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If FFVIII ever got a remake/sequel/movie or whatever, with voice actors, what would you picture each character to sound like?
Squall - A bit like a more depressed/emo version of Noctis
Rinoa - I picture her to be British for some reason
Zell - A bit like a more aggressive and manlier Prompto
Quistis - Well spoken, probably like the scientist woman from dirge of cerberus
Selphie - A bit like Rikku
Irvine - Hardest one to call. Maybe a bit redneck sounding like Cid VII, but at the same time, much younger sounding?
Then some of the others:
Seifer - A bit like a less exaggerated Seymour
Edea - Just as you'd expect her to sound, well mannered, calm, but sinister (during the time she's possessed), but drop the sinister when she becomes good again
Laguna - Like a more mature Tidus. Deeper voice, but similar naiive delivery
Kiros - Balthier-esque? But maybe not as exaggerated
Ward - (when he talks) Probably like that fat guy from X-2, one of Lebanc's bodyguards. But a more dignified version of him
Cid - Robin Williams-esque. It would have to be done.

subset: commoncrawl


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happymagic needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 73 designs submitted by 26 freelance designers.
Looking for a fresh, updated logo for my optical illusions website. Since the website is Cool Optical Illusions, it would be great if it used cold colors (light blue). If you can make the logo look a little cold, and perhaps use some eyes, that would be great. Or work in a simple optical illusion too.
Desired Color Scheme:
any cool colors. blues, grays, etc.
Desired Style:
Obviously, web 2.0 style always looks good, a little gradient, make it fun. Ideally, it would be more Horizontal than vertical or square, but I'm open to ideas.
Accepted File Formats:
gif or jpg
I'm looking for an updated logo for coolopticalillusions.com. Go check out the site first, click around and get an idea of the type of illusions that are there. Then create a logo that looks great!
Possible ideas to work into the logo:
Ice, Eyes, and an optical illusion, like an impossible shape or something.
But it doesn't have to have any of those, if it is just a cool text treatment, I may use that.
I think I will prefer a horizontal layout, so the logo can fit in the header, but I am open to other ideas too (like if you were to stack Cool, Optical, and Illusions on top of eachother in an icecube or something)
Bonus: If you create an original optical illusion, related to the logo or not, I may be willing to purchase the rights to use it and feature it on the site, even if you don't win the contest.
Here is the current logo, but feel free to look around the website also:
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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|Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
|The Essay in Spanish America.
|Three semester hours.
Conducted in Spanish. May include the writing and thought of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, José Enrique Rodó, Juan Montalvo, Andrés Bello, Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Antonio Caso, José Vasconcelos, Alfonso Reyes, and Jorge Luis Borges.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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TDK is known for designing really utilitarian, retro 80's futuristic audio equipment—black, gold, hard lines, Terminator, Burton's Batman, TDK—that encourages you to show it off without feeling like a showoff. And they've done it again. This time, with a pair of headphones that'll cradle your head and a new speaker cube that wirelessly charges your phone.
The TDK ST750 headphones ($250) pack a built-in amp that increases the volume 6dB, pumps up the bass and supposedly compensates for lower powered devices. The supple leather exterior and big giant ear cups seem like they come straight from your Dad's living room. The Wireless Charing Speaker ($400), on the other hand, steps out of the retro future with something potentially useful: inductive charging. The speaker connects with your phone through Bluetooth but can also charge your phone inductively (with a Qi compatible case). Plop it on top and get some juice while hearing Biggie's Juicy.
Here's a glimpse of other TDK products, the Wireless Boombox, Wireless Sound Cube and Wireless Weatherproof Speaker. Gotta love the exposed speakers:


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Books, Movies, Music
JCPL Catalog
Reading programs and Book Groups
Kids & Teens
Kids Zone
Teens Only
For Parents and Teachers
Student Portal
Main Content
The Merry Month of May Brings Great Things @ JCPL, Including New Fiction!
"I was walking through the park one day; in the merry, merry month of May..." and so the song goes.
The merry month of May brings great things to the outdoors, but it also brings great things to the indoors of the Jasper County Public Library.
In May, kids of all ages and adults too, are invited to begin the summer with reading programs galore; reading programs that supply all ages with entertainment, prizes, and best of all, great reading material!
This summer at JCPL, young kids are invited to "Dig Into Reading," teens are invited to look "Beneath the Surface," and adults are invited to find some "Groundbreaking Reads," and just to give you a head-start on breaking ground, here are some new fiction titles. Read on!
The Civil War has just ended, and in its aftermath, Josephine Weatherly and her mother, Eugenia, struggle to put their lives back together. Upon returning to their Virginia plantation, the bitter realities are far too vivid; their home and surrounding properties are nothing but shadows of what they once were, and the dream that once was a way of life has been shattered and reduced to little more than a nightmare. The keyword that aptly describes their present situation is "survival," and both women come to realize that in order to survive, they must recognize the fact that they will need the help of those around them in "All Things New" by Lynn Austin.
Set within a backdrop of the ever-changing Western United States, "Boleto" by Alyson Hagy features Will Testerman, a young horse trainer whose job on the Texas show-horse circuit ended in disaster. Returning to the family ranch, Will spends his remaining savings on a beautiful quarter horse and begins the process of training her. With the confidence of youth and determination on his side, Will journeys to the rugged Absaroka Mountains, taking the filly along, finally ending up in the treacherous polo fields of southern California for the ultimate test of skills. This novel brings the reader closer to an understanding of the very intimate relationship between humans and animals, as well as the very real aspect of money and the drive to succeed.
Tallula Demetriou has lost the love of her life. Her werewolf lover, Jake, met with a violent death that has left her abandoned. Pregnant with his child and hunted by members of the World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena, Tallula, a werewolf herself, finds refuge in a remote Alaskan lodge. When her infant son is born on the night of the full moon, Tallula finds herself thrown into a fight for survival as she races against time to save herself and her young son from the psychotic leader of WOCOP and a host of religious fanatics who are determined to eradicate she and her son from the planet in "Tallula Rising" by Glen Duncan.
At the tender age of eleven, Cathy Benson has been orphaned. Losing her parents at such a young age takes Cathy from an academically privileged life in California to small town Kersey, Texas, where football is more important than all else. Befriending classmates, John Caldwell and Trey Don Hall, Cathy finds a common bond in that both boys are also orphans. By the time the teens reach high school age, the fast friendship they once had becomes a love triangle, until tragic events uproot them, breaking them apart in "Tumbleweeds" by Leila Meacham.
In the "merry month of May," while your little ones "Dig Into Reading," and your teens search "Beneath the Surface" at your local branch of JCPL, take the time for some "Groundbreaking Reads" of your own and check out any or all of these new fiction titles!


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Trends in Booking Shows
Every few years, promoters and venues begin trying new ideas to make their show successful:
Pay to Play
In the 80's, "pay to play" was a trend that forced artists to pre-sell tickets for their shows to help made up money lost for shows with a low turnout. This is something that still continues today (especially in Los Angeles, where the movement was birthed) and in the UK. The concept is pretty simple: you guarantee to sell a certain number of tickets for your show. However, if you don't meet the quota, you're personally liable for the difference. In most cases, even if you sell the prerequisite number of tickets (it can be 15-50 tickets or more), you only get paid a fragment of whatever you sell above the agreed minimum (usually 50%), not the entire batch of sales.


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chadavan needed a new t-shirt design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 42 designs submitted by 13 freelance designers.
The website is ffLivewire.com
none really
Desired Color Scheme:
see Description
Desired Style:
Something eye catching, some thing that Nike or Reebox would put out.
Accepted File Formats:
Any common file format that a screen printer would use.
The website is ffLivewire.com... We are a Football news site for fantasy football enthusiasts. We would like to sell very good looking t-shirt/sweatshirts that not only capture the eye, it advertises the website as well.
I am open to shirt colors. White is cheaper, but color is better, IMO. I like black or blue, or earth-tone colors.


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5.11 Tactical's Tactical Full Zip Sweater is perfectly suited for both covert field duty and casual CCW wear. Crafted from high strength brushed polyester, this handsome and durable 5.11 fleece sweater provides a compressed fit coupled with elasticized bindings at the waist and sleeves, ensuring a secure fit even during strenuous activity. Dual hand warmer pockets are centrally located, and zippered pass through panels allow quick access to your bottom layer. Welded patches at the elbows and shoulder offer added resilience, durability, and scuff resistance. In addition, the Tactical Sweater features a newly designed covert lumbar pocket that can be easily accessed with one hand, providing a powerful and covert tactical storage option.
Special discounts may apply for high volume sales.
Contact our Bids & Quotes department for more information.


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8.5 x 11 FINE ART PRINT
sold out
8.5 x 11 FINE ART PRINT
Exclusive print offering. Only one print available per image. Photograph is printed on 8.5 x 11 inch Epson Hot Press Natural 100% cotton rag paper (image size 6.5 x 9 inch with one-inch white border). Non-editioned, signed on front. PLEASE NOTE that prints will begin shipping on 01 August 2016.
Add To Cart


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You are subscribed to News Releases: New England Region (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, 10 tribes) for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This information has recently been updated, and is now available.
News Release
Contact Information:
Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority Settles Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Case
Four properties will be made lead-safe at a cost of more than $49,500
(Boston, Mass. – July 31, 2013) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that the Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority will pay an $11,000 penalty for failing to inform tenants their apartments may contain lead-based paint, as required by law. In addition, the housing authority agreed to render apartment buildings at four of its properties lead safe at a cost of more than $49,500.
According to HUD and EPA, the Springfield Housing Authority violated the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Residential Lead Act) by failing to inform people seeking to rent pre-1978 housing that their homes may contain potentially dangerous amounts of lead. This action was based on compliance inspections of the Springfield Housing Authority by EPA in 2007 and 2009.
"Today's settlement should remind landlords and property owners that they have a legal responsibility to tell their tenants about known as well as potential lead-based paint hazards in their homes," said Jon L. Gant, Director of HUD's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. "HUD is committed to working with public housing authorities and other housing providers to make certain we protect children from potentially dangerous lead poisoning."
"Exposure to lead paint continues to be a significant health concern, especially for infants and children here in New England where there are many houses built before 1978 that may still contain lead paint," said Curt Spalding, Regional Administrator of the U.S. EPA's New England office. "Providing basic information to prospective renters or purchasers of property built before 1978 helps to educate people about potential risks and how to protect themselves and their families from lead poisoning."
Before the settlement, the Springfield Housing Authority performed lead-based paint inspections of its properties covered by the Residential Lead Act. Under the settlement, the Springfield Housing Authority will have two years to perform specific lead-based paint abatement work at four apartment complexes, including removal and replacement of basement windows and frames at the Ashley-Gerrish Apartments; steel exterior columns at the John J. Duggan Park Apartments; a wood basement stair system and basement walls at the Robinson Gardens Apartments; and bathtub trim at the Moxon Apartments.
The lead-based paint work is focused on these properties and building components because the lead-based paint inspections found that most of Springfield Housing Authority's other properties were lead-based paint free. Springfield Housing Authority has agreed to complete all of the required work and spend at least $49,500 in the process. The lead abatement work required by the agreements goes beyond what Springfield Housing Authority is already required to do under HUD's Lead Safe Housing Rule.
The settlement announced today is the fifth such judicial consent decree or administrative agreement in New England between HUD and EPA. Nearly 12,000 rental units have been or will be made lead safe for tenants by landlords and management companies found to have violated the Residential Lead Act. Moreover, the landlords and management companies involved in these five settlements have paid civil fines totaling $366,133 and paid over $6.5 million to eliminate or reduce lead hazards.
The Residential Lead Act is one of the primary federal enforcement tools to prevent lead poisoning in young children. The Lead Disclosure Rule, authorized by the Act, requires home sellers and landlords of housing built before 1978 to provide an EPA-approved "Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home" pamphlet and warn of the hazards of lead-based paint to prospective purchasers and tenants. In addition sellers and landlords must share knowledge of known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards on a disclosure form that both parties must sign. They must also provide copies of any available lead records or reports. The form should be attached to the sales contract or lease. Sellers must also provide purchasers with an opportunity to conduct a lead-based paint inspection and/or risk assessment at the purchaser's expense. Acceptable lead disclosure forms can be found at the HUD Lead Disclosure Rule web page and the EPA Lead Disclosure Rule web page.
Health Effects of Lead-Based Paint
Lead exposure causes reduced IQ, learning disabilities, developmental delays, poorer hearing, and a host of other health problems in young children. Many of these effects are thought to be irreversible. In later years, lead-poisoned children are much more likely to drop out of school, become juvenile delinquents and engage in criminal and other anti-social behavior. As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have found that even at low levels, lead exposure in children can significantly impact IQ and may even delay puberty in young girls.
At higher levels lead can irreversibly damage a child's kidneys and central nervous system and cause anemia, coma, convulsions and even death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 535,000 American children have elevated blood-lead levels.
Eliminating lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 housing is essential if childhood lead poisoning is to be eradicated. Although the prevalence of childhood lead poisoning has dropped significantly, the risk to children in low-income, older housing remains high. HUD estimates about 23 million homes still contain significant lead-based paint hazards with the potential to poison young children.
Properties subject to this settlement agreement (all in Springfield, Mass.)
- 22-66 Healy Street and 29-53 Moxon Street (Moxon Apartments);
Lead paint issues in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/ne_lead)
# # #
Learn More about the Latest EPA News & Events in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/newsevents/index.html)
Follow EPA New England on Twitter (http://twitter.com/epanewengland)
More info on EPA's Environmental Results in New England (http://www.epa.gov/region1/results/index.html)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency News Releases: New England Region (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, 10 tribes) Update : Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority Settles Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Case
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Politics & Government
Rand Paul gives tea party response to Obama's speech
WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul scolded Democrats and Republicans alike for spending money the government doesn't have as he delivered the tea party response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address to Congress.
Paul, a Republican from Bowling Green, Ky., called for "a new bipartisan consensus" on cutting spending.
"It is time Democrats admit that not every dollar spent on domestic programs is sacred," Paul said. "And it is time Republicans realize that military spending is not immune to waste and fraud."
Despite the government's record $16.5 trillion debt, Paul said the country's political leaders still don't grasp the severity of the problem.
"The path we are on is not sustainable, but few in Congress or in this administration seem to recognize that their actions are endangering the prosperity of this great nation," he said.
Paul singled out Obama for criticism.
"The president seems to think the country can continue to borrow $50,000 per second," he said. "The president believes that we should just squeeze more money out of those who are working."
Yet the first-term senator fell in line with the emerging push for immigration reform from Obama and lawmakers from both parties.
"We are the (Republican) party that embraces hard work and ingenuity, therefore we must be the party that embraces the immigrant who comes to America for a better future," Paul said. "We must be the party who sees immigrants as assets, not liabilities."
Focusing most of his attention on fiscal issues, Paul said the sequestration system of forced spending cuts, scheduled to begin March 1, should not be changed as Obama and most lawmakers want. And he said the cuts should be deeper than the planned $1.2 trillion over a decade.
"Not only should the sequester stand, many pundits say the sequester really needs to be $4 trillion to avoid another downgrade of America's credit rating," Paul said. "Both parties will have to agree to cut, or we will never fix our fiscal mess."
James Rosen, McClatchy Newspapers


text: Voice without Minutes! This app, in conjunction with Google Voice, lets you make unlimited calls to any phone in US or Canada using the data connection of your mobile device without using up any of your mobile minutes. Requires a free Google Voice account. For more information on Google Voice visit the Google Voice web site at http://www.google.com/voice. The app is currently listed at $4.99 http://market.android.com/details?id=com.gvoip


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OCEAN CITY — Armed with concerns over hostile workplace conditions for Ocean City career firefighter-paramedics and deteriorating morale, a group of more than a dozen spouses has been formed to provide support and promote an improved direction for the city's first responders.
The creation of the support group is the latest controversy to embroil the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD), leading Chief Chris Larmore in an interview Monday to refer to the current state of affairs as "turmoil".
In recent months, serious accusations have been made about the OCFD and its alleged culture of stress and negativity, including several grievances filed against leadership and recent decisions, but it was not until this week that the specific concerns were vocalized, confirming further these are tumultuous times for the OCFD.
In an interview last Friday, five spouses of veteran career firefighter/paramedics shared their support group's mission and explained why they are banding together in the hopes of improving work conditions for their husbands. The support group currently has about 15 members and has met four times with future meetings planned.
"We strive to support the members of the Ocean City Fire Department's Fire/EMS Division as they provide exemplary service and protection to the residents and visitors of the Town of Ocean City," reads the mission statement of Fully Involved S.T.A.F.F. (Standing Tall Around Firefighters). "Through our efforts, we hope to promote positive growth and direction within the Division thus ensuring the safety and well being of those who serve as they serve others."
The support group is actively seeking like-minded family and friends of the career firefighter/paramedics. In a letter to prospective members, the group detailed its general focus areas. They include "the hostile work environment, unnecessary and excessive stress, denied summer leave for family vacations, negative attacks in the press, potential schedule changes affecting livelihoods, departure and potential departure of qualified, tenured personnel due to current administration and state of department, questionable qualifications of leadership and elimination of special ops programs."
The wives spoke to The Dispatch on the condition of anonymity as they fear "retaliation" against their husbands by the OCFD, which was created six years ago after a heated disconnect between the paid staff, leadership and the volunteers boiled into a city-wide controversy that included spirited comments from elected officials as well as business owners on both sides of the discourse.
Larmore, who had been the volunteer chief previously for two years, was the first chief of the merged group and has held the position since 2008. He accepted the job for an annual salary of $1 initially but has since been restored to an annual wage consistent with other city department heads. Today's OCFD is now a combination volunteer and career member body, consisting of three divisions — the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company, the Fire/EMS division and the Office of the Fire Marshal.
"I think if the public knew how the men and women who take care of them are being treated, I don't think they would stand for it. The public is being served and the people who provide that service are being treated like a doormat," said the wife of a long-time firefighter/paramedic with more than 25 years of service.
Another wife of a veteran city firefighter/paramedic added, "We are willing to accept the stress of them risking their lives, but not an attack on really good people with lies. They have no means to really defend themselves, and that's why we decided we had to do something. We have to do this because they can't. This is disrupting our lives. We have men being taken to the hospital with chest pains over this. We have men crying in their counselors' chairs with depression. We have men on medication. We have men yelling at their children on a regular basis because they have so much anger inside them over how they are being treated at work."
Another wife said she fears the current culture will lead to resignations and retirements of the city's veteran firefighter/paramedics. In fact, one long-time, high-profile member of the career team recently picked up his papers and is weighing resignation and retirement options.
"We are not a bunch of wet hens. This is not a bunch of mumbo jumbo. This is real life. There are fairness issues. It's a stressful profession and we all know that, but what they have to deal with daily from the administration and the chief makes it unbearable," that wife said.
Larmore takes exception to those characterizations of his department under his leadership and believes his primary responsibility as OCFD chief is to the taxpayers and that he operates his department like it's a business. He cited the approximately $400,000 decrease in payroll costs that have been implemented during his tenure as evidence of that commitment.
"I understand some of my providers are not happy with me, but change is difficult. I'm sure some of the wives who met with you, their husbands have been here a long time and we have made institutional changes," Larmore said. "Make no mistake, I am very concerned about my people. I stay up at night worrying about that. They are my family and I want the workforce to be happy and appreciate what they have. It has been a very difficult 90 days, that's going into [union] negotiations, some of the rumors out there, two negative items in the press, so yes I'm very concerned about the general providers who are not in the union and how they are doing. I can't be very concerned about the union because frankly if I'm concerned about the union I'm not doing the job that I was hired to do."
The support group has reached out to several Mayor and Council members over the last couple months, including Councilwoman Mary Knight who said she plans to attend an upcoming meeting of the group.
"I will go just as a sounding board, and I will explain that I will relay their concerns back to the city manager and that will be my purpose," Knight said. "My purpose will not be to resolve anything, just to relay it to [City Manager] David [Recor]."
Refusing to further address the group's general statements of concerns, such as the employees being treated as a "doormat" reference, Larmore wanted to focus on specific concerns the group had, singling out several of the wives' bullet points, such as the issue of summer leave being denied for staff. Larmore said it's a current city policy for staff to not take vacations during the busy summer season and the OCFD adopted the policy in December of 2011. That policy arose during the tight economic times that led to department staffing decreases. In the case of the career firefighter/paramedics, Larmore said seven positions had to be eliminated, representing approximately 20 percent of the career division.
"The basis was this is a resort and from Memorial Day to Labor Day it's all hands on deck. You need everyone you have because staffing requirements go up," Larmore said. "Going into calendar 2012, I issued a reminder to not plan on taking leave in compliance with the city's policy manual from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We gave everybody notice last year and this year, and now all of a sudden it's bad for morale that you can't take off in the middle of the summer when your kids are out of school. When you were hired here, that was a priority here, as it is with many of the city departments. Now I'm the bad guy and being difficult, and I have a guy going to the city manager about it and his wife coming to you, despite the fact it's a city policy and we made an exception last year but wouldn't do it again this year. My priority is having guys on the road responding and providing service the public expects."
Larmore's leadership discretion has come under fire in recent months over a recent promotion process that led to a grievance being filed arguing the process was not properly carried out.
Trevor Steedman, a long-time career firefighter/paramedic, was promoted to captain in December 2012, but a second promotion of a female lieutenant, Kathleen Hartley, to captain also took place. It was this second promotion that bothered many within the fire department, but the grievance filed was reviewed by Larmore and Recor and no wrongdoing was found.
While sources indicate Steedman was almost a certainty for the spot due to his seniority and experience, Hartley's promotion surprised many of the rank and file. Although the wives took exception to the promotion for a variety of reasons, it was the process that irked them.
"Nobody knew there was a second position. There was no list as to who was in line for an acting captain position, even though they had not posted that there was this position in the first place," one wife said. "The process is indicative of how the department is being run currently. There are so many questions and when they are expressed, people are being called liars and bashed."
Larmore referred to the four-month promotion process as "detailed and fair". He said the second promotion of Hartley was endorsed by city leadership and carried out as a result of high-ranking leaders within the department approaching retirement in the near future.
"Our command staff with the exception of one person can actually retire in less than three years, so my approach was to promote two. There was never any intention to mislead anybody. It was done purely in the spirit of succession planning because when we looked at the dollars it could be done within the existing budget," Larmore said. "There was nothing deceitful here. It was very good succession planning in my mind, and the city manager and council approved it. I felt at the end of that process there were two people well suited and qualified in terms of succession planning to lead this department."
A complaint was reportedly filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the Town of Ocean City over the promotion and the workforce's alleged response that it was linked to inappropriate and unprofessional relations between certain personnel. The nature of that complaint is sealed, but the EEOC did confirm receiving the complaint last month.
While the status of that process is unclear at the moment, Miles & Stockbridge, a labor law firm, will be briefing the Mayor and Council in an upcoming closed session on the findings of "an internal inquiry" that relates to a "personnel-specific situation", according to Recor. Sources indicate that report is linked to the EEOC complaint.
"We made an inquiry based on the allegations that were made, and they will be giving the council an update at an upcoming closed session. The inquiry is complete," Recor said. "That's about as much as I can say generally without going into specifics."
Of that probe, Larmore said, "There is an internal investigation between the workforce. That's over my head and it involves the workforce. I hope we get resolution to that sooner than later."
More grievances involving recent decisions have also been filed, but the town of Ocean City rejected this publication's Freedom of Information Act request last month to view all of the grievances. The city referred to them as "personnel records" that will be included in the employee's individual file and would not be released. One such grievance not released involved a member of the staff approaching the city manager with a concern and subsequently being disciplined for violating the chain of command, according to Recor.
A grievance that was released by the city to this paper involving "watch duty" was filed by the local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF). The IAFF Local 4269 filed the "unit wide grievance" on Nov. 9, 2012 in response to changes to the watch duty policy instituted on Nov. 1, 2012 by Deputy Fire Chief Chuck Barton.
The policy changes were reactionary to an emergency call being missed as a result of firefighter/paramedics being asleep in an area where there reportedly is no alert. Numerous sources have confirmed the call was missed, although no tragic consequences occurred and a delay time of approximately six minutes reportedly occurred. The call incident along with other "unacceptably high response times", words Barton used in a memo obtained by this paper, sparked a policy change.
That led to the union's grievance, which sought the removal of two changes — one that specifically stated where career personnel were not permitted to sleep and another mandating one member of the crew be awake and "shall perform "Watch Duty" between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. The grievance sought a work group to study and review current response policies to prevent future delays. The union felt the changes Barton instituted violated the 2010-2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the city and the IAFF and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
Larmore rejected the grievance, saying in a letter to IAFF Local 4269 President Michael Maykrantz dated Nov. 22, 2012, "I believe the requirement of one person to remain awake and alert is reasonable." Additionally, Larmore penned there is language in the SOP agreement that states the commanding officer has the prerogative to "consider the needs and duties of their shift before allowing personnel to occupy beds." Recor confirmed he upheld Larmore's rejection of the grievance.
Larmore said the policy that required at least one firefighter/paramedic to be awake at all times stayed in place until Jan. 17 when new alert systems were approved. Currently, all stations and staff are now alerted of each call through a system-wide alert and secondary pagers.
"They slept through two calls and that's unacceptable. A mistake was made and the mistake needed to be corrected. I am the one who had to answer to the family that had the delayed call. That's not a telephone call that I want to make it again. The Ocean City Fire Department, as a whole, regrets that we did not live up to our own standard, and that standard is obviously a timely response," Larmore said. "'Watch duty', meaning someone and it didn't have to be the same person had to be awake at all times, was suspended Jan. 17 after the safeguards were put in place, including 20 additional pagers that were purchased. When it goes off, you are going to know it. Now, every single EMS call sends out a signal through these pagers. The compromise with the union was they can sleep, but they need to be ready to provide a timely response and I think these changes allow that and the public expects that."
Within the next month, as a result of the ongoing issues within the OCFD, Recor plans to meet with members of the department to hear their concerns. Recor said this morning no members of the command staff will be permitted to attend those focus group sessions.
"It actually emanated from the ongoing issues and I really want to hear from department members," Recor said.
Last month, Recor met with members of the command staff, including the chief, the captains and lieutenants, to discuss issues the department was currently facing as well as other innocuous business matters.
"I wanted them to know that I'm going to listen to the concerns of our employees, and I committed that day to meet with each of the platoons minus management and to listen to their ideas, suggestions and concerns," Recor said. "I want them to share their ideas, suggestions and concerns without fear of any kind of repercussions, and I want to listen. As city manager, I will be able to discern what is a bargaining unit issue and what is something that needs to be addressed at the management level. I think that resonated with a number of employees and leadership and they were very receptive to the idea."
Recor requested the face-to-face time to hear the specific concerns and address them with a goal to improve the operation of the OCFD.
"I feel like it's my responsibility as city manager to be responsive to concerns raised by the employees. I am trying to get to the bottom of things. To the extent that my management and oversight of this organization can make it a better place to work … I want to make that contribution. We all have minimum expectations, and I want the fire department just like every other department to be a well-managed department where the employees can come to work and do their job and feel safe and comfortable in a good working environment," Recor said. "I'm all ears and am going to listen and want to know how we can do better and move in the right direction."
During an interview on Monday, Larmore reported not a single grievance was filed with the city in the first four and a half years of his chief's tenure, but there have been as many as five filed over the last five months. He suspects many of the grievances might have been a union ploy in advance of contract negotiations, which wrapped last month with both sides expected to sign the new accord this month.
"There are times when they have animosity of management instead of animosity with the council, which is who they negotiate with. There is going to be differences between union and management, that's a reality," Larmore said.
Larmore believes the recent uncertainty regarding union contract negotiations could be playing a part in the discord among the staff and families. He believes once the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is officially inked some concerns will be relieved. The current contract expires June 30.
"They are senior people and they are simply not used to it. At the end of the day, most of the people who are positive and have a high morale they are unaffected. I don't like what's happening. I don't like hearing this. We are making improvements," the chief said. "When this contract gets signed, that's going to take a lot of it away. They are going to be happy with the outcome, knowing there were not significant changes."
The wives were unanimous in saying their concerns are not rooted in pay and benefits issues. Each admitted not being privy to union contract details, reporting instead the support group was formed as an outlet for spouses worried about their husbands going to work in an unhealthy environment.
"This has been smoldering ever since Larmore took over. It's to the point now where it's just a major disruption. Something needs to happen," one wife said. "Many of the guys are like, 'get me the hell out of here'. I can't take it anymore. If we had lateral moves, many would have done it already. It's always been a tradition for the kids to follow in the fire background, whether it's as a volunteer or as a career. Now, no way anyone is going to allow their kids to come back here and work. Absolutely no parts of it … they see their fathers worried over getting fired and the stress has changed them. These are broken men."
Another of the wives involved with the support group reiterated, "The formation of our group is not about pay and benefits. We are thankful they are employed, but we want to see changes for our families' sake and others. There needs to be a return to respect for each other and that's not presently there between the chief and our husbands."
Larmore still believes the union is influencing relations between the command staff and the personnel, referring to the timing of the recent grievances compared to the previous four-plus years without any grievances filed.
"I don't know that many organizations that have a union-management form of operation is going to have a cordial relationship. The employees are part of my team and part of my family, but I have a fiduciary relationship to the citizenry," he said. "I have to provide that service as economically reasonable as possible. That flies into the face of any union. Therefore, it's difficult for anyone to say we are always going to be on the same page."
Despite their differences, Larmore and the support group agree on one key element — the public should not be concerned about the safety amid the current "turmoil" within the OCFD.
"We absolutely feel there is absolutely no reason for the public to feel they are not being protected by these men and women. They are as professional as you get. They are heroes to us, but they are human and we need to protect them…" a member of the support group said. "We need to provide them the support they deserve because they do not deserve what they are getting now."
Those interested in joining the support group are urged to email firstname.lastname@example.com or write 37232 Lighthouse Road, Suite 167, Selbyville, Del. 19979.
Larmore encouraged the support group to bring their specific concerns to him.
"Get them to my level. Once they come here, if I don't address them, then let's go on record and address them," Larmore said.


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Majority of website administrators are constantly updating their sites to ensure that they are constantly displayed on the first page of search engines such as Google. This regular activity can be exhausting even when done by a seo company, as the ranking factors set up by Google are frequently being changed for the benefit of online users.
According to Google, there are at least two hundred ranking signals within their algorithm which they use to rank websites as well as pages. It is therefore important for businesses that rely on search engine optimization as part of their online marketing to have a better understanding of these ranking factors.
In most cases, working with a seo company to maintain as well as update the site, makes it much easier to adhere to the rules put up by Google and still get high rankings on the site. Professionals in seo are able to make appropriate changes according to the ranking factors thus lifting off the burden from business owners.
Although it is important to have an idea of all the ranking factors used by Google, there are some that are considered to be crucial if a company is maintain or even increase its rankings on the search engine. Some of these biggest ranking factors that affect search engine optimization are:
Page-level factors
The content displayed on the website plays a big role in successful seo and plays an important role in its ranking. Google prefers longer articles with relevant information and keywords as opposed to superficial articles. The use of target keywords is important both within the content and title pages as well. When ranking pages, Google relies on the title tag displayed to have an idea of the topic on the page, thus making it important to have a keyword as part of the title so that it can be ranked higher.
Back link factors
Link building is an important factor when building a website because Google uses the links to determine the level of ranking that will be assigned to a site. The back links used should be of high quality and should quickly direct people to the site. Furthermore, the number of back links that direct online users to the website contributes a lot to its ranking, meaning that they should be quite a number for ranking on the search engine to be higher.
Social signal factors
Regular sharing of content from the site through a wide variety of social networks increases its overall authority resulting in better search visibility for its pages. If the Facebook or twitter accounts that are sharing the content are popular then it carries more weight with Google. Therefore, it is crucial for online users to share the content as Google pays attention to the social signals, whether through Google plus, Facebook and even twitter.
Overall, becoming familiar with these Google ranking factors is a good start towards improving seo on your site, whether you are working with a seo company or not.


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These foods, commonly called "healthy" by experts, the media, and even the government, are actually silently harming the health of you and your family. But if you'll continue reading you're going to discover why you should eat MORE foods such as delicious butter, cream, cheese, coconut fat, avocados, and juicy steaks. If it seems odd to you, I'll explain more in the article below…
by Mike Geary, aka 'The Nutrition Watchdog'
Certified Nutrition Specialist, Best-Selling Author
Most people DON'T understand the reasons... and the fact is that some of the foods I listed in the article title above can not onlyDESTROY your hormones and metabolism, but may also CAUSE you to get heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimers, and even cancer.
Not only that, but as you'll see below, there's a common plant-based food that you probably eat in restaurants frequently (I bet you ate this at least ONCE in the last week), and this common plant food is proven to CAUSE heart attacks! You'll see what I mean as you read the article below.
We'll also show you exactly what you need to understand to eat in a way that BOOSTS your metabolism, balances hormones, PREVENTS heart attacks, STOPS cancer from forming in your body, and assures that you NEVER get type 2 diabetes, regardless of your "bad genetics".
So let's get right to it...
The 3 reasons you should NEVER eat wheat -- Yes, even "whole wheat"
There are 3 main reasons why wheat is a terrible food for your body and does more harm than good...
Reason #1 -- Wheat causes blood sugar disruption, Glycation of your cells, increases AGING, weight gain & boosts Diabetes risk
Before I tell you why wheat can actually speed up the aging process in your body, let's clarify some simple biochemistry in your body...
This deals with "glycation" in your body, and substances called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs). These nasty little compounds called AGEs speed up the aging process in your body including damage over time to your organs, your joints, and of course, wrinkled skin.
So with that said, what is one of the biggest factors that increase production of AGEs inside your body? This may surprise you, buthigh blood sugar levels over time dramatically increase age-accelerating AGEs in your body. This is why type 2 diabetics many times appear that they have not aged well and look older than their real age. But this age-increasing effect is NOT just limited to diabetics.
So, let's get back to how "whole wheat" relates to this...
Here is a little-known fact that's often covered up by the massive marketing campaigns by giant food companies that want you to believe that "whole wheat" is healthy for you... but the fact is that wheat contains avery unusual type of carbohydrate (not found in other foods) called Amylopectin-A, which has been found in some tests to spike your blood sugar HIGHER than even pure table sugar.
In fact, amylopectin-A (from wheat) raises your blood sugar MORE than almost any other carbohydrate source on earth based on blood sugar response testing that's documented in studies.
This means that wheat-based foods such as breads, bagels, cereals, muffins, and other baked goods often cause MUCH higher blood sugar levels than most other carbohydrate sources. If you don't believe me, here's something you should know... I ran personal blood sugar tests on myself using a blood glucometer about 45 minutes after eating 2 slices of wheat bread vs eating a bowl of oatmeal, with equivalent grams of carbohydrates.
The blood sugar test results of wheat vs oatmeal:
2 slices of whole wheat toast:
45 minutes after consumption: Blood sugar spiked from 86 fasting level to 155
1 Bowl of Oatmeal (equivalent grams of carbs to 2 slices wheat toast)
45 minutes after consumption: Blood sugar increased from 86 fasting level to 112
As you know now, the higher your average blood sugar levels are over time, the more AGEs are formed inside your body, which makes you age FASTER. Clearly, the whole wheat spiked blood sugar MUCH higher than the oatmeal, and if you don't know, 155 is a massive blood sugar reading that will certainly contribute to faster aging if you eat wheat frequently... and most people eat wheat without even thinking about it at almost EVERY meal...Yikes!
Not only that, but the high blood sugar spikes caused by wheat also makes your body pump out more insulin which makes you pack on more body fat... Not fun at all!
These massive blood sugar spikes from eating wheat daily also cause damage over time to your blood sugar regulation system, harming your pancreas, causing insulin resistance, and eventually causing type 2 Diabetes. I think we have a strong case against eating so-called "healthy" wheat!
Reason #2 -- Gluten and other gut-damaging compounds
The topic of gluten is on fire in the media lately... But most people are confused as to whether there's any real health risks with gluten for the average person that doesn't have Celiac disease.
The truth is that even if you are not officially "gluten intolerant" or "gluten sensitive", there are hundreds of published studies that indicate that gluten can cause inflammation in your digestive system, and even cause "permeability" in your gut, which can lead to a health condition that's on the rise lately called Leaky Gut, as well as other digestive issues and autoimmune problems.
Scientists theorize that the reason gluten is causing these digestive system problems is due to the excessive hybridization of wheat over the last 50 years, which has created newly modified gluten molecules that are foreign to the human digestive system compared to the ancient wheat that humans ate for several thousand years historically, and even compared to the wheat that your grandparents ate 50+ years ago.
Reason #3 -- Antinutrients and mineral blockers in wheat
The third reason that wheat is terrible for you is that it contains what's called "antinutrients", which are naturally occurring compounds in the wheat plant, but can cause undesirable effects in humans that eat too much of them. One of these antinutrients is called phytates, which blocks the absorption in your body of certain minerals like zinc, iron, manganese, and calcium if you eat wheat too often.
Again, most people eat wheat with almost every meal (cereal in the morning, bread on sandwich at lunch, and pasta or bread at dinner), so this can cause a mineral deficiency in your body over time that leads to many health conditions.
Wheat has other mineral blockers and antinutrients aside from phytates, such as lectins. Lectins are another constituent of wheat that causes gut irritation. Yet another reason to minimize or eliminate wheat from your diet. There's absolutely nothing "essential" about wheat in the human diet...It simply does more harm than good...period.
Many people often ask me... "But what about the FIBER in wheat? I thought that's why it's supposed to be healthy?"
Sorry, you can get ALL of the fiber you need from fruits, veggies, and nuts, without the digestive system damage and massive blood sugar issues that are caused by wheat.
The 3 reasons you should NEVER use Vegetable Oils...
Although vegetable oil has a healthy sounding name, it's NOT made from vegetables...As you might already know, vegetable oil actually comes from any combination of corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and/or cottonseed oil, ALL of which are absolutely terrible for your health.
In fact, they are downright deadly, and I'm not exaggerating. Here's why...
Reason #1 -- Vegetable oils usually contain deadly trans fats, even if non-hydrogenated
You already KNOW that trans fats are deadly, so I won't go into all of the science as to why trans fats kill you and DAMAGE your cell membranes in your body...leading to all sorts of scary health problems like cancer, obesity, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and more.
Knowing these facts, I'm sure you already know to stay away from foods that contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. You've heard that a million times before.
However, what you probably DON'T know is that even non-hydrogenated vegetable oils (all vegetable oils are refined) also contain some trans fats due to the extremely high heat, solvents, and pressure they are exposed to during the refining process. And yes, this includes so-called "expeller pressed" vegetable oils as well.
All of this high heat and high pressure processing along with the use of hexane solvents actually forces some of the polyunsaturated content of vegetable oils (yes, even so-called "healthy" canola oil) to be transformed into trans fats and something even worse that we'll talk about in a minute called "MegaTrans".
According to Dr. Mary Enig, PhD, and Nutritional Biochemist, "Although the Canadian government lists the trans fat content of canola at a minimal 0.2 percent, research at the University of Florida at Gainesville, found trans fat levels as high as 4.6 percent in commercial liquid canola oil".
And this is the garbage that the government and giant food conglomerates are marketing to you as a "healthy oil"! Don't fall for it.
Reason #2 -- Vegetable oils contain oxidized "mutated fats" that are worse than trans fat & CAUSE heart attacks
All vegetable oils contain oxidized fats due to the refining process and chemical reactions with the polyunsaturated fat content of vegetable oils. Expert Nutrition author, Catherine Shanahan, MD, calls the fats in vegetable oils "MegaTrans", because they are similar in chemistry to trans fats, but even WORSE.
And MegaTrans from vegetable oils are found in almost ALL processed packaged foods, as well as virtually ALL restaurant fryers.
French Fries proven to immediately harm your arteries after eating them:
Free radicals formed during the refining of vegetable oils create these "mutant" fats, which damage your cell membranes & chromosomes, and create massive inflammation in your body.
The free radicals in vegetable oils also damage your arteries, which can directly lead to a heart attack. Please be aware that this isn't just a long-term risk of eating vegetable oils daily. There are also studies that showimmediate dysfunction in your arteries, also called endothelial function.
Catherine Shanahan, MD, cites in her book Deep Nutrition a study from New Zealand that showed that subjects who ate french fries from a restaurant fryer displayed immediate harm to their endothelial function of their arteries, going from a normal 7% dilation before eating the french fries to almost NO dilation at all (only 1%) AFTER eating the french fries. This is one thing that can cause a heart attack.
If you think I'm exaggerating, think again... Dr Shanahan also surveyed hundreds of patients that were admitted to the hospital for a heart attack, and discovered that every single patient that just had a heart attack had consumed foods made with vegetable oils with their last meal before the heart attack...Scary huh!
Think about THAT next time you order the fries with that sandwich on the menu! It really is THAT serious. Always ask to replace french fries that come with most meals with side veggies, fruit, or a salad instead. That may very well be the difference between dying tomorrow or enjoying many more years on this beautiful planet.
Reason #3 -- Vegetable oils cause massive imbalances with your Omega-6 to Omega-3 fats ratio
One of the other MAJOR reasons that vegetable oils are killing you is they are mostly made up of inflammatory omega-6 fats, while having very little anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats.
The healthiest ratio from the scientific literature appears to be a ratio of 2:1 or even 1:1 for your omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. However, most vegetable oils skew your ratio as high as 20:1 or even 30:1 in favor of harmful inflammatory omega-6 fats.
And worse yet, these omega-6 fats are NOT the innocent type found in nuts, they are the "mutant" damaged MegaTrans type that harm the tissues of your body.
This Omega fat imbalance can be YET another reason why vegetable oils lead to heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other degenerative diseases that WILL shorten your life significantly if you don't cut out the vegetable oils ASAP.
As a quick note, the solution to all of these major problems with vegetable oils is to use healthy oils like coconut oil, olive oil, macadamia oil, avocado oil, and grass-fed butter, all of which are MUCH healthier than vegetable oils and don't cause any of the problems we've described in this section of the article.
The TRUTH about sugar... You can't just "burn off" sugar...
You've heard a million times from health experts, bloggers, and on the news that sugar is terrible for you, but most people don't truly understand WHY it's so bad...
In fact, most people falsely think that if they eat sugar, they can just exercise a little bit harder that day or the next day so they can "burn it off"... Unfortunately, that kind of thinking will lead you to an early grave.
It's not as simple as just "burning off sugar" -- It's about what sugar does internally to the cells of your body, and how sugar gums up your internal workings, causing disease.
Once again, I'm not exaggerating here, so pay close attention...
If you knew exactly why sugar is so bad for you and exactly what it does to your cells in your body, I promise that you would think twice about eating that piece of cake, candy, sugary soft drink, fruit juice, or ice cream, or feeding them to your children.
Here are just a few of the reasons that sugar is killing you...
Of course, you already know that sugar makes you fat, and gives you excess calories without any beneficial nutrients whatsoever.
To clarify, when we talk about how much damage sugar does to your body, we're NOT talking about tiny amounts such as having 5 grams of sugar from a teaspoon of honey in your tea... Small amounts of natural sugar like that are not a problem.
The REAL damage occurs when you eat that piece of cake and ingest 40-50 grams of sugar in one sitting, or that bag of candy with 35+ grams of sugar, or that soft drink with 45 grams of sugar or more... Or even that so-called "healthy" smoothie at the local smoothie shop that contains a whopping 80 grams of sugar because of all of the fruit syrups they use in them.
Now that you know why sugar, wheat, and vegetable oils are killing you and your family, maybe you'll think twice about eating cereals, breads, bagels, muffins, candy, and processed foods or fried foods from restaurants that are cooked in vegetable oil.
Here are some examples of foods below that you might be eating and didn't even realize they are making you fatter, and causing diabetes, heart disease, and cancer...
So-Called "Health Foods" That Are Causing You to GAIN More Body Fat?
I can't tell you how many times I've walked into the kitchen of a client of mine that has hired me for nutritional counseling, and I'm shocked by what I see...
Almost every time, I see their kitchen cabinets and fridge LOADED with foods that they think are "healthy" (or have been deceived by clever food labels into believing are healthy), but in reality are fat-storing traps in disguise.
It's not uncommon to see foods such as:
What they don't realize is that it's these exact foods that are sabotaging their fat loss efforts, increasing their cravings, throwing their hormones out of whack, and CAUSING terrible diseases like Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancer.
In fact, if you choose the RIGHT foods, and understand how these foods react with your body, this method is a way for you to automatically attain the right calorie level without the need to EVER count calories again.
That's why I've teamed up with expert nutrition researcher, Catherine Ebeling, and we've co-authored this new program for you:
Your 24-Hour Diet Transformation to Make Your Body a Fat-Burning Machine
... Now imagine heading to your kitchen and actually feeling good about the food and drinks you see in your refrigerator and cupboard -- no more struggling trying to understand what's healthy, what's unhealthy, what's going to help you lose weight, what's going to make you gain weight...
... whether a certain food fits in to the latest and greatest diet fad of the month (they seem to pop up every month, right?).
By eating the foods in this program, you'll also naturally prevent cancer from forming in your body, reduce your risk from ever developing deadly heart disease to almost zero, and keep your cholesterol ratios and blood pressure normalized!
Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author - Worldwide best seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs (over 739,000 readers in 163 countries) & The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging
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There's no doubt that the members of Slipknot are still mourning the death of late bassist and one of the band's creative compasses, Paul Gray. Thursday (May 24) marked the two-year anniversary of his passing and several members of the band visited the late musician's gravesite to pay their respects.
Singer Corey Taylor told Revolver, "We just hung out and told some good stories. It felt good to do that. It was the first time we've been able to hang out and talk about him without crumbling. It was good. We laughed about the old memories. It meant something. It definitely meant something."
Immediately following Gray's death, there were some public differences about how and when the band would continue, but all the members eventually agreed upon a tour of Europe last summer to celebrate the bassist's legacy while going through the grieving process with their fans. Taylor likened the process to "baby steps," and after getting past that initial hurdle of performing without Gray, the group will now share their experiences this summer with North American audiences on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Tour.
Taylor says that even though Gray is not with the band, he would not want the group to stop. One of the ways that they've continued is by keeping it in the family. Donnie Steele, the group's original guitarist who had filled in for Gray at times in the past, has stepped up to provide the musical backing needed on tour.
There has been some talk of another Slipknot album, with Taylor stating that if it were to happen, it would be as a show of respect for Gray and the journey the band has been through. In memory of Gray, Loudwire currently has a Readers Poll asking fans to vote for their favorite Slipknot album.


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The two opposing political philosophies being debated in 2012 can be traced back to George Washington's presidency. Alexander Hamilton, Washington's Secretary of the Treasury and a Federalist, offered an economic plan that created a centralized bank (First Bank of the United States), imposed trade tariffs and exise taxes, and had the federal government assume all of the states' debt. He justified government expansion by referring to implied powers implicit in the Constitution. Former Federalist Thomas Jefferson opposed the expansion of government, supported states rights, and followed a more explicit interpretation of the Constitution with strict limitations on federal government. Eventually, Jefferson's side formed a party referred to by historians and people of the time as Republicans, but known today as Democratic-Republicans. Hamilton and Jefferson are the patrons of the two opposing American political philosophies of big government vs. small government.
President Washington didn't openly join either side, but he supported Hamilton's policies as his Treasurer. Both the House and Senate were pro-administration (Federalist) throughout Washington's presidency and remained Federalist through John Adam's (also a Federalist) presidency. During this period, there was a financial crisis in 1792 when Hamilton bailed out the Bank of New York, the bank he started, through providing securities that brought the price of securities down by 24%. There was also a land speculation bubble that burst in 1796.
From 1800 to 1825, the Democratic-Republicans dominated Congress. The charter of the First Bank of The United States expired in 1811 and wasn't renewed. After the Nepoleanic wars ended, there was an "Era of Good Feelings", where there was a general feeling of Unity between all politicians as the Federalist party faded into history. There was basically a diluted, moderate Democratic-Republican party. The Second Bank of The United States was chartered in 1817 as a reaction to the difficulties in financing the War of 1812. After the panic of 1819, however, politicians split into Hamiltonian and Jeffersonian factions again over the existence of a centralized bank.
The Democrats emerged as the Jeffersonian Party; and the National Republicans, who later became Whigs, favored Hamiltonian policy. The Jeffersonian Democrats dominated the presidency and both houses until 1860. After the charter for the Second Bank of The United States was allowed to expire by Jackson's administration in 1837, there was a contraction and a five-year long depression. Despite this economic downturn (and a brief surge in Whig popularity), there was no central bank again until 1913. There was another panic that spread from Great Britain's central bank in 1857, but the economy quickly recovered after President Buchanan (Jeffersonian Democrat) lowered tariffs and withdrew government usage of bank notes. The panic leveled out and was over by 1859.
In 1854, a new Republican Party formed from the remnants of the Whigs (as did other abolitionist third parties to fight slavery.) The Republicans dominated Congress and the presidency until 1885. After the war, they became the representatives of Hamilton's philosophies. In order to fund the Civil War, the US government left the gold standard and created greenbacks, or legal tender fiat currency that was not readily redeemable in gold. As a result of the war, the transition back to the gold standard, and Republican protectionist tariffs, the growth of the American industrial revolution was slowed in what is known as the long depression between 1873 and 1896.
Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson both took Hamiltonian policy to a new level in the early 1900s. Much like our last two presidents, their party affiliation was nominal. They introduced progressivism and government activism throughout their presidency, pushing antitrust laws and new departments like the ICC, as well as reinstating a central bank and introducing the income tax. Party members from both sides opposed certain aspects of the activism and supported others. Pure Jeffersonian policies were abandoned. There was a panic in 1907 that was in recovery by 1908 during Roosevelt's presidency. During Wilson's presidency, we entered WWI and imposed a top income tax rate of 73%, when just seven years before there was no income tax at all. This led to a crash in 1920.
After the heavy government expansion of the progressive era and the crash that resulted, there was a backlash and a redefining of the parties once again. After Wilson's administration, politicians who favored Hamiltonian policy aligned themselves with the Democrats, while Jeffersonian policies were revived by the Republicans. The next two presidents, Harding and Coolidge, were Jeffersonian Republicans backed by Republican Congresses throughout their terms. They cut taxes and reduced government. This policy led to the roaring twenties. The roaring twenties ended with a crash in 1929.
A month after the stock market crash, the market bottomed out and began to make a recovery. After unemployment went from 9% in November of 1929 to 6% in June of 1930, without any government interference, Hoover decided to compromise with Hamiltonian principle and urge wage controls and protectionist tariffs. The Republican Congress went along. The market quickly turned south again; and the more Hoover did to help, the worse it got.
After Hoover and the Republicans' failures with the recovery, the Democrats took over both houses of Congress and the Presidency with Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt began what he called modern liberalism based on the new Keynesian economic model. Modern liberalism was and is Hamiltonian progressivism on steroids. Massive government regulation, price controls, and protective trade tariffs led to a depression that only ended after those policies were scrapped for the WWII war effort over ten years later.
After the Great Depression and World War II, Americans in general had had enough of big government. There was no proper plan to handle the switch to a peacetime economy. The removal of some price controls resulted in inflation and some of the biggest public sector union strikes in history, while remaining agricultural price controls led to farmers refusing to sell grain in 1945 and 1946. The chaos resulted in Congress being lost to the Republicans in 1946 for the first time since 1930. Anti-union legislation as well as tax cuts were passed by this Congress by overriding Truman's vetoes. Truman was in trouble in the 1948 election, so he convinced fellow Democrats at the convention to support more civil rights policies to muster support for Hamiltonian policy, despite Southern Democrat objections. He won the Presidency, and the Democrats won back Congressional control. During Truman's second term, he began integration in the military and made discrimination against public service employees illegal. Beyond that, Truman's second term was rife with corruption and cronyism in the IRB (the predecessor to the IRS) and court appointees, Union Strikes, and unrest from continued price controls, as well as a war in Korea that was not declared by Congress. Truman lost the nomination to run again in 1952. There was a recession in 1949, shortly after Truman's Fair Deal was enacted and the Federal Reserve tightened the money supply. After The Korean War, more inflation was expected, so the Federal Reserve implemented a more restrictive monetary policy than necessary, leading to a recession in 1953.
Republican Dwight Eisenhower won the presidency, and the Republicans won the majority in both houses of Congress in 1952. Eisenhower returned to a financially responsible, progressive Hamiltonian Republican policy and blamed the Old Guard of the Republican party for being too inflexible. He lost both houses of Congress to the Democrats in 1954. Democrats maintained their majority in both houses until 1980. Although he removed wage and price controls and cut back remaining New Deal legislation, ended the Korean War, and balanced the budget, he also expanded Social Security and proposed the Interstate Highway System. It was the Eisenhower administration that effectively began the marginalization of Jeffersonian Republicanism for responsible Hamiltonianism. There were two short, minor recessions in 1958 and 1960 that resulted from the Federal Reserve's attempts to avoid economic difficulties.
John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson enjoyed a Democrat-controlled Congress throughout both of their presidencies. Kennedy returned to Keynsianism, loosening monetary policy and increasing government spending to create our first non-war, non-recession deficit. Kennedy's policies resulted in the fastest growth in American history up until that point. Johnson continued and expanded Kennedy's policies by creating The Great Society. The Great Society was a dramatic expansion of government control. Everything from Medicare and Medicaid to current education policy to arts endowments, welfare, urban renewal, and even heavy environmental policies was all born during Johnson's administration. The bubble created by Keynsian policies led to an economic slump that started in 1966 and led to the worst inflation in a century. johnson didn't seek re-election.
Richard Nixon beat Hubert Humphrey in 1968, but both Houses of Congress remained Democrat throughout his administration. Nixon was a Hamiltonian Republican who created a "new Federalism". He reduced the power of states, lifted the gold standard, and put wage and price controls in place. His policies were a temporary fix, and high inflation returned with a vengeance accompanied by rising unemployment at the end of his presidency.
Gerald Ford assumed the presidency in 1974 after Nixon resigned. He was another Hamiltonian Republican who saw a short presidency with a Democrat-controlled Congress. Ford continued the tradition of government spending, which increased the deficit and had no discernible effect on inflation or unemployment.
Jimmy Carter was a Hamiltonian Democrat elected in 1976. Carter also had a Democrat majority in both houses of Congress. He tried following Ford's policies, then reversing them, leading to a new economic phenomenon called stagflation (or high inflation and high unemployment at the same time resulting from the erratic policies.) The economy progressively got worse, leading to a shift from Democrat to Republican control in the Senate and the Presidency, for the first time since 1952, in 1980.
The first Jeffersonian Republican President since Calvin Coolidge was elected in 1980. Ronald Reagan enjoyed the only three Republican majority houses of Congress elected between 1954 and 1994. All three were Senates. He cut funding of government programs and lowered taxes. The freeing up of the economy led to a deep recession that lasted until 1982, followed by a robust recovery that didn't see another recession until 1990, even with greatly increased defense spending to push the Soviet Union to bankruptcy.
George Bush Sr. was a Hamiltonian Republican elected in 1988. He gave into the demands of the Democrat majority in Congress during his presidency; this led to a prolonged recession and made Bush a one term President.
In 1992, Democrat Bill Clinton was elected with a Democrat majority in both houses of Congress. Clinton claimed to be a Centrist who followed responsible Hamiltonian policy over the Keynesian policies of the FDR Democrats. He went too far with a push for more strict gun control laws and universal healthcare, however, and lost The House of Representatives for the first time in forty years and the Senate for the fist time in eight. Congress remained Republican until 2006. Huge advancements in technology and deregulation led to Clinton being President during the biggest technological boom in history. It was blown up into a bubble through The Federal Reserve keeping interest rates artificially low, leading to over-investment. The bubble burst during his last year as president in 2000 after the Federal Reserve brought interest rates back up.
George W. Bush became President in 2000. He was a Hamiltonian Republican with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress for the first 3/4 of his term. Together, they increased spending more than any administration since Lyndon Johnson. The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates to counter the recession of 2000 while legislation was passed for the government to insure risky mortgages to help more people own homes. This rebirth of Keynesianism led to a housing bubble that burst in 2007. The recession lasted until the end of Bush's presidency, despite bailouts in 2008.
Barack Obama was elected in 2008, along with a Democrat majority in both houses. Barack Obama is a Hamiltonian Democrat who, along with his Democrat Congress, also followed the Keynesian policies of Bush. The economy continued to get worse until 2010. In 2010, The House of Representatives as well as many state legislatures were taken over by a new Jeffersonian Republican movement referred to as the Tea Party. (Of course, we all know what happened in the couple of years that followed.)
I hope you see how important it is to return to the small government Jeffersonian policies that have proven to have more beneficial effects on the economy and the quality of life for all Americans.
- Judeo Christian Heritage - October 11, 2019
- The Democratic Platform = Insanity - September 24, 2019
- Hollywood Is Bizarro World - September 23, 2019
- Access Chick-fil-A Survey on www.Mycfavisit.com - May 15, 2019
- What's Going On In Toronto? - May 9, 2019


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The Bobcats' Zach Ferguson moves the ball up the field as THS senior Marcus Titterington steps in his path in the second half of Basehor's 2-1 Wednesday home victory.
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Sometime in the next coupla months I'll be starting a new blog, untitled as yet. I'll still be doing reviews of current music, but will also write longer pieces on albums that, in my view, speak to the unstable crisis period we're living through globally and, I think, in our personal lives, some of us anyway. I might also do occasional pieces on books. Yes, books. Being a stoopid drunk ponx was a fun phase of my life at times but that pose has gotten real boring. So books.
Lots of you sent emails to me over the past year (2015) that have gone unanswered. I probably won't end up reading and replying to all of them, or even all of the personalized ones, but I'll try. I do apologize for abruptly pulling the plug on the project without replying to said emails or reviewing the music contained in them-at some point, the blog stopped being fun and became an unpaid job.
I had no interest in monetizing the blog and so I had to withdraw from it. A lot of the time in between has been devoted to cleaning the mirror and figuring out what I wanna do now that I've managed to make it to 30; writing about music's part of that, killing myself in the process, a la Lester Bangs, is definitely not (anymore).
One technical lesson I learned from the DrugPunk experience is to avoid doing reviews based on downloaded, or downloadable, files. Robert at Terminal Escape has an intelligent and clearly stated explanation that I'm happy to refer you to, regarding why zip files and such are a colossal pain in the ass from the reviewer's point of view. Furthermore, it makes it impossible to review a band's music if their zip files have expired or been removed; relying on mediafire or whateverthefuck to warehouse our music was a bad idea, as some of us found out care of "Lemaire", back in 2012.
So on the next project, I'll be referring largely to bandcamp pages or full albums posted on youtube. It's easier and more direct than fretting over whether a zip file loaded. Also, in a limited way, it doesn't contribute to the sort of academic, "my i-tunes library is bigger and more 'eclectic' [stupidest fucking word in American English at this point!] than yours" thinking that internet music culture breeds. I say that as someone who was sort of one of them until quite recently. In the future I wanna focus on the music and songs (and books) and trying to make sense of where they fit with other stuff, not exhorting you to buy or download stuff.
Now, as John Lydon said, I'm getting rid of the albatross, and will be back, hopefully in a slightly more intelligent if not optimistic form, soon.
Thanks for reading this, and I hope that some of you will like what I produce in the future, assuming that project takes off. DrugPunk taught me a lot about "life", "the world" and all that jazz. It's been cool learning how many freaks, weirdos, dissidents, and subversives there are out there, all over the place.
Punk in its broadest sense has always been about refusing to do what your society, your elders and betters tell you to do, and I hope that, in a small way, I participated in knitting together some of these far-flung misfits. Yr great.