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Plaintiff v. NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, Defendant COMPLAINT The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ("Commonwealth"), by Governor Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., brings this action as parens patriae for the natural citizens of the Commonwealth for injunctive relief against the National Collegiate Athletic Association ("NCAA") under Section 16 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. 26, for a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1. I. 1. NATURE OF ACTION
University ("Penn State") has been an importnat economic engine supporting Pennsylvanians across the Commonwealth. On fall weekends, fans and alumni have regularly traveled to State College to attend Penn State games, tailgate with family and friends, and spend the weekend visiting the Penn State campus. As a result, Penn
State football has played a major role not only as a focus of campus life, but as a generator of revenue for a proud university, a leading tourist attraction, and a creator of jobs in the Commonwealth. 2. This suit arises out of the NCAA and its member institutions'
arbitrary and capricious application of their enforcement power for the purpose of crippling Penn State football, thereby harming citizens of the Commonwealth who benefit from a successful football program at Penn State, among them citizens who earn income by working in the stadium on game days; the shop owners whose small businesses generate significant revenue from the sale of Penn State memorabilia; the students who help pay tuition by waiting tables filled with alumni and fans who patronize restaurants and bars before and after games; the hotel owners and employees whose jobs depend on the continued influx of tourists to central Pennsylvania; and the Penn State swimmers and other athletes whose programs are largely funded by football revenue. 3. The NCAA is accomplishing this goal by exploiting, to bunrish its
own often deirded public reputation, a tragic and notorious child sexual abuse scandal that became one of the most closely followed news stoires in the nation between November 2011 and July 2012. Instead of allowing the justice system to resolve this seires of events, the NCAA used Penn State's tarnished public image as an opportunity to force the university to endure harsh, unjustified, and unprecedented 2
punishments. Penn State was forced to sign away its procedural rights, including an investigation of the charges against it, factual findings that NCAA rules were violated, a hearing before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions, and an appeal of any adverse ruling. These punishments threaten to have a devastating, long-lasting, and irreparable effect on the Commonwealth, its citizens, and its economy. ^ The NCAA is a trade association of competitors, formed for the
purpose of promoting intercollegiate athletic competition, in part through selfregulating its members to ensure fair competition on the playing field and the protection of participating student-athletes. While the antitrust laws permit such an association to impose and enforce rules or standards to promote certain
procompetitive purposes, such rules must be reasonably related to those purposes, and must be enforced through procedures designed to prevent their arbitrary application. 5. The NCAA's sanctions against Penn State fail to meet these
requirements. The NCAA has punished Penn State without citing a single concrete NCAA rule that Penn State has broken, for conduct that in no way compromised the NCAA's mission of fair competition, and with a complete disregard for the NCAA's own enforcement procedures. In so doing, the NCAA and its members have forced Penn State to forfeit the valuable competitive advantages of full participation in the NCAA.
university officials who allegedly knew about the underlying offenses and failed to report them to law enforcement authorities, the NCAA should not be permitted to exploit the tragedy in a way that harms Pennsylvanians and decreases the revenue base that supports worthy Commonwealth programs merely to enhance the NCAA's own reputation and the competing football programs of the NCAA member colleges and universities. 7. The NCAA took the public position that its unique and unprecedented
actions were necessary to correct a "culture" at Penn State that improperly exalted the football program to a position of "deference" and "reverence" within the university. While the role of football and other high-profile spotrs on college campuses is cetrainly a legitimate subject for debate, the notion that this phenomenon is in any way unique to Penn State defies credulity. Moreover, given the NCAA's pivotal role in creating and profiting from the "culture" it now decries, its stated justification for its attack on Penn State and the Commonwealth must be viewed as a pretext for the real motives of the NCAA and its president: the opportunity to gain leverage in the coutr of public opinion, boost the reputation and power of the NCAA's president, enhance the competitive position of certain NCAA members, and weaken a fellow competitor.
Plaintiff is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, acting by and through its Govenror, Thomas W. Corbett, Jr. Under Pennsylvania law, the Attorney General of the Commonwealth is authorized to bring actions on behalf of Pennsylvania and its citizens for violations of the antitrust laws of the United States. The Commonwealth Attonreys Act, however, permits the Govenror's Office of General Counsel to initiate such actions upon a delegation of that authority by the Attorney General.
See 71
P.S. 732-204(c).
Governor Corbett sought and received such a delegation from the Attorney General. ^ Defendant NCAA is an unincorporated member association of more The
than 1,000 colleges and universities located throughout the United States.
NCAA maintains its headquarters and pirncipal place of business in Indianapolis, Indiana. The majority of the NCAA's members are institutions of higher education (hereinatfer collectively referred to as "members" or "member institutions").
Through agreements with its member colleges and universities, the NCAA regulates and coordinates the business of college sports in the United States. 10. As described by the NCAA on its website, the NCAA was founded
mas a way to protect student-athletes" and "continues to implement that pirnciple with increased emphasis on both athletics and academic excellence. " According to the website, "[t]he NCAA enforcement program stirves to maintain a level playing field
for the more than 400,000 student-athletes. Commitment to fair play is a bedrock principle of the NCAA A fundamental principle of the enforcement program is to
ensure that institutions abiding by NCAA legislation are not disadvantaged by complying with the rules. " In furtherance of these principles, the NCAA regularly investigates and sanctions collegiate athletic programs for violations of NCAA rules designed to ensure fairness on the playing field. These rules include limitations on financial compensation to student-athletes, limitations on communication between athletic programs and high school recruits, limitations on team practices, and requirements that student-athletes achieve minimum academic standards. 11. Given the growing popularity of college athletics, particularly football
and basketball, the NCAA has become one of the most powerful institutions in American spotrs. It awards more than eighty championships annually in a variety of men's and women's collegiate spotrs, including the "March Madness" men's basketball tournament that provides the NCAA with more than $500 million nanually in television revenue alone. amassing nearly $846 The NCAA is "big business" in the United States, in annual revenue in 2010-11. (See
major college football program like Penn State's requires a college or university to be an NCAA member, and to subject itself to the NCAA's myirad rules and regulations. 6
1331 and 1337. 14. Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 22 and 28
U.S.C. 1391(b) because a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims occurred in this district and the defendant transacted business in this district. 15. This Court has personal jurisdiction over defendant because defendant
transacted business in this district, nad was engaged in an illegal scheme that was directed at and had the intended effect of causing injury to persons and entities residing in, located in, or doing business in this district. IV. A. 16. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
The Penn State Football Program Division I college football is big business, generating hundreds of
millions of dollars of annual revenue, and Penn State has long been one of its most successful and storied programs. Penn State football is irch in tradition, loyalty, and on-field success, having won two national championships, three Big Ten Conference titles, and invitations to 26 postseason bowl games during the last 40 years. 17. In 2010-2011, Penn State football was the second most profitable
collegiate athletics program in the nation, earning over $50 million, and was the most profitable program amongst its immediate competitors in the Big Ten Conference. 7
Penn State football was also the most valuable contributor to intercollegiate expenses for all NCAA student-athletes at the university, providing 37 percent of the revenue for athletic programs in the 2011 fiscal year. This revenue represents more than
twice the amount provided by the next most valuable source, donations from alumni and friends of the university. Because the football program amounted to only 15 percent of athletics expenses, Penn State football funded other varsity programs, scholarships and other academic services for student-athletes including counseling, and similar operational expenses. In short, Penn State football has long been a
significant economic dirver of the university, playing an important role in enabling the university to offer a variety of first-rate programs through resources other than student tuition. 18. Moreover, Penn State achieved its football success without Penn State's
football program perennially boasts one of the highest graduation rates among Division I football programs. Up until the revelation of the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the campus in November 2011, Penn State football's reputation for "success with honor" made it the envy of its peers. 19. The Penn State football program also generates substnatial revenue
for the Pennsylvania economy. Prior to the NCAA sanctions, it was estimated that approximately 15 percent of visitors to Penn State football were from outside the 8
Commonwealth, and that each out-of-state attendee to a Penn State football game was accompanied on his or her trip to the Commonwealth by, on average, 1.5 additional visitors who did not attend the game. As a result, according to one study, Penn State football generated $161.5 million in business volume impact in 2009, with $90 million benefitting Centre County alone. The same study found that Penn State football spent $16 million in Pennsylvania on goods and services with contractors and vendors in 2009essentially pumping money back into the Pennsylvania economy during the downtunr. 20. The football program was found to create approximately 2,200 jobs both direct jobs, such as box office and
concessions staff, ushers, and parking attendants, and indirect jobs, ranging from shopkeepers to restaurant staff to housekeepers at local hotels. The football program also generates over $5 million in tax revenue and supports a number of community programs run through and in conjunction with football and student-athletes. 21. Penn State football also has served as a centerpiece of campus life for
the 44,000 students who attend Penn State, and the program carries a strong public association with a first-class state university that is a source of pirde throughout the Commonwealth. The substantial levels of giving from alumni and firends of the
between the university and its alumni that a legendary football program has continued to foster.
NCAA Oversight of Collegiate Athletics The NCAA regulates and coordinates the business of college sports in
the United States. Its purported mission is to regulate competition, protect the role of student athletics in educational programs at member institutions, and ensure that participants in intercollegiate athletics are treated as "student-athletes" whose academic education takes precedence over athletics. 23. In practice, however, the NCAA's primary function has been to
maximize the revenue generated for its member institutions, primarily through college football and men's basketball. Approximately 90 percent of the NCAA's
revenue is derived from its television contract for the men's basketball tounrament, which the NCAA has successfully marketed as a major television event over three weekends each spring. While the NCAA has outsourced its football postseason to money-making bowl games and the Bowl Championship Seires, college football also has become an enormous source of revenue for NCAA member institutions. 24. In recent years, the NCAA's rules and enforcement decisions have
been a target of widespread and increasing media and public criticism. Because the NCAA's role in promoting college athletics arguably creates a disincentive to impose punishments on the most lucrative football and men's basketball programs, the 10
NCAA's inconsistent enforcement decisions have led to a popular perception that the NCAA is more interested in creating the appearance of protecting "student-athletes" than in actually doing so. 25. The NCAA enforces its regulations through procedures listed in a
Constitution and Bylaws (hereinafter, the "Manual"), which set forth the operational structure of the Association, the rules governing member institutions, and procedural mechanisms by which the NCAA regulates student-athletes and member institutions. 26. The NCAA's leadership comprises representatives of competitor The Executive Committee is responsible for
administrative and policy tasks, including budget oversight, the conduct of litigation, calling necessary meetings and conventions, and coordinating catastrophic and disability insurance. The Division I Board of Directors, which govenrs "Division I" institutions including Penn State, has administrative and legislative duties that include approving and ratifying the actions of councils delegated by membership to have legislative and enforcement authority. The President is responsible for certain operational day-to-day functions such as convention arrangements, multidivisional classification, contact with member institutions, championship administration, advertising, use of broadcast footage, expenses, and hiring administrative personnel. 27. The Manual does not provide for the President, the Executive
potential rules infractions or issuing sanctions. Under the Manual, the only NCAA entity permitted to administer the NCAA enforcement program is the Committee on Infractions. 28. According to the Manual, the enforcement provisions are explicitly
designed to protect "fairness of procedures," serving the paramount concern of protecting student-athletes. No enforcement action may be brought or discussed
directly with the member institution outside of the Committee on Infractions' process. Indeed, the President, Board of Directors, and Executive Committee are explicitly barred from participating in enforcement proceedings, and they are not permitted to review sanctions by the Committee on Infractions or its Appeals Committee. 29. To protect member institutions and innocent student-athletes from
unfair sanctioning, the Manual includes a hearing procedure for processing violations of NCAA rules. The hearing procedure provides a member institution the right to appear and present evidence, as well as appeal any sanctions it believes may reach too far and affect innocent parties. 30. While the NCAA has a range of sanctions available to the Committee
on Infractions, the so-called "death penalty" is the most extreme, banning a member institution from competing in a particular sport. Consistent with its mission in
support of amateur student-athletes and fair play, the NCAA has used the death 12
penalty against Division I institutions in extremely limited circumstances directly affecting student-athletes or member competitiveness: for taking bribes to shave points and for impermissible financial aid (University of Kentucky 1952); for cash payments, impermissible monetary perks, and academic fraud including forging transcripts and using surrogates to take exams for recruits (University of Southwestern Louisiana 1973); and for direct cash payments to athletes (Southenr Methodist University 1986). The Committee on Infractions considered, but declined to impose, the death penalty for extensive recruiting and eligibility violations (University of Kentucky 1989) and academic fraud, benefits to players, and deceit by the institution to the NCAA (Texas Southenr 2012). 31. From the NCAA's adoption of the current infractions regime until the
events descirbed below, no member institution faced a threat of the "death penalty or other sanctions" from its competitors on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, who sit outside of the enforcement process and are barred from issuing sanctions or taking any position on alleged infractions. C. 32. Dr. Mark A. Emmert, President of the NCAA Dr. Mark A. Emmert is the President of the NCAA, having become
the fitfh president of the nonprofit organization in October 2010. According to USA Today, in running the non-profit NCAA, Dr. Emmert is paid $1.6 million per year nearly 40 percent more than his predecessor. The substantial increase was the result 13
of a decision of the Administrative Committee of the NCAA Executive Committee, the members of which clearly had an expanded role in mind for their new president. 33. When Dr. Emmert assumed the presidency, the NCAA was under fire
by critics who assailed the organization for having been inconsistent in its imposition of sanctions for violations of NCAA rules by member institutions and for being generally ineffective in administering NCAA rules enforcement procedures. Even
under Dr. Emmert's leadership, the organization continued to be plagued by dogged criticism of the NCAA's mishandling of several high-profile disciplinary matters involving national member institutions with elite football programs, including Auburn University, the University of Southern California, and The Ohio State University. 34. Having assumed control of an organization with a reputation for being
sotf on discipline, particularly with respect to those member institutions with the most successful and lucrative sports programs, Dr. Emmert was under a mandate to change the NCAA's reputation, even if doing so meant circumventing the procedures established in the Manual. In August 2011, Dr. Emmert asserted that such sweeping reforms had been "on [his] mind" since he first decided he wanted to take the job as President of the NCAA in 2010. (See NCAA.com; July 19, 2011 -
obstacle. While the NCAA's member institutions were eager, as a body, to appear to be more aggressive in enforcing NCAA rules, no institution, understandably, was prepared to waive the rights afforded it in the Manual. 36. In November 2011, the indictment of a despicable child predator, a
former long-time assistant coach of the Penn State football team, provided Dr. Emmert with the opportunity he needed to signal emphatically that the NCAA NCAA his
institutions, particularly those institutions with elite football programs that Dr. Emmert and the NCAA had been criticized for failing to discipline adequately until that time. The fact that the alleged actions of those involved in the tragic events at Penn State were criminal, and that no violations of NCAA rules had been identified, would not dissuade Dr. Emmert from seizing upon the intenrational publicity that the Penn State matter had instantly attracted to make a show of unprecedented nad aggressive discipline discipline that he, with the input of a handful of university Once and for all, the
NCAA would shed the reputation of being sotf on discipline, even if doing so meant ignoring the existing NCAA rules and processes that its member institutions justifiably expected and to which they were entitled. Given such na opportunity, the well-being of Penn State students and alumni, the employment of thousands of 15
Pennsylvanians, and the economy of the Commonwealth were matters with which Dr. Emmert could not be concenred. ^ 37. Indictment and Trial of Gerald A. Sandusky On November 4, 2011, the Commonwealth filed criminal charges
against Gerald A. Sandusky after an extensive and wide-reaching grand jury investigation into reports of Sandusky's alleged sexual abuse of children. That same day, the Commonwealth filed criminal charges against Penn State's Athletic Director, Timothy M. Curley, and its Senior Vice President-Finnace and Business, Gary C. Schultz, for allegedly failing to report allegations of child abuse by Sandusky to law enforcement or child protection authoirties in 2002 and for allegedly committing perjury during their testimony about the allegations to the Grand Jury in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in January 2011 (together, the "Sandusky Offenses"). 38. From the moment that news of the pending indictment of Sandusky
broke, the Sandusky Offenses generated national headlines on a daily basis. In the days and weeks following the revelation of the Sandusky Offenses, Penn State's handling of the Sandusky Offenses became a target of federal as well as state law enforcement authorities, and the Sandusky Offenses created a public relations crisis for the university. In a matter of weeks, a university community that had rallied
around its popular and respected football program for more than fotry years suddenly found itself broken.
found Sandusky guilty of 45 counts of the criminal charges against him. On October 9, 2012, Sandusky was sentenced to a term of 30 to 60 years in prison, effectively guaranteeing that he would spend the remainder of his life in jail. On November 1, 2012, the Attorney General announced that Curley, Schultz, and former Penn State President Graham Spanier had been charged by a grand jury with perjury, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and child endangerment. These cases have not, as of the filing of this Complaint, been brought to trial. ^1 The Sandusky Offenses were horrific. The seveirty of their effect on
Sandusky's victims, the Penn State community, and the Commonwealth as a whole cannot be overstated. Governor Corbett and the govenrment of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania unequivocally condemn the actions of Jerry Sandusky and the alleged failures of any university official that contirbuted to the concealment of abuse perpetrated by a despicable child predator. E. 41. The Freeh Report In the wake of the filing of cirminal charges against Sandusky, Curley
and Schultz, on November 21, 2011, Penn State commissioned the law firm of Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP, led by former FBI Director Louis Freeh, at a cost to the university of approximately $6.5 million, to investigate the failure of Penn State
personnel to respond to and report Sandusky's crimes and the circumstances under which they could occur. 42. On July 12, 2012, Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan LLP issued a 267-page
report of its findings (the "Freeh Report"). The Freeh Report was unsparing in its criticism of Penn State leadership, concluding, among other things, that the most senior leaders at Penn State had exhibited "total and consistent disregard ... for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's victims" and had worked together to conceal Sandusky's crimes for fear of bad publicity and out of sympathy for Sandusky. 43. The fallout from the Freeh Repotr was switf, blunt, and far-reaching.
Press reports uniformly condemned the Penn State leadership that had, according to the repotr, allowed Sandusky's cirmes to continue for years. Penn State promptly issued a statement recognizing the "d and sobeirng" nature of the Freeh Repotr, sa accepted full responsibility for the failure of its administration to protect the welfare of children, and began the process of implementing many of the recommendations included in the Freeh Repotr. F. The NCAA Becomes Involved It became clear atfer the announcement of the Sandusky Offenses in November 2011 that Penn State would have to answer to law and other enforcement and oversight authorities on multiple fronts for the alleged conduct of university personnel and leadership. The criminal investigation of the Sandusky Offenses was 18
ongoing. Penn State faced an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education into whether the university failed to report incidents of sexual abuse on campus, as required by federal law. The Board of Trustees had already announced plans for an internal investigation, the faculty senate was calling for an independent investigation, and the trustees were known to be in the process of retaining an independent firm to begin the investigation that would result in the Freeh Report. Penn State's public image had been significantly tarnished. 45. The NCAA, however, was not about to miss an opportunity to bring
Penn State down even further, or to attempt to improve its own public image by assetring its relevance as a protector of "student-athletes. " For Dr. Emmert and the Executive Committee, this was the opportunity to switfly accomplish what the NCAA rules did not then allow. Although the Freeh Repotr did not find any
violation of NCAA rules, or any conduct traditionally sanctioned by the NCAA, the NCAA chose to "pile onm to the valid actions of law enforcement authorities against a weakened member institution with a T ne too" investigation. ^ Dr. Emmert's decision to make an example of a weakened Penn State
came soon atfer the criminal indictments, and prematurely forecasted that the process the NCAA would employ in doling out punishment would radically depart from its established rules and procedures. On November 17, 2011, Dr. Emmetr issued a letter to Penn State President Rodney Eirckson demanding Penn State's production of
information related to the grand jury indictment. Atfer issuing the letter, Dr. Emmert posted it on the NCAA's website, itself a departure from the NCAA's long-standing tradition of not publicizing its commencement of investigations against its member institutions: This disciplinary action would be different, and Dr. Emmert wanted everyone to know it. In issuing the letter, Dr. Emmert ended any notion that Penn State would object to the procedures he intended to employ or the discipline he would impose when he wrote: "I look forward to the complete cooperation of Penn State in our review and any future action that we may take. November 17, 2011) (emphasis added). (NCAA Letter to PSU,
"future action that [the NCAA] may take" was made more than seven months before the publication of the Freeh Report, the sole factual basis upon which the NCAA would rely to rationalize the unprecedented sanctions it imposed on Penn State. 47. Upon information and belief, the NCAA's decision to conduct an
inquiry of a member's exercise of institutional control, without any suspected accompanying violation of a specific NCAA rule or bylaw, is unprecedented. Until the public nanouncement of the Sandusky Offenses, the NCAA's enforcement activity had been confined to NCAA rules govenring the recruitment of prospective student-athletes, the eligibility of student-athletes, and practice and competition rules designed to further the NCAA's legitimate purposes of ensuring a level playing field for athletic competition and protecting student-athletes from the excessive 20
pursuit of athletic success at their expense. Never before had the NCAA injected itself into offenses that did not involve cheating, academic fraud, recruiting violations, or other conduct designed to give athletic programs an unfair competitive advantage. Yet, Penn State, for obvious reasons, had no choice but to state publicly that it would cooperate with the NCAA's involvement. Other than send and publicize the November 17 letter, the NCAA did very little with respect to its inquiry in the months that followed. Following the
publication of the Freeh Report in July 2012, however, the NCAA made its move but not, as the Manual requires, through the Committee on Infractions. Instead, Dr. Emmert took the matter directly to the Executive Committee and Division I Board of Directors. Not surprisingly, these core groups which consisted of presidents and
chancellors of Penn State's competitor colleges and universitieschose to seize the opportunity to impose switf and severe sanctions that caused no harm to the perpetrators of the Sandusky Offenses, but would severely cripple a major competitor and irreparably harm the citizens of the Commonwealth. included: (a) A $60 million fine, payable over a five-year period, to be paid These punishments
into an endowment for programs preventing child sexual abuse and/or assisting the victims of child sexual abuse;
total scholarships per year and from 25 to 15 initial scholarships per year; (d) Four years of probation, including appointment of an on-
campus, independent integrity monitor; (e) (f) Vacation of all football wins between 1998 and 2011; Waiver of NCAA rules restricting transfer of student-athletes
between colleges, so as to permit football players to transfer from Penn State to another institution without having to sit out a year before competing, as is normally required of transferring student-athletes; and (g) Requiirng Penn State to permit football players wishing to
remain at Penn State to retain their athletic scholarships, regardless of whether they continue to play football. ^ Dr. Emmert and the presidents and chnacellors, however, faced what
ordinairly would be significant obstacles to imposing such unprecedented sanctions. The NCAA Manual vests enforcement authority in the Committee on Infractions, and expressly bars involvement by the President, the Executive Committee, or the Division I Board of Directors. And the Committee on Infractions issues sanctions only atfer conducting an investigation and providing the accused member institution
with an opportunity for a hearing and a right to appeal. Given that Penn State did not engage in any conduct expressly prohibited by any NCAA rule, but was suspected only of violating vague principles of "institutional control" and "individual integrity, a finding that Penn State violated NCAA rules would not be a certainty. In fact, it would require the Committee on Infractions to take the unprecedented step of sanctioning a member institution solely for violating these vague principles, without any accompanying concrete infraction. 50. In order to avert these difficult challenges, Dr. Emmert and the
presidents nad chancellors found a convenient path around the NCAA's due process protections. They simply informed Penn State what the punishments would be, and threatened that if Penn State did not waive its right to due process and accept the sanctions offered, the NCAA would impose the "death penalty" for four years. While such a dilemma would seemingly merit a thoughtful discussion among university leadership, the NCAA further threatened President Erickson that the deal would be taken off the table if nay word of the "negotiations" was leaked to the media thereby precluding nay possibility of meaningful consideration by the Penn The type of "complete cooperation" that Dr. Emmert
advised Penn State he looked forward to receiving in his November 17, 2011 letter was now clear: accept unprecedented sanctions and ignore the NCAA's lfagrant
disregard of its own procedures in issuing such sanctions, or Penn State would wish it had. G. 51. The "Consent" Decree Penn State had no practical alternative but to accept the sanctions. On
July 23, 2012, just eleven days after the release of the Freeh Report, President Erickson reluctantly entered into a consent decree with the NCAA imposing the proposed sanctions and waiving "any claim to further process, including, without limitation, any right to a determination of violations by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, any appeal under NCAA rules, and any judicial process related to the subject matter of this Consent Decree. 52. The consent decree did not set fotrh any specific NCAA rule or
requirement violated by Penn State. Instead, it cited a "failure to value and uphold institutional integrity, " "failure to maintain minimal standards of appropriate and responsible conduct," and "lack of adherence to fundamental notions of individual integrity." 53. Moreover, the consent decree acknowledged that, since Penn State
had succumbed to the NCAA's coercion and accepted the "findings" set forth in the consent decree, "traditional investigative and administrative proceedings" process i.e., due
acquiescence to the NCAA's fiat permitted "an expedited timetable" for imposing sanctions. 54. Remarkably, the consent decree acknowledged the extraordinary
nature of the NCAA's involvement: "The sexual abuse of children on a university campus by a former university official abuse and even the active concealment of that
(Emphasis added.) What purportedly made Penn State's case unique, according to the consent decree, was that the Sandusky Offenses were enabled by a "culture" of "fear of or deference to the omnipotent football program m and a @reverence for Penn State football. 55. In reality, the NCAA's attack on Penn State had nothing to do with
the perceived "culture" of Penn State football. Division I college football is a huge generator of revenue for participating institutions, and vitrually all "football schools" treat their football coaches and programs with "deference" and "reverence The
NCAA, of course, contributes directly to this "culture" by permitting and condoning lucrative television and apparel contracts for its major conferences and institutions, outsourcing its postseason to for-profit entities such as bowl games and the Bowl Championship Series, and allowing the contests between its most skilled "studentathletes" to become national prime time entertainment on a weekly basis. The
widespread nature of the "culture" the NCAA claims to have found to be unique to 25
Penn State is perhaps best illustrated by the public remarks of the president of The Ohio State University, who, when asked whether he considered firing Ohio State's successful head football coach after major NCAA rules violations, replied, "I'm just hopeful that the coach doesn't dismiss me. 56. The NCAA's attempt to insert itself here is so inconsistent with its
prior conduct in similar situations that it can be seen only as a clumsy attempt to garner positive publicity for itself by harming a competitive member school. There are a number of publicly reported examples of criminal conduct by college athletes where the university leadership is alleged to have covered up or enabled the crimes and the NCAA did little, if anything, about it: (a) In 2003, when one Baylor University basketball player
murdered another, secretly recorded audiotapes revealed that the team's coach tried to cover up the allegations by telling assistant coaches and players to lie to investigators and say the slain player had been dealing drugs to pay for school. Although the NCAA imposed penalties for competitionrelated violations, such as the payments by the coaching staff to athletes, it imposed no penalties relating to the murder and cover-up. (b) In 2010, a University of Virginia men's lacrosse player
murdered his former girlfriend, who played for the women's lacrosse team. The victim's mother has alleged in a lawsuit that the university, its athletic 26
director, and its lacrosse coaches ignored the perpetrator's erratic behavior, including multiple alcohol-related arrests, frequent intoxication, and attacks on another female university athlete. against the University of Virginia. (c) The U.S. Department of Justice has alleged that the University The NCAA has not taken action
of Montana failed to investigate or prosecute numerous allegations of rape by Montana football players. The NCAA has not taken action against the University of Montnaa. (d) A recent internal investigation at the University of North
Carolina revealed massive academic fraud, including unauthorized grade chnages by forged signatures, and classes in which no instruction took place; approximately forty percent of the students enrolled in these classes were football nad basketball players. In August 2012, one month after
sanctioning Penn State, the NCAA took the public position that none of the alleged conduct violated NCAA rules. 57. The capriciousness of the NCAA's decision to single out Penn State is
further relfected in numerous comments made by Dr. Emmert about the supposed "unique" and "unprecedented" nature of the "culture" problem at Penn State. For example, at his news conference announcing the consent decree, Dr. Emmert responded to questions about the enforcement precedent the Penn State snactions 27
might create by saying the Penn State case was @i'ncredibly unprecedented in every aspect of it, as are these actions that we're taking today and very unique circumstance. This is a very distinct
Dr. Emmert also asserted that "it's important to This was and is action by the It was completely different than
separate this from a traditional enforcement case Executive Committee exercising their authority an enforcement process.
Committee attempted to ensure that the sanctions against Penn State, and the abdication of any procedural rights that should have been afforded to Penn State, would not be compared to any past or future NCAA enforcement actions. 58. Moreover, although the NCAA approved a new enforcement structure
on October 30, 2012, which will take effect in August 2013, the new procedures like the current Manualcontain nothing even remotely resembling the
"methodology" used by the NCAA in forcing sanctions on Penn State. Neither do the changes include any prohibition on a "culture" of "deference" to athletic programs. The absence from the new procedures of any additional rules that would have addressed the Sandusky Offenses, or of any transfer of enforcement power to the President, the Executive Committee, or the Division I Board of Directors, further suggests that the NCAA leadership is not contemplating treating any other member institution the way it treated Penn State.
its inaction in the face of less-publicized criminal violations arguably attributable to a lack of institutional control, demonstrate that the NCAA's allegations about the Penn State "football culture" were merely a pretext for the NCAA's unspoken reason for singling out Penn State for unprecedented punishment: because Penn State, given the nature of the Sandusky Offenses, simply could not fight back. Unlike the other
incidents of alleged corruption infecting college athletics, the Penn State events were reported daily on the national news and had seeped into the public consciousness. The NCAA knew that the high-profile and well-deserved public vilification of the university officials who allegedly failed to report the Sandusky Offenses had placed Penn State in a position where resistance to any sanction, from any source, would be futile and would negate Penn State's effort to rebuild its public image. 1 In the weeks following the NCAA's gutting of the Penn State football
program, at least ten Penn State football players transferred from Penn State, taking advantage of the NCAA's sanction that allowed them to play immediately for competing schools. At least five football recruits severed their commitments to Penn State. Like children looting a newly broken pinata, competing colleges and
universities promptly snapped up the newly available football players, strengthening their own football programs at the expense of the one the NCAA had conspired to decimate. 29
Antitrust Violations The egregiousness of the Sandusky Offenses, and the behavior of top
Penn State officials in allegedly failing to report them, is beyond dispute. Yet the NCAA, and the competing colleges and universities represented on its governing boards, cynically and hypocritically exploited the tragedy of the Sandusky Offenses as a "blank check" to impose crippling and unprecedented sanctions on an already weakened competitor. 62. The fact that the NCAA had never before punished a school for
criminal behavior and that its rules did not provide for such punishment did not stop the NCAA in this instance. Dr. Emmert and the NCAA exercised their power
through a never-before-used process, one specifically designed to cripple a member institution's football program. In this new approach, the NCAA's leaders and
governing committees, rather than the traditional investigators and Committee on Infractions authoirzed by NCAA rules, imposed the penalties. By doing so, they
declared that the NCAA and its president have the authority not only to enforce specific rules, but to cirpple a collegiate athletic program for what they determined was inappropriate conduct. While what occurred at Penn State was both cirminal and heinous, it is unclear, at best, that the conduct violated nay of the rules as wirtten in the NCAA's voluminous rulebook nad policed by its enforcement staff. Consequently, the NCAA's discipline of Penn State is an unprecedented approach 30
that dramatically broadens the scope of punishable offenses, but, as Dr. Emmert has suggested, may not be used again for years, if ever. 63. The actions by the NCAA, its member institutions, and specifically
the institutions represented on the NCAA's executive committee and board of directors, in threatening Penn State with the football "death penalty" and forcing Penn State into accepting the consent decree, constitute concerted action within the meaning of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1. The NCAA, as an
organization of competitors, is prohibited from imposing, and arbitrarily enforcing, rules that bear no reasonable relationship to the NCAA's need for self-regulation for the purpose of denying the benefits of patricipation to a single competitor, and thereby lessening competition. ' The NCAA's stated requirements of "institutional integrity, m
"appropriate and responsible conduct," and "fundamental notions of individual integrity" are unreasonably vague; have been arbitrarily, capriciously, and selectively enforced; and, as applied to Penn State, are not reasonably related to the NCAA's stated purpose of promoting the fainress and integrity of collegiate athletic competition. 65. The sanctions levied against Penn State were not intended to
accomplish any end within the contemplation of any policy justifying college athletics' self-regulation through the NCAA. The conduct for which Penn State was 31
sanctioned consisted of alleged failures to report criminal activity on campus that did not impact fainress or integrity on the playing field. Unlike any previous sanctions imposed by the NCAA, the sanctions against Penn State do not even ostensibly serve the NCAA's stated goal of protecting the fairness of intercollegiate athletic competition. Rather, they were taken for the purposes of debilitating a once-powerful football program, enhancing the NCAA's own reputation, and boosting the competing football programs of cetrain member colleges and universities by removing from competition one of the leading competitors. The sanctions levied against Penn State were completely arbitrary,
and the NCAA provided no procedural safeguards to protect against arbitrariness. To the contrary, the NCAA ignored its own procedural safeguards, exploiting Penn State's vulnerable public position to force Penn State to agree to a complete and unprecedented waiver of NCAA due process. 67. The NCAA, its member colleges and universities, and particularly, the
competitor colleges and universities engaged in this collective assault on Penn State for the purpose of enhnacing their own public image at the expense of a competitor. The NCAA and its member colleges and universities engaged in this activity in an effort to cirpple Penn State's ability to maintain a nationally renowned football program that is a centerpiece of campus life and community support, and thereby
irreparably harm the citizens and the general economy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. : In attempting to rationalize why he did not impose the "death penalty"
on Penn State, Dr. Emmert acknowledged the impact of the NCAA's punishment of Penn State on the citizens of Pennsylvania: "The collateral damage imposed in this case would have been on people who were essentially innocent bystanders ... This case had nothing to do with the marching bnad or the mom-and-pop hotel in State College or the guy who sells hot dogs, all of whom would have been profoundly affected by a multiyear football ban. (http://articles.philly.com/2012-10-
26/sports/347310171 ncaa-president-mark-emmert-bowl-ban-penn-state). _ _ Ironically, the consequences of the NCAA's unprecedented sanctions against Penn State had precisely the effect that Dr. Emmert allegedly was attempting to avoid. I. actions: Relevant Markets and Threatened Harm to Competition There are at least three relevant markets harmed by the NCAA's a market for postsecondary education, a market for Division I football
players, and a market for the sale of college football-related apparel and memorabilia. All three markets are nationwide in geographic scope. 70. The market for postsecondary education comprises colleges and
universities across the United States that offer education at the postsecondary level. Penn State's enrollment annually ranks it among the ten largest U.S. colleges and 33
universities by enrollment.
underscored by a 2010 Wall Street Journal survey of recruiters from leading companies, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies, which ranked Penn State first in the nation among schools "whose bachelor degree graduates were the best-trained and educated, and best able to succeed once hired. 71. The market for Division I football players comprises all NCAA
Division I football programs that compete for top football talent coming out of the nation's high schools. The most successful college football programs compete
aggressively for the relatively small number of high school seniors who can play at the Division I championship level. Indeed, the zeal with which these member
institutions compete in recruiting football players is evidenced by the voluminous NCAA rules governing the smallest details of recruitment, ranging from limits on a recruit's visits to a particular campus to limits on the number of times a coach may send the recruit an email. These players are crucial to an NCAA member
institution's ability to compete successfully and generate revenue, and many of the most impotrant tools used by institutions in recruiting players scholarships and the oppotrunity to compete in postseason play restricted by the NCAA sanctions against Penn State. 72. The market for the sale of college football-related apparel and such as athletic are the very tools
memorabilia comprises the numerous major college athletic programs that compete 34
against each other to build national "brands" beyond their campus communities. Penn State is one of handful of programs that has built such a`brand," largely through the sustained success of its football program. The ability to compete
successfully in this market depends heavily on a college or university's consistent onifeld success. 73. The NCAA sanctions against Penn State threaten severe and
irreparable harm to each of these markets through the removal of a major competitor. Rarely, if ever, in the history of college sports has the NCAA imposed sanctions as severe as those forced on Penn State. The handful of situations that most closely
resemble the Penn State sanctions, however, suggest that the sanctions are likely to have the following irreparable damaging effects on Penn State: (a) A decline in the success of the football team during the four-
yera period in which the sanctions are imposed, as a direct result of the reduction in the number of available scholarships, the inability of Penn State to promise high school recruits that they will have the oppotrunity to compete for a national championship, and the ability of existing Penn State players to transfer to other schools without penalty or to leave the Penn State football team without losing their athletic scholarships. (b) A decrease in the success of the football team beyond the four-
year peirod in which the sanctions are imposed. The effects of the sanctions 35
are likely to become more pronounced with each progressive year during the period of the sanctions as an increasing number of "blue chip" recruits
shun Penn State for other programs that do not face Penn State's competitive disadvantages. By the time the sanctions period is complete, the
anticompetitive harm inlficted by the NCAA will have caused severe damage to Penn State football, and the program that once attracted recruits from across the nation will be unrecognizable to a new generation of high school football players who can remember Penn State only as a noncompetitive program. This is precisely what happened when the NCAA imposed the "death penalty" at Southenr Methodist University for only a single season. The team had only one winning season over the following twenty years. (c) A significant decline in the Penn State football program's role
as a revenue-generator for the university. As a result of the loss of revenue, Penn State necessarily will be required to either (i) reduce the availability and/or quality of some of its programs and/or (ii) raise tuition, either of which will necessarily have an adverse effect on Penn State's status as a first-rate university and on Penn State's ability to attract the quality and quantity of student body that has contributed to Penn State's success. These effects, in turn, can be expected to harm the university's ability to compete 36
for high-quality faculty and research programs, which in tunr will further affect Penn State's attractiveness to incoming students, creating a downward spiral. Indeed, there is already empirical evidence of this harm. According to one recent news report, Penn State's football program has already dropped significantly in profits in 2011-2012: "Perhaps most glaringly
absent from the top 10 most profitable programs is Penn State, which held the second spot just a year ago and third the previous year. Atfer a tumultuous year off the field, Penn State fell to 11th place" with a 10% decrease in revenue. (d) Reduced alumni interest in the Penn State football program,
which will likely result in reduced alumni contributions to Penn State. (e) Irreparable injury to the quality of campus life at Penn State.
For more than fotry years, Penn State has rallied around its football team, and the role that Penn State football plays in campus life has been important to Penn State's ability to attract students from within and outside the Commonwealth. The inevitable decline in the football program that will
result from the NCAA sanctions threatens to significantly and irreparably injure Penn State's use of this invaluable recruiting tool. (f) Irreparable injury to the "brand" of Penn State football. As the
fate of the football program on the field declines, apparel and memorabilia 37
sales can be expected to decline as well. As difficult as it will be to rebuild the on-field success of Penn State football, rebuilding of the Penn State football "brand" will be far more difficult, and will take far longer, than reassembling a winning football team. 74. The role that a championship-caliber football program can play in the
health of a university has been articulated by Dr. Emmert himself, who, as chancellor of Louisiana State University in 1999, defended the hiring of big-name football coach at a seven-figure salary by saying, "Simply put, success in LSU football is essential for the success of Louisiana State University." J. 75. Threatened Harm to the Commonwealth As a direct, foreseeable, intended, and proximate result of the actions
of the NCAA, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has suffered and, if enforcement of the NCAA sanctions is not enjoined, will continue to suffer, severe and irreparable harm. The NCAA's actions have inlficted, and/or threaten to continue to inlfict, harm including but not limited to: (a) Harm to the many Pennsylvania citizens who depend heavily on
the Penn State football program for their jobs and livelihoods, ranging from souvenir vendors to hotel and restaurnat employees to tuition-paying students.
sales. Attendance at home football games is substantially down in 2012 as compared to recent years, and Penn State's inability to sell out home games necessarily has an economic effect on the secondary market for tickets. (c) Harm to the state revenue base from lessened hospitality
revenue due to fewer visitors to the Commonwealth on game weekends, as well as a substantial reduction in apparel and memorabilia sales. (d) Harm to the state revenue base, nad especially to Penn State-
related businesses, from the four-year postseason football ban and the vacation of all football wins between 1998 and 2011, further reducing hospitality revenue and substantially reducing apparel and memorabilia sales, including the highly lucrative sales of bowl-related apparel nad memorabilia. (e) Harm to the state revenue base from the expected decline in
jobs attributable to a diminished football program, in the form of loss of recirculation within the Commonwealth of income lost as a result of these lost jobs. (f) Harm to the state revenue base from diminished spending by
attendance at collateral Penn State football events, such as summer football camps, fantasy camps, and coaches' clinics, all of which generate substantial attendance from out-of-state visitors. (h) Additional harm to the Commonwealth from the $60 million
fine, which will necessarily be paid through some combination of tuition hikes and increased appropriations from the Pennsylvania treasury. (i) Harm to current Penn State students, in the form of a
diminution in value of the Penn State educational and community experience to which they and their families have made a significant and long-term financial commitment, relying in part on the prominence of the Penn State football program. 76. Most, if not all, of the injuries described above will last well beyond
the term of the sanctions. The stigma attached will diminish recruitment of students and student athletes, as well as the value of a Penn State education, for decades. 77. No adequate remedy at law can compensate the citizens of
V. CAUSE OF ACTION: VIOLATION OF SECTION 1 OF THE SHERMAN ACT-15 U.S.C. 1 78. Plaintiff incorporates and re-alleges each allegation set forth in the
preceding paragraphs of this Complaint. 79. The NCAA and its member institutions, by and through their officers,
directors, employees, agents or other representatives have conspired to restrain and suppress competition in the relevant markets using the Sandusky Offenses as a pretext to impose arbitrary, capricious, and unprecedented sanctions on Penn State for actions wholly unrelated to the mission of the NCAA. The conduct of the NCAA and the member institutions who engaged in the attack on Penn State threatens to harm competition in the relevant markets by depriving consumers of a robust, wellsupported, financially stable state-related university in the Commonwealth and eliminating a major competitor in the markets for Division I football players and college football-related apparel and memorabilia.
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and its citizens have suffered and continue to suffer antitrust injury. This injury is of the type the federal antitrust laws were designed to prevent and lfows from that which makes defendant's conduct unlawful.
acts were
intentionally directed at the United States market and had a substantial and foreseeable effect on interstate commerce, including but not limited to hospitality revenues, the lfow of scholarship funds, and the allocation of revenues and profits in the relevant markets. 82. The conduct of the NCAA and its member institutions as a result of
the consent decree is ongoing and will continue to impose antitrust injury on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvnaia and its citizens unless injunctive relief is granted. PRAYER FOR RELIEF WHEREFORE, plaintiff prays as follows: A. the Court issue a permanent injunction to prevent defendant, NCAA,
from imposing the snactions set forth in the consent decree on Penn State;
of Section 1 of the Sherman Act; C. the Court award plaintiff the costs of the suit, including attonreys'
the Court award such other and further relief as is just nad proper
January 2, 2013
Respectfully submitted, /s/ James D. Schultz James D. Schultz, General Counsel Pennsylvania Bar #83417 Jarad W. Handelman, Executive Deputy General Counsel Pennsylvania Bar #82629 Governor's Office of General Counsel Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 333 Market Street, 17 th Floor Harrisburg, PA 17101 Tel: (717) 783-6563 Facsimile: (717) 787-1448 firstname.lastname@example.com email@example.com /s/ Melissa H. Maxman
Melissa H. Maxman, Esquire Pennsylvania Bar # 58009 Cozen O'Connor 1627 I Street, N.W., Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 912-4800 Facsimile: (202) 640-5520 email@example.com OF COUNSEL: Ronald F. Wick, Esquire Cozen O'Connor 1627 I Street, N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20006 Tel: (202) 912-4800 Facsimile: (202) 640-5526 firstname.lastname@example.com Counsel for Plaintiffs 43


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Young kids behaving badly are a common theme in many children's books. Magical nannies like Mary Poppins, who teach proper manners to the kids, are also a staple in these stories. Almost 50 years ago, Christianna Brand wrote similar tales about a nurse who watched over English children sent to the countryside for safety during the Nazi blitz of London.
Oscar winner Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay that adapts Brand's original concept for the screen in "Nanny McPhee Returns." Thompson also stars as the homely nanny and former army nurse who appears out of nowhere to rescue an unruly household. Transplanted city kids have invaded the comfortable world of children on a farm. They wreck havoc on the rural routine while an evil uncle also complicates their situation.
As Nanny McPhee changes each bad habit of the kids, her own ugly features are also transformed. As each child develops worthy character traits, her warts and wrinkles disappear. There's lots of great life lessons along the way to the expected happy ending. It may be predictable, but the wholesome PG plot is a welcome addition to the family-friendly film world.
'Kingdom' of doom
A young man sits next to a woman quietly watching TV. We think she is asleep, but she's dead from a heroin overdose — and she's his mother. Confused and alone, Joshua calls his estranged grandma who immediately takes him under her wing.
As narrated by Joshua (James Frecheville) in the gripping "Animal Kingdom," his mother had kept him away from the family because she was afraid. She was right — be very afraid.
Sweet-voiced Grandma Janine (Jacki Weaver) is the tiny, fiercely protective mum to three sons who made a successful career out of armed robbery along with their partner Baz (John Edgerton).
But things are going wrong. Eldest son Pope (Ben Mendelsohn) is hiding from police ready to shoot him on sight. Another is strung out on the drugs he's dealing, which further fuels the paranoia.
Australian writer-director David Michod has crafted a powerful story of people clawing desperately for survival, where both criminals and the law are corrupt and cunning.
Guy Pearce ("LA Confidential") gives a thoughtful performance as perhaps the lone voice of good amid all the evil. Weaver and Mendelsohn provide spine-tingling menace in a story filled with shocking violence and characters that rank right up there with the Corleones and Sopranos.
JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender's office.
SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Users have dozens if not hundreds of usernames and passwords for on-premise systems and cloud services and in many cases utilize various identity management systems.
Fujitsu Identity as a Service provides users with access to systems, applications, data and resources. It ensures convenient access to resources in heterogeneous IT environments and ensures that all compliance requirements are fulfilled. With Fujitsu Identity as a Service, your organization's passwords and identities are safe and under control.
Fujitsu Identity as a Service provides end-to-end identity management and comprises
Fujitsu Identity as a Service supports open interfaces and standards, e.g. single sign-on utilizes federation standards like Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) and Web Services Federation (WS-Federation) and highest scalability which e.g. allows the inclusion of different user groups, such as partners and customers and thus supports entire ecosystems across organizational borders.
More information:
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text:
FARMACA INTERNATIONAL - Hair Color
cosmetic cream for hair - without ammonia
COLOR VANITY cosmetic highlighters makes the hair a tone on tone color, brilliant, long-lasting and very natural. Does not lighten as ammonia-free, provides excellent coverage of white hair, gives the hair amazing shine and brightness.
shades : available in 28 shades in the natural, ASH, GOLD, COPPER, MAHOGANY, RED.
method of use : COLOR VANITY is mixed with the oxidant cream Oxiline 20/30/40 volume ratio of 1:1 ½ with exposure time of 35-40 minutes. We recommend the use of Oxiline 20 volumes to highlight the power of coverage, Oxiline 30 volumes (eventually 40 volumes) to increase the bleaching power.
package : 100 ml tube.


text:
Off-topic discussion unrelated to Star Command.
Post Reply
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
- Techrotation
- Space Cadet
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Oct 31, 2013 12:55 am
Hi, My name is Shyamal. I'm new in this forum. I want to discuss, share and capturing my unknown knowledge with you all. Hope always will help me here. I will be grateful if i get help from this forum...
- CommanderQwerty
- Space Cadet
- Posts: 5
- Joined: Mon Dec 16, 2013 8:13 pm
Re: Introduction
I'm new too so we're technically in the same boat, dingy, raft or what ever you want to call it.
Of course I'm not going to teleport a bomb over to your ship! Why would I do that...
Post Reply
2 posts • Page 1 of 1


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What to Expect Before Surgery
The anesthesia and surgery team will talk with you before surgery. You may meet with them at an appointment before the actual day of surgery or on the same day of surgery. Expect them to:
- Ask you about your health. If you are sick, they may delay your surgery.
- Go over your health history.
- Find out about any medicines you take. Tell them about any prescription, over the counter, and herbal medicines you take.
- Talk to you about the anesthesia you will get for your surgery.
- Answer any of your questions. Bring paper and pen to write down notes. Ask about your surgery, recovery, and pain management.
- Find out about insurance and payment for your surgery and anesthesia.
You will need to sign admission papers and consent forms for surgery and anesthesia. Bring these items to make it easier:
- Insurance card
- Prescription card
- Identification card (driver's license)
- Any medicine in the original bottles
- X-rays and test results
- Money to pay for any new prescriptions
What to Expect on the Day of Surgery
The doctor's office will let you know what time you should arrive on the day of surgery.
At home on the day of surgery:
- Do not eat or drink anything.
- If your doctor told you to take any medicine on the day of surgery, take it with a small sip of water.
- Brush your teeth or rinse your mouth but spit out all of the water.
- Take a shower or bath. Do not use any deodorant, powder, lotion, perfume, aftershave, or makeup.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing and flat shoes.
- Take off any jewelry. Remove any body piercings.
- Do not wear contact lenses. If you wear glasses, bring a case for them.
Here's what to bring and what to leave at home:
- Leave all valuables at home.
- Bring any special medical equipment that you use (such as CPAP, a walker, or a cane)
Plan to arrive at your surgery unit at the scheduled time. You may need to arrive up to 2 hours before your surgery.
The staff will prepare you for surgery. They will ask you to:
- Change into a gown, cap, and paper slippers
- Put an ID bracelet around your wrist
- State your name, your birthday, and the surgery you are having
- Have an IV put in
- Have your blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate checked
What to Expect After Surgery
You will go to the recovery room after surgery. How long you stay there depends on the surgery you had, your anesthesia, and how fast you wake up. If you are going home, you will be discharged after:
- You can drink water, juice, or soda
- You have received instructions for a follow-up appointment with your doctor, any new prescription medicines you need to take, and what activities you can or cannot do when you get home
If you are staying at the hospital, you will be transferred to a patient room. The nurses there will:
- Check your vital signs
- Check your pain level. If you are having pain, the nurse will give you pain medicine
- Give any other medicine you need
- Encourage you to drink if liquids are allowed
What to Expect Going Home
- Have a responsible adult with you to get you home safely. You cannot drive yourself home after surgery. You can take a bus or cab if there is someone with you.
- Limit your activity to inside the house for at least 24 hours after your surgery.
- Do not drive for at least 24 hours after your surgery. If you are taking narcotics, talk to your doctor about when you can drive.
- Take your medicine as prescribed.
- Follow the instructions from your doctor about your activities.
– See more at: https://palousesurgeons.com/what-to-expect-the-day-of-surgery/#sthash.6l5pOo3f.dpuf


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Vazhapoo / Banana Flower Thoran
I had no idea that banana flower could be cooked and is edible until the day i tasted this thoran cooked with it. It tasted so good and i wanted to have more of it. Deep purple in color with shades of pink to it, this flower's outer layers are discarded until you get a inner layer that does not have this deep color. Rather a pale colored inner layer is used for cooking. Discard till you reach that layer, then chop the flower in the center into two parts and then chop into small pieces. Immediately immerse chopped pieces in water, in which a little turmeric powder has been added. Wash well before using for cooking. keep immersed in water till you have to cook.
2 – Banana flower
1 cup – Chana dal
½ cup – Shallots chopped
½ cup – Freshly grated coconut
1.5 tsp to 2 tsp – Crushed chili flakes
½ tsp – Turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tsp – Mustard seeds
3 to 4 sprigs – Curry leaves.
Coconut oil
1 ) Wash chana dal and soak in enough water for one hour. Then in little water cook chana dal till it is fully cooked, but should not get mashed up. Add salt to taste. Check dal while cooking, so that it doesn't get over cooked. Switch off stove and drain off excess water, if any.
2 ) Heat a pan with little coconut oil, add mustard seeds and pop it. Then add shallots, curry leaves and fry till shallots are very lightly browned. Now add chili flakes, turmeric powder and fry for a few seconds. Then add coconut and fry for a minute.
3 ) Squeeze out all the water from the banana flower and add to the pan. Stir and mix in well. Cook on low heat till the flower is cooked, stirring in between. Add salt to taste. Once the flower has cooked, add chana dal and mix in. On low heat cook stirring occasionally, till ingredients are mixed well and cooked. Adjust salt to taste. Turn off the stove and serve.
Serve hot with roti or steamed rice.


text:
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.
The late 1820s and 1830s saw a Protestant religious revival called the Second Great Awakening which had a strong impact on American religion and reform. The people of New England were strongly opposed to the Catholic Church and its teachings. This article denounces the Council of Bishops and Priests as being an instrument of the Pope and above the laws of the land. It is interesting to note that the author calls upon the "Christian community" for vigilance against Romanism, when he should instead call upon the Protestant community. People opposed to the Roman Catholic Church felt that society was actually threatened by its presence. The Greenfield Gazette and Franklin Herald was the newspaper in Greenfield, Massachusetts, from June 26, 1827 to June 27, 1837. It changed its name to the Gazette & Mercury.
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See Also...
"Bible of the Papists" article from the Greenfield Gazette and Franklin Herald
"Roman Catholics" article from the Greenfield Gazette and Franklin Herald newspaper
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Anatomy Of A Mud Truck - 1997 Chevy 1500 SilveradoPosted in Project Vehicles on June 1, 2010
Four-wheeling enthusiasts adapt their rigs to the terrain around them. In the South and the Florida Panhandle, mud boggin' and swampin' are big and mud trucks are even bigger. Mud machines are a different breed of mechanical monsters and aren't as common elsewhere in the U.S. So here's a little refresher in a mudder's general makeup and mud boggin' prowess!
This '97 Chevy 1500 Silverado Crew Cab is owned by Anthony Johns of Okeechobee, Florida, and represents a lifetime of mudding adventure. When Anthony was a young boy his dad would take him hunting in the Big Cypress Swamp. The family always ran in some sort of modified 4x4 capable of powering its way through the nastiest quagmires.
Ever since his early hunting days he has been hooked on muddin', and his passion has turned into a way of life. Anthony's Chevy was built by the Custom Truck Shop in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The truck is 99 percent complete except for the 745hp big-block Chevy that's sitting on the workbench waiting to be installed.
Tech Specs
1997 Chevy Silverado 1500
Engine: Chevy small-block V-8
Transmission: 4L60
Transfer case: NP208 with 2.73 gearing doubled with a divorce-mount NP205 with 1.96 gearing (5.35:1)
Front Axle: Rockwell 21/2-ton, 6.72 gears, open
Rear Axle: Rockwell 21/2-ton, 6.72 gears, welded
Springs & Such: 21/2-inch Ballistic Fabrication 16-inch travel, triangulated four-link (rear); 21/2-inch Ballistic Fabrication 16-inch travel, triangulated four-link (front)
Tires & Wheels: BFGoodrich/Michelin 420/85R28 (56.2 inches tall), homemade wheel centers with tractor rim shells
Other Stuff: Custom triple-stick transfer case cable shifter, DIY4X pinion brake kit front and rear, fully hydraulic steering, 30-gallon tank in the bed for the windshield washer, custom headache rack


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GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene.
Since his unanimous decision win over Joe Greene in June, talk and rumors have swirled about who, when and where Vanes "Nightmare" Martirosyan will next fight.
From Miguel Cotto to Paul Williams to Sergio Martinez and on and on, internet reports have surfaced in that time rumoring that Martirosyan will fight certain contenders, while the Glendale fighter has personally laid out challenges to others, such as Williams.
The latest is a likely scrap against New Jersey's Pawel Wolak (27-1, 17 knockouts) either on Dec. 4 at the Honda Center in Anaheim or on Dec. 18 show on Fox, according to Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum in a story published on Wednesday on AOL Fanhouse.
"We're going to put [Wolak] in with Vanes," Arum said. "That fight will happen either that day, Dec. 4, or within the next two weeks on a [Dec. 18] Fox Show.."
Martirosyan or Kermit Cintron was proposed to fight Cotto, but Cotto decided to sit out the remainder of the year. Powlek on the other hand was tentatively scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., but that bout fell through, as well.
An article on boxingscene.com a day later suggested that Top Rank was contemplating hosting the Fox event in Glendale with the undefeated Martirosyan (28-0, 17 KOs) and Wolak headlining.
Martirosyan, who has been set to travel to the Philippines to spar with Manny Pacquiao, has not confirmed the bout, however, and did not immediately reply to a News-Press text message on Monday.
After watching former star quarterback Donovan McNabb return to Philadelphia for the first time since being traded last offseason, Philadelphia Eagles veteran Coach Andy Reid, a former Glendale Community College football player, saw his current starting quarterback leave in the middle of a 17-12 loss to the visiting Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Michael Vick was diagnosed with a rib cartilage injury in his second and third ribs that he sustained in the first quarter when he was crunched by Washington's Kareem Moore and DeAngelo Hall.
"This is going to be one of those day-to-day, week-to-week (injuries)," Reid told the Associated Press. "We'll just see how it goes and how he feels along the way.
"He's sore. .... It's up high in that second and third rib. And that's what it is and you have ligaments and you have cartilage up there."
If Vick can't play Sunday when the Eagles (2-2) travel to San Francisco (0-4), the Eagles will likely turn to Kevin Kolb to handle the signal-calling chores. Kolb began the season as McNabb's successor, but lost his job when he sustained a concussion during the first week of the season against the Green Bay Packers.
Without Vick, the Eagles' offense struggled against the Redskins.
Reid said Monday that he wouldn't rule Vick out, but it would seem unlikely he could play due to the nature of the painful injury. Reid, whose team saw its two-game winning streak snapped, added Vick doesn't have any broken bones.
In addition, running back LeSean McCoy broke a rib during the first half but returned to the contest. Cornerback Asante Samuel and wide receiver Riley Cooper sustained mild concussions.
McNabb, a six-time Pro Bowl member who was drafted by the Eagles in 1999 and led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004 against the New England Patriots, completed eight of 19 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown and one interception against Philadelphia. He received a standing ovation before the game before being jeered during the contest.
Reid and McNabb embraced after the game.
A trio of local high school sports teams earned CIF rankings after the CIF office released the latest polls Monday.
In boys' water polo, the Crescenta Valley High and Glendale squads remain ranked. Crescenta Valley held steady at the top spot in Division V for the fifth straight week by virtue of a huge 9-5 win against second-ranked La Serna at Pasadena City College on Tuesday. Glendale is sixth in the division for a second straight week.
St. Francis' football team dropped a spot to No. 5 in the Western Division after it suffered a 35-34 nonleague road loss against West Ranch at Valencia High. The Golden Knights are 3-1.
No cross-country rankings were released.
The Glendale YMCA Quarterback Club will conduct its fourth meeting at 11:30 a.m. today at The Elk's Lodge, 120 E. Colorado St., Glendale.
The club, which is in its 68th year, is geared to support the Crescenta Valley, Glendale, Hoover and St. Francis high football teams and the Glendale Community College football program.
Crescenta Valley first-year football Coach Paul Schilling and Glendale second-year Coach Alan Eberhart will be the guest speakers.


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Quick Slants:
- Geoff Hangartner came out for the coin toss and has replaced Trent Edwards as a team captain.
- For the first time all year the Bills deferred after winning the opening coin toss. The Jets had a 38 yard kickoff return and were off to the races for an easy opening touchdown drive of 63 yards in 9 plays. LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 42 yards on five carries during the drive including the one yard plunge. Mark Sanchez kept the drive going with a 3rd and 5 completion to Dustin Keller who was double teamed and made the seven yard reception.
- The Bills had 52 yards offensively on their first 13 plays and then got 52 yards on their last three plays of the first half. 48 yards on two passes from Fitzpatrick to David Nelson.
- The Jets started in Buffalo territory in back to back possessions in the third quarter and they scored two touchdowns to send the fans running to the exits.
My Take:
If this isn't rock bottom I don't know what could possibly be. I don't mean rock bottom to the season, I mean rock bottom to this nightmare of a football team we have seen in the last ten plus years. They flat out quit in the second half after getting this asses kicked all around the field in every phase of the game. The offense is awful with or without Trent Edwards. The defense can't stop the run in the 3-4 or the 4-3. Not enough talent at linebacker to play three let alone four of them. They have no starting caliber offensive tackles or a starting caliber quarterback. No pass rush and no pass protection. I could go on and on but it all adds up to a very long season on top of a very long decade.
What's Ahead:
The Bills remain at home and for the first time this year play a team that is not considered playoff caliber. The Jacksonville Jaguars come to town and the Bills look to get into the win column before the bye next week.


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Friday, July 29, 2011
The Horse that Threw Me
Left to my own devices I probably would have hibernated, but prior commitments meant that I've been consistently busy hosting and working with WWOOF volunteers through most of this month. Occupation is therapy of a sort, I realize, but it left little mental room for posting here. There's plenty to write about however. We've gotten some new critters and had the usual mix of successes and failures in the garden. I'm doing my best to shake off the summer garden blahs that seem to hit me every July. We're behind schedule with the biggest project of the year, the mini-hoop house. Deadlines for other projects are on the horizon as well. I blame it on the outrageous high temperatures we've had and my husband's heavy travel schedule for work. I beat back my garden doldrums enough to start new seedlings for the yet to be built hoop house, so we're going to have to knuckle down and get it built within the next month. Besides, the tomatoes are about to come in in earnest. Tomato crops give no quarter to the unmotivated nor the unprepared. So I'm going to have to get back on that horse.
While I've been neglecting my own blog, I've also been neglecting many of the blogs I usually read and profit from. I'm playing catchup with many of your blogs as time allows. I suspect next week I'll have time and space enough to do some catching up with my own posting. Hope summer is going well for all of you!
18 comments:
- Pomona said...
I am so sorry for you - my best friend's husband died recently - very young, with young children. It really does knock you for six, and I hope that you are bearing up.
I know what you mean about the garden - I find it a struggle at this time of year. So much time picking and preserving, and not enough time on maintaining.
Pomona x
- July 29, 2011 at 11:24 AM
- Tovar@AMindfulCarnivore said...
Sorry to hear of your losses. But it's good to hear from you here, nonetheless.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:29 AM
- Jennifer Montero said...
Oh Kate, you post when you're ready. As long as you know none of us have forgotten about you.
And a heavy tomato crop is sure to help you ketchup...
Sorry. It slipped out.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:52 AM
- Moonstonemama said...
I'm sorry to hear about your losses. Take the time for healing that you need.
- July 29, 2011 at 11:53 AM
- Denimflyz said...
My heart goes out to you on your losses also. Please take the time you need to heal, and get vision back into perspective.
Take care
- July 29, 2011 at 12:58 PM
- Amy @ Homestead Revival said...
So sorry to hear about both of your losses. It's good you took time to just grieve. I think we (mostly meaning me!) think that if we don't post regularly, everyone will disappear. The fact is, we all blog and read blogs when life allows; or at least that's as it should be.
Funny thing, I get to doldrums every August. Since the garden is actually slower at this time of year, I've decided to get away for two short camping trips. Sept. and Oct. will be my canning months since our season is later than everyone else and I need to start homeschooling at that time, so a little get away will hopefully curb my slump!
- July 29, 2011 at 1:09 PM
- Kelly said...
We're so sorry to hear about your losses. Very sad.
It's good to see you writing again. Meg and I were just talking about the two of you the other day. As things settle down, at both your place and ours, we'll have to have you over for dinner.
- July 29, 2011 at 1:11 PM
- saving for travel said...
So sorry to hear about the loss of loved ones.Totally understand you not blogging for a while.
Hugs SFT X
- July 29, 2011 at 1:44 PM
So sorry to hear about your losses. It's never easy to grieve.
I check your blog every day, and had hoped your absence was due to a very busy gardening season, and not something bad. So sorry!
Your blog is my one-stop daily visit, since in addition to your writing, you have links to some of my other favorite blogs.
- July 29, 2011 at 1:57 PM
- Paula said...
good one Jen.
Don't worry about us; you just take care of what you need to take care of, especially yourself.
I am having trouble motivating myself to get the fall garden going, and I have no reason for it like you do. Other than going back to work full time and just have a lot less time...
take care Kate...
- July 29, 2011 at 10:21 PM
- Vera said...
I empathize with you with all of what you have written in your blog - just to say that I staying in that saddle can be mighty hard work sometimes.
- July 30, 2011 at 2:08 AM
- fae said...
I'm glad to know you're okay, at least. I was getting concerned!
- July 31, 2011 at 5:54 PM
- karen said...
So sorry to hear about your losses. Looking forward to getting caught up on all your activity since you last posted. Missed you! Karen from CT
- August 1, 2011 at 7:07 AM
Life, wheels, grief, harvest. Around and around. My thoughts are with you.
- August 1, 2011 at 5:00 PM
- Tamar@StarvingofftheLand said...
Kate, welcome back, albeit under less-than-ideal circumstances.
Death just sucks. Tomatoes, though, are excellent. May there be less of the former and more of the latter in your future.
- August 3, 2011 at 8:45 AM
- Kate said...
Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I'm climbing back in that saddle!
- August 3, 2011 at 11:59 AM
I'm very sorry about both of your losses! Hang in there. I've been checking your blog weekly to find out about the potatoes, hoop house, etc and am glad you're back.
- August 3, 2011 at 6:05 PM
- Wendy said...
I'm so sorry, Kate, but it's good to see that you're climbing back up there. Take your time, and know that we'll still be around.
- August 5, 2011 at 2:23 PM


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We can't neglect the violence because society encourages us to disregard certain group of individuals,and nothing is important enough benefits no one that he is no longer among the living.
He had a family and a "squad" that surely looked up to him for guidance.
I know he is in the same gang as Chief Keef!
Hell, he may have recruited him, but that doesn't matter now…
I know that people will blend in to chaos and gangs.
It is simply easier to ignore the usual murder of our boys just to not shine light on the truth and realistic depreciation of our men and how behind bars and in their graves.These young men never can facilitate for their legal families and they mature into lost but easily influenced boys that will be dead or in prison or accessible to provide for their families
He is dead, and whoever took his life, will undoubtedly lose someone in their squad.
Chiraquian Rapper Fredo Santana will not live to celebrate 30 Years of age and The Migos will be a duet anytime soon,due to ignorant threats and people shooting an killing at their concerts.
When you have so many hood friends that are miserable, misguided, and manipulated by their hatred of self, it makes it easier to cause irrational and undeserving violence to others and tweet about it on Twitter.
In this generation, evil will always trump righteousness and self-preservation when it comes to killing our own.
We have a generation of young men that don't want to be left out of any activities with their home boys,even if it murder. If his entire block is sporting that blue bandana out of their pocket, no one would risk not fitting in and being an individual. Libraries and lame and prison makes you a man,in the minds of the lost.
They join and adapt and go to prison and others succumb to their demented and emotionless desires to make a better way, or be an individual. So the entire street decides that killing is a sport, no different from a video game. They are so removed from the rest of the world that ignorance is segregating them and crippling their future and it is based on the fictious war and who is up next to die?
Fredro Santana has created a niche for himself in his daily life of death warnings, and he will keep living in this world with a lackluster lyrics and that luciferin cross on his head, that child is the male Annabelle doll. Fredo Satan is in the same death trap community as Cheap Keith.
AGAIN,Why should you care, if you aren't familiar with his music?
The media is comfortable not reporting every death in the Roseland community, but then again that would be a three hour news broadcast, every single night.. Sadly, when a black child murders another black child dies marches or protest, are not an option. If you think that I am exaggerating on the death toll and the evil in Chiraq, just read the statistics.
Look at one Chiraquian rapper shot on the street like an animal. I am showing this picture to educate the youth, this lost baby is in the gutter like he is trash and he wasn't trash. He had the wrong mentality the wrong friends in the game of ignorance.
Where are their mothers and fathers?
GRAPHIC DEATH http://mediaanarchist.wordpress.com/2014/03/30/chicago-rapper-lil-marc-murdered-days-after-lil-reese-video-diss/
I dont care if it makes you mad, as long as it saves your life.
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Ted R Rated Talking Plush
You dirty bear!
- More vulgar, but less scary than Teddy Ruxbin
- Not quite as cute as the Snuggle bear
- But definitely will be your friend for life!
Everybody needs a friend, right? And almost everybody is afraid of thunder. So what sane person wouldn't wish for their favorite teddy bear to come to life so that you could play and prank together, and, better yet, be thunder buddies for life! No worries, your teddy bear's pot-smoking habit won't really become a problem until later in life.
Bring home your own thunder buddy with this R-rated talking Ted teddy bear plush featuring five phrases from Seth MacFarlane's hit comedy Ted. Great for a good laugh, we just wouldn't let him babysit your kids or anything.
Product Specifications
- R-rated, talking teddy bear from the Ted movie
- Recommended ages: 18+
- Features 5 phrases from Ted movie:
- "Yeah, I mean, y-you know when you sewed me up you put some of the stuffing in the wrong places so I'm - I'm a little f---ed up, but will you take care of me for ever and ever?... Aha! I'm just kidding you! I thought it'd be funny if you thought I was f---ing retarded."
- "You ever hear a Boston girl have an orgasm? 'Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Harder! Harder! Oh, God, that was so good! Now I'm gonna stuff my f---in' face with Pepperidge Farm.'"
- "Well you never should've trusted me. I'm on drugs!"
- "Alright c'mon, let's sing the Thunder Song. When you hear the sound of thunder, don't you get too scared. Just grab your Thunder Buddy and say these magic words: F--- you, Thunder! You can suck my d--- You can't get me, Thunder, 'cause you're just God's farts."
- "Oh f--- that. It's been 4 years, Johnny! You and me have been together for 27 years. Where's my ring, huh? Where's my ring, a------? Where's my ring, mother f---er? Put it on my fuzzy finger, you f--- C'mon!"
- Featuring Seth Macfarlane's voice from his movie Ted
- Care: Spot clean with a damp cloth and mild detergent
- Dimensions: 8" tall


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Contact Sellerx
Product Description
Rubbabu Ring Toss Set The 3D Shapesorter has a soft base as well as soft pieces that are easy for little hands to grasp and manipulate. Unusual shapes and a rainbow of colors make this an extremely attractive toy to gift, play with and learn from. What are Rubbabu Toys made of? Rubbabu toys are made of pure natural rubber, with no fillers or additives. Natural rubber is the sap of the tree which is drawn from the rubber tree every year without damaging the tree or shortening its life span. It's a natural, sustainable material, non-toxic and it's 100% biodegradable. The paints we use are created inside our factory using pigments bought in America. Curious about the soft velvety surface? Read on What makes them so soft and fuzzy? Rubbabu's signature texture comes from a process of flocking. In flocking, very thin and small fibres are glued onto an object so that they stick straight out at right angles to the surface. Imagine thousands of these fibres standing very close to each other so that you can only feel their tops. That's what creates the soft velvety surface that is so much fun to touch and squeez! Quality Assurance ISEO, Rubbabu factory in India, operates under the highest level of quality control standards throughout all stages of the manufacturing process. These products undergo testing internally, and from independent testing laboratories, prior to shipment, to ensure that the goods comply with the relevant international standards. Product Safety Rubbabu constantly strives to provide safe products, and take that responsibility very seriously. Among other things, Rubbabu products are tested according to international safety standard including EN 71 Part 1,2,3 (Europe), ASTM 963F 16 CFR (USA), CPSIA stipulations for soluble heavy metals, and tests for phthalates. The simple shapes and bright colours are soft and safe for even the youngest children. Saftey & Cleaning Instructions
- Not a teething toy. Clean with a damp cloth.
- Brush lightly with a soft brush or surface clean with a damp cloth.
- Do not machine wash.
- Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight
Additional Information
Additional Information
|Weight (Kgs)
|Country of Manufacture
|Natural Rubber Foam
|Age Group
|0+ Months
|Awards & Certifications
|Product Height (cm)
|Product Length (cm)
|Product Width (cm)
|Sales Package
|One puzzle base and 15 puzzle pieces.
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I think we all wish we could have spent more time with the children being supported by Los Quinchos.
Our last activity of the trip was both heavy and light. Learning about the circumstances that got each child into a Los Quinchos program was heartbreaking. It made us hurt and angry and frustrated that we couldn't make it stop. But spending time with them made an impression that won't soon fade.
As Los Quinchos in-country director Carlos Vidal explained, nearly all of the boys at the Finca San Marcos site we visited were at one time addicted to sniffing glue. They either had no homes and lived on the streets or were sent by their families to beg for money and turned to the streets later on. Nearly all of the girls staying at Yahoska, also in San Marcos, were sexually abused and suffering in silence until a brother receiving help from Los Quinchos — or the Ministry of Family — told someone to help them.
Los Quinchos was started 23 years ago by Nicaraguans and an Italian woman to help children of the streets get clean and learn the skills for a productive life. Former Quinchos have become painters, doctors and employees of Los Quinchos. ProNica is one supporter of the organization.
We brought a pinata filled with candy to Yahoska. It was a great idea and courtesy of Kasia and Meghan. The girls loved it. So much laughter, joy and love! At Finca San Marcos, the little boys held our hands, gave us hugs, shared fruit from the trees and wanted to play. There were circus-style stunts, backflips into the pool and futbol with us.
Some were shy. Many looked tired, even haggard. In some cases we were surprised at 10-year-olds who could pass for six or seven because malnutrition had stunted their growth. In other cases, it was surprising that a boy of just 10 could have the face of a much older man, because of the effects of the shoe repair glue he used to dull his hunger and escape his reality. That glue is made for shoe repair by American adhesive company H.B. Fuller. By law, it is not sold in the U.S.
Los Quinchos programs are voluntary. The program's first step — Filter House in Managua — is open to children who want to give up glue. As with any addiction recovery process, it is difficult. There are setbacks. And the reality is some children do not escape that life. But the staff of Los Quinchos — about 15 people after substantial budget cuts in 2012 — stay focused on their motto, which translates to "Never again a child on the street."
The children we saw had finished the Filter House phase and were now in school and learning skills while receiving intensive therapy. During holiday break (summer vacation), most children are placed with Nicaraguan families so some Los Quinchos staff can have some time off. The children we met were not placed with families.
Our minds raced during the day we spent with those children. Now in our own homes, their faces, laughs and hugs are part of our memories, part of what will nudge us to make positive changes in our own lives.


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The Cowboys haven't proven themselves to be consistent enough to overlook anyone, but owner Jerry Jones sounded like a man looking down the schedule past the Browns, in respect to the condition of running back DeMarco Murray.
Jones said they'd continue to evaluate Murray, who has missed four straight games with a foot sprain, but they wanted to be cautious for the stretch run.
"He is a physical running back," Jones said on his radio show KRLD-FM (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). "You want to be very comfortable for him to make his cut. All of that has to be right before he goes out there because we got to look down the road here.
"We hope we are in this thing and needing him on every play as we moving forward even beyond Cleveland."
If the Cowboys have postseason aspirations, and they certainly do, getting Murray back to 100 percent will be important.
Of course, if they have legitimate playoff aspirations, they should beat the Browns with or without him.