Barry:  Will she take notice?

Barry: Will she take notice?

Judge Daniel R. Green in the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri did something yesterday that just may rattle the foundations of the Common Core National Standards and junk the PARCC and Smarter Balanced assessment consortia:  He slapped a permanent injunction on the state, preventing it from quote “taking any action to implement or otherwise effectuate any payment of Missouri funds as membership fees to S B A C, whether directly or indirectly.”  End quote.

MO court strikes aligned assessment

MO court strikes aligned assessment

In his two paragraph ruling, Judge Green declared the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium was quote “an unlawful interstate compact to which the U.S. Congress has never consented, whose existence and operation violate the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article I, § 10, cl. 3, as well as numerous federal statutes; and that Missouri’s participation in the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium as a member is unlawful under state and federal law. ”

Will other lawsuits/states follow?

Will other lawsuits/states follow?

While this is a state court action not binding on other states, Common Core opponents say the ruling provides opponents in every state the legal framework needed to launch similar challenges in their states.  Officials from the NH Dept. of Education did not reply to our inquiry on the matter, but don’t worry, we’ll make sure to follow up.  We’ve posted the two paragraph ruling on Girard at Large dot com and linked to it from this news read.  With any luck, we’ll be interviewing the plaintiffs who filed this case tomorrow morning.

Hammers Obama on Muslim immigration

Hammers Obama on Muslim immigration

Likely Republican presidential candidate Dennis Michael Lynch, whom we’ve interviewed on this showhammered the immigration policies of the White House in a statement released this week.  Lynch asserts that between two thousand ten and two thousand thirteen, the Obama Administration imported almost three hundred thousand immigrants from Muslim nations and charged that the President is seeking to fundamentally change the country via immigration and is putting every American at risk by taking immigrants from regions where ISIS operates.

Lynch:  Muslim refugees a potential threat to national security

Lynch: Muslim refugees a potential threat to national security

Lynch is a film producer who has covered the topic of immigration and national security in his films, They Come to America I & 2.   They Come to America 3, which covers the epic dangers of the President’s immigration policies, is currently in production.  Lynch claimed that top U.S. counter terror officials say terrorists could easily slip into the country from Iraq and Syria, in spite of promised screening procedures for such refugees and said quote “The US is not prepared to conduct extensive background checks on so many people, especially when immigration officials are now facing the prospect of granting work permits to millions of illegal aliens already in the States.”  He accused the administration of wanting chaos to continue in the Middle East so it could continue to justify the mass importation of Muslim refugees.

News from our own backyard continues after this.

Guinta:  Hails 529 bill.

Guinta: Hails 529 bill.

First District Congressman Frank Guinta (R-Manchester) released a statement yesterday following the bipartisan passage of H.R. 529 – a bill to expand, modernize, and strengthen 5 2 9 plans to increase educational opportunities for our nation’s children.  The bill permanently expands the use of 5 2 9 plans by allowing tax-free distributions for students to buy computers and software.  It also modifies the tax treatment of multiple accounts for a single beneficiary and it exempts from taxation any amounts that are refunded from colleges as long as the beneficiary recontributes the funds back into a 5 2 9 within a specified time.  “As the first in my family to graduate from college, I know firsthand the importance of investing in one’s education…The overwhelming bipartisan passage of H.R. 529 is a common-sense approach towards ensuring that the dream of higher education is always within reach,  Said Guinta.  Now, if average families were only making enough money to contribute to the accounts, all would be good in the world.  We’ve linked to the text of the bill for those of you who are curious.

Hassan:  Gets hammered in ad

Hassan: Gets hammered in ad

Governess Margaret Wood Hassan’s proposal to hire a Chief Operating Officer to run the state has drawn national attention.  Quote “It’s pretty sneaky that Maggie Hassan would ask taxpayers to fund an unelected COO bureaucrat to run New Hampshire so she can focus on her Senate campaign,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Jahan Wilcox, who issued a statement yesterday announcing the N R S C released a TV ad hammering Hassan for the proposal. The ad claims the position will cost taxpayers one point four million dollars.  We’ve linked to it from this newscast and will probably play it over the air this morning.

Bow Police:  Beware IRS phone scam

Bow Police: Beware IRS phone scam

The Bow Police Department is out with a phone scam warning.  They say an aggressive and sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers has been making the rounds in town.  Callers claim to be IRS employees, but really aren’t.  (No kiddin’?)  Apparently, these con artists are pretty convincing when they call.  They use fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets and usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.  Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and that it must be paid promptly through a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer.  If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license.  In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.  Victims have also be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information.   If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.   The department wants all to know this:  The IRS will never call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed a bill.  They won’t demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe, nor will they require you to use a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card nor will they ask for credit or debit card numbers.  Finally, they won’t threaten to have you arrested for not paying.  Obviously, if someone calls unexpectedly claiming to be from the IRS with aggressive threats if you don’t pay immediately, it’s a scam.  Call your local police department and or file a complaint with the F T C.

That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next

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