text:
Finding aid for the California State Relief Administration reports and printed materials 0466
Subjects and Indexing Terms
State Relief Administration. "Leisure Occupations: Recreation and Educational Facilities Available to Unemployed Men in Los Angeles. Compiled for the Metropolitan District, State Relief Administration" circa 1939
State Relief Administration. "Marginal Employability Study" 1939 June
State Relief Administration. "Marginal Employability Study Appendix" 1939 June
State Relief Administration. "Preliminary Report on a Study of Eligibility Control. An Analysis of Eligibility Control Through a Survey of Cases Closed for Two Three-month Periods Prior to the Reorganization Program of the SRA in Los Angeles County" 1940 January
State Relief Administration. "Job Analysis. A Time Study of the Functions and Routines of Carrier Unit Workers on Unemployment Files under the Reorganization Program of the State Relief Administration in Los Angeles County" 1940 February
State Relief Administration. "Non-Resident Eligibility Study" 1939 July
Public Administration Service. "Administrative Aspects of Public Welfare in California" 1938 September
Public Administratiion Service. "Administrative Evaluation of California State Relief Administration" 1938 November
Pamphlet, clipping, offprint on unemployment insurance 1931, 1933, 1940


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New Tottenham signing Zeki Fryers left Manchester United because he felt 'disrespected' by the Sir Alex Ferguson after he was offered £1,500-per-week to stay at Old Trafford before he ultimately arrived at White Hart Lane.
Fryers was on the verge of signing for Spurs over the summer form Manchester United, but the move broke down because Spurs were seemingly unwilling to pay the Red Devils the £6 million they would have been due in compensation had he joined another Premier League club.
Instead the talented youngster signed for Belgian side Standard Liege for a small fee before signing for Tottenham in the first few days of the January transfer window for around £3million - decidedly less than they would have had to have paid Manchester United.
The transfer left Sir Alex Ferguson fuming, with the Scot calling for Fryers registration to be suspended while the move was investigated.
"I'm disappointed in Tottenham, I really am," said the United manager. "I think it's a blatant manipulation of the situation. They tried to buy him at the end of last season and we couldn't agree terms.
"They took him on trial and to Portugal with the Tottenham squad and came back and said they couldn't afford him. All of a sudden he signs for Standard Liege and when I heard that I expected him to go to Tottenham in January.
"The Premier League should stop the registration until they examine it. There will be a trail, mobile phones (records) or something. It's obvious to me.'
However according to the Daily Mail, Fryers has little sympathy for Ferguson because he felt undervalued at Old Trafford having been offered a deal to stay with the club that was worth around £1,500-per-week.
The paper reports that Fryers is now earning £20,000-per-week with Spurs, a salary more in line with a player valued at £6 million.
The Mail quotes Fryers as saying he felt "disrespected' by the contract offer made to him by Manchester United. Fryers was Tottenham's first signing of the January transfer window, with the north London club concluding a deal for Schalke's Lewis Holtby soon after.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
2010-09-02 / Editorials
What Is A Tenther?
There seems to be a bit of confusion of what it means to be a Constitutionalist or supporter of the Tenth Amendment (Both go hand in hand) and a Conservative. Let me explain my definition of both.
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Asia's Crossroads
series: Primal Grill With Steven Raichlen
air date: 5/25/13 8:00 AM
Some of the world's biggest flavors come hot off some of the world's smallest grills. Proof positive? Sizzling beef sates-cut from well-marbled rib eye steaks and masterfully spiced with cumin, coriander, and turmeric from tiny Singapore. From Guam, where the sun first rises on American barbecue, comes a main-course chicken salad like your mother never made: smoked chicken with freshly grated coconut and vivifying doses of lime juice and chiles. Cambodia boasts some of the world's best grilled corn (basted with coconut milk), while Malaysia gives us a unique way for preparing swordfish: slathered with lemongrass paste, then wrapped and grilled in banana leaves-a popular Asian technique that not only keeps the fish moist, but that keeps it from sticking to the grill grate. Singapore Beef Sates; Guamian Chicken Salad; Malaysian Swordfish in Banana Leaves; Cambodian Corn.
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text:
Skip to comments.Senate Democrats See Changes In Stimulus Plan (fewer tax cuts, more spending)
Posted on 01/11/2009 4:19:32 PM PST by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats said on Sunday President-elect Barack Obama's proposals to stimulate the economy would likely undergo big changes to address their concerns and ensure they will revive economic growth.
Obama's outline for an $800 billion stimulus plan called for 40 percent of it to be in the form of tax cuts, an effort to win over Republicans who have expressed concerns about major spending on infrastructure projects also in the package.
But Democrats complained that the $10 billion in energy tax breaks were not enough and also questioned whether a $1,000 tax cut for middle class workers and a $3,000 tax break for each new worker businesses hire would actually boost the economy.
The energy tax breaks will likely increase, possibly to as much as $25 billion, and changes may be in store for the other two tax breaks that were a source of Democratic concern, lawmakers said after meeting with Obama's economic advisers.
"There are significant changes already being put in place and being contemplated," Sen. John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, told reporters. "I think it's moving in the right direction and I think we're making a lot of progress."
He said he believed the middle-class tax cut and job hiring credit would change.
It was the second meeting in four days between the Senate Democrats and Obama's incoming director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers and other advisers to hash out details of the economic stimulus plan.
Democrats went out of their way to praise the latest round of talks with Obama aides after initial criticism surfaced about the economic plan and prompted questions about whether the new president would have trouble getting his agenda through the Congress, which is controlled by members of his own party.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
So now John effin Kerry is crafting an economic stimulus?
I hope that works out better than his foreign policy suggestions over the past 4 decades
Way to go America! Ya done good in November! I love this country!
These charlatan commies are not fooling anyone. ANYTHING that would improve our capitalist economy is forbidden. We must work hard to put all wealth and control in the hands of the socialist government -—
I don't know what's going to kick off the second civil war in this country......but I know what the sides are going to be, and some of what Congress has been doing the last few years - and what they're going to soon be doing - will play a part in it.
The Rats always see more spending.. and on the wrong stuff!
I'm shocked. Dems want less tax cuts and more spending? What a surprise...
"But Democrats...also questioned whether a $1,000 tax cut for middle class workers and a $3,000 tax break for each new worker businesses hire would actually boost the economy."
I'd be more outraged if I was certain 0bama's proposed plans actually include a genuine tax cut for people who actually pay taxes in the first place. Still, the arrogance of Congress makes the hackles on my neck stand up.
All it would take is for the government to make the President Bush tax cuts permanent BUT these bumbling self righteous fools have to tinker with it to justify their existence and make matters intolerably worse in the process.
Life in the U.S.A. these days...
The energy tax breaks will likely increase, possibly to as much as $25 billion, and changes may be in store for the other two tax breaks that were a source of Democratic concern, lawmakers said after meeting with Obama's economic advisers.
Obama/Axelrod is a slick operator. He's beholden, big time, to the "alternative energy" interests (ethanol first on the list), so hey, it's Congress that's taking those "tax breaks" (which really weren't) away. He's just an innocent bystander, after all.
I just can't wait to see what they come up with for the People's Uniform in the new Unionized Socialist America.
These creeps are really starting to raise the ire of a lot of folks.
Time to refresh the tree of Liberty, IMO...
We will end up with equal outcome tax increases and more programs. Many more government employees. Rationing. 5 year plans. etc./ etc. Plan your escape now. Cash out tune out and dissapear.
"I just cant wait to see what they come up with for the Peoples Uniform in the new Unionized Socialist America."
Peoples Unionized Socialist States of America...Homes;
The acronym says it all .... PUSSAH
It is going to be an economy destroying mess where only the harlots of DC will stand to gain..
Remember the Horse in the Roman senate?
we now have 536 Horses-asses.
...and I know who will win.
FReep 'em, guys and gals!
They are not charlatan commies. They are real commies as real as any Bolshevik. They legislation will get progressively worse. In two years, the rats will have 65 to 70 senate seats and 2/3 of the house. I suspect that they will try to pass some new constitutional amendments limiting political speech, enshrining racial preferences, and empowering labor unions.
Let the Democrats take 100% of the credit, then when it fails they can take 100% OF THE BLAME! ;).
Capital Gains tax cut to 0% for 10 years.
Corporate Income Tax cut to 0% for 10 years.
Personal Income taxes capped at 28% for ten years.
I have two words of advise for those of you who want to survive this. Black market. Carve out your niche soon, because these Marxist goons plan to go all the way, and fail just like all the evil moonbats that have preceded them.
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Issue Type: Sub-task Created: 2010-12-07T04:25:20.000+0000 Last Updated: 2012-11-20T21:37:35.000+0000 Status: In Progress Fix version(s): Reporter: Jeannie BOFFEL (jboffel) Assignee: None Tags: - Zend_Soap_Wsdl
Related issues: Attachments:
I'd like to introduce to Zend Framework a new layer to check/validates values returned in a SOAP response against what user declared in the schema through auto discovery system.
The idea is simple, try to make sure, as much as possible, than data you send to client are matching what you declared in the XSD. It dos NOT mean check if data are meaningful! But keep in mind that it is NOT a validation of your SOAP response against your schema. It does not look at if generated XML is well formated or things like that.
Many times, at webservice programming or usage, it happens to me to get invalid value when looking at what XSD announced. So it takes time and task to warn the one who did the webservice. If I take place of webservice maker, I'd prefer to not send SOAP response at all if I can know before that a value I'll send it totally not matching XSD declaration. So I'd prefer make possible to send SOAP Fault for example instead of invalid value and log the problem for easy detection of the problem at very first tests.
This system comes with restriction as auto discovery has them because of PHP variable type limitation. It could be think about add support for more type at runtime check for more base XSD type. But for first release, I limited support to the PHP limited set of variable type.
Here come the design idea:

* @xsd sequence
class wsGetUserInfosResult extends Zend_Soap_ComplexTypeValuesValidator
* @xsd sequence start
* @var string
public $firstName;
* @var string
public $familyName;
* @var AgeType
public $age;
* @var detailsBrotherList
* @xsd sequence end
public $detailsBrotherList;
* @param string $firstName
* @param string $familyName
* @param integer $age
* @param detailsBrotherList $detailsBrotherList
* @return wsGetUserInfosResult
public function __construct($firstName, $familyName, $age, $detailsBrotherList) {
$this->Check_firstName = $firstName;
$this->Check_familyName = $familyName;
$this->Check_age = $age;
$this->Check_detailsBrotherList = $detailsBrotherList;
return $this;
By extending Zend_Soap_ComplexTypeValuesValidator you can use the magic __set method of this class to call the engine of validation of values directly at assign moment. Just add Check_ before real variable name of the class or CheckO_ for CheckOnly if you just want to check value, and manage assignement of the value later by yourself. Also __set method has some limitation, for example $this->Check_Thing[]='test'; will not call the __set method, so you to check the value all you can do is: $this->CheckO_Thing='test'; and later, $this->Thing[]='test'; if check does not throw exception.](http://framework.zend.com/wiki/display/ZFPROP/Zend_Soap_ComplexTypeValuesValidator+-+Jeannie+Boffel)
Here come design for the simple type declaration (that could be use at variable type in complex type schema declaration part):

* @xsd simpleType array('id' => 1)
* @xsd restriction array('base' => 'xsd:string')
class AgeType extends Zend_Soap_SimpleTypeValuesValidator
* @xsd pattern array('value' => '[0-9][0-9][0-9]')
public $pattern;
That's all, you just have to extend with parent class Zend_Soap_ComplexTypeValuesValidator then automatically you have access to the test method of children class through a static call: AgeType::getInstance()->test($value);
You could use directly by yourself, or rely on complex type validator values.
Of course, it could be said that making directly a real schema validation of the SOAP answer would do this job and more. However with current SOAP support and AutoDiscovery system, it's not so easy. AutoDiscovery does not separate XSD from WSDL, it is all in one when validator most of the time want just a schema. Also we do not have the generated XML/SOAP response at this level of code, it is generated and handled by the soap extension written in C. So it is meaning, validation support should be add directly in soap extension.
Link to implementation:
[Zend_Soap_ComplexTypeValuesValidator Zend_Soap_SimpleTypeValuesValidator
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text:
Florida's harrowing hurricane season lefts its mark on Sunshine State schools. While some are being excused from class, others aren't.
It's back to business in Leon County schools after dodging three horrendous hurricanes and two days of class.
Carla Cramer, a Chiles High School teacher, says, "The things kids can do at [I] home told them to do so because I figured we would probably be out for the hurricane."
The district applied for a Department of Education waiver to reduce the 180-day requirement. Even though the district has more than the 900 hours required, Gov. Bush has ordered all schools that missed five days or less to make them up.
While teachers bumped back test and assignments because of the storms, the state is pushing back the FCAT. For districts that missed five or less days they'll take the FCAT as planned, those that missed between six and 10 days have an extra week to administer the exam, and districts that missed 11 or more have two additional weeks to give the test, giving students and staff time to settle back into the semester.
Every school district in the state missed at least one day of classes as a result of preparation for or recovery from hurricanes this year.


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|About IUIS
The International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) is an umbrella organization for many of the regional and national societies of immunology throughout the world. As articulated in its Constitution, the objectives of IUIS are:
There are currently 73 Member Societies of IUIS, many of which belong to one of four Regional Federations encompassing Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia-Oceania. Links with other international scientific bodies are promoted through the International Affiliate Members of IUIS, membership of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and formal liaison with the World Health Organization.
Activities of IUIS are overseen by the Officers and Council, who are elected at the triennial General Assembly and are broadly representative of the interests and geographical distribution of member societies. Several Committees have also been established to conduct activities of ongoing interest to IUIS, currently in the areas of clinical immunology, education, gender equality & career development, immunotherapy, nomenclature, quality assessment and standardization, vaccine and veterinary immunology.
International Congresses of Immunology are held every three years under the auspices of IUIS. IUIS also contributes to the staging of regular congresses and conferences by each of the four Regional Federations and to various educational activities in immunology.


text: Street Checkers Publisher: A.S.H Applications Software House Ltd Genre: Puzzle Released: 27 Sep, 2010 Size: 9.1 MB Price: $0.99 Click here to request a review of this app App Store Info Description The goal is to leave one peg on the board that you are playing. This new version allows us to enjoy almost an endless game thanks to 16 different boards with 1 - 3 levels for each board. You won't leave it till it's done. This is the first outside of earth pegs game and we hope you will be able to bring it back to earth. Have fun :) Features: - Friendly GUI comfortable play. - 16 Boards. - Ipod music. - Amazing in game sound. - Game statistics. - 2 levels of difficulty(only on boards are support). In the next upcoming version you will find abilities to play more than one player, play online with others and more fun abilities. Screenshots Screenshot 1 of 4


text:
Community News
Community dinner served November 28
- Details
- Category: Community News
- Published on 25 November 2013
- Written by Mount Vernon Optic-Herald
A free community Thanksgiving Dinner will be offered at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center at noon, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, November 28.
Everyone in the area is invited and encouraged to attend. The event has been a family tradition for the community for more than 30 years. For more information, see the November 21 edition of the Mount Vernon Optic-Herald.


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Flickr Faves on Fridays: Carolina Eclectic
Posted by
Becky |
View all posts by Becky
3 Comments »
Don't start flickring through Carolina Eclectic's photos unless you have a lot of time to spare. I kept going through until my laptop battery died. Carolina Eclectic is the owner of Carolina Saunders design, and has a fabulous blog here. Photos include lovely shots of even lovlier shops, fun flea market trips, creative designs, her dream homes and more. Check out the images that have inspired her here. Here are just a few faves to pique your interest:
Thank you Carolina Eclectic!


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Ken the Mametchi left yesterday morning. He is married to Jillian the Mimitchi. They had two kids. Josh is mine and the other one I dont know his name. I watched him as he left Josh in my hands and now I miss him. Bye Bye Ken :'(
Bye Bye Ken :'(
Started by Tamabaus , Jun 26 2012 09:04 AM


text:
Our favorite to play together is Yahtzee. It is played with the Yahtzee game kit, which includes a cup, five dice, and a score pad. The goal is to use the game's quota of turns to accumulate the highest score for that game among the players. In each game, each player has thirteen turns, and in each turn, a player can roll the dice up to three times.
It is a simple game of numbers, using some of the hands known in cards, such as "three of a kind," "four of a kind," "full house," and "straight." It also has other combinations which score points, such as the namesake of the game, Yahtzee. A Yahtzee consists of five dice all showing the same number. It earns the most points - which is fifty - for the first Yahtzee a player has in a game, and one hundred points for additional Yahtzees in the same game by the same player.
As with most games, the better you learn the game, the better you can compete. Yahtzee is a game of chance and skill. It's the luck of the roll when it comes to hitting your numbers, but you do have odds which you can calculate on the fly and help you to make your decisions. Do you try to get three of a kind or do you go for the large straight after rolling the first time in a turn and getting 2-3-4-4-6? Do you keep the two 4s and roll the other three dice, hoping to get at least one more 4? Or do you keep the 2-3-4-6 and roll the one dice hoping to hit a 5 and complete the large straight? Remember, you have two extra rolls to achieve your goal.
My son and I enjoy discussing our strategies as we go. We like to know the reasoning and the odds the other is calculating for a given circumstance. In spite of the odds, there are odd results which seem to defy those odds. Sometimes you'll roll the same five dice back-to-back. What are the odds against that? Higher than you might think. Sometimes you cannot roll a needed number in three rolls - a total of fifteen opportunities to come up with that one badly needed 6 - but you can't do it. The odds say it would be easy, but the odds are averages spread over time and numbers.
There's an old saying which applies (oddly) to Yahtzee: "sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you." Just when you think you have mastered it, the odds will betray you and you will end up with some disgraceful sub-two hundred score. That's like rolling under one hundred in bowling or over one hundred in golf. It's bad.
Then you will have a game where every roll is magical. Where every turn is one happy score after another. The Yahtzees are falling. The hard-to-get selections are easy. It is the ying and yang of Yahtzee.
Games are a good way to spend time with your children, when they're young and when they're grown. We enjoy our time playing games together, and we do a great deal of visiting in those sessions. It is a slice of his childhood and adolescence returned to both of us. And it's ALWAYS fun for us. I like those odds.
© 2013, Jim "Pappy" Moore,
All Rights Reserved.
Jim "Pappy" Moore is a native son of East Texas who still makes the piney woods his home. email@example.com


text:
Do you want to ahead fashion like the superstars? The hat is , cute and sweet , exactly the right choice! Hat
is easier match , perfectly fit for any of your attire .Trendy fashion , whenever on hat , it must make you stand
out in the crowds . Excellent quality hat and affordable price, so , what are you waiting for?Don't miss it!
- Unique double fluff and big balls , never out of fashion
- Be made of good quality stretch material , durable enough for daily wear
- Skin-friendly , breathable , soft and comfortable
- This cheap hat can give you a chic and cute look
- Easier for matching clothes
- Size: Free
- The depth approx.: 21.5 cm / 8.5 inch
- The girth approx.: 45 ~ 66 cm / 17.7 ~ 26 inch
- Color: Black
- Material: Knitting wool
- Your purchase will be shipped following cleared payment
Package Includes:
- 1 x Hat
Note: Since the size above is measured by hand, the size of the actual item you received could be slightly different from the size above. Meanwhile, please be reminded that due to lighting effects, monitor's brightness / contrast settings etc, there could be some slight differences in the color tone of the pictures and the actual item.


text:
The Anti-Gay Right's Response to SCOTUS Rulings: Vague, Threatening
The Supreme Court issued two anxiously awaited rulings this morning, June 26, 2013. The first was that anti-gay provisions in the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act," a 1996 bill that did nothing to defend individual marriages between heterosexual couples but inflicted incalculable harm on same-sex families, are unconstitutional.
In the second ruling, the Court ruled effectively upheld the finding of a lower court that struck down California's Proposition 8, an anti-gay ballot initiative that squeaked by at the ballot box in 2008 and snatched the then-existing right to marry from same-sex couples in the state.
The Supreme Court is known for not getting too far ahead of the American public in its rulings. In 1986, for example, the Court upheld a Texas law against sexual encounters between consenting adults of the same sex; but in 2003, with public attitudes having shifted, the Court reversed itself and struck down "anti-sodomy" laws in all 50 states.
That historic ruling took place ten years to the day before this morning's historic rulings; Justice Kennedy wrote the majority opinion in that case, and Antonin Scalia, long an opponent of equality before the law for GLBT Americans, authored a scathing dissent on which, presciently enough, he envisioned one long-term result would be marriage for same-sex couples. (Scalia also authored a dissent to today's ruling that found DOMA unconstitutional, writing, "We might have covered ourselves with honor today, by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and that we would respect their resolution. We might have let the People decide.")
Though Scalia seemed, in 2003, to think that marriage equality would be a bad thing, for the nation's tens of thousands of same-sex families the rulings constituted nothing less than another step toward full equality under the law. Of particular note is how same-sex couples will now be liberated from DOMA's vicious deprivations, from tax inequalities to exclusion from pension benefits, to the extraordinary burden placed on bi-national couples of the same gender.
But even as Scalia was a high-profile dissenter in 2003 and again today, this decade's most major advance, so far, for GLBTs also had its detractors outside the courtroom. As jubilant crowds cheered and applauded this morning's rulings, family organizations and public figures who have distinguished themselves through their anti-gay stances and anti-equality efforts gave vent to their responses, sometimes in borderline threatening language that invited comparison to the very same lawless effigies the anti-gay right attempted, five years ago, to caricature marriage equality advocates as being.
Days in advance of the ruling, Mat Stavros, the head of the anti-gay Liberty Counsel Action, intimated to a Christian news site, One News Now, that resistance, perhaps of a violent stripe, would be the response from certain factions of the faithful.
"If the Supreme Court or any other civil institution seeks to redefine marriage into something it cannot be, this is a line that we cannot and will not cross," Stavros declared. "And we may be facing a clash of unprecedented proportions, but we cannot idly stand by."
Stavros was not alone in issuing his pre-emptive comments; indeed, the anti-gay crowd in general didn't wait for the Supreme Court's word before launching their attacks on the outcome. In an address delivered the day before the rulings, Bryan Fischer, head of the virulently anti-gay American Family Association, encouraged his listeners to refuse to act in accordance with any federal rights or benefits that gay and lesbian families might gain from the end of DOMA and the striking down of Prop 8.
Unbelievably... or, perhaps given the source, all too believably... Fisher's comments on the Court's ruling regarding DOMA and Prop 8 constituted a 180-degree turnabout from remarks he had made only a day before on another hot-button issue.
"Only one day after Bryan Fischer tried to argue against immigration reform that the law trumps any moral concerns one might possibly have, he proceeded to try and argue the exact opposite as pertaining to marriage equality," reported examiner.com on June 25.
Calling any ban of Prop 8 or rollback of DOMA a "setback," Fischer declared that, should the Court fail to uphold Prop 8, "you could just eliminate the first three words of the Constitution." Fischer went on to suggest that the only Constitutionally consistent response to a Court ruling that offered equality to America's GLBT citizens would be to refuse to acknowledge the rulings and their legal consequences.
Groups opposing equality for sexual minorities on religious grounds also jumped the gun. Religious site One News Now reported on June 24 that more than "200 clergy and national leaders from different religious perspectives have declared war on the effort to destroy marriage."
The article went on to quote from a "Marriage Solidarity Statement" that offered anything but solidarity with the proposition that all men and women are entitled to equal access to the 1,000+ legal rights and benefits of civil marriage.
"If the Supreme Court becomes the tool by which marriage is redefined in the positive law of this nation, the precedent established will leave no room for any limitation on what can constitute such a redefined notion of marriage," the statement asserted. Some might interpret that as a coded reference to the frequently posed (but never justified or proven) claim by marriage equality opponents that allowing two people of the same gender to marry is somehow morally the same as legalizing a cornucopia of unsavory sexual practices, bestiality and pedophilia among them. (To be sure, Bryan Fischer lost no time in an attempt to link committed life partners of the same gender with child molesters and group marriages, tweeting, "The DOMA ruling has now made the normalization of polygamy, pedophilia, incest and bestiality inevitable.")
The canard of inferior parenting being the inevitable result of two life partners raising children also made an appearance in the "Solidarity" statement, which continued on with the claim that, "Conferring a moral and legal equivalency to same-sex couples by legislative or judicial fiat also sends the message that children do not need a mother and a father."
Faith-based prejudice was not limited to the pre-emptive responses of the purportedly pious. A number of officeholders resorted to religious justifications for their stated disapproval of the court's findings, with Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, tweeting the Biblical quote, "Jesus wept" in one missive and expressing a hope for God's forgiveness in another.
Others cited the passage of DOMA by U.S. lawmakers seventeen years ago, and professed outrage that the Court would have set aside that legislative action. None, however, followed up with the logically consistent suggestion that the Supreme Court's 1967 "Loving" decision, which struck down laws nationwide preventing mixed-race marriages, was also out of order because it defied a product of the legislative process.
Though today's Supreme Court rulings marked a new day in the annals of American democracy, the hallmark of which is universal equality before the law, little in the way of fresh ideas or new rhetoric could be found in the responses issued by the anti-gay right. Instead, the same arguments that had long since lost their power -- and their traction in the arena of public discourse -- held sway.
"Marriage was created by the hand of God," declared Michele Bachmann, one of several GOP contenders for the 2012 presidential race who signed on an anti-gay pledge in the summer of 2011, but who has since seen her influence wane and her campaign for the Oval Office come under investigation following allegations that her campaign broke finance laws. Bachmann's remarks were quoted in a story posted June 26 at Advocate.com.
"No man, not even a Supreme Court, can undo what a holy God has instituted," Bachmann continued, failing to make a distinction between the sacrament of marriage as a religious rite (which the Court did not address) and laws concerning the legal contract of civil marriage.
"Today, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to join the trend, despite the clear will of the people's representatives through DOMA,: Bachmann continued. "What the court has done will undermine the best interest of children and the best interests of the United States."
The Minnesota congresswoman's message was riddled with factual errors and omissions, not the least of which is the tectonic shift in public opinion since President Bill Clinton signed DOMA into law seventeen years ago. Today, more than 50% of Americans say that same-sex families should be accorded legal status; the percentage is far higher among the younger demographic.
Bachmann's claims also overlooked the results of the 2012 election, which marked the first time that anti-marriage equality referendums lost at the ballot box (aside from one election in Arizona), while pro-equality referendums won. By mid-2013, marriage equality had come to 12 states.
Moreover, every reputable study into the question of how children fare when they are raised in homes headed by same-sex couples has found that kids with two mothers or two fathers fare as well, if not better, as their peers with mixed gender parents. Studies also indicate that one crucial ingredient for children who are happy, well-adjusted, and scholastically successful is not one parent of each gender, but two parents who, between them, are able to offer the attention and support that children need.
Kansas GOP Rep. Tim Huelskamp similarly disregarded scientifically determined fact when he declared that America's children would be denied the benefits of a mother and a father in the home due to the ruling, the Advocate noted. "The courts have allowed the desires of adults to trump the needs of our children," Huelskamp declared.
The congressman's forceful words about marriage equality and its purported impact on children expressed no similar concern with regard to the fact that nearly one quarter of American children live in poverty. Indeed, federal lawmakers have undertaken efforts to override anti-gay and child-unfriendly laws in states where otherwise qualified gay and lesbian couples are prevented from adopting or fostering needy children, often from overburdened state systems unable to provide for them adequately.
The head of another anti-gay organization offered similarly vague sentiments couched in grandiose verbal dressings. Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council, seemingly had no inkling of the overall trend toward inclusiveness and legal equality for America's LGBT families. Stated Perkins, "Time is not on the side of those seeking to create same-sex 'marriage.' As the American people are given time to experience the actual consequences of redefining marriage, the public debate and opposition to the redefinition of natural marriage will undoubtedly intensify."
One of the founders of the intensely anti-gay -- and profoundly misnamed -- National Organization for Marriage offered commentary that was so circular as to be meaningless. NOM was a prime mover in the passage of Prop 8, and subsequently worked to obstruct and derail equality for same-sex families around the nation. The manner in which those efforts were carried out, however, landed the group in legal trouble with election commissions in two states.
Said NOM's Maggie Gallagher, ""At the heart of the gay marriage argument is an untruth: unions of two men or women are not the same as unions of husband and wife. The law cannot make it so, it can only require us to paint pretty pictures to cover up deep truths embedded in human nature."
In stark contrast to the nebulous and hostile comments issued by the fringe right, the Associated Press noted, several concrete and practical results benefiting same-sex couples and their children are going to be part of the outcome.
"The outcome is clear for people who were married and live in states that allow same-sex marriage. They now are eligible for federal benefits," The AP article noted.
"The picture is more complicated for same-sex couples who traveled to another state to get married, or who have moved from a gay marriage state since being wed," the article continued. "Their eligibility depends on the benefits they are seeking. For instance, immigration law focuses on where people were married, not where they live. But eligibility for Social Security survivor benefits basically depends on where a couple is living when a spouse dies."


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Bliss, a fine wedding fair is a day of learning and fun for brides. From workshops with local wedding professionals to discovering tips and trends, brides and their friends will leave our sessions feeling better equipped to plan their day. We also have fantastic food and door prizes... including a honeymoon! Come and be pampered for the day while learning about all things wedding.
Bliss, a fine wedding fair
Sunday, March 3, 2013 1:30-5:30
Tresca on 8th, Lynchburg VA 24504
To register: http://blissafineweddingfair.eventbrite.com/


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guy wrote:As for the happy shiny-fashion-accessory collector
Can we please stop calling all Apple product users such things? It doesn't help our cause. If everyone who bought them got bored of them after a day and they were all on eBay at ridiculously low prices, you'd have a point.
But I read that the iPad has the highest customer satisfaction rate of any consumer electronics device ever, and I know people who absolutely love them. They get a lot out of them. Dismissing all these people in one fell-swoop like as "accessory collectors" shows a vast misunderstanding of what people really want in a portable computer, and makes us look totally out-of-touch.
If we want Linux to get beyond 1-2% desktop market share, we've got to understand what people really want to do with their computers, push our strengths, and not snidely dismiss everyone as "iSheep".


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McHENRY – Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois recently completed its second annual donation drive at its McHenry store to benefit the FISH of McHenry Food Pantry.
Goodwill customers of the store, 2006 N. Richmond Road, were asked to bring in non-perishable food items, non-food items, and cash donations.
"We would not be able to continue to meet our community's needs without the support of our staff, neighbors and local businesses who donated to this special cause," said Ed Antczak, Goodwill's McHenry store manager. "With the compassion, generosity and teamwork of these great supporters, we were able to provide for many families in need this year."
Goodwill was able to present FISH (Friends In Service Here) with a check for $2,500 and a mixture of non-perishable food items and non-food items. Because of these donations, FISH was able to feed and provide personal goods to more than 650 families in December. It also was able to provide all of their families extra holiday food boxes at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
"FISH of McHenry Food Pantry is very fortunate to have businesses and members of our community that recognize the importance of working together to take care of the disadvantaged," said Andrea Franzen, director of FISH of McHenry Food Pantry. "Ed and his staff have supported us the last two years by organizing a food drive and raising monetary donations that involve the community and the employees of Goodwill. With their support we are able to continue to serve the nearly 600 families we serve each month. We thank the employees of the McHenry Goodwill for their faithful support."
FISH of McHenry Food Pantry, 3515 N. Richmond Road, McHenry, is an all-volunteer service organization that functions 100 percent on donations and support from the community.


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|Horseshoe Point, a most wholesome destination of holistic lifestyle which balances family, work, community and sports. Our Mediterranean low-rise resort amidst a vast natural park lined with tropical trees is home to a warren of exotic animals. We welcome all guests who appreciate natural's tranquility, who love animals and who enjoy taking part in activities with their families and loved ones. Our location is only 20 minutes from Pattaya City and 1.30 hours from Bangkok.
|Our Mediterranean-style rooms offer a cozy atmosphere ideal for both individuals and families,
relaxing after an exciting day outdoors. The main building of the resort has been developed
around the covered Grand Riding Arena. Rooms range from standard to family suite.
The unique open-air layout with central hallway overlooking the Grand Arena and leading
to the restaurant is designed to make guests feel like the Spanish Riding.
Standard Room
Superior Room
Deluxe Room
Suite Room
Our main restaurant, Jay Dee, which means "Pagoda" in Thai, offers fine family dining with a lovely view of the swimming pool and the adjacent Three Kingdom's Park's Main Pagoda.
Open daily from 06:00 to 22:00
The Pool Bar is the social center of our unique beach-style swimming pool. Ideal for lunch or snacks, a variety of beverages and pastries are served all day. You can even organize your own private "party in the pool" and enjoy your pool-side stay while relaxing with your companions.
Open daily from 10:00 to 19:00
Lobby Bay offered snacks and a variety of beverages all day. Also we offers a special ice cream as New Zealand Ice Cream.
Open Daily from 09:00 to 17:00
|Alterre Room
|Alterre Room
|Chairman's Room
|Chairman's Room
|Savenas Room
|Savenas Room
|Solero Room
|Solero Room
|ALIVA stands for 'Being
Alive and Well'
The Aliva Spa provides the essential relaxation and rejuvenation for active people. With the help of ancient healing arts, rejuvenation methods and the best massage techniques, Aliva Spa will soothe away your stress and bring you back to life.
Choose from a variety of after-sports programs ranging from reflexology and deep tissue massage to basic body and facial treatments. You can design your own spa experience with our flexible programs for men and women or a family experience where the entire family can enjoy a massage together. And there is even a mini-spa for children.
|With our sprawling grounds and resort facilities at The Horseshoe Point, there are a multitude of great sports,
indoor as well as outdoor activities that await you! You can balance your energy with as much or as like!
Our activities and sport facilities are as follows! Tree Top Adventure Park, Mountain Biking,
Tennis, Squash, Petangue, Jogging, Table Tennis, Pool, Swimming Pool, ATV, Paintball,
Soccer and Rugby, Walk and Bike Rally, Pool game, Sports day, Raft Building and many more!
Pony Ride, Trail Ride, Riding Lessons at all levels, etc.
BEACH (Windsurfing and Kite-surfing)
Going to the beach is no longer a problem for water sport lovers now that Horseshoe Point has entered into a business partnership with South Pattaya 'Club Loong Chat'. With this new relationship, Horseshoe Points guests will have direct access to a variety of sports and recreational facilities as well as many training opportunities being offered by Club Loon Chat. These include the most sought-after 'kite-surfing' and 'windsurfing' courses that are tailored to the requirements of practically every skill level. And there is no need to bring your own sport gear! On top of that, Horseshoe Point is also providing four complimentary shuttle services to and from the beach between 9 am and 5 pm daily. Let us do the driving so that you don't have to!
ATV (All Terrain Vehicle)
Show your ride! If the challenges of the great outdoors are for you, know that a fleet of ATV is awaiting your visit to the Horseshoe Point Resort. Choose whether you want just a joy ride on grassland; or go full throttle on a more challenging purpose-built ATV grounds located just outside the main entrance.
Our Paintball games are certain to intrigue you and your team, with standard-size paintball grounds - offering ample spaces for thrill seekers! All kinds of safety gear are readily available; and game officials are on hand to supervise and assist while you are out there!
At Horseshoe Point we have two standard courts. If you forget to bring your own equipment, don't worry! Just ask about equipment rentals.
For those who like precision without stress, we recommend a game of Petanque at Horseshoe Point. Our standard Petanque court is nestled between the two tennis courts. The fully equipped court is admired for its fine-stone surface that is the hallmark of standard Petanque.
Our swimming pool is nestled in a tropical setting and designed to blend well with the alluring natural environment. It is located right next the hotel and comes complete with two pools - the main swimming pool, and a round, shallow pool for the children which features a horse design on the bottom to invite the little ones to explore!
An entirely new kind of activity recently made its debut at the Horseshoe Point, Pattaya. It literally lets you walk on water. The new water sport is played on a 10x10-meter swimming pool or on any natural body of water. It is so easy that anyone can play. Simply get inside the balloon, become waterborne, and you are good to go. And at the Horseshoe Point, a qualified staff is always on hand to provide assistance if needed.
Tough guys step right this way! The Horseshoe Point is also known for its standard rugby field, which is open to both hotel guests and visitors from outside. It has been used as the venue of several rugby tournaments in the past. Among the teams that regularly use this rugby field is the Pattaya Panthers and Panties.
As you step into the world of Horseshoe Point, relief is instantaneous as you start to experience a pleasing change - a wide expanse of grassland surrounded by species of lush green vegetation! Besides the several soccer tournaments, it is also used as a venue for other great outdoor events, tournaments for both the local teams from Pattaya, and activities for different companies from elsewhere!
Here, we have more than 30 mountain bikes awaiting those who love the thrill of outdoor sports. So grab a bike to explore our picturesque resort area that is rich in lush green vegetation, or simply step out for fresh air and get away from it all!
This playroom for the children is located next to the swimming pool. Here children can feel at home in the kids corner, where supervised activities, games, painting, and fun abound. Bring your children here and let their imagination take flight! Resting assured that they are in good hands, parents can feel free to go enjoy other activities.
The Horseshoe Point Resort provides an outdoor playground exclusively for children, located right next to the hotels Front Desk. It comes with a variety of play features, such as the Viking boat, sliders, swings, etc. Another ideal place awaiting the little ones coming to Horseshoe Point!
We provide your children with various types of discovery camp!
Located next to the swimming pool is a venue for these three great things. It is worth a visit, whether you are there for serious exercise, or just dropping by for fun and games. And if you would like to take a plunge, a swimming pool is set for you in the midst of a breezy atmosphere and great charm.
Nowadays people have a keener and greater interest in healthful foods. Organic foods that are intended to be free of any contaminants are getting much wider acceptance. It is for this reason that our resort has taken the initiative to create our own organic vegetable garden. We take pride in serving our guests vegetables that are grown here!
Thailand is well-known as a Golfers Paradise and Horseshoe Point features golf as one of its main activities. Within half an hours drive, there are more than 10 golf courses to choose from. And less than 10 minutes next door to the Horseshoe Point, there is a 45 hole golf course that you can drive to by golf-cart, through beautiful pineapple fields and horse pastures.
From one platform to another, from tree to tree, balance yourself though an assortment of games such as rope bridges, Tarzan swings, flying skateboards and giants zip lines including of Blue course (17 Games), Red Course(40 games) and Children Course (Age from 4 years old). We are the biggest Tree Top Adventure Park in Thailand.
Horseshoe Point's International Riding School is the equestrian sport training facility registered with the Ministry of Education. We offer a full array of courses for all levels, ranging from leisure and experimental riding classes to the basic riding skills and the highly developed classics in small group or in private lessons. Lessons generally include not only mounted instructions, but also horse training theories.
"Team Building" is the highlight choice experience of Horseshoe Point Resort's corporate clients. Every part of Horseshoe Point - be it the forests, soccer field, horse ranch, lakes, swimming pool, paintball field or activity field - offers a safe, pleasant atmosphere amidst real nature. All these areas are creatively used for team building activities.
|Located 110km east of Bangkok (an hour and a half from the new
International Airport) and 15km from Pattaya city, Horseshoe Point
is a superb residential location directly accessible from the
motorway within easy reach of the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand,
various international schools, world-class hospitals and golf
The Horseshoe Point neighborhood is an elite sports destination that offers a unique quality of life. Especially for active people wanting diverse sports and recreation in a natural surrounding, the area is home to an international community that is rapidly becoming the most exclusive residential area in the Eastern Seaboard. It is adjacent to the biggest reservoir and lake in the east of Thailand, a newly built 45-hole golf course, several polo fields, endless bike and running paths, a sports resort and riding school where competitions take place on a regular basis, a historical cultural park and a university offering graduate school courses - all within a 5 km radius.


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Explore Churchill's underground headquarters and learn about tales of espionage and WWII through this fascinating wartime museum
Explore the secret headquarters of 'the greatest Briton', Sir Winston Churchill, and uncover the underground nucleus of Britain's war effort. The first London museum of its kind, the Churchill War Rooms and Museum depicts all ninety years of Winston Churchill's life, divided into five chapters starting from his childhood, through his early years as British Prime Minister and the period famously known as the 'Gathering Storm'.
- Uncover the life in Churchill's bunker and discover the camaraderie, secrecy and fear of WWII attacks
- The War Cabinet Room includes the Map Room and the Transatlantic Telephone Room, taking you back in time to experience the planning and the plotting of the Second World War
- The Churchill Museum is an interactive gallery of Churchill's life, with a 15m long Lifeline at the centre exhibiting documents, photos and film clips of his famous political reign
Did you know:
- Sir Winston Churchill's paternal grandmother was a relative of George Washington and Churchill was the first person to be acknowledged as an Honorary Citizen of the United States
- Churchill was born on the clockroom floor of Blenheim Place, while his mother was attending a party
- He won the title 'Man of the Year' in Times Magazine, in 1940, and was heralded 'Man of the Half-Century' in 1949
- Despite his success in the political realm, Sir Winston Churchill's academic performance was a little more challenging – it took him three attempts before he passed the entrance exam to Sandhurst Military Academy
Don't miss:
Churchill's Bunker
Discover what it was really like in the bunkers of WWII, learn about the experiences of Churchill and his contemporaries through stories, documents and interviews from members of his closet staff, including his personal secretary Elizabeth Layton. Understand the conditions they lived under and the shared morale and camaraderie among the secrecy and fear of attack.
Churchill Museum
Learn about one of Britain's most powerful men, the British Bulldog, Sir Winston Churchill through a series of interactive displays outlining his life and rise to power. Listen to extracts from his rousing speeches, read letter exchanges between him and his wife Clementine and discover objects from his childhood. One of Churchill's earliest paintings is on display as well as film clips and photographs from his eventful ninety years.
Cabinet War Rooms
For six years, between 1939 and 1945, the Cabinet War Rooms were a series of secret rooms in the basement at the New Public Offices. As a secret shelter for the Prime Minister and the cabinet to control the plotting and planning of the war, they moved into the bunker a week before declaring war on Germany. Learn about the conversations between Churchill and Roosevelt in the Transatlantic Telephone room, and walk through the maze of secret passages that used to buzz with political activity.
TOP TIP: For another taste of London's military and political past, visit the HMS Belfast and learn more about the role this naval ship played in WWII during Churchill's power
How to get there:
- Westminster (Jubilee, District and Circle Lines)
- St James's Park (District and Circle Lines)
- Churchill War Rooms is in zone 1 of the London Transport Network so your travel will be included in your package if you opt for The London Pass with Travel
Make the most of your London Pass:
- The London Pass offers holders free entry to this popular historical museum – a saving of over £17
- Head to nearby Westminster Abbey and discover one of London's most iconic buildings, the site of Kate and Wills' Royal Wedding and the British monarchy's official coronation church
See The:
Full List Of Attractions Included
"We combined the London Pass with a 7-day Travelcard and saved a bundle. The London Pass allowed us to skip the queues for most attractions we visited, more time spent actually enjoying the things we went to see. The Travelcard made using public transit very simple and saved us a ton of money. Anyone who is thinking about a London vacation should consider buying the London Pass and the Travelcard."
Steve from Nova Scotia
|All Year Round
|09.30 - 18.00
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|Last Admission: 17.00
|1 July - 31 August 2018
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Clive Steps King Charles Street London SW1A 2AQ
020 7930 6961


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Originally published on December 25, 2013 8:30 am
Teaching high school English came naturally to David Menasche but a terminal brain cancer diagnosis forced him to leave the classroom. So he visited some of his former students to see what impact he's had on them. He writes about the experience in his forthcoming book, The Priority List.


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J Holiday - Suffocate Video
New music video from J Holiday titled Suffocate, the J Holiday Suffocate video is the second single and video from his debut album "Back of My Lac'", Check it out and give us your feedback on the Suffocate video
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I wish I had done the same thing as you. I wish that we never started the whole Santa Claus thing. Keeping the secret for me was just too exhaustive. I don't know, I'm one of those logical and serious sorts of people and playing up the fantasy of Santa wasn't as fun as I thought it would be.
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The Byrnes offense continues to roll up big numbers (76 Friday night against Mauldin) and roll out offensive prospects. The newest to emerge, according to assistant coach Freddie Brown, is junior RB Isaiah Hill (6-2 210) who has 949 total yards rushing and receiving with 14 touchdowns this season. "He has a tremendous skill set and has matured into a D-1 prospect," said Brown, the former head coach at Spartanburg and running backs coach at Wofford. "He runs extremely well and has tremendous ball skills, an SEC skill set." Brown said North Carolina is showing strong interest in Hill and he will visit there Saturday. He's also getting interest from USC and plans to be at the Gamecocks' next home game next Saturday. Alabama, Arkansas, Texas and Wake Forest also have shown interest. Brown added that junior WR Tavin Richardson (6-4 210) just picked up an invitation to the Under Armour All American Combine. This season he has 43 catches for 659 yards and 5 scores. Richardson holds offers from Arkansas, Louisville, Maryland, Boston College, Illinois, Miami and Pittsburgh. Brown also said junior DB Lyrics Klugh (5-11 165) is also emerging as a prospect. "He's very fast and is a great ball skill guy," Brown said. 'He's a tremendous athlete." Klugh plays corner and safety and returns kicks. This season he has 19 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries and is averaging 30 yards per kick return. And Brown said sophomore WR Chavis Dawkins (6-8 180) is another young, emerging major prospect on the team.
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ABC News/Washington Post Poll, April 2000 (ICPSR 3053)
Published: Mar 26, 2001
Principal Investigator(s):
ABC News; The Washington Post
Version V1
This poll, fielded March 28, 2000, is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they intended to vote in the November 7, 2000, presidential election and for whom they would vote if the election were held that day, given a choice between Vice President Al Gore (Democrat) and Texas governor George W. Bush (Republican). Views were sought on the importance of a list of issues to the respondent's electoral decision and which candidate could be trusted to address them. The list of issues included gun control, campaign finance reform, protecting patients' rights in the health care system, Social Security, taxes, the economy, crime, foreign affairs, education, encouraging high moral standards, the federal budget, protecting the environment, abortion, the death penalty, and women's issues. Respondents were asked whether federal spending on education should be increased, whether they supported or opposed a plan to reduce federal education spending in school districts whose students don't improve on standardized tests, and whether federal money should be used to send children to private schools in areas where the local public schools were not improving. A series of questions addressed crime control, including respondent support for gun control, whether stricter gun control laws would reduce the amount of violent crime, the best way to reduce violent crime, and the influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA). Attitudes were also elicited regarding whether campaign finance reform would reduce the influence of money in politics and the most effective ways to reduce improper campaign fundraising. Respondents were asked whether they favored a smaller government with fewer services or a larger government with more services and how often they trusted the government. An additional question sought respondents' opinions on whether Elian Gonzalez, the six-year-old Cuban boy whose mother drowned when they attempted to immigrate to Florida, should be returned to his father in Cuba or allowed to remain with his relatives in Miami. Background information on respondents includes age, gender, political party, political orientation, voter registration and participation history, education, religion, labor union membership, household gun ownership, Hispanic origin, household income, and children in household.
Export Citation:
Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage
Time Period(s)
Data Collection Notes
(1) The data are provided as an SPSS portable file. (2) This collection has not been processed by ICPSR staff. ICPSR is distributing the data and documentation for this collection in essentially the same form in which they were received. When appropriate, documentation has been converted to Portable Document Format (PDF), data files have been converted to non-platform-specific formats, and variables have been recoded to ensure respondents' anonymity. (3) The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.
Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions.
This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.


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Hungry College Student Breaks Into McDonald's, Cooks Burger and Fries [VIDEO]
A 21-year-old Iowa college student who's been dubbed the "Hamburglar" is in hot water after breaking into a McDonald's restaurant solely for the purpose of making himself food. This guy's lovin' it!
Whitley Allen Teslow allegedly smashed the glass of a closed McDonald's drive-thru window at 2AM last week. Then, the hungry criminal entered the restaurant and proceeded to cook a hamburger and fries. There are no reports of anything else being stolen.
Teslow has been charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal mischief and fifth-degree theft, and could face five years in prison. That's one costly case of the munchies.
Watch the story of this real-life "Hamburglar" below.
[via MSNBC]


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Asked when Long Beach residents can expect to have power restored, Cuomo said, "There is no short answer as to when the power will come on. [LIPA] are making the repairs that benefit the largest number of people first and making their way across the island. I am talking to them everyday. We pay them for a service .. when you don't pay your bill, they're very good at telling you [that] you didn't pay your bill. We are going to be just as good at telling them when they didn't get the power on. They will be held accountable. But this was a catastrophic storm, let's not underestimate what we've been through and the damage that's been done. We haven't seen this kind of damage in a generation."
On Sunday, LIPA said that it has restored service to more than 600,000 customers affected by Hurricane Sandy, which is well over half of the more than 1 million customers who lost power due to the storm, that affected 8 million electric customers along the East Coast.
"We continue to work around the clock, seven days a week, to restore service as safely and quickly as possible," read a statement on LIPA's website. "Currently, there are approximately 8,000 people supporting the restoration effort including over 3,800 high voltage and tree trim crews working on the LIPA system, with many more on their way."
The agency said it is on track to have 90 percent of all customers back online by Wednesday, Nov. 7, with tens of thousands of customers being restored daily.
"While we continue to restore power to customers in the most severely damaged areas in and around Brookville, St. James and Port Jefferson, we are advising customers that they should plan for the potential that power restoration could extend beyond next week," LIPA said. "LIPA also currently estimates that there are up to 100,000 customers from the most severely flooded areas on Long Island whose homes and businesses currently may be unable to receive power. LIPA is working with local authorities in those communities to determine whether and when homes and businesses will be fit to safely receive electric service."


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The clinch will have to wait a few more days. With a state tournament berth on the line the Case High baseball team came up just short, dropping an eight-inning 5-4 decision to GNB Voc-Tech at home on Monday.
The clinch will have to wait a few more days.
With a state tournament berth on the line the Case High baseball team came up just short, dropping an eight-inning 5-4 decision to GNB Voc-Tech at home on Monday.
With four games left in the regular season, the Cardinals (9-7, 7-7 SCC) need one more victory to reach the postseason. Their next opportunity will come on Wednesday when they host winless Wareham. Ace Zac Correll is scheduled to start against the Vikings.
Case held a 4-3 lead heading into the top of the seventh, but the Bears pushed across the equalizer on an RBI single Tyler Arruda.
In the bottom of the seventh, Case, threatened but could not come up with the game-winner. Trevor Griffin led off with a base hit off GNB Voc-Tech reliever Andrew Letendre. Cotey Monte lined a double to right and the Bears opted to intentionally walk Cam Levesque loading the bases with none out. Letendre fanned Correll and got Mike LaFleur to ground into an inning-ending double play.
"If you have the bases loaded, winning run at third base, 3-0 count, nobody out and you don't get that run in you don't deserve to win," said Case head coach Joel Brown. "That's what happened to us. We hoped to get the walk and sat back. Mike hit a good ball, they made a nice play and Cam had nowhere to go. It was going to be a double play either way. What are you going to do?"
Trailing 3-0, the Cardinals scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take their first lead of the game.
With one out, Bret Jardin drew a walk off GNB Voc-Tech starter Ben Comeau. Mitch Diamond drew a walk and John Elderkin legged out an infield hit to load the bases. Jardin scored on a sacrifice fly by Griffin and then Monte slugged a 3-run homerun to left-center giving Case a 4-3 lead.
"Monte hit a bomb," said Brown. "He's been hitting it to the warning track all season long. He told me, 'I can't get it'. I told him you keep hitting balls hard and eventually you'll get one. It was a really big hit. It was nice to see."
Monte came up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI's. Diamond was 2-for-2 with a run scored and Levesque was on base three times.
Reliever Nick Moreira took the loss for the Cardinals, allowing one run on two hits in 2/3 of an inning.
He replaced Diamond, who allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings of work. He walked three and struck out none.
Nick Richard paced the Bears with a hit, two runs and an RBI and Tyler Arruda was 2-for-4 with a run and a pair of RBI's.


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and yet... John Corzine is still walking the streets.
You fail to get the point.. read about MF Global and what Corzine did there.
Oddly enough, insider trading is LEGAL for members of Congress. Ain't that just awesome?
Just curious, but what about former members of Congress? What if the crimes are committed while they're not in office?
The short answer is no.
The trick here is that a representative's knowledge of pending legislation, regulatory actions, etc. (i.e. knowledge from his day job) is technically not insider information – which of course if big enough to drive a very large truck though.
So congressmen can still be charged with insider trading if they got their knowledge outside of their day job Congressmen have been prosecuted when outsiders have bribed them with inside information (less paper trail then giving them money) but it's been rare.
Mod this up. Congress doesn't even try to hide their corruption these days.
And this is how SOPA/PIPA will play out: A new version will be introduced just after the elections that includes exemptions/protection for the big players like Google and Facebook. This version will be passed no matter how much "the people" scream, as long as congressional donations aren't in jeopardy.
The "new version" has been in play since last year. [opencongress.org] Good luck trying to rally anyone to fight on the side of child pornographers.
No, they should all be locked up in Federal "Pound Me In The Ass" Prison, but as the people that make the laws are the people that benefit from that little loophole, I suppose that will never happen...
Hell, even if by some miracle these assholes did get locked up, you know there would be pardons handed down somewhere. They take care of their own...
Corzine didn't trade on inside information. He simply traded using his customers funds.
And just in case you thought that was illegal...well, it turns out using clients money to trade in "secure" assets like treasuries was always legal. Unfortunately, the financial industry successfully lobbied for the definition of "secure" to be broadened considerably in the last decade.
Personally, after 4 years of this, I have no sympathy for anyone in the financial industry, broker or client. It's a den of iniquity and d
So to be clear, OP is complaining that someone who didnt actually break a US law isnt actually in prison. How terrible.
"piss boy! oh, piss boy!"
- mel brooks
I would be curious to hear the libertarian viewpoint on whether insider trading should be a crime?
A truly free market would solve it!
I would be curious to hear the libertarian viewpoint on whether insider trading should be a crime?
A truly free market would solve it!
Yes, you did say that. In fact, you can sell parts of your company to anyone you want, barring monopolistic actions. Until you make a public offering. That would be the stock market. Ownership is now public, so you are responsible to the public and private trading most certainly should be fraud.
Because IT is not a problem.
For those who don't understand the free market concept, let me clue you in. It solves problems because it's an ideal. How do you obtain an ideal economic order, you say? Just send me $588,987 and I'll tell you. You must agreee not to share the plans with others. Those are my terms. I can set them, because it's a free market.
For those who don't understand the free market concept, let me clue you in. It solves problems because it's an ideal. How do you obtain an ideal economic order, you say? Just send me $588,987 and I'll tell you. You must agreee not to share the plans with others. Those are my terms. I can set them, because it's a free market.
And I can refuse to buy, because it's a free market.
It solves problems because it's an ideal.
What you don't understand is that an "ideal" is not something that one either must achieve perfectly or not bother doing. An ideal is something that must be continually strived to uphold, by all members. The extent to which people do not strive for that ideal, they will see the negative consequences of their actions. I could write a perfect free market constitution in 10 minutes, but if people do not actually try to uphold that constitution, the results will not be a free market. The purpose of discussions
The extent to which people do not strive for that ideal, they will see the negative consequences of their actions
The extent to which people do not strive for that ideal, they get to enjoy the befits of others' work while keeping the benefits of their betrayal.
Oh sure, it will catch up eventually, but by then they'll have taken their golden parachute and it will be someone else's problem.
I'm not claiming that there's any nightmare world, I'm simply claiming that the free market is like a game where the first person to quit wins. Eventually someone will play the regulatory capture card they were keeping up their sleeve for the big bucks, the only question is how fast the card table will fall down when the fat cats playing around it all try to slam down their ace of spades first.
Eventually someone will play the regulatory capture card
A free market would not have regulatory agencies for which to capture.
Except for the ones created by the first people to scream "think of the children!" and throw their money at the problem.
Which is sort of how we lost lawn darts the first time around, I believe.
I, for one, grow weary of this mythical "truly free market". Rather I would like some practical solutions for the problem at hand.
There is some debate among Economists whether such a beast can ever truly exist. See Wikipedia for a brief intro.
It doesn't strike me as being an easy thing, either way; on the one hand, it's a kind of fraud, which is one of the legitimate reasons for having a government (institutionalized and monopolized force). On the other, information is always diffused and imperfect in any market, so arresting and incarcerating people for not providing it is not likely to work well if only for political reasons (Google Harry Markopolos for an example of why). In that sense, the SEC gives people a false sense of security that the government is doing some aspect of due diligence for them that is not in reality happening.
Insider trading, to the extent that there is anything wrong with it, is a fairly straightforward violation of the trusted agent/principal relationship. The shareholders of a company (the principals) hire agents (the managers / high-level employees) to represent their interests; the agents then take advantage of information and influence they receive in the course of that relationship to benefit themselves, either by trading on that information, by selling it to third parties, or by diverting supplier contra
I think most (all?) libertarians support some sort of enforcement of contracts. So, one option is for stock exchanges to require all traders to sign some sort of contract stating that they won't engage in insider trading, and if they do, they're subject to some kind of sanction (fines/jail time).
Only an idiot would trade at a stock exchange that didn't require this kind of contract. Sadly, there's enough idiots that it probably wouldn't work.
If the equities market worked the way you propose, it would be essentially lawless and there would be no participation by the majority of the public. This would then be effectively equivalent to the situation in China currently. The vast majority there invest their savings in real assets because there is no presumption of honesty or equality in public markets.
Whether you think this is good or bad, you have to realize this makes it much harder for companies to obtain equity financing from the free markets
I think you go too far when you go into China territory.
I think it would be more fair to compare it to the Gilded Age of Robber Barons. Insiders who tilted the rules of the market in their own favor. Jay Gould and Daniel Drew would be good examples. These people gained control of corporations and tilted it towards their own gain vs. the shareholders. Took control of banks and choked off competition. Etc.
It's nice to see some action on insider trading scams and valuation fraud, but how about nailing the big fish instead of tossing us minnows and thinking we'll be satisfied. I want to see the sharks hanging on a hook: the Wall Street traders and bankers who've cost the US and global economy literal BILLIONS.
if it's good enough for congress....
Yesterday Google announced earnings. At 4:01pm EST, exactly. I was able to get the page at 4:01:05pm EST, and just as a joke at the exact same time I checked out after hours trading on GOOG. It was already down 8%, though 5 minutes earlier it was holding around even on close. Tell me, how anyone was able to parse that document in 4 seconds, place the trade, and have it go through after hours.
The system is already so corrupt and broken that anybody who isn't on the "in" shouldn't ever try to invest except for extreme long term. I don't know why a case like this would surprise anyone.
It's possible due to automated trading. If Google reported that their earnings were lower than expected even if only a small amount that could lead to some automated selling. That wouldn't require an analyst to read the report and decipher it before making a decision to sell/buy/hold.
Still insider. Only someone with access to an ECN terminal could do this that quickly. Us regular people never have the opportunity.
That's not really the definition of insider trading. Insider trading would be someone at GOOG who sold (or sold short) stocks before the announcement after knowing material information that would reduce the price of the stock (poor earnings).
If your definition of "insider" here refers to "professional trader": Yes, tautology lolcats will tell you that the professional trad
Exactly, I'm surprised the change was so little. I bet quite a few waves of buying and selling went on before the GP saw the price.
I have an uncle (in-law) who does exactly this. But does it for gov't stuff. Automated parsing of press release, trades based on those parsings. Tune for next release.
I've assumed for a long time that large shifts in stock valuations that don't appear to have a trigger are just insiders reacting to documents that will become public at a later date. By that time, all the information is already reflected in the price which stays relatively static on the "official" announcement. It's just the way the system works.
I've assumed for a long time that large shifts in stock valuations that don't appear to have a trigger are just insiders reacting to documents that will become public at a later date. By that time, all the information is already reflected in the price which stays relatively static on the "official" announcement. It's just the way the system works.
If you really believe that the price impact of the official announcement has already been completed, you may as well bet on it. Anyone who is "late to the party
Tell me, how anyone was able to parse that document in 4 seconds, place the trade, and have it go through after hours.
You do realize that automated trading platforms do lexical analysis, right? They get a copy of all press releases and electronically decide if it's good or bad and do trades based on it. Even basic lexical analysis can tell you a statement of "loss" or "failed to meet expectations" is generally bad news (SELL!), while "higher than expected revenue" and "largest profit" is good news (BUY!).
Yeah, If I were a Corperate executive important enough to merit a regular mention in press releases on earnings, I'd totally change my name to "Record Profits" .
It's all automated. In the four seconds you mention a program parsed the document and noted certain key words. The computer than initiated a trade based on those key words. In all likelihood those trades were initiated well within
Think of it this way when trying to understand just how prevalent automated trading and latency have become for trading. You know when you see pictures of a stock exchange and surrounding it you see skyscrapers? Those skyscrapers are largely filled with d
>> Tell me, how anyone was able to parse that document in 4 seconds, place the trade, and have it go through after hours.
As someone said, 4 secs could be ample time for a bot.
Even if not:
People who speculate try to figure out what the market is going to do without knowledge of the future, based on publicly available information.
Unless you are claiming that you know for a fact that no trading system ever works, there is the possibility that whatever shorted google had simply figured out based on public
To see insider trading going on at a respectable company like Dell of all places. I mean, look at the quality of their products and their stellar technical support (cough, cough).
Excuse me, I must mop up that sarcasm that's been dripping on the floor.
You can have an un-regulated market which does not exhibit Free Market behavior, e.g. monopolies. And you can have a regulated market which comes *much* closer to a Free Market.
Example. The NYSE has at least 3 layers or regulation. The rules of the NYSE is the first layer, and require such things as publicly signalling buy and sell prices which allows efficient , fair, and fast pricing. The the State of NY and and the SEC regulate the market to prevent fraud.
Libertarianism will destroy Free Markets, IMO.
Real insider trading is done in government, before it releases a law or decision upon a company's future (like knowing whether FDA will deny or allow a new drug to the market), and Senators / Congressmen being bribed in stock options where straight up cash would be considered an illegal bribe, because they voted themselves this little neat trick.
Insider trading idea is a bunch of crap. The only problem is FRAUD, all other trading that is done privately is done based on some form of information.
For a top manager to bet against his company and then tank the stock by doing something that would undermine the company's value is FRAUD.
For a top manager to bet against his company because he THINKS that the company is going in the wrong direction - that's not fraud, that's common sense.
For a government official to accept a bribe in form of a stock option or to short stock of a company before passing a LAW that would hurt that company financially - that is REAL insider trading fraud.
Most companies don't allow shorting or hedging company stock, at least to higher level employees. Some don't allow it for anyone. This creates conflict of interest.
Well, if that's in the charter, then it's their right to forbid that.
However holding long is also 'insider trading', isn't it?
Holding 'long' is based on insider information of how the company is doing. But it's not perfect knowledge. Nobody actually can predict future, thus nobody knows that a company will be OK in a year from now for real.
Back in 2003 Kodak still had 64000 employees.
I THINK MAN INVENTED THE CAR by instinct. -- Jack Handley, The New Mexican, 1988.


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I just don't see any problem with it. He's taking advantage of his opponents stupidity, nothing more.
Originally Posted by Burgey
Not even that.
There's "playing within the spirit of the game" and there's "not going out of your way to be the world's dodgiest player". All I ask is the latter.
Rejecting 'analysis by checklist' and 'skill absolutism' since Dec '09
'Stats' is not a synonym for 'Career Test Averages'
Originally Posted by Jeffrey TuckerOriginally Posted by Babar Hayat
International cricket isn't tiddlywinks. Either have your wits about you when you enter the international stage, or **** off.
Totally agree.
In the professional era NZ sporting teams have often been accused of lacking the mental toughness and hard edge to compete. Now, that we have someone who likes to take advantage of his opponent's adsent-mindedness, you complain about that too?
If NZ weren't rocked by injuries & had the following side lining up against the Pakistani's I'd give us at least a 50/50 chance tbh.....
Pakistan are so prone to collapsing lately that our near full strength bowling could still win it for us. As long as Guptill or Taylor fire.
100% agree there with that team.
It has actual match winning abilities all the way down
Would cut Oram from it, and keep Elliott. Other than that I agree totally. The batting order could be changed up but the players are the best we have and there is no need to change it.
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Heartbleed Disclosure Timeline Revealed 62
bennyboy64 (1437419) writes "Ever since the Heartbleed flaw in OpenSSL was made public there have been various questions about who knew what and when. The Sydney Morning Herald has done some analysis of public mailing lists and talked to those involved with disclosing the bug to get the bottom of it. The newspaper finds that Google discovered Heartbleed on or before March 21 and notified OpenSSL on April 1. Other key dates include Finnish security testing firm Codenomicon discovering the flaw independently of Google at 23:30 PDT, April 3. SuSE, Debian, FreeBSD and AltLinux all got a heads up from Red Hat about the flaw in the early hours of April 7 — a few hours before it was made public. Ubuntu, Gentoo and Chromium attempted to get a heads up by responding to an email with few details about it but didn't, as the guy at Red Hat sending the disclosure messages out in India went to bed. By the time he woke up, Codenomicon had reported the bug to OpenSSL."


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UCOAR Opposes Senate Bill 273
A coalition of automobile recyclers and concerned citizens in Ohio speak up for jobs and public safety in opposing Senate Bill 273.
By: PR Newswire
Nov. 13, 2012 05:40 PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Coalition of Ohio Auto Recyclers (UCOAR) announced its unified opposition to Senate Bill 273, which is being considered by the House Insurance Committee this week. At the heart of the opposition is a concern over Ohio jobs, which are unnecessarily being put at risk by the bill. SB 273 would weaken the standards regarding who can buy salvage automobiles at auction.
"We find that this legislation will not improve public policy but instead will damage the Ohio economy and put public safety at greater risk," said George R. Sapir, a spokesperson for UCOAR. "Currently, Ohio enjoys sensible rules that require qualified, licensed buyers for salvage auctions. Opening these auctions to all sorts of buyers will increase risk to our streets, harm our environment, and make car theft easier. It is not a bill Ohio should pass into law."
Senate Bill 273 would also allow unlicensed individuals from out of state to bid on salvage automobiles at auction. Because the unlicensed bidders will inflate prices, recyclers in Ohio will be hurt by the new law, which will lead to a loss of jobs. Conservative estimates show that up to 20 percent of the jobs in the Ohio automobile recycling industry would be lost.
"We encourage all the members of the Ohio General Assembly and the general public to become educated on this important issue," said Sapir. "Our website contains a complete list of myths and facts about this legislation at http://ucoar.org/sb-273/myths-and-facts/. A full review of the impacts of the legislation shows that it is bad for Ohio and bad for jobs."
Senate Bill 273 will be heard by the Ohio House Insurance Committee on Wednesday, November 14.
Contact: George R Sapir
SOURCE United Coalition of Ohio Auto Recyclers
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Summer is Here! Central Library will close at 6 pm on Thursdays and will be closed Sundays until September. Enjoy!
Log in
I like teen books. They're clever, easy to read, and they usually end well, even if the story gets messy in the middle. Here's what I liked, especially, about Notes from the Blender: It's told in two different voices: a boy and a girl (unrelated) whose single parents have hooked up and gotten pregnant. Suddenly Declan finds he's going to be step-brother to his biggest crush. Popular, beautiful Neilly, whose parents divorced when her father came out, now finds herself estranged from her mother, yet oddly open to making friends with Declan, one of the least cool kids in school. There are four positive gay characters in the story, including Neilly's father and his fiancé. Neilly likes her new stepdad-to-be, and she proudly defends her father's sexual orientation. Declan's lesbian aunt is minister at the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church he attends. The way the adults in the church are portrayed is pretty realistic of UU communities. Unitarian Universalism doesn't get much press in our culture, but teens who are UU's deserve to have their church show up positively in novels. He has a close relationship with his aunt and her partner, which deepened after his mother died. Declan's dad gets to be a real man with feelings, grief and awkwardness, who generally communicates well with Declan (even though he botched the chance to tell Declan about his new love, before there was a baby on the way.) Authors Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin also paired up for A Really Awesome Mess in 2013.
Posted by Christine Hann at 01/23/2014 09:33:31 AM
Books for: Kids, Teens & Tweens


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I'm going to count this as a feature request rather than a bug. The requirement to encapsulate an alias inside of {}'s is inconsistent with the pfSense UI. Ideally, there would be a drop down field to specify a single IP or an alias, and if alias is selected, then the alias field would autopopulate just like in other places throughout the UI.
i would be very interested in spamd being brought back into pfSense. We have two pfSense CARP routers sitting infront of a mail server that takes in 30-50k emails per day most of which is spam. I would love to see and have spamd implemented on pfSense. This would also be significantly helpful so we don't have to expose Exchange machines to the internet. right now we use postfix at our colo and deliver it ot the exchange machine via ipsec.I am willing to throw down $250 for this in the next few weeks. i would like to give the money directly to the project and have them payout someone who completes this bounty.thanks,
Please paypal me firstname.lastname@example.com
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China Lifts 13-Year-Old Foreign Console Ban 54
hypnosec writes "China has lifted the 13-year-old foreign gaming console ban, which it imposed back in 2000 as a way to protect the nation's youth from unhealthy content that may adversely affect their mental health. The temporary lift of the ban, which was announced Monday by the State Council of PCR (Google Translation into English), will make way for international console vendors including Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to setup production facilities in the newly created Shanghai Free Trade Zone and sell their consoles throughout the country. The vendors will still have to go through local checks, including the ones from the Cultural authorities to ensure that they don't violate any of those rules."


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On Buzzard Heads and Feather Beds
UVM field naturalist's book wins John Burroughs Medal
- 04-01-2013
- By Joshua E. Brown
One winter night in Maine, about fifteen years ago, the temperature dropped to seventeen degrees below zero. Thor Hanson, then a master's student in UVM's Field Naturalist Program, accidentally dropped a can of Budweiser in the snow. The beer froze solid before it could all drain from the can. But Hanson, a rather slender fellow, clambered into his tent, got into his sleeping bag, and felt warm.
It was the down — tiny goose feathers — in his sleeping bag that prevented him from suffering a fate similar to the beer. Amazing feathers.
On that cold night (one of many in Bernd Heinrich's famed winter ecology course), Thor Hanson wondered about another feathered creature also sleeping nearby: the golden-crowned kinglet. This bird weighs five grams, "about the same as a nickel or teaspoon of salt," Hanson writes in his book, Feathers: The Evolution of a Natural Miracle.
High over his head, in the crook of a fir branch, the kinglet kept its body about 120 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the surrounding air. Without the uncanny microstructure of feathers — the most insulating material in the world — the bird would have died in a few breaths. Amazing feathers.
This is just one of dozens of feather-fascinated, perspective-altering stories that led Hanson's book to be selected as this year's winner of the John Burroughs Medal. Given in the past to such luminaries as Rachel Carson and Barry Lopez, it is considered the highest award for American nature writing.
Hanson traveled to the American Museum of Natural History in New York to receive the medal on April 1.
Bird feathers, people feathers
Hanson credits UVM's Field Naturalist Program, and teachers like Heinrich, for helping to shape this book. "This could have easily been a narrow ornithological textbook," Hanson says, "and yet it's the broad perspective that is encouraged in the FN program that allows this book to be something that touches on everything from fashion to golf history."
As well as flying dinosaurs, quill pens, outrageous ostrich-plume hats, the myth of Icarus (who donned feathers and flew too close to the sun), the feather money of Santa Cruz Island, pillows at the Pacific Coast Feather Company, and electron microscope images of water droplets on the barbs of a pigeon — Hanson's book travels gleefully on a headlong pursuit of the origin, meaning and uses of feathers for birds and people. It even tells why flamingos are pink. Go read it to find out.
Field naturalist
Hanson completed his UVM degree in 2000, studying under Heinrich and other professors, including David Barrington, then went on to get his doctorate in conservation biology. He's studied Central American songbirds, nest predation in Tanzania, and, as he writes, "the grisly feeding habits of African vultures." He now lives on the San Juan Islands as an independent biologist and writer.
"This book is a curiosity-driven enterprise, rather than doctrinal," he says. Which may be why it has attracted a substantial popular audience, and glowing reviews from the New York Times, Economist, Science and many other outlets.
And Hanson is not alone as a publishing success from the Field Naturalist Program. "The book publishing output from graduates of our small program — we graduate only four field naturalists per year — is in a league of its own," notes plant biologist Jeffrey Hughes, who directs the program. Over the last ten years, graduates of the program have published at least fifteen books, Hughes wrote, one of which won the 2010 National Outdoor Book Award — and now the John Burroughs Medal.
Broad views
Glued together intellectually by a fascination with the intricacies of evolution, the narrative in Feathers caroms back and forth over what Hanson described to me as "the imaginary but very significant boundary we put between the natural world and the human world." We can't make feathers, which may be why we love them, collect them.
"Every culture and every home has feathers in it somewhere," says Hanson, "and we use these for so many purposes. You start asking: why? And then you realize that the answers are the very same answers for why these things are so successful in nature," — like supreme aerodynamics, unbeatable insulation, glittering beauty, perfect camouflage, the freedom of flight.
In asking many questions, Feathers offers an unabashed defense of natural history, with its tradition of generous observation of plants and animals in their habitats. Partly under the eye-popping insights of molecular biology, natural history storytelling has taken some hard knocks for too-little rigor and quantitative force — and too much teleological sentimentality. Hanson understands these criticisms, but pushes back.
"Natural history is where you frame your questions," he says, and shape your experiments; it's the broad view that lets the careful observer see the real connections in the world. "In the Field Naturalist Program we studied about connectivity between all the layers of a landscape, from bedrock to the soil to the plants to the creatures," Hanson says, and this hunt for connections pulses through Feathers.
Feathered rainbow
For this book, Hanson reports from a dusty plain in Kenya where he watches vultures, with their featherless heads, dipping into the rotting carcass of a zebra; from sober shrines to natural history, including Yale's Peabody Museum — but also from Las Vegas.
A low cinderblock building, just a few blocks off the city's glitzy strip, might not seem the most promising field site for a conservation biologist. But Hanson followed many paths toward the meanings and uses of feathers, including the supply house of showgirls: the Rainbow Feather Company.
"When you need ten thousand plumes died hot pink," Hanson writes, this is the only place in the world to go. Rainbow Feather "takes orders from clients as varied as Jubilee!, Cirque de Soleil, and Victoria's Secret," Hanson writes, while its retail shop, "must be the only place in the world where burlesque dancers regularly rub elbows with fly-fisherman and bow hunters." Thor Hanson's book lets readers rub elbows with an equally diverse cast of feathered characters.