandate flies in the
face of other laws, such at Utah’s FERPA, which asserts that it is the parent, and not the government, who is the primary authority over a child.
That’s just common sense to most of us; in fact, most parents are
utterly unaware that there is a battle going on between government
“collectivists” and parents. The idea that parents hold authority over a
child is not acceptable to an alarmingly pushy segment of society, who say government should take ownership of children.
This is, of course, communism.
But it’s becoming acceptable to many. Watch the video put
out by MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry, of the Lean Forward campaign.
She asserts that “we have to break out of the notion that children
belong to parents.”
It is time to wake up and protect parental authority.
COMPULSORY EDUCATION: THE GREAT CONTROL GRAB By Autumn Cook
12-year-old Lucas Maynard and his parents found themselves in truancy
court last week. Lucas’ offense? He got sick too much this year. The
punishment? They’re still waiting to find out, but the judge has
informed him that removal from his parents’ custody is a possibility.
All around the country, there is a quiet assault on families taking
place. In the name of “helping children,” state laws and school district
attendance policies are being altered to draw thousands of innocent
children into the juvenile justice systemand wave the heavy threat of
state force and social services intervention over the heads of ordinary
good parents.
Innocent children whose crimes amount to being frequently ill, or
struggling with mental health issues such as autism, or being the victim
of bullying, are being hauled into court, coerced into lengthy
“diversion programs,” threatened with removal from the custody of their
parents, actually removed from the custody of their parents, and in
other ways terrified and treated like criminals. Their families are
being put through the wringer with unpaid time from work for court
dates, costs for attorney fees, and fear of state intervention in their
families.
Untold numbers of other families are being frightened into doing
everything possible to avoid entanglement in this system, including
sending their kids to school sick and cancelling family travel. It is
happening in states all over the country – I personally know of cases in
Indiana, Texas, and Wyoming, with particular knowledge of what is
happening in Nebraska because of personal involvement.
Here’s how it’s been playing out in Nebraska.
In 2010, motivated by
an attempt to get points on its Race to the Top application, the
Nebraska legislature passed a law at the request of the Governor which
effectively took away the right of a parent to excuse her child from
school. The new law required schools to report kids to law enforcement
if they had more than 20 days of absence – for any reason at all.
Nebraska could get more points on its application by having a plan in
place to increase attendance. All states were able to earn more points
for implementing more oppressive attendance laws.
At the same time, school districts started tightening up their
attendance policies, disallowing excuses for family travel or time home
with seriously ill family or military parents on leave from deployment.
Before the change, Nebraska applied the reasonable and widely-used
standard of reporting kids with unexcused absences – those whose parents
hadn’t accounted for their whereabouts.
Where once state law, school district policies, and public officials
worked to reduce truancy – kids missing school without their parents’
permission (a.k.a. “skipping”) – the focus is shifting to reducing
absences of any kind. The shift is leaving untold collateral damage in
its wake, including the relationships between school administrators and
the parents they serve. And it’s shifting our culture to embrace the
“state knows best” mindset, minimizing the authority of parents and
giving far too much power to state officials to decide what’s “best” for
individual children. It’s also generating a lot of business for the
social service industry.
Last week, the story of the Maynards – referred to above – became the
latest in a long list of such abuses out of Nebraska. Their story
highlights much of what’s wrong with the “brave new approach” to school
attendance that’s sweeping the nation.
Lucas experienced a lot of
illness – plus two days of impassable winter roads in rural Nebraska –
during the past school year. This innocent offense landed him in court,
forced to sit away from his parents between the prosecutor and the
guardian ad litem assigned to him, listening in terror as the judge
informed him that one of the consequences of his absences from school
could be removal from his parents’ custody. (Children are assigned a
guardian ad litem in cases of alleged abuse or neglect. So the state of
Nebraska has implied that the Maynards committed abuse or neglect by
keeping their son home when he was ill and when the roads were too
dangerous to travel!)
The Maynards’ entire story can be read at the Nebraska Family Forum
blog. Unfortunately, it’s only one of hundreds if not thousands of such
cases, and that’s just in Nebraska. The toll around the country is much
higher, with many cases even more egregious, such as this one involving a 9-year-old in Wyoming.
If you see attendance policies and laws like this, don’t wait a day to
contact your local school boards and state legislators.They need to
hear the message that laws and policies must protect the fundamental
right that parents have to make decisions for their children. For those
who are lucky enough to live in states and districts where this approach
hasn’t been implemented yet, watch your legislature and local board
meetings like a hawk! Proponents of this approach to school attendance
are pushing the “state knows what’s best for each child” approach all
over the country, including here in Utah this last session.
It’s another piece – an especially frightening piece – of the education reform puzzle that is shaping up all over the country.
The Chambers Family
A quiet middle-schooler with severe allergies is sent to the county
attorney, forced to submit to a drug test without her parents’
knowledge, made to feel like a criminal, and ends up attending school
when sick, staying in a quiet room where she naps and eats lunch – just
so they can count her present.
The Herrera Family
A mother decides to homeschool her 3rd-grade daughter for the last few
weeks of the school year after school officials fail to deal with her
bullies and she gets beaten with a stick on the way home from school.
Because she doesn’t waited to receive official notice of approval from
the state – her daughter was in imminent physical danger – when she
comes back the next year she is reported to law enforcement, made a ward
of the state, and her mother is placed on the child abuse and neglect
list.
The Garrity Family
The story of a 15-year-old boy with autism shows how families who
already struggle with unique challenges are abused and put through
further suffering by the state of Nebraska and its school districts.
The Hall Family
A well-liked honor roll student with seasonal asthma is forced into a
“diversion program.” Diversion from what? Asthma? The solution the
following year is that when she is too sick to go to school, her parents
must bring her to school so the school nurse can verify the parents’
judgment.
The imposition of federal Common Core standards, which were developed
using money from the loudest and wealthiest corporate school reform
proponent, Bill Gates, and are suspiciously promoted by Exxon-Mobil (Rockefeller-owned), will exacerbate the high-stakes testing problem. Corporate school reform folks can’t wait for Common Core tests to be
implemented so that they can claim that more public schools are
“failing.” They will swoop in with fancy plans for new, for-profit
charter schools and start stuffing their pockets with public funds that
were supposed to be used educating our children. [Source]
This is the fifth in a countdown
series of introductions, a list of the top ten scariest people leading
education in America. For numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, click here.
WhatIsCommonCore.WordPress.com - The biggest philanthropist on earth comes
across as the epitome of sincere, nerdy nice-guy. And he probably is
very nice and very sincere. But does sincerity trump truth?
The truth is, Bill Gates’ herculean attempt
to fund and market Common Core to Americans, and to circumvent the
voting public on educational issues, is dangerously, dangerously misguided.
Thus, not everybody is happy in philanthropy land. The biggest philanthropist in the world got behind the unproven experiment of Common Core. Using money rather than the voice of the American voter, pushed it into schools, circumventing any vetting by legislative, educator or parent groups.
Gates’ astronomical wealth has persuaded millions that Common Core is the solution to education problems, the argument from everywhere, approved
(by him) and beyond debate. But let me repeat the fact: regardless of
whether the standards are horrible or glorious, the truth remains that
whenever unelected philanthropists are permitted to direct public
policy, the voting public gets cut out of the process.
Since Gates has no constituency, he can’t be un-elected; so it’s not the the wisdom of experienced educators, but simply one man’s money that
is directing implementation of the controversial Common Core. His
money has bought, besides technology, work groups, and a seat at the
policy making table, extreme marketing success.
He’s got control of the education opinion factory.When Common Core
was debated at the Indiana State Capitol, who showed up to advocate for
Common Core? Stand for Children, which Bill Gates funds.
No wonder, then, even educators don’t seem to know the full truth about Common Core.They’re reading Education Week and the Harvard Education Letter. Translation: they are reading Gates’ dollar bills. (By the way: want to
make some money selling out your fellow teachers? Gates is searching
for a grant recipient who will receive $250,000 to accelerate networking
of teachers toward acceptance of Common Core.)
Wherever you see advocates for Common Core, you see Gates’ influence.
He gave a million dollars to the national PTA to advocate to parents about Common Core.
He gave Common Core
developer NGA/CCSSO roughly $25 million to promote it (CCSSO:
2009–$9,961,842, 2009– $3,185,750, 2010–$743,331, 2011–$9,388,911; NGA
Center: 2008–$2,259,780.)
Gates paid inBloom $100 million to collect and analyze schools’ data as part of a public-private
collaborative that is building “shared technology services.” InBloom,
formerly known as the Shared Learning Collaborative, includes districts,
states, and the unelected Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO).
The list goes on and on and on.
It’s hard to know exactly how much money Gates has put toward the
promotion of Common Core because of the chameleon-like wording of educational granting areas.
For example, he gave $3 million to Stanford University and $3 million to Brown University for “college and career readiness.” (The average person wouldn’t know that college and career readiness is a code phrase defined as common core by the Department of Education.)
Sometimes
he’s promoting “support activities around educational issues related to
school reform” for the CCSSO (common core developer) and other times
he’s “helping states build data interoperability,” which not everyone
would recognize as Common assessments’ bed-making.
According to Gates himself, he’s spent $5 billion to promote his vision of education since 2000.
And not just in America– he wants global education standards.
Gates’ company, Microsoft, signed a cooperative agreement with the United Nations’ education branch, UNESCO. In it, Gates said, “Microsoft supports the objectives of UNESCO as
stipulated in UNESCO’s constitution and intends to contribute to
UNESCO’s programme priorities.”
So Gates partners with the U.N.’s educational and other goals via UNESCO’s “Education for All”, which seeks to teach the same standards to all children (and adults) on a global scale. Why is this a problem? It supercedes local control over
what is taught to students, and dismisses the validity of the U.S.
Constitution, all in the name of inclusivity and education and tolerance
for all nations.
At this link you can learn about how Education For All works:
“Prior to the reform of the global EFA coordination architecture
in 2011-2012, the Education for All High-Level Group brought together
high-level representatives from national governments, development
agencies, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. Its role
was to generate political momentum and mobilize financial,
technical and political support towards the achievement of the EFA goals
and the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). From 2001-2011 the High-Level Group met annually.”
The six goals of “Education For All” are claimed to be internationally agreed-upon. On the linked Education and Awareness page of the U.N. website, we learn:
Did you get that? Education is indispensable for the U.N. to get its agenda pushed onto every citizen worldwide. They just admitted it out loud. They want a strong hand in determining what is taught worldwide.
So then we click on Chapter 36. In 36.2 it says we should “reorient”
worldwide education toward sustainable development. (No discussion, no
vote, no input needed on this reorientation plan, apparently.)
Chapter 36.3
says: “Both formal and non-formal education are indispensable to changing people’s attitudes…. It is also critical for achieving environmental and ethical awareness, values and attitudes, skills and behaviour consistent with sustainable development… To
be effective, environment and development education should deal with
the dynamics of both the physical/biological and socio-economic
environment and human (which may include spiritual) development, should
be integrated in all disciplines, and should employ formal and non-formal methods.”
The take-away? What does Bill Gates agree to in his Microsoft – UNESCO partnership?
Environmental education will be incorporated in formal education.
Any value or attitude held by anyone globally that stands
independent to that of the United Nations’ definition of “sustainable
education” must change. Current attitudes are unacceptable.
Education will be belief-and-spirituality based as defined by the global collective.
Environmental education will be integrated into every subject, not just science.
The stated objectives (36.4) include endorsing “Education for All,” and “giving special emphasis to the further training of decision makers at all levels.”
Hence the need for people like Gates to influence the training of
decision makers. When asked what matters most to him, Gates said:
education. His version of education as reported by The Huffington Post:
“I’d pick education, if I was thinking broadly about America,” Gates responded. “It’s our tool of equality.”
Is it coincidence that equality and redistribution are also concepts
that Linda Darling-Hammond, Chaka Fattah and Arne Duncan are promoting
in the federal Equity and Excellence Commission?
How committed is Bill Gates to the United Nations having a say in American education?
In his annual letter,
Gates emphasized the importance of following the United Nations’
Millennial Goals and measuring teachers more closely. One of those UN
Millennial goals is to achieve universal education.
Also, Gates helped create Strong American Schools (a successor to the
STAND UP campaign launched in 2006, which was an outgrowth of UNESCO’s
Millennium Campaign Goals for Universal Education). It called for U.S. national education standards. (link 1) (link 2)
Also, Gates’ Foundation funded the International Benchmarking
Advisory Group report for Common Core Standards on behalf of the
National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers,
and ACHIEVE, Inc. titled, “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S.
Students Receive a World-Class Education.” This report showed the United Nations is a member of the International Benchmarking Advisory Group for Common Core Standards. (link)
It appears that Bill Gates is more than a common core philanthopist;
he is a promoter of global sameness of education as defined by UNESCO
and the U.N.
From their Website: Making a successful transition to the Common Core State Standards is
as much about the tangibles—comprehensive, personalized curricula; tools
and skills for analyzing data effectively and productively; informed
staff and leader development; and parental involvement—as it is about
the intangibles. It will require the positive energy generated by
working together to achieve a common goal and the momentum that carries
you from implementation to assessment and beyond. In Houghton Mifflin Harcourt you have a trusted partner to rely on as
you take on this opportunity, a partner who will share the
responsibilities that come with achieving all that the Common Core
promises. We have created a wide range of content, curricula, and
services to support school leaders, teachers and educators, parents, and
especially students with this transition—because ultimately your energy
is focused not just on implementing the Common Core standards, but on
realizing their intent: guiding all students to 21st-century college and
career readiness.
Check out the Executive Leadership and Board of Directors for confirmation that big corporations are profiting from Common Core.
Linda K. Zecher
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Linda K. Zecher joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2011 as
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, bringing a strong
track record of business transformation and results. Her extensive
sales, marketing and technology experience contribute to her ability to
successfully lead HMH’s transformation into a global leader in
educational content and media. Previously, she served as Corporate Vice
President of Microsoft's $8 billion Worldwide Public Sector
organization, where she led a team of nearly 2,000 sales and marketing
professionals serving government, education and healthcare customers in
more than 100 countries. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2003, Linda held
leadership positions with Texas Instruments, Bank of America,
PeopleSoft, Oracle and Evolve Corp. Zecher currently serves on the board
of Cradles to Crayons and has also served on the U.S. State
Department’s board for overseas schools, the Emily Couric Leadership
Forum, the Intelligence and National Security Association board, and
James Madison University’s board of visitors.
Eric Shuman
Chief, Financial Officer
Eric
joined HMH in 2009 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Chief
Financial Officer in late 2011 following the appointment of CEO Linda
Zecher. He brings a long track record of leadership and results in media
and content, and deep experience in business model transformation.
Prior to joining HMH, Eric served as Chief Executive Officer of Thomson
Lifelong Learning Group, a division of The Thomson Corporation
specializing in training, skills assessment, and higher education
publishing. Previously, Eric was Senior Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer for Thomson Learning, and Chief Financial Officer for
Thomson Newspapers. In those capacities, he led several business
integrations, restructurings and significant mergers and acquisitions,
spanning fifteen years with Thomson. Eric holds a Bachelor of Science
Degree from Boston College.
William Bayers
Executive, Vice President and General Counsel
Bill
joined Houghton Mifflin in May of 2007 as Senior Vice President,
Secretary and General Counsel and was made Executive Vice President,
Secretary and General Counsel in March 2008. Previously, he served as
Vice President and General Counsel of Harcourt Education Group. Bill
oversees all legal, regulatory and corporate matters for the Company. He
is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
Dr. Tim Cannon,
Executive Vice President, International Operations and Global Strategic Alliances
Tim's
career in business, organizational and IT strategy spans nearly three
decades. Before joining HMH, Tim was Senior Director of Business
Strategy for Microsoft's Worldwide Public Sector organization, where he
oversaw the development and execution of business strategies to better
serve Government, Education and Health customers and partners worldwide.
Prior to that role, Tim was Senior Director of Business Strategy for
Microsoft’s U.S Public Sector. He has also held leadership roles at
companies like Digital Equipment Corporation and Oracle, and helped many
large organizations cope with the dynamics of change by implementing
responses to maximize shareholder value. Tim is the Chairman of the
Advisory Board of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the
University of Florida.
Brook Colangelo,
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Brook
joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in January 2013 from the White House,
where he held the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) since 2009.
With over ten years’ experience in technology strategy and
implementation, Brook joined the White House team in 2008 to spearhead
the Obama-Biden transition project. Prior to that, he held several
senior IT leadership roles, including within the Democratic National
Convention Committee, The American Red Cross’ Hurricane Recovery Program
and QRS Newmedia. Brook holds an honors degree in Political
Communications from The George Washington University.
Mary Cullinane, Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs
Mary
is HMH’s first Chief Content Officer. She has led the transformation of
the company’s content development capability, bringing a unique
combination of education and business experience. Prior to joining HMH
in 2012, Mary spent ten years spearheading Microsoft′s education-related
innovation programs and initiatives worldwide, including its national
1:1 access programs and its groundbreaking School of the Future in
Philadelphia. With another decade of experience as an educator, Director
of Technology and administrator in the public sector, Mary is a
recognized thought leader in the area of education reform and the
effective use of technology. She has testified before the U.S. Congress,
and co- authored the book What Next?, which documents lessons learned
during the building of the School of the Future. Mary holds a Master of
Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a Bachelor
of Arts from The College of New Jersey. Mary is a member of the board
of the Boston Children's Museum.
John K. Dragoon, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
John joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in April 2012. Previously, he served as Chief Marketing Officer and Channel Chief of Novell, where he led the company's Marketing and Partner programs for over seven years. Prior to joining Novell, John served as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Product Management at Art Technology Group (ATG). Before ATG, John served as Vice President, Operations at Internet Capital Group, where he served on the board of nine partner companies and guided strategy, marketing, business development, financing and product development. John also spent more than 16 years at IBM, where he held a number of marketing and sales positions. He holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Union College. Gary Gentel, President, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Consumer Publishing
Gary
joined Houghton Mifflin in October of 2003 as Corporate Vice President
and Director of Trade Sales and was promoted to Interim President of the
combined Trade Group in July 2007. He was given the permanent position
in December of that year. Previously, he served as President of
Candlewick Press—a children's publisher based in Cambridge, SVP of Trade
Sales at Scholastic Books, and SVP and Publisher of The Grosset and
Dunlap Group at GP Putnam's Sons—now a division of Penguin Books. Gary
started his publishing career as a Sales Representative at Random House
in 1980, rising to VP of Children's Sales by 1990.
James G. Nicholson, President, Riverside Publishing
Since
2010, Jim Nicholson has served as President of Riverside Publishing —
the professional and educational assessment arm of HMH. Prior to his
current position, he served as Riverside’s Chief Operating Officer,
where he was responsible for the company’s strategic planning and
product development, overseeing the integration of the Edusoft® Assessment Management System.
With more than 20 years of experience in educational publishing, Jim
previously held senior leadership positions at Pearson, including Vice
President of Finance for its Literacy business unit. He holds an MBA
from DePaul University and a BS from Indiana University.
Lee Ramsayer, Executive Vice President, U.S. Sales
Before
joining HMH, Lee served as Senior Vice President of sales for Monster’s
Government Solutions sector. While at Monster, Lee built a dedicated
sales team that addressed workforce and economic development in regional
economies, and also drove change management and new strategy
development sales and system integration partnerships. Prior to Monster,
Lee served as General Manager, Government Sales and Consulting Services
for Microsoft. In this role, Lee led the development of Microsoft’s
strategic approach to state and local governments including the
development of go-to-market strategies. Lee currently serves on the
board of Innovate Education, a national organization focused on STEM
education.
Lesa Scott, President, Heinemann
Lesa
Scott is President of Heinemann, a division of Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt dedicated to the development of professional resources and
educational services for teachers – from kindergarten to college. A
former science, social studies, and health teacher, Lesa’s career in
education spans more than thirty years. She left the classroom to market
and sell textbooks for Laidlaw Brothers Publishers, subsequently rising
to sales and marketing leadership roles at Scott Foresman Educational
Publishers, McDougal Littell and Scholastic. Lesa received a BS and MS
in education from Arkansas State University and completed post-graduate
studies at Texas Women’s University.
Dr. Nicole Melander, Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy
Nicole
joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in January 2014 as Senior Vice
President of Digital Strategy. Previously, she served as the Chief
Technology Officer of Achieving the Dream (ATD), a national reform
network dedicated to community college student success and completion.
Prior to joining ATD, Nicole held education and technology leadership
positions at Deloitte Consulting, Microsoft and Oracle. In the academic
world, she taught on the topics of collaboration technology and social
media for business at American University where she won the campuswide
“Teaching with Technology Award."
Lawrence K. Fish, Director and Chairman of the Board
Lawrence K. Fish has served as a member of the board of directors since August 2010 and Chairman of the Board since January 2011. Mr. Fish served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (“Citizens”) from 2005 to 2008 and before as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, from 1992, of Citizens. Mr. Fish is a member of the Corporation (Board of Trustees) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He serves on the boards of Textron Inc., Tiffany & Co., and NBH Holdings Corp. He is also an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. Mr. Fish’s extensive experience in the areas of finance, marketing, general management and corporate governance enables him to provide the Company with effective leadership on the board of directors.
Sheru Chowdhry, Director
Sheru Chowdhry served as a member of the board of directors from March 2010 through March 2012 and rejoined the board in June 2012. Mr. Chowdhry joined Paulson & Co. Inc., a hedge fund, in 2004 as a Senior Vice President and has been a Managing Director and Head of Distressed & Bankruptcy Research since 2008. Previously, he was a research analyst at DebtTraders Inc., covering distressed and bankrupt securities, and an investment banker in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at JP Morgan Securities. Mr. Chowdhry’s financial expertise and significant experience with debt and equity capital markets render him a valuable member of the board.
L. Gordon Crovitz, Director
L. Gordon Crovitz has served as a member of the board of directors since August 2012. From 1980-2007 Mr. Crovitz held a number of positions with Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal culminating in his role as Executive Vice President for Dow Jones and Publisher of The Wall Street Journal. He was co-founder of e-commerce software company Press+ in 2009. Mr. Crovitz serves on the Board of Directors at Minneapolis Star Tribune, Business Insider, Blurb, Dunn & Bradstreet and Marin Software. He is on the board of the American Association of Rhodes Scholars. Mr. Crovitz’s management roles in the publishing industry and extensive experience as a director enables him to provide the Company with valuable guidance.
Jill A. Greenthal, Director and Chair of Nominating, Ethics, and Governance Committee
Jill A. Greenthal has served as a member of the board of directors since June 2012. Ms. Greenthal has been a Senior Advisor in Private Equity at the Blackstone Group since 2007, working closely with the company’s global media and technology teams to assist in investments in those sectors. She also currently serves as a director of Akamai Technologies, Michaels Stores and The Weather Channel Companies. Prior to 2007, Ms. Greenthal was an investment banker and partner at Blackstone and Credit Suisse First Boston. Ms. Greenthal has extensive experience in the media industry and in advising technology and media companies, which enables her to provide valuable guidance to the Company.
John F. Killian, Director and Chair of Audit Committee
John F. Killian has served as a member of the board of directors since January 2011. Mr. Killian was Executive Vice President for Verizon and served as Verizon’s Chief Financial Officer from March 2009 through October 2010. Prior to becoming CFO, Mr. Killian was President of Verizon Business from October 2005 until March 2009, the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Verizon Telecom from June 2003 until October 2005, and the Senior Vice President and Controller of Verizon Telecom from April 2002 until June 2003. Mr. Killian serves on the board of directors at ConEdison Inc. and is a Chairman of the Board of Providence College. Mr. Killian brings extensive financial expertise to the board, as well as significant management and leadership experience.
John R. McKernan Jr., Director and Chair of Compensation Committee
John R. McKernan, Jr. served as a member of the board of directors from August 2010 through June 2012 and rejoined the board in September 2012. Mr. McKernan is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of McKernan Enterprises, Inc., in Portland, Maine. He is the former Chairman of Education Management Corporation, a provider of post-secondary education in North America, where he served as Chief Executive Officer from September 2003 until February 2007 and continues to serve as a director. Mr. McKernan is a director of BorgWarner Inc. and served as Governor of the State of Maine from 1987 to 1995. Mr. McKernan is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges and serves on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce. Mr. McKernan brings to the board superior leadership capabilities, knowledge of the legal and legislative processes and significant prior experience as a director.
Jon Miller, Director
Jon Miller joined the board of directors in May 2013. Mr. Miller served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Media Group at News Corp. and was its Chief Digital Officer from April 2009 to September 2012. Previously, Mr. Miller was the Founder and Partner at Velocity Interactive Group, an investment firm focusing on internet and digital media, from its inception in February 2007 to April 2009. Prior to founding Velocity, Mr. Miller served as the Chief Executive Officer of America Online, Inc., or AOL and previously as Chief Executive Officer and President of USA Information and Services. Mr. Miller is a trustee of the American Film Institute and The Paley Center for Media. Mr. Milller serves on the boards of TripAdvisor, Radio Télévision Luxembourg and Shutterstock. Mr. Miller has extensive experience in the internet and digital media industry, which enables him to provide valuable guidance to the Company.
E. Rogers Novak Jr., Director
E. Rogers Novak, Jr. has served as a member of the board of directors since November 2012. He is a founder and managing member of Novak Biddle Venture Partners, an early-stage venture fund focused on investment opportunities in businesses focused on education, security, big data analytics, and business-to-business-to-consumer. Roger formerly served as Lead Director of Blackboard which was acquired by Providence Equity Partners. Roger currently serves on several private company boards and is a member of the External Relations Council for the Department of Homeland Security’s Predict project. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for Kenyon College where he sits on the Budget, Financial and Audit Committee and the Information Resources Committee. From 2008 to 2011, Roger held a seat on the Board of the National Venture Capital Association and was their Treasurer and a member of their Executive Committee from 2009 to 2011. Mr. Novak’s significant prior experience as a director, especially in the education technology sector, render him a valuable member of the board.
Linda K. Zecher, Director
Linda K. Zecher joined Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in September 2011 as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. Previously, she served as Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's $8 billion Worldwide Public Sector organization, where she led a team of nearly 2,000 sales and marketing professionals serving government, education and healthcare customers in more than 100 countries. Prior to joining Microsoft in 2003, Linda held leadership positions with Texas Instruments, Bank of America, PeopleSoft, Oracle and Evolve Corp. She currently serves on the U.S. State Department's Board for Overseas Schools, the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation Advisory Council, and the Emily Couric Leadership Forum. Linda is also a former member of the Intelligence National Security Association, the Virginia Piedmont Technology Council, and James Madison University's Board of Visitors.
CCS: A Cash Cow For Corporate Education Raiders
David Coleman is one of these consultants (see Schools Matter and Susan Ohanian) and the “chief architect” of CCS. Like many of the most well-known Ed Deformers (e.g., Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Walton Family, Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, Mike Bloomberg), Coleman had virtually no real experience in the classroom. In fact, according to Schools Matter, his only pedagogical experience was a little tutoring he did while an undergrad at Yale, where he studied English. After this, he went on to work in business, making a lot of money with the Grow Network, which was bought by McGraw-Hill in 2005. In 2007 he left McGraw-Hill and co-founded the nonprofit Student Achievement Partners, which played a leading role in creating the Common Core Standards. He now leads Student Achievement Partners in their work helping teachers and policymakers to implement the Common Core State Standards.
When we lose our economic security, we also lose our freedom and are forced to survive any way we can. The subliminal, one-world religion is self-preservation — the survival instinct. It's basic to human nature. The Bible shows a coming world leader who will exploit this self-preservation instinct and will bring this religion to its logical conclusion. And, if possible, even some of the very elect will be deceived by this appeal to their pocketbook and personal security.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1 KJV)
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32 KJV)
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12 KJV)
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Spenser Rapone
