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This Friday is Good Friday and Earth Day so we should all be in a good frame of mind to do our part to improve the world. Next Friday, we can put it to good use and plant some trees in celebration of Arbor Day.
Surely we can top the first Arbor Day in 1872 when it was estimated that one million trees were planted in Nebraska alone.
It all started with a man named J. Sterling Morton, who set out for Nebraska Territory in 1854 with his wife to set up a new homestead.
The Taylorsville Elementary GREATS for March were Gabe Bowling, Wyatt Buchter, Juan Hernandez, Jasmine Patterson, Max Sulliva (not pictured) and Shyla Vankannel. The students showed exemplary behavior through the month of March.
The Spencer County Board of Education's next regularly scheduled meeting is April 28, 6:30 p.m., in the Spencer County Elementary School cafeteria. The meeting is open to the public.
The Spencer County Schools Preventive Substance Abuse Committee is meeting May 5 in the Spencer County Middle School Media Center at 4 p.m.
The Kentucky Partnering to Empower Students orgnaization is sponsoring a local "PEP" rally April 30 from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at Bullitt Central High School in Shepherdsville.
The rally is for any and all parents and students in the region and will include lunch, activities for adults and school-aged children, door prizes, resource booths and more.
For more information, call 1-800-251-4676 ext. 264.
"Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (2 Timothy 4:2-5).
Sometimes we make things so difficult. We take the simple and wrap it up in complicated explanations. We use big words where little ones will do. And as pastors, sometimes we'll throw in a little Greek or Hebrew just for fun!
This time of year we can see the simple truth of God's plan for us very clearly. It is simply written in the difference between Friday and Sunday. It is just a little difference that makes all the difference in the world.
Many of you were surprised when you went to your mailboxes and found today's edition of the Spencer Magnet. And, don't worry – you will not be receiving a bill for this edition – because this one is on us!
It is important to us to do whatever we can to see that everyone has access to today's issue because it not only contains our regular A and B sections, but it also has a C section that focuses on health, and it includes our annual Easter section.
First Baptist Church of Fisherville will present its Last Supper pageant at 7 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, April 21. There is no admission charge and childcare will be provided.
The drama will be in full costume with complete staging, lights and music. Each disciple will share his experience and relationship to Jesus. The portrayal of the Last Supper then follows. The disciples are all members of The First Baptist Church of Fisherville.
Copyright © 2016
The Spencer Magnet is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Spencer County, KY and the surrounding area.


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The Bold And The Beautiful Spoiler Video: Trying To Escape.
"A man who will stay with me forever."
Tom isn't eager to go back and Maya demands that Dayzee make things right.
Check out this sneak peek at Wednesday's episode and let Soap Opera Fan Blog know what you think.
Stay on top of the new season with our Dallas Recap: Battle Lines and episode two, Dallas Recap: Venomous Creatures.
Join us on Twitter @soapoperafan and Facebook.
Fun fact! Matthew Purvis wrote this story just for you on January 29th, 2013 |

subset: commoncrawl


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Excellence is often more easily recognized than measured. It is our desire at New Covenant to develop a Christian student who loves God with his heart – and his mind. Ultimately our success awaits the demonstration of a life lived for God in the context of one's vocation. Some things, however, are immediately measurable, such as test scores and student achievements. As such they are worth noting. While these are not the only standards by which we measure success, they are valid indicators of achievement.
New Covenant provides a college preparatory experience. Our purpose, however, is not merely to teach a student how to make a living, but also how to live.
Over the past decade, the average SAT score of New Covenant students has held steady at 1230-1250 (old scoring system). Many of our students sit for Advanced Placement Examinations (with an 89% school-wide pass rate), and have earned college credit in calculus, literature, and in composition and language. One hundred percent of New Covenant students have been accepted to college or the university or other institutions of higher education, earning more than $2,700,000 in academic and merit scholarships.
View SAT scores here
View National Merit Scholarships here
National Latin exam results here
National Greek exam results here
JETS – Jr. Engineering and Technical Society competition, 2011 here
Advanced Placement results


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You know that Robotech movie that you were thinking was going to suck so bad that you put it out of your mind? Well, hold off a little. Seems that Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, might be writing the script for Robotech, which changes the game entirely.
Now, this hasn't yet been confirmed, but it's coming from a number of sources, which means that it's likely the case. Also, Tobey Maguire's production company is developing the idea for Warner Bros., so we've got some heavy hitters going at this thing. Now, that doesn't mean it'll be good, but it means there's a better-than-average chance it'll get made.
CHUD.com: UPDATED: WOULD YOU LIKE SOME LAWRENCE KASDAN WITH YOUR ROBOTECH?


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Undergraduate Research in Critical and Creative Practices with K. Eamon
Fall 2015, Winter 2016 and Spring 2016 quarters
Taught by
This is an opportunity for students to work on faculty-driven scholarly and creative projects. By working with faculty in a studio and research "apprentice" model, students will gain hands-on experience in visual arts studio practices, film/media production practices, the creative writing workshop focused on craft, critical research and writing, library and archival research practices, and much more.
Kathleen Eamon (social and political philosophy, aesthetics, philosophy of art) has interests in German idealism (Kant and Hegel), historical materialism (Marx, 20 th C Marxists, and critical theory), and psychoanalysis (Freud and Lacan). She is currently working on an unorthodox project about Kant and Freud, under the working title "States of Partial Undress: the Fantasy of Sociability." Students working with Kathleen would have opportunities to join her in her inquiry, learn about and pursue research in the humanities, and critically respond to the project as it comes together. In addition to work in Kantian aesthetics and Freudian dream theory, the project will involve questions about futurity, individual wishes and fantasies, and the possibility of collective and progressive models of sociability and fantasy.
Program Details
Fields of Study
Preparatory for studies or careers in
Location and Schedule
Campus location
Offered during: Day


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"If you think you can do it, or you think you can't do it, You are right." ~ Henry Ford
I had a couple ideas of what to write next but they sounded as if I was making fun of myself and made me sound less than I was.
Sure, I did many things that I regret and definitely wouldn't have done while sober, but that wasn't the real me, it was me in a really bad altered state from crystal meth.
I have much more self-respect now which is something I never had much of before becoming sober and after being treated for bipolar disorder.
Then I realized, if I treat myself with respect, others will too. If I decide to make fun of myself in a destructive way, others will too.
Now that I think about it, that was part of the problem when I was using crystal meth. I was always poking fun of my mental state and made a joke out of everything before others did. I put myself down so much and I think others played off that weakness. I think my lack in confidence was inconsistent of many meth users because it seemed to give them more confidence.
"Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self esteem." ~ Kurt Cobain
When I am describing past experiences I try not to put myself down…. at least not any more. They are something real that I want to express and are a part of my journey. They are the events which led me to this place and I like the place I am in.
It's always changing, but it's always changing for the better. Before I gained self-respect things always seemed to get worse.
It's funny, I didn't realize much of this until I went to write it and couldn't. Even if no one ever reads this, I have learned something valuable.
Tags: Bipolar, confidence, crystal meth, Henry Ford quote, Kurt Cobain quote, love yourself, meth, self respect, self worth


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Impressive, giant edition of the luxurious Double candle holder designed by Mikaela Dörfel. The candle holder is 65 cm tall. It is designed for large candles with a diameter of 7 cm - and looks like an exclusive sculpture! Almost resembling a couple, alone on the dance floor, who does not notice that they attract everybody's attention... The large, mirror-like steel candle holder deserves a spacious, high-ceilinged room, where it will create a magical atmosphere when you lit the candles.
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If you haven't seen The Blind Side yet, you may not understand the importance of an offensive lineman.
The offensive line, most importantly the left tackle, protects the quarterback from being sacked and gives him more time to find a receiver to throw to. They also open holes for the running back to run through.
I've always said that the most important aspect of a football team is its offensive line. That position can make or break a team, or even a player's career.
A good offensive line can make a bad team look good, whereas a bad offensive line can make a good team look bad.
Many times we have seen a team with a bad record bring in a high-profile offensive lineman the next offseason and proceed to post a winning record (for example, the Dolphins bringing in tackle Jake Long after their 1-15 season in 2008).
If you notice in my posts, one of the most important parts of an offensive lineman is consistency.
Here are my top eight offensive linemen in the NFL.


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Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice - Public Administration
Liberty University Online's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Public Administration program prepares you for an effective career as a public servant in a growing field. Through Liberty's program, you will gain foundational knowledge and skills regarding the management and structure of the criminal justice system as it relates to controversial issues and the general public. Courses will strengthen your leadership and public management skills as you learn to develop responses and solutions to difficult situations, emphasizing the importance of applying ethics to practices and integrating faith with learning in a professional atmosphere.
Find out if you qualify for the Emergency Response Personnel discount.
What's your minor?
Explore your options to add a Minor by viewing the Bachelor's Degree Programs web page.
Quick Facts
Credit Hours
- 120 total hours
- 30 hours must be taken through Liberty
- 50% (24 hours) of major must be taken through Liberty
- 30 hours of upper-level course are a required part of the 120 total hours
Credit for life experience
- Law enforcement officials who have successfully completed an accredited police academy program may be eligible to earn credit hours toward their degree.
- Some forms of military experience may be eligible as college credit.
Potential Career Fields
- Policy Analysis and Implementation
- Community Services Coordinator
- Public Relations Manager
- Local Government
- Public Servant


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At Blacklick: Jaye Knabb aced the 133-yard No. 12 with a pitching wedge.
At Champions: Danny Helin aced the 150-yard No. 2 with a 9-iron..
At High Lands: Drexel Yokoyama aced the 154-yard No. 16 with an 8-iron.
At Mill Creek: Jerry Patterson aced the 147-yard No. 17 with a 6-iron.
At Royal American: Steve Gross aced the 140-yard No. 12 with a 7-iron.
At Thorn Apple: Gary Pierce aced the 175-yard No. 8 with a 5-iron.


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I have spent the past 11 days conducting experiments to ensure I choose the right materials and designs for the travois. Some of my experimental set-ups are quite big (See photo below)! I don't have my own lab, of course, so I took over my parents' garage. They have been very nice about keeping their cars outside for the duration of my experiments (which are not quite done).
I have been testing the strength and elasticity of the different materials I might use in the travois frame. This testing has taken a lot more time and gotten a lot more complex than I had expected. I also had not expected that the total load on the frame would be more than the amount of weight placed in the cargo area. Welcome to a lesson in horizontal forces! Now I understand how much strength it must take for gymnasts doing the Iron Cross. Wow!
I also have started testing the various 3M products that might go into the final design. My 3M Mentor, Dr. Patrick Hager, sent me a box filled with the 3M products I had requested -- resins, fiberglass cloth, various industrial tapes, and Dual Lock. 3M's Dual Lock has astounding properties, such as incredible shear strength.
In between the experiments and working with the 3M products, I have been using an online Computer Assisted Design program to design various options for the collapsible joints at the bottom vertices of the frame. I would prefer a fabricated steel joint like the one I drew in the CAD image below, but it would be too expensive. So I've figured out a different approach that still uses metal but would be much simpler and still create a strong, reliable vertex.
I am continuing to design elements of the travois as I try to locate the materials I need.
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text: I've got one extra del Potro racquet that I won't be needing. This is the Wilson BLX Pro Tour. Grip size is 4 3/8, and the racquet itself is like-new. It's seen about an hour of play-time, and the condition is 9/10. Bumper guards, grip, and frame are all in extremely good shape. And, if you'd like, I can leave the hybrid set of Luxilon/synthetic gut strings on. I purchased the racquet for $180 + tax (currently the going rate on Tennis Warehouse) but will part with it for $125. E-mail me for photos and/or more information. Thanks! email@example.com


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|North Carolina
|240 pounds
|Key Stats
|85 tackles, 18.5 TFL, 6.5 sacks in 2012 season
When NFL draft prospects share similar sizes, styles of play, levels of production and skill sets with established NFL players, it's impossible not to draw comparisons between them. These comparisons can be used to project how college stars will transition to the next level.
In this video, we compare Kevin Reddick to David Harris of the New York Jets.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report as we continue the Prospect Comparison Series, in which we compare the 2013 NFL draft's top 300 prospects to current and recently retired NFL players.


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ON THIS PAGE: You will find out more about the factors that increase the chance of developing this type of lymphoma. To see other pages, use the menu on the side of your screen.
A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of developing cancer. Although risk factors often influence the development of cancer, most do not directly cause cancer. Some people with several risk factors never develop cancer, while others with no known risk factors do. However, knowing your risk factors and talking about them with your doctor may help you make more informed lifestyle and health care choices.
The exact cause of Hodgkin lymphoma is not known, but the following factors may raise a person's risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma:
Age. People between the ages of 15 and 40 and people older than 55 are more likely to develop Hodgkin lymphoma.
Gender. In general, men are slightly more likely to develop Hodgkin lymphoma than women, although the nodular sclerosis subtype is more common for women.
Family history. Brothers and sisters of people with Hodgkin lymphoma have a higher chance of developing the disease, although the increase in risk is small.
Virus exposure. People who have been infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may be at increased risk for developing some types of Hodgkin lymphoma. EBV is the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis or "mono." About 20% to 25% of people with cHL in the United States and Western Europe have lymphoma cells that test positive for EBV. However, the role of EBV in the development of Hodgkin lymphoma is not yet clear. There are probably several other factors involved, as EBV is a very common infection, but Hodgkin lymphoma is very uncommon. People with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) also have a higher risk of developing Hodgkin lymphoma, particularly lymphocyte-depleted Hodgkin lymphoma (see the Overview section).
It is important to note that, although viruses may be involved in the development of Hodgkin lymphoma, there is no evidence that this type of cancer is contagious. Close contact with someone with Hodgkin lymphoma does not increase a person's risk of developing the disease.
The next section in this guide is Symptoms and Signs, and it explains what body changes or medical problems Hodgkin Lymphoma can cause. Or, use the menu on the side of your screen to choose another section to continue reading this guide.


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In addition to speaking with Eastern Christian Academy coach Dwayne Thomas, MdHigh publisher Dave Lomonico also chatted with ECA guard/center Khaliel Rodgers. The 6-foot-3, 330-pound four-star recr...
Meet Khaliel Rodgers
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I bought Uptown Local and Other Interventions by Diane Duane for two reasons. First, Diane Duane wrote my favorite Star Trek novel. No surprise, it's Spock's World, but I don't just love it because I love Spock. Telling the grand tale of Vulcan from it's formation as a planet to Kirk's time (as we think of it in the Federation terms) and interwoven with a complicated plot involving inter-planetary politics and, of course, involving the crew of the Enterprise is an impressive feat of writing. I'm not ashamed to say, multiple points in the book move me to tears.
So when John Scalzi put out a call to his blog readers to buy digital copies of her books from Ebooks Direct while she was dealing with the fallout from fraudulent activity on her bank account. Banks don't care if you need money to eat and stuff while they sort out the details and I was more than happy to trade a little cash for ebooks. Did I mention, I love my Kindle?
I got Uptown Local and a book by Diane's husband Peter Morwood which I haven't read yet.
First, I should say, I love short stories. A well written short story, especially in fantasy and science fiction, the world building and story telling in a small number of words creates a distilled flavor that packs a punch most full length novel can't match. Almost all the fantasy I've read has been in the form of short stories. Maybe that's because so many fantasy novels are super long and intimidate me. Short stories give me everything I need – dragons and magic and a connection to mythology – without reading for weeks.
One difficult thing about reviewing short story collections is not spoiling the stories. I loved this collection. Some of the stories are set in the universe of Diane's Young Wizard young adult novels. I want to pick those up based on the strength of these stories. Modern settings for magical stories dominate the collection. The couple revolving around food were very cool and connected to each other but not interdependent. The characters and settings are well developed, again, hard to do in smaller word counts. Establish mythology is played played with and even a famous (dead) writer is called into action to save his hometown.
What happened with Diane's bank account was terrible and I wouldn't wish such frustration on anyone, but I'm glad I tried one of her non-Trek books. I won't be waiting for such an event to pick up some more.
Great to connect with you here! (I'm a closet Trekkie, btw. Heh.)
Have a lovely day…
Anna Lefler recently posted..Frankenwhat?
"Closet" just means you haven't been to a convention, right? I hadn't either until a year ago.


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GRANVILLE, Ohio — Eva Revesz, a visiting assistant professor at Denison University, settled in to an evening of grading papers as she had so many evenings before.
The assignment was a short, getting-to-know-you, in-class paper. But it turned out to be one that neither she nor her student Samantha Seibel will ever forget.
It was the second day of the new academic year, and Revesz had asked her class of 20 or so freshmen to answer a few questions: What are your interests on campus? Why are you taking this class? How would you assess your writing ability?
She was teaching a first-year seminar course, a Denison requirement that offers a wide variety of topics intended to teach new students to listen, learn, research and write. The topic was " Genocide in the 20th Century."
Revesz skimmed through the first few papers and reached for another. "Hello," it said at the top. "My name is Sammy Seibel, and I am from a small town in northwestern Ohio called Defiance."
She couldn't yet put a face to the name. She continued reading.
"I chose this course because my grandfather Col. Richard Seibel fought in World War II and liberated Mauthausen concentration camp."
Revesz stopped. Life just halted, if only for a nanosecond. It couldn't be. She reread the line.
"I was like, 'Wow!' " she recalled last week. She had to call her father.
Andrew Reeves, who is nearly 90 years old and a retired professor, lives in Grosse Pointe, Mich., where he'd raised his family since the mid-1950s. His life, however, was shaped before his arrival on U.S. soil — in a Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria.
"Dad, you'll never believe this," Revesz said. She told him about her class and about this kid — Sammy, whoever she was — and her paper.
"My father's reaction was like, 'Very interesting. What do you know, what do you know?' ... I was more excited than he was. At this point in his life, he kind of stands above it. He's become very complacent. I was kind of disappointed."
But she'd grown accustomed to his behavior toward his days in the labor camps. He tells the stories of his liberation, mostly the good stories, Revesz said. Not so much about the starvation, the death marches, the lice so thick his clothes moved like an agitated ant hill; or the family he lost, including his favorite cousin, Ava, for whom he named his first daughter.
Reeves, who couldn't be reached for this story, is now "American through and through," his daughter said. He changed his name to Reeves to be more American. (She changed hers back to embrace her Hungarian ancestry. He thought she was silly.)
Two days later, the class met again. Which one was Sammy? Revesz began discussing the reading she'd assigned. She asked the class a question. A young woman raised her hand and identified herself, as requested. Sammy.
Revesz acknowledged Sammy's answer and then said, "Oh, and by the way. I have something to tell you."
"My initial reaction was, 'Uh-oh.' I thought, 'Did I do something wrong?' " Seibel said.
Her professor then explained that her father had been a prisoner — a survivor — at Mauthausen.
"It was exciting and dramatic and awkward, too," Seibel said. "All of a sudden, all the attention was on me. I didn't know what to do."
When she got home, she immediately contacted her dad. "I Skyped him. He was sitting on his bed with his laptop. I remember telling him, and his reaction was pretty much the same as mine. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. He was just like, 'No way!' "
Seibel's grandfather died when she was 4 years old. But she has heard the stories her whole life, read the articles, seen the video of her famous grandfather Col. Richard Seibel online.
"It's almost like he's alive, the stories are so vivid," she said. "And it was so exciting to tell my dad because he's so proud of his dad. It's just so interesting that, all these years later, I am still a witness to that legacy."
The coincidence that Seibel and Revesz would breach the miles and the decades to intersect on a college campus in a Licking County village "is just unthinkable," Seibel said. "I'm amazed by it all, and it's pretty cool."
"The world got much smaller," Revesz said.


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Back in the past, Mexico valley wasn't a valley but a lake. Now in Mexico valley
there's Mexico City and the streets, tall buildings, and everything that is normal
to find in a city. Of the ancient lake there is nothing or almost nothing, but what remains
is colorful and picturesque, is Xochimilco.
Xochimilco is famous worldwide thanks to its canals, has been the natural set of
countless Mexican movies and is a major tourist destination in the city. It is also a
place to go on weekends, entire families come up to eat local foods or buy plants
and flowers.
The emblematic image of Xochimilco are its trajineras. Large rafts decorated
with colorful bows (sometimes the bows are made of flowers) and with space
enough to carry a large family or a group of friends.
Xochimilco is one of the places in Mexico City where young people go when they
escape from the school. Because the students skip classes since the days of
Rabelais and still do it now and will do it forever. In Mexico, deliberately skip classes
to go wandering is called going "de pinta".
Xochimilco is one of the classic places for ditching school. Students going in
group, gather the money they bring, and with that money they buy beer and pay the
carriers. A party over water! Bye, teachers.


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Structured Query Language (SQL) is used to query, operate, and administer database systems such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or MySQL. The general use of SQL is consistent across all database systems that support it; however, there are intricacies that are particular to each system.
Database systems are commonly used to provide backend functionality to many types of web applications. In support of web applications, user-supplied data is often used to dynamically build SQL statements that interact directly with a database. A SQL injection attack is an attack that is aimed at subverting the original intent of the application by submitting attacker-supplied SQL statements directly to the backend database. Depending on the web application, and how it processes the attacker-supplied data prior to building a SQL statement, a successful SQL injection attack can have far-reaching implications. The possible security ramifications range from authentication bypass to information disclosure to enabling the distribution of malicious code to application users.
This white paper will describe SQL injection attacks, how they are performed, and precautions that should be taken inside applications or networks to reduce risks that are associated with SQL injection attacks.
SQL Injection Explained
A SQL injection attack involves the alteration of SQL statements that are used within a web application through the use of attacker-supplied data. Insufficient input validation and improper construction of SQL statements in web applications can expose them to SQL injection attacks. SQL injection is such a prevalent and potentially destructive attack that the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) lists it as the number one threat to web applications.
Ramifications of Successful SQL Injection Attacks
Although the effects of a successful SQL injection attack vary based on the targeted application and how that application processes user-supplied data, SQL injection can generally be used to perform the following types of attacks:
An Example of SQL Injection for Authentication Bypass
One of the many possible uses for SQL injection involves bypassing an application login process. The following example illustrates the general operation of a SQL injection attack. The following HTML form solicits login information from an application user. Although this example uses an HTTP POST request, an attacker could also use HTML forms that use the HTTP GET method.
When a user enters his or her information into this form and clicks Login, the browser submits a string to the web server that contains the user's credentials. This string appears in the body of the HTTP or HTTPS POST request as:
An application with a vulnerable login process may accept the submitted information and use it as part of the following SQL statement, which locates a user profile that contains the submitted username and password:
Unless an application uses strict input validation, it may be vulnerable to a SQL injection attack. For example, if an application accepts and processes user-supplied data without any validation, an attacker could submit a maliciously crafted username and password. Consider the following string sent by an attacker:
Once this string is received and URL-decoded, the application will attempt to build a SQL statement using a username of admin') -- and a password that consists of a single space. Placing these items into the previous SQL statement yields:
As the previous example demonstrates, the attacker-crafted username changes the logic of the SQL statement to effectively remove the password check. In the above example, an attacker could successfully log in to the application using the admin account without knowledge of the password to that account.
The string of two dash characters (--) that appears in the crafted input is very important; it indicates to the database server that the remaining characters in the SQL statement are a comment and should be ignored. This capability is one of the most important tools that is available to an attacker and without it, it would be difficult to ensure that the malicious SQL statements were syntactically correct.
Although the crafted field, which is the username field in the previous example, must be tailored to the vulnerable application, a large set of documented strings that are readily available on the Internet have proven successful at enabling SQL injection attacks. The previous example may be simplistic, but it illustrates the effectiveness of SQL injection attack techniques.
Blind and Second Order SQL Injection
In situations where data from a backend SQL database is not returned directly to the user or attacker, it may be necessary for an attacker to use the Blind SQL Injection technique. With this technique, an attacker can determine whether a SQL statement was executed using means other than the direct presentation of data. Using Blind SQL Injection, an attacker could perform reconnaissance, obtain sensitive information, or alter database contents, including authentication credentials.
One example of the Blind SQL Injection technique is the introduction of a delay as part of a malicious SQL statement. Depending on the database software in use, an attacker could build a SQL statement that is designed to cause a database server to perform a time-consuming action. With the MySQL database software, it may be possible to craft a SQL statement using the sleep() function. For example, incorporating sleep(10) into a malicious query will create a 10-second delay. An attacker could induce a recognizable delay on database servers that do not contain the sleep() function by executing an operating system command or time-consuming sub-query or attempting to establish an outbound HTTP connection. Should the time-consuming SQL statement be executed, the web application may take noticeably longer to respond than is typical. This method allows attackers to determine whether their SQL statements are being executed with some level of certainty.
Second Order SQL Injection attacks involve user-submitted data that is first stored in the database, then retrieved and used as part of a vulnerable SQL statement. This class of vulnerability is more difficult to locate and exploit, but Second Order SQL Injection attacks justify data validation prior to the execution of all SQL statements in an application, as well as the comprehensive use of parameterized queries.
Defending Against SQL Injection Attacks
A SQL injection attack can be detected and potentially blocked at two locations in an application traffic flow: in the application and in the network.
Defenses in the Application
There are several ways in which an application can defend against SQL injection attacks. The primary approaches include validation of user-supplied data, in the form of whitelisting or blacklisting, and the construction of SQL statements such that user-supplied data cannot influence the logic of the statement.
Blacklisting and Whitelisting
Within an application itself, there are two approaches to input validation that can defend against SQL injection attacks: blacklisting and whitelisting. With blacklisting, specific, known malicious characters are removed from or replaced in user input. Although this approach is often implemented, largely due to the ease at which it can be accomplished, it is not effective when compared to whitelisting. Blacklisting can fail to properly handle complex obfuscation, which could allow an attacker to subvert filters and potentially inject SQL statements. This failure often occurs as a result of evolving attack techniques and filters that are not comprehensive or not implemented correctly.
Alternately, whitelisting examines each piece of user input against a list of permitted characters. This approach is more effective in mitigating the risk of SQL injection, as it is more restrictive concerning which types of input are allowed. Well-implemented whitelisting should examine each piece of user-supplied data against the expected data format.
Regardless of the approach, it will most likely be necessary to tailor the allowed characters by the input field type or by the input field class (for example, text or numeric data). The input validation and sanitization functions that are used to filter SQL injection enabling characters can potentially be generalized and used to filter characters that are indicative of cross-site scripting attacks. More information about cross-site scripting is available in the Applied Intelligence white paper Understanding Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Threat Vectors.
The application must act deterministically when it receives invalid characters from a user. Different levels of response may be appropriate based on the circumstances in which the unexpected data is being processed and the effect it could have. For example, applications should patently reject users that submit two dash characters (--) or a semi-colon character (;) as part of the login name or password, and a high-severity alert should be sent to application administrators. However, this somewhat harsh response may not be appropriate when an application receives a single apostrophe character as part of a street address that is submitted by an authenticated user who is entering package shipping information. Nonetheless, the application should behave as intended, and a notification should be sent to application administrators if the submitted apostrophe was not handled properly by the application.
The implementation of input validation and sanitization should contain alerting functionality. This functionality should alert an application administration or development team when unexpected input has been received because it could indicate that the filters may be incorrectly blocking valid, but unexpected data or the application may be under attack. In either case, changes may be required to the filtering functionality of the application.
Fortifying SQL Statements
Parameterized queries in ASP.NET, prepared statements in Java, or similar techniques in other languages should be used comprehensively in addition to strict input validation. Each of these techniques performs all required escaping of dangerous characters before the SQL statement is passed to the underlying database system. The following example depicts the use of prepared statements in Java and illustrates how SQL statements are built without user-supplied data and then augmented with the data in such a manner that the structure and intent of the SQL statement cannot be altered:
Note that prepared statements and similar technologies are not a panacea; used incorrectly without bind variables, they are no more secure than traditionally constructed dynamic queries. The following example illustrates the incorrect use of prepared statements in Java:
In addition to ensuring that the intent of SQL statements cannot be altered by user-supplied data, applications should also catch and remove all SQL-generated error messages before they reach an end user. Although this safeguard may hinder a developer's ability to troubleshooting an application error, which can easily be overcome with additional backend logging, the presentation of SQL errors will greatly aid attackers in successfully exploiting a SQL injection vulnerability. The following example is an overly verbose error message:
com.mysql.jdbc.exceptions.MySQLSyntaxErrorException: Table 'sqlInjectionTest.test' doesn't exist at com.mysql.jdbc.SQLError.createSQLException(SQLError.java:936) at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.checkErrorPacket(MysqlIO.java:2985) at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.sendCommand(MysqlIO.java:1631) at com.mysql.jdbc.MysqlIO.sqlQueryDirect(MysqlIO.java:1723) at com.mysql.jdbc.Connection.execSQL(Connection.java:3277) at com.mysql.jdbc.Connection.execSQL(Connection.java:3206) at com.mysql.jdbc.Statement.executeQuery(Statement.java:1232) at sqlInjectionBefore.main(before.java:28)
This error message discloses that the application is using the Java programming language and the MySQL database platform and that the queried database is named "sqlInjectionTest." Each piece of information could assist attackers in crafting their application input, which increases the odds that they will be successful.
Defenses in the Network
Although each application should ideally provide its own input validation, this situation is not always possible. In certain situations, applications cannot be updated to handle user-supplied data in a secure manner. In these circumstances, administrators and developers can add security to an existing application by leveraging technologies in the network, specifically intrusion prevention systems.
Intrusion Prevention System Signatures
In certain situations, it may be possible to detect and prevent SQL injection attacks using an intrusion prevention system (IPS). For an IPS to be effective, it must have visibility into the traffic of the application. For applications that use end-to-end encryption with HTTPS (for example, applications that use HTTPS without termination or acceleration at an intermediate network device), an IPS cannot identify traffic with characteristics of a SQL injection attack.
The Cisco Intrusion Prevention System solution currently contains the following signatures that may indicate the presence of a SQL injection attack. This information is updated as of the S702 Cisco IPS signature update release.
Table 1. SQL Injection–Related Cisco IPS Signatures
New signatures are continually being developed based on new security intelligence. The latest signature releases are on the Cisco IPS Services section of the Cisco Security Intelligence Operations Portal.
Firewall Application Layer Protocol Inspection
Application layer protocol inspection performs deep packet inspection of traffic that transits the firewall. Using application layer protocol inspection on Cisco firewalls to mitigate SQL attacks against web servers is discussed in Cisco TAC Security Podcast Episode #16.
This white paper has described SQL injection attacks and their ramifications. There are several approaches to combating these types of attacks; protections in the application, such as whitelisting and parameterized queries, and protections in the network, such as intrusion prevention systems.
Tim Sammut (email@example.com)
Tim Sammut is a member of the Security Intelligence Engineering organization at Cisco. Additional content produced by Security Intelligence Engineering is located in the Tactical Resources section of Cisco Security Intelligence Operations.
Mike Schiffman (email@example.com)
Mike Schiffman is a member of the Applied Security Intelligence (ASI) organization at Cisco. ASI is a frequent contributor to the Cisco Security Blog section of Cisco Security Intelligence Operations.
OWASP: SQL Injection
How To: Protect From SQL Injection in ASP.NET
Using Prepared Statements in Java
Cisco TAC Security Podcast Episode #16 - Mitigating a SQL attack with ASA, IPS and IOS Firewall
This document is part of the Cisco Security Intelligence Operations.
This document is provided on an "as is" basis and does not imply any kind of guarantee or warranty, including the warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use. Your use of the information on the document or materials linked from the document is at your own risk. Cisco reserves the right to change or update this document at any time.


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Evergreen New Student Survey
The Evergreen New Student Survey is used to:
Study students' future goals after college and their level of confidence in their ability to succeed at Evergreen and obtain the education that they want;
Study student perceptions of their own skills and knowledge, which provide a baseline for measuring learning progress later in their Evergreen experience;
Study reasons students chose to attend Evergreen in order to understand the match between Evergreen's academic offerings and services and the students who attend.
Gather demographic information that is not available through other means, such as college records. This information is useful for understanding students' backgrounds and responding to student needs and changing demographics.
The survey is integrated with the Evergreen Student Experience Survey and alumni surveys to provide for longitudinal research exploring student retention, student connection to the Evergreen learning community, and learning progress.


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*starts running to kigura and starts healing her wounds while looking at assassin then looks at kei a little worried*
Kei! Help assassin!
Schinzo: I live for death -starts cracking the ice- I will kill again and make sure no one lives
Kigura: -sits there as blood drips from my mouth again- schinzo took control of alex while she was sleeping
Schinzo: -looks at keisuke- ah this shall be fun
-Sees Kei- Bro...I'm going to hit you so hard...
(and get on MSN...now lol)
Schinzo, You Don't have to live for death you could live for something so much better!!! Please there are better things than murder!!
Keisuke: Is that so
You know you're gonna be one big pain in my ass Schinzo you know that
*transforms into my Angelic form*
*appears under him with the tip of my blade right under his throat*
Move and I'll cut your throat
Schinzo: yea I do live for killing, alex was the pathetic girl 10 years n the past when I killed her whole village and family and now she still is that pathetic girl -claws sharpen-
Kigura: keisuke get out of there! -flinches-
No keisuke!! Schinzo has taken over alex's body!!!
*still healing kigura then slowly stops* That should do it..!
Keisuke: *jumps back*
we're in a predicament here aren't we
Kigura: thanks -gets up-
Schinzo: heh yes you are -goes at keisuke with sharpened claws-
Kigura: lok out!
yes we bloody are...
-looks at schinzo- Please stop you could live for friends!! its better than death, living for your friends, making them happy feels much better!!
Keisuke: *stands there and as the first claw is about to connect with my skin I teleport behind her*
You really do need to be faster than that
Ryun: -rolls over to jenna- heh....we all have our places
Schinzo: i wont stop
Kigura: -picks up sword- alex!
Schinzo: -goes at keisuke again-
*looking at sammy then back at the fight then thinks ''I can't just stand here ..''*
-clentches fist- kigura, how do we get alex back out??
Keisuke: *side steps, grabs her wrist and throws her into a tree*
Don't a few cuts and bruises won't do her any harm
Schinzo: -hits the tree-
Kigura: -thinks- um uh -realizes and stays quiet then goes at schinzo-
Schinzo: -moves back before kigura- not so fast -grabs kigura and throws her at keisuke-
Ryun: Alex!!! I know your in thete!!!!!! -rolls over to schiz-
Keisuke: *catches Kigura*
You have to be more careful and wait until he comes to you
*puts her down*
Hey Schinzo what's the point in killing everyone if you can't even touch me
you're worthless
Forum Rules


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we have a small group of pileated woodpeckers around the house lately. we've seen as many as six together at once. we have never seen this behavior before, and we know that pileated woodpeckers don't flock. after doing some internet digging, i think it may be a male-female pair and their brood of four fledglings. whether flock or family, it has been a wondrous few days of sights and sounds.
wing feather of a pileated woodpecker
found in our yard, saint paul, minnesota


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Next Episode of Heti Hetes is
Season 18 / Episode 9 and airs on 11 December 2016 20:50
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Shares of Prudential Financial (NYSE:PRU) were hammered after the company reported on Wednesday Q1 2012 earnings that fell 15 cents short of expectations, declining 10.1% on the following day. An unexpected loss in Group Insurance, the company's smallest segment, seems to have been the catalyst. Murky accounting for currency hedges and the adoption of revised guidance for DAC (deferred acquisition costs) were contributing factors. I think the market over-reacted, and added to my position during the day.
Group Insurance Loss
A loss of $38 million in Group Insurance, compared to a profit of $39 in Q1 2011, was responsible for the miss, as it represented a 16 cent swing. Group Insurance includes life and disability.
The group life benefits ratio has averaged 89% for the past five years. The current quarter at 95.4% was the most unfavorable of the period, compared to 86% for the previous quarter, which was the most favorable. The company had actuaries look at it, and they are satisfied it was a one-off.
Group disability had been deteriorating for a number of years, and the benefits ratio jumped to 95% in 2010. By June 2011 they brought in a consultant and rates are being increased. Contracts run 2 or 3 years so it takes a while for rates to work their way through to the bottom line.
It's normal for disability claims to increase during recessions. However, management concedes that this explanation is getting a little long in the tooth. In addition to raising rates, an experienced executive has been brought and instructed to leave no stone unturned.
Currency Hedges
Prudential has a large international business, to include Japan, and appropriately hedges the resulting foreign exchange risks. Under GAAP, the actual currency gains and losses are reported in earnings, but the offsetting hedge results are tucked away in AOCI (accumulated other comprehensive income).
The analyst community is well aware of this phenomenon, and looks past it. GAAP earnings for the quarter were a loss of $2.09 per share, which may have panicked individual investors, particularly when combined with the precipitous drop in share prices.
DAC Accounting
Many investors, myself included, use P/B ratios in their analysis of financials. PRU adopted revised guidance from FASB retrospectively as of January 1st, reducing year end book value by $5.97 per share. Shares dropped $6.13 on the day: possibly the similarity of the amounts is not a coincidence.
Policy acquisition costs, such as agent's commissions, are capitalized and amortized over the life of the contracts. The revised guidance limited the costs that can be deferred, a change that makes life insurance accounting more conservative and should result in more stable reported earnings, as DAC unlocks should be less volatile. In any event, the change is one of timing, and does not change the economic facts and values. Some analysts regarded the DAC asset as questionable. As a practical matter, expected profits on in force business are increased, as future amortization expense is reduced.
The company issued supplemental financial information, revising earnings and book values going back to 2008. In the process, they reduced the number of reported book values from 3 to 2, citing industry practice. Because both earnings and book values are reduced, historical P/E and P/B are increased proportionately. As such, valuations based on historical metrics are unchanged.
A chronic sore point for life insurers has been the risk associated with guarantees on variable annuity products. Prudential has been addressing this by shifting some of the risk management burden onto the customer through product design. During the presentation, progress was reported as follows:
While several other companies have recently began to embrace product-based, risk management strategies, our highest daily protected value feature, coupled with auto-rebalancing tailored to each customer's account, has a proven track record of more than 5 years with clients and their advisors. The popularity of our HD products has driven a continuing improvement in our risk profile. At the end of the first quarter, about 83% of our account values with living benefits add the auto-rebalancing feature. This compares to 78% a year ago and just under 70% 2 years ago. The auto-rebalancing feature performed very well over the most recent market cycle.
In addition, Individual Life new business was up 22% from a year ago, and International Insurance new business was up 24%.
Don't Forget the Fed
The Fed has been keeping long term interest rates artificially low, and anticipates that conditions will warrant that policy stance well into 2014. While PRU does not invest heavily in US treasuries, and has many options to achieve better yields, a study of their fixed income yield over the past 3 years suggests a decline of about 30 bps per year until the Fed changes direction.
Also, it is widely expected that the Fed will regulate Prudential as a SIFI (Systemically Important Financial Institution). I don't know whether that is pronounced Sci-Fi or Siffy. After reviewing the Fed's treatment of MetLife (NYSE:MET), and the comments of that company, as well as PRU and the American Council of Life Insurers, with regard to the Fed's proposed rules for Enhanced Prudential Standards and Early Remediation Requirements, there is room for concern.
Briefly, the Fed doesn't seem to understand the life insurance business, and I have been unable to locate evidence of appropriate lines of communication to well-informed counterparts at the Fed. The issues are complex.
Life insurance companies, when engaged in conventional insurance activities, do not pose any systemic risk. As heavy users of derivatives, they are exposed to systemic risk created by their counter-parties, whether that be big banks or a clearing house. They are capably and effectively regulated by the states, who have the resources and experience to wind them down if that becomes necessary.
The Fed will eventually be governed by the facts, although there will likely be some tensions in the process. Clarity on the issues involved should remove pressure on the share prices of both MET and PRU, in due course.
In recent years, low interest rates have given insurers large unrealized gains on fixed maturity investments, which inflate GAAP book values. With GAAP BV at $70.80 and BV ex AOCI at $55.85, it would normally be preferable to use the BV ex AOCI, since insurance companies generally hold their fixed income investments to maturity. However, BV ex AOCI is an unstable metric as temporary gains or losses from hedging activities are included.
In the interest of simplicity, $55.85 X 1.2 = $67, well in excess of the current share price.
In my November 2011 article on PRU's 2012 outlook, I applied management's goal for ROE, together with a historical P/E, to develop a target price. Using the 2013 midpoint for ROE: $55.85 BV ex ACOCI X 13.5% ROE goal = $7.53 EPS X 11.26 P/E = $85.
Strategy and Tactics
I cut my position in half on 2/29/2012, not because I had reservations about the company, but as a matter of cash management in consideration of market level. I elected to add back the same amount of exposure yesterday, on the grounds that the market had over-reacted and there would be a tradeable bounce. Each investor has to decide for himself if he wants to indulge in short-term directional guesses of this kind.
From a long term point of view, PRU is unlikely to make strong gains until interest rates start to rise, and the Fed demonstrates an adequate understanding of the critical differences between insurance and banking. Also, results are influenced by equity market levels: PRU, with a beta of 2.4, correlates strongly with the S&P 500. Investors should consider these issues when selecting an entry point.
Shares are optionable, to include LEAPS. Open interest is adequate, spreads are relatively narrow, and the options trade in penny increments. Implied volatility checks in at 37.37%, down from a 52 week high of 75.19% in September 2011.
I've been playing this situation with diagonal spreads: long deep in the money LEAPS and short out of the money calls. My current trade dates back to August 2010, and is showing a 7% IRR, although the stock is down 1% over the time period involved. The combination of leverage and high beta leads to disconcerting swings in position value. On the other hand, the episodes of high implied volatility create profit opportunities, if properly handled. Overall, my experience with diagonal spreads suggests that the strategy is more suitable for low beta cases.


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Well, I said at the start of the thread that we would lose and alas, I was proven correct. Once again Brown put extra pressure on the side by needlessly changing people around so nobody knew what anybody else was doing. He is a first class idiot in that respect. And once again our senior players were lazy asses who don't deserve the wage they feel so comfortable about getting. Our best players were yet again our youngest players but they can't be happy.
You may remember a few Fartown fans telling you what to expect from Nathhan, He seems to see big similarities between League and chess.
Well done Widnes by the way, they keep coming up with a good one.


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San Francisco gave us a new challenge as far as hunger and homelessness. The organization we attempted to volunteer at fell through which left us with a last minute task of finding an in to explore the hunger and homelessness plaguing this city. Walking down the streets there is a definite street culture with many younger individuals hanging out in the streets, as well as older men sprinkled across the city. It has been called the city with the most visible homeless population. So where was the help?
There were several organizations that we looked into but many were either full or never responded to our calls or emails. Then by pure luck we had the opportunity to have dinner with an employee of Glide. Glide is best known nationally for its appearance in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness a tale of a man and child living homeless in the streets of San Francisco, trying to survive and eventually thrive. In several scenes of the movie the father and son would rush to wait in line at the Glide homeless shelter, many times having to sleep in the subway station or other places, because the shelter was full. Although aspects of this movie were fiction and altered for the movie, this was one of the authentic pieces. San Francisco has about 6,544 homeless individuals with 1,134 beds for single adults and 100 for families. Although there has been a reduction in overall homeless individuals in the past 3 years, the numbers for need versus availability are still unequal. The city is spending about $200 million every year addressing homeless, yet it still stands as one of the city's largest issues. The focus on helping seems to draw homeless individuals to this safe haven from other cities. Glide is one of the largest organizations in SF with a mission to be "a radically inclusive, just and loving community mobilized to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization."
The four pillars of Glide are wellness, growth, spirit, and leadership. By having one organization overlooking aspects of these components it creates a cohesive solution that only addresses immediate needs of food, health care, and shelter, but has future growth models past meeting immediate needs. Another large component is prevention through youth programs. After 50 years they have grown from feeding people from the basement of a church, to an extensive network of services to heal the city. Although this organization is affiliated with a church, the main mission is to help everyone possible, which means no one is sent away.
There are currently 87 social service programs that are run under Glide, including daily meals that amount to over 934,000 free meals a year, serving about 3,000 homeless individuals. They provided 100,000 of hours for child care and after school programs to over 325 clients. As far as homelessness they helped 5,707 individuals with shelter and helped 120 people find permanent housing. In addition, the church provides HIV testing, mental and primary health care, women's programs, crisis intervention, literacy classes, computer and job training, drug and alcohol recovery, free legal services and much more.
Although we were unable to visit the sites of these services, we heard many stories from the representative on the truly impressive impact of Glide. Their tale of hunger and homelessness paints a picture of the need for an encompassing approach that addresses survival as well as thriving in life.


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Tag: heidi difrancesca
2010 Spring Commencement
by gwilson on May.08, 2010, under Students
On May 8, 2010, McMurry held its spring commencement in Kimbrell Arena. Among the 200+ graduates on this day was the FIRST graduate of the Biomedical Science Program. Just two years old, the program has become a landing site for some students who have either changed from other majors or have transferred in from other colleges and found the collection of courses previously taken match best with the BIMS curriculum. Today's graduate began her college career elsewhere but found her home in our BIMS program.
Amanda Miller was raised in Merkel, TX, just a short drive from Abilene. However, the road taken that would eventually lead to her McMurry degree took her tthrough Orlando FL to Belton TX to Lubbock TX before returning her to Taylor County. She spent a year as Cinderella at Disneyworld, began her college career at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, continued it at Lubbock Christian University, and arrived in my office for advising during the summer of 2008 shortly after the BIMS program received faculty approval. Looking at the collection of courses taken, considering how we might maximize their "fit" with our degree plans, and discussing where she wanted her life to go, we found a great opportunity for her in BIMS. She has taken flight in the program, becoming Dr. Heidi DiFrancesca's "go-to" student for help in preparing and delivering courses in molecular biology and genetics. Her plans? To give back by serving the HIV-infected people of Africa as a member of the Peace Corps. More evidence that a McMurry education is more about skills and knowledge – values and service are learned in extra measure. We wish you well, Amanda. Godspeed.
by gwilson on Apr.13, 2010, under A Day in the Life...
It's one thing to plan new spaces, but another thing to transition from where you are to where you will be. Countless hours have gone into designing spaces, getting quotes on equipment, and thinking through efficient and effective use of space. Now that such things are largely under control and winding down, attention is shifting toward moving out of the spaces so the work can begin.
There is a very narrow window of time during which everything has to be done. We end classes the first week of May and the fall semester starts mid-August. So anything we can do to hasten the start of construction is important. We are already in the process of ordering cabinetry and equipment. May should be the time for demolition and asbestos abatement. Planning is underway for storage of equipment and supplies from the affected spaces during the process. Our miniaturized version of D-Day planning is going well.
To help provide as much time as possible for construction, we have been given the green light to end our lab courses early. My microbiology course will finish a week or so early, and is actually done in the lab. We will finish the semester using VirtualUnknown(TM) Microbiology to accomplish much of the same work in simulation that we would normally do in the wetlab. Dr. Benoit is similarly finding ways to complete his courses' use of the Micro lab ahead of schedule. Edvotek kits for his immunology course have been a lifesaver! Dr. D's work in the genetics/molecular lab will likewise wind down in the next couple of weeks, and her headstart on packing nonessentials is well underway.
Like trapeze artists using perfect timing to leave one swing in order to catch the other, we are doing all we can to help the construction folks move in and complete their work easily and quickly. Then, we hope to be able to complete the maneuver by moving back in during August.
Happy New Year~!
by gwilson on Jan.09, 2010, under A Day in the Life...
Happy 2010! May this be the best year ever in all your pursuits. May you grow intellectually, socially, spiritually, and in maturity – all while experiencing outstanding health! Make 2009 envious and intimidate 2011 by how 2010 brought great memories and great investments into your body, mind, and spirit!
At McMurry, the BIMS faculty are ready to do our part to help this wish for the coming year come true. Hard to believe this is only the second New Years observed by the BIMS program. Dr. Benoit, Dr. DiFrancesca, Dr. Sharp, Dr. Pyenta, and I all expect the maturing of the BIMS program during 2010 to bring greater courses, greater research projects in your labs, greater opportunities for you, and closer relationships among students and faculty as we grow into the vision upon which this program was built. New courses, fine tuning of the curriculum, new relationships with biotech firms and professional schools all will provide new opportunities, experiences, and skills to fuel that growth.
Your role? Don't bypass an opportunity to learn, to experience, to grow. Your benefit from the program is in direct proportion to your immersion in the program. So dive in, and enjoy!


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Bill Daley talk's governor race during local visit
By Alex Rusciano • Aug 23, 2013
"What does he want? What has he laid out specifically? And what has he fought for and what has he said he will not accept? He has not said what he won't accept on this debate, and that's as bad as not standing up and saying what you're for," Daley says.
Daley says Quinn needs to be more firm on getting results from lawmakers on the pension issue. Quinn says he took action this summer when he suspended lawmakers' pay until they find a solution. Daley is the former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and served as President Barack Obama's chief of staff


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September 24, 2012
TERESA GARCIA, PLAINTIFF,v.ARAPAHOE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, J. GRAYSON ROBINSON, IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, DAVID WALCHER, IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, VINCE LINE, IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, TOM MCNEVIN, IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, AND MARK CAMPBELL, IN HIS PERSONAL CAPACITY, DEFENDANTS.
The case is before the Court on plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment [docket #43] and defendants' motion for summary judgment [#46]. The motions have been fully briefed, and the Court heard oral argument on September 11, 2012. Two other motions pending at that time [#58 and #66] were granted at the beginning of the hearing.
Theresa Garcia alleges in her Second Amended Complaint [#58] that she has been a deputy sheriff with the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office since 1997. On December 7, 2010 she submitted a written complaint to the Internal Affairs division of the Sheriff's Office in which she stated that "I work in a hostile, offensive environment. [#58-3]. Her letter addressed what she considered to be derogatory comments about and discriminatory treatment of inmates who were Mexicans illegally present in the United States. Deputy Garcia was interviewed by a Sheriffs' Office official on the same day about her concerns. During the course of the recorded interview Deputy Garcia mentioned that she had been born in Mexico but raised in the United States, and that she had been fighting with the Department of State trying to get a passport for the last year. Transcript [#43-13] at 13; 17-18. The interviewer asked, "you're a U.S. citizen, correct?" Id. at 18. Deputy Garcia responded affirmatively, indicating that that is what she had been told all her life, and that her mother was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado. However, she acknowledged that Immigration personnel were indicating that she did not have enough documentation, and that they could not decide whether she was a citizen. Id.
On the next day, December 8, 2010 Deputy Garcia was notified that she was being suspended with pay. In her Second Amended Complaint she alleges she was given no reason for the suspension. Second Amended Complaint [#58] ¶18. In her deposition she testified that she was told that it was because of the complaints she had filed, the seriousness of the complaints, and the number of people involved. [#43-8] at 172-73. The written notice of suspension does not provide a reason. [#43-3]. However, the Sheriff's Office has an internal policy requiring that deputies must be citizens. [#52-11]. Defendants' position is that, whether or not Deputy Garcia was notified of the reason, she was suspended pending an investigation of whether she is a United States citizen. Deputy Garcia points to the timing -- that this question was raised the day after she complained about discrimination and after she had been a deputy sheriff in that office for 13 years -- and contends that it was an act of retaliation.
Between December 8 and December 16, 2010 defendant Line was told by an agent of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Section of the Department of Homeland Security that Deputy Garcia had an "Alien" file at that agency, although the agent made no judgment as to whether Deputy Garcia was an illegal immigrant or could legally work in the United States.
[#43-11] at 133. However, defendants also obtained verification of her Social Security number from the Social Security Administration. [#43-24]. They learned that she had been issued a valid Social Security number. Those facts appear to be the extent of the information obtained by defendants during that period of time.
Deputy Garcia contends that on December 16, 2010, still not knowing why she had been suspended, she was called into a meeting at the Sheriff's Office and asked to produce evidence of her citizenship. She had not brought any evidence. She was then handed a written termination letter signed by Sheriff Robinson. The letter [#43-4] indicated that she would schedule a meeting with the Sheriff no later than December 23, 2010 to present "evidence relevant to your employment status." Id. The meeting lasted 11 minutes.
On December 22, 2010, in a recorded meeting with Sheriff Robinson
[#43-32], Deputy Garcia indicated that she was a United States
citizen, because her mother was a United States citizen when Deputy
Garcia was born. Id. at 3. She presented, among other things, her
mother's birth certificate and Social Security number and information
about the applicable law. She indicated (which defendants had verified
on their own) that she had a Social Security number. Id. at 4. Sheriff
Robinson told her (incorrectly) that it would be a federal felony for
him to employ her if she were not a U.S. citizen. Id. at 26. He also
told her that the only documents he would accept as proof of U.S.
citizenship were a passport, a birth certificate, a certificate of
citizenship or a naturalization certificate. Id. at 40.*fn1
Deputy Garcia's evidence was deemed insufficient, and the
termination stood.
In fact, Deputy Garcia was a United States citizen. On December 29, 2010 the State Department issued a passport to her. [#43-36]. She met with Sheriff Robinson on February 4, 2011 and showed him her passport. He reinstated her on February 9, 2011. [#43-38]. She was reinstated with full back pay.
Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint names Sheriff J. Grayson Robinson, in his official and personal capacities, and four other Sheriff's Office officials in their personal capacities as defendants. However, during oral argument plaintiff indicated that she was voluntarily dismissing her claims against named defendants David Walcher and David Wellman. Accordingly, the defendants remaining are Sheriff Robinson, Captain Vince Line, and Undersheriff Mark Campbell. Plaintiff asserts six claims for relief: (1) a § 1983 claim asserting denial of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment; (2) retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; (3) national origin discrimination in violation of Title VII; (4) common law civil conspiracy; (5) a § 1985(3) and § 1986 claim of conspiracy based upon national origin; and (6) common law outrageous conduct.
The Court may grant summary judgment if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party has the burden to show that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325 (1986). The nonmoving party must "designate specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Id. at 324. A fact is material "if under the substantive law it is essential to the proper disposition of the claim." Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir. 1998) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986)). A material fact is genuine if "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson,477 U.S. at 248. The Court will examine the factual record and make reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc. v. City and County of Denver, 36 F.3d 1513, 1517 (10th Cir. 1994).
Plaintiff seeks summary judgment on the Second Claim as asserted in her Second Amended Complaint in which she alleges that she was suspended and terminated in retaliation for her having asserted discrimination claims. In order to establish a prima facie case of retaliation, she must show that "(1) that she engaged in protected opposition to Title VII discrimination, (2) she suffered an adverse employment action, and (3) there is a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment action." Meiners v. University of Kansas, 359 F.3d 1222, 1229 (10th Cir. 2004). If she establishes a prima facie case, then defendants "must articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse employment action." Id. If that is done, then the plaintiff must demonstrate that the asserted reason was pretextual. Id.
As the Court indicated during the hearing, there is a genuine dispute of material fact concerning whether there is a causal connection between Deputy Garcia's complaint about discrimination in the workplace and her suspension and termination. There is a dispute of fact and possibly a dispute of law as to whether the citizenship requirement is a legitimate business reason; the parties disagree but have not briefed the issue. Even assuming that it is a legitimate requirement for a law enforcement officer, there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether that reason was a pretext for a decision actually motivated by other, improper factors. Accordingly, the retaliation claim is not suitable for summary disposition.
Defendants seek summary dismissal of all of plaintiffs' claims. I will discuss them in claim order.
A.First Claim -- Equal Protection.
The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides, among other things, that no State may "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." The Equal Protection Clause "seeks to ensure that any classifications the law makes are made 'without respect to persons,' that like cases are treated alike, and that those who 'appear similarly situated' are not treated differently without, at the very least, 'a rational reason for the difference.'" SECSYS, LLC v. Vigil, 666 F.3d 678, 684 (10th Cir. 2012). If the State, here represented by a county sheriff's office, treats persons differently based on a suspect classification such as race or national origin, the differential treatment could only be upheld if it somehow reflected a compelling state interest.
Accordingly, one must begin by determining whether the challenged state action intentionally discriminates between or among groups of persons, and if so, turn to whether the discrimination can be justified by some governmental purpose. SECSYS, 666 F.3d at 685-86. During the oral argument the Court repeatedly asked plaintiff's counsel to identify the groups of similarly situated persons who received differential treatment. Counsel doggedly insisted that a comparison of similarly situated persons is unnecessary, citing Plotke v. White, 405 F.3d 1092 (10th Cir. 2005). However, Plotke has nothing to do with the Equal Protection Clause.
The Court is left to ponder how the facts alleged could support an equal protection claim. Was Deputy Garcia treated differently than non-Hispanic deputies who complain of discrimination or retaliation against Hispanics? Was she treated differently than non-Hispanic deputies as to whom a question arises regarding their citizenship? No evidence of either situation has been provided. Nor is it the Court's burden to create a claim that counsel has not raised or explained.
Accordingly, the motion for summary judgment is granted as to the First Claim.
2. Second Claim: Retaliation in Violation of Title VII.
In her Second Claim plaintiff alleges that Sheriff Robinson, in his official capacity, retaliated against her in violation of Title VII. For the reasons set forth in denying plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment, the Court finds that there are genuine disputes of material fact that preclude summary disposition of this claim.
3. Third Claim: National Origin Discrimination in Violation of Title VII.
The Court similarly finds that genuine issues of material fact preclude summary disposition of this claim, in which plaintiff alleges that Sheriff Robinson, in his official capacity, discriminated against her on the basis of her national origin in violation of Title VII.
4. Fourth Claim: Common Law Civil Conspiracy.
In her Fourth Claim plaintiff contend that Sheriff Robinson, Undersheriff Campbell and Captain Line, in their individual capacities, willfully and wantonly conspired to suspend and later to terminate Deputy Garcia. Defendants argue (1) in the absence of federal jurisdiction over this state law claim, the Court should decline to consider it; (2) it is barred by the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act; and (3) there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the claim should be denied as a matter of law.
Jurisdiction. The first argument was based on defendants' assumption that the Court would dismiss the federal claims. The Court has not dismissed the Title VII claims, and therefore, it has supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367. The grounds for declining supplemental jurisdiction do not exist; neither this claim nor the sixth claim presents navel or complex issues of State law. The state law claims do not predominate over the federal claims, which are the central focus of the case. There are no exceptional circumstances or compelling reasons to decline jurisdiction. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c).
Governmental Immunity. The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act provides in pertinent part that "[a] public employee shall be immune from liability in any claim . . . which lies in tort . . . unless the act or omission causing such injury was willful and wanton." C.R.S. § 24-10-118(2)(a). Plaintiff alleges that these defendants acted willfully and wantonly. The terms are not defined in the statute, but defendants cite Judge Kane's decision to borrow Colorado's definition of the similar term for purposes of exemplary damages: "conduct purposefully committed which the actor must have realized as dangerous, done heedlessly and recklessly, without regard to consequences, or of the rights and safety of others, particularly the plaintiff." See Cossio v. City and County of Denver, 986 F. Supp. 1340, 1349 (D. Colo. 1997). That is a reasonable definition.
Plaintiff alleges and presumably will testify at trial that after serving as a deputy sheriff for 13 years, she was suspended the day after she complained about discrimination. She says she was not given a reason. The defendants take the position that her suspension resulted from comments she made when she was complaining about discrimination that raised a question in their minds as to whether she might not be a U.S. citizen. Plaintiff contends that that reason was pretextual. However, even if I assume for present purposes that it was the reason, and the only reason, for suspending Deputy Garcia, a rational person could question whether that was a reasonable way to treat a 13-year employee and why she wasn't given a reason for the suspension. Plaintiff alleges, and again I assume she will so testify, that at the December 16, 2010 meeting she was asked for proof of citizenship, without advance warning that this would be requested, and then handed a termination letter that had already been prepared before the meeting when she couldn't produce the evidence of citizenship on the spot. Taken together, and construing the evidence in plaintiff's favor for purposes of a summary judgment motion, the Court finds that the evidence of defendants' actions between December 7 and December 16 creates a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether the conduct was willful and wanton.
Evidence of Conspiracy. "There are five elements required to establish a civil conspiracy in Colorado[:] (1) two or more persons . . . ; (2) an object to be accomplished; (3) a meeting of the minds on the object or course of action; (4) one or more unlawful overt acts; and (5) damages as the proximate result thereof." Jet Courier Service, Inc. v. Mulei, 771 P.2d 486, 502 (Colo. 1989) (internal quotation marks omitted). The Complaint and even the briefing on this motion are a bit unclear on what the alleged unlawful overt acts are. See Response [#51] at 37-38. Plaintiff has clarified in a proposed jury instruction and in discussion at the September 24, 2012 trial preparation conference that the claim is that the Sheriff, the Undersheriff and Captain Line, individually, agreed to suspend and then terminate Deputy Garcia because she had not provided proof of U.S. citizenship, and that the requirement of citizenship is unlawful under a federal immigration statute. The parties have requested, and the Court has permitted, briefing on that statute and its application, if any, to this case. Therefore, the Court will leave the common law conspiracy claim in the case at this time pending the ultimate resolution of that issue.
5. Fifth Claim: Conspiracy Based upon National Origin.
This Claim asserts that all defendants conspired to deny Deputy Garcia the equal protection of the law as guaranteed by the Equal Protection Clause. Because the Court will grant summary judgment dismissing the equal protection claim, as discussed above, the Court likewise will dismiss this claim.
6. Sixth Claim: Outrageous Conduct.
Under Colorado law an individual who engages in extreme and outrageous conduct either recklessly or with the intent of causing another individual severe emotional distress can be held liable for damages if the victim does experience severe emotional distress. See Coors Brewing Co. v. Floyd, 978 P.2d 663, 665 (Colo. 1999). "Although the question of whether conduct is outrageous is generally one of fact to be determined by a jury, it is first the responsibility of a court to determine whether reasonable persons could differ on the question." Culpepper v. Pearl St. Bldg., Inc., 877 P.2d 877, 883 (Colo. 1994). Quoting the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 46 (1965) the Colorado Supreme Court noted that "'[l]iability has been found only where the conduct has been so outrageous in character, and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Generally, the cased is one in which the recitation of the facts to an average member of the community would arouse his resentment against the actor, and lead him to exclaim 'outrageous!'" Rugg v. McCarty, 476 P.2d 753 (Colo. 1970).
If one assumes, to plaintiff's benefit, that Deputy Garcia was suspended because of her national origin or her complaints about mistreatment of inmates of Mexican or Hispanic backgrounds, then the conduct was certainly unlawful. I have also commented on plaintiff's allegations that she was suspended with no indication of the reason, and that she was then given 11 minutes (without advance notice) to prove her citizenship and fired when she could not. Those allegations, if proven, could support a finding of willful and wanton conduct. It the facts ended there, I would find that the alleged facts are also sufficient to state a claim of outrageous conduct.
However, they do not end there. When plaintiff submitted proof of her citizenship in the form defendants demanded, she was reinstated to her position as Deputy Sheriff and awarded full back pay. She remains on staff as a Deputy Sheriff to this day. That does not excuse the conduct that allegedly occurred on December 8, 16 and 22, 2010. However, the fact that plaintiff's own comments raised the issue of her possibly not being a citizen, as the Sheriff's policy required, and the fact that she was reinstated with full back pay upon submission of acceptable proof of citizenship are sufficient for this Court to hold, as a matter of law, that these facts collectively do not support a finding by reasonable jurors of extreme and outrageous conduct. Accordingly, this claim is dismissed.
1. Motion #43 is DENIED.
2. Motion #46 is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. It is granted as to plaintiff's First, Fifth and Sixth Claims, which are now dismissed with prejudice. The motion is denied as to plaintiff's Second, Third and Fourth claims.
R. Brooke Jackson United States District Judge
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Enjoy the festive light displays of these small towns across America.
A satellite image showing peculiar hexagonal clouds over the ocean area known as the Bermuda Triangle is prompting speculation about whether they may represent a recurring phenomenon responsible for decades of unexplained disappearances in the region.
Atmospheric oxygen levels have declined over the past 1 million years, although not nearly enough to trigger any major problems for life on Earth, a new study finds.
When the world's longest lightning bolt struck over Oklahoma in 2007, it traveled about three-quarters of the length of the state, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
Scientists recently traveled thousands of miles below the ocean's surface to explore underwater mountain ranges.
Death by lightning strike may seem rare, but lightning has killed nearly three times as many people this year as tornadoes have, the National Weather Service (NWS) reports.
Boreal Mountain Resort is the site of the first North American demonstration of a relatively new technology called Snowfactory.
More than 300 wild reindeer were killed after being struck by lightning in Norway, in what government officials say was an unusually deadly event.


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Fairmont East-West Stadium in Marion County, WV
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Volkswagen Middle East has launched the new Polo Sedan. The vehicle marks its entry with a host of comfort, safety and top quality engineering features while prices are kept competitive. The Polo Sedan will be available with a 1.6 liter 105 PS engine mated to a six speed automatic transmission while it is sport maximum amount of comfort features that will appeal to their customers in the Middle East who are used to all possible trimmings in their vehicle where utmost comforts are concerned.
Safety features will include ABS, rear and central locking with keyless entry, front airbags for driver and co driver, adjustable 3 point safety front seat belt, 3 point safety belts at the rear and a lap belt for the middle passenger while parking distance control is an added rear safety feature.
A standard feature seen in new Polo Sedan will be addition of an Electronic Immobilizer. This works as an anti theft device which is activated as soon as ignition key is removed from its place and working with an engine control unit so as to avoid any unauthorized person from starting the vehicle.
Volkswagen Polo Sedan for Middle East comes from the Indian Pune production plant in Pune. The modern VW plant is the company's only production facility in India, and is responsible for all functions including the press shop, body and paint shop, and final assembly.


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By Ned Cantwell
You just know it is not going to be a fun morning when you click the "in box" and the subject line of the very first e-mail says, "Your article sucks."
Worse than that, there comes a time when you long for the day when the governor's office ignored you. It took a lot of drum beating to get Billy Sparks, the governor's press guy, to notice the column.
Last week, Billy's running mate Gilbert Gallegos let me have it. Gilbert is the deputy director of communications and he corrected my erroneous report that the guv took it upon himself to declare the hot air balloon the Official State Aircraft.
A column alleged the governor is just drunk with power or perhaps sugar-jazzed on too many super-sized Snickers bars.
"I know this doesn't quite fit your 'drunk with power' theory, but Governor Richardson did not unilaterally declare the hot air balloon as the Official State Aircraft," Gilbert wrote. "The Legislature did, in fact, pass a bill (SB13), sponsored by Sen. Steve Komadina, which went through the committee process. The governor signed the bill into law and held a signing ceremony with Sen. Komadina."
This column is nothing if not fair and balanced — I report, you decide — and so I take this opportunity to offer heartfelt apology to Gov. Bill. For the record, he is not drunk with power. However, I am sticking by the Snickers bar theory.
The writer who thinks my column sucks started out gently: "Perhaps you should get off your high and mighty horse, you old hack." That was written by a fellow who identifies himself as "Vineel." I take serious umbrage with that charge. I am not that old.
Vineel was irritated with a column that criticized a Clovis fellow for decorating his yellow Ford Focus with she-devil decals and whose right to do so was being defended by the American Civil Liberties Union. Vineel writes, "Just like you wouldn't want to find stuff saying 'god and religion is (BS)', I don't want to see crap like nativity scenes on public property … Then, about the ACLU fighting for that guy's rights of having those she-devils, I say rock on."
The disputed column referred to banana yellow Ford Focuses. That prompted someone who calls himself "Carey" in Carlsbad to take issue with my grammar. The plural of focus is "foci," insists Carey. Now there's an old boy who is not getting the miles per gallon he once did.
Just when I thought it was time for someone to say something nice, along comes Joel from Ruidoso who saw my column about Bill Richardson as an attack on the hot air balloon.
Much like Vineel, Joel got right to the point: "Ned, you probably think you are cute and clever with your whining but honestly … I think you ought to just crawl in some little hole somewhere and maybe whine about the darkness there, although with your poorly placed humor, you would undoubtedly delight in the darkness as that seems to be your wont these days."
Ouch! But, hey, rock on. This is America. People can and should express themselves. On the other hand, when all a guy gets are nasty letters, I think that just, well, sucks.
Ned Cantwell is a retired newspaperman who is especially grateful to Wanda Spencer in Carlsbad who wrote, "Thanks for making my Sunday morning coffee enjoyable." Contact him at: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Cuddle Up to These Animal-friendly Volunteer Opportunities
By Sandy Beck
Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center
The Tallahassee-Leon Community Animal Service Center (TLCASC) takes in more than 9,000 homeless animals every year. They rely on community members to open their hearts and homes, providing love and shelter for these deserving animals.
While the public mostly knows them as "the place across from Tom Brown Park to go adopt an animal," many people don't realize that they offer a wide variety of related services including a volunteer program, foster program, and a lost and found program that tries to reunite lost and found pets with their owners.
Volunteers are needed to greet potential adopters and guide them through the process of finding the furry forever friend that is the best fit for their family. Volunteers also work directly with the animals, exercising and socializing them and keeping them as comfortable as possible during their time at the shelter, in addition to providing cuddle and playtime for the animals and feeding and bathing them.
The minimum age to volunteer is 16, but the TLCASC encourages younger children to get involved by hosting donation drives and helping to educate the community about the importance of adopting versus buying a pet, and spaying and neutering. Groups, such as Girl and Boy Scout troops, work on special projects that have included picnic tables, adoption booth displays, and photography projects.
The TLCASC also hosts rabies, microchip, and ID clinics for the public, and they will also microchip your pet at any time for a reduced cost.
Foster Parents are also needed. These volunteers provide a home to some of the special needs animals while they wait for their forever homes, such as a dog or cat who is very young when it arrives, is older and needs a little extra "TLC," or has medical needs and needs a less stressful environment to recover.
For more information about how you can get involved or to fill out a volunteer application, visit: http://www.talgov.com/animals/animals-volunteer.aspx or contact Volunteer Coordinator Grayson Walters at email@example.com or 850.891.2790.
The Tallahassee Memorial Hospital Animal Therapy Pets
Several years ago, we adopted a sweet black Lab mix from the TLCASC. Buddy was a timid puppy who needed a lot of reassurance and physical contact while he settled into his new life. As a teacher, I had a little second-grade boy who had similar needs. "Joey" was anxious and could not concentrate on schoolwork. My principal allowed me to try an experiment that might be mutually beneficial for Joey and Buddy. I took Buddy to school one day, explained that he was very insecure and asked for a volunteer who would do his work on the floor while petting Buddy. All hands went up. Of course, I selected Joey. Joey wrote and illustrated a lovely poem with one hand, while calmly, petting Buddy with the other hand; it was the first assignment he had completed all year.
By now, everyone knows that loving contact with an animal—petting, cuddling or just sharing quality time—can provide people with physical and emotional health benefits. The Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH) Animal Therapy Program is based on this premise.
Therapy animals tend to calm most patients and engage otherwise unresponsive ones. Animal Therapy volunteers and their pets spend time with the hospital's patients to improve their mental health, motivation, rehabilitation, pain management, and stress relief.
Volunteers and their pets participate in special training to become TMH Animal Therapy Teams. Teams are trained according to standards established by the Delta Society, the international sanctioning organization for more than 10,000 therapy teams worldwide. Each animal is also examined by a veterinarian and certified to be in good health.
TMH Animal Therapy currently has more than 150 teams visiting 50 different facilities, in groups and as individual teams. Therapy animals are mostly dogs, but they also have cats, rabbits, miniature horses and even the nation's only registered therapy mule.
Bogey, a Boykin Spaniel, with her handler, Richard, is one of the teams that volunteers at the Tallahassee Memorial Rehab Center twice every week. On one of their visits, Bogey greeted the patients, as usual, with her wagging tail and soft eyes. In the corner of the room, a woman alone in wheel chair said "dog." This may not seem like much, but these are the first words that this woman spoke since she entered Rehab. Richard skillful guided Bogey to her, and, carrying her brush in her mouth, the dog began to work her magic by offering her long, floppy ears to be brushed. The woman smiled and unspoken communication began to unfold. In the weeks to come, full conversations were exchanged among the therapists, the patient and Bogey. A door was opened all because of a furry heart on a leash.
If you are interested in volunteering with Tallahassee Memorial Animal Therapy, your pet must know basic obedience prior to beginning their training. You must have owned your pet for at least six months, and he or she must be at least one year old. Learn more about how to get involved at: http://www.tmh.org/VolunteerAnimalTherapy, or contact Program Coordinator Stephanie Perkins at firstname.lastname@example.com or 850-321-3787.


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Written by Baz Anderson on 18.01.2012 at 00:28
Cool song, sounds very soft to me though... maybe I've been listening to a lot of brutal stuff lately.
Written by psykometal on 19.01.2012 at 09:06
This is fukng awesome!!! Can't wait for this to drop. How the hell Christian manages to play different in every band he plays with astounds me. Christian Müenzner FTW!!!