It is important to note that the Atlanta Public Schools' cheating happened *after* the tests were administered. After the tests were collected and the teachers who administered the tests went home, some other "educators" had erasing parties, where they got together and changed incorrect answers. So, to me, racketeering was the appropriate charge -- those "educators" ran a racket when they got together, circumvented test-security protocols and changed official state records (the exams).

My partner is the Principal of a public elementary school in Georgia.... the school is not part of the Atlanta Public School system, but is in a school district next-door to Atlanta. My partner's school has a very strict testing security protocol. When tests arrive in the school, the materials are locked in a safe inside a locked room that only the "testing administrator" controls. (This "testing administrator" is usually an Assistant Principal.) Anyone who goes into that room while the tests are in the school has to sign a log posted outside the room. The school's security system has a camera pointed at the room's door and that footage from that camera is saved; someone in the school system's main office apparently spot-checks the log against the footage. When the seals on the packets of test booklets are broken (in order to pass out the tests), two teachers must sign a paper saying that they witnessed the seals being broken. Any "testing abnormality" (the air-conditioning went out, loud noises or other distractions happened, etc.) has to be documented and a written explanation submitted with the tests.

My understanding is that the Atlanta Public Schools had a similar testing security protocol... so the "educators" who cheated really went out of their way to cheat. According to newspaper reports, one Atlanta "educator" even wore gloves so that her fingerprints would not be on tests.

Actually, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) newspaper was one of Beverly Hall's biggest cheerleaders. Bloggers were pointing out problems with the Atlanta test scores for years before the AJC looked into it. The cheating wasn't really a secret -- someone was even using the screen name "Beverly FRAUD" to post comments on the AJC's own website.

The AJC ignored all those allegations of cheating until Beverly Hall was named 2009 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA).... and then the newspaper reluctantly started investigating her.

But these Atlanta "educators" were mobsters -- they used gang tactics to run the schools, kept thousands of children from receiving their educations and ruined the livelihoods of those teachers and principals who refused to cheat.

I hope she runs.

A Fool and Her Money Are Soon Parted....

You're wrong about Rubio's having "over ten years in congress". Rubio did serve several terms in the Florida State House of Representatives, but he has never been a US Representative and is still a first term senator, having been elected in 2010. He's about as qualified as Obama was when Obama won the Presidency. He's probably unelectable thanks to some stupid moves he's made -- he voted against the Violence Against Women Act.

George W. Bush used to say "I'm a uniter, not a divider." Scott Walker is his opposite, which leads me to think that he is not electable. Walker is still in his first term and he dropped out of college, which is a big negative (in my view). He was only one semester short of a degree, but he's never bothered to finish? Something's not quite right there.

Christy is a corrupt New Jersey politician. The question is whether or not that corruption will catch up to him before the election. I think it will.

IMHO, Republican primary voters appear incapable of recognizing competency. There are several good Republican Governors out there, but they're not on anybody's radar screen. The Governor of New Mexico is one -- she's in her second term, has apparently done a good job because she has very high public opinion poll ratings, and she happens to be a hispanic woman.... but few people outside of NM (and its neighboring states) have ever heard of her.

Here's an example: In Georgia, fired Dekalb County School System Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson did all her business via text messages:

WSB-TV: Lawsuit raises concerns about DeKalb Schools corruption (Dec. 4, 2012)/

According to the article, the school district was willing to give 12 people their jobs back if the attorney withdrew an open records request for a copy of Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson's text messages.

Professional Engineers (PEs) disagree:

Ethics - National Society of Professional Engineers

and

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of Ethics for Engineers

nerdyalien,

The secret of job interviewing is telling the interviewer about your skills and past experiences -- and explaining how relevant those are to the position you are interviewing for --without sounding like a self-centered jerk.

The bomb squad did better than than -- one of their members was put in a fire truck's basket and lifted up to be right next to the device/pinhole camera.