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[guests, music:] Maurizio Monti, L'amore (1973)
When a man loves a woman. L'amore is a kind of a strange concept album about every possible shade of a sentimental relationship – from falling in love to betrayal and separation, from frenzy to happiness and despair – as investigated by a talented pop songwriter. And, incidentally, an unexplored mine of rare grooves.
I share the same insane passion for Maurizio Monti with my dearest friend Francesco Bianconi, singer and main songwriter for Baustelle, writer, journalist, fine music connoisseur, who kindly accepted to write about how he ever happened to cross paths with him.
The original version of the post is available in the Found in translation page, as usual.
I first came in contact with Maurizio Monti many years ago, when I took my lyricist exam at SIAE (Società Italiana Autori ed Editori, "italian authors and publishers society"). I had to rewrite the lyrics of an existing song, following its metres syllable by syllable. And the song, on that occasion, was "Morire fra le viole" ("dying among the violets") by, exactly, "M. Monti". Lyrics which I partly already knew, after all it's a quite famous Patty Pravo song, yet I didn't know anything about its author. I changed the title into a nonsense such as "Risplendere nel sole" ("shining in the sun"), wrote new lyrics, and passed the exam. Playing this little creative rewriting game I realized how perfect those words were, with their terrific and, allow me, Prevertian synthesis of symbolism and pathos. Words of love, simple, easy to sing, but sound. A not at all banal lyricism. I remember thinking that perhaps the more titled Mogol had never been able of such perfection, but I guess this is a matter of taste. Apart from the SIAE exam, I owe my real musical encounter with Maurizio Monti to my singing teacher.
Fucking around after a lesson, he showed me this record in a white sleeve with a middle aged man sitting in an armchair, with his rollerskates on. The title was: L'amore by, exactly, once again, Maurizio Monti. I was stroke at once, starting from the cover. I'm afraid I'm made this way: my opinion about pop music is rather influenced by the superstructures, by the frills. The more I like the look of the singer, the way he smokes a cigarette, his photos, the more I like the music. On that cover Maurizio Monti may look like Betrand Burgalat on a record never released by Tricatel, or my uncle in 1973, had he been a singer. And I swear that this second possibility has the same coolness value for me. My teacher looked at me and told me: "it's Maurizio Monti's solo debut album". He lended me it. I brought it home and, curious like a child, I dipped myself into this fantastic collection of songs.
The first side opens with "Bella mia", another track later sang by Patty Pravo, and it knocks you out. Bass drum, bass guitar, hi-hat, and voice. Voice which starts with "certo, sembra un caso" ("sure, it seems an accident"). A non-singer shrill voice. The voice of a songwriter who gives it a go. Yet incredibly beautiful in its being awkward, Battisti-like, expressively out of line. The trivially seventies story is about a love triangle him-her-the other, but, just like in "Morire tra le viole", it's very effectively told. The melody and the words blend perfectly, and on the final "me ne sto andandooo" ("i'm going awaaay"), while the music fades, the hair rise on my arms and my heart beats. The "hair-rising effect" (which is a serious litmus test for pop tunes) always happens to me with at least three other songs in this record: "Amore", with harmonic modulation and a drums-bass-Rhodes piano downbeat which anticipate Moon Safari and Virgin Suicides by Air twenty years before; "Nuda di pensieri", that sublimates and exceeds the Pachelbelian canon, with a Battisti-like rhythm change in the bridge and a supercheesy Solina fake strings instrumental break on top; "Esco con Rosa", a love triangle again, again a bright use of italian language on a harrowing melody.
Oh, I almost forgot that there's "Morire tra le viole" as well, full of blaring synths. What could you ask for more?
In brief, it's not a key record, not a milestone, not revolutionary. It's a wonderful easy listening record. A record made of songs, and that's nothing small: it's not easy at all writing songs like these.
Here is the tracklist:
01, Bella mia ("honey", also released as a 7″ b/w "Esco con Rosa")
02, Dipendi da me ("you depend on me")
03, Un uomo fortunato ("a lucky man")
04, Nuda di pensieri ("thoughts-bared")
05, Amore ("love")
06, Esco con rosa ("i'm dating Rosa")
07, Sorprendente ("surprising")
08, Morire tra le viole ("dying among the violets")
Get it: Maurizio Monti, L'amore (1973)
Maurizio Monti has released another solo album in 1976, Diavolo custode ("guardian devil", avalaible on these pages anytime soon). He has been writing many successful songs, mostly alone or with his creative partner Giovanni Ullu, for the likes of Patty Pravo, Mina, Gianni Morandi, Anna Oxa. He's a chemist too.
You can learn more about his most recent project, a musical called Isimilia, at isimilia.com (also in English).
11 Responses
Post: Maurizio Monti.
Perbacco! Ecco da chi ha preso l'idea Jannacci per la copertina di "Fotoricordo". Provate un po' a confrontarle…
grande post. applausi….
inchino. ..
applausi a tutti….
..al blog, al blogger, a bianconi e a maurizio monti.
non lo conosco maurizio monti.
speriamo bene.
grande grande! meglio di molto battisti. Ma il diavolo custode? introvabile…
[…] those who fell in love with his debut full-length, L'amore (posted here some time ago), this one could be a slightly different experience. Monti embraces a much more twisted songwriting […]


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April 19, 2017
MARTINSVILLE – Do Martinsville schools need increased funding? During a budget hearing this week, school officials defended their request, without satisfying at least one council member's desire for proof that they need it.
For the new fiscal year that will start July 1, the schools are requesting $380,734 more in local funds to offset a projected shortfall between expected revenues and expenses, plus $135,000 they expect to have left over at the end of the current year.
"This is what we really need" to maintain current academic programs, class sizes, preschool programs and extracurricular activities such as athletics, band and robotics programs, Superintendent Zeb Talley told the council during its budget work session.
Select News Year:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This is a rush transcript from "Fox News Sunday," October 20, 2013. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: I'm Chris Wallace.
The government reopens, the debt ceiling is raised, but there are more budget battles ahead.
SEN. TED CRUZ, R-TEXAS: This deal kicks the can down the road.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, R-KY., MINORITY LEADER: There is a lot more we need to do to get our nation's fiscal house in order.
WALLACE: As federal employees go back to work, the president pushes a new agenda.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: There are no winners here. These last few weeks have inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy.
WALLACE: And the Republican Party licks it's wounds and looks for a new strategy.
CRUZ: If the Senate Republicans stood united with the House Republicans, that's how we would have won this fight.
WALLACE: We'll discuss what happens now with Senator Marco Rubio. It's a FOX NEWS SUNDAY exclusive.
Then, as frustration with Washington reaches new heights, how do we avoid another budget shutdown.
REP. PAUL RYAN, R-WIS.: We want to look for ways to find common ground, to get a budget agreement.
WALLACE: We'll talk with two key lawmakers, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, and Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Plus, our Sunday panel on the continuing problems with ObamaCare.
And, our Power Player of the Week: the 31-year-old whiz kid behind the shut down.
All, right now, on "Fox News Sunday."
WALLACE: And hello again from Fox News in Washington.
Government workers are back on the job after that 16 day partial shutdown, and President Obama is pushing a new agenda for the rest of the year, while Republicans argue about the best strategy to deal with him.
Joining us now, one of the GOP leaders at the center of that debate, Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
And, Senator, welcome back to "Fox News Sunday."
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, R-FLA.: Thank you. Thanks for having me back.
WALLACE: You're one of 18 Republican senators who voted against the final deal to reopen the government. Was that, in effect, a political gesture because you know it was going to pass anyway? Or were you really prepared to keep the government shut down and to bump up, to pass the deadline for raising the debt limit?
RUBIO: Well, let me be clear: I never was in favor of shutting down the government. I was never in favor of defunding the government. I was in favor of funding the government fully, voted to fund the government fully, made efforts to fund the government fully.
The only thing I didn't want to see us is us waste any more money on is ObamaCare, which is proven to be a disaster. We're already that these exchanges, which was the sign up on the exchanges, which was supposed to be the easy part of this endeavor, has turned into a fiasco that the administration is struggling with.
So, why would we waste a penny more on that? And that was -- I think it's important to remember here is what's at stake is that the American dream is under assault. And people, every single day, who are stuck in jobs that don't pay enough to live off of or people that haven't been able to find a job in months, and there is a growing sense in this country that this is the new normal.
We can't accept that. This is not -- this can't be the new normal.
We can restore what was the American dream and rebuild it once again. But we can't if we leave all of these issues unaddressed.
WALLACE: We're going to get to ObamaCare in detail in a moment. But I want to press this question to you, because Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate said that what you guys did for the last two and a half weeks was a mistake.
Here's what McConnell said, "There's no education in the second kick of a mule. A government shut down is off of the table. We're not going to do it."
Question: Is McConnell wrong?
RUBIO: Well, I think in hindsight, any endeavor that one gets in, there are lessons to be learned. And I think the question for all of us who believe that the country is headed in a wrong direction and programs like ObamaCare need to be refueled and replaced, I think moving toward forward for us, is there any lessons from the last three weeks that we can use so that in the future, we're more successful at achieving results.
And so, certainly, we're prepared to have that conversation because I don't think any of those issues that we've talked about, whether it's the debt or ObamaCare, or is it restoring the American dream, is going to be possible unless there is an organized, unified Republican Party that's offering the American people an alternative --
WALLACE: But, directly, sir -- is McConnell wrong to say government shut down is now off the table?
RUBIO: Well, I never wanted there to be a government shutdown. The people who shut down the government --
WALLACE: I understand, but you --
RUBIO: Yes. But, Chris, the people who shut down the government were the president and the Democrats in Senate who basically said that unless you fund the entire -- unless you fund ObamaCare, we're unwilling to fund the entire government. They took that position and they forced this situation that we have just gone through.
WALLACE: Well, let me ask you another question about McConnell, because the Senate Conservatives Fund, the powerful political action group, has just announced that it is going to support McConnell's Tea Party challenger in the primary next year.
Question: Do you support McConnell's reelection to the Senate?
RUBIO: I do. I do support Senator McConnell's reelection. I think he is trying to lead our conference. It's a diverse conference with a lot of different opinions, and that's a tough job to begin and, of course, he's got to represent his own state.
So, look, I think at the end of the day, he has done a good job being a leader of the Republican conference in the Senate and I think that's not an easy job to do.
WALLACE: All right. Let's get to ObamaCare, which I know is your big issue in this particular matter.
The federal Web site for ObamaCare is once again down for repairs this weekend. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will not testify before a House subcommittee this week that's going to investigate the shaky Obama rollout because -- well, not necessarily because -- but she's going to have time to attend a gala in Boston the night before.
Should President Obama replace her?
RUBIO: Well, I think that may become an option. I'm not a big fan of those immediate calls for people to resign. But I think in this case, actions like the one you just outlined are going to make it harder and harder for her to do her job effectively. I think people -- the transparency or lack thereof on this issue is very concerning.
I think we just heard a news overnight that 400,000 or 500,000 approximately people have somehow gone on a Web site and left some information. That tells us no information for how many people have enrolled and that is a very relevant matter, because if enough people don't sign up for these exchanges, the rates on these exchanges are going to be astronomical and they're going to undermine the entire private health insurance industry in the country. So, her refusal to testify and be transparent about I think is undermining her credibility.
And there may come a point now, perhaps we're not there today, but there may come a point where, in fact, she will have to resign largely because she's no longer has the credibility to do the job.
WALLACE: Let's pick up on this point you just made, because I suspect a lot of our viewers haven't heard about it, just in the morning papers. Administration officials have said overnight that 476,000 people have applied, have submitted applications on either the federal or the state Web sites, but it doesn't say how many have actually enrolled. And you have to apply first and then you have to find out if you have eligibility and then you enroll.
But having said that, 476,000 applications -- does that indicate that perhaps this is less of a mess and that Republicans are overstating the problem?
RUBIO: No. You know, they need to get 7 million people on this thing. So, at the rate they're going, even by their own numbers, it's going to get there. Of course, many of these people that are filled this out certainly had made mistakes. Many -- some won't qualify. Beyond that, you know, there is a lot of work to be done, in terms of getting other people on there, and there is no mechanism for them to be able to do that.
And let me tell you why that's concerning -- if enough people don't sign up for this program, certain background in terms of health and so forth, the premiums on this program are going to become unaffordable. It gets into the sort of debt spiral where the premiums keep going up and then the whole program collapses. And that's the direction that we're headed in.
But, again, I the point that I wanted to make was, setting up -- in 21st century, setting up a Web site where people can go on and buy something is not that complicated. People do this every day. The inability of the federal government to set up a Web site where people can go on and buy something like health insurance does not bode well for the much more complicated elements of this law that are yet to be rolled out.
WALLACE: President Obama is pushing a new agenda for the rest of the year and one of the key items is he wants to renew his push for immigration reform which is stalled in the House.
Congressman Raul Labrador, who at point was supporting immigration reform now says this, "It would be crazy for the House Republican leadership to enter into negotiations with him, Obama, on immigration because his goal now is to destroy the Republican Party."
Do you agree with Congressman Labrador?
RUBIO: Well, I'll make two points in that regard. Number one, immigration reform is something the country needs. I don't think anyone would disagree that we have a broken legal system. We do not have mechanisms in place to effectively enforce our immigration laws. These issues have to be dressed. What Congressman Labrador is addressing is something that I hear from opponents of our efforts all the time and I think that's a valid point, and that is this: you have a government and a White House that consistently ignored the law and how to apply it. Look at the health care law. The law is on the books, they decide which parts of it to apply and which parts not to apply. They issue their own waivers without any congressional oversight.
And what they say is, you're going to pass a legalization law and some enforcement. What's not to say that this White House won't come back and cancel the enforcement aspects of it?
And that's what he means by lack of trust, and quite frankly, it's difficult to find a good answer to that. I think they make a very legitimate point.
WALLACE: But do you agree --
RUBIO: But certainly, the president has undermined this effort. Absolutely. The president has undermined these efforts.
RUBIO: -- over the last three weeks.
WALLACE: But do you agree it would be crazy to deal with them and to press forward with immigration reform because of that lack of trust?
RUBIO: Well, I don't think that's what he was saying. I think what he was saying and it's my position as well, is that the House deserves the time and space to craft their own solution.
Now, this notion that they're going to get in a room and negotiate a deal with the president on immigration is much more difficult to do for two reasons. Number one, because of the way that president has behaved towards his opponents over the last few weeks, as well as the White House and the things that they've said and done. And number two, because of what I outlined to you.
So, I certainly think that immigration reform is a lot harder to achieve today and it was just three weeks ago because of what's happened here. Again, I think the House deserved the time and space to have their own ideas about how they want to move forward on this. Let's see what they can come up with. They could very well be much better than what the Senate has done so far.
WALLACE: Well, let me ask you about the Senate plan. You were one of the architects to the plan that passed that Senate. But there has been speculation that because of political backlash against the plan, that perhaps you have backed away from it.
So, let me ask you directly: as part of a comprehensive plan that doesn't include tougher enforcement measures, do you still support an earned path to citizenship? RUBIO: Well, again, number one, the answer is yes, depending on the way that it's outlined in a comprehensive package. I still continue to believe as I always have, that the best way to address immigration reform is an individual bills that build on each other sequentially. I've always believed that.
Now, the Senate wanted a different direction. I wanted to influence what the Senate came up with. I felt it was important in the Senate to take the first step in this debate.
We have House colleagues. They have their own ideas about how to pursue this. And, ultimately, you know, Chris, we have been lectured now for the last three weeks about being realistic. We've been told that you're not going to get rid of ObamaCare. You're not going to repeal it. You're not going to defund it because Barack Obama is in the White House. You have to be realistic. We've been lectured about that.
Well, I think they need to be realistic about immigration reform.
The fact of the matter is, the House and many of its members have very strong opinions on what a reform effort should look like. And without them onboard, there won't be reform.
So, I think many Democrats are going to have to make the decision about immigration. Do they want it as a political talking point or are they looking for a result? And if they're looking for a result, they're going to have to show a little bit more flexibility on some of the key points, like the one you've outlined.
WALLACE: Senator, some conservatives, as you well know, call your plan -- even though it takes 13 years to become a citizen and you have to go through a lot of steps to do so -- still call your plan amnesty. And the fact is, in these early presidential horse race polls, you have taken a hit. I want to put up one of them.
In April, you led the Quinnipiac poll with 19 percent, followed by Ryan, Rand Paul, and Christie. But this month, Paul leads, followed by Christie, and you're back in third place.
Has your support for comprehensive immigration reform hurt you with conservatives?
RUBIO: Again, obviously, you're citing a poll that shows that that might be the case. But that's not why I did it. So, clearly, if someone is only looking at everything through a lens of what the future could hold politically, they probably would never have undertaken this issue. I knew that going in.
I remain convince this is an important issue for our country to confront and to solve. I felt like I was in a position to try to make a positive difference. Any time you pass any law or any bill, it's not going to be perfect. It's going to have parts of it you agree with strongly. It's going to have parts of it you perhaps wish were different, as is the case with this bill. But, ultimately, I continue to believe it's an important issue for our nation to confront, because the alternative is to leave things the way they are right now and I would continue to argue that the way things are right now is a de facto amnesty.
Now, is there a way to improve upon what the Senate did? Probably. I'm sure there is. And that's why I hope the House will work on here and they deserve the time and space to be able to do that.
WALLACE: Senator Rubio, we want to thank you. Thanks for sharing part of your weekend with us, and it's always good to talk with you, sir.
RUBIO: Thank you. Thank you.
WALLACE: Up next, will it be deja vu all over again in Congress three months from now? We'll with two Senate leaders about the battle of the budget that has just begun.
RYAN: We want to have smart deficit reduction. We want to grow the economy. We think the budget process is the way to do that.
SEN. PATTY MURRAY, D-WA.: It's going to be a challenge but we believe we can find common ground.
WALLACE: The government had just been opened for hours when the leaders of the Budget Conference Committee met to start working on a deal by a December deadline to avoid another shutdown.
So, will Washington learn its lesson and finally reach a compromise?
Joining us from Chicago, the number two Democrat in the Senate, Dick Durbin.
And here in Washington, a member of the Republican leadership, Roby Blunt of Missouri.
Senators, welcome back.
SEN. ROY BLUNT, R-MO.: Good to be here.
WALLACE: Before we start, let's talk about the big differences between the budget that the House has passed and the Senate has passed. Let's put them up on the screen.
The Senate calls for $975 billion in new taxes. The House has none. The Senate cuts 2.7 -- rather, $275 billion from health care, mostly from Medicare providers. The House cuts $2.7 trillion by repealing ObamaCare and changing Medicare to a voucher system. Overall, the Senate budget is $91 billion more.
Senator Blunt, big differences there. Is there a deal to be made?
BLUNT: I think there is an agreement to be made here. But, you know, what we should have learned in the last couple weeks is, if you're in a divided government, and you're arguing against the law, you're disadvantaged. And one of the -- that number that the House used actually is the number that the law ultimately will enforce if we don't reach some agreement to moderate that.
WALLACE: The sequester --
BLUNT: The balance of the Budget Control Act is the only thing we found that actually controls spending. This is the second year in the row and the first time since the end of the Korean War that spending has gone down at the federal level two years straight.
The Budget Control Act is there. Senate Republicans, I believe House Republicans, are very supportive of that.
And whatever kind of agreement we make -- entitlements, savings, versus some additional spending -- I think has to be done with the understanding that at the end of the day, if we don't make an agreement, the number is going to be $967 billion in discretionary spending.
WALLACE: Well, let me pick up on that with you, Senator Durbin, because as Senator Blunt suggested, Republicans have some leverage here. If nothing happens, the sequester spending cuts kick in on January 15th and discretionary spending is cut by $21 billion.
Paul Ryan, the House Budget chair, is proposing a kind of trade in which they would agree to some short term spending increases which you guys want, in return for some long term spending cuts to entitlement reform.
Does that sound reasonable?
DICK DURBIN, D-ILL.: Well, I can tell you this -- if this is the bargain that the Republicans are now pushing for, that we have to cut Medicare to avoid cuts in the Department of Defense, they ought to step back and take a look at this. Paul Ryan couldn't pass his budget in the House of Representatives. The Republican majority wouldn't vote for it unless he violated the Budget Control Act, and added more than $20 billion in defense spending.
We ought to sit down together and realize that sequester is the clumsiest, most awkward, ham-handed way to cut spending. We can do it much more sensibly.
And I think we can meet our spending targets. We can reduce the impact, the negative impact of sequester on our national security and national defense.
WALLACE: Well, then, let me ask you -- you know, and don't get into the weeds on me here -- if they were willing to relax some of the short term spending cuts for Defense and domestic programs, what would you give them?
DURBIN: Well, I'm going to leave that to Senator Patty Murray. I'm not going to negotiate here on FOX. Patty Murray is the chair of our budget committee.
I respect Paul Ryan. We disagree on politics and certainly on issues like the future of Medicare. But when it comes down to it, we've got to be able to put everything on the table. That means Republicans have to be willing to put revenue on the table.
I just can't understand this basic premise that this tax code is sacred. That there aren't loopholes in there that should be closed and the savings be dedicated to reducing the deficit.
Why is that such a radical idea to most Republicans?
WALLACE: Well, it raised its head (ph) even before I brought it up, and that's what I suspected you're going to say, Senator Durbin, which is it can't just be short term spending increases for long term spending cuts.
Revenue, is that a nonstarter? One of the ideas is not raise rates, but just that you would close some loopholes, tax reform and use some of that money to cut the deficit.
BLUNT: You know, I don't know anybody that's opposed to closing loopholes. In fact, if we were going to do a revenue neutral tax rewrite, Chairman Camp, Chairman Bachus could do that and do that pretty quickly.
BLUNT: The amount -- the percentage of the wealth of the country, the gross domestic product of the country that's coming to the federal government right now is pretty much where it has been at the high numbers since World War II.
WALLACE: About 18 1/2 percent, 19 percent --
BLUNT: About 18 1/2 percent, 19 percent, why does it need to be more that? This is not -- you know, this is not about closing loopholes. Who's not for that?
This is about whether you close those loopholes to make tax rates lower, or you close those loopholes so that you have more than 20 percent of the gross domestic product coming to the government, and then -- you know, the Congress just failed today do it's job. Still, the unwritten story about the shutdown was that we were at the last day of the spending year, and not a single appropriations bill had passed the Senate of the 12 it need to fund the government. Only one of them had been brought to the floor, and it was the one -- it was one that the majority leader knew couldn't pass.
WALLACE: Well, I don't -- let me go back to taxes, because I do think that always seems to be the big problem here. Senator Durbin, why is it any different than Republicans refuse to raise revenues, than President Obama's refusal to make in changes in ObamaCare.
DURBIN: Let me just tell you this before we go any further. I want to correct the record for Roy.
The one appropriation record that we brought to the floor, the transportation bill, was a bipartisan bill -- Senator Murray, Senator Collins. When we brought it up for a vote to go forward, with the only appropriations bill we brought to the floor, Senator Blunt and all of the Republicans, except Senator Collins, voted against going forward on the bill.
So, don't criticize us. We tried to move forward on appropriations bill.
WALLACE: OK. You guys are so far beyond what most people know or I think care about.
Go back to taxes. Why is it that Republicans are unreasonable when they say no new taxes, but President Obama is perfectly reasonable when he says no changes to my health care reform plan? DURBIN: You've never heard me say that. I don't think you've heard the president say that. There is no perfect law. I said before, the only perfect law was brought down on clay tablets by Senator Moses off a mountain.
So, we should sit down and look at constructive ways to make ObamaCare, the Affordable Care Act, work better. Chris, look at what's happened here. In just a short period of time, 17 million persons have tried to log on to this Web site. A half a million -- I'll dispute some of your earlier claims -- a half million are moving towards signing up for health insurance.
This is a popular program. Let's make it work better instead of trying to defund it.
WALLACE: I'm going to talk about ObamaCare on a second, but you're not answering my question. Why does taxes -- why do taxes have to be on the table? Why can't you just make a deal, short-term spending for long-term entitlement reform -- which, Senator, you support and President Obama support. You have supported the idea of some entitlement reform.
DURBIN: That's right. I do, and I'll tell you why -- because Social Security is going to run out of money in 20 years. I want to fix it now, before we reach that cliff.
Medicare may run out of money in 10 years, let's fix it now. And that means addressing the skyrocketing cost of health care. That's what ObamaCare is focused on, and yet, the Republicans want nothing to do with it.
If we don't focus on the health care and dealing with the entitlements, the baby boom generation is going to blow away our future. We don't want to see that happen. We want to make sure that Social Security and Medicare are solid.
WALLACE: All right. Let me bring Senator Blunt into this. We have been talking about the fact that the Web sites are shut down again for repairs this weekend. We have the situation with Secretary Sebelius where she can go to a gala in Boston, but no, she won't testify before a House committee.
Your thoughts?
BLUNT: Well, I think the secretary's view that she doesn't have to testify, doesn't have to answer questions, is too busy for that is unsustainable. And she won't be able to sustain.
You know, what we're really about talking about here --
WALLACE: When you say not sustain it, should she be out?
BLUNT: I think she will have to testify. I don't think she can refuse to answer questions about this, and trying to defend that I have to time to go to a gala in Boston, but I don't have time to appear before the Congress because I'm busy trying to make the system just doesn't make sense. And people know that.
But, you know, this is a very mechanical thing. The most expensive Web site ever, and it doesn't work. We're nowhere close to knowing whether the president's health plan is going to work or not, and people are going to find out over the next few weeks and months just how hard it is to sign up, what happens to your insurance rates.
We'll see if Senator Durbin is right or if I'm right. I don't think this plan will work because I think it's based on a couple premises that don't work. When you can't put together a package to sign up, that shows how big a job it is to try to -- for the federal government to manage 16 percent of the economy, and people's health insurance plan is not where the federal government should be.
WALLACE: Senator Durbin, we've got about a minute left. Isn't this rollout an embarrassment that raises serious questions about ObamaCare? And isn't it an embarrassment that Secretary Sebelius is refusing to answer questions from a House committee?
DURBIN: Listen, ultimately, Secretary Sebelius will testify before Congress, you know that. I don't know about the circumstances with this last minute, let's do it in a few days. But 17 million people have already -- 17 million Americans have already visited these Web sites. We understand --
WALLACE: How many have signed up, sir?
DUBRIN: Almost a half a million and let me tell you, one of the most --
WALLACE: No, half a million have filed applications and the government continues to refuse to say how many have enrolled.
DURBIN: Absolutely. What else -- what else are we going to do but take their applications and process them. But that's an indication of national interest.
One of the most successful states per capita so far is Kentucky, the state of Senator McConnell and Senator Rand Paul. They've had 10,000 people. Governor Steve Beshear has done there. It's an amazing outpouring of interest in health insurance and the Republicans want to close it down.
WALLACE: So, in 30 seconds, do you think this has been a success, sir?
DURBIN: I think it's on it's way to be a substantial success. It's off to a rough start with the Web site.
But if we're talking about competency and accountability, I have a question for the Republicans. We just went through a government shutdown of your creation. It's cost $30 billion for taxpayers, hundreds of thousands of jobs, and the Republican Party brand is at the lowest level in the last 30 years. Who's going to be held accountable for that? Is there going to be a question about the future of Senator Cruz and his own Republican conference?
WALLACE: It's a very good question, you got 30 seconds to answer it, Senator Blunt.
BLUNT: Well, the answer is -- Senator Durbin and some others think somehow this is a big win for their party? Nobody won in the last three weeks. The president saying he won't negotiate about important issues, Democrats in the Senate rejecting offer after offer from the House. People's confidence in government is shaken.
Democrats look terrible, Republicans look terrible, the president looks terrible -- we all better figure that out before we go into drawing lines in the sand like changing the Budget Control Act in this next set of negotiations.
WALLACE: On that happy note -- Senator Blunt, Senator Durbin, thank you both. Thanks for coming in today. We'll follow what happens with the budget and ObamaCare.
Thank you, gentlemen.
BLUNT: Thanks, Chris.
WALLACE: Up next, with the shutdown over, there is renewed focus on the very shaky rollout of ObamaCare. Our Sunday panel weighs in on what it means for the future of health care reform.
KEN CUCCINELLI, R-VA. GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: President Obama's ideas are deeply flawed and the implementation of this law has been a national embarrassment. Let me be plain: the law that carries the president's name is the hallmark of a reckless federal government that has lost its way.
WALLACE: Ken Cuccinelli, Virginia's attorney general and GOP candidate for governor, following to continue the effort to overturn ObamaCare in the Republican weekly address. And it's time now for our Sunday group, Brit Hume, Fox News senior political analyst, Julie Pace, who covers the White House for the Associated Press, syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor George Will, and Charles Lane of "The Washington Post." Well, as we've been mentioning, there are two interesting developments on the ObamaCare front this weekend. The federal government website is down again for repairs. You can see what people saw during the middle of the night if they went on to healthcare.gov. And it turns out that HHS Secretary Sebelius who was declined to testify before a House committee this week, on problems with the program, does have time to attend a gala -- gala, whatever, in Boston the night before.
Brit, now that the shutdown is over, and that is not soaking up all off the media attention, are all of the issues with ObamaCare going to become a bigger issue?
BRIT HUME, FOX NEWS SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think they become more visible, although they were pretty visible right (inaudible) even despite the focus on the shift down. I think it is probably good news that the system was down, it needs to be down for repairs. It probably need -- it may even need a complete redesign, which would set it back on I don't know how much months, but the website is kind of the first hurdle. It faces -- this program faces many hurdles. It's having a terrible time -- it's clearly having a terrible time on this first hurdle. Then comes the question of how many people when they see the prices and they see how much we will be off set in certain cases by subsidies, how many people will think it makes sense to buy in. If you don't get to a certain critical mass, the system will not work. And, you know, they are nowhere near getting a sense of that yet. So, this thing has a long way to go, plus the fact that an awful lot of people are being told your insurance that you now carry, which would qualify under ObamaCare, if you could still get it, canceled. So you have all of these possible victims out there and we just don't know how many there are. But if there are enough the system will fail.
WALLACE: Well, Julie, which brings us to your story, which we have been talking about today. She is the one who broke the story that what -- the government says 476,000 people have applied on the various websites, they didn't say how many have enrolled. A couple of questions, first of all, one, what's the difference between applying and enrolling, and how much this one tell you about the other, secondly, as someone who've covered the White House, how worried are they about what's going on here? The president and his top people. And is Secretary Sebelius in any trouble?
JULIE PACE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: So, I'll take care of second question first.
WALLACE: (inaudible) OK.
PACE: The administration and the White House in particular is very worried about this. They have spent a lot of time, a lot of money on this program, and you can't say that this rollout has been anything short of embarrassing for the president. He's going to come out on Monday. He's going to address these problems. It's the first time we'll really have seen him do that -- I don't know how specific he's going to get, but this is sort of going to be mea culpa from the president. In terms of ...
WALLACE: Do you expect him really to say, we messed up here.
PACE: I think he's going to have to. I think if he comes out and says anything other than that, he's just going to be ripped apart, (inaudible) media, by the press, because this has really been a disastrous rollout. In terms of Secretary Sebelius, the administration says they have full confidence in her. That the president stands by her. I think they do have to think about the (inaudible) of this week, so. If she is going to be at a gala when she could be testifying before Congress, I think that just looks like they're not taking this as seriously as they should be.
WALLACE: And briefly, just question of application, who's going to enroll?
PACE: So, the applications, you have to fill out an application first when you get out to this Web site before you can actually enroll. This is where you enter your personal data, you also enter income information that helps the government figure out what kind of subsidy you could apply for -- you could be qualified for. So, it's important to know this number, but this number doesn't tell us how many people are actually going to enroll?
WALLACE: So before you actually shop, you look at plans.
PACE: Correct.
WALLACE: You have to apply.
PACE: You have to apply and know if you can qualify for any of these plans. But ...
WALLACE: So you can apply, and then set there and when you look at it -- no, I don't think so.
PACE: Absolutely. So, we don't know if all these people who have applied are going to eventually enroll. That's going to be the big number.
WALLACE: George, make sense of all of this.
GEORGE WILL, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I'm just guessing that the president is going to say this is George W. Bush's fault.
WALLACE: Or Mitt Romney's.
WILL: The problem from the start, going back to 2009, the Affordable Care Act, as this debate began, a large majority of Americans had health care, and a large majority of that large majority were happy with their health care. Now they've devised a system that really depends at bottom on mass irrationality on the part of young people, that is. Not content to subsidize the elderly as they are doing through Social Security and other things. They now have to pay more than they were paying and more than they would have to pay in the tax fee, whatever we call it, by not buying ObamaCare. They have to pay more to set (inaudible), and once they see, once the exchanges are up and running and fully informing them, I think you're going to see sticker shock and a recoil against the Affordable Care Act.
WALLACE: And again, this only works, ObamaCare only works if you get what -- about 2.7 million young healthy people to sign up. And as George is suggesting, they pay their premium, they are not going to end up needing many services, because they are young and healthy, and that money goes so that the insurance companies can afford to do things like canal people with pre-existing conditions. Otherwise, this is like pulling a thread, and the whole thing falls apart, which runs with you Charles.
Under the individual mandate, people have to sign up by January 1st, actually December 15th, or the January 1st roll out or they have to pay this fine, penalty, tax. Not a great deal at least in the start, $95. Do you think it's possible, if these problems continue that the president would delay the individual mandate?
CHARLES LANE, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, you put your finger on what is both politically and in policy terms the fundamental problem here. Which is you could confront a situation where people are potentially paying a tax, but failing to sign up for something that was impossible to sign up for. And that is, I think the definition of unfairness in the eyes of most Americans. And if you have a couple of hundred people talking to the media about being in that predicament, it is a disaster for the president. And he would face a decision to either continue the program any way or to delay it, which is exactly what the Republicans were demanding he agreed to do during this whole last government shutdown. And so, I think if he is not worried and he is not urgent about fixing this thing, he'd better be, because come early next year, he doesn't want to be in that predicament. (ph).
HUME: Think about that, Chris. If he had agreed to a one-year delay on the individual mandate, this whole worry about people not being able to sign up for the law that requires them to do so would not be present, at least not now. And also, the government never would have had to shut down. Because, remember one of the measures that was passed by the House was fully fund the government with a one year delay on the individual mandate. And if it comes to pass anyway, on his motion, then the Republicans posture in all of this might begin to look a little better, at least, in terms of the shutdown. It looks pretty bad now, but it might look better then.
WALLACE: Of course, all of this presumes ...
HUME: Which I think means he will be reluctant to do it.
WALLACE: Well, and, of course, all of this presumes also that if they had another year that the system would work better. Which I'm not sure you can -- because they had three years and it still doesn't ...
HUME: Well, it'd be better off with a year delay, though.
WALLACE: All right, we have to take a break here, when we come back, a look at the president's post shutdown agenda. What's in it, what's not -- and why it faces a rocky road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This should be the party of limited government, this should be the party of fighting against ObamaCare.
WALLACE: You want to remake the Republican Party, don't you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make this into a party that represents the (inaudible) conservative values. That will make it great, that will be a party that enjoys tremendous support and electoral success.
WALLACE: Stay tuned, our panel will be right back.
OBAMA: Passing a budget, immigration reform, farm bill. Those are three specific things that would make a huge difference in our economy right now. And we can get them done by the end of the year.
WALLACE: President Obama laying out a three point to-do list for Congress. Now that the government shutdown is over an we're back now with a panel. White House officials seem to think they're in a win- win situation here. Pushing their agenda for the rest of the year. If Republicans are really shaken, then there is a chance maybe they can get some of these big agenda items, especially immigration reform through. If Republicans resist, again, they can score political points. Brit, is that a smart strategy?
HUME: Well, I think it's unrealistic. I don't think any Republican embarrassment over this shutdown and the drop in the favorability of the rating of the party is going to necessarily mean they're going to go along with whatever the president wants, sufficient to get the bill on immigration reform, sufficient to get a budget deal, and who knows about the farm bill. I mean when the president is standing there talking about the farm bill being one of his major elements that's ...
WALLACE: Of course, it also includes food stamps.
HUME: I know it does. So, I think, you know -- I think the Republicans are in a stronger bargaining position on some of these issues, particularly on budgetary matters than they were during the shutdown. I expect them to make use of that leverage.
WALLACE: All right, I want to play a clip of President Obama on Thursday morning just after the shutdown ended.
OBAMA: You don't like a particular policy? Or a particular president? Then argue for your position. Go out there and win an election. Push to change it. But don't break it.
WALLACE: Julie, how do the president and his team in the White House, how do they see this now that the shutdown is over. Do they think they have Republicans on the run? How do they think this is going to play out in terms of policy and politicks going forward?
PACE: I think it is a very unknown answer even in the White House at this point. I'm really struck to think about this point how shrunk the agenda is for the president. Just a year after winning his second term, when he was inaugurated in January, he talked about raising the minimum wage, he talked about expanding early childhood education, immigration reform looked like it had a real chance of passing by the summer.
Now we talk guns, now we're talking about things like a farm bill, which is generally a fairly easy thing to pass. So, I think that they're certainly hoping that Republicans will look at what just happened through the budget talks and they -- we really on immigration in particular, we really need to make some progress here, but I think that they're -- I think they are hearing from a lot of Democrats who are saying that I don't know if Republicans are actually the ones who feel that way at this point?
WALLACE: George, the immediate issue, of course, when we talked about it with Senator (inaudible), but is to work out a budget deal. There are enormous differences, when you look at the two, like it's the Ryan's budget and Patty Murray's budget, it's like a Martian and a moon man. What do you think of the chances? And the Republicans do have the leverage, which is if nothing happens the sequester kicks in. They have the law on their side this time. What do you think are the answers for a compromise? Even the kind of grand one that are so called down payment?
WILL: I think the chances are negligible, because the pain here is asymmetrical. The Republicans are happy with the Democrats are terrified with the sequester. So, for the sequester, if it goes on another year it would not dismay most Republicans. Although it does damage the Defense. Can I go to the farm bill, please? The farm bill has mostly nothing to do with the two percent, less than two percent of Americans engaged in farming. It's mostly a welfare bill, it's for food stamps. The president's position is not enough (inaudible) grow in food stamps, 48 million aren't enough. More people are on food stamps than live on the West Coast of the United States. The populations of Oregon, Washington, and California. I think Republicans relish an opportunity to argue about the urgent necessity of passing this farm bill.
WALLACE: Well, so that, so it looks like (ph) denigrate the farm bill anymore.
Chuck, you know, let me present to you what got wrongly slapped down from the two senators. It seems to me there is a deal to be done here. And the deal is that the Republicans who aren't crazy about the sequester, have said, Ryan has said, I would trade short term spending increases, and personally, I don't like the defense cuts, but domestic and defense, in return for long term entitlement reform. Why is that unreasonable? Because they sure didn't (inaudible) Germans seeing to be toughest just nuts?
LANE: Well, and Paul Ryan has skillfully framed it in terms of the entitlement reforms he would call for or selected from ones that President Obama one time earlier in the past has already indicated he might embrace.
PACE: As recently as during the budget this year.
LANE: Yes, exactly. However, Senator Blunt said something in the papers there, I thought was really well said. He said you can't win these fights fighting over how to have the fight. Which is what the Republicans have been doing amongst themselves for the last who knows, how many months. And it seems to me, that key variable for the Republicans in terms of using the leverage that they have here is, are they going to unite on a strategy? Are they going to go into these talks with one plan? And if there is anything from their point of view that's advantageous, is that this is a quiet negotiation. Right, it's Patty Murray and Paul Ryan ...
WALLACE: Regular workers. That's the -- House Budget Committee, the Senate Budget Committee, the way it is supposed to be. The conference (inaudible. The way we learn it in the civic books.
LANE: Right, it's not the circus we have been seeing lately with a vote every day on a different bill, and conferences in the middle of the day, with this rambunctious from the Republicans. It can be a quieter process where they have fewer opportunities, frankly, to embarrass themselves. And so, I think it will depend on their being able to articulate a strategy. And follow through, of course, that's a big if.
WALLACE: But there is another big if here and Julie, that is taxes. And you heard Durbin bring it up right at the start. Would they be willing to accept a deal, that just (inaudible) short terms spending increases, the long term spending cuts, or does -- do taxes have to be on the table which according to Republicans means there is no deal.
PACE: Well, yeah, if taxes have to be on the table for the Democrats, there is no deal to be had here. And I think that what will be interesting is whether you have a break within the Democratic Party where you have the president saying for the sake of getting this issue taken care of, for the sake of being able to show the country that we can strike a deal, I'm willing to trade some entitlement reform in exchange for the sequester offset. And -- and I think, though, that, you know, chances are looking pretty slim if that's going to happen.
WALLACE: All right, I want to talk about one other thing and that is Republicans. Because one of the most striking aspects of this is how badly it seems to me, the Republican leadership judged their own membership, particularly in the House, how determined House Republicans, the Tea Party faction was to have this fight and continue this fight. Not to have this -- to show thing, all right, we'll defund ObamaCare and then when it's get lifted, we'll drop it. George, your sense of whether you think the leaders, McConnell and Boehner, can and will push back harder on their members this next time around?
WILL: I think they will. I'm struck by how much the members have misjudged their leaders. The fact is they have extraordinary leverage. We are no talking entirely in Republican terms, in Republican vocabulary after this so-called defeat. No taxes, how much is the spending going to be cut? The federal workforce is being cut, discretionary domestic spending is being cut and this is all because of the much reviled Mitch McConnell getting basically on his own, the sequester two years ago.
WALLACE: Your thoughts?
HUME: And this is also better for Republicans on another level. The problem -- one of the problem with the Republican posture in this shutdown is not just that they got blame with the shutdown, which people as I've shown in the past, did not like, and it's also that the Republicans were not really for anything. They were against ObamaCare. That's what they were. No they did not. It is not clear that they devised one. This is a more positive development for entitlement reform. It may be retainable. And that puts them in a better light.
WALLACE: And we got less than a minute left. George, I mean the question is, Republicans can just say, you know what -- just like Obama did with the Bush tax cuts, we're going to expire at the end -- in beginning of the year, fine. No deal. We'll just let the law play out. We'll sequester cuts and cut spending $21 billion, done to what -- 967. And will fund you for that at this year. Do you think the Republican members in the House and the Senate are willing to go with that and forego this battle over ObamaCare and as a way to shut down the government?
WILL: I think they will because again, it is playing out entirely on their priorities, at their terms and in their vocabulary. So I think they are delighted to avoid another frontal charge against the entrenched forces of ObamaCare.
WALLACE: We're going to have to leave it there to be seen. Thank you, panel. See you next week. And remember, our discussion continues, every Sunday on Panel Plus you can find it on our website, FoxNewsSunday.com. And make sure to follow us on Twitter, @FoxNewsSunday.
Up next our "Power Player of the Week." The young man behind the government shutdown.
WALLACE: Ted Cruz was the public face of the government shutdown, but just as important was a 31-year-old conservative strategist you've never heard of. And he is our "Power Player of the Week."
WALLACE: After shutting down the government and almost hitting the debt limit, was it worth it?
MICHAEL NEEDHAM, CEO, HERITAGE ACTION: The House had been very clear. They said we want to fund the government, we just don't want to fund ObamaCare. And that makes perfect sense. You (inaudible) that it is literally falling apart before our eyes. It's unfair, it's unaffordable. It's unworkable. And the House passed, I think, four different bills that would have funded the government with the stipulation that we needed time out from ObamaCare.
So, it's really president and Harry Reid who shut the government down.
WALLACE: But you didn't defund ObamaCare, you didn't delay ObamaCare and after the final deal you acknowledge that you're not going to be able to do that until you win the Senate and you win the White House and in the words of President Obama this week go out and win an election. So what was the point?
NEEDHAM: I think in terms of a one year delay in defunding it, that's absolutely something that could have happened if the House and Senate were as united on the Republican side as they were on the Democratic side. And look, this -- still is not working.
WALLACE: I want to go back to Tuesday. House Speaker Boehner pushed a bill that would show that the GOP was united, that would get a minor concession on ObamaCare, and you and Heritage action came out and urged members to vote no and said we're going to make this a key vote on our legislative score card. And I have to say it looked like Michael Needham had more clout than the speaker. Because suddenly he didn't have the votes and he had to pull his own bill.
NEEDHAM: Well, I think that's ridiculous. House of Representatives deserves a lot of credit for having listened and fought on ObamaCare. And that is something that is admirable, listening to the American people.
WALLACE: I guess my question is why is it that in the end, the House members sided with Michael Needham, and not John Boehner?
NEEDHAM: They didn't. They sided with the American people. What we put out as ...
WALLACE: It was what the American people wanted rather than John Boehner's here?
NEEDHAM: Well, they sided with millions of constituents, our score card is the most transparent score card out there. People can go to heritageaction.com. And we say, here are the votes that we think are important, here is why we think they are important and here is how your member of Congress voted.
WALLACE: But you didn't do more than just put out a website, in fact, you'll go door to door during a primary campaign and push your scorecard. Correct?
NEEDHAM: Door and door to door, every single day of the year. And make sure that people know about the information that's out there.
WALLACE: So, I'm not going to say there's something wrong with that, but what -- the point is that if somebody had voted for the Boehner bill over your objections, and you would say it was a no, you're going to go door to door in his district and say, hey, congressman so and so voted.
NEEDHAM: We're going to go door to door and explain people's voting records. Explain tough questions.
WALLACE: A lot of issues out there -- entitlements, taxes, spending. Why is ObamaCare such a fundamental issue?
NEEDHAM: Yeah, I think that at the point where the federal government has the right to intrude into the relationship between a patient and doctor, there is no longer any part of our lives that the federal government doesn't have the right to be in. Health care decisions should not be made by bureaucrats in Washington. And people all around the country recognize that, and that's why there are so much fear and anger about this law.
WALLACE: The Wall Street Journal says that the Republican Party now has the lowest approval rating since they started doing polling in 1989. Does that bother you?
NEEDHAM: Well, it bothers me that's a lot of people who are upset with Republican Party, let they be conservatives, Republicans, Independents or Democrats. And I think the answer for that is to have a party that stands up strongly for those recognized principles that made it great. This should be the party of limited government. This should be the party of fighting against ObamaCare.
WALLACE: You want to remake the Republican Party, don't you? You want to turn it from the party of Wall Street and the establishment to a libertarian populous party?
NEEDHAM: The Republican Party has been in its best in 1994, in 2010, with Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. And ...
WALLACE: The party of John Boehner and Mitch McConnell?
NEEDHAM: This is the party of Ronald Reagan. And I think that the American people have the right to have two parties who give very different views of the future. And we have a Democrat party that represents the progressivism of Woodrow Wilson that says there is no limit to (inaudible) government to intrude into your lives. And there is another party that says limited government, and individual responsibility and civil society are those things that allow people to flourish. And I think that the American people have that clear choice between those two parties, the Republican Party will win every time.
WALLACE: Needham started working for the Heritage Foundation, one of Washington's biggest think tanks straight out of college. And three years ago, they named him the start Heritage Action (inaudible) at the lobbying. Be sure to tune in next week for a special "Power Player" of the week. Fox's Charles Krauthammer. We'll discuss his ideas, his clout here in Washington, and his remarkable personal story in the first of a special two part series. And that's it for today. Have a great week. And we'll see you next "Fox News Sunday."
Content and Programming Copyright 2013 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2013 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.


text: 66 Very few things in life are as certain as political paradigms refusing to change absent massive, and sometimes violent, action by ordinary people in sustained grassroots efforts measured in decades rather than years. Electing Barack Obama didn't make that rule invalid. ... "…go out and make me do it."This entry was posted in Government on January 24, 2010 by Jason Everett Miller


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SYDNEY/NEW YORK - Vast, rotating currents sweeping the southern Indian Ocean could have deposited wreckage from a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet near Africa, thousands of kilometres from where it is thought to have crashed, oceanographers said on Thursday.
France's air crash investigation agency is studying a piece of plane debris found on Reunion Island, off the east coast of Madagascar, to determine whether it came from Flight MH370, which disappeared without a trace 16 months ago with 239 passengers and crew on board.
If confirmed to be part of the missing Boeing 777, experts will try to model its drift to retrace where the debris could have come from, although they cautioned it was unlikely to help in narrowing down the plane's final resting place beyond the vast swathe of ocean off Australia that has been the focus of the search for months.
"This wreckage has been in the water, if it is MH370, for well over a year so it could have moved so far that its not going to be that helpful in pinpointing precisely where the aircraft is," Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss told reporters.
"It certainly would suggest the search area is roughly in the right place."
Australia has been leading a search for the plane since analysis of a series of faint satellite "pings" from the aircraft led investigators to conclude that it crashed in the stormy southern Indian Ocean about 2,000 km southwest of Perth.
Models of ocean currents were consistent with the potential discovery of debris in the tropics, roughly 3,700 km to the northwest, oceanographic experts said.
A huge, counter-clockwise current, called a gyre, covers much of the southern part of the 70.5 million sq km (27.2 million sq miles) Indian Ocean, running east along the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, up the west Australian coast and westward below the equator towards Reunion and Madagascar, before turning south.
"Our model results that we did last year predicted that within 18-24 months after the crash, it was a possibility that it would have ended up within that region," said Charitha Pattiaratchi, Professor of Coastal Oceanography at the University of Western Australia.
The point of origin "will definitely be in the Southern Hemisphere, it would be to the east, it would cover definitely the area of the physical search at the moment", he added.
That physical search, now halfway to being completed, covers 120,000 sq km of sea bed.
Pattiaratchi's modelling shows debris could drift as far west as Madagascar within two years but also as far east as Tasmania or beyond.
Dave Gallo, who co-led the search for Air France Flight 447 that crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, warned that retracing the debris' drift through sea-current models could lead investigators astray. "Retro-drifting" from wreckage found just five days after the Air France crash led to no breakthrough, he said.
"We spent two months in that area and found absolutely nothing. That brought mistrust from the industry," said Gallo, director of special projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
"Looking at something that is 500 days old is going to be tough."
Further clues might yet come from the debris. Experts can age the barnacles that attach themselves to flotsam, which would give an idea of how long it had been in the water. They may even be able to tell which part of the ocean it has come from by the species of barnacles attached.
If confirmed to be from MH370, the discovery would be a significant boost for the search, helping rule out some of the more bizarre conspiracy theories and raising the prospect of more debris being found in the same area.
"When we first started there wasn't a single bit of tangible evidence that there was a plane there at all," said Gallo. "It could have been in the mountains It could have been any place."


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Tuesday night at Revolution Pizza and Ale House in NoDa is "date night." Two people can eat a three-course meal for $20.
It's a great deal and the food is good, but it's not the greatest date place.
For one thing, it's too bright inside the restaurant and outside on the patio. Then there's the music. Occasionally, a slow, romantic song came through the system, but for the most part -- the music was loud and thumping. Not something that you want to hear when you're trying to have a romantic evening.
Though the atmosphere isn't the best for setting the mood for a romantic date, sharing the small dessert at the end of the pizza meal, is sure to get something started.
There's nothing sweeter than a Gelato kiss as you tell your date good night or head to bed with him or her.
Here's a tip, get the appetizer instead of the house salad if you plan to do a lot of kissing on your date -- the salad is good and fresh, but those onions are a killer on your breath. And having the appetizer will give you a reason to ease closer to your date anyway.
And if you are sensitive to cigarette smoke, stay inside. Just about everyone sitting outside last night was smoking.
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Training Curricula | Resources | FAQ | Links
Frequently Asked Questions
Search Knowlege Base
Home | Category: Canning -- Pickled and Fermented Foods
Canning -- Pickled and Fermented Foods
Why did the garlic cloves in my pickles turn green or bluish green?
Rating: 82
This reaction may be due to iron, tin or aluminum in your cooking pot, water or water pipes reacting with the pigments in the garlic. Or, the garlic may naturally have more bluish pigment and it is more evident after pickling. Immature bulbs should be cured 2-4 weeks at 70 F. The pickles are safe to eat. Source: Original FAQ posted at http://22.214.171.124/faq/FAQ_home.php


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Waking from the tendrils of a nightmare. My screams echoing in my head. This poem was rattling in my brain. Making me scramble for pen and paper before it got lost in the mists of passing time:
It is late
The day is done
The meal is eaten
The curtains closed
It is late
For the creaking floor
For the endless scream
For the howling wolf
It is late
The zombie stirs
The vampire yawns
The werewolf stretches
It is late
The past is long
The future short
The present endless
It is late
For sleep to hide
For teeth to chatter
For eyes to widen
In the end
It is too late
To say goodbye
To simply hesitate
Let me know what you think.
Suggestions for improvement are always welcome.


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The Clinical Utility of Overtube Use at the Time of Endoscopy (Spirus)
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00861263
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : March 13, 2009
Results First Posted : April 14, 2014
Last Update Posted : April 14, 2014
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Small Bowel Visualization
|Device: overtube use during enteroscopy
|Not Applicable
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|193 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Official Title:
|The Clinical Utility of Overtube Use at the Time of Endoscopy
|Study Start Date :
|June 2007
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|October 2012
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|October 2012
spiral overtube
Any subject that has been referred for spiral enteroscopy will be asked to participate in this study. The purpose is to gather data about the technical aspects of the procedure,diagnostic capability and treatment as well as long term follow up.
Device: overtube use during enteroscopy
use of overtube for the regular scheduled enteroscopy
- Number of Patients With Persistent or Recurrent Bleeding [ Time Frame: up to 6 yrs after after the endoscopy ]The number of patients that had persistent or recurrent GI bleeding after spiral enteroscopy.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Subjects ≥ 18 years.
- Have an indication for enteroscopy as determined by the patient's physicians. These indications include, but are not limited to, obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, malabsorption, suspected small bowel tumor, small bowel strictures, small bowel ulceration, and abnormal imaging of the small bowel.
- Scheduled to undergo enteroscopy at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, as medically indicated.
- Subject must be able to give informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Platelets < 75,000.
- NSAIDS within 48 hours of procedure.
- Pregnancy.
- Esophageal stricture.
- Inability to give informed consent.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00861263
|United States, Florida
|Shands at UF
|Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32610
|Principal Investigator:
|Peter Draganov, MD
|University of Florida, Division of Gastroenterology
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|University of Florida
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00861263 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
Spirus Overtube
|First Posted:
|March 13, 2009 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|April 14, 2014
|Last Update Posted:
|April 14, 2014
|Last Verified:
|March 2014


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We're the NYC marketing agency that brands hire when they need more traffic
Our marketing services are traffic-growth focused.
Links, rankings & content via SEO. Impressions, conversions & high CTR's via PPC. Engagement, clicks & shares via Social Media.
Where You Will Succeed
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Some marketers focus too much on links. Others focus too much on content. We believe they need to work hand-in-hand exceptionally. SEO is our origins; it's hardwired into our roots.
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We love supplementing our SEO campaigns with instant visibility. Our clients love us because we improve Quality Score which leads to more clicks at lower costs (more bang for your buck).
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A unique obsession with outreach campaigns has transformed the way we execute PR campaigns. With the right approach, you will get coverage, links & traffic in the most popular publications.
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Some brands have the team, workflow & processes, but are suffering from 'what to do next' syndrome. We've strictly consulted for 35+ unique industries &
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Some digital marketing agencies have push button services. That's not our style!
Our ideal client is tired of agencies that don't personalize the service. Our ideal client is tired of agencies that overpromise and under deliver. Our ideal client is especially tired of agencies that guide them through excuse after excuse about why the campaigns aren't performing as they should.
You have digital marketing goals. Let's discover together what opportunities exist while we learn more about your brand.
Your brand is not like every other. You have unique values that need a unique campaign. We'll develop the optimal plan to appropriately reach your target audience.
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Why Website Design is Crucial for SEO
When you talk about Search Engine Optimization (SEO), content, social media, and programming usually come up. However, one important factor often overlooked is website design, which contributes significantly to better SEO rankings. There are many secrets to getting...


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A New Day, A New Us part 9
Date: 6/9/2016, Categories: Fiction, Asian, Oral Sex / Blowjob, Cheating, Consensual Sex, Straight Sex, Hardcore, Oral Sex / Blowjob, Teen, Teen, Group Sex, Author: P.O.I., Source: sexstories.com
I'm groggy and waking up Friday morning to a pleasant surprise in my bed, Mathilda. I remember her saying something about not wanting to drive home last night and I guess or hope she cleared it with my parents or I'm going to get my ass beat by Mom before Dad can kill me. I wrap my arm around her and pull her body into mine spooning us together. It's earlier than normal for me and while I could sleep I have a rare opportunity and I'm not wasting any good time with her. I can tell she's got some clothing on and when I start to press against her I can feel her rousing. "Mmmmm, I promised them no," Matty tells me groggily. "Who did you promise no," I ask putting my full body against hers. "Your parents, I said I wanted to sleep here tonight and they said I could but no sex. Your Mom was very specific and made me swear or I can't come over here for a month," Matty tells me starting to wake up a little. No sex, my parents knew I'd try to and Mom of all people shot me down. I lay there thinking about ways around it but knowing Mom she will take anything as a breach of her promise. Regardless I start to nibble on Matty's ear and continue my grinding against her ass. My Amazon is moaning in light protest and finally after a few moments starts to shake me off. "How am I to keep my word to your mom if you aren't going to help me," Matty asks rolling over to face me. "Better question, how am I to show you that I appreciate you staying over the night and surprising me this morning," I ...


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Today, we've learned that Ralph Dibny aka Elongated Man will be making his live action debut in The Flash season 4. Actor Hartley Sawyer will be playing the private detective who is on par if not better than Batman. To quote the character description.
" One of the Flash's most iconic allies, Ralph Dibny — a.k.a. The Elongated Man — is a fast-talking private investigator with investigative skills that rival those of Batman. Upon discovering he has the power to stretch his body to any shape or form, Dibny uses his new abilities to help Team Flash solve one of Central City's greatest mysteries."
I have to say that I'm interested in seeing this character appear. It's going to be nice to see a character with stretching abilities on the small screen. Here's hoping Susan Dearbon makes her appearance this season as well. Remember, The Flash season 4 runs to the small screen October 10th.
Source: Flash TV News


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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the results of its thematic review of delegated authority arrangements in the general insurance market.
Delegated authority is widely used in the UK general insurance market. This can include outsourcing of underwriting and claims handling and the allocation of other functions such as product design to third parties.
The review highlighted that some firms do not treat these arrangements as outsourcing and improvements are needed to due diligence and the way they manage outsourced arrangements, particularly in considering and assessing customer outcomes.
The FCA reviewed 12 insurers' outsourced underwriting and claims handling arrangements and the associated activities of 19 intermediaries and third party administrators.
Linda Woodall, acting director of supervision at the FCA, said:
"All firms must ensure they have appropriate oversight of outsourced arrangements and meet their wider responsibilities to deliver fair customer outcomes.
"We expect firms to consider the findings of the report and make any necessary changes to ensure that customers are treated fairly and not at risk of detriment."
The review revealed that in many cases insurers and intermediaries did not appear to have adequately considered their regulatory obligations in relation to both outsourcing and other functions.
The thematic review also revealed:
- Some insurers did not carry out any conduct-focussed due diligence when selecting third parties
- Some insurers had not considered whether the products they underwrite treat customers fairly; both in terms of the value and service delivered
- Some intermediaries undertaking product design activities did not recognise the extent of their responsibilities as product providers
- Insufficient oversight of the performance of products and delivery of services.
The FCA will be discussing its findings with the industry and relevant trade bodies and will follow up with individual firms to address specific issues identified as part of the review.


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|Chris Templer
Joined Jan 29 2013
General Info
71 years old
Johannesburg, South Africa
Site Memberships
Recent Activity
About Me
50 plus years of hi-fi. Biased towards horns and valves (tubes) but use mainly a Tact semi-digital amp at the moment. I agree totally with your comments about realism in reproducing music and how to achieve it.
I also am a fervent DIY'er and a great deal of my equipment has bee self made. The picture of part of my speaker system is and adaption of the Tannoy Autograph but with 2 X 15" dual concentrics and much heavier cabinet walls coupled with additional ribbon drivers to add to the mids and treble plus a super tweeter. Sub woofer is just as exreme.
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4 Comments
Reply wajonaudio
11:43 PM on February 6, 2013
Hello Chris,
Wow, what a review. It's fantastic. And so is the system. (Please check your e-mails for the rest of my response - too lengthy for posting, here).
Thanks for sharing.
Kindest regards,
Reply wajonaudio
6:23 PM on February 5, 2013
OK Chris, that's [email protected]
Reply wajonaudio
7:19 PM on February 1, 2013
Hello Chris,
That sounds like a great idea.
I could perhaps publish your 'review', if you don't mind. I'm sure my readers would be very interested in your awesome system, and how it came about. If you do write it up, please don't forget to elaborate on the sound of it, especially compared to those with the 'best' conventional types of speakers. In other words, how realistic are the Tannoys, compared to conventional types? And what sonic features (dynamism, tone, etc) make them as realistic as I'm sure they are. (i.e. if this is not too much to ask).
I'm sure your sub-woofed 'Double-Autograph' Tannoys would shame something like an X-2, for instance, so please let my readers know if I'm right.
Reply wajonaudio
7:37 PM on January 29, 2013
Hi Chris,
Welcome to WAJ on AUDIO, and thanks for joining.
It's encouraging to know you agree with my views on sonic-realism, and on the best ways of approaching it. Needless to say, I'm fascinated by your system - or what I've seen and heard of it , thus far. I wish you had the time to elaborate on its make-up, and on its sound. Being somewhat familiar with 'lesser' Tannoys, I'm sure yours must be totally awesome. Not even the great Westminster Royal should be able to compete with double-15 Autographs. And did you say they're sub-woofed? (More folded-horns?) My Gosh, man - are you serious? (Well, obviously).
Some of us would rather reading about a system such as yours, than to see another rave about Wilson/Krell, and the like, which the popular mainstream audio mags so delight in forcing upon us. It's a travesty that they promote these while they exclude the much better systems (as yours is - I'm absolutely sure).
Enjoy the music!


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Sharing marine research through the IMOS Ocean Data Portal
Since 2006, the Integrated Marine Observatory System (IMOS), hosted by the University of Tasmania, has been observing Australia's coastal seas and oceans.
Using a variety of technologies – including floating sensors, animal tracking, underwater vehicles and ocean gliders – it monitors the physical, chemical and biological variables of Australia's marine environment. All of the data is accessible through the IMOS Ocean Data Portal.
share spoke to the Director of IMOS eMarine Information Infrastructure, Dr Roger Proctor, about the history of the portal and what part teamwork has played in its success.
How did the idea of an IMOS portal arise, when and why?
The portal is the principal access point for all IMOS data. With a few clicks it is possible to either download an entire data collection or a single data point. It has been designed to be intuitive to use and styled on commercial websites.
There have been two major upgrades since the first portal in 2009, to accommodate the increasing volume and complexity of the data collections and to benefit from new developments in web technology.
The target users are the marine and climate science researchers in Australia, however, users also include the public and international scientists.
Who is the team involved in developing the IMOS portal?
We have a great team of 17 staff, some part-time, although this number has fluctuated over the life of the program. We are a mix of software engineers, data scientists, oceanographers and administrators working together. We have Australians and overseas recruits – although most of these recruits are now permanent residents or Australian citizens.
What challenges did your team overcome in creating the portal and getting it up-and-running? Were there any lessons learned?
The first challenge was time. We were given roughly ten months to scope, design and build the first portal, underlying infrastructure and data flows in order to meet the official program launch. It was a challenge we met successfully with a small team of new recruits.
As time has progressed, the scope of IMOS has grown substantially and with it the requirement for a larger data infrastructure team. Therefore it has been necessary to revise our team management and approach. Sure, we have got a few things wrong, mostly associated with miscommunication. The lesson learned was to ensure frequent communication and review.
What is the value of teamwork in creating the portal?
Good teamwork is invaluable. It is vital the team functions as a team; that is, the data scientists transmit their understanding of the different data structures and user requirements to the software engineers, and the software engineers transmit their understanding of the technology possibilities to the data scientists. These are critical components for development, as is the managed execution and monitoring of the implementation plan.
The close association with the IMOS Director's Office, which is co-located with us, has also proved extremely valuable. We benefit from direct involvement in the science planning and the Office benefits from immediate access to data specialists and quick responses on data related issues.
What is the best advice you can give to teams that are undertaking a data discovery service project?
Scope as much as possible the requirements and expectations of your target audience and study existing data discovery services to see if they meet your needs. Reinventing the wheel is costly in time and effort. Build a team with complementary expertise but ensure there is overlap so there is no single point of failure. And listen to your audience and respond to feedback.
Image: Members of the IMOS eMarine Information Infrastructure team and the co-located IMOS Office. (Photo courtesy of Brendan Davey, University of Tasmania). Roger Proctor is front row,second from left.


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-- What is a Sahaja Yogi, May 17 1980
Quotations, extracts and words Shri Mataji talks, public addresses and advices; mostly verbatim. Shri Mataji is the founder of Sahaja Yoga technique, which grants self realization at the very outset.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Sattwa Guna
... jump on to sattwa guna. On sattwa guna you start accepting (it). You become extremely mild. You become a mild personality. Then at that time you do not discuss as to, "Oh, I don't like it; this was wrong; this should not have been." All these things do not come to you in sattwa guna. You start seeing it. That time you see, "All right, doesn't matter. It's done, it's done."
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Status: Closed
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first NJ.com user to add photos or videos of Lawrence Middle School
Lawrence Middle School provides education to students in grades seven and eight. The various subjects offered by the school s curriculum include math, social studies, science, language arts, English and physical education. It has a library and television studio with a variety of audiovisual equipment. The school also has a cafeteria and computer lab with Internet access. It organizes a variety...
Lawrence Middle School is located at 2455 Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, NJ. This business specializes in K-12.


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The Atomic Bomb
"My God, what have we done?" - Robert Lewis, the co-pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb.
On August 2, 1939, just before the beginning of World War II, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Einstein and several other scientists told Roosevelt of efforts in Nazi Germany to purify uranium-235, which could be used to build an atomic bomb. It was after that letter was delivered that the United States began the project, known then only as, "The Manhattan Project." The Manhattan Project was devoted to increasing research that would produce an atomic bomb. ("World War II: The Atomic Bomb")
Over the course of six years, from 1939 to 1945, more than $2 billion was spent on the Manhattan Project. The formulas for refining uranium and putting together a working atomic bomb were created by some of the greatest minds of all time. One of the scientists among the people who discovered the power of the atom bomb was J. Robert Oppenheimer, who was the director of operations for the project. Oppenheimer also gave the test day for the atomic bomb the code name, Trinity. He would also later be head over the Atomic Energy Commission.
On July 16, 1945, all of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project met at Los Alamos for the "Trinity Test" to find out if "The Gadget" ( the atomic bomb's code-named during its development) was going to be the biggest dud of the century or the biggest breakthrough of the century that would bring an end to the war and a new beginning for the United States. (Benson)
At 5:29:45 (Mountain War Time), in a white blaze that stretched from the bottom of the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico to the sky above, "The Gadget" brought the world to the Atomic Age with a bang. The light of the explosion turned orange as the atomic fireball began shooting upwards at 360 feet per second, reddening and pulsing as it cooled. The mushroom cloud of radioactive vapor materialized at 30,000 feet. Beneath the cloud, all that remained of the soil at the blast site were fragments of jade green radioactive glass created by the heat of the reaction. (Benson)
The bright flash of light from the detonation penetrated the morning sky with such intensity that residents from a faraway neighboring community thought that the sun came up twice that day. What is even more astonishing is that a blind girl saw the flash 120 miles away. (Benson)
Upon witnessing the explosion, the scientists, that had spent six years on the project, had mixed reactions. "Isidor Rabi felt that the equilibrium in nature had been upset -- as if humankind had become a threat to the world it inhabited. J. Robert Oppenheimer, though ecstatic about the success of the project, quoted a remembered fragment from the Bhagavad Gita. "I am become Death," he said, "the destroyer of worlds." Ken Bainbridge, the test director, told Oppenheimer, "Now we're all sons of bitches." ("World War II: The Atomic Bomb")
After viewing the results several participants signed petitions against releasing the atomic bomb they had created, but their petitions were of no use. The Jornada del Muerto of New Mexico would not be the last site on Earth to experience an atomic explosion. If fact, it was only the beginning.
The scientists who helped invent the Atomic Bomb under the Manhattan Project were, Robert Oppenheimer, David Bohm, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, Otto Frisch, Rudolft Peierls, Felix Bloch, Niels Bohr, Emilio Segre, James Franck, Enrico Fermi, Klaus Fuchs, and Edward...
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Rollin' With the V.I.P. – Part 3
We've got another batch of celebrity encounter photos to share! Let's dive in!
I love this story about how reader Vicky snapped this pic!
Last year my group was lucky enough to get a room at the BayFront (and we're ecstatic that we're back there again this year!). While my roomie and I were making it back to the room on Sunday after our panels to wait for our other friends to return so we could go to dinner, we were walking in the lobby toward the elevator when I stopped dead in my tracks.
My friend bumped into my back and asked what was wrong. I looked over at her with wide eyes and said "That's Chris
Hardwick!" Amazingly (and sadly, in my opinion) she didn't know who he was. As I got over my shock at her lack of geek cred, I manned up and got the courage to approach him. I told him I've loved him for years, seeing him on G4 and 'WebSoup' and that he moderated several panels I'd seen at the con that year. He saw the camera and my hand and said 'well then, you better get a picture or no one will believe this happened!'
Kerry Dixon shares this double celebrity gem:
With Danny & Donald from Community last year. Also got a hug and was "blessed" by Joel McHale, but sadly no photo.
Here are several pics from an NBC press party that my husband and I got invited to. Had I been able to stay longer I could have seen Chevy Chase, but as it was my eyes were full of stars!
Meeting James Frain was incredibly exciting as I'm such a fan of his from The Tudors. I told him that I was a little starstruck since I'm "just a girl from Iowa" and he replied "Hey, sometimes we're ALL just a girl from Iowa!" Gillian Jacobs was very personable and approachable. Summer Glau was OK with a photo but didn't show any interest in talking. Danny Pudi was very funny, having mistaken me for someone who was in a group with some NBC bigwigs, including me in a photo they took and then laughing when he realized his mistake! Yvette was the sweetest and kindest person, making sure to introduce me to Zachary, who complimented my husband on his clothing.
If you have celebrity encounter photos to share, please send them along! We'd love to post them!
3 comments
Awesome! I love community!
I would love to battle rap Donald "Childish Gambino" Glover one day.
Oh dear, James Frain… lol I was just watching The Tudors (which I love!) when he appeared on True Blood! It was sooo bizarre to see him on two different shows at the same time (well, not really, I was a little behind). 🙂


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World's Best Two-Year-Old Archer Gives Us an Awesome Lesson
This two-year-old archer can really shoot!
If you've been putting off introducing your kids to the sport of archery, watch this short video to see what a two-year-old archer can do.
Good shootin' little man. The growling game face wasn't too bad either.
This two-year-old archer proves that it's never too early to introduce your children to the outdoors. Even before they can walk you can take them hiking in a backpack kid carrier.
Once they're on their own two feet things get even more fun. Some states allow mentored hunters as young as four to hit the woods.
The next time you are out shooting your bow or doing some summer scouting, take your kids along and let them participate. You might spark a passion that lasts a lifetime, which is great because you're going to need someone to drag your bucks out when you're old and feeble.


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When Matthew Kennedy and his wife finally agreed on a studio they both enjoyed working out at, they were so overjoyed that they decided to bring the concept to Lafayette.
9Round Kickboxing offers a full body workout that incorporates kickboxing and cardio to create an engaging workout that literally changes every three minutes.
Kennedy and his wife fell in love with the workout for the variety and convenience it offered.
Kennedy explained, "At other gyms we ended up having the same excuses, either we didn't have time or it was too crowded or we couldn't get into a class. When we found this gym, it answered all those questions, because it was convenient, affordable and a personal trainer is included in your membership."
After receiving their 9Round certifications at the original gym in Greenville, South Carolina, the couple opened their gym in Lafayette and haven't looked back since.
Kennedy said, "Mostly people love how dynamic it is and that the workout changes every day and every three minutes. Some people have told us they want to build endurance but they hate to run and treadmills and ellipticals are boring. Other people have told us that they love coming in and punching the bags because it makes them feel better and it's a release."
The workout is designed so that every three minutes, 9Rounders switch to the next station to complete moves like upper cuts, kicks, medicine ball sit ups and jump rope drills.
Between each round there is an active 30 second rest, which combined with the nine, three minute stations make up a thirty-minute workout.
The workout is led by 9Round trainers who demonstrate each move and coach participants through the rounds.
Whether you tend to run a few minutes late or you just can't help but hit snooze in the morning, the workouts at 9Round are designed to start when you show up.
Kennedy said, "At other gyms if you show up late to a workout class you're going to miss part of that workout. You can't miss any of this workout even if you show up a few minutes later than you intended to."
9Round members have access to a nutrition forum where they can ask questions to the staff nutritionist and access healthy recipes and ideas for quick meals.
Kennedy and his staff work to meet people where they're at, but it's up to the client to decide how far they want to push themselves.
Kennedy said, "We modify the goal for whoever the person is, but the harder you push yourself, the harder we can push you the more you will get out of it."
For more information about 9Round Kickboxing, visit 9round.com/fitness/Lafayette-LA-x2030 or call 337-415-9763.