Let's Get Honest! Absolutely Uncommon Analysis of Family & Conciliation Courts' Operations, Practices, & History

This post Schools for Children of the World, Inc. — Great Theme, Now Here are the Forms 990*  is part of a dynamic duo.  I’m publishing both at once (this, second) after about a week’s attempt to run through the convoluted obstacle courses of more outrageous information (it seems, no matter where I looked) on the various involved partners, advisors, collaborators, and subsequently related entities with the “New National Initiative on School Infrastructures.” (*case-sensitive short-link ending “–6Qq”).

The other post’s title describes in part what I’m doing (for fewer organizations) on this page:

About (here, UCB CC+S’s) Partners, Advisors, Initiatives, Task Forces, Related Work Groups and the URGENT Need to Translate ALL Public/Private Partnership Lingo into Meaningful Bottom-Line Language to Answer ONE Question of Partners (etc.) and the Networked Whole: Honest or Dishonest? (case-sensitive short-link ends “-6T9″)

That one also better explains the context of my interest in Schools for Children of the World  (if read all the way) will show why it matters that (at least from my typical  searches on the entity names) no serious “to the contrary” discussions are happening on this particular group of networked entities with a D.C. anchor in a D.C. nonprofit (and Ford Foundation backing) and the West Coast anchor in at a minimum, University of California Berkeley, under one of its centers run, not too surprisingly, by someone with a penchant for working UN stated goals through USA universities, at our (I’m a citizen…) expense, judging by this one.

No question both posts will be revised after publishing.  I just couldn’t run this in one piece down to the one-yard line (or for a touchdown), so decided to kick it out in hopes of a field goal one way or the other.  Reminder:  I have no research associates, interns, partners, or leadership team partners in this material. WYSIWYG!

Also, this post after starting with tax return details (as I recall where the split happened) significant Secretary of State (in more than one state) filings on “Schools for the World” dutifully reports on that MERGER with DeJong-Richter and Dolinka Group, LLC into “Cooperative Strategies, LLC.”

Who I found, because of that extra piece of dutiful “drill-down” satisfying my personal curiosity on the entities whose names came up, selling the futures of California property tax payers, and other taxpayers in exchange for (of course) fees – in the form of Capital Appreciation Bonds.

But my post doesn’t quite start there.  It starts with “Schools for the Children of the World” and what appears to be its mentor (or inspirational) religious nonprofit, “Heart to the Honduras.”  I look at both, and then take more of a microscope to the incredible assertions of the collective DeJong family members* in maintaining a dual-state incorporation for 5 years, and tossing of an excuse “oops, we didn’t notice!” while engaging in planning for the Beverly Hill United School District. *(I should mention, not one woman’s name has come up associated with the DeJong family name yet; from the business filings; it looks to be father and three? sons)

Read the rest of this entry »

Published May 24, 2017, with a “partner” post “Schools for the Children of the World:  Great Theme — Now Here are the Forms 990” (case-sensitive short-link ends “-6Qq”). Both are under 10,000 words.  I do not know for sure, but I’ll bet that automated word count may include captions to images, and I have a lot of images with captions on both. This one was posted and most of it written first.

About (here, UCB CC+S’s) Partners, Advisors, Initiatives, Task Forces, Related Work Groups and the URGENT Need to Translate ALL Public/Private Partnership Lingo into Meaningful Bottom-Line Language to Answer ONE Question of Partners (etc.) and the Networked Whole: Honest or Dishonest? (case-sensitive short-link ends “-6T9″)

For example, UCB CC+S [Jeffrey M. Vincent*], 21stCSF [Mary Filardo],** NCSF, BEST [Ford-sponsored], SCW [DeJong] (**incl. Scientex, African Science Institute [Eddie Neal])

*Deputy Director. There is also an executive director Deborah McKoy, Ph.D., at CC&S, but in this “New National Initiative, the deputy director’s name is mentioned.

These three images relate: 21st Century School Fund, a DC “Superintendant’s Task Force” showing a co-chair to be Eddie Neal of “Scientex,” repeated with larger context, below.

Of interest — a search for any current version of “Scientex Corporation” drew a blank — but three entities with that name showed up in D.C. (none current), while a bio for Scientexedu advertising for tutoring, referenced the African Science Institute in Oakland, CA — which is no longer valid either, and there were two entities, not just one.  The filing track record is well below substandard.

See list of Task Force on Education Infrastructure images below.

I just now took a quick look for the right column’s “New Columbia Community Land Trust” Pamela Jones, Esq.), who was Co-Chair.  The Land Trust (“NCCLT”) is co-located with a historic Black Catholic Church (St. Augustine’s) in D.C. which goes back to 1858.

What this representative from NCCLT, involved in the buying and selling of land and land sites, and developing them,  is doing on a Superintendent’s  (of Washington, D.C. Public Schools) Task Force belongs in the body of this post  — or some other post — before it derails the introduction… But looking at it, like looking at any of the other participants, is part of basic drill-down homework, and rarely fails to inform, amaze, or bewilder how such things can take place over time.

(The trust street address matches a historically Black Catholic Church, St. Augustine’s parish, in D.C., and they are buying, developing, and selling land to lease to the poor, with only two employees and no listed website, since 1991. Just in time for that Task Force… and has some subcontractor (?) involvement with the address 5929 Georgia Avenue NW, i.e. where a large Wal-Mart store opened in 2013.)  (“Lawsuit filed over status of historic status of future D.C. Wal-Mart store” Dec. 2, 2011 in BizJournals.com under “economic development.” )
Read the rest of this entry »

I have posted on Strong Cities Network before.

(logo from Strongcitiesnetwork.org)

It came up again on noticing the Center for Cities and Schools (founded 2004 at UC Berkeley) who is currently featuring a “Strong Cities. Successful Young People” banner (one among six) on its home page.  In fact UCB is even fund-raising for this project. (See two colorful images below left).

#1 of 4 images

I took another look at the USDOJ announcement of the launch of Strong Cities, decided to look up the CEO referenced (the founder of the Institute was noticeably NOT mentioned), and the genealogy of at least the Institute’s founder or co-founder AND its current CEO, particularly interesting to a classical musician or anyone interested in arts, classical music, sculpture, etc.  So now you have this post:

The Fascinating Genealogy of Founders of the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) behind the Strong Cities Network (SCN) the USDOJ Attorney General in September 2015 recommended We All Join Too (case-sensitive shortlink ends “-“-6Pj” post started 5-16-2017).

Runner-up title to this post:  Sept. 2015 the USDOJ launched a Strong Cities Network Initiative, run by ISD (London), launched at the UN.  Its current CEO is a descendant of Gustav Mahler, its first founder, Baron George Weidenfield, Publisher.

This topic also overlaps with what I wrote about yesterday on the purpose of gradually increasing the “competence and mandate” of administrative agencies relative to national governments with the eventual goal of a “working peace” run administratively and functionally rather than by “blueprint” (such as legally?).  Quote from yesterday’s first post:

 “The tensions continue between [functionalism and citizen’s rights to know] –and they didn’t start yesterday!”  A second source and quote is there also (a brief bio of Mitrany, 1988-1977, and how and through whom he entered the American university conference circuit (Harvard, Yale) as well as working for the Institute for Advanced Science* (“IAS”) at “1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ,” in his truly internationally oriented lifespan) — and for the last part, working as a consultant to Unilever and Lever Brothers, Ltd.!!)

click image to read better (annotat’n is only filename)

Checking back in at the StrongCitiesNetwork.org website, I see that the Global Summit will be held May 17-19, 2017 in Denmark (I say “will” idealistically hoping to publish this by the end of today, May 16, 2017!).

“Strong Cities, Community Resilience, Anti-Terrorism (Sept. 29, 2015, USDOJ announcement):”

Click image for link (and full page from USDOJ).  Notice the phrase “Against Violent Extremism” (acronym would be “AVE.”  This article doesn’t mention any acronym, but is introducing the phrase. The CEO of the ISD running the SCN (!) (referenced here) in does, in bio blurbs.

…..”no systematic efforts are in place to share experiences, pool resources, and build a community of cities to inspire local action on a global scale” (see image, Para. 1).

[If you deleted the reference to purposes, you can hear a complaint that there isn’t a “community of cities” in place, period.]

“The Strong Cities Network (SCN)  – which launches September 29th at the United Nations – will empower municipal bodies to fill this gap while working with civil society and safeguarding the rights of local citizens and communities.

The SCN will strengthen strategic planning and practices to address violent extremism in all its forms by fostering collaboration among cities, municipalities and other sub-national authorities. ….

The SCN will connect cities, city-level practitioners and the communities they represent through a series of workshops, trainings and sustained city partnerships.  Network participants** will also contribute to and benefit from an online repository of municipal-level good practices and web-based training modules and will be eligible for grants supporting innovative, local initiatives and strategies that will contribute to building social cohesion and resilience to violent extremism.

It’s a like a club with memberships; only network participants get the resources.

Sasha Alexandra Zdraska Havlicek (1975) (image is not from the USDOJ announcement); click image to access the page.

The SCN will include an International Steering Committee of approximately 25 cities and other sub-national entities from different regions that will provide the SCN with its strategic direction.  The SCN will also convene an International Advisory Board, which includes representatives from relevant city-focused networks, to help ensure SCN builds upon their work.**  It will be run by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a leading international “think-and-do” tank with a long-standing track record of working to prevent violent extremism:

“The SCN provides a unique new opportunity to apply our collective lessons in preventing violent extremism in support of local communities and authorities around the world”, said CEO Sasha Havlicek of ISD.  {{her LinkedIn}} “We look forward to developing this international platform for joint innovation to impact this pressing challenge.”

**Networks interacting with networks building practices….

Here’s a photo of the current “International Steering Committee members.”

Click images to read commentary, including that the gender balance is still 6 (or perhaps 7 counting the CEO) women to 16 men, and that there is no photo caption, and no identification of people’s names in the list of 25 cities on the International Steering Committee.

(1) Notice there is an intention NOT to deal (in the USA at least) with “states” but only with cities.  So, it’s not Denver, Colorado, USA — or New York City, NY, USA — but only “Denver, USA; New York, USA, or Minneapolis, USA.  They want to get rid of the “states” relationship — but in the USA, many of our taxes, protections, and legal rights such as exist, occur under State law.  What’s more, many city or municipality budgets are also heavily interdependent on state and federal, as well as influenced by regional funding.  The concept of “Strong CITIES” wishes to equalize this across borders, in discord with our form of government.

Apparently the former head of the United States Justice Department, i.e., the Attorney General Loretta Lynch, in 2015 at time of this announcement — as well as the various mayors — had no problem with this discord or conflict of jurisdiction.  Also, membership in this network is “free” but again, limited to what kind of decision-makers in authority can join.   Also, (2), Notice the gender balance — looks like 6 women to 16 men, or just over ⅓ representation by women.  Anyhow:

Before I post more about Ms. Havlicek, isn’t it interesting that the USDOJ announcement, in referencing a major charity, referenced its CEO, and not its President and (co-) founder? Although another source says “co-founder” there might possibly be some protests at the level of communications influence already wielded by the other co-founder or, if Wiki has it right, “founder,” Baron George Weidenfield,” major publisher:

(Wikipedia on) The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is a London-based ‘think and do tank’ that has pioneered policy and operational responses to the rising challenges of violent extremism and inter-communal conflict. Combining research and analysis with government advisory work and delivery programmes, ISD has been at the forefront of forging real-world, evidence-based responses to the challenges of integration, extremism and terrorism. ISD’s founder and president was George Weidenfeld, Baron Weidenfeld.^[1] Its Director/CEO is Sasha Havlicek.^[2]

The footnote 2, in a journal, shows Havlicek’s academic background:  London School of Economics (Bachelors’ and Masters’) and a graduate diploma  from an Institut Detudes Politique (IEP)in Paris:

References[edit]

1. Europe’s Middle East Mission, “ISN blog”, 25 February 2014 
2. British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, Publications, Journal – Advisory Board, Sasha Havlicek <== <==
3. Vidhya Ramalingam, Preventing and Countering Far-Right Extremism: European Cooperation, Country Reports, 

What mostly inspired this post was learning about Sasha Havlicek’s background, but for now, the George Weidenfield background, showing where the wealth came from — publishing, and writing.  He was also of course a philanthropist.  I have a section also on Axel Springer Ag (and Axel Springer — more publishing empires) and on Gordon Getty (son of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty) because it comes up, and make occasional notes on just how many times some of these men married and divorced — and whom.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post name,

UCB’s CC+S (Kellogg Foundation-sponsored) 2016 PK-12 Infrastructure Planning (Education Work Group Details) ~~> Cont’d. , ends with a short-link ending “-6P8”

and should not be confused with its originating post, similar name but now a different link because I split it in half.  What CC+S stands for is in next title, and I hope it’s plain that “UCB” stands for University of California-Berkeley.  That originating post: UCB’s Center for Cities + Schools (Kellogg Foundation-sponsored) 2016 PK-12 Infrastructure Planning (Education Work Group Details) (case-sensitive short-link ends “-6Lh”) Post started (contents written, then moved from another post) May 9, 2017.

THAT one had more explanatory material — in fact a half a post’s worth (approximately).  I feel it’s important — but it wasn’t specifically focused on subject matter in the post title.  It was focused on the context of the post title and making the case again for demanding to know how public funds are being spent, and what public/private partnerships are doing usurping the place formerly held, or to be held, by individual citizens dealing with their elected state, and federal legislatures.

In setting the context, I am always working with definitions in a field where MOST people don’t speak the language I am promoting as a good one to speak.

In the originating post, I talked about the ongoing tension between what organizations WANT to tell us (“the rhetoric of cause”) and what we as citizens ought to want to know, and to make a note of the probable ulterior agenda when in the enthusiasm about “cause” so many groups simply forgot (sic) to post their financials, or forgot (sic) to differentiate between real entities, quasi-entities (government or business) or projects and programs of either one, or both working together.  I then referenced (with a footnoted page) some historic background for this process of “outflanking sovereignty” in pursuit of a better world order — under UN coordination it seems like, at this end.

I said and I believe (because I’ve seen) this, linking to more information on this perspective:

 “The tensions continue between [functionalism and citizen’s rights to know] –and they didn’t start yesterday!”  A second source and quote is there also (a brief bio of Mitrany, 1988-1977, and how and through whom he entered the American university conference circuit (Harvard, Yale) as well as working for the Institute for Advanced Science* (“IAS”) at “1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ,” in his truly internationally oriented lifespan) — and for the last part, working as a consultant to Unilever and Lever Brothers, Ltd.!!)

It’s the 21st century.  We’d better get a handle on  “the name of the game” and the rules of it, too!

THIS post was written earlier, and I admit it’s incomplete at the bottom — because I’d planned to bring up a sequence of tax return images (I did make the images and have them labeled and stored!) better reflecting “Schools of the World” as a 501©3 whose owner was on the “Education” working group for the PK-12 initiative led by four listed entities, two of which shared a street address, and two others of which weren’t separate entities, but a center in another one.

However, I’m a bit worn out with this routine for now. This one is in less polished format than the previous, but is still useful information on a sample project of the “UCB CC+S”

Both posts are being posted at the same time — Monday evening (after “Mothers’ Day” in the USA) May 15, 2017. I expect to revise or expand post-publication either for completion (supply more exhibits), or for clarity.

This will be the second of two in a row, then.

In my next to last recent post, “Today’s Lesson — Annenberg Learner,” I referenced three topics branching out from “Just Do It! Do the Drill-Downs,” one of which was that post, and two more:  one main topic was the UCB Center for Cities & Schools and (with it) the 21st Century Schools Fund.  Another was regarding some “community partners of a church in Florida whose leadership had been on a 2009 Obama White House Faith-based Council.

As part of a preview of these topics (which took up a large part of the “Annenberg Learner” post), I had some extensive quotes, images, and identifying Partners and Advisors page on this topic.   We learned (if it was news to readers) that the UCB Center for Cities & Schools had Partners, an Advisory Board, and is one among several centers at UCB’s  IURD (Institute for Urban and Regional Design), which history goes back to 1962.  However, this Center for Cities and Schools in the timeline is dated only 2004.

REGARDING – Who IS this UCB Center for Cities and Schools and What It’s Doing:

• A few comments (and images) on this….in fact here’s a series of the home page moving slide show features; notice the reference to “Strong Cities” (which phrase and reference is international / London in origin.)  
• Some may remember that Minneapolis and NYC joined, the USDOJ cited it as an initiative (<==Sep. 29, 2015 announcement), and the general frame work was anti-terrorist.  Reorganizing the world by cities within regions, instead of as political subdivisions of their own countries is, well, “interesting”).  That this is the leading phrase in the leading image (1 of 6 currently) on the Center for Cities + Schools is surely no accident.  For further reference, see background of CC+S’ founder.
• However, in THIS post, I’m not dealing with slide 1, but slide (below) #4 of 6 total (as of today) found at the top of “Citiesandschools.berkeley.edu.”

#1 of 4 images

#2 of 4

#3 of 4

#4 of 4 (there were more, but…)

Regarding Strong Cities Network, run by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a British charity based in London:

THE CEO and co-founder of the institute (British? charity) behind Strong Cities Network is the grand-daughter of a famous composer and with a family line of “the patrician class” populated by conductors, composers, artists, film-makers and actors, and head-line makers regarding parts of the story as family had to flee the Nazis, and later struggle to get their stolen art back.  In the process (this found, again through a simple search link on a person’s name), we also see the forms of education of their own young at the time, and along those lines, how some were sculpting and teaching at USC and UCLA, or living there.  We may be talking “national” here, but the leaders are definitely thinking and dealing, international.

So “Strong Cities” at UCB CC+S as the leading banner above, again, didn’t just show up coincidentally, but is being promoted.   See also my last post and a link on it to a footnoted page on the process.

{Reader Note: A short section in reference to STRONG CITIES NETWORK as a project of ISD (Institute for Strategic Dialogue in London) and its CEO Sasha Havlicek referenced in the USDOJ announcement 9/29/2015 regarding this, turned up some interesting and relevant information.  She is a direct descendant of the famous classical composer Gustav Mahler, a graduate of the London School of Economics (Bachelors’ and Masters) and Institute Detudes Politique in Paris, and more — but this is definitely a fascinating background.

Click to read Sasha Havlicek bio from “TrustConference.com” website which, it turns out, is an initiative of  Thomson Reuters Foundation. (see screenprint)

I also found it fascinating that the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in 2015, chose NOT to mention the ISD’s other founder, who was a major publisher (British, American and German) and well-known (says Wiki) Zionist, a Baron, with a host of other honorary titles from different countries over the years.  He also bought/partnered into USA publishing (at one point with the Ann Getty, wife of Gordon Getty, son of J. Paul Getty).

Lord Weidenfield and wife Annabelle in Berlin 2010, Credit: Rex Features (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/george-weidenfeld-the-grand-old-man-of-publishing/ (Jan 20, 2016, referring to a 2015 interview)

By the time you bring in the oil-industry second and third (at least) generation wealth and J.Paul Getty, for at least Californians, you are talking about a U.S. District Judge, his son, formerly San Francisco Supervisor, San Francisco Mayor, and lastly since 2011, California Lieutenant Governor (translation:  Second in command of Executive Branch after the Governor), and we are hearing, may run for Governor of California in 2018, Gavin Newsom.

[WIKI\ The Lieutenant Governor of California is a statewide constitutional officer and vice-executive of the State of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to basically ceremonial roles, serving as acting governor in the absence of the Governor, and as President of the California State Senate, the lieutenant governor either sits on, or appoints representatives to, many of California’s regulatory commissions and executive agencies.

thumbnail of Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation (see my other post for the tax returns, or look it up) showing William A. Newsom as unpaid director, along with 3 others including Gordon Getty)

Gavin Newsom (with his now ex-wife), Click this or neighboring image through to 5/16/2017 article in Sacramento Bee (Sacramento is capital of California)

Plenty of powerful individuals well-established in London in the 20th century got there fleeing the Nazis; both co-founders of the ISD have this in their background.  Headlines were made (and at least one movie) over the final restoration by Austria of art the Nazi’s had stolen, after a prolonged legal battle.

I also found it interesting how very many marriages and divorces scatter the backgrounds of some of their famous forebears (and Baron Weidenfield’s also) — not just one or two, but four or five. Meanwhile, in the USA, low-income and middle-class parents are being lectured about their marriage and divorce habits as divorce is bad for kids.  It appears that Anna Mahler (who had lost her father at age 7 and her older sister at age 2, married at age 16) had married to escape the home she was raised in (famous artists salon activity notwithstanding), and then kept on marrying, and divorcing….  She came into her own in sculpture; her sculpture is on display outside UCLA.

Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom (Wiki) married 2001, filed for divorce 2005 (in part from careers on opposite coasts…), had an affair** possibly contributing to another person’s divorce, then in 2008 married actress Jennifer Siebel, and quickly began having children, girl, boy, girl, boy  (2009, 2011, 2013, and 2016).  Did I mention, the faith is Roman Catholic?

In 2005, Newsom was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.^[93] In January 2007, it was revealed that Newsom had had a romantic relationship in mid-2005 with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, the wife of his former deputy chief of staff and then campaign manager, Alex Tourk.^[94] Tourk filed for divorce shortly after the revelation and left Newsom’s campaign and administration. Newsom’s affair with Rippey-Tourk^[95] impacted his popularity with male voters, who viewed his indiscretions as a betrayal of a close friend and ally.^[96]

Newsom and Jennifer Siebel at the 2008 San Francisco Pride parade.

Nice guy… California has now legalized marijuana for non-medical use, and same-sex marriage, but wants to continue receiving federal funds to promote “healthy marriage and responsible fatherhood” and all the spinoff programs that came from these starting back in the 1990s, I guess.  Maybe some of our political leaders and national heroes/philanthropists should start practicing what they preach — or stop preaching it!

More to the point — looks like Hon. Gavin Newsom’s personal wealth came in large part from Gordon Getty sponsorship of various financial adventures — more at Wikipedia and my other posts.  This is troublesome when you think about State-level politics in a state of this size.  But, its not exactly a new situation (see Bill Lockyer marital history)…

Trustconference.com has a live-feed (video) background. Notice there is an America and an Asia forum, and check out registration fees (also partners).

For those who may have been reading this post at the time, I had been posting here temporarily  but am moving it to its own post, to keep this one more loyal to the title’s subject matter (and shorter). Currently called (but the link will work under any revised title also — when it’s published:)

The Fascinating Genealogy of Founders of the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) behind the Strong Cities Network (SCN) the USDOJ Attorney General in September 2015 recommended We All Join Too (case-sensitive shortlink ends “-“-6Pj” post started 5-16-2017, published 5-17).

//LGH 5-16-2017 Tuesday.

Notice on the red-framed image above, “#4 of 4,” the publication shown has four (and ½) logos at the bottom?  Who they are matters. They represent the “Leadership Group” of the sponsored report, “Planning for PK-12 Infrastructure:  Adequate Public School Facilities for All Children.”

This “Leadership Group” for the publication then framed the questions, convened and facilitated the working groups according to the framed questions, and as you can see, wrote up the results, which were then posted (among no doubt other places) on the UCB’s CC&S website, “front and center” in an alternating, colorful slide-show of what they are doing.

So, a “bit more” on UCB’s CC+S’ PK-12 Infrastructure (Image 4 of 4 above) “Leadership team” and tax-exempt foundation sponsor (backed by its own $7-8Billion-dollar tax-exempt trust to the tune of contributions in recent years of $367M each, for redistribution in amounts totalling $296M) is in order, I felt. That was a reference to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and its sponsoring W.K. Kellog Trust No. 5315 (which sponsored this publication).

Description of the project, from a click on the banner: — can you count the named entities, sorted by type as reported here, and then correlate them to a sort by type as to how financial reports and fiscal activity would be made available to the public (i.e., private corporations or public entities)?

That is a translation process, and the better we get at it, the better positioned we are to make a difference in demanding financial accountability for the use of tax receipts, i.e., public funds in or on public institutions.

Source of quote: “http://citiesandschools.berkeley.edu/news/new-natl-initiative-planning-for-pk-12-infrastructure”

---

CC+S is partnering with the 21st Century School Fund, The Center for Green Schools, and the National Council on School Facilities to address the structural problems of inequitable and inadequate school facilities found in too many communities across the U.S.
Through this initiative, six national cross-sector working groups have developed a menu of solutions to guide government, industry, labor, and the civic sector in the delivery of high performance public PK-12 infrastructure for all children. The six working groups are organized around basic elements of a well-managed facilities program: Data and Information, Educational Facilities Planning, Management, Funding, Governance and Decision Making, and Accountability. This map identifies policies, practices, and tools needed to structure, manage and fund the public and private capacity for equitable and efficient public school facilities for all communities.

“…for all children” …”for all communities….”  So, these policies, practices and procedures” for Public AND Private capacity for “equitable” and efficient….”  Nice language.

Let’s do some math — what’s the budget, assets and liabilities of each of the above?   How many subsidiary partners are involved in each member of at least the Leadership Team?
Read the rest of this entry »

In this post,

“UCB’s Center for Cities + Schools’ (W.K.Kellogg Foundation-sponsored, 2016 promoted) ~Planning for PK-12 Infrastructure~ Initiative” (case-sensitive short-link ends “-6Lh”; post started (contents written, then moved from another post) May 9, 2017; and  a “~” in title = a quotation mark)

as ever, the tension continues between self-narrative and project descriptions of the involved entities and non-entities (centers within university, and here, also a nonprofit portrayed as though they held corporate personhood and could be a “partner”) and the public’s legitimate right to know who’s who  and which is which, stemming from our right to knowwhat’s being done…

(1)with OUR ONGOING CONTRIBUTIONS TO GOVERNMENT AT ALL LEVELS? And (while I’m at it)

(2) by TAX-EXEMPT ENTITIES (incorporated or other business “persons” who in those “persons” do not pay income OR corporate taxes like most working individuals including those working as employees of either government or nonprofit sector),

…to together and individually influence, guide, steer, transform, drive and/or alter basic forms of government both federal and state, while further obscuring the cash flow to and from these to government entities they are working for or — even if privately funded but still involved —working on, and to do this typically reassuring the public at every point, in reports, evaluations, or organization (or government) websites, “we’re really working for YOUR benefit.”

The image also is link to the article

This collective behavior is a form of progressively, and increasingly working to “outflank sovereignty,” (<=

Page header, left side. The right side (not shown) read only “Paradigms.” obviously meant for facing pages in a bound format.

=2012 (uploaded), 2007-published  journal article on David Mitrany I’ve cited before, several times.  Read just a few pages to understand that what we’re experiencing now had foundation in previous generations, and some of who, what, when and where, starting at least in America with the Carnegie International Peace Foundation.

Keep also in mind that the U.S. Constitution’s Amendment introducing the income tax was at the time still recent.

Since I’m going to quote, I showed the “cite” in three screenprints: Title and author; author bio blurb, and page heading showing a journal name, Vol., No. and Time (Spring 2007) within a section “Paradigms.”  Being short on vertical space on this post, I took the quotes to a separate page containing the quotes, accessible through this link:  “The tensions continue between [functionalism and citizen’s rights to know] –and they didn’t start yesterday!”  A second source and quote is there also (a brief bio of Mitrany, 1988-1977, and how and through whom he entered the American university conference circuit (Harvard, Yale) as well as working for the Institute for Advanced Science* (“IAS”) at “1 Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ,” in his truly internationally oriented lifespan) — and for the last part, working as a consultant to Unilever and Lever Brothers, Ltd.!!)

…On further consideration, I expanded that page to include more information on the IAS and the TVA.  (including some annotated images).  It’s quoting good writing and so I believe will be self-explanatory.

Summary:  although “David Mitrany” may not be a “household name” to me, or to people concerned with specific problems within the USA, such as the schools or the family courts, it is a household name to many here, and overseas.  His orientation (see bio) after leaving Romania for Hamburg and ending up in England, where he attended the London School of Economics, and even for a period (says this) worked as a British spy, would be more British then “USA” even though he worked, lectured, and for all I know,  also published here:

A household name among social scientists and historians, a name who is permanently tied to functionalism- one of the most penetrating theories behind the integration dynamics in Europe. In 1943 Mitrany published an important political pamphlet: A Working Peace System. A witness of both World Wars, Mitrany struggled with the problem of how Europe could be freed from the iron fist of power politics. He did not believe in the standard blueprint for an ideal order…

Regarding “standard blueprint for an ideal order,” there are still people in this country (including –who knows? — maybe even a good portion of the US Congress and House of Representatives) who believe that we have in the Constitution at least a working blueprint for a good one, when compared with other governments internationally.  I do.  There seem to be major problems with application, though (!)

What I’m exposing and publicizing here may be easier to understand after more reading on the general topic of functionalism, naming specific people and institutions. It’s not required to get the general idea from the details to the deductions, but I know it helped my own understanding that the practice was planned, premeditated, and part of how it was promoted internationally.  Sample quote from my footnoted page, from Britannica.com on “functionalism”:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/functionalism-international-organizations

…Mitrany advocated the creation of a range of similarly constituted technical and scientific agencies with potentially global reach to implementinfrastructure and reconstruction programs, organized on a technical or functional basis rather than on a territorial basis. …

The contribution of Mitrany’s writing and advocacy was to promote the expansion of both the number and tasks of the existing agencies, the creation of new ones, and their coordination through the auspices of the UN. The construction of what Mitrany called “a working peace system” lay in a twofold process. In the first place, a program would be progressively transferred to functional agencies, a process called “task expansion.” This process would enlarge the mandate and competence of the agencies relative to those of national governments. Thereafter, the network of interdependent relationships that these agencies would come to manage, a process called spillover, would create a so-called working peace system between the members.

Essentially, they are stating that the purpose of creating so many special administrative agencies with multiple boundary-crossing scope of activities and jurisdiction is not to handle the tasks assigned — in other words, NOT what is advertised, but for an ulterior agenda — to ensure increase of the “mandates” AND competence to handle them relative to the national governments.   You can also see this happening within the US, as refers to federal versus states, or regionally coordinated state areas.

With this ulterior agenda, honesty in documenting the legitimate need for the advertised projects and services, seems to have taken an exit out the back door; it has “flown the coop” and is “no longer on the premises.”  This emerges when (“the tension continues….”) they are handled consistently in ways that undermine local finances and people’s understanding of ALL finances, as well as undermining local representative government.

This is even done preaching “Community” at all levels — but you won’t see this unless you follow the money and realize how convoluted that reporting has become on where it goes, where it went, and how much (at any point in time, well accounted for) exists (that’s “balance sheet” style) to continue justifying all the taxations, fees, service cuts, and agency purpose consolidations under first, single themes, then later, over-arching themes.

What’s that got to do with the UCBerkeley Center for Cities + Schools?  LOTS!  (See bio of its Executive Director Deborah McKoy); I’m referring especially to the UN references in her bio blurb.

This tendency seems to have expanded (beyond an easy count) already, within the decades since.  As I referenced in looking recently at the US Census of Governments, it doesn’t seem to count JPAs that cross state lines!

Click IMAGE to see full-sized (Tables to 2012 US Census of Govts issued Sep 2013) [2012 Census of Govts TABLES 1-13 list types of govt (notice across-state-lines JPAs not shownas separate type)[Screen Shot 2017-05-02]

Reminder: FYI, both K-12 School Districts AND (depending on the state I guess) state university systems are government entities, and both of these (“K-12” and universities) exist right alongside another major set of private universities, Ivy League and otherwise, each with institutional endowments of course and whose students also would no doubt qualify for federal funding help with their tuition loans (hence those private universities also depend in large part on federal assistance for their operations) — which simply file 501©3 forms as tax-exempt educational institutions.

The public schools themselves are the ongoing projects of school districts (they occur within some school district) and minor children who aren’t attending legally registered private schools in some form must attend public, but the government entity is the school district.  When it comes, however to the state level, any “Department of Education” isn’t its own entity, but part of the State.
Read the rest of this entry »

This post is:

Today’s Lesson — Show-and-Tell (and what’s not told) re: ~Annenberg Learner~ and Annenberg Foundation ~Education Initiatives~ with short-link ending “-6Iw” (where “I” stands for the first person singular pronoun, not a lowercase “L” or a #1.)

This message came from the bowels (was the original foundation) of a post published May 3, 2017, significantly updated through May 5, 2017, and visible: on the “Last Few ‘Let’s Get Honest’ Posts” sidebar (see sample below) or if you: <> are a follower (more than 1,900 now) notified by email whenever a new post is published; <> caught it on Twitter; <> happen to be reading this blog and know to scroll down below the “sticky” posts which remain at the top-of-blog main column to get to each new one; or <>happen to pull up a post in some internet search on a topic of interest, which sometimes happens to me while looking for more information on some under-reported topic, organization, or specific grant. One time it even pulled up a post published just 24 hours previous. (The Table of Contents page is updated periodically, not continually, and is a better reference for more distant posts or an overview).

So that recent post was:

Just Do it!  Do the Drill-Downs to see What Lies Beneath.  Or, Continue to “Take It On Faith” in the Multi-campus, Digitally-Driven, Public/Private Partnership Tax-Exempt Mega-Church aka the U.S.A. (post started 4/30/2017 published 5/3/2017, case-sensitive short-link ends “-6Hf”;”aka”=”also known as.”)

Over time, working on that post (formerly with this one’s contents)… 

…and mostly due to new information on how a Center at University of California-Berkeley and its related public (state government, UCBerkeley schools and institutes) and private (nonprofit) Partners, some also referenced on its Advisory Board,** dramatically and collaboratively demonstrate their views of who is and who is not considered a “stakeholder” when it comes to steering public affairs regionally, by metropolitan area, Agenda 21-style, and [by way of public/private partnerships which in general (and by the nature of “genre” itself)] effectively and I say it seems deliberately bypassing financial accountability to and timely informed consent of the public. (Point of Reference:  IURD history timeline, showing 2004 creation of this Center.  The Center is housed at the IURD, Institute for Urban and Regional Development. After the images of publications, there’s a timeline in table form).

… By doing my drill-downs, I also learned a few things about what types of “partner” nonprofits are preferred in at least this collaboration, as judged (my point of view!) by when and how they file Form 990s and how close the story on the various websites is to the reality shown by, again, the “drill-downs.”  From what I found, “we are not amused,”  but alarmed and concerned.   I am concerned that the voices of people not “in on” these deliberations or conferences — or university centers — are not about to be heard, or given opportunity to debate the framework.  Which seems intentional… (I posted on this tendency also). The speed, force, stealth, and continual resorting to “public/private collaborations” and “cross-department consolidations” eradicates independence of thought, balance of powers, and — this is a BIG deal — by suddenly altering the operations, obscures and clouds “the money trail,” that is, where public funds are involved — and exactly how much private funding is inappropriately (conflicts-of-interest) involved.

• For much of this blog, I posted specifically on court-connected corporations and the tensions between federal “fatherhood” policy and due process, individual rights under family courts when there have been criminal-level events such as domestic violence (assault and battery, terroristic threats etc.) which were not being handled IN criminal courts, but off-ramped by virtue of the off-ramp having been made available, into the family court system and specialized “domestic violence courts’ with related professionals.
• NOW, in my post these past few quarters (Q4 2016 and Q1, and we are just starting Q2, 2017) on this blog, I have been talking less about the “Federal Designer Families” (fatherhood, marriage vs. domestic violence tensions) but about who decides, and how, in what direction the entire public education system (and alternatives) should go. How they should be transformed or reformed. With my recent encounter with the UCBerkeley Center for Cities & Schools, we seem to have unearthed, alongside that, the same style of public/private planning for major PreK-12 public school facilities infrastructure and where this fits into entire metropolitan region, and regions within the country.

 

“CC+S promotes high quality education as an essential component of urban and metropolitan vitality to create equitable, healthy and sustainable communities for all.”

Again, I am not completely surprised this time.  At the University of California-Berkeley level, it’s about what I’ve come to expect (as a woman, mother, and domestic violence survivor) from my adopted state (despite how long I’ve lived here, it’s not my home state; the longer I stay, the more alienated I have become from participation in its economy, safely in its court system, and in general, in its social/cultural life while I deal, sometimes reeling, with each new round of abuse of privilege by those I have no real choice to NOT deal with).  I have come to understand the meaning in practice of “politically correct (healthy, sustainable, equitable, green — of course)  to the point of abuse, that is, painfully violating basic civil and legal rights in the name of fixing previous violations and excluding those most violated from the discussions on HOW to fix them, while proclaiming the opposite process is, in fact, under way.

But I am concerned and alarmed. This post alerts readers on three topics and their rapid “deployment” each in its own sectors.

**Click image to better see (Advisory Board UCB Center for Cities + Schools). Much further below, I also have annotated image from “Partners” page.

…led to an “overload” that fell (somewhat) neatly into three sections ‘asking’ to become new posts:

<1> one of them this post, Annenberg Education Initiatives explored, and some surrounding exhortation. Found nearer the bottom herein; look for section header and images like this* (below-the-yellow-section left) and for a section with more text than images.  (In the other sections, involving so many “entities” and non-entities with logos and names masking the entities behind them, I’ve uploaded many explanatory images to clarify who’s who).

Before this Annenberg Education section near the bottom of the post, I also repeated my reminder (from previous “Just Do It! Do the Drill-Downs” post) of how the U.S. Census of Governments (for purposes of counting some — not all — of them) defines government; it mentions three traits, one of which is “governmental character.”  We would do well to keep in mind what that is.

I also repeat below a warning in bright-yellow-background that it’s time for a change of conversation and perspective.  It’s short; here’s an abbreviated version:

Gov’t Character (from Definitions part of 2012 US Census of Gov’ts) CLICK IMAGE if needed to read full-sized.

*Home page of “Annenberg Learning” naturally features the banner links and a moving slideshow (and two sidebars of more info). Notice reference to “Licensing (fees for Broadcasting, by program)” and original inspiration (1981) having been “British Open University,” with a contract between CPB and Annenberg School of Communications at Univ. of PA

<2> another, a second post still in draft,  expands on new (to me) and significant information which had come to my attention regarding designs (intents)## certain mutually synchronized and financially-involved-with-each-other entities have on the public school asset infrastructures, plural, nationwide (and beyond). Particularly on planning them and increasing investments in them.

## [This background color and border denotes a “footnote” to second post  topic above.  Third post topic shown below it.]

These designs (intents) include but are not limited to (a) increasing public (federal) investments (of course) — $46B is recommended as of 2016; (b) re-purposing public facilities once restored through increased investments and facilities planning (joint use of school structures as community centers); and (c ) significantly restructuring the decision-making process and leadership (“stakeholders”) on how to plan for all the school facilities that are to be the centers of our new, improved, healthier, more sustainable and (of course) more “equitable” infrastructures for the 21st century.

Under (c ) decision-making process, part of this is involving young people (apparently moreso than their parents as a sector, or all taxpayers as a sector) and, I learned through looking, a “Health in All Policies” (aka “HiAP”) collaborative approach, established in California by a governor’s executive order but (I also learned, again through looking!) as housed at the “Strategic Growth Council” itself a cabinet-level council at the state level.   This “California HiaP” I didn’t talk much about on the post, but did include one image annotated in detail.  Here’s another one saying that “HiAP” is originally (and unsurprisingly) part of a global movement, orignating from the World Health Organization (“WHO.”)  Surely you’ve read this already, as a regular browser of the  Journal of Public Health Management and Practice and a member of the public to be managed and practiced on?

Click IMAGE to read details (HiAP for Big Cities discussed in NIH publication)

Click Image to read #2 of 2, what WHO started in 1988, Finland in 2006 (then Pres. of the EU) promoted as HiAP, which US and other countries quickly adopted. I’ll say (Calif. 2008 Exec Order on HiAP!)

So, overall regarding the second “overload” post — good grief!  I had only searched the terms “round table, stakeholders, school reform” or similar phrase, which brought up the university center and its so-called partners and advisors as reported but not explained very well, on that site!

California HiAP Task Force is listed as a Partner.  It seems to represent a consolidation of 22 gov’t departments around the policy, fine print here (on the Oct. 22, 2014 FAQs sheet doesn’t even name people, just departments but also (eventually) divulges the involvement of another significant (and well-heeled) nonprofit in Oakland, California — Public Health Institute (“PHI”).  The UCBerkeley Center (“CC+S”) Partner page, however, says nothing about this.  Several places I looked linked to a California government page on the “HiAP Task Force,” which links were already broken.

[Broken link #1: http://sgc.ca.gov/docs/ Active_Transportation_Action_Plan_9-26-14.pdf; #2: http://sgc.ca.gov/s_hiap.php; #3: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/PageNotFoundError.aspx?requestUrl=&nbsp;https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/Pages/HealthinAllPolicies.aspx which produced an “In Transition” message: Apparently an entire set of CDPH information got archived May 1, 2017, and using the phrase “archive” in front of the web address may correct it as “https://archive.cdph.ca.gov/programs/ Pages/HealthinAllPolicies.aspx.  This works, not including some links which still recycle back to the “Page Not Found” message below.  The page it directs to is basically a page of links.  It does at least contain one to the 2010 Executive Order and reveal yet two more significant trade association 501©3s involved in setting up the Guide, and claiming that it’s in response to popular demand..The unsigned, unstamped, (notarized or anything else) Executive Order there at least names then-Governor (Arnold Schwarzenegger) (also known for recommending that California reduce its prison overpopulation by building some in Mexico).

Normally the words “Task Force” indicate individual people’s names, whether identified by their position alone (i.e., “Speaker of the House” or “Department Head”) or sometimes by specific name. Here, that’s been tossed aside, and somehow an entire state “Department” is named to a Task Force! From that FAQs page (bottom of p1 of 2, image with gray background):

(Click image for better viewing)

and

<3> and a third section from the “Just Do It!” post overload asking (so to speak) to become its own separate post,showing a drill-down on a “faith-based” church and its stated community partners of the conservative evangelical temperament in Florida.  The pastor of this church was appointed to one of the Obama “faith-based” councils 2009-2010, the councils following (basically, with some variations), the pattern set by the Bush Administration in Executive Orders of January 29, 2001 on the topic.  (I had been explaining my usage of “mega church” in the post title and noticed this one on a White House Council; not being familiar with it, I’d looked it up).

After considering the significance and complexity of these three topics, I decided to keep my substantial introduction to the topic and previews especially of the second post and a shorter of the third contained on this post.

While the topics in this post and those two future posts differ, the principle for all three remains — we ALL need to brush up as a nation on our drill-downs and understand the nature, speed, and source (primary actors) of structural changes in U.S.A. policymaking in terms beyond those offered us on the main news headlines, beyond political parties, and beyond the current level of public discourse.

We are failing to recognize the ramifications of consolidated government at the state level, the involvement of university centers (institutes, etc.) in promoting governmental consolidation (for example, HiAAP) and cross-sector collaborations and collaborative policymaking (crossing both governmental jurisdictions and from public to private) , and the role of tax-exempt foundation influence bending the constitutions, law, and stretching the boundaries of credibility (often, on the filings) whether this occurs Republican (and far-right or moderate) or Democrat/Progressive (centrist or left).

Besides keeping expanded previews of the two future post topics mentioned above, I have another “Appeal to Logic.”  No extra charge for this next Appeal to Logic section (orange border, different font and background color); it’s not the first and won’t be the last!

Just Do it!  Do the Drill-Downs to see What Lies Beneath.  Or, Continue to “Take It On Faith” in the Multi-campus, Digitally-Driven, Public/Private Partnership Tax-Exempt Mega-Church aka the U.S.A. (post started 4/30/2017 published 5/3/2017, case-sensitive short-link ends “-6Hf”;”aka”=”also known as.”)

Yes I did just call this entire country a multi-campus, digitally-driven, public/private partnership, tax-exempt mega-church.

…(The post title as first published read “Digitally Dominated” which I caught when the title didn’t match the title copied into the contents just above; I corrected it.  “Digitally-Distributed” or “Diluted” or any other number of words might also describe the situation.  Deliberations are occurring “digitally” that is, electronically, often in places where the local communities may have no comprehension of in just how many ways their local and state policies are being set regionally and nationally in meetings and discussions to which they are not invited, and of which they are not really cognizant.).

May 4th, 2017, This post also contains some post-publication additions and corrections, especially in a section demonstrating decision-making on roundtables and conferences not quite in the public view — from the example of UCBerkeley’s Center for Cities and Schools 2008 meeting, involving an advisory board from a DC-based entity 21st Century Schools Fund, which brought in other entities it’s involved with (nonprofit of course), including taking funds FROM one in California whose president is the daughter of a wealthy investor, as well as a civil rights attorney from California who spent personal millions of dollars on a campaign to increase the income tax for more school funding (The Advancement Project) to form another (National Council on Schools Facilities) begun only recently and sharing a street address with its pass-through donor nonprofit in D.C. May 5th I will probably add tags.

Before I get into that, the other purpose for this quick post is to publicize two additional pages supplementing the posts dealing with the role of synchronized foundations for takeover and restructuring of school systems, that is, foundations funding both networks of nonprofits and a mixture of schools, school districts, departments of education to the point that tracking either the networks in isolation OR the schools, school districts, departments of education (etc.) responsibly would be so burdensome, so expensive, and so untenable that any successes in the task would seem to be “Pyrrhic” (<==examples of Pyrrhic military victories incl. the Battle of Bunker Hill and the one the term came from, Greek v. Roman empire)– that is, counterproductive. It would seem to cost more in the short and medium term than it might save in the long run.  You can see some of the struggles on these posts (!).

Here are those two pages, both published in late April, 2017. I picked background-colors matching their appearance on the first one and as referenced in a parallel post. (Will repeat this routine at bottom of this post.  I added an image and some commentary [6 short paragraphs] just under this first listing of the two pages to explain a reference to the “ECS” and why the name James B. Conant came up in one of them).

Paragraph ONE. James B. Conant is referenced because the “ECS” (Education Commission for the States, a Colorado-based nonprofit incorporated Dec. 1967 to implement an Education Compact among the States) seems to have been primarily his idea.  A North Carolina ex-? governor Terry Sanford helped promote it to the “National Governor’s Association” (NGA) which of course helped also propagate it.  The NGA’s personal nonprofit is called the NGA “Center for Best Practices,” both allowing for corporate major sponsorship to get a personal audience in front of elected officials responsible for governing populations who mostly cannot get such an audience in exchange for payments because they don’t have the wherewithal to pay!  The NGA page will explain more; its preview part brings up the ECS, with supporting links.

TWO. The ECS ties into the Annenberg Public Education Challenge of the late 1990s early 2000s from the Challenge’s choice of ECS-related leadership. This color-coded* next image from “Chicago Annenberg Challenge Wiki reveals the ECS’ function in the $500M Challenge.

Click HERE to view annotations on “Chicago Annenberg Challenge WIKI Excerpt showing 113M to 3 School Reform Orgs, with #3 ECS to disseminate #2’s model and #1 AISR, chaired by Ted Sizer Screen Shot 2017-05-04 at 1.36PM”

THREE. (*Colors refer to specific entities in order:  Carnegie Corporation (blue), Brown University (rose/orange?), ECS (purple), the “NASDC” model (lime-green) and underscoring how the (then aged) Walter H. Annenberg (per this Wiki, which reads something like folklore, although it is footnoted) talking to a law partner who was ALSO at the time chairman of Carnegie Corporation (and just also happened to be an Annenberg professor over an Annenberg program at Northwestern University, i.e., Chicagoland) that “we need to do something” because — unlike our university system — no one here wants to send their kids to public school, especially in the cities.  (yellow star).  I’ve connected with various arrows, and at the bottom, you can see the plan that what looks like 3 “school reform organizations” splitting $113M between them is, in effect, basically only two school reform projects — “CES” (on which the AISR at Brown University is based) and “NASDC” which I’ve posted on some already, started originally by a US President, and tied into one of the largest social science and behavioral research entities around (operating globally), which is the AIR (American Institutes for Research) (“for behavioral research”) which 501©(3) has a London “related entity” among (several) others…  NASDC eventually merged into AIR. These NETWORK, and those developing the network are in the upper-level wealth sector of the country.

FOUR. ALL three universities involved here (Brown, Harvard, Northwestern) and two other which the Annenberg Foundation is financially involved with to a significant extent (starting and endowing communications schools at them), the University of Pennsylvania (contains “Wharton School of Business”) and the University of Southern California — are PRIVATE; Brown and Harvard are also historically Ivy League and among the last in the USA to admit women undergraduates to enroll in the same colleges as men (!) but it is the PUBLIC school systems they wish to restructure….Brown didn’t do this until 1969; Harvard around then also.

FIVE. You can see how the role of the “ECS” at this point is to disseminate a model already chosen by these privately conferring foundation billionaires (Annenberg) or running billion-dollar-assets foundations (Carnegie) or billion-dollar-assets PRIVATE universities (Brown, Northwestern no doubt, Harvard) who in the course of their professional and philanthropic lives also had some favorite nonprofits (Coalition for Essential Schools — founded by a Harvard/Brown-connected Ted Sizer) and the ECS (as above) and NASDC — a project, per the wiki of a former U.S. President.

SIX. Does this start to look like the planning process is just bypassing the public, who will have to “just deal” with the consequences, as for decades they’ve also had to “just deal with” the conditions of the public schools still separate and unequal with most private schools at the K-12 level? and sometimes unsafe, sometimes going onto lockdown from violence in OR near them…??  (I think so!).  Look at the annotations on the image and see related posts (and those two pages) for more info.

In addition, those who “scroll down” on this post will see

Now, moving back to the topics in the title:

Calling the U.S.A. “tax-exempt” is accurate, when referring to the federal government.

These definitions matter — a lot.  I will review in detail, again, on this post. Other examples might distract from the main message, and have been put onto nearby posts, for publishing ASAP.

There is going to be a constant tension between what we need to know and see, and what the government and nonprofit sectors working together to steer society (and solve its many problems) feel like telling us on their websites.  It’s our mission (should we accept it) to dig out what needs to be known, whether or not others feel like offering it up voluntarily.  We have this right where the institutions and the sources of funds to support them are “public.”  It’s a matter of where anyone stands on the tax spectrum.

Obviously not everyone operates tax-exempt or engages in public/private partnerships — but good luck existing without being heavily influenced and your future options in this country framed according to the debates, agreements, contracts and understandings made among and between those who do.

While these P/P Partnerships are to be considered by the public “in the public interest,” justifying their existence and formation, the real stakeholders in the eyes (judging by the words) of participant organizations,  on closer look are rarely the public at large.  Sometimes participant organizations who list “stakeholders” on the websites, seem to want extra-credit honorable mention for noble behavior if this time it happens to include normal civilians not in public employment or running a major tax-exempt organization at whichever roundtable is being described…
Read the rest of this entry »