Sarah Reed wants to discuss the rescent changes in your student loan... even if you don't have one

Unless you live in a cave, you've probably received a call or voicemail from "Sarah Reed" calling about your student loan.  She wants to talk to you about the recent changes.  Give her a call at.... 

While we are all familiar with scam calls, this one is so freakin' well done that I can't help but be both impressed and pissed off at the same time.  The fact that they got a totally American sounding voice, the grammar is correct, the inflections and even the pauses in the dialog and the "umm" inserted.  Dang. They outdid themselves this time.  Not sure if they got a computer to do this for them (darn awesome computer program) or if a real person actually recorded this for them and got paid for it.  BUT if it IS a real woman and she recorded this for those scammers and made money off it... she deserves to burn in hell for scamming so many innocent people.

From the news:"Iowa social worker out after false testimony in custody case"

I am THRILLED to see this making its way around the news today....

Iowa social worker out after false testimony in custody case

"..... Gray delivered fabricated reports and trial testimony that helped convince a judge to terminate the legal rights of the mother and father of four northern Iowa children, District Associate Judge Adam Sauer ruled on June 12. The judge said Gray's testimony was riddled with "lies and misrepresentations."

The case came as Iowa DHS social workers were under fire for failing to stop child abuse in some high-profile cases, including two teenage girls who died under the care of their adoptive parents.

Gray, who had served as the case manager for the family, claimed that she attended monthly visits with them as required by DHS policy but failed to do so, Sauer found.

Gray also claimed to have spoken with the kids' teachers regarding troubling behaviors they were exhibiting at school. The teachers later said they were never contacted by Gray, and Sauer ruled that "that false testimony is of grave concern." Gray also gave false information about whether the mother had complied with the terms of her probation and tested positive for drugs.

In a ruling last year stripping the parents of their rights, Judge Gregg Rosenbladt credited Gray's testimony as "very credible," unbiased and persuasive in her recommendation to place the children in foster care."

I hope (hope hope hope) this is just the tip of the iceberg on doing checks and balances on the social workers that have been given so much power over peoples lives and often abuse that power with lies and fabricated paperwork. 

I remember a story that was in the news probably 20 years ago about a family that had their infant taken away from them after she fell off their bed.  A simple accident that resulted in the baby and their two other children being taken from them and it took them a year of fighting the system to get their baby back.  (They were interviewed the local news in that city, and it showed so many holes, lies and a long paperwork trail that made it impossible for swift, honest action).  That was the first time I ever realized that social workers weren't upstanding, honest people.  

Since then, every couple years I fall down the rabbit hole of stories, news articles, blogs, forums and message boards of families devastated by a very, very broken system....  seeing a story like this where someone finally has proof that this woman LIED UNDER OATH and fabricated reports, paperwork and interviews is a ray of sunshine. I hope it changes the unquestionable power people affiliated with DHS have to ruin lives without any checks and balances being done to ensure the truth is being presented honestly and fairly.

American History... for free. Read online or download books for free.

Today is Columbus Day so I'm including 3 links here to some historical books to that topic, but followed by a couple more that are just really good starting places for readers to do their own searches into history.  For free. Online. Available to everyone!  LOVE history.  And love that it's available for download (or reading online) for free.  Millions and millions of free books and texts.

(Warning:  I get lost for hours in these cyber bookshelves....)

The history of America, from its discovery by Columbus to the conclusion of the late war.

Christopher Columbus - 3rd ed.

by Young, Filson

 

A Collection of voyages and travels

Representative Government - 3rd ed.

by Mill, John Stuart

 

Political Economy - 3rd ed.

by Walker, Francis A