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Ah mealtime. A great time really. A time to enjoy the things you love. And I love eating. I really do. Or at least I did until I had kids and eating started figuring into my nightmares. I mean it wasn't like I was dreaming about hamburgers chasing me (that was my dad's dream long ago) and besides I played hamburger in an off broadway show so I think we have a pretty good relationship. In fact I don't think I have ever dreamed about meat products chasing me. Only produce. Now you would imagine that would be less scary but it's not. You would be amazed and alarmed at what an avocado looks like with fangs. The nightmares stemmed from my anxiety over feeding my children. In the beginning it was about their GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease). Basically they threw up everything they ate which resulted in a lot of trips to the hospital. We eventually got the 9 trips and the 10 one is free pass. I mean that stuff was evil and wreaked havoc on their poor little bodies. And some of the medicines they were put on (in particular the smaller one) caused seizure like symptoms. Ugh.
The good news is they were the fortunate ones who grew out of their GERD so then it became about their pickiness. I mean it's always something. I am an actor so I require drama and have found plenty of it off stage. It's perfect really. I would spend hours sweating over a hot stove and put the meal in front of them awaiting their reaction with bated breath. Sometimes they would try it and then do the Tom Hank's look from the movie Big when he eats a piece of beluga and tries to scrape it off his tongue with a napkin. Looking at the bigger twin you would think I would have asked her to eat chocolate covered horseradish with lemons dipped in milk. She would look at me as if to say, "What in the hell is wrong with you? How could you feed me this? Are you trying to kill me? I want something else and make it snappy and if it's good we will forget all about this disgusting excuse for a meal." Other times I set the plates before them and one plate is lifted into the air and thrown to the ground. And if one twin does it the other always follows suit. Then they give me this look with tiny tears in their eyes as if to say, "Oh mother really. How could you? I'm a good baby and I try not to give you much trouble. I mean sure I fling an occasional poop, but don't we all. I do right by you and this is how you repay me? You have broken my heart mother. Broken it. I'm not sure that my tongue, tummy or myself will recover. Ever. Such extreme words from the mouth of babes I know, but food can be a very intense experience as I have learned. Your cooking can make or break your relationship with your child.
Now that they are almost 2 ½ years old I'd like to say we have put all that behind us. I'd like to say that, but it just isn't true. While we have certainly made headway every meal except breakfast continues to be a source of anxiety for me. Will they eat it? Will they pretend to eat it by chewing and then very slyly raise their hands to their mouths and toss their food to the floor? (My littler twin does this). Will the plates be upended before anyone takes a bite just because the shape of the meat is all wrong? You would also think if they ate something last week or 3 days ago then they like it, but if you are like me then you are not fooled by this! They may not eat it 3 days later. You may have to go weeks or months before they will eat it again. And when you give it to them again head held high chest puffed with confidence they look at you as if to say, "Oh mother seriously? This again? I thought we had an understanding. You feed me what I want when I want it. And I never eat (fill in the blank) on Thursdays. It just isn't done.
If you are like me when your children reject the food you have cooked for them you feel as though they are rejecting you. Giving them food is your way of loving them and they stomp and spit and yes even poop on that love. But take heart because as you can see you are not alone!! And continue to enjoy watching them eat because it is a beautiful thing when they do and there will be plenty of times when they don't. And do your best not to take it personally. After all most of the time they are simply exerting their independence and the rest of the time they are telling you that you cannot cook.


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Punjab Skills Development Fund launched the scheme "Employable Skills for Females in Beauty Care Industry" in June 2017. Under the scheme, a total of 2,750 females from the districts; Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Sialkot & Multan will be trained. Training is being imparted in trades such as Grooming & Make-up Artist and beautician.
- Involved leading industry players for training having endorsement of international makeup brands
- Preference for the underprivileged segment of society i.e. orphans, single mothers, divorced and widows
- Train women in demand-driven courses of the beauty-care industry
- Empower women to become contributing members of the society by earning a respectable income for themselves and their families
Program Outcomes:
- 2,500 women will be trained over a period of one year.
- 50% will be employed (with 20% job placement in Beauty Salons & 30% Self-employed)
- Provision of micro-financing to establish their own businesses


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Don't get suckered in by MES and Paperless Manufacturing misconceptions, especially when reality can deliver so much shop floor benefit.
By David Oeters, Corporate Communications with CIMx Software
Perception versus reality…
CIMx has been serving manufacturers for more than 18 years, and we've seen, heard and learned a lot. Occasionally we come across industry perceptions that are totally, completely, and utterly detached from reality. It's the perception versus reality conundrum… many cling to a false perception so much it becomes a reality. Problem is, their perception is hurting their business and costing them money.
Let's take a look at our top perception issues in paperless manufacturing, and see what a little "reality" medicine can do for you…
- Perception: An MES has to be a massive, risky project that will take years to implement.
Reality: Nope. If you use a modern system built using the latest software tools, you can implement in less than two months. With a flexible system, you reuse your existing work instructions. Migrate the files into the system, map your current shop floor processes to the software, and with a few hours of training you can be using an MES.
There are monolithic software systems out there built on code written 15 to 20 years ago. They will require teams of developers working for years to get it to fit your processes. I'm sure it will have features piled on features… but, in the end, the reward is never worth the cost and risk. If someone tells you the project will take more than a year to implement, it's time to look for another vendor.
- Perception: The Shop Floor will never accept an MES or a different way to do work.
Reality: This is just silly. One of the major benefits of an MES is improving production and driving shop floor consistency. If the system you install doesn't improve production and make it easier for the shop floor to complete work, then you don't have a good solution.
In our experience, if you install the software at a single station and let the shop floor see how much it makes their job easier, everyone will be excited to get their hands on the system.
- Perception: Using an MES means I can't use my current processes, and they're working just fine now.
Reality: First off, as long as you aren't using an older, template-based system, you should be able to map your current processes to the new system. Next, every paperless manufacturing installation should be based on a clear ROI. If you find an ROI, then you've identified potential improvements.
And, let's be honest, there are savings and benefit everywhere in an MES. How much will you save on paper and printing, or on non-productive time delivering plans to the work stations? How important would a real-time WIP dashboard be to you?
- Perception: I'll get better customer support from a bigger company.
Reality: Okay, I've been seeing this one out there with all the "market consolidation" going on… but let's be honest, in any other industry do you seek out a massive corporation because of their exceptional customer service? Big companies need to consider the ROI for service. All those employees need to be paid, so they will throw any resource at a project they can as long as you can pay.
Truth is, if your software solution needs all those resources, then there is something fundamentally wrong with it, or the company is intent on making money on service charges. Unless you are planning on an expensive, complicated and risky software installation, then look for dedicated support and a company you can trust.
- Perception: The only way I can get the MES I want is through customization.
Reality: In the past, manufacturing software tools were much more specialized – using templates and forms to recreate shop floor work instructions and travelers. The templates created "buckets" to store specific information, and utilized rigid processes to map the work flow on the shop floor. But, what worked for one company didn't work for another, and any change required a fundamental change, or customization, of the software.
Today, there are systems that don't use templates or forms. These systems offer tools that work with your work instructions, and support your optimal work flow. You don't need to customize the software when the core functionality is adaptable and flexible enough to meet your needs. Any company "customizing" a solution is likely using core software written years ago, and the customization is more likely just to get it to work right than "optimize" it for you.
There you have it… a few of the market misconceptions that may be costing you money. Before you select a solution or make a decision about your manufacturing software, get the truth. Want to know more, or see how paperless manufacturing can help you? Contact us for a free evaluation of your shop floor processes.


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Keep Your Hair Neat And Tidy With Good Hair Clippers
Personal hygiene is a basic and an essential aspect in anyone's life, and keeping your hair neat and clean and not smelly is part of that hygiene. So that it will be more convenient to have a haircut, you may opt to use hair clippers. You can use hair clippers for hair grooming by making it a means to easily cut, trim, or shave your hair. Most hair clippers nowadays are electronically operated as compared to those that are manually handle by hair experts. As a matter of fact, hair clippers are being used by barbers in a number of barber shops in the whole world.
Two kinds of hair clippers.
Down below is a list of a few hair clippers that have been widely used all over the world.
The Beginner's Guide to Tools
Manual hair clipper- this is made of use through the hands. There are still actually a lot of barbers using this kind of hair clippers, since it has been used a long time ago in the 1800s. It basically has two blades that are sharp enough to cut the hair.
Learning The Secrets About Clippers
Electric hair clipper- this is basically used by barbers with the use of electricity and has titanium blades that are sharp enough to cut your hair. Other than the fact that these clippers are used by professional barbers, they can also be bought home to make good use of it. These electronically operated hair clippers can last for a lifetime if you take good care of it.
One must always take note of these things said.
To have the best hair clipper available, one must always take note of the number of comb attachments and their varied lengths so as to know if it can adapt to different kinds of hairstyles. It is important to look out on some blade guards that might be on the clipper so as to ensure that it will be rust free. It is important to always wash and clean the blades of a hair clipper so that it will always be neat and tidy.
If you do not have any clue as to how these things work, you can opt to buy a hair cutting starter kit instead so that it can help and guide you through the hair cutting process. These starter kits consist of barber capes, shears, oil, cleaning brushes and styling combs.
Children must be free from these hair clippers for they are quite sharp and may harm them, causing far more trouble than you would have never wanted to happen.
If you are a person who has a really short but manageable hair, hair dressers will usually just probably use normal hair clippers to cut or trim your hair.


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Patrick Hunton
Director of UX for Zignal Labs.
San Francisco, CA
Hire Me
Work History
May 2012 - Present
Director of User Experience
Zignal Labs
Working with the Chief of Product to develop a shared vision of the product. Taking that vision from concept to execution through wire-framing, prototyping, UI design, and occasional front-end development.
November 2007 - Present
Shaggy Dog Media
Since 2007, I have been working full-time as a freelance designer and developer. Responsibilities include design, development, project management, and photography.
June 2006 - November 2007
Student Media Director / Web Designer
The Woodlands United Methodist Church
I worked as the student media director for a while, and was in charge of all things media for the youth ministry. This included doing graphic design, web design, video production, running sound, and whatever else came up. After that, I worked as the web designer/developer for the church. I designed and developed new sites, sent HTML e-blasts, and did graphic design on various projects.
February 2005 - June 2006
At Cabegde I worked as a developer, specializing in Flash/PHP development.
March 2004 - January 2005
Media/Graphic Designer
The Woodlands United Methodist Church
Responsibilities included designing print materials and presentation graphics, producing and editing videos, and updating web content.
Show 1 More
Full Sail University
2011 - 2012
Full Sail University
2001 - 2002


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� Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
Full WWE RAW Results - 8/23/04 - Anaheim, CA (Kane-Lita wedding, The Rock)
� On Monday, August 23, 2004 at 11:18 PM EST Full WWE RAW Results - 8/23/04
Location: Anaheim, California
Commentators: Jim Ross & Jerry �The King� Lawler
Report by: Paul Nemer & Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
RAW starts with highlights of last week's RAW, where Evolution turned on Randy Orton.
Opening Segment: The Rock, The Coach, Divas & more
The Coach introduces the six remaining RAW Diva contestants. They came out in their swimsuits. The Coach opens the card and says that Tracie is eliminated. She leaves the ring. The Coach tells the five divas remaining that they have an assignment to do and it won't be done later on in the show, it will be right now. They will each have a chance to tell The Coach, how great he really is. He said it won't be two minutes, because that's not enough. He will make it five minutes. Then...The Rock's music hits and the crowd goes nuts as he makes his way to the ring.
The Rock enters the ring and takes the microphone from The Coach. The Rock says that he will give The Coach five seconds to get the hell our of the ring before he kicks his ass. The Coach leaves. The Rock does his usual intro, "Finally, The Rock has come back to Anaheim." The Rock starts looking at the ladies and says "Hello, mamas." The Rock says that one of them have a chance to be a RAW diva. He says that Lilian Garcia is a RAW diva. He said that Lilian use to work at a sperm bank, she was fired drinking on the job. He said that he was joking and he loves her.
He says, "Who is Carmella?" He said that he heard that the girls hate Carmella and tried to vote her off. The Rock said that seven years ago, nobody wanted The Rock, but the Rock later became the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. The Rock said that he saw them with the ice cream cones a couple of weeks back. He said that no one wants to see them eating ice cream. The people want to see them eat something /*..... Pie. Rock asks for someone in the back to bring out pies.
Tajiri comes out with the pies. They're going to have a pie eating contest. They each have 20 seconds to eat a pie the way they want to. The Rock asks Tajiri about what's his favorite type of pie? Tajiri says "poonta." The Rock says "poonta?" But we all knew what he meant of course. The pie eating contest starts. Amy starts and the fans booed. Joy is second and starts licking the pie and that got the fans going. Carmella's turn. She starts putting some pie on herself and licks some off her hand. Not much of a crowd reaction. Maria is next. She puts some on her nose and licks them off and off her finger. Christie is next. She says that her butt is hungry and she wants to feed it. She sits on the pie.
The Coach comes out with La Resistance. He said that The Rock's show is over. The three of them are going to come down, give Tajiri a Chinese ass whoppin and give The Rock a people's ass whoopin'. The divas exit the ring. The Rock says "Just Bring It Bitch!" They come down and start beating on Rock and Tajiri. Rhyno comes out and gores Sylvain Grenier. Rock gets back up and The Coach is surrounded by all three men. Spinebuster by The Rock on Coach, followed by the People's Elbow. Then he says "If ya smell, what The Rock is cookin'."
Kane is shown walking backstage.
Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler recap last week's Evolution turn on Randy Orton, with highlights being shown.
Triple H is shown taping his fist backstage. Ric Flair and Batista walk in. HHH asks "You sure Orton is still here?" Flair says "yea." HHH says that Randy Orton is not in charge of his destiny, Evolution is.
Kane walks in Lita's dressing room. She tells him to get out. Kane says that he knows she wants him to leave and that it's bad luck to see her before the wedding, but he couldn't help it. He said that no one will ruin it for them tonight. He brought her a bride's dress and told her to wear it. He told her to cheer up. It's a nice day for a white wedding.
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Edge (c) vs. Chris Jericho
Both men lock up and an arm drag tag down by Jericho. They lock up again, followed by a waist lock, then an arm twist by Jericho, followed by an arm drag take down. Edge fought back and knocked down Jericho. Jericho taunts Edge. Edge runs and Jericho ducks and Edge goes flying over the top rope. Spring board drop kick by Jericho.
Edge has a headlock applied, but Jericho fought his way up. Jericho kicks him and punches him. They start exchanging fists. Jericho whips him into the turnbuckle, then Jericho runs and avoids contact and takes down Edge from the outside. Reverse elbow by Jericho, 1,2 but Edge kicked out. Hurricanrana by Jericho, 1,2 but Edge kicked out again. Jericho delivers a couple of blows, then goes on the second rope, jumps, but Edge kicked him and delivers a DDT on Jericho. He covers, 1,2 but Jericho kicked out. Edge was going for the spear, but Jericho counters it into the Walls of Jericho, but Edge manages to get a roll up on Jericho. Jericho has his right leg wrapped on the ropes and the referee counts to three. Edge starts celebrating. The referee had realized what had just happened. He was waving off the decision and they cut to commercials.
Back yet from another commercial. The match has been restarted. Jericho has Edge in the corner and in control of the match. Jericho went for a drop kick, but Edge hung onto the ropes. Jericho knocks down Edge, then delivers a running inziguri. Jericho takes down Edge, 1,2 but Edge kicked out. Edge takes down Jericho, 1,2 but Jericho kicked out. Edge delivers a couple of hard shots. Jericho was standing on the apron and Edge knocks him down and Jericho lands on the security wall. Back in the ring, Edge climbs to the top and jumps, but Jericho countered, 1,2, but Edge kicked out. Jericho applies the Walls of Jericho, but Edge reaches the rope. Jericho works on Edge's back. Edge picks up Jericho and throws him on the ropes, allowing Jericho to get a low blow when hitting the ropes. The bell rang and Edge speared Jericho. The referee disqualified Edge.
Winner by Disqualification: Chris Jericho
Evolution is shown making their way to the arena.
In-Ring Segment: Evolution confronts Randy Orton
We come back from commercial and Triple H, Ric Flair and Batista all come down the ramp heading to the ring. Triple H gets on the mic and said there is a lot of talk about destiny lately. He said he doesn't believe in destiny. Triple H said every choice has a consequence, using Randy Orton as an example. He said Orton made a choice to not be a failure like his grandfather and father before him. Triple H said Orton made the choice to roll with Evolution with the 16-time World Heavyweight Champion, the baddest man in the WWE Batista and the best wrestler alive today "The Game" Triple H. He said all Orton had to do was go in the ring and soften up Benoit for him. Triple H said Orton made a different choice, to win the World Heavyweight Champion...his World Heavyweight Champion. He said that title is his, everyone in the back knows it and everyone in the world knows it. Triple H said the only person that doesn't seem to know it is Randy Orton. He compared the confetti falling on Orton last week to an hour glass as his time was up and he didn't even know it. Triple H said the beating he took last week was the consequence for his actions. He said that was just a warning because tonight, he is at a crossroads. Triple H said he can make the right one or the wrong one. He said Orton can walk to the ring and put the World Heavyweight Championship in his hand, lay down in the ring and give him what is rightfully his. Triple H said he will give Orton a chance to live and walk away alive. He said if Orton makes the wrong choice, he will see to it personally that he ceases to exist.
Evolution's music hits and Randy Orton appears in the entranceway with the World Heavyweight Title. He puts his head down as he walks down the ramp towards the ring. Ric Flair and Batista stare down Orton on the outside of the ring as he gets in. Triple H requests a referee to come to the ring so Orton can make the right decision. He tells Orton to hand him the championship belt, repeating himself once again louder. Orton stares at Triple H, nods his head, Triple H tries to take it away, but he spits in his face. Orton smiles and Triple H freaks out. Orton knocks out Triple H with the World Title. Flair and Batista run at Orton as Orton flees the ring through the crowd. Orton gets to the top of the crowd, holds up the World Title and kisses it as he smiles at Triple H. Triple H is shown furious in the ring staring down Orton.
Backstage, Victoria is telling Bischoff he is wrong to allow Lita to marry Kane. Triple H throws Victoria aside and yells at Bischoff for allowing Orton to spit on his face on live television. Bischoff said he saw it and will give Triple H a World Title Match against Randy Orton at Unforgiven.
WWE REWIND: William Regal knocking out Ric Flair at SummerSlam with the brass knucks during the Triple H vs. Eugene match.
William Regal w/ Eugene vs. Ric Flair w/ Batista
The match starts with both locking up and Regal applying a headlock. Regal gets in a few rights and hits a quick shoulder takedown. Regal applies another head submission and connects with another shoulder block. Flair hits a knee to the gut and hits a few chops in the corner. Flair takes Regal to the opposite corner and hits a few more chops. Regal fights back with a few european uppercuts and connects with a big back body drop. Regal hits a big european uppercut, Flair wonders around for a few seconds and then falls flat on his face in the famous spot. Flair throws Regal to the outside and gives him two big chops. Regal fights back with a back body drop on the floor.
We come back from commercial and Regal irish whips Flair into the corner, but Flair responds with a quick elbow. Flair hits a quick chop and a big jumping knee to the head. Flair gives Regal some hard boots to the gut in the corner and then chokes him until the referee breaks it up. Regal gets on his feet, but Flair takes him down with a big chop. Flair does the "wooooo" and struts. Flair gives Regal a stiff right hand and hits a few more chops in the corner. Regal fights back with a european uppercut and another big back body drop. Regal charges at Flair and he gives him a quick poke to the eyes. Flair gets up on the top rope, but Regal grabs him and throws him down hard in the ring. Regal hits some hard rights on Flair and takes him down again. Regal goes off the ropes, but Batista gets up on the ring apron and gets in a cheap shot. Flair applies the Figure Four, but the referee prevents Batista from interfering again. Eugene and Batista then go at it at ringside. Batista knocks him out, but Chris Benoit comes out and takes out Batista with some quick chops. Batista goes to clothesline Benoit, but hits the ring post instead. In the ring, both Flair and Regal put on brass knocks. Regal hits Flair first and gets the pin.
Winner: William Regal
After the match, Benoit helps Eugene up. Both Benoit and Eugene get into the ring to celebrate with Regal.
Coming up next, a "sacred event" according to Jerry "The King" Lawler, the wedding between Kane and Lita.
A promo runs hyping the return of Shawn Michaels at Unforgiven.
The SmackDown Rebound airs.
Backstage, The Coach is with the five remaining RAW Diva contestants. They go down the line on how you can vote.
Lita is shown backstage staring at herself in the mirror in her wedding dress. We are shown a shot of the transformed ring. Kane is then shown making his way to the arena in a white tux.
The Wedding From Hell: Kane & Lita
We come back from commercial and two people are playing music in the ring. A midget dressed in white comes down to the ring carrying the wedding rings followed by another throwing out flowers. Kane comes out next smiling in his white tux. He shakes hands with both midgets. The famous music hits and out comes Lita in a black dress instead. Kane has an angry look on his face when he sees this. Before the wedding begins, the priest says Eric Bischoff would like to comment first. Bischoff reads a passage from the Holy Bible. In a funny moment, the crowd does the famous "WHAT" chant each time Bischoff pauses. Bischoff finishes and the priest comments on how unique of a relationship they have. The priest said the groom has put together a special video that will show his love for Lita. A highlight video airs to the sounds of "You Are Having My Baby" of the conflict between Kane and Lita. Kane smiles at Lita and grabs her arm, kissing it as Lita pulls away. Kane reads his vows to Lita, saying she is more than just the woman carrying his child. He proclaims her as his property and that she will never feel the embrace of another man. Kane said she can never escape until the day she dies. Lita takes out her vows, saying she hates him more than life itself. She said he is horrible man with no soul. Lita said she wants to make it clear that she loves Matt Hardy. She said the only joy she has now in life is to hope for a painful death and that he will rot in hell. Kane said that was lovely and smiled. The priest said if there is anyone who feels these two should not be joined together, speak now or forever hold your peace.
Trish Stratus' music hits and she comes out in a sexy white dress. She said it was a shame that Lita didn't have a maid of honor tonight for such an occassion. Trish said she supports Lita despite not believing in sex before marriage. She encourages her to "open her heart, just like she opened her legs." Lita tackles Trish and Kane pulls her off. The priest asks Lita if she will take Kane as her husband. Lita says I...I do. The priest asks the same to Kane and Matt Hardy's music hits. Kane stares down the entranceway, but Matt comes through the crowd and takes him out from behind. Matt gives Kane a Twist of Fate and then grabs Lita, running up the ramp. Kane sits up as a wall of fire goes off trapping them. Kane takes out Matt with a big boot to the face on the ramp. Kane gives Matt a chokeslam off the ramp onto tables near the ramp on the ground. Kane drags Lita back to the alter and tells the priest to finish it. Kane says I Do. The priest proclaims them man and wife and that they may now kiss. Kane kisses Lita and his music hits. Kane picks up Lita and walks her up the ramp. EMT's check on Matt near the ramp as RAW goes off the air...


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Democratic Controlled U.S. Senate Fiscal Year 2014 Budget for the Federal Government — Videos
Paul Ryan Questions OMB Director – President's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Request
Sessions: Obama's Persistent Budget Misrepresentations Make Compromise More Difficult
'When Do We Hold People Accountable?' Sessions Slams Dems For Falsely Claiming 'Balance' To Nation
WASHINGTON, March 22—Throughout the course of the budget debate, Democratic Senators have repeatedly suggested their budget contains a "balanced approach," a rhetorical description that has no accounting value. (Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) went even further last night and repeatedly said his party's plan called for "balancing the budget.")
But as Sen. Sessions pointed out this morning, "They know they don't have a balanced budget. They won't tell the American people they don't have one. They just use the word. But it's not in their document. Where and when do we hold people accountable in this United States Senate for an accurate [description] of legislation? It's wrong."
To view for yourself the budget tables with the Democrats' own numbers (in other words, before one even begins to strip out all the gimmicks and accounting tricks), please click here: http://1.usa.gov/YwdsbM. Note that cumulative deficits will amount to $5.198 trillion, and the nation's gross debt will climb to $24.365 trillion by 2023.
Dem Senators On Budget Committee Unanimously Oppose Balancing The Federal Budget
Hatch on Senate Democrats' Budget: 'A Cynical Political Document'
Senator King Discusses 2014 Fiscal Year Budget Blueprint
Sessions: Dem Budget Would Trap Millions In Poverty By Shielding Failed Government Programs
Senate Budget Committee Hearing | 4.10.13 | Chairman Murray Opening Remarks
Chairman Murray Kicks Off Senate Budget Resolution Debate with Speech on Senate Floor
Foundation for Growth: Restoring the Promise of American Opportunity
U.S. Senate Budget Committee
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray unveils her vision for the Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget resolution.
For more information: http://www.budget.senate.gov/democratic
Portman Remarks at Senate Budget Committee Markup
Hatch: Entitlement Reform Not an Option, a Necessity
Background Articles and Videos
Making the Federal Budget
How do you spend four trillion dollars? Turns out, you don't; it takes the President and the Congress to allocate, authorize, appropriate, resolve, outlay, sequester, impound, and just plain spend that much in 2011. Such a process is baffling at times. It's so complex that you may marvel that Washington can get any action accomplished and paid for at all. So how does the federal budget happen?
Join the Mercatus Center's Capitol Hill Campus and Senior Research Fellow Jason J. Fichtner for a walk through the process of making the federal budget. He explains the process from its beginnings in the halls of the White House, highlight the many roles Congress takes to authorize and enforce the budget, and navigate the twisting, puzzling conglomeration of bureaucratic steps, political goals, and accountancy rules that go into making our government function.
Changing the Budget Process to Promote Fiscal Responsibility
A Sustainable Approach to Entitlement Reform
Foundation for Growth: Restoring the Promise of American Opportunity
The Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget builds on the work done over the last two years to create jobs, invest in broad-based economic growth, and tackle our deficit and debt responsibly.
This budget takes the balanced and responsible approach to our fiscal challenges that every bipartisan group has endorsed and that the American people support. It includes responsible spending cuts made across the federal budget, as well as significant new savings achieved by eliminating loopholes and cutting wasteful spending in the tax code that benefits the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.
The Senate Budget is grounded in the understanding that our country's long-term fiscal and economic goals will only be met with policies that support a strong and growing middle class. And it keeps the promises we have made to our seniors, our families, and our communities.
The American people are sick and tired of watching their government lurch from crisis to crisis. The Senate Budget offers a serious and credible path away from this gridlock and dysfunction and toward a long-term plan to create jobs, lay down a strong foundation for broad-based economic growth, replace sequestration, and tackle our deficit and debt responsibly and credibly.
This budget reflects the values of a diverse Senate serving a diverse nation, and it is guided by the principles and priorities that are strongly supported by the constituents we were elected to represent
Foundation for Growth: Restoring the Promise of American Opportunity
The Fiscal Year 2014 Senate Budget builds on the work done over the last two years to create jobs, invest in broad-based economic growth, and tackle our deficit and debt responsibly.
This budget takes the balanced and responsible approach to our fiscal challenges that every bipartisan group has endorsed and that the American people support. It includes responsible spending cuts made across the federal budget, as well as significant new savings achieved by eliminating loopholes and cutting wasteful spending in the tax code that benefits the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.
The Senate Budget is grounded in the understanding that our country's long-term fiscal and economic goals will only be met with policies that support a strong and growing middle class. And it keeps the promises we have made to our seniors, our families, and our communities.
The American people are sick and tired of watching their government lurch from crisis to crisis. The Senate Budget offers a serious and credible path away from this gridlock and dysfunction and toward a long-term plan to create jobs, lay down a strong foundation for broad-based economic growth, replace sequestration, and tackle our deficit and debt responsibly and credibly.
This budget reflects the values of a diverse Senate serving a diverse nation, and it is guided by the principles and priorities that are strongly supported by the constituents we were elected to represent.
The highest priority of the Senate Budget is to create the conditions for job creation, economic growth, and prosperity built from the middle out, not the top down.
The Senate Budget takes the position that trickle-down economics has failed as an economic policy and that true national prosperity comes from the middle out, not the top down. We believe that deficit reduction at the expense of economic growth is doomed to failure, and policies that promote a strong middle class are essential to tackling our long-term deficit and debt challenges.
The policies President Barack Obama and Congress put in place in response to the Great Recession pulled our economy back from the brink and helped to add back jobs. But with an unemployment rate that remains stubbornly high, and a middle class that has seen their wages stagnate for far too long, we simply cannot afford any threats to our fragile recovery. Therefore, the Senate Budget:
• Fully replaces the harmful cuts from sequestration with smart, balanced, and responsible deficit reduction, which would save hundreds of thousands of jobs while protecting families, communities, and the fragile economic recovery.
• Invests in long-term economic growth and national competitiveness by tackling our serious deficits in infrastructure, education, job training, and innovation to create jobs now and lay down a strong foundation for broad-based growth.
• Includes a $100 billion targeted jobs and infrastructure package that would start creating new jobs quickly, begin repairing the worst of our crumbling roads and bridges, and help train our workers to fill 21
st century jobs. This jobs investment package is fully paid for by eliminating loopholes and cutting wasteful spending in the tax code that benefits the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.
• Protects and continues tax cuts for the middle class and low-income working families.
The Senate Budget builds on the work we have done over the last two years to tackle our deficit and debt responsibly.
At the end of 2010, the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission report laid out a responsible goal of reducing our deficit by $4 trillion over ten years. Since that time, Congress and the administration have implemented $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction, with $1.8 trillion coming from spending cuts and $600 billion coming from new revenue from the wealthiest Americans. The Senate Budget:
• Surpasses the bipartisan goal of $4 trillion in 10-year deficit reduction and puts our deficit and debt on a downward, sustainable, and responsible path.
• Builds on the $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction already done with an additional $1.85 trillion in new deficit reduction for a total of $4.25 trillion in deficit reduction since the Simpson-Bowles report.
• Includes an equal mix of responsible spending cuts and new revenue raised by closing loopholes and ending wasteful spending in the tax code.
• Achieves $975 billion in deficit reduction through responsible spending cuts made across the federal budget:
$493 billion saved on the domestic spending side, including $275 billion in health care savings made in a way that does not harm seniors or families.
$240 billion saved by carefully and responsibly cutting defense spending to align with the drawdown of troops in our overseas operations.
$242 billion saved in reduced interest payments.
• Achieves $975 billion in deficit reduction by closing loopholes and eliminating wasteful spending in the tax code that benefits the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations.
• Includes reconciliation instructions, a fast-track process that makes sure that the new revenue from the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations cannot be filibustered in the Senate.
The Senate Budget keeps the promises we have made to our seniors, families, veterans, and communities.
The Senate Budget takes the position that the promises we made to our seniors, families, veterans, and communities ought to be fulfilled. This budget:
• Preserves and protects Medicare so that it is strong for seniors today and will be there for our children and grandchildren.
• Rejects calls to dismantle, privatize, or voucherize Medicare.
• Builds on the responsible changes made in the Affordable Care Act to continue reducing health care costs while protecting patients.
• Protects the expansion of health insurance to nearly 30 million Americans and ensures the federal-state partnership on Medicaid is preserved.
• Rejects efforts to simply shift health care costs to states or make cuts that harm seniors and the most vulnerable families.
• Maintains the key principle that deficit reduction should not be done on the backs of the most vulnerable families and communities.
• Continues to make the investments we need in national defense, homeland security, and law enforcement to keep our country and our communities strong and secure.
• Keeps the promise we have made to our veterans that their country will be there for them and provide the resources and support they need when they come home.
The House Republican approach would hurt middle class families and the economy and break the promises we have made to our seniors.
The Senate Budget offers a very different vision than the approach taken by House Republicans.
Their proposals would cut the legs out from under our fragile economic recovery and threaten millions of jobs. They would slash the investments in infrastructure, education, and innovation that we need to lay down a strong foundation for broad-based growth and that would position us to compete and win in the 21
st century global economy.
House Republicans would dismantle Medicare and cut off programs that support the middle class and most vulnerable families. And they would do all that while refusing to ask the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to contribute their fair share.
We believe that the American people strongly support the pro-growth, pro-middle class approach taken in the Senate Budget. And we look forward to engaging with families and seniors across the country as we work to pass the responsible, fair, and bipartisan budget deal the American people expect and deserve.
4/11/13 –
4/10/13 –
4/10/13 –
4/10/13 –
4/1/13 –
3/23/13 –
3/22/13 –
3/22/13 –
3/21/13 –
3/20/13 –
The following timetable is used to guide the federal budget process each year (see 2. U.S.C. 631)
|1st Monday in February
|President's budget submission (includes OMB sequester preview report and adjustments to spending caps).
|February 15
|CBO budget and economic outlook report
|Within 6 weeks of President's budget
|Committees submit views and estimates to the Budget Committees
|April 1
|Senate Budget Committee reports resolution
|April 15
|Congress completes budget resolution. If not, Chairman of House Budget Committee files 302(a) allocations; Ways and Means is free to proceed with pay-as-you-go measures
|May 15
|Appropriations bills may be considered in the House
|June 10
|House Appropriations reports last bill
|June 15
|Congress completes action on reconciliation reconciliation (if applicable)
|June 30
|House completes action on annual appropriation bills
|July 15
|President submits mid-session review
|October 1
Fiscal year begins
Home / Committee Resources / Glossary
Appropriations Act: A statute, under the jurisdiction of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, that generally provides authority for Federal agencies to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. An appropriation act is the most common means of providing budget authority. Currently, there are 13 regular appropriations acts for each fiscal year. From time to time, Congress also enacts supplemental appropriations acts. (See Appropriations under Budget Authority; Continuing Resolution; Supplemental Appropriation.)
Authorizing Committee: A committee of the House or Senate with legislative jurisdiction over laws that set up or continue the operations of Federal programs and provide the legal basis for making appropriations for those programs. Authorizing committees also have direct control over spending for mandatory programs since the Government's obligation to make payments for such program is contained in the authorizing legislation (See Entitlement.)
Authorizing Legislation: Legislation enacted by Congress that sets up or continues the operation of a Federal program or agency indefinitely or for a specific period of time. Authorizing legislation may limit the amount of budget authority which can be appropriated for a program or may authorize the appropriation of "such sums as are necessary." (See Budget Authority; Entitlement.)
Backdoor Spending: (See Direct Spending or Mandatory Spending.)
Budget Authority: The authority Congress gives to Government agencies, permitting them to enter into obligations which will result in immediate or future outlays.
Budget authority may be classified in several ways. It may be classified by the form it takes: appropriations, borrowing authority, or contract authority. Budget authority may also be classified by the determination of amount: definite authority or indefinite authority. Finally budget authority may be classified by the period of availability: 1-year authority, multi-year authority, or no-year authority (available until used).
Forms of Budget Authority
Appropriations.–An act of Congress that permits Federal agencies to incur obligations and to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. An appropriations act is the most common means of providing budget authority.
Borrowing Authority.–Statutory authority that permits a Federal agency to incur obligations and to make payments for specified purposes out of money borrowed from the Treasury, the Federal Financing Bank, or the public. The Budget Act in most cases requires that new authority to borrow must be approved in advance in an appropriation act.
Contract Authority.–Statutory authority that permits a Federal agency to enter into contracts in advance of appropriations. Under the Budget Act, most new authority to contract must be approved in advance in an appropriation act. Offsetting collections and receipts.–Income from the public which is displayed in the budget as negative budget authority. (See Offsetting Collections and Offsetting Receipts.
Budget Baseline: Projected Federal spending, revenue and deficit levels based on the assumption that current policies will continue unchanged for the upcoming fiscal year.
In determining the budget baseline under Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, the Directors of OMB and CBO estimate revenue levels and spending levels for entitlement programs based on continuation of current laws. For estimating discretionary spending amounts (both defense and non- defense), the Directors assume an adjustment for inflation (GNP deflator) added to the previous year's discretionary spending levels. The baseline also includes sufficient appropriations to cover a Federal pay comparability raise (without absorption).
Budget Deficit: The amount by which the Government's total outlays exceed its total revenues for a given fiscal year. (See Outlays; Revenues.)
Budget Resolution: A concurrent resolution passed by both Houses of Congress setting forth, reaffirming, or revising the congressional budget for the U.S. Government for a fiscal year. A budget resolution is a concurrent resolution of Congress. Concurrent resolutions do not require a presidential signature because they are not laws. Budget resolutions do not need to be laws because they are a legislative device for the Congress to regulate itself as it works on spending and revenue bills.
(Unified) Budget Surplus: The amount by which the Government's revenues exceed its outlays for a given fiscal year. The "on-budget surplus" excludes spending and revenues of the Social Security Trust Fund, and the Postal Service. (See Outlays; Revenues.)
Capital Budget: A budget that segregates capital spending from all other spending, what is usually considered the "operating budget." In a capital budget, spending and receipts in the capital budget are excluded from the operating budget and are not included in the operating budget's deficit or surplus calculations. A capital budget would include spending only for capital assets. Capital assets are usually defined to be limited to land, structures, equipment, and intellectual property that are owned and used by the Federal government and have a useful life of more than 2 years. However, some proponents of capital budgeting have suggested that capital should be defined to include Federal "investment" spending that yields long-term benefits. President Clinton established a Commission to Study Capital Budgeting by issuing Executive Order 13037 on March 3, 1997. The Commission is required to issue its report by December 17, 1998.
Congressional Budget: (See Budget Resolution.)
Continuing Resolution: Appropriations legislation enacted by Congress to provide temporary budget authority for Federal agencies to keep them in operation when their regular appropriation bill has not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year. A continuing resolution is a joint resolution, which has the same legal status as a bill.
A continuing resolution frequently specifies a maximum rate at which obligations may be incurred, based on the rate of the prior year, the President's budget request, or an appropriation bill passed by either or both chambers of Congress. However, there have been instances when Congress has used a continuing resolution as an omnibus measure to enact a number of appropriation bills.
A continuing resolution is a form of appropriation act and should not be confused with the budget resolution.
Credit Authority: Authority to incur direct loan obligations or to incur primary loan guarantee commitments. Under the Budget Act, new credit authority must be approved in advance in an appropriation act.
Crosswalk: Also known as "committee allocation" or "section 302 allocation." The means by which budget resolution spending totals are translated into binding guidelines with respect to budget authority and outlays for committee action on spending bills. The Budget Committees allocate the budget resolution totals among the committees by jurisdiction, Crosswalk allocations of budget authority and outlays to the committee appear in the joint explanatory statement accompanying a conference report on the budget resolution.
Current Services Budget: A section of the President's budget, required by the Budget Act, that sets forth the level of spending or taxes that would occur if existing programs and policies were continued unchanged through the fiscal year and beyond, with all programs adjusted for inflation so that existing levels of activity are maintained. (See Baseline.)
Deferral of Budget Authority: An action by the executive branch that delays the obligation of budget authority beyond the point it would normally occur. Pursuant to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the President must provide advanced notice to the Congress of any proposed deferrals. A deferral may not extend beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the President's message proposing the deferral is made. Congress may overturn a deferral by passing a law disapproving the deferral.
Deficit: The amount by which the government's total budget outlays exceeds its total receipts for a fiscal year.
Direct Spending: A term defined in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990 to include entitlement authority, the food stamp program, and budget authority provided in law other than appropriations acts. From the perspective of the appropriations process, all direct spending is classified as mandatory as opposed to discretionary spending. New direct spending is subject to pay-as-you-go requirements. Direct spending is synonymous with mandatory spending. (See Mandatory Spending and Entitlement.)
Discretionary Spending: A category of spending (budget authority and outlays) subject to the annual appropriations process. (See Appropriations Acts.)
Entitlement: Programs that are governed by legislation in a way that legally obligates the Federal government to make specific payments to qualified recipients. Payments to persons under the Social Security, Medicare, and veterans' pensions programs are considered to be entitlements. (See Direct Spending and Mandatory Spending.)
Emergency Spending: As provided in the Budget Enforcement Act, a provision of legislation designated as an emergency by both the President and the Congress. As a result, this additional spending is not subject to the discretionary caps or the pay go requirements and thus will not cause a sequester. In addition, emergency legislation is effectively exempt from Budget Act points of order.
There is no specific criteria in the law for emergency spending. However, the following criteria were contained in a June 1991 report prepared by the Office of Management and Budget–as required by Pub. L. No. 102-55 for the determination of whether to designate spending as an emergency spending:
Necessary expenditure.–an essential or vital expenditure, not one that is merely useful or beneficial;
Sudden.–quickly coming into being, not building up over time;
Urgent.–pressing and compelling need requiring immediate action;
Unforseen.–not predictable or seen beforehand as a coming need (an emergency that is part of an aggregate level of anticipated emergencies, particularly when normally estimated in advance, would not be "unforseen"); and
Not permanent.–the need is temporary in nature.
Expenditures: (See Outlays.)
Federal Debt: Consists of all Treasury and agency debt issues outstanding. Current law places a limit or ceiling on the amount of debt. Debt subject to limit has two components: debt held by the government and debt held by the public.
Debt held by the government.–Represents the holdings of debt by federal trust funds and other special government funds. For example, when a trust fund is in surplus as is presently the case with Social Security, the law requires that this surplus be invested in government securities.
Debt held by the public.–Represents the holdings of debt by individuals, institutions, other buyers outside the federal government, and the Federal Reserve System. The change in debt held by the public in any given year closely tracks the unified budget deficit for that year.
Fiscal Policy: Federal government policies with respect to taxes, spending, and debt management intended to promote the nations' macroeconomic goals, particularly with respect to employment, gross national product, price level stability, and equilibrium in balance of payments. The budget process is a major vehicle for determining and implementing Federal fiscal policy. The other major component of Federal macroeconomic policy is monetary policy. (See Monetary Policy.)
Fiscal Year: A fiscal year is a 12-month accounting period. The fiscal for the Federal Government begins October 1 and ends September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example fiscal year 1997 is the year beginning October 1, 1996, and ending September 30, 1997.
Functional Classification: A system of classifying budget resources by major purpose so that budget authority, outlays, and credit activities can be related in terms of the national needs being addressed (for example, national defense, health) regardless of the agency administrating the program. There are currently 20 functions. A function may be divided into two or more subfunctions depending upon the complexity of the national need addressed by that function. (See Budget Authority; Outlays.)
return to topIImpoundment: A generic term referring to any action or inaction by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government that precludes the obligation or expenditure of budget authority in the manner intended by Congress. (See Deferral of Budget Authority; Rescission of Budget Authority.) return to topJJoint Committee on Taxation (JCT): Section 8001 of the Internal Revenue Code authorized the creation of the Joint Committee on Taxation. By statute, it is composed of five members from the Committee on Finance (three majority, two minority) chosen by such Committee and five members from the Committee on Ways and Means (three majority, two minority) chosen by such Committee. In practice, the Chairmanship and Vice Chairmanship of the Joint Committee on Taxation has rotated between the Chairman of the Committee on Finance and the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means with each new Congress. Among other things, the JCT's duties are to investigate the operation and effects of the federal tax system. return to topM
Mandatory Spending: Refers to spending for programs the level of which is governed by formulas or criteria set forth in authorizing legislation rather than by appropriations. Examples of mandatory spending include: Social Security, Medicare, veterans' pensions, rehabilitation services, Members' pay, judges pay and the payment of interest of the public debt. Many of these programs are considered entitlement. (See Direct Spending.)
Mark-Up: Meetings where congressional committees work on language of bills or resolutions. At Budget Committee mark-ups, the House and Senate Budget Committees work on the language and numbers contained in budget resolutions and legislation affecting the congressional budget process.
Monetary Policy: Management of the money supply, under the direction of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve system, with the aim of achieving price stability and full employment. Government actions in guiding monetary policy, include currency revaluation, credit contradiction or expansion, rediscount policy, regulation of bank reserves and the purchase and sale of Government securities. (See Fiscal Policy.)
return to topNNet Deficit Reduction: Savings below the defined budget baseline achieved for the upcoming fiscal year because of laws enacted or final regulations promulgated since January 1. CBO and OMB independently estimate these savings in their initial and final sequester reports. return to topO
Offsetting Collections: Income from the public that results from the government engaging in "business-like" activities with the public, such as the sale of products or the rendering of a service. Examples include proceeds funds derived from the sale of postage stamps. Offsetting collections are credited against the level of budget authority or outlays associated with a specific program or account. (See Offsetting receipts.)
Offsetting Receipts: Income from the public that results from the government engaging in "business-like" activities with the public such as the sale of products or the rendering of services. Examples include proceeds from the sale of timber from Federal lands or entrance fees paid at national parks. Rather than being credited against the spending of a particular program or account, (as in the case with offsetting collections) offsetting receipts are deducted from total budget authority and outlays rather than added to Federal revenues even though they are deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Generally offsetting receipts are associated with mandatory spending. (See Offsetting collections.)
Off-budget Federal Entity: Any Federal fund or trust fund whose transactions are required by law to be excluded from the totals of President's budget submission and Congress' budget resolution, despite the fact that these are part of the government's total transactions. Current law requires that the Social Security trust funds (the Federal Old Age, Survivors, and Disability trust fund) and the Postal Service be off-budget. However, these entities are reflected in the budget in that they are included in calculating the deficit in order to derive the total government deficit that must be financed by borrowing from the public or by other means. All other federal funds and trust funds are on budget. (See Unified Budget.)
Outlays: Outlays are disbursements by the Federal Treasury in the form of checks or cash. Outlays flow in part from budget authority granted in prior years and in part from budget authority provided for the year in which the disbursements occur.
Outlay Rates: The ratio of outlays (actual government disbursements) in a fiscal year relative to new budgetary resources in that fiscal year. In estimating the budget baseline and baseline deficit for their sequestration reports, CBO and OMB use outlay rates for projecting levels of spending resulting from available budget authority.
Pay-as-you-go: Arises in two separate contexts: a point of order in the Senate and a sequester order from OMB.
Pay-as-you-go in the Senate.–Since fiscal year 1994, the budget resolution has included a pay-as-you-go rule in the Senate. The rule provides a 3/5ths vote point of order in the Senate against consideration of legislation that would cause a net increase in the deficit over a ten year period. It applies to all legislation except appropriations legislation. To determine a violation, CBO measures the budget impact of a direct spending or revenue bill combined with the budget impact of all direct spending and revenue legislation enacted since the latest budget resolution's adoption to see if the legislation would result in a net deficit increase for any one of three time periods (the first year, the sum of years 1 through 5, and the sum of years 6 through 10.) The pay-go rule sunsets at the end of fiscal year 2002.
Pay-as-you-go and sequestration under the BEA.–The Budget Enforcement Act requires OMB to also enforce a "pay-as-you-go" requirement which has a similar effect as the Senate's point of order: Congress is required to "pay for" any changes to programs which result in an increase in direct spending, or in this case risk a sequester. If OMB estimates that the sum of all direct spending and revenue legislation enacted since 1990 will result in a net increase in the deficit for the fiscal year, then the President is required to issue a sequester order reducing all non-exempt direct spending accounts by a uniform percentage in order to eliminate the net deficit increase. Most direct spending is either exempt from a sequester order or operates under special rules that minimize the reduction that can be made in direct spending. Social Security is exempt from a pay-as-you-go sequester and Medicare cannot be reduced by more than 4 percent.
President's Budget: The document sent to Congress by the President in January or February of each year, requesting new budget authority for Federal programs and estimating Federal revenues and outlays for the upcoming fiscal year.
Revenues: Collections from the public arising from the Government's sovereign power to tax. Revenues include individual and corporate income taxes, social insurance taxes (such as social security payroll taxes), excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs duties and the like.
Reconciliation Process: A process by which Congress includes in a budget resolution "reconciliation instructions" to specific committees, directing them to report legislation which changes existing laws, usually for the purpose of decreasing spending or increasing revenues by a specified amount by a certain date. The legislation may also contain an increase in the debt limit. The reported legislation is then considered as a single "reconciliation bill under expedited procedures." Reserve Fund: A provision in a budget resolution that grants the Chairman of the Budget Committee the authority to make changes in budget aggregates and committee allocations once some condition or conditions have been met. Since a budget resolution establishes a binding ceiling on aggregate budget authority and outlay levels and a binding floor on revenues, budget resolutions frequently include reserve funds for deficit-neutral legislation that would otherwise violate the budget resolution and be subject to a point of order under the Budget Act. For example, the FY 1997 budget resolution included a tax reduction reserve fund that allowed the Chairman to reduce the revenue floor and the relevant spending allocations to accommodate legislation that reduced taxes if that legislation also contained offsetting spending reductions.
Rescission of Budget Authority: Cancellation of budget authority before the time when the authority would otherwise cease to be available for obligation. The rescission process begins when the President proposes a rescission to the Congress for fiscal or policy reasons. Unlike the deferral of budget authority which occurs unless Congress acts to disapprove the deferral, rescission off budget authority occurs only if Congress enacts the rescission. (See Deferral of Budget Authority; Impoundment.)
Scoring or Scorekeeping: The process for estimating budget authority, outlay, revenue and deficit levels which result from congressional budgetary actions. Scorekeeping data prepared by the Congressional Budget Office include status reports on the effect of congressional actions and comparisons of these actions to targets and ceilings set by Congress in budget resolutions. These reports are published in the Congressional Record on a regular basis. OMB is responsible for scoring legislation to determine if a sequester is necessary.
Sequester: Pursuant to Gramm-Rudman-Hollings, a presidential spending reduction order that occurs by reducing spending by uniform percentages.
Sequestrable Resource: Pursuant to Gramm-Rudman-Hollings federal funding authority (budgetary resources) subject to reductions under a presidential sequester order for achieving required outlay reductions (in non-exempt programs).
Supplemental Appropriation: An act appropriating funds in addition to those in the 13 regular annual appropriations acts. Supplemental appropriations provide additional budget authority beyond the original estimates for programs or activities (including new programs authorized after the date of the original appropriation act) in cases where the need for funds is too urgent to be postponed until enactment of the next regular appropriation bill. (See Appropriations Act.)
return to topTTax Expenditures: Revenue losses attributable to a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or to a special credit, preferential rate of tax, or deferral of tax liability. return to topU
Unfunded Mandates: A Federal Intergovernmental Mandate is any provision in legislation, statute, or regulation that would impose an enforceable duty upon State, local or tribal government, except as conditions of assistance or duties arising from participation in a voluntary federal program. Exceptions to this rule are: enforcing constitutional rights; statutory prohibitions against discrimination; emergency assistance requested by states; accounting/auditing for federal assistance; national security; Presidential designated emergencies; and Social Security. Provisions that increase stringency of conditions of assistance or decrease federal funding for large state entitlement programs (greater than $500 million) if states lack authority to decrease their responsibilities are considered mandates as well.
A Federal Private Sector Mandate is any provision in legislation, statute, or regulation that would impose an enforceable duty upon the private sector. The exceptions are a condition of Federal assistance or a duty arising from participation in a voluntary Federal program.
Unified Budget: A comprehensive display of the Federal budget. This display includes all revenues and all spending for all regular Federal programs and trust funds. The 1967 President's Commission on Budget Concepts recommended the unified budget and it has been the basis for budgeting since 1968. The unified budget replaced a system of the budgets that existed before 1968 (an administrative budget, a consolidated cash budget, and a national income accounts budget).
Budget Control Act
The Budget Control Act Serves as the Budget for 2012 and 2013
The Budget Control Act states: "For the purpose of enforcing the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 through April 15, 2012 … the allocations, aggregates, and levels set in subsection (b)(1) shall apply in the Senate in the same manner as for a concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2012." In many ways, the Budget Control Act is even more extensive than a traditional budget resolution. Number one, it has the force of law, unlike a budget resolution that never goes to the President. A budget resolution is purely a Congressional document; the Budget Control Act is a law. Number two, it sets discretionary caps for 10 years, instead of the one year normally set in a budget resolution. Number three, it provides enforcement mechanisms, including two years of "deeming resolutions," which allow budget points of order to be enforced. And fourth, it creates a reconciliation-like "Super Committee" process to address both entitlements and tax reform. And it backs that process up with a $1.2 trillion sequester.
Budget Control Act Legislative TextRead Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )


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February 6th, 2014
New work by Vivian Gladden and Katrina West
by Emily Vanest
Almost every downtown youth has spent some time playing at the O'Bannon Old Northside soccer fields whether through Tab Rec soccer, Herron High School, Indy Parks, or just meeting up with friends. Those soccer fields were a source of inspiration for Vivian Gladden and Katrina West, friends and fellow Indiana Plein Air Painters whose newest works hang in the City Gallery this month. Paintings of historic neighborhood homes and schools play alongside views from the Fall Creek bridge and a glimpse of the downtown skyline from our favorite "urban sledding" hill (a highway embankment). I've enjoyed meeting these delightful women this week.
King Park Highway Ski Hill, Vivian Gladden
Vivian's work is dreamy and muted, with a palpable sense of season. "Working in oil and pastel describing nature and objects in a naturalistic-impressionistic style, my influence is the weather, trees, atmosphere and lay of the land," she says. "I hope to capture the vanishing countryside and share a concern for the beauty of ordinary things." Her paintings are full of those "ordinary things" we see on our walks around town: front porches, doorways, even an abandoned shopping cart.
Looking South on Alabama, Katrina West
Katrina's vibrant work is a great counterpoint, full of brilliant blue skies streaked with wispy clouds. "I grew up in central Indiana in a rural area and have always felt a great affinity for the natural landscape," says Katrina. "When I attended Herron School of Art in Indianapolis it was a time when the Vietnam War was ending. The Avant Garde art world was seeking artists who were expressing themselves through abstraction and expressionism. Perhaps it is still so. However after much experimentation I have returned to my roots, recreating the effects of light on the natural form."
Plein air painters paint "en plein air," a French expression meaning "in the open air," particularly used to describe painting outdoors. Because light changes dramatically by the minute in real time, the artists have to paint quickly, capturing the movement of the sun and bringing an immediacy and freshness to the work. "Each time I make a painting" says Katrina, "there is a connection that resonates between the image and myself. Every form and reflection of light speaks to me in a memory, in a dream, or a feeling. Coaxing color out the shadows and catching the light at the end of the day is rewarding as well as challenging and it is deeply gratifying after all these years to find that the richness of seeing only grows."
We hope you'll dig out of the snow this weekend, come warm up here, and remember that Spring . . . and soccer season . . . will be here soon.


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Q&A With Martín Cabellos Gómez from Satellite Services
Speakers Name: Martín Cabellos Gómez Job Title: Senior Product Manager – Satellite Services Company: Telefónica del Perú Company URL: http://www.telefonica.com.pe/grandesempresas/ Please tell us about your role? Since 2011, I have been in charge of the satellite business at Telefonica del … Continue reading
Posted in Aeronautical, broadband, Latin America, Satellite, Satellite Launch, South America, Telecoms, VSAT Tagged Brazil, high throughput satellites, Hispasat, HTS, Intelsat, LEO, satellite broadband, satellite communications latin america, satellite network, Satellite Operator, VSAT conference, VSAT Latin America, VSAT Latin America conference, VSAT Mobility Leave a comment
Future of VSAT: The Results!
The title may be my extremely poor attempt at being Simon Cowell in an imaginary X-Factor style world; however I wanted to continue on from my previous post where I questioned the significance of satellite to end users, and share … Continue reading
Posted in Aeronautical, broadband, Intelsat, Latin America, Satellite, Satellite Launch, South America, Telecoms, VSAT Tagged Brazil, COMSYS, HTS, Latin America, LTE, Network management system, satellite, satellite broadband, satellite connectivity, Satellite Operator, Satellite Operators, SURVEY, TELCO, vsat, VSAT conference, VSAT Latin America conference, VSAT VOICE Leave a comment


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|One way Ciphers
|crypt() encrypts a string using the crypt function from the operating system's C library. Crypt is non reversible.
The function accepts two arguments: the string to encrypt, and the salt to use during encryption. A salt is a string of characters used to increase the number of encrypted strings that can be generated for a given string with a given encryption method. Salts help increase the effort needed to "crack" encrypted data. This online version uses a random two byte salt and works fine for generating .htpasswd files to be used with .htaccess on most *nix systems.
When verifying an existing encrypted string you should use the encrypted text as the salt with the plaintext.
|Uses the RSA Data Security Inc. MD5 Message Digest algorithm. The algorithm takes as input a message of arbitrary length and produces as output a 128-bit ``fingerprint'' or ``message digest'' of the input.
A binary digest will be 16 bytes long. A hex digest will be 32 characters long. A base64 digest will be 22 characters long.
|Symmetric and asymmetric Cryptography
|Blowfish is capable of strong encryption and can use key sizes up to 56 bytes (a 448 bit key). The key must be a multiple of 8 bytes (up to a maximum of 56). This example will automatically pad and un-pad the key to size. Because Blowfish creates blocks of 8 byte encrypted output, the output is also padded and unpadded to multiples of 8 bytes.
|In 1974 IBM submitted to the National Institute of Standards and Technology - NIST (formerly National Bureau of Standards) what was then called the Lucifer algorithm, and later renamed to DES. NIST enlisted the help of the National Security Agency to evaluate the security of Lucifer. At the time many people distrusted the NSA due to their extremely secretive activities, so there was an initial degree of skepticism regarding the analysis of Lucifer. One of the greatest worries was that the key length, originally 128 bits, was reduced to just 56 bits, weakening it significantly. The NSA was also accused of changing the algorithm to plant a 'back door' in it that would allow NSA agents to decrypt information without having to know the encryption key. But these fears proved unjustified and no such back door was ever discovered.
DES encrypts and decrypts data in 64-bit blocks, using a 64-bit key, although the effective key strength is only 56 bits. It takes a 64-bit block of plaintext as input and outputs a 64-bit block of cipher text. Since it always operates on blocks of equal size and it uses both permutations and substitutions in the algorithm, DES is both a block cipher and a product cipher.
|RSA is an algorithm for public key encryption. It was the first algorithm known to be suitable for signing as well as encryption, and one of the first big advances in public key cryptography. RSA is still widely used in electronic commerce protocols, and is believed to be secure given sufficiently long keys.
|Convert Epoch seconds to and from dates. Add or subtract epoch seconds and or dates.
|Encoders and Decoders
|base64 is a data encoding scheme whereby binary-encoded data is converted to printable ASCII characters. It is defined as a MIME content transfer encoding for use in internet e-mail. The characters used are A–Z, a–z and 0–9 with the "+" and "/" symbols. The "=" symbol as a special suffix code.
Full specifications for base64 are contained in RFC 1421 and RFC 2045 - MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). The scheme works on 8 bit data. The resultant base64-encoded data has a length that is greater than the original length by the ratio 4:3.
Three bytes are concatenated, then split to form 4 groups of 6-bits each; and each 6-bits gets translated to an encoded printable ASCII character, via a table lookup. An encoded string is therefore longer than the original by about 1/3. The "=" character is used to pad the end out to an even multiple of four.
|HTTP Encode
|URL encoding of a character consists of a "%" symbol, followed by the two-digit hexadecimal representation (case-insensitive) of the ISO-Latin code reference for the character. Fr example, a space becomes %20
|Leet Speak
|Leet (meaning 'elite', most commonly represented as 1337) is an online culture or attitude sometimes identified by frequent use of leetspeak (a spelling convention for typed words).
The word itself is derived phonetically from the word "elite", and is a cipher, or cryptic form of English spelling - although, in principle, it could also exist in other languages. The spelling convention is intended primarily to circumvent automatic text parsers, probably because the originators of leet felt they may be under some form of surveillance, or desired for other reasons to have somewhat private conversations in public spaces — hence the term elite, as only those 'in the know' could easily read what is said. Leet is widely used in Chat rooms.
|A set of algorithms for converting files into a series of 7-bit ASCII characters that can be transmitted over the Internet. Originally, uuencode stood for Unix-to-Unix encode, but it has since become a universal protocol used to transfer files between different platforms such as Unix, Windows, and Macintosh. Uuencode is especially popular for sending e-mail attachments. Nearly all e-mail applications support uuencode for sending attachments and uudecode for receiving attachments.
Another popular encoding algorithm is Bin Hex , which is often used for transferring Macintosh files, such as PICT graphics files.
|In 1836, Samuel Morse demonstrated the ability of a telegraph system to transmit information over wires. The information was sent as a series of electrical signals. Short signals are referred to as dits (represented as dots). Long signals are referred to as dahs (represented as dashes). With the advent of radio communications, an international version of Morse code became widely used.
The very first message ever sent was on May 24, 1844: "What hath God wrought?"
|Numeric and Text Converters
|Convert Numbers to Hexadecimal or HEX to numbers
|Convert Numbers to Binary or Binary to Numbers
|Convert Numbers to Octal or Octal to Numbers
|Convert text to UPPERCASE
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|Convert Text to Proper Case
|Human Number
|Convert 123 to "one hundred and twenty three"
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|Miscellaneous stuff that did not fit anywhere else
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Greenwich Equitable Distribution Divorce Lawyer
Attorney for Property Division in Stamford, New Canaan, and Fairfield County
A common fallacy in the minds of people approaching divorce is the idea that equitable distribution of assets will necessarily mean a 50-50 split of property. In fact, equitable means something like fair, and a 50-50 dollar division of bank accounts, real estate and other property in a marital estate does not always express fairness.
When a family law judge considers whether to accept a division of marital assets, he will take into account a number of factors beyond the actual dollar price tags that could be put on everything owned by the divorcing couple. Talk to a Greenwich equitable distribution attorney about your Connecticut divorce.
Examples of factors to consider in equitable distribution of assets are the following:
- How much of a particular asset was premarital property?
- Who managed or maintained the asset?
- Was there commingling of marital property with premarital property?
- Did one party make financial or career sacrifices in support of the others business or academic studies?
- What alimony, if any, will be included in the divorce settlement?
- How prepared are both parties to support themselves after the divorce is completed?
- How should the childrens situation affect the division of the marital home? (Will the children be living there, adding weight to the argument of assigning this asset to the custodial parent?)
Divorce Asset Protection and Equitable Distribution
Taking into account these sometimes-subjective facts will often tip the balance such that the equitable distribution varies somewhat from a 50-50 division. Unique circumstances in a marriage shed light on equitable distribution of assets, including the following:
- Real estate
- Vehicles
- Bank accounts
- Stocks and stock options
- Retirement accounts
A knowledgeable divorce lawyer can guide you in divorce asset protection while helping you craft a fair and equitable asset distribution agreement.
Connecticut Marital Property Division Lawyer
Discuss financial aspects of your Connecticut divorce with an experienced Greenwich divorce attorney with ample experience handling high-asset and complex marital estate divisions. Clients of the Law Offices of Douglas J. Wells often find that mediation is a reasonable and effective means by which to achieve equitable distribution of marital property - acceptable to the divorcing couple and the divorce court. Talk to a Greenwich equitable distribution attorney by calling or emailing our law offices.


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One of the trailers for Shuddh Desi Romance begins with, of all things, a statistic: "77% women feel it is wrong to kiss on the first date" (or something to that effect). This is followed by a shot of Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput) and Gayatri (Parineeti Chopra) going at it, presumably on their first date; after which comes yet another ticker: "If you disagree, come watch our movie" (or something to that effect, again).
This, of course, is complimented by a week full of afternoon news on TV channels with headlines like: "27 KISSES!!! IS Sushant Singh Rajput the new Emraan Hashmi?!" Forget food security, riots in UP, Wawrinka's almost there genius, Syria and the rest of the world, because this, really, is quite the crucial question that all our lives depend upon. But, umm, I can't overdo the sarcasm bit at this point because I, after all, did go watch this film, intrigued as I was by the prospect of seeing that beautiful man locking lips and acting skills with not one, but two, women! (voyeur much?)
So, ladies and gentlemen, imagine my disappointment when, by the time the intermission (or bathroom break, as they call it in the film) has arrived, I realise that he's done nothing but kiss so far, and that his acting skills seem to be some kind of a mirage, an illusion that emerged thanks to those glistening bronzed six-pack abs that took our collective breath away in Kai Po Che, his debut film. As Raghuram Sitaram, he plays the tour guide + local loafer + baarati available on hire, who falls in love (at first sight) with a random girl he meets on a bus, en route his own wedding. What should've been an awkward but adorable guy comes across as horny and not a little retarded with his repetitive 'kya hai's.
Now this girl he's fallen in love with is your average Indian cutesy thing, who talks about her previous boyfriends, and smokes, incessantly. And this girl (Vaani Kapoor) he's about to leave at the altar (at the pretext of taking a leak, no less) is a beauty of epic proportions and seems to be the well-behaved, demure kind that is the stuff of Indian guys (and their mothers') wet dreams. But the heart wants what it wants, so run away we must, safe in the knowledge that we shall find her.
After a rushed, incoherent proposal, Gayatri and Raghu end up in a live-in relationship (which lasts for 15 mins screen time, but I hope is supposed to mean at least a month?). After a few ups and downs, and a lot of dancing at the camera to a song that goes "ab chali meri love life" (along with smoking, drinking and shaving together), they decide to get married one drunk night.
To cut a long story short (and to avoid spoilers, and because the plot is not what I want to talk about), let's just say that there's a love triangle brewing. All three have commitment issues, get cold feet easily and are in the bad habit of leaving without saying goodbye. There usual excuse is that they must visit the loo right this very moment. Rishi Kapoor and his royal moustache are a pleasant break from the monotony of secret looks and winks and nudges that this film relies on. And the choice of Jaipur and Jodhpur as backdrops make sure the aesthete in you is satiated. And the stylistic moorings of the film are fresh and deserve praise.
But, finally getting around to what I actually wanted to talk about: This film attempts to put the spotlight on live-in relationships. Jaideep Sahni, the man who's given us gems like Khosla ka Ghosla and Chak De India! in the past, experiments with the modern-day idea of a relationship — speedy, raunchy, naughty and with an exit always in view. For this, he looks at the concept of a live-in relationship and, it seems to me, approaches the subject like a star-eyed little child: there's presumption aplenty and a thought not well-executed.
Since I belong to the generation of people he's put his lens on (and seems quite sympathetic towards), I feel that his characters are just caricatures. These semi-etched people then fall in and out of love in the wink of an eye, think themselves street-smart but are actually blind to the motions of cupid and dear old Goel saab, and are also quite scarred by the travesty that is life. Towards the end, while analysing (or rationalising?) his behaviour, Raghu finds blame in all these fake weddings that he sees day in and day out. "How can I bring myself to commit to someone when I bear witness to the sham that Indian weddings are?" he asks of his companion (as promised, no spoilers).
This is where things get problematic.
First, weddings do not a marriage make. I mean, of course, you can't have a marriage without some sort of ceremony to put you in binding contract, forever and for always. But there's so much more to making a marriage work than simply the rituals. Yes, we do go crazy, bordering on intense insanity, during weddings. Yes, there's ample posturing. But beyond that, what you make of your relationship is entirely based on your mutual capability and will to adjust.
Second, our main characters here seem to choose a live-in relationship as an alternative to, quite in rebellion of, marriage. All the people I know who prefer to do live-ins are actually opposed to marriage as an institution, not tired of weddings (or out of money to buy a good pair of Nikes). In Shuddh Desi Romance, the raison de etre for a live-in relationship just seems to be an aversion to being "forced" to be in a relationship.
Third, this "being forced" comes from the assumption that marriages are forever. For characters as independent and strong-minded as these, divorce or separation can't be out of the realm of possibility, logically speaking. So, for Raghu to say "this getting married business doesn't suit me" because it feels like imprisonment, is a little out of character too.
Sahni's intention is clear — he wants to normalise the idea of a live-in relationship by placing his film and the characters in a tier II city, a little away from the melting pots that metropolises like Delhi and Mumbai are becoming. He also wants to show what factors could lead up to a couple choosing to keep in informal. But, the reasons he finds along the way are confused, and end up portraying an entire generation of people as thoughtless, naive and childish. Can't see this going down too well around here.


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For the final part of this guide, I've broken the remaining 8 teams out by group. I've also posted this image I snagged from soccernet.com, because it is absolutely mental. While Schweinsteiger and Xavi guard the flanks, Balotelli uses the Force to levitate one ball while Ronaldo fires another out of his cyborg cannon leg.
Oh, and Robin van Persie? Well, he's got a jetpack.
Best. Graphic. Ever.
Group A:
Poland: One of the host countries for this year's tournament, the Poles have every chance of riding their home field advantage into the knockout rounds. Watch out for Robert Lewandowski in attack, the Manchester United target scored 22 times for his club team Borussia Dortmund in the German league this year. Another one to watch is Łukasz Piszczek, who also plays for Borussia Dortmund, and is arguably the best right back in the Bundesliga. The final key cog is goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny of English team Arsenal, who is the subject of a humorous .GIF I have displayed below.
Having home field advantage for three games in an international tournament will provide Poland with a huge lift, so despite having the weakest squad in the group on paper, don't be surprised if they make it out alive.
Unless you're Polish, enjoy being the butt of jokes that aren't funny, or are the contrarian class clown, you'll probably cheer for someone else.
Czech Republic: The Czech team is coming down from the rarefied heights of a legitimate Golden Generation to a more sober existence in the middle of the pack in Europe. Players to watch are Milan Baros, who is a top shelf striker when he's healthy and playing well (neither of which seems to be true of him at the moment), Tomas Rosicky, who had a good year in midfield for his club team Arsenal, and goalkeeper Petr Cech, who has been in the conversation about the best goalie in the world for the last several years.
At the last several major tournaments the Czechs have made an impression, and have a history of going deep into the knockout stages. Unfortunately, they lack players with that experience as well as legitimate go-to threats to score. It'll be a big ask for this rebuilding team to make it out of the round.
The Czech team has a fine pedigree, so despite its steep decline into irrelevance, wannabe aristocrats and royalists should find themselves with a good team to root for.
Greece: The Greeks are derided for their defensive counterattacking style, but it won them the Euros in 2004, so they seem to know what they're doing. They are an older team, and will rely heavily on striker Giorgios Samaras to poach goals whenever possible. Kyriakos Papadopoulos is one of the young guns in the side and will be looking to make an impact in defense. Veteran midfielder Giorgos Karagounis has loads of experience and the Greeks will need every inch of it.
Group B
Denmark: Poor Denmark. Despite having a strong squad anchored by top talent like Christian Poulsen, Dennis Rommedahl, and Daniel Agger (oh FINE and Nicklas Bendtner), the Danes have found themselves smack dab in the middle of the Group of Death. Games against Holland, Portugal, and Germany will all be brutal tests, with the likelihood being a group stage exit.
This is a quality side, and I will definitely be cheering for them within the group after their first game against the Dutch. It's only a bold man or a Dane who would claim them as their first choice to support, however.
Group C
Croatia: Head coach who smokes, red and white-checkered jerseys, and Luka Modric are three reasons that Croatia are the hipster pick of this tournament. Full of quality but less attractive than their Group C rivals Spain and Italy, Croatia are the edgy pick to the sure things and the sentimental default (Ireland). The Croats are fairly well loaded with experienced talent: Darijo Srna, the captain, has vast international and top club level experience and will be the pillar that holds it all up. Luka Modrić, one of the most gifted playmakers in the game, will play just in front of him with Brazilian transplant Eduardo and Nikica Jelavić try to find the goals.
Croatia are a good side, and they are completely capable of seizing one of the two qualifying spots for the knockout stage should the Italian malaise continue or the wheels fall off for Spain.
The cultured choice in this group of easy fan favorites, Croatia are the perfect team for people who are fans of terrible bands that haven't released an album yet (because they're terrible), and also pay money for vintage clothes. Do you know what vintage means you hipster spaz? It means old. Which generally means used. You're wearing old used clothes. You're so fucking cool.
Ireland: The Irish are going to have a rough time in this group. They might be able to get one good result, but it seems unlikely that they're going to make it to the later rounds. They do have some talent: Shane Long had a breakout season for his club team in England, West Brom, but he is the lone young gun surrounded by a cadre of aging stars like Shay Given, Richard Dunne, John O'Shea, Damien Duff, and Robbie Keane.
While it's fair to wonder if they've got enough left in the tank after a long season, this is Ireland's first major tournament since 2002, so you can be sure that the old dogs will give everything they have for both their team and their countrymen. The fans will also be a force, with an estimated 30,000 Irish travelling with their team.
While it's fair to wonder if they've got enough left in the tank after a long season, this is Ireland's first major tournament since 2002, so you can be sure that the old dogs will give everything they have for both their team and their countrymen. The fans will also be a force, with an estimated 30,000 Irish travelling with their team.
Ireland are a sentimental favorite of public inebriants the world over, and this tournament will be no different, but if you're in it for the footy, and Ireland do pull off a couple miracles, it will be a magical time to be a fan. As they say in England, emotional scenes.
Group D
Sweden: The Swedes have a wealth of attacking talent but are a little short on the defensive side of the ball in this tournament. Luckily, with the exception of the French, neither England nor Ukraine look likely to score many goals, so for Sweden the best defense may be a potent offense. Sebastian Larsson, Johan Elmander, Ola Toivonen, and rising star Rasmus Elm will need to provide some of that offense, but when it comes right down to it, right down to the bare bones, to the nitty gritty, you really only need to know one glorious word: Zlatan (if you're a stickler for convention, his full name is Zlatan Ibrahimovic).
This team will live and die by the performances of their captain, which is a double-edged sword: it is good, because Zlatan can do things on the field that maybe only one or two other people on the planet can do. It is bad, because he never seems to do these things in big games.
Sweden are a perfect team for those seeking to worship a cult of personality: you do not cheer for Sweden, only Zlatan.
Ukraine: Bringing up the rear, the Ukrainians are led out by 35 year old Andriy Shevchenko, who in his prime was one of the best strikers on the planet for a series of very good AC Milan teams. Now, he is well past it, as they say in England, and the fact that he is in the starting lineup is an indication of the difficulty the second host nation is going to endure. The other star forward for the Ukrainians is Andriy Voronin, who played well enough in Ukraine to earn a move to Liverpool in England, where he failed spectacularly. His career has recovered somewhat at Mainz in the German league, but he, like Shevchenkco, is also not in the same class as most of the other attackers in the tournament.
So…reasons to cheer for Ukraine…reasons to cheer for Ukraine…reasons…You know what, the Ukraine have had it pretty rough the past century, what with the Russian Empire and then the Soviets, so let's just give them a break, huh? Come on. You guys are dicks.
Whew! Well I'd love to thank someone for helping me out with these posts, but I can't, because I did all that shit myself. For real though, this tournament is one of the world's great sports spectacles, and it makes it way more fun when you have a team to support and make you feel part of it all.
Enjoy your football America!


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Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the proposal for the Sydney Science Park at Penrith can now be put forward to the next stages of approval.
"This project will help generate high-end jobs and infrastructure. It will provide a new school and new retails stores for the people of Western Sydney," Mr Stokes said.
Once complete the scienc park will create over 12,000 jobs and 3,400 new dwellings. It will also enable local students to learn in an environment of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.
Mayor of Penrith Ross Fowler said the project will be an important addition to the region.
"A key feature of the plan is the inclusion of a new Town Centre, industrial research and development facilities, a school and a retail centre, all providing new employment opportunities in this area of Western Sydney," Mayor Fowler said.
The proposal will be on public exhibition with the community invited to provide feedback on the project.