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Guest: John Barrasso, Allyson Schwartz, Joe Conason, Jim Richards, Maureen Santora, Lt. Jim McCafrey, Tucker Bounds, Chris Kofinis, Jonathan Mann
DAVID SHUSTER, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, President Obama conducts the first online town hall in White House history.
BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We, as a nation, have already begun the critical work that will lead to our economic recovery.
SHUSTER: But the Democratic Party fight over his agenda intensifies.
MoveOn.org launches radio ads at Democratic centrist.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call Senator Bayh and tell him to vote for the Obama budget.
SHUSTER: "Follow the Money." We will show you the American company setting up shop in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying taxes.
Later, the growing outrage over Ground Zero in New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the people speak.
SHUSTER: 9/11 families have a message for President Obama and will deliver it live on this show.
Karl Rove's latest comment about the president lands Rove back in "Hypocrisy Watch."
And the things I thought you should know.
SHUSTER: This guy is writing a song every day and just wrote this one. A live interview with Jonathan Mann.
And Twitter time.
All tonight on 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): But Shuster's not afraid to have a little fun.
SHUSTER: Standing firm, day 66 of the Obama administration.
Welcome to the show, everybody. I'm David Shuster.
With Republicans crying foul about a liberal, big government agenda, and conservative Democrats wringing their hands about deficits, President Obama today took his case for his budget straight to the American people. This afternoon, the president held the first-ever online town hall live from the White House. More than 100,000 questions were submitted, and an estimated 70,000 people watched the Q&A on the Web.
The president used the opportunity to argue that his budget now being hashed out in Congress is an essential part of fixing the economy.
OBAMA: In the end, it's a recovery that will be measured by whether it lasts, whether it endures, by whether we build our economy on a solid foundation, instead of an overheated housing market or maximized out credit cards or the slight of hand on Wall Street, whether we build an economy in which prosperity is broadly shared. That's what the budget I expect to sign is intended to do.
SHUSTER: The president's budget is moving closer to becoming reality. Today, Democrats in Congress pushed versions through key committees, putting the budget on track for a full vote next week.
As the Republican criticism mounts, the president doesn't seem particularly concerned.
OBAMA: To the bunch of the critics out there, I've already said, show me your budget. Show me what you want to do. And I'm happy to have that debate, because I believe in the vision of the Democratic Party.
SHUSTER: Today, a group of House Republicans took up the president's dare, presenting a 19-page pamphlet that calls for tax and spending cuts.
Let's bring in...
REP. JOHN BOEHNER ®, MINORITY LEADER: The president said we haven't seen a budget yet out of Republicans. Well, it's just not true, because here it is, Mr. President.
SHUSTER: And at the White House, there was some reaction to that.
Here is White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It took me several minutes to read it.
GIBBS: It's interesting to have a budget that doesn't contain any numbers. I think the party of "no" has become the party of no new ideas.
SHUSTER: For more on the GOP budget proposal, joining us now is Senator John Barrasso. He is a Republican from Wyoming.
And Senator, first of all, explain how come the Republican senators decided not to join your House colleagues in introducing a budget counterproposal?
SEN. JOHN BARRASSO ®, WYOMING: We're going to have at least 50 amendments next week, taking a look at the Democrat proposal, because it's the president's job to propose a budget. And this budget to me is a threat to the American people.
You cannot spend that kind of money. The president is trying to spend his way out of our economic downturn, he's trying to borrow his way to be debt free, and you just cannot borrow your way out of debt or spend your way out of a recession.
SHUSTER: What, specifically, in the budget you say is a threat?
BARRASSO: Well, the size of it. The overall size.
The president is going to lead to a bigger deficit in the next two years that—George Bush had a deficit of about $500 billion. Nancy Pelosi called that criminal. Well, then, what does she call the Obama budget, with its deficit of over a trillion dollars?
He is building up an incredible amount of debt. We cannot as a nation afford that kind of debt. American people cannot handle it.
SHUSTER: But Senator, what about the argument that the budget deficit, it's going to be even higher if the economy does not recover? In other words, if the economy does not recover, and there aren't more tax receipts, the deficit's going to be even higher. What about the argument of essentially using, spending the money to create jobs so, essentially, you bring the economy back faster?
BARRASSO: Well, that's why I supported a limited, targeted, temporary effort with the stimulus package, about half the size of what the Democrats passed and the president signed, because I thought we should focus there at that point. But now we're talking about a spending plan that is going to take our debt to astronomical numbers.
To me, it's an irresponsible budget. It's a threat to the American people and it's just reckless on the president's part to do this.
He has said that his budget is inseparable from the economic recovery. I think his budget is what prevents making the economic recovery. The American people cannot afford this.
And I appreciated his town hall meeting. He should have a town hall meeting and talk to people in Wyoming, where we balance our budget every year, where the governor has a line item veto, and we budget every two years so we have more time to think these things through, because this is a budget that does it right.
SHUSTER: And because of the balanced budget in Wyoming and the other 49 states, the federal government is essentially having to run a deficit and send money to the states so that teachers and police and firefighters in your state don't get furloughed.
Here's the question though for you. As far as responsibility is concerned, isn't there responsibility on elected politicians who say, OK, the budget is bloated to states? Specifically, what should be cut? What are the top choices that you would be willing to articulate right here?
BARRASSO: Right now we spend $1 out of $6 in this nation on health care. The president now comes with $600 billion as a "down payment" on health care? There is enough money in the system, and both the Republican and Democrats on the Budget Committee agree with that.
And then what's he doing to pay for it? He's taxing electricity. Every time you flip on the switch, electric prices are going up, energy prices are going up.
We need to keep energy prices low. Why throw an extra tax on the American people? The president...
SHUSTER: Well, the $600 billion, isn't that a transition cost? In other words, if you're going to fix health care, as I think even some Republicans want to do, there is a transition cost, right?
BARRASSO: We spend more on health care, $1 out of $6, than any other nation in the country. I practiced medicine for 25 years. There is enough money in the system. There's also waste and fraud and abuse in the system. We can do a much better job without throwing all this additional money.
Plus, the cap and trade scheme that the president proposes is going to drive up electricity costs for everyone. To say that that's not a tax is not really being sincere. People are going to have to pay more out of their own pockets and have less of their own hard-earned money in their own pockets to spend.
This economy grows when people have more of their own money to make decisions. And this is a budget, to me—as you know, it spends too much, it taxes too much, and it borrows too much.
SHUSTER: Well, and I think the problem is the economy is in too awful shape. And it does sound like a lot of people, though, aren't willing to make some of the tough decisions.
In any case, Senator John Barrasso, Republican from Wyoming.
A pleasure always having you on, Senator. Thanks for coming on tonight.
BARRASSO: Thanks, David.
SHUSTER: You're welcome.
In addition to the traditional fight between the Republicans and the Democrats, there's also a fascinating budget fight that's going on now between Democrats. Liberal activists are continuing a full-court press for the president's budget, willing to take down any Democratic defectors they think are standing in the way, and possibly agreeing with the argument you just heard from Republicans like Senator Barrasso.
MoveOn.org is now running this ad targeting some moderate and conservative Democrats...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama's new budget twill make Wall Street pay its fair share and use the savings to invest in energy, education, and health care, to help get our economy moving again. Wall Street firms oppose it, but given their recent track record, that's a good sign.
SHUSTER: The ads are customized, and they go on to essentially target and name specific members of Congress.
Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz joins us now. She is a key Democrat from Pennsylvania, vice chair of the House Budget Committee.
Congresswoman Schwartz, is it helpful to have a group like MoveOn.org targeting some of the wavering or centrist Democrats?
REP. ALLYSON SCHWARTZ (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, let me say, we just came out of a very long budget meeting yesterday, and Democrats from really the broad spectrum of who we are—and we really come from a number of different places, as you know, and different political thoughts. And we came together yesterday to back the president's budget.
We obviously made some changes. That's our job as members of Congress. But really, more conservative Democrats, more progressive Democrats, and those of us in the middle really came together because we know this country needs us to do that. And they need us to really pass a sensible budget, one that really meets fiscal responsibility, and meets some of the demands of the American people and our economy, if we're going to really grow and build this economy and be economically competitive in the future.
SHUSTER: But you'd acknowledge that the Democratic Party isn't completely unified. I mean, you've got the centrist Democrats, some of the blue dogs on the House side, some of the moderate Senate Democrats who are expressing some pretty deep reservations about this budget.
SCHWARTZ: Well, you know, this is a budget that really creates two emotions for us, I guess. And that is that we inherited a very terrible economy.
You know, this recession that we're dealing with is really a problem for all of us, families and businesses and, of course, the federal budget as well. And so it's hard to really be gleeful about having inherited a $1.2 trillion deficit this year. But we are also, on the other hand, really proud of the fact that we are finally going to tackle some of the major issues before us.
Yes, the deficit, we're going to cut that in half in four years.
That's an ambitious and tough goal, but we're going to try and do that. And we're going to make investments in some of the critical areas we know we need to do in finally figuring out how to contain costs and improve quality and extend coverage to all Americans in health care.
In energy, to really create energy independence and energy efficiency and alternative fuels that are homegrown, those green jobs. It's about time for us to tackle that.
And, of course, educating Americans so that we can be prepared for the jobs of the 21st century. These are...
SHUSTER: But having said all that...
SCHWARTZ: These are—having said all that, it's going to be hard.
SHUSTER: Having said all that, the politics is intriguing, is I think what is going to capture a lot of people's attention. And here's how "The New York Times" put it in an excellent analysis by reporter Jeff Zeleny.
He says, "As a party expands its ideological and geographic reach, as the Democrats have in the last two elections, it becomes harder to hold together, forcing its leaders to spend time papering over internal differences even as they confront a smaller but more united opposition."
Would you agree with that?
SCHWARTZ: Well, look, let me tell you, I think it's great that the Democrats represent urban and suburban and rural areas all across this country. It does really force it, if you want to call it that, but really to make sure that we are looking at the concerns and needs responsibly for really all of the American people. And that's a good thing for our caucus. It's a good thing for the American people, for us to be looking and representing a really broad view, and then figuring out how to find the common ground and come together, and find those solutions for the American people.
That's what they want us to do. And as Democrats, you're absolutely right, we do actually represent a broad spectrum of Americans. And we certainly have the debates, as we should. We try and modify the budget, as we do most legislation, to make sure that it does reflect that diversity of opinion within our caucus and within the American people.
SHUSTER: Well, that diversity is certainly fascinating politics on so many levels.
In any case, Congresswoman...
SCHWARTZ: It does sometimes make it a little bit harder, but that's what democracy is all about.
SHUSTER: We hear you.
Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz, the Democrat from Pennsylvania.
Congresswoman, thanks for coming on. We appreciate it.
SCHWARTZ: You're welcome.
SHUSTER: Up next, we "Follow the Money" to the Cayman Islands. Several U.S. banks have set up offshore accounts and offices in order to avoid paying taxes like the rest of us.
We will bring you the details.
Then, at the half-hour, the growing outrage over the Ground Zero rebuilding debacle. Some families of 9/11 victims want President Obama to get involved. They will deliver a message to the president live on this program. Again, that's at the half-hour.
And we're taking your questions and video suggestions over Twitter. Just go to twitter.com/shuster1600. We will ask a few of your questions to a political news junkie and musician who just wrote this...
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP (singing): Sixteen, sixteen, hundred, hundred, Pennsylvania Avenue on MSNBC.
SHUSTER: The outrage over AIG's bonuses has been justifiable, but the $165 million pales in comparison to another abuse going which has been going on for much longer and involves a whole lot more money. We're talking about offshore tax havens.
Many of the same companies that have received taxpayer bailout money have also done business in these so-called tax havens for years. And let's look at just a few of America's biggest companies with branches in the Caymans, for example.
Bank of America, 59 separate subsidiaries in the Caymans. Morgan Stanley has 158. Citigroup, 90.
The Government Accountability Office says there could be legitimate reasons to set up branches in places like the Cayman Islands, Andorra or Switzerland, but until there is transparency, we will not know what those reasons are. And right now there's no transparency.
Let's bring in Joe Conason, columnist for Salon.com and national correspondent for "The New York Observer."
And Joe, what kind of money are we talking about with all of this?
JOE CONASON, COLUMNIST, SALON.COM: Well, David, the last time this—anybody made a serious estimate of these numbers, it came to something like $12 trillion sheltered in offshore tax havens worldwide, and an estimate of about $100 billion in lost revenues to the IRS, people avoiding taxes illegally in those same tax havens. And as you mentioned, it's, in fact, all of the companies that have received taxpayer bailouts have some kind of tax haven subsidiaries, many of them with lots of them.
Now, you could imagine, there is some reason to have, I guess, a branch in the Cayman Islands, because people might want to do some banking there. But why you would need 90 subsidiaries there is really an interesting question.
SHUSTER: And I understand that the lobbying effort by some of these financial institutions has essentially forced or put a lot of pressure on these local governments in the Caribbean, in the Caymans, or whatnot, to essentially make sure that there's no access to these records, that it's almost impossible to find out what these documents might show or what's really going on.
CONASON: That's correct. They managed to create a situation of competition among these tax haven countries where they all are assuring hedge funds and investment banks and bank holding companies of less and less regulation, less and less cooperation with governments like ours, or governments of our allies in Europe, who are trying to find out how taxes are being evaded by wealthy individuals and corporations in these tax havens.
SHUSTER: We know that there have been some efforts to get at this. There was an investigation into UBS that resulted in a $780 million settlement. And yesterday, President Obama asked former Fed chairman Paul Volcker to lead a tax code review panel. And part of their job will be to close loopholes.
How can they do that? I mean, is there a simple way, or is it much more complicated for Volcker and any panel that wants to try to get at this?
CONASON: Well, I think there's—one thing is to close tax loopholes. The other is to make sure that all of these tax havens begin to cooperate with our government and other governments around the world in turning over information about tax evasion and tax evaders so that there's no longer the incentive to shelter money in places like this in an attempt to avoid taxes.
Now, it means breaking down these barriers to information, basically. And, you know, the president took a great interest in this when he was in the Senate. I mean, this is not a new topic for him. He knows what's going on with this, and I think it's a healthy development that the government's finally going to take a hard look.
SHUSTER: Well, an even healthier development, I think we would agree, is when Treasury Secretary Geithner, who is meeting with the banks' CEOs, perhaps as early as tonight, if he would bring this up, that would certainly send the right message. Who knows whether the banks would cooperate, but it certainly would be great if some of these officials would start taking an even stronger interest now that they're in office.
In any case, Joe Conason, great piece in Salon. And a fascinating report by the Government Accountability Office.
And Joe, thanks so much for dissecting it for us.
CONASON: Thank you so much.
SHUSTER: Coming up, Karl Rove has written another column criticizing President Obama. And once again, Rove has landed in "Hypocrisy Watch." What is wrong with Bush's brain?
But first, more from the GOP bizarro world. RNC Chairman Michael Steele says he planned the fight with Rush Limbaugh. You know, the one where Rush essentially called him ineffectual. Apparently, that was just part of Steele's master plan.
MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: I am very introspective about things. I don't do—I am a cause-and-effect kind of guy, so if I do something, there's a reason for it. Even if it may look like a mistake, a gaffe, there is a rationale, a logic behind it.
DON LEMON, CNN: Even with the current events and news?
STEELE: Yes. Yes.
LEMON: There's a rationale behind Rush, all of that stuff?
STEELE: Yes.
LEMON: You want to share it with us?
STEELE: Sure. I want to see what the landscape looks like. I want to see who yells the loudest. I want to know who says they're with me but really isn't.
LEMON: How does that help you?
STEELE: It helps me understand my position on the chessboard.
SHUSTER: Welcome back to 1600.
Former Bush 43 adviser Karl Rove is again criticizing President Obama's approach to the economic crisis. Furthermore, Rove is accusing the president of misleading people.
And that takes us to tonight's "Hypocrisy Watch."
First the background.
Karl Rove, AKA "Bush's brain," is paid to give commentary on Fox News. He also writes a regular column for the extremely conservative "Wall Street Journal" editorial page.
In his latest column, Rove criticizes President Obama on several fronts and describes the president as "... one who seems to think that repeating a false argument will make it true."
Well, that's interesting, because repeating a false argument was a key strategy in the Bush White House, especially in the run-up to the Iraq war. Remember that little adventure?
Before the war, Bush officials, led by Karl Rove, formed a team known as the White House Iraq Study Group. Their job was to craft a message that would sell the Iraq War to the American public. And one of the most effective talking points was the claim that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons.
RICHARD CHENEY, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
CHENEY: We believe he has in fact reconstituted nuclear weapons.
SHUSTER: All of those claims were false. No doubt about WMDs? Even Bush officials had doubts.
Uranium from Africa? The administration knew that was false.
Reconstituted nuclear weapons? There was no evidence.
But the Bush-Cheney-Rove team repeated the claims over and over.
Karl, I appreciate that it may be difficult for you to wake up each day, given what you and your Bush administration colleagues did to this country. Nonetheless, Karl, when you accuse President Obama of misleading the American public, that's hypocrisy. And it's wrong.
Coming up next, the rebuilding debacle at Ground Zero. The 9/11 families have had enough. They want President Obama to get involved, and they will make their televised pitch to the president live, next on 1600.
SHUSTER: Welcome back to 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. As we reported earlier this week, the outrage over Ground Zero in New York is intensifying. Nearly eight years after the 9/11 attacks, the rebuilding effort continues to be a debacle. The Freedom Tower plan has engineering issues and economic problems. The subterranean memorial that's part of the plan has been loudly criticized. And most 9/11 families, firefighters, and police unions say they detest the way this entire project has been handled.
These groups have long argued that the only surefire way to rebuild and recover and reclaim America's spirit is to rebuild the Twin Towers the terrorists knocked down. Build those Twin Towers taller, stronger, and safer. They point to this model, some sophisticated blueprints and a viable financing plan.
But New York officials refuse to consider any alternative to the Freedom Towers. So the 9/11 families now want President Obama to get involved.
Joining us from New York is Jim Richards, a retired chief for the FDNY. His son was also a firefighter and died on 9/11. Maureen Santora also lost her son. And Lieutenant Jim McCaffrey of the FDNY lost his brother-in-law. He is also the co-chairman of the Advocates for 9/11 Fallen Heroes Memorial.
Jim Richards, let's start with some background. You met with President Obama in February to talk about Gitmo. Mr. Obama apparently said you have an open line to him. Is that correct?
JIM RICHARDS, FDNY RETIRED: Yes, they have kept us informed. We've had an open line with the White House. And they told us what they're doing with the terrorists. And, you know, we agree with it and hopefully he'll move forward to prosecute them.
SHUSTER: Now, on the issue of Ground Zero, Maureen, the president and his staff do tend to watch the show. You have a direct line to them now. As far as Ground Zero, the debacle there, what do you want the president to do?
MAUREEN SANTORA, SON KILLED ON 9/11: What I would like President Obama to do is to come and physically visit the site, and to take a look at the proposed Twin Towers, and to look at the tower number—building number seven, which has been up for several years. I think if he comes and physically views what is, he will be very disappointed at the fact that we are not further along, that families have not been involved. Families have not been included in any of the planning, although we have attended every single meeting that was offered.
And I would like the president to come and see this for himself.
SHUSTER: Lieutenant McCaffrey, what's the symbolism of rebuilding the Twin Towers? And why should the president get involved in that?
LT. JIM MCCAFREY, BROTHER IN LAW KILLED ON 9/11: I think the president should get involved because this is, after all, America's memorial. Not just New York City was attacked that day, not just Washington, D.C., not just Pennsylvania. This is America's memorial. The United States of America was attacked. So it's—it certainly makes sense to have the president of the United States become involved in a process that has languished for far too long; far too many mistakes have been involved, and we would welcome his input.
SHUSTER: Just today, there was yet another outrage I guess. They have now officially—the Port Authority is no longer calling this plan the Freedom Tower. They're going to call it World Trade Center. Jim Richards, I thought the only World Trade Center in the minds of Americans were the Twin Towers.
RICHARDS: Yes, this is another example of the arrogance and the audacity of the Port Authority. They think they own that land down there. They've taken nobody into consideration since day one. They have immunity from the building and fire codes, and they just do whatever they want. The exits in that memorial are not safe. There's a 700-yard run over to get out and then a seven-story climb.
This is a disaster that's going to be visited by the most people in the world. We have bus garages underneath the Freedom Tower or the one World Trade Center, as they call it, which was advised against in 1993. They're doing it again.
We need somebody to step in and take charge here, and use some common sense. People—we are closing fire houses. We have no money around the world. Yet, we're going to spend 40 million dollars a year to maintain this museum? It's inappropriate and not called for at this time. Do something simple and nice that the families would like.
SHUSTER: And finally, Maureen, as far as the office tower itself, are you sure that your son would have wanted the Twin Towers rebuilt?
SANTORA: I can tell you unequivocally that my son Christopher would have wanted both of these towers to be rebuilt to show the world and to show America that although we were hit hard, we are resilient, we have come back again, and we are stronger than ever. He would absolutely want the two buildings to be put back.
SHUSTER: Maureen Santora, Jim Richards, Lieutenant McCafrey, thank you so much. We'll now follow up with the White House in the next 24 hours to see what their response is to your appeal that President Obama get directly involved in this mess. Thank you so much for coming on.
SANTORAH: Thank you.
SHUSTER: Let's bring in our panel really quickly. Chris Kofinis is a Democratic strategist, and Tucker Bounds is a Republican strategist. But this is not a political issue. First, Tucker, the risks and the rewards of any politicians getting involved in this.
TUCKER BOUNDS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you know, you look back at this chapter, from the very time of the crisis, now, here we are years later, and this memorial has been—time after time, there have been political disputes and differences between the families and the city and the Port Authority. It's a political bee's nest.
But this is a president that has shirked politics as usual. I think it's an opportunity for him to show real leadership, and live up to some of the campaign promises we all heard as he won his presidency. So I would expect to see him do something here.
SHUSTER: Chris, how difficult would it be for the president to look at these 9/11 families who want the Twin Towers back and say, you know what, the terrorists knocked down these buildings for a reason. We're not going to give in. It's been a mistake the last eight years with this Freedom Tower thing. We're going to rebuild the Twin Towers. There's a plan to make them stronger, safer. We're America. We're going to bounce back. How difficult would that be for the president?
CHRIS KOFINIS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think it would be pretty difficult. There's so much emotion. You saw it in those family's eyes and voices. There is a lot of emotion involved in this issue and rightfully so. There are so many local, state, and political forces involved. You know, I think it is a tragedy that we haven't moved forward and we haven't moved faster to build a memorial and build a structure the way they should be built. But, you know, for the president getting involved right now, I think that's difficult. But that's a call for the White House.
SHUSTER: Chris Kofinis and Tucker Bounds are sticking around. It's such an unbelievable issue and fraught with so many emotions and certainly some politics. We're going to stay on it.
Coming up next, President Obama meets the web, holding the first ever White House web town hall.
OBAMA: There was one question that was voted on that ranked fairly high, and that was whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation. And I don't know what this says about the online audience, but the answer is no, I don't think that is a good strategy to grow our economy.
SHUSTER: More highlights right after the break.
And still ahead, singing for change. He's taken on Tim Geithner, called for Paul Krugman to get a cabinet position, and called out President Obama for not prosecuting the Bush administration. Now musician Jonathan Mann is focusing on—us! He'll be here live with the debut of the new anthem for this show.
And your Twitter questions for Jonathan or me are coming up at the end
of the hour. Just go to Twitter.com/Shuster1600 or use the link at
SHUSTER: Welcome back to 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. Today, President Obama held the first ever online White House town hall. The questions of energy policy, the economy, and health care prompted some personal answers.
OBAMA: When Sasha, our little precious pea, when—she got meningitis when she was three months old, very dangerous. You know, the doctors did a terrific job. But, frankly, it was the nurses that were there with us when she had to get a spinal tap, and all sorts of things that were just bringing me to tears.
SHUSTER: This event was an opportunity for the president to bypass the traditional press corps and, at least according to the White House, connect to an audience outside of Washington. It's an environment the president has sometimes criticized.
OBAMA: It's always nice to get out of Washington, at least for a little bit, and to come to places like this. The climate's nicer. So is the conversation sometimes.
It's always, always nice to get out of Washington for a little bit.
Recharge your batteries.
Every once in a while, we like to get out of this town. It is important to get out of the hall of mirrors here.
SHUSTER: Back with us now are Chris Kofinis and Tucker Bounds. This comment about, Chris, about the hall of mirrors, yet he still needs the hall of mirrors, right.
KOFINIS: Well, to some extent. Here is the thing about D.C., there is a Beltway blindness to the way we talk about politics and think about politics. And that sometimes does not relate to the reality that average people live through or experience. So, you know, the town hall today, which I thought was a brilliant—brilliant use of new technology, I think the Obama administration realizing that we live in a 24/7 media cycle, both online and offline. And using these new tools, whether it's Facebook, Twitter, or in this case the web, in a town hall, it just gives you the ability to communicate to millions of people. It's very smart.
SHUSTER: Tucker, I see you shaking your head.
BOUNDS: You know, this was the same president that decried the permanent campaign. This is clearly a permanent campaign tactic. And, you know, we were talking earlier about him bypassing the main stream media. Bypass them for what? He's—he gets great main stream media coverage. And, you know, I think that this act that you just mentioned about him talking about getting outside of Washington is going to wear thin. As a tactic, you know, that may hang around for the next year or so.
But when he's running for re-election, which basically he's doing today, in three years, he is a man of Washington. It's a hokey act.
KOFINIS: It's—couldn't be more wrong. Here's the reality. It is a smart way to not only build your capital, but maintain your political capital. That's what smart presidents do. Presidents have been using different formats to communicate with the American people since FDR. Now, of course, you have presidents like President Bush who couldn't do that as effectively.
To be honest, listen, as you probably know better than anybody, John McCain couldn't use these types of technology effectively, which is one reason why—
SHUSTER: Well, before we go down that road --
SHUSTER: Let's just state for the record Tucker disagrees. Before we go down that road, there was another part of this that was so intriguing. That is from the press conference the other night. That is when the president ruffled some feathers in the White House press corps by essentially breaking some of the rules. He has called, for example, in his first press conference on a blogger. And he, of course, chose to bypass the ultimate inside Washington event, the Gridiron dinner.
Then on Tuesday, he bypassed the big newspapers to call on smaller publications, like "Stars and Stripes" and "Ebony." Among the big papers that got no love, here they are: the "Washington Post," the "New York Times," the "Wall Street Journal" and "USA Today." Tucker, wise idea to bypass the big papers in a news conference?
BOUNDS: I don't think it is a wise idea, particularly when newspapers are hurting as badly as they are. They are the institution, cornerstone of American journalism. These are big papers that deserve—the cream has risen in the journalism industry to those papers. They're going to get real questions out of there. I think it's notable—And Alex Cohen, the former press secretary of the RNC mentioned this, and it was in "Politico" this morning. What's really noticeable is that he bypassed all the regional newspapers that are dying on the vine.
Here is an industry that needs help. They pay for those seats at the press conferences. They better get questions. These other questions, they may be meaningful. But you need—
KOFINIS: Apparently President Obama not only has to fix the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, that was passed on by President Bush, he now has to fix the newspaper industry? I mean—
BOUNDS: He has to answer questions from real reporters. Sorry.
KOFINIS: He's done more interviews with different formats and different reporters than probably any president in this short amount of time. He is not lacking of talking to reporters. I think the strategy of expanding the map, if you will, in terms of who you talk to, I think, is a smart thing to do. It's not like in the coming weeks and months, the "New York Times," the "Washington Post" and the "Wall Street Journal" aren't going to have access to talking to the president or the White House. They have constant access.
BOUNDS: "New York Times is laying off—five percent pay cuts across the board.
KOFINIS: You want to put that at President Obama's door?
BOUNDS: I think they should be able to have access to ask questions of the president.
SHUSTER: What about the argument, Tucker, that OK, he's bypassing the major newspapers, we can debate whether that's good or bad. But he is taking follow up questions at these news conferences, something President Bush did not do.
BOUNDS: Well, you look at President Obama's performance versus President Bush in a press conference and they're not really comparable. I mean, we speak honestly here. They're not. President Obama is very skilled at taking questions from reporters. We just are wondering why would he not take questions from the very best reporters that are there, who have the right—the widest reach of coverage?
SHUSTER: What about the argument that maybe then you hurt yourself in terms of your relationship with the "New York Times" or "USA Today" when you really need them, when that story is breaking late; they are chasing down a story and are about to go with it. And you need to call them and say, wait a second, there is information you don't know. I'm asking you to hold off for a day so we can explain it. That level of trust may not be there because of what happened the other night.
KOFINIS: I don't buy that. One, you had President Obama sit down with the "New York Times" just a few weeks earlier for a lengthy interview. And the notion that somehow only the elite newspaper reporters should be the ones called on just—I just don't think that reflects the reality.
SHUSTER: Here's the other part of it, the third part of it, which is also so intriguing: during the campaign, as Tucker well knows, the Obama campaign had something like 13 million e-mails in their database. And they are now essentially—some people who did not go into the White House are working with the DNC to try to leverage that support. They have run their first ad supporting President Obama's budget, trying to rally that support. Here is the ad. Watch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thousands are going door to door as part of Organizing for America, gathering support for President Obama's plan to invest in America's future. You can help, too. Call Congress and tell them to support President Obama's budget plan to get our economy moving again.
SHUSTER: Can you get people as fired up about rallying for a budget as you can for an election?
BOUNDS: No. No you cannot. What they're doing is they're taking on Democrats. They're trying to take a moderate stance versus spending. And they're going right at the targeted states, right at the targeted districts. They're running a permanent campaign. That is a campaign ad that is being run in March of 2009. That should be concerning for all of those Democrats that wanted a change. They wanted to shirk the politics as usual. That's what they voted for in Barack Obama and they're not getting it.
KOFINIS: I'm sorry. You know, to hear anyone who is affiliated with the Republican party and President Bush talk about permanent campaigns—
BOUNDS: We lost for a reason.
KOFINIS: No, you lost because you had the wrong ideas. The reality, listen, this is a very smart thing what they're doing. They're leveraging, you know, their grass roots army, which is millions strong, to go out there and, again, push for their agenda. In fact, what's even more interesting about this is this was the Republican strategy. The Democrats have now taken away and basically taken it to the next level.
This grass roots strategy is going out there and organizing on the ground was what Republicans were much better at in the '90s and in the early part of the 21 century. Now we have taken that to the next level. That's why Obama is president.
SHUSTER: I'm not sure it's going to work. But what is so intriguing is I feel like we're sort of at the threshold of a new frontier, whether it's trying to leverage your campaign supporters to go rally for a budget, whether it's going above the heads of the main stream media, going to reporters a lot of people have never heard of, or whether it's doing these sort of town halls over the Internet, as the president did today.
They are certainly trying something new. Whether it works is a whole another question. But in any case, I got the last word.
Tucker Bounds, Republican strategist, Chris Kofinis, democratic strategist, you guys are the best. Thanks so much for coming on.
Still ahead on 1600 --
JONATHAN MANN, SINGER/SONG WRITER: This comes from David Shuster, who has a show on MSNBC called 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE. He wanted me to write a song about him and his show. So here it is.
SHUSTER: We are very excited about this and the wait is almost over. We will unveil in full the new 1600 anthem, put together by political song writer Jonathan Mann. He will join us live and talk about his effort to write a song every day when 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE returns.
SHUSTER: Welcome back to 1600. That was Jonathan Mann singing an ode to "New York Times" columnist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman. That's just one of the many songs Jonathan has written recently. In fact, he's been writing a song a day. Jonathan Mann joins us now from Berkeley, California.
Jonathan, welcome. You also wrote a song recently about President Obama. I want to play that and then ask you a question on the other side. Watch.
SHUSTER: Jonathan, why political themes and why—explain why you're writing a song every day.
MANN: Well, writing a song every day is just a way for me to stay creative. You know, I'm kind of like a lot of people. I'm a little unemployed right now. So writing a song a day keeps me busy and, you know, and happy, I guess.
SHUSTER: Does politics inspire you?
MANN: Yes, I mean, definitely. We live in such—like, such interesting times right now. There's a lot to write about. So it's all there for taking, I guess.
SHUSTER: Well, I agree with you a hundred percent on that. There's a lot to write about. There's a lot to report about. We asked you, when we noticed that you did this and ran your clip the other night, we asked you to write a song for us here at 1600. So drum roll, please, everybody. Here's Jonathan's song in full for 1600. Watch.
SHUSTER: Jonathan, when I saw that, I was blown away. That's like one of the most flattering things I've ever seen. It's even cooler than getting an Emmy award. How long did it take you to write that?
MANN: That was about four hours.
SHUSTER: Four hours.
MANN: Yes.
SHUSTER: Now, I understand you've got an MSA in writing. You're 26 years old. You went to Cal. I mean, is this something you just do on the side? Do you have to do research to try to come up with this stuff? How do you put it together with all the graphics and everything?
MANN: I mean, you know, the songs come from anywhere. They come—a lot of them just come from me. I also take requests on my website a lot of the time. You know, people like yourself will just say, hey, write a song about this. Write a song about that. And then I'll do it.
SHUSTER: Do you have a favorite subject that you like to write songs about?
MANN: Not any one subject in particular. I tend to write about just kind of anything. You know, politics of late seems to be the thing that I'm writing a lot about. But, you know, video games, you name it. I write about pretty much anything.
SHUSTER: Well, Jonathan, I have to say, this is one of the most creative things I have ever seen. I know that you've got a business going where you can—people I guess can get their ring tones custom made by you for an amount of money. And you're also taking requests. The website is RockCookieBottom.com.
Jonathan, again, thanks from the entire staff for your tribute to us. You have just written the new anthem for 1600. We're going to use it a lot. Good luck to you. I think your career is just taking off and we're so proud to know you. Thanks again.
MANN: Thanks so much. I really appreciate it a lot.
SHUSTER: You're very, very welcome. And that is the view from 1600 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE tonight. I'm David Shuster. Remember, get the latest political news and a sneak peek of what's coming up on the show sent straight to your inbox with the 1600 Daily Briefing. Sign up at Shuster.MSNBC.com or text Penn to 622639 to have alerts sent to your phone.
If you Twitter, I'll be online right after the show at
Twitter.com/Shuster1600. I'm David Shuster. "HARDBALL" with Chris Matthews starts next.
Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research. User may not reproduce or redistribute the material except for user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon NBC and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyright or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.>
Transcription Copyright 2009 CQ Transcriptions, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
No license is granted to the user of this material other than for research.
User may not reproduce or redistribute the material except for user's
personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed,
nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion
that may infringe upon NBC and CQ Transcriptions, LLC's copyright or other
proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal
transcript for purposes of litigation.>


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The Senior's Group gathered together for a delicious meal on Monday April 23rd Dinner was served at Noon and the committee organized the return of the ever popular Mountain Steam. Click on Read More for more information and pictures.
This dinner is open to all Seniors, however because of limitations in space, the committee needs to be advised of your presence. A phone chain has been organized - if you haven't been called for the dinner, please advise Ann or Andy Mason well in advance of the date. Thank you.
The annual Seniors' Christmas Dinner was held in the Church Hall on Monday, December 4, 2017.
Approximately 90 Seniors gathered in the church hall for the Annual Christmas dinner. Most people are contacted through a phone chain that has been set up for many years now. The weather was beautiful and the mood was very festive as the community sat down to a traditional turkey dinner with all of the trimmings. Please take a moment to look at the pictures in the slide show below. There are pictures of the preparation, the crowd, the choir master, Janis who guided the male choir - who guided the gathering in Christmas carols. Since this is the season for giving many brought gifts to put under the tree. These gifts were later brought for distribution to children in the community.
Many people were involved in cooking and preparing the food and their work was very appreciated. Four helpful students from the High School arrived to help out by cheerfully serving the meal and then clearing the tables once the plates were emptied. Everything went like clockwork because of the skill and leadership of Ann or Andy Mason, coordinators for the event. The smiles on the faces as people left the hall after the singing reflected their pleasure and satisfaction. Thank you to the many people who made this such a success.
April 3rd 2017 was a beautiful spring day and many seniors came out to enjoy a delicious ham dinner with lemon cake for dessert. Everyone stayed around for a toe-tapping time with Mountain Steam. Many thanks to them, to the students who come to serve the dinner, to the many helpers in the kitchen and to all who work so hared to make this dinner such a big success. A special thanks and appreciation go to Ann and Andy Mason for their great planning and organization skills.

subset: commoncrawl


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Stan's my man says injured Federer
PARIS, France – Roger Federer said Tuesday, November 18 (Wednesday on PH) he still hopes to be able to defend Swiss colors in the Davis Cup final against France in Lille this weekend despite a crippling back injury.
He added that he and teammate Stan Wawrinka are back on the best of terms after an ugly quarrel.
It has been a troubled buildup to say the least for the Swiss pair as they seek a first ever Davis Cup triumph for their country against a powerful French team on a specially laid indoor claycourt inside the Pierre Mauroy stadium - home for Lille football club - and expected to host a record 27,000 crowd.
All had been going well until the two Swiss stars - ranked second and fourth in the world - were pitted against each other in the semifinals of the prestigious ATP World Tour Finals in London on Saturday evening.
Many thought there would be some kind of an "understanding" between the two given the importance of what faced them in Lille the following week.
Instead they embarked on one of the most draining matches of the season -- nearly three hours of cut-throat tennis that Federer won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) after saving 4 match points along the way.
There was a price to pay for both players, though, with the Australian Open champion distraught after a heart-breaking loss and Federer ailing with a back spasm that forced him the next day to pull out of the final against Novak Dkokovic.
On top of that, there was a misunderstanding that followed - Wawrinka taking offense at what he saw as inappropriate words from Federer's wife Mirka from the players' box at a key point in the third set.
Both players in Lille on Tuesday admitted that there had been an altercation, but both said it had been overplayed by the press and that all was back to normal service between the two - Olympic doubles champions in Beijing in 2008.
"We had a conversation after the match. Everything's totally relaxed about the situation. We're old enough," Federer said of the altercation.
"I just wanted to see if there was any hard feelings because it was probably one of the loudest moments of the match, around 5-4, 5-5 score. Clearly a lot of noise.
In the shadow
Wawrinka, who has long lived in the shadow of the man many consider to be the greatest tennis player of all time, agreed.
"For me there's not much to say because it's become a big deal because of the press," he said.
"But for us it's nothing really. It took us five minutes to talk about that, to think about the next main goal that we have - the Davis Cup this weekend."
More worryingly for the Swiss was the state of Federer's back - an injury which has dogged the 33-year-old Swiss champion throughout the latter part of his career.
As of Tuesday evening he had been unable to undertake any practice at all on claycourts, a surface which he last played on in losing to Ernests Gulbis in the last 16 of the French Open in Paris on June 1.
The 17-time major winner was circumspect over whether he would be able to play on Friday when the two opening rubbers of the final take place.
Asked what the percentages were that he would be able to play he replied: "It's impossible to give you an answer. As long as you are not on court practicing, you have no references.
"I'm making some progress. But I know I don't have a month ahead of me to get better. I need to get better quickly. I'm trying whatever I can.
But I can't give you a precise percentage."
A Federer withdrawal would be most likely fatal to Swiss hopes of an historic Davis Cup win .
Although Wawrinka, at 4th in the world, is comfortably ranked above all the French players, after him the fall off in the Swiss team is steep with Marco Chiudinelli 212th and Michael Lammer 508th.
French captain Arnaud Clement said that his team were not even considering contesting the Davis Cup final without the presence of Federer.
"We have been preparing for the last 10 days to play against a Swiss team with Federer and Wawrinka in it," he said.
Clement said that he had yet to decide who would play the opening two singles on Friday, but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looks sure to be top choice with Richard Gasquet slightly ahead of Gael Monfils for the second slot. – Rappler.com


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Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus
(And His Name Is Jack):
An EXCLUSIVE interview with BECOMING SANTA's
By Stephen SPAZ Schnee
If you are old enough to read this, then you probably stopped believing in Santa Claus long ago. But while you may have been told that Santa was merely a fictional being, the magic of the jolly man in the red suit has more than likely stayed deep within you. Remember what it was like to believe that good ol' Kris Kringle would be sliding down your chimney to deliver your presents? The fact that you didn't have a chimney didn't bother you one bit: all that mattered were the gifts galore that you would find under the tree on Christmas morning!
Truth be told, the magic of Santa is not so much about a mythological man, but about the spirit of giving. No matter how old you are or what you believe in, the joy of the holiday season is born in a simple giving gesture. Whether you hand a child a gift or offer a stranger a smile, the spirit of Santa lives within us all.
Sometimes, if you lose sight of the magic of Christmas, you must take a journey in order to find it again. Hollywood has made plenty of movies dealing with this very subject, but the documentary Becoming Santa is quite possibly the most effective example of one person's road to rediscovering that Christmas feeling.
In Becoming Santa, writer/actor Jack Sanderson decides to don the red suit and jump head first into the holiday season. The film follows him as he attends Santa school before he tackles a handful of volunteer positions to the delight of small children everywhere he goes. The majority of the film focuses on Jack's first holiday season as Santa, but it also features interviews with the people he encounters along the way including a handful of veteran Santas who offer plenty of insight into their lifestyles. On top of all of that, the filmmakers (Sanderson and director Jeff Myers) manage to add just the right amount of historical info tracing Santa's evolution over the years.
Becoming Santa is humorous, informative, poignant, eye-opening, head-scratching and thoroughly entertaining. Christmas may be more commercialized than ever now, but one view of this film will hopefully help to readdress the balance and inspire the viewer to look beyond the red suit and beard and reconnect with that holiday magic again.
Stephen SPAZ Schnee was able to sit down for a chat with Jack Sanderson about Santa, the making of this documentary and much more…
SPAZ: Becoming Santa is just about ready to drop. How are you feeling about the reaction to the film and everything leading up to it's release?
JACK SANDERSON: You know, I couldn't have asked for it to be better. I suspected that when Jeff and I started the project that it might have a universal appeal and I think it does. I've had many people say to me "I didn't think I was going to like it because I thought it would be too sweet and too cloying," but no, it's just honest without being cloying.
SPAZ: I thought it was interesting because it not only showed Jack Sanderson's journey but also a historical look at Santa.
JACK: Our goal from the beginning was too also show the people that were using Santa to keep the spirit alive.
SPAZ: What inspired you to take this journey to Becoming Santa?
JACK: I used to do TV commercials and every July or August, they would start casting the Christmas commercials. I noticed that every Santa who showed up for an audition had a real beard, his own suit and his wife had driven him to the audition. (laughs) And I thought "OK, there's some Santa Claus subculture going on here that the rest of the world doesn't know about!" When I looked into it, I discovered The Amalgamated Order Of Real Bearded Santas and the Fraternal Order Of Real Bearded Santas, which was really the biggest and the best of those organizations. And you know, there is no character left in contemporary culture that people dress up as to celebrate a holiday. Centuries ago, people used to dress up as other characters… people used to dress up as Guy Fox or Saint Patrick. Santa Claus is the only mythology left that is almost universally embraced. And thank heavens it's him! (laughs) Think of the other options…if everybody was dressing up as Genghis Khan once a year, we'd have a problem!
SPAZ: How were you able to take this idea and pull it all together? Was it a long process from conception to first day of filming?
JACK: There are many independent films in Hollywood. I was at a conference where the examples they presented of independent films were The King's Speech, Black Swan and Blind Side: those were the three independent films that the studio execs kept referencing. I just sat there thinking "Just because you spent less than $40 million doesn't make it an independent film." So, I feel that Becoming Santa is truly an independent film. I got the idea for the film and it took me three years to find someone who agreed with me that it was a good idea (director Jeff Myers). Jeff and I spent two years trying to convince other people to contribute funds and also trying to find someone we could follow through Santa School and then getting jobs as Santa. Ultimately, we couldn't find anybody that was willing to do it. I couldn't deny that I was the right shape. I figured I can grow a pretty good beard, so I grew my beard out. It got to that day when I felt like we're not finding anybody, I've got the beard, it's June and I'm already dreading Christmas, so I'm going to go bleach my beard and dive into this.
SPAZ: How did Jeff Myers get involved?
JACK: I used to live in Chicago and I had known Jeff there. We lost touch when I moved out here (Los Angeles) and then I ran into him at the YMCA. We reconnected and started talking about maybe doing something together. It had been about 10 years since we had seen each other. I told him about the Santa idea and he thought it was great and from the point that I told him about it, it was three year before we finally started shooting. Initially, Jeff and I paid for it ourselves and then, towards the end, we were able to get other investors.
SPAZ: Was it difficult to convince all the participants that you were not there to mock them… that your intentions were good?
JACK: There are five major Santa schools across the United States. The school that's featured in the film is the American Events Santa School run by Susen Mesco. She's entering her 30th year of training Santas. Susan is the only one who was not afraid of us. At the time that we were filming, Borat and Bruno had already been out and people were afraid we were going to make fun of them. I wanted to do some filming at the annual luncheon that the Fraternal Order Of Real Bearded Santas has every year and they were afraid that I was going to make fun of them. After many phone calls and much negotiating, I finally had them all to my office where I was working. I was talking to the president of the Fraternal Order on a Tuesday and the luncheon was coming up on Sunday and he was calling me and telling me I couldn't shoot because there were people who thought I was up to no good. Without thinking, I said "Bring whoever you want to my office on Thursday, I'll show you some of the footage we've shot so far and answer any questions that anybody has." He called me back 20 minutes later and said "Ten of us will be there on Thursday at your office." I was working for a TV producer and I had to walk into my boss' office and say, "I have a meeting on Thursday here in the office with ten Santas." He just looked at me blankly and said "I'm not going to be here on Thursday if that's happening!" (laughs) They came in, I answered all of their questions and once they saw the footage, they said that I could shoot at the luncheon. At the luncheon, they do an annual fashion show. I really wanted footage of that fashion show. That year's theme was Santa Sleepwear. Jeff was sorry we missed it the year before and I was glad we missed it because the year before, the theme was Santa Swimwear! (laughs). I was in the fashion show showcasing one of Adele Saidy's Santa costumes and Adele is the premier Santa Claus suit maker in the United States.
SPAZ: Were you a bit surprised at just how serious some of the Santas were about their 'craft'?
JACK: Yes. When we started the project, I thought that being Santa was a job and the people that we met along the way showed us that being Santa is a lifestyle. A lot of the gentlemen that we met are Santa 24/7. They wear what we call Santa Casual, so even when they aren't wearing their regular suit, they are wearing red pants and a green shirt or candy-striped socks or whatever. And they all have those Santa Hawaiian shirts!
SPAZ: Once you bleached your hair and beard, did you immediately see a change in the way people treated you even before donning the Santa suit?
JACK: Yes. I'll give you some examples.. I was running a marathon for a charity event. When I went to the hotel to register, the woman behind the counter asked me "Do you play Santa?" and I said "I do." She said, "Well, we can't put Santa in just any room," and she upgraded me to a suite! I went to the DMV to get a new license and the woman behind the counter said "Do you play Santa?" and I said "I do," and I gave her a 'Nice' sticker. She said, "Ah, I knew it! You go right to the front of the line," and I was in and out of the DMV in 12 minutes!
SPAZ: Being Santa for a prolonged period is hard work. Did this give you a whole new appreciation for those who become Santa every year?
JACK: Yes. In the Fraternal Order Of Real Bearded Santas, there are over 300 members. I would say that 95% of them love children and want to make sure that children have an experience of magic in their lives and Santa is the way that they do it. And then there's 5% or less who just love the attention they get from being Santa and they're not that interested in working with children. They'll do private parties and commercials or whatever. But that's fine. When you look at the whole scope of Santas across the United States, there are probably less than 2-3% of them that are making a living at it. The great majority of them do it because they love children and they love giving back and creating magic for children.
SPAZ: What do you want the viewer to walk away with after watching Becoming Santa?
JACK: What Jeff and I wanted was people to walk away from the documentary wondering how they could be more Santa-like. One of the things that I developed an appreciation for along that way, and what Santa embodies, is secret giving. In America, many people are very vocal about organizations that they give to or about the fact that they give or donate at all. For something to be truly charitable, it should be anonymous. A recipient of charity should not feel indebted to the person who gave it to them. They should just be able to feel appreciative that empathy in humanity still exists. I feel that that is something that is being lost, particularly in the United States. But the ways in which a majority of these Santas give are not necessarily monetarily. They give by creating a sense of magic in children's lives and by making children feel important, which doesn't happen very often. One of the things that surprised me along the way was how many times I would encounter a child who I could tell was not used to being listened to. So, when I would actually listen to them, they would have more to say because somebody was listening!
SPAZ: Do you believe in the magic of Christmas?
JACK: I believe that everybody defines the magic of Christmas differently for themselves.
SPAZ: What's next for Jack Sanderson?
JACK: Jeff Myers and I are talking about doing some other projects. We haven't settled on anything. We're still debating. It's Christmas and I am employed for the entire month of December as Santa Claus in Hong Kong. I am doing it again. It's going to be on a year by year basis. I am not the guy who will commit to the Santa lifestyle. I'm not going to go out and buy a red car…. Hey, look, I'm 46 and when you bleach your hair white, it's a huge obstacle in dating! (laughs)
SPAZ: What do you currently have spinning in your CD and DVD players?
JACK: I just finished watching all of Downton Abbey (British TV series), which I loved. I thought it was terrific. And I tend to watch Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat on a fairly regular basis. It's one of my all-time favorite movies. It's awesome. Music-wise, the three discs in my player are an album from P.J. Olsson, the Corsairs' self-titled release and Stephen Sondheim's Assassins.
Thanks to Jack Sanderson
Special thanks to Rick Rieger, Lauren Watt and Mary Flynn.


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Dress & Bag: Oxfam, Shoes: Converse
…And by keeper I mean that charity shop item that is going to live happily in your wardrobe forever more. One of the many, many wonderful things about charity shopping is that you can find quirky items that you never knew you needed, or you thought it would be impossible to slip some such item into your wardrobe but somehow they work and you love 'em. However, charity shopping is also bloody great because you can find a keeper of an item that is also a classic. An item you would have been prepared to splash out on because you had been searching for a good old while. A few years ago this was the case for me and the denim dress. In 2015, shortly after Alexa Chung had teamed up with AG Jeans and produced all the denim dreams, denim flooded the high-street. Miss Selfridge, Topshop and New Look all had their say and the button-up denim were selling like ahem, hot potatoes. Hot potatoes dressed perfectly in denim! It was during this denim revolution that I walked into Oxfam and saw a little denim peeking out from the maxi dress rail. In true Confessions of a Shopoholic style I ran over and said 'I will buy this dress and this dress only'. 30 minutes later I was at my house with a pair of scissors ready to cut and fray the hem to make it a more suitable length for short ol' me. Two years later and it's still a dress I reach for on many occasions and is one such Oxfam item I know I'll be wearing in the years to come.


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Friday, January 21, 2011
What's wrong with Heroics
The daily quest creates a terrible expectation in the player! An expectation regarding himself! And a lot of players thus disappoint themselves.
Somebody who used to do his daily heroic after work before eating with his family is unable to do his Cataclysm heroic, but feels like he is expected to do it. Moreover, he feels like losing 70 valor points whenever he doesn't do his daily heroic. When doing something else in WoW before eating with the family he feels like wasting his time.
As so often in MMORPGs, the problem is rarely the thing itself. It is the environment that is incompatible with it. Heroics would be great if they felt optional; like I could do them voluntarily, like dungeons in classic. They don't feel like that. The fact that we come from late WotLK heroics adds to the problem.
What Blizzard needs to learn is that fun is not an inherent property of an isolated activity. Heroics are great right now. As are raids. But the environment they are embedded in (the rest of the game + player base) is important, too. And right now this environment pulls players into a direction many players don't want to go: Doing a heroic of significant difficulty and potential time requirement every day.
The fact that the leveling game feels extra easy doesn't help either.
3 comments:
What's wrong with heroics?ReplyDelete
Nothing. What's wrong is the players' sense of entitlement: Many players feel that they are entitled to 70 Valor points a day. It just isn't so.
During WotLK, at least in its last year, it was indeed possible to complete a "heroic" per day. There came to be a culture of expectation that you could be guaranteed to complete it. But of course it isn't truly heroic, if you can be guaranteed to kill the boss.
Now we have, for a short time at least, heroic instances which are truly heroic - at least I feel like a hero when I complete them. I would rather have this feeling than a million valor points.
Like everyone else, I fail more days than I succeed, but that makes the successes all the sweeter. And because valor points are so difficult to collect, they really do indicate that you've been valorous. I love running heroic instances and collecting valor points when I succeed. I don't want to go back to the bad old days of Wrath, running "heroic" instances and collecting "valor" points.
Needy, narcissistic, entitled players should get over themselves and understand that valor points aren't theirs by right. They have to be won. And the winning of them is far more fun than the gear they can purchase with them could ever be.
Dàchéng, I agree with your analysis, but not with the conclusion. Sure, if the players treated heroics like they should be treated, the problem were solved.ReplyDelete
But the question for the developer is: How do we make players treat heroics the way they should be treated?
This is exactly the point Blizzard has so many problems to understand. The attitude of the player towards the game plays an enormous role in how fun the game is for him. It is not just the game itself. I wrote about that before.
Player attitude towards a game can be shaped by the developer, too. Blizzard failed at that during WotLK and the transition to Cataclysm.
This is, yet another, issue of Blizzard not considering the social and long term consequences of a feature they added.ReplyDelete
Blizzard gave their gaming community a treat, very easy Heroics at the end of Wrath. Alot of factors lead to that happening, but happen it did. Once something is given, you can not take it away without it feeling like a punishment.
Heroics are no more difficult than when TBC came out or when Wrath first launched. However the community has lived in happy fairy land for the last year of easily conquering Heroics. They don't want that to change.
Blizzard allowed everyone to reach all of their content. Now everyone expects to reach it again without waiting.
Blizzard created this problem by feeding the wild animals. If they had never acheived their rewards so easily before they wouldn't exect them now.


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I have certain products I covet. Most cute cloth diaper companies (AppleCheeks, FuzziBunz, The good mama, etc), See Kai Run shoes (love them!), and Baby Banz sunglasses.
Baby Banz has SUCH cute sunglasses for kids, and the elastic strap... genius.
Well, BB branched out and is into UV protection swimwear now for kiddos. Awesome!!
Aaaaand, you can win a swim outfit now, PLUS a bamboo wrap from Sugar Sweet Baby by entering here.
Dont miss your chance... Contest ends 10/31. Happy Halloween!!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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A Little About Me
Suzie Jenkins
I'm a newly retired elementary school librarian and classroom teacher returning to Fayetteville after 21 years of teaching overseas in six different countries from Bolivia to Kazakhstan. I lived in Fayetteville, AR and taught in the school district for 15 years before my world enlarged. My husband, Tom Jenkins, has been an administrator / principal in the schools. Usually, the schools have been small, operated for the ex-pat families of overseas corporations. We have a grown son, Steve Jenkins, former owner and chef at Sassafras Bistro and Wine Bar in Fayetteville, now off on his own family adventures. We have a 11 year old granddaughter who was one of the reasons for coming back to the States, and I wanted to be a babushka(Grandma); "Baba" to her.
In my travels, I've always loved and collected the ethnic jewelry and beads. Now I've started doing beading and am able to create more modern pieces using the original beads collected here and there: Italian glass beads used in trading with Africa, beads made from the volcano rock from Greece, bone and bamboo from Indonesia, lapis and coral from Afghanistan, Russian amber, and silver from Thailand are some of my favorites. This is why I chose my domain name to be "FarawayBeads.com".


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What Is Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive Heart failure, also known as "Heart Failure" or "CHF", is a condition that occurs when the heart's pumping power has been adversely affected. This results in the heart not be able to pump blood through the body as effectively as it should. Blood not being moved through the body as effectively as it should be means that the oxygen and the nutrients being carried by that blood do not reach the organs they are intended for as efficiently. Instead, blood that would normally be moved effectively through the heart and through the blood vessels by a healthy heart instead becomes somewhat stagnant, collecting in the heart and in the body's blood vessels. This causes the heart, the blood vessels and the organs that the blood vessels supply to become congested with stagnant blood, hence the term "Congestive" Heart Failure.
As the heart and the blood vessels fill with stagnant blood, they stretch and stiffen. Stretching of the heart's muscles cause the heart to become enlarged while stiffening of the heart and of the blood vessels actually serves to help move some of the stagnant blood that the heart is unable to move effectively through the heart and the blood vessels. Even though this stiffening of the body's blood vessels helps to somewhat overcome the failing heart's inability to move blood effectively through the heart and through the blood vessels; too much blood and fluid still collect in the blood vessels and in the organs that the blood vessels supply, causing them to become congested and engorged.
What are Risk Factors for Congestive Heart Failure?
While a single risk factor may cause congestive heart failure, having a combination of different risk factors significantly increases a person's risk of developing heart failure. Risk factors for heart failure include:
- Coronary Artery Disease – Coronary artery disease, also known as heart disease occurs when the blood vessels that supply the heart's muscles with oxygen and nutrients become diseased and narrowed. The heart's muscles, starved of adequate oxygen and nutrients become weakened. Weakened, the heart is then unable to adequately pump and to move blood throughout the body.
- High Blood Pressure – High blood pressure forces the heart to work harder as it tries to pump blood through blood vessels against the high pressure in those blood vessels. This forces the heart's pumping muscles to work harder. Over time, this can damage these pumping muscles making them unable to properly pump blood.
- Diabetes – Diabetes increases a person's risk of developing coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease (see above) can damage the heart's pumping muscles.
- Heart Attack – A Heart Attacks occurs when some of the heart's pumping muscles die after being starved of oxygen for too long. Once dead, these pumping muscles can no longer pump blood. If a heart attack is severe enough to damage a large amount of the heart's pumping muscles, the heart is unable to properly pump blood after this heart attack. This leads to heart failure.
What are Common Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure?
Common symptoms associated with congestive heart failure include:
- Weakness and fatigue that results from vital organs not receiving enough oxygen.
- Shortness of breath when lying down or with activity that results from the lungs becoming congested with excess fluid.
- Wheezing or persistent cough, especially when lying down flat that also results from the lungs becoming congested with excess fluid.
- Swelling of the feet, ankles and/or legs that results from the lower extremities becoming congested with excess fluid.
- Abdominal swelling that results from the liver and the abdominal cavity becoming congested with excess fluid.
- Difficulty concentrating that results from the brain not receiving optimal oxygen from the inadequately beating heart.
- Chest pain.
- Urinating more often, especially at nighttime, as a result of the kidneys becoming congested with excess fluid.
- Palpitations that can result from an irregular or a rapid heartbeat that results from the heart trying to overcompensate for its inability to properly pump blood.
- Sudden weight gain due to fluid retention of excess fluid body wide.
- Nausea and/or lack of appetite.
- Difficulty exercising
What are the Causes of Congestive Heart Failure?
While congestive heart failure can be caused by several different things, some of the most common causes of congestive heart failure include:
- Damaged heart valves.
- Exposures to toxins like cocaine or alcohol.
- Weakening of the heart muscle resulting from heart disease, heart attack and high blood pressure.
- Infections of the heart caused by Coxsackie Virus, Human Herpes Virus 6, Parvovirus B19, Corynebacterium Diphtheriae, Staphylococcus Aureus and Borrelia Burgdorferi.
- A severe, prolonged arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).
- Congenital heart defects
- Hemochromatosis
- Thyroid Disease
- Medications including a number of different anesthetics, certain medications used to treat heart arrhythmias, Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory (NSAIDs) pain medications like Ibuprofen and Naproxen, a number of different diabetes medications including Metformin, the Thiazolidinediones and the Dipeptidyl-4 Inhibitors, some chemotherapy medications, antifungal medications and even over-the-counter decongestants.
- Excessive salt intake
- Excessive alcohol use
- Insufficient exercise
- Obesity
Why is Congestive Heart Failure Dangerous?
Congestive Heart Failure, when untreated, can lead to a number of different complications. Many of these complications result from the fact that vital organs become congested with excess fluid. This can cause them to become "water logged" and to function improperly. Additionally, because Congestive Heart Failure results in the heart being unable to provide adequate oxygen and nutrients to vital organs, this causes these congested water-logged organs to malfunction even further. As a result, Congestive Heart Failure can cause the following:
- Kidney damage, sometimes leading to the need for dialysis.
- Liver damage, because one of the liver's primary jobs is to remove toxins from the blood, liver damage can then lead to a build-up of toxins in the blood.
- An enlarged heart.
- Damaged heart valves.
- An irregular heartbeat.
- Death, while many people with CHF will see improvement of their condition if it is properly treated, Congestive Heart Failure, when untreated can be life-threatening.
How Is Congestive Heart Failure Diagnosed?
In order to diagnose congestive heart failure, your physician initially will evaluate your medical history and perform a complete physical exam. After conducting a physical exam, if there are significant signs of Congestive Heart Failure, your physician may order one or more of the following tests:
- Chest X-rays – A chest X-rays allows your physician to visually assess the condition of your heart and lungs. Because people with heart failure often times have an enlarged heart and excess fluid in the lungs, a chest X-Ray can help to make a diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure.
- Blood Test to Assess Liver and/or Kidney Function – Because heart failure frequently affects the liver and the kidneys, blood tests can be done to determine whether or not the kidneys and/or liver are functioning properly. An improperly functioning liver and/or kidneys maybe evidence of heart failure.
- Blood Tests to Assess BNP Levels – BNP, or "Beta-type Natriuretic Peptide is a protein that heart muscle creates in response to being stretched. The more stretched heart muscle becomes, the more BNP it makes. Because heart failure causes stretching of heart muscles and enlargement of the heart, BNP levels will be elevated in a person with heart failure.
- Echocardiogram – An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. Heart failure results when the heart muscles are not contracting properly, and the heart is not beating forcefully enough. Ultrasound of the heart allows your Doctor to assess how well the heart's muscles are contracting.
- Electrocardiogram (EKG)– A EKG allows your Doctor to assess your heart rhythm. Frequently, people with heart failure have abnormal heart rhythms.
How is Congestive Heart Failure Treated?
Frequently, Congestive Heart Failure is treated using one or more medications combined with lifestyle modifications and cardiac rehabilitation. In some cases, especially when lifestyle modifications, cardia rehab and medications aren't effective, surgical procedures may also be used to treat CHF.
Lifestyle modifications used to treat Congestive Heart Failure include:
- Eating a low-salt diet (i.e. no more than 1500-2300mg of sodium per day).
- Exercising regularly, this means getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week, 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity every week or a combination of the two.
- Smoking cessation
- Weight loss and/or maintaining a healthy weight with a BMI that ideally lies between 18.5-24.9.
- Tracking and limiting fluid intake. Because people with heart failure retain too much water, they should limit the amount of water that they ingest each day. While healthy people are encouraged to drink at least 8 cups of water a day, people with CHF should limit their total fluid in-take to 4 cups of liquid a day.
- Avoiding alcohol
- Avoiding caffeine
Medications used to treat heart failure include:
- Beta Blockers – Beta Blockers are medications that can both reduce high blood pressure and correct abnormal heart rhythms. High blood pressure and abnormal heart rhythms can both causes and result from heart failure, so treating them with Beta Blockers can be beneficial.
- ACE Inhibitors – ACE inhibitors are medications that can widen blood vessels. Widening blood vessels can improve the flow of blood within blood vessels, making it easier for the heart to pump blood through them.
- Diuretics – Diuretics are medications that help the body to eliminate fluid. Because heart failure is characterized by the excessive buildup of fluid throughout the body, diuretics can prove very helpful in treating CHF.
- Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers – Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers work in much the same way as ACE inhibitors, widening blood vessels and improving the flow of blood through them.
- Inotropes – Inotropes are intravenous medications that are used to individuals who are hospitalized with severe heart failure.
- Aldosterone Antagonists – Aldosterone Antagonists work like diuretics, helping the body to rid itself of excess fluid. Unlike many diuretics, Aldosterone Antagonists do not affect levels of Potassium in the blood. This means that, in addition to helping rid the body of excess fluid, they also can help the heart to contract more strongly.
- Digoxin – Sometimes also called Digitalis, Digoxin is a medication that causes failing heart muscles to contract more strongly.
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac rehabilitation programs are designed to improve the heart health of people suffering from congestive heart failure. They involve exercise counseling and training, counseling aimed at teaching patients stress reduction techniques and heart healthy living education.
- Exercise Counseling and Training involves teaching people with CHF how to exercise in a manner that is both safe and that promotes improved heart health.
- Stress Reduction Counseling involves helping patients with CHF learn how to better identify and combat everyday sources of stress in their lives. Stress can place an unnecessary strain on the heart, and learn to combat it can therefore improve heart health.
- Heart Healthy Living Education involves teaching patients with CHF how to identify and manage risk factors for poor heart health. It also involves teaching heart healthy eating habits and heart healthy lifestyle modifications like alcohol avoidance and smoking cessation.
Surgical procedures used to treat heart failure include:
- Coronary Artery Bypass – CHF often results when heart muscle being supplied by narrowed or disease blood vessels becomes damaged from a lack of adequate oxygen. Coronary Artery Bypass involves removing diseased blood vessels from the heart and replacing them with healthy ones that can better supply oxygen and nutrients to heart muscle.
- Heart Valve Repair/Replacement – Heart failure sometimes results from a faulty or damaged heart valve. When this is the case, the valve will frequently be repaired or replaced.
- Placement of an Implantable Cardioverter/Defibrillator (ICD's) – ICD's are implantable devices that can detect the heart's rhythm. Because people with heart failure often have abnormal heart rhythms, when these devices detect an abnormal rhythm, they give the heart an electrical shock to correct it.
- Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT)/Biventricular Pacing – Involves placing an implantable device that, like an ICD can send electrical impulses to the heart to regulate it's rhythm and the strength with which the heart's muscles contract.
- Placement of a Heart Pump – Heart pumps are devices that are placed in either the abdomens or the chests of people with heart failure. They are attached to the weakened heart, and they help it to contract more effectively.
- Heart Transplant – When heart failure does not respond to lifestyle changes, medications of more conservative surgical management, the failing heart may then be replaced with a healthy, transplanted heart.


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Hello, friends and readers!
My name is Sierra, the author of this blog, transcriber of chord-charts, thinker of thoughts.
A little about me – I am a Full-Time Intercessory Missionary with International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. This means that I give all of my time to the labor of prayer, worship, and ministry, loving God and others, all for the sake of Jesus.
To do this well, I have both the privilege and responsibility of raising my own financial support. This support enables me to have my timeand my hands focused solely on the work at hand. A soldier does not become preoccupied with civilian duties because the task at hand is far too important. While I believe there is a place for "tent-making," I believe there is also just as true of a place for full-time occupational Christian work. If you'd like, I can send you information on Scriptures that support the idea of freeing up the laborers for the work of ministry to the Lord and ministry to others.
If this blog has blessed you, please prayerfully consider becoming a part of the prayer movement as a member of my partnership team. This can be through monthly financial partnership, or even a quarterly or yearly giving commitment, or a special gift. This can also be done through a commitment to partner with me in prayer. I would love to speak with you if this blog has blessed you and you would like to partner with me in any capacity. Please do not hesitate to e-mail me.
If you want to give directly to me, you can click the Donate button at the end of this post or contact me personally. If you would like to have your giving tax-deductible, make checks out to IHOPKC and do not include my name on the check, but include a note with my name in the envelope. The IRS is pleased with this approach so long as you are aware that IHOPKC is legally allowed to use funds given to them in any way they see fit. They choose to give these funds to the missionary designated on the note in the envelope. If my name is on the check, it is no longer tax-deductible.
If you want to surprise me, you can send an anonymous gift 🙂
Please send tax-deductible gifts to:
IHOP KC Staff Support
3535 E Red Bridge Rd
Kansas City, MO 64137
With each donation check you need to include a note with my name (Sierra Burke – not written anywhere on the check) and if it is to be an anonymous gift you must tell IHOPKC that too (every time you mail a donation check).


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This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.
16″ Softball is Chicago. It was created here with a broom stick and a wrapped up boxing glove. No equipment needed. Back in the 30's, 12,000 spectators filled the stands to watch the game in neighborhoods on the South and North sides. The Hall of Fame is a wonderful collection of all this history and the history still to come. Uniforms worn in Championship games. Fungo bats and a timeline of how it all got started.
16" Softball Hall of Fame - 7501 W. Harrison St. - Forest Park - (708) 366-7500


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1. Re: Horizontal Scroll bars is possible to set for text tables?Tim Latendress Sep 5, 2012 5:31 AM (in response to pad vija)
This one has come up a number of times before and, unfortunately, Tableau does not like to do tables with no measures (which is how I am interpreting your case). And so, you will only get scroll bars in a table when you have measures. But even that won't do it for you because even if you did have a measure the scroll bar would only apply to the measures and not the entire table. This also applies to Tooltips which only show up when you mouse over a measure. You cannot get a customizable toolip over any of the headers in a table -- just measures.
I have dashboards with a graphic above and details table below. I have no practical use for a measure in the details table as users interact with the graphic to dynamically filter the details table. I would love to have: a) a scroll bar for the entire table; b) a customizable tooltip for the headers in the details table. As it is right now, I squeeze what I can into the table and then use a Tableau "trick" to give me a tooltip over the last column.
I know this doesn't help much but at least you knnow you aren't alone!
2. Re: Horizontal Scroll bars is possible to set for text tables?giles.somers May 11, 2013 6:48 AM (in response to Tim Latendress)
I don't get why the designers of Tableau stubbornly force users to find workarounds for simple tasks!?
It's quite obvious from the way people use data and tables that a horizontal scroll bar would be more useful than simply hiding the columns in a way that they cant be accessed. It seems crazy!?
3. Re: Horizontal Scroll bars is possible to set for text tables?Giulio Rossi Jan 28, 2016 2:30 AM (in response to pad vija)
please go here and vote for adding scroll bars
5. Re: Horizontal Scroll bars is possible to set for text tables?BHARAT RATNA Aug 22, 2019 11:23 AM (in response to pad vija)
Scrollbar appears when you have large data .You can get the scrollbar in text table as vertical scrollbar by default. But when you swap rows and column it is possible to achieve .
Dimension with large data shows scrollbar .But continuous measure does not show scrollbar.
Swapping rows and columns produce the scrollbar as below :
Hope it helps !
6. Re: Horizontal Scroll bars is possible to set for text tables?Jim Dehner Aug 22, 2019 11:23 AM (in response to BHARAT RATNA)
hope you don't mind - I have a request - there is a new function about to go into "Pre -Release" that expands the max number of columns in text tables adds ways to format, scroll in tables
the Dev team is asking user like yourself - who work with large text tables to review the new functions and provide feedback
The link below will take you to the site -
Sign up now for our upcoming Pre-Release for Tableau Desktop!


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Author Archives: alleyrun
Seoulutions for Dutch Cities, by Bart Reuser of NEXT Architects
Dutch architect Bart Reuser of Next Architects spent a year or so in Korea. Now back home in Holland, he is putting together 'Seoulutions for Dutch Cities', a book based on his urban and architectural research on Hongdae. Recently I … Continue reading
The Korean Gallery at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden
Architect Doojin Hwang+DJHA designed the Korean Gallery at the Museum of far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, Sweden. With the working theme 'Uniquely Intimate', the design responded to both Korean and Swedish cultural traditions. The general layout of the Korean Gallery was inspired … Continue reading
The West Village
In early 2011, DJHA finished The West Village, a small building located in the West Village near the Gyeongbok Palace. A typical 'rainbow cake' building, a name coined by DJHA for a low-rise, high-density, mixed-use building type, this 3-story building … Continue reading
A Few Thoughts on Sustainable Architecture
Episode A while ago, my office, Doojin Hwang Architects, designed a club house for a public tennis club in Seoul. The client originally asked us to design a very simple and basic building, but after a number of presentations, we … Continue reading
An interesting suggestion for koreanarchitecture.com
A friend of mine who is a lawyer told me yesterday that he had an idea for this website. The site could be much more inviting by making it more like an open platform for everyone, getting rid of the … Continue reading
Can We Save This Building?: Architect Kim, Joong Up's Seo Gynecological Clinic
I saw Kim, Joong Up only once, at an art exhibition of his wife, a painter. Tall, round-faced and impeccably dressed in a suit, this pioneer of the Korean modern architecture was holding a book and occasionally snapped a few words … Continue reading


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Blueberry Dream Pie
This recipe is from the Huggett family. They love making it in the summer because it does not have to be baked in the oven. It makes a refreshing dessert on a hot day. The Huggetts make it as one pie but we experimented with mini pie shells from the grocery store with good results. We also added fresh whipped cream.
Blueberry Sugar
This is an easy way to infuse foods with blueberry flavor. The sugar can be sprinkled on baked goods, stirred into tea, added to the rim of a drink glass and much more.
Blueberry Lemonade
Place all ingredients in a gallon container then fill with water.