10 Ways to be an Author of Change from the ... - Write Nonfiction NOW!

How to become a change agent On Saturday I?ll be speaking on two panels at the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference. I love this conference because it is focused on helping nonfiction writers who want to become change agents get their books published. It?s attended by aspiring and published authors who write about self-help, spirituality, human potential, ecology (and everything ?green?), the economy, metaphysics, etc. These are author of change. And the speakers are agents, publishers, editors, and other publishing professionals who love to work with authors and books about change. They, too, are change agents in their own way.

I?ve been working on my presentation for one of the panels, and I thought I?d share some preliminary thoughts about what it takes to be an author of change. I think you have to begin at the very moment when the inspiration to become a change agent?and to do it through the vehicle of a book?hits you. Here are 10 ways to accomplish this goal:

  1. Have a mission. Know why you feel compelled to write this book. Define your purpose. Combine your passion with a purpose. Passion + Purpose = Inspiration
  2. Know the benefits of your movement. People will get on board and join your cause if they understand the benefit to themselves, to others or to the world. Figure out the value your message adds.
  3. Broadcast your mission. Communicate about your cause. Let people know why you are doing what you are doing. Share your purpose and your passion. When you feel inspired, your inspiration will become contagious. Use all the social networks?Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, LinkedIn (or choose 2 you can really commit to). Talk about it everywhere. Pitch stories to traditional media.
  4. Set up a blog. You and your message need to be discoverable online. That?s where people search for everything; you need to broadcast your message there. A blog gives you a ?home? in cyberspace (a website), and a way to get that website more easily found by readers.
  5. Blog in a focused manner. Have a content plan or a focus for your blog that pertains to your book. Better yet, blog your book. Stay on topic and blog often.
  6. Create online community. Develop a place where people who want to get on board with your message or cause can do so. Start a forum or a subscription site. Build more followers and fans with a Facebook page, LinkedIn group, Google Plus hangout, Twitter Chat, etc.
  7. Connect with like-minded online ?influencers? and friends. Get other people with more reach than yours?to join your cause and to promote it. Guest blog. Appear on podcasts. Ask those you know to help promote.
  8. Build community offline. Promote your idea everywhere. Start MeetUps. Create masterminds. Go to conferences. Join organizations.
  9. Use every possible tool. Try podcasting or free radio shows so your content is on iTunes. Create YouTube videos. Produce photos and post them to Instagram.
  10. See yourself as more than just an author. See yourself as a change agent?an author of change.

Of course, then you still need to write your book. But if you do all of these things, you will become an author of change. All those people who will have gathered around you will take your message out into the world. And they?ll be waiting for your book to help them continue creating change.?You will have authored change and created a community of change agents ready to use your book to continue creating change.

Photo courtesy of by Kookkai_nak

Related posts:

  1. Become a Change Agent by Sharing Your Words
  2. You and We the People: Writing for Change
  3. Writing for Change: From Passion to Publication (Part 2)
  4. How to Write and Publish Book About Change
  5. 6 Ways to Build Author Platform Using Spoken Words

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Source: http://writenonfictionnow.com/10-ways-to-be-an-author-of-change-from-the-moment-of-inspiration/

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Web Design for UK New Business Concept (Online Retail) | Graphic ...

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I need someone who can design a homepage, some other information pages and create the overall site design of my website. What I'm looking for is someone who can replicate in design this website (similar to what we are as a business but we are based in the UK!) www.sevenly.org - You will make some changes if you feel it can be improved or look visually better. I will supply our logo to you for use and I also have some text. This project is now a matter of urgency for us.

We are an online social enterprise retail business who is linked to working with charities and selling on there behalf through our website www.onlyone.org.uk - I need it to look amazing, be an easy consumer experience for customers but function with smoothness for people to use. We require flat images / photoshop for this as I mentioned my business partner can turn it into HTML.

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Serena Williams comes back to win U.S. Open

NEW YORK (AP) ? Finally tested, even trailing, at the U.S. Open, Serena Williams turned things around just in time.

Two points from defeat, Williams suddenly regained her composure and her strokes, coming back to win the last four games and beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 on Sunday night for her fourth championship at Flushing Meadows and 15th Grand Slam title overall.

"I honestly can't believe I won. I really was preparing my runner-up speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great,'" Williams said during the trophy presentation after the 2-hour, 18-minute match, adding: "I'm really shocked."

Might be the only one.

After all, what really was stunning was that the top-ranked Azarenka made things as interesting as they were, given that she came into the day 1-9 against Williams.

Add in that Williams hadn't dropped a set in the tournament, losing only 19 games through six matches before Sunday. All part of a tremendous run she is putting together in reaction to her loss at the French Open in late May, the American's only first-round exit in 49 career major tournaments. Since then, she is 26-1, winning Wimbledon and the London Olympics.

There hadn't been a three-set women's final in New York since 1995, and Williams came through with a late charge to become the first woman to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same season since a decade ago, when ? yes, that's right ? she did it.

"She never gives up," said Azarenka, who managed only 13 winners, 31 fewer than Williams. "She's definitely the toughest player, mentally, there is and she's got the power."

While Azarenka, a 23-year-old from Belarus, doesn't have the name recognition or bona fides of Williams, she did win the Australian Open in January, and was 32-2 (a .941 winning percentage) on hard courts in 2012. She also hadn't dropped a three-setter all season until Sunday, going 12-0 in matches that went the distance, including victories over defending U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the quarterfinals and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.

As Sunday's third set commenced, Williams' mother, Oracene Price, told her from the stands, "Settle down."

Didn't happen right away.

"Well, she's a human being, you know, who has two feet, two legs, two hands," Azarenka said. "It's understandable."

When Williams double-faulted, slapped a bad backhand into the net and pushed a forehand long, Azarenka broke at love for a 4-3 edge, then followed that up by holding for 5-3.

One game from the championship.

Azarenka was two points away at 30-all with the fourth-seeded Williams serving in the next game, but couldn't convert. And when Azarenka served for the victory at 5-4, she showed the jitters that probably are understandable given that this was only her second career Grand Slam final, 17 fewer than Williams.

Azarenka made three errors in that game, including a forehand into the net that let Williams break her to 5-all. Williams kept whatever excitement she might have felt contained, face straight as possible, while her older sister, seven-time major champion Venus, smiled and clapped in the stands.

That was during a key stretch in which Williams took 10 of 12 points to go ahead 6-5. She then broke again to win, dropping onto her back on the court when Azarenka sent a backhand long to end it.

"Feels like there is no room for a mistake," is the way Azarenka described trying to deal with Williams' game. "There is no room for a wrong decision."

Azarenka slumped in her changeover chair, a white towel covering her head, as Williams kept saying, "Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" while scurrying over to share the joy with her mother and big sister.

"Being so close, it hurts deeply," Azarenka said. "To know you don't have it. You're close; you didn't get it."

Williams, who turns 31 on Sept. 26, is the first 30-year-old woman to win the U.S. Open since Martina Navratilova in 1987.

Williams is dominating the game right now. And she's been dominant, off and on, for more than a decade.

She won her very first major championship at age 17 at the 1999 U.S. Open. Winning titles 13 years apart at the same Grand Slam tournament represents the longest span of success in the professional era, which began in 1968. Navratilova (Wimbledon, 1978 and 1990) and Chris Evert (French Open, 1974 and 1986) had the longest previous spans of 12 years.

Every so often, though, Williams' reign has been interrupted by health problems.

She missed eight months after having surgery on her left knee in 2003, the year she had completed a self-styled "Serena Slam" by winning four consecutive major titles.

Of more concern was what happened only a few days after she won Wimbledon in 2010. Williams cut both feet on broken glass while leaving a restaurant in Germany, leading to two operations on her right foot. Then she got blood clots in her lungs and needed to inject herself with a blood thinner. Those shots led to a pool of blood gathering under her stomach's skin, requiring another procedure in the hospital.

In all, she was off the tour for about 10 months.

"She was so disgusted at home. She felt like she was useless. That's the way it is with athletes, I guess. She couldn't sit still," Price said Sunday night. "She was getting depressed. A lot to overcome."

Talk about making up for lost time.

After her stunning first-round loss at Roland Garros to a woman ranked 111th, Williams went back to work, getting help from Patrick Mouratoglou, a coach who runs a tennis academy in France. She's 14-0 in Grand Slam matches since then; the Wimbledon trophy ended a two-year drought without a major title.

Mouratoglou came to New York with Williams, and he noticed the he way she set aside her mid-match struggles.

"Players usually completely lose their confidence and they can't get all of their tennis back. But she got all her tennis back. Like nothing happened," he said. "This is what was most impressive. She's not like the other players."

In the men's final Monday, defending champion Novak Djokovic will face Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray. It's the fifth consecutive year the tournament will conclude on Monday instead of the scheduled Sunday because of bad weather.

Djokovic beat David Ferrer of Spain 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in a semifinal that was halted in the first set because of impending rain Saturday and wrapped up Sunday.

Worries about a potentially dangerous storm led the tournament to postpone Williams-Azarenka, making this the fourth time in the last five years that the U.S. Open women's final was pushed from Saturday to Sunday.

When they got started, Williams was good as can be, compiling a 16-2 advantage in winners through the first set.

She pounded big serves ? she finished with 13 aces, at up to 125 mph ? and big returns; smacked forehands and backhands out of Azarenka's reach; even tossed in a terrific backhand lob to break for a 2-0 lead at the outset.

Both women had issues with the officiating ? though nothing compared to Williams' misadventures in the past.

In the 2009 semifinals, Williams was angered by a foot-fault call that resulted in a double-fault, setting up match point for her opponent, Kim Clijsters. Williams launched into a racket-brandishing tirade that resulted in a fine and a Grand Slam probation that made her be on her best behavior or risk being suspended. Then, while losing to Stosur in last year's final, Williams lost her cool and berated the chair umpire ? "You're just unattractive inside," was among the noteworthy lines ? after being docked a point for screaming during a point.

This time, there was a foot-fault call, too. It came with Williams serving at 40-love while trailing 2-0 in the second set. She didn't react at all immediately, finished off that game, then stared down the linesman as she walked to the sideline at the ensuing changeover. He chuckled a bit.

"I'm just happy that she got thru this one without any incident and was able to try to forget all that in the past," Price said. "Because I think that was a lot in her mind."

Actually, by then, Williams had bigger problems to worry about.

She double-faulted to get broken in that set's opening game, and got broken again to fall behind 4-1 in a game that featured Azarenka sliding into a running forehand winner and nearly doing a full splits. Even Williams applauded that one.

But when the game ended, Williams slapped her racket against her changeover chair.

Azarenka also had a minor run-in with the chair umpire Sunday, complaining when a point she thought she should have won was replayed.

"You're hilarious," Azarenka said, her words and grin drenched in sarcasm.

___

Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/serena-williams-comes-back-win-us-open-233337676--spt.html

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France's Hollande pledges spending cuts, tax reforms

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Socialist government insisted on Friday it would press ahead with spending cuts and promised tax reforms next year, denying reports it was watering down flagship measures such as a 75 percent tax on the rich.

President Francois Hollande, elected in May on a pledge to kick-start growth and raise taxes on the wealthy, said the stagnant economy made it crucial for France to hit its public deficit target of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) next year or risk losing investors' trust.

Hollande said that by holding state spending steady in nominal terms next year -- excluding debt servicing and pension payments -- his government would save 10 billion euros in inflation-adjusted terms.

However, that would amount to just one-third of the more than 30 billion euros in savings which Hollande says are needed to hit next year's deficit target and stay on course to balance the budget by the end of his five-year mandate.

With his government refusing to cut staffing levels, the bulk of the adjustment will have to come from tax rises.

"This will be the biggest effort in 30 years," Hollande said at a ceremony at the state auditor's office, promising "audacious" tax reforms and other changes.

France's deficit has not slipped beneath the EU threshold of 3 percent since 2007, when it stood at 2.7 percent of GDP.

After years of crisis that have driven state debt to 90 percent of GDP, Hollande said servicing payments were now the second largest budget item, making adjustment more complex.

Markets and EU partners alike see the spending plan as a crucial test of Hollande's reformist mettle, but there is little sign yet of far-reaching reforms next year.

France has not balanced its budget since 1974 and state spending is now 56 percent of economic output - second only to Denmark in the West.

The budget will be presented at a September 28 cabinet meeting, pushed back by two days to allow for Hollande's trip to the United Nations' General Assembly in New York, officials said.

NO DECISION ON 75 PCT TAX

Following newspaper reports that the government was preparing to water down a pledge to tax earnings above 1 million euros a year at 75 percent, cabinet heavyweights quickly came out to say it would go ahead as promised.

"President Francois Hollande made a clear, strong commitment during the campaign to tax high earners at 75 percent," Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici told local media. "This promise will be strictly respected."

Labour Minister Michel Sapin, meanwhile, said the measure would go ahead but some nuances would be introduced: while the threshold of 1 million euros for a single person would stand, it would be set higher for couples.

Referring to reports in right-leaning Le Figaro that artists and sportsmen could be exempted, Sapin said the tax would be based on average earnings over a long period so those receiving a temporary spike in their earnings would not be hit.

He did not comment on reports in right-leaning Le Figaro newspaper that the CSG and CRDS social charges would be included in the headline rate -- suggesting the effective rate of income tax would be around 67 percent.

"We have not finalized the proposal ... It will be decided next week: between the reality of next week and the suppositions of today there may be some difference," he said.

Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici last week told business leaders the government was seeking an "intelligent" way to implement the tax without driving away investors.

Le Figaro, without citing sources, also said the government would postpone plans to raise corporate tax on large firms to 35 percent from the current rate of 33 percent, while slashing it to 15 percent for small businesses.

(Additional reporting by Julien Ponthus and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Catherine Bremer/Ruth Pitchford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/frances-hollande-pledges-spending-cuts-tax-reforms-170332615--business.html

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Facebook pix spat sparks Philadelphia plane bomb hoax

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A man avenging his girlfriend over a questionable Facebook photograph was charged on Friday with falsely reporting explosives aboard a plane that was ordered to return to Philadelphia Airport, authorities said.

Kenneth Smith Jr., 26, was charged with using a telephone to convey false information about the woman's former boyfriend, who was a passenger aboard the US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Dallas on Thursday.

Shortly after the plane had departed, it was ordered back to Philadelphia when police received a call that the former boyfriend, Christopher Shell, 29, was carrying a "liquid explosive" on board.

No dangerous materials were found and the incident was soon deemed to be a hoax, authorities said.

"Smith stated that his motive for doing so was to avenge Person 1's (Shell) ex-girlfriend of whom Person 1 had posted a compromising picture on Facebook," said an FBI affidavit.

"It is the kind of photo that could incense a boyfriend," Smith's lawyer, William Brennan, told reporters after his afternoon appearance in U.S. District Court, declining to further describe the photograph.

Federal Magistrate Henry Perkin ordered Smith released on his own recognizance on the condition that he keep his job as a restaurant cook, not move from his Philadelphia address, or seek a passport, and stay away from Shell and firearms.

Smith, who appeared in court wearing a green prison jumpsuit, his wrists cuffed in front of him, could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 (156,172 pounds) and possible restitution, said the Patricia Hartman, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office. He will be arraigned at a later date.

"I think my client, who is a stand-up guy, is frankly very embarrassed," Brennan told reporters.

While not charged in plane incident, Shell was arrested when he finally arrived in Dallas on an outstanding warrant of marijuana possession.

Shell, who now lives in Philadelphia and turned 29 on Thursday, was taken off the plane for questioning, but once cleared was allowed to fly to Dallas on a later plane.

(Reporting by Dave Warner; Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Leslie Gevirtz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-pix-spat-sparks-philadelphia-plane-bomb-hoax-170125969--finance.html

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Minn. casino cooks up record 1-ton cheeseburger

In this Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012 photo provided by by Black Bear Casino Resort, people examine a bacon cheeseburger measuring 10 feet in diameter and weighing more than a ton at Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton, Minn. The behemoth burger, served up Sunday at the Black Bear Casino Resort tipped the scales at 2,014 pounds. (AP Photo/

In this Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012 photo provided by by Black Bear Casino Resort, people examine a bacon cheeseburger measuring 10 feet in diameter and weighing more than a ton at Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton, Minn. The behemoth burger, served up Sunday at the Black Bear Casino Resort tipped the scales at 2,014 pounds. (AP Photo/

(AP) ? A Minnesota casino has cooked up a world-record bacon cheeseburger that's 10 feet in diameter and weighs more than a ton.

The behemoth burger was served up Sunday at the Black Bear Casino Resort near Carlton. It tipped the scales at 2,014 pounds.

Guinness Records representative Philip Robertson verified the record for biggest burger. He called the feat a result of "remarkable teamwork" and said the burger "actually tastes really good."

A Duluth News Tribune report (http://bit.ly/PXpUQP ) says the previous mark was a mere 881 pounds, 13 ounces.

Black Bear's burger included 60 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of lettuce, 50 pounds of sliced onions, 40 pounds of pickles and 40 pounds of cheese.

It took about four hours to cook the patty. A crane was used to flip it.

___

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2012-09-03-ODD-One-Ton%20Cheeseburger/id-f6702883de814ef8a32b63fe302a1ae7

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Selling Out the Troops for Romney

?...Anthony H. Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it is difficult to talk about the war given its unpopularity, impending defense cuts by Congress and several recent pessimistic assessments of the war?s course?.?

Last Thursday, Mitt Romney became the first GOP nominee in The Pink Flamingo?s lifetime not to mention our military or national defense in his acceptance speech.? It was perhaps the GOP?s greatest moment of shame in the long and proud history of a once glorious party.? Now, though, it is a dying elephant, murdered by the likes of small-minded men like Mitt Romney who have all but ignored our soldiers in the field.? Neither did Paul Ryan.? Our military was mentioned ONLY 4 times during the GOP convention.? It was never mentioned by Romney nor Ryan.

?...It?s rather surprising that it was mystery-guest actor Clint Eastwood ? not Mitt Romney ? who made the only reference to the war in Afghanistan during the final night of the GOP (Grand Old Party) convention last week. Commentators on both the right and the left have taken the Republican presidential nominee to task for not addressing a nearly 11-year-old conflict in which roughly 90,000 US troops are currently engaged and more than 2,000 have died. In fact, the so-called ?forgotten war? was only mentioned four times during the three-day Republican convention (the word ?jobs,? by contrast, was uttered 220 times)?.?

NY Times

WPost

John Kerry rightfully, and embarrassingly castigated Mitt Romney for not mentioning our troops. This is the very real problem with what Mitt Romney and his GOP has done. By refusing to, or forgetting to acknowledge our troops, refusing to thank them, then by the GOP refusing to even own up to his dastardly error, we?ve completely lost the moral high ground here.

?...And let me say something else. No nominee for president should ever fail in the midst of a war to pay tribute to our troops overseas in his acceptance speech. Mitt Romney was talking about America. They are on the front lines every day defending America, and they deserve our thanks?.?

Well?. Romney did address the American Legion convention.

FOX

Ronald Reagan believed in supporting our military.

?...For example, Mr. Carter says he supports the volunteer army, but he lets military pay and benefits slip so low that many of our enlisted personnel are actually eligible for food stamps. Re-enlistment rates drop and, just recently, after he fought all week against a proposal to increase the pay of our men and women in uniform, he helicoptered to our carrier, the U.S.S. Nimitz, which was returning from long months of duty. He told the crew that he advocated better pay for them and their comrades! Where does he really stand, now that he?s back on shore?

I?ll tell you where I stand. I do not favor a peacetime draft or registration, but I do favor pay and benefit levels that will attract and keep highly motivated men and women in our volunteer forces and an active reserve trained and ready for an instant call in case of an emergency?It is the responsibility of the president of the United States, in working for peace, to insure that the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president, fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority.

We are not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance?and only after we have determined that it is absolutely necessary. We are awed?and rightly so?by the forces of destruction at loose in the world in this nuclear era. But neither can we be naive or foolish. Four times in my lifetime America has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of beachheads, the fields of Europe and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that tyrants are tempted?.?

George W. Bush 2004 speech:

??One thing I have learned about the Presidency is that whatever shortcomings you have, people are going to notice them and whatever strengths you have, you?re going to need them. These 4 years have brought moments I could not foresee and will not forget. I?ve tried to comfort Americans who lost the most on September the 11th, people who showed me a picture or told me a story so I would know how much was taken from them. I?ve learned firsthand that ordering Americans into battle is the hardest decision, even when it is right. I have returned the salute of wounded soldiers, some with a very tough road ahead, who say they were just doing their job. I?ve held the children of the fallen, who are told their dad or mom is a hero but would rather just have their mom or dad. I?ve met with the parents and wives and husbands who have received a folded flag and said a final goodbye to a soldier they loved.

I am awed that so many have used those meetings to say that I?m in their prayers and to offer encouragement to me. Where does that?strength like that come from? How can people so burdened with sorrow also feel such pride? It is because they know their loved one was last seen doing good, because they know that liberty was precious to the one they lost. And in those military families, I have seen the character of a great nation, decent, idealistic, and strong.

The world saw that spirit 3 miles from here when the people of this city faced peril together and lifted a flag over the ruins and defied the enemy with their courage. My fellow Americans, for as long as our country stands, people will look to the resurrection of New York City and they will say, ?Here buildings fell. Here a nation rose.?

We see America?s character in our military, which finds a way or makes one. We see it in our veterans, who are supporting military families in their days of worry. We see it in our young people, who have found heroes once again. We see that character in workers and entrepreneurs, who are renewing our economy with their effort and optimism. And all of this has confirmed one belief beyond doubt: Having come this far, our tested and confident Nation can achieve anything?.?

John McCain?s 2008 speech was a homage to the military.

Barack Obama mentioned our troops and foreign policy in his acceptance speech. Mitt Romney ignored them.

??And tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still serve in harm?s way.? We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected. We will never forget you.? And so long as I?m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.

When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you?ve served us because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home?.

I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee.? Six months ago, We would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and 20 pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg. And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled. He gives me hope.
?
?I don?t know what party these men and women belong to.? I don?t know if they?ll vote for me.? But I know that their spirit defines us. They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a ?future filled with hope??

This is a disaster.? The Democrats now have the moral high ground.? The GOP was once the party of red, white, blue, and support our troops.? Now, we are being told, as was The Pink Flamingo, that we needed to support the troops privately.? They know how we feel.? It is not good form to be so outrageously patriotic.? The Pink Flamingo heard a news cast, don?t remember which channel, where our troops in danger were absolutely shocked and dismayed when neither Mitt Romney nor Paul Ryan had the basic decency to simply thank them.

If Barack Obama had ignored them, you would hear no end to the castigation from the Right.? Instead, now, we hear nothing but static.? With the exception of Bill Krystol, NO OTHER LEADING CONSERVATIVE bothered to hold Mitt Romney to account.

How dare they?

Instead, they played nasty, celebrating empty chair day.? I gather it didn?t matter than the creator of empty chair day was a humiliating embarrassment for the GOP, by slamming our brave heroes in uniform.

Right now, I no longer want to hear or see one conservative or Republican pretend to be supportive of our troops, when they don?t have the grace to stand up and say that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were wrong.? Until they do that, the elephant is on life support.

As for The Pink Flamingo, after Friday, and the lies that were told about Barack Obama in El Paso, and the wretched behavior of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, I?m voting for Barack Obama.? Never in my life have I voted for a Democrat.? Right now, after listening to Obama?s speech on Friday, he sounds like a Neo-Con to me.? He gave a speech I have heard George W. Bush give.

The Pink Flamingo believes in supporting our troops and our country.? Evidently the Republican Party, under the leadership of Mitt Romney, does not. Until they repair their behavior, they?ve lost my vote, my support, and my respect.

Not one ?stalwart? conservative:? Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michael Medved, Laura Ingraham, Glenn Beck, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Michelle Malkin, Breitbart, Erick Erickson, you name it ? etc, etc?. has stood against Romney and his failure to support our troops. So much for ?conservative?.? They?re nothing but a bunch of liberal, anti-war, jerks, every damn one of them.? You?ve lost my respect.? You will never have it again.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ThePinkFlamingo/~3/1ADYJT_iRFE/

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Fastest production rise since 1987 signals recession end

LONDON (Reuters) - British industrial output grew at its fastest pace in 25 years in July, making up all the ground lost due to an extra public holiday in June and raising the chances that the economy is crawling out of recession.

Separate data from Office for National Statistics showed cost pressures for firms were rising again, a potential concern for the Bank of England, which is hoping that falling inflation will ease pressure on cash-strapped British consumers.

While the price and production data may raise doubts over the need for further monetary stimulus from the central bank, the economy's fragility and vulnerability to Europe's debt crisis mean most economists still expect another dose of easing.

"On balance, we still think we'll get more quantitative easing in November," said Investec economist Victoria Clarke.

"But if these figures continue through the rest of the quarter, coupled with a broader rebound, that could start to look a bit more debatable and it could make that November meeting certainly more lively."

Britain's economy has still not fully recovered from a 2008-2009 slump. It slipped back into recession late last year as the euro zone debt crisis hurt export demand and business confidence, compounding the effects of the government's tough austerity plans aimed at erasing a huge budget deficit.

The economy is likely to show some growth in the third quarter thanks to the rebound in production and sales of tickets for the London Olympics and Paralympics, which may add 0.2 percentage points to growth in the third quarter.

Manufacturing output jumped 3.2 percent in the month of July after a drop of 2.9 percent in June, when an extra holiday to mark Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne hit output, the Office for National Statistics said.

This was the strongest rise since July 2002 and above even the most optimistic economists' forecast.

The wider reading of industrial output, which includes energy production and mining, leapt 2.9 percent in July, the biggest rise since February 1987.

Sterling and gilts were little moved by the data as the European Central Bank's plan outlined on Thursday to buy Italian and Spanish government debt has eroded the appeal of safe haven assets such as British government bonds.

OLYMPIC BOOST

The ONS estimated ticket sales from the Olympics and Paralympics would add about 580 million pounds in revenue, which should lift growth in the third quarter and help drag the economy out of recession after three quarters of falling output.

"My working assumption was a gain of about three quarters of a percent (in third-quarter GDP) ... maybe I wasn't optimistic enough," said Alan Clarke, economist at Scotiabank.

Business surveys have indicated a stabilisation of demand for manufacturing products in August and service firms reported improved business.

Most economists predict now that GDP will be lower this year than in 2011, and many see only a sluggish recovery next year, which keeps pressure on the government and BoE to boost growth.

On Thursday, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashed its forecast for British growth this year to -0.7 percent from 0.5 percent, and warned the outlook for all major economies is darkening.

At its policy meeting on Thursday, the Bank of England stuck with its current programme of buying 50 billion pounds' worth of government bonds with newly created money until November.

A survey showed that Britons took a more benign view of the inflation outlook, though their satisfaction with the central bank hit a record low.

The government has launched a number of measures to get credit flowing and boost infrastructure and house building, but finance minister George Osborne has so far ruled out any easing of his plan to tame the deficit.

A rise in construction orders in the second quarter by 0.2 percent, also published on Friday, indicated that the construction sector, the main drag on the economy in the first half of 2012, may be stabilising.

Annual factory gate inflation ticked up to 2.2 percent in August, and rising oil costs drove firms' input costs up 2.0 percent on the month, taking the annual input price inflation to 1.4 percent, both above forecasts.

The government and the central bank have been hoping that lower inflation will ease the pressure on households' budget and allow consumers to spend more and support the faltering economy.

(Additional reporting by David Milliken, Alessandra Prentice and Peter Griffiths; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/july-industrial-output-fastest-pace-25-years-boosts-085847862--business.html

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While looking over the framework and domains for school readiness, there are a few areas where the MiniMasters program (and artmaking) can have a strong influence on the early learners' growth, development and school readiness. I'm sure this post will seem a bit academic but I am just interested to see how school readiness domains, visual art content standards and the MiniMasters program can find some common ground.? Besides talking about inspiring and engaging experiences, there is also sometimes a need to apply all the buzzwords, current trends and standards to what we are doing.

The essential domains of approaches to learning, cognition and general knowledge as well as physical development are addressed in art making.? With such a strong focus on the process, many of the domains are accomplished.? Creative arts expression, specifically art as an approach to learning gives the learners another outlet to express their ideas.? In the MiniMasters program, we use cooperation (or collaboration) as an approach to making art.? Capitalizing on the learners' initiative and curiosity allows for open-ended projects in which the learners explore their interests, ideas and are choice-makers.? The most important part of the program, for me, is taking a backseat and allowing the learners to work together to make an artwork. In this, besides the collaboration and self-initiative, early learners are able to use reasoning and problem solving to complete the artwork.? This year, I plan to come prepared with a small collection of art materials, some basic art tools and help the students to use what I have to solve the problem.? With all this, fine motor skills are also refined, which might be a bit obvious...

The Ohio Department of Education recently released new visual arts standards.? While looking over the Kindergarten content statements, I realized that many of the things that are happening during the MiniMasters classroom visits are addressed in these statements.? Only meaning that the early learners in the MiniMasters program are already progressing toward the cognitive and creative learning processes of Kindergarten students.? Without even realizing it, school-readiness is built into the MiniMasters program!? I thought I would just list a few of the statements that apply and are interesting to me:

  • Describe the meaning in the marks they make on paper
  • Explore their environments and experiences for artmaking ideas
  • Generate ideas and images for artwork based on observation, memory, imagination and experience
  • Describe their artworks and efforts and share their artmaking processes
  • Show confidence and pride in their artistic accomplishments?
Another important part of the program, is that after completing the classroom visits, the students and their families are invited to visit the museum and take pride in the artwork that was created.? Hopefully this experience and enhance family relationships and strengthen the museum's role in the community and link families to the museum experience.
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Source: http://minimasteraam.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-does-artmaking-in-minimasters.html

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