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Home > Food > Recipes > Chocolate Truffles
Chocolate Truffles
Categories: Chocolate, Entertaining, Kid-friendly, Party Snacks, Quick to fix, Sweet
Type: Desserts and Baked Goods
Type: Desserts and Baked Goods
Homemade truffles taste decedent, but are so simple to make.
Prep Time: 15M
Cooking Time: 30M
Serves: Makes 12-14
- 41/2oz (125g) good-quality semi-sweet chocolate, plus scant 1oz (25g), finely grated
- drizzle of Baileys® Irish Cream liqueur or brandy
- 1/4 cup shelled and skinned Brazil nuts, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
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- Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on Medium for 1-2 minutes or until just melted, then stir until smooth. Stir in the liqueur to blend, then stir in the nuts and cherries.
- Leave to cool for 30 minutes, then scoop up a generous teaspoonful and form into a ball. Roll in the grated chocolate to coat, then place in a parchment-lined pan. Repeat with the remaining chocolate mixture. Refrigerate the truffles for 30 minutes or until set. Serve as a sweet treat with coffee or espresso.
- Roll the chocolates in finely chopped toasted almonds or grated white chocolate instead.
excerpted from:
Excerpted from The Illustrated Quick Cook.
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley Limited.
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subset: commoncrawl


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I heard that when people place goldfish in another tank, they just forget where they where previously? True or False ?
My answer might sound unscientific, since I haven't had tanks filled with goldfish. However, I have had fish and other pets over the years, including cats, turtles and a very sick lizard. I have a scientific background, and on this strength, I will report based on personal observation, albeit with a small sample size.
My fish always "knew" me. When I approached the tank, they knew it was their "feeding person", and even when they were not getting fed, left what they were doing aside and came to the surface to "greet" me, or more likely, impending food. I even experimented by asking others to walk up to the tank and saw that most of them did not respond in a similar fashion, although sometimes they did. With me, I enticed the same reaction every time, even after a new tank was populated or new additions were made.
This makes me conclude fish, and goldfish, which I did keep, have "better than expected" memory.
When they are put in a new tank - well, I suggest you move to a well crowded city that is new to you, and see how long it takes for you to get your orientation right.
Hope it helps.


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I'm having trouble in making script with interactive login. I have made one but it doesn't ask the login, it automatically log in when i run the script.
i just need the output like this:
please enter ftp server :
username :
password :
In this way, you'll have the server, username and password collected in variables, respectively,
Keep in mind that, even though the password is not displayed when prompted, you should not use the


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I'm trying to work with Facebook Open Graph. I've defined an app. I've set up an action and an object ("cook" and "recipe"). I've put up a web page for one of the objects, which includes all the metadata required. I'm now trying to post some test items on my wall using cURL (with the sample commands that it gives you when you click Get Code by the action on the open graph setup page).
When I just issue a command to "cook" a "recipe", without also adding a comment or anything, then the command seems to work, and I can view the returned ID in the debugger. On my profile, the item appears in the right-hand sidebar, but not on my wall or in my own newsfeed.
When I issue a command to cook a recipe, and also give it a user-generated photograph, again the command seems to work and returns an ID, again I can view that ID in the debugger and it looks fine, but this one doesn't appear anywhere: not in the sidebar, not in the news feed, not on my wall.
Permissions-wise, I'm using my own user account, which is an admin account for the app. On the App Center tab of the developer site, my app has
publish_actions under "User & Friend Permissions" in the "Permissions" section.
Here's the command I'm using:
curl -F 'access_token=<token>'
-F 'recipe=<urlOfRecipe>'
-F 'image[0][url]=<urlOfUserImage>'
-F 'image[0][user_generated]=true'
-F 'message=Look at my cake!'
So what's the deal? Is it not working because I'm in sandbox mode? (I assumed that sandbox mode stuff would still show up to me, just not to anyone else.) Is it because the action hasn't been approved yet? Or am I doing something wrong?
Does it make a difference that my personal profile is not using Facebook Timeline?
How can I know that, when this is all live, my app will be able to post things that will appear on users' news feeds?


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|Arms and the Man
|George Bernard Shaw
|Dorothy Crutchfield and Rod Alexander
|Set Design:
|Costume Design:
|Lighting Design:
|Sound Design:
|Props Design:
|Stage Manager:
|Brad Lucas
|Tech. Director:
|Dorothy Howay, Bill Hagland, Kari Bond, Joyce Francis
|Performed May 2-7, 11, 12, 1951, at Whitman Theatre, 21 Idaho Street.
Cast: Kari Bond (Raina Petkoff); Dorothy Howay (Catherine Petkoff); Joyce Francis (Louka); Robert Webb (Capt. Bluntschli); Bill Hagland (Russian Officer); Gerald Fry (Nicola); Ben Weaver (Major Petkoff); John Lewis (Major Sergius Saranoff)
Designer: Richard J. Rasmussen; Asst. Stage Managers: Rod Bunnell, Shirley Gose, Phil Griffiths, Donna Richmond; Electricians: Jim Campbell, Clifford Churchman; House Manager: Duane Weeks; Ushers: Marilyn Bird, Barbara Herman, Joan Holderman, Janet McCain, Andrea Moore, Joye Mott, LuRue Quien, Barbara Schnicke, Toinette Stallings; Sets constructed by: Dramatic Arts Class; Costumes executed by: Frances Mann, Rose Ann Mills, Laura Rothrock; Publicity: Valerie Chapman; Hats designed and executed by: Miss Georgia Standing; Director of Whitman Theatre: Rod Alexander


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I-43 ramp at Highway 60 reopens
The Southbound I-43 on ramp from state Highway 60 in Grafton has reopened after crews removed a vehicle from the ditch.
Gardner helps Golden Eagles squeeze Orange
When Buzz Williams recruited Davante Gardner, the coach told the overweight teenager that he probably didn't belong at Marquette.
"You think I'm a good guy," Williams said he told Gardner. "But you don't know me. I don't know if you can handle what I do in practice."
It was the right psychological recruiting move that continues to pay off for the Golden Eagles. »Read Full Article(25)
Kimpton plans upscale hotel in Milwaukee's Third Ward
San Francisco-based Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants said Monday it will enter the Milwaukee market with the management of a new upscale hotel on the northeast corner of E. Chicago St. and N. Broadway in the city's historic Third Ward.
The 158-room boutique hotel would feature an eight-story building housing a restaurant on the ground floor, plus a rooftop bar, fitness center and meeting space. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2015.
A new Kimpton, coming as other hotel projects now are open or under way in the city, would "elevate Milwaukee even further into a major hotel market," said hotel industry consultant Greg Hanis. »Read Full Article(67)
Federal panel opens GOP computers in Wisconsin redistricting case
A federal court gave groups suing the state broad access Monday to three computers used by the Legislature to develop Republican-friendly voting maps.
The Legislature "must make these three computers available in their entirety immediately" to the groups suing the state, the three judges wrote.
"The computers are extremely likely to contain relevant and responsive materials that should have been disclosed during pretrial discovery. Moreover, Plaintiffs have established that substantial numbers of documents were not disclosed, which satisfies the court that some form of 'fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct' likely occurred," the unanimous opinion said, quoting from a procedural rule. »Read Full Article(182)
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A contentious mining bill was approved by an influential legislative panel on Monday - a pivotal step that is expected to send the measure to the Senate for a vote later this week.
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted, 12-4, on a party-line vote, to approve a mining bill favored by Republicans and supporters of an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin.
Democrats sought changes in the legislation aimed at providing more environmental protections and a greater public voice in the state's review process for mines. Republicans rejected them, declaring there already were adequate safeguards and opportunities for public involvement in both the bill and in current law. »Read Full Article(354)
Sheboygan woman found guilty in 1957 death of her infant
Sheboygan - A 76-year-old Sheboygan woman pleaded no contest Monday to killing her infant daughter more than 50 years ago, a crime long classified as an accidental death until the woman's adult son went to police with a lifetime of suspicions in 2008.
Ruby Klokow was charged in 2011 with second-degree murder in the death of Jeaneen Marie Klokow. In 1957, the mother told police her daughter had fallen from a sofa and hit her head.
On Monday, she quietly entered the plea and was found guilty. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend she serve 10 years of probation, with 45 days in jail as a condition of that probation. »Read Full Article(73)
African-American leaders say bill on County Board would weaken minority voice
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The measure would cut the authority of the County Board and boost the power of County Executive Chris Abele, upsetting a balance of power between the two branches of county government, Stamper said. By curtailing pay and resources for supervisors, only the well-to-do could afford to serve on the board, Stamper and other local leaders said. »Read Full Article(63)
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Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Tom Wolfgram's bid for re-election in the April 2 spring election will rise or fall on the judgment of voters weighing the significance of his signature on a 2011 petition to recall Gov. Scott Walker.
Wolfgram, a 19-year veteran of the court in an overwhelmingly conservative county, acknowledges signing his name to a petition seeking to recall a sitting Republican governor.
The signature triggered a challenge to his hold on the job for the first time since he was appointed to the court in 1994 by then Gov. Tommy Thompson. County voters rehired Wolfgram without opposition in 1995, 2001 and 2007. »Read Full Article(202)
Alice Stayer co-founded Johnsonville Sausage
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Like her husband, she had humble roots. Alice Brinkman was born in Ahmeek, Mich., one of 14 children. Her family moved to Milwaukee after the mine where her father worked shut down. She had a scholarship to attend college but turned it down and instead worked as a secretary to help support her family during the Depression.
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Artisan Partners prices its initial public offering at $27 to $29 a share
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In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday, Artisan said it will offer 11.5 million shares at a price range of $27 and $29. That would bring the company $342.3 million if the underwriters exercised their full option to purchase additional shares, based on an assumed initial public offering price at the midpoint of the range of $28 a share, the company said in its filing. At the midpoint of the proposed range, Artisan would have a fully diluted market value of $1.86 billion.
Artisan would use $90 million of the proceeds to repay all of its outstanding loans, the filing said. The company would also use $67.1 million to buy back 2.6 million shares from certain investors, and distribute $61.3 million of it as retained profits to pre-offering partners. »Read Full Article
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Approximately 30 people were in attendance for the sentencing, including Pico's wife of 16 years Michelle Pico, his sister-in-law Debra Spang and family friend Christopher George. All three spoke in Pico's defense, describing him as a loving father and husband who, in the words of his wife, "is like a light switch," always happy and full of humor. »Read Full Blog Post(5)
Cellcom Green Bay Marathon officials say sponsor discount misused
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With a little more than 12 weeks to race weekend, 8,255 people already are registered for marathon events. Organizers said about 3% of the runners used the sponsor discount, despite having no apparent affiliation with the six sponsors. They said the money adds up to several thousand dollars that's supposed to benefit charities.
The entry fees ranged from $60 to $110. Sponsor discounts were worth up to $55. (2)
Hearing set on bill on public records charges
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A police spokesman said witnesses told the bus driver the teens had pulled a real-looking gun from a backpack and possibly pointed it at others. »Read Full Article
Last surviving Navajo code talker to speak at Northland College
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Nez, 91, is visiting the college as part of the campus's indigenous cultures awareness month. His speech at 7 p.m. at Kendrigan Gym at Northland College is free and open to the public.
Wisconsin Secretary of Veterans Affairs John Scocos will present Nez with a plaque from Gov. Scott Walker recognizing Nez for his military service. Honor guards from Wisconsin Native American tribes will attend the event. »Read Full Article(1)
Keep Bucks in town, stabilize city funds, Barrett urges
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Job-training grants bill advances
Madison - The Legislature's budget committee signed off on a bill Monday that would provide $15 million in worker training grants over two years and create a computer system to track job creation and match people with jobs.
The Joint Finance Committee unanimously approved the measure, but minority Democrats said the state should be putting more money into worker training.
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Work to begin to ease flow on westbound I-94
Drivers on westbound I-94 will have one less lane available from about 20th St. to 38th St. from early March through mid-April. And for the rest of this week, on-ramps at 35th St. will be closed to complete lane markings.
Crews will start work to add an auxiliary lane on the right side of I-94 about March 4 and plan to finish in mid-May, depending on weather conditions, state officials said Monday.
When finished, the additional lane from 25th through 37th streets is supposed to relieve congestion coming out of downtown Milwaukee. »Read Full Article(8)
Seven Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation sold to Nucare Services Corp.
Nucare Services Corp. said Monday it has bought Seven Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation in Glendale, its first acquisition in Wisconsin.
The privately held company, based in Lincolnwood, a Chicago suburb, owns 26 skilled nursing facilities in Illinois and now Wisconsin, said Lyndsay Czwornog, a spokeswoman for Nucare. It bought nine skilled nursing facilities in Illinois in the past year.
Nucare bought Seven Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation late last year, Czwornog said, and plans to spend several hundred thousand dollars on renovations.
Seven Oaks Nursing & Rehabilitation, which has 94 beds, provides long-term care as well as short-term post-acute care. Its services include orthopedics, cardiac and stroke rehabilitation, wound care and rehabilitative therapy.
Zappos CEO Hsieh to appear at Young Professionals Week
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh will be the featured speaker next month at Young Professionals Week, a week- long national conference, sponsored by Newaukee.
Hsieh will appear at a noon brunch April 21 at the Hilton Hotel, 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. Tickets are $35.
The second annual event is expected to attract more than 50 leaders from young professionals groups from around the country. Conference events will be held at locations around the Milwaukee area.
For more information: ypweek.com
UW students ask state to renew tuition cap
Madison - University of Wisconsin students asked state legislators Monday to renew a tuition cap, fearing that failure to do so would put higher education out of reach of many families.
About 100 students from campuses around the state descended on the Capitol to call for a tuition increase of no more than 3% to 4% in the academic year starting this fall. Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget would end the cap, currently at 5.5%, after the current academic year.
Geoff Murray, president of the United Council of UW Students, a student rights advocacy group representing 140,000 UW students at 20 campuses, said ending the cap could lead to a tuition spike that would make it difficult for many students to pay for college. The existing cap went into effect after tuition shot up 15% to 18% a decade ago. »Read Full Article(6)
Adopt-a-pet program for veterans expands to Waukesha County
Veterans recovering from post traumatic stress, traumatic brain injuries and other psychological challenges from their military service may be eligible for a free pet through Companions for Heroes, which recently selected the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County as one of its animal shelter partners.
Companions for Heroes facilitates adoption of shelter animals for wounded warriors and first responders. The pets help provide a sense of purpose as well as minimize stress, depression, loneliness and isolation for veterans.
To adopt a pet through Companions for Heroes, an Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit organization, fill out an application at companionsforheroes.org. Once applications have been approved, veterans and first responders in southeastern Wisconsin will be sent to the Waukesha County animal shelter to continue the adoption process.
$116,000 grant to help Racine County court for veterans
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The grant from the state Office of Justice Assistance will be used for staff, drug testing and monitoring, program evaluation, GED testing and staff training. »Read Full Article(1)
One alderman's 'state of the city' address
In anticipation of Mayor Tom Barrett's "state of the city" address, I emailed all 15 members of the Common Council inviting them to write their own state of the city essay.
The response was underwhelming. Ald. Jim Bohl responded, saying it would be more appropriate for Common Council President Willie Hines to provide a state of the city essay. Ald. Joe Dudzik said the same thing.
Hines and the rest of the city's aldermen did not respond to the request. But one alderman, Nik Kovac, did. »Read Full Blog Post(3)
Average income tax cut under Gov. Walker budget: $83
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His given name was actually Michael Imanu Jackson.
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In-game chatter: Brewers vs. Padres
Check in on our in-game blog as Journal Sentinel Brewers beat writers Tom Haudricourt and Todd Rosiak provide real-time analysis and color from the press box.
Today, the Brewers play split squad games at 2:05 p.m. CST - home against the Padres and away the Reds. Here are the lineups for the two games. We'll be at the home game against San Diego. (1)
Milwaukee police identify man found dead after fight
Police identified a Milwaukee man Monday who was found dead Sunday morning.
Investigators with the Milwaukee Police Department believe Kenneth W. Pierce, 50, was involved in a fight with several people. His body was found in the 4900 block of N. 51st Blvd.
Officials are conducting an autopsy, and police haven't identified any other people who were involved in the fight.
Hunger Task Force gets $50,000 grant to make up for federal cut
The Hunger Task Force has received a special $50,000 grant from The Brico Fund that will help it deal with a cut in federal commodity funding that helps feed the hungry, said Sherrie Tussler, executive director of the task force.
The donation, announced Monday, will be especially beneficial for children and seniors in need because it will be used to buy 50,400 cans of chicken noodle soup, 38,400 units of fresh milk and 469 cans of infant formula, she said, healthy and easy-to-eat items for both young and old.
Because of a cut in federal commodity funding, the agency has had trouble getting truckloads of food that had traditionally been supplied by the Emergency Food Assistance Program, she said.
"Strengthening the safety net that ensures nutritious foods for our most vulnerable Milwaukeeans helps us all breathe a little easier," she said. "As the free and local food bank it means so much to receive a gift of this magnitude from a local organization that goes back into the community to feed our neighbors."
Janesville man drove drunk, injured 7-year-old, authorities say
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Barrett makes strong push for streetcar
Mayor Tom Barrett on Monday made a strong push for the city's streetcar project.
At his "state of the city" address, Barrett noted the city's future is tied to more people living, working and investing in Milwaukee.
"A modern transit system is one element of our strategy to make Milwaukee the place they want to live," he said. "It's not the only element, and it's not our only strategy to grow Milwaukee. But a modern streetcar is an important ingredient." »Read Full Blog Post(197)
With Worthy out, would Packers have interest in Cullen Jenkins?
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The 2013 Oscar telecast on ABC affiliate WISN-TV (Channel 12) earned a 25 rating among total households, down slightly from last year's 27 rating.
The ratings for the show, which officially lasted 3 hours and 37 minutes, peaked at 7:45 p.m. with a 28.2 rating but were otherwise remarkably steady through Ben Affleck picking up the best picture Oscar for "Argo."
The local ratings average for ABC's 90-minute red carpet coverage, which started at 6 p.m., was a 15.4. »Read Full Blog Post
Firefighters rescue Milwaukee woman
Firefighters rescued a woman from a burning house Monday on Milwaukee's west side.
The Milwaukee Fire Department responded to a call at the corner of N. 40th St. and W. Auer Ave. at 4:09 a.m. and found a house fire that had spread from the second floor to the first floor of the house. They found a woman in a bedroom of the first floor of the house who was handicapped and could not escape by herself, according to the fire department.
The woman didn't want medical treatment, according to the fire department. The house had $50,000 in damage.
Hispania, a Mexican fusion restaurant, planned for Delafield
A Mexican-fusion restaurant called Hispania is expected to open in May on Genesse St. in Delafield.
It will be in the same building that houses Oliva Di Vita, InStep Running and Elements East.
The restaurant will have housemade quesadillas and tortillas among its dishes, according to Jason Steiner, president of Steinergroup, the property management company that announced the restaurant today. It will serve dishes in the small-plates format.
Hispania's owner is Juan Gutierrez. (2)
Ikea meatballs contain horse meat, too - but not in the US, official says
IKEA meatballs appear to be the latest food product affected by the horse meat scandal in Europe, officials confirmed Monday.
The pork and beef meatballs sold in the United States come from the same Swedish supplier. But although IKEA has recalled its meatballs in Europe, the furniture maker doesn't plan to recall the ones sold and served at stores in the US. A spokeswoman said those shipments aren't affected.
I'm not sure why they wouldn't be, but supposedly the stores have a complex supply chain. I reached out to IKEA's press office in the United States to get a better explanation and to ask whether IKEA plans to conduct a DNA test to prove to its American consumers that the meatballs sold in the United States don't contain horse meat. A spokesman has not immediately returned my call. »Read Full Blog Post(6)
Wind farm developer appeals, says project can meet state noise standard
Developers of the only major wind project on the drawing board in Wisconsin are appealing to the state Public Service Commission to rethink its recent split decision blocking a construction permit for the Highland Wind Farm.
The $250 million project stalled when the commission, on a 2-1 vote, decided to deploy a more conservative standard with regard to wind turbine noise limits.
The commission decided not to allow the project to proceed, because the state noise limit might be exceeded on occasion for several homes near the project. »Read Full Blog Post(13)
Funeral trust pays $2.3 million for burials; administrators, lawyers others collect $486,593
The Wisconsin Funeral Trust has paid more than $2.3 million to cover costs of more than 500 funerals while attorneys, money managers and others collected nearly a half-million from the fund, a new report filed with the court states.
The funeral costs represent 60% of the actual costs of burials. Funeral directors are covering the remainder in the hope of receiving the additional 40% later.
The brief report was filed by John Wirth, the receiver, to provide details to the Dane County Circuit Court on the operation of the trust since Wirth was named to operate it. »Read Full Blog Post(3)
Barrett: We need a regional plan for a new arena
Mayor Tom Barrett said Monday that if a new, multipurpose arena is going to be built in Milwaukee, a regional solution to pay for it will have to be found.
In his annual "state of the city" speech, Barrett said he wants Milwaukee to be the home of the Milwaukee Bucks for decades to come.
"The team is an important asset to the city, to the region and to the state," Barrett said. »Read Full Blog Post(171)
Harley-Davidson dealerships optimistic, but recent sales down some
A mid-winter survey of Harley-Davidson dealerships shows they're optimistic about sales growth this year, but that recent results have been down some.
Demand for new Harleys was down about 3% from a year ago, according to the survey by Craig Kennison with Robert W. Baird & Co.
Anecdotally, dealers are optimistic, anticipating mid-single-digit sales growth in 2013, Kennison said Monday in a note to clients. That would be consistent with Baird's 5% growth forecast.
Inventory appears to be balanced as Harley-Davidson executes its strategy of building motorcycles close to consumer demand, according to Kennison. (2)
Two companies bringing 100 jobs to Milwaukee
During his "state of the city" speech Monday morning at the Pritzlaff Building, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced that two companies - one already in the city - would bring as many as 100 jobs to the city.
One is Natural Resources Technology, a Pewaukee-based environmental engineering and consulting firm. Barrett said the company planned to bring its headquarters and its 50 employees to a building near the Reed St. yards. That site has been targeted as the city's home for water technology.
Barrett also announced that Ingeteam, an international manufacturer of green energy components, is looking to add 50 jobs. The company is located in the Menomonee Valley near Miller Park. (45)
Lena facing big bill to clean up water supply
The village of Lena in northeastern Wisconsin could be facing a bill of several hundred thousand dollars to reduce radium levels in its water supply, according to the Green Bay Press-Gazette. You can read the entire story here.
Brewers play two on Monday
Phoenix - If you're interested in the future pitching of the Brewers' organization, Monday is a day you'll want to monitor.
The Brewers play split-squad games, and a pitching prospect is starting in each. In the home game against San Diego at Maryvale Baseball Park, right-hander Hiram Burgos gets the start. Burgos, 25, pitched at three levels of the organization in 2012, going 2-1 with a 0.87 ERA in seven games at high Class A Brevard County, 6-1 with a 1.94 ERA in 13 starts at Class AA Huntsville and 2-2 with a 2.91 ERA in eight games at Class AAA Nashville.
In the road game against Cincinnati in Goodyear, Tyler Thornburg is the starter. Thornburg, 24, bounced up and down in the system last year, pitching at Huntsville, Nashville and with the Brewers. In eight games with Milwaukee, including five relief outings, he was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA. »Read Full Blog Post(5)
Former downtown Best Western starts lobby renovations
Downtown Milwaukee's Inn Towne Hotel has started its remodeling project that will add a new fitness center, meeting room and lobby breakfast area.
The 103-room hotel at the northeast corner of W. Wisconsin Ave. and N. Old World Third St., formerly a Best Western, will become a Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott once the work is completed. The Fairfield's grand reopening will be in May.
The project will expand the hotel into first-floor space where Powers Jewelry operated for several years until its move last year to 301 E. Wisconsin Ave., according to a city building permit. »Read Full Blog Post
On Tap for Today: Marquette on the court and a CD release party
Did you stay up late for the Academy Awards? How about that Best Picture Oscar? Whew.
So you want to know what's going on today. Here are a few things that might whet your whistle for entertainment.
The Marquette Golden Eagles take on the Syracuse Orange at 6 p.m. at the BMO Bradley Center. »Read Full Blog Post
Summerfest Rock Stage to become Uline Warehouse
The Summerfest Rock Stage is getting a new name and more types of music.
Uline, Inc., the Pleasant Prairie-based distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials, has signed a three-year stage sponsorship deal with Summerfest. As a result of the agreement, whose financial details have not been disclosed, the Summerfest Rock Stage on the far north end of the grounds will be called the Uline Warehouse.
Uline has a marketing history with Summerfest; it had previously been the title sponsor of the Uline SportsZone demonstration area. It will not be the sponsor of the SportsZone this year, a Summerfest spokeswoman confirmed. »Read Full Article(9)


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The 7 Stupidest Attempts to Reinvent Batman
#3. Batman: Holy Terror (or BatPriest)
Holy tonal U-turn, BatPriest!
Take everything you love about Batman. His dark, brooding nature. His resources, cool gadgets and toys. His unflappable badassery. Batman: Holy Terror is the exact opposite of that. He's super naive, loves to sing gospel songs, loves Jesus super hard and is very sensitive. Finally, a Batman to make us all feel more adequate. And oh, he has one super ability: Power Weeping.
This will be a recurring theme.
The universe of Batman: Holy Terror involves such a long and complex back story, it would be impossible to sum it up in a single Cracked article, let alone a single entry. Here are the main points: Oliver Cromwell never died, America lost the Revolutionary War, Commissioner Gordon wears a powdered wig now, women hold little to no power and no one's votes count. Also, there's a Batman in the mix.
In this world, Batman grows up seeking solace from his parents' death in the arms of the church and eventually becomes a priest. Before leaving Wayne Manor for the last time, Bruce indulges in one last romp of Olympic caliber gymnastics.
"See, Grayson? I didn't fall. You just have stupid parents."
Just as Bruce is about to stick the landing on a double back flip with spastic joy, old friend Inquisitor Gordon drops by to lay a bombshell on Brucey-Boy: his parents' murder was a state-ordered assassination. While outwardly appearing to be prominent and loyal members of the State, Thomas and Martha Wayne operated as undercover rebels, secretly running a clinic for injured dissidents, castaways and others brutalized by the intolerant government. Bruce throws a hissy fit, accusing Gordon of trying to harsh his Jesus-loving buzz, and cries (again). Too curious to let it go, Bruce decides to investigate Gordon's accusation. He dons a bat costume his dad used to wear for Passion plays.
What part did bats play in the crucifixion of Christ?
The newly born Batman gets to the root of the matter, kicks a few asses, cries some more. His investigation leads to a testing facility full of human guinea pigs, including Barry "The Flash" Allen. Barry shows Batman around the place, where humans have been subjected to the most bizarre, grotesque and inhumane experiments imaginable -- including electrocuting genitals, because it's not evil science without fried genitals.
"Can you smell grilled salmon?"
Barry introduces him to Arthur, a man with the ability to breathe underwater (Aquaman), mentally broken by the scientists' torture. In just one of many horrific experiments performed on Arthur, scientists force-bred him with some kind of merwoman, the resulting offspring a poor nameless soul we'll call Boner Killer.
While it's unclear what purpose the facility serves other than as a Nightmare Factory, Batman eyes potential in the inmates. Seeing all these prisoners with super powers and a royal beef against the government, Batman begins to think he could assemble some sort of league of heroes, a justice-oriented one. Before he can wipe his eyes long enough to think up a team name, the evil head scientist, Erdel, arrives to piss all over his parade. Barry takes a run at the guy, but Erdel uses a device to switch off the aura Barry's body creates to protect him from friction. The Flash bursts into flames, which is pretty harsh, but don't pretend that isn't the most badass way to go out. When you get to heaven after dying by way of exploding from going too fast, you get a high-five from God.
We like to think he smashed straight through the pearly gates, lit God's cigar and landed in a hot tub.
To break Batman's justice-seeking spirit, the evil scientist leads him to a being called "The Green Man," this comic's stand-in for Superman. Also Jesus, apparently.
They nailed subtlety to that cross last week.
What little hope is left in Batman dissipates when he learns the Green Man is dead, poisoned by Kryptonite. Seeing Superman, the one hope the world had left, inspires Batman to tap into his true superpower: a deep reserve of suppressed rage. He'd held back all his anger over his parents' death, all his contempt for the corrupt world around him, all the anger at the inhumane injustices he witnessed -- and the moment he sees Dead Superman, he snaps and kicks major BatAss. So remember, kids, if you want to grow up to be a hero like Batman, take your feelings and cram them deep down inside.
Unfortunately, super rage or not, Erdel has discovered Batman Kryptonite: bullets. Erdel starts unloading his pistol on Bats. One of Erdel's stray bullets reflects off Superman's sculpted abs and strikes Erdel dead.
Even in death, Superman and Batman make a great team.
Batman makes his way into the innermost sanctum, the Star Chamber, to find out who ordered the kill on his parents, only to discover that the System, and not one man, is really to blame. Bruce dedicates himself to preaching by day and taking down the State as Batman by night, punching down criminals and then immediately apologizing for it and crying.
"Dear Lord, forgive me, I punched a guy in the dick for like three hours to get him to talk."
#2. Pirate Batman
Pirate Batman's a strange phenomenon. Separately the components work, but combine them and the math gets wonky. Batman = Badass; Pirate = Badass; Batman + Pirate = Ass.
Captain Leatherwing (Batman) is a pirate under contract with the British crown to raid and plunder ships of England's enemies, especially Spain. This doesn't exactly put Batman on the right side of history, as we don't remember the British Empire for benevolence, justice and humanitarianism. Sure, Pirate Batman is still an irascible rogue, kind of like Han Solo if Han did freelance work for the Empire.
The cast of characters includes all the regulars: Alfredo (Alfred), Batman's sassy Italian servant; Capitana Felina (Catwoman) and Robin Redblade, who no one seems to notice is a transvestite.
A very pretty transvestite.
Oh, and of course the Joker shows up as the Laughing Man, a rival pirate.
What a jolly old swashbuckler!
We meet Captain Leatherwing as he saves the princess of the Caiman Islands from seafaring brutes. Leatherwing loans the lady a dress and when they get to the islands discovers that giving a woman a dress is the Caiman custom for proposing marriage. Because, of course, introducing a slapstick accidental marriage into the middle of the story makes total sense. For an '80s sitcom.
This is exactly the kind of plot children wanted when they'd heard about a Pirate Batman comic.
Meanwhile, Capitana Felina's crew is in the throes of mutiny, because someone has to do things that aren't related to marriage in this comic book about pirates and Batmen. Captain Joker steps in to save Felina and proposes they collude in a plot to discover Leatherwing's Cay (Batcave) and all his riches. Joker will use Felina to seduce Leatherwing, making Joker a pimp, which totally explains why he's dressed like that.
"I hold one of my balls in each pant leg."
Leatherwing's ship, the Flying Fox, comes upon Joker's Spanish galleon. Leatherwing spots a Spanish contessa (Felina) being made to walk the plank into shark-infested waters. Of course Leatherwing totally buys it, because the last thing a ship crowded with unscrupulous, lonely pirates needs is a sexy woman with a leather and whip fetish.
Felina falls, Leatherwing goes in after her and in the most badass moment, Batman lands a flying drop kick to a shark's face. Even the shark was like, "Holy shit, that was awesome!"
"It's a real honor, Pirate Batman!"
Felina's plan backfires and she eventually falls in love with Pirate Batman, because of course you fall in love with Pirate Batman he's Pirate Batman! Felina no longer wants a part in Joker's plan and will marry Leatherwing. That's when the Three's Company seed planted a few paragraphs ago really takes root and Batman's Caiman princess bride pops up. Catwoman is pissed (which is understandable), so she jumps off the boat to rejoin Joker (less understandable).
"You're great and all, but Joker understands my need for constant emotional abuse."
We could explain how the nutty romantic triangle issue gets sorted out, but why should we when the book hardly cares. Batman's "wife" never shows up again and it's never explained how the predicament got resolved. Lazy writing must be the Caiman custom for marriage annulment.
Now it's on to the final showdown with the Joker. While our Batman would never intentionally kill anyone, Leatherwing is a big fan of killing and in fact kills the Laughing Man.
#1. Cowboy Batman
It could have easily been The Good, the Bat and the Ugly, but they so dearly wanted something nonsensical.
Ah, the cowboy phase. The Blue, the Grey and the Bat delivers us to the dog days of the Civil War. The North and South battle a war of attrition, with both sides tiring and neither gaining the upper hand. President Lincoln learns of a rich gold deposit in the unclaimed Nevada territory. That gold could reinvigorate the Southern cause; Lincoln must stop it. So he calls in his most flamboyant secret agent, Colonel Bruce Wayne.
"You should give up the stovepipe hat. It makes you look ridiculous."
Wayne fights for the Union both as a military man and as Batman. Remember how Bruce Wayne came by the identity of the Bat after a dark, tortured night of the soul lead to an epiphany? This Bruce Wayne just thought dressing like a bat would be funny. Even Lincoln points out Batman's costume is a bit over the top, and he was a Frankenstein.
All the same, a guy's gotta have a costume. The Batsuit is uniquely designed to protect Batman while allowing him to use stealth and the cover of darkness as his weapon. Which makes Batman's black leather suit an intriguing choice for fighting crime in the middle of the flat, sun-bleached, blistering desert.
"Do you think they've spotted us?"
To keep his identity secret, Bruce masquerades as the winner of a "Most Punchable Face" contest.
"Hey, I'm shitty Zorro, it's nice to meet you."
He rides to Nevada with a fetching young woman and her aunt, who no one wants to point out looks like a cross-dressing Teddy Roosevelt.
In Nevada, Bruce meets up with Redbird (Robin), a Native American who speaks broken English. Redbird's actually half Native American (his mother was white), so there's no reason for him not to speak regular English except the contractual obligation of every Native American character in media to speak bad English and finish every sentence with "boss."
Bruce teams up with Wild Bill Hickok and Mark Twain because something something something, history is whatever we want it to be.
And horse anatomy is whatever the artists want it to be.
Then the not-at-all-surprising twists start piling up. The fetching young woman turns out to be working for the South, a bunch of French soldiers arrive to get the gold and everyone expecting a Batman comic gets bored and leaves. But things don't go really off the rails until someone shoots and kills Batman's horse, at which point he Loses. His. Shit.
And that's ... how Batman won the Civil War?
Wow. This actually would have made a much better history textbook.
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For more astonishingly bad comic ideas, check out Batman: The WTF Adventures and The 20 Most Ridiculous Batman Comics Ever Released.


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A Leavenworth man was taken to the hospital Wednesday after he crashed into a parked car, a police spokesman said.
The crash was reported at 5:10 p.m. at 15th and Cherokee streets.
The 23-year-old man was driving east on Cherokee in a 2013 Kia Soul. The Kia struck a 2007 Ford Escape that was parked on the side of the road, said Maj. Dan Nicodemus, Leavenworth Police Department deputy chief.
The driver was transported by Leavenworth County EMS to Saint John Hospital.
"He was disoriented, incoherent," Nicodemus said.
The deputy chief said police do not believe the driver was intoxicated.
The man told police a rib injury he suffered before the accident caused him to pass out while driving.
Location, ST | website.com


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Roasted Summer Squash with Lemon and Mint
(Makes about 4 servings, recipe adapted from Vegetable Love.)
6 yellow summer squash or zucchini, about 8 inches long
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup very finely chopped mint (measure after chopping)
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp.)
Preheat oven to 475 F, and put oven rack as high as it will go. (The recipe actually called for 500 F, but the highest my toaster oven goes is 450 F with convection, which is the equivalent of 475 F without convection.)
Wash squash and cut off stem and flower ends. Cut each squash into quarters lengthwise, then cut into pieces about 2 inches long.
Combine olive oil, lemon juice, mint and salt in plastic bowl and toss squash with the mixture. Spray roasting pan with nonstick spray or mist with olive oil. Arrange squash on roasting pan, in a single layer as much as possible.
Roast squash, turning every 15-20 minutes, until well done and slightly browned. I turned my squash twice, with a total cooking time of 45 minutes.
This can be served hot or at room temperature. I ate the leftovers the next day tossed with a bit of feta cheese and it was wonderful.
South Beach Suggestions:
This is a perfect side dish for any phase of the South Beach Diet. If you served it room temperature with a bit of feta cheese, I think it would make a good lunch dish too.
More Delicious Ways I've Cooked Summer Squash:
Calabacitas (sauteed summer squash with chiles and cheese)
Roasted Squash with Garlic
Roasted Baby Summer Squash with Feta and Thyme
"Creamed" Zucchini
Cheesy Zucchini with Garlic and Parsley
Some Summer Squash Recipes I'd Love to Try:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Summer Squash Salad from Simply Recipes
Bengali Style Summer Squash from Tigers and Strawberries
Simple Baby PattyPan Squash with Blossoms from A Veggie Venture
Summer Squash Parmesan from Coffee and Cornbread
Pesto Zucchini Tomato Gratin from Karina's Kitchen - Recipes from a Gluten-Free Goddess


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I never paied much attention to this. Is it worth being loyal to an airline alliance? What should I look for when choosing which alliance to be loyal to?
closed as not constructive by VMAtm, Gagravarr, Ankur Banerjee♦, Dori Jul 13 '11 at 23:01
As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, visit the help center for guidance.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
As already mentioned, the answer depends on your travel patterns. In my case I did some calculations and I decided it doesn't make particular sense for me - I can save much more by choosing the cheapest airline (often one of the cheap ones) than getting the benefits from loyalty programmes.
I think these loyalty programmes were designed for people who travel a lot for business purposes - then someone else pays for the tickets so it doesn't cost to choose the same airline all the time, but you get the benefits yourself. It certainly makes sense to use the loyalty programme in this case!
Well I a agree with the answer of @Grzenio in most cases.
But there is a case, when choosing an airline alliance can be worth it. I had a friend who had to fly almost every week end / every other week end from Paris to London and vice versa because his parents are separated.
By being a FlyBlue member (Sky team) he often got upgraded (not only on the Paris London flight but on other SkyTeam flight also), and saved enough miles to get a flight in europe for free. Also this case is really particular, it is just showing another use of the loyalty to a company.


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Today in Tweet Beat, Kanye has healed enough from last year's VMAs to join Twitter, Diablo Cody has a baby, and Chris Brown has a new tattoo.
Up early in the morning taking meetings in Silicone Valley
Lol I spelled Silicon wrong ( I guess I was still thinking about the other type of silicone ITS A PROCESS!! : )
We had our boy early this morning! Marcello Daniel Maurio, 7lbs, 2 oz, lightly mustachioed.
@diablocody the best news! Congratulations! Gilt Children time!!!!
New Ink!!! http://twitpic.com/29gszq F.A.M.E (Forgiving All My Enemies)
Owning a PR company is quite similar to owning a collections agency
I've never had a bird shit on me onstage but I have had audience shit
And I've had GWAR blood spray and other substance sprayed on me onstage
I have an obsession with pulling split ends apart
When "Skinny Italian" went to press, @Bethenny 's only book was called "Naturally Thin." They're both great books, but totally different...
In any case, if anyone is kicking anyone's a$$, it should be @kimbarnouin author of "Skinny Bitch" b/c she was out way before @Bethenny no?
PS- I love love LOVE @kimbarnouin & @Bethenny so no fake Twitter feuds... (even tho I'm sure B's sad my book outsold hers in 1/2 the time)


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In .NET/Windows there is the
PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE environment variable which identifies whether a running process is x32, x64 or IA64.
There's also the
GetNativeSystemInfo API method which can tell whether Windows OS supports x86-64.
Is it true that there always will be an x64 version of .NET Framework as long as x86 version available on Windows x64? Or are there any means to detect what platforms are supported by the .NET installation on the machine?
What about Mono/Linux or other non-Microsoft implementations? Can the x86 version of Mono run on x86-64 Linux? How do I detect (programmatically) what platforms are supported by a Mono installation?
Added 16.11.2010
I'm developing a kind of plugin system (ok, I know there is
AddIns system but it is too flooded with pipeline assemblies). What I want to do is to find out what kinds of assemblies can be loaded in the running process (represented by a platform neutral assembly) and what assembly architectures can be executed by the system in the isolated process.
The solution to create test assemblies for every architecture in the system and try to launch it does not look elegant.


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Abortion and Health Care Reform: Latest Developments
I don't have much time to blog today but I wanted to note an interesting development in the ongoing Congressional debate about abortion in health care reform. The New York Times reports today that Rep. Brad Ellswirth (D-IN) is planning to offer an amendment to the House bill that would modify its treatment of abortion.According to Ellsworth's web site, his amendment:
- Explicitly prevents all federal tax dollars from being used to provide abortions in the public option;
- Prohibits any funds from the US Treasury from paying for abortion services in any of the plans purchased through the proposed Health Insurance Exchange-private or public;
- Establishes clear, strict rules for separating public funds from the premiums of private individuals (ensuring that no public funds are ever used to pay for an abortion in any health plan offered on the Health Insurance Exchange);
- Guarantees every American participating in the Health Insurance Exchange will always have access to a pro-life insurance option;
- Expands conscience protections to prevent the government from discriminating against pro-life health insurance plans
Although Ellsworth has a very strong pro-life record, the NRTL's Doug Johnson was fairly scathing in his reaction, saying "when you're going into battle, it is always unpleasant to be bayoneted in the back by somebody who said that he was on your side...The Ellsworth language serves no purpose except to assist the pro-abortion House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to peel votes away from the authentic pro-life amendment, the Stupak amendment."The Congressional Quarterly coverage is depicting this as a split in the ranks of pro-life Democrats, many of whomhad previously been supportive of the Stupak amendment. From other coverage I've read today (getting too tired to link to all of it) it does appear that Ellsworthhas the support of the Democratic leadership to offer the amendment. I think Doug Johnson may be right that they are hoping to peel off enough pro-life Democrats so that Stupak will not be able to muster the votes he needs to block consideration of the bill if he is not allowed to offer his own amendment.Since I have not yet seen the actual legislative language, I'm afraid Idon't have a lot of substantive analysis to offer at this point.
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A year ago, when Barack Obama was elected president, my family felt profoundly alienated and disenfranchised. We feel as though we don't have a voice in the White House, that Presidenr Obama doesn't care about the concerns of Catholics (except those of liberal party operatives like Biden, Pelosi, et al. who compromise the faith to achieve their seuclar, political objectives). As the gamesmanship on this healthcare legislation continues to progress, excuse us Catholics who stand with the bishops and the faith of the Church for being skeptical about proposals that fall short of the Stupak Amendment.
As a Catholic, I agree that abortion should not be funded.But aside from that, on the insurance side, there is another reason not to fund it.People definitely need to have health coverage for unforeseen illnesses. This not only includes catastrophic illnesses (the kind that bankrupt families) but should also include things like the flu. We have good statistical measures for figuring out the likelihood of these things happening over large aggregate risk pools, and we can usually get a good idea of future costs.But there is another class of expense that does not come from the same unforeseen source. This includes things like birth control, viagra, and abortions. These (and there are others like them) are not things that address medical conditions that could become worse and threaten someone's health. When some people complain about "mandates" they are complaining about things like this which act as a sort of consumer product stuck in the middle of an insurance product. For things like this, we are simply talking about cost shifting, not about risk. And I would argue that at least for now, we need to take care of the risk problem, and pretty exclusively, before we take care of the cost shifting problem. The things I have outlined above (and things like them) are not necessary when we are talking about providing basic coverage for 50 million uninsured. They add costs at a time when we have not solved the cost problem even at a basic level.(I am not saying that mandates are bad as such. Without mandates we would have an even worse mental health system in the US than we do now and mandates in our system is the main way that certain kinds of systematic advances are made.)
Unagidon,Setting the morality of abortion aside, the average pregnancy and birth incurs about $12,000 in medical expenses, for low-birthweight babies the average cost is higher, and for very low-birthweight babies the cost may be astronomical (not to mention that the child may have problems that continue into adulthood). If a policy covers pregnancy, on purely economic terms, wouldn't the insurance company heave a sigh of relief any time a woman had an abortion (at a cost of perhaps $350)?Also, birth control is cheap relative to pregnancy and birth. Isn't it in the economic interest of insurance companies to pay for birth control?It also seems to me by your criteria, it would be arguable that pregnancy and birth should not be covered by insurance.
People have argued that pregnancy and birth should not be covered for the reasons I have outlined. However, they form an exception in our society.It's not that abortion is more cost effective than births. We should be paying for births under any system. It's that saying "I absolutely need an abortion" is not the same as saying "I absolutely need chemotherapy." If we had unlimited money to play with (and we would if we stopped being the defenders of the world) then we could have a different argument perhaps on the economic side. But until everyone can get the chemo they NEED, I would argue that some people should not be getting the abortions, birth control pills, fertility treatments etc. that they want. It is this mixture of needs and wants that is causing much of our problem in getting health reform. Let's take care of the needs first and take care of the other stuff later.
Peter, thanks for posting this. I have been trying to parse what is what, but A) I have no expertise and B) it makes what's left of my brain hurt and C) the story and texts are changing as I write. David Brody has some good coverage, and links to texts and such: http://blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/Two things seems clear: One, that no matter how remote or immaterial the cooperation, many professional pro-lifers and GOP leaders will characterize the bill as a massive Stalinist government taxpayer promotion and funding of abortion under the guise of health care. Two, obviously the Dems needs to get enough votes to pass the bill, so it's a question of how many they lose on the pro-life side versus how many on the pro-choice side. But I suspect the pro-choicers won't jump ship over the issue the ways the pro-lifers will, and it seems astonishingly boneheaded (and we're talking Pelosi and Reid here, so that's your floor) that they and/or Obama haven't just pushed for a Stupak-type amendment. You'd steal a march on the opposition, burnish your pro-life bona fides at no real cost, and, oh, get real health care reform passed--with a public option. One other thing I have been meaning to ask of Peter and Unagidon and anyone else with some real knowledge: What do the health reform proposals say about mental health coverage? Pardon me if you all have addressed this before and I did not notice. I would hope there are robust requirements, but if there is nothing, I'm surprised Dems and others haven't complained, and if there is provision for coverage, I'm surprised conservatives or opponents haven't made a big deal of it. Is mental health coverage that braodly accepted now? That would be a good thing. Again, I haven't seen much if anything on this aspect, but that doesn't mean much. I've lately been immersing myself in the provisions for coverage of Christian Science practices.
Unagidon,You know far more about insurance than I do, but it still seems to me you are basically making a moral argument against covering abortion, not an economic one. No one can say, "I absolutely need a baby," yet many insurance policies cover fertility treatments, and many states mandate coverage of fertility treatments (including in vitro fertilization, which the Catholic Church condemns). I don't have time to look up statistics, but I imagine married people in the United States have roughly the number of children they want. Why should insurance pay for one couple having two children and another couple having eight? Nobody needs eight children. Of course, I would not argue against insurance covering the cost of pregnancy and childbirth, since there are considerations other than insurance costs that enter into the equation. But it seems to me that your argument about covering abortion and birth control is certainly not purely an economic one. It is a value judgment, influenced greatly by Catholic thought, regarding what people need versus what they want.
I wonder what a health insurance policy that covered only abortion would cost. Would pro-lifers argue that no woman receiving federal subsidies could buy her own abortion coverage entirely separate -- and from another company -- from her health insurance policy that was subsidized by the government?
"But until everyone can get the chemo they NEED, I would argue that some people should not be getting the abortions, birth control pills, fertility treatments etc."Now this makes sense. Also take the ubiquity of viagra and other sexually enhancing drugs. Should this not be a moral concern? Our airwaves are filled with drugs for everything including many whose curative effects are doubtful. And the price of drugs in this country are sinful. Why should Canada be able to have such cheaper drugs. Lot of people getting away with murder.
David, your argument is quite correct. However, as a society we have not (yet) reached a point where we are willing to ration the having of children on the basis of cost effectiveness. There are few ways that we defend the family any more in concrete ways, but paying for each pre-natal care, all births and all well baby visits is simply a moral imperitive that we still have. So although you are right in what you say, births are bracketed out.I completely admit and have always admitted that I am morally against abortion. But my point on the insurance side is that even if I had very strong pro-choice moral beliefs, I would still oppose including abortion coverage in this plan, because of the nature of the procedure. It falls into a class of things that may or may not be necessary (here people can insert various moral arguments) but this is opposed to things that simply are necessary with no argument. We have to pay for the latter. I don't think that we as a nation are at the point where we can pay both. So I will argue that the latter has to be the priorty from a pure financial viewpoint even though, as you can see, I am ALSO against abortion as such.
David said: "One other thing I have been meaning to ask of Peter and Unagidon and anyone else with some real knowledge: What do the health reform proposals say about mental health coverage?"I don't really know in detail. But I suspect that it is considered a frill in many ways, just as it is in the modern commercial insurance world. If it wasn't, you wouldn't see so many commercial plans limiting the number of paid visits with mental health workers. People would not tolerate it if number of paid visits for chemotherapy were limited, for example. But the mental health thing is another big (and hidden) unresolved moral issue in this country.
David N, I guess you weren't an eighth child! How far we've declined as a civilization if we no longer consider pregnancy and birth as something that is necesary and desirable. Conversely, a civilization that promotes the slaughter of its children, homosexual conduct, and other societal evils is headed in a bad direction, and our policies shouldn't advance those things, which are not necessary or desirable.Also, to pluck away some Catholics from the Republican party, we often hear the mantra that Democrats want "fewer abortions." If that rhetoric is true, then why would they insist on a massive healthcare bill that provides for universal access to abortion?David G,, your first point is hardly "clear" or objective, and you caricature and minimize the legitimate concerns of Catholics and the Catholic Church.I too would like to hear more about the psychological coverage, and also I think Bill makes some excellent points.
A basic medical insurance policy - the sort of national policy we could offer free to all - would of necessity Not cover very many electrive procedures - at all.And so in addition to the immorality and murder involved, the question is why would a basic minimal policy cover abortion or any other elective procedure?
I haven't had time to compare the details of the Stupak and Ellsworth amendments, and I hope Ellsworth didn't propound his amendment at the behest of the House majority leadership in an effort to undercut the Stupak amendment, but for me the most interesting aspect of the attempt to craft abortion neutral language for a health care reform bill is that there is finally a group of pro-life Democratic legislators with sufficient numbers abd voices to be noticed and to be a squeaky wheel that can't be ignored. Who knows, perhaps it will soon be a mistake to say that "pro-life Democrat" is an oxymoron.
Unagidon's comments are always worth careful consideration. In his 7:54 am comment today he or she calls for distinguishing between needs and wants. That is, indeed, crucial, and very difficult, in health care matters.For what it's worth, Epicurus distinguished (a0 natural and necessary desires, from both (b) simply natural desires, and (c) desires that are "neither natural nor necessary but occurring as a result of a groundless opinion."I admit that applying these distinctions is not all that easy, but they are surely relevant to dealing sensibly with complex matters like health care policy.
Health care management companies offer a unique perspective into the whole debate about the public option and what real reform looks like. I've been impressed by this one that's serving nearly 1 million in Ohio and staying in the black! http://cli.gs/z3AtaY/
It seems the USCCB has it coreect. No funding for elective abortions and universal coverage.1 - Elective abortions have nothing to do with "health care"; they are simply a way to do away with a baby. Also an elective abortion is elective. A national medical policy would not cover other elective procedures, why cover elective abortions?2 - Not a small number of lower income folks in our land are indocumentados, mostly Mexican farmworkers, but others as well. In any case, when these (undocumented) folks or their kids get sick, they wait until it is very serious and then the go to the emergency room. All this drives up healthcare costs, and so it simply makes economic sense to include indocumentados in any national health insurance plan.I do not understand why some think these two things are simply too much to ask.
"Setting the morality of abortion aside, the average pregnancy and birth incurs about $12,000 in medical expenses, for low-birthweight babies the average cost is higher, and for very low-birthweight babies the cost may be astronomical (not to mention that the child may have problems that continue into adulthood). If a policy covers pregnancy, on purely economic terms, wouldnt the insurance company heave a sigh of relief any time a woman had an abortion (at a cost of perhaps $350)?"You are ignoring the revenue side. The insurer needs to replace the finite reveues generated by the parents in order to remain going concerns.
You have my vote, Ken! We tend to play around with the common meaning of words in our society. Abortion is not, as Ken points out, "health care." Abortion is terminating a pregnancy--in other words, killing an unborn child. But we hide behind words such as "health care," "women's health," or "choice."
Abortion is not, as Ken points out, health care. Sometimes it is health care.
How about leaving out abortions for Federal funding and let those who pay already have insurance make their own choices. Unagidon or Peter, Should there not be a simpler solution to this. What am I missing here.
Bill said: "How about leaving out abortions for Federal funding and let those who pay already have insurance make their own choices. Unagidon or Peter, Should there not be a simpler solution to this. What am I missing here."On one hand, if you have insurance and your insurance covers abortions, then your premium goes into the general pool and helps cover abortions. You can choose to have that insurance or not. But abortion in any scenario is not necessary in the way, say, that a kidney transplant is necessary. In a system where there are a lot of uninsured and under insured, where people are not getting necessary medical benefits, I think that it's hard to argue for including non-necessary medical benefits, especially when cost is both a political and a practical issue. In a way (and I am not trying to trivialize the issue) it's like food stamps. You can buy food with food stamps. But you can't buy whatever you want.My point is that abortion and a number of similar things does not need to enter the debate as a moral issue. There is no financial need to pay for it with a federal plan.Should insurance ever pay for abortions? As a Catholic, I say no. As an insurance executive, it is also a mandate (not that mandates are bad as such) where people want certain services performed by a medical practitioner in order to have its costs spread across a larger population so that they themselves do not have to pay as much for it.
My point is that abortion and a number of similar things does not need to enter the debate as a moral issue. There is no financial need to pay for it with a federal plan.Unagidon,This still makes no economic sense. If a woman has no abortion coverage, unless she pays for an abortion herself, that's about $12,000 to pay the costs of prenatal care and delivery. How can you argue that we can't pay $350 for an abortion, because we need the money to pay for other things, but we can afford to pay $12,000 for the woman to have the baby? You have to keep your fingers crossed and hope that a large percentage of women with unintended pregnancies find the money to pay for their own abortions (which currently they do).
Ken,I agree absolutely that coverage should be universal and that illegal aliens should be able to buy insurance if they can afford it, and if they can't afford it, they should get the same subsidies as citizens. However, it seems to me the American bishops are willing to compromise on this. For example, we have the following:
Bishop Soto said the exclusion of government-supported insurance for undocumented immigrants is an issue with which the bishops might disagree, but could concede as a political necessity. But the legislation "has to include at a minimum some kind of safety net for the undocumented," particularly if the goal of a nationwide health care reform plan is to improve the overall health of society, he said.
David, it makes economic sense once one accepts (as we do as a society) that people should have babies. A truly cost effective system would, frankly, contain a lot of euthanasia. The Right has wrongly accused the Left of playing around witht this idea in the form of death panels. But we have a recognized base of assumptions that includes women having babies and people being kept alive beyond (as the assisted suicide supporters say) the point of having a quality life (whatever that's supposed to mean) and at great expense.Once you make these base assumptions, THEN you ask the question what is necessary and what is not. IF women have babies, then they and their babies need all of the specialized care that women and babies need.Abortion rights supporters might make an argument that abortion falls into this class as well. I don't think that it does and my personal litmus test is "does one need X (in this case abortion) in the way that one needs chemotherapy". For X one can substitute lots of other things. But the point is, it falls into that class of medical procedures that doesn't pass this test. This does not mean that they should not or could not be covered, at least at some point. But I think it is a strong and reasonable argument to say that we should cover everything that passes this kind of test first and then have the argument about the other stuff later.Regarding undocumented workers, I don't buy the "safety net" argument for several reasons. First, if we have a system as I have suggested above where necessary treatment is covered, then everyone has to be covered in the same way because all of the treatment is necessary by definition. Second, another base assumption in our civilization is that we don't (or at least say we don't) want to throw sick people out into the street. So why create a class of people who will be incented to under treat themselves until they get sicker than they needed to, at which point we will definitely treat them in expensive emergency rooms? There may be lots of ways to solve the undocumented problem. But using health care as some sort of disincentive to keep people from coming to the United States isn't working now. Why would it work in the future? In the meantime, we create a class of underserved people just at the time that we are totally trying to eliminate this class for financial reasons (so that they system willl run efficiently). It doesn't make sense. Third, Christians don't distinguish between friends, guests, and strangers when friends, guests, or strangers are in need. I normally hate to talk like this, but this is a simple fact.
" I dont think that it does and my personal litmus test is does one need X (in this case abortion) in the way that one needs chemotherapy. For X one can substitute lots of other things. But the point is, it falls into that class of medical procedures that doesnt pass this test."What about the litmus test that the scenario returns where the wealthy will afford to have a competent doctor to perform abortions while the vast majority will resort to back alley procedures which is the case in the global South?
Bill, let's think about this. When you say global South, are you talking about the American South? Because I don't think that this problem exists in America today, while I would agree that it does exist in other countries. But it's the American health care system that we are trying to reform.A stronger argument might be (if this were the case) women are having back street abortions which are often hurting them and throwing them into the acute care system. So would it not be more cost effective to pay for a competent abortion in the first place? There's reason here, but only if back street abortions are a problem to begin with.Buried in here is the question of cost shifting at the level of the insured person. Is our overall problem that people simply cannot afford medical care at any level (either they can or they can't)? Or is it that health care has become so expensive that they have to shift resources away from other stuff that they shouldn't (have to) in order to pay for health care. In other words, do we primarily have a health care problem where people can't afford it at all, or do we have a health care problem where, in the United States, a disproportionate amount of our spending is going to health care and not, say, to education or (especially for us) personal debt relief?Both problems exist, of course. But I have found in the national debate that many talk as though they think it is unfair that if they have health benefits they should be paying anything at all out of pocket. This is another facet of the question that does not get enough attention. If someone says that a premium of $1,000 a month is too much, or an out of pocket maximium of $5,000 per year is too much, then what is a reasonable amount given what we know about health care costs at their source?
"This still makes no economic sense. If a woman has no abortion coverage, unless she pays for an abortion herself, thats about $12,000 to pay the costs of prenatal care and delivery. How can you argue that we cant pay $350 for an abortion, because we need the money to pay for other things, but we can afford to pay $12,000 for the woman to have the baby? You have to keep your fingers crossed and hope that a large percentage of women with unintended pregnancies find the money to pay for their own abortions (which currently they do)."This only refers to cost. Profits are revenues less costs. In this scenario, profits would decrease due to declining revenues as measured in nominal dollars.
I received an action alert yesterday from Catholic Democrats which I thought was interesting because it reminded readers that this is first and foremost a health care bill and as such should be abortion neutral; that is, it should maintain the existing status quo vis-a-vis abortion. (My only problem is, I'm not exactly sure what is the status quo). They asked people to contact their congressman to push the following 3 points:1. Pass a health care reform bill that provides universal health insurance for ALL Americans. The current bill only covers 96% of legal residents in our country and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that 12 million people will be excluded.2. Pass a health care reform bill that allows undocumented immigrants the opportunity to purchase health insurance from the proposed health insurance exchange. The current House bill does not allow this. Allowing undocumented immigrants to cover their own health costs not only makes economic sense but it is also the right thing to do morally.3. Pass a health care reform bill that maintains the status quo with respect to the prohibitions of federal funding for abortion as governed by the Hyde Amendment. There is a broad consensus - which includes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - (according to the Catholic Democrats) that the focus of this debate should be on providing universal health care and not on abortion. The status quo should be maintained. For people who really understand this issue, do the above points seem reasonable?
I dont think that it does and my personal litmus test is does one need X (in this case abortion) in the way that one needs chemotherapy. Unagidon,It seems to me your litmus test eliminates everything except life-saving care. There seem to be doubts about the value of yearly physicals, and even if there weren't, they are elective and totally predictable. There is also serious doubt that many types of cancer screening (mammography) saves lives. Certainly you can't answer "yes" to "Does one need a mammogram (or a colonoscopy) in the way that one needs chemotherapy?" Also, I wonder what the answer is to "does one need Lipitor (or any cholesterol-lowering drug) in the same way one needs chemotherapy?" And what about mental-health coverage? Many people are disturbed by how poorly mental health is covered, but rarely is it necessary in the way chemotherapy is needed.
If the litmus test was designed to ask which was worse, bad cholesterol or cancer, then I would probably agree with you. But litmus test is about outcomes. If I have cancer and don't get chemo against if I am pregnant and don't get an abortion. If I need to be checked for breast cancer, I can't be checked via a colonoscopy.An abortion rights advocate might suggest that some people suffer from pregnancy and that the termination of the pregnancy is the cure for it. But I would argue that talking about pregnancy this was is controversial in a way that talking about cancer is not.Regarding physical exams, I have mentioned elsewhere that any system that has universal funding for high risk illnesses (which I have argued is necessary to keep costs down overall) needs a strong primary care front end. Otherwise, things don't get caught early and one ends up paying more for stuff when it gets advanced, complicated, an expensive. So physicals and such would have to be a cornerstone of any system in order for it to work. Prevention HAS to be part of cost savings.Mental health is a problem because we as a society have such primitive attitudes about it. Somehow people understand if my lungs get the flu, but they don't if my brain gets depression. But we do know enough about clinical outcomes (at least people who need to know about clinical outcomes) to be able to say, I think that mental health would fit into the litmus test just like cancer.
Unagidon,I don't think I disagree with your fundamental point as much as I do with your choice of chemotherapy for a litmus test. If you don't get chemotherapy, you die. If you don't get antihistamines for your allergies, your nose runs and your eyes water. Your chemotherapy litmus test would seem to me to rule out antihistamines, although I am guessing you would say it doesn't. There are those who argue against the "medicalization of everyday life," and what I know of those arguments are bunk. It may be perfectly "natural" for some women to suffer considerable distress while going through menopause. I see no reason why medical science should not do whatever it may safely and reasonably do to ease that distress. Some complain that "ordinary aches and pains" don't require medical treatment. Some complain that antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs are overused, while at the same time we get reports that conditions such as depression are undertreated. On the matter of yearly physicals or even mammograms, I am not saying that preventive care is not important. I am saying two things. First, I don't see how preventive treatment passes your chemotherapy litmus test. Second, I am pointing out that there are serious studies to suggest that yearly physicals, mammograms, and other types of "preventive care" don't actually have significant benefits.
I suggested the litmus test in a specific context, but I probably did it in one of the other threads.One problem we have in the States is people going bankrupt because of catastrophic medical events. Bankruptcy is one problem and the other is that when claims become massive enough, they will eat people's assets up entirely and still not get paid. So everyone else has to cover it (ultimately). This problem could be solved with a high risk pool and the most efficient way to do this would be to have a single pool for the entire country.But even if we did this (and ignoring the underlying medical cost problem which is another issue) a high risk pool would not work well unless there was a good underlying primary care feeder system for it. It would be much cheaper, not to say more humane, for people to have illnesses identified and treated early. So a universal risk pool would HAVE to be coupled with a universal primary care system.I won't address caps and floors or the definition of what the primary care piece would be here. But there would still be a gap (or what we call in the trade a "donut hole") between the primary care piece and the high risk piece. Given the structure of our insurance system now, this hole would be covered for the currently insured by their current insurance plans. That is to say, everyone gets a piece of the primary care and the high risk pool by virtue of being an American. But there would be differentials with the donut hole.People who could not afford insurance at all (or maybe not quite afford it) would be subsidized. But as is the case with things like food stamps, there would be things that are covered and things that are not. To define what is and is not covered I suggested the litmus test. There has to be some sort of outcome based test for what is covered and what is not.There will always be outcome controversies about what works and what doesn't. This is how medicine advances. It's sloppy, but this particular sloppiness is necessary.
But as is the case with things like food stamps, there would be things that are covered and things that are not. To define what is and is not covered I suggested the litmus test.Unagidon,Thanks for putting up with what I suppose some might see as my quibbling.Are we talking here solely about the "public option" (if it succeeds)? I must confess I don't understand it all that well. Is the idea that the government will be offering one and only one health insurance option? That is, in offering an alternative to what insurance companies offer, will the government offer one policy with coverage limited according to some kind of rational about what will be the best coverage for the least money? I had not thought about it much, but I was thinking there would basically be a government-created, public health insurance company that could offer more than one level of coverage. Might the public option be used to steer people to the kind of health care facilities (like the Cleveland Clinic) that have been singled out as good examples in terms of cost control?
The public option is one of many means that the government could use to provide the subsidy that it will need to provide to cover the uninsured. I oppose it because of how it pays providers. I am not afraid of competition, but I don't think it is competition if one of the player can unilaterally set what it pays and the others can't. But whatever kind of public funding we get, we will still have to answer the question of what is and is not covered. What we can't have, because there is no possibility that we can afford it, is some kind of plan that covers all things for all people. Let's save lives first and add on the other stuff later if we decide to.
For non-Catholic Pro-life folks, the matter is very simple; no government money going to fund abortions. For Catholics, the matter is two-fold; no government funding of abortion And, any national medical plan needs to provide universal coverage.In any case, the USCCB requirements are straightforward enough for all to readily understand.
I meant to mention also, that it was a very hopeful sign this weekend when the House passed its version of health care reform and that it adopted the Stupak amendment.Now we shall see if it (ban of funding of elective abortion) survives the reconcilliation and into the final bill the President would sign.Keep praying!:-)


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Hollywood has never been afraid to sacrifice realism for the sake of an entertaining story. And since pretty much every movie or TV show features the police in some way, we as an audience get fed a lot of total horseshit about how the law works and how cops operate in the USA.
But as most of us are on the outside of the judicial system (for the moment) we usually don't even realize that what we're being told is incorrect. So we just accept things like...
#7. Forensic Science is Magic
As Seen On:
The various CSI shows, Bones
Typical Scenario:
There has been a murder. While the regular cops are all wasting time talking about "witnesses," "motives" and "evidence," the CSI team walks in and gets shit done. Within seconds they find a single hair, scan it with a green laser and discover the identity of the killer, saving countless lives with their ingenious magical science. Hell, the CSI team will even pack up their guns and go arrest the guy!
His one mistake was having hair.
Why it's Bullshit:
First, do you have any idea how much random DNA you are carrying on the soles of your shoes this very instant? A hair from that bank clerk across town, gum from a Pakistani cab driver and semen from an undetermined source are all probably crawling around down there, ready to be tracked through a crime scene.
Also, certain laboratory tests such as DNA samples, toxicology and blood reports can take weeks or even months to process, and when they do finally arrive, they are about as clear cut as the plot to The Phantom Menace.
"Wait, they're racing now?"
Also, while DNA criminal databases do exist, less than 1/10th of all criminals are a part of it. Having a bit of DNA doesn't mean shit unless they have something to compare it to.
That means the CSI stuff is less about finding the killer and more about making sure they have enough evidence to convict the guy they've already pinpointed as a suspect through old-fashioned police work.
CSI is really just another victim of bad Hollywood science, kind of an extension of their "computers are magic" philosophy. It's appealing to think that any problem--even crime--can be stopped cold by nothing but the power of science and human intellect. Add a few dead hookers and an exploding car to the mix and you have the recipe for television success, baby.
#6. The Insanity Defense Lets You Get Away With Murder
As Seen On:
Law and Order, Primal Fear, A Time to Kill
Typical Scenario:
So things aren't looking so great: The cops caught you stabbing a priest, which you have found out is illegal in your city. Fortunately, your lawyer is Richard Gere, and the two of you combine to convince the jury that you are insane, and that the crime was carried out by one of your multiple personalities.
The man who defends himself has a fool for a lawyer. The man who hires Richard Gere has a sentient nose for a lawyer.
You get off, innocent by reason of insanity! Congratulations, a couple of months at the mental hospital and you'll be back on the streets!
Why it's Bullshit:
Obviously if the legal system had this kind of Get Out of Jail Free loophole, the prisons would be empty. In reality, the Insanity Defense is attempted in less than one percent of all legal cases, which essentially means that more people have tried to pin their crimes on aliens or their evil twin rather than their own basket case, shoelace-eating lunacy.
"No no, it was my brother, Larry Busey!"
Of that tiny fraction where the lawyer was even willing to try it, the defense is successful less than 25 percent of the time. Three states in the US don't even allow insanity as a defense.
Then, in that tiny, tiny fraction of cases where the guy "got off" because he convinced the court he was insane, he doesn't get to just go home. You get sent to a mental institution where you don't have a set sentence at all--they keep you as long as they see fit, which may be forever. You're there until "deemed safe to return to society", which according to the American Psychiatric Association is usually twice as long as the jail sentence would have been.
Hope you like white gowns and staph infections!
This has always been one of those situations where people simply want to believe the system is worse than it is. We can't escape the idea that the courts are too soft on the bad guys and that guilty people are running free left and right. Besides, what is insanity, anyway? Can't you say that anyone who willingly kills another human being is "insane"? Won't giving these guys a free pass based on a little craziness bring the whole system down?
Yes, it would. Which is why the courts don't do it.
#5. Not Talking To Cops Equals Obstruction of Justice
As Seen On:Law And Order, Numb3rs
Typical Scenario:
The hunt for the bad guy is on and his girlfriend/mother/dog might know where he's hiding. Jerry Orbach barges into their workplace demanding to know where said bad guy is laying low.
They don't want to cooperate with the cops, so they stay silent or develop sudden amnesia. Well that's just too damn bad, because Detective Briscoe says not cooperating with the police is called obstruction of justice and that'll get you a minimum of five years of rapetastic jail time.
"Starting to remember where your dad is now, Timmy?"
Why it's Bullshit:
Specifically, the 5th Amendment makes it bullshit. We, on the whole, don't really understand the 5th Amendment, because it has a really shitty marketing department and today is virtually synonymous with fat union gangsters hiding behind it like RoboCop is chasing them. Somebody "taking the 5th" means they're guilty, right?
Not everyone who gets arrested is an Italian-American stereotype.
No, it means under no circumstances can you be coerced into being a witness against yourself. And, since at the moment they speak to you, you don't know if you're a suspect or not, that means you always have the right to not talk to the police.
Now, obstruction of justice is a real thing, and it can be charged when you lie to the cops, destroy evidence or otherwise intentionally fuck up their investigation. But simply refusing to talk to them is not one of those things.
Note, however, that police do have the right to ask you to identify yourself in many states, in which case you do have to tell them who you are. And you do have to give them real answers (see the 1972 Supreme Court case Nebraska vs Heywood Jablome).
#4. Undercover Cops Have To Identify Themselves If Asked
As Seen On:Rush, Deep Cover, Monk
Typical Scenario:
An undercover police officer is meeting with a big time kingpin who wants to purchase some drugs/prostitutes in one the biggest drug/prostitution stings in years. It took months to establish the officer's rep on the streets all for this moment... and just then the kingpin asks the fatal question: "Are you a cop?"
The officer has no choice but to identify himself as a member of the police force and the entire operation goes to hell.
"It's OK, we actually knew the whole time."
Why it's Bullshit:
This is one of those tension-building devices in undercover cop movies (ie there's a tense scene in the Laurence Fishburne movie Deep Cover where he's forced to answer "yes" when asked the "are you a cop" question, then play it off as sarcasm) but even if asked directly, police officers have no obligation to blow their cover and get shot in the balls.
This makes sense if you think about it, since if that were really the rule there would be no sting operations whatsoever. Even the dumbest crackhead would remember to always ask his new supplier if he is a cop before each purchase.
Likewise for prostitution stings where the police pose as customers, then slap on the cuffs as soon as there's talk of blowjobs for cash. No, it's not entrapment, ladies.
Legally, it can't be entrapment without Sean Connery.


text:
Consider the function:
$f(z) = \dfrac{1}{z^{4}+z^{2}+1}$
I want to find the poles. I have deduced that there are 4 simple poles and 2 of them are in the upper half-plane. I'm not sure how I can find them, I have tried to find the zeros of $z^{4}+z^{2}+1$, but with no luck. I have also tried to see if I can factorize $z^{4}+z^{2}+1$, but I'm still stuck.


text:
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