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Between sequestration, with its damaging impact on workers and the economy, and the billions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare and other necessary social programs that President Obama is pushing, it is evident that the economic policies of both major parties are not intended to promote a recovery for working people.
You cannot lift up a nation's economy while slashing away at its consumers' pocketbooks. In order to justify their defiance of this elementary law, both Republicans and Democrats start talking the language of "austerity," that is, the notion that economic policy must be guided by reducing budgetary deficits first and foremost, and that workers exclusively must be made to pay the cost.
Policies associated with austerity include the cutting of public programs, privatizing existing government assets, mass layoffs of public workers and wage freezes for those who remain, union busting in the public sector and the revising of labor laws to further enhance the power of employers at the expense of employees.
Enforcing these policies during a recession prevents a recovery. Economic theory predicts this and history demonstrates it. Why, then, would the politicians promote austerity? Because these policies assure that the 1% will be let off the hook from paying their fair share of taxes that help subsidize the social safety net, and will have vast pools of public capital opened up for their private investment.
Why worry about the overall economy when the real power brokers from the corporations and banks are making out just fine with austerity? The message seems clear: As long as Wall Street is enjoying the "recovery," no one else gets to. Wall Street has used its vast wealth to lobby politicians for policies that are in its interests. In order for working people to climb out of the recession, they will have to organize in order to create their own power base.
Local Struggles
As already noted, austerity is being enforced on a national scale. Below the radar of news headlines, for the most part, the policies of austerity are spreading on a local level as well with even more devastating immediate impact. Along with this, there has been a growing grassroots opposition to austerity starting locally.
This is most visibly the case in Chicago where Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to sacrifice 54 public schools on the alter of austerity and Obama's "Race to the Top." Thirty thousand students from primarily low-income black and Latino neighborhoods will be affected. Rising to confront Mayor Emanuel's threats has been a grassroots opposition that was built from previous battles linking the Chicago Teachers' Union's interests with those of the working class communities at large. This was most evident at a large rally against the school closures on March 27.
In Detroit the movers behind austerity have taken their most politically extreme measures yet, putting the city ahead of the curve for what is likely to develop across the country. Michigan Governor Rick Synder has appointed Kevyn Orr, of Jones Day Law firm, as Detroit's Emergency Financial Manager. Orr has the power to dismiss elected officials, tear up union contracts, privatize public assets and impose new taxes without a vote. He will use this power to enforce austerity. Though Orr has yet to unveil his plans, there have already been numerous protests and rallies, and the actions are likely to increase.
On the West coast at the end of April, hundreds rallied outside the San Jose City Hall to protest proposed cuts to neighborhood services and Mayor Chuck Reed's threat to declare a fiscal emergency.
On April 11 in Oregon, a public budget hearing in which the Portland City Council intended to sell $21.5 million in cuts attracted over 400 Portland residents, overwhelming city staff. Many citizens spoke to the need to prevent the cuts and instead raise revenue from corporations rather than handing out taxpayer subsidies to them, an idea that received overwhelming support from attendees.
And at an Oakland City Council budget talk, a packed Chamber booed and jeered a presentation on Oakland's fiscal future, chanting "Enough is enough!" The City Council is projecting a deficit ranging from $19 million to $26 million. Considering that there has already been a 20 percent reduction in the city's full-time work force and that the city's three major non-public safety unions are negotiating new contracts, there was no mood to accept the City Council's austerity story.
In Newark, Illinois, around 1,000 high school students walked out of class last month to protest deep cuts to the district's budget. Newark Superintendent Cami Anderson claims the district faces a $57 million deficit. Newark's high school students, correctly, refuse to accept that they must sacrifice their education in order to fill this hole.
Growing Potential
This list over protests in the last two months is not complete. It does display some patterns, however. It shows how education, public workers and the communities they serve are the primary targets of austerity. That means a lot of people are taking hits.
The list also demonstrates how people become empowered when these constituencies work together in solidarity. Austerity promoters prefer to pit communities and/or unions against each other in a scramble to grab what remains of a shrinking budget pie. The events reported above show that a different reaction is possible -- one that will strengthen people's ability to powerfully confront their local governments.
Finally, these developments show it is necessary to go beyond the budget claims of the city government. Budget deficits are the product of allowing big business tax loopholes, obscenely low tax rates, and subsidies paid for by taxpayers. Those expected to bear the burden of cuts are not responsible for this.
In a time of high unemployment it is necessary to stimulate the economy by creating jobs. This stimulus should be paid for by the 1%.
Those uniting against austerity cuts could also demand what they stand for, that is, a budget that puts jobs, education and neighborhoods first rather than corporate profit. To effectively do so the unions and community groups fighting austerity can work together to build their own budget assembly to counter city governments' "we are broke" excuses and popularize an alternative.
These local struggles and many more are a confirmation that austerity in the U.S. will be met with a fight. Though they are disconnected in terms of their organizing, they are a response to a national problem. This wave of local grassroots organizing shows the potential exists to galvanize a national movement against austerity.
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Comments on In Defense of Difficult Clients
by Rob Swan
67 Reader CommentsBack to the Article
Excellent notion to push, Rob. I hope your writing skills serve to inspire - I can't help but fear they may serve to induce the notion of, "Yes, that's _exactly_ what excellent designers should do, and I'm an excellent designer - therefore…"
The causality in that 'extra 0' analogy works all over the place!
I think the point should be made to all designers who get blinded by the light of standards: these things are only beautiful for their reasons. If you wield ideas in the face of adversity without fully grasping their cause, they are no longer torches. They are bludgeons.
A lot of that rings true. (Not the bits about multi-million mega-buck contracts, but the other bits).
Those of us who work in web design every day, and who have embraced web standards, accessibility, usability and new technologies can become so used to applying best practice that we forget _why_ it is best practice. For those of us without a natural 'gift of the gab', it is easy to get caught out by these basic questions.
Yes, we all know that using descriptive link text improves search engine performance and makes it easier for people scanning the page quickly to home in on what they are looking for. But when put on the spot by a difficult client, how many of us can swear that we wouldn't be reduced to stuttering about people not using clicking devices, or printing the page?
I loved this, and it is entirely true that if you were to let your evangelism of standards-compliance and all things sacred (like removal of frames/tables for layout, semantic mark-up, etc.) lapse that you may lose the ability to convince someone of their importance.
However, the dilemma that I face is that I have come a little too close to being fired for trying to convice the very company I work for of the inadequacy of our design. So, how would you suggest that one takes the enlightened messages of Web 2.0 to the company for which you work? Is there information or research out there to affirm that the change in philosophy actually comes with improvements to the bottom line?
This, to me would make it all worthwhile: having concrete data to backup my preaching.
Loved the post.
What you wrote is true for any customer relationship in most businesses. There are people you can convince and there are people who have opinions solid as rock. But it is up to you to decide what want to do, quit the work or doing what the customer wants, allthough you know it better. But in second case you have to inform your customer what he gets.
I think everyone will have a difficult client more than once in life. It's difficult to handle their questions, but it's a good training for yourself. Since we had our first I never go to meetings without a good preparation before.
Thanks for this article made up my day!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and I've renewed my resolve not to resort to physical violence when the client requests reggae music in the background and garish splash pages.
As someone once said, "Usually your first guess is right".
In the case of the web, "click here" was the first guess for how to tell people about links. There's still some merits to it in the right situation. Though, I still think it needs to be in the right situation and not saturated through a site.
I can only echo what others have been saying here; great article, Rob! Nicely written and with a good point to make. Though, really… is beating a difficult client to death with a philosophy book all that bad? :)
Wow, nice article, but I just dealt with a situation like this… _yesterday_. You're absolutely correct, this type of situation does keep you on your toes. Not so much from not knowing the 'why' from a design aspect, because I think most of us know why we do things as designers, but expressing the 'why' in lamens terms can be tough. Just saying "well, it improves accessibility" clearly isn't enough. Working mainly with small businesses, I find the best way to get them on your side is to explain the benefits of standards compliant design with respect to how it will improve the experiences of their users, and thus improve the likelihood of those _users_ becoming _customers_.
With my clients at least, successfully bridging that gap in the clients head between web users and new business has been a big help.
Great article. Unfortunately, you just described 95% of my clients and even some of our staff. We have designers who swear by tables and think inline styles are the greatest thing since the splash page. So at least they're on the same page as our customers, sometimes.
And encountering these folks is a rarity for you guys? I think I must live in a backward town.
Winning over someone's beliefs or ignorance is a huge part of proving that your worth the big bucks. It's a great feeling when you have convinced a not so web savvy client that you did what you did because it was the right thing to do. Happy Client = Happy Designer = Beautiful project you can both be proud of.
Also with regards to "Click Here," it's just redundant. I mean, what else are you going to do there? "Rub Here?" "Stare At Real Hard Here?" "Tap Three Times on the Monitor Here?" Clicking is what you pretty much do; no need to explain the default action.
I really enjoyed the article, Rob; thanks for writing it. It's so very easy to become disgruntled at clients without stopping to ask why they behave the way they do. I've found that clients are often how they are because they feel powerless—it's their website, but it's also partially mine as long as my hands are in it. So I've found that it's important to teach my clients what they need to know in order to get them to trust me. In the midst of that dialogue, I gai a better understanding of their need and desires, and they better understand the design process. In the end, we're both better off.
After being taken advantage of by no less than 3 developers, I can tell you that explanations put me at ease. Why? Because I know you've put thought into what you are doing. Many of your peers don't. They look at the client as nothing more than an annoying means-to-an-end. From Day 1!
As we pay the bills, we want to get a little more respect than that. Many developers pass themselves off as experts, when they aren't. They are unprofessional, have no idea why a accepted convention is a good idea, don't respect deadlines (even when scope creep is not an issue), don't execute, and flat-out don't care. In the process, they make the good ones among you look bad.
As clients, some of us also want to learn. I take interest in knowing why we are doing something a certain way. If you are enhancing my product, I want to know why it is now better than the competition.
I am reminded of a story about (I believe) Amory Lovins, who tried to get large businesses to become more environmental friendly. The large companies weren't terribly interested in his efforts to save the planet, but when he shifted his argument towards showing how being environmentally friendly could benefit the bottom line, they were much more receptive.
I have adopted this strategy with web clients. I don't explain to them why a standard is the right thing to do, I show them how standards can help save them money and provide a better user experience. For example, I might explain that saying "click here" makes sense on a web page, but fails completely on a cell phone. Depending on the client, this can be a huge deal.
All this rings true in terms of client / company relations. I am currently considering extreme acts of violence given that the Creative Director here thinks good work comes from a batch of popularity contests. If you are cool at one point your ideas will be used, considered and accepted. Otherwise, the current brownnose will reap the benefits of taking the good projects and being his pet.
This law applies to clients.
My policy is to never compromise good quality. Compromise cost, timetable, anything you want but not quality which rings true no matter what relationship.
The work is what prevails.
Backing up to this point:
You: ∗Contemplates beating the client to death with a handy philosophy textbook"¦âˆ—
Mr. Smith: ... why are you looking at that book?
New Ending:
You: Opens signed contract to pricing line items.
Mr. Smith ... Why are you looking at the contract?
You: Just checking to see how many hours I included for development education and training. See here I have included 0 hours at $150.00 and hour.
This is billable in 1/4 hour increments. Would you like me write you down for 2 hours? I have an open time slot tomorrow at 3:30 pm. (note proximity to rush hour traffic)
Mr Smith ... Not Really.
You.. The answers to all of your questions can be summed up here in the signed contract. You are paying for a site that is designed using the latest Internet technologies and theories.
Mr. Smith ... I see.
You: (Quickly Changing subject to money) Friday I will be invoicing you for the first 50%. Would you like that mailed, emailed or faxed.
Mr Smith ... (Avoiding the discussion of money)You Can mail it to me please. Now if you will excuse me I am running late for another appointment!!!!!!!!!!
—-Sorry I couldn't refuse the opportunity to inject some humor into it.
Of course "click here" destroys well-written copy, and it has horrible implications for accessibility.
On the other hand, it's an unambiguous call to action… so I don't bother fighting it as long as it's used sparingly.
As for the rest… I feel like the point of the article - that difficult clients keep us on our toes - gets lost in the "defense."
Meanwhile, for those of us whose account lists are comprised largely of difficult clients this article does little to battle despair. It's better than silence, but only by an increment in my opinion.
Meanwhile, a much more significant point of contention is ignored: the fact that small business owners are particularly susceptible to the temptations of micromanagement, penny-pinching, and price-shopping. A well-intentioned webnik must bear the first, and let prospects learn from their mistakes with the latter two - at someone else's expense.
Great article.
I often find that by explaining the first couple of these 'difficult questions' in a way that makes sense from the client perspective will quickly bring you to a point where the client trusts you, thus reducing the number of 'difficult' questions.
Right now 'Google' often is the magic word to motivate standards and semantics. Google is the blind person that every small business owner does want to take into account.
Furthermore, a client who takes your word for everything you say and asks no questions at all isn´t that enjoyable neither. My preferred client is a critical one who likes to know why and at the same time values a motivation that makes sense.
Great article - it goes with the age-old philosophy that you only truly understand something if you can explain it from the bottom-up.
I've been a client as well as a user (...to the level of creating and using web templates on my own in html. Currently I'm buried in a tome on MySQL. This 'about me' is by way of introducing my pov.) At this point, any developer I talk to assumes I am at their level (this is not always good), whereas serious conversation with a coder is still difficult in that I understand many concepts but still relatively few processes.
Until a few years ago, I spent decades working with only non tech business people. Most of them would relate to your description of difficult client, yet none of them were sole proprietor types. For the most part they are highly educated, extremely sophisticated, usually self-employed or professional, and successful in worldly terms. They only know the term social networking if it has been uttered by their teenaged children, yet they almost all use computers and the web.
The thought I'd like to add here is that the folks I just described may not be your difficult client directly, but they are likely to be the clients of your client. Your client, I am assuming, has a successful B&M business but no web experience. They are more or less clueless about what you do and why. They are, nevertheless, anything but clueless about their users. It might be a pretty tough stretch in some cases to delve into their knowledge of how their customers behave and translate it to the web directly, but I believe that specific (perhaps limited) versions of such an exercise could be enlightening in some cases.
Perhaps seeing that difficult client as the agent of a pool of new users who we might or might not bring into the flow could be useful.
Crazy, this actually just happened to me yesterday at a SEO/SEM seminar ... My boss asked me point blank what are the benefits of using CSS layouts over tables and, after countless hours reading ALA and other industry leader articles and blogs, preaching the virtues to clients and coworkers, painstakingly reworking sites to CSS when i could do it in tables in a fraction of the time,
I stammered like an idiot for a second. And in that second, I saw in his eyes the total loss of his brief interest in the subject.
I had on my comfy shoes, and looked like a fool
Its a little refreshing to be reminded that I'm not the only one with this problem. Although that doesn't change the fact that I still can't come up with the right answers when it comes down to the moment. I hate it when they ask "why" the second time. I almost take it as they just don't trust me.
Currently my only excuse for why I enforce web standers is because of search engines. Its a hard case to plead. I usually end up just giving up on the client, doing it the way they want and move on to the next client in hopes that they understand.
When I was just starting out with doing web design I did have a very difficult and trying experience. My client was looking for a designer to create a site that would explain his amazing life. And trust me, this guy had an amazing life to tell. But was also looking for a designer that would charge a fair price and get the site built within a reasonable amount of time. It sounded like a good job to take on so I volunteered to build it for him and keep him posted along the way. I immediately went to work on the site. Every day after getting done with my regular job, I'd come home and work on the design of the pages. Everything was going great and he seemed happy. After I built the first page, I helped him get his domain name so that I could create a banner and put his website name on it. I made it perfectly clear that he was to save all passwords and numbers so that when it came time to load his site into the ftp it would be a breeze. I completed all the layout of the pages, put the text in and finished it up.I then attempted to send it to him so he could look at it, and then have me go over to his house and put it onto the web. But that proved unsuceesful because he uses AOL and Aol doesn't allow any files to be sent. I then sent it to my hotmail and tried to save it onto his computer that way. Again AOL didn't allow it. The only way I could think of getting the website up and running was to load it onto the ftp from my computer, but he was afraid of giving out his credit card numbers due to being afraid that it might get lost and someone might use them. He also lost the password which also made it impossible. So I was running out of options and he was getting impatient to get the site up. I told him I'd work on a solution and get back to him and definitely get the site up. All of a sudden he calls me and tells me that he had a guy he met build a site and put it up. So I checked it out and it was horrible. The guy used free software that was supplied by Yahoo, that required no coding at all. He said the guy did a great job and he liked it but wanted a few changes. Well after getting no hits and seeing alot of errors that wasn't ever fixed, including bad layout, he was no longer pleased with it. So he decided to go back to using my services again. So, I told him to call the hosting company and get the passwords but that proved to not work either. I made him give me his credit card info. I then had no choice but to buy a new domain and get hosting. When he saw the site he loved it but wanted it shortened, and the text made bigger. He did pay me for it and all but that experience taught me alot about how to deal with clients in the future. www.bizenez.com
I enjoyed it, and do believe the concepts are applicable to other areas in our lives and our relationships in general. Thanks!
After years in the webdevelopment business I am by now at ease with the difficult type of customers. Mostly I have arguments (which some customers are not interested in just because they love to rant) and else I silently know better and do as they like, knowing other projects will come and serve as a better reference project.
Quite often those people come back a lot later and having learnt some things finally understand stuff I had been talking about.
I think "click here" is also bad as it has poor scanability. If a user is looking for a link to an annuall report, then scanning the links is only going to show a bunch of "click here"s, which means they have to take the time to scan more carefully.
*Great article*. This is a great reminder to everyone in the business to make sure they can justify some of the trends and standards, and why they are so important. I'm definitely going to be re-examining some of my practices just in case.
Thanks Rob!
Great article, and true. I can't count the number of times I've had to stop and rethink why I do things the way I do just to explain them to others.
There's another point worth mentioning, though. I've found the people questioning me are often providing bad solutions to real problems. In my company, I may be the "expert,"? but people don't feel comfortable pointing out problems without providing solutions. When people provide me with really bad ideas, it gives me cause to say, "Why do they want this?"? Often, they're responding to a real problem that I missed. It gives me the chance to say, "Wait. I think I see what you're getting at. What would you think of this as a solution?"? They feel listened to and respected, and I get to improve my site.
While working at CERN, I changed some of the core HTML outputting functions to use semantic XHTML + CSS, in order to convince the other developers (and myself) that it was a good idea. The "result":http://work.l0b0.net/#markup_css was IMO quite convincing.
Check out this article published in Digital Web Magazine that explains how every design decision is some sort of compromise in usability - understanding that and explaining it are keys to working with difficult clients.
Difficult clients always presents difficult questions so we can improve ourselves easily… it we can manage that kind of persons…
Managing the clients has a lot to do with managing the customers. At http://whatsonmybookshelf.com this is a problem we encounter frequently.
Here's what I tell my clients about "click here":
Me: What you really want to offer them is not a chance to click, is it? You really want them to learn more, read more, see something, download something, go somewhere, etc., don't you?
Client: Well, yes, I guess so.
Me: So let's make that clear and make your site more action-oriented. You want an action-oriented site, don't you?
Client: (tentatively) Yes, I see what you mean.
Of course, all bets are off once they get their hands on Contribute or start posting news items. I correct all the "click heres" when they submit Contribute drafts, and I do occasional site searches for "click here" and change them after telling the client staff why. It doesn't completely do away with it, but it does reduce it a lot.
As for frames, I've been able to talk people out of it and I haven't had to use them for years. Now a few years or so later I have gone to client sites to find them completely re-done with frames and looking horrible, but at least my name's not on it.
Thanks Rob for the great article.
I still think experienced designers are still better suited for the job that n00b grocery store owners.
I've made a website for a pedantic control-freak once, so it had all the lameness (AKA "fresh insightful look of the non-technical person"). The "prefect" website turned out to be a visitor-repellent.
Yes, 'click here' links are worse than properly labelled ones, and it does make a difference in usability tests.
Frames, intros, and background music aren't improving anything either. The subject has been beaten to death and ignorant comments about it aren't insightful. It's just like with complex math problems (NP) - once in a while crosswords fan will say he have found a perfect solution just to be proven wrong later (wasting real mathematicans' time).
Mostly when non-designers want to over-ride conventions it is just from ignorance. Then again, you're right that we do need to pay attention to their concerns. There are at least two relevant situations here:
On is that professionals get caught up in self-righteousness and the fad of the moment. We all do it. Stating that, "I'm the professional and I know best," is at best problematic and at worst, plain wrong. It is so easy to get caught up in our little world that we lose site of the ordinary person, even while claiming that is who we are championing.
The other concern is with wisely choosing your battles. The client wants, "Click here." Does click here really hurt the page if it is included in a longer text link like, "To learn more about our XYZ Neon Widget, click here?" Redundant? Probably. Inelegant? Absolutely. Harmful? Not really. This is a small compromise that won't harm a site, simply make it marginally less sweet.
These types of problems are seldom binary, this or that. Bending a little in non-crucial areas builds a relationship that will more likely survive a "No, I will not do that," situation. Being flexible enough to both build quality sites and incorporate a client's wishes is a far more important skill for the professional to learn than simple technical competence.
On the other hand, if there are truly major technical, accessibility, etc. concerns, it is also important to be able to say, "I don't think that we are a good match." I did that twice this year. The first time the client was shocked enough to actually listen to my position. We reach a compromise that we could both comfortably live with. The second time was simply a relief to me and most likely to our no-longer-client. My boss trusts me enough that I had her support in this.
There are situations that experience teaches will come back to haunt us. This is less a web design problem than a business one. A client who insists on building a dysfunctional web site will only blame the designer later, even if the problems are ones the client insisted on and signed off for. "I told you so," never makes a client happy.
It is an interesting phenomenon that the less tightly one holds a position, the more ease there is in finding solutions.
The things you have to keep when dealing with clients of any standing are:
A. They hired you, because you are the expert. When your client doubts your decisions, gently remind them that this is your area of expertise. Ofcourse, a trust should have been built at an earlier stage.
B. Money talks. At least here it does. Try to explain to your client that sticking by web standards will generate a greater return of invest. Think PDA, think cell phones, think new markets and new (formerly ignored) customers. Can't do that with tables or 'click here'.
C. Sometimes the client is right. After all, isn't he/she the one who knows his customers?
How to convince them? Still an unsolved issue for me.
I really enjoyed the article; much of it resonates with what I encounter everyday at work. I always find it interesting the different perspectives clients have on the web: some are standards zealots and some are stuck in the 90's. Also I find it ironic that the Fortune 500 clients are (from what I've seen) the ones who often have the hardest time embracing contemporary conventions.
Of course, there is the argument that a client should get what they want. If they want a neon pink flashing banner adorned front-page monstrosity, and they're paying for it, well… sometimes you have to just do the job your asked to do. We all got to eat. Philosophy don't pay the bills.
I apologize for my english but I think my point of view can help to understand what the 'real world' is. I work in a little country named Italy, and even in this little country my town is a small town, and all the clients are 'difficult'. Currently I have a very funny experience with a difficult client that challenges my modernist and illuministic belief. Difficult clients don't want to be educated, more precicesly, they pay you for not being educated. Usually they come to you with an enormous self-estimate (They are the mind, you are the hand - 'vile meccanico') and an entire enciclopedy of aestetical prejudices disguised in the shape of objective rules. My client have a funny misunderstaning of what html is. He work with golive on a mac and he's strongly convinced that html is not the code. I went to him with a simple page (table-less, etc etc) for his online newspaper. I tried to explain with the printed html code on my hands that he had to write the title of articles inside an h.. tag and he said to me: "I need to work in html, I can't edit the 'code'". He thinks that 'editing html' have to do with cut and paste from ms-word to the preview of golive. Code is, for him, something bad that parassiticaly lies behind the scene of 'html'. I never used in my life golive and I don't know how it renders stylesheets, but I know I've tested my page on IE, Mozilla for mac and pc, netscape for mac, safari and it works. But golive seems not to be able to show that page properly. So, my client look at me with disgust, and I neither tried to explain. Difficult client don't want to be educated, they pay to feel that they are right!
Robert, very interesting and useful article, made me think a lot about relations with clients. I feel that it is extremely important to do a "reality check" sometimes, to verify, that you are still sane and not dreaming somewhere else. I believe, that it is important to face such clients, to learn about communicating with them, as they will always be a part of any job.
I agree with Geoff Butterfield, that to convince a client, one should explain the benefit.
I can tell you, that once i have had once such discussion with a Fortune 100 client, which just took about 10 minutes - their point was - why change anything, if it works at this moment.
Mine arguments for using standards at that time were bandwidth saving, speed and usability and wider users range (more extravagant clients with OSX and Netscape precisely), which for them were not really interesting, as the person responsable for the website from their site, had no interest in internet, and for her it was just an obligation to work on it.
So the whole thing just stalled, and as for me - i started changing and adopting their website with each regular update =O)
My point was, that i was doing no wrong to the client, but helping them advancing into the future. Right now, i have changed my attitude in just doing my work the way i can (trying to be standard compliant) and doing my best, explaining to the clients what will they gain, before they start opposing the idea.
Very salient points I may add…
Pt1. "There's a certain breed of clients that lives in the past…"
Pt2. "They can be a nightmare to work for, and they often end up commissioning horrendous sites that pollute our precious internet."
Pt3. "It might seem easy to just pretend they don't exist, or, worse still, to do as they ask, but—brace yourself—these clients are the stepping stones to enlightenment."
But, as you so elegantly selected your catch phrase:
The salt of the earth
"[T]hese few are the salt of the earth; without them, human life would become a stagnant pool"¦. There is only too great a tendency in the best beliefs and practices to degenerate into the mechanical"¦"? —John Stuart Mill, On Liberty
Enough Said!
My catch phrase:
"Bland sand (e.g. salt) I am fine to be… An Adjutor (assistant)"
I think there's a point in everyone's career when this happens, for me it's been this year. I've had to explain to webmasters of small companies why their 5 year old website is completely out dated, and why they should use CSS and semantic mark-up, they look at me blankly as say "it works why change?"?
I've had clients that appear to be colour blind, 55 year old technophobes that can barely use email tell me, a designer to put the logo on every element on every page and can we have one of those scrolling marquees, before dropping the bomb of; "comic sans is a nice friendly font, how about that for the main text"¦"?
If I could, I would walk out, but I can't because a job is a job, so I sit there and calmly and patiently explain to them why things have to be done my way. Then leave the meeting and go to the pub, hoping alcohol will erase the last two hours from my memory.
This was a really good article. I'm a WDiT (Wed Designer in Training) and with no one to really discuss all things web (war on terror might have something to do with that), I have no choice but to rely on sites like this and the people involved to tell me what's right and what's wrong.
Often I do ponder if some of the things said are right (like using tables, etc). I am striving to design with standards in mind but often get frustrated because instead of using a table I'm struggling to figure out how to do something with a div.
As I gain more experience and learn to differentiate the experts from the b*llsh*t artists I'm sure I'll come up with my own style and preference of designing and getting the job done right.
This is Great.
This is Great.
Nice way to share informartion
Nice way to share informartion
Nice way to share informartion
Nice way to share informartion
Nice way to share informartion
Nice way to share informartion
A well built solid cabinet would last longer than a cheap one right"¦ even though they may look the same on the surface? But you have to be prepared to pay for it right? Give the customer what he wants inside the budget constraints. If one is not prepared to learn about table less layout then surely you can't afford to charge top rates.
It is true we should question our methods and try to educate however the customers should get what they want.
A well built solid cabinet would last longer than a cheap one right"¦ even though they may look the same on the surface? But you have to be prepared to pay for it right? Give the customer what he wants inside the budget constraints. If one is not prepared to learn about table less layout then surely you can't afford to charge top rates.
It is true we should question our methods and try to educate however the customers should get what they want.
There's really more to clients then clients that "get it" and clients that don't. I think it was Paula Scher in "Make it Bigger" who talked about there being four essntial client types. Think of a coordiate chart with extremes of smart<->stupid and meddling<->uninvolved. These two axes cross so that you get four types: smart and excited, smart and uninvolved, stupid and excited, and stupid and uninvolved. I'm paraphrasing the langugage—
I think she was a bit more polite about the terminology—but the general idea stands. Her main point in all of this was was that some of these client types will cost you money. In my experience, the project for a stupid, meddling client will never finish on time or underbudget. While I agree that they can provide practice for understanding good tenets of design, if you have options or can afford to wait for another job to come along, do so. You will lose money (time) on a stupid, meddling client. Stupid and uninvovled is not so bad and would still make for good practice.
Fellow philoso-mo-phizer,
Great article. I can't wait for you to compose "Part II", when you post the comprehensive list of stupid questions clients ask and link to some web pages that pose answers. Then again, most of those links will point back to ALA articles! Good stuff…
Well when you take into consideration the reason we are here doing what we are doing is because of the client it puts a perspective on working with difficult people. However, sometimes you have to weigh the opportunity cost of working with such an individual and sometimes you will find that it actually is costing you money to work for them.
It seems like, with a few exceptions, we all get the same questions. I wish somebody would make some sort of educational cartoon (Donald in Standardsmagic Land? ...not sure if anyone will catch that reference…) so we could just sit the client down in front of a TV and save ourselves the time and hassle.
Because after all, their job is to make our lives easier, right? There's nothing more tedious than a client who doesn't know how to do design websites…

subset: commoncrawl


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'Game of Thrones' Co-creator Speaks on Campus
DAVID BENIOFF, author of the 2012-13 Oswego Reading Initiative selection "City of Thieves" and co-creator of "Game of Thrones," made a public appearance April 24 in SUNY Oswego's Campus Center arena. He also met in the afternoon for a Q & A with students in the Creative Writing and English majors. Benioff wrote "City of


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At some point before former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has his day in court, former Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent will stand trial for intoxication manslaughter. The charges arise from the death of former teammate Jerry Brown, who was killed when Brent, allegedly driving drunk, crashed the car in which Brown was riding.
When it's time for the case to go to trial, the Cowboys may be without three of their players for a day or two. According to the Associated Press, three current Cowboys and six former Dallas players appear on the prosecution's witness list.
Those named are safety Danny McCray, safety Barry Church, and cornerback Orlando Scandrick. Also on the list are retired safety Gerald Sensabaugh, Raiders cornerback Michael Jenkins, and free-agent fullback Lawrence Vickers.
Brent's lawyer, George Milner, told the AP on Friday that the players were with Brent and Brown at the same nightclub on the evening of the accident.
Typically, the names on a witness list far exceed those who actually will be called. Lawyers do this to ensure maximum flexibility, and to keep the other side guessing for as long as possible regarding the evidence that will be presented.


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The UniformedScrubs.com now sells Dickies medical scrubs and medical uniforms.
Uniformed Scrubs is a new e-commerce site focused on providing a shopping solution to healthcare professionals looking to purchase medical scrubs and accessories.
Since 1922 Dickies has been a supplier of high quality work apparel for a variety of industries. Dickie's medical scrubs offer healthcare professionals a plethora of styles to choose from, such as v-neck, square neck, and mock wrap, just to name a few.
Not only do customers have many styles to choose from, but they have many choices in color as well. Dickies' Mock Wrap scrub top comes in 15 splendid colors ranging from an eye catching neon pink to a delicate pastel yellow. How about showing your support in the fight against breast cancer with Dickies' "A Lesson To Cure" V-Neck nursing scrubs top? Most of Dickies'scrubs come in a variety of blends from 100% to a 65% polyester/ 35% cotton blend. These various blends allow the wearer comfort, ease of movement, and reduces creases.
Uniformed Scrubs is currently offering social media specials. "Like" Uniformed Scrubs on Facebook , follow Uniformed Scrubs on Twitter, or participate in a link exchange with UniformedScrubs.com and receive special coupon codes worth 20% off your purchase and free shipping on purchases over $100. Each code is good for 1 year.
If you do all three, then you will get all three codes!
Amazon shopping website


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Freedom to Marry gears up for Amsterdam Pride - Join Us!
July 02, 2014
Next month, Freedom to Marry staff members and board members will travel from the United States to the Netherlands - the first country to pass the freedom to marry for same-sex couples - for Amsterdam Pride, an annual celebration of the LGBT community.
The Freedom to Marry float - decorated in red, white, and blue - in the boat parade on the canal will commemorate the great synergy of American and Dutch progress on LGBT rights by sailing through 400 hundred year old canals while being cheered on by half a million spectators. The Freedom to Marry float will be the first-ever American participant, part of the VIP line-up, and have the largest float on the water for 100 exclusive guests with open bar, lunch, entertainment, and beautiful views.
You can join Freedom to Marry for this unique experience. The weekend of festivities begins on Friday, August 1 with an arrival party and welcome party before Saturday's big canal parade celebration, where attendees will have VIP Boat Access and Sunday's farewell brunch. Buy your ticket HERE.
The Amsterdam Pride event stems from Linda Steen, a celebrity chef, and her wife Louise Doorn, an Executive Director at JP Morgan Chase. When they moved from Amsterdam to New York three years ago, they were surprised to see that the U.S. government did not respect many of their rights and protections as a married couple: Coming to the United States after living in the Netherlands presented something of a culture shock - they realized that rights and protections for gay and lesbian people were seen as a privilege.
Now, we're lucky to be joining together with Linda and Louise across the pond in their home country for Amsterdam Pride. After all, the campaign to win marriage nationwide in the United States truly impacts LGBT rights worldwide.
Learn more and get your ticket HERE to join us for this exciting weekend. See you there!


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It would probably be best to start off with describing what this book is not. Its definitely not a cover-to-cover bedtime read. Its more something for the military historian to keep on the shelf for reference, and that the family historian may wish to have a look at if they find a Rifle Volunteer ancestor.
The Rifle Volunteers were formed in 1859 as a form of part-time defence force for the United Kingdom. Although the Government was not overly keen on the concept of amateur soldiering, the War Office finally acquiesced on the grounds of national defence in the event of an invasion of British soil. They were, along with the older Militias, the forerunners of the modern Territorial Army.
From the start the Rifle Volunteers took on a strong local tone – they were originally raised by Lord Lieutenants of counties, and were formed around local companies and battalions. There was a degree of central organisation and direction, in the form of certain stipulations and directives from central Government, but on the whole the Volunteers were very much a local force. And only later in the 19th century did the Volunteers begin the long and drawn out process of building links with the regular army. The 1881 Army reforms saw the introduction of Country Regiments, which made local links with volunteer units much more likely.
Volunteer battalions were originally only to be mobilised for home defence. However in 1900 a Special Army Order called upon volunteer companies to fight in South Africa. The Volunteer Force finally ceased to exist in 1908, when it was subsumed into the new Territorial Force. Apparently this change was not popular with the volunteers themselves, as it involved a degree of re-organisation, and some disbandments.
Unfortunately, this book does not really show the reader how to research a volunteer. To do that you would expect to see some examples of documents, how and where to find them, and advice to set you on the road to find out more. However this information is limited to one page at the end of the book, covering Army Lists, Muster Rolls, Published Unit Records, Local Newspapers and the National Archives. The upshot is, sadly, that if you want to research a Rifles volunteer, there isn't a whole lot to go on – and especially not it if they were not an officer.
Where this book does shine, however, is in the exhaustive list of every Volunteer Rifles Unit in Britain. For example, I can see that the 5th (Portsmouth) Corps of the Hampshire Rifles Volunteer Rifles formed on 16 August 1860. The Commandant was Captain George P. Vallaney, formerly of the Indian Army. In 1880 the 5th (Portsmouth) joined the new 3rd Corps, providing five companies from A to E. In September 1885 the 3rd Hampshire Corps was designated as the 3rd (The Duke of Connaught's Own) Volunteer Battalion, and in 1908 the Battalion transferred to the Territorial Force as the 6th Battalion of the Hampshire Regiment. Interestingly, we also find out that their uniform was scarlet and yellow, later changing to scarlet and white.
More locally, the 23rd Corps of the Hampshire Rifles Volunteers formed at Cosham on 29 November 1860, with Lieutenant Edward Goble and Ensign Henry Monk as the first officers. The 23rd moved its Headquarters several miles west to Portchester in 1869, and became L Company of the new 3rd Corps in 1880.
Tracing the Rifle Volunteers: A Guide for Military and Family Historians is published by Pen and Sword


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The literary renaissance of Virginia began in the late twenties when the English romantic movement reached the quiet plantations. Till then the Virginia mind had lingered pleasantly in the twilight of the liberal eighteenth cent", following ways of thought it had learned of revolutionary France, and writing with a leisurely finish it had learned of Augustan England. In that older Virginia dignified sentiment was accepted as the hall-mark of breeding-a sentiment somewhat ornate and consciously elegant, that recognized its obligations to a strict morality, and laid its nosegay at the feet of the pure and beautiful and good. When the Virginian essayed somewhat infrequently to commit his thoughts to paper, he wrote as an old-fashioned gentleman, conscious of his social responsibility, consulting classic standards of taste, and embellishing his sentences with bits of choice Latin. But after the year 1830 sentiment gave place to romance, and dignity to exuberance of fancy. A new generation, trained in the school of Sir Walter Scott, fell to the pleasant task of portraying the familiar plantation life in glowing colors and investing it with romantic charm.
The plantation tradition, it will be remembered, first took shape in the Old Domínion and assumed its salient features at the hands of Virginia romantics. Its development was contemporary with the New England transcendental movement, and in origin and spirit it was as native to Virginia as the philosophy of idealism was native to Massachusetts. Inspired by an overseas romanticism, it accepted the materials it found at hand and transmuted the easy-going plantation life into enduring romance. The work was begun by Kennedy in his idyllic Swallow Barn. The picture thus slightly sketched was given stronger colors by Caruthers, and received completer form from John Esten Cooke. From their hands Thomas Nelson Page took his materials to refashion to suit the taste of a later day. No realism added its sobering touches to the romantic picture thus early drawn, and none has since been added. A golden light still lingers upon the old plantation. Memories are still too dear to the Virginian to suffer any lessening of the reputed splendors of ante bellum days. The tragedy of a lost cause has woven itself into the older romance and endowed the tradition with an added sanction. It has long since spread beyond the confines of Virginia and become a national possession. North as well as South is so firmly convinced of its authenticity that realism has never had the temerity to meddle with it.(1)
It was a romanticizing age, and in Virginia congenial materials were ready to hand. The distinction of a plantation aristocracy set in the midst of a bucolic republican society, with its genial hospitality, its individuality, its sharp contrasts of whites and blacks, its clutter of cabins for background to the pillared mansion, its avid neighborhood interests, its outdoor life, its patriarchal spirit, was a distinction that no romantic could overlook, the most individual[ and native picturesque in all America. Life on the plantation was uncramped by the drab routine and skimpy meanness of the New England farm; fit was unsoiled by the coarseness and vulgarity of the frontier; fit had none of the sordidness of the middle-class town. It might be wasteful, but fit was good material for literature; and hence the Virginia romantic had no need to seek the picturesque in England and Spain, as Irving had done. He had only to pick and choose from the familiar stuff lying all about him, emphasizing the agreeable, overlooking the unpleasant, fashioning his figures and action to suit the ideal of a golden age of plantation society. Yet the result, fit must be confessed, is not wholly adequate. Virginia has suffered gravely from the want of a sober realism. It is not so much that the worst did not get into the romantic tradition-shortcomings in Virginia life which even Wirt hints at-as that the beat did not get in. The plantation master of the romantics falls grossly short of the reality that Virginia provided. The simple dignity of John Taylor, the ingrained Puritanism of Lee and Jackson, the catholic culture and fine integrity of George Wythe, have been left out of the tradition. The Virginian created by the romantics is absurdly inferior to such men, who by any standard were as admirable a group of gentlemen as America has ever bred. A little honest realism would have corrected the picture, to the advantage of the Old Dominion.
At the time when the romantics were beginning their work of constructing the plantation tradition the intellectual renaissance of Virginia was passing. With the fading of the French influence after 1820 carne increasing isolation and a conscious sectionalism. Intellectual discipline and catholic tastes became rarer. Virginia had no share in the revolutionary enthusiasms of the Utopian thirties and forties, when New England expected the Promised Land to appear at the next turn in the road; fit received no stimulus from the expansive systems of thought that were setting all Europe in ferment. The new Germany seems to have made no impression on the Virginia mind, neither its philosophical idealism nor its provocative higher criticism. The new interest in Social speculation and experiment that arose in Massachusetts with the beginnings of industrialism awakened no response in Virginia. Plantation society was static, and Social speculation was unwelcome. The theories of Comte, of Fourier, of Owen were unknown; Utopian experiments were untried. If Virginia escaped the curse of industrialism fit lacked the intellectual stimulus that came to New England with the rise of the textile mills. Social unrest bred no protests against the plantation order. The revolutionary mood was gone, and after 1820 the stimulus to intellectual life grew weaker. English romanticism as exemplified in the work of Scott and Tom Moore was the single foreign influenced that spread amongst the plantations, and the new literature accepted the cult of the picturesque romantic. With the passing of the great age of Virginia the tradition of her greatness remained to be gathered up and preserved.
To Virginia gentlemen of the old school fit must have seemed a bit ironical that William Wirt should have come to be accepted as the literary representative of the Old Dominion in the days of John Randolph of Roanoke. Born in Maryland in 1772 of SwiSS parentage, Wirt belonged to Virginia only by adoption, and although on terms of intimacy with the plantation gentry he embodied few of the traits that went to the making of the plantation tradition. In temperament he was far removed from the easy-going planter. A certain canny thrift marked him, a pronounced desire to rise in the world and cut a distinguished figure. He was careful to make a good investment of his talents, attentive to profitable undertakings, whether in law or eloquence or speculation. His mature life ran a singularly prosperous and dignified course. He gathered property and reputation and office, and in every position he acquitted himself honorably. To do less than well in any undertaking he would have accounted a stain upon his reputation. In every company he made himself liked. There was none of the aggressive individualism of John Randolph, in wait for an opportunity to send home a shaft of rankling wit, but always a studious concern to please. He was troubled that anyone should think his criticism severe in The British Spy, and he hesitated long before publishing his Patrick Henry for fear offense would be taken at the few blemishes he discovered in his hero. An honest man and a capable, sterling after his kind but not notably intellectual, not creative, he owed his advancement to very practical qualities: an engaging personality and genial wit, a knack at formal oratory, a graceful pen, a persevering pursuit of his profession, the cultivation of desirable friendships. An excellent lawyer, he never turned aside from the law to meddle with politics; yet he was on good terms with the politicians, and he reached the top of his ambition by appointment to the Attorney-Generalship of the United States, a post which he held for upwards of twelve years.
In training and culture Wirt was of the sound eighteenth century tradition. He was bred in the classics, English literature, and the common law. When he set up in his profession his library consisted of Blackstone, Don Quixote, and Tristram Shandy. His literary taste was formed by the later writers of the eighteenth century, by Gray, Hervey, Young, Ossian, Burke, Sterne, rather than by Pope and Dryden. In The British Spy he praises Bacon highly and lavishes commendation upon Addison, regretting that the Spectator "should be thrown by, and almost entirely forgotten, while the gilded blasphemies of infidels, and the `noontide trances' of pernicious theorists, are hailed with rapture, and echoed around the world" (Letter X). Yet the determining influence in his own writings, it is clear, carne from the sentimentalists and from Burke. From the former he caught the note of polite emotion and from the latter the strain of sonorous eloquence. His well-bred sensibilities were constantly in the service of his pen or tongue, to lend pathos to an affecting bit of description or to transport his hearers by a melting appeal. A look, a gesture, a pose, was nicely calculated to bring sympathetic tears to the eyes of his auditors. To touch the emotions he considered the triumph of art, and to conduct through the emotions to a sound morality, its sole justification.
As a member of the Virginia bar Wirt took pride in the tradition of sober culture that had grown up amongst its distinguished practitioners. The members of that bar were gentlemen as well as lawyers, who would rather go wrong in their legal authorities than in their classical embellishments; they were orators as well, careful of their diction and meticulous in rounding a period. In these excellent qualities Wirt early distinguished himself. He had read more than most, and apposite quotations from the classics carne easily to his pen to grate the pellucid flow of his English. One of the signal triumphs of his life was when in an elaborate legal argument before the Supreme Court at Washington, he retorted a passage of the Aeneid upon his opponent, to provide a text for a burst of the exuberant rhetoric that so delighted his generation (The British Spy, 1855, pp. 88-go). His love of ornate speech seems to us curiously old-fashioned, yet it was the manner of the times, and he gave himself to it with enthusiasm-vivo gurgite exundans, as he would have chosen to say. The chief interest of his lite was oratory, and how skillful a practitioner he was adjudged by his own generation is revealed in the comment of a contemporary who often admired "the blaze of his reasoning and declamation":
The march of his mind is direct to its object, the evolutions by which he attains it, are so new and beautiful, and apparently necessary to the occasion, that your admiration is kept alive, your fancy delighted, and your judgment convinced, through every stage of the process. . . . There is no weak point in his array, no chink in the whole line of his extended woks. Then the sweet melody of voice, the beautiful decorations of fancy, the easy play of a powerful reason, by which all this is accomplished, amaze and delight. His pathos is natural and impressive; there is a pastoral simplicity and tenderness in his pictures of distress, when he describes female innocence, helplessness, and beauty, which the husband on whom she smiled should have guarded from even the winds of heaven which might visit it too roughly, "shivering at midnight on the winter banks of the Ohio, and mingling her tears with the torrent, which froze as they fell;" it in not a theatrical trick, to move a fleeting pity, but a deep and impressive appeal to the dignified charities of our nature. (Ibid., pp. 84-85.)
Wirt's literary reputation rests chiefly upon The British Spy and Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, both of which may be characterized in the admirable phrase above quoted, as studies in "the dignified charities of our nature. Tbc former was done hastily at the age of thirty, the latter was toiled over for years and appeared when he was forty-five. They were received with vast approval and set him quite in the front rank of American literary fame. Yet the contemporary popularity of The British Spy is inexplicable to us today. It is astonishing that so slight a thing should havehaveieved so Beat a reputation, and it suggests the depths of literary poverty in which the Virginia of 1803 was sunk. The work is miscellany - hodgepodge perhaps is a juster term - character sketches, geology, description, rhapsody, moralizing, with the faintest suggestion of criticism. Tbc sketch which achieved the greatest, celebrity, the description of the blind preacher (Letter VII, pp. 1g5-2o2), is elaborately artificial and sentimental, done from Sterne. The sketches of contemporary politicians, and in particular that of jefferson, contributed much to current appeal, and the casual criticism aroused a mild remonstrance, There is a certain gace of style after the late eighteenth century manner, abundant sentiment and little wit. Perhaps the happiest touch is the title; only a British spy could discover material for criticism in the excellent life and ideal institutions of Virginia, or insinuate that the commonwealth was lacking in public spirit-that its roads were as bad as its schools, and that the "one object throughout the state" was "to grow rich." But it was a very moral spy who was troubled that "the noxious weed of infidelity had struck a deep, a fatal root, and spread its pestilential branches far around"; and who lamented that "our eccentric and fanciful countryman, Godwin, had contributed not a little to water and cherish this pernicious exotic" (Letter VII, p. 203).
The demands made upon the dignified charities of our nature Wirt found more insistent when he carne to write the life of Patrick Henry. He was troubled by his materials, as well as by the want of them. He complains repeatedly in his letters of the difficulties of the task. There were blemishes in the character of his god, spots that marred his divinity; yet how to clean them away and not spoil the natural appearance was a problem. He could not tell Virginians that Patrick Henry in his old age was grasping and vain, that he changed his politics as he grew rich. The idea was too repugnant to his own good nature, and to the taste of the times. The age was sentimental and romantic even in its eulogy. It took seriously the motto, de mortuis nil nisi bonum; it was patriotically engaged in making a myth out of the figures and events of the Revolution; and sober truth is not to be expected from the stately biographies that emerged from this period of excessive patriotism. The writers were too much in awe of their subjects, too much concerned to present them in full dress with wig and cloak and sword, and see to it that they acted a proper part. It was in this attitude that Wirt first approached his theme, but failing to achieve the desired result, he turned the work into eulogy of Henry's oratory. This was the most congenial of tasks to one so deeply interested in the art of the orator. The fragmentary records that had come down were a challenge to his inventiveness, and he set himself to re-create the lost speeches, from scanty notes. How admirably he succeeded is shown in the celebrated "give me liberty, or give me death" speech, that became at once an American classic. One could forgive him much for such a masterpiece.
The leaders of that older Virginia society were lawyers rather than planters, and Wirt's excursions into the field of belles Letters were only pleasant outings from the courtroom. His intellectual interests were narrow. Though bred in an atmosphere of politics, he cared nothing for political theory, was wholly unread in the political classics, and untouched by the flood of social speculation that carne with the French Revolution. He drifted politically with the stream of his generation, taking color from the changing waters. Brought up a Jeffersonian Republican, he remained curiously ignorant of the economic and political philosophy of agrarianism. He was little given to abstract speculation on the rights of man, and was never partisan to a cause. He was a genial embodiment of those colorless times when the enthusiasms of eighteenth-century liberalism were dead and the romanticisms of nineteenth-century exploitation were not yet risen, known in the history books as the era of good feeling. Fundamentally conservative and somewhat conventional, he would not look with approval upon the new men and new ways that carne in with the western democracy. Upon the accession of Jackson he went over to the Whig party. He supported Clay, yet for some reason, perhaps a harmless vanity, he accepted a nomination for the presidency by the Anti-Masons in 1832 and went down before the hosts of the Jacksonians. Two years later his blameless life was brought to a close. A kindly and honorable gentleman of old-fashioned tastes, with a culture founded in Blackstone, embellished by Addison and Sterne, and given a classic dignity by Livy, he filled the measure of the excellencies as they were understood in the Old Dominion in the days before romance had created the plantation tradition.
Over his after-dinner bottle of Madeira, Beverley Tucker may well have been the raciest and most delightful of companions. Like Samuel johnson, he found his pleasure in a mind well stocked with robust prejudices and a wit to phrase them tellingly. He never spared his epithets nor hesitated to damn an opponent. Like Fisher Ames, he coddled an aggravated case of political spleen and luxuriated in a picturesque pessimism. The clouds hung low over his mind, and the future of Virginia appeared as black to him as the future of Massachusetts appeared desperate to the Boston Federalist. His pessimism no doubt was a solace to his old age and provided a sauce for his dinner. Temperamentally he was curiously like the New England jeremiah. He followed Calhoun with the unreasoning and passionate conviction with which Fisher Ŕmes followed Hamilton. He foresaw a future laid waste by the ravenings of democracy, and like Ames he took pleasure in sketching the dark picture. It would be no fault of his if the easy-going planters remained indifferent to the political monster that in the guise of jacksonian democracy had made his den at Washington and was preparing to devour the liberties of sovereign commonwealths. He would make haste, while the shadows of those liberties remained, to arouse Virginia to its peril before the jaws closed upon it.
It was to this end that he wrote The Partisan Leader, an obvious attempt to dramatize the political philosophy of Calhoun and breathe into it a war psychology. Its single purpose was to popularize the doctrine of secession and entourage Virginia to art upon it. The book was printed at Washington by the notorious Duff Green, who had quitted jackson and gone over to Calhoun, and appeared under the pen name of Edward William Sidney. Written in the last years of Jackson's second term, it prophesied Van Buren's succession and his setting up a dictatorship. The beginning of the action is projected thirteen years into the future. Van Buren is assumed to be in his third term and is seeking election a fourth time. He ís in secure and insolent possession of "the presidential throne." He has surrounded himself with a horde of democratic sycophants; his political machine is well oiled and the army and navy are at his bidding. Virginia has been split asunder by factions. Mercenaries in Van Buren's pay occupy the public stations, and supported by Federal bayonets they carry things with a high hand. The lower South, under the leadership of South Carolina, has already seceded, and freed from the exploitation of northern tariffs is economically rejuvenated. The Virginia patriots are biding their time, working under cover and making detailed plans to carry the commonwealth over to the new Confederacy when the hour shall strike. The band of fate is no other than economic pressure. The free South has provided an eloquent object lesson to Virginia planters. By reason of a trade treaty with England, by the terms of which each country exports to the other its natural wares unvexed by artificial restrictions-an industrial economy and an agricultural mutually benefiting by the exchange -the cotton and tobacco growers to the south of Virginia are enjoying a prosperity unshared by the exploited planters of the Old Dominion. When economic depression shall have finally opened the eyes of Virginians to the folly of a federal union that sacrifices southern interests to fatten northern manufacturers, the commonwealth must drop into the lap of the Confederacy like a ripe persimmon. In the meantime a mysterious Mr. B.-presumably Calhoun-moves adroitly behind the scenes, shaping matters for the great event-a super-statesman, a man of godlike sagacity and divine benevolence, a heroic embodiment of all the magnanimous southern virtues, compared with whom Webster and Clay are common political mercenaries and jackson a paltry charlatan.
It is a romantically extravagant book, quite the absurdest in the library of the old South. It possesses no savor of humor or pleasantry of satire. Tucker was too deadly in earnest to play with his theme. He had so long and bitterly brooded over the supposed wrongs of Virginia that he had lost all sense of proportion. He lacks a cool skill in dissection; he has not learned the gentlemanly art of flaying his victim; he defends Virginia with a matchlock instead of a rapier. Gilmore Simms credited him with one of the most finished prose style of the day, and a very recent critic remarks that "no other American of the time wrote with such classical restraint and pride as Tucker' (Cambridge History of American Literature, Vol. I, p. 312). But there is little evidence of such mastery in The Partisan Leader. It is the work of an unpracticed writer, with a command of rhetoric to furnish forth a southern stump-speaker, but quite inadequate to the needs of a competent novelist. Compared with Simms or Kennedy he is a mere bungler. His characters are as wooden as Cooper's females, and his plot is grossly distorted by his polemics. Tbc drama sags under the weight of the sacred cause. There is inadvertent comedy in the picture of Van Buren as the man on horseback-the sleek, well-groomed politician of history rises somewhat inadequately to the róle. In comparison with Kennedy's Quodlibet his attack upon jackson is only caricature. Beverley Tucker was a patriotic Virginian whose craftsmanship proved inadequate to the serious business in hand.
The backgrounds of his thought are clearly jeffersonian. His prejudices run strongly for eighteenth-century laissez faire. He is a confirmed agrarian and his hatred of industrialism amounts to an obsession. He will have nothing to do with protective tariffs that lay a tax upon the planter to aid the manufacturer. In his advocacy of political decentralization he is a disciple of Calhoun, but more pessimistic than his master. Southern interests can be adequately protected, he is convinced, only by a jealous insistence on the sovereign powers of Virginia, and so long as Virginia remains within the centralizing federal Union those sovereign powers will suffer a subtle diminution. The simple-minded and magnanimous southern planter was no match in the political game with unscrupulous and ambitious Northerners. But in certain significant aspects of his political philosophy, Beverley Tucker broke with the jeffersonian tradition. Two current developments had quite destroyed his faith in the democracy of jefferson. Tbc rise of jacksonianism had seated the rabble in power, and the spread of Abolitionism was threatening to infect that triumphant rabble with its poison. The very life of Virginia was at the mercy of a hostile democracy, and to protect themselves and their slaves from the encroachments of a democratized federal government seemed to him the urgent business of the southern planters. Unless a move were made speedily it would be too late, for the power of the northern democracy was fast outstripping the confederate power of the South.
Tucker's intense prejudices color every judgment, and in consequence his misunderstanding of the North was colossal. He imagined a profit-mongering clown whom he dubbed Yankee, and solemnly assured himself that it was an authentic likeness. The Abolitionist was a Yankee with an added Puritan malignancy. In his defense of slavery Tucker has corrected the sentimental mistake of jefferson in assuming the extinction of slavery to be desirable, but be professes an equally humanitarianspirit. His benevolence toward the Negro is so warmly generous that one is ready to weep at the sad fate of the faithful slave who is in danger of being turned out into the cold world by the wicked Abolitionists. Tbc loyal attachment between master and servant, he argues, is too finely generous to be understood by the mercenary North. The Yankees "have not the qualities which would enable them to comprehend the negro character. Their calculating selfishness can never understand his disinterested devotion. Their artificial benevolence is no interpreter of the unsophisticated heart. . . . Tbey know no more of the feelings of our slaves, than their fathers could comprehend of the loyalty of the gallant cavaliers from whom we spring; and for the same reason. The generous and self-renouncing must ever be a riddle to the selfish" (p. 205, edition of 1861). Hence it is the clear duty of the magnanimous planter to keep his generous and self-renouncing slaves out of the clutches of the selfish Abolitionists.
Something of the ardency of Beverley Tucker's convictions is revealed in certain fragments of his letters to Gilmore Simms, to whom he poured out his heart in uncensored words, and whose magazine, The Southern Quarterly Review, he made use of to further the cause. In those letters he writes himself down a frank and whose-hearted Tory. There is an inveterate and ingrained aristocracy of temperament that will not mince words when it comes to dealing with democracy. In his comment on the growing democratic spirit he is virulent. He has lost all hope for Virginia in the year of grate 1851. "She ís sunk in the slough of democracy, which has no sense of honor, no foresight, and is never valiant but against its own instruments" (W. P. Trent, William Gilmore Simms, p. 186). Georgia is in an even whose way. His spleen at the commonwealth of Stephens and Toombs-"filled as that State is with Yankee traders"-spits out venom. p. 182). His only hope is in South Carolina, and he pleads with Simms for decisive action. Calhoun's kingdom is singularly blessed, for no base democracy there sullies the purity of manly councils. As early as 1820 Tucker had come to realize that the Union was a curse to the South. "I vowed then, and I have repeated the vow, de die in diem, that I will never give rest to my eyes nor slumber to my eyelids until it is shattered into fragments. . . . Time was when I might have been less desperate, because I could have sought refuge under some emperor or king. But all such refuges are broken up, and there is now no escape from the many-headed despotism of numbers, but by a strong and bold stand on the banks of the Potomac. . . . If we will not have slaves, we must be slaves." He then makes his great appeal:
And what are our democracies but mobs? South Carolina alone can act, because she is the only State in which the gentleman retains his place and influence, and in which the statesman has not been degraded from his post. You are fast coming to that hopeless and irreclaimable condition; and then all hope of action is gone. Work now. . . . The twilight is already upon you, and hence I fear you will not act even now. And if not now-never, never, never! (Ibid., p. 187.)
It was not granted to Beverley Tucker to know what harvests were to be gathered from his sowings. He did not live to see the fields of his beloved commonwealth drenched in the blood that he had done more than his share to let. In that bitter struggle it is certain that he would have borne his part valiantly. He had sown to the wind, and he would have welcomed the whirlwind. But the outcome must have broken his proud heart, and it is well that he was not spared to see his hopes tum to ashes in his mouth.


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Hmmm... for some reason, this figure just doens't "do it" for me. I prefer painting my own.Nice to see you found them though Jeff.
Has anyone seen this line hitting Walmart yet? I am thinking that this coming week should be about right since we are moving towards the DVD release now. I sure hope so because Walmart tends to carry more cases then Target, and its easier to get new stuff at Walmart then Target.
The trooper's right arm came off the first time I attempted to get him to grip his rifle correctly in both hands. (What other possible pose could I put him in, anyway?)
i have yet to see one at retail
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Last year MrsBlue bought a pair of deck brushes, saying we could use these to clean our deck with OxyClean instead of hiring someone to power-wash it. This weekend I learned what should have been obvious, which is that by "we" she meant I would be doing the work, apparently her brush would be for beating me if I slacked off. So I'm out there following the instructions from the OxyClean container -- mopping the deck with some Oxy-water, letting it sit, scrubbing it with that deck brush, and hosing it all off -- when it occured to me what was happening: In the year 2009 I was actually swabbing the deck! I would have complained, but I was afraid I'd end up in the brig... or maybe even walking the plank.
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Home / Bed & Breakfasts
B&B Accommodations in Washington, D.C.
Looking for a bed and breakfast near Washington, D.C.? You've come to the right place! Our bed and breakfasts are located in the best neighborhoods to explore Washington, D.C. and include delicious breakfasts and free WiFi. Our bed and breakfasts will meet your every need, whether it's location or price.
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text: « back to directory print Jayne Ressler Associate Professor of Law 250 Joralemon Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 780-7931 | Email Areas of Expertise Legal WritingEmployment LawCivil ProcedureNew York Civil Practice Education B.A./B.S., University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of Business J.D., University of Pennsylvania Law School Biography Courses Publications Noteworthy Civil Procedure This course is designed to introduce beginning law students to the elements and procedures of the civil justice system. The course covers the litigation process from commencement of a case through appeals. Major topics include jurisdiction, remedies, pleading, discovery, class actions, and pretrial and trial procedures. Issues covered in the course include: In what court may a lawsuit be commenced? Over what persons and entities does a court have power? Who may participate in a lawsuit? How much information must opposing parties disclose to each other? What are the roles of the judge and jury? Grading and Method of Evaluation: Letter grade only. Final exam. Fundamentals of Law Practice 1: Objective Legal Analysis In the first semester, students learn objective legal analysis as the foundation of the problem-solving and practical skills so important for graduates in today's rapidly changing legal environment. Classes are small, allowing for extensive written feedback and one-on-one conferences with professors. Classes are typically characterized by frequent experiential simulations and robust peer and self-evaluation, with discussions of professionalism and ethics. Students learn the principles of legal reasoning through four writing assignments, each requiring progressively more complicated factual and legal interpretation. Students also learn the most up-to-date, cost-effective legal research tools and strategies. By the end of the semester, students learn how to professionally and effectively present findings, in writing and orally, as they will as real-world lawyers. Grading and Method of Evaluation: Letter grade only. Students graded on written and oral assignments. Fundamentals of Law Practice 2: Advocacy In the spring semester, students learn the art of advocacy. Students build on the skills they learned in the fall semester by researching a complex and emerging area of law, developing and organizing persuasive arguments, and drafting a brief to the court. Continuing a pioneering tradition at Brooklyn Law School, international law topics, as well as topics based on U.S. law, are included in the persuasive writing curriculum. Through this experience, students are exposed to the ethical obligations of an attorney representing a client in a litigation context. In two additional highlights of the semester, students present their oral arguments to a panel of three judges and put their persuasive skills to the test in a negotiation exercise. Grading and Method of Evaluation: Letter grade only. Students are graded on written and oral assignments. Fundamentals of Legal Drafting This course will cover basic principles of drafting that apply to a wide range of documents. The documents include those common to litigation practice, such as complaints and motions, and documents in the practice of preventive law, such as contracts, wills, private legislation (by-laws, covenants), and public legislation. Students will develop skills in analyzing documents critically; in conceptualization (analyzing facts, identifying major issues, classifying provisions, creating sections, defining terms); in logical and systematic arrangement of material (using a topical focus, using appropriate headings and sub-headings, placing material in the appropriate order, using tabulation); and in choosing language which is flexible, yet unambiguous. Grading and Method of Evaluation: Letter grade only. Students are graded on a series of assignments. Satisfies the Upperclass Writing Requirement. Related Links: Faculty News Curriculum


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Graduate Certificate in Technical Writing and Professional Communication
The graduate certificate offers students and professionals an interdisciplinary program that focuses on communication in non-academic professions, particularly business, government, high technology industries, and the non-profit sector. It centers on the competencies necessary for successful technical communication (writing, rhetorical analysis, editing, and document design) as well as on the key print and digital genres of the workplace (reports, project proposals, grant proposals, feasibility studies, web sites, presentations, correspondence and manuals). The certificate serves not only students who wish to be technical writers but also those from a range of disciplines who wish to add value to their graduate degrees by acquiring a supplementary credential. Working professionals can complete the certificate part-time and/or online as non-degree seeking students.
Certificate Requirements
The certificate recognizes the multiple demands of written, oral, and digital communication in the workplace, as well as the interdisciplinary character of writing and communication studies in the academy. Thus, while centered on writing, the certificate also includes course options in rhetoric, communication, design, digital media, speech, and group dynamics. It emphasizes the rich theoretical and rhetorical principles that govern effective communication across a range of contexts as well as the pragmatic skills needed in the workplace.
- The certificate requires four courses (12 credits) in two categories: one in writing and three in electives. A minimum of one course must be taken from outside the student's home discipline.
- Students map out a coherent plan of study with the certificate coordinator for submission to the Graduate School. The structure of the certificate is flexible enough so that most students, with advance planning, can pursue it without impeding regular degree progress.
- To complete the certificate, students must submit sample work from their courses to be evaluated by graduate faculty in the area of Technical Communication.
The certificate requires four courses (12 credits). See course descriptions.
Most of these courses are offered on a rotating basis rather than every semester. To find out which courses are offered in the current and coming semesters, see Course Schedules.
Technical Writing and Professional Communication Student Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to produce two or more types of technical communication that are rhetorically adapted to different purposes, audiences, genres, and contexts.
- Students will be able to use the principles of document design to produce appropriate and effective texts and images. Examples of these texts and images may include PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, brochures, and other documents.
- Students will be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of several major issues in the field of technical and professional communications or in other field(s) and/or discipline(s) that use technical and professional communication. Such issues may include but are not limited to the following: ethics, professionalism, the history of the field of technical and professional communication, cross-cultural communication, global English, and institutional critique.
- Students will be able to demonstrate a critical awareness of the current scholarship and research being done in the field of technical and professional communication or in other field(s) and/or discipline(s) that use technical and professional communication.
Getting Started
- Apply online at www.ksu.edu/grad.
- Current English MA students should apply directly to Director of Graduate Studies, Anne Longmuir (information see Contact).
- For help devising a plan of study, contact the Program Director, Han Yu (See contact information below).
- See Checklist for requirements on completing the certificate.
Han Yu, Program Director at:
English Department
130 English/Counseling Services Building
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-6501


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Service Times
Saturdays: 4:00 pm
Sundays: 9:00 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm
Sundays: 9:00 am, 10:45 am, 12:30 pm
Campus Contact 2404 N Carrier Pkwy
Grand Prairie, TX 75050 972.314.9000
Grand Prairie, TX 75050 972.314.9000
Welcome to the Gateway Church Grand Prairie Campus. We're glad you're here!
Our desire at Gateway is to provide an atmosphere for growth and ministry so you and your family can build a strong foundation. If you're new to Gateway or are considering joining us for a service, we hope you'll find a place where you feel welcomed and at home ... even if you've never been to church before.
So whether you and your family are new to church, new to the Grand Prairie area, or simply new to Gateway, one thing is certain, we're all about people and we're all about you.


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Today marks the beginning of a brand new article series here on The Muppet Mindset. Muppet Maestros is a series of articles about various musicians, composers, and singers that our friend and previous contributor to the blog, Hilarie Mukavitz first learned about by watching The Muppet Show or Sesame Street. I think this is a really fun idea for an article series, considering quite a bit of my musical favorites were first discovered because of their appearance on a Muppet-related program. Please enjoy the first in the series, featuring Alice Cooper!
Guest on The Muppet Show Episode 307
Hilarie Mukavitz - One night I was having a jam session with one of my friends. He was continually surprised at some of my song choices. "Where did you learn THAT one?" My response more often than not was The Muppet Show. It struck me just how many artists and composers I learned about for the first time because of watching The Muppet Show and Sesame Street. I thought it would make for a fun article series to explore some of them.
It just goes to show the magic of the Muppets that, being the hypersensitive child that I was, I could get nightmares from Scooby Doo, and yet have absolutely no problem with Alice Cooper. I'm enough of a fan that on a recent trip to Phoenix, the very first touristy thing I did was visit his restaurant. (Rumor has it that you can have anything you want at Alice's restaurant.) Plenty of waitresses with the Alice Cooper style eyeliner... but I didn't see any pictures of him with the Muppets. Alas.
Alice Cooper was born Vincent Furnier in 1948. "Alice Cooper" originally was the name of his band, not the man. Cooper has stated repeatedly that in late 60's rock and roll he saw mostly Peter Pans and wondered "Where's Captain Hook?" The dark, flamboyant, mostly tongue-in-cheek style of performance that became Alice Cooper's signature... which was later a perfect fit for The Muppet Show.
Alice Cooper was a solo artist by the time he came on The Muppet Show, where he performed 3 songs: "Welcome To My Nightmare" with a collection of Muppet monsters and ghouls, "You And Me" with Miss Piggy after he had turned her into a hideous bird-like creature, and "School's Out" with most of the Muppet monsters. In 1991 his song "I'm Eighteen" was parodied on Sesame Street. All are included in the playlist below. Enjoy!
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier
May 3, 2011
Muppet Maestros -- Alice Cooper
2 comments:
- Casey DaronTuesday, May 3, 2011 at 12:38:00 PM CDT
Cool new series of posts! The same thing happens to me with some of the songs I listen to!ReplyDelete
I rully like this new kind of article! I'm excited for more :)ReplyDelete
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Mobile Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) on BlackBerry 10
Mobile Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) on BlackBerry 10
According to the IDC, by 2016 there will be a huge move towards using real-time, unified communication and collaboration for business purposes in place of traditional email. This means it's time to start thinking about how your business uses social and instant messaging tools - are you well-positioned for the coming shift? And are your real-time communication tools optimized for mobile use?
This presentation will introduce you to the solutions that BlackBerry® 10 offers for mobile unified communication and collaboration, and how they can help your organization stay more connected than ever before. Dive in to learn more.


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Prospects Daily: Year-to-date global corporate bond sales rose to $3.43 trillion
Financial Markets…Year-to-date global corporate bond sales rose to $3.43 trillion, already surpassing 2011's full year total of $3.29 trillion, as further stimulus from global central banks pushed yields to record lows. Funding costs for the riskiest to the most creditworthy corporates are plunging as the persistent low-yield environment spurred unprecedented investor demand.
Perceived default risk of US corporate debt climbed for a third consecutive day, with the benchmark Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index rising 3.6 basis points to 108 bps, amid growing concerns that the so-called US fiscal cliff could push the world largest economy into deep recession.
Ghana's 3-month borrowing costs, which fell to a five month low last week, are gearing for further decline today after the central bank issued record volume of domestic bonds, lowering its financing needs in near-terms. The 3-month yield on Ghana's Treasury bills dropped 69 bps to 22.33% last week, but they are still the highest among African countries.
In its November update released earlier today, the US Department of Agriculture reported marginal increases in global grain supplies (compared to the October update) for the 2012/13 crop year ending in May 2013. Yet, stock-to-use ratio for corn—and less so for wheat—remain at historical low levels. The rice market is well-supplied with trade expected to surpass 38 million tons in 2012—a record high.
High-income Economies…France's industrial production posted the biggest monthly drop since December 2009, falling 2.7% (m/m) in September (-2.1% y/y), with both manufacturing production and construction contracting. The Bank of France said the economy may shrink in the fourth quarter.
Italy's industrial production fell by 1.5% (m/m) in September (-4.8% y/y), the most in five months, suggesting the country remained in recession in the third quarter.
Greece's industrial production fell 7.3% (y/y) in September, resuming its downward trend after rising temporarily by 2.5% in August.
Sweden's industrial production fell 5% (y/y) in September, following a 2.7% increase the previous month.
Germany's annual consumer price inflation on a EU-harmonized basis remained at 2.1% (y/y) in October, the same rate as September (+0.1% m/m). A 5.5% (y/y) increase in domestic gas and diesel prices and increases in some food items prevented inflation from falling.
UK's goods trade deficit fell to 8.4bn pounds in September from 10bn pounds in August, as exports rose 1.1% (m/m), while imports fell a larger 3.9% (m/m) because of lower imports of fuel and manufactured goods.
US consumer confidence continued to improve for the fourth month in November, with the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index climbing to 84.9 (a five-year high) from 82.6 in October as the labor market showed signs of improvement.
Hungary's industrial output rose 0.6% (m/m) in September, following 1.8% increase in August. Despite the monthly increases, industrial output in September was 3.8% lower than the same month the previous year.
Developing Economies…China's retail sales rose 14.5% (y/y) in October slightly faster than 14.2% in September, while consumer price inflation dropped to its weakest level in nearly three years to 1.7% (y/y) in October from 1.9% in September on declining food inflation.
Growth in China's industrial production accelerated to 9.6% (y/y) in October from 9.2% in September China's producer prices fell at a slower pace of 2.8% (y/y) in October compared to a 3.6% fall in September. China's total fixed asset investments were 20.7% higher during the January-October period compared to the same period last year.
Malaysia's exports grew 2.6% (y/y) in September, recovering from a 4.5% contraction in August on strong demand from ASEAN, the US, India and Taiwan, while exports to the European Union decreased 12.5%. Import growth accelerated to 9.6% (y/y) in September from 2.8% in August.
The central bank of Peru held its benchmark interest steady at 4.25%. Peru's inflation rate fell to 3.25% (y/y) in October from 3.74% in September, but remains above the central bank's targets inflation of 2.0% (+/- 1). An acceleration of inflation in September was related to a weather conditions-related temporary supply side factor.
Russia's central bank held its benchmark refinancing rate steady in October. Inflation declined in October slightly to 6.5% (y/y) from 6.6% in September, but remains above the Bank of Russia's target of 5-6 percent inflation range. The bank noted that inflation is stabilizing due to a moderation in food prices which had experienced a temporary upswing related to a supply shock associated with a bad harvest.
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