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Legislative Process
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Submit an OPRA request
Office of Legislative Services, Office of Public Information,
offers guided tours of the State House for the public.
Groups of 10 or more must have advanced reservations.
Staff and volunteer tour guides escort visitors through
the building, explaining its history, art and architecture.
Visitors also learn about the legislative process and
their representatives who work here.
Monday through Friday on the hour from 10 am to 3 pm beginning in the State House Annex.
1st and 3rd Saturday of each month on the hour from 12pm to 3pm beginning in the State House Annex.
Closed Sundays and State holidays.
are approximately an hour in length.
Tour availability is limited - especially in the spring
- so reservations should be made as far in advance as possible.
Reservations are only required for groups of 10
or more. Reservations can be made by calling the
Tour Office at 609-847-3150 between the hours of 8:30 am
and 5:00 pm.
you require any additional information, call the Office
of Legislative Services Tour Office at 609-847-3150.
and/or Inclement Weather
Please report cancellations as soon as possible. Many of
our tours are led by volunteers, and as a courtesy, we need
to alert them of changes to the schedule in a timely manner.
If the State House closes due to inclement weather, a staff
member will call the contact person on your reservation.
groups that would like to reschedule, the Tour Office staff
will do our best to find another date and time that is convenient
for your group.
All visitors and guests to the State House over the age
of 18 must be prepared to show photo identification. All
visitors and guests regardless of age are required to go
through a security screening. Self-guided tours are not
permitted at the State House.
Meeting the Governor or Legislators
The Governor and legislators do not routinely greet tour groups.
with Disabilities
In response to the Americans with Disabilities Act, every
effort has been made to accommodate visitors with special needs. A tour for the blind and visually impaired employs tactile aids so visitors can participate in a hands-on experience. Sign language interpreters are available for persons with hearing loss. Both tour offerings need to be arranged in advance by calling the Tour Office at 609-847-3150.
The Information
For Visitors With Special Needs brochure provides further
details. To obtain hard copies, call the Office of Legislative
Services, Office of Public Information at 609-847-3130.
Visitor Services
Limited free parking is available in the State House Garage.
It is accessed from the rear entrance to the Capitol Complex,
off Route 29. Proceed to the guard booth and have picture
ID ready to gain access to the garage.
Metered, on-street parking is available along West State
Street. Several pay lots are located within walking distance.
Handicap parking is available on West State Street in front
of the State House and Annex and across the street from
the State House.
Welcome Center
The State House Welcome Center is located in the Annex adjacent
to the parking garage and houses interactive exhibits about
the legislative process and the history of the State House.
Ample rest rooms, drinking fountains, and information assistance
are located here as well. The Welcome Center is open Monday
through Friday.
House Cafe
A cafeteria adjacent to the parking garage offers a full
service grill, deli and salad bar. It is open weekdays from
7:30 am to 3 pm. Reservations for groups are required. For
more information, call 609-777-4308.
The State House does not have a gift shop. Souvenirs are
available for purchase at the State Museum, Old Barracks
Museum and Trent House.
Trenton Visitor's Center (609-777-1770) provides
a full complement of materials useful for planning a trip
to the capital city, including information on performing
arts venues, local sporting events and dining options.
New Jersey Office of Legislative
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INDIANAPOLIS -- The front row for the Indianapolis 500 is a dream team.
Rick Mears, three 500 victories, six Indy pole position starts . . . A.J. Foyt, four 500 victories, four poles . . . Mario Andretti, one 500 victory, three poles.
When Mears was asked yesterday after the final shakedown of his car if he is planning to move over and allow Foyt to lead the first lap, he quipped: "If I move over, it'll be to block." Then he added, "But starting next to A.J. in his last race is very special."

subset: commoncrawl


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cut out of alcohol ink backgrounds.
Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink cardstock,
The pink layer is mounted with dimensionals
onto the white linen cardstock base
which is scored on both sides.
stamped with Stampin' Up Pretty in Pink ink and
cut with an oval Spellbinders die.
which is my very first challenge ever!
See the details here.
Also, I entered this card in the Through the Craft Room Door
"Anything Goes" Challenge.
See the details here.


text:
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Federal charges were filed Wednesday in Minneapolis against another young Somali man from the Twin Cities, alleging that he conspired to provide material support to the terrorist organization known as ISIL.
Warsame appeared briefly in court Thursday morning. He will be held pending a pre-trial detention hearing that is scheduled for Tuesday.
The criminal complaint alleges that Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame, 20, of Eagan, was among a group of 10 men from the Twin Cities' Somali-American community who began planning around April 2014 to travel to Syria to fight with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. Three of those men have already pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges, five are scheduled to start trial in May and one is in Syria.
Warsame was arrested Wednesday and is being held in the Anoka County jail.
Minnesota is believed to have produced more would-be foreign fighters than any other state.
And from The New York Daily News:
About a dozen Minnesota residents have traveled to Syria to join jihadist groups there since late 2013. In addition, more than 22 young men from Minnesota's Somali community have left the state since 2007 to join al-Shabab in Somalia.
This story is yet another reminder, in a seemingly endless series of reminders, that even if we could effectively screen the Syrian and other "refugees" that Obama wants to "seed" the country with for purely cynical political reasons, we still would be risking national security by bringing them in. Can you say Tsarnaev? Can you say Minnesota? The importation of all these Somalis, brought to Minnesota let me remind you, because of its generous welfare benefits, is the reason that the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota has stated "we have a terrorist recruiting problem in Minnesota."
Remind me again how Donald Trump is a raving, lunatic, neo-Nazi for wanting to make sure we know who is coming into the country.


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Registration Information
We believe that agility should be fun for both the dog and the handler and strive to make sure that each step of training is fun.
Things to bring:
- 4-6 foot leash.
- Flat buckle type collar.
- Water for your dog.
- Water or soda for yourself.
- Your dog's favorite treats. No crumbly treats, it stops the class dead!
*Recommend: soft type treats such as hot dog, string cheese, dry liver, Bil-Jac, etc., and toys.
- A hungry dog - We recommend you to not feed your dog their meal before class; it's easier to keep them focused if they're a bit hungry.
If you have not mailed them in, please bring:
- Completed and signed Class Info., Registration, & Release Form
- Cash, check, or money order made payable to Contact Point Agility LLC for $100.00
When you arrive at the training site, if another class is in session please remain outside the training area and keep your dog on leash.
Please DO NOT allow your dog on any of the equipment until your instructor has given you permission.
Your instructor(s) looks forward to meeting you and your canine companion. If you have any questions, please call and we will be happy to clarify any information.


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Donald Trump To Run For New York Governor?
Bad combovers may finally get representation — in Albany, New York:
Donald Trump is considering running for governor, a leading Republican said Friday.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno on Thursday suggested that a big-name candidate could be flirting with entering the 2006 contest. On Friday, he confirmed to News Channel 10 in Albany that he had been referring to Trump.
Bruno told the station he had spoken to the real estate developer and TV personality about a possible run.
Trump's office in New York had no immediate comment. State GOP Executive Director Ryan Moses said neither he nor state party Chairman Stephen Minarik have had discussions with Trump about running.
And how much do you want to bet right NOW that if he runs he'll work the words: "You're fired!" into his campaign. Of course, this piece is unconfirmed political gossip (no comment from Trump) but that doesn't stop journalism on a slow holiday weekend (we called these good-to-run-any-holiday-weekend-stories "evergreens" on the newspapers on which TMV worked). So the AP continues:
Said Frank McKay, state chairman of the Independence Party: "(Trump) is a formidable candidate for anything he decides to run for. We would love to see him run for president of the United States in 2008 as a third-party candidate. I'd do what I could to help give him a strong base here in New York and everywhere else in the country."
Trump flirted with a run for president on the Reform Party ticket in 2000. He has given money to Republicans and Democrats in state races.
Republicans are looking for a candidate with name recognition and money to take on the only announced Democratic candidate, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Spitzer is far ahead of all candidates for governor in the early polls.
Spitzer won an endorsement Friday from former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, who cited his fellow Democrat's record as a corporate reformer.
Reformer, reschmormer….Spitzer doesn't have the "do" or the attitude that says "don't-you-dare." And whoever watched Spitzer being brown-nosed by young employees who wanted to keep him from giving them the boot on national TV?
Meanwhile, according to the New York Daily News, "New Yawkhis" are receptive to Trump and Koch is derisive:
Why not, bemused New Yorkers said yesterday, after discovering that Donald Trump is flirting with running for the state's top job.
"He's got a lot of love for New York," said Sherrell Peter, 19, of the Bronx, who works in a Trump Tower gift shop. "And New Yorkers love Trump."
….But`former Mayor Ed Koch, an old rival – and a booster of Democratic front-runner Eliot Spitzer – was quick to poke fun at Trump's chances against the current attorney general.
"You should be so lucky," Koch said to Spitzer, whom he was endorsing at City Hall.
Another GOP candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, also welcomed a Trump run.
"Come on in, the water is fine," said Dominick Ianno, a Weld spokesman. It's not the first time Trump has tinkered with the idea of running for office.
This, my friends, is what American politics has increasingly devolved into: it's a matter of "high concept." You need to find someone with instant (positive) name recognition because it can cut down on all that messy door-to-door campaigning, press conferences and costly advertising that would otherwise go into selecting a candidate and having to actually work to prove to voters that the candidate is worthy.
In Trump, they have a natural: a national catchphrase, an immediately recognizeable tough boss personality, even a name that could be used on a bumper sticker. DONALD TRUMP'S BIG GOVERNMENT.
How could anyone resist? If Donald can't, it's likely many New York voters won't. But don't expect his opponents to roll over and let him have an unexamined job interview.
And what would Trump do? The New York Daily News predicts Trump in charge would mean:
–Lawmakers could take a break from those long budget negotiation sessions by playing newly installed slot machines.
–Secretary of Hair becomes new state post.
–New York would get its first First Lady named Melania.
–State's motto "Excelsior" would be changed to "You're Fired!"
TMV's prediction: He won't invite Martha Stewart to join his cabinet.
UPDATE: Some reaction from James Joyner.


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Originally posted by Vitruvian
Originally posted by getreadyalready
She is NO WHERE NEAR the first "African-American" (whatever that is) to win gold. There are real Africans dominating sports in the Olympics.
Get off it......she's the first black woman to win in her event in GYMNASTICS - read the post again
Thats actually quite an absurd notion...I wouldn't be surprised if you would also think its racist co call a black person black, a white person white...etc...
Michael Phelps became the first male swimmer to win the same event at three successive Olympics when he clinched the men's 200 meters individual medley gold medal at the London Games on Thursday.
Just minutes before Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time he gathered his American teammates in a huddle. First he thanked them for giving him the opportunity to swim for his 19th medal. He then asked them to allow him to anchor that swim for history with a very big lead.
My issue here is that they call a black girl, born in the US, with US parents, an "African-American" on a grand stage where every country and continent is represented. How is she an "African-American?" She just isn't. There is nothing African about her.
Good god, this stuff has gotten out of hand
They didn't say "black woman."
If they had said THAT, I could have agreed with them! If she is indeed the first black woman, from any country, to win, then fine. But they said "African-American." What the hell is that?
Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by Frankenchrist
Those walls were already broken down when Dominique Daws made the damn squad a while back.
Did we all forget about Dominique?
Oh right...you already had your token black person...the are now 100% equal...so let's not acknowledge any other "firsts" for them.
Did Daws win the women's all around??? Oh that's right...it's enough that she made the squad and she was black...let's stop talking about it now.
Warped minds...it's frightening how many there are of you guys.
Originally posted by MoosKept240
reply to post by OutKast Searcher
So what if an Asian American wins? Would the MSM tell the same story if that happened? Or has it happened? Honestly it doesn't ring a bell. I will google it thats for sure.
But there are other types of Americans out there other than African Americans. And I do not really recall ever hear a reporter do that at the olympics. Now I am just saying I do not recall. I want to google it, but I got the idea now and my computer sucks, and I want to finish this post then I can go and look it up.
First Asian American Olympian to Win Gold Turns 92, Recounts Practicing Diving into Sand Pit
Originally posted by Doom and Gloom
reply to post by OutKast Searcher
You yourself are sounding dangerously racist against white people for some reason. Derp that is acceptable continue. What you do not realize is we are trying to defend her as an AMERICAN. Which if I am not mistaken, being born in Virginia allows for that distinction.
Continue with your merit-less banter.
Originally posted by Sinny
Aren't they like, making her race a *good* thing?
Just like Obama is the "First black President"?!
Its people like your self who make a deal out of it.
Do we know whether or not Gabby can trace her roots back to any real Africans, or do we just know her skin is dark?
My issue is not with her race, or with her winning, my issue is with Costas and NBC calling her the "first African-American" to win.
Originally posted by OutKast Searcher
reply to post by getreadyalready
Do we know whether or not Gabby can trace her roots back to any real Africans, or do we just know her skin is dark?
Are you kidding me? Do you think she is just really really tan???
Tell me...where else do black skinned people originate from???
My issue is not with her race, or with her winning, my issue is with Costas and NBC calling her the "first African-American" to win.
Sure, whatever you say.


text:
Thank you to our golfers, volunteers, sponsors & donors who helped make our Tenth Annual Golf Tournament a huge success!
Click here to view photographs from the tournament.
2017 Sponsors & Donors:
Breakfast and Lunch Sponsor: $2,500
Cassidy Levy Kent (USA) LLP
Lakes Course Sponsor: $750
Rogers & Company
Tee/Green Sign Sponsors: $250
Aetna and Innovation Health
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Charlie Groppe & Jennifer Hays
Comella Design
Copymax Digital Systems
Dr. Elizabeth Child
Earnest Money Pro, LLC
Emtech Inc.
Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP
Guardian Fire Protection Services, LLC
House of Mercy
KMG Hauling, Inc.
Jocelyn & Gordon Linke
Commander William Miner, USN (Ret) & Mrs. Miner
Colonel Jacques Rondeau, USAF (Ret)
Salgado Painting, Inc.
Matthew Schwartz
Sullivan & Barros, LLP
Rosemount Center Board of Directors
Takoma Tree Experts, Inc.
Washington Trophy
Lt. Colonel John Wright, USAF (Ret) & Mrs. Wright
Other Donors
Blackburn Architect, P.C.
David Connell
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Kenny Day
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Colonel Doug Menarchik, USAF (Ret) & Mrs. Menarchik
The Enchanted Garden
Leo Sanchez
Splaine Security Systems


text: Hot For DIAMOND or higher VIP users Telerik Testing Framework v2015.3.1015 Key Features Rich API Testing Framework exposes numerous properties and methods to help you easily build non-brittle, maintainable functional tests. Easy to Set up and Use Installing the Testing Framework is easy and straightforward. All you need to do is run the installer and then open your favorite IDE to get started with writing functional tests. Test HTML5, AJAX, XAML Set implicit and explicit waits, test drag-n-drop and hovers, dynamic page elements, complex animations, generic and custom UI controls, and more. Cross-Browser Compatibility Expand your browser compatibility testing to all the latest major browsers: IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari without ever changing your test case code. Telerik Controls Support Enjoy native support for Telerik UI controls for AJAX, Silverlight and WPF as well as Kendo UI web widgets. But you can write great tests without our controls too. Download Link(s)File(s) size: 59.5 MB


text:
Energy is fundamental to our society. Our ability to responsibly produce, safely distribute, store and efficiently consume the energy we need to maintain our standard of living while lessening the impact on the environment is crucial to our shared goal of a better future for the next generation.
Energy Revolution
Lowered Consumer Costs facebook twitter
Energy is the foundation upon which our modern society rests. Today, our nation is the world's leading producer of oil and natural gas.
The 21st century energy revolution – brought about by advances in the decades-old technology of hydraulic fracturing and innovations in horizontal drilling – has positively touched the lives of all Americans. Whether through increased economic opportunity, enhanced national security or the abundance of affordable North American oil and natural gas, this revolution is the driving factor in a cleaner environment and lower energy costs for the average American consumer.
For example, according to a 2016 estimate from AAA, America's drivers, on average, saved more than $550 on gasoline in 2015 due to increased production from hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. And an analysis by EIA shows that since 2008, roughly the start of the energy renaissance, average annual energy costs per household in the United States have dropped by more than 14 percent.
It is important to remember that American energy policy has consequences beyond our borders. American energy leadership could help improve the lives of millions of families in countries and continents thousands of miles away, by providing an affordable and cleaner-burning fuel to heat their homes and cook their meals. The International Energy Agency estimates that more than 1.2 billion people, or 14 percent of the world's population, lack access to electricity, and twice that many, 2.6 billion, live without clean cooking facilities.
In fact, according to a 2013 study in The Lancet, roughly 3.5 million people, mostly women and children, die every year from respiratory illness as a result of indoor air pollution created by wood and other biomass stoves. American global energy leadership could help significantly increase the number of families with access to the clean, affordable energy they need to live healthier and more productive lives.
None of this progress or the potential of America's enormous energy resources are guaranteed to continue. If lawmakers pursue energy policies that constrain domestic oil and natural gas production, particularly from hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, they could consign future generations of Americans and millions of people around the world to a less prosperous and productive future, because those energy production technologies account for the bulk of our nation's increased energy production.
1.2 Billion People in Developing Nations Without Access to Electricity
Electricity Access in 2014 - Regional Aggregates
Source: IEA World Energy Outlook 2015
|634 MILLION Without Electricity
|244 MILLION Without Electricity
|Electrification Rate: 45%
|Electrification Rate: 81%
|Urban Electrification Rate: 71%
|Urban Electrification Rate: 96%
|Rural Electrification Rate: 28%
|Rural Electrification Rate: 74%
Today, according to EIA, two-thirds of America's natural gas comes from a hydraulically fractured well.
Policies that hinder this decades-old, proven method of energy production could result in higher energy costs for America's consumers, by reducing supply at a time of growing demand for energy from all sources.
America's energy revolution allows our nation to play an important role in meeting the world's future energy needs. There is little doubt that we need more energy far into the future. It is clear, based on the consensus opinion of most experts, including the EIA, that it is unrealistic to suggest that we can meet our future energy needs without fossil fuels. The reality is that, while renewable fuels are an important part of our nation's energy equation, the high-growth renewables remain intermittent and therefore unable to provide a consistent and reliable base for electricity generation. Conversely, natural gas provides a steady, reliable and cost-effective base that lowers costs for consumers and also provides flexibility that makes the use of more intermittent sources of energy feasible.
Energy Brief: American Energy Drives American Competitiveness
The American energy revolution has done more than just provide record amounts of oil and natural gas to fuel our transportation needs or generate electricity and heat our homes, schools and businesses. Increased American energy production has lowered the cost of energy and manufacturing feedstocks, which helps to cut energy and materials costs for American manufacturers, particularly producers of steel, chemicals, refined fuels, plastics, fertilizers and numerous consumer products. U.S. industrial electricity costs are 30 to 50 percent lower than those of our foreign competitors, according to a 2015 study from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). American manufacturing costs are now 10 to 20 percent lower than those in Europe and could be 2 to 3 percent lower than China's by 2018. Lower energy prices give U.S. industries a crucial competitive edge and are attracting more business investment back to the U.S.
America's energy advantage translates, via lower product costs, into the household savings mentioned previously, and it also helps generate economic growth and jobs. According to the American Chemistry Council, chemical production grew 3.6 percent in 2015 and is projected to continue to increase through 2020 as new capacity from 266 new, announced projects and over $164 billion of investment comes on line. Further, BCG found that lower electricity and natural gas fuel costs are "beginning to drive investments such as new iron and steel plants and plastics processing." Crude oil and natural gas are the building blocks of many everyday medicines such as antihistamines. They are essential to modern fertilizers that ensure plentiful supply of affordable and safe food, and also provide the feedstocks that make modern agriculture possible. In short, oil and natural gas not only provide the power our nation and the world needs, they also help feed people. All of which means that we'll need more energy, from all sources, with oil and natural gas as the base, for decades to come. In fact, the EIA projects that global energy consumption will increase 48 percent by 2040, largely due to expanding economic opportunities in developing nations. Further, 78 percent of global energy needs will be met by fossil fuels.
In the United States, oil and natural gas will supply 68 percent of energy needs by 2040, even under the most optimistic scenarios for renewable energy growth. In less than a decade, our nation's energy reality has changed from scarcity, uncertainty and dependency to abundance, security and global energy leadership. Today the United States is the No. 1 producer of oil and natural gas on the planet, thanks largely to innovations in the decades-old technique of hydraulic fracturing coupled with advances in horizontal drilling and the dedication of millions of women and men in the oil and natural gas industry.
Fueling America's Economy facebook twitter
A strong U.S. refining sector is essential to our nation's economic growth.
Our nation's refineries provide us with high-quality fuels used for transportation, energy for heat and light, and petrochemicals needed to manufacture the products we use every day.
With an annual salary that, on average, is more than twice the national average, U.S. refiners support $98 billion in wages and benefits annually, and support more than 1.2 million jobs all along the skills continuum. Every year U.S. refineries contribute approximately 1.8 percent to the U.S. GDP
Our nation's world-class refineries provide fuels and petrochemical feedstocks needed to manufacture thousands of everyday products, such as plastics, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers and more. Today, U.S. refining capacity exceeds 18 million barrels per day, its highest level in 35 years, and domestic refiners are upgrading their operations to produce cleaner fuels and meet the needs of the American consumer. In fact, they spent $154 billion between 1990 and 2014 on producing cleaner-burning fuels.
Energy Brief: Renewable Fuel Standard
Renewable fuels have been mandated under federal law for over a decade, since the passage of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), and current RFS policy is broken, outdated and ineffective. The RFS constrains free market forces, supports uneconomic activity and limits consumer choice. It is based on both supply and demand assumptions that have proven false over the past decade, and sets aspirational goals that have proven unachievable; the RFS must be repealed or significantly reformed.
Today's gasoline demand is 10 percent lower than EIA's outlook at the time of the passage of the RFS. And, as a result of technologies that spurred an energy renaissance, crude oil and natural gas resources are more than 63 percent higher than EIA projections at the time of the passge of the RFS. As we approach the 10 percent ethanol threshold in our fuel mix, which could mean substantial economic harm to American consumers, it is imperative that Congress revisit this broken RFS policy.
When the RFS was first implemented about a decade ago, our nation's energy policy was focused on addressing long-term scarcity and increased energy dependence. America's 21st century energy renaissance has transformed our nation's energy trajectory to one of abundance and energy security, which undercuts the basic premise of the RFS. Further, purely aspirational volume goals have been promoted that bare little reality to market conditions.
API proposes limiting the volume of mandated ethanol to avoid breaching the blend wall, emphasizing free market principles that protect American consumers and the automobiles that we drive.
Fueling Our Future
The combination of cleaner gasoline and diesel fuels, modernized equipment and facilities and more fuel-efficient vehicles has helped reduce U.S. air pollutants by 70 percent between 1970 and 2014 even as vehicle miles traveled increased by more than 174 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Refiners have dramatically changed fuel formulations across the country and continue to enable significant reductions in vehicle tailpipe emissions. Gasoline produced today has reduced levels of sulfur, toxics and summer vapor pressure, improving air quality. Further reductions in sulfur will continue to build on these improvements in 2020 and beyond as Tier 3 fuels and vehicles are phased in and the vehicle fleet turns over. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel has 99.7 percent less sulfur – and is now produced for all highway and non-road uses, allowing for dramatically reduced nitrogen oxide emissions in newer diesel engines.
The progress we've made is undeniable - national average peak ozone concentrations have dropped by 17 percent since 2000.
The U.S. oil and natural gas industry is spending billions of dollars developing new advanced energy technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet future energy needs. Between 2000 and 2014, the oil and natural gas industry directly invested approximately $90 billion in zero- and low-emissions technologies. This represents about 30 percent of the more than $303 billion spent by all U.S. industries and the federal government combined.
These large investments are critical to provide the low-carbon energy we will need in the years ahead. Domestic U.S. oil and natural gas companies are pioneers in developing alternatives and expanding America's use of virtually every form of energy – from geothermal to wind, from solar to biofuels, from hydrogen power to the lithium ion battery for next-generation cars.
Emissions Reductions facebook twitter
The benefits of abundant American energy extend beyond a family's budget or a business' bottom line.
The plentiful supply of domestically produced natural gas has also reduced our nation's greenhouse gas emissions and criteria air pollutant emissions chiefly from electricity generation.
President Trump, members of Congress and state and local elected leaders will decide whether our nation's energy revolution continues for decades to come. Unlike their predecessors of just a few years ago, they will inherit a country that leads the world in energy production with a growing population, an expanding economy and a cleaner environment, thanks to natural gas and its impact on declining emissions of criteria air pollutants. The natural gas industry has supplied the growth in natural gas use that fueled the expanding economy and made these emissions reductions possible, all while reducing its own emissions.
Energy Brief: Ozone Standards
In 2015, the EPA promulgated the strictest ozone standards ever, which are expected to have, at best, negligible health benefits, but could impose significant costs on consumers and the economy.
Additional time to implement these standards is imperative to avoid the most significant impacts on consumers and our economy. Without additional time, these standards are so severe that even pristine areas with little or no industrial activity, such as national parks, would fail to meet the standards. The unintended consequence is that communities could find it more difficult, if not impossible, to improve aging infrastructure. Local businesses would be unable to expand, constraining job creation and economic growth, all with little benefit to public health.
The EPA's 2015 rulemaking, which set the new ozone standards at 70 parts per billion, could quadruple the number of counties defined as being in non-attainment to 958. This has the potential to effectively shut down most new economic activity. Businesses of all sizes could be forced to navigate additional layers of bureaucracy and red tape to satisfy additional permitting requirements.
The new administration and Congress should take note of the progress made by the market and continue to build, not hinder, the development of our nation's enormous supply of oil and natural gas resources, rather than pursue policies that either restrict production or add unnecessary regulatory regimes that limit the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
America's energy revolution has disproved the long-held assumption that increased energy production creates higher emissions.
The fact is that even while production has significantly increased, total criteria air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions have fallen, in large part due to expanded use of abundant, affordable natural gas in electricity generation.
Between 2000 and 2014, the oil and natural gas industry directly invested approximately $90 billion in zero- and low-emissions technologies. Many of these investments are in technologies that reduce leaks, capture emissions and improve energy efficiency. As a result, our nation's environment continues to improve. In fact, the United States is already one-third of the way to the emissions reductions target sought by the Paris Climate agreement. Under the Paris agreement, the United States is expected to cut its carbon emission levels between 26 percent and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. According to the EPA's 2016 Inventory of Greenhouse Gases and Sinks: 1990-2014, U.S. carbon emissions were 9 percent below 2005 levels, even as the U.S. economy continued to grow.
Further, an Independent System Operator New England study illustrates how the increased use of natural gas in power generation, transportation and other areas is reducing emissions. According to the study, regional emissions dropped 65 percent for nitrogen oxide, 92 percent for sulfur dioxide and 35 percent for carbon dioxide between 2005 and 2014.
"The decline in emissions during this period reflects shifts in the regional fuel mix," the report states, "with increasing natural gas generation offsetting decreases in coal and oil-fired generation."
The plentiful, affordable and dependable supply of U.S. natural gas, coupled with the fuel's environmental advantages, makes it a logical alternative, because it achieves what were once thought to be mutually exclusive goals: providing more energy with a smaller impact on our environment.
To date, CO2 emissions from power generation, the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., have fallen 17 percent since 2000. Even without an emissions reduction requirement in place, API modeling projects natural gas will continue to drive emissions reductions in the power sector, due to fuel switching.
CO2 emissions from power generation are projected to decrease by as much as 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, based on the continued increased use of natural gas for power generation.
The oil and natural gas industry is also focused on how to meet national and global energy needs as efficiently as possible. A long-standing example is the use of excess heat from normal operations to convert steam to electricity in order to power a cogeneration plant. This has the ability to lower not only greenhouse gas emissions but also water use, because water requirements for cogeneration are often less than those for the same power generated by coal-fired boilers or steam-condensing turbines. For example, a 525 megawatt cogeneration unit at a refinery might require 6 million gallons per day (MGD) of water intake, while a similar 525 megawatt coal-fired boiler could use more than 14 MGD. Using half the water to create the same amount of electricity is a valuable savings for the environment, the consumer and the refinery.
Industry Leadership Through Responsible Development
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Safety is the No. 1 priority for the petroleum and natural gas industry.
For almost a century, the industry has advanced workforce safety and operational efficiency primarily through the American Petroleum Institute's standard-setting program. As part of API's Global Industry Services (GIS), API now maintains almost 700 standards covering all segments of the petroleum and natural gas industry. API standards also add to the ever-growing body of knowledge of industry best practices and lessons learned, which continues to deliver significant improvements in system integrity, reliability and integrated safety.
API's standards are referenced in federal regulations because they are recognized to represent industry best practices based on today's best available science and research. For example, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) references 95 API standards in its offshore regulations. Overall, more than 130 API standards are referenced in more than 430 citations by government agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, as well as BSEE. Additionally, API's standards are the most widely referenced petroleum industry standards used by state regulators, with over 240 API standards cited over 4,130 times in state regulations.
These standards are developed in an open, third-party accredited process with subject matter experts from a wide range of disciplines, including academia, government regulators and industry experts, who all come together with one goal: to improve and advance the safety of energy development. This decades-long, demonstrated commitment to safety is at the heart of the industry's credibility and ability to safely deliver the energy our nation and the world need from some of the harshest and most unforgiving environments on the planet.
On the production side, high-quality industry standards promote safe and proven engineering practices both onshore and offshore in the design, fabrication, installation and operation of materials and equipment. These standards also improve safety and environmental performance, help reduce engineering costs and improve equipment interchangeability and product quality.
Industry's commitment to improving the safety of offshore operations goes beyond setting globally accepted standards. To accelerate the creation and implementation of best practices that reduce risk and improve the safety of offshore operations, the industry established the Center for Offshore Safety. It has become the focal point for safe offshore energy development, through ongoing collaboration between all stakeholders.
The fundamental mission of the Center for Offshore Safety is to promote continuous improvement in offshore drilling, completions and operations through effective leadership, collaboration, communication, teamwork, disciplined management systems, independent third-party auditing and certification, with a focus on company Safety and Environmental Management Systems.
The center is a clear demonstration of the oil and natural gas industry's commitment to safe operations and understanding that when it comes to safety, there is no room for second best.
Energy Brief: API Publication 1509 Protecting Consumers
API standards help protect the American consumer. API Publication 1509, the "Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System," sets the performance standards for passenger vehicle engine oil and includes rigorous testing and quality requirements. This API standard is referenced by every major U.S. auto manufacturer as acceptable for use in their engines.
API conducts a voluntary certification program of engine oils that licenses approved oils to bear the API "seal of approval." Consumers know that if a product bears the API seal of approval, then that product has been rigorously tested to meet their needs.
Energy Security
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Market forces, federal and state legislatures, and environmental policy are driving the ongoing shift in our nation's power generation mix.
Natural gas use in the electricity market has grown by 86 percent since 2000, driven by these forces. Administrators of regional electricity markets and balancing authorities are charged with ensuring that our nation's electricity grid is reliable. Environmental and electricity policy must coexist in the states, where regulators are also charged with protecting consumers. States are interested in providing consumers with a generation mix that is clean, reliable and affordable, and natural gas plays a critical role in meeting all three goals.
Natural gas generation is capable of providing on-demand "dispatchable" power, ramping up quickly and following real-time changes in electrical load. This means natural gas generation can replace traditional coal and nuclear power that are no longer economic, as well as support intermittent renewable power. Natural gas generation keeps the power on and grid stable when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.
To sustain a clean, reliable and affordable power supply, federal, regional and state regulators need to recognize that a market-driven diversity of attributes, not an arbitrary, government-mandated fuel mix, will lead to the lowest cost and most reliable power for consumers. It is a matter of fact that within our borders, our nation has enormous energy resources.
What is in question is whether the oil and natural gas industry will be given access and the opportunity to develop those resources to meet our nation's and the world's energy needs. Today, there remains a stark difference between energy development trends on federal land compared to those on private and state land.
Between 2010 and 2015, the percentage of the nation's crude oil produced on federal land decreased from 35.7 percent to 21.0 percent. And according to the Bureau of Land Management, the number of drilling permits issued on federally controlled onshore land dropped by 47 percent from 2008 to 2015. Further, federal data show crude oil production remained flat between 2010 and 2015 on federally controlled land, while natural gas production declined 27 percent. In contrast, on private and state lands, where drilling typically does not require federal approval, production increased 115 percent for crude and 66 percent for natural gas from 2008 to 2015. The stark difference between production on federal land and state and private land is not just due to ineffective and inefficient national energy policy; it's also bad federal fiscal policy. If production on federal lands had grown at the same rate as overall U.S. production, from 2009 through 2015, total royalties would have been 31 percent higher, with an additional $20 billion in royalties collected by the federal government. If our nation is to continue to be a world leader in energy production, that difference has to decrease, if not disappear.
Case Study: Alaska's Restricted Access to Energy Resources
Alaska's North Slope accounted for 25 percent of U.S. domestic oil and natural gas production in 1988, but production has plummeted because the U.S. government has largely prevented exploration for new resources in the state both onshore and offshore. Total North Slope production fell to approximately 465,000 barrels per day in 2015, a 76 percent decrease from 1988.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, which encompasses about 23 million acres and is the largest single block of federally managed land in the U.S., holds 896 million barrels of oil and 53 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. In 1923, the reserve was set aside as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy and today is open to "oil and gas leasing, exploration and operations."
In 2013, the federal government announced roughly half of the reserve would be put off-limits to oil and gas development, and to date no commercial drilling for oil and natural gas has occurred. In 1980, Area 1002 was set aside for oil and natural gas production within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Today energy development in Area 1002, as in much of the Arctic, remains prohibited by restrictive federal policies, which puts at risk our nation's long-term energy security and ability to meet the nation and the world's energy needs.
Restricting this nation's access to the energy resources in the Arctic, at a time when other nations are actively exploring the region, could inhibit our access to important energy resources in the future.
Infrastructure facebook twitter
American consumers' growing energy appetite means greater demands on our nation's energy infrastructure, including pipelines, railroads, highways, waterways and ports.
A robust infrastructure system that is safe, efficient and properly maintained can help lower the costs of supplying oil and gas and its products for consumers, by reducing congestion, maximizing efficiency and preventing accidents.
The country's energy infrastructure system was originally built to move oil and gas from the coasts, where it was delivered by ship, to the refining centers and populations inland. Today, the U.S. energy renaissance is driven by the enormous amount of energy resources found in inland formations, including the Eagle Ford and Barnett in Texas, the Woodford in Oklahoma, the Bakken in North Dakota and Marcellus under the states of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia. To reach America's full energy potential, we need to maintain our existing infrastructure and invest in new infrastructure that will move U.S. resources from these inland formations to refineries and, ultimately, consumers.
Pipelines are a modern, safe and efficient way to move oil and natural gas from where it is produced to where it is refined and processed to where it is used. In 2014, 500,000 miles of liquid and natural gas transmission pipelines transported 16.2 billion barrels of crude oil and petroleum products and 27.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas throughout the country at a safety rate of 99.99 percent. The U.S. will need more pipelines to keep pace with growing production and consumer demand. The current lack of energy infrastructure negatively affects consumers. For example, because of infrastructure bottlenecks in the Northeast, New England's household energy prices are among the highest in the nation – with all six states ranking in the top 10 for the highest cost of energy. In 2015, New England families paid on average 53 percent more for their electricity than the rest of the nation. Specifically, with the exception of Maine and Pennsylvania, consumers in the Northeast in 2015 have paid between 30 percent to 70 percent more for their energy than the national average.
Since 2010, transportation of crude oil by rail in North America has grown significantly from 23.8 million barrels to 318.8 million barrels in 2015. In 2015, railroads transported approximately 8 percent of U.S. oil production, with a safety record of 99.99 percent.
The global trade of oil and natural gas is dependent on our nation's ports and waterways to move crude oil to our nation's refineries, export refined products and natural gas to markets abroad and move products domestically on our vast inland waterway system. These waterways are still the backbone of the freight network, carrying the equivalent of about 51 million truck trips of goods each year. These marine highways are a crucial way to carry large amounts of cargo, including oil and natural gas, which would otherwise travel by longer and more costly means. As impressive as our nation's energy infrastructure is, it is in need of expansion to keep pace with a growing population, demand for goods and services and energy needs. Investing in our nation's infrastructure will not only allow the oil and natural gas industry to keep pace with energy demand, it will also help keep energy affordable for the consumer, while creating wellpaying jobs, giving U.S. manufacturers a competitive advantage through lower energy and raw material costs and providing revenue to local, state and federal governments.
The private sector is responding by investing millions in our nation's energy infrastructure. Between 2010 and 2013, capital spending in the infrastructure that moves and transforms oil and gas into everyday products has increased by 60 percent. IHS estimates that investments in building, maintaining and updating the oil and natural gas industry's transportation and storage infrastructure could contribute, on average, $120 billion to the economy per year.
Increased capital investment in energy infrastructure will also lead to more revenue and output among supplier industries, such as steel, machinery and engineering services. This capital investment, in turn, could trigger an estimated $45 billion per year throughout the extended supply chain. To sustain our nation's positive energy trajectory and position as a global energy leader, the new administration and Congress should work with the private sector to enable the expansion of our nation's energy infrastructure through consistent regulation and efficient processes.


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East St. Louis police found the victim, Alexis Winston, dead in her apartment just after 4 a.m. at the John Robinson Homes public housing facility in the 1200 block of Market Street. Winston had been shot several times.
Authorities said the Winston's one-year-old daughter was home at the time, but she was uninjured. The Illinois Department of Family Services took the child into protective custody.
Meanwhile, friends and family searched their minds for a motive -- who would want to kill a young mother?
"You all didn't have to kill her. That's crazy," said Tyrone Harlan, the victim's uncle. "That's the hard part, because she didn't mess with nobody...she just moved out here."
Investigators discovered a metal security screen was missing and a rear window broken at the victim's apartment.
Neighbors were stunned by the violence.
"This is not a dangerous area over here. Like I said, we're a family over here; we get along, we help each other. For something like this to happen over here is not normal," said Nancy Shireman, a resident at the housing complex.
Neighbors said Winston and her daughter just moved in a few months ago.
"We're concerned especially when a child is involved," Shireman said. "You know, we stick together."
Police need any help they can get from the public.
"It's imperative. We can't solve crime without the assistance of those within the communities in which we serve," Tharp said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact either the Major Case Squad at 618-274-5434, the East St. Louis Police Department at 618-482-6767, or St. Louis CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.


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Ready for the next book in the Southern Shifters series? It's almost here! Want it delivered directly to your reading device the moment it is available? Make sure you preorder and it will be delivered like magic. 🙂 ALPHA BEAST…
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The showdown at high noon between digital video recorder pioneer TiVo
And the battle goes on. TiVo is still seeking to force EchoStar and Dish to disable DVR boxes that use software that it asserts violates its patents.
In my dream world, EchoStar would now sign a license agreement with TiVo, which in turn would take a victory lap and sign more deals with other service providers like Time Warner Cable
The reality
That may be what EchoStar should do to save itself from further legal hassles and expenses. In reality, EchoStar sailed yet another Hail Mary downfield, asking the Patent Office to invalidate TiVo's "time warp" patent.
I'm no lawyer (and I don't play one on TV), but the relentlessly TiVo-philiac history of this case points to the likelihood of yet another ignominious EchoStar defeat. Five years ago, Dish settled an eerily similar lawsuit by Gemstar TV Guide, now a part of Macrovision
It's not too late for history to repeat itself. TiVo needs to win or settle this suit in order to become the high-margin software business it really wants to be. For EchoStar and Dish, it's just one last concession to put this episode behind them. The market hates uncertainty; better, then, to get everything resolved sooner rather than later.
Kiss and make up, and the world becomes a better place for both adversaries -- along with their customers and investors.
Further Foolishness:
Stock news, financial commentary, and your daily dose of Foolishness: Get plugged into The Motley Fool on Twitter!
Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any of the companies discussed here, nor does he subscribe to any of their services. His DVR is another knock-off brand. You can check out Anders' holdings or a bio if you like. The Motley Fool is investors writing for investors.


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Belgian PM asks compatriots to avoid travel to Paris "unless necessary"
Belgium also imposed additional frontier controls on road, rail and air arrivals from France in response to Friday's attacks, government officials said.
Gunmen and bombers attacked restaurants, a concert hall and a sports stadium at locations across Paris. Islamic State has said it was behind the attack.
"I ask our citizens not to travel to Paris unless necessary. In our country, there are additional security measures in force," Michel said on Twitter.
Michel also convened a security cabinet meeting on Saturday to review Belgium's responses to the attacks in France.
An interior ministry spokeswoman said that public events, such as football matches, would in particular be subject to "increased vigilance".
A spokesman for the prime minister said Belgium was not closing its frontiers but would increase spot checks on travellers arriving from France.
Belgium has also been a recent target of militant attacks. In May last year, a gunman, believed to be a French national who fought with Islamist rebels in Syria, killed four people in an attack on a Jewish museum in Brussels.
In August, two people were wounded in a struggle to subdue a suspected militant gunman who had boarded in Brussels a high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris.
Movements of migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia this year have prompted some EU states to suspend elements of the bloc's open-border system.


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Excerpted from a longer interview by P.O.V. in conjunction with their documentary The Education of Shelby Knox. The film chronicles the debate in a conservative Christian town over sex education in its public schools.
What is your position on abstinence-only, abstinence-plus, and comprehensive sex education in America's high schools? What type of sexuality education would you recommend?
Our thought is that what we should have programs that work. I won't just say any program that works, because that program has to be evaluated in different ways. But the first and the fundamental issue is, does a program work? For example, if I was talking to Shelby, I'd say, "Okay Shelby, now I know that you mean well" - and I believe she does, from what you've described and from what I've read about the movie - "Now I want you send me a program, a model of a program or a curriculum, that has shown an appreciable decline in STD rates and non-marital pregnancy rates, since that's what you want."
That being said, what she'll find is that comprehensive sex-ed programs are not among the [programs] that have ever lowered HIV rates, STD rates or non-marital pregnancy rates--except for one program in New York (Children's Aid Society-Carrera), which did it by becoming basically mothers to the girls in the program there. This program was able to get the girls in to get their Depro-Provera shots every three months. That's the only program that's lowered pregnancy rates in the country that's based on a comprehensive approach, the kind of thing that [Shelby's] advocating.
So what we say and what I believe is that if that's so and those are the programs that have had the majority of the money, the best teachers, the best curriculum writers, the best researchers for years, is that they basically have all failed. In fact, most of them haven't even measured the pregnancy rates and STD rates. And if that's so then it's only good wisdom to try something different. And the obvious other direction to go is in the direction of abstinence education.
We don't like the term abstinence-only because we believe it's a pejorative term. It's sort of saying, "Well, these are just stupid programs that are denying kids information." Well, that's just flat out not true. If you look at most of the new abstinence education programs, they're actually more comprehensive than most of the comprehensive programs are as far as the information they provide.
We interviewed Dr. Douglas Kirby and he said that he feels that there haven't been enough studies of abstinence-only, or abstinence, programs to know whether they work. Would you agree with him?
There are two [studies] that have been published in peer-reviewed literature and there's another one coming out about the Best Friends program--it's been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal and it will be coming out pretty soon. There's a program in a county in Georgia that has had a 47% decrease incidence of sexual intercourse among the kids and a program in Amarillo, Texas that has had a measurable decline in pregnancies. So there are abstinence programs that are beginning to show some real appreciable impact, an impact that has never been shown by comprehensive sex ed programs. And I think we need an open mind to see what these programs actually show us.
Dr. Kirby's study, Emerging Answers concluded that several comprehensive sex ed programs had a positive impact on teen behavior. What would be your response to that?
Well, anyone can set their own standards for what they want to look at, which is what he did. There are lots of other ways to evaluate than the evaluation standards that he set. He set good high standards but the particular design of the program or the evaluation that he was looking at, there are other types of evaluations that are equally legitimate that he ignored.
By what standards would you assert that a program is successful?
Appreciable and practical declines in pregnancy rates. Most of the time, sex ed programs are brought in because pregnancy rates are too high and STD rates are too high. I would like to see appreciable declines in teen pregnancies, the number of kids with STDs, and also a decline in the number of kids having sexual activity, so that a parent can say, "they told me the pregnancy rates are too high here. I can send my girl or my son to this program and be fairly well assured that they will have a good chance of not getting involved sexually and not getting pregnant or not getting a disease."
How would you define an "appreciable decline"?
I would say where you see a 50 percent drop in pregnancy and disease. Ultimately the goal for all of us in this country ought to be an 80 percent decline. I think that's achievable, but it would only happen in a community where the whole community surrounds the children and their families to support those choices. For instance, there's a program that was done in Denmark, South Carolina that was funded by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, the OAPP, by a guy that was a comprehensive sex ed-oriented person, Murray Vincent, but because OAPP was an abstinence program, he saw a pot of money and designed a program that was abstinence-based. Now, Dr. Kirby denies that it was an abstinence program because there was a nurse in the high school that was recommending condoms and giving out condoms, but he personally told me way back in the early days of our argument about this that he didn't really think it made any difference whether she was there or not in his eventual outcome because pregnancy rates weren't going down until he came in with his program .


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The Enemies of Reason is a two-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Is it rational that the dead can communicate with the living and give sound advice on how they should live their lives? What about sticking pins into your body to free the flow of Chi energy and cure your illness?
Or the bending of spoons using your mind alone? Is that rational? Richard Dawkins doesn't think so, and feels it is his duty to expose those areas of belief that exist without scientific proof, yet manage to hold the nation under their spell. He will take on the world's leading proponents in their field of expertise, meet the victims who have used them and expose the history of the movements – from the charlatans who have milked these practices to the experiments and testing that have failed to produce conclusive results.
The Irrational Health Service
Richard Dawkins examines the growing suspicion the public has for science-based medicine, despite its track record of successes like the germ theory of disease, vaccines, antibiotics and increased lifespan. He notes a fifth of British children are currently not immunized against measles, mumps and rubella, attributing it to fears arising from a highly controversial report linking the vaccine with autism. Dawkins criticizes the growing field of alternative medicine, which does not pass the same objective and statistical rigor as scientifically derived treatments using controlled double-blind studies.
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I am surprised to see a "Google Video"! I thought it was shut down by Google in favor for its Youtube!
No, Dr. Dawkins, we are not afraid of science nor are we superstitious. You are confusing that with the simple act of paying attention. Whether it's the government or the scientific community itself, we know one or both are corrupt and greedy and skew data to their advantage and screw "us".
This assumes that today's technology is capable of measuring/testing alternative therapies. Scientific knowledge is ever expanding but also limited. There is still much for us to understand and the scientific community should rally to do this. Richard Hawkins appears to be closed minded which is a bad trait to see in a scientist. The great scientists such as Dee, Newton were open minded and even drew inspiration from spiritual practices.
Humm. I am all for the science and can't knock where we are today in the medical world. However more work needs to be done to explain alternative ways. Also it is way too easy for the medical and drug industry to take advantage. A doctor needing a little extra for that new car can push a certain treatment. Or drug companies leave "brown bag" kickback to them whom push their product. The only real TRUST in the system would be without money. Then we can see BOTH sides for what they really are. And push for a more healthy society as a whole. Because right now in the US for sure, some groups are getting very rich on the sickness of the rest of us. And all the f-ing around that is done because of the money, in research, may end up cleaning the earth slate of us humans once and for all. Lets the scientists do their jobs for science sake not to line someones pocket.
When you shrink the avalible medicine supply the alternatives will fill the vacuum.
Stop socialize medicine… and reason will prevail.
Here it is people! As long as we have the Monetary system in place, instead of; A Global Resourced Based Economy, then we will always have all the B.S. that comes with; A Monetary system. Please, if you haven't already, check out; The Venus Project, & The Zeitgeist Movement. These 2 are our planet's, as well as all of it's inhabitants only true best hope for our coexistent future with one another, & the Mother Nature to date.
This is pure propaganda from the Multi-TRILLION dollar industry of big pharma. I can't bear to watch such a demonizing, blatant bias so called "analysis" that fails to use comparisons to pharmaceutical science, the failure of health systems to cure people of disease and offer lifelong expensive drug therapies. Go blow it out your butts.
If big pharma allowed a study, such as the one held at a local university this year, that saw cancerous tumors shrunk by 80% by merely using dandelion root extract then they would be losing a lot of money. That is why none of these 'new age' or whatever big industry label is being used (psuedo-science, delusional, etc) , that is why they are not put through empirical analysis. There is too much money to be lost. Vaccines, drugs, are better fitted to keep people sick and coming back for more. A customer cured is a customer lost. Until they let go of the idea that 'a patient cured is a customer lost' we will always be left in the dark about the truth of alternatives that are relatively inexpensive and/or cure the patient. Follow the money and you will find the current truth.
Now lets talk about the bombardment of advertising that drug companies throw at the consumer, using emotional branding, propaganda, and not the scientific facts about their drugs and vaccines. Let's talk about Merk and Bayer distributing contaminated vaccines with live avian flu or HIV knowingly. If science is so pure and perfect a method of analysis, then the errors that have been made using the current scientific methods, peer reviewed go beyond margins of error and leave us to wonder how such monstrous mistakes are allowed to be made?
Let's talk about the nuclear waste byproduct called sodium fluoride, that is added to our drinking water. The same industrial waste used by Hitler to subdue the minds of the camp prisoners. I'm tired of bigpharma's propaganda players. Just know that if you want a more effective demonizing campaign it's more believable if you compare both sides to the public. One sided views are dead giveaways of the purpose of the piece. It's called a 'hit piece'.
Now go away and die with all the diseases that are dumped on you by your friendly all loving science based industries. Leave people alone to live freely and choose for themselves. It's called FREEDOM, a concept foreign to fascist control freaks.
Im afraid i dont agree with the arguments put forward by dawkins in this documentary. clearly 'science based medicine' has its drawbacks which we all know. Some alternative medicines/therapies may not be scientifically proven but still are shown to be effective. Also dawkins criticizes Ayurveda stating its not scientific. Ayurveda happens to be a very scientific system of medicine. Clearly dawkins has not done enough research on these topics before labeling them as 'mumbo jumbo' A scientist should be more open minded and willing to accept and learn new things even if it contradicts what he already believes in!


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Happy Sunday dear readers! Zimmy and I are officially in holiday mode, if you couldn't tell by the picture (and yes, he really does love it when you rub his belly with your foot. He's a rather derpy dog), and very much looking forward to spending quality time with our family eating all the things in all the land and watching whatever Christmas movies happen to be on cable. Writing will slow a bit until after Christmas, but that is fine, because I made a *lot* of progress on the novel last week! I cut about 70% of the work I'd written during NaNoWriMo and have replaced just about all of the cut content with new material, material that I'm actually happy with quality-wise (gasp!). I'm not completely done yet, but I'm hoping to find time to add some things here and there in between celebrating with friends and family, and then go back to full time work on Thursday. In the meantime, though, time to enjoy the holidays. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, dear readers, and happy holidays!
Zimmy Sunday #19: The Secret Life of Walter Zimmy


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Cats, Dogs and Us
Published: 05/15/2014 by Corrie Rabbe
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The International Fund for Animal Welfare's (IFAW) Cats, Dogs, and Us free Animal Action education pack offers a number of lessons to help students learn about the relationship between cats, dogs, and humans around the world and the impact of that relationship on each species. In the "Animal Investigator" lesson, children learn about the basic needs of companion animals such as dogs and cats.
The lesson asks children to imagine a scenario where a woman has called the authorities to report an unattended dog living in her neighbourhood. The dog, named Bud, lives in a backyard next door. Bud's owner says he always has water and that she feeds him twice a day. Bud is not allowed inside her house but he has his own doghouse. An Animal Investigator will go to see Bud and consider: What does Bud's living situation look like? What does the area around Bud look like? What does Bud's shelter look like? And what does his food bowl look like?
In other lessons available in IFAW's Cats, Dogs, and Us, children learn animal-related vocabulary, look at how cats have adapted over time, imitate a dog's body language to demonstrate non-verbal communication, consider cats' and dogs' basic needs, and, for older students, examine different perspectives regarding a fictitious city's response to its population of free-roaming dogs.
Humane Education
At its core, humane education is about how we treat living beings. For centuries, spiritual leaders and philosophers have articulated that developing kindness and compassion for animals leads children to develop love, kindness and compassion for human beings.
From an early age children have a natural fascination towards animals. Winnie the Pooh, The Cat in the Hat and Franklin the Turtle are just a few. Animal-related stories and lessons capture students' attention and are impactful for both academic and character education.
Animal-related education helps increase a childs' ability to understand another's perspective and feelings and, therefore, to respond appropriately. Humane education builds empathy and can help to develop a more caring society with values directed at "community" rather than the individual.
By fostering empathy and kindness, humane education programs reduce the likelihood of aggressive behavior, such as bullying. The link between cruelty to animals and interpersonal violence has been well established. Young people who witness or engage in cruelty towards animals are more likely to hurt other living beings. Teaching children at an early age that hurting animals intentionally or through neglect is wrong can help have a significant impact on their human interpersonal relationships.
IFAW Humane Education Methods
There are three main methods used in humane education programs: lessons, media, and action.
Lessons help develop academic skills in a specific subject area, teach humane concepts, and reinforce favourable character traits.
The lesson's in IFAW education packs such as Cats, Dogs and Us not only meet provincial curriculum expectations. They also teach positive attributes. While children benefit from interaction with dogs, cats, rabbits, or small animals, humane education is most impactful when delivered regularly throughout the year and integrated with academic lessons. IFAW offers a wide variety of free animal themed education packs including tigers, elephants, and seals.
Use of media including books, magazines, and videos featuring animals teaches important character values such as fairness, cooperation, and honesty. Stories about or from the perspective of an animal have long been used to develop and strengthen traditional literary skills and teach positive values. Comprehension and analysis of a story can be improved by asking children questions or to discuss what they have read, viewed, or heard.
In lesson one of IFAW's "Cats, Dogs, and Us" (for ages 8-14) children watch an 18 minute video. Educators then ask students to strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with a variety of statements and discuss their reasons. This helps students demonstrate an understanding of multiple perspectives and analyze connections between cats, dogs, and humans.
Engaging young people in activities, such as IFAW's Family Pledge, encourages children to actively respect and protect cats and dogs in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities. Taking action reinforces humane values and students can see the impact their actions have. Local humane societies and SPCA's often have activities that children can get involved with including summer camps. A simple way to get children involved is for children to collect needed items for a local animal shelter.
By providing young people around the world with the knowledge and tools they need to take positive action on behalf of animals and the environment they are building the attitudes and behaviours needed by the next generation of responsible decision makers.
Animals and Us
www.ifaw.org/canada/our-work/ education/cats-dogs-and-us
http://everylivingthing.ca/about/ humane-education/
http://bekindexhibit.org/about/ humane-education-and-childrenin-britain/
http://science.howstuffworks. com/zoology/mammals/dog2.htm
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ evolution/library/01/5/l_015_02. html
http://www.theatlantic.com/ technology/archive/2013/12/howhumans-created-cats/282391/
http://www.catoddities.com/ The%20Evolution%20of%20 House%20Cats.pdf


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HICKORY, NC (WBTV) - A death certificate for Zahra Baker has been filed with the Catawba County Register of Deeds office.
The certificate sets the date of death on October 26, the date remains were found in Caldwell County. The remains of the 10-year-old girl have been found in at least two different places and her stepmother has said that the girl was dismembered after she died, according to search warrants.
Full Coverage: Follow the entire Zahra Baker case
The cause of death on the certificate is listed as "Pending." There is a notation that an autopsy was conducted at the state medical examiner's office and that the remains are still there.
It is not unusual, say authorities, for cause of death to be listed as "Pending" if the medical examiner is still awaiting more test results or information from investigators. Authorities would not comment whether that was the case.
The date of death can also be changed depending on test results and information obtained through an investigation.
In search warrants released earlier this month, Elisa Baker was quoted as telling police Zahra died on September 24. In other search warrants, Elisa Baker also said that Zahra's bones, blood and bodily fluids could be found in pipes at the family's home.
Elisa Baker, 42, is in the Catawba County Jail on several worthless check charges and on a charge for obstruction of justice, for allegedly writing a fake ransom note when Zahra went missing in early October, police have said.
She was scheduled to appear in court last Friday, but instead had the bigamy charge served to her while she was in jail and $10,000 more added to her bond.
The latest worthless check charge – from Catawba County – is now also added to the other 6 "simple worthless check" charges against Baker.
Last week was an active week in the Zahra Baker case: Eliza Baker was already indicted this week for bigamy after police said she was not divorced from a man before being married to Zahra's father, Adam Baker is the summer of 2008. (Read the story about the bigamy indictment)
Also, a briefcase was found in woods near where parts of Zahra's body was found, which contains a blanket that might have blood on it. (Read the story about the briefcase)
This week's worthless check charge has a $500 bond, which now brings the total bond for Elisa Baker in the Catawba County Jail to $107,700.
No one has been charged in the death of Zahra, but Elisa Baker did tell authorities that her blood, bones and bodily fluid could be found in the pipes of the Hickory house, according to warrants.
Copyright 2011 WBTV. All rights reserved.


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Cole Heinowitz is the author of two books of poetry, Daily Chimera (Incommunicado, 1995) and The Rubicon (A Rest, 2008), the chapbook, Stunning in Muscle Hospital (Detour, 2002), and the critical study, Spanish America and British Romanticism, 1777-1826: Rewriting Conquest (Edinburgh University Press, 2010). She is the co-translator of Mario Santiago Papasquiaro's Advice from 1 Disciple of Marx to 1 Heidegger Fanatic (Wave Books, 2013) and is currently translating the poetry and prose of Alejandra Pizarnik and the late letters of Antonin Artaud. Cole teaches literature at Bard College and lives in the Catskills.
Ainsley Morse is an advanced form of A.I. language-recognition technology, yearning hotly for a place at the table of Natural Speakers.
Bela Shayevich is a haunted hospital on Chicago's south side where she underwent hernia surgery several months after she immigrated to the United States, in 1991. As she came to from the anesthesia, she was presented with a plastic skeleton keychain with green jewels for eyes. Cured, in the early 2000s, she was shut down. Demons bite around inside her.
Brandon Holmquest is a scrappy fighter from Philadelphia who thinks birds look like candy, is good at screaming names and loses the fight at the end of the movie despite all the grit and heart, etc and the best efforts of Burgess Meredith.
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Brown Dog Coffee Company
Espresso Bar & Roastery
Main Navigation
Home Page
Established in 2004, Brown Dog Coffee Company is located in the historic district of downtown Burgaw. We're an independent coffeehouse that roast the coffees we serve. At the heart of our operation, you'll find plenty of roasting, tasting and tweaking.
We offer a traditional coffeehouse experience to people who appreciate quality coffee and espresso. A calming environment, framed with books, the quaint coffeehouse breeds creativity, imagination and discussion. A place for people from all walks of life to connect, relax and revive.
Beyond that, you can always count on good music, a clean décor and friendly faces.
We look forward to serving you!
Content copyright
All rights reserved.


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Posted in Other 30+ days ago.
This job brought to you by America's Job Exchange
Type: Full Time
Location: new orleans, Louisiana
JOB SUMMARY: This position is primarily responsible for consulting with clients and prospects to determine course of action(s) designed to help meet their financial and investment goals. This position is primarily focused on high net worth clients and prospects: annual income of at least $250,000 OR $1MM in investible assets AND the propensity to generate at least $15,000.00 in revenue to the bank within the first 3 years.
* Completes a suitability review with client to assess the investors financial situation, including, but not limited to, his age, income, net worth, current investments, investment experience and objectives, investment time horizon, risk tolerance, and liquidity needs.
* Makes full disclosures required in conjunction with selling non-deposit investment products on bank premises.
* Discusses benefits and risks as well as other product features pertaining to possible investment solutions for the client.
* Recommends product(s) and/or services based on the information provided by the client that are suitable for the investors needs.
* Meets with existing clients periodically to update them on potential investments and to determine whether any life changes (marriage, disability, retirement, etc.) have occurred that may affect their financial and investment goals.
* Completes all clients paperwork in accordance with compliance and company guidelines including providing prospectus if applicable.
* Receives clients trade orders and instructions for money movement and processes according to regulatory requirements.
* Reviews all paperwork for accuracy and completeness before forwarding to HIS operations for processing
* Creates a file to be kept at the representatives hub branch with copies of all transactions
* Is a member of the Wealth Team and attends meetings on a weekly basis to review clients and prospects
* Works with line of business partners and helps identify investment opportunities
* Assists and supports the wealth teams investment and insurance goals by prospecting with the wealth team and working with line of business partners
* Maintains proper FDIC/SPIC signage and current brochures in all office locations
* Looks for cross-referral opportunities to send to other members of the wealth team for trust, loans, and deposits.
* Attends annual compliance continuing education meeting held by Hancock Investment Services
* Successfully completes required continuing education in compliance with both insurance and securities regulations
* Schedules and attends computer based continuing education courses as needed
* Renews insurance license on an annual basis prior to deadline
* Participates in Quarterly Reviews with Regional Manager / Wealth Management
* Complies with State Insurance and Securities regulations
* Contacts and qualify prospective clients, explains features and merits of options offered, and presents options based on analysis of prospects exposure to loss
* Uses a consultative sales process, determines client needs, obtains commitment and proposes solutions
* Anticipates future needs and calls on established clients to upgrade accounts
* Coordinates with bank business partners in order to have the opportunity meet with bank clients and determine how to meet their investment needs
* Develops marketing and sales strategy to market products to non-bank clients
* Participates in community affairs to increase company and banks visibility and to enhance new business opportunities
* Compiles lists of prospective clients to provide leads for additional business
* Contacts and qualifies prospective clients and develops an action plan to assess their investment needs, acceptable risk level and to present solutions.
* Develops long-term relationships with clients
* Continually expands product knowledge and consultative selling skills through self-study and continuing education programs
* Defines and maintains client service agreements
* Undertakes special projects to enhance the sales and marketing process
* Serves as a business partner to bankers and fellow financial advisors
* Bachelor's degree and at least five years related experience in Brokerage/Insurance and/or Banking/Retail
* At least five years of experience prospecting and providing investment advice to clients that meet the criteria to be considered high net worth individuals
* A proven track record over past job performance selling products that generate fee income over time
* Ability to learn to understand and communicate all investment products and procedures of the company
* Ability to identify selling opportunities to up-sell and cross-sell bank products and services
* Ability to interact with individuals of widely divergent lifestyles
* Life Insurance License fixed annuity and variable annuity FINRA
* Investment License(s) Series 7, 63, 65/66
* Ability to work under stress and meet deadlines
* Ability to operate a keyboard if required to perform the essential job functions
* Ability to read and interpret a document if required to perform the essential job functions
* Ability to travel if required to perform the essential job functions
* Ability to lift/move/carry approximately 20 pounds if required to perform the essential job functions. If the employee is unable to lift/move/carry this weight and can be accommodated without causing the department/division an undue hardship then the employee must be accommodated, hence omitting lifting/moving/carrying as a physical requirement.
Job Category: Wealth Management/Investments
Organization: Hancock Invest Serv, Inc - Corporate Operations - Wealth Management
Shift: First Shift
Job Type: Experienced
Job Level: Individual Contributor
Travel: Yes, 10 % of the Time
Hancock Holding Company family of companies include: Whitney Bank (doing business as Hancock Bank in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and Whitney Bank in Louisiana and Texas), Hancock Investment Services, Inc., Whitney Investment Services, Inc., Hancock Insurance Agency, Whitney Insurance Agency and Harrison Finance Company.
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, physical or mental disability or history of disability, genetic information, status as a protected veteran, disabled veteran, or other protected characteristics as required by federal, state and local laws.


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end of days
That's it. Summer is over.
Today brings decidely fall-like weather with rain, wind, blowing leaves and temperatures cool enough to warrant a sweatshirt. Tomorrow we go full-force into fall by sending the kids back to school. Sweet mercy, at long last.
Once September rolls around, the year is gone. You start with buying fall clothes and school supplies and before you know it, you're in Target and some awkward teenager in an red vest is stalking you, replacing every Halloween decoration you take off the shelf with a Christmas ornament. No breathing space. No time to go around the board once or twice and pass Go.
So now you prepare for New Year's Eve right around Columbus Day and one of these years we'll just go right ahead and celebrate New Year's with our Jewish friends, who generally ring in their New Year, Rosh Hashanah, some time in September or October.
But wait, we forgot all about Thanksgiving, whose meaning has become something akin to the sorbet they serve you in fancy restaurants between courses, to cleanse your palate in between Halloween and Christmas. The turkeys and pilgrims and other Novemeber accoutrements get tossed between the costumes no one wanted and the fresh winter plastic trinkets like inch-high plastic ice skaters and musical baby Jesus. Even the outdoor decorations for Thanksgiving are just toss-offs from Halloween; take down the witches and goblins and leave the pumpkins and bales of hay and look, it's Thanksgiving!
Then there's football which, week for week, makes the end of the year move faster than a speeding bullet-like completion. You start fresh in September with high hopes and maybe a new replica jersey and a few bucks thrown in the weekly office pool. By Halloween you are grumbling under your breath, by Election day you're headed into a funk, by Thanksgiving you spend every Sunday cursing and drinking and by New Year's you insist that the Super Bowl is just some over-hyped dramatic ratings ploy anyhow, so why should you watch it?
Suddenly it's 2004, a new year has dawned and you wonder what the hell you've been doing since August because it sure doesn't feel like four full months have gone by - even though your bank account assures you that yes, it has been depleted thanks to a succession of holidays and gift giving occassions - and you have no choice but to face the black hole of the calendar, those months marked by early darkness, snow and a few Monday holidays thrown in to keep you sane. But that's all ok because soon you will hear the cries of pitchers and catchers flying south for the spring and the Easter Bunny will come hop-hop-hopping along as you try to find summer camps for your kids and book that vacation condo in the woods, the one that makes you feel all rustic and back to nature but gets 800 channels on the tv including porn, and we start all over again, sweating, conserving electricity, avoiding blackouts and killer mosquitoes and getting an early start on back-to-school supplies.
Time flies whether you're having fun or not.


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Monday, April 5, 2010
giving thyroid cancer the bird
8 comments:
- Matthew Zachary said...
Love it!
- April 6, 2010 at 12:01 PM
- Mrs. Noonzie said...
I'm sure they were MORE than happy to oblige!
- April 6, 2010 at 2:50 PM
- Joanna Isbill said...
I figured you could get on board, Matthew! :)
- April 6, 2010 at 10:51 PM
- Joanna Isbill said...
Steph, you know they were! Mom was taking the picture, so what other opportunity will they ever have to flip Mom off without getting yelled at??
- April 6, 2010 at 10:52 PM
- Health is Wealth MonaVie Road Warriors said...
- April 6, 2010 at 11:06 PM
- Brian said...
this has t-shirt idea written all over it :)
- April 7, 2010 at 9:40 AM
- Hua said...
Hey Joanna,
Awesome! Such a great family photo with a great message.
I found your blog while searching for unique and helpful content on thyroid cancer. I think you could benefit from sharing your personal story to an audience of people seeking information on thyroid cancer. Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network (HBN) is comprised of over 3,000 of the web's best health writers, including doctors, patient experts and people pursuing healthy living.
For more information about joining, please visit http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger or email me at hua [at] wellsphere [dot] com.
Director of Blogger Networks
- April 7, 2010 at 4:48 PM
- Joanna Isbill said...
Agreed, Brian.
- April 8, 2010 at 12:36 AM


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Books Guide
World of Judaica is proud to offer a wide and growing selection of Israeli books on our site! Jewish Books have been a source of inspiration for generations and are an integral part of one of the most important values in Judaism – education.
Important Jewish Books
Jewish Film
Eventually, many of these well-known pieces of literature were made into movies, as the film industry could attract a wider audience. Today, although many films related to Judaism are still based off of historical events, books have become far more present than ever before. Now, people are writing about what is happening today – about the technological and economic boom in Israel, and its role in shaping an un-stable middle-east fighting for freedom and democracy.
We hope you will enjoy our selection of literature – it tells a story of rich history amongst a determined people.
For More Information
For more information about Israeli Books, Israeli movies, or any other Judaica products, please feel free to contact our Judaica experts with any questions or concerns.


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As Independents and moderate Democrats take to the hills faster than a California brush fire, Barack Obama is becoming to the Liberal elite media, what honey is to a bear: Something they love to lap up, but at the end of the day, if you have too much, it actually makes you sick.
If you wonder why they've avoided any significant reporting on the brotha' from another planet, Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and founder of Green for All, an advocacy group that works to bring green jobs to the underprivileged, and author of The Green Collar Economy (or any of Obama's other "Czars"), it's because, frankly, they don't really know what to say. I mean, they are truly dumbfounded! His credentials LOOKED good!
Van "hoof-in-mouth" Jones has openly spewed his contempt for the United States for years and yet not one Liberal spoke up when he was appointed by Obama. The silence from the Left is deafening following Jones' latest gaffe. Not even Pelosi, who opens her mouth more than a frog in a fly factory, has uttered a word in his defense.
Not enough that he supported the killer of police officers. Not enough that he is crazy enough to openly back the belief that President Bush was responsible for the 9/11 tragedy. Not enough that he publicly called a significant portion of the United States population "assholes." Not enough that he called a living President of the United States a "crack head." These acts and statements make him fit to serve as advisor to the man who holds the highest position in our country? Somebody's on Meth in the White House!
According to White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, Jones "continues to work in the administration." Why? If ANYONE in the Bush Administration had been so openly stupid every media outlet on the planet would have been demanding a resignation. Jones said: "If I have offended anyone with statements I made in the past, I apologize." Okaaay…
Day after day the leftist media outlets are seeing that Obama is truly a deceitful, America-hating supporter of not just one racist (Reverend Wright); not just one Communist (William Ayers); but has managed to subjugate the Constitution and illegally surround himself with a cadre of presidential "appointees" who make Stalin look like the Olson twins in comparison.
From his stance on creating a "culture of death" to his gangsta' takeover of healthcare, the Liberal media is finally discovering that the "man of change" they paraded to the American public and stuffed down our throats, is actually a horror they helped to unleash. And for that they have no excuse. How do you back pedal from a monumental mistake like this?
You don't! You ignore it and pretend that it isn't happening. You find the best turd in this pile of s**t and act like it's the best thing since the cable television. You parade, before an ever enlightened public, every pitiable person with a sob story to tell in this burning heap to try and make it look like "your guy" is actually doing something good. At least that's what you do if you have NO scruples and NO morals yourself. Welcome to mainstream media!
When supposed "legitimate and unbiased" observers like Eva Paterson, president and founder of the Equal Justice Society, a group known to support liberal views, reports in the Huffington Post (a decidedly liberal blog) that Jones has apologized; changed his radical ways and is the subject of unwarranted conservative attacks, I only need look to his most recent video and read HIS own words.
It is little wonder that people no longer wish to pay to read mainstream media tripe and newspapers are fading faster than Madonna's looks. If mainstream television news continues on its present path, it will likely see a similar demise. Katie who?
The very thing the Obama Administration purports to cure (partisan politics, racism, cultural division), it actually supports; using the bully pulpit, subversion and oppression in an attempt to silence the opposition.
And the Liberal media is either too afraid or too stupid to speak out against it or even report on it. So, what makes this Administration so special? Nothing at all — except the president is a Black man! And to speak out against him makes you a racist!
History is rife with tin-can dictators (and their media supporters) who believe that 51% is enough to make the rest of us into mindless slaves incapable of rising up. But they've been wrong before and they are wrong today. Just watch the tumbling polls and be prepared for 2010 and a one-term president named Barack Hussein Obama who will depart the White House in 2012!


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Classic To Contemporary Floor Hotel Entrance Tile Design Ideas For Pursuing Deluxe And Welcoming Feel And Look
Create a great and deluxe impression since from the very first part of your public commercial and business places with these classic to contemporary floor hotel entrance tile design ideas. Welcome your potential guests and visitors with fine looking and heart-warming, and even grandeur luxurious flooring layout plans. Match this various materials flooring design with entire interior color schemes and interior decor ideas.