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Chapter 58 – Dead Fatty
"You little brat…" Jin Shiren was enraged, wanting to say something more.
"Everyone first calm down, calm down. Let's discuss this peacefully." Luo Jin came over between them waving his arms, and smiled towards Ye Qingyu. "Nephew Ye, the things that happened in the past you must have some misunderstandings. But this does not matter, at that time you were still young and did not understand matters. Today, since you have come, we can sit down and have a good open conversation…"
"There is nothing to discuss." Ye Qingyu slowly walked in front of the windowsill, his back facing everyone and opened the window. He looked at the bustling crowd down below and said, "One condition. Spit out everything that you have swallowed from the Ye family, return everything that you have taken. I also don't want to go too far, if you do this then I will write off all grievances and resentment…"
"I peh, who do you think you are? Little trash, have you gone crazy…" Fatty Jin could not endure any longer, once again slapping the table and standing up. With a dark expression, he shouted, "Boss Luo, you've heard what he said. This little trash is climbing all over us. I, Fatty Jin, will not return anything, I'll see what you can do to me!"
"Old Jin, lets discuss things calmly…" Luo Jin seemingly had an attitude that he was trying to settle things without it getting out of hand.
"There is nothing to discuss. What kind of person am I, Fatty Jin? Hehe, did you not go and investigate? To be harsh and unreasonable in front of me, you really don't know life and death. A little trash that hasn't even had his hairs fully grown, wanting to threaten me? I peh!"
Fatty Jin, saying this, lifted his legs to leave.
As he walked past Ye Qingyu, he smiled sinisterly. "Little kid, the Jiang Hu is not somewhere that you can act in this way. If you have the guts, then come to [Lianfeng Smithery] and repeat the words you've just said. I'll make you know how to write the character Death*!"
Finishing his words, he brought the two experts beside him to leave. His overweight body came to the stairs and was about to go down.
Ye Qingyu turned around and smiled. "Then how about this… Right now, I'll teach you how to write the character Death."
Saying this, his right hand lifted up and a light suction was in the air.
Fatty Jin's flesh mountain body quivered, then instantly fell back. Under his scream of shock and surprise, he flew through the air, his back landing upon Ye Qingyu's palm.
"You… release me…" The four limbs of Fatty Jin flailed madly, struggling for his life, but it was no use. He shrieked with rage and embarrassment.
"Little brat, you dare!"
"Release our master!"
The two experts following Fatty Jin reacted. They floated through the air at the speed of lighting. The moment they acted, strong gusts of wind blew through space like a storm. Their strength was indeed impressive.
Ye Qingyu lightly laughed, his left hand casually swiping through space.
Instantly, the gusts of wind stopped.
The two experts in midair instantly had blood fill their mouths, as if slapped by a gigantic invisible force. They sprawled flat on the floor, two palm indents had sunken into their chests, not being able to get up… ……
"Little star palm power!"
The two experts spurted out blood and exclaimed.
The little star palm power could not be counted as a high class technique, but was instead a common way of striking that utilized inner yuan. Both of them knew how to perform this, but to use it like Ye Qingyu, without any hint of energy fluctuation and be able to injure someone without any signs, was indeed profound.
Through just this simple point alone, these two knew in their hearts that they were not his opponent by far.
Shouts and cries exploded!
The people sitting on the large table finally stood up, every single one of their expressions changing.
"Nephew Ye, lets discuss things peacefully. No need to come to blows, no need to come to blows…" Luo Jin still acted the part of an elder, trying to persuade a child.
"Little trash, release me, quickly release me. You dare treat me like this, you…" Fatty Jin screamed in rage.
"I have never understood, why some people, with their lives in the hands of others, would dare to still be threatening and demanding," Ye Qingyu said contemptuously. "Do you think this is stupidity or is it courage?"
"Nephew, don't be rash. Quickly release him, you must not kill anyone. If you kill that person, I fear you won't be able to withstand the consequences…" Luo Jin quickly rushed to persuade Ye Qingyu but his words held a different meaning.
Ye Qingyu gave him a side way glance. "Four years have already passed, why do you still have daggers hidden in your smiles? Do you really want me to kill him?"
Luo Jin was taken aback, instantly saying with a smile, "Nephew you must be misunderstanding…"
Before he had finished, Fatty Jin again began crying loudly, "Little trash, it's best for you to release me. Hehe, the [Lianfeng Smithery], don't think you can take it back in your lifetime. If you obediently release me, and bow down to me to beg for forgiveness, then I won't pursue this matter any further. Otherwise, today there are not only a few people present. If you dare harm a single hair of mine, don't think you can walk away alive…"
Before he had finished.
The left hand of Ye Qingyu released him, facing the window. The palm of his hand freed him, and the gargantuan figure of Fatty Jin directly fell from the window of the third floor…
"Little brat you have guts!"
Everyone was shocked, with some people screaming but everything had already been done.
The cries from Fatty Jin became quieter and quieter, the screams becoming longer and longer from outside the window. Very quickly, the boom of a heavy impact could be heard and the cries of Fatty Jin abruptly stopped, the sharp cries of the bystanders down below resonating.
Ye Qingyu looked out the window to investigate.
Below the streets, was Fatty Jin who did not know any martial arts. He had nearly become a meat patty, his four limbs twitching and with his eyes opened wide in disbelief. Till the moment of death, he still could not believe that Ye Qingyu would really dare kill him!
The third floor of the restaurant was filled with a deathly silence.
On the faces of everyone sitting there was a terror that was hard to disguise.
They had never imagined that this good looking teenager was the weak boy that they had taken everything away from four years ago. During their conversation he would so easily act and kill someone, as if he was killing a rabbit or a pig.
Ye Qingyu looked at the crowd and as if suddenly thinking of something, a smile appeared on his lips.
"I have just thought of a joke. A fatty, if he accidentally fell from the third floor, without knowing any martial arts, then what would he become?" Ye Qingyu said with a laugh.
Everyone was taken aback, not knowing the reason for this question.
As everyone subconsciously guessed the answer, with answers such as meat patty, meat mud, corpse and the such, this question was answered by Ye Qingyu instead. "Hahaha, of course, he will become… a dead fatty*!"
There was vaguely someone who snorted, nearly laughing out loud.
Luo Jin's face had become somewhat difficult.
He suddenly felt, as if he had miscalculated something. In four years' time, the teenager in front of him had undergone far too great a change. Where was the slightest hint of the weak smile, the inflexible kind heartedness, the wealthy son that could be bullied by anyone?
Why was it that in his gentle smile, he was able to see a decisive and ruthless killer, with an atmosphere as fierce as wild beast, a demon king, such a tyrannical person?
Tang San who had followed Ye Qingyu here was also astounded.
Originally, this was only meant to be a discussion. When he saw the people on the second floor, he had realized the opposing party had already made their preparations, in terms of martial force and in terms of legal discourse. They would definitely be the disadvantaged party and Tang San had already prepared himself to beg for mercy for his young master
But in between the light and bland discussion, his master had already taken Fatty Jin's life.
Tang San could not react.
He knew that the following events did not bode well.
His master was still too young, too rash.
Tang San hurriedly grabbed hold of the frightened Little Grass, placing her behind him. He was about to say some words that could alleviate this problem, but the other people finally recovered from their stunned state.
"Audacious, to kill someone in broad daylight!"
"This is too impudent, too impudent. So what if he's a student of White Deer Academy? Can he ignore the laws of the royal family?"
"Hmph, even if I have to risk my life, I will report this to the city leader. He is too arrogant!"
People slammed their tables to leave, screaming in rage.
A type of martial artist that were also family servants of these various people took out their weapons. They all stood up, with a malevolent gaze, surrounding Ye Qingyu.
Below came the rushing of footsteps.
The soldiers with armour also had their razor sharp weapons unsheathed. They completely filled the space between the staircase of the second and third floor, a killing intent emanating in the air.
"Ye Qingyu, you dare ignore the laws of the country. To kill the innocent, quickly surrender!" A middle-aged man with a dark expression shouted, in an imposing manner.
This person was called Nie Yin, and was the master of a dojo called the [Yin Taoxuan Pavilion]. He was also one of Ye Qingyu's targets today.
The [Yin Taoxuan Pavilion] also used to be one of Ye family's property. Ye Qingyu's father had founded this martial arts dojo and Nie Yin was the head instructor of this dojo in the past. He seemed cautious and conscientious, but after the death of Ye Qingyu's father in the battle, he repossessed the dojo for his own uses. Getting rid of all who would not follow, he cruelly murdered and caused the deaths of a few instructors who were still loyal to Ye Qingyu's father.
Nie Yin could also utilize yuan qi and was therefore not as afraid. Standing out, he condemned Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu coldly gave him a glare, saying icily, "You also look to die?"
It only took a gaze for Nie Yin's heart freeze over. Terror and fear inexplicably rose in his heart, finding it hard to breath, and he really could not say anything more.
Ye Qingyu's gaze left him, landing on Luo Jin who still had a faint smile on his face. "Look at your devious face. You are originally a shameless and brazen trash, and yet you have to pretend to uphold justice and righteousness. It's been so many years, aren't you tired…"
Luo Jin had never been mocked to such an extent before. His facial expression abruptly changed, saying, "Nephew, you…"
"If you dare call me nephew one more time, do you believe I'll slaughter you at this very instant?" Within Ye Qingyu's eyes, there was a glint like that of a sword unsheathed, as if he was a prehistoric beast that was about to begin killing at the slightest provocation.
Luo Jin's heart suddenly pulsated. A cold air travelled from his spine to his head, nearly exploding his mind. A terror that he had never experienced before enveloped him.
No matter what terrifying character he faced before, Luo Jin firmly believed with his glib tongue, he was able to persuade the opponent. But this youth would not even give him the chance to speak.
*Chinese idiom, should be pretty obvious what it means. Its just a threat.
**It's a play on words, dead fatty can also be referred to damn fatty etc. (actually its not that funny in Chinese either xD. I guess Ye Qingyu is a king of dad jokes.)


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Every night of the week, our staff are at various locations in Oldham delivering our Kicks sessions with over 250 young people per week attending the sessions.
Despite the late nights, we are extremely lucky to have a dedicated and passionate workforce who deliver these sessions throughout the year.
Kicks is a nationwide project ran currently by 42 clubs, funded in partnership with the Premier League and Sport England. Kicks is aimed at working with young people from different areas and giving young people something positive to do during evenings. The project aims to provide positive role models from the local areas and give different opportunities to young people through the power of sport.
Our current Kicks session schedule is:
Monday Sholver Youth Centre 6-8pm Street Dance
Tuesday Oldham College 6-8pm Football
Tuesday Royton Youth Centre 6-8:30pm Football/Youth Club
Wednesday Honeywell Centre 6-7:45pm Football/Youth Club
Thursday Robin Hill 6-8pm Youth Club
Thursday OASIS Academy 6-8pm Football
Friday Stoneleigh Park 6-8pm Football/Youth Club
Saturday Oldham College 7:9pm Football
Saturday Honeywell Centre 7-9pm Football
All of the above sessions are completely free for the young people to attend.
Recently a group of young people from our Coldhurst Kicks played a group of young people from the Rio Foundation in an 11-a-side friendly at Chapel Road. This was just the latest in opportunities for the young people in the project. In previous years, young people have been visited Stamford Bridge as well as playing on the Boundary Park pitch and even competing in national tournaments against clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool.
Three young people from our Kicks project have recently begun their coaching career as they have successfully passed their FA Level One Football Coaching Qualification.
The trio have regularly attended Kicks for over two years and have constantly shown a desire and passion to learn more about the work we do and progress as individuals. As a result of passing the course, the young people are now undertaking voluntary work with us here at the Community Trust as they gain experience and knowledge and also now give something back to their local community. Foysol Ahmed, who has been volunteering with us for over a year, is now working on our new Kicks session in Hathershaw to act as a role model and to show just what can be achieved by having the right attitude and desires.
We are extremely proud of our mentoring programme through Kicks. In addition to the recent good news, we also have the success stories of Rofique Miah and Shitu Miah. The pair both started to attend sessions in Coldhurst five years ago and now coach full time in Qatar.
Rofique and Shitu became volunteers for the project after the Kicks staff noticed their drive and ambition to learn and progress. Both then went onto gain various coaching qualifications as part of Kicks – they attained their FA Level One and Two coaching badges, as well as qualifying to coach basketball and boxing.
Along their journey, both Rofique and Shitu made the transition from volunteers to being paid members of staff for the Community Trust. They went from young people hanging around the street to a full-time job overseas.

subset: commoncrawl


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Valentine's Day is one of best holidays to decorate for, and this easy, no sew Valentine's Day Flag will grab your heart!
This post contains affiliate links.
There is something about all the pink and hearts surrounding Valentine's Day that makes me happy.
It's all so cute, you know? And I am definitely a sucker for anything cute!
Homemade Valentine's Day decorations are my fave, and I'd been brainstorming Valentine's Day ideas for a few weeks when I spotted some darling mini flags at Paper Source.
I loved the cute inspirational messages, and I thought, why not make my own no sew Valentine's Day flag?
This No Sew Valentine's Day Flag could not be easier to make. The secret is printable fabric and Stitch Witchery.
I've created an Always + Forever design for you to download (scroll to the end of the post for the free printable) and print on the printable fabric. You could also create your own design with PicMonkey or another graphics programs.
This was my first time using printable fabric, and I sense an addiction coming on! It was super easy to work with and my print turned out great … even using my crappy printer. 😉
After the design was printed, I used Stitch Witchery to bond the seams together.
If you've never used this wonderful product before, you are going to love it. Basically, Stitch Witchery fuses fabric together when heated with a hot iron; no sewing required.
This cute No Sew Valentine's Day Flag took minutes to make, and I'm so happy with how it turned out! I think I'm going to make a few to send to friends and family.
How to Make a No Sew Valentine's Day Flag
Would you like to make your own No Sew Valentine's Day Flag? Here's what you'll need:
- free Always + Forever printable (there's a free file at the end of the post)
- printable fabric sheets
- iron
- Stitch Witchery (fusable bonding web)
- scissors
- 3/8-inch diameter dowel (cut 8.25-inches long)
- baker's twine
Start by printing the Always + Forever file on a sheet of printable fabric. Check your print settings to make sure you are not shrinking the file to fit the page. You want the stripes to print as close to the edge of the fabric as possible.
Carefully remove the paper backing from the fabric, then press the fabric with a hot iron to set the colors.
You'll make the point on the flag next. Fold in one corner starting about 1/4-inch below the third stripe and ending in the middle of the flag (see below).
Use a hot iron to press folded fabric toward back of flag, then trim excess fabric about 1/2-inch from fold.Repeat process on other side of flag.
Insert Stitch Witchery into seams and press with iron to bond the seam closed.
Fold one of the side seams over 1/2-inch, then press flat with your iron. Repeat on the other side.
Insert Stitch Witchery into the seams and press with the iron to bond the seams closed.
Fold the top of the flag over 1.25-inches.
Insert a thin 1/4-inch strip of Stitch Witchery under the raw fabric edge (see below).
Press with a hot iron to bond the seam.
Slide the dowel into the top of the flag.
Cut a 16.5-inch piece of baker's twine.
Tie a double knot around one end of the dowel (just outside the flag), then trim excess. Repeat on the other side.
That's it!
Your adorable no sew Valentine's Day Flag is finished.
Wasn't that easy?
Click the image below (anywhere except the "Pin Me!" button) to get the free printable. For best results, print at full-size.
Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?
P.S. Be sure to check out my Valentine's Day page for tons of other fun ideas!


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The driver of a four-seat taxi left his keys in his veh-icle recently when he got out to have a cup of iced tea. It was a mistake he will never repeat.
At 11am last Friday in Khuong Dinh Ward, Ha Noi, the driver parked his cab on the pavement near the To Lich River and sat down at a tea shop.
The tea-shop owner suddenly got up, leapt into the taxi and started it. The vehicle took off crazily and crashed into a motorbike, injuring the driver.
The taxi then crashed into a fence around the river, knocking it over. It then plunged into the river, but the tea-shop owner opened a door and jumped out in time.
Unbelievably, he was not injured. Police assigned one ambulance and two special rescue vehicles to haul the taxi out of the river and examine the driver.
Just why the tea-shop man got the urge to drive the cab is unknown, but it seems highly likely that he will have to pay for the consequences of his escapede.
Youth volunteers on a roll
A group of 12 young vigilante volunteers are using roller skates to patrol Nguyen Hue walking street in HCM City's District 1 for a week. They work two shifts, from 7am to 1pm, and from 1pm to 11pm.
A pilot programme started by the municipal People's Committee, it aims to provide more security in the pedestrian area.
The volunteers said that they had trained for a month before the programme was conducted. At first they practised three hours per day, and then all day.
But, just as they were about to start patrolling, the HCM City People's Committee banned the use of roller skates in Nguyen Hue Street.
Local residents were surprised to see youth volunteers use roller skates while on duty.They wondered why city authorities banned residents from wearing the skates, but let the volunteers use them.
The youth volunteers said the roller skates were much quicker than walking or running and agreed the city must ban people from using them otherwise the street would become a playground.
So, if you want to practice rolling down Nguyen HueStreet at high speed, perhaps it would be best to join the youth volunteers.
Watch out for Ms. Nguyen
As ASEAN nations, including Viet Nam, open their doors widely to all citizens in the 10-nation bloc, there obviously has to be a certain amount of fine tuning. But a young environmental scientist from Ha Noi was puzzled to be taken aside at Bangkok airport for 40 minutes last week.
Her only problem, her companion was told, was that her surname, Nguyen, was on a list of Vietnamese names to be double checked.
Our friend told the immigration officers that as her surname was the most popular in the nation, they would waste a lot of time if they had to check out every one bearing the name arriving in the country. — VNS


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This exclusive edition Acrylic Glass Print, designed by Matthew Sean McGuire, comes with a numbered and signed certificate of authenticity. Printed on archival-quality photo paper mounted on the back of a 1/8" thick, clear acrylic substrate, this artwork comes ready to hang on a wire attached to a wooden frame fixed on the back.
This Painting is to Represent The Vice President of The United States of America. Mike Pence, "Making America Great Again"
Columbia, United States


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Mainframes have increased in importance as the application economy has taken hold of organizations' digital priorities, most notably with the continued rise in mobile transactions and app-enabled services. However, the IT workforce that grew up on mainframe technology is hitting a point where many are preparing for post-career life, and in their wake is a younger IT workforce that lacks the same level of knowledge and skills relevant to mainframes. If companies are to maintain a functioning and innovative operation, educating and training IT personnel on the mainframe must be prioritized. Otherwise, organizations risk not only instability in their IT operations, but also a challenging path to participation in the application economy.
That's why CA Technologies, in partnership with SHARE, is pleased to sponsor the Mainframe Academy Scholarship Program. Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies is a curriculum of core mainframe programming skills designed to accelerate learning and technical achievement via real-world scenarios and specialized courses. This comprehensive, vendor-agnostic immersion program is delivered with a unique, flexible blend of instructor-led, web-based and self-paced learning.
Today, global banks, insurance agencies, governments and utilities rely on mainframe experts to ensure their systems can handle billions of transactions and massive workloads each day. Skilled technologists are needed to write code, develop applications, troubleshoot issues and ensure a smooth integration with distributed servers and the cloud. The Mainframe Academy teaches core skills to manage the mainframe environment—from programming and application development in z/OS and virtual server management to managing batch jobs and data sets. This same courseware is used to train incoming associate software engineers at CA and is designed to offer on-the job training, giving graduates of the program a solid path for the future.
Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies includes:
- 220+ hours of training
- 26 mastery tests
- 3 certification exams focused on a targeted spectrum of mainframe processing, programming concepts and applications.
Scholarship winners will join an elite corps of technologists who are leading enterprises toward a new era of customer service with mainframe, distributed, cloud and mobile technologies – all of which are mission essential in the application economy.
Requirements to apply include:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must be working towards a career in Information Technology
- Must have less than five years of professional IT experience
- Must be a current student or a graduate from an accredited institution
- Aptitude for critical thinking and problem solving skills
- Submit an essay, not to exceed 500 words
- Describe why you need this scholarship?
- How will this scholarship help you meet your educational goals?
- How will this scholarship help you meet your career goals?
- What are your major accomplishments that build toward your career goals?
- Complete Call for Entries form
SHARE Inc., an independent organization for technology professionals, will select the scholarship recipients. Scholarships will be awarded to those individuals who demonstrate a desire to master mainframe programming skills based on the essay and critical thinking submission. Each scholarship serves as a credit toward the tuition fees for Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies. Take advantage of this great opportunity to develop your core mainframe programming skills and have someone else pick up the tab!
Send in Your Scholarship Application Today
The deadline for applications is Friday, July 22. Visit the CA Technologies website to download your application.


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The purpose of the course
This course will enable you to learn the stages of how to put together a series of slides that can enhance presentations at meetings, seminars and conferences. Presenting to an audience can be very daunting at the best of times. PowerPoint is a tool that can really help you get your point across and contribute to making your presentation a success.
Benefits for your organisation
PowerPoint is one of the most popular packages on the market, helping you to deliver an effective and professional presentation. This course is designed to take you through the tools of the package. This course will truly help you to turn your presentation skills around and at the end you will be able to produce captivating and professional presentations.
Who is this course for ?
Anyone who needs to gain an introduction to creating presentation slides. The course is suitable both for those who deliver presentations and those who prepare presentations for others to deliver.
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Joseph Heller Part One - Catch-22
Well, this is part one of two -- I'm gonna try to get on a schedule with this blog, and Something Happened should appear next week (which is all you need to concern yourself with re Heller, incidentally.) I would like post more, but I gotta read the damn things, you know, and that takes time.
Me and Catch-22 go a long way back. It was, in many respects, the first "adult" book I ever read -- I had 11th Grade AP English and the teacher wanted us to do five book reports. I had been fascinated by the adult section of my local library (the Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library in Brookville, PA) but had not grabbed anything from there. I took a deep breath, screwed up my courage, and got it.
Yeah, I know. Scared to get a book? I was a strange kid. But anyway, I loved it. The teenage years are a good time to hit Catch-22 -- the humor will go over well, if you haven't been inundated with the hippy-dippy nostrums that came afterwards by way of imitation it will seem very fresh and exciting, and dangerously edgy in a kind of way. I have subsequently reread it several times -- this is probably the last time. I have come to the more sober conclusion that it is a great book, a genuine modern American classic written during a time when there wasn't a lot of them -- but that it will never be a favorite of mine.
Let me digress a second. This is one of the great epiphanies of art appreciation, and it's a stage that a lot of people never get to -- or don't even seem to understand. It is quite possible to love something dearly, even while admitting it's flaws. I bow to no one in my love for John D MacDonald's Travis McGee series, to take the first thing that pops into my head, even though the books, to be kind about it, vary in quality. I think a lot of people understand this idea -- witness the notion of the "guilty pleasure" and all that.
But what a lot of people don't seem to understand is that the converse is equally true -- the work of art you can appreciate, but simply doesn't relate to you. And yes, I guess it follows from this that I think there's such a thing as objective quality in art, although one generally has to be quite attuned to the form in order to sense it.
(I suppose a true realization of this necessarily diminishes art's power -- it puts it in it's proper place, makes it important but not IMPORTANT, not something that can be subsituted for worship. Odd and interesting, that.)
But anyway.
I acknowledge Catch-22's greatness. You could write a whole essay -- a long one, with footnotes and the like -- on the structure of the thing alone: a swirling vortex, a nightmare with the evocative image of Snowden freezing to death in the plane, with the paper scraps billowing about him. Books tend to be reportorial in nature -- the more I read the more I'm convinced the old "show, not tell" adage is simply wrong, writing by it's very nature cannot help but report, that's what it does, and so any attempt to convey visual images is problematic at best. But Heller's book really does have some of the trippy effects of an art house movie, with it's diffracted timeline and it's editorial tricks to prove a point. The fact that this was all written before our age of media saturation makes the achievement even more remarkable. Years later I saw part of Mike Nichol's movie version on tv, and it was remarkable to me how much of the structure of the book was lifted intact. But again, Catch-22 is almost cinematic before cinematic, if that makes any sense.
And there's the schtick, which is often very funny -- Catch-22 is one of the few "comedy" novels that will genuinely make you laugh -- and which, by counterposing it with scenes of unendurable blackness and bleakness (the terror of men in war; the death of Snowden; the bombing of the men by their own men) really created a kind of American black comedy that I'm not sure had been seen before. I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems to me this idea of pairing borscht belt vaudeville with some of the grimmest themes on record (we'll get back to this, but mark, this is a book suffused with despair) was I think something genuinely new. Which accounts for the many many imitators of it through the years. (The hippies loved it, of course. You can blame "M*A*S*H" on Catch-22.)
So I do admire it. I think Catch-22 is a legitimate classic, a genuinely great American novel and one of the must reads from the second half of the Twentieth Century.
That doesn't mean I actually like it.
It's a cold book, for all that. I think the humor attracts a lot of readers, which get surprised when they progress to Something Happened and see something more straightforwardly bleaker and less funny. This was simultaneous Heller's great strength and weakness -- he did something genuinely new here in Catch-22, but it's clear to me that people didn't understand what exactly he did. This isn't a "war book" -- ironically the best American novel about WW 2, maybe, has very little to do with the war at all. This is a much deeper critique of Western society itself, the war is merely a microcosm -- ultimately a deadly but pointless exercise, something of a charade.
This is a book that attempts to criticize all of Western civilization itself -- at least modern Western Civilization -- as essentially a soul-destroying monstrosity. This isn't a variant of The Caine Mutiny, this is 1984 played for laughs. This isn't From Here to Eternity, it's more Brazil. The only choices are to be bowed under by it or opt out, ala Yossarian. No heroes here -- just victims.
And that's just cold. One can respect such a thing without admiring it. Does anyone, for example, really "love" 1984? Once you've read it, are you really wantin' to dive back into that world? No matter what you thought of the book
I thought so.
My other problem with Catch-22 is that, though it's set in WW 2, it's not really about WW 2. Not really. It's about systemic problems in Western civilization, which sounds more boring than it actually plays out in the narrative, but the point is the war is just sort of a pretext. Heller could've easily done it on Kiwanis memberships, or Hospital auxiliary money raisers, or fundraising for the high school band. Or on office politics (which he did in Something Happened, a very interesting book, I hope to get to that next week). And that's fine -- except I can't help but feel disquieted about it, because of course WW 2 wasn't just "something that happened" it was an extremely important event in which a bunch of people fought and bled and died for things that meant something. This seems rather obvious, but somehow it gets lost in the shuffle whenever discussion of this book come up. The logical inference from Catch-22, after all, is that WW 2 wasn't worth fighting. I don't think Heller really agrees with that, I think, assuming we could dig him up and shock him back to life he'd say that WW 2 isn't the point of the book at all, but yet there it is, the fat girl in frilly underthings, stuck in the corner trying not to be recognized. Another way to say it is that by tying his vision to WW 2, he ends up undercutting it, because no matter what one thinks about Western society, the only ones who think WW 2 wasn't worth fighting are surnamed Hitler and Mussolini, and well, who cares what they think, eh?
This is the fundamental flaw of Catch-22 -- the setting jars with the narrative. This is why the hippies fell all over this and made sure to transplant into Vietnam or Vietnam surrogates -- it just made more sense there.
Next Sunday -- gonna try to get on something of a regular schedule for these -- Something Happened, or "where did all my fans go?"


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How to make a return:
- Call us: 800-438-5346. Each situation is unique, so it's important you call first. Please tell us what you need to return and your reason for returning. We'll assist you as quickly as we can.
- Before sending us your return, you'll need to include a copy of your invoice and the return form (included in your order) with the product you are returning.
- Use the included fluorescent return label included in your order. Write "Returns" on the box and ship by the most convenient method for you. (If we issue you a prepaid shipping label, use that instead and ship accordingly.) We recommend insuring your package in case something would happen during shipping.
If Lehman's is at error (for example, item was damaged in shipping or a wrong item was sent), we'll make it right as well as cover your shipping cost for the return.
Note: When a return is made after 30 days from purchase, a restocking charge may apply.
If you are ever unhappy about anything we do -- our service, our products, anything!-- please let us know. We'll do our best to make it right. We stand behind what we sell.


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Robert Hegyes who played a Jewish Puerto Rican student Juan Epstein on "Welcome Back Kotter" in 1970 died on Thursday morning. Robert Hegyes was taken to the JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey in an ambulance from his home in Metuchen, New Jersey due to chest pains. By the time they arrived at the hospital, Robert Hegyes was in full cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after getting to the hospital. "Welcome Back Kotter" star, Robert Hegyes, was 60-years old.
Brother, Mark Hegyes from Montant, told The Star-Ledger that Robert had suffered a heart attack a couple of years ago and was not in good health.
Steven Weiss, spokesperson for Hegyes says the ambulance arrived at Robert Hegyes home at 9:02 a.m. Thursday, January 26, 2012 due to a 911 call saying he was experiencing chest pains. He was taken to JFK Medical Center in Edison, New Jersey and when they arrived at 9:40 a.m., he was pronounced dead in the emergency room by doctors.
"Welcome Back Kotter" ran on ABC from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979. Featuring "Welcome Back Kotter" cast members like, Gabe Kaplan who played Gabe Kotter; Marcia Strassman who played Julie Kotter, Gabe's wife in the sitcom. John Sylvester White played the vice-principal of Buchanan High as Mr. Michael Woodman. A very young John Travolta played an Italian-American, Vincent "Vinnie" Barbarino, who was a cocky heartthrob of the Sweathogs. Ron Palillo played Arnold Horshack who was the clown of the Sweathogs. Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs played Freddie "Boom Boom" Percy Washington who was an African-Amercian and was known for played basketball. Then you have Robert Hegyes who played Juan Luis Pedro Felipo de Huevos Epstein who was a very proud Puerto Rican Jew.
Robert Hegyes went to Rowan University, formerly known as Glassboro State College, in southern New Jersey. After graduation he headed to New York City. He starred in a Broadway show called "Don't Call Back" that played at Helen Hayes Theater. Aside from "Welcome Back Kotter," Robert Hegyes had roles in a few other TV sitcoms like, "Cagney & Lacey," "Law & Order," "For Lovers Only." He also had guest starred in a few other TV sitcoms, "Saturday Night Live," "The Drew Carey Show," "News Radio," "The Steve Harvey Show," "Suddenly Susan," and "Diagnosis Murder."
His brother Mark Hegyes said, "He always had these great schemes, but last week he said I'm not going to do that anymore."
Hegyes leaves behind three siblings, two children, Cassie and Mack, and two step-children, Sophia and Alex.
Visitation will be at Flynn & Son Funeral Home at 23 Ford Ave., Fords, on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. The funeral will take place during the evening visiting hours.


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Yesterday I started out thinking that NHSTA's goal of creating more variation in their safety ratings was a good one. And I liked the idea of a simple overall rating.
In theory, I still think this is the case. But the more I look at the ratings themselves, the more disappointed I become.
At the core of my disappointment is that I apparently think about ratings very differently than NHSTA. The promotional materials produced by the agency make it clear that the primary objective of the new system was to push car companies to make "safer" vehicles. My focus would be to develop ratings that are meaningful and useful to consumers. (This would indirectly pressure car companies to make safer vehicles, but it would be an outcome, not an objective.)
It is not just a question of semantics.
Before a ratings system can be designed, the designer needs to understand how consumers define the issue. This is true of any type of rating, but let's use safety as an example.
The term "safety" is going to mean different things to different vehicle buyers. A useful ratings system would understand this and reflect these differences. It would then—and this is the important part—incorporate individual, sufficiently granular ratings that provide a way to evaluate meaningful variations in performance against the different definitions.
This is important because consumers naturally assume that a rating reflects their definition of what makes a vehicle safe.
For example, safety can be broadly grouped into two categories. The first is passive safety: The likelihood to avoid injury in the event of an accident. The second is active safety: The likelihood of avoiding (or minimizing) an accident in the first place. Passive safety involves features such as air bags and crumple zones. Active safety features like ABS, traction control, four-wheel drive, and even potentially features like a heads-up display.
One example of how NHSTA hasn't thought this through is that their new overall rating includes a blending of both their crash test scores (passive safety) AND a sampling of active safety technology. (The exact formula behind this overall score seems to be a state secret.)
Any time a rating is created that requires blends, weightings etc., it by definition reflects the values of the ratings designer. Most often this will not tie to the values of the ratings user. This is why it is critical for ratings to cover only single factors.
So it is clear that the NHSTA has defined safety for us—but in ways that may or may not be relevant (aka useful) to individual consumers. Of course, consumers may not realize this and could make flawed decisions using the NHSTA data.
Exacerbating this risk is that the new ratings—by design—increase the variations in scores, but these variations do not correlate to variations in real-world risk. (As I questioned yesterday, is the Camry 40% less safe than the Sonata?)
Bottom-line: NHSTA has created a system that will probably succeed in their goal of pushing car companies to build more vehicles they rate as safer. But it is more a context than a useful set of ratings. I would not recommend that consumers take them too seriously.
One final postscript: Most every I critism I leveled here at NHSTA regarding safety ratings could also be said about the EPA and their proposed single letter rating. With the additional note that it makes no sense to have one agency use stars for ratings and another use letters. Isn't this just needless additional confusion?


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Pale-yellow canvas is the backdrop for a spray of springtime blooms in pink, grey, yellow and green.
This is a custom-created MICHE print that you won't see anywhere else! Smooth sienna faux leather trim in all the right places and a front zippered pocket complete the look.
Interior is lined with fresh pink fabric and features three large compartments and two small open pockets for easy organizing. Bag is completely self-contained—it is not interchangeable like our traditional bags. Dimensions: 16 ¾" x 11 ¾", with a 4 ½" gusset. Padded straps are adjustable to 32".


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#simple_car Read your review ,my spark is too giving some of the problems listed below. Did you had any problems with radiator, posted above this post.
The A/C was shot
The car was accelerating while depressing the clutch. The engine maintained the revs at higher level. I couldn't figure out the cause for this, but at this stage it was manageable.
The hydraulic arms which hold the boot open were shot.
5. Now, comes the worst part. While trying to remove the right front wheel for brake change, one of the bolts was found to be jammed. Took 2 days of welding to remove it. Was considering cutting the alloy, but fortunately the nut finally came out. But the alloy now has marks of the chisels which were used, and is now blackened due to constant use of welding torches. Looks bad.


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When I worked behind the awesome Fairway cheese counter, customers asked often, 'What's your favorite cheese?" I never had a good answer. It was like choosing a favorite child. I have so much love for so many cheeses.
It's easy to stick with the cheese you know and enjoy. But with our dazzling array of 600-ish cheeses, there's no excuse not to try something new. Risk averse? Our super-knowledgeable, always helpful cheesemongers will cut you a taste. Here's a few cheeses that go on my "favorites of the moment" list:
From France–Petit Basque: So Fine! Despite the imposing size of most Pyrenean cheeses, bigger is not always better. A lovely little sheep's milk wheel. Aromas of brown butter and caramel; mild, nutty, sweet, lovely, and accessible.
From Italy–Barricata al Pepe: The Italian term for barrel-aging is barricato. This firm, buttery cow's milk cheese from Veneto is blanketed in peppercorns and aged in oak barrels for nearly a year. The cheese takes on plenty of peppery zip, and sweet, wine-y flavors from the reside of the barrels. Serve with an off-dry Gewurtztraminer or Riesling, or a brawny Zin.
From The USA–Pleasant Ridge Reserve: This cheese is made by Uplands Cheese Co. in Wisconsin, from the sweet, fresh, raw milk of the cows that graze on the Uplands lush pastures. It's full of round, sweet, raisin-y, perfect flavor. Won the supreme champion award at the American Cheese Society competition a few times! Jenkins was a judge, and was knocked out by the flavor and texture of this remarkable cheese. Great with bourbon. Break out the cornichons.
From Spain–Leonora: Leonora is a newish cheese from the arid rolling hills of León, northwest of Madrid, made with pasteurized milk from the cheesemaker's own herd. The 4-lb logs of soft, cake-y cheese are bright with dazzling, lemony and grassy flavors. The crusty, natural, ash-coated rind plays gorgeously against the lush, snow-white interior.
From Switzerland–Tete de Moine: "Monk's head" refers to this cheese's appearance when sliced traditionally (horizontally) – that is, the tonsure of a monk. Also called Bellelay for its Swiss Canton origin, this raw cow's milk cheese is a towering figure in the cheese world. It has a strong, mountain-rustic flavor and fragrance, a smooth, milky texture and a long, lingering finish. Absolutely scrumptious cheese. Tradition also has it stored cut-face top upside-down in a dish of white wine.


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Special thanks to up-and-coming plus size model @tinderoni 💕 We are very honoured to have you as our 1st model of #curvesinasia house project.
Tinder grows up as the 1st generation Indian American in her family's household.
She inherits two diverse cultures – traditional Indian family values and the liberal post-feminism American womanhood, at the same time owning up her very own identity as her true-self evolves. It is definitely not easy to pilot two completely opposite cultures at the same time, but time will tell what feels intuitive for this gorgeous and hardworking female model.
Tinder is visiting for work from LA, lucikly time allows us to have a full day off with her, so we shot quite a combination of outfits this time. On the day of shooting, it was before a typhoon that goes through Kong Kong so it's extremely hot and humid.
It is always a big challenge for us who sweat a lot! 36C with 96% humidity, the extreme stuffiness really suffocated us.
Wearing the iconic offshoulder @eloquii trench coat dress, @tinderoni exudes confidence and elegance
We thank Tinderoni for her professional endeavour, because without her expertise as a model and her patience, this shoot won't be successfully done. We managed to get plenty of shots within 6 hours and we are forever grateful for it.
This is our first editorial completely produced in-house, thank you to our collaborators below,
Photography: Andreina @drelirium
Styling: Rosie @sci_fi_c0c0 and yours truly @berthachandotcom
Production: @berthachandotcom
Please follow @tinderoni to cheer her on of her adventures to becoming her full self – a plus size model in the industry whom is slowly making a name for herself. Your likes do mean something for real. It touches the heart of the people you support dearly so please support Asian women in the plus size industry and make curves more diverse than ever.
#Curvesinasia is now seeking #collaborators to build a #diverse #Fashionphotography #portfolio and to push the idea of #plussizehighfashion especially for Asia and in Asia.
See you next time! xo


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2 Downloading AGL Software
Once you have determined the build host can build an AGL image, you need to download the AGL source files. The AGL source files, which includes the Yocto Project layers, are maintained on the AGL Gerrit server. For information on how to create accounts for Gerrit, see the Getting Started with AGL wiki page.
The remainder of this section provides steps on how to download the AGL source files:
Define Your Top-Level Directory: You can define an environment variable as your top-level AGL workspace folder. Following is an example that defines the
$HOME/workspace_aglfolder using an environment variable named "AGL_TOP":
$ export AGL_TOP=$HOME/workspace_agl $ mkdir -p $AGL_TOP
Download the
repoTool and Set Permissions: AGL Uses the
repotool for managing repositories. Use the following commands to download the tool and then set its permissions to allow for execution:
$ mkdir -p ~/bin $ export PATH=~/bin:$PATH $ curl https://storage.googleapis.com/git-repo-downloads/repo > ~/bin/repo $ chmod a+x ~/bin/repo
NOTE: See the "Repo Command Reference" for more information on the
Download the AGL Source Files: Depending on your development goals, you can either download the latest stable AGL release branch, or the "cutting-edge" (i.e. "master" branch) files.
Stable Release: Using the latest stable release gives you a solid snapshot of the latest know release. The release is static, tested, and known to work. To download the latest stable release branch (i.e. Halibut 8.0), use the following commands:
$ cd $AGL_TOP $ repo init -b halibut -u https://gerrit.automotivelinux.org/gerrit/AGL/AGL-repo $ repo sync
Cutting-Edge Files: Using the "cutting-edge" AGL files gives you a snapshot of the "master" directory. The resulting local repository you download is dynamic and can become out-of-date with the upstream repository depending on community contributions. The advantage of using "cutting-edge" AGL files is that you have the absolute latest features, which are often under development, for AGL.
To download the "cutting-edge" AGL files, use the following commands:
$ cd $AGL_TOP $ repo init -u https://gerrit.automotivelinux.org/gerrit/AGL/AGL-repo $ repo sync
Once you
syncthe repository, you have the AGL files in the form of "layers" (e.g.
meta-*folders). You also have the
pokyrepository in your AGL workspace.
Listing out the resulting directory structure appears as follows:
$ tree -L 1 . ├── build ├── meta-agl ├── meta-agl-demo ├── meta-agl-devel ├── meta-agl-extra ├── meta-altera ├── meta-boundary ├── meta-freescale ├── meta-freescale-3rdparty ├── meta-freescale-distro ├── meta-intel ├── meta-intel-iot-security ├── meta-oic ├── meta-openembedded ├── meta-qcom ├── meta-qt5 ├── meta-raspberrypi ├── meta-renesas ├── meta-renesas-rcar-gen3 ├── meta-rust ├── meta-sdl ├── meta-security-isafw ├── meta-ti ├── meta-updater ├── meta-virtualization └── poky


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Temporary Closure of SeaWorld San Diego
SeaWorld San Diego is temporarily closed in accordance to state and federal guidance. Click here for more information.
View park hours and show times to plan your day at the park.
Find your way around the SeaWorld's attractions, restaurants and shops with the park map.
Take your adventure to the next level with animal experiences, front-of-the-line passes, dining packages and more.
Experience thrilling rides inspired by the force and power of the sea.
Enjoy fabulous, family-friendly shows and presentations.
Explore beautiful aquariums, feed sea lions and much more.
Guests are immersed in wonder at SeaWorld® San Diego, where the aquatic world comes alive. Experience one-of-a-kind attractions, thrilling rides and up-close animal interactions.
From exciting water slides to a relaxing lazy river, Aquatica San Diego appeals to all ages and interests.
Sesame Place San Diego opens in 2021! Share in the fun, laughter & learning of Sesame Street with whirling rides, water slides, exciting shows, a daily parade, interactive neighborhood and more!
Log in to access special offers or to update your account.
Exclusive Pass Member Rewards are available every month! Check out the 2020 Member Rewards calendar.
Eat as much as you want at SeaWorld San Diego all day long for one low price.
Save $20 when you buy online!
Pay for a Day! Get unlimited visits in 2020!
Annual Passes start at only $10 per month.
Your browser does not support iframes.


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Home Buying 101 Bunch Free 2hr class
If you are serious about buying a home in 2015 then this class is designed for you. Stop dreaming of home buying and make it Reality. Free Brunch Included,
April 25th 10am-12noon (2 hour class)
Location: 10629 Crestwood Dr Manassas VA 20109
Sponsored By Home Buyers Marketing II, Inc Dee Dee Jones and WestStar Mortgage Markita Woods
This is a condensed version of the home buyers education class everything you need to know in 2 hours plus Get pre qualified for a home loan on the spot bring your pay check stub.
Call, text, or email to RSVP, leave name and phone number and number of guest.
Must RSVP to Dee Dee Jones 703-five96-five884 call, text, or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Stop Dreaming of Home Ownership!
Make Home ownership your reality! This is a one on one consultation to start you on your home buying process and to see which program and loan will work best for you. Please email,call, or text and leave Name , Number and email address for me to reach you. We will start with a phone consultation takes 20 minutes. Get Started today! email: email@example.com or call 703-596-5884, I can help you buy in VA, MD and DC metro areas.
DeAndrea Jones
Principal Broker/Realtor MD DC/VA
Home Buyers Marketing II, Inc
Are you Thinking about Buying or Selling VA, MD, or DC
If you are thinking about buying or selling a home in VA, MD, or DC areas. Watch the following video then start here GreatDCMetroHomes.org
Snow Removal law for Washington DC Home Owners
Be prepared Washington DC Homeowners if you have a public sidewalk be prepared to face a higher fine for not keeping your walk snow free. We are anticipating more snow fall this year so get plenty of shovels.
The law states "DC law requires property owners to clear snow and ice from sidewalks, handicap ramps and steps on their property within the first eight daylight hours after the snow, sleet or ice stops falling."
The fines are imposed by the city and more info can be found at. http://dpw.dc.gov/service/dc-snow-removal
Tips for DC homeowners get a neighborhood snow shovel team together to make it go faster. Buddy up with a neighbor and take turns sharing an area. Pay teenagers to help they often love a chance to make extra money. or Just suck it up as a chance for extra exercise……
Attention Chesapeake Hampton Roads Homebuyers VHDA loan changes 2011
it possible for more first-time home buyers and anyone who has not purchased in last 3 years to qualify for a VHDA loan.
Income limits increased in all areas of Virginia.
In Hampton Roads: Now for a family of 2 or less if you have a household income of $79,600 (up from $71,000) and for a family of 3 or more the house hold income increases to $92,200 (up from $80,000).
For home buyers who meet this income limit, a Home buyer Education class and other documentation requirements would be required to qualify.
VHDA mortgages offer an affordable fixed rate usually at a minimum 3.5% down payment and for those that qualify for a VHDAPLUS loan this can help you with the down
payment requirement. For more info on locating a VHDA lender and loan guidelines give me a call asap.
Buyers: FREE Access to Home Listings, FREE 2-10 1yr Home Warranty plan, FREE Home Buying Consultation, FREE Transaction Coordination, FREE Buyers Representation Service, FREE Tours of Homes. Buyers receive and Sellers offer 1 MONTH FREE Cox Bundle Package. Sellers: Ultimate Marketing Package to get your home SOLD!
If you are in Hampton Roads, Southern Virginia Cities: Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Smithfield, Suffolk, Williamsburg, York County. Join the Group, http://activerain.com/groups/hamptonroads
"I can dream alone, build alone and strive alone, but true success always requires the help and support of others. Please send me your referrals."
Visit my website today, The Hampton Roads Real Estate Lady!
Deandrea "Dee Dee" Jones email@example.com
Associate Broker Blu Skyy Realty Virginia Beach, VA
Chesapeake Homebuying Class Free with Free Lunch
FREE Homebuying Classes for first time homebuyers!!!!!!!!
Sat October 9th 9-3pm- LUNCH INCLUDED –
Greenbrier Library Conference Room 1214 Volvo Pkwy, Chesapeake, VA
Must rsvp to Dee Dee Jones 757-831-8294 call, text, or email firstname.lastname@example.com by Fri 10/1.
Come learn about the buying process from beginning to end. There will be a loan officer, a real estate agent, a home inspector, and a title agent, on hand to give you valuable information and answer your questions.
This info brought to you by,
The Hampton Roads Real Estate Lady!
Deandrea "Dee Dee" Jones
Associate Broker
Wainwright Real Estate
4098 Foxwood Dr
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
e buyers info,homebuying classes,chesapeake house hunt,virginia beach homes event,how to buy a home,houses in tidewater


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Module 1 – Actual state analysis
To create high and at the same time efficient quality standards, first available findings and approaches are systematically researched and analysed. Existing evidence and quality requirements from literature will be systematically assessed at a national and international level (English-speaking countries) and existing qualification programmes that have already been evaluated will undergo detailed analysis.
Module 2 – Needs assessment
Two forms of interviews will be used in the project to systematically assess the qualification needs as they are perceived by those involved in social work with refugees.
1. Focus groups (8-12 persons of the same target group; 2-3 hours) At least eleven focus groups with the following target groups and the regional distribution listed below are planned:
North Rhine-Westphalia
- Professionals in social work
- Volunteer helpers
- Third-country nationals (Arabic-speaking persons)
- Volunteer community interpreters
- Professional, low qualified community interpreters
- Professional, certified language and integration mediators (Sprach- und IntegrationsmittlerInnen)
- Professionals in social work
- Volunteer helpers
- Third-country nationals (Dari-speaking persons)
- Volunteer community interpreters
- Professional, low qualified community interpreters
2. One-to-one interviews
As a second form of questioning approx. 26 one-to-one interviews will be carried out:
- Six interviews with third-country nationals (from North Rhine-Westphalia with Tigrinya, Kurdish or Arabic as a first language)
- Six interviews with third-country nationals (from Hamburg with Tigrinya, Kurdish or Arabic as a first language)
- Six interviews with heads and executives of the relevant institutions (central reception facilities, authorities etc.)
- Eight interviews with experts (amongst others from educational institutions and from science)
Module 3 – Consensus procedure
The data collected in Modules 1 and 2 will be the basis for the consensus procedure at the end of which the quality standards should be determined. While the preparation of data in the form of a consensus document will be carried out by the project team at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, experts will carry out the following work steps developing the quality standards. The last step will be a two-day consensus meeting in Hamburg.
Module 4 – Dissemination
The project results will be disseminated through the following channels:
- A final conference in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2018
- Preparation of a brochure free of charge and freely accessible via this website
- Publication in scientific journals


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Holmes Report 12 Jan 2014 // 4:50PM GMT
NEW YORK—MDC Partners—the parent company of public relations agencies including Allison + Partners, Exponent, Kwittken & Company and Sloane & Company—has acquired a majority partnership interest in Luntz Global, the political language and messaging company founded by prominent Republican strategist Frank Luntz.
Luntz has been named MDC partners chief language strategist, a new role in the company's strategic resources group that supports his collaboration with MDC partner agencies.
"Understanding the consumer from a behavioral perspective is a crucial part of driving the most effective marketing communications on behalf of clients," says MDC chief executive Miles Nadal. "Frank and his team have truly revolutionized corporate and political communications. They have a proven ability to enhance messaging, creative storytelling, and consumer impact based on their proprietary "Instant Response" approach to quantitative and qualitative analytics."
Luntz Global has worked with brands such as Anheuser Busch, McDonald's, Kroger, Lowes, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, The US Chamber of Commerce and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as professional sports leagues and two dozen individual professional sports teams.


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Shannon McDowell was a young African-American on his way up -- his expansion plans coinciding with those of the company he worked for, the Louisiana-based Hibernia Bank, looking to move into Texas.
The bank teller had just moved to Orange in April 2001 to begin training for a branch manager position. McDowell was in a new place, far from family, but he knew one thing he could count on was Dillard's.
"I've been shopping at Dillard's all my life. I know the layout," says McDowell.
He'd ordered some shoes from Dillard's in Baton Rouge, but when they arrived, they were defective. He went to several Dillard's stores trying to exchange them, finally finding a pair of brown shoes at the Dillard's in Beaumont. He was in a rush because he also is a minister and was supposed to speak at a church that weekend. The shoes cost $10 more than he'd already paid, so he approached the manager, asking if he could have a courtesy discount for all the time and effort he'd put into trying to find a replacement. The manager said no, and when McDowell expressed his disappointment, the manager called security.
When McDowell tried to explain what had happened, the security guard told him that he was a police officer and McDowell should shut up. McDowell asked for his name and badge number and tried to leave. "That's it," the officer said. "You're under arrest."
"I knew he was going to handcuff me, but he wanted to throw me to the ground. I didn't want that to happen. How humiliating. I had on my company's shirt, my company's name tag," McDowell said. The officer threw him into a counter. McDowell was taken to jail, where he spent several hours and was charged with disorderly conduct, a class C misdemeanor.
It took him a week to tell his parents what had happened.
Dillard's is the only major department store chain to still use off-duty police officers. Critics say this system just doesn't work -- that officers are trained to apprehend suspects, to deal with them in criminal situations. It takes an entirely different mind-set to see people as customers and to deal with them without handcuffs and guns (see "Hard Sale").
But while managers at Eddie Bauer and other retail chains have stepped away from using law enforcement officers, Dillard's prefers them, telling its managers they need special permission to employ someone else.
And it is these officers working off-duty at Dillard's who have been involved in more deaths than in any other retail chain in the United States. Four of them occurred in Texas.
Chris McGoey, a security consultant for major department stores, says combining off-duty cops with no training and no supervision "sets up an accident waiting to happen.
"You can't employ people that are carrying deadly weapons and just turn them loose without any guidelines, without any limitations on how to act or when not to act."
There are also complaints of racial discrimination against Dillard's. All but one of the men killed in scuffles with Dillard's security were minorities. And most of the complaints filed against Dillard's are from minorities, who say the chain subjects them to a different level of scrutiny than it does white shoppers when they step into one of the Arkansas-based company's stores. Dillard's denies targeting any ethnic group and says any employee who does so "has been and will continue to be disciplined, up to and including dismissal," according to a Dillard's statement.
But others say there is a gap between Dillard's policy and reality. "Race is the motivating factor in the decision to search, stop and detain shoppers at Dillard's," said Houston attorney Cletus P. Ernster III, whose firm has filed more than 100 cases against the chain.
As Ernster sees it, "Dillard's has created an atmosphere where you have a store full of suspects rather than customers."
McDowell, now a Hibernia vice president and living in Houston, is one of 18 plaintiffs who have joined in a case against Dillard's, alleging that the store regularly discriminates against people of color.
It is a charge that has dogged Dillard's for more than a decade -- namely that Dillard's sets up a system whereby sales clerks, managers and security guards target or profile blacks and Hispanics and other minorities, that it regularly accuses them of shoplifting or disorderly conduct without cause, that it doesn't want them in its stores. Dillard's denies the allegations, saying that in 2002, of 261 million total customer visits, 73 million were from minorities. Similar accusations have been made against other stores. Last May Federated Department Stores, owner of Rich's-Macy's and Bloomingdale's, was accused of racial profiling for allegedly targeting minorities as potential shoplifters.
But three crucial factors set Dillard's apart from all other retailers. The first is the sheer number of wrongful arrest, discrimination and other customer complaints. Dillard's says it receives only 150 of those in any given year at its corporate headquarters. Others say the numbers are much higher and that in many cases people don't realize they have legal redress for a bad experience in Dillard's.
The second has been Dillard's historic unwillingness to admit any problem and respond as other retailers have done to community concerns. But this public posturing may be softening a bit. In response to questions from the Houston Press, Dillard's conceded last week that "mistakes and misunderstandings can and do happen Dillard's has never promoted discrimination but has learned that it should continue to do more to prevent it."
The third factor is the deaths. Since 1994, at least six people have died in Dillard's after arguments with security officers. Four of the deaths have been in Texas: Houston, El Paso, San Antonio and Arlington. Two others occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, and Memphis, Tennessee. In all cases but one the victims were minorities. None of the victims had weapons. In some cases shoplifting was suspected; in others, arguments with security guards sparked the fatal encounters. There have been other isolated cases of death-by-security-guard -- in the Detroit area there were cases at a Rite Aid drugstore, a Kroger and a Lord & Taylor -- but Dillard's holds the record.
The suit that includes McDowell is scheduled to go to trial this April. In responding to the suits, Dillard's, in turn, has accused Ernster's firm, Chargois & Ernster, of "attempts to capitalize on race baiting allegations that have not one thing to do with any of the facts."
McDowell was angered and embarrassed by what happened, afraid for his job and his reputation. A prosecutor dismissed the first charge against him. When McDowell initiated his suit against Dillard's and the officer, the arresting officer refiled. This time it went to trial, where jurors found him not guilty. Jurors shook his hand afterward, McDowell said. Throughout, his bank stood behind him.
His suit states that other than a few basic orientation films about the losses Dillard's has had from thefts, the company makes no attempt to put the officers it hires through any specialized training program as security guards. In various depositions, Dillard's officials say they regard the training these people receive as law enforcement officers as vastly superior to anything the retail chain could provide.
Training isn't the only area in which Dillard's relies on law enforcement agencies. Dillard's also doesn't conduct background checks on its officers, saying that whatever the law enforcement agency did to check them out is good enough for it.
In November 2002, suspected shoplifter Guy Wills of Cleveland, Ohio, was killed by Dillard's guard and Maple Heights Police Department officer Jameel Talley. Two years before, that same officer had been fired from his job with another police department for violating deadly-force policies after he shot at a fleeing shoplifting suspect at the same mall.
Wills suffered head injuries that left him with internal bleeding and bruising and a fractured skull. Talley also broke Wills's collarbone in the scuffle at the Dillard's in North Randall, Ohio.
Talley was convicted in June of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to three years in prison for Wills's death.
The NAACP has launched a few organized demonstrations against Dillard's, to little effect. Dillard's officials have stated in various depositions they see no reason to change their policies.
One attorney, who has tried cases against Dillard's and did not want to be named, said the chain tries not to respond to questions about its activities and added that, in fact, "If blacks were to boycott them, it would not care."
McDowell hasn't been back in a Dillard's since his arrest.
Dillard's represents the life's work of William T. Dillard Sr., the founder and former chief executive who died in 2002. Founded in 1938, the company comprises 338 stores in 29 states and is now run by his sons Bill and Alex. At least one of his daughters is a top officer; there are other family members employed as well. Dillard Sr. was known for his hard work and foresight in developing Dillard's. But that same attention to detail that made him such a success in merchandising also increasingly called him to account for his company's operations, a business that had few minorities at the upper levels of management. Gene Baker, a former Dillard's manager who was deposed last April, said he couldn't remember there ever being an African-American vice president at Dillard's. Another former senior officer at Dillard's charged that Dillard Sr. didn't want to even see African-Americans when he came in to work. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 1994, Dillard said his company worked hard to hire minorities, that it did not discriminate against them in hiring or as shoppers. He added, "Frankly we've had better luck with Hispanics than we do with blacks."
Read Hayes, senior consultant for Loss Prevention Solutions Inc., a consulting firm based in Winter Park, Florida, did a national survey in 1997 that found that in more than 100,000 shoplifting incidents across the country, 46.3 percent of shoplifters were white and 32.7 percent were African-American. Dillard's itself says that most of its theft is internal.
So then how does Dillard's explain the demographic data from Jefferson County, Texas? In 2001 the county had an estimated population of 249,640, of which 33.7 percent were African-American. In 299 trespass warnings issued from 1998 to 2002 at the Beaumont Dillard's, 250, or 83.6 percent, went to African-Americans. Trespass warnings are issued by Dillard's to tell people they are no longer wanted in its stores and will be prosecuted if they return.
Dillard's family members own 99 percent of the Class B voting stock and elect two-thirds of the company's directors, according to a December Hoovers Online report. In March, conservative African-American and former U.S. congressman J.C. Watts became the second minority member of Dillard's 12-person board.
Dillard's stock price has sunk in recent years. Experts said that has nothing to do with allegations of retail racism. Analysts said its disinclination to put its merchandise on sale has hurt it, as well as not doing much to change the way it presents its stores, considered somewhat dull by some customers. Although its shares traded above $50 in the early '90s, in December it was trading at $15.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.
A 1999 Wall Street Journal article said there was "a long history of strife between the company and minority groups." It also has a long history of not wanting to talk with the press. Corporate spokeswoman Julie Bull initially said she would respond to questions faxed to her by the Press. After having those questions for a week, Bull said she had turned them over to Dillard's legal department. The legal department did not answer the questions either, although an independent publicist, Skip Rutherford, provided a Dillard's response more than two weeks after the questions were first posed to Dillard's. The responses did not address any questions involving litigation. (see "Head Ways").
In a 1984 lawsuit, Archie Crittenden, who'd been vice president for personnel when he was fired in 1983, said Dillard's discriminated against blacks in its hiring policies. Crittenden said all personnel policies were signed off on by William Dillard Sr. and Ray Kemp, vice chairman. Crittenden said he heard from Dillard and Kemp on several occasions that he "was not to hire any more blacks."
According to Crittenden, in a meeting in 1982, discussion turned to the presence of African-Americans in the corporate offices. It was discussed and approved that a black employee should be moved back further in the department so Dillard Sr. wouldn't see her when he entered the building. Crittenden lost his lawsuit but did some damage to Dillard's reputation.
In July 2001, Dillard's agreed to pay $5.6 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by black employees. About 1,000 current and former employees from Kansas and Missouri were covered in the action.
The NAACP regional office in St. Louis in 1985 led a "selective buying campaign" against Dillard's. One of the concerns was that Dillard's catalogs featured only white models.
In 1998, after complaints in Kansas City, Missouri, general counsel Paul Schroeder wrote a letter on behalf of Dillard's pledging its commitment to good race relations with its customers and employees. In it, he said Dillard's would emphasize its prohibition against targeting minority shoppers. A committee was formed of Dillard's personnel and community representatives to chart its progress in establishing better relations, but nothing much ever came of it. The NAACP has expelled Dillard's from its Fair Share program and in 2003 once again gave it an F for its diversity efforts.
Dillard's is dogged in fighting lawsuits. Paula Hampton, an African-American human resources manager at Babies "R" Us won a $1.2 million jury award against Dillard's. The store had kept her from claiming a cologne sample and she was detained by a guard for suspected shoplifting in Overland Park, Kansas. Dillard's took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear it in February 2002.
Sometimes it is Dillard's own employees who are most critical of its operations. Debra L. Brown was an area sales manager at the Bonita Lakes Mall in Meridian, Mississippi, until she was fired on January 31, 2001, for allegedly trying to steal a pair of $16.99 capri pants. Brown says she actually was terminated in retaliation for her opposition to Dillard's "policies of harassing minority customers of the store through the use of excessive security practices."
In a deposition last October 30, Brown described a scene involving Antonio McDyess, who played for the Denver Nuggets in 2001. She said she was on the other side of the store when she got a call to come back to the children's department. The description she got when she called in to security was: "Young black male, sagging pants, bushy hair, expensive jewelry Dope runner. Looking like a dope runner in there."
She went to the department and found two men, both collecting a lot of clothes, being shadowed by sales clerks. She went up to the bushy-haired man, who told her, "Ma'am, I don't have any intentions of leaving your department or the store without paying for this merchandise. I'm just shopping." She backed away. She got another call saying: "You need to come back over here. We're getting ready to pull him down." A clerk called again, saying the man was trying to pass a bad check. She asked how the clerk knew it was going to be bad. "Well, it's going to be for about $3,700," Brown said the clerk told her. When Brown got the check she said, "My hand started to shake because I saw that it said Antonio McDyess and it gave the NBA team that he was with." Turns out, Brown said, McDyess had just come from two and a half hours of basketball instruction with inner-city youth.
Ernster has collected other notarized statements of alleged discrimination against customers from Dillard's employees. From the Dillard's Tyler store, dockworker Dennis March and sales clerk Ollie Fay Oliver said that while black customers were detained and handcuffed in the store in full view of other shoppers, this was not done with white customers. Gloria Tilley, a Dillard's sales clerk for more than ten years, said, "I was instructed that if two or more blacks came into the store, I was supposed to watch them. I was also told that blacks wearing leather coats had to be watched."
Paul Schroeder, Dillard's general counsel, said in a 2001 deposition that the primary reason Dillard's executives employ police officers as security guards is that when they expand into a new area, they don't have any personal knowledge of the community. "We believe that within that community there already exists a group of professionally trained peace officers who provide that very community with exactly the same safe environment in which to live and to work and to raise their kids So our belief is that to use the same law enforcement peace officers that the community has chosen to protect its most valuable and precious asset, its children, is the right thing for us to do."
Schroeder's concern for children is telling, given how Dillard's chooses to deal with them in its stores. Last March 23, LaPrecious Powell, 16, her sister Kellie LeDay, 13, and their nephew Jo'Mari Davis, then 12 months, went to Dillard's men's stores in Beaumont with 17-year-old Joseph McCarty, Powell's boyfriend. Powell and McCarty were going to a school dance that night and they knew Dillard's had nice clothes.
They walked around for a while, holding different shirts up against themselves and then deciding they really didn't like anything and would go to another store.
Suddenly, Officer Jay Waggoner appeared and according to Powell said: "Why are y'all stealing? You need to leave the store." The security guard didn't search them, didn't try to check their bags, just accused them of stealing and told them to leave. As they were going out, Powell said, Waggoner came up close behind her, saying: "I don't want to make you have nightmares in your sleep. I'll put the law in your life." The kids wanted to leave the store the way they'd come in, to go directly to their car. Instead, Waggoner made them go out the long way. He followed them all the way to their car.
LeDay was crying by the time they got home to their mother, Jackie Renfro. Powell said she had nightmares with Waggoner's face in them for days. Renfro, the mother of four daughters, said the girls, both cheerleaders at their schools, had never been in trouble.
Ethel Wilson, Joseph McCarty's mother, was furious. She went to see the Dillard's manager. "I said they didn't steal anything. They had money. Joseph had just gotten his income tax check. They were going to a dance. Stealing was the last thing on their minds." She also went to the police internal affairs division, where she was told Waggoner was a good Christian. Nothing happened.
It is not at all unusual for Dillard's security guards to question juveniles without their parents being present, even when the parents are nearby and request to be present at the interview.
Sixteen-year-old Jeremy Perez of Houston went to Deerbrook Mall with his mother and sister in July 2000. Splitting up from his family, he went to the men's department, where he tried on some shirts. He was heading back to his mother when a security guard ordered Perez to come with him. Perez's mother asked to accompany him, but the security officer refused. He was taken to a back room where officers from the Humble Police Department searched him. He was asked if he was with "the other black boys." No stolen merchandise was found.
Randy Haynes of Port Arthur went to Dillard's to get clothes for his 19th birthday. He was accused of shoplifting by an officer who asked to look in Haynes's pants. The guard took him to a back office and patted him down in front of his crying 14-year-old sister.
Michaela Reneae Merrick was 11 when she was accused of shoplifting a bathing suit at the Dillard's at the Mall of Abilene. Paraded through the store on her way to being questioned, the preteen asked to call her mother and the Dillard's employee said no. No stolen merchandise was found.
Sisters LaQuan Stallworth and Charity Edwards were shopping at Dillard's Parkdale Mall in Beaumont in February 2001 when they also were confronted by security guard Waggoner.
Stallworth, who plays professional basketball overseas, and Edwards, who works as a cashier, said Waggoner accused them of shoplifting without cause, threatened to take them to jail and pushed them out of the store.
Waggoner, an 18-year officer with the Beaumont Police Department, gave a different accounting at his May 22 deposition. Glancing over a grouping of hanging clothes, Waggoner said, he saw sudden movement.
"I'm a hunter. I deer hunt and so motion catches my eyes. And I all of a sudden saw this hand take three shirts down." Waggoner said when he went over to talk with the girls they no longer had the shirts and he found them later crumpled up on the shelf they came from.
The two left the store, then returned to make a complaint about Waggoner's watching them. One woman "adopted a southern plantation slave type of voice and yelled out real loud that she guessed we don't want black folks in our store," Waggoner said, which he added offended him, as race has nothing to do with his actions as a security guard. He said because they were acting so belligerently, he wanted them to leave the store instead of being arrested. He did put his hands on one woman's arm and back, but did nothing to hurt them, he said.
Dillard's said it has made internal changes to identify employees "who may need additional training in customer relations." It updated its harassment policy to enable complainants and witnesses to contact the corporate legal office directly instead of going through the local store.
Dillard's has even hired professionals posing as shoppers to record their experiences in stores and says the results were very positive for Dillard's.
Suspected shoplifters must be allowed to exit the store to make sure they are, in fact, shoplifting, Dillard's tells its personnel. Dillard's policies also forbid strip searches and say that handcuffs should not be used unless a suspect poses a threat to customers or to Dillard's personnel. Suspects can be detained for a reasonable amount of time in order to conduct a reasonable investigation. Employees are supposed to approach a customer only after they believe that merchandise has been removed; it is not enough merely to be suspicious of his motives or behavior.
Again, whether these policies are actually carried out is another question. In 1997, a well-dressed African-American woman was strip-searched in a Dillard's in Cleveland, Ohio. No stolen articles were found.
In a 1999 case in Arlington, Texas, a security guard ended up running through the store filled with shoppers, firing at the escaping shoplifter as he chased him onto an elevator.
Roy Don Bearden had boosted a beard trimmer from a nearby Sears store. Caught hiding in a clothing rack in Dillard's, Bearden ran from guard Keith Humphrey, an Arlington police officer working off-duty in the store. Humphrey ended up shooting Bearden four times, killing him. Police said Bearden had threatened to kill Humphrey. A judge dismissed the case, saying it was clear that Humphrey was acting as a police officer.
And as Waggoner testified in his May deposition: "I don't go with all the things that they expect you to go with though on these things. Well like handcuffing prisoners; they don't want you to handcuff a prisoner at the point of arrest out in the store. However, if I feel like for my own safety and the safety of the prisoner requires it, I'm going to handcuff them. So far they haven't fired me for that. But I -- we don't -- enforce house rules Our policy is you handcuff prisoners."
Houston was the site for one of the most horrific deaths by security guards. A 37-year-old regular Dillard's customer went into its Galleria store and within just a few hours had been trussed up like an animal for slaughter -- handcuffed, hog-tied, his mouth taped shut. Wheeled off the floor in a flatbed dolly, he died in a hospital two days later.
What made it all more incredible was that Darryl Robinson was a churchgoing married man in his mid-thirties who had never been in trouble. A second-generation, off-the-farm-from-Louisiana black man, Robinson drove a delivery truck for a living. On June 1, 1994, he'd gone to church and then headed to Dillard's.
Dillard's maintained that Robinson had undergone a psychotic episode, that he demanded $1 million from a store clerk and jumped up on a counter. Robinson family attorneys agreed there had been an argument but said it occurred while he was trying to withdraw money on a credit card in Dillard's customer service department.
Until recently, Dillard's has not used security cameras in its stores and only now is beginning to introduce them, according to Gene Baker, Dillard's general merchandise manager for Texas, who was deposed last April 24. What this means, Ernster said, is that any dispute over how someone was treated would be a swearing match between the officers involved and the customers. And juries have a tendency to believe police officers.
Denise Robinson, Darryl's widow, didn't know what had happened with her husband, but the Dillard's version didn't fit even if there were 14 affidavits supporting its story and none against it. Denise Robinson made the rounds of attorneys and finally came to the law firm of Doyle, Restrepo, Harvin & Robbins, which took the case just before the statute of limitations ran out.
Initially, Dillard's said Robinson had been high on drugs, but the toxicology report showed nothing, said attorney James Doyle. Later Dillard's said Robinson was mentally ill.
Doyle's firm found another witness in employee Marilyn Steltz, and a different story emerged. She said Robinson volunteered to leave the store after an encounter with assistant manager Kim Wetzel, who'd been called in to settle the dispute between the customer and the sales clerk. Steltz testified that Wetzel was known to be confrontational. She said she heard the argument and saw portions of it but never saw Robinson up on a counter. When security guards Jeff Robinson (no relation) and Collier Bridges showed up, Robinson told them he was kidding, tried to leave and apologized to the clerk and manager. The guards restrained him and forced him into the Dillard's back offices.
According to testimony, the officers began to beat Robinson and "slam his body against the walls, furniture and floor." Wetzel ran out of the office, looking for boxing tape.
They cuffed his hands behind his back, taped his legs and arms and slammed his face against the floor several times, the suit said.
Robinson began have difficulty breathing. The assistant manager was seen on top of him, riding him like a "bucking bronco," according to another witness. There was blood on the carpeting. Other officers arrived; an ambulance was called. Dillard's employee James Turk testified that "foam and stuff" was coming out of Robinson's mouth. At one point, five officers were holding down Robinson. Placed on life support at Ben Taub General Hospital, he was taken off two days later and pronounced dead. A coroner ruled he died of a heart attack. But an expert brought in by the Robinson side said Robinson had died of "positional asphyxiation," brought on by the hog-tying, his fear and the officers' weight.
On May 10, 2001, after deliberating four and a half days, a jury found Dillard's and the sheriff's deputies were negligent in Robinson's death. The Robinson family received a court award of $800,000 plus interest, which lawyers said should have increased it to about $1.5 million. The jury found that the deputies were acting not as sheriff's deputies at the time of the incident but as Dillard's employees.
As reported in the Houston Chronicle at the time, Dillard's local attorney, Brock Akers, said the award to the family was modest and that Dillard's was not disappointed in the result.
The 14th Court of Appeals also took Dillard's and the officers to task, in a majority opinion written by Justice Don Wittig. He was critical of the officers for failing to come to the immediate aid of Robinson once it was clear he was having difficulty breathing. In a rare action, the justices found that the Dillard's appeal was frivolous -- meaning the company should have known it had nothing to present that would change the court's mind -- and fined it and the other defendants a total of $10,000.
Until the U.S. Supreme Court decides to take on the issue of the dual identity of off-duty law enforcement officers working as security guards in stores, nothing definitive will be decided for the country as a whole, attorney Doyle said.
In a case at the Dillard's in Memphis, Tennessee, a security guard shot and killed Alton Anderson, a known gang member and suspected shoplifter, by firing into the car Anderson and his friends jumped into. Police said the shooting was justified because Anderson's group was trying to run over one of the guards. Anderson died on July 9, 1995, as a result of the shooting. All officers were exonerated.
El Paso was another Dillard's location where a security guard followed a suspected shoplifter out to the parking lot and shot him.
Raul Moreno, a known shoplifter, picked up a box of sunglasses at Dillard's in Sunland Park Mall on July 17, 2000, and was spotted by Tyler Grossman, a Dillard's security guard and off-duty El Paso police officer.
Following procedure, Grossman watched Moreno take the package out of the store, he said in his deposition. He followed Moreno, losing sight of him for a while and then finding him in the parking lot ready to drive away. The plainclothes Grossman pulled his nine-millimeter automatic pistol, reached through the passenger window and ended up shooting Moreno five times, killing him. Moreno, who was in his late twenties, left behind a wife and two children.
Doyle and Houston attorney Roger Rider had worked together on the Robinson case and were asked to enter this case as well; their investigation found some inconsistencies. Officer Grossman argued he was in fear for his life when he fired, that he'd become caught in the window and he thought Moreno was reaching for his gun in the right-hand corner of the car. Doyle said that to be consistent with the accounting of events that Grossman gave, the entry wounds should have been front to back; instead they were side and back to front. Doyle found a witness who said that after he heard the shots, he saw the officer trailing behind the moving car, not stuck inside it.
But all of that never got argued before a jury.
The suit, initiated by another attorney, was originally filed in federal court, alleging that Moreno's civil rights had been violated. They later refiled in state court and sued the police officer.
Dillard's denied every allegation in the lawsuit and argued that refiling the case in state court was, in essence, litigating the same claim twice, a form of double jeopardy. It also argued that Grossman was acting fully within his rights as a police officer and that when he shot Moreno he was acting as a police officer, not as a Dillard's employee. The judge in that case agreed and granted summary judgment for Dillard's in November 2003.
Moreno had been arrested more than once for shoplifting. One time, an unarmed Kmart sales associate followed him out to the parking lot and asked him to come back inside the store, which he did, Doyle said.
So why did Moreno have to be shot to stop him, Doyle asked.
The failure to instill a system of background checks and accountability was a large part of why Dillard's settled a wrongful death case filed against it by the family of Eli Montesinos Delgado, a Mexican on vacation with his family in San Antonio.
Montesinos made the mistake of complaining to a security guard at the Dillard's at the Rivercenter Mall about the inconvenience of having to leave by a door different from the one he and his family had used to enter the store.
It was closing time on New Year's Day, 1997, and Dillard's was shutting down. Montesinos and his family wanted to exit into the mall, and complained to guard James A. Smith when he directed them to another exit. Smith, a San Antonio police officer working off-duty, took offense and shoved Montesinos through the exit doorway. Montesinos pushed back. The officer pulled out his club, began striking Montesinos and put him in a chokehold. Smith shoved Montesinos down onto the sidewalk, handcuffed him and left him lying on his stomach while his wife and children watched. The businessman from Monterrey stopped breathing. He died at a hospital five days later without ever regaining consciousness.
Attorney Stephen Lazor sued Dillard's and Smith on behalf of Montesinos's family. In April 1998 the case was settled for an undisclosed amount for the estate and for Montesinos's widow. The settlement on behalf of his four children was for $1 million.
Two key factors in his favor were that Montesinos hadn't been doing anything wrong and that the officer had a record of abusing people of color in the store, Lazor said. "Dillard's was going to have a harder time getting off," he said.
According to the lawsuit, Dillard's should have known that Smith was unfit to work as a security guard. The suit said the company was negligent in failing to train him properly or to supervise him. It also said that Smith made it a habit to insult African-American and Hispanic shoppers "in a manner calculated to cause physical confrontations and actual fights" and to give Smith an excuse to arrest them.
Security expert McGoey, in a deposition in the case, pointed to a report filed by Smith on one occasion in which he wrote: "While working security at Dillard's in full uniform I observed the [young man] was wearing his hat backwards. I instructed the [young man] to wear his hat in the proper manner. [The young man] then started to create a disturbance," Smith wrote, adding that he then escorted the 20-year-old out of the store and told him he was no longer welcome.
"There is no basis in law and there's no basis in the retail industry that allows a security officer to approach a customer and tell him how to wear his hat, period," McGoey said. And if Dillard's officials reviewed this report they should have pulled Smith in and told him to stop, McGoey said.
The young man with the hat tried to leave, and Smith told him he had to stay. He pushed Smith in the chest and ended up handcuffed and arrested for misdemeanor assault. "This is a classic example of a police officer escalating the situation. The person had done nothing wrong," McGoey said.
After citing several other examples where Smith made what McGoey called bad stops and arrests -- arresting people for using foul language, stopping a black couple because they had a Houston Oilers jacket with them, stopping "a suspicious black male who was suspicious because he spent $400" -- McGoey said: "This is probably the worst case of negligent retention I've ever seen where a person is allowed to do this time after time after time and no one says anything."
McGoey said he has arrested about 1,500 people in his career using his citizen arrest powers and usually without a weapon. He said in 98 out of 100 cases, if he asks people to turn around and be handcuffed, they do so without fighting.
A store hiring guards should find out if they've ever been turned down for a security job or law enforcement position, McGoey said. They should know something about their on-job performance -- if they've had a tendency to apply excessive force or if they've made false arrests, or beaten someone, he said. A referral from another officer just isn't enough, McGoey said.
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Dillard's has a handout on its policies and procedures. Store security guidelines are checked every six months, it says, by an independent corporate audit done in partnership with the Arkansas Chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice. But it still has guards who declare themselves officers at the first opportunity, who handcuff and march minority shoppers through the stores, who draw their guns to chase after someone who has taken a beard trimmer, a shirt or a box of sunglasses.
Dillard's points to its system as a way to inspire confidence among its customers that they will be safe in its stores with plainclothes police officers in ever mindful watch over its shoppers.
One person's sanctuary; another person's gauntlet to run.
Additional reporting provided by Bob Burtman