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AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
No. 1: The Fixer
Patty Murray may be the dullest, most unremarkable member of the United States Senate. Two decades in, she lacks any major legislation to her name, isn't associated with an issue, rarely appears on television, almost always speaks in gray generalities, and seems to have spent the bulk of her time focused on sending earmarks back to Washington state. As one staffer puts it, the most interesting thing about Murray is how uninteresting she is. She's also the most important politician you've never heard of.
As conference secretary, she's the fourth-ranking Democrat in the Senate, which makes her the highest-ranking woman in the chamber. Last year, she chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), spearheading the party's surprising string of victories in the November elections. Thanks to her efforts, the Senate now has 20 women, the most ever. And as chair of the powerful Budget Committee, she is going up against Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman whose budget has shaped the political conversation for two years and counting. Without many noticing, she's become the party's fixer.
No. 2: A Children's Story
One afternoon in late March, a few days after she had remained on the Senate floor until 5 a.m. marshaling Democratic colleagues to pass her budget, Murray perched on a preschooler-size chair at the Denise Louie Education Center in Seattle's International District. A picture book, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub, lay in her lap, and more than a dozen well-behaved Head Start students sat cross-legged before her. Reading to kids is not unusual for a U.S. senator—like eating a pastrami sandwich at a Jewish deli, it's a classic photo op—but for Murray, this was also a throwback. Before she first ran for elected office, Murray worked as a preschool teacher.
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub tells the story of a king who refuses to leave his beloved bathtub. Courtiers and flatterers from across the realm come with schemes to lure the king from the tub—a fishing trip, a masquerade ball—but nothing dislodges him. All hope is lost until an ordinary court page, who has been lingering in the background, offers an impossibly simple solution: Why doesn't someone pull the drain plug? "Glug, glug, glug," Murray read. "That's how he got him out," she ad-libbed.
Straightforward. Unglamorous. Practical. It's almost as if Murray wrote herself into the story. The purpose of the event was to show how the sequester—the series of indiscriminate cuts that remove $1.2 trillion from the government over the next decade—will force schools like Denise Louie to slash their budget. But the event, like almost any event involving an elected figure, had another function. It reminded the folks back home that the former preschool teacher is now one of the power centers in the U.S. Senate.
No. 3: Bio
Personal history: Born in 1950 to Beverly and David Johns. Raised in Bothell, Washington. Twin sister of Peggy. Father a World War II vet who ran a five-and-dime store, disabled by multiple sclerosis when Murray was 15. Family turns to government assistance. Marries Rob Murray in 1972. Currently maintains a home on Whidbey Island. Two children. Two grandchildren.
Degrees: Bachelor of arts in physical education from Washington State University.
Work experience: Preschool teacher (1977–1984). Parenting instructor at Shoreline Community College (1984–1987).
Political experience: Activist for environmental and educational issues (1983–1988). Told by a state senator that she was "just a mom in tennis shoes. Go home. You can't make a difference." Adopts it as her rallying cry. Member of Shoreline School District Board of Directors (1985–1989), Washington state senator (1989–1992), and U.S. senator (1993–Present).
No. 4: The Murray Budget
Democrats have not even tried to present a budget for the past three years—and for good reason. To craft their 2014 budget, Murray had to satisfy competing segments of the party, each with its own interests, concerns, and priorities. Mark Warner of Virginia needs to show his constituents he's worried about the deficit, while Jeff Merkley of Oregon needs to show that he is protecting retirement programs. If the budget were just an accounting of positions and programs, it would be less of a challenge. Lawmakers are often happy to split the difference behind closed doors. But a budget is more political than programmatic, and every Democrat will have to defend its whole even if he or she disagrees with some of its parts. With 20 Democratic seats up for re-election, Murray has to assuage the fears of vulnerable senators. On top of all this, Murray must draw a sharp contrast between her budget and the ones produced by the Republicans and the White House.
That Murray had to negotiate among different factions and ideologies means that her budget isn't the most liberal on the table. This distinction goes to the budget proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which calls for trillions in new investment for infrastructure, health care, and education and for lower defense spending. Murray's budget is less a difference in kind than a difference of degree. She offers a modest increase in stimulus and restores funding to social programs. In a nod to centrist Democrats, she includes steps toward long-term deficit reduction, achieved by overhauling the tax code, cutting military spending, and saving on interest. Unlike the White House budget, which trims Social Security benefits, there are no cuts to retirement programs, save those found in the Affordable Care Act. It was Murray's decision to hold the line on entitlements that earned her the most praise from liberal activists and observers.
Murray's budget comes close to representing the Democratic consensus on spending and the size of government. It achieves nearly $2 trillion in deficit reduction by evenly splitting new revenue and spending cuts. But, according to Senator Angus King, the Maine independent who caucuses with the Democrats, this was no foregone conclusion. "The basic structure was set," he says, "but not the proportions and not the details of the numbers. It evolved through the deliberations."
The ten Democrats and two independents on the Budget Committee met five times behind closed doors to air grievances. Liberal members argued that new revenues should provide around 80 percent of the deficit reduction. After all, they contended, the vast bulk of debt reduction since 2010 has come from spending cuts. Rather than putting divisions up for a vote and letting the negotiations devolve into an intra-party squabble, Murray allowed each side to have its say while pushing toward consensus. When rifts couldn't be bridged, Murray would reserve the final decision for herself, always keeping to her low-key tenor and avoiding crushing any egos. "She got where she wanted through inclusion and persuasion, not intimidation and threats," King says. "She explicitly said at the latter stages of the committee process: 'I know that everybody here isn't going to like the result, but we're going to have to hang together if we're going to get to a place where we can ultimately negotiate a successful budget at the end.'" The Democrats voted unanimously to move the budget out of committee.
On March 23, the Senate passed Murray's budget, 50 to 49. Only four Democrats opposed it, all representing red states and facing re-election in 2014: Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. (Baucus has since announced he will not be seeking another term.) To corral almost all of her Democratic colleagues was a triumph of Murray's pragmatic style. That style, though, was about to run up against Republican intransigence.
No. 5: The Accidental Winner
In late 1991, three years after she beat a Republican incumbent to win a state senate seat, Murray announced that she was challenging Democratic incumbent Brock Adams for the U.S. Senate. She was jumping to one of the highest levels of American politics and, by her own admission, wasn't prepared. "Patty told me she had never slept away from home by herself since she had been married," says Elizabeth Sullivan, who worked on the campaign. "Whenever she was away, she had been with Rob."
Murray hadn't mastered public speaking, had no name recognition, and was terrible at fundraising. "She didn't like to talk about money, she didn't like to think about money, she didn't want to ask for money," Sullivan says. "We always had to pair her with someone who could actually make the ask for a check."
Murray entered the race mostly to make a statement. "Patty didn't feel like kitchen-table issues were being addressed," Sullivan says. "So she said, 'I know I probably can't win, but I have to run since you can't just have a bunch of old white guys sitting around deciding things for American families.'"
Murray's determination was rewarded with good luck. In March 1992, The Seattle Times published an exposé detailing accusations of sexual harassment and assault against Adams. He dropped his re-election campaign the same day. "Suddenly," Sullivan says, "this went from something that probably wasn't going to happen to something that really could."
Murray was not the first choice of the party establishment. Support from EMILY's List, which had been founded seven years earlier to elect Democratic women to the Senate, proved key. "We were very serious about doing a lot of investigation into whether our women candidates could win," says founder Ellen Malcolm. "When we got into a race, we were kind of the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for women candidates. It gave her huge credibility." In a Seattle Times poll after the primary, one out of three voters cited Murray's gender as an important factor.
In the general election, Murray faced Representative Rod Chandler, a five-term moderate Republican. He outspent Murray 2 to 1, though that gap would have been even wider had it not been for EMILY's List. Chandler mocked Murray's lack of experience, citing his years in Congress to bolster his bona fides. The tactic backfired. Murray tapped into the national swell of anti-incumbent fever. She stuck with her mom-in-tennis-shoes persona. Like the primary, the general election showcased an ability that Murray has applied throughout her career: a talent for turning a perceived weakness—her gender, her inexperience, her lack of charisma—into an advantage.
Pundits' predictions of a close contest proved unfounded. National networks called the race at 8:02 P.M. as Murray sailed to an eight-point victory. "We keep hearing it's the year of the outsider," Murray said at her Seattle victory party. "But that's really a strange message. I am part of a middle-class American family. We're typical people. They call us outsiders. But what this election is all about is making us insiders. We're the insiders."
No. 6: The Description Used in Nearly Every Interview about Patty Murray
- "There is no better workhorse than Senator Murray." —Matt Canter, deputy executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
- "She's a workhorse and not a show horse."—Mazie Hirono, senator from Hawaii
- "There's nothing about Patty Murray that says 'show horse.'" —Ed Zuckerman, 1992 campaign consultant
- "She's just a workhorse." —Anonymous congressional staffer
- "There's a tradition of Senate insiders who wield enormous influence who don't get a lot of public notice. There have probably always been a lot of senators who are more show horses than workhorses. Some are both. And then there are fewer who are workhorses and not looking for the spotlight." —Bill Samuel, director of Government Affairs at the AFL-CIO
No. 7: Mentors
Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. When Murray arrived in the Senate in 1993, she sought out the loquacious chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, who viewed himself as the last defender of the chamber's arcane traditions. Murray once described her decision as going to "the master's knee to learn the rules of the Senate." It was a smart choice, one that demonstrated her keen strategic sense. Byrd was so impressed Murray cared about the institution that he rewarded her with a spot on Appropriations, the ATM that allocates congressional spending. "I knew that a lot of policy comes when you write the checkbook," Murray says. "At home, when you decide where your money is going to go, you decide what the policy is going to be."
Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Murray's 1992 class increased the number of women in the Senate from two to six. She was heading to a workplace hostile to women. A Washington Post poll released just as Murray arrived found rampant sexual harassment on the Hill; one out of nine women surveyed said she had been harassed by a member of Congress, and nearly half said they feared retaliation if they reported an incident of sexual harassment. Mikulski, who had been elected six years earlier, organized the female caucus into a series of bipartisan monthly dinners. "There's no manual on how to be a senator, right?" Murray says. "There is no manual on how you help your state. Barbara Mikulski brought us together for a conversation and has done it for every election since for all the women coming in, to help them get past the 'Where's the bathroom?' stage to the 'How do you pass legislation?' stage."
No. 8: The Pragmatist
There's something peculiarly undefined about Murray's ideology. She's a liberal, a West Coast liberal to be precise: strong on social issues, the environment, workers' rights, and the government's role in society. She hews closely to the Democratic talking points of the day. But it's hard to discern a coherent vision or theory behind her views. She is as far left as you can go without alienating the centrists in the party. More than anything, she's a pragmatist. Success trumps belief in the "right" things. At the same time, Murray doesn't venerate moderation for its own sake—she's no Rahm Emanuel. "She's a strong progressive," says a former Budget Committee staff member, "but she won't tilt at windmills, she won't force a vote on something she knows she's not going to win."
No. 9: Senator Earmark
Earmarks, or "pork," are legislative provisions that direct funds toward specific projects in the lawmaker's home state. Their main purpose is to grease the wheels of lawmaking. Don't support a particular bill? No worries. If you vote for it, we'll give you $10 million to build a new maritime museum in your state. Earmarks also serve a secondary purpose. By providing money to build libraries, bridges, and job-training centers, they are tangible evidence of government. They allow lawmakers to go back to their districts and states and say, "Look, this is what I did for you." If democracy is about representing the people's interests, then there is a lot to be said for earmarks.
For clean-government advocates, however, earmarks embody much of what's wrong with politics. In their view, earmarks often go to projects that interest groups demand, not to what a community needs. They waste money. Worse, they smack of bribery. John McCain devoted a disproportionate amount of his 2008 presidential campaign to railing against earmarks. President Barack Obama pledged to veto any earmark-laden bill in his 2011 State of the Union: "The American people deserve to know that special interests aren't larding up legislation with pet projects." The Senate banned them in 2011.
Murray was a master at obtaining earmarks. Between 2008 and 2010, for example, she sponsored 596 earmarks and directed nearly $1 billion in federal funds back to Washington state, placing her in the top ten of Senate earmarkers. This is why Mikulski, another superb generator of earmarks, refers to Murray as a "bread-and-butter Democrat." For years, Murray's press office churned out press releases touting the money she had brought to Washington. How was Murray able to direct so many federal dollars to her state? Sitting on the Appropriations Committee, which she has done for her entire time in the Senate, is the best possible position from which to sponsor projects.
No. 10: A Sampling of Earmarks, 2008–2010
- Peer-reviewed breast-cancer research program, $138,000,000
- Columbia River fish mitigation, $83,256,000
- Construction for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, $15,000,000
- Lake Washington ship canal, $7,012,000
- National Guard Youth Challenge Program, $12,000,000
- Mud Mountain Dam, $3,830,000
- 2010 Olympics Coordination Center, $4,500,000
- High-speed aluminum towable boat lifts, $4,000,000
- Portable launch-and-recovery system for unmanned aerial-vehicle operation, $3,200,000
- Skokomish Tribe Reservation road improvements, $1,330,000
- National Methamphetamine Training and Technical Assistance Center, $1,300,000
- Dawson's Place Child Advocacy Center, for the acquisition and renovation of a new facility, $974,000
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington, for expansion of the existing youth facility, $974,000
- YWCA, Yakima, for infrastructure improvements to domestic-violence facility, $960,000
- Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, for skills training for the aerospace industry, $470,000
- Organic cropping, Washington State University, $264,000
- Northwest Center, King County, for providing and expanding academic and vocational resources to developmentally delayed or disabled persons, $195,000
No. 11: Climbing the Ladder
No one chairs a Senate campaign committee out of goodwill. For two years, you do almost nothing but campaign. You recruit candidates, raise money, and subject yourself to fierce second-guessing. If you succeed and win seats for your party, you receive a pat on the back. If you fail and lose seats, you're blamed.
Why, then, would anyone take the job? Because it's a path to leadership. The list of former chairs for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee includes Lloyd Bentsen (future vice-presidential candidate), George Mitchell (future majority leader), John Kerry (future presidential candidate), Jon Corzine (future governor), and Charles Schumer (eager to be majority leader).
Which is why it came as a surprise when Murray agreed to chair the DSCC for the 2002 cycle. In her years in office, she had avoided the spotlight and had never expressed any ambitions to be a national figure. Was it because it was a chance to be the first woman to lead the committee? "No, not at all," she says. "I thought it was important, and I thought it was an important part of me helping others be successful and to give back to what other people did for me."
In which case, her tenure was a mixed bag. Her team raised more than $143 million, beating the previous record by $40 million, but Democrats lost two seats. For the first time since 1914 a president's party had taken control of the Senate in a midterm election. Most observers, though, attributed the outcome to George W. Bush's post-9/11 popularity and the death of Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, who had been favored to win.
Murray's reputation at the end of her tenure was unscathed. In fact, it probably was enhanced. She had proved that she could manage large egos and oversee an organization with myriad moving parts. "She put together a strong staff. They raised a lot of money. Their recruiting was strong," The Cook Political Report wrote at the time.
After she stepped down as chair, Minority Leader Tom Daschle offered Murray an informal spot with the leadership. Two years later, after the 2004 election, Harry Reid appointed her assistant floor leader—a nominal position she used to expand her presence behind the scenes. When Democrats retook the Senate majority in 2006, Reid encouraged her to run for secretary of the conference. She was elected without opposition.
No. 12: Political Savvy (D.C. Edition)
During leadership press conferences, Murray tends to stand in the rear, only stepping forward when it's her turn to speak, quickly retreating when reporters toss questions.
Whether she avoids the spotlight as a conscious strategy (it allows her to be the consummate inside player), as a leadership style ("People are most familiar with the loud, more male type of leadership," says Mazie Hirono), or as a reflection of her temperament (that's not how her ego expresses itself), or all three, Murray is one of the most camera-shy members of the Senate. By jetting home to Whidbey Island almost every weekend, she rarely makes the Sunday TV circuit.
"There are many senators with sharp elbows when it comes to press conferences and microphones," says Dick Durbin, senator from Illinois, Democratic majority whip, and one of Murray's closest friends. "Patty is not one of them. She's sensitive to other members and their political and personal needs. Over time that really creates a positive impression."
No. 13: A Typical Interview with Patty Murray
March 25, 2013
Why did you take a second stint as DSCC chair in 2012?
"I really care about my country and about its future. I think it's really important to have really good people in elected office writing policy, passing policy, and managing our country. You don't just hope it happens. You go out and work to make it happen."
You're not on TV as often as many of your colleagues. Is that a conscious decision?
"My job is to help move our country forward, in whatever way. Whether it's working with veterans, whether it's writing a budget, whether it's environmental policy, and I try and do my job as best as I can. To me, what's important is the work and getting people to do it, to help people understand it and to come home and remember who I am and why I go to work every day."
March 27, 2013
What do you read?
"I'm an eclectic reader and an eclectic listener."
What do you listen to?
"Again, I'm very eclectic when it comes to all types of things. I just like to learn and hear different things."
No. 14: The Toughest Campaign
The question in 2010 wasn't whether the Democratic Party was going to lose seats in Congress but how many. The economy remained in critical condition, the Affordable Care Act was unpopular, and the public saw little value in the stimulus. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) targeted Murray. Defeating her would send a message to liberals that even a well-liked three-term veteran was vulnerable.
The committee enlisted Dino Rossi, a former state senator in Washington who had run for governor in 2004 and 2008, to run against Murray. But what Rossi and the NRSC didn't realize was that Murray had been anticipating a year like 2010. According to her campaign manager Jeff Bjornstad, she understood early on that she might be facing her most difficult re-election. "It was probably in '09," Bjornstad says. "She was smart enough to go, 'Hey, this might be a little bit different than previous elections.'"
Murray amassed more than $17 million, including more than $3.5 million from political action committees and other outside groups. It was the most she had ever raised, and the total bested Rossi by more than $7 million. The funds came from Murray's traditional donors: EMILY's List was the top individual contributor, followed by Microsoft, the University of Washington, and Boeing. She received one of her largest chunks from software engineers, exactly the kind of group that would cultivate a longtime senator from Washington state.
The Republicans' most inspired television ad went after Murray's trademark image. It featured a Murray look-alike, wearing tennis shoes, walking across prostrate members of a family, who are grimacing in pain. On the screen appeared the words "Patty Murray: 18 Years on Our Backs." But it wasn't enough to give Rossi an edge over Murray's long-standing popularity and her war chest. When election night came, she finished with a 14,000-vote advantage that, over the next several days, expanded by tens of thousands, giving her a final margin of 52.3 percent to Rossi's 47.6 percent. With a five-point spread, it was the closest election of her career.
No. 15: The Underestimated
- "She doesn't mind being underestimated because, I think, people are surprised when she out-hustles them." —Rick Desimone, chief of staff, 1999–2006
- "Patty is the kind of person who, if you tell her she can't do something, that just fires her up. That was just the worst thing you could say to her." —Ed Zuckerman, 1992 campaign consultant
- "The political establishment, as often happens with women candidates, underestimated Patty." —Ellen Malcolm, founder of EMILY's List
- "You underestimate Patty Murray at your own peril." —Teresa Purcell, 1992 campaign manager
No. 16: The Campaigner
No one wanted to chair the DSCC in 2012. The 2010 midterms had been a bloodbath in which the party lost a near-record number of seats in the House and saw its Senate advantage slip to a bare majority. Because Democrats were defending almost half their seats, bouncing back in the Senate would be a difficult, grinding task.
Soon after the midterms, Harry Reid was scrambling, offering the chair to anyone within earshot. Charles Schumer, Mark Warner, Al Franken, Sheldon Whitehouse, Mark Udall, and Michael Bennet all turned him down. Murray also rebuffed Reid. "A lot of people come to the committee as a sort of stepping-stone to leadership," says Matt Canter of the DSCC. "She was already in leadership!" But Reid circled back, enlisting White House Deputy Chief of Staff and soon-to-be Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina, and this time Murray assented once more to direct the Democrats' senatorial campaigns.
"Pretty much no one thought we would win," Murray says. Part of her early reluctance had been exhaustion from her tough 2010 re-election, but that also gave her a better grasp of the political climate than many of her colleagues. Her message to the incumbents: Waiting until the summer before Election Day would be too late. "This is no longer a fourth-quarter game," Canter says.
Of the 23 seats Murray would have to defend, eight were competitive: Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. She knew early on that she wanted to identify strong women candidates. "Patty reached out to me long before I thought seriously about running for the Senate," says Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. "She was gently encouraging, willing to offer candid advice and to talk about both the good and the bad of running for office."
In the years since Murray first ran for the Senate, the conventional wisdom about women candidates had been turned on its head. Many political scientists now argue that having a woman on the ballot might be an advantage. "I open the door for women rather than closing it," Murray says, "and I think that makes a big difference in talking to people about running for the Senate."
Recognizing that the election cycle began earlier than ever, Murray and the DSCC waded into the Democratic primaries. In December 2011, the committee endorsed then-Congresswoman Hirono over former Congressman Ed Case in the Hawaii primary. Murray's preference for female candidates, though, didn't prevent the DSCC from supporting Congressman Chris Murphy over former Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz in the Connecticut primary. The committee had concluded he was the stronger candidate. The committee also exploited the Tea Party insurgency. In Missouri, where Claire McCaskill faced defeat, it spent hundreds of thousands during the GOP primary to bolster the right-wing credentials of Congressman Todd Akin, the weakest candidate in the field. The gambit paid off when Akin told an interviewer that rape exceptions in abortion laws were unnecessary, because "if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that down." He quickly became a national embarrassment.
Unlike her Republican counterparts, Murray let candidates build their own brands, independent of the national party. If Richard Carmona, who was running in Arizona, needed to shy away from his party affiliation to win, he would still receive all the help he needed. Murray may have refrained from micromanaging the campaigns, but she remained in constant touch. "I just remember the moment at which the worst of the attack ads had appeared on television," Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin says, "she was sort of following everything really closely. Just getting this voicemail message going, 'I know what this is like right now and carry on, you're going to get through this,' it was lovely."
The committee raised $146 million, surpassing Murray's 2002 record by more than $2 million and outpacing the Republicans by almost $29 million. The slate of female candidates proved essential for gaining that haul. The DSCC set up independent fundraising committees that focused on boosting the women running for office. "We did cross-country road shows where all the women got on a plane to speak for the others," Mikulski says. "It was phenomenal. One weekend, we went to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, back to Washington state, over to Missouri to help Claire McCaskill."
On Election Day, the Democrats successfully defended all of their Senate seats, except for Nebraska, expanded their majority with pickups in Massachusetts, Indiana, and Maine, increased the number of avowed liberals, and brought in more women to the chamber than any time in history. "When I came to the Senate, senators were named Tom, Dick, and Harry," Mikulski says. "Now they're named Tammy, Heidi, and Mazie."
No. 17: Political Savvy (Back-Home Edition)
It's been more than three decades since Murray first visited the Washington state capitol to protest education cuts only to be told that she was "just a mom in tennis shoes. Go home." Rather than recoiling from the put-down, Murray took ownership of it. She embraced the persona during her first campaigns and holds on to it today. "I am a mom in tennis shoes—there's no doubt," she says. "If I could have them on right now, I just would." She hosts an annual Golden Tennis Shoes luncheon back home, and her D.C. office is littered with tennis shoes—some actual footwear, others art pieces.
Both genuine and manufactured, the mom-in-tennis-shoes is a humble guise, one that demystifies the grandeur of the Senate office. It's a facade Murray has used throughout her career, a means to disarm voters and colleagues who might otherwise be threatened by a powerful woman in politics.
No. 18: The Budget in Theory
Here's how the budget process is supposed to work, what members of Congress refer to as "regular order."
At the beginning of the calendar year, the president submits a budget request to Congress, a comprehensive package of the administration's intended spending and revenue plans for the next fiscal year.
The House and Senate budget committees then draft their own resolutions, which are submitted to their respective chambers by early April. In the Senate, the resolution cannot be filibustered. Debate is left open, which allows members from both parties to offer amendments. In the House, debate is closed off and amendments prohibited. Once each chamber has approved a budget resolution, selected senators and representatives sit down in a conference committee, where they work through their differences and produce a joint budget. The House and Senate then approve the resolution.
This, it turns out, is incredibly difficult. Not only is it hard to get 51 senators or 218 representatives to agree on a budget resolution, but when each party controls a chamber and has diametrically opposed visions of the federal government—Republicans want to shrink it, Democrats don't—reconciling two budgets is all but impossible. The last time both chambers agreed on a budget was in 2009, when Democrats had overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate.
Everyone in Washington likes to talk about the 2014 budget, but the fact of the matter is there's almost no chance the two sides will reach an agreement.
No. 19: The Budget in Practice
Once Murray's budget cleared the Senate on March 23, it should have headed toward conference committee where it would be reconciled with the House plan. But Republicans, led by Paul Ryan, chair of the House Committee on the Budget, refused to select anyone to the committee.
After last year's election, Murray reached out to Ryan, and on December 13 they had breakfast in the Senate dining room. The two had never met. Both agree that it was a cordial conversation.
"We talked more personally about his family, my family, what brought us into politics, kind of what drives you," Murray says, "which is really important to know about somebody if you want to negotiate."
"I like her," Ryan says. "She's easy to talk to. We very clearly have different perspectives, different philosophies. But her personality makes her easy to deal with, easy to talk to."
"I understand that I will have to give up on some things I care about," says Murray. "But the only way we get there is if everyone compromises. I have that capability. The question is whether Paul Ryan does."
What Murray is not saying publicly: It's not in the GOP's interest to end the budget impasse. Crisis governance—debt-ceiling threats, shutdowns—allows Republicans to claim a new scalp every few months. Ryan acknowledges as much. "I think a lot of members think that we have very few leverage devices in the minority and must use the ones we've got for good policy," he says. "It's simple, I think." Ryan and Murray continued to meet throughout April. Ryan resisted every overture, noting the cavernous gap between their two plans. Murray and her Senate colleagues grew increasingly frustrated, and on April 23 Harry Reid took to the Senate floor, asking for unanimous consent to appoint conferees to a budget committee. Standing for the Republican Party, Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania objected and, at least for the time being, Murray's budget—her first substantial legislative achievement—lay dormant.


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Hilton Head Island High School has been fined $200 and placed on "warned status" for allowing ineligible football players to participate in pre-season events.
Commissioner Jerome Singleton of the S.C. High School League notified Hilton Head Principal Amanda O'Nan in a letter Wednesday.
The "warned status" is in effect for a year effective Aug. 18, according to the letter.
"This means that the unsportsmanlike actions (participation of an ineligible player) are a matter of record and must not happen again. The next level of discipline may be more severe," Singleton wrote.
O'Nan notified the league office that a football player participated in two preseason competitions, a scrimmage and a jamboree, before he was officially enrolled at Hilton Head High.
The principal suspended Tim Singleton, the Seahawks head coach, for two weeks Monday. Bob Jurinko will serve as interim coach.
"I'm encouraged by the new training and accountability systems that Principal Amanda O'Nan and Athletic Director Mark Karen have put in place to make sure this doesn't happen again," said Beaufort County School Superintendent Valerie Truesdale in a Wednesday statement.
"It's up to the adults who are in charge to make sure that rules are followed — that all of the I's are dotted and all of the T's are crossed," Truesdale said. "I hope today's decision by the league, along with the actions taken by the school earlier this week, will put this situation to rest so that the spotlight can focus where it should always be focused — on our student athletes."
Jerome Singleton of the High School League noted that Hilton Head's infraction was the third in three years.
"It appears that the actions taken by the school to address the previous incidents have had little positive effect on correcting the problem," he wrote.
"I trust that the school is aware of the serious nature of this most recent violation, given the fact that similar violations have occurred," he wrote. "Nonetheless, the league appreciates the self-imposed actions taken by the school to address the violation."

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Robot flowers that flex and blossom are one of the highlights at the Kinetica Museum's exhibition in London. The show mixes technology, science and art.
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text: These nailers are professional tools that are designed to secure the necessary parts to the surfaces with nails, a part of them require the use of a compressor. Nailers can be used with nails having five different sizes: 15 - 19 - 25 - 30 - 32 mm. Considered tools are capacious as well as power stapler and floor stapler, which ensures long continuous operation mode. Such nailers suitable for constructions made of concrete, brick, stone, and steel.


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With how No. 12 Texas has pitched this season, giving up even a couple of runs to the Longhorn offense is asking for trouble.
Allowing four in one inning is downright disastrous. And that was just the beginning of a bad night for Texas Tech.
For the second straight Friday, the 24th-ranked Red Raiders got a sub-par performances from starter Dominic Moreno and the bullpen, and the Tech offense continued to struggle with the opponent's starter as the Longhorns hammered Tech, 11-1, in the opener of a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Rip Griffin Park.
A crowd of 4,206, the third-largest since Rip Griffin Park was renovated prior to the 2012 season, was expecting a pitching duel but instead got a clinic on hitting from the Longhorns.
"A loss is a loss," a sullen Texas Tech head coach Tim Tadlock said. "I hate to say it. It's tough losing a game like that but at the same time we've got a game (Saturday) and we'll be ready to play."
For the last two weeks, the Red Raiders (21-8, 3-4 in Big 12) have allowed double-digit runs to offense that ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 coming into the game. Texas entered the weekend having won five straight and hitting .256, but just .185 in three conference games.
UT, however, pounded Tech pitchers for 16 hits, the most allowed by Tech in a game this season, and took advantage of two walks and four hit batters, and it was UT's left-handed hitters that did most of the damage.
Brooks Marlow, Mark Payton, Collin Shaw and Kacy Clemens combined for 10 hits, five runs and five RBIs. Freshman Tres Barrera had three hits and two doubles, including the back-breaking two-run shot that put the Longhorns up 5-1 in the fifth. Shortstop C.J. Hinojosa was the only Longhorn without a hit, not that it mattered.
"It was just one of those nights," Texas head coach Augie Garrido said. "We did have a good night and put a lot of balls in play, on a line. It just happened to be one of our nights. Then (Tech) hit the ball good but they never really got the momentum to hit them at people. That all happens to everybody."
In his last two starts, which have covered a combined 72/3 innings, Moreno (1-5) has surrendered eight runs, all earned, on nine hits with seven walks and four hit batters.
On Friday, he didn't make it out of the fifth inning, which proved to be the decisive frame in the game. He allowed three earned runs on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts, and he also hit three batters.
Moreno's troubles started the inning before when he caught a line drive on his bicep, according to Tadlock, and experienced bruising while warming up in the fourth. After being looked at by the trainer, Moreno tried to go, but it proved to be the wrong decision.
Marlow, who tied the game in the third with a leadoff solo home run, opened the fifth with a double, which opened the gates for a four-run fifth inning for the Longhorns (21-6, 2-2).
Moreno was pulled after hitting the next batter, but reliever Dalton Brown couldn't keep the Longhorns off the scoreboard as Payton put Texas up for good with a single to right-center.
After a fielder's choice, Collin Shaw singled to right and Tres Barrera doubled to the gap in right-center to make it a 5-1 game.
"We felt like (Moreno) could go back out, he felt like he could go back out," Tadlock said. "Needless to say, I wish we had that one to do over."
The Longhorns would go on to score at least one run in each of the final four innings, getting a two-run single from Payton in the sixth, an RBI single from Zane Gurwitz in the seventh, a run-scoring single by Jeremy Montalbano and a bases-loaded walk to Gurwitz in the eighth and a single by Barrera in the ninth to give the freshman a career-high three RBIs.
"Once one guy shows the others that they can do it ... 'Well, if he can do it, I can do it, too.'" Garrido said. "It's one of those elementary school mentalities but sometimes that appeals to the players."
The Red Raiders were never able to build on a solid first inning. With two outs and Jake Barrios at second, Tyler Neslony singled to right, and Barrios just beat the throw home to put Tech up 1-0.
It would end up being Tech's offensive highlight.
UT starter Parker French (4-2) took advantage of the run support to pitch seven strong innings, scattering six hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He allowed just five total baserunners after the first inning, and only once did he allow more than one in an inning, and that threat was squashed with a double play.
"Once he got those four runs he started to become more effective, and when we added two then he became even more effective," Garrido said. "Still, there was a luck factor in all this. They hit some balls well that were caught and turned into outs. That's just the luck of it all."
Unfortunately for Tech, it's been their luck the in each of its first three Big 12 series. Tech struggled to win one game at Baylor after losing Friday but came back this past weekend with two wins in the final two days against TCU.
Tech will turn to junior left-hander Cameron Smith to try to stem the tide on Saturday after he was successful in doing so against the Horned Frogs last week. Winning twice to win a series, however, is a dangerous way to play in the Big 12, especially if Texas is going to pitch and hit like it did on Friday.
"We've got enough to concern ourselves with for Texas Tech and not worry too much about Texas right now," Tadlock said. "We've got to come out and play the game the right way."
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Texas Texas Tech
Player ab r h bi Player ab r h bi
Marlow 2b 6 3 4 1 Long dh 4 0 0 0
Johnson lf 5 1 1 0 Barrios 3b 3 1 0 0
Payton cf 5 2 3 3 Gutierrez 1b 4 0 1 0
Hinojosa ss 5 1 0 0 Neslony lf 4 0 1 1
Shaw rf 6 2 2 1 Kirsch rf 3 0 1 0
Barrera dh 4 2 3 3 SSmith cf 4 0 1 0
Mntlbno c 5 0 1 1 Burleson 2b 3 0 0 0
Clemens 1b 3 0 1 0 Redman c 3 0 2 0
Gurwitz 3b 4 0 1 2 Floyd c 1 0 0 0
Proudfoot ss 3 0 1 0
Totals 43 11 16 11 Totals 32 1 7 1
Texas 001 042 121 - 11 16 0
Texas Tech 100 000 000 - 1 7 1
E - Kirsch (2). DP - Texas 2. LOB - Texas 14, Texas Tech 7. 2B - Marlow 2(2), Barrera 2(5). HR - Marlow (1). SB - Shaw (5).
Pitching summaries
Pitcher ip h r er bb so
French (W, 4-2) 7 6 1 1 2 2
Cooper 1 0 0 0 0 0
Hollingsworth 1 1 0 0 0 0
Texas Tech
Moreno (L, 1-5) 4 3 3 3 2 3
Brown 1 3 2 2 0 1
Bethard 2 6 3 3 0 2
Herrington 2/3 2 2 2 2 1
Tripp 11/3 2 1 1 1 1
HBP - by Moreno (Montalbano), by Moreno (Barrera), by Moreno (Johnson); by Herrington (Barrera), by Hollingsworth (Burleson). U - Wiley, Schepis, Morris, Brown. T - 2:48. A - 4,206. Records: Texas 21-6, 2-2; Texas Tech 21-8, 3-4.


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A long-awaited environmental assessment of TransCanada Corp. (TRP)'s Keystone XL pipeline cheered oil executives who see it as a signal the Obama administration will approve a project that has come to be viewed as a fight between jobs and the environment.
The draft assessment, released yesterday by the U.S. State Department, makes no recommendation as to whether the Keystone pipeline should be built, and an administration official cautioned the report was a work in progress.
On at least one main point though — that the $5.3 billion project won't worsen the risks of global warming because Alberta's oil sands would be developed anyway — the analysis represents a clear win for the oil lobbyists and a loss for environmentalists who applauded Obama's pledge to fight climate change in his second inaugural and State of the Union.
"The fact that they came out and said, 'Eh, it doesn't really effect the oil sands development,' to me this is a prelude to approval," said Sarah Emerson, president of Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Environmentalists view the Keystone decision as a test of Obama's sincerity about making climate change a priority in his second term after failing to advance legislation to cap carbon dioxide in his first. The administration is also scheduled to release final rules that for the first time will restrict greenhouse gases on new power plants, and the EPA will then face legal and political pressure to issue related standards for existing plants. It is also considering regulations for a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that has boosted the nation's energy production but raised concerns about air and water pollution.
September Decision
The draft analysis released yesterday, which sets in motion a series of reviews that pushes a final decision to September, examined the revised route TransCanada proposed after Obama blocked an original path amid concerns it posed a threat to an aquifer in Nebraska. On that issue, too, the report found that the risks were minimal with the new route.
"We're looking for feedback now from the public to help us shape this going forward," Kerri-Ann Jones, State's assistant secretary for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs, told reporters yesterday on a conference call. The agency is conducting the review because the pipeline would cross an international border.
After the State Department receives the comments, it must compile its final environmental statement and then would have two months to decide whether to issue a permit. After that the project goes to Obama for a final sign-off, which could come by the end of September, according to pipeline opponent 350.org.
TransCanada Reaction
For TransCanada, which has spent years developing the project and lobbying in Washington for its approval, the draft analysis represents another cleared hurdle.
The draft report is "an important step towards receiving a presidential permit for this critical energy infrastructure project," TransCanada Chief Executive Office Russ Girling said in a statement.
TransCanada fell 0.5 percent to C$47.81 ($46.56) at 4:30 p.m. in Toronto. The shares have climbed 7.4 percent this year.
The pipeline is designed to carry about 830,000 barrels a day of tar sands fuel from Alberta and oil from shale rock formations in the U.S. to refineries in Texas along a route that would traverse six Great Plains states. The administration has previously given approval for the pipeline's southern leg to relieve an oil glut in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Washington Rally
There was little evidence yesterday's analysis would end the controversy surrounding the project. A crowd estimated by organizers at 35,000 rallied Feb. 18 in Washington against Keystone, urging Obama to reject the pipeline.
"President Obama needs to match his soaring oratory with climate action, and the State Department just made that harder," Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, a San Francisco-based environmental group, said on a conference call following the report's release.
Representative Henry Waxman of California, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a statement said the report was "seriously flawed."
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the latest review failed to answer how the pipeline would affect U.S. consumers, and Senator Barbara Boxer of California, who leads the Environment and Public Works panel, said she remained "very concerned" about Keystone and climate change. Both lawmakers are Democrats.
House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, in a statement called on Obama to approve Keystone.
Signals Approval
John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York- based hedge fund that focuses on energy, said the finding that the project won't significantly affect oil sands development signals approval.
"It's still a long way away, but at least there's a roadmap forward," Kilduff said.
Environmentalists said they were disheartened by the report's findings. The pipeline would exacerbate climate-change risks by promoting the use of Alberta's oil sands, which generate more carbon dioxide than most lighter crude, critics say.
The analysis "reads like an on-ramp to justify the Keystone XL pipeline project," said Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth in Washington. "We cannot solve the climate crisis when the State Department fails to understand the basic climate, environmental and economic impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline."
Emissions Impact
The analysis said that while oil-sands mining releases more of the gases linked by scientists to global warming, rejecting the pipeline won't reduce the rate of development in the oil sands or the amount of heavy crude refined in the U.S.
If both Keystone and the other proposed pipelines from the tar sands aren't built, the reduction in annual emissions would be at most 5.3 million metric tons a year of carbon dioxide, less than 0.1 percent of total U.S. emissions, the department's analysis found.
Oil and gas producers say the project proposed by Calgary- based TransCanada will create thousands of jobs and boost U.S. energy security.
"This project will replace oil from Venezuela and the Middle East with a stable continental supply, including from the oil sands and improve the energy security of North America," Joe Oliver, the Canadian natural resources minister, told reporters in Toronto.
Industry Comment
"No matter how many times KXL is reviewed, the result is the same: no significant environmental impact," said Marty Durbin, executive vice president for the American Petroleum Institute, a Washington-based group whose members include Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) "The latest impact statement from the State Department puts this important, job-creating project one step closer to reality."
Bill Day, a San Antonio-based spokesman for Valero Energy Corp. (VLO), the world's largest independent refinery by capacity, predicted that the pipeline would be approved.
"Nothing that has come out in this report or any of the others would be reason for even this delay, let alone a denial," Day said in an interview. Valero's plants would stand to gain work refining the tar sands if the pipeline is built.
A final decision won't come until after agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency get to comment. The EPA found a previous draft environmental analysis for the original Keystone route was "unduly narrow."
Alternative Modes
The State Department concluded that without the Keystone XL pipeline, alternative modes of transporting Canadian crude would emerge.
One scenario assumes the construction of new rail-loading terminals in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, and Epping, North Dakota, that would send oil on existing rail lines to new terminals in Stroud, Oklahoma.
Another option would see oil taken by rail to Port Rupert, British Columbia, loaded onto tankers shipped down the Pacific Coast, through the Panama Canal, and up through the Gulf of Mexico.
Environmentalists said Keystone is critical to the development of Alberta's oil sands.
"They call it Keystone for a reason," Bill McKibbon, who heads 350.org, which has been leading the opposition to the pipeline, told reporters. "If they don't have it, they aren't going to be able to develop the tar sands."
Source: Bloomberg
Related articles
Keystone pipeline protesters arrested at White House
Why Canadian Tar Sands are the Most Environmentally Destructive Project on Earth
Oil Sands Industry in Canada Tied to Higher Carcinogen Level


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Sunday, 24 May 2015
July mini cat pattern ready now!
Hi everyone, I received some photos today from Peggie, a lady who loves my mini cat patterns, just look what she has made using my patterns, these lovely framed pieces!
Posted by Lynn B at 20:03 15 comments
Sunday, 17 May 2015
June mini cat stitched
Hi everyone, here are all the mini cats stitched up so far, I completed June mini cat a few hours ago.
Posted by Lynn B at 00:30 23 comments
Thursday, 7 May 2015
June Mini Cat Pattern - Out now!
Posted by Lynn B at 19:18 15 comments
Labels: Freebie Pattern, My free patterns to you
Wednesday, 6 May 2015
A gift from Val and June mini cat preview
Posted by Lynn B at 08:09 21 comments
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|You can
|Before H.S.
|During H.S.
|After H.S.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the most common questions we are asked is, "Am I the only one who feels overwhelmed when thinking about teaching high school?"
No, you aren't. That may or may not be reassuring! But try to take it one step at a time. Making the decision to homeschool through high school takes commitment, careful thought, and prayer! You will quickly find that you are not alone—others have successfully homeschooled through high school, and numerous avenues of support are available.
No one is an expert in everything! But don't underestimate yourself. You are training your child to be an independent learner, so be a good example and learn right along with him! Teaching your child to tackle a subject and stick with it until the material is learned is a great experience for life. Well-respected publishers of high school-level curriculum do most of the work for you. Teacher guides, CDs, videos, lesson plans, tests, and quizzes are available from most publishers. As a starting point, check out these curriculum possibilities.
HSLDA has developed a number of high school brochures to support you during the high school years.
HSLDA's Homeschooling Thru High School Program—We are here to help! Members may contact HSLDA's high school consultants Carol Becker and Diane Kummer for personal consultation. The free monthly high school email newsletter, covers topics of interest for those teaching high school at home. To subscribe or to view back issues of the newsletter go to the archives on our high school website homepage. In addition, HSLDA's magazine, Court Report, includes a high school-related article in each issue.
Friends—Spend an afternoon with a friend who has homeschooled through high school. Ask her for advice. Experience makes the best teacher!
Support Groups—Get connected with a local support group-preferably one that includes families with high school students.
Local opportunities—Peruse your state organization's website for extracurricular activities (sports, debate, choir, etc.) and group classes that may be available in your area.
Resources—Scan homeschool websites, read books, and become familiar with the curriculum choices.
State conventions/speakers—Attend high school workshops at your state homeschool convention, or invite a speaker to your support group who can talk about homeschooling at the high school level. You will glean ideas from these speakers who have already done the research for you.
Map out a general plan you will follow during the high school years that will move your child toward his future goals. This may require a rigorous academic course load in high school, or it may require specialized training in a vocational trade or an apprenticeship with a local businessman. The HSLDA brochure, Keeping on Track: A Timeline for High School, highlights the important items to keep in mind during each year of high school.
Consider your family and your circumstances. If you are also teaching younger children, you may want to consider these options to ease your teaching load:
- online high school courses
- community college courses
- DVD, video, or CD courses
- satellite courses
- distance learning programs
In addition, you may want to teach a couple of courses with another family or hire a tutor for a particular subject. One important item to remember is that flexibility is the key so each year determine the time or energy constraints you have. Take advantage of the summer months to plan and to investigate curriculum, as well as to read novels that you will be teaching during the school year. Taking time to plan in advance will produce benefits that you will appreciate throughout the school year.
- 4 years of English
- 2–4 years of Math
- 2–4 years of Science
- 2–4 years of History
- at least 2 years of a Foreign Language
Be sure to check your state homeschooling regulations for any applicable high school requirements. The HSLDA brochure, A Guide for Homeshcooling through High School, provides course suggestions for each subject area. Three back issues of the HSLDA high school email newsletters deal with the topic of high school graduation requirements: High School Graduation Requirements—Part I, High School Graduation Requirements—Part II, and Requirements for High School Graduation? Help!.
In addition to the core courses mentioned above, don't forget about adding some electives each year. Think of electives as courses that supplement the core courses such as home economics, computer skills, SAT prep, keyboarding, or courses that are enjoyable and geared to your child's interests such as phys ed, health, music, art, etc. There are instances when some of the afore-mentioned electives may be required homeschool law or colleges.
Elective choices should reflect to some degree your child's future plans. For example, if your child is considering going directly into the workforce after high school, a personal financial management course may be a good idea (how to set up and reconcile a checking account, what to consider when purchasing a car, etc.). On the other hand, if your child is considering college, an SAT prep course would be a good choice for an elective.
Use the high school years to teach your teen life skills. Some resources and a checklist are listed on the high school website.
If your child already knows his intended vocation, consider an internship or apprenticeship. Does your child have an interest in veterinary science? Perhaps a local vet would consider having your child work in his office for several hours during the week. Does your child want to develop clerical skills? You may want to investigate the need for volunteer help in a local church or business. Don't stress out about this possibility; many times these opportunities simply fall into place.
Extracurricular activities are an important part of the high school experience. The Beyond Academics section of the website offers a number of suggestions to enhance your teen's high school years.
- Math
- (e.g. College bound—Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, Calculus / Non-college bound—consider Consumer Math and Accounting in lieu of upper level courses)
- Science
- (e.g. Biology, Physical Science, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, etc.)
- English
- (e.g. Composition, Grammar, Vocabulary, American Lit, British Lit, Speech, etc.)
- History/Social Sciences
- (e.g. American History, Ancient History, World History, Civics, Government, Geography, Economics, etc.)
- Foreign Language
It is common for public school districts to disqualify credits of homeschoolers transferring into public high school.
Consistent with our mission to conserve our resources for helping parents who continue to homeschool, we are not able to extend our advocacy to situations where parents are enrolling their students in public school. Please be aware that this limitation extends to public charter school programs.
HSLDA's mission is to advance the cause of homeschooling. To this end, we advocate for homeschoolers when the legitimacy of their diploma is questioned, for instance, by colleges, employers or military recruiters.
- Standardized Achievement tests
- College preparatory and scholarship—qualifying examinations such as the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
- College Entrance tests, such as the SAT, ACT, and CLT
- College Level Examination Program (CLEP) tests
- Advanced Placement
- Personality/Aptitude/Career
Transcripts are records of the courses that your children completed in high school, the credit earned for each course, and each course's final grade. Transcripts also include personal information used for identification purposes and usually a grade point average (GPA). Colleges and other post-high school institutions will likely request a transcript from your child in order to consider him for admission.
There are many good references that will direct you step by step in preparing a transcript for your child. In addition, some distance learning programs offer to provide transcripts for homeschooled students. For your convenience sample transcripts and an explanation of the GPA calculation are provided on our high school website. For more detailed transcript information, read the back issue of the high school email newsletter from November 2005.
This certifies that John Smith has completed the course of study prescribed for graduation by his parents, Joseph and Mary Smith (or by Smith Home School)
In testimony whereof, this diploma is conferred, and we have subscribed our names on the third day of the month of June, in the year 2010.
The diploma can then be signed by the parents if desired or by one parent and perhaps the director of an oversight or umbrella group if the family was enrolled in one and if the group desires to sign.
In most states parents are under no duty to imitate the public school standards for graduation, and parents can decide what students must do to receive a diploma. A few states have high school graduation requirements in their homeschool laws. Read your state's law to see if there are any graduation requirements that apply to you, and contact HSLDA if you have any questions.
Policy regarding resources listed by our Homeschooling Thru High School program:
Being listed as a resource does not constitute an endorsement by HSLDA. Our list of resources is not intended to be an exhaustive inventory of all available materials, but rather a sample listing of resources commonly used by our members.
HSLDA retains the exclusive right to determine which resources we will list. We will periodically update our list based on member feedback.
In general, resources listed must be of value to a substantial number of homeschoolers and cannot be overtly anti-Christian or anti-HSLDA.


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Review and Giveaway: Post-It Recycled Notes (2 winners)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fun, Eco-Smart Options for Effective Communication
Communicating and organizing just got more sustainable! The Post-it Notes & Easel products that you love and have come to rely upon for fast and effective communication are now SFI® (Sustainable Forestry Initiative®) Chain-of-Custody Certified, which assures that the paper used to make these products is sourced from well managed forests where trees are replanted.
Post-it® Notes are also available in recycled materials. Choose from a diverse array of styles featuring earthy color palettes of soothing Nature's Hues or vibrant Tropical Colors. Post-it Recycled Notes are an easy way to help minimize your environmental impact without sacrificing quality or changing your routine.
Pairing the design sensibilities of the Post-it brand with environmental consciousness, the Post-it Recycled Collection includes products that contain a minimum of 30 percent post-consumer content. The collection is available in both Original Notes and Super Sticky varieties. This continues the Post-it brand's commitment to a sustainable world, as all Post-it Notes have been and are recyclable in your regular paper waste stream. As an eco-smart option, Post-it Recycled Notes offer communication solutions and ideas that "stick" in the home and office.
The recycled family of products supplements sustainable initiatives adopted by the Post-it brand, including attainment of certification from the SFI program for paper used in the U.S. manufacturing of all Post-it Notes and Post-it Easel products. Such certification ensures proactive alignment of responsible procurement objectives with high standards of forest management to promote sustainability. Backed by a rigorous, third-party audit, the SFI program's commitment to well managed forests includes measures to protect biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and forests with exceptional conservation value, among other initiatives.
"Demand for products from well managed third party certified forests is increasing worldwide and with today's announcement, the Post-it brand joins a growing number of companies that are demonstrating their environmental commitment through certification to the SFI program," said SFI Inc. President and CEO Kathy Abusow. "At a time when just 10 percent of the world's forests are independently certified, the Post-it brand has taken a leadership role by supporting global efforts to improve forest practices."
"We strive to continually improve our performance and offer consumers a portfolio of products that address their everyday needs and can help satisfy overall environmental concerns," said Jack Truong, vice president and general manager, 3M Office Supplies Division. "The Post-it Brand Recycled Collection enables us to build upon this dedication to sustainable development by providing consumers with an eco-smart approach to fast, friendly communication."
Building on a wide portfolio of products that make the art of communication easier, the Post-it brand has integrated sustainability efforts into a variety of categories including its recycled, super sticky, pop-up, and easel pad product lines. This embodies 3M Company's longstanding commitment to develop products that make people's lives easier and better, both for today and future generations.
Post-it products are sold nationally at office superstores and mass merchandise retailers. Suggested retail prices for the Post-it Recycled Collection range from $1.65 - $6.00 (except cabinet packs and easel pads).
My Take:
Who doesn't love Post-It notes?! I've been using them for years, and let me tell you, the Super Sticky are SUPER STICKY!!! I'm also glad that they started making Recycled Notes. That's great for them, us, and the environment!
I love Post-It notes - any color - any size! I use them at home and at work!
Win It!
One winner will win 3 packs of Recycled Post-It Notes and another winner will win 3 packs of Super Sticky Recycled Notes.
To enter, fill out the form!
Remember to stop by Moody Mama Says and Everyday Baby Steps to enter one of their giveaways! There is a space on the form you can leave the link of the giveaway you entered!
Thanks for entering, and good luck!


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Moving /home Data From Old System To a New Linux Systemlast updated in Categories Howto, Linux
Recently a friend of mine, brought a new Laptop. He installed Red Hat Enterrpise Linux workstation 4.0. However, after installation he realized that he lost all his Mozilla thunderbird emails and Firefox bookmarks, chat client logs and other files.
I told him just copy all old files from /home/$you to a new system /home/$you directory. He was trying some age-old tutorial from net, which explains how to copy files using tar and restore it back to new system. During this procedure, he was messing up with file system permission.


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By Lisa Capobianco
Staff Writer
With Election Day just around the corner, four town councilors not seeking re-election said goodbye to their colleagues Monday night, thanking them for several years of teamwork and commitment to Southington.
Four of the six incumbent Republican councilors, Louis Martocchio, Peter Romano, Dr. Al Natelli and John Dobbins, decided not to seek reelection this year. With the exception of Martocchio, the Republicans have served multiple terms on the council.
"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you for four years," said Dr. Al Natelli, who cited family and a bit of fatigue as reasons why he decided not to seek reelection this year. "We have given up time with our families…to make the community a better place for all of us."
Council Chairman John Dobbins also thanked Town Clerk Leslie Cotton, a Republican, who has decided to retire after her term ends in January. Cotton served 20 years in Southington, and has backed Kathy Larkin as her replacement.
Romano, not only recognized his colleagues, but also thanked and recognized members of the Public Works Committee, giving an overview of the projects they have worked on including downtown maintenance, snow and leaf bids, and light reports.
"It is definitely a value to the town," said Romano, who was appointed on the Board of Parks Commissioners at Monday's meeting.
Martocchio, who serves on the Sewer Committee, also recognized and thanked committee members, highlighting issues they have worked on, such as the cleaning of the digesters and the phosphorus levels in municipal wastewater treatment plant discharges. He thanked Town Manager Gary Brumback's effort to collaborate with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and other surrounding towns to address the phosphorus issue.
"They were and still are a spectacular group of people who worked in harmony to get an awful lot done," Martocchio said. "The progress could not have been done without the town staff."
During the meeting, running incumbents of the Democratic Party expressed their appreciation for the town councilors not seeking another term.
"On behalf of our caucus we want to thank you for your volunteer efforts for the town," said Minority Leader Chris Palmieri. "We appreciate everything you have done, and we really wish you the best."
As Dobbins invited the public to speak in front of the podium, Art Secondo, the president of the Southington Chamber of Commerce, presented certificates to the four Republicans, expressing his own appreciation for their hard work and dedication to the town.
Secondo also thanked the running incumbents for their commitment to Southington.
"The relationship between the town and the Chamber of Commerce has never been so strong and so cooperative," said Secondo, a former Democratic Councilman. "We work together in economic development a lot more than people realize—we work together because we have a great town."
Councilors say their farewells; Four Republicans not seeking re-election
By Lisa Capobianco


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'Is eating well and dressing swell a ticket to hell?' Not exactly, says Diocese of Kansas City – St. Joseph Chancellor Monsignor Bradley S. Offutt. But this Sunday's readings do have something to say about the American obsession with perfect bodies. See what in the Scripture reflection from this week's paper edition of The Catholic Key:
The Real American Idol
By Msgr. Bradley S. Offutt
Many years ago I completely gave up on network television. Scenes like an angular young cowboy marking his territory with beer from a bottle, poured in a careful circle around his chosen buxom beauty, are what did it for me. And it's not that I am so thoroughly sanctified, it's just that such messages are so far from what I have discovered to be true about love and beauty that they are not even worthy of my fantasies, let alone my conscious attention. To put it another way, I guess I just got to where I found the chronic focus on toned body parts and sexual innuendo phony and tedious. So, I quit the networks. I haven't missed them.
Trouble is, it's looking like I might have to give up on the rest of the TV too. It has dawned on me again, of late, that so many commercials I encounter are for some exercise machine promising weight loss, or some miraculous lotion promising hair gain, or some "male enhancement" potion promising, well, I'll leave you to decipher it. I don't think I want to because it is beyond ugly. It's even beyond offending my sensibilities. It's just stupid. I know I sound like a curmudgeon, but whatever happened to sweet Janie hawking potato chips for Milgram's and "See the USA in your Chevrolet"? Man, have we fallen fast! Fallen into a civic puberty, an abyss of bodily preoccupations.
And it is not that our bodies are unimportant. No, quite the opposite. Our bodies are precious God-given vehicles through which we encounter the majestic Truth of time and eternity. Your body is a veritable canvass upon which you paint statements about your values, style, art, and history. The body is a clock and a roadmap. It is a fantastic sign of our time and our place. Our bodies are exciting in the opportunities they enable and the sheer beauty they convey. But, of course, no one really disagrees about the importance of the human body. It is just what is most important, and most lovely, and most provocative; that's what we disagree about.
Like Tarzan standing on a jungle limb, yelling and beating his bare chest, Saint Paul begins today on a loud, curious note. He pulls his pen right out of his pocket and writes the Philippians, Join with others in being imitators of me. Perhaps the Apostle had to be so brazen to get the attention of his audience. He goes on to make a careful point with the eloquence of a meat cleaver. He writes, Many. . .conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is their destruction. Their God is their stomach; their glory is their "shame."
Do not be lulled into the too easy trap of interpreting this passage as Paul's sermon against those who like to over eat. He is talking about much more than gluttony. The Apostle is addressing those who like to eat too much and those who like to diet too much. He is lecturing those who suffer daily addictions to what is oh so properly powdered, perfumed, primped, poised, pumped, and put on. Paul is writing even in tears to all of us when we make idols of our body.
Now, lest I paint myself into a hopeless corner, I hasten to say the Apostle's message is not a call to be primitive. It is an admonishment, not a prohibition. So, is make-up bad? Is exercise evil? Is eating well and dressing swell a ticket to hell? No. I do not believe we can legitimately infer anything like that from this passage. Instead Paul means that our walk through the world is a talk with the Lord. As we walk and talk God registers the lessons of life in the evolving contours of our body. Healthy, faithful people prayerfully strive to understand and accept this dialectic of embodied life, not habitually outrun it or supplant it.
Finally, the Apostle directly addresses the revelation of God written upon our flesh as he writes, (Jesus) will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself. Do you suppose this change Paul mentions is reserved for some abracadabra instant in the precincts of the netherworld? No. This change is happening every single day of our life. The dimming of our eyes and the broadening of our mind indicate it. Did you catch that fleeting glimpse of grandma in the mirror not so many mornings ago? It is a sign of the Truth that whispers in your ear even as it claims us all. That Truth always wins the race of time. Saint Paul would have us endorse Its victory and share in it.


text: Mega-model Chanel Iman looks sharp in Amazon's "Smart is Beautiful" fall fashion ads, shot by Matthew Rolston at Milk Studios in L.A. "The looks are classic, iconic, timeless, and smart," Amazon Fashion Creative Director Dennis Leggett told ELLE. "We wanted to feature ladylike dresses that represents the season." She sports a blue Tracy Reese number and a printed Vivienne Westwood frock. Her '60s-style, Jackie O-hair was done by Robert Vetica, and her makeup was taken care of by Collier Strong.


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Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Jul. 2, 2013 11:44pm
The abortion battle in Texas was still raging Tuesday as both abortion supporters and pro-life activists flooded the State Capitol to make their voices heard. The Texas House and Senate reconvened briefly for a special session called by Gov. Rick Perry.
One of the more bizarre tactics used by pro-abortion activists involved chanting "Hail Satan!" to harass a pro-life crowd as they sang "Amazing Grace."
Texas blogger Adam Cahm was able to capture the "Hail Satan" chant on video. Watch it here:
"It's been a very interesting day at the Texas State Capitol. Cahnman's Musings hasn't been following the hearing. Instead, we've been participating in the surrounding events," he writes. "LetTexasSpeak has been doing a live broadcast from the rotunda where women have been sharing their abortion related testimonies. The pro-abortion crowd has responded with repeated chants of 'hail Satan.' It's taken us all day to get a video recording…"
Obviously, it is much more likely that the abortion supporters were chanting "Hail Satan!" to mock pro-lifers rather than actually hailing Lucifer, but anything is possible.
And there was plenty of discussion about "Hail Satan" on Twitter. Twitchy has the details.
The pro-abortion crowd also brought some really interesting signs to the rally (Some are offensive):
A recess was called for the Texas Legislature until July 9.
The proposed bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, require that the procedure be performed at ambulatory surgical centers, mandate that doctors who perform abortions obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles and that even nonsurgical abortions take place in a surgical center.
Only five out of 42 clinics in Texas qualify as ambulatory surgical centers and they are in major metropolitan areas. Many clinics would need to relocate to meet ventilation requirements and to have the space required for operating rooms and hallways.
Similar measures have passed in other states, but many are tied up in court. Mississippi's only abortion clinic remains open pending a federal lawsuit over the requirement for doctors to have admitting privileges.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
· 'We Will No Longer Accept the Lies': Glenn Beck's Powerful Speech at Washington, D.C. Rally | Video (op-ed)
Posted by John MacHaffie at 1:59:00 PM


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mksheets needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 41 designs submitted by 11 freelance designers.
Looking for a seasoned designer that can produce a new brand identity for our company starting with a LOGO - lots of other work to follow once Logo is produced. The happier I am with a designer the more I'm willing to offer in $$ and bonus for quick turn around. I pay promptly!
Intergrated Premier Automotive Customer Solutions (iPACS)
We need a cutting edge - clean modern Logo created to be incorporated into a Business Card, Letterhead and Envelope branding. This company represents an integrated, forward thinking group of companies who have bundled their solutions to offer a one-stop turnkey solution for the automotive service department. These services incompass an emenu online Service Maintenance & Marketing Solution, an online Service Appointment Scheduling Solution, a online Service Call Center Solution and a Service Manager Advisory & Training Solution.
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- Make the 'i' stand out from the other letters in iPACS
- I'm open to any color scheme at this point but need the color to be easily reproduce for logo's on shirts, hats and other marketing materials. I have played with the letter 'i' being a standout color with PACS letters in silver/chrome but again ... I'm open at this point to any idea
- unique (Premier Image) - yet clean and simple
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- Item 1... This logo needs to be unique and cutting edge.
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Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Empathy on the Supreme Court
Even before President Obama appointed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice Souter on the United States Supreme Court, politicians and commentators were urging Obama to pick someone with empathy. He agreed that this should be a key criterion, saying:
"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives. I view the quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes."
In order to gain more than a superficial understanding of what this rhetoric means and why it is dangerous to a free society, we will find it necessary to take "the long way around" and clarify exactly what is entailed by a civil society, a constitutional government, and the rule of law.
A Civil Society as Necessary for Human Happiness
Human beings by their very nature, require a civil society as a necessary precondition to flourish and be happy. A civil society is a society wherein all aggression of any kind is not tolerated or allowed to persist in human interactions. Aggression in this context, refers to the initiation of the use of force or violence.
So I am asserting here that the necessary precondition for human flourishing is the absence of aggression in human relationships. This is what it means to be free, and this is the kind of freedom America's Founding Fathers spoke of- freedom from aggressors who use violent force to interfere in our lives, violate our liberties, or expropriate our property.
A free human being can make voluntary choices for his or herself, and interacts with other human beings only on a voluntary basis of mutual consent. He or she is free to choose the kind of life to live, the values to hold, the goals to pursue, and the means to attain them (so long as those means are, of course, non-aggressive).
He or she is free and responsible to act according to an individual view of reality, and to suffer the consequences of that view if it is imperfect- without aggressively forcing others to share in those consequences. In such a society: the final argument is the truth and the highest judge is reality, as opposed to an uncivil society in which the final argument is force and the highest judge is the capricious whim of whomever wields that force.
Constitutional Government as Necessary for Civil Society
America's Founding Fathers understood that the chief danger to a civil society is its own guardian and protector- the government. A government maintains life, liberty, and property by acting as the trustee of each individual's right to defend himself against aggressors.
Vesting that right in a single executive is necessary for a civil society because that single government has three advantages that do not exist in what John Locke called the State of Nature- that is, the state wherein every individual is alone in defending his rights:
1) Wielding the combined force and resources of its individual constituents, the government has more power to effectively repel aggressors and maintain civil order. An individual alone may be unable to defend himself if he is outnumbered and outmatched.
2) The government can act more justly, according to a set of agreed upon standards for maintaining civil order. Any number of individuals acting alone, can misinterpret their right of self defense, and falsely derive unjust powers therefrom- a perfect example of this being a lynch mob that delivers "justice" to the accused in a fit of emotion, without due process.
3) The government can act more consistently, according to the specific prescriptions of its Constitution, duly enacted laws, and corpus of legal jurisprudence- this way every citizen can have a reasonable expectation of exactly how the government will affect his life, protect him from aggression, or deal with him if he aggresses.
Yet as mentioned above, the greatest threat to a civil society comes from the government itself, because that government holds a legal monopoly on the use of force and is therefore, prone to wield that force unlawfully and aggressively. This is why America's Founding Fathers insisted on a Constitutional Republic with an explicit Bill of Rights.
In their framework for understanding civil society, an individual has the freedom to do whatever he chooses except for the specific restrictions that bar him from aggressing against others. A government by contrast, is not allowed to do anything except for the specific powers enumerated by its constitution for the purpose of defending its constituents from aggression.
To be clear: An individual is free to do anything, with the exception of aggression, but a government is barred from doing anything, with the exception of preventing and punishing aggression.
Rule of Law as Necessary for Constitutional Government
The law is that which formally embodies and establishes the principles explicated above. Without it, a just civil order cannot exist. The law provides a framework for the government's operations, enumerates its powers, and sets its boundaries. The law codifies the principle that each human being's life is his or her own, and that he or she is not subject to the whim of those with superior numbers or strength.
Without the rule of law, a government can wield its power capriciously and to the detriment of liberty rather than for its protection. Without the rule of law, a government's actions may not be just or consistent. Without the rule of law, there is no civil society because the apparatus of government can be abused to favor some at the expense of the life, liberty, and property of others.
Imagine a society in which there is no law to which an appeal can be made, but instead your life, liberty, and property are at the mercy of a bureaucrat's whim. Imagine that this bureaucrat can dispose of them according to no criteria, but his subjective whims and emotions. Could anyone be truly free in such a society? Certainly not!
Now remember that imagining the existence of such a society is sadly unnecessary. To see a perfect specimen of this state of affairs, one need look no further than the real examples of most governments today, including, to an increasingly greater degree, that of the United States.
Empathy as Opposed to the Rule of Law
Now let us return to the question of empathy as a criterion for our nation's next Supreme Court Justice. Since Justice Souter's announcement that he would retire from the Supreme Court, Americans have been inundated with propaganda from the media and government calling for the nomination of someone with empathy.
Remember that President Obama said: "I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a casebook; it is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives. I view the quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes."
What President Obama dismisses as "abstract legal theory" are this nation's laws and jurisprudence, without which there is no Constitutional government, there is no consistency in our government's actions, there is no standard framework or equal playing field on which free men and women can interact, and there is no longer an unbiased arbiter between equals.
Instead of all these things, which are necessary to protect our freedoms, the President would substitute empathy, which he defines as "understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes." In other words, "how a person feels, and how a judge feels about that person's feelings."
The Tyranny of Empathy
The President is unambiguously advocating the administration of "subjective justice." Can there be such a thing? Is it not a contradiction in terms? Justice is necessarily objective and categorical. Either an act is lawful or it is unlawful. This can be determined by examining the law, examining the act, and determining whether the act is in violation of the law.
But instead, the President would have this nation's highest judges examine a person's life and hopes and administer justice according to subjective criteria. There can be no end to such a tyranny as will result. You will have no recourse to the law to defend yourself because the court will not be interested in "abstract legal theory."
This will mean the end of the rule of law, without which there can be no constitutional government, without which there can be no civil society, without which human flourishing and happiness can be only the exception, not the rule, and will be always at war with the authorities that hold power. It will be a cruel and merciless tyranny to suffer.


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Obama's request for congressional approval on a Syria strike marks "retreat," Syrian state media says
Updated 10:22 a.m. ET
DAMASCUS, Syria A Syrian state-run newspaper on Sunday called President Barack Obama's decision to seek congressional approval before taking military action against Syria "the start of the historic American retreat."
The gloating tone in the front-page article in the Al-Thawra daily followed Obama's unexpected announcement on Saturday that he would ask Congress to support a strike punishing the President Bashar Assad's regime for the alleged use of chemical weapons. The decision marked a stark turnabout for the White House, which had appeared on the verge of ordering U.S. forces to launch a missile attack against Syria.
As the Obama administration waits for Congress to vote, it is taking its case to the public. Sec. of State John Kerry on Sunday told guest host Major Garrett on "Face the Nation" the U.S. has firm evidence Sarin gas was used in the chemical attacks the administration is pointing to as a reason for intervention.
"We now have samples back from first responders in East Damascus," Kerry said. "Those samples of hair and blood have been tested and they have reported positive for signatures of Sarin. So, we are now getting a stronger case each day. The credibility of the United States is on the line here and I believe that Congress will do the right thing."
The president's decision to take this to Congress came as a surprise even to his own advisers, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Plante.
While the president has said the does not want to proceed alone, and that he wants members of Congress on the record, rather than simply criticizing from outside whatever action he takes, Syrian media took the move differently.
"Whether the Congress lights the red or green light for an aggression, and whether the prospects of war have been enhanced or faded, President Obama has announced yesterday, by prevaricating or hinting, the start of the historic American retreat," Al-Thawra said.
The paper, which as a government outlet reflects regime thinking, also claimed that Obama's reluctance to take military action stems from his "sense of implicit defeat and the disappearance of his allies." The daily said the American leader worries about limited intervention turning into "an open war has pushed him to seek Congress' consent."
Syria's minister for reconciliation issues, Ali Haidar, echoed that line.
"Obama has given himself a chance to take a step backward by talking about Congress' approval and to search for other parties to participate in the attack," Haidar told The Associated Press by telephone. "In other words, he wants to keep brandishing the sword of aggression on Syria without fully giving up the idea of an attack and even without setting a definite date for the aggression."
The U.S. Navy moved warships over the past week into the eastern Mediterranean as the Obama administration considered its options. With everything in place, Obama said Saturday that he had decided the U.S. should take military action and that he believes that he has the authority as commander-in-chief to "carry out this military action without specific congressional authorization."
But he added that he believes the U.S. "will be stronger" if he takes his case to Congress for its nod of approval before taking action.
Congress is scheduled to return from a summer break on Sept. 9, and in anticipation of the coming debate, Obama challenged lawmakers to consider "what message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price."
- Why Obama's going to Congress
- Syria, U.S. potential confrontation one step closer with United Nations inspectors gone
- Assessing "red lines" as Obama mulls Syria attack
- Complete CBS News coverage: Syria crisis
While there is some public support for strikes in Syria, most recent polls show the majority of Americans not in favor. Outside the White House on Saturday, protesters called possible military action in Syria illegal and immoral.
"The American people are opposed to it," said one protester.
There were dozens of people, like 28-year-old Lana Ismail. "In war, the first thing to go is the truth," she said.
A Syrian-American, Ismail said she's seen the horrible aftermath, but she doesn't know who to believe or trust.
"I think the U.S. should get all the facts straight before we go in," she said.
The White House has sent Congress a draft of a resolution seeking approval for a military response to "deter, disrupt, prevent and degrade" the Assad regime's ability to use chemical weapons going forward. The Senate will hold hearings next week so a vote can take place after Congress gets back to work.
The president's strategy carries enormous risks to his and the nation's credibility, which the administration has argued forcefully is on the line in Syria. Obama long ago said the use of chemical weapons was a "red line" that Assad would not be allowed to cross with impunity.
On Saturday morning, the president held a two-hour meeting in the White House Situation Room. Aides said there was some debate over the risks of waiting to act, but the president determined that the U.S. must strike because he believes that U.S. national security interests are at stake.
Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, charted a similar course last week by asking the House of Commons to support military action against Syria, only to suffer a stinging defeat.
Across the Atlantic, Obama's choice has sparked calls for French President Francois Hollande, who has backed calls for an armed response against Syria, to seek parliamentary approval before taking military action. Hollande is not constitutionally required to do so. France's parliament is scheduled to debate the issue Wednesday, but no vote is scheduled
For some in Syria's opposition who had put great hope in U.S. strikes, Obama's decision was a source of despair. For others, it was seen as simply business as usual from a country that they say has done nothing to halt the massive trauma and bloodshed gripping Syria.
"We weren't putting too much hope in the U.S strike," said Mohammed al-Tayeb, an opposition activist in Eastern Ghouta. "America was never a friend of ours, they're still an enemy."
In the buildup to the potential strikes, the opposition and Damascus residents say the Assad regime moved it troops and military equipment out of bases to civilian areas.
The main Western-backed opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement Sunday that the army repositioned rocket launchers, artillery and other heavy weapons inside residential neighborhoods in cities nationwide.
Two Damascus residents the AP spoke with confirmed the regime troop movements. One woman said soldiers had moved into a school next to her house and she was terrified.
With U.S. strikes no longer looming, the U.N. probe into the attack has at least a week and a half to analyze samples it took during on-site investigations before the specter of military action comes yet again to the fore.
The head of the U.N. team, Swedish professor Ake Sellstrom, is to brief U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon later Sunday. The group of experts collected biological and environmental samples during their visits to the rebel-held Damascus suburbs that were hit in the Aug. 21 attack.
The inspectors left Syria on Saturday and arrived in The Hague, Netherlands. The samples they collected in Syria are to be repackaged and sent to laboratories around Europe to check them for traces of poison gas. The U.N. says there is no specific timeline for when their analysis will be completed.
There are widely varying death tolls from the suspected toxic gas attack. The aid group Doctors Without Borders says at least 355 people were killed, while the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring groups says it has identified 502 victims by name. A U.S. intelligence assessment says the attack killed 1,429 civilians, including more than 400 children.
In Cairo, Arab League foreign ministers were to hold an emergency session Sunday evening to discuss Syria. Last week, the 22-nation bloc condemned the Aug. 21 attack outside Damascus but said it does not support military action without U.N. consent.