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Oct 10, 2009
Trexler Smiles, Landing Revealed
I believe that today, for the first time in decades, General Trexler had something to smile about. Most people never understood why three steps were near the lower entrance of Lehigh Parkway; they seemed to lead nowhere. This morning eight people joined a grass root effort to unveil, for the first time in decades, the structure I called the Boat Landing.
Buried under the dirt and grass were several more steps leading to a landing. Chris Casey was the first to arrive and cleared these steps and the first landing himself. A second set of steps led from the landing to the main landing on the creek. These second steps had a foot or so of ground and plants.
The quality and condition of the stonework is excellent, as was all our WPA icons. I will be polite and say only that it was a crime to have let this neglect occur. On the main landing the accumulated earth was two and half feet thick. The crew dug out the curving retaining wall several yards in each direction, and cleared off the top of the wall.
Eight people working four hours managed to reveal about one third of the landing at the bottom of the steps. It was a thrill to realize we were standing at creek's edge as the WPA architects had envisioned. I stood there often as a boy. There still remains a large portion of dirt to remove at the steps base, but you can now experience the Boat Landing.
The retaining wall and the landing continue for fifty feet or so in both directions. Unfortunately a huge tree has grown on the landing to the right, but the left appears reclaimable.
We who worked there today, hope to return and clear off the remainder of the dirt at the bottom of the steps.
Perhaps others will be motivated to clear off the remaining portion of the landing to the left. Now that might even be an idea for the City; imagine restoring an irreplaceable icon instead of buying something from a catalogue. I'm most grateful to all those who helped today, and will reveal their names with their permission.
ADDENDUM:Michael –
I just wanted to thank you for organizing today's cleanup at the "Boat Landing" in the Lehigh Parkway. It's not often that one gets to help unearth a treasure while barely leaving home, but that's exactly what happened today.
It was truly impressive what big difference a small group of people can make. I can't even estimate the amount of dirt that was moved with nothing more than a few shovels and a lot of hard work.
We can only hope that the City and the Trexler Trust will become aware of this location and start giving all the great structures in the Parkway the care they deserve.
However, the best part of the story for me came after we all left. I got home and my daughter Lucy (age 7) wanted to know how things went. We hopped in the car and soon we were walking up to the stairs leading to the landing. The sun was shining, and the sunlight trickled through the trees and onto the freshly-exposed stairway.
Lucy asked if she could go down to the landing by the water and next thing I knew we were both there at the waters edge, standing on what had been buried only a few hours earlier and marveling at the beauty of the location.
We spent a few moments there - a father and daughter both enjoying something completely "new" to us (even though the landing is over 70 years old). We talked briefly about what was – and more importantly what could be again.
Thank you for making that moment possible, and I hope many others take the opportunity to visit the landing in the near future.
Mike Schware
P.S. – After visiting the landing, Lucy and I walked further upstream and saw the remnants of the bridge to the island (near the water fountain). The remaining supports of the bridge confirmed what you had told me earlier about the island being much smaller years ago.
34 comments:
Great job and thanks to all.
- October 10, 2009 at 4:20 PM
- Scott Ott said...
- October 10, 2009 at 4:57 PM
I'm so proud of us!
~The newly married lady
- October 10, 2009 at 5:26 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
new bride, as well you should be! i'm very grateful to you, your "girlfriend" and your "step-dad" and his friend for the help. also to the third very private lady. it would be my pleasure to acknowledge any and all of you by name if you so decide.
- October 10, 2009 at 5:43 PM
- Chris Casey said...
Hey Mike. after a shower and a bowl of hot soup. I went back down there and surveyed the area to the left. I found the end of the wall, and I think the idea i had would work. I also walked down to where the bridge once was and the water was less than a foot deep. I plan to go back with my boots and cross there to explore the island. There is obviously a large stone structure (Limekiln?) over there.
I enjoyed the camaraderie today, but I doubt that the City or Trexler trust gets off their rears and does the right thing. If we want to see it restored, we will be doing it ourselves.
- October 10, 2009 at 7:39 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
mike, thanks so much for both the help and the note, which i proudly used as an addendum to this post.
chris, thank you for both your enthusiasm and endurance
- October 10, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Nice Job Peoples!!
- October 11, 2009 at 3:23 PM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
I checked out your work last night and it is nice to see that landing cleared. It offers a great place to see the developing ecosystem in that area up close. Funny, as you folks were doing this, another group (myself included) spent the day busting our butts in Cedar Beach Parkway planting and reestablishing the sorely absent native vegetation that Cedar Beach needs. It is so great to see citizens taking action on issues like these. It needs to keep happening. There are more native plant installations happening soon and I believe the next one is going to be in the Parkway. I'll have it up on my blog sometime this week if anyone is interested in lending a hand. We will need it.
- October 12, 2009 at 12:27 PM
- ironpigpen said...
My brother always says if one REALLY wants something done right, one ALWAYS have to do it themselves.
- October 12, 2009 at 1:04 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
andrew, as I'm sure you noticed, there still is a section of the landing which needs to be cleared. (disregarding the remainder of the structure to the left and right). considering that this was a gift to the people of allentown from the WPA, it is my hope that the city removes that remaining dirt.
- October 12, 2009 at 1:15 PM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
It would be great if the city saw the work done this past weekend in Cedar Beach and the Parkway, and sees the work that is going to be done this weekend and takes it as example. Many park workers stopped by and talked to us about what we were doing and why, etc... Now, we have to make sure it isn't mowed down and that your staircase isn't recovered.
- October 12, 2009 at 2:05 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
ironpig, if the city doesn't clear at least the landing at the base of the steps, i will attempt to organize another mission.
andrew, i also appreciate john muir and natural spaces. if that is the proper use of the city parks is debatable. at any rate, it appears that the city wants natural streambanks, but a macadam, tupperware, go kart track for the remainder; what a balancing act!
- October 12, 2009 at 2:13 PM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
I was surprised to learn today that the paths around the reflection ponds and the new riparian areas we have planted will be paved. It is rough on runners and increases runoff which will be tough for the vegetation next spring as it develops. It does prevent the constant stream of gravel into the creek but it is a real catch-22 and I haven't heard any other options laid out on the table.
- October 12, 2009 at 2:16 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
andrew, as you may have noticed, on this blog i documented the new path loop being put in the area south of the creek. this is in addition to the existing walking path, plus there's actually a third path being put across the top of the park, on both sides of ott. why the "Friends of the Parks", yourself and others don't speak out is beyond me.
recovering those steps would be a crime against the citizens of allentown.
- October 12, 2009 at 3:13 PM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
Those steps should remain uncovered.
I am not up to speed on what is going on with path building but I am going to look into it.
- October 12, 2009 at 3:34 PM
One reason is likely that city will not confirm or deny the information that you put in your post. I called and asked and got no answer from the city. I am a Friend of the Park.
- October 12, 2009 at 3:43 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
andrew and "friend", just scroll down on this blog to the post of sept. 28th. it shows the new path loop on the west side of ott and also you can see at top second additional path along honochick drive. that path also goes along hamilton street. on the pool side. click on the image to enlarge.
- October 12, 2009 at 4:12 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
that image does not enlarge, sorry
- October 12, 2009 at 4:18 PM
- Bill said...
Mike -
I had wanted to come and join you all but I ended up having to do to work Saturday morning. If you do organize another foray to finish the work, I hope to join you. This is fantastic work that you all have done.
- October 12, 2009 at 7:27 PM
Maybe the city will now clear the weeds and overgrowth around this site and make it welcoming to the public.
- October 13, 2009 at 6:23 AM
Andrew Kleiner said...
I was surprised to learn today that the paths around the reflection ponds and the new riparian areas we have planted will be paved. It is rough on runners and increases runoff which will be tough for the vegetation next spring as it develops. It does prevent the constant stream of gravel into the creek but it is a real catch-22 and I haven't heard any other options laid out on the table.
October 12, 2009 2:16 PM
What does this mean? Paved? The grasses will be paved? What materials will be used? Blacktop, Cement. Whatever the reasons city is citing for paving, it is not because soft ground is too hard for runners. That is not true.
- October 13, 2009 at 6:27 AM
Andrew Kleiner said...
There are more native plant installations happening soon and I believe the next one is going to be in the Parkway.
Andrew -
Do you know where in the Parkway?
- October 13, 2009 at 7:57 AM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
Anon 6:27, I was told all the gravel paths around the rose gardens are going to be black topped.
Anon 7:57, The plants that are going into the Parkway are actually the result of a fundraiser for WDIY that had people purchase trees. I don't know how many trees are going in, but it will be in the open grassy space by the Robin Hood bridge.
- October 13, 2009 at 10:33 AM
- michael molovinsky said...
andrew, in addition to the main existing path being black-topped, so will the three new paths between the creek and honochick drive. that open space will be no more, just a maze of paths.
it's a funny thing about that open space, plant some tree's and it's no longer open. what made allentown parks so beautiful was the contrast between the wooded area's, and the open spaces. our parks our being severely depreciated by conflicting "good intentions".
- October 13, 2009 at 10:44 AM
- michael molovinsky said...
i have been an opponent of all the tree planting in the parks. in addition to ruining the visual contrast, it greatly complicates the mowing. years ago the parks were efficiency cut with large gang mowers pulled by tractors. also, it greatly reduces the amount of space available for passive recreation.
the new playground at cedar beach will now occupy the only open space remaining on that side of ott street. the overlapping paths will take care of the "open space" problem across ott street on the rose garden side.
- October 13, 2009 at 10:57 AM
- Andrew Kleiner said...
I know you and I don't see eye to eye on some things, like tree planting but it is my hope that overall, we mow less in the parks and in turn save maintenance costs, etc. and in turn allow wildlife habitat and visually pleasing plant life to develop. All these paths however, are not in that vein of thinking. I'm still trying to find out what is up.
- October 13, 2009 at 11:14 AM
- michael molovinsky said...
andrew, i know what's up. i studied the diagram and spoke with weitzel. The existing path is for the walkers with regular exercise. the new loop is for senior citizens with special new exercise stations. the top path is for the bikes. the criss cross paths is to connect everything in several places. i asked weitzel if couldn't at least the existing path also accommodate the senior exercise, he said he would have to ask the landscape architect. THE NEW LOOP IS A MIDWAY FOR EVENTS TO EXPAND OVER ACROSS OTT ST., JUST AS I SAID THREE MONTHS AGO.
andrew, you and the "park friend" can look "into" it, but until you come out and speak against it, your silence serves as approval.
- October 13, 2009 at 11:41 AM
landscape architect. THE NEW LOOP IS A MIDWAY FOR EVENTS TO EXPAND OVER ACROSS OTT ST., JUST AS I SAID THREE MONTHS AGO.
andrew, you and the "park friend" can look "into" it, but until you come out and speak against it, your silence serves as approval.
October 13, 2009 11:41 AM
Sadly, you were right. That's why Weitzel is so quiet most of the time. He is destroying this once tranquil setting.
- October 13, 2009 at 12:20 PM
I don't know how many trees are going in, but it will be in the open grassy space by the Robin Hood bridge.
you don't mean the open hillside leading to L.P. North where disc golf holes are?
- October 13, 2009 at 12:23 PM
- LVCI said...
Sadly (or not) I'm old enough to have a bit of a laugh over this. Way back when, the WPA intensely labored to remove all that.
Then comes along today's youthful ways to think the WPA era didn't know what they were doing based on some sort 2009 themed environmental scientific precepts.
I PROMISE in 20 or 30 years from now, some future youth will once more think what is being done today is environmentally incorrect.
At some point future environmental specialists' will be taking all this apart again under some newly evolved environmental theory just as surely as the sun shall rise.
The argument the creek banks are going to wash away: They've been there ever since the WPA projects. Are they gone? NOPE!
Riparian buffers will cleanse the Cedar Creek's water from 100's of square miles of city street runoffs? NOPE!
City parks should look like forests and meadows? NOPE!
City Parks should become Max Yeager (Woodstock) like venues? NOPE
I'm not trying to be a smart ass, honest. But a 'floodplain' is none of the above... and I'm finding this whole thing amusing. We've come a long way from when...
1,000's of hippies loitered, parked bumper to bumper, smoked weed, gathered for concerts and trampled the grass in the Lehigh Parkway.
When cars parked inside Trexler Park and 100's picnicked on the grass smoking cigarettes
People lit the Pavilions on fire up on S. Mtn. Reservoir burning them to down (several times)
1,000's of ducks and geese polluted the lake at Cedar Beach (which once people used to pee & swim in)
Many swam in the Lehigh River at what was then 'River Front Park'
The city had over 20 fountains running 24/7 in nearly all the parks, pools and some city streets (Center Square, etc.)
Bums living under the steps at Fountain. Park
Therefore I'm quite impressed how far these parks already have come and see little need for all this brew ha ha and tweaking
- October 13, 2009 at 1:22 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
lvci, i also question the erosion, having gown up in lehigh parkway. the bridge at robin hood hasn't gotten any longer, nor has the creek gotten wider. years ago those "old dummies" planted willow trees along the banks, and they did a good job of stabilizing the banks. how about those jerks in paris and rome with rivers going through the city for 2000 years with no buffers.
- October 13, 2009 at 2:26 PM
- LVCI said...
MM the area you guys worked on was indeed next to an island that had picnic tables and a fire pit. You got onto that island by a small wooden foot bridge which had a WPA water fountain running 24/7 in front of the bridge.
Almost all of this area is now almost 100% weeded and mucked over. You'd hardly recognize it now!
Mom took us there many times as kids. We'd eat on that little island's stone grill (fired up by gathered sticks). Great parental bonding!
We also used to walk to Waldheim Park from SW 27th street, where I grew up. We'd stop along the way at the Pavilions in the water reservoir area for a picnic grilling & a drink out of the continuously running pavilion's water fountain before going to the little home built wooden rides they had there (push merry-go-round).
S. Mtn is covered in old paths mostly obstructed by RT309 when it came through. No studies needed. Just talk to anyone who grew up around here!
- October 13, 2009 at 2:56 PM
- LVCI said...
MM said.. the bridge at robin hood hasn't gotten any longer
No in fact in 9th grade we had a class picnic there (Central Jr HS Section 9-2 Russell Heydt's homeroom) and swam in the creek. Looks the same then as today
- October 13, 2009 at 3:05 PM
- michael molovinsky said...
the feature i remember most on the island was the concrete bench inlaid with pieces of glass or tile.
- October 13, 2009 at 3:11 PM


text:
Mario Trutanic joined the Cal State Northridge women's basketball program as an assistant coach prior to the 2011-12 season.
A coaching veteran at several different levels of women's basketball, Trutanic most recently worked as the head coach at Oaks Christian High School. Last season, OCHS set a school record with 25 wins and were a Division IV-A CIF Finalist and quarterfinalist in the state tournament.
Trutanic also spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Santa Monica College, helping the team qualify for the state playoffs in his first season with the squad.
During the 2008-09 season, Trutanic served as the top assistant at Division-II San Francisco State. That year, the club ranked among the top 10 in the nation in field goal percentage defense.
Flowers and Trutanic also spent a season together on the women's basketball staff at Long Beach State. The familiarity between the two has Flowers anticipating a smooth transition.
Trutanic began his coaching career as an assistant coach for two years (1999-2001) at Marymount High School in Los Angeles. Marymount went 29-17 in those two years, including a 17-5 mark in 2000-01, a league championship and an appearance in the CIF playoffs.
He has also had coaching stints at Crossroads High School, Saint Bernard's High School and has served as the head coach for the Girls 17 & Under Southern California Swoosh Team.
A 2003 graduate of Antioch University with a degree in Liberal Studies, Trutanic earned his Master's Degree in Sports Management in 2007 from the University of San Francisco, Orange campus. He is also currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Teaching and Education Studies at USC.
Trutanic is engaged to Julie Wendell and the two will exchange vows in August of 2011. The couple resides in Los Angeles County.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
We're putting a new face on our Southwest Farm Press Web site, to bring you more information in a more attractive, easier-to-use format.
The redesign will be launched Thursday, Feb. 1.
"This has been in the works for several months," says Greg Frey, Farm Press publisher. "We've had many very talented people developing a Web site that will offer a wider array of timely, relevant information to our readers, that will be visually attractive, and incorporate elements to make the information easier and faster to access."
"Southwest Farm Press has long been the number 1 source for information about agriculture in the region," says Ron Smith, editor, "and we've expanded that to include our Web site and a daily e-newsletter. Now, our redesigned site will further enhance the scope of the material we can offer our readers and advertisers."
In addition to our frequently updated news section, the new Web page will offer buttons that will jump to sections on Cotton, Soybeans, Peanuts, Grains, Irrigation, Legislation, Livestock, Market News, Energy, and Equipment, and will include links to editorial commentaries, as well as photo galleries.
The page will include weather and links to a Calendar of Events, Trade Show Podcasts, and to Farm Press University continuing education courses that offer CEU credits for consultants and other ag professionals.
And a click of the mouse will bring up the latest Farm Bill news, items of interest from around the Sunbelt, and Featured Products/Featured Promotions links.
"Our readers tell us the Southwest Farm Press Web site is a useful tool in staying abreast of what's going on in agriculture and for getting information that's useful to their business," says Hembree Brandon, editorial director. "We believe the enhancements we've made to our Web site will make this an even more valuable resource for Southwest agriculture."


text:
The history-motivated traveler, then, finds a superabundance of riches in Annapolis. It can't be done in a day. Fortunately, it is a town that realizes its rich past is a large part of its present allure, and it is exceedingly accommodating to the tourist who seeks the gleanings of yesteryear. With tercentenary celebrations going on throughout 2008, now is an optimum time to pay a visit.
How Annapolis Came to Be
While 1708 is the magic year being toasted in 2008 (just as it was with great fanfare in 1908, as depicted on the cover of this issue), the roots of Annapolis run even deeper. Expatriate Virginia tobacco farmers established the original settlement on the Severn in 1649; they called it Providence. After pulling up stakes and moving across the river to a better harbor spot, they renamed the fresh location a couple of times before settling on Anne Arundel's Towne, in honor of Lord Baltimore's wife. In 1694 Maryland Governor Sir Thomas Nicholson decided to move the colonial capital here from the less centrally located original capital of St. Mary's City. In honor of Princess (soon-to-be Queen) Anne, Nicholson redubbed the new capital "Anne's City," in classical fashion, that is: Annapolis.
In 1708 Governor John Seymour, exercising his authority as royal representative, granted Annapolis its charter in the name of the queen. There weren't many such officially incorporated towns or cities in colonial America at the time. In addition to that, the new municipal charter called for an elected city council. In colonial Maryland, governed from above by nonelected officials (even down to the county level), it was a milestone, marking the birth of representative government at the grassroots level.
Annapolis prospered through the 18th century, a hub for politics, mercantilism, and fashion. The bewigged literary gents of the (in)famous Tuesday Club defined elegant debauchery, 1700s-style. Ropecording, sailmaking, and seafood harvesting, in addition to exports-imports, thrived. The karmic stain on this early golden age was a flourishing slave trade, for which the Annapolis City Council offered an official retroactive apology in 2007. At the epicenter of the City Dock area, the Kunta Kinte—Alex Haley Memorial offers a reminder of this remorseful chapter. The bronze statue grouping depicts the Roots author reading to children along the water's edge, where Haley's bestseller describes the arrival of Kunta Kinte from slave ship to auction block.
Where Ships Were Built
Long after the tobacco-export bubble burst, another early Annapolis economic mainstay, shipbuilding, continued to be a defining aspect of the town's identity into modern times. From Thomas Todd's original 1651 shipyard to the sleek Gemini catamarans crafted today, the Maryland capital has been a locus of shipbuilding renown. The presidential yacht Sequoia was built here, as were Coast Guard rumrunner-chasers of the Prohibition era, Navy PT boats of World War II, Navy minesweepers of the Korean War, Navy Nasty-class fast gunboats of the Vietnam War, and the classic Trumpy luxury yachts that are still coveted by well-heeled aficionados worldwide.
In the 18th century, the Ship Carpenter's Lot near City Dock was the shipbuilding nerve center of Annapolis, while other shipyards dotted the surrounding Chesapeake shorelines. On the West River, for example, Thomas Steward's shipyard engaged in Revolutionary nautical design—please note the capital "R." Steward was building gunboats to harass British warships when, in 1781, King George's marines launched a punitive raid, the only local land engagement of the Revolutionary War (see "Shipbuilding in South County,'" pages 20-21).
Annapolis had kicked off the Revolutionary years in enthusiastic fashion, staging a copycat "Boston Tea Party" of its own in 1774 as an act of sympatico solidarity with the Sons of Liberty shaking societal foundations up north. But the Annapolitans took it further. Whereas the Boston Tea Partyers had dumped the tea and spared the ship, their Annapolis imitators went all the way, burning the offending tea-carrying craft, the brigantine Peggy Stewart, to a crisp. Add to their greater destructiveness an equally greater brazenness, for while the Boston boys pillaged incognito, the Annapolis patriots who ordered the torching of the Peggy Stewart not only didn't hide their identities, they had their names listed proudly in the local paper.
But Annapolis' most important Revolutionary role actually came after the fighting ended. From 1783 to 1784, the city served as the capital of the newly born American republic. It was in the Maryland State House at Annapolis that the Continental Congress formally ratified the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the Revolutionary War. And it was here, on 23 December 1783, in a chamber still hallowed by the event, that a clearly emotional General George Washington stood before Congress and a capacity-filled audience gallery, eloquently tendering his resignation as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. "Having now finished the work assigned me," he said, "I retire from the great theatre of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life."
All the employments of public life? Not so fast, general—I mean, Mr. President. . . .
The State House soon played host to another event of national significance: the Annapolis Convention of 1786, which James Madison summoned into being because the Articles of Confederation were failing to suffice as national glue. Attendance was sparse, as delegates from only five states showed up. But the outcome was to have profound historic significance. From it arose a report, drafted by attendee Alexander Hamilton, invoking delegates to meet in Philadelphia in 1787. They did, of course, and came up with something called the U.S. Constitution.
When the Navy Came to Town
After the epochal post-Revolutionary period, Annapolis quietly dozed off, as one historian put it, "in genteel eclipse." But it was roused from its suspended animation in 1845, the year the Navy came to town.
Originally, the sea service's answer to West Point was just called the Naval School. Fort Severn, which housed the school, had been built in 1808. Its high surrounding wall, so it was said, had made it a desirable location, not so much for keeping anyone out but for keeping high-spirited young blades in. Navy Secretary George Bancroft appointed Commander Franklin Buchanan as first superintendent of the school. Buchanan, the Marylander destined later to become the highest-ranking officer in the Confederate States Navy, had much to do with shaping the school, which became known as the U.S. Naval Academy in 1850.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, as Maryland lay along the fault line of a nation being ripped in two, midshipmen at the Naval Academy were learning the ropes on as famous a training vessel as a young American could ask for—"Old Ironsides" herself, the USS Constitution . The problem was that Southern sentiments ran high in the surrounding area. The threat of Maryland secessionists to the Naval Academy was imminent. If the state ended up casting its lot with Dixie—and in the spring of 1861, that was a strongly feared possibility—Confederate sympathizers would be bound to try to take the strategically situated campus and to capture the Constitution. To commandeer Old Ironsides would be both a tactical and a highly symbolic coup.
Thus, on 20 April 1861, one day after massive Baltimore unrest resulted in the ripping up of all the rail lines linking Washington to the Northern states, Navy Secretary Gideon Welles wired the Naval Academy: "Defend the Constitution at all hazards. If this cannot be done, destroy her." (All hail the unintended double-entendre.) At just this perilous moment, the Constitution was aground at her moorings, needful of a towing into the wider bay, away from the threat of riverside troublemakers. She had firepower, but no mobility.
Late that night, a steamer hove to off Annapolis. The Academy officers braced for an attack from Baltimore Rebels down to seize the naval grounds. General quarters was sounded on the Constitution, and her four 32-pounders were run out at the stern. Gunnery crews manned battle stations.
But it was friend, not foe: the ferryboat Maryland, down from the head of the Chesapeake with Brigadier General Benjamin F. Butler and more than 700 tightly crowded men of the 8th Massachusetts Volunteers. Butler's regiment had traveled by train as far as Philadelphia before finding the route to Washington thwarted by Rebel-destroyed rails. Butler's troops had marched to the mouth of the Susquehanna River, squeezed aboard the steamer, and headed down the Chesapeake, reaching Annapolis by midnight.
According to an apocryphal account too good not to be true, a teary-eyed Academy Superintendent Captain George S. Blake supposedly hailed General Butler: "Thank God! Thank God! Won't you save the Constitution?"
The lawyer-turned-general, thinking Blake was referring to the document not the ship, said, "Yes, that is just what I am here for."
The venerable fighting frigate was towed free, and four days later, on 24 April 1861, the Naval Academy midshipmen from states still true to the Union boarded the Constitution and shipped out of the Chesapeake; the Academy was moving to Newport, Rhode Island, for the duration of the war.
Sailors left, and Soldiers took their place. In the Civil War's Eastern theater, Annapolis became the main center for receiving released Federal prisoners of war, exchanged or paroled from Confederate POW camps and brought to the Naval Academy wharf in increasing numbers as the battles grew larger and the war dragged on. Wounded, starved to the extreme of skeletal emaciation, maimed, dying, they arrived as many as 6,000 at a time. An Army surgeon on site reported, "I only generalize them when I say their external appearance was wretched in the extreme."
The Naval Academy grounds became covered with long rows of hospital buildings; this was USA General Hospital, Division Number 1. Adjacent to the Academy, the campus green of old St. John's College was transformed into a sea of tents and barracks; USA General Hospital, Division Number 2. Three miles west of Annapolis, a camp was established to process paroled Soldiers awaiting back pay, recuperating from prison-camp life but not needing serious medical attention. It was called Camp Parole, and this section of the Annapolis outskirts is known to this day as Parole.
When the war ended, Annapolis erupted into a jubilant street party from the State House to the City Dock. The brass bands of the Army hospitals belted forth in song. The Army soon evacuated, and the Naval Academy returned by October 1865.
It has never again been ordered to relocate, and through the years it has imbued its host city's name with an inseparable naval connotation. To ears far and wide, "Annapolis" means Navy as "West Point" means Army. Academy lore and mystique have accrued to dynamic degrees over time. The arrival with great fanfare of the remains of John Paul Jones here in 1906 solidified the campus as the nerve center of Navy tradition.
What Visitors Need to Know
Visiting Annapolis with the intention of delving into history creates a pleasant dilemma: There's so much to take in, where do you begin? Since 2006, the answer has been easy: The St. Clair Wright Center's HistoryQuest, located near City Dock at Main and Green streets, admirably lives up to its goal of being "History Tour Central." Several independent guided-tour outfits provide historically themed packages. Capital City Colonials, for example, offers everything from a condensed one-hour tour of the main historic sites to a popular new "food-and-history tour." Guides in authentic colonial garb are chock full of informational minutiae, local lore, and wit. Anyone who has walked the streets of Annapolis will recognize them as a familiar sight. There's also Discover Annapolis, which runs the quaint tour trolleys wending their way through downtown streets. Watermark, meanwhile, offers both costumed walking tours as well as boat excursions.
The beauty of HistoryQuest is that you can shop among almost all of these options at one convenient orientation hub. A HistoryQuest staffer can help you pick the right tour for you, depending on your specific area of interest, be it architectural history, African-American history, colonial history, or what have you. In addition, the facility houses worthwhile introductory exhibits, artifacts, and multi-media presentations to get you started. Run by the Historic Annapolis Foundation, HistoryQuest is an ideal first stop.
For the Naval History reader, first and foremost on the itinerary, of course, is the Naval Academy. As this is one of the essential pilgrimages for anybody who travels in search of sea history, it should be considered a separate tour in and of itself, regardless of what other downtown exploring you do. You can arrange a guided tour of the Academy at HistoryQuest, or for this leg of your Annapolis expedition, you can simply make for the Academy's Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center, located inside Gate 1, which runs its own tours. (Bear in mind that, post-9/11, to get on the Yard you'll need a photo ID if you're over 16, no vehicles are allowed through the gates without Department of Defense decals, and the driver must present an official military, staff, or faculty ID.)
The 75-minute guided tour takes in the requisite Naval Academy must-sees, foremost among them being the awe-inspiring crypt of John Paul Jones. Words in marble on the floor before the sarcophagus say it all: "He gave our Navy its earliest traditions of heroism and victory." Jones' resting place is beneath the Naval Academy Chapel, the interior of which is breathtaking in its scale, rising loftily to what seems like Heaven itself—it's enough to make even Christopher Hitchens feel religious. You'll also see the rotunda of massive Bancroft Hall, the world's largest dormitory. Also open to the pubic in Bancroft is Memorial Hall (site of the 2007 Annapolis Peace Conference), with its roll call of Naval Academy war dead and Medal of Honor recipients. Encased in glass here is a replica (the original is under restoration) of Oliver Hazard Perry's iconic "Dont Give Up the Ship" flag from the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie—perhaps the closest thing to a sacred relic in the U.S. Navy. Beneath it is the Memorial Hall dedication plaque: "to the honor of those alumni who have been killed in action defending the ideals of their country. . . . They silently stand watch wherever Navy ships ply the waters of the globe."
While the guided tours cover such essential Academy sights, the Yard is filled with fascinating artifacts that help to tell the Navy story, a monument here, a cannon there, a ship's bell here, a statue there. The true naval history buff will want to take the time to branch off and see them all, with A Walk in the Yard: A Self-Guided Tour of the U.S. Naval Academy , by Taylor Baldwin Kiland and Jamie Howren, in hand. It's the best possible bring-along for such an excursion, and it's published by a most reputable house, a certain Yard resident known as the Naval Institute Press.
The only drawback to an Annapolis visit in 2008 is that, while it comes during the city's tricentennial year, it also comes at a time when the great Naval Academy Museum, located in Preble Hall, is closed for an extensive $17 million renovation. The museum shut its doors in December 2007 for an 18-month overhaul. It will be worth a return to Annapolis to see its grand reopening.
Beyond the Naval Academy gates, more sites abound for the American history devotee. Again unfortunately for visitors in 2008, the State House, including the Old Senate Chamber, the scene of Washington's resignation speech, is closing for nine months of restoration and preservation work after the legislative session closes in April. An interpretive exhibit on the history of the building, including several artifacts, will be on display in the House Office Building across the street from the State House until the work is done. Even if you're unable to get inside, a stroll around the exterior grounds of the State House is worthwhile.
Four Signers' Homes
Maryland had four Signers of the Declaration of Independence: William Paca (pronounced PAY-ca), Samuel Chase, Charles Carroll, and Thomas Stone (generations of Maryland school kids have memorized the quartet by way of the incantation, "Paca Chased Carroll with a Stone"). All of the Maryland signers' homes are extant and in the state capital city. Three of the four—the Charles Carroll House, the Chase-Lloyd House, and the William Paca House and Garden—are open to the public to one degree or another. For historical aura alone, they're of great interest; architecturally, they are exquisite marvels as well. Stone's residence, the Peggy Stewart House, is privately owned, but a tour guide can still point it out to you.
If the 18th-century grandeur of the Paca House and Carroll House grab you, then the 1774 Hammond-Harwood House also is highly recommended. It is one of the most popular colonial sites in Annapolis, ingeniously and elegantly designed, and a beautiful step back in time.
The nautically minded will find the relatively new Annapolis Maritime Museum of interest. Located across the drawbridge from City Dock in Eastport (the residents of which declared themselves a maritime republic when the bridge was closed for repairs a few years back), the museum interprets local shipbuilding and seafood-industry history, and is the embarkation point for boat tours to the historic Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. (See "Museum Report," p. 72.) Staffed by a dedicated crew, small but growing, the Annapolis Maritime Museum is a welcome addition to the local history scene.
While in Eastport, the self-guided Eastport walking tour is a nice way to immerse yourself in the aforementioned thriving shipbuilding legacy of the area. The walk takes in the former locations of three of the most historically significant 20th-century boatyards on the East Coast, where Navy contract vessels and elegant yachts came into being for more than half a century.
Entire books could be and have been written about the seemingly endless historic sites crammed into Annapolis. In scratching the surface here, we have indicated a few salient reasons why to visit—in terms of when to visit, what better time than when the city is in the midst of a year-long 300th birthday party?
Shipbuilding in 'South County'
By Lyman Hall
A property just off Muddy Creek Road not far south of Annapolis, in what locals call "South County," is a former shipyard attacked by British marines in the Revolutionary War, and remnants of it are still there. A young Scotsman, Stephen Steward, purchased the parcel in 1751. By the time the American Revolution began, Steward had established himself as a premiere shipwright, producing quality oceangoing merchant ships.
The newly formed Annapolis Council of Safety's first priority was the protection of the Chesapeake Bay. The council selected Steward as an agent and sent him to Philadelphia to review construction of ships being built for the defense of the Delaware River and to make subsequent recommendations to the council. He returned not only with recommendations, but also presented plans for two major vessels. One was called the Mashen, a barge that would be anchored at the mouth of the Severn River to protect Annapolis. The floating sentinel was to be 108 feet long by 32 feet wide, drawing 5 ½ tons, and outfitted with 20 18-pounder cannon. But the council never approved the design.
Steward's second plans were for construction of a warship designed to operate in the bay. While these plans were approved and contracts awarded to several shipwrights, a description of Steward's warship has never been recovered. However, based on the ships he was building at the time, it was likely a galley gunboat adapted for the bay. Steward also built two large warships, the Johnson and the Conqueror, both over 100 feet on the deck.
Steward's Shipyard became the Maryland State Colonial Shipyard, where he built warships, converted merchant ships, surveyed captured warships, supplied captains and crew members, purchased food, and stocked ships. Expeditions were planned and put into operation from the yard. One source even shows Steward as captain of Maryland's ship, the Defense. He also served as a courier and in one case ran the British blockade, transporting money to patriot John Hancock. Steward was appointed medical procurement officer by the Annapolis Council of Safety, and he was one of the first elected delegates from the state's Anne Arundel County.
Among Stephen Steward's greatest achievements was passing on his patriotism to his children. His oldest son, John, joined the Maryland Independent Army in February 1776 and fought his way from the Battle of Long Island—one of the Maryland 400 to survive that engagement—to the Battle of Yorktown.
Steward's daughter, Elizabeth, married a local boy named Fredrick Skinner, and the couple had two sons, Henry and John. The latter served with Joshua Barney and became known as "Maryland's Paul Revere" after riding his horse from St. Leonard's Creek to warn President James Madison that the British were coming. He also accompanied Francis Scott Key to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, who was being held prisoner by the British. After the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore, it was Skinner whom Francis Scott Key first showed his work known today as "The Star Spangled Banner." Documentation also exists that he was the one who had it published.
In 1810 Captain William Norman purchased the remnants of the Steward shipyard. Using the old shipyard as his home base, Norman led the West River Militia against the British at the Battle of Kirby's Mill, the only battle in the War of 1812 to take place in southern Anne Arundel County. Thus, the property today is known as Norman's Retreat.
Mr. Hall is the current owner of Norman's Retreat and is writing a book on the history of the property.
Annapolis Alive! Celebrating Three Amazing Centuries
Special events have been ongoing for the past few months and are continuing. Some upcoming highlights include:
Check in frequently at www.annapolisalive.org/calendar for continually updated information on these events.
To the naval history enthusiast, Annapolis is one of the key places in America to visit, and revisit; if you haven't done so in a while, this celebratory year is a good time to chart a course for here again.
When You Visit
Even the most ardent Annapolitan civic booster will admit (with extra cursing optional) that the main bane to visiting this fair city is the parking situation, which can be pretty rough on a busy weekend. If your lodgings are downtown, then you are in luck and in walking distance of the main points of interest. If you are visiting by car, you can cruise for street parking, but your best bet is the Noah Hillman Parking Garage, with entrances at Duke of Gloucester and Gorman streets. Securing a space here puts you within a stone's throw of HistoryQuest (your best starting point) and within shoe-leather proximity of all downtown attractions. Call 410-263-9583.
U.S. Naval Academy Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center
State House Visitors Center
Chase-Lloyd House
William Paca House and Garden
Hammond-Harwood House
Annapolis Maritime Museum


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Obsessed with Seeds..
Long before I had a vegetable garden or greenhouse I was really interested in different vegetable varieties and used to peruse seed catalogues longingly in the same way my husband studied car brochures full of fancy cars we were never going to own.
Even though we still don't have a fancy car, we do have a vegetable garden and greenhouse. This means I now study seed catalogues with a whole new degree of enthusiasm - a level of excitement usually reserved for a Prada catalogue.
Over the last few months I have had many DMCs (deep, meaningful conversations) with Tony - the real source of all the work, knowledge and skill relating to the garden mostly discussing what we are going to grow this year.
|The seeds came from : Franchi (Italy), Thompson & Morgan, Tomatofest (USA), Victoriana Nursery and Sarah Raven
My Vegetable Varieties for 2014
The list is similar to last year with additions, adjustments and the odd thing such as butternut and pattypan squash we've decided not to bother with - more of that later but for now here's what we're growing in the greenhouse this year.
The biggest change has been this year's tomato choices. I discovered a brilliant US website called Tomatofest. They had a HUGE choice. I chose several varieties that are entirely new to me based on flavour (obviously) but also making sure I had different colours and sizes and some that were better for sauces.
Those marked with * came from the US supplier Tomatofest, The Costoluto Fiorentina came from Franchi seeds in Italy, Black Cherry from Victoriana Nursery and the remaining ones from Thompson and Morgan.
|April. The tomato plants have just gone in to the beds or planters on the floor (which are a new addition this year).
|The Greenhouse today ( a month later). Despite the cold weather everything is doing well.
|End of April, mixed tomato plants go into beds in the greenhouse.
|Today, L to R: Black Russian, Black cherry, Caro Rich also in this bed (not seen) Tigerella and Costoluto Fiorentina
This Year's Tomato Varieties:
* Aunt Ruby's German Green - a green beefsteak tomato with apparently excellent flavour (we will see…)
* Lime Green Salad - a medium sized, chartreuse coloured tomato
Sungold - an excellent, sweet, orange-yellow cherry tomato - we grew it last year.
* Ildi - a yellow grape tomato - came as an extra with the other seeds I ordered, looks good though.
Caro Rich a medium sized, orange tomato with ten times more beta carotene in it than other tomatoes - very interesting
|Caro Rich grown from seed now transplanted into in the vegetable garden. Those in the greenhouse will crop earlier
Tigerella a delicious large red and orange/green striped tomato. We grew this last year too.
* Matt's wild Cherry - Very small, red, cherry tomatoes. I've read mixed reviews of them but worth a try if for no other reason than my husband is called Matt!
* Spoon even smaller red tomatoes, the size of a pea. The novelty appealed to me, the website claims they're sweet and tart (but annoying to pick).
|The tomatoes stay tiny - about the size of a pea. These are in the greenhouse but there are some outside too.
Costuluto Fiorentina the original, red, Italian beefsteak tomato. I'm trying this in place of last year's slightly disappointing 'Brandywine'.
Black Russian we grew these last year - a warm chocolatey colour - pretty, with excellent flavour.
Black Cherry similar to Black Russian but cherry sized with very good flavour
Like last year we'll squeeze what we can into the greenhouse (about 15 plants) and the rest have been planted outside this week.
Also in the Greenhouse:
'Socrates' a prolific,small cucumber sweet and delicious. Absolutely fantastic. Last year they were one of my favourite things that we grew.
|End of April, The cucumber plants are in planters on the greenhouse bench, they'll be trained up wires
|A month later, I counted 18 cucumbers on this plant so far.
|The first cucumber of the year, curiously way ahead of any of the others !
Chillies - not sure what sort ! We grew some from seeds we were given at Wahaca (the Mexican restaurant), plus a hot chilli mix
Herbs - Newly grown from seed in the greenhouse this year - Greek Basil, Chervil and Coriander. Everything else has overwintered ourside.
|Chervil, one of my very favourite herbs.
|A tray of Greek Basil. It forms a ball and looks a bit like a Box hedge
Before being planted outside
|More Squash
|Yet more Squash
Next time: The varieties we are growing in the vegetable garden.


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The Mill is a typical example of the large number of decaying industrial architectural pearls from the 19th and 20th centuries rotting away in the Czech Republic. Thankfully, it has been undergoing a slow reconstruction over the past 5 years with a maximum level of respect for its heritage and in harmony with the surrounding village and landscape.
The Mill has a long and somewhat difficult to uncover history. Dolní Žďár was Sudeten and called Niedermuehle (Lower Mill) before World War II. The Mill was the center of commercial if not community activities and contained in its 3 buildings a bakery (complete with glazed brick baking oven), saw, store and warehouse. The mill was nationalized in 1948 and had reached a state of devastation by the time it was sold to private persons in 2002, at which time the town was trying to sell it to help finance the construction of a water system.
The present structures were built about a century ago, although there is evidence of a mill in this spot for at least three centuries. The water still turns a wheel - now it's a hydroelectric turbine, which sells its electricity back to the grid.
The Czech Republic is a cool little landlocked country south of Germany and Poland, with a national addiction to pork and beer. Potatos, cabbage, and dumplings are close behind them, and they also have this great bar food called "utopenec." It means "a drowned man," it's pickled sausage with onions, perfect with some dark wheat bread and beer. The Czech bread is legendary, like a meal all by itself.Czechoslovakia first became a sovereign state in 1918 when it declared independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The state of Czechoslovakia lasted until the "Velvet Divorce" of 1993, which created Slovakia and the Czech Republic.It was occupied by Germany in WWII but escaped major damage, unlike most other European cities. The nation's capital, Prague, retains some of Europe's most beautiful Baroque architecture as well as one of the largest medieval castle complexes still standing. The President of the Czech Republic has his offices in the Prague Castle even today.There was a coup d'etat in 1948 and Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet rule. For fifty years Czechoslovakia was a Socialist state under the USSR, subject to censorship, forced atheism and even the arrest of jazz musicians!In 1989, communist police violently squashed a pro-democracy demonstration and pissed everybody off so bad that a revolution erupted over it, finally ending the Communist rule.The next twenty years saw rapid economic growth and westernization. Today in Prague you can eat at McDonald's or KFC, shop for snowboarding boots and go see a punk rock show.The Czech Republic took over the presidency of the European Union in January 2009. This instantly created lots of political drama because the President of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, is a renowned Euroskeptic.We anxiously await the outcome of "President Klaus vs. the Lisbon Treaty", a world heavywieght fight sceduled for spring 2009.Text by Steve Smith.


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We just got in some of these Sturmey-Archer 3-speed bar-end shifters. They can be paired up with our IGGY wheelsets to give you more bike setup options and will make a great compliment to many 3-speed builds.
In other blog-worthy news, Pake finally got a blog up, and its been used to announce some serious changes to their lineup for 2010. We'll let them do the talking about the new stuff, but lets say they made some great changes to their track frame and forks, and aren't afraid of having a few colors in their lineup!


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As the old adage goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Nothing could be truer when it comes to advertising. Great ads can yield dramatic results, but if the product quality isn't there, well, that horse won't be pulling out the platinum card anytime soon.
Still, great ad campaigns can be revolutionary. They can change the way people live their daily lives—for better or for worse. By its own admission, AdAge refers to its selection of the top advertising campaigns of the 20th century as including: "two air polluters, nutritionless sugar water, one reviled carcinogen, two companies infamous for the use of virtual slave labor, one purveyor of savory cardiovascular time bombs, two booze peddlers and one cosmetic product preying on the vanity of women."
For better or for worse, here we celebrate the Top 10 advertising campaigns of the 20th century and, of course, the products that went along with them.
Posted July 7, 2011
By Constance Parten
CNBC Titans: Procter & Gamble premieres Thursday, July 7 at 9p | 10p | 12a | 1a ET.


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bestfightstory wrote:The chances have nothing to do with those games.
In the Divisional Round, top seeds are 31-13 since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990. The No. 1 seed has fared better in the NFC, going 18-4 over that span as compared to a 13-9 record for the top team in the AFC.
kmedic wrote:Anyone have any idea how often more than one away team has won in the divisional round? Baltimore has already won, GB looking good so far. What are the chances the Hawks can win as well?
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Basketball coach Scott Sanderson has announced the signing of combo guard Michael Lusk from North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Ga.
"Mike is an excellent student-athlete for Lipscomb University," said Sanderson. "He will excel both on and off of the court. Besides being a very good student, he is very skilled and athletic. We are excited about Mike's future here."
His senior season Lusk, 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, averaged 20.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He also made 57-of-163 3-point attempts, a 35 percent success rate. He also made 40 steals and blocked 18 shots. He was second in the county in scoring and sixth in rebounds. His 75.9 percent success rate from the free throw line was eighth best in the county.
"Mike has matured into a fine young man during his four-year career at North Cobb," said Terry Gorsuch, his high school coach. "He is liked and respected by his peers and the faculty."
Lusk was named first team All-County in 2005 and won the 2005 Naismith Award from the Atlanta Tip-Off Club. He was also an honorable mention All-State selection.
Other awards include the Powerade Festival Invitational All-Tournament Team in 2003 and 2004. Lusk was the Cobb County T-p-Off Club Player of the Month in 2004 and 2005. He was named to the Cobb County Tip-Off Club All-County Second Team for the 2003-2004 season. In 2005 he was also a McDonald's All-American Team nominee.
At North Cobb Lusk won a number of team awards including North Cobb High School Best Defensive Player (sophomore), North Cobb MVP (junior and senior), North Cobb Top Rebounder (senior).
"Mike has been the cornerstone of the program for the past two years," Gorsuch said. "He has really worked hard to develop into a total player."
Lusk played on the varsity team all four years at North Cobb. He scored 1,000 points in his high school career.
"I know Mike is excited about attending Lipscomb, and I believe he will be an asset to the university both as a student and an athlete," said Gorsuch.


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Next Episode of Mathews TV with Dave Watson is
As well as his expertise as a hunter, Dave Watson's credentials include an intimate knowledge of a wide range of outdoor activities including bass and fly fishing, pistol and sporting clay competition, long range target shooting, scuba diving, survival training, horsemanship and packing. Through his outdoor seminars, national television productions, song-writing and performing, Dave Watson plays an important role in introducing people of all ages to the outdoors on Mathews TV with Dave Watson.
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(Click on photo to see larger image)
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This complete beginner's package has
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COLUMBIA - A proposed sand mine in Jasper County has stirred up enough public objections to prompt state regulators to hold a hearing on the private project next month.
Noise, truck traffic and dust are common concerns that arise within communities with mining operations.
Those are the likely fears of Hardeeville-area residents who, along with anyone else, will have a chance to be heard again when the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control holds a public hearing on Reed-HTI's request for a state permit to mine sand.
The 5-year permit would be for 110 acres located within a mile of the Savannah Wildlife Refuge and about 5 miles south of Hardeeville. Reed has described the site, which hasn't been mined before, as mainly scattered hardwood trees and planted pine trees, with a wetlands system to the north and south, Highway 17 to the west and an abandoned CSX railroad to the east.
Reed, which lists a Berkeley Hall Boulevard address in Bluffton on its application, wants to dig a sand mine 20-25 feet deep on what it dubs the Savannah Tract. There are currently 13 mines in Jasper County, six in Beaufort County, and 540 active mine permits statewide, according to DHEC.
The mine won't involve blasting, pumping groundwater or filling in wetlands, nor affect any cultural or historically significant sites, according to the company's application. But it lists excavators, loaders, bulldozers, and off-road trucks as machinery residents of the area can expect, if the project goes forward.
DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick said the public hearing was scheduled in response to requests from residents of a nearby subdivision. He said state regulation requires a hearing to be held if at least 10 people ask or at the request of an organization representing the same number of people.
"We have already spoken with some of the concerned citizens in order to get more information about their concerns," said Myrick on Wednesday.
In 1974 the S.C. General Assembly passed the South Carolina Mining Act to make sure all mined lands would be restored in order to protect community residents and the environment. Mining refers to extracting ores from the ground and selling it or using it in a business, such as brick manufacturing, according to DHEC.
If you'd like to attend the public hearing:
The hearing will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 13, in Hardeeville City Hall, located at 605 E. Main St. DHEC staff will be be able to meet with citizens 30 minutes before it starts. Another round of written comments will also be accepted after the hearing until 5 p.m. on Sept. 28. Those may be mailed to Marianna DePratter at SCDHEC, BLWM/ DMSWM, 2600 Bull St., Columbia, S.C. 29201.


text: Samsung is showing off a marketing teaser with a wave of their magic wand to indicate they will be at the IFA Mobile Unpacked Event on August 29th. They are being cryptic about what they will reveal, as usual, but the current industry speculation is that it will be the launch of the Galaxy Note II. Of course, they could surprise us with something completely different like the Galaxy Note 10.1 Tablet. Or... perhaps they might launch both. Stranger things have happened. Regardless, we will keep you apprised. Source: S3Forums via Samsung


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A woman who killed her seven-year-old son after he failed to memorise extracts from the Koran has been found guilty of murder.
Sara Ege, 33, beat her son Yaseen to death with a stick at their home in Cardiff in July 2010 then set fire to his body in an attempt to get rid of the evidence.
It was originally thought that the seven-year-old died in a fire at the family home in Pontcanna.
His mother was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice at Cardiff crown court. She will return to court in the New Year to be sentenced. Judge Justice Wyn Williams told her she faces life in jail.
Her husband, Yusef, 38, was found not guilty of causing or allowing his son to die by failing to protect him.
Ege had claimed her husband was responsible for the death, saying she feared he would kill her too if she did not confess to the killing.
In police interviews, Ege claimed she would hit her son "like a dog" in frustration because he had not learnt the Koran. She also confessed to beating her son for no reason.
She told officers: "I was getting all this bad stuff in my head, like I couldn't concentrate, I was getting angry too much, I would shout at Yaseen all the time.
"I was getting very wild and I hit Yaseen with a stick on his back like a dog."
She described how her son collapsed on the floor after she beat him before dragging him to the kitchen, still murmuring extracts from the Koran.
When she returned 10 minutes later, he was dead.
Abdominal injuries
"A greenish yellow liquid came from his nose and I saw that he was gone," she said.
The prosecution said Yaseen died after suffering significant abdominal injuries. Prosecutor Ian Murphy said: "Sara Ege made no attempt to seek the medical attention he so obviously needed.
"He clearly suffered terribly. She started the fire to hide what she had done."
The guilty verdict was given after a previous jury was discharged for failing to reach a decision.
Deborah Rogers, district crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, added: "The deeply tragic nature of this case has been all too apparent to anyone that has followed this trial.
"This is the second time that the events leading to Yaseen's death have been put before a court.
"At the heart of the case is the loss of a bright and friendly young boy who had his whole life ahead of him.
"It is therefore right that the circumstances of Yaseen's death were fully examined in a criminal court."


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The Habitat Agenda Goals and Principles, Commitments and the Global Plan of Action
The Habitat Agenda is the main political document that came out of the Habitat II conference in Istanbul, Turkey 3 to 14 June 1996. Adopted by 171 countries, at what was called the City Summit it contains over 100 commitments and 600 recommendations on human settlements issues. The agenda has numerous reference to women and gender referring to areas that need to be addressed in order to empower women. They include women's right to land, housing and property.


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SOURCE: Franklin Templeton
December 02, 2010 14:08 ET
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL--(Marketwire - December 2, 2010) - Templeton Dragon Fund, Inc. (NYSE: TDF) today announced a total distribution of $0.5283, comprised of net investment income of $0.1981 per share, short-term capital gains distribution of $0.0327 per share and long-term capital gains distribution of $0.2975 per share, payable on December 31, 2010 to shareholders of record on December 16, 2010 (Ex-Dividend Date: December 14, 2010).
The Fund's investment manager, Templeton Asset Management Ltd., is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over $664 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2010. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN® or visit franklintempleton.com.
For more information, please contact: Franklin Templeton Investments 1-800-342-5236
For more information, please contact: Franklin Templeton Investments 1-800-342-5236
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Factorial wrote:Shyster wrote:Factorial wrote:Shyster is a Brony?
My favorite character out of the Mane Six would be Fluttershy, although I think Princess Luna is my favorite character overall.
Not lumping you in with these guys but here's some interviews with some attendees of Bronycon:
Stern wants to make good radio and would of course imply that all male fans of the show are perverts to are pleasuring themselves to MPL-themed porn. While that certainly does take place, it's a tiny percentage of the fandom. The show is well-written, well-animated, and has interesting themes and characters. Yes, MLP: FIM is aimed at young girls, but it's capable of being watched by people of all ages without feeling like your intelligence is being insulted. I'd also place cartoons like The Powerpuff Girls, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, and the two Avatar: The Last Airbender series into that category. And yes, I've watched all of those. (As an aside, Lauren Faust, the creator of the Friendship is Magic incarnation of the MLP cartoon franchise, worked on both The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's, and she's the spouse of Craig McCracken, who was the creator and producer of both those shows and also was the director and art director of Dexter's Laboratory.)
I'm always bemused when I get a negative response when I say I'm a fan of MLP: FIM when people probably wouldn't bat an eye if I said I was a viewer of mind-numbing garbage like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo or one of various The Real Housewives incarnations.


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Paul Trost of Huntley on Sunday graduated his first class of students seeking an Illinois concealed-carry permit.
He had four students. This coming weekend, he and another instructor will buddy up to train 30 of his fellow co-workers at a rural private range.
Instructor David Conrad Jr. with Anywhere CCW, a Richmond business that teaches firearms courses, said the company is constantly booking new concealed-carry classes to accommodate the demand.
Local residents who are certified to give the necessary classes anticipate business is going to keep rising. There are 34 people in McHenry County, and 1,169 statewide to date, who are authorized to give the 16-hour block of instruction needed to get permission to carry a concealed weapon in Illinois.
Right now, classes are mostly filled with gun enthusiasts who have been waiting for decades for an Illinois concealed-carry law, Conrad said. But he expects the demand – which he already calls "absolutely phenomenal" – to pick up further as rank-and-file firearms owners seek the license.
"Right now, a lot of people taking the classes now are your strong Second Amendment supporters, and once people start hearing about the classes, it's going to grow in size and number substantially over the next six months," Conrad said Monday.
Illinois is the last state in the union to allow citizens some form of carrying handguns in public. Illinois State Police applications for people who have completed the course from a certified instructor will be available starting in January – the agency estimates that 400,000 people will apply next year for permits.
Lawmakers in the last days of the spring session May 31 hashed out a bill authorizing concealed carry to comply with a 2012 federal court ruling striking down Illinois' ban. They overrode an amendatory veto by Gov. Pat Quinn in July, one week before the ban was set to expire under an extended court order.
Local instructors prior to the ban's repeal have taught the course needed to get concealed-carry permits for Utah and Florida because those permits are recognized in 35 states. Illinois' new concealed-carry law does not recognize out-of-state permits, but has a provision regarding people with such permits who are traveling through.
Trost, who lived for 20 years in Florida, has mixed praise for Illinois' new law – he said it could have ended up a lot worse. Gun laws in Illinois have been a mixed bag because of the differences between Chicago legislators, who advocate strict gun control, and downstate lawmakers – Democrats and Republicans alike – who support gun rights.
"For Illinois, it's a pretty good law. But it's limited – there's a patchwork of places where you can and can't carry, which brings a huge liability to the law-abiding citizen," Trost said.
Illinois' new law is among the more stringent in the nation. Applicants must pay a $150 fee – the fee is $300 for out-of-state residents – and must complete a 16-hour training course, the longest of any state. Applicants also must have a valid state Firearm Owners Identification card.
A permit is good for five years, and renewing it requires taking a three-hour refresher course. The course requirement is halved to eight hours for honorably discharged members of the U.S. Armed Forces.
The class standards released by the state police include a minimum of two hours on firearm safety, three hours on basic marksmanship, three hours on care and handling of a concealable firearm, four hours on applicable state and federal laws and four hours on weapons handling and live fire.
The law forbids carrying in a number of locations, such as parks, mass transit, bars and dining establishments where more than half of the revenue comes from alcohol sales. Businesses also have the right to ban concealed weapons from their premises. The state police last week released the state-mandated sign – a silhouette of a semi-automatic handgun with a red line through it.
The law also includes increased mental health reporting requirements and allows local law enforcement to object to granting a license to anyone they feel is a danger to himself or others.
But Trost said that he – and any responsible instructor – already do that. He said he is very selective about who he instructs – many of his students were approached by him, not the other way around.
"I'm very pro-gun, but there are people out there who shouldn't carry them," Trost said.


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November is the month for remembering the dead, and with cold weather rendering the lives of homeless people even more difficult, my own remembrance of the dead focuses on a Catholic Worker named Michael Kirwan. The third anniversary of his death from cancer was Nov. 12.
I met Michael two decades ago at the home of a community of religious women in Washington, D.C. He had stopped by to pick up soup they had prepared for him, which he would take to the various places where homeless men and women congregate in the nation's capital.
Michael's ministry came to him virtually from birth—his parents met after World War II while they were volunteers at the Catholic Worker house of hospitality in New York City. He himself spent a year there later, learning, so to speak, at the feet of Dorothy Day, the movement's co-founder. His parents by then had moved to Washington, D.C., and Dorothy Day often stayed in the family home during her travels.
It was in Washington that Michael founded two houses of hospitality, and later a farm in West Virginia where homeless men and women could find respite from the streets. The donors who made this possible saw in Michael's Gospel-oriented approach to life an embracing of values radically contrary to the values of the world. In one of his newsletters, he hints at how his embracing of these values led to leaps of faith on behalf of those for whom, he knew, God has a special love. On a freezing cold day at one of the city parks he visited regularly with sandwiches and hot tea, he met a shivering homeless man who said he wanted to go to the farm—280 miles away. Michael said he would be going that day and would pick him up later. "I had no intention of going that day," he wrote, "I needed to get the newsletter started, but again my heart overruled my head and I went." This was the hallmark of his life—a heart so united with Christ's that it often overruled what others would have called common sense.
The actual beginnings of his work came while he was engaged in graduate studies at George Washington University in the late 1970's. Aware of the homeless people seeking warmth on the heating grates of the nearby State Department, he began preparing food for them. But then one night a man asked if he could shave and shower at Michael's university-owned apartment. Little by little he let others come there. Not all were ideal guests. One day the bank called to say that someone was seeking to cash five checks with Michael's forged signature. Should they call the police? No, said Michael, "just give him the checks back and tell him to come home." The man did so, stayed and stole nothing more. It was Michael's heart that informed such a level of trust.
Eventually, the university found out what he was doing and evicted him, but by then his mission was clear. He acquired a small, boarded-up house and moved in with 15 homeless people. The house was broken into the very first night. Writing in The Catholic Worker newspaper in 1991, he described what happened: "In confronting the guy who was climbing in the kitchen window, having pried the boards off, I told him he needn't have gone to all that trouble; the front door was broken anyway." Basic Michael. He later moved to a larger house on T Street in northwest Washington, closer to the downtown area where homeless people moved about, and named it the Llewellyn Scott House—after an African American who had taken homeless men into his home near Union Station in the 1950's.
The T Street neighborhood was beginning to be gentrified, and neighbors sometimes complained, but Michael stood his ground. Later he started another house, for women, called the Mary Harris House after an elderly black woman who provided meals for homeless people in the neighborhood of his first house. He felt it important to honor people like her and Llewellyn Scott, who had gone before him in serving homeless people at a time when they received scant attention. Through the work of family members and volunteers, both houses continue to this day, along with the farm, providing food, shelter and a level of respect that helps those who live there regain their dignity as well as their health.
One of the most remarkable of Michael's heart-over-head acts concerned Sholl's Cafeteria, a longtime institution popular for its modest prices, good food and varied clientele. In 1996, a check for $5,000 arrived in the afternoon mail. Having recently seen an old man struggling with frozen hands to eat soup Michael had brought, Michael resolved that if enough money came his way, he would make it possible for street people to go into a restaurant and sit down at a table with real silverware.
His plan could now take shape. He went to Sholl's and ordered a full meal with dessert to see what the bill would come to: $11.90. He then approached the owners, a married couple, to ask whether they would print up $12 meal tickets. They agreed, and Michael began handing out the tickets.
A few weeks later, he met a bag-laden homeless woman to whom he had given a ticket. How, he asked, had she been treated? Describing the encounter in an op-ed piece in The Washington Post, he reported her answer. "They treated me like a queen!" she told him with a broad smile. "If nothing else had gone right after that," he added, "that moment alone would have been worth it." He began to hear other stories, of such large portions that ticket holders brought in friends and acquaintances to share them, "because all were able to eat off one ticket."
Clearly, the owners' hearts were touched by Michael's own. He had still further proof of their generosity later, when, assuming that the $5,000 must have been used up, he went by Sholl's to ask whether he owed them anything. He was amazed to learn that not only was no money owed, but that $1,600 remained in the account. What the owners had done, he found, was to subtract from the face value of the ticket the actual price of what an individual had ordered, and credit the remainder to the account. This is an example of what might be called Gospel accounting, rather than profit-oriented business accounting. The owners had chosen to be part of Michael's undertaking, despite their struggles to stay afloat in the face of rising costs. Donations continued to make the tickets possible right up until Sholl's—a victim of relentless rent increases—finally went out of business last year, less than a month after Michael died.
I felt fortunate in being able to visit Michael at his sister's home just outside Washington shortly before his death. A nurse, she ensured that his pain was at a minimum. The weather was warm enough for us to be able to sit on the porch. His mood was peaceful, his confidence in God's plan for him total. Despite increasing weakness, he had continued with the preparation of the daily soup at the T Street house until the last few months, strengthened then as always by the sacraments. Daily Mass whenever possible was part of his regular schedule. After the funeral Mass at his longtime parish, St. Stephen Martyr near George Washington University—where his vocation first became apparent to him—a mutual friend said of Michael: "He taught us how to live, and in dying he taught us how to die." How appropriate that the anniversary of his death should occur in the same month as that of Dorothy Day, his original mentor.


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I got pretty addicted to tennis this summer and I'm steadily improving my strokes and reaction speed. I'm probably around 3.0 at this point. I'm looking for a hitting partner. I'm comfortable with just about any playing style you may have. Currently my schedule is really flexible and I'm interested in someone who can play at least twice a week.
Thank you.
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Replies to This Discussion
I'd love to play.
Can't promise my level but I want to get better and that only happens with playing.
I'm in Hayward and available week days.
This week Thurs or Fri work for me.
call if easier to arrange.
I am also interested and would like to improve my game and playing time. Typically, I play on sundays and selective nights in Castro valley or Hayward. I would also be interested in playing on lighted courts.
Hi, I'm available to play late afternoon/evening in Hayward or San Leandro. Or possibly weekends also.
Hi, I'd like to hook up with you. I am currently trying to get back of hitting after my should operation. It is a perfect set up for me. Please let me know.
If you are still looking for a hitting partner I am in Hayward and I'm about a 3.0 as well. Would love to play for now on weekends until my schedule at work stabilizes. Let me know!
I can play this Friday after 5PM or Sunday morning. I am about a 3.0 player.
© 2019 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


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INTERPOL is the world's largest international police organization, with 194 member countries. Our role is to enable police around the world to work together to make the world a safer place. Our high-tech infrastructure of technical and operational support helps meet the growing challenges of fighting crime in the 21st century.
This is where you will find the latest news and multimedia from INTERPOL. Read our news stories and speeches; see the Organization in action through videos and photo galleries; and download our fact sheets, brochures and annual reports.
At INTERPOL today, we have a strong network of 194 member countries, each represented by a National Central Bureau and committed on a daily basis to international police cooperation.
Our global police communications channels and internationally recognized alert systems allow police around the world to share data instantly and securely. A 24-hour contact point and specialized teams provide targeted support to serious crime or disaster incidents.
Database statistics
We have seen a steady increase in the use of the INTERPOL Stolen Motor Vehicle (SMV) database by member countries, both in terms of the number of records contributed and the number of searches carried out.
The figures at a glance
At the end of December 2017:
- 7.19 million records of reported stolen motor vehicles;
- Over 256 million searches of the database during 2015;
- 126 countries share their national stolen vehicle database records with INTERPOL;
- Around 118,000 motor vehicles were identified worldwide during the year through the SMV database.
Statistics 2012 – 2017
Geographical spread
Countries uploading their national databases into ASF-SMV
Countries who have searched in ASF-SMV
Countries who have registered hits in ASF-SMV
Fact sheets


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Central Connecticut head lacrosse coach Kelly Nangle has announced the Blue Devils' 2013 schedule, which features seven home games at the newly expanded Arute Field. The Blue Devils have 17 games on the schedule, including a full slate of Northeast Conference contests, and the NEC Tournament will begin April 26, with the championship game on April 28.
"We are very excited for our 2013 schedule," said Nangle, the 2012 NEC Coach of the Year. "We have added a lot of quality teams that are going to challenge us. We are excited to get going and play against some great competition."
The Blue Devils open the season on February 22, at Lafayette and then play their home opener on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Central will host Stony Brook at 4 p.m. in the opener at the newly expanded Arute Field.
The Stony Brook game will open a stretch of four games, including three home games, in 10 days for the Blue Devils. On March 2, Central will travel to Villanova for its third non-conference game of the season. On March 6, CCSU will host Siena and then two days later Longwood will visit Arute Field. The Siena and Longwood contests will start at 4 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
A trip to LaSalle on March 16, and a visit to Manhattan College on March 19, will be the final two games before the NEC slate begins with a trip to Saint Francis (PA) and Robert Morris on March 22 and 24.
Home conference games will begin the following weekend when intrastate rivals Sacred Heart and Quinnipiac visit New Britain. The Sacred Heart game will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 28, and the Quinnipiac game will start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 30.
April will bring NEC road games at Bryant on the 5th, at Wagner on the 12th, and at LIU Brooklyn on the 14th.
The Blue Devils will play their final non-conference game of the season on April 17, at Holy Cross. That game is currently schedule for 7 p.m.
Central will close out the regular season by hosting Mount St. Mary's and Monmouth on April 19, and 21, respectively. The Mount St. Mary's game will be played at 4 p.m. and the Monmouth game will start at noon.
The Blue Devils finished the 2012 season with a 7-9 record, which tied the program mark for wins in a season. In NEC play CCSU finished 5-4, which set a new program record for conference wins.
*Game times subject to change


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Use this thread to request anything you need.
Exanples -
1) User 1 needs a reference and after checking the usual sources like the-blueprints.com etc they have nothing user 1 comes to this thread and post what sort of thing they're looking for. User 2 knows of a lot of obscure reference sites from the depths of the internet and knows just the thing user 1 wants and posts the link for the reference
2) User one needs a picture of a forest but can't find what he needs on the internet and he lives in a desert. User 2 live right next to a forest and has a camera and is able to take the needed pictures for user 2.
Thats just a few examples of the top of my head but anything for any purpose can be requested.
Because a request is made doesn't mean something will definitely be found
No one is obliged to fulfill a request
Somethings may take some time to find. Be patient
If someone takes their time to find something for you don't be ungratefull
Please remember the forums rules when requesting, don't ask for anything inappropriate for the forum


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Goatboy wrote:There have certainly been results shown for subliminal messaging. I suppose they could write a virus that keyloags, as well as flashing a message across the screen for a twentieth of a second, every 5 seconds, saying "Buy stuff online" that might compel them to enter a CCN to an e-commerce site or something.
fabianhjr wrote:Something you must not confuse is the degree of control someone has over an hypnotized person. The person being hypnotized will NEVER do something against his will. You can make suggestions. You should lookup the real hypnosis.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Derren_Brown (i prefer SSL )WikipediaBrown's usual claim that no actors or stooges were used in the filming of the shows
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As everyone knows, from March 26 to March 28, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in one of the most important cases to come before the court in our lifetimes: Florida v. HHS, the case that will determine the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Lest you think I'm exaggerating, the High Court has assigned six hours, over three days, to hearing arguments in the case: something it hasn't done in 45 years. In this article, I'll preview the key aspects of the case, and what to look for in the courtroom.
The Super Bowl of constitutional law
FYI, I will be hosting a live blog over at National Review to discuss the case, starting at 10 a.m. on Monday. Come on over and say hi—we'll be monitoring Twitter feeds from journalists who are attending the hearings, and chip in with our own observations. The live blog for Tuesday's session will take place here.
Janet Adamy and Jess Bravin had an excellent piece in the Wall Street Journal last week, describing how hard it is to get seats to hear the oral argument in person. Imagine if the Super Bowl could only be seen in person by 400 people, and you'll get some sense of the situation. Even Senators on the Judiciary Committee have had to work their connections to get tickets. Georgetown Law professor Randy Barnett, who came up with the main legal arguments being used against the individual mandate, had a tough time getting a seat.
Fortunately, the Supreme Court has decided, due to the "extraordinary public interest" in the case, to publish audio recordings and transcripts of the arguments no later than 2 p.m. each day. I will have commentary up here at The Apothecary as quickly as I can, after reviewing those tapes. Check back here each day in the afternoon.
Most people know that the central controversy in the case is the constitutionality of the individual mandate: the rule that forces all Americans to buy health insurance. Never before has the federal government asserted its authority to make people buy a private product, hence the controversy. But there are several other aspects of the law that are up for review.
Monday, 10:00-11:30: Is the mandate a tax or a penalty?
On the first day of oral argument, the Court will deliberate on whether on not the individual mandate is a tax, or a penalty. This is not merely a semantic distinction. As I reviewed in September, the Anti-Injunction Act of 1867 requires that a tax already be implemented, and in effect, in order for plaintiffs to have grounds to sue to block it.
In addition, some believe that the mandate would have been more constitutional had it been framed as a tax instead of a penalty. That's not completely clear—a selective tax on people without health insurance has its own constitutional problems—but it's true that Obamacare could have achieved its goals more straightforwardly by increasing taxes.
Both parties in this case agree that the mandate is a penalty, not a tax. Nearly every lower court agreed with them. Hence, the Court had to hire a lawyer to argue the other side, that the mandate is a tax.
Why is the Court even bothering to address this? It may be because they want to create some clarity around the distinction of taxes and penalties, to help future Congresses avoid these pitfalls.
Tuesday, 10:00-12:00: Is the individual mandate constitutional?
Tuesday will be the big day for the individual mandate. Pay close attention to Kennedy, Scalia, Roberts, and Alito, in that order; those are the justices who will decide the outcome of this case.
There are two key questions they will have to address. If Congress can force you to buy private health insurance, what can't it force you to do? Is there a limiting principle to this idea? Many legal scholars think that Congress can, in fact, do whatever it wants, even requiring you to buy broccoli or regulate mental activity.
The limiting principle that pro-mandate forces have had the most success with is that health care is unique. In the Sixth Circuit, they convinced conservative Judge Jeffrey Sutton that the mandate was okay, just in this instance, because it involves "regulating how citizens pay for [the health care that] they already receive." In the D.C. Circuit, they convinced conservative judge Laurence Silberman that "the health insurance market is a rather unique one, both because virtually everyone will enter or affect it, and because the uninsured inflict a disproportionate harm on the rest of the market."
To me, the "health care is unique" argument is preposterous. It was demolished by the Eleventh Circuit, which pointed out that only one percent of national health expenditures is affected by uncompensated care, and that the mandate has numerous exemptions for lower-income people, who will still engage in the practice. In addition, the Constitution does not specify any particular area of the economy for special treatment.
But it doesn't matter what I think.
Wednesday, 10:00-11:30: Is the mandate severable from the rest of the law?
If the Court decides to overturn the individual mandate, they then have to choose between three options: does overturning the mandate require (1) the Court to strike down the rest of the law, in its entirety; (2) closely-related parts of the law; or (3) nothing at all other than the mandate itself?
Both parties in the case agree that, if the mandate goes down, some closely-related provisions should as well: specifically, those forcing insurers to take on those with pre-existing conditions ("guaranteed issue") and forcing insurers to charge similar rates to both the young and the old ("community rating"). If those provisions are allowed to stand, the private health insurance market will collapse in an adverse selection death spiral, as the young and healthy avoid buying pricey insurance, driving up the cost of that insurance for everyone else, until everyone but the seriously ill drop out of the system.
This is what happened in a less-noticed Obamacare challenge, Goudy-Bachman v. HHS, where Judge Christopher Conner overturned both the mandate and these related provisions.
Some conservatives mistakenly believe that, because the law lacks an explicit severability clause, the High Court is obliged to strike down the whole law. As I explained in this discussion of Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB, that is simply not true. However, some courts have struck down the law in its entirety, most notably Judge C. Roger Vinson in the district-court ruling in Florida v. HHS.
The Eleventh Circuit, in the appeal of Florida v. HHS, took the third option, overturning the mandate but keeping the rest of the law intact. "We are not persuaded that it is evident (as opposed to possible or reasonable) that Congress would not have enacted [mandate-driven insurance reforms] in the absence of the individual mandate," they opined. This judgment on their part was a clear indictment of the states' superstar lawyers, Paul Clement and Michael Carvin, who whiffed when they had the chance to make the case that more of the law should be overturned.
Wednesday, 1:00-2:00: Is PPACA's Medicaid expansion coercive unto the states?
One of the biggest surprises in the Court's decisions thus far is that it is taking up the question of whether or not Obamacare's dramatic expansion of Medicaid is constitutional. The states have argued that it is, because it forces states to expand these programs, and sticks them with a chunk of the bill. The feds have argued that their action was not coercive, because states can opt to drop out of the Medicaid program, and forgo the avalanche of federal funds that goes along with it.
As a matter of practice, it's nearly impossible for states to pull out of Medicaid, because if they do, they'd have to raise taxes by a substantial amount in order to keep their programs afloat.
I reviewed the relevant case law in this post, most notably the 1987 case South Dakota v. Dole, in which the Supremes came up with a four-factor test to determine whether or not Congress was being coercive when attaching strings to federal funding. But that four-factor test is a bit of a mess, so even if the Supremes end up siding against the states, they'd do everyone a service by creating a better one.
In the Obamacare challenges, every court sided against the states on this issue of coercion. But, clearly, somebody on the Supreme Court (Thomas?) thinks it's worth addressing.
Live blog starting 10:00 am on Monday
As I mentioned above, stay tuned to this space for daily updates on the case. I'll also have the live blog over at National Review. I'll leave you with this final thought.
There are a lot of ways to require people to have insurance. For example, the Supreme Court would likely rule that "Medicare for all" would be constitutional. If Obamacare had raised everyone's taxes by ten percent, and used that money to provide everyone with "free" health insurance, that would be constitutional too.
But for political reasons, that's not what Obamacare does. The President wanted to honor a campaign pledge that he wasn't going to raise taxes on people making less than $250,000. In order to honor that pledge, he created a convoluted structure that violates the Constitution.
This constitutional challenge would never have happened in the first place, if Democrats had more openly sought to raise taxes and spending in pursuit of their otherwise defensible goals. They chose not to.
UPDATE 1: The original version of this post erroneously stated that Randy Barnett couldn't get a seat; he will be sitting with the plaintiffs.
UPDATE 2: If you're interested in a strong argument as to why the Supremes should overturn the entire law, if they find the mandate unconstitutional, three legal scholars—Mario Loyola, Richard Epstein, and Ilya Shapiro—have published one here. It's similar, in terms of its policy interpretation, to the concluding section of my recent blog post on the subject.
UPDATE 3: My co-blogger Robert Book has posted two perceptive pieces on the SCOTUS hearings: this one on some related events in Washington, and this one on the fact that we already have a broccoli mandate.
UPDATE 4: The Wall Street Journal has posted a 17-minute video of a discussion featuring me and Gillian Metzger of Columbia Law School, moderated by WSJ legal reporter Ashby Jones.
Follow Avik on Twitter at @aviksaroy.
I am Forbes' Policy Editor, and president of a non-partisan think tank, the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP.org), which develops policy reform ideas to expand economic opportunity to those who least have it. I'm on Twitter at @Avik. My work has also...


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During the Oct. 9 monthly meeting of the Buffalo Niagara Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners, a check for $2,001 was presented to the YWCA Tonawandas in support of its program for victims of domestic violence.
NAWBO Buffalo Niagara members raised the money during the past year and will support the YWCA Tonawandas program in the upcoming year.
Since its inception in 1978, The National Association of Women Business Owners has focused on propelling women entrepreneurs into economic, social and political spheres of power worldwide.
Chartered in 1994, NAWBO Buffalo Niagara is a premier organization for women business owners who aspire to accomplish growth, education and connections.