Thursday, May 31, 2007

A sweet victory!~



Court: Parents don't need lawyer to sue school


POSTED: 1:14 p.m. EDT, May 21, 2007
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Story Highlights• Justices say parents of autistic boy can sue district without lawyer• Justices find case fits exception in federal law• Sandee and Jeff Winkelman say they can't afford a lawyer• The parents are suing an Ohio school district for their special needs son
By Bill MearsCNN

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sandee Winkelman calls her experience with her Ohio school district "horrific" and accuses officials of "bullying" her over who should pay for the special education their autistic son receives.

But Winkelman and her husband, Jeff, won a round Monday when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in their favor regarding a legal sticking point in their lawsuit against their local school board.

The justices concluded federal law includes an exception permitting the Winkelmans to represent themselves without a lawyer in their ongoing lawsuit. They had argued they could not afford a lawyer and better understand their child's special needs.

"The parents enjoy enforceable rights at the administrative stage," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy, "and it would be inconsistent with the statutory scheme to bar them from continuing to assert those rights in federal court." He added the parents can sue for their child's needs "on their own behalf."

The Winkelmans say their son, Jacob, was subject to emotional "meltdowns" because of his autism. In 2003 they enrolled him in the private Monarch School, which specializes in educating the autistic through intensive one-on-one interaction. He continues to attend that school.
For the previous two years, they boy had attended another private facility that both his parents and the school district had agreed was appropriate. The school district paid the tuition. But county officials then said they believed Jacob could get the speech and occupational therapy he needed at Pleasant Valley Elementary School.

The Winkelmans objected to the school district's proposed individualized education program for Jacob in a public school setting and filed a due process claim, without benefit of legal assistance. They also wanted taxpayers to continue paying the $56,000 yearly tuition at Monarch.
The federal Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act allows every child access to a "free appropriate public education" -- but for some disabled children that can be at an accredited private school. But the question of who should pay was not at issue before the justices Monday, only the right to go to federal court without an attorney.

The Winkelmans' administrative request for relief was denied, and further appeals followed. The couple then filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court, which required a lawyer to argue on their behalf. A federal appeals court in Cincinnati ruled against them.
The Bush administration and a dozen Democratic members of Congress supported the Winkelmans. Their victory will make it easier for parents who either cannot afford or refuse to get legal help the legal venue to challenge IEP plans.

The U.S. Department of Education did not have clear statistics on the number of special needs children who could be affected by this ruling.

There was no immediate reaction from the parents in this case, or their lawyer, but in an interview the CNN in February, Sandee Winkelman urged parents in a similar situation to continue fighting.

"Every day you're working toward a goal," she said. "And it's frustrating when you don't see that happening in a timely fashion. It's scary, because with my children, the opportunity for learning is so short."

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

This ticket admits One to the show...




Good day everyone,

This morning I received an interesting email that I felt needed addressing. This is not the first time I have been emailed concerning this subject so the time is now to hit this head on.The subject being...my slutty, sexy and sensually kinky side.

This blog entry is dedicated to those gentleman ( and one woman) who emailed me wondering why I do not include kink in my website.This to me provokes an incredibly easy response in me.If any of you had truly read my site and its intent you would have seen that it is to express D/s (dominance and submission) through my eyes. The eyes of an woman living my nature 24/7, day by day and my feelings on a variety of subjects. Seeker is a gentleman and I, his lady. Neither of us see any sense in sharing our sexual escapades together with the world, in the ways you wish to see them.If either of us thought that our intimacy together needed to be videotaped and shared with you on a live cam we would have done so. In doing so, we would be expressing the only side to D/s that the vanilla world truly wishes to see and believes BDSM in total is....kinky sex.

The name of my website is" Whisper in a dream-My D/s reality...a "different" vision of D/s". Different being the important word here in this blog entry.If any of you desire to be blind to the love, harmony and completion that D/s has given to me, that is your choice.If none of you wish to use the links provided to better understand D/s, that is your choice as well. If you desire to see people getting it on, getting flogged, getting humiliated than seek elsewhere.Many, many sites only offer the sexual side of BDSM that will make your boat float.Do not keep emailing me and complaining as you will keep receiving this same response in this blog from me.

In closing, am I a slut...YES!..am I kinky...YES!.Do we have passionate, painful and powerful scenes together..YES!. But...the ticket I offer only admits One to this show and that one is my Seeker. Thank you all for emailing me on this subject and I hope you leave this entry enlightened with no questions remaining.

Good day,

~breath{MS} aka ~hoovsies~


Monday, May 28, 2007

God bless America on this day of Memorial

Freedom Is Not FreeBy LCDR Kelly Strong, USCG - Copyright 1981

I watched the flag pass by one day,It fluttered in the breeze.A young Service man saluted it,And then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform So young, so tall, so proud,With hair cut square and eyes alert He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him Had fallen through the years.How many died on foreign soil How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots' planes shot down?How many died at sea How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,When everything was still,I listened to the bugler play And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times That Taps had meant "Amen,"When a flag had draped a coffin.Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,Of the mothers and the wives,Of fathers, sons and husbands With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard At the bottom of the sea Of unmarked graves in Arlington.No, freedom isn't free.

Cmdr. Strong may be contacted by email at:"kellystrong @ aol.com"Website with info: www.iwvpa.net/strongk