text:
America's season of rage and fear
Freedom in America will soon be a fading memory. American exceptionalism died on March 23, 2010. On that day, the United States started becoming just like any other country. Worse still, like a West European country. Socialism in the land of the free and the home of the brave!
In a nutshell, that's how many conservatives see the health reform bill President Barack Obama signed into law on March 23, after a year of acrimonious debate. The language has been shrill and the superheated political temperature is reflected by worried headlines such as "The heat is on. We may get burned" (Wall Street Journal) or "Putting out the flames" (Washington Post).
Verbal venom is not restricted to radio talk shows or Internet rants that draw parallels between Obama and Hitler or Stalin. John Boehner, the leader of the Republican party in the House of Representatives, described the reform as Armageddon and a Republican congresswoman, Michelle Bachmann, voiced fears on national television for her country's future because of the president's "anti-American views."
Today's end-of-freedom arguments sound very much like the ideas set out in a 1961 speech by the late Ronald Reagan, then an actor working as a corporate spokesman, now venerated as a secular saint by many Republicans. "One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people," he said, "has been by way of medicine."
Reagan was raising the alarm against an early version of what became Medicare, the government-run health care programme for people over 65 which now has 45 million beneficiaries, most of whom rate it more highly than private health insurance, according to surveys. If the program were passed, Reagan warned, "behind it will come other federal programmes that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country. Until one day… we will awake to find that we have socialism."
Medicare was passed in 1965. Dark warnings notwithstanding, the United States remained the engine of global capitalism. It is also the world's only advanced industrial country without universal health care (except for the elderly), with more than 40 million uninsured for whom illness can mean financial ruin or early death.
In the hubbub, which is growing rather than subsiding, it's worth noting that people arguing from opposite ends are coming to the same conclusion — health care reform is not the underlying reason for the anger vented against the government.
Example from the right, from radio host Monica Crowley: "Health care 'reform' was never about health care. It was about expanding government into every part of your life as an excuse to confiscate more and more of your private property, strip you of your constitutionally guaranteed freedoms and remake America into a two-bit, second-rate, debt-laden European socialist backwater."
Example from the left, from New York Times columnist Frank Rich: "The… health care debate is not the main source of this anger and never has been. It's merely a handy excuse. The real source of the over-the-top rage of 2010 is the same kind of national existential reordering that roiled American in 1964."
That's when the Civil Rights Bill ended segregation and black Americans were no longer required to sit in the back of the bus, drink from separate water fountains, or go to separate schools. It was, said Rich,"an inexorable and immutable change in the very identity of America, not just its governance".
Another inexorable and immutable change has been underway for decades: demographics. Because of immigration, both legal and illegal, and the higher birth rate of immigrants, white Americans are projected to be a minority in the United States by 2042. According to the 2000 census (the 2010 count is under way now), white Americans have shrunk to a minority in 52 of the 100 biggest cities, including Los Angeles and Washington.
That demographic shift was paralleled by a rise in extremist groups on the right. Their number rose by more than 50 percent from 2000, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks radicals. Most groups on the lunatic fringe are small in number and big on conspiracy theories but then, how many people does it take to blow up a building?
Late in March, FBI agents arrested nine members of a far-right group in raids in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio to scotch what a government indictment called a plot to kill a police officer and then bomb his funeral. In the words of Attorney General Eric Holder, they stand accused of conspiring to "levy war against the United States."
The appeal of such groups is limited but some of their anti-government rhetoric is echoed at rallies of the fast-growing Tea Party movement. Named after the 1773 act of anti-British sabotage in Boston that hastened the American revolution, it is a diffuse, predominantly white grassroots movement whose followers range from fiscal conservatives and libertarians to people hoisting posters depicting Obama as Hitler.
The star speaker at the movement's first convention, in February, was Sarah Palin, the darling of the Republican right. The movement hopes to draw a million followers to a protest rally in Washington on April 15, the day Americans have to file tax returns.
Outlook for the political temperature: high and rising.
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
There, you said it, the US is run by actors and pharmacists.
"The… health care debate is not the main source of this anger and never has been. It's merely a handy excuse. "
A first world nation needs a health care debate as an excuse for a source of anger ? Grow up America, the source of your anger is guilt and consumption that has caught up with you.
By the same token, the problem with being PC is that it is PC. When the quality of your music goes, your culture goes.
As usual, all the goodness comes from the left and all the nastiness comes from the right. If you want to bring up the '60s, then what about the Weathermen or the SDS, or the Black Panthers? Radical, murderous lefties all but apparently it's only the right which produces such groups. Typical media prejudice. And hands off Ronald Reagan. The last Democrat of his stature was FDR, and that was some time ago, wasn't it?
Tell you what, Gotthardbahn–
A progressive walks into a church and opens fire on the congregation because they're all a bunch of conservatives and he wants to kill as many right-wingers as he can…
A progressive walks into another church and shoots a doctor in the head…
A progressive shoots three police officers who come to his door because he fears the president is going to take his guns away…
A progressive walks into the Holocaust Museum and shoots a guard because he hates Jews and believes it's time to start a race war…
A progressive walks into the Pentagon and opens fire because he believes the government is plotting against its citizens…
A pack of gun-loving progressives forms a plot to kill law-enforcement officers and start a revolution…
Progressives plan an armed march on Washington to celebrate the Oklahoma City bombing…
…THEN you can march out your false equivalency between today's radical violence on the right vs a few groups of "lefties" from the 1960's.
Hands off Ronnie! I think not. Ronnie was a racist! He gave his first post-convention speech after being officially chosen as the Republican nominee for President of the United States at the Neshoba County Fair on August 3, 1980. The speech was noted because he used the phrase "states' rights" at a place just a few miles from a town associated with the 1964 murders of civil rights workers. The racist stated: "I believe in states' rights … I believe we have distorted the balance of our government today by giving powers that were never intended to be given in the Constitution to that federal establishment." (hmmm…remind you of anything said recently?) He went on to promise to "restore to states and local governments the power that properly belongs to them".[2] This speech was definitely understood by many Southern white voters as a tacit appeal to and a continuation of Richard (DICK) Nixon's Southern Strategy.
Yes, all nastiness comes from the right. Always has, always will. That's just the sort of people they are. They really can't help it. The SDS, Weathermen, and Black Panthers were fighting for survival against the racist repression of the white majority.
"American exceptionalism" … that is where much of the problem stems. The people are brought up on the line that there is something utterly unique about the US. What was unique about it was the collection of mostly men in the period of 1770 to 1800 who came up with the initial justification for opposing the British roots from whence they came. The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights being the very enlightened base for all that followed.
But, the history of the country has often been that of many Americans trying to pick this bit or that bit of the foundational documents and discarding the rest.
Except for those foundational documents, the U.S. is a country like any other. With people in it both good and bad. It has no direct line to a supreme being passing down pearls of wisdom for the country's edification. It has beautiful natural areas. It has portions of its history to be proud of, and many that it doesn't want to look at too closely.
That idea of "exceptionalism" really harms the country in the long run. Leading to the idea that what pertains to other countries does not apply in the case of the U.S. In that way it means that the U.S. always makes its way harder than necessary as it often doesn't learn from the mistakes of other countries. "How can the French experience in Vietnam in 1945 – 1954 apply to the U.S.? It doesn't … for we are the U.S.!" Hence the debacle in Vietnam for the U.S. from 1960 to 1973. "What does the British experience in Baghdad from 1917 to 1934 mean to the U.S.? It doesn't, for the U.S. is the U.S.!" Hence the draining and bloody ongoing tangle of the U.S. with Iraq from 2003 to now.
The same with health care. Nothing to be learned from other countries who have had such systems for fifty years and more.
In many ways the American habit of considering itself so "exceptional" lead it to be in that same small group of countries who isolate themselves from others, and ultimately cause many problems for the world: Israel, Saudi Arabia, China … and the U.S. Countries who consider themselves "above", "different" from other peoples and other countries due mainly to religious, historical or racial conditions held to be "exceptional" in their cases.
Perhaps we can all advance when such countries really come to see themselves as intrinsically and unavoidably part of the rest of the world.
If you have read the 10th Amendment in that thing called the Constitution. That would be what Reagan was referring to and NOT racism. He was also supporting what the founding fathers believed in, states rights and a limited federal government. Remember, it was the GOP who supported and advocated civil rights movements in the 60's.
Yellow 105:
Were do you get even half of those stories? If I can sit here and research all the left wing classless events, you would not even be able to compare it to the right-wingers.
Guilt and consumption? From what? Did you know that 70% of the US economy is consumer consumption? The PEOPLE control the economy. Why would we want power to be allocated anywhere else? Government? No…move to Cuba, North Korea, or China if you desire such things.
Hey Yellow105 –
The Pentagon shooter was a progressive, John Bedell was a registered democrat that often littered the internet with his anti-Bush comments. He also claimed that the Bush administration had orchestrated the 9/11 attacks.
Too many labels, too much fear, too much ignorance…
You want to start the blame game? Try this one on for size…
I believe part of this whole problem started when school districts were allowed to let physical education coaches teach American History and Civics classes instead of requiring "dedicated" teachers for those areas of study. Started in the late '60's I think…
Most of those same coaches had no interest, and inspired no interest, in the students who attended those classes to explore and really, really LEARN about how our form of government works. It was more important to beat the other local schools' football and basketball teams…
The result, a now large group of adults who, for the most part couldn't list the three major parts of our Federal government let alone explain how a bill gets to be enacted into law.
Heck, I think most of them don't even understand what true "socialism" is.
Politics is now what they read or see in the media with the left or right "slant" by whatever media source they favor…
I do think we wast a lot of time on talking about how bad government is rather than getting it fixed. The tea party group could have a place in government without appealing to radical groups. If they stood for fair government without lobby control they would get all the votes they need. The GOP is dead but not buried yet. Sorry, but when you get sick someone has to stand the cost.
I do think we waste a lot of time on talking about how bad government is rather than getting it fixed. The tea party group could have a place in government without appealing to radical groups. If they stood for fair government without lobby control they would get all the votes they need. The GOP is dead but not buried yet. Sorry, but when you get sick someone has to stand the cost.
But who does express this rage? It is minority of society, as a rule they are not educated well, quite
ignorant, still captured by McCarthysm'mentality.
They use to behave by instinct …
Majority of people voted for policy President Obama
and widely support him.
Maybe record Wall Street bonuses have something to do with it
Healthcare done, Jobs and Financial regulation next, then education and immigration. American could be a good place, if these were accomplished
Reagan was a racist. Don't pretend he wasn't. He was a very good liar too, but America loves him because he made Americans feel good about themselves, with stories about great moments and people from American history. Even though if most people truly knew their history they would know what he said was not always accurate and at time totally opposite. Not saying there are no special moments or inspiring people in American history, there are plenty. Just like every other country. There are plenty of moments of American history that are not talked about in class rooms, the same amount as in every other country. So the US isn't exceptional, or at least not exceptionally better, but it is different.
Also, don't get so defensive about the fact that Reagan was a racist; FDR was a racist and a sexiest. But America loves him too cause he got us out of the Depression and gave women the right to vote. (Yah, that second part is ironic.)
Reality is that most of this, pretty idiotic and miss informed, outrage stems from the fact that our president's skin color doesn't match the color of the house he lives in.
And no, not all good comes from the left and all bad from the right. There is simply a lot more bad coming out of the right currently. When the Republicans become a political party again, and not just a bunch of Christian fundamentalist drawing support from scaring the crap out of uninformed people, they might start producing some good again. They can start by finding new people to represent them, meaning not a former Miss Alaska.
"Sarah Palin, the darling of the Republican right."
– Knocked up teenager daughter
– Messy Divorce
– Abuse of power
– Probably didn't get a good grade in History and Civics class.
Yah, she's a real good chose to represent the religious conservatives. Oh by the way, I got no personal problem with the first two… but I think the people she represents (and is the leader of) have some issues with them.
Whenever I see the Tea Party folks, I feel like buying the stocks of drug companies. Tea party folks will definitely be buying a lot of antidepressants. Each party needs to disassociate itself from the extremist.The future of this country does not lie with the far left nor the far right. Tolerate other races, other religions, other cultures, other sexual orientations and learn some Spanish – it's the future.
"Hands off Ronnie! I think not. Ronnie was a racist! He gave his first post-convention speech after being officially chosen as the Republican nominee for President of the United States at the Neshoba County Fair on August 3, 1980. The speech was noted because he used the phrase "states' rights" at a place just a few miles from a town associated with the 1964 murders of civil rights workers. "
Wow. Continue to assume that support for State's Rights makes you racists. Also continue to assume that ALL nasty-ness comes from one side of the isle. Also assume that the left never has a bad idea. Always assume your ideas are the best and everyone else is wrong. I thought US lefties were supposed to be more open-minded.
I find it very ignorant to make such assumptions. Your politics are dangerous. Giving the State a voice to help mold the power of the Federal government is an important tool in keeping a balance of power for our country (yet allow for a supreme council of judges to oversee such decisions). Not giving the state an option would be about as good as a federal governemnt without a legislative branch. It's an integral part of how our country makes laws and allows us the freedoms we have as a people. Go freshen up on your political science, Sir…
This comes from a Liberal, white Mississippian that has attended this assumed racists county fair my whole life. There are plenty of us that attend and there were plenty of us there when Regan gave that speech. And there were plenty of liberal Democrats that voted for the guy…
it seems to me that s l o w l y a lot of people get a better idea why the cuban people have not risen up against their oppressor. it is an insidious ,bit by bit eliminations of :choice, freedom , rights, and means of defense that leaves the population at the mercy of few.
"brothers , there is still time"
Is the author even a US citizen? I think all of these matters should be decided at the ballot box. This issue was not and I think that is what upsets people most. People see our representative ideals turned upside down when they watch their representatives vote against the will of their constituents. It is easier to do the will of the people at the state level since there are fewer people for the state representative to do the will of. I see this more and more as a states rights issue with the federal government trying to impose an issue on a public that had no say in the issue. They should have put this to a vote and let the voice of the people decide the outcome.
And before someone jumps on me regarding the number of representatives in congress being closely equal to state reps let me clarify. State reps spend plenty or time at home and are closer to understanding the will of the people. They meet and legislate closer to the people. Once a representative goes to DC they have to deal with federal issues as well as state issues. They also have to deal with issue on the foreign stage. They are a bit more distracted than their state counterparts.
Is anyone remembering that I will never see a dime of all my contributions to social security? That the funds run out just about the time that I would be eligble? So, what are the options? Raise taxes? Push off the age at which people are able to collect? Aren't all the predicted problems with social security actually coming to fruition?
OK., then on to medicare. That's not a cancerous growth of social security? Aren't there supposed to be huge problems with that, somewhere…? No? It's great?
None so blind as those who will not see.
None so deaf as those who refuse to listen.
None so mute as those who hold their tongues.
WBGriffin's post about American Exceptionalism really nailed it on the head.
Also, say what you will about healthcare reform: it was good, bad, waste of money, cost effective, whatever. The fact that the United States of America, the preeminent world power, has over 40 million out of ~300 million people without health insurance, is completely appalling. The fact that there are people who want to stand in the way of extending healthcare to 40 million people absolutely blows my mind. Make it out to be about state's rights. Make it out to be about freedom of choice, and quality of care. At the end of the day, you are standing against 40 million people receiving healthcare. It's disgusting.
The fact that hispanics are burgeoning v-v whites buttresses the argument that the US is becoming more and more socialist. The hispanics get more gov't assistance v-v the whites.
The Howard government in Australia, which was a conservative government mind you, had universal health care and other 'socialist' programmes yet still managed to get budget surpluses. The world's greatest economy (supposedly) can barely support itself, whereas a country of 22 million not only managed to stay afloat but grew, and with the 'socialist' Rudd government too.
The current deficit problem in the US is because of a shoddy tax system which sees those on lower incomes pay more as a percentage than those on higher incomes, and excessive spending by successive regimes on wars that never really needed to happen, not because of Obama.
The right wingers are appalling, most of them do not even bother to check the facts before they speak or write. They seem to just spout and/or pen misinformation, disinformation and false information. They must just get their information direct from the right wing propaganda machine and then just repeat what they have heard or read as if it is correct and accurate. Maybe they will start checking for facts.
The platform of the Democratic party in 2008 promised voters health reform. How is following through on their election promises voting against the will of their constituents?
Are you suggesting that legistators follow the most recent polls on each issue? In that case why do we have a representative democracy? Why not dispense with the legistators and make goverment decisions using polls?
Bdy2010: What difference does it make whether the author is a U.S. citizen or not? Do you think non-Americans are not qualified to write about the country, or should be banned from doing so?
The american attitude will bite them in the rear end sooner than later, their so called " freedom" actually deprives people of having a decent life. And while not even being able to care for its people (40 million uninsured) it still cannot support itself and runs deficits through the roof years after year. The US like any power in the past it is slowly rotting away from the inside because of greed and bad governance.
If the Tea Baggers don't like it maybe they should consider defecting to another country…oh wait, no one else in this world wants to be polluted by their rhetoric. Or maybe they should secede from the liberal states and form their own union…oh wait, they're too dependent on the economies of these liberal states to financially support themselves.
Here's an idea Tea Bags: Educate yourself on what's ACTUALLY happening in this country. Stop blindly ingesting the opinion you here from the right wing "news\'" talking heads. It's not even news!! It's an OPINION. And you know what they say about opinions?? They're like an a**hole – everyone has one and most of them stink!
And to the left – please get with it and stand up for what you believe in and fight the good fight! It's now or never!
The old Arguement about social programs goes back a long way. During the Viet Nam War social programs were cut in order to pay for war.
Seems like we always have anough money to pay for war, but never enough to make sure people at home do not suffer needlessly. Maybe it is because large corporations can make more on war materials than they can on taking care of people.
Then you get the Rush, Glen, and Sarah types who stand up and proclaim the most rediculous things they can to get their moment of fame and raise cash from a mob that does not really know where they stand, but want to join the mad as hell – won't take it anymore crowd.
From what I am hearing from All these screaming idiots, they do not really have a grasp of what the Health Care Bill is really about, and want some one to blame for every thing they perceive wrong with the country.
I guess it is too much to ask them to settle down. Research their ideology through Independent sources rather than the usual supplied rants. There might be a lot less screaming and blood pressure can go back down every where.
Ironically, when Bush Jr. was in office, carrying out warrantless wiretaps (very KGB), there were no cries from the right of government intrusion into citizen's lives. And of course, during that time, we invaded Iraq for no reason what so ever.
If the radical right continues to galvinize and the US is actually dumb enough to elect Sarah Palin as President some day, warrantless wire taps will be the least of our worries at home. And, the rest of the world will need to prepare for the worst. When ignorant, hate filled people take power in a rich, technologically advanced nation, bad bad things follow.
The far right are loosing it. Name calling, racist comments, ridiculus accustaions of communism. I wonder who is the brains here. Could it be these people are being duped?
What whiners! To all you right wing naysayers, groveling about healthcare reform, spending and whatever else. Your country is on the right track; no thanks to the right. Remember that the massive bailout spending was initiated by the Bush administration. The ongoing efforts are for the better of the nation, and ought not be for special interest groups and individuals. What a selfish bunch.
Reagan may have lied through his teeth at the Iran-Contra hearings, about Big Government, his role in World War Two and just about everything else in his worthless life but the old bodger really let the cat out of the bag with that one about chronic right-wing addiction to prescription drugs.
The fact is, America is too doped up on bad pharmaceuticals with the result that mainstream political discourse these days more closely resembles the bellowing of wounded animals than anything else.
Why do all these TEA people seem so fat and out of shape? they need to quit eating so much of that mind controlling junk food, get some exercise, maybe they wouldnt have so much time to be controlled by FOXNEWs.What kind of tea is that they are drinking anyway?
Taking snippets from the declaration or the constitution to justify the right wing agenda, does not make rightwingers an authority on freedom. These documents drafted by the forefathers are grossly misinterpreted and misrepresented through the sheer ignorance and selfishness of the present American society. Jefferson's Republicanism has little commonality with GOP tenets, which are infused in the minds of the naive, gullible and ignorant. It appears what most Obama critics perceive as freedom, comes just short of Anarchy.
Tea party and GOP appear rather anal. Get the Tea party in army fatigue to fight for their own freedom, instead of sitting on their laurels while excercising their freedom to whine off the backs of disadvantaged Americans sacrificing their lives for these losers.
Ok guys, let me just say something here.
The Federal Government was meticulously designed.
They have the House, which flows with the moods and tides of popular opinion.
They have the Senate, which is the tried and true men and women, those who have proven themselves skilled politicians, who don't rush to a decision.
They have the President, who makes decisions on the spot, because you can't discuss everything. Bush had it right, the job of the President is to be the "Decider" the "Do-er" (You wonder if that isn't how someone explained his new job to him.)
Now, these roles were all created in a time before polls.
Before cars, before jets, before tv. Before the internet.
Politicians are infinitely more visible than before, and have way more data coming back at them.
They have aids following twitters for useful info.
So, what we're seeing right now is a shift in how things operate. These are the holdovers, the dinosaurs, the Old Guard. They've failed to adjust to the times, which requires quick, bold decisions, and visibility to show your confidence.
Americans are SICKENED by the Senate, on both sides of the line.
The Senate is the biggest current threat to US ideals, but we'll be shaking things up soon enough.
I hope just 2 crazy ass Tea Party Senators get in there.
Cause there's a couple of crazy Dems in there already.
Hopefully we'll have some more Browns and Moderates.
TeaBaaggers –
The segment of our population that is white, which will no longer be a majority in 2012.
Teabaggers are merely using health care reform as a platform for venting fear, anger and frustration, of being overtaken by Hispanics, African Americans and Asians . It is Americas party of choice for white trash. Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck are their demagogues
Freedom is a right but also a responsability and if you don't take care of your responsabilities that is for sure you will get seized it. Unless Americans get concious about freedom and all the resposabilities such as avoiding that people die in emergency rooms because of the lack of affordable insurances or bankers collecting big bonuses far from the performance of the company, that for sure is the way to a fading freedom.
Surfrider0701, the US can be so glad that it resisted British overtures, you would have been a 2nd African colony, if not. Go the Mayflower. Cometh the Chococino Party.
Let's forget about the guilt stemming from eradicting Indigenous People, it must also have a long term effect if you keep bombing any that moves as it suits you.
That set aside, who consumes the other 30% ? Your nation comprises +- 5% of the World population, but consumes +-25% of the energy. Your credit consumption has also caught up with you. My clients are not paying me, so I am very cross. And so is my bank.
Let go of the Healthcare thing, it is consuming and making you sick and ill at the same time.
Story_Burn, the Wall Street bonuses is a fraction of the GDP.
And here we are, typing away while we are supposed to bail out the churches and hunt Cadbury-Kraft eggs.
Oddly enough, the SPLC has been claiming that the number of "hate groups" in America has been increasing about 6% a year, since 2000, (Even though there is no legal definition of "hate group"). (http://wp.me/pCLYZ-K)
And yet, for 2009, the first full year of the Obama Administration, the SPLC only reports an increase of 6 "hate groups," or about six-tenths of one percent, the LOWEST alleged increase in decades, according to the SPLC's own numbers.
So which IS it? Have the number of "hate groups" increased dramatically since President Obama took office, as the SPLC claims, or have they increased by the LOWEST number in decades, as the SPLC claims?
You can't have it both ways… unless, of course, you're just trying to scare the donors.
Equally disturbing is the fact that NOT ONE of the SPLC's top ten, highest paid executives is a minority. (http://wp.me/pCLYZ-3r)
The last remaining "Whites Only" sign in Montgomery hangs in the boardroom of the SPLC. Some "experts."
Dear all,
seen from here it's pretty clear.
As usual, people treat politics like football: there's one and only one team to cheer for, no matter what.
To those against this president and his reforms: you have a job, you pay taxes, you have an insurance and maybe now you are well. But as you should know, the globalization is running fast, china's growing, low cost countries in two words "cost less". What if tomorrow you'd lose your job? And then get ill? Cannot it be one of the plots of God?
I can't understand how people can be against these kind of reforms. It's just losing a bit to get more just if…! And is to that just if that people should think more.
Any fear of social democracy is rooted in a lack of understanding. I see many fellow Americans brushing it in the same stroke as communism, which it certainly is not! It is healthy for government systems to evolve. A pure democracy left free of regulation and some sharing of wealth eventually leads to a concentration of wealth and a polarization of ideals. Look at what a shift in that direction during the Bush years did to our country. Too much freedom saw us turn inwards developing a better than thou population filled with greed and corruption.
I believe the changes occurring in the U.S. are VERY positive and will make our people happier and our democracy stronger by involving more of our population in the wealth we create.
politics in washington is like the isreali/palistinian conflict. Both sides attack the other, claiming it's justified because of what happened yesterday. The only way to move forward is to agree to forget yesterday, but no one in power is able to do that.
Each party has demonized the other to the point that finding common ground is a betrayal. Obama talks a good talk, but when the Republicans don't accept his offer, he attacks them as visciously as anybody.
FEAR, FEAR AND MORE FEAR; What have we to fear BUT fear itself.
In 2007 this country was angry, angry at the way our lives, economy and freedom was and is dominated by corporate greed. Have some soon forgotten. The extensive white-collar crime taking place behind the large private doors of monopolized cooperation's? Who are replacing our individual freedoms for cooperate freedoms. With thousands of lobbyists in Washington DC, buying off congress, buying off taxes, buying off legislation while individuals have no voice of money to lobby for our freedoms.
We are to learn from the past to ensure that we do not repeat it. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
It appears nothing other then the comfortable fear we seem to be drawn toward. There is a take over looming here in America, but it is not government, it is corporations with the ability to buy off just about anything, including China. China has now turned on US cooperation's' and created their own economic monster with US dollars shrinking and Chinas Yuan increasing, yet not enough for corporations to return home, they are finding what it is like to be controlled economically. The only difference between China and the US, is that US corporations are controlled somewhat by our government (the people, through regulation and reform), we are a capitalistic, democracy. China, NOT! China is a capitalistic, communist, where government does what it can for power and economic control. Guess what, China has got it, with control over their Yuan values, American based corporations, China imports, developing their own global lending bank, taking over global resource control and buying up America quietly, one business at a time, one apartment building at a time, one investment at a time while our standard of living continues to drop. I THINK we are looking at the WRONG GOVERNMENT takeover here in the US, it is not our government it is CHINA.
Beware, do your own research, watch, look, listen, you will see it is a different government and different economy.
Is anyone remembering that I will never see a dime of all my contributions to social security? That the funds run out just about the time that I would be eligble? So, what are the options? Raise taxes? Push off the age at which people are able to collect? Aren't all the predicted problems with social security actually coming to fruition?
OK., then on to medicare. That's not a cancerous growth of social security? Aren't there supposed to be huge problems with that, somewhere…? No? It's great?
Will Social Security be there for me?
The baby boomers add about 200,000 extra people to the program for about a 12 year period. Noticeable but nothing formidable to it. The warnings are overblown.
But…..if Americans don't turn their lifestyles around, nothing is going to solve the health problem.
Obama talks a good talk, but when the Republicans don't accept his offer, he attacks them as visciously as anybody
Not a team of horses but a tug-of-war.
Two points directly opposite each other on a circle or sphere. More formally, two points are diametrically opposed if they are on opposite ends of a diameter.
I believe the changes occurring in the U.S. are VERY positive and will make our people happier and our democracy stronger by involving more of our population in the wealth we create.
I agree. We need to work on our empathy.
You think the right acts like a spoiled child whose just hard their candy taken away…wait until the lunatic right fringe doesn't have the government to bail their asses out of the next financial collapse that their own policies created. The right won't have the government to support them and they'll prey on any innocent civilian. The radical right wing are zombies.
They have the Senate, which is the tried and true men and women, those who have proven themselves skilled politicians, who don't rush to a decision.
The founders of this nation had a huge problem getting states to join. Smaller states didn't want to join out of fear they would trampled again. Larger states felt they would be responsible and footing the bills.
So the founders pleaded and compromised much of their power away. The Senate gives immense power to small populations. It is not Democratic but it is a stablizing force, especially with the filibuster. Enumerated powers only in a 200 year old document don't work. Amendments are impossible with today's lack of concensus. So we are bound to the past with a document we can't fully understand. So we use it to get our way.
Hey there "Old-Yeller 105″ Why don't you look up the word PROGRESSIVE, then, stop referring to yourself as one. I believe the term that you're looking for is "DEVIANT".
"Dear Conservative Americans,
The years have not been kind to you. I grew up in a profoundly Republican home, so I can remember when you wore a very different face than the one we see now. You've lost me and you've lost most of America. Because I believe having responsible choices is important to democracy, I'd like to give you some advice and an invitation.
First, the invitation: Come back to us.
Now the advice. You're going to have to come up with a platform that isn't built on a foundation of cowardice: fear of people with colors, religions, cultures and sex lives that differ from your own; fear of reform in banking, health care, energy; fantasy fears of America being transformed into an Islamic nation, into social/commun/fasc-ism, into a disarmed populace put in internment camps; and more. But you have work to do even before you take on that task.
Your party — the GOP — and the conservative end of the American political spectrum have become irresponsible and irrational. Worse, it's tolerating, promoting and celebrating prejudice and hatred. Let me provide some examples — by no means an exhaustive list — of where the Right as gotten itself stuck in a swamp of hypocrisy, hyperbole, historical inaccuracy and hatred.
If you're going to regain your stature as a party of rational, responsible people, you'll have to start by draining this swamp."
In regards to the Tea Party people, there are posts making generalizations of these fellow Americans as being racist, uneducated, fat, right wing extremists, white trash, whiners, out of touch with the facts, etc, etc.
I'm an independent, common sense type person. I did attend a Tea Party gathering in my area out of curiosity some time ago. There are always a few knuckleheads in every group no matter what. By far, the majority of folks attending these are just average Americans of every age/race/gender and economic status.
I'm not defending Tea Partiers. They have every right to voice their opinions and have their events. If their opinions are different than yours, that's ok. Instead of making these generalizations about your fellow Americans, go start your own movement.
No one in their right mind is against health care. Adams was for (classical) common education so that our population was informed and able to logically participate in government and make choices to effectively govern and ensure both the rights of the citizen and the strength of the economy and government. The issues are not health care. Congress has health care, so does the V.A., so do the elderly with medicare, and those with children under 18 (medicaid). Wow be to the States who administer them! And then there are the lapses in coverage which should be addressed, those too old, but not old enough, those with expensive conditions, uncovered. All this before the healthcare bill. Adam's noted GREED as our potential downfall, before Madoff or corporate bonuses way out of line or highly paid lobbyist or revolving door politicians. The bill recently passed, and the great amount of public outcry is about fiscal neglect and about a breech of trust. Medical bills are out of sight, my recent experience is $37k and counting for a 6 hour outpatient procedure (including recovery) with no insurance, with two more required or be physically disabled for the rest of my life. It has spelled financial ruin. But, I am not for Obama's bill because it doesn't address fundamental problems. It mandates more care without paying for the care we have and aren't paying for. I am one of those in the cracks of health care but I also have a son who will be paying through the nose for the rest of his life, in a country way out of control, not focusing on jobs and job creation within a global economy, and i don't want that for him or any young American citizen. This past week, social security became upside down. Our deficit is increasing so rapidly, now 14 TRILLION allowed? Check out what it was in 2003! What's the deal with that, paygo not approved? Life is not Disneyland. Our schools are expensive and terrible, our justice system is not about justice but about winning, and our politicians thwart the will of the people and pass legislation, ramming it through when even children with pre-existing conditions aren't covered for four yrs. while everybody is mandated to pay? and our current system is underfunded at best. Franklin used pretty and unsupported notes to float this country in the Revolution, but this is not that, it is gross neglect for our future and our wellbeing.
Dear Jonesy,
Being conservative does not mean being a Republican. Being conservative does not mean one is filled with hatred, prejudice, greed and intolerance. Like many others, you've chosen to label all conservative Americans as such so here's a generalization for you. Generally speaking, you are a nut job.
What I find hilarious in the the right's venting of their spleen against the current administration, is their total amnesia regarding the massive deficit built up under G.W. and the incontestable fact that his administration was the one sitting like a rabbit caught in the headlights as Wall Street took everyone off the cliff. If team Obama had not pumped so much taxpayers money into bailouts and so called `socialist`work schemes, we would be in the midst of a severe depression and like everyone else, those voting Republican would have lost all their savings in the collapse of the banking and stock market systems.
For any society to exist as a society there must be an central government, unfortunately too many people in America want no government.
The problem is that the conservative movement attracts people with those very same issues: hatred, prejudice, greed, and intolerance (I would also add fear to that list). There are simply too many people in the conservative movement with those vices in their hearts to ignore. It is the current rally cry. I think that conservatives have truly forgotten what actually – let me repeat – actually made this country. Compromise.
Your judgements are based on what data?
The most vicious hateful speech, protests, and assassinations in the United States have overwhelmingly come from the left. I've been to several Tea Party rallies. What I see is mostly educated people outraged at the path we're on. A path to 1984. You've got it all wrong about this protest.
What Spin would you like today? Rhetoric is of course more powerful than data – even solid scientific data. You know why?
Because the majority of readers don't care – to them, winning the rhetorical war makes it truth. In fact, there is a whole world of popular/common beliefs that are scientifically invalid.
But who cares?
People like to decide quickly and easily and nothing better than a "quickie" newsbyte to give their fix and help them feel they are conscientious citizens.
DVM – the majority of conscientious Americans who think for themselves and make up their own minds – mainly those who aggregate toward the center of the political spectrum – opposed Obamacare. It is not a politically conservative movement, though the right seems to be more interested in original intent to limit the powers of government.
I think this article has cut straight to the heart of the matter. I'm conservative and I don't hate anyone, I'm not stealing from anyone, and I'm not intolerant of others or their perspectives. I also don't think it's right that people in this country don't have access to healthcare. (although I think it's unlikely that this bill will really fix that problem)
This country is founded on a simple and truly wonderful idea, that Amercians should be free to pursue their dreams. I think many of the people posting on this board have forgotten this. I think our government has absoulutely forgotten this. I see things written here that imply we should be embarrassed or ashamed for what American is. Our own president talks to the rest of the world as if we're wrong and evil. Do you know how many people have given their lives for the simple idea that is America? To create a safe place so all you folks on this board can convince yourself that anyone with a perspective other than yours is evil and wrong. It's sickening to me, and that's what I've had enough of.
In my opinon, what's really happening in America is a fight about staying true to the ideals of our founding fathers. America is about active citizenship. There are many in this country that feel they know better than the citizens of this country. However, this country is governed by a set of checks and balances that prevent this from happening. The president of our country has clearly decided those rules don't apply to him. He has apparently rationalized that the percieved importance of the cause outweighs these checks and balances. That however is not how our government is intented to work. Our president is supposed to actively support and abide by those rules, not 'get around' them when they don't meet his needs.
That's what all this is really about. It's not about being a conservative, liberal, republican, or democrat. It's about being an American. An active citizen in the world's greatest democracy. Our government has lost touch with these ideals. I for one no longer intent sit idle and watch our current set of leaders destroy what so many have died to create… and neither should you.
unfortunatelly, the far right has become a symbol of the downfall of america's education system. this is not a real national phenomenon. why else is it that their following us mainly in "bible belt" of america. where racist feelings have always existed and irrational behavior have always been a part of the norm there. these people are incapable of being able to compete in a global economy and keeping up with an ever chaning world. they would only be satisfied with america if we went back to segregation, dropping bombs in far off countries and they were getting $30 a hour to press a button in some manufacturing plant while their company provided free health coverage for them and everyone in thier trailer park.
tomjeff: Massive deficit? Compared to what? Curious, how do you feel O's spending compares to W's? Try multi-fold more than W's.
sidrod23 – At least they know how to write – they capitalize their sentences. Common – is there any example of stereotyping and prejudice better than your accusations?
So much stereotyping and conservative thinking (that is, people unable to think outside their political world view) — that liberals as well as conservatives suffer from. Ad nauseam!
Medicare isn't necessarily a bad product, though my parents might disagree (mom just passed unexpectedly because Medicare required more pronounced symptomatology before it would pay for the tests she needed).
The problem isn't the product or the idea. The problem is in the implementation of it and the government controlling of it. Private insurance companies can be greedy, but they also can be regulated – by government or by consumers through tort relief; but it will be very hard to sue the federal government. Moreover, so much power over our healthcare choices (liberties) will be granted to non-elected bureaucrats – including a tax (mandating by law w/ penalty to engage in commerce) simply for being alive!
What makes them more noble and magnanimous than business executives?
Getting back to Medicare, why is the Medicare program a problem? Medicare has been the largest, single most contributing factor to why healthcare prices have risen.
Did you get this? Medicare HAS INCREASE HEALTHCARE PRICES SUBSTANTIALLY!
Why? Because of two reasons: 1) Medicare prices paid are below what costs providers expend in Medicare patient care, and 2) law requires Medicare to be the sole, single payer. It is as if the intent of Medicare is to force providers to loose money.
Results? Billions at least in losses – actual losses – not lost profits. One major institution looses $600M annually due to Medicare – yet they expend the least per patient than most other places.
Effects? Losses have to be paid by someone, and so they are covered by those who pay full price. If average cost of care per category patient is $1,000, and Medicare pays $500, the remaining $500 has to be covered by higher prices charged non-Medicare patients.
Therefore, it is not just insurance companies or provider profiteering who are at fault with our "broken" healthcare system. It is also the federal government! But was there any discussion of such? No!
Has anyone wondered why there has been no government document outlining a comprehensive explanation of what is broken and how the solution will fix what is broken? I'm not talking about the political rhetoric or Obamacare advertisement campaign (hey what about truth in advertisement?)
Obamacare is one step toward single payer – total government takeover of the healthcare industry (by Obama's own words – yes by his own words caught on video). This is of no surprise to Big Labor because single payer is actually a goal of Big Labor and their proponents. In fact, the videos captured were in Big Labor settings.
Looking at what Medicare could do the industry if it was the sole payer, do we really want the government to be a sole, single payer of healthcare?
The problem? You, Reuters; You AP! The American people do NOT know the whole truth because YOU won't report it! Solid empirical science has proven most news sources are politically biased to the left almost as strongly as a spectrometer can prove the clear daytime sky is roughly blue.
There certainly are people against Obamacare simply due to their political world view. They may not even give a rip about others.
However, so many more are against it because they looked at the bill and looked at the relevant information news houses refuses to report – never in the headlines. No wonder the Dems want to regulate internet commentary.
You want to debate Obamacare? Are you willing to lay all the cards on the table and have a solid argument? Do you think the issue is simply for or against? Or do you think there is a whole world of solutions somewhere in between – where perhaps a thousand-fold better solution might be found?
Or do you simply want the government to take over everything? Are they more trustworthy than business? So somehow, the government bureaucrats that get hired are super human and are more efficient, more magnanimous, and not inclined to temptation (whether power or greed)?
Can you conclude (for yourself) independent of a political ideology or platform; independent of a bandwagon? Or must you identify with one group or another? Maybe the winning one is your group – whoever they may be.
The way I look at it is single payer will create two socioeconomic classes of patients: 1) those who can afford to pay out of pocket for whatever healthcare they want whenever they want it, and 2) the rest of us (who will receive care according to some bureaucratic government board at a time the depressed industry has availability).
Here's some info: Medicare though at the abstract a good idea (IMO) has these problems: 1) levels of symptomatology required to pay for needed tests or care is higher than often exists; 2) costs for Medicare patient care can only be paid by Medicare – Medicare forces on providers as the single payer; 3) Medicare pays below actual costs of patient care; and 4) we cannot sue the government for problems caused by Medicare.
Billions in losses caused by Medicare are compensated by much higher full-payer healthcare prices. It has become a major problem for every healthcare provider, and as the baby boomers retire, all providers are planning for the worse.
Thus, government-run, single-payer Medicare has been a significant factor in skyrocketing healthcare prices and resulting higher insurance premiums and inaccessibility to lower socioeconomic classes.
Do we want costs in our healthcare system to be entirely paid by a similar single-payer program?
This "Founding Fathers" nonsense is really quite funny. Most of our "Founding Fathers" had slaves! And had no problem "bedding their female slaves", after all what could their "slave husbands" or the Founding Father's wives do about it. THEY HAD NO RIGHTS! We won't talk about why the phrase "rule of thumb" came into being (the settler husbands used to beat their wives to death. Hence the law that you could not use a stick or branch bigger around than your thumb to beat your wife). Oh, and this little thing about "Manifest Destiny", that about says it all. It was our Founding Fathers God given right to "do as they pleased" and force their idea of Democracy onto those that they happen to run across. But the "closer" was the fact that they were all "Land Owners" or, if you will, Property Owners. That property consisted of land, slaves and, of course, their wives. The idea that motivates most "conservatives" is "THIS IS MINE AND I'LL DO WHAT I WANT WITH IT". Ergo, a longing for the Good Old Days. Everything else is smoke and mirrors, the founding fathers merely wanted the freedom to do with their property, whatever they wished.
It's worth thinking about and a little researching.
[…] to this link: http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/ 2010/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-f ear/ No […]
You're a dumb A. To characterize an entire group of people by region and accuse them of racism is ridiculous. Have you ever been to the South? Have you ever done anything of note for that matter? Please, this is not about racism although its funny how quick people are to jump to racism because it gets people excited.
This is about one thing: Rights versus Opportunity.
America used to be about opportunity but now its about rights & entitlements and people getting what they deserve.
If a company can make billions or millions doing something well people get upset, no jealous, and the politicians jump on board. Remember the crusade against Exxon?! What happened to that, oh gas prices went down and it just fadded away!!
People, healthcare companies making money is not a bad thing. Every post I read about someone complaining that someone makes too much money is insane. That is what America is about, opportunity. Why do people feel the need to punish success?
The government is getting too big and spending with reckless abandon (please stop mentioning GWB – he is not the president and certainly not the cause of a real estate bubble and Obama is not entirely to blame either.
There is simply too much to write in such a little box but Obama is destroying the country and he is doing it by making you think he is protection you from evil people making money. Stop chanting "Change" and "Yes we can" and watch what he is DOING.
Healthcare and others making money provide jobs, innovation; and not least the taxes to pay your entitlements. It is competition that keeps prices low. Not government intervention and taxes. Why don't you people get this?!
The problem with America is this belief that you all deserve something. You deserve O2 (oxygen for those of you that dropped out of high school) and that is it. You have a system, a country, in front of you that gives you every opportunity to succeed if you would just take it. But no, people think they deserve something. WHY? Where did this come from? Where did accountability go? Drop out of high school and expect someone to take care of you. Obama preaches "tough love" but what has he done except give "stimulus funds" 80% which just went to help state budgets and bank bailouts. But no, really, he is concerned about main street. SHOW ME
In 1973 I visited a small hospital 50 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio and in the waiting room were Amish whom I rarely saw before. I commented to the nurse about them and she said, "They only come here when their pain or cure cannot be taken care of by their home treatments." Many people with hospitalization do that. Are emergency rooms visits required by laws to treat anyone that comes in? With the increasing numbers of poor in our country, USA, who is going to pay for the ER care providers; Capitalists or Socialists?
If everybody could just cut down on the length of their contributions, and spread it a bit, we might even make the main page…
QED: Quad Est Demonstrandum
Um, not sure how to put this but, you're disgustingly wrong. The tax code has a stepped up tax rate which has higher income's paying as much as 38% of their income straight to the Federal government. Those with lower income pay 10-15% and after tax credits and 'making work pay credits' most people end up with no taxes at all. Yes MOST.
Mint.com estimated that in 2009, 46.9% of Americans will have zero federal income. This data was from IRS.gov, taxfoundation.org and taxpolicycetner.org information. You are so wrong its laughable and scary. See for yourself:
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/f iles/images/user5/MINT-TAXES-R3.png
This is part of why people are fearful & angry because 46.9% of Americans have incentive to vote the taxes from others to themselves. Point, case, fact, truth, cry and weep libs.
This whole debate, and the climate in the country, brings to mind a poem by the great Irishman William Butler Yeats. It was written a year after the end of World War I and includes these lines:
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity."
Will the center hold?
I think the conservatives are merely boomers who are having flashbacks from some bad stuff they smoked back in the sixties. The young folks will not get involved because they are to busy with their face books and video games to really know what is happening. The press is fueling the fire. The government really doesn't give a crap and is business as usual. As far as you conservatives are concerned, put away your protest signs. Take some Viagra had have another summer of love.
Thanks for that Komment, I always wondered where Chinua Achebe got the title of his book.
I am not sure how the aggregate taxes in the US works, and without going into too much detail, my effective tax rate:
Salary/fees: 30%
Fuel: 1%
Sin taxes: 1%
Financial instruments, e.g. an EFT: 1%
Property, let's say: 1%
Others, undefined: 2%
Total: 50%
In other words, I give away 50% of every $ I earn, and I have no social security – I have to pay my own medical and pension. Am I a communist, socialist or capitalist ?
More like a 'ComSocCap'.
To get back to the topic at hand, I am enraged and live in fear of the authorities, and that is not even the intelligence guys, because, they are intelligent as they work for the state and I pay their salaries, i.e. the tax multiplier effect, which takes me beyond 50%.
Dear Bernd Debusman,
You are correct. We are already Socialist and have been for some time. I am Republican and Conservative and your writing boviously has hit a nerve with many Americans.
I also find it hard to believe that a militia against the federal govt. would kill a policeman and then try to take out his mourners. It does sound like a clever story for a govt. agency to gain popular support to go arrest and break up these guys. Think about it what would they gain for their cause by killing police famillies?
We are no longer FREE. Just ask the citizens about Hate Crimes…why is what you do against Gays (or any group) worse than what you do against me? Special classes have more freedoms and protection than others.
Don't even get me started about taxes…you think you own something? Since WWII income taxes were placed on property temporarily and have never left. Just don't pay them on your house, car, trailer anything you think you "own". The Government will sieze it and sell it for back taxes.
America if left on the current road will be gone inside 5 to 10 years. All the attackers are within…in fact Obama is leading those down the path Russia and other large Socialist/Communists have gone. Militia really don't have to do anything but wait for the chaos to breakout.
I will keep praying that sanity will someday come to Washington. It can only happen if the silent majority step up and get involved.
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Gonzo.
Smear and looting in Washington, Anon
[…] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/20 10/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-fea r/ […]
[…] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/20 10/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-fea r/ […]
[…] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/20 10/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-fea r/ […]
[…] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/20 10/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-fea r/ […]
[…] http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/20 10/04/01/americas-season-of-rage-and-fea r/ […]


text:
Cisco Live! Mexico: What Your Community Makes Possible through Cisco Networking Academy
Through the Certification: Possible program, Cisco Networking Academy students will have a chance to receive high-level mentoring during the weeks before the event
MEXICO CITY, 27 September, 2012 – Sixteen students from the Cisco Networking Academy™ in the Yucatán Peninsula will have the chance to practice and receive direct supervision from Cisco engineers in order to prepare themselves for the CCNA® certification. In addition, the 12 students with the best exam scores will have the opportunity to participate actively in Cisco Live! Mexico, held this year from November 6 to 8 in Cancun.
Students chosen from academies in Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo will receive direct supervision for over a month from Cisco engineers involved in the organization of Cisco Live! They will also be given the opportunity to take their certification exam by the end of October with the exam fee covered by the event.
The students chosen to participate in Certification: Possible at Cisco Live! México have already finished their full Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) training in the Networking Academy® program. In order to be considered for the program they had to create a video explaining why they wanted to become a Certification Possible candidate.
The Networking Academy celebrates its 14th year in Mexico as one of the largest programs outside the United States, with more than 47,000 students in 388 academies nationwide. In the Yucatán Peninsula there are more than 25 academies.
The courses required of the participants in Certification: Possible are either CCNA Discovery or CCNA Exploration. Both courses prepare students for the CCNA certification; CCNA Discovery provides an overview of general networking theory and opportunities for practical experience, career exploration, and soft-skills development; CCNA Exploration provides a comprehensive overview of foundational to advanced networking concepts, with an emphasis on theory and practical application.
About Cisco Networking Academy
Every year, the Cisco Networking Academy program teaches hundreds of thousands of students worldwide the skills needed to design, build, manage and secure computer networks — improving their career prospects while filling the global demand for networking professionals. With 10,000 academies in 165 countries, Networking Academy helps individuals prepare for industry-recognized certifications and entry-level information and communications technology (ICT) careers in virtually every type of industry. Students develop foundational skills in ICT while acquiring vital 21st-century career skills in problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.
For more information on Cisco Networking Academy visit: www.cisco.com/go/netacad
About Cisco Live!
Cisco Live! is held annually in just four locations worldwide: U.S., U.K., Australia and Mexico. In 2011 Cisco Live! Mexico gathered 2,500 professionals from Mexico and the rest of Latin America who attended 112 sessions; 250 engineers took certification exams, and 50 partners participated in the World of Solutions.
For further information about Cisco Live! Mexico, the industry's premier education and training event for IT professionals, please visit www.ciscolive.com.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It Is All About BTC, LTC, ETH, ZEC mining as well as other alternative crypto currencies
If you were thinking that MaxCoin (MAX) is dead, then you might want to rethink thatas in the last few hours there has been an increase in the trading volume of the coin and the exchange rate is starting to get back up, though still far from what it was a while ago. We do recommend to keep an eye on MAX, especially if you have some coins that you have mined some time ago and still haven't sold them due to the low exchange rate. Mining MaxCoin at the moment might also be a good idea with the current lower difficulty and if the exchange rate continues to increase. A few hours later however it seems though it might just be another pump and dump scheme, though the exchange rate stabilized at almost double price than before. Meanwhile the project has released new wallet binaries for MaxCoin 0.9.0, and recommends that everyone upgrades by next week (block 140000).
– For more information about the MaxCoin alternative crypto currency…
An alternative cryptocurrency disrupting the already rather disrupting crypto market. It does not use a typical SHA-256 algorithm, but instead relies on a different SHA-3 (Keccak) that makes it ASIC proof for now at least. You can mine it with either a CPU, though with GPU mining also available there will not be much point in using the CPU. You need to use a specialized mining client based on cgminer for GPU mining. Considering the fact that this is still very new crypto and it already has a few smaller exchanges supporting trades is a good sign for potential in this one.
– http://signup.maxcoin.co.uk/
Block Explorer / Crawler
– http://max.cryptoexplore.com/
– Windows
Source Code
– at GitHub


text:
Laced Hair Tape-In Extensions are the highest quality, 100% pure Remy human hair. Tape-In Extensions lay flat to the head and are easily applied without the use of tools, beads, clips, or chemicals. The extensions are gently removed using Laced Hair Bond Remover and can be moved up/touched up with Laced Hair Tape-In Re-Tabs (replacement tape).
- Weight of the hair per bag: 14" - 45 grams, 22" - 50 grams
- Suggested move up/touch up every 4-6 weeks
- Hair can be reused
- 20 Laced Hair Tape-In Extensions per bag
Most in-stock items should arrive on your doorstep or in your mailbox within 4-7 business days after the customer receives their tracking number via email.
Orders placed by 9am MST will be processed the same business day. Orders placed after 9am MST will be processed the next business day. Most in-stock items should arrive on your doorstep or in your mailbox within 2-3 business days after the customer receives their tracking number via email (excluding holidays).
Orders placed before 12:00pm MST will be processed and shipped the same business day. Orders placed after 12:00pm MST will be processed and shipped the following business day (excluding holidays). Orders placed on Friday after 12:00pm MST will be processed and shipped the following Monday (excluding holidays).
Most in-stock items should arrive on your doorstep or in your mailbox within 7-11 business days after the customer receives their tracking number via email.
International customers may be required to pay sales tax, duty and/or Customs charges. All Taxes and customs charges are the responsibility of the customer and are not included in the cost of the order or shipping charge. Taxes and customs charges differ depending on the country and state of the shipping address. We suggest contacting your local customs office if you are unsure of the applicable taxes and customs fees that are relevant to you. Laced Hair is not responsible for any additional taxes and customs charges that are requested during the shipment of your order.
Orders are processed Monday through Friday excluding weekends and holidays. Tracking information is sent via email on the day that the order is shipped out.
If a change of address is made directly with your local post office or FedEx, Laced Hair will not be held responsible for any lost or misdelivered parcels. Requests for change of address must be made directly with Laced Hair via firstname.lastname@example.com prior to your order being shipped.
If a customer error in the shipping address is made during the checkout process (eg, incorrect/incomplete address), customers must contact Laced Hair via firstname.lastname@example.com one hour after the order is placed for correction. Otherwise once shipped the customer must contact the USPS or Fedex to have changes made.
Laced Hair is not responsible for lost, stolen or mishandled packages (eg,damanged/opened parcels) during the delivery process.
Laced Hair is not responsible for packages delayed in transit. This includes the Holiday season.
The shipping cost for orders is non refundable.
Product Care
Gently squeeze out the excess water and blot with a cotton towel. Use a large wide tooth comb to detangle and straighten while extensions are damp.
Laced Hair can be styled using a boar's hair bristle brush( wet brush), Flat iron, or curling iron.
Brush regularly (while brushing, hold base of scalp where the extensions adhere to the natural hair with opposite hand)
For best results, we recommend the following when caring for your extensions:
- Use only sulfate-free and paraben-free products
- Use spray leave-in-conditioner or moisturizer on extensions to keep from tangling or drying out
- Braid extensions before sleeping or bed
- Sleep on silk pillow
Water Activities
For all water activities we suggest you do the following to protect your hair:
- Get your hair wet before entering an ocean, lake or pool.
- We suggest you also comb and braid your hair before entering the water.
- Rising immediately after leaving the water.
- For an extra measure wash with a clarifying shampoo after water activities.
Coloring & Toning
We do not suggest dying our extensions, as it can change or alter the integrity of the extensions. If you do choose to dye Laced Hair Extensions, our suggestion would be to use a demi or semi permanent color. If you chose to tone please watch carefully. All coloring done to Laced Hair extensions should be done by a licensed professional. Laced Hair Salon does offer custom coloring for a small charge.


text:
Welcome to my Web Site!
This Web Site is a collection of information and photos of most of the major tanks of the leading countries from WWII to the present time. Fully tracked self-propelled artillery and anti-tank guns will be included as this Web Site develops. We strive to make it is one of the most comprehensive armor sites on the Web.
Most of the photographs were taken by the author at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum located in Aberdeen MD. over a span of almost 25 yrs. Additional photos were taken in NJ at Ft. Dix, the National Guard Training Center, the National Guard Museums at Sea Girt and Lawrenceville. We have also included many fine photos from our viewers which are acknowledged in the "What's New " section. All the material is copyrighted 2000 -2002 and may not be reproduced without the specific written permission of the author.
Updated: 05/15/03
You are visitor number:


text:
Are you sure this is just bread and not a little bit of heaven??
As I mentioned in my earlier review post, my boyfriend and I attend "Taste of Bethesda" the other week. My first review was not too hot, but tis review could not be any better. The first year we attended "Taste of Bethesda" we bought a couple loaves of bread from Spring Mill Bread Co. and it was one of the main reasons I wanted to go back to the festival this year. The bread pictures above is their famous Apple Streusel Bread, which they bake fresh daily. I can not express how fabulous this bread it. I prefer to eat it sliced as is, but my boyfriend quite enjoyed it with peanut butter. the bread is soft and sweet, with small bits of cinnamon apples baked inside. The entire top of the loaf is coated with a layer of cinnamon sugar streusel. If you live anywhere near their six locations you should definitely stop and and pick up a loaf...or two.
In addition to the Apple Streusel Bread, we bought a loaf of Honey Whole Wheat was was also very tasty. I did not get a photo of it, but it tasted great with cream cheese.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Apple Streudel Bread from Spring Mill Bread Co.
Are you sure this is just bread and not a little bit of heaven??
1 comment:
- AnonymousOctober 16, 2008 at 9:00 AM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.ReplyDelete


text:
Farfisa Electronic Keypads for Access Control Systems(8)
Browse Electronic Keypads for Access Control Systems
- Standalone / Weigand Type
- Networkable
- Standalone / Networkable
- Standalone
- Programmable
- Yes
- Make
- Farfisa
Electronic keypad products updated recently
Electronic keypads - Expert commentary
There's growing noise around smart homes and smarter security. You've probably heard it. But there is a place where access control and more have been smart for decades: the workplace. Home automation and IoT are still playing catch-up with the commercial sector. A new insights report from ASSA ABLOY and IFSEC Global — "The Smart Door Locks Report 2018" — measures just how fast consumer smart technology is running. According to a survey conducted for the report, 61% of households now claim to own at least one smart home device or system. Energy monitors, home CCTV cameras, intruder alarms and smart door locks are the most popular, according to the report. All these functions, of course, have been available to businesses for years.61% of households now claim to own at least one smart home device or system Educating The Smart Home Consumer Paradoxically, report data also questions how much consumers really know about their smarter home. A surprising 42% of those surveyed, for example, were unaware they could control a smart door lock from their phone. In fact, many leading smart door lock models offer this feature, delivered by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and an app. Despite a wealth of features offered by the latest smart door locks — remote and location-based locking/unlocking; voice activation; timed access; emailed entry alerts; and integration with smart camera and lighting systems — most people still have limited knowledge of their capabilities. Smart technology is increasingly becoming the new norm in terms of home security Only 14% of survey respondents described themselves as "very familiar" with what a smart lock can do. Even though most of them probably use smart access control solutions at their workplace. Secure Homes Through Smart Technology Monitoring and security are not the only drivers for smart home adoption. We humans also love convenience, and modern living presents us with problems that smart home technology can solve. Ironically, given the report's findings, it takes a smartphone to really unlock the convenient possibilities of smarter living. The device that's "always to hand" is central to the newest generation of smart door locks.A smart door lock is a convenient way for a landlord or agency to offer round-the-clock check-in and check-out If homeowners wish to remotely manage property access for friends and family, many smart door locks oblige. You let in guests remotely, send them a virtual digital key, or provide a temporary or single-use PIN to unlock the door. It is just as easy to revoke a digital key, if you don't want its owner to come around anymore. This is a significant improvement over sharing physical keys — or hiding one under the doormat. We cannot be totally sure where a metal key ends up and have no way to track or cancel it once it's "out in the wild". Commercial access control offers such functionality as standard, of course. In addition, smart door locks offer more than just stand-alone operation and clever functions. In a domestic setting, magic happens when locks work in harmony with a home automation system, connected by protocols like Z-Wave, ZigBee or Wi-Fi. "Smart" Security On The Move The smartphone is becoming a remote control for managing a connected life beyond just home (and even workplace) security. According to Accenture, the parcel delivery services market will grow by $343 billion by 2020. Just like home security, convenience is a major driver of change. Homeowners can send guests a virtual digital key to their phones, or provide a temporary or single-use PIN to unlock the door A recent PostNord pilot in Sweden aimed to remove the inconvenience of waiting home for a postal delivery. Selected customers of some major Scandinavian e-retailers could choose to have parcels delivered inside their front door, if it was equipped with a Yale smart door lock. Home delivery is among potential smart services covered in "The Smart Door Locks Report 2018 ". When asked whether the ability to receive parcels securely in a porch or lobby would make them more likely to invest in a smart door lock, 79% said it would.It is easy to revoke a digital key, if you don't want its owner to come around anymore Vacation Rentals And Smart Home Tech ASSA ABLOY research published in 2017 forecasts continued growth in the European vacation rentals sector (at 5.8% CAGR). Smart door locks are also making an impact here, at both ends of the market: for service providers — agents and homeowners — and for travelers. A smart door lock is a convenient way for a landlord or agency to offer round-the-clock check-in and check-out, without creating extra work or staff costs. Both Intersoft, in Croatia, and Hoomvip in Spain have built vacation rentals management systems around an app and the ENTR® smart door lock. Agents issue, revoke, track and manage virtual keys for all their guests, saving everyone time and hassle. travelers use their phones and an app to unlock their apartment. For these visitors the smartphone is already an essential travel accessory. It is a boarding pass, a credit card, a travel guide, and a postcard home... why not a door key, too? And if this key is backed by a trusted home security brand — and a company with vast experience in the mature market for commercial "smart" security — better still.
For the past several years, there has been a focus by integrators and customers to assure that their card-based access control systems are secure. To give businesses an extra incentive to meet their cybersecurity threats, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has decided to hold the business community responsible for failing to implement good cybersecurity practices and is now filing lawsuits against those that don't. For instance, the FTC filed a lawsuit against D-Link and its U.S. subsidiary, alleging that it used inadequate safeguards on its wireless routers and IP cameras that left them vulnerable to hackers.Many companies perceive that they are safer with a card but, if done correctly, the mobile can be a far more secure option Now, as companies are learning how to protect card-based systems, such as their access control solutions, along comes mobile access credentials and their readers which use smart phones instead of cards as the vehicle for carrying identification information. Many companies perceive that they are safer with a card but, if done correctly, the mobile can be a far more secure option with many more features to be leveraged. Handsets deliver biometric capture and comparison as well as an array of communication capabilities from cellular and Wi-Fi to Bluetooth LE and NFC. As far as security goes, the soft credential, by definition, is already a multi-factor solution. Types Of Access Control Authentication Access control authenticates you by following three things: Recognises something you have (RFID tag/card/key), Recognises something you know (PIN) or Recognises something you are (biometrics). Your smart phone has all three authentication parameters. This soft credential, by definition, is already a multi-factor solution. Your mobile credentials remain protected behind a smart phone's security parameters, such as biometrics and PINs. Organizations want to use smart phones in their upcoming access control implementations Once a biometric, PIN or password is entered to access the phone, the user automatically has set up 2-factor access control verification - what you know and what you have or what you have and a second form of what you have. To emphasize, one cannot have access to the credential without having access to the phone. If the phone doesn't work, the credential doesn't work. The credential operates just like any other app on the phone. The phone must be "on and unlocked." These two factors – availability and built-in multi-factor verification – are why organizations want to use smart phones in their upcoming access control implementations. Smart Phone Access Control Is Secure Plus, once a mobile credential is installed on a smart phone, it cannot be re-installed on another smart phone. You can think of a soft credential as being securely linked to a specific smart phone. Similar to a card, if a smart phone is lost, damaged or stolen, the process should be the same as with a traditional physical access credential. It should be immediately deactivated in the access control management software - with a new credential issued as a replacement. Your mobile credentials remain protected behind a smart phone's security parameters, such as biometrics and PINs Leading readers additionally use AES encryption when transferring data. Since the Certified Common Criteria EAS5+ Computer Interface Standard provides increased hardware cybersecurity, these readers resist skimming, eavesdropping and replay attacks. When the new mobile system leverages the Security Industry Association's (SIA) Open Supervised Device Protocol (OSDP), it also will interface easily with control panels or other security management systems, fostering interoperability among security devices. Likewise, new soft systems do not require the disclosure of any sensitive end-user personal data. All that should be needed to activate newer systems is simply the phone number of the smart phone.All that should be needed to activate newer systems is simply the phone number of the smart phone Bluetooth And NFC The Safer Options Bottom line - both Bluetooth and NFC credentials are safer than hard credentials. Read range difference yields a very practical result from a security aspect. First of all, when it comes to cybersecurity, there are advantages to a closer read range. NFC eliminates any chances of having the smart phone unknowingly getting read such as can happen with a longer read range. There are also those applications where multiple access readers are installed very near to one-another due to many doors being close. One reader could open multiple doors simultaneously. The shorter read range or tap of an NFC enabled device would stop such problems. However, with this said in defense of NFC, it must also be understood that Bluetooth-enabled readers can provide various read ranges, including those of no longer than a tap as well. One needs to understand that there are also advantages to a longer reader range capability. Since NFC readers have such a short and limited read range, they must be mounted on the unsecure side of the door and encounter all the problems such exposure can breed. Conversely, Bluetooth readers mount on the secure sides of doors and can be kept protected out of sight. Aging Systems Could Cause Problems Research shows that Bluetooth enabled smart phones are continuing to expand in use to the point where those not having them are already the exceptions With that said, be aware. Some older Bluetooth-enabled systems force the user to register themselves and their integrators for every application. Door access – register. Parking access – register again. Data access – register again, etc. Newer solutions provide an easier way to distribute credentials with features that allow the user to register only once and need no other portal accounts or activation features. By removing these additional information disclosures, vendors have eliminated privacy concerns that have been slowing down acceptance of mobile access systems. In addition, you don't want hackers listening to your Bluetooth transmissions, replaying them and getting into your building, so make very sure that the system is immunised against such replays. That's simple to do. Your manufacturer will show you which system will be best for each application. Research shows that Bluetooth enabled smart phones are continuing to expand in use to the point where those not having them are already the exceptions. They are unquestionably going to be a major component in physical and logical access control. Gartner suggests that, by 2020, 20 percent of organizations will use mobile credentials for physical access in place of traditional ID cards. Let's rephrase that last sentence. In less than 18 months, one-fifth of all organizations will use the smart phone as the focal point of their electronic access control systems. Not proximity. Not smart cards. Phones!
The physical security market continues to experience growth as users look to capitalize on the promises of emerging technologies and because of this, 2017 proved to be a great year for Oncam. In fact, this year was the best year in Oncam's history in terms of sales, as 360-degree fisheye cameras have gone from being a "specialty" camera used only in certain applications to a primary device for enabling total situational awareness. Today, many of our customers leverage 360-degree cameras exclusively to provide extensive coverage inside a facility or in a large outdoor area, with traditional narrow field-of-view cameras used only at "choke" points. Increase In Cybersecurity Threats And Breaches At the end of 2016, we predicted a major trend this year would be an increase in cybersecurity concerns for users of physical security systems, and we were right. An increase in cybersecurity threats and breaches have put organizations on watch. Based on this and the adoption of more IT-centric infrastructure and protocols, there is significant collaboration between IT and physical security, and true "convergence" is finally starting to happen. The adoption of video analytics also continued to increase this year, as most video surveillance projects involved the use of some form of analytics and data analysis. Demand For Safeguards As we move into 2018, the trends of 2017 will roll over, and cybersecurity will continue to be a major issue. Suppliers of hardware and software will put an even greater emphasis being cyber secure and end users will increasingly demand safeguards. Additionally, the deployment and use of advanced analytics based on newer artificial intelligence-based technologies will continue to increase. It will be the technology providers that find ways to allow users to capture additional value from the information collected by security systems that will accelerate growth. Oncam made significant investments in new products that leverage analytics and cloud technologies. In 2018, we will continue to invest in the development of new products, with a focus on solutions for particular applications across industry segments. Beyond our technology advancements, we've invested significantly in boosting our sales force in the Americas and adding industry experts to ensure sustained customer and partner success with our solutions. From our vantage point, Oncam is well positioned to capitalize on opportunities for growth in the coming year.
Related white papers
Mobile Access- What You Need To Know (Part 1)
OSDP Is The Strongest Access Control For Your Business
Is Your Access Control As Effective As You Think?
Beyond Security - Access Control For Multi-Tenant SitesDownload
Reducing The Cost of Video Surveillance System Deployment and OperationDownload
RFID and Smartphone Readers in Physical Access ControlDownload
Genetec To Host Its First Virtual Tradeshow Connect'DX 2020 To Connect With Physical Security Professionals
Tyco CEM Systems protect Salalah, Duqm and Muscat International airports with 1 access control security infrastructure
- Tyco CEM Systems protect Salalah, Duqm and Muscat International airports with 1 access control security infrastructure
- ASSA ABLOY's Code Handle Secures An Upscale Fashion Boutique, Patio, With A PIN Locking Handle
- UK Department Store Installs Traka's Intelligent Locker Solution To Protect Customer Service Mobile Equipment
- ASSA ABLOY's Code Handle Protects Fylab Physiotherapy Practice With Secure PIN-Operated Handles


text:
Figurative Bronze Sculptures and Miniature Sculptures
Later, the form is re-worked, usually in wax for bronze pieces, as she attempts to "find the real figure", meaning the feeling of the piece rather than a realistic interpretation of something she has observed.
Bornstein states, "When I model, I struggle to arrive at the shape or feeling that captures the essence of what I'm trying to communicate. I'm also thinking about how the shapes relate to each other and to the movement of the piece.
I cast in bronze because this warm metal can capture the plasticity and emotion of my figurative forms. The right color strikes me when the shape is right, or sometimes, color actually leads the shape. Some questions I ask myself: Have I risked everything in pursuit of the essence of the thing? Does the work have the original spark of my intention, yet also gone beyond it and become something new? Does it communicate? Does it have a reason for being?
Underlying my art is the hope or belief in the human potential for intelligence and compassion. As I work, it's almost as if the tension between these and other human propensities can be made visible—even resolved—if I am successful in resolving the piece."
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014 "Nation II At the Alamo", Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2013 "Survival of the Fittest", Duo Show- Noa Bornstein, Sculpture; Daniel Clurman, Painting, P339 Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2013 Prague/Manhattan Graphic Center Selections, Hallor Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
2013 AES ("bronze") Gallery, Long Island City, Queens, NY
2013 "Scholarship Recipients: Prints from the Collections," Manhattan Graphics Center, NY, NY
2013 "Sideshow Nation," Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2012 "Clayfest, NYC," Clay Space 1205 Showroom, Brooklyn, NY
2012 "Mic: Check (Occupy)," Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2011 Grounds for Sculpture, Toad Hall Gallery, Hamilton, NJ
2010 "Animal Dreams," a new leaf gallery | sculpturesite, Sonoma, CA
2009 "Selections from the Gallery's Artists," Walter Randel Gallery, New York, NY
2009 "Dreamwork," Center for Psychoanalytic Studies (CMPS), New York, NY
2009 "Inspiration to Interpretation-Ceramic Work," Gallery Clay Space 1205, Brooklyn, NY
2009 "It's a Wonderful Life," Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2008 Holiday Group Show, AES (Bronze) Gallery, Long Island City, Queens, NY
2007 "Big Ideas, Small Works: Miniature Sculptures and Maquettes," Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco,CA
2007 "Common Ground, Proposals for Public Art," Westchester Community College, State Univ. of New York, Valhalla, NY
2007 "War is Over Again," Sideshow Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
2007 SOFA Chicago, with Sculpturesite Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006 "Images of Social Justice, Small Works, Big Heart," St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn, NY
2006 "Snapshot of Survival," 4 year traveling exhibition of 13 drawings and paintings; NY University Cancer Center; Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, TX; other hospitals and cancer centers in the U.S.
2005 "Vernissage," A New Leaf Gallery, Sonoma, CA and Sculpturesite Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 "Stairmaster," Holland Tunnel Art Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (part of Williamsburg Gallery Association Walking Tour)
2005 "Spectrum," Micro Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2005 "Gallery Artists," The Figurative Gallery, La Quinta, CA
2004 "Metamorphoses," Studio 18 Gallery, New York, NY
2004 "Italian Painters and American Sculptors," Gallery Boreas satellite project, Gateways Inn, Lenox, MA
2004 "Olympus Revisited," Holland Tunnel Extension, Paroikia, Paros, Greece
2003 "Quiet Places," Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ (3-person show)
2002-2003 "To Scale," The Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2002 "The Figure in Bronze," Grounds for Sculpture, Toad Hall Gallery, Hamilton, NJ
2002 "20th Anniversary of Outdoor Sculpture," Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, Brooklyn, NY
2002 "Drawing from Perception," Wright State University Gallery, Dayton, OH, Juror: Graham Nickson
2002 "The Pastel National, 2002," The Wichita Center for the Arts, Wichita, KS, Juror: Wolf Kahn
2001-2002 "The Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition," Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
2001 "BROOKLYN!" Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Lakeworth, FL
2000 "North American Sculpture Biennial," Foothills Art Center, Golden, CO, Juror: Alison Saar
2000 "Figurative and Portrait Show," Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY
1998 Theodora Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
1998 "Wood Memorial Biennial," Gallery in the Wood, South Windsor, CT, Juror: Susan Cross, curator, Guggenheim Museum
1997 "National Juried Competition", Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY, Juror: Judd Tully
1997 "42nd Annual Long Island Artists' Exhibition," Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY, Juror: Holly Solomon
1996 "Summer Group Show," Caelum Gallery, New York, NY (outreach to visually-impaired community; sculptures to see, touch, and hold)
1995 "The Best Contemporary Art CD-ROM, Juried Collection," mural, Art Communication Int'l,Philadelphia, PA, Jurors: Claudia Stone, Ivan Karp, Pamela Auchincloss
1994 "The Self-Portrait Show, Part I," drawing and painting, The New York Law School, New York, NY
1992 "Family," drawing and paintingGoddard-Riverside Center, New York, NY
1985 "Fusion '85: Works of Asian, Black, Jewish and Latino Artists of Los Angeles," drawing and painting, Jewish Federation, Los Angeles, CA
1985 "Southern California Figurative Art," painting, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, Juror: Ruth Weisberg
Selected Commissions
2010 Finalist: Sculpture for the New Wishard Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
2008 NYC Chapter Engineers without Borders, sculptures for model of dam, Cambodia Water Dam Project, NY
2007 Baltimore Sculpture Project, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, MD
2005 Summit Outdoor Art Project (SOAP) and the Mayor's Council on the Arts, Summit, NJ
1999-2000 City of New York Parks & Recreation, sculpture, Live Well! installed in Tribeca Park, New York, NY
1998 "Children in Crisis International," The Tempest and Midsummer Night's Dream for traveling benefit exhibition, tour NYC and Germany
1995 Bellmont Italian American Playhouse, Luigi Pirandello's Henry IV, New York, NY
1992 Wellstone Inc., Architectural Associates, Dream of the Two Houses, Santa Monica, CA
1987 Operation GreenThumb, Department of General Services, The New York State Council on the Arts, Striving Together, Mural at the Harlem Rehabilitation Center, New York, NY
1984 Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, Chevron, Inc., and IBM, Inc, mural, Magritte in Los Angeles, CA
1983 Clint Eastwood, drawings and on-screen paintings of Sondra Locke for his Warner Brothers film, Sudden Impact
1983 Grifftex Corporate Collections, purchase of Chaim Soutine Drinking, nationwide distribution.
Selected Collections
Dr. Claude Tolbert, Beaufort, SC
Kleinfelder Engineers, Bohemia, NY
Law offices of Jerod Peterson, Minneapolis, MN
Christian Stephans, President, Price Waterhouse, Hamburg, Germany
Dr. Deborah Stern, Los Angeles, CA
Georges Leroux, Architectes des Interieurs, Brussels, Belgium
Clint Eastwood, Los Angeles, CA
Grifftex Corporate Collections, GA
Selected Honors and Awards
2012 Scholarship, Manhattan Graphics Center, NYC (Lithography)
2012 Featured on KCET TV online, (Los Angeles) Ed Fuentes, "This is not a surrealist mural: Magritte in Los Angeles"
2006 First Place, "Images of Social Justice, Small Works, Big Heart," St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn NY
2006 Honorable Mention, "Snapshot of Survival," Sanofi-Aventis, New York, NY
2000 Knox Galleries Award for Cast Bronze, North American Sculpture Biennial, Juror: Alison Saar
1996 Catherine and Denis Krusos Award of Excellence (for sculpture), Juror: Holly Solomon
1985 Award of Outstanding Contribution to the Los Angeles Murals Program, Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department
1996 Sculpture Center, New York, NY, Bronze casting and mold making
1988 National Academy of Design
1981 Santa Monica City College, Functional Human Anatomy, Science Department
1974 University of California at Santa Cruz, BA, Major in Art, Minor in Dance Theater. Junior year, traveled, painted in Israel and Europe, attended Life Drawing classes, Art Academy of Vienna, Austria.