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SEATTLE — As dangerous and prolific as the Patriots' passing attack can be with Tom Brady at the controls, the franchise quarterback has gone on record saying he doesn't want to be throwing it 60 times a game, because it probably spells trouble.
Sunday can serve as a prime example. Brady threw 58 passes — the most he's ever attempted in an NFL game — for a season-high 395 yards. But it came in a 24-23 loss to the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, a game that featured squandered offensive chances and multiple mistakes by Brady at inopportune moments that came back to haunt the Patriots.
He was intercepted twice, including once in the end zone, when the Patriots were driving inside Seattle's 10-yard-line and looking to push their fourth-quarter lead to 17 points. He also drew two intentional grounding penalties, one at the end of the first half that denied the Patriots a chance to kick a chip-shot field goal. Losing by 1, it would ultimately prove costly.
"A lot of things we could have done better," Brady said. "We have to do a better job. I have to do a better job."
The Patriots have had success this year when they've racked up the rushing yardage and taken some pressure off Brady's right arm. In three wins, they've averaged 223.3 rushing yards; in three losses, that number plummets to 84.7. Seattle came in with the league's top-ranked defense, and limited the Patriots to just 87 rushing yards on 26 carries.
That left it up to Brady, who spread the ball around to eight pass-catchers and was able to throw to Aaron Hernandez for the first time in a month, with the tight end returning from an ankle injury. He caught six balls for 61 yards and a touchdown.
An uncharacteristic error at the end of the first half might be the throw Brady would most like back. With the Patriots ahead, 17-10, they had it at Seattle's 9 with 19 seconds left, and tried three times to get into the end zone for a momentum-building touchdown.
The first pass went to Danny Woodhead for a 6-yard gain, taking the ball to the 3. The second was intended for Rob Gronkowski and fell incomplete, stopping the clock with 6 seconds left and leaving the Patriots with third-and-goal.
Brady dropped back on third down, and with nobody open, threw the ball away down the middle, through the end zone with 1 second left. With no Patriot in the vicinity, referees ruled intentional grounding, and with the 10-second clock run-off, the half was over, denying the Patriots the chance to kick a field goal.
"It's my responsibility to take care of the football and do something good with it, and when the play comes in from the sidelines, certainly they're not thinking that we're going to have intentional grounding," Brady said. "They trust me to be smart with the ball and get 3 [points] at worst, and I just made a bad play."
Said Wes Welker, who caught a team-high 10 passes for 138 yards: "It's just one of those things where we just came up short in that instance, and the one thing that probably couldn't have happened happened."
Both of Brady's interceptions came in the second half, on successive offensive possessions with the Patriots holding a 20-10 lead.
The first pick was by Richard Sherman late in the third quarter. The second, and more damaging, was by Earl Thomas on the third play of the fourth quarter, just when it appeared the Patriots would push to a 17-point lead. It helped swing the momentum Seattle's way.
"That's why we lose games, because we squander opportunities to score points," Brady said. "That's what the game came down to. It was a 1-point game, and we had an opportunity in the red area for a touchdown, a few other opportunities to put points on the board, and we just didn't do it."
Brady completed a season-high 36 passes, but his 58 attempts established a career high; previously, Brady had reached 55 twice, against Denver in 2006 and at Chicago in 2002.
The Patriots beat the Bears, but lost to the Broncos. Now they've got another loss to stew over, wondering why they couldn't close the deal in Seattle, and getting ready to face the rival Jets in the nastiest of moods.Michael Whitmer can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeWhitmer.


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The days are marching by, and my feet are trying to keep pace with the craziness going on in my mind. This to do; that to do. Lists to make. Errands to run. Gifts to buy. Menus to plan. In the throes of all the chaos, I have to step back and wonder what it would be like if we all just decided to stop marching ... and just take some time to sit down with those we love. Think about it. It's not a bad concept, and the older I get, the closer I come to kicking the chaos to the curb in lieu of family, friends and love. Do I hear an "Amen?"
Speaking of lots to do, I hope you were able to take in some of last weekend's events. Surely, they were able to put you in the Christmas spirit. For the size of Bureau County, I'm always so impressed with the multitude of activities that go on around the county — not just at Christmas but at all times of the year.
If you happen to run into some of the folks who helped to orchestrate those events, I hope you'll give them a well-deserved pat on the back. As we all know, it takes a ton of time, energy, effort and money to organize many of these activities, and so many give so much for so many. On behalf the Bureau County Republican, thank you for your efforts. Please know we notice your hard work and generosity.
Thanks to everyone who sent in photos and voted in our contest to choose scenic photos for our upcoming 2014 calendar, which you will receive in your newspaper closer to the end of the year. I have to say I was totally impressed with your photography.
Also, thanks to everyone who sent in a recipe for our upcoming "A Homemade Holiday" recipe keepsake edition. As always, we can count on our readers to help us out with this special section, which you'll soon receive in your BCR. Just a note: The BCR's Editorial Department is the official experimental taste kitchen for all recipes, so feel free to drop off anything you need to have tasted.
Did any of you have the opportunity to see Festival 56's "Miracle on 34th Street" at the Grace Performing Arts Center on Princeton's South Main Street? I had the opportunity to be one of the cast members again, and as in years gone by, it was really fun. This radio show was broadcast over WZOE, plus there was a live studio audience. The other perks were complimentary coffee and baked goods from The Flour House Bakery in Princeton and great holiday music performed by the Bureau County Chorus. All in all, it was a fun and festive morning.
I was at the Festival 56 box office the other day, and I could hear rehearsal for another play going on in the theater. Wow! If you get a chance, make sure you take in one of Festival 56's holiday productions.
I've had lots of questions about the upcoming Illinois Valley Living Magazine — our winter edition. It should be on the streets soon. I know you're going to love it.
Thought for the day: "Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas ... perhaps ... means a little bit more!" By Dr. Seuss in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"
Thought for tomorrow: "Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeer, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas." Ronald Reagan.
Please add your local food pantry, your area toy drive, your local animal rescue organization to your holiday gift-giving lists. And don't forget to take your children/grandchildren when you shop for these presents. What a great lesson not only in generosity, but also in our love for one another.
Have a great week, and remember ... you are important to me and the BCR.

subset: commoncrawl


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Party-Worthy Celebrity Hairstyles
From chic updos to sexy ponytails, these styles are perfect for any holiday event
Step 1: Apply a volumizing spray or mousse (try Aussie Opposites Attract Styling Mousse, $3.99, or Frederic Fekkai Instant Volume Spray, $19.50) to damp hair and roughly blow-dry with a blow-dryer and your hands, not a brush, to get a wavy texture (if your hair's straight. Curly hair types can use a diffuser).
Step 2: Divide your bangs into two sections and use a medium-sized round brush to blow-dry each section while angling the brush to the side for a feathery look.
Step 3: Use a curling iron to curl random sections of hair.
Step 4: Gather the top section of hair (from ears forward) and pull it to the back of your head. Loosely clip with a barrette (half-up style). Position the clip so it slightly lifts the hair at the crown of your head.
Step 5: Lightly spritz hair with flexible-hold hairspray.
Images taken on November 20, 2008, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Images: Getty Images
SEE NEXT PAGE: Ashley Tisdale
Older comments
like the step by step instructions. didn't see anything new.
by misty_finley_clark Monday, March 4, 2013 at 12:52PM Report as inappropriate
by EricaC123 Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 06:16PM Report as inappropriate
love these hair tuts! so simple! will have to try
by rayshaviolet Friday, December 28, 2012 at 03:00PM Report as inappropriate
Good ideas to try.
by andyv1217 Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 10:25AM Report as inappropriate
Beyonce's looks easy to copy
by LittleBunny Tuesday, July 31, 2012 at 07:30AM Report as inappropriate
I like Ashleys look here
by TBjunkie Monday, April 23, 2012 at 01:46AM Report as inappropriate
Great ideas of new looks to try.
by beautybody Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 07:20PM Report as inappropriate
awesome styles.
by princessmarta1 Sunday, March 25, 2012 at 08:26PM Report as inappropriate
Love all these hairdos!
by MissXu Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 07:56PM Report as inappropriate
by andyv1217 Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 08:12PM Report as inappropriate


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The Tetris Company, which owns and licenses the Tetris property, accused Witherspoon of violating its copyright. Witherspoon added that Apple was poised to "take action" if he did not resolve the "dispute" of his own accord.
"The approach they're taking seems to me little more than petty bullying," Witherspoon wrote on his blog. "They have little to no legitimate legal claim, and are, presumably, relying on my being a small developer with insufficient resources to defend myself."
While he was confident that the claim could be challenged in court, Witherspoon opted to remove the game due to his lack of funds and status as a college student.
However, he appeared understanding of The Tetris Company's action. "The lack of protection for the idea of a game is troubling, in that it promotes quick ripoffs of a concept that someone, somewhere, spent a lot of effort on," reads his entry.
"I don't think this will be permanent," Witherspoon concluded. "When I have the time and can find a good copyright lawyer, I'll be figuring out exactly what my position is and how I can make Tris available again."
Until then, Tetris-craving iPhone and iPod Touch users will have to make do with EA Mobile's Tetris, which sells for $9.99 and was made under license from The Tetris Company.


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As far as people saying that she really looks pregnant, they can really tell - I would treat it as if they just mentioned how toned she is or how noticeable her muscle definition has become "Thank you" seems good.
Honestly, she's a professional. I'm wondering why she is asking advice from a client as to how to approach this.She should be upfront about this (before other clients ask) and be able to assure them that she will be able to fulfill most requirements - perhaps, not all. And she might perhaps have to take a month of two off, in a few months.
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I dare you to tell Hiro that Reason [wikipedia.org] is not a weapon...
Philosophy and rhetoric, as the Greeks would have argued. There's rational discourse appealing to facts and sound logic, and irrational discourse appealing to emotions and logic, sound and otherwise. An amazing example of this is the recent John Stewart appearance on the O'Reilly Factor (really, it happened and the universe did not explode). O'Reilly blusters, argues, pontificates loudly, professes outrage, sets up straw men; Stewart calmly cites precedents and takes apart O'Reily's arguments piece by piece. It's hard to really say who won, they're playing such different games. Rhetorically O'Reilly is sort of like a Canadian brutally clubbing a helpless baby harp seal, but logically Stewart is like King Arthur, taking apart the Black Knight piece by piece.
As for these social scientists, I don't know if I buy their explanation for why rationality evolved but I would agree with these guys about one thing: humans aren't evolved to assess problems rationally. The stuff they teach us in school about the Scientific Method, how we gather evidence, formulate hypotheses and then test them... it's bullshit. The process works; it's amazingly powerful. But in practice that's the opposite of how humans typically arrive at the answer. Humans start with an answer they've arrived at through some quasi-rational means and then collect facts and generate rational arguments to support the answer they've already decided on. Even scientists, most of them, don't really think according to the scientific method, most of the time. I mean, these social scientists, did they actually conduct any science; did they actually test an hypothesis? From the Times article doesn't sound like these "scientists" made any testable predictions or gathered any data, they just started with a thesis ("human rationality evolved to win arguments") and then marshalled evidence and arguments in favor of it. They're debating, not discovering. If that's not an argument against rationality, I don't know what is.
I find that explicit reasoning (premises, arguments, conclusions, etc.) constitutes very little of my actual thought process. Much more of it is behavioral conditioned response (mammoths fall of cliff->man that was good eaten') and pattern recognition based inference, both of which are tied into our emotional thinking.
I find that I tend to react to things at a gut level and that reason is what I use to support (or rationalize) these gut decisions and communicate them to others.
What is this nonsense about "seeking truth" or winning arguments?
Reason is tool that allows a person to make decisions that lead to effective action.
Effective action leads to surviving and thriving.
Or to put it another way: Reason evolved to get shit done.
Reason does not need to be articulated and frankly rarely is articulated well.
"Rationality allowed a solitary thinker to blaze a path to philosophical, moral and scientific enlightenment"
wow. just. wow.
... is nothing more or less than a servant
No, it isn't.
Really? Why is this so strange? This reasoning is an idea I've been playing with for a while that man's large brain evolved not to use tools, but to attract the opposite sex. Larger brains meant you could please the opposite sex better in bed and flirting as part of courtship and seduction were all things that were encouraged by a group of beach/river apes that liked to live in caves where tight communities would have been inevitable. Prowess at sex would surely be a great evolutionary driver once you have
Researchers are blinded by their above average intelligence into thinking that other people respond to "reason".
Arguments are won by the person(s) with the loudest voices, and failing that - the biggest sticks. This is called "politics", but it also travels under other guises like "religion", "nationalism", "sports fanaticism", etc. If you want evidence you merely have to look at human history, or even current events in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, etc. A lot of "reasoning" is going on there.
If you want a good insight into how the human brain works and responds to arguments, I suggest reading the first few chapters of Mein Kampf. No, not all the stupid babble about the superior German race and the Jew Hate, but the first few chapters take a powerful, honest and insightful exploration as to what we humans really are and how we "reason".
Researchers are blinded by their above average intelligence into thinking that other people respond to "reason".
Methinks thou hast missed the point.
The article is going against the idea that "human reason" is an imperfect realisation of pure logic, but that human reason is flawed by nature. When people are conned into buying things they don't need, it's not lack of reason, it's use of reason.
I once heard Richard Dawkins decrying alternative medicine. Most alternative medicine is out-and-out quackery, and I would be happy to see an end to it. But Dawkins claimed that people were turning to it do to a lack of critical reasoning (and he incidentally blamed this on organised religion). However, most supporters of alternative therapies do indeed follow a path of reasoning. This path of reasoning includes some valid data (including failure rates of surgical and pharmacological medicine), some invalid data (unreviewed, unproven figures for the success rates of alternative therapies) and a big dose of conspiracy theory ("big pharma is trying to ban the use of splogweed in the treatment of ungweldbiterbal cancer because they can't profit from it" etc), and they reach a conclusion that follows from the premises.
People do respond to reason, but as the article points out, not in an entirely expected way....
However, most supporters of alternative therapies do indeed follow a path of reasoning
Is that so?
a big dose of conspiracy theory,
Oh, no it's not. Making things up is not Reason. Richard Dawkins is right to claim there is a lack of critical thinking there.
Researchers are blinded by their above average intelligence into thinking that other people respond to "reason".
If you fully believed that, you wouldn't have gone through the effort of making a rational argument for in your posting.
Researchers are blinded by their above average intelligence into thinking they respond to reason.
Researchers and academics are just as much victims of our need to win arguments and ideology instead of using reason to seek truth as anyone else.
Of course you need to trump up one profession as being the true truth seekers who have reason while most people are dimwitted fools is the ultimate non-truth seeking argument.
Arguments are won by the person(s) with the loudest voices, and failing that - the biggest sticks. This is called "politics" [...]
According to an article we saw here recently, arguments are often won by the person(s) with the lowest voice. Anything that James Earl Jones says I need, I'll buy.
[Politics] also travels under other guises like "religion", "nationalism", "sports fanaticism", etc. If you want evidence you merely have to look at human history, or even current events in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, etc. A lot of "reasoning" is going on there.
Actually we are seeing plenty of reasoning there. All humans want exactly four things: Pride, Power (money/land), Play (amusement/novelty), and Partner (sex/reproduction). All involved parties are seeking these things during the Libyan upheaval, and most are being rational about their quest for those things. Don't confuse reason with "the d
"Such is the weakness of our reason; most often it serves only to justify our own beliefs." [from La Gloire de mon Père, my translation]
Having read that from Pagnol (and it's now my favourite quote), I'm not surprised that it was a French team who came up with this theory -- Pagnol was one of the most important figures in French literature of his era.
Pagnol's original context is no less relevant today than it was at the time: he was referring to how the local teacher and the local priest where he grew up were both very well educated, very intelligent people, yet their conclusions were almost diametrically opposed. I think the parallel to modern life is clear....
Well, actually, this is kind of obvious. When you realise that all our petty little philosophical differences arise from the fact that we start with different assumptions which we have little or no proof for, you generally come to the conclusion that "reason" is just a tool for us to beat each other over the head with and ignore the fundamental issues in favour of a feeling of elitist superiority.
But to realise this and agree to disagree is contrary to our evolutionary programming... So, let the games beg
Precisely. But the fact that the ability to reason *evolved* as a way of winning arguments does not mean we cannot use it for more socially useful purposes today. Actually, I would interpret the evolutionary mechanism as being a lot broader than just winning arguments (although technically that is a sufficient description). For instance, winning an argument over whether X will mate with Y rather than Z. Winning an argument over who should be the leader. Or just winning the ongoing popularity contest to be seen as an interesting, attractive person for whom others would like to do favours.
Alexander Pope summed it up accurately, concisely and poetically in his "Essay on Man", nearly 300 years ago (the 'card' being the compass that shows direction at sea):
"On life's vast ocean diversely we sail,
Reason the card, but passion is the gale".
We can use logic to reach reliable conclusions only when we agree on the premises and the conditions of argument. In everyday life - which includes business - different people argue from different premises, seeking to persuade other people of the validity of their own conclusions instead of listening to the other people's arguments, which may be just as important if not more so. That's largely because life in our society rewards the selfish individualist far, far more than the unselfish team player. (Although selfish individualists often successfully disguise themselves as unselfish team players).
That's why geeks, nerds, and suchlike types (a) tend to invent useful stuff and get practical things done reliably; (b) are despised and abused by non-geeks. The geek prefers to use language and logic to accomplish concrete tasks, in cooperation with others of like mind (even if only through the media of books, the Internet, etc.) Whereas non-geeks can only use language in the way they instinctively do: to try and get their own way. They are astonished that geeks are so unselfish, but don't (on the whole) admire them for that.
That's why geeks, nerds, and suchlike types (a) tend to invent useful stuff and get practical things done reliably; (b) are despised and abused by non-geeks. The geek prefers to use language and logic to accomplish concrete tasks, in cooperation with others of like mind (even if only through the media of books, the Internet, etc.) Whereas non-geeks can only use language in the way they instinctively do: to try and get their own way. They are astonished that geeks are so unselfish, but don't (on the whole) admire them for that.
- sounds too contrived to pass the smell test.
First: who is 'despised' and 'abused' by non-geeks? Are you talking about school children? I don't believe the school children are doing most of 'tend to invent useful stuff and practical things done reliably', and I don't believe that the reason that non-geeks in schools hate geeks for reason, that geeks are unselfish.
I also don't believe that geeks are unselfish (or at least that all or a large majority of them are).
There are quite a number of huge assumptions there, not backed up by anything.
Religion is equally valid with atheism/naturalism because the only difference it has with (strong)atheism/naturalism lies in its fundamental assumptions. Both rely on unproven or unprovable assumptions.
How is that a troll? I think any reasonable person can agree that gnostic atheism is indefensible.
You're right, actually. Clearly I'm not very good at trolling.... Thus ends my brief sojourn into the art. Probably better this way anyhow.
Which is exactly the point. If we forget our assumptions(in this case the nature of time and space), we are doing bad science. A PhD is not a "Doctorate of Philosophy" for nothing. Otherwise, if there was an incorrect assumption holding back science it would never be questioned or discovered. Neither can you escape philosophy if you can acknowledge your assumptions.
Basically what Einstein is saying as far as I can see, is acknowledge the assumption, and then proceed. Otherwise you get stuck in philosophy a
There is nothing divine about humanity. We came from animals and maintain our animal nature in everything we do. There is no reason it should exclude "reasoning." And we have known for quite some time that belief trumps fact. [motherjones.com]
It shows in nearly everything we do. In fact, "reasoning" has been used to support disinformation, misinformation, lies and misunderstanding for as far back as humans go. Religion and religious organizations are a wonderful example of this. Even the practice of saying "bless you"
We came from animals and maintain our animal nature in everything we do. There is no reason it should exclude "reasoning." And we have known for quite some time that belief trumps fact. [motherjones.com]
But animals don't have beliefs in the first place. Behavior that we recognize as primitive can be still specific to humans, just developed early enough in human history.
"Reasoning doesn't have this function of helping us to get better beliefs and make better decisions," said Hugo Mercier, who is a co-author of the journal article, with Dan Sperber. "It was a purely social phenomenon. It evolved to help us convince others and to be careful when others try to convince us." Truth and accuracy were beside the point.
As such, this model also allows for emotional reasoning ('truthiness') and the acceptance of logical fallacy.
The trick to winning the argument is to get the person to think along the same lines you do... We really cannot break our emotional and logical thinking up into distinct areas. Some people tend to be more logical, others will be more emotional. But there will be elements of both in it. But if you need to win an argument if you can effect their emotional side you gain and advantage, as agreeing with you will feel good. If you effect their logical side, you may still win but they are not feeling good abou
"Reasoning doesnâ(TM)t have this function of helping us to get better beliefs and make better decisions," said Hugo Mercier, who is a co-author of the journal article, with Dan Sperber. "It was a purely social phenomenon. It evolved to help us convince others and to be careful when others try to convince us." Truth and accuracy were beside the point.
That is a fairly damning quote on its own, but I will assume that Dr. Mercier is being misrepresented by omission of context.
It is not the case that all strategies have the same value. If reason were no more accurate than random choices, then there would be no evolutionary value whatsoever to evaluating the suggestions of others on the basis of reason.
The "purpose" of claws (if we are ascribing intentionality to natural selection, which is a mistake) may be to help climbing or to grip onto prey, not to be
Are we talking here about the evolution of a meme instead of the mankind? The word evolution seem to be used in both contexts in the article, but complex enough language, and probably reasoning as a social weapon came a bit later than the point were we became homo sapiens.
For some things the reasoning hypotesis is not needed, figuring out a pattern could be more expensive or slower than deciding if something fits on it or that could be something random that should be ignored, so could had been an human (o
"you're right" = "tu as raison". "This is not right" = "c'est pas juste". I don't know if it's a leftover from the Lumieres, but where English uses terms of right and wrong, French uses reason and justice. Back when I was in the US, I was indeed surprised by how objective reality (or the quest the establish it) seemed to very often take a back seat to feelings and moral / religious aspects.
Turns out both are just "my way" vs "your way" then ?
If the purpose of reason is to win arguments, what faculty is in charge of deciding the winner? We can't reason who the winner is, because reason in this account is about arguing for one side, not weighing the arguments fairly and evenly.
Put it the other way around: This whole argument is presupposing that people can come to reasoned conclusions and by that change their course. But then it is saying the purpose of reason isn't to allow us to come to reasoned conclusions, but rather to undermine the capability of others to come to reasoned conclusions, by allowing us to construct unbalanced and perhaps unfair arguments to virtually force them to come to some conclusion that we, by whatever means, have come to favor.
This is an argument for being a sociopathic predator, a parasite on reasoning society, and the riches which reason has enabled us to amass. It's sanctioning this predator's attitude by saying "Evolution wants us to be this way." It's making the standard form of argument in "evolutionary psychology," in which "evolution" plays the role formerly played by "God" in constructing an argument along the lines of, "Your maker says: behave thus." They're both arguments against using our own reason. That is to say, they are both perversions of reason, turned against reason itself.
I am not even going to click on the TFA's link.
Was it a scientific article behind subscription I would consider it, yet I would still complain about it not being on an open-access journal.
I have read enough 'scientific breakthroughs' from clueless journalists to be sufficiently annoyed. Seriously, Slashdot, stop supporting this paywall already.
No surprise from the paper that brought us Judith Miller's Iraq reporting [nymag.com], but in this article the New York Times utilizes the same irrationality and deception that the article claims to be describing as controversial.
The article claims to draw a distinction between rationality (or reasoning) and irrationality in the first paragraph and then proceeds to conflate the two, calling argumentation "reason":
What is revolutionary about argumentative theory is that it presumes that since reason has a different purp
For the most part, the remaining four hunters leaned on the table or lay in their bunks and left the discussion to the two antagonists. But they were supremely interested, for every little while they ardently took sides, and sometimes all were talking at once, till their voices surged back and forth in waves of sound l
"Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear." Thomas Jefferson (Letter to Peter Carr, Aug. 10, 1787)
Having read "Snow Crash", my first reaction was, of course REASON [wikipedia.org] is a weapon.
And the complaint is NOT new. [wikipedia.org]
Sophists are lying sacks of shit and should be fed slowly feet-first into a ham slicer.
With a pause every ten slices and washdown with vinegar that they may better enjoy the next ten slices.
I assure you all my arguments are based in altruism and truly wanting the best for others. Unlike yours which are based in crass self interest.
Now, be reasonable and do it my way!
Oh, oh I'm sorry, but this is abuse.
You want room 12A, Just along the corridor (Stupid git!).
You could say the same thing, or make a more powerful argument for Religion over Reason.
What single purpose has pitted groups of people to dominate, absorb, convert, other groups in the entire world. Nations perhaps. One could simply look at "government" or nations as the biological extension of the individual will to dominate its neighbors and protect like advantages.
"Surely you have observed how the first taste of argument provokes lads to misuse it as a kind of sport, that is, they use it competitively. Having been proven wrong in argument, they must go on to prove others wrong. They are like puppies, welcoming all comers to pull and tear at words with them".
(Plato's Republic, Book VII 539b)
How new is this notion again?
Rationality, by this yardstick (and irrationality too, but we'll get to that) is nothing more or less than a servant of the hard-wired compulsion to triumph in the debating arena.
No it isn't!
Loose bits sink chips.


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Attorneys for some retired state workers argued before the Illinois Supreme Court Wednesday that the retirees should not be required to pay premiums for their state-subsidized health insurance. However, attorneys for the state continued to maintain that health insurance benefits are separate from pension benefits and thus not protected by the state Constitution.
Attorneys for some retired state workers argued before the Illinois Supreme Court Wednesday that the retirees should not be required to pay premiums for their state-subsidized health insurance.
However, attorneys for the state continued to maintain that health insurance benefits are separate from pension benefits and thus not protected by the state Constitution.
Earlier this year, Sangamon County Judge Steven Nardulli dismissed several lawsuits filed challenging the health insurance premiums, ruling that "health insurance benefits are not guaranteed pension benefits protected by the Pension Protection Clause."
Edward Kionka, one of two attorneys representing retired state workers, challenged that and said the pension protection clause of the Constitution contains the phrase "the benefits of which shall not be diminished."
"Do an Internet search for jobs with benefits," Kionka told the court. "Everyone know that means such things as health insurance. The term benefits is much broader than pensions."
He said the General Assembly established health insurance as a contractual right when it passed a law in the late 1990s, establishing a sliding scale for retiree health insurance premiums. That scale provided for premium-free health insurance for people who retired with 20 or more years of service.
Assistant Attorney General Richard Huszagh said nothing in that law established retiree health insurance as a contractual right.
"There is nothing in the group insurance act that satisfies the strict standards to establish a contractual status for those provisions," he argued. "What the plaintiffs are asking the court to do is give the pension clause a new and expansive interpretation."
In response to questions from justices, Huszagh acknowledged that if the state wins the case, there would be nothing to stop it from greatly increasing retiree premiums in the future. He also said the early retirement law that lured thousands of workers into retirement — possibly with the belief they would receive free health insurance — never made any mention of insurance benefits.
Stephen Yokich, another lawyer representing the retirees, said the law establishing health insurance premiums for retirees could impair collective bargaining agreements. Health insurance coverage is usually part of state union contracts.
The Supreme Court will issue its ruling later.
The lawsuits stem from a bill passed by the General Assembly in 2012 authorizing the state to begin collecting premiums from retirees for their state-subsidized health insurance. Prior to that, a state worker who retired with 20 or more years of service was entitled to premium-free health insurance, although they had to cover certain out-of-pocket expenses like co-payments.
The state didn't start collecting premiums immediately. Instead, it waited until a new labor agreement was reached with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The contract was settled earlier this year.
As part of the agreement, retirees covered by Medicare would start paying 1 percent of their retirement benefit for their state health insurance. Those not covered by Medicare would pay 2 percent. The premiums went into effect July 1. Although the state is collecting the premiums, the money is currently being held in a special account until the lawsuit is resolved.
Doug Finke can be reached at 788-1527.


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Etherton succeeds Dr. Charles Emely, who served the association as executive director and CEO since 1998. The association's board of governors will undertake a search for a permanent replacement.
Etherton began his career in 1969 as a student engineer at Norfolk and Western Railway. He held various positions at Norfolk Southern and its predecessor company before retiring in 2009 as director engineering. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois, where he studied under Dr. W.W. Hay in the field of railway engineering. He also studied at Duke University Fuqua School of Business Executive Education and completed the Norfolk Southern Corporation Management Development Program.
Etherton is a Life Member of AREMA and has served as AREMA president, 2007-2008, senior vice president, 2006-2007, group vice president - Track, 2005-2006, director-Track, 2004-2005, and AREMA Educational Foundation director. He has also served on various AREMA technical committees and has been the chair of the AREMA Conference Operating Committee for many years.
In a September 2008 interview with RT&S where he looked back on his year as president of the association, Etherton has this to say, "Sometimes, I am not sure what my next AREMA-related activity will be. However, during [my years at NS and Norfolk & Western], I have been given the opportunities to develop leadership, communications, administrative and other skills required to focus on the job at hand, no matter what it may be and get it done."


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We have to make products that are reusable and recyclable, use less energy, raw materials and water
What is the impact of the current financial and economic situation on the development of the European green economy?
Green economy is moving but of course there are still forces which sometimes try to protect the unprotectable. It's really important to understand that Europe is a densely populated continent. The predominant part of industrial activity is still resource-based. We are still for example landfilling 3 tonnes per person per year.
What we also see is a steep increase in the resource prices. For example, from 1998 to 2011 it is overshooting 300% and 87% of European companies are expecting in the next 5 years to face additional increases.
Already today in the cost structure, costs connected to resources are much higher than costs connected to labour. That's why lots of companies are already today re-focusing their innovation potential from addressing labour productivity to capital productivity.
We are very much an interdependent continent. We not only import 60% of our energy, which according to estimates of International Energy Agency will overshoot in the next decades by 80%, but we are also importing lots of raw materials – 6 times more than what we export.
If you put all those elements together, the solution is pretty simple. We have to produce products that satisfy the needs of our consumption but use less energy, raw materials and water. We have to produce them so that they are reusable and recyclable. This is actually the best way to improve our competitiveness and keep the industry in Europe. This should be heard loudly and clearly especially in these crisis times, because this is one of the answers which exists here and now.
Of course, we have to deal with macroeconomic questions - how to remedy the financial situation, how to renew the capacity of the banks so that they finance again everything that is correct. But ignoring this part of the structural changes which I have already mentioned, would be a major mistake.
In what ways can business be encouraged to invest in a green economy?
I meet quite a lot of business representatives. The progressive part of business certainly understands the challenges the same way that I have already explained.
Of course, each transition will have winners and losers. We have to put our attention to the losers and organize a just transition to minimize the number of losers and maximize the number of winners. All the incentives that we give to the public sector should be consistent with that kind of approach and philosophy.
Sometimes NGOs feel that the EU is providing funds to protect, say, the network of Natura 2000 sites but at the same time is providing funds for infrastructure in the same area which will actually destroy these habitats. How do we strike the balance?
You have put this dichotomy in a brutal way because in essence you can have both if you organize yourself properly. We should absolutely invest in protecting the Natura 2000 network.
We are now in a phase when we have developed the network - now we have to focus on management and funding. But on the other hand we also need renewable energy to get the answers that we all know are fundamental for addressing climate change.
While doing that, we have to absolutely respect the needs connected to Natura 2000. We don't have automatic exclusion of economic projects inside Natura 2000 but legislation is clear that whatever economic activity is done, it should be done in a way that is not hampering the habitats which are protected by Natura 2000.
They are protected because they are disappearing and we have to take care that they continue to exist. That's why we have issued guidelines that are reconciling the economic interest of renewable energy development but on the other hand protecting the Natura 2000 sites.
How to make sure that governments follow the guidelines?
It's in their interests – they should do that. If they will not ,there will be inspections and civil society is looking at that and, of course, the European Commission is looking at that too.
Bulgaria is one the EU countries with a higher number of EC infringement procedures because of violations of environmental EU law.
Bulgaria is in the 8th place with 15 infringement procedures currently open. I would not say that the situation is dramatic, but it certainly needs important attention.
The majority are not connected to the transposition - which Bulgaria has done quite well - but to the implementation into practice. Bulgaria is a country where infrastructure development is still needed.
How to reconcile this with the beautiful nature is one of the most important things to focus your attention. Nature is something that you should see as a major benefit. As you are proud of cultural heritage, you should be proud of natural heritage.
You protect your richness which the other countries don't have. But you should take care of waste water treatment and drinking water.
All the infringement procedures we have are connected with the fact that you are not using efficiently the cohesion and structural funds. I would urge you to increase capacity to use this money because it's mainly connected with infrastructure which is otherwise expensive to build.


text:
Hi guys
I have a question.
I would like to have a virtual pet, but this time i want it to be a dog. The problem i: i can't find any good dog virtual pets. I asked and someone recommended me Nano Puppy, but i don't like its sprite, and it looks like it can't do that much. I'm searching for a virtual dog pet with a nice dog sprite which hasn't got limited functions, so that i can play with it too, so a bit of function is what i would like too. Do you have any recommendations? Because i have been looking on the internet, but i don't like the ones i found so far:
Yuruppy : The sprite is great. But the only thing you can do with it, is petting it.
Nano Puppy: I don't like the sprite and it looks like it hasn't got many functions
Anipalz: I had this one, i like the sprite, but i don't think it has many functions (if it does have many functions, please let me know!)
Also, by functions i mean the options the toy has. Like "play", "feed",...
Please help me. Thank you in advance


text:
2011 Football
Lou Stokes
Director of Academic Success, Associate Head Coach
and Running Backs Coach
Lou Stokes, who served for 18 seasons before taking a two-year break, returned to the football program three seasons ago to work with the running backs and serve as the team's director of academic success and associate head coach. Stokes' coaching experience includes being the head coach at Ottawa-Glandorf and Bucyrus High Schools and a coordinator at Celina High School.
He was a standout offensive lineman for Bluffton in the early 1970's. In 1972 he helped lead the Beavers to a conference championship and was named first team All-NAIA District 22. Stokes was inducted into the Bluffton University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 for his work on the gridiron, both as a player and a coach.
Coach Stokes lives in Ottawa with his wife, Melanie.


text:
2013-09-19 / Enterprise
County Chambers Celebrate 3 Years Together
Before 2010, Putnam County had no unifying, countywide business organization, relying instead on local business organizations whose main focus, as it should be, is networking and community events. These local organizations also do their best to promote and maintain the various local economies.
The full version of this story is available only to subscribers. Subscribe now to access to full versions of news stories in our archive of over 12,000 stories going back to 1999.


text:
On April 7, 1958, Howard F. Johnson died of a sudden heart attack as he was getting ready for bed.
Johnson had farmed ground both in Victor Township in DeKalb County and Earl Township in Lee County, around Leland.
At the time of Johnson's death, much of that farm ground had yet to be plowed before the spring planting. Johnson's son, Gerald "Gerry" Johnson was away serving in the Army at Fort Belvoir, Va.
So, a week after the farmer's death, farmers from as far as 10 miles away came out and worked together to help plow about 150 acres of the farm. There were 45 people with 37 tractors, all there to help a neighbor in a time of trouble.
Gerry Johnson was in his 20s then. Now he's pushing 80. But he has never forgotten the kindness his neighbors did his family.
"It's a burden I've been carrying all my life, how to repay these people," Gerry Johnson said. "Boy, I wish I could hug every one of them."
Most of those who helped that day are no longer living, although he believes some are, including Les Smith, Les Grover, Orrin "Shorty" Hanouw, and Cliff Espevik.
The farmers decided to pitch in to help the family at his father's funeral, Johnson said. On April 14, 1958, a week after the father died, the group arrived to help.
A pair of brothers, Hes Wesson and Wayne "Pete" Wesson of Leland, organized the effort, Johnson said.
Today, Johnson keeps yellowed newspaper clippings and sheets of paper with handwritten rosters of the farm families who came to help that day, using tractors to pull three-bottom plows.
In the end, their help ended up being crucial to the Johnson family in their time of tragedy.
"They saved our year, saved our farming year," Johnson said.
Johnson, who had a college degree in business administration when he enlisted in the Army, would go on to work in agriculture, working with the credit department in a feed operation.
After spending much of his career in Mason City, Iowa, he and his wife Kathy have returned to the area.
He's pretty sure that the community spirit the farmers in DeKalb and Lee counties showed that day in 1958 would show itself again today, too.
"Farmers still know each other, they still talk," Johnson said. "They know each other like they know their brother."
We still help: The community spirit those farmers showed that day continues in DeKalb County.
Although it doesn't always come in the form of tractor and plow, people in our communities still gather to help their neighbors when they are in need – even if they've never met them.
One such opportunity is a fundraiser to benefit Teale Noble and her family. Noble, an 18-year-old senior at Sycamore High School, was seriously injured in a Feb. 27 car crash that killed 11-year-old Matthew Ranken. She is still struggling to recover from her injuries.
The event is from 6 to 9 p.m. today at Four Seasons Sports, 1745 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children and students. There will be music, a 50/50 raffle, appetizers and an auction.
News editor Jillian Duchnowski did a great job telling the story of event organizer Sheri Prutton earlier this week. If you can take the time to help, please do.
Tax freedom: If you're a working person who's held a full-time job since the start of the year, congratulations. As of Thursday, you're no longer working to pay off your tax obligations either to Uncle Sam, the state of Illinois, or your local property taxes.
That's according to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan research foundation based in Washington, D.C.
It takes longer for Illinoisans to pay off their tax obligations than almost anywhere else in the country. The only states where it takes longer, according to the Tax Foundation, are New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Illinois is still a relatively high-income state, with a per capita income of more than $44,000 in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Only Minnesota does better in the Midwest.
But we can no longer labor under the delusion that Illinois is somehow a low-tax state. Our state's personal income tax rate is now 5 percent, increased from 3 percent in 2011. Despite guarantees of rolling back, it seems possible it will become permanent.
Our home values have fallen and property tax rates continue to increase. And Gov. Pat Quinn wants to eliminate business tax incentives he calls loopholes to take millions more from corporate interests in the state.
Is it any wonder that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Florida Gov. Rick Scott think they can persuade Illinois-based businesses to relocate?
Even so: Where are you going to go that doesn't have problems? Texas has great barbecue and friendly people, Florida has great beaches and Walt Disney World, but neither can lay claim to being an American utopia.
The per capita income in both states is below Illinois, too.
Our state's government is in a bad way, there's no doubt, for all the reasons that we routinely hear about – unfunded pension liability, a backlog of unpaid bills, ineffective leadership, and so on.
But let's not forget that it's our government. The people running it come from our communities. They work for us. It is within our power to make changes for the good.
Government moves slowly, and change can take time. That change, however, is coming. It may be uncomfortable, but it is inevitable.
Who pays the least: In case you were wondering, the states with the earliest tax freedom days are Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina and New Mexico.
So if you really hate taxes, looks like it's Dixie, the bayou, or the desert for you. Do you prefer giant bugs, alligators, or scorpions?
Beatin' 'Betes: There are no shortage of running events to benefit good causes this time of year, and one of those is the Beatin' 'Betes 5K run being scheduled for May 4 at Hopkins Park in DeKalb.
The race is set for 9 a.m. and will benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Juvenile, or Type 1 diabetes, is not brought on by lifestyle choices – it's an autoimmune disease that usually emerges in children and young adults. People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day to survive.
It's an event I've worked on personally, along with my Leadership DeKalb classmates Shannon Barnaby of Foster and Buick, Michael Cullen Jr. of NB&T, Mandy Kakac of Northern Illinois Rehab, Carolyn Leist of KishHealth System, Mary Jo McAdams of NB&T, and Matt Wray of Frontier Communications.
You can sign up to run or walk online. The short link is goo.gl/tm774.
Working on this race has also given me a newfound appreciation, not only for the individual talents of my fellow event organizers, but also for the hard work that people must put in to make these types of events happen.
Where would the good causes of the world be without these dedicated people? I don't know.
All you have to do to help is sign up and show up. I hope you can join us.
• Eric Olson is editor of the Daily Chronicle. Reach him at 815-756-4841 ext. 2257, email firstname.lastname@example.com, or follow him on Twitter @DC_Editor.


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Bulldogs Look to Prove Themselves Against the Rest of the Ancient Eight
NEW HAVEN, Conn. – On Friday, Oct. 29, the Bulldogs will compete in the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships (Heps) at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, N.Y. For many Bulldogs, this race represents the height of their season, as Ivy League rivalries often do for Yale teams.
The Bulldogs jumped into the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Northeast region rankings last week, taking the eighth position and bettering both the Brown and Dartmouth squads, which were 12th and 15th, respectively. This achievement came after Yale's strong finish at the Penn State National meet on Oct. 16, where the Bulldogs placed eighth out of 31 schools.
"We want to use that momentum going forward," said senior captain Liya Assefa. "Our team is really excited to prove at this Heps that we are better and stronger than we were in recent years."
Heps will be the beginning of the championship season for Yale, a time for the team to pull together everything it has achieved so far this year.
"The team is really coming together. It's going to be really fun when we get out there and show the other Ivies what we can do," said sophomore Elizabeth Marvin, a frequent member of the Bulldogs' top runners.
This year's Heptagonal Championships will be the last for head coach Mark Young '68, who is retiring as the Mark T. Young '68 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field at the end of the cross country season after 31 years. He will continue to coach Yale's female distance runners during the 2010-2011 track and field season.
The race will start at 11:00 a.m. Results will be posted on www.yalebulldogs.com and http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/championships/xc/Results as soon as they are available.
Report by Natalie Villa '13, Yale Sports Publicity


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0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
There used to be links near the top of the page for seeing "unread topics" (any new replies since I looked last) and replies to my posts. I haven't seen those links in the last new days. What happened?
On the right side of the screen, where it says "Where the civil people meet" there is an arrow. Click on it. Your info should come back.
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text:
Winter Weather Advisory
The National Weather Service has issues a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 2:00pm this afternoon through 5:00am Thursday morning. 2 to 4 inches of snow are expected in the lower elevations, with 4 to 7 inches likely in the mountains.
For the latest road and travel conditions in Montana dial 511.


text:
"eloquent and insincere rhetoric," 1915, American English slang; see bull (n.1) + shit (n.), probably because it smells. But bull in the sense of "trivial or false statements" (1914), which usually is associated with this, might be a continuation of Middle English bull "false talk, fraud" (see bull (n.3)).
An exclamation of disbelief, derision, and contempt in retort to some proposition
Nonsense; pretentious talk; bold and deceitful absurdities; baloney: I'm afraid your theory is chiefly bullshit (1915+)
: He tried to bullshit his way out of it (1942+)


text:
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A faint smell of old books drifts out the door of a corner room tucked away in the Woodstock Square Mall.
Inside, thousands of used books are arranged neatly by topic, date released and whether they appeal to adults or children on shelves lining the walls. They've been painstakingly put there by volunteers. Countless hours spent sorting.
And they've come from people throughout the community looking to discard old books and keep them out of the landfills. In doing so, those who donate have kept the non-profit Environmental Defenders of McHenry County alive.
As the group and other environmental organizations through the area celebrate Earth Day this Monday, with some commemorating an Earth Week, efforts like those at the book store and elsewhere are garnering attention.
Yet, throughout the year, their efforts often go unnoticed.
"We're kind of a hidden gem," said Pam Johnson, a volunteer for the Defenders who helps organize the used book store, called The Green Spot, at 110 S. Johnson St., Suite 104, in Woodstock.
When it comes to the store, Johnson knows her stuff. Any and every topic you're interested in, she can hunt down a book about it.
And she's often one of the first to sort through boxes of donations, snatching up those she likes.
"You have no idea how many books I've bought. It's a blessing and a curse," she said with a laugh.
The Defenders first opened The Green Spot several years ago in a smaller location in Woodstock. The group moved its office to its current location across the hall from the book store, mainly to make room for more books. A continually rotating supply of books, gift items and DVDs are available at the shop for low prices.
Paperbacks typically go for $1 a piece, while hard backs can range from $3 to $5.
"Our prices," you can't beat 'em," said Christy Matsuoka, administrative coordinator for the Defenders.
Along with the used book sale, the group works throughout the year to raise awareness of environmental issues, host recycling drives and protect natural areas, water resources and open spaces.
The used book store actually grew out of countless questions by residents about where to discard their old books, Matsuoka said. It since has become one of the few remaining used books stores, with only a couple others still operating in the McHenry County area.
"We realized that there was not really a nearby outlet in Woodstock," she said.
Though new technology, such as Nooks and other mobile e-readers and tablets, are growing in popularity, she and other volunteers say interest in books will remain, at least in their lifetimes.
"People who like books will always like books," Johnson said.
Along with accepting book donations, volunteers make the rounds to area libraries looking for books leftover from various sales. And every mid to late September, the shop hosts a larger book sale at Algonquin Township, as well as larger sales in a downstairs area in the Woodstock Square Mall.
"It's an always changing selection, and we're not putting junk out," Matsuoka said.
She and the store's roughly 20 volunteers enjoy having first dibs at the books, with Matsuoka often heading for the used DVDs, she said as she looked over the latest selection.
"There are some good ones in here," she said.
"We're our own best customers."
A growing interest
Like the Defenders, 20-year-old Zak Klehr sometimes finds the biggest challenge facing environmentalists is spreading the word.
As president of the Down to Earth environmental club at McHenry County College, Klehr has worked to draw interest in the club and its activities. In his second year at the college, he said he's seen the club grow, increasing to about seven members on and off this year.
Members have worked with numerous environmental organizations and their initiatives throughout the area, including clearing invasive plant species and other efforts.
The group is hosting Earth Day activities this week on campus, and members will plant trees as part of the McHenry County Conservation District's "Planting for Tomorrow" program at Coral Woods in Marengo.
"Hopefully, years from now, you can go back and see your hard work growing there and making the place more beautiful," Klehr said of the effort.
Klehr always has been interested in the environment and plans to study environmental science at a four-year university after MCC.
Though he sees the need for technology, he fears too much of it can cause you to lose your "connection to nature," he said.
That's why he's worked so hard to spread the word about the club and other environmental efforts.
"I know it's busy and everything. I understand that, but there are times it seems like it's 'go, go, go,' " said Klehr, of Huntley. "I would wish that more students would notice and understand what's going on."


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It certainly seems appropriate for this article.
I haven't seen a nickname tossed around for this practice, where someone is paying off their congresscritters to pass laws. Isn't there a nice short little name for this practice, beyond the obvious ones like "bribery" or "purchased legislation" etc?
I'm sure the free market will take care of this issue.
Umm, no, it is the regulation of the single tech spectrum that is exactly why other countries have better mobile infrastructure, not stupidly creating more islands of spectrum.
AT&T is a bit like the liquid metal terminator from Terminator 2. You can break it into little pieces, but somehow, eventually, it'll find a way to reassemble itself and become a monopoly again.
So AT&T needs to be thrown into hot lava to terminate like in the movie?
Are you, Americans are still paying for incoming calls and SMSes?
This is incorrect. I'm a T-Mobile customer. I have unlimited talk/text and supposedly unlimited data (which I believe becomes "slow" at around 5GB). My monthly bill is officially $79.99 (no contract). Additionally, I can use my Nexus S phone as a mobile wi-fi hotspot so I can connect to the interwebz using my netbook wherever I have phone signal. Granted, there are some taxes on top but it still comes in well under $100. For equivalent service on AT&T, I would in fact pay $150 a month -- roughly d
Read the T-Mobile small print. The "unlimited" data is "unlimited" until 200MB (69.99 contract), 2GB (79.99 contract), 5GB (89.99 contract) or 10GB (119.99 contract) after which you'll be throttled to 50kbps speeds but they reserve the right to throttle or even block your data transfer whenever they feel necessary or use any data that is duplicated by their plans (such as VoIP, online messages etc.) or whenever you use a 'disproportionate' amount of data.
For various reasons (one being the impending AT&T merger) I recently switched from T-Mobile to Sprint.
They have plans that give you 500 minutes with unlimited text and data for 69.99 (59.99 + 10.00 smart phone addon).
You have to sign up with this (not really) secret method to get the plan for 59.99...
http://mcguireslaw.com/2008/07/16/psst-have-you-heard-about-everything-plus/ [mcguireslaw.com]
With my wife constantly calling me and the long conversations I have with my Dad, at first I was afraid that 500 minutes would no
If you don't actually roam off of Sprint, take a look at Boost or Virgin. Both use the Sprint CDMA network, but offer lower rates than Sprint. Virgin is $40/mo for 1200 anytime minutes, unlimited SMS/MMS, and unlimited data. Boost's unlimited plan is $50/mo, but the selection of phones isn't so hot. Will Sprint collapse? Maybe. I sure hope not. But, at least in metro areas, there are other options like Cricket, MetroPCS, and US Cellular.
Having a market dominated by a smaller number of larger companies is the ideal capitalist system according to rightist ideology. This is why they like mergers and hate it when antitrust laws are enforced. In this way, the few remaining companies don't have to deal with as much of that pesky "competition" thing, and through economies of scale they can deliver better goods for less money. At least, that's the excuses libertarians and conservatives usually give me.
This is also part of the reason why I argue that they are not in fact capitalists, but rather neo-feudalists.
Are you still paying different rates, depending on which network you're calling to?
But which is which? As far as I can tell they are both sold, just to different interests.
For all your one-stop shopping needs.
Ever notice how few people are really paying attention? How along the campaign trail nobody ever asks an important question like, "Would you oppose an AT&T / T-Mobile merger which really harms competition in the US?"
They had an Ohio farmer on the news, back when W was running for re-election, when asked which was more important, Social Issues or Economic Issues, the farmer said, "As long has be works to block abortion, he doesn't mind if a few eggs get broken." Really. Wonder how he's doing on that farm after the Bank Collapse. When are people going to wake up and realize they have put far too much focus on a social agenda and too little on Business and Economic issues which affect them to more devastating effect?
I suppose someone, somewhere is fine with the merger, as long as their important Social Agenda gets lip service.
Really. Wonder how he's doing on that farm after the Bank Collapse
Probably quite well, since food prices and futures have risen solidly (since he's in Ohio if he's farming wheat, corn, orsoy -- ZW, ZC, ZS -- he's probably pretty happy).
Really. Wonder how he's doing on that farm after the Bank Collapse
Probably quite well, since food prices and futures have risen solidly (since he's in Ohio if he's farming wheat, corn, orsoy -- ZW, ZC, ZS -- he's probably pretty happy).
As long as he didn't have a mortgage on his property and his customers paid him for his harvest, that is entirely possible.
During the late 1970's a lot of farmers lost everything, thanks to economic issues in banking (skyrocketing interest rates, double digit inflation, revenues not keeping up with costs)
As long as he didn't have a mortgage on his property and his customers paid him for his harvest, that is entirely possible.
How is he hurt if he has a mortgage? Banks having problems don't just automatically make people lose their properties. Now if people were foolish and had huge payments they couldn't afford (and never could have afforded) or no downpayment loans AND an ARM, yeah, they might be in trouble.
But no, if he -- like the majority of people -- had a standard fixed rate loan, he probably is just fine. Don't forget that inflation helps fixed debts (like a 30-year mortgage) become less important. I'm paying (eg) $1000/m
Not really... Farmers have to compete with large agribusinesses that have access to patented crops that grow with fewer resources spent. Larger businesses have economies of scale on their side.
Trying the "organic" route might work, but there are only so many farmer's markets, so trying to compete against large businesses who can flood the market with dirt cheap crops is becoming more and more difficult.
Farmers are becoming an endangered species. Especially due to the fact that land is becoming more and mo
Aww! Poor things! While we're bitching about shit the rest of us got over a long time ago, I think it's un*fair* how my one-man operation can't compete with the big, well-capitalized players in the field of semiconductor manufacture!
Businesses invest. In better tech. That makes it harder for you to compete using the tech of decades (or millenia) ago. Normal people adapt. Farmer bitch and moan, and then manage to get subsidies, even for not growing crops.
Fuck 'em.
Don't forget that inflation helps fixed debts (like a 30-year mortgage) become less important.
Only if your income growth outpaces inflation. If inflation is 3% per year, your income has to grow by at least 3% per year or your buying power has actually declined. If your income remains constant for 30 years, it doesn't matter what inflation is with respect to your mortgage.
My parent's actually experienced what you are talking about. Their mortgage when they first took it out really stretched them. $350/month was a lot of money in those days. Fast forward 25 years and it wasn't much of a problem
Verizon is the top US provider, complete with the pay our prices or leave, and at one time the most stringent criteria for allow
I am not saying the US telecom industry has done a great job nor isn't greedy assholes. It is unfair to compare US telecom to any other region when almost all the countries are the size of a single state in the USA.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe European telecom plans are per country with significant roaming costs from country to country (or buy a SIM for each country). Whereas in the US all the wireless carriers allow at no "extra cost" use across the entire country -- and the US is approximately
Bullshit. I work for a telco in Finland, and covering a piece of land is as easy/hard in both as the average population density is in the same ballpark. I would even accept that covering rural America is harder, but by that logic most Americans in the cities should have the best broadband in the world. The real difference is that we have four national networks for a population of 5M and the competition is fierce. The regulator is here FOR the people.
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
You missed the point of my write-up. When you go to Spain, how does your telecom provider work for you? Cost a lot extra to use in spain right? Or just buy a pay as you go sim, but your number is now different so not that useful while there...
I'm not sure how much water you argument holds when the worst European country in terms of telecom price/quality is still better than the best states in the US. Finland has a lower population density than the United States, and simultaneously better telcom.
So while true that Europe is a patchwork of carriers across its different states, every state there is better than any state in the US.
So while true that Europe is a patchwork of carriers across its different states, every state there is better than any state in the US.
But if you travel you get raped on roaming charges. Especially data roaming which is completely unaffordable.
Europe has somewhat-decent per-minute charges due to fixed line users paying way too much to call cell phones and because of roaming charges/charges for international calls. The US doesn't have that kind of make-money-fast schemes for cell phone providers but unfortunately the lack of regulation means that it is difficult to start another provider and for the users to change providers.
Actually, you don't. Rates are high-ish, but capped by a EU directive...
How often does your average American leave the state? I don't personally consider that to be a major concern when I leave the state so infrequently. The bigger issue is the shit service around town.
The fact that I can't get decent coverage in a major city is an absolute embarrassment. And As for ISPs, Qwest apparently has written off much of Seattle in terms of upgrades deeming 1.5mbps to be fast enough. Same basic problem, shit regulation and a company that's figured out that it's cheaper to not bother to
I have several coworkers who live in other states and drive to work in my state every day. How would you work it if you lived in France and worked in Spain?
Well for one thing, most people aren't required to have cell phones in order to have a job. And for another, cell coverage is hardly the only issue at play when living in France and working in SPain.
One of the biggest problems in the US is simply finding a spot to put a tower.
Can't put it anywhere within a city limits without permission from the city. Can't put it on any land the city owns, period. Can't put it on any private land without a permit from the city. Can't put it anywhere near people that complain about the radiation hazards, how the sight of the tower offends them or any other complaint unless you like spending millions in court.
This means in non-rural areas finding a spot for a tower is a huge challenge whereas I suspect most other countries the siting for a tower is easy - you get the government permission at a high level and nobody is allowed to argue with you. This is especially true when the telephone provider also happens to be state-owned.
Sure there are "regulators" involved but they aren't listening to the lunatic fringe. Here in the US between the environmentalists, the radical environmentalists (you know, all progress since 800 AD is cruel, inhumane and against nature) and the basic nutjobs (cell tower radiation hazards, power transmission line hazards, magnetic cure-all bracelets that are negatively affected by any other EMF fields in the area, etc.) have the ear of the government and the courts.
Compare US telecom to Indian telecom..
Indian telecom is WAY behind on Data, but calls and SMS are one of the lowest in the world.
( incoming SMS are actually free nationwide, and incoming calls statewide)
You tell me how you think the roaming charges stack up.
T-Mobile UK roaming in Germany or Spain
Outgoing calls $0.62/min (38.8p)
Incoming calls $0.30/min (14.3p)
Outgoing SMS $0.16 (10.2p)
Outgoing MMS $0.33 (20.4p)
Incoming SMS free
Incoming MMS free
GPRS/3G $2.46/Mb (£1.532)
AT&T roaming in Germany or Spain
Incoming calls $1.39/min (86.5p)
Outgoing calls $1.39/min (86.5p)
Outgoing SMS $0.50 (31.1p)
Incoming SMS
Outgoing MMS $1.30 (80.9p)
Incoming MMS
GPRS (no mention of 3G roaming at all) $19.97/Mb (£1
I'm not even interested in reading the blog post when I see a horrible conclusion that Verizon dropping its unlimited data plans are a result of the AT&T/TMO merger. It makes MUCH more sense that a response to the merger would be, "hey, everyone! We have unlimited data plans!!"
Haven't you ever heard of price fixing? Same idea, but it's feature fixing. It's tacit collusion and highly profitable.
But, this way verizon can spend less on infrastructure, and people dont really have another choice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless_communications_service_providers [wikipedia.org]
Just because they don't have stores on every street corner doesn't mean there aren't a hundred different wireless providers to choose from.
Yes, but how many of those are just resellers? Essentially, they a virtual carriers with roaming agreements with the ones that you've heard of. Some may have a small area of real service, but I doubt that many do.
List of actual carriers:
Unless I'm missing something, that's pretty much it. Everybody else is either a regional carrier that only provides service in a small area or is an MVNO that leases service from one of the services above. And frankly, even MetroPCS is basically a glorified regional carrier....
Probably add US Cellular (they have a mix of their own towers + roaming agreements with Verizon).
Everybody else is either a regional carrier that only provides service in a small area or is an MVNO that leases service from one of the services above.
Sure, but even regional carriers like Cellular South still cover larger areas than many European carriers do
Virgin Mobile
The list above says whether or not the carrier is an MVNO or reseller. I'm guesstimating half are MVNO's. That's still a fair bit of competition.
Mod parent up - this is the key.
MVNO means "mobile virtual network operator", which describes someone who buys bandwidth from AT&T, TMobile, Sprint, Verizon and uses it to run their own brand of phones. All those little companies you see are basically MVNOs.
Does anybody on Slashdot actually travel? Prices in general of most goods are _way_ cheaper in the US than in Europe or Japan (I haven't been to South Korea). US taxes are relatively low. Why do I care if a cell phone bill is a few hundred bucks a year more?
And then people miss the point that cell infrastructure scales both with population and with physical area. Someone has to pay for that.
Does anybody on Slashdot actually travel? Prices in general of most goods are _way_ cheaper in the US than in Europe or Japan (I haven't been to South Korea). US taxes are relatively low. Why do I care if a cell phone bill is a few hundred bucks a year more? And then people miss the point that cell infrastructure scales both with population and with physical area. Someone has to pay for that.
I think it depends on where you go, and what goods you're looking at. I lived in Tokyo for three years. Moved back to the US, to California, and naively expected the cost of living to be lower.
It wasn't.
What was more galling, not only was I paying more living in CA, but the quality of the goods and services purchased was generally lower.
A random sample list:
And would people *please* give the population density argument a rest? It's a red herring. The San Francisco Bay Area is quite densely populated and is supposedly the center of the US high-tech industry - and yet cell coverage is kinda crappy, and internet service is much more expensive and much slower than anything you get in Japan (unless you're out in the boonies). It's not about population density, it's about profit margins, and what regulators and the competitive environment will allow.
Gah, whatever happened to unordered lists in HTML? Sheesh...
What was more galling, not only was I paying more living in CA
For piddly stuff (prepared food? really?), yeah, maybe. How much does a 1000 sq. ft. apartment go for in Tokyo, though?
The initial comment was about goods. I lumped in services for fun.
Rents? Sure, I had a ~800 sq ft place a short walking distance from Saginomiya Station (one of the express stops) on the Tôbu line for ~$1,500 / mo. ~1,000 sq ft in San Carlos right after that went for ~$1,800, but the rails were much more expensive, much less convenient, and traffic on 101 was so fun that 12 miles one way could take about an hour. Bicycling would often get your there faster, except drivers were not very kind to b
I lived in Tokyo for three years. Moved back to the US, to California, and naively expected the cost of living to be lower.
California is the 3rd most expensive [msn.com] state in the US behind only Hawaii and Alaska. Try moving to somewhere that actually is inexpensive to live. I live in the midwest and it is FAR less expensive. My house would cost 4-5X as much anywhere remotely close to one of the bigger California cities. If you were looking for a place in the US to compare with Japan you could hardly have picked a worse example.
It's not about population density, it's about profit margins, and what regulators and the competitive environment will allow.
You say that as if you think profit margins and population density are somehow unrelated. While there a
California is the 3rd most expensive [msn.com] state in the US behind only Hawaii and Alaska. Try moving to somewhere that actually is inexpensive to live. I live in the midwest and it is FAR less expensive.
Sure, the Midwest is quite less expensive. That said, the OP was arguing about the US as an aggregate whole -- which I think is a mistake, as it depends where you are within the US as to how much things cost. Hence why I brought up prices in California.
It's not about population density, it's about profit margins, and what regulators and the competitive environment will allow.
You say that as if you think profit margins and population density are somehow unrelated. While there are highly dense areas, the phone companies have to expend capital to cover the not dense areas too. If you spend the money to improve connections in the high density areas you necessarily are taking it away from the less populated areas.
Except, as has been substantially covered here on Slashdot, the US telecom companies get sizable government subsidies and other public assistance to carry out such work. This muddies the waters and makes the zero-sum argument about high- vs. low-density ar
Except, as has been substantially covered here on Slashdot, the US telecom companies get sizable government subsidies and other public assistance to carry out such work.
I presume you are talking about the Universal Service Fund. That fund is drawn directly from the revenues of telecom companies to build infrastructure where there would otherwise be none because there is NO economic case for it. It is impossible to justify the expense of serving many of the rural and even semi-rural areas of the US. That is not a government subsidy, that is regulated reapportionment of telecom revenues for specific purposes. True, it is not a black and white case for urban versus rural
Coverage in the US cities is a function of being able to put up towers.
You can't put up a tower in a city without permission from the city. You can't put it on city land no matter what. To put a tower up on private land you have to not only negotiate with the landowner but the landowner's neighbors. When there is someone that believes cell phone radiation will cause cancer you aren't going to put a tower there no matter what. Ever, until that person moves. Trying to fight it out in court is a losing bat
In (Ex-Soviet) Russia, you can choose from MTS, MegaFon, Beeline, Tele2, or a few other GSM Providers.
In China, you can choose from China Mobile (Easyown, GoTone, M-zone, Peoples, ZoNG), ChinaUnicom. (Yes, the main ones are state-owned)
In the "Free" United states, you can choose any GSM provider you want, as long as you "want" to use the government-approved AT&T/T-mobile.
So you say: "If there's customer demand, Capitalism shows another company will be created so competition remains..." Yeah Right. The
I swore I'd never do this but...
I, for one, welcome our new Call Dropping Overlords.
I still pay $50 a month total for my iPhone and still have unlimited 3G data being with ATT.
Now with the acquisition I have even more towers to cover me for the voice and 2G data end since T-mo towers are compatible with this.
Who would you rather pay off, 43 different state regulatory authorities, or those convenient people on Capitol Hill?'"
All of those countries mentioned have centralized federal authorities regulating their companies. Trying to for some reason argue AGAINST federal regulation, and instead of state-level regulation, while simultaneously pointing at all these other counties ahead of the US, is total nonsense.
Not everything should be state regulated. For a heck of a lot of things, it introduces huge levels of complexity and expense, and lots of opportunity for idiotic state legislators to pass nonsense laws to gain political po
"The following is not for the weak of heart or Fundamentalists." -- Dave Barry


text:
A lot of the ones off the top of my head have been said. **** you Nicholas Cage.
Everyone in the Fast and the Furious.
Owen Wilson. (Die.)
Ben Stiller. (Die.)
Jim Carrey.
Vinny Chase (Adrien something?)
I think it's ok for an actor to play a somewhat similar character frequently if they do it well and make it believable.
Edit: Oh Jeremy Renner. He is still living off Hurt Locker. Terrible. Takes me out of the experience in every movie he's in.
The crying scene from oh-so-long-ago MYSTIC PIZZA (1988 is it possible)
Crowd in theater was laughing. /thread
Every porn movie actor/actress........before the sex.
He doesn't come across as the regular jerkoff Hollywood actor type. Makes some bad movies but , yeah ok, stays out of trouble,
The cane_shaking is heavy in this thread.
I didn't know everyone on this board also works for the Academy.
How nice.
I'll just add that this weekend I saw the first half of a 2000 movie, The Gift, on Netflix. Now I know there's a good reason I had never heard of this Billy Bob Thornton (good actor, btw) written piece of sh*te.
The only name I knew would be in it was Cate Blanchett. And one-by-one the big names kept popped out as the train wreck revealed itself.
Giovanni Ribisi was so bad it was mesmerizing (playing an unbalanced hick mechanic), Keanu Reeves genuinely laughable as an abusive pickup truck driving bigot, Hilary Swank as abused white trash (I know, a stretch for her), Katie Holmes as a snotty rich girl, Greg Kinnear the humble fellow with a good heart - this movie began taking on a life of its own as a personal insult to me. Throw in the special effects for Cate's psychic abilities (these effects were pulled off with the panache of a 1970s Sesame Street episode, one second Snuffaluffagus is there and next POOF no Snuffaluffagus! Where'd he go?)
Thanks for letting me vent.
I agree with most this thread, but it's too easy to pick on Keanu. Jack Nicholson hasn't taken acting very seriously since becoming a Hollywood heavyweight, he damn near ruins The Departed. Good to call out DeNiro, too - outside of a few great roles he sucks.
Christian Bale and Daniel Day Lewis shame all these names.
Last edited by sackdance; 02-12-2013 at 06:56 AM.
I haven't seen it, but I heard 'The Paperboy' is being touted as the last 'Gia'.
By the way, another actor that I can't stand is Shia Lebeouf. His name alone irritates me. Combine that with his acting, and I want to bite his face off.
Keeyanu Reeves (Warfish loves this guy)
Will Smith in everything
Anyone in a Zombie movie
Bonnie Franklin - One Day at a Time
Skippy Handelman - Family Ties
Alice the Waitress
Watch True Blood. 10 minutes of one episode is enough. Every single person on the show sucks, except the hot red head.
And she can't act either. Her hotness overcomes her horrid acting.
Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse may be the worst acting I've ever seen. That show sucks horribly, it makes me cringe when my wife watches it. And this is all despite most of the women being pretty effing hot.
Eric Roberts
"they took my fumb, Chaa-lie!!!!!!"


text:
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Performing an Audit of Internal Control in an Integrated Audit
Performing an Audit of Internal Control in an Integrated Audit
The information contained in Lessons Learned represents the views of the members of the task force, has not been approved by any regulatory body or any senior technical committee of the AICPA and does not set standards for any purpose. Auditors are required to adhere to AS 5 and associated guidance published by the PCAOB. Public companies should follow related guidance published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Users of Lessons Learned should be familiar with AS 5 and the terms and concepts used in AS 5, as they are frequently used or referred to within this publication. Users are also encouraged to read other publications issued by the PCAOB, SEC, and the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) that provide further guidance to auditors and management in performing Section 404 evaluations.
Performing an integrated audit requires that the auditor form numerous judgments about an entity's internal control over financial reporting and how well it addresses risks of material misstatements in that entity's financial statements. As part of this process, the auditor must determine the amount and type of evidence necessary to support a conclusion by the auditor that an entity's system of internal control is effective.
Section 404 reporting requirements challenges both management and auditors to evaluate and assess the effectiveness of entities' internal control systems that contribute to their financial reports. This focus on internal control, and coordinating the internal control audit in conjunction with the existing audit of the financials statements, presents a new environment for auditors.
In the initial year of an integrated audit, comparatively more effort may be necessary for the auditor to form judgments about an entity's internal control over financial reporting, build up the auditor's experience, and obtain support for judgments. In subsequent years, as the auditor becomes more proficient and obtains more experience in forming these judgments, the auditor's effectiveness and efficiency in executing an integrated audit generally increase. Each year the auditor not only re-evaluates his or her judgments, including risk assessments, but also may incorporate and build on knowledge obtained in previous years' audits.
Certain concepts are fundamental to performing an effective and efficient integrated audit in accordance with AS 5. These concepts are present throughout Lessons Learned. In addition, the background discussion and suggestions included in each of the individual sections provide insight into how these concepts have been applied.
Lessons Learned has been organized into the following relevant sections:Section 1: Understand and Use Management's Assessment and Documentation as a Starting Point
- Lesson Learned #1 – Take advantage of the company's internal control evaluation process and documentation, where practical, in connection with financial statement audits performed in years prior to the first integrated audit.
- Lesson Learned #2 – Early and frequent communication and coordination between management and the external auditors create a more effective and efficient audit process.
- Lesson Learned #3 – Coordinate with management regarding the timing of its work to enable the auditor to utilize management's work to the extent permitted by PCAOB standards.
- Lesson Learned #4 – Early in the process identify and assess those risks and controls that may have a pervasive impact on the assessment and effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (ICFR).
- Lesson Learned #5 – Consider the implications of any unremediated deficiencies.
Section 2: Integrate the Audits
- Lesson Learned #6 – Plan the audit of ICFR and the audit of the financial statements as a single integrated audit.
- Lesson Learned #7 – Where appropriate, plan to employ a controls reliance approach in the first year of the required Section 404(b) audit of ICFR under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
- Lesson Learned #8 - Consider what audit procedures could meet the objectives of both substantive testing and internal control testing. Where practical, perform the internal control tests in conjunction with the substantive tests in those areas.
- Lesson Learned #9 - Substantive tests, the risk assessment process, as well as knowledge obtained from prior audits or reviews of interim financial information inform the auditor with respect to the risks related to internal control (which can affect the nature, timing and extent of tests of controls) and the auditor's conclusions related to the effectiveness of internal control.
- Lesson Learned #10 - Coordinate the planning and performance of the internal control tests and substantive tests among the persons performing the work.
Section 3: Establish the Right Team
- Lesson Learned #11 – Because of the additional complexities in planning and executing an integrated audit, it is important to have experienced members of the engagement team, including specialists, involved at an early stage and for such members to remain close to the engagement as it progresses.
- Lesson Learned #12 - Due to the learning curve associated with implementing the ICFR audit requirement; involve auditors with previous experience auditing internal control or auditors who have been trained specifically on performing integrated audits.
Section 4: Identify Material Risks to Reliable Financial Reporting
- Lesson Learned #13 - Apply the top-down, risk-based approach set forth in AS 5 by starting at the financial statement level to effectively and efficiently identify significant accounts and disclosures, and their relevant assertions.
- Lesson Learned #14 - The more refined the risk assessment is, the more the audit approach can be tailored based on the assessed risks.
- Lesson Learned #15 - Different combinations of procedures, including walkthroughs, can be performed to achieve the required objectives discussed in AS 5 paragraph 34 in an effective and efficient manner.
- Lesson Learned #16 - The significance, extent, and complexity of information technology (IT) applications, and their supporting general IT control environment, influence the identification of material risks to reliable financial reporting.
Section 5: Identify Controls Necessary to Sufficiently Address Identified Risks
- Lesson Learned #17 - Apply a top-down approach, beginning with the identification of entity-level controls, to identify the controls that are necessary to sufficiently address the assessed risk of misstatement to each relevant assertion (i.e., controls that are important to the audit).
Section 6: Take a Risk-Based Approach to Testing Identified Controls
- Lesson Learned #18 - Maximize the opportunities for using the work of others.
- Lesson Learned #19 - Vary the nature, timing, and extent of testing of identified controls based upon the risk associated with a control.
- Lesson Learned #20 - Testing controls at an interim date may improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the integrated audit by spreading the auditor's effort out over the fiscal year and increasing the opportunity to identify control deficiencies at an earlier date.
- Lesson Learned #21 - When a control's design is determined to be ineffective, it is not necessary to test the operating effectiveness of the control. Similarly, once the auditor has sufficient evidence to conclude an effectively designed control did not operate effectively, the auditor may cease testing that control.
Useful ResourcesUseful Documents:
- Full text of CAQ Lessons Learned - Performing an Audit of Internal Control in an Integrated Audit.
- Full text of Auditing Standard No. 5, An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting that is Integrated with an Audit of Financial Statements.
Useful Links:


text:
MAYVILLE - The Chautauqua County Democratic Committee met Saturday, June 8 and unanimously endorsed Ron Johnson for County Executive, Lori Cornell for County Clerk and David Foley for District Attorney.
"I've never been a sideline kind of guy, if I see a problem I know I have to do something about it," Fredonia businessman Ron Johnson said. "Our county has a problem where our children are moving away because they don't have access to family sustaining jobs. I will help our community grow and bring economic prosperity to the region. This is the reason why I am running for County Executive."
Dunkirk native and current Jamestown resident County Legislator Lori Cornell will make her second attempt to attain the County Clerk's office after challenging incumbent Sandy Sopak in 2005. Cornell said her goal is to lead an innovative, nonpartisan operation that strives to improve customer service every day and to save taxpayers as much money as possible.
"I look forward to the opportunity to convey my vision to the people of Chautauqua County and to work hard on their behalf," Cornell said.
In addition to serving nearly two terms in the County Legislature, Cornell has held full time positions of leadership in municipal, county, state and the federal government. Further rounding out her diverse background, she has excelled in the private sector working as an independent consultant to assist small businesses in marketing and sales capacity and served as an adjunct faculty member at Jamestown Community College. She received her Master's Degree from the St. Bonaventure University School of Business and her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Dave Foley, a lifelong resident of Chautauqua County, was appointed in 2006 as Chautauqua County District Attorney under Governor Pataki. Foley would subsequently go on to win another two terms as District Attorney. The Republican District Attorney is being crossed endorsed by the Democrats for the second time.
The election for County Executive, County Clerk and District Attorney will be held on Tuesday Nov. 5.