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Kurt Nimmo
March 28, 2010
It probably wasn't a good idea. A young man who identified himself as a Libertarian and a Ron Paul supporter was brutally attacked after giving Sarah Palin a piece of his mind at a Tea Party Express rally in Mesa, Arizona. The Tea Party Express is a front organization for Republicans who claim they own the Tea Party concept (in fact, they stole it from Libertarians).
Tea Party supporters apparently now double for brownshirt thugs. They are indistinguishable from John McCain neanderthals. They are intolerant and believe Libertarians should be assaulted for daring to speak out.
As noted below, it wasn't Tea Party supporters who attacked the man in Arizona. It was John McCain supporters. But now that Sarah Palin has turned Tea Party events into McCain rallies, can we truthfully say there is any difference?
Republicans have finally delivered a death blow to the Tea Party movement. It is now a verifiable faction of the Republican party. Super star Sarah wants to bomb Iran. She is a neocon. And so is everybody who follows the Tea Party Express.
- A d v e r t i s e m e n t
- {openx:49}
It really is quite amazing how easily the Tea Party movement was compromised and turned into a gaggle of Republican platform mumbling Stepford wives.
"As Palin took the podium at the rally for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), hecklers began to disrupt her remarks," reports KNXV. "One of the hecklers, who said his name is Alex, was removed from the auditorium. He can be seen in the video… being tackled by three men — one identified as a police officer in plain clothes, a man in a McCain T-shirt and another man."
"I hate Obama," insisted Alex after his face was pushed against the pavement. "I don't like Obama. I'm a Libertarian. I'm trying to save America. I like America, I like Americans — I just don't like John McCain."
Two McCain thugs assaulted a man for the crime of speaking his mind, albeit out of turn. It wasn't enough to simply escort him off the property. He had to be thrown to the pavement and stomped on. Is this the sort of treatment Libertarians should now expect at Republican Borg hive Tea Party rallies where the rock star Sarah throws her support behind John McCain? It is not enough the neocons hijacked the Tea Party movement. Now they insist on trouncing Libertarians, the very people who originated the movement.
In Tempe, Arizona, while campaigning for McCain, Palin said: "Anyone who uses threats of violence will be in my crosshairs." She was talking about Americans outraged over Obama's totalitarian care passed by Congress who have said less than polite things. No actual violence has occurred.
As for Libertarians… well, they should expect to be thrown to the pavement.
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Turn and Pose to Enter a Contest of the Fittest
I've never really considered myself a fitness fanatic or a pageant-type person. But I was drawn into a competition that involves quite a bit of both. For the past 3½ months, I've been training for a fitness competition, which involves showing off a good body tone and poise all while wearing a tiny bikini.
At 31, I was at a point where I wanted to take my fitness to the next level. I had done boot camps, kettlebell classes and competed in a Spartan obstacle race. But I marveled at the women in my exercise classes who were in fitness contests because their confidence grew as they transformed their bodies. I wanted to see if I was up to the challenge of the physical training and strict diet involved in preparing for competition.
Related Video
I started training for the Fitness Atlantic competition in January, squeezing in workouts and posing classes before and after my job as a Wall Street Journal reporter. Fitness Atlantic, which takes place on April 13 in Wallingford, Conn., is a regional fitness show run by World Beauty Fitness & Fashion Inc. of Toronto. Fitness shows started to grow around the late '90s and are aimed at a more mainstream audience than those at strictly bodybuilding events. WBFF started in 2007 with one show and 63 participants. The company plans to run 25 shows this year. Fitness Atlantic has about 160 participants, most of whom are female, says Brian Cannone, a WBFF regional director.
These competitions have a variety of categories, such as traditional bodybuilding, figure, which emphasizes muscle tone—not size—and bikini, which is the "softest" look, similar to what you see in a female fitness magazine. I'm competing in this category, which judges women based on their figure, body tone and poise. Competitors do a spotlight walk, where they strut on stage, do three front poses and three back poses—once in a bikini and once in an evening gown. Then they stand in a line so judges can compare everyone to each other. Judges make note of everything from how a competitor's swimsuit fits, to how fast she's walking and how toned she is.
My personal trainer, Malenna Saunders, who helped me get into shape for my wedding in the fall, suggested the competition. Ms. Saunders, who owns Phoenyx Fitness in New York, had competed in several fitness competitions and coaches a 32-member team called the Elite Heat, which helps women learn to lead a healthy lifestyle and prepare for these shows. "You had a nice foundation from getting ready for the wedding," she said. "So we could build from there."
The Workout
My training and diet were adjusted based on weekly photos and body-fat measurements Ms. Saunders took. Four days a week, I lift weights, focusing on different muscle groups. Day 1 and Day 4 are back and leg days and include squats, lunges, pull-ups and lat pull-downs. Day 2 is shoulders and abs. On Day 3, I zero in on chest, biceps and triceps. In February, Ms. Saunders added extra leg exercises to get my quads and hamstrings in proportion to my upper body.
I also learned to walk and pose in 5-inch heels. Twice a week, with the Elite Heat team, I practice learning to stand at an angle as celebrities do on the red carpet to appear leaner. Turning gracefully in high heels is like trying to pirouette on a balance beam and I've tripped many times. Ms. Saunders says winners haven't always been the ones with the best physique, but those with a spirited walk that shows some personality. When I started doubting whether I was up to all the training, she'd send me notes of encouragement and email pictures that showed my improvement.
The Diet
To prepare for competition, I started a daily diet of 1,600 calories to build muscle, which involves five to six small meals, or eating almost every two hours. Breakfast would be oatmeal with berries and two hours later I'd eat an ounce of almonds. Ms. Saunders monitors my diet through a food log I keep. Dairy products, except for eggs, were nixed in January. Until Valentine's Day, I was allowed to have "cheat" days every so often, involving pizza and cookies. She let me have dark chocolate on occasion and wine on the weekends until about six weeks ago.
Now I'm relegated to baked red potatoes for breakfast, grilled chicken and steamed asparagus for lunch and white fish with more asparagus for dinner. Snacks are hard-boiled eggs and more chicken. My water intake, which had been roughly 200 ounces a day, was scaled back to 34 ounces a day this week so I have a long and lean look for the competition. If I'm too lean, Ms. Saunders may have me eat two steaks the night before.
Jim White, a registered dietician and spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, says the biggest concerns for fitness competitors are calcium and vitamin D deficiencies because of the lack of dairy. He adds that a high-protein diet could be taxing on the kidneys, but "as long as you're not doing this for a long period of time," it should be fine.
Gear & Costs
My training fees and gym membership run around $170 a month. Natural supplements and protein powders cost about $40 a month. I train in Nike Free Run shoes ($90) and use a Gymboss interval timer ($20), which helps me get proper rest times between weight sets. The competition's entry fee is $314, and the bikini, evening gown and heels cost around $300, total. Hair, makeup and spray tanning cost around $135.
Tricks to Exercising Willpower From the Experts
So how does a person exercise self control when faced with a strict diet or fitness regimen? A lot of willpower.
Roy Baumeister, author of "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength," has found most people have a limited amount of self control at any given time. That is, each time an individual resists a slice of pizza, she is depleting her reserve of self-control. But there are ways to boost your self-control.
Kelly McGonigal, a lecturer at Stanford University and author of "The Willpower Instinct," says willpower can be strengthened by understanding what goal we want to accomplish (to do well in a fitness competition), what pulls us away from achieving that goal (eating cupcakes) and then resisting what deters us (I'll eat a handful of almonds instead). "When you remember your goal, you're able to control impulses," Dr. McGonigal says.
She adds that a great way to improve willpower is to find meaning in your goal and then figure out why you are tempted to lose control. Why, for example, do you want that cookie? Are you stressed by a task at work or a recent fight with a friend? Is the cookie worth more than your goal of losing 10 pounds? "When you understand what you want and what impulses pull you away you're able to find courage," she says.
"The actual exercising of willpower is hard work," says June Tangney, a psychology professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Dr. Tangney says slip-ups can be corrected by being kind and passionate to yourself, and understanding that relapses are a common part of change. After a slip-up, she says, "a person hasn't wiped out everything she's done."
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On December 25, 2005 I came across this article on the msn.ca website. As these articles seem to disappear over time I am copying it to my website.
2005 Smart Fortwo Cool in Winter Too?
December 25, 2005
After thorough tests in fair weather, we venture to find out if this chic micro-car sensation can cut it in the merciless driving conditions of a genuine Canadian winter.
Overall rating : 8.1 / 10
- Surprisingly roomy cabin
- Good seats and driving position
- Fits absolutely anywhere
- Remarkably fuel efficient
- A hoot to drive
- Standard active and passive safety
- Weak defrosting
- Strong initial understeer
- Wind sensitive on highway
- Routine maintenance challenges
- No parking lock for transmission
- Where's the battery?
A Feisty Micro Runabout
Smart was the unmitigated hit of the 2004 CIAS in Toronto, when Mercedes-Benz Canada announced the launch of a first model, the 2.5-metre long, two-passenger Fortwo. Deliveries started as planned, last fall, and the smallest, stingiest, and arguably cutest car in the country has been raising smiles and eyebrows ever since.
The Fortwo's unique design and size, combined with attractive pricing – for a car that remains somewhat of a 'niche' product – has made it a hit. The select group of Mercedes-Benz dealers who handle the newest brand in the country are selling all they can get.
With the Smart Fortwo, the Early Adopter's fancy has turned from mini… to micro. And the importer has played this card to the hilt, much like its Bavarian rival with the new Mini since that car's début.
More Questions Answered
But, novelty factor aside, what is it like to drive a Smart in real life? How frugal is the tiny 730-kilogram runabout in real driving? How safe do you feel driving it, and how safe will it be in a collision? Its adaptation to city driving is a foregone conclusion, if one follows basic logic, but how does it fare on the highway?
One sure thing is that no other test car, in recent history, has turned as many heads and elicited as many questions, from such a variety of people, as the Smart Fortwo.
I conducted back to back tests of a pair of Smarts before their launch last year: a roadster and a coupe. I gleaned a wealth of driving impressions, and complete performance and braking measures.
Yet, I still wanted answers to one of the most frequently-asked questions about the Smart: How does the tiniest car sold in Canada handle harsh winter driving conditions? How indeed, on such a short wheelbase (1549 millimetres, or 61 inches), with rear-wheel drive, which runs contrary to a small-car standard that was set by the original Mini and reinforced by the first Honda Civic in 1973.
I was able to find out, at the wheel of a Smart Fortwo coupe, decked out in 'Passion' trim, and equipped with a full set of winter tires, in the middle of February.
Traction Management 101
The scenario was perfect: I rolled out of the dealer's service bay in a snow storm and immediately saw the electronic stability system light start flickering (it includes traction control), as the Fortwo rolled over asphalt covered with a thin layer of packed snow turning a bit mushy with all the salt they keep sprinkling it with.
Lifting the foot accelerator slightly cured it. Even though the weight of the Fortwo's 799cc, 40-horsepower, three-cylinder, turbodiesel engine is placed directly over the driven rear wheels, it certainly does not have monster traction in such conditions. The fact that it delivers it 74 lb-ft maximum torque at only 1,800 rpm also makes its rear wheels spin with very slight provocation.
You quickly learn to modulate the throttle, since the standard Electronic Stability Program (ESP) won't allow even the slightest bit of wheelspin anyway. Contrary to most vehicles, you cannot turn the ESP off on a Fortwo. A good thing, mostly, with a car this short, no matter how good a driver you are. Even on the slipperiest surface, you cannot spin out in this Smart by applying too much power, because the ESP is standing guard.
In fact, it's hard to imagine driving a Smart Fortwo during the cold season without the combined assistance of ESP and the best set of winter tires you can get. My test car had been fitted with ContiWinterContact tires (by Continental) in the following sizes: 145/65 R15 in front, and 175/55 R15 in the rear.
Our photo shoots were conducted on a frozen river surface, with about 10-15 centimetres (4-6 inches) of snow on top of glare ice. We brought a shovel – just in case – but the Fortwo simply chugged away, calmly using all the available traction, however limited.
When we got back onto packed snow, it gained speed merrily, to the happy 'Tasmanian Devil' growl of its three-cylinder diesel engine. I even tried to get it stuck by driving into a foot-deep snow bank lining the sidewalk in front of our editorial offices, but the Fortwo shrugged it off, and clawed its way out again.
The car's exceptional lightness is certainly a factor in its ability to maintain forward motion.
Tiny Winter Cruiser
Minutes after leaving the dealership, snow still falling insistently, the Fortwo was gliding down the highway, easily keeping pace with surrounding traffic. I was impressed by its excellent stability in these inclement conditions. The front tires, notably narrower, 'sliced' through surface snow and slush, keeping the car well-planted and yielding a nice weight and plenty of feel to the steering wheel. They also prevent hydroplaning impeccably, but the frozen gumbo displaced makes quite a racket inside the thin wheel wells.
Once you have reached your chosen cruising velocity, the Fortwo just whisks along. The greatest limiting factor is a strong sensitivity to side winds. The car does react sharply to the strongest gusts, but its overall stability is not affected as much as it would be in many a small car with soft suspension.
Handling-wise, the Fortwo has plenty of understeer when you turn into a corner: Giving the wheel a good quarter turn is not unusual. But once it takes a set, body roll is well-controlled. Once you get used to this routine, the tiny Smart is great fun to drive on any road. Slightly more so the Coupe, I found in earlier tests, thanks to its better overall structural rigidity.
Dialling out much of the front wheels' on-center responsiveness was the engineers' answer to concerns over such a short and tall little car's propensity to tip over. I would be quite curious to drive a Smart with properly sharp steering feel and action, since ESP is always there to detect and control any sudden and exaggerated body movement anyway. Heck, it won't even allow an innocent handbrake turn on snow.
This said, it's too bad you cannot get a Fortwo with cruise control either, because I see no reason to avoid driving long distances in this little car, if you are travelling relatively light (and on dry roads, of course, if cruise control was available).
The Smart is surprisingly roomy, even for two full-size passengers. Its tall seats are nicely sculpted and quite comfortable. There is a solid, flat dead pedal, and control ergonomics are generally pretty good, although most levers and buttons have a rather 'plasticky' feel.
There is 260 litres of luggage space in the rear, enough for several grocery bags, or a couple of stuffed weekend bags. You can add optional accessories such as a $21 luggage fastener or a $79 trunk tray to make things more practical inside. You can also go for the $316 roof rack and clip on either the $88 ski rack, or the $167 bicycle support.
In this test car, I missed the frog-eye like clock and tachometer, a $240 extra for the pair.
Its Wintry Ways
The Fortwo can be great fun in winter, but all is not perfect. The diesel engine itself is fine. It starts without a hiccup, the 'glow plugs' needing about 12 seconds to warm things up in the combustion chamber in a -6C degree cold start. The typical diesel racket disappears quickly as you drive off, but the interior is slow to warm up on a cold day (heated seats, a $350 option, help you wait).
That said, the Fortwo needs work in the defrosting department. In one instance, I needed to alternate between the defrost and instrument panel vent positions, blower at full force, to keep the long windshield and big side windows frost-free in -8C temperature. Still, we needed to scrape the side glass.
The standard wipers are also long and flimsy-looking. In addition, the triple-jet windshield washer nozzles are not very powerful and set too close to the base of the windshield to cover it fully, even with a long squirt.
Then, you face the challenge if replenishing the windshield washer fluid reservoir. One first needs to unlock and remove a panel just below the right-side wiper (I used the ignition key). Good luck if everything is frozen in place. Then, you need to aim well, because the filler is small and tucked in low inside. Bottom line: the Fortwo's Canadian Winter-readiness could be much better.
All this glass surface pays off, though. On a sunny winter day, the fabulous panoramic view to the front and sides turned a simple drive on a country road into a truly joyful experience. No kidding. A Smart will do this to you, repeatedly.
Vital Numbers
Earlier performance measures, conducted on dry asphalt, produced a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 20.51 seconds with a Fortwo coupe. It also covered the quarter mile in 22.21 seconds, hitting 101.5 km/h at the timing point.
Yet, the Fortwo doesn't feel slow in normal driving, especially in the city. Be prepared, on the other hand, for a top speed of about 140 km/h (indicated) on the highway, at best, which gets rolled back to about 120 km/h with a headwind. The sequential manual gearbox (clutchless) even suggested a downshift from 6th to 5th gear in such conditions…
In simulated emergency braking tests from 100 km/h, the coupe stopped straight and true, in 43.1 metres. Braking is excellent at all times. Pedal feel is firm and consistent, and the ABS is both quick and effective. Brake assist and electronic braking force distribution are also included.
As for fuel economy, I averaged about 5,7 litres per 100 km (50 mpg) while driving quite enthusiastically, mostly around the city, in cold winter weather. Thankless conditions for a fuel economy evaluation. By comparison, I got 3.9 litres per 100 km (72.4 mpg) from the Fortwo Roadster, after a relaxed country drive in May. Your results may thus vary.
There is nothing like the Smart Fortwo on Canadian streets and roads, and this could remain true for quite a while. The base price, for this top-of-the-line Passion coupe model, is $19,200. The Pure coupe starts at $16,500 and the Pulse at $16,500. These prices, for a unique, ultra-chic, two-seater micro-car that you can trim out exactly to your taste, are tempting, and business is justifiably brisk.
The Fortwo also happens to be the most fuel-efficient street-legal four-wheeler in the land, and it has established a solid reputation for reliability and durability in Europe since launch, more than six years ago.
All models are built around a high-tech, steel safety structure (the 'Tridion' cell, built by Magna) that makes them as crashworthy as many larger cars, their passive safety enhanced by standard frontal and aide airbags. They all come with standard ABS, stability control, power windows, an AM/FM radio with CD player and more. My Passion test car also had AC as standard equipment.
For all these reasons, and in spite of its wheezy defrosting, lazy turn-in and other minor foibles, the Smart Fortwo is just about peerless, and darn irresistible.


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Lineup change
It's 8:10 a.m. on this opening day. Fans are lined up all the way to McFadden's to gobble up the 500 standing room tickets that go on sale in 50 minutes.
The sun is trying to break through the fog that blankets South Philadelphia.
Down in the Phillies clubhouse, most of the players are already here. Some are downing breakfast. New daddy Shane Victorino has his typical facial expression, an ever-lasting smile.
As one enters the clubhouse, there is an eraser board on the left. That's where Charlie Manuel posts the daily lineup. The usual players are in today's lineup but he made one change, a change that will create a buzz for talk radio, the media, and the message board.
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Shane Victorino, RF
Ryan Howard, 1B
Chase Utley, 2B
Pat Burrell, LF
Wes Helms, 3B
Aaron Rowand, CF
Rod Barajas, C
Brett Myers, P
The pre-game schedule says PLAY BALL at 1:05 p.m.
A season-long marathon is about to begin. Yes, a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. The season gets underway in April but the goal is to be playing baseball in Philadelphia in October.
12 Comments
Dissapointing first game but it is only one game. Who creates the lineup, Charlie Manuel, Pat Gillick, David Montgomery or Bill Giles. Players and management need to worry more about winning and less on statistics. The free swinging phils strike out b/c they are out for big numbers. They are trying to be top fantasy players and not the top team. Numbers will come w/ winning. As for the experiment batting Chase 4th, terrible move. He will be unproductive like last year hitting in the 5th spot. For the Phillies personnel that analyzes every at bat, my suggestion would be to get creative. Victorino, Utley, Rollins, Howard, Helms or Burrell would be my line up. Utley's hitting streak last year was the result of shortening his swing and not trying to hit the long ball in the 2 hole. He struggled in Aug. when Abreu left and moved to 3rd in the line up. Rollins swings away no matter what and that will not change. I like him batting third to break up the 2 lefties. This line up couldn't hurt. The thing that does hurt is the organazation's lack of consistency and stability. Who knows what the cards hold for the back of the starting rotation?
I hope this experimental line up is ended soon,regardless who makes out the lineup!Yesterday's game was proof of that!!Howard thrown out at home plate,maybe utley would have been out too,but i doubt it!!!Goosebumps!! Here's a simple solution to the lineup,Utley 3rd,Burrell 4th Howard 5th,the opposing team has to pitch to Burrell and he's proven he can hit a fastball!! OUCH!! This should keep the media abuzz!!! It's early and 2 games are not a season,and about 60 or so games to experiment with,were gonna need 90-93 wins or more to get in the playoffs and I don't know if charlie is gonna be around to reap the rewards!! I doubt Howard is gonna be Fired!if these experiments Fail!!! Let's hope someone get's this right,us diehards are still feeling the anguish from the past 2 seasons!!! Enough said LET'S GO PHILLIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Speaking Lineup changes what about the TV Booth….What have they done….Gary Mathews..nice guy…Great Phillie..Knowledgeable but DULL…UNEXCITING…makes Harry Kalas and Wheeler(who I do like) sound like they are not sure of what they are saying and when to say it..Scott Graham was not my favorite yet but he was exciting…he was a Philly guy and had a strong voice..and knows his stuff…only drawback is he thought he was equal to Harry K(in his knowledge of the game)…He could be the next Harry the K if he justs does not try to outdo him now…BRING HIM BACK..JOhn Marzano and Mitch William and even Hugh Douglas could do better than the Sarge….Keep him and bring him along but not where he is now!!!
Back to the TV Booth..I did not hear Larry Anderson…He is part of the good team of Phillies announcers….Things do not sound the same on TV or Radio…I am not used to the new guy from last year.
Same old Same old
We were promised something exciting and new and guess what we are off to the same start as years past. The bullpen is absolutely attrocious. If the starters are doing great let them at least start the next inning what harm could have that been. Obviously what is being done is not working. I have been a fan all my life but I do not even want to watch anymore because it is disgusting.
Speaking of bullpen, why is Jon Lieber in the bullpen, when Adam Eaton had a horrible spring and not a great start to the season either. My opinion is to put liber back in the atarting rotation when he returns and eaton in the bullpen, or just get rid of him, and his 17.00 era. I think are starting rotation is going to be great and so far this year other then Eaton it has been, like the other guy said leave them in for that extra inning, I like how Tom Gordon started in the same place he left off too, giving up them grapefruits, and madson ewww i dont even know what to say about this kid, Now Condrey i think he would be a great setup man, anyone else agree?? I think once we start clicking i think we will be the team to beat, and make the P/O. But they better hurry cause them mutts are on their game, at least till their pitching really catches up to them too, cause they really do not have a starting rotation like ours, they are old, and with pedro not returning for awhile we better get a jump on things, the braves bullpen help has halped them out alot, the marlins no run this year. Well enough talking , LETS GO PHILSSSSSSSSSS !!!!!
OK,Charlie changed the lineup,the results are posted,Oh those Goosebumps are turning into neuropathy!!!!Yes I think we can turn this around!!The game we did win if you noticed Moyer called the game not the catcher,and that's the problem!!!These 2 new catcher's need a "Spalding Manuel" or at least check out the scouting reports on the opposing team!!Or get Tim Macarver down here for a seminar on how to call a game!!This is not the broadcast booth,which could use a line up change!!Where's L.A.?LETS GO PHILLIESSSSSSSSS!!!
I never understood in the first place why we got Baraja. We have Coste and Ruiz. Baraja has been a marginal major leaguer. Yesterday they pinch hit for him with Ruiz. My question is why start him if you think Ruiz is the better hitter. Secondly, Coste proved he can hit and more importantly he can hit in the clutch. So what do the Phillies do, send him to AAA. Another poor decision.
I totally agree with you on the coste, and barajas thing, coste was such a cluth player and would probably still have been. Rbi were preety decent too, and right now we all know we need someone to be able to hit ppl in, were stranding way too many
Let's begin to solve the current problem with hiring a pitching coach.
In my April 3rd post I created a new look line up that will produce. Utley needs to hit second. Every at bat he wants to kill the ball. I'd liken him to a left handed Derek Jeter whose reputation hasn't been squashed b/c he doesn't hit 30 hr's a year. The biggest change being J. Rollins batting 3rd. Now that he's leading the NL in home runs I think it's worth a shot. Why not, since only the 1995 Reds made the playoffs after starting the year 1-6 in the last 30 years. Phil's need to win the Astros series for Charlie to keep his job. Good chance Phil's get hot, the team loves Charlie and they need to win to keep the old timer in town. Otherwise he'll be packing his bags to go home to West Virginia.
Where is Coste? No production from the catching position again tonight against the Mets. I am sick of watching.


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View our Visitor Guide and Map.


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Yesterday, Republican former legislator Jon McKane's nomination to serve on the Board of Dirigo Health was voted down 8-5 by the members of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. All the Democratic members of the committee voted against the nominee and were joined by independent Senator Richard Woodbury.
At issue was derogatory language that McKane has used to attack the Dirigo Health program and its administrators and supporters over the past eight years, particularly in a long-running series of posts on the right-wing message board As Maine Goes. Legislators questioned whether McKane could play a productive role on the board given his history and members of the public testified about the offense they took at his online behavior.
"Ashley Gorczyca, a social worker, likened McKane's attitude to that of an 'Internet troll,' rather than someone suited to be a trustee," notes the Portland Press Herald.
Perhaps most damning for McKane was the testimony of Rachel Sukeforth, a 2012 Maine House candidate who lost by just four votes against a Republican incumbent in District 80. Sukeforth, a graduate of the Emerge Maine program and an advocate for women's involvement in politics, took particular issue with McKane's repeated use of the insult "Dirigirls" to refer to both male and female supporters and administrators of the health care program.
Below is the video of her testimony. You can read the full transcript and find links to some of McKane's comments here.
(A representative of the Maine People's Alliance, an organization for which I work, also testified against McKane's nomination.)
Governor LePage responded with a statement accusing Democratic legislators of engaging in "partisan politics" and vowed not to nominate anyone else for the position. That's a strange argument to make, considering that LePage's other two nominees for the board, both also former Republican lawmakers, were approved unanimously.
House Republican Communications Director David Sorensen took to Twitter to declare: "In spiteful break w/legislative etiquette, Dems attack nominee before voting no. Usually attack then approve, or just vote no."
Setting aside the fact that Sorensen has ignored far greater breaches of "legislative etiquette" by Governor LePage when the chief executive first refused to meet with legislative leaders and then refused to even engage in the legislative process, Sorensen's contention that hearings should be mere kabuki theater is troubling. What's the point in legislators asking questions if they can't use the answers to inform their votes?
Personally, I'm surprised it took this long for McKane to be called to account for his conduct. I've been wondering how long a public figure can get away with making the kinds of statements he has. I guess the answer is eight years.


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Every February, the American Heart Association (AHA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health organizations remind the public to pay more attention to the issue of heart health – and for good reason. Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States, ahead of cancer and respiratory diseases.
Well over half a million Americans die every year from heart problems, according to data collected by the CDC. Poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress and sleep disorders are among the contributing factors. Smoking and alcohol/drug abuse also play a role.
The "Standard American Diet" (SAD), also known as the "Western Diet," is notorious for its preferences for meat products and processed foods, which often contain high amounts of sugar, salt and refined grains. There is mounting evidence that the changing dietary trends of the past few decades, not only in America but also increasingly around the world, are responsible for the growing prevalence of heart disease.
Diet changes are among the first steps experts recommend for better heart health. A recent study from Great Britain showed that participants who adhered to a strictly vegetarian diet were less at risk of developing heart disease than their non-vegetarian counterparts. Lower levels of dietary cholesterol, which is only present in animal food products, was one likely reason, as was a smaller intake of saturated fat and sodium. Especially sodium, often added in high doses to processed foods, is believed to contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease.
While the researchers did not investigate other factors than diet that could have benefitted the vegetarians, they are confident that the abstinence from meat, in particular red meat, has made the difference.
"The effect is probably at least partly due to the lack of red meat – especially meat high in saturated fat – in vegetarian diets," said Dr. Francesca Crowe, professor of nutritional epidemiology at Oxford University, England, who led the study. "The extra fruits and vegetables and higher fiber in a non-meat diet could also play a role," she added.
Besides diet, insufficient physical activity is most often named as a cause of heart disease. In fact, studies have found that sedentary behavior can be as harmful as smoking. If nothing else, there is at least a "statistically significant association between a lack of exercise and coronary heart disease," said Dr. Carl Caspersen, a researcher at the CDC.
None of these findings are surprising. We have long known that heart disease is a mainly lifestyle-related illness, as is diabetes. The good news is that we are not helpless in the fight against health problems that are, at least in part, of our own making.
Raising awareness is an important first step, but it can't stop there. Showing sympathy and expressing support for heart patients by wearing red clothing is laudable, and I applaud all those who take up the cause. But we also have to turn our insights into action through education, policy changes and regulations.
Many Americans still know too little about the potentially catastrophic consequences their diet and lifestyle choices can have for their health and what they can do differently to avoid further damage. As with most bad things in life, we tend to believe that they only happen to others – until they happen to us. When it comes to the heart, it may then be too late.
Timi Gustafson R.D. is a registered dietitian, newspaper columnist, blogger and author of the book "The Healthy Diner – How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun"®, which is available on her blog and at amazon.com. For more articles on nutrition, health and lifestyle, visit her blog, "Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D." (www.timigustafson.com). You can follow Timi on Twitter and on Facebook.


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While doing research for an upcoming book abstracting slave importation affidavit registers for several Georgia counties, I found the following loose affidavits, each found in Oglethorpe County, Georgia's microfilmed loose papers.
The first of these affidavits is located on microfilm found at the Georgia Archives in drawer 307, box 47. The film is titled "Oglethorpe County Ordinary Miscellaneous Records (Unbound) 1796 – 1925," and the folder where this particular affidavit can be found is appropriately titled "Affidavits."
Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 20th day of July 1818 Isaac Collen Clk } Samuel Ward
Georgia, Oglethorpe County} I do hereby certify that Samuel Ward has filed an Affidate [sic] in terms of an act of the General [sic] of this State passed on the 20th day of December 1817 for bring & introducing into this State a Negro Girl named Haney about fifteen years old a house & field negro black complected, the said Negroe now in the State of South Carolina
Given under my hand & Seal of Office this 20th day of July 1818
Isaac Collin Clk
The second and third affidavits are located on microfilm found at the Georgia Archives in drawer 307, box 57, of the same title as the previous reel of microfilm. The folder title is "Slaves 1819 – 1889."
The second affidavit:
State of Georgia, Oglethorpe County } Jesse Robenett makes oath that he is about to bring into this State a Negro woman Slave under the care of George & John Smith named Nelly [smeared section] he is the true & lawful owner of Said Slave that he is about to bring Said Slave into this State for the Sole purpose of being held to Service and labour by him without any intent to Sell, transfer, barter, lend hire, mortgage, procure[?] to be taken or Sold under execution or other legal process or in any way or manner to alien or dispose of said Slave, so as to vest the arc[?] or enjoyment of the labour or service[?] of such Slave in any other person other[?] for the life of said Slave or any other period of time or in any way or manner to defeat, avoid or elude the true intent & meaning of the act
Sworn to & Subscribed this 2nd Day of Feby 1818 [signed] Jesse Robonett
And the third affidavit:
Georgia, Oglethorpe County } Personally came Anthony Martin & being duly Sworn Saith that he hath brought imported & introduced into this State in terms of an act of the Assembly of this State passed at the last Session of the legislature of Said State three negroes (to wit) Spotswood about 21 years of age & Eliza his wife about 18 years old Frank about 24 years old & that he is the true & lawfull owner of the aforesaid Slaves that the Said Slaves is brought imported or introduced into this State for the Sole purpose of being held to Service & labor by him his heir executors or administrators or legatees & without any intent to Sell transfer barter lend hire mortgage procure to be taken or Sold under execution or legal process, or in any manner to defeat avoid or elude the true intint & meaning of the aforesaid Act
Sworn to & Subscribed before me this 31th of August 1819 Isaac Collier Clk [signed] Anthony Martin
Note the language of the second and third affidavits. The act referred to was intended to regulate the slave trade, hence the mention of the intent of the person importing slaves into the state.
Notice also the physical descriptions, genealogical information, and origins stated variously in these records. While not every affidavit contains all of this information, as can be seen with these three, many do, which makes these affidavits an incredibly important source for researching slave holders and the enslaved.
The original records are located at the Georgia Archives in Record Group 209-2-6.


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Dallas Braden, last seen hereabouts mistaking Stockton, Calif., for Tombstone, just threw the 19th perfect game in MLB history, against the Rays. They don't do much hitting in the 727, do they? UPDATE: And now Braden's grandmother starts shit-talking A-Rod, too.
Via the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser:
Dallas Braden's grandmother is here and speaking to the press. She says, and I'm not joking, "Stick it, A-Rod."
Braden fires perfect game against Rays [MLB.com]
DALLAS BRADEN THROWS A PERFECT GAME [Athletics Nation]


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April 24, 1965 - December 11, 2012
Grahamsville, NY
Michael J. Schulte, of Grahamsville, passed away on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at home, surrounded by his loving family. He was 47.
He was the son of William and June Wicks Schulte, born on April 24, 1965.
He was a proud graduate of Tri-Valley High School class of 1983. He then continued his education at Ulster County Community College where he graduated as an Electrical Engineer. He began his career at NYSEG over 25 years ago and was currently a Chief Line Mechanic. He was a true outdoorsman who loved fishing, hunting, four-wheeling and snowmobiling. He was a member of the IBEW Workers Union, the Liberty Elks Club and the Buckeroo Lodge Hunting Camp. He loved to spend time with his family, especially his two sons: Michael and Joseph. He was a devoted husband, loving father, son, brother and friend to all that knew and loved him. He will be sorely missed.
He is survived by his wife, whom he married on July 18, 1998, Dena Schulte; his two sons: Michael W. and Joseph Schulte; his parents, William and June Schulte; his siblings: Julie Starner and her husband, Don and their daughter, Emily of Grahamsville, William Schulte and his wife, Vickie and their children: Sara, Kara of California, and Morgan and Katie of Missouri, and James Schulte and his wife, Maxine and their son, Jacob of Grahamsville; his three godchildren: Courtney, Michael, and Kimberly Kelly, his mother-in-law Jean Maxson, his father-in-law Michael Holley, and several cousins, aunts, uncles and friends.
Visitation will be on Friday, December 14, 2012 at Colonial Memorial Funeral Home, 396 State Route 52, Woodbourne, NY 12788, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A graveside service will be held on Saturday, December 15, 2012 at Grahamsville Rural Cemetery at 10: a.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Michael's name can be made to the Grahamsville Reformed Church, State Route 55, Grahamsville, NY 12740 or the charity of one's choice.
Arrangements were under the direction of Colonial Memorial Funeral Home; for further information please call 845-434-7363 or visit our website at www.colonialbryantfuneralhome.com


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California watchers have their eyes on December, when cuts could be triggered if the budget is more than $1 billion out of balance.
What could prevent the triggers? A big surge in revenues -- big enough to move projections by the legislative analyst and the governor's department of finance high enough that the triggers won't be pulled.
But from where would such a surge in revenues come?
Silicon Valley.
Specifically, a surge of revenues from successful Silicon Valley companies who recently had successful initial public offerings (IPOs). Employees typically must wait a while to sell their stock
The first company to watch is LinkedIn, whose employees can begin selling their stock – and thus paying taxes on their capital gains – on Nov. 21. The Wall Street Journal reports that on that day, some 94 million shares will begin to be freed for sale.
Accoring to the current stock price, the value of those shares is more than $8 billion.
State taxes on the gains could run into the tens of millions -- perhaps the hundreds of millions -- of dollars. That's probably not enough by itself to change budget projections in a significant way, but other companies – including Pandora Media in mid-December – are to follow.
Next year is expected to bring the lucrative Facebook IPO.
The state should treat these as one-time revenues for budget purposes. One reason why California's budget took a nosedive in the last decade is that the state juiced spending during the late 90s technology boom, treating revenue windfalls as though they would be ongoing.
But today, the game is not to juice spending but stop the bleeding. A surge of revenues from Silicon Valley may be just enough to limit cuts, at least for a while.
Keep an eye on the stock prices of newly public tech and Internet companies – the future of the budget may depend on how they do.
Let us know what you think. Comment below, send us your thoughts via Twitter @PropZero or add your comment to our Facebook page.


text:
One of the most common rhetorical games creationists play, especially those influenced by those frauds at Answers in Genesis, is to erect a phony distinction between historical science, which they claim is not a science, and observational science, which they claim is the one true kind of science. It's a way for them to deny claims of events in the past having any credibility unless there is a direct, eye-witness, personal, written account (a restriction they blithely ignore when it comes to things like the first five days of the creation week, or the life of Jesus, which is all by second-hand accounts).
So it's always useful to collect good summaries of how you certainly can evaluate claims about the past, and how science can legitimately study historical processes. John Wilkins adds some more arguments.
To deny that we can know the past in any sense is not science. It is in effect an admission of failure, but we need not be so pessimistic. For example, we know Caesar crossed the Rubicon with his legions. We might not know how they were dressed or if it was raining that day, but we do know it happened. Likewise, we know the earth is 3.85 billion years old since the surface hardened. The evidence is there, supported by experimental observations.


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Vacation Liberty School Adapts VBS to Teach Nation's Founding to Children
Vacation Bible School (VBS) is no longer the only vacation school in town thanks to Kentucky members of Glenn Beck's grassroots liberty group called the 9/12 Project.
Vacation Liberty School (VLS) treads the line of faith and politics to teach children ages 10 to 15 the virtues of a democratic society, God's role in the founding of America and even economic issues like inflation. However, the creators of the curriculum say they do not wish to interfere with the spiritual importance of VBS or convert attendees to a particular party's politics. They simply want to the youth to know more about America's founding.
VLS has taken Kentucky and the nation by storm since the idea was first conceived last year.
Curriculum creator Lisa Abler says over 30-40 VLS programs were staged nationwide so far this year. To date, Texas and Ohio have exhibited the most interest in the five-day school teaching lessons in liberty, faith and personal responsibility, she says.
The groups hosting the program, Abler said, "love the curriculum ... [and] that the kids have hands-on experience with the [program's] principals [of faith, hope and charity]."
Abler said that parents are also happy with VLS.
"Parents ... are saying they learned more in a week of Vacation Liberty School than they've learned in all their years of school," she shared.
VLS borrows its play-learn teaching style, timing schedule and even its name and church location from VBS. (Some VLSs have been hosted in clubhouses and public spaces. However, Abler said churches are usually willing to host the schools for free.)
VLS also touches on the topic of faith. The second day of the VLS program is devoted entirely to faith and how signers of the Constitution prayed and held regular Bible studies. During day two, VLS leaders also pray a historical prayer uttered by early American clergyman and historian Rev. Thomas Prince.
However, Abler, a Lutheran, says VBS is spiritual, and she does not wish to take away from the popular summer church ministry.
"Vacation Liberty School borrows from the model of Vacation Bible School that is familiar to so many Americans," Abler noted on the Ivory Notebook's website. "It is not intended to be in competition or association with VBS in any way."
While similar, VBS and VLS curriculums teach very different concepts.
Rather than teaching stories of Jesus and biblical parables, the program teaches children lessons in early American history – the plight of early settlers, the history behind documents such as the U.S. Constitution and the contributions of people like Ben Franklin. VLS embeds these lessons in children's minds through games, scenarios and discussions.
For instance, children learn about the colonists' escape from tyranny to the new world on the first day by entering a room where the seating is assigned, the food consists of only bread and water and the games are "boring." After going through a maze, they emerge in a new room where there are free seating, lots of fun games and a wide variety of snacks.
"When you engage [the children] in meaningful activity in which ... they are doing something, then you follow it up with talking afterwards, you reinforce that [lesson]," Abler explained.
Abler and her husband, Jeff, created the VLS curriculum last year after their local Kentucky 9/12 Project chapter contacted her with the idea of the school. The first VLS held last year drew immense interest and a hardcopy curriculum was written so it could be shipped to other states. Abler, a homeschooler, said she and her husband Jeff worked all winter to put together the current planning guide.
While VLS teaches details of the country's founding, it also teaches the 9/12 Project's principles and values.
Conservative Pundit and Mormon Glenn Beck introduced the project in 2009 as a non-profit organization with the mission to return American back to the day after 9/11.
"On 9/12 no one in the government had to tell us what to do. We just did it. We went and we found a place to give blood. We went and we gave money. We gathered together. We gathered our family around. We prayed. We were the people that our grandparents were and nobody had to tell us," Beck told his Fox News viewers.
The group espouses nine principals such as "America is good," "I believe in God and he is the center of my Life" and "I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday." The 12 values include hope, courage, hard work, personal responsibility and thrift.
The group exercises its principles and values through charitable events and patriotic seminars on the Constitution and American rights and freedoms.
Similarly, VLS has an activity-filled seminar for kids that teach the ills of communism, the importance of individual charity over government charity and the dangers of inflation.
The VLS curriculum has been picked up by several Tea Party groups as well as 9/12 groups, Abler noted. But she said VLS is not about growing the Tea Party's membership or teaching their principals.
"It's not to recruit any children to become a member of any party or any particular group. It's to introduce and awaken children to what the truth is about the Founding Fathers and how this country was formed," she shared.
Abler and her husband are working on more liberty-themed curriculums: one for black history month and another VLS planning guide focused on the Constitution and the federalist papers.


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Another 'Played for Both' team, another serious lack of defenders (or for that matter a complete team). You will have to excuse some poetic license in this one, with regards peoples positions and err.. questionable playing history. But believe me, no one would want to lineup with one at back, especially if that one was Danny Higginbotham….
Here goes:-
Harry Moger
Local Southampton boy Harry Moger signed for his hometown club in 1900 but was never first choice at the Dell, Saints loss was Manchester United's gain when they took him in 1903. He played over 240 times for the Red Devils and was a league winner twice and FA Cup winner once. He was also part of the United team that won the first ever Charity Shield in 1908. Passed away in Manchester in 1927. R.I.P.
Oshor Williams
Technically a midfielder, Teesider Williams played for local club Middlesbrough as a youth before signing a professional contract with United in 1976, he didn't kick a ball in anger for the club though and was promptly released a year later. After a couple of seasons in non-league football he was given a second chance by Lawrie McMenemy, he was quickly loaned to Exeter City for experience before coming back to Saints. He made just 6 appearances at the Dell before leaving for Stockport County in 1979. Has the dubious honour of making one of the worst Saints XI's in our previous feature:- 'Saints in our Lives'. Now works for the PFA and is a youth coach for Wigan Athletic.
Danny Higginbotham
Manc Higginbotham realised his dreams when he signed a professional contract at Old Trafford in 1997 having been a youth player with the club. After being farmed out to Royal Antwerp and being involved in a controversial incident with a referee he returned to Manchester and played four times for the first team. It was clear he was never going to be a regular though and was sold to Derby County for £2 million in 2000. Having impressed with the Rams in both the Premier League and the Championship Saints made their move in January 2003. He was an unused sub in the 2003 cup final, unable to displace the duo of Lundekvam and Svensson, but played more regularly in the subsequent seasons. With Saints dropping to the championship in 2005, Higginbotham let his contract expire and left the club for Stoke City in the summer of 2006. Has since had a spell at Sunderland, a second at Stoke and brief stints with Forest and Ipswich before signing for Sheffield United this month.
Jim McCalliog
Another who isn't really a defender, glaswegian McCalliog was a youth at Leeds United before signing for Chelsea in 1963. After highly successful periods with Sheffield Wednesday and Wolves, United paid £60,000 to take him to Old Trafford. He was part of the United side that were both relegated to the 2nd division, but also bounced straight back up again at the first attempt, but was sold to Saints for £45,000 in 1975. McCalliog came back to haunt United manager Tommy Docherty, playing a perfectly timed through ball for the onside Bobby Stokes to score the only goal of the '76 cup final. McCalliog headed to the States in 1977 and had a brief stint as a manager with Halifax Town in 1990.
Gordon Strachan
Errr…. Ok, I was struggling at this point, but he did play for Saints in Matthew Le Tissier's 2001 testimonial. It counts. It's my rules.
Mark Hughes
Seeing as Hughes made the Everton side too, I will keep this brief. Illustrious career as a striker with United, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, United again, Chelsea. Hideous spell as a midfielder for Saints.
Andrei Kanchelskis
Kanchelskis left his Ukranian home to join United in 1991 for the princely sum of £650,000. It was money well spent as he terrorised Premier League full backs for four seasons, but after a rumoured fall out with Sir Alex Ferguson he was moved on to Everton in 1995. Via a spell at Fiorentina he ensured he would be the answer to the most asked football trivia question of all time by signing for Rangers in 1998. After a highly successful period at Ibrox and a brief loan at Manchester City he signed for Saints in 2002. It was an odd signing and a once great Premier League player was a shadow of his former self, making just two brief substitute appearances. Now the manager of FC Ufa in the Russian second division.
Danny Wallace
Londoner Wallace joined Saints as a youth player in 1977 and turned pro in 1980. Made his debut at Old Trafford aged just 16, coming off the bench to replace Kevin Keegan. This was a record broken since by only Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale. Wallace was a fans favourite at the Dell, his pace and skill complimented with some fantastic goals. He was joined in the Saints team for the 1988/89 season by brothers Ray and Rodney but was attracted to the Ferguson revolution at United and headed for Old Trafford in the summer of 1989. He had played over 300 times for Saints. Although he didn't quite live up to his reputation at United he did rack up a few medals and played for the club 47 times before moving to Birmingham City. Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1996, Wallace has embarked on many charity ventures including the London Marathon. Makes the small list of players to have played just once for England, but scoring in that appearance.
Ron Davies
Welshman Davies is a legend at St. Mary's, scoring 134 goals in 240 games after joining the club from Norwich City in 1965. He was considered the best striker around by Sir Matt Busby in 1967, a high accolade indeed. Unfortunately injures started to hamper Davies, the result of his physical combatant style and he lost his place in the Saints team. He crossed the South Coast divide in 1973 and signed for Portsmouth before heading to Old Trafford the following season. He made little impact at United and went on loan to Millwall before retiring in 1975.
Joe Jordan
After establishing himself as part of the fantastic Leeds team of the mid-70's the Scotsman made the jump to Old Trafford in 1978. Scoring 37 goals in 109 games for United, Jordan was another physical striker and made the move from top English league player to top export when he moved AC Milan in 1981. He stayed at the San Siro for two seasons, and was highly regarded despite the club being relegated to Serie B in his second and last campaign. He moved to Verona that summer but the goals dried up and he headed back to Blighty and Southampton in 1984. Back on form Jordan scored 12 goals in 48 games for Saints before moving to Bristol City in 1987. After some questionable management periods he has become a mainstay of Harry Redknapp's coaching team with Portsmouth, Spurs and now QPR. Oddly he didn't follow Redknapp to Saints in 2004/05 and stayed at Portsmouth (perhaps he saw what was coming).
Ted MacDougall
Journeyman MacDougall can name 18 clubs that he represented in his career including both United and Saints. Having started his career with Liverpool, he made a name for himself scoring plenty of goals for both York City and Bournemouth which led United to pay £200,000 for him in 1972. Despite scoring on his debut MacDougall didn't last the season and was sold to West Ham. After not quite finding his feet at the Hammers either he found his scoring boots again at Norwich City, but soon found himself on the move again joining Saints for £50,000 in 1976. He helped Saints retain their place in the top division but MacDougall favoured staying in the lower leagues and returned to Bournemouth in 1978. Now a coach in the United States.
So there it is, I know I really pushed the acceptable boundaries this time, but amazing how few players there were post-war era. As usual, would love to hear of any other suggestions!


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Flying high: Wine, kites, horses brave the rain
"The show must go on" is an old cliché, no truer than last weekend up in Orange County. The Montpelier Wine Festival went off without a hitch May 1 and May 2 despite the threat of looming thunderstorms.
Droves of wine enthusiasts flocked to the grounds of the home of James and Dolley Madison to tour various vinters' tasting tents, while tots enjoyed a bubble machine and a kite demonstration from the Wings Over Washington club. A quirky little race, aptly named Running of the Bowls, had three child runners dragging a bowl-shaped decorative kite up the main field. Winners received prizes, but the real fun was watching everyone struggle to get up the field holding on to a big kite.
No Virginia festival worth its salt would be complete without craftsmen. There were also Revolutionary War Re-enactors, complete with costumes, ox carts, and smoldering pots of food.
Wine, cheese, horses, soldiers, and funny hats– sounds like just another weekend in "so very Virginia."
No, I'm not related to the Barboursville Vineyard, but like me, their tent was quite popular.
Brook Devos checks her equipment for the Running of the Bowls.
Tommy Higgs can make your garden artsy.
A little bubbly for the kids


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Starbucks, Palisades Pizza, food truck spot cited | News
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA9)-- WUSA9 cameras spot DC food trucks at a Virginia kitchen inspectors suspended for rodent violations. The Arlington cafe is one of seven restaurants ordered closed in this report.
Updated: To see a photo gallery with hundreds of Washington area restaurant closures since 2012 click here.
Inspectors temporarily closed: Starbucks, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, DC; Palisades Pizza, 4855 MacArthur Boulevard, NW, DC; Lindy's 2040 I Street, NW, DC; West Wing Cafe at Mazza Gallerie, 5300 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, DC; Roger Miller Restaurant, 941 Bonifant Street, Silver Spring, Md.; Wok Express, 9615 Lost Knife Road, Gaithersburg, Md.; Nell's Carryout, 1199 Fern Street, Arlington, Va.
All restaurants we visited passed re-inspection and are back in business.
All restaurants we visited passed re-inspection and are back in business.
To know about restaurant closure orders first, follow @russptacek on Twitter, or like Russ Ptacek on Facebook.
Nell's Carryout
In Arlington, VA at South Fern and 12th Street we found what looks like a diner from the outside but when we were here, the diner wasn't open and we found what looks like a large DC food truck operation.
Inspectors closed Nell's Carryout citing rodent droppings on the slicer and chicken wings being partially cooked.
A man who identified himself as the owner of Nell's said he fixed all the health code violations but, we'd have to wait to look inside its kitchen.
He said we'd have to wait an hour and then he'd let us look around Nell's kitchen but after one hour, he didn't allow us into the building.
DC Health would only say, in general, trucks on record as using the kitchen reported "new stations" during the closure.
We have repeatedly asked DC Health questions about food trucks using that location, including documents that would show names, and whether they used different kitchens during the closure, but the department has not been responsive.
"This closure was over 3 weeks ago so the team has to look up what the new station was," said DC Health spokeswoman Najma Roberts.
Palisades Pizza and Clam Bar
On MacArthur Boulevard, NW, inspectors cited Palisades Pizza and Clam Bar with 24 violations including failing to minimize vermin, a dead fly in the ice cream freezer and live and dead roaches in the storage area.
It was also cited for not staffing anyone certified in food safety management, also called CFM. We spoke to the owner who said the problems had been cleared up but when we visited, there was no CFM on duty.
Near L'Enfant Plaza Metro on Maryland Avenue, SW, inspectors closed Starbucks citing 3 violations including potentially hazardous food holding temperatures and not staffing anyone certified in food safety.
We asked Starbucks if it had a CFM on duty when we visited but management said it wasn't allowed to speak to the media.
In Foggy Bottom, on I Street, NW inspectors closed Lindy's Bon Appetit and Red Lion citing 5 violations including rat droppings seen in the kitchen. Lindy's owner declined our request to look around and asked us to leave.
Roger Miller Restaurant
In Silver Spring on Bonifant Street, inspectors closed Roger Miller Restaurant citing 19 violations including roaches inside the kitchen and roach excrement on the kitchen walls.
The owner let WUSA9 investigative reporter Russ Ptacek in but not with a camera. Ptacek found lots of dead roaches in traps set by exterminators, but no live bugs.
Wok Express
On Lost Knife Road in Gaithersburg, inspectors closed Wok Express citing a roach infestation and reported five roaches running out of the dishwasher.
When WUSA9 looked around the kitchen, we found live and dead roaches.
The manager showed us pest control paperwork and said they're working on improvements
West Wing Cafe
At Mazza Gallerie on Wisconsin Avenue, NW, inspectors closed West Wing Café for not staffing anyone certified in food safety management and no valid business license.
West Wing Café was still under a suspension order when we visited but we couldn't find the required health hazard closure poster anywhere. A possible $500 violation, but DC Health Department records don't indicate any action.
There was no closure placard on the outside of Mazza Gallerie though West Wing Café is right inside its front doors. Health department regulations require that placard stay up until it passes a reinspection and they believe it's safe for you to visit.
All the restaurants passed reinspection and are back in business.


text: Hi all, I had to quickly move servers, so did a fresh install of ispconfig2 on a new centos 6.4 box, since I did not have time to learn ispconfig3 and move all 180 sites. Install went fine, then using this thread http://www.howtoforge.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2717&highlight=move+ispconfig&page=19 we moved the server over. All went well with the exception of smtp is now only working on port 25, and for the life of me I can not figure out why 465 & 587 are not working. Now looking into things, yum installed Dovecot 2.0.9 which may be my issue but running only shows So not sure if I should revert back, old server was running dovecot 1.0.7 or if there is another work around. thanks, Mike


text:
Jimmy Kimmel's polishing up everything but the trophies as he prepares for his debut stint as the host of the 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
The popular ABC late night host has been handed the reigns of the show, which airs on his network on Sunday night. Kimmel reveals that he recognizes the ceremony isn't just another vehicle for his signature comedy bits (don't expect to see Guillermo), hopes to keep his hand on the steering wheel throughout the broadcast (look for Billy Crystal-style in-the-moment quips in response to the on stage action) and won't launch Ricky Gervais-level verbal slaps at the stars (at least not ones that will leave a lasting mark).
Can we talk about the early blueprint for the show?
I want it to be jazzy from beginning to end. I don't have a ton of control over how things go. Only what I do know is that I'd like to be a part of the show throughout. I think sometimes in award shows the host is there in the beginning and then he or she disappears until about 45 minutes later, and it's nice to be able to comment on things as they're happening, and we've talked about this, and hopefully I will be able to insert myself in the entirety of the broadcast.
A lot of people who are up for the awards have been on your show. Does that give you a certain license to play around?
Definitely. I think that it's human nature: you know somebody, you are able to make a little bit more fun of them without them getting angry. I think that will help me. I think I will know probably 40% of the people in the audience that night.
What's more nerve‑wracking, hosting the White House Press Corps Dinner or the Emmys?
I think the White House was, although that remains to be seen. I almost threw up that afternoon before hosting the White House dinner. That audience is very different, and I didn't know whether they would laugh or whether they would get angry – and I think they did both, but ultimately I think I'm more comfortable in front of an audience of fellow shallow Hollywood stars.
What did you learn from that experience?
I learned that the President is a little bit funnier than I am.
Was it a given that you were going to host the Emmys with ABC broadcasting the ceremony? And did you jump at the chance?
I don't think that it was a given, but I was happy to have been asked. I won't say that I was surprised to have been asked. I figured that they would ask me. I would've been very angry if I hadn't been asked, and so maybe that's why they asked me.
Who are the great Emmy hosts, in your evaluation?
I think that Jimmy Fallon did a great job. I think that Ellen DeGeneres did a great job. John Stewart. I think that Garry Shandling did a really good job, and did a really interesting thing that was kind of ahead of its time at that time.
How important is it to be an edgy host of the Emmys – is it worth hurting a few egos, Ricky Gervais-style?
Well, I don't want to hurt anybody…If I find out that someone's feelings have been hurt I feel badly about it for the rest of my life. So that's never my intent. I want to be funny. Sometimes when you're funny people do get their feelings hurt, but I'm going to try and avoid that.
Did they give you a talk about what you can and can't do for this?
It's not like they treat me like a child or anything. It's not like it's going to be a prepared event. Every bit of it will be thought out and negotiated as all of these things are. Everything that I say will probably have been approved in advance.
What do you hope we're saying about when this is done?
I hope that people will say it's funny and that I did a good job, but you never know. I'm sure it'll be a mix, regardless of how it goes.
What stands out for you this year, it's been a good year?
Well, the Emmy nomination was very excited for us because as a staff we started to feel like the Bad News Bears. Not that we felt like we deserved an Emmy nomination, but we did feel like we deserved an Emmy nomination. And everybody was very excited. It's fun to see the staff…I probably have convinced myself that it doesn't matter, and I have to say, it was exciting to see how excited the staff was because it reminds you that it's their show, too. They're as invested in it as you are. So it was a fun day, that day.
Did practice an Emmy speech when you were a kid?
No, I didn't. I didn't have not any delusions of grandeur as a kid. I never imagined being on television. I just really wanted to have one that was in color. That was my goal.


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I travel a lot, and one thing I see around Europe is the rise of NFC, so the use of 'smart'cards on the Underground, Metro, Dutch rail and elsewhere. The technology is basically the same everytime, Chip with some form of RFID or NFC is swiped over a sensor and your trip is paid for. Around the globe we are seeing MasterCard and Visa both include NFC to their cards so you can just wave the card around and get charged for things.
Now MasterCard and Visa get a percentage of the transaction, there are normally companies providing the Smartcard services for public transport. But what stops Apple creating or leveraging a 'standard' for NFC to cover these cases. Think 'Airplay' over six inches. Now Apple have said NFC won't be in iPhone 5, which indicates... well not much. But the key question here isn't so much when NFC will be included but the impact this will have on the market.
Lets say in the UK my Oyster card can be replaced with my iPhone and my iPhone can be linked to my Credit Card. Suddenly Apple are taking a slice not just of my iTunes transactions but of pretty much everything I do, and they have clarity via GPS on where I'm doing it. I can also charge via this system on the French, Dutch, etc networks without having to buy a ticket or going to a ticket office, think of the staff savings....
Now for fraud reasons it would be good to track the GPS so if I do an iPhone transaction in Utrecht and then there is a card transaction in London 10 minutes later then the odds are that one is fraudulent. This fraud protection would give Apple the reason to store and analyse this information, and of course provide it to the credit-card provider. All very open, if more than a little big brother.
The point here is that integrating NFC into the iPhone and driving a standard due to the massive market volumes that the iPhone has, something no-one else can currently do unless Google dictates hardware standards a bit more, would mean that governments and companies could massively reduce the timescales for adopting NFC and start decreasing their operating costs by relying on iPhone users to self-serve. This would have a knock-on effect of driving iPhone sales because with iPhone being the 'preferred' mechanism it becomes simpler to own one rather than not. Thus Apple provide to the credit card companies and other organisations a platform for NFC which gives Apple revenue and companies the leverage that a standardised market brings (think 802.11x against proprietary approaches).
That then got me thinking. Apple quite like being in control and have $76bn in cash, what could you buy for that which would really kick this up a level? How about VISA($63bn), Mastercard($44bn) or American Express($60bn) themselves? Apple could buy, for cash, anyone of these. So instead of having an open system for all of the providers it suddenly would become a closed system where you are best off having a specific card provider if you get an iPhone. Given the demographic target of Apple, and their larger charges over the competition, AMEX would seem to be a good fit.
Sometimes its scary when you join the dots.
Technorati Tags: SOA, Service Architecture


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It is the fifth century BC and Dikaiopolis, a peasant who is forced by war to live in the city, has secured an unlikely peace for Athens in their war against the Spartans. However, not all his fellow citizens agree with the new détente between themselves and their hated enemies. It is up to Dikaiopolis, in increasingly farcical circumstances, to defend his anti-war stance and save his precious peace.
In their introduction to the play, translator Kenneth McLeish and editor J. Michael Walton write 'If Sophocles' Oidipous Tyrannos is the very model of an 'Aristotelian' tragedy, a kind of template for the form, then Acharnians could serve the same function for the comedy. The agon, parabasis, alazones scenes, and komos are fine examples of how each should be written . . . In particular the formal dialogues between Dikaiopolis and Lamachos demonstrate the maxim that adherence to rules can liberate the imagination - demonstrate it as triumphantly as Bach's Art of Fugue.'
A timely and timeless comedy, Acharnians was first produced in 452BC during one of the sporadic and unreliable ceasefires in the Peloponnesian war between Athens and Sparta.


text: 11 shocking Olympic doping scandalsJeff Haynes, Getty Images 07.25.2012Marion Jones was just one of many Olympians to be caught or admit to using performance-enhancers.Jeff Haynes / Getty ImagesKnud Enemark Jensen was the first known doper. At the 1960 games in Rome, the Danish cyclist died after being given Roniacol before his race. The drug was meant to increase blood circulation.Central Press / Getty ImagesHans-Gunnar Liljenwall was the first ever athlete to be disqualified for drug use. The drug? Alcohol. The Swedish modern pentathlete cost his team the bronze medal when he drank two beers before the pistol shooting part of the competition to calm his nerves.Archive / PNGJustin Gatlin was banned from competition for two years in 2001 after testing positive for amphetamines, but he appealed the decision, claiming that drug showed up in tests because of medication he was taking for attention deficit disorder. He won three medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics, a gold in the 100m, a bronze in the 200m, and a silver as a part of the 4x100m relay. But in 2006, he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and was sentenced in late 2007 to a four-year ban from athletics.Andy Lyons / Getty ImagesMary Decker Slaney was a running sensation from the age of 14. By 16, in 1974, she held world records in the 1000m and 800m events. In the 80s, she set six world records in distances from the mile to 10,000m, and was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson of the Year in 1983. But in 1996, at the age of 37, Decker Slaney qualified for the 5000m at the Atlanta Olympics, only to test positive for testosterone. She was banned from competition in 1997.Sports Illustrated / Google ImagesThe East German Olympic team became a sporting powerhouse in the 1970s and '80s, as you'd expect when thousands of their athletes were given performance-enhancing steroids in an effort to prove East German superiority over the West. But with the medals and titles came the negative health side effects, such as liver cancer, organ damage, psychological defects, hormonal changes and infertility, and after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, athletes such as swimmer Kornelia Ender came forward. Ender, who won four gold and four silver medals at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, revealed she started receiving injections at the age of 13.Archive / PNGIn 2002, Russian Nordic skiers Olga Danilova (above) and Larissa Lazutina won gold and silver at Salt Lake City. But failed drug tests disqualified them both, giving the gold to the third place finisher, Canadian Beckie Scott.Menahem Kahana / Getty ImagesMichelle Smith won three gold and one bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, but the Irish swimmer's success raised suspicion because she had never been a contender before, let alone a dominant force. In 1998, two drug testers showed up at Smith's home. The resultant sample shocked everyone, as it contained a level of alcohol that would be fatal if consumed by a human. FINA concluded that Smith had added whiskey as a masking agent.Archive / PNGGreek sprinters Konstantinos Kenteris (above) and Ekaterini Thanou won gold and silver medals in 2000 in Sydney, but on the eve of the 2004 Olympics, they skipped a drug test. Then, to explain their absence, they staged a motorcycle accident. A week into the Games, the pair withdrew from the Olympics, and were subsequently suspended by the IAAF.Archive / PNGRashid Ramzi was the pride of Bahrain at the 2008 Olympicas, taking home gold in the 1500m. It was the first Olympic medal Bahrain had ever won. Unfortunately, it was taken away after Ramzi tested positive for an advanced version of the red cell boosting drug EPO.Francois Xavier / Getty ImagesBen Johnson was beloved in Canada in the mid-1980s after setting world records in the 60m and 100m sprints, but at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, he tested positive for steroids. He was stripped of his medals.Romeo Gacad / Getty ImagesShareAdjustCommentPrint xShare11 shocking Olympic doping scandals Email Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Linkedin


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Podso is the winner of the years subscription to Taste of Home! Podso, you have a no reply blogger email addy, so please email me your snail mail address. The deal ends Monday night.
I hope everyone who celebrated Easter had a good one. We celebrated at my dil's sister's house. The weather here on Long Island was perfect, and the Easter egg hunt went off without a hitch!
I was a guest, but filled 120 eggs for the hunt, and goodie bags for the kids. We also did a Guess the # of Jelly Beans Contest.
There were 17 adults and 10 kids. The hostess did a wonderful job with the seating and setting.
I made a whipped cream egg cake, cherry and whipped cream filling. I tinted the layers, pink and green, but didn't get a pic when it was cut. It did look pretty! The traditional chocolate cake eggs dipped in chocolate.
I put the jelly beans on when we got there as they run into the whipped cream!
The little bristle bunny is from WSonoma Outlet. I picked up a few bargains there Friday, he was 2 and change from 19.95
I will show you the other things I got in my next post.
I had some extra chocolate batter and whipped cream left, so I made a few cupcakes, cut out the center, filled it with cream, and then dipped them in chocolate. A few swirls of whipped cream. It's Easter, you get to eat chocolate for breakfast! :)
Dig in, I'll pour the milk!
Hope your holiday was happy!
Don't forget Wednesday night at 7 for Let's Dish, meeting 4!
I think I got to everyone, if I didn't I will!
I am joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.
Marty for Tabletop TuesdayShannon for Cozy Home Scenes Party


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24/7 CDC call center: 800-232-4636.
View county office and event/program updates here.
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I urge you to take action to end forced abortion and gendercide, currently occurring in China because of the coercive enforcement of the One Child Policy.
The enforcement of the One Child Policy in China has resulted in millions of girls going "missing." Because male children are preferred, families are abandoning, aborting or hiding girl children to use their one option for a child on a boy. There are now 37 million more men than women in China, which has led to an increase in sex trafficking, child brides and prostitution.
Under the One Child Policy, authorities often use forced abortion or forced sterilization against women as a brutal means of enforcing the policy's restrictive birth limits.
I ask you to commit to helping end the forced abortion, forced sterilization and coercive family planning occurring under the One Child Policy. I also ask you to speak out against the cultural preferences for male children. These are the most crucial steps that can be taken to end China's gendercide.
Women's Rights Without Frontiers
This petition closed 6 months ago
China's One Child Policy has led to the deaths of tens of millions of girls, simply because of their gender. Due to existing cultural preferences for sons rather than daughters, many Chinese...
China's One Child Policy has led to the deaths of tens of millions of girls, simply because of their gender. Due to existing cultural preferences for sons rather than daughters, many Chinese families are abandoning, aborting, or hiding their female children. As a result, there are now 37 million more men than women living in China. This gender imbalance has in turn led to an increase in sex trafficking, child brides, and prostitution in the country.
The following three cases from 2012 are examples of the tragic effects of this policy and the cultural preference for sons:
• Feng Jianmei, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province. Feng's pregnancy was forcibly aborted at seven months, igniting a firestorm of criticism internationally. Indeed, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning forced abortion in China, specifically citing Feng.
• Cao Ruyi, Changsha City, Hunan Province. Family Planning Officials attempted to force Cao to have an abortion at five months, which she refused and was then detained. Because of international pressure she was released from detention, but she remains at risk of forced abortion. As of August 2012, she is in hiding.
• Hu Jia, Jianli County, Hubei Province. China's Southern Metropolis Daily reported that Hu Jia's pregnancy was forcibly aborted at nearly eight months. That this case was reported by a major Chinese newspaper indicates the growing discontent with the policy inside China and the courage of the Chinese news media to report it.
• In 2009 the British Medical Journal published that the overall gender ratio for China is 120 boys for every 100 girls. Eight provinces had ratios of over 160 boys for every 100 girls, for second children. The article stated, "Sex selective abortion accounts for almost all the excess males."
This war against women must end. Please sign this petition to world leaders asking for them to publicly speak out against China's family planning programs, and to commit to helping end this policy and practice.
This petition is supported by It's a Girl, Women's Rights Without Frontiers, and Women's Rights in China.


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Spell Well 1.1 iPhone
Fun app for children that teaches spelling. Help Wordy the frog build a beautiful magic garden by spelling words correctly.
Spelling Frog Wordy is sad, his garden is very empty. Please help him. You can do this by spelling words correctly. After spelling some words correctly something new will grow in the garden. Keep spelling until the entire garden is filled with flowers. Make Wordy very happy.
There are many surprises in the garden. Your child will want to keep on spelling to find them all.
NOTE: This is a univeral app: purchase Spell Well once and use it across all of your Apple devices (iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch 3rd gen or iPod Touch 4)
- Developed to teach spelling to children at first grade level
- Teaches a vocabulary of over 500 words
- Follows the texts of the British National Curriculum
- Words to be spelled are shown
- Words to be spelled are spoken
- Words are put into context using a sentence
- Words are further highlighted with an illustration
- Advanced graphics, using the iPads enhanced features
- Builds confidence
Spell Well shows how many words have been spelled correctly so far, and with which word the child had the most trouble.
- Corrects and reinforces
Children will be asked to spell words again that they had trouble with.
- Makes spelling fun
As more words are spelled correctly, a beautiful garden starts to grow. Children can see how the garden is growing at any time.
- Word context and usage
The word to be spelled is shown, spoken and illustrated. A sentence showing proper word usage is also spoken out.
- Handwriting recognition
The spelling of the words is done by writing directly on the screen, so the child will actually have to write perfectly to proceed.
- Flexible
Spell Well teaches the child to write in both uppercase as well as lowercase fonts.
-Difficulty levels
The parent can also adjust the difficulty. With a higher difficulty, the child will be assisted less and needs to spell more words correctly to make the garden grow.


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Willits, not Wilson, gets the call
Brandon Wood realistically couldn't have done any more to keep his spot on the 25-man roster, but he's back in Salt Lake, getting the at-bats that were not available in Anaheim.
What the Angels have in mind for Wood, now and long term, I don't know. I suspect he's their fallback at third base if Chone Figgins departs via free agency, but I also think he could slide in on a daily basis there next year if Figgins is retained as an outfielder or an all-purpose player.
Trouble is, if Figgins thinks that he's going back to being something other than any everyday third baseman, it's doubtful he'd want to come back. He loves having a position and a role, and who can blame him? He has shown himself to be a quality third baseman and one of the game's best leadoff hitters.
Manager Mike Scioscia acknowledged before Wednesday night's game against the Blue Jays and the great Roy Halladay that the decision-makers had considered bringing up Bobby Wilson to back up Jeff Mathis, with Mike Napoli sliding into the DH role on a regular basis.
Apparently, they decided it wasn't time for that bold move and recalled instead Reggie Willits, a versatile and highly underrated role player who can do many positive things for a club.
Personally, I'd find a place for Wilson and Willits, but Scioscia feels he needs 12 pitchers and will continue to carry 12 until the pitching staff comes together. That could happen in June, July, perhaps not at all.
Again, this is just my opinion, but Napoli should be in the lineup every day, and the only way that's going to happen is as a DH who occasionally catches and/or plays first base. What he does with a bat is too valuable to risk with the kinds of injuries that have sent Napoli to the DL the past two seasons.
In his two starts as a DH, Napoli celebrated with six hits in seven at-bats, with two walks and three RBIs. The one out he made sent an outfielder to the wall at Yankee Stadium.
The guy is a lethal hitter. I think he could approach Miguel Cabrera's numbers in Detroit as an everyday DH. Mathis and Wilson are quality defensive players, both capable of hitting in the .250 range. Mathis has shown that even though he doesn't hit for a high average, he is clutch. We've seen him deliver big hits under pressure frequently, and there's a reason for that — he's an athlete who happens to catch. You'll never see a more athletic catcher.
Wilson has paid his dues and is ready for a role in the big time, along with a half-dozen teammates in Salt Lake. Wood, back with the Bees, is an everyday Major League talent right now with no place to play in Anaheim with the Angels' abundance of quality infielders.
Like Napoli, Wood, playing every day, has the ability to hit 30 homers and drive in 100 runs. He won't hurt you at third or at shortstop, either. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
As they used to say in Brooklyn, wait'll next year.
5 Comments
I like the idea of DH'ing Napoli but it looks like Vlad will be taking that spot most of the rest of this season. The Angels have a lot of tough decisions to make after this season, similar to 2003. I would have given Wood a couple of weeks at short to sink or swim because the errors from that position were costing games and it's time to let him show what he can do. Matt Brown has been languising in Salt Lake since being sent back and I think it's related to the demotivation that comes from doing what he did in spring and then not cracking the line-up. I still think we'll win the division but it will be an interesting off season with Lackey still in limbo.
Good article Mr. Spencer. Do you think the Angels should make a deal for a pitcher, if we have an abundunce of infeilders and a hot prospect chomping at the bit to play everyday would it not be in the teams best interest for this year and our future to do this? I know that the Padres have mentioned moving Peavy and I am sure their are other teams willing to make a deal for Aybar and some of our other prospects (besides Wood).
First, I am tired of hearing the word "prospect" in connection of Brandon Wood. He seems to have found is stroke judging by his spring and the few at bats he has had this season. This guy needs to get a few weeks of starting time to see what he really can do at the plate. We know he can field and after making his adjustments he seems to be ready. I think there is just too many guys a short and they either need to make a trade or put him in full time. Izuris is a much better shortstop than Aybar if just for his bat and clutch RISP hitting, but another power bat in the lineup would make the lineup even more potent. It's time. Let's put our prospect to work.
My favorite team LAA needs a closer since losing K-rod. As I look at teams farm systems and MLB games on the Dish I see Boston Redsox with an abundance of pitchers that could close the game. We do not need Wood with all the good infielders we have I would trade Wood for Masterson or one of their prospects.
FWIW. . .my $0.02. . .
http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/news/comments.jsp?ymd=20090507&content_id=4613020&vkey=news_ana&fext=.jsp&c_id=ana . . .BeesGal


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Lately annoyed by all the (conservative & mainstream) pundits asserting confidently that the US is "a center-right nation". What? When did that happen? As long as I've watched these things, people's positions on issues trend ever leftward — although the Right has successfully managed terminology such that feminists hate the "f-word", liberals hate the "l-word", socialists hate the "s-word". (Anarchists and atheists are apparently so lost to reason that they can't even be brought to disavow those terms.)
And happily David Sirota noted the same thing:
[Conservatives] contend that no matter how big progressives may win on election day, this is nonetheless a center-right nation. Indeed, a LexisNexis search shows this poll-tested term — "center-right nation" — is lately among the Punditburo's most ubiquitous Orwellian buzzwords. From a Newsweek cover story by conservative dittohead Jon Meacham to a Wall Street Journal screed by former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan to a Politico.com diatribe by former Rudy Giuliani aide John Avlon, the "center-right nation" phrase is being parroted with the propagandistic discipline of Cuba's Ministry of Information.
The proof of this center-right nation? Republicans cite polls showing more Americans call themselves conservative than liberal. While that data point certainly measures brand name, those same surveys undermine the right's larger argument because they show majorities support progressive positions on most economic issues.
Sirota, Mandate '08: Reagan vs. FDR, SF Chronicle, 2008/10/31.
Yes, not only are these pundits wrong, but indeed, there is a concerted push this year on this term — the latest conservative talking point. Has anyone tracked the origin and dispersal of these phrases? I'd really like to know.
eta 2008/11/09: Lots of other folks have noticed this as well. See, e.g., Frank Rich 11/9, ….


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I just learned today about @MoFems and that they're having a local conference on 9 March (yes, my birthday!): the F-Word Conference: What Role Do You Play in Redefining Gender and Culture?. I should probably look around my own neighborhood more often.
Speaking of local events…this weekend, starting today, is the Prairie Gate Literary Festival, and on Wednesday the 27th we have Barry Finzel visiting to give the honors lecture on Structural Biology and 3-D modeling, and on Tuesday the 26th Sylke Boyd will be telling us about sun dogs and northern lights and other exotic phenomena at Cafe Scientifique. This place is happening — I hope we can get more locals to stop on by.