Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez

Yesterday, USA Today published a story regarding unqualified companies abusing the HUBZone Program (Historically Underutilized Business Zone). This is definitely something you might want to read if you are a small business owner, an entrepreneurial ′newbie′ or anything in between. In a short re-cap: The Government Accountability Office found that 19 companies were improperly awarded nearly $30 million in federal contracts. The GAO reported that ″there are likely hundreds and possibly thousands of firms″ in the program that don′t meet its requirements. The committee′s chairwoman, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., said she plans to urge the SBA to shut down the program until it can ... Read Full Story

El Greco, St. James (Santiago el Mayor), about 1610-14. Oil on canvas, 39 1/2 x 31 5/8 inches. Collection of Museo del Greco, Toledo. (El Greco, also Domenikos Theotokopoulos, Greek, active in Spain, 1541–1614) Usually when a major art exhibit leaves the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston , it moves to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, or Los Angeles. But not this time. If you missed “El Greco to Velázquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III” during its Boston run earlier this year, you can still catch it in Durham, North Carolina. That’s right. Durham. Truth is, Durham isn’t exactly podunk. We have ... Read Full Story

Or so according to Google, who on the 64 th Anniversary of D-Day chose to create a special title page for a random Spanish painter I'm sure only 4 people have heard of. And this isn't the first time they've done this. Google has refused to recognize Memorial Day because it wants to "keep the title page light". If Google wanted to avoid the fact that yes...people DIED on the beaches of Normandy, then they should have simply left their title page blank. For Google to highlight Rando Artisto Pedro Juan Hernando Jose Velázquez over remembering D-Day is quite out of touch with reality. ... Read Full Story

Today Google published a doodle based upon Spanish artist Diego Velázquez’s painting Las Meninas (Spanish for The Maids of Honor ). Diego Velázquez (1599–1660) has long been one of my favorite artists. Las Meninas is a 1656 painting by Velázquez and probably his most admired artwork. Mysterious & compelling, there’s been much debate over its significance. At the center stands the little infant Margarita Teresa, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain and his wife Mariana of Austria. Their faces peer from the dark mirror hung at the far end of the room. The viewer’s attention is drawn to the figures in the foreground ... Read Full Story

The House Small Business Committee is supposed to safeguard the interests of small firms. But the current chairman is a captive of big drug companies. Read Full Story