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Popular opinion has it that the current Manchester United side is one of the worst that Sir Alex Ferguson has assembled in the Premier League era; it's a criticism repeated often throughout the season. Think back to the late goals conceded against Fulham and Everton early in the season, or the draw at home to West Bromwich Albion, or the much publicised inability – until recently at least – of United to win away from home. Each perceived failure has bolstered the belief that United's current position owes more to poor quality competitors, than the Reds' high quality performances. This team, it is said, is not a 'great' United side.
But is it that simple?
On 29 November 2010, Barcelona delivered one of the great performances in the modern era against their biggest rivals – Real Madrid. In a match containing 11 world champions, the last two winners of the Ballon d'Or, and the last two managers to lift the Champions League, it was Barcelona who delivered a scintillating performance of skill, imagination, and five unanswered goals. It was genuinely imperious from a side that has won every major trophy entered in the last two years. Moreover, Barcelona is in a fourth consecutive Champions League semi-final and is on course for a third consecutive La Liga title.
Barcelona is the benchmark – not only the success that the club has achieved under Pep Guardiola, but the manner in which it has been achieved – by playing some of the consistently best attacking football seen in the last twenty years. Barça has an incredible 84 points from 31 league games this season, scoring 85 goals and conceding just 16. True greatness.
Ferguson's latest incarnation, as Didier Deschamps recently pointed out, may lack the 'stardust' of previous United sides, and it also lacks the fantasy of a side containing Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Andreas Iniesta and David Villa. But can greatness be defined in other ways?
Certainly, a cursory look at the statistics makes for some interesting reading. United has scored 70 goals in 32 league games this season. The United side containing Cristiano Ronaldo scored 80 in 38 games in 2007/08; the treble winning side of 1998/99 also managed 80 goals. In statistical terms at least, United's current attack is comparable to those famous teams.
United's home record in the league this season reads 15 wins from 16 games, with 42 goals scored and just nine conceded. And while much has been made of United's away form, only Arsenal has picked up more points on the road this season. In the Champions League, United has conceded just three goals in 10 games, and none in five away games. The side also remains unbeaten. In fact, United has only been beaten on four occasions this season in all competitions.
Of course, many of the performances this season, particularly away from home have been average at best. Think back to the games at Sunderland, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and worst of all, Liverpool. It is, of course, possible to recall equally dire performances from United every season. It is also true that on many occasions United has dug deep to secure draws or victories when it seemed unlikely – wins at West Brom, Blackpool and West Ham United spring to mind.
True, when compared to the artistry of Barcelona, the current United side looks humble but perhaps its qualities can be defined in other ways. There is something heroic about the way United has seemingly defied the odds this season. The late winner with ten men at home to Bolton Wanderers, or equally later victory secured against Wolves, the stunning goal to win the Manchester derby, and the victory at home to Chelsea on Tuesday.
On Tuesday Chelsea started well, and like many teams this season, made United look uncomfortable. However, United not only scored first but having conceded an away goal Park Ji-Sung scored within a minute to seal the victory. A perfect microcosm of United's season.
And all this has been achieved despite a plethora of injuries, poor performances and off-the-field problems. Rio Ferdinand has been dogged by injuries, meaning he has only started 21 games in all competitions this season. Antonio Valencia has missed much of the season after a sickening ankle injury. And at various times United has managed without a dozen players, and recently only had four fit defenders to choose from against West Ham.
While some have excelled, others have suffered poor seasons, including Darren Fletcher, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and, until recently at least, Rooney. And with Rooney's contract saga, bans for Ferguson and the former Evertonian, it has been a turbulent season off-the-pitch. The drama serves only to prove United's character.
Herein lies the point about greatness – it comes in different forms. While there is greatness in defeating Real Madrid 5-0 in one of the most complete team performances in a living memory, there is also greatness in a team whose sum is more than its parts. There is greatness in Messi, Xavi and Iniesta but also in those less valued; Antonio Valencia, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani, whose collective effort has elevated United's performances. There is also greatness in longevity: Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Edwin van der Sar, who defy age each week.
But most of all, there is greatness in the manager. Ferguson has worked with better individuals but has moulded a unit as strong as any he previously created and a tactical system that highlights the team's strengths and manages to overcome its weaknesses.
Of course, United hasn't won a trophy yet and if the team ends the season without silverware nine months of endeavour will have been for nothing. But it is also true that this team stands on the verge of something we can truly call great. While it would be a different kind of great to Barcelona, it would be equally special.


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The Return of the King
1955 novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. It contains Book V: The War of the Ring and Book VI: The End of the Third Age.
For quotations from the movie adaptation see: The Lord of the Rings movies page.
Book V edit
Minas Tirith edit
- Tall ships and tall kings, three times three. What brought they out of the foundered land over the flowing sea? Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree.
- Here do I swear fealty and service to Gondor, and to the Lord and Steward of the realm, to speak and to be silent, to do and to let be, to come and to go, in need or plenty, in peace or war, in living or dying, from this hour henceforth, until my lord release me, or death take me, or the world end.
- I will not forget it, nor fail to reward that which is given: fealty with love, valour with honour, oath-breaking with vengeance.
- The rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?
- Generous deed should not be checked by cold counsel.
The Passing of the Grey Company edit
- 'The hasty stroke goes oft astray.'
- Aragorn
- 'What do you fear, lady?' he [Aragorn] asked.
'A cage,' she [Eowyn] said. 'To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.'
The Muster of Rohan edit
- 'Merry looked out in wonder upon this strange country, of which he had heard many tales upon their long road. It was a skyless world, in which his eye, through dim gulfs of shadowy air, saw only ever-mounting slopes, great walls of stone behind great walls, and frowning precipices wreathed with mist. He sat for a moment half dreaming, listening to the noise of water, the whisper of dark trees, the crack of stone, and the vast waiting silence that brooded behind all sound. He loved mountains, or he had loved the thought of them marching on the edge of stories brought from far away; but now he was borne down by the insupportable weight of Middle-earth. He longed to shut out the immensity in a quiet room by a fire.'
- Where will wants not, a way opens.
- Dernhelm (Eowyn)
The Siege of Gondor edit
- You deceive yourself. He would have stretched out his hand to this thing, and taking it he would have fallen. He would have kept it for his own, and when he returned you would not have known your son.
- 'You think, as is your wont, my lord, of Gondor only,' said Gandalf. 'Yet there are other men and other lives, and time still to be. And for me, I pity even his slaves.'
- Let us remember that a traitor may betray himself and do good that he does not intend. It can be so, sometimes.
- In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínen.
"You cannot enter here," said Gandalf, and the huge shadow halted. "Go back to the abyss prepared for you! Go back! Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your Master. Go!"
The Black Rider flung back his hood, and behold! he had a kingly crown; and yet upon no head visible was it set. The red fires shone between it and the mantled shoulders vast and dark. From a mouth unseen there came a deadly laughter.
"Old fool!" he said. "Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!" And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the city, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of war nor of wizardry, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last."
The Ride of the Rohirrim edit
- 'Forth now, and fear no darkness!'
- Théoden
- Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields edit
- 'Begone foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!'
A cold voice answered: 'Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shriveled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.'
A sword rang as it was drawn. 'Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.'
'Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!'
Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. 'But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him.'
- Great heart will not be denied.
- Over the field rang his clear voice calling: 'Death! Ride, ride to ruin and the world's ending!'
- Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising,
He rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
Over death, over dread, over doom lifted
Out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.
- "My body is broken. I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed."
The Pyre of Denethor edit
- Soon all shall be burned. The West has failed. It shall all go up in a great fire, and all shall be ended. Ash! Ash and smoke blown away on the wind!
- Denethor
- 'Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death,' answered Gandalf. 'And only the heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death.'
- Then suddenly Denethor laughed. He stood up tall and proud again, and stepping swiftly back to the table he lifted from it the pillow on which his head had lain. Then coming to the doorway he drew aside the covering, and lo! he had between his hands a palantír. And as he held it up, it seemed to those that looked on that the globe began to glow with an inner flame, so that the lean face of the Lord was lit as with a red fire, and it seemed cut out of hard stone, sharp with black shadows, noble, proud, and terrible. His eyes glittered.
'Pride and despair!' he cried. 'Didst thou think that the eyes of the White Tower were blind? Nay, I have seen more than thou knowest, Grey Fool. For thy hope is but ignorance. Go then and labour in healing! Go forth and fight! Vanity. For a little space you may triumph on the field, for a day. But against the Power that now arises there is no victory. To this City only the first finger of its hand has yet been stretched. All the East is moving. And even now the wind of thy hope cheats thee and wafts up Anduin a fleet with black sails. The West has failed. It is time for all to depart who would not be slaves.'
- To me it would not seem that a Steward who faithfully surrenders his charge is diminished in love or in honour.
- Gandalf
- 'So passes Denethor, son of Ecthelion,' said Gandalf. 'And so pass also the days of Gondor... for good or evil they are ended.'
The Houses of Healing edit
- Few other griefs amid the ill chances of this world have more bitterness and shame for a man's heart than to behold the love of a lady so fair and brave that cannot be returned.
- It is the way of my people to use light words at such times and say less than they mean. We fear to say too much. It robs us of the right words when a jest is out of place.
- It is best to love first what you are fitted to love, I suppose: you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and not a gaffer could tend his garden in what he calls peace but for them, whether he knows about them or not.
- The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so the rightful king shall be known.
The Last Debate edit
- You have only a choice of evils; and prudence would counsel you to strengthen such strong places as you have, and there await the onset.
- It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.
- But men are better than gates, and no gate will endure against our Enemy if men desert it.
- If this be jest, then it is too bitter for laughter. Nay, it is the last move in a great jeopardy, and for one side or the other it will bring the end of the game.
The Black Gate Opens edit
- 'Let the Lord of the Black Land come forth! Justice shall be done upon him. For wrongfully he has made war upon Gondor and wrested its lands. Therefore the King of Gondor demands that he should atone for his evils, and depart then for ever. Come forth!'
- There rode a tall and evil shape, mounted upon a black horse, if horse it was; for it was huge and hideous, and its face was a frightful mask, more like a skull than a living head, and in the sockets of its eyes and in its nostrils there burned a flame. The rider was robed all in black, and black was his lofty helm; yet this was no Ringwraith but a living man. The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dûr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotten it, and he said: 'I am the Mouth of Sauron.'
- 'I have tokens that I was bidden to show to thee – to thee in especial, if thou shouldst dare to come.'
- The Mouth of Sauron
- 'He was dear to you, I see. Or else his errand was one that you did not wish to fail? It has. And now he shall endure the slow torment of years, as long and slow as our arts in the Great Tower can contrive, and never be released, unless maybe when he is changed and broken, so that he may come to you, and you shall see what you have done.'
- The Mouth of Sauron
- 'The Eagles are coming! The Eagles are coming!'
Book VI edit
The Tower of Cirith Ungol edit
- Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.
In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.
- In western lands beneath the Sun
the flowers may rise in Spring,
the trees may bud, the waters run,
the merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night
and swaying beeches bear
the Elven-stars as jewels white
amid their branching hair.
Though here at journey's end I lie
in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
and Stars for ever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
nor bid the Stars farewell.
- 'Frodo! Mr. Frodo, my dear!' cried Sam, tears almost blinding him. 'It's Sam, I've come!' He half lifted his master and hugged him to his breast. Frodo opened his eyes.
'Am I still dreaming?' he muttered. 'But the other dreams were horrible.'
'You're not dreaming at all, Master,' said Sam. 'It's real. It's me. I've come.'
'I can hardly believe it,' said Frodo...and he lay back in Sam's gentle arms, closing his eyes, like a child at rest when night-fears are driven away by some loved voice or hand.
- 'They've taken everything, Sam,' said Frodo. 'Everything I had. Do you understand? Everything!...The quest has failed Sam. Even if we get out of here, we can't escape. Only Elves can escape. Away, away out of Middle-earth, far away over the Sea. If even that is wide enough to keep the Shadow out.'
'No, not everything, Mr. Frodo. And it hasn't failed, not yet. I took it, Mr. Frodo, begging your pardon. And I've kept it safe. It's round my neck now, and a terrible burden it is, too.'...
'You've got it?' gasped Frodo. 'You've got it here? Sam, you're a marvel!' Then quickly and strangely his tone changed. 'Give it to me!' he cried, standing up, holding out a trembling hand. 'Give it me at once! You can't have it!'
'All right, Mr. Frodo,' said Sam, rather startled. 'Here it is!' Slowly he drew the Ring out and passed the chain over his head. 'But...you'll find the Ring very dangerous now, and very hard to bear. If it's too hard a job, I could share it with you, maybe?'
'No, no!' cried Frodo, snatching the Ring and chain from Sam's hands. 'No you won't, you thief!'...
'O Sam!' cried Frodo. 'What have I said? What have I done? Forgive me! After all you have done. It is the horrible power of the Ring. I wish it had never, never, been found. But don't mind me, Sam. I must carry the burden to the end. It can't be altered. You can't come between me and this doom.'
The Land of Shadow edit
- There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.
- Where there's a whip there's a will, my slugs.
Mount Doom edit
- 'Come, Mr. Frodo!' he cried. 'I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you and it as well. So up you get! Come on, Mr. Frodo dear! Sam will give you a ride. Just tell him where to go, and he'll go.'
- So foot by foot, like small grey insects, they crept up the slope.
- 'Wicked masster!' it hissed. 'Wicked masster cheats us; cheats Sméagol, gollum. He musstn't go that way. He musstn't hurt Preciouss. Give it to Sméagol, yess, give it to us! Give it to uss!'
- 'Begone, and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom.'
- Frodo to Gollum
- 'Look out!' cried Sam. 'He'll spring!' He stepped forward, brandishing his sword. 'Quick, Master!' he gasped. 'Go on! Go on! No time to lose. I'll deal with him. Go on!'...
'Now!' said Sam. 'At last I can deal with you!'...
'Don't kill us,' he wept. 'Don't hurt us with nassty cruel steel! Let us live, yes, live just a little longer. Lost, lost! We're lost. And when Precious goes we'll die, yes, die into the dust.' He clawed up the ashes of the path with his long fleshless fingers. 'Dusst!' he hissed.
Sam's hand wavered...he could not strike this thing lying in the dust, forlorn, ruinous, utterly wretched. He himself, though only for a little while, had borne the Ring, and now dimly he guessed the agony of Gollum's shrivelled mind and body, enslaved to that Ring, unable to find peace or relief ever in life again...
'Oh, curse you, you stinking thing!' he said. 'Go away! Be off! I don't trust you, not as far as I could kick you; but be off. Or I shall hurt you, yes, with nasty cruel steel.'
- 'I have come,' he said. 'But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!' And suddenly, as he set it on his finger, he vanished from Sam's sight.
- And far away, as Frodo put on the Ring and claimed it for his own, even in Sammath Naur the very heart of his realm, the Power in Barad-dûr was shaken, and the Tower trembled from its foundations to its proud and bitter crown. The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of him, and his Eye piercing all shadows looked across the plain to the door that he had made; and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.
- 'Precious, precious, precious!' Gollum cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail Precious, and he was gone.
- 'But do you remember Gandalf's words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.'
- Frodo
The Field of Cormallen edit
- 'The realm of Sauron is ended!' said Gandalf. 'The Ring-bearer has fulfilled his Quest.'
The Steward and the King edit
- The world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.
- Many folk like to know beforehand what is to be set on the table; but those who have laboured to prepare the feast like to keep their secret; for wonder makes the words of praise louder.
- This is your realm, and the heart of the greater realm that shall be. The Third Age of the world is ended, and the new age is begun; and it is your task to order its beginning and to preserve what may be preserved. For though much has been saved, much must now pass away.
- Who shall say how it comes here in the appointed hour? But this is an ancient hallow, and ere the kings failed or the Tree withered in the court, a fruit must have been set here. For it is said that, though the fruit of the Tree comes seldom to ripeness, yet the life within may then lie sleeping through many long years, and none can foretell the time in which it will awake.
- Gandalf on the new found seedling of a new White Tree of Gondor.
Many Partings edit
- I am the daughter of Elrond. I shall not go with him now when he departs to the Havens; for mine is the choice of Lúthien, and as she so have I chosen, both the sweet and the bitter.
- You have chosen the Evening, but my love is given to the Morning. And my heart forebodes that soon it will pass away for ever.
- Gimli to Éomer, on Arwen and Galadriel
- Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
over death, over dread, over doom lifted
out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.
- [Treebeard said:] "It is sad that we should meet only thus at the ending. For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air. I do not think we shall meet again." And Celeborn said: "I do not know, Eldest." But Galadriel said: "Not in Middle-earth, nor until the lands that lie under the wave are lifted up again. Then in the willow-meads of Tasarinan we may meet in the Spring. Farewell!"
- Conversation of Treebeard, Galadriel and Celeborn; in the movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, the part of this in bold was spoken by Galadriel in the introductory words to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Homeward Bound edit
- There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?
- 'I am with you at present,' said Gandalf, 'but soon I shall not be. I am not coming to the Shire. You must settle its affairs yourselves; that is what you have been trained for. Do you not yet understand? My time is over: it is no longer my task to set things to rights, nor to help folk to do so. And as for you, my dear friends, you will need no help. You are grown up now. Grown indeed very high; among the great you are, and I have no longer any fear at all for any of you.'
The Scouring of the Shire edit
- 'If I hear not allowed much oftener,' said Sam, 'I'm going to get angry.'
- If we all got angry together something might be done.
- You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo.
- 'I have already done much that you will find it hard to mend or undo in your lives. And it will be pleasant to think of that and set it against my injuries.'
'Well, if that is what you find pleasure in,' said Frodo, 'I pity you.'
- Do not believe him! He has lost all power, save his voice that can still daunt you and deceive you, if you let it. But I will not have him slain. It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing.
- You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely foretell.
The Grey Havens edit
- Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate
And though I oft have passed them by
The day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon and East of the Sun.
- I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. But you are my heir: all that I had and might have had I leave to you.
- You will be the Mayor, of course, as long as you want to be, and the most famous gardener in history; and you will read things out of the Red Book, and keep alive the memory of the age that is gone. so that people will remember the Great Danger and so love their beloved land all the more.
- 'Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.'
- And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise.
- But Sam turned to Bywater, and so came back up the Hill, as day was ending once more. And he went on, and there was yellow light, and fire within; and the evening meal was ready, and he was expected. And Rose drew him in, and set him in his chair, and put little Elanor upon his lap.
He drew a deep breath. "Well, I'm back," he said.

subset: commoncrawl


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As we mark Voltaire's 323rd birthday – though the date of 20 February is problematic, – what significance does the great Enlightenment writer have for us now? If I had to be very very short, I'd say that Voltaire lives on as a master of the one-liner. He presents us with a paradox. Voltaire wrote a huge amount – the definitive edition of his Complete works being produced by the Voltaire Foundation in Oxford will soon be finished, in around 200 volumes. And yet he is really famous for his short sentences. He likes being brief, though as a critic once remarked, "Voltaire is interminably brief."
Voltaire's most famous work, Candide, is full of telling phrases. "If this is the best of all possible worlds, what are the others?" asks Candide in Chapter 6. The expression "best of all possible worlds" comes originally from the philosopher Leibniz, but it is Voltaire's repeated use of the phrase in Candide that has made it instantly familiar today. Another saying from the novel was an instant hit with French readers: in Chapter 16, Candide and his manservant Cacambo, travelling in the New World dressed as Jesuits, fall into the hands of cannibals who exclaim triumphantly: "Mangeons du jésuite" ("Let's eat some Jesuit"): the Jesuits were highly unpopular in France at this time, and the expression instantly became a catch-phrase.
One French expression from Candide has even become proverbial in English. In 1756, the British lost Minorca to the French, as a result of which Admiral Byng was court-martialled and executed. Voltaire has fun with this in Chapter 23:
'And why kill this admiral?'
'Because he didn't kill enough people,' Candide was told. 'He gave battle to a French admiral, and it has been found that he wasn't close enough.'
'But,' said Candide, 'the French admiral was just as far away from the English admiral as he was from him!'
'Unquestionably,' came the reply. 'But in this country it is considered a good thing to kill an admiral from time to time, pour encourager les autres.'
Voltaire's other writings are equally full of pithy and memorable short sentences, which often help him drive home a point, such as this, from his Questions sur l'Encyclopédie: "L'espèce humaine est la seule qui sache qu'elle doit mourir" ("The human species is unique in knowing it must die").
Other lines, like this one from his poem about luxury, Le Mondain, "Le superflu, chose très nécessaire" ("The superfluous, a very necessary thing") are all the more memorable for being in verse. Voltaire's facility for producing snappy phrases is even there in his private correspondence, as this letter to his friend Damilaville (1 April 1766): "Quand la populace se mêle de raisonner, tout est perdu"("When the masses get involved in reasoning, everything is lost").
And one phrase that still resonates with us comes from a private notebook that Voltaire surely never intended to publish: "Dieu n'est pas pour les gros bataillons, mais pour ceux qui tirent le mieux" ("God is on the side not of the heavy battalions, but of the best shots").
Then there are the ones that got away, the one-liners he never actually said – 'misquotations' in the parlance of the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Hardly a week passes without a newspaper quoting "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
Voltaire's rallying cry of free speech is central to our modern liberal agenda, so it's a bit awkward that he never actually said it. The expression was made up in 1906 by an English woman, biographer E. B. Hall. But she meant well, and we have collectively decided that Voltaire should have said it. Another advantage of Voltaire's one-liners is that they provide great marketing copy, and a quick search on the web reveals that many of them are for sale, on t-shirts, shopping-bags, and mugs. "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it" is especially popular, in French as well as English – which explains my favourite t-shirt: "Je me battrai jusqu'à ma mort pour que vous puissiez citer erronément Voltaire" ("I will fight to my death so that you can quote Voltaire incorrectly").
Luckily, wit is contagious. There is a famous one-liner in Beaumarchais' The Marriage of Figaro, when the servant Figaro imagines addressing his aristocratic master: "Vous vous êtes donné la peine de naître, et rien de plus" ("You took the trouble to be born, and nothing more"). This has become so celebrated that we have forgotten that Beaumarchais was only improving on a less snappy one-liner he had found in one of Voltaire's more obscure comedies. George Bernard Shaw, a self-styled follower of Voltaire, has fun with misattributed sayings in Man and Superman:
Tanner: Let me remind you that Voltaire said that what was too silly to be said could be sung.
Straker: It wasn't Voltaire. It was Bow Mar Shay.
Tanner: I stand corrected: Beaumarchais of course.
And so we go on inventing Voltaire. Another dictum that has recently gained wide currency on the web is this: "To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize."
Now regularly attributed to Voltaire, this saying seems to originate with something written in 1993 by Kevin Alfred Strom, an American neo-Nazi Holocaust denier, and not a man who obviously exudes Voltairean wit and irony. But once you become an authority, it seems, all sides have a claim on you.
The one-liner can seem a good way of encapsulating a truth: "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer" ("If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him").
Voltaire knew he was on to a winner with this line, from a poem of 1768 (the Epître à l'auteur du livre des trois imposteurs), and he re-used it often in later works. Another much-repeated phrase occurs at the end of Candide. When the characters finally come together, after umpteen trials and tribulations, all argument is silenced with the words "Il faut cultiver notre jardin" ("We must cultivate our garden"). Is this a precious nugget of wisdom, neatly encapsulated? Or is it just another "Brexit means Brexit", a trite phrase meaning anything and nothing? But that, of course, is another use of the one-liner: to maintain suspense, while bringing down the curtain at the end….
Featured image credit: Assassination of Henry IV by Gaspar Bouttats. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.


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TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said it is recalling about 405,400 vehicles, including the Odyssey minivan in the United States and three other countries, due to a glitch in the computer chip used in the airbag system.
Some 342,000 Honda Odysseys from the 2003 and 2004 model years in the United States and Canada are being recalled, as well as 63,400 Acura MDXs from model year 2003 in the US, Canada, Japan and Australia.
Most of the recalled vehicles are in the US, where 318,683 Odysseys and 55,935 Acura MDXs are affected.
A computer chip in the airbag control unit could malfunction when it receives electrical noise from other parts in the car, Honda said in a statement. As a result, driver and passenger seat airbags could deploy inadvertently, spokesman Tsuyoshi Hojo said.
The supplier of the computer chip was TRW.
Honda said it does not expect to have to issue any more recalls related to this issue.
No crashes have been reported related to the glitch, but several cases of injuries such as abrasions on the hand and fingers have been cited, he said.
Honda will install an electrical signal filter in the recalled vehicles, Mr Hojo said.


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Private Retirement Benefits and Social Security Working Together
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: August 19, 2021
On August 14, 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt said, "We can never insure 100 percent of the population against 100 percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which will give some measure of protection to the average citizen and to his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-stricken old age."
Nearly 81 years later, Social Security provides the foundation for retiring Americans that President Roosevelt imagined when he signed the program into law. The latest figures report that nearly 59 million Americans were receiving retirement, disability or survivors' benefits from Social Security. Each year, nearly 15 million elderly Americans are lifted out of poverty by Social Security, proving that the program is indeed a crucial part of a secure retirement.
While Social Security provides a strong foundation for workers, the private retirement system also plays a key role in ensuring the economic well-being of retired Americans. Over 115 million workers receive retirement benefits through plans provided by their employers. In addition, the number of retirees receiving income from private retirement plans continues to increase.
On February 5, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce held a retirement forum focused on the success of employer-provided retirement systems. Panelists and speakers offered guidelines to help support the voluntary employment-based retirement benefits system and identified ways to encourage innovation and flexibility in the private retirement system. In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also released a white paper at the event entitled, "Private Retirement Benefits in the 21st Century: Achieving Retirement Security," which recommends a series of steps to further bolster the private retirement system.
The true success story, however, is the combination of Social Security and employer-provided retirement benefits. Working hand in hand, the private retirement system and Social Security can ensure that millions of Americans keep receiving the stable and secure income that they deserve.
To educate companies on the benefits of this partnership, the Chamber and the Social Security Administration are co-sponsoring a conference, entitled "Promoting Retirement Security Makes Good Business Sense" on April 5, 2016 at 8:45 ET. The discussion will center on promoting the partnership between the Social Security and the business community to support a secure retirement for workers. We will also discuss how the current Social Security retirement program can supplement employer-provided retirement savings. I encourage you to tune in to the live webcast at US Chamber Live Webcast.
Have a question you would like to see answered on the day of the event? Post your question to @SSAOutreach using the hashtag #RETSCC and watch the live webcast to see if your question was chosen on the day of the event.
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About the Author
Social security offers strong support for workers. The private retirement plan provides an economic foundation for American citizens.
Claudia Felix
Web developer at Shopixpert</a -
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NOTE: This ritual was dictated to me whilst crying into the black, shiny part of an Elvis record.
The Lesser Elvis Banishing Ritual of the Sequined Pentagram.
The purpose of this ritual is to clear the area of all Elvis-negative influences. This includes all that are not patriotic and all that are not of White Trash at heart. Begin by facing in the direction of Graceland. For easy reference, we shall call this East.
Visualize the infinitely bright light of a Las Vegas spotlight descending upon you.
Draw this Holy Light into your head, intoning: LOVE ME
Point downward, hand over... personal privates..., intoning: TENDER
Point to right shoulder. LOVE ME
Point to left shoulder. TRUE This is the Holy Cross of Elvis. Conclude by saying: "Uh-huh".
Facing East (Graceland), draw a bright, blue, sequined pentagram in the air.
Be sure to visualize the light reflecting off of the shimmering sequins. Intone: Ehhhh Repeat step six to the south. Intone: Lllll
To the west, intone: Vihhhhh
To the north, intone: ssssss
Between each of the above steps, you should make part of a circle connecting each pentagram. This circle should be made of the Light of the Holy Las Vegas Spotlight.
Imagine yourself bathed in the Holy Vegas Light. Face Graceland. Before you, imagine Elvis as a baby, containing his True Elvis Potential. This is the Elvis of Air.
Say: ELVIS, thou who were born a King in Lowly Surroundings. Fulfill your potential. Be present with me today.
Behind you, imagine the young man Elvis, on the brink of Stardom. This is the Elvis of Water.
Say: ELVIS, thou who art about to realize your Kingliness among men. Fulfill that Potential. Be with me today.
To your right, imagine Elvis in the prime of his career, when he was making movies and the like. He thrusts his pelvis suggestively. This is the Elvis of Fire.
Say: ELVIS, thou who art leading us to Light. Be with me today.
To your left, imagine Elvis in his Las Vegas stage. He wears sunglasses and is slightly pudgy. This is the Elvis of Earth.
Say: ELVIS, thou who didst die on the pot of an overdose. Be with me today. Repeat the Holy Cross of Elvis.
Thus ends the Ritual. This ritual should be repeated daily. If you wish, you may use Elvis music in the background to aid your concentration. If you have an altar, it should contain a Microphone Wand, a Microphone-Stand Dagger, an Elvis "45 Disc, and small porcelain toilet (Chalice). May the Holy Light of Las Vegas Shine within you. Love is the Law. Love under Rock & Roll.


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No longer swearing by cursive writing
For all the new things that schools will be called on to teach under the soon-to-be-implemented Common Core curriculum standards, it's a skill that has been omitted that is causing controversy: cursive writing. Good old script penmanship isn't part of the standards, which have been adopted by 45 states, including California. It's not forbidden or discouraged, but Common Core focuses on analytical and computer-based skills rather than the long hours of practice required to link letters in a flowing style. Testing, note-taking and writing for academia and business are increasingly accomplished via keyboard, not pencil or pen and legal pad.
Several states, including California, have kept requirements for cursive instruction in place, but many others appear ready for its demise. The handwriting may be on the wall.
That's OK. States and schools shouldn't cling to cursive based on the romantic idea that it's a tradition, an art form or a basic skill whose disappearance would be a cultural tragedy. Of course, everyone needs to be able to write without computers, but longhand printing generally works fine. Many of today's young adults, even though they were taught cursive, have abandoned it in favor of printing. Print is clearer and easier to read than script. For many, it's easier to write and just about as fast.
Some educators claim that cursive writing plays a role in brain and overall academic development, but others disagree and say what the studies actually show is that any form of hand lettering, including print, engages more of the brain than keyboarding does.
When society adds new skills and new knowledge to the list of things public schools teach, some other items have to come off the list. Otherwise, the result is a curriculum that is a mile wide and an inch deep, as California's has famously been. Cursive might be one skill that can be painlessly dropped to make way for new ones.
Because so many adults still communicate in cursive, perhaps what's needed is a transition period during which students still learn to read it — that can be taught relatively quickly — but no longer go through the laborious and painstaking process of learning to write it.
This isn't a popular notion with many parents. We all tend to think of what we learned in school as "basic" to an educated populace. How can young people do without it? Easily, as they already are proving. As easily as replacing the old John Hancock with a fingerprint scan.
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For minimal installations of Debian, I have been using halevt
to enable automounting of USB drives. Halevt
is reliable and requires no configuration aside from installing the package. Now, halevt
has been removed from Debian Testing and I'm looking for a replacement, but none of the alternatives seem to be as straightforward.
What utility for automounting USB drives would be the most lightweight, simple, and stable?
EDIT: I was never able to get udev working the way I wanted. The problem is that udev rules are always run as root, so media are mounted as root. It is possible to hard-code mounting as a specific user, but it seems you can't make a rule that mounts as current user. According to the documentation, it should be possible with the MODE value, but it doesn't seem to be implemented in Debian. So, if automounting is required, I still have to use halevt. Otherwise, I use pmount.


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Juice Wrld x Vlone Butterfly Hoodie Black
Juice Wrld x Vlone Butterfly Hoodie Black
Juice Wrld x Vlone Butterfly Hoodie Black Available in Different Designs & Colors at our official online clothing store. The product was kept in suitable condition and is extremely easy to wash. There is a stylish V shape logo printed on this great product. There are a wide variety of colors available, such as pink, grey, white, and many more. It is made of high-quality material that fits true to size and provides a comfortable, reliable fit and feel. Our Vlone Hoodies come in a variety of sizes, so you may use our size chart in the product image for reference. With a three-panel fleece lining inside, this pullover is constructed to ensure durability and a good fit. Depending on your style and preferences, you may choose one of your favorite colors.
Our aim was to get a body fit size that would meet the standard of a unisex or denim product that would meet the actual standard. We used the highest quality materials, so you can be sure that this hoodie will last for years. The hoodie is also designed to be stylish and timeless, so you can wear it for any occasion. The hoodie is also machine washable, making it easy to clean and maintain. Shop Now Today from Vlone Clothing Store.
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- Imported
An interesting feature
- It is possible to wear a hoodie to stay warm, while also feeling comfortable, stylish, and versatile.
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- When you wear a Vlone hoodie, you will find it much more comfortable than if you were wearing a regular hoodie.
- This is a highly recommended Vlone Hoodie item. In the only Vlone official store, you can find Vlone Hoodie stuff in Polyester and Cotton. They are the most comfortable, hard-wearing, and easy-to-wash you can find.
- There is no doubt that Vlone official Pullover Hoodies are among the most popular hoodies thanks to the wide range of colors available, as well as the comfortable fit that they provide.
- You can wear our products all day long with ease as they are designed to be flexible and comfortable to wear.
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- Our top priority is to ensure that our customers are satisfied with their purchases! If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you have the option of exchanging and returning it.
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- There is no refund for return shipping.
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- Home
- Departments
- Services
- Sewer/Water/Trash
- Pretreatment Program
- Industrial Users
All new businesses must submit a Wastewater Survey Application for Discharge Permit. After reviewing the information, the Township will determine if your business fits certain criteria and may be issued a Wastewater Discharge Permit.
Chapter 19, Wastewater Pretreatment lists general and specific discharge prohibitions that are applicable to all users of the system, whether they are industries, commercial facilities, or residents.
The Ordinance also describes conditions under which an industrial facility will be considered a Significant Industrial User and issued a Wastewater Discharge Permit to further control the discharge of certain pollutants.
Significant Industrial User Conditions
Requirements of a Significant Industrial User


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FLAGSTAFF, Arizona (CNN) -- The Hardens were losing track of each other's conversations. It had been a long, exhausting day for both Scott, a sheriff's deputy, and Kathie, an elementary school teacher. The couple put their two young children to bed, turned on the Food Network for a few minutes, then called it a night.
Kathie Harden is grateful that her life was saved, but her emotions are still very much on the surface
"I've always teased her about her snoring -- and she doesn't, but I've always told her that she does -- and that night it was unbelievable. It was so loud," Scott said, recalling the night less than a year ago when his 33-year-old wife died on the floor of their bedroom for 18 minutes.
"I elbowed her about two or three times, and I kicked her a couple of times. And nothing. She kept snoring," Scott said.
Could she be teasing him? Scott rubbed his knuckles across Kathie's sternum.
"People respond to a sternum rub," said Scott, a trained first responder. "When she didn't, I knew something was wrong."
Scott got out of bed and turned on the light. His wife's face was pale. Kathie wasn't snoring. She was gasping for breath.
"I got her to the floor because I knew I'd have to do CPR pretty soon," Scott said. "She took one big breath and I thought that's enough time to get me to my house phone for the 911 reversal. In case I couldn't talk, at least I could dial and throw the phone to the floor, and they could track it." Watch Kathie talk about surviving cardiac arrest »
Despite Scott's training in law enforcement, the panic in his voice rose during the 911 call as Kathie stopped breathing. The minutes went by.
"Just treat it as you would if you were on the road," the dispatcher told him.
"It's different," Scott said.
"I know. It's so different. OK? But you know what to do. You've been trained in all of this," the dispatcher reassured him.
Working to calm himself, Scott performed a new type of CPR on his wife. No pausing for mouth-to-mouth. Compressions only. Since 2004, the technique has been utilized throughout Arizona to minimize interruptions in blood flow to a cardiac arrest victim's heart and brain. In the last five years, statewide survival has more than tripled. Learn more about "Cheating Death"
"We said it's hard to do a lot worse than 97 percent of the people dying, and so we revamped everything from how we track cardiac arrest, to how we train the public to do CPR and how we train dispatchers to give CPR instruction," said Dr. Ben Bobrow, who oversees emergency services for the Arizona Department of Health. "What we think right now is at the very early stages of cardiac arrest, when someone initially collapses, the really important thing is to just get blood moving though the body, and that's by doing rapid, forceful, uninterrupted compressions." Let an expert teach you CPR in two minutes »
If Kathie Harden was going to survive, Scott's CPR would need to work for her. Nearly 10 minutes without a heartbeat, she was already technically dead.
"Without blood supply to the brain, to the heart, everything else, you essentially die," said Dr. Lance Becker, who runs the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvania. "Now we know we can fix many aspects of that. And we can fix it so reliably if we're right there when it happens. Too often, it's somewhere in the streets. Somewhere in their office. Somewhere in their home. Somewhere at the train station. And too often, it takes rescuers time to be there. And what we know happens is in that period of time, that event that would be very easy to fix if I were there in the first 60 seconds, is impossible to fix in 60 minutes. The question is where in that spectrum is the dividing line."
Becker is convinced that death doesn't happen in a moment. It is a gradual process.
"Death doesn't happen by accident. That's part of what we're learning about death -- there's nothing accidental about it -- that at some point there may be an event that triggers it, but after that triggering, lots of the things are programmed. They're very intentional. Those are the things that maybe we can begin to alter," said Becker.
When paramedics arrived at Scott's side, Kathie's pulse was gone.
"I was surprised how young she appeared," said Pete Walka, a paramedic based at Flagstaff Medical Center who responded that night. "When a patient is young, you know, we have a better chance. So right away I was thinking we have a chance to save this person." Have you had a medical miracle? Tweet it and you could win a free copy of "Cheating Death."
As medics attached EKG pads to Kathie's chest to prepare to shock her heart, Scott fled into the living room.
"I didn't want to hear what they were going to do," he said. "They hooked up the heart monitor and the defibrillator. And that defibrillator was so loud. And it talks, you know. And it said, 'Not reading a heartbeat,' and then you hear the tone. So, I knew there was no heartbeat. And then it kept shocking. And it kept shocking. I could hear it. I was sitting in here, and I could hear it all the way out here."
Kathie received numerous shocks and multiple infusions of adrenaline before the paramedics finally restored her heartbeat.
"Getting the pulse back is critical. We want to do that," Walka said. "But, you know, we need to get her to the hospital."
Walka and his team rushed Kathie to Flagstaff Medical Center's emergency room.
"Her eyes weren't tracking. She did have a heartbeat, but I could tell also that neurologically she wasn't responding to us," said Dr. Carrie Burns, the physician who first evaluated Kathie in the hospital.
Doctors sedated Kathie to relax her body. Had something happened to her that they could address and take care of immediately? Did an aneurysm burst in her head? Did a blood clot go through her lung and into her heart?
"She was a healthy woman with no known past medical history. Not on any medications. And from the history you get from the medics, and then when her husband came, it was a real mystery why this lady had an arrest," said Burns.
Test results ruled out a number of issues, but doctors still couldn't figure out why Kathie's heart had stopped. For now, whatever had killed her for those 18 minutes remained unknown.
Hoping to prevent brain damage, doctors used a specialized blanket to cool Kathie's body to 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit, a process called therapeutic hypothermia. Watch how a 22-year-old Pennsylvania man also cheated death
"Within an hour and a half that she arrived in ICU, we were already starting to see some improvement in neurologic exam, so that's always very encouraging," said Dr. Michael Reidy, who monitored Kathie's recovery in the intensive care unit.
Doctors kept Kathie cool overnight and throughout the next day, providing Scott updates on his wife's condition.
"I was worried about him," said Reidy. "He's a strong silent type, and he had done exactly the right thing, but he clearly was terrified at losing his beloved wife."
Scott's fear never manifested.
"I made the call to shut off the cooling blanket because it was clear to me that she was going to be OK," said Reidy. "He was there at the bedside, and he got to smile as we watched her wake up."
Eighteen hours after her heart stopped, Kathie Harden was back from the dead.
"You never go to the doctor's office, and expect them to tell you, 'You were dead, and medical miracles happen, and you are now alive,' " Kathie said, still in awe over the events that almost took her life.
Electrical tests on Kathie's heart solved the mystery.
"Basically what they're saying is, I caught a virus similar to the flu," Kathie said. "It just kind of attached itself to my heart and deteriorated it until the left side just couldn't work anymore. And the right side compensated as long as it could, and just kind of tired out."
Today, Kathie has an automatic implantable defibrillator and a pacemaker inside her chest to protect her against another sudden, abnormal heart beat.
"There was no way to know my heart was sick," Kathie said, tears welling in her eyes. "I worry what my kids would do if I weren't here. Scott would play the mom role but it's not the same as having your mom. And then we worry about if it's something hereditary. Should we have our kids in for MRIs to make sure? Should Scott go in to have his checked? It's just crazy that a muscle in your body that has to be working in order to give you life, I have no idea if it's really working or not, and that's pretty scary."
Although Kathie is forever grateful to Scott, and to everyone who helped save her life that night, her emotions are still very much on the surface. Her reversal from death has shaken the couple's bond.
"You think it would be, 'Oh, you know, life is great,' you know, but it's been traumatic as a family," Kathie said. "I'm trying to deal with it the way that I think I should be, and he's trying to deal with it in a different realm. And it's hard to see eye to eye on those kinds of things. And it's hard to expect the other person to understand where you're coming from. So I don't think it's what everybody thinks it might be. I think a traumatic experience like this is hard to get through for husband and wife."
In August, Kathie returned to her classroom. She's teaching the third grade. On the night she died and was brought back to life, her own two children slept through the chaos.
"I'm just hoping that I can be here a long time for my kids," Kathie said. "I am back to working full time, so that's really powerful for me and motivating. I don't know if I'll ever be able to put it behind me."


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Beautiful Lawman by Sophie Jordan
Series The Devil's Rock Series Genre Adult Contemporary Romance Publisher Avon Books Publication Date December 26, 2017
From the wrong side of the tracks and with most of her family in jail or dead, Piper Walsh is used to everyone in town thinking the worst about her. It doesn't seem to matter that she's worked hard to build a good life for herself. So she isn't surprised that when she comes into contact with Sweet Hill's wildly irresistible, arrogant sheriff, Hale Walters, they're instant adversaries. Piper has nothing in common with the town golden-boy-turned-lawman—and she refuses to be a notch on his bedpost.
Despite rumors, Hale avoids fooling around with the women of Sweet Hill, many of whom are hoping to get him to the altar. But staying out of Piper's path is proving near impossible. The infuriating troublemaker clearly has no respect for his badge. As she continues to push his buttons, it becomes clear to Hale that he must either arrest Piper—or claim her as his own.
"Found her," the desk clerk trilled as though Malia had been lost somewhere in the back—clearly oblivious to the tense undercurrent between them.
Piper grasped Malia by the elbow and tugged her close beside her. She pasted a smile on her face for the benefit of the older woman. "Thank you so much. Is there somewhere I have to sign her out? Or do you need to check my identification or—" "Ah, yes." She clapped her hands lightly and scurried behind the broad desk again. "It's right here. The other parents already signed out their children . . ." She looked up and eyed Piper. "You hardly look old enough to be her parent." "No, I'm her sister, but her legal guardian." "Ahh. That explains it. You two are mirror images of each other. Cute as two kittens." Malia giggled as the woman resumed searching through the clutter of her desk. Piper reached deep for patience even though a part of her marveled at how this woman fared in emergencies where speed was required. She did work in a sheriff's department, after all. They had to have the occasional need for urgency. Footsteps sounded, thudding deeply across the floor. Her nape prickled in awareness. She looked up just as a tall figure emerged from the hall, a big dark shape etched against the pale beige backdrop of the building's interior. Her throat closed up at the sight of the deep blue uniform with its shiny brass bits. At first it was all she noticed. The only thing. It was familiar enough. As was her physical reaction to the sight of it. She supposed it was an unhealthy reaction. And abnormal. The sight of a policeman's uniform should provide comfort. But for her it never signified anything good to come. Her gaze crawled over the uniform—and There was a considerable amount of it. Not just in breadth, but in height, too. The body that filled out the uniform was muscled and tightly built. Not an inch of fat anywhere on his bulk. She dragged a breath in and forced her attention to his face as dread pooled in her stomach. She knew what she would see. Who she would see. He was tank of a man. There weren't many men built like him sporting a police uniform. He would have to be on duty the one time she came here. She had feared coming face-to-face with him the moment she parked outside. Her brother's friend, North, had warned her that he was a powerful man, the implication being that she should give him due respect. Only she hadn't done that. Hopefully she wouldn't pay for it now. She squared her shoulders, bracing herself for the moment he looked up and saw her. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her. He'd seen her just once, after all. In a darkened club, no less. She stifled a snort. Wishful thinking. She doubted he had forgotten the first time they met. If that encounter in Joe's could even be called a meeting. The pitcher of ice water in his lap would have made a lasting impression. Braced or not, when he looked up she was caught off guard. Nothing could have steeled herself for the weight of those gray eyes. Somehow she had missed their magnitude in the dimness of Joe's, but she felt the intensity of them now. In one sweeping glance, he took in their trio before advancing in a long-legged stride. "Ms. Walsh." He remembered her, all right. "Isn't it?" Damn his voice was deep. Full of gravel. It sounded like sex. The completely inappropriate thought hit her out of nowhere. For starters, she could hardly count herself as an expert on sex. And secondly . . . this was Hale Walters. A rude, arrogant cop quick to judge. He was everything she despised. She'd heard him speak in Joe's but the music had been loud and she'd found him so offensive with his remarks that she hadn't absorbed the gritty drawl like she did now in the stark quiet of the sheriff's department. "Sheriff," she greeted, the word escaping as a treacherous tremor. As he drew closer she was only more painfully aware of his size. He'd been sitting that time in Joe's. She had no idea he was this big. This tall. He had to be pushing six-five. She tugged her cardigan closer around her, feeling suddenly fragile in comparison. His gaze drifted to Malia. "Your sister, I presume?" She nodded. "Appears she got into a bit of trouble tonight." Her jaw clenched. The desk clerk had said as much, but she resisted nodding assent to him. Everything about him rubbed her the wrong way. "Found it!" The older woman brandished a clipboard and abandoned her desk to offer it to Piper. "Just sign here." The sheriff plucked it from her hands just as Piper was about to take it. "Thank you, Doris." Doris beamed and turned for her desk again. Piper stared at the sheriff expectantly, waiting for him to hand over the clipboard so she could be on her way. Instead, he held it in his hands and looked in no hurry to pass it to her. He and Piper stared at one another for an awkward stretch of silence. As the seconds ticked, her resentment grew. He couldn't just be linebacker big. No. He had to be hot as sin, too. Malia looked back and forth between the two of them mildly, taking a slurping sip from her can of orange soda. Piper lifted her chin a notch. "Are you gonna let me sign that? Or just keep me standing here? It's late." Malia's eyes widened. Piper knew she was setting a bad example. She'd told her sister time and time again to always be respectful to authority figures. Even when it was hard. And here she was throwing sass at the county sheriff. She couldn't stop herself though. The corner of his mouth kicked up. It was almost a smile. Only his eyes didn't smile. They stared coldly. "You know I thought my memory of you might have been wrong, Ms. Walsh." She fought the urge to demand he explain himself, but that made it look like she cared what he thought of her . . . or that he thought of her at all. "It wasn't though," he finished. And she was quite certain that was an insult. "You two know each other?" Malia asked. "No," she snapped. "We don't know each other at all." She lifted her chin, making sure he understood that she didn't want to know him. This time both corners of his mouth lifted in a full-blown smile. It was devastating. Unfairly, it made him even more attractive. She bet the women in this town threw themselves at him. And that only annoyed her more. GIVEAWAY TERMS & CONDITIONS: Open to US shipping addresses only. One winner will receive a paperback set of the Devil's Rock series by Sophie Jordan. This giveaway is administered by Pure Textuality PR on behalf of Avon Romance. Giveaway ends 1/5/2018 @ 11:59pm EST. Avon Romance will send the winning copies out to the winner directly. Limit one entry per reader and mailing address. Duplicates will be deleted. CLICK HERE TO ENTER! About Sophie JordanSophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's the New York Times, USA Today and international bestselling author of more than twenty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with anything that has a happily ever after. You can visit her online at www.sophiejordan.net. Author Links Leave a Reply. |


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Atmospher Sci & Global Chg
Research Highlights
July 2008
Tony Janetos on Climate Change Impacts
Dr. Tony Janetos gave testimony on climate change impacts to the U.S. House of Representative Committee on Energy and Commerce in Washington, D.C. on June 26, 2008. He spoke to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality on the subject, "Climate Change: Costs of Inaction," drawing from a recent national assessment that he and others led. Janetos directs the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of Maryland. View a PDF of the printed testimony from Janetos and the other panelists.


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After two and a half years, my D&D 4e campaign is coming to an end. The party reunited a split world, pushed back an evil empire, weaponized a demon plague, and are now prepared to reach Allabar's surface to destroy him once and for all. However, I am not a fan of Epic Tier shenanigans and will never be able to outwit/rules-lawyer the party. What are some ways that I can do this campaign justice, preferably without resorting to mass amount of fake difficulty?
The party in question and the things I notice about them are such…
Pay-may: Gnome Illusionist who's MO is to stun/daze/flat-out-restrict-actions and force failures on saving throw effects.
Jasper: Tiefling Wizard who is the most interested in things being interesting rather than easy. Has a variety of effects at his disposal.
Dmok: Goliath Barbarian, living buzzsaw with supremely high damage numbers. Most of the party's buffs are centered on giving him more attacks or forcing crits.
Adran: H-elf Bard, loads and loads of dice/result manipulation. To include forcing crits for the barbarian, has twelve effects that come up with her basic heal.
Fwkwado: Former Goliath WArden who's cursed into becoming a gorilla. Specializes in grappling all the time.
Earthsea: Eladrin Rogue. The least stand-out of the party as the player is primarily there for the company. Would like to be ranged.
Thanks for the suggestions.


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- Home
- Government
- Departments
- Health Department
- Preparedness
- How to Prepare for an Emergency
Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Disasters can happen at a moments notice, making it extremely important to have a plan in place to help alleviate your family's fears when it comes to disasters. Here in Teton County, Wyoming we have different types of disasters than in large cities, but that doesn't mean citizens shouldn't be prepared for emergencies.
Where to Begin?
The American Red Cross though their Be Red Cross Ready Program suggests:
How to Prepare for Disasters Video
Watch this Be Red Cross Ready Video for helpful tips regarding emergency preparedness.
Ready.gov is also another great resource to find materials to help you and your family prepare for an emergency. Here are some printable materials from Ready.gov to help with your emergency preparedness plan.


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Today is the big day. With over $3 million being spent on Chelsea Clinton and Marc Mezvinsky nuptials it is sure to be a perfect day for them both.
The run up to this wedding has been intense gossip columnist, political pundits and everyone in between has been speculating about what the star studded, surely tasteful, glamour wedding of the Secretary of State's, Hilary Clinton and former president Bill Clinton's only daughter.
Just yesterday New York Magazine launched a full list of every little detail calling it "Chelsea Clinton Wedding FAO". From what time it's kicking off to, literally, what the toilet facilities for guests would be. The hype has been insane.
Though some might scoff at this excitement I would guess that very few will not be checking out the photos as soon as they are published.
Here's just a quick run-down of the events for later today.
Time: 18:00
Where: A glass-walled tent on the grounds of Astor Courts estate in Rhinebeck, upstate New York.
Location of rehearsal dinner: A stone barn on the Grasmere Estate (according to the Daily News)
Guest list: 400 people are expected but exactly who this guests are will remain to be seen. It's all been done on the down-low. Rumors have it that they will include Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, Kate Capshaw and Steven Speilberg, Harold Ickes, Terry McAuliffe, former British Prime Minister John Major, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ted Turner, and Denise Rich.
The dress: Again a top secret operation. Rumor has it, it's either Vera Wang or Oscar de la Renta.
Food: "The wedding will be catered by a combination of Blue Ribbon Restaurants, St. Regis Hotels and Resorts and Olivier Cheng Catering and Events," according to the Wall Street Journal.
Life & Style say that "The food will include vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes" and "grass-fed organic beef on the menu."
Security: The FAA have declared a no-fly zone of the Astor Courts below 2,000 feet. The Secret Service have the Clinton's back.
The town of Rhinebeck is also providing extra cash to the police so they can close down the roads surrounding the wedding.


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High occupancy rates in downtown housing is one of the reasons developers are moving to near-downtown neighborhoods for new projects. Photo by Chris Pastotnik
A flurry of downtown housing projects have streamed across the news the past few months, led by major apartment-complex developments from Brookstone Capital, Orion Construction, Rockford Construction and 616 Development.
"The speed at which projects are coming before us is quite remarkable," said Kayem Dunn, vice chairwoman of the Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority.
At the same time, these well-known commercial developers, which normally build in the central business district, have announced smaller-scale projects for neighborhoods on downtown's fringe.
Brookstone Capital has plans for State Street SE. Orion Construction is looking to put up two buildings in Eastown. Rockford Construction is set to begin a project on the west side. And 616 Development has begun demo work for 616 Lofts at Prospect, which is going into the former Bethlehem Church at 253 Prospect Ave. NE.
The church project is likely the most difficult of the four because trying to convert this place of worship into loft apartments poses two uncommon problems: One, it's a church, and two, it's a church in the historic Heritage Hill district.
Greg Metz, a partner with Ted Lott in Lott3Metz Architecture, is familiar with the problems. He has worked on the Bethlehem conversion for a handful of developers since 2005. Derek Coppess of 616 Development recruited Metz for the task because he was well aware of the difficulties the project presented.
"We started on this in 2005 and we have done four or five different schemes for four or five different ownership entities. I think, right there, that tells a story of how difficult it is to do. That alone is indicative that this is not a simple project," said Metz.
Redesigning a building in a historic district is tough because of restrictions on how it can be altered. In this particular case, it's even tougher because a church typically doesn't have a lot of windows. The enclosed setting is intended to keep parishioners' attention on the pastor and the service, and stained-glass windows do that by preventing those inside from seeing outs. Lack of windows isn't a good situation for a single residence, let alone the 22 apartments 616 wants to develop.
On top of that, Metz said national guidelines for historic renovation don't offer a blueprint on how to redesign churches with stained-glass windows and little interior light, so the architects and the city's Historic Preservation Commission have to find their own way through this maze of darkness.
"HPC went down a path they had never gone down before, and we went down a path we never had gone down before. There's not a lot of people that have gone down this path. That alone was difficult," said Metz. "To the HPC's credit, they were very good to work with."
The first hurdle Metz and HPC had to clear was how to get regular windows in the building. That was a bone of contention, as Metz put it, because no one was certain whether a church building in a historic district must have stained-glass windows. Again, there are no standards to follow.
"What we ended up doing was we punched in windows in the stained glass. It was kind of a compromise and one that everybody was OK with. So we kept some of the stained glass and we got rid of some of it," he said.
"All the stained glass getting removed is going to be put in a special crate and kept onsite. So if someone 30, 40 or 50 years down the road wants to do a full restoration, the original glass will still be there."
Another difficulty is the open nature of the sanctuary, where a lot of space goes unused due to its height. When a firm like 616 invests $3 million into a project, as it is doing for this one, it needs to use as much available space as possible to pay for its investment.
"We basically ended up putting a second floor in the sanctuary. So instead of having a 60-foot-high space or whatever it is, we cut it in half. That helped a lot. One, it helped us get more units in. Two, it helped us modulate the space," said Metz.
"We probably could have gotten another floor in, but we were getting at too much density as that point — the planning commission wasn't going to allow us to have more units. … But there has to be enough, obviously, to work for a developer, and 616 is really incredible as they know how to make these difficult projects work."
Once the major design issues were taken care of, another problem had to considered. Metz said some neighborhood residents weren't fond of the potential for additional on-street parking that comes with an apartment complex. He said it was an issue because the on-street parking there is already tight, with college students and medical workers taking up a lot of the available spaces.
Even though 616 Lofts at Prospect will have a parking lot for those who live there, residents worried there might not be enough spaces in the lot for those who visit the building.
"They weren't really against the project. They felt they already had a problem and we were going to exacerbate the problem more. That was a tough one to navigate," said Metz.
"Luckily, we worked with the Heritage Hill board. They were incredible to work with because they kind of helped navigate the process with the neighbors and the developer. They were a good intermediary," he added.
Board members reminded residents the parking problem was there before the project and was an issue better left to the neighborhood association to handle as that group was already working on it.
Despite not having guidelines to follow, 616 Development, the HPC and the Heritage Hill board worked things out.
"Did we get all the windows that we'd like? No, not really. On the other hand, I think we were able to get enough so the spaces will feel good and the uniqueness of being in a church just brings it to that next level," said Metz.
So after years of designing and redesigning the Bethlehem Church into living spaces, Metz finally has put the project to bed.
"The upper four units in the sanctuary have 30-foot ceilings, and all the original beams are still there. This is going to be phenomenal spaces," said Metz.
"If I was in my 20s, that is where I would want to be — just for the cool factor. It's just going to blow people away when they see it. It's just a phenomenal space and I can't wait until it's done."


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ABB is one of the world's most highly recognised engineering companies, with its ground-breaking work in research and innovation dating back to 1883 in Switzerland. The current ABB brand came about in 1988, when two of the best known names in European engineering – BBC of Switzerland and Sweden's ASEA – joined forces to create ABB.
ABB's success over many years has been driven by a strong focus on research and the company has a track record of innovation in areas including hydro power and high-voltage DC power transmission. It supplies around £1bn of power and automation products and services to UK clients and is the largest supplier of industrial motors and drives worldwide. At LED Controlswe stock ABB variable speed drives, programmable logic controllers, enclosures, miniature circuit breakers, contactors, cable trunking and many other ABB products
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The History of ABB
ABB was founded in 1988, after over a century of experience in the production of electrical components. In 1883, ASEA was founded by Ludvig Fredholm, manufacturing electrical lights and generators. Elsewhere, in Switzerland, Brown, Boeveri & Cie (BBC) was formed in 1891, focused on the production of AC & DC motors, transformers, generators and steam turbines. In 1988, the two companies merged, with ABB standing for ASEA Brown Boveri.
Formed as a merger between two companies, ABB has continued to add to its portfolio over the years, purchasing more companies and making them a part of ABB. The company first expanded in 1990 when it purchased US firm Combustion Engineering, specialists in the production of fossil fuel power and nuclear power supply systems, and the metering and control division of Westinghouse. Their third acquisition came in 1997, when automation group Elsag Bailey joined the ABB portfolio along with its companies Bailey Controls, Fischer & Porter and Hartmann & Braun, the biggest takeover in the history of ABB.
In the early 2000s, things went the opposite way, as ABB sold its boiler and fossil fuel businesses to Alstom, and its nuclear business to Westinghouse. It also sold its interest in conventional power generation systems to Alstom Power, dropping out of venture ABB-Alstom Power. In 2004, it sold its Building Systems unit to Swiss equity company Capvis. All this took place as ABB found itself near bankruptcy, due to claims of asbestos liability and a build-up of debt. In 2006, the asbestos claims were settled and two years later ABB was back to acquiring other companies. In 2008, they bought Ber-Mac Electrical & Instrumentation, part of an initiative to increase ABB's presence in the western Canada oil and gas industry. In 2010, software company Ventyx was purchased from Vista Equity Partners for over $1 billion, with their software sector growing further in 2011 when Australian company Mincom was bought. There have been four big money acquisitions since – Baldor Electric USA for $4.2 billion in 2011, Thomas & Betts for $3.9 million in January 2012, wireless technology specialists Tropos in June 2012, and Power-One for $1 billion in 2013.
The Structure of ABB
With such a large number of acquisitions under the ABB umbrella, the organisation operates under four key production divisions, following a re-structure in January 2017.
The Electrification Products division focuses on the manufacture of products such as electric vehicle infrastructure, modular substations, distribution automation, solar inverters, ventilation systems, control products and wiring accessories.
The division of Robotics and Motion creates electric motors, drives, generators, industrial robots and power electronics. The production of wind generators and solar power inverters also falls into this division.
Industrial Automation is the division that focuses on creating control systems, plant optimisation, and automation applications, across seven business units, specialising in Control Technologies, Power Generation & Water, Process Industries, Turbocharging, Marine & Ports, Measurement & Analytics, and Oil, Gas & Chemicals.
Finally, the Power Grids division produces components for the transmission and distribution of electricity, incorporating ABB's manufacturing network of transformers, switchgear, circuit breakers and digital protective relays.
ABB's Product Ranges
ABB has a huge range of products, for a varied selection of industries. Amongst the products they produce are furniture, equipment and designs for control rooms; drives; high voltage products like switchgears, generator circuit breakers and instrument transformers; low voltage products such as electrical distribution, building technologies and electrical installation; and tools for measurement and analytics. They produce medium voltage products like modular systems and distribution automation and protection; mechanical power transmission products, metallurgical products such as electromagnetic stirring solutions for steel and aluminium; motors and generators; PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) Automation, with control panels and legacy products; power converters and inverters, including solar inverters, wind turbine converters, hydrokinetic converters, and traction converters; robotics such as industrial robots, controllers and application software; semiconductors including IGBT and diode modules, insulated gate bipolar transistors, integrated gate-commutated thyristors, diodes and silicon surge voltage suppressors; substation automation protection and control components; and transformers, including power transformers, distribution transformers, dry-type transformers, reactors and inductors and other components.
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ABB produces and manufactures products and systems for a range of industries, covering the sectors of aluminium, automotive, buildings, cement, chemical, data centers, food & beverage, life sciences, marine & portals, metals, mining, oil & gas, ports, power distribution, power generation, power transmission, printing, process automation, pulp and paper, railway, solar power, water, and wind power.
What ABB products do LED Controls stock?
At LED Controls, we stock a range of ABB's factory automation products, including thermal overload relays, moulded case circuit breakers, programmable logic controllers, machine safety components and sensors, motor control gear such as contactors, overloads and timer relays, power distribution consumer units, outgoing MCBs & RCB0S, and distribution boards.
Useful ABB Links


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Jewish World Review March 24, 2005/ 13 Adar II, 5765
Ann Coulter Starved for justice
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
Democrats have called out armed federal agents in order to: (1) prevent black children from attending a public school in Little Rock, Ark. (National Guard); (2) investigate an alleged violation of federal gun laws in Waco, Texas (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms); and (3) deport a small boy to Cuba (Immigration and Naturalization Service).
So how about a Republican governor sending in the National Guard to stop an innocent American woman from being starved to death in Florida? Republicans like the military. Democrats get excited about the use of military force only when it's against Americans.
In two of the three cases mentioned above, the Democrats' use of force was in direct contravention of court rulings. Admittedly, this was a very long time ago back in U.S. history when the judiciary was only one of the three branches of our government. Democratic Gov. Orval Faubus called out the Arkansas National Guard expressly for purposes of defying rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts.
The decadent buffoon Bill Clinton sent armed agents from the INS to seize a small boy from an American family despite rulings by the majestic and infallible Florida courts granting custody of the boy to that very family.
None of these exercises of military force has gone down in history as a noble moment, but that's because of the underlying purpose of the force, not the fact that force was used.
To the contrary, what has gone down in history as a glorious moment for the republic was when President Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) called out military force of his own. In response to Gov. Faubus' abuse of the National Guard, Eisenhower simultaneously revoked Faubus' control of the National Guard and ordered the 101st Airborne Division to escort black students to school. (Minutes later, Democrats pronounced the Arkansas public schools a "hopeless quagmire" and demanded to know what Ike's exit strategy was.)
As important as it was to enforce the constitutional right to desegregated schools, isn't it also important to enforce Terri Schiavo's right to due process before she is killed by starvation?
Liberals' newfound respect for "federalism" is completely disingenuous. People who support a national policy on abortion are prohibited from ever using the word "federalism."
I note that whenever liberals talk about "federalism" or "states' rights," they are never talking about a state referendum or a law passed by the duly elected members of a state legislature or anything voted on by the actual citizens of a state. What liberals mean by "federalism" is: a state court ruling. Just as "choice" refers to only one choice, "the rule of law" refers only to "the law as determined by a court."
As a practical matter, courts will generally have the last word in interpreting the law because courts decide cases. But that's a pragmatic point. There is nothing in the law, the Constitution or the concept of "federalism" that mandates giving courts the last word. Other public officials, including governors and presidents, are sworn to uphold the law, too.
It would be chaotic if public officials made a habit of disregarding court rulings simply because they disagreed with them. But a practice borne of practicality has led the courts to greater and greater flights of arrogance. Sublimely confident that no one will ever call their bluff, courts are now regularly discovering secret legal provisions requiring abortion and gay marriage and prohibiting public prayer and Ten Commandments displays.
Just once, we need an elected official to stand up to a clearly incorrect ruling by a court. Any incorrect ruling will do, but my vote is for a state court that has ordered a disabled woman to be starved to death at the request of her adulterous husband.
Florida state court judge George Greer last heard from when he denied an order of protection to a woman weeks before her husband stabbed her to death determined that Terri would have wanted to be starved to death based on the testimony of her husband, who was then living with another woman. (The judge also took judicial notice of the positions of O.J. Simpson, Scott Peterson and Robert Blake.) The husband also happened to be the only person present when the oxygen was cut off to Terri's brain in the first place. He now has two children with another woman.
Greer has refused to order the most basic medical tests for brain damage before condemning a woman to death. Despite all those years of important, searching litigation we keep hearing about, Terri has yet to receive either an MRI or a PET scan although she may be allowed to join a support group for women whose husbands are trying to kill them.
Greer has cut off the legal rights of Terri's real family and made her husband (now with a different family) her sole guardian, citing as precedent the landmark "Fox v. Henhouse" ruling of 1893. Throughout the process that would result in her death sentence, Terri was never permitted her own legal counsel. Evidently, they were all tied up defending the right to life of child-molesting murderers.
Given the country's fetishism about court rulings, this may be a rash assumption, but I presume if Greer had ordered that Terri Schiavo be shot at her husband's request a more humane death, by the way the whole country would not sit idly by, claiming to be bound by the court's ruling because of the "rule of law" and "federalism." President Bush would order the FBI to protect her and Gov. Bush would send in the state police.
What was supposed to be the "least dangerous" branch has become the most dangerous literally to the point of ordering an innocent American woman to die, and willfully disregarding congressional subpoenas. They can't be stopped solely because the entire country has agreed to treat the pronouncements of former ambulance-chasers as the word of G-d. The only power courts have is that everyone jumps when they say "jump." (Also, people seem a little intimidated by the black robes. From now on we should make all judges wear lime-green leisure suits.)
President Andrew Jackson is supposed to have said of a Supreme Court ruling he opposed: "Well, John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." The court's ruling was ignored. And yet, somehow, the republic survived.
If Gov. Jeb Bush doesn't say something similar to the Florida courts that have ordered Terri Schiavo to die, he'll be the second Republican governor disgraced by the illiterate ramblings of a state judiciary. Gov. Mitt Romney will never recover from his acquiescence to the Massachusetts Supreme Court's miraculous discovery of a right to gay marriage. Neither will Gov. Bush if he doesn't stop the torture and murder of Terri Schiavo.
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JWR contributor Ann Coulter is the author of, most recently, "How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must) : The World According to Ann Coulter". (Sales help fund JWR.)