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I made this for a little while ago and it was a hit. I was a little worried because the day before I cooked a kabocha that was so dry I couldn't eat it. While the creaminess varies a lot, I've never had such dry kabocha. Luckily the one I used for the dip was nice and creamy.
Kabocha Coconut Curry Dip
1/4 kabocha squash, cooked
1/2 can white beans, drained
18g coconut milk powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
Put everything in the food processor and puree until you get a desired texture. You may need to add a bit of water if it is too thick for your liking.


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Top flight deals to Oklahoma City (OKC)*
Kiev(IEV)toOklahoma City(OKC)
Fly to Oklahoma City with KLM
Together with our global network, we as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offer flights to Oklahoma City, serving Will Rogers World Airport (OKC). With our intercontinental flights, you can enjoy the finest in-flight entertainment. Why not watch the classic musical Oklahoma! and get into the spirit of your trip?
Top Oklahoma City attractions
- Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum: a garden, pool and sculpture commemorating the 1995 bombing.
- National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum: an artefact and art museum documenting the history of Western America.
- Myriad Botanical Gardens: 17 acres of gardens, a tropical conservatory and a dog park.
- Frontier City: a western-themed amusement park with water rides and shows.
- Oklahoma City Zoo: an array of animals with walking trails and a trail tour!
What's the best way to get around Oklahoma City?
You can catch the bus easily around downtown Oklahoma City, and there are lines that run to the main attractions in the northern part during the week days. During the weekends, we'd recommend that you hire a car to explore Oklahoma City and the surrounding areas more thoroughly. The city is very easy to drive around.
What's the weather in Oklahoma City?
Oklahoma City offers fairly pleasant weather all year round. The climate changes with the seasons but summers tend to be sunny and warm - the perfect time to visit! It tends to be cold in winter, but the skies remain bright rather than dull and grey. Autumn is a fantastic time of year to visit, with fresh, crisp days. If you don't like the rain, avoid travelling in spring (the wettest season) or just pack your umbrella and make the most of it!
Weather in Oklahoma City
Powered by: OpenWeatherMap.org
34 °CSunday09/08/2020
35 °CMonday10/08/2020
35 °CTuesday11/08/2020
35 °CWednesday12/08/2020
36 °CThursday13/08/2020
37 °CFriday14/08/2020
37 °CSaturday15/08/2020
*All amounts are in USD. Taxes and surcharges are included. No booking fee is applicable, but a payment surcharge may apply. Prices shown may vary depending on fare availability. You will see the final amount when selecting your payment method.

subset: commoncrawl


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"BOWIE is inspired, edge-worn, loud, quiet, observant, humble, gorgeous, and humane. If the record business loved music as much as Marc Spitz does, there would still be a record business." —Dan Kennedy, author of Rock On: An Office Power Ballad
"A breezy, well-lit portrait of the ever-enigmatic rocker . . . Spitz's encyclopedic knowledge and obvious appreciation for Bowie's work separate this book from countless cookie-cutter rock stories."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Spitz concentrates on the complex evolution of Bowie's music to deliver an evenhanded, critically thorough, while still reverential, life of the Thin White Duke." —Publishers Weekly


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Image Copyright : Toyota
Toyota Camry 2012
Toyota introduced today the all-new, seventh-generation Camry, America's best-selling car for nine years running and 13 of the past 14 years. The 2012 Camry debuts a bold, sophisticated new design with a more spacious interior, improved driving dynamics and an even quieter ride than before. With class leading safety, fuel economy and multi-media technology added in, the end result is the best Camry ever made. Introduced in 1983, the Toyota Camry would later establish the template for the modern midsize sedan, setting benchmarks for Quality, Dependability and Reliability, along with a comfortable, quiet ride.Since that time, Toyota has sold more than 15 million Camry models worldwide.


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MONTREAL — In the foreword to the new book, Fighting Back: The Chris Nilan Story, Hockey Hall of Famer Serge Savard writes: "Chris Nilan lives by a motto: 'Never back down. Never stay down.' That motto describes the man through and through."
Over 335 pages, Nilan describes the fights he has faced during his life — on and off the ice — starting as a young boy in Boston, where an Irish baby "comes into this world with his chin jutted out and fists balled and looking for a fight."
As he did during his playing career, Nilan drops the gloves and doesn't hold back any punches in the book.
"It's a little bit about redemption … about striving to be better," Nilan said this week when he was a guest on the HI/O Show on The Gazette's hockeyinsideout.com website.
The fact Nilan even made it to the National Hockey League is remarkable when you consider he was the 231st of 234 players selected at the 1978 NHL draft. The only reason the Canadiens even picked him was because Paul King, Nilan's midget hockey coach who was a district court judge in Massachusetts, was a big Habs fan and was good friends with Dickie Moore and Doug Harvey. After being pushed by "Judge King", the two Canadiens Hall of Famers put in a good word with the team about the Boston kid who posted 8-9-17 totals in 20 games with ZERO penalty minutes during the 1977-78 season with Northeastern University.
Nilan's father, who was a Green Beret in the U.S. Army Reserve, had joked that the only way his son would get drafted was "if there was a war and I got called up by the military."
Nilan writes that hockey was "the love of my life" from a young age, describing how he learned to skate on an oversized puddle near his house before graduating to a swamp next to West Roxbury High School. He didn't play in his first organized league until he was in Grade 5, but grew up idolizing the Boston Bruins during the days when there were bumper stickers that read "JESUS SAVES. ESPOSITO SCORES ON THE REBOUND" and players like Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr and Derek Sanderson "were people of myth, larger than life."
During his first training camp with the Canadiens, Nilan writes: "I was still in awe, but I skated with a determination, and with a residual dislike of the Montreal Canadiens."
Once on the ice, Nilan slammed future Hall of Famer Guy Lapointe into the boards and then exchanged slashes and obscenities with Steve Shutt.
"I think he figured I was a nobody (which was right), whom he would never see again after training camp (which he was wrong)," Nilan writes about future teammate Shutt.
Nilan eventually bled bleu-blanc-rouge both on and off the ice, writing: "Every time I pulled on that Montreal Canadiens sweater, I had to pinch myself."
Nilan actually earned the nickname "Knuckles" while at Northeastern for his fights off the ice while in university.
"Whenever I was out at night with my hockey teammates and someone mouthed off to us, I recognized it as an invitation to fight," he writes.
But he was using his fists long before then.
"I was fighting in the streets of Boston when I was in grade school," he writes. "I fought in self-defence, and when I was insulted — or merely felt I was insulted. What I didn't do, though, is look for someone to pick on. In fact, I stood up for the kid who was picked on. I was never a bully.
"But I could punch. I could always punch. I can still punch."
Nilan still holds the Canadiens record for most penalty minutes in a career (2,248) and a season (358). He had 222 fights during his 13 years in the NHL, including a career-high 43 during the Canadiens' 1985-86 Stanley Cup championship season, when he had 141 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games. During the regular season Nilan had posted 19-15-34 totals and 274 penalty minutes in 72 games.
"Fighting was the easy part for me — the hard part was becoming a well-rounded player," Nilan writes.
He describes how former coach Claude Ruel worked with him every day after practice, determined Nilan would become more than just an enforcer, giving him the nickname "Yankee boy." Bob Gainey was always there to answer Nilan's questions and put him through extra skating drills, while Guy Lafleur taught him how to "see" the game.
One of the people Nilan celebrated the Canadiens' 1986 Stanley Cup win with was his father-in-law figure, Boston mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, who this week received two life sentences in prison plus five years after being convicted in a racketeering and murder conspiracy. In the book, Nilan describes his first meeting with Bulger after he started dating Karen Stanley, the daughter of Bulger's longtime girlfriend, Teresa Stanley. Bulger sat Nilan down and told him how he expected Karen to be treated, while a handgun — "the type that James Bond sometimes carried" — sat on his lap.
When Nilan married Karen in 1981, the wedding party included Bulger and some of his "friends", along with Nilan's father and his Green Beret comrades and some of Nilan's Canadiens teammates, including Gainey, Larry Robinson, Yvon Lambert, Rod Langway and Doug Risebrough.
"That group could have invaded and conquered a small country," Nilan writes.
When his hockey career came to an end following the 1991-92 season, Nilan felt an emptiness he didn't know how to fill, which contributed "to my making choices that were dangerous and life threatening." He had more than 30 surgeries during his playing career, including 11 on his right knee, two on each shoulder and four on his hands.
"Swimming in alcohol and burying myself in pills is how I handled the physical pain that resulted from hockey," he writes. "It just so happened that it also started to work pretty well at numbing the emotional pain I was feeling."
Eventually, the booze and drugs (along with a longtime affair) cost Nilan his marriage to Karen after more than 25 years and three children, and very nearly killed him.
"One morning, I woke up sitting on the toilet with a needle in my arm attached to a syringe of heroin," he writes.
"Heroin is the final step before you die."
Nilan writes that he has been clean and sober for three years now, living on the West Island with his girlfriend, Jaime Holtz, who he met while in rehab. He is working for TSN Radio 690, with a weekday show from noon until 3 p.m.
"I'm still fighting," Nilan writes in the book. "I fight every day to stay clean and live smart and be responsible."


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If the government of Vladimir Putin was counting on a spell behind bars to change Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, it could hardly have anticipated the manner of their transformation. Most Russian political prisoners are never heard from again, but the jailing of the two members of the punk-protest group Pussy Riot had the opposite effect: it made them internationally famous — Paul McCartney and Madonna sent messages of solidarity, German Chancellor Angela Merkel name-checked them in a conversation with the Russian President — and vastly amplified their anti-Putin message. That fame ensured that Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were released by Putin as part of a prisoner amnesty in late December, a naked attempt to clean up the image of his regime ahead of February's Winter Olympics in Sochi.
What to do with that fame now? The two women say their first priority is to draw attention to Russia's Kafkaesque prison system and especially to the fate of their fellow zechki, Russian slang for female convicts. One way to do that is to turn their dark green prison jackets into a fashion statement of protest, just as their brightly colored balaclavas had been before their trial.
But they're also trying to catch up with the life they lost during 20 months in jail. TIME photographer Yuri Kozyrev hung out with Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina during their first days of freedom, capturing their excitement over things most Muscovites take for granted, like the remodeled Gorky Park and new-generation smartphones. They seemed anxious in the city's posh new department stores. "You just can't go that long inside a prison cell without feeling uneasy with life on the outside," Kozyrev says.
Fame comes with press conferences, requests for interviews from all over the world and, in Tolokonnikova's case, a fashion shoot on the roof of an art gallery. But not all the attention was flattering. As they walked in a central Moscow department store, some passersby stopped to berate the women for the offense that got them in jail: a February 2012 performance in a Moscow cathedral in which they "prayed" to the mother of God to "chase Putin away." Polls show many Russians agree with Putin's view that the women got the punishment they deserved.
Nor has the government got over the slight: days after Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were freed, Putin's culture czar ordered a Moscow theater to cancel the premiere of a documentary on Pussy Riot. In a letter, government officials argued that the role of art is "not to inflame the public with scandalous stories that have no cultural merit." The women of Pussy Riot may have changed during their time in prison, but Russia has stayed pretty much as they left it.
Yuri Kozyrev is a contract photographer for TIME and was named the 2011 Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year International competition.
Simon Shuster is TIME's Moscow correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @shustry.


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Today is the final day of The Sun's look at where the Ravens stand at each position, the likelihood that they will address that spot early in the draft and some of the prospects that they may consider. The first round of the draft is tomorrow and the Ravens have the 32ndpick.
Today we'll examine defensive backs:
Current defensive backs under contract: Cornerbacks – Lardarius Webb, Corey Graham, Jimmy Smith, Chykie Brown, Asa Jackson, Chris Johnson; Safeties – Michael Huff, James Ihedigbo, Christian Thompson, Omar Brown, Emanuel Cook, Anthony Levine.
Chances that the Ravens draft a defensive back in first three rounds: High. The Ravens are pretty comfortable with their cornerback depth, but there is a very good chance that they take a safety early in the draft. Despite signing former first-round pick Michael Huff and bringing back veteran James Ihedigbo, the Ravens remain thin on experienced safeties as their two starters last season – Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard – are no longer in the organization. The good news for them is that there are several talented safeties in the draft and a couple of them should still be available when the Ravens are on the clock at pick No.32.
Possibly on Ravens' radar: Cornerbacks – Dwayne Gratz (Connecticut), Tyrann Mathieu (LSU), Jamar Taylor (Boise State); Safeties – Jonathan Cyprien (Florida International), Matt Elam (Florida), D.J. Swearinger (South Carolina), Kenny Vaccaro (Texas), Earl Wolff (N.C. State).
Outlook: The consensus in the days leading up to the draft is that the Ravens are most likely to draft either a safety or an inside linebacker with their first pick tomorrow. While it's unclear
if one of the draft's top inside linebackers falls to them at No. 32, they should get an opportunity to select one of the top safeties. Vaccaro is considered the best safety in the draft and he's expected to be off the board by the middle of the first round. But the rest of them, including Cyprien, whose stock has soared since the draft process began, Elam, Swearinger and
LSU's Eric Reid all could still be on the board. The Ravens haven't drafted a safety in the first round since selecting Ed Reed out of the University of Miami with the 24th overall pick in 2002. But this could be the year that changes. And if they don't strike for one in the first round, don't expect them to wait too long before adding one. As for cornerbacks, General manager Ozzie Newsome and head coach John Harbaugh believe that you can never have enough of them. Look for the Ravens to take at least one corner in the middle or late rounds.


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Kurt Nimmo
June 15, 2012
Obama's chief political strategist, David Axerlrod, announced earlier this week that the administration will push for a constitutional amendment to rollback free speech if his boss is re-elected in November.
"When we win, we will use whatever tools out there, including a constitutional amendment, to turn this back," Axlerod said on Wednesday. "I understand the free speech argument, but when the Koch brothers can spend $400 million, more than the McCain campaign and the Republican Party spent last time, that's very concerning."
"This has never been done before — in 235 years — to make it possible for the government to control political speech in this country — a truly radical, astonishing thing to say out loud even if you believed it," remarked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday.
"America was built on free speech — the most important part of the Bill of Rights — and so we need to defend speech we don't like. And we certainly want to fight against those who are trying to shut us up," he said.
McConnell accused the Obama administration of using the the Federal Election Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service to muzzle its critics. He added that the tactic is reminiscent of Nixon's enemies list in the 1970s. White House Counsel John Dean said Nixon wanted to "use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies."
In April, Rory Cooper wrote about Obama's "Truth Team" campaign website. He noted "subtle differences between Obama's and Nixon's enemy lists. President Nixon kept his secret, and allegedly used the force of the government to punish adversaries. President Obama's list is open and designed to elicit public scorn, shame and rebuke. There is no current evidence the President has manipulated the federal machinery punitively. But the message remains clear, if you support a philosophical adversary, you will face some retribution."
Cooper penned his commentary following remarks made by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi and House Democrats have proposed a three tiered plan to ram through Congress what is known as the DISCLOSE Act. It would restrict the political speech of "covered organizations," including most television and radio networks, newspapers, publishing houses, and think tanks.
Axlerod's remarks about the First Amendment reveal that the so-called Team Obama approach to silencing the political opposition is not particularly effective. It also reveals a brazen contempt for the Bill of Rights.
In Citizens United v. FEC, the court said the First Amendment applies to all entities, including corporations:
The Court has recognized that First Amendment protection extends to corporations. … This protection has been extended by explicit holdings to the context of political speech. … Under the rationale of these precedents, political speech does not lose First Amendment protection "simply because its source is a corporation." The Court has thus rejected the argument that political speech of corporations or other associations should be treated differently under the First Amendment simply because such associations are not "natural persons."
Obama and Axlerod may disagree with the concept of "corporate personhood" (except, of course, when it comes to the banks and corporations that support Obama), but the issue has far larger implications than simply preventing the dreaded Koch brothers from spending a small portion of their billions for the purpose of political speech.
If Obama manages to amend the Constitution – a remote possibility at best (but then considering the way the Supreme Court is currently construed, maybe not) – restrictions on free speech will undoubtedly be used against opponents outside the political establishment.
Axlerod's comments underscore a deep-seated hostility toward the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as McConnell noted (not that Republicans are exactly champions of liberty).
Obama and the Democrats apparently hate that the First Amendment prohibits the government from infringing upon the freedom of speech, the freedom of association and the freedom to petition the government for a redress of grievances. The Declaration of Independence recognizes all three freedoms as inherent in our humanity. Axlerod's comments reveal Obama – who we are told is a constitutional scholar – does not agree.
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No Big Bash for Afridi & Co as India tour gains importance
Pakistan refused Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Umar Akmal permission to play in Australia's Big Bash Twenty20 competition, ordering them to prepare for next month's tour of India instead
The trio had all signed up to play in the Big Bash from next month, but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said they must take part in a domestic Twenty20 event being used to Test players ahead of the matches against arch-rivals India.
Afridi was due to play with Sydney Thunder while Ajmal had signed for Adelaide Strikers and Umar for Sydney Sixers but the PCB insisted they gear up at home for the hotly anticipated India tour.
The two sides will meet for two Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals between December 25 and January 6 - their first full series since 2007.
"Since the Big Bash was clashing with our Twenty20 tournament we have asked the players to feature in the national event so that selectors can check their form and fitness for the selection of the squad for India," PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf told AFP. Afridi had already offered to feature in the domestic Twenty20 tournament, saying he would forgo his Australian contract to prepare for the India series.
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Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and stare as Charlie Sheen drinks a gallon of gasoline without ANY physical repercussions. The man is a cyborg. LET'S GO!
MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID – 9:00PM Saturday (SyFy – an NBC/Universal Network) This is the big one, people. SyFy's latest Saturday night schlockfest features Tiffany and Debbie Gibson staging an extended catfight, all while huge pythons battle mutant alligators in the Florida swamplands. Like anyone could possibly resist that. This should be its own Playstation 3 game. I think SyFy is only going to get cheaper and trashier from this point on. This is Ground Zero of their B-movement. It's like when that Danish guy invented Dogma 95, only the precise opposite. Will you see the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Ice-T's wife in future movies on this network? Yes, you will. ANTICIPATION: SKY HIGH!
MANCAVES – 8:30PM Tonight (DIY!) A man has a fully operational football scoreboard installed in his basement. Man 1, Good Taste 0. I really wish they just called man caves "TV rooms" the way they used to. "Man cave" sounds like a bad diagnosis from your proctologist. ANTICIPATION: LAZY!
WORKING CLASS – 8:00PM Tonight (CMT) CMT makes their first foray into scripted comedy with this traditional sitcom about a blue collar mom moving her family into an upper class Midwestern neighborhood. Silly TV. There ARE no upper class Midwestern neighborhoods anymore. Anyway, expect plenty of jokes about how them there rich folk don't live like us normal folk do. Also in the fold is Ed Asner, so expect a healthy dose of charming crabbiness. Ed's getting up there now. It looks like he's carved out of oak. ANTICIPATION: COUNTRY!
THE LOST VALENTINE – 9:00PM Sunday (CBS) Jennifer Love Hewitt plays a dogged TV reporter (is there any other kind in TV movies?) whose life is changed forever when she meets a WWII widow played by Betty White. And then, GATORS attack! Okay, they don't attack. But honestly, this weepie could use a little more Gatoroid in it. ANTICIPATION: BETTY!
KENNEDYS HOME MOVIES – 9:00PM Sunday (History Channel) "Look they-ah, Bawbby. Seems Ted went and threw up in the hawt tub again. It uh, er uh, is your-ah turn to clean it up." ANTICIPATION: DRINKING!
Weekend Watch List: Snakes! Gators! Tiffany! MAYHEM!
Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home and stare as Charlie Sheen drinks a gallon of gasoline without ANY physical repercussions. The man is a cyborg. LET'S GO!


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Hot 97 Program Director "Ebro" Calls Lil Reese A B*tch! "You Look Soft Kid. That's Not Tough... You Flashed Your Pistol And Knuckled Up With A Girl"
"The Realness: The Most Terrible Person In Hip Hop"
Posted by @Worldstarvids
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Farmingdale State - 54, College of Staten Island - 37
Farmingdale, N.Y. - Junior guard Jeanette Zubizarreta (Bay Shore, N.Y.) hit five 3-pointers tonight to lead the Farmingdale State women's basketball team to a 54-37 non-conference victory over the College of Staten Island (9-13) on Senior Night / Play4Kay Night. The Rams improved to 14-8 with the win.
Staten Island took the lead early in the first and led until the 10-minute mark when Zubizarreta hit two straight 3-pointers to give Farmingdale a 16-14 lead. The Rams held a 23-18 lead at the break and would shoot 48-percent in the second half to cruise to the victory. Zubizarreta finished with a game-high 15 points for the night.
The game marked Senior Night for forward Dominique Cunningham (Amityville, N.Y.), guard Jasmine Davis (Freeport, N.Y.), guard Kayla Koch (Kings Park, N.Y.), guard Janel Monah (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and forward Natasha Smalls (Harlem, N.Y.). Smalls led the senior group with 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Junior forward Siohban Purvis (Amityville, N.Y.) scored 10 points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes played.
For Staten Island, junior guard Olivia Tierno (Staten Island, N.Y.) had 12 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Katelyn Hepworth (Staten Island, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high eight rebounds and added five points.
The Rams will now face Mount Saint Mary College on Saturday, February 18th in Newburgh, N.Y. for the final game of the regular-season. The game will determine the #1 and #2 seed for next week's Skyline Conference Playoffs.


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New Minor in Sustainability Delivers 'Green' Education
DuBOIS – A new minor available to all Penn State DuBois bachelor's degree students will provide them with the tools to be a champion for the environment, while also making them more appealing to future employers. The Minor in Sustainability Leadership allows students in any four-year major to incorporate sustainability as a significant theme in their undergraduate degree program. Through a combination of coursework and immersive experiences in sustainability, students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to become sustainability leaders in their respective fields.
"The sustainable use of resources is perhaps the greatest challenge facing us at the local, national and international scales," said Penn State DuBois Associate Professor of Geography Debra Straussfogel, who worked to develop the minor for the campus. "Learning how to manage and use resources with a look to long term sustainability will take broad based knowledge, as well as leadership and problem-solving skills. Any sustainable solution to a resource problem must follow the three part goal of being economically viable and socially acceptable, as well as being environmentally sound."
The ability to achieve that three part goal, Straussfogel explained, makes education in sustainability appealing, if not necessary, in today's world and in the workforce of tomorrow. Not only will individuals with training in suitability have the know-how to work toward the conservation of natural resources, but they'll also be positioned to help their employers operate at maximum efficiency. According to EarthShare, a non-profit federation that connects companies with environmental causes, applying green and sustainable business practices can help organizations save thousands, to tens of thousands of dollars each year. Graduates who earn the Minor in Sustainability Leadership will have the tools to put those practices in place.
"The Minor in Sustainability Leadership gives students with an interest in any baccalaureate degree the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills relevant to their field of study and applicable to sustainability related problems in their target job areas," Straussfogel said. "Whether a student is interested in Business, Earth Science, Engineering, Human Development, Information Science and Technology, Liberal Arts and Sciences, or any Penn State four-year degree, this minor will provide an additional opportunity to become uniquely qualified to become leaders in their fields."
The concept of formal education in sustainable resources that can be applied to any field is still very new. Advocates of this notion, however, say that the need for it is very old, and that today's more positive attitudes about going green are a long time coming.
"People have started to come around and realize that there are some fundamental laws of the universe that won't go away," said Jim Hamilton, a retired Penn State assistant professor who taught courses in communications, as well as in forestry and other environmental fields. He has worked on sustainability issues for decades, and in retirement, he continues to contribute to Penn State's efforts to practice sustainability and educate others on how to do the same. Hamilton said society is more aware of the concepts these days, but education in bringing those concepts to life is a must for people in all fields, and relevant to nearly any career. He said, "There is not a single course I couldn't have put sustainability into. Issues of sustainability are among the most important issues of this century."
For more information on the Minor in Sustainability Leadership at Penn State DuBois, visit http://dubois.psu.edu/sustainability
Friday, May 10, 2013
New Minor in Sustainability Delivers 'Green' Education
New Minor in Sustainability Delivers 'Green' Education
Posted by Solomon's words for the wise at 5/10/2013 10:58:00 AM


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SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Marshwood High School football coach Alex Rotsko has enjoyed watching his defense on the field this season.
Today, he'd like to see as little of it as possible.
After a week of anticipation, it's finally go time this afternoon when top-seeded Marshwood (9-1) hosts third-seeded York (8-2) in the Western Maine Class B championship game (12:30 p.m.), with a berth in next weekend's state title game on the line.
They do it from different formations, but both ground-oriented teams will share the same strategy today — possess the ball, limit mistakes and try to finish drives on offense, and get off the field as quickly as possible on defense.
"We'd love to get some three-and-outs," said Rotsko. "Those teams that run the ball like they do, it's those seven-, eight- and nine-play drives that kill you, even if they don't score."
The Wildcats have clicked offensively by riding big back Sean Kelly. Kelly, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior, ran for nearly 300 yards in his team's first two playoff games, using his powerful legs and big upper body to run into and over would-be tacklers.
Even with the Westbrook defense keying on him in last week's 21-14 semifinal win — he was held to 45 yards on 15 carries in the first half — he eventually broke off some nice gains, finishing with 101 on 25 carries. Quarterback Ross Hogan added 141 yards on 6-of-9 passing.
Marshwood, meanwhile, has employed more misdirection in its Wing-T offense. Sophomore tailback Brett Gerry (987 yards), fullback Dan Lizotte, tailback Nick Janes and quarterback Cameron Roll have shared the carries.
"We can't watch the game defensively," said York coach Randy Small. "We've got to follow our keys. If we're watching, we're going to be in trouble."
The two teams opened their seasons here way back on Aug. 31, with the Hawks, who'd gone 2-6 in each of the three previous years, giving the first indication that they were a team to be reckoned with, ruling the second half in a 28-12 win.
"We probably played our worst game of the season that night," said Kelly.
The field at Marshwood was empty Friday, save for a lone groundskeeper lining the still damp but certainly playable grass. That won't be the case today, when a few thousand people will pack the bleachers and ring the fence.
None of the players, on either side, have played in a regional final. Marshwood last went in 2007, when it lost the Western Maine Class A final at Bonny Eagle; York hasn't been since 2005.
"A lot of us are trying to zone it out," said Marshwood free safety Noah Kreider. "We're trying to think about the game more. It's hard to think about two different things. If you think about the crowd more than the game you'll get caught looking and you can fall behind. You can't do that."
The winner earns a VIP ticket to next Saturday's slate of state title games at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland. The opponent will be the Eastern Maine champion, either top-seeded Mt. Blue (10-0) or No. 6 Waterville (6-4), who played in Farmington on Friday night.
But before that, today is a day for two sets of local football fans to savor, one that won't be forgotten for years.
"The great thing about this is it's gonna allow two football communities to be around each other," said Small. "It's a win-win situation for both teams. It's great for southern York (County) football."
Marshwood has earned the Sportsmanship Award for Western Maine football, which includes 29 programs in Class A, Class B and Class C, athletic director Rich Buzzell said Friday.
A banner will be presented during a short ceremony before Saturday's coin toss. It's the first time Marshwood football has won the award since 1991.
Ground game will be key in York-Marshwood final
SOUTH BERWICK, Maine — Marshwood High School football coach Alex Rotsko has enjoyed watching his defense on the field this season.


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Mototrance presents Curly foot mats for scooters. These floor mats are made of environmental friendly PVC which is soft and comfortable; the material is softer than conventional mats which renders it a capability to bend without breaking or tearing while retaining its shape The best part about nomad mats is that they soak up and trap water, mud and grime easily and cause minimal spillage. You also need to clean them fewer times at your convenience, compared to other mats. The curls soak up the water, mud and dust and don't let them touch your feet. They are well known for their superb performance and durability. Daily shoe dirt will get trapped into the inner layers of the mat. Nothing is visible on top, so the mats have a clean appearance for a long time. Water/Liquid trapping capacity is good. Even fluids will get trapped in the inner layers of the mat. Easy to clean and maintain. These mats have an anti-skid backing to prevent shifting with an elastic buckle belt which restores the mats at its place. These Mats include anti-skid ridges on the underside of the mat which keeps mats in place without harming the original carpet.
Color: Red Black Material: PVC
Warranty: 1 Month Manufacturing Defect Warranty
In The Box: 1 Pc of Mototrance Anti-Skid Curly Scooter / Scooty Foot Mats
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Russia opened the 1990s in monetary chaos, manifested by soaring inflation, and a currency, the ruble, that had long been shielded from the free-market forces of foreign exchange markets. In foreign exchange markets, currencies are bought and sold with other currencies, as when Japanese yen are purchased with United States dollars.
Under economic reforms, prices, unfettered from state controls, took off, creating a ruble shortage that left some workers unpaid for months. Wages and pensions rose, and the Russian government cranked up the printing presses on a round-the-clock basis. For the month of July 1992 alone, the government printed up more rubles than the Soviet Union government had printed up in its last 30 years. To expedite the process, the government increased the largest denomination of the printed ruble from the 200-ruble note to the 1,000-ruble note. Coins also became available in higher denominations. Inflation reached its peak in 1992 when monthly inflation rates ran 15 percent, and prices increased 200 percent over the year.
In 1993 the government begin to step on the monetary brakes, but in ways that threw the country into deeper confusion. In July the government invalidated all rubles issued before 1993, and gave people only a few days to convert the old rubles into new rubles. It also put a limit on the number of old rubles that foreigners could convert into new rubles. Citizens could convert up to 35,000 old rubles into new rubles, and if they held additional rubles, these had to be put into savings accounts for six months. By the end of 1997 annual inflation had fallen to the 12 percent range, and the government announced a plan to lop off three zeros from the ruble. Effective 1 January 1998, in what was essentially an accounting reform, 1,000 rubles became 1 ruble, and all prices, balance sheets, debts, etc., were adjusted accordingly.
One legacy of the Soviet regime was tight control over the conversion of rubles into foreign currencies. Tourists were able to convert foreign currencies into rubles at a rate close to a black market rate, but set by the Russian Central Bank. Foreign-owned enterprises earning profits in rubles faced a special difficulty. If a foreign-owned company wanted to send profits home to the parent company, those profits had first to be converted from rubles to the home-country currency at a disadvantageous exchange rate set by the Russian government. To attract foreign investment, and integrate the Russian economy into the world economy, Russia had to make the ruble convertible into foreign currencies at free-market rates.
A loan from the International Monetary Fund helped the Russian government marshal the foreign exchange reserves needed to establish a convertible ruble. On 1 July 1992 the Russian government established a single exchange rate between the dollar and the ruble at an initial rate of 126.5 rubles per dollar. The responsibility for adjusting the rate fell to the Russian Central Bank, which planned to set a rate based upon twice-weekly currency auctions. After July 1993 the Russian Central Bank pegged the ruble to the dollar in a crawling peg system that avoided wild fluctuations but allowed the ruble to depreciate over time relative to the dollar. In 1996 Russia further broadened the ruble market by allowing foreigners to buy and sell Russian government bonds in secondary markets. Russian government bonds, paying over 100 percent interest at times, constitute a major demand for rubles. Rubles must be purchased first before bonds can be purchased. The astronomical interest rates on Russian bonds were sometimes necessary to maintain a demand for Russian rubles. Despite high Russian interest rates, the ruble steadily declined relative to the dollar, falling to a rate of 6,200 rubles per dollar at the end of 1997. After three zeros were lopped off, the rate became 6.2 rubles per dollar.
In 1998 the Russian government again turned to the printing press to solve Russia's problems, putting pressure on the ruble in foreign exchange markets. The value of the ruble fell sharply in august, and to help cope with the crisis the government imposed a moratorium on payments on foreign debt, significantly adding to the severity of a global financial crisis. By the end of the year the ruble was trading at around 20 rubles per dollar.
See also:
Hanke, Steve H. 1998. Is the Ruble Next. Forbes (9 March): 64–65.
Wall Street Journal. 1991. "Soviet Printing of Rubles Soared in 11-Month Period." 24 December, eastern edition, at A8.
1992. "Russia, Facing Inflation, Plans Bigger Banknotes." 31 January, eastern edition, at A10.
1992. "Russia Plans to Make Ruble Fully Convertible by August 1." 6 May, eastern edition, at A3
1993. "Chaos in Russia Mounts." 26 July, eastern edition, at A8.
1997. "Russia's Overhaul of Ruble Prompts Unease in Nation." 31 December, eastern edition, at A7.


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Guest Post: Raid Leading with Style
This latest guest post comes from the
evil tyrant awesome guild leader and raid leader Alas. She is helping me out with content for the blog because I'm le tired. Writing epic verse is toooooo haaaard.
Hey everyone. It's […] Continue Reading →
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It was about time I refresh the good old theme of my blog! Old, not even responsive. I earned experience with Twitter Bootstrap and responsive web design since then, so I couldn't leave my blog like this. This is what it used to look like until today:
Ah, it feels better now, right!
I haven't written on this blog for months, and I miss it. But you know, too busy with the startup life. Talking about it, here are the news about what I'm up to. I write because I need to release it from my heart.
I am not working on Forexagone.com anymore. The ambience was becoming really bad, with conflicts of interest coming from my 2 co-founders, and a workload that was too much unbalanced whereas the profits were still divided into 3 equal shares. The situation was totally locked. I couldn't develop Forexagone to its full potential without being the sucker in the team, that was so frustrating. I can't work in these conditions, so better to just let go. I don't regret this decision. Actually I feel relieved.


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Library Calendar
Tuesday Afternoon Book Discussion Group @ MS Library
- Date: 08/13/2019 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
- Location: Morningside Branch Library
2410 SE Morningside Blvd
Port St Lucie, Florida 34952
Return to full list >>
Phone: 772-337-5632
E-Mail: email@example.com
Join us each month for a great discussion!
This month's title is:
Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
This discussion program is open to the public and offered at no charge.
A limited number of Library copies of each selection are available for checkout on a first-come, first-serve basis. All selections are in print and available in paperback. Many are also available as e-book purchases or as Library e-books.Contact: Sandy Henry-Gordon
Phone: 772-337-5632
E-Mail: email@example.com


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Black makes pitch for Padres' All-Stars
SAN DIEGO -- Manager Bud Black said he recently had a conversation about the Padres' viable All-Star Game candidates with Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who will preside over the National League team.
Black wouldn't get into the details of their conversation, but you can be sure he stumped for his guys -- even if some of them didn't need any additional support.
"We have some viable candidates for sure," Black said Saturday before the Padres faced the Giants in the second game of a three-game series at Petco Park.
On Sunday, the Padres -- and the rest of baseball -- will discover who is headed to the All-Star Game as the rosters are announced.
San Diego closer Huston Street, who converted his first 23 save opportunities and had a 0.87 ERA this season before blowing a save in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Giants, appears to have the best chance, but Black said there are others who merit consideration.
"Joaquin Benoit has [had a good season] and you can make a case for [outfielder Seth Smith] a little bit, too," Black said.
Benoit, in his first season with the team, has a 1.23 ERA in 36 games as the eighth-inning specialist and hasn't allowed a run since May 11, a stretch of 19 scoreless innings.
Smith, who agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $13 million Wednesday, is hitting .278 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs.


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Information Security and Risk Management Program for Arctic Sciences
NSF's Arctic Sciences (ARC) has established an Information Security and Risk Management Program to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information supporting and generated by scientific research. This initiative is designed to manage Information Technology (IT) risk to better secure information and systems and empower well-informed risk management decisions.
The IT security arm of the U.S. Navy known as the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) worked with the Division of Arctic Sciences through an effort entitled "SPAWAR Office of Polar Programs" (SOPP), which serves as the Arctic Information Security Team. SOPP provides information security strategic and programmatic support, privacy support, security assessment and authorization, continuous monitoring, and risk management of Federal IT assets and support services on behalf of Arctic Sciences programs. In 2012 the Arctic Information Security Team visited arctic sites and worked with arctic IT service providers and users to assess the current state of IT and IT security, and plan approaches for addressing identified risks.
The SOPP facilitates the Arctic Sciences Information Assurance Working Group (IAWG). The IAWG is comprised of individuals representing key partners, contractors, and IT service providers supported by ARC. This group serves to represent and inform the arctic research and support communities regarding information assurance efforts and ongoing risk management plans and guidelines.
The IAWG was formed to ensure that Information Security requirements are tailored to arctic operational program needs and that processes, policies, and procedures are applied consistently. The IAWG provides vital input to strategies for reducing the overall Arctic Program risk by contributing to:
- Information Security policies and procedures appropriate for ARC
- ARC IT strategy
- Management of risks to ARC operations
- ARC success when audited by the NSF Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
For more information on the Arctic Information Security Program please refer to the first edition of the Arctic Sciences Program Information Security 101 Newsletter, available on NSF's Arctic Research Support and Logistics website: http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/arctic/res_log_sup.jsp.


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Church, theater; theater, church — sometimes you can't tell the difference. That makes John Patrick Shanley's "Storefront Church" a smart choice with which to reopen the handsomely restored theater-in-a-church that has housed the Atlantic Theater Company for over 25 years. The play posits a showdown over faith vs. good works between a Bronx politician and the minister of a Pentecostal pocket church. Topic has merit, and the production brings out some outstanding talent. But unlike the tightly wrapped "Doubt," the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that began the scribe's "Church and State" trilogy, this final installment is wordy, unfocused and unresolved.
Personable Giancarlo Esposito ("Breaking Bad") strikes the perfect balance of honest idealism and crass ambition to play the Bronx politician who finds spiritual redemption in this Saroyan-esque fantasy.
As borough president, Donaldo Calderon (Esposito) is the go-to guy when Jessie Cortez (Tonya Pinkins, who can do no wrong) is about to go into foreclosure for failing to keep up the mortgage payments on the modest building she owns. Warm-hearted Jessie and her old-school-Jewish-liberal husband Ethan (Bob Dishy, good to see back in the saddle) think it's just a matter of getting the bank loan officer (a wonderful deadpan turn by Zach Grenier) to go easy on her and relax the payment terms.
The politically savvy Calderon knows better. Going to bat for Jessie could mean making a compromising deal with the bank CEO, played with friendly menace by Jordan Lage. Not a smart move for an ambitious politico, but the pressure on the poor guy is fierce because his mother, who is Jessie's best friend, co-signed for the loan.
Calderon sees a better way out of this jam. If he can collect months of back rent from the freeloading minister of the storefront church in Jessie's building, her loan payments would be back on track.
Here's where the play gets metaphysically spooky, because pastor Chester Kimmich (a weird but charismatic presence, in Ron Cephas Jones' haunted perf) is in the grip of a spiritual malaise, waiting for a sign before he can take up preaching again. Sizing up Calderon, he finds the fallen-away believer who needs to be healed.
As director, Shanley engineers the elaborate plot prep for a final scene that finds everyone crowded into the little church for a Sunday morning service. But by this time, Shanley the scribe seems to have lost interest in pastor Kimmich, whose rationale for stiffing his landlady on the rent and beating up on Donaldo for doing his honest work never made any sense in the first place. So the specious ideological debate between pastor and politician initiated in act one is not resolved.
Instead, the challenge thrown out by pastor Kimmich — "Does anybody here besides me feel dead?" — is picked up by the sad-sack loan officer, who has a full-blown meltdown. Grenier carries off this 11 o'clock number in great serio-comic style, but good luck finding the dramatic logic of it.
Tech tasks in the newly refurbished house are handled with the company's usual professional efficiency. But lighting designer Matthew Richards and soundman Bart Fasbender must be super-happy to be working with updated equipment.


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YET ANOTHER UPDATE: The "Burlesque" trailer was taken down, but Vulture's still got a version which we've embedded.
This is gonna be the best Thanksgiving ever!
The first trailer for Christina Aguilera's "Burlesque" has arrived and, man, it is something. Tired, hackneyed, overwrought...
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
It is, of course, the story of a small town girl lured by the bright lights of Los Angeles who finds herself slinging drinks at a burlesque club, where she realizes that she was born to dance and sing in her underwear for the amusement of undersexed men.
Naturally, the gatekeepers of the club's glorious stage -- played by Cher and Stanley Tucci (who'd better be harvesting cash for something really special) -- can't get their heads around the idea that the tall sexy blonde with the great body could ever possibly be a burlesque performer. So she has to make her own opportunity.
Rounding out the cast are Eric "McDreamy" Dane, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher and "Dancing With the Stars" star Julianne Hough.
And then there's Kristen Bell, so good on "Veronica Mars," who appears to be continuing her dogged pursuit of her generation's most disappointing transition from TV to film. Since starring in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" her film career has been on a steady descent. It would seem she's hit bottom.
The curtain goes up on "Burlesque" Nov. 24.


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Home Truths
The Early Stories, 1953–1975
Embedded (oh, that word) in John Updike's openhearted foreword to his collection The Early Stories, 1953– 1975 is his book's missing dedication. "Perhaps I could have made a go of the literary business without my first wife's faith, forbearance, sensitivity, and good sense, but I cannot imagine how." Indeed, the figure of the first wife recurs throughout Updike's narrative work, and throughout this book, especially in its closing stories where, in whatever incarnation Updike fashions her, she is both vivid and benign—a sister, a conscience, an aspect of self, a fellow witness, a pal. Thus one might conclude that this huge compilation of "early" stories, which Updike wrote over a twenty-two-year period for money as well as art (selling them to The New Yorker was his "principal means of support, for a family that by 1960 included four children under six"), is largely about the getting, having, and leaving of the first wife, the straight American man's grab, and grab again, at happiness.
One would not be entirely wrong. Updike's protagonists in the short fiction early in his career are largely solitudinous sons and husbands, somewhat isolated from other men. His metaphors, too, are marital and filial, sometimes both simultaneously. "The world is our bride," he writes in "Packed Dirt, Churchgoing, a Dying Cat, a Traded Car," one of the best stories in the volume, "given to us to love, and the terror and joy of the marriage is that we bring to it a nature not our bride's." In "Museums and Women" he writes, "Often my mother …was the only other person in the room. Who she was was a mystery so deep it never formed into a question." Though both emotionally and materially frugal, men in Updike's fictional world are drawn to, dependent on, and passive before women. There is both uneasiness and comfort in this sexual land, without much profound mutual knowledge, though such knowledge is struggled toward by almost all the characters. The elegant and penetrating descriptions, however, composed from the chasm's edge—both the wisdom and the wise unknowingness—are among the main reasons one reads Updike. "Her gesture as she tips the dregs of white wine into a potted geranium seems infinite, like one of Vermeer's moments frozen in an eternal light from the left." His eye and his prose never falter, even when the world fails to send its more socially complicated revelations directly his story's way.
Updike's primary subject here is the American village, from Greenwich Village to Tarbox. ("Tar," Elizabeth Hardwick once wrote, "an odorous viscous liquid, and box—well, guess.") History, or the doings of the outside world and their intrusions upon his villagers, he has by and large reserved for his capacious novels. His immense achievement there, the now-canonized Rabbit tetralogy, is a national portrait registering four consecutive American decades, its third-person, present-tense narrative a kind of democratic flypaper (in the children's alphabet…
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2 injured inside Armstrong County mine
Rock hits miners inside Tracy Lynne Mine in Kiski Township
Two miners were injured Monday afternoon while working 400 feet underground inside an Armstrong County mine.
Initial reports indicated a roof had collapsed at the Tracy Lynne Mine along Brownstown Road in Kiski Township, but a representative for the DEP clarified that a rock fell from a support beam and hit the miners.
The rock, which measured 3 feet by 9 feet, fell about 4 feet before hitting the men.
The miners were brought to the surface just after 6 p.m. after a rescue effort that began about an hour earlier.
Before families of the workers knew the identities of the two men injured, Heather Bowser prayed her husband, a coal miner here, was not hurt.
"I'm nervous because I don't' know what's going on, nobody has come out yet and I'm sick to my stomach," said Bowser, who soon learned her husband was not a victim.
Police said one miner suffered a leg injury and the other suffered injuries to the ribs and back. The injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
The miners were taken to Forbes Regional Hospital. Their names have not been released.
State and federal mine officials are investigating.
The mine is operated by Rosebud Mining Co. Its Vice President, Jim Barker, says his thoughts and prayers go out to the workers and the families as the workers recover in the hospital. Barker says work will not continue until the state and federal agencies give the greenlight for miners to go back inside. Barker says that could be "a day or two."
Refresh this page for updates.


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Mishandled: Suitcase skips Sorrento
Sarah Kirchner is a world-class optimist: Even though her luggage got lost the last time she went abroad, she refused to let that stop her from entrusting her precious cargo, once again, to the vagaries of fate. But a second time through the wringer has cured even her, and she swears there won't be a third.
Kirchner took a Delta flight out of Charlottesville on April 30, changed planes in Cincinnati, and, at JFK in New York, boarded an Alitalia flight to Rome. From there, she continued south to Sorrento– but without her suitcase, which she didn't see again until May 4.
"Naturally," Kirchner stated in a May 16 letter to Alitalia Customer Relations, "this led to considerable inconvenience for me." Since she had only what she was wearing, she had to buy several outfits and some toiletries; she also "ruined a pair of shoes hiking around" and had to buy another. Also, although the suitcase had arrived in Rome on May 1 and Naples on May 2, it hadn't been delivered to her until late on the afternoon of the May 4.
Her bills, when converted from euros to dollars, came to $186. Along with her letter and the receipts, Kirchner enclosed copies of all the required documents– and says she not only sent everything by mail, but faxed copies as well.
On July 22, when she hadn't heard from Alitalia, she faxed a second set, with a note stating that an employee in customer service, Maria, "has informed me that my original letter was probably lost, but assures me that you will still honor my claim."
On August 21, with no refund in sight, Kirchner emailed Alitalia's "web support" group to ask, yet again, about her refund. She recapped her July conversation with Maria– which, she claimed, had been followed by more phone calls. Kirchner bailed out of the first, she said, after being on hold for 20 minutes; she then tried a different number and left a message, but no one called back.
A web support employee, Alessia, emailed back to say that Kirchner's request for assistance had been submitted to customer relations. On September 3– when she still hadn't heard anything– Kirchner sent a second email that ended, "Do I have to get a lawyer?" Alessia replied that she had sent the appropriate manager a second request.
"Here's an idea," Kirchner wrote back on September 6. "Since you can't help me, why don't you give me an email of someone who can?" "I apologize," Alessia replied, "but they do not have an email address. The manager is taking care of it. You will be contacted soon."
Kirchner's trust in Alessia, however, had run out, and on September 8 she contacted me. I called Marta-Marie Lotti, director of press and public relations at Alitalia, and she called back in no time to say that the letter had been written and the check would follow.
Alitalia's policy, she explained, is to cover 100 percent of reasonable toiletries and 50 percent of clothing, since travelers can continue to wear it; most airlines have similar guidelines. Accordingly, she said, Kirchner will receive $133 of the $186 she requested.
Lotti also had some advice: Always carry on board at least one change of clothing and any essential medicine or toiletries. As for the delay between when Kirchner's luggage arrived in Naples and when it was delivered, Lotti explained that a single courier company usually services an entire airport– or, in the case of airports like JFK, an entire terminal. The route is determined by geography, and Kirchner, apparently, was at the end of the line.
Finally, she noted that Kirchner had changed planes several times– and the more the connections, obviously, the greater the chance your luggage will miss one. Bear that in mind when planning your itinerary, and you'll be less likely to arrive empty-handed.
Do you have a consumer problem or question? Email the Fearless Consumer or write her at Box 4553, Charlottesville 22905.


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How Did You Find A Good Doctor For Chronic Pain?
How did you find a good doctor for chronic pain?
-- Ellen: I don't know about you, but I had to go to about 26 before I finally landed on one. It was a rheumatologist, and he told me that I had fibromyalgia. And I tell you, it was like you said one time, the happiest day of my life, because I had something concrete. It wasn't that I was crazy. I mean, all these doctors kind of treated me like, "Well now dear, you can go home and rest," and "it's just stress" and over and over and over and over again. So that was one of the best times, and there are wonderful doctors, and they're all good.
Abby: You know, I think for all of us, for those of us who've had chronic pain for a long time -- and what do we have, about 50 years between?
Ellen: Oh, more than that, more than that. I got 25 right here.
Abby: I think every one of us will have a medical horror story, but I consider myself enormously fortunate to have come across truly extraordinary doctors who care very much about their patients and are also medically skilled. And without a number of these people, I couldn't even be sitting here today.
Cindy: I mean, I know it took me five years to find a doctor who could help me and could be understanding about my pain.
Mike: That's true in any field.
Ellen: It used to be -- I think it's getting better, but still ... to me, it's the validation which was the most important thing for me. That somebody listened, and somebody validated. And again, the support groups that are run by people in chronic pain like us, and are attended by us are very wonderful. Because they will -- again, validate where we're coming from, as well as share the resources of where there's a center, where there's a doctor that's compassionate. So that really helps.
Abby: And will really help to do what this excellent advice I got is, to learn to manage your own disease.
Ellen: Yeah because that's our job! That's our job.
Next: What Was The Onset Of Your Pain Like, And What Treatment Options Were Available?


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January 8, 2012, posted by Crumbs.
British metalcore act Rise to Remain have been forced to cancel their stint on Machine Head's upcoming tour due to the departure of bassist Joe Copcutt and drummer Pat Lundy. The band gained international recognition in 2011 by opening for Iron Maiden during a handful of European dates.
Rise to Remain guitarists Ben Tovey and Will Horner along with vocalist Austin Dickinson, the son of Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, plan on invading North America after recruiting new members. The band issued a statement regarding the departures and future plans in the following press release:
It is with regret that Rise To Remain announces that they have parted company with their bass player Joe Copcutt and drummer Pat Lundy on the eve of their first North American tour.
As a result, they will no longer be able to take part in the shows as planned supporting Machine Head. The band apologizes to all their North American fans but would like to assure them that they will be playing shows there very soon.
The North American release of their critically acclaimed debut album City Of Vultures via Century Media Records now moves to June 5th, when Rise To Remain will be heading to North American shores for an extensive soon-to-be-announced tour. The North American album release will also feature exclusive new material recorded in the coming months.
Rise To Remain will head back out on the road in the UK and Europe as previously announced in March on their headlining tour with German metallers Heaven Shall Burn as support.
New members will be announced in due course. In the meantime, Rise To Remain would like to thank Joe and Pat for their contribution to the band's success and wish them well with all their plans for the future.
Rise to Remain released their debut album 'City of Vultures' on Sept. 5, 2011, through EMI. Century Media had planned a U.S. release 'City of Vultures' on Jan. 24, but as stated the album will now be pushed back to June 5.
Source: Loudwire.com
TakeMyScars.com - A Place Dedicated to the Mighty Machine Head!


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Residential Life and Housing Staff
Director of Residential Life
The Director of Residential Life directly supervises the Area Coordinators and Residence Directors and coordination of the hiring and training of Resident Assistants, Community Advisers and Health and Wellness Advisers. In addition, the Director of Residential Life leads the department in the management of the four year residential experience including the Residential Curriculum which shapes all department programming initiatives. The Director of Residential Life is also responsible for coordination of the campus conduct system and policy administration and formation. The Director of Residential Life works collaboratively with the Director of Housing to design and implement strategies that enhance the campus culture and educational outcomes of students.
The Director of Residential Life, Christy Brown, can be reached by calling (320) 363-5580.
Area Coordinators/Residence Directors
Each residence hall, apartment building and living area has a Residence Director or Area Coordinator who oversees the daily functions of the hall/area. RDs and ACs are professional live-in staff members who supervise the Resident Advisers (RAs) and Community Advisers (CAs), and help to coordinate educational, cultural, and social programs. They are also available to meet with residents who may be experiencing personal or academic concerns. All Residence Directors or Area Coordinators live in the same community as the students. The Residence Director or Area Coordinator is responsible for tending to the needs of their community, addressing maintenance and facility concerns, meeting with students regarding conduct situations, and serving as a resource to the residents in her area. Each Residence Director or Area Coordinator has an office and can be reached there or via phone/email.
Residence Director/Area Coordinator Staff Bios and Contact Information
Resident Assistants & Community Advisers
RAs & CAs are students who have been selected because of their desire to serve others, as well as develop talents and abilities in others and promote student development. They contribute to the residential program by combining their own pursuit of knowledge and development and by assisting other students to do the same. The RAs and CAs work cooperatively with students in their area to develop a sense of community where integrity and respect are valued. With assistance of residents, the RAs, CAs, and RDs organize activities, programs and speakers to meet the interest and needs of each residential area. The variety and depth of these learning experiences are the basis for building the community spirit so characteristic of the College of Saint Benedict.
Office Staff
We have a talented office team comprised of student staff and an Administrative Assistant, who are here to answer questions and assist students, faculty, staff, parents and visitors in relation to campus housing and residential life at CSB. We are here to do what we can to make the transition from home to campus a smooth process.
The office is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. We can be reached by calling (320) 363-5580 or via email at [email protected].


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Am I prepared? Haha. Hardly. But everything will come together JUST IN TIME and I'll stop having panic attacks as soon as I have the badge around my neck. Until then? I need to drink a lot of tea and pet my dog a LOT to stop from a full blown anxiety episode.
This con I'm even more busy than usual - and I'm excited to share ALL OF THE THINGS with you, my darling unicorns!
For this con I'm actually so busy that I don't think I will be cosplaying more than one day (I'm saving money and cosplay for Sakura-con and San Diego Comic-con!), but on Saturday I am involved in a MASSIVE X-men group. Seriously huge, like 30+ cosplayers. I'll be Jean Grey/Phoenix, so watch out for a tall, bootylicious Phoenix (in her green outfit).
As far as events go, I am usually a leaf in the wind (if you have any party recommendations I'd love to hear them!), but Friday evening I am throwing the Official ECCC Live Art Event for the 3rd Year. I will be hosting this AWESOME event. Come see a bunch of famous artists painting on canvases on stage while you drink and dance and watch our cosplay go-go dancers bust a move. There is NO COVER, but this event is for charity (Seattle Children's Hospital!) so we will have donation box at the entrance. We are also raffling off a piece of art and some other great comic book goodies!
Here's the Facebook event for more info. So excited to see you all there!
And finally: panels! This year I am on a whopping THREE FRAKKIN' PANELS, as I must be some sort of insane person (as if you guys didn't know that already). Here's my panel schedule: come see me!!
Friday, March 1st, 6pm, Room 2AB
Do you love Star Wars AND the color pink? Spend equal amounts of time shopping for clothes AND comics? There's no shame in being geeky and feminine! Join panelists Bonnie Burton (author of The Star Wars Craft Book), Kristina Horner (YouTube vlogger "italktosnakes"), Molly McIsaac (geek fashion blogger and cosplayer), and Tara Theoharis (geek lifestyle blogger at Geekyhostess.com) as they celebrate the people and things that make being geeky and feminine fantastic! Men and women are welcome to participate in this lively discussion on what it means to be a geeky woman in the 21st Century.
Saturday, March 2nd, 11am, Room 2AB
You see the cute geek girl at the comic shop... but you have no idea what to say to her! Let us help you with "How To Talk To Girls", the panel that is equal parts comedy and social commentary that's been sprinkled with a bit of dating advice and served from a feminine point of view. (But don't let that scare you. It's really not that frightening!) Come for the laughs... but be forewarned. You just may learn something! Presented by Molly McIsaac, Gail Simone, John Roderick, Sarah Kuhn and Forest Gibson.
Saturday, March 2nd, 3pm, Room 401
The ladies of OneUpMakeup (Kristina Horner, Liz Leo, Mallory Shoemaker, Meagan Karimi-Naser, Molly McIsaac and Tara Theoharis) create makeup looks inspired by their nerdy passions and favorite fandoms. Join them as they talk makeup, answer your questions, and do some live demos. Whether you just wear makeup when cosplaying or rock it everyday, we've got a look for you! See more in the meantime at youtube.com/oneupmakeup!
I hope to see all of you there!! And if you can't make it, make sure to obsessively peruse my twitter for my live tweets! If you see me, don't be afraid to say hello! I am very friendly and I don't bite (TOO hard).
What about you guys? What are you excited about at Emerald City Comic-con?


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Appreciate the Game (and the Sox)
In yesterday's post I quoted White Sox skipper Robin Ventura as saying, "It gets frustrating, but I think the way it's going, the way the guys are grinding, you can't fault them for anything." Those comments came after the doubleheader loss to the Indians, which saw the South Siders fall to 13-17 and five games behind the first place Tribe.
Ventura's observation couldn't have been made clearer in last night's 10-inning triumph at Progressive Field. After coasting to a 3-0 lead behind John Danks' best performance of the season, the South Siders suddenly found themselves locked up in a 3-3 tie after eight innings. With that momentum switch and being on the road, the Sox could have laid down and died–but, to their manager's point, they didn't.
The Sox failed to score in the ninth and Hector Santiago survived the bottom half of the inning despite putting the potential winning run in scoring position. Then, in the top of the 10th, the Pale Hose came to life.
Facing closer Chris Perez, Paul Konerko led off the inning with a single. After A.J. Pierzynski popped out, Alex Rios tripled and scored Brent Lillibridge who was sent in to run for Konerko. Rios then scored the all-important insurance run to give the Sox a 5-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th.
I still was not totally confident of the "W" because of the way both the red-hot Tribe has been playing and the recent fortunes of the Sox. But Addison Reed, confident and composed beyond his age and experience, rose to the occasion by setting down the heart of the Indian lineup in order: striking out Asdrubal Cabrera, retiring Carlos Santana on the flyout and fanning pinch-hitter Travis Hafner.
A 14-17 record is not something to brag about. But despite the record and losing a lot of close games (the club is 4-11 in games decided by two runs or less), the Sox are indeed grinding it out. And that's something we should appreciate.
Come to think it, the Sox slogan, "Appreciate the Game," kind of fits, doesn't it?
Sox Notes of Note: Rios got a bit of revenge on Perez with his clutch triple. The last time Rios faced the Indians' closer (last week in Chicago) he was retired to end the game and Alex took exception to what he thought was Perez's excessive exuberance. Nothing like a game-winning triple to get payback…I'm usually not good at lip-reading, but I did pick up something interesting in last night's game. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Cleveland's Jack Hannahan coasted into second base on a Johnny Damon single. He then leaned over and asked Gordon Beckham, "Who's your closer?" I found the comment intriguing since it was somewhat confusing to all of us with Sale being called upon in eighth and Santiago in the ninth.


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Floyd Mayweather Calls Out Manny Pacquiao! "May 5th Is The Date. Sign The Contract... Im Waiting" + Says Pacman Lost To Marquez All Three Times They Fought
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NIMH Outreach Partnership Program
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Outreach Partnership Program is a nationwide initiative seeking to increase the public's access to science-based mental health information through partnerships with national and state organizations. The Program encourages efforts to reach diverse racial and ethnic groups. The Program also strives to enhance opportunities for the public to benefit from participation in research. These partnerships provide NIMH with the opportunity to engage community organizations in dialogue to better understand the needs, questions, and concerns of those with an interest in the research the Institute supports.
The Outreach Partnership Program supports NIMH's efforts to deliver science-based information to communities across the country. Specifically, the Program is designed to:
- Foster more widespread understanding about mental disorders, the brain, and behavior, thereby helping to reduce misperceptions and negative attitude towards mental illness;
- Increase awareness of the role of basic, translational, and clinical research in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of mental illnesses; and
- Increase awareness about the opportunities to benefit from participation in mental health research.
Outreach Partners
There are 55 Outreach Partner organizations representing all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Outreach Partners disseminate NIMH research findings and educational materials to the public throughout their states and local communities, including families and individuals affected by mental illness, healthcare professionals, underserved populations, and other constituencies such as schools, social service agencies, and faith-based organizations. Outreach Partners also conduct outreach activities to address the needs of populations that experience mental health disparities as defined by race or ethnicity, age, education or income, disability status, geographic location, risk status related to sex and gender, and among other populations identified to be at-risk for health disparities such as immigrants, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI). In addition, Outreach Partners promote volunteer participation in NIMH and NIH clinical trials and often collaborate with researchers to advance the research process.
Outreach Partners are selected through a competitive process. Benefits provided to these organizations include sponsored participation in an annual meeting, and access to NIMH scientific and educational publications for mass dissemination. Partners are able to network among themselves and with Federal, national, and state organizations through the annual meetings and a dedicated electronic mailing list.
National Partners
There are over 75 National Partners, including professional, consumer, advocacy, and service-related organizations with members, affiliates, and/or chapters throughout the country. Most National Partners are focused on mental health and work to help individuals and families affected by mental illness, but some are involved in general health and medicine, social services, or education. The Outreach Partnership Program strives to connect all of these organizations -- state, local, and national -- with one another in an effort to enhance the effectiveness of each other's work. The resulting partnerships extend outreach and educational activities to more diverse populations, allow for information sharing, and help to assure that science-based information about mental illnesses and mental health have broad reach throughout states and local communities. National Partners also assist in the dissemination of NIMH research findings and science-based materials.


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tryiing to get back into the game and play more.. So, I'm looking for someone to hit with in or near by Williamsburg weekday afternoons. Skill level anywhere around 3.0.
Also, does anyone know of any courts in or near Williamsburg that don't require a parks pass? (I'm fine with getting one regardless if I find people to hit with regularly.)
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Replies to This Discussion
Hi Zach,
I'm interested in getting back into the game also.
I played competitivly in high school a long while back.
At this point, I think I play around a 3.0
Weekday's are great for me.
As I'm a freelancer, I can be available to play pretty much any time other then early morning.
sounds good. Do you have a permit to play in the parks?
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SUNY Canton is Among the First SUNY Colleges to Join 'Read Aloud 15 Minutes' Program
Students majoring in SUNY Canton's Early Childhood program are advocating the educational advantages of reading to children beginning at birth. The two-year program recently partnered with Read Aloud 15 Minutes, a non-profit organization committed to making its namesake the new standard for parenting and improving children's school readiness.
"We are proud to join SUNY in this system-wide effort and national campaign promoting and supporting the Read Aloud 15 Minutes mission," said Maureen P. Maiocco, SUNY Canton professor and Early Childhood program director. "The Early Childhood curriculum stresses the importance of early encounters and engagement with books, reading to young children, and how this enhances language development and literacy skills."
The premise of Read Aloud 15 Minutes is every child should be read to every day, for at least 15 minutes from birth. Reading aloud is the single most important thing a parent or caregiver can do to improve a child's school readiness. Reading aloud has lasting effects; children will have the literacy skills needed to succeed in school, and more children will be prepared for a productive and meaningful life after school, according to the organization's website.
In September, SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher announced that the University System would be partnering with Read Aloud 15 Minutes. "SUNY's partnership with Read Aloud will complement our work to mend New York's education pipeline and ensure that more of today's youth are on the right path for success throughout school, and ultimately in college and career," Zimpher said in a press release.
The SUNY Canton Early Childhood program plans to adopt several Read Aloud specific events, beginning with the annual Early Childhood Conference, which provides continuing education opportunities and workshops for early childhood educators, family and group child care providers and parents. The conference will be held Saturday, Oct. 19, at SUNY Canton.
Other initiatives include students offering Read Aloud family story time events throughout the year and creating informational displays to increase awareness and parent participation in the program. The Early Childhood student club is currently planning a book drive campaign to collect high-quality children's literature. Maiocco said her faculty and students will be working with the Southworth Library Learning Commons to feature favorite children's books selected by SUNY Canton faculty and staff.
As a partner of Read Aloud 15 Minutes, SUNY Canton will be eligible to display a badge on its website denoting its partnership with the organization.
For more information about the Early Childhood Conference contact Maiocco at firstname.lastname@example.com. To become involved with the Read Aloud 15 Minutes Partnership and Campaign, visit www.readaloud.org
About SUNY Canton:
SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor's, associate, and certificate programs. Most of SUNY Canton's new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 150 courses online each semester. The College's athletic teams belong to the NAIA's Sunrise Conference, enabling students to compete in their respective sports for four years. Construction of the College's new Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center nicknamed Roos House is nearing completion, while the new apartment-style residence hall, featuring 305 single-occupancy rooms, is under construction and will open in August 2011.
Tags: Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, Early Childhood, Maureen Maiocco, Read Aloud 15 Minutes


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Archive for February 19th, 2018
Another Speech by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana for Africans Rising
Posted by: Dr. Y. on February 19, 2018
Posted by: Dr. Y. on February 19, 2018
© Dr. Y. and www.afrolegends.com, [2009-2020]. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author/ owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Dr. Y. and www.afrolegends.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.


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New disclosure forms to close loopholes, expose conflicts of interest
SPRINGFIELD - November 29, 2012. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon joined State Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) today to introduce ethics reform legislation that will overhaul the much-maligned financial disclosure forms filed by tens of thousands of public servants each year.
The bill proposes a new disclosure form - known as a Statement of Economic Interests - that would require filers to list outside sources of income, lobbyist relationships and loans made or accepted on terms not available to the general public, for the first time. It also closes loopholes that allowed filers to answer "not applicable" to almost all of the questions on the current version of the form introduced 40 years ago.
Simon said the goal of the new form is to help Illinois residents determine if elected officials, high-ranking employees and candidates hold any conflicts of interest. The new form will also be easier for filers to complete thanks to the plain-language questions, definitions of terms and obvious connections to information found on tax returns and investment statements.
"At over 40-years-old, it's time our financial disclosure forms get a facelift," Simon said. "This legislation is about making our Statement of Economic Interests more understandable for the people who fill them out, and making them more transparent for those who want to get information from them."
State Sen. Dan Kotowski will introduce the bill in the Senate today after working with Lt. Governor Simon's office, the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and the Better Government Association to redesign the form over the past year.
Residents want more transparency and accountability in Springfield, Kotowski and Simon said, citing a recent Southern Illinois University poll in which 65 percent of respondents said they were "not very" or "not at all satisfied" with the information available on elected officials' finances.
"With this important change, taxpayers can easily search information regarding potential conflicts of interest, and hold public officials and candidates accountable," Kotowski said. "This reform adds needed transparency in my effort to end politics as usual in Springfield."
Cook County Clerk David Orr, whose office created an online Statement of Economic Interests database to improve transparency, applauded Lt. Governor Simon for spearheading the effort to overhaul the inadequate disclosure forms. Analysis of the 22,000 local government respondents that filed with his office in 2012 showed that 87 percent answered "not applicable" or "N/A" to every question on the disclosure form.
"For 40 years, these forms have revealed too little about elected officials' and public employees' financial profiles," Orr said. "I am so pleased to find a champion in Sheila Simon, whose commitment to expanding disclosure will help draw back the curtain on hidden conflicts of interest."
The Illinois Constitution and Illinois Governmental Ethics Act require elected officials, high-ranking government employees, and political candidates to complete a Statement of Economic Interests each May. State government workers file with the Secretary of State, while workers for local units of government file with their county clerk. The forms are supposed to expose existing or potential conflicts of interest, but the documents use such vague and cumbersome language that the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform has called them "woefully inadequate" and "a waste of paper."
"Delegates writing the 1970 Constitution mandated the Statement of Economic Interest because the public has a right to know about public officials' conflicts of interest. It's high time the form caught up to modern economic practices," said David Morrison, Deputy Director of the ICPR.Simon and Kotowski said they will work together to pass the legislation by January.


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1At this my heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
2Listen to his angry voice*
and the rumble that comes forth from his mouth!
3Everywhere under the heavens he sends it,
with his light, to the ends of the earth.
4Again his voice roars,
his majestic voice thunders;
he does not restrain them when his voice is heard.
5God thunders forth marvels with his voice;
he does great things beyond our knowing.
6He says to the snow, "Fall to the earth";
likewise to his heavy, drenching rain.
7He shuts up all humankind indoors,
so that all people may know his work.
8The wild beasts take to cover
and remain quiet in their dens.
9Out of its chamber the tempest comes forth;
from the north winds, the cold.
10With his breath God brings the frost,
and the broad waters congeal.a
11The clouds too are laden with moisture,
the storm-cloud scatters its light.
12* He it is who changes their rounds, according to his plans,
to do all that he commands them
across the inhabited world.
13Whether for punishment or mercy,
he makes it happen.
14Listen to this, Job!
Stand and consider the marvels of God!
15Do you know how God lays his command upon them,
and makes the light shine forth from his clouds?
16Do you know how the clouds are banked,
the marvels of him who is perfect in knowledge?
17You, who swelter in your clothes
when calm lies over the land from the south,
18Can you with him spread out the firmament of the skies,
hard as a molten mirror?*
19Teach us then what we shall say to him;
we cannot, for the darkness, make our plea.
20Will he be told about it when I speak?
Can anyone talk when he is being destroyed?
21Rather, it is as the light that cannot be seen
while it is obscured by the clouds,
till the wind comes by and sweeps them away.*
22From Zaphon* the golden splendor comes,
surrounding God's awesome majesty!
23The Almighty! We cannot find him,
preeminent in power and judgment,
abundant in justice, who never oppresses.
24Therefore people fear him;
none can see him, however wise their hearts.*
* [37:2] Voice: the thunder.
* [37:12–13] The translation of these verses is uncertain.
* [37:18] The firmament…mirror: the ancients thought of the sky as a ceiling above which were the "upper waters" (cf. Gn 1:6–7; 7:11); when this ceiling became as hard as metal, the usual rain failed to fall on the earth (cf. Lv 26:19; Dt 28:23).
* [37:21] Elihu argues that even though God seems not to know our circumstances, he does know them, just as surely as the sun shines behind the clouds.
* [37:22] Zaphon: the mythical mountain of the gods; cf. note on 26:7.
* [37:24] The concluding remark of Elihu is ironic in view of the appearance of the Lord in the next chapter and Job's claim in 42:5.
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In politics, where you stand depends on where you sit.
The motivation behind the latest flap over California's initiative process is as simple as that.
A group of 14 state Senators and seven Assembly members (20 Republicans and one Democrat) introduced a resolution to celebrate the 100th anniversary of California's initiative process, crowing that -- among other virtues -- it "has been successfully utilized, enacting both statutory and constitutional provisions alike, directly reflecting the will of the voters."
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Panicked by the specter of Republican legislators' being gutted in this year's post-census redistricting by a Democratic governor and a legislature with massive Democratic majorities, GOP leaders, including then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, "successfully utilized" the initiative process themselves -- Proposition 20, which cut legislators out of the line-drawing and put it into the hands of a "non-political" citizens' commission.
Ironically, when the California Citizens Redistricting Commission unveiled the new district lines this summer, Republicans, along with some Democrats, squealed like stuck pigs.
At first, it may seem surprising that Republican legislators are attempting to circumvent the initiative process at the same time they praise it. But they've read the polls that continually tell us that Californians trust themselves to legislate more than they do state legislators. On the other hand, Republicans got singed royally by the initiative process by pushing redistricting reform, and the celebratory resolution gives them cover to fight a politically impalpable outcome.
In another irony, Republicans are trying to use referenda to undo what they did through the initiative process, by challenging Congressional and state Senate lines.
A recent fundraising appeal sent out by former GOP Gov. Pete Wilson and other Republican leaders said, "The state Senate lines drawn by the California Redistricting Commission (remember Prop 20?) virtually guarantee a Democratic super-majority…in 2012. A successful drive to put a referendum on the June 2012 ballot is the best way to prevent this from happening."
And the Democrats?
Few Californians doubt the initiative process has ceased to be a guarantee of "direct democracy," becoming a tool of interest groups frustrated with legislative gridlock, to get their way. It is clearly in need of reform. But what reform?
Democratic legislators are introducing a spate of legislation that could reshape the initiative process, making it more difficult to qualify ballot measures and giving the legislature (read Democrats) more influence over the process.
The most controversial proposal -- some would say the most partisan -- is a bill that would shift all state initiatives to the general election ballot. The general election typically has a higher voter turnout than the primaries; November's turnout also happens to trend more Democratic than the smaller, more conservative primary electorate.
Legislative Democrats can taste the state's shifting demographics -- and its Democratic tilt -- propelling them toward a 2/3 majority in at least one house of the legislature. The current initiative process could continue to threaten their ability to command the policy levers of the state.
Bottom line: Democrats hunger to reshape the initiative process to benefit them, their policy agenda and their constituencies. Marginalized Republicans want to put the brakes on all that. It's a high-stakes political war, and the initiative process is the battlefield.
Happy Birthday, California's initiative process. Or not.