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Guests: John Heilemann, Jane Wells, Richard Engel, Steve MacMahon, John Feehery, Joe Williams, Robert Baer, Dana Milbank, Ron Reagan
CHRIS MATTHEWS, HOST: The name for his pain, Bain.
Let`s play HARDBALL.
Good evening. I`m Chris Matthews down in Washington. Leading off
tonight: The Bain event. Newt Gingrich has unleashed his first attack ad
in South Carolina going after Mitt Romney`s time at Bain Capital.
Democrats are thrilled to see and hear Republicans like Newt and Rick Perry
hit Mitt where they believe Republicans are vulnerable, economic
Think ahead to the election match-up now between Obama and Romney, if
it comes to that. When the president called out financial speculators
during a jobs speech yesterday, he laid it out. With Romney as his likely
opponent, he`ll run against Wall Street greed, with Romney trying to run
against Washington. And Bain`s not Romney`s only problem. He`s got a
spontaneity problem, don`t you think? When things got confrontational or
go off script, Mitt tends to go off-kilter. Remember this tense interview?
BRET BAIER, HOST, FOX NEWS "SPECIAL REPORT": Do you still support the
idea of a mandate? Do you believe that that was the right thing for
Massachusetts? Do you think a mandate -- mandating people to buy insurance
is the right tool?
MITT ROMNEY (R-MA), FMR. GOV., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Bret, I don`t
know how many hundred times I`ve said this, too. This is an unusual
interview. All right? Let`s do it again.
MATTHEWS: Cross your legs, nervous chuckle there. We`re going to
look at Mitt`s problem with spontaneity when he goes off the script and the
confrontations that he can`t seem to handle. By the way, his opponents are
noticing this.
And who`s behind the assassination of a nuclear scientist over in
Iran? Well, Hillary Clinton says it wasn`t us, but the Israelis aren`t
saying one way or the other. Let`s examine the covert war against Iran.
And finally, "Let Me Finish" with this attack on Mitt Romney from
We begin with the Newt Gingrich attacks on Mitt Romney`s business
background. We have two political strategists here, Democrat Steve McMahon
and Republican John Feehery.
Let`s go to this question -- let`s take a look now -- Newt Gingrich
isn`t backing down, by the way, from his criticism of Mitt Romney on the
business front. Let`s listen to him this very day, this morning on "Fox
and Friends."
NEWT GINGRICH (R-GA), FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You
can`t run saying, I have two great credentials, my governorship, which
you`re not allowed to talk about -- because it`s really pretty liberal --
and the work at Bain Capital, which you`re not allowed to talk about
because that`s an attack on -- if you talk about my record, that`s an
attack on free enterprise. That`s baloney.
MATTHEWS: That guy looks 20 years younger. He has been rejuvenating
himself! He`s mainlining on this. Newt Gingrich at what I consider his
best, on attack. That`s always been his strength.
Here he is saying, Wait a minute. Who`s this guy? We don`t dare talk
about his record as governor of Massachusetts because he was a moderate up
there, a liberal, as he puts it. We can`t talk about his -- what are you
allowed to talk about, about Mitt Romney if you`re running against him, or
aren`t you allowed to run against...
STEVE MCMAHON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: That`s actually...
MATTHEWS: Is that the new thing?
MCMAHON: That`s the new thing. Everybody in the Republican Party is
beginning to close ranks around Newt -- or I`m sorry, around Mitt Romney
because he`s the likely, almost certain, Republican nominee.
But Newt Gingrich understands something I think the Obama people
understand, which is Bain is a cancer on Mitt Romney`s candidacy. And you
can put it in remission maybe for a little while, but it`s going to keep
popping up because it is that harmful to his political health.
And you know, Bain gets to the point that people really will make
their decision around, which is, Is this a guy who can understand the
problems I have? Does he care about people like me? The Bain thing, all
the other things that -- the inability to connect, putting the dog on the
top of his car and driving off on vacation -- those are things...
MATTHEWS: You remember that!
MCMAHON: ... that people look at and go...
MCMAHON: ... Who is this guy?
MATTHEWS: ... strapped the dog up there.
MCMAHON: Who is this guy? That`s what people are going to wonder...
MATTHEWS: He`s the guy that wants to decide tax policy in -- I loved
this one the other day -- in a "quiet room."
MCMAHON: In a quiet room.
MATTHEWS: Let`s go find a room -- John Feehery, aren`t you
embarrassed by the language this guy, the elite language -- Let`s go find a
quiet room, we shouldn`t be talking tax policy with the people listening?
JOHN FEEHERY, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, that`s how Dan
Rostenkowski got tax policy.
MATTHEWS: Oh!
FEEHERY: He got them into a quiet room...
MATTHEWS: Who`s Dan Rostenkowski?
FEEHERY: He`s the former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
MATTHEWS: Oh, I get it. That`s a good argument for you.
MATTHEWS: Let me ask you -- you`ve got Newt Gingrich out there.
You`ve got Rick Perry, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but they`re
both going at him right now, saying Bain Capital cost people`s jobs. You
got Rick Perry saying he`s a vulture capitalist who hangs up on a tree
waiting for a business to get weak so he can eat it.
This is tough stuff. I would expect it from Dennis Kucinich.
FEEHERY: Well, we all would expect it from...
MATTHEWS: But -- but...
FEEHERY: ... Dennis Kucinich.
MATTHEWS: ... in fairness...
MATTHEWS: ... this is coming from behind his lines.
FEEHERY: Right. And as you know, for Mitt Romney, this is an
important time. He`s got to get the messaging right. He`s got to figure
out how to talk like a politician and not talk like a CEO and...
MATTHEWS: Is he a natural?
FEEHERY: Of course, he`s not.
FEEHERY: But people don`t necessarily love natural politicians right
now, but they -- if you`re going to make...
FEEHERY: ... they want real people...
MATTHEWS: Let me tell you something. If Bill Clinton were running
this time, he`d beat everybody on both sides.
FEEHERY: Well, of course he would, but he`s not running.
MATTHEWS: OK. OK. Here`s pro-Gingrich super-PAC -- here`s the money
-- by the way, they call this -- these are all ads written basically by the
candidates, but they say they`re not. This is basically an ad put together
by Gingrich -- "Winning Our Future." It`s up now on South Carolina, going
after Romney`s record at Bain, taken from that 30-minute movie that also
went after him. Let`s watch this negative ad out today in South Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A group of corporate raiders led by Mitt Romney.
The company was Bain Capital, more ruthless than Wall Street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pulled the rug out from under our plant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was fired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They fire people. They cut benefits. They sell
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney? Them guys? They don`t care who I
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel that is the man that destroyed us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Winning Our Future is responsible for the content
of this message.
MATTHEWS: Now, you`re in the ad business, right? You know how to
make an ad. Now, just explain something basic. You can take an ad like
that that`s on right now in January, right...
MCMAHON: Right.
MATTHEWS: ... and you can basically take the best parts of it and run
it again in October, can`t you?
MCMAHON: Yes.
MATTHEWS: There`s no real technical reason why you can`t do that,
MCMAHON: Absolutely not.
MATTHEWS: Is there any political reason why you wouldn`t do that?
MCMAHON: No. In fact...
MATTHEWS: I didn`t think so!
MCMAHON: In fact -- in fact, those ads ran the first time in 1994 in
the Ted Kennedy race when...
MATTHEWS: You were in that one, weren`t you?
MCMAHON: Well, I was -- I was...
MATTHEWS: You were still in school.
MCMAHON: Yes, I was just a child.
MCMAHON: But they ought to be sending Bob Shrum a check because,
basically, Bob Shrum and Tad Devine unearthed this argument. And you know,
I said it was a cancer on his candidacy, and it absolutely is. This is
going to keep coming back and coming back...
MATTHEWS: So Shrummy might get two wins out of it.
MCMAHON: Shrummy should get a commission on this.
MCMAHON: And ultimately, the Obama campaign will get to this
question. What kind of an economy do we want to have for America in the
next century? Do we want an economy that works for Mitt Romney and his
buddies at Bain and everybody on Wall Street who got rich? Or do we want
one that works for the people who lost their jobs, lost their health
insurance, and some couldn`t feed their families? That`s a tough, tough
thing for Mitt Romney to explain.
FEEHERY: This election is going to be a referendum on President Obama
MATTHEWS: OK, so it`s not going to...
MATTHEWS: ... how many jobs he destroyed is not going to be an issue?
FEEHERY: Well, he has a...
MATTHEWS: ... lost my job for this guy?
FEEHERY: Having this ad out there is helpful for the Romney campaign
because now they can test what the best messages are against him and they
can come up with their...
MCMAHON: You think they found it?
FEEHERY: They can. They have -- they are...
MCMAHON: Don`t attack free enterprise?
FEEHERY: ... for the Republican primary, yes.
MATTHEWS: Remember...
FEEHERY: But for -- I`ll tell you what. Mitt Romney has a better
track record of creating jobs...
FEEHERY: ... creating jobs than President Obama does.
MATTHEWS: Feehery...
FEEHERY: And so that...
MATTHEWS: OK, good. In other words, you`re going to wear it out.
Let me tell you something. One of my -- well, my dad didn`t tell many
jokes, but one the jokes he told me as a kid was there was a guy hitting
himself in the head with a hammer. And he said, Why are you doing it? He
just keeps hitting himself in the head. Because he said -- the guy says,
Because it feels so good when I stop.
MATTHEWS: And that`s right. Here`s the pro-Romney super-PAC, Restore
Our Future. He`s putting out this today in South Carolina and Florida
attacking Gingrich. This is Republicans tearing at each other. Let`s
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Newt Gingrich`s attacks are called foolish, out
of bounds, and disgusting. Newt attacks because he has more baggage than
the airlines. Newt was fined $300,000 for ethics violations, took $1.6
million from Freddie Mac and co-sponsored a bill with Nancy Pelosi that
would have given $60 million a year to a U.N. program supporting China`s
brutal one-child policy. Don`t be fooled by Newt`s desperate attacks.
Restore Our Future is responsible for the content of this message.
MATTHEWS: Well, they`re as nasty as ever. Fair enough. But it seems
to me that what happens in these kind of situations -- you`re both experts,
I call upon your expertise -- when you both trash each other, somebody else
gets the vote.
MCMAHON: That`s absolutely right.
MATTHEWS: And that`s going to hurt Newt.
MCMAHON: If I were Rick Santorum...
MATTHEWS: And hurt Mitt Romney.
MCMAHON: If I were Rick Santorum...
MATTHEWS: Sit back.
MCMAHON: ... I would say, Please, gentlemen, don`t do this anymore.
MCMAHON: Can`t we have a positive campaign? Now, remember, this is
how Newt Gingrich rose to the top of the field. He attacked the media and
he attacked the Republicans for attacking other Republicans, and people
applauded him. And then they listened to him.
MATTHEWS: Yes, and by the way, Newt won`t be around in September and
October and November when the...
MCMAHON: No, of course not. His ads will be.
MATTHEWS: ... when all the nastiness and smell of these ads will
still be there.
FEEHERY: Listen, Romney is going to get through this primary. He`s
going to win the primary. And then he`s going to be the guy going against
Barack Obama, the president. And you know what? The president...
MATTHEWS: Why do you think...
FEEHERY: The president...
MATTHEWS: If that`s all true, why is Newt doing this?
FEEHERY: Well, because...
MATTHEWS: If he doesn`t think he has a prayer, why`s he doing this?
FEEHERY: I think he`s -- I think he`s mad at Romney. I think he`s
mad at what Romney did to him in Iowa. And you know, he`s got to get over
it. It`s a kamikaze effort by Newt Gingrich, and it`s not going to help
him long term.
MATTHEWS: Well, wait a minute. Do you think there`s ever going to
come a time -- just following that anger theory -- where Romney`s going to
say, I forgive you, Newt, if you stop doing this, I`ll give you a big
cabinet appointment, if you want one?
FEEHERY: He`s never going to get a cabinet...
MATTHEWS: Well, then, why doesn`t he just keep doing it?
FEEHERY: Well, because he`s going to run out of money eventually.
That`s why.
MATTHEWS: Let`s take a look at the -- here`s "MORNING JOE," which has
been great this past week. It`s always good. South Carolina Republican
Jim DeMint was on there. He warned that Romney needs to have a good
answer. Here`s the most conservative guy in the Senate saying Romney`s
vulnerable in the general election if he doesn`t get his act together and
explain this thing. Here`s Jim DeMint going after Romney`s need to explain
himself. Let`s watch.
SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: But this is something that would
have been an attack on Romney if he`s the nominee anyway. So he needs to
figure out how to explain to America that these decisions sometimes have to
be made in business. Now that Newt and others do not appear to be in the
game, to damage a front-runner makes no sense to me.
MATTHEWS: Well, there he is, the South Carolina guy who wants to win
the general. It seems to me that these Republicans now -- not you because
you`re a straight shooter, but all these guys are circling the wagon to
protect their assets.
MCMAHON: That`s right.
MATTHEWS: So you got all these meal tickets out there, all these jobs
that want jobs with Newt if he -- or Mitt, when he wins, all running around
saying what a great guy he is. Rush Limbaugh never said anything good
about Mitt Romney until last week.
MCMAHON: Right.
MATTHEWS: And all these other guys are doing it, all the magazines
he`s quoting -- they want -- they`re meal tickets, we call them in
politics. They show up election night, they want jobs. They want
patronage. They want consideration. And that`s why they`re being nice to
Romney. They don`t think he`s that great.
MCMAHON: And you know, when they circle the wagons about this...
MATTHEWS: Are you one of them?
FEEHERY: I actually think that people who are defending Mitt Romney
now are shocked by the attacks from Newt Gingrich from the left.
MCMAHON: Better get used to them.
MATTHEWS: Rush Limbaugh is shocked?
FEEHERY: I think that they`re shocked that...
MATTHEWS: Rudy Giuliani is shocked?
FEEHERY: Not the idea of attacking him but attacking him from the --
I don`t think Rush Limbaugh cares about a meal ticket. I don`t think...
MATTHEWS: Does Rudy care?
FEEHERY: I don`t think Rudy cares that much, either. They`re not
going to get appointments.
MCMAHON: It`s the wagons circling, but that`s going to make Newt
Gingrich even angrier and it`s going to make him push even harder...
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MCMAHON: ... and say even more outrageous things. And NBC News did
something recently, which might actually have a big impact on this race,
and that is they took their footage from the debate, and I presume from all
the other news shows, and said, Anybody can use it for any purpose for as
much or as little as they`d like.
So you now have media consultants...
MATTHEWS: They`re giving stuff away?
MCMAHON: We used to not be able to use debate footage that was owned
by NBC. You now have media consultants like me who have all this footage
of people like Newt making these attacks...
MATTHEWS: Do you have to credit the network to do that?
MCMAHON: Well, they`ll be happy to credit the network. It makes it
more credible.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
MCMAHON: It says, Listen to what neighborhood said, and then pretty
FEEHERY: At the end of the day...
FEEHERY: We used words that Hillary Clinton had against Barack Obama
and Joe Biden had against Barack Obama. It has limited effectiveness. And
this -- listen, this Bain Capital thing is something that Mitt Romney has
got to figure out.
MCMAHON: It`s a cancer on his candidacy.
FEEHERY: It`s a very tough attack...
MATTHEWS: Let me remind you of your candidate, Teddy Kennedy. The
damage he did to who was my candidate at the time, Jimmy Carter, was so
ferocious in 1980, by the time Reagan came along, it was easy. And you
know it. The damage done in these primaries...
FEEHERY: Yes, but Carter was the incumbent.
MATTHEWS: ... does stick through the general.
FEEHERY: But he was the incumbent. This is different because this
MATTHEWS: Obama`s -- OK, got you. Got you. There is a difference.
MCMAHON: Listen, let me tell you something...
MATTHEWS: But you know what?
MCMAHON: Let me tell you something...
MATTHEWS: You`re still wrong.
MATTHEWS: Steve McMahon, thank you, John Feehery.
Coming up -- see, the Irish can laugh in (INAUDIBLE)
MATTHEWS: Coming up, a preview of coming attractions. If President
Obama runs against Wall Street greed -- (INAUDIBLE) ad -- which he`s doing
already, and Mitt Romney runs against Washington, who wins? By the way,
they both got a problem.
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Billionaire Warren Buffett says he`s ready to call the
Republicans` bluff on taxes. Last fall, Senate Republican leader Mitch
McConnell said that if Buffet was feeling guilty about paying too little in
taxes, he should send in a check. Well, now, in a new issue of "Time"
magazine, Buffett says he`s ready to do just that, pledging a one-for-one
match for all voluntary contributions made by Republican members of
Congress. That`s a safe bet! And Buffett says he`d up that to a three-
for-one match for McConnell himself.
We`ll be right back.
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL. Mitt Romney has made himself the
likely Republican nominee so far by winning Iowa and then New Hampshire.
He`s consistently attacked, by the way, President Obama`s policies, while
the president`s been speaking out against Republicans and economic
inequality generally. Are those the prevailing arguments we`re going to
hear during the general election?
"The New York Times" political writer John Harwood writes in today`s
paper, "In the sour, fearful mood that economic setbacks have produced,
American voters loathe both major symbols of the forces squeezing their
pocketbooks and life`s savings. President Obama will seek reelection
vowing to rein in one of them, Wall Street. Mitt Romney will focus on the
other, Washington." Well, Wall Street versus Washington. That`s it.
John Heilemann is national affairs editor for "New York" magazine and
Joe Williams covers the White House for Politico.
John Heilemann, who`s also an analyst here -- John, let me ask you
about this, you know, different blame game. Populists -- from the
beginning of our country`s history, politicians have blamed New York
bankers, Big East money. It`s always been part -- almost like apple pie,
going back to Huckleberry Finn. This is what we do in American politics,
blame the big city, New York and the wealth.
Will it work this time for President Obama running for reelection?
JOHN HEILEMANN, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE, MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: Well,
Chris, I don`t think President Obama is or has ever been a comfortable
full-throated economic populist. There`s no doubt that the White House and
his reelection team is pushing him more in that direction. And we saw the
speech that he gave in Kansas a few weeks back. It seems like only a few
weeks, although it may have been longer. There`s no doubt they`re going in
that direction.
But look, the president is, as I say, no Huey Long. He`s not someone
who has ever taken up that mantle very comfortably. And he`s also someone
who continues to receive a lot of money, a lot of support from the
financial services industry. He had a chance to -- in doing Wall Street
reform, to really crack down on the big banks and didn`t do that.
So I think he`s going to walk a line that`s going to be more of a kind
of soft populism when it comes to policy.
MATTHEWS: Yes.
HEILEMANN: But he also is certainly going to try to tie Mitt Romney
to the worst excesses of Wall Street, going to try to paint him, in the
same way Newt Gingrich is now, as a Gordon Gekko figure, and try to -- kind
of put him in that box.
MATTHEWS: Yes, well, that makes sense. Here`s President Obama laying
out his election strategy, more or less, in his Kansas speech last month,
which people -- well, I`m one of them -- believe it`s a very smart speech
because it`s not just that it`s soft, it`s not maniacal, it`s not hateful,
but it does particularly target a certain kind of money making, which he
knows people particularly don`t look up to, people who make money off
money, rather than making things. Fair or not, that seems to be the
discourse right now.
Here he is last month in Kansas.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn`t about class
warfare, this is about the nation`s welfare. It`s about making choices
that benefit not just the people who have done fantastically well over the
last few decades, but that benefits the middle class and those fighting to
get into the middle class. A strong middle class can only exist in an
economy where everyone plays by the same rules, from Wall Street to Main
MATTHEWS: That`s sort of a Sunday morning attempt to be a populist.
I mean, very soft -- he had one guy doing almost a Baptist "yes" there...
MATTHEWS: What do you make of this president who is so successful in
American life, he hardly has a personal grief with anything about the
system? Look how well he`s done. He doesn`t ever make it as an angry guy,
you know? And he is basically offering himself up as the people`s tribune,
champion against the excesses of Wall Street.
JOE WILLIAMS, POLITICO.COM: Well, it`s going to be a very easy
argument for them to make. I mean, the one image that keeps coming to mind
when we talk about these sorts of things is of Mitt Romney with the dollar
bills coming out of his suit and talking about how Bain Capital was a
raging success and how they`ve have done so many...
MATTHEWS: Is that why...
WILLIAMS: I think that`s -- well...
MATTHEWS: He`s worth a quarter billion.
WILLIAMS: ... among other things, it -- talk about the politics of
wealth envy, I mean, any time he does something like that, it would
completely play into that hand. The White House...
MATTHEWS: You mean, I like to be able to fire people?
WILLIAMS: (INAUDIBLE) you like to be able to fire people -- that he`s
got enough money to, like, buy several things that we even only dream
about, cars, private -- you know, whatever it might be, he`s got money at
his fingertips.
And what John is saying is very interesting. President Obama has not been
a full-throated populist. But, certainly, the opposite is true when
compared to Mitt Romney, who definitely has the 99 percent -- the 1 percent
on his side...
MATTHEWS: Boy, is he comfortable defending wealth.
Here he is during his victory speech Tuesday night taking on President
Obama in Washington. But here he is directing his guns at Washington.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president puts his
faith in government. We put our faith in the American people. This
president is making the federal government bigger, burdensome, and bloated.
I will make the federal government simpler, smaller, and smarter.
ROMNEY: He raised -- he raised the national debt. I will cut, cap
and balance the federal budget.
ROMNEY: This president -- this president has enacted job-killing
regulations. I will eliminate them.
MATTHEWS: Well, here`s the numbers, by the way, about the size of
According to the U.S. Office of Personnel, the federal work force
totalled 4,430 people in 2009 when Obama took office. In 2010, a year
later, the number increased to 4,443, a difference of only 13 people. And
local government during that time has gotten smaller dramatically.
In 2009, it was 14.9 million people were working for state and local
governments. But the number dropped to 14.7 million in 2010, according to
the Census Bureau.
So, John Heilemann, I know it`s always great rhetoric to say the
government is ballooning, exploding with people, the government is getting
bigger and bigger to this leviathan. And it`s not. If anything, there`s
been the reality of the economic reports to come out every first Friday of
every month, which are government jobs have been depleted. They are
shrinking. Everybody who lives in places kill Scranton knows the pressure
on mayors and Philadelphia, a place that like I`m familiar with. You`re
always letting people go.
How can they keep selling the idea we have this gigantic growth of
government when we also hear daily reports of lost jobs in government?
HEILEMANN: Well, Chris, I think what -- Mitt Romney and others who
believe that the federal deficit`s growth is a huge problem for the
American economy and long-term prosperity, they will focus on the growth of
government in the sense of the monetary, the fiscal growth of government,
the size of the deficit, the size of debt. That`s what he`s going to hit
on, rather than the specific numbers.
MATTHEWS: But that`s a result of the aging population and
unemployment. You know that. It`s not because they create new ideas to
spend money. It`s that more people turn 65 every day than the day before.
More people are getting sicker and using health care, because they have
understood what they can get from doctors and hospital care, are using it
more than ever.
And more people are unemployed than ever before. That`s why
unemployment benefits and that`s why all kinds of benefits are going up.
Your thoughts on that, Joe?
WILLIAMS: The additional one is that government employment, as you
pointed out, in several cities has gone down because we don`t have the
money to pay for it.
MATTHEWS: Right.
WILLIAMS: And a lot of -- the free market was allowed to do its will
for the last eight years. There are very few people who would argue
against that.
And it hasn`t done the wealth creation that they might argue. And the
reason why this argument kind of resonates is because of sort of
aspirational politics that seems to be on the Republican side.
MATTHEWS: What would you rather run against, big government or big
WILLIAMS: Well, it`s easy to run against big government because it`s
something that everybody sees. It`s very obvious.
MATTHEWS: OK. What do you think? What do you think, John? Your
question, is it a sharper or better tool to blame the government or to
blame business, wealthy business?
HEILEMANN: Look, I think the overwhelming trend in the public opinion
research over the last 20 years is that people in America have more
antipathy towards big government, fairly or not. I hate, Chris, when you
introduce facts into the debate here because Republicans have been very
good at obscuring some of the facts that you pointed to.
But that`s been a political winner for Republicans ever since Reagan,
as you know, beat up on big government. And it`s been a winner for them in
the past. Because the deficit numbers and the debt numbers are getting
bigger, it might very be well again.
MATTHEWS: I have to explain your sarcasm. What you`re really saying
is I did a good job introducing facts.
HEILEMANN: Yes.
MATTHEWS: But the way we talk, you and I, off-camera, gets very hard
for people to decode.
Anyway, it is important to get the facts straight. There`s less
people working for the government than when this president came into
WILLIAMS: And not to mention the fact that -- quick fact -- that wage
has remained flat. It behooves him to pay attention to what happened to
Elizabeth Warren -- what is happening with Elizabeth Warren in
MATTHEWS: Well, I`m rooting for her. I think she`s going to run a
great campaign. We will see who wins.
John Heilemann, thank you.
Thank you, Joe Williams.
WILLIAMS: Thanks, Chris.
MATTHEWS: Up next, Jon Huntsman`s rather pathetic goal for the South
Carolina primary. He`s not aiming too high down there. That`s next in the
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL. Now for the "Sideshow."
First up, as the 2012 candidates swoop into South Carolina this week,
what do you think tops their list of priorities before next Saturday`s --
next week`s Saturday primary in the state? Well, one would think it`s
beating Mitt Romney, the front-runner, but Jon Huntsman has set his sights
pretty low. Here`s his number-one goal.
JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we get closer to
Election Day, you all are going to say Huntsman has got to clear a certain
hurdle to stay relevant, to stay alive. And we`re going to have to find
that after the votes are all cast, we actually clear that hurdle.
MATTHEWS: I get it. You, Huntsman, don`t have to beat the spread.
The other guy, Romney, just doesn`t have to beat -- have to beat his.
Well, a recent PPP poll actually has late-night host Stephen Colbert
beating Jon Huntsman in South Carolina. That`s because Colbert is from
there, maybe, but it was actually Jon Stewart who came forward with some
hard-swallow-advice for Huntsman last night.
Let`s watch.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": New Hampshire
was Huntsman`s big gamble. He skipped Iowa to concentrate all his efforts
on winning there, moved there for a year, and finished a distant third.
No confetti for third place!
STEWART: How does a guy spend a year in New Hampshire and not
HUNTSMAN: As they would say in China (SPEAKING MANDARIN).
STEWART: Oh, right, he speaks Mandarin.
STEWART: I can`t believe that`s not impressive to a Republican
primary audience, who won`t even eat mandarin oranges because they don`t
want to take jobs away from American fruit.
STEWART: You know what, Huntsman? Meet me at camera "you came in
STEWART: I know this is hard for you, but it`s over. It`s time to
put the confetti into storage. Let me put this in terms you can
(through translator): Even Napoleon at Waterloo...
STEWART (through translator): ... came in second.
MATTHEWS: Look, Huntsman may not have connected in New Hampshire with
the voters, but he didn`t do badly with those of us covering that race.
Next up, not too many kids can say they have spent a good portion of
their youth in the White House, but according to first lady Michelle Obama,
her young daughters don`t exactly revel in all the attention drawn by their
Let`s hear a few examples from a portion of the first lady`s interview
that aired on CBS this morning.
GAYLE KING, CBS NEWS: What do you and the president do that embarrass
your daughters?
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: They don`t really want us to come up to
school, especially the president, because when he comes for a parent-
teacher conference, it`s a motorcade. And the other day Malia was like,
"Oh, no, all right, is dad coming?"
M. OBAMA: "Is he bringing all those cars? Really? It`s like the
other day, I think they almost hit my teacher."
MATTHEWS: So, they have put up with what we have been putting up with
over the years, the wish by your kids that you were invisible.
And now for tonight`s "Big Number."
The 2012 presidential election promises to be a divisive one between
the two parties, but get this. In this week`s New Hampshire Republican
primary, some voters did cast a vote for President Obama, the total number,
282 votes. None of New Hampshire`s 10 counties were devoid of at least a
few votes for Obama -- 282 votes for President Obama in the New Hampshire
Republican primary, and that`s tonight`s oddly "Big Number."
Up next: An Iranian nuclear scientist is mysteriously assassinated.
Is there a covert war going on against Iran?
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
JANE WELLS, CNBC CORRESPONDENT: I`m Jane Wells with your CNBC "Market
The Dow Jones industrials finished up 21 points today. The S&P 500
gained three, and the Nasdaq adds about 14. The latest report on weekly
jobless claims show more Americans filing for first-time benefits.
Applications were up 24,000 to 399,000. That`s a six-week high.
Economists say a jump like last week is typical for this time of year, as
holiday hires are let go.
Not as typical or expected, the Commerce Department says retail sales
were only slightly higher in December, rising 0.1 percent from November.
But it was enough to lift overall sales to a record $400.6 billion for the
month. And for all of last year, sales were up 8 percent over 2010.
That`s the largest percentage gain since 1999.
And Starbucks hit an all-time high today after brokerage firm UBS
raised its price target on the stock. The coffee giant ended 1 percent
higher to close at $47.60 a share, which will buy you one venti no foam
half-caf latte. The company rolled out its new Blonde Roast to compete
with Dunkin` Donuts earlier this week.
That`s it from CNBC, first in business worldwide -- now back to
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL.
There`s an amazing spy story taking place in Iran. Yesterday an
Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated in a rush hour attack in streets
of Tehran. It`s likely part of a wider covert war going on against the
program, nuclear program. Look what`s happened just in the past few years.
At least five scientists have been targeted in similar attacks. One of the
scientists survived. The others were killed.
A number of mysterious explosions have been reported at sites thought
to be military complexes. One of the attacks killed a top missile expert.
And back in 2009, the Stuxnet computer virus infested the country`s nuclear
facilities, causing significant damage and delay.
No country has taken responsibility for any of these attacks on the
Iranian nuclear program, but Iran has accused the United States and Israel.
Well, yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton forcefully denied
American involvement.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I want to
categorically deny any United States involvement in any kind of act of
violence inside Iran.
MATTHEWS: So what`s going on here?
Robert Baer is a former CIA officer in the Middle East. He`s now an
intelligence columnist for "TIME" magazine. His latest book is "The
Company We Keep."
Thank you, sir. What`s going on? Just generally, what`s going on?
Do these attacks have a pattern? Does it have the fingerprints of Mossad,
the Israeli agency?
ROBERT BAER, INTELLIGENCE ANALYST, TIME.COM: oh, it is undoubtedly
the Israelis. It couldn`t be anybody else.
You just look at the targets, if it was the Iranian opposition, they
would be going after political leaders, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps, intelligence agencies. You look at the target and you look at the
capabilities. It`s not American. There`s no lethal finding against Iran.
The Israelis, as far as I can see, are trying to provoke the Iranians
into doing something.
MATTHEWS: What would that -- that`s always my question, consequences
explained and consequences dealt with when they come. What could -- we are
vulnerable over there. We have an American over there who has just been
condemned to death for espionage.
Is that one of the assets, if you will, brutally stated against us,
that they can execute him? Would they go that far as payback for something
like this, assuming we had some role in knowing about this at least?
BAER: Oh, they have done a couple things. One, they have hit the
British Embassy, overran it. They kidnapped this American ex-FBI agent
Levinson. They can do a number of things.
But what we`re seeing is an escalation, Chris. And it`s almost as if
the intention is to get the Iranians to fire a missile at an oil tanker in
the Strait of Hormuz, which would cause a wider war.
MATTHEWS: Why would that help us?
BAER: It wouldn`t help us. It would help them because the Israelis
would force us into hitting the Iranians, hitting back, and that`s exactly
what they want.
MATTHEWS: Oh. You think it`s Israel trying to get us into this
Let`s go right now to NBC`s chief foreign correspondent, Richard
Richard, you had a report on "The Nightly News" last night. Give us
the gist of it. Where are we at on this thing?
RICHARD ENGEL, NBC CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think you
need to understand this in the larger context.
Last month, the United States passed incredibly harsh sanctions on
Iran. And the expected outcome of this is that Iran feels backed into a
corner. Iran has responded with some very bellicose language. And now
there`s tension in the Strait of Hormuz.
So, going back to what your last guest, who I admire greatly, was
talking about, if you want to hit Iran, and you need a context to do that,
you need a pretext to do it, the way to do that is by forcing Iran into a
corner, forcing your adversary to make some sort of aggressive move and
then everyone will think you are correct when you respond with force.
MATTHEWS: Why is it important for Israel -- if it`s Israel I assume
doing the eventual attack on the Iranian nuclear facilities, why would
Israel -- how would that help Israel, if they were to take -- would they be
seen as somehow defending their rational -- the whole world is tough on
Israel. Let`s put it that way.
Would anybody ever take the edge off their antipathy toward Israel
attacking Iran, no matter what preceded it?
ENGEL: Well, right now, let`s say Israel goes out and launches an
attack on Iran. The next day, oil prices go through the roof.
MATTHEWS: Right.
ENGEL: We`re talking $200-plus a barrel for oil. Everyone blames
Israel: You picked a fight, and there was ways around this.
MATTHEWS: Gotcha.
ENGEL: If, suddenly, Iran feels strangled, its economy is under
collapse, it does something like put some sea mines in the Strait of
Hormuz, oil prices go up any way, then an Israeli attack happens or a U.S.-
Israeli attack happens, or some sort of military action happens against
Iran, then you look like you`re the savior, not someone who provoked a
MATTHEWS: Well, let me get back to Bob. Do you believe this is
what`s going on? I mean, speculations tell me that. But do you think a
rational observer looking at this would say, this is moving towards
creating a pretext for an eventual attack on the Iranian nuclear
BAER: Oh, I think absolutely. This is speculation, of course. I
don`t know what the Israelis are planning. I know the White House doesn`t
want a war with Iran, not before this election. But we see from all
quarters, this pressure, this logic of war that keeps on marching forward,
and the Iranians are looking at this way. They`ve got a year or two to hit
the nuclear facilities. They can`t -- as Richard said -- they cannot be
seen to initiating this.
So, if you keep on assassinating these people in Tehran, it`s a
humiliation to the Iranians. You just make it a reaction out of them which
will look stupid and the world to say, you know, there`s nothing else we
could have done except hit the Israelis.
And I think there`s a strategy here because these assassinations
alone don`t stop their nuclear program. They are simply a provocation.
MATTHEWS: Is that a good analysis objectively from your view,
ENGEL: I think it probably is. The Israelis can`t be seen or it`s
very difficult for them to be seen as drawing first blood. Killing a 32-
year-old scientist who worked in procurement is not going to stop the
program. They have so far killed five people, four of them civilians --
one of them a general who were involved in the missile program or the
nuclear program directly.
It has a psychological impact, but it`s not going to really slow down
or stop the program. So I think you have to look at what is the other
objective. Is the objective to try and make yourself feel better? Is it
to try ands put the Iranians on edge? Is it to try and provoke a response
from them? Or is it a bit of all of that?
MATTHEWS: How can the United States not see this adversarial by
Israel to try to hook us into a war, Richard? If that`s the case, if Bob
Baer is right in saying this is an attempt, a three-way move to try to get
us in by getting the Iranians mad at us, by the actions they`ve taken in
terms of these assassinations. If that`s seen to manipulate us into a war
we don`t want to get into, how can we not see that as relatively -- well,
from an ally certainly, hostile?
ENGEL: Well, the -- I`m not sure if it`s necessarily to draw the
U.S. into a war, but it gives Israel the ability to do this action
MATTHEWS: I see.
ENGEL: I don`t think that Israel would tell the United States that
it`s going to do it.
MATTHEWS: Gotcha.
ENGEL: I think we would just wake up and it`s happened. They would
need to tell a few people, probably Saudi Arabia to give them fly-over
rights, but I don`t think the Israelis expect the U.S. to do this for them.
MATTHEWS: No, I meant to say -- OK. Last thought from you, Bob -- I
thought you were saying maybe you are, let`s get it clear on the table
here. You`re saying that Israel is trying to provoke the Iranians into
attacking us, or attacking them? What are they trying to provoke here?
BAER: If we`re attacked, it gives the Israelis and Americans, it
puts them on the same side, no choice but to hit the Iranians.
MATTHEWS: I see, I got you.
BAER: It`s -- you know, they need our Air Force to complete the job.
They cannot do it alone.
MATTHEWS: Going after the facilities. Thank you.
This is something we`re going to be talking about by the way from now
to Election Day because I`ve been reading Elliott Abrams today in "The Wall
Street Journal," all the politics are on the table right now. This is of
interest of both our country, Israel, and of course, Iran. It`s all
involved in politics to a larger extent and not just the survival of Israel
down the road.
Anyway, thank you, Richard Engel. Thank you, Bob Baer.
Up next, Mitt Romney seems to have a problem with confrontation and
the need to be spontaneous. When things get rough, he gets kind of weird?
And that`s ahead.
This is HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: We`re back with Mitt Romney`s spontaneity program after
this. This guy can`t react well to new things.
Back in a minute.
MATTHEWS: Back to HARDBALL.
David Axelrod famous said, quote, "Campaigns are like an MRI for the
soul. Whoever you are, eventually, people find out."
And the more we see of Mitt Romney in debates and interviews and
interacting with voters, it`s increasingly clear he likes order. Did you
hear it? He can get knocked off stride by spontaneous, unscripted moments
and confrontational exchanges.
How is this going to affect his candidacy and game plans of his
Well, Ron Reagan is here, a political commentator and author. And
Dana Milbank is political columnist, of course, for the "The Washington
Gentlemen, I want you to watch a bit of stuff. We`re talking about
in an October debate, not a thousand years ago, Rick Perry, who at the time
was high in the polls, unnerved Mitt Romney apparently on the issue of
illegal immigration. Listen closely at the end of this when Romney calls
out for a lifeline.
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And, Mitt, you lose
all of your standing from my perspective, because you hired illegals in
your home and you knew about it for a year. And the idea that you stand
here before us and talk about that you`re strong on immigration is on its
face the height of hypocrisy.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: Governor Romney?
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Rick, I don`t think I have
ever hired an illegal in my life. And so, I`m afraid -- I`m looking
forward to finding your facts on that.
PERRY: I`ll tell you what the facts are. You --
ROMNEY: Rick, again -- Rick, I`m speaking. I`m speaking.
PERRY: It`s time for you to tell the truth, Mitt.
ROMNEY: You got 30 seconds. This is the way the rules work, is that
I get 60 seconds.
PERRY: But the American people want the truth.
ROMNEY: And you get 30 seconds to respond, right?
PERRY: And they want to hear --
ROMNEY: Anderson?
MATTHEWS: Anderson. Anderson?
MATTHEWS: What do you make of that, Dana? I want Dana first here
he`s on my face.
DANA MILBANK, WASHINGTON POST: I`ve started transcribing in my
columns the ha, ha, ha that Romney says after laughing his own joke.
MATTHEWS: What does it mean?
MILBANK: It means, I am attempting humor now. We have seen this
before. It`s like the Al Gore problem that Romney gives many outward
impressions he`s human. But when you get behind it, like something seems a
little bit off there. And that`s the nature of the campaign that Obama
needs to run against him. It`s not so much on policy, but in-authenticity
that there`s -- remember Gore`s wooden problem that became a joke? I think
we`re going to have a similar thing here.
MATTHEWS: Well, Ron Reagan, let me ask you what you`d do. I mean,
the lack of spontaneity has been a problem with other candidates -- Jimmy
Carter, Jerry Ford.
Remember when the lights went out, the electricity went off of their
debate. They just froze there like they were like the Hall of the
Presidents. They were like statues down in Orlando at Disneyworld. They
couldn`t move.
RON REAGAN, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It`s very hard to be spontaneous
when you`re always being calculating at the same time. I mean, if you
really know what you believe and somebody throws you into a situation you
are unfamiliar with or a little rocky, as long as you have these core
principles, whatever is coming out of your mouth, however you`re asking, is
going to be authentic. But if you are always calculating your response,
tailoring it to this audience or that, very difficult to be spontaneous.
And you saw there, too, here`s a guy who is like every -- the kid
everybody hates in the playground in grade school. You know, Mr. Anderson,
Ricky broke the 30-second rule. You know, you got to get him in trouble.
Contrast that with a moment in New Hampshire where Ronald Reagan in
his campaign hanging by a thread in 1980, as the moderator is trying to
shut off his microphone, he stands up with it and says, "I`m paying for
this microphone, Mr. Green." That message is, "I`m the biggest guy in the
room. If you want the crown, you got to come through me."
Romney`s message seems to be: if you want the crown, check with
Anderson Cooper. He`s the little silver head figured fellow over there.
MATTHEWS: Well, in all respect, Ron, the reason your dad said that
is because it`s what Spencer Tracy said exactly in the exact same situation
when he was playing a guy named Grant Matthews running for president of the
United States against Harry Truman in the movie called "State of the
Union." It`s the exact same line.
REAGAN: It doesn`t matter. You still got to deliver the line.
MATTHEWS: I know. OK.
This week`s -- this Sunday`s "Meet the Press" debate, Romney had a
dust-up with Rick Santorum about why he didn`t run for reelection as
Massachusetts governor. It`s a good moment here.
ROMNEY: Run again? That would be about me. I was trying to help
get this state in as best shape as I possibly could. Left the world of
politics, went back into business. Now I have the opportunity, I believe,
to use the experience I have.
You got a surprised look on your face. Wait, hold on, wait, it`s
still my time.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you going to tell
people you`re not going to run for re-election for president if you win?
ROMNEY: Rick, it`s still my time.
MATTHEWS: You know what? He called him out. He said you got a
surprised look on your face. Yes, it sort of calls for reaction. He said,
but it`s my time.
MILBANK: Sure. And run again for governor would be about me, but
running for president is a gesture of selflessness and altruism.
MILBANK: You know, don`t you get the sense that he`s running through
index cards in his head and say, what do I need to project?
MATTHEWS: OK. More and more to show, here`s Bret Baier. A great
interview on FOX. He got Romney completely off-script, got him
uncomfortable because he was being challenged on FOX. Let`s watch.
BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS: Do you still support the idea of a mandate?
Do you believe that that was the right thing for Massachusetts? Do you
think a mandate mandating people to buy insurance is the right tool?
ROMNEY: Bret, I don`t know how many hundred times I`ve said this,
too. This is an unusual interview. All right. Let`s do it again.
MATTHEWS: Hey, Ron. Ha, ha, ha.
REAGAN: There`s the unsincere laugh again.
Yes, he`s a jolly sort of fellow, isn`t he, Mitt Romney. Talk about
a legitimate question, and did he not think he was going to have to face
that sort of question? But he seems like the kind of guy that`s just not
used to meeting people on an even playing field, where they`ll ask you
questions and you better have an answer.
He`s used to being the boss and the millionaire where, you know,
nobody asks you uncomfortable questions. Nobody puts you on the spot
because you`ll fire them and you`ll like it.
MATTHEWS: Well, there is a difference between in a business press
and the political press. Let`s put it that way. That`s for sure.
MILBANK: That`s true. It`s ha, ha, ha and then it`s aah at the end
when he realizes nobody else is laughing and then he awkwardly moves on.
MATTHEWS: But what does it tell us is important to a voter right now
about this guy? Yes?
MILBANK: Well, it tells us that he`s got the Al Gore problem, as I
was saying. The one bit of good news is, you know, Romney was in hiding
for months away from the press. He came out because Gingrich forced him
out. Well, guess what? He`s going to go right back behind that. Now,
you`re going to see fewer interviews. You`re going to see fewer town hall
meetings, fewer availability.
MATTHEWS: OK. Ron, last thought. When he has to debate the
president, what happens? Is this going to hurt him or not?
REAGAN: Barack Obama, I think, kicks his behind. No, I think Barack
Obama kicks his behind because he`ll get in his face a little bit and Mitt
won`t be able to handle it.
MATTHEWS: Yes, I think they`re going to -- the president I think is
going to be prepared to do weird things even, unusual, off-beat to catch
the other guy wrong-footed. I love that. That`s the new British phrase
now, wrong-footed.
REAGAN: As long as he doesn`t sigh.
MATTHEWS: Anyway, you catch the man wrong-footed.
Anyway, you learn. Look it up. It`s there.
Thank you, Ron Reagan. And thank you, Dana Milbank.
When we return, "Let Me Finish" with the attack on Mitt Romney from
behind him.
You`re watching HARDBALL, only on MSNBC.
MATTHEWS: "Let Me Finish" tonight with this:
This attack on Mitt Romney from behind is the most exciting thing to
happen in this election. Imagine if a couple of Democrats started
attacking President Obama as an anti-colonial Kenyan from the Mau Mau --
remember? That was something Newt Gingrich leveled at him awhile back.
Imagine if it were a high-level Democrat throwing that stuff at him.
What if a couple of Democrats started blasting Barack Obama for being
some socialist from Europe trying to bring this country down with the
welfare system they over there? Well, imagine if it were a Democrat or a
couple of them going after their own man for being a disciple of Saul
Alinsky, portraying him and his disciples both these enemies of capitalism,
rooters for the great radical overthrow? You wonder why the protectors of
Mitt Romney are getting out there raising bloody murder over Newt Gingrich
and Rick Perry, this is why -- they are feeling just as scared at the
Democrat would feel if one of their own midst, right in the midst of them
were throwing out these attacks at Obama. Nothing spooks the herd like
when one of its own starts goring the others, starts raging in the night,
starts making noise that the way things are being done is not the right way
at all. You are talking stampede when that starts happening.
So, here we are at the start of this big fight between the Democrats
and Republicans, a couple of big-time Republican candidates are saying the
lead steer is loco, that what he`s done with his life, making money is
really not about creating jobs but precisely what his investors went in
there to do: make money. Not by killing jobs, not necessarily, but if
killing jobs made them money, oh, that`s the name of the game. This is the
business we have chosen -- to use a handy "Godfather" phrase.
So here we go. Loop de loop -- a presidential campaign where we see
trouble on the home front. A couple of bulls are raging at the front-
runner. Can`t get better than this, but maybe, just maybe, it will. So,
hang on to your hat. And if you are a Republican, hang on, period.
And that`s HARDBALL for now. Thanks for being with us.
"POLITICS NATION" with Al Sharpton starts right now.
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text:
With my million-things-to-do list increasing daily and a large portion of those items hitting deadline at the end of the first quarter I am slightly freaking out with the coming of March 1st this week. Thank God for that extra day in February with leap year, right? Phewwww… Anyway, I am itching to jump into several room re-dos, but promised myself I would at least remove the wallpaper from our guest bath and kitchen before moving on to any upstairs areas. Mainly because, aside from a much needed paint job in the family and guest rooms, the downstairs is in slightly less need than the extra bedroom upstairs. Although banishing the lavender wall color in there before I transition the Little Guy over into his "Big Boy" room, is a non-negotiable. So, I will be getting to that room ASAP. With my last attempt to remove wallpaper and paint being so disastrous, I decided to ease into the process and start with the smaller of the two rooms; the guest room bath. Now is your chance to really have some fun at my expense…literally! Here is where Waverly met the early 1990's in the worst way possible and you get to laugh at it, with me hopefully more than at me.
In the immortal words of Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, "Let me show you what I'm werkin' with".
This first shot is just to give you a basic feel for the shape of the space and to show the wall color of the adjoining guest bedroom. Although the walls in the bedroom desperately need to be touched up the color is a nice pale blue, sort of a hint at a Tiffany's gift box, and more like the look and feel of the rest of our home. I believe it was the previous owner's attempt at diverting your attention from the ghastly '90's throwback wallpaper that still lingers in certain nooks and crannies.
For funsies I think we should get right up and personal with that lovely wallpaper. It's difficult to tell in a photo, especially with the bad lighting in this room, but the walls are striped in deep maroon, hunter green and gold. The stripes have a sort of swirled under pattern that I believe is there to mimic moire' fabric. MMmmmm…. Then of course, there are the over the top golden swags, embellished with flowers and holding heavily fringed thickly draped fabric. So, bee-uti-fullllll….NOT! What kills me is that this is the only room in our entire house that does not receive any natural light and it has some of the darkest wallpaper imaginable. That = crazy!
Now I will bring you a bit closer to the fabulous vanity. It is actually quite nice as far as the size goes. Deep double sinks with a good amount of space around the edges and in between. For a change it is nice to live in a place where you can set the curling iron down to wash your hands and not risk death by electrical shock. There are three decent sized drawers in between the sinks and below each, a double door cabinet for plenty of storage. While the faucets boast a chrome finish the cabinet hardware is white porcelain, which contrasts nicely with the creamy beige chipping paint and tarnish-blackened hinges.
But I would say nothing tops the cabinets like cultured marble in yet another shade of creamy beige, flecked with deep maroon.
Oh, but wait! There are these super shiny brass sconces perched high above each sink. Not only are they, well, brassy, they give off very little light. Especially for FOUR lights!
At the end of the double vanity we come to the toilet. Pretty standard issue. The only thing goofy with this is that it appears to be in a shade of white, rather than cream or beige like the vanity top. ???
Above the toilet I placed a display shelf shortly after moving in. The little glass shelf was crammed into our powder room, appeared to serve zero purpose and had a bright brass look to the metal support bar. A quick spray of hammered nickel and it worked to camouflage the holes left from the really posh cream colored plastic towel bar that had been hung at an oddly high point behind the toilet.
Oh yeah, here is another look at the circus stripes and around to the shower/bath combo side of the room.
Both the downstairs guest room bath and the upstairs hallway bath have sliding shower doors. At least these fixtures are in chrome, although my preference would be to remove them and just put up a bar and nice curtain. At the bottom of the picture above you can see another lovely color combo of cream colored tile against a white porcelain tub. Again ??????
But no expense was spared in adding accents to this bath/shower combo! No, a lively diamond pattern in pale pink was added to jazz things up. Because, you know, pale pink goes with deep maroon, hunter green and gold. Oh yes, and about six different shades of cream. Right?
Swinging around, the tour ends with a look at the nicely sized linen closet that hides behind the bathroom door, plus you can see yet another shade of creamy beige in the floor tiles. Oh yeah, and if you look closely above you can also see more gold knobs and hinges mixed with a chrome door hook.
Aside from being decorated by a legally blind person in love with the romance of Waverly wall paper and early 1990's color combinations, our guest bath is the BOMB! I know you are all green with jealousy! (or, maybe that's the vomit in the back of your throat?)
I cannot wait to get these stripes out of here. My only problem now is deciding how to tackle this project. I could go in so many directions.
Here are some of my Concerns:
-No Natural Light
-Sconces and ceiling fan light give off nothing more than a candle flame
-Extra large, overpowering mirror
-Gold mixed with chrome and white porcelain
-Cream and white fixtures (vanity top, toilet, tub and tile surround)
-No budget for new tile
-No budget for new vanity
Here are some of my Ideas:
-Paint the vanity cabinet a fun bright color (light, beachy green maybe?)
-Gel stain the vanity to make it look like dark wood
-Remove the wallpaper and paint the walls a light color (pale taupe to help neutralize the vanity top?)
-Frame the large mirror (it does help to reflect what little light is in there)
-Replace or paint the sconces and switch out the shades for something more stylish
-Paint all woodwork, and doors bright white
-Remove glass shelf behind toilet and replace with artwork or a more substantial shelf unit
-Add art work or large mirror to the end wall of the room
-Change cabinet hardware, door knobs and hinges
If I had a bigger budget, or one day…..
-Would love to chip out the row of pink tiles in tub surround and replace with something more modern in a neutral color combo
-Would love to switch out the cream colored powder room toilet with the white one in here
-Would love to remove the sliding tub door and replace with an extra high bar and long custom curtain
-Would love to remove the large mirror and replace with smaller, individual oval mirrors
-Would love to get all new lighting
-Would love to remove vanity completely and replace with a higher cabinet (this one hits below my mid-thigh) and a Carrera marble top
Now that I have put it out there, I guess I better get busy, right? What DIY projects have you guys been working on lately? Any suggestions for our space? Remember we are on a super tight budget and will have to make due with mostly paintable changes right now. However, all suggestions are welcomed!
Kitsch Krafts
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April 13. 2012 07:56
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jackm necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web codificada y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 19 diseños de 7 diseñadores freelance.
Logo and content looking for easy to read website for permanent residence and market appeal.
See description
CAD/CAM service, advisory and education for jewellery and small metal design
Desired Color Scheme:
White, Black, 50% grey, and CMY Rainbow
Desired Style:
Bookman Old Style and Grotesk MT are the chosen fonts from the style-guide, but I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to integrate these into a website.
Accepted File Formats:
HTML, CSS, Original Images PSD, .SWF where necessary
The logo is complete, the style guide is complete, all that we need to finish our brand image is the website. Thats where you come in.
http://www.h3-d.com will have 4 sections (info, services, courses, contact). The opening screen for the website will default to the info section (Don't bother with an opening page). Most of these will only be 1 page deep, but the section on Services Offered will be 2 layers deep (services header, a description of each kind of service, and a link for a one-page image gallery), and the section on Courses Offered will be 3 layers deep (1 course page, 5 course categories, 2 courses per category, for a total of 11 pages under courses).
Most of these pages will be just a change of text with some attached images. The main structure and navigation will be more or less the same throughout.
Website design guidelines:
- Site should be designed for minimum 1024 x 768 px.
- One uniform CSS template for text formatting is good, embedded fonts are even better (but not required).
- The logo is a main motif. The other main motif is a cropped corner in the upper right hand corner of the framing box/screen (shaped like a 30/60/90 right triangle and darker than the screen, as if the upper right corner of a sheet of paper has been cropped or folded back). But besides that, anything goes.
- I do like dotted lines, but they arent required.
- Other websites I particularly like: http://www.antoniobernardo.com.br/, http://www.preciousplatinum.com/, and http://www.aurifaber.com/index_eng.html
Logo design guidelines:
- The logos can be found at http://www.h3-d.com/pix/H3-D_BW.jpg and http://www.h3-d.com/pix/H3-D_colour.jpg . Use either of these (or even make a version of the logo with cycling colours.) If you need a better resolution for the logo then ask. I also have it as a 3D file.
- The tagline is CAD/CAM rapid prototyping and advisory services specialising in jewellery and small metal design. To put it more simply, were helping people become more comfortable with using the latest in existing manufacturing technology. So this site needs to be friendly, easy to navigate, and fairly easy to read.
Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them promptly. Bear in mind that Im in London, UK so Ill be a few hours behind you in answering.


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I'm sure we've all dealt with theists debating with us that communist nations such as North Korea are atheist nations and in their view that atheism can be just as fundamentalist as religion.
But what is the reality here? Does communism and atheism have a connection? Or is the communism in North Korea promoted due to some other reason? Or do both sides really have their good and bad sides and we as a species generalise far too much?
Views: 1300
You can't be a Marxist Communist and be religious. "Religion is the opiate of the people"...remember?
living "people gods" are even more dangerous than book and tablet gods. they promise hell in this world.
Not all communists follow Karl Marx's philosophy.
Marx understood that religious institutions could become the most corrupt, elitist and oppressive defacto governments, ruling through fear and superstition. Marx believed that banning religion would ban superstition.
Christian apologists often argue a reflexive property applies. So they argue that Marx, the father of modern social communism, was an atheist, therefore communism = atheism and atheism = communism. This is like claiming that since apples grow on trees, trees that don't grow apples are not trees.
wikipedia isn't always a trusted source. You can replace that 64% irreligious with the 'Juche' ideology which asserts that humans are gods.
We have to be very careful in how we classify North Korea given the lack of information and insight into this isolated nation. From the readings I have done and the rhetoric coming from the West, the DPRK has disassociated itself from the idea of a communist nation. This statement doesn't come lightly as I have read Karl Marx's limited works on communism. Furthermore, the DPRK's constitution has also removed any mention of communism and any mention of Marxism-Leninism (which it had adopted in the 1950s after Stalin's death).
Whether there is a connection between communism and atheism needs to be looked at in terms of historical context. Marx himself was an atheist. As was Lenin and Stalin. When the Bolsheviks took control in Russia and began the move towards socialism after the revolution, they (esp Lenin) did crackdown on the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Lenin viewed religion as a private matter that was to be left outside the affairs of the State. That is not to say that he was attempting to convert people out of religion. It was an attempt to reduce religious institution power (given that the old ruler the Tsar was an autocrat and had strong support from the Russian Orthodox Church). That is just one example of what can be classified as "extreme". However there are political theorists who uphold to Marxist ideology and also happen to hold a belief in a deity. A few examples are Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Rafael Correa etc.
So the connection between communism and atheism is very limited. The ideas of communism and atheism are not mutually inclusive of one another. One can be a communist but also have religious beliefs (this is limited as communists are usually materialists) and one can be an atheist without being an communist.
Whenever you hear an argument from theists that atheism to its extremity can be seen as fundamentalists, you have to bring their attention to the historical context. Next time they mention the DPRK make mention of the fact that the citizens of the DPRK may not believe in a monotheist god, but in something called 'political religion' where the citizens worship Kim Il Sun and Kim Jung Il. The idea stems from Kim Il Sun's writings on a theory called 'The Juche Idea'. Look into a bit further, but essentially the Juche Idea promotes humans as masters of their own destiny. It can lead to humans viewing themselves as gods.
We have to own communism is we want to make headway.
I'd say, yes, atheism, devoid of anything else, cam lead to nationalistic or ideological, or personalistic cults.
But, atheism, as I get it, is the questioning of dogma. It's being rational, and thus it's all about rejecting religion, and mindless nationalism, and ideologicalism, rejecting personality cults, too...
Sure some atheistist types embraced communism.. I'm an atheist, I endorse Tsarism... I'm an atheist, I endorse democracy, I'm an atheist, I endorse militaristic oligarchy.. I doesn;t matter..
Communism is inherently atheistic as Marx perceived religion to be a tool to suppress the working class.
However, communism is hardly a set of coherent policy prescriptions ready for implementation, which is why it comes in many "flavors" such as leninism, stalinism, maoism, etc. Most have been quite vehemently atheist and anti-theistic. However, a few of these flavors have incorporated religion, Ceausescu (Romania), Castro (Cuba), and the Pathet Lao (Laos) comes to mind, and NKs Juche ideology is a form of secular religion which is somewhat comparable to fascism in its manifestations. It should be noted that NK started off with confucianism, which is atheistic. Last, but not least, most of the Arab republics, especially the Baath run ones, have or has islamo-socialist leaders. As a side note, the Arab cold war was between the pan-Arab socialists and the monarchies.
For debates, use those examples and add in that Stalin went to seminary school.
Bashar Al-assad is an example of a "Socialist Ba'ath" leader.. Arabians suffered a lot from these people!
From Bitter Legacy: Ideology and Politics in the Arab World (p. 60): "Aflaq's thought dominated the Ba'at party" and "[he] insist[ed] on the overthrow of the ruling class and socialism as the pillars of the new nationalism." Pan-arab socialism is certainly a different flavor than Russian or Chinese, but it's closer to those than fascism in ideology (though perhaps not in policy, i don't really know).
While they did collaborate with the Nazis, it was due to anti-colonialism aimed against the French and British, as well as a rejection of Soviet-style internationalist Marxism. Saddam was a tyrant and not particularly ideological.
Communism is like religion, there are many differing sects.
Excuse the tangent:
If a person were interested in learning about modern world history/international politics from source which is fairly unbiased, which books, journals, magazines would be a good place to start?


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Back in 2007, I reviewed Hot Shots Tennis on the PlayStation 2, and I couldn't help feeling disappointed. Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee on the PSP won my heart – it's a game that I still fool around with today – but though the PS2 version of tennis had the characters and style I knew, it lacked the same spark that made the portable rock. There was no character customization, no crazy unlockables, and none of that monumental depth you expect from a Hot Shots game, which have been a staple of the PlayStation library for more than a decade.
Clap Hanz is out to rectify its on-court reputation with Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip. For the most part, this PSP title does it. The controls here are easy to jump into, the horse head and grass skirts are here, and there are loyalty hearts to fill along with ranks to climb up.
This is what a Hot Shots game is supposed to feel like, although there is a bit of "eh" by the time you get really good with your racket.
New to Hot Shots? They're not-so-serious sports games that have cartoon characters, bright visuals and – best of all – simple control schemes so that people can jump in and have fun. That formula's intact in Hot Shots Tennis. Here, there's a small hit box around your character on the court, and it's up to you to press one of the PSP face buttons for lob, slice and topspin shots. Serves are as simple as hitting a given button to toss the ball up and another to send it toward your opponent.
Anyone can dive into Get a Grip and have fun, but Hot Shots also adds layers of complexity for players who want to get lost in the game. There are angles to consider, joystick moves that mean the difference between dropping the ball on the near side of the net and painting the back corner, as well as optimum striking periods that'll make music notes pop out of your character's mouth instead of the "I-swung-too-late turtle" or "I-swung-too-soon rabbit."
Gaining that experience comes from a brand new part of the Hot Shots universe: an open-world story. You're a member of the Love Tennis Club and you need to recruit the best players from around the globe for the upcoming world championships. You travel to new places, freely wander around the locale talking to and taking in matches with the locals, and eventually end up face-to-face with the tennis great you need to secure. This is RPG-lite in a lot of ways. Before you can beat the boss and get him or her on your team, you usually have to do a few tasks – beat a guy in tennis so he'll give you the key to the gym, find a lost dog, and so on. None of these tasks are taxing and they almost always involve a game of tennis to settle the problem, but they're interesting nonetheless.
Jack Black's voice not included.Are they revolutionary? No. The setup is always the same (The boss has lost interest in tennis, help!) and there's no voice work so you're reading dialogue that pops up in boxes and sometimes breaks in awkward places, but it's a welcome change for people sick of just challenging the next person in a given area. Also, it needs to be noted that the courts themselves are awesome. You get at least one for every environment, and they're always something new – playing on a barge, a TV stage and more. They make the matches visually interesting.
Rather than have to rotate the camera on the court to find hidden items like you did in the last Hot Shots Golf game on PSP, now you find the secret goodies by breaking vases and opening lockers. You can even return to places you've beaten to find new foes that'll unlock new courts and characters such as the Helghast from the Killzone franchise and classic Hot Shots characters. Most non-boss people you play also fork over costume goodies and fans will occasionally give you stuff, but all of your hard work on the clay is rewarded with post match points you can spend in the Pro Shop on hair, clothes, accessories, and equipment.
When you beat a boss, they're added to your playable roster and you can then modify them with the items you have. Keep playing as a character, and you fill in a loyalty meter to earn perks like stat boosts and costumes slots.
Collecting, upgrading and costume experimentation are the reasons why I love the Hot Shots franchise. It's awesome to have a game as fundamentally solid as Hot Shots Tennis on the control front and then pepper it with so many collectables to go out and find/purchase. The story mode is nice and all, but what drove me through it (and will keep me coming back) is that "gotta catch 'em all" mentality that demands I have every accessory from the fox mask to the squirrel tail. Will I ever use all of this stuff? Hell no, but I'll be damned if I don't want it.
Here's the thing though: I don't have the insatiable urge to play Hot Shots Tennis like I did Hot Shots Golf. I still love Hot Shots Tennis and plan on playing long after this review is posted, but I couldn't put Hot Shots Golf on the PSP down. The issue for me is that tennis is always… tennis. From your first match on the ho-hum country club court to your first match on the ancient Shiranui Royal Tennis Field, you're playing a game on a rectangle divided by a net. Sure, sometimes there's a banana peel to dodge or a hanging obstruction to avoid, but each tennis match feels somewhat the same (excluding difficulty). In golf, the courses changed. The layouts were different – the obstacles, the twists, and the turns made me want to see what was next, to squeeze in an additional hole, and to drain the 30-foot putt.
In Hot Shots Tennis, there are a lot of different, good-looking courts, but they all have the same feel and the same method of working an opponent to the front of the net so I can drop a ball behind them. That kind of sucks some of the "OMG I have to play" out of Get a Grip. I'll play for awhile, but it doesn't feel like something crazy is around the next corner.
Still, Hot Shots does a lot right to keep you engaged. Ad-hoc multiplayer is supported for up to four players, you can join me for doubles matches in my story mode, and the game even uses the long forgotten "Game Sharing" ability on the PSP so people without the game can try it out with a friend who does.
Filling up those hearts will keep you playing… for a while.Aside from a few technical issues – I had one match where I got stuck running into a teammate before getting the boot and a camera angle quirk here or there — these are all welcome features. Sure, an infrastructure mode as robust as Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 would have been nice, but I never used that game's online ability that much and this Hot Shots is really about unlocking stuff in your single-player campaign.
Closing Comments
Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip is an impressive game; there's no doubt about it. The title packs the lighthearted gameplay we know and love with tried and true time sinks such as collectables, unlockable characters, personal ranks and more. I don't think it has the addictive hook of previous Hot Shots games, but it's still an awesome title in its own right.


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John Noonan is a one-time journalist who now toils in anonymity on Capitol Hill for Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, the California Republican who chairs the armed services committee.
But every once in awhile, he betrays his ink-stained wretched past on Twitter. He did so again late Monday, as the sad news enveloped Congress that Senator Daniel Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii, had died of respiratory ailments at 88.
"Reading Sen Inouye's Medal of Honor citation," he tweeted, "you almost feel sorry for the Germans":
While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions.
Inouye lost his right forearm in the battle, amputated shortly thereafter at a field hospital without benefit of anesthesia. "His determination to recover, and his extraordinary career that followed, continue to inspire wounded warriors today," Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said after his death.
It was a different time, a different place, a different war. There were clear front lines, and each side wore uniforms that made it possible to tell friend from foe.
"We've lost a true American hero with the passing of Senator Daniel Inouye," tweeted fellow Hawaiian native and one-time fellow senator Barack Obama. "Aloha, Danny."
Inouye was one of the last remaining World War II veterans in Congress; Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., remains the lone veteran of the Good War still serving in the Senate.
Inouye was a nisei, born in Honolulu of Japanese-born parents. Many of his background had been detained in camps in the western U.S. following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He showed his American patriotism the only way he could: by enlisting in the Army and being dispatched to Italy to battle the Huns, where there would be no thoughts of helping his homeland.
When Inouye's only child, son Ken, asked his father why he had volunteered to fight, after his own nation had declared his people "enemy aliens," Dad had a quick response: "For the children," Reid said.
The Senate noted the passing of its most senior member, who had served there since 1963. "If there were ever a patriot," Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said, after stunning the Senate into silence by announcing his passing, "Dan Inouye was that patriot."
The opposition – trite, as used by the Senate – voiced similar thoughts. "Only 17 when he heard the sirens over Honolulu and saw the great planes flying overhead," Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said. Inouye served as a volunteer Red Cross medic that day. "At the time he dreamed of being a surgeon," McConnell said. "A few years later, a medic would be taking care of him after his heroic actions in the Italian mountains for which he would one day receive our nation's most prestigious award for military valor."
Actually, he initially was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. President Truman had welcomed Inouye's unit back home. "You fought," he told them, "not only the enemy but you fought prejudice, and you have won."
But it was a later president, Bill Clinton, who upgraded Inouye's decoration to the Medal of Honor in 2000. Clinton awarded him, and 21 other American-Asian veterans, the honor because of the belief that they had been denied the nation's highest award for gallantry because of their race. "Daniel Inouye, back from the war, in full uniform, decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, the Bronze Star, Purple Heart with cluster, and 12 other medals and citations, tried to get a haircut and was told, `We don't cut Jap hair,'" Clinton said. "As Captain Inouye said later, `I was tempted to break up the place,' but he had already done all the fighting he needed to do."


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Financial advisors are ebullient as the new year draws near, expecting 2013's bull market to keep on rising into 2014.
A survey of 800 advisors conducted by the SEI Advisor Network, a provider of outsourced asset management and practice management programs, indicates that a huge proportion see good times ahead. Fully two-thirds are cautiously optimistic, while 18% count themselves as "excited."
Fully 87% see an advancing market, with more than half predicting the Dow Jones Industrial Average will reach into the 16,500 to 17,500 range and another 10% envisioning the Dow about 17,500. (Another 21% see a modest rise in the 16,000 to 16,500 range and just 13% expect the Dow to be under 16,000 a year from now.)
A market pullback (41%), tapering (24%) and tax hikes (15%) were the most feared headwinds.
But with advisor sentiment so bullish overall, advisors — when turning to their own businesses — are prepared to grab the bull by the horns and resolved to concentrate on five key areas.
Their fifth-highest priority, supported by nearly half of all advisors surveyed, is to…
New Year's Resolution #5:
Be More Selective of New Clients (48%)
Finding the right fit in an advisor-client relationship is increasingly important to some advisors who fear being condemned to a life sentence.
Relationships are inherently unequal. Some people have a natural, at times inexplicable, attraction to one another, and with others, there's just no there there.
Business relationships can be even more fraught, as some clients will not follow, or respect, the advisor's advice and others will use the advisor as an emotional crutch.
For these and other reasons, a large segment of advisors are seeking to be more selective in 2014 and planning to practice politely saying no.
Parallel to enforcing distance with some clients is advisors' fourth highest New Year priority, which is to…
New Year's Resolution #4:
Meet New Centers of Influence (59%)
Reaching out beyond one's own narrow network is a business necessity, allowing an advisor to tap the disinterested third-party endorsement of other professionals who have established good will and credibility in your target market.
Classic financial advisor centers of influence (COIs) include the network of professionals who serve distinct but related needs of your best clients. Your clients' CPAs or estate-planning attorneys likely engage clients similarly situated to your own.
By coordinating efforts on behalf of your common client, you can foster the mutual understanding and respect that leads to valuable referrals.
But, to be prepared to receive new high-end clients with high professional expectations, advisors' third-ranking New Year's resolution is to…
New Year's Resolution #3:
Integrate Technology to Increase Efficiency (59%)
The new reality is that clients live in a digital world, even if the financial services industry is often behind the curve in the technology department.
Apart from client expectations, the ability to manage contacts, e-mail, calendaring and task lists in an integrated fashion should also yield significant increases in productivity.
Replacing legacy platforms with up-to-date offerings can aid prospecting, marketing and communications, and can improve client service.
Related to this goal is advisors' second-highest priority for 2014, which is to…
New Year's Resolution #2:
Systematize Internal Processes to Increase Efficiency (67%)
Beyond having the right technology nuts and bolts, advisors want a smooth workflow.
SEI's practice management expert John Anderson put in this way in a recent blog post:
"In my experience, many firms are key person (advisor) dependent. Most of the knowledge around client relationships and key processes are in the heads of one or two people, and not documented. That is great if you want job security — but what about your staff, successors, or even a potential buyer? How can you expect your office to run smoothly and clients to remain satisfied if you are the only one that can do it?"
While office efficiency ranks high with advisors, their most fervent wish for 2014 is to…
New Year's Resolution #1:
Increase Referrals From Current Clients (85%)
Referrals from existing clients is a perennial wish of advisors, and because it is so elusive, much ink has been spilled on the topic. Many advisors fear alienating a valuable client by seeming to be impertinent in asking for referrals.
And indeed enough clients have demonstrated their reluctance to provide them, so as to permanently frighten rejection-fearing advisors.
An SEI white paper offered this advice, described by ThinkAdvisor as follows:
"It's best for advisors to define their ideal 'five-star client' and provide the description to their clients. That way, clients will better understand what their advisors are looking for and will be more engaged in the process."
Here's wishing a prosperous 2014 to advisors—with success in maintaining their resolutions!
Check out these related stories on ThinkAdvisor:


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By virtue of the Power of Sale contained in the Deed to Secure Debt from ROBERT F. BRAGAN to FNB South, dated December 8, 2005 recorded in Deed Book 411, pages 295-301, Clerk's Office, Appling County, Georgia, there will be sold by the undersigned at public outcry to the highest bidder for cash before the courthouse door at Appling County, Georgia, within the legal hours of sale on the first Tuesday in May, 2013, the following described property:
All that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the Second Land District of Appling County, Georgia, consisting of 5.00 acres of Land Lot No. 227, and being more particularly described on that certain survey and plat thereof by Denean W. Dixon and Associates, dated November 11, 2005, which is recorded in Plat Book 18, Page 151, in the Office of the Clerk of Superior Court of Appling County, Georgia. Said plat being incorporated herein by reference and made a part hereof for all purposes.
Property address: 463 Igou Rd, Baxley, GA 31513
Map and Parcel # 0006-036
Said Deed to Secure Debt having been given to secure a note dated December 8, 2005 in the original principal amount of $20,159.50 and July 25, 2012 in the original principal amount of $42,737.18 with interest from date at the rate as specified therein
The debt secured by said Deed to Secure Debt has been and is hereby declared due because of among other possible events of default, failure to pay in accordance with the terms of said notes. The debt remaining in default, this sale will be made for the purpose of paying the same and all expenses of the sale, including attorney(s fees.
To the best of the undersigned(s knowledge, the party in possession of the subject property is: Robert F. Bragan
The above described property will be sold subject to unpaid state, county and city taxes to the highest bidder for cash and the proceeds will be applied to said indebtedness and the lawful expenses of said sale as provided in said security deed and a conveyance will be made to the purchaser at the sale as authorized by said security deed.
Debtor should contact FNB South, 198 W. Parker St., Baxley, Georgia, 31513 phone # 912-367-0200, as to any negotiations, amendments or modification of the above stated Note.
This the 27th day of March, 2013.
FNB South as
Attorney-in-Fact for Robert F. Bragan
198 W. Parker St.
Baxley, GA 31513
Jerome Adams
Attorney at Law
P. O. Box 1005
Douglas, GA 3l534
4-3, 4-10, 4-17 & 4-24
gpn11 NOTICE OF SALE UNDER POWER THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. COUNTY OF APPLING STATE OF GEORGIA
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LONDON - Reay Clarke, who risked his life on World War II Arctic convoys, doesn't understand why the British government wants him and other elderly veterans to turn down a medal for bravery offered by the Russian government.
"I honestly feel sore about it," said Clarke, 89. "I think it's disgraceful that we can't just say yes to the Russians and tell them to go ahead and issue the medal. I think they are kind and thoughtful to remember what we did. We should just say, `Thank you very much.'"
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Friday that British sailors cannot accept the Ushakov Medal because they are in line to get a medal from the British government, and also because the events took place more than five years ago.
It is not surprising that the Russian government wants to honor - again - the sailors who participated in the convoys, which helped bring vital equipment to Soviet troops fighting a desperate battle against Hitler's troops on the eastern front.
The weapons they delivered, including more than 7,500 fighter planes and 5,000 anti-tank guns, helped turn back Hitler's invading forces, altering the course of the war, said Jacky Brookes, a manager of the Russia Arctic Convoy Museum Project, which plans to build a museum at the spot in northwest Scotland where the convoys were based.
"There were some 3,000 casualties," she said. "Winston Churchill called it the worst journey in the world. Hitler was keen to sink as many of them as he could. It was an awful experience - they were attacked by U-boats, and ships, and from the air as well. Plus the weather was atrocious. A lot of people just perished from the cold."
Brookes also feels the government should have allowed the men to receive the Ushakov Medal. She said about 400 are still alive.
"We think they should be allowed to wear it," she said. "We support any recognition for these brave men, they fought so hard, and many gave the ultimate sacrifice."
She said the Russian government had periodically honored the Arctic convoy veterans from Britain and other nations.
In a statement, Britain's Foreign Office said it very much appreciates the Russian government's wish to recognize the veterans. It said, however, that the rules on accepting foreign awards are clear.
Prime Minister David Cameron announced last month a medal will be created and awarded to veterans who were active on the convoys.
But Clarke frets that many veterans will pass away while the details are worked out.
"He's taken an awful long time," he said. "There aren't many of us left."


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SHORELINE — Jake Luton struck out nine, gave up just two hits and walked two over five innings for Marysville Pilchuck as the Tomahawks shut out Shorecrest 4-0 in a nonleague game on Friday afternoon.
Collin Holeman came in and retired the final six batters in order and struck out the side in the seventh to finish the game. The victory is Marysville Pilchuck's first win as a member of the Wesco 3A North and is an encouraging sign for a team that is still getting its footing.
"There's a lot of unknowns for us being in the 3A league now," said Tomahawks head coach Kurt Koshelnik. "The 3A South is even more foreign. Since I've been here we haven't played Shorecrest or Meadowdale.
"It's early, it's cold, we're still trying to get a feel for where we're at."
While Koshelnik said he would still rather be 2-0, he doesn't feel behind with the start the Tomahawks have had.
"Were going to slowly piece this thing together, I think were going to be OK."
Offensively Nic Henry hit 2-for-3, Kacey Walker was 1-for-3 with two RBI and Jake Merrick came in at first base in the fifth and went 2-for-2 with an RBI.
A pick-off error and a bases-loaded walk helped Marysville Pilchuck's offense get its first two runs. In the seventh a Luton double drove in Walker after he singled and stole second. A two-out single by Merrick scored Luton for the Tomahawks' final insurance run.
At Shorecrest H.S.
Shorecrest 000 000 0—0 2 1
Marysville Pilchuck 001 010 2—4 8 0
Maine, May (5) and Oliver. Jake Luton, Collin Holeman (6) and Kacey Walker. WP—Luton (1-0). LP—Maine. 2B—Jake Luton (MP). Records—Shorecrest 1-1 league, 2-3 overall. Marysville Pilchuck 1-1, 1-1.


text: Hi all. Today I wanted to show you my new bag from the Kitten D'Amour Castaway Collection. I've had my eye on this bag for months, ever since it came into the preview section of the website. It's the first time I've seen a Kitten D'Amour brand bag. I've always loved nautical inspired pieces and this one is even more detailed and adorable. It's beautifully structured and even has red and white polka dot lining. I'm not as impressed with the latest Castaway collection from Kitten D'Amour as I thought I'd be. It's rather expensive for what it is. There's only one item of clothing that I like which is the dress but $250 is much too expensive for a day dress. Also, the brand name printed all over the dress (in the same way as the bag) ruined it for me- although it's ok on a bag. I'm pleased I just came away with the bag.


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text: Antitrust Matters - March 2016 Antitrust Matters Antitrust Update Share this 15 MAR 2016 Hubs, spokes, middlemen and signalling Despite European competition law's dynamic and ever-evolving nature, for a very long period of time undertakings could rely on two quasi-certainties: first, that vertical information gathering – gathering or exchanging information with an undertaking at a different level of the production or distribution chain – was not anti-competitive and thus unlikely to raise any competition law concerns; and second, that as long as they did not occupy a dominant position within the market, their unilateral behaviour could not fall afoul of competition law. However, these certainties have been blurred, in recent years, due to the emergence of the hub and spoke and price signalling doctrines, created by the competition authorities in their everlasting efforts to stretch the cartel concept. Companies face a relatively high degree of legal uncertainty at the European Union level because the body of uniform EU case law on hub and spoke cartels and price signalling is scant. However, a number of national competition authorities have dealt with these issues. This article provides an overview of how various jurisdictions deal with it: Hub and spoke cases (the UK, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, the US, Australia) Middlemen liability in cartel cases (the EU, the US) Price signalling (the EU, the Netherlands, the UK, the US, Australia) Continue reading Global highlights Australia It's OK to agree: the High Court of Australia endorses agreed civil penalties Australian government supports simplifying and expanding the scope of certain competition laws but does not support extending the law's extra-territorial application Romania Amendments to the Romanian Competition Law in force as of 1 January 2016 Russia Amendments to the Russian Competition Law – Further route to improvement Ukraine Merger Control Reform


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What's a DRF?
DRF stands for Directed Response Folio. For the ICC, you'll be completing a DRF, which allows you to assemble work from your ICC courses and submit it for evaluation. Via your DRF, you can also request feedback on your work from reviewers, publish your work to the web, or email it to others. The ICC DRF includes information about the student learning outcomes and artifacts that you need to submit to demonstrate your achievement of the ICC outcomes.