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John Kerry graduated from Boston College Law School in 1976, when he was thirty-two years old and on the brink of obscurity. His celebrity as the former leader of Vietnam Veterans Against the War was fading. The war was over, and his much heralded testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was five years in the past. He had entered law school after losing a congressional election in 1972, a race he was widely expected to win. A story about him in the Boston Globe during this time ran under the headline "once a hot political property."
Kerry practiced law for six years. During that period, he began inching back into public view in Massachusetts, rebuilding a reputation both for aggressive investigation and for showmanship which he still enjoys today. The issues that mattered to him then have dominated his subsequent legislative career, and it is his brief career as a lawyer, more than his record as a protester, that could suggest what kind of President he would make.
Given his background in the antiwar movement and progressive politics, Kerry might have seemed like a natural for a public defender's office. "That's a stereotype of the worst order and a total knee-jerk reaction," Kerry told me during a recent conversation about his legal career. "I always had a prosecutor's mind and a prosecutor's bent. It was always what I wanted to do, even in law school. There was a rule in Massachusetts that allowed law students to prosecute misdemeanor trials in front of six-person juries, and I got an unbelievable amount of experience before I even graduated." For a politically ambitious young lawyer like Kerry, especially one who was known only as a protester, it also made sense to earn a law-enforcement credential.
After graduation, Kerry was hired as an assistant district attorney under John J. Droney, who was the district attorney of Middlesex County, the largest county in the state, with more than a million residents and encompassing the cities of Cambridge and Lowell. "He knew of me because I'd already run for office, and we shared a mutual connection to Senator Kennedy," Kerry said. Droney was a major figure in Massachusetts legal and political circles. He served as the Cambridge coördinator for John F. Kennedy's first race for Congress, in 1946; became district attorney in 1959; and kept a seemingly unassailable hold on the office for the subsequent two decades.
By 1976, Droney was suffering from what was later revealed to be A.L.S., or Lou Gehrig's disease. "He was moving very slowly, and he couldn't speak clearly," William Codinha, another assistant district attorney during this period, said. "If you knew him, you could understand what he was saying, but if you didn't it would have been virtually impossible." Droney was running for reëlection in 1978, and he decided to make Kerry his first assistant. According to Codinha, it was "to put a face on the office when Mr. Droney couldn't get around. And John Kerry was a great face to put on the office."
Kerry's promotion to first assistant less than a year after his graduation from law school prompted understandable chagrin among others in the office. "John was not from the same socioeconomic background as most of the other prosecutors, that's for sure," John Markey, a colleague from this era, said. "Most people came from the local communities. They were kids who worked their way through Suffolk law school or maybe night law school." People said that Kerry was motivated more by personal ambition than by idealism—the kind of complaint he has inspired throughout his career.
"To become first assistant, traditionally, you had to pay your dues and work your way up," Thomas Hoopes, whom Kerry hired as a prosecutor, said. "Mr. Droney jumped John over virtually all of that, and, in the end, it made no difference. John built this thing from a sleepy backwater operation into a real powerhouse. He transformed it, professionalized it into the premier shop in Massachusetts."
When Kerry started at the Middlesex County D.A.'s office, it still employed part-time prosecutors, and police officers were allowed to try some misdemeanor cases. Many prosecutors did not have their own telephones. "There was a box in the middle of the office with index cards with all the day's cases," one prosecutor recalled. "If someone had taken that box, there would have been no way to run the office." According to Rikki Klieman, a fellow-prosecutor who went on to become a prominent defense attorney and, later, an anchor on Court TV, Kerry was tireless. "If I got in at 6 a.m., he was there," Klieman said. "If I left at midnight, he was still there. He told me what he was going to do. He said, 'I am going to make this into a first-class office.' You wanted to follow him around like a lapdog." Others, especially old-timers, were not so pleased with the changes. "Kerry was just a total egomaniac, and he knew a lot less about what was going on in that office than he let on," Michael Flynn, a defense attorney who worked extensively in Middlesex County in this period, said. To be sure, Kerry's industry became the stuff of later campaign exaggerations: he has boasted that he wiped out an inventory of eleven thousand cases, but the Boston Globe has reported that during his tenure the entire superior-court caseload, including backlog, never exceeded seven thousand two hundred and sixty-five cases.
Most county prosecutors' offices, including the one in Middlesex, were extremely insular operations, with few meaningful contacts beyond their borders. Kerry reached all the way to Washington in order to overhaul the office and, most dramatically, its budget. Under President Carter, the Justice Department was making grants to local prosecutors, and Kerry proved adept at tapping into those funds. "We hired a full-time grant writer, and I got more federal money than any other office in the country," Kerry told me. With the money—a reported $3.8 million—he initiated a raft of new programs: a priority prosecution program that sought to bring violent offenders to trial in less than ninety days; an organized-crime task force; an arson task force. Kerry, who held press conferences announcing each policy victory—a Boston journalist later dubbed him Live Shot Kerry—also captured the progressive spirit of the times. "We created the first victim-assistance unit in the country, and we got a grant for it, and we had a rape-counselling unit, too," he said. The Massachusetts legislature eventually mandated similar units for all prosecutors' offices. Amy Singer, the state's first victim-assistance coördinator, said, "When we started, there was no separate waiting room for crime victims, and nobody would talk to them about the next steps in their cases. Everyone knows about restraining orders now, but John had to fight to make it easier to get one, so you wouldn't have to throw yourself on the floor in front of a clerk to persuade him that you were worthy." There were only about two dozen prosecutors in the office when Kerry took over as first assistant, and, within three years, he had built that number to almost a hundred; many of his new hires were women.
Kerry has vivid memories of the daily obligations of running a D.A.'s office, some of them bizarre. "Once I got a call in the morning from the chief of police of Somerville, and he told me, 'We are about to arrest the mayor for rape,' " Kerry said. "I told him, 'Before you make any arrests, I want you in my office in an hour.' So he starts telling me about the case, and the case gets weirder and weirder by the moment. To make things even more complicated, the victim in the case was male. So we bring in the victim, and we ask him to take a lie-detector test, and as soon as he comes in he breaks down and says the whole thing was a lie. Just totally broke down, said it never happened, blah blah blah. If that accusation had been made in public, there is no way that the mayor's reputation would ever have recovered, even if it had been later proved false."
But administrative adroitness could take Kerry only so far. Among insiders, the real test of any prosecutor is how he handles a high-profile case in front of a jury. "People were very suspicious of his celebrity, about whether he was a show horse or a workhorse," John Markey said. "It took a while for people to see that John was not only going to talk the talk but walk the walk as well. And the ultimate proving ground for a prosecutor is the trying of difficult cases. Everyone wanted to see if Kerry could do it, too."
By the mid-seventies, George Edgerly had become notorious in Massachusetts. In 1959, the headless body of his wife, Betty, had been fished out of the Merrimack River, and Edgerly was charged in her death. "The Torso Murder," as it was dubbed by the tabloids, caused a sensation in the state. During Edgerly's trial, his lawyer, John Tobin, allowed the jury to learn that his client had failed a polygraph examination. In the middle of the trial, Tobin needed to enlist an expert in the then novel technology, in order to question the polygraph examiner. There were only two trial lawyers in the country who could do the job. One had just been appointed to the bench in Alabama, and the other was a recent graduate of Boston University Law School who had run a private-investigation firm while he was still a student—F. Lee Bailey.
"George was an interesting guy, pretty unflappable. He was screwing both his mother-in-law and his wife's sisters. That was evidence in the trial," Bailey told me. "He was sitting in an iron cage in the middle of the courtroom, which is where defendants used to have to sit in those days." Bailey skewered the polygraph examiner on cross-examination and, when Tobin became ill, delivered the summation himself. Edgerly was acquitted, and Bailey's career as a trial lawyer was born.
A short time later, Edgerly went to work at Butler Chevrolet, in Lowell, and became involved in an extensive scheme to submit fake warranty claims to General Motors. The practice, which was known as "writing water," netted at least six hundred thousand dollars. When the parent company sent a representative, Francis Smith, to investigate the Butler operation, he was murdered, and Edgerly immediately became a prominent suspect. He was charged with murder, and while the case was proceeding he was convicted of fraud.
Soon Edgerly became a suspect in a rape. "Edgerly was a famous guy at that point, very elusive to prosecutors, and this rape case was very difficult, one-on-one," John Markey said. The alleged victim was a prostitute, which made the case particularly challenging for the prosecution. Worse still, the victim had initially gone to the police and claimed that Edgerly had offered her two thousand dollars to drop the case; she later admitted that Edgerly had done no such thing. As Kerry's former colleague Bill Codinha remembered, "Kerry told me this Edgerly was a lucky guy. This could be a snakebit case. It was not a slam dunk. Nobody was going to try that case if you were looking just to put a notch in your belt."
Despite all the problems, Kerry decided to try the rape case against Edgerly himself. "It was an improbable kind of case," Kerry recalled. "The victim was very suspect because of her life style and background. The bottom line was that she did not consent, the bottom line was that she had been raped." In those days, rape shield laws protecting a victim's sexual history were still new, and successful prosecutions of cases of rape against prostitutes were rare. "It was almost unheard of to bring this kind of prosecution," Kerry said. "I thought she deserved justice, like anyone else."
Cameron Kerry, John's brother, was in law school at the time of the Edgerly trial, and he remembers seeing his brother in the law library, struggling with the issues raised by the case. "He had to impeach his own witness, which was difficult to do under Massachusetts law at the time," Cameron Kerry said. "And mostly there was the idea of establishing that even prostitutes had the right to say no, which made it in some sense a landmark case."
Under Kerry's questioning, the victim told the jury that she had met Edgerly at the Cosmopolitan Café in Lowell on the night of January 1, 1975. (The bartender testified that she was a regular customer.) She had a drink with Edgerly, then followed him to another bar, where they were joined by two other men. When she said she wanted to return to the Cosmopolitan, she and Edgerly got in the back seat of a car, and the two other men got in front. Edgerly attempted to force her to have intercourse and then coerced her into oral sex. Afterward, one of the men in the front seat climbed in back and made her perform oral sex. The third man then got in the back seat with her, but agreed with the victim to merely "fake" sex with her. She was hysterical when she returned to the Cosmopolitan Café.
In court, the victim admitted that Edgerly had never offered her two thousand dollars to drop the case, but that she asked him for the money. A witness testified that Edgerly said, "All right. I'll pay the two thousand dollars," testimony that helped prove that he had something to hide. The jury found Edgerly guilty of rape, and the judge sentenced him to eighteen to thirty years in prison.
Edgerly was also convicted of the murder of Smith, the representative from General Motors, and several other crimes, and, at the age of seventy-six, he remains in a Massachusetts prison. I recently wrote to Edgerly about his experience with the Presidential candidate, and he wrote back that "Kerry is without morals, ethics, or principles and completely without conscience." Edgerly declined to speak with me, but added, "You could perform a service by furnishing me with a name and address of someone in the Pres. Bush reelection campaign."
The election of 1978 presented John Droney with the first serious opposition of his career. Scott Harshbarger, a young public-interest lawyer and former assistant state attorney general, was vigorous and energetic—a stark contrast to Droney, who, because of his illness, was largely invisible to the public. So, as Droney had planned, Harshbarger found himself mostly campaigning against the incumbent's charismatic surrogate, John Kerry. "John clearly felt that he was the heir apparent," Harshbarger recalled recently, "and anybody else who indicated that he could win that race—that is, me—was a threat to him. Had John been the candidate in '78, I probably wouldn't have had a chance, since he was so attractive. But I was running against Mr. Droney, not him." By some accounts, Kerry wanted Droney to step down, so that he could run himself, but Kerry denies this assertion. He recalled the campaign as a time of great effort and collaboration, saying, "It was very difficult. Mr. Droney was preoccupied with fighting his health situation. All of us started to chip in, and we all carried the effort, and Mr. Droney was very smart, and very shrewd, and very wise about what he needed to do and not do in the campaign. I persuaded him to put an ad on TV, talking about what we were doing in the office, and we managed to pull it out." Droney defeated Harshbarger by about two per cent of the vote.
It was only after the election, though, that Droney's real cleverness became apparent. Though Kerry had looked like Droney's designated successor throughout the 1978 campaign, Droney had no intention of stepping down—and Kerry had no inclination to devote his career to being first assistant to anyone. "Everyone knew that Mr. Droney had made Kerry what he was," Harshbarger said, "so, politically, he didn't think he could have broken with Droney and run against him. It would have just reinforced the image of him as ambitious. So John pretty much had to leave the office." Kerry portrays his departure from the Middlesex D.A.'s office, after the 1978 election, somewhat differently: "Mr. Droney felt better and came back to a more active involvement in the office, and in my judgment I had already done the job. I wanted the adventure of trying something else. As he felt better, which he did, it didn't make sense for me not to do as much as I had done previously." (In 1982, without Kerry as his surrogate, Droney lost to Harshbarger by a wide margin. Harshbarger served two terms, then won election as state attorney general. John Droney died in 1989, after a sixteen-year bout with Lou Gehrig's disease.)
In 1979, John Kerry and a colleague at the D.A.'s office, Roanne Sragow, opened the firm of Kerry & Sragow, at 60 State Street, in downtown Boston. Sragow, who was born in New York and grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, graduated from Tufts and Boston College Law School, and was one of the star assistant district attorneys during Kerry's tenure in Middlesex County. She and Kerry later became romantically involved.
It was, it seems, a relatively carefree moment in Kerry's life. He was clearly casting about for a political office to run for. As his former colleague Rikki Klieman recalled, "He said he wanted one day to be President of the United States. I wouldn't call it a joke, just more of an offhand remark. He meant it." The law practice was a pleasant way to bide his time. Kerry prided himself on his homemade cookies, and during this period he and a friend, K. Dun Gifford, opened a cookie stand in Quincy Market. They called the business Kilvert and Forbes, after their mothers' maiden names. Kerry sold his interest years ago, but the cookie emporium still exists, selling adaptations of the Senator's original recipes. (Chocolate-chocolate-chunk cookies, based on a recipe by Kerry's mother, remain especially popular.)
One of Kerry and Sragow's more memorable cases involved a series of patients who had received a horrific treatment for baldness: implants of carpet fibres, in an attempt to simulate actual hair. "They were absolutely fascinating. I loved those cases," Kerry recalled. "They represented a really grotesque abuse of people. You'd see the photographs of the infections they got. It was just awful. The patients figured since we were new and young they would see if we could try the case." Kerry and Sragow won the first trial, and settled the rest of the implant cases. The authorities were also persuaded to clamp down on any further such "hair" implants.
Kerry's background as a prosecutor made criminal work unappealing to him. "I took a court appointment once in a criminal case, and I realized I just didn't want the guy out on the street," Kerry told me. "I knew he was guilty. It takes a certain kind of makeup as a lawyer to dedicate yourself to having someone like that out on the street. I know our system says someone has to represent everyone, but I just couldn't do it. I went to the court and asked them to take me off the case." But Sragow and Kerry did take on another criminal matter, and it turned out to be the most significant experience of his brief legal career.
Shortly after dawn on the morning of October 14, 1966, two bandits stole nearly twenty thousand dollars in payroll cash from the Railway Express office in Boston's South Station. When Michael Shaw, a railway clerk, struggled for control of one of the bags of cash, he was shot through the head. He later died of his wounds. Witnesses soon identified one of the robbers as a notorious Boston hood named William (Silky) Sullivan.
The other defendant, George Reissfelder, was arrested in a more roundabout way. Then twenty-six years old, Reissfelder already had a substantial criminal record—an armed robbery when he was seventeen, bad-check charges, and domestic violence against his wife. On the night of the murder of Michael Shaw, Reissfelder told his girlfriend that he was planning an armed robbery in South Boston. This information alarmed the girlfriend, who told her father of the plan, and he went to the police. Even though South Station is not in South Boston, the tie was close enough for the police, and they rousted Reissfelder the following afternoon. They found a gun, which tests later showed had not been fired, but which a witness said looked like one that had been brandished during the South Station murder, and Reissfelder was charged as Sullivan's accomplice. Prosecutors asked for the death penalty for both men.
One night during the trial, in July of 1967, a lawyer from Reissfelder's defense team, John Costello, met the head of homicide investigations for the Boston Police Department. The officer made an astonishing revelation: he knew Reissfelder was innocent. "He told me, 'We know your guy wasn't there,' " Costello said recently. "They didn't want to lose the conviction of Sullivan, because they knew he was the right guy, by admitting they had the wrong guy with Reissfelder." The authorities apparently figured that if they admitted they were wrong about Reissfelder, the jury might think they were wrong about Sullivan, too. "It was a death-penalty case," Costello went on, "and they were thinking this way. It was unbelievable." Costello brought the officer's admission to the attention of the judge, but the officer denied making the statement, and the trial continued. Three eyewitnesses identified Reissfelder as one of the robbers, and both he and Sullivan were convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
In 1974, Reissfelder won a one-day furlough from prison, and he fled the state. He was on the lam for three years until he was caught passing a bad check in Florida; when he was arrested, he tried to pull a gun on the police. He was returned to prison in Massachusetts, and resumed serving his life sentence. But his story caught the interest of a fellow-inmate who dabbled as a jailhouse lawyer, and in 1980 the inmate wrote a brief that persuaded a judge to assign a lawyer to represent Reissfelder. The judge chose Roanne Sragow.
Sragow visited Reissfelder in prison and told him that, given the uncertainties in the case and the fact that he had already served about ten years, she might be able to get him released on a plea bargain. But Reissfelder insisted that he was innocent and said that he wouldn't plead guilty to anything. Sragow started digging into the case. Learning of her involvement, John Zamparelli, the lawyer who represented Silky Sullivan at trial, appeared at her office one day and said, "As God is my witness, the cops knew it, the prosecutor knew it, the judge knew it—this guy Reissfelder was not guilty." As Zamparelli told me, "George had a record, and the cops were dying to get the case closed. The sad part was, the cops even knew who the guilty party was. And he's still at large today."
"Roanne was the court-appointed attorney, and I was the helper," Kerry said. "She did the lion's share of the work, but that case taught me a lot." Several mornings, around dawn, Sragow and Kerry prowled the loading docks in South Boston, looking for an alibi witness, a man who had refused to testify for the defense at the first trial because he was wanted by loan sharks. They eventually found him, but the turning point in the case came when they learned that Silky Sullivan, who had died of leukemia in prison in 1972, had sought out a priest for a deathbed confession.
Kerry and Sragow researched the law and found that if Sullivan had spoken to the priest in a "non-sacramental" setting the conversation would not be protected by the priest-penitent privilege. They tracked down the priest, the Reverend Edward Cowhig, who signed an affidavit saying that Sullivan "stated that Mr. Reissfelder was not involved in the incident at Railway Express in Boston, and that he was sorry that Mr. Reissfelder had been convicted for something he didn't do." Cowhig said that he hadn't come forward for eight years because he "was aware of the existing climate toward any inmate who said he 'didn't do it' even if a 'do-gooder' chaplain endorsed and corroborated it." During Reissfelder's years in prison, his wife divorced him, his parents died, and his children were placed in foster care.
The timing of the Reissfelder case was propitious for Kerry. By the summer of 1982, he was running in a Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, and his efforts on behalf of the wronged inmate were drawing attention in the local press. On June 21, 1982, Sragow and Kerry appeared in a Boston courtroom with ten witnesses at a hearing to request that Reissfelder receive a new trial. A Boston detective testified that he had told an officer on the case that he had heard that others, not Reissfelder, committed the crime, and was told, "Don't rock the boat, kid. We're all set." Even in this moment, Kerry was dogged by his reputation for grandstanding. The judge, Andrew R. Linscott, denied Kerry and Sragow the chance to make a closing argument, because he didn't want to afford Kerry the opportunity to show off for the press.
Still, Linscott ruled that Reissfelder was entitled to a new trial, and the district attorney declined to bring the case again. Kerry travelled to Florida in order to persuade the authorities there to drop the case stemming from the time that Reissfelder was an escapee. On the day of Reissfelder's release, August 30, 1982, two weeks before the Democratic primary, Sragow, Kerry, and the former inmate, who was now forty-two, were photographed having a beer together in Quincy Market.
Kerry has often cited the Reissfelder case as a reason he opposed the death penalty. He has modified his opposition in recent years, and he now supports the execution of convicted terrorists. "George wasn't a great guy—he had done some things wrong, that was part of the problem," Kerry said. "But he didn't commit murder. His case convinced me of the mistakes that are made, that the system had made mistakes and what can happen in an overzealous prosecution." In November of 1982, Kerry was elected lieutenant governor, and two years later he was elected to the Senate.
Roanne Sragow prospered, too, in the years after her partnership with Kerry. She is now married to Richard Licht, the former lieutenant governor of Rhode Island, who is running Kerry's campaign in that state. Since 1990, Sragow has been a trial-court judge in the same Middlesex County courthouse where she and Kerry met as prosecutors.
George Reissfelder, for his part, never received reparations for the time he spent in prison (a compensation bill proposed in the Massachusetts legislature failed in committee). According to a report in the Boston Herald, Reissfelder became involved with a cocaine-distribution ring in Dorchester that was led by a man named Carmello Merlino. Merlino was at one point a suspect in the still unsolved theft of art works from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, in 1990. One day the following year, Merlino told the authorities that he was worried that he had not heard from his friend in several days. Reissfelder's body was found in his apartment; he had died of cocaine poisoning.
Kerry called his years as a lawyer "a great education," and he has applied the lessons he learned as a prosecutor to his political career. In the Senate, he has made his mark more as an investigator than as a legislator. His senior colleague Edward Kennedy has been the master lawmaker of the Massachusetts delegation, and Kerry has concentrated instead on leading attention-getting probes of such issues as the fate of American prisoners of war in Vietnam and the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. Kerry's investigations have been unusually thorough by congressional standards; his conclusion that there is no evidence that prisoners remain in Vietnamese hands has never been seriously questioned. Kerry's inquiries, in the mid-nineteen-eighties, about the work of a then obscure White House aide named Oliver North launched the investigation into the Iran-Contra affair. In the late eighties, Kerry found that the Reagan Administration had "turned a blind eye" to the Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega's drug trafficking.
Kerry's years as a lawyer seem to have taught him a more explicitly political lesson as well. Like Bill Clinton, he has used tough-on-crime positions to offset an otherwise predictably liberal profile. Not coincidentally, one of the few major bills that Kerry has passed grew out of Clinton's proposal to add a hundred thousand officers to police departments around the country. Kerry's approach may be unapologetically big government—more cops, more prosecutors, more victims' services, more federal grants to counties like Middlesex—but the goal is decidedly mainstream. In all, Kerry's achievements as a lawmaker, while real, are also modest. To parlay them into the Presidency would be, by far, the most successful advocacy of his career. ♦


text: Frank Legro was one of the most productive and consistent scorers in Boston State College hockey history. The winger finished among the Warriors' top three single-season goal-scorers in each of his four seasons and finished his career with 72 tallies to rank second all-time at Boston State. Legro registered 30 or more points in every season he played to finish with 142 career points to place him second among the Warriors' all-time greats, while posting 70 assists to stand fifth on the career list in 107 career contests, which puts him third on the games played list. Legro was a co-captain in his senior campaign to cap a career that saw him play on the first line during his entire tenure as well as Boston State's top power play unit. A 1975 graduate, Legro helped the Warriors advance to the NAIA National Championship Tournament with an 18-11-2 mark as a junior, a record which included the second-highest win total in school history. The forward made an impact right away as the team's leading goal-scorer as a freshman and helped Boston State to a Codfish Bowl Championship with a 7-2 win over Merrimack College in 1971. Legro has already been enshrined into the Marblehead High School Athletic Hall of Fame and is presently the Director of Sales for the Narragansett Underwriting Group in Barrington, RI.

subset: commoncrawl


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It's hard to know where they found the time, but it seems that Republican state legislators must have been watching that famous Dallas soap opera episode where Bobby Ewing returns from the dead after being run over by a car the previous season. And how did this occur? Simple, it was a dream. Despite 300 million witnesses watching the death and an entire season of talking about Ewing's demise, it really never happened.
They can get away with that in television. Apparently Republicans think they can get away with that in Sacramento, too.
After rejecting repeated calls for a vote to place a proposition on the ballot to continue the temporary tax increases passed by the legislature two years ago, Republican legislators now say that the vote should take place, as long as the ballot includes the opportunity for voters to consider pension reform and spending caps.
Wait a second. Haven't Republicans been saying this all along? Well, yes they have. Then, why say it now? To remind the voters that Republicans aren't holding up the budget -- Jerry Brown and the legislative Democrats are!
In fact, Republicans are correct -- to a point. From the earliest days of the stalemate, Republicans have said that they would consider allowing the electorate to weigh in on the temporary tax increases if they could include their issues, too.
Brown and the Democrats have opposed the move on the basis that it blurs the main issue of balancing the budget.
We'll deal with these issues separately, the Democrats say, but first we must be able to move forward with the vote. You, the Republicans, are holding the state hostage with your intransigence.
But in politics, all issues are fair game. What seems peripheral to Brown and the Democrats is essential to the Republicans who must have some concessions as cover for their vote. The point is reasonable, if undesirable to the Democrats.
So, now what?
The public is pretty disgusted with both parties right now, according to recent polls. Each side has to take a deep breath and find some wiggle room. Republicans have to allow a public vote (resistance is killing them from a PR standpoint) and Brown and the Democrats have to give something besides platitudes in return for that vote. The deal is doable if each side considers the problems of the other side -- that's what compromise is all about.
And by the way, they all should stay away from reruns and concentrate on a new episode in state budget negotiations. The old ones are getting pretty stale.


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The piquant Sichuan Sauce (which doubles easily) works well with almost any stir-fry but particularly enhances dishes with meat, fish and poultry. When stir-frying chicken, always spread the pieces in the wok and let them cook undisturbed for 1 minute before stirring. This allows the chicken to sear and prevents sticking. To smash the ginger, use the side of a cleaver or chef's knife.
Ready In


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Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Book Loving Cat Tote Bag, Mug & Pillow Giveaway
74 comments:
I don't have a pet; and Charlotte's Web is my favorite story about animals.ReplyDelete
I have a cat and a dog. I don't have a favourite book about animalsReplyDelete
- SolangeJune 27, 2017 at 10:02 PM
I don't have a pet. My favourite story about animals is Watership Down.ReplyDelete
I have 8 beautiful cats, all rescues. My oldest is 17 and my youngest is 3. I don't think I have a favorite animal story.ReplyDelete
- BookLadyJune 27, 2017 at 10:26 PM
I don't have a pet at this time. My favorite animal book is Marley & Me.ReplyDelete
I have a dog named Quigley. He was dumped in my backyard when he was a pup. Hade him 11 years now and he's still the sweetest thing. I fell in love with Walter Farley's The Black Stallion series when I was a girl. I still have all of the books.ReplyDelete
I have a black cat named herbie. I don't have a favorite story about animals though, but I do have a thing for horse movies lolReplyDelete
We've always had cats and occasionally a dog or two and/or fish as well. One of my favourite animal books is Edgar Allan Pope's short story 'The Black Cat'. It's quite creepy!ReplyDeleteReplies
oops, should of course be 'E.A.Poe's ...'.Delete
- Connie LeeJune 28, 2017 at 3:25 AM
I have a yellow lab. One of my favorite stories about animals was "Old Yellow". lclee59(at)centurylink(dot)netReplyDelete
We have 5 cats, all with different looks and personalities.They are all rescues and we have one of them at the vet today having her ears removed due to cancer. She is mostly white with blue slanted eyes and her name is Demon :)ReplyDelete
My min pin mistletoe! She gives loves and smiles!ReplyDelete
Lovely prize - looks like my old cat DominoReplyDelete
Roddy & Breagha both rescue cats both very different temperaments & both very loving����❤ReplyDelete
I have a dog called Vincent. My favourite story about an animal is Marley and me.ReplyDelete
now i only have a cat left (and a pigeon) and he doesn't like ity when i read book with feline shifters ( other no probleme but somehow he knows when it's feline ones and try to pat the book away)ReplyDelete
i loved the guardians of Gahoole ( owls)
I grew up with Lassie books xReplyDelete
I don't have a pet at the moment but most of my life I have had cats and I'll probably get another soon. I used to love the books about Orlando the marmalade cat when I was a child.ReplyDelete
My daughter and I have 5 pets - a dog called Eva, three rats - Milkshake, Coffee and Vanilla, and an axolotl called Toothlessy. :-)ReplyDelete
My favorite pet is my dog Phoebe..We also have goats and sheep and a 2nd dog.. I believe the funniest stories surround the goats...They are smarter than people realize and they look at you in the most intelligent way....ReplyDelete
I have always owned cats. I am now looking after my daughter's cat Tilley. Favourite animal book Charlottes web.ReplyDelete
I have a dog named Ebba. She's the best! I love Hachiko tale.ReplyDelete
I have a Cat called Willow, I love 'Lassie come home'ReplyDelete
I don't have a pet. I enjoy stories with dogsReplyDelete
we have two cats called Cinnamon and Calypso and our fave story has always been the tiger who came to tea xxReplyDelete
A cat. Puss in Boots or Charlotte's Web.ReplyDelete
Seven catsReplyDelete
We love stories with cats in :)
We do have a dog buster but ones enough of him lol x
Three cats. My favorite animal story is The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth.ReplyDelete
I have a dog I rescued from the roadReplyDelete
- Monica RJune 30, 2017 at 4:31 PM
I have a Siamese cat named Zoey and I love the "Cat Who" mystery books.ReplyDelete
I have 2 cats Buddy and Tattypus and though im not sure if its a fav not really thought about it before i really did enjoy a street cat named bob!ReplyDelete
I used to have cats and they helped me get through dark periods in my life after my parents divorced. I am very thankful that I was blessed with both of them.ReplyDelete
I used to have a lot of different pets but these days I have none. My favorite story with animals is Homeward Bound :)ReplyDelete
This cat looks just like my cat, Penny! When I was young I used to like the Gobbolino books, and I read Meg and Mog and Gruffalo to my niece :)ReplyDelete
We have one fur baby (dog) named Buddy. As a child, I loved all of The Little Golden Books about animals. Thanks for a chance in the give-a-way!ReplyDelete
- Donna NJuly 3, 2017 at 6:43 PM
We have two cats, Thackery and Theodore (nicknamed Teddy). Me and my daughter love this giveaway- not only are we book lovers but the purdy cat looks like our baby boy Jinx who was ran over 3 years ago this month. Right down to his little white tipped tail!! Adorable! Our two other boys, Jinx brother Thackery is a soft ball of melty mess- he loves a cuddle. Theodore, our adopted baby is mini tiger with a cute split pink and black lip- he's the talkative one!ReplyDelete
My favourite story about these boys is that when we first brought Theodore into the household he hissed once at Thackery, who ignored him. He then tried to take a swing at him and Thackery casually but with precision bopped him on the head. After that we found Theodore 'nursing' on Thackery like he was a Mummy cat and Thackery just taking in because he missed Jinx and Theodore missed his Mum. They've been inseparable since.
I have two gorgeous cats - Gau and Chiba. Chiba is a tuxedo cat, he's the best dressed cat around :)ReplyDelete
My 18 year old cat Thomas aka Mr Moosh is my furry best friend . Most recent favourite animal read was A street cat named Bob ��ReplyDelete
I don't have a pet currently.ReplyDelete
I have two cats!ReplyDelete
no i don't have a pet.i love Jungle Book.ReplyDelete
I have 2 dogs & a cat.ReplyDelete
We have a Jack Russel named Stitch. He's a handful.ReplyDelete
My fur baby is a cat named Angel. My favorite story with animals is Homeward Bound.ReplyDelete
I have a grey tabby cat named Silver that we just call Boo. I really enjoy anthropomorphic books like Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, etc. They are cute and fun. :)ReplyDelete
Oh wow... We have a lot of animals. We have numerous sheep, goats, chickens, pigeons, doves, and two dogs! As for my favorite story regarding animals it's a tossup between A Dog's Purpose and Animal Farm! :)ReplyDelete
Yes, I have a dog named Roma. She's a German Shepard and she won a medal two times. I went to school with her and she's really so smart.ReplyDeleteReplies
OH, and I love stories when dogs are smart... duh :) Like Elizabeth Hoyts Maiden Lain series.Delete
- AnonymousJuly 8, 2017 at 2:45 PM
We had a cat called tim tim who sadly isn't with us anymore I love the book and film A cat named Bob and the great thing is its a true story.ReplyDelete
I have 1 cat,Jack..and hes a sooky baby :)ReplyDelete
I don`t really have a favorite story about pets. I love all animals and pet stories.
We don't have any pets. Favourite animal books are Mog which my grandson loves.ReplyDelete
I have 2 Border Collies and a cat. my fav animal story is the amazing Finding GobiReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
I have a cat Heidi so named as she was so timid. Still is but much better than she used to be even woke up the other morning to find she had propped her back feet on my arm. My book about animals is 'Homeward Bound' read to me at primary school.ReplyDelete
- Annie DJuly 10, 2017 at 2:58 AM
I have two pets; a cat named Ari and a dog named Peach. Both are rescues and have brought so much joy to our lives. I loved the book Charlotte's Web; I still want a pet pig!ReplyDelete
We have a cat, Cutie, and our daughters dog is Pupper. My favorite is Homeward Bound! Thanks for the chance!ReplyDelete
4 cats in our shared house atm there was a cartoon called clifford the big red dogReplyDelete
i have a dog but i live with my mom who has a dog and a cat so we are a house of animalsReplyDelete
Love them and would love more
2 dogs, 1 cat. Tarka the Otter.ReplyDelete
Such a lovely printReplyDelete
I don't currently have pets, but I'm a cat person. An awesome story about a dog is Watchers by Dean Koontz! Thanks for the awesome giveaway!ReplyDelete
I had a black lab mix and a Siberian Husky that both passed away in Feb of this year. They were 15 and 16 years old.ReplyDelete
My favorite story is Thomasina by Paul Gallico
I loved the Disney movie as a kid and it drove me to read the book.
I wish I had a pet but I don't! I don't have a favourite book about pets but my favourite one involving a pet is A Man Called Ove. Loved that book!ReplyDelete
We had two cats, but sadly one of them was recently killed by a fox. My favourite animal story is Jenny by Paul GallicoReplyDelete
No pets now, favourite books are Lassie onesReplyDelete
I am proud cat owner.His name is Wyllie.My favored cartoon is Garfield.no favored book unfortunatly.ReplyDelete
We have two cats - my favourite animal story growing up was always The Sheep PigReplyDelete
I have a cat. One of my favorite pet stories from my childhood is Jean Bethell's Barney Beagle.ReplyDelete
I have 3 lovely black cats :DReplyDelete
I don't have any pets and I absolutely love "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book.ReplyDelete
I have a jack Russel called lola Who thinks she ones our bed always between us when we wake up and love a cuppa teaReplyDelete
I have cats. I love how they all have their own unique personalities and act like little people.ReplyDelete
We have a Chihuahua named Rocky, Two Shih Tzus named Princess and Hershey and a cat named Destiny. Old Yeller is my favorite animal story.ReplyDelete
Yes, dogs and cats, I love them. I've had pets most of my life. :-)ReplyDelete


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Colorado Avalanche Information Center says slides likely in Summit County
While recent storms have been welcome news for area ski resorts, the snow and high winds overnight are expected to increase the avalanche risk in Summit County. As of Saturday afternoon the Colorado Avalanche Information Center listed avalanche danger as "considerable" — level three on the center's five-point scale — near and above tree-line terrain.
"We've seen some of the largest avalanches so far this season," CAIC deputy director Brian Lazar said regarding recent reports of both human-triggered and natural avalanches, "certainly big enough to kill people."
Human-triggered avalanches have already led to one fatality this season. George Dirth, 28, of Fraser, was killed Dec. 31 when he triggered an avalanche on Park View Mountain, northwest of Granby near Willow Creek Pass. Members of his party were quick to respond but unable to resuscitate him. Edwin LaMair, 22, was fortunate to survive a slide he triggered in the East Vail Chutes, Dec. 22, while skiing with his brother and a friend. He injured his knee in the slide but managed to keep his head above the surface when the avalanche came to a stop.
The parties in both incidents were reportedly carrying appropriate safety equipment and were described as experienced backcountry skiers. In an interview with the Vail Daily, LaMair said he considered himself lucky to be alive. His brother witnessed the avalanche and was first on scene to dig him out when the slide stopped. LaMair's brother's GoPro camera was rolling at the time of the rescue and the video was posted to YouTube.
The avalanche risk is expected to increase with continuing snowfall.
"Right now we're in an elevated period of danger," Lazar said. "Human-triggered and natural avalanches are likely. They'll be easy to trigger over the next few days."
With high winds in the forecast overnight, Lazar said that wind loading will make some areas particularly susceptible to slides.
"If we get substantial winds, it can deposit layers that are three to five times the storm total," he said.
Combined with a number of existing weak layers of snow, the extra weight on a wind-loaded slope can dramatically increase the avalanche risk and cause larger slides.
"Any avalanche we see in this recent storm has the potential to step down into deeper layers," Lazar said, meaning slopes that might have been relatively stable could now slide because of the added pressure on weak layers deeper in the snowpack.
Lazar recommended that anyone traveling into the backcountry exercise caution, saying that hikers and snowshoers may be just as vulnerable to an avalanche as skiers or snowmobilers.
"It has less to do with your mode of travel and more to do with where you are traveling," he said.
Slopes between 30 and 45 degrees are most susceptible to slides.
The CAIC recommends that anyone considering traveling in the backcountry take an avalanche safety course and always carry the appropriate equipment.
Forecasts and safety information are available at avalanche.state.co.us.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.


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Gold Pewter Slice Pendant
Gold Pewter Slice Pendant. This simple sliced pewter and resin rectangular pendant is a chic and easy design to compliment your everyday style.
Availability: In stock
Product Information
The pendant is made from a sliced pewter case filled with coloured resin and silverleaf which adds a gorgeous lustre to the colour.
The component measures approx. W1.7cm x H4.5cm x D0.5cm and is suspended from laminated surgical steel wire measuring approx. 41cm. The necklace is fastened with a lobster clasp and there is a 5cm extension chain for adjusting the necklace length. All the jewellery components are both nickel free and hypo-allergenic.
This pendant is dispatched within 2-3 business days and is gift wrapped in an organza bag.
* All measurements are approximate. Due to the handmade nature of the jewellery, slight variations in the size and colour may occur.
|Made By
|Watch This Space


text:
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Some shots at the new studio location near Payson
Some shots at the new studio location near Payson
Artistic photography is what this site is all about. Creations made with the help of every day people. They provide their face, body, and often their soul, to the creation of art in their image. In the end it's about the beauty of art.
Be aware that some of the fine art on this site are fine art nudes. If you have chosen to be offended by nudity you should leave the site now.
Enjoy and please feel free to contact me with any questions, suggestions, request to work with me, or if you simply want to throw money at me for some art.
Most recent blog postings...


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How to Customize the Start Screen Background and Color
The default Windows 8 Start screen background is nice enough, but is it really you? Because you spend so much time on the Start screen, you may want to personalize it with your own design. To change the Start screen background and color, just follow these steps:
2Click the Change PC Settings link at the bottom of the pane.
Windows 8 displays the PC Settings Screen.
3Click Personalize on the left.
You'll find a few items you can tweak here, but right now, you're only interested in one.
4Click the Start Screen link at the top of the screen.
Windows 8 shows you a number of design thumbnail images and color combinations to choose from.
5Click a design thumbnail to select it.
Feel free to browse! The preview shows how your current choice will look.
6Click a color combination from the strip.
Go for bold, for understated, or for high-contrast. The choice is yours.
7When everything is perfect, press the Windows key.
You return to your new and improved customized Start screen.


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History of SSU-UIS: Lasting Pursuit – Time Capsule
(The following article was published by the State Journal Register in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of SSU/UIS.)
June 12, 2001
Time capsule hits, misses in predictions for SSU, world
By Doug Pokorski
In May 1971, at the end of its first year of operation, students and faculty at Sangamon State University set aside some time to look into the future.
In a campus-wide "university week" activity, they held lectures, discussions, screenings, workshops and other presentations on what the city of Springfield, education, democracy, health and other important areas would look like 30 years late.
At the end of the exercise, they put some of their results, along with a variety of other documents, into a safe deposit box at Marine Bank as a time capsule, not to be opened until 2001.
Earlier this spring, officials from SSU – now the University of Illinois at Springfield – retrieved the documents from marine Bank – now Bank One of Springfield – and on Monday they revealed the contents to the public. Among the documents were mundane items from a time long past-informational packets for prospective students and faculty, a microfiche collection of student essays, copies of student newspapers, a guide to the university and the printed program for "university week."
Then there were the predictions. As with most looks that far into the future, some were on target and others were laughably wide of the mark. The seers of 1971 were on the mark about computers, for example, foreseeing that by 2001 they would be used both in classrooms and homes, would allow people to link up to educational opportunities from their homes and would allow people to use libraries internationally.
They also foresaw correctly that advanced technology would increase the need for routine jobs and that retirement for most people would become an option rather than mandatory at a specified age.
And they also recognized that the growing importance of concern for the environment – "ecology" as it was then known-would continue.
But there also were plenty of goofs in the predictions of 30 years ago. The internal combustion engine has not been outlawed, plant geneticists have not bred square tomatoes for easier shipping, the physical sciences have not become mere appendages to the social sciences, and compulsory schooling does not begin at age 4 and continue through the first two years of college.
Some of the least accurate predictions were about SSU itself. UIS has about 4,000 students, not the 20,000 predicted in 1971. It has one doctoral program, not the 21 predicted, and it doesn't have a law school.
Still if the predictors of 1971 had a pretty low batting average, they did about as well as a professional prognosticator who also was a part of the university week activities.
Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clark was the featured speaker at the event, and a showing of the movie based on his novel "2001: A Space Odyssey" was one of the most popular programs.
Clarke correctly predicted something very much like the Internet, a computer network linking virtually everyone in the world. But he bombed out with two other predictions, that high-protein food processed from petroleum would replace conventional food, and that a novel process involving genetically modified animals would change the way most manual labor would get done in 2001.
"The next step may be creatures based on the chimpanzee with heightened intelligence and improved dispositions to do the work," Clark said at the time. "The result of this will be to eliminate 99 percent of human activity."


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The framework hypothesis or literary framework view has grown in acceptance as more readers of Scripture place "science" as the authority over the interpretation of God's Word. By re-interpreting Genesis, this view encourages Christians to disregard the plainly declared timeline of creation (the majestic march of days of Genesis 1) and instead consider it as merely figurative or poetic rather than historical and accurate. Kenneth Gentry carefully defines the framework hypothesis, while tracing its historical origins and purpose. This provides a helpful introduction both for those who know the framework hypothesis as well as any hearing the term for the first time.
This important study:


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I'll sleep when I'm dead
TORONTO — Got to Baltimore's airport at 5 a.m. this morn to catch my 6 a.m. flight, which was cancelled because of a dented door on the plane. It's always something with me, huh? Caught some shuteye on the floor at the airport and eventually made it on to a flight that got me to Toronto by Noonish.
After a quick power nap at home to try and shake this nasty cold I'm fighting, I sucked it up and headed over to the ball yard. Once, just once, I would like a completely smooth day of travelling with no horror stories to pass along. But I'm here and I'm living, ready to cover the Blue Birds game against the Rangers.
Jays skip John Gibbons tinkered with the lineup today, giving Shannon Stewart the night off to rest a sore groin — apparently tweaked when he threw out Baltimore's Jay Payton at the plate in the eighth inning on Monday. If absolutely necessary, Gibbons said Stewart was available to come off the bench.
Aaron Hill was back in the lineup one day after taking a pitch off his left elbow, but Gibbons said the second baseman was fine. No X-rays were needed, but Hill exited Tuesday's blowout a little early to get some treatment. Gibbons also noted that closer B.J. Ryan, if he didn't pitch tonight, would probably need to get into tomorrow's game to get some work.
The Jays are trying to juggle the throwing schedule for Ryan until he's able to pitch on consecutive days. For now, Gibbons said he doesn't want Ryan to go without work for more than three days and the closer can do light bullpen sessions to keep fresh if he's not getting into save situations.
There's no timetable as to when Ryan will be able to pitch in back-to-back games, but GM J.P. Ricciardi said he'd like to wait until the pitcher at least moves past the one-year point from the time of his elbow surgery. That'd be May 10 — so I'd say you can expect to see Scott Downs and Jeremy Accardo getting some save opps until at least mid May.
Today's lineups:
TEXAS (5-9) at TORONTO (8-6)
at 7:07 p.m. ET at the Rogers Centre
Frank Catalanotto, LF
Michael Young, SS
Josh Hamilton, RF
Milton Bradley, DH
Hank Blalock, 3B
Jason Botts, 1B
David Murphy, CF
Gerald Laird, C
Ramon Vazquez, 2B
PITCHING: LHP Kason Gabbard
David Eckstein, SS
Aaron Hills, 2B
Alex Rios, RF
Vernon Wells, CF
Frank Thomas, DH
Rod Barajas, C
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Marco Scutaro, LF
John McDonald, 3B
PITCHING: RHP Jesse Litsch
12 Comments
Tough break with the travelling Jordan. Hopefully, from here on out, it'll be smooth sailing for you. You still manage to post line-ups and do some great work on the site, which is appreciated.
So far 5 of Toronto's 6 losses were 1-run games. I hope this doesn't continue throughout the season. Hey maybe when Rolen comes back, he will provide that extra run we need to tie or even win these games.
So far 5 out of 6 of Toronto's losses have been 1-run games. I hope that this doesn't continue throughout the season like last year. Maybe when Rolen comes back he will provide that extra run we need to tie and win these games.
Me thinks I like this Jessie Carlson.
Jesse was outstanding, even he ends up with the loss now, he's got my confidence for a while.
I like Jessie Carlson like you guys do. The guy I don't like is our dumb *** manager's handling of the bullpen that put us in a situation that we have no one else to put in. That"s the reason Jessie is in there for 3 innings.
How is that game helping your sleeping habits Jordan? Wow! What a game for Jesse Carlson. He put his heart on the mound today. What a gritty performance, striking out the side with the bases loaded. I liked that squeeze bunt idea Gibbons had with Inglett. Why did he give up on that? Of course, Inglett then hits into a DP.
Frustrating game but also fun to watch, until the end.
Yeah, gsumner, I guess if John was a mind reader in the 6th and could figure out the game wasn't half over yet, he would have let Tallet and Frasor go longer. As it is, we have Halliday tonight, and the only guys not available are Carlson and Ryan. Not bad for a stoopid ol' Texan.
Too bad he couldn't have used McGowan instead of Burnett, but Dustin only had 1 day rest.
This is a bulletin for all you Eckstein haters out there:
In his last 10 games, the wee lad is hitting .317, with 9 runs, 5 rbi, and a stolen base. The last time I checked, his fielding percentage and range factor were pretty much on a par with Jeter. He is definitely doing better at this point than Izturis, who he replaced in St. Louis. Izturis probably eats more, too.
Always nice
He is definitely doing better at this point than Izturis, who replaced him in St. Louis. Izturis probably eats more, too.
Always nice
My beef isn't with any of Eckstein's stats, it's just that he doesn't make anything look easy. Routine grounders always seem to turn into a fumble or a bounced throw that he somehow manages to recover from. As for the adage that being lucky is better than being good: luck eventually runs out. 🙂
I don't think that Halladay could be pitching at a better time than he is today. After we went 14 innings and used I think 8 pitchers, they could use the break.


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Student Microloans/
The LA Times recently ran this story on Vittana
"a nonprofit tapping the microcredit market to fund loans for low-income college students in developing nations — a need that has been largely unmet by traditional banks.
Vittana, named after a Telugu word for "seed," pools funds from Internet users all over the world and then partners with local microfinance banks in countries such as Nicaragua and Vietnam to provide loans to students when typical banks won't.
Vittana is started by 27-year-old Southern California native Kushal Chakrabarti. They are "building a world where everyone can go to college".


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Daniel in Brookline files this report from Concord, Massachusetts, opening with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Concord Hymn" (sung, according to the poem's tag line, at the completion of the battle monument, July 4, 1837). Emerson's poem was written for the dedication of the the Obelisk (partially at left), commemorating the Battle of Concord:
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard 'round the world."
Yes, that too is shut down… and, thanks to a comment left at Ed Driscoll, several of us were there [yesterday].
We didn't bring a photographer, and it was raining, but we spent over an hour there, swapping stories and greeting the occasional tourists. You'll probably get other photos from some of the other people there.
It was a special feeling, to stand on that "rude bridge," imagining the Patriots gathering to stand against British regulars. The feeling was all the stronger, knowing that our own government — we fought a war, which started right here, to establish that government! — was telling us that we couldn't visit here because it was necessary to require us to pay a Federal healthcare tax… and was trying to deprive us of our guns besides. The memory of the British tea tax, and of the British attempts to deprive the colonists of guns, has never been stronger.
FYI, I was wearing my RWVA.org shirt… it seemed appropriate!
Glenn Reynolds has posted apt comments by Duane Patterson here.


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Feel The Pyrénées
Fill your lungs with clean fresh mountain air and breathe in the fragrance of pine forest. Dive into icy lake water or ease down into a warm thermal bath. Look up to the stars, out across the valleys or down into the depths of the earth. Work up a hearty appetite or savour a chilled glass of crisp white wine. Enjoy the sound of cool jazz on a warm summer evening, the rush of white water into the valley or just enjoy the silence.


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Call 712-490-5596 for fast service
International orders welcomed and encouraged! We will always combine shipping to get you the best possible price for your order. If you would like you can message us and we will work with you to find the best options for shipping your order!
We will NOT be undersold on identical in stock items offered by others! If you find a lower price please contact us and we will match or beat the price for YOU our valued customer!
Shipping: Most orders are shipped same day if paid before 1pm, Monday thought Friday. If you need your order in a hurry contact us and we can arrange RUSH shipping for you.
Payment via paypal is quick and easy. But if you select, 'pay by credit card' you will need to contact us at the above phone number to complete transaction.
Odd Ball Parts If you are looking for a part that isn't listed on ebay please contact us as we stock many parts and just do not have time to list them ALL on ebay! We strive to list as many as possible and we are always adding more! But there is always that one part that you need and it isn't for sale on ebay. Call us and we will be glad to list it for you!
Tech support or general information? No problem! We offer FREE tech support to many customers every day and we would love a chance to help you get your engine or project completed! Call 712-490-5596 8am - 5pm central time Monday - Friday
Thanks for the business & God Bless,
Zach & Ashley
Shop Phone (712) 490-5596


text: Taking care of more than 3,600 animals is a big job and we could use your support! With your symbolic adoption of an animal from Denver Zoo, you not only get to bring home a special part of your visit but are also contributing to the world-class care that we provide to our animals every single day. Your purchase also supports our conservation efforts in locations both close to home and around the world.


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Here's some Motorcity fanart I drew when I started workin on the show in like June. The show was created by the awesome Chris Prynoski founder of Titmouse Inc. and creator of MTV Downtown. Even though the first episode is up for download on Itunes for free you should all watch it on Disney XD April 30th!!!
Also check out the Official Website!
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
2 comments:
- Dex1138 said...
What kind of work did you do for the show? I just discovered your blog recently and haven't had a chance to poke around older posts.
That's so cool! Been looking forward to watching the show after seeing it advertised on XD's Sunday morning Marvel block.
- April 17, 2012 at 2:43 PM
- Charles M. said...
Nice! Cant' wait to see it,representin' the D!
- April 18, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Extending the Data Flow with the Script Component
The Script component extends the data flow capabilities of Microsoft Integration Services packages with custom code written in Microsoft Visual Basic or Microsoft Visual C# that is compiled and executed at package run time. The Script component simplifies the development of a custom data flow source, transformation, or destination when the sources, transformations, and destinations included with Integration Services do not fully satisfy your requirements. After you configure the component with the expected inputs and outputs, it writes all the required infrastructure code for you, letting you focus exclusively on the code that is required for your custom processing.
A Script component interacts with the containing package and with the data flow through the autogenerated classes in the ComponentWrapper and BufferWrapper project items, which are instances of the ScriptComponent and the ScriptBuffer classes respectively. These classes make connections, variables, and other package items available as typed objects, and manage inputs and outputs. The Script component can also use the Visual Basic namespace and the .NET Framework class library, as well as custom assemblies, to implement custom functionality.
The Script component and the infrastructure code that it generates for you simplify significantly the process of developing a custom data flow component. However, to understand how the Script component works, you may find it useful to read the section Developing a Custom Data Flow Component to understand the steps that are involved in developing a custom data flow component.
If you are creating a source, transformation, or destination that you plan to reuse in multiple packages, you should consider developing a custom component instead of using the Script component. For more information, see Developing a Custom Data Flow Component.
In This Section
The following topics provide more information about the Script component.
Configuring the Script Component in the Script Component Editor
Properties that you configure in the Script Transformation Editor affect the capabilities and the performance of Script component code.
Coding and Debugging the Script Component
You use the Microsoft Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) development environment to develop the scripts contained in the Script component.
Understanding the Script Component Object Model
A new Script component project contains three project items with several classes and autogenerated properties and methods.
Using Variables in the Script Component
The ComponentWrapper project item contains strongly-typed accessor properties for package variables.
Connecting to Data Sources in the Script Component
The ComponentWrapper project item also contains strongly-typed accessor properties for connections defined in the package.
Raising Events in the Script Component
You can raise events to provide notification of problems and errors.
Logging in the Script Component
You can log information to log providers enabled on the package.
Developing Specific Types of Script Components
These simple examples explain and demonstrate how to use the Script component to develop data flow sources, transformations, and destinations.
Additional Script Component Examples
These simple examples explain and demonstrate a few possible uses for the Script component.
See Also
Script Component
Comparing the Script Task and the Script Component


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Bangkok, April 25, 2013--Thailand's Ministry of Culture has banned the locally produced documentary Fah Tam Pan Din Soon (Boundary) on grounds that it could "mislead and disrupt public order," according to news reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the censorship order and calls on ministry officials to reverse the arbitrary decision.
News accounts reported that a five-member panel attached to the Ministry of Culture claimed that director Nontawat Numbchapol's film, which has yet to be publicly screened in Thailand, contains inaccurate information about political events, including a lethal military crackdown on anti-government street protestors in 2010 and armed clashes between Thai and Cambodian forces in contested border areas in 2011.
Films in Thailand must be approved by the Ministry of Culture's censorship panel before they are allowed to be screened in public theaters. It was not immediately clear if Nontawat plans also to distribute the film by DVD or over the Internet.
The 96-minute documentary film, which was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in February, focuses first on a Thai soldier who returns to his home province after participating in a lethal crackdown on street protesters in Bangkok in 2010, according to news reports. The film then shifts to recent armed confrontations between Thai and Cambodian troops over contested territory surrounding an ancient Buddhist temple.
The film also includes a long monologue with a Cambodian soldier who speaks critically about Thailand's position in the two countries' ongoing territorial dispute, according to the reports.
Censors ruled that the film's title, which includes the Thai word for "sky," could be construed as being critical of the monarchy, which is a criminal offense under the country's strict lese majeste laws. Nontawat has denied that the film's title refers to the monarchy, claiming instead that it hints at an old Thai love song about the need for coexistence between people with different views, according to local reports.
According to news reports, the ban was based on various elements in the film that censors considered "inaccurate" or "groundless." Among the points raised by censors was a film caption that indicated that "nearly 100" people were killed in the 2010 crackdown. The official death toll for the suppression is 89, according to local news reports.
These issues are highly sensitive to the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which is trying to maintain stability after years of debilitating conflict between groups opposed to and supportive of self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The Red Shirt protesters portrayed in the film are aligned with Thaksin and helped push a previous anti-Thaksin government from power.
The censorship order comes against the backdrop of hearings on the Thai-Cambodian territorial dispute now underway at the International Court of Justice at the Hague. Conservative protest groups in Thailand have accused successive governments of selling out sovereign territory in exchange for commercial concessions with Cambodia.
The ban also comes amid a severe crackdown on material posted to the Internet that is deemed by authorities to be critical of Thailand's royal family.
"Thailand's extensive censorship of anti-royal topics is now worryingly being extended into mainstream political subject matters," said Shawn Crispin, CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative. "The ban on Nontawat Numbchapol's politically oriented film will discourage other documentary filmmakers in Thailand from touching on topics perceived as sensitive by the authorities."
In April 2012, the Ministry of Culture banned the locally produced film Shakespeare Must Die on the grounds that its political content could cause "divisiveness" in Thai society. Censors said the film's subject matter, which included references to recent Red Shirt street protests and indirect references to the monarchy, was at odds with the government's national reconciliation initiatives, the director, Ing K, told the local press. The banned film was partially funded by the ministry's own film promotion campaign, known as the "Creative Thailand Project."
- For more data and analysis on Thailand, visit CPJ's Thailand page here.


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The Abilene Police Department has teamed up with LexisNexis to provide easy-to-read crime maps and analysis. LexisNexis Community Crime Map displays crime data to the public using Google Maps' well-known, intuitive mapping interface. Crime type, street level address, address name, date and time for crimes are displayed for the public.
PO Box 174
4565 South First Street
Abilene, Texas 79604-0174
Emergency: 911
Non-emergency: (325) 673-8331
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
The Abilene Police Department is a full service municipal police agency serving the City of Abilene, Taylor County, Texas. With an authorized strength of 216 sworn officers and 60 civilian positions, the Department serves a population of 120,958 people and covers an area of 111 square miles.
Our goal is to serve those we protect. We believe in working with the people we serve to build a community of the highest quality for present and future generations. We invite you to see our department through the information you will find on this website.
Abilene is our home, and we are thankful for the opportunity to serve and protect this community.
Stan Standridge
Chief of Police


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mko81 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 16 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
Contest is Closed - waiting for the final changes made by "redzart" - then he will be announced as the winner! Thank you all for your participation!
F8tball --- http://www.F8tball.com
Feel free to create a tagline that would go well with your logo ($25 Prize if we choose yours)
Desired Color Scheme:
Striking colors
Desired Style:
Web 2.0, please also keep in mind that the logo should also be easily integrated into a banners, Flash Advertisement, T-Shirt design, etc.
Accepted File Formats:
psd, gif, jpg, ai, eps
The name of the football(soccer) website is F8tball and the web address will be http://www.F8tball.com. The aim of this contest is to create a trend setting, abstract, and especially action-loaded Logo. Since F8tball intends to be a trend setting website it is very important to us to have an "above and beyond" iconic logo, which will be be very eye catching as well as unforgettable due to its colors, boldness, look and feel.
F8tball (Football) - where the "8" is supposed to resemble the "oo".
One possibility of making use of the "8" would be to make it look like one sees the back of a player's jersey and then incorporate the remainder of the name (F*tball) into that logo.
Please feel free to ask us any questions, in order for us to possibly save you some time during the design process.
All rights to winning logo and tagline will be owned by F8tball.com - feedback to logos will be provided at our earliest convenience.
Good Luck!!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Logon Café just keeps getting better with age
Ed Grissom is one of the biggest draws for folks returning to the comfortable surroundings of the Logon Café at 3805 Calder in Beaumont. He and his staff know how to treat their customers, and to put icing on the cake, they have a ball doing it. Grissom is a music buff and can tell you at least two stories behind every musical instrument decorating the walls of this charming, family-friendly café.
Working for Jefferson County for some 17 years, he decided back in 1997 he wanted to do something else. "I asked myself the serious question," said Grissom, "of what I wanted to do with my life. I had been a night student for some 20 years and knew that I wanted a place to hang out with my friends, some good food to eat, a place to study, some cold beer, and a bit of modern technology." He added that the thought hit him like a brick, "Why can't that all be under one roof — all together, and so the Logon was born."
The good food we sampled was tasty, served promptly, and very price considerate in today's economy. The club sandwich was perhaps the very best I have ever tasted anywhere, and the turkey melt … well, not a scrap was left when the meal had been eaten. Servings were generous in size and above par in flavor, and we found the costs to be impressive. A wide list of appetizers entices the nibblers, and soups, salads, and chili tempt the shoppers, while the hearty sandwiches please everyone in the family. Burgers, hot dogs, snacks, and beer and wine to fit every fancy are available. One of the more popular menu items are the wraps coming in spinach, portobello, turkey, bacon and cheddar, southwest, chicken Caesar, Italian, roast beef, ham, bacon and Swiss, chili cheese and even Texas barbecue can make choosing a technically challenging mission.
"In bar years, the Logon is about 100 years old," quipped the personable owner. "We want this pub atmosphere to be a nice place where all ages can come and enjoy themselves. The live music is a big draw, plus we were one of the first places in Beaumont to offer customers the use of free Internet and now WiFi.
We've had about 680 open mic nights, and I enjoy giving folks a place to hone their talents, and we're pleased to have all genres of music and some poetry readings on our Wednesday evening programs." Grissom said as long as they keep it clean, they are welcome.
Logon also offers catering, a place for various types of parties and gatherings, and a well advanced computer store in the front of the building. Employees Megan Price and Caleb Peters both responded with the same sentence when asked what they liked best about their jobs. "Oh, it is definitely the people who come in here," said Price. "We have our regulars and then new ones, too, every night." Peters said the customers soon become friends and even more like family in some cases. "It's a great place to be," said the personable young man who served our party.
And we soon came to agree with him. Whether on assignment or not, we'll be back to try some of those other delicious looking items on that menu and to talk with Grissom and his staff. It was like a visit to an old friend's home, but one that served up a good combination of food and music.
Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at brendacannonhenley [at] yahoo [dot] com.


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New Jersey Governor's Office
N.J. Gov. Chris Christie with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in November 2011. Despite Guadagno's involvement in a criminal investigation of pension abuse, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor.
By Mark Lagerkvist
New Jersey Watchdog
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — a rising star in the national Republican Party — called an overhaul of the state pension system his "biggest governmental victory." He now faces embarrassment from flaws his reforms failed to fix.
The sweeping new laws increase contributions from public workers, decrease benefits and halt cost-of-living hikes. According to Christie, the changes should save the state $120 billion over the next 30 years.
But his reform did little to stop the age-old New Jersey practice of double-dipping, in which employees "retire," start collecting a pension, and then are rehired, often the next day. Christie's own deputy chief of staff collects $219,000 a year from the state — a $130,000 salary as a top aide to the governor plus $89,000 in state pension.
Worse for Christie, a criminal investigation is under way involving his running mate, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
As a county sheriff in 2008, Guadagno made false statements to enable her chief officer to pocket nearly $85,000 a year in retirement pay while drawing an $87,500 annual salary. The double-dipping scheme first was reported by New Jersey Watchdog in 2010.
The state's investigation is assigned to the Attorney's General's Division of Criminal Justice, a unit where Guadagno once served as deputy director. Despite the apparent conflict, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor.
A spokesman for Christie and Guadagno declined to comment. The Attorney General's Office did not respond to questions.
Pension abuses are so rampant in New Jersey that even the agency investigating Guadagno has its own controversy.
Twenty-three supervisors and investigators for the Attorney General's Office and DCJ are using legal loopholes to draw salaries and pension pay, New Jersey Watchdog found. On average, each pockets $164,000 a year — $96,000 in salary and $68,000 in pension.
Most "retired" for just one night. Those officers left their positions with the Attorney General's Office only to return to the same employer the next morning with new job titles — and two paychecks instead of one.
In a continuing series of investigative reports, New Jersey Watchdog exposed similar double-dipping practices involving 125 officers employed by prosecutors, 18 officials from a state Homeland Security Unit and 44 county sheriffs and undersheriffs — in addition to the Guadagno story.
Democratic State Sen. Fred Madden is a "triple-dipper" who collects more than $241,000 a year from public coffers — $49,000 as a legislator, $106,983 as a police academy dean and an $85,272 pension as a State Police retiree.
"I don't have a problem with it at all," said Madden.
The Guadagno controversy
While Madden and others profit from loopholes in pension rules, the circumstances surrounding Christie's second-in-command raise questions of fraud and deception.
Guadagno was elected sheriff of Monmouth County in 2007. She previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney and as an assistant New Jersey attorney general. From 1998 to 2001, Guadagno served as deputy director of the DCJ — the unit now assigned to investigate the case in which she's a major figure.
In 2008, Guadagno hired Michael Donovan Jr., a retired investigator for the county prosecutor, as the sheriff's "chief of law enforcement division." She announced the appointment in a memo to her staff.
Monmouth County Sheriff's Office
The focus of a criminal investigation of pension abuse, Chief Michael Donovan takes an oath of office in the Monmouth County, N.J., Sheriff's Office on Sept. 22, 2008. Donovan's job title was fudged to allow him to collect his pension and his pay at the same time. The swearing in was witnessed by his mother, Emily, and then-Sheriff Kim Guadagno, now the state's lieutenant governor. Donovan was sworn in by Judge Lawrence M. Lawson.
But there was a problem. As a sheriff's chief officer — a position covered by the pension system — Donovan would be required to stop receiving pension checks and resume contributions to the state retirement fund.
Guadagno fudged the job title, so Donovan could double-dip. In county payroll records, the oath of office and a news release, Donovan was called the sheriff's "chief warrant officer" — a low-ranking position exempt from the pension system.
A chief warrant officer oversees the service of warrants and other legal documents. In contrast, the sheriff's official website identified Donovan as "sheriff's officer chief," supervising 115 subordinate officers and 30 civilian employees.
On Guadagno's organizational chart, Donovan was listed as chief of law enforcement — and the position of chief warrant officer was conspicuously absent.
The ruse allowed Donovan to collect an $87,500 salary from Monmouth County in addition to an $85,000 pension as a retired county employee.
A Conflicted Investigation
When Guadagno was elected as Christie's running mate in the 2009 election, she resigned as sheriff.
In 2010, state Treasury pension officials began to ask Monmouth County about retiree Donovan's employment. "I would respectfully request that former Sheriff Guadagno be contacted..." replied her successor, Shaun Golden, in a letter forwarded to the Treasury.
The Treasury denied the existence of any correspondence or email contact with Guadagno or Christie regarding Donovan. Officials also rejected requests for records of the Treasury's inquiry.
In response, New Jersey Watchdog filed a formal complaint with the state Government Records Council, a body consisting of gubernatorial appointees and cabinet officials. One year later, the council has yet to render an advisory opinion.
Meanwhile, the state Police and Firemen's Retirement System's Board of Trustees took action of its own.
"It's a double-whammy," said PFRS chairman John Sierchio. "If you're going to retire under one job title and come back under another title, we have a problem with that. The chief of sheriff is a covered title under the pension system — and they should be contributing instead of drawing out."
The PFRS board voted in May 2011 to call for a criminal investigation of Donovan and parallel instances involving John Dough, of Essex County, and Harold Gibson, of Union County. The case was referred to DCJ.
However, the investigation is riddled with a maze of potential conflicts of interest:
- DCJ is probing allegations involving its own former deputy director, Guadagno.
- Nearly two dozen DCJ investigators and supervisors are "double-dippers" who collect state paychecks and pensions.
- Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa, a Christie appointee, is ultimately in charge of the probe of fellow cabinet member Guadagno. Chiesa is also former chief counsel to Christie.
- Despite evidence of possible wrongdoing by his lieutenant governor, Christie has not appointed a special prosecutor or authorized an independent investigation.
One year later, the PFRS board remains in the dark. "I keep asking, but we haven't been told anything," said Sierchio.
New Jersey Governor's Office
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno of New Jersey. When she was a county sheriff, her office fudged a job description and organizational charts to allow an aide to double-dip on his pension. Guadagno has declined to comment.
Sean Conner, a spokesman for Christie and Guadagno, refused to listen to questions about Guadagno's role or the need for a special prosecutor.
"Let me stop you right there," Conner told New Jersey Watchdog. "If it was referred to DCJ, you need to call DCJ."
The Attorney General's Office did not respond to questions about the investigation.
Back in Monmouth County, Donovan has another new job title — but he's still a double-dipper. In February 2011, Golden named him undersheriff in charge of law enforcement — a strikingly similar position, but one apparently exempt in the labyrinth of pension rules. Donovan currently gets an $86,000 annual pension on top of his $92,000 salary.
While sheriff's chief, Donovan pocketed $227,000 in retirement checks. Since he did not re-enroll in the pension system, he avoided $18,000 in contributions to the retirement fund. If state authorities ultimately determine Donovan violated pension rules, he could be forced to repay $245,000.
Reform...except for double-dipping
Pension fraud and widespread abuse are nothing new in New Jersey.
The federal Securities and Exchange Commission accused New Jersey of pension fraud in 2010. It was the first time the SEC had taken action against a state government over public pension funds.
According to the SEC, New Jersey misled its bond investors from 2001 to 2007 by failing to disclose it had not met its obligation to fund public workers' pension funds. The lawsuit was settled with a cease-and-desist order, which the state accepted without admitting or denying the charges. The alleged fraud occurred on the watch of four previous governors.
Christie vowed to overhaul the pension system. With the state facing a $45 billion pension shortfall when he took office, the new governor spearheaded legislation that he signed into law last year.
"We are putting the people first and daring to touch the third rail of politics to bring reform to unsustainable system," stated Christie in a news release. "We are once again showing the people of New Jersey that our state is leading the way on the biggest challenges before us and remains unafraid to do what is hard, but necessary."
But the reforms did little to halt widespread double-dipping by numerous public employees, including Christie's deputy chief of staff.
Louis Goetting gets $219,000 a year from the state — $130,000 in salary as a top aide to the governor plus $89,000 in state pension payments from an early retirement deal. Christie hired Goetting in 2010 as a budget guru to help trim the cost of government.
In addition, Goetting (pronounced "getting") received two golden parachutes from public coffers before joining Christie — severance packages of $190,000 from Brookdale Community College in 2009 and $180,000 from University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in 2002.
New Jersey Governor's Office
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has touted his pension reforms, which have done little to halt the practice of double-dipping by public employees, including his deputy chief of staff.
The bottom line: Goetting has gotten more than $1.1 million in pension and severance pay — and he still draws a six-figure salary from the state.
In answer to questions about Goetting's double-dips, the governor's press office has reiterated a statement Christie issued last year: "There is no one in my administration, myself included, who understands about the operation of this government better than Lou Goetting does. And so the people of New Jersey have gotten an incredible bargain."
Pension reforms will not be complete without an investigative staff to monitor potential abuses, according to PFRS chairman Sierchio. He noted there are 275,000 retirees — but no investigators assigned to review complaints.
"We don't have anybody watching the store," said Sierchio. "We've got an $80 billion pension system, and nobody to investigate anything. Once you get your pension, you never have to look over your shoulder."
New Jersey Watchdog is a news website devoted to public service journalism. Read more about veteran investigative reporter Mark Lagerkvist.


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I'm sorta surprised at how slow the Sergeant sold by the way... I can't speak for everyone of course but my area I've seen him rather frequently, and given he's an SA E2 Clone in a color that wasn't terribly common... I figured he'd have sold well. Great figure to have a lot of too since Sergeants of course would, theoretically, be common sights.
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(This article was first published on Recology, and kindly contributed to R-bloggers)
This blog has lasted a whole year already. Thanks for reading and commenting.
There are a couple of announcements:
- Less blogging: I hope to put in many more years blogging here, but in full disclosure I am blogging for Journal of Ecology now, so I am going to be (and already have been) blogging less here.
- More blogging: If anyone wants to write guest posts at Recology on the topics of using R for ecology and evolution, or open science, please contact me.
- Different blogging: I was going to roll out the new dynamic views for this blog, but Google doesn't allow javascript, which is how I include code using GitHub gists. Oh well…
Anywho, here is the breakdown of visits to this blog, visualized using #ggplot2, of course. There were a total of about 23,000 pageviews in the first year of this blog.
Here is the pie chart code I used:
Visits to top ten posts:
Visits by by pages:
Visits by top referring sites:
Visits by country:
Visits by browsers:
Visits by operating system:
To leave a comment for the author, please follow the link and comment on their blog: Recology.
R-bloggers.com offers daily e-mail updates about R news and tutorials on topics such as: Data science, Big Data, R jobs, visualization (ggplot2, Boxplots, maps, animation), programming (RStudio, Sweave, LaTeX, SQL, Eclipse, git, hadoop, Web Scraping) statistics (regression, PCA, time series, trading) and more...