Biographies “Register for FREE - Wall Street Journal” plus 3 more

Register for FREE - Wall Street Journal
Verizon Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to West Virginia Department of ... - Stockhouse
Verizon Positioned as a Leader in Online Service for Business ... - TMCnet
Meet Ralphie V - CUBuffs.com

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Posted: 04 Dec 2009 05:02 AM PST

By HEATHER WILHELM

Say what you will about Ayn Rand, but one thing is certain: She had no use for common niceties. A grimly precocious, friendless Rand declared her atheism at age 13. "Atlas Shrugged," Rand's secular sermon-as-novel, boils with revulsion toward the "looters" and "moochers" who consume public funds. Rand scornfully excommunicated followers who disagreed with her, and in 1964 she told Playboy that those who place friends and family first in life are "immoral" and "emotional parasites."

Shoddy manners aside, 52 years after the release of "Atlas Shrugged," Rand seems to be roaring back. Sales are surging—Brian Doherty, author of "Radicals for Capitalism" (2007), recently calculated that in one week in late August, "Atlas" sold "67 percent more copies than it did the same week a year before, and 114 percent more than that same week in 2007." Two buzzed-about Rand biographies hit the shelves this fall, and an "Atlas" cable miniseries is reportedly in the works. Designer Ralph Lauren recently listed Rand as one of his favorite novelists, and CNBC host Rick Santelli, whose on-air antibailout rant inspired hundreds of "tea party" protests across the nation, admitted the same. "I know this may not sound very humanitarian," he said, "but at the end of the day I'm an Ayn Rand-er."

To many, it doesn't sound humanitarian at all. To be an "Ayn Rand-er" sounds, as the New York Times recently put it, "angry" and "vulgar." In its review of the new Rand biographies, the New Republic bemoaned the "cacophony of rage and dread" surrounding Rand's acolytes. Even in Rand's heyday, many conservatives shrank from what they saw as her toxic blend of atheism, absolutism and ruthless individualism. "William F. Buckley must be spinning in his grave to hear all this chatter about Rand," says Jennifer Burns, the author of "Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right," "because it was a goal of his to make Rand an untouchable."

In this, apparently, Buckley failed. Despite her tendency to lose friends and alienate people, Rand's guru-status in today's free-market establishment, detailed in Mr. Doherty's book, is undeniable. "People who are in influential positions at leading free-market organizations were very likely influenced by her at one point," says Chip Mellor, head of the libertarian Institute for Justice. And, he notes, with the spike in government spending and wealth-redistribution programs, "the prescience of her writing has been brought home with a vengeance this year."

But in an age where hope, change and warm-hearted marketing clearly resonate, is revitalizing and glorifying Rand's acerbic "virtue of selfishness" doing the free-market movement any good? Doubts are starting to emerge. Leonard Liggio, a respected figure in libertarian circles and a guest at Rand's post-"Atlas Shrugged" New York get-togethers, sees value in Rand but admits she wasn't a bridge builder. "She used strong, confrontational language, forcing people to react," he says. "And maybe that's not the best way to educate people." Mr. Mellor agrees: "Is Rand's exact message the best for most audiences today? Probably not."

Others, however, go further. "Rand has this extremist, intolerant, dogmatic antigovernment stance," says Brink Lindsey of the libertarian Cato Institute, "and it pushes free-market supporters toward a purist, radical vision that undermines their capacity to get anything done." The Rev. Robert Sirico, head of the free-market Acton Institute, agrees. "If you want to offend, Rand accomplishes that. But if you want to convert—well, for instance, who could imagine Rand debating a health-care bill? I wouldn't want to take an order from her in a restaurant, let alone negotiate a political point."

Rand's tendency to enrage certain audiences could also be blocking a huge opportunity for proponents of small government. Cato's Mr. Lindsey, a proponent of what he calls "bleeding-heart libertarianism," notes that free markets are ultimately the best way to help the poor and disadvantaged. It is a familiar argument and a cogent one. Rand's insistence on the folly of altruism, however, tends to overshadow and even invalidate this message.

For her fans, Rand's appeal lies in her big-picture, unified, philosophical approach to man's purpose and the meaning of life. But ultimately ideas need more than size and a potboiler plot to overtake the dominant, big-government political paradigm. Rand held some insight on the nature of markets and has sold scads of books, but when it comes to shaping today's mainstream assumptions, she is a terrible marketer: elitist, cold and laser-focused on the supermen and superwomen of the world.

How are free markets best "sold"? A more compelling approach flips Rand's philosophy on its head, explaining how everyone, especially society's neediest, benefits from economic liberty. It's a compelling story about how freedom and prosperity can change lives for the better. And Ayn Rand is of little help in telling it.

—Ms. Wilhelm is vice president of marketing and communications at the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market public-policy organization. Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page W13

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Verizon Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant to West Virginia Department of ... - Stockhouse

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 05:16 AM PST

--Department to Use Third Installment of $175,000 Total Grant to Train State's Teachers in 21st-Century Learning Skills

CHARLESTON, W. Va., Dec 04, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ --

A $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation will enable the West Virginia Department of Education to complete teacher training on the use of Verizon Thinkfinity, a free, educational Web resource to support the advancement of K-12 education. With this grant, the Verizon Foundation has provided $175,000 for the program.

West Virginia schools are using Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org) and other online resources to integrate performance skills such as creativity, innovation, oral and written communications, problem solving, and critical thinking into the study of core subjects such as math, science, language arts and social studies. Thinkfinity contains thousands of standards-based K-12 lesson plans, student materials, interactive tools and reference materials. In addition to providing resources from the nation's leading educational organizations, Verizon Thinkfinity also offers a comprehensive professional-development program.

Development of 21st-century skills is a major focus of West Virginia's Department of Education, which recently was honored by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national organization focused on infusing such skills into education.

"Using 21st-century learning tools like Verizon Thinkfinity is not an option; it is a necessity for students who must compete on a global level," said Steve Paine, state superintendent of schools. "Students deserve it, and the world demands it."

B. Keith Fulton, president of Verizon West Virginia, said, "Our children are growing up in a world where they communicate, learn and share ideas digitally. Online technology has had a tremendous impact on our society, and its role will continue to grow with further advances.

"Verizon's business is centered on technology, and we believe it is our responsibility to help people understand how to use the Internet safely and effectively, particularly for learning," said Fulton.

In 2008, the Verizon Foundation awarded more than $68 million in grants to nonprofit agencies in the U.S. and abroad. It also matched the charitable donations of Verizon employees and retirees, resulting in an additional $26 million in combined contributions to nonprofits. Through Verizon Volunteers, one of the nation's largest employee volunteer programs, Verizon employees and retirees have volunteered more than 3 million hours of community service since 2000. For more information on the foundation, visit www.verizonfoundation.org.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

SOURCE Verizon

http://www.verizon.com

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Verizon Positioned as a Leader in Online Service for Business ... - TMCnet

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 06:35 AM PST

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In a newly released report by an independent research firm, Verizon has been named a leader in delivering outstanding online service and support for its business customers through the Verizon Enterprise Center (VEC).

The VEC is available round-the-clock to allow business customers worldwide to securely conduct day-to-day business with Verizon online. Customers can order and provision new services, monitor network service performance, and review and pay bills in a user-friendly and highly useful Web-based environment.

The report, by Yankee Group and entitled "Carrier ePortal Development in a Year of Reduced Budgets" (November 2009),* cited online billing, maintenance and inventory applications provided through the VEC portal as key strengths in simplifying day-to-day business processes for customers.

"Since our last report on ePortals in June 2008, there have been major improvements to the Verizon Enterprise Center, particularly in its Global Billing Report, which now supports more than 60 currencies and allows customers to sort expenses by specific products and services," said Jon Paisner, senior analyst for Yankee Group and author of the report.

The Global Billing Report can deliver up to seven billing summary reports and enables customers to view and sort expenses based on geography, currency, product and service. In addition to enhancing the billing report, Verizon earlier this year added a billing-management feature on the VEC Dashboard that provides a summary invoice on a single screen.

The Yankee Group report also singled out repairs capabilities on the VEC (termed "maintenance" in the study). The updated repairs home page provides customers a new method of creating, viewing and updating trouble tickets to expedite resolution.

Finally, the report cited Verizon's leadership in understanding enterprise customers' current inventory levels and enabling customers to view on the VEC portal current and pending inventory across all products.

"We are empowering business customers of all sizes to securely manage their products and services with us through the Verizon Enterprise Center virtually anywhere and anytime," said Mark Chodoronek, Verizon executive director for e-commerce and digital customer enablement. "Yankee Group's findings underscore our ongoing commitment to improve global customer service and support capabilities that simplify doing business with Verizon." Other notable enhancements to the VEC include the integration of wireless services along with voice, data and Internet; and the introduction of Verizon Enterprise Center Mobile, which enables Verizon customers to receive and access information in near-real time on a mobile device.

For a virtual tour of the VEC, available in nine languages, and for more information, go to https://enterprisecenter.verizon.com/.

* The Yankee Group report was developed using an independent, objective methodology. It compared key ePortal features and functionality for six vendors, ranking them according to a variety of metrics. Yankee Group does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the report.

Verizon Communications Inc. , headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit http://www.verizon.com/.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.

Verizon CONTACT: Lisa Fels, +1-703-886-6042, lisa.fels@verizon.com Web Site: http://www.verizon.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html

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Meet Ralphie V - CUBuffs.com

Posted: 04 Dec 2009 05:09 AM PST

The University of Colorado has one of the more unique mascots in all of intercollegiate athletics, a real buffalo named Ralphie. CU has two live buffalo mascots, Ralphie IV and Ralphie V. Ralphie leads the football team out on the field both at the start of the game and second half. It is truly one of the special sights that exist anywhere in college or professional sports, especially for opposing teams, who often stop in their tracks watching the massive buffalo round the end zone and head directly at their sideline.

The buffalo first appeared in 1934, three weeks after a contest to select an official school nickname by the Silver & Gold newspaper had come to an end and "Buffaloes" was the winning entry. For the final game of the '34 season, a group of students paid $25 to rent a buffalo calf along with a real cowboy as his keeper. The calf was the son of Killer, a famed bison at Trails End Ranch in Fort Collins. It took the cowboy and four students to keep the calf under control on the sidelines, a 7-0 win at the University of Denver on Thanksgiving Day.

Prior to 1934, CU athletic teams usually were referred to as the "Silver and Gold," but other nicknames teams were sometimes called included Silver Helmets, Yellow Jackets, Hornets, Arapahoes, Big Horns, Grizzlies and Frontiersmen. The student newspaper decided to sponsor a national contest in the summer of 1934, with a $5 prize to go to the author of the winning selection. Entries, over 1,000 in all, arrived from almost every state in the union. Athletic Director Harry Carlson, graduate manager Walter Franklin and Kenneth Bundy of the Silver and Gold were the judges.

Local articles first reported that Claude Bates of New Madrid, Mo., and James Proffitt of Cincinnati, Ohio, were co-winners for the prize as both submitted "Buffaloes" as their entry. But 10 days later, the newspaper declared Boulder resident Andrew Dickson the winner, after a follow-up revealed his submission of "Buffaloes" had actually arrived several days before those of the original winners. Through the years, synonyms which quickly came into use included "Bisons," "Buffs," "Thundering Herd," "Stampeding Herd," "Golden Avalanche," and "Golden Buffaloes."

Live buffaloes made appearances at CU games on and off through the years, usually in a pen on the field or sometimes driven around in a cage; in the 1940s, the school kept a baby buffalo in a special pen at the University Riding Academy. The first named buffalo was "Mr. Chips," who appeared for the first time at the 1957 CU Days kickoff rally, as supporter Mahlon White donated him to the school, and it was cared for by a men's honorary.

In 1966, when the original Ralphie was donated to CU, it was the duty of the five sophomore class officers to run the buffalo around the stadium with fans participating in the "Buffalo Stomp" at the conclusion of the run which shook the ground around Folsom Field. However that tradition was halted by CU officials because of the actual physical damage the run was causing.

Around that same time, head coach Eddie Crowder was approached with the idea the charging buffalo running out on the field before the game with the team behind right her. Crowder thought it was a great idea, and the debut of this great tradition took place on Oct. 28, 1967, CU's homecoming game against Oklahoma State. Though OSU won the game, 10-7, the greatest mascot tradition in college athletics was born.

Click on the links above for the biographies of the first five Ralphies plus find out the many ways you can become involved in the Ralphie program.

Biographies

Friday, December 4, 2009