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Petitioner was discharged from his position with the United States Postal Service. Contending that his discharge resulted from sex discrimination, petitioner brought this suit against the Postmaster General in Federal District Court pursuant to 717 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court found for petitioner and ordered his reinstatement with backpay, but refused to award prejudgment interest. The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of prejudgment interest. Relying in part on Library of Congress v. Shaw, 478 U.S. 310 , which held that sovereign immunity barred the payment of interest on attorney's fees awarded against the Library of Congress under Title VII, the court concluded that Congress had not waived the Postal Service's sovereign immunity as to prejudgment interest in a Title VII suit, even though Congress had provided in the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 401(1), that the Postal Service may "sue and be sued."
Prejudgment interest may be awarded in a suit against the Postal Service brought under Title VII. Pp. 554-565.
BLACKMUN, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, MARSHALL, STEVENS, and SCALIA, JJ., joined. WHITE, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and O'CONNOR, J., joined, post, p. 566. KENNEDY, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Lisa S. Van Amburg argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.
Charles A. Rothfeld argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Fried, Deputy [486 U.S. 549, 551] Solicitor General Ayer, John F. Daly, and Stephen E. Alpern. *
[ Footnote * ] Julius LeVonne Chambers, Gail J. Wright, and Charles Stephen Ralston filed a brief for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., as amicus curiae urging reversal.
JUSTICE BLACKMUN delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case presents the question whether prejudgment interest may be awarded in a suit against the United States Postal Service brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.
Petitioner Theodore J. Loeffler was discharged from his position as a rural letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. 1 Petitioner appealed his termination to the Merit Systems Protection Board and, when his discharge was affirmed there, sought administrative relief from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This, also, was without success. Contending that his discharge resulted from [486 U.S. 549, 552] sex discrimination, petitioner subsequently brought this suit against the Postmaster General of the United States in his official capacity, 2 pursuant to 717 of Title VII, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16. After a bench trial, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri concluded that petitioner was a victim of discrimination and ordered his reinstatement with backpay. App. to Pet. for Cert. A-26. Relying on a decision of its controlling court, Cross v. USPS, 733 F.2d 1327, 1332 (CA8 1984) (en banc), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1051 (1985), the District Court refused to award prejudgment interest. App. to Pet. for Cert. A-21. (In Cross, an equally divided Court of Appeals had affirmed the same District Judge's conclusion that sovereign immunity barred an award of prejudgment interest in a Title VII suit against the Postal Service.)
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of prejudgment interest. Loeffler v. Carlin, 780 F.2d 1365, 1370-1371 (1985). Concluding that the District Court's reliance on Cross was "understandable and proper," id., at 1370, the court stated: "If the question of prejudgment interest is to be reconsidered, it should be reconsidered by the Court en banc." Id., at 1371.
Subsequently, the Eighth Circuit undertook that en banc reconsideration, and, by a 6-to-5 vote, affirmed the judgment of the District Court. Loeffler v. Tisch, 806 F.2d 817 (1986). The majority adopted the reasoning of the majority of the original panel in Cross, 733 F.2d 1327, which concluded that Congress had not waived the sovereign immunity of the Postal Service with regard to prejudgment interest in a Title [486 U.S. 549, 553] VII suit. The majority found its conclusion "strongly reinforced" by this Court's recent decision in Library of Congress v. Shaw, 478 U.S. 310 (1986), which the majority interpreted as "holding that Congress, in enacting Title VII, did not waive the Government's immunity from interest." 3 806 F.2d, at 818. In the majority's view, Congress' provision in the 1970 Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 401(1), that the Postal Service may "sue and be sued" was irrelevant to the question before it, because "a sue-and-be-sued clause does not expand the obligations of a federal entity in a suit brought pursuant to another statute that is itself a waiver of immunity and which constitutes an exclusive remedy." 806 F.2d, at 819.
The 5-judge dissent adopted the reasoning of the dissent in the Cross panel submission. That dissent had concluded that "limits on prejudgment interest have been imposed solely because of the barrier of sovereign immunity," 733 F.2d, at 1332, and that the sue-and-be-sued clause in the Postal Reorganization Act had eliminated that barrier in actions against the Postal Service. The dissent noted this Court's observation in Shaw: "`The no-interest rule is . . . inapplicable where the Government has cast off the cloak of sovereignty and assumed the status of a private commercial enterprise.'" 806 F.2d, at 822, quoting Shaw, 478 U.S., at 317 , n. 5. In the dissent's view, the Postal Service fits within this exception and, therefore, "an award of prejudgment interest against the Postal Service under Title VII is not barred by sovereign immunity." 806 F.2d, at 823. [486 U.S. 549, 554]
Because of a conflict with the views of the Eleventh Circuit expressed in Nagy v. USPS, 773 F.2d 1190 (1985), we granted certiorari to decide whether, in a Title VII suit, prejudgment interest may be awarded against the Postal Service. Sub nom. Loeffler v. Tisch, 483 U.S. 1004 (1987).
The question of statutory interpretation here presented, involving the interaction of the Postal Reorganization Act and Title VII, lends itself to straightforward resolution. Absent a waiver of sovereign immunity, the Federal Government is immune from suit. United States v. Sherwood, 312 U.S. 584, 586 (1941). Congress, however, has waived the sovereign immunity of certain federal entities from the times of their inception by including in the enabling legislation provisions that they may sue and be sued. In FHA v. Burr, 309 U.S. 242, 245 (1940), the Court explained:
In accord with this approach, this Court has recognized that authorization of suits against federal entities engaged in commercial activities may amount to a waiver of sovereign immunity from awards of interest when such awards are an incident of suit. For example, in Standard Oil Co. v. United States, 267 U.S. 76 (1925), the Court reviewed a suit brought under 5 of the Act of September 2, 1914, ch. 293, 38 Stat. 711, on insurance claims issued by the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. The Court concluded: "When the United States went into the insurance business, issued policies in familiar form and provided that in case of disagreement it might be sued, it must be assumed to have accepted the ordinary incidents of suits in such business." 267 U.S., at 79 . Accordingly, interest was allowed. Ibid. See also National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers v. Parrish, 229 U.S. 494 (1913) (interest allowed against eleemosynary agency that Congress had authorized "to sue and be sued"). Cf. Library of Congress v. Shaw, 478 U.S., at 317 , n. 5.
When Congress created the Postal Service in 1970, it empowered the Service "to sue and be sued in its official name." [486 U.S. 549, 556] 39 U.S.C. 401(1). This sue-and-be-sued clause was a part of Congress' general design that the Postal Service "be run more like a business than had its predecessor, the Post Office Department." Franchise Tax Board of California v. USPS, 467 U.S., at 520 . In Franchise Tax Board, this Court examined, in the context of an order issued by a state administrative agency, the extent to which Congress had waived the sovereign immunity of the Postal Service. After noting that "Congress has `launched [the Postal Service] into the commercial world,'" ibid., the Court held that the sue-and-be-sued clause must be liberally construed and that the Postal Service's liability must be presumed to be the same as that of any other business. Because the order to the Postal Service to withhold employees' wages had precisely the same effect on the Service's ability to operate efficiently as did such orders on other employers subject to the state statute that had been invoked, and because the burden of complying with the order would not impair the Service's ability to perform its functions, the Court concluded that there was no basis for overcoming the presumption that immunity from the state order had been waived. See id., at 520, and n. 14.
Our unanimous view of the Postal Service expressed in Franchise Tax Board is controlling here. By launching "the Postal Service into the commercial world," and including a sue-and-be-sued clause in its charter, Congress has cast off the Service's "cloak of sovereignty" and given it the "status of a private commercial enterprise." Shaw, 478 U.S., at 317 , n. 5. It follows that Congress is presumed to have waived any otherwise existing immunity of the Postal Service from interest awards.
None of the exceptions to the liberal-construction rule that guides our interpretation of the waiver of the Postal Service's immunity operates to overcome this presumption. Subjecting the Service to interest awards would not be inconsistent [486 U.S. 549, 557] with the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 101 et seq., the statutory scheme that created the Postal Service, nor would it pose a threat of "grave interference" with the Service's operation. FHA v. Burr, 309 U.S., at 245 . Finally, we find nothing in the statute or its legislative history to suggest that "it was plainly the purpose of Congress to use the `sue and be sued' clause in a narrow sense," ibid., with regard to interest awards. To the contrary, since Congress expressly included several narrow and specific limitations on the operation of the sue-and-be-sued clause, see 39 U.S.C. 409, 4 none of which is applicable here, the natural inference is that it did not intend other limitations to be implied.
Accordingly, we conclude that, at the Postal Service's inception, Congress waived its immunity from interest awards, authorizing recovery of interest from the Postal Service to the extent that interest is recoverable against a private party as a normal incident of suit.
Respondent concedes, and apparently all the United States Courts of Appeals that have considered the question agree, that Title VII authorizes prejudgment interest as part of the backpay remedy in suits against private employers. 5 This [486 U.S. 549, 558] conclusion surely is correct. The backpay award authorized by 706(g) of Title VII, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(g), is a manifestation of Congress' intent to make "persons whole for injuries suffered through past discrimination." Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 421 (1975). 6 Prejudgment interest, of course, is "an element of complete compensation." West Virginia v. United States, 479 U.S. 305, 310 (1987). Thus, since Title VII authorizes interest awards as a normal incident of suits against private parties, and since Congress has waived the Postal Service's immunity from such awards, it follows that respondent may be subjected to an interest award in this case.
In order to address respondent's arguments, it is necessary to explain briefly the manner in which Title VII provides a cause of action to federal employees. As originally enacted in 1964, Title VII, by excluding federal entities from its definition of employer, see 701(b) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e(b), did not provide a cause of action to federal employees. Brown v. GSA, 425 U.S. 820, 825 (1976). In 1972, Congress amended Title VII by adding its 717, which brought federal employees, including employees of the Postal Service, within the ambit of Title VII. Equal Employment [486 U.S. 549, 559] Opportunity Act of 1972, 86 Stat. 111, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16. In so doing, Congress intended to provide federal employees with "`the full rights available in the courts as are granted to individuals in the private sector under Title VII.'" Chandler v. Roudebush, 425 U.S. 840, 841 (1976), quoting S. Rep. No. 92-415, p. 16 (1971). Section 717(a) mandates that all personnel actions affecting federal employees covered by that section "shall be made free from any discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(a). Section 717(b) provides a detailed administrative enforcement mechanism, and 717(c) permits an aggrieved employee to file a civil action in federal district court, provided the employee has met certain requirements regarding exhaustion of administrative remedies. Thus, in enacting 717, Congress simultaneously provided federal employees with a cause of action under Title VII and effected a waiver of the Government's immunity from suit. See Library of Congress v. Shaw, 478 U.S., at 319 . The waiver of sovereign immunity effected by 717, however, was a limited one. "In making the Government liable as a defendant under Title VII, . . . Congress did not waive the Government's traditional immunity from interest." Id., at 323.
Based on this background, respondent channels his attack into two principal arguments. First, respondent contends that the waiver of sovereign immunity effected by the "sue-and-be-sued" clause of the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 401(1), has no bearing here, regardless of its scope. In respondent's view, the only waiver of sovereign immunity relevant to a Title VII suit against the Postal Service is the waiver of sovereign immunity found in Title VII itself. Second, respondent argues that, even if the waiver of sovereign immunity provided by 401 does control, the cause of action that 717 affords to a Postal Service employee is distinct from the cause of action afforded a private-sector employee and does not provide a basis for an award of prejudgment interest. We examine these contentions in turn. [486 U.S. 549, 560]
In support of his argument that the sue-and-be-sued clause of the Postal Reorganization Act, 39 U.S.C. 401(1), has no force in this case, respondent initially relies on Congress' failure, at the time it created the Postal Service in 1970, to extend Postal Service employees a cause of action under Title VII. 7 In respondent's view, this failure constituted a decision to leave intact what respondent characterizes as the "explicit" decision of the Congress that enacted Title VII in 1964 to preserve the sovereign immunity of federal employers in Title VII suits. But the history of the Postal Reorganization Act discussed in n. 7, supra, with its emphasis on the availability of strong remedies for discrimination in the federal employment context, makes clear that Congress' failure to extend Title VII protections to Postal Service employees did not reflect an intent to circumscribe the waiver of sovereign immunity effected by the sue-and-be-sued clause, but, rather, was a determination that a Title VII cause of action was unnecessary in light of these alternative remedies. The reason Postal Service employees could not bring an employment discrimination suit under Title VII in 1970 - indeed, the [486 U.S. 549, 561] reason that federal employees generally could not do so - stemmed not from the Postal Reorganization Act, but from a restriction in Title VII itself: the exclusion of federal entities from the definition of the term "employer." The Postal Reorganization Act is utterly silent as to Title VII. We reject the notion that Congress' silence when it creates a new federal entity, with regard to a cause of action that is generally unavailable to federal employees, can be construed as a limitation on the waiver of that entity's sovereign immunity effected by the inclusion of a sue-and-be-sued clause.
Respondent would find further support for his argument that the sue-and-be-sued clause is irrelevant to this case in the manner in which Congress extended a Title VII cause of action to federal employees in 1972. Specifically, respondent relies on a distinction between causes of action that may be asserted against commercial entities generally, as, for example a state garnishment statute, see Franchise Tax Board of California v. USPS, 467 U.S. 512 (1984), and causes of action, such as 717 of Title VII, that contain special procedures and limitations applicable only to federal defendants. Respondent contends that while a sue-and-be-sued clause may apply to a suit against a federal entity in the former class of actions, it has no bearing in the latter. We are not persuaded by this argument for two reasons.
First, this is an argument for an implied exception to the waiver of sovereign immunity effected by a sue-and-be-sued clause. Yet respondent offers no reason for concluding that Congress intended his implied exception to be added to those that this Court articulated in FHA v. Burr, 309 U.S., at 245 , and we see no reason why we should do so.
Second, when Congress intends the waiver of sovereign immunity in a new cause of action directed against federal entities to be exclusive, - in effect, to limit the force of "sue-and-be-sued" clauses - it has said so expressly. Congress' waiver of the sovereign immunity of the United States for certain torts of federal employees, in the Federal Tort Claims [486 U.S. 549, 562] Act (FTCA), 28 U.S.C. 1346, 2671-2680, provides an example. Prior to the FTCA's enactment, certain federal agencies were already suable in tort. Although Congress enacted the FTCA to allow suits against many agencies that previously had been immune from suits in tort, it also wished to "place torts of `suable' agencies of the United States upon precisely the same footing as torts of `nonsuable' agencies." H. R. Rep. No. 1287, 79th Cong., 1st Sess., 6 (1945). Accordingly, Congress expressly limited the waivers of sovereign immunity that it had previously effected through "sue-and-be-sued" clauses and stated that, in the context of suits for which it provided a cause of action under the FTCA, "sue-and-be-sued" agencies would be subject to suit only to the same limited extent as agencies whose sovereign immunity from tort suits was being waived for the first time:
Respondent next argues that, even if the waiver of sovereign immunity effected by 401(1) is controlling, an award of prejudgment interest is inappropriate because the statute that provides petitioner with his cause of action, 717 of Title VII, does not authorize interest awards. Respondent starts from the premise that had Congress expressly stated that prejudgment interest is unavailable in actions under 717, the outcome of this case would be beyond dispute. Therefore, it is claimed, "[t]he fact that the `no-interest' rule is not made explicit in the statute, but rather is a conclusion drawn by this Court in Shaw . . ., does not make the rule any less binding." Brief for Respondent 16. This argument, in our view, misunderstands both the nature of the remedy 717 affords and the basis of our holding in Shaw.
Without doubt, petitioner's cause of action in this case is derived from 717. We do not disagree with respondent that, had 717 explicitly stated that the cause of action it provided did not include prejudgment interest, such interest would be unavailable in this case. But Congress made no express statement of that kind. To the contrary, Congress expressly incorporated in 717 provisions of Title VII that allow an interest award. Specifically, 717(c), 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(c), provides that, after pursuing various mandatory [486 U.S. 549, 564] administrative remedies, an unsatisfied 717 plaintiff "may file a civil action as provided in section 2000e-5 of this title," which governs enforcement actions against private employers.
Thus, although petitioner's cause of action under 717 is circumscribed by mandatory administrative prerequisites that are distinct from the prerequisites for a civil suit brought against a private employer, a 717 suit, once commenced, is delineated by the same provisions as a suit against a private employer. Most importantly for the purposes of this case, 717(d) explicitly incorporates 706(g) of Title VII into the cause of action provided. Section 706(g) allows a court to "order such affirmative action as may be appropriate, . . . includ[ing] . . . back pay . . ., or any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate." 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(g). This provision thus governs the remedies available in both a Title VII suit brought against a federal employer under 717 and a Title VII suit brought against a private employer. Cf. Chandler v. Roudebush, 425 U.S., at 843 -848. And, just as this section provides for prejudgment interest in a Title VII suit against a private employer, it provides for prejudgment interest in a Title VII suit brought under 717.
Respondent's view that Shaw stands for the proposition that 717 implicitly states that prejudgment interest is unavailable in all suits brought under that section misunderstands the basis of our holding in that case. In Shaw, the Court faced the question whether 706(k) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(k), which provides that a party prevailing against the United States may recover attorney's fees from the United States, waived the sovereign immunity of the Library of Congress with respect to interest on an attorney's fees award. Unlike the Postal Service, the Library of Congress was not a "sue-and-be-sued" agency that Congress had "`launched . . . into the commercial world," and thereby broadly waived sovereign immunity. Franchise Tax Board of California v. USPS, 467 U.S., at 520 , quoting FHA v. [486 U.S. 549, 565] Burr, 309 U.S., at 245 . Thus, the starting point for our analysis was the "no-interest rule," which is to the effect that, absent express consent by Congress, the United States is immune from interest awards. See Shaw, 478 U.S., at 314 . The dispositive question was not whether Title VII provided a cause of action that would allow recovery of interest, but, rather, whether Title VII contained an express waiver of the Library of Congress' immunity from interest. Because no such waiver is contained within Title VII, the no-interest rule barred recovery of interest from the Library of Congress on the plaintiff's attorney's fees award. This conclusion had nothing to do with the scope of a 717 cause of action.
The Court expressly noted in Shaw: "The no-interest rule is . . . inapplicable where the Government has cast off the cloak of sovereignty and assumed the status of a private commercial enterprise." 478 U.S., at 317 , n. 5. In creating the Postal Service, Congress did just that, and therefore, the no-interest rule does not apply to it. Thus, the search for an express waiver of immunity from interest within Title VII, which is all that Shaw was about, is unnecessary in this case. As discussed above, 401 of the Postal Reorganization Act provides the waiver of sovereign immunity from interest awards against the Postal Service, and 717 of Title VII provides the cause of action under which petitioner may recover interest.
Accordingly, we conclude that interest may be awarded against the Postal Service in a Title VII suit. The judgment of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded to that court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
[ Footnote 2 ] At the time this suit was filed, William F. Bolger, then Postmaster General, was the named defendant. While the case was pending on appeal, Bolger was succeeded as Postmaster General and as defendant by Paul N. Carlin and, subsequently, by Preston R. Tisch. After oral argument before this Court, Tisch was succeeded by Anthony M. Frank. General Frank has been substituted as respondent pursuant to this Court's Rule 40.3.
[ Footnote 3 ] In Shaw, the Court held that sovereign immunity bars the payment of interest on attorney's fees awarded against the Library of Congress under Title VII. The Court's holding came "against the backdrop of the no-interest rule," Shaw, 478 U.S., at 319 , which provides: "Apart from constitutional requirements, in the absence of specific provision by contract or statute, or `express consent . . . by Congress,' interest does not run on a claim against the United States." United States v. Louisiana, 446 U.S. 253, 264 -265 (1980), quoting United States v. N. Y. Rayon Importing Co., 329 U.S. 654, 659 (1947).
[ Footnote 4 ] Section 409 provides in part: "(b) Unless otherwise provided in this title, the provisions of title 28 relating to service of process, venue, and limitations of time for bringing action in suits in which the United States, its officers, or employees are parties, . . . shall apply in like manner to suits in which the Postal Service, its officers, or employees are parties. "(c) The provisions of chapter 171 and all other provisions of title 28 relating to tort claims shall apply to tort claims arising out of activities of the Postal Service."
[ Footnote 5 ] See Brief for Respondent 9. See also Conway v. Electro Switch Corp., 825 F.2d 593, 602 (CA1 1987); Green v. USX Corp., 843 F.2d 1511, 1530 (CA3 1988); United States v. Gregory, 818 F.2d 1114, 1118 (CA4), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 847 (1987); Parson v. Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp., 727 F.2d 473, 478 (CA5), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1243 (1984); EEOC v. Wooster Brush Co. Employees Relief Assn., 727 F.2d 566, [486 U.S. 549, 558] 578-579 (CA6 1984); Taylor v. Philips Industries, Inc., 593 F.2d 783, 787 (CA7 1979); Washington v. Kroger Co., 671 F.2d 1072, 1078 (CA8 1982); Domingo v. New England Fish Co., 727 F.2d 1429, 1446 (CA9), modified on other grounds, 742 F.2d 520 (1984); Nagy v. USPS, 773 F.2d 1190 (CA11 1985). Cf. EEOC v. County of Erie, 751 F.2d 79, 82 (CA2 1984) (interest allowed on backpay award under Equal Pay Act); Shaw v. Library of Congress, 241 U.S. App. D.C. 355, 361, 747 F.2d 1469, 1475 (1984) (interest allowed on Title VII attorney's fees award), rev'd on other grounds, 478 U.S. 310 (1986).
[ Footnote 6 ] Indeed, to ensure that victims of employment discrimination would be provided complete relief, Congress also gave the courts broad equitable powers. See 706(g) of Title VII, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5(g); see generally Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S., at 418 -421.
[ Footnote 7 ] When the Senate was considering its version of the Postal Reorganization Act, Senator Cook proposed a floor amendment "to give postal service employees the equal employment opportunity rights provided by title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, that employees in private industry have benefited from since 1964." 116 Cong. Rec. 22279 (1970). The Senate approved the amendment by a 93-0 vote. See id., at 22279-22280. The Cook amendment was deleted in conference, however, because the conferees were persuaded that the "present law affecting all Federal employees, including employees under the new Postal Service, guarantee[d] antidiscrimination provisions . . . of greater benefit . . . than the provisions of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Id., at 26953 (remarks of Sen. McGee); see also, id., at 26956, 26957 (remarks of Sen. McGee); id., at 27597 (remarks of Rep. Daniels). Senator McGee, who presented the Conference Report to the Senate, "guarantee[d]" that if the current bill did not "achieve the laudable purpose that the Cook amendment intended," the Senate would immediately enact appropriate legislation. Id., at 26957 (remarks of Sen. McGee).
[ Footnote 8 ] Respondent also seeks comfort from the concededly technical distinction that this suit, in accordance with the provisions of 717(c) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-16(c), named the head of the Postal Service as defendant, while 39 U.S.C. 401(1) makes the Postal Service amenable to suit "in its official name." In FHA v. Burr, 309 U.S. 242, 249 -250 (1940), however, we found such a distinction between a suit against the head of an agency and a suit against the agency itself irrelevant to the force of a "sue-and-be-sued" clause. In Burr, the "sue-and-be-sued" clause in 1 of the National Housing Act, 48 Stat. 1246, as amended by 344 of the Banking [486 U.S. 549, 563] Act of 1935, 49 Stat. 722, applied to the Administrator of the Federal Housing Authority acting in his official capacity. The Court concluded that this waiver of sovereign immunity permitted actions against the Authority itself, because under the terms of the Act, all the powers of the Authority were exercised through the Administrator. This case presents the inverse situation: the "sue-and-be-sued" clause authorizes suits against the agency, and the defendant before the Court is the head of the agency acting in his official capacity. However, the same logic applies. Whenever the head of the Postal Service acts in his official capacity, he is acting in the name of the Postal Service. Thus, here, as in Burr, the acts of the named defendant are always chargeable as acts of the person or entity subject to the sue-and-be-sued clause. We therefore are not persuaded by respondent's procedural distinction. [486 U.S. 549, 566]
JUSTICE WHITE, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE O'CONNOR join, dissenting.
Essentially for the reasons stated by the en banc Court of Appeals below, I believe that prejudgment interest is not available in Title VII suits against the Postal Service. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent. [486 U.S. 549, 567]
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October 15, 2010
Scholars D. Richard Laws and Tony Ward have taken on a huge task in Desistance from Sex Offending: Alternatives to Throwing Away the Keys. They hope to bring mainstream criminological theories about crime desistance to an insular, risk-obsessed fringe of forensic psychology that has remained remarkably uninterested in the fact that offenders desist from crime, or the process through which that occurs.
Desistance provides a superb, highly readable overview of the criminological literature on desistance, the age-crime curve, and offender reintegration research, focusing heavily on the seminal works of Sampson and Laub and Shadd Maruna. The authors propose the Good Lives Model as a theory that can bridge the looming chasm between desistance theory and forensic psychology practice with sex offenders.
The voices of dissent against the dominant, pathologizing discourse of deviance are growing louder. The publication of this trailblazing book is yet another in a series of signals that the reign of penal harm may be losing steam, creating opportunities for implementing progressive reforms.
Desistance is essential reading for clinicians, researchers, academicians, attorneys, and anyone interested in the application of contemporary social science theory on desistance to sex offender rehabilitation.
The timing is propitious, coinciding as it does with next week's annual conference of the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) in Phoenix, Arizona. At least one conference seminar, by Pamela Yates, Ph.D., will focus on applying the Good Lives Model to sex offender treatment. If you are attending the conference, buy this book early before it sells out.
We can only hope that the spirit of reform embodied in Desistance truly catches on, rather than being coopted by the entrenched forces of risk management.
NOTE: I am writing more detailed and formal reviews of Desistance for publication, and will link to those as soon as they are available. Also see my online review at Amazon (and please, as always, remember to click on "yes" if you like the review).
16 comments:
- suetiggers said...
Thank you for this. So many are waiting and hoping that these laws change and get the majority off the shaming public registry who are not dangerous, esp. not to pre-pubescent children.
It feels like we're living in the 1800's if you know anyone on the lifetime registry and all the extremes of punishment it is imposing on people's lives.
- October 16, 2010
- Bill Bell said...
I've just done a quick scan for the "Good Lives Model" in Google Scholar and noticed that a sizable fraction of the items are associated with sexual offences. How applicable is the GLM, would you say, to working with people who have transgressed in other ways?
Thanks for an interesting posting.
- October 16, 2010
Hitler did the same to the Jews. They were not permitted to carry binoculars, participate in sports, go to the theater, museums, the shops or parks. It sounds like the Third Reich is alive and well here in the United States.
- October 16, 2010
- FpsY said...
Great to read your hot off the press review. Desistance is what has been missing from the risk literature for sometime.
This book will be essential reading for any forensic psychologist.
I look forward to reading your more detailed review.
Your blog always keeps us on the cutting edge and I thank you for the work you put in.
- October 16, 2010
- Karen Franklin, Ph.D. said...
Thanks, everyone.
Bill, good question: GLM was not developed with sex offenders in mind, so it is in no way limited to work with sex offenders. Several rehabilitation programs for other types of offenders currently use it as a theoretical model. The idea here is that there is nothing unique or special about sex offenders, so general theories of criminal desistance and rehabilitation are as applicable to them as to any other type of criminals. The book makes clear that nothing about the model limits it to a specific type of offender.
- October 16, 2010
- Bill Bell said...
Thanks for clarifying this, Karen. As you might expect in career and employment advisory services we see few people who would tell us that they have committed sex offences but some of us specialise in working with former offenders without knowing what the offences were. I'm looking forward to reading more.
Thanks again.
- October 17, 2010
Thank you for this post. It is nice to see the occasional sign that there is a little bit of sanity in the world, even in a field as full of madness as psychology.
- October 17, 2010
- Cameron Jackson said...
Less than 1 percent (248,000 divided by 22,879,700) of all crimes are rape/sex says the authors. And only 11 % of the 1% are mandated to treatment.
So 90 percent of crimes associated with rape/sex do not get treatment. So? Seems like the recidivism figures are such that certain crimes are not readily treated.
What is a human being? According to the book, "all human beings are viewed as agents who act in pursuit of valued goods in ways they believe likely to achieve them...p. 233
My question: An agent of what or who? That definition seems too rational and sounds similiar to economic man definitions.
More definition of what a human is by the authors:
"Human beings are practical decision makers ... physically embodied organisms who formulate plans and intentionally modify themselves and their enviorment to increase their chance of achieving their goals..."
Maybe that is what the authors wants sexual offenders to become but that's a narrow, limited definition for human beings in general...
A review of this book needs to examine the ethical underminings ... the ethical and moral assumptions it makes ...for example, the authors assume that all persons have equal moral status and have certain "entitlements" (sounds like another government entitlement program?).
The Good Life model "helps [sexual offenders] acquire core competencies in valued activiites such as being intimate, managing stress..."
I probalby would download this book on my kindle for $10 -- but not sure about spending $36. on it.
What grabbed you about this book? Is it simply that finally at lesat some sexual offenders can go through a treatment program?
- October 17, 2010
- Karen Franklin, Ph.D. said...
Cameron, Thanks for your comment.
It's exciting that two prominent scholars in the sex offender field are trying to bridge the gap between forensic psychology and criminology, and are applying the seminal desistance research (by Sampson and Laub and Shadd Maruna) to sex offenders. Forensic psychology has largely ignored desistance as a systematic phenomenon. The sex offender industry is pretty disconnected from broader social science scholarship, creating a myopic ideology of exceptionalism in which criminals who have been convicted of sex offenses are seen as much more different from others than the evidence warrants.
- October 17, 2010
I just got back from a meeting with both our city and county sex offender registration staff regarding the false and misleading and wrong information regarding sex offenders, being there seems to be a great deal of propaganda regarding sex offenders being made so often.
The staff of Both our agencys agreed with 100 percent of what I brought to their attention regarding all the true and real information as per all the false information that has been told and making the general poulation to believe as being true.
I was very surprised that I was told that they have been telling the same information themselvs to both local and state law makers and for whatever reason they said they can not get them to listen to them.
Whats really going on here? ( This same situation is happening throughout the country)
- October 18, 2010
- FpsY said...
Karen Hi,
I wonder if you could address this question. I was discussing the book, desistance theory and GLM with a colleague of mine. She dismissed GLM, this was her response
...." Most people are really resistant to the good lives model - mainly because we can't really see much difference from good lives to motivational interviewing which is far more widely accepted and has considerable evidence to back it up..."
I would really be interested to hear what your response to that would be.
Thanks in advance
- October 19, 2010
- Karen Franklin, Ph.D. said...
Good question, FpsY. Proponents do not see GLM as a technique to replace others. They say it as an overarching THEORY of change that addresses not just deficits and risk factors but also STRENGTHS. It also has a human rights perspective, so it looks not just at whether something "works," but whether it is just. Laws and Ward say techniques such as motivational interviewing can easily fit within a GLM framework.
In one of my longer, more formal reviews of the book, I discuss a related concern of mine: That programs may claim to adopt (i.e., give lip-service to) the Good Lives perspective, without fully embracing its philosophy, thereby coopting it. I'll let readers know when that is available.
Thanks for all your comments. I appreciate them.
- October 20, 2010
Hi to Bill Bell- the GLM is applicable to all offenders. In Australia I and my colleagues have developed a statewide rehabilitation framework across a correctional system, and now I manage a prison that applies it to drug-related offenders. As Karen said, it is a framework that allows humane techniques to be developed that ENGAGE people to change; risk management strategies don't do that.
- October 25, 2010
- matthewhobbs444 said...
I am on my way to buy the book. Thanks
- October 26, 2010
Presumably the book reinforces strategies that have been used since at least the early 1990's but ignored. I'm thinking of the work of the late James Olsen at the University of Maryland. Recidivism in his program was exceptionally low.
- October 26, 2010
- Bill Bell said...
Hi to Astrid,
Excellent news from Australia! I appreciate your taking the time to show even wider applicability. Of course we see people hampered by problems involving drugs.
Thank you.
- November 01, 2010

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
4 cups half-n-half
4 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup Bailey's liqueur
1/3 cup strong coffee
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cookie Dough
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
In a large mixing bowl whisk together 1 cup half-n-half and egg yolks until well combined. In a large saucepan over medium heat whisk together remaining 3 cups half-n-half and 1 cup sugar.
Cook and whisk until mixture starts to simmer. Add about 1/3 of the hot cream to the yolk mixture and whisk until well combined. Whisk the yolk-cream mixture into saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Strain mixture into a large bowl or pitcher. Whisk in Bailey's, coffee, vanilla and cinnamon until well combined. Lightly cover and chill overnight.
To make the cookie dough:
Stir and cook the flour in a large pot over medium heat, for 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant and flour slightly turns golden in color; set aside for 10 minutes to cool. In a large mixing bowl, stir together butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, milk, vanilla and salt until well combined and smooth. Stir in flour until well combined and smooth. Stir in chocolate chips until well combined. Cover and chill dough overnight.
Place ice cream base in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. In the last five minutes of processing, add bits of cookie dough. Place ice cream in a freezer-proof container and freeze!
Makes 10 servings


text:
The emblem V-neck tee is made from long grain, GMO free Peruvian cotton. Peru is the only country in the world where cotton is picked by hand on a large scale. The 4,500-year-old tradition prevents damage to the fiber during the picking process and removes the need to use chemicals to open the cotton plants before harvest. This environmentally friendly process results in cotton that is soft, strong, and lustrous – and the tee will get even softer with every wash.
More Information: Shop.TeslaMotors.com


text:
Monday morning briefing: Videos, games and some pretty nice weather
Good morning and welcome to Freedom New Mexico's Monday briefing.
Video of the day
See the festivities at Cannon over the arrival of the new Osprey.
Calendar watch
Some events in town worth marking on your calendar:
— Wednesday through Sunday is the National Corriente Cattle Show at the Curry County Events Center. Team roping sessions featured. Call the events center for times: 935-7000
— The 27th Annual Plateau Wireless Custom Classic softball tournament starts Friday at Guy Leeder field. Information: 762-8977
— Clovis Lions and Patriot Outdoors annual gun and knife show is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Civic Center.
Clovis is still looking for private donations to pay for the annual Smoke on the Water July 4 fireworks.
If you're felling generous, here's a form:
Video game of the week
A bit of a twist.
Our own master gamester Jenna Zamie says this is a good one.
Only problem is the website is only in German.
But good game players can probably figure it out... Viel gl


text:
The global health community has won many victories against infectious disease in the poorer parts of the world—eradicating smallpox in the 1970s and beating down the number of reported polio cases. Now it is turning to cancer and heart disease. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in Washington, D.C., recently released a report warning that the rising tide of cardiovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries is threatening those nations' economic well-being. And a group of physicians and celebrities (including cycling champion Lance Armstrong and Princess Dina of Jordan) has published a call to action in Lancet to expand cancer care and control in poorer countries.
The renewed attention reflects major changes in disease trends. Cancer and heart disease are not limited to developed countries. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, more than half of all people who were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2008 were in developing countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Brazil—compared with just 15 percent in 1970. The IOM's 2010 study reported that 80 percent of deaths from heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases around the world now occur in the developing world.
In some respects, the rising proportion of cancer cases is a side effect of success. People are living longer (cancer is more common the older you get), and fewer people are dying of infectious diseases (you have to die of something). Similarly, the increase in cardiovascular disease is linked to aging populations, but adopting a Western-style diet and getting less exercise also play important roles. Treating cancer in the poorest parts of the world is not necessarily expensive; many older treatments that Westerners have replaced with pricey ones are still highly effective. The same is true for treating heart disease. Unfortunately, the older medications are often not broadly available in poor countries, and physicians, nurses and other health care workers are often lacking.


text:
By Jessica Velasco | Courtesy of Natural News
Shared by Nutrition Breakthroughs,
maker of Sleep Minerals II, the effective calcium and magnesium based sleep aid
"You are what you eat," as the saying goes. Apparently, what you eat affects how you sleep too.
Studies have found that nutrition has a huge impact on how well you do (or do not) sleep. Ensuring that you get sufficient amounts of the four nutrients listed below is a great step toward ridding yourself of sleep troubles and insomnia.
1. Calcium
It is common knowledge that calcium is necessary for bone development. What is not as well-known is the subtle role that calcium plays in allowing your body to sleep well.
Calcium naturally soothes the nervous system, which speeds up the process of quieting down the mind prior to sleep. When you are stressed, calcium levels are rapidly depleted, which makes it even harder to fall asleep.
Good sources of calcium are organic dairy products, beans, nuts, seeds, seaweed, broccoli, and calcium-fortified products.
If you decide to take calcium supplements before bed, remember that your vitamin should also contain vitamin D as vitamin D facilitates calcium absorption.
2. Magnesium
Magnesium deficiency can lead to unexplained anxiety and nervousness, which makes it difficult to fall asleep.
Even worse is that once asleep, people with magnesium deficiency sleep lightly and wake up frequently. As a result, it is difficult to feel rested in the morning even if you were able to fall asleep.
To counteract a deficiency, eat foods that are high in magnesium like almonds, cashews, and bran.
3. B-Complex Vitamins
Several vitamins are included in the B-complex. Vitamins B3, B5, B9, and B12 are particularly important in the body for regulating sleep cycles.
Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is recommended to help people with depression or those who wake up frequently to sleep better. Vitamin B3 also enhances the effectiveness of tryptophan, an amino acid that aids in the production of serotonin (a mood regulator).
Vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid, can help reduce feelings of anxiety or stress. Without enough vitamin B5, you may start to feel fatigued yet unable to sleep.
In its natural state, vitamin B9 is called folate; folic acid is the term used when the nutrient is man-made. Whether you get folate from your diet or folic acid from a supplement, it is yet another B vitamin deficiency that can exacerbate insomnia. Folate is found in green leafy vegetables (spinach, lettuce, broccoli), beans, peas, lentils, lemons, bananas, and melons.
Vitamin B12, also known as cobalamin, helps the body maintain its circadian rhythms, which control the sleep and wake cycles. Without enough B12, you may start to feel irritable, exhausted, and have trouble focusing and falling asleep. Many doctors recommend vitamin B12 to treat insomnia and possibly rectify other sleep disorders.
4. Zinc
A study on the zinc levels of adults found that higher levels resulted in participants sleeping uninterrupted for longer duration.
Zinc is found in beef, lamb, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, turkey and lentils.
In closing, if you suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances, take a moment to consider your diet. In general, if you eat well, you sleep well. Talk to your doctor about potential absorption issues that can lead to deficiencies, which in turn can cause insomnia.
A note from Nutrition Breakthroughs: Sleep Minerals II contains the necessary minerals and vitamins to remedy insomnia and support better sleep – calcium, magnesium, vitamin D and zinc — all combined in a softgel with healthy oils. The softgel form is more quickly absorbed than tablets or capsules and provides a deeper, longer-lasting sleep.
Tammy M. of Meridian, Idaho says: "I was plagued with insomnia for five years and desperate for a breakthrough. Nothing has helped me more than Sleep Minerals II – I'm so sold on them I could go door to door promoting them. I'm 60 years old and have never slept so soundly."
Richard P. of Parkville, Maryland says: "The Sleep Minerals are making quite a difference. I was regularly waking up at around 3:00 a.m. and after a few days use my sleep improved quite a lot. I wake up once a night to go to the bathroom, but the great thing is, I then fall back asleep and sleep several more hours. This has been a great improvement."
For more information, visit the Sleep Minerals II page on Amazon.
Article Source: https://www.naturalnewsblogs.com/?s=magnesium+for+sleep


text:
Look at the insane zoom that $75,000 worth of glass got you in the 1990. It's the work of the Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IF-ED lens, 18 elements assembled in a body that looked like a shoulder-mounted missile launcher.
This thing was almost 35 inches long (888mm) and had a 9.33-inch (237mm) maximum diameter. Its weight: 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms)!
When it was first used in 1990—at the Koshien Stadium—the Zoom-Nikkor 1200-1700mm had "the longest focal length of any zoom lens for 35mm-format cameras."
In the photo above you can see the same scene taken with 50mm (top left) and the 1200-1700mm lens, all placed 130 meters away from those two women.
Here's the story of its genesis, according to Nikon:
At Koshien Stadium the photographers' seats are situated next to the center-field back screen so as to enable news photographers to shoot the home plate, which is over 130 meters away. From this position it requires a focal length of 1200mm to capture the pitcher, the catcher, and the batter in frame, and a focal length of 1700mm to shoot a full-frame vertical photograph of the batter. In short, the 1200-1700mm was developed for shooting pictures from the photographers' seats at Koshien Stadium.
In 1980s, a rival company was making a 1200mm f/5.6 super telephoto lens. The newspapers were beginning to switch over to cameras made by this company in order to use the lens in their coverage of baseball at Koshien Stadium.
In May 1989, Nikon rushed to begin development of its own super telephoto lens for Koshien Stadium. The company resolved to complete the prototype by March 1990, in response to the fervent wishes of the newspapers.
Nikon says that this lens "restored the reputation of the Nikon brand in terms of news photography." What is even more interesting, however, is their claim that Digital SLRs killed these lenses because now "the images can be easily cropped and image quality is high, even with a high ISO setting." [Nikon via Photography Bay]


text:
If you had "Jim Irsay will externalize blame for his inflammatory comments about Peyton Manning" in the office pool, congratulations.
As expected, the Colts owner has reacted to the reaction to his "championships over stats" comments regarding his former franchise quarterback.
"Those expressing negativity about the concept of building well rounded teams around great QBs 2 achieve Championships have negative agendas," Irsay say early Wednesday morning on Twitter.
In other words, Irsay believes Broncos coach John Fox has a "negative agenda." Along with anyone else who read Irsay's comments as being a slap at Peyton Manning.
"We've changed our model a little bit, because we wanted more than one of these," Irsay told USA Today, referring to his Super Bowl XLI ring. "[Tom] Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these. Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated.
"You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the Star Wars numbers from Peyton and Marvin [Harrison] and Reggie [Wayne]. Mostly, you love [championships]."
Reasonable minds can differ on whether those words amount to a shot at Peyton Manning. Interpreting Irsay's comments to mean that Irsay became "frustrated" by Peyton's inability to play in the postseason like he plays in the regular season hardly emanates from a "negative agenda." It's a fair interpretation of the words that came out of Irsay's mouth.
"The noise doesn't bother me," Irsay adds, one tweet after proving that the noise does indeed bother him. "[T]o quote the most loved Ind Colt of all time 'I wanted to stay, Jim wanted me to stay, circumstances forced r hand.'"
That's fine, but why say anything more about the separation than what Peyton said? Irsay gave it a different feel by trying to explain the circumstances as coming in part from a desire to build a team that doesn't go one-and-done in seven of 11 playoff appearances.
Irsay is making the situation worse by trying to blame the listener and not the speaker for comments that fairly can be construed as being critical of Peyton Manning. And that will make Sunday night's game even more compelling -- unless and until the Broncos are up 38-3 at halftime.


text:
ive never welded chrome i was wondering whats all to it.
No announcement yet.
welding chromolley
new posts
Senior Member
- Sep 2005
- 118
It depends on what type it is, 4140,4130, tubing, plate, thickness. All those factors take effect in the way it gets welded.
MD Welding & Fabricating L.L.C.
[email protected]
Long as your set up right its a piece of cake. 70-s-6 is good filler. I used to run s-2. The old timers will tell you to gas weld it, but seems most tig it. I went to a airframe shop last year. 1 guy gas welding a frame, 10 guys tigging parts. That was all 4130. The parts I made all had to be stress relieved-and believe me they needed it.
What is the wall thickness? I have not welded 4140, I would think for a sled it would be 4130 ? I have a special torch that I used, running under 100 amps,dc, welding .035 up to .o68 wall tube. If you are going to be doing tubing you will probably be notching it, the fit is very critical (shooting for a fit with in .005 at the weld area) and be sure to grind then clean up all the weld area with acetone. Don't quote me my memory sucks, but I believe to stress relieve it you need to bring the area up to 900 degrees with oxy-acct carburizing flame, then allow it to cool at temp over 55 degrees. I think that is pretty close to accurate. You can get a sheet on tig welding it that was put out by lincoln from your local prax air supply if there is one around you, or probably find a down load somewhere.
Senior Member
- Oct 2006
- 555
Can you weld CroMo with a MIG?
I think bicycle frames are CroMo
Senior Member
- Nov 2006
- 159
Yes chromoly can be welded with mig, however Tig and/or gas are the preferred methods. I have welded some with Mig but I generally try to persuade the customer to have it Tig welded. I weld quite a bit of 4130 in sizes from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch .049" to .095" wall thicknesses and have never stress releived or had a problem with stress being a factor. With that said I will say that I agree with Dan, fitup is crucial, the tighter the better and cleanliness. I sand back about 1 inch with emery cloth and wipe down with acetone before ever striking an arc. When welding try to have the shop at a comfortable temp. I don't like welding this stuff in a cold environment and keep the door closed so there is no chance of a breeze blowing across the hot joint. That will stress crack quickly. When welding a chassis or a structure with multiple joints jump around the part as to not put a lot of heat into one area of the structure. I have posted some pics of an ATV chassis on the Ask Andy forum if you would like to do a search and view them.
- Mar 2006
- 30
if it's a snowmobile frame it's most likley that it is cromo. or just mild steel. O ya... by the way, i preferr to gas weld cromo. it's the right way to do it.


text:
Inflammatory process involving lymphatic channels of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. It is most often due to streptococcal infection, but Staphylococcus aureus is occasionally implicated, too. Acute lymphangitis follows cutaneous injury or infection and presents as a tender red streak ascending the arm or leg from a site of injury. Associated symptoms include tender, enlarged, draining regional lymph nodes, fever, and malaise.
Inflammation of lymphatics, Lymphangitides, Lymphangitis, Lymphangitis, NOS


text:
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday Stash #26
18 comments:
these are so prettyReplyDelete
I think these prints are going to be vey handy. I was so excited when I walked into my local and they had the FULL range. I got the cute little pink and red hexies.ReplyDelete
What a fab range. Particularly love the sketch-like flowersReplyDelete
A lovely addition to your stash xReplyDelete
Oh so pretty!!ReplyDelete
Those are so pretty. First thing that came into my head when I saw them was Pennsylvania Dutch Country with the designs painted on the barns.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 25, 2009 12:20 PM
I have been waiting for these ones! Thanks for the preview - they are lovely!ReplyDelete
Ooo...I love her fabrics but I haven't seen any for sale yet... As soon as I do, they're mine! ;)ReplyDelete
I am just getting into sewing and quilting. To have any suggestions on how to go about building one's stash? Your quilts are so inspiring! Thank you for providing and lovely place to come and dream! Also I'd be curious to know what sewing machine you use. Thanks for all your guidance!!!ReplyDelete
Fabric envy! They are just lovely!ReplyDelete
Great fabric! It's good to find Aussie fabric designers.ReplyDelete
Very nice fabric. I love your quilts!ReplyDelete
Mmm, they are delicious!ReplyDelete
these are beutiful. i am so going to get me a batch of theseReplyDelete
Gorgeous! I love Lecien!! That fabric on the top in the first picture is my favourite of the lot.ReplyDelete
Just georgeous!ReplyDelete
Just georgeous!ReplyDelete
Ooooh, they're beautiful! Thanks for the peek for those of us that don't have them yet!ReplyDelete
Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! I really appreciate it.
Comments are published after review.
Feel free to ask questions and I will answer either here or by email, as is appropriate.


text:
PENN Battalion II Surf Conventional Rod
PENN Battalion II Surf Conventional Rod
Sale Sold out
Regular price $129.99 USD
Regular priceUnit price per
Sale price
The 2nd generation PENN® Battalion™ II Surf rods provide ultimate strength, performance, and style. Composite blanks, Fuji® Alconite guides, Fuji® reel seats, and our tough and tacky rubber shrink tube handles provide a secure grip whether wet or dry. The Battalion Surf is a perfect match for PENN® Battle® III and Spinfisher® VI spinning reels. These rods offer the actions, balance, and durability to get the job done.


text:
|11:00 am-
5:00 pm
|Bank of America Fiesta! Fort Lauderdale Huizenga Plaza Las Olas Riverfront. Features an outdoor Latin concert, with food, arts and crafts, a business expo and charity... 954-527-0627
|1:00 pm-
4:30 pm
|Dixieland & Traditional Jazz Henry's Hideaway, Pompano Beach. The Hot Jazz & Alligator Gumbo Society (HAGS) features a Jazz Session with dixieland and... 954-563-5390
|6:30 pm
|Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus FLA Live Arena, Sunrise. Circus live event.
|7:30 pm
|Kansas - The Band Broward Center Au-Rene Theater. Performing live in concert.
|8:00 am-
4:00 pm
|Yellow Green Farmer's Market Fresh & Hearty Yellow Green Farmer's Marketplace, Hollywood. Each weekend, this market offers quality produce, seafood and goods made by area artisans...
|9:00 am-
5:30 pm
|Organic Green Market Hollywood Beach Broadwalk. Josh's Organic Garden at Harrison Street and the Broadwalk. 954-456-FARM
|9:00 am-
2:00 pm
|Las Olas Outdoor Green Market YOLO Plaza. Huge selection of raw organic treats, locally grown orchids, fresh baked goods, gluten free products. Dogs welcome... 954-258-8382
|1:00 pm
|Dania Jai-Alai Dania Jai-Alai. The Game is played in a round-robin, usually by 8 players or teams as they hurl a rock-hard ball at a wall with speeds in excess...
|8:00 am-
6:00 pm
|Butterfly Pavilion Flamingo Road Nursery, Davie. Florida native butterflies appear each day. Staff members are on hand to explain the life cycle, describe...
|9:30 am-
5:30 pm
|Flamingo Garden Tours Flamingo Gardens, Botanical Collections & Wildlife Sanctuary, Davie. Tours are presented in non-technical format... 954-473-2955
|12:00 pm-
6:00 pm
|Museum of Discovery and Science Exhibits Museum of Discovery and Science. Featuring a variety of hands-on exhibits dealing with space, Florida's unique ecosystems, The Everglades...
|Horseback Riding Bar-B-Ranch, Davie. Bar-B-Ranch offers Summer Camp for kids ages 7 - 16 Monday thru Saturday from 8am - 4pm. You may also take a... 954-424-1060
|11:30 am-
3:00 pm
|Sunday Brunch at Blue Moon Fish Co. Blue Moon Fish Company, Coral Springs. Featuring oysters, mussels, crab cakes, plated entrees and more.
|4:00 pm-
7:00 pm
|Happy Hour at Tarpon Bend Tarpon Bend. A lively crowd enjoys 2 for 1 drink specials.
|5:00 pm-
7:00 pm
|Sunset Dinner at Cafe Del Mar Cafe Del Mar. Buy one entree receive $10 off your second entree of equal or lesser value. Not applicable to daily specials...
|7:00 pm
|Dining with the Divas Lips Fort Lauderdale. You never know who's coming to dinner! Come see all your favorite stars in one night. 954-567-0987
|2:00 am
|Afterhours Party Club 525, Pompano Beach. Enjoy 3000 square feet of fun. Featuring a full size bar, a dance floor, two dance poles, a pool table... 800-795-3186
|10:00 am-
7:00 pm
|Happy Hour Drink Specials at Kim's Alley Bar Kim's Alley Bar. Happy Hour drink specials everyday with $.50 off all drinks and free pool.
|2:00 pm-
4:00 pm
|Live Music at Aruba Beach Cafe Aruba Beach Cafe, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Aruba Beach Cafe features live music everyday. 954-776-0001
|4:00 pm-
8:00 pm
|Blue Martini Happy Hour Blue Martini - Fort Lauderdale. Happy Hour features discounted drinks and 1/2 price appetisers.
|Live Music at Mango's Mango's Restaurant & Lounge. Mango's features live entertainment nightly with top local musicians.
|A-List Headliners Perform Live at the Hollywood Improv Ft. Lauderdale Improv Comedy Club & Dinner Theater, Hollywood. Live stand-up comedy from the country's hottest comedians... 954-981-5653
|Comedy Night Stage 84, Davie. Each Saturday.


text:
Have you ever left your house heading one place — somewhere that you don't go to often? But without thinking you slipped into auto pilot and ended up at work or at the grocery store that you always go to or at your child's school?
It's a habit formed by repeated actions. Witthout thinking, you'll slip into it over and over and over again.
As a small business owner, you may have a few marketing habits that need shifting into a different direction. Below are three to consider.
Build It And They Will Come
If you've been in business for any amount of time, you know the truth by now. You have do a lot more than just "build it." To be effective, your marketing has to be woven into the product, service and the launch itself. Instead of one step, it's four:
- Tell your target audience what you're going to build and how it's going to change their life.
- Then build what you said you where going to build.
- Tell them that you built it and simultaneously show them what's in if for them.
- But don't stop there. Continue to find relevant and unique ways to show your target audience what you have and how it will change something in their business/life.
Marketing, like every successful move in business, takes focused and intelligent effort and the building phase is only part of the equation.
One Egg, One Basket
You can be a one trick pony and that focus may allow you to excel at that one thing. But when it comes to marketing you need more than one avenue.
It's already too dangerous to put all your eggs in one basket. Because if you drop that basket, everything you have is gone. So having just one egg is even worse. You need multiple ways to explain what you have to offer.
You can put your message in text, videos and pictures — many eggs. You also need varied ways to transport your message to where your target audience is. You can deliver it via social media, website, print items as well as local television and radio publicity — that's more than one basket.
One Man, One Woman Show
You may have started your small business at the kitchen counter by yourself. You may have hustled alone, to move it forward for years. Ultimately, however, every strategy requires a savvy-little team to push it to the next level and your company is no different. The longer you ignore this fact, then the longer your brilliant ideas remain under-utilized.
You need a team, but it doesn't have to be a sea of employees. When it comes to marketing, an outside but well-trained eye can make for a great mix. To move away from the one man or one woman show, you could contract with a marketing assistant. Someone to do things like help you monitor your social media, post your blog articles, and find engaging photos to accompany your content. Or you could add a marketing consultant to:
- Brainstorm with you.
- Learn to understand your brand and your audience.
- Help you implement the advice.
- Assess the impact with you.
- Adjust the plan for the next step in the strategy.
In other words, get help with your marketing and grow your business faster.
Colored Man Photo via Shutterstock


text:
Query: NC_014666:1117000:1124952 Frankia sp. EuI1c chromosome, complete genome
Start: 1124952, End: 1125851, Length: 900
Host Lineage: Frankia; Frankia; Frankiaceae; Actinomycetales; Actinobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: Environment: Host, Plant symbiont, Soil; Temp: Mesophile. Frankia sp. EuI1c was isolated from the Autumn olive, Elaeagnus umbellata. Frankia sp. (strain EuI1c) is an aerobic Gram-positive bacterium isolated from four continents (North America, South America, Africa, and Asia) and different habitats, including dry soils with high salinity levels, steppe-like plains at 900 m, and mountain forests at 3,000 m.


text:
Finnish Bioindustries FIB is Finland's biotechnology industry association, established in 1997. It is a private, independent non-profit organisation.
Member companies represent all life science areas, from health care and functional food to biomaterials. In addition industry organisations such as Chemical Industry Federation, Pharma Industry Finland, Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation, Finnish Forest Industries Federation and Finnish Crop Protection Association are members of FIB.
While the industry is rapidly developing, it is vital for biotechnology companies, trade organisations, authorities, researchers, research units, universities, technology organisations and financiers to attain close cooperation with each other. Finnish Bioindustries promotes national and international networking and information transfer between the different players in the field.
Being a technology-intensive industry, many of the biotechnology issues concern research and technology. Finnish Bioindustries participates in national and international technology programs, actively exploits finance systems and promotes technology transfer. One of the main tasks is to help the work of commercializing new areas of biotechnology.
Start-up hi-tech companies have the opportunity to share their experience and problems with each other using the platform provided by Finnish Bioindustries.
Extensive legislation in Finland and Europe regulates the activities of the industry. Finnish Bioindustries supports national and international cooperation for the preparation and surveillance of biotechnology legislation.
Finnish Bioindustries is a national member of EuropaBio (European Association for Biotechnology), which was founded in 1996 to promote the European biotechnology industry. FIB is also a member of the US based BIO (Biotechnology Industry Organisation) and the Australian AusBiotech.
Membership application form (Word)
Registry description (Word) according to General Data Protection Regulation in EU


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HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) - Two alphas in the fight of their lives, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney sparred with passion and grit in a debate that previewed the closing arguments of a campaign that keeps circling back to bedrock questions about which candidate can do more to strengthen the fragile economy.
Fresh off their latest encounter and with just three weeks left in the race, the candidates fan out in all directions Wednesday to pitch their tuned-up messages directly to voters on some of the campaign's most treasured turf: Romney in Virginia, Obama in Iowa. Vice President Joe Biden is westward bound for Colorado and Nevada; GOP running mate Paul Ryan returns to all-important Ohio.
It was a re-energized Obama who showed up for Tuesday's debate at Hofstra University, lifting the spirits of Democrats who felt let down by the president's limp performance in the candidates' first encounter two weeks ago.
But Romney knew what was coming and didn't give an inch, pressing his case even when the arguments deteriorated into did-not, did-too rejoinders that couldn't have done much to clarify the choice for undecided voters.
Tuesday's debate was the third installment in what amounts to a four-week-long reality TV series for Campaign 2012. Romney was the clear victor in the series debut, Biden aggressively counterpunched in the next-up vice presidential debate, and the latest faceoff featured two competitors determined to give no quarter.
It was a pushy, interruption-filled encounter filled with charges and countercharges that the other guy wasn't telling the truth. The two candidates were both verbally and physically at odds in the town hall-style format, at one point circling each other center stage like boxers in a prize fight.
"I thought it was a real moment," Biden told NBC's "Today" show in an interview that aired Wednesday morning. "When they were kind of circling each other, it was like, 'Hey, come on man, let's level with each other here.'"
One of the debate's tensest moments was when Romney suggested Obama's administration may have misled Americans over what caused the attack at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last month that killed four Americans. The issue is sure to continue to be debated next week, with the third and closing debate focused on foreign policy scheduled Monday at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla.
"As the facts come out about the Benghazi attack we learn more troubling facts by the day," Ryan told "This Morning" on CBS. "So that's why need to get to the bottom of this to get answers so that we can prevent something like this from ever happening again."
Romney, brimming with confidence, distilled the essence of his campaign message early in Tuesday's 90-minute debate and repeated it often.
"I know what it takes to get this economy going," he said over and over. And this: "We can do better." And this: "We don't have to settle for what we're going through."
Obama, with both the benefit and the burden of a record to run on, had a more nuanced message.
"The commitments I've made, I've kept," he said. "And those that I haven't been able to keep, it's not for lack of trying and we're going to get it done in a second term."
Obama also was relentless in dismissing the merits of Romney's policies and rejecting his characterizations of the president's record.
"Governor Romney doesn't have a five-point plan," the president argued. "He has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules."
The candidates were in each other's faces - sometimes literally - before an audience of 82 uncommitted voters from New York. It's a state that's already a sure bet for Obama, but the voters there stood as proxy for millions of Americans across the nation still settling on a candidate.
"They spent a lot of time cutting down the other person," said 22-year-old Joe Blizzard, who watched with a crowd of 500 students at the University of Cincinnati. "As someone who is undecided, it was a little disappointing."
Fellow student Karim Aladmi, 21, was more forgiving. "It goes without saying that the knives were out," he said. "I thought Obama had a strong performance, but Romney made him work for it. I was actually impressed by both sides."
With just 20 days left until the election, polls show an extremely tight race nationally. While Republicans have made clear gains in recent days, the president leads in several polls of Wisconsin and Ohio. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio.
In the sprint to Election Day, every aspect of the campaign seems to be taking on a fresh sense of urgency - the ads, the fundraising, the grass-roots mobilizing, the outreach to key voting blocs, particularly women.
Both sides are pouring millions upon millions into TV ads in the battleground states, and independent groups are adding buckets more.
The debate didn't break a lot of new ground, although Romney signaled a shift in his stance on immigration.
The GOP nominee previously had said he would veto legislation to provide a path to legalization for young illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children. But Tuesday night, he said such young people "should have a pathway to become a permanent resident of the United States."
As the debates unfold, early voting is already under way in many states, and the push to bank as many early ballots as possible is in overdrive.
Democrats cheered when the Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for Ohio voters to cast ballots on the three days before Election Day, rejecting a request by the state's Republican elections chief and attorney general to get involved in a rancorous battle over early voting. Obama's campaign and Ohio Democrats had sued state officials over changes in state law that took away the three days of voting for most people.
All of the political maneuvering was little more than noise for more than 1.3 million Americans: They've already voted.


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It's customary at the dawn of a new year to pay homage to the people we lost in the previous one. But we're optimists at Deadspin. Here's everything we hope will die in 2014.
The National Football League
The NFL is awful. In its size, its cultural omnipresence; in the comfortable planes of orbit its gravity provides for the dipshittiest commercial expressions—don't let your disapproving nag-harpy of a wife keep you from watching football with your bros, bro!—of self-entitled dudebro avarice; in the soft-focus gauze of mythological virtue and leadership with which it shrouds its asswipe heroes—Vince "Winning Is Everything" Lombardi, Bill "A Complete And Total Fucking Psycho" Belichick; in the relentless enforced stupidity with which it talks about itself; in its callous disregard for the well-being of the people whose toil is its lifeblood; in its glorification of brutality, its reckless conflation of itself with actual combat; in its cynical defenses of its status quo, its monumentally disingenuous half-gestures toward improved conditions for the workers who make it go, and in its enabling of the continued enrichment of a churlish little shitbag vulgarian in a feathered headdress, the NFL embodies everything that is worst—dumbest and most destructive and reactionary—about American capitalism. Like American capitalism, it is a malignant cancer, and deserves to die.
It's not going to die in 2014. Hell, the confetti from the upcoming Super Bowl will scarcely have settled before coaching-carousel intrigue, free-agent movement, draft speculation, and talk of their fantasy football implications will rev the fan-interest engine back into motion. Realistically, it's not going to die in 2015, either—or 2016 or 2017 or 2018. Hell, it may very well outlive most people who will read this. But, it deserves to die, and horribly, and in scandal and disgrace and shame, and soon, and the world will be a better place when it does. Here's hoping.—Albert Burneko
The James Dolan Regime
In the summer of 1906, architect Stanford White was murdered on the roof of the second Madison Square Garden, a building he designed, by millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw, almost certainly because he had been fucking Thaw's wife. The ensuing Trial of the Century—actually protracted into two separate trials over nine years—saw the defense get Thaw declared legally insane and committed to an institution before immediately motioning to have him re-declared sane and free; a high-end New York City madame testify that Thaw terrorized her girls emotionally and physically, introducing a "jeweled whip" as evidence; those girls being paid off by Thaw not to testify; Thaw's daring escape from his asylum, aided by his mother, with whom he was notoriously close, and, after literally breaking out of jail, his eventual acquittal of all charges in 1915.
You might be imagining James Dolan here, lying dead atop the arena at 33rd and 7th, at the feet of a Knicks fan pushed exactly one Smith brother too far. There would at least be a cause-and-effect that onlookers could understand, if not condone—it would make a certain amount of No jury would convict-type sense. But we live in a universe of chaos, and James Dolan is chief among its agents. What is causality to a man who doesn't believe in the natural order of things, like human aging? That's him standing on the roof of the Garden, two middle fingers raised at people dumb enough to think they can touch him; him there at the center of the biggest, noisiest circus-orgy in town. Within sports, Dolan is the Harry Kendall Thaw of our time—unimpeachable, unprosecutable, un-fucking-dying—a great American villain, like Magneto, Bernie Madoff, or Jeffrey Dahmer. White's corpse may as well be a burning pile of unsold Linsanity merch.
Dolan's confounding proclivities for expensive, aging players and expensive, suspect coaches for them to undermine are too well known and numerous to bear accounting here, as are MSG's clandestine media policies, which you imagine are his best attempt at gating himself up in Xanadu, mumbling the name of whatever high-usage, volume-scoring wing player he must have had as a kid. He's an unstable asshole, but most of us have learned to laugh at the joke. The real issue is that he's so damn vital, in every sense. He's too young and healthy to retire or die off, too rich and powerful to rein in or depose. The crazy fuck holds a lifetime appointment to drown some large part of the city's identity in the cold, shit-filled Hudson, winter after winter. He is a crotchful of genital warts. He is a perpetual tax on the morale of our nation's biggest metropolis.
Less than a year after he was released, Harry Thaw assaulted a damn teenager, bribed the kid into silence, served a few years in jail, and was eventually set back free into the world. That's how the too-powerful exist, unfettered by law or reason or decency or a cursory understanding of modern NBA luxury tax mechanics. Free to run amok and free to do as they want, because there's no reason to do otherwise. Until the day they drop dead.—Kyle Wagner
The Trick Shot Titus Phenomenon
When Trick Shot Titus first crept out of his suburban McMansion and onto the internet, we called him a pathetic baby with a terrible shooting form. We were being our usual contrarian and mischievous selves at the time, but since then—after having watched Trick Shot Titus's dad take his baby on a never-ending parade of television appearances and branding opportunities—our stance on little Titus has grown from rude, half-joking dismissiveness to outright disdain.
You want to know what Trick Shot Titus really is? He's a pageant child. He's Honey Boo Boo with a jump shot. He's no different from the endless parade of toddlers that wriggle and gesticulate and make us all very uncomfortable on TLC every night. Both Titus and the average Toddlers and Tiaras cast member are nothing more than pint-sized and unwitting famewhores, driven into the spotlight by parents who want to catch a little of the glow for themselves. But instead of having pirouettes and terrible dance routines drilled into his head, Titus has been taught how to fling basketballs with cold, robotic efficiency.
People scrunch up their faces in disgust at pageant kids and tut-tut their parents for exploiting and overexposing their children. And yet here's Titus, being dragged onto every late-night and morning show in America to perform tricks like some kind of circus monkey. Go back and rewatch his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Does that kid look like he's having even a little bit of fun? He's on fucking autopilot, just joylessly flinging basketballs without having any idea where the hell he is. Did you see the part where Jimmy Kimmel jams sneakers on Titus's feet like he was shoeing a show pony?
It's time for the Trick Shot Titus phenomenon to die, so that baby Titus may live.—Tom Ley
The First Amendment
The very first entry on my wish list is for Barack Obama to order a drone strike directed at the National Archives so as to blow up every single word in the clause, which is as follows, FYI:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Better yet, let's create a special, government-funded task force, a literal P.C. police, to find anyone uttering words and divest him of his property, jobs, and any and all opportunities to do anything he ever wanted to do in the history of his life. Let's really do it right.
You may say, "Haven't we done that already?!?! Look at poor Phil Robertson." Fuck you. You don't know the meaning of "free speech," and every time you invoke the First Amendment when some moron says something stupid, prompting other people to call that moron a "moron" for saying something stupid, a devil gets his horns.
So let's get rid of it. Let's see what a country is really like when Congress (and the states, via the Fourteenth Amendment, you fucking mouthbreathers, so let's get rid of that one, while we're at it) is actually allowed to abridge the freedom of speech of its constituents. You think Duck Man's suspension is bad? Let's see what happens when that asshole can't even get on the air because the East Coast intelligentsia somehow took control of the government and their first order of business was to make it illegal to show rednecks (even the nice ones) on television. And if anyone's got a fucking problem with that, if he wants to head down to the White House to protest, or to just hold a vigil for all the fallen Ducks—boom, executive order—he gets thrown in jail. Excommunicated from the country, even. Go hang out with the Commies, you un-patriotic insurgents.
Or we could learn what the amendments to our own constitution actually mean. At this point, I am down for either.—Sean Newell
Sports Illustrated
I grew up with Sports Illustrated. I must have read it cover to cover every week for two decades. Yes, I'm one of those dipshit old sports guys who treasures old memories of SI arriving in the mailbox. I really did love the magazine, and I damn near creamed my jeans when the NFL preview arrived. But it's time now. After Thayer Evans's OSU handwringing and his and Pete Thamel's Honey Badgering, there's not much point to SI anymore.
The print magazine is now a curious blend of old news, fancy swimming photos, athlete puff pieces, boring analysis, paint-by-number features, and maybe four or five readable long stories a year. It's not enough. I'm not ROOTING for it to die, but they may as well get rid of the print edition now so that we can get past all the sentimental horseshit. People still pine for the fucking National. I can't even imagine what the flood of SI mourning porn will look like.—Drew Magary
The New York Post
Will Leitch mentioned New York Post EIC Col Allan in his roundup of the worst sportspeople in 2013, a dishonor given to Allan for his paper's coverage of the Boston Marathon bombing. But let's linger on the Post for a bit, if only to remind you just why it's such a pissrag.
For those who've forgotten, back in April, while the marathon bombers had yet to be identified, the Post put a photo of two guys on its front page, with "BAG MEN" as the headline. The Bag Men turned out to be a high school student and his friend who had nothing to do with the bombing. Whoops.
The two guys sued for libel, and the Post's defense was that its headline was used as an "attention-getter." Putting two brown kids on the front page in an effort to pander to—and thus reinforce—the assumptions of a frightened public? Yeah, that gets attention. (The paper also reported that 12 people were killed. Three people actually died at the bombing. Close enough, right?)
As for actual sports coverage, the Post was pretty shitty at that, too. One columnist drummed up imaginary controversy for a team already filled with controversy. Covering Rex Ryan and the Jets should be sportswriting on rookie mode; few teams offer the same mix of quotability and incompetence and sex. If you can't unearth any actual entertaining stories from that team, if you have to whip up some utter horseshit to fill a few column inches, then you shouldn't be writing about sports. The New York Post can fuck off.—Samer Kalaf
Passer Rating
For the unaware, passer rating incorporates a QB's completion percentage, yards per attempt, percent of attempts that are touchdowns, and percent of attempts that are interceptions. These are then manipulated with a series of constants (see below), summed so each individual component can't exceed a value of 2.375 or dip below 0, divided by six, and multiplied by 100. Simple!
Pictured: Atrocities (Wikipedia)
Proponents of passer rating point to the fact that the stat has a strong correlation with winning percentage, as any good performance stat should over sufficiently large a sample. Indeed, if you look at 1,018 QB seasons since 1971 (when the stat was created) where the QB started at least 10 games, you see a decent correlation between passer rating and QB winning percentage (R2=0.27).
But there's a catch: Two of those components, completion percentage and interception rate, don't correlate very strongly with winning at all (R2=0.10 and 0.07). Basically passer rating takes two useful, easy to understand stats—yards per attempt and touchdown rate, both of which are strongly linked to winning (R2=0.24 and 0.28, although TD rate borders on tautological)—and then mixes them with horseshit and glue until you end up with an arbitrary, confusing number that Al Michaels is forced to talk about like this:
Among QBs who started 10 games in 2013, the top five QBs in passer rating (Foles, Manning, Rivers, Brees, Wilson) are also the top five in yards per attempt (Foles, Manning, Wilson, Rivers, Brees) and touchdown percentage (Foles, Manning, Wilson, Brees, Rivers). Matt Ryan is fourth in completion percentage, and Alex Smith is second in interception rate. When you can use a simple stat in place of a complicated one, use the simple stat.—Reuben Fischer-Baum
Gus Johnson's Soccer Announcing
When I heard we were compiling a list of shitty sports phenomena that we hope die a fiery and thus permanent death, my mind wandered back deep to early 2013. It was the turn of the year, and we'd all been given a prominent new soccer announcer, the ever-loved Gus Johnson.
I have to admit, at first I was bullish on the appointment. Like any fun-loving sports fan, I enjoyed the numerous highlights of Gus losing his shit. A cautious optimism obtained. Soccer is a complex game, but not so complex that a few years of concentrated study wouldn't bring a relative novice like Gus up to speed. Remember Ian Darke's sublime call of USA-Algeria? How much crazier would that have been with Gus in the booth?
And then Johnson started calling the games. Misdiagnosed plays, misattributed action, a complete lack of understanding of what makes soccer fun. He was bad, and he was a bad in a way that suggested that he didn't see his assignment as anything more than a novelty act, either. It all came to a head for me during Barcelona-Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinal—or, "Eye-n-esta-gate," as I sometimes refer to it. I don't know if it was the Barcelona fan in me angry at watching my team get humiliated on the world's biggest stage or what, but I couldn't handle this fucking dude mispronouncing the name of Andrés Iniesta—one of the 10 best players in world, and a guy whose name is phonetically obvious to anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the Spanish language, let alone a professional under constant criticism for similar mistakes and whose job it is to eliminate easily avoidable fuck-ups. To constantly refer to this World Cup-winning legend as "Eye-n-esta," while his partner Ian "Wibf" Wright buggered on for the umpteeth game about player spacing as if that were the one flaw in every losing effort? Let's just say I was more than a little peeved.
Johnson did about everything wrong. In his desperation to seem knowledgeable, he ignored critical game action so as to spout off irrelevant biographical details that were often incorrect anyway. Wanting to show off the Gusgasms that got him the gig in the first place, he often exploded before anything worthy of excitement had even happened. Out of a general lack of understanding of the game, meanwhile, he would undersell actual moments of brilliance with stilted and delayed commentary, as if someone in his ear had to tell him that something great had just happened.
With the new Champions League round-of-16 fixtures right around the corner, Fox, I of beg you, please pull the plug on Johnson. Do it for our sake and for his. Let him study a little while longer. Maybe give him FIFA 14, which would at least teach him what an overlapping run really is. Make him listen to his soccer broadcasts over and over, Ludovico-style, to the point at which he feels the same disgust we felt in real time. Until then, he shouldn't be anywhere near a soccer pitch.—Billy Haisley
Surprise Military Reunions
As with so many things, we can sample the American zeitgeist by auto-filled searches. Try this one on YouTube: Military. The top auto-fill response I get, ahead of "military press" and "military songs" and "military tribute," is "military homecoming surprises." This is what people want to see when they think of the military. In sports, this involves a wife and/or kids, arrayed near home plate or at the 50-yard line, and a PA announcer who tells the ticketholders who aren't away peeing in a trough that their husband/father has been away in Afghanistan or elsewhere. The family waves and smiles, and then, miraculously, the missing soldier or sailor materializes, and the mother and kids hurl themselves at him with a loving ferocity. Smiles have turned to tears. The people in the stands, they cheer. This is your military culture in 2013.
We get it. Now, please, knock it off. These people are bawling not only because they're happy to see Dad in his dress whites; it's because for weeks and months they've been worried that he might be killed or maimed. The nearly 21,000 or so Americans who have been killed or wounded in Afghanistan don't get these heartwarming halftime love-ins. Ditto the 36,000 who died or were wounded in Iraq. Nor do we stand in public spaces and cheer for the horrifying emotional and psychological trauma that lingers, nor do we put the suicides up on the Jumbotron.
We're searching for reunion videos for the same reason we applaud them at stadiums. They feel so cathartic, and we get that vicarious relief. He's alive! And the kids will grow up with a father, and even if the wife has to sleep beside someone having nightmares for the next several years, she seems pretty damn relieved as well. The sum of all their fears was not realized. But that's a joy born of pain. The real sacrifice belonged fully to wives and kids. That tearful hug is not there for your emotional jollies. Get the mascot off the field, put the cameras away, and show a modicum of respect.—Sam Eifling
Highlight Truthers
Death to the highlight truthers, the giant turds in the punch bowl who float around the internet in search of videos of athletes doing awesome things, only to descend into the comments below the video to inform everyone that the awesome thing isn't actually that awesome. They're the people who insist that Blake Griffin's iconic dunk over Timofey Mozgov wasn't a "real dunk" because Griffin's hand never actually touched the rim. They are this asshole, and this fucker, and this dick, and this knob, and this shithead. They are a lowing herd of miserable downers who think that it marks them out as clear-eyed sophisticates to dismiss moments of genuine athletic transcendence. I have one thing to say to these people: Die.
That's not to say that I don't understand the psychology behind the phenomenon. Somewhere in all this scowling and harrumphing is a noble impulse. People who use the internet—and I'm aware that this includes people who visit Deadspin—are constantly being bombarded with hyperbole. "This Amazing Video Of A Pug Doing Backflips Will Blow Your Mind Right Out Of Your Ass." Everything on the internet can feel like a sell, sports highlights in particular. The highlight is a commodity like anything else. It's only natural for a human not named Darren Rovell to recoil from all this goddamn selling, from the constant, shrieking demands on your attention. Thus, the tragically hip sports consumer, the guy with the practiced air of indifference who's not buying the cheap gimcracks you're selling, the superior fan who doesn't just stare slack-jawed at whatever slop is served up to him on SportsCenter, the way the rest of you morons do. Thus, the highlight truther.
But here's the thing: It's awesome to watch athletes do cool things. On some level, beyond regional affinities and genetic predispositions, that's why we're sports fans. We like to watch humans fly. Blake Griffin didn't dunk? LeBron's facial was a charge? Russell Westbrook double-dribbled? That 360 was actually a 290? Jesus Christ, shut up. You joyless drips aren't smart, discerning consumers. You're just assholes denying yourselves the very fun of sports in an idiotic effort to achieve some fleeting feeling of moral superiority over your peers. You're the type of people nobody ever wants to talk to at parties.—Tom Ley
The Sportswriting Career of Bill Simmons
There comes a point in the career of every writer-turned-multiplatform brand at which, faced with the insatiable demands for content presented by his corporate overlords and his own vanity, he stops being a writer and turns into something else. In 2013, a year that saw him serving as an analyst on NBA broadcasts, making forays into Hollywood, and overseeing Grantland—exerting power, in all, in ways that made ESPN and the sports-industrial complex better than they would otherwise have been—it happened to Bill Simmons.
Unfortunately, he kept writing anyway, with bizarre results. Just run through his archive. Here he is going on about Calvin Johnson as if no one before him had ever noticed that Johnson is a very good football player, opening with a column-length piece of fanfiction about a Calvin Johnson Nike commercial. Here he is paying tribute to David Ortiz by telling a long story about how he, Simmons, hung out with Bill Russell this one time. Here he is going on for 9,000 words about a documentary about the fucking Eagles. Here's part one of a two-part series that came in at around 15,000 words comparing the NBA offseason to the justifiably forgotten Midnight Run. Here's part one of a two-part series of nearly equal length, in which various notable moments in Tim Duncan's career are viewed mainly through the prism of what Bill Simmons thinks of what Bill Simmons thought of them as they were happening.
It just goes on like that. There's nearly nothing there but banal assertions about the most obvious possible subjects, gestures at fitting them into some comprehensive schema in which everything in the known universe is tagged as over-, under-, or properly rated according to a vaguely defined sense of what the masses think, declarations that suggest Simmons may not realize the world remains in place when he closes his eyes, and allusions to forgotten junk culture.
Of course all of this is how Simmons built his brand in the first place. The main differences now are that he's a producer of sports culture, rather than a consumer of it—hence the Nike fanfiction, written as one salesman's critique of another's strategy for market positioning—and that it's not clear he's in on the joke at this point. A man who seems to consider it truly important that people understand how everything in sports that he deigns to notice relates to his own view of how others might view the fact that he views it is operating on something like the third derivative of reality. That doesn't work for someone who's writing from the perspective of the common fan, especially when he's a wealthy, middle-aged man who's impossibly out of touch with the world around him, so that his columns increasingly read like dispatches from Xanadu. I mean, Midnight Run? The fucking Eagles? Somebody stop this man before we get a 27,000-word exegesis of Chris Paul's State Farm commercials as viewed through the interpretive lens of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.—Tim Marchman
Image by Jim Cooke