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Sunday, December 28, 2008
The Great State of Franklin
For example, if I wrote the word Constitution on the board I would expect my students to correctly identify the historical unit as "Building a New Nation" while the vocabulary word potlatch would match up with "Native Americans."
Let's see how well you do…..the units are Native Americans, Exploration, Colonization, French and Indian War, American Revolution, and Forming a New Nation. The vocabulary words are circumnavigate, liberty, artisan, origin story, Ohio River Valley, and James Madison.
Commence to matching them up.
So, how did you match them up?
Here's the best way….Native Americans/origin story, Exploration/circumnavigate, Colonization/artisan, French and Indian War/Ohio River Valley, American Revolution/liberty, James Madison/Forming a New Nation.
What about the word secession?
Which unit of history would it best go with?
The Civil War…right?
What if I changed the direction for the activity from which is the best unit to match the word up with to which historical period or unit is the earliest time period the word could fit?
If "that" was my direction then the Civil War would NOT be correct.
Nope….in fact the time period right after the American Revolution would be the correct historical time period.
Ever hear of the state of Franklin? Yep, it existed.
In April, 1784 the state of North Carolina gave the new United States government control of 29 million acres between the Mississippi River and the Allegheny Mountains (Appalachian) due to the extreme amount of debt the new nation found itself under.
This action, however, did not please many of the inhabitants of the area who did not want to suddenly find themselves as Spanish or French colonists should the Confederation government of the U.S. decide to sell the territory for debt relief. Apparently the legislature of North Carolina also became a bit wary as to what the national government would do with the land, so they took their offer off the table.
By August, 1784 the people living in this area had had it with the uncertainty of their fate. Were they citizens of North Carolina? Were they citizens of a new colony? The people declared they were free from North Carolina, and on May 16, 1785, a delegation asked the U.S. Congress for statehood. Their proposed name was Frankland.
Under the Articles of Confederation that governed this nation at the time a two-thirds majority of states had to vote in favor of statehood….they fell short with just seven states voting in favor.
Frankland's leaders even opted to change the name to Franklin, after Benjamin Franklin, in hopes that members of the confederation congress would go for that, and the fact that the U.S. government did not officially declare them a state did not deter them.
A constitution was adopted, a government was seated at Greeneville, and John Sevier was elected governor. The "state", however, could never support itself and since it was not officially recognized by the U.S. government, and because it ignored the fact that North Carolina controlled the territory, Franklin could not benefit from any military assistance.
North Carolina troops finally moved in when Franklin's "government" refused to accept North Carolina's offer to waive back taxes. One battle ensued at Colonel Tipton's farm in present day Johnson City, Tennessee.
After failing to garner a loan from Spain (which is ironic since so many citizens had not wanted to be beholden to the French or the Spanish), John Sevier finally turned himself into North Carolina authorities in February, 1788. His only punishment was to declare an oath of allegiance to North Carolina.
All differences between the state of North Carolina and the want-to-be state of Franklin were forgotten by the citizens of the territory when Native Americans began to heavily attack the white Franklin settlements in March, 1788. The citizens of Franklin were more than ready to declare they were in fact North Carolinians.
By 1790, the territory that had once claimed to be the state of Franklin was ceded by the government of North Carolina once more to the national government where it would become part of the Southwest Territory…..and would later become part of Tennessee where it remains today.
It's not unusual for citizens to suddenly change the name of a proposed state or county to something that might be more favorable to those voting….see another article I wrote here.
4 comments:
- Dan Edwards said...
Interesting footnote in early US History.....some of my ancestors were in that neighborhood....in Wilkes Co., NC and out in the wilderness around a small settlement called Nashborough. Both served the patriot cause in the NC State Militia.
One interesting thing that I read someplace about the "State of Franklin," was that it was a test for the national government regarding states rights and if the desires of their citizens had the right to succeed. IIRC, several prominent residents of what is now Tennessee were able to rally the people in "Western NC" to petition the new national government for statehood.....but statehood for TN, didn't happen until after the "new" national government was formed by the Constitutional Convention and the new national government had some time to get the wind under its wings....There was also the "Indian" question to deal with.....the new National Government was fighting the native tribes north of the Ohio River, did they want to now fight the Cherokee, Creeks, Chickasaws, etc., who lived in the new territories?
EHT: I hope 2009 is a new year of peace, fine health, prosperity and happiness for you and your loved ones !
- Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...
Just stopping by to say Happy New Year!
- Ms. George said...
I had never heard about this, until now. Happy New Year and thanks for bringing your knowledge of history and your experience in teaching to the rest of us!
- W said...
What a great idea to have your students put vocabulary words into there historical time periods. I love history and am preparing to enter the teaching profession and have struggled with how to bring the subject into the classroom. I think many times history gets pushed aside to make room for other subjects, which is sad because without knowing where we came from how will we know where we are going.


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SAVANNAH ring18 kt. yellow gold, Citrine Savannah 10003214
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- Main: Winter Is Coming
This recap of "Winter Is Coming" features a detailed synopsis of each scene of the episode.
Scene 1At Castle Black, three rangers of the Night's Watch – Will, Gared, and Ser Waymar Royce – pass through the tunnel under the Wall and into the Haunted Forest beyond. They are investigating reports of a group of wildlings based in the forest nearby. Will splits off from the others to undertake a reconnaissance. He finds the wildlings lying dead in the snow, dismembered with their bodies, entrails, and blood arranged in an unusual pattern, as well a young wildling girl impaled on a tree. Horrified, he runs back to his companions.
Ser Waymar dismisses the carnage, asking what Will expects from savages like the wildlings; Will retorts that he has never seen wildlings do anything like the butchery he found in the clearing. Will and Gared suggest they head back to Castle Black, as they have confirmed that the wildlings are no longer a threat. Ser Waymar points out that the Lord Commander will ask what killed the wildlings and they need to investigate further. Will points out that they could meet the same fate, but Ser Waymar dismisses his concerns. He states that if Will were to flee south, he'd be beheaded as a deserter.Returning to the spot of the massacre, they find no sign of the wildlings, only a few spots of blood. Ser Waymar and Gared investigate the site while Will scouts the surrounding area. Gared finds human entrails on the floor. Ser Waymar asks what it is, but before he can answer a tall, shadowy figure with glowing blue eyes rises from the snow behind him and speaks with a voice like cracking ice. Gared, stunned in terrified silence, can only attempt to mouth a warning, pointing at the danger behind his fellow ranger; Ser Waymar turns to see what is the matter and is swiftly killed by the creature as it swings a sword at him.
Will hears Gared's cries, but before he can respond he sees the dead wildling girl from earlier. She is now standing by herself and turns to look at Will with blue eyes similar to those of the creatures. Will flees. He encounters Gared and is just in time to see him being beheaded by another of the creatures. The creature throws the head to land at Will's feet. Will looks up to meet his fate.
Scene 2Will, having survived death beyond the Wall, is making his way through the hills near Winterfell, the seat of House Stark. He is captured by a group of riders flying the Stark banner.
Scene 3
A rider bears news of the capture to Winterfell, riding through the outlying countryside and into the castle.
Scene 4Bran Stark, the ten-year-old third son of Lord Eddard Stark, is practicing his archery in Winterfell's courtyard. His father and mother, Lady Catelyn (formerly of House Tully), are watching. His elder brothers Robb Stark and Jon Snow, Eddard Stark's illegitimate son, are helping him.
Scene 5Eddard Stark's two daughters, thirteen-year-old Sansa and her younger sister Arya, are practicing their needlework under the tutelage of Septa Mordane. Arya is bored by the exercise, especially as she can hear the sounds of the archery practice outside.
Scene 6Bran misses the target, causing Robb and Jon (and their younger brother Rickon) to burst into laughter. Eddard scolds them, asking which of them was a marksman at ten. Bran goes to take another shot, but before he can another arrow whizzes past his ear and strikes the target perfectly: Bran turns around to see Arya standing there with a bow while his older siblings gawk in amazement at their younger sister. Annoyed, Bran chases Arya around the courtyard as Robb and Jon laugh, urging him on, while Eddard and Catelyn smile.
The frivolity is interrupted by the arrival of Winterfell's master-at-arms, Ser Rodrik Cassel, and Eddard's ward (and hostage for his rebellious father's good behavior), Theon Greyjoy. Rodrik reports that a deserter from the Night's Watch has been taken in the hills. The law is clear: he must be executed. Eddard agrees to attend to the matter. He orders that Robb and Jon will join them and then, after a moment's reflection, Bran. Catelyn objects: Bran is too young to see such things. Eddard responds that Bran won't be a boy forever and that winter is coming. After he leaves, Catelyn gives Jon Snow a look of loathing.
Scene 7Up in the hills, Will is brought before Eddard. He claims that he saw the White Walkers. He admits the deserting his post was wrong and he should have returned to the Wall to warn them, but he was too terrified and just wanted to flee. He asks Eddard to send word to his family. Eddard pronounces the death sentence on him and Jon urges Bran not to look away. Eddard beheads Will using his Valyrian steel greatsword, Ice. Bran does not flinch. Jon tells him he did well.
Afterwards, Eddard asks Bran why it was necessary for him to behead the deserter personally. Bran replies that the Starks' way is the old way, and Eddard agrees, saying that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. Bran asks if it is true that Will saw the White Walkers, but Eddard tells him that they have been gone for thousands of years, and he suspects that Will was a madman.
Scene 8The party returns to Winterfell over a bridge, only to find a dead stag with its entrails spilled out. Eddard is puzzled by what could have caused this. The puzzle is solved when they find a dead direwolf nearby, with one of the stag's antlers still caught in its throat. According to Robb, there are no direwolves south of the Wall. Jon points out that there are now five: the direwolf was female and had just given birth to a litter of pups.
Bran asks what will become of them and Rodrik points out that direwolves don't belong south of the Wall. Eddard agrees they should be killed and Theon reaches for the first one. Jon stops him by pointing out that there are five pups, one for each of the trueborn Stark children. The direwolf is the symbol of House Stark, so the children were meant to have them. Eddard reflects on this for a moment and then agrees. However, the children must care for them themselves, even burying them if they die. Bran asks Jon why he did not include himself in the count, and he replies that he is not a Stark. However, just as they are leaving, Jon finds his own pup - a sixth pup who is an albino and is found a short distance away from the rest of the litter - and adopts the pup as his own.
Scene 9In King's Landing, the capital city of the Seven Kingdoms, Queen Cersei Lannister meets with her twin brother, Jaime, a knight of the Kingsguard. They watch the Silent Sisters tending to the body of the late King's Hand, Lord Jon Arryn. Jaime tells Cersei that she worries too much, while she replies that he doesn't worry enough. She recalls the time he jumped a hundred feet into the sea at Casterly Rock and showed no caution. Jaime replies there was nothing to be afraid of, at least until she told their father.
Cersei is worried that Arryn told someone, like her husband, King Robert Baratheon, about what he had discovered. Jaime points out they would both be dead if that was the case. Whatever Arryn knew died with him, and Robert will choose a new Hand and go back to hunting boars and chasing whores. Life will return to normal. Cersei is less confident. She suggests that Jaime should be Hand, but Jaime finds the notion unappealing: their days are too long and their lives are too short.
Scene 10A raven arrives at Winterfell, bearing a message. Catelyn collects the message and travels across the castle to the godswood.
Scene 11Eddard is sitting in front of the godswood's heart tree, cleaning his blade. Catelyn arrives, musing that she still feels like an outsider in this place. Eddard laughs, pointing out that she has five northern children and is not an outsider. Catelyn wonders if the Old Gods of the Forest agree, but Eddard replies that it's her gods that have all the rules.
Eddard notices that Catelyn is upset and she tells him that there has been a raven from King's Landing: Jon Arryn is dead. She knows he was like a father to Eddard, and she is sorry for his loss. He was taken by a sudden fever. His wife, Lysa, who is also Catelyn's sister, is well, as is her son Robin. Catelyn tells him there is more: King Robert and his entire retinue are already riding for Winterfell. Eddard realizes there is only one reason why the king might be coming all this way to see him. She points out that he can always say no.
Scene 12Winterfell prepares for the royal party's arrival. Catelyn informs Maester Luwin that they will need a large number of candles, as Tyrion Lannister (Jaime and Cersei's younger brother) is reported to read all night long. Luwin replies that he'd heard that Tyrion drinks all night long. Catelyn is surprised, wondering how much a man of Tyrion's limited stature could drink. Luwin replies that they're probably going to find out.
Scene 13Robb, Theon and Jon have their hair cut ahead of the royal party's arrival. Robb reports that he's heard that the royal prince, Joffrey, is an unpleasant boy. Theon replies that the queen is reportedly a great beauty. Both Robb and Theon laugh as Jon is grumpily groomed by the castle barber, Tommy, saying he has never met a girl he likes more than his own hair.
Scene 14The royal party approaches Winterfell. They are spotted by Bran Stark, who is watching from a rooftop. Bran ably runs across the rooftops of the castle and drops down to the courtyard to report the news to his mother. Catelyn reminds him that he has been forbidden from climbing the castle walls and asks him to promise not to do it again. He does, but she knows he is lying. She sends him to relay the news to Eddard. She also notes that Bran's direwolf pup has already grown in size tremendously in the month since he was found.
Scene 15The king's party passes through Winterfell's outlying town, where they are observed by Arya Stark (wearing a Stark guardsman's helmet for reasons of whimsy). She watches the procession in fascination but then has to rush back inside the castle to get there ahead of the royal party.
Scene 16The Stark family members and their retainers gather ahead of the royal party's arrival. Catelyn is puzzled by Arya's absence, but she manages to arrive ahead of the party wearing a knight's helmet. Eddard takes the helmet from Arya's head while Robb and Jon smile fondly at her.
The royal party arrives. Robb notes a smile exchanged between Prince Joffrey and Sansa. Arya starts identifying members of the royal party, but Sansa tells her to shut up. Eddard watches in slight bemusement as King Robert, who is a portly man, requires help to dismount his horse. He greets Eddard by telling him he's gotten fat. When Eddard raises a questioning eyebrow at the king's own girth, they both burst into laughter. Robert greets Catelyn and the children warmly, telling Sansa she is a beauty and Bran that he will be a soldier. Queen Cersei also greets the Starks, though more reservedly. Robert asks Eddard to take him to the crypts so he can pay his respects. Cersei objects, pointing out they have been on the road for a month, but Robert ignores her.
As Robert and Eddard leave, Arya ponders where 'the Imp' is. Overhearing, an annoyed Cersei tells Jaime to go and find their missing brother.
Scene 17Eddard takes Robert into the crypts and asks for news of Jon Arryn. Robert tells him that it was a fever that burned right through him before anything could be done. They reminisce about Arryn, whom they both saw as a father figure. He never had to teach Eddard much, but he set Robert to rights. Robert regrets he didn't always listen to him.
Robert asks Eddard to serve him as Hand of the King. Eddard says he is not worthy of the honor, but Robert tells him it isn't an honor. He wants Eddard to run his kingdom for him while he eats, drinks and whores his way to an early grave. Robert tells Eddard that he helped him win the Iron Throne and now he can help him keep it. If Eddard's sister had lived, they'd have been bound by blood. Robert says it's not too late, and also offers to betroth Joffrey to Sansa and join their houses. Eddard is stunned.
Scene 18Jaime goes looking for Tyrion. His first port of call is the brothel located in Winterfell's outlying town.
Scene 19Tyrion is visiting with a whore named Ros. Feigning ignorance of who he is, Ros gossips about the king being in Winterfell, along with the queen and her twin brother, who is reported to be the most handsome man in the Seven Kingdoms. Tyrion asks about her other brother, "the clever one." Ros replies that the rumor is that the clever one is a little lecher ("Prone to all manner of perversions,") whom everyone calls 'the Imp'. Tyrion, annoyed, says he hates that name. Ros, laughing, tells him they have been expecting him.
Jaime walks in and tells Tyrion they are being feasted by the Starks at sundown and begs him not to leave him alone with these people. Tyrion reluctantly agrees. Because time is short, Jaime sends another three girls in to help matters long.
Scene 20Robert pays his respects at the tomb of Lyanna Stark, his late betrothed. He places a feather in the hand of her statue. He tearfully asks Eddard why he buried her in such a cold, dark place. She should have been buried on a hillside somewhere, with the sun and clouds above. Eddard tells him that she was his sister, a Stark of Winterfell, and this is her place. Robert replies that she belonged with him. He still dreams of killing Rhaegar Targaryen every single night. Eddard tells him that it is done and the Targaryens are gone. Robert replies, "Not all of them."
Scene 21In the Free City of Pentos, across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys Targaryen and her brother Viserys are guests at the manse of Magister Illyrio Mopatis. While waiting for her bath, Daenerys is visited by her brother. Illyrio has sent gifts for the wedding feast. Daenerys is puzzled as to why Illyrio has hosted them in his home for more than a year and lavished them with gifts. Viserys replies that it is because Illyrio is not a fool, and he knows that Viserys will richly reward him once he takes back his kingdom. He has Daenerys undressed and advises her to show off her woman's body. He needs her to be perfect today, lest she "wake the dragon". Departing, Viserys says that when they write the history of his reign, they will say it began on this day.
Daenerys is numbed by her brother's arrogance and stoically descends into her scathing hot bath. Her servant cries out in protest, as the bath is too hot for her to go in.
Scene 22Magister Illyrio, Daenerys and Viserys await the arrival of their guest, Khal Drogo of the Dothraki. Viserys complains that Drogo is late and Illyrio replies that the Dothraki are not known for their punctuality.
Drogo and his bloodriders arrive. Viserys notes the length of Drogo's braided hair. When Dothraki are defeated in combat, they must cut off their hair so the whole world can see their shame. Drogo has never been defeated. Viserys says that Drogo is a savage, but also one of the finest killers alive. Daenerys is to be his queen.
Illyrio presents the trembling but dutiful Daenerys to Drogo. Drogo says nothing and rides off. Viserys is startled and asks if he liked her. Illyrio replies that if he didn't like her, they'd know about it.
Scene 23Illyrio and Viserys look out across the Narrow Sea, towards Westeros, and Illyrio tells Viserys that it won't be long now before he takes back his father's throne. He tells him that the people want the return of their rightful king, and drink secret toasts to Viserys's health. Viserys asks when the marriage will take place and Illyrio replies very soon, as the Dothraki do not like to stay in one place for very long.
Viserys asks if it is true that the Dothraki lie with their horses. Illyrio advises against asking Khal Drogo this. Viserys angrily asks if he thinks he is a fool, but Illyrio smoothly says that Viserys is a king, and kings sometimes lack the caution of common men. Viserys is aware of the deal: he will give Drogo a queen, and he will give him an army.
Daenerys speaks up, saying that she does not want to be Drogo's queen. She just wants to go home. Viserys agrees, but points out that their home has been taken from them. The only way they can go home is with an army, Khal Drogo's army, and he would let every one of the forty thousand soldiers and all of their horses in that army have sex with Daenerys if that is what it takes.
Scene 24In Winterfell, Sansa and Catelyn prepare for the feast. Sansa gushes about Joffrey's good looks and hopes he will like her. Sansa asks how long they will have to wait to be married, but Catelyn tells her that her father has not even decided to accept the king's offer. Sansa is puzzled as to why he would refuse: the King's Hand is the second-most-powerful position in the Seven Kingdoms. Catelyn tells her that Sansa would have to leave Winterfell and leave her parents behind, but Sansa points out that Catelyn had to leave her home and family to come to Winterfell. Sansa begs her mother to convince Eddard to accept the king's offer: being queen one day is Sansa's greatest dream.
Scene 25The feast gets underway and Catelyn and Cersei sit at the high table. Robert is drinking heavily and starts kissing one of the serving girls, to Cersei's evident disgust.
Scene 26Jon Snow is practicing with his sword in the Winterfell courtyard. His uncle, Benjen Stark, rides into the castle, having just come south from the Wall. They embrace and Benjen notes how much Jon has grown since he last saw him. He asks why Jon is not at the feast and Jon replies that Catelyn didn't think it was a good idea for him to attend. Benjen offers him a place amongst the sworn brothers of the Night's Watch. Jon wants to join the Watch and insists that if Benjen talks to his father, he can change his father's mind and will be allowed to join. Surprised at the speed of his response, Benjen points out that there are drawbacks to being a member of the Watch, such as not being able to take a wife or have children. Jon says he does not care about that, but Benjen points out he might one day. Benjen goes into the feast, suggesting they'll talk about this again later.
Tyrion Lannister arrives at the courtyard, catching the end of the conversation. He introduces himself to Jon and muses that he's always wanted to see the Wall. He states that Jon is "the bastard", to Jon's annoyance. Jon responds that Ned Stark is his father. Tyrion advises Jon to take the term 'bastard' and use it as armor so it can never hurt him. The rest of the world will never forget what he is, so why should he? Jon angrily asks what he might know about being a bastard. Tyrion replies that "All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes."
Scene 27Benjen speaks to his brother at the feast. Eddard asks him if he knew Will and Benjen replies he did. He was a young lad, but tough, a true ranger. Eddard says he was speaking madness about the White Walkers slaughtering his friends. Benjen says the two he was with are still missing beyond the Wall. Eddard points out it could have been a wildling ambush. Benjen agrees it could have been but cites how unusual things have been happening, "Direwolves south of the Wall. Talk of the Walkers. My brother might be the next Hand to the King. Winter is coming." Eddard agrees, "Winter is Coming." Benjen then greets Robb.
Scene 28Robert continues to fondle the serving woman at the feast. Hoping to distract Cersei from the sight, Catelyn makes small talk. Sansa is presented to the queen and Cersei compliments her on her dress and beauty. She asks about Sansa's age and, to Catelyn and Sansa's discomfort, if she has bled yet. Sansa replies no. After she leaves, Cersei tells Catelyn that Sansa will do well in the Capital, as her youth and beauty should not be hidden in the North. Catelyn seems somewhat distressed by her words. Sansa exchanges another smile with Prince Joffrey as she returns to her seat.
Scene 29Jaime Lannister bumps into Eddard Stark at the feast. Jaime tells him he is glad to hear that Eddard might be coming south with them. He also remarks that Robert will likely hold a tournament to celebrate if Eddard accepts his offer, noting that competition on the field has gotten a little stale. Irritated, Eddard says he does not fight in tournaments. Jaime tries to bait him, asking if he is too old for it. Eddard replies that when he fights a man for real, he does not want him to know what he can do. Jaime is surprised by the response and compliments Eddard for it.
Scene 30Arya flings some food at Sansa, to Robb's hilarity. Catelyn catches Robb's eye and he ushers Arya out of the room, to her annoyance.
Scene 31In bed after the feast, Catelyn and Eddard talk about how fat Robert has gotten. Catelyn tells Eddard again that he can still refuse the offer, and if Robert has a problem with that he can talk to her about it. They are interrupted by Maester Luwin, who has received an urgent message for Catelyn. The letter is from her sister, Lysa. Catelyn is surprised to see that the message has come from the Eyrie, the seat of House Arryn in the Vale. Catelyn thought her sister was still in the capital.
Catelyn reads the letter and immediately burns it. She tells Eddard that, according to Lysa, the Lannisters are plotting against King Robert. They arranged Jon Arryn's death and the king's life is in danger. Lysa has fled to the Vale with her son to prevent any action being taken against them. Luwin gives them his counsel: Robert trusts Eddard more than any other man. If there is a plot against the king, Eddard is the best man to smoke it out in the capital. Catelyn angrily replies that Eddard has spent half his life fighting wars for Robert and does not owe him anything. She tells Eddard that his father and brother once rode south and never came back. Luwin points out that that was a different time and a different king.
Scene 32On the beach near Pentos, the barbaric wedding of Khal Drogo and Daenerys is held. There is feasting and dancing, as the young bride looks on with trepidation. Viserys asks when they can start planning the invasion of Westeros, but Illyrio replies that the Dothraki do things in their own time, and will only make war when their omens favor it. Viserys is unimpressed by their omens.
Amid the savage festivities, two Dothraki get into an altercation over a girl; the two men pummel each other first with fists, then swords are drawn and one kills the other. Illyrio tells Viserys that a Dothraki wedding without at least three deaths is considered a dull affair.
Daenerys and Drogo are given many gifts. Drogo is pleased to see "Jorah the Andal", a noted warrior from Daenerys's own country. He introduces himself as Ser Jorah Mormont of Bear Island. He gifts Daenerys with books of songs and stories from the Seven Kingdoms. He says he is loyal to the true king of Westeros and hopes to always serve him. Viserys accepts his offer.
Illyrio then presents his gift: three spherical, stone objects. He tells Daenerys that they are reportedly dragon eggs, from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai. The centuries have turned them to stone, but they are still beautiful. Daenerys is impressed by the gift.
Drogo declares the feasting done and gives Daenerys his own gift to her: a beautiful white horse. She asks Jorah how to say, "Thank you," in Dothraki, but he replies that there is no such phrase in their language. Drogo lifts her onto the horse and they prepare to ride off. Viserys urges her to make him happy.
Scene 33Drogo and Daenerys ride to an outcropping of rock away from the party. Drogo removes their clothes. Daenerys, nervous, asks him if he can speak the common tongue, but he only replies, "No," apparently the only word of her language he knows. Daenerys cries as her giant husband takes her, essentially raping her as is his right.
Scene 34Tyrion exchanges pleasantries with Sandor Clegane, Prince Joffrey's bodyguard. Tyrion is severely hungover and is trying to work out what he's doing going out with the hunting party. Sandor is bemused that he would even try hunting, but Tyrion boasts he is the greatest hunter in the land and his spear never misses. Sandor points out it's not hunting if you have to pay for it.
Robert asks Eddard if he is still as good a huntsman as he used to be. Eddard replies no, but he's still better than Robert. Robert thanks him for accepting his offer, as he knows it was not an easy choice to make. Robert tells Eddard he is the last true friend he has left.
Before riding out, Eddard exchanges a smile with Bran, who is watching him leave.


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In December, The Times Online published an article entitled "As an Atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God."
I was as intrigued to read the article as I was skeptical to see what the inevitable "spin" would be. Come to find out, Matthew Parris, the author, was born in Africa and raised throughout the country, and was personally familiar with Christian missionaries who often lived and worked in villages close to his own.
As a frequent contributor to The Times, he was asked to go to Malawi to see the charity that the paper supports. In his first few paragraphs, Parris comments that:
". . . travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
"Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good."
Reading that ignited myriad thoughts and questions, and for a brief moment, I sat in simple silence as I basked in God's love for this man.
"An observation I have been unable to avoid since my childhood" is nothing short of the gracious, patient and relentless love of a real God gently knocking on the door of his heart waiting to be invited in.
The "spiritual transformations" he has witnessed and has humbly admitted to, despite his own personal belief to not believe, must be speaking louder in the halls of his heart than he realizes.
He goes on to say that the change and impact that Christianity has brought to so many people, tribes and nations throughout Africa is undeniable and is worthy of recognition. He remarks that "only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it."
So why am I telling you this?
Because I am so encouraged. I am encouraged because God is still seen and reflected in and through the lives of His children. Despite the turbulent circumstances that plague our world, the love and light of Christ is recognized. I am encouraged to see that the Word is in fact living, active and true.
The most encouraging thing is knowing that Compassion is a part of the change and impact that so many are seeing, believers and nonbelievers alike. We work in many of the countries that Parris mentions, and while he may not have seen our children, he did notice and feel the difference that the Spirit of the Lord makes.
So perhaps what he felt and what he saw was the result of faith rising in the hearts and lives of little ones who are in fact being used to make a lasting impact and change. Maybe what he witnessed was the result of a child's pure and innocent faith being proclaimed in a way that only children can demonstrate.
It could be that the children we are serving in Africa are in fact now serving us in America.


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Environmental officials in New Jersey are looking for a deer that has been spotted with an arrow sticking through its head.
The state Department of Environmental Protection is looking to tranquilize the animal and remove the arrow.
Susan Darrah has spied the deer several times on her nearly 10-acre farm in Rockaway Township and snapped photos of the animal on Wednesday. She says that, for now at least, it won't starve. She has put out corn in her backyard for the deer, and a pear tree is ripe with fruit right now.
"He's eating, he loves the pears," she said.
Joe Orlando, who has shot more than 300 deer over the years, with bow and arrow as well as guns, says whoever shot the deer acted recklessly.
"Knowing shot placement, knowing ethics, this was just irresponsible," he said.
The deer's best hope, if it isn't caught, is for the arrow to break while the animal passes a tree.


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The 2014 NFL Draft: Sealed With a Kiss
Where do you start after a weekend like this? Choose one:
- The Michael Sam saga, which couldn't have been more dramatic if the Coen brothers had scripted it.
- The Johnny Manziel story, which blew every sports story out of the water for two days. Wait until you hear his Twitterverse dominance. It's something like you've never seen.
- The Browns. The rags-to-riches-to-rags, bizarro-world, "Factory of Sadness" 24 hours that no Dawg Pounder will ever forget.
- Jerry Jones, 71, growing up before our very eyes.
- Buffalo going for broke, all in, chips to the center, and whatever other blah-blah-blah poker analogies you want to use about Doug Whaley putting his job on the line in his first full year as a GM.
- Damn these ridiculous, incredible, sick NFL draft TV ratings. The May draft might be here to stay. (#Sadface. #Giveusbackourspring.) Congrats to Jacksonville GM David Caldwell not only for drafting his quarterback of the future (the Jags hope), but also for putting the late draft into perspective and hoping Roger Goodell is listening. "I'm all for whatever is good for the league," he said Saturday, "but I haven't seen any indication that pushing the draft back is good for football. It sure didn't help us at all."
- It's Trent Baalke's drafting world, and we're only visiting it.
- Footsteps by Jimmy Garoppolo. Tom Brady shakes.
My pick: Sam. An emotional, cool, explosive moment, with Sam getting the call from Rams GM Les Snead telling him he'd been drafted with the 249th pick. "Man, was he emotional," Snead said Sunday morning. "I could feel it over the phone." Snead handed the phone to coach Jeff Fisher, with Sam tearing up and slowly, slowly, slow folding over and weeping, his male partner there to comfort him. On national TV. It's a scene we haven't seen in American TV history (and certainly not in American sports history), thankfully running unedited and uninterrupted by ESPN. And then Sam kissed the man. The world is changing, and the Rams and Sam and the NFL and ESPN made a seminal moment of it Saturday. If you think that moment of Sam bending over and audibly weeping isn't going to be replayed scores of times for sporting and societal reasons, you're wrong. Way wrong.
"I could feel the pivot in history at that moment, with that phone call," Snead said.
The MMQB On '14 Draft
Robert Klemko on Michael Sam's giant leap. FULL STORY
Ten later-round picks who could have a big impact. FULL STORY
Josh Gordon's potential suspension casts a pall on Manziel Mania in Cleveland. FULL STORY
Peter King on the boldest move of the draft—Buffalo's big Sammy Watkins gamble. FULL STORY
Jenny Vrentas on first round's wild ride. FULL STORY
Greg Bedard's first-round breakdown. FULL STORY
Late Saturday night, after the Rams finished signing their undrafted free agents, Fisher and COO Kevin Demoff sat in the coach's office and read through the messages and Tweets of support. They read these words from President Obama: "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are." And this Tweet from Ellen Degeneres: "So proud of the @STLouisRams for showing there's nothing to be afraid of." And this from singer John Legend: "Congratulation to Michael Sam. It's a victory for love." And this from former Saint and current ALS beacon Steve Gleason: "Great moment in US sports history."
Fisher and Demoff were moved by the reaction. "It was a reminder of the power of the NFL," Demoff said, "and how we could use the power for something good."
"I wish I could have digested it and take it all in," said Snead. "I've never been part of a decision that brought people to tears. But I couldn't really embrace the moment, because we were so close to the end of the draft, and we had to mute the TV so we could get going on our undrafted free-agent class."
GALLERY: Players reacting to being drafted
Sam will have a huge task ahead of him. Want the good news? Of the 53 men on St. Louis' opening-day roster last year, 18 entered the league undrafted, and another three were seventh-round picks. And new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams loves the desperate underdog; a seventh-rounder on any roster is an underdog. The bad news: Incumbent ends Robert Quinn and Chris Long are franchise cornerstones, and sub William Hayes is a productive rusher. Those three are set in stone. There will be either one or two more defensive ends kept, and Sam was the only one drafted. It won't help Sam that he probably won't be a good special-teams player because his mediocre flexibility and quick-twitch movement. He'll have to star in camp and the preseason as what Snead labels the "DPR"—designated pass-rusher.
But he'll have a chance. And the Rams are perhaps the best spot for him. It's two hours from where he went to school, and the media is largely friendly, and wherever he went Wolf Blitzer or Anderson Cooper would have been part of the early days of training camp. The Rams know it, and Jeff Fisher can handle it. I will be surprised if Sam's fate with the Rams is determined on anything other than whether he can be productive rushing the passer.
Johnny Manziel's wait in the NFL draft green room lasted two hours and 42 minutes, before the Browns made the popular quarterback the 22nd overall selection. (Tomasso DeRosa/AP)
Johnny Football magnet.
Preamble to yet more words about Johnny Manziel, the 22nd pick in the NFL draft Thursday night: Between 7 p.m. and midnight Thursday, Twitter recorded approximately 2.5 million Tweets related to Manziel. In the same five hours, 519,000 Tweets were posted, combined, concerning LeBron James, the Miami-Brooklyn and Portland-San Antonio playoff games, and the NHL playoff games (Boston-Montreal, Anaheim-Los Angeles). Five times as many people Tweeted about Manziel alone as Tweeted about the four most important games of the night and the most charismatic athlete in America playing in one of the games—James. "That is a pretty wild stat," Manziel said.
Now that I have your attention, let's start this section at 9:33 p.m. Thursday, with the three permanently fixed cameras on Manziel waiting to show his reaction as commissioner Roger Goodell steps to the podium. To Manziel's left in the green room backstage at Radio City Music Hall is his 33-year-old agent and confidant, Erik Burkhardt.
"With the 13th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft," Goodell says, "the St. Louis Rams select Aaron Donald, defensive tackle, Pittsburgh."
Manziel does not like to let people see him sweat. He knew his every move on this night would be scrutinized closely. But the Rams passing on him hurt. Because now he thought he'd be in for a free-fall. He turned to Burkhardt, and sort of out of the side of his mouth, said this:
"E.B., we're screwed."
I asked him about this over the phone Saturday night, when he was back home in Texas for 24 hours of relaxation. "I did tell Erik that," he said. "I felt that way, because there was so much uncertainty after that. I felt really good about St. Louis. My workout with them was great. They spent a lot of time getting to know me and researching me, and I did well when they put me on the board with coach [offensive coordinator Brian] Schottenheimer. So yes, I have to admit, I was a little surprised there when they passed on me."
"But," I said, "what about Dallas at 16? You didn't think that might happen?"
"No, not really," he said. "After talking to [owner] Jerry Jones a little bit, I understand why they wouldn't. I felt it would be crazy for the state, for them, and for me. I thought the whole thing would be hectic. Plus, Tony [Romo] is so great. It just wouldn't have been a great fit. I knew that, and Jerry knew it too, I think."
As the picks went by, starting soon after the Rams chose at 13, Cleveland GM Ray Farmer worked the phones, trying to find a partner to move up from their second pick in the round (26th overall) to grab Manziel. He couldn't find a fit. Finally, with less than three minutes to go in Philadelphia's 22nd slot, Farmer heard this from an Eagles representative over the phone: "If you're not gonna jump in here, we're gonna trade the pick right now." It's cloudy what his offer had been to this point, but now he had to sweeten it, and he offered the 83rd pick overall, a third-rounder, in addition to their pick four slots lower than Philly. Done deal. The Eagles liked that offer better than an offer from Minnesota, because the Vikings would have been moving up from 40.
And so here's Johnny. But the Browns must have really loved the Manziel tape—because his workout with Cleveland brass 19 days before the draft was a mess. On Good Friday night, Browns coach Mike Pettine, GM Farmer, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains went to dinner with Manziel and Burkhardt at a country club outside of College Station, near the Texas A&M campus. "We worked out 10 quarterbacks and ate with all of them," Pettine said Saturday night. "That's the only meal we didn't pay for." The workout was set for 8 a.m. Saturday morning, so the Clevelanders and Manziel could make it home comfortably for Easter. One problem: no receivers. So a high school buddy, Shanahan and Burkhardt—in jeans and sneakers—were the pass-catchers. After the workout, which included some clanks off Burkhardt's hands, the agent said to Manziel: "I've seen you better."
"I'd be better," Manziel said with a laugh, "if you could catch."
"One thing I liked about our meeting," said Pettine. "We talked about being prepared to handle the pressure and the demands of being an NFL quarterback, and he told us, 'I'm equipped to handle it. I think I've handled it already.' I think he's right."
Manziel was in Cleveland Friday and got handed his playbook—on a tablet—and examined the playbook on his trip home from Cleveland. Having a playbook will be different for him, because A&M didn't give out playbooks, just weekly game plans. "It's a bigger league and a bigger deal," he said. "But I'm preparing the same way I always would. It's football."
Now about everything else Cleveland …
• What to do about Josh Gordon? Assuming Gordon is found to have tested positive in the NFL's substance-abuse program (which ESPN reported Friday), he'll likely be banned for somewhere between eight and 16 games. Gordon, 23, has been disciplined twice previously for testing positive: once by coach Art Briles at Baylor, and once by the NFL last summer, causing him to be suspended for the first two games of the season. Playing 14 games, he still led the league in receiving yards last year and was the first receiver in history to have back-to-back 200-yard receiving games, in weeks 12 and 13.
But now he could be more of a problem than he's worth, the same way the immensely talented Justin Blackmon is turning out in Jacksonville. The Browns are trying to establish a winning program, and if they can't trust their best player, which Gordon clearly is, they're going to have a tough decision on their hands if and when he's suspended, and when he returns. Gordon has two years left on his rookie contract. How can the Browns possibly know what to pay him in a second contract, having no idea if they can trust him from one week to the next? If Gordon did test positive, and knowing that a monster contract would likely be coming at the end of this season if he could stay clean, it's either a measure of the depth of his problem or a measure of his immaturity. Or both.
• About passing on Sammy Watkins and all those receivers … Farmer told me that before the Browns made the trade with Buffalo to move from fourth to ninth in the first round, "We were very close to turning in the card. We very easily could have turned in the card with Sammy's name on it." I wondered if he would have regrets about passing on him and taking cornerback Justin Gilbert if Watkins turned into a Randy Moss-type talent. "Even if Sammy turns into Randy Moss, Justin Gilbert can be every bit as good as Patrick Peterson. That's how much talent he has. And in the game today, I feel cornerbacks are as important as wide receivers, and maybe harder to find. So I have no regrets about it, no."
Okay. But to get no receiver in a good crop of them, knowing you might not have Josh Gordon all season—and maybe forever—is the problem I have. When you start a draft with 10 picks and get zero wideouts, and have to rely on either a blockbuster trade for a veteran or signing a damaged-goods free-agent like Santonio Holmes or Miles Austin, that's wrong. "It's still a maybe [about the Gordon ban]," Manziel stiff-upper-lipped. "I firmly believe coach Pettine and Ray Farmer will address it and put us in the best position possible."
Now, I want to be clear about the job Farmer did. I thought he had a very good draft, with that one large asterisk. He got first-, fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2015 as well as long-term starters at quarterback, cornerback and tackle (in his opinion); if that happens, it's executive-of-the-year drafting. Farmer moved decisively and without fear. He knew he'd get criticized for not picking a receiver, and he's ready for it. "I'll be candid here," he said. "The real position to get a receiver would have been at 35, and we thought of it. There were receivers there we liked a lot. But we loved [Nevada tackle] Joel Bitonio at 35. He was clearly the highest-rated player for us then. Not another guy of his caliber, or even close, there. We stayed true to our board. Then we hoped one of the receivers we liked would have fallen to 71, but they were gone then. That's the heartbreaking part of the draft. You like so many guys, and they get picked, and you say, 'There goes another one.' It hurts, but you can't have everyone you want."
I support trading out of the fourth pick, particularly if it means you get two high picks next year and a corner you feel is the best in the draft. So I would have made that deal. If it were me, I'd have taken a Marqise Lee or Jordan Matthews instead of Bitonio.
• How soon will Manziel supplant Brian Hoyer? The good thing for Manziel is that Hoyer doesn't have a huge head start on him in working with Kyle Shanahan and the new offense—just one month. I'd be surprised if Manziel doesn't win the job before the Sept. 7 opener at Pittsburgh, but whether he does or not, it won't be long before he's under center for good. "We're not handing him the job," Pettine told me. "It's going to be an open and fair competition, and the best man will win."
• Memo to Dawg Pounders happy with the Manziel pick: Stop cursing Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi.Just stop it. Do you know how much those two men helped you draft Manziel? With Banner and Lombardi running the 2013 draft, the Browns traded their fourth-round pick to Pittsburgh in exchange for the Steelers' third-round pick in 2014; that was the 83rd overall pick in this year's draft. In September, Banner/Lombardi traded running back Trent Richardson to Indianapolis for the Colts' first-round pick in 2014; that was the 26th overall pick in this year's draft. On Thursday, Farmer traded those two picks—26 and 83 overall—to Philadelphia for the 22nd overall pick, the pick he used to draft Manziel.
One last point about Manziel: Imagine if he'd been drafted by the Rams at 13. Imagine the TV trucks, news helicopters, and Ellen DeGeneres and Deion Sanders and Chris Berman and Brian Williams at a May practice to see Manziel and Michael Sam. I think Sam's in a good spot. Sam plus Manziel would have caused ESPN, NFL Network, Access Hollywood and Outsports to open news bureaus in the shadow of the Gateway Arch. Not too conducive to learning one's trade.
So as much as Manziel must be questioning his weaponry now that Josh Gordon might be lost for the year, maybe the St. Louis thing wouldn't have been any better. And don't assume Manziel isn't happy being with the Browns. I certainly don't. He's already fired up that Houston and Jacksonville, two teams that passed on him, are on Cleveland's schedule this year. He seemed excited to start his me-against-the-world campaign in Cleveland this week.
Something he said, seriously, Thursday night when it was over and he was a Brown illustrates the fact that we're dealing with a different cat here. "I kind of like the fact the Browns had the guts to pass on me twice, then come up to get me," he said. It'll be an interesting ride with Manziel for at least the next four years.
The Trent Baalke School of Trading is open. Still.
Now that we see the final product of what the Niners gave away and received in the Alex Smith trade from 14 months ago, we can judge one thing about San Francisco GM Trent Baalke: He is calculating, he is fast, and he knows how to set up his team for the future.
The result, first, of the 2013 trade of Smith to Kansas City for a pair of second-round draft picks. The two second-round picks, or their tributaries, were traded a total of five times over the past two drafts, and here's how it shook out after this year's draft.
QB Alex Smith
DL Tank Carradine (second round, 2013)
LB Corey Lemonier (third round, 2013)
LB Chris Borland (third round, 2014)
RB Carlos Hyde (second round, 2014)
WR Stevie Johnson (acquired for 2015 fourth-rounder)
* Lemonier was acquired in part with a tributary pick stemming from the Smith trade, and Johnson was acquired from Buffalo on Friday for a fourth-round conditional pick in 2015. That's included here because San Francisco obtained a fourth-round pick in 2015 from Denver for the second-round pick that originally belonged to Kansas City—so the two picks, arguably, will end up canceling each other out.
Steve Johnson joins the 49ers after spending his first six seasons with the Bills. (Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
Now the story. In the span of 22 minutes Friday, Baalke consummated three trades. One: He traded the 56th pick in the second round (the second Kansas City second-rounder) to Denver for the 63rd and 171st this year, and the Broncos' fourth-round pick next year. Two: Baalke traded the 63rd and 171st picks just acquired from Denver to Miami for the 57th pick in the draft; Baalke got the player he would have picked at 56, Carlos Hyde, at 57 … while adding the fourth-rounder next year that replaced the pick used to get Stevie Johnson. Three: He traded his own second-round pick, 61st overall, to Jacksonville for the 70th and 150th picks.
Baalke explained that he and COO Paraag Marathe work the phone and line up prospective trades, and it was hectic because there were a couple of other teams calling in that 22-minute span trying to get one or more of the Niners' picks at 56 and 61. "That span you talked about was a little bit of a grind," Baalke said late Saturday night. "A lot of action, a lot of things to consider. Paraag's the best in the business at lining things up, and then we make the decision. After we made the trade with Denver, I thought we might be able to get Carlos at 61, but then we called [Miami] at 57 and figured we could use what we got from Denver in this year's draft and keep next year's pick and move up to make sure we got him. And it allowed us basically to get our four back, which we used to trade for Stevie."
This isn't a case of San Francisco fleecing Denver. But it is an example of Baalke doing the smart thing and waiting until a needy team is either on the clock or frothing after a certain player. That was Denver with wide receiver Cody Latimer, whom the Broncos project to replace Eric Decker (who signed with the Jets as a free agent) right away. If he works out the way John Elway thinks, surrendering the four next year will be nothing.
Time will tell if Baalke made the haul worth it. The five pieces the Smith deal yielded:
- Carradine will get on the field healthy for the first time as a Niner this month. He missed all of last season with an ACL tear. He'll be the third man in the 3-4 defensive end rotation with the aging Justin Smith and Ray McDonald, and move inside on some four-lineman snaps. He's being groomed to start in the 3-4 scheme when Smith or McDonald are gone.
- Lemonier played 284 snaps, mostly subbing for the idle Aldon Smith last year, and will be in the outside-linebacker rotation with Michael Wilhoite and Nick Moody, competing for time.
- Borland is an accomplished college player and produced an amazing 27 turnovers in his Wisconsin career. But he's only 5-11½, and he could be a first-down player only (against the run). "It'll be interesting to see if his game translates to the NFL," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. However, with NaVorro Bowman expected to be sidelined until at least November rehabbing a severe knee injury, there's a spot on the Niners' D at inside 'backer waiting to be won, and Borland will get a solid crack at it. "I've heard people talk about his size, and his short arms," said Baalke. "But he's a guy with instincts. All those short arms did somehow was rack up over 400 tackles in the Big Ten."
- Hyde should be able to make the move from the Big 10 to the NFL much easier. He's the heir to Frank Gore, a 230-pound bruiser with enough moves to be an every-down back. That is, if Gore ever slows down.
- Johnson is still only 27, but he had a down year last year with the Bills. He's not the speedster the Niners sought this offseason to help de-pressurize Anquan Boldin and Michael Crabtree, but he should be a good third receiver and an adequate piece to San Francisco's underachieving receiver group.
I asked Baalke about his feelings on the trade now that the chips are known. "Mixed emotions," he said. "I have so much respect for Alex Smith and his family, and great regard for him as a player. He's the epitome of a good man and teammate and a good player. I know the Kansas City Chiefs staff, and they are thrilled to have him. We'll see how it works out for us. It's still early."
* * *
How to keep a draft secret: Make the knowledge circle very small.
One reason the TV ratings were so high (round one of the draft on ESPN and NFL Network, 8.7 rating; the LeBron playoff game and Bruins-Montreal hockey playoff games, combined, 3.8 rating) was the suspense. The first pick was cloudy until the end, and America was clueless about the third (Jacksonville) and fourth (Cleveland) picks. Could Johnny Manziel land at any of those places? Could he slide way down the board. Of course. So I made this point to Jacksonville GM Dave Caldwell on Saturday: You don't like the May draft at all because it takes needed prep time from your rookies. But you, by keeping a secret so well, helped inflate the ratings. Caldwell chuckled at that. But it's true.
Caldwell has known for some time—months, really—that he wanted to take Central Florida quarterback Blake Bortles with the Jags' first pick in the draft. But he told only coach Gus Bradley his thoughts, and as the team went through draft meetings, he'd go through the ratings with the coaches and scouts and never tip his hand about who he thought should be the pick. Last week, they pondered all the scenarios. He'd say, "How would we feel with Khalil Mack and Stephon Tuitt for our first two picks?" Or, "What about Jake Matthews and Teddy Bridgewater?"
The Jags plan to let No. 3 overall pick Blake Bortles sit and learn during the 2014 season. (Elsa/Getty Images)
I found it surprising that Caldwell and his former boss and mentor, Thomas Dimitroff, were discussing a trade of first-round picks. They had many discussions about swapping the third and sixth picks in the draft, with Atlanta handing Jacksonville a third-round pick to make the move. "I thoughtWednesday night we were going to get it done," said Dimitroff. "But Thursday Dave called me and said, 'We're going to stay put and pick our guy.'" Whoever "our guy" was. Dimitroff never knew who Caldwell wanted until it was announced by Roger Goodell on stage at Radio City.
Ironically, Atlanta would have picked Jake Matthews at three; the Falcons got him at six. And Bortles would have been Jacksonville's pick at three or six.
"All along Gus knew, and late in the process, we clued in [owner] Shad [Khan]," said Caldwell. "But there was just too much at stake to risk anyone finding out and possibly jumping us. I'm quiet by nature, so it wasn't hard for me. I wasn't saying a word. I love Thomas. I'd say 99 percent of the time when we talk, I tell him everything and bounce things off him. But not this time."
Bad for us in the media. Good for the ratings, and insurance-good for getting Bortles.
"The reason I didn't take the trade is there were so many teams that wanted quarterbacks—at one, four, five, seven and eight, and they were all within striking distance of us," Caldwell said. "I just kept thinking, 'One of those teams has to see what we were seeing in Bortles.' So let's say we move back and make a deal. What are we going to take in the third? A guard? [Jacksonville did use a third-round pick on guard Brandon Linder of Miami.] You can find guards. You can't find the quarterback you think fits your team best. So in the end it wasn't a hard decision for us."
Bill Polian and Dimitroff trained Caldwell well. It may take until 2016 before we know for sure if Caldwell's quarterback decision is right, because the Jags may redshirt Bortles for the entire 2014 season.
* * *
War room visitor of the week.
The son of St. Louis GM Les Snead, Logan Snead, is a buddy of Max Blank (son of Falcons owner Arthur Blank) in seventh grade in Atlanta. So Logan got invited to spend draft night in the Falcons' draft room with Max on Thursday, and he wore tan slacks and a sharp blue shirt—Rams colors—for the evening.
Interesting: The son of the Rams' GM inside another team's draft room. Snead, of course, used to work for Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff, and the two are good friends.
"Hey Logan," Dimitroff said to the boy at one point, "you kidding me with the gold and blue clothes?"
"I'm quietly repping the Rams," Logan said.
Writer's note: I spent time with the Falcons during the draft. My report on what Atlanta did, and how it is adjusting things in the wake of its 4-12 debacle last season, will appear on this site later this week.
Quotes of the Week
"With the 249th pick in the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams select Michael Sam, defensive end, Missouri."
—NFL vice president of game operations Mike Kensil, announcing a historic pick late in the draft on Saturday evening. Very good for Kensil, who is the ultimate loyal NFL soldier. Now, whenever history looks back on this moment, it will be Kensil's voice and words that welcome the first openly gay player into the NFL.
"If it was A.J. McCarron and Katherine Webb kissing, no one would say anything. But we've been documenting the NFL draft for 35 years, and we've never seen anything like this. We've never seen a man and a man. My instincts were to just let it roll."
—Veteran ESPN NFL producer Seth Markman, whose job it was to determine what pictures from the draft America got to see over the weekend, and who let the video of Michael Sam and his partner kissing run at length.
More on Markman's decision in Ten Things I Think I Think.
"It's not the usual development guy behind an accomplished quarterback. He's a celebrity. He's Elvis Presley."
—Dallas owner Jerry Jones, who admitted when the Cowboys picked at number 16 in the first round that Johnny Manziel was the highest-rated player on their board. But he didn't pick Manziel because of the team's investment in Tony Romo and because of the Presley/distraction/mayhem/Cowboys/America's Team factor.
"I've known from day one my pad level sucks."
—Falcons second-round draft pick Ra'Shede Hageman of Minnesota.
Tell us what you really think about your pad level, Ra'Shede.
"Mike Glennon is the Bucs' quarterback of the future here."
—Tampa Bay coach Lovie Smith, after the Bucs passed on Johnny Manziel in the first round.
Wh-wh-wh-what? What about Josh McCown being signed, and what about the serious pursuit of Manziel?
"This is gonna be a great relationship. Thanks for pulling the trigger, coach."
—Giants fourth-round running back Andre Williams of Boston College, taking a call from Giants coaches upon learning he'd been drafted by the team.
The MMQB's Jenny Vrentas was in the Williams home when he got picked, and she'll be writing the latest installment in an offseason-long series on Williams in the coming days. As a cute aside, when Williams got off the phone with Tom Coughlin, Vrentas reports, his mom bear-hugged him and said: "Now you're Andre the Giant!"
Stat of the Week
Terrance West might be the best story of anyone in the draft. The running back from Towson (Md.) was picked 94th overall, by Cleveland, in the third round. West's story: He got no scholarship offers out of a Baltimore city high school or after a year of prep school. He walked on at Morgan State and then Maryland, and couldn't get a spot on either team. He walked on at a third school, Towson, and stuck in 2011. How about that: The man who couldn't earn a jersey at Morgan State is a top-100 pick in a rich NFL draft.
Last fall, he averaged 26 carries a game for Towson. He ran for 2,509 yards and 41 touchdowns. Yes, 41 rushing touchdowns. His busiest games:
Eastern Illinois
North Carolina Central
William & Mary
New Hampshire
Factoids of the Week That May Interest Only Me
On day two of the draft, Cleveland defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil (Towson class of 2001) and assistant linebackers coach Brian Fleury (Towson class of 2003) wore Towson shirts to work. And when Towson running back Terrance West was picked by the Browns in the third round, O'Neil and Fleury stood and sang, "Hail Towson," the school's fight song. It goes something like this:
Hail to the Towson Tigers.
We're true to the black and gold!
Fight on with courage.
Now and forever.
Victory strong and bold!
Slot receivers the Patriots have loved:
In 2009, New England drafted the 5-10, 198-pound Julian Edelman, a former option quarterback who ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, and brought him to camp as a slot receiver and returner candidate. He was a seventh-round pick of New England, 232nd overall.
In 2014, New England drafted the 5-8, 190-pound Jeremy Gallon, a former option quarterback who ran a 4.49 40-yard dash, and will bring him to camp as a slot receiver and returner candidate. He was a seventh-round pick of New England, 244th overall.
The number of players from some schools drafted over the weekend:
2: Coastal Carolina, Florida Atlantic University, Georgia Southern.
1: McGill (Canada), Maine, Princeton, Saginaw Valley State, Marist, Concordia-St. Paul, Lindenwood (Mo.), Pittsburg State, South Dakota, Bloomsburg.
0: Texas.
Number 90's in Houston Texans history since 2006:
- 2006-2011: DE Mario Williams, first pick in the 2006 draft.
- 2012: Mister Alexander, undrafted free agent.
- 2013: Unused.
- 2014: DE Jadeveon Clowney, first pick in the 2014 draft.
Seattle fullback Kiero Small, 5-8½ and 252 pounds (now there's Don Nottingham reincarnated), drafted in the seventh round from Arkansas, said he has broken 26 face masks in on-field collisions.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
Last Tuesday afternoon, I was aboard Delta flight 6196 from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Nashville. We had just touched down in Tennessee when the woman in front of me, about 55 I'd guess, began to cry. Evidently, she was looking at her phone upon landing and got some distressing news. The crying was a few little sobs at first, and then it got louder, and a few moments later, she got someone on the phone and lost control.
"I just can't believe it!" she said between sobs. "I should have gotten here yesterday! I'm too late. Oh, noooooo! My God! What happened?"
It went on for two or three minutes. Clearly, someone close to her died within the last couple of hours, and the woman was distraught to have missed the final moments … and the chance to say goodbye. As we got to the gate, her crying continued unabated. The guy next to her acted like nothing was happening. Never even glanced over at the woman. She rose to collect her things. Just then, the flight attendant in front of the aircraft walked down the aisle to her and said, "I am so sorry for you. Do you need a hug?"
"YES!" the woman in mourning said, and nearly collapsed into the flight attendant's arms. They hugged for maybe 10 seconds, and then it was time to go.
Leaving the plane, I passed the flight attendant and said, "That was one of the nicest things I've ever seen a flight attendant do."
Tweets of the Week
The Northwestern quarterback and college players union organizer was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free-agent Saturday night. What a day for the NFL: Within 90 minutes of each other, the NFL welcomed its versions of Harvey Milk and Samuel Gompers.
Jim Harbaugh has been the coach of the 49ers for the last three years. He likes Gore a lot.
Gore at 28: 16 games, 282 carries, 1,211 yards, eight touchdowns.
Gore at 29: 16 games, 258 carries, 1,214 yards, eight touchdowns.
Gore at 30: 16 games, 276 carries, 1,128 yards, nine touchdowns.
Which leads me to …
Frank Gore Factoid of the Week That Should Interest Every Niner Fan
Gore, who turns 31 on Wednesday, needs 1,270 yards to pass O.J. Simpson on the NFL's all-time rushing list.
"Draft Day," starring Kevin Costner, has as part of its plot the Browns bypassing the best quarterback in the draft, picking another player, then trading back up to a higher pick in the first round. The only thing missing is the parallel story: Costner never picked the quarterback. Ray Farmer did.
This was tweeted exactly one minute after the stunning trade that netted Manuel and the Bills the best wide receiver in the draft, Clemson's Sammy Watkins.
Not to be all baseball-centric on a football weekend or anything, but I would read "The Philosophy of Joe Maddon" book. What an interesting guy.
Second-round pick Jimmy Garoppolo is the highest the Patriots have drafted a quarterback since 1993. (Ben Liebenberg/AP)
Ten Things I Think I Think
I think these are my quick-hit thoughts on the draft:
a. Hey Mike Silver! Good choice, being in St. Louis! Why wasn't I that smart?
b. Ryan Mallett might turn out to be a fine pro, but I don't know how you'd know that after this three-year disappearing act with New England. He's one for four, 17 yards, zero touchdowns, one pick. Career rating: 5.2.
c. Thus, Jimmy Garoppolo.
d. The Bengals traded up in the fourth round to take center Russell Bodine, who could start right away. According to Bengalologist Geoff Hobson, that's the third time in the team's 47-season history (and first time since 2002) that the Bengals have traded up in any draft.
e. May draft: "I haven't met anyone in the league who likes it. Not coaches, not scouts, not GMs," said Mike Mayock on air Saturday evening.
f. I know, having watched a lot of the draft on TV, what Niners CEO Jed York meant when he Tweeted near the end of round three: "Day 2 of the draft is over. Now we can watch the last 15 minutes of the draft on TV." The NFL delayed the picks too often and for too long, and all for the TV show. Not a fan.
g. Classic boom-or-bust pick by Seattle in the fourth round: defensive end Cassius Marsh of UCLA had 35 tackles behind the line in the past two seasons, started 36 games, and plays with the drive Pete Carroll will love.
h. Washington traded the pick to Dallas that the Cowboys used to draft a replacement for DeMarcus Ware—Demarcus Lawrence, pass-rusher from Boise State. So the pass-rusher Washington enabled Dallas to have will now chase Robert Griffin III twice a year.
i. Thought the Bills overpaid in acquiring running back Bryce Brown from Philly (a fourth-rounder next year that can turn into a third depending on performance), but look at it this way: Buffalo essentially traded Stevie Johnson, who was out the door, and fetched a four from San Francisco, for Brown.
j. Kudos to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald for nailing the Dolphins' first-round pick, long-shot Tennessee tackle Ju'Wuan James, days before the draft. Great job on an unlikely direct hit.
k. And kudos to Neil Hornsby of Pro Football Focus. On Friday morning he wrote that San Francisco would be the perfect fit for the being-shopped Stevie Johnson. Four hours later Buffalo traded Johnson to the Niners.
l. Good for the Dolphins for fining and suspending defensive back Don Jones for being an idiot on Twitter after Michael Sam got drafted.
2. I think Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III's season-opener just got a lot more interesting. He'll have to face J.J. Watt coming from the left, Jadeveon Clowney from the right. On the road, in roaring Reliant Stadium. Yikes. Put on your track shoes, Robert.
3. I think, speaking of season-openers, I'll be glued to the super-fast Brandin Cooks, the Saints' first-rounder, on the rug inside the Georgia Dome. To me, that's the game of the day on Sunday afternoon in Week 1: Have the Falcons done enough on defense to stop the Saints from scoring a ton with that scary offense? The biggest new Saint on opening day in Atlanta in 17 weeks, however, might be New Orleans' second-rounder, 6-3 corner Stanley Jean-Baptiste, because if the Saints can't match up with Julio Jones they might have to score 48 instead of 28 to win.
4. I think I watched a lot of draft-weekend TV, and the biggest star to me was Rich Eisen. He's come a long way—and I don't mean because he was ever no good. He's always been good. But when he left ESPN to go to NFL Network, I thought, "My God, the guy's going to be co-opted by the league, and he's going to be Mr. Houseman." And we all know that he, as the face of NFLNet, has to do a lot of things that border on overt promotion for the league. But it's "NFL" Network. He knew that when he took the job.
This weekend he was John Stockton to his smart football panelists—Mike Mayock is simply the best, and Daniel Jeremiah was good too (except when giving every team a glowing report card after the draft, because draft report cards the night of day three are the height of folly)—and he was really good in challenging his panel in the 240s, when Michael Sam was still on the board. Eisen asked, incredulously, how a Marist defensive end (Terrence Fede) could be picked at 234, with the SEC defensive player of the year, Sam, still on the board. The answer is complicated; Fede is a legitimate prospect, and he deserves credit for working his way into being draftable. But it's a smart question, a question all of America was asking, and good for Eisen for pressing his football men on it.
5. I think, not to try to get in Richard Deitsch's kitchen or anything, but I applaud, too, Seth Markman, ESPN senior coordinating producer for NFL programming. He's the man who runs ESPN's NFL studio shows, and he's the one who had to make the calls about the Michael Sam video—including him weeping like a baby when he got the call from the Rams that he was drafted, and including the stunning kiss with his boyfriend that all of America got to see. Turns out the video was tape-delayed by a few minutes, and Markman told me Saturday night he never had a chance to see the tape before it rolled.
ESPN was following Sam with a camera because he is being given the "Arthur Ashe Courage Award" at the ESPYs this year. Markman said all day, as Sam waited to be picked, the ESPN truck outside Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan had a live feed of his draft gathering, but just before the Rams picked, the feed went out. The camera on site was still recording the video of the moment, but the ESPNers in the truck weren't seeing it. Finally, when the satellite feed came back up a couple of minutes after the pick, the video of Sam getting the phone was available, and Markman didn't have time to view it—the news was so fresh and so immediate, he just had to run the video. "My job is to document the moment," Markman said. The moment was too real not to. ESPN will get a mountain of criticism for airing two gay men kissing, but the network shouldn't. ESPN aired reality. It was gripping TV.
6. I think Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie might have gotten two of the 10 best players in this draft, when history looks at it. Buffalo pass rusher Khalil Mack (who didn't look too thrilled to be a Raider, by the way) and Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr are going to be franchise cornerstones. The Carr part, of course, assumes that he can be protected, and McKenzie could have gotten more O-line help with his eight picks than a single guard, third-rounder Gabe Jackson of Mississippi State.
7. I think it's hard to not like what Pittsburgh did. Ryan Shazier can be next in the line of outside rushers (and five or six teams wanted him badly in the late teens or 20s) developed by Dick LeBeau. Stephon Tuitt has the body type to be a 3-4 Steeler end, good against the run and with potential to rush the quarterback. The fastest player in the draft, Dri Archer, will be used as a Darren Sproles type—very good value at 97 overall. The boom-or-bust pick is Clemson wideout Martavis Bryant, a 4.4-speed long-strider at 6-3 ¾. Will he be Limas Sweed? Or will he work to become a complete and more physical receiver, which Ben Roethlisberger needs badly right now? Either way he's a good fourth-round risk.
8. I think Bill Belichick doesn't have a lot of love for the internet. As he told longtime Pats beat man Tom Curran: "You should go talk to the geniuses that are online. I don't know. My Face, Your Face, Instant Face."
Have a question or comment for Peter? Email him at firstname.lastname@example.com it might be included in Tuesday's mailbag.
9. I think I am so pleased that Bill Nunn, who scouted for the Steelers for 46 years and died last Tuesday night at 89, had his moment in the sun on draft weekend. One of his protégés, Buffalo GM Doug Whaley, used advice from Nunn ("Do not ever be afraid to make a big move if you believe in it strongly") as one of the spurs to deal his 2015 first- and fourth-round picks to simply move up five spots to take the No. 1 player on the Bills' draft board, wideout Sammy Watkins of Clemson. Think of the significance. The biggest trade of the 2014 draft happened 48 hours after Nunn died—and it was pulled off by two African-American general managers …. Whaley and Ray Farmer of the Cleveland Browns.
Importantly, Nunn mentored Whaley from the time Whaley was a 23-year-old intern in the scouting department of the Steelers in the mid-'90s. "I'm glad you brought that up," Whaley told me when we spoke late Thursday night. "I want to talk about how much Bill Nunn meant to my career, and my life."
Whaley knows he has taken a colossal gamble by dealing so much to simply move up five spots. But he's okay with it. At first I was not. But here's how I see it. The number one player on Buffalo's board was Watkins. Buffalo had the ninth pick in the draft. They used two prime picks next year to move up five spot to get him, and let's face it—the first-round pick, judging by recent Bills history, could be a top 10 pick. This is not a move I would have made, but if you have to pay two number one picks to get the best player on your draft board at a crucial position for your team, I can see why Whaley did it.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. "We're gay. We have boyfriends." That was the reaction of Brooklyn center Jason Collins when told Michael Sam and his partner kissed on national TV Saturday.
b. We need to care about Boko Haram and the Nigerian abductions. We're a civilized society, and we need to act.
c. Welcome to the world, Nicholas Alexander Marvez (son of FOX Sports' Alex Marvez). Nicholas Alexander weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and was born at 1:13 p.m. Tuesday. "I have some new favorite numbers in my life, not to mention a healthy baby boy," Marvez emailed over the weekend. "Overwhelming." Alex will be a great dad. I can't wait to see Nicholas' mullet in a few years.
d. That was a hit in the Yu Darvish near no-hitter, the ball that dropped between the second baseman and right fielder. The scorer gave Alex Rios an error, and I agree with Harold Reynolds: That looked like the kind of play that 95 percent of official scorers would call a hit if a no-hitter wasn't on the line.
e. Saw "The Grand Hotel Budapest." Very cute and quirky. Not the best movie of the year, but two hours well spent.
f. Anyone notice this NHL oddity? Each Western Conference playoff series (Anaheim-Los Angeles, Chicago-Minnesota) was tied 2-2 entering Game 5 of the Wild-Hawks series Sunday night. All four games of Kings-Ducks had been won by the visitors. All five games of Wild-Blackhawks have been won by the home team.
g. Coffeenerdness: Thanks, Bongo Java in Nashville, for the great latte the other day. Artfully done.
h. Beernerdness: Tried the Yazoo Pale Ale the other night in Nashville. That is one fresh, hoppy, crisp beer. Looked like a good local craft beer scene in Nashville. I hope to experience more of it one day.
i. Did ump Laz Diaz embarrass himself the other night in the Yankees-Angels game or what? Amazing tht baseball lets umps get away with looking so foolish, egging on pitchers and managers—which is exactly what Diaz did.
j. May 7 in Atlanta: 94 degrees on my rental car's dashboard. Did I miss spring?
The Adieu Haiku
Sam's a Ram. What now?
The buzz will die down. And then:
Can he sack QBs?


text:
Safety poles put up at Jackson home
Firefighters, JEA crews installing poles for family
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Firefighters and JEA employees are stepping in help protect a home at a busy Southside intersection where a tragic accident claimed the life of a teen.
The intersection of Barnes at Kennerly roads is right in front of the home where 17-year-old JaNay Jackson was killed last year when a van smashed into her bedroom while she was asleep.
Earlier this year, the same firefighters who responded to that fatal accident were called when another vehicle ran the stop sign and crashed into the the Jacksons' home. No one was hurt in that wreck.
The city increased the size of the stop sign at the intersection, added a flashing sign to let drivers know a stop sign is ahead, and added some rumble strips ahead of the sign.
But the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters, with support from some JEA workers, were taking it upon themselves to help guard the Jacksons' home. In all, 18 firefighters, six JEA linemen installed 10 utility poles Tuesday morning and ran a cable between them to create something that looks like a fence in front of the home.
The firefighters say they will return in about a month to do some landscaping to make the barrier more attractive.
JaNay's mother, Felicia Jackson, issued a statement, saying she "would like to thank the fire union for their loving concern about our safety. With so much badness and sadness in this world, it really warms my heart that people in our community who didn't even know JaNay would do something in our behalf. Hopefully this act of having natural affection for others will permeate throughout the community. I appreciate very much this act of kindness, for it will go a long way in helping our family to heal from this terrible tragedy."
Ismet Sijamhodzic, the man investigators say crashed into the Jacksons' home and killed the teen, was later charged with vehicular homicide. He's scheduled to be back in court next week.
"A lot of people didn't know JaNay, you know? But the fact that they could see one family's pain and want to do something about it shows that there's a lot of caring people in the world," Jackson said in a phone interview.
Being able to help is especially important to firefighter Dallas Cooke, who was one of the first responders the night JaNay Jackson died.
"It's a blessing for me to be apart of something like this," he said. "Just a small token to give back to this family after all the tragedy that they've been through."
In about a week, the volunteers will be back to put in some landscaping. For Jackson's family, the only thing that matters is feeling safe again in their home.
"They're keeping us safe," Felicia Jackson said. "To me, that's going to be a place where we can stay because of what they're doing for us."
Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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What Considerations Should I Make When Ordering Plants For My Pond?
Monna – Kettering, OH
3 Considerations to Make When Ordering Plants for your Water Garden:
1.) Hardiness Zone: Another thing to consider when order plants are the hardiness zones and shipping times. Plants are assigned a hardiness zone depending on the type of climate they can tolerate. Choosing plants that will do well in your zone will allow for greater success. Due to the cold weather, we will hold your plant order for you and ship it once your location is past the last frost warning for the season. This ensures the plants ship at a time that is more suitable for travel and save you the hassle of trying to store them until spring.
2.) Variety: There are numerous varieties of plants to consider when ordering. Floating plants such as water hyacinth and water lettuce are great to extracting algae-causing nutrients from the water. Submerged plants such as hornwort are oxygenators that will create oxygen throughout the water column. Also, submerged plants add hiding plants for koi and other fish. Bog/marginal plants such as dwarf cattail or arrowhead add a nice touch of nature to any water garden. Water Lilies of course add beauty and color and like floating plants add shade and protection for koi and goldfish.
3.) Coverage: We recommend adding enough plants to cover 60% of the surface of the pond. This balances sunlight and shade and ensures a balanced ecosystem.
If you are unsure of which plants to order or how many, The Pond Guy keeps it easy with Aquatic Plant Packages.
Filed under: Aquatic Plants, Water Gardens & Features | Tagged: bog plants, floating plants, frost, lilies, plant hardiness, plant zone, pond plants, water hyacinth | 4 Comments »


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Rieder: Supreme Court blog deserves credentials
It simply makes no sense.
SCOTUSblog is a Web destination that exists solely to cover the U.S. Supreme Court. It's a go-to place for people who care about the court. It has won accolades and awards for the quality of its reporting. In prime time — like when the court announced its ruling on the Affordable Care Act — its traffic is enormous.
Yet it can't get credentials to cover the Supreme Court.
In fact, its efforts to do so are going in reverse.
Only in the never-never land they call Washington, D.C.
You would think a body that makes decisions with far-reaching implications, like upholding the Affordable Care Act and allowing an ever-increasing torrent of money to flow into political campaigns, could figure out on its own who should be allowed to cover it. But you'd be wrong. The court tends to follow the lead of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, which decides who can get credentials to work out of the Senate Press Gallery.
At first, the Standing Committee had no love for SCOTUSblog, apparently because of its ownership structure.
The blog was founded in 2002 by lawyers Tom Goldstein, its publisher, and his wife, Amy Howe, as a vehicle to attract attention to their law firm. But the mission morphed into sophisticated reporting on one of the nation's most important institutions. Its lead guitar is Lyle Denniston, who has been covering the high court for well over 50 years. Denniston can take in the action because of his connection with Boston NPR station WBUR.
Rem Rieder: A laser-focused approach to news
But the blog shouldn't be entirely dependent on Denniston forever and ever. Also, the blog would like the Senate credential so it can cover deliberations over Supreme Court nominees and the court's budget.
It looked like things were moving in the right direction when the Press Gallery in April 2012 OK'd Denniston as a SCOTUSblog rep. But that still wasn't good enough for the high court, which, rather than give up the credential, said it was going to review its whole credentialing process — as well it should.
But now, as Goldstein revealed last week, things are going seriously backward. The press gallery has decided not to award a credential to SCOTUSblog or renew the one it had issued to Denniston just a year ago.
Goldstein says he'll appeal, and if that doesn't work, he'll go to court.
"It's certainly disappointing," he told me, "and we're certainly not giving up."
No reason has been announced for the decision. Siobhan Hughes, a Wall Street Journal reporter and chair of the Standing Committee of Correspondents, tweeted, "The Standing Committee looks forward to commenting after Scotusblog makes its appeal. Until then, we want to be respectful of the process."
Goldstein says he doesn't want to speculate on the reasons for the surprising setback. He hopes to get word Wednesday on the committee's rationale. Let's hope he does. It's hard to know how to frame an appeal if you haven't been told why you've been kicked to the curb.
That first appeal goes to the people who made the original decision. If that doesn't work, Goldstein can seek help from the Senate Rules Committee. There's precedent for the Standing Committee changing its mind and for the Rules Committee overruling it. But neither happens very often. Similarly, a court fight would also be uphill, Goldstein says, given that the Senate gets a lot of leeway over how it does its business.
The dispute highlights the challenge of issuing credentials in a rapidly transforming media landscape. A website obsessively focused on a single subject is a relatively new phenomenon. And many news outlets today aren't funded by the traditional mix of advertising and circulation. (SCOTUSblog gets all its money from a single sponsor, Bloomberg Law.)
"This is important to the future of how blogs will be treated," Goldstein says. "We have hoped we could be a good transitional example. So far, no luck."
Despite the frustration, Goldstein clearly is pleased about his baby's impact. "We do one thing and try to do it well," he says. "You write about what you love and what you are good at."
And he's pleased by the way fans have rallied round after the recent reversal.
"People have been incredibly kind," he says. "People are trying to encourage us to keep up the fight and say they hope we win."


text:
"Grumpy Neuro Logical Neurological Neurology Office
Attn: Mr. Dr. Grumpy Mister, M.D."
I feel so special now.
A Blog detailing the insanity of my medical practice and the stupidity of everyday life.
bahahahahah. that is hilarious!
That's a good way to cover your bases... at least they got the sex right, I guess.
Let me guess: it was a bottom-barrel, hack of an SEO company offering to get you the top result on Google for $500?
kinda takes away all those years in medical school and training doesn't it?
Looks like the product of voice recognition software without the benefit of proofreading.
I think the one who wrote it is the one who's "special".
Ha! We obviously don't use the term "M.D" here in the UK. I now realise that it stands for "Mr Dr". And of course could be "Mrs Dr" or "Miss Dr" for us fairer sex folk.
I feel enlightened.
So, was it from a Nigerian prince?
Good one ndenunz! I was going to ask if it said he had won a foreign lottery and they just needed a little information before sending him the check.
Bah, needed that laugh after a 12 hour shift in a HELL of an emergency room.
Little Calf Creamery. Delicious homemade ice cream and food in Thousand Oaks!


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by Tom
Popeye the Sailor Man Costume Photo 2 of 5
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This homemade costume for babies entered our 2012 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Ashley, the 'Popeye the Sailor Man' costume creator:
It was very easy. I bought a black shirt from Walmar & the pants I found at Walmart also. I bought 1 sheet of red felt, cut a half oval out and glued to shirt... Read more »
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