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We now come to speak of the Eucharist. This rite, as practised by the Church of Rome, forms the centralization of Popish absurdity, blasphemy, and idolatry. The mass, in short, is Superstition's masterpiece. It takes precedence of all other idolatries that ever existed in this fallen world. It is without a rival among the polytheisms of ancient times. The groves of Greece, the temples of Egypt, witnessed the celebration of no rite at once so revolting and so impious is that which is daily enacted in the temples of the Roman Catholic Church. What the priests of pagan Rome would have blushed to perform, the priests of papal Rome glory in, as that which imparts a peculiar lustre to their office, and a peculiar sanctity to their persons. As the polytheisms of the past have produced nothing that can equal the mass, so we may safely affirm that, while the world stands, this rite will remain unsurpassed by anything which the combined folly and impiety of man is able to invent.
The same place which the Pope occupies in the scheme of papal government does the host occupy in the scheme of papal worship. Each forms in its own department the culminating point of Rome's idolatry. Both are transformed into divinities. A mortal and fallible man, when seated in the chair of Peter, and crowned with the tiara, is straightway endowed with the attribute of infallibility, and is addressed and obeyed as God. Bread and wine, when placed upon the altars of the Romish Church, with a few prayers mumbled over them by the priest, and a few muttered words of consecration, are straightway changed into the real flesh and blood of Christ, and are commanded to be adored with the worship that is due to God. What a difference between the Eucharist of the primitive Church and the mass of the popish Church! And yet the latter is but the former disguised and metamorphosed by the evil genius of Popery. In nothing perhaps do we find a more striking illustration of the sad change that Romanism works on all that is pure, simple, and holy! How completely has it succeeded in changing the character and defeating the end of the ordinance of the Supper! A memorial at once affecting and sublime, designed to commemorate the most wonderful event the world ever saw, it has transformed into a rite which revolts by its absurdity and shocks by its impiety, and which robs of all its value and efficacy that death which it was designed to commemorate, and which, on the ground of its efficacy alone, was worthy of being commemorated.
The sum of what the Church of Rome holds under this head is, that the bread and wine in the Eucharist are changed into the real flesh and blood of Christ the moment the priest pronounces the words, "This is my body;" that the host is to be adored with the adoration usually given to God, and, in fine, is to be offered up to God by the priest, as a true propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the quick and the dead. The subject then resolves itself as follows: first, the dogma of transubstantiation; second, the adoration of the host; and third, the sacrifice of the mass.
The origin of the term mass is involved in obscurity. The more common opinion is, that it signifies "a sending away." It was the custom anciently, at the conclusion of the sermon, and before proceeding to celebrate the Supper, for the officiating deacon to pronounce aloud, "Ite, missa est," in order that catechumens and strangers might retire. From this circumstance the service that followed was called "mass."1 It required several centuries to give to the rite its present form. Transubstantiation was broached as early as the ninth century, but it was not formally established till the Council of Lateran, 1215, under the pontificate of Innocent III.;2 nor was it till three centuries later that the Council of Trent decreed it to be a true propitiatory sacrifice. It is on the dogma of transubstantiation that the whole of the mass is founded. The Council of Trent thus defines transubstantiation:3 --"If any one shall deny that in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist there are contained truly, really, and substantially, the body and the blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore whole Christ, and shall say that he is in it only by sign, or figure, or influence, let him be accursed." Still more explicit are the terms of the next canon:--"If any one shall say, that in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist there remains the substance of bread and wine along with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny the wonderful and singular conversion of the whole of the substance of the bread into the body, and the whole of the substance of the wine into the blood, there remaining only the appearances of bread and wine, which conversion the Catholic Church most appropriately calls transubstantiation, let him be accursed." Rome is careful to mark the complete and thorough character of the change effected by the consecrating words of the priest. There is no mixing of the bread and the wine with the body and the blood of Christ. The substance of the bread and the wine is annihilated; and the very body and blood of Christ,--"that very body," Rome is careful to state, which was born of the Virgin, and which now sits at the right hand of God,"4--that body which did all the miracles, uttered all the words, and endured all the agonies, which the evangelists record,--that very body it is which the priest reproduces, places upon the altar, and puts into the hands and into the mouths of the worshippers. Do the annals of the world contain another such wonder? Nay, with a particularity that sinks into the most offensive grossness, the authorized books of Rome are careful to explain that "the bones and sinews" of the body of Christ are contained in the host.5 There is nothing to indicate to the senses the stupendous change which the creating fiat of the priest has accomplished. To the eye it still appears as bread and wine; it smells as bread, it tastes as bread, and it can be eaten as bread; yet it is not bread: it is flesh; it is blood; it is the very body that eighteen centuries ago sojourned on earth, and that now sits enthroned in heaven. Christ has again returned to earth, not in glory, as he promised, and attended by his mighty angels; but summoned thither by the terrible power, or spell, or whatever it be, which the priest possesses, and for the purpose of undergoing a deeper humiliation than at first. Then he appeared as a man, but now he is compelled to assume the form of an inanimate thing, and under that form he is again broken, and again offered in sacrifice and so his humiliation is not yet over,--his days of suffering and sacrifice are still prolonged: so eager has Rome been to identify herself with that Church predoomed in the Apocalypse, and marked with this brand, "where also our Lord was crucified."6
It is scarce possible to state the many revolting consequences involved in the popish doctrine of transubstantiation, without an appearance of profanity. But the dread of this charge must not unduly deter us. Rome it is that must bear the responsibility. The awful profanation is theirs, not ours. The priests of the Church of Rome have the power not only of creating7 the body of our blessed Lord, together with his divinity, as often as they will, but of multiplying it indefinitely. Every time mass is performed two Christs at least are created. There is a whole Christ in the host, or bread; and there is a whole Christ in the chalice, or cup--"It is most certain," says the Council of Trent, "that all is contained under either species, and under both; for Christ, whole and entire, exists under the species of bread, and in every particle thereof, and under the species of wine, and in all its parts."8 "The body," says Perrone, "cannot be separated from the blood, and soul, and divinity; nor can the blood be separated from the body, and soul, and divinity; therefore, under each species a whole Christ must of necessity be present."9 It follows that there are as many whole Christs as there are consecrated wafers. It follows also, that should we divide the wafer, there is a whole Christ in each part; should we divide it again, the same thing will take place; and how many soever the times we divide it, or the parts into which we divide it, a whole Christ is contained in every one of the parts. The same thing is true of the cup. Should we pour it out drop by drop, in every one of the drops there is a whole Christ. But we are also to take into account that the mass is being celebrated at many thousand altars at the same time. At each of these altars the body of our blessed Lord is reproduced. The priest whispers the potent word; the bread and wine are annihilated; the flesh and blood of Christ, the bones and nerves,--to use Rome's phrase,--together with his divinity, take their place, are immolated in sacrifice, and then eaten by the worshippers. That body is locked up in sacraria, is carried about in mass-boxes, is put into the pockets of priests, is produced at the beds of the sick, is liable to be lost, to be trodden upon, to be devoured by vermin, to--but we forbear; the enormity and blasphemy of the abomination sickens and revolts us.
But on what ground does Rome rest this doctrine? She rests it simply on these words, spoken by Christ at the first supper,--"This is my body." She holds that by these words Christ changed the bread and wine into his flesh and blood, and has transmitted the same power to every priest, in the celebration of the Eucharist, grounding this delegation of power upon the words, "This do in remembrance of me." To assail such a position by grave argument were a waste of time. We have nowhere met with so clear and beautiful an exposition of the true meaning of these words, "This is my body," and of the absurdity of the sense which Rome puts upon them, as in the life of Zwingle. The mass was about to be abolished in the canton of Zurich, and the reformer had been engaged all day in debating the question before the great council. Am-Grutt, the under Secretary of State, did battle in behalf of the impugned rite, and was opposed by Zwingle, the substance of whose reasoning, as stated by D'Aubigné, was, "that esti (is) is the proper word in the Greek language to express signifies, and he quoted several instances in which this word is employed in a figurative sense."
"Zwingle," continues the historian, "was seriously engrossed by these thoughts, and, when he closed his eyes at night, was still seeking for arguments with which to oppose his adversaries. The subjects that had so strongly occupied his mind during the day presented themselves before him in a dream. He fancied that he was disputing with Am-Grutt, and that he could not reply to his principal objection. Suddenly a figure stood before him, and said, 'Why do you not quote the eleventh verse of the twelfth chapter of Exodus,--Ye shall eat it (the lamb) in haste: it is the Lord's passover?' Zwingle awoke, sprung out of bed, took up the septuagint translation, and there found the same word, esti (is), which all are agreed is synonymous with signifies in this passage.
"Here, then, in the institution of the paschal feast under the old covenant, is the very meaning that Zwingle defends. How can he avoid concluding that the two passages are parallel?"10
The canon of interpretation by which Rome finds transubstantiation in the Bible, is, that the words "This is my body" must be taken literally. No one is so great an adept as herself at mystical and figurative interpretation; but here it suits her purpose to insist on the literal sense. But are we bound to follow Rome's canon? Certainly not. Should we do so, there is no book in the world which is so fraught with absurdity and unintelligibility as the Bible. There is no figure more common, whether in Scripture or in ordinary speech, than that by which we give to the sign the name of the thing signified. "The seven kine are seven years," "I am the door," and a hundred other instances, which the memory of every reader can supply,--What would we make of these sayings on the literal principle?" "This is Calvin," say we, meaning it is his portrait. The veriest simpleton would scarce take us to mean that the lines and paint on the canvas are the flesh and blood, the soul and spirit, of Calvin. But, say the Romish doctors, these phrases occur in dreams and parables, where a figurative mode of speech is allowable; while the words "This is my body" form part of a plain narrative of the institution of the Supper. Well, let us take the corresponding narrative in the Old Testament,--the institution of the Passover,--and see whether a mode of speech precisely identical does not there occur. "It (the lamb) is the Lord's Passover;" that is, it is the token thereof. No one was ever so far bereft of understanding and reason as to hold that the lamb was transubstantiated into the Passover; that is, into the Lord's passing over the houses of the Israelites. The lamb, when eaten in after ages, was, and could but be, the memorial, and nothing more, of an event long since past. In these two analogous passages, then, we find a mode of speech precisely similar; and yet Rome interprets them according to two different canons. She applies the figurative rule to the lamb, the literal to the bread. But we need not go so far as to the Old Testament to convict Rome of violating her own canon; we have only to turn to the second clause of the same text,--"He took the cup,...saying,...this is my blood." Was the cup his blood? Yes, on the literal principle. But, says Rome, the "cup" is here, by a trope or figure of speech, put for what it contains. Undoubtedly so; but it is a trope or figure of the same kind with that in the first clause,--"This is my body;" and Rome pays her canon but a poor compliment, when it is no sooner enacted than abandoned. We cannot be blamed, surely, if we follow her example, and abandon it likewise, along with the monstrous dogma she has built upon it.
But, leaving canons of interpretation, let us betake ourselves to the use of our reason and our senses. Alas! the mystery is as insoluble as ever. Like those stars so immensely remote from our earth, that the most powerful telescope cannot assign their parallax, this mystery moves in an orbit so immeasureably beyond the range of both our mental powers and our bodily senses, that these make not the smallest perceptible approach to its comprehension. Reason and transubstantiation are quantities which have no relation to one another. The bread and the wine, say the Romish theologians, are transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Christ. Had, then, our Lord two bodies? Was he dead and alive at the same instant? Did he break himself? Did he eat himself? Was he sacrificed in the upper room; and was his death on the cross but a repetition of his decease the evening before? Yes; on Rome's principle, all this, and more, is true. He rose to die no more, and yet it is not so. He rose to die many times every day. He is in heaven; and yet he is not in heaven, for he is on earth. He is here on this altar; and yet he is not here; he is there on that altar: he is in neither place; and yet he is in both places. He is broken; and yet he is not broken, for in each part is a whole Christ. From the whole wafer he passes into the fractured part; and yet he does not pass into it, for a whole Christ remains in the part from which it was disjoined. Here is motion and rest, existence and non-existence, predicated of the same body at the same instant. Rome has good reason for exhorting her devotees to qualify themselves for the reception of this doctrine by the following abjuration:--"Herein I utterly renounce the judgment of my senses, and all human understanding;" which is just a statement, in Rome's peculiar way, of what we are contending for, that transubstantiation is a proposition which no man in his senses can believe.
Reason, we have seen, grapples hopelessly with this mystery. It is equally baffling and confounding to the senses. To the sight, the touch, and the taste, the bread and wine are bread and wine still. It is our senses that mislead and deceive us, says the infallible Church. The substance of the bread is gone,--the accidents, that is, the colour, the smell, the taste of bread, remain. The substance gone and the accidents remain! This is the one instance in the universe where accidents exist apart from their SUBJECT. In no other instance did we ever see whiteness but in a white body; but here we see where there is nothing to be seen, we touch where there is nothing to be touched, and taste where there is nothing to be tasted. For this ingenious discovery a French physician was so unreasonable as to say, that the holy fathers of Trent ought to be doomed to live all their days after on the accidents of bread. In that case, we fear, both subject and accidents would have speedily gone the way of all the earth. The newest theory on the subject, as given by Dens, is, that the accidents exist in the air and in our senses, as in their subject. But behind this wonder rises another. While in the one case, that of the bread, the accidents exist apart from the subject, in the other, that of the body of our Lord, the subject exists without the accidents. That body is there, but it possesses none of the properties of a body. It is not extended; it cannot be seen; it cannot be touched nor tasted. We touch and taste only the accidents of bread; for the host, we are taught, is received under the appearance of bread. But it were bootless farther to pursue a mystery which Romanists candidly tell us falls not within the scope of reason or sense. Rome is unquestionably in the right when she assures us that the judgment of the Church on this head cannot be believed till the judgment of the understanding has been renounced.
One word more as regards the testimony of the senses. Rome knows perfectly that her doctrine cannot stand this test, and therefore she has straitly forbidden its application. If men will be so wicked as to use their senses in connection with this mystery, they will be justly punished by being landed in dreadful impiety; that is, they will learn to deride transubstantiation as an impious and iniquitous juggle.
"First of all," says the Catechism of Trent, "inculcate on the faithful the necessity of using their utmost endeavour to withdraw their minds and understandings from the dominion of the senses; for should they allow themselves to be led by what the senses tell them respecting this mystery, they will be drawn into the extreme of impiety."11 Rome, in this way, may save the dogma of transubstantiation; but, like those creatures which launch their stings and their life together in the effort of self-defence, she saves transubstantiation at the expense of Christianity. Her principle is one that would land us in universal disbelief. How know we that Christ existed? We know it on the testimony of men who had simply the evidence of their senses for the fact,--of men who saw, and heard, and handled him. In the same way do we believe in his miracles: we receive them on the testimony of men who tasted the wine into which the water was converted, or spake with Lazarus after he was raised. How know we that there is a God? The evidence of his works and of his Word, communicated through the senses, assures us that He exists. In fine, we have no evidence of anything which does not come through the senses; and if we distrust them, we can believe in nothing. We cannot believe that there is a universe, or indeed anything at all. We can stop short only at Hume's principle, that there is neither body nor spirit beyond our own minds, and that all is ideal.
Thus Rome, when she brings us before the shrine of her idol, insists on blindfolding us. We must submit to have our eyes put out in order that we may be able to worship! Why is this? Is it a God, or a monster, before whom she conducts us? Does she drop this dark veil to temper the glory, or to hide the deformity, of her divinity? The answer is not far to seek. The mass, like another great deity,
Is a monster of such frightful mein,
That, to be hated, needs but to be seen.
How differently does the Bible treat us! It addresses us through the powers God has endowed us with, and calls on us to exercise these powers. The faith of the Bible is the perfection of reason: the faith of Rome is based on the prostitution and extinction of all those faculties which are the glory of man.
Considering that the dogma of transubstantiation lacks footing in both Scripture and reason, one might think that Rome would have shown great moderation in pressing it. Quite the reverse. The belief of it was enforced with a rigour which would not have been justifiable although it had been the plainest, instead of the most confounding, of propositions. Rome endeavoured to make it plain by the help of racks and faggots. Transubstantiation defied belief notwithstanding; and the consequence was the effusion of blood in torrents. Rome has inaugurated her leading dogmas, as the heathen did their idols, by hecatombs of human beings. So many confessors have been called to die for the mass, that it has come to be known as Rome's "burning article."
The monstrous juggle of transubstantiating the elements is immediately followed by an act of gross idolatry. The host being consecrated, the officiating priest kneels and adores it; he next elevates it in the sight of the people, who likewise kneel and adore it. The Church distinctly teaches that it is to be worshipped with that worship which is rendered to God himself; because it is God. "It is therefore indubitable," say the fathers of Trent, "that all true Christians, according to the uniform practice of the Catholic Church, are bound to venerate this most holy sacrament, and to render to it the worship of latria, which is due to the true God. Nor is it the less to be worshipped that it was instituted by Christ the Lord, as has been stated; for we believe the same God to be present in it, of whom the eternal Father, when he introduces him into the world, thus speaks:--'And let all the angels of God worship him.'"12 The same decree goes on to enact that the host shall be carried in public procession through the streets, that the faithful may adore it, and that heretics, seeing its "great splendour," may be smitten and die, or may be ashamed and repent.
The host, then, is to be worshipped; and how? Not as images are worshipped; not as saints are worshipped; but as the eternal Creator himself is worshipped. The Church of Rome does not teach that God is worshipped through the host: she teaches that the host is God,--is the flesh, the blood, the soul and divinity of Christ,--and therefore the worship is given to the host, and terminates on the host. If that Church can prove conclusively, by fair argument, that what appears to us to be bread and wine is not bread and wine at all, but the body and divinity of Christ, we will at once admit that she does right, and at once acquit her of idolatry, in rendering it divine honours; but till she irrefragably establish this, we must hold her guilty of the grossest idolatry. It is no answer to say, that the Papist believes that the wafer which he worships is God, and that if he did not believe it to be God he would not worship it. His so believing does not make it God; nor can his mistake alter the nature of the act, which is that of giving to a wafer that worship and homage which is due to God alone. The question is, Is it, or is it not, God? We deny that it is God, and challenge Rome to the proof; and till proof clear and conclusive is adduced, we shall hold, that in worshipping the bread and wine of the Eucharist, she is guilty of one of the foulest and most monstrous forms of idolatry ever practised on the earth.
Nor do the absurdity and impiety of the mass stop here. The priests of Rome not only create the body and divinity of Christ,--they actually offer it in sacrifice. The Church of Rome teaches that the mass is a true propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the quick and the dead.13 So was it decreed to be by the Council of Trent. "The holy council teaches that this sacrifice is really propitiatory, and made by Christ himself. . . . . Assuredly God is appeased by this oblation, and grants grace and the gift of penitence, and discharges the greatest crimes and iniquities. For it is one and the same sacrifice which is now offered by the priests, and which was offered by Christ upon the cross, only the mode of offering is different. . . . . Wherefore it is rightly offered, according to the tradition of the apostles, not only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities of living believers, but also for the dead in Christ, who are not yet completely purified."14 The fathers of Trent establish this doctrine by the very peculiar logic with which they establish all the more unintelligible of their dogmas, that is, they present it to the understanding, and drive it home with an anathema. "Whoever shall affirm," say the fathers, "that the sacrifice of the mass is nothing more than an act of praise and thanksgiving, or that it is simply commemorative of the sacrifice offered on the cross, and not also propitiatory, or that it benefits only the person who receives it, nor ought to be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and whatever besides may be requisite, let him be accursed."15 The practice of the Church is in full accordance with the decree of Trent. The following prayer accompanies the oblation of the host:--"Accept, O Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, this unspotted host, which I thy unworthy servant offer unto thee, my living and true God, for my innumerable sins, offences, and negligences, and for all here present; as also for all faithful Christians, both living and dead; that it may avail both me and them to everlasting life.--Amen."16 It is the doctrine of the Church of Rome, then, as taught by her great council, that in the sacrifice of the mass atonement is made for sin.17 But we think that we can discover a disposition on the part of the Papists of the present day to explain away the doctrine of Trent on this head. In their modern catechisms they no doubt state that the mass is a true propitiatory sacrifice, for otherwise they would impugn their Church's infallibility; but when they come to describe its effects, they state in a cursory way, "the remission of sins," and dwell largely on its efficacy in applying to us the merits and benefits of the sacrifice of Christ.18 But, not to speak of the absurdity of supposing that the merits of one sacrifice are applied to us by another sacrifice, the attempt to limit the nature and design of the mass to this is utterly inconsistent with all their other statements and reasonings respecting it. Why not also call baptism a "propitiatory sacrifice," seeing the benefits of Christ's death are applied to us by it? The very same flesh and blood, Papists hold, are offered in the mass which were offered on the cross: it is the same person who offers, even Christ, who is represented by the priest: it is one and the same sacrifice, the Church of Rome teaches, which was offered on the cross, and is now offered in the mass; the inference is therefore inevitable, that its design and effects are the same. It made a real atonement in the first instance; and, if still the same sacrifice, must still be, what the authorized expositors of the Romish creed declare it to be, a true propitiatory sacrifice.
The Council of Trent pronounces an anathema against the man who shall affirm that the sacrifice of the mass blasphemes or derogates from the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross.19 But despite its anathema, we maintain that the mass is in the highest degree derogatory to the sacrifice of Christ,--is so derogatory to it as virtually to supersede it altogether. The glory of the cross lies in its efficacy, and the mass makes void that efficacy. Rome here is emphatically the enemy of the cross. As oft as this sacrifice is offered, Rome emphatically declares that the cross has failed to accomplish the end which God proposed by it; that, though Christ has suffered, sin remains unexpiated; and that what he has failed to do by the pains of his body and the agonies of his soul, her priests are able to do by their unbloody20 sacrifice. It is theirs to offer for the sins of the world,--theirs to mediate between earth and heaven. And thus the dignity of the priesthood of Christ is completely eclipsed by the priesthood of Rome, and the glory of his cross by Rome's great sacrifice of the mass.
Moreover, the doctrine of the mass traverses all the leading principles and statements of the Bible on the subject of Christ's offering. The Bible teaches that the office and functions of priesthood are for ever at an end; the sacrifice of the mass implies that they are still in being. The Bible teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was offered "once for all," and is never to be repeated;21 but in the mass, Christ continues to be offered in sacrifice every day at the thousand altars of Rome. The great law of the Bible on the subject of satisfaction is, that "without shedding of blood there is no remission." This law the mass contradicts, inasmuch as it teaches that there is "remission" by its unbloody sacrifice, and so virtually affirms that the blood of Christ was uselessly shed.
While on this subject, we may be permitted to remark, that the man who assumes to be a priest is chargeable with a blasphemy next to that of the man who assumes to be God. Priesthood is the next sacred thing to Deity. There is only one priest in the universe; there never was, and there never will be, any other; for the circumstances of our world render it impossible that priesthood, in the true sense of the term, should be borne by any mere creature. The priests of the former economy were but types and figures, And as there is but ONE priest, so there is but ONE sacrifice. The sacrifices of the Mosaic dispensation were typical, like the priests; and now both are for ever at an end. Accordingly, in the New Testament, the term priest does not once occur, save in relation to a priesthood now abolished. The claim of priesthood, then, is sacrilegious and blasphemous, and the man who makes it is inferior in guilt only to the man who lays claim to Deity.
There are several practices connected with the celebration of the mass, which our limits may permit us to indicate, but forbid us to dwell upon. The Council of Trent, which was the first to decree that the mass is a true propitiatory sacrifice, also enacted that the cup should be denied to the laity. The King of France is (or rather was) the only layman in Christendom who, by virtue of a pontifical permission, is allowed the privilege of communicating in both kinds. Priests only were present at the first communion, say the Papists, and therefore the laity have no right to the cup. But this proves too much, and therefore proves nothing; for if this warrants the exclusion of the laity from the cup, it equally warrants their exclusion from the bread,--from the sacrament altogether. Sensible that this ground would not sustain her practice of giving the cup to no one but the officiating priest, the Roman Catholic Church has had recourse to tradition, but with no better success. It does not admit of doubt, that in early times the people were allowed the cup equally with the bread. But the practice has now come to be extremely common in the Church of Rome for the priest alone to partake sacramentally; so that, in point of fact, the people, in all ordinary cases, are debarred from both kinds. The writer has seen mass celebrated in most of the great cathedrals out of Italy; but in no instance did he ever see the worshippers permitted to partake. Attendance, however, on such occasions, is earnestly enjoined; and the people are taught that their benefit is the same whether they partake or no.
It is also a frequent practice of the priests of Rome to celebrate mass in their own closets, where not a single spectator is present. This custom is directly at variance with one leading end of the institution of the Supper, which, as a public memorial, was designed to commemorate a great public event. The priest, in this case, can apply the benefit of the mass to whomsoever he will; that is, he can apply it to any one who chooses to hire him with his money. The ghostly necromancer, shut up in his own closet, can operate by his spells upon the soul of the person he intends to benefit, with equal effect, whether he is in the next room or a thousand miles off. Nay, though he should be beyond "this visible diurnal sphere," in the gloomy regions of purgatory, the mysterious and potent rites of the priest can benefit him even there. No magician in his cave ever wrought with spells and incantations half so powerful as those wielded by the priests of Rome. The mysteries of ancient sorcery and the wonders of modern science are here left far behind. The electric telegraph can transmit intelligence with the speed of lightning across a continent, but the Romish priest can convey instantaneously the virtue of his spiritual divinations across the gulf that divides worlds. But we might write volumes on the mass, and not exhaust its marvels.
How all this goes to enrich, and almost to deify, the Romish priesthood, will be seen when we come to speak of the genius of Popery.
1 Cotter on the Mass and Rubrics, pp. 12, 13; Dublin, 1845.
2 Mosheim, cent. xiii. part ii. chap. iii. sec. ii.
3 Concil. Trid. sess. xiii. can. i.
4 Catechismus Rom. pars ii. cap. iv. q. xxii.
5 Ibid. pars ii. cap. iv. q. xxvii.--"Quicquid ad veram corporis rationem pertinet, veluti ossa et nervos."
6 Rev. xi. 8.
7 It is right to state, that Dens (tom. v. p. 287) objects to calling the act of transubstantiation a creation. His argument being, that to create is to make something out of nothing, whereas the flesh and blood of Christ are made from the bread and wine. Dens also objects to saying that the substance of bread and wine are annihilated; but the Council of Trent (sess. xiii. can. ii.) pronounces an anathema on all who shall affirm that the substance of bread and wine remains after the consecration. So, between the reasonings of Dens and the anathema of Trent one has some difficulty in steering a safe course.
8 Concil. Trid. sess. xiii. cap. iii.
9 Perrone's Praelectiones Theologicae, tom. ii. p. 217.
10 D'Aubigné's "History of the Reformation," book xi. chap. vi. Dr. Wiseman, following in the steps of Professor Perrone, of the Collegio Romano, has laboured to prove that by the "flesh" alluded to in John, vi. our Lord meant his literal body, not withstanding his correction of the mistake at the time:--"It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." These interpreters view the words in the fifty-first verse,--"The bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world,"--as a prophecy which was fulfilled on the night when Christ "took bread" and instituted the Supper. The words of John, "I baptize you with water but he that cometh after me . . shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost" might as well be viewed as a prophecy, and the doctrine founded on them that the water of baptism is now transubstantiated into the Holy Ghost. The reasonings of Dr. Wiseman have been ably exposed by Mr. Sheridan Knowles, in his work, "The Idol demolished by its own priest;" Edin. 1850.
11 Catechismus, Rom. pars, ii. cap. iv. q. xxi.
12 Concil. Trid. sess. xiii. cap. v.: Perrone's Praelectiones Theologicae, tom. ii. p. 222.
13 The term "host," from hostia, a victim or sacrifice, indicates as much.
14 Concil. Trid. sess. xxii. cap. ii. : Perrone's Praelectiones Theologicae, tom. ii. p. 260.
15 Concil. Trid. sess. xxii. can. iii.
16 Ordinary of the Mass.
17 Theol. Mor. et Dog. Petri Dens, tom. v. p. 370.
18 See Keenan's Cat. on the Sacrifice of the Mass, chap. iii.; and Butler's Cat. lesson xxvi.
19Concil. Trid. sess. xxii. can. iv.
20 We are unable to see the consistency of the Roman Catholic doctrine on this head. All the standard works of the Church of Rome teach that the mass is an unbloody sacrifice; but with the same distinctness they teach that the wine is transubstantiated into literal blood. On Rome's own allowing, the one-half of what constitutes the sacrifice is blood; how then the mass can be an unbloody sacrifice, we are unable to comprehend. If it be unbloody, of what value is it? "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."
21 Hebrews, ix. x.


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In the wake of the highest unemployment rate in twenty-five years, the Roosevelt Institute asked historians, economists and other public thinkers to reflect on the lessons of the New Deal and explore new, big ideas for how to get America back to work. The Nation is running selections from the Roosevelt Institute's series on the New Deal 2.0 blog. Below, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins argues for clean energy investments that will create 1.7 million jobs for the people who need them the most.
It's difficult for most Americans to accept data indicating an end to the recession for a simple reason–they don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Despite a quarter of growth, the unemployment rate has topped 10%, the highest it has been since 1983. Among people of color, the rates are even higher, with Latino unemployment exceeding 13%, and unemployment in the African-American community just shy of 16%. Economic growth does not mean that Americans experience economic relief; without stable jobs for everyday Americans, this cannot be considered a recovery. Recovery necessitates that jobs be created– jobs that provide stable employment for years, not months. Green shoots of an employment recovery are showing through the investments made under President Obama's Recovery Act, which is already producing impressive innovation and the beginnings of job and wealth creation in green industries. Clean-energy sectors, which hold the promise of being major engines of job growth, are creating opportunities for those communities hit hardest by the recession: low-income communities and communities of color.
Portland, Oregon, for example, is using Recovery Act investments to launch a revolving loan fund that will help residents pay for energy-efficiency improvements to their homes. This program will save energy, save money and create 10,000 local jobs. A groundbreaking Community Workforce Agreement will further ensure that those jobs are available to workers from low-income and other disadvantaged communities.
In New York City, Recovery Act investments are helping the Community Environmental Center (CEC) hire more workers and weatherize more buildings. The largest Weatherization Assistance Program provider in the state, CEC is a union shop providing good wages and benefits. And thanks to a partnership between the union (the Laborers Local 10) and Non-Traditional Employment for Women, women and historically disadvantaged workers have the opportunity to win those jobs.
These local examples reinforce what larger, national investigations have shown. In our report Green Prosperity, Green For All, the Political Economy Research Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council showed that clean-energy investment creates roughly three to four times as many jobs as comparable investment in fossil fuel industries. The report estimates that investing $150 billion (public and private) in clean energy will create a net gain of 1.7 million jobs.
Renewable energy and energy efficiency replace the damage done to our environment by fossil fuels with good, sustainable jobs for American workers. Building a green economy involves more than a shift to clean energy–it will provide a shift to a more skilled and labor-intensive economy.
The Recovery Act is promising–but it is only a beginning. Congress and the President must take the next step: enacting strong climate and energy legislation. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, just reported out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, will invest public money in clean energy. But moreover, it will also encourage private investment and innovation by sending a clear message: clean energy is the future of our economy. Those who invest early and robustly will be reap the benefits.
There are ways, though, that the Clean Energy Jobs Act can be made even stronger. We must to increase clean-energy investments while fully protecting low-income consumers from price hikes. We must protect two key provisions: the Green Construction Careers Demonstration Project and funding for the Green Jobs Act. These provisions ensure that the bill not only creates jobs, but that all of America's workers have access to and are ready for these jobs–particularly the workers impacted most severely by the economy's downturn.
An economic recovery, after all, is not a percentage point noted in a press release. A real recovery is one in which Americans can be confident that, regardless of where they live or what they look like, they have an opportunity to succeed in the economy. We must measure our true progress by a different metric: the number of career-track, green jobs that we create for those Americans who need them most.

subset: commoncrawl


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You may think you're a high-tech power user who knows all the nooks and crannies of Windows, iOS, and Android, but let's be realistic: There could be at least a few undocumented (or poorly documented) commands, control panels, and apps that have slipped by you—maybe more than a few.
We've dived deep into each OS to uncover the best hidden tips and tricks that can make you more productive—or make common tasks easier. Got a favorite undocumented tip to share with readers? Add them in the comments section at the end of the article.
Windows 7 and 8
1. Win-X: Your new favorite shortcut
Few Windows users take advantage of this unsung, universal shortcut, available via the key combo
Windows-X. It launches the Windows Mobility Center, a control panel that only appears in Windows 7 (and Vista). The Mobility Center is kind of a one-stop shop for everything related to mobile PCs. Through this centralized control panel you can control your battery profile, wireless on/off status, display brightness, and speaker volume. If you use an external display or the Windows Sync Center, controls for these tools are also available through Mobility Center.
It may not add anything new to Windows, but it does let you do in a single keystroke what you'd normally have to juggle through a half-dozen different control panels. Note: Win-X unfortunately does something entirely different on Windows 8, bringing up a list of shortcuts to a variety of other Windows subcomponents.
2. Record every click and keystroke to aid troubleshooting
Anyone who has ever provided tech support for a clueless relative knows how painful it can be walking them through the steps they took to mess everything up. Windows now includes a tool called the Problem Steps Recorder. You'll find it under "Record steps to reproduce a problem" in the Windows 7 Start menu or just "Steps Recorder" in Windows 8.
Launching this tool opens a very simple dialog box with only one real option: Start Record. Press this, and Windows will record everything you do—mouse movements, clicks, keyboard commands, and typing. When finished, the file is saved as an HTML document within a ZIP file, including screenshots of every single step that was taken and a description of each, helping you pinpoint exactly what went wrong and where.
3. Shift-Click taskbar icons to open another copy of an application
Need to open a second copy of Explorer or whatever program you're working in? Easy: Hold down Shift and click on the taskbar icon, and a second instance of the application will pop up. You can do the same by right-clicking an icon and selecting the application's name (usually the third option from the bottom of the list). This works the same way in Windows 7 and 8.
4. Streamline screenshots
The venerable Print Screen system has always been a bit too convoluted for regular use. The Windows 7 Snipping Tool went a long way toward improving the way you snap images of your desktop, letting you crop and annotate images and then choose where to save them. In addition to the Snipping Tool, Windows 8 offers an extra Print Screen upgrade. Instead of just pressing the PrtSc button, hit
Win-PrtSc. This takes a full-screen shot, then automatically saves it to your Pictures library—a real timesaver.
5. Right-click to email a file
If you use an offline email client like Outlook, Windows 7 and 8 make it incredibly easy to send files as attachments without having to sift through your directory structure within the email client. Just right-click on the file you want to email and select Send to > Mail recipient. Your email client will take over from there, opening a new email message with your outgoing file already attached. Note: You'll find all kinds of additional options in the "Send to" menu depending on what services or hardware you use. For example, you can send to Dropbox, Skype, or a thumb or network drive, among other options.
6. Use file history for brain-dead backups
Windows 8 adds a mind-numbingly simple backup system called File History that few people seem to know about. To use it, simply plug in an external hard drive and Windows automatically archives files to it. Even better, Windows saves old versions of your files, so if you make a colossal mistake and overwrite your novel with the grocery list, you'll be able to get it back. Turn on File History by searching for that phrase within Windows and selecting On. Just remember to have an external drive connected, or network drives are also supported.
A different app, available under "Restore your files with File History" in Windows, can be used to recover lost data.
7. Swipe up from the bottom of screen to access common utilities
Most iOS users have only seen this app if they opened it by accident. Swiping upward from the bottom of your phone or tablet's display will bring up an incredibly useful menu with instant access to nearly a dozen common functions, including easy on/off toggles for Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, Rotation Lock, a brightness slider, music controls, and access to four utilities: the clock/timer, calculator, camera, and a flashlight. Once you realize it's there, you'll use this tool all the time.
8. Drag a text message left to see its timestamp
Need proof of when an SMS message was sent or received? Just drag left on the Messages screen (once you are looking at a contact's message history) and you'll reveal the exact time at which every message was sent.
9. Use the compass as a level
Open the compass app and swipe to the left. Your phone turns into a level that works both horizontally and vertically, perfect for getting that picture on the wall just right. Recent iOS updates have also added a smaller level on the standard compass app screen. Look for the smaller circle and + symbol within the outer ring. When the small + and the large + line up, the phone is level.
10. Use head movements to navigate iOS
This feature, new to iOS 7, requires some work to set up, but users with physical impairments or who just want to show off some tech magic may find it to be the iPhone's coolest trick. Through the Switch Control system, you can tilt your head left or right and have your phone perform certain actions—typically scanning through menus and selecting items on said menu.
Setting this up requires a little digging. Start under Settings > General > Accessibility > Switch Control. Select Switches > Add New Switch > Camera. Here you can assign different actions for "Left Head Movement" and "Right Head Movement." Experiment with the various "scanning" options and Select Item—or turn Auto Scanning on at the previous menu to simplify things. You'll also need to turn on Switch Control to get things started.
11. 'Power saving' location mode
GPS is a notorious power-sucker, but Android 4.4 KitKat lets you choose to sacrifice some of your location accuracy in exchange for extra battery life.
You don't lose location information altogether. Rather, in 'Power saving' mode, your device uses only Wi-Fi networks and nearby cell towers to estimate your position, reducing drain on your battery.
Activate 'High accuracy' mode to use real GPS satellite information to determine where you are…and watch your battery life quickly drain. You'll find both options under Settings > Location.
12. Dig into developer mode
Mourning the loss of Developer Mode on your KitKat-enabled device? Developer options, which give you access to USB debugging, the ability to limit background processes, and fine-grained tools like displaying a CPU usage overlay, are still around—just hidden. To enable them, visit Settings > About Device/Phone. Scroll down to the Build number at the bottom of the screen and tap that number seven times. A message will alert you that Developer Options have been re-added to the Settings menu.
13. See what's eating up memory
With Developer Options turned on, you can now delve into your device's memory utilization on an app-by-app basis. Just visit Settings > Developer options > Process Stats to get a handy visual display of your device's memory consumption. This can be especially helpful if your Android device seems sluggish.
14. Get an instant speed boost
Android "L" 5.0 (ship date unknown) will feature a new runtime called ART, which replaces the older Dalvik runtime that all existing Android devices use. (Long story short, this is a general performance enhancement for just about every Android app.) If you have Android 4.4 KitKat, you can get started with ART today, but bear in mind it is still experimental. To turn it on, access the Developer Options as outlined above and choose Select Runtime. Most users report few problems, if any, with the setting.


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SoundCloud Voices
SoundCloud Voices is a new weekly Community feature focusing on spoken word creators found on SoundCloud. It might be a podcast, radio show, audio book, interview, audio messages, a poem, anything! Keep an eye out every Thursday for a new post.
This week we are passing by the radio world and the land of producers. There are some great radio producers using SoundCloud, some of whom make their own podcasts. The following three are some of the best out there and deserve their recognition in this week's SoundCloud Voices.
1. Roman Mars and 99% Invisible – Roman Mars is a radio producer and reporter and works for everybody. Having worked for the likes of KALW and PRX, 99% Invisible is a absolutely brilliant podcast about design, architecture and the 99% invisible activity that shapes our world. Take a listen to the latest episode on the sound of sport.
2. Benjamen Walker and Too Much Information – maker of the Big Ideas podcast for the Guardian and a regular on WFMU Too Much Information is Ben's podcast where in a world where everyone overshares the truth 140 characters at a time, telling tales might be the most honest thing you can do. Here's his latest episode:
3. Erin Gleeson and Let's Be Self Sufficient – works at WYPR in Baltimore Erin's podcast Lets Be Self Sufficient looks at people leaping bravely (or blindly) into a new project or idea. In other words looking at people taking matters into their own hands. Take a listen to her latest, and utterly brilliant, episode focussing on musician Dan Deacon who was forced to complete one of his tours using the Greyhound Bus.
If you are interested in trying out SoundCloud as a spoken word podcast platform we are currently running a beta program which you can sign up for via this form. Successful candidates will be emailed with further details.


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We call them Smash because they're tennis-inspired. But they are quite smashing, too. Offered here in soft suede, in classic colours with sharp, contrasting accents and outsoles, they're a hit for all kinds of everyday, comfortable fun.
- Smash sneakers
- Inspired by tennis. Enjoyed as daily footwear
- Updated, improved fit
- Soft suede/leather upper
- Durable, grippy, rubber outsole


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|Goodbye, And Thank You From The GameSpy Team
|2013-02-21 00:00:00.0
|It's been fun!
|How Aliens: Colonial Marines Seriously Screws Up Alien Lore
|2013-02-20 00:00:00.0
|Spoiler alert! We're going to break down how Gearbox went nutty with Alien lore.
|Sim Speak: Space Combat Goes Hardcore
|2013-02-19 00:00:00.0
|Rogue System hopes to reinvent the space shooter as a real sim.
|Port Authority: Crysis 3
|2013-02-19 00:00:00.0
|Crysis 3 is a gorgeous game, but can your system handle it?
|Free Agent: Smite
|2013-02-16 00:00:00.0
|A fresh spin on MOBAs that's more accessible to genre newcomers.
|Giveaway: Tribes Ascend GOTY Codes
|2013-02-15 00:00:00.0
|Your all-access pass to the slopes of this lightning-fast shooter.
|SkyrimProvement: Wrymstooth
|2013-02-15 00:00:00.0
|Mod sends adventurers on an impressive, epic adventure.
|MOBAholic: A New LoL Season Arrives
|2013-02-15 00:00:00.0
|It's a new era for two of the oldest MOBAs.
|WildStar and the Search for a Better Endgame
|2013-02-15 00:00:00.0
|WildStar's executive producer hints at an endgame that's just as fun for solo players.
|Questions & Concerns About Crysis 3
|2013-02-14 00:00:00.0
|A step in the right direction, or further down the path of Crysis 2?
|Server Mod Allows You To Fly In Chivalry
|2013-02-14 00:00:00.0
|Server-side adjustments combined with death screams make Chivalry an impromptu Matrix simulation.
|Port Authority: Aliens: Colonial Marines
|2013-02-12 00:00:00.0
|It's not exactly Borderlands 2-quality.
|Path of Exile vs Diablo 3 vs Torchlight 2: ARPGs Compared
|2013-02-08 00:00:00.0
|Which game has the most killer features?
|A Trip to Proteus: A Non-Review
|2013-02-07 00:00:00.0
|Exploration is everything.
|Questions & Concerns About Aliens: Colonial Marines
|2013-02-06 00:00:00.0
|Five reasons to wait and see before pulling the trigger.
|Zug Zug and WAAAGH!: PC Gaming's Best Orcs
|2013-02-05 00:00:00.0
|From Tolkien to Thrall, we take a look at the best orcs around.
|Port Authority: Dead Space 3
|2013-02-05 00:00:00.0
|It's not as pretty as it could've been, but it's no horror story either.
|PC Shooters of Q1 Preview: BioShock Infinite, Crysis 3, Tomb Raider & More!
|2013-02-04 00:00:00.0
|So many shooters, so little time.
|Paradox Rising: Q&A with CEO Fredrik Wester
|2013-02-04 00:00:00.0
|Sick of buggy Paradox launches? Fred Wester says they're a thing of the past.
|Questions & Concerns About Dead Space 3
|2013-02-01 00:00:00.0
|5 reasons we're not yet convinced Isaac Clarke's third horror adventure will be great.
|SkyrimProvement: Exploring The Dwemer With Mods
|2013-02-01 00:00:00.0
|Want to bring the Dwemer back to Skyrim? These mods might do the trick.
|Command Lines: Great Expectations and The Road to Disappointment in Strategy Gaming
|2013-01-30 00:00:00.0
|Why grand strategy games tend to run out of excitement early.
|Free Agent: Arctic Combat
|2013-01-25 00:00:00.0
|A shooter as forgettable as its name.
|Go Deep: Path of Exile First Impressions
|2013-01-23 00:00:00.0
|Entering open beta today, PoE is shaping up to be a hardcore ARPG fan's dream.
|Preordering's Evolution into Convolution
|2013-01-22 00:00:00.0
|Wait, how many versions of Assassin's Creed are there?
|Sim Speak: Rise Of Flight Gets Wet
|2013-01-22 00:00:00.0
|A new English Channel map brings maritime action to WWI dogfighter.
|Thresh Survival Guide: How to Kill League of Legends' Newest Champion
|2013-01-21 00:00:00.0
|Mind your distance, this soul collector is brutal.
|Dressed To Duress: PC Gaming's Top 10 Power Armors
|2013-01-18 00:00:00.0
|We take a look at some of the most impressive power armors ever.
|Free Agent: Dragon Nest
|2013-01-18 00:00:00.0
|It's cute, but how much does it really cost?
|SkyrimProvement: Pit Fighter Faction Mod
|2013-01-18 00:00:00.0
|The Pit Fighters are a tough bunch. See if you've got what it takes to join them.
|Massivity: Final Fantasy XIV and The Double-Edged Sword of MMORPG Revamps
|2013-01-14 00:00:00.0
|Can a rebirth save an online game that's blown its first chance?
|Say Hello to Our New Executive Editor, Matthew Rorie
|2013-01-14 00:00:00.0
|A short introduction to a man who loves PC games and puppies.
|Free Agent: APB: Reloaded
|2013-01-11 00:00:00.0
|Has this free-to-play shooter improved with age?
|XCOM: Enemy Unknown Second Wave Update Has Landed
|2013-01-07 00:00:00.0
|New options to randomize our experiences and long-awaited bug fixes.
|MOBAholic: The 2013 League of Legends Wishlist
|2013-01-07 00:00:00.0
|One player's second annual list of stuff to (hopefully) look forward to.
|A Horde of The Best PC Horde Modes
|2013-01-04 00:00:00.0
|The 9 greatest games in which to go out in a blaze of glory.
|SkyrimProvement: Build a Business Empire
|2013-01-04 00:00:00.0
|Time to start making some serious coin in Skyrim.
|How Playism Exposes Japan's Hidden PC Gems
|2013-01-03 00:00:00.0
|A digital importer opens a window to the indie gaming of the East.
|GameSpy's 25 Most Anticipated Games of 2013
|2013-01-03 00:00:00.0
|We can't wait to get our hands on this mix of indies and blockbusters.
|Vi Survival Guide: How to Kill League of Legends' New Champ
|2013-01-02 00:00:00.0
|This mecha-puncher can be easily contained with a few tricks.


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Vang Vieng to Vientiane, Laos
Vang Vieng and Vientiane, Laos travel highlights. Includes tubing from Vang Vieng to Vientiane plus people, food and street scenes from the two Laotian cities. More reading: Read about our our journey from Luang Prabang to Vientiane and our first impressions of Vientiane, Laos.Read More


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Top 1 Percent of Americans Reaped Two-Thirds of Income Gains in Last Economic Expansion
Income Concentration in 2007 Was at Highest Level Since 1928, New Analysis Shows
The Piketty-Saez data has been updated. An analysis of the new data as of March 7, 2012 can be found here: https://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3697.
Two-thirds of the nation's total income gains from 2002 to 2007 flowed to the top 1 percent of U.S. households, and that top 1 percent held a larger share of income in 2007 than at any time since 1928, according to an analysis of newly released IRS data by economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez.[1]
During those years, the Piketty-Saez data also show, the inflation-adjusted income of the top 1 percent of households grew more than ten times faster than the income of the bottom 90 percent of households.
The last economic expansion began in November 2001 and ended in December 2007, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, which means the Piketty-Saez data essentially cover that expansion. The last time such a large share of the income gain during an expansion went to the top 1 percent of households — and such a small share went to the bottom 90 percent of households — was in the 1920s (see Figure 1). [2]
Piketty and Saez's unique data series on income inequality, based on IRS files, is particularly valuable because it provides detailed information on income gains at the top of the income scale and extends back to 1913.
The new data show:
- 2007 marked the fifth straight year in which income gains at the top outpaced those among the rest of the population. From 2002 to 2007, the average inflation-adjusted income of the top 1 percent of households rose 62 percent, compared to 4 percent for the bottom 90 percent of households (see Table 1).
Table 1:
Dollar Increase
Percent Increase
Average Annual Increase
Bottom 90 Percent
Next 9 Percent
Top 1 Percent
Top 0.1 Percent
Note : In 2007, the bottom 90 percent of households were those with incomes below about $110,000. The next 9 percent were those with incomes between $110,000 and about $400,000, and the top 0.1 percent were those with incomes above about $2,000,000. Calculations are in current 2007 dollars.
- The share of the nation's income flowing to the top 1 percent of households increased sharply, from 16.9 percent in 2002 to 23.5 percent in 2007 — a larger share than at any point since 1928 (see Figure 2). In 2000, at the peak of the 1990s boom, the top 1 percent received 21.5 percent of total income.[3]
- Income gains have been even more pronounced among those at the very top of the income scale. The incomes of the top one-tenth of 1 percent (0.1 percent) of U.S. households have grown more rapidly than the incomes of the top 1 percent of households as a whole, rising by 94 percent — or $3.5 million per household — since 2002. The share of the nation's income flowing to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of households increased from 7.3 percent of the total income in the nation in 2002 to 12.3 percent in 2007. This is the highest level in the Piketty-Saez data going back to 1913, surpassing even the previous peak in 1928.
The uneven distribution of economic gains in recent years continues a longer-term trend that began in the late 1970s. In the three decades following World War II (1946-1976), robust economic gains were shared widely, with the incomes of the bottom 90 percent actually increasing more rapidly in percentage terms, on average, than the incomes of the top 1 percent. But in the three decades since 1976, the incomes of the bottom 90 percent of households have risen only slightly, on average, while the incomes of the top 1 percent have soared. [4] (See Figure 3.)
With the latest IRS data, we now have a complete picture of income concentration during the recent economic expansion, which ended in December 2007, although we do not yet have data on the recession's effects on income concentration. Based on National Account statistics and other indicators, Professor Saez predicts that income concentration will likely fall in 2008 and 2009 as it did following the dot.com collapse at the start of this decade. Whether the highest income households will once more capture a highly disproportionate share of income gains as the economy begins to recover is uncertain, but Saez, along with Harvard economist Lawrence Katz, points to previous recessions and notes that only major policy shifts like the New Deal have prevented income concentration from "bouncing back" after a decline. In the absence of significant policy changes, income concentration levels could well return to their previous highs after the current recession ends and resume their 30-year climb. [5]
End Notes
[1] Piketty and Saez rely on detailed Internal Revenue Service micro-files for available years, extending the full series to 1913 using aggregate data and statistical techniques. Their August 2009 revision incorporates the detailed micro-files for 2007 that just became available. For details on their methods, see Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, "Income Inequality in the United States: 1913-1998," Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 2003, or, for a less technical summary, see http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2007.pdf. Their most recent estimates are available at http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~saez/TabFig2007.xls.
[2] According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the last economic expansion began in November 2001 and ended in December 2007. However, the real income of the top 1 percent of households did not reach a trough until 2002 and that of the bottom 90 percent until 2003. For the purposes of this paper we measure income growth between 2002 and 2007. If we had chosen 2001 as the base year, the share of income gains accruing to the top 1 percent would have been 76 percent and that of the bottom 90 percent would have been 2 percent. If we had chosen 2003, those respective shares would have been 59 percent and 20 percent.
[3] Piketty and Saez present three different data series, each of which uses a different income concept and therefore yields somewhat different estimates of the share of income going to each group. (For example, estimates of the share of income going to the top 1 percent in 2007 range from 18.29 percent in one series to 23.50 percent in the series we rely on here to 20.33 percent in the third series.) We follow the income concept in Saez's most recent report and focus on the series that includes capital gains income both in ranking households and in measuring the income that households receive. This definition of income corresponds most closely to adjusted gross income (AGI), although it has the disadvantage of fluctuating with the stock market.
Piketty and Saez also present a data series that includes capital gains income but ranks households without capital gains, as well as a series that excludes capital gains altogether. All three data series yield similar results. For example, in 2007, under both income concepts that include capital gains income, the share of income flowing to the top 1 percent was at its highest level since 1928. Under the income concept that excludes capital gains, the income share going to the top 1 percent was at the highest level since 1929.
[4] Different data series show modestly larger or smaller gains for the bottom 90 percent, but all series show a similar discrepancy between the bottom 90 percent and the top 1 percent.
[5] Saez details his prediction for trends in income concentration in the public summary of his work (supra note 1). Katz is quoted in David Leonhardt and Geraldine Fabrikant, "Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Sobering Wall," New York Times, Aug. 20, 2009.


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Mountain goats, cats, glampers -- that's short for glamorous campers -- and more
What have you heard?
Two experienced backpackers from Seattle hiked eight miles into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, planning to spend the night at Robin Lakes, elevation 6,200 feet. What followed was a horrific night perched on an uncomfortable rock, hoping that a stalker would go away. If the women so much as rustled a plastic bag, reports the Spokane Spokesman-Review, their persistent follower moved in, and though they pelted him with rocks, "he just kept coming back closer." Yes, it was a mountain goat, one that was so thoroughly habituated to human beings -- and their attractive odors of snacks, urine and sweat -- that nothing would dissuade it. As the goat ominously circled ever nearer to Allyson Kempt, 41, and Sara Esrick, 44, they recalled that a mountain goat fatally gored a hiker in Olympic National Park only three years ago. Finally, they called 911. Chris Anderson, who works for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in Ephrata, advised them to "wrap up in their sleeping bags and stay on the rock" until help could get there. As it happened, the aggressive billy gave up his pursuit and left at about 4:30 a.m., followed by the women, who called the incident the most unsettling they'd experienced in years of wilderness backpacking. Esrick, who has hiked solo on most of the Pacific Crest Trail, said she'd never experienced anything that scary. " 'Why don't you leave us alone?' I kept asking. He was totally stalking us. It was a long night."
L.J. Faith resides near the Wind River Mountains in the remote town of Shoshoni, population 649, and because he lives alone and is legally blind, he appreciates the companionship of cats -- an untold number of cats -- some of which are dropped off at his house and allowed to roam free. A neighbor, however, no fan of the wandering animals, complained to the police, who attempted to take Faith into custody to discuss the problem. Faith, who has since filed a civil rights complaint in U.S. District Court, was definitely not interested in going quietly. He yelled and cursed at his would-be captors, then wrapped his arms around a pole on his porch and held on tight. Thereupon followed a comedy of errors as one of the two frustrated policemen managed to shoot his fellow officer in the head with a Taser stun gun and then, using a second Taser, shoot himself in the hand. Though wounded, the cop with the two Tasers didn't give up. Faith said that interim Police Chief Andy Rodriguez stunned him "multiple times," blinding him totally. Faith's complaint, which includes a claim for $1 million, says that he suffered pain, mental anguish and humiliation from the botched arrest and continues to suffer from the same today. As for the two police officers, reports the Casper Star-Tribune, neither one now works for the town.
Perhaps you've heard the word "glamping," short for glamorously camping out in some high-altitude aerie. All of the amenities of a high-end hotel are made available with none of the downsides of actual wilderness, such as potty breaks in the woods or pushy mountain goats. Now, says the Denver Post, glamping has gone urban, with some hotels in New York offering visitors the chance to spend a night outside on a high-rise patio. "It's basically being able to sleep under the stars in a luxury setting," says Jeffrey Poirot, general manager at AKA Central Park, which offers outdoor accommodations on its 17th floor penthouse, about 170 feet above sea level. One couple even roasted marshmallows during their open-air adventure. Still, the cost -- $2,000 a night –- seems a bit steep compared to spending nothing at all for the real thing in a national forest. But bargains in the Big Apple are available: The Affinia Gardens hotel on the East Side has a patio suite starting at only $300 per night. Options include a bed outside or "an actual tent."
Many people fall in love with particular national parks, returning summer after summer to places they've camped and hiked. At Glacier National Park, some people return just to reconnect with 93-year-old Lyle Ruterbories, who's been a seasonal park ranger at the remote Kintla Lake Campground for 20 years. And for a few decades before that, he served as a volunteer campground host at Kintla Lake with his late wife, Marge. Says North Fork District Ranger Scott Emmerich, "Lyle has high expectations for running a first-rate campground. ... (He's) a positive role model for those who complain about getting old." Ruterbories served in World War II before settling in Wheat Ridge, Colo., with his wife and six children; then he worked at the nearby Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant for 30 years. After he and his wife first visited Glacier National Park back in 1962, they were hooked, returning every year afterward. These days, however, reports the Missoulian, Ruterbories is "contemplating retirement." Emmerich doesn't believe it. He expects Ruterbories to bring his "zest for living" back to the job for at least another year.


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Cloud News
The 20 Coolest Cloud Platforms & Development Vendors
Andrew R. Hickey
Top Cloud Platforms & Development Vendors For 2012
These companies attack the cloud from many angles, as software development in the cloud expands to take on many forms. This is the arena where developers can do what it takes to create winning cloud strategies. They may offer cloud-based development and application scaling or infrastructure management for deploying and managing apps in the cloud. Or they may offer a Platform-as-a-Service that virtualizes applications through a combination of open source software and hardware. There are many ways to build cloud-based platforms. Here are some of the most intriguing vendors doing it.
Also, be sure to check out the rest of CRN's 100 Coolest Cloud Computing Vendors and the top cloud computing vendors from last year's list.


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Reviews, videos, latest news, specs and road tests on the 2020 Chevy Silverado Hd. Top Gear reviews the Release. Terrific refinement, class-leading technology, and incredible interior quality. Want to know more? Read more.
Now we have one of the air vents twisting it is going to close and open it which is a nicelittle touch coming along the sprint has a nice aggressive bezel above the gauges very clear looking – super minimalistic you may have some black leather and some gray stitching alongside the dash as wellthen coming to the contact display navigation system hitting the home button. We now have many various settings your apple carplay and android auto of course your audio controls Wi-Fi after which you'll be able to scroll over to your climate and see different settings like that you would be able to see the place all of the air is directed what's on and off extra controls beneath that after which all of your climate controls are positioned proper here really cool actually this you spin left and rightand that actually adjustments the temperature you even have an LCD display screen to correspond to that and then over on the correct facet that is how you modify your fan pace you get a little bit display screen as nicely and your research a see all of the totally different buttons your defogger you're the Alcantara on the shift knob as nicely asthe shifter boot very straightforward to have interaction you to gear brief shifter extremely sighs good weighted shift knob to provide 2020 Chevy Silverado Hd.


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Syrian Army, Hezbollah bear down on rebels in strategic Qusayr
For the Syrian rebels, Qusayr has been critical to bringing in weapons and fighters from Lebanon. But the regime and ally Hezbollah want the town, which lies at an important crossroads.
| QASR, Lebanon
Funnels of dirty gray smoke erupted silently from the center of Qusayr, followed seconds later by the ground-shaking thump of exploding artillery shells as the Syrian Army and Hezbollah pressed on today with a grueling offensive to capture the strategic Syrian rebel-held town.
From Lebanon's northern border in the Bekaa Valley, five miles to the south, Qusayr appeared in the dusty haze as a thin slash of white buildings amid a landscape of green orchards and fields. But the bucolic rural scene belies a bloody battle underway for Qusayr, with some 2,000 Syrian rebel fighters and as many as 30,000 civilians hunkered down in the ruins of the town, surrounded by a cordon of elite Syrian Army troops and battle-hardened fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
"If Qusayr is captured by the Syrian army then the war will be 70 percent over," says Abu Ali, a local businessman and Hezbollah supporter from the Shiite Lebanese town of Hermel, eight miles south of the border.
Although an exaggeration, Abu Ali's assertion illustrates the strategic significance of Qusayr. The town lies between Lebanon's northern border and Homs, Syria's third largest city and adjacent to the key highway linking the capital Damascus to the Mediterranean Coast port of Tartous.
The Syrian armed opposition took over Qusayr in February 2012, turning the town into an important transit point for arms and militants flowing from Lebanon to Homs, as well as a base from which to undermine regime control of the highway.
In recent weeks, President Bashar al-Assad's regime has focused on retaking Qusayr and strengthening its grip on the corridor linking Damascus to Tartous and the adjacent coastal mountains that are home to Syria's Alawite community, the Shiite splinter sect that forms the backbone of the Assad regime.
Syrian Army troops backed by Hezbollah fighters pushed eastward from a string of villages that, although located just inside Syria, are populated by Lebanese Shiites. Fierce battles broke out as the regime forces accompanied by Hezbollah fighters gradually seized a number of small villages populated mainly by Sunni supporters of the opposition. Retreating rebel forces struck back by firing Katyusha rockets at Shiite-populated Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon's northern Bekaa Valley.
By last week, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah had also seized some villages to the north of Qusayr, effectively surrounding the town.
"We blocked all the area around Qusayr to stop trouble coming to Lebanon," says Abu Khalil, a veteran Hezbollah fighter, justifying the militant Shiite group's assistance to Syrian troops.
Coming out into the open
Hezbollah's presence in Syria has steadily grown over the past year. Its leadership initially denied dispatching fighters into Syria to assist the Assad regime, but it has become impossible to hide its assistance as the number of fighters killed or wounded in action rises, nor stop the fervent chatter within Shiite circles in Lebanon.
"It is legitimate for Hezbollah to be fighting in Qusayr because they are still defending us here in Lebanon," says Rakkan Jafaar, the mayor of Sahlet al-My, a small village on the border beside Qasr. "The people in Qusayr used to joke about how they would come here and take our homes. If Qusayr is taken, the situation should improve for us here."
Syrian opposition sources claimed that more than 20 Hezbollah men were killed yesterday and more than 60 were wounded. Rebel fighters in touch with comrades on the ground in Qusayr insisted the number was even higher.
"We ambushed a Hezbollah unit on the edge of Qusayr and killed 40 of them and many more were wounded. We chopped them to pieces," says Abu Omar, a Lebanese Sunni volunteer fighter with the rebel Farouq Brigade, laughing as he made chopping motions with his hand.
He added that, having had a year to prepare, the rebel forces in Qusayr – a mix of local "brigades" all fighting under the banner of the powerful Farouq Brigade – were confident that they could hold out against the Syrian Army and Hezbollah. Hezbollah and rebel sources both say that defensive tunnel networks have been dug and numerous booby traps prepared in Qusayr.
"Qusayr will never fall. We are a very strong force," Abu Omar says.
He says that the rebels seized a substantial number of weapons from an air base just north of Qusayr that was overrun a few weeks ago. Today, thick clouds of black smoke billowed from the direction of that air base as Syrian troops fought to retake the facility.
Hezbollah funerals
There was little disguising the state of tension and activity in the northern Bekaa Valley Monday as the fighting raged a few miles to the north. At Maqneh, a Shiite village on the main highway running from Baalbek in the central Bekaa to the border, Hezbollah men had partially blocked the road with concrete blocks festooned with yellow party flags. A combatant in a full camouflage uniform, tan military boots, and a pair of sunglasses guided traffic along a detour. From further up the road came the sound of drums and a brass band, followed minutes later by the crackle of automatic rifle fire indicating that a funeral for a slain militant was underway.
A few miles north of Maqneh, at Rasm al-Hadeth, another funeral was being held. One fighter stood on the side of the road, a rifle slung around his neck as others directed traffic. In the late afternoon, Hezbollah vehicles – SUVs with tinted windows and no number plates – gathered at a junction in Baalbek. Men jumping out, brandishing AK-47 rifles. Shortly afterward, bursts of machine gun fire echoed across the town and its magnificent Roman temples as yet another fighter was laid to rest.
Closer to the border, ambulances, lights flashing and sirens blaring, weaved through traffic and potholes while flanked front and back by more Hezbollah vehicles.
The battle in Qusayr is Hezbollah's first major combat action since the end of the month-long war against Israel in 2006. Although the organization is dedicated to the confrontation against Israel, its cadres are now in Syria battling fellow Arab Muslims, albeit Sunnis. Meanwhile, Israeli jets penetrate Lebanese airspace on a daily basis. Two weeks ago they bombed suspected Hezbollah arms stockpiles outside Damascus in two separate sorties. Neither Hezbollah nor regime forces retaliated.
Syria is the linchpin connecting Hezbollah by land to its patron Iran, serving as a conduit for the flow of arms and granting the Shiite group strategic depth. The collapse of the Assad regime would represent a serious blow to Iran and Hezbollah, leaving them isolated on opposite ends of the Middle East.
Hezbollah's rapidly expanding role in Syria is regarded as part of a strategic decision undertaken by the party, Damascus, and Tehran to safeguard the Assad regime at all costs. To soothe any misgivings among Hezbollah's rank and file, the party's leadership has crafted a narrative that the West and Israel are using militant Sunni jihadists to oust the Assad regime and weaken the "resistance front" of Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah for the benefit of the Jewish state.
It is a rationale that has been absorbed by the Hezbollah combatants. Asked how he felt to be fighting Arab Muslims today, having not fought Israeli troops for nearly seven years, Abu Khalil shook his head.
"No, we are fighting Israelis in Syria," he says. "Only they are wearing a dishdash and carrying the Quran. But it is the same Western and Israeli project that wants to weaken the resistance."


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Tonight, NBC premieres their latest legal drama — The Firm. This new TV series isn't based on another TV show like Prime Suspect but is instead based on the John Grisham novel, which was turned into a feature film in 1993.
The Firm TV series picks up 10 years after the end of the 1993 movie with Mitch McDeere (Josh Lucas), his wife Abby (Molly Parker), and daughter Claire (Natasha Calis) coming out of the witness protection program. The mob boss they feared is dead and the McDeere family believe that enough time has passed that they'll be safe. Relocated to our nation's capitol, Mitch starts his own practice, Abby is a teacher, and Claire is making real friends. Unfortunately, things don't go as smoothly as they'd hoped and trouble starts all over again. The show's cast also includes Callum Keith Rennie, Juliette Lewis, Tricia Helfer, and Shaun Majumder.
It's been nearly 20 years since the release of the feature film. Was the new TV show worth the wait? Is it worth your time? Here's what some critics have been saying:
Boston Herald: "The two-hour pilot is a chore to sit through… ABC's fairy tale serial Once Upon a Time has more connection to reality than this dreck. Parker is criminally wasted as the voice of common sense. Lucas is flat and dull, forced to spout such pompous lines as, 'I spend my day making sure that no man's freedom or future is taken unjustly.' Mitch just might be the stupidest attorney ever depicted on TV. I wouldn't trust him to handle a library fine."
LA Times: "Although it opens with a fast-paced chase scene, things quickly bog down with flashbacks and all manner of story lines, none of which seem to be dominant or terribly compelling… Like so many reboots, The Firm is a waste of precious resources, especially its cast… The question is, do we need such a show when we have Damages and The Good Wife? It may be ironic to call a legal thriller created by the man who all but invented the legal thriller derivative, but in this case, it feels very much like the truth."
Washington Post: "The two-hour pilot debuting Sunday night is strong and goes in every direction tantalizingly. Enough happens to keep you from changing the channel, but there are hints of a show that could get dull fast… There's a lot going on, but for now, The Firm seems intriguing enough to have the time to decide what it wants to be."
NY Times: "Having performed such leaps of logic, the writers apparently didn't have much strength left for the weekly plot, which is notably slight and unbelievable, even for a TV legal drama. Mitch is forced by a do-gooder judge to defend a teenager in a schoolyard killing. Hearing that the dead student's father wants to put out a hit on his young client, Mitch does what any good lawyer would do. No, not call the police. He has his brother pretend to be a hit man and solicit the job. The folks over at The Good Wife will be wondering why they didn't think of that one."
Hollywood Reporter: "The two-hour premiere of The Firm on Sunday (9 p.m.) is likely to snag viewers who are on the lookout for yet another legal thriller and don't mind being diverted from the central shocker for most of those two hours. In the meantime they'll get a solid if unspectacular story about one of the most unlucky lawyers ever depicted on television."
Kansas City Star: "The TV cast is all right, but it's not on that level [of the movie cast]. Lucas seems especially bland. And I resent it taking the time slot of the much better Prime Suspect."
USA Today: "For the most part, The Firm cries out to be quickly forgotten — but it does have at least one memorable moment. Capping a geographically muddled opening chase, Mitch plunges into the Capitol reflecting pool, confounding his pursuers, who split up and go around rather than following Mitch across. What, because the pool's filled with acid and Mitch is the only one with safety booties? It's a small matter. But a show that opens with that kind of casual, incompetent stupidity is telling you how little effort it plans to expend on telling its story, and how little respect it has for your intelligence. Take the hint."
What do you think? Are you going to watch the Firm series? If you've already seen it, will you tune in again?
Image courtesy NBC.


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Hi All,
First post so bear with me
I have two pieces of JS, one is to allow the viewer to enter detail into a google map form, and then the second is used to generate XML and show the results on the page with random icons based on the type of fish in the DB
XML script
Marker script
Website (currently has marker script in it)
Simple stuff not rocket science and its all google map tutorial.
My next issue is how I combine these two scripts together to have the marker actions and then the results all presented on one map.
Can anyone help me with this? Or even give me a good resource to read on it?
I can't understand the VAR and Action lookups, some seem to be present in the same script such as the map reference, and at my level I need help on this


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Social Ecology – 1: a coherent radical critique of current social, political, and anti-ecological trends; 2: a reconstructive, ecological, communitarian, and ethical approach to society.
Social ecology advocates a reconstructive and transformative outlook on social and environmental issues, and promotes a directly democratic, confederal politics. As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy, toward a world that reharmonizes human communities with the natural world, while celebrating diversity, creativity and freedom.
Historically, the Institute for Social Ecology has been a pioneer in the exploration of ecological approaches to food production, alternative technologies, and urban design, and has played an essential, catalytic role in movements to challenge nuclear power, global injustices and unsustainable biotechnologies, while building participatory, community-based alternatives. The Institute strives to be an agent of social transformation, demonstrating the skills, ideas and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, healthy communities.
It is our core belief that the human potential to play a creative role in natural and social evolution can be realized, thereby allowing us to foster communities free from hierarchy, social inequity, and ecological degradation. The Institute is committed to the central importance of an anti-authoritarian, ecological, and utopian vision for our time. We seek to implement direct democracy in our communities, and ground our practical work in a coherent body of political, ecological, and ethical principles.
From the earliest antinuclear and ecology movements to current actions against pervasive militarism and corporate globalism, the ISE has inspired people involved in social change to work toward a humane, ecological, and liberatory society. As an agent of social transformation, we work to demonstrate the skills, ideas, and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, ecological communities, remaking ourselves as we work to remake society.
Our current activities include:
Masters Program
The Prescott College Master of Arts Program (MAP) offers a concentration in social ecology for Prescott MAP students. Students attend colloquia in Prescott, Arizona, along with ISE events, while working independently in their home communities in collaboration with a qualified graduate advisor. For more information, click here.
Summer Gatherings and Intensives
Social ecology scholars, students and other associates gather annually in Marshfield, Vermont for an intensive weekend of discussion, based on papers submitted in advance by participants. For information, contact the ISE.
The ISE's recent activist focuses include facilitating grassroots action against the genetic engineering of food, and the development of a movement for climate justice. More information here.
Print and Multimedia Archives
We have an extensive online library of social ecology articles, available here. We are also working to make available some of our extensive video archives of past ISE programs. Other research and publishing projects are in the planning stages.
SEEDS Program on Vashon Island
We work closely with faculty and associates based on the West Coast to produce frequent educational programs under the auspices of the Social Ecology Education and Demonstration School, based on Vashon Island, southwest of Seattle. More information here.
Educational Mission
For nearly 45 years, the Institute for Social Ecology has created educational experiences that enhance people's understanding of their relationship to the natural world and each other. Our programs deepen students' awareness of self and others, help them to think critically, and expand their perception of the creative potentialities for human action. We seek to prepare well-rounded students who can work effectively as participants in the process of ecological reconstruction.


text: Nancy Morrish - Tucson Home Staging Blog By Nancy Morrish Home Stager - Stage Tucson! Professional Home Staging I've tried to keep a journal over the years....but 3 entries per year (my hand gets sore.......and writing with a "pen" takes so much time! Blogging is the answer. Therapy with an "edge!"


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MGilda - 6.2 x 8.5 ft
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✓ Vacuum regularly on a low power setting, and better vacuum without a beater brush as it may cause damage.
✓ Remove spills immediately. If liquid, blot with a clean, un-dyed cloth by pressing firmly around the spill to absorb as much as possible.
✓ For hard-to-remove stains, professional rug cleaning is recommended.


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Every week, John Salley, onetime Bad Boy and currently the arachnoid half of the Spider and the Henchman podcast, will regale us with an amusing and occasionally salacious story from his playing days. Today: A big-assed stripper leaves a mark.
I went to this nasty strip club with the Torry Brothers one time in East St. Louis. I don't even think white people are even allowed in this place. There was Guy and his brother Joe, the one from Poetic Justice. We're in this club and Guy's sitting there in his white sweatshirt, getting a lap dance. So this girl's dancing and dancing on him — she's got a big ol' ass and she's moving his head and stuff, grinding on his chest, up and down, back to his midsection, grinding and grinding on him.
It's cool. We get out of there alive and we're driving back and Guy starts sniffing really loud. Over and over again. He looks down and he has shit marks on his white sweatshirt. Motherfucker, I laughed until I could laugh no longer. I think I peed on myself. I swear, I had to get out of the truck and pee. The motherfucker had skid marks all over his white sweat shirt.
And next week, I'll tell the strip club story about the Rolex...
The above is adapted from the "Spider Stories" segment on the Spider and the Henchman podcast. Follow John and his podcast on Twitter: @thejohnsalley and @spiderandhench. Subscribe on iTunes.


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The if statement is used for conditional execution:
|"if" expression ":" suite
( "elif" expression ":" suite )*
["else" ":" suite]
It selects exactly one of the suites by evaluating the expressions one by one until one is found to be true (see section 5.10 for the definition of true and false); then that suite is executed (and no other part of the if statement is executed or evaluated). If all expressions are false, the suite of the else clause, if present, is executed.
See About this document... for information on suggesting changes.


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