Earlier I posted a story about the four-hour grilling of the US Department of Education’s Chief Information Officer, Danny Harris.
According to the Washington Post, Mr. Harris had two outside businesses. And there was more that raised eyebrows:
The lawmakers’ concerns centered on an inspector general’s investigation that found Harris ran an after-hours car-detailing and home-theater-installation business that employed two subordinates from his agency and also allegedly accepted payments from other subordinates for the work.
The hearing also examined Harris’s effort to help a relative find work at the department and his close friendship with an agency vendor whose company has been awarded about $10 million in contracts to perform work that falls under the purview of his office.
Harris also failed to report an estimated $10,000 in income from his outside activities on federal disclosure forms and to the Internal Revenue Service, according to federal officials.
Here is a five-minute clip from that hearing, where Mr. Harris testifies and where Acting Secretary of Education John King insists that Mr. Harris was cleared by Department officials of any wrongdoing. This is a fascinating exchange and I highly recommend that you watch it.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Diane,
Do you know of the security issues within the department that they are speaking of in these hearings. I heard mention of individuals social security numbers, student loan applicants and data – What metrics that have been scored so poorly and have gone down are they speaking of – are they in relation to data security within the ed dept? Aside from the ethics info of the CIO – what more is being investigated???
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Sheryl, I am not sure what the metrics were discussed. It seemed to refer to cyber security and possibly to a government review of different departments that gave very low marks to ED
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Hillary Clinton is running as the second coming of Barack Obama and calls his administration “progressive”. If you want more of the same, including Arne Duncan and John King establishment types making education policy, then she’s your candidate. If your mind is open to real change and an end to government by and for the hedge fund billionaires, watch the New Hampshire debate tonight and see a real progressive speak truth to the people. Feel the Bern.
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And GST…I cannot understand why Bernie Sanders NEVER confronts for her longtime loyalty to Monsanto…the firm that has poisoned the water tables of the US and of the world causing tens of thousands of cancer deaths and esoteric diseases. Neither of them has said “don’t use Round Up.” She was an attorney for Monsanto in the good old days of Rose Law Firm, and she sat on their Board. And don’t forget how close she is to Eli Broad.
Bernie says the same things over and over (which I agree with), but as with single payer universal health care, why doesn’t he give actual actuarial figures showing that costs would be cut. We all have read those by valid accountants/actuaries for years.
And now Hillary redirects his comments about her HUGE take from Goldman Sachs to saying he is unfairly pummeling her…when he should be asking about the $10M she and Billie “earned” for their one hour talks in 2013…and all that cash was dumped in their laps from pharma, insurance, oil, and other profiteers. And also he never asks her about the Middle Eastern despots who fund Billie’s Foundation.
This woman (and her husband) did more shameful things over the past 30 years that is left unspoken. She was at all the prayer breakfasts in DC with the whackos of the world, these Far Right Republicans, and some of their brethern Dems, who were screwing over the US during the Glass Steagall death they colluded to kill, and the resultant credit default swaps debacle.
And neither of them is talking about the big crook, Blankfein who is now claiming the moral high ground, when it is only a few years ago he had hired the best lawyer money could buy when he thought he would be indicted for major fraud…and his pal Jamie Dimon, who did the same. Hillary is now gluing herself to Obama, and they both work for Wall Street…with their Wall Street lawyer, Eric Holder, their boy in DC, never indicting anyone for destroying, through greed and lies and theft, the entire US economy…and that of most of the world. And their Wall Street girl, Mary Jo White, running the SEC. Why isn’t Bernie bringing it all up? She attacks him about guns but he swallows hard and takes it.
Bernie better get his act together and hire some informed speech writers rather than leaning repeatedly on his stock phrases…and he better stop letting her shout over him…or we will have goose stepping President Cruz. Even Jimmy Carter agrees that King Trump is better than Dictator Cruz.
Obviously I just watched the debate and I am fuming.
So Diane,,,this little Danny Harris gambit is just scratching the surface of all these bums.
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Sorry Diane to have gotten led off into lalaland by GST mentioning Hillary. The clip with Harris and King interviewed by Chaffetz is a clone of many of these hearings. BTW, Chaffetz is the brother of John Dukakis…both the sons of Kitty Dukakis. Strange bedfellows all around. He is about Right as possible, and even Ryan and McCarthy find him worrisome.
The debate however, did pick up in the last half hour. Both made important points and perhaps they should run as a team…more winning than Trump and Palin. King and Harris will fade into a back paragraph of history.
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I watched that clip! Gee whiz… What a head-jam. This would be a Shakespearean comedy, if it were not such a tragedy for our schools.. I met such critters in NYC. They are an invasive species, these specious liars.
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Thanks for watching. This is an amazing clip in many respects, especially watching Acting Secretary King try to dismiss a serious breach of ethics and perhaps law. Since when do public officials get to misreport their income to the IRS without consequence?
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“Since when do public officials get to misreport their income to the IRS without consequence?
Well, under Obama, that would be at least since Timothy Geithner was made Treasury Secretary, despite the revelation that he was a tax deadbeat.
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This is not a word-for-word transcript, but a summary or paraphrasing of some of this hearing:
———
— You ran twp businesses — auto detailing, and home theater installation?
— No, those were just hobbies.
— Hobbies? You charged, then received payment of money from your customers?
— No, it wasn’t “payment”, and they weren’t “customers.” They were just people who freely gave me monetary gifts when they benefited from my hobbies, as I allowed those recipients — not “customers” — to keep the products of these hobbies. Freely and of their own accord, they chose to give me these gifts.
— But you set the exact amount of money of these “gifts,” and the recipient was required by you—before any work was done— to pay you exact amounts of these monetary “gifts” in exchange for later receiving the finished products of your hobbies? All of this was decided upon before any “hobby” activities commenced? Isn’t that “payment”, and doesn’t that makes these “businesses”?
— I see how someone unfamiliar with the way I engage in my hobby activity might misinterpret these hobby activities of mind as something else.
— You enlisted DOE subordinates also working under you in these two on-the-side businesses?
— Hobbies, not businesses.
— Yeah, yeah… hobbies … right. These DOE employees were paid while doing work related to your “hobbies,” per a before-the-fact agreement that was made before any “hobby” work was done. Isn’t that exactly how a business, and how a employer-employee business relationship works?
— Again, I can see how someone might come to the wrong conclusions here. Those DOE employees were just joining with me in my hobby activity during off-hours, and … well … I’m a teacher. I have been all my professional life. Those employees were like students, and I was allowing them to participate in the fun of my hobbies, while teaching them certain skills at the same time related to these fun hobbies. I find that very fulfilling.
— Auto-detailing and home theater installation? Those don’t sound like typical “hobbies.”
— Well, you know, to each his own. To me, they are hobbies, fun ones. You see, we were all just engaging in some innocent and fun off-hours hobby enthusiasms, with me as a sort of unofficial teacher. That’s all, but I understand how you and others might wrongly conclude otherwise.
— Ohhhh-kay, fine. But you paid these men every single time that they did this work, based upon an pre-arranged agreement to pay them an exact amount for a specific amount of work done?
— No, again, just like with my receiving money, the money exchanging hands was not payment, but me freely giving them gifts.
— Exactly, in exchange for work… which makes it a salary. Doesn’t it?
— No, I gave them some money as gifts, not salary, because teaching them, and improving their skills in these areas was so beneficial to me, and well so moving and fulfilling for me as teacher, just to see them learn and grow in these hobbying skills, that I just wanted to thank them with more than just words. So I gave them money to thank them, but now I see now that you and others have totally misinterpreted this act of kindness on my part.
————
NO WONDER THIS GUY COLLAPSED. His brain must have been overheating and then exploded.
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He is teaching. TEACHING. Hilarious. His employees are not salaried, they are partaking in his hobby, and he is teaching them his hobby, and giving them experience of his hobby and gifts of money for learning his hobby. Oy vey. What an insult to teachers everywhere.
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I can see why weasely King was given this job. No insult intended to weasels.
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Glad you clarified your statement Christine.
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What would or could have followed at least legally if King conceded the chairman’s point?
Seems there was something at stake other than reputation because it would have been remarkably easy to toss Harris under the bus (even if he laid down in the road for it) and not looked like an evasive fool.
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Here is the interesting link to watch and must watch to understand how PUPPET MASTER CONTROLS ”the US Department of Education’s Chief Information Officer, Danny Harris.””
…Not a friend, only interact as contractor, do not recall William Hull as a neighbor since 2005, BUT 700 phone calls from the period 2008-2011, BUT William Hull was awarded 10 million worth of contract for Education department regarding CYBER SECURITY, LIKE, “individuals social security numbers, student loan applicants and data, AND ?”
I can see why Arne Duncan was replaced by John King who is in the Acting Secretary of Education Department Position. Americans shall know this ugly aspect in political incorrectness. Puppet master challenges the American intelligence in IRS department and Supreme Court, I guess. Back2basic.
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Who do not fear death or dead sentence? Therefore, if truth is death, then who dares to speak the truth?
But, if people DO NOT HAVE HUMAN CONSCIENCE AND TALENT, BUT ENJOY HAVING THE PRIVILEGE in EARNING HIGH INCOME + POWER, they WILL prefer to sell their soul, their race, AND the well-being of their community and their country.
I wonder what have Dr. Martin Luther King and many conscientious activists wasted their effort, energy and lives for? should there be equality for all immigrants and all religions? Must it be an excellent public education?
Do we see that some immigrants love PRIVATE (Charter) schools? Do we see that a particular religion wants to operate its own law and to harm its own family members in the name of “”killing honor?””
In short, people must obey the HUMAN CONSCIENCE laws = the universal well-being of SENTIENT BEINGS (with emotion in both righteousness and rightfulness BUT MUTUAL RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY TO one goal for THE PUBLIC HARMONY or peaceful society = no stress and no fear. Back2basic
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Evidently, $180,000 buys a part-time employee. If this guy is indicative of the rest, think how much damage could be done, if they were engaged full-time, in the selling off public schools.
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John King insists nothing illegal went down. I would not believe John King if he told me the sky is blue.
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I think one more person needs to be at the seat for this dog-and-pony show: Arne the Duncansteiner.
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Crooks cooking the books…and this was under A. Duncan’s watch.
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Sometime I ago I wrote about the extraordinary number of contracts to fix and upgrade security were in the USDE “active contracts” database. Anyone who thinks there is security in USDE acquired data is mistaken, that goes for all student data, k-12, as well as student loans.
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love seeing King get raked over the coals based on a metric. Ruling- ineffective!
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