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The son of an Ohio oil driller and farmer, American actor Clark Gable had a relatively sedate youth until, at age 16, he was talked into traveling to Akron with a friend to work at a tire factory. It was in Akron that Gable saw his first stage play, and, from that point on, he was hooked. Although he was forced to work with his father on the oil fields for a time, Gable used a 300-dollar inheritance he'd gotten on his 21st birthday to launch a theatrical career. Several years of working for bankrupt stock companies, crooked theater managers, and doing odd jobs followed, until Gable was taken under the wing of veteran actress Josephine Dillon. The older Dillon coached Gable in speech and movement, paid to have his teeth fixed, and became the first of his five wives in 1924. As the marriage deteriorated, Gable's career built up momentum while he appeared in regional theater, road shows, and movie extra roles. He tackled Broadway at a time when producers were looking for rough-hewn, down-to-earth types as a contrast to the standard cardboard stage leading men. Gable fit this bill, although he had been imbued with certain necessary social graces by his second wife, the wealthy (and, again, older) Ria Langham.
A 1930 Los Angeles stage production of The Last Mile starring Gable as Killer Mears brought the actor to the attention of film studios, though many producers felt that Gable's ears were too large for him to pass as a leading man. Making his talkie debut in The Painted Desert (1931), the actor's first roles were as villains and gangsters. By 1932, he was a star at MGM where, except for being loaned out on occasion, he'd remain for the next 22 years. On one of those occasions, Gable was "punished" for insubordination by being sent to Columbia Studios, then a low-budget factory. The actor was cast by ace director Frank Capra in It Happened One Night (1934), an amiable comedy which swept the Academy Awards in 1935, with one of those Oscars going to Gable. After that, except for the spectacular failure of Gable's 1937 film Parnell, it seemed as though the actor could do no wrong. And, in 1939, and despite his initial reluctance, Gable was cast as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, leading him to be dubbed the "King of Hollywood."
A happy marriage to wife number three, Carole Lombard, and a robust off-camera life as a sportsman and athlete (Gable enjoyed a he-man image created by the MGM publicity department, and perpetuated it on his own) seemed to bode well for the actor's future contentment. But when Lombard was killed in a 1942 plane crash, a disconsolate Gable seemed to lose all interest in life. Though far beyond draft age, he entered the Army Air Corps and served courageously in World War II as a tail-gunner. But what started out as a death wish renewed his vitality and increased his popularity. (Ironically, he was the favorite film star of Adolf Hitler, who offered a reward to his troops for the capture of Gable -- alive).
Gable's postwar films for MGM were, for the most part, disappointing, as was his 1949 marriage to Lady Sylvia Ashley. Dropped by both his wife and his studio, Gable ventured out as a freelance actor in 1955, quickly regaining lost ground and becoming the highest paid non-studio actor in Hollywood. He again found happiness with his fifth wife, Kay Spreckels, and continued his career as a box-office champ, even if many of the films were toothless confections like Teacher's Pet (1958). In 1960, Gable was signed for the introspective "modern" Western The Misfits, which had a prestigious production lineup: co-stars Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift, and Eli Wallach; screenwriter Arthur Miller; and director John Huston. The troubled and tragic history of this film has been well documented, but, despite the on-set tension, Gable took on the task uncomplainingly, going so far as to perform several grueling stunt scenes involving wild horses. The strain of filming, however, coupled with his ever-robust lifestyle, proved too much for the actor. Clark Gable suffered a heart attack two days after the completion of The Misfits and died at the age of 59, just a few months before the birth of his first son. Most of the nation's newspapers announced the death of Clark Gable with a four-word headline: "The King is Dead."


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NEW ORLEANS – The previous time the Buffalo Bills hit the road to play the Saints, they had to go to San Antonio.
The Superdome, and much of New Orleans, were in shambles following Hurricane Katrina, and the Bills and their fans could not have been blamed at the time for wondering if their team would ever play in the Big Easy again.
On Sunday, the Bills (3-4) head to the renovated Superdome for the first time since 1998, when then-Buffalo coach Wade Phillips led a playoff team to a 45-33 victory over the Mike Ditka-coached Saints.
How times have changed.
Seven seasons have passed since current Buffalo head coach Doug Marrone decided to join the staff of a rookie head coach named Sean Payton as the Saints returned to storm-battered New Orleans.
Three-plus seasons have passed since the Saints won their first Super Bowl — a title which came one season after Marrone left to become a college head coach at Syracuse.
In the meantime, the Saints (5-1) have shed their long-held reputation as a franchise for which success seldom came and proved tough to sustain.
"They're a great team. They have been for a while," Bills running back Fred Jackson said. "It's an extremely tough challenge to go down there and beat them, but it's one we are looking forward to."
The NFC South-leading Saints have pole position to pursue a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons.
They're also rather difficult to defeat in the Big Easy, where they are 16-4 (including playoffs) since 2011, 12-0 under Payton, who was suspended in the NFL's bounty probe for all four losses last season.
On top of that, the Saints are fresh off a bye and eager to rebound from their only loss this season at New England two weeks ago.
"When we leave off the way that we did, having a kind of bitter taste in our mouth going into the bye when we had a chance to be 6-0," receiver Lance Moore began, "We're looking forward to getting back on that field."
Here are five things to know about the Bills-Saints matchup:
UNBALANCED OFFENSES: The strength of Buffalo's offense has been its ground game. Buffalo rushed for 120 or more yards in each of its first six games before being held to 90 last week. The only problem for them is that top running backs Jackson (knee) and C.J. Spiller (ankle) have been hobbled lately.
The Saints have struggling on the ground, ranking 22nd in the league. Drew Brees has made up for much of that, leading a second-ranked passing game which averages 311 yards.
COMPETITIVE BILLS: While Buffalo is a game below .500, two losses came by three or fewer points and another by seven.
"We like what we have going on here and the guys we have in this locker room," the Bills' Jackson said. "We feel like we can compete with anybody."
QB PRESSURE: The Saints have expressed concern about Buffalo's ability to affect quarterbacks with pressure up front and opportunistic defensive backs. The Bills have an NFL-high 12 interceptions and their 23 sacks — including 10 by end Mario Williams — were tied for fourth heading into Week 8.
"Those usually kind of go hand-in-hand," Payton said of Buffalo's sacks and interceptions. "If the clock is quick for the quarterback it benefits the back end. That's certainly one of the challenges this week."
BREES' TARGETS: As much as the Saints love what Jimmy Graham has accomplished this season, Brees has plenty of other options. Receiver Lance Moore was practiced fully this week after missing three games, Marques Colston is always a threat and veteran tight end Benjamin Watson showed two weeks ago that he can convert big plays as well. Speedy rookie Kenny Stills caught his touchdown pass in New England, and Nick Toon is a big target with good hands. Any of them could see more action with Graham hobbled by a left foot injury.
"Jimmy does some things that only he can do, but we will be able to come in and do whatever is asked of us to make sure the offense runs smooth," Watson said.
POISED BACKUP: Buffalo quarterback Thad Lewis brings little experience but plenty of poise to the Buffalo offense, Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins says.
"We saw him get hit in the Miami game and the whole helmet came off and everything, but he stayed in the pocket, he took the hit and he moved on," Jenkins said. "It hasn't rattled him. This quarterback definitely has some poise. You can tell that his team believes in him even though he doesn't have that much experience."
Promoted from the practice squad, Lewis is 1-1 as Buffalo's starter, completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 418 yards with two TDs passing and one TD rushing.
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org

subset: commoncrawl


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Five for five, biked to work every day this week! That's actually the main reason I decided to try to post about this every week: to keep track of it, just for me. I didn't have any goals in mind when I started, but on the bike this morning it occurred to me that an 80% bike to non bike ratio would be something to try for. And today puts me at 90% 😉
New speed record today: made it to work with an average 15.5 mph, or 18 minutes of riding time. That doesn't count waiting at stop lights, which seemed to be timed just right this morning.
Also, I used MapMyRide to, uh, map my ride this morning.


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CDOObjects represent the object instances of the models that your application deals with. Internally each such object is managed by a singleton CDOStateMachine. The state machine accurately transits objects and trees of objects through the states TRANSIENT, NEW, CLEAN, DIRTY, PROXY and CONFLICT. When a CDOObject is in one of the persistent states NEW, CLEAN or DIRTY the state machine associates a CDORevision that carries the current values of the modeled structural features. All revisions created or used in a CDOSession are shared by the CDORevisionMnager of that session. CDOObjects are only known to the CDO client. Only revisions are subject to (network) transfers between client and server.
A CDOObject is basically an EObject with a handful of additional read-only features as the following java code shows:
public interface CDOObject extends EObject { public CDOClass cdoClass(); public CDOID cdoID(); public CDOState cdoState(); public CDOView cdoView(); public CDOResource cdoResource(); public CDORevision cdoRevision(); }
The method names differ from the regular Java getter notation to make it less likely that name collisions with your model name space occur. To understand the details about the return types you should browse the JavaDoc.
While a user application always deals with EObjects the internal CDOStateMachine interacts with InternalCDOObjects. Depending on how the EObjects relate to the InternalCDOObjects there are a handful of different categories of CDOObjects, that is, implementations of InternalCDOObject. The following type hierarchy shows an example with the shipped test model installed:
The main categories are:
- Native objects extend CDOObjectImpl and fall into three sub categories:
- Generated native objects directly extend CDOObjectImpl and result from slightly modified GenModels
- Dynamic native objects are of class DynamicCDOObjectImpl and result from dynamic models added to a session's package registry
- Resources are of class CDOResourceImpl (which also implements CDOObject and thus EObject!)
- Legacy objects extend EObjectImpl and fall into two sub categories to interface the CDOStateMachine:
- Unwoven legacy objects interface the state machine via an EMF adapter of class CDOAdapterImpl
- Woven legacy objects interface the state machine via an AspectJ inter type declaration of class CDOCallbackImpl
- Meta objects are the EModelElements contained in a session's package registry. Although their state is immutable they interface the state machine via CDOMetaImpl instances so that they can be referenced from ordinary objects.
From a CDO perspective native objects are the most efficient and full featured ones. They are the only category that combine the user application contract and the CDO state machine contract in a single object instance. Whenever possible you should generate your models to produce subclasses of CDOObjectImpl! The following table compares some important characteristics of the different object categories:
|Model Type
|Slightly modified
|Instance Interface
|State Machine Interface
|Location of
Internal Values
|Java Byte Code
|Location of
Model Values
per CDOState
Client Infrastructure
CDOObjects do not just appear out of the dark. To create, load or access them you need, as usual in EMF, an instance of a Resource, here a CDOResource. The following diagram illustrates the CDO client infrastructure concepts and their relation to CDOObjects:
A CDOSession is your connection to a single repository on a CDO server. Before you can do anything with CDO you need to open a session.
There are two ways to obtain a session:
- If you already have an instance of a Net4j IConnector, which represents the physical connection to the server, at hand you can use the CDOUtil class:
IConnector connector = ...; CDOSession session = CDOUtil.openSession(connector, "repo1"); session.setDisableLegacyObjects(...); session.setReferenceChunkSize(...); ... session.close();
- You can also use a Net4j IManagedContainer, for example an extension point based IPluginContainer. The advantage of this approach is that you can leave all the wiring and configuration of the various components to the container which uses factories and element processors that you can contribute centrally via extension points:
CDOSession session = CDOSessionFactory.get(IPluginContainer.INSTANCE, "tcp://repos.company.com:2036/repo1"); ... session.close();
In CDO 3.0 you may need to use this instead:
import org.eclipse.emf.cdo.net4j.CDONet4jUtil; import org.eclipse.emf.cdo.net4j.CDOSessionConfiguration; import org.eclipse.emf.cdo.session.CDOSession; import org.eclipse.net4j.connector.IConnector; import org.eclipse.net4j.Net4jUtil; ... IConnector connector = Net4jUtil.getConnector(IPluginContainer.INSTANCE, "tcp://repos.company.com:2036"); CDOSessionConfiguration sessionConfiguration = CDONet4jUtil.createSessionConfiguration(); sessionConfiguration.setConnector(connector); sessionConfiguration.setRepositoryName(REPO_NAME); CDOSession session = sessionConfiguration.openSession(); ... session.close();
The API of CDOSession looks like:
public interface CDOSession extends IContainer<CDOView> { public int getSessionID(); public IFailOverStrategy getFailOverStrategy(); public IChannel getChannel(); public boolean isOpen(); public void close(); public boolean isDisableLegacyObjects(); public void setDisableLegacyObjects(boolean disableLegacyObjects); public int getReferenceChunkSize(); public void setReferenceChunkSize(int referenceChunkSize); public String getRepositoryName(); public String getRepositoryUUID(); public CDOPackageRegistry getPackageRegistry(); public CDOPackageManager getPackageManager(); public CDORevisionManager getRevisionManager(); public CDOView[] getViews(); public CDOTransaction openTransaction(ResourceSet resourceSet); public CDOTransaction openTransaction(); public CDOView openView(ResourceSet resourceSet); public CDOView openView(); public CDOAudit openAudit(ResourceSet resourceSet, long timeStamp); public CDOAudit openAudit(long timeStamp); }
A CDOView is a partial, yet consistent view onto a model repository. It represents the parts of the overall object graph currently viewed by the client.
Views, in contrast to sessions, are considered light weight entities in CDO, such that you can open and close them as often as you want. There are (nearly) no server side resources associated with a client side view. A CDOView can be seen of as the mediator between an EMF ResourceSet and the loaded objects' state which is managed by the CDORevisionManager of the CDOSession.
public interface CDOView extends INotifier { public static final long UNSPECIFIED_DATE = CDORevision.UNSPECIFIED_DATE; public static final int NO_PRELOAD = 1; public enum Type { TRANSACTION, READONLY, AUDIT } public int getViewID(); public Type getViewType(); public CDOSession getSession(); public ResourceSet getResourceSet(); public boolean isDirty(); public void close(); public boolean isEnableInvalidationNotifications(); public void setEnableInvalidationNotifications(boolean on); public int getLoadRevisionCollectionChunkSize(); public void setLoadRevisionCollectionChunkSize(int loadRevisionCollectionChunkSize); public CDOResource getResource(String path); public CDOObject getObject(CDOID id); public CDORevision getRevision(CDOID id); public boolean isObjectRegistered(CDOID id); }
Instances of CDOTransaction are the only views that permit read-write access to the contained resources and objects. All changes are recorded by a transaction until the application decides to either commit or roll back the transaction.
CDOSession session = ...; CDOTransaction transaction = session.openTransaction(); CDOResource resource = transaction.createResource("/path/to/resource"); ... transaction.commit(); transaction.close();
You can also use a CDOTransaction with an existing EMF ResourceSet:
ResourceSet resourceSet = editingDomain.getResourceSet(); CDOTransaction transaction = session.openTransaction(resourceSet);
Read-Only Views
Instances of CDOView are by default floating views that permit read-only access to the contained resources and objects. They always show the latest changes of the repository.
CDOSession session = ...; CDOView view = session.openView(); CDOResource resource = view.getResource("/path/to/resource"); ... view.close();
You can also use a CDOView with an existing EMF ResourceSet:
ResourceSet resourceSet = editingDomain.getResourceSet(); CDOView view = session.openView(resourceSet);
Audit Views
As of CDO 3.0 there is no separate interface for audit views. Instead normal views (see Read-Only Views) can be used to allow the application to look at historical state of the repository. They always show a consistent object graph at a particular point in time back in the past. To keep these object graphs consistent audit views only permit read-only access to the contained resources and objects.
CDOSession session = ...; CDOView audit = session.openView(new Date("2007-10-02 10:33").getTime()); CDOResource resource = audit.getResource("/path/to/resource"); ... audit.close();
You can also use a CDOView with an existing EMF ResourceSet:
ResourceSet resourceSet = editingDomain.getResourceSet(); CDOView audit = session.openAudit(resourceSet, timeStamp);
In CDO and EMF all objects of the overall object graph are partitioned into resources which can be seen of as the named roots of a repository. Resources can be loaded into any view but they can only be created in a transactional view (see above). The resources used in CDO are CDOResources and they combine the characteristics of EMF Resources and CDOObjects, which, in turn, are EMF EObjects. You can work with a CDOResource like with any other EObject or CDOObject.
The resource URI of a CDOResource is of the form
cdo://authority/resource, where
authority is the name of the authority you have configured in your
cdo-config.xml and
resource is the name of a resource you have previously created in a transactional view.
You can use CDOUtil to convert between the URI form and the resource path:
String path = CDOUtil.extractResourcePath(URI.create("cdo:/res1")); URI uri = CDOUtil.createResourceURI("/res1");
You need to handle these URI specifics only if you decided to use the EMF API of Resource which you typically obtained through an EMF ResourceSet. The easiest way to use the extended API of CDOResource is calling
CDOView.getResource(String path) or
CDOTransaction.createResource(String path), respectively. The most important non-transient feature of a resource is the contents collection that can be used like in pure EMF.
Since CDOResources are CDOObjects as well they can also have their own EMF proxy URI of the form
cdo:id. You can use CDOUtil to extract the CDOID of a proxy URI:
CDOID id = CDOUtil.extractResourceID(URI.create("cdo:17463524"));


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Several recent incidents involving U.S. President Donald Trump's administration can teach users something about IT security—particularly about Twitter and what not to do with it.
It turns out that several White House-related Twitter accounts—including the president's official account, @POTUS—until recently were revealing sensitive information that hackers might be able to exploit.
The problem revolves around the service's password reset function. If the account holder doesn't take certain steps to secure it, Twitter exposes information that anyone with the right skills can use to uncover what email address—in redacted form—was used to secure a Twitter account.
A hacker who goes by the name WauchulaGhost noticed the problem and began tweeting about it. He found that the @POTUS account was secured to a Gmail address that, although partially redacted, could be guessed as belonging to a Trump aide in charge of social media.
The hacker found the same issue with the Twitter accounts for the vice president, the first lady and Trump's press secretary, all of which were also secured with Gmail addresses.
"It's not hard to figure the emails out from there," WauchulaGhost tweeted. "Once the email is exposed, there is a chance it can be compromised."
Change your security settings
Exposing your email address to the public may seem harmless. But for government officials or business executives, it can be asking for trouble.
That's what happened in last year's election. An aide to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was hacked by suspected Russian cyberspies through a phishing attack sent to his Gmail address. His emails were eventually stolen and leaked to the public.
A hack can be even more devastating if it affects a high-profile Twitter account. But anyone can be a target of such attacks, said Felix Odigie, CEO of Inspired eLearning, a company that specializes in security awareness training.
"People don't really believe these threat actors are real, or they don't believe it's going to happen to them," he said. "But it's probably only a matter of time, before you get hit at some point."
To prevent exposing your email address over Twitter, you can go into your account's security settings and click "Require personal information to reset my password." That'll force anyone trying to reset your password to enter the correct email address or phone number to continue.
Use two-factor authentication and secure IT monitoring
Securing a presidential Twitter account with a Gmail address highlights another problem: Why are White House officials using third-party email providers?
In last year's election, government IT security became a hot-button issue over Clinton's use of a private email server. Critics feared it left her digital correspondence vulnerable to hacks.
Now the Trump administration has received some flak for securing presidential Twitter accounts to Gmail addresses. "It seems like bad form," said Jake Williams, founder of security provider Rendition InfoSec. "It should really be a .gov address."
"In that way, if there's ever an attempt to enter the account, It'll be monitored by their own information security people, as opposed to possibly nobody with Gmail," he said.
That same advice can apply to any business. It's better to rely on corporate IT infrastructure, which can be more tightly controlled, than on common third-party email providers, Williams said.
He also suggests that people secure their Twitter accounts with two-factor authentication. This requires the user to enter both a password and a one-time special code sent to their mobile phone or generated over an authenticator app.
"If the attacker ever gets a hold of your password, they still won't be able to access your account," Williams said.
Twitter users can access this option by going to security settings and checking "verify login requests."
Be careful with OAuth tokens
Earlier this week, the Trump administration found itself involved in another Twitter-related incident. The account for Badlands National Park in South Dakota tweeted a series of facts that seemed to challenge Trump's assertion that climate change is a hoax.
The White House said an "unauthorized user" had used an old password from the National Park Service's San Francisco office to access the account.
Williams suspects the Trump administration had changed the password to the park's Twitter account but failed to revoke the OAuth token, which can also grant access.
Third-party applications can use OAuth tokens to connect to a Twitter account without the risk of handling sensitive password information. "Someone probably realized they were still hooked into the account, and decided to take it for a run," Williams said.
The controversial tweets from the park's account were quickly deleted, but the mishaps with the Trump administration Twitter haven't stopped.
On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was found tweeting and then deleting what appeared to be a password, although it's still unclear what really happened.
Williams advises that White House officials use an option on TweetDeck, a Twitter dashboard, that asks the user to confirm the contents of a tweet before posting it.
"It's saved me from sending something erroneously more than once," he said.


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Home » Folsom, CA » Water & Flood Damage » Water Removal & Extraction
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Set screw diameter is measured on the outside of the threads.
10-32 is a fine thread, but it is listed under coarse thread because it is very common.
Thread locker prevents fasteners from loosening after installation. Anti-seize helps prevent seizing (galling) during installation.
Screws with no head and machine threads for use in a tapped hole.


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Naked SF BART Station Acrobat Reportedly Facing Deportation
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - A man who allegedly stripped naked and harassed a number of BART commuters inside a San Francisco station last month is likely now facing deportation, according to published reports.
SF Weekly reports that the man, identified as 24-year-old Yeiner Perez, was handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials after being arrested following a May 10th incident inside the 16th and Mission BART Station. Video from the minutes leading up to the arrest show a nude man doing flips and handstands on fare gates at the station and then harassing several passengers and employees.
The Weekly reports that Perez, who also goes by the last name Garizabalo, is being monitored by ankle bracelet and could still face charges from the San Francisco District Attorney's office now that video of the incident has surfaced. That video, shot by a BART station agent, has gone viral online.
Law enforcement officials would not confirm Perez's country of origin, or set a timeline for deportation proceedings.
The acrobat has also been fired from his East Bay performance troop ClownsNotBombs.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
for more features.


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Conservative commentators like Rupert Murdoch's stable and Ross Douthat of The New York Times are feasting on what they perceive as the "death" of "liberal Christianity."
They add two and two and get eight. They see decisions they don't like — such as the Episcopal Church's recent endorsement of a rite for blessing same-sex unions. They see declines in church membership. They pounce.
Such "liberal" decisions are destroying the church, they say, and alienating young adults they must reach in order to survive.
Never mind that surveys of young adults in America show attitudes toward sexuality that are far more liberal than those of older generations. Never mind that conservative denominations are also in decline.
Never mind — the most inconvenient truth — that mainline denominations began to decline in 1965, not because of liberal theology, but because the world around them changed and they refused to change with it.
Conservatives' anti-change attitudes not only prevented necessary responses to a changing world, but their sky-is-falling venom fed a public perception of mainline churches as argumentative, judgmental, dull, and old. It is that perception that young adults are shunning.
What changed in the 1960s? Everything. Urban neighborhoods lost population to white-flight suburbs. Children and parents lost interest in the old neighborhood church. Women entered the workforce en masse. Sunday became at-home family time.
Denominations were slow to establish suburban congregations. In a fundamental management failure led by the anti-change cadre, mainline churches tried to preserve a neighborhood ethos. When they did establish suburban churches, their efforts tended to be hesitant, under-funded, and focused on replicating old ways, rather than responding to realities of suburban living.
Even as women were entering other male bastions, conservatives resisted opening ordination to women. Even as new cultural languages and forms were emerging, conservatives fought any adaptation of mainline liturgies and hymnody. As people sought new expressions of faith in response to changing times, traditionalists mocked "renewal" as "happy-clappy."
It was those fights that drove people away. It was also the looking-backward attitudes that prevented church leaders from responding to cultural shifts, many of them painful, such as decimation of the middle class, collapse of disposable income for all but the very wealthy, collapse of employment and safety nets, and eroding infrastructure such as public schools.
In time, many mainline Protestant churches became precious enclaves of old people doing old things. We were still arguing about paint colors when people needed us to help them find new purpose and confidence.
Neither do Douthat and Murdoch's mouthpieces understand the present moment. Mainline Protestant church leaders are finally getting ready to do what they should have been doing for 50 years, namely, looking outside their walls at a deeply troubled world, resolving to turn their congregations toward being responsive and effective, and allowing young adults into leadership.
The Episcopal Church's decision on same-sex blessings wasn't a leap beyond; it was the last gasp of old ways of thinking, namely, that Sunday worship and in-house protocols are what matter.
Now leaders can look outward and onward. Conservatives will find themselves ignored, not because mainline traditions have lost their way, but because they are determined to find their way, and my-way-or-the-highway conservatives have cried wolf too often.
Their next round of emotional and financial blackmail won't find much of an audience, except, of course, on the op-ed page of The Wall Street Journal.
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of "Just Wondering, Jesus" and founder of the Church Wellness Project. His website is www.morningwalkmedia.com. Follow Tom on Twitter @tomehrich.
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Yes, your cramming into smaller seats, paying fees for what seems like everything but the right to sit (and some are even re-thinking that), the anxiety and discomfort are all wildly profitable.
Because two things happen: they collect more money from those fees than they do from the business of actually providing the service of flying you somewhere; and because you so dread the misery that you cave in and pay the fees even though you know you're being manipulated and feel like you're being ripped off.
It's the holidays, so the instinct to fly somewhere to see family and friends is strong. But with gas prices lower there are many stories - though no firm evidence yet - that many people are choosing to drive rather than fly. We'll see, but a quick way to lose customers is to abuse them. Meanwhile, pony up or reconsider your aversion to yoga. JL
Tim Wu reports in the New Yorker:
In 2013, the major airlines combined made about $31.5 billion in income from fees, as well as other ancillaries, such as redeeming credit-card points. That's income derived in large part from services, such as baggage carriage, that were once included in ticket prices.
This fall, JetBlue airline finally threw in the towel. For years, the company was among the last holdouts in the face of an industry trend toward smaller seats, higher fees, and other forms of unpleasantness. JetBlue distinguished itself by providing decent, fee-free service for everyone, an approach that seemed to be working: passengers liked the airline, and it made a consistent profit. Wall Street analysts, however, accused JetBlue of being "overly brand-conscious and customer-focussed." In November, the airline, under new management, announced that it would follow United, Delta, and the other major carriers by cramming more seats into economy, shrinking leg room, and charging a range of new fees for things like bags and WiFi.
It seems that the money was just too good to resist. In 2013, the major airlines combined made about $31.5 billion in income from fees, as well as other ancillaries, such as redeeming credit-card points. United pulled in more than $5.7 billion in fees and other ancillary income in 2013, while Delta scored more than $2.5 billion. That's income derived in large part from services, such as baggage carriage, that were once included in ticket prices. Today, as anyone who travels knows well, you can pay fees ranging from forty dollars to three hundred dollars for things like boarding in a "fast lane," sitting in slightly better economy-class seats, bringing along the family dog, or sending an unaccompanied minor on a plane. Loyal fliers, or people willing to pay a giant annual fee, can avoid some of these charges; others are unavoidable.
The fees have proved a boon to the U.S. airlines, which will post a projected twenty-billion-dollar profit in 2014. To be fair, airlines are not just profiting because of fee income. Reduced competition, thanks to mergers, helps. There is also the plummet in the price of oil, which the airlines seem to have collectively agreed is no reason to reduce fares or even remove "fuel surcharges." But for the past decade it is fees that have been the fastest-growing source of income for the main airlines, having increased by twelve hundred per cent since 2007.
If fees are great for airlines, what about for us? Does it make any difference if an airline collects its cash in fees as opposed to through ticket sales? The airlines, and some economists, argue that the rise of the fee model is good for travellers. You only pay for what you want, and you can therefore save money if you, for instance, don't mind sitting in middle seats in the back, waiting in line to board, or bringing your own food. That's why American Airlines calls its fees program "Your Choice" and suggests that it makes the "travel experience even more convenient, cost-effective, flexible and personalized."
But the fee model comes with systematic costs that are not immediately obvious. Here's the thing: in order for fees to work, there needs be something worth paying to avoid. That necessitates, at some level, a strategy that can be described as "calculated misery." Basic service, without fees, must be sufficiently degraded in order to make people want to pay to escape it. And that's where the suffering begins.
The necessity of degrading basic service provides a partial explanation for the fact that, in the past decade, the major airlines have done what they can to make flying basic economy, particularly on longer flights, an intolerable experience. For one thing, as the Wall Street Journal has documented, airlines have crammed more seats into the basic economy section of the airplane, even on long-haul flights. The seats, meanwhile, have gotten smaller—they are narrower and set closer together. Bill McGee, a contributing editor to Consumer Reports who worked in the airline industry for many years, studied seat sizes and summarized his findings this way: "The roomiest economy seats you can book on the nation's four largest airlines are narrower than the tightest economy seats offered in the 1990s."
Boarding for non-élite flyers has also become a miserable experience. There are far more efficient ways to load planes than the current back-to-front method, which is actually slower than random boarding. The process takes longer still thanks to the practice of letting flyers with status board out of turn and thanks to luggage charges, which compel fee-avoiders to cram their bags into overhead compartments. Airlines lack a real incentive to fundamentally improve boarding for everyone—by, for example, investing in methods such as filling both ends of an airplane at once. It would make life better and also defeat the status racket.
Fee models also lead most people to spend unwarranted time and energy calculating, agonizing, and repacking in the hope of avoiding paying more. The various fees make prices hard to compare, as a ticket can now represent just a fraction of the total expense. These are real costs, and they are compounded by ticketing practices, which demand perfect timing. When customers miscalculate their schedules or their plans change, the airline is ready with its punishment: the notorious two-hundred-dollar rebooking and change fee. Those change fees are particularly lucrative: in 2014, Delta and United are projected to collect nearly a billion dollars each. And the greater social cost comes from those who didn't change their tickets even though they wanted to.
The fee model isn't the only reason air travel has become more miserable in recent years. Airlines also benefit directly by throwing more seats into economy, because they have more to sell. But as mergers reduce competition airlines can more safely collude to provide poorer levels of service, and everything that adds to and increases differential experiences drives fee income, which is the most lucrative side of the business. Perhaps that's why Delta's new cabin plan offers five different classes of service, and why one unnamed major airline is reportedly considering introducing a level called "economy minus," with even smaller seats than basic economy.
The various costs described here will not appear on any bottom line but can be easily witnessed in angry families, exhausted flight attendants, and the general sense of defeat emanating from passengers exiting coach. At best, it can be said that more people are able to fly for less; but, as JetBlue demonstrated, there need not be so much misery along the way. Ultimately, the fee models and the distinctions they draw make class inequality, which may be felt less in other places, painfully obvious. The conditions of carriage may lack the importance of other, more pressing social issues. But when an airline like JetBlue is punished for merely trying to treat all of its passengers decently, something isn't right.


text:
Wrong Brand
During his time as a rancher, Theodore Roosevelt and one of his cowpunchers lassoed a maverick steer, lit a fire, and prepared the branding irons. The part of the range they were on was claimed by Gregor Lang, one of Roosevelts neighbors. According to the cattlemans rule, the steer therefore belonged to Lang. As his cowboy applied the brand, Roosevelt said, "Wait, it should be Langs brand.""Thats all right, boss," said the cowboy."But youre putting on my brand," Roosevelt said."Thats right," said the man."Drop that iron," Roosevelt demanded, "and get back to the ranch and get out. I dont need you anymore. A man who will steal for me will steal from me."


text:
Vegas Golden Knights vs LA Kings
Vegas Golden Knights vs LA Kings
DateOctober 28, 2023
Event Starts7:30PM
Doors Open6:00PM
AvailabilityOn Sale Now
- SuitesAvailable Suites
- ParkingPurchase Parking
Dates & Times
October 28, 2023 / Saturday at 7:30 PM
More Information
Box Office
Tickets for Crypto.com Arena sports and entertainment events are available at the Crypto.com Arena Box Office located at 1111 S. Figueroa Street every Tuesday from 12pm-4pm for walk up sales. All tickets purchased at the box office will be delivered via mobile delivery, no printed paper tickets will be distributed at the windows.
The exciting events hosted at Crypto.com Arena often attract large crowds. It is recommended that you plan your trip before you leave home and allow extra time for unanticipated delays due to traffic congestion, road construction, etc. Always follow traffic safety precautions when traveling to and from events.
For up to the minute traffic conditions we recommend using WAZE. For more information on parking please visit our Getting Here page.
Premium Seating
For suite information, email us at email@example.com or call 877-234-8425.
There are lots of things to do before and after your event at L.A. LIVE, the leading entertainment district in Los Angeles! Grab a drink, get a meal, catch a movie, visit a museum and much more!
Group Information
For group ticket information, call 877-234-8425 or email us using the below link.


text:
How did this happen? The reason this problem exists is because of a large-scale industrial espionage foul-up. Some companies decided to steal an electrolyte formula from another competitor. Little be known to them, the stolen formula was incomplete and flawed. They didn't discover this until it was too late and they had manufactured and distributed literally MILLIONS of these flawed capacitors. It was way too late for any kind of recall, and even today, these crappy components are being used in new boards. As I mentioned before, I believe this problem runs much deeper than simply an industrial espionage screw-up, as that incident was exposed years ago, and the problem still exists today. Nowadays, it just boils down to corporate bean counters cutting corners to save money by using shoddy components.
The cause... This inferior and flawed electrolyte formula was used by a number of component manufacturers that sold to many different, reputable, and well known motherboard manufacturers. This problem isn't isolated to one particular brand of motherboard, and not even isolated to motherboards alone. I won't mention brands, but a VERY popular monitor manufacturer has been plagued with RMA's on some of their monitors that were built using these inferior capacitors. This problem has been reported in computer motherboards, monitors, televisions, radios, and stereo equipment. Through my experiences owning a service center, I've personally seen and serviced a large number of 'high-end' equipment that had prematurely failed capacitors.
More detailed information... In more technical terms, this is is what actually happens to the capacitor...in the simplest of terms. Think of an electrolytic capacitors as a battery. They are designed to store a charge and release that charge depending on the specific requirements of the circuit. Inside the capacitor there are two metal plates with dielectric material between them, wrapped in paper, filled with acid (electrolyte), and sealed in its housing or 'canister'. What happens is the flawed electrolyte prematurely deteriorates and dries up. When this happens the capacitance value changes, becomes erratic, and can even short completely, which obviously causes the circuit to malfunction. On your motherboard, this results in system instabilities or complete failure of your board.
From a physical standpoint, the capacitor can display a number of symptoms and even have catastrophic failures. Catastrophic failure is a rare phenomenon, but it does happen. The reason is this... A capacitor canister is completely sealed and air tight. When the electrolyte dries it turns from a liquid state into a gas. This gas expands with heat and builds great pressure inside the canister, the theory is the same as a pressure cooker. Of course the obvious happens when that pressure builds too much, and the capacitor will vent. This is what causes the capacitor to 'bulge' or swell up. In a catastrophic failure, the capacitor may actually burst or explode. It can sound like a firecracker going off or sound similar to air escaping from a car tire, depending on how high the pressure has built. A physically failing capacitor has an ammonia-like odor (at least that what I thought it smelled like)... Capacitors that has swollen up are easy to detect, but one that has burst are even more noticeable. It will usually blow from the top and spew its innards throughout your computer case. The innards are mostly paper and any remaining electrolyte, but it sure can leave a mess... Once again, catastrophic failure is a rare phenomenon... It's not dangerous either, as long as you practice common sense safety precautions! If you suspect bad caps, don't put your face near them while the system is powered up, and don't eat the paper or electrolyte that they blow out!


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|A determined World War II infantryman.
Wouldn't it be nice to get free access to three centuries of American military records with more than 100 million names on file.
Of course it would. And now you can, for a few days, at least. In honor of Veteran's Day, the entire military collection at Ancestry.com is available free of charge between November 11 and November 14. Just head to their site and click on See all Military Records to dive in.
Want to see George Custer's or William Tecumseh Sherman's hand-written application letters to West Point? They're there! Looking to explore family history from the Revolutionary War, Civil War or any of the other conflicts that have involved United States fighting forces? This is the place to do it and, for a few days, anyway, do it at no charge.
A very happy and proud Veteran's Day to all.
Don't forget to also check for your family history at Ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive. These are subscription databases, but they are among the most powerful research tools available for looking into family roots..


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Boehm 1
July 2001
Frank Boehm
Frank Boehm
The concept of function for this 1-micron in diameter nanodevice would be to serve as a vascular scanner which would traverse all arteries, veins, and capillaries to generate a very high resolution 3D map of a patients complete vascular system. It would also have the capability for superimposed maps (for instance showing the inside surfaces of all veins with superimposed plaque deposits or lesions to clearly discern what repairs, or material removal needs to be implemented).
Another function may be to measure vascular wall thickness and density of those walls. This information may, by inference, elucidate the elastic properties and strength of that wall.
This scanner could be introduced into the bloodstream via injection, patch, ingestion, or some other means of controlled infusion. It would be a totally autonomous unit. It would be linked to one or several external navigational beacons, and communications apparatus using the appropriate acoustic signals.
A possible deployment scenario could involve the release of a multitude of these devices working in different areas of the system in parallel. Each device would have its own assigned task and scanning region (a preset area overlap scan for all devices would guarantee full coverage) and all devices would be in constant communications with each other, either directly or through an external communications control center.
The physician would then be able to actually "cruise" the patients complete vascular system on a display to investigate any suspected problem areas, or gather information as to the general health of the system.
What follows is a summary of two envisaged aspects of the device.
A main reversible thruster, possibly a flow-through micro-fluidic jet system.
Two secondary reversible thrusters positioned at 90 degrees to and on either side of the main thruster.
A series of pivoting pulse-jets for fine-tuned positional control. These would be placed on the 45-degree faces of a 90-degree groove circumscribing the equator of the device.
The device would have an internal gyroscope working in conjunction with, and responding to an external positional reference grid, or a small-scale GPS setup. Perhaps general pathways it would follow (x,y,z coordinates) could be calculated in advance. Once internalized, it could then institute a self-centering program utilizing distance and orientation feedback sensors to ensure that it travels along the central axis of any sized portion of the vascular system.
The device is studded with multiple nested send/receive beacons.
A beacon would consist perhaps of a diamondoid rod array as its center, surrounded by a donut shaped ring of sensitive receivers. (Possibly, the devices body surface itself could serve this task).
Pulsed beams of an appropriate variety would emanate through the diamondoid rods to the target surface and reflect back to the receptor sites.
This operation would measure the distance from the central axis of the vein (for instance) as well as register the targets x,y,z coordinates as it would relate to the external reference grid.
Send/receive beacons would be distributed over the surface area of the device in a configuration that would ensure full 360-degree cross-sectional coverage of any vascular entity.
Pivoting mirrors could be incorporated at the tips of the diamondoid rods in order to facilitate full scanning coverage.
Predetermined response signatures from the data would differentiate between the inner surfaces of veins and plaque material.
Firstly, a map could be generated of only the interior surfaces of all arteries, veins, and capillaries. An additional map could then be created of the outer surfaces of the same entities. (By means of recalibration of the pulsed beam). A rendering of the surface topography of any plaque material could then be generated giving a detailed 3 dimensional view of the condition of the patient's entire vascular system.
As for the heart, it may have to be scanned in a different manner by a different type of device through virtue of its continuous motion and constant interior turbulence. Unless some form of temporary anchoring mechanism could be designed in, or the introduction of other specialized devices to aid in stabilizing the scanner so that it may obtain accurate data.


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The Clinton Democratic left has created a vast mind palace, an artificial world where they may craft a safe space, protected from post-traumatic Trump (election) disorder.
In this pleasant mind palace of theirs, where they don't have to address Democratic failings, Hillary Clinton's numerous faults and stupendous strategic blunders, two things stand out:
The CIA is now the left's champion of truth and beauty.
And Russia, once the friend of the useful American left, is now its enemy.
Much of this has been kick-started again by a story in The Washington Post saying that the CIA -- according to anonymous sources -- has concluded that Russia hacked into Democratic emails to help elect Republican Donald Trump.
The FBI, reportedly, disagrees with some findings. And the Reuters news service reports that the Office of National Intelligence, the group that oversees the U.S. spy community, will not embrace the CIA assessment for a lack of evidence.
It's also emboldened outgoing Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, the clean-faced prince of sincerity from Nevada, to all but accuse FBI Director James Comey of being a Russian agent for not publicly investigating the allegations about Russian hacking as Reid would like.
"I think (Comey) should be investigated by the Senate, he should be investigated by other agencies of the government, including the security agencies," Reid said in an interview with MSNBC. "I am so disappointed in Comey. He has let the country down for partisan purposes."
Have you no decency, Senator?
And I'd like to add, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
But that's been said before. And Sen. Reid knows it.
Only a short time ago, many on the left hated the CIA and thought the American intelligence service to be evil, a vast secret bureaucracy bent on destabilizing other governments and engineering foreign elections.
And many of these who now use the CIA as their champion have long insisted that Russia was not the enemy, that the Russians were misunderstood by war-mongering conservative troglodytes bent on bankrupting the country by selling weapons to the military industrial complex.
Anyone who thought Russia was the problem was to be mocked by the media and other political wits.
"The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back," President Barack Obama famously quipped at 2012 challenger Republican Mitt Romney, who dared suggest Russia was a problem, "because ... the Cold War's been over for 20 years."
Obama smirked, like some Hollywood actor playing a duelist after that final lunge of victory. And his line about Russia was repeated again and again, and fashioned by his favorite pundits into a pin.
Romney was ridiculed, left to wriggle on the pin like that spider on the board.
So the drumbeat continues for a congressional investigation. Given the seriousness of the charge, it sounds prudent to have an investigation, and Republicans and Democrats are calling for it.
If it were up to me, I'd ask for a bipartisan commission, like the 9/11 Commission. They might even go back in time, to the Clinton-Gore Chinagate scandals of the 1990s, and lump China and Russia together, so that Americans may be primed into accepting more and more spending on defense contracts.
When China was thought to have tried to influence our politics through questionable donations to the Clinton-Gore campaign, the Democrats cried foul. During the hearings, the late Democratic Sen. John Glenn ran interference for the Clinton White House, and the old astronaut was rewarded with another trip to outer space.
Naturally, Trump angrily dismisses the CIA Russian hack story as "ridiculous."
Trump's flip response is defensive and somewhat childish, and so typically Trump.
What he should have done is welcome an inquiry and continue to go about his business building a Cabinet.
But Trump's defensiveness is also understandable, since the Democrats aren't using the Russia hack story to protect the republic. This is about Democrats -- and Republicans -- stripping legitimacy from the incoming president.
None of the "hacked" and leaked emails of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta and the Democratic National Committee were said to be untrue.
Not the rigging of the Democratic primaries for Clinton, nor the cozy relationship between the Clinton campaign and the media, not the release of her secret Wall Street speeches, including one in which she dreamed of open U.S. borders.
Podesta is pleading with Democratic presidential electors to consider the CIA story before casting their final votes for president.
Vladimir Putin must be a devious fellow indeed. He's so crafty that his hacks gave the popular vote to Clinton and the Electoral College to Trump. The Electoral College -- a vote of the states -- is how we do things here.
It might be also useful to remember the uproar of the campaign, when during the last Clinton-Trump debate, the Republican wouldn't immediately say he'd concede if he lost the election.
That was the time when most (not all) analysts had Clinton running away with it, and they repeated again and again there was no path to victory for Trump.
"We are a country based on laws," a horrified Clinton said. "And we've had hot, contested elections going back to the very beginning, but one of our hallmarks has always been that we accept the outcomes of our elections."
Unless, of course, reality doesn't turn out as expected, and a mind palace must be created, a place so lovely that some never leave and lock the gates from the inside.


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The Last Hurrah of Microcelebrity
Rex Sorgatz knew an account of his bed-hopping among New York bloggers would ignite controversy; he's the internet infamy expert. But why did he play along with protocelebrity now so worthless?
As the attention-obsessed would-be-media-mogul surely intended, today's Observer's profile of him produced a frisson of controversy inside New York's Tumblrocracy before it even hit the street. Is he really dating CNET blogger Caroline McCarthy, as the article implied? Why would he be so callous as to describe his recent ex, former Huffington Post writer Rachel Sklar, as an "exit strategy" from the problem of dating younger women, or portray her as enthralled by the low-grade attention that comes with being part of a blogging power couple?
Sorgatz, who showered the Observer's Spencer Morgan with on-the-record tales of his exploits with young Tumblr girls, courted both the attention and the controversy. It's not clear why: Surely the online consultant and entrepreneur sees what is happening around him. Fellow fameball Julia Allison's reality show deal with Bravo fell through, and her Web venture Non Society is groping for relevance. The television networks are, at last, supersaturated with minor celebrities placed in "reality" scenarios and hardly in the position to bid on more. Either Sorgatz knows something everyone else doesn't about attention economics, or he just can't stop hoarding the stuff
Sorgatz certainly did his best to whip up some drama for Morgan. His Gossip Girl parties, which found their way into Morgan's lede, have been near-desolate on recent occasion. But the Monday shindig bulked up significantly after Sorgatz added this nugget to the invitation:
This time, it's not just an invite, but also a request....
Spencer Morgan of the New York Observer will also be here, because he is profiling me in his "Men of Manhattan" column. (I know, right?) So in addition to coming over and drinking my beer, you have to pretend you really like me.
Having secured something of a crowd, Sorgatz then provocatively mingled his recent ex Sklar with a new squeeze, "Kristen" from the Web show he produces, "I'm Just Sayin'." In fact, the two women ended up sitting next to one another.
Sklar is on the far right in the second-to-last row of people; we're told that is Kristen next to her. The body language is not subtle. (And, yes, that's our very own expressive Richard Blakeley sitting on the couch.)
As if this wasn't enough, Sklar also had to contend with the presence of McCarthy, who as Sklar's relationship with Sorgatz was ending appeared in more and more pictures with scarf-loving Sorgatz on their respective Tumblr and Flickr streams. The two also made prominent appearances together in blogging circles, at "blogger bar" The Magician on the Lower East Side and elsewhere. Rumors that McCarthy had replaced Sklar swirled among friends and put a strain on their relationship.
At the party, post-breakup, Sklar made the mistake of sharing her feelings of awkwardness toward McCarthy in real-time with Allison. Allison, apparently trying to elbow in on Sorgatz's tearmaking, did Sklar the courtesy of quickly summarizing Sklar's text messages in an email to McCarthy, also at the party and soon in receipt of Allison's message.
But Sklar needn't have been worried; McCarthy is said to be seeing Curbed.com publisher and former Gawker staffer Lockhart Steele. Her public flirtation with Sorgatz was believed by friends to serve mutually beneficial ends — McCarthy got to show her ex, Tumblr inventor David Karp, that she had moved on, while Sorgatz got to build on his image as a playboy while passive-aggressively extricating himself from his relationship with Sklar. In any case, McCarthy obliquely denied the Observer's implication she's with Sorgatz on, naturally, her Tumblr.
If the whole thing sounds like an slightly-more-grown-up episode of Gossip Girl, that's because it is, probably by design. The party drama and the McCarthy flirtation, like the Observer piece, is a case-study right out of micro-fame expert Sorgatz's own playbook.
Sklar, by Sorgatz's own admission the more grounded half of the couple, seems to have played an unwitting role in the manufactured drama. "We were a solid couple from day one, and [Sogartz's romp with Tumblettes and a secret blog] was clearly in the past, and so I rolled with it," she wrote to us after the Observer piece was published. "Also, the 'romp' was a 6-month relationship and not some trip through micro-celebrity."
Sklar certainly deserves better than to be called, by her ex in the Observer, "sort of a solution to the problem of a lifestyle that really primarily revolved around 23-year-old Tumblr girls."
Kristen, meanwhile, advances the Sorgatz plot while promoting one of his businesses. Want to find out about the outré playboy's latest conquest? Then watch her Web show!
If Sorgatz wants to be the next Jeff Zucker, this seems like a bizarre way to get there, however many eyeballs his lifestream ultimately attracts. If there's a point to Sorgatz's caddishness, no one has yet deduced it. But plenty of people are content to watch the bonfire in the meantime.


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BUT I have now written a script for you to help fix this
- (c) TIG 2010-2012
[incorporates some of ThomThom's UV ideas too]
Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools... > Fix Reversed Face Materials
Select entities including any suspect faces [edges etc are ignored].
If any face has a back-material BUT it has no front-material it is assumed
to have been made incorrectly and to be oriented the wrong way round,
with the desired material applied to the back instead of the front.
So then the face is reversed and its front-material is made to match the
back-material - including any UV-mapping appropriately corrected -
the back-material is then removed.
If there is no selection you are asked if you want to process the whole
model, if you reply "Yes" then absolutely everything is selected !
If the selection includes groups or components you are asked if you want to
process these too - if you reply "Yes" then any faces inside them are also
processed. If there are 'nested' groups or components with these they are
also processed through the nesting.
A closing dialog reports how many faces have been fixed.
To see the affect switch from Texture mode and view in MonoChrome mode, run
the tool and you should see the changed faces flip - switch back to Texture
mode and you should see no difference in appearance since all the materials
should still be the same, but incorrectly oriented faces have been fixed.
IF there are still backfaces oriented the wrong way then they will have
materials applied to both sides and so will have been excluded from the fix.
There is another option to force selected faces to flip, swap the front and
back materials and then delete the unneeded material that is by then
swapped onto the back face.
Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools... > Fix Reversed Face Materials [Forced]
Use this option with care! It will flip any selected faces that have
materials applied to both faces, swap the materials over and delete the
material that is by then swapped onto the back face. Pick only the faces
you know to be wrong [in MonoChrome], otherwise you might mess up already
correct faces. As a safety precaution if any of the selected faces have
their front face towards the camera a dialog asks if you want to continue -
if you answer 'Yes' then they are all processed, if you answer 'No' then
the operation is canceled and nothing is changed.
If you have an object [say an imported OBJ] where faces/materials are inverted
you can force the faces to reverse keeping the correct material texture
UV-mapping on the flipped materials...
Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools... > Reverse Faces and Materials
Use this option with care BUT you can undo or redo to re-flip back.
It will reverse any selected faces, and swap the front/back materials over
so the inside material becomes the outside material, whilst keeping the
UV-mapping [smething that is lost with simple 'reverse faces' in surfacss].
Once you are happy that you model has its faces oriented as desired then
there is another tool to tidy up face-materials...
Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools... > Delete Back-Materials
Select entities including any faces with back-materials you want processing
[edges etc are ignored].
If any selected face has a back-material its material will be deleted.
If there is no selection you are asked if you want to process the whole
model, if you reply "Yes" then absolutely everything is selected !
If the selection includes groups or components you are asked if you want to
process these too - if you reply "Yes" then any faces inside them are also
processed. If there are 'nested' groups or components with these they are
also processed through the nesting.
A closing dialog reports how many faces had their back-materials
Note: Groups and Component-Instances that can have materials applied
directly onto them - then any faces within them that have the default-
material [front and/or back] will then appear to have that material applied
to them. In fact these faces within the Group/Definition will still have
the default-materials [front and/or back]. If you want to quickly remove
the appearance of this material on the back-faces within the group then
explode the group and immediately regroup the geometry - the group's
previous material will then be individually transfered to each face that
had the default-material. Now use this 'Delete Back-Materials' to delete
the unneeded back-material. With component-instances you can similarly
explode the instance and immediately make its geometry into a Component -
using a new name if only that instance is to change or using the same name,
overwriting the original definition to update all instances of it -
however, remember that you can have several instances of a definition with
different materials applied to them and displayed in lieu of the default-
material, so doing this might have unexpected consequences, so think
Use 'Delete Back-Materials' this with care and only AFTER using other tools
to correct flip and/or swap front/back material etc...
If you have faces with different materials front and back and you would like the
back to match the front use this tool...
Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools... > Match Back-Materials
It will match all selected faces' back-materials with the front-materials,
maintaining UVmapping if the material is textured etc...
There is no reversing or flipping of faces - the back-material is simply matched
to the front-material.
Do not use this as an excuse for sloppy modeling!
by PayPal to info @ revitrev.org
1.0 20100806 First Issue.
1.1 20100811 Text deBabelized.
1.2 20100816 'Forced' option added and lingvos updated.
1.3 20100817 New 'Delete Back-Materials' tool added.
Glitch in translation of strings fixed.
Updated all lingvos.
1.4 20100826 New 'Reverse Faces and Materials' added.
1.5 20120216 Four tools now under "Plugins > TIG: Reversed Face Tools..."
1.6 20120716 New 'Match Back-Materials' added. Lingvos updated to suit. This should make fixing your badly made models so that they'll render properly much easier BUT don't let it become an excuse to be a sloppy modeler
1.7 20131205 Future-proofed.
1.8 20140304 Some lingvo files updated to be compatible with v2014.


text:
American Barrel-Aged is a unique smoke that combines the essence of true Americana spirit to the company's classic Cuban roots.
Handcrafted tobaccos, the Barrel Aged secret ingredient is Camacho's legendary Corojo leaf aged 6 years, and then skillfully fermented in charred Kentucky bourbon barrels. This is a bold, delightfully aromatic smoke oozing with warm lingering tobacco flavours with subtle hints of bourbon imparted by this special fermentation process. Camacho American Barrel-Aged Cigars is a welcomed departure from the norm, and a very special treat for any smoker.
Format: Robusto
Size: 5" x 50 RG


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SAMUEL OF EVREUX:(Redirected from SAMUEL BEN SHNEOR.)
French tosafist of the thirteenth century. He is identified by Gross with Samuel ben Shneor (not ben Yom-Ṭob, as given by Zunz in "Z. G." p. 38), whose explanations of Nazir are cited by Solomon ben Adret (Responsa, iii., No. 345), and whose authority is invoked by Jonah Gerondi. Samuel directed a rabbinical school at Château-Thierry, and had for disciples R. Ḥayyim (brother of Asher ben Jehiel of Toledo), R. Perez, and R. Isaac of Corbeil. He carried on a correspondence on scientific subjects with Jehiel of Paris ("Orḥot Ḥayyim," i. 110c) and with Nathaniel the Elder ("Mordekai" on Ḥul. vii., No. 681). Samuel's Talmudic interpretations are often quoted in the Tosafot (Beẓah 14b, 20b, 24b; Ḳid. 27b, 39a; Ned. 90b; 'Ab. Zarah 68a; Tem. 19b). From the fact that the author of the tosafot to Soṭah mentions there the name of Moses of Evreux as being his brother, it is inferred that these tosafot were written by Samuel.
- Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, p. 593, No. 1202;
- Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 258.


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Ingrown Nails Treatment Experts in Grand Rapids, MI
Ingrown nails occur when a nail grows into rather than over the surrounding flesh. Ingrown nails occur most often in the big toe. Ingrown nails are a common condition that can become extremely painful and could become infected unless proper treatment is sought.
What causes Ingrown Nails?
The overwhelming majority of ingrown nail cases are due to improper footwear, specifically, cramped shoes with insufficient room in the toes for proper nail growth. Though not as common a cause, ingrown nails are sometimes the result of poor nail cutting skills. Ingrown nails may also be the result of trauma to the toe which injures the flesh and causes irregular nail growth. And though it is rare, ingrown nails may also be the result of a bacterial infection.
Ingrown nails are distinguished by pain along the side or sides of the affected nail. This pain increases with the continued wearing of ill-fitting shoes. Often, the pain is so intense that even the slightest pressure can cause extreme discomfort.
Signs of infection in the nail area may also be symptoms of an ingrown nail. Infection signs such as redness, swelling and the discharge of pus or other bodily fluids are signs of a possible ingrown nail. When these infection signs occur, a medical exam is in order.
In nearly all cases, ingrown nails occur in people who wear poorly fitted shoes. Those shoes, coupled with a work obligation or lifestyle of standing or walking, can both accelerate the problem and intensify the symptoms.
People who do not correctly cut their nails are also at increased risk of ingrown nails.
How to treat Ingrown Nails?
The conservative first-step approach to an ingrown nail is to soak it in warm water with salts and to avoid the shoes that caused the condition. Concurrently, antibacterial ointments may help reduce the risk of infection.
Should this fail, the usual next step is the complete removal of the affected nail.
Get Ingrown Nails treatment at Grand Rapids, Michigan
This Forefront Dermatology clinic, is led by board-certified dermatologists, Dr. Adam Asarch, Dr. Nicholas Bontumasi, Dr. David Oberlin and Dr. Sara Herman, offering Ingrown Nails treatment to the residents of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Call (616) 678-2070 or fill out the consult form to request your appointment today.


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[Note: This recipe got fresh photos in 2018. It's still as ugly as it is delicious.]
This is the ugliest, best thing I have ever made with three ingredients and the happy ending to three weeks of obsessing. And here you probably just thought it looked like an accident, didn't you?
This plan hatched last month when Regina Schrambling declared on Epicurious' Epi-Log that one of the best ways to eat summer berries is to "just add fat" to them. Well, she didn't have to ask me twice! Buried near the end of the post, however, is the real gem, a summary of a recipe from New American Classics by Jeremiah Tower (I thought his hair looked familiar…) in which berries, sour cream and dark brown sugar are broiled together in a shallow dish to create something he calls a "Russian Gratin."
I have thought about nothing since. No, I am not being melodramatic, just ask my poor husband, who I informed that, being Russian, it was his destiny to love this. I became single-minded in my plight to make this happen but even that was a challenge that shouldn't have been a challenge. First, I was saddened to learn that the book was out of print; I ordered it used but decided I couldn't wait until it arrived: I had to make it now now now! Still, it took three trips to the Greenmarket to find raspberries without mold on them. (I prefer them to wait to show signs of rot until five minutes after I get home.) And then, I conveniently forgot one small but pretty salient detail: me and the broiler don't get along. Chalk it up to the cheapest oven a landlord can get away with buying, but every time I put something under it, the pilot light goes out a minute later. (Oh, delicious gassy brûlée!) I tried to finish it off with a blowtorch, which immediately set the brown sugar on fire (Mm, gassy and smoky!) and then finally I determined that it was as good as it was going to get.
"As good as it was going to get" does not do this dish justice, people. This is crusty, charred, half-cooked heaven in a gratin dish. I've never had anything like it but I'm pretty sure that until the end of time, when I have five minutes to throw together a dessert (or possibly even longer, because I'm forgetting any compelling reason to make something else), this is what it will be. Sure, I might deck it out with crème fraîche instead of sour cream, maybe I'll use different berries or one day have a broiler than actually broils things, but I can assure you that even half-burnt, partially cooked with store-bought inorganic sour cream and berries halfway to the compost bin, this is the best thing to come out of my kitchen and into my belly in weeks.
One year ago: Peach and Crème Fraîche Pie and Asparagus with Chorizo and Croutons
Two years ago: Radishes and Sugar Snaps with Dill
Three years ago: Red Pepper Soup
Raspberry Brown Sugar Gratin (Russian Gratin with Raspberries)
[Updated to add] Ooh, I just had an idea — Swap thick, full-fat Greek-style yogurt swapped for sour cream and serve it at a brunch to what I have to imagine would be a round of applause. Or at least I'd applaud.
- 1 pint (2 cups) fresh raspberries (or your choice of berry)
- 1 pint (2 cups) sour cream (or crème fraîche)
- 1 cup (190 grams) dark brown sugar
Keeping: The leftovers might look like something died in your fridge but I can assure you, are equally delicious.


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Goldman Sachs – considered by many to be the gold standard in the financial services world – has been on a six-year journey to embrace cloud computing, which has culminated in about 85% of the company's workloads now operating in a cloud framework, says J Ram, managing director at the bank who heads up its cloud platform business unit.
As companies like Goldman Sachs and Bank of America become more comfortable operating in the cloud, there are even more changes on the horizon. Officials from these financial giants say they're now focused on exploring what benefits application containers can bring to their environments too.
+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: Hosted bare metal emerges as intriguing alternative to IaaS cloud | Looking into the crystal ball of Amazon's cloud future +
These financial institutions operate at a huge scale: Goldman Sachs has 8,000 developers overseeing 4,500 apps. At Bank of America there are about 17,500 developers, 12,500 support staff and about 9,000 infrastructure workers. Officials from each company recently spoke at the Tectonic Summit in New York, hosted by application container company CoreOS.
Containers have swept across the cloud and application development market rapidly in the past 18 months as a way to package applications or app components. Ram says the goal of using containers at Goldman is to think about application development, infrastructure management and operations along a single continuum.
"Prior to this, we had to force things into a way that seemed like a continuum," Ram said. "(Containers) allow infrastructure folks to start optimizing the platform, application teams to think about application delivery and operation teams to think about operational scale and handling that complexity." Ram said Goldman Sachs already has some production workloads running in containers.
Ryan Thomas, head of architecture and technology strategy at Bank of America, says container usage is being explored extensively. There are dozens of test and development environments using containers now and he expects there will be hundreds by next year.
For Thomas, containers represent a way to get the company's developers and infrastructure workers to focus on the highest-value work. Too much time is spent on managing middleware systems and messaging buses that don't add value for the bank. "Simplifying that and really flipping ratios of people who are just maintaining, supporting, managing applications, to people who are pushing the applications forward and bringing more value for our customers is the foundation of the goal," he says. "It's not about cost reduction, it's about reinvesting the people and the talent we have to really business value added things for our customers."
Simplification means consolidation too. Thomas says Bank of America has condensed from 64 data centers last year to 31 this year. It plans to have only eight data centers by the end of 2016. Part of that is gained by efficiencies in infrastructure and operations, but both Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are also using public cloud resources too. Thomas says Bank of America uses the public cloud for non-security sensitive workloads. Goldman is using the public cloud in a "secure bubble" for certain workloads, Ram says.
None of this has been easy though. Thomas says Bank of America's IT footprint has been "cobbled together" from various mergers and acquisitions, such as Merrill Lynch falling under the BoA brand in 2009. "Don't underestimate the complexity you already have in your operating environment," says Ram, echoing the point. Figuring out how existing operational tooling, legacy source code and configuration management processes are integrated into a new world of cloud and containers has been a massive challenge. Not to mention, the industry is maturing quickly.
When operating at the scale these companies are, people get zeroed in on optimizing for their specific environment and not looking at the big picture, Thomas says. The key is to focus on changes that can impact a wide audience. It's easy to focus on the shiny new toy that will impact less than 1% of operations, but a strategic investment that creates a 5% boost in efficiency across an organization is much more impactful. Staying focused and not trying to "boil the ocean" by doing too much is a difficult balance to strike though, Thomas says.
As financial service companies, security is of paramount concern too for Ram and Thomas. "As you move into a container world… you're moving more and more into a world that hasn't been vetted with the compliance and regulatory environments, and that's a challenge for us, and that's always somewhat of a lag for us," Thomas says. With that being said, Thomas says containers have real promise at the institution, it's just a matter of ensuring they're safe to use and integrate with the bank's operations.
Ram says the technology is the easy part. "It's not the technology that's going to stop you, it's the organization and the organizational culture that's going to stop you a lot more."


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A Treasury of Unironic Olive Garden Restaurant Reviews
This morning, 86-year-old Marilyn Hagerty's Olive Garden restaurant review for The Grand Forks Herald titillated the internet. "I don't get it," Marilyn said of the world's fascination with her earnest quest to evaluate the ubiquitous chain restaurant with a standardized menu.
She's not the only one. Here are ten delightful Olive Garden restaurant reviews, including three from The Palm Beach Post, which apparently reviews and re-reviews all local Olive Gardens regularly. Reviews without hyperlinks were accessed via Nexis.
First, the platonic ideal of the genre: "Olive Garden Arrives," Sioux City Journal, 10 Dec. 2006:
A martini is not a martini without an olive. That, at least, is the thinking of a true connoisseur. And to Siouxland residents, many of whom consider themselves connoisseurs of fine food, a city is not a city without an Olive Garden.
"A Taste of Two Italian Restaurants," The Minneapolis Star Tribune, 7 March 02:
Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill: Is one better? Too close to call.
"Olive Garden satisfies Italian cravings at reasonable prices," The Palm Beach Post, 23 Dec. 2010:
It was a busy Wednesday evening, but the noise levels were bearable.
"Olive Garden's comfy setting offers Italian done nicely," The Palm Beach Post, 25 Aug. 2011:
There was music playing, some classic Italian hits and some easy- listening tunes that reminded me of Disney World.
"Don't FIll Up on Soup, Salad; Save Room for Tasty Entrees," The Palm Beach Post, 11 Nov. 10:
Reasonably quiet on a recent Sunday night.
"Good Chain Dining," The Los Angeles Times, 19 Nov. 92:
Indeed, they serve unlimited amounts of soup or icy, crisp salads with inoffensive dressings, along with chewy bread sticks that are almost as big as hotdog buns.
"Restaurant Review: Olive Garden," Yahoo! Voices, 19 Feb. 07:
There are many reasons why I like the Olive Garden in Citrus Heights. They have plenty of parking spaces. The parking area is also clean and free of trash.
"Olive Garden Stumbles in the Translation," The Albany Times-Union, 6/16/06:
The four beef medallions had been drizzled with a balsamic vinegar and cooked to the consistency of rubber.
"Olive Garden Did Its Homework on the Family Table," The Providence Journal, 25 May 06, on the ravioli di portobello:
The stuffing was a savory portobello puree with a blend of delicate spices, stuffed into a light dough cooked al dente.
"Olive Garden Italian Restaurant," The Bend Bulletin, 4 June 10:
The food is consistently reliable, though unexciting; the service staff that has been schooled in professionalism.
"Midnight in the Garden of Food and Evil," San Antonio Current, 7/8/11:
The word "garden" should bring to mind something lush, green, fresh. Sadly, the word is too often carelessly thrown around in the naming of restaurants, like "Olive Garden," "China Garden Buffet," and so on.


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Friday, October 9, 2009
Roster Moves
We traded for DeLaCruz toward the end of spring training last year and because he was out of options, we were forced to outright him to the minor leagues when we needed a roster spot early in the season. Fortunately for us, he cleared waivers and had an excellent season in AAA, posting a 2.56 ERA as a reliever in 44 appearances in the PCL. Eulogio's fastball will run as high as 98mph which he complements with a plus changeup. If we had not added him back to the 40-man roster, he would have been eligible for minor league free agency after the World Series. Still just 25 years old, he has a lot of career in front him.
The three players we released all spent the bulk of the year on the 60-Day disabled list, meaning they did not count toward the 40-man limit on the Major League roster. However, shortly after the World Series we must reinstate those players to the active roster, at which time they DO count toward our limit. Furthermore, both pitchers would have been eligible for salary arbitration this winter, and Cliff Floyd was set to become a free agent. So, though we didn't necessarily need the roster spots today, we do anticipate needing them come November. Releasing these players does not prohibit us from re-signing them; however, should we re-sign them they would not be allowed to appear in a Major League game for us until the middle of May in 2010.
Like other teams, I'm sure we'll have more moves as the next month unfolds.
9 comments:
- Eric said...
Just wanted to say that I hope you stick with the Pads through the change of regime. Really looking forward to next season with this bunch.
Eric Ensminger
- October 9, 2009 at 10:38 AM
- Josh Elwell said...
Would love to hear your thoughts on the logjam at 3B with Kouz and Headley in a future post... the rumor mill's in full force and any insight you can share would be great. Or, maybe that's something you can't comment on. Either way, thanks for back-to-back informative posts, keep 'em comin'!
- October 9, 2009 at 1:26 PM
- Paul DePodesta said...
Josh Elwell,
We hope these types of problems increase in frequency in the coming years: four good young players for three everyday spots (Blanks, Venable, Kouz, and Headley). All four guys were very productive over the past few months.
- October 9, 2009 at 2:09 PM
- WebSoulSurfer said...
A question on Baek. Did he or will he undergo a Tommy John procedure for this current elbow injury or is he just resting and rehabbing?
If he is good to go for Spring training will the Padres consider signing him to a minor league deal as insurance for a very young pitching staff?
- October 9, 2009 at 6:32 PM
- Duke Street Kings said...
welcome back Mr. Hybrid!!! lol
glad to see De La Cruz stay with the club. He has a true power fastball, now if only he can find the plate with the big boys.
Look forward to the offseason and your work with the new GM. I'm glad Simon...errr... Moorad and Garfinkle decided your worth as being an asset to the future of the club. How do they view this blog?
- October 9, 2009 at 7:51 PM
- sdsuaztec4 said...
Glad to see you're back to blogging, Paul. Missed your thoughts!
- October 10, 2009 at 9:27 AM
- zino said...
Might be fun to have a poll on the Kouz Headley at 3B issue and or the corner outfield spots... I second everyone's sentiment on you staying with Padres...
- October 10, 2009 at 12:44 PM
- Unknown said...
Question about the 'rules' of baseball teams - are they available to read. Items like this where a player who is released can be resigned can not play for the MLB team until mid-may, well, I'd like to be able to read all the rules...is this possible?
- October 14, 2009 at 6:47 PM
- Wonko said...
Paul, which players not on the 40 man roster do you need to make decisions on before the Rule 5 draft?
- November 10, 2009 at 11:54 PM


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Biden risks losing support from Democrats amid DC gridlock
NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden is losing support among critical groups in his political base as some of his core campaign promises falter, raising concerns among Democrats that the voters who put him in office may feel less enthusiastic about returning to the polls in next year's midterm elections.
In just the past week, the push to change the nation's immigration laws and create a path to citizenship for young immigrants brought illegally to the country as children faced a serious setback on Capitol Hill. Bipartisan negotiations to overhaul policing collapsed and searing images of Haitian refugees being mistreated at the U.S.-Mexico border undermined Biden's pledge of humane treatment for those seeking to enter the United States.
Taken together, the developments threaten to disillusion African Americans, Latinos, young people and independents, all of whom played a vital role in building a coalition that gave Democrats control of Congress and the White House last year. That's creating a sense of urgency to broker some type of agreement between the party's progressive and moderate wings to move forward with a $3.5 trillion package that would fundamentally reshape the nation's social programs.
Failure to do so, party strategists warn, could devastate Democrats in the 2022 vote and raise questions about Biden's path to reelection if he decides to seek a second term.
"Quoting Benjamin Franklin, if they don't hang together, they'll hang separately," said James Carville, a veteran Democratic strategist. "They've got to get something done to have a chance."
Despite such concerns, it's likely too early for Democrats to panic.
While Biden's approval ratings have taken a hit, for instance, they are significantly better than Donald Trump's were at the same point in his presidency. With the midterms more than a year away, Biden and party leaders have time to course-correct.
Some of the past week's challenges are more the result of inertia in a narrowly divided Congress rather than a failure of leadership by Biden. Other issues, including concerns about the future of abortion rights and anger at Republican efforts to restrict voting rights, may galvanize Democrats even if they're disappointed by Washington's persistent gridlock.
"I said it's going to take me a year to deliver everything I'm looking at here," Biden told reporters on Friday when he was pressed about the slow pace of progress.
"No. 2, take a look at what I inherited when I came into office. When I came into office, the state of affairs, and where we were: We had 4 million people vaccinated. We had no plan. We had — I mean, I can go down the list," Biden added. "So, you know, part of it is dealing with the panoply of things that were landed on my plate. I'm not complaining; it's just a reality."
A recent poll from the Pew Research Center, in line with internal polling on the Republican and Democratic sides, paints a darkening picture for the president and his party. It found a 14-percentage point drop since July in his support from voters between the ages of 18 and 29, a 16-point drop among Latinos and an 18-point drop among African Americans. The shift among Black voters from 85% to 67% was particularly troubling given that they were Biden's most reliable source of support in 2020.
"A year from now, the political environment is going to be a lot different," said Biden pollster John Anzalone.
He emphasized the popularity of key elements of Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda being debated in Congress.
"We're going to have a good narrative going into 2022, not only what the Biden administration and Democrats have done for Americans, but also to contrast what Republicans are doing," Anzalone said, suggesting that voters would blame the GOP for any Democratic failures.
For now, however, Democratic pollsters and strategists privately attribute Biden's shaky standing to a number of factors.
Some point to the administration's messy withdrawal from Afghanistan as a turning point among some disappointed Democrats and independents. Things deteriorated further when Biden faced a fierce backlash from the left for his administration's aggressive treatment of Haitian immigrants gathering on the U.S.-Mexico border. Some African Americans have expressed concerns about some of the most far-reaching Democratic-backed pandemic restrictions in places such as New York City, which recently imposed a vaccine requirement for indoor dining. Some Black Lives Matter leaders in the city have called such mandates racist.
The Democratic frustration has begun to seep into midterm elections like the one in Illinois' 7th Congressional District, where Kina Collins is challenging Rep. Danny Davis in the Democratic primary.
Collins says the people of her Chicago-area district want less talk and more action. Her party has not done enough, she said, to move past Trump's divisive leadership.
"Is Trump gone?" Collins asked. "I don't know if the remnants of Trump are really gone. People are afraid."
Most Washington Democrats are betting their political fate on the legislative package being debated on Capitol Hill that would lower prescription drug prices; establish universal pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds; upgrade Medicare to cover dental, vision and hearing; and combat climate change, among other liberal priorities.
Senate Democrats can use a special process to approve the measure with a simple majority, rather than the 60 votes needed to proceed with most pieces of legislation.
But even if Democrats are successful in enacting it — far from certain, given resistance from moderates such as like Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona — they still face intense pressure to deliver on immigration and racial justice. On both fronts, the odds of Democratic success are even more bleak.
Immigration advocates are reeling from a ruling by the Senate parliamentarian that Democrats could not add immigration provisions, including a pathway to citizenship for millions of immigrants, to their massive package. And top Democrats have conceded that negotiations failed to produce a compromise policing bill in response to sweeping protests last summer against police violence.
Biden pledged to keep fighting on both fronts, though the path forward is murky at best.
"There is cost to inaction," warned Lorella Praeli, who led Latino outreach for Hillary Clinton's last presidential campaign and now serves as co-president for Community Change Action.
Her organization and others are pressing the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to fight the parliamentarian's ruling or disregard it altogether.
She predicted that the Democrats' ability — or inability — to deliver on what has been a party priority for more than a decade would resonate with voters in states such as Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada, among others that host high-profile elections next fall.
"At the end of the day, no one's going to give a damn about the parliamentarian's ruling," Praeli said. "They're just going to remember there was a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority in Congress."
Sensing opportunity, the Republican National Committee recently opened Hispanic community centers in Laredo, Texas, and Milwaukee. The GOP already has some momentum with Latino voters, who backed Trump's party at higher rates last fall than Democrats expected. In June, Republicans won a mayoral race in McAllen, Texas, a border town whose residents are overwhelmingly Latino.
"Joe Biden and Democrats are solely responsible for their failures," RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said. "With rising prices, the largest tax increase in decades, a crisis at our southern border, and forced vaccine mandates all disproportionally impacting lower income communities and communities of color – this isn't working."