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The Dangers of “Common Core Education”

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The Dangers of “Common Core Education”
The Eagle,TPATH May 24, 2013
Nicholas Purpura

Nicholas Purpura’s commentary is thorough and convincing pointing out the dangers in “Common Core Education ”  and the direct threat it poses to the kin of quality education Ridgewood expects from its schools.

“Education has become a national security issue, and what has your establishment incumbent said or done about it – absolutely nothing! I remind the reader that the infamous tyrant, Adolph Hitler, said: “When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘your child belongs to us already…. What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else out of this new community.

The GOP establishment in New Jersey is no better. If they were, they would have stood by the Republican National Committee’s Resolution against “Common Core Education.” Then it might have been a different picture. Instead they’re what I’ve been saying is “Democrat-lite” and are going along as good progressives normally do, disregarding that it will destroy the education of children in the government indoctrination centers called “public schools”.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Candidates from both parties have joined Team New Jersey condemning “Common Core Education,” and will do everything in their power to rid New Jersey of this indoctrination program that will dumb them down and turn them into one-world globalist.

The candidates listed below are against Common Core, or federalizing of the curriculum, which is the newest way to dumb down our children.  

Senate Candidate:
LD-13 Leigh-Ann Bellew

Assembly Candidates:   LD-4, John Lockhart (Incumbent)
LD-7, Connie Hare Murry and Joe Siano
LD-8, Scott Fay and Gary Jacques Assembly
LD-13, Steve Boracchia and Edna Walsh
LD-36, Aharon Cohn and Sam Krause (Two more patriots joining TeamNJ)

And please don’t neglect those running for Freeholders and GOP Committee – it’s time to clean house.

Freeholders:

(Incumbent) Scott Rumana, LD 40
JoeMcDevitt, (Atlantic Co.)
LanceSilver, Burl.Co.
BarbaraEames, (Whippany, Morris Cty.
Lance Silver, (Burl.)
Ed Pekarsky, LD 13
Brian Largey, LD 13

GOP State Committee:
Bill Haney & Ashley Cameron, Burlington
Rae Rinaldi, Steve Moss, Bergen
Pat Rivera, Jim Gasko, Passaic
Bader Qarmount, Rick Shaftan, Deborah Deluca, Sussex
Vikki Jennsen, Union
Catherine McCulloch, Morris
Carol Gallentine, Essex
Ron Giordano, Joanne Cooper, Salem
Eric Dixon, Hudson

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Parental control is what is truly needed. School choice where your children attend – whether private, religious, or charter – the need for a universal voucher system is long overdue. The public education system is a total failure, and must be dismantled if our children are to be able to compete in this world economy. Remember, the fed’s gave us Outcome-based Education, Goals 2000, School-to-work, and now Common Core. It’s the same garbage repackaged over and over again, and it is designed to dumb down our children and take away the local control of boards of education.

Much worse “Common Core” effectively removes educational choice. What’s more the government will collect personal student’s data for non-educational purpose without parental written consent. You may ask how these reprobates can get away with this. Let me point to one instance that will sicken you.

The enlightened progressives at the NEA have decided that advancing sensitivity and tolerance of other life styles is of the utmost importance. But, in truth, their objective is to change public opinion on homosexuality, starting with the youngest generation. On the internet, according to a former chairman of the NEA, Ex-Gay Educators Caucus, and many other critics, the NEA promotes a gay rights agenda especially following the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals see Field’s v. Palmdale School District, in which the Court held:

“parents’ fundamental right to control the upbringing of their children “does not extend beyond the threshold of the school door,” and that a public school has the right to provide its students with “whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise.”

So you think it’s just the fed’s shoving “Common Core” down our throats? Coming to you straight from the mental midgets at the Department of Education in New Jersey this September is another program titled “Student Growth Objectives” pre- and post-testing, which is measuring and testing all year long. Ask yourselves, when the heck are they going to teach? Our teachers are now going to teach according to what will be on the tests so the school gets a good rating. In truth, if anyone needs testing it’s those posing as teachers so we get the best educators for our students and tell the Department of Education and unions to go take a hike.

We as Americans must never let those in the teachers unions and Department of Education now controlled by Marxists, Socialists, Atheists, Sodomites, and one-world advocates to usurp our parental rights any longer while repeatedly degrading our culture and history.

If we ever hope to restore our heritage and traditional values we must no longer allow the government, to tell our children what is acceptable moral behavior by indoctrinating them into ill moral sexual behavior now prevalent in grade school to higher educational institutions. No authority exists in the Constitution granting the federal government the authority to create the Department of Education, especially an unconstitutional department that partners itself with Marxists teachers unions and the UN that is determined to destroy the United States culture and heritage by mandating indoctrination into a one-world order. Orwell said it best, “those that control the language control the thinking.”

Also, I know of nowhere in the Constitution that requires parents to surrender their children to the “State” or “Teachers Unions” to undergo sexual indoctrination. Renowned educational analyst, Samuel Blumenfeld reported in his book “The Leaning Tower of Babel” that school programs are intended:

 “to discard the values and religious beliefs of their families and create new sets of values reflecting their own personal desires and leanings, particularly those regarding sex.”
 …been encouraged by values clarification to reject the traditional Judeo-Christian prohibitions against sexual perversion and adopt an open and assertive homosexual lifestyle.”Funded with your tax dollars and teachers dues, these draconian programs were co-sponsored by none other than Department of Education, National Education Association, (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The UN’s arm UNESCO made no attempt to disguise their Socialist and Marxist goals let their own words be a warning:

“It follows from the essence of the socialist structure of the state in countries concerned… that their educational system is centralized. This creates an extremely favorable situation for central state measures designed to modernize education. The socialist state possesses the means necessary for education…. From the point of view of the development of education technology the socialist countries are also in a favorable position because of the fact that television, school television, radio and school radio are operated centrally….”

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Higher Education: The Coming Shakeout

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Higher Education: The Coming Shakeout
Posted: 05/26/2013 10:22 pm

Just as markets over-built housing, mispriced mortgages and bid up prices beyond the real financial capacity of homebuyers, America’s colleges and universities have over-expanded and over-priced their product. We are getting an education bubble with dynamics similar to the late housing bubble.

As more and more students find themselves with debts that exceed the salaries offered by the current job market, colleges have expanded beyond the capacity of their markets. Some kind of shakeout is coming. The question is: what kind.

During the long boom in higher education, colleges have also dramatically increased salaries and staffing levels of administrations. Some of this reflects efforts to game the rankings, which also is another aspect of the same imbalance.

For-profit universities, with high dropout rates, heavily reliant on federal Pell grants and student loans, are only the more explicit and extreme expression of a general trend of colleges and universities becoming more marketized. Colleges are doing deals to set up satellite campuses in sheikhdoms, recruiting full-tuition state-supported foreign students and creating vanity diploma mills as profit centers. The flip side is a massive disinvestment by state legislatures in America’s great public universities and an under-investment in community colleges.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/higher-education_b_3340828.html?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Wake%20Up%20Call%20NJ&utm_campaign=Wake%20Up%20Call

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Serving Those Who Served

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photo by Boyd Loving

Serving Those Who Served
James Carafano
May 27, 2013 at 7:00 am

This Memorial Day, the Heritage family will join all Americans in remembering the service and sacrifices of those who gave all so the rest of us would remain free.

There is no greater way to honor their memory than making a personal commitment to serving those who served—our 22 million living American veterans and their families.

Those who give the most have the set the bar high for the rest of us. The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation was founded by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which consists exclusively of the living Medal of Honor recipients. These brave men have committed themselves to continuing a life of service to their nation.

One way they meet this mission is through their work with the Medal of Honor Character Development Program incorporating the ideals of courage and selfless service into the middle and high school curriculum. The lessons in the curriculum are framed using the lives, experiences, and words of these heroes. The program is now present in more than 33 states and in schools run by the Department of Defense in Europe and the Pacific.

Veterans giving back to serve other veterans and their families are found in every branch of service. Take Deb Snyder. When Snyder, a retired Army helicopter pilot, came to Heritage as part of our Protect America program, she talked about her passion to help her fellow soldiers. Deb decided to tackle a heartbreaking issue: the fact that one-fifth of the nation’s homeless population are veterans.

In 2011, the Alexandria native decided to do something in her own backyard. She founded Operation Renewed Hope Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to one goal: getting veterans’ heads off stone pillows and onto real ones. Today, Operation Renewed Hope is a team of 50 dedicated volunteers.

We are inspired by folks like the members of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and veterans like Deb Snyder. Some of Heritage’s employees banded together to create an organization to help educate all Americans on how to serve those who served. The team created an award-winning documentary, Veteran Nation, which is available for free to those who want to hold community screenings to help jump-start local efforts—either bringing attention and support to local volunteer programs or starting new organizations.

On days like Memorial Day, we honor the spirit and sacrifices of veterans. But every day, when Americans support and encourage the veterans in their communities, the spirit of the nation flourishes.

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History of Memorial Day

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History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. There are many stories as to its actual beginnings, with over two dozen cities and towns laying claim to being the birthplace of Memorial Day. There is also evidence that organized women’s groups in the South were decorating graves before the end of the Civil War: a hymn published in 1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves are Sleeping” by Nella L. Sweet carried the dedication “To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead” (Source: Duke University’s Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920). While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day. It is more likely that it had many separate beginnings; each of those towns and every planned or spontaneous gathering of people to honor the war dead in the 1860′s tapped into the general human need to honor our dead, each contributed honorably to the growing movement that culminated in Gen Logan giving his official proclamation in 1868. It is not important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all.

Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363) to ensure a three day weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and June 3 (Jefferson Davis’ birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee.

In 1915, inspired by the poem “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. Later a Madam Guerin from France was visiting the United States and learned of this new custom started by Ms.Michael and when she returned to France, made artificial red poppies to raise money for war orphaned children and widowed women. This tradition spread to other countries. In 1921, the Franco-American Children’s League sold poppies nationally to benefit war orphans of France and Belgium. The League disbanded a year later and Madam Guerin approached the VFW for help. Shortly before Memorial Day in 1922 the VFW became the first veterans’ organization to nationally sell poppies. Two years later their “Buddy” Poppy program was selling artificial poppies made by disabled veterans. In 1948 the US Post Office honored Ms Michael for her role in founding the National Poppy movement by issuing a red 3 cent postage stamp with her likeness on it.

https://www.usmemorialday.org/backgrnd.html

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A Memorial Day Message From County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan

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A Memorial Day Message From County Executive Kathleen A. Donovan

Dear Friends,

Please allow me to take a moment to wish you all a very enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. I hope you get to spend time with your friends and family, whether it is at a neighborhood barbecue or down the shore or a cabin in the mountains.

I also hope that you take a moment to put aside your celebration and give some thought to the real meaning of Memorial Day. As you know, Memorial Day is about a lot more than barbecues, or beaches, or sales at the department store.

Memorial Day is the time to honor those who gave up their lives, so we can have better lives.

As Americans we cherish our political liberty and our personal freedoms. But infrequently do we think about how we got  those freedoms or who secured them for us. Memorial Day is the time to do just that.

In the course of this weekend, please take a moment to remember that men and women died all over the world, so we can have the freedom we have today. They fought and died in jungles and in deserts against tyranny.

Families lost sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles to the never ending cause of freedom. We owe both those who died and the families who gave up their loved ones our thanks for the sacrifices they made.

The price of liberty is not cheap and many have paid the ultimate price for the liberty we enjoy today. Let’s take time to remember them and honor them this weekend.

Enjoy your holiday. God Bless America.

Kathleen A. Donovan

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Memorial Day BBQ: Chef Kelly Macdonald’s favorite barbecue recipes

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Memorial Day BBQ: Chef Kelly Macdonald’s favorite barbecue recipes
May 22, 2013 9:32 am  •  Michal Nissenson

Memorial Day is the unofficial opening date of barbecue season. For Chef Kelly Macdonald, executive chef for the Napa Valley Wine Train, this is time of celebration. “To me, American barbecue is an art,” he said. “It doesn’t always include a sauce. Rather, it allows a different perspective of the food to be experienced on a blank canvas that is the grill.”

Macdonald, who has been cooking aboard the Wine Train for 20 years, said that he is now accustomed to cooking in small spaces, which can come in handy when camping.

He loves grilling and would grill almost anything. “During citrus season, I cut oranges in half and grill them face down. That creates a wonderful reduction, which can be the base for different sauces and dressings.”

https://napavalleyregister.com/star/lifestyles/memorial-day-bbq-chef-kelly-macdonald-s-favorite-barbecue-recipes/article_362cd212-c2fd-11e2-afdc-001a4bcf887a.html

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I wonder when Mayor Aronsohn was going to notify the public that he is running for another elected position.

paronsohn

I wonder when Mayor Aronsohn was going to notify the public that he is running for another elected position.

PJ , Just received my sample ballot in the mail.  I wonder when Mayor Aronsohn was going to notify the public that he is running for another elected position.  This one with the Democratic Party in the State of NJ.

Isn’t this the pot calling the kettle black?  He blasted Gabbert for being his BCUA appointment but mentions nothing about running for a partisan office in our Non-Partisan town.

Maybe our carpetbagger will be leaving soon. Ring the church bells.

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Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 26 – June 1, 2013

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Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 26 – June 1, 2013

The Ridgewood Office of Emergency Management (OEM) reminds residents that the 2013 Hurricane Season begins June 1st.

A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone or severe tropical storm that forms in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. A typical cyclone is accompanied by thunderstorms, and in the Northern Hemisphere, a counterclockwise circulation of winds near the earth’s surface.

Hurricanes can cause catastrophic damage to coastlines and several hundred miles inland. Hurricanes can produce winds exceeding 155 miles per hour as well as tornadoes and mircrobursts. Additionally, hurricanes can create storm surges along the coast and cause extensive damage from heavy rainfall. Floods and flying debris from the excessive winds are often the deadly and destructive results of these weather events. Slow moving hurricanes traveling into mountainous regions tend to produce especially heavy rain. Excessive rain can trigger landslides and mud slides. Flash flooding can occur due to intense rainfall.
Ridgewood OEM is asking residents to begin preparations NOW by building an emergency kit and making a family communications plan. Please review the recently updated bookled from the National Weather Service entitled “Tropical Cyclones: A Preparedness Guide” and the “Hurricane Survival Guide for New Jersey” published by New Jersey State Office of Emergency Management.

Additional resources are available at oem.ridgewoodnj.net.

Hotwire US

 

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GRAYDON POOL MEMBERSHIPS NOW ON SALE

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photo by Boyd Loving

GRAYDON POOL MEMBERSHIPS NOW ON SALE

The Village Council and the Ridgewood Department of Parks and Recreation are excited to announce memberships are now on sale for the upcoming summer season and all are invited to join the Graydon Pool facility as season members for the 2013 summer season. Come enjoy fun in the sun so close to home! Opening day is Saturday, June 1st.

Pool features include a shaded playground, water play fountains, shade kites, Adirondack chairs, picnic area, sheltered pavilion, charcoal grills, and The Water’s Edge Café. Additional amenities include a lending library of reading books, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong tables, shuffleboard, four-squares and hop-scotch. Special programs include “Storytime Under a Tree” for the little ones and swim instruction for children and adults, as well as an adaptive swim class. The Graydon Swim Team welcomes youth members, ages 8 to 14.

Resident fees are $110 per adult, $100 per child (ages 2 through 15) and $20 for seniors (62 and older). Non-resident adults will be charged $175 and children, ages 2 through 15, will be charged $155 for the13 week season.

Badges are now on sale and can be purchased from the comfort of home on Community Pass at www.ridgewoodnj.net/communitypass (Visa and MasterCard are accepted). In person registration assistance will be available Saturdays, May 11 and May 18, 10:00 am to 12 noon, at the Graydon Pool Badge Office, 259 North Maple Avenue. Badges may be purchased daily throughout the operating season, June 1st through Septemer 2nd.

Details are available at www.ridgewoodnj.net/graydon or you may call the Recreation Office at 201-670-5560 with any questions or if special accommodations are needed.

2013 SEASON

Saturday, June 1 – Monday, September 2
Daily – 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Holiday – July 4th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

wine.comshow?id=mjvuF8ceKoQ&bids=209195

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Updated Emergency Planning Guide for Village Residents

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Updated Emergency Planning Guide for Village Residents

The Ridgewood Office of Emergency Management (OEM) just published an Emergency Planning Guide for 2013 – the first update of this critical resource in nearly 15 years.

The Emergency Planning Guide is designed to provide residents with basic emergency preparedness information, including tools and checklists that will assist families in preparing for different types of emergencies. It will also help residents to stay informed before, during and after disasters.

Click Here for your copy of the Emergency Planning Guide: https://mods.ridgewoodnj.net/pdf/manager/2013OEMGuide.pdf

“The Emergency Planning Guide is a must-have resource for all Ridgewood residents and businesses,” explained Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “As we have learned from Super Storm Sandy and other recent storms, you can never be too prepared for a disaster.”

“I applaud our OEM leadership for its proactive approach,” Aronsohn continued.

For the first time, the Emergency Planning Guide is available electronically for viewing and downloading on the Ridgewood OEM website (https://oem.ridgewoodnj.net) as well as the main Village of Ridgewood website (www.ridgewoodnj.net).

The new Emergency Planning Guide was specifically designed as a PDF document to take advantage of current technology. A limited number of hard copies will also be printed at a later date.

According to OEM Coordinator Jeremy Kleiman, “In the past, we would print and mail a copy of the booklet to all village residents and businesses, which is expensive. Budget constraints made us re-think how we communicate emergency preparedness information to the public. We decided to make the Emergency Planning Guide an electronic document to save costs and also to leverage current technology. Residents who are registered to receive E-Notices from the village will receive the document by email.”

OEM asks all residents to register for E-Notices to receive routine information, such as the Emergency Planning Guide, as well as emergency alerts. Please register by visiting either www.ridgewoodnj.net and clicking on the “E-Notices” link, or https://oem.ridgewoodnj.net and clicking on the “Swift911 Notification” icon. Either link will take residents to the same registration portal.

For those residents who do not register for E-Notices or are unable to receive information by email, a limited number of hard copies of the Emergency Planning Guide will be printed at a later date. Ridgewood Councilman Tom Riche is leading a fundraising effort to secure donations that will cover the cost of printing the booklets. Contributions may be made payable to Ridgewood Emergency Planning Guide, c/o Finance Office, Ridgewood Village Hall, 131 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07451

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State grants to help improve aesthetics in Ridgewood

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State grants to help improve aesthetics in Ridgewood
Monday May 20, 2013, 10:07 AM
BY  DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
The Ridgewood News

Two recently obtained grants amounting to nearly $200,000 will assist the Village of Ridgewood as it embarks on various beautification and improvement projects this year.

Of the total $87 million of local aid awarded to New Jersey municipalities this month by the state and Gov. Christie, the village will take home $150,000. The funds, available through the state’s Municipal Aid program, were granted to Ridgewood to offset the costs of repaving jobs on South Van Dien Avenue.

“These grants enable municipalities to stretch their resources and advance important roadway projects and other safety and quality-of-life improvements that benefit all who share the road, including pedestrians and bicyclists,” NJ Department of Transportation Commissioner James Simpson said in a news release. “The Christie administration supports the Local Aid program because it helps relieve pressure on local property taxpayers.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/208123111_State_grants_to_help_improve_aesthetics_in_Ridgewood.html

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Menendez, NJ Brewer Discuss “Small BREW Act” During American Craft Beer Week

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Menendez, NJ Brewer Discuss “Small BREW Act” During American Craft Beer Week
May 16, 2013

Washington, DC – Today, during American Craft Beer Week, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) met with members of the Brewers Association, including Gene Muller, founder and general manager of New Jersey’s Flying Fish Brewing Company.

Among the topics discussed was the recently introduced “Small BREW Act” (S. 917, The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act). This legislation, of which Senator Menendez is an original co-sponsor, would fuel regional economies by reducing the excise tax on each barrel of beer brewed by small brewers.

“It isn’t every day a Senator gets to talk about beer on the job, but it makes sense when you consider small brewers’ ability to create jobs and propel our economy. For all that they do, I tip a figurative pint to the outstanding small brewers I met with today,” said Sen. Menendez. “In New Jersey, small brewers like Gene Muller and his Flying Fish Brewing Company not only produce some great brews, they help the New Jersey economy. I’m glad to have met this Somerdale success story. He is just one reason why we need to pass the Small BREW Act, and help cut small brewers’ tax burden so they can put more people to work and bring more artisan brews to the marketplace.”

“Small brewers have reenergized the nation’s beer culture by combining creativity, personality and a healthy dose of fun.  But that doesn’t mean what we do isn’t serious business,” said Gene Muller, founder and general manager of the Flying Fish Brewing Company of Somerdale, New Jersey. “Senator Menendez and his colleagues understand that behind every American craft brewer’s label is a small business creating jobs, fueling the economy and needing government’s help–not its hassles. That’s why I appreciate Sen. Menendez and his colleagues for sponsoring the Small BREW Act and for giving us the chance to discuss the needs of our businesses.  This kind of support will help small brewers like me do everything we can to keep America moving forward.”

Under current law, brewers generally pay an $18 excise tax on each barrel brewed.  Small brewers, currently defined as those that brew fewer than 2 million barrels of beer a year, pay a reduced excise tax of $7 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels of beer they brew each year. The Small BREW Act would reduce the excise tax applicable to brewers producing up to 6 million barrels per year to just $3.50 on the first 60,000 barrels and $16 on additional barrels below 2 million per year.

An economic impact study by Dr. John Friedman at Harvard University found that the bill would generate $183.1 million in economic activity in the first year and almost $1.04 billion over five years and would also create nearly 5,230 jobs in just the first year.  New Jersey is home to 31 craft brewers, with at least 28 more in the planning stages.

The small brewer threshold and tax rate were established in 1976 and have never been updated.  Since then, the annual production of America’s largest brewery increased from 45 million barrels to 105 million barrels.  Raising the ceiling that defines small breweries from 2 million barrels to 6 million barrels more accurately reflects the intent of the original differentiation between large and small brewers in the U.S.

American Craft Beer Week, May 13-19, is a celebration of America’s small and independent craft brewers and their contributions to America’s communities and our economy..

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Protecting Federal Tax Information: A Message From The IRS

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Protecting Federal Tax Information: A Message From The IRS

Data security breaches and information losses make the headlines and nightly newscasts.

The public is extremely sensitive about the vulnerability of their confidential data.

They have serious and very legitimate worries about identity theft.

When leading businesses and well-respected public agencies lose personal data about their customers and employees, whether by theft, accident, or negligence, it does more than make the news.

It’s an event that undermines the public’s confidence in institutions they trusted.

Because of the job you perform, you’re probably accustomed to working with confidential records and other personal information.

You also have access to and work with federal tax information.

That federal tax information is an important asset on which both you and your employer rely.

Like you, I work with federal tax information, or FTI, as it’s known.

To safeguard sensitive personal and financial information about taxpayers, FTI is protected by law.

That law imposes important obligations on you, just as it does on me and all other IRS employees.

This presentation is designed to give you information you need to know about federal tax information and the laws that protect it.

This material may not be news to you.

You may have heard it before, perhaps even many times before.

While the content may not be new, it is timely, and it’s certainly relevant.

What you’re going to hear will help you to confidently work with federal tax data, knowing what it is and how to protect it.

The very fact that you’re working with FTI is evidence that we trust you and that your employer has a culture of confidentiality with rigorous safeguards in place to prevent data loss and misuse.

The legal provisions that allow IRS to disclose FTI to your employer also obliges it and each of its employees to protect it.

The disclosure basics I’ll share with you in this presentation may be found in greater detail in the “IRS Disclosure Awareness Pocket Guide.”

Publication 1075 is also an excellent source of information about federal tax information and how to protect it.

Both are available at irs.gov.

The law I’ve been referring to is found in the Internal Revenue Code, or Title 26 of the United States Code.

Code section 6103 contains a general prohibition against the disclosure of federal tax returns and return information.

This prohibition applies to you as someone having access to FTI.

The law limits your access to FTI and your disclosure of that information to certain circumstances specified in the law.

As examples, section 6103(d) is the specific point in the law that permits the IRS to disclose FTI to state and some city tax agencies for use in tax administration.

Section 6103(i) allows disclosure of FTI to the Department of Justice and others for the investigation and potential prosecution of non-tax federal crimes.

A section of the same law allows us to disclose FTI to the taxpayer and their authorized representatives, while other sections provide for disclosure of certain information to agencies for specified purposes.

The code provisions that govern disclosure of FTI to you and your employer are important because if it administers other programs, FTI can only be used for matters authorized by statute.

To have a sound understanding of your obligations, you need to know just exactly what you can and cannot disclose.

On a more basic level, it’s also important to understand just exactly what the word “disclosure” means.

The law itself is the source for the definition of “return,” “return information,” and “disclosure.”

While the definition of a return may seem obvious, let’s go over what it means under the law, which tells us that…

A return means any tax or information return, estimated tax declaration, or refund claim, including amendments, supplements, supporting schedules, attachments or lists, required by or permitted under the Code, which is filed with the IRS by, on behalf of, or with respect to any person.

Examples of returns include forms filed on paper or electronically, such as Forms 1040, 941, 1099, 1120, and W-2.

“Return information” is defined by law and is very broad in scope.

It includes the taxpayer’s name, mailing address, and identification number, including social security number or employer identification number; any information extracted from a return, including names of dependents or the location of a business; information on whether a return was, is being, or will be examined or subject to other investigation or processing; information contained on transcripts of accounts; the fact that a return was filed or examined; investigation or collection history; or tax balance due information.

Your employer may receive returns and return information electronically or on paper.

But it’s important to know that, regardless of format, FTI is confidential.

Which brings us to the third important definition we need to cover, and that is “disclosure,” which the law defines as…

…making a return or return information known to any person in any manner.

We know you want to do the right thing, and that’s why we’re here.

We want to make sure that you are fully aware of your responsibilities and the potentially serious repercussions of ignoring those responsibilities.

Knowingly and willfully disclosing FTI to someone not authorized to receive it or willfully accessing tax data without a business need to do so, known as UNAX, are both criminal offenses subject to penalties.

Internal Revenue Code section 7213 specifies that willful unauthorized disclosure of returns or return information by an employee — whether federal or state — former employee, or contractor employee is a felony.

The penalty can be a fine of up to $5,000 or up to five years in jail or both, plus the costs of prosecution.

Under IRC section 7213A, willful unauthorized access or inspection — UNAX — of taxpayer records by an employee is a misdemeanor.

This applies to both paper documents and computerized information.

Violators can be subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and up to one year in prison.

In addition to criminal penalties, civil remedies may also be pursued by any taxpayer whose return or return information has been knowingly or negligently inspected or disclosed in violation of section 6103.

Section 7431 allows a taxpayer to institute action in district court for civil damages.

If the court finds there has been an unauthorized inspection or disclosure of FTI, the taxpayer may receive damages of $1,000 for each act of unauthorized access or disclosure or the actual damages sustained, if greater, plus punitive damages and costs of the action.

And that’s where it really gets expensive.

Protect FTI by following the tips available in the “Disclosure Awareness Pocket Guide.”

Publication 1075 is the definitive source for safeguard standards and procedures required to protect federal tax information.

A number of IRS resources are available to help you access, work with, and protect FTI.

IRS Safeguards staff is responsible for periodic reviews for compliance with these data protection requirements and for receiving and approving certain reports required by law.

IRS Data Services works with agencies in use of the DIFSLA extracts.

The IRS Governmental Liaison keeps the lines of communication and cooperation open and active with state and some city tax agencies and some federal ones, as well.

The IRS Disclosure Office answers your questions and concerns about access to FTI.

We’re here to help you when you need to check it out before you give it out.

https://www.irsvideos.gov/Professional/ReturnPreparation/ProtectingTaxInformation

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Obama’s Scandals Reveal the True Face of Government

bigbrother

Obama’s Scandals Reveal the True Face of Government

Power and force are the name of the game.

Steven Greenhut | May 17, 2013

The Obama administration has gotten itself into a fix between its contradictory stories about the Benghazi incident, reports of the IRS targeting conservative groups, and the Justice Department’s grabbing of phone records from AP reporters. There are few things more fun to watch than arrogant political leaders — folks who spend their lives bossing everyone around — getting a comeuppance.

My favorite take wasn’t from any serious commentator but from comedian Jon Stewart, who noticed that the president routinely claims ignorance about embarrassing events by saying that he learned of them while watching the news: “I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama learned Osama bin Laden had been killed when he saw himself announcing it on television.”

I take a bipartisan approach to Washington, DC’s political scandals and find myself savoring them all, regardless of the party that is in control of the White House. Any sane person would conclude that all administrations and bureaucracies essentially are corrupt given that they thrive on the exertion of power of other people. We know about the corrupting influence of power, and DC has become like ancient Rome that way. It’s a magnet for those seeking favor, money, or a big title administering some pointless program.

https://reason.com/archives/2013/05/17/obamas-scandals-reveal-the-true-face-of

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NORTHEAST CORRIDOR TRACK WORK BEGINS JUNE 2

Ridgewood_Train_station_train _is_coming_theridgewoodblog.net

NORTHEAST CORRIDOR TRACK WORK BEGINS JUNE 2

Customers encouraged to review new timetables
May 16, 2013

NEWARK, NJ — NJ TRANSIT today announced that new rail timetables will take effect Sunday, June 2, reflecting adjustments made to accommodate Amtrak’s long-term tie replacement project on the Northeast Corridor.  The project will require Amtrak to take one of four tracks out of service on a portion of the line, affecting both weekday and weekend train schedules.

Next month, Amtrak, which owns and maintains the Northeast Corridor, will continue a railroad tie replacement project that began earlier this year, advancing the work to areas where station stops are located.  Their crews will begin working on Track 4, the local outbound (to Trenton) track, which will be taken out of service for several months between New Brunswick and Metuchen.

“While we have worked very closely with Amtrak to minimize the impact to Northeast Corridor customers, the reduced track capacity is similar to taking a lane out of service on a busy superhighway,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director James Weinstein.  “Some customers will experience changes in their departure times and longer trip times—however, the work Amtrak is performing now will benefit customers in the long term.”

In order to minimize congestion and reduce delays from the tie replacement project, NJ TRANSIT designed the new Northeast Corridor schedule to make the most of the remaining three tracks, keeping one track in each direction open for local service while using the remaining track for express service in the peak direction.

The new schedule will show slightly longer trip times for trains to/from Trenton, adjustments to departure times, and a reduction in the total number of train stops through the work zone during non-peak hours in an effort to mitigate congestion and minimize delays.

Among the impacts:

Customers traveling to or from the “middle zone” (New Brunswick, Edison and Metuchen stations) will be most affected by the project because only three tracks will be available. NJ TRANSIT has worked with Amtrak to minimize disruption for customers traveling in the peak direction (to Newark/New York in the morning and to Trenton in the afternoon). Peak‐direction customers will not see a significant reduction in the number of trains, but trip times will be extended. Customers traveling in the “reverse peak” direction (toward Trenton in the morning or toward Newark/New York in the afternoon) will have fewer trains due to limited track capacity.

With Track 4 out of service, trains will not be able to reach the platform at New Brunswick, Edison and Metuchen stations. At these stations only, Amtrak will install special platform bridges, enabling customers to board/alight trains on the adjacent “express” track at the same height as the regular platform. Customers boarding at these stations must not stand or wait on the platform bridges until directed by a uniformed crew member. The platform bridges will line up with the end doors of most cars, but center doors (and “quarter‐point” doors near the stairs on multilevel cars) will not be used. Customers detraining at New Brunswick, Edison and Metuchen are advised to use end doors only and to listen for announcements from train crews.
Customers traveling to/from stations in the outer and inner zones—that is, stations from Jersey Avenue west and Metropark east—will not see a significant reduction in service. Some departure times will be adjusted, so customers are advised to review timetables carefully.

Amtrak estimates that Track 4 will be out of service for several months, but a more exact projection will not be known until the work begins. When the work on Track 4 is complete, Amtrak will move to Track 1, the inbound local track, to replace ties in the same area between New Brunswick and Metuchen. A new timetable will be issued when Track 4 is returned to service and Track 1 is taken out of service. Overall, the tie replacement project will continue into the fall.

In addition, the reduced track capacity will limit NJ TRANSIT’s ability to work around operational problems (e.g. a disabled train or switch problem), and delays from these types of issues could be longer as a result.

New timetables will be available on www.njtransit.com starting on Friday, May 24, with printed copies available on trains and in stations shortly thereafter. NJ TRANSIT encourages customers to carefully review the new schedule to determine how these changes will affect their commute.

Detailed updates about the tie replacement project will be posted on njtransit.com, as well as on NJ TRANSIT’s Facebook and Twitter feeds.  Customers are encouraged to sign up for My Transit alerts to receive up-to-the-minute service information about their specific trip to their PDA, cell phone or email.  Current My Transit subscribers are reminded to update their alert preferences to reflect the new train numbers effective with the June 2 timetable change.