Transparency and Open Government SUBJECT: Transparency and Open Government My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government. Government should be transparent. Government should be participatory. Government should be collaborative. I direct the Chief Technology Officer, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Administrator of General Services, to coordinate the development by appropriate executive departments and agencies, within 120 days, of recommendations for an Open Government Directive, to be issued by the Director of OMB, that instructs executive departments and agencies to take specific actions implementing the principles set forth in this memorandum.
Organic Consumers Association Hershey’s, a multi-national junk food corporation with an abysmal record on workers’ rights and child labor, contributed $519,000 to defeat prop 37, the California Right to Know GMO labeling initiative. Meanwhile Dagoba, Hershey’s organic subsidiary, refused to lift a finger in support of Californians’ fundamental right to know what’s in their food. Please sign the letter below. Tell executives at Hershey’s and Dagoba you won’t buy their products until they support state GMO labeling campaigns and discontinue all financial support for anti-labeling efforts. Every dollar you spend on organic traitor brands like Dagoba directly enriches the junk food and pesticide corporations who own them. Why send your hard-earned money to companies that use it to lobby against laws that protect consumers? Not the kisses your mom and grandma handed out Before the 1990s, Hershey’s kisses and chocolate bars were GMO-free. Hershey’s has known about these conditions since 2001. Please sign the letter below.
Charter Schools - Tennessee Department of Education Charter schools are public schools operated by independent, non-profit governing bodies. In Tennessee, public charter school students are measured against the same academic standards as students in other public schools. Local boards of education ensure that only those charter schools open and remain open that are meeting the needs of their students. Local boards do this through rigorous authorization processes, ongoing monitoring of the academic and financial performance of charter schools, and, when necessary, through the revocation or non-renewal of charters. The Tennessee Public Charter Schools Act is contained in Tenn. Code Annotated 49-13-101 through 137, and in 8-35-242. Tennessee Charter Schools Summary Report (includes 2012-13 data) Charter Schools FAQs To find charter schools in Tennessee, or in a particular school district, please visit the TDOE School Directory. Follow us on
Strategy for American Innovation: Catalyze Breakthroughs for National Priorities Home | Executive Summary | Introduction | Invest in Building Blocks | Market-Based Innovation | Catalyze Breakthroughs | Appendix A | Appendix B | Appendix C Comment on this section “Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we would beat them to the moon. The science wasn’t even there yet. - President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 25, 2010 In areas of well-defined national importance, public investments can help catalyze advances, leveraging key breakthroughs and U.S. leadership. Unleash a clean energy revolution For our national security, economy, and environment, it is crucial to develop clean energy technologies. Double the nation's supply of renewable energy by the end of 2012 The Administration is committed to doubling the supply of renewable energy by the end of 2012. Spur innovation through new energy standards Create Energy Innovation Hubs Invest in clean energy solutions The U.S.
10 Sentences that Can Change Your Life The power of a sentence is tremendous. A single destructive sentence can ruin somebody’s life, make your day, or change your mood. Fortunately, there are some sentences that can give us power to go on. #1 “People aren’t against you; they are for themselves.” #2 “Climb mountains not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world.” #3 “You learn more from failure than from success; don’t let it stop you. #4 “The most dangerous risk of all – The risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later” #5 “Go where you’re celebrated, not where you’re tolerated.” #6 “The person that you will spend the most time with in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as interesting as possible.” #7 “If you accept your limitations you go beyond them.” #8 “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. #9 “Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something” #10 “Comfort is the enemy of achievement.”
Publications A Guide to Shechita Shechita is the Jewish religious and humane method of slaughtering permitted animals and poultry for food. It is the only method of producing kosher meat and poultry allowed by Jewish law. It is a most humane method as explained below.... There is no ritual involved in shechita... download file Physiological Insights into Shechita Dr S D Rosen discusses the scientific literature on the behavioural responses to Shechita as well as neurophysiological studies relevant to the assessment of pain, and concludes that Shechita is a painless and humane method of animal slaughter Much of the data presented on scientific aspects of Shechita has been known for decades, although a number of new perspectives are included. download file
Executive Order 13584 --Developing an Integrated Strategic Counterterrorism Communications Initiative The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 09, 2011 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 2656 of title 22, United States Code, and section 3161 of title 5, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. The purpose of this Executive Order is to reinforce, integrate, and complement public communications efforts across the executive branch that are (1) focused on countering the actions and ideology of al-Qa'ida, its affiliates and adherents, and other international terrorist organizations and violent extremists overseas, and (2) directed to audiences outside the United States. Sec. 2. Executive branch efforts undertaken through the Center shall draw on all agencies with relevant information or capabilities, to prepare, plan for, and conduct these communications efforts. (b) To achieve these objectives, the Center's functions shall include: Sec. 3.
DMT, Ayahuasca, The Pineal Gland - A Professor Talks Neurotheology Clayton Crockett, LegacyWaking Times Reach Out and Touch Faith Professor and chemist Steven Barker sits at his desk, surrounded by curious objects — a mortar and pestle, a DNA model, the cylinder of a spectrometer. Professor Steven Barker is a curious, if strange, man. With 28 years of work at the University behind him, this particular afternoon sees Barker smiling comfortably from the worn-in furniture in his office, his open-wide blue eyes betraying an eagerness to explain himself. There is much explaining to do. Every surface of his office in the Veterinary Science Building is bespattered by his youthful inquisitiveness with strange and intriguing curios. Though it looks like it would shrink one’s family or churn out superheroes with the flip of a switch, it is used to detect chemicals in focused samples, or quadrupoles. “Pretty fancy stuff,” Barker laughed, and with a price tag that set the University back nearly $400,000 15 years ago, a dash of facetiousness doesn’t hurt.
President Barack Obama Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States. His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others. With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants. He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. Learn more about President Obama's spouse, First Lady Michelle Obama.
25 (more) clever ideas to make life easier . We heard you loud and clear. When we published our first list of clever ideas to make life easier last year, we received an overwhelming response. So without further ado, here’s another 25 ingenious household tips and organisational tricks that will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?!” Source: chezerbey.com Got an empty kitchen shelf? Source: maillardvillemanor.com Wall mount cutlery trays and add a cup hook in each compartment for brilliant jewelery storage. Source: apartmenttherapy.com Avoid messy dresser drawers by “filing” your clothing side-by-side instead of stacking items on top of each other. Photo: William Warby on flickr.com Has putting Toy Story on constant repeat finally taken its toll? Source: realsimple.com Packing tip: Protect breakables such as wine bottles or food containers with children’s inflatable floaties. Source: whatiwore.tumblr.com Rather than bundling them in your drawer, loop tights over a coathanger and store them in your wardrobe. Source: bakedbree.com
Dealing with Iowa’s Nutrient Runoff Iowa Row Crops In May 2010, I first posted on Blog for Iowa about Iowa’s nutrient runoff and its effect on the Gulf of Mexico, where it creates hypoxia zones. It is a serious problem, grounded in reality, and Governor Branstad, along with a number of state agencies, is proposing a voluntary action plan to address nutrient flow from point and non-point sources into our rivers and streams, and ultimately into the Gulf of Mexico. On Monday, the governor’s office released the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy for public comment. As someone concerned with the quality of Iowa’s waterways and the well being of our oceans, I urge readers to take this initiative seriously. It is not a perfect plan and it may not be a viable plan. The concern about the Farm Bureau’s involvement is whether doing what is right should be a matter of law with obligatory compliance or of common sense and voluntary compliance. Here is the link to the Nutrient Reduction Strategy home page.
AlGore.com Paradox of tolerance The tolerance paradox arises from a problem that a tolerant person might be antagonistic toward intolerance, hence intolerant of it. The tolerant individual would then be by definition intolerant of intolerance. Discussions[edit] Michael Walzer asks "Should we tolerate the intolerant?". He notes that most minority religious groups who are the beneficiaries of tolerance are themselves intolerant, at least in some respects. Homophily and intolerance[edit] The relation between homophily (a preference for interacting with those with similar traits) and intolerance is manifested when a tolerant person is faced with the dilemma of choosing between establishing a positive relationship with a tolerant individual of a dissimilar group, or establishing a positive relationship with an intolerant group member. In popular culture[edit] The paradox is the basis of a joke in the South Park episode "The Death Camp of Tolerance". References[edit] External links[edit]
TransCanada’s Police Abuse Peaceful Blockader – A First Hand Account of the Arrest (Day 24) UPDATE 6:45PM- Two tree-sitters have been arrested at the Tree Blockade in Winnsboro, TX. This was the site of our mass action on Monday at which activists attempted to re-supply the blockade with food and water. We are still awaiting details on charges and bail. The tree blockade remains occupied by other sitters. Please DONATE to their legal fund. BREAKING UPDATE 5:15PM- According to blockaders on the ground, several arrests have been made at the Tree Blockade. Monday I was arrested at the site of Tar Sands Blockade’s tree blockade in Winnsboro, TX. As part of the blockade’s regular ground team, I participate in support operations for those who spend their days and weeks high above the forest floor. Unfortunately, my efforts worked all too well, and in trying to draw a few police in my direction, I ended up drawing almost every police in the vicinity. That’s when a larger man, who I later heard claim to work for the Hays County Sheriff’s Department, threw me to my stomach.