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(WFAA) — Starting Tuesday, anyone without health insurance will be able to get it.
Open enrollment for the federal health insurance online marketplace begins October 1.
Health insurance companies will continue to sell policies to anyone who wants them, but only at HealthCare.gov can citizens qualify for discounts on those same policies.
People on Medicaid; those who currently have insurance; or seniors on Medicare need not apply.
"Those subsidies are going to not only pay for the premium costs; for many people they're going to find that the premium is much reduced over the premium that's listed because they'll be able to get a subsidy," Dr. Dan McCoy, chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, said. "But they'll also be able to find out if they'll get coverage for out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles,and co-pays."
Kynect: Ketnucky's healtcare connection
The government Web site clearly states shopping doesn't start until October 1. Before applying for coverage, shoppers will need the following information:
- a Social Security number (or document numbers for legal immigrants)
- W-2 forms or wage and tax statements for every family member who needs coverage
- policy numbers for any current health insurance plans
- a completed Employer Coverage Tool
That form is available for download as part of a checklist at HealthCare.gov.
The Affordable Care Act call center number is 800-318-2596.
Click here for WHAS11's coverage of health care reform and the Affordable Care Act.


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Haemonetics to Present at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference
BRAINTREE, Mass., Aug. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE: HAE) announced today that Chris Lindop, CFO & EVP, Business Development, will present at the Morgan Stanley Global Healthcare Conference in New York on September 10th, 2013 at 4:40 pm Eastern time.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120206/NE47232LOGO)
The public may access Mr. Lindop's presentation live via webcast at:
About Haemonetics
Haemonetics (NYSE: HAE) is a global healthcare company dedicated to providing innovative blood management solutions for our customers. Together, our devices and consumables, information technology platforms, and consulting services deliver a suite of business solutions to help our customers improve patient care and reduce the cost of healthcare for blood collectors, hospitals, and patients around the world. Our technologies address important medical markets: blood and plasma component collection, the surgical suite, and hospital transfusion services. To learn more about Haemonetics, visit our web site at http://www.haemonetics.com.
Gerry Gould, VP-Investor Relations
Tel. (781) 356-9402
Alt. (781) 356-9613
SOURCE Haemonetics Corporation
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- Haemonetics to Present at Morgan Stanley's Global Healthcare Conference
- Aug 22, 2014, 08:00 ET
- Haemonetics Reports 1st Quarter Fiscal 2015 Revenue of $224 Million and Adjusted EPS of $0.38, Affirms Full Fiscal Year Guidance
- Jul 30, 2014, 06:00 ET
- Charles J. Dockendorff Joins Haemonetics Board of Directors
- Jul 23, 2014, 11:00 ET
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subset: commoncrawl


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A late evening wreck sent at least one person to the hospital.
The crash happened Tuesday evening on Bob Wallace Avenue near Triana Boulevard.
Police said a black truck got into the wrong lane and slammed into a red truck.
The driver of a motorcycle jumped off his bike just before it slid underneath the red truck.
"It was the only thing I knew to do. If I would have locked my brakes up, it would have been a lot worse if I would have tried to stay on my bike, so I proceeded to tuck and roll as they smashed into each other," said Nicholas Hyatt.
Hyatt suffered bruises to his arm and back.
Frank Ogle of the red truck was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Family members said he suffered two broken legs and damage to the spleen but is expected to be ok.
The driver of the black truck, William Benton Latham, 35, was arrested and charged with second degree assault and driving under the influence.
The investigation is ongoing.
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Definition of cobbler in English:
cobblerSyllabification: cob·bler
Pronunciation: /ˈkäblər /
1A person who mends shoes as a job.
More example sentences
- He also worked as a master cobbler, mending shoes.
- Each small community would have had its local cobbler who produced shoes to fit each individual customer uniquely.
- The old cobbler who had been mending shoes in the doorway of a building was unexpectedly replaced by a stranger.
3chiefly North American A fruit pie with a rich crust on top.
More example sentences
- For dessert, we ordered a peach and huckleberry cobbler with vanilla gelato and four spoons.
- We eat our chicken and kugel, and then we serve the raspberry cobbler for dessert.
- The cobblers I usually make have crumby toppings; this one would turn out biscuity.
Middle English: of unknown origin.
let the cobbler stick to his last
- proverb People should only concern themselves with things they know something about.[translating Latin ne sutor ultra crepidam]More example sentences
- My advise to the company: let the cobbler stick to his last.
Definition of cobbler in:
- The British & World English dictionary
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Word of the day anomalous
Pronunciation: əˈnɒm(ə)ləs
deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected


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NaturaLawn of America's environmentally friendly approach to lawn care has been creating green lawns quickly, more naturally, and with fewer weeds since 1987. A one-size-fits-all chemical program is simply not a safe approach—for you, your pets, or the environment. That's why NaturaLawn of America customizes a formula that's right for your lawn, using natural and organic-based products. Since no two lawns are alike, a soil test is the first step taken to determine the essential nutrients available or lacking in your yard. Working with nature, not against it, NaturaLawn of America strengthens your lawn's root system by building up the soil to help give you a healthier, greener lawn.
In addition to its growing number of service locations across the United States, NaturaLawn of America offers an exclusive line of do-it-yourself retail products through its website. This extensive line consists of safer insect, weed and rodent controls, as well as eco-friendly ice melt, grass seed and equipment.
Healthy lawns require less of your time and money, so call today at (800) 989-5444 for Safer Lawn Care NaturallyTM!
Areas We Serve: Currently a total of 64 service locations in 23 states and the number is growing. Don't see one in your area? Visit the Products for Sale section to have items shipped directly to your home, or call (800) 989-5444 if you're interested in owning your own franchise!


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100.9 BOB FM (KWFB) is once again ranked number one among the highly-coveted Persons 25-54 demographic in the Fall/Spring 2013 survey period (Wichita Falls MSA). KWFB also ranks among the top three stations among P18-49 and P35-64.
Advertisers love BOB FM because it appeals to listeners with mid-to-upper levels of income. Place your commercials on a radio station that connects with listeners with disposable income.
BOB's "Adult Hits" format targets adults 25-54, and it performs well among men and women demographics.
For more information about advertising on BOB FM, call (940) 322-1009 or by email at email@example.com
BOB FM and 95.5 ESPN are operated by Falls Media, LCC, the only locally-owned radio or TV company in Wichita Falls. The company website is www.fallsmediagroup.com
Home | EEO | Employment Opportunities | Advertising Information | Contests | Contest Rules | Contact Bob


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WAUSAU, WI (WTAQ) - The show must go on -- and it did, after an SUV slammed into a building where a jazz concert was taking place last night at the UW's two-year campus in Wausau.
No one was hurt -- including the driver -- but part of the vehicle landed about two feet inside the audio control room of the theater where 250 people were watching the show.
Student Anne Jagler tells WAOW-TV she was sitting near the back of the theater when there was a loud crash, and people scattered out of the sound check room. She said everyone kept their cool, as the concert continued.
The theater itself was not affected. Wausau fire officials said the crash damaged heat lines in the building, and maintenance crews quickly found a leak.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)


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Whistler Olympics Accommodation View an accurate and complete list of Whistler 2010 vacation rentals available for the Olympics & Paralympic Games. Whistler Olympics accommodation tips.
That's right, there's no price gouging for this special event. Pre-book your discount Whistler lift tickets to pay less than resort rates. 90% of mountain terrain will be open to the public during the Olympics!
The properties listed below are available for at least one night between Feb 12th - 28th, 2010 inclusive. Expand your search for longer stays and/or arrivals earlier than Feb 12th, 2010, or search on specific dates that you may have tickets by clicking the search button below. Results are accurate, fast & most lodging providers offer instantly confirmed bookings!
Looking for an Olympics rental in Vancouver? Check out our Vancouver vacation rentals.
Quick Facts - Whistler 2010 Whistler Ski Season Truths


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This year's contrived budget crisis is headed to its climax, as the date for defaulting on the nation's debt approaches.
Washington's budget debates are dizzying and incomprehensible. But at stake is what kind of country we will have. House Republican Tea Party zealots, backed by well-funded right-wing lobbies, continue to manufacture budget crises. They want to alarm Americans into accepting cuts in basic security — in food stamps, and home heating, in Social Security or Medicare benefits — that would otherwise be utterly unacceptable.
Lost in the uproar is any reasoned discussion of the real strategies we need to make this economy work for working people. It is vital that the president and the Democrats in Congress end this macabre dance and make it clear to people just what the stakes actually are. The measure of any compromise deal is whether it will crush the hostage-takers.
Last week, Tea Party Republicans finally blinked. The big money that drove the effort to hold government hostage in order to defund, or at least delay, Obamacare called off the dogs. With catastrophic financial default looming, and Republicans already plummeting in polls measuring voter approval, the lavishly funded right-wing lobby groups — Heritage Action for America, the Koch Brothers' Americans for Prosperity, the Club for Growth — unfurled the white flag, announcing that they would not punish House Republicans for voting for a short-term hike in the debt ceiling.
Simultaneously, conservative business money — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, and others — carefully leaked plans to protect incumbents in primaries against zealous Tea Party challengers. The Koch Brothers took a step back; the corporate and bank money looked to limit the damage.


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Kirsten Dunst Off the Wagon Again?
The recently rehabbed starlet was spotted with Champagne glass in hand, and more celebrity mishaps in our morning gossip roundup.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
Skip to content, or skip to search.
The recently rehabbed starlet was spotted with Champagne glass in hand, and more celebrity mishaps in our morning gossip roundup.
Organizers hope to reschedule the event for June 2010.
Mary J. Blige and Chris Brown are denying reports that they agreed to participate.
When they were revealed, everything in the Hamptons ground to a HALT.
And more celebrity revelations, in our daily gossip roundup.
First she was dumped by Samantha, and now she's been dissed by her idol. The trials of Lilo, and more, in our daily gossip roundup.
Plus, the rest of today's hot gossip.
Plus: Tristan Wilds is killing people again!
Also, PPR's sales are up.
And would you cut your eyebrows for cash?
With Jennifer Lopez, Demi Moore, Kanye West, and more.
Gwynnie, are you really sure that opening gyms and not acting is the right move for you? And all that sort of fake-friend crap in Wee Wittle Wednesday's gossip roundup.
Plus, Agyness Deyn puts caviar and truffle oil in her hair.
Also Kirsten Dunst is already wearing spring 2009 Prada.
In today's gossip rundown, the actor's 78-year-old mother reveals a little TMI in a new memoir, plus, celebrities descend on Denver, though the Obama campaign would prefer they didn't.
Also, Victoria's Secret Pink will make college clothes, London shoppers luuuurve their Halston, and Victoria Beckham lets editors try on her diamond.
All the hair dryers at 'Vogue' kept shorting out the lights on Monday as assistants prepped for the ball, Mary J. Blige probably left right after walking the carpet, and Christina Ricci didn't stay for dinner either.
Hova and Mary J stop in at 1Oak, Julia Louis-Dreyfus talks trash, and J.Lo starves herself back to normal in our daily roundup of the best bits in New York's gossip columns.
Plus, transvestites in Times Square, Marc Jacobs and his new boyfriend, and Priscilla Presley's Botox in our daily gossip roundup!
Tom Ford heads to Asia for retail, Stella McCartney heads to India for fashion and tigers, and Mary J. Blige heads to Long Island for a concert and lawsuit.


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Inca Inchi Your Way To Better Skin
INCA INCHI (inkuh inchee) / n. / 1. Scientific name Plukenetia volubilis, a perennial plant native to the Amazonian rain forest; / n. / 2. / A serrated, star-shaped fruit with seeds that resemble almonds; / n. / 3. / An oil rich in protein, omega fatty acids, iodine, and vitamin A, with superfood accreditation; / n. / 4. / A mild, nutty-flavored cooking aid; / n. / 5. / An essential fatty acid-rich elixir that, when applied topically, effectively fights free radical damage, e.g., "Add flavor to a salad and help protect the skin from oxidative stress with Inca Inchi."
Try it: Amala Rejuvenate Advanced Firming Complex with Inca Inchi extract, $248, at www.amalabeauty.com.—Fiorella Valdesolo
Photo: Courtesy of Amala


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What the First Sea Lord said....
Discussion in 'Royal Navy' started by Yokel, May 16, 2011.
Welcome to the Army Rumour Service, ARRSE
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The heart of the site is the forum area, including:
- Current Affairs, News and Analysis
- The Int Cell (Gossip)
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Ardmore-Merion-Wynnewood Patch wants to know which is the area's best place to grab a cupcake.
Readers can vote for:
If there is a place that we're missing, tell us in the comments and we'll add it to the poll. If we missed something, we want to hear about it.
There are two ways to vote for your favorite: pick your favorite in our poll below or leave a review on Patch Place listing .
In the event of a tie on our survey, we will break the tie by counting the positive comments written below about the tied businesses. So please let us know why you think your choice is the best.
Also, check out the polling at our neighboring Patches:


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Buffalo Campus
18 Agassiz Circle
Buffalo, NY 14214
(716) 880-2000
(800) 292-1582
Rochester Campus
1880 S. Winton Rd.
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 272-0030
(866) 212-2235
As a graduate of Medaille, you are part of the family. The Alumni Association is led by a dynamic group of volunteers who work with the Office of College Relations to enhance the experience, visibility and programming of the Alumni Association.
Office of College Relations: The Office of College Relations is a highly-integrated group of professionals who leads the college in championing its story to all audiences for the purposes of cultivating friends, building support, and generating resources to enable Medaille to achieve its mission and vision. >> Meet the staff
Alumni Association Board of Directors: Comprised of 17 volunteers from the Buffalo, Amherst and Rochester campuses, the Alumni Association Board of Directors represent the voice of 12,000+ Medaille graduates. >> Meet the Board of Directors
Alumni Committees: Volunteers represent the graduates of their respective campuses and assist the board in engaging, connecting and informing graduates of the opportunities available to them as members of the Alumni Association. >> Meet Committee Members
Alumni Profiles: Our alumni do great things. Learn what graduates of Medaille are accomplishing, professionally and personally, by reading through our alumni profiles. If you want to be featured or know someone who should, email firstname.lastname@example.com.
The instructors were knowledgeable and welcomed class discussions, with
respect for each student's contribution. I've learned how to be a more
effective leader. My capstone class gave insight on how to combine all
the education learned to operate a business. That's when I realized how
much I had sharpened my knowledge.


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(WNFL) - Keifer Sykes of U-W Green Bay was named today as the Horizon League men's player-of-the-week for the fourth time this season. Sykes, a junior guard, had 24 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds against Youngstown State on Saturday. He also had 15 points and five boards against Cleveland State. Jarod Williams of Detroit is the men's freshman-of-the-week. The women's top freshman is U-W Milwaukee guard Bre'Zall Warren. She had 11 points and four rebounds off the bench in U-W-M's 20-point win over Nebraska-Omaha yesterday. Forward Ruvanna Campbell of Illinois-Chicago is the Horizon women's player-of the-week.
Milwaukee Brewers Baseball 5:35 PM - 10:00 PM
On Air Now.


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You can follow my personal costuming projects here. Find your favorite eras by navigating the tags here! Ask me anything and tell me what you'd like to see!
Portrait of Marie-Gabrielle Capet, 1798. by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803).
Adelaide Labille-Guiard was the great rival of Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun, but without family or artistic connections. Her skills were developed over a period of years, and she only began to exhibit her works in her late thirties. She first learned the art of miniature painting, the traditional art form in which women not only participated but dominated.
In the 1780s, she was admitted to the Royal Academy, and she attracted a number of prominent clients, including King Louis XVI's sisters. Her exhibitions were popular, but she never quite equalled the fame of Vigée-Lebrun. Their rivalry was part of the Parisian artistic scene before the Revolution. Frequently, their pictures were hung side by side, inviting comparisons.
Unlike Vigee-Lebrun, Labille-Guiard was a supporter of reform, and painted a number of figures who had criticized the court and the crown. Subsequently she stayed in France during the Revolution. In 1791, she exhibited fourteen portraits of the political elite including Robespierre and Talleyrand. She used the Revolution to further the cause of women artists, and in 1790 she addressed the Academy on lifting the quota for women in that institution. The motion was opposed by David and failed.. Nevertheless, her tenacity during the Revolution gained her many commissions. The passing of the first divorce laws permitted her finally to marry her partner of many years. She died in Paris three years later, in 1803
This post doesn't mention that she not only attracted the sisters of Louis XVI as one-time clients - she was the First Painter of the Mesdames! That's very official. She was one of only four female Académicians admitted at once, along with Vigée-Lebrun, and they were both extremely popular and successful. We've all but forgotten about Labille-Guiard in favor of Vigée-Lebrun now, but it wasn't the case then.
After all, Labille-Guiard was the artist chosen by the Académie to paint Louis XVI before his execution. One other artist was also chosen to depict the king. And his name? Jacques Louis-David. If this female artist was deemed just as worthy to paint a portrait of the king as David, she enjoyed a great amount of prestige and fame at one point in her life. (Note: neither of the portraits were completed.)
And as a side note, I know the date "1798" is all over the internet connected to this portrait of Labille-Guiard's student, but I really think it must be 1789.. because 1798's fashions looked like this!
EDIT: the new tumblr set-up 100% sucks, so I have to link to the fashion plate. http://pinterest.com/pin/236790892879676980/


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MILWAUKEE, WI (WTAQ) - Some of the same people who brought you President Obama's re-election campaign will do the same for Democrat Mary Burke in her run for Wisconsin governor.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says the former Trek Bicycle executive has brought in Obama advertising director Jim Margolis as her media strategist.
Pete Giangreco, who decided the tone of what voters got in the mail for Obama's first campaign in 2008, will do the same for Burke. He also worked with Democrat Tammy Baldwin's U.S. Senate campaign a year ago. So did Diane Feldman, who did polling for Baldwin. She'll be Burke's pollster as well.
State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate told the paper that Burke has attracted "the top talent in the country" as she tries to unset Republican Scott Walker in a year from now.
Many Democrats are hoping Burke will have a clear path to her party's nomination against Walker, so they don't have to spend money on a primary challenge.
State Senate Democrat Kathleen Vinehout says she has talked to people who want a choice. She's testing the waters before announcing early next year if she'll run in a primary against Burke


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First gets it right for Hennessy
Robbie Hennessy greets Andrew Lynch and Mister First
(Healy Racing Photos)
Lord Multifix made a bold bid from the front in the two-and-a-half mile contest but was swept aside going to the last by Robbie Hennessy's charge.
Andrew Lynch's mount was soon in command and went on to record a nine-and-a-half length success over Peace In The West.
The 5/1 winner (from 13/2) had failed to make the most of his lower timber mark on a couple of runs here last year but made no mistake today.
Forjoethepainter was sent off the 11/4 favourite to follow up his Christmas success at Limerick but could only finish a well-beaten fourth.
"Andrew knows him so well. He's a tricky horse to ride and you have to sit and sit," said Hennessy.
"The horse deserves it more than anything. We'll probably go back over fences as there is a two-and-a-half mile handicap for him on Thyestes day at Gowran Park.
"The handicapper will give him a bit of a belt for that but I told Andrew if he hits the front not to stop."
(Additional reporting by Alan Magee)
See also
» Meeting Review for Fairyhouse, Wed, 9th Jan, 2013
» Result - Fairyhouse 2.20, 9th Jan Home Of Ladbrokes Ir.Gr.Nat.Nov.Hcap Hdl (Rated 80-102)
» All news for Wed, 9th Jan, 2013
|« Latest News
|Earlier News »


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Review: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction
Up above, thick clouds paste up the sky, the moon just barely blinking through every so often; even the crickets seem to have gotten out of your way on the ridge. Shadows hug your shoulders and you feel your breath behind your eyes as you count "one, two, three, four hostiles" below you in the quarry." The one lying behind you, the one with a new orifice at the base of his spine, obviously hadn't heard of the buddy system; the guys down below though are going to be a little trickier to deal with. They can't see you at all, though they might feel something; still, they can look at the dark as much as they want and see whatever their mind's fancy. You're a Rorschach test on black paper. This will be easy. Four squeezes, four heads, that's all it is; you line up your first shot... your finger twitches a little, and you miss? They look up, flashlights stabbing; you fumble and throw a flash bang (any reason?) that bounces off a tree and lands two feet in front of you. White noise, a few comments regarding your mother, and not even a reload later you're back to the load screen...F#@*!
Isn't this that moment where you're pulled out of the game? You were in it but then something stupid like this happens. It's that disconnect when what you intended to do doesn't exactly translate virtually, in this case, instead of a virtuoso demonstration of ballistics and marksmanship, you might as well have run around the evil-doers base with an air horn. You wouldn't have done that in real life, your trigger finger isn't next to a button that automatically throws grenades. This is one of Splinter Cell: Conviction's delights. It does a great job of translating your intent and planning. Along with this strength is a surprisingly engaging story and protagonist. And added to a great story mode is a bad-ass cereal box prize bonus: some of the most challenging co-op modes I've played.
You remember those lunchtime scenarios you'd come up with your friends. The ones that concerned shock troopers crashing through windows with smoke grenades; where you'd plan out Han Soloesque gun-slinging and maybe some John Woo acrobatics to clear the room, all climaxing with that final round between the eyes of the last troop holding Stacy Edwards, the captain of the cheer leading squad, hostage? Then it ends with her making out with you? At least me and my friends did, and I think someone at Ubisoft did as well because that's the kind of planning you can execute in SCC (minus the making out with Stacy part).
The kind of smooth movement you'd have moving between targets with an actual gun in your hand, or actually running between cover is a lot easier in reality than with an analog stick. Ubisoft did a great job in approximating that with several control and environmental elements. The Mark and Execute system is the game's greatest proponent of this. You get to pre-target enemies and as long as the targets are in range, Sam Fisher can then instantaneously strike head shots, clearing the room without raising alarm. To make things fair, certain weapons only allow you so many marks (pre-targets). The Five-Seven pistol (now my favorite) provides four marks, the most in the game. This doesn't mean you can just run through the maps taking out four people at a time though.
Fisher only gets Mark and Execute after performing a close quarter take down. Why grinding someone's neck allows Fisher super marksmanship ability, I'm not too sure, but it kept the game from becoming straightforward. Mark and Execute overall might sound too easy, but when you take into account that Fisher is a super spy, it makes sense. He should, and is more than capable of, executing multiple head shots. And in a genre where stealth sometimes depends on simultaneously taking out multiple targets, I'm thankful for it. Quickly moving cross hairs between heads can get sloppy when done manually with an analog stick. If you kept raising alarms in scenarios like this, the game play would get bogged down after a while.
Environment also provides for great planning and game play. A little artistic feature I really enjoyed involves shadows. When Fisher is wrapped in shadows, the world goes black and white, with enemies and environmental traps (propane tanks, lamps) remaining in color. It looks great and conveys that mood of concealment, but more importantly, it means enemies can't see you. You can prowl from the shadows to the edge of light, grab an enemy (holding B to take him hostage) and bring him back into the shadows to snap his neck; no one will ever find him (ooooooooh, chills). You can also climb pipes up walls and across ceilings inverted to further survey an area from shadow. Or you can move through the room like this without alerting anyone, or even engage the enemy form this position; it's great for ambushing and the enemy will have trouble finding you.
A little detail that really comes in handy when you are discovered is called Last Known Position. When enemies see you and are alerted to you, an outline of Fisher is projected at that spot. This is your Last Known Position. It's great because enemies will focus on that spot and will even move in to flank it. You can then maneuver accordingly and take out enemies skillfully. Planning goes a step further with gadgets like the snake cam. You peak under doors with it and can even mark enemies on the other side for a quick Mark and Execute when you kick in, or calmly open, the door. The ultimate in planning though is the new tri-focal sonar goggles. They let you see through walls and highlight enemies as the signal pings off and returns. Yes, you can use Mark and Execute with the goggles, but to make it fair, the image washes up and fills with static as you move. So it's more of ping every so often thing since they work best when you're stationary.
This all provides for that sense of classic sneak and shadow Splinter Cell. There is a shift in the overall direction of the series though. As I mentioned before in my Initial Impressions blog post, there was an inclination towards more action in the game. Now having finished the game; I see that it's a well balanced amount of action in a refreshing way. There was plenty of silenced pistol sneaking throughout the game, but it felt nice to burn through magazines of tax-paid ammunition every so often. You can even incite the action yourself. If the mission doesn't strictly require non detection, you can alert everyone in the base to come on down to the fire fight in the mansion's atrium. There's a slew of weapons to choose from if you want to gun sling, but if your priority is sneaking, you only really need your pistol. Again, the Five-Seven is the way to go.
I was surprisingly engaged by the story. It isn't anything special; just your stock, power-high secret agency coup d' etat against America bit. It's the way that it's told though that matters. Through Fisher's eyes it's a story about a father's love. It's also a story about trust and sacrifice. I won't divulge the context, but the best crafted moment in the game, one that a lot of games try to achieve but mishandle, is just a close up of Fisher. It isn't overpowered by a melodramatic orchestral number, and there's no accusations or vows or maxims. It's just a human reaction: anger. A thick, sloshing anger that rears and roils; one that wants to split Fisher apart.
Some of the story is narrated by Victor Coste, Fisher's old friend from the Gulf War. He's telling it in an interrogation room of an unnamed agency after the events of the game. Coste's narration conveys to the contextualization of Fisher's story; that Fisher's search for the truth is swooped up in these greater events involving the fate of the nation. Another great story telling element is very subtle. Throughout the environments, scenes, pictures, words, and instructions are projected onto walls and other surfaces in a grainy old school film manner. They serve as a way to look at Fisher's thoughts without blatantly doing so with cut scenes or flashbacks. They tell you Fisher is always thinking and brooding and the past is always present to him. There's a great flashback in the tutorial though. When you're learning to use shadows, Fisher recalls a night when his daughter was younger and was scared of the dark. It's very revealing of his state of mind; one that's weathered and tired, one that lost meaning when he lost his daughter. Other cut scenes reveal future events, and without giving anything away, they again recall Fisher's cynical thoughts on trust.
Don't you love it when a game feels like it's worth the $60? After going through the campaign, I was very pleased to find out the multiplayer and Deniable Ops modes are more challenging than the story. Multiplayer has it's own story line that precedes the events in SCC. You play as either a Third Echelon agent code-named Archer or as codename agent Kestrel from Voron, the Russian counterpart of the agency. The game play is so rewarding. Here's where you have planning at its best. Your buddy can take out an enemy on a ledge while you head shot the guard in the tower. You can both Mark and Execute, and if you're both using Five-Seven pistols, well, let's just say it's caramel deep-fried in sexy. The layout of guards, cameras, and laser grids makes the whole thing one giant sneak and kill puzzle.
Other multiplayer game modes such as Last Stand have you protect an EMP generator against waves of enemies, and a Uplay (Ubisoft's frequent player point system) exclusive, Infiltration mode, has you hunt down enemies without raising an alarm. As soon as someone becomes aware of you, the mission is scrapped. I found this mode especially challenging. What makes the multiplayer even sweeter though is split-screen play. Yes, split-screen play. I'm of the school of gaming that still enjoys having a friend next to me while I play so this was a real treat. SCC's Deniable Ops are basically the single player version of the multiplayer game modes, minus the story and Face Off modes. All in all, this is a really awesome addition to the game.
I only had a few complaints about the game and they're not even that serious. Don't get me wrong, Michael Ironside, Fisher's voice actor, has an amazing voice. He's up there with James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), and Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, but more importantly, the All-State guy; Are you in good hands?). It's just that his voice didn't seem to match up at points. I guess Ironside (Isn't that a sweet name?) wanted to convey a Sam Fisher who'd been through too much; but it came off too weathered sometimes. With the sometimes over-haggardness of the voice, and Fisher obviously aging, you could even take the game as one long commercial for "Touch of Gray" hair dye by Just for Men; yeah, you can throw a football through a tire, and dislocate someone's spine. I couldn't help but laugh because his voice sometimes came off like an Optimus Prime, Harrison Ford hybrid (Optimus Ford, Harrison Prime?). It only bothered me sometimes though, and that said, please don't kill me with your steel vocal cords Mr. Ironside.
You don't like my voice?!
What really annoyed me though was the Face Off multiplayer mode. You're supposed to hunt down the other spy while there are NPC enemies thrown into the mix; that's what I think kills this game mode. I wanted to focus on hunting down the other player, but NPC's get in the way and if I wanted to, I could win the match just by focusing on NPC's; absolutely pointless. It might as well be the regular hunter mode where you just have to eliminate enemies. My last complaint is Fisher's walk. It annoyed the hell out of me. I really appreciate that Ubisoft took the time to create realistic movement for Fisher, but they overdid it in this aspect. It reminded me of the "Ooooh! Look at me! I'm Batman!" iron-torso walk from Batman: Arkham Asylum. I guess they wanted to show power behind Fisher's every step, but it's a little counter-intuitive to the spy game. If I was a bad guy on the look out for a super spy in a crowd, someone who looks like they can kill with their forehead, I wouldn't have a hard time spotting Fisher's angry runway model strut. One last thing, no overtly large combat knifes? How can you have a stealth game without the joys, the elation of knifing? SCC really feels like a complete package. A classic Splinter Cell feel that doesn't feel tired and redundant with great action, control, and compelling story. Along with a sweet multiplayer suite, I feel it's worth the buy. This review is based off a retail copy of the game.
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A game with so much explosion, anyone who is not a fan of this kind of action-packed series should have to adjust their expectations a bit. - Peter F. Spittler


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Moroccan-style chicken with lentils
By Lesley Waters
Cooking timePrep: 20 mins Cook: 1 hr, 40 mins
Skill levelEasy
ServingsServes 2 adults and 2-3 children
Lesley Waters' rich chicken dish has vibrant North African flavours and goes fantastically with rice or couscous
Nutrition and extra info
Additional info
- Freezable
- Healthy
Nutrition per adult serving
- kcalories
- 461
- protein
- 48g
- carbs
- 40g
- fat
- 13g
- saturates
- 3g
- fibre
- 6g
- sugar
- 1g
- salt
- 1.45g
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 50g split red lentils
- 400g can chopped tomato
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 700ml chicken stock
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 200g whole dried apricots
- handful mint leaves, to serve (optional)
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Want to know how this works? Read all about it here.
- Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Rub 1 tbsp olive oil into the chicken thighs. Mix the garlic, cumin, coriander and paprika together, then rub all over the chicken thighs on both sides.
- Heat a large flameproof casserole, add the chicken thighs and cook over a medium heat for 5 mins until golden on both sides. You might need to do this in 2 batches, depending on the size of the casserole. Set the chicken aside. Turn down the heat, add the remaining oil and fry the onion for 5 mins until softened.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients, apart from the mint and bring to the boil. Place the chicken thighs on top and pour in any juices. Cover and cook for 1½ hrs, until the meat is tender and the sauce thickened. Can be cooled and frozen at this stage for up to 1 month. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge, then gently warm through. Scatter with fresh mint leaves and serve with couscous or rice.
Recipe from Good Food magazine, January 2006
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Comments, questions and tips
Really disappointed - followed this recipe to the letter and the outcome was pretty tasteless. Was not as rich and flavoursome as I was hoping for, the end result was just a bit 'meh' - which is a real shame as I've tried out lots of good food recipes with usually pretty good results. Won't be trying this one again.
I used chicken thighs on the bone which worked well in terms of tenderness and taste but would remove the skin next time as there was a lot of fat to be poured off. I also added a 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon for a bit of extra warmth in the spices and a teaspoon of smoked paprika.It went down very well with my guests but I will put more smoked paprika in next time as more spiceyness would have been welcome.
V nice, used lentils from a tin, no apricots, but half a leek, and used bulgar wheat, similar to couscous, however too much runny liquid that came out of the pot with lid, and all over the oven which I had to clean afterwards. Next time I will try in a big pan on the hob and less stock, if any, as the tin of tomatoes had enough liquid on its own. Also it will save on cooking time.
After reading other reviews I reduced the apricots to 125g increased lentils to 70g and added a tsp of hot chilli powder and a tsp chilli flakes then replaced the sweet paprika with hot smoked as we like some spice. It was absolutely delicious. I also added some red and yellow peppers for something extra. The sauce was a bit thin but as someone else said just put some cornflour in it was perfect. My husband loved it. Going to make it with lamb next time as think it would work really well.
It seems like a very versatile recipe so use it as a base and change things as they would suit you and your family.


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While President Barack Obama is determined to federalize local school boards, the Georgia General Assembly wades into the affairs of the U.S. State Department to prohibit the state from doing business with firms that do business with Sudan. OK. Respective corners, please.
My desire to have the federal government more deeply involved in the affairs of the neighborhood school are on par with my desire to have my city and state dabbling in foreign policy.
I want the locals to fix potholes and manage the contract for garbage pickup.
I want the state to manage the budget and to fix traffic congestion.
I want the federal government to maintain a strong national defense and to avoid projecting weakness that invites aggression.
I want them to be both honest and transparent. President Obama, continuing the campaign that never ends, took to an Internet forum Thursday to answer questions that started with this beach ball: "Our educational system … is woefully inadequate. How do you plan to restore education as a right and core cultural value in America?"
"Well, it's a great question," he replied. He then proceeded in the vein of a thousand candidates for state and local offices offering yet another blueprint for fixing the neighborhood schools.
The greater question would be: "What in the world is the president of the United States doing, with the world's economy collapsing around us, pretending to be a governor or local school board member?"
The federal role in k-12 education is virtually nil. It does have a track record in designing and funding layer upon layer of job training programs. They're serial failures. "To be charitable, there's not any good evidence that these programs work," said Dan Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a Libertarian think tank in Washington. "When social science researchers have done studies comparing controlled populations with people going through these programs, they have not found that those who go through the programs are getting jobs at a better rate or higher levels." The federal government has no more expertise in fixing schools than states have in fighting wars. It's sloshing around in the swamp searching for a dollar trail out. Admittedly, George W. Bush opened this door with No Child Left Behind, just as he did with the $700 billion intervention to arrest panic in the financial sector.
It can charitably be said that Bush's unwise expansion had a redemptive feature. NCLB gave choice to poor children stuck in failed schools, though its implementation was too contained by those who opposed it to warrant the intrusion.
Over the years, the public school establishment has perfected the art of resistance to would-be reformers. It's masterful in slow-walking, top-down change. "Reforms" of the Obama variety have been attempted repeatedly by smarter people closer to the problem than the president of the United States.
"Let's pay our teachers more money," Obama said Thursday. "Let's give them more support. Let's give them more training. Let's make sure that schools of education that are training our teachers are up to date with the best methods to teach our kids. And let's work with teachers so that we are providing them measures of whether they're effective or not and let's hold them accountable …"
A thousand politicians could have uttered those lines — and not one has found the way to translate rhetoric into lasting results. The problems are far more complex — starting with the fact that substantial numbers of children no longer have a married mother and father at home.
The feds have a tiny role in public education that started with the effort to compensate local systems for the impact of federal installations that required them to build more schools. It was expanded then to special populations, poor kids for example. But always it's been limited, though it's now up to 8.5 percent of the funding that goes to local schools.
The feds have no expertise. They can't perform any better with local schools than they have with job training.
The Georgia General Assembly ventured into foreign policy on Sudan, as 27 other states have, because Congress "invited" them to under President Bush. It's work for bureaucrats and the casual expansion of regulation for political statement.
Georgia should let the president tend to his business — and he should let governors, legislators and local school boards tend to theirs.
March 28th, 2009
7:51 am
Well, Wooten is 100% Right. If the feds would just leave us alone down here we could have things humming. We could get rid of these Equal Rights laws. We could cut way back on wasting money on schools and such and we could run roads where we want them without having the tree-huggers hold things up for years. We could get rid of all this welfare and let the lazy bums and Those People die if they won't work. Now we can't even pass a law without somebody hauling us into court. We need to get back to States Rights.
I see the people in N. Dakota are still dealing with the flood. I never figured out why people live in places like that. Seems to me if you are a settler and move into one of those places and it snows about four feet in the winter and ice is all over the place and then the river floods you out in the spring you would say I'm going to get the heck out of here and move South where all you got to think about is a twister every once in a while. Heck, anybody can learn to like grits and blackeye peas and such.
Have a good weekend everybody. And watch out for the twisters today. If you are in your trailer and you look outside and nothing looks the same as before it's time to get out of there.
March 28th, 2009
9:11 am
Excellent work, Jim. I couldn't fault a word of it.
March 28th, 2009
9:21 am
Good morning, Jim.
As you know, I have spent the better part of 40 years in the effort to deliver sound, effective, and efficient public education to kids in two states and (for the past decade) at the college-level as well. I don't have all the answers, but I d*mn sure know that the politicians from "Georgie" Bush to "Barry" Obama and all the little piggies in between don't have the answers either!
I am certain that when education is valued by parents or other adult caregivers of children, children become educated.
I am certain that the current "one size fits all" curriculum and "accountability based upon the results of one standardized, paper and pencil, bubble-up test" is not only illogical but, in the case of the "reformists" that currently control American education, the height of "idiocy"!
I am certain that, while I think local school boards are an archaic institution and should be relegated to the dung heap of the political junk pile, the notion that the national government should determine what and how students should learn gives me nightmares.
I am certain that the real power should reside with the individual states education agencies; however, our current Georgia Department of Education and Georgia Board of Education are about as impotent as residents at the retired eunuchs' home!
I am certain that we need education reform, but I don't think that we have anyone with the gonads to do what really needs to be done. Consequently, I suspect that by the time my grandchildren are my age, lousy, two-bit politicians will still be advancing the same old song to get re-elected to the government trough; that is, of course, provided that the nation hasn't collapsed by then.
March 28th, 2009
9:29 am
Yes, indeed, Jim. A fine piece with good opinions presented, as usual.
EVEN RedNeck added a good thought after watching frozen and flooding North Dakota: why would anyone want to live anywhere but the serendipitous South?
But I admire the great effort being given in North Dakota. Those folks are tough as nails and fighting the river every inch of water rising to save their homes. It is an admirable effort.
March 28th, 2009
9:33 am
jim- you have a problem with fed involvement of local schools and rightly so. but fed involvement with a citizens family is okay? the fed sets the "guideline" for child support. what about the feds involvment with drug sentencing? what about the feds involvement with domestic violence?
i guess its the "holier than thou" syndrom that causes you to cherry pick.
March 28th, 2009
9:46 am
A load of the usual Republinazi crap and nothing more!
March 28th, 2009
9:56 am
More talking points.
Deflection and conflation at its worst.
March 28th, 2009
10:31 am
Mid-South, let us all hope your portent of the possible demise of this nation is over-reaching.
I believe there are several key factors to this problem that are seldom, if ever, discussed. Because they involve that dreaded, misused Republiconned phrase – personal responsibility.
Of course it is much easier to blame the teachers! Or the school boards. Or the evil federal government". Or ANYBODY else. These can be factors, to be sure, but all the scape goating and finger pointing in the world doesn't change the fact that the most culpable of the parties involved is first and foremost, the families themselves. Which of course make up local communities.
I observed this problem's onset when as a culture it became acceptable to look at the smart kids as "losers", "pencil-neck geeks", "bookworms" etc… To be cool, almost by definition, meant to be un/undereducated and interested in a wide variety of topics like cars and girls, but definitely NOT academics. (I guess technically speaking shop class falls under the umbrella of academics, but you get my drift.)
By the eighties that mentality became an avalanche of easiness, whereby basically sleeping through high school and being stupid and uneducated was not only NOT a problem, it was actually NOT undesirable.
Kids learn from their parents, first and foremost.
And when the parents are themselves quasi-stupid, generally lacking the ability to read, write and comprehend standard written English and not terribly concerned about intellect, academics and knowledge, what do you expect from junior? Awesome critical thinking skills that properly prepare him for a lifetime of accomplishment and contribution?
And here in Dixie, the problem is clearly and undeniably exasperated by the two complimentary dumbarse factors – black trash and white trash. (I omitted the customary adjective "poor", because trust me, growing up poor is not a reason for people not putting in the hard work and sacrifice necessary to compete and succeed.) Throw in the bible-thumping, science-hating fundie parents with their paranoid distrust of the evil "liberal" education system and you have the perfect recipe for junior's scenario as described above. Add a healthy does of Mexicalis who are so damned lazy they won't even learn English. Or anything else relevant I suppose. Throw into the mix a bungling Pray for Rain governor and and it is obvious why Georgia has not, cannot and will never climb out of the primordial ID-promoting muck of academic failures.
So unfortunately, the Peach State is a national embarrassment. Chock full of disinterested, dogmatic deniers and personally irresponsible blamers.
And though I see it on these blogs every single day, people living an entire lifetime stupid and willfully ignorant will never be cool…
March 28th, 2009
10:45 am
There's really no inconsistency. The U.S. Constitution apportions the duties to be performed by the federal and state authorities, respectively. Per the contractual terms reached in our originary constitutional conventions, all powers not claimed expressly, in the Constitution, for federal administration are reserved to the states. That means, among other things, that our collective government, in Washington, D.C., serves at the behest of the states, and not the states at the behest of the federal government.
Point is: under the Constitution, education is reserved over against federal control.
March 28th, 2009
10:57 am
Incidentally the U.S. is unique in this regard. Ours is the only developed nation that doesn't run a centralized education ministry. Basically, we just don't believe in it, and never have done. Mr. Obama's own understanding of our history is so fitfull and spotty. May God help us.
The Framers feared the controlling potential of a central power authorized to force other people's children into national schools.
March 28th, 2009
11:09 am
Twitter Often.
March 28th, 2009
11:13 am
Glen-Point taken.
Usually, most federal programs that waste money and adversely affect our lives are due in large part to local politicians that can't resist the lure of federal funds. I've never met anyone that has anything good to say about NCLB but Georgia did not HAVE to accept the program.
Utah did not. its all about money. our money. why can't Georgia keep her money here instead of having to be coerced?
March 28th, 2009
11:20 am
Incidently, I was speaking of Mr. Wooten's inconsistence. Most repubs rail against any federal involvment(or use to) unless it is for their pet causes. (drugs, childsupport, crime.) I mean, how can your typical repub critize the wastefulness and ineffectiveness of the EPA but heap accolades on the DEA.
either you believe in centralization or our constitution.
March 28th, 2009
11:20 am
and I never mean any disrespect to Mr. Wooten.
March 28th, 2009
11:23 am
Obviously, Jim, the question was posed by someone who DOES think the federal government take precedence over local school boards and therein lies the problem –
and of course, Obama was all too happy to oblige with, as you said…..the same rhetoric offered up by a multitude of politicians who, over the last 40+ years, have proven themselves to be clueless. How would I have responded to this question:
"How do you plan to restore education as a right and core cultural value in America?"
@@: "First off, you're mistaken to believe it is a right — it's not a right, it's a privilege that parent's absolve themselves of and in doing so, abuse their children — what should I do about that?"
But of course, Obama couldn't be so forthright….it might jeopardize a future vote for the party.
I remember, while on the campaign trail, Obama spoke directly to parents about responsibility. Everyone was so impressed….so hopeful of change. I was somewhat impressed myself at the onset. Talking to a predominantly black audience, he started out with education:
"We're going to have to parent better, and turn off the television set, and put the video games away, and instill a sense of excellence in our children, and that's going to take some time."
"I've got to talk about us a little bit," said Obama. "We can't keep on feeding our children junk all day long, giving them no exercise. They are overweight by the time they are 4 or 5 years old, and then we are surprised when they get sick."
So here I would have to ask the question…..when he said turn off the T.V. and video-games, was he more concerned with their education or the cost they would place on his intended healthcare program?
And to top it all off, it was after making the comment about video-games that his campaign launched an ad:
Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video game publisher, confirmed Monday that Obama had taken out an ad in its new Xbox 360 racing game, Burnout Paradise.
Burnout Paradise? 'Ya just got snicker at that one.
Actions speak louder than words but unfortunately there's a conflict between the two when it comes to President Obama. If people are too dumb to realize that, the advantage is his and that's just the way he likes it.
March 28th, 2009
11:25 am
Poor ol' AmVet, all out of sorts as usual.
Jim Wooten frequently writes about parental responsibilities and yet AmVet says they are "seldom, if ever discussed". He is wrong as usual.
Then you hop on the South where you live and obviously will not leave. You ignore some of the finest universities in the country from the U. of Virginia to Duke to Emory and many others. Some of these universities have been established almost as early as the country. But you don't mention that.
Our high schools produce scholars whom excel and move on to excel in higher education. Georgia works to bring all students in whatever status they live to higher standards. The overall effort may not show in tests but children are learning.
Yes, many Southerners have a faith that enriches their lives. It seldom has any effect on the educational efforts of this state. Religious schools are available for those who desire that education. An occasional hastle over a science textbook hardly means more than a zealous effort by one person. It is not a joint effort to rewrite textbooks. You would think so reading AmVet.
Then AmVet wants to knock Southern citizens, spewing his hate on "Mecicalis" and anybody a little different from him. This state is a refuge for minorities who want to be treated fairly. The South is a warm state in weather and welcome. AmVet finds it his own little dark cave of disdain. Too bad 'cause he will never find happiness ANYWHERE.
March 28th, 2009
11:31 am
Look, jt:
I'm toatally open to it, if you think that schooling (which, by the way, I take as a bygone form of educational delivery) needs to be federalized. That's fair & square, and an important question to put, except that you'd have to put it to a constitutional convention authorized by two-thirds of the states.
If you're willing to do that, I'll attend. In the meantime, someone should point out to Mr. Obama that he's talking nonsense.
March 28th, 2009
11:33 am
amvet- I wish people would think that the peachstate is a national embarrasment so that the obnoxious ones swould stop flooding here.
Embarressment? as opposed to new jersey, new york, mass, ad naseum….
March 28th, 2009
11:44 am
I tried to say earlier, to our correspondent jt, that a fundamental reason for the incompetence for education decision-making resides in our state constitution, which apportions such authority to too many local education agencies, the too many counties of Georgia, thereby guaranteeing a certain degree of error. If not the federal constitution, then certainly the state constitution must be revised so as to vest control in fewer hands.
March 28th, 2009
11:45 am
Sorry, Glenn, Obama may be talking nonsense but I believe he has a definite goal in mind. It is the same goal he has for financial institutions, healthcare, voting policies, and anything within his reach. He wants GOVERNMENT CONTROL. He gently edges us into socialism while his supplicants applaud. Independence is just not his "thing".
March 28th, 2009
11:46 am
Well yes, Dusty, you're right of course.
But there's a way to handle these things correctly, and then there's Obama's and Emmanuel's way. I advocate the former.
March 28th, 2009
11:58 am
John Stwart Mill et peres said more than a century ago that there was a legitimate role for a central government to play in education: to "hold the states up to a certain standard." If our government should seek such a role, then I applaud it doing so; yet, as Mr. Wooten explains, the feds at present lack the expertise. And in any event, they're going to have to claim it in constitutional convention. For his part, Mr. Obama has endorsed such a constitutional deliberation, which is why he's equivocated in his educational pronouncements to date, choosing to frame them as "challenges" rather than mandates he does not yet hold. He seems to know the limits of his educational power. His limitations are, so far, a good thing, then, and not a bad thing.
March 28th, 2009
12:00 pm
I've often seen you advocate for fewer districts within the state's boundaries — that's counties, I assume you're talking about. How would you go about accomplishing that or have I misunderstood what you're advocating?
Me and my kids are outside the reach of federal, state and local but then ours is special education. Not sure how that works since accredited schools are very pleased with who we mainstream into the public schools. If I were to focus on the politics of our endeavors, it would detract from my focus which is to do the best I can for my kids.
You're mistaken if you think I oppose centralized control. Remember? I live in Clayton County where accreditation has been lost due to an incompetent and inadequate school board.
March 28th, 2009
12:00 pm
I suspect, in other words, that his Chief of Staff is urging him to make the power grab, whereas Obama himself knows his limits.
March 28th, 2009
12:03 pm
If there were no consistent national discussion as to what our educational standards should be, then each and every school district in each state would have their own standards. Didn't we try that previously?
Our educational system – the best in the world – has always been based on the fact that education is to be free and comprehensive for all, in theory.
Should all our children aspire to reach the educational levels of Mississippi?
March 28th, 2009
12:07 pm
jt, if you are making a point, I cannot decipher it.
But I gather that it is in defense of the state that finished 47th in graduation rates, 46th in ACT test results and reading scores and 48th in SAT math scores.
Yeah, I guess I was a tad harsh in calling that an embarrassment…
March 28th, 2009
12:28 pm
@@, I'm trying to suggest, to you and jt especially,
that there is an alternative to the dichotomy of state vs. federal, and that the alternative is to streamline Georgia by reducing the number of its subdivisions, which principally are counties. I know of no legal way to achieve this objective other than for the state to revise its constitution in full conversation with Georgians.
Similarly, if the People of the United States want their government to take a larger hand in the operation of local public schools, then the U.S. should by rights engage the public in the larger, more difficult question of whether and how to amend the federal Constitution. Otherwise, it should shut up.
I'm open, either way, and not least because of my lamentation of what's happened in your county. I tried to stop it, but I'm trifling. Your erstwhile superintendent's, and your school board's, failures did not escape notice by far-flung states. Cold comfort, I'm sure, for the schoolchildren trapped there.
But then I'm merely repeating Jim Wooten's points…
March 28th, 2009
12:55 pm
Dear Glenn,
Not exactly what we are talking about but what happened to expectationa and excitement in education? The desire to learn?
Reading about Abraham Lincoln's early life in the most difficult environments is startling. His mother taught him (and his father) to READ). Lincoln seemed to have very little exposure to real schools in his early life yet he read everything he could get his hands on and was totally familiar with the Bible. He had also learned to strongly survive in early settlement difficulties.
Well, superior intellect of course, but he loved to learn. His mother inspired him but she died at the age of 35. Lincoln never seemed to stop learning.
I can't answer my own question about inspiration. Good parents? Good teachers? Good minds? How to reach any and all?
I am off to a funeral in this funereal weather. You educators keep things on the right track.
March 28th, 2009
1:26 pm
News flash, the federal government is already involved in your child's education and has been since at least the Brown vs Board decision.
Anybody remember the late 50's and 60's, when FEDERAL desegregation mandates forced the locals to drag kids kicking and screaming from their neighborhood schools, packed them onto busses, and bussed them miles across town because the FEDS thought that if you put a kid with an 85 IQ next to a kid with a 110 IQ, the kid with an 85 IQ would magically transform into an academic superstar?
That worked SOOOOO well, the FEDS passed the hideous Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which tried to mainstream the special ed kids into a "normal" classroom.
Let's not forget Bush's contribution to this mess, the ill-advised No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act – which basically means, if you slow everydamnbody down to the minimum, we don't have to worry about the laggards.
No Jim, the FEDS already ARE involved and unfortunately, everything they touch, they f-up.
March 28th, 2009
1:32 pm
Dusty, I'm sorry that you're leaving for a funeral.
Lincoln's whole life was rather funereal. The woman who taught him to read was his stepmother. His brutal father actually resented Abraham's literacy, and fought it — if you can believe such a thing. His maternal grandmother was kindest to him, yet she could not herself read, and when he knew her she could barely see. The thought of such a buried boy as Abraham Lincoln coming to fruition and ultimate leadership in our society is to me, increasingly, incredible.
By his own admission he never had more than a year's combined education. He was, like Dr. Franklin, an American autodidact. You're right about his dependency on the King James, but that was general in those days: the children were expected to recite from it at table before supper. Still, he saw its modernity and its majesty, and I think that the KJV, together with Shakespeare, gave him the idea that language could be mastered in such a way as to turn people's hearts and actions.
In the early 1960s a rare book dealer turned up a vest-pocket daily devotional, inscribed by "A. Lincoln". The handwriting proved out, and more importantly, Lincoln's speeches and letters written on given dates tended to derive from the scriptural samplings in that prayer book, day by day.
The self-education of Abraham Lincoln is a great inspiration in my life. I'm baffled by his native genius. His portrait hangs directly over my desk.
March 28th, 2009
2:31 pm
Thank you, POTATUS.
March 28th, 2009
2:49 pm
You tried to stop it in MY county? How so….or am I making assumptions?
You're right, the battle down here had nothing to do with the kids.
It was a battle between the GAE and John Trotter's MACE (Metro Association of Classroom Educators). Read the article and tell me who sought to put the children first? For years this battle went on resulting in not once, but twice losing our school district's accreditation. It wasn't until our Chairman of the B.O.C. (a black leader) stepped in — along with Sonny Perdue (assurance for graduating seniors' college admissions) that anything was accomplished. The destructive board members were outed through media efforts and our voters.
Still, Glenn, these destructive elements wait in the wings to destroy what they claim to care about. Still, there are people who reside here that blame Chairman Bell, The SAC and Sonny Perdue for collaborating against African Americans while ignoring the fact that it took some of the 75% AAs who reside here to vote them out.
There ^^^ is a divide that I did not create and have no knowledge of how to fix. It matters not to me what color encases a child. My objective is to offer my best to all equally. It's funny, when a child is physically or mentally challenged, their ethnicity is of no consequence — the very unique challenges they face become the main focus. The only focus, but then again, those challenges are real! They can be seen, not just talked about or used to exploit for political gain, power and money.
The sooner we realize that, the better off our children will be.
Had I said what AmVet did in his 10:31, I'd have been excoriated as a racist, but since he's identified by the left, as one of them, he gets a pass. Is it any fault of mine that my opinions are neither sought or wanted?
I agree with you Glenn — somebody, somewhere needs to take charge, not the least of whom are the parents. The government, whether it be federal or state needs to step up to the plate. If they're so all-knowing in how to fix it, then do what it takes. Assume the responsibility but don't shirk the consequences if they fail. I think they're afraid to step up because the problems have become so complex that like Jim said….they haven't a clue and all the while our kids run on their empty promises.
'Ya wanna talk about discouragement? Just look at Lee's 1:26
the FEDS passed the hideous Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which tried to mainstream the special ed kids into a "normal" classroom.
I've been told by more than one liberal here (don't know if Lee is one) that the work I do is of little consequence but in my kids, I see the greatest lessons that life has to offer. The lessons of compassion, understanding, patience, opportunity, creativity, accomplishment, success…..one "small step" at a time.
Do I think that their scores should be figured into the averages? No! but neither do I think anyone is served by isolating them from the greater public. To the contrary, I think many could benefit by watching them meet impossible challenges.
Thanks for ruining my day by asking me to solve the impossible, Glenn. (ISH)
March 28th, 2009
4:42 pm
Jim, I worked as a consultant for the state of Georgia for four years, and for 1 1/2 years for the Fed. Both the state (Georgia) and the feds are among the worst in terms of money wasters. I say all state budgets & the fed budget should be cut IMMEDIATELY by 50%. Fire all non-necessary employees (most, in many cases), and get rid of all perks for all in both state & fed positions. If the employees can't handle this issue, McD's MIGHT be hiring, but then again, I don't care if they work or not. Because right now, state & fed employees are NOT working. Get rid of the waste.
March 28th, 2009
4:52 pm
From every push comes a shove.
States Rebellion Pending
By Walter E. Williams
Our constitutional ignorance — perhaps contempt, coupled with the fact that we've become a nation of wimps, sissies and supplicants — has made us easy prey for Washington's tyrannical forces. But that might be changing a bit. There are rumblings of a long overdue re-emergence of Americans' characteristic spirit of rebellion.
Eight state legislatures have introduced resolutions declaring state sovereignty under the Ninth and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution; they include Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Washington. There's speculation that they will be joined by Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, Maine and Pennsylvania.
…their next step is to give them teeth. That goes right along with what Glenn said.
Don't just talk the talk…
How's it going Chris Broe?
Are 'ya soggy yet?
March 28th, 2009
5:28 pm
I appreciate your sensible remarks.
My partner & I put in a management proposal, is all. We thought we had some sweeteners in that he's African American and old SNCC, while for my part I was willing to do it for a dollar the first year. Nothing doing.
While I applaud the Governor's intervention, his initial moves were a bit disturbing in that he made public statements about his resolve to "take over" the Clayton schools; disturbing, in that he governs the state of which Clayton is a subdivision and education the first order of business. In short, he already WAS the Clayton schools and yes, it was his duty to step in.
Yet it seemed that none of Gov. Perdue's counsellors was willing to point out his false distinctions. That worried me.
March 28th, 2009
5:51 pm
I get a kick out of today's hook, the funny part about how a locality should have no more say in foreign policy than the feds have in school policy.
I used to work at UC Berkeley, where the city government for decades manages to position itself on practically every diplomatic matter known to the U.S. State Department. It's hilarious, actually, to coffee-klatch in the living room of a councilmember and here them debate the best way to coddle Kim Jong very-Ill when all the while they have, as Mr. Wooten points out, potholes to fill.
March 28th, 2009
5:53 pm
"here"? Jeepers, where did that come from? Can't blame it on the iPhone. Please, "hear".
March 28th, 2009
5:59 pm
March 28th, 2009
6:05 pm
Chris Broe,
That's killer, the line about Jonah and the whale. For a second there, I took you to mean Jonah Goldberg.
Now THAT is funny…
March 28th, 2009
8:13 pm
Hang in there Glenn. Your outside-the-box thinking is bound to impress someone. It's time is long overdue.
I'm one of the lucky ones who gets to practice it 180 days a year with no government restrictions.
March 29th, 2009
7:54 am
A seemingly unending series of public relations gaffes has Sarah Palin loyalists frustrated and worried she is diminishing her stature. And they blame an inner circle they say is composed of not-ready-for-primetime players.
Interviews with Alaska and Washington-based GOP political professionals who are familiar with the Palin operation describe the governor's team as a gang that couldn't shoot straight, a staff whose failure to execute basic political maneuvers too often entangles the governor in awkward and embarrassing situations that could have easily been avoided.
The state of confusion is compounded by two separate Palin spheres that don't communicate with each other, one based in the governor's office and another based in the D.C.-area, where Palin's political action committee is located—and the incongruous presence of a high-profile Democratic trial lawyer among her political advisers.
The lawyer, John Coale, is a former supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign who became a Palin confidante as his wife, Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, interviewed the former GOP vice presidential nominee and her family numerous times during and after the election.
Their presence around Palin has become Topic A among many of her allies as well as other Republican insiders who are mystified as to why an anti-abortion rights conservative who ran against Washington elites is now turning to a pair of capital insiders for counsel.
A well-heeled personal injury lawyer, Coale has been a major Democratic donor. It was his suggestion that Palin create a PAC to pay for travel and avoid ethics complaints in Alaska.
Coale told POLITICO he first met Palin during his wife's taping of a September interview with the Alaska governor and explained that he was "extremely pissed off at the way Hillary was treated" and believed Palin was being subjected to the same "sexist" treatment. Coale ultimately endorsed McCain in the 2008 campaign.
"I'm just a friend of hers. I'm not on her staff and I'm not paid," Coale insisted.
He said he and Palin "email back and forth about once a week."
A former Palin aide said Coale "was positioning himself for this gig from the first interview," always there with his wife when she would sit for what were invariably friendly sessions with the governor.
Another former Palin ally still in touch with the governor was blunt when asked to explain Palin's missteps since the election: "Taking advice from Greta and her husband," said this source.
Because of Van Susteren's success in booking Palin appearances on her show, the Fox News host has faced questions about her husband's role with Palin.
"I am getting lots of inquires about my husband John Coale — no, he is not a paid adviser to Governor Palin and never has been," Van Susteren wrote on her blog recently. "He met her through me when I interviewed her….I did not meet her through him. I have gotten interviews with her not through him but through our staff on [her show]. It is that simple."
Several aides and allies from inside and outside last year's presidential campaign complain of being frozen out by the Alaska governor's staff and even those who are still in touch with the governor suggest her string of unforced errors are the direct result of having nobody around her to offer sound political advice.
Jason Recher, who traveled with Palin throughout the campaign and remains in touch with her, chalked up some mishaps as a result of the governor's overabundance of caution concerning the ethics of mixing political and official activities.
But Recher, a veteran of both terms in the Bush White House, indicated he shared the concerns of other Palin allies.
"Nobody from the campaign who I am in touch with knows who is at the PAC, who is really staffing it or what exactly it does," he said.
Like the others, Recher said he was speaking out for somebody he grew close to last fall.
"I may not be in the loop on the strategy going on right now but I totally buy into the notion of Sarah Palin," he said.
Palin has endured numerous bruising trips through recent news cycles.
There was the infamous YouTube turkey video in November where, unbeknownst to Palin, live turkeys were slaughtered just behind her within the camera frame.
Then came a flap over remarks she made to a filmmaker in January. In February, conservatives were confused by her last-minute no-show at a key movement event. Most recently, Capitol Hill Republicans were left scratching their heads over a bizarre miscommunication between her office and the two national party committees.
In that case, Palin, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee all were left with egg on their faces.
The NRSC and the NRCC, it seems, were under the distinct impression that Palin would headline the annual Republican House-Senate fundraising dinner in June. The committees went so far as to issue a joint press release trumpeting her appearance and national news outlets quickly noted her prime speaking engagement.
All of it was news to Palin, though. When the Anchorage Daily News called for comment, Palin spokesman Bill McAllister said the governor didn't know anything about the event. The national committees, meanwhile, explained that Palin's appearance had been confirmed by SarahPAC, Palin's Virginia-based political action committee.
"It has been painful to watch the staff handling of her since the election," said one former aide and loyalist. "There is small margin of error at this point."
"She is great, but she is ill-served by a staff that is clearly in over their heads," added a national Republican operative who has worked with Palin.
The NRCC-NRSC dust-up followed on the heels of a similar misfire involving the 2009 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. There,
Palin had been slated for months to appear only to back out shortly before the event, leaving bruised feelings among organizers who thought they had a firm commitment from Palin herself."There had been an agreement that she would come for about six months ahead of CPAC," said a CPAC source. "They even agreed to what she was talking about."
SarahPAC spokeswoman Meg Stapleton disagreed with that account, saying that Palin never agreed to appear and that Palin's camp was surprised when CPAC announced the governor would be speaking at the event.
The governor, of course, ultimately bears responsibility for assembling a top-flight political team and ensuring it works in harmony. Still, friendly Republicans repeatedly singled out her inner circle for fault, noting that the blunders are emblematic of a team that is trying to straddle the line between Palin's state duties and national ambitions, but not doing a good job of managing either.
"These people are amateurs. Palin is now a national figure and she can't afford to have a junior varsity staff," said a Republican operative who has worked with the Palin camp and speaks highly of the governor's abilities.
Palin herself has made the problem worse, allowing Van Susteren to interview daughter Bristol, a month-and-a-half after the unwed 18-year-old gave birth. (The younger Palin declared in the interview that abstinence was "not realistic at all" – a statement that didn't go over well with the governor's conservative Christian admirers).
She crossed four time zones to attend Washington's Alfalfa Dinner, a social gathering of the very political elites she spent much of the campaign blasting, yet skipped three opportunities to come to the Lower 48 to address policy-focused events – a House GOP retreat, CPAC and the National Governor's Association Winter Meeting.
Her allies note that avoiding nationally-oriented events would be understandable if Palin wanted to take a lower profile. But since the election she has shown few signs of wanting to withdraw from the national scene.
Even more confusing, Palin and her advisers have done little to promote her substantive ideas instead leaving a vacuum that has been filled by a voracious media still hungry for stories about the governor and her family.
"My impression is that she's not much in touch with the conservatives in Washington you would expect her to be talking to her," said one of her most outspoken and well-known advocates.
Several Republicans singled out the divide between Palin's Alaska staff and her national staff at SarahPAC as a prime contributing factor in an already dysfunctional situation.
Palin's state message operation is headed by McAllister, the state employee who serves as her press secretary, and is made up almost entirely of staffers who began working for the governor prior to her vice presidential run. Part of the problem, observers say, is that her Alaska staff is focused on state matters and is resistant to efforts to build the Palin brand nationally.
Another factor, said a former aide from the campaign, is Palin's loyalty to her state team and her wariness of D.C.-types because "she felt burned" by her handling and the subsequent leaks from McCain staffers.
McAllister did not return several calls asking for comment.
SarahPAC focuses precisely on building the national Palin brand. The PAC is staffed by several Washington hands as well as Stapleton, who serves as Palin's national spokeswoman from Alaska—just as she did during the presidential campaign.
It is officially headed by Becki Donatelli, formerly the lead Internet consultant for the McCain campaign.
Between SarahPAC and the governor's office, said one Washington-based Republican operative, "too many people think they speak for Sarah Palin when they don't. She shouldn't get the rap for this."
Some who are familiar with the inner workings of Palin-land dismiss criticism of her inner circle as overblown.
"I never had the slightest difficulty with any of the Alaska staff. I found them to be very professional and very politically astute about the politics of their state," said George Rasley, who worked alongside Palin's Alaska staff as the governor's lead advance representative during the presidential campaign. "The people who are making these complaints have a strange way of voicing their alliance to her."
Yet even those outside the political arena have noticed that the governor's operation doesn't always seem to fire on all cylinders.
Conservative filmmaker John Ziegler, who interviewed Palin for his film, "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin Was Targeted," said it was also his impression was that state and national teams were not operating in sync.
Ziegler's film stirred controversy for Palin after he released interview excerpts on the film's website prior to its release.
The excerpts, which included her comments on Caroline Kennedy and CBS anchor Katie Couric, generated a media frenzy that led McAllister to blame Ziegler for blindsiding Palin.
But Palin herself didn't seem to mind, calling the filmmaker that weekend to express her support in a nearly half-hour phone conversation, according to Ziegler.
"In my situation, I communicated what I was going to do with the Palin interview with the person I was told to go through, but the political and state arms were not working together and it created a huge communication gap that led to an unfortunate misunderstanding that was blamed on me but which was in no way my fault," he said.
March 29th, 2009
8:03 am
Sarah Palin writes in the ADN:
Under federal law, I must certify that every stimulus dollar will create new jobs and stimulate the economy. I take that charge seriously. Accordingly, I've requested $514.4 million for capital projects that legitimately create new private sector jobs. Shovel-ready projects are certifiable because they put people to work and grow Alaska's private-sector economy.
Unfortunately, a disproportionate percentage of the federal package available to Alaska would increase government operations. It's a stretch to certify that more spending on more bureaucracy actually grows an economy.
March 29th, 2009
8:04 am
Did she reject federal money that frmer Senator Ted Stevens shovelled into her state over the decades? Why don't she just go hang out with Jindal and Sanford somewhere, and let the people of her state recover and heal. THESE IDEALOGS ARE THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE.
March 29th, 2009
9:17 am
Thanks, @@. You're fortunate to teach in the private sector. The public factories are, as you know, generally more hostile to good teaching.
March 29th, 2009
9:31 am
Sunday Sermon
How many of us still do all five prayer times facing Mecca? There is no excuse anymore for losing your own personal jihad because we all got Google Map compasses. We know where east is…….
Sorry, that's from today's Islamic Sermon. How did that get in my Christian Sermon folder?. I'll try to start over with the right Sermon, but first:
What would an Islamist's Confession be like? "Flog me, Mullah, for I have sinned! It's been two Ramadans since I keeled any infidels. What happened was, I was driving while using my cellphone detonator and missed an entire convoy of American Troops. I know I'm supposed to pull over when I detonate IEDs. Worse, I tried to use my cellphone detonator yesterday, but they put me on hold, and I heard, "If you're attacking a convoy, press one. If you're beheading an infidel, press two. If you're inquiring about the world wide opportunity for Al Queda franchises, then someone will be with you right away!"
What's a radical Islamist to do? What if I try to use my cellphone detonator where the service is spotty? Do I have to send a suicide-vested guy to walk around Iraq asking over and over, "Can you keel me now?" We'd have lots of turnover for that job, eh? Andy Worhol said we will all get our fifteen virgins before we are keeled. With me, I have to multiply my usual two seconds by 15 and that's a whole half-minute worth of rama lama ding dong.. I cant believe I just rama-lama'd sex. Is that a sin too?
"Well, also, I sort of flushed a Koran down a turbo flush toilet. I had to use it as ballast for the four cats I also flushed. They were my wife's cats and they were turning her into a she-devil. She was was trying to turn me into being an infidel.
(isthatall?) "Yes, it is". (Then, for your penance go stand over there about fifty feet away). "What are you doing with that cellphone? Don't twitter now!……" KABOOM!
My wife was spinning her crucible till the end. I stayed in denial for her till the end, and that has exacted a really horrific toll on me. My daughter has a big dance concert in April, and my wife kept asking if she'd be around to see it. " Of course, you'll be there for the beach this summer too"! Her appetite became feeble. Her prognosis was three months, and that's exactly how long she lasted. Exactly three months. The MRIs dont lie. I still can't believe it. I don't have a script about how to act anymore. The Broadway Smash, "Husband", has closed down after one performance. (The reviews were all index fingers and thumbs). Now, all that's left of me is her cats. I still have to change the kitty litter.
Instead, I think I'll just walk into a bar, grab a mic, and start venting…. or is is grab a beer and start barfing? dammit! I always get my 12 steps mixed up. I hate myself. I hate the serenity prayer! I hate cats!
I'm definitely going to need a bigger turbo-flusher.
Life is triage.
Memories, all alone in the moonlight……….
March 29th, 2009
9:40 am
Convert, infidel, and martyr yourself. We promise you 72 ogres & a mule.
March 29th, 2009
10:25 am
Good morning, Jim,
Better someone with intelligence and concern for the value of education than the local school boards. They've repeatedly proven that they have no competencies in education. I would expect one of your intelligence and sophistication to respond with a plan which would simultaneously provide a quality education for all students in the US and rid of us of the inept locals. Alas, you sound like a conservative who would rather see these yokels battle over creationism, which needs to be consigned to the ashbin of history forevermore, than look to a future in which American students can compete internationally.
March 29th, 2009
11:17 am
In the current issue of the VFW journal, the military historian Victor Davis Hanson, whom I'm proud to call a former colleague, writes of Japan's continuing refusal to accept responsibility for its aggression and savagery in WWII. The problem, writes Hanson, originates in the revisionist curricula used in both Japanese and American schools, in which the U.S. and not Japan is portrayed as the brutal aggressor. Nationalizing schools and federalizing curricular control promises to intensify the propagandizing in both nations. Japan's utter lack of contrition makes emboldens its diplomats to hold a harder line viz its Asian neighbors and the U.S. Moreover, it deceives the children. It is a lie.
As an alternative to their federalization, American schools could be brought under greater state, versus local, control. Our constitutional arrangements would remain intact, and the U.S. would retain the advantage of 50 competing approaches to educational improvement.
I agree with Jim: nationalization is a horrible idea.
March 29th, 2009
11:27 am
As to a constitutional convention, it seems that very few Americans know what is really going on. The provision in Article V for a convention of state delegates that can propose amendments was deemed necessary by the Founders. Yet Congress has refused to obey the Constitution and gotten away with it! The one and only requirement for an Article V convention, that 2/3 of state legislatures apply for one, has long been met, with over 700 applications from all 50 states. Learn all the facts at http://www.foavc.org and join the effort to make Congress obey the Constitution. The major thing to fear is continuation of the status quo two-party plutocracy, not the convention. Remember, amendment proposals must still be ratified by 3/4 of states.
March 29th, 2009
12:15 pm
Post-Tokyo Rose Japan, and Post-Kaiser Germany is why we don't let local schools have any say in what they teach their students. Hitler emerged in the confusion of the allies' assessment that the German People should pay for the Kaiser's War. The denial of the Rape of Nanking emerges in the schools of Japan today, because if we shame the Nipanese Children any more, then a new monster will emerge from Japan. Count on it. What do we want, an apology? No, the apology was assumed and accepted when they signed the instruments of surrender on the Battleship Missouri.. If the Right wants revenge for WW2, then they're an extinct cliche.
Local Cobb County Schools would correctly deny Gravity, because Eintstein proved there is no gravity. Yet, that was a coincidence. Cobb County Schools also deny evolution, even though fruit flies mutate on a minute-t- minute basis. Today's fruit fly is mutating into a buzz bomb from hell. I'm telling you people, we don't teach science or math because we're afraid we'll become obsolete. Ignorance reigns where personal agendas hold court. Look at how long we taught this imbecilic notion about Christopher Columbus being a hero. Please. He was a Christian Monster. Perhaps the biggest mass murdering piece of scum in human history. And that was just the shock and awe of his communicable diseases. You should have seen what he did to native Americans with his weapons. I wish life was a simple as the right makes it out to be with their curriculum. Columbus saw naked human beings having free sex and slaughtered them for it. He was directly responsible for killing 90 percent of the thirty million native americans living in 1492. Within one generation, there were only 3 million left. 9disease, mostly, but slaughter too. BTW: christopher columbus brought back venereal disease to Spain. Bwa. I for one, am not willing to tolerate any more politics from the Christian Right. Recede, recind, and recidivize, oh holy ones.
Curriculum 101: We should start with the electromagnetic spectrum. In first grade. Just keep shoving it in their face till they get it. They'll get it. The spectrum is us. They cant not get it. They only thing we can do is hold them back, and boy! Are we good at that or what?
I think the educational curriculum forced on elementary school children is a disgrace. I learned nothing about life when I was in kindergarten. In kingergarten, everything I needed to know was in the half life of the protons contributing to the illusion that a dunce cap was on my head.
Geopolitics is a college class. Not for elementary school.. Teach them how far into the sun's atmosphere the earth's orbit takes us. We orbit in the atmosphere of the sun, yet not one elementary student knows this, or can even formulate that kind of thought.


text:
MMA News
UFC NEWS | Cesar Gracie Comments on Beef Between Penn Camp, Thinks Penn's "Yes Men" To Blame
"I truly don't know [what the issue with BJ is], it's something I don't want to get too specific about. I don't know what's going on with BJ. I don't know if it's his people writing for him. We tried to help him out… I think he took that somehow as an insult. I don't know who is in his ear advising him but he seemed to flip out a bit and had some issues with it. Hopefully he gets it together over there… I don't know if that was him saying that or his group of yes man around him. They kind of worship him over there. I don't really know if that was BJ so it's hard for me to comment on it."
A few weeks back the internet was swarming with comments from BJ Penn as he seemed to voice his opinions for the first time since his UFC 137 match against Nick Diaz.
The target of some of these comments was Diaz coach, Cesar Gracie. For the first time since the back and forth, Cesar commented on the issue on today's "The MMA Hour" podcast over at mmafighting.com.
Click here for the latest UFC coverage provided by BJPENN.COM


text:
Short for whatever, is used commonly by people in a context of a conversation where they know the other person is right, don't want to admit it, and can think of no coherent argument to the contrary.
Brett: See man, you can tell I was totally right, Pluto is not longer a planet.
Jurgen: wtv man. wtv.
Jurgen: wtv man. wtv.
po rainyday99 Новембар 1, 2009