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Fair ~
High: 53°F
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017
Recession or...Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2008, at 10:13 AM
For some time now signs of the current economic situation have been staring at us, but right now, at least in my humble opinion, things look pretty bleak.
I guess first I should mention that my understanding and grasp on economics is quite limited, but regardless I think it needs to be discussed.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan came out today and said that the country is in deed in a recession.
While to those of us here in the real world, it hasn't been a secret for some time, people of his stature are very leery of words like that and they don't use them unless things are indeed serious.
Someone very close to me, I won't name them because the situation might embarrass them, is fixing to join the crowd of several million others and lose his home.
He works in new home construction and five years ago during the housing boom was doing really well. Interest rates were low and there was more work than there were hours in the day.
He and his family purchased a 3 bedroom home at a remarkably low interest rate from one of these mortgage companies that began popping up around that time.
Over the past five years interest rates have risen, slowing the housing market and in turn slowing work for several industries.
As interest rates rose, his monthly mortgage payment has continued to increase while the amount of work and income has dropped dramatically.
A 30-percent mortgage increase combined with 40-percent less income is a recipe for total disaster.
After spending the last year selling off personal belongings and family treasures, he's finally reached the conclusion that he's reached the end.
He's decided that foreclosure is the only option. The past year been hard, not only on the pocketbook, but on the family, too. They've just decided it isn't worth it anymore.
I just wanted to share this story because I thought maybe some of you had a similar one. You just never know when it could be you.
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I am in my second semester of college, at nearly 40 years old. I am majoring in pre nursing right now and plan to have my RN degree in a couple of years. It is a career choice that I think will be recession proof as well as rewarding. I feel so bad for these people who lose their job and everything they own.At least if you and your family are healthy, that is a true blessing to count. We all need to keep our faith strong and be kind to each other, we are all battling something.
-- Posted by mizzou_mom on Thu, May 1, 2008, at 10:30 AM
I heard a BBC story on the radio this morning that homeless camps are springing up in Los Angeles populated by formerly middle class people who have lost their homes. The BBC reporter interviewed some of the people, and most are still working at some sort of a job.
-- Posted by FJGuy on Fri, Apr 11, 2008, at 2:22 PM
I do not know who your friend is, or where he lives, but there is another option that will possibly keep a foreclosure off of his credit report. If he knows a good Realtor he can list his property and possibly go with a SHORT SALE. If he can list it, the Realtor will have to contact the lender (with the permission of your friend) and discuss the possiblity of a Short Sale, if the lender agrees and they can get someone interested in the property in a short time frame (decided by lender) they can close on the property and your friend will not have a foreclosure on his credit report. He will receive a 1099 for any monies forgiven if property is sold for less than owed on the property.
-- Posted by A1Realtor on Thu, Apr 10, 2008, at 1:09 PM
Wow - there has to be some resource for him. Maybe that is wishful thinking, but you would think that help would be available for a hard-working, honest person.
-- Posted by my2kids on Wed, Apr 9, 2008, at 5:35 PM
Corey Noles' response:Well, there are certain kinds of help, but he's already exhausted most of it. The creditor involved isn't helping out anymore because the situation has gone on too long. To be honest, I think he's reached the point where he just wants out and doesn't even want help anymore. These things can be very frustrating and difficult for families to cope with even causing marital problems.
This is so sad! Does this mean that his house will be sold on the auction block at the county courthouse steps?
There have been at least three homes sold like that in the town where I live.
-- Posted by goat lady on Wed, Apr 9, 2008, at 3:43 PM
Corey Noles' response:Well, he doesn't live near here, but yes that's exactly what it means. It's very scary to see just how much of that has happened. Low income, middle class, upper class, it's happened to people in all walks of life. Even wealthy people have seen their investments and retirement savings shot down.
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Corey Noles, staff writer for The Daily Statesman and Editor of The North Stoddard Countian, is the author of a regular baseball/St. Louis Cardinals column and also uses his blog to sound off on various happenings in sports. He also operates a weekly baseball mailbag column.
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Jul 17, 2012
It All Started With a Masquerade
Using impersonation as an attack, a method known as social pretexting, is increasingly common and poses a serious risk to end users and businesses alike, from extracting secrets to planting seeds for future data theft. Pretexting isn't limited to teenagers setting up fake profiles to smear people or get secrets from their friends. NATO's supreme commander, James Stavridis, was also a target, and while nothing has been confirmed publicly, it is believed that the exploit resulted in some degree of elicitation of data from his associates.
Neohapsis conducted a field study to demonstrate the potential damage a pretexting attack may have on an enterprise. We decided to build a believable but fake security professional and use that persona to try to get information from people who should know better--other security pros.
In this report, we'll share some tips for conducting a pretexting exercise in your organization and discuss ways to educate employees about the risk. (S5380712)
Research Report

subset: commoncrawl


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This page has been created using the default recommended layout for webpages
that are part of the Delta College public website. You can delete this content, as it
is here to provide you a general guide on crafting content for your website.
Writing for the Web poses different problems than writing for print. Study after study has shown that SunGard.Framework.Users do not like to spend a lot of time reading on the Web. Instead, they scan pages, trying to pick out a few sentences or even parts of sentences to get the information they want.
When people visit your web page, they are after information. This means that if you are putting a brochure or newsletter online, you will want to rewrite the most important content to make the publication effective on the Web. You may also provide a downloadable PDF file of the original document for printing. Here are general guidelines to follow when writing for the web:
Make it easy for SunGard.Framework.Users to find your information quickly.
1961 Delta Road, University Center MI 48710 |
989-686-9000 | email@example.com
Delta College is an Equal Opportunity Organization, committed
to excellence through inclusiveness and diversity.
Copyright © 2013


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Interactive Map: Death Penalty Stances Around the World
For the full story: The Court at a Crossroads
In an increasingly global, interconnected world where national borders seem to mean less with each passing day, the Supreme Court is grappling with what to do about foreign legal precedent. The justices differ starkly on whether the Court should look to foreign law to inform its decisions or ignore precedent from other countries when interpreting the Constitution.
To illustrate one issue the Court has wrestled with, this map presents the various stances on capital punishment around the world.
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Capital Punishment Data Courtesy of Amnesty International


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Why is This Man Running from Tucson to Phoenix?
Also on Arizona Spotlight: County elections start taking shape; author tells grandfather's amazing story; and Tucson's replica cultural army.
Also on Arizona Spotlight: County elections start taking shape; author tells grandfather's amazing story; and Tucson's replica cultural army.
Also on Arizona Spotlight: Snakes in the Garden; Turning a Passion into a Business; Dímelo Asks About Favorite Places
Did you know that every year, "Happy 100th Birthday" cards are being sold in larger numbers? Meet and hear stories from women and men aged 99 years and older.
Teenagers like 15-year-old Tyler often overlooked when it comes to adoption 'but they still need love,' says his new dad, Ben Woelfle.
Migrants dropped off by Border Patrol get aid from volunteers before riding bus to relatives in U.S.
Story of a teen mom working hard to graduate high school despite getting pregnant at the age of 15.
"Who is Dayani Cristal?" puts Pima County on international map as it premiers across the world.
Mountain View High School senior hopes to land a spot on the team USA's skeet shooting team.
Transgender Pima County lawyer says situation even more difficult for trans people; most states including AZ don't have laws protecting LGBTQ people in workplace.
Brother and sister are part of nationwide effort to fix "a broken immigration system;" born to same parents but in different countries.
In Pima County, domestic violence deaths on the rise
Last day of school for first-timer, veteran
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Short Rockabilly Hair Trend for Men
Even men can work out ribbons of curls without sacrificing their masculinity and with this idea, we can see how hairstylist Janice Watt creatively helps the model pull off a curly fringe swept to the side and gathered on top. It runs along naturally down the forehead almost putting the Ivy League cut behind. Without the tapered side, it looks like a bouquet of flowers resting above a pair of tranquil eyes but enough with the allusion to girl glamour, this sleek haircut rocks like a platoon in the strawberry field.
Janice Watt - Off London Hair ACT


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Veteran and Military Student Affairs
Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are dedicated to providing our veteran and military students information and assistance with your education benefits program through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges have certifying officials on campus who will register and certify you for your education benefits, and our academic staff is committed to ensuring each student is directed and registered meeting your specific academic and career program needs.
EICC Policy and Practices
Eastern Iowa Community College currently has many policies, procedures and practices that assist our military and veteran students. The colleges have had a long tradition of providing quality services including certification of Veteran Benefits, awarding of credit for military training, military deployment withdrawal policy and in-state tuition policy for military, veterans and their dependents.
- EICC is VA Approved.
- Each campus has a staff member that handles certification for VA and Tuition Assistance.
- EICC utilizes ACE credit recommendations along with faculty input to award credit
for military training and courses.
- EICC has relationships with the Rock Island Arsenal, local National Guard Units and
Local Reserve Units.
- EICC provides in-state tuition (Board Policy 507) to military, veterans and their
- EICC provides advising, financial aid, and job/career placement services to military
and veteran students.
- EICC offers some scholarship opportunities through foundations specific to military
and veteran students.
- EICC allows military personnel called to active duty to withdraw without penalty.
(Student Handbook).
- EICC campuses provide or have provided military and veteran related activities and
- EICC has allowed military students to re-enter programs with limited enrollment without
- EICC has a Student Veteran's Organization Facebook group, Join us!
- EICC academic programs are well positioned to provide civilian credentials that complement
military training.
- EICC's flexible learning options, including online, evenings and short-term classes,
are well positioned to serve the needs of military and veteran students.
- Registrar Office Staff have attended VA and military benefit training to keep updated with changing regulations.
The Principles of Excellence was established by Executive Order 1307 in 2011. These guidelines are written to ensure that veterans' education benefits are handled properly, as well as providing support in their education endeavor and providing an environment that protects and ensures they receive what they have earned.
The principles are as follows:
- Provide students with a personalized form covering the total cost of an education
- Provide educational plans for all Military and Veteran education beneficiaries.
- End fraudulent and aggressive recruiting techniques and misrepresentation.
- Provide accommodations for Service Members and Reservists absent due to service requirements.
- Designate a Point of Contact for academic and financial advising.
- Ensure accreditation of all new programs prior to enrolling students.
- Align institutional refund policies with those under Title IV.


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Backgrounder #2676 on Regulation
April 6, 2012
April 6, 2012 | Backgrounder on Regulation
Abstract: The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1992 decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota protects out-of-state businesses in the Internet era from overreaching by revenue-hungry states. The Court's decision prevents a state from forcing an out-of-state business to serve as the state's sales tax collector if the business has no physical presence in the state and simply takes sales orders by Internet, catalog, or telephone. Congress has under consideration legislation (S. 1832) to overturn the Quill Corporation decision. To support a strong national economy and encourage fiscal responsibility among the states, Congress should reject the legislation.
Congress has under consideration legislation (S. 1832 of the 112th Congress) to allow states to require out-of-state businesses that have no connection to the state, other than taking orders over the Internet, by mail, or by telephone from in-state customers and sending the ordered goods by common carrier or U.S. mail, to become sales tax collection agents for the states. Enactment of such legislation would increase the amount of tax dollars millions of Americans pay, encourage states to increase the size and scope of their governments, favor some states over others in granting federal authority, and discourage free-market competition in interstate commerce. Accordingly, Congress should not enact the legislation.
The legislation overrules the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota.[1] The Quill decision protects out-of-state businesses that have no facilities or personnel in a state, but that receive orders by Internet, mail order catalog, or telephone from in-state customers (called "remote sales"), from the state's desire to force the out-of-state businesses to serve as tax collectors.
Many state governments have budgetary and political interests in maximizing the revenues they obtain from out-of-state businesses through sales and use taxes.[2] Many-state businesses have an economic interest in increasing the costs of doing business for their out-of-state competitors to gain a marketplace advantage.
Thus, it is unsurprising that state governments and their national associations,[3] and brick-and-mortar in-state retailers and their trade associations,[4] have endorsed enactment of federal legislation to override the Quill decision and allow state governments to require out-of-state businesses to collect and remit state sales and use taxes on remote sales. Associations representing companies that conduct or facilitate remote selling that is protected under the Quill decision from state compulsion to collect and remit sales taxes oppose the legislation.[5]
In enacting S. 1832, Congress would use its power under the Commerce Clause to regulate interstate commerce, and perhaps its power under the Compact Clause to consent to compacts or agreements among the states, to override the Quill decision and allow state governments to increase revenues by requiring out-of-state sellers to collect state sales or use taxes on remote sales.[6] Congress should reject S. 1832 so that it does not discourage spending restraint in the states and free enterprise in the economy.
In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court faced the Quill case involving a North Dakota statute that imposed a tax on property purchased for storage, use, or consumption in North Dakota and required retailers to collect the tax from consumers and remit the revenue to North Dakota. North Dakota regulations implementing the statute made clear that retailers covered by the statute included those who engaged in "regular or systematic solicitation of a consumer market in this state."
Quill Corporation ("Quill") was an office supply business incorporated in Delaware, with offices and warehouses in Illinois, California, and Georgia but with no employees, sales representatives, or significant property in North Dakota. Quill solicited sales from North Dakota residents by mail order catalog, advertisements and flyers, and telephone calls. Quill sent the purchased products to customers in North Dakota by U.S. mail or common carrier. Quill had about 3,000 customers in North Dakota and about $1 million in annual sales to them. Quill did not collect and remit the North Dakota use tax on its sales to North Dakota residents. North Dakota sued Quill in state courts for the taxes not remitted, and the case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
Quill maintained that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ("nor shall any State deprive any person of…property, without due process of law") and the Commerce Clause ("The Congress shall have Power…To regulate Commerce…among the several States") barred North Dakota from imposing the use tax on property purchased from Quill for storage, use, or consumption in North Dakota and from requiring Quill to collect the use tax from customers and remit the collections to North Dakota.
In its decision, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that "there is no question that Quill has purposefully directed its activities at North Dakota residents, that the magnitude of those contacts is more than sufficient for due process purposes, and that the use tax is related to the benefits Quill receives from access to the State" and agreed with the "conclusion that the Due Process Clause does not bar enforcement of that State's use tax against Quill."[7] However, the Court held that the Commerce Clause barred North Dakota from enforcing the state's use tax against Quill.
In discussing the impact of the Commerce Clause with respect to state taxes, the Court noted that "we will sustain a tax against a Commerce Clause challenge so long as the 'tax [1] is applied to an activity with a substantial nexus with the taxing State, [2] is fairly apportioned, [3] does not discriminate against interstate commerce, and [4] is fairly related to the services provided by the State.'"[8] The Court noted with respect to the first requirement that "the Commerce Clause and its nexus requirement are informed not so much by concerns about fairness for the individual defendant as by structural concerns about the effects of state regulation on the national economy."[9]
The Supreme Court adopted in Quill a bright-line rule that the "negative" or "dormant" aspect of the Commerce Clause, which protects against imposition by a state of unreasonable burdens on interstate commerce even in the absence of congressional exercise of power under the Commerce Clause, does not allow North Dakota to require collection and remittance of the state use tax revenue by a corporation whose only connection with customers in the state is by common carrier or U.S. mail.[10] The Court noted, however, that Congress remains free, by an affirmative exercise of its power under the Commerce Clause, to change that rule.[11]
State supreme courts have generally construed the Quill decision narrowly and state taxing power broadly,[12] but states remain bound by the Commerce Clause holding in Quill that a state cannot require collection and remittance of a sales or use tax on remote sales by an out-of-state seller who has no connection to the state other than by common carrier or U.S. mail.[13] Thus, the holding in Quill continues to protect an out-of-state company that has no facilities, personnel, or other connection to a state, other than a common carrier or the U.S. mail, from a requirement to collect and remit the state's sales or use tax on remote sales. Congress, however, has the authority under the Commerce Clause to take away that protection from the out-of-state businesses, as S. 1832 would do.
Enactment of S. 1832 will increase the amount of tax dollars Americans pay to state governments. Although proponents claim that the legislation causes no "tax increase" because state laws imposing sales and use taxes are already on the statute books and S. 1832 does not itself change those state statutes, there is no denying that businesses and individuals will pay more in taxes out of their pockets as a result of enactment of S. 1832. Indeed, that increase in what remote sellers will collect from businesses and individuals and remit to the state in tax revenues is precisely why many state governments want Congress to enact S. 1832.
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has noted with respect to S. 1832 that "[t]here will be some who claim that this is a new tax" and that "[t]his legislation will not require any state to levy a sales tax on any product or means of buying a product." Both claims miss the point. As a direct result of enactment of S. 1832, which allows states to require out-of-state remote sellers to collect state sales and use taxes that the Quill case currently prevents states from requiring, businesses and individuals will pay much more money to states in sales taxes. Indeed, the NCSL states that, "[a]t a time when states continue to face severe budget gaps—states closed shortfalls totaling $72 billion leading into the FY 2012 budget process—it is essential states be allowed to collect the revenue generated by uncollected sales taxes," noting further that "[i]n 2012, states will collectively lose an estimated $23.3 billion in uncollected sales taxes from out-of-state sales, with more than $11.3 billion alone from electronic commerce transactions…."[14]
The NCSL could not have made clearer that its objective in asking Congress to enact S. 1832 is to change federal law to authorize states to force remote-selling businesses and individuals to pay more money as sales and use taxes to the states, which want more revenue.
Overriding Quill Would Give States an Incentive to Increase Revenues Instead of Cutting the Size, Scope, and Cost of State Governments
Although many state governments have faced difficulty with their budgets, especially in a weak economy, slow improvement of state finances has begun.[15] As a general proposition, states should focus on cutting their spending rather than seeking more money in taxes as the means to balance their budgets. Especially in a weak economy, state governments should generally pursue pro-growth, job-creating tax policies rather than taking more money out of the private economy in sales tax collection.
Whether the NCSL-cited estimate of $11.3 billion in additional money that would be paid to states in sales taxes on electronic remote sales is precise or not, it is clear that businesses and individuals will pay more money to states in such taxes as a result of enactment of S. 1832.[16] The federal government should not enact legislation such as S. 1832, whose principal purpose is to allow states to reach out of the state and take in yet more tax money from businesses and individuals.
The proposed federal legislation fails to respect the traditional roles of the states as equal sovereign actors in the federal system and instead has Congress, using its power under the Commerce Clause, favoring some states over others. The federal legislation has the effect of dividing the states into three classes and gives different federally granted, tax-related authority to the three classes, with some states receiving more than others.
The first class consists of a minority of states, currently numbering 21, that have joined as full members of the multi-state Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA or Agreement), administered by an organization called the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc.[17] The laudable stated purpose of the SSUTA is "to simplify and modernize sales and use tax administration in the member states in order to substantially reduce the burden of tax compliance."[18] Article VI of the SSUTA, however, goes beyond the stated tax-simplification purpose of the agreement and encourages enactment of federal legislation to overrule Quill and authorize states to collect sales or use taxes on "remote sales."
The SSUTA defines "Remote sales" as "sales into a state in which the seller would not legally be required to collect sales or use tax, but for the ability of that state to require such 'remote seller' to collect sales or use tax under federal authority," the latter referring to the federal legislation under the Commerce Clause to overrule the Quill decision that the SSUTA member states seek.[19] The first class of states gets federal authority to collect its sales or use tax on remote sales under subsection 3(a) of S. 1832, which provides that "Each Member State under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement is authorized to require all sellers not qualifying for a small seller exception to collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales sourced to that Member State pursuant to the provisions of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement."
The second class of states consists of states that are not full members of the SSUTA but that adopt state laws that impose SSUTA-like "minimum simplification requirements." Subsection 3(b) of S. 1832 provides that "[a] State that is not a Member State under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement is authorized to require all sellers not qualifying for the small seller exception to collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales sourced to that State, but only if the State adopts and implements minimum simplification requirements." Under subsection 3(b), the "minimum simplification requirements" are:
The "minimum simplification requirements" parallel to some extent SSUTA requirements.[20]
The third class of states under the proposed federal legislation are those that neither wish to join the SSUTA nor wish to adopt the SSUTA-like minimum simplification requirements. Examples of states likely to fall into the third class are Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon, which do not levy general sales taxes. If S. 1832 were enacted, other states could collect sales taxes on remote sales by remote sellers located in those four states even though those four states do not impose general sales taxes on anyone, either in-state or out-of-state. As a result, any remote-seller businesses in Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon, whose state legislatures have made conscious decisions not to impose a general state sales tax, would nevertheless have to collect and remit such sales taxes to other states.
Under S. 1832, the first class of states and the second class of states get federal authority, the Quill decision notwithstanding, to require remote sellers—that is, out-of-state businesses that obtain sales in a state by Internet, mail order, or telephone without having any facilities or personnel in the state—to collect and remit the state's sales or use tax on remote sales. The first class of states—that is, the SSUTA full members—get greater flexibility, however, than the second class of states. States in the first class can, acting in concert through the SSUTA governing board, establish their own alternative small seller exceptions, but the second class of states must follow the small seller exception specified in the federal legislation.[21] Also, states in the first class can, again acting in concert through the SSUTA governing board, change their rules with respect to "sourcing" remote sales (that is, deciding where to treat the sale as having occurred, such as at the point of a product's origin or at its destination, and therefore what state will tax the sale), whereas the other states must follow the sourcing rules set forth is S. 1832.[22]
The third class of states remains covered by the Quill decision unless they enact the "minimum simplification requirements" to enter the second class of states or decide to become full members of the SSUTA to enter the first class of states. Clearly, enactment of S. 1832 would pressure the current majority of states that have stayed out of the SSUTA to join the minority of states that are members of the SSUTA.
Enactment of S. 1832 to override Quill, authorize state governments to require out-of-state remote sellers to collect sales taxes, and allow SSUTA full member states to have the power to change their sourcing rules from time to time, creates the potential for multiple taxation of the remote sellers in some circumstances, with the same sales transactions taxed by the state of the customer who used the Internet to place the order and the state in which the remote seller is located. Current law prohibits such multiple taxation, but that prohibition expires on November 1, 2014.[23]
The National Conference of State Legislatures has said with respect to state sales taxes that "[a]llowing some remote sellers to avoid collecting this tax is unfair to the main street merchants that make up the lifeblood of our local communities."[24] The SSUTA member states complain that "[a]t a time when Main Street retailers face enormous competitive challenges it is appropriate for Congress to end this unfair treatment."[25] The Federation of Tax Administrators believes "the current system disadvantages 'bricks and mortar' stores to the advantage of out-of-state businesses and this Act will help improve business activities in our states and the employment these in-state businesses generate."[26]
These organizations are remarkably transparent about their purpose: They seek enactment of S. 1832 so that states can prefer in-state businesses over out-of-state businesses in the kind of anti-competitive economic discrimination the U.S. Constitution was in part adopted to prevent. As the U.S. Supreme Court has stated, "[p]reservation of local industry by protecting it from the rigors of interstate competition is the hallmark of the economic protectionism that the Commerce Clause prohibits."[27]
The Constitution of the United States has set the legal baseline—the level playing field—around which the American free-market economy has built itself. The Constitution, as reflected in the Quill decision, is the source of the present arrangement regarding collection of state sales and use taxes by remote sellers. Ever since the Supreme Court decided Quill in 1992, American businesses have made millions of business decisions in the competitive marketplace based in part on settled expectations regarding state taxation affecting their sales transactions. The states and businesses advocating S. 1832 seek to change the current, constitutionally prescribed playing field. They seek to use governmental power to intervene in the economy to help in-state, store-based businesses by imposing a new tax-collection burden on out-of-state competitors who sell over the Internet, through mail order catalogs, or by telephone. Free-market principles generally discourage such government intervention in the economy to pick winners and losers based on legislative policy preferences.
The Constitution has not set up a system that is "unfair" to "Main Street" or "brick and mortar" retailers. The issue is not "taxable" in-state businesses selling from stores competing with "untaxable" out-of-state businesses selling through the Internet. Both types of businesses are taxable through some form of tax in some state (or in many states).
Every sale of goods, whether to a business consumer or an individual consumer, has an order ("I'll take it"), payment ("Cash, check, debit, or credit?"), and a delivery ("Here you go; have a nice day"). If a consumer chooses to go to a store to buy a product, the ordering and delivery typically occur in the seller's physical facility (the store) in a state. If the consumer chooses to go online to buy the product, the ordering occurs online without the involvement of a physical facility of the seller (i.e., the order does not occur in a store), but the sale and delivery require that the seller (directly or through agents) have a physical facility (for example, a warehouse) in some state from which the seller sends goods via common carrier or U.S. mail to the consumer who ordered them online.
Thus, every sale of goods involves at least one physical facility located in one state or another, which provides a basis for taxation by that state. No one has become completely "untaxable."
A consumer's preference between two methods of purchase, such as buying in a store or buying over the Internet, on a given occasion may involve consumer thoughts about price, quality, commercial loyalty, geographical convenience, temporal convenience, perceived pleasantness of the sales method chosen, other reasons, or not much thought at all. A consumer's choice between buying in a store or buying online does not necessarily mean a conscious choice between an in-state and an out-of-state seller, as consumers rarely know the state in which an Internet operation is located. The consumer's choice between buying in a store or buying online does not necessarily even mean a choice between two different sellers. Many companies sell both from stores and through the Internet.[28] Consumers should be free to choose how and where they will buy goods they seek without interference from a state trying to steer that purchase to a local store.
In the long run, the national economy as a whole benefits from allowing consumers to choose freely what they wish to buy, of whatever quality they wish, at whatever prices they choose to pay, and from whatever seller they wish, whether in the same state as the consumer or not. Intervention by the federal government and the states in the consumers' choices by enactment and implementation of S. 1832 would increase the revenues of states, but hobbling out-of-state businesses that sell through the Internet or mail order catalogs does not help the national economy.
Congress should not override the Supreme Court's decision in Quill Corporation v. North Dakota that the Commerce Clause prohibits a state from requiring out-of-state sellers over the Internet, by catalog, or by telephone that have no connection to a state other than a common carrier or the U.S. mail to collect and remit the state's sales and use taxes. Enactment of S. 1832 would simply encourage state governments to take more money from taxpayers and spend it instead of getting the size, scope, and cost of state governments under control.
The independent decisions of millions of consumers in the free marketplace should decide the appropriate allocation of sales between the store-based model of selling and the non-store-based model of selling, such as Internet sales, and between sellers who are local and sellers who are elsewhere in America. To support a stronger national economy, Congress should reject economic protectionism for local businesses, reject state government bloat, and reject S. 1832.
—David S. Addington is Vice President for Domestic and Economic Policy at The Heritage Foundation.
Show references in this report
[1] Quill Corporation v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992).
[2] A useful definition of "sales or use tax" is "a tax that is imposed on or incident to the sale, purchase, storage, consumption, distribution, or other use of tangible personal property or services as may be defined by laws imposing such tax and which is measured by the amount of the sales price or other charge for such property or service." Section 1105(6)(C) of the Internet Tax Freedom Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note).
[3] See letters, all dated November 9, 2011, from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., National Association of Counties, Federation of Tax Administrators, and heads of the National League of Cities, United States Conference of Mayors, and Government Finance Officers Association to Senators Durbin (D–IL), Alexander (R–TN), Enzi (R–WY), and Johnson (D–SD), available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[4] See letter dated November 7, 2011, from the International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc., to Senators Alexander, Durbin, and Enzi; letter dated November 8, 2011, from the National Retail Federation to Senators Durbin, Alexander, Enzi, and Johnson; and letter dated November 9, 2011, from the Retail Industry Leaders Association to Senator Enzi, available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[5] See, for example, Direct Marketing Association, statement of November 9, 2011, available at http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/disppressrelease?article=1521; Computer & Communications Industry Association, statement of November 9, 2011, available at http://www.ccianet.org/index.asp?sid=5&artid=270&evtflg=False.
[6] The Commerce Clause of the Constitution (art. I, sec. 8) provides that "The Congress shall have Power…To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes…." The Compact Clause (art. I, sec. 10) provides that "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress…enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State…." The Compact Clause "does not require congressional approval of every agreement between or among States." Star Scientific, Inc. v. Beales, 278 F. 3d 339, 359 (4th Cir. 2002), cert. denied sub nomine Star Scientific, Inc. v. Kilgore, 537 U.S. 818 (2002). In United States Steel Corporation v. Multistate Tax Commission, 434 U.S. 452, 468 (1978), the U.S. Supreme Court adopted the standard, first stated in Virginia v. Tennessee, 148 U.S. 503, 519 (1893), that interstate agreements requiring congressional consent are those "which may encroach upon or interfere with the just supremacy of the United States." Courts might find that the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SSUTA), to which S. 1832 refers, does not encroach upon or interfere with just federal supremacy and therefore does not require congressional approval under the Compact Clause.
[7] Quill Corporation, 504 U.S. at 308.
[8] Quill Corporation, 504 U.S. at 311, quoting Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, 430 U.S. 274, 279 (1977).
[9] Quill Corporation, 504 U.S. at 312. James Madison, writing near the end of his life, looked back and identified state tax discrimination against interstate commerce as one of the sources of dissatisfaction with the Articles of Confederation: "The other source of dissatisfaction was the peculiar situation of some of the States, which having no convenient ports for foreign commerce, were subject to be taxed by their neighbors, thro whose ports, their commerce was carryed on. New Jersey, placed between Phila & N. York, was likened to a cask tapped at both ends; and N. Carolina, between Virga & S. Carolina to a patient bleeding at both arms. The Articles of Confederation provided no remedy for the complaint: which produced a strong protest on the part of N. Jersey; and never ceased to be a source of dissatisfaction & discord, until the new Constitution, superseded the old." James Madison, Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, "Preface to Debates in the Convention: A Sketch Never Finished Nor Applied" (New York: Prometheus Books, 1987), p. 5, also available at http://www.teachingamericanhistory.org/convention/debates/preface.html.
[10] The Court has stated succinctly the nature of the "dormant" or "negative" Commerce Clause: "The Commerce Clause provides that 'Congress shall have Power…[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States.' Although the Constitution does not in terms limit the power of States to regulate commerce, we have long interpreted the Commerce Clause as an implicit restraint on state authority, even in the absence of a conflicting federal statute." United Haulers Association, Inc. v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority, 550 U.S. 330, 338 (2007) (citations omitted). The Court has made clear that "[p]reservation of local industry by protecting it from the rigors of interstate competition is the hallmark of the economic protectionism that the Commerce Clause prohibits." West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U.S. 186, 205 (1994). The interpretation that the clause imposes an implicit restraint on states, although long-standing, is not without critics. Justice Thomas has said that "[t]he negative Commerce Clause has no basis in the Constitution and has proved unworkable in practice…. Because this Court has no policy role in regulating interstate commerce, I would discard the Court's negative Commerce Clause jurisprudence." United Haulers Association, 550 U.S. 349 (Thomas, J., dissenting) (citations omitted). Justice Scalia has said that "[t]he historical record provides no grounds for reading the Commerce Clause to be other than what it says—an authorization for Congress to regulate Commerce." Tyler Pipe Industries, Inc. v. Washington State Department of Revenue, 483 U.S. 232, 263 (1987) (Scalia, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).
[11] Quill Corporation, 504 U.S. at 318.
[12] See, for example, Lamtec Corporation v. Department of Revenue, 170 Wash. 2d 838, 851 (Washington 2011)(en banc), cert. denied, 132 S. Ct. 95 (2011) (business and occupation tax) ("Although Lamtec did not have a permanent presence within the state, by regularly sending sales representatives into the state to maintain its market, Lamtec satisfied the nexus requirement. We…hold that the Department had authority under the commerce clause to impose a B & O tax."); KFC Corporation v. Iowa Department of Revenue, 792 N.W. 2d 308, 328 (Iowa 2010), cert. denied 132 S. Ct. 97 (2011) ("…we hold that a physical presence is not required under the dormant Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution in order for the Iowa legislature to impose an income tax on revenue earned by an out-of-state corporation arising from the use of its intangibles by franchisees located within the State of Iowa. We hold that, by licensing franchisees within Iowa, KFC has received the benefit of an orderly society within the state and, as a result, is subject to the payment of income taxes that otherwise meet the requirements of the dormant Commerce Clause."); Truck Renting and Leasing Association v. Commissioner of Revenue, 433 Mass. 733 (2001) (state corporate excise tax applies because Commerce Clause nexus exists when out-of-state truck-leasing company rents out vehicles, knowing that they will enter Massachusetts, and they do, in fact, enter Massachusetts); Tax Commissioner of the State of West Virginia v. MBNA America Bank, N.A., 220 W. Va. 163, 171 (2007), cert. denied sub nomine FIA Card Services, N.A. v. Tax Commissioner of West Virginia, 551 U.S. 1141 (2007) ("…we now hold that the United States Supreme Court's determination in Quill Corp v. North Dakota, 504 U.S. 298 (1992), that an entity's physical presence in a state is required to meet the 'substantial nexus' prong of Complete Auto Transit, Inc. v. Brady, 430 U.S. 274 (1977), applies only to state sales and use taxes and not to state business franchise and corporation net income taxes." (parallel citations omitted)).
[13] As a practical matter, many of the decisions construing or applying the U.S. Supreme Court's Quill decision occur in the courts of the several states, because federal law (28 U.S.C. 1341) prevents federal courts from issuing injunctive remedies against state tax collection in many cases. The law states: "The district courts shall not enjoin, suspend or restrain the assessment, levy or collection of any tax under State law where a plain, speedy and efficient remedy may be had in the courts of such State." Decisions of state supreme courts construing or applying the Quill decision may reach the U.S. Supreme Court under the statute that permits the Court to review by writ of certiorari final decisions of the highest courts of a state in which a decision could be had in a case in which "the validity of a statute of any State is drawn in question on the ground of its being repugnant to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States." 28 U.S.C. 1257(a).
[14] Letter dated November 9, 2011, from the National Conference of State Legislatures to Senators Durbin, Alexander, Enzi, and Johnson, available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[15] See "The Fiscal Survey of States: Fall 2011, Executive Summary," National Governors Association and National Association of State Budget Officers ("The slow improvement in state finances began in 2011 as highlighted by 38 states reporting that they had higher general fund spending in fiscal 2011 compared to fiscal 2010 and continued with 43 states enacting fiscal 2012 budgets with increasing general fund expenditures as compared to fiscal 2011. However, 29 states still have lower general fund spending in fiscal 2012 compared to the pre-recession levels of fiscal 2008, illustrating how significantly state fiscal conditions were affected by the recession."), available at http://www.nasbo.org/sites/default/files/2011%20Fall%20Fiscal%20Survey%20of%20States.pdf.
[16] For the details of the NCSL-cited estimate, see Donald Bruce, William F. Fox, and LeAnn Luna, "State and Local Government Sales Tax Revenue Losses from Electronic Commerce," The University of Tennessee (April 13, 2009), available at http://cber.bus.utk.edu/ecomm/ecom0409.pdf. Note that inclusion in the study title of the phrase "Tax Revenue Losses" reveals a certain mindset about the issue: The inability to have a remote seller collect state sales tax on remote sales is a "loss" of revenue to the state only if one assumes that the state is entitled in the first place to force a remote seller to collect and remit such money. But the Quill decision holds plainly that a state is prohibited by the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution from forcing the remote seller to do so (absent enactment of federal legislation authorizing it). Thus, the question involved in considering S. 1832 is not whether a state is "losing" revenue absent federal legislation, but rather whether Congress should pass such legislation to allow the state to "gain" revenue that the Constitution, as construed in Quill, does not now allow the state to require the remote seller to provide. Note also that the University of Tennessee's study bears on its cover page the note that "the authors are grateful to [name of the Executive Director] of the Streamlined States Governing Board."
[17] Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, adopted November 12, 2002, and amended through December 19, 2011, available at http://www.streamlinedsalestax.org/index.php?page=modules. The Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, lists 21 states as members (Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) and three states as associate members (Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah). Section 801.1 of the SSUTA defines a "full member" as "a state that has been found in compliance pursuant to Sections 804 and 805 and the changes to their statutes, rules, regulations or other authorities necessary to bring them into compliance are in effect." Section 801.3 of the SSUTA defines "associate state" as "a state that has achieved substantial compliance with the terms of the Agreement taken as a whole, but not necessarily each provision as required by section 805, measured qualitatively." Section 804 of the SSUTA provides that the "governing board shall determine if a petitioning state is in compliance with the Agreement" and that "[a] three-fourths vote of the entire governing board is required to approve a state's petition for membership." Section 805 states in full: "A state is in compliance with the Agreement if the effect of the state's laws, rules, regulations, and policies is substantially compliant with each of the requirements set forth in the Agreement." The Internet website address of the corporation known as the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., is http://www.streamlinedsalestax.org. Under section 3(a) of S. 1832 and the definition of "Member State" in section 6(3) of the legislation, the federal authority granted by section 3(a) extends only to full members of the SSUTA and not to associate states. For an early discussion of concerns with the idea of a state sales tax cartel, see "Why Congress Should Not Authorize a State Sales Tax Cartel," The Heritage Foundation, Executive Memorandum No. 778 (September 26, 2001), available at http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2001/pdf/em778.pdf.
[18] SSUTA, section 102.
[19] SSUTA, section 605. The definition of "Remote sales" applies to sections 606 to 613 in Article VI of the SSUTA.
[20] See, for example, SSUTA sections 301 (single agency), 302 (uniform tax base), and 318 (single tax return).
[21] Subsection 3(a) of S. 1832 excludes SSUTA member states from collecting sales and use taxes under the legislation from sellers "not qualifying for a small seller exception." Subsection 3(b) excludes SSUTA non-member states from such collection from sellers "not qualifying for the small seller exception" (italics added to emphasize the distinction between the articles "a" and "the"). Courts assume that the use of different terms within related provisions in a statute generally implies that different meanings were intended. See Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23 (1983) ("We refrain from concluding here that the differing language in the two subsections has the same meaning in each. We would not presume to ascribe this difference to a simple mistake in draftsmanship.") Subsection 3(c) of the bill, captioned "SMALL SELLER EXCEPTION," protects small businesses from having to collect state sales and use taxes on remote sales if they do not have "gross annual receipts in total remote sales in the United States in the preceding calendar year exceeding $500,000." The most reasonable construction of the phrase "the small seller exception" in subsection 3(b) is that it refers to the small seller exception set forth in subsection 3(c). In contrast, the most reasonable construction of the phrase "a small seller exception" in subsection 3(a) is that it refers to the small seller exception set forth in subsection 3(c) or a present or potential alternative small seller exception. The alternative small seller exception may be that contemplated by section 610 of the SSUTA. Section 610 of the SSUTA states that, taking various factors into account, the SSUTA governing board "shall develop a sales volume threshold for determining which small 'remote sellers' qualify for an exemption from the requirement to collect sales or use taxes on 'remote sales'." Section 610 of the SSUTA gives a further instruction that "[t]he exemption threshold shall be set at a relatively low level and over time adjusted downward so that only sellers making isolated or occasional sales are excluded from the collection requirement." In light of subsections 3(a) and 3(b) of S. 1832 and section 610 of the SSUTA, courts may well construe the reference to "a small seller exception" in subsection 3(a) as indicating that the SSUTA member states could, if they wish, adopt (through concerted action in a vote of the SSUTA governing board) a small seller exception of whatever sales volume threshold and follow that state law–based small seller exception instead of following the small seller exception in subsection 3(a) of S. 1832. Under that construction of S. 1832, SSUTA member states would be free under subsection 3(a), by acting in concert in a vote of the SSUTA governing board, to require remote sellers with total U.S. remote sales gross annual receipts under $500,000 to collect and remit state sales and use taxes, but SSUTA non-member states could not do so under subsection 3(b).
[22] Subsection 3(a) of S. 1832 grants authority to require sellers (excluding those within the small seller exception) to collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales "sourced to that Member State pursuant to the provisions of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement." Then subsection 6(8) of the bill repeats that "[a] State granted authority under section 3(a) shall comply with the sourcing provisions of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement." Lastly, section 6(10) defines the term "Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement" to mean "the multi-State agreement with that title adopted on November 12, 2002, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act and as further amended from time to time." Subsections 6(8) and 6(10), including the phrase "as further amended from time to time," read with the text of section 3(a), allow SSUTA member states, acting in concert through a vote of the SSUTA governing board, to change sourcing rules applicable to them under S. 1832 by making changes (without any involvement by Congress or any of the rest of the federal government) in the SSUTA sourcing rules. In contrast, states in the second class are bound by the unchanging sourcing rules set forth in section 6(8) of S. 1832. Courts might not uphold the congressional delegation to the private party Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., which by three-fourths vote has the power to amend the SSUTA under section 901 of the SSUTA, of legislative power to change the sourcing rules applicable under federal law (S. 1832 if enacted) for SSUTA member states. The ability of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc., to change from time to time the federal law rule on sourcing applicable to SSUTA member states might be construed as creating federal law without following the constitutional requirements of bicameral passage by the Houses of Congress and presentment to the President required for the making of a federal law. For an early recommendation on sourcing, see "After the Net Tax Commission: The Gregg–Kohl Nexus Solution," The Heritage Foundation, Backgrounder No. 1363 (April 25, 2000) ("…by making it clear that extraterritorial taxation would be prohibited in virtually all cases, S. 2401 would encourage state and local governments to adopt an 'origin-based' tax methodology under which they would levy sales taxes only on companies whose principal place of business resided within their taxing jurisdiction. Sourcing all sales to the location of origin instead of the destination of sale would enable state and local governments to impose taxes on Internet (and catalog) sales in the same way they impose them on traditional Main Street retail sales."), available at http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2000/04/after-the-net-tax-commission?query=After+the+Net+Tax+Commission:+The+Gregg-Kohl+Nexus+Solution.
[23] Section 1101 of the Internet Freedom Tax Act (47 U.S.C. 151 note) provides that "[n]o State or political subdivision thereof shall impose any of the following taxes during the period beginning November 1, 2003 and ending November 1, 2014: …(2) Multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce." Section 1105 of the Act defines "discriminatory tax" and "multiple tax" for purposes of the Act. A "multiple tax" is "any tax that is imposed by one State…. . . on the same . . . electronic commerce that is also subject to another tax imposed by another State . . . , without a credit . . . for taxes paid in other jurisdictions."
[24] See letter dated November 9, 2011, from National Conference of State Legislatures to Senators Durbin, Alexander, Enzi, and Johnson, available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[25] See letter dated November 9, 2011, from Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc. to Senators Durbin, Alexander, Enzi, and Johnson, available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[26] See letter dated November 9, 2011, from Federation of Tax Administrators to Senators Durbin, Alexander, Enzi, and Johnson, available as inserted in the Congressional Record at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?r112:./temp/~r112MkIcsa.
[27] West Lynn Creamery, Inc. v. Healy, 512 U.S. 186, 205 (1994).
[28] For example, the well-known retailers Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and Target Corporation sell from stores in nearly every state (all states in the case of Wal-Mart as of December 31, 2010, and all but Vermont in the case of Target Corporation as of January 29, 2011) and also accept customer orders electronically over the Internet at the company sites on the World Wide Web at www.walmart.com and www.target.com. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., "Fiscal 2011 Unit Count," available at http://walmartstores.com/sites/annualreport/2011/financials/Fiscal2011_Unit_Count.pdf; Target Corporation, Annual Report for 2010, Securities and Exchange Commission Form 10-K, Item 2. Properties, available at http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/27419/000104746911002032/a2201861z10-k.htm .


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About the Author: Adam Zerbinopoulos serves as the Deputy Refugee Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.
Last summer, thirteen Burmese ethnic minority refugees were each given a disposable camera and a simple request: document the people, places and events that make up your life. The participants represent the diversity of Mae La, Thailand's largest refugee camp: they are men and women from different religious and ethnic groups, with different ages and educational backgrounds and different experiences of life outside of camp. Though many had never used a camera before, all produced vivid, engrossing scenes of camp life.
The pictures show people at work and play. There are people studying, worshiping, eating, relaxing and mugging for the camera. Some of the photographers focused on family life; others dwelled on natural scenery and their physical environment. One showed off her weaving and handicrafts while another chronicled his voyage through the process of resettling to the United States. Occasionally the quotidian scenes are punctuated by scars or barbed wire, reminders of difficult realities that are never far from the surface of refugees' lives.
The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, through implementing partners like the International Rescue Committee and American Refugee Committee, funds a variety of assistance programs benefitting the residents of Mae La and eight other camps along the Thai-Burma border. These programs provide vital food and nutritional support, medical care and other necessities. In addition to this material assistance, resettlement to America has provided a durable solution to tens of thousands who have suffered terrible oppression in their native Burma.
To see more of these remarkable photographs and learn about U.S. humanitarian assistance to refugees and migrants, please visit the photo gallery of Embassy Bangkok's Refugee and Migration Affairs section.
SNP in Syria writes:
That looks like luxury accommodation compared to the Iraqi and Palestinian refugees living in Syria and Lebanon. Any plan by the U.S. State Department and U.N. Agencies to alleviate the suffering of these people in the next 80 years.
Brad in U.S.A. writes:
How can we help these poor people. Is there a website to donate some money?


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Here's how RW members rated this race in the past (75 votes).
In short: Lovely Run on CLOSED ROADS (a rarity nowadays) on a Sunny Sunday Morning.In full: Very nice friendly atmosphere, some good runners at the front but also competitive for the non club runners such as me. Great weather added to the occasion .....and a very nice dayglow souvenir shirt...very "with it !" Great to chat with the 71 year old Veteran Lady who still Runs 3 times a week at the start - here's hoping I have her vitality in 16 years time !Date of review: July 15, 2014
In short: Excellent organisationIn full: Found it very tough this year.Date of review: July 15, 2014
In short: Fantastic!In full: Great scenery including Eccup Reservoir, friendly atmosphere, attracts some good quality runners as the winning time was 54mins on a challenging course. Date of review: July 14, 2014
In short: Good race, poor water stationsIn full: Generally good organisation. There was a problem issuing numbers to those who turned up a bit close to the race start (I was there an just over an hour early and found no queue). Baggage drop was excellent, marshals friendly, as expected!Big problem: water stations. We knew it would be very hot, and water stations were wholly inept and inadequate to the task. The marshals at the stations tried very hard but too many people trying to get drinks just made for utter chaos and resulted in runners missing water completely or losing time waiting in queues for a cup!Date of review: July 9, 2013
In short: Beautiful course but the heat made it less fun than it could have beenIn full: There were some problems collecting the numbers - with 750 runners it may make more sense to post them. The course is challenging, especially the hills around the 6-7 mile mark and the one near the end. There were some issues at the water stations but being in the bottom half I didn't see the issues. I was carrying water for the first time and I was glad I did. It was baking hot. I would like to have another go, but only if it's cooler.Date of review: July 8, 2013
In short: Good race - too hotIn full: The only minor criticism I would have is that it took so long t o collect race numbers and as such the start was delayed by 7 minutes. Not a major issue in my opinion. Easily sorted in my opinion -charge a pound more and post them out. Water stations were busy but I was expecting this as it was the hottest day of the year.Good run, certainly not flat despite what I had heard people say. Potential PB if the weather is kinder!Date of review: July 8, 2013
In short: A beautiful, slightly challenging run with lots of friendly people.Date of review: January 1, 2013
In short: Nice scenic run with mild challenges and well organisedIn full: Well organised. Good route. Some steady inclines, but good for those getting going. Well marshalled. Good value for money with a tech tee shirt and lots of homemade goodies! Am thinking of suggesting as one of our club runs next year. Well done. Thanks. Date of review: July 16, 2012
In short: Fabulous, absolutely fabulous race :)In full: A tough course for sure but a lovely atmosphere, lovely scenery and outstanding value for money.Date of review: July 16, 2012
In short: Fabulous scenic but hilly raceDate of review: July 16, 2012
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Let common sense prevail
Part of the reason so many Americans are fed up with government in general is that too often, bureaucrats display a lack of common sense.
During World War II, Joe McGrain of Rochester served aboard a B-26 bomber. That very aircraft is on display at the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
For decades, McGrain has wanted to see his plane again and to show it to his wife and two sons. On Oct. 1, McGrain and his wife went to Dayton. His sons, from Washington, D.C., and New Orleans, went with their parents.
No way, the McGrains were told when they asked to see the B-26. The museum was closed as part of the partial government shutdown that began that day.
Yes, the museum is closed, but it's not completely, 100 percent closed because some personnel remain on duty there. What would it have hurt for one of them to quietly escort the McGrains in to see the aircraft on which an elderly man once risked his life for his country?
On that same Tuesday, 91 veterans from Mississippi visited the National Mall in Washington to see the World War II monument. They were flown to the capital through the Honor Flight program. An Honor Flight representative called the National Park Service about the barricade in front of the monument. He was told that anyone who tried to enter would be arrested.
The veterans, some in their 90s, pushed the barricade aside. Led by a bagpiper, they went onto the monument grounds.
Park Service police, showing more common sense, compassion and patriotism than some of their superiors, moved aside and watched. No one was arrested.
Some of the officers may well have pondered how it was that the bureaucrats decided Park Service employees to keep the monument open were not considered "essential" and thus were not on the job – while there was plenty of money for officers told to keep it closed.
We're glad that veterans on subsequent Honor Flights, including one from the North Country, were allowed to see the World War II and other memorials. This makes sense.
The World War II monument has since been adopted by the tea party movement, which claims President Obama is scoring political points by closing sites and blaming it on Republicans. Tea partiers held a rally at the monument this weekend, but that event, featuring Sarah Palin and Sen. Ted Cruz, was the same kind of political point-scoring these people say they oppose. We want no part of that.
We just think that, since some staff are working during the shutdown, sensible exceptions can be made. One has to wonder what veterans like McGrain are thinking about the government for which they risked their lives. Common sense, they may conclude, has been told to stay at home during the shutdown. Thankfully, sometimes it shows up for work anyway.


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Topic: When not to use Rails
As I'm new to rails and development in general I wanted to know when you wouldn't use rails. I'm looking at using rails predominatly for client web sites, ie shopping cart functionality and websites that allow an administrator to manage content. Is rails to complex for small websites? Obviously if a site was just static and no database backend then I wouldn't use rails for that site.
My question is, when wouldn't you use rails? I'm interested in hearing how others are or aren't using rails and why they came to that decision.
Last edited by sydneyfx (2007-07-18 22:06:26)


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Jamestown man's death ruled accidental, autopsy says
MAYVILLE – The death of a Jamestown man who died while in police custody earlier this year has officially been ruled accidental.
Chautauqua County District Attorney David Foley announced Wednesday that Charles Baker Jr., 30, died as a result of acute intoxication of two drugs.
The city resident was in custody following a traffic stop on Feb. 16 and became combative with officers. At one point a Taser was used on Baker; he was placed in a confinement chair for more than two hours, police said.
While being transferred to a hold cell within the city jail, Baker suffered a seizure and was transported to WCA Hospital. While getting treatment he had a second seizure that led to his death, the district attorney's office said.
According to the autopsy report, Baker had "very high (toxic/lethal) levels of cocaine and the narcotic drug Tramadol in the blood."
Foley noted that Baker attempted to destroy several packets of cocaine while being transported to the jail. More cocaine was found while being processed at police headquarters.
The autopsy was performed in Buffalo by the Erie County Medical Examiner on Feb. 18. Toxicology results held up the release of the report, Foley said.
The investigation into Baker's death has been closed.


text: I don't know about you, but I'm an avocado fiend. I adore these delicious little fruits, particularly the rich, creamy Hass that's widely cultivated in California and parts of the Southwest. And, like so many of us, every time I wrench a pit out of an avocado to get at the goodness inside, I mull over the thought of growing my own avocado tree. See full article.


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Here's how RW members rated this race (117 votes).
In short: A well organised and enjoyable race.Date of review: June 24, 2012
In short: I love this race, from the scenary to the bbq and open clubhouse, the friendliness and the potential to have a really good run this is a must in my calendarDate of review: July 20, 2011
In short: A well-organised run through charming countrysideIn full: A fine event. Only small gripe: could have done with a carpark marshall a bit earlier as cars were flowing in to the relatively small already full car park and gillying around trying to find alternative parking. Perhaps even a marshall up the road to direct us to the station park.Date of review: June 20, 2011
In short: Yet again a another well run Arden 9 race in perfect running conditions.Date of review: June 20, 2011
In short: Well done ArdenIn full: Liked the course, very good organisation. will be back. Would like to have seen more support for the 'later' runners coming in (maybe have the presentation a little later or by the clubhouse) but overall well done. Date of review: June 19, 2011
In short: Flawless organisation, very interesting course, greate strart/finish area - will do it again.Date of review: June 19, 2011
In short: I liked this so much I aim to make it a regular. Well organised, friendly, attractive scenary, and a good mix of people. The post race food, drink and activites made it a good social run tooDate of review: August 4, 2010
In short: ExceptionalIn full: A very attractive route, and the atmosphere is great. The organisers had everything spot on and seemed as though they were enjoying the day too. Having read previous comments about the hill at the end, I was ready for that, and it didn't seem too bad. I did struggle a bit with the section immediately before that where you are on a winding gravel path along the side of a lake. Overall, I was pleased with my time though, so it's not a slow course.Date of review: June 21, 2010
In short: Very difficult to faultIn full: I was mightily impressed with this race. I've not seen any nine mile races elsewhere, so this was a guaranteed PB. It was well marshaled, the venue was excellent (beer! barbecue!) the route scenic and the atmosphere outstanding.If I were determined to pick fault, I might mention that they nicked their PA system from Hampton-in-Arden station: "Special announcement for all passengerzzz, mwibble mwibble flrrrr," (they didn't say that, I'm just making the point that you couldn't really hear it).Overall, a super day. Will definitely be back next year.Date of review: June 21, 2010
In short: good stuffDate of review: June 20, 2010
Visit the official Runner's World page
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Injury Clinics
About Runner's World


text:
Loft Leather Ottoman - Brown
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About this itemContemporary luxury and comfort define this collection.
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text:
On Tuesday, October 23, 2012, nine medical students, including four from Einstein, rotating in emergency medicine (EM) at Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers, received a one-day seminar at Jacobi on a unique aspect of EM: treating snakebites. Jacobi has the only Snakebite Treatment Center in the tri-state area, offering a rare opportunity for the medical students.
Fortuitously, the Bronx Zoo, which is only a short drive from Jacobi, has the most elaborate collection of antivenin in the nation. Because of this proximity, the zoo initiated a partnership with Jacobi in 1980, to provide treatment in the event reptile house employees experienced a venomous snakebite.
The antivenin has proved to be a precious resource to Jacobi EM staff members, who, each year, rely on it to treat four to eight snakebite patients from among the general public, and call upon the zoo whenever antivenin is needed. Since 1980, the hospital's Snakebite Treatment Program has treated 175 patients with antivenom, half using exotic antivenoms from the zoo supply, and the remainder using rattlesnake/copperhead antivenom stored in the Jacobi emergency department.
Dr. Smeeta Verma, medical student elective coordinator, explained, "Equally important to treating snakebites, students receiving this didactic learn about the important conservation research done by staff at the zoo, along with the knowledge of potential medical implications needed for addressing venomous snakebites."
During the didactic, led by Dr. Michael Touger, associate professor of clinical emergency medicine, as well as medical director of the Jacobi Medical Center Snakebite Treatment Program and Hyperbaric Chamber and associate medical director of emergency medicine, students learned that the species of venomous snake most prevalent locally is the northern copperhead. However, because many patients who come to Jacobi for snakebite treatment are collectors of exotic snakes, such as black mamba and puff adder, the zoo's antivenin collection serves as a valuable resource for a variety of venomous bites.
On a tour of the reptile house led by Dr. Touger and zoo curator of herpetology, Don Boyer, students saw a number of these snakes, along with the storage area for the antivenin. Upon seeing the stored antivenin, Lee Jacobson, an Einstein MSTP student exclaimed, "It's mind-blowing to see this little fridge, knowing it stores one of the biggest resources for antivenin in the world."
Dr. Touger noted, "Even places like Tuscon, Arizona, the center of research for rattlesnake bites, have trouble finding medication in instances when there is an exotic snakebite."
With more than 1,000 venomous snakebites occurring in the United States annually, Jacobi's unique snakebite didactic provides students in their EM rotation with insights and knowledge for treating them.
Annual Spirit Luncheon Benefits Cancer Research at Einstein and Montefiore
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Neuroscience Research Award with a Difference
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Duvivier Lectureship Offers Forum for Women's Health Issues
Monday, June 27, 2016
Medical Students Stand In as "Patients" in Training Exercise for Physiatrists
Friday, June 24, 2016
Annual Shields Award Recognizes Outstanding Postdoctoral Research
Monday, June 20, 2016
Women's Global Health Is Focus of Special Global Health Event
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
American Cancer Society Supports Einstein Researchers
Friday, June 10, 2016
Research Excellence of Einstein Ph.D. Graduate Recognized by Chinese Government
Friday, June 10, 2016
Teaching Future Physicians to Choose Wisely
Thursday, June 09, 2016
A Passion for Tennis Leads to Opportunity
Thursday, June 02, 2016


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One For The Ages - Page 3
Races on the Ice Age Trail
The Ice Age Trail hosts several races each year, ranging from small and informal to large and highly competitive (see our coverage of the 2012 Kettle Moraine and Ice Age races here). Some of the options include:
Chippewa 50K and 10K (April): http://www.frontrunnerusa.com/event/chippewa-50k-and-10k-trail-run
Iola Trail Run 15K, 5K (April): http://www.greatlakesendurance.com/wisconsin-races/iola-trail-run.html
Ice Age 50M, 50K (May): http://www.iceagetrail50.com/site/
Kettle Moraine 100M, 100K (June): http://kettle100.com/
Dances With Dirt Devil's Lake 50M, 50K, full and half marathon and 10K (July): http://www.dwddevilslake.com/
The North Face Endurance Challenge Madison 50M, 50K, marathon (September): http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/endurance-challenge/madison-wi/?stop_mobi=yes
Hartman Creek Trail Run 25K, 10K (September): http://www.greatlakesendurance.com/wisconsin-races/hartman-creek.html
Glacial Trail 50M, 50K (October): http://www.badgerlandstriders.org/home/Races/GlacialTrail50M50K.htm
You can find more information at www.iceagetrail.org. Kaufmann also recommends the Ice Age Trail Atlas and the Ice Age Trail Companion Guide, both available from IATA's online store (link to https://www.iceagetrail.org/store).


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I have been playing paintball for 2 1/2 years and i am wanting to play for a team because i am sick of playing with leople that dont know how to play. Pm me if anybody is needing a new player. I have a paranha force with a e trigger good gun and good gear just pm me or ask for my num and we can talk thanks.
Teams in stl needing new player willing to try out
Started by 321 click click splat, Jun 04 2012 12:38 AM
1 reply to this topic
Posted 04 June 2012 - 12:38 AM
Posted 04 June 2012 - 01:07 AM
I'm just saying that getting into a team is going to cost you a lot of money. Now that that is out of the way, if your paranha force has the option to do 12.5 ramp or 12.5 semi, I do not believe you can use your marker in tourney play.
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Topic: How to access a javascript variable from ruby
I read the post about accessing a global in javascript, but how do I do the opposite.
I have a variable inside of javascript and I want to access it outside.
I can do a document.write(myvar) and of course it works, but how can I get its value outside of my javascript. Either returning it or setting its value to a global variable would be fine.


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Marie Margaret (Furth) Miller
Marie Margaret (Furth) Miller, 89, of Fort Dodge, Iowa, passed away Thursday, July 11, 2013 at the Paula J. Baber Hospice Home.
Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Monday, July 15, 2013 at Laufersweiler-Sievers Funeral Home and at 10:30 a.m. a Mass of Christian Burial will be at Corpus Christi Church with Msgr. Kevin McCoy officiating. Burial will follow at Corpus Christi Cemetery.
A visitation will be 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home with a Catholic Daughters of America Rosary at 4:30 p.m. and a vigil at 6:30 p.m.
Marie is survived by her children, Randolph (Tresia) Miller of Oklahoma City, OK; Shadric (Debbie) Smith of Fort Dodge; Theresa Schmitz of Cambridge, MA; Roberta (Terry) Kutz of Chemult, OR; grandchildren, Tristan and Colby Smith; Jim and Terry Kutz; Caroline Chang; Melissa McCrady; 8 great-grandchildren; siblings, Herb (Mary) Furth of Green Valley, AZ; Kristin Neufeld of Auburn, NY; and Thomas (Diane) Furth of San Diego, CA.
Marie was preceded in death by her parents, Theodore and Eleanor (Henle) Furth; husband, Robert; son, Anthony Miller; and brothers, James Furth and John Furth.
Marie Furth Miller was born July 23, 1923 in New Ulm, MN. Marie was raised and educated in New Ulm, graduating from New Ulm High School in 1941. Marie then attended St. Mary's School of Nursing in Rochester, MN. Marie graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1947. She then taught for two years at St. Mary's School of Nursing. On May 7, 1949 Marie was united in marriage to Robert Miller at St. Mary's Catholic Church in New Ulm, MN. Marie and Robert relocated to Maryville, MO for Robert's employment and then a year later he was transferred to Mason City. Then they established their home in Rochester in 1950 and lived there until 1960. Robert's career then took them to Owatonna, MN from 1960 until 1967, when they then moved to Fort Dodge. Marie was employed with Mercy Hospital as a nurse in 1967 and then became the Director of Nursing from 1973 to 1975. When the two hospitals in Fort Dodge merged into Trinity Regional Hospital she continued to be the Director of Nursing until her retirement in 1988.
Marie was a member of Holy Trinity Parish, Catholic Daughters of America, Trinity Volunteer Auxiliary, and the Marian Home Auxiliary. She also was a long time Eucharistic Minister to Friendship Haven residents and active in Operation Christmas.
Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family. To send an online condolence please email to email@example.com


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Morning Fire Destroys Frewsburg Business
FREWSBURG – A Frewsburg business was destroyed after a fire broke out Sunday morning.
Fire investigators believe a space heater sparked the blaze inside Hallenbeck Antiques, 30 W. Main St. Investigators could not provide a damage estimate, but believe the building may have to be demolished due to the amount of structural damage.
The owner of the business said he noticed smoke coming from the building around 10 a.m. The owner also runs an estate sale business across the street on West Main Street.
Firefighters from Frewsburg, Kiantone, Lakewood, Busti, Falconer and Kennedy responded to the blaze.
Crews were on scene for more than three hours; county fire investigators stuck around until 3:30 p.m.
See Monday's edition of The Post-Journal for complete coverage.


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Jordan Ballor recently reviewed Nicholas Eberstadt's A Nation of Takers: America's Entitlement Epidemic, pointing out in some additional commentary that when "government is contiguous with society…perhaps our conceptions of 'making' and 'taking' need some re-examination." Today, he connects some more dots, including a helpful reference to Herman Bavinck.
In my own review of the book at Values & Capitalism, I offer a similar response, focusing particularly on William Galston's critique of Eberstadt, which is included in the book itself. Whereas Eberstadt can be overly dichotomous in his categorizing, Galston gives way to a blurrying impulse.
Galston's primary critique of Eberstadt's maker-taker paradigm is that his emphasis on "dependency" is over-hyped and undeserved. "The moral heart of this fiscal challenge is not dependence," Galston writes, "but rather a dangerous combination of self-interest, myopia, and denial." For Galston, dependency is a natural and healthy part of any society. Thus, as long as all the giving and taking balances out, who cares about the particular channels of exchange?
As I summarize in my review:
For Galston, the steep climb toward increasing entitlements is only a dangerous hike if we fail to tax the citizenry accordingly. While Eberstadt emphasizes that there is more to this lopsided situation than mere lopsidedeness, Galston struggles to understand why "dependence" and "entitlement" are features to be avoided in and of themselves, pointing out that planning for long-term security through a giant bureaucracy is no different than putting one's life savings in a retirement annuity. "I do not see why transferring this case to the public sector makes a moral difference," he writes.
If this rash conflation of distinct social and institutional orders weren't enough, Galston goes further, comparing dependence on the state to the safety and security of the family. "We are in no way troubled when children depend on their parents," Galston points out. "That's the way it's supposed to be … As long as we contribute our share, taking is morally unproblematic. We can be a nation of takers, as long as we are a nation of givers as well."
Father/daughter = Obama/serf?
Potato potahtoe, tomato tomahtoe. (more…)


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Myrrh Essential Oil
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Steam distilled from the resin, extracted from the tree.
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Baths: blend 5-8 drops in a teaspoon of carrier oil or full fat milk, add to bath.
Massages: add 2-3 drops of essential oils to 3 tablespoonfuls of carrier oil.
Vaporisation: add 2-4 drops of essential oils to a burner, aroma stone or aroma stream.
Please note that essential oils, particularly those that are citrus based, can corrode diffusers over time. Damage caused in this way is not covered by your manufacturer's warranty. We advise you to empty and rinse the water tank of your diffuser and wipe it dry with a clean cloth every time you use a different type of essential oil.
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£50.00 / 18cm x 11cm


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It is in the bottom of the 5th and its 5-2 Tribe.
1. D. Jennings, LF
2. C. Pena, 1B
3. B. Zobrist, RF
4. B. Upton, CF
5. J. Keppinger, 3B
6. L. Scott, DH
7. J. Molina, C
8. B. Conrad, 2B
9. S. Rodriguez, SS
P Moore (already replaced)
1. S. Choo, RF
2. A. Cabrera, SS
3. J. Lopez, 2B
4. M. Brantley, CF
5. C. Santana, 1B
6. S. Duncan, DH
7. L. Marson, C
8. J. Hannahan, 3B
9. A. Cunningham, LF
P Ubaldo
Listening online on XM Radio. Jim Rosenhouse sucks as an announcer. I have found someone who is actually worse than Matt Underwood.
I hate to keep bringing this up but it just so happens that this is the 3 year anniversary of the crazy game thread from 2009. See link below if you haven't read through this one in a while.


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REVIEW SNAPSHOT®by PowerReviews
Best Uses
Feels Small
True to Size
100% (7 reviews)
(7 reviews)
Feels Large
Feels Narrow
True to Width
100% (7 reviews)
(7 reviews)
Feels Wide
Reviewed by 9 customers
Perfect shoes for spring. Love the wedge so can be casual or dressy. I typically wear between 51/2 or 6 but got the 5 1/2.
This sandal is cute, comfortable and stylish.
The heel is moderate enough for long, comfortable wear and it's easy to walk in.
I got it in Natural Leather, which turned out to be a little darker than what is pictured.
Okay I have to admit - I haven't worn these outside or for long periods of time, yet. Don't judge me, it's still Winter in NYC! I did love these so much, however, that immediately after ordering them from NW in the natural color, I ordered them from another site in orange (which isn't available at NW.) They're a great height, comfy, and so far so good around the ankle - I have really skinny ankles so I sometimes have a problem with shoes of this type.
While these sandals are obviously super cute, they look even better on. I love the zipper in the back - convenient and great looking! They also stay on extremely well. I don't think I have a single pair of heels/wedges that I feel this comfortable walking in. That said, I have been wearing them around the house to get ready for a wedding this weekend, and I am going to be putting padding under the ball of my foot for added comfort and support as I had already started feeling a little more pressure than I think I can handle over an entire evening. I usually wear 6.5-7, but always 6.5 with Nine West. That said, the size 6.5 fit great. My feet are narrow to medium width and the straps all fit well, which I was worried about because I've had trouble wearing strappy shoes that aren't adjustable in the past. I have very small ankles, and this is the only place where the straps are a little on the loose side. Overall very happy with these and would definitely recommend!
Great looking sandal, but I found them to be really big around the ankle. I normally wear a 6.5 and will need to return for smaller size.
This shoe is very elegant. I can wear them with just about anything, dressy or casual. My only compliant is that overall the shoe is a great fit except I have a short baby toe that slides out slightly at the side opening of the shoe when I'm walking. This would become annoying if had to walk for a while in the shoes but so far that has not happened. If you have relatively long toes this probably will not be a problem. I wear a 8.5 in heels and the shoe was a perfect fit toe to heel.
This is a nice shoe. The heel was higher than I wanted. It looks different in person than online. I returned them though. I wasn't really happy with them. I did buy Showntell in blue, which I LOVE!
I loved this show online, but it just did not work for me. The back was basically baggy and the show itself may work for a wider foot.
I tried these on in the store today, such a cute shoe! However, if you have short toes (like I do) your baby toe will definitely, slightly bulge out the side of this shoe. Weird look. I wanted them so bad. They were true to size. They were comfortable. However, I just couldn't get over the baby toe thing.


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2012 Olympic bronze medalist Terrence Jennings to sign autographs Thursday at U.S. Open
2012 Olympic bronze medalist Terrence Jennings kicks off his U.S. Open week with an autograph signing on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 12-2 p.m. at the JIBASoft booth in the Las Vegas Hotel Paradise Event Center.
Jennings will sign one item per person. The autograph line will cut off at 2 p.m. and will not permit any guests afterward.
The U.S. Open continues on Thursday with male and female senior sparring. Single session tickets may be purchased at the door for $15 (adults 18+), $10 (children 6-17) and are free for children five and younger.