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Guests: Alan Chambers, Susan Page, Marc Levin
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, GUEST HOST: Tax bracketology.
Let`s play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I`m Michael Smerconish, in for Chris Matthews.
Leading off tonight: Gimme shelter. If you`re Barack Obama and you`ve
just seen another weak jobs report, what do you do? You change the
subject. The president and his allies are hitting Mitt Romney on two
Today, Mr. Obama called for extending the Bush tax cuts for people
making less than $250,000, and his campaign has been blasting Romney`s
offshore accounts, suggesting they are tax shelters for the wealthy
Republican. The fight for the middle class is on.
One reason team Obama is feeling pretty good despite the sluggish
economy is playing itself out on TV. Today, we got more evidence that the
president is winning the ad war in the swing states.
Plus, the "pray away the gay" movement is reeling today. One of its
leaders says he was wrong, that there is no so-called cure for
homosexuality. Alan Chambers joins us tonight.
And think political debates can get heated here? Well, check this TV
face-off from Amman, Jordan, out. Don`t worry, nobody got hurt. We`ll let
you know what happened in the "Sideshow."
And "Let Me Finish" with a solution in search of a problem,
Republican-backed voter ID laws designed to keep Democrats from voting.
We begin with the fight for the middle class. MSNBC political analyst
David Corn is Washington bureau chief for "Mother Jones" magazine and the
author of the book "Showdown." Robert Costa is with "National Review."
Gentlemen, today, the president tried to turn the conversation from
the disappointing jobs numbers on Friday to a message of tax fairness. He
called on Congress to pass an extension for part of the Bush tax cuts for
people making less than $250,000 a year. The tax cuts are set to expire at
the end of this year.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We all say we agree
that we should extend the tax cuts for 98 percent of the American people.
All right? Everybody says that. The Republicans say they don`t want to
raise taxes on the middle class, I don`t want to raise taxes on the middle
class. So we should all agree to extend the tax cuts for the middle class.
Let`s agree to do what we agree on. Right?
OBAMA: Let`s not hold the vast majority of Americans and our entire
economy hostage while we debate the merits of another tax cut for the
SMERCONISH: At the White House afterwards, Jay Carney took it a step
further, saying the president would not sign any bill that came to his desk
if it included the extension of the tax cuts on the wealthy.
In a radio interview later, Mitt Romney accused the president of
proposing a massive tax hike on job creators.
MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), FMR. GOV., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What the
president`s proposing is therefore a massive tax increase on job creators
and on small business. Small businesses are overwhelmingly being taxed not
at a corporate rate but at the individual tax rate. So successful small
businesses will see their taxes go up dramatically, and that will kill
jobs. That will be another kick in the gut to the middle class in America.
SMERCONISH: Robert Costa, the president says, Look, we have such
little agreement among us on different sides of the fence, at least we can
agree that here`s a group of folks who ought to have a continuation of the
Bush tax cuts, so why don`t we at least take care of that piece of
business? What`s the response?
ROBERT COSTA, "NATIONAL REVIEW," CNBC CONTRIBUTOR: Michael, two big
takeaways from the president`s speech today, one on the politics. This on
its surface looks like a Clintonian tack to the center. In the general
election campaign, he`s trying to throw a bone to fiscal hawks, to
frustrated middle class voters and saying, I`m with you. I`m going to make
sure your rates stay at the rate they are today.
But the politics on this on Capitol Hill are a little different.
Remember, two years ago, President Obama extended the Bush tax cuts as part
of the lame duck 2010 session. This was the first salvo, let`s say, in the
2012 lame duck politics. Obama`s signaling to people on Capitol Hill that
he`s willing to talk about extending the Bush tax cuts to a certain extent,
but he`s laying out the stakes for that lame duck discussion later this
SMERCONISH: But David -- David, why -- why not do that which at least
there can be agreement on? I mean, he or she who`s making $261,000 a year
is going to enjoy the Bush tax cut for the first $250,000 of that. In
other words...
DAVID CORN, "MOTHER JONES," MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
SMERCONISH: ... everybody would be a beneficiary in this scenario.
CORN: Michael, you`re committing the sin of talking sense. It was a
question that our pal Robert didn`t answer when he gave his response to
This is because, you know, the president`s saying, Listen, we can
agree on 98 percent. Let`s go with that. But the Republicans are holding
that 98 percent hostage, as they did back in 2010, knowing that it`s very
difficult to justify continuing these tax cut bonuses for the rich.
And the only way they can get them -- they can`t them on their own.
They only way they can get them is if they hold the 98 percent of the rest
of us hostage. You know, they did that in 2010. That`s their strategy
again. And they just -- you know, they`re just going to try to stare the
president down and claim that this is a tax hike.
Listen, every -- you know, the tax cuts, which Bush brought, you know,
into existence, were designed to be temporary. So if you return, if you go
back, if you revert to the original rates, you know, you can call that a
tax hike, but that`s really semantics and it`s double talk. It`s -- you
know, you have to keep voting to keep these things going, otherwise they
revert back.
And they want to make sure that their friends, the rich, you know, get
those break, and they can only do it by coupling them to the tax cuts for
everybody else.
SMERCONISH: Robert, Republicans want all the tax cuts extended
including on the wealthiest Americans. The rich, they are -- and you`ve
heard this before -- are job creators, and the more money they have, the
better it is for growth.
Here was former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour, as a matter of
fact, on "MORNING JOE" making that point today.
HALEY BARBOUR (R), FMR. MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR: The United States is in
a global battle for capital and for labor. If we`re trying to attract
capital so we can hire more people, so we can be innovative, deploy
technology, improve benefits, how do we figure -- where do you think that
$850 billion you were going to talk about is going to go? It`s going to go
to the government instead of going for more employees, higher wages and for
expanding the economy. It`s pretty simple.
SMERCONISH: Robert, a skeptic would say, Well, wait a minute. If we
-- if we`ve maintained the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans,
why do we nevertheless have an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent? Why do we
still have this funk, this malaise in the economy? They don`t create jobs.
Your response would be what?
COSTA: To blame this recession on the Bush tax cuts, which came into
effect 10 years ago and to say that this recession is happening because the
tax rates are too low -- I think most Republicans and conservatives would
shake their head at that! That doesn`t make any sense.
Government spending`s part of the problem. The financial collapse of
2008 is the significant factor in the recession.
But to say the low tax rates -- what Romney was saying was that the
president`s effectively writing off all voters who are making over
$250,000. It`s a class warfare argument. He`s trying to win the voters
who are the middle class who are making $250,000 or less.
But for those who have sole proprietorships -- that`s what Romney was
saying -- sole proprietors, individuals who pay at the individual rate for
their businesses -- Obama doesn`t even want to speak to him when it comes
to tax policy!
SMERCONISH: But I guess what I`m asking is whether there`s any
empirical data, where there`s anything quantifiable that we can look to and
say, Aha, here are jobs that were created by individuals because they are
wealthy Americans or small business people...
COSTA: OK, Michael...
SMERCONISH: ... and they were able to enjoy the fruits of the Bush
tax cuts.
COSTA: If you do not extend the rates on those making $250,000 or
more, you will have some more revenue for the federal government, and the
Democratic argument would be that revenue would perhaps lead to growth.
But if you look at what happened with the president`s spending over
the last three years, I would argue that with unemployment stagnant, it
stays at around 8 percent, I don`t think more revenue and government
spending would lead to any growth! The conservative argument`s always been
pro-growth policies equal -- equal growth in the economy!
CORN: Michael...
SMERCONISH: David, quick reaction to that, and then I want to show
you something else.
CORN: We have empirical evidence. Look at the Bush years prior to
the recession that occurred in the Bush years. You cut all those taxes on
the -- I mean, you cut those taxes and it didn`t create a lot of growth.
Look at the Clinton years. Clinton actually raised taxes on the high end,
not on the middle class but on the very high end, and you had growth
through the Clinton years.
And I`m not saying this is directly cause and effect, but what I`m
saying is there is no empirical evidence that if you cut taxes on the rich
that jobs are created. It`s not an article of policy, it`s an article of
faith. It`s ideology. It`s religion for the right...
SMERCONISH: Gentlemen, let me show you this. The Democratic message
on taxes is not just about policy, it`s also personal. President Obama`s
allies are ramping up calls on Governor Romney to release more of his past
tax returns than he has. This follows reporting by "Vanity Fair" and the
Associated Press that Romney has stored assets in notorious tax shelters,
like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Switzerland.
Let`s watch some of the Democratic attacks.
ROBERT GIBBS, OBAMA SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISER: The next four years,
we`re going to have to undergo comprehensive tax reform. And you know, is
somebody who has sheltered their income taxes in Switzerland and the
Caymans and Bermuda really somebody who`s going to get under the hood and
get us to a place of tax fairness? We need to know why he`s got that money
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL), DNC CHAIR: I`d really like to
see Mitt Romney release more than one year of tax records because there`s
been disturbing reports recently that he`s got a Bermuda corporation that -
- a secretive Bermuda corporation that no one knows anything about,
investments in the Caymans, you know, investments in -- he`s got a Swiss
bank account.
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: When it comes down to his Swiss
bank account, there is just no way to explain it. You either get a Swiss
bank account to conceal what you`re doing or you believe the Swiss franc is
stronger than the American dollar.
SMERCONISH: Robert Costa, financially smart maybe for Romney as an
individual, but boy, you`d have to agree, politically unwise for a guy who
has known for years that he`d be running for president.
COSTA: No, Michael, I respectfully disagree. It`s not politically
unwise to do something that`s entirely legal, which is invest globally.
Mitt Romney has made a career of investing globally.
I think when it comes to disclosure, he should disclosure as much he
can. The Democrats, I think, may have a case there that one year of tax
returns may not be enough for the general election.
But to try to portray Romney as sipping a pina colada in the Bahamas
or Bermuda or in Switzerland is just -- it`s class welfare of politics!
And I think if Romney can connect with people in the suburbs like he did in
the primary, it`ll be effective in the general. And if he loses voters
because of a Swiss bank account, those voters were already voting for the
SMERCONISH: But it doesn`t -- it doesn`t help you establish a common
bond with middle America, is what I`m saying...
COSTA: So Michael, your argument is that having money means -- or
having a lot of money means you can`t have any kind of common bond?
Romney`s, I think, trying to counteract that conventional wisdom by going
on a bus tour recent.
CORN: It`s not about...
COSTA: But I think -- it`s absurd in American politics if a wealthy
person because he has foreign investments is suddenly disqualified from
being president!
SMERCONISH: No, I didn`t say that at all. I just said if I`m trying
to reach -- if I`m trying to reach middle class voters, I don`t -- I don`t
know that my bona fides are enhanced if I`ve got financial investments in
the Cayman Islands.
I want to show you guys something else. Over the weekend, Romney
raised millions of dollars from wealthy donors in the Hamptons. One
quote`s getting a lot of attention today for sounding especially tone deaf.
"The LA Times`s" Maeve Reston caught up with one donor as she was
heading to a fund-raiser at the home of Revlon chairman Ron Perelman, and
the woman said, quote, "I don`t think the common person is getting it.
Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them. We`ve got the message, but
my college kid, the baby-sitters, the nails ladies, everybody who`s got the
right to vote, they don`t understand what`s going on. I just think if
you`re lower-income, one, you`re not educated, two, they don`t understand
how it works. They don`t understand how the system works. They don`t
understand the impact."
David, I`m sure you`d love to have a piece of that.
CORN: Well, I`m just saying that`s the problem with this country,
that nail ladies can vote...
CORN: ... and they don`t know what`s going on. But I have to...
CORN: It speaks for itself. But I have to say just in response to
what Robert just said, the problem is -- having Swiss bank accounts and
Cayman Island accounts doesn`t disqualify you. What might disqualify you
is if you don`t have more disclosure. There was -- go -- everyone should
read the "Vanity Fair" piece by Nick Shackson (ph) from last week. He
raises lots of real, legitimate questions that can only be answered by
releasing tax returns.
That`s the expectation in American politics today. The fact that Mitt
Romney is not releasing those records only can lead to greater suspicion
and shows that he doesn`t really care about disclosure and that he`s just
an opaque rich guy, like people suspect.
SMERCONISH: Gentlemen, thanks for being here. Thank you, David Corn.
Thank you, Robert Costa.
CORN: Sure thing, Michael.
COSTA: Thank you, Michael.
SMERCONISH: Coming up: One of the leaders of the "pray away the gay"
movement now says he was wrong. Alan Chambers says there`s no cure for
homosexuality, and the movement`s ideas are harmful to gays and lesbians.
And he`ll join us.
This is HARDBALL, the place for politics.
SMERCONISH: The Obama campaign`s fund-raising totals for June are in,
and the campaign, along with the DNC and Obama Victory Fund, raised $71
million last month. That`s team Obama`s best month so far this campaign,
but it falls well short of the haul of the Romney campaign last month, 106
million bucks.
We`ll be right back.
SMERCONISH: Welcome back to HARDBALL. Three years ago, I welcomed
our next guest to my radio program to discuss the American Psychological
Association`s repudiation of "gay to straight" therapy or reparative
As president of Exodus International, the largest evangelical
organization dealing with this issue, Alan Chambers believed you could pray
away the gay. Let`s listen.
ALAN CHAMBERS, PRES., EXODUS INTERNATIONAL: I`m denying the power
that those things had over me. You know, people say once you`re gay,
you`re always gay, you can`t break free from that. That`s not true.
SMERCONISH: Chambers even appeared in ads with his wife saying change
is possible. But now he says there`s no cure for homosexuality and that
reparative therapy doesn`t wipe out homosexual desires. Alan Chambers is
still president of Exodus and a husband and father of two kids, and he`s
joining me now.
Mr. Chambers, what happened? What accounts for the change in
CHAMBERS: Well, I want to be clear about what those changes are. The
fact is, my life is still as it was when I was on your radio program three
years ago, and I still hold to a biblical sexual ethic where homosexuality
and other forms of sexuality are concerned.
But what I think what`s changed for me is, really, the overemphasis on
this issue in ways that we don`t emphasize other issues in the church. And
specifically, with regards to reparative therapy, that so much of that type
of technique and therapy is focused on changing attraction or changing
temptation, when I don`t find that there`s a biblical reality that says
people will necessarily change their temptations or change their struggles.
So I want to be very, very clear about that.
SMERCONISH: Well, how about...
CHAMBERS: ... as we reach out to people...
SMERCONISH: How about the practical -- how about the practical
reality? Can you pray away the gay? Do you believe today that reparative
therapy works?
CHAMBERS: You know, I -- I think that praying away the gay has always
been a lazy stereotype. That`s certainly not what I did. And I think it
invalidates the complexity of this very complex issue.
As far as reparative therapy goes, you know, for years, we at Exodus
endorsed that and had people within our movement who did reparative
But so much of the focus is changing there, where they`re talking
about 100 percent cures and using that word specifically with me in private
conversations, and then even introducing things like heterosexual
pornography to help initiate or instigate or bring about heterosexual
attraction. And I don`t find that that`s healthy or helpful or realistic
at all.
SMERCONISH: I guess what I`m waiting for you to say that I gleaned
from "The New York Times" but I`m not hearing on HARDBALL is that it
doesn`t work, because in "The Times," quote, "He said that virtually every
ex-gay he has ever met still harbors homosexual cravings, himself
You`re married, father of two. You have homosexual cravings, is that
CHAMBERS: I have same-sex attractions. You know, I think that what
Eric said in "The Times" wasn`t what I said. I didn`t use the word
"cravings," nor would I use them. I am married. I am happily married. My
attractions, if you want to know, are specifically and always towards my
For me, those things have changed. My life is not the same as it was
21 years ago when I sought help. But to say that I don`t have temptations
or that I could never be tempted or don`t have same-sex attractions isn`t
true. And I think it`s very important For me as a Christian leader and as
someone who is helping people in their journey say those things very, very
SMERCONISH: But if you have the -- respectfully, if you have those
attractions, because I think I just heard you say that you still maintain -
- not that there`s anything wrong with it, but that you still maintain
same-sex attractions -- are you trapped in that marriage of yours?
CHAMBERS: I`m not trapped in that marriage. I married my wife 15 years
ago because I was in love with her. I remain in love with her today.
And what has changed for me is, that love has only grown deeper. My
attraction and my desire for my wife has only grown stronger. Never in 15
years have I been tempted to be unfaithful to my wife. I love her. She is
the object of my every affection. But to say that I don`t have...
SMERCONISH: Mr. Chambers, what would you say -- what would you say,
sir, to a young person who perhaps three years ago at the time when we
first met via the airwaves listened to Alan Chambers and took to heart your
message as it then existed and believed and pursued a career path for the
last couple of years hoping that they could turn away from these innate
feelings that they had?
Do you apologize to those folks now? Do you say I got it wrong and
come back to this fold? I mean, what`s the message?
CHAMBERS: Well, I think if someone hears my message and thinks that
I`m telling them that they`re never going to struggle again, that those
feelings are going to go away or that they`re going to be -- their lives
are going to be anything like my life, I am sorry for that.
That has never been my intention. My intention is to -- is to simply
help people of faith who are in conflict where their sexuality meets their
faith to live either celibate lives or to pursue a life that they feel is
congruent with their faith. And that...
SMERCONISH: Would a homosexual -- would a homosexual be precluded --
would a homosexual be precluded admission from heaven on the basis of their
sexuality, according to Alan Chambers?
CHAMBERS: Well, thankfully, it`s not according to Alan Chambers.
My biblical beliefs are that no one is excluded to heaven who has a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He offers that relationship to
anyone and everyone who would ask him for that. And I think the Bible is
very simple in its terms of how you come into a relationship. It says ask
and you shall receive. Knock. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door
will be opened to you. It doesn`t say anywhere that there`s any exclusions
of people who can seek, ask and knock.
And that has always been our message.
SMERCONISH: You defended reparative therapy a year ago in an
interview with ABC`s Brian Ross, comparing it to a weight loss struggle.
Here`s a piece of that tape.
CHAMBERS: It`s not picking and choosing people who are gay or
lesbian. It really hits all of us. We can look at other organizations who
help people dealing with other life struggles, for instance, Weight
Watchers, which has tremendously benefited by life.
Should we go after Weight Watchers and tell them, don`t say that
there`s anything beyond obesity for people who are struggling with obesity
and want an alternative to that?
SMERCONISH: Does that analogy still hold up in your view?
CHAMBERS: You know, for me, I think those things do hold up in my
I have benefited from Weight Watchers and other types of programs that
have helped me in other areas of struggle in my life. I`m not telling
someone that is happily gay identified or gay or lesbian that they should
choose the life that I live or that God will love them more or love them
less depending on the decision that they make.
What I`m saying is for me and for people of faith who want to choose
to live through the filter of their faith and a strong biblical sexual
ethic in that regard, that they have that right to do that. And so when it
comes to issues like reparative therapy, I wouldn`t say that I was
defending reparative therapy a year ago.
I think we broad-brushed that. Reparative therapy is a very small and
specific type of therapy that a few therapists use. That isn`t something
that Exodus does today.
SMERCONISH: Bottom line, if I can just frame it simplistically, in
that age-old question, genes vs. environment, we agree. Genes, right?
It`s the hand you`re dealt.
CHAMBERS: Well, I think that what we have to do is stop making it so
simple. It`s not simple.
I think nature and nurture play a part in my life. We are genetic
beings, for sure, but we are certainly a product of the environment that we
grow up in. And I think to oversimplify this is to invalidate the
complexity of someone`s life. And I`m not willing to do that.
SMERCONISH: Mr. Chambers, thanks for being here. We appreciate it.
CHAMBERS: My pleasure.
SMERCONISH: Next, if you think we play hardball politics in this
country, check this out. We will tell you what is behind this political
fight in Jordan.
And if you want to follow me on Twitter, you just need to figure out
how to spell Smerconish.
This is HARDBALL, the place for politics.
SMERCONISH: Back to HARDBALL. Now for the "Sideshow."
How DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz managed to turn her
introduction by "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" guest host John Roberts into a dig at
Mitt Romney. Easy. There was talk of a road trip.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: Good morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS. I think the headline of the day is that you
just drove 2,000 miles from Florida all the way up to New Hampshire with
four dogs, the cat, the kids and the husband. How are you after all that?
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: And lived to tell about it. And all the dogs were
actually in the car, so I proved it can be done.
SMERCONISH: Can`t miss the swipe. They stuck out the drive without
going the Romney route of putting the dogs in a kennel on the roof of the
Anyway, the chairwoman`s Republican counterpart, Reince Priebus, made
his own appearance on "FOX News Sunday," suggesting that President Obama
represents an existential threat to the United States.
REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: This
president can`t fulfill a promise. They`re living in fantasyland. And you
know what? We`re going to put this dream to an end of theirs in November.
Save America. Fire Barack Obama and hire Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney has to win for the sake of the very idea of America. Mitt
Romney has to win for liberty and freedom. And we have to put an end to
this Barack Obama presidency before it put an end to our way of life in
America. The fact of the matter is, is that people understand that the
president is the head of this country. The fish rots at the head.
SMERCONISH: So, a vote for Obama is a vote against liberty, freedom
and America.
And, by the way, Mike Dukakis tried out the fish analogy once. It
didn`t work so well.
Next, a lot of Republicans might be hoping that Donald Trump stays far
away from the Republican Convention. Do they really need another go-round
of birther talk? Well, apparently, the chances of Trump taking center
stage in Florida don`t depend on whether he scores a prime speaking slot at
the convention.
Get this now. Donald Trump is being presented with the Statesman of
the Year Award from the Sarasota Republican Party just one day before the
convention kicks off in Tampa. That`s right, statesman. It won`t be the
first time that Trump has swooped in at an inconvenient time for team
Romney. Just after Romney officially clinched the Republican nomination
back in May, he and Trumped teamed up for a Vegas fund-raiser.
The downside? Trump snatched up all the attention by again
questioning the president`s citizenship.
Finally, it`s no secret that politics can get pretty brutal, attack
ads, name-calling, the whole shebang. But that`s here in the United
States. Watch what happened during a live TV debate in Jordan last week
between a member of parliament, that`s the guy on your right, and his
opponent. He`s the one on the left.
Apparently, the M.P. took issue with being called a -- quote -- "mafia
thief." Luckily, no one was injured, and the situation is under
investigation, including the question of how the gun made it inside the
studio to begin with. This unfolded on live TV. The host-turned-referee
described the incident as -- quote -- "the Wild West."
Up next, back to the campaign -- new evidence that President Obama`s
winning the ad war in the key battleground states.
You`re watching HARDBALL, the place for politics.
TYLER MATHISEN, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Tyler Mathisen with your CNBC
"Market Wrap."
The Dow falls 36. The S&P 500 was off by two, and the Nasdaq down
five. Second-quarter earning officially season kicked off earlier this
afternoon with Alcoa`s report. The company`s revenues and profits came in
ahead of expectations.
Facebook shares jumped more than 1 percent on word it is planning to
launch a job posting board. And Campbell`s Soup is paying about $1.5
billion for Bolthouse Farms. It makes juices and salad dressings.
That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide -- now back to
SMERCONISH: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
The political TV advertising campaign is alive and well this summer,
if you live in the dozen or so states that will decide the presidential
election. According to "USA Today," more than three-quarters of swing
state voters in states that you can see on the map on your screen have
watched these commercials in the past 30 days.
And among those who have changed their minds about the president and
Mitt Romney because of the ads, President Obama has an overwhelming
advantage; 76 percent now support him; 16 percent now support Mitt Romney.
The president also holds a narrow lead among all swing state voters in
that "USA Today"/Gallup poll. He leads Romney 47 to 45 percent.
Susan Page is the Washington bureau chief for "USA Today." She wrote
today`s cover story. And Chris Cillizza is the managing editor of
PostPolitics.com. He`s also the author of the new book "The Gospel
According to the Fix: An Insider`s Guide to a Less Than Holy World of
Susan, I am fascinated by this. There are people you point out.
There are two Americas. There are people who are only learning of the
presidential race by watching news programs, sort of oblivious to the other
segments of the country, where they are inundated with all the commercials.
It`s all, what would you say, micro-targeting?
SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Oh, absolutely.
You know, for most of America, they have to tune in to HARDBALL and
other programs to see news coverage of the ads if they`re going to see
them. But in these 12 states, you cannot turn on the TV to watch anything,
any programming on your local station without really facing a deluge of ads
on both sides by the campaigns, by the super PACs. It`s really relentless
for people in these targeted states.
SMERCONISH: And you had a great image in the paper today that we have
recreated to show the cities which are the number one markets so far for
political advertisements in those 12 swing states.
It`s places like Cleveland, Richmond, Tampa, Denver, and others.
They`re even spending in Boston, so that they can reach New Hampshire
Chris Cillizza, that sums it up, doesn`t it?
CHRIS CILLIZZA, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.
SMERCONISH: When you`re spending in Boston not to reach
Massachusetts, but to reach New Hampshire, that tells you something.
CILLIZZA: Yes.
Well, you get -- you know, I am a nerd enough to know the media
markets in that state. And the Boston media market reaches into lots of
Southern New Hampshire. So that`s why you`re seeing that.
I would say, Michael, look, the story and the poll that Susan wrote
about is fascinating, because what it does is, it proves what I think a lot
of us who follow this day to day know, which is a presidential campaign is
a national campaign really in name only. Yes, everybody in all 50 states
gets to vote on November 6.
Yes, all the votes count the same, but not really, is that it`s really
a series of state-based races in those eight to 12 swing states that really
make the difference, because we could hold the vote now, we could hold the
vote November 6, we could hold the vote in 2020, and Barack Obama would
probably get about 230 electoral votes no matter what, and Mitt Romney
would probably get about 218 electoral votes no matter what.
So we`re talking about 95, 80 to 95 swing votes all coming from those
states. That`s why you see all the advertising. It`s why Barack Obama`s
going to Iowa, which make Susan`s list. And Mitt Romney tomorrow is going
to where? Colorado. They`re not going to go anywhere outside of these
SMERCONISH: Well, Chris, it`s also -- Chris, it`s a function of how
much money both campaigns have.
CILLIZZA: Yes.
SMERCONISH: And also the level of sophistication, the knowledge that
they have about we, the voters, I think is a big story here as well.
CILLIZZA: Yes.
SMERCONISH: Let me show you something. For a flavor of what these
swing state voters are seeing on the airways, take a look at a recent Obama
campaign ad attacking Mitt Romney`s business record.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I`m Barack Obama, and I
approve this message.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Chinese are smiling all
the way to the bank, taking our jobs and taking a lot of our future. And
I`m not willing to let that happen.
NARRATOR: He made a fortune letting it happen. Newly published
documents show Mitt Romney`s firms were pioneers at helping company`s
outsource their manufacturing to countries including China, bragging they
were a one-stop shop for their outsource requirements.
Mitt Romney`s not the solution. He`s the problem.
SMERCONISH: And for parity, let me show you a super PAC commercial
that`s also being run on the flip side, meaning from the pro-Romney side.
This is from Crossroads GPS.
NARRATOR: Why isn`t the economy stronger? In the seconds it takes to
watch this, our national debt will increase $1.4 million. In 2008, Barack
Obama said:
OBAMA: We can`t mortgage our children`s future on a mountain of debt.
NARRATOR: Now he`s adding four billion in debt every day, borrowing
from China for his spending, every second growing our debt faster than our
economy. Tell Obama, stop the spending. Support the New Majority Agenda
at NewMajorityAgenda.org.
SMERCONISH: So, Susan Page, you`re saying that very few minds have
been changed thus far, but those that have been changed overwhelmingly
toward Obama.
How come?
PAGE: Well, you know, people know a lot about Barack Obama and he`s
been president for almost four years. They pretty much made up their
minds, whether they think he`s doing a good job or not.
People don`t know very much about Mitt Romney. So when you have an
ad like the ad you just showed, it has an impression, it has a big effect.
That`s what seems to be happening. That`s why we showed this really
disproportionate impact the Obama ads have I think to some significant
degree succeeded in defining Mitt Romney in a way that is negative to a lot
of voters. And that`s why those voters who say they are swayed by these
ads have gone in such a heavy way to the president`s side.
SMERCONISH: Well, Chris Cillizza, let me ask you something that`s
pure fix material. Could it also be, I agree with Susan just said, but
could it also be that the Obama campaign has done a better job marshalling
its message? And, you know, now, you`ve got only super PACs out there. Is
the Romney campaign hindered by inability to make sure that some of those
supportive of Romney are saying what they`d like to be said?
CHRIS CILLIZZA, WASHINGTON POST: Right. So, I think that is broadly
true, Michael. I think if you look at the spending on ads, Barack Obama
spent about $96 million on ads thus far, the vast majority has been spent
in the states we`re talking.
Mitt Romney in the general election, now, remember he spent $87
million total in the primary. But in the general, they spent $23 million
on ads. In eight swing states, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, New Hampshire,
Florida, in those states, super PACs, Republican super PACs, that`s
Americans for Prosperity, that`s Restore Our Future, that`s Crossroads GPS,
which isn`t a super PAC but an outside group. They have outspent Mitt
Romney in every single one of those states on ads.
It`s a remarkable thing. Mitt Romney spent $2 million in Florida.
Crossroads GPS and Americans for Prosperity, which is a Koch brothers
group, have spent a combine $9 million on ads. So, you obviously can
control your message a lot easier when it`s you paying for it than when
it`s four different myriad groups spending money.
SMERCONISH: And you correct me if I`m wrong. But if the campaign
decided, hey, we need to marshal these forces, bring them all in and let`s
have a meeting of, you know, these folks -- that would violate the law,
CILLIZZA: Absolutely. You cannot -- they cannot coordinate.
Now, public buying information, how much money you`re spending or
where you`re spending it is public information. You can call the radio
station, so you can get it that way.
But no, you can`t get everybody in. Remember, Michael, remember in
2008, Barack Obama essentially said you know what, if you want to support
me, give it to me. Don`t give it to a super PAC. Don`t give it to liberal
group that`s going to spend it.
It`s why he raised $750 million. It`s also, though, why the outside
Democratic groups are way behind financially and organizationally the
outside Republican groups.
SMERCONISH: Chris Cillizza, thank you.
Susan Page, your piece on "USA Today" tremendous today. Thank you
for being here.
PAGE: Hey, thanks, Michael.
SMERCONISH: Up next, the unemployment rate isn`t just a number for
Democrats and Republicans to fight over. Millions of Americans don`t have
jobs and a new HBO documentary tells their stories. We`ll meet the
filmmaker behind "Hard Times" next.
This is HARDBALL, the place for politics.
SMERCONISH: Take a look at what House Speaker John Boehner said
about Mitt Romney. Boehner was at a fund-raiser in West Virginia last week
and offered a surprisingly straightforward answer to a woman who asked him
if he could make her love Romney.
According to "Roll Call," Boehner told her, no, quote, "Listen, we`re
just politicians. I wasn`t elected to play God. The American people
probably aren`t going to fall in love with Mitt Romney. I`ll tell you
this: 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are going
to show up and vote for or against Barack Obama. Mitt Romney has some
friends, relatives and fellow Mormons, some that are going to vote for him,
but that`s not what this election is about. This election is going to be a
referendum on the president`s failed economic policies."
We`ll be right back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m panic stricken. I`m feeling as if I have
absolutely nothing. I don`t want to be helped.
I want to just help myself, but what we want are jobs. What we need
are jobs. In my next job, and I will have a next job, I will thank God
every morning and every night for that job.
SMERCONISH: We`re back.
That was a scene from the new HBO documentary, "Hard Times: Lost on
Long Island".
While the monthly unemployment numbers are a fixture in the news,
often lost behind them are the real people those numbers represent.
Emmy-winning director Marc Levin chronicled the lives of four such
families struggling to make ends meet in an idyllic suburban New York town
amongst the relics of their former upper middle class existence.
The documentary premiers, pardon me, tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on
Director Marc Levin joins me now.
Why Long Island?
MARC LEVIN, FILLMAKER: Well, Levittown is really the birthplace of
post-World War II modern is suburbia. So although there are regions in the
country that have higher unemployment rates, where the housing crisis took
a greater toll, and there are regions where the housing crisis took a
greater tool, we figure let`s go to the heart and soul of kind of the
American Dream, the suburban good life and see the fallout of this great
SMERCONISH: The four subjects that you focused on didn`t fit my
notion of the stereotypical folks who are on unemployment -- I don`t know
what that says about me or what the stereotypical vision might be. But in
what way do you think people will be surprised when they watch tonight?
LEVIN: Well, we are bombarded so much in the media scape by, you
know, sound bites that say they`re lazy, they`re good for nothing, they`re
free loaders, the moocher class, and I think when you start digging deeper
and you meet people who really have been dislocated by this crisis and
through no fault of their own, you see a totally different story. These
are people that had successful lives, that have done well. And all of a
sudden, the rug has been pulled out from underneath them.
And unlike a catastrophe like an earthquake or a hurricane, it`s not
all in one moment. It`s just kind of a slow motion of disintegration. And
not only is there tremendous financial hardship, but the psychic toll is
SMERCONISH: The loss of one`s job means the loss of his health
insurance, her health insurance, which is a problem your subjects
confronted in your new HBO documentary. Take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can`t go without insurance especially now.
It`s just not right. I`ve been working since I was 15 straight through all
the years. I never used those benefits. I worked hard for those benefits.
Now I`m 50 years old and I can`t get them.
SMERCONISH: Marc, what most surprised you spending time with these
folks the way that you did?
LEVIN: I think the most surprising thing, Michael, was the sense of
isolation, the sense that they`re almost invisible, that they have been
There isn`t collective action. There really is their loss they`re
afraid and they`re ashamed. I was stunned that some people that would talk
to us off of the record, when we turned on the camera they said no. And we
said, why? And they said, well, my family doesn`t know. My neighbors
don`t know.
In fact, that gentleman you just saw, he and his wife brought their
two sons to the premier of the film and it was the first time their sons
learned that their mom was going to a food pantry to get food for the
So I think that`s what most stun me was the sense of shame and almost
absorbing and internalizing this sense there must be something wrong with
SMERCONISH: Are they still looking for work? I asked that question
because you know, when continuation of unemployment benefits comes up,
you`ll hear arguments made from some who will say, well, these folks are
malingers who are still on, quote, "the dough for this amount of time.
LEVIN: These are people desperate for work, not just because of
obviously the financial benefits but because of the psychological benefits
that it defines who they are. It defines their life in many ways.
Ironically many of them have been told they`re overqualified. And
also unspoken is if you`re over 50 and been out of work for over a year or
so, forget it. It`s over for you.
SMERCONISH: I`m anxious to tune in and watch and see how their
extended families are able to cope with this. We have just 20 seconds
left. Give me an insight into that.
LEVIN: I think the biggest thing, going back to what you just said,
is we had the idea it`s them. It`s somebody else. If we wake up and open
our eyes, these are our neighbors, our families, our friends. It`s us.
SMERCONISH: Thank you so much for being here. Best of luck. I`ll
be watching tonight, Marc Levin. The HBO documentary film "Hard Times:
Lost on Long Island" debuts tonight. If I said 8:00, that was mistaken.
Nine p.m. Eastern on HBO.
When we return, allow me to finish with a solution in search of a
problem. Those strict new voter ID laws that will keep Democrats from
voting this November.
You`re watching HARDBALL, the place for politics.
SMERCONISH: Let me finish tonight with this: they say all politics
is local. For me, the ongoing battle for integrity versus voter
suppression certainly is. Like Chris, I`m from Philadelphia. He`s from
the city, I`m from the burbs.
If Pennsylvania is a battleground state, then I live at the front,
which is why I can tell you the ramifications of a new voter ID law in my
home state will have national implications. The new law in Pennsylvania
mandates that voters produce a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
issued photo ID.
When the folks who run elections in Pennsylvania recently compared
driver and voter records, they found that 758,939 voters were not on the
driver`s license lists. It is possible that some of those individuals have
the alternative form of acceptable ID. They include an ID from an
accredited Pennsylvania college or university, state care facility,
military ID, valid U.S. passport or other photo identification issued by
the federal of Pennsylvania government or employee ID issued by the
federal, state, county or municipal government.
But for most voters, the driver`s license is the standard ID.
It is also possible that the results were skewed by individuals who
registered to vote with names slightly different than appear on their
But where it was revealed that 9.2 percent of the state`s 8.2 million
voters don`t have the photo ID cards from the state Transportation
Department, it`s cause for alarm. And it certainly casts doubt on prior
assertions by the secretary of commonwealth who said that 99 percent of
voters already have the ID they require.
In Bucks County, where I was born and raised, 6 percent lack a
driver`s license or the state issued non-driver`s license. Republican
David Heckler is the district attorney and has been since 2010. That year
there was a single case of voter fraud prosecuted.
In Montgomery County, where I live now, the number is 8.5 percent.
Republican Risa Ferman has been the district attorney since 2007. There
have been no voter frauds prosecution on her watch.
In Chris` hometown, Philadelphia, 18 percent of city residents, 18
percent, don`t have the Penn DOT ID.
Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one in the city. Democratic
district attorney Seth Williams has been in that job since 2010. There
have been no voter prosecutions on his watch.
So it`s not as if there`s a crisis demanding a solution. And who are
those with their voting rights threatened? They are disproportionately
poor and minority. Not exactly the Romney voters.
No wonder that at a GOP state leadership meeting, the House
Republican leader recently said, "Voter ID, which is going to allow Mitt
Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done."
A court challenge is scheduled to be heard in just two weeks. In an
editorial yesterday, the "Philadelphia Inquirer" correctly noted this: What
a treacherous irony it would be if the presidential election was stolen not
by virtually nonexistent voter fraud but as a result of voter ID being
allowed to stand.
That`s HARDBALL for now. Thank you for being with us.
"POLITICS NATION" with Al Sharpton starts right now.
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text:
10 warning signs
Whether you're experiencing possible symptoms or are concerned for someone you care about, the Alzheimer Society has developed the following list of signs to look for:
- Memory loss affecting day-to-day abilities – forgetting things often or struggling to retain new information.
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks – forgetting how to do something you've been doing your whole life, such as preparing a meal or getting dressed.
- Problems with language – forgetting words or substituting words that don't fit the context.
- Disorientation in time and space – not knowing what day of the week it is or getting lost in a familiar place.
- Impaired judgment – not recognizing a medical problem that needs attention or wearing light clothing on a cold day.
- Problems with abstract thinking – not understanding what numbers signify on a calculator, for example, or how they're used.
- Misplacing things – putting things in strange places, like an iron in the freezer or a wristwatch in the sugar bowl.
- Changes in mood and behaviour – exhibiting severe mood swings from being easy-going to quick-tempered.
- Changes in personality – behaving out of character such as feeling paranoid or threatened.
- Loss of initiative – losing interest in friends, family and favourite activities.
If you are concerned about any of these signs, talk to your doctor.
Our "10 warning signs" brochure is also available from your local Alzheimer Society, or you can download the brochure (print-friendly version) or a one-page illustrated PDF from this site.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Central Connecticut softball team fell twice to Delaware State on Friday afternoon by scores of 2-1 and 4-1 at the Delaware State Tournament in Dover, DE. CCSU falls to 9-8 on the season with the losses and will continue tournament play tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, with a doubleheader against Cornell, set to begin at 10 a.m.
Game #1
Sophomore Eileen Purcell drove in CCSU's only run in the top of the sixth inning in Friday's first game.
Junior Laura Messina made her 13th appearance in the circle this season, tallying her ninth complete game. Messina struck out five batters, walked two and allowed five hits. With the loss, her record falls to 8-5.
Delaware (12-6) took the lead early in the first, notching their first run on two-out single. The Hornets increased their lead to two in the bottom of the third when Jessica Madrid singled and eventually stole home.
Down by two in the top of the sixth, CCSU narrowed the Hornet lead to one. Sophomore Evie Rentzel reached base on a Delaware error with just one out. She advanced to second on a single from senior Tessa Brown and then to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a ground out by Purcell.
The Blue Devils returned to the plate in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Kenya McVey led off the inning with a single up the middle and eventually advanced to second. With the tying run on and two outs, 2013 All-NEC First Team selection Arielle Bruno popped up to the Hornets' third baseman to end the game.
Central posted seven hits on the day, compared to five for Delaware.
Sophomore Hannah Cooper led CCSU at the plate, posting two singles in two at bats while also laying down a sacrifice bunt.
Game #2
Senior Julie Marks made her sixth appearance and third start of the season in CCSU's second game of the day against Delaware State. Marks faced 18 batters, allowed three earned runs and walked just one before being relieved by sophomore Sarah Gaalswijk after 2.1 innings.
Gaalswijk pitched the remainder of the game for CCSU, allowing just two hits and striking out one. Marks receives the loss and her record drops to 0-3 on the season.
Delaware kicked off game two by loading the bases in the bottom of the first. A single to left field plated the Hornets' first run, but the Central defense turned a double play on the next batter followed by a ground out to exit the inning.
CCSU went down by two in the bottom of the second. The Hornets put two runners in scoring position and plated one on a single up the middle. They added two more in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-0.
In the top of the sixth, junior Kat Malcolm led off with a triple through the right side, her first of the season. A Tessa Brown fly-out scored Malcolm to cut the deficit to three but CCSU would get no closer throughout the remainder of play.
The Blue Devils tallied six hits and two stolen bases in game two while stranding six runners on base. Delaware State posted 12 hits, just one stolen base and left 10 on base.
Malcolm led CCSU at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one run. Purcell also tallied two hits while Cooper and freshman Alexis Debrosse each added one.
Central returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, March 22, for doubleheader against Cornell set to begin at 10 a.m.


text:
a little man
Israel is nearly 17 months now, unbelievable how he's grown so big. I was watching him push his farm animals around the house in his wagon and had to laugh at how much he looks like a small man with his skinny jeans and plaid shirt. He's wearing cookie monster socks though, it's his secret to staying young.
Other Stories
13 comments:
totally dashing! redefining handsome.ReplyDelete
Utterly adorable.ReplyDelete
And just like a grownup man, his jeans are drooping of his flat butt! ;)ReplyDelete
What a sweet boy!
What a big boy!!! Sooooo cute:)ReplyDelete
aww! love him!ReplyDelete
He is so lovely!! My little boy loves cookie monster...He was so exited when we watched that clip! Thank you for sharing :)ReplyDelete
he he he is so cute....i love that he was wondering around with his farm animals on a mission to nowhere... dayle xReplyDelete
Oh what a cute big boy! I love the way he's keeping it real with the cookie monster socks. My youngest son insists on wearing a pair of socks with Lions on... I have to wash and dry them over night (note to self, buy more lion socks). p.s. love your blog, hopping over from Kerry @ TheSeventyTree. Lou xReplyDelete
He is so cute and adorable, they grew very fast, that's why we have to use our cameras to capture every moment. Have a good day!ReplyDelete
he is tooo cute, my little boy is 17 months and has me giggling constantly with the next thing he comes up with :-) I think they'd get on real well xxxReplyDelete
I look at my 15 month old everyday and ask "When did you get so tall and lean?" And when he wears skinny pants and his hiking boots he has a little man body. I totally know what you mean!ReplyDelete
how adorable!!! and what a stylish 17-months at that!ReplyDelete
so hipster. love it.ReplyDelete
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text:
Geographical coverage, rates and shipment
What countries is Unisa's online shop available to?
Our online shop is currently able to sell products in Spain and part of Europe, including the following countries. If you are using a mobile device, please rotate your screen horizontally or zoom in/out to preview this table correctly:
*The delivery times detailed on this chart are approximate, subject to business days and the picking timetables of the different transport agencies. During sales or special offers, the delivery time may be affected.
If you have any doubt please contact us on (+34) 900 400 440 (free call) or by email at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Story highlights
- FDA changes label requirements for sunlamps and UV lamps
- The FDA reclassifies them as "moderate-risk devices" instead of "low-risk"
- Dermatologists call for even stronger regulations
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a final decision to reclassify sunlamp products and ultraviolet or UV lamps used in indoor tanning salons.
The federal agency has changed the labeling requirements from low-risk to moderate-risk devices. They are also requiring the products carry a black box, visible to consumers, that states the products should not be used on people under age 18. Although a black box is the FDA's strongest warning, this does not outlaw or restrict these devices for minors.
According to the FDA, the lamps emit UV radiation that may cause skin cancer. The American Academy of Dermatology says studies have shown people who have been exposed to UV rays from indoor tanning have a 59% increase of developing melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
"The FDA has taken an important step today to address the risk to public health from sunlamp products," said Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health. "Repeated UV exposure from sunlamp products poses a risk of skin cancer for all users, but the highest risk for skin cancer is in young persons under the age of 18 and people with a family history of skin cancer."
Representatives for the Indoor Tanning Association, which represents indoor tanning manufacturers and distributors across the country, said they believe the FDA is responding to pressure from certain interest groups to put stronger regulations on indoor tanning beds.
"I just don't think the science is there," said John Overstreet, executive director of the association. "I think it's blown out of proportion. We are obviously disappointed in the FDA's latest moves."
The association's website promotes indoor tanning's "well-known side effect" of exposing skin to UV light as producing more vitamin D, which "plays an important role in maintaining good health." It suggests the "health benefits of indoor tanning deserve further research."
In 2009, the World Health Organization classified tanning beds as "carcinogenic to humans."
Skin cancer experts say it is about time these changes be put into effect.
"For years we have watched more and more people being diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Today the Food and Drug Administration made a decision that may turn that trend around, " said Tim Turnham, executive director for the Melanoma Research Foundation. "Like the tobacco industry, tanning salons market an addictive product disproportionately to teenagers and young women, playing on common insecurities."
"The FDA's decision to more strictly regulate tanning beds will save lives and serve as a valuable resource in efforts to slow down the increasing rate of melanoma, particularly in the young. By classifying tanning beds as Class II devices, tanning salons will now be required to demonstrate they are properly maintaining their equipment," he said.
Noting this is a good first step, other dermatologists said they hope the FDA will do more. Dr. George Verghese, director of Mid-Atlantic Skin Surgery Institute in Waldorf, Maryland, said he sees far too many patients at the practice with skin cancer. Many of them made tanning beds a regular habit.
"Those who use tanning beds on a regular basis, especially teens, have 10 times the risk of developing all three types of skin cancer, including melanoma, which is deadly," Verghese said.
"My youngest melanoma patient was 18. She was using tanning beds since she was 13. She has a huge scar on her back and is constantly being monitored. I think there should be restrictions on these devices for those under the age of 18, because teens don't understand the consequences, especially when they use the beds frequently," Verghese said. "I feel the black box will help, but there needs to be more restrictions put into place."
Even though there has been a push for the FDA to restrict people under 18 from using tanning beds, the FDA said that is not what the latest changes are about.
"That is an action (restricting teens from using tanning beds) we are willing to consider," said Nancy Stade, deputy director for policy at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health at the FDA, "But this is not what we are addressing today."
"Restricting teens' access to indoor tanning is critical to preventing skin cancer. As medical doctors who diagnose and treat skin cancer, dermatologists are committed to reducing its incidence and saving lives," said Dr. Brett M. Coldiron, a board-certified dermatologist and president of the American Academy of Dermatology Association. "Therefore, we will continue to communicate to the FDA the need for stricter regulations on the use and sale of indoor tanning devices for minors under the age of 18."


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Pete Kasperowicz
July 19, 2012
A bipartisan group of House members has proposed legislation that would make it easier for people to defend themselves in federal cases for possessing marijuana, if they can show that they are using marijuana for medical purposes in line with relevant state laws.
The Truth in Trials Act, H.R. 6134, was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), along with an eclectic mix of 15 House Democrats such as Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and three Republicans, including GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (Texas).
The bill would give people facing federal prosecution for marijuana possession the right to "introduce evidence demonstrating that the marijuana-related activities for which the person stands accused were performed in compliance with state law regarding the medical use of marijuana." It would also create an affirmative defense under federal law for marijuana possession.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!


text:
Featured Post
Is the new professionalism and ACP's new ethics really just about following guidelines?
The Charter ( Medical Professionalism in the New Millennium.A Physician's Charter) did not deal with just the important relationship of ...
Friday, August 19, 2005
"Addicted" to sun bathing ? Arch. Dermatology article
Some skeptics might say that this is really a stretch and one more example of a hypertrophied tendency to medicalize every human behavior and trait and a rampant nanny-ism wherein we must figure out a way to stop everyone from doing anything that might be considered foolish, unhealthy or contrary to what the nagging nannies would have us do or not do.
The Archives article suggested that the recognition of tanning as substance-related disorder opens the door to possible new techniques to curb the practice, particularly in regard to tanning salons and the legal prohibition of children using them. They say outdoor UV exposure control might be more problematic ( Ya think).
Hello, I'm Kevin, I'm a u-v light exposure holic. Hello Kevin. (And another thing is U-V light exposure a substance?
2 comments:
- Anonymous said...
"Some skeptics might say that this is really a stretch and one more example of a hypertrophied tendency to medicalize every human behavior..."
A while back there was a study on the psychological effects of UV light. The subjects were exposed to a light table either with or without UV (they didn't know which), and then allowed their choice of light table in a second session. Those who were exposed to UV had a strong preference for choosing UV again in the second session. This suggests that UV exposure does indeed create a psychological attraction. A more elaborate study would be nice, especially one using pleasure-blocking drugs. Other research has shown that short peptides related to tanning have psychological effects.
So it seems plausible.
- james gaulte said...
Laying out in the sun may well be enjoyable.There may well be some physiological correlate(s) of that pleasure, I suppose there must be.My two dogs seems to really like to lounge in the sun. Some enjoyable human behavior if done to extreme is associated with harm or risk of health consequences.Should we call that behavior a disease or a substance abuse disorder and mobilize the trappings of disease treatment or substance abuse control? Is it then a "public health problem"?


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Law enforcement sources say New York Rep. Michael Grimm is expected to face federal criminal charges as early as next week.
The exact charges were not immediately clear, but are believed to be centered around a private business deal that took place before he was elected to Congress.
Grimm's lawyer, William McGinley, confirmed in a statement that prosecutors have said they intend to file criminal charges.
"We are disappointed by the government's decision, but hardly surprised. From the beginning, the government has pursued a politically driven vendetta against Congressman Grimm and not an independent search for the truth," McGinley said. "Congressman Grimm asserts his innocence of any wrongdoing. When the dust settles, he will be vindicated."
No one answered the door at Grimm's home Friday night.
One of Grimm's fundraisers was arrested earlier this year by the FBI and is accused of using straw donors to funnel more than $10,000 into the Republican's campaign.
Grimm, a former FBI agent and U.S. Marine, is serving his second term representing Staten Island. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing in that case, which is still under investigation.
In January, he erupted at a local TV reporter on camera and threatened that he would "break you in half, like a boy" after the State of the Union address when he was asked about the federal investigation into his campaign finances.
He later apologized.


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Register on the forums to download actions, updates, etc.
Hi guys, I'm trying to use the Playmaker Actions script 'RewiredGetAxis.cs' but I'm getting this error: Assets/Rewired/RewiredGetAxis.cs(21,13): error CS0029: Cannot implicitly convert type `Rewired.Player' to `Player' .Can you help me?
any estimate on when those official rewired actions will be available? and will you be doing up documentation to go with it?
i feel kinda stupid now. the documentation you have is great, i was really impressed at how helpful and well made it all was. unfortunately i cant program and realized coding is necessary while going thru the quick start guide you made will coding still be required after you've done the official rewired playmaker support?
Care to shed some light? I am really at a loss on how to make the play maker actions send events etc. Rewired looks amazing but I just don't get how to make it work.


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Thursday, April 24, 2008
Hello and Goodbye
This version uses cream cheese, but we've done it using Teleme, and Crescenza (you'll have to Google them unless you are a real cheese head). Anyway, keep an eye on the blog while I'm gone. Enjoy!
The following video was originally included in a post entitled: "Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick!"
14 comments:
Meat "Pocky" snacks! :)
- April 24, 2008 at 3:46 PM
- Steffen P said...
Video no longer availible.. :(
Have a nice trip!
- April 24, 2008 at 4:53 PM
- Natalie Sztern said...
If i have read this right ur video is that of a passover appetizer?
if i read it wrong i apologize, but if it is indeed : there are some problems one being mixing the cheese with the meat and the second having it rolled around a breadstick as u mention....
- April 24, 2008 at 4:55 PM
- Natalie Sztern said...
as i said if i read it wrong i aplogize and I now do....being immersed in passover i read the appetizer as such instead of passport appetizer....what is a passport appetizer
- April 24, 2008 at 4:58 PM
- Chef John said...
thats just Youtube, try again it works, I just checked. Thanks!
- April 24, 2008 at 5:49 PM
- Chef John said...
passport not over. See post below
- April 24, 2008 at 5:50 PM
- PrimeBrit said...
You ROCK Chef. Have a great time...
- April 24, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Soppresata, paper-thin sliced, is my absolute favorite on sanwiches - it combines nicely with fresh high-moisture mozzarela and sweet basil + ripe meaty tomatoes. (One has to go easy on cream cheese or it will drown in the taste - I actually like it better with just few drops of olive oil and a pinch of salt.)
- April 25, 2008 at 4:18 PM
- Gulfdiver said...
Nice.. gotta try this with some ham/provolone/ baby swiss/ salami.. hell forget it.. I'ma make a sandwich now! Have a great time.. AND SEND PICS PLEASE!
- April 25, 2008 at 4:22 PM
- Graceful Babies said...
Love it! Great idea...I plan on using a version of this for my sons up comming birthday party...very cool!
- April 25, 2008 at 7:40 PM
- Steffen P said...
Apperently YouTube doesn't like me.. still no video for me..
- April 26, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- Steffen P said...
BTW the way, the post name Calabrese Lollipops – Antipasto on a stick! reminds me a lot of Jeff Dunham, and José Jalepeno.. great fun..
- April 28, 2008 at 1:21 PM
They look like a Chef John version of "goat peckers" (commonly seen at church potlucks, etc.).
- July 20, 2012 at 6:55 PM
- dandelion said...
Could I use Quark in exchange for the cheese? It is a little bit more tart.
- January 9, 2014 at 9:57 AM


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Here at New Belgium, we continually strive to honor nature at every turn of our business, and to work toward continuous, innovative quality and efficiency improvements. We hold all elements of our business to these values, including the packaging which we utilize to deliver our product to the customer. We assess packaging decisions through a holistic process that takes into account the total life cycle of materials and systems; evaluating an array of environmental & social factors, alongside packaging integrity, performance, and economics.
We envision a future with cradle-to-cradle packaging design and higher recycling & recovery rates across the U.S., and we believe that an approach which combines both action and advocacy across the beverage industry & supply chain will help to move the needle on these issues.
We have established goals for packaging sustainability, focusing upon four key areas: Source Reduction, Sustainable Material Selection & Design, Optimizing Efficiency, and Recovery & Recycling Advocacy. CHECK OUT OUR PACKAGING REDUCTION GOALS HERE!
We are big proponents of the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility, which argues that the manufacturer of a product should be responsible for its end of life, including designing for recyclability and supporting policy which increases recycling rates. One recent success in this arena is the Glass Recycling Coalition: we recently co-founded the GRC in order to bring people and businesses together to make glass recycling work! Visit the their website to learn more about glass recycling in your community.
We are often asked which container is the most sustainable option. Drinking draft beer from a reusable cup is the choice that we tend to recommend as the most sustainable, but all three containers have their ups and downs. We want our consumers to be informed when the package choice is presented, so we made this handy decision map for you to check out, along with plenty of nerdy details below!
Comprehensive, unbiased studies comparing the total environmental impact of glass bottles to that of aluminum cans do not exist, so we see a lot of guessing going on out there and many of those guesses are being stated as though they were ultimate facts.
Below are some questions we hear often along with answers based on the research we've done. Remember, though, that since a comprehensive study has never been conducted, we don't really know which container is ultimately environmentally superior.
Which container - bottle or can - comes closest to being sustainable?
With the data we have reviewed, no clear winner.
The beginning of the lifecycle of the aluminum can (mining of bauxite, smelting of aluminum) has a larger impact than glass. But later in their lifecycles, the glass bottle has the larger impact (heavier to transport & more difficult to recycle). At the end of the day it's possible they even out.
The best container is the one that ends up in the recycling bin.
Both aluminum and glass can be recycled an infinite number of times and doing so has many benefits:
But I thought cans were more sustainable because they're lighter to ship?
It is true that cans, since they're lighter & they stack better, require less fuel for shipping than bottles. However, this is one small segment of the containers' lifecycle, and not enough info to make a verdict.
But I thought glass bottles were more sustainable because the mining of bauxite to make aluminum is destructive and toxic?
The same notions apply here as to the question above. Mining of bauxite has huge ecological impacts that are arguably greater than those of mining sand for glass, but again, it's only one segment of the lifecycle.
What can beer drinkers do to make a meaningful difference?
Recycle your cans and bottles! If you are at a bar or restaurant that does not recycle, encourage them to do so. This website is a good place to look for local recycling facilities, as is a meeting with your local waste hauler.
Little nerd note: Glass is difficult to pull out at a sorting facility, so throwing it in your commingled bin doesn't ensure it will be recycled. Implementing a glass-only recycling bin and locating a glass-only collection spot in your area will give the glass the best chance of being recycled.
How can my love for drinking beer have the absolute lowest impact today?
Drink draft beer out of a reusable cup.
What is New Belgium Brewing doing to make a difference?


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We'll be posting a news release on this shortly, but we've issued the following fines and other enforcement actions:
- Fidelity National Title Insurance Co. and Chicago Title Insurance Co.: Fined $100,000 for wrongfully offering discount club memberships to people who were in a position to send title business to the companies.
- Aetna Life Insurance Co.: Fined $20,000 for failing to promptly handle appeals from consumers.
- Charter Warranty Services, Inc., Mechanical Breakdown Protection, Inc., and Paul Pawlusiak, of Detroit, Mich.: Ordered to stop selling unauthorized motor vehicle service contacts.
- Scott L. Stevens and RV Protection.net, of Mill Creek: Ordered to stop acting as an agent for a service contract provider not authorized to do business in Washington state.
- Cynthia L. Rushing, of Spokane: License revoked for misappropriating funds.
- Trevor D'Jon Losse, of Cle Elum: Fined $1,000 for multiple violations, including failing to disclose other state disciplinary actions against him.
- Robert Tychsen, of El Cajon, Calif.: Fined $1,750 for selling insurance in Washington without a license.
- Douglas D. Wellsandt, of Hayden, Idaho: Fined $5,000 for violations including falsely stating that Washington policies had been sold in Idaho.
- Ross S. Wolf, of Sammamish: Fined $2,000 for violations including acting as an insurance company's agent without having been appointed by the company.
The fines collected do not go to the agency. They are deposited in the state's general fund to pay for other state services.
Washington consumers with questions, problems or complaints can call us at 1-800-562-6900 or e-mail email@example.com. (Not in Washington? Here's how to reach your state's insurance regulator.)


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When Gordon Huggins reported to Oriole Park on Sept. 30, he knew it might be his final time in the stadium. His fellow ushers knew it, too.
After 50 years as an Orioles usher, Huggins decided to retire at the end of this season. His 50-year recognition by the Orioles in May included an opportunity to throw out the first pitch at a home game, and he was also featured on a WBAL-TV segment.
But his co-workers and the season-ticket holders in his lower-deck sections weren't about to let the longtime Eldersburg resident leave without some additional fanfare.
They threw him a surprise party before the Sept. 30 game, the final home game of the regular season, a gesture that Huggins greatly appreciated. When he got home, his wife Carol had also planned a surprise party to honor a man who had seen every great Oriole moment since 1962.
But as it turned out, Sept. 30 wasn't Huggins' last day at the 21-year old ballpark.
Hours after the Orioles completed a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, Huggins' favorite team clinched its first postseason berth in 15 years when the Texas Rangers knocked the Los Angeles Angels from the playoffs.
Baltimore was in ... and that meant that Huggins was back at his post last Sunday and Monday for the first two games of the American League Division Series between the Orioles and New York Yankees.
With the Orioles perched to face the Yankees tonight (Friday, Oct. 12) in game five of the ALDS, Huggins may still have some games left this year at Camden Yards.
But even if he doesn't, the team's return to the playoffs has aleady been memorable.
"It's wonderful, almost a surreal experience," said Huggins after the Orioles and Yankees split the first two games of the five-game series. "Since the beginning of August, the fans at the ballpark have been really excited. They are certainly into it, and it's a more enthusiastic atmosphere than I've seen here in a long time."
Huggins has witnessed six World Series and countless other historic moments in his five decades at Memorial Stadium and Oriole Park. He compared this team with the 1989 Orioles, who rebounded from the worst season in team history a year earlier to finish 87-75 and nearly won the American League East pennant the following season.
"This season certainly ranks up there with the 1989 'Why Not?' campaign," Huggins said. "I've seen a lot of old 'Why Not?' T-shirts in the stands lately."
Before the start of the season, the Orioles were picked to finish last in the American League East by every major publication. When Huggins reported for Opening Day on April 6, he was hoping to see an improved Orioles' team. But he didn't expect to be working deep into October.
He began to believe that this season — his last — would be different on May 6, when the Orioles won a 17-inning marathon over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
"That was so unusual," he said. "Those were the kind of games that the Orioles lost before. I felt that it was a good omen when (Orioles' outfielder-designated hitter) Chris Davis pitched the final inning and got the win."
Huggins recalled two special September nights at Oriole Park that had a profound impact on the team's success. On Sept. 6, the statue of Cal Ripken, Jr. was unveiled, just before the Orioles hit seven home runs in a 10-6 defeat of the Yankees. While that was exciting for Huggins — who witnessed both of Ripken's MVP seasons and the record-breaking 2,131 game — a critical matchup against Tampa Bay on Sept. 12 brought another memorable moment.
"When we called up Manny Machado, that move greatly improved the defense and helped the pitching staff," Huggins recalled. "Late in that game, Machado caught a grounder and faked the throw to first base, then turned around and threw to J.J. Hardy at third. The Tampa Bay player went for the fake and overran the base, and eventually was tagged out. In all my years of watching Oriole games, I'd never seen that happen."
Huggins credits Oriole manager Buck Showalter for engineering the turnaround.
"Buck changed the whole atmosphere," Huggins said. "This team seemed to gel, and their success goes back to Buck's managing."
While giving Showalter his due, Huggins credits the players for responding to the manager's leadership.
"Adam Jones is at the top of the list," Huggins said, praising the club's recently-chosen Most Valuable Player. "Nick Markakis was doing so well until he broke his thumb. J.J. Hardy has been great all year defensively, and you have to remember Chris Davis and Mark Reynolds hitting all of those home runs."
But like most veteran baseball watchers, Huggins knows that good pitching was the key to winning.
"We had pitchers like Miguel Gonzalez, Steve Johnson, and Chris Tillman come through," Huggins said. "And you have to give credit to (catcher) Matt Wieters. The success of the pitching staff has to be placed on his shoulders."
Despite the Orioles' amazing comeback season and seemingly bright future, Huggins hasn't reconsidered his decision to make the 2012 season his last.
"It was a lot of fun, but I'm very set on retiring," he said. "I didn't get to personally meet Buck, but he was kind enough to autograph a baseball for me before the regular season ended."
And what did the Orioles' skipper write on Huggins' keepsake?
"He signed it, 'To Gordon, congratulations on No. 50'," Huggins said proudly.


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Sun Valley, ID — January 3rd, 2012— SCOTT Sports today announced it will shift gears in the aftermarket bike accessories business and take over the Syncros brand to become a major supplier in the parts and accessories market. Syncros was founded in 1986 by Peter Hamilton and Pippin Osborne as a small, high-end components company on Vancouver's North Shore. After a few changes in ownership, Tom Ritchey made the most recent buy in 2003, and under his guidance, Syncros returned to its roots as a leading manufacturer of high end mountain bike components focused on the All Mountain, Freeride, and Downhill categories.
SCOTT will give Syncros the necessary support to design outstanding products and will enlarge the line by expanding into Cross Country and Road categories. A dedicated design and engineering team has been created, and they have already begun developing innovative products for future Syncros lines. The products will be built to reflect SCOTT's high standards for technology while also keeping top-to-bottom integration in mind. This type of product integration will cultivate new levels of innovation, adding further value to SCOTT bikes.
"We have always believed that the Syncros name has had an excellent image in the industry," adds SCOTT Sports Vice President, Pascal Ducrot. "Our priority was to find a way to increase our offering of parts and accessories while still maintaining our relationship with Ritchey, our long-term partner. The purchase of Syncros was the perfect solution and we look forward to offering our dealers a full line of new parts and accessories with the same high quality standards as our bikes."
Syncros will be distributed through the SCOTT network of dedicated dealers around the globe. SCOTT currently offers dealers a full range of bikes, clothing, bike shoes, and helmets. The addition of Syncros parts and accessories will further strengthen this package, giving dealers more to offer. SCOTT will present the complete range of new Syncros products to the public during the 2012 Eurobike show.
Source: Lars-Erik Johnson


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Everyday I am going to try to work on a drawing or painting (I've been working long hours on a painting video; other times, I'm reading, or writing).
Today I tested charcoal and then drew a skeleton from which emerged a woman. Since she has a basket of fruit, which are probably apples, she's come in from her tree, whose shadow I almost drew next to her too.
After I made the little drawing I understood that the woman was shredded in some way internally, where you can't see. The paper was torn deliberately along certain pathways to enhance the internal state in the way that you see here. I will glue it leaving those edges detached so that the shadows of the paper itself remain.


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Grill the lettuce? Trust us, you'll make this dish again and again.
- Yield
- Makes 4 servings
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- 3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup minced shallots
- 2 tablespoons drained capers
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 1 3/4 pounds)
- 2 hearts of romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise, core left intact
- Shaved Manchego or Parmesan cheese
- Preheat barbecue (medium-high heat). Puree vinegar and next 4 ingredients in small processor until almost smooth. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Combine chicken and 1/4 cup dressing in medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Place romaine, cut side up, on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup dressing; turn to coat. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Grill romaine until charred and slightly wilted on all sides, about 2 minutes.
- Transfer 1 chicken breast and 1 romaine spear to each of 4 plates. Drizzle chicken with remaining dressing, sprinkle generously with cheese, and serve.
One serving contains the following: Calories (kcal) 525.03; % Calories from Fat 61.9; Fat (g) 36.11; Saturated Fat (g) 7.27; Cholesterol (mg) 119.76; Carbohydrates (g) 3.48; Dietary Fiber (g) 0.79; Total Sugars (g) 1.34; Net Carbs (g) 2.69; Protein (g) 43.41


text: Check out progress of Hamline's university center project Hamline is raising money to build a University Center! The new building, to be located on the prominent corner of Snelling and Englewood, will be the official entrance to campus.Opening up a vista on residential life at Hamline and to Hamline United Methodist Church, an icon of Hamline's founding tradition, the center will create an image that reflects the university's commitment to being diverse and learning-centered.The University Center will invite living and learning activities with the amenities of good food, essential services, and spaces that fit the users and purposes of gathering together. The University Center will have quiet places and robust spaces for faculty, staff, and all students to meet, collaborate, and build community. Click here to learn more about the University Center.


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Leah Remini opened up about her life since leaving Scientology on the season premiere of Ellen Monday.
"It's hard. We lost friends who can no longer talk to us who are still in the organization," Remini said. "But we have other friends, who are not in the church, who have stood by us, and that's all we can ask for."
News that Remini left the church first broke in July. Her appearance on Monday's episode to talk about her upcoming stint on Dancing with the Stars was one of the first times the former sitcom star has spoken publicly about why she left Scientology. "My mother got involved when we were very young, so it's all we really knew. But over time, my eyes got opened, and I could just no longer be affiliated with the organization, and my family felt the same, so we left," she said.
To hear more about Remini's exit from the church and how her Dancing with the Stars practices are going so far, check out the clip below:
Dancing with the Stars premieres Monday, Sept. 16 at 8/7c on ABC.


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Background and History
GSA provides centralized procurement for the federal government, offering billions of dollars worth of products, services, and facilities that federal agencies need to serve the public.
GSA's acquisition solutions supply federal purchasers with cost-effective high-quality products and services from commercial vendors. GSA helps federal agencies build and acquire office space, products and other workspace services, and oversees the preservation of historic federal properties. Its policies covering travel, property and management practices promote efficient government operations.
GSA helps keep the nation safe by providing tools, equipment, and non-tactical vehicles to the U.S. military, and providing state and local governments with law enforcement equipment, firefighting and rescue equipment, and disaster recovery products and services.
GSA serves the public and makes government easier by offering free access to and information about government programs with these websites:
- USA.gov, official portal to federal government information;
- gobiernoUSA.gov, Spanish counterpart of USA.gov;
- publications.USA.gov, Federal Citizen Information Center;
- Consumer protection on USA.gov, consumer action website;
- Consumer protection in Spanish on gobiernoUSA.gov;
- kids.gov, official kids portal for the U.S. government.
The National Contact Center also provides free telephone assistance at 800-FED-INFO, with email and online assistance to the public.
Deliver value and savings in real estate, acquisition, technology, and other mission-support services across Government.
Effective and efficient Government for the American people.
GSA was established by President Harry Truman on July 1, 1949, to streamline the administrative work of the federal government. GSA consolidated the National Archives Establishment, the Federal Works Agency and its Public Buildings Administration, the Bureau of Federal Supply and the Office of Contract Settlement, and the War Assets Administration into one federal agency tasked with administering supplies and providing workplaces for federal employees. (Read more)
Only one percent of GSA's total budget is provided through direct congressional appropriations. The majority of GSA's operating costs are recovered through the products and services it provides.
GSA leads the way in green building design, construction, retrofit and sustainable operations and maintenance. GSA is building a 21st century government that procures and manages technology solutions in smart, secure, and affordable ways. It supports reductions in federal government real estate costs and increases in workplace efficiencies by strategically integrating space, people, and technology solutions customized to different workplace needs.


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Thailand Post asks us to inform the designated operators of other Union member countries that heavy rain and flooding in the southern part of the country are having an impact on mail operations and transportation, resulting in delays in the delivery of letter post, parcels and EMS items throughout the provinces and regions affected.
The following postcode areas are affected to a greater or lesser extent by floods:
77xxx, 80xxx, 84xxx, 85xxx, 86xxx, 90xxx, 92xxx, 93xxx, 94xxx and 96xxx.
Thailand Post thanks all member countries for their understanding and will update the designated operators through EmIS as soon as the situation returns to normal.


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Calculate the stamp duty charged for the purchase of property.
Calculate the stamp duty charged for the purchase of property in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These calculations are for the 2020/21 tax year.
Note: These calculations are only for illustrative purposes and are not a substitute for professional advice.
Why not contact Tish Leibovitch today for more information or a FREE no obligation quote.
On 2 September 2020, the government's £2 billion Kickstart Scheme opened for employer applications.
HMRC are inviting those individuals that are self employed or a member of a partnership and have been adversely affected by coronavirus to claim a second grant under the Self Employed Income Support Grant.


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Digital assets are a key component of almost all web experience and customer engagement projects. In today's era of engagement with all of the additional content targeting, personalization, internationalization and multi-channel publishing the number and permutation of digital assets associated with any given project are growing rapidly. This trend will only continue as we move forward. Content workers (authors, designers, content mangers) need to be able to create, locate, modify and manage the growing number of assets easily and efficiently in order to maintain brand quality and deliver projects on time and on budget.
In today's blog entry we're going to focus on the creative side of WCM (Web Content Management) and DAM (Digital Asset Management) even though this is only a small portion of the overall set of use cases.
Let's begin by considering the following example use cases:
- Create mobile appropriate image resolution variants
- Create video stills
- Imprint watermarks
- Thumbnails for galleries and promotional kickers
Each of these use cases are important ingredients in providing the user with a great experience but they also introduce a lot of additional work for our content teams. One of the ways to deal with the large volume of asset creation and manipulation responsibilities is to automate them. The use cases mentioned above and many others like them are a perfect candidate for automation.
Crafter Rivet leverages Alfresco's enterprise content management services for image transformation. With a few simple rules applied at the repository level it's possible to provide your content team with image resolution variants, video stills, apply watermarks, to scale and crop thumbnails and then to make these assets available for review by our authors all in an automated fashion with no additional labor required beyond uploading the canonical assets.
Another important way to help our content teams cope with the sheer volume of digital asset related workload is to make sure our teams are able to work with the very best tools at their disposal. With today's modern browsers it is possible to provide a fairly decent set of tools / asset manipulation functionality right with-in the browser. However, while purely web-based tools have their advantages they are often slower and much less powerful than the desktop tools serious content contributors are used to working with.
The biggest productivity boosts are gained when we empower our designers and other content workers on our team with rich, native tools that they are already familiar with and work with on a daily basis.
Adobe's creative suite (which contains tools like PhotoShop) is the quintessential software package for image/digital asset creation and manipulation. Designers are deeply familiar with these tools and are able to leverage their enormous arsenal of capability to accomplish a tremendous amount of work in a short amount of time. The issue that many organizations often face, is that while the tools themselves are great, the interfaces between the tools and the systems that ultimately store, manage and deliver the assets are either non-existent, human-process based, or have clunky integration. This gap creates a drag on the margin of productivity and introduces room for error.
Fortunately Alfresco, Adobe and Crafter Rivet Web Experience Management have a solution that connects rich, creative desktop tools, to your systems of record (e.g. repository) and ultimately to your systems of engagement (e.g. website) in a seamless fashion. Content creators work right with-in the rich, local tools that they are familiar and productive with and those tools are deeply integrated with the repository which means that all of the organization, policies, metadata extraction, and versioning provided by the repository etc are seamlessly integrated and enforced. Alfresco is a CMIS (Content Management Interoperability Standard) compliant repository. This standards based interface enables it to communicate with external applications like Adobe's products in order to interact with and operate on the content, metadata, permissions, versions and so on housed within the repository. Adobe provides a platform called Adobe Drive which enables its tools to connect in a rich fashion over CMIS to Alfresco. Once we've connected our Adobe tools and our Alfresco repository authors working within Crafter Studio, the authoring and management component of Crafter Rivet can now see content updates coming from the Adobe tools right in context with the work they are doing through in context preview and editing. They can also interact with that content through the web based tools, workflow, versioning, metadata capture and publishing capabilities of Crafter Studio.
By closing the integration gap we can now provide powerful tools for productivity and at the same time do so in a way that makes it seamless and easy for our creative teams to collaborate across the entire process.
Click on the video below to see Adobe and Crafter Rivet WEM / Alfresco in action together!
Crafter Rivet is a 100% open source, java based web CMS for web experience management and customer engagement. Learn more about Crafter Rivet at crafterrivet.org


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As of the last update, we have found no reported interactions between this medicine and specific foods, supplements, or other compounds. It is possible that unknown interactions exist. Taking medicines with meals, on an empty stomach, or with alcohol may influence their effects; refer to the Uses and Precautions tabs or to the manufacturers' package information for details as this is not covered in Nutrient Interactions. If you take medication, always discuss the potential risks and benefits of adding a new supplement with your doctor or pharmacist.
Drug Interactions
Drug interactions may change how your medications work or increase your risk for serious side effects. This document does not contain all possible drug interactions. Keep a list of all the products you use (including prescription/nonprescription drugs and herbal products) and share it with your doctor and pharmacist. Do not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicines without your doctor's approval.
Some products that may interact with this drug include: aliskiren, ACE inhibitors (such as captopril, lisinopril), angiotensin II receptor blockers (such as losartan, valsartan), antihistamines applied to the skin (such as diphenhydramine cream, ointment, spray), cidofovir, corticosteroids (such as prednisone), lithium, "water pills" (diuretics such as furosemide).
This medication may increase the risk of bleeding when taken with other drugs that also may cause bleeding. Examples include anti-platelet drugs such as clopidogrel, "blood thinners" such as dabigatran/enoxaparin/warfarin, among others.
Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking other products that cause drowsiness such as opioid pain or cough relievers (such as codeine, hydrocodone), alcohol, marijuana (cannabis), drugs for sleep or anxiety (such as alprazolam, lorazepam, zolpidem), muscle relaxants (such as carisoprodol, cyclobenzaprine), or other antihistamines (such as cetirizine, chlorpheniramine).
Check the labels on all your medicines (such as allergy or cough-and-cold products) because they may contain ingredients that cause drowsiness. Ask your pharmacist about using those products safely.
Check all prescription and nonprescription medicine labels carefully since many medications contain pain relievers/fever reducers (aspirin, NSAIDs such as celecoxib, ibuprofen, or ketorolac). These drugs are similar to naproxen and may increase your risk of side effects if taken together. However, if your doctor has directed you to take low-dose aspirin to prevent heart attack or stroke (usually at dosages of 81-325 milligrams a day), you should continue taking the aspirin unless your doctor instructs you otherwise. Daily use of naproxen may decrease aspirin's ability to prevent heart attack/stroke. Talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits. Ask about other medications that can be used to treat pain/fever.
This medication may interfere with certain laboratory tests (including allergy skin test), possibly causing false test results. Make sure laboratory personnel and all your doctors know you use this drug.
Copyright © 2020 TraceGains, Inc. All rights reserved.
RxAnswers™ is a copyrighted combined product from TraceGains and First DataBank, Inc.
Drug information is selected from data included with permission and copyrighted by First DataBank, Inc. This is a summary and does not contain all possible information about this product. For complete information about this product or your specific health needs, ask your healthcare professional. Always seek the advice of your healthcare professional if you have any questions about this product or your medical condition. This information is not intended as individual medical advice and does not substitute for the knowledge and judgment of your healthcare professional. This information does not contain any assurances that this product is safe, effective or appropriate for you.
This information is intended only for residents of the United States. Products sold under the same brand names in other countries may contain different ingredients.
Learn more about First DataBank
There are some limitations on the information provided in "Nutrient Interactions." Do NOT rely solely on the information in this article. Please read the disclaimer.
Learn more about TraceGains, the company.
TraceGains and/or its suppliers make no warranties or representations as to the accuracy or completeness of this content herein or that of any organization referred or linked to within this content and will not be liable for any damages arising out of your access to or use of any information found herein or that of any organization referred to within this content.
Information expires December 2020.
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