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Hilary and I had an absolutely splendid ride north of Chesterfield about 3 weekends ago. It was the Linacre North circuit in the White Peak Mountain Biking guide by Vertebrate Graphics. I don't have any photos sadly but the route comprises a open and wooded trails with some fine singletrack. If you are into mountain biking (and what right minded person isn't?), then I can highly recommend this little treasure of a route. It wasn't without some personal cost however. I broke another spoke and got a slow puncture but close enough to the end that I could get away with stopping and pumping up the tyre every mile or so. I also got into conversation with a woman about her full suspension bike and she let me try it out. Apart from the frame being too small, I stepped through a door into another world of fun but more of that later. (15.5 miles and 2300')
Two weekends ago we took the campervan up to the NY Moors and did a route out from Goathland, over Lilla Howe, round the back of Fylingdales, down to Levisham for a brew at the eponymous station on the NY Moors Railway (and in time to see the Foxcote Manor pull in) before heading up over Howl Moor to cross the Lyke Wake Walk at Simon Howe and then a fast descent back down into Goathland.
Cross on Lilla Howe - visited many times on Lyke Walk Walk crossings
Fylingdales early warning station
This is another superb route (The Goathland Circuit in the N Y Moors Mountain Biking guide also published by Vertebrate) and a real mix of wide trails, single track and some exciting downhill with the added frisson of the obligatory run-in with the Fylingdales security police. The bridleway passes inside the outer perimeter fence and they really aren't keen on this. The first time, about 5 years ago, I got stopped and encouraged to leave by the nearest gate!
Another puncture
Malo Cross
The Foxcote Manor pulling into Levisham Station
Once again there was a minor bike failure, with the new inner tube developing a small hole on the inside seam. I think I may have been jinxed by a woman we met earlier in the day who was repairing a puncture and who had had 4 others the previous weekend. That feels like bad juju to me.
We stopped for a brew and cake at Levisham Station and did some mild train spotting before heading north up Newtondale, through the forest, pausing to harvest sloes destined to become an intoxicating liquor in Hilary's kitchen (aka gin palace). The singletrack to Simon Howe (crossed by the Lyke Wake Walk) and on to Two Howes Rigg is superb and the ride culminated with a mad descent over grass back down intio Goathland. 23 miles (of which 20 was off road) and 2,300'.
Finally, for a birthday treat I decided to hire a full sus bike from Eighteen Bikes in Hope last week and took it for a 25 mile, 4000' test ride round the edge of the Hope Valley, going over Shatton Moor and then down through the cement works, up Pin Dale, then Dirtlow to round the back of Mam Tor and on to Hollins Cross, down into Edale for a brew and then back up over Win Hill. I came off Shatton down the wrong track and ended up in Abney and off the map, forcing a bit of an extended ride to get to Bradwell and back on route and I was starting to think I was never going to get anywhere where I could put the bike through its paces. However, once I got up Pin Dale, things started to look up and I plugged the iPod into my head and started singing away to Lindisfarne and Hayseed Dixie like a demented thing, as I flew down steep rocky singletrack into Edale that I had hitherto shown several degrees of circumspection towards. It was a day of fun and mud in equal measure and turned out to be rather expensive. I bought the bike and am collecting it on Thursday!
Shatton Moor
The track off Mam Tor, looking towards Hollins Cross
Hope Cross, looking up Edale


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Just before Christmas I got to see the new Star Wars film. I'm a fan of the franchise and seen the films. I've seen split opinions about the new one but I can say I really enjoyed it. Many thought Disney would ruin this legendary epic saga but they kept how it is.
It's been 30 years since Darth Vader defeated and all been well until now. A new threat have risen and it's bigger and meaner than Darth Vader. We get to see how someone from the resistance is trying to find Luke – who disappeared, visit a village to get the last piece of clues on where Luke is. During this visit this new threat also pays a visit and mayhem begins. We get introduced to a new droid, a hidden star of the film. The droid carries the last clue and basically runs from the mayhem. During the shoot out in this village, one of the storm troopers doesn't want to kill. He hesitates. The resistance guy gets captured and the storm troopers helps him to escape.
We get introduced to several new characters. For example Rey. A lonely girl who is scavenging for pieces to get food. She was left alone on a planet by her parents. But we don't know who her parents are. But she does have the force and it conflicted about it. Before she finds out about who she is, she meets the droid and gives him shelter. She meets the storm trooper and they set out on adventure and steal a ship. Not any ship – Millennium Falcon.
In this film we find out who the new threat is. We see familiar faces, Chewie, Han Solo, Princess Lea, R2D2, c-3PO & Luke (in the end). What did you think? Thought they wouldn't find him? They did.
If you are a fan of the Star Wars franchise I would recommend for you to see this film if you haven't done so already. It can be a messy film but it all comes together in the middle and you have to follow and trust the film. And you will like the new droid, he is charming and quite funny for not having lines.
You see actors like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and many more.

subset: commoncrawl


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Caroline Spelman and the National Help Service - Free at the Point of Delivery
Pic from Guido
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao 12th March 2009
""We have a financial system that is run by private shareholders, managed by private institutions, and we'd like to do our best to preserve that system."
Timothy Geithner US Secretary of the Treasury, previously President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.1/3/2009
Pic from Guido
Labels: help is at hand.
(C) Very Seriously Disorganised Criminals 2002/3/4/5/6/7/8/9 - copy anything you wish


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I officially declare this recipe a less guilty way to eat potato chips because salad and protein are involved.
Are you with me?
Potato chips make a great coating for schnitzel. A fun food for kids of all ages. For flavor twists, use barbecue or sour cream and onion potato chips for the mix.
Potato chips make a great coating for schnitzel. A fun food for kids of all ages. For flavor twists, use barbecue or sour cream and onion potato chips for the mix.
You can also go all upscale and colorful and use homemade or store bought gourmet chips like blue, beet or sweet potato chips. All would add some lovely color.
The schnitzel recipe can be made with whole cutlets. Just skip cutting out the rounds with a cookie cutter. I wanted a miniature size for presentation so I used a small round cookie cutter to shape the schnitzel out of the veal. Skip that and take the easier way of cutting asymmetrical pieces or strips out of the meat.
Of course, you don't have to use veal. Substituting turkey or chicken cutlets would also work well in this recipe. To bump up the color factor, I used orange tomatoes and red onions in the salad.
Spring Asparagus Salad with
Mini Potato Chip Schnitzel
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
For the Salad:
- 8 baby asparagus spears
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (I used orange Zumas)
- 1 red onion
- 6 cups spring mix salad greens
- For the Dressing:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- 1 pound of thin cut veal cutlets 6 oz of potato chips
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 eggs
- 2 cups canola oil or vegetable oil for frying
Make the salad:
- Trim the asparagus and chop into pieces on the diagonal.
- Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil over medium heat.
- When the water is boiling, add the asparagus pieces and cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain and set aside to cool.
- Slice the cherry tomatoes in half.
- Peel the red onion and slice into rings.
- Place the spring mix greens in a large bowl. Add the asparagus pieces, sliced cherry tomatoes and red onion rings.
- Toss to combine and set aside.
Make the Salad Dressing:
- In a small bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil and the white wine vinegar.
- Whisk in the chives.
- Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Set aside.
Make the Schnitzel:
- Wash the veal cutlets and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Cover the veal cutlets with plastic wrap. Use a mallet or your fist to gently pound the cutlets until they are thin.
- Use a small round 2+1/4" cookie cutter to cut out round pieces out of the veal cutlets. Cut the resulting scraps into strips.
- Crush the potato chips into small pieces. Use a rolling pin to crush them in the bag. Alternately, place the chips in a food processor and pulse until they resemble large crumbs.
- Place the crushed potato chips in a bowl with the all-purpose flour and whisk them together until completely combined.
- Pour the mixture into a deep, flat dish.
- In a separate small bowl beat the eggs together with a fork or a small whisk.
- Pour the egg mixture into a separate deep dish.
- Heat the oil in a deep medium sized skillet over medium heat.
- Place a layer of towels next to the stove.
- Coat each round piece of veal in the beaten egg, then dredge the veal piece with the potato chip all-purpose flour mixture and place the coated pieces in the hot oil.
- Cook for a few minutes until golden brown on each side. Remove from the skillet and play on the prepared paper towels to drain. Repeat until all of the rounds and strips have been cooked.
- Stir the vinaigrette dressing and toss it with the salad.
- Divide the salad among individual plates.
- Add a few pieces of the finished mini potato chip schnitzel to each plate and serve.


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The thing is, which goes back to my point, they hear these things from somewhere and they hear it so much that it creeps into their brains, distorts their thinking--without them even largely knowing it. The lady who shoved that poor man onto the tracks likely was a product of the same type of thing.
Originally posted by GLaDOS
Originally posted by sonnny1
reply to post by Wrabbit2000
I have to believe that she is Mentally Deranged.
If Not, what a sad excuse for a human being..............
Oh yeah, any American who kills people is mentally deranged. Any Arab that kills people is a terrorist.


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Product DetailsThis futuristic sci-fi thriller from director Georg Koszulinski begins in the year 2012. With the third world war slowly burning to an end, the remnants of a devastated earth have to be pieced back together. The furious chemical war has rendered three billion people dead, and left the majority of the male population impotent. Genetic advances have meant that cloning is now a viable option to help continue the existence of the human race, so a batch of clones known as the First Strand are commissioned. With the experiment regarded a resounding success, more clones are produced, and the population of the planet slowly expands. But as the years pass it becomes terrifyingly apparent that something is very wrong with First Batch, spurring the citizens of earth into another brutal and bloody battle.
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Booked a room here for a wedding. Nice little place to stay with a friendly host to chat with. Double room was good - a little small, not a problem for a single night though. Nice cooked breakfast included :)
"we had the family room, very nice and quiet, good bathroom as well."
"The ground floor room that we stopped in was compact but well equipped and had a great view of Maribel's..."


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Clarification Alert: Only L.A. Gays Are Total Sluts
Patti Stanger, The Millionaire Matchmaker who has a success rate of zero, set b-holes on fire and earned a temporary place on GLAAD's hit list on Sunday night when she opened up her dumb dumpster box of a mouth and said that gays can't stick with one peen, all Jewish men lie and nobody wants to roll around with a queen.
This was not breaking news to those who know that Patti has been terrorizing the straight people and curly-haired communities for years with the ridiculous Tsunami of wet shit that pours off of her rat tongue all the time. But after some called for Patti to be thrown into Bravo's trash pile with Showdog Mom & Dads (Never 4Get), Patti quickly Twatted out an "I'm Sowwy" note. Patti then brought her guinea pig in a wig-looking ass to Joy Behar's show and clarified that she wasn't talking about ALL GAYS, she was only talking about L.A. gays! Patti dipped the generalizations she made on Watch What Happens Live in concrete when she said this to Joy Behar (as transcribed by Towleroad):
"In the show when we do the mixers, the guys are passing around the telephone numbers, they're sleeping with each other, even affter the millionaire gets the date he's sleeping with the pool of people. My (gay) friend…says 'Patti this is what it's like around the country.' This is the gay community. I said, 'I'm trying to curb them.' Now this is not the lesbian. The lesbian gets involved. They move in together. They're quiet. They're at peace. But the gay men. They whip it out at eyelock. They get involved, and then they find out later whether or not they want a serious relationship. And I hope they use the privilege in New York of gay marriage, because now they have it. And a lot of gays aren't getting married, even though they have the privilege."
Patti then said that she's like the Norma Rae of gay marriage and has been an advocate since the beginning of gay time. Patti's right. She once took a break from her busy schedule of yelling at The Hot Topic Twins to pose in a Lee Press-On campaign sponsored by NOH8.
But we're all missing the bigger point here: who in the hell takes Patti Stanger seriously? The only reason why I watched The Millionaire Matchmaker is because I love love love how wrong she is about everything. There should be a disclaimer at the beginning that reads: Whatever Patti Says To Do, Do The Opposite.
How can you seriously take the advice of a mutated ostrich egg who tells you to keep your chonies on during the first date? That makes no sense. If I don't fuck a trick on the first date, how do I know if I want to fuck them on the second date? Answer that, Patti!
And as a gay whose best slut moments were lived out in the L.A. area, I have no comment on her "all L.A. gays are sluts" comment.


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Convert files from MS Access2007 database is SQL Server 2005
that can be done easily. We learn to do the following steps.
1. Open MS Access database file you want converted.
2. Select toolbar Database Tools -> SQL Server.
3. Select "Create new database" and click the command button "Next".
4. Set Database Sever, Login ID, Password and database name and click the command button "Next".
5. Select the Table to convert and click the command button "Next".
6. Click the command button "Next".
7. Click the command button "Next".
8. Click the command button "Finish".
9. Application process to convert the database to SQL Server.
10. Program will report results showing the conversion database to SQL Server.
11. What if no error, we will have a database SQL Server as needed.
Applied work!!!
Caution : Must be more careful what type of data that is being converted to check around to get the maximum performance, such as size, type of data.
Thank you,
worawut bunwang
( Thai Version )


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Alexis Bittar sample sale.
Friday, Dec. 2
Saturday, Dec. 3
9am 0 6:30PM
125 W. 21 Street
Between 6th and 7th
Shit's not even gonna know what hit it. But if you get there before me, save some Lucite for me, okay?
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Alexis Bittar Sample Sale
Posted by Tamar at 9:22 PM
Labels: alexis bittar, jewelry, sample sales
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text:
Concerned More With Ideas Than With Form or Style
George Orwell always wrote to a purpose outside writing itself, so that the form of a literary work was never for him an end in itself, and he never indulged in stylistic experimentation for its own sake. Even in discussing other writers, he did not show much interest in the formal aspects of their work. He was much more concerned with the ideas and the moral impulses found in the works of an author.
The Importance of Words and of Description in His Eyes
One important aspect of Orwell as a writer is that he attached a great importance to the words and to description. He tells us that, in reading Paradise Lost, he all at once "discovered the joy of mere words, that is, the sounds and associations of words," and he goes on to say: "As for the need to describe things, I knew all about it already." And then he goes on to show how this double preoccupation with words and with description determined the kind of books he wished in his youth to write:
I wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their sound.
Words in his case are intended to play a dual role as evocative sounds and as the means not only to exact description but also to argumentation and moral-political discussions. This double movement of Orwell's prose can be seen most effectively in the kind of autobiographical, polemical reportage which he developed as his most characteristic form of writing. The structure of such works is essentially, a logical rather than an organic structure. In each book of this kind, Orwell catches our attention by a fine descriptive piece which serves as a kind of introduction. We enter Down and Out in Paris and London to the sound of the morning squabbles in a certain locality; we slide into the world of slums and unemployment in The Road to Wigan Pier through the seedy entrance-hall of the Bookers' lodging house; and the whole heroic tone of Homage to Catalonia is set by the high-keyed moment of Orwell's meeting with the Italian militiaman in Barcelona on the eve of his own joining the fight for the Republican cause. The alternation of narration and argument that follows can be observed in Down and Out. Basically the same form is followed in both the other books which have been named above. In each case we have a simple and unsophisticated form of construction.
One of the Best Writers of Reportage
Another point to be noted is that, while Orwell is always anxious, like a good journalist, to provide an opening that will immediately create the reader's interest, he is so little concerned about the endings that he generally closes a book with an anticlimax. The last chapter of Down and Out is pointlessly pathetic, while The Road to Wigan Pier ends in a stale joke. Only in Homage to Catalonia is there an increase in tension towards the end, when Orwell and his wife flee across the frontier from Barcelona to France. This way of writing is quite appropriate to books of this nature where the material of real life needs only the minimum of arrangement, and where the sheer quality of the prose can carry the subject-matter and the argument. This is why Orwell, with his love of description and his love for words which give the right feeling to a scene or a thought, is one of the best writers of reportage.
A Weakness in the Characterization
But the writing of novels is a different matter altogether. Here Orwell suffers from several weaknesses in characterization and structure. Orwell could admirably sketch a person whom he had met in real life and observed from the outside. Bozo the screever in Down and Out is an obvious example. But Orwell found it very difficult to create a fictional character, observed from within. Every major fictional character drawn by Orwell has the same attitude as Orwell himself had, even to the point of using the same language which Orwell himself was in the habit of using, and also expressing Orwell's own most characteristic thoughts. Only one fictional hero, namely George Bowling (in Coming Up For Air) develops enough vital autonomy to live in our minds as a credible character, though even he has his improbabilities. Orwell's characters are, in fact, extremely passive: all the important things in their lives happen to them, and whenever they themselves try to take action, which is usually in the form of rebellion against their passive role, their attempt always ends in futility.
Minor Characters, Drawn More Effectively
As in the case of Dickens, it is usually the minor characters who are the most effective in Orwell's novels. Orwell has successfully drawn characters like Mrs. Creevy, the proprietress of the evil Ringwood Academy; Ellis in Burmese Days, the fanatical hater of anyone with a coloured skin; and even, in a way George Bowling, who is really a comic minor character magnified and seen from the inside. If Orwell failed to create if thoroughly convincing major characters, it was partly because of their passivity, partly because of their futility, and partly also because these characters are never really defined in their relationships with other people. Gordon Comstock in Keep the Aspidistra Flying has three major personal relationships—with his sister, with his friend Ravelston, and with his girl Rosemary. But in no case does the relationship come alive. The reason is partly because Gordon is a highly self-centred man but mainly because there is no real individuality about the other characters and consequently nothing which can strike out against his egotism. In the other novels, the characters come to life only where there is a touch of comedy or incongruity to strike a spark. An example is Dorothy Hare's friendship with Mr. Warburton in A Clergyman's Daughter, which is much more credible than the love-affair between Gordon and Rosemary (in Keep the Aspidistra Flying) and the love-affair between Winston and Julia (in Nineteen Eighty-Four). The only marriage in Orwell's novels that really arouses the reader's interest is that of George and Hilda Bowling. In Burmese Days there is one very convincing and moving relationship, that between Flory and Dr. Veraswami with all its lovable misunderstandings, and with the pathetic loyalty all on one side. This novel contains another relationship which has an important bearing upon the partial nature Orwell's success as a novelist. Orwell was of the view that the true novel always contains at least two characters, probably more, who are described from the inside and on the same level of probability. Burmese Days is the only of Orwell's novels which meets this requirement. Both Flory and Elizabeth Lackersteen are seen from the inside. It is true that no kind of intimacy is ever established between them, but such is the author's own intention. What does take place is a confrontation in which they act upon, and define, each other, even though they are always at cross purposes on account of Flory's chronic romanticism and Elizabeth's chronic selfishness.
Each of the Six Novels, Representing a Different Type
Orwell's failures in characterization are closely connected with failures of general structure in his books. He never arrived at any satisfactory "form" for a large work of fiction. He was always searching for form. The result is that the six works of fiction which he wrote represent almost as many different types. Burmese Days can be accepted as a true novel in the tradition deriving from the French writer, Flaubert. But it was followed by A Clergyman's Daughter which is a loose picaresque with the elementary structure of a number of episodes hung on the thread of a journey. Keep the Aspidistra Flying is certainly not a novel in the traditional sense, and may be described as a burlesque. Coming Up For Air is a kind of prose dramatic monologue held together mainly by the charm of George Bowling's memories. It is a book almost without construction. Animal Farm, which Orwell described as a fairy tale, is really a fable, and it is also the only one of his novels possessing a perfectly tight economy, largely because it was built round an actual historical incident, the Russian Revolution and its betrayal. Nineteen Eighty-Four is a utopia. Here, again, Orwell took much pains over the construction, though not with the same success as in Animal Farm. The main flaw of Nineteen Eighty-Four is that it has two centres, a political and theoretical one, and the other a human one. These centres come together when Winston is confronted by O'Brien in the Ministry of Love. This is the point where Winston meets the power of the Party in all its inhumane force. But Orwell fails at this crucial point to fuse the dual purposes of the book.
Orwell's Descriptions; His Polemical Arguments;
and His Style
and His Style
As against Orwell's weaknesses in characterization and in structure, there are his achievements which are conspicuous. His descriptions are magnificent. His polemical arguments are always highly readable. Each one of his books contains episodes which not many writers can equal. His style is inimitable. Not since Swift has there been a prose more lucid, flexible, exact, and eloquent than Orwell's. But Orwell goes beyond Swift because he can speak in the tone of humour as well as that of satire; he can sound the lyrical and the elegiac notes, besides the urbane and austere ones. And his style is capable of many variations. The tone in which he writes of Wigan, for example, is quite different from the tone in which he writes of Aragon ; and the style in which he argues is different from that in which he describes. In his novels, there are different forms of the Orwellian style. In Burmese Days, for instance, Orwell's style is somewhat ornate but by no means inappropriate to its rather exotic subject. In Coming Up For Air, there is an immense gain in vigour, and the language is far more colloquial. In Animal Farm, Orwell reaches the ultimate point of simplification. This style is a model of direct, clear writing. The language of Animal Farm is Orwell's highest literary achievement because it is appropriate to that particular story and would not be appropriate to any other kind of story. More than any other writer of his time, Orwell learned to "let the meaning choose the word," which meant to let every meaning choose its word and the tone of its word.


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garden notes
- I counted my butternut squash too soon. I found 2 more today! They are not ripe yet, hanging outside my fence, hidden in the weeds.
- I ordered garlic for planting a few days ago. Decided I did not have enough this year to use for planting as well as eating. I'll eat my whole crop. I ordered 1 lb from Territorial Seed Co (2 varieties - their special combo of a white soft neck and a purple hard neck) - about 60 cloves total for planting later this fall.
- Its time to consider your fall cover crops and order seed now. Still early enough to plant clovers and legumes. As it gets later, go for just rye. I wish I'd remembered this and ordered it with my garlic. I might have saved on shipping charges.
Labels: butternut squash


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Firefox's Spell Checker Should Use Google's "Did You Mean" Technology
I am a horrible speller, but hopefully that isn't apparent on this blog since I take full advantage of Firefox's spell checker. When I am composing these blog posts any misspelled words get underlined in red so I can right click on them and fix them up.
Unfortunately, Firefox's suggestions are not particularly good. For example, I misspelled prosperity as propserpity and the suggestions were: Proserpina, Proserpine, propensity, and propinquity. I must misspell words in particularly creative ways for I often find that the correct spelling is not on the list. Sometimes I am off by just one letter and yet it doesn't make the suggestion list.
On the other hand, when you misspell something in a Google search, Google gives you a "Did you mean" suggestion which works amazingly well (worked perfectly on propserpity). I would have to say that it suggests the right word 95% of the time. I don't know how they are able to get it to work so well, but I am always impressed by how it finds the right word with only one suggestion.
I wish Firefox would license this technology and put it into their spell checker or that some add-on developer would create an add-on that puts the "Did you mean" suggestion on the top of the list.


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In The Garden Response Card
Click Image for Gallery
This Response Card features a subtle pattern of beautiful blossoms in taupe.
Reply-to Imprinted Envelopes are included with this product, at no additional charge. Provide your reply-to address in the fields provided below.
Use these cards to keep track of attendance or use them to provide important details about your event like accommodations, etc. Available with or without envelope. If you do not require envelopes, please make a note in Special Instructions, and the pricing will be adjusted after we have received your order.
- Product Type: Reply Card
- Dimensions: 4.25 x 5.5
- Paper Weight: 120 lb. Cardstock
- Lettering Shown : Christopher Ornate, Academy & Baskerville Caps
- Ink Color : Espresso


text:
Sanofi Legal Honcho Quits As Plavix Trial Nears
Senior vice-president in charge of legal affairs Dirk Oldenburg, who is also General Counsel of the pharmaceuticals group, will resign from his post in order to pursue "other career opportunities," Sanofi-Aventis said.
Oldenburg will leave in the second half of this...
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text:
GSBS Student Publications
Nuclear structure--skeletal gene expression interrelationships
UMMS Affiliation
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Department of Cell Biology and Cancer Center
Document Type
Medical Subject Headings
Animals; Bone and Bones; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Nucleus; Chromatin; Core Binding Factor alpha Subunits; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Humans; NF-kappa B; Nuclear Matrix; Nuclear Pore; Nucleosomes; Osteoblasts; Osteocalcin; Osteosarcoma; Promoter Regions (Genetics); Protein Structure, Tertiary; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors; Transcription, Genetic; Vitamin D; Vitamin D Response Element
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
Using the osteocalcin gene as a paradigm for bone tissue-specific transcription, evidence is presented for functional linkage of nuclear architecture with developmental and steroid hormone-responsive control. The involvement of chromatin structure, nucleosome organization and the nuclear matrix is evaluated within the context of integrating regulatory signals that activate and/or suppress transcription of the osteocalcin gene. Mechanisms are evaluated which direct the bone and hematopoietic-specific acute myelogenous leukemia/core binding factor (AML/CBF) transcription factors to nuclear matrix-associated subnuclear domains that are competent to support expression.
Rights and Permissions
Citation: Front Biosci. 1998 Aug 1;3:d849-64.
Related Resources
Journal Title
Frontiers in bioscience : a journal and virtual library
PubMed ID
Repository Citation
Stein, Gary S.; Van Wijnen, Andre J.; Stein, Janet L.; and Lian, Jane B., "Nuclear structure--skeletal gene expression interrelationships" (1998). GSBS Student Publications. 1183.


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Punisher x Eminem comic book
With Eminem recently re-entering the Hip-Hop world thanks to an upcoming May 19th album drop titled Relapse, Marvel Comics' latest real-life to comic book transformation features the notorious Detroit lyricist as he teams-up with the super hero synonymous with heavy artillery, The Punisher. The comic by Fred Van Lente and Salvador Larroca features the synopsis "Who's killing whom? With Punisher, Slim Shady and Barracuda all armed to the teeth and gunning for each other, expect plenty of bullets, blood and betrayals in PUNISHER/EMINEM: KILL YOU" which can be read in its entirety online through Marvel.


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what a hot cock. Love to fuck and suck that as fuck buddy
wow!!! she's hot!!!
Hottest fuck around
wtf sexy girl
The guy is a idiot he didn't eat her I sure would have !!!
most beautiful movie ive ever seen....and most beautiful girl by the way
popsie. did you see my comments at ''horney honeys''?
shit video cause the dubbed music over the action. it would have been good with out the music
popsie.. Hi I love Penny but the more I see of Judy who has a figure like mine with her 32" tits and we are both size 8 whereas Penny has bigger breasts 36" and is a good size 10, Its funny you say the size of girls you like best. I love judy who has never been with a man, yes thats right she is still a virgin. Penny has a more forward outlook to sex and is up for anything with guys and girls. Thats probly the attraction together with her big juicy pussy. ps Im blonde and the others are brunettes I am 5ft 8inches tall 32B:23:34 and very sexy as u already know.
what a great girl to fuck
The best
This clip if from the Real XXX letters series from Purrrfect Video.
nice nice
does anyone know what this clip is from?
Incredible girl here ouf! what is her NAME please !!
oh my god it's amazing
music name pls
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text:
TFS (Team Foundation Server) woes
I have been using TFS for the past several months for defect tracking and management and it seems it is working pretty well until I stumbled on this issue. There is no comprehensive support to search across multiple work items. I did Ctrl + F and searched for a string and bang!! – you see the message as shown in the image.
I thought of writing a addin that accesses TFS SDK to enable that functionality. While searching for TFS SDK documentation, I stumbled upon this nice little addin that does what I had in my mind.
URL: http://blogs.msdn.com/noahc/archive/2007/03/08/search-work-items-team-system-addin.aspx.
I tried this addin personally and it works wonderfully to search for any work item by keyword or by bug ID.
Update: There is another neat addin called "TFS Quick Search" (http://www.codeplex.com/tfsquicksearch) which can do more wonders. Try it for yourself to find out!!!


text:
Friday, March 28, 2008
I have a pin
That's what I do every week with 20-30 teenagers on Thursday nights. Some weeks, we do more such as last Friday night when we had a Lock-In. For those who aren't familiar with a Lock-In, some person who must've gone off his meds (that's the only explanation for it) long ago created the idea. The premise is that you show up for an event in the evening, the doors are locked and you can't leave until morning. It's kind of like prison. Only fun! Teenagers beg for them because a)it's a night away from parents, b)night with friends and c)absolutely no sleeping.
Perfect for the teens because they'll get to sleep the next day. The youth leaders kind of stumble through the next day in a haze feeling as though they've just been in a car accident because their body has been deprived of sleep.
Worth it? Every one of those teens will tell you yes and I'd have to agree. The teens will say it's because they didn't sleep, they sprayed the youth leader who did fall asleep with whipped cream, they played extreme hide & seek, found almost all of the 200 eggs we hid for them in impossible places and drank insane quantities of caffeine. What they'll realize later is what the adults already know; that night we saw these teens grow, build stronger relationships, experience fun in a safe, nurturing environment and answered some tough questions in a surprisingly articulate way.
I'm caught up on sleep just in time to go away for the entire weekend with this group for an event where they will be with thousands of other teens for 2 days of crazy. Crazy bands, speakers, classes, beach fun and yes, very possibly, no sleep again. I've got the whipped cream ready to go for the poor youth leader who forgets to sleep with one eye open though!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Ace of Cakes
If you're actually in the area of Mount St. Mary's tonight, they're watching the show and giving away cupcakes. Wow, a Bicentennial birthday! Does this mean they can really say they're Kickin' It Old School?
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Baaaaad, bad Blogger (and yardsale)
With the camera being on the fuzzy fritz, I haven't been able to upload my more recent Deck of Me cards to the Flickr group. We do finally have a group symbol we can paste into our blogs courtesy of Dianna, the wonder hostess and Rhonna Farrer who graciously lent her talents to it!
Last, but not least an announcement on behalf of a friend, Michelle! She has superb taste in scrapbook & stamping supplies and her pricing for this sale is insane. She seriously is parting with amazing stuff for super cheap. If you're in the area, get there any way you can!
As some of you may have heard (or not), I will be moving within the next month or so. Do not cry, as I will only be moving to Frederick. However, a small place does not warrant such an extensive scrapbook supply collection. So, this will be the FINAL scrapbook yard sale I have. All items will be priced at $1, $5 or $10. I really need to get rid of so much stuff (as well as make some cash to live off of). So please spread the word:
Date: Saturday, March 15th
Time: 8am-12noon
Place: 6939 Fox Chase Road
The Meadows (Lake Linganore)
New Market, MD
Items will at least include—embellishments, scrapbooks, paper (by the sheet and pack), ribbon, books, magazines, tools, stamps, inks, alterables…and the list goes on for miles.
Brand names include—Basic Grey, Making Memories, Artic Frog, 7 Gypsies, Bazzill, Autumn Leaves, Stampin Up, Prima, KI Memories, Angel Company, Close To My Heart, Chatterbox, Cosmo Cricket, Foofla, SEI, My Minds Eye…
Thanks for your support--


text:
Oh hey there end of May. I realize it's been basically a month since I blogged, but I'm going to claim the old faithful end of the school year excuse. That's right…school's out. I survived a year of teaching third grade…barely. I've grown a whole baby, and now we wait. I am so thankful to have been so healthy, but these last weeks are a test. I still feel pretty good, except for feeling like I've been riding a horse for a month (attractive, I know), but my mind is so restless. I like definite answers, and apparently, babies don't give those.
I'm thinking that instead of moping around and complaining, I'm going to scrub floors and clean things and possibly mix it up with a nap. I had everything done so early that now that school's out, I'm kind of just hanging out. If you need your Tupperware cabinet sorted, please let me know!
From top left, these range from 36 weeks +1 day to 38 weeks. The pineapple neon is 37 weeks, and the yellow neon is 38 weeks.
Part of me is going to miss my bump and not having to share Baby Davis, but a growing part of me is just so, so ready to have him here! That being said, I'm going to go ahead and do a little bumpdate and share some third trimester faves. Call it wishful thinking, but maybe it'll encourage Davis to come on out!
How far along? 39 weeks today!
How big is baby? Gigantic. Humongous. According to the app, he's about the size of a watermelon (coincidentally, I look like I've swallowed a watermelon…) which apparently means somewhere between 18.9 and 20.9 inches and 6.2 to 9.2 pounds. Wow.
Gender? Boy!
Sleep? My perfect sleep record finally played out a little, but it's still not too bad! I usually wake up about once a night, and I don't stay asleep very late, but I'm assuming that it's all just prep work for having a newborn.
Maternity clothes? I'm still wearing my two pairs of maternity jeans, and I have four or so maternity shirts. In the pictures above, only the denim shorts, gray t-shirt, and gray and pink striped shirt are maternity…everything else is just very stretchy. FYI, the neon pineapple shirt and the neon yellow are both from Wal-Mart, and I love them!
Symptoms? Does feeling like I've been riding a horse for a month count? Mostly I'm just feeling bigger and slower than ever…
Movement? Not so much big movement as little feet and elbows and knees and hands sticking out the sides.
Wedding rings on or off? They've been off for a couple of weeks. They still fit, but my hands are a little swollen, and I don't want to tempt fate.
Cravings or aversions? Do you know I still can't really think about frozen pizza? I'm hoping this goes away after he gets here…other than that, I just want to eat everything in sight.
What I miss? Not having to build up momentum to propel myself off the furniture would be great.
Best moment? We went to the doctor yesterday, and it finally looks like Baby Davis may be making at least a little progress! I'm not getting my hopes up because I know it could stall like this for over a week, but at least it's something!
I am so hoping that Davis show up soon, but I'm making sure to remind myself that "soon" is relative. Even if he's overdue (please, no!), that technically is soon…even though it doesn't feel like it.
For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.
Habakkuk 2:3


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But aren't Forget-me-nots supposed to be blue?
Yeah, sort of like this... super blue.
Or even sweet little bunches of light blue...
Shy, sweet little blue things...
oh.... they ARE? blue??? all of them???
Can you tell me then, why did I sow some seeds of Forget-me-nots and instead of the blue little snips of heaven I got .....
and WHITE????
LOL! they are cute! and kind of exotic, and I don't have a clue what they are, but they are NOT forgetmenots and I am a bit -kind -of-sad-but-i -like-them-anyway. I went to the store and they said the company that makes the seed packets sometimes has commited those blunders... They offered another package, but it only would yield more pink and orange and white flowers, since it is the same batch. I thanked them and went home to my pretty little impostors instead.
Does it happen to you too????? or is it only me that manages to get into this kind of situations????


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|The 1959 National League Champion, the first ever professional league .
This is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number 25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions' League.
Fenerbahçe SKwas founded as a football club in 1907 in Istanbul. The club's name comes from Fenerbahçe of Istanbul. Fenerbahçe is a major multi-sports club and competes in football, basketball, volleyball, athletics, swimming, sailing, rowing, boxing and table tennis with many major honours won in each. Fenerbahçe is one of the most successful and best supported football teams in Turkey, having never been relegated to lower divisions. It is nicknamed Sarı Kanaryalar (Turkish for "Yellow Canaries") and plays its home games at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Kadıköy, Istanbul.
|2014 Super Liga Champion
GK: Rustu Recber (Turkey)
Rüştü had got a key role in the success of the Turkish national squad, and it was at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where Turkey finished third, that his performances saw him selected for the tournament's all-star team. He is Turkey's record appearance holder, having earned 120 caps. During his professional career, he played as a goalkeeper for Antalyaspor, Fenerbahçe, Barcelona and Beşiktaş.
|Rustu Recber
He began his football career at Vefa in 1955. He later played for Fenerbahçe and to Beşiktaş. He also played for Austria Wien between 1964 and 1967. He joined Hamburger SV in 1967 and played for nine seasons. He played in the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1968 losing 2–0 to AC Milan.
GK: Volkan Demirel (Turkey)
Demirel was the starting goalkeeper of the Fenerbahçe side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League. He was also the starting goalkeeper of the Turkey side that reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2008.
RB: Gökhan Gönül (Turkey)
Gönül started with the youth team of Gençlerbirliği, but he was loaned to Hacettepe, where he played until 2007. Fenerbahçe bought him before the start of the 2007–08 season, where he flourished under then-coach Zico. After putting in performances during the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League, he earned the nickname "Turkish Cafu". The club reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in club history. At time of writing, he has over 60 caps.
|Gökhan Gönül
Aktuna started his career 1957 in İstanbulspor then transferred to Fenerbahçe in 1965. He won 5 Turkish League titles in 10 years. He also played 29 times for Turkey. He ended his career with Fenerbahçe jersey in 1975.
CB: Diego Lugano (Uruguay)
Diego Lugano started with Libertad, Club Nacional de Football and Plaza Colonia at home before making a name with Sao Paulo in Brazil, where he won Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup in 2005. He later played for Fenerbahçe, PSG, Malaga, West Bromwich Albion and BK Häcken. For Uruguay, he earned nearly a 100 caps. He captained the team for eight years, beginning in May 2006. He captained Uruguay to Copa America's victory in 2011 and went to two World Cup Finals: 2010 and 2014.
SW: Alpaslan Eratli (Turkey)
Between 1973-1983, he played for Fenerbahçe, and was the captain of the team between 1980-83. He played 414 matches for Fenerbahçe SK and scored 38 goals. He started his career in amateur level with İstanbul based club Cerreahpaşa Spor Kulubü and then started in professional with İstanbulspor then transferred to Fenerbahçe. He also played 26 times for Turkey
CB: Basri Dirimlili (Turkey)
Basri Dirimlili played 23 times for Turkey. He was a member of Turkey's World Cup team in 1954. He also went to the 1952 Olympic Games. He was regarded among the greatest Turkish defender. Dirimlili began playing football for Eskişehir Demirspor. He transferred to Fenerbahçe in 1951, where he played until 1953.
|Basri Dirimlili
CB: Ziya Şengul (Turkey)
He joined Fenerbahçe at the age of 20 in 1964. He played for them until 1975. He was a member of the great Fenerbahce's tram in 1974 coached by Dida. He earned 21 caps for Turkey.
LB/LW: Abdullah Ercan (Turkey)In Turkey, he spent most of his career with Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. His past clubs also included Inter Milan, Newcastle United and Atlético Madrid. He won the UEFA Cup in 1999 with Galatasaray. He played with Turkey that went to the semi-finals at the 2002 World Cup and at Euro 2008.
He was remembered for his career with Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe. With Trabzonspor, he played 9 seasons and won 5 titles. He also played briefly with Galatasaray. He earned 68 caps between 1993 and 2003, the most glorious perid of Turkish football. He went to the Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.
LB: Cem Pamiroğlu (Turkey)
He started his career with Fenerbahçe in 1975. He played 508 times for Fenerbahçe. He won 3 Turkish League titles and 2 Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe. He also played 23 times for Turkey. He joined Sarıyer in 1986.
DM: Emre Belozoglu (Turkey)
He was remembered for his career with Trabzonspor and Fenerbahçe. With Trabzonspor, he played 9 seasons and won 5 titles. He also played briefly with Galatasaray. He earned 68 caps between 1993 and 2003, the most glorious perid of Turkish football. He went to the Euro 1996, Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup.
LB: Cem Pamiroğlu (Turkey)
He started his career with Fenerbahçe in 1975. He played 508 times for Fenerbahçe. He won 3 Turkish League titles and 2 Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe. He also played 23 times for Turkey. He joined Sarıyer in 1986.
DM: Emre Belozoglu (Turkey)
CM: Oğuz Çetin (Turkey)
Cetin is well known for his superior ability to organize the midfield and also had decent vision, passing and shooting skills. He is known as "emperor" by Turkish soccer fans. He led Fenerbahçe to championship in 1995-96 season but Fenerbahçe chairman Ali Sen released him immediately. Çetin played for Istanbulspor and Adanaspor after he was released by Fenerbahçe in 1996. He was capped 70 times for the Turkey national football team. He represented his country at the 1996 European Championship in England.
CM: Naci Erdem (Turkey)
Erdem started his career with Karagümrükspor. He played 605 games for Fenerbahçe between 1953–63. He won 4 times Turkish League. He also won another league title with Galatasaray after transferred there in 1964. He was capped 34 times for Turke and he started as captain 3 times. He played for Turkey at the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
DF/DM/CM/FW: Müjdat Yetkiner (Turkey)
He played for Fenerbahçe between 1980–95. He was the club's appearance record holder and won the Turkish League title three times (1982–83, 1983–84 and 1988–89). He played the positions of sweeper, defender, fullback, defensive midfielder, midfielder, winger and attacking midfielder. He also played as a forward several times. He was also capped by Turkey 26 times.
|Müjdat Yetkiner
Alaattin Baydar played 18 years for Fenerbahçe between 1916-34. He is third highest goalscorer in Fenerbahçe history with 362 goals in 324 matches and he also scored 24 goals in 39 matches against Galatasaray. He was a member of first Turkish national football team squad who played against Romania on 26 October 1923. He played 16 times for the national team. He is also member of national team of 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics. His brother is Nasuhi Baydar who is one of Fenerbahçe founder.
AM/CM: Fikret Kırcan (Turkey)
He played for Fenerbahçe S.K. from 1934 to 1956. He served as Fenerbahçe team captain from 1951 through 1956 and was capped 12 times with the Turkish national team, thrice as captain, and attended the football tournament at the 1948 Summer Olympics, where his nation made it to the quarter-finals before being eliminated by eventual silver medalists Yugoslavia.
|Fikret Kırcan
AM: Alex de Souz (Brazil)
Alex has played for Coritiba, Palmeiras, Flamengo and Cruzeiro in Brazil, Parma in Serie A and Fenerbahçe in Turkey. he made a name at Palmeiras winning the Copa Libertadores in 1999. At Cruzeiro, Alex had the best performance in his career, winning the Brazilian triple crown (that is the State Championship, the Brasileirão and the Brazilian Cup). He was capped 47 times. he never went to the WC Finals, due to playing at the same time as Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Juninho Pernambucano, Juninho Paulista, Kaka. However, he captained Brazil as they won the Copa America in 2007.
AM: Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria)In 2007 he was voted number 12 on the greatest African footballers of the past 50 years by CAF. He was Nigeria Player of the Year in
1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. He played in three WC Finals(1994, 1998, 2002) and won an Olympic Gold medal. he played for Fenerbahçe, Eintracht Frankfurt, PSG, Bolton Wanderers and Hull City.SS: Lefter Küçükandonyadis (Turkey)
He is regarded as one of the greatest footballers to play for Fenerbahçe and Turkey. He was one of the first Turkish footballers to play abroad, playing during 1951–1953 for Fiorentina in Italy and OGC Nice in France. He scored 22 goals for the national team and was the top scorer for Turkey until overtaken by Hakan Şükür. He was the first Turkish football player to receive the "Golden Honor medal", from the Turkish Football Federation, for having played for the National Selection in 50 international matches.
|Lefter Küçükandonyadis
FW/ST: Şeref Has (Turkey)
He transferred from Beyoğluspor to Fenerbahçe in 1955. He was the third most appearance record for with 605 appearances between 1955–69,. He played as a forward and midfielder and was especially known for his headed goals. At his career end he also played as defender. He also played 37 times for Turkey, starting as captain 10 times.
ST: Cemil Turan (Turkey)
He started with Sarıyer G.K. when he was 14. He transferred first to Istanbulspor and then to Fenerbahçe, where he won 3 league championship titles (1974, 1975, 1978). He was three times league topscorer in 1974, 1976 and 1978. With the national team, Turan scored 19 goals and earned 44 caps.
ST: Zeki Rıza Sporel (Turkey)
Zeki Rıza Sporel played and scored in the country's first international match against Romania in 1923. He spent his entire career at Fenerbahçe scoring over 470 goals for them. He began with the club in the 1915-1916 season as a 18 years old. In 19831, he scored 8 goals in a single match that remained the record for most goals in a single match. His brother was at point the President of the club.
Zeki Rıza Sporel played and scored in the country's first international match against Romania in 1923. He spent his entire career at Fenerbahçe scoring over 470 goals for them. He began with the club in the 1915-1916 season as a 18 years old. In 19831, he scored 8 goals in a single match that remained the record for most goals in a single match. His brother was at point the President of the club.
During his career, Rıdvan was given the nickname "Şeytan Rıdvan" ("Rıdvan the Devil") and was one of the most talented of his generation. He played for Muğlaspor, Boluspor and Sarıyer before signing for Fenerbahçe. Dilmen made 24 appearances for the Turkey national football team from 1984 to 1992.
|Rıdvan Dilmen
Cihat Arman, Toni Schumacher, Şükrü Ersoy, Sergen Yalçın, Hasan Kâmil Sporel, Jes Høgh, Uche Okechukwu, Ogün Temizkanoğlu, Yenal Kaçıra, İsmail Kartal, Roberto Carlos, Dirk Kuyt, Esat Kaner, Aykut Kocaman, Tuncay Şanlı.
Squad Explanation
-- Most lists considered Cihat Arman as one of the club's greatest keepers.
-- The club has too many good centerbacks. I dropped a rightback Ismail Kartel and selected 5 centerbacks.
-- Roberto Carlos spent a short time at the club.
-- Emre Belozoglu won the Süper Lig player of the year for the 2009–10 season while playing for the club.
-- I have too many strikers. So I have to drop Aykut Kocaman and Fikret Arıcan.


text:
Villaraigosa pushes school partnership as vote nears
Parents and teachers at three L.A. high schools and their feeder middle schools will decide whether to join the L.A.'s mayor plan or stick with LAUSD's model.
By Howard Blume and Duke Helfand
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
December 10, 2007
Teachers and parents at seven low-performing middle and high schools will decide Tuesday whether to join Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in his effort to dramatically remake their schools. Those campuses are in line for what the mayor said are historic infusions of money and more authority.
This week's balloting will culminate months of hard-charging organizing in neighborhoods and schools by the mayor, his allies and staff. Villaraigosa tried to close the deal himself last week by repeatedly visiting Eastside and South Los Angeles schools, meeting separately with teachers and parents at Roosevelt High, Jordan High and the Santee Education Complex. He and his staff also have made multiple visits to four middle schools that feed into those high schools.
"I want to ensure that teachers have a voice," he told instructors at Jordan. "We want to create a partnership with teachers, classified [non-teaching employees] and parents."
The mayor's overtures received a mix of enthusiasm, skepticism and uncertainty. Villaraigosa made his entreaties even as Los Angeles Unified School District officials develop their own strategy for low-achieving schools, including those courted by the mayor. The school board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a plan proposed by Supt. David L. Brewer.
The mayor has said that the partnership would operate only in communities and schools that invite it. For schools to participate, a majority of teachers on each campus must vote yes as well as a majority of parents who choose to vote.
Specifics of how schools will operate under Villaraigosa's partnership will be worked out on individual campuses, the mayor said. Responding to numerous questions from teachers, he said repeatedly that he wants schools to come up with their own solutions and make decisions on curriculum and budgets independent of the central bureaucracy.
"The specific plan," Villaraigosa said to parents at Roosevelt, "is going to be developed and created by you in the schools."
Villaraigosa's tack is strategic as well as philosophical because the veteran politician knows he has an election to win. He's emphasizing local control and funding, while speaking generically about possibly contentious issues, such as what would happen to ineffective teachers or exactly how much progress schools would need to make.
"We've got to have the vote first," he said in an interview Friday. "You can't put the cart before the horse."
Part of his message was to characterize Brewer's reform plan as "status quo" and "top down." The mayor said he meant no disrespect, only to set his initiative apart from the latest "imposed plan."
District officials have suggested that Villaraigosa is exaggerating that distinction, but the mayor frequently scored points with crowds by comparing his pledges to L.A. Unified's track record.
At every stop, teachers peppered Villaraigosa with questions: Who would manage the schools? What would he do about classroom discipline? Why should teachers choose his approach when other promises of help have withered away?
Veteran Jordan teacher Miranda Manners questioned whether he understood large urban high schools and called the mayor's presentation fuzzy. "I want to go with the district because this partnership is vague," she said in an interview.
At nearby Gompers Middle School, nine teachers, including the school's two union representatives, signed a letter last week that praised the partnership for offering more money and autonomy. Joining the mayor, the teachers said, is "a risk worth taking."
Villaraigosa repeatedly insisted that the issue of money plays in favor of his team.
"You saw the way I raised 50 million bucks like that," he said at Roosevelt, referring to the largest single private pledge to the nonprofit that will manage his schools project.
"And I've got two big healthcare providers lined up -- but you can't write about that yet," he said, waving his microphone at a reporter.
A huge source of funding for both Villaraigosa and Brewer will be the state's Quality Education Investment Act, which for seven years will give dozens of low-achieving Los Angeles schools up to $1,000 per student per year.
Schools qualified for this funding -- and the attention from the mayor and Brewer -- by scoring among the lowest on standardized tests. But they have other problems as well. Santee, although only in its third year, also has been marred by ethnically tinged student fights and administrative turnover. Because of overcrowding, it has to operate year-round. Parents and students at Roosevelt, one of the nation's largest high schools, have complained about lack of access to college-prep classes. Jordan is adjacent to the gang-plagued Jordan Downs low-income housing project. One anti-gang activist at the mayor's forum had lost two of her sons to the violence and instability -- one shot by gang members, the other by police.
At the meetings, Villaraigosa had to overcome residual skepticism related to his failed effort to gain authority over the school system, which critics called divisive and undemocratic. The mayor had better luck recently securing a majority of allies on the school board.
"After helping to elect a reform board, I could have easily checked out, but I'm too committed to this," Villaraigosa said in the interview. "It's essential that the mayor partner with the school district."
For veteran teachers, some misgivings stem from seeing one wave after another of purported reforms sweep through schools with great fanfare, only to be ineffective or quickly abandoned.
"I want to make sure these promises are kept for our kids," Jordan history teacher Walter Rich told Villaraigosa.
School board member Richard Vladovic stood by the mayor's side during his Jordan visits.
"You're lucky if you are part of this partnership because you're going to have more of a say," Vladovic told the teachers. "There are a lot of 'must-do's' in [Brewer's plan]. You've got a choice here because you can opt in."
In a later interview, Vladovic said he, too, didn't mean to castigate Brewer, but called Villaraigosa's team more complete.
The superintendent, a retired admiral who lacks a background in public education, is still seeking a chief academic officer. For his effort, Villaraigosa has tapped Ramon C. Cortines, the former head of the Los Angeles and New York public schools, as chair of the board. The acting executive director is Marshall Tuck, who was chief operating officer for Green Dot Public Schools, which runs charter schools in the Los Angeles area.
Villaraigosa received one of his warmest receptions at Roosevelt in Boyle Heights, where about 150 teachers turned out one recent afternoon. A meeting that night for parents attracted 750.
At Roosevelt, the turnout and support resulted from six years of organizing to advocate for better schools, said Board of Education President Monica Garcia, a Villaraigosa ally who represents that area.
On the Eastside and elsewhere, the partnership has paid or recruited community groups to promote his plan, draw people to meetings and circulate petitions -- supporters claim more than 5,000 parent signatures. The $200,000 organizing effort is funded by grants from Verizon, the Hewlett Foundation, the Gates Foundation and the California Community Foundation, according to the mayor's office.
Most of those same community groups also receive funding for various purposes from the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, whose leaders are working closely with the mayor's team.
Even at Roosevelt, some critics made their opposition plain, wearing yellow shirts or carrying signs with messages such as "Roosevelt No! To Villaraigosa's partnership," "Our kids are not for sale," and "Can we trust you?"
Villaraigosa responded with charm as much as logic. He frequently stayed longer than promised, hamming it up with a little quickstep as he drew winning raffle tickets at Jordan -- organizers had put together a giveaway of a $50 Target certificate, a camera and a color TV to attract Jordan parents.
During the parents session at Roosevelt, which was conducted in Spanish, one woman virtually accused Villaraigosa of thievery. Villaraigosa addressed her by name and added: "One thing: Give me a hug."
She did.
A rodent that scurried across the floor became a Villaraigosa prop. "Is that a mouse?" he said. "We're going to get rid of the mice."
At Jordan, the mayor was unequivocal about his effort: "If you think things are fine at Jordan, then the partnership isn't for you," the mayor said. "When so many of our kids can't read and write, I say it's time for change."
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Villaraigosa and school reform
Posted by Duane Campbell at 8:20 AM
Labels: Los Angeles, school reform, Villaraigosa
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
We are all at fault. We drive our cars when we could take public transportation or walk. We produce too much trash per capita and lament when it has to be trucked or barged out of state when local landfills are overflowing. We create electricity using fossil fuels instead of renewable fuel sources.
Floods have devastated parts of the central U.S. when the Mississippi flooded. The Army Corps of Engineers manages the river through a series of levies and dikes. Control measures worked to minimize flooding this year. Not so in Canada and India. Calgary is under brown flood waters. Property is destroyed, but few people drowned. Not so in India where a storm slammed against the Himalayas and dumped and dumped and dumped water on hillsides. Flooding today has taken over 1000 lives. We all grieve for those lost and their families who remain. We may not be able to do much about floods. Maybe we can control them better, but who thinks to build levies where you've never had disastrous flooding before, as seems the case in Calgary.
We are to blame. So we need to suck it up and fix the problem, one person at a time. I challenge you to pick one way to help nature and get started.


text:
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Saturday, 3 September 2016
Genomics - a new crystal ball for predicting the course of MS?
7 comments:
Im somewhat intrigued by how so many people are born with the right combination of SNPs to have MS in one form or another...especially when we don't all have the exact same combination of mutations. What's the likelihood I would have ONE of these particular SNPs, let alone 7?ReplyDelete
Hi Bennie, interesting points - you are right that lots of people do have some degree of genetic predisposition to developing MS, and certain people develop it because they have a combination of genetic predisposition and are exposed to the 'right' environmental triggers. The likelihood of having the 7 specific risk SNPs is pretty small, but the likelihood of having 1 or 2 is high. Everyone has about 10 million SNPs in their genome - some of the variants you have will be harmless, and unfortunately a few will be associated with a tiny increase in the risk of developing disease.ReplyDelete
Thanks for this DrBenJ, interesting post. However I must confess as a layman I sometimes feel a bit worried and depressed when I read that there may not be a link between relapses and progression, because to me that seems to tactictly imply that even the most effective RRMS drugs - given that they basically work to reduce relapses - probably aren't going to stop or slow me becoming severely disabled in the end. If relapses and progression are sepearate processes, can aggressive treatment really change the outcome? After all tysabri and lemtrada failed in progressive trials. I appreciate that this research is still progress but it's scary to think that the current treatment paradigm might not help me in the long term.ReplyDeleteReplies
We know that relapses are caused by the immune system entering the CNS from the blood and I will argue that the innate (microglia) immune system drives progression using differnt genetic pathways. eg. the genes controlling the magnitude of the immune response may be important in relapse but may not be relevant for progression as differnt cells are doing the business and it may be how the genes respond to insult that determine if you progress or not and these would be unrelated to anything driving relapse.Delete
So don't worry about the genetics yet.
I would arguee however that relapses will condition the progressive disease so they are interlinked and blocking relapses and the damage they cause will limit the generation of the nervous environment that drive progression. Some may argue the genetic status influences how someone responds to the relapse and how they accumulate and repair damage.
Can aggressive treatment change outcome...yes I think so because the long term outcomes of the responders treated with Alemtuzumab have a lower incidence of switch to SPMS than would occur with placebo, but we need to see what happens in the CARE-1/II population. I think that will give and answer.
You say lemtrada and natalizumab failed in trials, yes they failed to halt progressive MS, but did they have any positive outcome? The loss of hand function was signficantly protected so it is not quite right to say failed, they failed in view of the primary outcome, but it was not inert. The alemtuzumab trials were more look see. However HSCT tells us that people can still progress if treatment is late and progressive disease has set in.
Remember identical twins (when I asked George Ebers) do not always have the same disease course one can be RRMS and other can be PPMS so there is more to MS than just genes
Thanks DrBen!ReplyDelete
Thanks DrBen!ReplyDelete
I guess you notice that perhaps environmental factors can "speak" a little higher in the onset of MS, genetics seems to be only part of the story ...
Why, in addition to lumbar puncture to check OCBs and neurofilament and own MRI, don't make the verification of vitamin D rate and IgG levels EBNA-1 when a routine check up is on or not a case of MS?
Hi Cinara - there are lots of biomarkers being looked at, but only some of these are useful as aids to guide prognosis and management. In terms of the details of EBNA-1 and vitamin D levels I'm not the expert, but to my knowledge these markers aren't that helpful in predicting how the disease will behave.ReplyDelete
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text: The nine faced nau mukhi rudraksha represents female energy and power and is symbolised by the goddess Durga. Within this bead lives the energy of nine devis. This bead is a good gift to give to wives, daughters, sisters or partners. It harnesses the energy of women and especially the creative power of mothers. The bead protects wearers against ghosts, evil spirits, enemies and their bad intentions and gives the wearer strength, willpower, protection and fearlessness. It helps the wearer find comfort and success in life, achieving all of their goals. It also helps the wearer feel free and liberated from worries, problems or barriers. The bead gives both spiritual satisfaction and material success. This bead also destroys the effects of sin in past life and helps with mental illness such as hallucinations and OCD. Anyone looking for fame, strength, power, bravery or commitment should wear this bead. Anyone who wishes to connect with feminine energy can also wear this bead to merge with goddess Durga and all that she can bring. This bead is one that can be worn by people who need to succeed and require the support of the bead when it comes to getting there.


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Gabe asked me this morning, "If you could only wear one color for the rest of your life, would it be peach or lavender? Probably peach, huh?". He's cute.
In order to justify wearing this fancy top on a dog walk, I had to pair it with some slouchy pants. I realize that I cancelled out the slouchy pant with the heels but you (I) kinda have to wear heels with pants like this.
Anyway, Birdie has been sick for awhile. She got sick from the dog park and some ridiculously irresponsible pet owner. I think adopting a pet should be the same process of adopting a child. Less rigorous, yes, but along the same lines. Needless to say, she will NEVER be going anywhere near a dog park EVER AGAIN. We just felt bad because we live in a loft and she loves dogs so much so we took her nearly everyday because it made her so happy. We will (God willing) be living close to my family soon so she can play with our family doggies, Rooster and Martin, exclusively.
She's feeling better so we took her out for a walk on this gorgeous summer day.
Lavender Sequin Top: Fancy Treehouse
Pants: Zara
Booties: Anthro
Bag: Vintage
Well, we're half way through August..unbelievable!
XO Coury


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In China, there is a saying, that is if the ox falls,whet your knife. This week, Gaddafi to taste that feeling.
May 27, the closing of Eight summit, Russia eventually signed with other members of the Group of Eight "Deauville Declaration," Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi agreed should step down. Medvedev agreed to act as "facilitator" and sent a special envoy to visit Libya Benghazi stronghold of the opposition, and said Gaddafi to step down, "regardless of Libya, or on the Libyan people will benefit." June 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made it clear that Russia does not consider Gaddafi to provide "immunity or any protection."
From the former "close ally" to the present as a "political corpse", the Russian attitude to the Gaddafi suddenly "fade."
So what exactly is Russia's choice "sacrifice" Gaddafi? Why choose this time to "sacrifice" Gaddafi rather than support for NATO from the beginning? Although we are not "WikiLeaks", not that one of the insider, but I believe that the following aspects can still see some clues.
First of all, the Russian change of attitude, reflecting Russia has begun to "Houkazhafei era," the layout of Libya, Libya's oil and gas resources to do a complete ready to fall into the hands of the opposition. In addition to oil resources, Russia and Libya still has a huge multi-billion dollar arms trade, Gaddafi won if the West is bound to its long-term arms embargo, and if the opposition wins, is bound to the bulk purchase Western products, the two results will bear the huge loss of Russia. But bargain with the opposition in advance, you can minimize that damage, even in the reconstruction process to cash in on some benefits.
Second, the key to changing attitudes in Russia moment, there are three news worthy of special attention.
First, France on May 26 announced the sale of four to Russia for "Northwest Wind"-class helicopter carrier reached an agreement with Russia. French President Nicolas Sarkozy before the start of G8 summit meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Sarkozy to meet Hou Sake announced that France and Russia have "Northwest Wind" class vessels trading to reach a final agreement, talks between the two countries had gone through several times twists and turns and deadlock. Does France have been eager to get Russia's "Northwest Wind" as a "betrayal" Gaddafi's chips, the outside is not known, but according to the Associated Press reported, G8 summit, held in Deauville, France, U.S. President Obama, President of France Sarkozy, Dmitry Medvedev, who was active on lobbying, which prompted Russia's attitude has hardened against Libya. From the current results, "Northwest Wind" is probably an important bargaining chip to persuade the U.S. and Europe one of Russia.
Second, the Russian Federal Military Technical Cooperation Agency 27, said that Russia would sell the U.S. military 21 m -17 military helicopter, equipped with the Afghan Air Force, each priced at $ 17,500,000 helicopter. In France and Russia, "Northwest Wind" in the negotiations, one of the reasons twists and turns continue to oppose the United States, and the reason why France and Russia to negotiate, the United States no longer opposed to is the key factor. Worth pondering is that the U.S. not only did not oppose the law of this fire, the Russian trade, but also "outsiders fertilizer into the fields" to spend more than 300 million U.S. dollars to buy Russian helicopters, is indeed "out of a lot of blood."
Third, the Group of Eight leaders in the "Deauville Declaration", said: "Russia will be the Group of Eight partners committed to active cooperation with Russia to help it join the World Trade Organization during the year." As the world has not yet joined the WTO last the major economies, Russia hopes to join the WTO in 2011 the feelings of the end of long-distance running is very urgent, although the European Union and Russia last year signed an agreement to support Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, the United States also expressed their support last year, but if the WTO the critical moment, Yinkazhafei trouble with the United States and Europe is too stiff, Russia had to be afraid.
Gaddafi in Russia abandoned this critical moment there are three news is necessarily associated with it, although not conclusive, but the attitude of the U.S. and Europe and Russia choices results, I am afraid that is not just a coincidence.
Finally, Russia's change in attitude, public relations victory for the Libyan opposition. Libya, "the National Transitional Council," Ali, deputy director of the Executive Committee • Esa Wei told Xinhua earlier, the angel of the opposition representatives have been meeting in Moscow with Russia, the Russian opposition has been a positive response. Libyan opposition leaders, "the National Transition Council" principal Xijialile May 28, also said recently the opposition welcomed the Russian policy on Libya made the adjustment. In a "relatively weak" in the Libyan opposition, in order to get Russia's recognition, may be out of its very favorable conditions, the government acknowledged the opposition, Libya, Russia, Libya may be the process of rebuilding from the future to obtain relatively high income .
We turn reasoned that, if Russia did not abandon the Gaddafi, Europe and America, "Sike" in the end, it is likely that such a situation: the other seven countries with the Group of Eight tensions, and France's "Northwest Wind" the continued deadlock in negotiations, and even abortion, and the U.S. helicopters trade fell through in 2011 dashed the aspirations of joining the WTO during the year, the loss of billions of dollars in the Libyan arms trade and the reconstruction process in the future, nothing. I believe that in any case, Russia is not willing to see, from this point of view, the Russian stock of the situation, abandoned Gaddafi, is not so hard to understand.
If we put this event into the history of the coordinate system, you will find alliances and betrayal on the international stage is very common, story of vertical and horizontal are often staged. In the national interest or personal interest, bad faith, may be the last war allies, the next war may be enemies.
Gaddafi abandoned from the analysis and historical experience, we can glimpse into the international military and political struggles of some "hidden rules":
First, there is no eternal friends nor eternal enemies, only permanent interests. International political and military struggle not to do the "virtuous" to seek the maximization of national interests, Gaddafi is the victim of this kind of exchange of interests.
Second, military power is the fundamental means to ensure national interests, should not be relaxed any time on military construction. Only a strong military power, energy and other "mutual assured destruction", to maintain a "balance of terror" is the fundamental national survival, which is a western continuation of the old balance of power thinking. In recent years, Gaddafi and the West in the "reconciliation" in the construction of an easing of military power, the "strips" is incapable of deterring adversaries today, giving opponents the root causes of deadly combat.
Third, the principle of state sovereignty often become a "system of decoration." On the one hand the traditional principle of national sovereignty, such as respect for national independence, sovereignty, equality, noninterference in each other's internal affairs, are still seen as the cornerstone of international relations, but on the other hand, almost of national sovereignty in all respects by the erosion and challenges. International humanitarian intervention violates the sovereignty of many countries, such as today's Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
Fourth, the interests of big countries toward the international situation is still the decision. Gaddafi is not "totally naive" believe ally, but he did everything on the big countries, might do anything that is the reality of justice.


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Hello world :)
Sorry that it's been a few days since I posted. I went on a mini road trip with my best friend. We went back to our old college - neither of us has been back since we left 2 and a half years ago; I went on a medical leave (stupid back problems, grrr) and my friend transferred after I left. So it was kind of weird to be back, it felt like it had been lifetime ago, but it was really nice to be there again too. If someone had told me four years ago that all the things that have happened to me, were going to happen... oh man I would've had a nervous breakdown haha! So it was a busy few days with that and two Independence Day bar-b-ques (yum!).
But now I'm back! I've got some really cool giveaways to tell you about in this post. Then I have some neons to kind of show you next. And tomorrow is Fun With Layering Wednesday again, already!
First up... an anniversary giveaway from BabblingBrooke!
Brooke writes: "Babbling Brooke celebrates its 2nd Birthday/Blogaversary (aka: Blog Anniversary) on July 14, so I'm having a HUGE giveaway to thank all my wonderful followers! Blogging has been awesome these past two years and I am really looking forward to many more to come. Thank you to all my long-time, recent, and brand-new followers!!
There will be TEN winners total!
Total value of ALL prizes: $648!!
42 Nail Polishes in all"
How good does that giveaway look?! I'm entering nad I highly suggest you do too! Also, keep an eye on her blog all day July 14th because she will be giving away even more prizes throughout the day - so there are a ton of things to win!
Enter here: http://www.caracita.com/2010/06/babbling-brookes-big-2nd-birthday.html
And the other giveaway I want to share with you is from The Hungry Asian for her birthday and blog anniversary.
She is giving away 7 Color Club polishes, 6 Eyeko polishes (which I'd love to try!), a set of Nailene fake nails, China Glaze- Black Magic, a Hello Kitty polish, and two of her frankens! What a collection of things to win! You can see all of the items pictured at the link to the giveaway below - go check it out.
Enter here: http://thehungryasian.blogspot.com/2010/07/giveaway-nail-polish-and-frankens.html
Both of these end on July 14th, so be sure to enter within the next few days!


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I was asked recently to explain the pronunciation of "comfortable." It took a moment of reflection to decide which pronunciation to teach. I actually taught both the 3- and the 4-syllable variation. I've heard and used both myself, and I was able to find dictionary entries acknowledging both. Why not prepare learners by presenting two common ways of saying the word? That was my line of thinking.
I've posted ideas before on heteronyms and homographs, but now I'd like to focus specifically on words that can have a different pronunciation without a change in meaning, for instance either and neither. How confusing it is for learners not only to learn a new word, but also to deal with variations in pronunciation!
Please consider my Either One_handout. It's a collection of short texts for you to make use of how you see fit. I've contextualized words (and names of geographical places) with tricky pronunciation. The common theme is tourism, mainly within the U.S., so there are obvious springboards to conversation should you need a warm-up or a follow-up discussion about traveling within the 50 states.
Considerations when offering explanations:
1. Sometimes pronunciation differences are geographical, for example, the U.S. may favor /ˈhɑs tl/ while the U.K. may prefer /ˈhɑs taɪl/. How do you say "hostile"?
2. Sometimes slow, careful speech allows for a fuller pronunciation. Not everyone accepts the omission of a sound as acceptable. "Actually" is a good example: /ˈækt ʃueli/ vs. /ˈækt ʃeli/.
3. Sometimes a difference in pronunciation is with stress, not sounds, as seen with "absolutely": /ˌæbsəˈlutli/ vs /ˈæbsəˌlutli/.


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text:
Hey everyone!
It's time for a color challenge over at GAB this week!
This week's color combination is Sahara Sand, Tangerine Tango and Baja Breeze. My son Caiden will be 2 on Monday so I thought I'd take this color combo and make him a birthday card using on of my favorite stamp sets on the Last Chance list, Greetings, Earthlings.
Be sure to post your creation on the GAB site by Midnight on Thursday June 9th! Can't wait to see what you all come up with!!! ALSO, we are currently looking for some new Design Team members to start in August, so if you'd like to be on our DT check out the post HERE!


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Traditionalist commentary from a true American patriot about America's future...for America's future.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
No. 20: Common Sense
Some of the smartest people I know barely made it out of high school. And some of the dumbest people I've ever met have a wall full of diplomas and a long line of initials behind their name. Number 20 on the list is COMMON SENSE.
Common sense is something that is acquired through life not by lectures or reading books, but by experience. It's the experience of life that teaches us that familiar form of knowledge that we call common sense. You can't get it in a classroom.
Perhaps that's why Liberals don't understand common sense. To them it's a bit of a mystery and therefore probably doesn't exist. In the mind of a Liberal, if it can't be taught at Harvard or Berkeley then it isn't worth knowing. And as far as I know, there are no courses at Harvard entitled "Common Sense 101". Although it wouldn't be a bad idea. This is not to say that the highly educated lack common sense. No. But I am saying that wisdom and education are two completely different things and are not interchangeable terms.
In today's political environment we talk about common sense all the time. Often you hear your neighbors complain that Washington just doesn't get it, or is out of touch, or doesn't understand the common American. What these people are saying is that the politicians in Washington lack common sense. And since many of those politicians are Liberals, and many of them are also highly educated, the complaints your neighbors have are legitimate. Let's take a few political topics as examples.
When it comes to the economy, Liberals say tax more and spend more. This is Keynesian economics at its worst. Increase the public sector and you grow the economy. Keynes is taught a lot in our major universities but many of those learning it have never actually met a payroll or balanced a checkbook. You see where I'm going? Common sense says the US economy is so massive that no amount of government spending can grow it. Common sense says that if you tax a business owner, or require him to pay for his employees health care, or impose a minimum wage on him, or tack on any other union-sponsored employee benefit, then the ones who get hurt the most are the consumer. Increase the cost of business for a business owner and he either cuts costs (starting with personnel), stops hiring, or raises the price of his goods and services. These are the things they are less likely to teach at Harvard because it contradicts Keynesian theory, and the Liberals miss out on some important knowledge. So it's just assumed that if you increase the cost of doing business the business owner is simply going to eat that cost and everyone wins. There's nothing sensical about that.
In regards to health care, let's talk about supply and demand. Common sense tells us that if you increase the demand for a service without increasing the supply, then you essentially have a shortage. The Liberals think this is silly. They believe that flooding the health care sector with some 30 million newly insured folks who are suddenly gifted with free health care will result in great health for all. So their bill does nothing to address the supply thing, and they dismiss those of us who talk of rationing as obstructionist and silly fear-mongerers.
Most recently there is the unemployment package currently being debated in Congress. President Obama demands the GOP pass additional unemployment benefits right away. The GOP demands that those benefits be paid for before we pass them. Common sense says that part of the reason why so many people are unemployed is because the economy is bad, and part of the reason the economy is bad is because businesses aren't confident about the future, primarily because of our growing deficits and massive debt. Therefore, adding on to the debt with unpaid unemployment benefits isn't doing much good for the unemployed. Not so in the mind of Liberals who call the GOP insensitive and greedy for not helping the jobless.
And then there's the Tea Party. This is a group of citizens who stand on a platform of common sense: balanced budget, reduced spending, living within our means, adhering to the Constitution and the rule of law. The problem is that we Tea Party folks are just average folks. We get up and go to work everyday. We pay bills and scratch to save money and prepare for our future. We don't have fancy diplomas and therefore - in the eyes of Liberals - we're just a bunch of dumb rubes who don't understand the complicated things like government. It doesn't matter that we have to adhere to a strict budget every day. If we don't have a Harvard diploma then we don't have credibility. Common sense just aint enough.
But in my opinion the biggest reason why Liberals reject common sense boils down to their positive attitude towards Socialism. The Libs grew up on college campuses, playing the Sitar, quoting Neitsche (sp?), and swapping chemically induced philosophies about how the world should be. Therein lies the appeal of Socialism. The notion that all people would work together - not for themselves as individuals - but for the benefit of the collective. This is the fast track to utopia, heaven on earth. This is how we arrive at the glorious moment of everlasting peace, harmony and an end to suffering. It's a beautiful thing, if only we could realize such a beautiful dream. They bemoan the fact that socialism has gotten a bad rap because of bad leadership, that so many brutal dictators have been associated with it and thus people are too quick to dismiss it as evil. If only a leader could emerge who was compassionate and sensitive, understanding and empathetic, while at the same time implement socialism, then we would all see the glory in such a system. Sounds good on paper.
But common sense tells us that people aren't going to behave that way. I'm not going to work my can off so my neighbor can sit on his. Eventually, I'm gonna realize that I can sit on my can and get just as much. And if enough of us do this, well, the system implodes. That darn practicality thing is such a buzz kill.
And common sense tells us that socialism hasn't been victimized by brutal dictators, but rather the brutal dictators are more of a product of socialism itself. Simply put, people aren't going to consent to such a life unless there's an iron fist and a thick boot imposing it.
Oh phooey, say the Liberals. What do you know? You've never read Marx, or Neitsche. You don't understand, such a simple minded folk.
So the next time you are engaged in a discussion with a Liberal ask yourself if there is any common sense behind his argument. You may be surprised at what you find.
3 comments:
- SNAKE HUNTERS said...
Aw Shucks, Dr. John, yer no fun. Them liberals are O.k.--G-d Loves 'Em, they're just people that couldn't quite make the Competitive Team.
Them's Baby-Boomers!
They just wanna smoke a little paka-lolo, show their kids how to be mello & cool, and maybe drop a hallucinogen, put on a record of Janice Joplin screaming her head off, or Groovin' to the Grateful Dead. Hey, what ever happened to that Garcia fellow?
Got any good stash around here?
___ ___
- SNAKE HUNTERS said...
Friday, July 16th, 2010
Euro-Banks Fail - What impact does this have on the U.S. Economy? - reb
- Anonymous said...
Great piece of writing, I really liked the way you highlighted some really important and significant points, really Common sense is something that is acquired by experience, thank you so much for sharing this wonderful blog.
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text: I'll be at the NECTFL (North East Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Conference on February 12th and 13th in Midtown Manhattan! I'll be there at a booth representing over 20 Spanish and French TpT stores. I will have freebies to give away as well as products to raffle off. I'm so excited, so please stop by and say hello!


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Friday, September 12, 2008
Sea Turtles and Hawai'i
What's not to love about them?
Hawai'i was amazing, FYI. Turtles are great. Especially when you swim with them and watch them-through a snorkel mask, graze on underwater flora, and spy them sneaking secret kisses to one another (or were they fighting?), and strap them up with a saddle and ride with them over a rainbow. All of which Greg and I did, BTW.
We also made this wedding cake...
it's still ok for consenting straight people to get married, right, queer radicals? Just make sure, though, that a gay is making that damn cake! The first layer was carrot cake (Greg is "famous" for it), the second-chocolate (note: everyone loves chocolate), and the top "yellow."
Also, Lava! Everywhere. The islands are made of it, for G-d's sake! Who knew?
Along with lava, are steaming cracks and craters in the Earth suggesting that an eruption could happen at any second (if one should be so lucky). That SO2 smoke, though, is apparently messing with people's health, and the tourist(/hostage*) economy.
*A term that Haunani-Kay Trask uses in her book From A Native Daughter to talk about the Hawai'ian Natives' reliance on service jobs in the destructive tourism sector, making them complicit with the degradation of their culture, community, and land.
Posted by Chris E. Vargas at 2:00 PM
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Thoughts on Foods I Hate.
So Serious.
I'm in a blazer and pumps as I type this.
That Serious.
Cilantro. Dish soap can have cellulose. Who knew?
Radishes. If I wanted to eat frozen cardboard I'd do it.
Market Fish. Smells dead, tastes dead. Pass.
Lobster. You are bug meat soaked in salt water.
Parsley. How does it feel to be a trophy wife?
You taste like low self esteem.
Oysters. Just stop it. Stop it.
Liver. You filter garbage. You are what you eat.
Shrimp. You are a bottom feeder lined with your own fecal matter and everyone acts like that's okay.
It's not okay.
Olives. You can go straight to hell.