Remember that in 2008 Obama promised to cut "net government spending," to make government smaller

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Remember also that the stimulus was supposed to be temporary?  Will Obama ever return government spending back to where it was when he became president, let alone to where he said it should be when he became president?

And I believe there's further unnecessary spending in government that we can eliminate. But we can't simply cut our way to prosperity. Cutting spending has to go hand in hand with further reforms to our tax code so that the wealthiest corporations and individual can take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most Americans and we can't keep cutting things like basic research and new technology and still expect to succeed in the 21st century economy. So we're going to have to continue to move forward in deficit reduction but we have to do it in a balanced way, making sure that we are growing, even as we get a handle on our spending. . . .

UK's crime rate much higher than US's

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From the UK Daily Mail, England's violent crime rate is about 80 percent higher than the US's.

Britain has a higher crime rate than any other rich nation except Australia, according to a survey yesterday.The chances of having your car stolen are greater in England and Wales than anywhere else in the developed world, it said.
The international crime report was published as Tony Blair prepared to unveil plans to tackle persistent offenders.
The Prime Minister - who will next week become the first serving premier to visit a British prison when he launches his law-and-order package - said the crackdown would target the 100,000 worst offenders who are responsible for the bulk of crimes.
He is to announce a £700million programme - described by senior government sources as 'very radical' - in a bid to win back the initiative in the law and order debate in the runup to the general election expected in May.
According to the figures released yesterday, 3.6 per cent of the population of England and Wales were victims of violent crime in 1999 - second only to Australia, where the figure was 4.1 per cent.
Scotland had a slightly lower rate of violence, at 3.4 per cent.
In the U.S., only 2 per cent of the population suffered an assault or robbery. . . .

NMHSC Raffle, 6/16--> 'The Homeschooling Handbook'

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by Mary Griffith, Paperback, 1997, Printed by Prima Publishing ---Image of book is on main website www.NewMexicoHomeSchoolCommunity.com

This is a virtual raffle drawing for the book. The book is in excellent condition with some writing in the back near the group listings. It is older and some of the groups and links might be out of date but the general information itself is timeless for those that need a boost in the reasons why they are homeschooling and those new to homeschooling. Mary Griffith is a wonderful writer and has many books that all homeschoolers should read! Here is her website--the book in this raffle is the original edition http://www.marygriffith.net/Site/homeschooling.html

Entry is $3

You can enter more than once to increase your chances of winning!

You add more to donate to the NM Home School Community. Proceeds will go to support the efforts and future projects of the NM Home School Community.

Go to my website www.NewMexicoHomeSchoolCommunity.com or http://nmhomeschoolcommunity.blogspot.com/ and hit the Paypal donate button. Checks and cash also accepted, email me for details.

Please include 'The Homeschooling Handbook' Raffle in the paypal subject line and your name, email, address and phone number(s) for contact (this information will not be shared or viewed except by myself)


Entries must be received by Friday, June 20 at midnight.

Virtual raffle drawing will take place on Saturday, June 21, 2008 and winner will be announced via email!

I will cover shipping. Or I will make arrangements to meet you in town if you live in the Albuquerque Area.

The raffle entries will vary in amount depending on the prize being offered.

If you have curriculum, books and/or educational related items that you would like to donate to be raffled off please contact me at NMHomeschoolCommunity@gmail.com

Blog: Facebook Says 'Yes' to Homeschoolers

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http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/06/facebook-says-yes-to-homeschoolers.html

Facebook Says 'Yes' to Homeschoolers
Thursday, June 19, 2008
The world would go on just fine if this announcement had never been made, but for 1000's of homeschool kids it has now become easier to join the popular social networking site, Facebook, without compromising the verification process or site security. From the Facebook Blog,

Back in September 2006, we decided to open up Facebook to everyone. Well, almost everyone.We realized Facebook would be most useful if more people were allowed
to join, but we also weren't willing to compromise the security of the site by removing all methods of verification, especially for high school students and minors. Unfortunately this meant that most homeschoolers weren't able to register. For security purposes, users under the age of 18 were required to affiliate with their current high school, but it was nearly impossible to extend this system to homeschooled users.

We've been working on ways to solve this—we want minors to use Facebook safely above all. Today, we're happy to announce that we've recently come up with a way for homeschoolers to join. We've created a new verification system—one that doesn't depend on being in a high school, but still provides the level of security we believe is required. So welcome, everyone, to Facebook.

The view from Mount Bonnell

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I captured this image while I was in Austin, Texas recently, visiting family. My cousin Omar wanted me to see the great view from Mount Bonnell. I was warned that there were some lung-busting steps from the parking lot to the top (99, actually), but since I live at 6,000+ feet I just cruised right up, which was nice -- not something I could do so easily in Colorado Springs, that's for sure! Lots more oxygen in Austin!  This is the Colorado River (i.e., Lake Austin). Look at those houses right on the water. It'd be nice to live in one of those! I'm guessing that this is where the more affluent people of Austin must live. Pretty swell.

Shoreline Community College

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http://new.shoreline.edu/hr/faculty-part-time.aspx
Online Adjunct Faculty: Various Subjects                                        Shoreline Community College (Shoreline, WA) is assembling a pool of potential, experienced, part-time faculty to teach the following subjects / courses completely online: Accounting; Art (Art Appreciation; History of Animation; Three-Dimensional Design); Business Administration; Cinema; Communication Studies (Communication for Social Change; Public Speaking); Community College Teaching; Computer Information Systems; Criminal Justice; Cybersecurity; Drama/Theatre; Early Childhood Education / Education; English (Writing for New Media only); Humanities; Human Resource Management; Life Coaching; Multicultural Studies; Non-Profit Fundraising; Online Teaching; Paralegal Studies; Social Sciences (Anthropology; Economics; Political Science; Psychology; Sociology); Visual Communication (IOS Development; Unreal; Engine, C++, Unity, Visual Arts Computer Programming); World Languages, including beginning and intermediate levels (Arabic; Chinese; French; German; Indonesian; Italian; Japanese; Portuguese; Russian; Spanish).

Ross Education, LLC

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http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH01/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=ROSSMEDICALEDUCATION&cws=1&rid=357
Online Faculty members work under the direction of the Online Director of Education and provide quality delivery of assigned courses using curriculum provided by Ross. Online Faculty may use synchronous and asynchronous learning tools. Faculty are responsible for preparing progress reports, providing adequate meeting time with students, and performing related work as required. Faculty should be highly knowledgeable about the subject matter for the specific course(s) they are assigned to teach and maintain expertise in the subject area.

National Labor College

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The National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland is seeking a tenure-track assistant professor to direct the BA program in labor studies to begin in January 2013. The majority of courses are delivered online, however students are required to attend two 4 day residencies as part of the core curriculum. Applications
Interested applicants should send a cover letter, cv/resume, a sample of published writing or dissertation chapter, and three references to:
jobs@nlc.edu

Fortis College

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https://www1.apply2jobs.com/edaff/ProfExt/index.cfm?fuseaction=mExternal.showSearchInterface
Private Career Online College in the Orlando area - currently interviewing for online faculty positions in the following disciplines:
Information Technology - Internet Market and Graphics Design ONLY - 4yrs. min. experience & min. Bachelor's degree required
General Education - Mathematics, English, Communications, and Psychology - min. Master's degree, or 18 graduate credits in subject area required
Business - Human Resources, Accounting, Hospitality Management - 4yrs. min. experience & min. Bachelor's degree required
Medical - Medical Billing & Coding - CPC or CCA and 4yrs. min. experience required. Must be proficient in Medisoft & Medical Manager.
Email Resume/CV to fortiscollegeonline@edaff.com or fax to 407-843-9828.

Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design

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http://www.rmcad.edu/careers?gnk=job&gni=8acda1103bac4c0a013baff27ae56465&gnsPosition Title: Adjunct Faculty (on-campus and online), Interior Design Department  Requires U.S. Work Authorization? Yes Job Level: Academic Location of the Position: Denver, Colorado and/or Online
Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design seeks qualified applicants for the position of Interior Design Department Adjunct Faculty who will be part of a growing, dynamic community of diverse educators. RMCAD is a private college accredited by HLC and NASAD offering degrees in fine and applied arts. The Interior Design Department is housed within the School of Design and Applied Arts. The existing on-campus interior design program offers a CIDA Accredited BFA degree. Additionally, the online version of the BFA interior design program will be applying for CIDA Accreditation in the near future. Both platforms share the same curriculum including the unique Area of Specialization in Sustainable Design for which the department is recognized.

Where are we going?

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Sorry for the brief absence from the blog. I'm up to my neck in Christmas orders and have had no time to go out and take any pictures of Colorado Springs!

I took this photo a couple of weekends ago while on a family portrait shoot. These Canadian geese were flying west, not south, and not in a nice V formation. My clients and I wondered where the geese were headed, then we realized they must have been flying to the lake at the nearby Broadmoor Hotel. You can always find lots of Canadian geese there -- they love it. Why fly south for the winter when you can hang out at a five star resort?!?

Another beautiful birthday sunset from Mother Nature

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The last couple of years I seem have gotten into the habit of posting sunsets on or around my birthday (see December 14, 2011 and December 14, 2010), so I'll do the same this year. This beauty was captured in Vail last weekend while I was there shooting a wedding with my friend Autumn. I had just enough time to capture it right before the colors faded into the night sky. Gorgeous.

Today I'll be celebrating my birthday with my mom for lunch and my darling Pat for dinner. Hopefully I'll remember to take a few snapshots during the day to share with you here later on.  I hope everyone has a wonderful day today!

Tejon Street Music

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Here's a local business that's been going strong since 1976! Where to buy a guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele or mandolin in Colorado Springs? Tejon Street Music, right next to the Poor Richards Complex!  I know a lot of people think that their only option is the Guitar Center, which is a large national chain, but locally owned Tejon Street Music has a large, ever-changing inventory and some seriously  helpful and knowledgeable people on their staff. Support your local small businesses this Christmas! (And you gotta love their motto: "I pick, therefore I am.")

My daily pick-me-up

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Thursday's little pick-me-up from Dutch Brothers Coffee, served with a smile! We all have our own favorite coffee concoction that likely requires a complicated explanation when ordered. Lately I'm addicted to a large half-caf (or sometimes decaf) "wet" cappuccino, 2%, with three spoons of sugar-free hazelnut. I can never order it without stumbling over the words. I'm fine until I get to the sugar-free hazelnut part, and then I get stuck every time!  It's a good thing the baristas at Dutch Brothers already know what I'm going to order when they see my red car drive up to the window ;^)

Hello 2013!

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Happy New Year! It's customary for City Daily Photo bloggers to post their favorite photo of the previous year on January 1st. I generally can never narrow it down to just one shot, and this year is no different.

The photo above is the only one of my 2012 favorites that was not actually taken in Colorado Springs. I captured this gorgeous elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, just outside of Estes Park, and the photo appeared on my blog on October 17th. I chose it as a favorite not because it's a stronger photo than the other candidates, but for my memory of the visceral rush I felt at the moment took the picture and knew I had gotten an amazing image (well, amazing for me, anyway). I really don't do wildlife photography, so being able to capture this was so exciting -- it's like the elk was posing for me!

Below, a few more favorites from 2012, chosen for either visual or emotional content, in chronogical order of how they appeared on the blog throughout the year.


A downtown landmark, the façade of the old Antlers Garage, featured on January 12th.


A graphically striking sign and its equally striking shadow on the west side of the city, featured on February 7th.


The Pioneers Museum by night, featured on February 20th.


Another image from my Colorado Springs by Night series: some industrial buildings off of Garden of the Gods Road, featured on February 25th.

 Pikes Peak at sunset captured from east of town, featured on May 6th. 
The so-called "super moon" rising over the city skyline, featured on May 7th.


Grateful westsiders rush forward to thank Waldo Canyon Fire hotshot firefighters as they make their way to camp for the evening, featured on July 7th.


A competitor at the Rocky Mountain Rampage World Cup Skating Competition at Memorial Park, featured on August 27th.