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Telling the truth is too often overlooked in business. Truth is the catalyst that should inform all management decisions and actions. It's the foundation on which trust and integrity rest. Truth is the critical prerequisite that enables management and employees to make ethical decisions in the day-to-day activities of an organization.
Now when I speak of "truth" I mean the objective reality of our lives that we can all categorically agree with. This includes facts and information that cannot be disputed and are universally true whether or not someone chooses to acknowledge them. Some examples include: two plus two always equals four, water is necessary to sustain life, man has landed on the moon, companies must be profitable to remain in business, in a vacuum light travels at precisely 186,282.397 miles per second, and only 0.037% of our atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide.
Truth does not include subjective opinions about situations and information that reasonable people can disagree with. For example, people can argue about how much personal freedom and individual rights we have in our democracy; the ocean can be described as being blue, blue-green, light-blue, or dark-blue in color; whether 80 MPH or 120 MPH is too fast to drive a car; how much exercise is needed to stay reasonably fit; and whether a Riesling or a Chardonnay wine should be served with fish.
Living in reality and dealing truthfully with yourself and those you come in contact with in an organization is a must. Subjective opinions with little basis in fact have no place in business and corrode the overall climate of an enterprise, undermine the integrity and authority of its leadership, and diminish the trust of its employees, customers and partners.
There are several important areas where truth must play a part in helping managers effectively lead and manage organizations.
Managers and executives must possess the strength of character and the necessary moral clarity to see themselves as they really are and be truthful in their own self-assessment. This requires them to have a brutally honest understanding of their actual strengths and weaknesses as leaders, a willingness to admit personal flaws and mistakes, and a determination to make the necessary changes for the better for the benefit of the long-term success of the business and in nurturing and promoting trust and integrity across the organization. Nothing destroys organizational cohesiveness and employee morale faster than egotistical managers with a flawed view of their own abilities, power, and status.
Executives must be truthful when communicating with the company owners or shareholders on the status of the business and other key organizational and strategic issues that impact the short-term profitability and long-term value of the business. Management owes a fiduciary responsibility to the business owners. They are entrusted with the task of ethically and efficiently managing and caring for the business and all its assets, including its most valuable -- the employees, as if those money and assets were their own.
Management must be truthful in all dealings with employees. Their yes should mean yes, and their no should mean no. Superiors must be honest when communicating with employees, and also in motivating, admonishing, rewarding, promoting, or firing them. If management promises raises and bonuses for meeting and exceeding goals, then give them. If management asks for feedback, they should follow through on the suggestions received, otherwise don't bother asking. If the company has hit hard times and everyone must make sacrifices, then management must warn employees and be the first in line to make a proportional sacrifice. If layoffs are planned, then let the people know ahead of time.
Truth is also indispensable in supporting ethical and strategic short-term and long-term decision-making at all levels of an organization. Executives must see reality as it really is. If they have no comprehensive knowledge and understanding of what is going on with their employees, company processes, financial condition, products or services, market share, competition, and fiscal and political environments, then management cannot reach the right conclusions and take the correct actions in managing. They also cannot effectively deal with day-to-day operations and insure the long-term profitability, growth, and success of the company.
Finally, management must deal honestly with their customers. This ought to include all sales, advertising, and marketing activities, be reflected in the quality and features of the products and services provided, and be a guiding principle in all customer service related actions. The promised features and benefits of the products or services sold should always be true. The warranties given should be fair and ethical, without countless exceptions and clauses that render them useless. Customer service departments must deal expediently and honestly with valid customer complaints and deliver on the assurances they give.
Tom Peters, the famed management guru, in his book Thriving on Chaos, expressed that companies should "demand total integrity." He maintained that successful organizations have to shift from "an age dominated by contracts and litigiousness to an age of handshakes and trust." Peters' advice reinforces the critical nature of truth in organizations: "Set absurdly high standards for integrity - and then live them, with no fuzzy margins."
Some may say that such lofty goals are good in theory but impossible to achieve in practice. Maybe that's true, but that just shows how far we have strayed from the ideal. If truth is no longer the measuring stick of decisions and actions, then things are worse than we think. Is it any wonder that so many people don't trust companies and executives anymore?
Discuss this article on the ChrisBanescu.com blog.Listen to a podcast of this article.
If the player doesn't load, download the podcast.
Chris Banescu is an attorney, entrepreneur, and university professor. His business, ethics, and management articles and podcasts can be found on www.ChrisBanescu.com. He is a regular contributor to OrthodoxyToday.org, manages the conservative site www.OrthodoxNet.com, writes articles, and has given talks and conducted seminars on a variety of business and management topics. He has also written book reviews for Townhall.com and articles for Acton.org.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Olango My Getaway
Olango My Getaway's (OMG) acronym is a good way to foresee what lies ahead. The "culinary tour on bike" offers a satisfying sampler of life on the Olango group of islands, a five-kilometre boat ride from the mainland. Go bird-watching and mudflat fishing at night, interact with the locals and sample their food. OMG is an overnight tour but day trips can be arranged.
Punta Engaño Wharf, Mactan Island
+63 909 620 3130+63 909 620 3130


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Oh, and these pecans are amazing in this salad. One of our favorites!
A Food Blog that shares tried & true recipes, and my passion for cooking and baking with a garnish of beginning gardening and some travel.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Candied Pecans
Oh, and these pecans are amazing in this salad. One of our favorites!
20 comments:
- Stacey Snacks said...
Those are dangerous nuts.
Don't send me any for Christmas, because I will eat the whole bag.
- December 2, 2009 at 5:15 AM
- Kate said...
Nothing could be easier! I am intrigued as I have never seen this gadget...the nuts look fab!
- December 2, 2009 at 6:32 AM
- Cristie said...
Your nuts look wonderful. I've never seen a nut roaster either- very unusual, something to look into.
- December 2, 2009 at 6:37 AM
- TKW said...
If I had those nuts around, I could not be trusted. I love those things--especially in a salad with endive, pears and blue cheese. Now I'm drooling.
- December 2, 2009 at 7:06 AM
- Frieda said...
Candied nuts are my absolute fave ~ totally addicting; can't get enough! Thanks for sharing another 'doo-dad' with a gadget-holic!
- December 2, 2009 at 7:37 AM
- George Gaston said...
Debby... I think you were Scarlet O'Hara in a past life, because you are always making terrific southern treats. Your candied pecans could have definitely been traded for the taxes on Tara!
Congratulations to Jen, also.
- December 2, 2009 at 7:55 AM
- Monica H said...
Debby, Do you think these could be made in a regular pan and just stir constantly? I want them badly!
And cinnamon is not an option- it is essential!
Congrats to the winner of the awesome giveaway!
oh and I say pecahns!
- December 2, 2009 at 1:27 PM
- Jen said...
Thank you so much Debby! I am absolutely thrilled to have won! Your candied pecans look delicious! Thanks and congratulations again on your beautiful blog!
- December 2, 2009 at 1:55 PM
- ARLENE said...
I love candied nuts almost as much as I love gadgets. Maybe it will be on sale for the holidays; I must get to Target's.
- December 2, 2009 at 4:27 PM
- Marguerite said...
I love me some pecans, too, and these look dee-lish! I'll have to put that gadget on my Target wish list. Congrats to the lucky winner!
- December 2, 2009 at 6:40 PM
- Mary said...
Congratulations to your winner. Your pecans look wonderful. I'm going to try to create them without the gadget. I know they'll be good. Your recipes always are.
- December 3, 2009 at 8:30 AM
- Cheryl said...
Man those look delicious. I used to be able to buy them already candied but have not seen them in awhile, sadly.
- December 3, 2009 at 6:00 PM
- Debinhawaii said...
The nut roaster looks like a fun gadget! Your pecans look delicious. What a great gift. ;-)
- December 4, 2009 at 2:41 AM
- cookeaze said...
Sounds good!iam not aware of this until i see your blog.Want to try out and thanks for your talent.
- December 4, 2009 at 3:12 AM
- Ingrid said...
Oh, my Debby! The WHOLE time I read this post I was nodding my head yes! I, too have a large pantry (with doors) in my garage. My freezer has large bags of nuts and usually two of PEE-KANS. :)Speaking of nuts lets talk about those sinful ones you made here! Is there anyway to talk you into sending me some? No? Guess I need to run to Target to grab me one of those nut roaster pans.
Btw, thanks for the shout out in your last post! KIDS, they've kept me super busy this week. :)
Happy Friday!
- December 4, 2009 at 8:42 PM
- Kim said...
What a fun gadget...never heard of a nut roaster before. They look terribly addictive :D
- December 4, 2009 at 9:07 PM
- Me! said...
looks delicious! i'd definitely eat the entire batch in about 10 seconds
- December 5, 2009 at 7:29 AM
- Muneeba said...
Oh yeah, definitely addictive .. don't think either me nor hubbs could resist. These would disappear quickly in our house!
- December 5, 2009 at 12:37 PM
- Cathy said...
Those pecans look wonderful with their crunchy, sugary glaze. That's my favorite kind of treat. And what a great addition to a salad!
- December 24, 2009 at 10:34 AM
- Winddove said...
...add a pitch of powdered hot pepper and a couple of teaspoons of powdered cocoa to this recipe and strange things will happen to your taste buds and mind. No, really. It will! *-)
- November 30, 2010 at 6:27 PM


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Hi all!
I have created my own content management system from scratch pretty much and I really need to clean the code up and organize it better because there is so much php code everywhere but I don't really know good practices of php programming because I taught myself. Do I initialize all the session variables that I need all at once or do I make individual queries to sql? Also should I initialize these right after session_start() or should I do some checks first? If anyone has any other securing or coding tips for a budding young php programmer that would be appreciated.


text: Always a joy to stay at an Embassy Suites. This hotel is on the south side of LAX, in the city of El Segundo (which means the hotel room taxes are almost half of those hotels in the city of LA). Important to note that this hotel is undergoing a renovation, scheduled to be completed in March 2013. This means... More


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The Aspen Art Museum is arguably one of the most anticipated new structures in town. When it opens later this summer it will be with a days-long celebration of contemporary art, Aspen and of the building itself. Some say it's the most important building in Aspen in a century, while others call it a monstrosity. Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban, the space will be public. Aspen Public Radio's Marci Krivonen took a tour.
Museum director Heidi Zuckerman-Jacobson stands on a busy street corner in downtown Aspen. Rising above her is the new four-story Aspen Art Museum still under construction.
"The reason I like to start here is because the City of Aspen was very gracious and allowed us to create a commons around the museum," she says motioning near the front entrance to the building.
She says the commons area is a place for people, plants and art.
"So, we have planters on either side and you can see they're very complex. They're undulating forms that mirror the woven screen."
The screen is a woven composite grid wrapping the building's exterior. The contemporary art museum is hard to miss, both because its size - 33,000 square feet - and because of its innovative design. Five architectural elements define the structure. The woven screen of course, and then a hand-made roof truss, a glass elevator, a grand staircase and striking skylights under foot.
Zuckerman-Jacobson leads us into the building and into one of six primary galleries.
"This is gallery five. There's a consistency to all the galleries, they all have the tinted concrete floors, they're all fourteen feet from the floor to the base of the beams and it was really important to me that the walls were totally pristine, so you don't have a single switch, outlet or anything on the walls."
When the museum opens, this gallery will feature abstract paintings and drawings from artist Tomma Abts. The German-born artist created works specifically for the debut exhibition.
Because the museum is a non-collecting institution, all of the artwork is on loan. To protect it the galleries are climate controlled and tightly secured.
"I love the building but there are some new art museums where the building kind of overpowers the art, and I don't think that's going to happen here," says Larry Marx.
He's a former Museum board member and helped plan the new building. He thinks the museum's programming is world-class and now the building will be.
"I personally think this will be considered one of the best spaces for viewing art in the country for a small museum. For a small museum, I think it will set a really great standard," he says.
Back on-site Director Heidi Zuckerman-Jacobson steps over some construction materials strewn on the floor. Our group is near the end of the tour and we're back at museum's front door.
"This is another key feature of the building, the glass curtain wall. Shigeru's idea is that contemporary art can be intimidating for people, so you can stand out on the street and look in and see what you're going to see before you see it first-hand," says Zuckerman-Jacobson.
Architect Shigeru Ban envisioned visitors would navigate the building in the way a skier traverses a mountain —from the top and descending floor to floor until reaching the bottom. His vision brought the outdoors inside, says Zuckerman-Jacobson
"Shigeru really honors the fact that you live in Aspen and you like to be outside. And so, you're obviously inside here, but you really get a sense of the outside everywhere in the building."
And on the roof of the building, the scene is back-dropped by Aspen Mountain. Here construction workers are putting finishing touches a roof deck garden sculpture. When it opens, this space will have Aspen's only unobstructed rooftop view of Ajax that's open to the public.
"I think it's amazing," says attorney Andy Hecht. He's on the tour and owns property nearby. "I think in the last 100 years it will have the biggest impact on Aspen of any design event, of any public space."
That's one observer's opinion. The public will get to decide when the museum opens with a 24-hour celebration on August 9th.


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The Tap Calendar
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Les Mills RPM 79 Release
Thursday, July 12, 2018 - 8:00am
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Look for the latest issue in newsstands now.
Or subscribe and enjoy it hot off the press in your mailbox.
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September 13, 2018


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Kirra turns on for Roxy Pro Quarterfinals
The opening rounds of the Roxy Pro Gold Coast weren't at all predictable, but any surf geek with an able web browser could have picked this year's semifinalists. The last four surfers standing also happen to be the top four female surfers in the world: Steph Gilmore, Sally Fitzgibbons, Carissa Moore, and Tyler Wright.
The quarterfinals were held in dredging four to six-foot barrels at Kirra's legendary Big Groyne on Thursday morning. The comp has been creeping north along the Superbank all week, and after a striking display of Kirra's impeccable draperies on Wednesday afternoon, officials christened it HQ. They quickly assembled the trappings of a mobile contest site on the Point and spectators soon lined the boardwalk.
Competitors surfed one-on-one heats and made use of jet ski assistance to save time in battling the break's notoriously tremendous sweep. While Kirra is beautiful, it can also be fickle. None of the quarters winners had ever surfed a heat at Kirra before, and all of them described Thursday's conditions as "tricky." They overcame airdrops, punishing lips, and long lulls. In other words, there was down time, but viewers' patience was rewarded with dramatic performances: Free-falling to below sea level, threading barrels, and post-vertical snaps.
"It's crazy because I've hardly even spent time out here," Moore said. "I just saw the tents and decided to drift down this morning and caught a few. Some of them [lips] are definitely kind of thick, but it was good. The girls did really well, so that was really exciting."
Wright said it was easy to get lost with such strong currents and only one other person in the water. "You're like, 'Oh wait, am I in the right spot? No, I'm not in the right spot. I'm way out to sea!'"
Gilmore pulled into a five-second barrel and, as if that wasn't sufficient, she capped it off with two beautiful turns. Judges awarded her a 9.8, which was the highest wave score of the day.
"Whenever I think of Kirra, I think of Mick Fanning in the old Quiksilver film, 'Enjoy the Ride,'" she said, "and this footage of him in these crystal clear barrels. He's just racing, going so fast, and when I took off on that wave, I kind of thought I was Mick Fanning for about 0.5 seconds. That was my inspiration to finish driving down the line and stall, and milk as many points as I could."
Fitzgibbons had the highest heat total of the day, a 14.20. She said, "[This was my] first heat at Kirra, it was obviously a bit tricky on this tide, but there's definitely always that magic one hiding out there, so it's all about trying to be in that spot or making sure your opponent's not."
The women's quarterfinal round was the only one surfed on Thursday. Contest officials will assess conditions at 6:30 a.m. on Friday and determine whether to run. Crowning of the 2013 Roxy Pro winner is just three heavyweight heats away.
"I'm looking forward to a great match-up with Sally [in the semifinal]," Moore said. "We've always had great heats together and I'm just looking to put on a great performance and have fun out there. Hopefully, we'll get some good waves."
QF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) 13.50 def. Courtney Conlogue (USA) 7.94
QF 2: Stephanie Gilmore (AUS) 12.97 def. Alana Blanchard (HAW) 5.06
QF 3: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) 14.20 def. Bianca Buitendag (ZAF) 1.50
QF 4: Carissa Moore (HAW) 14.00 def. Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.37
SF 1: Tyler Wright (AUS) vs. Stephanie Gilmore (AUS)
SF 2: Sally Fitzgibbons (AUS) vs. Carissa Moore (HAW)
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It is very disturbing that a news organization would cast suspicion of any Motorola contract with a government entity that did not fit a generic, competitive-bid model, and at the same time cast aspersions on the integrity of the government entities with which we do business. There are a number of contract vehicles legally available to governments to purchase goods and services, and these options are provided to ensure governments can procure in a manner that can achieve cost savings for taxpayers, and enable faster implementation, which can be an important consideration for equipment that can serve as a lifeline for first responders.
It also is very disturbing that a news organization would question a law-abiding company's community citizenship. Motorola's employees and shareholders are deeply proud of the investments our Foundation makes to better the communities where we operate, further the invaluable partnership we have with the public safety community, and improve the quality of math and science education, which is essential to the innovative future of our company and country.
Former Governor Haley Barbour is widely recognized for his tremendous leadership during Hurricane Katrina and throughout the rebuilding of the devastated areas of Mississippi. Leaders like Governor Barbour personally understand how the public safety community relies on survivable, interoperable communications during disasters and crises. That kind of leadership and experience is invaluable to us and the first responders Motorola Solutions serves every day across the country. We are proud to have Governor Barbour on our team.


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Enterprise Mobility
Mitel is a leading provider of business communication tools, enabling you to stay connected to your customers, prospects and employees anytime, anyplace.
In the office, at home, or on the go, Mitel enterprise mobility solutions help workers in organizations of all kinds to be innovative and productive.
With today's diverse workforce, communication solutions must conform to the needs of individuals and organizations, not the other way around. Whether it's desk workers who need to be able to use their phone extension from a board room or sit at a different desk with a different phone every day, to mobile workers who need their work phone extension tied to their cellular phone, or even home-based or remote employees who need a full "in-office" experience regardless of where they are in the world, users demand the same feature-rich communications experience they have in the office, no matter where they are or what device they are using.
The days of the "one size fits all" office are gone. Today's workforce has a range of working styles, schedules, and settings. Mitel enterprise mobility solutions free people to perform anywhere, yet remain connected and collaborative.


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Claribel (Beth) Carlson Crews - June 30, 2011
Claribel "Beth" (Carlson) Crews, 87, of Omaha passed away Sept. 30, 2010, at her home in Omaha.
Inurnment services were conducted on Saturday, June 18, 2011, at Forest Lawn Cemetery at Omaha.
Crews was born to Lloyd L. and Minnie L. (Bressler) Carlson at Sheridan Lake, CO, on June 23, 1923.
She moved with her family to Gibbon where they farmed. She attended Box Elder rural school where she received her elementary education, and attended Gibbon High School for two years.
Crews and her family then moved to a farm west of Cozad where she attended Cozad High School, graduating in 1939.
She taught school for five years at Dawson County rural schools, North District 29 and Bethel District 28.
Crews joined the Cadet Nursing Corps and received her training at Lincoln General Hospital, Bryan West, at Lincoln, and worked as a nurse for several years.
She was united in marriage to James "Jim" A. Crews. To this union, seven children were born including a set of twins.
Crews returned to nursing after her children were all in school, and then studied and received her bachelor and master's degrees. She was employed for numerous years with the Visiting Nurses Association.
She was preceded in death by: her parents, Lloyd and Minnie; her husband, James "Jim"; a daughter, Mary; two brothers—Lloyd George and Wallace Carlson.
Survivors include: her sons—Craig (Diane), Curt (Pam) and Chris, all of Omaha, Clay (Sheryle) of Dardanelle, AK; two daughters—Nancy (Randy) Anderson and Sally Hunter, all of Colorado Springs, CO; 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; a sister, Janey Peterson of Lincoln; sister-in-law, Ruth Carlson of Gothenburg; several nieces and nephews.
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It is with great regret that I have to advise you that MyFerryLink has now ceased ferry operations as of 1st July 2015.
As a consequence we are unable to fulfill your booking with us and you will need to make alternative arrangements. Please select the option below appropriate for your booking.
Please note: Customers arriving at Eurotunnel check-in without formally having arranged a transfer prior to their departure date will not be able to travel. You are requested to resolve your MyFerryLink booking with us directly, or your Online Travel Agent (if applicable), following the procedures outlined below.
Would you please contact us as soon as possible by email to firstname.lastname@example.com indicating which of the following options would suit you best.
Please include the following information in your email:
I booked with DirectFerries »
You will need to contact the online travel agent directly to make alternative travel plans or arrange a refund of your booking.
Their customer service line for those who have a booking is open 7 days a week (hours as above, weekends 10:00 – 16:00). A separate contact number is shown in your booking confirmation.
*Calls charged at 11p/min. Mobile charges may be higher.
You will need to contact the Online Travel Agent directly to make alternative travel plans or arrange a refund of your booking.
Please call on 0044 333 000 2036. If you have already made a booking with any of the above online travel agents, you will also find contact details on your booking confirmation email.
If you prefer to contact them by email the correct address is: firstname.lastname@example.com
Everyone at MyFerryLink is disappointed that our company and our service to customers cannot continue. We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience to you, but would like to thank you sincerely for booking with us.
We hope satisfactory arrangements can be made for your Channel crossing.
Dover Calais Ferries Ltd
Whitfield Court
Honeywood Close
Dover, Kent


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Views: 590
Hi Dimitri,
do you mean this one:
Thanks. It's not the study I was thinking of but it's still a great resource.
Hello Dmitri,
I am uploading some files for your review, these research papers give you a broad perspective on Consumer Behavior as regards to Energy Efficiency; hope it helps!
I work in Marketing & Sales of RE projects; if you need any assistance please reach out to me on email@example.com
Good luck!
I have to market to my own data base. One hot spot is LP gas prices -- its just under $5 gal. running adds in papers is a waste of cash $780 lead call. I have some luck with web pages, $34 lead call. Yellow pages hits on $350 a lead yr around.
Thanks Eric for sharing your lead strategies; which web pages do you generally use for lead gen, what budget do you allocate every month for lead gen and what is the conversion ratio that you achieve.
Am setting up a lead gen site myself and am curious to understand how SMB's like yourself invest in leads.
Thank-you and have a wonderful day!
I spend $500 mo just on WEB things. 2% of gross total for just keeping the same if you need to grow then up to 8% of gross, Some feel if not 15% growth rate then will die. Pay for click works but can spend $100 day easy. Pay for click need a watch dog so to match need to want and take out extra non paying calls, if not its all gone very quickly.
You might want to contact Nate Adams, ESHP Ohio. He has a marketing strategy that provides a steady stream of leads he converts to $750 comprehensive assessment/tailored workscope/detailed specification clients.
Projects from this approach tend to be in the $10-$30k range.
Hi Dimitri, the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance invested in a Market Study conducted by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the University of Cincinnati Economics Center to highlight the projected impact of the Energy Alliance's programs in the Greater Cincinnati region (including Northern Kentucky), which might have some good information.
The full report:
It's great to look through the other replies here too - good stuff.
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Sexiest Celebrity Valentines: Robert Pattinson, Justin Bieber & More
Browse our list of the 15 hottest celebrity valentines & vote for your favorite!
Valentine's Day is just a few days away, and because no one should fly solo on the international love holiday, HollywoodLife.com put together a list of our top 15 potential celebrity valentines — from Justin Bieber and Harry Styles to Robert Pattinson and Ian Somerhalder — and we want to know which one you'd pick to be yours! You know, hypothetically.
Big-Screen Boys
Some guys just beg to be seen on enormous screens, like Zac Efron and Taylor Lautner for example. Whether they're singing about basketball, or turning into werewolves, we don't mind paying for insanely overpriced movie tickets to see them in action; they're always worth the price of admission.
Small-Screen Studs
Now let's talk about the hotties we invite into our living rooms every week, all the while annoyed we have yet to invest in a 3-D TV. From Teen Wolf's Tyler Posey to Pretty Little Liars' Keegan Allen, we're grateful to the wardrobe departments that seem to unanimously agree: sometimes, less is more.
We even included Sean Lowe who, despite starring on a reality show, looks too good to be true. There's a reason he's almost never dressed on The Bachelor.
Music Men
Looks are one thing, but as long as we're being irrational here, wouldn't it also be nice to have a celebrity valentine who could serenade you? Enter the musical portion of our list, which ranges from nice guys like Joe Jonas and Drake to bad boys like Harry Styles and Kanye West.
(And yes, stealing Taylor Swift's award from her on national television does permanently brand one as a "bad boy.")
Now that you've seen your options, vote below: Which guy would you choose to be your celebrity valentine?


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This post is one in a series where SageCircle pulls out the crystal ball and looks ahead to what happens in the analyst ecosystem in 2010. See below for links to all posts in this series.
It does not take a magical crystal ball to predict that there will be acquisitions in the analyst market. Acquisitions have always been a business tool of analyst firms. However, there are some potentially interesting developments on the acquisition front for 2010 and beyond.
Roll ups to take on Gartner and Forrester – One of the ways that Gartner was able to achieve its market dominance was 60+ acquisitions in the 1990s under the leadership of then CEO Manny Fernandez. Since then there has been only one serious attempt to use a roll up strategy to develop a competitor to Gartner and Forrester. That was by Monitor Clipper Partners in 2004, who attempted to buy META Group to combine with the earlier acquisition of Yankee Group to form the core of a new broad-based major analyst firm. This plan was derailed by Gartner CEO Gene Hall's smart and strategic grab of META. In stark contrast to the last ten years, 2010 could see three firms use a roll up strategy: Corporate Executive Board, IDC (for Insights units) and Ovum-Datamonitor.
Mid-sized firms get gobbled up – As Gartner's acquisition of AMR Research demonstrates, being a mid-sized firm with a price tag in the tens of millions dollars does not deter determined acquirers. There are a number of potential acquiring firms with the financial resources to buy a mid-sized firm. One firm likely being wooed by potential acquirers is the Burton Group, which has a solid reputation, desirable research coverage, a sales force, and a client base that includes enterprises and government agencies.
Forrester continues adding resources for marketing professionals – Forrester continued its push deeper into research and services relevant to marketing professionals with its recent acquisition of Strategic Oxygen. In 2010, Forrester is likely to continue adding assets for its Marketing and Strategy Professionals Client Group. While this strategy is certainly reasonable because it helps Forrester stay out of the path of Gartner, it risks diluting its end-user advisory brand.
Boutiques combine to achieve scale or simply survive – There have been relatively few mergers between boutique analyst firms in the last decade. Mostly boutiques have been purchased by much larger firms to fill research or geographical gaps. However, 2010 might see boutiques combine in order to develop a larger scale of offerings and sales muscle – necessary to prevent from being crushed by one of the larger firms. In addition, boutiques that rely on vendors for business will still be experiencing financial difficulty due to the lingering effects of the recession. This might be offset by smart mergers and the combining of resources and client bases. Ironically, boutiques that grow by acquisition would then become attractive to the large firms who could then roll them up.
Bonus and Quirky Possibility: IDG acquires a public company as a way to spin off IDC – This is the least likely, but not completely improbable M&A event of the year. The technique is known as a reverse takeover or reverse merger. A private company takes over a public company so that the acquiring company does not have to go through the expense of an IPO to become publicly held. IDG is owned by billionaire founder-CEO Pat McGovern. McGovern is in his early 70's so it is not inconceivable that he could be thinking ahead toward retirement and the need to liquidate IDG. The public company acquired as the shell company for this technique would not have to an analyst firm like Forrester or Gartner, just any public company. While amusing to imagine the effect on the analyst ecosystem of such a move, this really has a very low probability.
SageCircle Technique:
- Enterprise and vendor research contract managers need to have processes and policies in place to handle a merger or acquisition of a key research provider, mid-sized or boutique
- Vendor analyst relations teams should build into analyst ranking frameworks the flexibility to handle M&A contingencies which could impact an analyst's relevance and influence
Bottom Line: Acquisitions will be a staple of 2010, with the analyst landscape being roiled by major deals. All members of the analyst ecosystem need to have plans in place to deal with this volatile environment.
Question: Who do you think will be acquired in 2010? Which company will be an unexpected acquirer of analyst firms?
Looking ahead to 2010 Series
- Analyst Market…
- Social Media…
- Forrester or Gartner launch a client-only social network
- Increasing number of enterprise technology purchases influenced by analyst social media commentary
- AR teams will get in trouble with executives for being surprised by analysts' social media commentary
- Events…
- More AR teams adopt virtual events, with mixed results
- In 2H10, analyst firms will start launching new events but will still be behind pre-2009 numbers
- Analyst relations…
- AR teams implementing AR-Sales partnerships document hard ROI resulting in added headcount
- An AR function is completely disbanded to be subsumed into a new influencer group… with disastrous results
Filed under: Commentary | Tagged: analyst relations, AR, Datamonitor, Forrester, Gartner, IDC, IDG, Informa, Ovum |


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College Football: Towson runs over Wildcats, 64-35By ALLEN LESSESLS
New Hampshire Union Leader
November 17. 2012 6:48PM
DURHAM - That one hurt. In a big way.
Towson pounded No. 7-ranked New Hampshire in the second half to break open a close game and win going away, 64-35, in front of 5,531 at Cowell Stadium on Saturday, spoiling Senior Day and a few other Wildcat plans.
UNH's six-game winning streak and 10-game streak of Cowell triumphs crashed to an end and the Wildcats fell to 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
It was UNH's first loss since a wild 64-61 defeat at Old Dominion in the fourth game of the season on Sept. 22.
This one felt worse than the ODU loss, said senior linebacker and captain Alan Buzbee.
"In terms of disappointment, it's way worse," Buzbee said. "On Senior Day, at home, an opportunity to win the conference championship. It's basically thrown in your face when you get 64 on you. It's not a good feeling."
The Wildcats were looking to win their first outright league championship since 1994, clinch the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision tournament and perhaps even earn a home game for the second round of the playoffs, all of which they would have accomplished with a win.
Instead, they must settle for a share of the CAA title and hope to receive an at-large bid to the 20-team tournament.
They likely will still get a bid, but they left the decision in the hands of an NCAA committee and will have to wait until a selection show on ESPNU at 1:30 this afternoon to find out their fate. There was a chance they could still get the league's automatic bid, which was to be determined by a tiebreaker late Saturday night.
"I think we should (get in)," said UNH coach Sean McDonnell. "I think we're one of the top 20 teams in the country and I thought we did it throughout the whole year the way we played. Just hope these guys get another opportunity to play."
Towson, which came in ranked No. 19, improved to 7-4 overall and also finished 6-2 for a share of the league title. The Tigers made their case for making the tournament by taking complete control of the game after halftime.
"Never in my wildest did I figure it would get away the way it did today," McDonnell said. "But it did."
Sure did.
Down 30-14 with 6:36 left in the first half after Towson turned a Chris Setian fumble on a kickoff return into a Dominique Booker 37-yard touchdown run in one play, UNH rallied to close the gap at the break.
Tight end Brian Ciccone scored on an 18-yard pass from Andy Vailas, the sophomore out of Bedford and Bishop Guertin of Nashua, and a conversion pass from Vailas to R.J. Harris cut it to 30-22 with 3:52 left in the half.
On the last play of the half, Towson tried a 44-yard field goal, Jared Smith got a hand on it, and UNH's Steven Thames grabbed the ball and ran 65 yards into the end zone. Another conversion pass failed, leaving it 30-28 at halftime.
The closing minutes of the first half, said Towson coach Rob Ambrose, could not have gone worse for his team.
The second half could not have gone much worse for UNH.
The Tigers got a first down by inches on a 3rd and 8 on its own 16-yard line to open the second half and then sophomore Terrance West, who had a monster game, gashed UNH for 41 yards.
Senior quarterback Grant Enders closed the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Towson had the first points of what would be 27 straight and the lead was up to 37-28.
"That first drive of the second half was huge," McDonnell said. "They go right down and score."
UNH had no answer for that one. Nor for much else in the second half.
"They were bringing a lot of different pressures and different types of blitzes," said senior offensive lineman and captain Chris Zarkoskie. "We had seen them all on tape and they were heating us up pretty good in the second half and we couldn't find any momentum. Everywhere on the offense we were shooting ourselves in the foot in the second half."
On defense, the Wildcats missed way too many tackles and weren't getting enough guys to the ball, McDonnell said.
West, who had 261 rushing yards in a 56-42 win over UNH last year, carried 19 times for 236 yards and a pair of scores.
Vailas was UNH's leading rusher with eight carries for 108 yards and two touchdowns. He raced 77 yards down the left sideline on the first play from scrimmage to get the game off to a good start for the Wildcats.
The finish didn't go nearly as well.
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NOTES: The Tigers had a whopping 415 rushing yards and 660 yards of offense total. ... UNH had 345 yards of offense, only 95 of them coming after halftime. ... Sophomore Nico Steriti carried 12 times for 63 yards for UNH. ... Senior linebacker Matt Evans led UNH with 12 tackles. ... UNH lost two fumbles and redshirt freshman quarterback Sean Goldrich, who split time with Vailas, threw an interception.


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Posted by R. Ostrow on January 21, 2004
In Reply to: Hotter than Dutch love. posted by ESC on January 20, 2004
: : : My friend's grandfather used to say this when the weather was very hot. I always thought he was making a mistake, saying "love" instead of "a Dutch oven," but I thought I'd ask if anyone knows the phrase the way Claude Jensen used to say it.
: : : Thanks.
: : I found it in a reference. But it doesn't say why "Dutch" love.
: : DUTCH LOVE, HOTTER THAN - adj. phr. Also "hot as Dutch love." North. Usually of weather; very warm; also fig. of intimate relationships, passionate. From "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume II by Frederic G. Cassidy and Joan Houston Hall (1991, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England).
Thanks! I've sent this on to my friend. We've been wondering about this for 30 years.


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It was like waiting for Christmas as children inched closer to the curb along Main and Church streets before the Christmas parade began.
It was like waiting for, well, Christmas, as Spartanburg's youngest inched closer to the curb along Main and Church streets before the Christmas parade began.
Amanda Bailey of Greer brought her son, Colton, 3, and daughter, Cadence, 1, for their first Christmas parade ever. They were joined by Bailey's mother, Joan McCarter. Colton insisted on being held so he'd have a better view, even before the parade began.
Finally, the blue lights and sirens of Spartanburg Public Safety's motorcycle unit came into view, signaling the start of the parade.
A smile spread across Colton's face. Smiles soon came to many as the parade's grand marshal, J.C. Stroble, the "call it" caller from the Beacon Drive-In, passed by, wearing white gloves and a scarf, black overcoat and top hat.
"Caaaaaaaaall it," Strouble said, delighting the crowd with his signature phrase at the drive-in.
Cadence Bailey smiled and clapped to the drumline of the Spartanburg High School band as they marched by. She clutched a pink blanket in one hand and her grandma's hand in the other, bouncing to the music from the bands and holiday-themed floats.
City and council members passed by in neon sports cars, along with Spartanburg Mayor Junie White. Beauty queens in sparkling tiaras gave stately waves to the crowd.
The Cannon Equine Instruction float brought a surprise — among the children seated on the flatbed trailer laid a real miniature horse on a bed of hay.
Ashley Lyles stood at the corner of Church and Main, cuddled up with her boyfriend, Lorenzo Jones. Lyles said she came to the parade as a child, and now enjoys bringing her son, Tyshun, 6.
"We come every year," Lyles said. "I like the bands and Santa Claus, and just seeing everybody happy."
Those attending, Lyles included, bundled up in hats, scarves, gloves and fleece. Many even covered up with blankets to keep warm. But for Joyce Fawcett, a former resident of upstate New York, Tuesday night's weather seemed warm for a parade.
Fawcett's been coming to this one for several years.
"I have three teenagers — do you think they're going to let me stay home?" she said with a smile. "I love the Shriner cars, and that fire car too — it's like, whoo, wake up. And of course, Santa. These are the things in the smaller towns that make memories."
Fawcett referred to the REMAX real estate float, which shot flames dozens of feet into the air in a burst from a hot air balloon. It brought cheers from the crowd.
The REMAX float was followed by the event's biggest crowd pleaser — the Dorman High School band.
Their blue and white plumes ruffling in the breeze, the band members played a dramatic version of "Carol of the Bells," earning the crowd's loudest applause of the night.
Then came the moment the littlest ones had waited for all night — Santa Claus, in a sleigh pulled by the South's species of sleigh-pullers — white-tailed deer.


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HUMMELS WHARF, PA – The York College men's golf squad finished second at the seven team Susquehanna University Spring Invitational at the Susquehanna Valley Country Club in Hummels Wharf, PA on Friday afternoon.
The Spartans shot a team total of 321, eight strokes back of tournament champion and host Susquehanna as the Crusaders shot a team score of 313.
The Spartan tandem of David Boslough (Dalton, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) and Kevin Long (Webster, N.Y./Webster Thomas) led the Green and White as they tied for fourth as they each fired an eight-over-par 79. Susquehanna's Ryan Bruvik, Anthony Canarie and Dylan Gladd all tied for first with a seven-over-par 78s.
Junior Travis Oot (Kirkville, N.Y./East Syracuse Minoa) finished a stroke back of Boslough and Long as he shot an 80. Freshman Ryan Wolbach (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyerton) was the final Spartan finisher as he placed 11th with a score of 83.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday afternoon when they travel to the Messiah College Falcon Spring Classic at Blue Ridge Country Club. The tournament is slated for a noon start.


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S&P 500 (CME:SPU14) keeps the bid in spite of almost all economic data outside the United States still very weak.
Rohr International's active analysis of how short-term activity fits in with the intermediate- and long-term trend indications is another FUTURES advantage.
Ed Note: Every day traders can listen to live, streaming squawk box commentary on FUTURESmag.com coming directly from the S&P trading pits in Chicago.


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The first cracks are developing among Republicans over whether to accept a quick deal with President Barack Obama on allowing the top two income tax rates to expire.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The first cracks are developing among Republicans over whether to accept a quick deal with President Barack Obama on allowing the top two income tax rates to expire.
Conservative Oklahoma GOP Rep. Tom Cole told GOP colleagues in a private meeting on Tuesday that it's better to make sure that tax cuts for the 98 percent of taxpayers who make less than $200,000 or $250,000 a year are extended than to battle it out with Obama and risk increasing taxes on everyone.
Cole's remarks are noteworthy because he's a longtime GOP loyalist and a confidant of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. They were made in a meeting of the House GOP Republican whip team, which is a sounding board for GOP leaders.
"If we don't believe taxes should go up on anybody, why can't we accept a deal that takes 98 percent out and still leaves us free to fight on the other grounds," Cole said in an interview on Wednesday. "I'm not for using the American people for leverage or as a hostage."
Other Republicans have worried that the GOP would lose a bargaining advantage by separating tax cuts for the highest earners from everyone else, but Cole said he believes the reverse is true.
"I think we have the winning argument," he said. "Most Americans intuitively understand that raising taxes on small business is costing them jobs."
Cole's comments drew a rebuke from Boehner, who is standing firm against Obama's demand that tax rates go up for top earners.
"He's a wonderful friend of mine and a great supporter of mine, but raising taxes on the so-called top 2 percent — half of those taxpayers are small business owners," Boehner said. "You're not going to grow the economy if you raise the top two rates. It'll hurt small business. It'll hurt our economy."
Reaction was mixed to his idea at a Wednesday morning meeting of House Republicans, Cole said. Conservative Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, who said he opposed Cole's idea, said he believed a majority of House Republicans also opposed it.
Cole said he expects to support whatever deficit-cutting deal Boehner is eventually able to negotiate with the White House as the two sides wrangle over how to avoid the "fiscal cliff" mix of tax increases and spending cuts that will occur automatically in January unless lawmakers avert them.
"This is a tactical argument, this is not a theological argument," Cole said. "We don't disagree on what we're trying to do."
Cole's comments were first reported by Politico.
Meantime, Obama said Wednesday he still believes that members of both parties can reach a framework on a debt-cutting deal before Christmas.
Obama made a public statement, joined by about a dozen middle-class Americans who have raised concerns about their taxes going up at the end of the year. He said lawmakers face important deadlines in the coming weeks but the voices of the American people need to be a part of the debate.
The president said that officials need to "approach this problem with the middle-class in mind."
Obama could be in position to blame Republicans if an impasse results in the government going over the so-called fiscal cliff, an economy-rattling set of automatic spending cuts and tax increases from the expiration of longstanding tax cuts made in 2001 and 2003 during the Bush administration.
Democrats already are portraying GOP lawmakers as hostage-takers willing to let tax rates rise on everyone if lower Bush-era tax rates are not extended for the top 2 percent to 3 percent of earners — those with incomes above $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for joint filers.


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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Three days after fugitive slave Shadrach's arrest and subsequent rescue by a mob, the board of aldermen ordered that the mayor of Boston direct the city marshal to assist agents of the state and federal government in the execution of their duty when obstructed by a mob. The Boston authorities had not come to the aid of the federal marshals when a mob broke into the courtroom and rescued Shadrach. These officers felt that the 1843 Massachusetts law that prevented "all officers of the commonwealth from engaging . . . in the arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a fugitive slave" governed their actions. The Boston officers probably did not agree with the Fugitive Slave Law and did not want to come to the aid of the federal marshals in any case. The letter from Daniel Webster on behalf of President Fillmore to the mayor of Boston, includes the sentiment that the people of Boston must understand that a law should be regarded as a law, whether they agree with it or not.
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See Also...
Excerpts from "Reminiscences of Fugitive-Slave Law Days in Boston"
"To Hon. John P. Bigelow, Mayor Boston"article re: Shadrach and Webster's response to riot in the Franklin Democrat newspaper
"Proclamation by the President" [Millard Fillmore] article in the Franklin Democrat newspaper
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12.22.08 Fast BreaksPosted by nvr1983 on December 21st, 2008
A short, but solid list of links for you going into the holidays. . .
- Seth Davis with a good primer on the various foul calls. Hopefully, this clears things up for a lot of you and will stop a lot of whining about officials making the incorrect foul call. That means you Xavier fans.
- I wasn't expecting many impact players to be coming back, but Jeff Goodman provides a good list of the top mid-season additions.
- The NCAA came up with a cool idea recently where they set up 11 games in 4 days in the state of Indiana. They project which was called the "Indiana Basketball Extravaganza" featured games from all divisions including women's games. Howard Smith did a great job live-blogging the event and we think the NCAA should do more of this to increase basketball awareness of all levels not just the D-1 games featured on national TV.
- Bill Simmons already mentioned it on one of his podcasts, which means that 95% of you have probably already heard about it, but we wholeheartedly recommend you check out Mark Titus's Club Trillion blog. The hoops aficionados already know what a trillion means, but for the rest of you it is the box score when a player plays but doesn't record any other stats (points, assists, rebounds, steals, field goal attempts, etc.). Just the name alone should give you an idea what his blog is like.


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Bullet for the General, A (US - BD)
Gabe has updated his Zapata western review with screen cap comparisons...
At the height of the Mexican revolution, a mysterious young American dubbed El Nino (Lou Castel) joins a gang of marauders led by El Chucho (Gian Maria Volonté) on a series of savage raids to steal guns for a powerful rebel general. But when the El Nino brings his own cold-blooded ideals to the bandits, El Chucho discovers that the real weapons of war belong to no army. In a land ravaged by poverty and violence, can true freedom be bought with a single bullet? (From Blue Underground's official synopsis).
Often listed as a personal favourite among spaghetti western aficionados like Professor 'Sir' Christopher Frayling and Repo Man director Alex Cox, Damiano Damiani's A Bullet for the General is not a great place for uninitiated viewers to start with the spaghetti western genre. In fact, Bullet for the General (aka: El Chuncho, Quien Sabe? or just Quien Sabe?, a more appropriate title that translates to Who Knows?) isn't only a revisionist/spaghetti western, but is also counted among a more demanding subgenre known as 'Zapata' westerns. Named for Emiliano Zapata, a famed Mexican Revolution general that stood alongside Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco, Zapata westerns are largely set during the Mexican Revolution, utilizing the historical conflict as an allegory for then-modern (mid '60s to mid '70s), left-leaning politics. Despite Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci's early, more popular spaghettis often showing signs of politically slant, most historians and critics credit Sergio Sollima's The Big Gundown as the Zapata subgenre kick-starter. The Big Gundown was released in 1966, starred Lee Van Cleef (hot off the success of For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and Tomas Milian (in the first of many popular spaghetti western roles, including Sollima's Face to Face), and was followed by a sequel, Run Man Run (1968, available on Blue Underground and Anchor Bay DVD). Corbucci later took his first real shot at the subgenre with The Mercenary (aka: A Professional Gun) in 1968, staring Franco Nero, Jack Palance and Tony Musante. He'd effectively remake and improved upon The Mercenary formula two years later with Compañeros, which also starred Nero and Palance, and replaced Musante with Milian (I personally count Compañeros as the subgenre's highest point).
Bullet for the General was released later in the same year as The Big Gundown, which makes the number of commonalities between the films all the more compelling. These include the basic themes of criminals turned revolutionaries, and the dual protagonist structure, a common spaghetti theme post- For a Few Dollars More, but one that would eventually define the Zapata western subgenre. Often overlooked is the fact that Bullet for the General screenwriter Franco Solinas, who is credited as 'adapting' Salvatore Laurani's original story, was not credited for writing the story Sergio Donati and Sergio Sollima based their Big Gundown screenplay upon (Tulio Demicheli and Fernando Morandi are also marked on imdb.com as uncredited writers). It's entirely possible that both films were adapted from roughly the same source, and that Salvatore Laurani is the accidental mastermind behind the entire Zapata western subgenre. A long tradition of not crediting screenwriters, secondary directors, actors and even composers in Italian filmmaking renders entirely factual recognition impossible, but it's at least clear that Solinas is a connecting factor. His participation in both politically left-slanted projects makes perfect sense, especially considering he also co-wrote an Academy Award nominated screenplay for the brazenly political The Battle of Algiers with director Gillo Pontecorvo in 1966. Following 1966 Solinas wrote two more Marxist-inspired Italian westerns, Corbucci's aforementioned The Mercenary, and Giulio Petroni's Tepepa (1969, co-staring Milian and Orson Welles).
Solima's and Corbucci's Zapata westerns are generally entertaining action films, built around charming dual lead casts, and presented with tongue firmly implanted in cheek. The underlying politics and occasional gravitas are important, and usually presented as reasonably straight-faced, but humour is still a fundimental element used to coax the audience into the heavier messages. The subgenre eventually morphed into something closer to pure comedy, including Corbucci's What Am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution? (1972), Leone's extremely cynical, anti-political epic Duck You Sucker (aka: Giù la Testa, 1971), E.B. Clucher's Trinity series ( They Call Me Trinity and Trinity is Still My Name), and even Damiani's A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe. Bullet for the General isn't dour by any means, but isn't exactly what most viewers consider a comedy, outside some amusing one-liners, and slightly absurd action sequences. The almost frighteningly smart screenplay at first appears somewhat formless, but eventually develops into something truly subversive, and builds up the deceptively simple characters into ambiguous, multifaceted human beings. Damiani and Solinas' leftist allegories are a central part of the text, but the film remains relatively esoteric throughout, and rarely accepts black and white simplifications.
The tone is set early when Chucho and his men set a trap by binding a tortured general to the tracks ahead of a train carrying munitions. The outranked soldiers within are left with the choice to give up their guns, risk death at the hands of well-placed snipers, or press the train forward, crushing their general in the process. The scene plays out with a mix of comedy, tragedy, and in the end, even horror, leaving the audience unsure who to trust in terms of antagonists and protagonists. Following a relatively rousing action sequence, El Chucho's men brutally and coldly dispatch the remaining soldiers (many of whom are injured and/or have already surrendered). The previously stirring, mariachi inspired musical soundtrack helps cue us in to the truth of the situation, and assures us that things are no longer amusing. This juxtaposition of rollicking fun and sobering violence then carries throughout the entire film, right up to Chucho's final statement – 'Don't buy bread with that money, hombre! Buy dynamite! Dynamite!'. It's a heavy-handed enough approach to chase away some viewers not prepared for the operatic highs of Italian western, but those of us acclimated to these extremes expect something similarly unsubtle.
Damiani is best known for a series of Poliziotteschi (Italian crime) movies including Confessions of a Police Captain (1971) and How to Kill a Judge (1974), and dabbled in comedy and melodrama throughout his long career (he was making movies right up until 2002). Despite its popularity, Bullet for the General is something of an anomaly in his canon. His only other western, A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe (1975), which starred Terence Hill, was produced and second unit directed by Sergio Leone, and has almost nothing in common with Bullet for the General outside of its genre heading. Damiani's direction is never as graphically studious and epic as Leone's, nor is it as natural and poetic as Corbucci's, but his rough edges and handheld camera techniques have a real cinéma vérité grit, recalling his early documentary work (not to mention Battle of Algiers), and mixes with Techniscope widescreen framing to uncanny success (though I imagine they may have been a bit overwhelming on the big screen). The action sequences could certainly do with the spit-shine of some more dynamic blocking and tighter editing, but there's an otherwise unattainable immediacy to them, and some are artfully framed by unlikely sources.
Gian Maria Volonté, who had just portrayed insane villain roles for Leone's incredibly popular Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More is certainly consistent as Chucho, but can't quite compare to Tomas Milian, who would basically define the peon/fool role in spaghetti westerns in the same way Clint Eastwood defined the Man with No Name role. Volonté's manic energy is infectious enough to fill this slight charm deficiency, and he's always been better with drama than comedy anyway, which makes for a particularly strong showing during the extended climax and coda. The bigger problem is that Lou Castel is no Franco Nero, leaving Volonté to fill the peon/fool and stoic/sly roles. This is somewhat appropriate since the character dynamics are often switched in relation to most Zapata westerns, but is still relatively disappointing. Klaus Kinski gets pretty high billing on most releases, but is an unsurprisingly minor character, and is cast largely against type as an honor-obsessed religious man. He's given plenty of opportunity to turn the ham up to eleven, but is dubbed on both the English and Italian track, robbing him of his second most valuable asset (behind his crazy face) – his maniacal voice. Martine Beswick's ( From Russia with Love, Thunderball and Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde) performance as Adelita is perhaps the film's most undervalued contribution. Adelita may represent the most substantial female role in spaghetti westerns up to that point, appearing a solid two years before Claudia Cardinale's Jill McBain ( Once Upon a Time in the West) and Vonetta McGee's Pauline ( The Great Silence).
This Blu-ray release includes both the original 115 minute US release, which was previously unavailable on DVD, and the 118 minute international cut. I'm not sure why anyone would prefer the shorter cut, but it certainly has archival value. Imdb.com claims there is a 135 minute cut, but it doesn't appear to be available on DVD in any territory.
Blue Underground has the rights to decent collection of some of the best spaghetti westerns ever made, including Django Kill…If You Live, Shoot!, Texas, Addios, Run Man Run, Mannaja: A Man Called Blade, Keoma, Compañeros and Keoma, but until now have only found the time/money/will/material to put Corbucci's seminal classic Django to Blu-ray disc in May of 2010. I wouldn't dare accuse Bill Lustig and company of shuffling their feet based on the sheer quantity of HD-worthy titles in their collection, but when they announced that Bullet for the General and Django Kill would be making the format leap I was more than ready to forgive time spent on less exciting releases like Baba Yaga and Killer Nun.
The first thing I notice in comparing this new HD transfer to the old DVD is not the heavy increase in detail, but the even heavier increase in vibrancy. Everything about this new transfer is beaming and bright, making the previous release appear as if it were being viewed through a greasy, clear plastic. This transfer is also a lot warmer than the DVD's, which would logically seem to be in step with Damiani and cinematographer Antonio Secchi's intended look. The warmth overwhelms some of the solid white and light green elements (Blue Underground's Deep Red transfer had a similar problem), but does very well by the red highlights, and is a lovely contrast to the occasionally violet-tinted night sequences. Details are largely consistent throughout, though Damiani and Secchi tend to pull focus a bit tighter than Leone while filling their 2.35:1 widescreen vistas. Close-up textures are among the strongest details (you can't count threads, hairs or pores on the DVD copy), but I'm also impressed with some of the decorative background patterns. There's very, very little in the way of CRT scanning noise, or obvious signs of DNR on this image. Occasionally the grain appears to be a bit mushy (especially in the starker backgrounds), and there are a few dancing edges, but overall digital noise looks pretty natural, and the sharpened details show little sign of enhancement effects. The only time telecine effects are particularly noticeable are in some of the deepest background details. So far as basic print damage goes the Blue Underground techs have done a fine job cleaning things up, leaving only occasional flecks of white, a few black blotches, and one or two ragged reel changeovers.
The previous Anchor Bay and Blue Underground DVD releases of A Bullet for the General have included only the English dub track, not the original Italian dub, so fans can mark this release as an upgrade in terms of video beyond just the uncompressed DTS-HD Master Audio capabilities. Once again, I must stress that the bulk of Italian films from the era were filmed without sound, and the bulk of spaghetti westerns feature international casts, often speaking their own languages at each other during the filming process, so both the English and Italian tracks (along with any other language tracks) are post-dubbed. The choice of language track here is purely a case of personal preference. There's very little difference in the overall volume and distortion levels of the two tracks, though the dialogue on the English track tends to be a bit softer and natural. Both tracks feature minor distortions on the highest volume levels, and the louder action sequences tend to get a bit mushy with activity, but there's nothing unexpectedly 'damaged' on either track that I noticed. Luis Enríquez Bacalov is the penultimate spaghetti western composer behind Ennio Morricone. Bacalov largely worked off the genre defining sounds Morricone created for Fistful of Dollars, but developed his own flavour with Django, The Grand Duel and this film, which Morricone acted as musical supervisor for. The unique defining element of this particular score is that it has an even more sizable Latin influence than most spaghetti scores. The action themes in particular recall Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story music at times. Both tracks treat the score very well, including enough supportive bass, and warm overall fidelity.
The first disc in this two disc collection starts with A Bullet for the Director (5:00, SD), an interview with director Damiano Damiani, who discusses his intent on satirizing the western genre, his affection for Leone's westerns, and allegory. Disc one also features a US trailer that does whatever it can to paint the film as more like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1:50, HD), the international trailer (4:30, HD), and a poster and still gallery.
Disc two features a feature length documentary entitled Gian Maria Volonté: Un Attore Contro (1:52:20, SD), all about the life and times of the apparently controversial actor. Volonté was a political activist, a beloved craftsman, and by most accounts an utter mad man who was notoriously difficult to deal with on set. The film covers his difficult early life, the bulk of his acting career, including footage from his early stage and television appearances and his better known major motion pictures, and is structured around the shadow of his sudden death on the set of Theo Angelopoulos' Ulysses' Gaze in 1984. This includes interviews with film historian Ferruccio Morotti, directors Theo Angelopoulos, Francesco Rosi, Damiano Damiani, Paolo Taviani, Peter Stein, Carlo Lizzani, Margarethe Von Trotta, and Giuliano Montaldo, actors Harvey Keitel, Erland Josephson, Giorgio Albertazzi, Lou Castel, Piera Delgi Esposti, Roberto Herlitzka and Ennio Fantastichini, along with about a dozen other friends and relations whose names shot by too quickly for me to write them down. The section most pertinent to Bullet for the General comes around the 30 minute point, when Damiani and Castel discuss some of the problems Volonté had on set, including a period of filming where he became convinced his horse was persecuting him.
Once again, I wouldn't recommend spaghetti western virgins get started on their journey watching Bullet for the General, but it is one of the genre's best, and an important film in the Zapata western subgenre. With all my talk of the film's significance I almost forgot how good the last act is, easily among the best of any western, regardless of country of origin. Blue Underground has done very well with their source material, crafting a handsome widescreen transfer, and supplying the previously unavailable Italian audio track. The extras include the studio's usual brief interview and promotional material stuff on the first disc, plus a separate disc featuring a feature length documentary about the life and work of star Gian Maria Volonté. More Blu-ray westerns please, Blue Underground!
* Note: The above images are taken from the Blu-ray and DVD releases and resized for the page. Full-resolution captures are available by clicking individual images, but due to .jpg compression they are not necessarily representative of the quality of the transfer. Thanks to Troy at Andersonvision.com for the Blue Underground Blu-ray screen-caps.
Review by Gabriel Powers
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,824
Sounds like a Western I have to check out with the documentary about a guy with delusions about his horse
Chris Johnson Member Join Date: October 2005 Location: United States Posts: 1,465
I miss these kinds of movies.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,713
Django Unchained is on the way.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 22nd May 2012
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 English and Italian
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, English for Italian Version
Extras: A Bullet for the Director - Interview with Director Damiano Damiani, US Trailer, International Trailer, Still Gallery, Gian Maria Volonte: Un Attore Contro
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Damiano Damiani
Cast: Gian Maria Volonte, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick, Lou Castel
Genre: Western
Length: 118 minutes
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Ana Tijoux is no stranger to the glitz and glamour that comes to walking red carpets, presenting at award shows and rocking out a stage.
But, this year for the Latin Grammys Tijoux is walking the red carpets and taking in the ceremony with her unborn baby as she unapologetically shows off her baby bump.
Latin music's biggest night is being broadcast live from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Thursday.
"I'm five months pregnant!" the songstress/rapper tells Fox News Latino. "The last time we spoke I was pregnant and dint even know it," she recalled.
Tijoux story and background is quite unique. The Chilean-French singer's parents fled Chile during the Pinochet regime to France where Tijoux was born. It was when she was a teenager that she made her way back to Chile.
"I discovered my people," Tijoux told Fox News Latino in an exclusive interview during the Latin Alternative Music Conference a few weeks prior to the Latin Grammys.
"I learned about my community," she added saying that singing and talking in Spanish is now easier than doing so in French. It is her love for the Latino community the reason why she voices her thoughts on the controversial Arizona laws against undocumented immigrants.
For Tijoux collaborating with up-and-coming artists "who are arriving" in the music industry is critical because she says it's her way of learning and giving others opportunities she was given from artists such as Mexican singer/songwriter Julieta Venegas.


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Non-elected, unofficial leader of a community housing tank in jail. Duties include control of TV, dispute arbitration, breaking up or organizing of fights and anything else related to the tank. Payment is often in the form of commissary.
I don't know why Big Boy tried to change the channel from Springer to watch the news without asking. Doesn't he know he ain't Tank Boss? That's gonna cost him 2 soups...
by MrBobby February 28, 2010
buy the domain for your pet site


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Lauren Miller, who also co-wrote the movie, and Ari Graynor ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist") star in this expectedly edgy comedy as former college mates who aren't any better matched years after graduation. Nevertheless, they try to put their differences aside to make a go of a phone-sex business.
The venture's success leads them to form a friendship - but inevitably, something arises to threaten their smooth sailing. Co-stars include Seth Rogen (Miller's husband), Justin Long, Nia Vardalos and filmmaker Kevin Smith. *** (R: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray)
Buy 'For a Good Time, Call ... ' on DVD/Blu-ray Combo.


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HARTSVILLE, S.C. – With both teams vying for the final spot in the Conference Carolinas tournament, the King University men's volleyball team knew they would be in for a fight when the traveled to Coker College on Friday. The Tornado quickly took the first two sets, only to see the Cobras for a decisive fifth set. King grabbed the early lead in the fifth frame and didn't look back en route to the 15-10 set win, and 3-2 victory.
The Tornado (10-17, 5-10 CC) never trailed in the first set, and opened up a 17-10 lead behind a quick 4-0 spurt. King earned their largest lead of the set, 22-14 on an Ashton Hippenstiel ace before taking the set 25-18.
Coker (5-14, 3-11) earned a 5-3 lead early in the second set, but the Tornado rallied and answered with another 4-0 run to gain the lead. The Cobras came back and took a 15-14 lead, but a service error evened the set at 15. Jeremy Funk followed with an ace to give the Tornado the lead. Coker came back to even the set at 21, but the Tornado scored four of the final five points, capped by back-to-back kills by Matthew Lychock and Stephen Brown to take the set 25-22.
It appeared as the Tornado would take the sweep in the third set as Lychock recorded another kill to give King a 20-16 lead. However, the Cobras rallied to even the score at 22 and force a King timeout. After the break, the Cobras scored back-to-back points, forcing another timeout at set point. The Tornado scored a point, but Luke Hansen extended the match with a kill, giving Coker the 25-23 win.
With the Tornado leading 10-9 in the fourth set, the Cobra offense rolled off five straight points to take command of the set. Coker opened up a 20-14 lead, and eventually took the set 25-20 to force a fifth set.
King gained some separation in the fifth set by scoring three straight points to take a 6-3. The spurt was started by one of Hippenstiel's five kills in the match. The Tornado extended the lead to 11-6 on consecutive Coker attack errors, forcing a Cobra timeout. Funk gave King a 13-10 advantage with one of his six kills in the match, before the Tornado scored the final two points to escape with the 15-10, 3-2 win.
Michael Koebel and Lychock led the Tornado with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Hippenstiel recorded his second straight double-double with 32 assists and a match-high 13 digs. Ned Parker also reached double figures in digs with 11.
The Tornado wraps up regular season play on Tuesday when they travel to Lees-McRae. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Banner Elk, N.C.


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- This event has passed.
Showtunes Night
April 21 @ 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 6:00pm on Saturday, repeating indefinitely
Join us at Phoenix's longest running showtune night every Saturday from 6pm-9pm. Sing along to your favorite musical clips. Also featuring comedy and unique Broadway related featurettes.


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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria's president on Tuesday called a meeting of all political parties in parliament next week to set a date for early parliamentary elections, a move that should help end political instability in the European Union's poorest member country.
President Rosen Plevneliev announced he will convene the leaders of the main parties next Tuesday. He spoke just hours after Sergei Stanishev — the leader of the ruling Socialist party — called for a snap poll to be held as early as next month.
Stanishev said his party cannot bear responsibility for the government alone after the junior partner in the ruling coalition, the MRF party, last week called for a snap poll. Their coalition is one year into a four-year term and controls exactly half of the seats in the 240-member parliament — meaning it has to rely on the tacit support of a nationalist party to govern.
The coalition was already looking shaky after the Socialists placed a distant second to the main opposition GERB party in European parliamentary elections last month. The opposition party responded by increasing calls for the government to step down and pushing a series of no-confidence votes in parliament to step up the pressure.
The leader of MRF, a mainly ethnic Turkish party, called for a new parliamentary election in the wake of the Socialists' lackluster finish in the European poll, which underscored the depth of the Balkan country's months-long political crisis.
On Tuesday, the Socialists' Stanishev said elections in July were "a feasible and realistic option" amid the current political climate.


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Chicago Fire Playoff Chances
Tied New England 2-2, playoff odds down 0.01 to 0.005%
28 points 7-7-15
Add your own league!
How are these numbers calculated?
Big Games
How we did last week and who we should root for this week. Explain
What If
Chances based on how well the Chicago finish out the regular season. Explain
Points (Full Screen)
Chance Will Make Playoffs (Full Screen)
Ye of little faith, already thinking about next year. Here are the big games and what ifs for draft seeds.
Big Games
What If


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For this LAST POST I thought I might write, you know, a RETROSPECTIVE. It's been a while, after all, I have 200% more children than I did when I started, and maybe I have learned a thing or two. So I looked back at my very first post and HOW IRONIC: it was a "wait - did the baby ACTUALLY sleep through the night?" post which is pretty much exactly the kind of post I wrote on my personal website today, only with more "HOW do we make it HAPPEN?". Which makes me think the answer to my question is: I have learned a NEGATIVE amount of parenting wisdom.
I wish I could say I'm way more fabulous and Supermommish than I was four years ago when I started blabbing about my SAHM days on the Parenting Post. The unfortunate truth, I think, is that I'm more tired, more haggard, and more worn out, as well as lumpier, frumpier, wrinklier, and grayer.
These kids have made me a better person. Way down deep inside, past the twenty extra pounds and the layers of undereye concealer, I am a more compassionate and empathetic person. I have not become selfless, but I understand what it means and even occasionally choose to act selflessly when I really don't want to. I am slower to judge, quicker to help. I have learned how to step out of some (not all!) of my comfort zones.
I used to see kids in church with wild stick-uppy hair, with pink glittery shoes that clearly did not match a brown corduroy jumper; now I am the mom with the kid whose hair refuses to lay flat, and the mom too tired to argue with the kid who begs to wear her favorite shoes. I used to roll my eyes and mutter under my breath about parents who couldn't control their children; now I tell myself that we're all just doing our best. And I hope the other moms are giving me the same benefit of the doubt when my kid pees her pants in the middle of Target.
And that's just HAVING kids. The kids themselves can be a huge kick in the pants. I never knew how exciting and amazing it could be to watch someone learn to attach lines to circles and identify them as, "That's YOU, Mommy!" Or how my heart would break when my daughter stopped saying "sta-ba-weddies" and started saying "strawberries".
I think what I'm saying is: the lumpy frumpiness might (MIGHT) be worth it.
Wait - is this starting to sound like a commercial for having children? I can fix that. YOU WILL NEVER SLEEP AGAIN.
I also never dreamed that I would STILL be writing about my children on the internet. I've been humiliating myself and exploiting my kids for over seven years now and in return I've received SO MUCH. Not just parenting advice and tips and comic relief and nap time entertainment, but real connections and in-person friendships - people I see every week and people I see once a year because we started our own blogger get together. I have so appreciated the opportunity to connect with those of you who read the silly stuff I throw out on Parenting.com. I won't be writing here anymore, but you know where to find me!


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Meaningful Use for Radiologists – Meaningful Use Monday RSNA12 Edition
John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 10 blogs containing over 8000 articles with John having written over 4000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 16 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John is co-founder of InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit and LinkedIn.
This week is the enormous RSNA conference in Chicago. I almost made the trip to the event, but wasn't able to figure out the logistics. Plus, with a wife and kids the less travel the better. One day I'll make it to RSNA. Until then, I thought I'd dedicate this edition of Meaningful Use Monday to the radiologists out there.
In short, meaningful use stage 1 was not good for radiologists. Most radiologists saw it as a non-starter for them. In fact, I think it's safe to say that smaller radiologists couldn't tell you much of anything about meaningful use stage 1. Meaningful Use stage 2 has made some progress for radiologists, but is unlikely to really get them off the bench and showing meaningful use.
Healthcare IT News has a good article on radiologists and MU where they point out some image centric updates to meaningful use per RSNA:
compliance exemptions for many hospital-based providers who are not involved in their facility's information technology decisions, a discretionary menu set objective targeted toward diagnostic image accessibility in EHRs, recommendations for radiology-relevant clinical quality measures, more flexible definitions of what constitutes justified EHR, and a consolidation of the eligible hospital and eligible professional technology certification criteria.
Although, the article also points out two other very important points. First, radiology practices will likely forgo participation in the meaningful use program and avoid the EHR financial penalties by way of an exemption. If that exemption ever runs out, then radiologists might change their tune. Although, my guess is that the meaningful use penalties will never be enforced or that there will always be exemptions that radiologists can fall back on.
The second point is even more interesting. Lineage Consulting's Nakhle suggests that all of the other ordering physicians that are adopting EHR and showing meaningful use might be the real driver for radiologists to get on board meaningful use. I agree that ordering physicians being meaningful users of an EHR is going to change imaging facility requirements. Certainly imaging facilities are going to have to work on new tech workflows, but that doesn't mean they have to go so far as meet meaningful use. Plus, most imaging facilities are working on these workflows already, so I don't expect meaningful use will cause much change.
I'm sure this will be a huge topic of discussion at RSNA. If you're there, we'd love to hear what's being said on the show floor.


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UN Official: How to Make Development Work
MUMBAI, February 14, 2013 — Development aid and development as a practice are of substantial help to developing countries, but strategies for development need to be tailored to local environments, have local stakeholders, and respect local ways of life.
Exploring this topic at a private programme titled How We Might Think About Development, Asia Society India Centre presented a discussion with David Malone, President of the IDRC, who will assume his position as Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Rector of the UN University next month.
The audience engaged in a broad-ranging discussion, beginning with a comparison between development models of China and India, which have been vastly different, yet reasonably successful in their own rights. They went on to question widely-held conceptions about development, such as the idea that war, corruption and violence are necessarily bad for development. The notion that grey areas can exist and that development can occur with such phenomena simultaneously was explored, examining the history of countries like China and Sri Lanka. For instance, the necessities of World War II propelled women into the workforces of the US and Canada, creating an unintended consequence that would boost other fronts of development in the future.
It was also postulated that aid does not drive development, but rather complements and fills in the gaps when development is internally generated. Good governance was acknowledged as a crucial factor, though no particular system of governance was thought to hold all the solutions. Good governance was cited as the reason that explained the divergence in fortunes of Canada and Argentina from where they were 100 years ago — while Canada enjoyed good governance since, Argentina has suffered because of military and populist civilian regimes.
Turning to India's development, democracy was recognised as a stabilising force to India, giving it an advantage over China, whose government, it was believed, has started being more responsive to its population. India's coalition politics and the strength of its regional parties were suggested as forces that impede India's growth, because of compromises that need to be made at every level. Better management of water resources and improving the quality of education were identified as critical factors that need attention in India.
This programme was part of our BASIC (Breakfast at Asia Society India Centre) series, and was presented in partnership with Spencer Stuart.


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Ultra Marathon entry changes
2013 - Thank you for your ideas - you spoke and we listened.
- Runners do not need to qualify before entering the race. Even though it is a prerequisite for participation, information can be supplied at a later stage.
- Entries can be done without having renewed the provincial licence number as it can be completed later.
- Athletic club membership is not optional but it can be done after entry.
- Entries open on Thursday, 20 September 2012 (for the 2013 race).
- Closing date for supplying qualifying and club details as well as manual entries is Wednesday, 20 February 2013 (online by 5 March).
- Qualifying from 1 July onwards (no longer 1 September) in the year prior to participation.
- The race will start at 06:30.
- Runners with five or more medals can use the previous year's race as their qualifier.
- Blue/permanent number holders do not need to qualify, provided they have run in either of the previous two years.
- Entry fee is R200 (Africa entry fee is R450, International R900).
- No downgrades to the Half Marathon are allowed (only substitutions).
- Upgrade fee is the difference between entry fee + R80 admin fee.
- RaceTec timing chip is R120 for those who don't own one.


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Admissions Requirements
Admissions Policies
The admissions policies of the School of Professional And Career Education are designed to meet the needs of adult students. Most applicants who have a high school diploma from a regionally accredited school or equivalent (GED) can be provisionally admitted and may register for up to 12 undergraduate credits without submitting official transcripts or test scores. Students who intend to earn a degree through the School of Professional And Career Education must submit all required credentials before the completion of their first 12 credit hours at Barry. Application for admission to Barry University's School of Professional And Career Education is a process separate from the registration process and must be completed prior to course registration.
Criteria for Full Acceptance
- Interview with an academic advisor;
- Submit a completed application form with appropriate fee in U.S. funds;
- Request an official transcript from each college attended. If applicable, request an official transcript from CLEP and/or DANTES;
- If no college credit or fewer than 12 credits have been earned, request an official high school transcript from a regionally accredited high school or official GED transcript;
- Applicants holding an associate degree or its equivalent must present a minimum of 3 years full-time professional work and/or community service experience past high school;
- Applicants not holding an associate degree or its equivalent must present a minimum of 5 years of full-time professional work and/or community service experience past high school.
Criteria for Provisional Acceptance
Provisional acceptance is extended to those whose transcripts reflect less than a 2.00 cumulative grade point average at the time of application. A student enrolling under this option is limited to twelve credits in which a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 must be achieved at Barry University. Upon successful completion of 12 credits with a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 at Barry, full acceptance will be granted.


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Letters to the Editor
July 12, 2012
Ruts in Cheney's brick crosswalks cause damage to cars
I am writing this letter to address the issue of the brick crosswalks in downtown Cheney.
Is it going to take someone having an accident before someone notices? I have driven over those many times and worried about damaging my car. That was the worst idea any one has ever had in this town. What were they thinking?
We have plows and ice heaves in Cheney. I wish someone would please address this before something bad happens.
Patricia Cox
Compromise doesn't exist in today's political atmosphere
America was born as a result of the "Great Compromise" which gave us two chambers of Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Without the willingness and ability to compromise, most of our laws over the centuries would not have been passed and enacted. Compromise is the very essence of being American.
So, if candidates for political office or elected officials decide to forego this ability to compromise, then they in essence forfeit the ability to be effective legislators.
Today, Congress has received its lowest results in U.S. history from public opinion polls on its effectiveness. One reason for this is probably the lack of the ability for conservative members of Congress to compromise regarding the American budget deficit. Many have signed oaths not to even consider any tax hikes - only spending cuts. This will eliminate any possibility for negotiations, resulting in legislation stalemate and continued low public opinion.
I would urge all voters in the upcoming elections to consider voting for those candidates or elected officials who are still willing to compromise once in office. It is the American way, and the only way to move forward.
Steve Schwalbe
EWU professor