text:
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes the story, or part of the story, behind the picture goes untold. Get a glimpse behind the lens of the camera's unblinking eye.
A picture - worth 1,000 words - or 80 years
It's not often you get to witness the power images carry with them - even something as simple as a photo of a loved one. Yet one little photo set off a chain reaction that brought childhood friends together after nearly 80 years. Here is that story.
It started with a photo in a school social studies project. The same photo Linden Grove Mukwonago resident Ed Klawien carried with him when he left for the service as a young man. The same photo that triggered recognition when Betty (nee Wudtke) Kapke saw it displayed in the Linden Grove activity room.
For more than a year Klawien, 93, and Kapke, 89, lived five rooms apart at the assisted living facility, yet neither realized the common link that would spark a reunion of childhood neighbors after nearly 80 years.
The project
When Klawien's nurse, Jaime Fisch's son needed to interview someone about a historical event for a social studies project at St. John's School, she asked him if he would talk to her son Josh. As the two discussed Klawien's service as a World War II medic, the young Fisch asked what Klawien took with him when he left for the service so he wouldn't be lonely. Klawien told Fisch he carried a picture of his girlfriend with him, so Fisch added the picture to his project display.
"It all went downhill from there," said Klawien, smiling.
The discovery
After the project was complete, Fisch gave it to Klawien, who shared it with other residents by displaying the project in the activity room at the request of the activity director. During a meeting of the Red Hat Society, which Kapke was part of, she stared at the picture.
"There was something about it," said Kapke. "I kept staring at it and staring at it, so I asked Ed who it was. 'That's my wife. Isn't she beautiful?' That was the first thing he said."
When Klawien told Kapke his wife's maiden name was Lucille Blink, Kapke remarked, "Oh for crying out loud."
Blink, who is deceased, and Kapke lived next door to each other near Forrest Home Avenue and 40th Street as little girls. They played dress up together, played in the attic together, built houses out of sticks and bricks and sometimes would "forget where the door was" and would "walk right over the wall," however, when Kapke was about 12 her family moved and the girls never saw each other again, recalled Klawien.
"Betty Wudtke, I had heard the name so often," said Klawien who listened to stories from his wife and mother-in-law. "I knew the name Wudtke, but I never knew I was living right next door to her."
The reunion
The discovery sparked a reunion with Blink's sister Arlene Freiberg, 88, who lives in an assisted living facility in West Allis. During the reunion, Kapke pulled out a collection of writing assignment she completed as a sophomore at Juneau High School, titled The Song of My Life. In it one of the topics Kapke wrote about was the time Freiberg, then 4, got bit by a German Shepherd. Kapke spent more than a week by her side while she recovered from the injury.
"She (the dog) was supposed to be locked up, but she wasn't and she decided to eat me," said Freiberg.
"Betty just sat with her all the time like a good friend would," said Klawien.
"I was surprised she didn't lose her leg," added Kapke. "After that I wanted to be a nurse."
Although Kapke's father wouldn't allow her to study nursing because he didn't want her "cleaning up after everyone," Kapke's love of caring for others spilled onto her daughters, one who is a nurse and the other a professor of nursing.
As the two friends caught up on nearly 80 years, Klawien grinned, amazed at the reunion taking place.
"It started with Josh," said Klawien. "If I hadn't gone into the hospital, we wouldn't have met."
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Sports freeze frames
Sports are a great place to capture emotion, especially in seasons like those produced by the Mukwonago basketball and wrestling teams this year. All it takes is sinking a shot at the halftime buzzer and the gymnasium explodes.
Or a hard-fought pin in a close meet
or a scramble for the ball on the basketball court.
While sports can provide great emotion and action, it can be a challenge to capture. Poorly lit gymnasiums pose the first problem, followed by slow lenses and/or poor flash capabilities, not to mention sports like gymnastics where no flash at all is allowed.
Freezing action at a fast shutter speed under low light with no flash has its own rewards when you nail a great shot and the athlete hangs suspended in air for photographic eternity.
While some of the challenge is dealt with in equipment - fast lenses, shutter speeds and ISO settings -even more comes in knowing the sport, anticipating the moment of peak action and being in the right place at the right time. One of the hardest moments to capture is a football kickoff return that results in a touchdown. If the photographer is waiting for hard hits where the ball is caught, being at the other end of the field to follow the receiver as he crosses the goal line isn't going to happen.
In gymnastics, knowing the routine of each gymnast helps to get them facing the camera when they leap across the floor. The best place on the floor for a basketball game is the sweet spot behind the net - until an official crosses in front of the camera and you end up with zebra stripes instead of the tie-breaking shot.
However, if you want lots of guaranteed emotion, train your lens on the student fan section. They never let photographers down when you need a sure fire image. Especially when they are trying to cast a spell on the opponent trying to help their team win a close game.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Focusing on fine, feathered friends
I don't get to photograph wildlife much since they rarely make headlines, don't end up in the police blotter and, quite frankly, who wants to see an animal that's been involved in an auto accident. Just this morning I watched a middle school girl gingerly swing a wide, icy circle around a dead possum lying in the middle of the road. However, you can always count on animals, geese in particular around here, in a pinch.
When news is slow and pages empty, I know exactly where to find geese - hanging around any body of water. While they pose very nicely in the sun, it doesn't take much to stir them up and move them into action.
While geese do have their naysayers because of the mess, wildlife and nature photography provides a pleasant calming change of pace from the usual hectic, deadline-paced world of journalism. Although peak action can be predicted, patience is a key element of any photography since we never know when the prime moment will occur to best capture the spirit of the occasion.
As I slowly approached the geese sitting along the Fox River in the Village of Waterford, one by one they started jumping in the freezing water, setting up what I knew would be a great shot. Focusing on each goose eyeing the water, hitting the shutter each time a bird took flight, I waited for the right combination of wings, water and air.
In the office we dubbed the goose Sam, since none of us knew if it was male or female. I shivered as Sam hit the water, since I was freezing standing on land - in the sunshine. But Sam helped us out, giving us a nice photo and offering me a change of pace. Next time I meet Sam I hope its warmer and without a deadline so I can stick around longer and enjoy the scenery.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Nativity sacrilege
Two kings sit at the corner of St. Pius Catholic Church on Grand Ave. in Mukwonago as they journey to the manger scene - kind of a skewed version of "we three kings of orient are," since the third king was taken from the nativity scene last year. Short of a fallen angel needing repair, the Mukwonago Lioness nativity has remained intact this Christmas season, having suffered theft of the baby Jesus twice in the past 10 years or so.
It makes me think nothing is sacred, if taking not only a king from a religious scene, but the figure that symbolizes "the reason for the season" is the source of someone's thrill. Is there no respect?
The kings in the St. Pius nativity stand behind a camel, probably wondering where their comrade has gone. The baby Jesus in the Lioness nativity, twice stolen, is now a doll donated by a friend of one of the members.
The people that put these nativity scenes up each year take great care and pride in creating a setting that reflects the meaning of the holiday season, sometimes following the Biblical timeline. To me it's sad that some don't have enough respect to honor certain traditions, whether they believe or follow it themselves.
There is little hope the kneeling king from the St. Pius nativity will ever return and it has been a struggle for the church to find a replacement. Unlike the infant figure in the Lioness nativity, a doll to substitute for a king is impossible to find.
Hopefully the sacrilege in the area will be replaced with tidings of comfort and joy for the future.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Black Friday magic
I have mixed feelings about Black Friday. While I enjoy a good bargain as much as anyone, the long lines winding through Mukwonago Wal-Mart - or any store that day - steal the true meaning of Christmas for me.
The lines were long, running from the front of the store to the back where clear wrapped pallets waited to be split open and contents loaded into the carts of eager shoppers. I did hear a rumor that there might have been a fight in the toy department earlier that evening when the first post-Thanksgiving sales event took place.
However, during the hour or so that I spent squeezing through throngs of people, the atmosphere was pleasant. Those waiting in line visited with their Black Friday neighbors and a cheer went up through the store when the magic hour for the next sales event brought out knives to slice through the plastic wrap and expose the coveted item.
People I talked to told me it was about the experience, although I think saving a chunk of money was more a motivating factor.
I pitied the poor lady standing in the long checkout line with a few grocery items covering the bottom of her cart. I enjoyed the spirit of the Carol and Ashley Phillips who pulled up chairs that wouldn't go on sale until later that day and waited until they could pay for their purchases as they kept in touch by phone with other family members price matching at another store. It was a family event and they good-naturedly allowed me to take their picture as they sat behind four shopping carts of merchandise.
While I don't like the materialistic nature of Black Friday, some of the stories I hear and witness put a little warm holiday feeling in my heart.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
An indefinable moment at Mukwonago High School
I've written plenty about Greg Stefanski being chosen for homecoming court, but I had to share this photo since it didn't make our print editions. The look on his and Sarah Neubauer's faces, framed around clapping hands and spotlights sums up the emotion of the once-in-a-lifetime moment.
It was a proud moment for Greg and his family. It was a proud moment for Best Buddies, only in its second year at Mukwongao High School. It was an especially proud moment for MHS as the student body rallied around their peer and lifted him to a level he probably never expected to reach.
An email circulated through the school district with a letter from a young woman who had been a penpal with Greg about three years ago. She commended the school, teachers, administration and students for their "wonderful, thoughtful, loving actions" for an "incredible young man with a remarkable sense of humor and a zest for life."
As the author of the letter stated, this moment in MHS history is an inspiration to students and schools across the nation.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes there are no words that can adequately define the moment capture in a photograph.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Music on the move with Phantom Legion
I never attended band camp - never even picked up an instrument until my daughter started violin lessons in fourth grade (she is now a mom and finishing her degree for nurse practitioner). Maybe that lack of musical experience explains my wonder and awe regarding the Phantom Legion marching band at Mukwonago High School.
Each year I cover the band during its summer camp as they begin the painstaking task of putting together a field show, I learn something new and my admiration for the dedication of the band members deepens as they endure sunburn and aching muscles.
This year, in true Hunger Games fashion, the Phantom Legion's show is titled, Band on Fire. Last month Mukwonago hosted Phantom Phest, a marching band competition. Every weekend since then, the band travels to competitions.
"The band is performing very well and students are feeling good about their success," director Josh Werner said. "The music is written by our director, Tom Gard, who has crafted two wonderful original works based on the Hunger Games novels as our theme."
Gard filled me in on one of the most exciting aspects of competitive marching - how much the show changes from the beginning of the season to the final performance at the state marching championships.
"Each competition, we present a show, listen to judge feedback, and then collaborate to make the show more effective for the next performance. Those revisions keep the show evolving, which means you will never see the same performance twice," Gard explained. "That also means that the kids have only a couple hours to re-learn all new parts each week, so the activity is challenging for students and staff through the whole season while it remains fresh and entertaining for the crowd."
Playing an instrument sitting in one spot is one thing, marching in specific patterns across a field, quite another. My wonder and awe seems to be justified.
Look for more Phantom Phest photos under staff photo galleries.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Work of art in the shape of a chair
When I walked into the art room at Rolling Hills Elementary School, painted wooden pieces were spread across the floor waiting for assembly. I never knew Adirondack chairs could be purchased unassembled, let alone seeing the talents of all the art teachers in the Mukwonago Area School District culminate in one piece of furniture.
The project had been several months in the making as Rolling Hills art teacher Ashley Klug approached her colleagues in spring about painting the chair and donating it to the Mukwonago Education Foundation fundraising dinner auction this Sunday, Sept. 23 at the Broadlands Golf Club in North Prairie.
Each piece was a work of art by itself, beautifully painted, or in some cases drawn with black Sharpie, with amazing detail and much imagination.
As Gary Weiler, Klug, Marnie Phillips, Beth Engelking and Amy Kratochvil began assembling, a pattern emerged with black and white pieces contrasting colored pieces as the chair took shape.
I am a fan of Adirondack chairs and wished I was able to attend the fundraising event to bid on the chair. An administrator in the Kettle Moraine School District told me about artistically painted chairs that brought hundreds of dollars at recent foundation auctions. I could see the same happening here.
As the group finished the assembly, they made plans to rotate the chair to each school during the week, raising intrigue and showcasing the creativity of MASD art teachers. I wonder if I could commission any of them to make a chair like that for me.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Remembering Bill
Bill McKenzie was a North Prairie icon to me. When we first moved into the area in 1992 and built our house just south of North Prairie, we frequented Bill's Service often to get refreshments and even use the restrooms. Over the years, Bill's smiling face was always a welcome sight when stopping at the corner gas station.
The last time I saw Bill was when the Remembrance Rescue Project visited the North Prairie Fire Department in the beginning of August. He sat with his usual smile, holding his fire chief hat from his term as "temporary" fire chief for 10 years with the department.
He was a kind, sweet man; however, my acquaintance with Bill was minimal compared to some in North Prairie. While working on a story about Bill after he passed away, Village Trustee Donna Samuels sent her memories of Bill, which unfortunately reached me after deadline.
Here are the thoughts Donna shared with me:
"I knew Bill more from a business man perspective than anything. Most people who lived in North Prairie for any period of time knew who Bill is. You would always see him walking in town..to church, the post office, the village hall, to and from work. That to me was his trademark....he was always on the go. He would greet people as they came in and out of his station/store, stock the shelves, clean the floors in winter, pick up and empty the trash inside and outside. He always wanted to present his business in the best light he could and that reflected in what he did and how he went about his business. He was always cordial and fair minded to all, from what I know.
I also had the opportunity to serve with Bill on the Community Development Authority (CDA) in North Prairie. We had very few meetings during that time but I do always recall Bill having concern for what would be in the best interest of our Village. He greatly cared about this community, was always willing to donate his time as well as money for the Village and village functions/causes. This is true for both Bill and his wife, Avis.
I hadn't seen him walking around town much over the past couple of years and it just didn't feel right. You could always say hi and wave and receive the same in return as if he were the village greeter and ambassador. For those who knew Bill and have been in the community for many years its as if a long standing tradition, or landmark (if you will) is now missing."
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Wonder and awe of the first day of school
There is something I have always loved about the beginning of school (and it wasn't the fact that my kids would be out of the house during the day). I always liked that fresh beginning, that new perspective, the brighter outlook that accompanied a new school year, along with the kids' thrills and excitement of being back among peers.
The look on Kettle Moraine High School freshman Jose Regalado's face captures that wonder and awe as he was one of the first few to emerge from the human tunnel welcoming freshmen to the first day of high school.
When I arrived at KMHS that first day, freshmen filled the hall outside the gymnasium. I didn't get to see their faces when the pounding started on the doors as the welcoming team signaled its readiness to begin the freshman orientation.
One by one, freshman students popped out of the tunnel surrounded by the booming beat of the KM drum line. If they weren't awake before, the drum line shook the last vestiges of sleep from their system. Some emerged from the tunnel dazed, some timid, some smiling, some, like Jose, ready to take it all in.
I don't remember my first day of high school, but I am certain it didn't involve drums or human tunnels or blaring music or anything remotely fun or upbeat. I hope Jose and the rest of the freshmen, whether high school or college, embrace the awe of a new experience and the wonder of the journey they have started.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
A challenge to change the world
The Challenge Day events are over, yet the real challenge still lies ahead at Mukwonago High School as the work begins to "be the change" that MHS needs to end bullying, discrimination, gossiping, intolerance, apathy and hidden pressures that keep teens from feeling loved, accepted and celebrated.
Since last year when I covered Challenge Day at the Phantom Lake YMCA Camp, I knew it was an amazing event that could change lives. When I signed up to take part in one of the day sessions this year, people told me I would love it, but I would be exhausted. They were right.
Being asked to step out of your box of comfort for an adult (for the sake of the teenage participants) can be tiring. Watching teens melt at the realization of the suffering they endure and being helpless to do no more than lend a consoling hug or touch on the arm is emotionally exhausting. As an adult, I would rather endure any pain and suffering if it would save a child from the same, however, life doesn't work that way. It can't work that way, for every diamond must endure flames and pressure to become that precious gem.
While I remember getting picked on as a kid, it was nothing compared to what some of these kids "crossed the line" for on Challenge Day. I went home to loving, healthy parents in a secure home environment. There was no abuse, no drugs, no alcoholism, no violence.
What we can do besides trying to break down the barriers of bullying and intolerance (for it will always exist to some extent since we are human), is give kids the tools to survive and to let them know that they are unique, they are special, they are valuable and they are loved. That's what Challenge Day is all about.
I saw many kids I know cry over things they thought didn't bother them. They had buried themselves behind everyday activities, which allowed them to stay afloat in life. We all know stuff happens and the only way to continue is to walk over that stuff or plow through it as best we can.
Challenge Day showed everyone at MHS that they are not alone in their miseries of life. It brought everyone together through tears and hugs, through shared stories and shared sorrows. It showed students and staff alike that even the weakest among us sheds tears, hurts and triumphs despite everything.
In the dimly lit gymnasium, the school united at one of its weakest moments and all took comfort knowing pain is part of life, healing can happen and hope can start with the first person willing to make a change for the better.
For years I have heard stories of bullying and intolerance in the school district, yet many didn't seem to realize that perhaps this is bigger than "getting picked on" that some recall from childhood, but when is any intolerance not a big deal? When I talked to kids and saw the masks they hid behind to get through the day or heard the pain they dealt with at home and tried to push aside while at school, my heart tore a little more with each story. Now I stood and watched healing and my heart began to mend.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Mukwonago dancers light up the stage
For those who did not experience the excitement of the Mukwonago Varsity Dance team's fundraising event, Dancing With Our Stars on Jan. 7, you missed an entertaining evening. The entire event is impressive involving weeks of choreography, teaching, rehearsals and planning.
I have the opportunity to see the varsity dance team in action occasionally while covering basketball games and sometimes in passing through the high school during a team practice. Every time the dancers march onto the gym floor during halftime, I can't help but be impressed with their athleticism, rhythm and skill.
That talent is highlighted during Dancing With Our Stars as senior dancers choreograph and teach a local "celebrity" (teacher, police officer, library director, etc.) a dance that is then performed before judges. The top five come back on stage to perform a second time before the crowd approval is recorded on the "applause-o-meter" and scores are recalculated to determine the winner.
My favorite photo from the event came after Cassie Zielinski, Jeremiah Chitwood and his son Hayden danced to "Footloose," which caused the auditorium to explode in applause. The trio waited anxiously, locking hands, watching the judges as they revealed a perfect score. There was little doubt in my mind that the trio would win the competition.
The amount of preparation that goes into the event to make it a polished evening of quality entertainment is evident especially as videos created during rehearsals for each couple are played before the performances. Equally impressive is the talent of the dancers not only in dancing but in choreographing a captivating routine and successfully guiding their partner through learning each step, shimmy and swagger. The event certainly cemented my admiration of the young dancers even more so than their awe-inspiring routines during halftime.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Backstage with Fred and Susie
I've been behind the scenes for many plays and musicals, but I have to admit, when I visited David Popp and Ingrid Hanson-Popp's home in Waterford, it was my first time backstage with puppets. Actually, there really was no backstage, unless you counted the fireplace and kitchen hidden behind the backdrop that transformed their living room into a puppet theater. While the staging area was somewhat cramped, it didn't hamper anyone's passion for the work they were undertaking.
That's what struck me the most as I watched rehearsing and filming for The Fred and Susie Show – adults completely engrossed and enthralled with producing quality, Christian shows for children. They sat, scrunched on crates, arms sticking in the air, watching their movements – which were all reversed in the monitor – running through lines to match the puppet's mouth movement to the voice.
On the evening I was there, they were minus two of their members, one who helps with the puppets' hand movements. Two people to animate one puppet in an area about as small as a work cubicle – this was a labor of love.
When I talked to the show's "talent," Jill Kossow, the only person that appears in the show, she was a bundle of energy bursting at the seams as she raced through lines for their third DVD. She had to slow down as she said her lines since puppeteer Craig Schneider couldn't make the stiff-mouthed puppet move fast enough to keep up with her.
Jill's regular job is as an elementary teacher, but she had also performed in musicals. Her elementary education background makes her the perfect person for making sure the script is at a kid level, but not dummied down so much that adults won't enjoy watching the shows with their kids.
Everyone who is part of the Fred and Susie show brings something from their day jobs to the productions, as well as hobbies and passions. From graphic design to song writing, puppet making, web design and marketing, everything is pulled together to make their final product.
I guess I never gave much thought to children's shows even though growing up my kids watched Sesame Street, which sparked David's interest in children's productions. As adults, I think we forget how much work and planning go into quality programming, but we are quick to pull the plug on the shows we don't deem fit for kid's consumption.
Watching the crew in action, I could see how the show consumed their attention and energy, not only that night as they filmed, but the days between rehearsals as they worked on the plan of action that would hopefully find the show on television some day.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
Images you can't shake
When I volunteered to do a photo blog, my first thoughts were what if I don't cover anything interesting enough for blogging? Then I got the word about a mock crash at Kettle Moraine High School, complete with Flight For Life, the medical examiner and a student leaving in a body bag. My interest was piqued.
This site uses Facebook comments to make it easier for you to contribute. If you see a comment you would like to flag for spam or abuse, click the "x" in the upper right of it. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use.
- A picture - worth 1,000 words - or 80 years (0)
- Sports freeze frames (0)
- Focusing on fine, feathered friends (0)
- Nativity sacrilege (1)
- Black Friday magic (1)
- An indefinable moment at Mukwonago High School (0)
- Music on the move with Phantom Legion (0)
- Work of art in the shape of a chair (0)
- Remembering Bill (0)
- Wonder and awe of the first day of school (0)
- More The Camera's Eye posts
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- All 2012
- All 2011
- All 2010
- All 2009
- All 2008
- All 2007


text:
Modesty is overrated.
[Beliefs portrayed are that of the creator and not of me, although I am the woman in the picture]
— Tintalee
Overseas skies
Photo owned by : tintalee
Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai…
Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Toronto, Canada.
Edited by: tintalee
Brrrrrrr, always thought this was a visually appealing poster
Let's be the change.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Look, I'll believe whatever dumbass thing I want to! I mean, I've fallen for worse:
1. Late 2004: Female Tauren will have optional numbers of "teets"; New Scarlet Monastery dungeon hides a pedo.
2. Early 2006: New weather effects will cause random NPCs to yell, "Wet enough for ya?!"
3. Mid 2006: Metadata footnote reveals Flying in Azeroth deemed impossible and will never, ever happen. Ever.
4. Late 2006: New Blood Elf race to feature butchest, most manly beasts ever to swing an axe. Male Blood Elf toons to be pretty tough, too.
5. Mid 2007: In-game voice chat feature to make everyone sound like Chris Metzen.
6. Mid 2008: New Dance Studio will revolutionize in-game lurching and thrusting.
7. Early 2009: Onyxia to have wacky sidekick; whelps will be voiced by Chris Metzen.
8. Late 2009: Arthas' defeat will rely solely on a fishing tournament.
9. Early 2010: New hard place Ruby Sanctum to be shoehorned in to give everyone something to do before next expansion; will feature... something that has to do with... Who cares?
10. Mid 2010: Cata alpha comforts tanks and healers alike with faceroll dungeons. It'll be a cakewalk, kids!


text:
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly—Part One
In the spirit of optimism, let's review some good, some bad, and some downright ugly things about this present age. I'll give three examples of each. For today, here's the "bad." Later this week, I'll post the "ugly," and then on the weekend the "good."
First, THE BAD (remember picking three examples is by needs arbitrary).
1) The end of fiscal sobriety. One of the strangest developments has been the embrace, reluctant or not, by conservatives of large government and deficits. Anytime we hear a conservative or a Republican talk of the deficit in terms of percentages of GDP rather than x-amount of real dollars in red ink, we infer that he has no plans to balance the budget. But do we appreciate the psychological, ethical implication of a voter waking up each morning, satisfied that his government is running a surplus? Even with good incomes and some cash in the bank, do we feel better that we have $5,000 on our Visa cards or $O?
For all the talk of smaller government, it grew enormously during the Bush administration, and, to a lesser extent, during both the Reagan and Bush I terms. The problem with growing government to fund idealistic programs like No Child Left Behind or Prescription Drug augments to Medicare is not just the unfunded cost, not just the misguided trust in yet more government bureaucracies that spawn ever larger constituencies of dependants, but the discrediting of the conservative critique of an ongoing DMV-ing of America. Who will now police the fiscal police?
Despite his stalwart efforts to keep us safe for seven years after 9/11 (and we will in time come to appreciate the magnitude of his Trumanesque achievement), had Bush left something akin to a balanced budget, it would have been far easier now to have convinced the public of the pernicious legacies of the far larger Obama deficits (remember the new Orwellian subtext, "We must borrow and spend in order to save and cut"). What are conservatives to say of Obama's $1.7 trillion annual deficit? "My God in Heaven, that rascal trumped our $500 billion shortfall three-times over!"
The odd thing is that despite 9/11, Katrina, Iraq, and the tax cuts, had Bush just kept discretionary domestic spending at the rate of inflation, we would have been near budget surpluses by 2005. By January 2007 when Bush had lost the Congress and wished to repent and reform, the game was lost and there was no chance of financial sobriety. Now, our best and brightest suggest that taxing and spending, and printing and borrowing money will lead to financial stability, as if it has in the past in prewar Germany, present -day Zimbabwe or 20th-century Argentina—or 1979 America.
2) Wall Street and the Democrats. By all accounts, liberals and Democrats receive far more Wall Street money than do conservatives—and it has left us baffled about the old role of big money and big government. So here we are: liberals are favoring crony capitalism—crony capitalism is favoring liberals advocating equality of result.
We are reduced to a Chris Dodd on the barricades railing against financial greed, or populist Charles Rangel limoing over to AIG to jawbone funding for his "Rangel Center," or Bill Gates figuring once more how to connive a Microsoft monopoly, in order to, Carneige-like, fund his noble causes, or George Soros, in between trying to wreck the Bank of England, funneling his hard-won cash to liberal attack-dog centers.
58 Comments, 58 Threads
1. Minerva
Is there a Cromwell on the horizon?March 24, 2009 - 9:30 am Link to this Comment | Reply
2. Tina Trent
There is no need to build prisons near universities: the universities are already opened to convicts. In Massachusetts, the well-funded "Changing Lives Through Literature" program brings admittedly hardened felons to college campuses to participated in a book club in lieu of incarceration. Program advocates scolded me on my website when I thoughtlessly referred to their program as rehabilitation: apparently it is now considered insensitive to so much as suggest that convicts need rehabilitation. Instead, they must be seen as simply sharing a "magical" experience of literature. Enhancing convicts' self-esteem is the official program objective.
The only study of CLCT outcomes appearing on their website is utterly risible but widely promoted — twice recently in the New York Times. This academic study contain some unintentionally telling nuggets. For example, the AVERAGE number of prior convictions for the men admitted to CLCT was (at the time of the study) 18.4 per person. 18.4 prior convictions before being sent to a college campus to read books with professors and judges instead of serving time for the next crime: this is not a typo.
Assuming a bell curve, that does mean that few program participants have more than 32 convictions. There's a relief.March 24, 2009 - 9:46 am Link to this Comment | Reply
3. DougWright
At first, this seemed the perfect time and place to repeat Pogo's quote: "We have met the enemy and he is us!"
However, now also seems the time to ask: "Why us, Oh Lord, why us?" The answer might be interesting if it wouldn't also well known that we deserve it, collectivity.
Lastly, I do hope that events, plagues, or calamities don't overtake us all and prevent publication of your last two points.March 24, 2009 - 10:11 am Link to this Comment | Reply
4. J.E. Dyer
Of course, professor, you KNOW readers are going to edit your three examples here. But I like them, a lot.
Conservatives have indeed been complicit in deficit spending. This is not because they have lowered taxes, which in fact always increases revenue. (That was the intention of the Reagan tax cuts, BTW: increase revenues through unleashing economic productivity, not "starve the beast." The latter was never the argument.)
It's because under Bush II, Congressional conservatives were complicit in spending way worse than drunken sailors. Reagan at least tried to rein in the spending of his Democratic Congresses.
Republicans had a long moment — Jan 2001-Jan 2007 — in which to demonstrate what they would do with both of the elected branches of government. In terms of fiscal responsbility, they blew it, big time.
We all know the joke about the guy who asks a woman to sleep with him for $1 million, and when she agrees, keeps lowering the payoff until she finally says, "What do you think I am?" "Look," says the guy, "we know what you are. We're just haggling over the price."
The Republicans in this joke are like the gal who tries to make a big, sanctimonious virtue of charging LESS for her services, and calling the other gals bad names for their high prices.
And yes, I know, Republicans who do this aren't real "conservatives." Conservatism is actually pretty radical, when you come down to it. Almost everyone will compromise and agree to just a little deficit here and a little there. Standing against that on principle — with other people's money — is the rarest of things.March 24, 2009 - 11:02 am Link to this Comment | Reply
5. Dustin
Professor, I too am baffled by the push to assign an external cause for every negative action. I thought being a political science major in my mid 30′s would put me at greater risk for a stroke, but, oddly enough, it's the intro to sociology class I'm in right now that has me practicing breathing exercises. I've toyed with the idea of writing a satirical paper describing the sociological phenomenon of the existence of sociologists to ease my frustration.March 24, 2009 - 1:29 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
6. Ron Kean
Dear Professor,
Well, I hope you don't make the girls cry again like on the 3/20 post.
Reagan OK'd the pork because he wanted to build defense. And he beat the USSR.
W. OK'd the pork for a similar reason. He went to Iraq thinking Saddam was a threat to our security. And he rid the world of that maniac (not to mention the Taliban camps).
One of the few things we know about our current president is his mentors. Frank Marshall, Wm. Ayres, and Sol Alinsky. All three supported the destruction of the social order.
His pastor and wife have said many derogatory things about the USA.
It's logical to think that our current president OK's pork to bring the system down.March 24, 2009 - 3:54 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
7. David Thomson
"…and it has left us baffled about the old role of big money and big government."
It really should not surprise anyone in the least. John Kenneth Galbraith long argued for corporatism. It is actually the ho-hum attitude of the many who attended the "best" universities. These individuals strongly believe that they and their buddies employed in the public and private sectors should together run the country. This mindset dominated the Progressive movement. Few business leaders are truly libertarian. They are often far more inclined to take fewer risks and surrender their independence to powerful politicians and bureaucrats. If nothing else, a "benevolent" government will most assuredly destroy their smaller competitors. Left–wing politicians, after all, instinctively prefer to deal with a small group of large corporate leaders than countless small business entities.March 24, 2009 - 7:02 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
8. Jeffrey Payne
Dr. Hanson,
Insightful, as always. You've caused a few thoughts to spark in my cranium:
To your 1st point: our lack of sobriety is not fiscal. The drug that is producing the current intoxication is: control. Government is the drug paraphernalia. Our politicians are well & truly hooked. We do not need new policies; we need an intervention.
To your 2nd point: Wall Street caters to the hooked-on-control politicians in the same way that a drug dealer caters to the needs of his customers. He does it not out of ideological need, nor vindictiveness. When gov't is powerful, gov't is where the money is. They therefore provide what the money wants.
To your 3rd point: The phantom of therapeutic interpretation allows those involved in points 1 & 2 to pretend that what they're doing is not destructive exploitation. Just as the alcoholic needs his booze, the politicians need their gov't programs & the financiers need gov't favoritism. They're just victims, you see?
So the users, sellers & explainers form a vicious circle.
Best Regards,March 24, 2009 - 7:22 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
10. WillDoMathForFood
The best socialists in the world are capitalists who run dying industries. It's a reflection of the slow death by asphyxiation of American business by American government: over-regulated, union-friendly, diversity-conscious, eagerly Green, overpriced, unable to (legally) hire anyone for wages that keep them profitable, and grossly uncompetitive. You're right, Dr. H, that we don't have capitalism anymore. It's being rapidly priced out of the world market, and these are the death throes of Denial.March 24, 2009 - 10:09 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
Remorse at conservative betrayal?
Old farmer, I was just 21 when I listened to Reagan promise that "taxes should hurt" and that he would never sign a state income tax with-holding law. He also railed against the draft as involuntary servitude before those 20 something draft age kids in the college auditorium in 1966 California.
But when Big Jesse and your Democrats twisted his arm, he caved. Just like those milk toast Republicans of the time, the Andersons and Nixons.
Compromise, my friend. That's all Republicans know. Cave and compromise.
So here we are.
And YOU of all people, a died in the wool, born in the blood, old time progressive, dare to bring up Republican short-comings?
That's what your party has wrought though moralistic guilt aimed at the righteous self-interest of capitalist individualism.
So now we should give you sympathy, as you watch the encroachment of city taxes and permits, as the immigrants trash your vineyard, as your mountain retreat WILL be threatened by environmental confiscation like so many others?
What you progressives never thought was that the cobra would twist and bite you in the ass.
So, like my favorite movie hero John McLean would say: "Welcome to the party, pal."March 24, 2009 - 10:35 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
12. steve macdonald
I can't wait to see the other two. Limiting the ugly to three points will be extremely difficult and finding the good will be even more challenging.
What amazes me is the sheer velocity of incompetence, deception, dishonesty and destruction we are seeing. I do not recall a period during my 59 years that even comes close to what we are seeing daily – tax cheats heading up the IRS and managing tax law creation in Congress, not bothering to nominate 18 key positions in treasury during a financial meltdown, mind blowing proposed deficits under the guise of invest and save, missed translations in basic Russian, Congress approving legislation permitting AIG bonuses one week and the congressional & administration principles hounding the company for what they authorized the next, trillion dollar stimulus plans that don't stimulate, the Chinese calling for an alternative currency as they are losing faith in our dollar, lectures on fiscal responsability from the French, haltting the lifting of executive ban on gas and oil exploration on the promise of alternatives somewhere down the road – while promising independence from foreign oil, violating international law on our treaty obligations with Mexico and initiating a job killing trade war, omnibus spending bills with over double the inflation rate spent on discretionary items and 8,000 earmarks in an era of new fiscal responsibility, lobbyists common in an administration promising to reject them, DVDs as an insulting gift to the political head of state of our most important ally – which do not work, zero transparency on any of the financial fixes in an era of promised transparency, huge bills passed without being read, federal funding for killing embryos while calling opposing viewpoints/moral stances a false choice, international aid for abortions with total disregard to the millions at home who view the practice as murder,a billion dollar aid package to a terrorist organization in Gaza…………I could go on for an hour and continue to rattle off examples without missing a beat.
It appears to me that our political leadership have become a herd of lemmings mindlessly running hell bent for election over a cliff at light speed because speed is of the essence and reason need not apply.
I only hope that there is a major "adjustment" in the 2010 elections and that there are pieces able to put back together in the aftermath. The deppression that has increasingly become evident in your writings is well founded in current events.
Even the spectacular implosions of Argentina, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and many others took some time to get going. We seem to be trying to get there at record speed as if this was a goal worth achieving.March 25, 2009 - 3:28 am Link to this Comment | Reply
13. Jack Marcotte
Essential vdh
In America,we are looking at debris and fall out from a single source. Unidentified.
We are counting the debris as good, bad, ugly or any other apt, at the time, description.
How can this debris such as a BHO,Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Pat Leahy,
Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Nancy Pelosi and on and on be accounted for.
What are the holes in reason and rationality did they climb up or drop out of.
What ugly orifice gave them passage and the light of day along with their diatribes of spewed words ? Not a rational idea among them or between them. Trading in all the bad traits in humanity. Spewing spittle.
What big bang explains their existance and the sinking American outpost of Western Culture.
A high water mark, sinking in a sea of incompetence and irresponsibility.
We, Americans are watching, seeming mesmerized in passivity, the death of individual responsibilities based on rationality, reason and work.
Even now, watching the death of America. American Soldiers are fighting and dying to give others freedoms that are being taken away from Americans on American Soil.
The death of the most powerful ideas in the world that built Western Culture falling before a Barney Frank, an idiot.
Are we all idiots?
vdh–that is a question to answer.March 25, 2009 - 4:59 am Link to this Comment | Reply
14. Paul from Hamburg
"But do we appreciate the psychological, ethical implication of a voter waking up each morning, satisfied that his government is running a surplus? Even with good incomes and some cash in the bank, do we feel better that we have $5,000 on our Visa cards or $O?"
I don't like the idea of a large deficit, but I equally dislike the idea of a government surplus. The analogy to a Visa balance is flawed. A government surplus is not equivalent to a $0 credit card balance. A government surplus means that the government collected more tax revenue than they need. The appropriate analogy would ask how we would feel if Visa overcharged us and then refused to give the extra money back.March 25, 2009 - 6:12 am Link to this Comment | Reply
15. Pops in Vienna
Ahhh Doc, I love hearing your ruminations about our ruination.
I really wonder how much longer this can continue before it all caves in? I mean, after all, the Soviet Union eventually collapsed despite all the central planning, clever elites and the secret police.
How on earth did things get to point where we had to sell America to the Chinese in order to continue our profligate life styles for a few more years?
How on earth did one of the most educated societies on the planet end up being so stupid?
How on earth, in a country where so many people still go to church, did we lose our moral values?
This is a very sad funeral. This is a death that came way before its time.
16. LynnS
Part I: The end of fiscal sobriety.
I think the short period of the country coming together after 9-11 was just that…a short period. Just long enough for the Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate to get all their ducks in a row in deciding what they could get from President Bush in exchange for supporting the War in Iraq and the War in Afghanistan.
He (President Bush) apparently right or wrong felt it was important enough to give them want they wanted and they gleefully proceeded to bankrupt the country.
Wall Street. It was strange but one day I thought…Every time lay-offs, downsizing, restructuring etc. are announced stocks go up, every time oil, gas, food, clothing, shelter prices go up, stocks go up. Hold it. Ordinary citizens investing in the stock market are profiting from layoffs, and a higher cost of living. We're working our hind quarters off so that some schmuck can buy five houses, thousand dollar shower curtains, and throw his wife a roman orgy of debauchery while our road to retirement gets longer and longer.
Would somebody explain what the hell is worth fighting for in this country? Never mind. Off topic.
17. ~Paules
Americans no longer have a vested interest in liberty. Nor do many enjoy the fruits of honest labor. Too much has been freely given rather than earned. Such conditions produce a condition of societal decadence. Entitlement becomes the norm without any obligation on the part of a citizen.
The Greatest Generation sweated, fought, and bled for liberty. A vested interest bought with personal sacrifice made them patriots. The same generation accumulated its wealth one dollar at a time. They knew the value of money because it was hard to come by.
The contrast between then and now, I think, reveals much. That which is not earned is never valued. We tend sometimes to over-intellectualize when a simple truth will do.March 25, 2009 - 6:41 am Link to this Comment | Reply
18. Bruce M.
I always read your work with one hand on a bottle of liquor to salve the inevitable despair and rage that I,oddly, look forward too. Somebody in the mental health field, in which I have been employed for the last thirty years, said that telling people that the reality that they see is not happening drives them crazy. You eloquently (always) confirm what I experience. It's tragic, isn't it. It needs to be said.March 25, 2009 - 7:36 am Link to this Comment | Reply
19. Michael M.
How about the liberal professors rehabilitating those poor, misunderstood, Gitmo detainees who where driven to extremism by President Bush's heavy handedness.March 25, 2009 - 7:40 am Link to this Comment | Reply
20. geoffgo
What amazes me is the sheer velocity of incompetence, deception, dishonesty and destruction we are seeing.
Can't argue. It's less amazing if you don't preface the list with incompetence; expected of them and not unavoidable by us. If one substitutes the opposite of incompetence it might read thus:
"What amazes me is the sheer velocity of and competence in their deception, dishonesty and destruction we are seeing."
Which begs the question: If what's happened to individual freedom and US over the last 2 months is the work of incompetents, dumkofs, clowns, idiots, naredowells, fools and misguided stupidity, then what does it get like when they fr*ckin experts? Need to apply "fool" to the proper assignees, here.March 25, 2009 - 8:40 am Link to this Comment | Reply
21. Marc Malone
Conservative politicians only remain conservative when they have a strong conservative leader to take the political heat for them. Otherwise, they, too, play the pay-for-play game. It's how they get re-elected, they think. They've bought into the system.
Of course, a better way would be to simply be competent and responsible, but they simply lack the courage, being politicians. It reminds me of the phrase, "Courage is a virtue, so therefore, demons have none." Substitute politicians for demons, and you understand the problem.
Basically, Pub pols crow, "We're less corrupt than the other guys!" Sadly, they're right. As soon as there is a viable, conservative third-party, which will really abandon anyone who doesn't toe the line, I'm jumping ship.March 25, 2009 - 8:43 am Link to this Comment | Reply
22. TheMightyMonarch
"The Greatest Generation sweated, fought, and bled for liberty."
This is also the generation that allowed the socialist FDR to take power and put us on this road. This is the generation that, in the desperation of the Great Depression, allowed our leaders to buy off votes through make-work projects and the Ponzi scheme of Social Security. The same people that allowed themselves to become dependents of government by sending the bill to their children and grandchildren.
And out of that generation came the Baby Boomers, already accustomed to an activist government, allowed people like LBJ to hijack even more wealth into yet another Ponzi scheme, this time called Medicare. The "War on Poverty" was allowed to be waged, taking the social responsibility away from individuals and placed in the hands of bureaucrats seeking to solidify their dependent voter base.
And now we come to my generation, the kids of the Baby Boomers. Through the relentless propaganda of a media corrupted by Marxism and the distractions of a consumer/debt society, we now have a misplaced trust in the government to address the necessities of life. We even expect this despite our ability to pay for it. Just like in "1984″, we've come to love Big Brother. It is people like us that allowed a woefully underqualified rabble-rouser to hold the highest office in the country, because he gives a good speech and speaks in soothing platitudes.
So what will happen to my children? The $11 trillion in debt along with the $50 trillion in unfunded Social Security and Medicare liabilities can't possibly be passed on much longer. In all likelihood they will be paying into a bleeding Social Security fund that they cannot hope to ever benefit from and will also destroy their own ability to save. They will be unhealthier because national health care can only control costs through rationing. They cannot hope to be prosperous because wealth has been defined as evil and ill-gotten by nature, and therefore must be confiscated.
Part of me hopes the whole system collapses; this country needs to be shown the futility of relying on government rather than themselves. I can't see that shift in thought happening unless people are forced to deal with it.March 25, 2009 - 8:52 am Link to this Comment | Reply
23. donttreadonme
You have tapped into generational theory. Per Strauss & Howes' (unrelated to Dewey, Cheatham & Howe) Fourth Turning, your children (and mine) will be a new "artist" archetype gen, very practical, thrifty, with an inherent predisposition to compromise. Raised during times of economic hard times and/or civil strife, they tend not to be extremists. Reagan was the last "Artist" president. It seems crazy now that the very polarizing Boomer gen are in charge, but Reagan worked ably with a Democrat congress (led by "artists" like Tip). He got his tax cuts, they got to keep the Dept of Educ, etc. This kind of compromise is impossible when the "hero" gen (Boomers) are in charge. For them, its all or nothing – think total war, economic extremism, etc. When the "nomad" gen takes over next decade, as is always the case when nomads take over from "heroes", the stalls will be shoveled, and the cleanup begun in earnest.March 25, 2009 - 10:04 am Link to this Comment | Reply
24. MarkD
There is another explanation for the Wall Streeter's tithe to the left. They were tired of being maligned by the ignorant, and in their own ignorance, tried to buy the left off.
You can't deal with the devil. The real irony in all this is that once the capitalists are defeated, the fellow travellers are next.
Well, it all ends when there is nothing left to steal.March 25, 2009 - 10:12 am Link to this Comment | Reply
25. steve macdonald
You are right except that the incompetence in kind of germain when talking about a group that proposes to take over the national health care, energy, finance and most of automotive industries (so far), as well as set executive pay and revolutionize education by pouring massive money into a failed model. When one looks at the almost universal incompetence on everything touched so far, it is hard not to wonder just how bad and at what speed we can truly screw up everything.
case in point, last night Obama said that "critics" were saying there was no plan for toxic assets and yesterday his Sec Treas delivered one -as if to say ha ha we were right! never mind that it was promised Feb.10 for Feb 11 and not delivered until March 23. I won't even go into his much touted economic team charged with overseeing recovery that has yet to even meet – in contravention to the law set by his democratic congress.
Perhaps prof. Hanson can develop a word that fits the current level of proffesionalism being demonstrated – incompetence prefixed by pick your adjective is woefully inadequate.March 25, 2009 - 10:39 am Link to this Comment | Reply
26. geoffgo
Consciously malicious behavior (cf, evil) deserves no smidgen of forgiveness, just because it's incompetently undertaken or imposed. That defines compromise.March 25, 2009 - 12:15 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
27. Tonya
You have something "Good" to come? If you can find the good in it all, I will happily read it and maybe I will feel better.
Maybe the good will be that the President has a nice looking face on television, that is the only good thing I can think of. I do not think pretty faces, or witty lingo, will be enough good for any of us.
You named some mean old Democrats, and devils advocates or as close to it as I know, and then you go and mention George Soros in your article and scare me again. Unless I am completely wrong, he is the bad, the ugly and scary.
I stay so aggravated over the last few weeks, because I keep seeing the money being given away to big Corporate Banks, and I think the 1.85 trillion is bad business just like the Ponzi Schemes. If our current administrations spending money to make the money scheme fails, what then? I do not have a lot of faith in any of it.
I cannot wait to see some good, but I do not want to see the ugly, because it may scare the daylights out of me. Don't say Boo to loud to me today, because I watched the President last night and I'm already frightened.March 25, 2009 - 1:00 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
When a demagogue politician speaks, the under-educated listen and believe, not as VDH and like-minded brothers and sisters of the foundation of this country… who by hard effort can detect an enslaver of men.
When a demagogue broadcast preacher speaks, his sheep don't learn to detect a demagogue politician. Thus Wright was right for Obama, but neither good for our country's true founding principles.
When a demagogue media person hears a demagogue preacher or politician speak, they hear a brother or sister in soul and agenda.
Today the demagogues run broadcast Christianity at our nation's peril. Today the demagogues run the media at our nation's peril. Today the demagogues run the politics at our nations peril.
Have I forgotten anything? Yes, of course! The demagogues in education and entertainment run their unattractive worlds.
How can power of demagogues, and the economic might of demagogues and the virtual slave-master status of demagogues be taken away… politely… or in a civil fashion… from these creatures antithetical to our Founding Fathers?
Most people think that anybody who thinks like our good professor VDH is… creepy, and anybody who walks, talks and enslaves us like a demagogue is… god-like in virtue and all excellencies.
How do we get back to civil virtue when the blind can't see their own enslavement and those gifted with sight-of-virture are marginalized?March 25, 2009 - 2:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
29. Marc Malone
#29 Burke – Nice post.March 25, 2009 - 2:58 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
30. ChipD
Interesting post indeed.
I found response #6 fascinating- that the GOP deficits were somehow OK because they were for a good cause, such as fighting war.
Radly Balko, a libertarian, has a very good piece where he made the case that the conservative movement painted itself into a corner when it adopted a strong defense as one of its basic principles.
This is because war and defense are inherently big-government ideas; national defense is wildly expense, and peacetime defense absolutely demands strong, centralized government control over the economy and state.
Have you ever noticed that the same crowd that screams whenever the idea of registering guns is raised, but aquiesces meekly whenever the government asks to read their email, browse their bank accounts, throw suspects into prison on the President's whim, and so on?
Conservatives have this strange schizophrenia, that there are two kinds of government- Good Government such as the military, police, and CIA; and Bad governemtn like the EPA, EEOC, and the various welfare agencies. And so they constantly enlarge the former, while railing against the latter, never noticing that the two work hand in glove. If the governemtn has the power to disregard the 4th Amendment, why not the 2nd?March 25, 2009 - 4:03 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
31. Dhuka
As usual a good post by VDH.
Did you know that one way easily to get into Yale Drama School is to be
a convicted felon with a BA degree?March 25, 2009 - 4:14 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
32. Dhuka
Without a BA degree!!!!March 25, 2009 - 4:15 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
33. Bill
"How do we get back to civil virtue when the blind can't see their own enslavement and those gifted with sight-of-virture are marginalized?"
This is the bottom line question. Who is going to save us from ourselves?March 25, 2009 - 4:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
34. Delia
I have a sneaking suspicion the 'GOOD' part is going to be the hardest part to come up with for you, kind Sir Hanson, but I look forward to a bit of bolstering in that regards.
The UGLY? That's gonna be too easy [except for the trying to refrain from the obvious parts].March 25, 2009 - 5:21 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
35. Ron Kean
31. ChipD
Hi. I'm #6.
I don't agree with libertarians.
I do agree that government should have maximum control for the protection of its citizens from foreign powers.
I believe, unlike communists, dictators, and radical Muslims, our presidents can't throw people in jail on a whim.
I also believe that our presidents,especially our previous one, George Walker Bush, had the oversight of congressional leaders and permission from the judiciary to listen to conversations between people in America and their friends in Pakistan.
It's because of this faith that I give my name here just like our dear professor. What's yours?March 25, 2009 - 6:50 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
36. WR Jonas
DR. Hanson is crying out here. Looking for something that we will never find again . What we are all looking for if we ever truly had it.
The truth.
Who believes any thing they are told by the press or the government or those in high places? Don't we all realize we are being sold down the river by liars , scoundrels and con men ? Of course we do but we know that no amount of outrage or passion or dedication will bring the truth back again.It was here for awhile but it is no longer with us.
The truth has gone and we strain to find some echo or trace of where it once was. We know we need solutions but the people in charge are not interested, they are concocting more schemes for tomorrow, more crimes.
The truth will come again and few are ready for it . The truth is not something , it is somebody. It is Jesus Christ .
Hear what I say. He will come and when he does the world as we know it will change instantly. The first thing you will ask when you see his coming will be ,"am I going to survive?'
I am not ashamed to proclaim him as my Lord for he will ask us ," who do you believe in?"Are you ready ?March 25, 2009 - 7:31 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
37. westerncanadian
Margaret Thatcher used to say that socialism works well until it runs out of other people's money. That is how this current episode of Monty Python will end. Just like a Roadrunner cartoon, we will look down and realize we are standing on thin air just before we plunge to earth. The good thing is that after the fall, a newly sensible society might appear. The really bad thing is that the plunge to earth will happen on the day that the US defaults on its debt.March 25, 2009 - 8:00 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
38. Delia
38. westerncanadian
Whatta woman! :)March 25, 2009 - 8:34 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
39. Gaffe Prices
Reagan had programs for spending on defence, Tip O'neill had pork because he was Speaker of the H.R. for a Democrat majority in congress. Its OK, because what Reagan and O'neill did was something called compromise. Its how things got done once upon a time.
If either the president or the Speaker had his way, neither of the others agenda would have been a top priority, if at all.
Compromise was also once called East/West logrolling at one time in history books too.March 25, 2009 - 9:11 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
40. Gaffe Prices
Ditto. I took this same subject up with ChirpD over at PajamasMediaBlog site -Roger's Rules- on Roger Kimball's post " "Enemy Combatants", David Hume and Islamophobia" at #'s 6 &7.March 25, 2009 - 9:29 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
41. Robohobo
"How odd that the World Series or the Super bowl is a far more honest arbiter of excellence than the current academic and intellectual industries."
Just barely. Steroids.March 25, 2009 - 10:34 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
42. Pete
ChipD (#31): You raise a very good point. You wrote, "Conservatives have this strange schizophrenia, that there are two kinds of government- Good Government such as the military, police, and CIA; and Bad governemtn like the EPA, EEOC, and the various welfare agencies."
You are indeed correct, many conservatives have a blind spot in their appraisal of big government because they excuse its excesses in anything to do with national defense, security, and the military.
Some thoughts:
1. We would do well to heed Eisenhower's warnings about the "military-industrial complex," which is far larger and more powerful than our Founders most likely intended. We spend more on national defense than the top five runnersup combined. Consider that a moment. Why so much? In part it is a holdover from the Cold War when we took on global commitments to defend our spehere of interest, including Japan, W. Europe, and many other critical areas. Even now, twenty years on, we still defend vast areas of the world, from nations to sea routes, that could be defended as well and more cheaply with the cooperation of others. S. Korea is a modern nation, fully capable of defending itself. Why are our troops there? We simply cannot afford to protect what we now attempt to protect. Choices must be made. Remember your Frederick the Great, "He who defends everything defends nothing."
2. Defending others on our dime has created a kind of defense welfare cycle of dependency, in which Europe has grown prosperous (some would even say fat) and lazy under the defense unbrella provided by Uncle Sam. Forcing other nations to spend their own money on defense will not only save us money, it will stiffen their spines, and also make them better allies. The alternative is to charge nations under our defense unbrella a fee, much like a municipal fire department charges residents for fire protection services.
3. Arguing in the other direction for a moment, conservatives are at least partly justified in allowing big government in the realm of defense and the armed forces, but not being happy about it elsewhere. Why? Because the constitution specifically grants the central (federal) government power to conduct a national defense. Indeed it is one of the primary duties of the national government to do so.
4. Per #3 above, most constitutional scholars agree that the executive branch has accumulated too much power to make war w/o Congressional approval. President Truman used an executive order to take us to war in Korea, a gambit that has been used increasingly since then. The pendullum needs to swing back the other way, IMO.March 25, 2009 - 10:39 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
43. Pete
Continuing in the vein of #38:
Regarding socialism and capitalism, Winston Churchill once said, "Capitalism results in the unequal sharing of blessings, socialism in the equal sharing of miseries" or words to that effect. I very much fear we are – under Obama – about to out that aphorism to the test these coming years.March 25, 2009 - 10:42 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
44. a Duoist
Dr. Hanson:
Aren't we–the West–in the beginning of the 21C likely in the uncharted territory of unprecedented wealth? Hasn't our very success at eradicating killing diseases made us weaker as a species? Our prosperity assures a social net for the most unproductive. Marx never even considered that capitalism would evolve to become the modern welfare state, where proletarians never revolt against their monthly food stamps or housing vouchers.
Hasn't every clear thinker over the past two hundred years warned about democracy's tendency of electing politicians who reward special interests in exchange for votes? Isn't our recent status as the most obese people on the planet a perfect explanation for what is occurring in our culture? Hasn't our unprecedented wealth meant we've substituted 'helplessness' for 'happiness' as the "highest good"?
Haven't we peaked, as a people? Corporations no longer fight for margins; they now simply fight for market share. Cosmetic surgery is no longer for the disfigured; it is now the equivalent of changing the color of a lipstick. There is no longer a viable small-government political party; the public trough is bi-partisan.
Isn't everything as it is because of our unprecedented prosperity? No people in history have reached such a general wealth; aren't our weaknesses–the bad–reflective of our inability to self-manage our bounty? Didn't we have the unique culture to create a great wealth, but now lack the cultural values to maintain it?
Great post.March 26, 2009 - 2:43 am Link to this Comment | Reply
"Reform" may be the most powerful operant strategy. There are plenty of laws and regulations on the books which are useless unless they are enforced. The crimes, scams, pork, drug addictions, unhealthy citizens, political corruptions, kick backs, and all of the varieties of abuse of power costs 'we the people'. In turn we are compensated with more promises that are followed by more scandals.
Layering on a new system of government and economy without reforming the old by enforcing the existing rules and structures is like building a house on sand.March 26, 2009 - 8:57 am Link to this Comment | Reply
46. geoffgo
Re: national defense, security, and the military – it's all national defense.
The Founders were well aware of the threats that might accrue nationally and internationally; we've decided over the last 200 years to take no heed of and to gradulally abrogate the protections written into their credo.
Any perusal of Thomas Paine's work must alert and remind one to the risk we face today. The Left has so confused the dialogue that the three things "you shouldn't talk about in good company are sex, religion and politics."
Seems like no better time than now, to abolish that convention. Like folks, in our current predicament there is nothing else worth talking about, in any conversation, anywhere! Focus the debate, and learn whose company you'll need to keep.
What usually happens when we completely disregard the sound advice and ignore the direst warnings from our wisest, most learned elders? When they were the inventors of personal freedom, at great cost? And, always in the spirit of compromise? Twenty-twenty hindsight says you end up nothing. Zero.
If we didn't as a nation, for a myriad of rationales, compromise, then even I could cut the military budget by maybe 90%, more in the out years. First, I'd make it the overarching goal of US to Inflict Democracy, by every means, from now on.
Policy 1: If you threaten US, it's always, without exception, going to be the very last act your country and its people will ever perpetrate. NO exceptions.
Policy 2: You have five years to become a democracy. Start today. Cheating will not be tolerated.
Of course our lack of resolve is the real issue, not that we've enabled a military-industrial complex, which unnecessarily sucks up huge treasure by doing it the "compassionate" way, and allowing both Political Parties to take a vig per bullet.
Much like GWB's "you're either with US, or against us." Be friends or be dead. No nuance necessary. US has neither the time, money nor the disposition to further tolerate terrorist behavior. Parents worldwide, discipline your children, it's good practice on your way to becoming a free person.
Compromise with necessity naturally leads to our needing to secure the Homeland with a ever-huger National Security Force, with its own growing infrastructure and budget; instead of directing our now much smaller military, or national guard, or their drones to solve the problem. We are right on course to fund our own brownshirts, our own multilingual kapo-korps.
And we acquiese to this pork-filled system, while not building a bigger, better, more impenetrable border fense. The pols are stringing "Do Not Cross" yellow tape, like this no go zone is a crimescene investigation, before, prepatory to the crime happening. Instead of building an increasing impregnable, evermore hi-tech barrier, to last for a LONG TIME, easily maintained and upgraded shield? That would be a solution, so that's not what we're doing?
Resolve and clarity would dictate minefields – first 20 yds – indelible paint, second 20 yds – temporary stun – PERMANENT bodily harm from there. With big signs in Spanish and Arabic.
And, of course that would limit, no stop, the flow of illegals, of all sorts and character, thereby facilitating our current Border Patrol to cope with that rare soul who makes it across, only to be immediately deported; and allow the NatGuard to deal with those who would use force to gain entry. And, this approach would cost maybe 10% of what it's going to cost to pretend US has borders(?).
All the proposed spending on education, healthcare and green energy (which dwarfs the defense budget) will be absolutely irrelevant if 20+ million Mexicans flood across the border, all claiming asylum from a narco-terrorism inspired "overseas contingency" employing tens of thousands of "man-made disasters." I suppose we'll have to call this an overborder contingency, after the first 2-3 million get across.
I'm listenig to FOX report on this looming threat as I type. Now, we have a new Janet in charge, and she's got a "contingency" plan for controlling the likely surge. One like the earlier Janet Reno's plan for Waco?
Or, more like CSI?
Might be prudent to DEMAND of your elected representatives today, that we'd like US borders secured, right now, AND before they spend one dollar on anything else. 100% control is not just the objective, it's a mandate. No compromise. No excuses. It's not about Party Politics; it's about US surviving.
Ergo, any declaration by any politician, to the contrary, is direct evidence of their malevolent motives and willingness to see US fail. Be heard, or be kulaks.March 26, 2009 - 8:59 am Link to this Comment | Reply
47. geoffgo
a Duoist@45
Our prosperity assures a social net for the most unproductive. No, the Government mandates that, at gunpoint. Otherwise US, the most charitable, clever, productive population ever, would solve the problem through charity and other means.
Ah!…the moral beachhead. Or the cornerstone, depending whose side you take. So since the beginning of time, when the moochers and the looters first floated that "trial political balloon" that they had some legitimate claim on your and my productivity, and then continually enacted the means to take more of it, til now when they assert they own all of it, depending on who you are, what was that all about?
Fairness. It's the means of determining the average, and shackling down the overs to advance the unders to gain votes; as if the productive class owed them. It's depraved.
And, all the while capitalism has transformed mankind, and is still trying. Launching us toward the stars – maybe. Note: this economic miracle works only in a democracy, wherein property rights apply. 200 years. Starvation is now rare on earth, rather than de riguer. Civilization-ending diseases eradicated. And barring natural disasters, always the result of government! – with some being more inclined/determined to solve the problem than others. And, those gov'ts who aren't are evil. See numerous African disasters, live on TV.
Capitalism hasn't failed at all; it's been stymied by law, and by force, and by the compromise of property rights. Propitiation to theft. Governments by nature feel and are in fact empowered by if in for your $1, then in for all of your dollars. And, they exploit your tax to inexorably improve their efficiency and effectiveness in the taking.
Can anyone doubt, politics and cultural differences aside (swept perhaps), that US unleashed could not solve the basics of existence for any African country, in under 10 years? Done as if we meant to fix it? Of course, heads may have to roll absent agreement to the peaceful infliction of democracy and capitalism. Innoculate with Freedom. It's contageous.
Give me a break a Douist. The current world condition is not the fault of the productive; but of their enslavement. Your misplaced guilt is leaking out, all over Prof. Hanson's comment box. And, it's bad for morale.March 26, 2009 - 10:31 am Link to this Comment | Reply
48. geoffgo
To add some more pithyness to your reform strategy. last year Congress passed 60,000 laws, hundreds of thousands of edicts, millions of policy setting dictates, etc. that either allow them to steal, or make you guilty of something. Ignorance of the law, of course being no excuse…for you.March 26, 2009 - 10:42 am Link to this Comment | Reply
49. seansarto
Caligula?March 26, 2009 - 2:35 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
50. seansarto
Kids who wouldn't know how to pee in the woods….but know how to hustle an' "A" out of college.March 26, 2009 - 2:43 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
51. seansarto
Pete#43& 44
Good points, I been looking at that Korea dynamic fer a while also. The "libertytowns" dependency becomes damnin'…Your Truman parallels seemed apparent to me also. In reading into it, it appeared to me that Truman was elected on his "Wil Rogers" cartoony "Aw Shucks" demeanor by the Chicago racketeer bosses basically to continue the assuage policy towards the Okie elements who were home from the war..an' still outta land.March 26, 2009 - 3:05 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
Geoffgo @ 49
That is a scarey number of social experiments per minute. If we crunched the number of violations into a counter for the entire US population, it would probably out spin the national debt like a cheetah to a snail. At to think that western society grew from a mere ten commandments plus common sense and a keen sense of competition.
The latest poster boy is Bernie Madoff. He went 20 years under the SEC by offering something for nothing. Enron and Global X-ing were not that long ago. Crime in America is a well known endeavor and it costs us. Insane volumes of rule making is the sport of petty tyrants.
If the cops are corrupt or selectively enforcing the laws, then the laws and government have lost their foundation.
How did the executive branch extend itself into a position of the supreme leader of the legislative branch?March 26, 2009 - 5:03 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
—Somewhere some lazy selfish academic dreamed up multiculturalism and is still smiling, "Now I can do whatever I want—drop the hurt in giving F's, skip out on tutoring the rather difficult to tutor, stop insisting on acrimonious standards at tenure hearings—as long as I mouth these platitudes." The faculty has become bloated Soviet-era apparatchiks on the May-Day grandstands, saluting the passing missiles, mouthing "comrade" and the "revolution" before lumbering off to the dachas on the Black Sea. Trace the evolution of our therapeutic notions of criminology, of government, of child-raising even, and it inevitably leads you back to the university.—
and there it is…….March 26, 2009 - 5:12 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
54. Ron Kean
47. Geoffgo
You want to imitate vaguely the way Rudy Giuliani cleaned up New York. Set boundaries and punish offenders. Simple.
But the mine fields would be too messy. Limbs everywhere, man, woman, child screaming. "Momma! Papa! It hurts mui malo!" Even thought it would stop illegal immigration cold in one month.
Israel showed that a fence works. That's the best way.March 26, 2009 - 6:10 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
55. njcommuter
The paradox of Wall Street behavior is summed up in one phrase: Devil take the hindmost. The notions of responsibility and stewardship have gone. Jack Bogle at Vanguard has written extensively, and he even has strong disagreements with the way Vanguard has been run recently. I haven't read everything he's written, but I can recommend his first book (Bogle on Mutual Funds) and his last (Enough).March 28, 2009 - 12:50 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
56. Michael Lonie
#47 Geoffgo,
Bravo, you propose to make war on the entire rest of the world. Very libertarian of you indeed. The problem with libertarians (and Paleoconservatives) talking about international and defense affairs is that they generally don't know their fundamentum from a fossa about those subjects. Your post is an excellent example of that sort of thing.
Let us take an example of your strategy at work. On 9/11 an act of war was perpetrated against the USA. By whom? Not by a nation-state, which the US could hold to account and subject to your threat of it being the last thing that nation ever did by nuking it. We were attacked by a transnational group of terrorists. Some of them were holed up in Afghanistan. We could threaten to nuke Afghanistan forward into the Chalcolithic Age from its previous cultural level, but Al-Qaida and the Islmaist movement that spawned it are much bigger than Afghanistan. And it's pretty plain we would have little idea of which caves to nuke in order to get the right men.
Bush decided to strike at the underlying "root causes" of the jihadist enterprise, and did so quite effectively in Iraq. He sought to pit our big idea, liberty and prosperity in the modern World, against their big idea: a 7th Century style Caliphate in which Muslims would swagger around lording it over the wretched Dhimmis, and take the wealth and power the West possesses away from the USA. It belongs to them, because they're Muslims dontcherknow. Allah said so. The lefties like Obama attacked the Iraq Campaign because they never had the wit to understand what is going on or how to fight it. Looking at the fuss over Gitmo they still don't.
But it takes money and resources to fight a modern war. If you don't fight the enemy wins by default. In the modern world if you let the enemy win by default you generally don't get peace, you get tyranny that eliminates all freedom. So, rather than being a threat to freedom, defense spending is its support. Do you think we'd have any liberty if we had lost to the Nazis or Communists, by not exerting ourselves and spending immense resources to oppose them?
Basically your propsal is that, in order to reduce our budget deficit and keep our defense expenditures at a minimum, the USA commit genocide any time somebody seriously challenges us. I can't go along wiht that.March 28, 2009 - 6:35 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
57. Vinny
Are racial equality rules infiltrating the sports world you ask? See the "Rooney Rule" in the NFL.April 1, 2009 - 8:45 am Link to this Comment | Reply
58. RobG
First Time visitor just surfing by; Sorry Professor but the pessimistic diatribes make me want to puke. If I only had a bullet, I shoot my self.
On second thought, Let's all line up in single file, DMV style and I'll point the gun at my heart and take as many miserable souls behind me as fate or destiny will allow.
Please tell me there is more to this site than a bunch of whiners, postulating on why this country is in the decline it is. Look in the F-ing mirror and tell me how you think you are not the reason.
If our country falls, We will go down in history as the cowardice generation who spent their lives on sites like this never engaging the tyranny of our day in face to face confrontation. Get the F up and let's go to Washington DC and let the Fascist in power know we are through with the BS! 62 million disagreed with the "change". Is that not enough? What are you waiting for? A train to Auschwitz, Treblinka, Krakow?
Oh too naive, I can feel it oozing from your highly intellectual mealy yellow spines. Can't , Won't, Never; we're too civilized!
THIS IS THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER- "All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing" — Sir Edmund Burke
Grows some balls and let's get on with the battle before us.
RGApril 28, 2009 - 9:26 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
Comments are closed.


text:
Hull Art Pottery vases
These Hull Art Pottery vases from the 1940s are currently available in my Ebay store, L'Or Aux Beaux Royales.
Hi everyone! It's been a long while since I've posted. Work, and chronic pain exacerbated by work, have interfered. But, I have opened an Ebay store featuring some cool vintage items, so I thought I should post an update on what I've been doing.


text:
Next, you'll be asked to connect with Twitter. Rest assured, we will never send a tweet from your account
without your permission.
We will send you an email with an invite soon.
NYTimes: TED Teams Up With PBS on Ideas for Educationhttp://t.co/UZpqEUMulm
Derek Sivers: How to start a movement #TED
The Long Walk Of Nelson Mandela | FRONTLINE | PBS
Eli Pariser on Upworthy, the filter bubble | TED Blog
Black History Month teaching resources | PBS NewsHour Extra more»
NPR/PBS's Hinojosa Envisions New Haven's Mañana | New Haven Independent
Bill Strickland: Rebuilding a neighborhood with beauty, dignity, hope | Talk Video | TED
See what's Trending Now for @ficklin
Follow @ficklin on Twitter


text:
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
I am a fan of everyone raiding how they want and even casuals seeing content, but LFR has compounded the declining skill problem that is plaguing WoW. As a GM of a 10 man guild working on heroics, we often have nights were a dps can't make it and we decide to pug and clear on normal. I have no problem getting responses in trade from 20 people in full 378+ gear, but I would bet half the guild bank only 1 will do acceptable damage for their gear level. On top of this, Blizzard is streamlining everything from talents to dps rotations but even these simplifications aren't helping players perform any better. I was in an LFR this weekend with a holy priest who was way high on activity, but did less healing than 2 shadow priests. That is simply.... stunning.
Scott's remark about his guild moving up in ranking by virtue of surviving rings true on my server, where there is only 1 25 man guild (counting both factions) that has killed Deathwing. T13 is by far the easiest tier yet in cataclysm, but each tier less and less guilds are making progress due to (in my opinion) a horribly degraded player base. The ICC nerfs and what that did to player expectations and performance was devastating, and my server never recovered.
Hey Bonzoe what size is your server? I'm actually finding the exact opposite: whereas previously asking for someone to step in to DPS a H was met with *crickets*, nowadays after LFR I can usually find someone in 30 second who is reasonably geared and skilled and knows the fight. But I'm thinking that since I'm on a super small server where the top and only 25-man recently x-ferred off (inevitably leaving some behind), maybe my experience isn't representative.


text:
E-mail this story
Balto. Co. ethics panel to discuss Olszewski omissions
A Baltimore County councilman's failure to disclose his outside employment has drawn the attention of the county ethics board, whose director says she expects the issue to come up at this week's meeting.
By Alison Knezevich, The Baltimore Sun
June 3, 2013


text:
The cost of a stamp has climbed in price again.
For the 6th time in the last 7 years the cost of a first class stamp went up. Stamps will now cost 49-cents instead of the current price of 46-cents. The price increase in the largest single hike in more than a decade.
Regulators approved the price hike in December, and the new price went into effect on Sunday.
The postal service says the higher cost will help recoup millions of dollars in losses.
Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions. More>>
904 South Side Drive
Decatur, IL 62521
Primary Phone: 217-424-2500
Primary Email: email@example.com
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2014, WorldNow and WAND. All
Rights Reserved.
For more information on this site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms


text:
The Tokay Tigers varsity wrestling team improved to 8-0 as Shawn Sahota (106), James Souza (132), Carston Grupe (138), Bryan Gonzalez (145), Mario Mendieta (160), Sam Williams (170), Kris Kranich (182) and Clint Shallberger (HWT) each won by pin in a 66-9 rout of the Chavez Titans on Wednesday.
Chris Schaftlein (220) and Ron Vo-Nguyen (120) won by decision on the road.
You must login to view the full content on this page.
Or, use your facebook account:


text:
BAKERSFIELD, Cali. (WHAS11) - A middle school graduation in California was put on hold after a young bear came dangerously close to the outdoor ceremony on Thursday.
The uninvited guest was caught on video running through the school grounds next door. Before anyone at the school could do anything, the bear made his way to a nearby apartment complex.
Animal control officials finally cornered the bear near the complex and were able to relocate him back to his natural habitat.


text:
Center for Viticultural Sciences
The mission of the Center for Viticultural Sciences and Small Fruit Research is to conduct research and provide service and support that will help the viticulture industry in Florida to become a viable industry (Florida Viticulture Policy Act, 1978).
Veterinary Technology
Advances in both veterinary medicine technology and technique are the fuel firing the increased demand for well-trained individuals to work as veterinary technologists.
- Home
- » Academic Programs
- » Undergraduate Programs
- » Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering
- » Faculty and Staff
Faculty and Staff
Dr. Charles Magee
307 North Perry Paige
(850) 412-5594
Dr. Margaret W. Gitau
Assistant Professor, Program Chair
12 Benjamin Banneker Tech C
(850) 412-5000
Ivanka Anguelova, PhD
Lab Engineer
10 Suite C Benjamin Banneker Tech C
(850) 599-3936
Research Assistant
04 Benjamin Banneker Tech C
(850) 412-5002
Ms. Joyce Jackson
Administrative Support
12 Benjamin Banneker Tech C
(850) 412-5003
Ms. Shalida Jackson
OPS Clerical Support
307 N. Perry-Paige
(850) 561-2198
Contact Us:
BASE Administrative Office
1740 Martin Luther King Drive
307 North Perry-Paige
Tallahassee, FL 32307
Phone: 850-561-2198 or 412-5003
Fax: 850-599-8586
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Was £59.00
Now £29.50
Now £17.70
70% Off
Save a total of £41.30
Item not in stock
Standard Delivery
Click & Collect
International Delivery
Designer tan chevron quilted tote bag
Item No.0890107067
This tan chevron quilted tote bag from the designer Star range by Julien Macdonald has a spacious interior with a centre zip compartment and an adjustable strap. It is detailed with gold mock zip trims and has flexible handles.
- Outer: 100% Polyurethane
- Lining: 100% Polyester
- HWD: 29 x 34 x 15cm / 11.5 x 13.25 x 6
- One interior zip compartment, one interior zip pocket, one interior phone pouch
- Adjustable strap
- Wipe Clean
Deliveries are between 8am - 6pm, Mon - Sat.
FREE if you pay with your Debenhams card
FREE delivery on all orders over £30 (normally £3.99)
Deliver to store for collection ( 160 participating stores ) FREE
International Delivery £7.00 to £15.00
Debenhams is happy to exchange or refund your purchase within 28 days providing the goods are in a fully resaleable condition (including tags) and not within the exclusion policy*. This policy does not affect your statutory rights. You can return unwanted items either by visiting your local store (the fastest way to get a refund), by arranging a courier collection or returning by post. Exclusions apply to selected products. For instructions on how to return products and information on Debenhams refund policy visit the returns and refunds section of the website.


text:
When Donna Venegas bought her 1960s-era house, the original kitchen was cramped, closed off from the rest of the home, painted bright yellow, and steeped in "Formica fabulousness," says Venegas, who lives in Newton with her husband, Steve Kenniston. But that didn't matter: The house was spacious and sited on a lovely treed lot, and Venegas, who runs the kitchen-design studio Venegas and Company in the Boston Design Center, had the know-how to fix the kitchen.
Since the couple are avid cooks and frequent hosts, the kitchen needed an easy flow. While the home is spacious, the kitchen itself was compact, so the first order of business was to remove a wall to create one larger cooking and dining area and to draw up plans for a small addition. Venegas worked closely with Boston-based architect H.P. Rovinelli to design a 300-square-foot addition that would provide family room space. Extending off the back of the house, the addition is peppered with expanses of glass that let in the sun and offer wooded views. "The result is a wide-open first floor where we spend all of our time," says Venegas.


text:
I would really appreciate if someone...preferably black would answer my question, if bigcore can be "very pro black" then is it ok to be "very pro white"?
Type: Posts; User: clash; Keyword(s):
I would really appreciate if someone...preferably black would answer my question, if bigcore can be "very pro black" then is it ok to be "very pro white"?
His point is black people are able to get away with more in this country....
If this was white people doing that it would be all over the news and Al Sharpton would be throwing i fit...one more thing, if BigCorey can be "very pro black" is it ok to be "very pro white"?
There is a heck of alot more to wrestling then what the WWE shows you on tv. Go watch ROH, New Japan, NOAH, old school ECW ect.
He is alive, he goes around the courty doing some kind of motivsational speaking these days, i have his dvd that is how i mainly know. Not to mention i have been watching wrestling for about 13 years...
Doug Funny
Wow......you must do shrugs in your sleep
Im amazed this thread is still going too... its obvious she isnt going to post a vid
i wonder why when i see bad things happen to animals i feel bad but i dont when i see video of dudes with their heads wide open
lol, i am the exact same way....its almost wrong but true. I love...
Simple question, i was sick today (threw up about 6 times) is it ok to eat like i usualy tomorrow....im thinking that i will be feelling better. I didnt ate NOTHING today because when i tried to it...
First Man vs. Wild is cut, then Criss Angel's tricks are exposed to be fake, now Dog is a racist? Man all my favorite shows are going straight to hell. The only show I am interested in right now is...
Nice Animalpak tattoo
PS your fricken huge
Damn, some of you beat me to the punch alread....alright i hardly ever post on here but i have been tempted to make a thread lately about how people are WAY to friggen worried about form then getting...
Sure you did:D
I wish you would of never posted this game...ive beaten Bloons, More Bloons, and now on level 31 "Beer Pong" on Player Pack 1 which is way harder then the last two
yay....just beat more bloons.....i hope they make even more bloons
Level 47 "Unsure" on More Bloons is no joke.....
I ****ing Quit This Game
26 on more bloons is impossible
Im seriously throwing a freaking party when i beat this level
Level 26 "Nope" on More Bloons is kicking my ass


text:
Full size version is only available to registered users
Please Register as a New User or Login as Existing User to gain full access to all the photos on this site. Registration is quick and completely free.
Unregistered users can only view full size photos that have been added this month.
Alpenglow - north-east from Glas Bheinn Mor(Etive) at sunset
© The Watch of Barrisdale, Nov 2009
Camera used: Canon Ixus 700