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Sita Sings the Blues
- Studio: GKids
- Release Date: Dec 25, 2009
- Summary: Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epicSita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told." … Expand
- Director: Nina Paley
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Musical
- More Details and Credits »
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Score distribution:
Positive: 11 out of 11
Mixed: 0 out of 11
Negative: 0 out of 11
With Sita, Paley brings the same, highly specific and very personal vision we associate with the best indie and alternative filmmaking to the animated form, and the result is riveting.
Paley's beguiling, consistently inventive visuals and sly yet melancholy tone are about as warm and winning as heartbreak-fueled empowerment gets.
Nina Paley's delicious Sita Sings the Blues finds solace in autobiography and an animated gold mine in the caverns of an ancient Sanskrit epic.
Arriving amidst a tidal wave of overblown and frequently charmless big studio efforts, Sita Sings the Blues is a welcome reminder that when it comes to animation bigger isn't necessarily better.
Score distribution:
Positive: 9 out of 9
Mixed: 0 out of 9
Negative: 0 out of 9
MarcusM.Jan 25, 2010This gem of an animated film was released online (legally) about a year ago. It's nothing less of one of the most charming and most This gem of an animated film was released online (legally) about a year ago. It's nothing less of one of the most charming and most beautiful animated films of all time. If you have ANY interest in this tiny movie, do yourself a favor and check it out. I promise you that you won't regret it.… Expand
Jun 18, 2012One of the most original contemporary animated films. It is something I've never seen before in a film, full of humorous jokes, witchingOne of the most original contemporary animated films. It is something I've never seen before in a film, full of humorous jokes, witching cinemographies as well as spell binding historical lessons through such an epic love tale. The best contemporary animated film without a doubt.… Expand
DaveB.Jan 25, 2010Delightful movie. Unpretentious, creative and flawless.
Jun 1, 2011New MMOs in March 2011
Age of Wulin Age of Wulin is set in the Ming Dynasty when Chinese feudal forces reached the climax. OriginatingNew MMOs in March 2011
Age of Wulin
Age of Wulin is set in the Ming Dynasty when Chinese feudal forces reached the climax. Originating from the Tang Dynasty and developing during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the martial-arts world finally came into its golden age in the Ming Dynasty, enjoying the most freedom. gPotato set up a teaser site under Age of Wulin website presenting a good number of stuffs there, including the huge background story that comprised of 7 chapters. It also unveils the key features to players in March. Let's recall some key points.
Dragon Nest
The Dragon Nest global version will be co-published by Singapore company Cherry Credits and Chinese MMO giant Shanda Games. Recently, Dragon Nest Global official site has opened, what's more, the Closed Beta sign-up has begun!
Elsword from Kill3rCombo, a joint venture of Level Up! Games and KOG Studios, is a comic book influenced free-to-play gaming experience slated to launch this spring, introducing throngs of new followers to fast-paced gameplay and non-stop adventure. It was confirmed that Elsword would finally come to the US this March 2011.
Legend of Galasia
Legend of Galasia is a 2D MMORPG developed by FUN YOURS Technology Co., Ltd. from Taiwan. It is based on the popular single player title Wind Fantasy in Taiwan with 6+ series over the past few years. The global publishing rights was taken by CilyGame. The 'Legend of Galasia' management team had also promised anticipating players that they scheduled to launch its closed beta in the first quarter of 2011.
Pirates of Black Cove
Pirates of Black Cove, presented by Paradox Interactive, sets the stage in Caribbean in the 16th century, the golden era of pirates, and the game combines RPG gameplay with elements from action and strategy games. This game has just opened closed beta registration.
Lazy to post all new MMOs, more in http://news.mmosite.com/content/2011-04-09/new_mmos_in_march_2011_round_up,4.shtml… Expand
Mar 14, 2013I found out about this movie while watching a Roger Ebert review. Ebert gave it a BIG Thumbs up, and could not praise the movie enough. HeI found out about this movie while watching a Roger Ebert review. Ebert gave it a BIG Thumbs up, and could not praise the movie enough. He Loved it!!! He also said it was a free showing on the Internet. I went online and typed in,"Sita Sings the Blues". It is one of the BEST Movies I have seen in years. It is Amazing. It is the kind of movie you can see over and over again, and not get tired of it. It is free online, and a MUST SEE.… Expand
Oct 7, 2013Sita Sings the Blues is a 2009 artistic retelling of the Ramayana. It satirically tells the story of Rama on his journey to save his wife SitaSita Sings the Blues is a 2009 artistic retelling of the Ramayana. It satirically tells the story of Rama on his journey to save his wife Sita from the nearly invulnerable king of Lanka, Ravana. But this isn't a normal movie, it is cut up into four different artistic styles that blend together to convey the artist and directors own experiences, views, and perspective on the ancient Indian epic.
The first of these styles is done with three narrators. Each portrayed by an ornate Indian shadow puppet, one female and two males. They talk with each other and tell the story of the Ramayana but not in perfect detail. They misinterpret things and forget facts and do come across as almost everyday people who grew up with this story quite similar to if my friends and I tried to tell the story of the bible (us all being nonreligious). Through this the story is conveyed in an interesting, and surprisingly humorous way. With all of the narrators joking around and mispronouncing some of the characters names it keeps the flow of the movie going without pouring out to much information in an uninteresting and drab manner whilst still informing the audience.
The second and probably least used style is the actual story of the Ramayana. It comes in short snippets portrayed in authentic Indian artwork which makes it much choppier in animation, but still quite visually pleasing. Lots of satire and humor is used these segments which is sometimes corny and overdone but I did catch myself snickering and sometimes laughing at the silly jokes.
My favorite parts of this movie are done in Pixar like, crisp animation. These parts are beautiful in both visuals and sound. During these segments Sita sings, as the title suggests, 1920s style blues from an artist named Annette Hanshaw. Each of these songs are sung relating to the story, for instance when Rama's army is storming the gates of Lanka to rescue Sita from the dreaded king Ravana she sings a song about her love knocking at the door. This is an incredibly interesting artistic choice which I feel was done amazingly. The childish movie animation and aesthetics mixed with the 20s music and graphic scenes of the Ramayana creates an experience unlike anything I've ever seen before. These parts are interesting and really help you connect with Sita as a character, but still keep her remotely alien. I would watch this movie again solely for these parts and I would be lying to you if I said I didn't have one of the songs stuck in my head and I am not planning to buy the music.
The final and probably most important parts of the movie are centered on the fourth style. In these segments it uses cartoon strip esque art. It tells of the artist and writer of this movie, Nina Paley, in a relationship with a man named Dave who is also an artist. He gets a job in India and moves there without her. After little communication he invites Nina to India to live with him and she accepts. A short time later she goes on a business trip to New York and Dave dumps her over Email. She is devastated and buys a small cold apartment and tries to get Dave back. The movie ends with one of these scenes where she walks into a new and clean suite with pictures of the shadow puppets on the wall, a fancy computer, and shows her going to sleep after reading a segment of the Ramayana.
The reason the comic parts are so important to the story is because the entire movie is from the perspective and interpretation of this women who was gravely hurt romantically. The 20s blues and most of the story being based around Sita's experiences instead of Rama's is evident of this. The entire movie is geared around Nina and Sita and their misfortune with their unsuccessful romantic endeavors. Throughout the movie I found myself sympathizing with both of them and wanting to help. The movie near the end really stressed the idea of the women's dharma of being a wife as petty.
Overall Sita Sings the Blues was an incredibly interesting movie. Its different art styles and themed segments made for a unique experience I will have to share with other people somewhere down the road. The blend of Indian history, personal experience, relationship issues, artistic variations, and 20s musical numbers made for a story telling experience unlike anything I've seen before. I would suggest any person who is interested in unique storytelling and Indian culture to watch this movie, but an average audience would probably not find interest in this movie.… Expand
Sep 23, 2010Sita Sings the Blues is a delight to watch if only for the animation; it's done in several different styles that make it more visuallySita Sings the Blues is a delight to watch if only for the animation; it's done in several different styles that make it more visually compelling. It's a bit short on story and I didn't personally enjoy the soundtrack that caused so much drama, even if it is integral to the storyline. I enjoyed the back-story of how this film was made more than the storyline itself, but, again, the visuals and the fact that it's freely distributed make this a must-see, if only to support a woman who poured her heart and soul into this project.… Expand
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"You need to make the impossible, possible," Garcia said. "You need to choose a vehicle you love and are passionate about, and you need to use that vehicle to serve others, such as the awardees here today have done".
The keynote speaker for the event, Wale Indris Ajibade, addressed the children by telling them what was "cool." He told them "cool" meant students from the neighborhood graduating from Harvard and Stevens Institute, and "cool" was understanding the many discoveries to be made in the world and striving to make them.
The luncheon featured several presentations from students who were already taking steps toward their goals. Three young boys, known as the Lil Monstaz, performed two rap songs, one of which mentioned their coming from a small town and having big dreams to fulfill.
Hicks was known for sitting in his wheelchair on the stoop of his Hoboken home encouraging the young people passing by to reach for the impossible.
"We planted a seed, nourished it cultivated it and I promised Richard we would make this happen as long as he put on his prosthetic legs and walked up here for the 1st time," Garcia stated, "and guess what- he did."

subset: commoncrawl


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PALACE PROMENADE, SCHEVENINGEN: Shopping During Rainy- & Winter Days
When you visit The Hague & Scheveningen in winter-time, or the rain keeps you off the street, you still could have a great shopping-time in Scheveningen. The Palace Promenade, Scheveningen Bath, is roofed over completely, so you can shop in a comfortable way, without a drop on your head, during 7 days a week. The Palace Promenade provides a great diversity of shops and parking places are quite close ... ->
7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Zwartepad, 00:00 - 24:00 hrs
Strandweg (Boulevard), 10:00 - 22:00 hrs
Parking Scheveningen Bad (Zwolsestraat)
Parking Nieuwe Parklaan
Parking Kurhaus
Public Transport :
Tram 1: Delft/The Hague CS/Madurodam/Scheveningen
Tram 8: The Hague Vrederust - Station HS/Scheveningen
Tram 9: The Hague Vrederust/Stations HS/CS/Scheveningen
Tram 11: The Hague station HS/Scheveningen
Bus 14: The Hague Berestein-Scheveningen
Bus 22: Leidschendam/stations Leidschendam-Voorburg/Voorburg/The Hague station CS/Scheveningen
Bus 23: Kijkduin/station Rijswijk-Voorburg-Laan van N.O.I./Scheveningen.
What to buy: All kind of shops, included supermarket, a wide selection of fashion, bathing suits, presents, furniture, jewelry, delicatesses, books, gifts and much more ...
By the way ... watching the North Sea in winter-time can be amazing, too!
See next link Palace Promenade >>>
Palace Promenade
What to pay: Buy an apple,... buy a fur-coat ... feel like in paradise
Address: Burg. van Fenemaplein 2, Scheveningen
Directions: Scheveningen Bad, Head For Coast Of The Hague
Website: http://www.allesoverscheveningen.nl/gcards/
- Family Travel
- Road Trip
- Hiking and Walking
Kringloop Holland: Off the beaten path
The Kringloop Holland "Kringloopwinkel" is a second hand shop with a wide variety of goods.
Amongst those also records, I found out after closing time :(
Well, another reason to head for Scheveningen one more time.
What to buy: 2nd hand stuff.
What to pay: Low prices
Address: Badhuisstraat 16 - 2584 HK Scheveningen
Directions: Keizerstraat tramstop of tram #1
Phone: +31-70-3556733
Website: http://www.kringloopholland.nl/Default.aspx?NavID=440Related to:
- Work Abroad
- Arts and Culture
- Budget Travel
P I E R - Scheveningen: PROMENADE
The De Pier always is a very nice place to walk over, to walk in, because it has a glassed-in, roofed over promenade of 300 metres. When sunny weather in summer-time though in winter-time, too, the Pier still is great to go for a walk ... over North Sea's water.
You'll find some very nice shops for now and I guess the products are much better than some time ago. All kind of knick-knacks are waiting for you, donot rush and take your time ...
What to buy: Just follow your nose and taste, walk along the cosy, little shops with leisure-wear, some art, cards, and have a coffee or a real italian ice-cream ... have fun!
What to pay: What you need ... prices are not that bizar,
Address: Scheveningen Badhuis, The Hague
Directions: Beach Scheveningen Area, The Hague
Website: http://www.scheveningen.nl
- Arts and Culture
- Hiking and Walking
- Beaches
Palace Promenade: In case it's a rainy day
Although there are many shops and restaurants along the beach promenade, there is also an indoor shopping mall as well. Particularly, useful on days with inclement weather, the mall has a good assortment of clothing stores and shops that cover just about any other need. There is even a bowling alley and a small casino (slot machines).
Open seven days per week 10am – 10pm
Address: Gevers Deynootweg 970
Phone: 070-3514811
Website: http://www.palacepromenade.nl/
- Luxury Travel
- Women's Travel
Shopping Mall: Shopping in Scheveningen
There is a small shopping mall where you can buy mostly clothes, swimming suits (of course) and shoes.
Follow the smell of popcorn to get to the candy store ;-)
The quality of clothes may be a bit better than those thay sell on the boulevard, but still nothing special, really
Shopping by the sea: Shopping by the sea
At the boulevard you will find a small mall. It is called Shopping by the sea. There are a couple of sotres like Kruidvat and Hema. But also clothing/book stores.
What to buy: Whathever you would like to buy.
Address: Gevers Deynootweg 970, 2586 BW Scheveningen
Website: http://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/to/Shopping-in-Scheveningen.htm
- Road Trip
- 1
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Michigan's Republican-stacked Legislature has been busy as bees foisting its stealth agenda on the rest of us this term.
They've been taxing our pensions, weakening unions, tearing down teacher tenure protections, weakening environmental rules and implementing laws to install unelected dictators in our cities and school districts.
As the Beach Boys used to sing: "Fun, fun, fun." Well, for Republicans, all the above counts as fun, I suppose. Small wonder Democratic efforts are under way to recall some of the GOP culprits, including Gov. Rick Snyder.
I don't like recalls, but if the governor was going to do the things he has actually signed into law, he should have campaigned on them. So in that way, Snyder isn't any better than his pals in other GOP-run statehouses won by the party in the stunning election of 2010.
Quite a wrecking crew they are, too.
In states like Ohio, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Florida, Republicans swept into power on a raft of lies and dissembling about the evils of "big government" only to use oppressive tactics and bullying to force their unheralded right-wing agendas upon the citizens once they took control. They never campaigned on any of this stuff, the reason being, if they did so, they would have gotten creamed.
But union-busting and deregulation are only the small-ticket items on the GOP's stealth agenda.
The Really Big Score for these scalawags is voter suppression.
This means making sure that groups like minorities, college students and the poor, which tend to vote Democratic, have to climb over ever-bigger hurdles to get back into the voting booths to undo the damage the GOP has caused.
While our Michigan Legislature hasn't done its worst on that score, our GOP-controlled lawmaker majority hasn't done anything at all to make voting easier for the majority of its residents, and it isn't going to.
No surprise there. Inaction on making voting easier for folks has been a hallmark of GOP-dominated Legislatures in Michigan. In spite of numerous calls from newspaper editorial boards and pro-democracy groups in the state, nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done to move on efforts to make it easier and more convenient to vote.
For a certainty, or at least until the makeup of this Legislature changes, it is a guarantee that under Republican rule Michiganders will see absolutely no early voting as is allowed in a preponderance of states. In those 32 states and the District of Columbia, voters can cast their ballots in person days ahead or even as much as a week in advance of the next election.
Imagine how convenient it would be to vote on a Saturday instead of a Tuesday.
Or how many more voters would cast a ballot if they didn't have to brave the crowds during a presidential campaign since the polls would be open all week. Dream on.
The Republicans will never let it happen. But I will say this for Michigan's GOP, and that is they haven't yet tried to push through true voter suppression laws, the operative word being "yet." Still, I wouldn't put it past them to enact some of these wretched anti-democratic tactics. And who would stop them, anyway?
The state supreme court is in their hands, and if matters ever go to the U.S. Supreme Court, right-wingers hold five aces there, too, enough to quash any dissent from the left.
Republicans in other states aren't so bashful. GOP-dominated Legislatures in Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Maine, Texas and North Carolina have passed laws making it much harder for groups helping voters to register, or they have toughened ID requirements and limited early voting laws already passed. The whole sad story can be found on the Center for Media and Democracy's website.
Some of these changes would disenfranchise entire segments of the voting population, such as in Ohio where it is estimated that more than a half-million students would face tremendous new hurdles at the polls.
I know. You're saying to yourself, "Self, why would Republicans do this if they're so sure their programs would have popular appeal?"
You're saying to yourself, "Self, why isn't this happening in Democratic states?"
I'm saying to you, first, think about it. Next, make sure you're registered to vote under current law. Last but not least, watch closely and pay the utmost attention to whatever voter suppression moves Snyder and the gang in Lansing are planning to unveil in time for 2012.
David Kolb is former editorial page editor of The Muskegon Chronicle. Email: email@example.com


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There's been a great deal of giggling going on in Parmelee family email the past couple of days because of Sony's (NYSE: SNE ) recent $10 million payola settlement with the New York Attorney General's office.
Payola, or pay for play, is the practice of record companies paying radio stations to play their artists' music. Payola was believed to be dead during the past few decades. That's changed. It has been rumored to be alive and well for quite some time. So you'll have to forgive me for not being surprised to see this settlement quietly announced. Having a father who has been a DJ all of his life and a brother who worked in the record industry for a couple of years, I've heard many of the rumors before.
My father never received any offers of pay for play, primarily because he hasn't worked at a radio station in one of the large markets -- the ones record companies targeted for years. But when you're in the industry or have any connections to the record industry, it's not uncommon to hear stories about every expense under the sun being charged to "the artist," or CDs being traded to employees at various retailers for the hottest gadget on the market. Having heard all of these stories numerous times, I swore off even considering a recording company as an investment long ago. Sure, someone might make a little money that way, but I have no interest in owning a piece of such a messy business.
This is why I giggle when I hear the record industry complaining that sales are down due to music piracy over the Internet. The record industry isn't exactly a safe haven of morality, and for it to complain of theft is more than a bit amusing. Music piracy is a problem and it's wrong. There is no doubt about that. But, it's not like the record companies run a tight ship or have ever made much of an attempt to rein in expenses and really reward shareholders. Then there's the fact that they are liberal with the charges to the artists. At the end of the day, the folks who really struggle to make a buck off of CD sales through the major record companies are the artists.
I honestly believe Sony got off cheap by paying $10 million for years of abuses, and I won't be surprised to see Warner Music (NYSE: WMG ) or any of the other industry players announce similar settlements in the near future. It's been an industry with difficult competitive dynamics for a long time, and there's no reason to believe it will change.
For related Foolishness, check out:
NathanParmelee has no financial interest in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.


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Top 10 Myths About 2012
Mitch Horowitz | Posted 03.05.2012 | Religion
Read More: End Times, Apocalypse, Mayan End Times, Mayan Prophecy, 2012 Apocalypse, Mayan Calendar, Consciousness Shift, 2012, Religion News
By the time I was in my early twenties my purse was filled with paraphernalia for chapped lips, chapped hands, unruly fingernails, allergies, parking lot thugs, cuts and bruises, bad hair, bad weather, bad breath and bad karma. When I became a mother, my purse ballooned to the size of Mont Blanc. It took awhile to realize that I was lugging around not just a lot of useless stuff; I was lugging around the what-if-you-never-know culture and anxiety of Preparedness.


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A smaller share of Alabama's adults are employed now, as compared with six years ago.
In 2013, about 71 percent of adults age 25 to 54 were employed, according to an analysis conducted for the Pew Charitable Trusts' "Fiscal 50" project.
Six years earlier, an estimated 77 percent of those adults were employed. Put another way, the share of Alabama adults that are employed has fallen by six percentage points over the past six years.
Almost every state has seen a significant drop in share of adults working. On average nationwide, the share of adults employed fell by four percentage points over those six years.
But Alabama's decline is greater than the national average. And only six other states saw larger drops.
Three states hit hard by the housing bubble -- Arizona, Nevada, and Florida -- saw larger declines than Alabama in this metric. New Mexico, Montana, and Delaware were the other states that saw larger drops.
Alabama's unemployment rate at the start of 2007 was just over 3 percent. In late 2009, the jobless rate peaked above 10 percent. As of March, the rate was basically at the midpoint of the peak and the valley, with a reading of 6.7 percent.
While the state's unemployment rate has come down, the economy supports fewer jobs. In 2007, Alabama's economy supported an average of more than 2 million jobs. In 2013, the average number of jobs was slightly more than 1.9 million.


text:
Onsite foodservice company Sodexo North America has named Olivier Poirot senior vice president and chief financial officer. Poirot succeeds Debbie White, who was promoted to chief executive of Sodexo U.K. and Ireland. In his new capacity, Poirot will be responsible for the finance and risk management functions supporting the company in North America. Most recently, Poirot served as chief executive of Accor North America, where he led the company's operations in the United States, ...
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The twentieth century could, with some accuracy, be called a century of theological anarchy. Liberals and sectarians have long rejected outright many of the fundamental tenets of Christian orthodoxy. But more recently professing evangelical scholars have advocated revisionary versions of numerous doctrines. A revisionary doctrine of God has been advocated by proponents of "openness theology." A revisionary doctrine of eschatology has been advocated by proponents of full-preterism. Revisionary doctrines of justification sola fide have been advocated by proponents of various "new perspectives" on Paul. Often the revisionists will claim to be restating a more classical view. Critics, however, have usually been quick to point out that the revisions are actually distortions.
Ironically, a similarly revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura has arisen within Protestantism, but unlike the revisionist doctrine of sola fide, the revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura has caused very little controversy among the heirs of the Reformation. One of the reasons there has been much less controversy over the revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura is that this doctrine has been gradually supplanting the Reformation doctrine for centuries. In fact, in many segments of the evangelical world, the revisionist doctrine is by far the predominant view now. Many claim that this revisionist doctrine is the Reformation doctrine. However, like the revisionist doctrines of sola fide, the revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura is actually a distortion of the Reformation doctrine.
The adoption of the revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura has resulted in numerous biblical, theological, and practical problems within Protestant churches. These problems have become the center of attention in recent years as numerous Protestants have converted to Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy claiming that their conversion was due in large part to their determination that the doctrine of sola Scriptura was indefensible. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox apologists have been quick to take advantage of the situation, publishing numerous books and articles devoted to critiquing the doctrine of sola Scriptura. One issue, however, that neither the converts nor the apologists seem to understand is that the doctrine they are critiquing and rejecting is the revisionist doctrine of sola Scriptura, not the classical Reformation doctrine. In order to understand the difference, some historical context is necessary.
Part of the difficulty in understanding the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura is due to the fact that the historical debate is often framed simplistically in terms of "Scripture versus tradition." Protestants are said to teach "Scripture alone," while Roman Catholics are said to teach "Scripture plus tradition." This, however, is not an accurate picture of the historical reality. The debate should actually be understood in terms of competing concepts of the relationship between Scripture and tradition, and there are more than two such concepts in the history of the church. In order to understand the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura we must understand the historical context more accurately.
The Reformation debate over sola Scriptura did not occur in a vacuum. It was the continuation of a long-standing medieval debate over the relationship between Scripture and tradition and over the meaning of "tradition" itself. In the first three to four centuries of the church, the church fathers had taught a fairly consistent view of authority. The sole source of divine revelation and the authoritative doctrinal norm was understood to be the Old Testament together with the Apostolic doctrine, which itself had been put into writing in the New Testament. The Scripture was to be interpreted in and by the church within the context of the regula fidei ("rule of faith"), yet neither the church nor the regula fidei were considered second supplementary sources of revelation. The church was the interpreter of the divine revelation in Scripture, and the regula fidei was the hermeneutical context, but only Scripture was the Word of God. Heiko Oberman (1930-2001) has termed this one-source concept of revelation "Tradition 1."
The first hints of a two-source concept of tradition, a concept in which tradition is understood to be a second source of revelation that supplements biblical revelation, appeared in the fourth century in the writings of Basil and Augustine. Oberman terms this two-source concept of tradition "Tradition 2" (Professor Oberman had many gifts. The ability to coin catchy labels was apparently not one of them). It is not absolutely certain that either Basil or Augustine actually taught the two-source view, but the fact that it is hinted at in their writings ensured that it would eventually find a foothold in the Middle Ages. This would take time, however, for throughout most of the Middle Ages, the dominant view was Tradition 1, the position of the early church. The beginnings of a strong movement toward Tradition 2 did not begin in earnest until the twelfth century. A turning point was reached in the fourteenth century in the writings of William of Ockham. He was one of the first, if not the first, medieval theologian to embrace explicitly the two-source view of revelation. From the fourteenth century onward, then, we witness the parallel development of two opposing views: Tradition 1 and Tradition 2. It is within the context of this ongoing medieval debate that the Reformation occurred.
When the medieval context is kept in view, the Reformation debate over sola Scriptura becomes much clearer. The reformers did not invent a new doctrine out of whole cloth. They were continuing a debate that had been going on for centuries. They were reasserting Tradition 1 within their particular historical context to combat the results of Tradition 2 within the Roman Catholic Church. The magisterial reformers argued that Scripture was the sole source of revelation, that it is to be interpreted in and by the church, and that it is to be interpreted within the context of the regula fidei. They insisted on returning to the ancient doctrine, and as Tradition 1 became more and more identified with their Protestant cause, Rome reacted by moving toward Tradition 2 and eventually adopting it officially at the Council of Trent. (Rome has since developed a view that Oberman has termed "Tradition 3," in which the "Magisterium of the moment" is understood to be the one true source of revelation, but that issue is beyond the scope of this brief essay).
At the same time the magisterial reformers were advocating a return to Tradition 1 (sola Scriptura), several radical reformers were calling for the rejection of both Tradition 1 and Tradition 2 and the adoption of a completely new understanding of Scripture and tradition. They argued that Scripture was not merely the only infallible authority but that it was the only authority altogether. The true but subordinate authority of the church and the regula fidei were rejected altogether. According to this view (Tradition 0), there is no real sense in which tradition has any authority. Instead, the individual believer requires nothing more than the Holy Spirit and the Bible.
In America during the eighteenth century, this individualistic view of the radical Reformation was combined with the rationalism of the Enlightenment and the populism of the new democracy to create a radical version of Tradition 0 that has all but supplanted the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura (Tradition 1). This new doctrine, which may be termed "solo" Scriptura instead of sola Scriptura, attacks the rightful subordinate authority of the church and of the ecumenical creeds of the church. Unfortunately, many of its adherents mistakenly believe and teach others that it is the doctrine of Luther and Calvin.
To summarize the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura, or the Reformation doctrine of the relation between Scripture and tradition, we may say that Scripture is to be understood as the sole source of divine revelation; it is the only inspired, infallible, final, and authoritative norm of faith and practice. It is to be interpreted in and by the church; and it is to be interpreted within the hermeneutical context of the rule of faith. As Richard Muller observes, the Reformed doctrine of sola Scriptura did not ever mean, "all of theology ought to be constructed anew, without reference to the church's tradition of interpretation, by the lonely exegete confronting the naked text." That this is the Reformation doctrine of Scripture, tradition, and authority may be demonstrated by an examination of the reformers' writings, only a sampling of which may be mentioned here.
Martin Luther is well known for his declaration at the Diet of Worms: "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason-I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other-my conscience is captive to the Word of God." Many point to this statement as evidence that Luther rejected Tradition 1, the teaching of the early church, but other factors must be considered before coming to such a conclusion, namely, the historical context of this statement and the fact that Luther said and wrote much more on the subject. As simply one example, in a 1532 letter to Duke Albert of Prussia about the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, Luther wrote the following:
This article moreover, has been clearly believed and held from the beginning of the Christian Church to this hour-a testimony of the entire holy Christian Church, which, if we had nothing besides, should be sufficient for us. For it is dangerous and terrible to hear or believe anything against the united testimony, faith and doctrine, of the entire holy Christian Church, as this hath been held now 1,500 years, from the beginning, unanimously in all the world. Whoso now doubted thereon, it is even the same as though he believed in no Christian Church, and he condemneth thus not only the entire holy Christian Church as a damnable heresy, but also Christ himself and all the apostles and prophets.The second-generation Lutheran scholar Martin Chemnitz (1522-1586), writes along similar lines in his Examination of the Council of Trent:
This is also certain, that no one should rely on his own wisdom in the interpretation of the Scripture, not even in the clear passages.... We also gratefully and reverently use the labors of the fathers who by their commentaries have profitably clarified many passages of the Scripture. And we confess that we are greatly confirmed by the testimonies of the ancient church in the true and sound understanding of the Scripture. Nor do we approve of it if someone invents for himself a meaning which conflicts with all antiquity, and for which there are clearly no testimonies of the church.Another of the magisterial reformers who addressed this issue was John Calvin. In the 1559 edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, for example, he writes:
In this way, we willingly embrace and reverence as holy the early councils, such as those of Nicaea, Constantinople, Ephesus I, Chalcedon, and the like, which were concerned with refuting errors-in so far as they relate to the teachings of faith. For they contain nothing but the pure and genuine exposition of Scripture, which the holy fathers applied with spiritual prudence to crush the enemies of religion who had then arisen.And further:
We indeed willingly concede, if any discussion arises over doctrine, that the best and surest remedy is for a synod of true bishops to be convened, where the doctrine at issue may be examined.To sum up the traditional Protestant view, the words of the nineteenth-century Reformed theologian Charles Hodge (1797-1878) are appropriate:
Again, Protestants admit that as there has been an uninterrupted tradition of truth from the protevangelium to the close of the Apocalypse, so there has been a stream of traditionary teaching flowing through the Christian Church from the day of Pentecost to the present time. This tradition is so far a rule of faith that nothing contrary to it can be true. Christians do not stand isolated, each holding his own creed. They constitute one body, having one common creed. Rejecting that creed, or any of its parts, is the rejection of the fellowship of Christians, incompatible with the communion of saints, or membership in the body of Christ. In other words, Protestants admit that there is a common faith of the Church, which no man is at liberty to reject, and which no man can reject and be a Christian.
In contrast with the Reformation doctrine of sola Scriptura, the revisionist doctrine of "solo" Scriptura is marked by radical individualism and a rejection of the authority of the church and the ecumenical creeds. If we compare the statements made by advocates of "solo" Scriptura with the statements of Reformational Christians above, the difference is immediately evident. It is also important to observe the source of this doctrine in early America. As Nathan O. Hatch notes, the first Americans to push the right of private judgment over against the church and the creeds were unorthodox ministers.
The liberal minister Simeon Howard (1733-1804), for example, advised pastors to "lay aside all attachment to human systems, all partiality to names, councils and churches, and honestly inquire, 'what saith the Scriptures?'" In his own effort to overturn orthodox Christianity, Charles Beecher (1815-1900) denounced "creed power" and argued for "the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible." The universalist minister A. B. Grosh (d. 1884) declared in a similar way, "In religious faith we have but one Father and one Master, and the Bible, the Bible, is our only acknowledged creed book."
The radical American version of "solo" Scriptura reached its fullest expression in the writings of the Restorationists as they applied the principles of Democratic populism to Enlightenment Christianity. In 1809, the Restorationist Elias Smith (1769-1846) proclaimed, "Venture to be as independent in things of religion, as those which respect the government in which you live." Barton Stone (1772-1844) declared that the past should be "consigned to the rubbish heap upon which Christ was crucified." Alexander Campbell (1788-1866) made his individualistic view of Scripture very clear, declaring, "I have endeavored to read the Scriptures as though no one had read them before me, and I am as much on my guard against reading them to-day, through the medium of my own views yesterday, or a week ago, as I am against being influenced by any foreign name, authority, or system whatever." As the Reformed Princeton theologian Samuel Miller (1769-1850) rightly observed, "the most zealous opposers [of creeds] have generally been latitudinarians and heretics."
The revisionist doctrine of "solo" Scriptura has become so entrenched in the modern church that many Protestant Christians today will sympathize more with the sentiments of the liberal and sectarian clergymen quoted above than they will with the teaching of the reformers. The doctrine of "solo" Scriptura, however, is as problematic and dangerous today as it was in previous centuries. It remains unbiblical, illogical, and unworkable. Here I will address some of the more obvious problems.
The fundamental problem with "solo" Scriptura is that it results in autonomy. It results in final authority being placed somewhere other than the Word of God. It shares this problem with the Roman Catholic doctrine. The only difference is that the Roman Catholic doctrine places final authority in the church while "solo" Scriptura places final authority in each individual believer. Every doctrine and practice is measured against a final standard, and that final standard is the individual's personal judgment of what is and is not biblical. The result is subjectivism and relativism. The reformers' appeal to "Scripture alone," however, was never intended to mean "me alone."
The Bible itself simply does not teach "solo" Scriptura Christ established his church with a structure of authority and gives to his church those who are specially appointed to the ministry of the word (Acts 6:2-4). When disputes arose, the apostles did not instruct each individual believer to go home and decide by himself and for himself who was right. They met in a council (Acts 15:6-29). Even the well-known example of the Bereans does not support "solo" Scriptura (cf. Acts 17:10-11; cf. vv. 1-9). Paul did not instruct each individual Berean to go home and decide by himself and for himself whether what he was teaching was true. Instead, the Bereans read and studied the Scriptures of the Old Testament day by day with Paul present in order to see whether his teaching about the Messiah was true.
In terms of hermeneutics, the doctrine of "solo" Scriptura is hopeless. With "solo" Scriptura, the interpretation of Scripture becomes subjective and relative, and there is no possibility for the resolution of differences. It is a matter of fact that there are numerous different interpretations of various parts of Scripture. Adherents of "solo" Scriptura are told that these different interpretations can be resolved simply by an appeal to Scripture. But how is the problem of differing interpretations to be resolved by an appeal to another interpretation? All appeals to Scripture are appeals to interpretations of Scripture. The only real question is: whose interpretation? People with differing interpretations of Scripture cannot set a Bible on a table and ask it to resolve their differences. In order for the Scripture to function as an authority, it must be read and interpreted by someone. According to "solo" Scriptura, that someone is each individual, so ultimately, there are as many final authorities as there are human interpreters. This is subjectivism and relativism run amuck. The proponents of "solo" Scriptura rightly condemn the hermeneutical tyranny of Rome, but the solution to hermeneutical tyranny is not hermeneutical anarchy.
The doctrine of "solo" Scriptura also faces historical problems due to the fact that it cannot be reconciled with the reality that existed in the first decades and centuries of the church. If "solo" Scriptura were true, much of the church had no standard of truth for many years. In the first century, one could not walk down to his local Christian bookstore and buy a copy of the Bible. Manuscripts had to be hand-copied and were not found in every believer's home. The first books of the New Testament did not even begin to be written until at least ten years after the death of Christ, and some were not written until several decades after Christ. Gradually some churches obtained copies of some books, while other churches had copies of others. It took many years before the New Testament as we know it was gathered and available as a whole. Even then, it too was hand-copied, so it was not available in the home of every individual Christian. If the lone individual is to judge and evaluate everything by himself and for himself by measuring it against Scripture, as proponents of "solo" Scriptura would have it, how would this have possibly worked in the first decades of the church before the New Testament was completed?
One of the most self-evident problems related to the doctrine of "solo" Scriptura is the question of the canon. If one is going to claim that Scripture is the only authority whatsoever, it is legitimate to ask how we then define what is and is not "Scripture." Proponents of "solo" Scriptura claim that Scripture is authoritative but cannot say with any authority what Scripture is. The table of contents in the front of the Bible is not itself an inspired text written by a prophet or an apostle. It is, in a very real sense, a creed of the church declaring what the church believes to be the content of Scripture. One way to illustrate the problem "solo" Scriptura faces in connection with the canon is simply to ask the following: How would "solo" Scriptura deal with a modern day Marcion? How, for example, would a proponent of "solo" Scriptura argue with a person who claimed that the real New Testament includes only the books of Luke, Acts, Romans, and Revelation? He can't appeal to the church, to history, or to tradition. A self-consistent adherent of "solo Scriptura" would have no way to respond to such a view because, as one such consistent adherent informed me in personal correspondence, it is the right and duty of each individual Christian to determine the canonicity of each biblical book by and for himself. This is the only consistent position for a proponent of "solo" Scriptura to take, but it is self-defeating because it destroys any objective notion of Scripture. One cannot appeal to the biblical authority of Romans, for example, if each believer determines for himself whether Romans is in fact to be considered a canonical and authoritative biblical book.
The question of the canon is not the only theological problem caused by "solo" Scriptura. Another serious problem is the fact that the adoption of "solo" Scriptura destroys the possibility of having any objective definition of what Christianity is and is not. "solo" Scriptura destroys the very concepts of orthodoxy and heresy. If the authority of the ecumenical creeds is rejected, and if each individual believer is to determine all questions of doctrine by and for himself, then the definitions of orthodoxy and heresy are completely relative and subjective. One man judges the doctrine of the Trinity to be biblical. Another deems it unbiblical. One judges open theism biblical. Another deems it unbiblical. The same is true with respect to every other doctrine. Each man defines Christianity as it seems right in his own eyes.
Finally, it must be realized that "solo" Scriptura ignores reality. The Bible simply did not drop out of the sky into our laps. We would not even be able to read a Bible for ourselves were it not for the labors of many others including archaeologists, linguists, scribes, textual critics, historians, translators, and more. If "solo" Scriptura were true, it should be possible to give untranslated ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of biblical, apocryphal, and pseudepigraphal texts to some isolated tribe member somewhere on earth, and with no one's assistance, that individual should be able to learn the Hebrew and Greek languages, read the various manuscripts, determine which of them are canonical, and then come to an orthodox understanding of the Christian faith. The reason this is not possible, however, is because "solo" Scriptura is not true. It is an unbiblical distortion of the truth.
The revisionist doctrine of "solo" Scriptura has been a source of great damage to the cause of Christ. The magisterial reformers were right to reject the early versions of it that appeared in the teaching of some radicals. Contemporary heirs of the reformers must follow the magisterial reformers here. The fight must be fought on two fronts. We are not only to reject the Roman Catholic doctrine (whether the two-source doctrine of Tradition 2 or the sola ecclesia doctrine of Tradition 3), which places final autonomous authority in the church. We must also reject the revisionist doctrine of "solo" Scriptura, which places final autonomous authority in the hands of each and every individual.
Keith Mathison is associate editor of Tabletalk and author of The Shape of Sola Scriptura (Canon Press, 2001).
Issue: "Gods Unto Ourselves" March/April 2007 Vol. 16 No. 2 Page number(s): 25-29
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Anyone know of any locations that sell pork stock that has been made in house or locally? I wanted to use something better than your normal canned/boxed store bought stock and just don't have the time to make some myself. I check with Heartland yesterday as I remember seeing it there, but they said they haven't had a whole pig in awhile. Any suggestions as to where to find some around town?
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Building burns, but machine shop survives fire
WEST POINT – A local welding company suffered the loss of its machine shop during an early morning fire Tuesday, but other portions of the business were up and running later that day.
The machine shop at PWS Welding, 14533 East Liverpool Road, sustained major damage in the blaze, which was reported at just about 2 a.m. by company employees.
Les Caudill, son of owner Betty Caudill, said at the scene that he and other employees had been working in another building on the property until the early morning hours and were leaving the driveway when one of the employees spotted smoke coming from the machine shop.
According to Caudill, the last time anyone had been inside the machine shop was about 4 p.m. on Monday.
Firefighters from West Point and Glenmoor arrived on the scene to find heavy smoke and heat coming from the metal pole building but not much visible fire, according to West Point Chief Wayne Chamberlain.
"It was more of a smoldering fire and not a lot of visible fire," according to Chamberlain, who said firefighters' initial concern was knowing the building contained highly flammable oxygen, acetylene and propane tanks used for cutting and welding operations.
Having responded to the location about two years ago for an office fire, Chamberlain said, "We knew what they had (inside), and when we arrived, employees reminded us."
Employees had pinpointed the location of the blaze after trying to enter the burning building but being forced back by heat and smoke, Chamberlain said.
"The employee tried to open the (large) door, but was unable to get in. Luckily, he shut the door and the fire wasn't able to get much air. Had he left the door open, it would have been a different story," Chamberlain said.
The fire was actually concentrated in an upstairs corner office and a break room just underneath it on the bottom floor, with a stairway in between. Each room was only about 8-foot by 10-foot, with the fire contained in an area about 20-foot by 20-foot, Chamberlain said.
Firefighters battled the blaze with hoses taken through two smaller entrance doors, and once the fire was extinguished, the large door at the front was opened, letting out huge clouds of smoke.
Chamberlain said, "It was tough working around the inside due to all the machines, and visibility was poor."
He said it was fortunate Caudill and other employees spotted the fire when they did rather than it having the chance to spread to other buildings on the property.
The machinery inside the shop appeared to be heavily damaged, but Chamberlain could not offer an opinion on their condition, saying that was not his area of expertise and that the insurance company would make that determination.
An employee said Tuesday afternoon that the machines were, for the most part, destroyed and that no machining work could take place.
However, she said, employees were able to continue working in the welding and fabrication shops.
The company is currently working on a large contract involving the gas and oil industry, with a looming deadline, which is why employees were working into the morning hours, according to Caudill's wife, Missy, who was also at the scene of the fire.
The office employee said the fire should not hamper work on that contract.
Caudill was not at the company later in the afternoon to seek comment.
Chamberlain said the cause of the blaze is not yet known but said that, in a machine shop, it would be possible for a spark or a piece of hot metal to smolder undetected for several hours before igniting.
Firefighters were on the scene until 5 a.m., with Lisbon Fire Department on standby.


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Hornbill Feather Peyote Pow Wow RARE Macaw Parrot Native Fly Tying Asian
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Here's a recipe for Turkey Sausage Ring from Chef Kathleen Schiefler of Kathleen & Company, an event and project management organization in Grand Rapids.
3 eggs
3/4 c. milk
2 c. crushed butter-flavored crackers
1 1/2 c. chopped, peeled tart apples
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
1-2 t. poultry seasoning
2 lbs. pork or turkey sausage
In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk. Stir in the cracker crumbs, apples, onion and poultry seasoning. Crumble sausage over this mixture and mix well.
Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and press mixture into the pan. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for one hour or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees; drain.
Cool slightly and carefully unmold onto serving platter.
Can be made and baked ahead. To freeze, wrap tightly in foil. To serve, reheat from the frozen state in a 225 degree oven until heated through, about 45 minutes to one hour. Makes 10 servings.


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THE PIECE: A Renaissance Revival carved oak Savonarola-inspired armchair, from about 1900, probably made in the Midwest.
THE OWNER: Louise Buckley of Metairie says that she remembers being frightened as a child by the face carved on the back of this chair, which occupied a prominent place in the living room of her home. "It was purchased on the occasion of my maternal grandparents' first visit to my parents' home," she wrote. Its origin and value have been a source of curiosity for her over the years.
INSPIRED SEATING: Rachel Weathers, Neal Auction Co.'s director of furniture and decorative arts, said the prototype for Buckley's chair dates back to ancient Rome's curule chair and the Italian Gothic Renaissance Savonarola chair. The curule was a folding cross-legged seat that developed hierarchic status in the Roman Republic and was used for military campaigns and outdoor seating; a Savonarola chair (also known as an "X" chair, scissors chair or Dante chair), is a folding armchair, based on the curule, which originated during the Italian Renaissance. Named for the charismatic Dominican monk Girolamo Savonarola, the "X" chair was often used for liturgical purposes and was also adopted by royalty. Copied by nearly every European country, this particular chair design has been in continuous use over the centuries and became increasingly popular at the end of the 18th century because of a renewed interest in historic furniture. It also made a resurgence in the middle of the 19th century when strip metal was used to reinforce the scissors design, and appeared again at the beginning of the 20th century when it was considered a manifestation of the Arts and Crafts movement. While Buckley's example is inspired by both the curule and Savonarola chairs, it is not as true to its Roman roots as other modern incarnations of this style, as it lacks the "X" base and uses a less-historic four-leg base.
DISPELLING SPIRITS: The gargoyle-type face on the back of the chair was not intended to frighten children, but rather to dispel bad spirits. The North Wind mask (also known as "Old Man North") was one of the many "faces" that were popularly carved into furniture during the early 19th century's Gothic Revival period. Images of other mythical creatures such as ogres and the Celtic "green man" were also in vogue during this period and were rendered into American-made chairs and tables, first by European immigrant wood carvers and later by machines. Weathers said the image's appearance and style suggest that Buckley's chair was made sometime around 1900 in the Midwest, possibly in Grand Rapids, Mich.
WHAT IT'S WORTH: According to Weathers, the auction estimate for Buckley's chair would be $200 to $300.


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DETROIT- In the 3rd American Coney Island Coney Dog Eating Challenge contestants have 10 minutes to scarf down as many coney dogs as possible.
Last year's champion DeSean 'Whipdog' Whipple, of Detroit, took home the belt again this challenge by downing 10 1/2 coneys Thursday.
This is his second win in three attempts. When asked how he ate a coney-a-minute Whipple replied, "I love to eat!"
Donning the shirt 'WHIPAMANIA' with the sleeves cut off, DeSean nodded his head along to the DJ playing music during the contest. Whipple says the the way to win is to take your time and pace yourself.
His pace was almost beaten as well as his record streak. Another contestant came within half a coney dog of taking the title.
Not only does the winner get the 2013 American Coney Island Coney Dog Eating Challenge big belt, but he/or she receives free American Coney Dogs for a year and numerous gift certificates to local establishments.
Contests pay $10 to enter the eating challenge. The proceeds this year benefitted the Golightly Education Center in Detroit which has a culinary arts program for teens.
No one puked this year. As a $5 bet was placed between employees if someone would vomit in the 2013 challenge.
Think you could eat 10 1/2 coney dogs in 10 minutes? What eating contests have you entered?
Tanya Moutzalias is a photojournalist for MLive Detroit. Email her at firstname.lastname@example.com & follow her on Instagram @tjmtanya & Twitter @tjm_tanya.


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While cool temperatures will likely stave off thunder, the central Pennsylvania region could see up to an inch of additional rainfall before midnight Tuesday.
Different areas of the midstate have so far seen anywhere from a half of an inch to an inch of rain as of 5 p.m., and even more will arrive sometime later Tuesday night, said Mike Dangelo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in State College.
In spite of the soggy conditions in place thanks to steady rainfall during the day, flooding won't likely become an issue, Dangelo added.
"Nothing more than what's going to fill up the roadside ditches," the meteorologist said. "And the plants are soaking a lot of that up right now ... I wouldn't think there's going to be widespread flooding or any kind of river flooding, [or] even larger stream flooding."
By midnight, most of the oncoming rain will begin to taper off, Dangelo said, forecasting a prolonged dry spell of about a week following Tuesday's rain.
Much heavier rain was reported around south-central Pennsylvania, including to the south in Baltimore, according to AccuWeather.com. Additional heavy rainfall is expected to remain an issue into Wednesday north of Pennsylvania.
Temperatures will stay cool for the remainder of the week with daytime highs projected to linger in the upper 70s, according to NWS.


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2013 State of Disunity Address
Nothing says "fractured political party lumbering dumbly toward extinction" like two separate intraparty responses to the opposition president's State of the Union address.
That's right, for the third year Obama Derangement Central will sponsor not one, but two, lame-ass hyperpartisan rants-that-nobody-cares-about in response to President Obama's upcoming 2013 State of the Union Address. Because that's been such an inspiring morale booster in the past . . . Bobby Jindal!!1! Michelle Bachmann!! Besides, right now, there are just so many "bright young things, waiting in the wings" of the GOP that it would be impossible to choose just one!
The plan (so far) is for totes legal immigrant Marco "Little Baby Jesu" Rubio (R-FL), newly annointed Republican Savior, to
shred respond to President Obama's SOTU and demonstrate his own considerable phresh presidential-ness and photogenicity [and, hopefully, none of his pockets of cluelessness i.e., his family's history, climate change, age of planet Earth, etc.].
Personally, I felt that I already knew quite enough, thank you, about young Marco, and sort of agreed with Jean Williams who said:
If Marco Rubio, who recently dodged a reporter's young Earth question by flippantly saying, "I'm not a scientist, man," is the new future of the Republican Party, then their old, white, conservative GOP bible-belt constituency need not worry.
But if venerable old Time magazine is willing to go out on that spindly limb and pronounce Rubio the Republican Party's Second Coming, I guess we all might as well hearken anew to what goes on in the windmills of his mind.
For an altogether different perspective, some sect of the TEA Party [unclear which, at the moment] will be presenting the Anti-Establishment Thoughts of the Aqua Buddha. That's right! good old boy Rand Paul (R-KY) will be holding forth on how much he disagrees with Obama [and also too, maybe some of the shit his father says].
What's that you say? You thought Rubio was TEA Party? Yeah, well there's TEA PAR-TAY! USA and tea party, right? There're cons and neocons and theocons; there're social conservatives and fiscal conservatives . . . there's room for all of it under the GOP Bigtop.
Notably MIA from this gaggle is Paul Ryan (R-WI), or, as Charlie Pierce refers to him these days, "Palin with Barbells." I guess Republican apparatchiks feel that there's still too much of the stench of loser-dom about Boy Blunder.
And that's just the kickoff. I'm willing to admit that maybe it's a little too early to look for signs that the GOP is wising up, but, looking a bit further out to, say, 2014? there are even fewer signs of any intelligent design emerging.
The way things seem to be shaping up, the Senate is going to be in the center ring for the next two years. TEA Partiers who made their bones in the House are itching for promotions. For example, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn) who just barely held on to her seat in 2012, by fewer than 5,000 votes [probably the ex-gay vote] has decided that the people [and God] just might think that this would be a primo time for her to move up to the Senate—look out, Al Franken!
And Bachmann BFF, Steve "Mad Dog" King (R-IA) has decided to launch his own Senate bid, despite the fact that he's about as popular as cooties with establishment Republicans and many Iowans, as well. I, unlike Karl Rove, am wishing King godspeed because the Iowa race is such a classic set-up for a Democratic win [and Rove knows it].
In a primary, King would get the Iowa far-right and name recognition votes, sucking votes away from the more moderate GOP contender Tom Latham. Latham runs 3 points behind the likely Democratic opponent, Bruce Braley, but is still the best bet for a GOP win. If King steals the primary, all of those moderate votes for Latham go to Braley.
Joe "Not a Deadbeat Dad" Walsh may have been benched last year when Tammy Duckworth ate his lunch, but that doesn't mean he's shutting up. He's publicly called out Karl Rove's Conservative Victory thingy, promising to set up his own Super Colossal PAC (or something equally ambitious) and, this week, he slipped in a classic Walsh-ian diss of FLOTUS for attending a hometown child's funeral just to show his heart's still inside the Beltway.
But even before all of that, in December, Walsh threatened to run for Senate because "real people, activists, conservatives and every day Republicans all over the state" asked him to." And why not? after all he has those two illustrious years in the House under his belt . . .
Walsh's would be opponent in that race, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Asst. Senate Majority Leader hasn't yet decided to run for a fourth term, but his campaign manager told reporters that if Durbin runs in 2014, he'd be "delighted" at the prospect of a potential contest with Walsh. I'll just bet, Dick.
But maybe not. Maybe Walsh'll run for Governor, instead, because Illinois "needs a Scott Walker."
And, oh my goodness, we can't forget Paul Broun who's setting his cap for Saxby Chambliss' seat in Georgia.
You might remember that Dr. Broun famously admitted doing his medical training in "the pit of Hell"—
All that stuff I was taught about evolution and embryology and the Big Bang Theory, all that is lies straight from the pit of Hell.
Maybe that's why Dr. Broun receives a 0% rating from more than three quarters of health issues interest groups.
Nevertheless, according to GOP political calculus, such views make Broun a perfect fit for the seat he smugly warms on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, as well as chairmanship of its Subcommittee on Oversight.
Last month, Broun declined to vote for John Boehner's re-election as Speaker of the US House of Representatives, instead nominating outspoken Allen West (R-FL), even through West lost his bid for re-election in November 2012 and was no longer a member of Congress. Thanks to Broun, we learned the American History Fun Fact that the Speaker of the House need not actually be a member [so there are still ways to make the House even more dysfunctional than it already is.]
Broun is also the goober who recently accused the president of upholding the "Soviet constitution."
Back in 2009, Broun was one of three House
Republicans Islamaphobes who went after CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) accusing CAIR of trying to plant "spies," based on a CAIR memo indicating that they "will develop national initiatives such as Lobby Day, and placing Muslim interns in Congressional offices."
Broun further implied CAIR had involvement with terrorism, stating:
If an organization that is connected to or supports terrorists is running influence operations or planting spies in key national security-related congressional offices, I think this needs to be made known
Moreover, Broun is one of those "radioactive" Republican candidates that Karl Rove would love to eliminate from the running.
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post reports:
He's an outspoken conservative with a knack for stoking controversy with his public statements . . .
Georgia is a red state, but it contains some Democratic strongholds and moderate voters who might opt to go with a conservative Democrat over a controversial Republican. With the right Democratic nominee and the wrong GOP one, Democrats may stand a chance of surprising a lot of people.
GO! Dr. Paul . . .
Looks like the 2014 Senate races are going to be the fun part. Republicans need to pick up six Senate seats to retake the majority so let's hope that the Bonkers Caucus runs hard to keep that from happening. And Ashley Judd will take care of the rest.
Posted by Bette Noir on 02/10/13 at 08:00 AM • Permalink
Categories: Politics • Nutters • Teabaggery •


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Birmingham isn't exactly a mecca for tourists.
But what if Birmingham had a place that attracted almost 100,000 paying visitors each year, the overwhelming majority of them traveling to the city just to visit there? That brought about $6 million a year in direct spending by visitors? That had an economic impact of about $20 million a year?
How many more people would visit the institute and Birmingham -- and how many more dollars would they bring -- if the institute were part of a top-notch, well-coordinated, well-publicized civil rights trail? Birmingham officials hope to find out.
Monday, a City Council committee approved Mayor Larry Langford's $1 million funding plan to create such a trail. His idea is a fine one. Langford proposes taking $1 million from the sale of a city-owned warehouse on 10th Avenue North. The money would be spent on signs, kiosks and infrastructure improvements near significant civil rights areas.
"Tourism is an untapped market for Birmingham, and the funding source structure is very stable and one I can support immediately," Council President Carole Smitherman said. The full council is expected to vote on the project next week.
Smitherman is right. This kind of cultural, or heritage, tourism can be a huge draw and a big economic boost for cities steeped in history. And Birmingham's civil rights history is unparalleled.
While some residents' inclination has been to whitewash the past or want to move beyond it, we should embrace our civil rights heritage. The story of ugly, sometimes deadly, confrontation, followed by conciliation, is a powerful, compelling one. It is the story of our city, and a story that helped change Birmingham, and the world, for the better.
Imagine a trail that includes the site of the Birmingham Jail, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his letter that chastened the city's religious leaders; the A.G. Gaston Motel, where King and other out-of-town civil rights leaders stayed and strategized; the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where a terrorist bombing killed four girls; and the Civil Rights Institute, which houses much of that rich history. Those are among almost three dozen sites identified.
It is important for city officials to do the job right, and they must work with tourism and economic development officials to capitalize.
Birmingham has a civil rights story unlike any other city's. Why not tell it well, for residents and the rest of the world? And if it brings tourists and their dollars to the city? All the better.


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Arson is likely the cause of the County 27 Fire, also known as the Karlstad fire, in Kittson and Marshall counties in Northwest Minnesota.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has said that an investigation is ongoing by the Kittson County Sheriff, the Marshall County Sheriff and the DNR; they have offered a reward of up to $6,000 for information leading to the arsonist.
The fire is currently 4,440 acres and is 90% contained. Significant areas of peat will need to be extinguished.
At the height of the fire, half of the town evacuated.
On October 2, Governor Mark Dayton issued an Emergency Executive Order for the eight wildfires burning in Northwestern Minnesota.
Governor Dayton ordered active duty personnel and equipment, to help fight the wildfires earlier this month.
Posted to the web by Jenna Vogt


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Woe Is MiamiAugust 23, 2011 – 1:42 am by Hickey
Patrick Dorsey, presumably no relation to Ken, penned an excellent ESPN Page 2 column on Monday which detailed the sheer hell that comes with being a Miami sports fan.
But Patrick didn't quite go far enough when he said that Miami is on its way to becoming America's Most Miserable Sports City. How short your memory must be. They're already there, brother.
Perhaps a refresher course is in order to remind everyone how being a sports fan in South FLA is far worse than anywhere else in America. It's been going on for years now.
Who could forget the early '90s when Dan Marino and the Dolphins went to four straight Super Bowls and lost? Miami fans came close to joy in the first of those games, Super Bowl XXV, but Pete Stoyanovich's attempt at a game-winning field goal notoriously sailed wide right. The three losses in the Super Bowls that followed were just icing on the awful cake.
The pain didn't stop with football.
After arriving in South Florida to much fanfare in 1993, the Marlins broke the expansion team land-speed record for reaching the World Series in 1997. And victory was right there in their grasp until Jose Mesa struck out Edgar Renteria in Game 7 for a heartbreaking loss. That damn Cleveland, always getting the better of Miami.
Six years later, the Marlins were back on the precipice of greatness.
Holding a 3-1 series lead over the Cubs in the NLCS, the Fish were on cruise control in the eighth inning of Game 5 when fate intervened on a lazy fly ball headed into foul territory. As Jeff Conine drifted towards the wall for a sure out, he was interfered with by the lone fan sitting in the entire section, Bart Stevenson.
Conine lost his cool, Alex Gonzalez muffed a sure-fire double play, and the Cubs rallied to win the game and the series, starting a mini-dynasty that brought joy to their many fans, who were once described as "long suffering" but are now known for being annoyingly chipper.
It was back in the '90s that the Panthers were last relevant, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals a couple times. Most hardcore Panther fans will never forget the controversial game against the Stars in the '99 Finals when Brett Hull scored the series-winning goal on John Vanbiesbrouck despite clearly being in the crease.
At least there's the Heat. Or, should I say, there was the Heat — the greatest tragedy of them all.
In another case of Miami coming so close yet so far, the Heat reached the Finals in 2006 against Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks. With the Heat in complete control of the series, a number of questionable officiating calls started benefiting Dallas — no coincidence given the team's ownership by longtime David Stern ally Mark Cuban.
Just a couple years later, the Heat were among the worst teams in the league, barely drawing anyone at American Airlines Arena. Fortunately no one was in the arena on the morning that the roof collapsed due to one of Miami's regular heavy snowfalls, forcing the team to play the rest of its schedule on the road. Seeing how well the Heat drew in Oklahoma City compared to Miami, team owner Clay Bennett decided to move them there permanently.
When LeBron James announced, "I'm taking my talents to OKC," last summer, it left most Heat fans wondering the same thing:
"Damn. What could have been."


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About the Book
"Once there was a tree . . . and she loved a little boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written and illustrated by the gifted and versatile Shel Silverstein.
Every day the boy would come to the tree to eat her apples, swing from her branches, or slide down her trunk . . . and the tree was happy. But as the boy grew older he began to want more from the tree, and the tree gave and gave.
This is a tender story, touched with sadness, aglow with consolation. Shel Silverstein has created a moving parable for readers of all ages that offers an affecting interpretation of the gift of giving and a serene acceptance of another's capacity to love in return.
Educator and Librarian Resources
Product Details
- Imprint: HarperCollins
- On Sale: 04/15/2003
- Trimsize: 0 (w) x 0 (h) x 0 (d)
- Pages: 64
- List Price: 17.89 USD
- Ages: 4 to 8
- BISAC1: JUVENILE FICTION / Classics
- BISAC2: JUVENILE FICTION / Love & Romance
- BISAC3: JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Emotions & Feelings
- Lexile® Measure: 530L


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Would you wear it-4/5
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Replies (21-26):
Yes and no, but not all together. Definitely no to the shoes & earrings...I know I wouldn't be able to walk unassisted in the shoes!
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City of Arlington, Stilly task force organize tree planting
ARLINGTON - It's only been one month since the city of Arlington closed its sale on a $4 million, 150-acre stretch of land, but the property is already beginning to change shape.
"We're already down here working," said Bill Blake, natural resources manager for the city.
Blake, along with members of the Stilly Snohomish Fisheries Enhancement Task Force, recently combined their efforts at the former site of the Country Charm Dairy to organize two tree-planting events.
Students from Elger Bay Elementary School on Camano Island visited the future Arlington recreational area on Tuesday, April 20 and Thursday, April 22 Earth Day and planted approximately 250 cedars, spruce and cottonwood trees near the banks of the south fork of the Stillaguamish River.
"We're letting kids plant trees for a couple of hours, while at the same time teaching them about wildlife," Blake said during the second planting session. "It's good planting weather today."
Students planted what Blake called "secondary" trees, or species meant to supplement the already established "pioneer" trees near the river.
Trees were provided by the city of Arlington.
"Doing this will help with stability and help with flooding downstream," Blake said. "It also helps the fish."
During the three-hour Earth Day planting event, Elger Bay fifth-graders first got a lesson in how to plant trees from task force staff.
"How you plant these trees will determine whether they live or die," said Cara Ianni, education program manager for the task force, to a group of students. "You want to make the holes twice as wide as they are deep."
Ianni went on to demonstrate not only how to dig a hole, but how to massage the trees' roots before planting to ensure they grow correctly.
"We want to make it look like it hasn't come out of a pot," Ianni said.
After the short demonstration, the students grabbed shovels and began to put their newly acquired knowledge into action.
Upon planting a tree, each student would raise their hand or come get Ianni to ensure the tree was planted correctly.
The Elger Bay students had already received instruction during class before showing up for the two planting sessions, fifth-grader Faith Leslie said.
"We had a big tube to test the clarity of water," Leslie said about one of the class exercises she took part in.
In February, the city of Arlington purchased the property, which contains approximately 2.5 miles of riverfront property. City officials are looking at converting the farmland and the surrounding area into a multi-use recreation area.
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After knocking about 7:45 to 2163 Gateway Terrace, police broke through the door and spent the next hour inside. At one point a dog was brought into the apartment.
No one was arrested, police said.
A district judge in Palmer Township and the overnight district judge in Nazareth said they didn't have the search warrant.
The raid was drug-related, Palmer Lt. Thomas Trinchere said. He didn't have more information because Palmer was not the lead police organization in the action, he said.
State police at Bethlehem said they would not be releasing information on the raid.


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Cross-country skiing, snow shoeing, bird-watching and ice fishing are popular activities for those who enjoy getting outdoors this time of year. But when outdoor enthusiasts are spending time on one of the areas frozen lakes, it's important to be aware of the ice conditions.
Brian Lammers, Hamilton County Conservation director, said Briggs Woods and Little Wall lakes both have thick layers of ice, but urged caution when venturing out onto the ice.
"Ice is very unpredictable, especially on lakes and rivers. Right now, Briggs Woods has a good ice cover," he said. "Parts of the northern end of the lake have ice 14-inches thick."
Article Photos
Just a few yards from the Briggs Wood Lake beach, a fisherman has set up a fishing shelter. Conservation officials estimate that the lake has a 14-inch layer of ice.
"Little Wall Lake probably has about 10 to 12 inches of ice," he added.
Lammers said many Iowa lakes are spring-fed and when that occurs, he said there could be areas of weaker ice.
"We always caution people when venturing out on the ice," he said. "It's always up to the individual. A lot of people carry sticks and punch ahead to see what strength is going to be."
Lammer said ice fishermen are often the best indicator of ice conditions. The anglers must auger through the ice to reach open water for fishing.
"We're able to get an instant measurement from the fishermen," he said.
He said the best signs to look for at the color of the ice. A blue-clear ice color will likely indicate the strongest ice, he said. Cracks shouldn't raise many concerns, he explained, as ice is always moving.
"It not like an ice cube. Ice shifts and moves," he said. "When you're sitting out on the ice, you may hear pops and booms - the movement. That's natural and it's a good sign. On thin ice, you don't hear that movement unless you fall through."
Weaker ice may appear dark or black or honey-combed. He said pressure ridges may also indicate a weakened area.
"Ice can shift and come up over the top of another section, so that ice is moving quite a bit," he said. "When they shift back, those areas can be thin and weaker sections."
One of the more visible ways to determine ice conditions is to keep an eye on flocks of geese. Anytime a large flock congregates and they find some open water, Lammers said those areas of ice will likely be weaker.
Lammer said ice fishing this winter has been very strong at Briggs Woods. Little Wall Lake has had some activity as well.
"They've been catching some nice blue gill through the ice at Briggs," he said.
Lammers said that since there is some snow cover on the lakes, cross country skiing and snow shoeing would be a great way to enjoy the outdoors.
"Bird watching and nature hiking also would be fun on the lake," he said. "But if people aren't comfortable going out on the lake, then by all means, don't venture out there."
If someone should happen to fall through the ice, Lammers said, "Don't panic."
Using your arms, pull yourself up back through the ice and once out of the water, don't stand up.
"What they want to do is roll - roll away from the hole. And always take a friend along when you're out on the ice. There's safety in numbers," he said. He reminded parents to never let children venture out on the ice alone.
"By using common sense and checking conditions, there's no reason people can't enjoy a day on the lake in the winter," he said.


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Don't let it get away!
Keep track of the stocks that matter to you.
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Yesterday's earnings release by Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB ) is a classic illustration of how price elasticity works. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT ) figured it out years ago. Lower prices sell more goods, allowing a company to lower prices again -- igniting a virtuous cycle.
But the cycle also works in reverse, as Kimberly-Clark has discovered. A few months ago, the company reported that it was going back to the pricing well to cover higher commodity costs. The strategy had been working well through the second quarter -- consolidated prices had risen 2%, with case volume running up 3%.
For the third quarter, management may have taken it a bit too far. Consolidated prices were 4% higher, but case volume ran down 1%. What's worse, the consumer tissue segment saw case volume decline 7% during the third quarter. Even toilet tissue obeys the basic laws of economics.
This price elasticity game is nothing new to consumer products companies. With the steep rise in commodity prices over the past year, everyone from Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT ) to General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) to Unilever plc (NYSE: UL ) is exercising as much pricing power as they think their brands will bear.
Kimberly-Clark -- whose brands include Kleenex, Huggies, and Kotex -- still managed to make its numbers for the third quarter, though. Per-share earnings of $1.02 before unusual items were 5% below last year, but a penny better than the consensus analyst estimate. The rub is that management lowered fourth-quarter earnings guidance, which promptly clobbered the stock.
I've been preaching for more than a year that the consumer products companies are a (relatively) safe investment during tough markets. The logic of owning this group remains sound, but I believe there's room for picking among defensive plays. With best-in-breed choices like Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG ) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL ) also trading close to 12-month lows, I'd be cautious about Kimberly-Clark until it gets its pricing algorithms more finely tuned.
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