The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is back, albeit with expected revisions.  CISPA author Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD and co-author Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) are planning to reintroduce the bill in the House.  But, this time they are working in conjunction with the White House in order to avoid a veto from President Obama.

When CISPA was first introduced, it passed in the House but was shelved after the Senate began work on its own cybersecurity bill.  Adding to the mix, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has urged Congress to come up with legislation governing areas of cyber security so that individuals’ personal information can be shared between the private sector and the government.  Napolitano hopes that this will help prevent cyber attacks on infrastructure that is critical to U.S. national security.

Last Friday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, in an email to reporters, wrote: “We can confirm a terrorist blast at a check point on the perimeter of our embassy compound in Ankara, Turkey, at 1:13 p.m. local time. We are working closely with the Turkish national police to make a full assessment of the damage and the casualties, and to begin an investigation.”

The suicide bomber who carried out the attack was Ecevit Sanli, a member of the leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Army-Front (DHKP-C), a Turkish group that has accused the U.S. of using Turkey as its “slave.”  Sanli blew himself up in a perimeter gatehouse as he tried to enter the embassy, also killing a Turkish security guard.

President Obama has announced key White House posts, including the appointment of Deputy National Security Advisor and former fellow at the Center for American Progress, Denis McDonough, as White House Chief of Staff.  The other posts are listed below:

On Wednesday, the House passed the “No Budget, No Pay Bill” which will temporarily suspend the nation’s debt ceiling until May 19th. Included in the measure is a provision that would withhold congressional pay after April 15th and extend until Congress passes a budget. During a press conference, in the middle of the House vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would take up the House measure “as is,” and the president is expected to sign it.

The Hill reports 33 Republicans voted against it because it didn’t include any spending cuts, but 86 Democrats voted for it with the final vote being 285-144.

Last month, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman, Reince Priebus, launched an initiative focused on enlarging the Republican Party and improving future GOP campaigns.

Known as the Growth and Opportunity Project, it is chaired by five Republican leaders who will be charged with reviewing past practices and making recommendations.  The recommendations will involve the following key areas:

1) Campaign mechanics and ground game
2) Messaging
3) Fundraising
4) Demographic partners and allies
5) Third party groups
6) Campaign finance issues
7) Presidential primaries
8) Lessons learned from Democratic campaign tactics

The Project is chaired by five Republican leaders: Henry Barbour, Sally Bradshaw, Ari Fleischer, Zori Fonalledas and Glenn McCall. Input and insight will be sought from Republicans across the country. The Growth & Opportunity Project is currently reaching out to RNC members, grassroots activists, donors, elected officials, community leaders and others in order to develop a solid plan for the future.

Martin Luther King, Jr., known for peaceful resistance, at the same time recognized the importance of gun ownership for self-defense. King understood the risks involved in being an outspoken civil rights leader, living in Jim Crow era Alabama, and took measures to protect himself, his family and others around him.

King was a gun owner.  In fact, he had a few guns–one visitor to the King family home described King’s supply of weapons as an “armory.”

Additionally, William Worthy, a journalist who covered the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, reported that he almost sat on a loaded gun while visiting King’s parsonage.

King had also applied for a concealed carry permit, but was turned down.  According to John M. Snyder:

“At one time, King applied for a permit to carry a concealed handgun, but was denied. He was concerned for his personal safety, just as are a lot of law-abiding American citizens. “

In December, I reported on the move by the federal government to replace traditional curriculum with government information documents. This is part of the trend towards the centralization of education, which has resulted in parents and teachers having less impact on what goes on in the classroom while the federal government’s control is expanded. One of the main concerns regarding the government information documents is the high potential for a politicized curriculum.

Add to that the revisionist history being taught in some classrooms, along with the the promotion of one religion over another.

An example of this can be found in the Texas Education Service Center Curriculum collaborative (TESCCC) and its company, CSCOPE, a major producer of curriculum used in the Texas education system.  A report shows that CSCOPE has portrayed participants in the Boston Tea Party as terrorists and is also accused of having developed an anti-Christian, pro-Islam curriculum.

And, though by law the curriculum is supposed to be accessible to parents, according to the Texas CSCOPE Review:

A photo compilation of some of the biggest news stories of 2012.

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In schools across the country, traditional literature is being replaced with government informational texts.

It is the result of the Common Core standards transition from teaching literature to focusing on government provided informational documents. “English teachers across the country are trying to figure out which poetry, short stories and novels might have to be sacrificed to make room for nonfiction,” The Washington Post reported.

This is not sitting well with some teachers. Jamie Highfill, an eighth-grade English teacher in Fayetteville, Arkansas, said that she has had to ditch “some short stories and a favorite unit on the legends of King Arthur to make room for essays by Malcolm Gladwell and a chapter from ‘The Tipping Point.’ Highfill goes on to explain that with the informational texts, the human connection prominent in literature, isn’t present.  She expressed dismay over the fact that her students are bored and shutting down. “I’m seeing more behavior problems in my classroom than I’ve ever seen.”