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|Martin's a fantastic catcher, but Toronto needs help elsewhere (CBSSports)
To his credit, Martin was phenomenal last year, worth 5.5 bWAR despite playing in only 111 games. In addition to being one of the best defensive backstops in the game, he also hit for some power, batted .290, and got on base more than 40 percent of the time. That's a great, valuable player who helped lead the Pittsburgh Pirates back to the postseason for the second year in a row.
Furthermore, Martin has a distinguished track record of success. The three-time All-Star and former Gold Glove winner has been the third-best catcher in baseball since his debut in 2006, behind only Joe Mauer and Brian McCann. While he's had his ups and downs as a player, he's always been a productive player because of his sterling defense at a premium position, solid bat, good health (he's averaged 129 games per season), and decent speed.
So why do I despise Martin's deal (five years, $82 million)? Well for one, Martin's going to be 32 at the start of next season, which is old for any player but especially a catcher who's already logged nearly 10,000 career innings behind the dish. Martin's been an everyday catcher for nearly a decade, and that's probably going to start "catching" up to him (pun intended) sooner or later.
Additionally, it appears Toronto overpaid Martin based on his tremendous 2014 production just as Detroit overpaid for Victor Martinez's 2014, clear outliers in both cases. Look at the five seasons before last, when Martin batted .234/.332/.370 while averaging 13 home runs and 50 RBI per year. That's the kind of hitter Martin is going to be, not the guy who put up the best OBP and adjusted OPS+ of his career at age 31. Don't be surprised when he regresses to a .700 OPS or worse next year.
I also don't see how the Blue Jays are rationalizing this move to themselves when they already had Navarro, one year Martin's junior, under contract for next year at the bargain bin price of $5 million. Martin's a better player and certainly better catcher than Navarro, but at that price Navarro is an absolute steal. Furthermore, the difference between Martin and Navarro just isn't wide enough to justify paying Martin three times as much money for 2015.
Look, last year Navarro was worth 2.3 bWAR, same as the year before. From 2009 through 2013, Martin's average season yielded 2.6 bWAR. Steamer says Martin projects to be worth two more wins that Navarro will next year, but based on their track records I don't see it. Take into account that Martin's one year older, and they would have been virtually a wash in terms of projected value for next year.
Now Navarro, a .294/.331/.429 hitter over the last three years, is either relegated to backup duties or must be traded. As for Martin, I expect he'll have a season similar to the one McCann just had, minus some power but with better on-base numbers. Probably looking at a three win guy there, four if Toronto's lucky.
I get that the Blue Jays are in win-now mode, and that after winning 83 games last year they believe a playoff berth is within reach. They haven't made the postseason during the wild card era, and the AL East is once again up for grabs. They're at a point on the win curve where just one more win a month probably gets them over the hump, but Martin alone isn't going to do it. Toronto desperately needs a second baseman and could really use another frontline starter (that rotation is just begging for an ace) as well as a couple bullpen arms. I would have addressed those issues first rather than catcher, where they were already okay.
Instead, now they're stuck with Martin, whose best days are almost definitely behind him. I don't see him contribute enough on the front end of the deal to justify for just how bad he's going to be at the back end. If I'm Toronto, I save that money and spend it elsewhere, probably on an ace like James Shields, Max Scherzer, or Jon Lester. That's what they really need to make the playoffs, not a slightly better catcher.


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Political effects of protest
Roger Burbach has an article in NACLA about protests in Latin America that raises an interesting question: what political effect will they have? At least to this point, the answer appears to be different from what the article suggests.
These movements are highly diverse in their social and political composition, and they are anti-systemic, raising fundamental questions and challenging the existent order.
I don't think this is true, by which I mean the protests have not attempted to destroy the system, but to increase their leverage with it. Take the Chilean and Mexican examples, which he examines in depth. Looking toward presidential elections in both countries, all the likely candidates are establishment, with no one else in sight. The only anti-establishment candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has been making up with the establishment (e.g. no longer constantly using the word "mafia") ever since he became the PRD's official candidate.
The comparison to OWS are particularly instructive. Except perhaps at its very small core, OWS is not anti-systemic, and in fact would have zero influence if it were. Rather, it is pointing to problems that the system should fix. The exact same is true with the Chilean education protests. This could change, but it is premature to lump Latin America (or OWS) in with the Arab Spring (as he does).
One important point the article makes, however, is that ideology does not explain much. For all the over-simplified "good left, bad left" rhetoric, there are protests against all different types of governments, even supposedly radical ones like in Bolivia or Ecuador. If anything, the protests have revealed conservative tendencies in leftist governments.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Central Wyoming College mascot is the Rustler. "What is a Rustler?", you might ask.
I learned from Jon that a Rustler is someone who steals cattle. And a Wikipedia search confirmed this: Rustler redirects to Cattle Raiding.
Wyoming is full of guns and Republicans, so I guess this makes sense.


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"Prosecutors will drop thousands of cases in Dookhan scandal" by Shawn Musgrave Globe Correspondent April 19, 2017
Prosecutors across the state on Tuesday said they would collectively throw out more than 20,000 cases that relied on evidence handled by a disgraced drug lab chemist, Annie Dookhan.
The dramatic step, which specialists called unprecedented in scope, follows years of litigation by defendants whose cases involved evidence that was analyzed by Dookhan, who pleaded guilty to tampering with drug samples and fabricating results.
The submission of the final list of cases to be dismissed offers the fullest accounting to date of the disruption caused by a scandal that came to light in 2012.
"The dismissal of thousands of tainted drug lab cases rightly puts justice over results," said the Massachusetts Bar Association's chief legal counsel, Martin W. Healy, but Michael O'Keefe, district attorney for the Cape and Islands, said that even though his office would dismiss cases "because we believe that the integrity of our system of justice is more important than their conviction," no conclusions about guilt or innocence should be drawn.
"We are dealing with drug defendants, the overwhelming majority of whom plead guilty, went through an exhaustive plea colloquy with a judge and testified under oath that they were 'pleading guilty because they were guilty and for no other reason,' " O'Keefe said in a statement....
I've kind of retreated on the whole drug war (I sent the stuff to New Jersey for testing), but it is nice to know the state is being held responsible. Dookhan did her time, and wasn't high on meth at her lab." None of the supervisors will be charged.
"Emerging scandal in evidence room puts hundreds of drug cases at risk" by Andrea Estes and Jim O'Sullivan Globe Staff September 14, 2016
It began this spring when the Braintree police chief ordered an audit of the department's evidence room. But after the officer in charge found out that the review was about to begin, the 20-year veteran committed suicide, according to two people who have been briefed on the case.
Now, as audit details emerge and reveal missing drugs, guns, and money, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey is facing the possibility that hundreds of drug cases may have to be thrown out because the evidence was tainted or lost. Norfolk Superior Court judges dismissed the first five Braintree drug cases on Monday and Tuesday at the request of prosecutors.
"We won't and don't use tampered evidence. It's that simple," said Morrissey in an interview. "We play by the rules, as painful as it is to let some of these people go."
The emerging scandal at the Braintree evidence room invites comparisons to the mishandling of drug samples by former state chemist Annie Dookhan. Her widespread tampering with drug evidence forced the dismissal of thousands of cases and the closure of the state forensic lab where she worked.
It's starting to look like you can't trust any of the results anywhere in Massachusetts, and the biggest junkies are working at the offices!
Braintree officials are expected to release the results of the audit this week. They have asked Attorney General Maura Healey to investigate whether any crimes were committed.
The audit, first reported by WCVB-TV, revealed that eight guns were missing, along with $70,000 in cash and "a lot of drugs," according to someone with first-hand knowledge of the audit's findings. At least two of the weapons were found in Braintree police officer Susan Zopatti's house, this person said.
Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said town officials have already implemented plans to improve the oversight of evidence.
"We are doing our work in responding to the audit," he said. "We've already established new protocols associated with the evidence room. We are earnest and determined to take the corrective steps that are needed."
Zopatti's husband hung up the phone when contacted by a Globe reporter, and Braintree officials — including the mayor — have said very little publicly about how the drugs, guns, and money came to be missing from the evidence room.
Braintree Police Chief Russell W. Jenkins hired the auditor in May because he suspected something was wrong, according to someone with direct knowledge of the situation. He chose former State Police major Bruce Gordon, who runs a company called Narcotics Audit Solutions and had recently performed an audit of the police department in neighboring Weymouth.
Gordon met with Zopatti on May 13, according to a person briefed on the audit. She killed herself within a week.
Yeah, maybe. Corrupt people usually don't, but....
Zopatti oversaw the evidence room from 2013 to 2016. Prosecutors are revisiting all the drug cases that originated in Braintree during that period — potentially hundreds of cases, according to Morrissey.
All of them, even closed cases in which the defendant accepted plea deals, could be thrown out, Morrissey and two defense lawyers say.
Morrissey's office, which started notifying defense lawyers last month, began dismissing cases this week — including that against Roberto Castillo, who was arrested with a co-defendant at a Braintree motel in 2015 and accused of selling heroin, morphine, and cocaine.
"I commend the district attorney for being upfront. I think he acted appropriately and properly to take steps to remedy the situation," said Castillo's lawyer, Mark Bennett, of Milton. "But it's troubling because it undermines public confidence in the criminal justice system. The entire system hinges on the police and everyone else playing by the rules."
Judge Robert Cosgrove, who dismissed charges against five Braintree drug defendants this week, said in court that the implications of evidence room tampering are profound.
"I presume if (evidence) is kept in the Braintree evidence locker, I would think it would be true of every case in the town of Braintree, would it not?" Cosgrove said.
Healey's spokeswoman, Cyndi Roy-Gonzalez, confirmed the office has been asked to investigate but gave no details. "We're reviewing the matter," she said.
Massachusetts has been rocked by multiple evidence tampering scandals in recent years. Dookhan, who worked at the now-closed state drug lab in Jamaica Plain, admitted in 2013 to tampering with hundreds of illegal drug samples that she was supposed to analyze, triggering the review of thousands of cases. She was granted parole in April from her three- to five-year prison sentence.
Two years later, another state chemist, Sonja Farak, admitted stealing and using drug samples she was analyzing at the state lab in Amherst. Her admission jeopardized not only the cases she worked on but potentially thousands of cases that were sent to the lab where she worked. Prosecutors are still working with defense lawyers to determine which cases should be dismissed.
Morrissey said he has no choice but to throw out all the recent Braintree cases even if there's no direct evidence of tampering.
"I tell people this: If I served you a bowl of piping hot beef stew and you found the meat was rancid, would you set it aside and keep eating, or would you send the whole thing back? You'd send the whole thing back."
Kevin Reddington, another defense lawyer, said he has two drug trafficking cases pending in Norfolk Superior Court. He recently received notice that there was a potential problem with the evidence.
"In this day and age — and with Annie Dookhan — it's a cause for concern. Consistent with his duty, the district attorney, in a timely manner, placed attorneys who have cases pending on notice that this issue is out there. I'm sure the investigation will continue and motions to dismiss will be filed."
"Drugs, guns, and $400,000 missing from Braintree police" by Evan Allen Globe Staff September 15, 2016
BRAINTREE — An audit of the Braintree Police Department's troubled evidence room revealed that thousands of pieces of drug evidence, dozens of firearms, and over $400,000 of seized money had vanished, town officials said Wednesday.
The audit, which examined evidence going back to 1999, found that heat-sealed drug bags were torn open or cut; bags of cash were sliced open at the bottom; and at least 60 guns, including semiautomatic rifles, had disappeared.
So much for the gun-grabbing agenda.
"I find the auditor's report of unaccounted for items and poor record keeping practices by the Police Department to be deeply troubling and unacceptable," Mayor Joseph Sullivan said at a news conference Wednesday night. The town, he said, has asked the attorney general's office to help investigate.
Braintree Police Chief Russell W. Jenkins ordered the audit this spring, after he began to suspect a problem. The officer who ran the evidence room killed herself in May, a week after the auditor spoke with her for the first time.
At the press conference, Sullivan declined to comment on what might have motivated the removal of evidence, saying the investigation was sensitive and ongoing.
Much of the missing evidence was probably disposed of by the department in purges in 2009 and 2012, according to both Sullivan and the audit, conducted by former State Police major Bruce Gordon, who runs Narcotics Audit Solutions.
The evidence purged was not properly recorded, the audit states, and remained in the computers as active. Hundreds of pieces of evidence continued to vanish after 2012, however, when there were no purges being conducted.
The evidence room officer, Susan Zopatti, worked in Braintree for 20 years, and had run the evidence room since 2013.
Sullivan said that since the audit was completed, all but 12 of the firearms had been found. About $140,000 of the missing cash was found, as well, according to a written police response to the audit.
"There is still a lot more work to be done to determine a fully accurate account of these items, and the department is continuing their efforts in that regard," Sullivan said.
The Police Department disputed some of the audit's numbers, stating in the written response that the list of evidence auditors were given to search for was "substantially overinclusive."
The audit examined evidence dating to 1999. Norfolk County officials are now facing the prospect that an untold number of cases may need to be thrown out because evidence was tainted or lost. Sullivan declined to estimate how many cases may be affected. He also declined to specify what tipped off officials that an audit was needed.
"I truly appreciate your desire, the public's right to know," Sullivan said. "I want to emphasize that I find these findings troubling, and we are going to take steps to correct them."
Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said he was looking at having to dismiss 200 to 400 cases, noting that he had already dismissed a half dozen cases over the last three days.
Among them was a slate of drug charges dropped Wednesday against Stephen O'Brien, a Quincy man with 38 prior convictions.
"It is very disturbing that people are now going to be let go after some great work by the Police Department and the district attorney's office," Morrissey said. "It's disheartening.""
The audit revealed that 4,709 pieces of narcotics evidence were missing, and 38 pieces compromised. Drug evidence was stored haphazardly, the audit found. Some samples were not logged in, and others were listed as destroyed" but were found during the audit.
About 2,500 pieces of property evidence were missing, the audit concluded. The property category included entries for cash, videos, sexual assault kits, counterfeit money, vehicles, and bicycles, but it was not clear from the audit what property was actually missing.
The audit found that sexual assault kits were being improperly stored in an outdoor trailer. There was no rhyme or reason to where anything was stored, the audit noted, and there were many property items that did not appear to have any evidentiary value at all.
The audit also discovered hundreds of documents improperly stored in the evidence locker instead of in individual case files.
Seized money was stored in a filing cabinet, but many seizures were logged without an amount. The audit found that $407,989 was missing.
Either 60 or 70 firearms were missing, according to the audit and the police department's written response.
The audit laid out recommendations for how evidence should be handled in the future, and Sullivan said that new protocols and procedures have already been established.
"I, as well as Chief Jenkins, accept the independent auditor's recommendations to better secure and preserve current and future evidence and will take the corrective steps necessary to ensure that these new procedures are implemented and adhered to," Sullivan said.
"Braintree Police Officer Susan Zopatti, who ran the evidence room starting in 2013, killed herself in May after the auditor spoke with her for the first time. Police have recovered all but 12 of the guns, officials said, and about $140,000 of the cash."
Also see: Since '07, DEA has seized $3.2b from people never charged with crimes
The largest organized crime syndicate in the world right now is the U.S. government, and they then go to work for whom?
"Troopers allegedly sold several hundred State Police guns" by Shelley Murphy Globe Staff September 21, 2016
An investigation that led to the recent suspension of three state troopers involves allegations that they sold several hundred used State Police guns to a Greenfield firearms dealer on behalf of the department, then received more than a dozen of those weapons, free of charge, for their personal use, according to two people familiar with the probe.
Should have burned the evidence.
The attorney general's office is focusing on how the guns — an assortment of pistols, rifles, and other firearms — were tagged as surplus and traded to Jurek Brothers during the summer of 2015, according to several people with knowledge of the case.
The company, which has a lucrative contract to sell firearms, ammunition, and other equipment to the State Police and other law enforcement agencies, did not pay for the used weapons but instead gave the department a credit toward the purchase of new weapons, those familiar with the investigation said.
Investigators are looking into whether the three members of the State Police armorer's unit who negotiated the deal were authorized to do so and received a sufficient price for the weapons; and whether they violated state ethics law or department regulations by allegedly receiving free guns afterward, according to two of the people familiar with the case.
Lawyers representing the troopers said they have done nothing wrong and it has been common practice for decades for the armorer's unit to trade old guns to companies contracted to sell the department new ones.
The people familiar with the investigation spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
State Police spokesman David Procopio declined to identify the three troopers or provide details about the investigation, including whether they were authorized to trade in the weapons and how much the state received in exchange.
Earlier this month, following a Fox25 News report on the suspensions, Procopio issued a statement indicating that two troopers and a lieutenant assigned to the armory had been indefinitely suspended without pay amid an internal investigation into "the transfer of a limited number of surplus weapons to a state-authorized vendor."
Boston attorney Leonard Kesten, said the armorer's unit, located in New Braintree, has followed the practice of trading in surplus weapons to state-authorized vendors since long before his clients were assigned there. "They understood that this procedure had been regularly used in the past," Kesten said.
The vast majority of law enforcement agencies in the state do business with Jurek Brothers, Needham attorney Timothy Burke said.
Thomas Merrigan, an attorney at Sweeney Merrigan Law who represents Jurek Brothers, declined to discuss details of the ongoing investigation but in October the company received a new, three-year contract to supply firearms, ammunition, equipment, and training to State Police, the Department of Correction, and the Environmental Police. Overall, the state has paid the company $2.9 million since 2010, according to purchasing records....
So the gun-trafficking rings are run by.... the authorities?
"Braintree Police chief retires amid evidence room scandal" by Evan Allen and Shelley Murphy Globe Staff September 22, 2016
Braintree Police Chief Russell Jenkins, whose department is under investigation for an evidence room scandal that could compromise hundreds of drug cases, will retire early next month at the urging of the town's mayor, officials said Thursday.
"Clearly, this is not the way I wanted to end my career, but the mayor wants new leadership and I serve at his pleasure," Jenkins wrote in an e-mail sent to the police department late Wednesday night.
Jenkins' leadership has come under question after an independent audit, made public last week, found that more than $400,000 in cash, between 60 and 70 guns, and thousands of drug samples had gone missing from the evidence room since 1999.
Evidence Officer Susan Zopatti fatally shot herself in May, a week after the auditor met with her for the first time. When the auditor examined the evidence room, he found bags of drugs and cash torn open, with large amounts missing. Two guns were recovered from Zopatti's home.
The attorney general's office is investigating. Police have recovered most of the guns and about $140,000 of the cash.
In a statement, Braintree Mayor Joseph C. Sullivan said he had accepted Jenkins's retirement. He did not discuss the circumstances of his departure.
"I appreciate and commend his nearly 34 years in the Braintree Police Department and the community of Braintree," Sullivan said. "I wish him and his family well."
Through a spokesman, Sullivan declined to comment further.
In a statement, Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey said the problems uncovered by the audit "mandate changes."
"Today's announcement is an important step forward," he wrote. "The Norfolk DA's Office will work with new leadership as we continue to assure the rights of defendants."
In his announcement, Jenkins said he would have preferred to remain in the department to oversee the implementation of new policies for the evidence room, but intended to focus on the positive parts of his career and "block out" the negatives.
"I have said before that haters will hate," he said. "But by and large we have the support of our community. They continue to believe in us and depend on us."
So far, 32 drug cases have been dismissed because of tainted evidence, according to Morrissey's office. But the final tally will likely be much higher.
"I think we have to wait for a real complete investigation to determine what was going on there to determine what other kinds of evidence could have been tainted," said Nancy Bennett, deputy chief counsel at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the state's public defender agency. "There's so much missing. If you look at the audit, thousands of pieces of evidence."
While the audit suggests that much of the missing criminal evidence may have been disposed of in undocumented "purges" conducted in 2009 and 2012, Bennett noted that there is no proof either way. Zopatti took over in the evidence room in 2013, and evidence continued to vanish.
Bennett said it "remains to be seen" whether every case that involved the evidence room is tainted.
"I think in a way it's good that this problem has come to light because what was worse was the people who believed that they were getting justice and their cases were being fairly handled," she said.
Bruce Gordon, a retired State Police major who runs Narcotics Audit Solutions and conducted the Braintree audit, said most departments have never had their evidence rooms assessed.
"It's a ticking time bomb," he said. "You can't bury your head in the sand. Either your evidence is OK or it's not. And if it's not, fix it."
Gordon credited Braintree's mayor and police chief and Morrissey for reacting swiftly after receiving the audit results.
"Departments should be paying attention to their evidence," Gordon said. "That's what convicts people, takes their liberty away, and frees them. It has to be a priority, done by people willing to do the job and given the time to do it."
Ya' think?
"There are a lot of hard-working and honest cops who risk their lives to make arrests," Gordon added. "It's a tragedy these cases are going to be thrown out."
Town Councilor Charles C. Kokoros, who heads Braintree's public safety committee, praised Jenkins for his four-year tenure as chief.
"He's been a great community police chief, he's been a great police officer over the years," he said. "He's a great person and a family guy and a great part of the community, and I wish him a great retirement."
Councilor John C. Mullaney defended Jenkins, saying he did not believe his abrupt departure was justified.
"Chief Jenkins has a long history in the department; he was an exceptional person. I do not think that the condition of that department was his fault alone," he said.
It was Jenkins who requested the audit, Mullaney pointed out, and he moved to correct the problem. But Mullaney acknowledged that Jenkins should have noticed something was amiss sooner.
"I have always believed that when a mistake is made, the person who can best correct the mistake is the person who is working there, not by bringing in a new person," he said.
Related: It's the gun industry vs. Mass. AG Healey
Has to be some irony there.
"In Braintree evidence scandal, unheeded warnings" by Evan Allen and Shelley Murphy Globe Staff September 24, 2016
BRAINTREE — For months, police in this suburban police department had complained about Susan Zopatti, a veteran officer who was in charge of the evidence room. She wasn't doing her job and sometimes appeared hung over and "out of it." Officers couldn't get the evidence they needed for court hearings.
She also had a drug problem?
They repeatedly warned their supervisors that Zopatti was not fit to oversee an inventory of seized money and drugs, according to two people with close knowledge of her tenure in the department.
"Something was wrong with Sue," one former Braintree officer said.
A 50-year-old who had worked in her hometown department for almost 21 years, Zopatti desperately needed help. She was kind, helpful, and funny, and was struggling to care for her cancer-stricken mother, so her supervisors gave her leeway and a flexible schedule.
Oh, the poor criminal.
But despite growing concerns about her increasingly unreliable behavior — and a request from the deputy chief that Zopatti be transferred from her post — Chief Russell W. Jenkins left her in charge of the evidence room, a position that one person with knowledge of the situation described as perhaps the most important in the department.
Had anyone taken a close look at her workplace in recent months, they would have found torn evidence bags missing cocaine and cash, a scandalous disarray that now threatens to compromise hundreds of criminal cases and has triggered an investigation by the state attorney general's office.
Two days earlier he was a great guy, blah, blah.
In a phone interview Friday, shortly after announcing he would retire early next month at the mayor's request, Jenkins said he knew about Zopatti's checkered history in the department, including complaints about her attendance and a 2012 effort by then-chief Paul Frazier to fire her for smoking cigarettes, which is against state law for police. But Jenkins had no inkling that she might have more serious issues, he said; in his presence, she never appeared impaired. And the complaints to the deputy chief were strictly about work performance, he said, not suspicions of substance abuse.
"I was trying to understand her situation at home and show some compassion to her in hopes she could work this out," Jenkins said, "unaware of the fact that she was doing anything illegal in there. And now, I have to take responsibility for that."
Yeah, I guess he should leave.
Zopatti committed suicide in May, one week after meeting with an auditor brought in by Jenkins to inspect the evidence room. By that time, more than $400,000 had vanished, some of it through holes cut in the bottom of evidence bags, auditors would later find. Thousands of drug samples and between 60 and 70 guns were gone. Two of the guns were later found in Zopatti's home.
Zopatti's precise role in the evidence scandal is not clear. But a review of public documents and interviews with six people with close knowledge of the department reveal an officer whose life visibly unraveled in recent years. Even those who said they were not personally fond of Zopatti said they were outraged that she was left in the evidence room with so little oversight.
"They failed her, they really did," said a former Braintree officer who knew Zopatti. "What she did wasn't right, but still. It cost her her life."
Jenkins, who assigned Zopatti to the evidence room about eight months after becoming chief in 2012, said that missing the warning signs was a "cross I have to bear."
"I'm going to have to live with that," said Jenkins. "I'm paying for it with my own retirement."
How brutal.
In a phone interview Friday, Zopatti's husband, Mark, said his wife only missed work because she had taken family leave to care for her ailing mother. He denied allegations that his wife's behavior was erratic or troubling.
"What bothers me is, you print whatever you want to print, you don't care what the truth is," he said. "It's wrong. I know it's wrong. I know they're lies."
He declined to comment further.
Zopatti joined the department in 1995 as a patrol officer. Three years later, Zopatti's then-husband accused her of taking drugs and drinking alcohol, according to a document in their divorce filing. In court records, Zopatti denied the allegations.
In 2001, Zopatti and another Braintree officer sued the department for gender discrimination and sexual harassment, accusing the department of denying training opportunities for female officers and disciplining them more harshly. The women voluntarily dismissed the suit six months after they filed it.
A former officer who knew Zopatti recalled her as friendly and generous, the type of person who would call the station to see who wanted coffee on her way into work.
But by 2012, according to two people with direct knowledge of the situation, Zopatti was a problem employee, chronically late or absent. Then-chief Frazier had become fed up.
When evidence surfaced that she was smoking cigarettes — a fireable offense for police in Massachusetts — Frazier moved to dismiss her. But disciplinary officials found he didn't prove his case, so she kept her job, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Less than a year later, after being appointed chief, Jenkins put Zopatti in charge of the evidence room after she applied for the position.
"To be frank, I was hoping that it would turn her around," said Jenkins. "It seemed that when she first got that job, she put her heart and soul into it."
Probably was. Key to the kingdom.
But Zopatti continued her pattern of lateness and absences, according to several people familiar with the situation, and sometimes appeared impaired. Police had trouble getting evidence from the room. Officers began complaining about her to Deputy Chief Wayne Foster, who brought the issues to Jenkins. Foster did not return requests for comment.
How long would your employer hang on to you?
Beginning in April 2015, Jenkins said he and his deputy counseled Zopatti on "work performance" issues twice. Foster wanted to remove her from the evidence room, but Jenkins said he urged compassion for a woman facing her mother's impending death.
Never, he said, did he imagine she might be stealing.
"It's a single person, working within a room where she's not got somebody looking over her shoulder watching what she's doing," Jenkins said.
Jenkins said he decided to have an audit conducted in early 2016 not out of suspicion, but because he thought it was a smart move for the department. There had been one incident, he said, in which evidence had gone missing, but he believed the audit would clear it up. The day Zopatti met with the auditor was the first time Jenkins thought she might have issues more serious than attendance problems, he said.
"She just seemed different," Jenkins said, noting that she wore dark glasses indoors. "She just seemed a little off."
Foster came to him that day with a suspicion that Zopatti was under the influence of some substance, he said, and they started an investigation.
A week later, Zopatti was dead.
Since Zopatti's suicide, the department has recovered about $140,000 and all but 12 of the missing guns.
The audit found that some of the missing evidence predated Zopatti's tenure, destroyed in "purges" that were authorized, if not properly documented. But evidence continued to vanish after 2012, when there were no additional purges.
More than 30 drug cases have already been dropped by Norfolk County prosecutors because of compromised evidence, and many more are expected.
Zopatti's family has been devastated. In her obituary, they remembered her as a loving mother and wife, a woman who adored her dog Libby, trips to the Cape, camping, painting, and the band U2.
On social media are photographs of Zopatti smiling with her husband. A picture she made for him shows him smiling as a dog licks his face. She had planned to give it to him for Father's Day, he wrote under the image.
In one photograph he posted in June, Zopatti smiles in the sun, the ocean at her back. A commenter wrote that Zopatti was beautiful, but that she was angry at her.
"Don't be," her husband replied.
Awwwww, some criminals are defended and loved in paper.
And now there are problems in Gloucester?
Gloucester chief fired after allegedly destroying evidence
It was the texts that tripped him up.
Still getting a pen$ion though.


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The Samsung Galaxy Tab still doesn't have an official price tag here in the U.S., but it does over in Europe. Amazon.de is taking pre-orders for unlocked copies of the Galaxy Tab for 799 Euros. The hefty price tag affirms the $800 Galaxy Tab price point that's been thrown around lately. By the time this Android device finds it way to U.S. store shelves it may have a carrier subsidy to make the MSRP a bit more digestible. The Galaxy Tab looks like a slick device by all measures, but an $800 price tag is a show stopper.
via Netbooknews.de


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Today is Day 27 of the 30 Days of Christmas, and I am happy to show you this pretty - and simple - card using The Stars are Brightly Shining stamp.
With just a few sprays of non-traditional Barbie and Glorious Art Anthology Colorations Sprays, the background color was done. When dy, I stamped the Brightly Shining Image ove it with StazOn ink. To add a little shimmer, I sprayed Sterling Fairy Dust Shimmer Spray, then highlighted some of the words with a silver glitter pen.
Just a few more days left of the 30 days of Christmas -- and only 4 more days of 25% off any Christmas stamp. Don't miss out!
Warmest Wishes,
Pat Huntoon
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Day 27 and the Stars are Shining
Posted by Pat Huntoon at 7:46 PM
Labels: 30 Days of Christmas Cards, Pat Huntoon
2 comments:
- Beth Norman said...
Fantastic colours on this card. I added it to my wish list.
- December 12, 2016 at 3:36 PM
- Becky said...
Beautiful colors. Thanks for sharing.
- December 16, 2016 at 9:32 AM
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This one goes out to all you $5 mill-a-year coaches out there.
The No. 1 question that's been on all our minds' this week:
Is Alabama coach Nick Saban the antichrist, or just plain 'ol satan?
In case you missed it, Saban turned SEC Media Day into a public forum for pimp flogging. But first, he called out agents for preying on naive 21-year-olds – tempting the innocent with "mad bank"/"ice"/"bling"/"rimz for Caddies" and, as a result, compromising their amateur statuses (a phenomenon with which his star player may or may not be familiar).
Presumably these youngsters have yet to learn the difference between right and wrong, making themselves prime recipients of – hypothetically speaking – a $100k under-the-table cash advance from a Jerry Maguire wannabe trying to do his employer proud.
"The agents that do this – and I hate to say this, but how are they any better than a pimp?" Satan said.
Saban said. Freudian slip.
In all seriousness, Nick – what the hell did pimps ever do to you?
Do tell.
Saban wasn't the only exorbitantly-paid, super-conference ball coach calling out others for their "greed." In fact, the Old Ball Coach and his long-term replacement Urban Meyer got in on the agent/pimp bashing as well.
Gamecocks quote machine Steve Spurrier of "Can't spell 'Citrus' without UT" fame defended one of his players who allegedly attended a massive summer blowout on South Beach. I can neither confirm nor deny such an agent-funded party, but I can tell you that, since it's going to rain tonight, I have to cancel my plans at The W with AJ Green.
Sorry, J. Hit me up tomorrow. Go Dawgs.
Spurrier said, rather benignly, that it's hard to tell who's an agent and who's a runner these day. Yawn.
He added, "I think [arrests] are more common now because players are getting arrested for everything that in the old days they did not get arrested for. I can sort of remember back in our day, if you were out and something happened, they would say, 'Can you get home? We'll drive you home,' to some of my teammates. They did not go into the tank that night."
Ah yes, the tank.
Speaking of which, I've always been in the tank for former 'Canes redeemer Butch Davis – the only head of a crappy, non-SEC team that made news this week. The North Carolina coach also has a pair of players allegedly involved with an agent, violations that resulted in an NCAA probe that he calls from "out of left field."
After implicating UNC baseball's left fielder, Davis went on to explain how rule changes that allow player/agent contact 18 months prior to pro eligibility have shaken the college football landscape.
Carolina is facing possible future sanctions.
On the bright side, Butch recruits like a maniac when he's short on scholarships. I would know. Hope your track players can catch a football, Heels.
And as mentioned, Florida's own Urban Menace Meyer got in on the naughty-agent talk in a valiant, but unsuccessful attempt to deflect attention from the fact that he's now dealing with a twenty-eighth rap sheet and a probable Sugar Bowl forfeiture.
Bottom line: NFL agents are taking college football down. These men are sharks, circling the young blood of the naive like…
… (*racking brain for appropriate analogy*) …
Well, think of them like big-time college football programs trying to recruit promising 16-year-old high school quarterbacks so they can feed their multi-million dollar amateur sports cash cow.
And with this I give you… The Week in Review. Enjoy.
Saw "Inception," Stephen Strasburg and Billy Corgan this week. Or as it's known in the culinary world: Brilliance 3-Ways.
On Monday, former president Bill Clinton unveiled his "bucket list," prompting the question: "There are things Bill Clinton hasn't done?"
As you can imagine, Hillary was pissed.
Tour de France cyclist Andy Schleck vowed to take out race leader Alberto Contador after the latter took advantage of Schleck's popped bike chain to capture the race lead.
The angered Luxembourg rider, who felt Contador should have stopped, vowed revenge, saying, "My stomach is full of anger."
Actually, Andy, that probably has something to do with all the foie gras you ate RIGHT BEFORE STAGE 15.
On Tuesday, pitcher Jennie Finch announced her plans to retire next month, news that came as a huge surprise to casual sports fans.
You mean professional softball still exists?
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman blocked Ilya Kovalchuk's record-breaking 17-year, $102 million deal with the New Jersey Devils this week. The league is citing salary cap violations in an attempt to conceal the fact that cyborgs will have long replaced left wingers by 2027.
In baseball news, Cubs manager "Sweet" Lou Piniella announced Tuesday that he will retire at season's end to pursue a career in couples counseling.
CBS hinted Wednesday that former 'Canes and Cowboys head coach Jimmy Johnson, 67, will participate in the network's reality show "Survivor: Nicaragua." We knew that Coach wanted to shed a few pounds, but isn't this a little drastic?
It's still unclear whether Johnson will be allowed to bring ExtenZe to the island, as natural male performance enhancement would presumably give him a competitive advantage.
Also on Wednesday, ESPN's SportsNation reported a poll in which Kobe Bryant and Tiger Woods tied for America's most popular athlete. On Thursday, a Mayan spokesperson reasserted "2012."
On Thursday, disgruntled Hornets star Chris Paul informed his team he'd like to be traded to a contender. The only question now is: will he accept the veteran minimum?
The McCourt divorce proceedings continued to worsen this week as Dodgers' co-owners Frank and Jamie bitterly fought over who will get Manny's bandana and who will take his lazy will.
And finally, Tiger Woods' camp announced Wednesday that the star golfer lost a staggering $22 million in endorsements in light of his personal indiscretions.
Or, in glass-half-full terms, Woods – who hasn't won a major in more than two years – kept about $90 million in endorsements in light of his personal indiscretions.
Keep up the great work, Beadle.
– Robbie


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Wednesday Advertising Day.
Early in his career as a commercial cartoonist, Dik Browne produced the Roger Wilco ad series for Powerhouse candy bars. The later Sundays he was even allowed to sign them. But there was also a daily run, some of which I may have shown before. They were used once a week and I just accidentally ran across them.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
A Real Powerhouse
Posted by Ger Apeldoorn at 11:33 PM
Labels: Dik Browne, Johnstone and Cushing, Powerhouse
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Born - August 4, 1988 (age 23) Toronto, Canada.
Occupation Model, television commercial actress
Height - 5 ft 9 in (175cm)
Hair color - Brown
Eye color - Brown
Measurements - (US) 34-23-34.5
Dress size - 2-4
Carly Foulkes (born August 4, 1988), also known colloquially as The T-Mobile Girl, The T-Mobile 4G Girl, or The T-Mobile myTouch Girl, is a Canadian model and actress best known for appearing in a series of 2010 and 2011 T-Mobile myTouch 4G television commercials, in which she often wears pink and white summer dresses. Foulkes has been described as a "picture-perfect brunette. A Los Angeles Times writer describes her look as Anne Hathaway meets Kim Basinger and notes that, as of early 2011, she was still often confused with fellow Canadian Jessica Paré. She has been cast as "Retro Girl" in the upcoming FX TV series Powers and been the target of a Virgin Mobile ad campaign against T-Mobile.
She began modeling in the Toronto area at age 13. Then, after high school, she moved to New York to model for agents. Subsequently, she found modelling work in Singapore and Europe. After returning to New York to model, she began to pursue acting. She appeared on the April 2009 cover of Mexican Elle magazine and in advertisements for Rugby Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Macy's, and Tommy Hilfiger. She is represented by Modelwerk and Sutherland Models.
Click here to download All "Carly Foulkes" Pictures in this page


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- Written a draft of a proposal
- ordered equipment (which I'd been putting off for some reason)
- made many doctor's and dentist's appointments that I'd been putting off
- joined the gym around the corner
- wrote 15 pages on two different projects
- updated a section of the website that I'd let languish
- kept up with all the little things I needed to do
I managed to get my home office mostly in shape. I need to purchase a file cabinet and a bookcase. I'm planning to tackle the living room this weekend. I hope the kids will help. It's much less overwhelming to do a room at a time. I even plan to empty the closet.
Yesterday, I was on a panel with my colleagues, Michelle and Jean-Claude. Michelle said that she, too, is implementing the GTD system. As working mothers, we naturally lapsed into talking about strategies to accomplish all of our tasks. She mentioned she's now ordering all of her groceries online. I have tried to find someone who delivers for months, but I had forgotten about the grocery chain she mentioned, so yippee! I will never set foot into a grocery store again.
Our presentations and discussion will likely be online later today. I'll update when that happens.
Here's the link to the mp3 and the screencast. I'm at the end, at about 22 minutes. Michelle right before me. The whole thing is pretty interesting.


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There are enough real instances of Jews publicly calling for the destruction of Western civilization, and the eradication of the white race, that we don't need fake ones. This latest diatribe, attributed to a professor named "Emily Goldstein," smacks of trolling or, at best, satire. Here's the first part of the opinion piece, which appears on a blog called "thoughtcatalog.com":
One of the more common memes that I've seen white supremacists spread around recently has been "diversity is a code word for white genocide". The concept here is that diversity is only promoted in white nations, and that the end goal is to eliminate white people altogether by flooding all white countries with non-white people until there are no white people left. Well, guess what, white supremacists? That's exactly right. Diversity IS about getting rid of white people, and that's a good thing.
First off, I am a white person myself, so allow me to get that out of the way. I'm extremely glad that the white race is dying, and you should be too. White people do not have a right to exist. Period. That may sound like a bold statement, but it's entirely true. Any white person with even the faintest knowledge of history should curse themselves every single day for being white. Throughout all of recorded history, whites have engaged in oppression, genocide, colonialism, imperialism, and just plain evil on a massive scale. White people have denied every other race the right to exist, and have – at some point in history – oppressed every single race on the planet.
Why, then, should whites now be allowed to live in peace when whites have historically been the world's #1 source of conflict and oppression? Whiteness is racism. Period. Whiteness is the source of all oppression in the world. Whiteness is racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and heteropatriarchal capitalism. Eliminate whiteness and you eliminate every single form of oppression that the world currently faces. No white people means no oppression. White people are like a cancer and oppression is a symptom of the cancer. Cut out the cancer altogether – with the cancer being white people – and you get rid of all of the oppression which white people cause.
I have dedicated my life to fighting racism, and I have determined – based on all available evidence – that the only way to really eliminate racism is to eliminate whiteness. Whiteness is the ocean from which racism flows. Get rid of whiteness and you get rid of racism. Despite what white supremacists often claim, white people do not have a "culture". White "culture" consists of nothing more than oppression, genocide, and the disenfranchisement of minorities. White "culture" is racism and nothing more. When white supremacists talk about "white culture", what they're really talking about is racism. Over the course of history, white people have built a massive empire based entirely on the hard work of oppressed and disenfranchised minority groups. But guess what, white people? That empire is finally coming to an end now, and its demise is music to my hears. To quote the great anti-racist activist Tim Wise: "Do you hear it? The sound of your empire dying? Your nation, as you knew it, ending, permanently? Because I do, and the sound of its demise is beautiful."
Of course, this piece does express what many leftists actually think. But, from my own personal experience with leftists, I don't think most of them actually want the complete extermination of whites – though their policies obviously will lead to this, I guess it's not obvious to them. Maybe I'm being too generous toward them.
Looking through the comments, it seems that most readers actually believe it's authentic. Maybe it is, but my internet searches didn't turn up any professors, by that name, who are likely authors of the article. There are no links, on the page, to any other articles by this author, nor does it state which institution she teaches at, or what her specialty is. So I'm calling this one a hoax, satire or trolling.


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John DiStaso's Granite Status: 2012 VP nominee Paul Ryan to return to NH in October to campaign for GuintaBy John DiStaso, Senior Political Reporter
September 19. 2013 11:15AM
FRIDAY, SEPT. 20. RYAN'S RETURN. Republican sources confirm that 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee and U.S. House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan is scheduled to come to New Hampshire in October to campaign for former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta.
Guinta hasn't yet formally announced for the 1st District seat he won in 2010 and lost to Democratic U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter in 2012, but the Ryan visit makes it clear that he will run -- with an announcement expected soon.
It will be Ryan's first visit to the state since the 2012 general election campaign and will show that Guinta has the blessing of the GOP House establishment as he enters a likely primary against outsider Dan Innis, the outgoing dean of the UNH business school (see item below).
(FRIDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE:) Ryan, in fact, officially endorsed Guinta this afternoon, issuing this statement to the Granite Status:
"The people of New Hampshire were very hospitable to my family last fall, and I'm looking forward to the visit.
"I'm proud to support Congressman Guinta, who will work to pay down our debt and help grow the economy."
Guinta, while in Congress, was a member of the House Budget Committee, which Ryan chairs.
Ryan has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender himself in 2016 but is immediately focused on maintaining Republican control of the House in the mid-term elections.
Due to tight scheduling, there are no plans for Ryan to also campaign for Republcian 2nd District U.S. House candidate Gary Lambert when he is in the state, according to sources.
(An earlier Granite Status report follows.)
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 18: INNIS RESIGNING FROM UNH. Dan Innis of Portsmouth is stepping down as dean of the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire and is expected to announce in several weeks that he is a candidate for the 1st District U.S. House seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter.
Innis, 50, a Republican, has been rumored to be considering a run against the incumbent Democrat for the past several months. Some Republicans tried, apparently unsuccessfully, to talk Innis into running for the U.S. Senate.
Innis joined UNH in 2007 and previously was dean of the business school at the University of Maine. He has also been an associate dean of the Ohio University business college and in the 1980s was an assistant operations analyst for the Warner-Lambert Company of New Jersey.
If Innis runs for Congress, it will be his first venture into elective politics. He would presumably be taking on former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta in a Republican primary. His resignation from UNH is effective Nov. 1.
Guinta, who lost to Shea-Porter in 2012 after defeating her in 2010, has been informally exploring another run for the 1st District seat and is expected to make an announcement within the next several weeks as well.
Peter Paul, the prominent GOP donor and philanthropist who donated $25 million toward the establishment of the business school in his name, is backing Innis' likely run for Congress.
Paul, who "maxed out" in donations totaling $5,000 for Guinta in 2012, said, "Under Dan's leadership UNH educated thousands of future business leaders, expanded outreach to local businesses and oversaw the building and opening of a multi-million dollar capital improvement project. I know first-hand that Dan has the experience and skill set to bring fiscal responsibility to Washington and get America working again.
"If Dan Innis runs for U.S. Congress he will have my full support," Paul said.
Innis said, "It has been a pleasure to grow and improve business education at UNH for the past six years. UNH business graduates are an important economic engine for our state and region and I am proud to have played a role in their development.
"Now that my time as dean is coming to a close I have been encouraged to run for Congress by my family and friends and I plan to make my decision in the next couple of weeks," said Innis, who is a married gay man.
(See earlier Granite Status reports elsewhere on this page or by clicking on "Granite Status" above.)


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I know...I know...I know...next year...we'll get them next year! That is the famous war chant of the Gamecock Nation. I haven't been around half as long as the majority of older Cocks' fan's, but this chant has already run it's course with me.
How you show up in Knoxville and lay down your sword with such ease is beyond me! Sometimes I feel the actions of the Cocks' are beyond explanation. But alas, everything has an explanation. The key is addressing the situation with hard truth's instead of excuses. It's much easier to make excuses then it is to be told the truth.
But that's why they call me the Howard Cosell of the written word "I tell it like it is."
Let's get to the game:
It was Halloween, and the Vols' were dressed like a patch of ugly pumpkins, but I won't sugar coat anything here. The Gamecocks' were beat by a better prepared team on the field last night. Yes, better prepared! They were prepared to hit harder, execute their offense when needed, play defense with reckless abandonment and take advantage of opportunities presented to them. And believe me, we presented them with some golden opportunities!
Turnover's are caused just as much by mental mistakes as they are by physical ones. You are taught ball security during the regimen of every single practice. Do turnover's happen, absolutely. But more times then not they happen to team's who are not in a good mental state. That being the case Team Carolina could have been committed during the first half last night.
Contrary to popular belief, turnover's did not cost us the ballgame last night. Were they a major contributing factor? You bet your sweet bippy! However, what happened after the turnovers occurred is what cost us the game. The fact was the Carolina defense could not hold the Vols' out of the end zone on any of the turnover's. Did they have a short field to work with? Most definitely. The key is, when they were presented with the short field they took advantage and punched it in the end zone.
Turnover's aside the overall numbers don't look all that bad on the surface. Ah, but that is why we dig below the surface. Let's take a look:
South Carolina had more 1st downs (19-15). The problem with this stat is that TN had more 1st downs on the ground (10-4). They out rushed the Cocks' (199-65). The Vols' had 50% more rush attempts (40-20) and an almost 2 yard advantage per carry (5.0-3.2.) This means they were allowed to eat up plenty of clock, just about 17 minutes in the 3rd and 4th quarters alone when time was of the essence. Carolina had more 1st downs in the air (15-5). This stat is skewed by the fact that most of the Cocks' yardage happened between the 30 yard lines. Carolina was ineffective in the red zone.
Let's talk Stephen Garcia. Looking at the numbers Stephen had a so-so day. Going (25 for 50, with 1 Interception for 300 yards is usually not catastrophic, although a 50% completion rate usually signals many missed opportunities.) Tennessee did a great job of applying the "Garcia Rules" to their quarterback Jonathan Crompton. Those rules are put in place so that your QB is not put in situations to lose a game for you. It showed in Crompton's overall passing numbers (12 for 24, with no interceptions and 142 yards.) Garcia disregarded those rules on two occasions and cost the team big on his fumble and interception. The fact of the matter is both those turnovers could have been easily avoided by applying a little common sense. First, the hook slide was developed for a reason, use it son! I know Spurrier wants you to run harder, but that wasn't harder, that was just dumb. The second turnover was a high fastball from about 7 yards. Know your personnel. I doubt many running backs make that catch. Hell, Jorge Posada doesn't make that catch!
Speaking of running backs. Three first half turnovers and a 21 point deficit will make the running game disappear faster than a snowball in August. Not to say we would have established a run game anyway. But I think we could have kept the Vols' honest if we didn't have to take to the air and play catch up for the whole second half. To be honest Carolina has never been a team with a quick strike mentality or capability. I don't know why since we have one of the pioneer's of the quick strike offense as our head coach? I do know that 65 yards on the ground in an SEC game is not going to get it done. As I predicted Kenny Miles received the bulk of the carries, if you can call "the bulk" eight carries. One of those carries was a turnover that resulted in a TN score. Really there is not much to say about the run game.
The Carolina receiver's accounted for 191 of the 300 receiving yards. Catches were caught by 5 different Gamecock receiver's. The main targets were Alshon Jeffery, Moe Brown and Tori Gurley who accounted for at least 50 receiving yards each. The ball was spread around pretty evenly for the most part. Unfortunately there were too many fruitless scoring opportunities. Carolina is almost predictable in the red zone leading to well defensed passing situations. I think SEC teams know we are not going to run the ball in which gives them the upper hand. Once again Jarvis Giles nor Bryce Sherman were utilized from a receiving standpoint. At least we did see Sherman in some return situations.
The best effort of the night was given by the Gamecocks' defense. After giving up the three early touchdowns off early turnover's they actually played Tennessee to a standstill in the second half. I think we gave up too many passes underneath considering Tennessee is not a deep threat team. We just didn't do a very good job adjusting to that fact throughout the game. The fact is we could not stop the Vols' rushing attack, specifically M. Hardesty who ran for 121 yards on 23 carries with a 5.3 yards per carry average. One of my keys to the game was to place TN in 3rd down and long (4 or more yards) situations. When a running back is getting 5.3 yards per carry that's not going to happen. Pressure on the QB was also a problem once again. We still are not getting to the QB with consistency. Even when we did Crompton had enough time to complete passes. Once again our most effective plays came from the edge. Eric Norwood led the way with 6 tackles (4 solo) but the Cocks' were only able to generate 1 sack and 4 tackles for loss for a negative 11 yards. Tennessee generated 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss for a negative 16 yards. Basically, Carolina's defense played the Vols' defense to a stalemate.
Hey, anyone that will listen. That means you too coach Beamer. We need someone who can kick a ball off the tee! I would make a bee line to Stone Stadium and hold open tryouts immediately. I know there is someone on this campus that can kick a ball at least to the goal line! Don't we have a top ranked Women's Soccer Team on Campus also? I don't care, just get me a touchback! Opposing team's are starting in too good a field position due to our inability to kick the ball deep. They can open their play book wide when they start at the 40 vs. their 20 yard line. Let's get this fixed.
Well, I saved the worst for last. I don't know what to say about the Cocks' offensive line. I do have a moniker for them though. I borrowed it from the original cast of Saturday Night Live Actors. The Carolina offensive line will now be known as "The Not Ready For Prime Time Players." Watching these guy's is like watching the little Dutch Boy with his finger in the dyke. We don't know where the next leak is coming from, but we know it's coming! And T.J. Johnson has a well earned nickname of his own "The Drive Killer", I have never seen a kid withs so many drive killing penalties in my life. My hope is that by some Divine Intervention we can somehow get two effective games from them out of our three remaining contests. Three effective games would probably meet the criteria for canonization, so I won't go that far.
Well that's another game for the books. Next up is an Arkansas team who seems to be almost as schizophrenic as our Gamecocks'. I know that Ryan Mallett will test our secondary next week for sure. The Razorbacks' also possess a pretty good stable of running backs that will give our defensive line the opportunity to earn their keep next Saturday. Look for my mid-week column on "The Keys to the Game."
Sunday, November 1, 2009
No Show in Knoxville!
Posted by Tim 'Pops' Frisby at 8:19 AM
2 comments:
It's stated (around here at least) that developing a solid OL is a long road; longer than most skill positions. Frankly, when I look at Georgia Tech and their average (according to Rivals) OL, I shake my head in confusion when I contemplate the previous forgone conclusion.ReplyDelete
In you estimation, Frisby, is Wolford living up to expectations?
- AnonymousNovember 2, 2009 at 5:41 PM
Very well said. I certainly hope for better in the future.ReplyDelete
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Stem cells: Egg engineers
In a technical tour de force, Japanese researchers created eggs and sperm in the laboratory. Now, scientists have to determine how to use those cells safely — and ethically.
"Biologist Katsuhiko Hayashi discovered a way to turn mouse skin cells into sperm and egg cells — and actually used these modified cells to create a living baby mouse. Cells from a male mouse could be converted into eggs. Mice that were infertile could become fertile again, by turning their skin cells into viable germ cells. However, both iPS and embryonic stem cells frequently pick up chromosomal abnormalities, genetic mutations and epigenetic irregularities during culture. 'There could be potentially far-reaching, multi-generational consequences if something went wrong in a subtle way,' says Moore." (read).


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Drake Parties With Ex Rihanna After Cozying Up To Nicki Minaj — Pics
Talk about awkward! On June 1, the VIP Room became the official after party for Summer Jam — and it brought together exes Rihanna and Drake! She was spotted partying at the club, just hours after he was all over Nicki Minaj on stage right in front of her.
So this is a love triangle if we've ever seen one! Rihanna looked absolutely stunning on June 1 while she partied with friends at New York's hotspot, the VIP Room. However, it had to be a little awkward –her ex Drake was also there, DJing, while his rumored new fling, Nicki Minaj was nearby!
Rihanna & Drake Party Together
Rihanna left Summer Jam in New Jersey completely solo, HollywoodLife.com learned, but then she headed out in New York — and ran right into her ex.
Many fans took to Twitter to share pics of Ri Ri at the club, as well as videos of Drake, who took off his rapper hat and put on his DJ one (and apparently it was a bucket hat)! There's also rumors that Nicki was at the club — which would make sense! She left the concert with Drake and Lil Wayne.
Just to catch you up — Drake and Ri Ri were on-again off-again for years but they split after he said she was needy. Since then, she's been avoiding him. However, he's been cozying up to Nicki recently, who he's said in past interviews he fell in love with when he first met her. Then they took the stage together at Summer Jam — and it was much more than friendly!
Nicki Talks 'Fantasy' Of Marrying Drake
Even though she claims it's a friendship and Drake is just her "brother," Nicki is making that hard to believe.
"One day I will run away with Drake and get married, but right now it's just a fantasy," Nicki told i-D in a new interview. Well, pretty sure you don't fantasize about marrying your brother! Plus, Nicki and Drake have worked together a ton over the years and we know Drake's hoping to continue that.
However, in the interview, Nicki was also asked about her friendship with Rihanna.
"She fondled me at the MTV Awards and the America Music Awards," Nicki said. "I love her. She's the best fondler ever."
Hmm, sounds odd. Do you think it's weird that they all partied together in NYC? Are Drake and Rihanna getting back together? Let us know your thoughts, HollywoodLifers!
— Emily Longeretta


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We should have the same desire expressed by Sir John A MacDonald to Queen Victoria, the Mother of Confederation, "to live under the sovereignty of Your Majesty and your family for ever." A Christian Monarchist Canadian Tory Blog
Sunday, November 07, 2010
cap and tax is dead in the US
Day of reckoning for climate vote
By: Darren Samuelsohn and Robin Bravender
November 3, 2010 05:19 AM EST
House Democrats who voted for the 2009 bill to cap greenhouse gas emissions – dubbed cap-and-tax by GOP opponents – had a terrible night.
Over two dozen lawmakers who favored efforts to clamp down on heat-trapping emissions were swept away on Tuesday's anti-incumbent wave, ushering in a new class of Republicans who doubt global warming science and want to upend President Barack Obama's environmental and energy policies.
Democrats who voted for the controversial House climate bill were slaughtered at the ballot box, including Rep. Rick Boucher, the 14-term Virginian who helped broker some of the key deals instrumental to its June 2009 passage. In the Senate, several reliable green advocates also went down to opponents who derided tough new environmental policies.
Come January, Obama will be working with a Congress that will have little appetite for the types of sweeping energy reform he sought over the last two years. With the House in Republican hands, some of the climate issue's most vocal advocates have been dislodged from their powerful perches, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman.
4 comments:
I guess the people have spoken cap and tax, tax and spend, 100 billion demanded by the U.N. all kicked to the curb, God bless America!
Cheers Bubba
Watch for Obama try to get cap and tax thru the EPA by changing regulations. Watch for the fireworks as the Dems are called before the House to explain their changes to regulations. Trying to do something by regulation that they can't get thru the Congress.
God Bless America is correct. Right now they're are only hope of keeping the rabid environmentalists under control. Right now, in Canada, a group made up of major oil companies, radical environmentalists (Pembina Institute), and environmental professors and operating under the acronym EPIC is trying to come up with ways to make the Canadian oil industry the greenest in the world. They claim they will do so by influencing prominent politicians. While this goal, in itself, is worthy, they also say that it can only be done by introducing a carbon tax. I wonder if Stephan Dion and Kyoto are also part of EPIC?
- Bob Devine said...
Watch out for the EPA! It is full of enviro freaks and by operating behind closed doors like they do they will be more dangerous to the economy with their prohibitive and expensive rules and regulations.


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Holy crap our bookshelves are a mess!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Office Space
Last week, after months of looking, I accepted an in-house corporate communications position with a major security company in the Bay Area. Since the beginning of my career in tech PR, security and wireless companies have been the most fascinating for me to work on so when a former client introduced me to a VP at my new company for a new position they were hiring for, I was thrilled. Firstly, because hello ... it's a company people have heard of and respect. And secondly, the job wasn't found by a recruiter, but rather was through a recommendation from someone I had worked for in the past and that meant a lot to me. My experience was spot-on for the position and I'm excited to get started when we get back from Hawaii. Oh, and the other thing? This company bought my absolute favorite client ever last May. Clearly it was meant to be.
The interesting thing about this position is that I won't need to be in the office everyday. My boss works out of Oregon and my other colleagues aren't in the Bay Area. The majority of my work will be done from home so that means I need to start thinking about my office space. Since moving in we've always had a dedicated office space, but because Alan works from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays it's always been "his" space. This room is our version of a man cave (god how I hate that term). We have one desk and it's very much his domain. When I'm in the office - like I am right now - I'm usually sitting in one of the two leather club chairs we bought in 2009 from his co-worker. I definitely need a dedicated space of my own. Oh, and I think we need to do some organizing and cleaning.
Holy crap our bookshelves are a mess!
It makes the most sense to put my desk either in the window where the chair and side table in the photo above is located, or along the wall immediately to the chair's right, under the frames. Of course, no matter what we decide to do this means that we're going to have to reclaim space that has otherwise been taken over by other furniture or random storage. We have an old, incredibly heavy, filing cabinet in the basement that I'd love to paint white and put casters on. Maybe I can do that when it stops raining and we can file away all of the stuff that's on the floor in the corner to create floor space. Or, if we put my desk in the window, I'll need to find a place in the house for the chairs and the giant palm (we got that when we moved into the loft and it was only 2 feet tall). I'm thinking I could move one of the leather chairs into the corner talked about above and the other into a corner of the dining room where we used to have the pink velvet art deco chair (that now sits in the living room). I'd love to put one in the living room but there's simply no space available as they're too deep to fit into the one available corner.
Obviously, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this as it's not something we were really budgeting for (and since we still have to buy the replacement rugs) so I'm thinking of hitting up Ikea as I actually like some of the work spaces they have available.
This might be too small for my purposes. I'm not sure in looking at it, but I think so.
I like this one because it has storage where I can hide things out of site. And let's face it, you can tell from the photos above that's needed.
I'm not totally sold on this one ...
Again, more storage ... but open and visible.
I actually really like the look of this one. I dunno though. Maybe not the right kind of extra storage?
So, that's where I'm at. I have three weeks between now and when I start my job so I have time to get set up, but not a ton of it.
5 comments:
Hm, nice cat, ha ha! Seriously, it's always good to have an office space at home that you can call your own. You'd be able to get your work-related stuff done there without getting distracted by other things. Of course, making sure it's organized and clean is important in making it work.ReplyDelete
Your ideas and hacks for organizing a perfect office with ample of space are really wonderful dear and I am happy to go through your post as I got some really useful and nice ideas to organize my corporate event venues San Francisco for the next event I am going to have in next month.ReplyDelete
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A friend of mine who I've been nudging in the direction of becoming fit because he's old and fat gave me an insight into the ball of confusion that is getting fit by those who are far from it.
A fitness routine is just not on sedentary people's radar; they tend to ignore what looks to them to be disorienting and complicated.
Ain't nothing complicated about being overweight: overeating = overweight, so nobody gets a pass pretending they never heard of that equation. But I admit the noise concerning fitness is deafening. So many "experts." So many theories. So many idiots online writing how-to's and what-not's as if theirs is the last word on the subject.
I like to recommend something I myself do: watch youtube videos. There are videos for every level of fitness interest, from clueless to professional. Watch and learn: learn what interests you and what does not. Sign up on youtube and you can save those videos you like for your chosen routine. It's true there are a lot of dunderheads giving stupid and even dangerous advice, especially the macho male types who preach that if you're not practically killing yourself working out that you're basically a sissy, but these sad guys/gals are obvious: hey, you're only trying to get fit, not compete in the Olympics.
Sifting through all the fitness material in print and online is confusing, but starting off with a very basic at-home program that includes classics like push-ups and chin-ups will indeed produce results. For working abs, sit-ups have always been hard on the back, as are crunches done incorrectly, but planking is effective and there are dozens of variations for which there are a ton of videos online. Planking is fairly recent in popularity. Planking is not only effective, but for many it is much more enjoyable than old school situps and crunches. There are literally scores of different ways to work the midsection, and combining three or four different abdominal exercises in your workout will soon produce results without the tedium.
Just remember, it took you years to get into poor shape, but it will take only weeks to see your first initial improvements. You can't expect to reverse years of damage entirely in a couple of months, and you can't view your new diet and fitness routine as temporary: it is a lifestyle change so that you might enjoy better health, increased strength, higher self esteem and increased mobility.
Old is the absolute wrong time in life to decide it's OK to get fat and weak.


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GE Capital Bank was recently given the best saving account award from Money Magazine, and the online bank is quickly becoming as well-known as the big banks due to its immensely generous yields for consumers.
Though the online bank only launched five months ago in June, it has quickly risen in the ranks of American banks.
So what makes GE a standout among its competitors? One of the features of GE's award winning savings accounts is that it offers their consumers 10 times the average interest rate on their contributions (0.09% on $20,000). Additionally, GE offers more interest than any other bank when it comes to one-year CDs (with balances of $25,000).
The buzz is growing for GE Capital Bank, though it's legacy was established centuries ago. Click through our slideshow to find out more about GE Capital Bank.
Related Stories:
7 Ways to Successfully Settle A Dispute With Your Bank
Everyone Deserves A Second Chance With Banks
CD Rates October 2013: Rates Rise Amid Better Economic Data


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I had a big essay for today but it seemed like overstuffing the turkey. I'm imagining we're all just creeping back to work. So, I'm going minimal and bloggish with what I'm thinking, via linking. Here is much of what I what I was going to say. Consider it a peek at what a nf writer outlines before they, um . . . write!
Gloppy, tongue-tangling words
Maria Montessori (My K-5 years)
The wisdom of Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound
The six declines of modern youth
The Children and Nature Network
The Global Education Conference where Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and I presented
OUTDOORS. PLAY. PIE. Need I say more?


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vrijdag 10 juni 2011
I want to tell you about one of my favorite books.
....... a story by Douglas Woods ....
watercolours by Cheng-Khee Chee .
It's about ...... a gift of wishdom and hope .
offering a message
of LOVE and TOLERANCE
and honoring the SACREDNESS OF LIFE
Wish you all an inspiring weekend
Give your favorite book a place
close to you
4 opmerkingen:
Hope all will work ouit again soon for your blogging - i once had difficulties too! Hasppy weekend and a lot of present moments! Am working on that too ;)BeantwoordenVerwijderen
Sounds like a wonderful book my friend...I will see if I can find it.BeantwoordenVerwijderen
Blogger was giving me trouble last night too.
Hope you had a great day! I guess it is almost time for bed in your part of the world...sweet dreams. My day is just starting. xoxoxo
- Anoniem10 juni 2011 om 18:25
It does sound like a wonderful book - I will look for it at the library next week!BeantwoordenVerwijderen
Wishing you & yours a happy day,
~ Zuzu
FRANCIS!!!! OH I DID MAKE IT DEAREST AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR MESSAGE!!! I was SO TIRED YESTERDAY and then in the evening, my husband and I went out and I was unable to come to my blog but THANK YOU, DANK U VOOR your sweet support! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....so now, I have to figure out my new post and I have no idea what to do!!!!BeantwoordenVerwijderen
MUCH LOVE TO YOU DEAR FRIEND FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT! It is time to PLAY NOW!!!!!! See you on the "playground" of Blogland my sweet...Anita


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A Pine Bluff woman who was being sought by police after an alleged fight with another woman Sunday turned herself in Tuesday afternoon.
A Pine Bluff woman who was being sought by police after an alleged fight with another woman Sunday turned herself in Tuesday afternoon.
Keosha Collins, 19, allegedly beat another woman with a set of brass knuckles during an altercation in the 1600 block of South Peach Street, Pine Bluff Police Department Detective Bill Wiegand said in a probable-cause affidavit presented in court Wednesday.
Deputy Prosecutor Maxie Kizer said they when police arrived, they found the alleged victim with blood on her face, arms and shirt, and she was taken to Jefferson Regional Medical Center where she received seven stitches.
Wiegand said in the affidavit that when Collins was questioned, she admitted geting into a fight with the other woman, but denied having a set of brass knuckles and said that rings she was wearing caused the alleged victims� injuries.
Jefferson County District Judge Kim Bridgforth set a $5,000 bond for Collins, who Kizer said had no prior convictions or pending charges, after ruling that prosecutors had probable cause to charge her with second-degree battery and criminal use of a prohibited weapon.
Collins also was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim until the case is settled.
The Public Defender�s Office was appointed to represent Collins.


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Bad, dope, sick, ill, and even crack are all adjetives I've used to describe something good, exceptional rather. I mean really good, not just anything, It has to be really cool to warrant such potent vanacular. You know, I'm talking something thats off the chain! This kind of vocab makes sense to most of my generation, kids born somewhere between Malcom X, and DMX, but not quite generation X. I googled generation names and it turns out being born in 85 makes me a part of generation (wh)Y, a millinial, an 80's baby; but being born in Harlem in the 80's to parents of Jaimacan, African American, & Puerto Rican decent , the label I identify with most is the Hip Hop generation. I grew up in the Boogie down, and it wasn't long before I was exposed to the culture and language of Hip Hop, and by a preteen I was fluent and lyrically killin it! We didn't invent the slang we used, most of it had been passed down from generation to generation, particularely in the urban context, but we sure did remix them joints. After all, what is Hip Hop if it isn't taking something that already exists, and giving it a totally new purpose and meaning? Hip Hop is infamous for redefining things, from style, to language. Perhaps the conditions that birthed Hip Hop contibute to the way we view and use words. See, in the 60's the Bronx was on fire, literally, and out of the ashes came Hip Hop; something beautiful out of something broken. Today we say "thats fire!" when complimenting someone or something. The N word we redefined and used as a term of endearment, synonymous with friend, or brother, but also generally synonymous with people. Instead of saying 'people', we pluralized the N word. I was 9 years old when rapper Biggie Smalls said "I love the life I live, cause I went from negative to positive, and it's all good".
The I(N) Word (Crash Course in Culture, Context, Contradiction, and Conflict for Children)
So as a kid the N word was more like the in word. It seemed all the kids used it regularly, it was just the norm. I can't remember when it infiltrated my vocabulary, but I can remember it rolling off my tongue with ease for over a decade. A few key experiences shaped my relationship to the word, and taught me in live action the diversity of the word's history, meaning, and cultural application. So rap music is undoubtedly the most influential source of urban slang, and absolutely the culprit that popularized the N word around the world. Within the Hip Hop communities of East Harlem, & the South Bronx the word was sung, flung, but never stung. When my family moved to Throgs Neck the word took on a whole new meaning, which ironically was it's original meaning. Throgs Neck at the time was still somehwat segregated, and prone to racial issues. Prior to moving there, I rarely thought twice about race. One day while sitting in a park with my best friend at the time, who happened to be white, another older kid came by and sat to talk with us. We looked up to the older kid, because… well because he was older. He spoke about high school, and things that intruiged us. Then he said something I'll never forget. He said the same word I had been completely comfortable hearing, and saying myself, but with a different tone, and it stung like a killer bee. I stood quiet, embarrassed and ashamed as he made racist remarks unaware that I represented the people he was reffering to in such a hateful way. Another time in math class my teacher who was African heard me use the word and flipped out! Sent me to the office and accused me of being racist. I argued how can I be racist against black people when I'm black!? You see, my pops complexion is light and most people think he is spanish, my mom is light skin, and low and behold I'm light skin as well. A few similar experiences caused me to learn and understand the N word has a different meaning, and effect on different people, in different places, at different times. I remember the day vividly that my brother and I explored alternative words to refer to our friends as we walked through the same park where the N word had left an inward bruise on me.
Remixing The N word
What is Hip Hop if it isn't taking something that already exists, and giving it new life and meaning? We remix everything, It's what we do. -Randy Mason
"What's poppin' my neighbor?" – Damion B Sanders
A few years ago a friend of mine gave me a gospel Hip Hop CD that his co-worker Dame made, and that joint was fire! One line in particular blew my mind when I heard it. On a Kanye West remix the rapper flipped Kanye's line which originaly used the N word, and replaced it with the word neighbor. "What's poppin' my neighbor?" That line was, and is still one of the dopest lines I've ever heard, it's profound! I loved the CD so much, eventually Dame and I connected and formed a rap duo called Jesus Peace. Fast forward to a few days ago, (that's an interesting sentence combining future & past tense) Dame and I are at our Church (Elements Church) youth concert where we were performing a few new songs. Prior to us going up, a brother went up to share his testimony. While passionately explaining the life God delivered him from he slipped up and said the N word. Oops! Everyone kind of shockingly laughed it off as he apologized. As an urban church we knew exactly where he came from, what he meant, and how any of us could potentially slip up like that; especially when talking about our past life. So when Dame and I went up to do our song, I referenced our brothers raw testimony, gave God thanks for transforming his life, and lastly told the congregation that Neighbor, is now the new N word.
Biblebonics (Everything New)
Jesus flipped a lot of generational traditions, and cultural idealogy's on their head. Because of the "new" perspective he brought someone once asked Jesus "what is the greatest commandment?" If that isn't a loaded question I don't know what is. In Jesus's response we discover the two things that God esteems as paramount for humanity.
Matthew 22:36-40 New International Version (NIV)
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
So here we are in the year 2015, a lot has changed, and a lot is still the same. In regards to race in America things are once again beginning to intensify. In regards to Hip Hop culture and music, "consciousness" seems to be making a return as rappers address racial/political/social/economical issues in their music and interviews. Hip Hop & Christianity have a lot in common. From the underdog achieveing the impossible, to the remixing of culture, traditions, and perspectives; Most importantly the transformative aspect that they both employ; producing beauty from brokenness. So yo, consider this a Jesus Peace public service announcement: Neighbor is officially the new N word. Effective immediately. Tell a friend, tell all your neighbors. We have an opportunity to make history! Lets make it so that when people look back at this time, and at our generation, they will see a cultural shift in language and slang, when the N word was officially abolished and a new term flourished.


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Here's an inspiring example of how non-governmental organizations can get things done in a city. Instead of waiting years for the city to update a derelict neighborhood, IKEA recently purchased over 1.1 million square feet of land (26 acres) in East London, with the intention to not only develop the area, but also to create a new and improved neighborhood. The project is Strand East.
The plan for Strand East is to completely transform the neglected area into a vibrant community made to live, work and play. It's an ambitious project created with the users in mind. This goes way beyond building and selling real estate.
This is what the area looked like before they got their hands on it.
This is what they are planning to do with the land.
This is an example of how quickly things can get done. The project is already underway with the tower and the first restaurant currently under construction. The restaurant is set to open in July of this year. There are a lot of interesting features they plan to add to this new neighborhood that many other cities can learn from, including Ottawa. Things like water taxis. Imagine water taxis on the ottawa river during the summer.
What I like the most about their vision (aside from the fact that things are getting done) is that they are making their concept centered around the community, the people that will actually use the space. Check out the little presentation video below about what makes a place a great place. This is what we should keep in mind when developing the city.
If I could, I would emulate what IKEA is doing here, in certain areas of the city, starting with the Sparks Street!
Source : Strand East on Facebook | Strand East | Fastcoexist | Globe and Mail | Strand East |


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- This event has passed.
Harmony Road II
January 23 @ 5:00 pm - 5:45 pm
An event every week that begins at 5:00pm on Tuesday, repeating until May 29, 2018
Ages 4.5-6
Carefully constructed for children to learn the basic building blocks of music. Emphasis on ear training, solfege singing, keyboard playing, ensemble and rhythm, solfege singing, keyboard and movement activities. Parent involvement in class and at home.


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We stand against the distortion of truth in any form, especially that which is cloaked in the appearance of light and spirituality. We stand against patriocentricty, legalism, and spiritual, physical, and mental abuse of any kind.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Today I took my son to a new day care. We are just trying it out for a few weeks, and he was only there for a few hours in the morning. I came back after lunch, during their rest time, to find my little boy standing up in the playpen, sobbing his heart out. His eyes were red, his nose running, his shirt soaked with tears and snot. I scooped him out and he wimpered, "Mommy, no go bye-bye."
Unfortunately, his nap time doesn't coincide with the day care's naptime. He might have played quietly with toys and a book if they had been offered, but it isn't their policy to do so. The other seven babies have been there since they were six weeks old, and are there five days a week, so their schedules are the same. My son's isn't.
It also, apparently, is not their policy to pick up a child who sobs for half an hour and comfort him.
I came very, very close to quitting my job today. Fortunately, my reasonable husband said, "Well, you can. We can afford it, if that's what you want. But you like your job. And you only work two days a week; we can work around your schedule."
And we can. But my point is that sometimes I understand the security that patriarchy can seem to offer. Dad works, preferably at home, where he is easily accessible. Mom takes care of the kids and the house, not having to worry about day cares and work schedules and what in the world she's going to make for dinner after getting off a twelve hour shift. Life is prescribed; Dad does this, Mom does that, kids do what Mom and Dad say, and Mom does what Dad says. There's no guessing; no struggling in the dark hours of the night about choosing good child care or whether or not a parent should keep working.
(By the way, I'm not saying that day care is wrong. My son was in a wonderful day care for several months, but it's no longer available so we are looking at other options.)
There is some measure of comfort in having your choices taken away. When you lose choice, you can stop wondering whether or not you are doing the right things.
But you lose so much more.
You lose who you are. What makes you you. You lose the understanding that what works well for you may not work well for another family. When choice is taken away, and roles are set in stone, who are you? Are you just a robot, following your programming?
That is why I will never veer down the path of patriarchy(well, that and my husband has too much sense). Even when I struggle with my choices, I am glad I have the ability to make them. Even when I look at my sleeping son tonight, snuggled in his crib, and flash back to his tear streaked face earlier today, wondering if I should even keep working, I am so thankful I have that choice. Many, many women are not financially able to make a choice about working, and many women have been denied the education that would give them career options. I don't know yet exactly what I'm going to decide, but I am so, so thankful that ultimately, it is my decision, not one that my church, pastor, parents or husband have made for me.
2 comments:
Do you have a choice of daycares? Because this one sounds like their policies are routine rather than child-centred, I would not be happy with my child being left crying nor being forced to sleep when others do. I am also a working outside the home mother and I know that for us good daycare is crucial to everyone's happiness, and it also can be really good if you find the right place. Hope you don't mind me commenting, I found your blog through FJ.ReplyDelete
I love comments. :-)ReplyDelete
Fortunately we were able to work around my schedule; my job hours are fairly flexible, so baby goes to Grandma's one day a week(two days a week twice a month) and is with Daddy the other day that I work. I only work two days a week, so we just had to do some shifting of days, and I have enough seniority at work to do that. Day care in my area is all family day care, and it's hard to find an under-2-year-old slot.
This day care just wasn't the right fit for us, I think.


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Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Say what?
It's pronounced to-do, as in a to-do list. This is a new computer app that is free and I am loving it.. The site is www.Teuxdeux.com
It's a TeuxDeux (to-do) list on your computer and you type in your list for each day and you can move your items to the next day or even days down the road ( good for us procrastinators). Then the fun part is you can even cross things off the list! *If you get them done of course!
It is easy to use and has a very nice clean look. No more misplaced lists - yippee!
Does this mean I will be more organized? One can only hope.
For some reason dusting always winds up at the bottom of my list LOL
Lucy and Nancy - I'm so happy you enjoyed the ginger snap cookie recipe.
3 comments:
- Pat said...
Hmmmmm...I need to check out this site!
- December 16, 2009 at 3:29 PM
- Stitched With Prayer said...
Linda, Dusting definitely goes to the bottom of my list too, lol. Now about that list site you mentioned. My gosh, if I can move them forward if I don't get them done, in a few months I'll have a novel of a to-do list. I may try it out though as I am always losing mine. Grocery lists too **sigh**. OH...the cookies are AWESOME, especially with hot chocolate and a snowman mug *grin*.
- December 16, 2009 at 7:06 PM
- Stitched With Prayer said...
Hi Linda, just thinking of you, hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Holiday Hugs coming your way.
- December 21, 2009 at 11:17 AM
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Thoughts from a 5 year old: This was right up his alley. He had a great time trying to spot the objects on his card and would play the game repeatedly. He really loved to play against someone else - that made it a challenge he couldn't stand to lose.
Thoughts from a 2 year old: He really wasn't ready for this concept yet. He could handle looking for one object but a card through of quests was too much for him.
Mom's Take: It's easy to use and perfect for a car ride. It did a wonderful job of entertaining my oldest and I really liked that it was an app that could be played with more than one person.
Simply Stated: The adorably illustrated game board is sure to keep your child entertained for a good while. When you are trapped in the car for hours on end - this is money you will be happy you spent!