BOTNET wordle

CyberBusted 12/21/2010 Posted on Firetown.com

FIRETOWN-- THIS IS YOU! I HOPE YOU ALL APPRECIATE THAT I WENT OUT ON A FUCKING LIMB TO PROTECT THE INTEGRITY OF THIS FORUM, BUT I WOULD LIKE AN APOLOGY FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR(S) OF THIS "CLOSED GROUP" AS TO WHY NOBODY RESPONDED [EXCEPT FROMMES- AND HE CAUSED EVEN MORE OF A MESS BY SUPPORTING YOU!]

MIKE-- I'M CALLING IT AS I SEE IT. IF YOU RUN THIS FORUM THAN YOU HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PROTECT IT AND EACH OF US FOR SUPPORTING YOU BY GIVING US A SAFE PLACE TO SHARE IDEAS.

NOTICE THIS IS YOUR ACCOUNT THAT WAS HACKED ALONG WITH MINE.

ARE YOU A BLACK SHEEP OR A ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL? YOU HAD THE ABILITY TO CLEAR MY NAME AND PUT AN END TO THIS SITUATION BEFORE IT ESCALATED TO THIS POINT.SO, WHEN I AM BEING ACCUSED OF SOMETHING UNETHICAL AND ILLEGAL AND YOU HAVE THE ABILITY NOT ONLY CLEAR MY NAME BUT TO CONFIRM THAT YOU ALSO HAVE EVIDENCE TO PUT AN END TO DISINFO AGENTS AND PROVOCATEURS THEN YOU OWE IT TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US TO COME FORWARD.

I EXPECT YOU TO DO SOMETHING AND DO IT QUICKLY. REMOVE ANYONE WHO THREATENS THE SAFETY AND INTEGRITY OF THIS FORUM.

WHO IS GUARDING YOUR HOUSE TONIGHT? I HAVE BEEN ON WATCH NOW FOR WAY TOO FUCKING LONG WITH NO END IN SIGHT.

"FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS?"

WRONG!

FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE COMMUNISTS! [REF: NIEMOLLER]

WAKE THE FUCK UP.

HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU WERE ACCUSED OF NOT ONLY A CRIME, BUT BEING UNETHICAL AND DISLOYAL TO YOUR FOLLOWERS - WHICH BTW, YOU WERE!

WELL GUESS WHAT? I STEPPED UP FOR YOU AND YOU BETTER STEP UP TO THE FUCKING PLATE FOR THE REST OF US. WHEN DID YOU TURN INTO A GREY SHEEP? WAKE THE FUCK UP AND GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.

GET YOUR SHIT AND MY SHIT OUT OF THIS MESS BEFORE WE ALL GO DOWN WITH THIS SINKING SHIP.

I HAVE PAID DEARLY FOR BEING SO OUTSPOKEN AND DEDICATED IN MY SEARCH TO FIND A PLACE WHERE WE CAN CELEBRATE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOMS FREE FROM REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENT AND TOXIC PEOPLE.

I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE A FUCKING ANSWER AS TO WHY WE ALLOW THIS KIND OF BULLSHIT TO CONTINUE? DON'T YOU GET IT... DIVIDE AND CONQUER.  [REF: COINTELPRO]

DIVIDED WE FAIL. 

FACE IT WE ARE NOT ON ANIMAL FARM-- WE ARE ON PLANET FUCKING PLUTO WHERE WE ARE TOO BUSY WATCHING THE MICKEY MOUSE CLUB INSTEAD OF OUR CHILDREN. [REF: THE CORPORATION]

WE ARE NOT ALL CREATED EQUAL. SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS.  [REF: ORWELL, ANIMAL FARM]

SO WHEN I AM SENDING AN SOS FROM WHATEVER PLATFORM... THAN I DESERVE THE COURTESY OF SOMEONE TRYING TO DELIVER THE MESSAGE IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND. AND, TRYING TO SHOW SOME SUPPORT IN A LANGUAGE OR FORMAT THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND. [REF: #ONE]

#911 IS THE SAME IN EVERY LANGUAGE. #thatisall

cyberbusted

 FLICKR

NOTICE THIS IS YOUR ACCOUNT THAT WAS HACKED ALONG WITH MINE. SO, WHEN I AM BEING ACCUSED OF SOMETHING UNETHICAL AND ILLEGAL AND YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO BOTH CLEAR MY NAME AND PUT AN END TO THE SITUATION I EXPECT YOU DO IT AND QUICKLY REMOVE ANYONE WHO THE MEMBERS OF THIS FORUM.

WHO IS GUARDING YOUR HOUSE TONIGHT? PUT AN END TO DISINFO AGENTS AND PROVOCATEURS.

IF YOU WON'T DO IT FOR ME, DO IT FOR YOURSELF. IF NOT FOR YOURSELF THEN DO IT FOR THE WORLD. [REF: STEVIE NICKS TIMESPACE]

#911 IS THE SAME IN EVERY LANGUAGE. #thatisall

see for yourself!

Drowning in Apathy

speechless.  it is difficult to even formulate a complete sentence. 

this is not new.  the violence the corruption, "the terror of knowing what this world is about..."

yet we fail to act. as a society we look away or we blame the victim because it easier than taking action and demanding reform and accountability.

enough is enough.

am i only person who is outraged? 

disgusted and resigned.

 

despite overwhelming evidence of corruption and excessive use of force, violence and terror against the people of this country,  we allow it to continue.

i will never feel safe in this country. i will never feel safe in this community. this little town.

i have no where to run to. no place to go should i need to escape the deadly violence that i know a times can be all too real.

i can not think of a single place anywhere that i might have access to. or even find transportation or an an evacuation if ever ordered to evacuate or should i feel the desire or need to leave all by myself.

wow.

 

i have no rights. i have no community. i have no reasonable expectation for anything to change today, tomorrow, next week or next year. i am trapped.

i also do not believe there is anything i might do today that will make things a little bit better for someone else tomorrow. 

i will never feel safe. not here, not  anywhere. 

i can not say for sure that i would call the police next time i was either a victim or a witness to a crime in my own backyard.

not because i am afraid to get involved or fear gangs or thugs~ because i trust my instincts, and know when something is wrong. 

something is wrong.

something has been wrong for a very long time.

remember this, in the words of

speechless.  it is difficult to even formulate a complete sentence.

this is not new.  the violence the corruption, "the terror of knowing what this world is about..."

 

yet we fail to act. as a society we look away or we blame the victim because it easier than taking action and demanding reform and accountability.

enough is enough.

am i only person who is outraged? 

disgusted and resigned.

despite overwhelming evidence of corruption and excessive use of force, violence and terror against the people of this country,  we allow it to continue.

i will never feel safe in this country. i will never feel safe in this community. this little town.

i have no where to run to. no place to go should i need to escape the deadly violence that i know a times can be all too real.

i can not think of a single place anywhere that i might have access to. or even find transportation or an an evacuation if ever ordered to evacuate or should i feel the desire or need to leave all by myself.

wow.

i have no country. i have no rights. i have no reasonable expectation for anything to change today, tomorrow, next week or net year. i am trapped.

i also do not believe thee is anything i might do today that will make things a little bit better for someone else tomorrow. 

i will never feel safe. not here, not  anywhere. 

i can not say for sure that i would call the police next time i was either a victim or a witness to a crime in my own backyard.

not because i am afraid to get involved or fear gangs or thugs~ because i trust my instincts, and know when something is wrong. 

something is wrong.

something has been wrong for a very long time.

25 years ago this week, a coordinated effort between the united states government, the Philadelphia police department and counterintelligence [interesting concept] conspired to carry out what could become one of the greatest massacre in us history.

the crime that won't go down.

west Philadelphia. osage avenue. 11 people. 5 children. one survivor.

people can not understand my deep connection to the people who died that day or the families that stayed behind hoping that the people if this nation would rebuild their homes after using extraordinary to means to silence the vice of a man who believed in the right to be free.

Vincent Leaphart was a voice to be reckoned with.

A voice that sounded just a little like my own. a little bit radical and a whole lot misunderstood.  He was a voice that needed to be heard because he was ordered to be silenced. 

The Powers That Beat.

When the United States failed to convict him in 1978, "the people" did not rest their case. 

they just changed the rules of the game, and i know them all too well.

i was 12 years old at the time. 

something was brewing.

i was living in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood outside of Philadelphia.  bucks county, pa.

my father, a well spoken, well educated, and well respected member of the community took me into the the closet to show me where to get the guns.  extra bullets, of course were in a bucket in the basement. under the stairs in where there was limited light and space to move about freely. 

he stood behind me with his arms on tops of my own and held my hands together. the whole time correcting my posture and my stance using the force of his arms and his grip around my arms and my body as i held the gun with both hands. 

it was probably one of the few times i remember him being so close to me physically. his rested on top of mine adding additional pressure demanding a calm, steady and calculated response.

i was trained. to stay calm, and stay in control as the helicopters began to take position over the city of brotherly love. 

i learned how to stay calm in and around a fucking god damned massacre. 

he had his arms around me to exert his position and to steady the gun should i falter, should i flinch. 

marksman first class.

you don't just aim, fire, and hope for the best. you shoot to kill. 

watch so he could stand behind me and watch me take aim. suburban and i already knew how to shoot a gun, 

how many twelve year olds can say that?

so next time, boys, i won't be calling you. besides, from what i can tell you keep pretty close under the radar. 

so when see the car parked outside my window for four hours at a time, yeah, i may stutter and i may fall, but i like father like daughter, i will come around.

and you can be sure that if i managed to stay alive  after what happened last summer, you be sure of one thing... this is far from over.

no. i do not trust the boys in blue. i do not trust the my neighbors or community to do the right thing in the midst of a crisis. i barely have it in me to give a crap what happens to people in "my" community.  those who turned away made jokes, or came up with their own version of actually went down that day, and in the months that followed.

it really is too late for apologies. i know you heard me. i also have the phone records and every letter and email that was sent through the "proper channels"

it won't save me. but if I'm lucky, i just might get a ticket out of here so i can actually breathe freely and walk out beneath the shadows, the shadows of death.

i simply can not watch this video without wondering how we allow this behavior to continue despite the overwhelming evidence that we are all at risk of being victimized by those we trust will be there to protect us. 

remember this... you have no rights!

or is it?

YOU BET YOUR LIFE IT IS... YOU BET YOUR LIFE! apathy... it never really happened until it happens to you! #apathy #WEareNASHVILLE #dealwithit #BlackSheep #family #ONE #KnewWords #KnowWords

Tennnessee Request for Federal Assistance

------------------
Date: 4/29/2010 5:20 p
Duration: 13:25
Ssa dc (Work)
1-800-772-1213
------------------
North Eastern Pennsylvania general information line for Social Security.

I was informed that the TN Office (as listed by the state on Document MCC Change Schedule: Dev 10Aug09) was closed.

TennCare Solutions : 1-800-873-3192.

Even though she claimed to have no information regarding the Health

plan change in Tennessee, she did manage to tell me that any changes to my benefits are NOT a Social Security issue and told me to call the IRS.

Refused to give me her Employee ID or reference no. for the call.

Also refused to mail or provide any information regarding federal law

rights to legal representation. [Publication No. 05-10075]

She was brief, bitchy, and apathetic. Too busy to even log the call.

Told me to go to my "local office" if i wish to pick up a copy of the

publication i requested.

The one everyone seems to ignore: the law. The one that says clear as day, that I do, in fact, have federal law rights.

$44 dollars round trip.  More than my food stamps, but less than my electric bill.

Completely oblivious to federal law and my rights to appeal. Or at

least, did a damn good job pretending.

I don't waste time with idiots.

So time marches on, as my life continues to stand still.

Tic toc...
     tic toc....


www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/appeal


I have six days till day Ten.


Social Security Administration
SSA Publication No. 05-10041
ICN 459260
January 28
--
Sent from my mobile device
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
(615) 424-8810

"You may not care how much I know, but you don't know how much I care."

______________________________

Notes from Day 6: Social Security Hotline

------------------
Date: 4/29/2010 5:20 p
Duration: 13:25
Ssa dc (Work)
1-800-772-1213
------------------
North Eastern Pennsylvania general information line for Social Security.

I was informed that the TN Office (as listed by the state on Document
MCC Change Schedule: Dev 10Aug09) was closed.

TennCare Solutions : 1-800-873-3192.

Even though she claimed to have no information regarding the Health
plan change in Tennessee, she did manage to tell me that any changes
to my benefits are NOT a Social Security issue and told me to call the
IRS.

Refused to give me her Employee ID or reference no. for the call.

Also refused to mail or provide any information regarding federal law
rights to legal representation. [Publication No. 05-10075]

She was brief, bitchy, and apathetic. Too busy to even log the call.
Told me to go to my "local office" if i wish to pick up a copy of the
publication i requested.

The one everyone seems to ignore: the law.
The one that says clear as day, that I do, in fact, have federal law rights.

$44 dollars round trip.  More than my food stamps, but less than my electric bill.

Completely oblivious to federal law and my rights to appeal. Or at
least, did a damn good job pretending.

I don't waste time with idiots.

So time marches on, as my life continues to stand still.

Tic toc...
     tic toc....


www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/appeal


I have six days till day Ten.


Social Security Administration
SSA Publication No. 05-10041
ICN 459260
January 28
--
Sent from my mobile device
Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.
Nashville, Tennessee
(615) 424-8810

"You may not care how much I know, but you don't know how much I care."

______________________________

Justice for All

 http://www.twitlonger.com/show/8095b46c22c3f65ef0c406ceccb1d208

Elyssa Durant


On Sunday 28th March 2010, @ElyssaD said:

(In reply to)





reply

Thank you for your insight. I have not read the letter since I wrote in the wee hours of the morning. And yes, it was recalling a very awful experience. You ha asked what happened when I first stared talkng about, and I told you I was put in restraints and pumped full of haldol. It is worth noting, I am allergic to haldol. That came a direct threat, if I don't stfu, it would happen again. So there are different kinds of prisons. And that secret I help was a prison for me. There were certain facts about the case of Mumia that only recently have become publc. Facts that I have aware of for many years. The purpose for the letter, was to make a statement, that injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. And sometimes people are not what you expect. I could have remained silent, and maybe I would those little luxuries in life, like a television, or a radio rather than having stripped of all my belonging in an effort to intimdate me into a world of silence. I made a choice. And I lucky to have fiends like you and a few others who understand, there are some things in life you sinply do not compromise. Thank you, Mike, always. Elyssa

Another T-Mobile Nightmare

This was actually one of the funniest error messages I had ever seen, until I realized my account had been sent to T-mobile hell along with my access code and password acct login  hot wifi connection.

 I had uh-oh and whoa, but this time my TwackBerry has given up on me!

tmonews update downgrade

Another T-mobile Nationwide Outage???

I feel like I just got dumped by the greatest love affair I've had in my life!

"I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to the following addresses. This is a permanent error; I've given up. Sorry it didn't work out.

donotreply@blackberry.com

216.9.Tmobile does not like recipient. Remote host said: 550 Recipient address rejected: User unknown Giving up on 216.9.f.kd.ed"

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

View all

Get your own

Another Unanswered Letter [Content Warning: TYVM, FURB]

[unedited... apologies for typos, etc]

The letter below dated April 13, 2008 went unanswered. That correspondence along with many others who just pretend I don't exist.

Now I know exactly how much I mean to this City.

PAY ME TO LEAVE!!!!!

There is nothing quite so disturbing as being invisible. Yes. I am homeless. I have lived through a shooting, an assault by a security guard at a medical facility, and with no other place to go, I rented a room in a house for low income adults who are SEVERELY FUCKING DISTURBED!!!!

Now I am deeply disturbed too. I am deeply disturbed that this is the best we can do.

At least I know I need help, and when to get it. Despite being owned by a CMHA [Community Mental Health Agency] and the recipient of both state and federal funds, the only rule in this house is don't call 911. In other words, when locked out or assaulted by one of the 3 other house mates, Mobile Crisis is OFF LIMITS. Now I know better than anyone that Mobile Crisis sucks, but when you are standing beneath a 6 foot woman holding a waffle iron over your head, 911, mobile crisis, IDGAF who intervenes, just someone do something!

I called the crisis hotline the other day. In all honesty, I just had no one else to talk to, my internets had been disconnected and sabotaged, the house phone locked up. I was just lonely (and locked out during a tornado warning)

But trust me, there is nothing quite like sticking me in a house with SSPMI (super severe persistent mental illness) that make me look almost normal and and a landlord with a no-call policy against Mobile Crisis and mental health helplines.

I have lost everything near and dear to me since I first offered to participate with the local police department after the shooting downstairs. That was in February.

Next, I lose Spotty because not a single person in Nashville has enough compassion to rescue an innocent animal that I rescued from one of clients several years ago. And you wonder why I'm so angry?

PLEASE SAVE SPOTTY

http://darknightdurant.blogspot.com/2009/04/please-save-spotty.html

Don't worry, I know you want my silence, that message came through loud and clear.

You can take everything from me [actually, you already have] but you will not take my voice. And I can promise you this, my memory is long, and it is hot. Look it up assholes, hot memory.

Yeah... you did this. Now it's my turn.


Continue to sneak a peak every now and then.... your e-mails will appear on this page. Fuck you, and fuck you right back. Happy Anniversary, Elyssa. You have officially been a resident of this fine fucking state for exactly 13 years.

Kicking ass, not so much... taking names... you can bet your sweet ass I am!





CLAIM IT QUICK, COUNCILMAN... AN APOLOGY IS FAR BETTER THAN ANYTHING I MIGHT SAY BELOW...




[Unanswered letter to EC, Metro Council]

April 13, 2009

Can you please tell me who I could speak with (preferably informally) about a situation with Section 8 and MDHA.

I have already spoken with Pat Clark, director of MDHA, and she has been an unsympathetic to the fact that there has been an ongoing problem with drugs and violence with children in the same complex.


Legal Aid / or pro-bono refused to will represent me since my parents are attorneys. They told me I would have to get the money for court fees and a court reporter from them. That just ain't gonna happen.


I am 36 years old.

I don't mean to be rude or disrespectful in any way-- you have been extremely kind and gracious towards me, I am just exhausted by this process and I think it is pretty easy to see that I am stuck between a rock and a hard place.

If there is someone in particular who works closely with the housing authority and utilities, kindly ask them if you can release their name to me(or vice versa) so I can make sure it on the record before I loose my section 8. The landlord is paid in full, but I still have to move by the 22nd.
.

Thanks so much. If there is anyone you can think please let me know. There is stigma and judgment that comes long with a person who lives in public housing, but can assure you it would not be my first choice.

Thank your discretion and assistance.

Sincerely yours,

Elyssa Durant
ed70@columbia.edu
6154248810

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Reviewing Reform: This Reform is a Farce!

I did not need another reason to demonstrate the need for immediate action concerning healthcare reform, however for those who feel Obama's current plan for reform is right on target, let me try to convince you otherwise. We need IMMEDIATE intervention.

However for anyone who needs to be reminded that we need to move forward, please read the excerpt below from KnoxViews:

"Blue Cross CEOs gorge on profits from premiums."

"The chief executive officer of Blue Cross of Tennessee got a big salary boost to over $2 million this year. Searches for "salary president ceo blue cross [statename]" will get you the figures for the rest of the states. To keep it simple, though, let's just assume that the 50 CEOs of each Blue Cross operation in each of the 50 states makes roughly what the top guy in Tennessee gets, Tennessee not being exactly one of the wealthiest states. That means we're looking at well over $100 million of our health insurance premiums poured into the homes, yachts, and kids' private schools of a tiny elite instead of going into the provision of health care for Americans."

-Vigil Proudfoot, KnoxViews available: http://knoxviews.mobi/node/11418

To learn that the CEO of Blue Cross Tennessee received a $2 million bonus is really not news at all. It is merely more of the same, and exactly what we can expect if the Healthcare Industry is expected to "curb" their spending. It just ain't gonna happen.

To learn that the CEO of Blue Cross Tennessee received a $2 million bonus is really not news at all. It is merely more of the same, and exactly what we can expect if the Healthcare Industry is expected to "curb" their spending. It just ain't gonna happen.

This just goes to show that we MUST have immediate intervention, regulation, oversight, and accountability over the Healthcare Marketplace. Not just the private companies such as Aetna or US HealthCare; make no mistake about it CMS Medicaid and Medicare have plenty of problems that must be addressed those programs are to intended to be the model for the rest of the country.



Obama's plan to come to the table with the Healthcare Industry is being passed off as Healthcare "reform" is a farce. The concept of self-regulation as the newest chapter in healthcare reform effort is a joke and my concerns continue to grow with each passing day. Since that compromise was made, have any of us seen any movement towards reform? Is there any evidence that we are moving toward covering the uninsured, lowering the cost of American healthcare or making it more accessible?


Asking or expecting the health industry to reduce costs through self-regulation without accountability is simply ridiculous. Especially when we see reports such as these that show a CEO salary of several million dollars.

Health care is already completely self-regulated and controlled. A person does not have free choice when choosing a provider. Due to an unholy alliance of provider networks, insurance underwriters, pharmaceutical conglomerates and private for profit hospital corporations such as HCA.

By negotiating with providers and developing one-size-fits-all prescription formularies and treatment protocols, we remove the ability for the consumer to make independent informed decisions about the value of various treatment options.

We rely upon one the ratings of physicians who have self-interest in controlling access and information to accurate information through their reliance upon Certification and Licensing Boards. By limiting access into the profession, health care costs are inflated and it is near impossible for the consumer to determine the fair value of a health care service.

Second, the consumer is far removed from the negotiating process, so we do not have a good sense of the fair, free market value of one particular service in comparison to another. All you need to do is look at any EOB (explanation of benefits) report for your last trip to the hospital.

Billing codes are used and assigned through various service departments and the insurance carrier then decides which services are covered and at what rate. They use the terms like “Reasonable and Customary Rates” and then choose to pay 80% of that amount. Therefore, by definition, that 20% must be built in to the billing rates to adjust for the actual (and expected) rate of reimbursement.

Such complicated billing procedures and methods are so complicated and technical that the end recipient of services (the consumer) really has no idea if an X-ray costs $90 or $73. Add into that a separate fee for the radiologist, and sometimes a charge just to use the facility, and even smart people find it difficult to understand.

The bills are then processed by an insurance adjuster who must determine primary and secondary (supplemental) plans and determine who is responsible for what, the end cost and intricate design is truly “priceless.”

Good luck to those people who actually purchased supplemental plans they saw advertised on TV, you have been duped. Giving people (especially the infirm and the elderly) a false sense of security is unfair and unjust.

Without regulation, intervention and enforcement, many people will continue to believe they are prepared and protected from that ultimate for “just in case” scenario that results in major, catastrophic medical loss.

The administrative cost alone on the part of the “Responsible Party” is probably more costly than the initial service they received at whatever hospital for whatever condition.

You cannot apply basic economic theory and free market principles to health care. Health care is fundamentally different and should be considered a public good.

We cannot believe or expect health insurance conglomerates will control their own spending and free from government intervention. We need to do something NOW!


"You may not care how much I know, but you don't know how much I care!"



Available online: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/elyssadurant/gGGGBH

CENSORSHIP & SILENCING

China blocks Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and more ahead of Tiananmen Anniversary

http://current.com/items/90144225_china-blocks-twitter-flickr-youtube-and-more-ahead-of-tiananmen-anniversary.htm



Posted by ElyssaD on current.com:

We even have a silencing issue here in Nashville, Tennessee where the schools decided to block certain websites.

Silencing of any type can be harmful and cruel in many ways. Imposing formal censorship threatens our individual freedoms and democracy everywhere.

Let the children speak, let them learn, and let them be heard.

http://www.oasisjournals.com/2009/06/tennessee-schools-end-unconstitutional-censorship-of-gay-educational-web-sites-after-aclu-la

How The Unemployed Pass The Time

At 22 I was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition. Yes, there are times when the pain is so terrible, I cannot lifet myself out pf ed or tie my shoes. But far worse is having the knowledge that the level of damage to my spinal cord could have been stopped had I received adequate health care.

Yes, I had insurance. But who was there to make them pay???

14 years later, I finally received surgical intervention, and can feel my hands again-- and as a writer, that has been a miraculous gift.

Through the toughest times in my life, no one told me I was wasting my time and money on an education I would never be able to use.

After all I just wanted a diversion.

Even more disturbing than the damage to my spinal cord, is the realization that I missed mosre than 14 years of my life. So not only did I waste my time and money on an education I will never be able to use, I wasted a window of opportunity. A moment in time when I almost had a world the world at my fingertips.

Without any real place to go after college, I felt I had no other choice than to become a professional student of sorts—you know, the ones who stay in school forever to take advantage of cheap housing, health insurance, and student loans.

Unfortunately, I wandered aimlessly through the system acquiring useless knowledge and letters after my name that do not mean jack in the real world. But it distracted mye from the fact that my spinal cord continued to worsen my physical and emotional health.

So with no prosepects on the horizon-- and so thrilled thto feel my hands today, that the one thing I can do is write. So for now, I write, maybe tomorrow I'll read, but if there is any justice left in this world, maybe someday I will actually live.

http://thepowersthatbeat.blogspot.com/

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/elyssadurant/gGxh4R/commentary

PLEASE SAVE SPOTTY!

I just learned on the 1st of this month that I have to move out of my apartment by next Wednesday. I hate moving.

What I hate more is that I am allowed my kitty cat named, "Spot" cannot come with me. Please help me find a good home for Spotty.

Spotty has been primarily an indoor cat for the last 5 1/2 years that she has been with me. I am quite sure she would adjust well in any probably enjoy playing in the outdoors. She likes to sit on the porch in the sun and take in the fresh air.


She is almost 6 years old, spayed, and really needs a good home where she can play and have fun! She is very active, but also very affectionate. She had all her shots but may need a booster sometime soon, but she has no pet insurance :-(

Spotty is a very kool kat. She is also very pc... neither black nor white, she is simply Spot.

When you are working too long or too late, she will let you know you need a break by curling up on the power cord right next to your pc. She loves chasing mice when she really wants attention or wants to play.

Please help me find a good home for Spotty. She deserves at least that much, and I simply do not have what she needs.

Please Save Spotty! Spotty saved me.

March 15, 2009

Dear Mr. Editor

http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/2/3/former_vu_student_sues_university

Elyssa,

I am sorry if you feel that paying $7.50 for an article is too much. The reason as to why we charge for an article is because we offer breaking news before any other publication in Nashville. We have a three-month trial subscription for just $19 if you would like to purchase that. It is only $11.50 more than a single article and you will have full access to our site as well as receive emails alerting you of breaking news.

Please let me know if I can help you.

Thanks,

Allison Anderson
Circulation Coordinator
Nashville Post
624 Grassmere Park
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 301-9228 (desk)
My Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
________________________________________
From: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu [elyssa.durant@columbia.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 4:32 PM
To: feedback
Subject: NashvillePost.com Feedback from Elyssa Durant

I think it really sucks that I can't read the article posted in account login and password. I have enough of those.





I wasted enough money at Vanderbilt. I should not have to pay $7.50 to read about someone else who feels the Powers That Beat are playing a sophisticated game of bait and switch.



Will someone please forward the text of this article to me online?



http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/2/3/former_vu_student_sues_university





Thank you in advance!



Elyssa

Are You F*%$ing Kidding Me?

Elyssa,

I am sorry if you feel that paying $7.50 for an article is too much. The reason as to why we charge for an article is because we offer breaking news before any other publication in Nashville. We have a three-month trial subscription for just $19 if you would like to purchase that. It is only $11.50 more than a single article and you will have full access to our site as well as receive emails alerting you of breaking news.

Please let me know if I can help you.

Thanks,

Allison Anderson
Circulation Coordinator
Nashville Post
624 Grassmere Park
Nashville, TN 37211
(615) 301-9228 (desk)
My Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
________________________________________
From: elyssa.durant@columbia.edu [elyssa.durant@columbia.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, February 03, 2009 4:32 PM
To: feedback
Subject: NashvillePost.com Feedback from Elyssa Durant

I think it really sucks that I can't read the article posted in account login and password. I have enough of those.





I wasted enough money at Vanderbilt. I should not have to pay $7.50 to read about someone else who feels the Powers That Beat are playing a sophisticated game of bait and switch.



Will someone please forward the text of this article to me online?



http://www.nashvillepost.com/news/2009/2/3/former_vu_student_sues_university





Thank you in advance!



Elyssa

Celebrating An Historic American Night: HACKING BACK

The Music City USA Barack Obama Presidential Inaugural Ball

Tuesday January 20, 2009

7:00pm

Millennium Maxwell Hotel Ballroom

Rosa Parks Blvd.

Nashville, Tennessee

"Celebrating An Historic American Night"

Formal Attire Please


Proceeds will be donate to nearly 20 community organizations, services, and institutions: Little League Teams, three Nashville High Schools have been selected, several college scholarship awardees, after school academic enrichment tutoring programs, and youth development programs are just a sample of the wonderful Nashville community groups that will recieve much needed donations of 500, 1000 up to 5000 dollar grants from this marvelous charity celebration.


Tax Deductible Invitations go on sale December 15, 2008. The price is $100.00 per person. Live music, dancing, food, cash bar, eight foot television screens tuned to DC, Obama Memorabilia, personal fun photos with President Obama, slide shows, and America's newest hit dance, "The Music City Obama Slide".

Our Special Guest:

"Bob the Builder"

Yes We Can

Change We Need: Mentor A Child

"I am not too proud to beg for a job or take some free advice if it will help me to get from here to there. I need someone, anyone, willing to give me a chance to prove myself. I need someone to invest in me!

I believe I deserve more out of life than this, and I think that if you knew me, you would think so too. Help become the person I was meant to be. Try to the see the person I could become. I have so much to contribute, but few resources get there. All I want is a chance. All I need is a mentor. Will someone please take the time to invest in me?" -Elyssa Durant, December 16, 2008

From my recent publication:

Morally Bankrupt: How Much Am I Worth?
Help me become the person I was meant to be. Try to the see the person I could become. I have so much to contribute, but few resources get there. I believe I deserve more out of life than this, and I think that if you knew me, you would think so too.
View more »

Is Equal Opportunity Just A Myth?

Is Equal Opportunity Just a Myth?
America claims to be dedicated to equal opportunity, yet equality is not sufficient in urban communities. These kids need more. We need to think about equity, not equality. It is not enough to hide them away. These are visions we should never forget.

Link to full text: View more »

In Amazing Grace: The lives of children and the conscience of a nation, Jonathan Kozol paints a vivid picture of the conditions in the poorest sections of New York City. During the early to mid 1990’s, Kozol made several visits to Mott Haven in the South Bronx. As he describes in Amazing Grace, the South Bronx is one of the most severely segregated and poorest Congressional Districts in the United States.

The members of this community have been segregated into a hell plagued with sickness, violence and despair. Kozol argues that this strategic placement serves to isolate the rich from the realities they have thrust upon their fellow man. New Yorkers do not stroll through the streets of Mott Haven, and taxicabs take no short cuts through Beekman Avenue. Many taxicabs will not even venture past East 96th Street. Out of sight is out of mind.

As I was reading Amazing Grace, I remember thinking back to my days living in Manhattan, coincidentally around the same time Kozol conducted his interviews in the South Bronx. I lived in what Kozol refers to as Manhattan’s “Liberal West Side,” an area that was undergoing rapid transformation and gentrification at the time Mayor Rudolph Giuliani took office.

There is no excuse for the conditions in which these people must live. No person should be forced into an apartment that has a higher ratio of cockroaches and rats than human beings.

In 1995, the American Sociological Association (ASA) held its annual conference in New York City. Prior to that meeting, they sent out a fact sheet that may be of interest to ASA members. In this sheet, they too described the same social conditions and asked their members to take note of the changes that occur at 96th Street. I can assure you that the conditions Kozol describes in his book were not exaggerated.

These children are desperately in need of the best schools, yet we give them the worst. They have few libraries, few safe havens, few doctors, and few role models. They have every reason to believe that they are throwaway children and we have certainly not shown them anything else. The social services we have provided are a bureaucratic nightmare. People in need are treated as sub-human, and made to feel ashamed of being poor.

These are among the sickest children in the world. Americans claim to be dedicated to the children and fool ourselves into believing that we are doing them a favor by providing them with medical care, public education, and public housing. Yet, the quality of their neighborhoods speaks volumes of our sentiment and intentions.

Shortly after Amazing Grace was published, managed care rapidly moved onto the New York scene. Around the same time, the Mayor announced he would be closing some of the hospitals that served the poorest of the poor because of financial problems associated with payment and large trauma departments.

Kozol makes the point that people could attempt to gain admissions at a better hospital than Bronx-Lebanon; yet, the privatization of Medicaid has now made this completely impossible. Further restrictions on medical care are inevitable as the result of Medicaid managed care. The law is not designed to protect these people, and this was made obvious in a recent conversation I had with a friend who practices medicine in New York.

My friend John works as a board certified trauma physician at a private hospital on the Upper East Side. The last black patient he treated at Beth Israel was famed rock singer Michael Jackson. I asked him if he ever gets any asthma patients in his ER. He knew immediately of whom I was speaking. “You mean the kids from the South Bronx?” he asked. He told me that they know better than to show up at Beth Israel. “But if they do?” I asked, and he replied, “We ship them back.”

This is the reality. The best doctors treat the wealthiest patients rather than the sickest. Schools educate the best students rather than the neediest. It is no wonder that these children perform poorly in school. By every measure, these children are destined for failure. Their home life is less than enchanting, and they do not benefit from enriched environments and educated parents.

Certainly, there are many dedicated parents who care about their children, but is that enough? When I was in school, children frequently asked the teacher, how will this help later in life. In my class, there was an unequivocal reply, but it could be argued that what children in the South Bronx need to learn couldn’t be taught in the classroom.

There is no doubt that the prevalence of violence in urban neighborhoods affects the ability of children to perform well in school. There is a large body of empirical evidence that demonstrates the effects of chronic stress on memory and the learning process. Rather than taking the children out of these communities, we have constructed prison like buildings for them to attend school. They routinely have gunfire drills reminding them that danger is never far behind.

Children cannot learn in this environment. This constant stress triggers “hot-memory.” Hot memory can be thought of as learning with your heart and not your mind. It is no wonder children perform inadequately in this environment.

It is bad enough that children live in such conditions, must we educate in them too? If we want underprivileged children to learn and grow spiritually, we must create an environment that allows their cool memory systems to take over.

It is only under these conditions that children will permit themselves to learn and develop their intellectual strengths. We have failed to create a safe home environment for urban children, but we can give serious thought to creating a school environment outside of the community so they have fewer fear-driven hours each day.

Studies consistently report lower academic achievement in urban neighborhoods like Mott Haven in the South Bronx. Children growing up in urban neighborhoods have a much higher incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Most researchers believe this to be the direct result of living in stressed communities plagued with street crime and violence. The potential impact of chronic stress on academic performance and achievement is not known, but reading scores in neighborhoods like Mott Haven certainly seem to indicate some type of causal relationship. There is virtually no research on looking at the long-term effects of this inflated incidence of PTSD among urban populations. It is important to develop an understanding of the effects of fear on the academic performance of urban adolescents so we can begin to dismantle the myths regarding school performance and minority children.

Under these conditions, it is not surprising to learn that students also report pervasive feelings of fear and do not feel secure despite the added presence of security personnel on school grounds. For these students, school is a mere extension of the violent communities in which they live.

Since urban communities have many different sources of stress, it is important to examine how school policies contribute to the learning environment in public schools. The quick response has been to install weapons detectors and hire school security for urban schools. The presence of school security certainly affects the climate of American public schools by establishing school environments that focus more on student behavior than student achievement. Together, the urban public school and the community it serves are a constant reminder of the poor living conditions and social reality of urban America.

The secured environment is an indication of the roles students are expected to play later in life. This is a lesson they will not soon forget.

Kozol makes it quite clear that there are several exceptional children in this community. There are probably as many exceptional children here as every other community around the country, yet, so few of them will make it out of the South Bronx. Kozol is careful not to dwell on the exceptional cases of children who successfully navigate their way into the main stream of society. Kozol does this so we do not develop a false sense of hope. If we cling to a few exceptional cases, we may come to believe that what we are giving enough to children like Anthony or Anabelle. Clearly, we can do more. Failure should be the exception—not the rule. Success should be the norm, and until it is, we should not give up hope for these children.

America claims to be dedicated to equal opportunity, yet equality is not sufficient in a community like Mott Haven. These kids need more. We need to think about equity, not equality. It is not enough to hide them away. These are visions we should never forget.

Welcome to America. The Wealthiest Nation in the World.

Reference: Amazing Grace: The lives of children and the conscience of a nation. (by Jonathan Kozol)

Link to the assholes who made fortune off this piece...

MESSENGERS OF PEACE NEEDS YOU!

This fall marked the beginning of one of the greatest tragedies in American history: Hurricane Katrina. This is further compounded by the potential devastation that awaits New Orleans residents when they return to the unknown losses that await them as Hurricane Gustav looms of the Gulf Coast and inches its way closer and closer to the Louisiana border.

Several years ago, I made an online statement that Nashvillians in need of benefits should apply "before the Louisiana people utilize whatever resources we have left." In retrospect, that statement seems crass and insensitive. Now that several years have passed, I would certainly blame this disgusting war as the main culprit of domestic waste. Unfortunately, I cannot turn back the hands of time, and that statement exists- floating around for all eternity in the magical world of cyberspace. All I can do now is try my best to explain what prompted that statement and hope that those who read my previous piece will also see this retraction.

I would like to take this opportunity to explain what prompted such an apparently callous, insensitive comment and set the record straight.

We live in a country that rallies together when faced with domestic and international crises. We open our hearts, our homes, and our wallets for disaster relief here and overseas. We also live in a world where smaller crises exist everyday albeit poverty, hunger or homelessness. Such domestic problems tend to be chronic in nature and often slip under the radar. The battle lines have been drawn and we lost. We are losing. With every day that passes the casualties grow to astronomical proportions. We failed.

After Katrina, Tennessee residents took in many refugees. The local papers printed countless ads offering shelter, financial assistance, and job opportunities to "Survivors of Katrina." After calling some of these people in response to their apparent act of altruism, I learned that these offers were only applicable to survivors of Katrina and not to local residents. I was angry.

I was angry because in the months before that devastating storm hit the Gulf Coast, there was an urgent call for people to open their homes to the 30,000 children and adolescents in desperate need of foster care. Children without a home. Children without a safety net. Our city did not respond. Our residents did not rise to the occasion and countless children continue to live in uncertain conditions without the necessities they need to thrive in this complicated, fragmented society.

After considerable thought, I came to the conclusion that the media and current policies that allow such unfortunate states of existence are partly to blame, but so too are the American people and the residents of this fine city that I like to think of as home. So why is it that we are so generous in times of urgent need by allowing pervasive states of poverty for our local residents and out children? Are they damaged goods? Are persons in poverty to blame for their circumstances? Are they too week? Are they somehow supposed to magically lift themselves out of the dark and somehow find the path into enlightenment of financial security? Is this the ultimate act of Social Darwinism where survival of the fittest means people who are fit to survive against all odds? Is it just a coincidence that the words indigent and indignant sound so similar?

As Hurricane Gustav approaches, I call upon our local residents to do more than just welcome the fleeing victims to open their hearts and their homes. I challenge each and every one of you to continue this charity after the storm has cleared. Even after the storm in the Gulf has moved past the coast and becomes another chapter in history, there is much to be done right here, right now. Do we accept the indignation of indigence and poverty with indifference? Or do we act?

We can do so much on the home front before our indifference creates a storm of domestic disaster. It is unfortunate for us that people have been too blind, too indifferent, and too complacent they do not even see such a storm brewing. But if you look, and if you listen, it is not hard to see how such a storm is brewing just beyond the horizon.

Elyssa Durant, Ed.M.