Background Check

August 27th, 2010

Background Check

After working with online background checks for over 2 years…one thing I’ve seen time and time again is that you cannot rely on what companies claim on their websites.

I have also learned that you cannot rely on review sites anymore either…because most of them only care about the background check with the highest payout.

I have received dozens of requests from online background check companies who hope to get a positive review and a place on the site. Problem is…their goal isn’t to help you…but to see how much of your money they can steal.

I am your eyes and ears in an industry that cares far less about you than they do about making sure you get what you need. Below you will discover the FEW services I have found that delivered accurate and comprehensive records the most consistently out of the hundreds of available background checks.

Mind you…I will not tell you they will find all the information you need. However, I will say with 100% confidence that you will not find more accurate service available to consumers online.

    www.USSearch.com is the most well known…and respected…provider of criminal records search, background checks, people search, phone number search, property records search, and myriad other services.

    They have been indexing and providing comprehensive background checks since 1994. 7 million visitors pass through their website every month, and even with these huge numbers, their reputation in the online community is excellent. For example the BBB gives them an “A+”.

    If a choice had to be made between the 2 biggest services available today, USSearch or Intelius, USSearch would be the winner due to more complete records, good customer support and an extensive, positive track record.

    Use USSearch if you need current and thorough records. Negotiations with USSearch have lead to a 25% discount for background checks, criminal records, people search, etc. This company receives 5 out of 5 starts for quality and customer service. Start your search for as little as $1.95.

    www.Efindoutthetruth.com is owned and operated by two licensed detectives. They are a very well developed company and claim the title of “background check superstore”, because there is no background check request they don’t have a solution for.

    This company provides online background checks, criminal checks, court records, people search, phone number search, and even private investigations. They are also one of the few online services offering international background checks for consumers.

    eFindOutTheTruth had some very minor hiccups in their earlier years. Since than, their online reputation has been immaculate and they work very hard to keep it that way. Users have been extremely happy with the level of detail and personal attention.

    Background check prices are some of the lowest in the industry…yet the company delivers extremely accurate records. This company also gets 5 to of 5 stars for their quality and commitment to customer service.

    www.BackgroundChecks.com was launched in 1999, just prior to the major technology collapse. The company easily survived and boasts a strong business that serves individuals and Fortune 500 companies alike. They are a very well respected provider of background checks, people search, phone search, criminal checks and more.

    Their reputation online is impeccable, as they take consumer satisfaction very seriously. BackgroundChecks.com  offers a quality experience with customized solutions for almost every application imaginable.

    While prices aren’t the lowest, you may be rest assured you are receiving first class service.They offer a 10% first time user discount and 20% off a driving records report. Unlike many other online background check companies, they do not mislead you into thinking there are records available when there is nothing there.

    You will not be disappointed if using BackgroundChecks.com. They currently get 4.8 out of 5 stars. The reason for this is because there are some customized options offered by USSearch and eFindOutTheTruth that are currently not offered by BackgroundChecks.

    www.Intelius.com Intelius is an absolute behemoth provider of background checks to consumers and businesses alike. No background check list would be complete with them. They were founded in 2003 by the infamous Naveen Jain.

    In fact, they are one of the largest background check providers in the entire world. Intelius has indexed over 30 billion records and are for the most part an accurate and comprehensive service.

    I have conducted many test searches and they have done pretty well. However, currently I am on the fence about this company. While they deliver a decent product, the amount of negative publicity is absolutely mind boggling. I have spoken to managers and they assure me steps are being taken to rectify the many problems.

    Due to this negative publicity, I can’t wholeheartedly recommend Intelius with a good conscience. However, give them a try if you would like. There is a good chance you won’t be disappointed. Currently I can offer you a 30% discount on Intelius background checks. I currently rate Intelius at 4 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for taking the time to watch the video. I promise to deliver only background check services that I have a very good understanding of, and recommend to my own family and friends.

Sincerely,


Dave Jordan

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Can a Nation Remain a Superpower If Internal Politics Are Incorrigibly Stupid?

July 29th, 2010

Thursday, July 29, 2010

I just came across an article in The Washington Post
By E.J. Dionne Jr.

While this is a blog about background checks, it’s also my personal ranting space and I think the article sums up American politics very well. You comments and feedback would also be appreciated, so let me know what you think. The article is quoted below:

Can a nation remain a superpower if its internal politics are incorrigibly stupid?

Start with taxes. In every other serious democracy, conservative political parties feel at least some obligation to match their tax policies with their spending plans. David Cameron, the new Conservative prime minister in Britain, is a leading example.

He recently offered a rather brutal budget that includes severe cutbacks. I have doubts about some of them, but at least Cameron cared enough about reducing his country’s deficit that alongside the cuts he also proposed an increase in the value-added tax, from 17.5 percent to 20 percent. Imagine: a fiscal conservative who really is a fiscal conservative.

That could never happen here because the fairy tale of supply-side economics insists that taxes are always too high, especially on the rich.

This is why Democrats will be fools if they don’t try to turn the Republicans’ refusal to raise taxes on families earning more than $250,000 a year into an election issue. If Democrats go into a headlong retreat on this, they will have no standing to govern.

The simple truth is that the wealthy in the United States — the people who have made almost all the income gains in recent years — are undertaxed compared with everyone else.

Consider two reports from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. One, issued last month, highlighted findings from the Congressional Budget Office showing that “the gaps in after-tax income between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the middle and poorest fifths of the country more than tripled between 1979 and 2007.”

The other, from February, used Internal Revenue Service data to show that the effective federal income tax rate for the 400 taxpayers with the very highest incomes declined by nearly half in just over a decade, even as their pre-tax incomes have grown five times larger.

The study found that the top 400 households “paid 16.6 percent of their income in federal individual income taxes in 2007, down from 30 percent in 1995.” We are talking here about truly rich people. Using 2007 dollars, it took an adjusted gross income of at least $35 million to make the top 400 in 1992, and $139 million in 2007.

The notion that when we are fighting two wars, we’re not supposed to consider raising taxes on such Americans is one sign of a country that’s no longer serious. Why do so few foreign policy hawks acknowledge that if they lack the gumption to ask taxpayers to finance the projection of American military power, we won’t be able to project it in the long run?

And if we are unwilling to have a full-scale debate over whether nation-building abroad is getting in the way of nation-building at home, we will accomplish neither.

Our discussion of the economic stimulus is another symptom of political irrationality. It’s entirely true that the $787 billion recovery package passed last year was not big enough to keep unemployment from rising above 9 percent.

But this is not actually an argument against the stimulus. On the contrary, studies showing that the stimulus created or saved as many as 3 million jobs are very hard to refute. It’s much easier to pretend that all this money was wasted, although the evidence is overwhelming that we should have stimulated more.

Then there’s the structure of our government. Does any other democracy have a powerful legislative branch as undemocratic as the U.S. Senate?

When our republic was created, the population ratio between the largest and smallest state was 13 to 1. Now, it’s 68 to 1. Because of the abuse of the filibuster, 41 senators representing less than 11 percent of the nation’s population can, in principle, block action supported by 59 senators representing more than 89 percent of our population. And you wonder why it’s so hard to get anything done in Washington?

I’m a chronic optimist about America. But we are letting stupid politics, irrational ideas on fiscal policy and an antiquated political structure undermine our power.

We need a new conservatism in our country that is worthy of the name. We need liberals willing to speak out on the threat our daft politics poses to our influence in the world. We need moderates who do more than stick their fingers in the wind to calculate the halfway point between two political poles.

And, yes, we need to reform a Senate that has become an embarrassment to our democratic claims.

Mayor In Illinois Makes Life Hell For 2nd Amendment Supporters…Requiring Unresaonable Restrictions

July 28th, 2010

Political corruption is synonymous with Illinois.

During the 1950s, Mayor Richard J. Daley’s political machine dictated every Illinois politician’s next move. It included the neighborhood alderman as well as a string of governors who spent time behind bars. Today, there is another arrogant ex-governor who will hopefully spend time behind bars.

Things haven’t changed much. Today, “junior,” or Mayor Richard J. Daley, is successfully manipulating a recent decision of our nation’s highest court. Daley is presently the Second Amendment’s most ruthless, obnoxious opponent. The Second Amendment guarantees our right as Americans to own and bear arms, and Chicago law forbids handgun ownership. While Daley surrounds himself with heavily armed, around- the- clock security, he belittles firearms ownership by his Chicago constituents.

Daley recently encountered someone who refused to cower to his demands. Otis McDonald, a black man and multiple crime victim, moved to Chicago forty years ago. Today this son of a Louisiana sharecropper is 76 years old. McDonald holds impressive credentials. An Army veteran, he became head of his local union as well as a maintenance engineer at the University of Chicago. All McDonald wanted was the ability to defend himself on the street as well as in his home.

*Otis McDonald decided to act. He sought out Illinois gun right activists, and eventually became the lead plaintiff in the case that became known as McDonald v. City of Chicago. The Chicago crime rate had risen steadily since the handgun ban was made law 28 years ago, and McDonald’s case would include not just Chicago, but state and local governments as well. To quote McDonald, “It’s impossible for Mayor Daley or any politician backing the gun ban to know what it’s like to live unarmed on a block where bad guys are packing guns and willing to shoot.”

In June 2010, our nation’s highest court ruled for McDonald and guaranteed a law-abiding individual’s right to have a handgun — even in the city of Chicago. Will this change lower the city’s crime rate? It should. In comparing Chicago’s murder rate to that of our fifty other largest cities, Chicago’s rate was falling before the 1983 handgun ban. After the ban, the trend reversed. From 2007 to 2008, the FBI’s latest figures, the U.S. murder rate decreased by 4.7 percent while Chicago’s increased by nearly 15 percent.

Mayor Daley is not accepting the high court’s decision. In order for Chicagoans to legally own a handgun by possessing a Chicago Firearms permit, they must jump through a series of unreasonable, if not impossible, hoops. Applicants must first be fingerprinted. Then they must pass a background check. Since the federal government already requires a background check for any gun purchase, this may or may not be acceptable as I don’t know where Daley is drawing the line.

Next comes the hundred dollar application fee plus fifteen dollars for every gun registered. Applicants must then, if they have survived so far, take and pass a four hour class plus one hour of training at a gun range. They must then submit affidavits signed by state-approved firearms instructors. So far, it is not known where these instructors can be found, or who approved them.

Daley’s arrogance in defying a Supreme Court ruling is ludicrous! I can reasonably predict what is going to happen. In defiance of Daley, Chicago residents will continue to purchase their handguns in an Illinois community outside Chicago as Chicago has no gun retailers. Like all of us, they will fill out the yellow federal firearms purchase form, pass the background check, and wait the mandatory waiting period. If they are ever arrested for not having a Chicago Firearms Permit, they have the Supreme Court ruling on their side. They can fight it and win.

I would like to comment on Chicago then and now. In 1961, when I pointed my Smith & Wesson into the faces of “would be” rapists and murderers who threatened to bust in my windshield with a crowbar, they backed off because their minds were clear. Their brains weren’t fried on drugs. In 1957, when a knife-wielding subway robber asked me for my money, he didn’t carve me up after I gave him my $1.57. His mind was clear. Today’s drugs have altered clear thinking to the point where rational acts are not a part of the equation. Otis McDonald knows all about this.

In supporting Otis McDonald, the National Rifle Association supported all of us. It is a good reason to join the NRA if you don’t belong. If you don’t know where to go, call me and I’ll personally sign you up. The NRA has been criticized recently for seeming overstepping its usual boundaries. A case in point are Supreme Court nominations. If our highest court isn’t composed of justices who support our Constitution, those things most important to us, including The Second Amendment, may be lost. It does relate, and the NRA needs to pay close attention.

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Florida Legislation Requiring Level 2 Background Checks Ensures Safety of The Vulnerable

July 27th, 2010

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Charlie Crist applauded new enhanced background screening procedures for individuals who work with vulnerable Floridians, such as children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. To prepare for the law becoming effective on August 1, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) launched a Web site providing information on the new requirements. The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) also maintains a Web site and is working with associations and providers to ensure they understand that all background screening requests must be submitted electronically through a vendor approved through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

The safety, security and well-being of children, elders and persons with disabilities is of the utmost importance, which is why we must be absolutely sure that those entrusted with their care are trustworthy and responsible,” said Governor Crist. “I am confident enhanced screening measures of those who work with these vulnerable populations is an added protection that will enhance public safety statewide.”

House Bill 7069, signed by Governor Crist earlier this year, requires employees to pass both a state and federal fingerprint screening, equivalent to a level 2 background check, before beginning work with elderly, children and persons with disabilities in certain care settings. Health care employees working in residential or home care settings must have a Level 2 screening before having contact with clients, or having access to client property, funds or living areas.

DCF’s Web site, www.dcfbackgroundscreening.com, provides clarifying details about who needs to be screened, how to contact DCF regional coordinators, and answers to frequently asked questions.

We must help our front-line care providers understand the significant changes that will transform their day-to-day business operations,” said DCF Secretary George Sheldon. “The Web site is a helpful tool to help answer questions about how this new law will better protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

The legislation also requires that fingerprints be submitted in an electronic format to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by July 1, 2012. Electronic fingerprints go into effect for providers licensed by AHCA and DCF as of August 1, 2010.

We are focused on helping providers hire the right staff quickly and efficiently to ensure they can provide necessary care to their clients,” said AHCA Secretary Thomas W. Arnold. “The electronic processing of fingerprints will expedite this process while providing important protections for those who need their services.”

AHCA’s Web site, ahca.myflorida.com/MCHQ/Long_Term_Care/Background_Screening/index.shtml provides similar information regarding who must be screened, as well as those vendors available to process electronic fingerprints. AHCA has also contracted with Cogent Systems as an option to provide electronic fingerprinting services. Cogent Systems is a leading provider of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems. It has statewide locations and will expand to additional sites by August 1, 2010. However, health care providers have the flexibility to choose any vendor or conduct their own electronic scanning in accordance with FDLE standards. For more information regarding background screening electronic fingerprint options, visit the FDLE site at www.fdle.state.fl.us/Content/getdoc/04833e12-3fc6-4c03-9993-379244e0da50/livescan.aspx.

The law also contains other safeguards such as requiring some former felons to wait three years before applying for an exemption and working with these populations. Additionally, it gives select executive agency heads the authority to revoke and deny these exemptions for certain disqualifying offenses. It also prevents anyone designated as a sexual predator, sexual offender or career offender from being able to get an exemption to work with these vulnerable citizens.

In October 2009, Governor Crist convened select state agencies charged with reviewing legal requirements for screening individuals who provide care to children, the elderly and persons with disabilities to review current background-screening policies. The group’s findings were presented to the Governor in November 2009 and then presented to the Florida Legislature for consideration. The new legislation reflects the recommendations of the group.

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New York School Volunteer Facing Charges Was Exempt From a Background Check

July 26th, 2010

PORT JERVIS — Kerry “Kaz” Sauer, a stalwart of the wrestling community in the city and in the schools who is facing charges for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor, was not required to undergo a background check or be fingerprinted because he was never paid or approved by the school district.

His volunteer status exempted him from background checks under state law, according to state education officials. Sauer has a clean record, police said, and would not have set off any red flags.

Police continue to investigate Sauer, 47, who was ingrained in wrestling in the high school, city recreation department and Tri-State Wrestling Program. Police said no additional complaints have been made against him.
School officials said Sauer became involved in the schools though community wrestling programs. School policy states that an “application shall be filed by each prospective volunteer,” but officials said Sauer’s involvement pre-dates that policy.

Sauer was so strongly associated with the Port Jervis High School wrestling team that many in Port Jervis assumed he was a wrestling coach. This included the high school’s yearbook staff, which printed a picture of Sauer in the 2006 yearbook with the varsity wrestling team and identified him as “Coach Caz” in a caption.
When Sauer was arrested earlier this month for allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a 16-year-old boy online through Facebook, the school district released a statement calling Sauer a “supporter of the wrestling program in the Port Jervis community.”

District officials now say Sauer attended “varsity wrestling tournaments, practices, and clinics at the high school with the former coaching staff” but said his involvement tapered off in the 2009-2010 school year.
The district has seven non-paid coaches. School officials released a statement saying “only board-approved coaches and volunteers are authorized to coach athletic teams” in the schools.

There has been a public relations push for volunteers in schools in the last few years, and school districts have had to contend with the issue of vetting volunteers. “It’s not as easy, or seemingly safe, as it used to be,” said Sullivan West Superintendent Ken Hilton in reference to volunteers.

Hilton said Sullivan West performs background checks and takes fingerprints of volunteers who spend a certain number of hours with students, and for all volunteer coaches.

“We’re not living in ‘Lassie’ land anymore,” Hilton said. “And we have to be careful and cautious.”

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