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Credit Union Times Magazine May-24, 2006
CUNA Ramps Up GOTV Efforts
WASHINGTON - Gearing up for the 2006 election season, CUNA's political affairs department has launched its 2006 Elections Action Center.
Arizona CU Staff Visits Mexico's Caja Libertad on Fact-Finding Tour
PHOENIX - Six representatives from three Arizona credit unions and the Arizona Credit Union System recently returned from a weeklong, fact-finding tour of the marketing efforts ACUS' partner credit union, Caja Libertad.
Just pic and cutline for this please
Horizons FCU Awards Youth Week Winner See BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -Horizons Federal Credit Union President/CEO Mario C. DiFulvio presents young member Kathryn Wills, a prize of $50 for making a deposit into her savings account during National Credit Union Youth Week. Wells was delighted to receive the extra money in her...
E1 Financial Hosts Opportunity For CU Officials to Meet Assembly Candidate Eng
MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - Credit union leaders were recently given the opportunity to meet 49th District Assembly Candidate Mike Eng at a reception hosted by E1 Financial Credit Union.
CUs Part of National Rebuilding Together Day
VIENNA, Va., and SAN JOSE, Calif. - All across the country credit union volunteers rolled up their sleeves and brushed up on their DIY skills to participate in National Rebuilding Together Day.
Credit Unions Find Friends Throughout Congress in New Power Rankings
WASHINGTON - A government relations information management group recently ranked all the members of Congress according to power, and credit unions count members among their allies throughout the ranks.
Mountain America CU's Business Services Open House Turns into an Annual Blockbuster
WEST JORDAN, Utah - What started out as a "defense strategy" to counter the fallout from a seasoned loan officer leaving Mountain America Credit Union has turned into an annual event with record attendance.
CUNA Mutual Discovery Conference Hottest Ticket in Vegas
MADISON, Wis. - For the first time in 11 years the CUNA Mutual Discovery Conference 2006 "Ideas. Inspiration. Innovation." has sold out.
Where CU Friends and Foes Fall on List
Senate * No. 4 Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) * No. 34 Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) * No. 59 Regulatory relief leader Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) * No. 73 Banking Committee Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.)* * No. 96 Tom Carper (D-Del.), bankruptcy reform champion House * No....
Credit Union Figures Take Part in First Ever NCBA Summit
WASHINGTON - Credit unions shared the stage with representatives of a number of other cooperatives at the first-ever National Co-op Summit May 3, organized by the National Cooperative Business Association, which attracted about 300 attendees.
`What We Do' Got Big Play at Utah League Conference
LAYTON, Utah - To make sure Utah credit union employees attending last week's annual meeting of the Utah League of Credit Unions got the message, "It's What We Do" signs were pervasive - even emblazoned on hotel room keys.
Mortgage Asset Research Institute Releases Latest Fraud Report, Florida Leads in Cases of Reported Fraud Against Lenders
WASHINGTON - The Mortgage Asset Research Institution (MARI) has released its eighth annual mortgage fraud report for the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the findings show that while mortgage originations remained strong in 2005, so did mortgage fraud.
Navy Federal Promotion Encourages $1 Million in Youth Account Deposits
VIENNA, Va. - Navy Federal Credit Union branches around the world came up with creative themes to encourage and educate young members and their parents about the importance of saving money early.
New England-Area CUs Stay Afloat During Heavy Rains
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. and PORTLAND, Maine - With heavy rains that pounded parts of New England relentlessly for nearly three days in the early part of last week beginning to taper off by Wednesday, residents of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire began to assess damages to their homes and businesses wrought...
Bay Area CU Mascots Talk Savings with Kindergarteners
OREGON, Ohio - To help celebrate National Credit Union Youth Week, Bay Area Credit Union's own Boomer and his sidekick, Bean-Counter stopped by four kindergarten classes at Coy Elementary School.
Charter Oak FCU Board Heads to Big Apple To Visit Shinkin Central Bank
GROTON, Conn. - Charter Oak Federal Credit Union Board Members recently headed to New York City to visit with Takeshi Aoki, senior analyst for Japan's Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute.
Attorneys as `Debt Relief Agencies' Challenged Under Bankruptcy Reform Law
WASHINGTON - The Connecticut Bar Association and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys have filed suit challenging the U.S. Trustees interpretation of attorneys as debt relief agencies under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act.
NCUA Rules in the Works on Underserved Areas and Conversions
LAS VEGAS - Responding to Congressional and court pressures, NCUA is working on two clarifying regulations this summer dealing with the Utah underserved case and bank charter conversions and is considering a third on CUSOs, NCUA Board Member Gigi Hyland told NACUSO's annual convention meeting here last week. In a...
New York State 2006-07 Budget Means New Fees for State-Chartered CUs
LATHAM, N.Y. - New York State Credit Union League General Counsel Mike Lanotte would have preferred fees levied on state financial institutions for the state's 2006-07 budget year remain unchanged. But considering they were originally proposed by Gov. George Pataki to be much higher, Lanotte says the increase could have...
Should the Earnings of Credit Unions That Convert to Banks be Taxed?
WASHINGTON - Should credit unions that convert to mutual banks and then go on to issue stock pay taxes on the retained earning they bring with them? Or should the retained earnings be channeled into an independent foundation or other charitable organization dedicated to fulfilling some of the credit union's...
Technological Card Changes to Reduce Fraud Appear Very Unlikely for U.S. Market; Are U.S. Cards More Vulnerable to Fraud?
ARLINGTON, Va. - Any credit union executives who might have looked to updated credit and debit card technologies for ways to better combat card fraud should not hold their breath.
CUNA CFO Council Has Fun Detailing The Financial Big Picture
MADISON, Wis. - Chief financial officers that want to be in the know need not look any further than the CUNA CFO Council says Brian McVeigh, CFO Council chair and NuUnion Credit Union senior vice president/CFO. Founded in 1994, the CUNA CFO Council was developed from credit union CFOs looking...
Chatfield Kids Win CU Promotions
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Chatfield dynasty is alive and well with two of its members winning recent promotions. Danielle Chatfield, vice president of lending at the $290 million KEMBA Financial CU since 2004, has been promoted to chief operating officer and her brother, Mark, left the Texas Credit Union League...
Kanjorski Gives Choice One Community CU High Marks for VITA Participation
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Employees of Choice One Community CU earned applause from Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) for their participation in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program and offering free assistance during tax season to lower-income families in the Greater Wilkes-Barre area.
CUSOs Advice on `Disruptive' Role
LAS VEGAS - As the industry's longtime champion of innovation, CUSOs are in an ideal position to become agents of change "in taking on the Goliaths," but there are any number of strategic barriers including overestimating potential growth markets, a Toronto management consultant advised CUSO executives this week. In a...
SECU Volunteers Unite Through Regional Strategic Planning Sessions
RALEIGH, N.C. - To ensure its local level volunteers remain connected State Employees' Credit Union has recently held a regional strategic planning session and dinner.
Mica Pledges Commitment to Financial Education
WASHINGTON - CUNA President and CEO Dan Mica reiterated the organization's commitment to financial literacy before the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Literacy and Education Commission May 15.
To Fight Banker Attack CUVA Breaks Out In Song
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - With bankers on the attack about CU taxation marketing/public relations firm CUVA has unveiled a new proactive tool to fight back - a little song called "Hypocrisy."
MEMBERS Financial Rolls Out SEG Marketing Program
MADISON, Wis. - CUNA Mutual Group's MEMBERS Financial Services has begun offering credit unions its Select Employee Group marketing program designed exclusively to help them market insurance and investment programs to members and attract new members through retirement planning and financial services. "Going directly to SEG employees with a financial...
Maine Credit Union League Breakfasts With Governor
WESTBROOK, Maine - The Maine Credit Union league was recently part of a select group from the financial services and insurance industries in the state who attended a fundraising breakfast and roundtable discussion with Gov. John Baldacci. Also at the May 16th event were Jon Paradise, Governmental & Public Affairs...
Redwood CU Names Youth Week Winner
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Redwood Credit Union has recently awarded $100 to 11-year-old Sean Thomas Wolfe as part of its 2006 Youth Week Savings Challenge.
Universal 1 CU Inspires Youth Savings
DAYTON, Ohio - What better way to inspire kids to save than teaching them how they can earn money?
Merrimack Valley FCU Latest to Offer SBA Loans
BOSTON - Members of Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union now have an additional business lending resource to turn to.
Bankruptcy Attorneys Hold Free Workshop for Katrina Survivors
NEW ORLEANS - The National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys planned to hold a special workshop May 20 free of charge to Hurricane Katrina survivors.
Dahlstrom Named President of Education Credit Union Council
SAN FRANCISCO - At its 33rd Annual Conference held in San Francisco, the Education Credit Union Council, Inc. elected its new board.
Wescom Hits Airwaves Touting CU Difference
PASADENA, Calif. - A popular radio consumer finance show recently talked up the credit union difference with Wescom Credit Union Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Joel Chavarin on air.
CFE FCU Teams Up to Recognize Workplace Safety
ORLANDO, Fla. - CFE Federal Credit Union has joined forces with Orange County Public Schools Workers' Compensation department to recognize and award five elementary schools for providing a safe, accident-free working environment for their employees. The five schools singled out included Dover Shores Elementary, Eccleston Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Lake Sybelia...
Louisiana CU League Awards Scholarships To Southeast CUNA Management School
HARAHAN, La. - The Louisiana Credit Union League has awarded three Louisiana credit union professionals scholarships to the Southeast CUNA Management School in Athens, Ga.
CU Direct Connect Wins Top Award
LAS VEGAS - CU Direct Connect of Centennial, Colo. has won the highest honor from NACUSO - the CUSO Collaboration & Cooperation Award for 2006 - presented during NACUSO's annual conference here.
Membership Gains Impacted When Large CU-to-Bank Conversions Occur
MADISON, Wis. - Last year's membership gains may be directly impacted if any large credit unions convert to savings banks this year, according to the latest data from CUNA Mutual Group. In its March Credit Union Trends Report, CUNA Mutual noted that the loss of OmniAmerican and Community Credit Unions...
Huron River Area CU Hosts Financial Education Blitz
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Huron River Area Credit Union turned up the heat on its financial literacy efforts during Youth Week.
Orlando FCU Gives Back Over $806,000 To Members
ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando Federal Credit Union has shown its members that it literally pays to be a member.
DFCU Owners United Still Assessing Options; Some Members Still Have Not Received CU's Letter
DEARBORN, Mich. - DFCU Owners United, the group of members of the $1.8 billion DFCU Financial which had first opposed the CU's proposed conversion into a mutual bank and also backed a special meeting to vote on recalling the board, is still weighing its options in the wake of the...
CU Charity Golf Tournament Tees Up $100,000 for CMN
ANTHEM, Ariz. - Desert Schools Federal Credit Union recently hosted its charity golf tournament raising money for the Children's Miracle Network and Phoenix Children's Hospital. Desert Schools and its business partners raised $100,000 for CMN to be used for the Phoenix Children's Hospital "One Darn Cool School" program. This year's...
Langley FCU to Help Members Improve Credit Scores
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Langley Federal Credit Union has launched CreditBuilder, a program designed to help members with no credit, little credit or unfavorable credit. CreditBuilder works by depositing proceeds of the loan into a savings account, which earns the standard savings rate and is held as collateral, according to...
Certified Credit Union Executives Force Increasing
MADISON, Wis. - Add another 47 individuals to the total number of Certified Credit Union Executive designations awarded nationwide. CCUEs now total 2,383.
In Other News
Michigan Schools and Government Credit Union, Clinton Township, Mich., announced the winners of its Rudolph Heino and Sallylou Cloyd scholarship awards. The six students chosen to receive the one-time scholarship clearly demonstrate a desire to overcome obstacles, dedicate themselves to worthy causes and commit themselves to higher learning. Among the...
Utah League Head Chides Simmons On Wal-Mart View
LAYTON, Utah - When it comes to both credit unions and Wal-Mart Stores, the chairman of the American Bankers Association, Harris Simmons, is clearly out of touch with his fellow bankers. That's the view of John Lund, the chairman of the Utah League of Credit Unions, who charges Simmons has...
Panini Opens New MICR Center in Ohio
DAYTON, Ohio - Panini North America, a subsidiary of Panini S.p.A., is opening a new MICR Testing and Qualification Center in Dayton, Ohio.
NACHA Issues Rulemaking on Back Office Conversions
SAN DIEGO - During its recent PAYMENTS 2006 conference, NACHA announced the approval an amendment to its operating rules to permit retailers and billers that accept checks at the point-of-sale to convert eligible checks to ACH debits in the back office.
Special Report: Check 21/Image Exchange
Credit unions are still waiting for full-blown image exchange to take off, but many are finding substantial cost savings in forwarding items electronically. Pages 22-24.
Palmetto Cooperative Services Chooses VSoft Branch Capture; CUSO Working To Penetrate CUs in Three Core States
ATLANTA - Palmetto Cooperative Services has selected VSoft's branch capture solution to offer image exchange to its item processing credit union clients.
PCUA Singles Out Marketing Elite
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association recently honored its brightest credit union marketing efforts with its annual publications and Web site awards.
14B ACH Payments in 2005; Doubles in Five Years
SAN DIEGO - Automated clearinghouse payments were up 16.2% in 2005 over 2004 to nearly 14 billion transactions, NACHA recently reported.
PCUA Names Woods Top CU Professional
HARRISBURG, Pa. - During its recent Annual Convention and Exposition in Atlantic City, N.J., the Pennsylvania Credit Union Association presented its William W. Pratt Lifetime Achievement Award for the Credit Union Professional of the Year to Keystone Federal Credit Union Executive Vice President Christine Woods. The annual award is presented...
Kodak Unveils New Scanners
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Eastman Kodak has released the KODAK i1200 Series Scanners and the KODAK i1300 Series Scanners.
Lots of Conference Action
There were a few key conferences held recently and Credit Union Times was there to provide on-site coverage. See conference coverage on pages 26-27 and page 50.
Share Draft Volume Still Strong Despite Increase in ACH, Plastic Cards
SHREWSBURY, N.J. - Share drafts aren't dead just yet.
Key Credit Union Bills Dead This Session, Says Utah Congressman
LAYTON, Utah - Credit union trade groups have known for some time that key industry bills are dead for this session in Congress, but that message also got delivered by a Utah Congressman to the Utah League of Credit Unions at its annual meeting convened here last week. "Nothing will...
PCUA Shines Spotlight on Winners; a New Youth Ambassador is Named
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association's 72nd Annual Convention at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey served as the site to honor the credit union industry's brightest stars.
Fiserv Sees Substitute Check Volume Growing Rapidly; Benefits of Send Side of Exchange Outweigh Receiving
BROOKFIELD, Wis. - When image exchange is in full bloom, paper items will be a thing of the past, but the industry isn't there yet by a long shot.
PCUA Elects Board, Honors Volunteer
HARRISBURG, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Credit Union Association Board of Directors has re-elected its chairman and vice chair.
18% of COCC's Document Processing Clients Exchange Images
AVON, Conn. - COCC announced that 18 of its 99 document processing clients are exchanging images using the Federal Reserve's FedForward product.
News Briefs
Former GE Chairman & CEO To Headline ABA Annual Convention
WASHINGTON - The American Bankers Association recently announced a number of heavy hitters to address its Banking Leaders Forum and Annual Convention set for Oct. 15-18 in Phoenix. Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, will set the tone for the meeting, then Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben...
2006 ICU Day Theme Vote Is On
MADISON, Wis. - It is time once again to vote for this year's International Credit Union Day theme on the World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. Web site.
NCUA June Board Meeting Delayed
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The NCUA Board has postponed its monthly meeting for June.
Sun Shines Brightly on Ventura County CU Billboards
VENTURA, Calif. - Ventura County Credit Union is building a sunny brand awareness campaign with a high-profile billboard along California's historic route 101. The heavily traveled freeway runs through the heart of Ventura County, connecting with Los Angeles to the south and Santa Barbara to the north. "If Ventura County...
AACUC Panel to Feature Veteran, Young CU Leader Experiences
SEATTLE - Veteran and young credit union leaders will share the stage to discuss their unique experiences in the movement.
Navy Federal Honored for Graphic Design
VIENNA, Va. - Graphic Design USA, a national magazine for design professionals, has honored Navy Federal Credit Union with four 2006 American Inhouse Design Awards. The credit union was recognized for its 2004 Annual Report; campaign poster for Toys for Tots-Delivering Joy; Car Loan Air Freshener Direct Mailer; and Tween...
CU Digest Wins Award of Excellence
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - The California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues' flagship publication, Credit Union Digest, has received three Communicator Awards for publications excellence. In the overall magazine category, the league received the award of excellence-the highest distinction-for the January 2005 issue of Credit Union Digest. Taking an advocacy-centric focus...
SECU Promotes State Employees with `What's In It For You' Image Campaign
RALEIGH, N.C. - State Employees' Credit Union and the Office of State Personnel and various other state agency representatives, are shining a spotlight on state employees and the services they provide by sponsoring the "What's In It For You" Image Campaign. The campaign is a one week radio promotion airing...
Everything CU.com's Triple-B Branding Event to Hit Baltimore
HOLYOKE, Mass. - EverythingCU.com will host its popular credit union brand immersion event "Branding, Bonding & Brew -Once Upon a Brand" in Baltimore. The second ever "Triple-B-Baltimore" will be held September 20-22 at the Admiral Fell Inn. Attendees called "gnomes" are submerged in a branding experience through a mix of...
Consumer CU Marketing VP Civil Rights Hall of Fame Inductee
WAUKEGAN, Ill. - Consumer Credit Union Vice President of Sales and Marketing Hal Coxon has been inducted to the Lake County Civil Rights Hall of Fame. One of 12 honored for their outstanding contributions toward the advancement of civil rights in Lake County, Illinois, Coxon's civil rights activism has spanned...
NCUA Releases Updated Insurance Brochure
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA is getting the word out to credit unions that it has updated the Your Insured Funds brochure. The Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act and conforming amendments changed deposit insurance coverage levels. Certain retirement accounts, including Individual Retirement Accounts and Keoghs, now have federal deposit insurance coverage...
IRS Going After Abusive Tax-Exempt Credit Counseling
WASHINGTON - Credit counseling agencies that do not comply with the law, have been put on notice. The Internal Revenue Service has released a report on tax-exempt credit counseling agencies and announced it plans to take further steps to make sure these organizations comply with the law.
OFHEO, FinCEN Agree to Share Mortgage Fraud Data
WASHINGTON - The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reached an agreement to facilitate the sharing of OFHEO examination findings with FinCEN concerning actual or suspected mortgage fraud.
Newtek Attempts to Thwart Delisting with 10-K Filing
NEW YORK - Newtek Business Services, Inc. said May 11 it has filed its Form 10-K annual report for the year ending Dec. 31, 2005, but a NASDAQ hearing is still scheduled for June 1 to address why the company missed the filing deadline. The small business services provider and...
Commissioner Cynthia Glassman to Leave SEC
WASHINGTON - After more than four years as one of four commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Cynthia Glassman announced May 15 she plans to leave at the end of her term on June 5. Glassman did not set a specific date for her departure but according to SEC,...
Hood Pays Visits to CUs and State Regulators
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA Vice Chairman Rodney Hood headed west for a myriad of visits with state regulators and credit unions.
NCUA Names Morton Region IV Director
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - NCUA has named Keith C. Morton director of Region IV effective May 14.
Tech Bytes
Greylock FCU Migrates to OSI Platform
GLASTONBURY, Conn. - Pittsfield, Mass.-based Greylock Federal Credit Union, with $848 million in assets, 11 branches and approximately 61,000 members, has selected Open Solutions Inc.'s The Complete Credit Union Solution for core processing.
S1 Corp Launches Package of Biz Lending App Tools
ATLANTA - S1 Corporation has rolled out the latest versions of its lending solutions. The company, a provider of customer interaction software for financial and payment services, recently launched the latest release of S1 Consumer Lending, S1 Business Lending, S1 Lending Docs, and S1 Credit Origination Server. Some of the...
Special Report
Accolades for MaPS CU Administration Center
SALEM, Ore. -MaPS Credit Union's new Administration Center is making a name for itself.
SRP FCU Unveils Belair Elementary Branch
NORTH AUGUST, S.C. - SRP Federal Credit Union and Columbia County Schools have joined forces to open a credit union branch at Belair Elementary. Business Development Manager Yvonne Meeks, who coordinated the partnership with Columbia County School Superintendent Tommy Price and Belair Elementary Principal Mark Boyd, says the move is...
For Check 21, the Time is Now; CUs Have to Jump in to Reap the Rewards
"If you build it, they will come," to paraphrase the famous line from the movie Field of Dreams. But when it came to developing a Check 21 solution, it was a little more complicated than building a baseball diamond in the middle of a cornfield. There were questions about processes,...
Letters to the editor
Voting Requirements Serve a Purpose in Conversion Attempts
I just read Editor-in-Chief Paul Gentile's April 26th column along with comments from Dave Adams and Marv Umholtz. I just want to thank Gentile for his comments and the open opportunity he has given any interested contributor to speak their minds regarding the conversion issue.
Looking Back
CREDIT UNION TIMES Vol. 13, No. 21 May 22, 2002
Looking back four years ago finds NCUA Board member Debbie Matz holding a meeting with credit union leaders to discuss unintended consequences in the examination process. The candid dialogue between regulator and regulated was hailed a success by attendees.
No Longer Masters of Our Destiny
Let's face it: There's no success in isolation. This is true at nearly every level of society. As individuals, we routinely combine our efforts with others to achieve greater success, as do our credit unions. If you doubt this, think of what your credit union would look like absent all...
Publisher's Column
The McHenry Hearing and Good Old DFCU Financial
The much anticipated hearing on Congressman Patrick McHenry's Credit Union Charter Choice Act, which would lessen NCUA's role in credit union-to-bank conversions, produced some interesting tidbits.
Matadors Community Credit Union, Chatsworth, Calif., has elected Robert Stoneham as the CU's new chair and Kevin Bread as a new member of its board. LBS Financial Credit Union, Long Beach, Calif., has promoted Felicia Graves to vice president of salary plan and has named Jovilyn Herrick vice president/branch manager...
Day Air Credit Union, Kettering, Ohio, has named Bettina Buscemi, business development specialist. First American Credit Union, Beloit, Wis., has recently promoted Shari Fegre to mortgage loan processor; Dawn Miller and Jenny Miller to member service representatives; Kate Affholder to receptionist/teller supervisor; Emma Prowse to information systems specialist; and Dan'ell...
Connex Credit Union, North Haven, Conn., has appointed Anne Guetti as the director of sales and business development and S. John Severson has joined the Commercial Lending Department through CUSO Services. Family First of NY Federal Credit Union, Rochester, N.Y., has re-elected Donald Milton, chairman; Gary Lazenby, vice-chairman; and James...
Toni Davisson, vice president of finance with SC Telco Credit Union, Greenville, S.C., has graduated from the Graduate School of Bank Investments and Financial Management at the University of South Carolina. Yvonne Meeks, business development manager at SRP Federal Credit Union, North Augusta, S.C., has been honored with the South...
First Financial Credit Union, Albuquerque, N.M., has named Bryan Vice, director of business services. Primeway Federal Credit Union, Houston, has named Randal Ward, vice president of credit and collections.
In Memoriam
New CUNA Lobbyist Has Seen CUs Gain Equality on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON - Credit unions came full circle during his 25 years on Capitol Hill, CUNA's new Vice President for Legislative Affairs Dean Sagar observed.
CU Movement Loses a Leader-Former Wescom CEO Robert Brain
PASADENA, Calif. - After battling Lou Gehrig's disease, Wescom Credit Union Founder Robert T. Brain has died at the age of 75. He began his career working in the engineering department at the Pacific Telephone Company. During that time, he became interested in credit unions and was elected to the...
First Tech CU's Mike Osborne Dies at Age 49; Selfless Leader Known for His Operational Expertise
BEAVERTON, Ore. - Mike Osborne, executive vice president and CFO at First Tech Credit Union, died on May 13 at the age of 49 of pneumonia. Osborne was a rising star among credit unions, known for his knowledge of operational issues, specifically technology. He spoke at many credit union events...
Resource Center
View All »Trusteer's Holistic Fraud Prevention
There no longer needs to be a trade-off between strong security on the one side...
The New Lending Landscape: Key Trends Shaping Lending Today
Lenders willing to serve Gen-Y consumers face regulatory and economic challenges, but risk missing out...
Top 10 Online and Mobile Banking Protection Tips
The convenience of online and mobile banking shouldn't come at the expense of your members'...
Achieving Straight-Through Processing with Electronic Signature
Download this whitepaper and learn about the benefits of straight-through processing and how you can...
Texas Capital Bank Prevents Fraud with Trusteer Rapport
Texas Capital Bank is an $11 billion bank primarily serving commercial accounts in Texas. Its...
Increase Member Satisfaction and Loyalty with eSignatures
View this on-demand webinar and learn how BECU, Bellco Credit Union, TTCU and hundreds of...
Mobility on Hold: Get Back on Track with Mobile Risk...
Learn about the latest security measures available to mitigate the risks associated with advanced mobile...
Winning the War on Cybercrime: The Four Keys to Holistic...
This white paper examines the importance of adapting to changes in fraud attacks without significant...
FFIEC Proposed Guidance on Social Media and How it Affects...
To learn how you and your institution can stay compliant with the new proposed FFIEC...
The Rise of "Mobile Commerce" and How it Affects YOU!
Could plastic cards become a thing of the past? This white paper explains what constitutes...


text:
oss-sec mailing list archives
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 01/25/2013 02:13 AM, Henri Salo wrote:
From http://wordpress.org/news/2013/01/wordpress-3-5-1/ WordPress 3.5.1 also addresses the following security issues:
Can I get confirmation on details of these issues so I can properly assign CVEs? Thanks!
- A server-side request forgery vulnerability and remote port scanning using pingbacks. This vulnerability, which could potentially be used to expose information and compromise a site, affects all previous WordPress versions. This was fixed by the WordPress security team. We'd like to thank security researchers Gennady Kovshenin and Ryan Dewhurst for reviewing our work.
Basically it applies filters to pingbacks, things like: return new IXR_Error(33, __('The specified target URL cannot be used as a target. It either doesn't exist, or it is not a pingback-enabled resource.')); so I was largely abl to confirm this one.
- Two instances of cross-site scripting via shortcodes and post content. These issues were discovered by Jon Cave of the WordPress security team.
I found one instance of esc_attr() to esc_url() on a url used in embedded media, I'm guessing this is the XSS mentioned in the description as "post content"? All I'm seeing for shortcodes related junk is in a big JavaScript blob wp-35/wp-includes/js/media-editor.min.js. It looks like this might need two CVEs if they are widely different.
- A cross-site scripting vulnerability in the external library Plupload. Thanks to the Moxiecode team for working with us on this, and for releasing Plupload 1.5.5 to address this issue.
The diff for plupload is a mess of JavaScript/binary files so I can't confirm much. Thanks. - -- Kurt Seifried Red Hat Security Response Team (SRT) PGP: 0x5E267993 A90B F995 7350 148F 66BF 7554 160D 4553 5E26 7993 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.13 (GNU/Linux) iQIcBAEBAgAGBQJRA4NjAAoJEBYNRVNeJnmTjF8P/0dUhP3BeYCZXG4Qwe/p3OWx IDzNMUuJIj5K+BytN9gTvMRulexsXAxb792f7BiinQ7RDa1chyohupg4TOYxGjIg Lyy+kWYGHQN/ealCYU1iT5YJ0OqAwdKnCkIM0ONKexbcZEZ8Mo9DWr+C6QawMDkb DPxocpavQz2vw0BMrCcUeXNCRYTcoLaGT9qbNXsVVYEavAMFJYW09aZX3jfTUQgg au8Qblh+/+jQso49gNcfUT3r4ArpZbhFDdB+Ea0uaax9p+Z1REN9EQsMsoqOT3c3 fIMmVwO8Mh7Xi3sVd/L2yiloHe7Gw+nHLc/WLb18/vVEVFblOJa62cvQKjJ5HF/Y OwxMDOU05u9UG4zCarP0/WBSyYlgvGaan+LQlNDJ8etff/1JE56KUQIl9qu9zq/I Gv6P6c2LPyqOR4l4kiSaRCRGsSjSXI9zdCmq6OLhRd/6avweBCgRKz+h//Qz0/cR IupTTbq1d378L7seJK58KKpNmFJ3tbioL/p8P6oMVuiqH+E+9znCHJSe0kf0wJLw dCWmENnvWEmB/ILHjZysMSdMCeFvZDeOzpvWW7/NcT+0qa5W0o0FEgOC9riGT2JG KR7aKYwzNLemA5ZIxcBtdVC9Rk5rJc/BiNzzVHqIblWd21hLXtjBwCXuSxyVp3NK Fox7ThOGEaKqtsUXPnU+ =3t5b -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut Daily Newspaper Association is unveiling an ad campaign, attempting to fight efforts in the General Assembly to condense public and legal notices in state newspapers.
The association of 16 newspapers plans to run the first full-page advertisements on April 1.
Lawmakers are considering a bill that allows municipalities to place the ads, for matters such as public meetings and construction bid announcements, on their government websites to save money. The newspapers would only be allowed to provide a portion of the notice and a reference to the city or town's website.
The Connecticut Council of Small Towns estimates its members spend between $5,000 and $35,000 each year to publish the ads in local newspapers, as required by state law.
Newspaper executives say they're providing a reliable public service.
Copyright 2014 AP Modified. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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text:
42 U.S. Code § 6736 - Authorization of appropriations for Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and Virgin Islands
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Authorizations for five calendar quarters beginning July 1, 1977
There is hereby authorized to be appropriated for each of the five succeeding calendar quarters (beginning with the calendar quarter which begins on July 1, 1977) for the purpose of making payments under this subchapter to Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, an amount equal to 1 percent of the amount authorized for each such quarter under section
(b) of this title.
The Secretary shall allocate from the amount authorized under subsection (a) of this section an amount for the purpose of making payments to such governments equal to the total authorized for the calendar quarter multiplied by the applicable territorial percentage.
For the purposes of this subsection, the applicable territorial percentage is equal to the quotient resulting from the division of the territorial population by the sum of the territorial population for all territories.
Payments to local governments
The governments of the territories are authorized to make payments to local governments within their jurisdiction from sums received under this section as they deem appropriate.
[1] See References in Text note below.
(Pub. L. 94–369, title II, § 216, as added Pub. L. 95–30, title VI, § 607,May 23, 1977, 91 Stat. 167.)
References in Text
6726 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(C), was repealed by Pub. L. 95–30, title VI, § 603(i),May 23, 1977, 91 Stat. 166.
6733 of this title, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(C), was repealed by Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1131(b),Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 725.
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Vinnie and Doogie head to Palm Springs for spring break.
Mrs. Howser supports Janine's decision to leave college.
Wanda wants Doogie to side with her in an issue with her father.
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Apologies to The Doors, but I've always loved that line. And now, finally, a time to use it.
I have accepted a new job and, as part of the bargain struck, I must relinquish my regular freelance gigs. So you shall see no more of me around these parts — though I might pop by the comments occasionally. Mr. Adesnik will soldier on without me, so make sure to continue stopping by.
The various permutations of this blog have made it an interesting couple of years. I wish I had some sort of grand thesis about what blogging is or what it means or how it has changed the world (or even just my world) but I don't know that I do. It has fundamentally changed how I consume the news, that's for sure: Google Reader has replaced newspapers and cable TV as my aggregation method of choice.
I do wonder what the future holds for blogs and the media in general. Nothing good, I'm sure. Or maybe a bright new future of hyperlocals surrounded by three or four national papers strong enough to charge for content and advertisements. I'm not a fortune teller. What do I know?
I just wanted to give you guys the heads up and say thanks to my dozens of loyal readers (thousands, if we're being honest; dozens has always struck me as a funnier quantification, though). Hopefully you've gotten something out of this little space. I know I have, and I'm sad to give it up. C'est la vie. It's been fun.
It's a pretty interesting back and forth. Kevin Carey stops being polite and starts getting real:
The problem is that your distaste for faddism and naiveté can be overwhelming–you see these sins in everyone you happen to disagree with about anything.
For example (there are many), the book concludes: "Reformers imagine that is easy to create a successful school. It is not." This is complete nonsense. Nobody thinks it's easy to create a successful school, particularly when at-risk children are involved. I have heard dozens of reformers go on about this subject over the years. They're obsessed with the difficulty of building good schools, to the point, frankly, of being pretty hard to shut up about it.
Throughout the book, you accuse those you newly disagree with of believing in, variously, silver bullets, magic feathers, panaceas, quick fixes, and miracle cures. Can we please retire the insulting declaration that "there are no silver bullets"? You may have believed in them once, but that doesn't mean everyone else made the same mistake.
Burn! That is some #realkeeping. To be fair, I believed in them once as well (and still do, to a certain extent — there is certainly a place for standardized testing and teacher accountability in education reform, perhaps even a preeminent one). Anyway, you should check out the whole symposium. It's interesting.
When did Baltimore turn from a haven for drug dealers into a haven for hipsters on food stamps?
The two friends weren't tabulating the cash in their wallets but what remained of the monthly allotment on their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program debit cards, the official new term for what are still known colloquially as food stamps.
Magida, a 30-year-old art school graduate, had been installing museum exhibits for a living until the recession caused arts funding — and her usual gigs — to dry up. She applied for food stamps last summer, and since then she's used her $150 in monthly benefits for things like fresh produce, raw honey and fresh-squeezed juices from markets near her house in the neighborhood of Hampden, and soy meat alternatives and gourmet ice cream from a Whole Foods a few miles away.
Every time I read a story like this I mutter "hipsters!" under my breath and curl my lips into a snarl a la Seinfeld reacting to Newman. Is this really what we want our tax money going to subsidize? Out of work "artists" whose funding dried up when the economy went south? I'm all for unemployment benefits (even if I have eschewed them during my own recent leave of absence from the work force), but there's a point at which things get ridiculous.
I'd like to second something Rod says in response to this review of Diane Ravitch's new book on the effects of No Child Left Behind:
I don't want to defend lousy schools and bad teachers, and won't do that. But the idea that even the best teachers and the most brilliantly run schools can educate kids who come from badly broken families and badly screwed up cultures is grossly unfair to teachers and educators.
I can't disagree too much with that: People from broken homes and homes that don't value education are likely to not care too much about their schooling, fail tests, not go on to college, etc. Tackling these root causes are incredibly tricky, however, because we're recalcitrant to even discuss them. It's unfair to say "certain cultures" don't value education. Which cultures? Why are you painting with such a broad brush? Why are you tarnishing the hardworking few? Et cetera, ad nauseam.
Still, I don't think it's too much to ask for teachers to be able to impart basic literacy and mathematical understanding in their students. It's unreasonable to think that even the greatest teacher could guide everyone to a 5 on a battery of Advanced Placement tests; it's not unreasonable to think that every high school could get their students reading at a high school level and able to do basic calculus and geometry. And I don't think it's too much to weed out poorly performing teachers or those who are guilty of gross misconduct. There's a balance to be struck, for sure, but that balance will be harder to achieve as long as unions are going to the mat and dragging out arbitration proceedings for years while students get the shaft.
I'm glad I never wrote anything about how Rielle Hunter was being a stand-up gal by saying nothing during the recent Edwards debacle. Because, hey, look: She's talking to GQ! And doing a photo shoot for GQ wearing a shirt and no pants! And holding her daughter in the next photo! Very dignified. A summary, from the Reliable Source:
Hunter says she's still in love with "Johnny" and believes he loves her. That they went to bed together the day they met. That his marriage was "toxic," that he feared "the wrath of Elizabeth." That it was Young's idea for the coverup in which he claimed paternity. That she had no idea how much money — now the subject of a grand jury inquiry — was being funneled to her from top campaign donors.
It really is too bad Edwards didn't win the Democratic nomination or sucker Obama into giving him the VP slot. This would've been fun.
The first episode of HBO's sequel to Band of Brothers, The Pacific, premiered last night. It was pretty solid, though a little slow in the offing. If it's half as good as Band of Brothers — a miniseries I find to be the single most moving portrait of troops in combat ever — it'll be pretty amazing. I am a little worried that unlike its predecessor The Pacific doesn't start in boot camp and really introduce us to all of the men in the unit. One of the reasons that Band of Brothers was so successful is that we really grew to know and love the guys we were following around, and we grew to know and love them because we saw them come together at basic and then travel across Europe. Joining the Marines as they're on the seas to Guadalcanal skips some of that. We'll see if it affects the series.
I would like to comment briefly on executive producer Tom Hanks' ridiculous recent comments. While talking about the series, he told Time
Back in World War II, we viewed the Japanese as 'yellow, slant-eyed dogs' that believed in different gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. We, in turn, wanted to annihilate them because they were different. Does that sound familiar, by any chance, to what's going on today?"
Hm. Now, I don't think we can deny that there was a fair amount of "otherizing" of the Japanese during the Second World War. But I also think it's insane to suggest that America "wanted to annihilate them because they were different." America wanted to annihilate the Japanese because of the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and imperial aggression in the Pacific that drug us into World War Two. American troops wanted to annihilate the Japanese because of the atrocities they committed during the war — in the very first episode of The Pacific you see a trio of troops who have been mutilated by Japanese soldiers. Somebody made this point earlier in the week, but World War Two was a war in which Americans were allied with the Chinese and the Filipinos and fighting against German and Italian foes — nations that, aside from Great Britain and Ireland, provided the highest levels of immigration to this country in the preceding decades. Is there any real doubt that America wanted to annihilate the Nazis? What was the policy of unconditional surrender in both Europe and Japan if not a wish to annihilate the enemy? It had nothing to do with skin color.
And that's leaving aside entirely the idea that we want to annihilate Muslims, which is equally insane. American military action in the current conflict has gone out of its way — even so far as putting American troops at risk — to avoid killing innocent Muslims. During his entire post-9/11 presidency George W. Bush went out of his way to say that Muslims in general weren't the enemy. After 9/11 there were incredibly few hate crimes on Muslims in the United States. To say that the war on terror is a war designed to eliminate Muslims is something you'd expect to hear out of an al Qaeda press shop, not from one of the elder statesmen of American cinema.
Remember all those runaway Toyotas with unstoppable accelerators?
In the 24 cases where driver age was reported or readily inferred, the drivers included those of the ages 60, 61, 63, 66, 68, 71, 72, 72, 77, 79, 83, 85, 89—and I'm leaving out the son whose age wasn't identified, but whose 94-year-old father died as a passenger.
These "electronic defects" apparently discriminate against the elderly, just as the sudden acceleration of Audis and GM autos did before them.
This reminds me of the South Park episode in which old people cause so many accidents the city tries to take their licenses away only to be invaded Red Dawn-style by the AARP. Fantastic stuff. Long story short: Old people behind the wheel are a menace but they will never admit this. Instead they will blame technology for failing them.
One wonders just how The Paul Greengrass Experience can be improved upon. For the last half-decade — from United 93 through The Bourne Ultimatum/Supremacy– Greengrass has developed a very specific aesthetic: super shaky cam, like Blair Witch on 'roids. And, to his credit, it occasionally works. The opening sequence of Green Zone, for example, perfectly captures the insanity of shock and awe from the perspective of Iraqis dealing with American ordinance, one would assume: Head-snapping explosions; chaotic action from all corners; no real sense of continuity. Greengrass does a fine job of simulating chaos.
But why stop with rapidly twirling camera perspectives? Why not import The Paul Greengrass Experience 2.0 to theaters across the country? Instead of allowing the screen to simulate a flash-bang grenade, why not toss actual flash-bangs into packed houses? Instead of allowing the camera's rapid movements to simulate the herky-jerky movements in the moment, why not have someone grab the audience's heads and literally shake them silly? Motion sickness is all well and good: Why not instill some actual sickness? If Greengrass's goal is to institute a sense of debilitating uncertainty in the audience why not go all the way with it?
Let's not get hung up on questions of capability: If we can implement full, Avatar-style 3D, we can certainly implement The Paul Greengrass Experience in its entirety, or at least a close simulacrum of its entirety. Vomiting audience members notwithstanding, something would certainly be gained.
You'll notice I've said nothing about the substance of Green Zone, having instead limited myself to discussing its absurd aesthetics. In part, it's because the meat of the movie is even more absurd than its terrible aesthetic sense. This picture is, as Kyle Smith has said, little more than a slander upon the United States. Matt Damon plays a soldier who embrace his inner-Jason Bourne and goes rogue, attempting to expose the vicious lies of the Department of Defense and figure out just why he has been told to find nonexistent caches of WMD. The movie — during which my audience cheered an American being gunned down by a member of the Republican Guard and booed when a noble Republican Guard general was killed — is as pure an example of anti-American sentiment as you will find. I was actually a little bit surprised that an American studio paid for this film's production as opposed to a Iranian one.
I do wonder what audiences will make of the picture when they have a chance to sit down and actually think about it. Will they buy into the absurd notion that American agents simply created WMD intelligence out of thin air — not that the WMD intel was wrong, mind you, but that it was simply fabricated to justify an unjust invasion? Will they sympathize with the Iraqi generals who spent most of their days brutalizing the Iraqi population? Will they be happy cheering for the death of American soldiers at the hand of the Republican Guard?
I'm honestly not sure. We shall see.
So, someone has created a remix of the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" video using clips from Battlestar Galactica, the Sci-Fi Channel TV series. It's here. Give it a view. It's quite good. But, ultimately, what's the point?
Leaving aside the questions of copyright and the rest: Seriously…what's the point? Does this add anything to the culture? I won't dispute that there's some technical prowess in creating this mashup. But so what? What does it add to our understanding of the world, or our grasp of the problems that surround us? Anything? Nothing? Is it just "there" for us to have a chuckle with and move on? Is this the future of our entertainment?
And what if someone makes a second-level remix? What if, instead of using BSG clips, someone shoots they and their hipster friends running around Brooklyn or San Fran in an identical manner, then synching those clips they shot with "Sabotage"? Will that make it more original? Give us an even deeper understanding of what it means to be a hipster completely devoid of originality in today's society? Will that make it more worthwhile?
These are honest questions. I'm honestly trying to understand what creativity is in an era when the creative class feels free to rip off everything that came before it and pass off previous generations' creativity as their own. If someone can explain it to me, I'd be happy to listen.
A recent post over at the Fan House asked if the Davis Cup — tennis's annual tournament that stretches on for nine months out of the year and pits teams of players grouped by nations against each other — is in trouble:
The reasons [the top players in the world] gave [for not playing] were injury, poor schedule-fit, fast-approaching old age, a need to focus on individual needs. Here's the truth:
This was a boycott. The International Tennis Federation, which oversees the Davis Cup, is in a feud with the top players, and it's not going to end well for the ITF.
The Davis Cup doesn't fit anymore. The players have a hard enough time balancing the stress on their bodies with the unrelenting modern-day demands of the tour. To add four weeks of Davis Cup on varying surfaces in all parts of the world at the worst possible times throughout the year?
I don't disagree that some changes need to be made to the Davis Cup — cut down on the number of rounds, perhaps; condense the tournament into a more tightly wrapped season — but it's a shame that the Davis Cup has fallen in honor so much in recent years. It's one of the most entertaining events in sport, the only time tennis fans really let loose and turn the sport into a raucous event. The format is its greatest strength: Every match takes place on the home turf of one of the nations involved. The solution the columnist offers — a world cup played at a host country — would eliminate the chief appeal of Davis Cup play. It'd be a shame to see the tournament continue to suffer due to player disinterest, but it'd be an even bigger shame of the International Tennis Federation to do serious damage to the format by styling a future tournament on soccer's World Cup.
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- Open Wikis and the Protection of Institutional Welfare
February 7, 2012
Much has been written about wikis' reliability and use in the classroom. This research bulletin addresses the negative impacts on institutional welfare that can arise from participating in a…
- New ELI 7 Things... Explores WordPress
September 9, 2011
WordPress is an open-source web application that is fundamentally a tool for publishing content, and a broad array of colleges and universities have made use of WordPress and encouraged …
- 7 Things You Should Know About WordPress
September 2, 2011
WordPress is an open-source web application that is fundamentally a tool for publishing content , and a broad array of colleges and universities have made use of WordPress and encouraged its …
- Wikify Your Course: Designing and Implementing a Wiki for Your Learning Environment
September 22, 2010
Key Takeaways Wikis help engage students in their learning while providing social interaction with their peers in the learning process. A wiki assignment should enable students to work …
- 7 Things You Should Know About Privacy in Web 2.0 Learning Environments
September 7, 2010
New media, social networking, collaboration sites, image and video-sharing sites, wikis, and blogs offer tremendous teaching and learning opportunities to educators and students, but their use ra…
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June 2, 2010
A session at the EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional Conference 2010
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May 18, 2010
This ECAR research bulletin discusses the use of student-developed social contracts to support a vital online community of inquiry. In blended classes—which combine co-present and web-mediated…
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January 19, 2010
A session at the ELI Annual Meeting 2010
In this case study, the instructor, the undergraduate teaching assistant, and a library administrator will assess how new media and Web 2.0 technologies transform project-based learning within a un…
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December 22, 2009
By Nathalie Ettzevoglou and Jessica McBride Writing effectively is academically and professionally crucial for students, and helping them attain that skill is a major goal for writing i…
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October 5, 2009
Collaborative annotation tools expand the concept of social bookmarking by allowing users not only to share bookmarks but also to digitally annotate web pages. Rather than simply pointing to part…


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The Fear on Demand horror podcast is devoted to short tales of terror and suspense fiction in audio form. The horror form works very well with brief, intense tales that deliver a chilling impact. The goal here is provide just that kind of tale, penned by some of the best authors working in the horror genre. We hope you will discover writers you enjoy here and seek out their books, stories and other works of fiction. All tales are intended for mature audiences and listener discretion is advised. Download this horror podcast via the links at right.
Welcome to Fear on Demand Horror Podcast
Posted in Uncategorized on January 28, 2009 by fearondemandFear on Demand Episode 11 – In The Land of the Blind The Man With One Eye Has No Depth perception by K.R. Helms plus scream queen Jacqui Holland
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast with tags flash fiction, horror, movies on December 8, 2013 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 11 of Fear on Demand. This episode features a flash of fear from K.R. Helms from the collect The Postmortem Scrapbook.
Kevin Wright woke up scratching fleas from under his thick leather collar. He was chained to a stone boulder engraved with his name and a couple of dates that didn't seem to matter a whole lot. The last thing he could remember was that self-righteous lunatic Mike Dunlap going Ruby Ridge inside the factory he used to manage…
In this episode, we also have an interview with Jacqui Holland, who's been seen on How I Met Your Mother and Desperate Housewives as well as a host of horror films. She's formed her own production company. Hear about their upcoming slate of films plus her horror acting experiences and her love for The Omen.
Fear on Demand Episode 10 – Walk of Shame by Avery Debow plus House of Bad Interview
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast with tags flash fiction, horror, movies on November 8, 2013 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 10 of Fear on Demand. This episode features a brief Flash of Fear story from Avery Debow, author of the novel Resonance.
Read by Julie Holverson of 19 Nocturne Boulevard.
Liz eased onto her feet. The sheet, which had wound its way around her foot sometime during the long night's thrashings, trailed her like a train. She shook it off with impatience, more mindful of her body's nagging soreness than the ridiculous irony of the image.
He had left before she had awoken. The room was a shambles, his belongings scattered across the floor as if abandoned in hasty disgust…
In this episode, we also have an interview with Jim Towns, co-writer and director of the new film House of Bad. Hear about his love of Universal monster and learn more about the film that blends crime and supernatural horror.
Fear on Demand Episode 9 – The Color of My Wounds By Martel Sardina
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast on February 2, 2010 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 9 of the Fear on Demand Horror Podcast Featuring a short story by Martel Sardina.
Read by David Byrd, That Blue Jeans Guy.
Everyone keeps telling me that I need closure where Laura Burke is concerned. Skeletons aren't meant to be kept in the closet forever. It's been twenty years since high school.
Twenty years since she broke my heart.
I just about went crazy when I heard that she married someone else not two years later.
I should be over her by now.
Fear on Demand Episode 8 – Cambion by Brett Williams
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast on July 26, 2009 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 8 of the Fear on Demand Horror Podcast Featuring a short story by Brett Williams
Our marriage troubled, a rift had formed between my husband and me for no other reason than an inability to conceive a child. I loved him and wanted no other man. I also wanted a child, a family. But our physician had informed us that our prospects were hopeless.
With several years invested in the marriage and a couple more into the relationship I felt guilty for considering a dissolution of marriage so that I might have the family that I'd always wanted. See, David's exceptionally low sperm count was the reason for our failed attempts to conceive.
Then, one night while lying awake, staring at the ceiling, a winged creature—a demon of some type with large bat-like wings and muscular body—appeared, frightening me. It seemed surreal. A streetlight cast illumination through the bedroom window, lighting his right side. Was I really awake? Could this be a dream? Before I could cry out or wake David, the creature spoke.
"I can give you the child you desire."
Fear on Demand Episode 7 – Good Kids by Sidney Williams
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast on June 13, 2009 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 7 of the Fear on Demand Horror Podcast Featuring a short story by Sidney Williams.
Read by Zachary Brewster Geisz
You probably heard that we acted out of fear, and it's true. That was part of it. We were scared of Rudy Wayne Roberts. There was never any way to predict what he might do, not when he was in one of his moods, and those could hit without warning.
Read the story in Scars and Candy.
Fear on Demand Episode 6 — Ashes to Ashes by Amy Grech
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast on May 16, 2009 by fearondemand
Welcome to Episode 6, a Flash of Fear episode of the Fear on Demand Horror Podcast featuring flash fiction by Amy Grech.
Read by Eleiece Krawiec
Jack had been dead for less than a year when his widow spotted something gray in a corner of the cellar that resembled a heap of dust, but throbbed like the heart of a dying man.
A sudden heart attack claimed him nine short months ago…
She had his body cremated.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Sara passed the heap of dust whenever she brought her filthy clothes over to the washing machine. She couldn't avoid it. The first time the heap moved, Sara bit her lip and shrugged it off, along with a sudden chill that crept through the open cellar door…
Fear on Demand Episode 5 – Dark Eyes by Pamela K. Kinney
Posted in fear-on-demand-podcast on May 1, 2009 by fearondemandWelcome to Episode 5 of Fear on Demand featuring a short story by Pamela K. Kinney
Read by Sonia Perozi
Obsidian Bay. A perfect name for a place where someone could live whose life had been dark and full of pain. I had moved to this village to make a new life for myself. A year ago I discovered my husband having an affair with a co-worker. My world had shrunk, filling with betrayal and pain, and I'd divorced him. Having won our home in the divorce settlement I hid there, avoiding friends and family. During that year I became a new person, one who found she could paint and bring to life on canvas the interesting faces of people and landscapes. The pain, in short, brought forth a latent talent.


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Book Description:Katsura, a second year in his high school's archery club, has a hard time controlling his nerves. His "secret weapon" is his brother's best friend and childhood buddy, Sou! One hug from Sou, and Katsura's nerves are soothed to a peaceful calm. But he can't keep Sou around him forever. As he wonders how he'll survive without Sou's hugs, his friend Kouichi suddenly asks if he can be the one to save him, and kisses him!
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May 16--FLORENCE, S.C. -- One could almost say that professor Brandon Goff of Francis Marion University just moonlights as a teacher because that's such a small part of what defines him.
The 39-year-old Goff, who teaches music, specifically in the music industry discipline at FMU, is a multi-faceted musical man: an award winning composer, a touring musician and a producer. He is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions. His music -- you might have heard some of it -- is performed all over the United States and Europe.
Later this month he'll be traveling to Europe, with his band Willy Pete, playing for the United Service Organizations (USO) to support the troops overseas. Goff has played lead guitar and sung vocals with the Orlando, Fla.-based rock 'n' roll band for the past three years. All the band members are, like Goff, engaged in other activities in different parts of the country. Fortunately they are also seasoned professional musicians who can practice their set list individually then put it all together two days before each tour. The tours become crash courses in new music, but also something of a reunion.
"Road trips" are nothing new for Goff. Once a month, he goes to Nashville, Tenn., his old stomping grounds, to produce records. In Florence, he recently debuted two original compositions in two weeks with Florence music groups, the Florence Symphony and the FMU Concert Band.
The composing, producing, performing and teaching often overlap, creating a maelstrom of activity that have led some friends to describe him as "frantic."
Goff said he wouldn't have it any other way.
"I have a lot of things going on," he said. "I like it that way. It keeps me going."
Goff's various vocations blend well and make perfect sense, but he said people are still surprised to discover that he is both a professor and a producer. It has something to do with the fact that he produces country music, which many assume isn't something taught, or revered, in academia.
"People say, 'What do you mean you produce country music, I thought you were a professor?' and vice-versa," said Goff. "They are such different worlds, but they blend with me and that's why I love them."
On his trips to Nashville, Goff works with new ensembles for record labels producing records. The ensemble could be a pop, country or classical group depending on the week. While all that is going on, he composes music for groups in Florence and preps for, and teaches, his FMU classes.
GED & Ph.D
If any of that seems like an odd mix, this really is: Goff is a college professor without a high school degree. That wasn't the plan, but ... life happens sometimes. At 17, Goff became a single father and decided to drop out of high school to make ends meet. He got a job working in a factory. Eventually he got his GED and, with support from his father, went to college. Now he holds a bachelor's of music and a masters in music at Arkansas State University as well as a doctorate from the University of Memphis.
A little more than a year ago he took the teaching job at FMU. There were other jobs to consider, but he was thoroughly impressed by the support shown to faculty at FMU.
At FMU, Goff leads the Music Industry (MI) Express ensemble class, and teaches songwriting and musical production. The ensemble class is a Grammy-style music gala group that puts on large-scale shows with elaborate staging and performances of popular music. It teaches students how to run live sound, lighting and how to organize large shows. The FMU Concert Band recently performed his original composition, "Full On Rumble, Concerto for Electric Guitar and Concert Band," in the FMU Performing Arts Center.
Thanks, dad
Music was a passion for him from a young age. "I think I get it from my father. He was really passionate, terrible musician, but passionate," Goff said with a smile. "He taught me how to play guitar, which is funny because he could only play three Willie Nelson songs."
While in Memphis, Tenn., he performed as a session musician to earn money while in school. The birthplace of blues is, said Goff, "a big musical hub and the epicenter of songwriting and publishing." Time spent there allowed Goff to make a number contacts in the music industry.
"It's what led to my career in music," said Goff. "Once people know your name, that's 90 percent of the battle. Timing is everything."
After school Goff toured the U.S. and Europe. While playing with a band there a couple decades ago, Goff acquired his connections with the USO, which he is now using to land the upcoming tour. Even in Goff's busy life, playing for the USO in Europe stands out.
"It's a unique experience," Goff said. "You're bringing a piece of home to the soldiers overseas or bringing pop culture to foreign citizens."
One of the highlights of the tour is a visit to Landstuhl, Germany and the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Trauma Unit, the largest military hospital outside of the U.S. With acoustic instruments in hand, the band plays live music in the halls -- and in soldier's rooms.
"Some of those guys have been hurt really badly. Getting to talk to them is much more rewarding for us than them," Goff said. "It's a humbling experience and helps us keep life in perspective."
(c)2013 the Florence Morning News (Florence, S.C.)
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findinghecate's Top Voters
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focalintent's favorite photo set: First Sitting with velocity
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findinghecate is loving life in nyc
Hi I like taking pictures :)
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Hey you! I invite you to come check out my newest set Dangerous Curves Ahead. It's in the But Sir contest and a really cool homage to my ass! lol
10 votes gets all bonus photos.
20 gets bonus photos from 3 sets of your choice!
Don't miss out ;)
I am from Boston would love to work with you.
Gorgeous work! Where did you reside before NYC? :)
Hey there! Thanks for your friendship :)
thank you for the accept..lovely name ( i adore mythology) and incredible work!
great work! let me know if you'd like to collaborate <3
I'm from Upstate NY as well :) Where are you at. We should shoot!
2 new surprise sets...oh my!! If ya have a second, I'd love for you to come by and check them out :)
thank you so much for the love on my self portrait! i'm glad you enjoy! <33
I hope you're ready!!! My long awaited second set will be published on October 10th :) YAY!!
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thank YOU for accepting :) i have fallen deeply in love with byour photo sets :*
My first set just went up!! Come by :)
hi thanks for accepting my FR :-) you have great pics!
Hey there!! My first set goes up on August 1st! Be sure to stop by and check it out :)
Hey lady! Your pictures are awesome!
Thanks for the add!! Stay tuned for my upcoming set :)
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Corporate Stock Solutions
General Online Auctions ending THURS 12 JAN from 8pm *** Pallet Stock Clearance Sale - Quinton Hazell Car Parts & Motor Spares ** Porcelain Floor Tiles & Ceramic Wall Tiles ** Trade Electrical, Light Bulbs, EPOS Equipment & Much More
- Start:
- 10/01/2012 20:00:00
- End:
- 12/01/2012 23:59:00
- Auction Status:
- Completed
Auction Summary
Lot Description
You are bidding for one (1) amplifier unit by TOA (model A-512E) from the 500 series.
General Info About The 500 Series:
- Versatile Mixer/Amplifier for a variety of applications.
- 30, 60 or 120 Watts RMS Output Power.
- Inputs 1 and 2: Low Impedance Mic Inputs with XLR-F connectors and switchable phantom - power.
- Input 3: Phono (turntable) or Mic (switchable)
- Input 4: Aux1 or Mic (switchable)
- Input 5: Aux2
- Input 6: Aux3
- Optional Expansion Module, model U-51 converts Inputs 3 and 4 to Lo-Z Mic Inputs with XLR connectors.
- Mute Function allows priority over-ride of Inputs 3-5 with adjustable mute depth.
- Remote Mic Volume controlled with an external 10k ohm linear-taper potentiometer.
- 25 V, 70 V and 4 ohm Speaker Outputs with screw terminal connector and protective cover plate.
- Protection Circuitry prevents potential damage from overload, short-circuit, DC offset or overheating.
- Front Panel Features:
- Individual Channel and Master Volume Controls.
- Bass/Treble Tone Controls.
- Rear Panel Features:
- Pre-amp. Out / Power Amp. In Insert Jacks for connecting external signal processors.
- Booster Output and Tape Output for connecting external mixer, amplifier or recording device.
- Unswitched AC Outlet.
- +24V DC Input for connection to external power source.
- Optional Rack-Mount Kit, model MB-21B2 (2 RU).
- UL / CSA Listed.
(Note: this info is for guidance purposes only and some details may not apply to the item in this lot.)
Read more about this item here (PDF document)…
This is a used item. While we have not tested this item, it comes direct from a working environment (former T J Hughes store). There may be some cosmetic marks and scuffs to the outside of the item, consistent with normally everyday usage and subsequent storage.
Collection & Delivery Options
Stockport, SK4
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What is the Farm Bill?
The "Farm Bill," as the omnibus package of federal farm and food legislation has come to be known, represents billions of dollars in government expenditures that set the farm, food, and rural policy goals and priorities for the United States. Congress passed the most recent version of the this bill, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (H.R. 2419), on May 22, 2008, authorizing $289 billion over the next five years.
Despite its nickname, the "farm" bill is really a "food" and "conservation" bill too. In the simplest terms, the farm bill has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. This in turn affects the environment, local economies, and public health. These are some pretty good reasons to become involved in advocating for a farm bill that supports health and sustainability!
Farm Bill Basics
1. What does the farm bill cover?
2. How much does the farm bill cost?
3.How is the funding distributed?
4. Who in Congress writes the farm bill?
5. How does the farm bill drafting process work?
1. What does the farm bill cover?
The following are the titles (or chapters) of the 2008 Farm Bill:
The order and total number of farm bill titles vary from bill to bill. For more information, read our Grassroots Guide to the 2008 Farm Bill (pdf).
2. How much does the farm bill cost?
The most recent farm bill – the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act (H.R. 2419), passed on May 22, 2008, authorized $289 billion in spending over five years.
3. How is the funding distributed?
4. Who in Congress writes the farm bill?
Members of Congress who sit on the Senate and House Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hold the primary responsibility of drafting farm bills.
United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry:
- Debbie Stabenow (MI), Chairwoman
- Patrick Leahy (VT)
- Tom Harkin (IA)
- Kent Conrad (ND)
- Max Baucus (MT)
- Sherrod Brown (OH)
- Amy Klobuchar (MN)
- Michael Bennet (CO)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
- Joe Donnelly (IN)
- Heidi Heitkamp (ND)
- Robert Casey, Jr. (PA)
- Thad Cochran (MS), Ranking Member
- Mitch McConnell (KY)
- Pat Roberts (KS)
- Saxby Chambliss (GA)
- John Boozman (AR)
- John Hoeven (ND)
- Mike Johanns (NE)
- Charles Grassley (IA)
- John Thune (SD)
House Committee on Agriculture:
- Frank Lucas (OK), Chairman
- Bob Goodlatte (VA), Vice Chairman
- Steve King (IA)
- Randy Neugebauer (TX)
- Mike Rogers (AL)
- K. Michael Conaway (TX)
- Glenn Thompson (PA)
- Bob Gibbs (OH)
- Austin Scott (GA)
- Scott Tipton (CO)
- Eric Crawford (AR)
- Martha Roby (AL)
- Scott DesJarlais (TN)
- Christopher Gibson (NY)
- Vicky Hartzler (MO)
- Reid Ribble (WI)
- Kristi Noem (SD)
- Dan Benishek (MI)
- Jeff Denham (CA)
- Stephen Fincher (TN)
- Doug LaMalfa (CA)
- Richard Hudson (NC)
- Rodney Davis (IL)
- Chris Collins (NY)
- Ted Yoho (FL)
- Collin Peterson (MN), Ranking Member
- Mike McIntyre (NC)
- David Scott (GA)
- Jim Costa (CA)
- Timothy Walz (MN)
- Kurt Schrader (OR)
- Marcia Fudge (OH)
- James McGovern (MA)
- Susan DelBene (WA)
- Gloria Negrete McLeod (CA)
- Filemon Vela (TX)
- Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM)
- Ann Kuster (NH)
- Richard Nolan (MN)
- Pete Gallego (TX)
- William Enyart (IL)
- Juan Vargas (CA)
- Cheri Bustos (IL)
- Sean Patrick Maloney (NY)
- Joe Courtney (CT)
- John Garamendi (CA)
5. How does the farm bill drafting process work?
For more information on the steps of the farm bill process, find out how a bill becomes a law.


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Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of weekly blog posts exploring the 10th anniversary of September 11. Learn about the museum's commemoration plans.
A unique forum took place last night at the National Building Museum. "The Public Memory of September 11" offered engaging and often riveting presentations on designing and building the three major memorials to the people who died in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., in the tragic attacks on September 11, 2001. The panel for the forum included Alice Greenwald, Executive Vice President for Programs at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum; Jeff Reinbold, Site Manager for the Flight 93 National Memorial; and Jim Laychak, President of the Pentagon Memorial Fund. As the 10th anniversary of that dramatic day approaches, I thought it was important to bring together, for the first time, the people who have provided leadership in creating these memorials. They more than fulfilled my expectations.
Construction image of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Photo by Joel Woolhead.
Unlike other anniversaries in American history we are observing this year (the Civil War, for example), we are not nostalgic about September 11. Yet, even before the dust had settled and the grim task of investigating the events of that day had been completed, there was a public consensus that we should memorialize the people who died on that day. That consensus was fragile, however, and a vigorous public debate followed that continues today. A wide range of questions emerged during the planning and building of these memorials:
Landscape of the Flight 93 National Memorial. Photo by Chuck Wagner.
The answers to these questions and many others reveal much about our own times—our aesthetics, our politics, and our language. The process of building memorials to September 11 also forces us to consider the role of religion and spirituality. In creating memorials to the victims of the September 11 attacks, we are engaged in what sociologist Janet Jacobs describes as a process of transforming sites of violence and death into sacred ground. In a secular society that prides itself on tolerance and diversity, this is a profound challenge, made even more difficult when we are continuously reminded—on September 11, 2001 and this past week in Norway, for example—of the violence and death that takes place in the name of religion.
At the conclusion of the forum, Alice Greenwald made a distinction between a memorial and a museum. While the memorial will honor the dead, the museum must tell a story about what happened and why. As a historian, I am intrigued by the "why" question. Why did this happen? Why did all these people die? These questions arise at critical moments in our history. At Gettysburg, Abraham Lincoln transformed the meaning of the Civil War from a conflict to preserve the Union to one that would fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence and that the carnage of war would bring about "a new birth of freedom."
The Pentagon Memorial. Courtesy of the Pentagon Memorial.
Less famously but equally profound was the conversation I witnessed between a father and his young son near Ground Zero at the New York Fire Department Memorial at the firehouse of Engine Company 10, Ladder Company 10. The memorial is a large bronze bas relief mural that honors the 343 firefighters who died on September 11. It graphically illustrates the scene as they rush into the burning towers of the World Trade Center. The little boy asked his father to explain what was happening in the scene, and the father tried to recreate the horrific events of that day. The boy was patient but persistent.
"Why are the buildings on fire?"
"Because some men flew planes into them."
"Why did they do that?"
"Because they were very angry."
"Why were they so angry?"
I could sense the father's growing frustration at this point, but I could not hear his response. Or if he responded at all.
We all share that frustration of trying to make sense of history, explaining the causes of events that often defy explanation. And we must try to understand not only the causes but the consequences of major turning points in our history. Certainly, September 11, 2001 is one of those turning points.
Remembering September 11 and honoring those who died is vitally important. It is equally important that we try to understand the meaning of that day and how it continues to shape our lives and our times.
Brent D. Glass is the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the National Museum of American History.
It is good to be back at the National Museum of American History after a ten-day visit to Shanghai, China. The main reason for my trip was to attend the triennial conference of the International Commission on Museums (ICOM), a diplomatic forum made up of museum professionals from 137 countries and territories. I was there to represent the museum in the intercultural dialogue taking place, and to further our understanding of America's role in international museums. However, I did leave time to explore this extraordinary city that has had such spectacular growth over the past twenty years. I had a chance to see and experience many of the landmark projects associated with this growth, including the World Expo Centre that attracted more than seventy million visitors (mostly Chinese) in five months, the Mag-Lev train that reaches a top speed of nearly 260 miles per hour, a new twelve-line subway system that serves more than 3.5 million riders each day, and the world's tallest observation deck at the top of the Jin Mao Tower in the financial center.
So much for superlatives—I was also there for the history. In spite of the relentless commitment to rebuild the city, some impressive remnants of 19th and early 20th century architecture remain, especially in the Bund district along the Huangpu River. I also had a chance to venture out of the city on two day trips to Suzhou, where I.M. Pei has designed a beautiful museum for art and antiquities, and to Hangzhou, a city with extraordinary sculptures of Buddha and one of world's largest Buddhist temples. I was impressed with the strong presence of history, traditional culture, and religion in spite of the efforts to modernize. Like China, our nation has and will continue to search for a balance between looking to the future and preserving the past.
Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai, China. Image from Flickr user Wolfgang Staudt.
One of the museums I visited in Shanghai was the Science and Technology Museum, which features a natural history exhibition sponsored by our own donor and good friend Ken Behring. At a museum reception, Ken introduced me to Mark Johnson, who teaches an advanced placement class in American history at the Concordia International School in Shanghai, and whose students participated in last year's National History Day program. Mark invited my wife, Cathryn, and me to meet his class, and asked me to talk about the National Museum of American History. The students were amazing, very engaged in the study of American history and the use of primary sources in their research. They had lots of questions about the museum and my work as director.
Brent Glass and his wife Cathryn with Mark Johnson and his students at Concordia International School in Shanghai, China.
After meeting Mark's class, we joined him as he led a tour of the city for teachers from international schools in East Asia. We saw several historic sites associated with major events such as the Opium Wars, the influence of western powers in the 1920s and 1930s, and the rise of Communism after World War II. We concluded our tour in the Jewish ghetto where more than twenty thousand Holocaust refugees settled after escaping from Germany and Austria. The refugees made it to Shanghai with the help of a courageous Chinese diplomat stationed in Vienna. The story of how they survived during and after WWII is told in a small but powerful exhibition in a former synagogue that now serves as a memorial and a museum. One of those refugees was Michael Blumenthal, whose family left Germany in 1939 and resettled in the United States after the war. In 1977, he was named Secretary of the Treasury by President Carter.
The story of these refugees and the story of the millions of Chinese who have endured a traumatic history—invasions, civil war, famine, and revolution—is inspiring. To see such a booming, lively, and culturally rich region that has grown in the face of these challenges reminded me of the resilience of the human spirit against overwhelming odds. At this holiday season, that is an important lesson to remember.
Brent Glass is Director of the National Museum of American History.
Editor's Note: Do you teach American history/culture abroad? What are some the unique opportunities and challenges of teaching American history in another country?
Editor's note: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the student sit-ins at the Greensboro, N.C. lunch counter. To commemorate this event, the Museum is exploring "Stories of Freedom and Justice" throughout 2010. This post from Director Brent D. Glass is the first in a series that will investigate the history of liberty, equality, and justice in America.
Director Brent D. Glass (center).
Earlier this week—January 18—while Americans observed the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I stood in the Oval Office as President Obama proudly displayed a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln. The President spoke to a small group of civil rights veterans and their families and reminded us that Lincoln did not abolish slavery in 1863 but he did declare all slaves in rebellious states would be free. The Emancipation Proclamation, the President said, was a significant step but not the final step toward freedom. For this group of mostly elderly citizens who changed America in the 1950s and 1960s, the President's message was clear—social progress does not happen with the stroke of a pen.
Xavier Carnegie, the actor who plays the fictional civil rights activist Samuel P. Leonard in the "Join the Student Sit-ins" program.
My thoughts at that moment turned to the programs underway at the National Museum of American History where we have launched a new initiative called "Stories of Freedom and Justice." Last weekend an inspiring Martin Luther King, Jr. family festival included musical performances and a symposium featuring two members of the Little Rock Nine, who provided a gripping personal account of their courageous journey to integrate their high school in 1957.The festival also included our popular theatrical performance, "Join the Student Sit-ins" in which we offer visitors the experience of non-violent protest. More than 40,000 people visited the Museum during the MLK weekend and the melody of "We Shall Overcome" echoed throughout the building.
Next month, we will honor the legacy of the Greensboro Four, the college freshmen who staged the sit-in at the Woolworth's lunch counter on February 1, 1960 and became part of a national protest movement that that eventually led to the desegregation of public facilities throughout the South. On February 3 Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough will present these civil rights pioneers with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal. We will also host a town hall meeting with high school students to discuss the meaning and significance of the Greensboro sit-in. These programs will continue through the end of July when we will mark the moment that the Woolworth's sit-in finally ended with an agreement to serve blacks and whites at the lunch counter.
The lunch counter on display as one of the Museum's landmark objects has always held a special meaning for me for two reasons. First, it represents the determination of a generation of Americans—black and white, young and old—who understood that racial segregation was wrong and that they needed to do something to end it. Step by step, as President Obama pointed out in the Oval Office this week, ordinary people accomplished extraordinary deeds. Second, the lunch counter display in the Museum represents our commitment to tell the story of what it means to be an American, a story that involves overcoming barriers to achieve the American Dream of freedom and opportunity.
Brent D. Glass is Director of the National Museum of American History.
As soon as more than sixty Iraqi public officials sat down in our auditorium, I knew I was facing a tough audience. These men and one woman (with a few female officials and interpreters) have been through a very tumultuous period marked by dictatorship, invasion, civil war, suicide bombings, and the rigors of electoral politics. I had twenty minutes to discuss a serious and complex topic—how can a national history museum create a greater understanding of national identity? In my prepared remarks, I observed that a national museum must maintain a delicate balance between celebration and criticism. We try to present a consensus view of history while recognizing the conflicts and divisions that mark our past. I concluded that sustaining the trust and loyalty of museum visitors required the museum to tell the whole story, even those unpleasant chapters of our history.
October 19, 2009 in Flag Hall.
After I showed them some images of the museum's treasured collections—Jefferson's writing table, Greenough's statue of George Washington, the Woolworth's lunch counter, Dorothy's ruby slipper, and an 8th century dinar from Iraq—I invited our guests to tour the Star-Spangled Banner gallery and the exhibition on the life of Abraham Lincoln. They spent over an hour on these tours and were clearly engaged in the topics of patriotic symbols, civil war, political assassination, and national reconciliation.
Explaining the significance and popularity of the ruby slippers, however, was more challenging. A few members of the group were familiar with the classic American fairy tale and the pivotal role the slippers play in bringing Dorothy home to Kansas. But for most of this delegation, this story held little interest or meaning. They paid more attention to the cleanliness of the museum and the hospitality of the staff. And they remained engaged in some big questions—can a divided nation find unity in its shared heritage? Can history be a resource to understand our own times? My hope was that their brief visit to the National Museum of American History offered some potential answers.
Brent D. Glass is Director of the National Museum of American History.


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New User!
As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!
By: Donna Gephart , Don YaegereBook Publisher: Random House
Imprint: Random House Children's Books
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As if being 12 3/4 isn't bad enough, Vanessa Rothrock's mother is running for president and it's ruining her life. Isn't it enough that her enormous feet trip her up all the time, even on stage during the school spelling bee? Isn't it enough that Reginald Trumball, love of Vanessa's pathetic life, read her personal and private list of deficiencies to some boy she doesn't even know? And that the Boob Fairy hasn't visited her even once?! Doesn't Mom realize that Vanessa needs her more than the rest of the country? More importantly, doesn't she realize that she may be in grave danger? Vanessa's receiving threatening notes at school–notes that imply some psycho has it out for her mother at the Democratic National Convention. Vanessa might be the only person who can save her. But does she have the courage to do what that requires?
From the Hardcover edition.
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Title of eBook: As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President! | |
Release Date: 02-12-2008 | |
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Parent title | As If Being 12 3/4... |
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As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother Is Running for President!
I, Vanessa Rothrock, am sweating like a pig--do pigs sweat?--and wishing I could smell my pits, but the whole audience is looking at me. I pump my left leg up and down like crazy and hear Mom's voice in my head: Don't fidget, Vanessa; it's unbecoming. Still yourself. Still yourself? Easy for her to say. She's all poise and grace, forever saying and doing the perfect thing. Maybe I'm not really Mom's daughter. Maybe I was adopted, or switched at birth. But when I think of Mom's enormous feet, I know I'm all hers. I rest my hand on my leg to stop fidgeting and crane my neck. Is Mom even--?
"Vanessa Rothrock, please come up."
I gasp and choke on my own saliva. Then I stand and grab the back of my chair. Unfortunately, I do not die of asphyxiation (Asphyxiation. A-S-P-H-Y-X-I-A-T-I-O-N. Asphyxiation.) and I maneuver around students' feet and chair legs. The microphone is in sight. I'm sighing with relief at having passed through the minefield of legs without tripping when my gigantic feet tangle in the principal's microphone cord.
I lurch forward, grab for the podium, and end up with a handful of papers before crashing to the stage. I say something charming, like "Ooomph!" The audience lets out a...


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Super Slow Motion Bullet Impacts Anyone against guns hasn't watched a 10 minute video of bullets exploding in one million frames per second. 10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM
Slow Motion Sneezes With Swine Flu spreading all over the place its a good idea to cover your face when you sneeze. Check out this vid with super slow sneezing footage. Gross 4/28/2009 12:00:00 AM 60,954
Slow Motion Slap It looks like his nose breaks in half. Pretty cool to see in slow motion. 4/9/2008 12:00:00 AM 173,449