text:
The Golden Apple Dinner Theatre has opened its new cabaret show, "The Musical Magic of Hayes and Hyman," and if you like nostalgia, schtick, great songs that bring back memories and some of the best pianism around, you've got to go!
Dick Hyman, at age 82, is one of the greatest pianists anywhere. He has technique to burn and a way of tearing up the keyboard that brings back memories of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Teddy Wilson and Erroll Garner, except he'd make them jealous.
Bill Hayes, at age 84, is suave, commanding and vocally fit. In fact, he sounds pretty much the same as he sounded when he sang on Sid Caesar's "Show of Shows" and made a world-wide hit of "No Other Love" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Me and Juliet," in which he also starred.
In fact, from his hit with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett," to his long-running part in the TV soap, "Days of Our Lives," Hayes' career has scored one hit after another.
The Hayes and Hyman show, however, is going to be much more of a hit with the World War II-through-baby-boomer set than their children or grandchildren. From start to finish, it's an evening of nostalgia and memories. Maybe that's why the second part of the show was so much more endearing than the first, which was snippets of songs and medleys from the '40s and '50s. From Arthur Godfrey — "Strip Polka" and "She's Too Fat for Me" — to the Everly Brothers and early Elvis, Part I was a trip down the pop-memory lane of the 60-plus set.
But Part II brought on the real recollections with a 21st-century, multi-media presentation of their baby pictures; high-school- and college-yearbook photos; war-time slides; and some terrific kinescopes of early, historic television shows featuring Hyman and Hayes with the likes of Olson and Johnson, and Dizzy Gillespie. If you lived through those years, you'll go nuts in this part.
Hyman's droll humor offsets Hayes' schtick. And, together, they have more bad "uncle" jokes than the Internet. The script, which was a bit stilted and self-conscious opening night, is bound to loosen up as the pair starts playing together. But, for sheer spectacular music-making and memories, this is the show to catch. From Hyman's settings of Shakespearian songs sung by Hayes and Woody Allen soundtracks on the screen, to his incredible accompanying of Hayes' tour-de-force presentation of the extremely difficult "Soliloquy" from "Carousel," the Hayes and Hyman show is the perfect way to look back on a golden era.
The Golden Apple Dinner Theatre has opened its new cabaret show, "The Musical Magic of Hayes and Hyman," and if you like nostalgia, schtick, great songs that bring back memories and some of the best pianism around, you've got to go!


text:
Dec 4, 2006
Max and Daddy got all bundled up and immediately ran out in the yard to throw snowballs at each other. When Sammy woke up he joined them and I had a hard time getting them to come inside for breakfast. I'm so glad D doesn't have to go in early on Mondays because he got to spend some time playing with them before work. (He was probably really late, but it was worth it.)
So like I said, tomorrow is Maxwell's birthday. He's turning 5 and is SO excited. We're having a little party for him tomorrow night and will be decorating graham cracker houses. He's also requested a snowman cake which I'm sure I'll be working on all day tomorrow.
In other Max news, he's become somewhat of a mystic. A few months ago he got a Magic Pirate Skull toy in his Happy Meal. You shake it, ask it a question, and then lift its eye patch for your answer. Unlike the "Magic Eight Ball", it gives answers like "Nay Scullywag", "Aye Captain", "Yo Ho maybe so!" and "Aye! Smooth Sailing Ahead". Max consults it on all the important issues in his life. For example: "Pirate! Will Daddy let me brush my teeth by myself tonight???" (Turns out it was wrong that time...there was no smooth sailing ahead.) OR: "Pirate, will friends come over today?", and "Pirate, can I have Mac and Keys for lunch today?" He relies on it for answers to all of his most pressing questions and since I have to read him the answers, it's usually right on!
Sammers is our adorable little bi-polar. He goes from being sweet and happy one minute, to screaming like a possessed banshee the next. (Ahh, two year olds...) Generally, he stays pretty happy but mess with his food, binky, or trains and you take your life into your own hands. He's talking a lot more now but I'm afraid only his immediate family can understand him -- and sometimes only Max. I think this is due to the fact that he's been learning to talk around a pacifier which tends to slur speech a bit. (re: picture - He's adopted my spare sunglasses and demands them every time we get in the car.)
D is almost finished with his current rotation which means in a few weeks he'll be able to come home at 5:30 instead of 9:30 pm. We're all very much looking forward to that. Oh yeah, D blogged all about our activities yesterday and like I've said before, I don't want to duplicate effort, so if you're curious about our latest adventure, click HERE.
I am in my 17th week of pregnancy and have been feeling SO MUCH BETTER. I did throw-up today but I think it had more to do with the fact that I'm hypoglycemic and put 10-spoonfuls-too-much brown sugar on my Cream of Wheat -- not the fact that I'm pregnant. Whoops.
As for Baby: "The baby weighs in at about 5 ounces (142 grams). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta. No new structures have formed. Loud noises outside may actually cause the baby to startle." (This ultrasound pic is of a 17 week old baby... just not my baby. My ultrasound is on December 22nd. Fae's birthday!!!)
The other day I went to visit a friend who has a brand new baby. As I held the adorable tiny thing on my tummy, she got a kick in her little bum from a jealous un-born. Or maybe it was just a friendly "Hello Baby! Can't wait to meet you in a few months!" Either way, it was a pretty good jab. Another soccer player in the making perhaps?
Now it's time to get Maxer ready for school. You'd think it'd be easy to get to school on time when it starts at 12:30 but that's only if you stop blogging at some point in the morning. So, until I post again...! Adios!!!
6 comments:
- Linz said...
Sounds like you have had some fun! I am so glad that you are feeling better! Woohoo!
Max actually thought it would be fun to begin to start the snowball fight in the office while I was doing some exercises! (It actually was fun) =)
Hey, that little soccer player better be a girl. I love it when you update us on those 3 cute boys. If D woke me up at 6:30 to show me that yucky white stuff ... Hmm I'd, I'd...You're a good woman E. Happy Birthday to the big M! Can it really have been 5 years ago??
- Emily said...
It sounds like Bammers and Aidan were cut from the same mold. I can't keep up with his mood changes. I'm glad you only throw-up now when you OD on sugar. That's an improvement. We have yet to receive snow and I hope it stays that way...not that it will but a girl has to have dreams, right?
- mama bear said...
our snow is finally melting from Monday, blech! what cute little matchy matchy boys you have! by the way, happy number 5 for the maxers!
- Emily said...
I think I need one of those magic pirates!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Beat the Streak Report: Wednesday, May 18
Yesterday was a wet and wild one in Streakland. With monsoon season in full effect and four of 15 contests canceled, galoshes and an umbrella were practically requirements for making a pick.
Streakers came through impressively, however, with popularity kings Robinson Cano, Ichiro Suzuki and Joey Votto boarding the ark and sailing a combined 21.7 of all selectors to safety.
Today should bring more of the same, as Al Roker peered into his crystal ball this morning and foresaw continued downpours across the Eastern seaboard. Hatches are being battened down and essential provisions hoarded. In times like these, though, there's only one place to turn for inspiration: "The Perfect Storm." Take us away, Marky Mark:
"I loved you the moment I saw you. I love you now, and I'll love you forever. No goodbye. There's only love."
Come on, Mark — not that one. Clooney, save us here?
"The fog's just lifting. Throw off your bow line; throw off your stern. You head out to South channel, past Rocky Neck and Ten Pound Island. The guys are busy — you're in charge. You know what? You're a swordboat captain! Is there any thing better in the world?"
We didn't see the end of that movie, but we assume everyone made it back safe and sound with plenty of fish and then the Red Sox won the World Series, right?
Wednesday's picks:
(Make a BTS pick)
Oh, hello there …
Andre Ethier: .500 (22-for-44) since '06 vs. Giants starer Matt Cain
David DeJesus: .400 (10-for-25) since '06 vs. Twins starter Carl Pavano
Shane Victorino: .444 (4-for-9) since '06 vs. Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa
Placido Polanco: .400 (4-for-10) since '06 vs. Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa
Feeling kinda spicy?
Luke Scott: .545 (6-for-11) since '06 vs. Yankees starter Bartolo Colon
Austin Kearns: .429 (6-for-14) since '06 vs. White Sox starter Jake Peavy
You'll thank me later …
Michael Bourn: .148 (4-for-27) since '06 vs. Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse
Howard Kendrick: .158 (3-for-19) since '06 vs. Mariners starter Jason Vargas
Jose Reyes: .133 (2-for-15) since '06 vs. Nationals starter Tom Gorzelanny
Miguel Cabrera: .100 (1-for-10) since '06 vs. Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz
Leaderboard time!
Current leader buddycrise reached 28 games with Martin Prado yesterday and now sits just two games back of the season lead. Oh, and another 28 games back from a little thing we like to call 5.6 million buckaroos.
Top MLB streakers
Ramon Hernandez: 11 games
Jhonny Peralta: 11 games
Jason Bartlett: 9 games
Austin Jackson: 9 games
Martin Prado: 9 games
(Make a BTS pick)
45 Comments
@Ian. Not so sure about that Ethier recommendation: 0 for last 4 games, 2 for last 21? Stats are one thing, slumps are another. Cain is no slouch
@Champ88. Look at yesterday's blog. Left a tip for you
Note to self. Bud Norris pitching today. No Stl for me. That being said Puj, Holli and Berk probly go off. I'm again sticking with my hot hand in Marty Prado. Darwin Barney (who has been hitting the crap out of everything lately) also got some consideration as well as Mike Young.
Specifically, I see NYY/BAL, DET/BOS, COL/PHI, and WAS/NYM as games to completely avoid due to weather. It's a little more iffy for PIT/CIN and CLE/CWS, but they should be able to play. Personally, I'm picking Brandon Phillips for the first time this season. There simply aren't a lot of good choices yet again today.
Hochevar not starting for KC. Could change things for Michael Young. Danny Duffy making his major league debut.
I looked at the probables for the first time this morning and Danny Duffy was already posted.
So Hochevar was only up there if you were looking long-term.
Did Hochevar get hurt or simply get demoted?
Picking a familiar person every day isn't going to cut it. That person will more than likely be the one who gets shut down where somebody like Jack Cust will get a hit that particular day. It's going to take time and out of the way picks to win this thing.
Depends on how many familiars one has :). The idea that one has to go out on a limb to win this thing is an idea I don't agree with. But sticking to a select few will burn you sooner or later; that I do agree on.
For example, I use btwn 25-35 in a pool and whittle them down to a final 4. That pool of hitters don't have an average less than 295. I then scrutinize the final 4 and make my primary/secondary picks. The secondary is in case primary is benched or rain likely. My final four today, for example, are Lowrie, Votto, Polanco, Joyce.
How do you decide who gets entry into that pool?
Does that mean that Carl Crawford has to hit .600 in June to get in?
Not something willing to share right now. It's a new program I wrote last weekend and am using it to help make picks. So far, I am quite pleased. Not only am I on a 10-gamer, I have 18 hits in those 10 games (maybe another one b4 today ends). All my 1st hits are off the starters too. Quite pleased, but it isn't fine tuned yet.
^^ edited: Wrote 2 weekends ago (after that last massacre when STL & my pick was 1-hit by Gallardo). Made me so mad I decided to try some new automation.
Keith, can you run 2500 tonight? I can but it wouldn't b untill about 830-9 eastern.
Sure, just post a reply to it that updates us on the PH & reset rates. Let me know if you'll need the data I pull.
Today's Top Picks of the current Top2500, 148 batters picked overall
Batter, Times Picked, Percentage
Placido Polanco, 253, 10.12
Paul Konerko, 215, 8.6
Joey Votto, 165, 6.6
Shane Victorino, 146, 5.84
Erick Aybar, 141, 5.64
Martin Prado, 107, 4.28 (Leader)
Andre Ethier, 99, 3.96
Michael Young, 96, 3.84
Jose Bautista, 91, 3.64
Brandon Phillips, 78, 3.12
Adrian Gonzalez, 69, 2.76
Dustin Pedroia, 66, 2.64
Starlin Castro, 57, 2.28
Asdrubal Cabrera, 52, 2.08
Matt Holliday, 46, 1.84
No Selection, 36, 1.44
Highest "No Selection" 😛 pg# 5 with streak of 15 back to zero.
Yesterday's Top2500 reset rate appended by 00Liber later
Got Pinched OR 1 AB Wonders Top2500 saved or reset by pinch hitters and/or double switch, 1 AB or more
appended by 00Liber later
Bloggers Group Top2500
UserName, Streak, Page#, Rank, Pick
LaVolpe, 9, 77, 1690, J.Votto
ihavebestdogever, 9, 71, 1690, M.Prado
Bloggers Reset Yesterday
That has to be the 1st day in quite awhile that Ichiro is not in the top picks for the day on a day where the Mariners play.
Had that happened at all during this season?
Don't know the answer, but he was only picked 22 times, less than 1% of the Top2500. Hitting against Dan Haren probably was the main reason.
Actually yes please if you don't mind sending them. I'll update the rest in about an hour or so.
Will do
5 of my last 7 picks are O fer and 1 of the other 2 is a Did Not Play.
Let's go Cano!
🙂 currently 0-2
1 for 3! 🙂
Saw that. Congrats on getting back on the board.
@LaVolpe: I actually went to bed early last night, so I did not see your tip until now.
As of now, Lee has already been taken off the pick list.
Thankfully, I had stocked up on David Wright picks yesterday when I noticed that it was confirmed that he had a stress fracture.
Unfortunately, the Mets do not play on May 23rd, but the Cubs do not either, so that would not have helped me anyway.
Looks like Lee might not be going on DL now. However izturis probably is. Stock him if need be.
ha, that is strange that they yanked him from the pick list then!
You mean Maicer Izturis or Cesar Izturis?
A couple times a week I bring up rotoworld 1st thing in the AM and look for potential DL/roster moves. If I find one, I load up on him. We have lots of rain outs (double headers) to be made up and potentially unfavorable interleague picks coming up. Those safe picks may come in handy should I want them.
Cubs? Lee is now an Oriole
And he's still not a DL move. I'll have to go back and look at rotoworld to see if it changed or is still expected.
FYI. Just posted by rotoworld: "Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't too impressed, as he said he expected Lee to feel a lot better. But, the O's will for now hold off placing Lee on the DL…"
Hmmmm for some reason it won't post the couple links I tried to share. (awaiting moderation)
Baltimore Izturis.
Lee maybe not going to DL.
Victorino pickers happy. Comes in to PH and bunt sacrifice: 0-0
But Polanco pickers not happy. Victorino's bunt helped score a run. Polanco left on deck in 8th, leading by 1, going to the 9th
Keith, so what's the ruling there Victo just pauses everyone that picked him?
Yes, a bunt sac does not count as an official AB for streaks. However, a fly sac to the outfield does for streaks only, not for their official stats.
Yesterday's Top2500 Reset rate was 16.69% with BILLY BUTLER reseting the most.
There was also 36.52% PPD due to players not playing OR RAIN. These streakers do not reset, but did not increase either.
Got Pinched OR 1 AB Wonders
TOP2500 saved or reset by PHA (going to include any pinch hitters and/or double switch, 1 AB or More)
T Helton 7 DEF SWITCH (no effect) highest was 16 gamer
@Champ88. Your game just entered rain delay. Score is 0-0. Worse case scenario is it will be resumed tomorrow AM.
Michael Young pickers starting to bite their finger nails. Three times up, 3 walks. Spot in lineup guaranteed at least one more time, maybe twice.
Bad luck. TEX takes lead by 1 in top of 9th. Bottom of 9th Young pulled for defensive reasons. 1st pitch to Hosmer and HR, game tied. Young is done for the night eve if game goes into extras.
Could we have both top picks in the Top2500 drop today? Konerko 0-3 with 1 more AB guaranteed. But game is only in 7th and tied right now. Too early to call.
Oops check that. Not tied. ChiSox winning at home by one. Konerko may not come up again since he is due up in the 9th
Pauly falls too. Gonna be a big reset day.
Anon know why Berkie and Holiday got pulled?
Both a little hurt: Berkman – wrist, Holliday – quad
I know it took 15 innings but I have my first 2 hit pick of May on the 18th try. 🙂 🙂 (2 for 6)
Looks to be another leader board cleansing event. Tomorrow you should see 18-gamers on the front page of the standings. Ethier & Polanco did the most damage to the 20+ club


text:
Praise for The Widow of Saunders Creek
"Tracey Bateman has the extraordinary gift of plummeting into the human soul and finding the deep and complex facets for which we most need redemption and hope. She weaves emotion and truth and all the things we fear and grieve into a story that touches and challenges the heart, while reminding us there is an unseen world as close as our
own breath. The Widow of Saunders Creek is one of her finest."
—Rene Gutteridge, author of Listen and Possession
"Bateman does a superb job of bringing her characters vividly to life and giving the reader a taste of what it would be like to live in the Ozarks, where superstition and the supernatural are alive and well."
—Debbie Viguié, author of Kiss of Night
"Tracey Bateman has a winner on her hands. I started the book intending to read just a little then put it down. I couldn't. I had to read and read all the way to the end. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. This is a wonderful story about moving past grief and realizing it's possible to fall in love again. This book has a fabulous love story. It has a chilling confrontation between good and evil and shows us how calling on the power of Jesus's name can stop evil in its tracks. I can't wait for the next book by Tracey."
—Lynette Eason, author of When the Smoke Clears
Praise for Tracey Bateman
"Deep, cutting, an intoxicating blend of human and supernatural, of characters scarred by the past, drained by life. This is the book I've waited for."
— Tosca Lee, author of Forbidden with Ted Dekker and Demon: A Memoir
"…raises thought-provoking questions concerning who and what one lives for. These themes are worked in nicely and eventually set up a beautiful and hopeful conclusion."
—The Christian Manifesto for Tandem
"Bateman has written a page turner with a compelling vampire character that will set evangelical Christian readers talking."
—Publishers Weekly on Thirsty
"I loved the way Tracey Bateman incorporated the struggle against alcoholism into the theme [of Thirsty]. Great writing and a compelling read!"
— Colleen Coble, author of Lonestar Secrets and the Rock Harbor series


text:
Hurdle, Pirates well aware of season's accomplishments
PITTSBURGH -- Neither Clint Hurdle nor his players bury their heads in the sand in regard to what they've accomplished this season. It's not as if the Pirates are unaware that they've won eight straight games entering Sunday, or that they have the best record in baseball.
"We talk about everything. We talk about some of those streaks, just because that's the kind of guy I am," Hurdle said. "We're on a road. I want them to enjoy the scenery. Not just put blinders on and drive fast to get there."
A win Sunday would make the Pirates 51-30, tying a franchise best through 81 games. The other teams to do it? The 1971 World Series champions and the '72 National League East winners.
"There's some mile markers that we need to enjoy along the way," said Hurdle, who evaluates everything in a season in quarters. "We're in the right line, but we've still got some miles to travel."


text:
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The largest U.S. cargo shipping complex resumed full operations on Wednesday after harbor clerks and management settled an eight-day strike that left two Southern California ports mostly idle, sapping the region's economy of an estimated $8 billion.
The strike at the neighboring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach ended when clerks in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 reached a tentative contract deal with a group of shippers and terminal operators late Tuesday. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a onetime labor activist, had joined in to prod the two sides into an agreement.
"Everyone is back to work and it's business as usual," said John Fageaux, a spokesman for the ILWU.
Terminals gates opened at 7 a.m. local time (1500 GMT) and cranes began unloading cargo crates from ships an hour later, said Philip Sanfield, a spokesman for the Port of Los Angeles. Between 5,000 and 10,000 workers are expected to clock in on Wednesday at the port complex, he added. At one point, 13 ships were anchored offshore because of the shutdown.
About 800 clerical employees walked off the job November 26 over a dispute with management about the outsourcing of jobs. About 10,000 longshoremen refused to cross their picket lines, according to Fageaux.
The settlement was reached not long after federal mediators, called upon to join negotiations at the mayor's behest, showed up on Tuesday at the waterfront community center where talks were being held. Villaraigosa announced the agreement.
"Today, the ILWU voted to approve the contract," Villaraigosa said, standing with smiling members of both negotiating teams.
Union officials said they expected members, who have been without a contract for more than two years, to ratify the new contract.
Details of the pact were not immediately made public. But the mayor and ILWU representatives said the two sides had come to terms on the union's chief concern - control over outsourcing, or the transfer of jobs to workers elsewhere for less pay.
What direct role, if any, the mediators played in clinching the deal was unclear. But Villaraigosa said a key breakthrough came when the union, which had resisted outside intervention, joined management on Tuesday morning in consenting to mediation as a way of spurring the stalled talks.
The union credited the mayor with helping the parties narrow their differences during a marathon bargaining session.
"I am pleased with it," said Fageaux, "We didn't get everything that we wanted and neither did the employer. It's fair and it's a contract we can both be happy with."
The strike cost Southern California, a region still struggling to recover from a prolonged economic slump, an estimated $1 billion a day, including lost wages and the value of cargo rerouted to other ports, the mayor said.
The National Retail Federation, which had warned that a prolonged strike could have a "devastating impact on the U.S. economy," welcomed the settlement.
"Retailers have cargo that has been stuck at the port that has to get out for last minute holiday merchandise," said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customers policy for the NRF. "This is much bigger than just hitting retailers. It impacts manufacturers, farmers and others involved in the logistics industry."
The shutdown marked the worst cargo traffic disruption at Los Angeles and Long Beach - which together account for nearly 40 percent of all U.S. container imports - since a 10-day lockout of longshoremen at several West Coast ports in 2002.
The latest dispute forced a shutdown at 10 of the twin ports' 14 container terminals.
Four other container terminals remained open, along with facilities for handling shipments of automobiles, liquid fuels and break-bulk cargo such as raw steel.
Still, at least 18 freighters bound for Los Angles and Long Beach during the strike changed course to take their cargo to ports in Northern California, Mexico and Panama, according to the non-profit Maritime Exchange of Southern California. The diverted cargo heightened concerns about the region losing business to competing ports.
Many other cargo-laden vessels were forced to line up for days at offshore anchorages, waiting to unload their containers.
The chief stumbling block throughout contract negotiations was disagreement over future staffing levels and continued union classification of jobs lost to retirement or attrition.
Under the agreement, Villaraigosa told Reuters: "The employers are not going to outsource."
Union spokesman Craig Merrilees said: "Really, it was getting control on the outsourcing ... ensuring that the jobs are here today, tomorrow and for the future."
During the dispute, the employers had accused union negotiators of seeking to "featherbed" the ranks of clerical workers with more jobs than were necessary.
Unlike the labor clash at West Coast ports a decade ago, which took place in the fall, the latest dispute unfolded after the height of the busy pre-holiday shipping season, limiting the scope of its ripple effect.
Many major U.S. retailers said they were largely spared any pain from the labor clash because most of their Christmas inventory had already made it to store shelves.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach together handled more than $400 billion in goods arriving or leaving the West Coast by ship last year. Experts say the ports directly or indirectly support 1.2 million Southern California jobs - workers involved in moving freight to or from the shipping complex.
Reporting by Dan Whitcomb, Steve Gorman, Alex Dobuzinskis and Nichola Groom; Editing by Patrick Graham, Janet Lawrence, Jackie Frank and M.D. Golan


text:
As the influence of the internet rises, so does the prevalence of online scams. There are fraudsters making all kinds of claims to trap victims online - from fake investment opportunities to online stores - and the internet allows them to operate from any part of the world with anonymity. The ability to spot online scams is an important skill to have as the virtual world is increasingly becoming
Realizing that you have been scammed can be infuriating and frustrating. It is not an easy fact to accept, but the quicker you do, the quicker you can take the necessary steps to improve the outcome of the situation. Take a Breath and Relax! Before you take any action, it's important to compose yourself.. Don't panic or get angry. It can seem like everything has to be fixed as


text:
An Outline of the Concept of Entrepreneur: Tradition and Modernity
To be an entrepreneur supposes a special sense of forecast, a certain attitude regarding the activity carried out as well as unique responsibilities. Over time, a problem in entrepreneurship research has been the difficulty of defining the concept of entrepreneurship. Therefore, inquiries into the evolution of this concept have become one of the most popular fields of research in management studies.
This paper presents a historical outline of entrepreneurship from a conceptual perspective, concentrating on whether past and current entrepreneurship theories can adequately embrace forms and patterns of entrepreneurship.
Full Text:PDF
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/rae.v4i3.1722
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Copyright © Macrothink Institute ISSN 1948-5433


text:
Former Senator Alan Simpson gave an interview on the Today Show this morning and here are a few comments he made.
"There's people that we owe $16 trillion bucks to."
"We're in deficit to the tune of $1 trillion one hundred million. If that isn't a stimulus then the drinks are on me."
"Unless you get in there these people are going to say, I got an idea for you...you're addicted to debt, and we're gonna loan you more and we want more money for our money and then when we do that interest rates will kick up and inflation will kick in..."
First off the gov't owes about half of that $16 trillion to itself, so let's just correct him right off the bat and by the way, why doesn't he make that clear? The answer is, because it's part of his campaign to manipulate you. He has no leverage if you're not scared.
Next he says we're in a deficit to the tune of $1.1 trillion. And he says, "if that's not a stimulus then the drinks are on me."
Ok, I'm confused here. Is he agreeing that the deficit is a stimulus?
Moving on he's saying that we owe money. Let's get real...WE owe nothing. WE got paid, in dollars. That's what we OWN not owe. Dollars. That's it. The world (including parts of our own government) got to keep $16 trillion dollars because in the past 234 years that's the amount of dollars the gov't spent into the economy in excess of what it took away from us in taxes.
Those people/nations/institutions...whatever...are holding those dollars in dollar equivalents called Treasuries, just like you holding your money in a savings account at your bank. How does the bank "pay you back?" It debits your savings account and credits your checking account. That's it. Done. Just like that. Nobody screaming where's the bank gonna get the money to pay you back? Nobody saying the bank has to go on austerity in order to be able to move your money from your savings account to your checking account. The bank just makes some accounting changes and your savings account balance goes down and your checking account balance goes up. Same thing with how we "pay back" holders of Treasuries. The Fed just debits their securities account (at the Fed) and credits their reserve account (also at the Fed). In fact this has been done to the tune of $11.6 trillion so far this fiscal year alone. We're talking two and a half months! In that time the national debt has been almost completely rolled over (paid back).
Let's keep going. Simpson says people are loaning us the money because we're addicted to debt. So, who is loaning us money? What money? Dollars? Here's a simple question for Alan that the interviewer should have asked: If we make the money, which we do, why do we need to borrow it? Where is that person who is lending it to us, getting it from? I guarantee you, he won't be able to answer that.
Finally, the most idiotic of his claims (fear mongering) were his claims that if we don't pay down the debt rates are going to go up and inflation is going to go up.
Take a look at the charts below.
US Public Debt and 10yr Treasury yield
And this...
US Public Debt and Inflation
Interest rates have been collapsing even as the debt has been skyrocketing. Inflation has been non-existent even as the debt has been skyrocketing. When will you stop being scared by these false and ridiculous stories about the debt? And when will the media call bullshit on these claims?


text:
Ever since downloading and using AVG free 8.0 I've been getting a lot of false positives.
One of them, Trojan horse proxy.ACCX is being reported inside of avgui.exe which is AVG's gui executable and it's being reported in Republic the Revolution. It also has reported other viruses and trojans inside of Hewlett Packard software and drivers that are for my new color laser printer.
What gives? If this thing reports 'too good' then what use is it? Anyone else experience this with the recent update?
I've also noticed very poor performance when opening web pages and during bootup of the computer. I've leaned my computer down to only the essential services and processes and it still bogs down since AVG 8.0. AVG 8.0 is now almost twice as slow as Norton and is quickly becoming annoying on my system. It's not my drives either because they are completely defragged and Diskkeeper 2008 is showing nearly all blue's on my drive maps. I have less than 1 fragment per file and the file tables are completely unfragmented.
AVG 8.0 does not seem to affect games but it affects everything else.
With my recent problems I'm ready to switch to Avast.
Also on another note:
If you are using ZoneAlarm with MSVS 2005 and coding in C# you will have troubles. ZoneAlarm somehow prevents new changes to code from being compiled with F5. So you have to manually build your changes and then build the solution. Annoying.


text:
Hello again and welcome!
I hope you all had a safe and happy Independence Day.
As I mentioned in my post last week, we ordained six men to the priesthood at the Cathedral the Holy Cross on June 23.
It has been our custom to gather with the newly ordained and their families after the ordination for a luncheon. So, I was pleased to host them here at the Pastoral Center on Wednesday.
It is a wonderful opportunity to hear some of the experiences of the First Masses and meet the families. Of course, I had an opportunity to meet many of them around the time of the ordination, but there is so much activity going on in those moments, it is nice to have this chance to speak to them in a relaxed atmosphere.
We had a very nice lunch and conversation and then afterward I was able to spend some time meeting each of the families.
We were also happy to have Father Jason Brilhante, who studied at St. John's and was recently ordained for the Diocese of Fall River, and his family with us as well.
I gave them each a rosary to remember the occasion.
– – –
This week, I was also pleased to have three visitors from Fatima, Portugal. One was Sister Angela Coelho who is the vice-postulator for Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto, two of the three children who saw the apparitions of Our Lady.
She is a young religious who belongs to a new community founded for the new evangelization in Braga, the Congregation Alliance of Saint Mary. The community is about 10 years old and has 30 members.
She was accompanied by the Rector of the Shrine of Fatima, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, and Father Vitor Coutinho, who is the secretary of the Bishop of Fatima, Bishop António Augusto dos Santos Marto.
They are visiting the United States because they have already begun the planning for the centennial of the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima and they would like to schedule some events in this country. They came to discuss some of these plans with me.
– – –
Father Tom Foley, who has been our Secretary for Parish Life and Ministry, is leaving us to become a chaplain in United States Air Force.
So, on Thursday, we had a celebration including a Mass and reception here at the Pastoral Center to thank him for his service and wish him well in his new ministry.
Many people who have been parishioners of his in various parishes as well as other friends, relatives, members of the staff and clergy, were there.
We are so grateful for all he has done for us but, as I reminded those at the Mass, the ministry to the Armed Forces is also critically important because it is a place where there are literally hundreds of thousands of young Catholics needing spiritual care. It is important that the Church be present for them, particularly in time of war.
Here in Boston, we have a very long-standing tradition sending many of our finest priests to serve in the military. It has been a source of great blessings for us and we are very grateful that Father Foley has volunteered for this mission.
– – –
Friday, I was visited by a group of altar servers from the parish of St. Francis Xavier in Acushnet, which is part of the Fall River Diocese. They had asked me to give a vocation talk. There was quite a group of them. In fact one of them is already scheduled to enter the seminary. They were visiting the pastoral center and had lunch here.
– – –
Friday, at the Pastoral Center I celebrated Mass for the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the patronal feast of the Church in Rome.
On the same day in Rome, the Holy Father was receiving a representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch. Here in Boston, we have a traditional of reflecting those reciprocal visits. Metropolitan Methodios was unable to be with us this year because he was attending a gathering in Phoenix Arizona, so he sent two representatives. We were very pleased to be joined by Deacon Andreas and Father Panteleimon Manoussakis.
We were also joined by Vito Nicastro and Father David Michael from our Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
Father Manoussakis read this message on behalf of Metropolitan Methodios at the beginning of the Mass:
Your Eminence, Cardinal O'Malley, Reverend Fathers, Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The exchange of formal visits between Catholic and Orthodox, both on the universal level as well as in the local level, on the patronal feasts of our Churches, honoring their respective founders and two brothers among the Apostles, Saint Peter for the Church of Rome and Saint Andrew for the Church of Constantinople, has become a meaningful tradition that both Your Eminence and Metropolitan Methodios has faithfully kept over the years. Sadly, Metropolitan Methodios, who leads the Orthodox faithful in Boston and throughout New England, was not able to be here with us today, on account of the clergy-laity Congress that meets these days in Phoenix. Nevertheless, he has entrusted us with the duty of representing Him and of conveying to all of you His fraternal wishes and blessings on this solemn day of the feast of the first among the apostles, Peter and Paul.
This exchange of visits goes beyond ecclesiastical formality: there are real, visible tokens that affirm in the most unambiguous way the desire and commitment of our Churches to be united again in perfect communion around the Eucharistic table. They are signs that profess in the clearest way our respect for each other's traditions; they remind us of everything that we held in common during the first thousand years of the Church's history and that we continue to confess today; they encourage us to work sincerely towards overcoming whatever misunderstandings keep us apart, so that the Church's witness may remain strong and beyond any reproach, such that our divisions might invite from those who haven't yet embrace Peter's confession: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Mt. 16:16).
It is thus that Peter's confession becomes the unshakable rock over which our Lord's Church is built—the rock over which the futile waves of relativism, secularism, and atheism break. Throughout its history, the Orthodox Church has kept Peter's confession in adverse times and in the face of fierce adversaries. I pray that our Lord will bring it to pass that we continue to do so in the future, in unity with St Peter's successor.
V. Rev. Panteleimon Manoussakis, Ph.D.
Later this year on the Feast of St. Andrew, the patronal feast of the Church in Constantinople, I will attend the liturgy at the Metropolis Center in Brookline.
Also at the same Mass was Bishop Alfredo Petit, auxiliary Bishop in Havana, who was here visiting. He was accompanied by Dr. Kouri from Harvard and his wife. We talked about the Holy Father's visit and what a wonderful success it was.
We are very happy that Bishop Petit was able to visit us here in Boston.
– – –
That day was also my birthday and I got an unexpected surprise.
I was having dinner with the priests who live here at the rectory and Bishop Donald Lippert, the bishop in Papua New Guinea, who was stopping by on his way back from having made his ad limina visit. As we finished dinner, a band of mariachis appeared at the window playing the traditional Mexican birthday song, Las Mañanitas. (Although they should have been "Las Nochecitas" because it was about eight o'clock at night!)
I commented that when I was a priest in Washington, on my birthday I would often be awakened at five o'clock in the morning by people singing me Las Mañanitas. So, they were very merciful to have done it at night!
– – –
On Saturday, we celebrated the diaconal ordination of Deacon Thomas Macdonald, who is studying at the North American College in Rome.
Normally, Tom would have been ordained either with the rest of our deacons in January or with his deacon class in Rome. But, because much of his family would have been unable to make the trip to Rome, we decided to ordain him while he was home during the summer.
The ordination was held in the seminary chapel. It is the first time in many decades that there has been an ordination there. It was a very beautiful celebration.
I also complimented Bishop Kennedy for the refurbishment of the paintings, the lighting and the air-conditioning that they now have at St. John's Chapel, which not only makes it very beautiful venue to have the ordination but also very comfortable one.
Deacon Macdonald will return to Rome to finish his studies and is scheduled to be ordained with his classmates here in Boston next spring.
– – –
That afternoon I celebrated a wedding in Cambridge at St. Paul's Church.
Afterwards, I was greeted by John Robinson, the new head of the Archdiocesan Choir School. The school has been very successful and experienced tremendous growth.
I want to express my gratitude to Father Michael Drea, the pastor at St. Paul's, and of course Mr. Robinson for all the good work they are doing there.
– – –
There is a wonderful tradition in Gloucester of each year holding a Mass and procession followed by the blessing of the fishing boats.
Father John Kiley and Father Matthew Green of Holy Family Parish worked very hard to make it a wonderful celebration.
This year I celebrated the outdoor Mass.
The fishermen in Gloucester are principally Italian and Italian-American, but there are also a large number of Portuguese fishermen and now a strong Brazilian community. So, in the procession there were a number different saints representing the different groups in addition to, of course, St. Peter and statues of the Virgin.
Then in the afternoon there was the blessing of the fleet itself.
Fishing is of course a very dangerous profession and we pray for the safety of all the fishermen and their families.
Until next week,
Cardinal Seán


text:
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text:
Rigoletto – VeszprémFest
Act I
Scene 1 A festive ball is taking place at the court of Mantua. The Duke happily tells the courtier Borsa about his amorous adventure with a beautiful girl who lives at a house in a remote alley where she is visited by an unknown man every evening. He has met her only in church so far, so she does not know who he is. The Duke makes advances to Countess Ceprano, and her husband is mocked by Rigoletto, the hunchbacked jester. Marullo reveals a sensation to other courtiers: he has discovered that Rigoletto has a mistress. All arcs convulsed with laughter. Rigoletto suggests ways in which the Duke might get rid of the Count in order to seduce his wife. Ceprano is enraged. Suddenly Monterone storms in, accusing the Duke of having dishonoured his daughter. When the jester mocks his grief the old man curses him. Rigoletto is filled with a sense of dread.
Scene 2 Rigoletto remembers Monterone's curse with dark foreboding. Sparafucile the hired assassin approaches him and offers his services. Left alone, Rigoletto reflects on the humiliations of his existence as a cripple and as court buffoon. Only in his love for his daughter Gilda is he a human being. Gilda comes out of the house and throws herself into his arms. When she begs him to tell her about her early life, Rigoletto pours out the sorrow of his lost Love; his daughter is the only joy remaining to him, He forbids Gilda ought to leave the house, and orders the housekeeper Giovanna to guard her. Having bribed Giovanna to admit him, the Duke - incognito - surprizes Gilda and makes passionate declarations of love. Gilda is overjoyed. In the darkness Ceprano, Marullo and the courtiers arrive, intending to abduct Rigoletto's supposed mistress. Made to believe that it is Countess Ceprano, who is being abducted, the blindfolded Rigoletto even holds the ladder for them. As Gilda is dragged away he tears the blindfold from his eyes, too late. The curse has begun to take effect.
Act II
The Duke has discovered to his genuine despair that Gilda has been abducted. The courtiers triumphantly tell how they seized Rigoletto's 'mistress' - Gilda. The Duke rushes to her. Rigoletto appears with feigned indifference. He has to realize that Gilda is with the Duke. The courtiers prevent him from rushing in. When she is brought to him, Gilda tearfully confesses her liaison with the Duke, which has robbed her of her honour. Led past on his way to prison, Monterone again curses the despairing Rigoletto, who thinks only of vengeance.
Act III
Rigoletto has paid Sparafucile to murder the Dulce. He and Gilda watch the building from a vantagepoint outside. Gilda recognizes the Duke flirting with the assassin's sister Maddalena. Taking pity on the handsome young woman, Maddalena persuades her brother to kill someone else instead of him. Gilda overhears the plan and resolves to sacrifice herself for her lover. She knocks at the door behind which Sparafucile is lurking with a knife ready to slay whoever enters. The door opens - night and the thunderstorm obscure everything. The victim is concealed in a sack. The returning Rigoletto is about to throw it into the river when he hears the Duke singing his wooing canzone. Rigoletto tears open the sack to discover his dying daughter. She begs his forgiveness, and dies in the hope of heavenly bliss. Rigoletto is utterly broken. Monterone's curse has been fulfilled.
General cast
- Conductor
- Ádám Medveczky
- Duke of Mantua
- René Barbera
- Rigoletto
- Paolo Gavanelli
- Gilda
- Zuzana Marková
- Sparafucile
- László Szvétek
- Maddalena
- Andrea Szántó
- Count Monterone
- András Palerdi
- Marullo
- András Káldi Kiss
- Borsa
- Péter Kiss
- Count Ceprano
- Tamás Szüle
- Countess Ceprano
- Ildikó Megyimórecz
- Giovanna
- Kornélia Bakos
- Page
- Zsófia Nagy
- Court usher
- István Kristóf
- Featuring
- Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
- Librettist
- Francesco Maria Piave
- Anna Varsányi's rough translation revised for use as surtitles by
- Eszter Orbán
- Chorus director
- Gábor Csiki


text:
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text:
Just about a week
into the 2013-14 season, and we already have a fired coach. With NHL GM's quick and desperate to make a
move, you ought to be just as alert in the early going in managing your fantasy
squad. Typically, a handful of top notch
fantasy options get swept up in the first few weeks of the season to early
waiver watchers. With a few games
played, here are some early waiver options to consider adding to your lineup,
if someone else hasn't snatched them up already.
Lars Eller (MON)
Through the first
two games, Eller tallied 3 goals and 5 points, earning #2 Star honors. He won't keep this pace up all year, but he
may provide decent value on the year.
It's about time the Habs got some return on the deal that sent Halak
away to the Blues.
Mikail Grabovski (WAS)
Grobovski started
the season in fine fashion, tallying a hat trick in Game 1. He put up an assist in the game 2 and has now
has 5 points in 3 games. Given a helping
of solid playing time with Ovechkin could mean a career year for the castoff
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM)
The young Oiler
center wasn't expected to start the season until November, but made a surprise
early recovery. He's expected to play
this week, so snag him, and hope he's what Edmonton needs to get the offense on
Jason Garrison (VAN)
Garrison has
displayed streaks of fantasy gold in the past, but has never been a go-to guy
over the long haul. He has 2 goals and
2 assists through 3 games for Vanouver.
Matt Niskanen (PIT)
It's uknown how long
Letang will be out, but as long as he is, Niskanen will carry some value as a
depth defenseman. He's filling that gap
on the potent Penguins as a key puck carrier on the back end. He registered 3 assists through the first two
Jaroslav Halak (STL)
I have been touting
Halak as the solution for the Blues all pre-season, so it's not surprising to
see him off to a hot start. What is
surprising is that he's still available in many leagues (just not any of mine,
as I drafted him…). Get him now.
Tags: nhl, hockey, fantasy hockey, 2014 fantasy hockey, fantasy planner, fantasy hockey planner, hockey news, waiver wire
Fantasy Hockey | Fantasy Planner
Tip o' the hat to BlogEngine.NET --- 184.108.40.206
What fans are saying about Landshark Hockey...
Tastes like chicken
- Bob


text:
The buffs specifically say that they apply to all party members.
Let's say I've earned the 25% Attack Rate bonus on Ulrich, but I choose Bones as my party leader. Will Ulrich still have his Attack Rate bonus applied, or do the earned bonuses only apply to the selected leader?


text:
Brought to you by Lowe's Home Improvement.
Last month, I mentioned I was in New York for Lowe's Deck the Halls and Walls and All event, and if you follow me on Instagram, you may have even seen some sneak peeks (social media was tagged #holidayreadyhome). But today, I get to share images and tell you all about it!
This event was so much fun to participate in. Overnight, Lowe's created a "house" in a studio space in Manhattan. There was a front porch + yard, an entry, a kitchen, a living room, and a guest room + bath. Then, they assigned each area to a different designer to furnish and decorate for the holidays — and as an extra challenge, we had about 2 weeks to make our design decisions, and then we had one day to install everything. Very exciting! On the evening of installation day, we were able to show off our work to bloggers and magazine editors that came by for a cocktail party.
I was assigned the Porch + Front Yard and I had a blast coming up with ideas to make it as festive as possible. Would you like to hear how I went about making decisions?
First, I ch0se red paint for the door — Valspar's Art District to be exact. Red paint gives your home a pop of color and is a classic choice year round, but during the holidays, a red door seems especially fitting! Once I decided on the door color, I decided to keep the color scheme really simple — red, black, grey and white. (I know the siding on the house looks whitish in these photos, but it was actually a lovely grey. : )
When the color scheme for the exterior was in place, I started to imagine possibilities for wreaths and greenery. But instead of green, I went with a very modern bright white! In garland, wreaths, and potted trees — all pre-lit, which makes things so. much. easier. Lit up, the contrast against the house was even better than I imagined — and the white gave a snowy feel instantly. Pretty in the day and pretty at night, too. I added simple twinkle lights to the landscaping shrubbery as well.
Next, I looked to Scandinavia for some inspiration. As we know from practically every interior design image on Pinterest (hah!), Scandinavian design is clean and modern, but at Christmas, it often includes natural touches among those sleek surfaces, and somehow the combination works wonderfully. It manages to hit that sweet spot between modern and traditional. So I added my own natural touches. I hung the 3 wreaths with burlap ribbon (natural burlap against the front door, and red burlap against the windows), and wrapped the potted white trees with burlap as well. Then I filled out the front door wreath, and the potted plants with garlands of paper leaves. Adding to basic decorations is a simple way to make something store bought feel special and fit in with your family's style. I also included a wooden door mat for another natural touch.
Then I lined up boots for Dad, Mom, and Baby and filled them with gifts. I think they make a charming alternative to stockings!
In the yard, I envisioned a magical little scene — a cozy bench with pillows (here and here) and a faux fur throw. Somewhere to sit with a mug of hot cocoa or mulled cider, while you get your fill of the wintery weather and the twinkle lights. I used these smaller trees, and these larger trees to create the scene. Both are beautiful, but in person, the smaller trees get lots of oohs and aahs. They are on my wishlist for sure! Then I hung these beautiful wooden snowflake ornaments (a combination of both designs) from the branches.
I also included Mr. & Mrs. Deer. (And added handsome scarves of burlap ribbon. Of course.)
I'd love to hear what you think. If you were designing a holiday exterior from scratch, would you go modern or traditional? Or somewhere in between? Do you use pre-lit greenery? Or are you strictly a fresh-from-the-forest-real-live-boughs kind of girl? And lastly, would you enjoy a design challenge like this?
P.S. — You can find images of all the rooms in this "house" here.


text:
Following the landmark Oliver
L. Brown et al. v. Board of Education of
Topeka, Kansas, public schools could
no longer segregate students using racial
categories or ethnic backgrounds. In 1992,
the events surrounding the Brown et al.
civil rights litigation became the basis
for the creation of the Brown v. Board of
Education National Historic Site (BRVB)
that includes the Monroe Elementary School.
However, between the 1860s
and 1926 the Monroe School neighborhood
was an active, working-class African-American
community with numerous houses, outbuildings,
and the late-19th-century Monroe
School. This period might tell
us much about that which followed,
but the historic record of this neighborhood
prior to the Civil Rights period does
not offer many details about daily
and civic life.
The Brown v. Board of Education
National Historic Site will
unveil the Monroe Elementary School
as its visitor's center in May
2004. Prior to opening the new center,
substantial rehabilitation work was
necessary for the entire school building.
From 1999 to 2003 the Midwest Archeological
Center (MWAC) conducted several archeological
projects related to the rehabilitation
of the Monroe Elementary School.
These projects have revealed detailed
information about the history of the
earlier Monroe School neighborhood.
This information will help archaeologists
answer questions about larger cultural
issues, such as how people in the
neighborhood lived and how they integrated
themselves into local, regional, and
national socio-economic spheres.
This web site presents a synthesis
of the archeological projects undertaken
by the Midwest Archeological Center
and provides an overview of the historical
and archeological records relating
to the earlier Monroe School neighborhood.
Text by Jay
T. Sturdevant (National Park Service, Midwest
Archeological Center)
Brown Foundation
Plessy v. Ferguson ruling
Supreme Court
Brown, et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka
v. Board of Education National Historic Site
Homestead Act
High School
of Congress exhibit


text:
Posted Tue, November 8th, 2011 8:21 am
The Court's campaign finance jurisprudence and its impact on the electoral process
Our topic today concerns the Court's campaign finance jurisprudence and the effect that it has had on the electoral process. As the 2012 election cycle continues to ramp up, more and more attention is being given to the impact of the Court's historic decision in Citizens United. We'd like to hear your thoughts on the questions below.
Aaron Tang – 0 Promoted Comments
In this thread, discuss what impact, if any, you believe the Court's decision in Citizens United has had on the electoral process thus far?
Justin Levitt – 2 Promoted Comments
We don't yet know the electoral impact of Citizens United. The decision gave us a new wave of SuperPAC entities flaunting their new SuperPurchasingPower. But before Citizens United (excepting the 2002-2007 stretch from McCain-Feingold to Wisconsin Right to Life II), nonprofits could freely advertise that "Candidate Smith Hates Puppies," and could raise plentiful corporate money to do so. Citizens United removed only the additional ban on an explicit exhortation, of disputed incremental value, to vote the puppy-hater out. The difference is not insignificant: corporations can now strut, rather than slink, to the political marketplace. That makes fundraising easier and funding pools larger. Ultimately, though, these SuperPACs may represent merely a new vehicle for some very old influence.
Even if the new legal warmth for corporate political cash amounts to a difference in kind and not just degree, tangible electoral results need not necessarily follow. The money arrives just as the media market is splintering, making it more difficult for any sustained campaign to dominate any given informational channel. And as numerous failed candidates from the .01% have demonstrated, money may buy a seat at the table but does not alone guarantee victory. A deep American populist strain tends to resist massive expense by the few to persuade the many. There's a catch: the current disclosure regime (http://electionlawblog.org/archives/017415.html) does not meaningfully distinguish one from the other. For that, though, the blame thus far lies not with the Court (which has encouraged robust disclosure), but with Congress (which has not).
Nathaniel Persily – 1 Promoted Comment
So much has been written about Citizens United and yet so much more remains to be said. What follows are just a few brief provocations concerning the possible implications of the decision both within and beyond the law:
1. Political Implications
Evaluating the political effects of Citizens United (CU) by itself is a fool's errand. It was the latest (and not the last) in a series of libertarian campaign finance cases from the Roberts Court. Much of the alleged consequences of that case's holding concern activities (such as unlimited spending by corporations on candidate related ads that shied away from specific messages of endorsement) that were also legal the day before the Court decided that case. Nevertheless, the story of CU's consequences is one where the Court turned a license into a blessing. That is, even though certain activities by corporations may have been allowed even before CU, the breadth of the decision has made such activities more likely. What previously may have been phrased by general counsels as exploiting loopholes is now sanctioned as core First Amendment activity.
2. Jurisprudential Implications.
The jurisprudential implications of CU have yet to be fully realized. The decision steers the definition of corruption away from differential access and toward bribery and seems to remove the appearance of corruption as a compelling target of campaign finance reform. As such, the next shoes to drop may be the bans on corporate contributions to political parties or their alter egos. But the Court's post-CU decision in Arizona Free Enterprise v. Bennett (echoing the pre-CU decision in FEC v. Davis) striking down a public campaign funding scheme also shows the broader implications of this jurisprudence. Those cases have will have consequences beyond campaign finance because they raise important questions as to how and when laws burden on speech.
3. Implications for Public Opinion.
The firestorm of public criticism that followed CU was unique. Campaign finance decisions usually do not rise to a level of salience or comprehensibility that leads the public to pay attention to such cases (let alone to have a case mentioned in a State of the Union address). Evenso, as a survey I conducted last year with Steven Ansolabehere (available at persily.com) suggested, the unpopularity of the CU holding is characteristic of the recent speech decisions (e.g., bans on depictions of animal cruelty, violent video games, or perhaps protests near military funerals, not included in the survey). For all the talk in the academy about how the Court never strays too far from public opinion, the First Amendment cases, including Citizens United, have proven to be outliers.
Karl Sandstrom – 1 Promoted Comment
Fundraising in a post Citizen United world is characterized by a system of public secrecy and private disclosure. Nothing in current law prevents an organization that expends vast sums of money supporting a candidate from privately revealing the source of its funding to the beneficiary of the spending while keeping the public in the dark. The robust disclosure that Justice Kennedy envisions simply does not exist. Is the lack of disclosure an invitation for corruption?
David Primo – 1 Promoted Comment
One of the most noteworthy effects of the Citizens United decision is the almost seamless transition of "good government" groups from advocating for more direct limits on speech to advocating for more indirect limits on speech, in the form of tightened disclosure requirements for corporations that wish to participate in the political process. While groups like the Center for Political Accountability couch their goals in terms of increased "accountability" of corporations to shareholders, the underlying intent is to limit certain forms of speech—specifically, corporate speech.
It's unclear what problem, precisely, increased corporate disclosure is designed to solve, and given the past track record of campaign finance reform, there is good reason to be skeptical that disclosure will improve the political process much, if at all. Empirical research shows that campaign finance reform typically fails at achieving its intended ends. To give just one example, "clean elections" laws, under which candidates receive government subsidies in exchange for forgoing private contributions, did not meaningfully change politics in states like Maine and Arizona, and earlier this year the Supreme Court ruled the most popular version of these laws to be unconstitutional. Is there any reason to expect corporate disclosure regulations will fare differently?
Ray La Raja – 1 Promoted Comment
Commentators have reported substantial activity among outside groups, including "Super PACs", trying to influence the next federal election. My sense is that these well-funded groups would have emerged eventually even without Citizens United, but that's not what I want to talk about here. I'm more interested in addressing whether these organizations will tilt the playing field for one party or the other. Past history suggests that experienced politicos affiliated with both major parties exploit all available opportunities to raise money for partisan goals. Under Citizens United, the arms race between the two parties will continue and it is a good bet they will neutralize each other's efforts. In short, strategy and implementation should matter more than money, per se.
Stronger evidence about minimal impact comes from observing consequences in the 28 states with unrestricted corporate spending, pre-Citizens. What happens when we compare states with and without a spending ban? The short answer is "not much". My expectation was that corporate spending would boost the number of Republican held seats in state legislatures (I looked at elections as far back as 1936). But this was not so. In fact, the only effect I observed was for states that prohibited corporate contributions. In such states, Republicans could expect to lose 2.5 percent of the seats in the lower house. I should point out that this effect was apparent only for states with smaller governments (measured by government spending per capita). In other words, corporate bans – on either spending or contributions – had no statistically significant effect on partisan outcomes in big states, the very states that make the best comparison to the federal level. This finding suggests that corporate interest groups find a way to influence elections with or without bans.
To be sure, federal elections are the major leagues and much innovation with outside spending has occurred in the past 10-15 years. So Citizens United could plausibly have more significant consequences on electoral outcomes than what I've found (draft of paper forthcoming). But such caveats aside, we should treat with skepticism any claims that Citizens United will catapult pro-business Republicans into office.
Jessica Levinson – 1 Promoted Comment
Citizens United has already had a deleterious affect on the electoral process. Public outrage surrounding the decision has only grown as corporations and moneyed interests have set up a shadow campaign finance system. Corporations can now give and spend nearly unlimited sums to help elect preferred candidates or defeat candidates they see as less favorable to their interests. Individuals increasingly feel that they cannot affect the outcome of electoral processes. Individual voices are being drowned out by the giving and spending of unlimited sums of money in the political marketplace. As a result voters feel disengaged in our representative democracy. The erosion of public confidence in a representative system of government is deadly serious.
Joe Birkenstock – 2 Promoted Comments
One predicted electoral consequence of overturning Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce was an explosion of corporate spending on independent expenditures, including expenditures from large, publicly traded corporations – either in their own name or, more commonly, through intermediaries such as the Chamber of Commerce. Thus far, however, there has been relatively less of this sort of corporate political activity than some feared – the trillions of dollars in cash reserves held by publicly traded corporations simply hasn't been brought to bear in meaningful degree.
To be sure, as many of the comments so far have noted, we don't have the kind of disclosure system that would inform the public about exactly who provided the dollars spent on independent expenditures and electioneering communications, but existing law does require each sponsor of such ads to disclose how much was spent. And those totals, so far, simply do not support the proposition that CU has unleashed the tidal wave of corporate political spending some feared.
Aaron Tang – 0 Promoted Comments
Do recent developments in the political fundraising arena, such as the growth of so-called "Super PACs," reveal anything about the correctness of the Court's reasoning in Citizens United?
Rick Pildes – 1 Promoted Comment
There is a tendency right now to attribute to Citizens United (CU) virtually all newly emerging forms of financing elections, and the increasingly large amounts, that arose in the 2010 election cycle and that look to play an even more central role in the 2012 elections. But this tendency can reflect a complacent sensibility among critics of Citizens United that the case is the source of all evil in campaign financing or the desire of journalists and others to craft dramatic narratives that elevate single moments into uniquely transformative events. The truth is more complicated, for at least two reasons.
First, the most significant innovation – the rise of so-called Super Pacs, which can solicit unlimited contributions for purposes of independent electioneering – probably would have happened without CU. The organizational entrepreneurs that pioneered the Super Pac form, SpeechNow, came up with this idea in 2007 and pursued this strategy long before CU. It is really Buckley v. Valeo, from 1976, not CU, that establishes that Congress cannot regulate independent electioneering spending (other than through disclosure requirements). On this issue, CU did little more than confirm what Buckley had already established. In virtually every election cycle in our highly competitive, polarized era, innovators have created new organizational forms or exploited existing ones (527 organizations, 501(c)(4) entities). Super Pacs should be understood as the most recent stage in this cycle, not as some radical new structure made possible only by CU. CU does affect whether corporate and union general treasuries can contribute to these Super Pacs; but Super Pacs, funded with unlimited contributions by wealthy individuals and various other entities would exist without CU, once aggressive innovators figured out Super Pacs would best serve their interests.
This leads to the second point: we simply do not know at this point how much corporate money is or is not flowing to Super Pacs or other campaign-finance entities. Large, publicly traded corporations might be less likely to get involved in election financing than many people tend to assume – particularly if that involvement must be publicly disclosed. A recent, authoritative study concludes that 60% of companies in the S & P 100 Index have already responded to CU by prohibiting spending corporate money on politics or disclosing their direct political spending and adopting Board oversight. Such spending risks alienating potential customers; it can trigger shareholder backlash; and, frankly, corporations probably are able to attain influence more efficiently through spending their money on lobbying on specific issues, rather than generally trying to influence election outcomes. Privately-held corporations, or those dominated by a single shareholder, are probably more likely to engage in election spending. Moreover, we are still in the middle of working out what kind of public, regulatory regime for disclosure will end up being required; the SEC, for example, has been petitioned to adopt such requirements. Until we know what kind of disclosure of direct and indirect corporate spending will be required, we won't know how active corporations will end up being. And because we don't have such a regime in place yet, we are left with a lot of speculation, but little actual information, about how much corporate spending is actually taking place.
John Samples – 1 Promoted Comment
Over the next year, there will be a flood of complaints about the damage done by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United. Setting aside the rhetoric, it is worth recalling what was (and is) at stake in that decision.
Justice Anthony Kennedy's Citizens United opinion drew a clear line between political activities that could be regulated (contributions and sources) and those that could not (independent campaign spending). Kennedy did not make up that line. The Supreme Court had validated campaign finance regulation to prevent corruption or its appearance. In turn, corruption depended on a relationship between a donor and a candidate. Absent a candidate, campaign spending could not corrupt; it was "just" political speech, an activity protected by the Constitution. Professor Richard Hasen, along with many other critics of CU, wish to erase this bright line that marks the outer edge of state power. If, as Hasen suggests, all spending can corrupt officials, then all spending (and speech) may be regulated, assuming a congressional determination of impropriety is forthcoming (it will be). The authority of Congress over political speech will then be plenary. There would be no bright line marking the limits of state power. That would be a strange result for a government constrained by a Bill of Rights that were enacted precisely to indicate and reinforce those limits.
Joe Birkenstock – 2 Promoted Comments
And as for what the reasoning behind the decision has brought about, in my eyes one of the most interesting consequences is a broadening of the scope of many state & local campaign finance laws around the country. In California, for example, the Fair Political Practices Commission relied on the holdings and reasoning in CU to broaden its definition of express advocacy beyond the so-called "magic words."
While controversial, this approach could be mirrored in other jurisdictions going forward, especially to the extent the state or local laws in question address only disclosure requirements, as opposed to the imposition of contribution limits. These surprising changes (using a decision that sharply narrowed campaign finance prohibitions as a means of broadening political law rules more generally) result from some of the tactical choices the CU majority made in the course of reaching the result that they did.
Specifically, in order to have a basis to overrule Austin, the Court needed to find that "Hillary: The Movie" constituted a corporate political activity that could be prohibited were Austin still good law. Once having done so, however, by invalidating the corporate expenditure prohibition itself, the Court deeply undermined the case for applying the strictest scrutiny to the definition of what counts as an expenditure and what doesn't.
And by treating "Hillary: The Movie" as one such otherwise illegal activity – while also upholding compulsory disclosure of the spending on such activities very broadly, by an 8-1 margin – it set a precedent for similarly defining other political efforts as political expenditures and for imposing mandatory disclosure requirements on them.
Some of those opposed to this approach point out (correctly) that CU itself technically did not concern an "expenditure" prohibition, but rather only the prohibition on corporate funding of "electioneering communications." Nevertheless, the Court's *holding* in CU clearly was not limited to 441b as applied to funding of electioneering communications, but rather the Court overturned 441b facially, in all applications, and overturned Austin – a case that explicitly applies to expenditures.
In this way, the reasoning of the Court's opinion in CU may turn out to cause nearly as much consternation for free speech advocates as it has for campaign finance reformers.
Aaron Tang – 0 Promoted Comments
In this thread, discuss whether there are other aspects of the Court's campaign finance decisions that warrant attention in light of the way that political fundraising has developed over the past two years?
Michael Dimino – 1 Promoted Comment
Skeptics of campaign-finance regulation have been concerned not only with the direct costs of such regulation in limiting the speech that is prohibited by such regulation, but also by the indirect chilling effects caused by potential speakers' inability to be certain when they might be violating laws that only a handful of lawyers understand. Further, allegations of a candidate's campaign-finance transgressions can be politically damaging, even if those allegations turn out to be unfounded.
In 2009, the Supreme Court held in Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co. that due process required the recusal of a judge who was the beneficiary of a large amount of independent campaign expenditures purchased by the CEO of one of the litigants. The dissenters in Caperton predicted an increase in recusal motions, as strategic lawyers would attempt to use the case to disqualify unfavorable judges. This result was especially likely because the Court never provided any administrable rule that could allow observers to determine which campaign activity would require recusal.
Recusal motions obviously come into play after the candidate has won the election and assumed office. Another effect, however, may appear during campaigns. Recently a reporter asked me to comment on a Pennsylvania judicial race in which the Democratic candidate accepted a contribution of $300,000 from a PAC funded by trial lawyers. The Republican Party chairman has alleged that the acceptance of the contribution raises the possibility of bias, and has suggested that the Democratic candidate should have to recuse himself, should he be elected, from any suit involving any contributor to the PAC. http://www.pagop.org/2011/10/pa-gop-judge-for-sale-democrat-david-wecht-owned-by-philadelphia-trial-lawyers/
The charge is frivolous. Even if an individual's $300,000 contribution was large enough to trigger Caperton's presumption of bias (Caperton itself involved more than $3,000,000), the recent contribution was from a PAC. No reasonable person would think that a judge would be unconstitutionally biased in favor of every person who contributed to the PAC, regardless of the amount of each individual's contribution.
But the fact that the charge is frivolous doesn't mean that it is ineffective. The Republican charge is not likely to force the recusal of the judge, should he win the election — and forcing recusal is not its purpose. Rather, the charge is designed to characterize the Democratic candidate as a lawbreaker — someone willing to sell justice to the "special interests." And to a voter who is unfamiliar with Caperton, PACs, and campaign finance, the charge may appear to make sense.
What this example illustrates is the potential for Caperton to be used as a partisan weapon. Judges accepting campaign contributions may always be accused of bias, but Caperton gives those claims of bias an added legitimacy by grounding them in the Constitution. Judicial candidates in the future may have to worry not only about contributions that will require recusal under Caperton, but also those contributions that might be mischaracterized by political opponents as raising a Caperton issue (which is to say, virtually all contributions). The vagueness of Caperton will thus threaten to chill political speech by both candidates and supporters fearful of a charge of unconstitutional bias.
Monica Youn – 1 Promoted Comment
In the world according to Justice Kennedy, the tide of dark money in the 2010 midterms should have been an impossibility. In Citizens United, Justice Kennedy had assumed that disclosure laws would "provide shareholders and citizens with the information needed to hold corporations and elected officials accountable for their positions and supporters.… This transparency enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages." Of course, this sunny picture had little basis in political reality, then or now. Corporations are not generally required to disclose political spending to the public, to shareholders or to corporate boards, and anyone who watches the Colbert Report now knows enough to avoid existing disclosure regulations on independent spending. In the 2010 midterms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, outside groups raised and spent $140 million in undisclosed funds, representing nearly half of the $300 million spent by outside nonparty groups. And midterm secret spending was only a trial run for the 2012 cycle, as early adopters took Super PACs for a test drive in the first post-Citizens United election.
Existing federal and state disclosure laws, though inadequate, would at least seem to be on safe constitutional ground, since the Court upheld disclosure laws against facial challenges by an 8-1 majority first in Citizens United, then in Doe v. Reed, which involved disclosure of petition signatories. But, as Republican FEC Commissioner Don McGahn stated at a recent conference, as-applied challenges to disclosure laws are "where the action is going to be in the future." This is because both Citizens United and Doe v. Reed, while upholding disclosure in theory, left open a back door to challenges to disclosure laws in practice. Under longstanding precedent, groups such as the NAACP and the Socialist Workers Party have been held exempt from generally applicable disclosure laws if they can demonstrate that disclosure will subject their members to official or private harassment, threats, and reprisals. The various concurring opinions in Doe v. Reed disagreed as to the severity of harassment and quantum of evidence required for such an exemption to apply; what I found worrying, however, was the way Chief Justice Roberts' majority opinion teed up future as-applied challenges in the majority opinion. Roberts explained that such as-applied challenges might be available for backers of particularly controversial petitions, rather than for members of particularly vulnerable groups, as in the NAACP and Socialist Workers Party cases. Harassment of individuals is a serious concern, but Roberts' framing of the harassment exemption would seem to allow a corporation spending on a controversial ballot initiative to claim the same harassment exemption as an individual.
Brad Smith – 1 Promoted Comment
For years, a majority of states allowed unlimited corporate spending – and Superpacs, if you will, though no one called them that – with no public outcry. Indeed, states such as Utah and Virginia, that took that route, were consistently among the best governed states in the nation. Looking back, when the Supreme Court decided Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce in 1990 (the precedent overruled in Citizens United), there was little public commentary either before or after the decision. The outcry over the case has a whiff of made-up symbolism about it.
Citizens United and the various decisions that have supported it – most notably SpeechNow.org v. FEC – have increased competition in the political system by allowing money to find its way more rapidly to potentially competitive races, and allowing more voices to be heard. These are generally good things.
Conversely, the horror stories about the potential consequences of Citizens United have not come true.
These decisions are also forcing legislators to change how they think about campaign finance law. Before, the focus was on trying to squelch political conversation. Now, the parties and candidates operate under more oppressive rules than other spenders. This creates incentives for legislators to further liberalize the system, and that is also a good thing.
David LeRoy – 4 Promoted Comments
In practical terms, nothing. Look at the 2010 midterms- especially the races where there was considerable advocacy by "outside groups" whether expressly for or against a candidate, or impliedly so. I believe the win percentages for the candidates receiving the greater amount of support in terms of money or advocacy is somewhere near 50%.
I believe that many analysts forget one very important fact: voters pull levers in voting booths, not dollar bills.
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy – 1 Promoted Comment
The public policy response to Citizens United leaves the distinct impression that our politics are not capable of producing results that 85% or more of Americans want: more transparent elections. Clearly $135 million of dark money in the 2010 midterm wasn't enough to motivate our Congress or our administrative agencies to act to bring clarity to money in politics.
The Federal Election Commission has been particularly hamstrung in responding to the new Citizens United reality. As FEC Commissioner Weintraub lamented earlier this year:
here we sit, almost eighteen months after Citizens United was announced, mired in gridlock over whether certain aspects of the case may be addressed in the rulemaking, over whether the Commission is willing to hear from the public on a part of the case that my colleagues would prefer to pretend is not there. Regrettably, we cannot even agree on whether certain questions may be posed, let alone reach the stage to consider the substance of any final rule. Disclosure, which I have always considered one of the core missions of the FEC, has become, like the villain in a children's novel, the topic that may not be named.
That was in June. At this time in November, the FEC still has not acted to clarify what types of disclosures are required of corporate political spenders.
There appears to be a glimmer of light over at the FCC which announced it may require better disclosure for broadcast political ads. Industry efforts to quash this have already commenced.
This is why so many, including myself, have pinned their hopes on the independent SEC which has the capacity to bring transparency at least to our publicly-traded companies. (see http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1955950) Congressmen, economists, corporate law professors and investors with $690 billion worth of skin in the game have all urged the SEC to promulgate a new rule requiring disclosure of political spending by listed companies. (see http://www.sec.gov/comments/4-637/4-637.shtml) The second anniversary of Citizens United may come and go without new disclosure rules from any federal entity. If this comes to pass, it will show a grave political failure.
– 0 Promoted Comments
The driving premise of the court's corporatist philosophy is that the First Amendment does not discriminate on the basis of speaker identity.
Yet SCOTUS upheld in Richardson v. Ramirez (1974) the constitutionality of disenfranchisement statutes, which strip convicted felons of their right to vote. Though the court decided Richardson within the framework of the 14th Amendment's second section, which limits the Congressional representation of states that restrict voting rights, I would argue that the right to vote is nonetheless the quintessential form of symbolic speech as per the First Amendment.
It appears, then, that the Court affirmed the constitutionality of state law that debars felons from exercising their voting rights on the basis of their identity as felons, and thus established that the First Amendment does discriminate on the basis of speaker identity.
Once the idea of an indiscriminate First Amendment is rebutted, as evidenced in Richardson, the bedrock of corporate personhood collapses. The deduction that corporations are people who talk through money is rendered invalid, as it is not necessarily true, and unsound, as, in addition to being invalid, it does not proceed from a true premise.
Thoughts on this line of reasoning?
Charles Bowsher – 0 Promoted Comments
The Citizens United Debacle is the most important decision the Supreme Court has made in my lifetime (55 years). Question is, how do we, as lowly citizens get them to re-visit it and overturn it? There can be no question or argument made that will convince me it was properly decided. I challenge the readers here to answer how the SCOTUS refusal to recognize the simple fact that corporations are already, and always have been represented in our political process and system. "They" are represented by their owners, their shareholders and their customers. That ought to be enough representation for anyone!
Besides, how will "they" ever be able to fit into a non-electronic voting booth?


text:
Sitting pretty in layers of white, cotton ruffles and delicious, naked baby feet
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Nectar Of Life
Sitting pretty in layers of white, cotton ruffles and delicious, naked baby feet
7 comments:
- Love Being A Nonny said...
...and sweet nectar it is. Beautiful... 21 and 6 months all the way down to that kissable infant...You are BLESSED!
- August 5, 2011 at 8:47 AM
- Katie said...
Well, it sure sounds sweet! " ... delicious, naked baby feet ..." Oh, you said it. Sweet blessings... :)
- August 5, 2011 at 9:34 AM
- Christi said...
sweet, sweet nectar! beautiful family and moments.
- August 5, 2011 at 1:08 PM
- paige said...
just beautiful!!!!!!
i love that you love the simple extravagance of the daily!!
- August 5, 2011 at 4:23 PM
- Coastal Health and Home said...
Dear Sibi,
What beautiful pictures.
- August 6, 2011 at 9:15 AM
- Tiffany said...
Yes, it is... You are blessed.
- August 14, 2011 at 12:14 AM
- Bravehearted Beauty {formerly LLH Designs} said...
Just popped over here from sweet Paige's blog and have to say that first photo MELTS me! Absolutely love it! A blog friend recently encouraged me to indulge in the last week of summer (i was grumbling about going back to school...not ready to let my babies go). That photo is as indulgent as they come! Perfect!
Blessings to you,
- August 17, 2011 at 9:39 AM


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