text:
This is a huge project, up to 12,000 ~900 kg satellites satellites, which has garnered support from members of Congress and in Telecommunications committee hearings. Part of the idea is to provide low cost broadband internet service to underserviced areas, not just in the US but worldwide. The rest xinclures orbital data centers, etc. for both civilian and government use. Initial launchers will be by Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy, launching about 20 to 30 satellites at a time.
Subsequent high bulk launches would need to be handled by the upcoming ~9 meter core super-heavy rocket Musk is expected to announce the end of this month at the IAC2017 conference in Australia. The anticipated specs for this rocket make it an equivalent to the NASA Nova which never flew. A beast more powerful than Saturn V, the space launch system, or anything else that has ever flown. The Mars Rockets little brother.
First, the trademark filings
STARLINK's trademarked was recently registered,
Florida Today story

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Volunteers - STEM
Volunteer Student Service (VSS) Program
The purpose of the Volunteer Student Service (VSS) Program is to provide educational experience for selected students, and to provide NPS with increased student volunteers who are able to contribute to the mission of NPS, while learning about the role of NPS in education and research in support of national security.
Guidelines for Student Volunteers
Applications may be of a general-interest nature (i.e. the prospective student does not know where he or she will be working) or specific to a particular NPS School, Department, Institute, or Center. The volunteer assignment process will attempt to match qualified applicants to available opportunities. However, there may not be enough opportunities to accommodate all applicants.
Volunteers wishing to work at the Naval Postgraduate School (and other federal agencies) are subject to the following rules:
- The volunteer must be a student (defined as an individual who is enrolled not less than half-time, in a high school, trade school, technical or vocational institute, junior college, college, university, or comparably recognized educational institution)
- The volunteer must have permission (in writing) from the institution in which he or she is a student
- The volunteer must be at least 16 years old and a U.S. citizen or national
- The volunteer's work will be uncompensated
- The volunteer will not displace any employee
- Upon selection, the volunteer will undergo a background investigation prior to gaining base access
Steps to Apply for the VSS Program
Students interested in volunteering at NPS must submit a complete VSS Program application, which consists of the following:
A completed VSS Program Application (download application form here). Minimum age to participate is 16 years old. Students under 18 years old must have parental/guardian permission to participate. Ensure the appropriate box on the application form is signed.
A student resume, in no particular format. It is understood that the amount of material available to include in a resume will vary and may be quite limited.
Proof of at least half-time school enrollment and approval Volunteer Program participation (see rules 1.a and 1.b), in no particular format.
Scan the form and other application requirements into one PDF file, labeled with your last name.
If the application is a general-interest or the volunteer has not made contact with the specific school, department, etc… the package should be submitted directly to firstname.lastname@example.com.
If the applicant has made contact with the opportunity sponsor, the application should be submitted through the opportunity sponsor.


text:
In 2010, iOS (Apple's mobile operating system) and iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad) commanded the spotlight for much of the year. And for over nine months, Mac users saw the usual computer updates from Apple, but not much else. The combination of the iOS success and the stagnant Mac led some vocal tech analysts, pundits, and even Mac users to ponder whether Apple gave a damn about the Mac anymore. Some even went so far as to declare the Mac dead.
However, Apple gave new life to the Mac in mid-October, when CEO Steve Jobs took the stage and gave Mac users a taste of what's to come during a "Back to the Mac" presentation.
To paraphrase literary icon Mark Twain, the death of the Macintosh was an exaggeration, considering what Apple has in the works. On the last day of 2010, let's take a look back at the previous 12 months, from a Mac perspective.
A sneak peek at Lion
In October, Apple announced a forthcoming version of Mac OS X: Version 10.7, code-named Lion, will have features that are inspired by iOS. According to Steve Jobs, you can think of Lion as, "Mac OS X meets the iPad."
Lion will allow you to enter a full-screen mode as you work in your apps, and if you use a trackpad, you can swipe to switch between open apps. Lion will also feature the Launchpad, a full-screen display of all your apps (think of it as an iOS-like presentation of OS X's current /Applications folder); and Mission Control, which shows a view of open full-screen apps, the Dock, and the desktop.
Apple says that Lion will be available in the summer of 2011. Pricing has not been released.
With the demonstration of Lion and how it uses finger gestures, a particular accessory could possibly become mandatory for Mac users: the Magic Trackpad. Released in July, the Magic Trackpad is basically the glass trackpad found in Apple's laptops made into a self-standing input device. Such a device can help bridge the gap in the whole Apple user expereince between Mac OS X and iOS.
Mac App Store
Of all the Mac-related announcements made in 2010, the new Mac App Store is the most significant. The Mac App Store will work similarly to the iOS App Store, providing an easy-to-access marketplace.
While software developers will be able to use the Mac App Store as a way to get their software in front of a large population of Mac users, developers will have to write software according to the Mac App Store guidelines. (On a related note, Apple decided that its Mac OS X Downloads site will "no longer offer apps" and that developers should submit software to the Mac App Store.) There's also a concern that the Mac App Store would lead to the Mac becoming a closed system, like iOS.
We won't have to wait much longer to see the effect of the Mac App Store on the Mac marketplace. The Mac App Store will open on January 6, 2011, in 90 countries.
Small laptop makes huge impression
The MacBook Air had become the forgotten machine in Apple's Mac lineup. Then in October 2010, Apple introduced the 11-inch MacBook Air, and it immediately became Apple's newest darling. The smallest Mac portable Apple has ever created features a full-size keyboard, an impressive 1366-by-768-pixel display, and flash storage to help provide a dramatic performance boost over the previous 13-inch MacBook Air.
Most importantly, the MacBook Air gave many longtime customers what they've been waiting for: a true heir to the legendary 12-inch PowerBook. Now, road warriors don't need to compromise with an iPad, or lug around excess weight and size with a MacBook or a 13-inch MacBook Pro. The 11-inch MacBook Air is the ultraportable that's long been missing from Apple's lineup.
Apple also updated the 13-inch MacBook Air with a new graphics processor and flash memory. The flash memory helped the 13-inch MacBook Air outperform the current 13-inch 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro in our tests.
The MacBook and MacBook Pro lines saw dramatic changes before 2010, so the changes to those machines this year were simple refreshes. Apple did introduce Intel's Core i5 and Core i7 processors to the MacBook Pro line in the 15- and 17-inch models—expect to see faster Core i5 and i7 processors in the MacBook line in 2011. Perhaps we'll even see the 13-inch MacBook Pro's Core 2 Duo processor replaced by a Core i5.
Mac mini makeover
On the desktop, Apple's smallest machine, the Mac mini, was redesigned with an aluminum case that made the Mac mini even smaller than its predecessor. It also features a new plastic hatch that you can easily open to make memory upgrades. Apple also reduced the number of Mac mini models available, offering only one standard configuration model.
The iMac continues to offer the best bang for your buck among Apple's Mac lineup. Apple's all-in-one computer now has discrete ATI graphics chips, and the Core 2 Duo processors were phased out in favor of Core i3 and Core i5 processors in the standard configurations. Apple also added a flash-storage drive, build-to-order (BTO) option that can help boost the iMac's performance.
The iMac's aluminum case design was introduced in 2007. Could it be due for a major change in 2011? Besides the iMac becoming thinner and lighter, the basic design concept of the case works well, so it may not change much. The dramatic changes will probably be inside the case, where we could see the iMac taking a cue from the MacBook Air—flash storage could replace the hard drive completely, instead of being a BTO option. That is, if the price of flash storage in larger capacities drops enough to make this feasible.
The Mac Pro was refreshed in August. In addition to four-core and eight-core models, Apple now offers a 12-core Mac Pro. The Mac Pro continues to offer a combination of performance and expandability that's ideal for demanding users.
Mac software
iLife '11 was finally released in October, and it's well worth the upgrade if you are an iMovie, GarageBand, or iPhoto user. iWeb and iDVD had no new features, however.
Speaking of no new features, 2010 went by without a major update for Final Cut Studio. According to reports, the Final Cut development team was reshuffled, but Apple declared that it is still dedicated to the professional video-editing software suite. What's really going on with Final Cut is anyone's guess. Apple tends to make announcements for Final Cut around the time of the National Association of Broadcasters Show, so April is the time to be on the alert.
There are signs that Apple is still interested in its pro apps. A major update for Logic Pro and Logic Express was released in October. And in the spring of 2010, Apple released Aperture 3.
iWork also spent 2010 without a major update, though Apple did ship iWork for iPad. iWork has made its way through the rumor mill, however, with speculation that iWork '11 will be the marque software suite featured in the Mac App Store when it opens on January 6, 2011.
Jobs is alive and well
All this talk about the death of the Mac made us almost forget that it wasn't long ago that Steve Jobs was facing his own mortality. In 2009, Jobs took a leave of absence from Apple and had a liver transplant, which left many doubting whether Jobs could continue as Apple's CEO.
But in 2010, Jobs was back in full force. He appeared on stage giving keynotes, though he now lets others perform the deep-dive into products. He checks his e-mails from the general public, and replies in a terse style that's become a signature of the Apple CEO. He makes public appearances to promote organ donation. He's having coffee with other CEOs. And he even has time to take a jab or two at competitors and products that don't follow in The Apple Way.
Jobs led Apple to record profits and sales in 2010 and the company seems poised and ready for the new year.
iLife '11
Apple MacBook Pro MC371LL/A Notebook
Read our full Apple MacBook Pro MC371LL/A Notebook review
Apple MacBook Pro MC372LL/A Notebook
Apple MacBook Pro MC373LL/A Notebook
Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A Notebook
Read our full Apple MacBook Pro MC024LL/A Notebook review
Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A Notebook
Read our full Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A Notebook review
Apple MacBook Pro MC375LL/A Notebook
21.5-inch Core i3 iMac/3.06GHz
Read our full 21.5-inch Core i3 iMac/3.06GHz review
21.5-inch Core i3 iMac/3.2GHz
27-inch Core i3 iMac/3.2GHz
27-inch Core i5 iMac/2.8GHz (quad-core)
Final Cut Express 4
Read our full Final Cut Express 4 review
Final Cut Pro 7
Read our full Final Cut Pro 7 review
Logic Express 9
Read our full Logic Express 9 review
Logic Studio
Read our full Logic Studio review
Mac Pro Xeon/2.4GHz (8 Core)
Mac Pro Xeon/2.66GHz (12 core)
Read our full Mac Pro Xeon/2.66GHz (12 core) review
Mac Pro Xeon/2.8GHz (4 Cores)
Read our full Mac Pro Xeon/2.8GHz (4 Cores) review
Mac mini (Mid 2010)
Read our full Mac mini (Mid 2010) review
MacBook Air (Late 2010) family
Read our full MacBook Air (Late 2010) family review
Apple MacBook MC516LL/A Notebook
Read our full Apple MacBook MC516LL/A Notebook review
Magic Trackpad
Read our full Magic Trackpad review


text:
Is it possible that the noise levels in the Canon 30D are worse than that of the ageing Canon 20D? According to this story it's true! I find it hard to believe because the cameras are so similar – same sensor, same digital processor and more. I wonder how the 20D compares to the new Canon 400D?
Even if you don't have any Canon equipment, the article takes a look at the RAW vs Jpeg debate too which might be less sensational but makes for a good read. (via)


text:
You can't just jump in the water and start swimming, assuming you will do well. You need to get your body warmed up and ready to go. Many swimmers do this by stretching and performing other exercises before practice or a race. After you warm up, though, you need to find a way to keep your muscles warm until it is your turn to enter the pool. Choosing a swim warm-up suit is the perfect way to keep your muscles warm.
Speedo Boom Force Warm-Up Suits
The newest in the line of Speedo warm-up suits is the Speedo Boom Force warm-up suit, which is available in men's, women's and youth sizes. These new warm-up suits are available in a wide array of colors to allow you to choose just the right combination to represent your team. The jackets and pants are fully lined to provide for the greatest warmth possible. The jacket is equipped with zippered pockets so you can store whatever you need with you without worrying about anything falling out of your pockets.
Other Names in Swim Warm-Up Suits
Just because the Speedo Boom Force warm-up suits are the newest on the market doesn't mean it is your only option. There are a wide variety of other warm-up suits for men, women and youth from the other big names in swim gear. Speedo makes additional warm-up suit options, providing swimmers with even more choices for colors and designs. Nike, TYR and Dolfin also offer team warm-up suits that will allow your team to remain warm after a warm-up before they enter the pool. Available in a variety of colors and featuring the logo of the company for which the warm-ups are made. When you take the time to browse the vast selection, you will be able to find just the right suit for your needs.
Warm-up suits are essential for anyone who is involved in competitive swimming. When you are working with a swim team, you can choose from the wide variety of colors, designs and companies so you can select a warm-up suit that is bound to please everyone on your team. When everyone is wearing their warm-up suit in your team colors, it will create a greater sense of unity for your team. Any way you can provide your team with that feeling of unity will only make you stronger.


text:
Among the many rewards of Terry Winters's recent double show-small collages in one gallery, large abstract paintings in another-were the views it afforded into his thought process.
"Notebook, 2003-2011" featured 30 collages, all mounted on 11-by-8½-inch binder pages. The uppermost layer of each is clear acetate on which an image is printed; the acetates usually bear a website address, plainly indicating the source. Among the images: mathematical diagrams, medical illustrations, a telescope, a bar code. These overlap other pictures underneath, which are often more playful and include aliens, tightrope walker Philippe Petit, a rollercoaster and a child's felt-pen drawings (the only drawn elements in the show). In Notebook 158, an additive color diagram (transparent circles of red, green and blue) sits on top of a photo of a monkey, whose round head echoes the colored shapes. Throughout the series, various color systems turn up. In Notebook 113, a Winsor & Newton oil-color chart lies under a complex geometric figure of intersecting black gridded shapes. Unlike the type of collage in which elements occupy the same surface, "Notebook" presents stratified components.
Winters seems to see in layers in his paintings, as well. Down the street were 11 large oils, the majority of them from the series "Tessellation Figures" (2011). While you register the tessellated structures, you also perceive that Winters's paintings are wonderfully loose, constructed as if in vigorous, improvisational response to each painted moment. Many works consist of color worlds unto themselves and remind you that color is light.
Tessellation Figures (9), 80 by 76 inches, spans orange to cobalt blue, with a renegade phthalo blue poking through occasionally to shake up the system. The painting suggests depth, yet its primary events are pressed as if from behind to the very surface in shimmering tension. A not-quite-complete grid of small, irregular diamonds covers the canvas. These are composed of many semitransparent layers that build to impasto. The negative space between the shapes appears in slats of thin, often scratched paint. On the perimeter of the picture, the diamonds are a range of tinted pinks against a field of dark browns, forming a frame within the frame. In the resulting inner rectangle, distinctions between figure and ground blur, and the colors shift from full-bodied oranges and reds to blues and purples. What looks at first like an orange ground beneath the diamonds becomes, under closer scrutiny, many more strata of diamonds.
In this same mid-section are three rows of Winters's signature form: a lobed blob. (Such forms appear often in his 2008 "Knotted Graphs" paintings.) Here, the blobs seem to grow from or around the diamonds. Winters is a master of establishing patterns, then dissolving, interrupting and transforming them. It's as if the paintings themselves are caught in acts of evolving.
Photo: Terry Winters: Notebook 113, 2003-11, collage, 11 by 8½ inches; at Matthew Marks.


text:
I'm proud to present my latest creation: The Hammer! The Hammer is a prototype test-your-strength game that's an insertable, muscle-controlled, light-up dildo. Update, 1/5/13: The Hammer has been listed as Cracked.com's #1 Geekiest Sex Toy! Welcome, everyone!
Like innovative sex/kink-positive projects? Maybe you have an idea of your own, but need to raise some money? Check out my new startup, Passionate Produce!
Update #1, 10/11/12: If you would like to hear me talk about how I made The Hammer, you can see some excerpts and my slides from my technical talk at Arse Elektronika 2012.
Update #2, 10/11/12: The Hammer + animated GIFs = Win!
Update #3, 1/5/13: See The Hammer in Person! (Ignite Craft Boston, Arisia)The TLDR:
Since I was young, I've wondered what it would be like to have a bio-cock. Unfortunately, this is an experience I am unlikely to have. It's at least some consolation that now I have the most beautiful, glowing, rainbow penis in the world.
I've been working on The Hammer for a couple of months. It contains two force sensors, a strip of individually addressible RGB LED's, and an accelerometer. It connects to a custom-built prototype Arduino shield, and I programmed it using the Arduino software development environment. The toy itself is made of platinum cure, body-safe silicone.Why call it "The Hammer"?
I originally named it after a Test-Your-Strength game in the Musee Mechanique in San Francisco. I then realized:
- When all you have is a light-up cock, everything looks like it needs to be nailed.
- The Hammer is my penis.
- Receive visual feedback for Kegel exercises or physical therapy
- Have a lightsaber duel
- Get a blowjob or handjob in the dark
- Watch the Hammer change color as you orgasm
- ...or anything else you can program!
Right now The Hammer has two modes: the test-your-strength game, where the more you squeeze, the more it lights up; and a demo mode which cycles through all of the colors of the LEDs. Soon I hope to connect the Arduino to my Android phone, and then I'll be able to do even more cool things!
I'll be following up on this with more technical details over the next few weeks. (Update, 10/11/12: If you would like to hear me talk about how I made The Hammer, you can see some excerpts and my slides from my technical talk at Arse Elektronika 2012.) My plan is for The Hammer to become an Open Hardware project. This is still very much a prototype, but I would be thrilled if anyone else wanted to build their own.
I'd like to thank Jimmie Rodgers, my friends at Artisan's Asylum, and the teasecraft-boston meetup group for all of their help, ideas, and encouragement! I'd also like to thank Monochrom for giving me the opportunity to present this project at Arse Elektronika 2012.
What's my latest and greatest endeavor? I'm launching Passionate Produce, a new sex/kink-positive crowdfunding startup. Is this relevant to your interests? Subscribe to my newsletter!
Last edited 4/19/13: Reposted the video. Now it should stream correctly, and I won't have to worry about any more takedowns!


text:
Privacy Policy for Media Perspectives Ltd.
At Starcom Media Perspectives, accessible from www.mediaperspectives.ng, one of our main priorities is the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy document contains types of information that is collected and recorded by Starcom Media Perspectives and how we use it.
If you have additional questions or require more information about our Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact us through email at firstname.lastname@example.com
Log Files
Starcom Media Perspectives follows a standard procedure of using log files. These files log visitors when they visit websites. All hosting companies do this and a part of hosting services' analytics. The information collected by log files include internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date and time stamp, referring/exit pages, and possibly the number of clicks. These are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. The purpose of the information is for analyzing trends, administering the site, tracking users' movement on the website, and gathering demographic information.
Cookies and Web Beacons
Like any other website, Starcom Media Perspectives uses 'cookies'. These cookies are used to store information including visitors' preferences, and the pages on the website that the visitor accessed or visited. The information is used to optimize the users' experience by customizing our web page content based on visitors' browser type and/or other information.
Privacy Policies
Note that Starcom Media Perspectives has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers.
Third Party Privacy Policies
Starcom Media Perspectives's Privacy Policy does not apply to other advertisers or websites. Thus, we are advising you to consult the respective Privacy Policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information. It may include their practices and instructions about how to opt-out of certain options. You may find a complete list of these Privacy Policies and their links here: Privacy Policy Links.
You can choose to disable cookies through your individual browser options. To know more detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers, it can be found at the browsers' respective websites. What Are Cookies?
Children's Information
Online Privacy Policy Only


text:
Patience Wearing Thin In The Wake of Superstorm Sandy
Now into day five, Friday of the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy's direct hit on the Northeastern United States and still millions are without power.The system was so large, its tropical storm force winds (39-73mph) went almost 1000 miles from its center. From its origins in the Caribbean as Tropical Depression 18, on October22 to Sandy covering not only the Eastern seaboard but reaching inland to the Great Lakes with reports of 15 to 20-foot waves on Lake Michigan only seven days later. Sandy may go down as the fourth costliest storm in U.S. History with, damage estimates totaling 50 billion dollars.
An estimated 4.1 million households and businesses
remained without power across the Northeast — an estimated 530,000 of them in New York — and authorities warned it could take a week or more to restore electricity for many. ABC News reported Con Ed expects to have all power restored in Manhattan by Saturday.
Looking at pictures of the devastation reveals the sheer power of the storms surge in places like Rockaway Beach New York or Atlantic City New Jersey. A record 14 foot surge combined with the new moon tides attributed to the flood damage in parts of Manhattan, New York.
Adding insult to injury in the clean up rescue and recovery efforts, The National Weather Service said Thursday a nor'easter could develop next week over the mid-Atlantic states into New England.
Superstorm Sandy led to power failures in at least 17 states. 95 U.S. deaths are attributed to Sandy with 67 dead in the Caribbean and two confirmed dead in Canada. At least 41 people were killed in New York City. At least 13 people died in New Jersey, and officials said they feared the toll would rise as additional home searches were conducted. Besides New York City and New Jersey other deaths are in:
- Maryland: 11
- Rest of New York state: 8
- Pennsylvania: 7
- West Virginia: 6
- Connecticut: 4
- North Carolina: 2
- Puerto Rico: 1
Subways and buses rolled again in some parts of New York City Thursday and mandatory water restrictions were in effect across New Jersey after Sandy.The stock market reopened Wednesday, but normalcy is not back by any stretch of the imagination across parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
The White House announced Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will travel to Connecticut and New York to meet with state and local officials, and inspect response and recovery operations.
Meanwhile with November 6th Presidential Elections around the corner election officials were ordering generators, moving voting locations and figuring out how to transport poll workers displaced from coastal areas as Tuesday's presidential election became the latest challenge for states whacked by Superstorm Sandy.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York's trains and subways have been recovering from Superstorm Sandy surprisingly quickly.
Still, frustration is building in the region amid gas lines, food lines, ongoing power outages and even some reports of looting.
Posted on November 2, 2012, in Earth Changes, Economic Affairs, Health, National Security, Politics, Science and tagged Atlantic City New Jersey, Caribbean, Great Lakes, Janet Napolitano, National Weather Service, New Jersey, New York, New York City, Northeast, Northeastern United States, Sandy, Superstorm Sandy. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.


text:
Valentin-Stefan Cobelea
I am using Fedora since its beginning, at home and of course at the office. Before Fedora, I was using RedHat Linux and I was deeply enjoying it.
I am a senior engineer in a Romanian office of a major U.S. Devices Software Optimization company, where I am a Development Engineer.
- Email: too much spam, email removed (mail me using the Fedora Project email)
- Skype: valentin.cobelea
- IRC: kobelev @ #fedora-ambassadors , #fedora-meeting , #fedora-mktg , #fedora-bugzappers , #fedora-python , #fedora-ro , #fedora
- GPG key: 7695 7091 93B6 9B9B 865C 53A7 EB97 8A6E 0ADA 6AF7
- Fedora Account: Valente
Activities within Fedora
File:Ambassadors Header AmbassadorsN1.png
- I've been accepted as an ambassador.
- Since in the area where I live there is no big activity regarding Linux, I'll do my best at work, to help my colleagues with Fedora related problems.
- I've been accepted as a bug-zapper.
- Established contact with the Romanian team from Fedora Project.
- Bugs reporting (as many as I can do with ABRT).
Fedora and me
- I like and use Fedora for everything I need. I want people to know about Fedora and what it could offer them.
- When somebody needs help with some issue I always explain and show how to solve that.
- I've created several documents that shows solutions for general problems, patches, manuals etc. All these things are really helping people, for instance here in the office where I work, because I see that there is no "publicity" for Fedora.
- Looking at other Linux distros, I think branded CDs, DVDs and even USB-data sticks could make more people use Fedora.
Vali's Linux From Scratch
- Project put on hold due to legal issues with the company I am working for regarding this Linux distro.
- vlfs 0.40 [AOs]
v0.40b <started> @130808 stalled for 2 months so far (October & November) > kernel 3.12+; > VMWARE and VirtualBOX both installed by default; > looking for more VIM configuration; > GIT tools installed by dafault (gitk, git gui, tig); > integrated support for mounting over SSH with SSHFS; > TODO: startup scripts: autostart selected apps; > TODO: system setup scripts; > TODO: backup tools (apps/scripts) implementation; > TODO: chrome as default web browser; > TODO: properly run GTK apps as root; > TODO: wallpaper change more easily; v0.40a @130807 > multiple window managers: openBox, LXDE, i3wm; > better power management via 'pm' daemon; > changed login control and lockscreen (more like the one LXDE has); xscreensaver still available; > integrated virtualBox by default; > grub changed to better default themed screen (non text mode); > firefox and thunderbird, along other apps will no longer be depended to the OS libraries (using binaries from the app developer); > all other applications will be updated (+libraries); > banner made: http://i.imgur.com/htptBk6.png ; >> banner updated (use this one): http://i.imgur.com/m6aEvFE.png ; > 20130425> changed the default folders structure; > 20130425> integrated Eclipse (Android) ADT and tested few applications; emulator with GPU support by default enabled; > 20130425> encountered few issues with the latest GCC, pending fixes and tests; > 20130508> fixed GCC issues; > 20130508> trial tests for Chrome as default web browser; > 20130517> kernel v3.9.2 tests almost done; > 20130713> kernel v3.9.9 the default one, test over; > > fixed B035b.02 > fixed B035b.03
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
- the work for v0.3x was stoped and I decided to go with v0.40 (naming and features) since it will contain major changes.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
- vlfs 0.35 [ES]
v0.35b @121018 > had 5 releases until final 'b'; > kernel 3.6.1; > grub 2.0; > GCC 4.7; > alsa updated ! > conky updated (+new config) ! > all core libs were updated to latest stable ver.; > implemented suspend(uber-stable) & hibernate(experimental) (finally!!!); > added in openBox menu extries for suspend & shutdown; > switched to nVidia akmod, generally to akmod instead of kmod; > supports more build systems, the support is made by adding (host) libraries; > '/dev' is a self (encrypted) partition -> heavy tests made; > '/media' is tmpfs as before, but crypted now; > fastest release so far; > experimented the 'xmobar & trayer' vs. 'openbox & tint2': things look amazing with these; > > bugs: >> B035b.01 - volumeicon/skype - audio not initialized until a song (whatever media player) starts a song; >> B035b.02 - wicd - uses 'wlan0' as for wired (wtf bug); >> B035b.03 - xdm/wicd - @login screen, randomly, system gets stuck, kernel panic reported; v0.35a @120913 - dev was on hold for more than two months > stability check for audio and video drivers; > improved conky (sys status) config file; > found a new bug B04: xscreenlock crashes randomly while screen locked -> screen gets unlocked!; > updated Mozilla products: Firefox and Thunderbird; > added support for one more build system (added several libraries in default DEV branch); > investigated which of the root folders to be self partitions ('/dev' | '/sys' | '/proc'....); branch was on-hold for more than 2 months v0.35 branch @120517
- vlfs 0.34 [sNOW]
v0.34final reached @120516 > this version is considered the most stable in compare to the other versions; > the time frame is six mounths (1.5 months per sub-branch) due to all the stability and stress and overload tests run; > was released only fo x64 arch; v0.34d @120514 > mainly consists of improving the system stability and performance; > added a system tray pager - neap v0.7; > updated system config/run scripts: java setup, bookmarks control, start-all; v0.34c @120430 > improved bookmark control; > improved startup script (apps only); > several apps updated (mozilla f/t, skype, xchat); > bug B02 is related to the event listener that openBox has, cant fix without changing openBox internal behavior; v0.34b @120305 > implemented bookmarks control for folder and/or files. > stability check. > fixed bug v0.34a.B01. > previous bug v0.34a.B02 accepted as non-blocking. kernel update to v3.2.7. v0.34a @120203 > huge system stability improvement (no crashes in the last 2 months). > good job Mozilla! - finally less memory consumption for Firefox & Thunderbird. > bug B01: default terminal window setup is faulty. > bug B02: volume (amixer/volumeicon) does not unmute when volume goes up (muted prior). > bug B03:FIXED: ffmpeg-libs unable to dep-link with the latest version of libvpx (which is mandatory for firefox/xulrunner). kernel updated to v3.2.2. grub2 updated to v1.99. libreOffice update to v3.4.4. Mozilla apps update. v0.34 branch @111223
- vlfs 0.33 [i3u3]
v0.33final reached @111222 > longest time frame (4.5 months) for a branch until this moment. > -three months and a half of pre-release development and testing, and, another month of releases (four of them). > indexed around 100 working machines with this branch (90% reported to be for testing, chroot & learning). > it was the first x64 vlfs. > hostname.DNS still buggy (bug not blocking / bug accepted). > looking into removing openJDK. v0.33d @111219 kernel 3.1.5 RAM 330+MB after boot / user logon. RAM 1010MB in normal dev usage mode. nVidia kmod updated. terminal windows predefined setup. xfce-notifyd instead of notif-daemon. firefox & thunderbird seems NOT to occupy so much RAM any more. faster boot, in average with 2 sec. stability++. v0.33c @111214 volumeicon in tray. media buttons (better than ever). audacious as default player (+codecs). pcmanfm2 as file browser is back. battery-metter replaced by tint2 defaults. urxvt instead of xterm. nVidia kmod updated. startall script updated. eth0 -> em1 (ethernet main); some system wide bug fixes - network, UI, X11. /media & /run are tmpfs now. httpd up. pastebin server up. v0.33b @111128 arch: x64. kernel: 3.1.2. ui: OpenBox 3.5; tint2; XscreenSaver. gpu driver: nvidia. v0.33a @111126 kernel: 3.1.0. gpu driver: nouveau. + see above probably i3wm will be postponed to v0.33c or v0.33.1. things look more than perfect, RAM consumption 64MB, disk space 360MB, boot time (until login) 9 seconds average. probably this will be labeled to 0.40 instead of 0.33. preparing huge system overhaul: based on kernel 3.0x / 3.1x, and i3WM (now you see why so many '3's in the name). UI: OpenBox/tint2/xScreenSaver will be included also as alternative setup for i3WM/i3Bar/i3Lock. FS: probably BTRfs - if it will get 'more' stable until December 1st. ext4E still included. Apps: latest and greatest. v0.33 branch @111102 ('.a' version was for 3 months in tests)
- vlfs 0.32 [VBOX2]
v0.32b - update mainly v0.32 branch will continue until 0.32c updated Firefox & Thunderbird + themes changed (to a more compact look). default settings for terminals and windows in general changed. updated Deluge - default torrent client. <*> abandoned the SawfishWM branch. <*> abandoned the ScrotWM (wird name) branch. <*> continue the i3WM branch - things look more than awesome :D . v0.32a - stability improvement on Dell and Asus notebooks v0.32 branch @110724
- vlfs 0.31 [VBOX1]
v0.31.final reached @110723 improved boot time (cleaner modules list). new terminator UI. latest kernel on 2.6.35 (@110620). integrated Pidgin for the other IM protocols. start working on a P$3 spin (thx Rapth0R). start testing BTRFS (versus current EXT4) - so far so good. v0.31 branch @110516
- vlfs 0.30 [D3US]
v0.30.final reached @110513 send me an email/message for repo (git) access (limited to less than 40 users). continue to final version. more usable UI space, by using lightweight mods/skins/themes in application. full system update - tested on heavy duty. included GNU Make 3.81 (as "make_381") for @ndroid kernel build compatibility. started testing Scrotwm [1] as alternative WM againts Openbox. named vlfs 0.30s - Scrotwm instead of Openbox, two different branches only for testing. fixed 38 bugs out of 41 (reported). received reports of vlfs running mainly on low-specs machines (specially nettops). 0.30.beta out on 110506 0.30.alpha out on 110404 screen from 0.30a : http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8777/valinux030a110121.png
- vlfs 0.29 [DEU2]
counted 409 active machines with vlfs 0.29 @110130 - no more registrations slots. v0.29.final reached @110129 continue the 0.29 branch development until 0.30 will become final 0.28 branch closed performance improvements mainly more server side support full i686 system kernel upgrade to 2.6.37 branch
- vlfs 0.28.0 [DEUS]:
v0.28.0.final reached @101220 0.28.2 out on 110124 - last subversion on this branch update distribution logo [done] nVidia accelerated drivers as default [done] tint2 update & new look [done] OpenBox update [done] VPN support in wicd[done] kernel update to latest @2.6.35 branch [done] libraries updates for: -glibc [done] -GCC [done] apps updates for: -Firefox [done] -Thunderbird [done] -Deluge [done] -terminator [done] -mc [done] apps changes: -replace file manager with: Xfe [done] -replace pdf viewer with: xPDF [done] distro clean: -unneeded libs and apps [done] GUI updates / new things: -no graphical boot (remove "rhgb" and "quiet" from grub.conf) [done] -new GTK2 theme [done] -new mouse pointer [done] -new volumeicon theme [done] -new wallpapers [done] -new Grub splash image [done]
- vlfs 0.27.3 is out: faster than previous, cleaned the services list, removed unneeded libraries (*-devel mainly), several core apps upgraded.
- vlfs 0.27.2 released: no window decoration (default), many system wide key-binds, automated application start with proper (pre-set) layout, quad monitor support (multiple CRTC support in graphical card required).
- version 0.27 of vlfs released: openBox & tint2 (Gnome/KDE free) otimization and setup.
- version 0.26 of vlfs out: RPM-build support added, yum added as default pkg manager, yumex added (as less as it can be, the RPMs and yum*, will be used only for end user apps), many optimizations done in the process list and start sequence.
- version 0.25 of vlfs lived shortly, it was mainly a RPM packages test versus direct software install from archives.
- version 0.24 of vlfs done: removed NetworkManager, using now: wicd.
- versions 0.21 -> 0.23 of vlfs were mainly file system, configuration, packages (libs, bins & apps) versions changes and way too many stability tests.
- v0.19.3 renamed to v0.20 after the kernel was built from scratch.
- First official version (0.19.3) of vlfs released: http://img19.imageshack.us/f/valinux0220100615232834.png/ using: terminator, conky, pcmanFM...
- several versions were done for personal use ONLY, highly experimental in what the GUI could offered.
Latest things I've done
latest here...
- Got Fedora 19, x64, installed on the "home server", enjoyed since.
- Tested Fedora ARM on Raspberry Pi.
- Downloading Fedora 17 (32 and 64 bits).
- Prepared a new system for update towards Fedora 17 (x64).
- Finalized the vlfs v0.34 branch; continue to v0.35.
- Renamed my personal Linux distro to VLFS, from vaLinux.
- Prepared for winter holidays.
- Finalized the vlfs 0.33 branch with a fourth release.
- Got Fedora 16 before the release, good thing that download link rename always works. PS I was in the first ten to have F16.
- Started the vlfs v0.33 - complete system change (see above).
- Hmmm, removed the old Fedora 12 from my server, preparing for F16.
- Pro commented on BTRFS as default in the next Fedora release.
- Updated to Fedora 15 on the repo server.
- Voted for Fedora 16 name.
- Continue the vlfs project with a new release v0.29.beta on January 21, 2011.
- Downloaded Fedora 14 (i386, x64 and live spins) and installed.
- Played with Fedora 14.beta on several machines.
- Start working on a new project vlfs : my own Fedora-based distro: minimal installation, outstanding performances, GUI based on: XDM/Openbox/Tint2, NO GNOME/KDE !!
- Created a Pastebin server based on Fedora 10 running on an old computer.
- Already downloading the Fedora 13 release. Informing the nation about this on: irc channels, forums, mailing-lists.
- Waiting for Fedora 13 release on May 25th.
- Subscribed to other mailing-lists: python-devel & kernel-devel.
- Voted for Fedora 14 name.
- Tried Fedora 13 Beta.
- Created a LXDE spin with Revisor: only development tools are integrated, plus some internet tools.
- Played with the LXDE official spin.
- Reported many bugs (almost 40 I think) using the Automatic Bug Reporting Tool. I've also offered some feedback for all the questions I've received in the bugs comments.
- Making my laptop a triple-view machine: laptop display (default), LCD monitor #1 (via DVI), LCD monitor #2 (via VGA). So cool and so much space.
- Converting another dude to Fedora.
- Wrote a HOW-TO with many details and screen-shots about Fedora 12/11 install in parallel with Windowz 7.
- Voted on all the available polls, on December 7th.
- Moving all my previous spins to Fedora 12.
- Fixing the Hu@wei E220 3G modem issues on the Fedora 12. Posting the solution ( http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=234332 ) so all the Fedora users can enjoy a well paid internet connection.
- Downloading Fedora 12.... yes I'm doing this already by changing "11" to "12" in the download filename :) .
- Start working on a Fedora 12 beta (for the moment) Media Center spin for my brand new nettop.
- Testing Fedora 12 beta on several machines.
- Downloading (and sharing) Fedora 12 beta.
- Several replies on FedoraForum.org, just helping the brotherhood :) .
- Sharing CDs/DVDs to my work colleagues/friends/Linux enthusiasts with the above mentioned spins.
- Adding new applications to my server dedicated Fedora spin.
- Bringing more adepts (colleagues) to Fedora Project.
- Creating another Fedora spin, very small and robust, text only dedicated to my home server called DeuSServer.
- Finalizing the Fedora "DevSpin".
- Using the Fedora 11 as work environment.
- Start working on creating a Fedora Spin dedicated to development work.
- Wrote an article on www.fedoraproject.ro .
- Installed Fedora 11, and presented to my fellow colleagues from the office.
- Start giving away LiveCDs to Fedora users.
- Received a package with Fedora stuff: tshirt, LiveCDs, stickers. Started to give to colleagues at work, at the University of Galati, Linux fans.
- Contact the other Fedora Project members from Romania to get some branded LiveCDs. So I could give them to people around me who need them.
- Helped a colleague with a serious NetworkManager problem.
- Proposed the name "Deus" for Fedora 12. Waiting and hopping to be approved.
- Gone to a long good vacation.
- Created, tested and presented my master diploma project on Fedora 10.
- Tested Fedora 11 Beta release with my colleagues.
- Established contact with the other Romanian fellows from Fedora Project (thanks Nicu for all the infos).
- Presented to my office colleagues how to create .rpm packages for Fedora, from .deb and archives.
- Helped a guy from Republic of Moldavia to setup his computer with Fedora 10.
- Created a topic on an important Romanian Linux forum regarding joining to Fedora Project.
- Invited a colleague from the office to participate to Fedora Project. He enlisted as BugZapper (https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Dstuxo).
- Subscribed to Fedora BugZappers group.
- Contributions on several topics on a Romanian large forum.
- Tested Fedora 11 Alpha release and presented to my colleagues the new things added.
- Start working on creating service packs (with Service Packs Creator) for computers that don't have internet access (due to security issues).
- Fixed the error caused by the kernel 126.96.36.199 on several Dell D630 notebooks (mine was the "guinee pig").
- Created USB memory sticks with Fedora 10 as rescue solutions for broken computers.
- Installed and configured Fedora on several computers as base servers for different projects.
- Created several how-to wiki pages (inside company) for Fedora problems/issues.
- Helped my colleagues with the PackageKit update problem.


text:
As Summer Recess Looms, Congress Remains Inactive.
The last week before the long summer recess is usually crunchtime for Congress, but that hasn't been the case for the 113th. New York Times correspondent Jonathan Weisman joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to discuss why this Congress has passed so few laws.
Related Topics
July 31, 2013
Guest: Jonathan Weisman
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Friday is the last legislative day before Congress takes its summer break, so we thought this would be a good time to take a look at what the 113th Congress has and hasn't accomplished so far. According to my guest Jonathan Weisman, a congressional correspondent for the New York Times, this Congress has been one of the least productive in history. They have accomplished so little that the president is looking into how he can bypass Congress and use executive actions to make changes in areas like job creation, immigration and the economy.
But the president can't avoid the showdown he will soon be facing with Congress. As Weisman pointed out in a recent articles, quote, "with the House and the Senate far apart on total spending levels, a government shutdown is possible on October 1, when the current spending law expires. Once Congress returns on September 9, lawmakers will have just nine legislative days until the current fiscal year ends and large swaths of the government will be forced to close."
Jonathan Weisman, welcome to FRESH AIR. What did the Congress accomplish so far this session?
JONATHAN WEISMAN: Almost nothing. This is a remarkable Congress. The 113th Congress has passed about 13 public laws. By the end of this week, maybe they'll be at 14th with the final passage of a student loan bill. But right now their rate of passing laws is about half the 112th Congress' rate, and the 112th racked up fewer laws than any Congress since World War II. So we are really on pace to have one of the least productive, if not the least productive, Congresses in history.
GROSS: And that's kind of intentional on the part of some members of Congress.
WEISMAN: It is. I mean, House Speaker John Boehner said a couple weeks ago that the Congress should not be judged on the number of laws that it passes but the number of laws it repeals. Frankly, it isn't repealing any laws, either. This is just a House of Representatives made up of quite a few people, quite a few Republicans, who just don't believe that they were sent to Washington to pass laws.
That is somewhat contradictory, however, because, you know, you can be a conservative and pass laws, as well. There are conservative laws. Frankly, this is just a dysfunctional Congress.
GROSS: One thing that Democrats and Republicans did come together on was the money to pay air traffic controllers after the sequester was creating airport delays that would have had a very direct effect on congressmen and women because they travel back and forth between their home state and Washington so much. So like how did that get done so quickly?
WEISMAN: It was really striking because the moment that the House of Representatives was passing that law to undo these automatic sequestration cuts, these across-the-board cuts, that came in because of the Budget Control Act, there was a line of cars piled up behind the House waiting to get these guys to the airport so they could fly home for the weekend.
It was one of the most striking visuals I've seen in a long time in Congress, and it really was a case where the folks who really were impacted, typically business travelers, members of Congress, the elite, the people who were most affected were also the people with the biggest voice on Capitol Hill, and they got what they wanted.
It was really almost the only thing that was actually undone by an act of Congress that was hit by this sequester. You didn't see Congress act to do something about Head Start cuts, to do something about cuts on Meals on Wheels. But they certainly responded very quickly on the air traffic controllers. In fact that bill came up - came together I think on a Tuesday, and it was done by Friday.
GROSS: OK, so that got done, but in this Congress that has accomplished so little in terms of actually passing bills, there's been a lot of theater. For instance, the House is ending this week before the recess with what they're calling Stop Government Abuse Week, and there's 10 bills scheduled for a vote through this week to basically make it more difficult for federal agencies to have regulations that would restrict business. Do I have that right?
WEISMAN: It's - many of them are about streamlining regulations or stopping new regulations. A lot of them are also aimed at these scandals that the House has really been pursuing, kind of a tax on the IRS. You know, they went down this road. Initially Republican leaders weren't that into investigating, investigating, investigating. They didn't want to reprise the imagery of the House during the later Clinton years, which seemed to be consumed by investigations and impeachment.
But the IRS scandal, this notion that the IRS was targeting conservative groups to silence them, this really took off in conservative circles even though a lot of evidence has come up that somewhat contradicts it or expands the scope of what the IRS was trying to do. In conservative circles, this is still a really big issue, and what you're seeing this week as really the last major acts of the House before a break that will take them all the way to September 9, September 9, is a way to stoke those fires so when they go home for their break these Republican House members can say we are with you, we are pressing, we are going to stop government abuse that you have seen us lay out for you.
GROSS: The House is going to vote to defund Obamacare this Friday for the 40th time. What's the point of that?
WEISMAN: You know, the last vote to defund or to try to dismantle Obamacare was a very conscious thing. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor from Virginia, he had tried to put together a bill that, taking a conservative tack, would find some way to ensure those with pre-existing conditions by taking money out of one side of the health care law and shifting it to another part of the health care law that has not been very well used.
Conservatives got very angry about this because they said we don't want to save any part of the health care law, and in fact the new members of the House hadn't had a chance to have their own vote to repeal Obamacare. So they scheduled a vote to repeal Obamacare. Everyone on the Republican side got to vote one more time to repeal Obamacare.
This time they're doing it again, but they're - it's a new tack. This time they're going to strip the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service, of anything to do with Obamacare. Well, the fact is that the IRS is a major administrator of the health care law, and if the IRS, if this law, I mean this bill, were to pass that is going to be voted on Friday, it really would just gut the health care law.
It's all symbolism. This is a way to say we're going to come at this over and over and over again. And you still see how much this means in the conservative world. Right now on the Senate side, a group of senators led by Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida are saying that they will not pass any government funding legislation to keep the government open into the next fiscal year, which begins in October, unless it strips all funding from Obamacare.
And some Republicans are saying this is nuts, we cannot shut down the government because obviously President Obama is not going to sign anything like this into law, but they are being driven by conservative activists who just cannot stand it and will not - and basically cannot get enough of these kind of votes. They just love votes to repeal Obamacare.
GROSS: I don't know that you can actually this because it gets to the question of motivation, but do you think that the conservative Republicans who keep voting to repeal Obamacare and who are basically saying we're going to shut down the government unless President Obama repeals his signature health care bill, do you think they see it as political theater or a way to win votes or a way to, like, take a stand on what they really deeply believe?
WEISMAN: I think they deeply do believe that the health care law is having - is wreaking havoc in some circles of the economy. I do believe that they think that. I do also think that this is political theater, and they know it. They know what they're doing is rallying their base to keep them by their side.
Right now Congress' approval rating is like 14 percent. That means that liberals don't like what Congress is doing, they don't like what the Republicans are doing, but it means also that a lot of conservatives don't like what Congress is doing, either. And I - the Republicans want to get those conservatives at least on their side.
It's no coincidence that this defund Obamacare movement right now is being led by Marco Rubio, who is a leading Republican name for the 2016 nomination, and by Ted Cruz, who is brand new to the Senate, brand new to elective office and is also making noise about 2016. So you cannot separate this from kind of the base politics that is early president running.
GROSS: So this fall after Congress reconvenes, once again there's going to be a vote on raising the debt ceiling. And House leader John Boehner said we're not going to raise the debt ceiling without real cuts in spending, it's as simple as that. And President Obama has said that he's not going to negotiate terms to raise the debt ceiling, just wants it raised. What kind of showdown do you expect to see in the fall?
WEISMAN: It's going to be an ugly showdown. I think that we are gearing up towards two really bad junctures this fall. First on September 30, the government will end - it will run out of money for the next fiscal year unless the House and the Senate can come up with some kind of funding mechanism to keep the government open, and right now the House and Senate are very far apart on how much money they want to allocate to the government overall.
Then comes this showdown over the debt ceiling. It is likely to come at the beginning of November, and right now the two parties are very, very far apart. As you've said, President Obama says I'm not even going to negotiate on this. Congress needs to find a way to raise the government's statutory borrowing limit. And Republicans in the House and Senate are saying no way, we need to extract a pound of flesh, we need to get some kind of concession from the president.
Ironically they have not yet decided what pound of flesh they want. Some say they want some real commitment to changes to entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security. Some say they want to defund Obamacare. Some say they want some kind of statutory commitment to tax reform. Republicans want to get some kind of concession from the Democrats, they just don't know - even know what concession they want yet.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weisman. He's a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. Jonathan, let's take a break here, and then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weisman. He's a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. We're probably talked about a couple of these already, but what do you think have been the most dramatic examples of partisanship or obstructionism or radicalism during this 113th Congress so far?
WEISMAN: The 113th Congress actually started in a rancorous but ultimately productive way. Remember it started with a deal on the fiscal cliff that did raise taxes on the rich. Actually it raised taxes on everybody a little bit because it allowed - the deal allowed a temporary cut to the payroll tax to expire. So virtually everybody who works saw a little bit of a tax increase, but those who earn more than $400,000 saw a fairly hefty tax increase.
And it looked like, it looked like Republican leaders, especially in the House, were willing to, when push comes to shove, to let legislation pass even if only a minority of the Republicans were going to vote for it. They let the Democrats kind of bear the load and get tough legislation passed.
But at the very - on the very first day of the 113th Congress, when John Boehner stood for re-election as House speaker, we saw this group of Republicans coalescing, these very conservative Republicans coalescing, to try to stop his re-election. It was startling because it was right out in the open. You saw Tim Huelskamp, who is a representative from Kansas, with an iPad on the House floor checking off votes of people that he thought were going to vote against John Boehner. And it could very well have brought the speakership down.
And the response from John Boehner was very typical Boehner but also kind of set the tone for what would happen for the rest. He didn't get angry. He didn't punish like other leaders have punished in the past. And really I think that a lot of the conservatives since then have felt like they have nothing to fear from John Boehner.
So the next thing that came up was the hurricane relief bill after Hurricane Sandy. These typically just blow through Congress like a hurricane, not much debate, they just pass, and that's it. They almost couldn't pass a hurricane relief bill. I don't know if you remember, but members of Congress, Republicans members of Congress from the Northeast went on television, went to the House floor to denounce their fellow Republicans who they couldn't believe were holding up a disaster relief bill after a disaster of such magnitude.
And the Republican majority never really recovered from the showdown over Sandy because at that point, that Sandy relief bill passed with a majority of Democrats voting for it and a minority of Republicans voting for it. And at that point, conservatives in the House said no more. You are not going to let that happen, Mr. Boehner. Mr. Boehner, you will only pull bills on the floor that have the support of a majority of Republicans.
And once they made that demand, he has not wavered from it. That's why we've had so many problems getting the House to even consider an immigration bill because at this point a majority of Republicans will not support a comprehensive immigration bill.
And we can't get a farm bill passed. Farm bill - farm bills are typically passed by overwhelming majorities in the House and the Senate. This time, the farm bill, over three years, could not pass because conservatives did not like the funding for food stamps. In fact, a farm bill finally passed once they stripped out the food stamp initiative from that. That's 80 percent of the farm bill. So we really - we are not getting things done that are typically easy to get done.
GROSS: So you're saying that Republicans aren't afraid of Boehner because he didn't punish anybody when there was nearly a revolution to overthrow him. What's Boehner afraid of?
WEISMAN: John Boehner is afraid that a small minority of the Republican Party can toss him out and it would be a humiliating moment. He doesn't have control over the conference the way past leaders have had. Now in the past when Tom DeLay, we all remember The Hammer, when Tom DeLay was in charge, he could use enticements in the form of earmarks, these special provisions for people's districts, to lure Republicans to his position, and he could use threats, which he did.
But this speaker doesn't really use threats, and he also doesn't have a hammer behind him. He doesn't have a Tom DeLay in the leadership who is also willing to back him up and threaten and cajole members of the House to stand with their speaker.
GROSS: Is that because he's a nice guy or just doesn't know how to lead?
WEISMAN: I think in some ways it's both. He is a nice guy. He doesn't hold anger well. He'll get momentarily angry, then he'll pat somebody on the back. But it's also because of the kind of Republicans that are being elected now. These Republicans from a lot of these very conservative districts are being elected on a platform of radically smaller government, and they are not going in saying we want to bring home the bacon to this district, we want to fix, you know, the Reading sewer system or the Hoboken, you know, ferry terminal.
They're going in saying I'm not going to bring home the bacon for you, I'm going to radically shrink the government. And they're stoking the voters in very gerrymandered or conservative districts. Remember the House used to have a big chunk of districts that could swing Republican, could swing Democrat depending on which way the political currents are. That's just not the case anymore.
With the redistricting of 2010 and the concentration of Democratic voters in urban areas, Republicans typically represent areas that are extremely conservative and that, for political purposes, the biggest threat to House members are on their right flank, not on their left flank.
GROSS: They're afraid that they'll be primaried, so there will be a more conservative opponent put up against them in their district.
WEISMAN: Exactly. For almost all House Republicans, for almost all House Republicans, they do not have Democrats to fear. They have more-conservative Republicans to fear every two years.
GROSS: So what are some of the splits you're seeing in Congress now between people who have been there for a while and newcomers who have been elected on very conservative platforms who don't, as you put it, don't want to bring home the bacon. They got elected on a platform to just cut funding.
WEISMAN: The biggest one is comprehensive immigration reform. The Senate has not particularly been functioning either this year, but it did pass one major piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the 11-million-or-so illegal immigrants that are in this country right now some kind of pathway to citizenship. It would also allow a new guest worker programs to come in and change the way we allow immigrants to flow into this country and increase the number of immigrants.
It was a bill that was strongly backed by Democrats, also very strongly backed by Republican business interests in Washington and beyond, but in the House, those business interests don't have the same voice that they have in the Senate. In fact the voice that the Republicans in the House are listening to are voices of grassroots conservatives who hate this bill and especially hate the notion that we would let lawbreakers, illegal immigrants, become citizens in this country.
And right now this is a contest between those who are arguing for the greater good of the Republican Party, who see that Latino voters and immigrant voters more broadly want this bill badly and will punish their nominee in 2016 for the presidency if nothing happens, against the voters of 2014 that will come out for these House seats.
So it's really a contest between the national Republican Party and the House Republican Party, and right now the House Republican Party is winning.
GROSS: Jonathan Weisman will be back in the second half of the show. He's a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross back with Jonathan Weisman, a Congressional correspondent for The New York Times. We're talking about why the 113th Congress has gotten so little done. Congress begins the summer break at the end of the week. When we left off, Weisman was describing divisions among Republican lawmakers on immigration. The Senate passed a bill. But in the House immigration reform is stalled.
Immigration was seen by some Republicans as a big issue to help attract Latino voters, because they are not doing well with Latino voters and demographically they're going to have to if they want to have a future in national politics. So how did this past election and how are the demographics affecting the Republican plan?
WEISMAN: This is - immigration is where you see redistricting and gerrymandering of districts actually hurt the Republican Party. Because in states, in large states like Florida, Republicans - conservative Republicans, like Marco Rubio, see the handwriting on the wall. They know they need immigrant voters, Latino voters, to stand with them and they went toward the side of comprehensive immigration reform, right. But in the House, even in Florida, the way these districts are drawn, very few of these House members have large Latino populations. They don't have to worry that in 2014 and beyond they will be tossed out of Washington because of anger in these Latino districts. Their interests, their political interests, diverge dramatically from the interests of statewide party officials, like senators, and especially national figures who will be running for the presidency.
This is a real problem for the Republican Party. And I remember putting it to the Speaker's office, saying hey, where - is your, is House Speaker John Boehner's obligation to the national party, the national Republican Party and the country writ large, or is it to his members? And the answer was very blunt. His biggest obligation is to make sure that the House stays in Republican hands after the 2014 election. That means his biggest obligation is to listen to conservative voters in these gerrymandered districts, not the larger voices of the body politic nationally.
GROSS: And did he feel at all uncomfortable saying that or is that just like realpolitik?
WEISMAN: You know, I thought that they would evince at least some trepidation, but they really didn't. They really seem to believe that they have to look at the obligations of the next election first and foremost. I think that Speaker Boehner really would like comprehensive immigration reform. He's not likely to stay around as speaker after 2016. Some think that he might retire after 2014 because he's simply exhausted, and he would like to have some kind of legacy. But at the same time, he doesn't seem willing or able to confront his right flank, and his right flank is vast in the House of Representatives right now.
GROSS: How vast?
WEISMAN: Well, there are only about 27 districts - House districts - that President Obama either took or almost took that are held by Republicans. It used to be like about a hundred districts were always in play. This time they're not. And, you know, a swing of 13, 14 people away from him would cost him the speakership; that's how on a knife edge he is right now.
GROSS: Harry Reid recently was pressing for a change to the filibuster rule so that the filibuster would no longer apply to presidential nominees. Because the president would like to get an up or down vote on his nominees so that they could get confirmed. So tell us what happened.
WEISMAN: Well, Harry Reid was really pushing what's called the nuclear option. In 2005, go back to 2005, when Republicans controlled the Senate and George W. Bush was in office. At that time the Republican complaint was that Democrats were filibustering President Bush's judicial nominees. And they came up with this idea that although according to Senate law - Senate rules - in order to change the rules of the Senate you need 67 senators to assent. You need a two-thirds majority to change the rules of the Senate. But a little arcane wrinkle says that you can overturn the ruling of the chair - the guy who's making decisions, parliamentary decisions - with only 51 votes. So they created what became known as the nuclear option, which is this: You move to change the rules of the Senate. You can't get 67 votes but you just say we're going to change it anyway with 51 votes. The person in the chair will rule that the parliamentarian says that's not right, you can't do that, you need 67 votes. Then the majority leader says, well, I'm going to move to overrule the ruling of the chair, and then 51 senators get together and vote to overrule the parliamentarian. By doing that, you've changed the rules of the Senate with a mere 51 votes.
This sent Democrats into apoplexy in 2005. Harry Reid decreed that you'll be breaking the rules of the Senate to change the rules of the Senate. And they stepped back from the nuclear option in 2005 when 14 senators got together and said we're not going to do this. Let's come up with some gentlemen's agreement on what it means to filibuster judges. Well, fast-forward to 2013, and Harry Reid is now on the other side. He's not a leader of the Senate; he's in the majority, and he decides that he's going to do the nuclear option. He's going to play brinkmanship politics and say I'm going to do this unless Republicans blink and allow the president's nominees to pass through. Ultimately the Republicans blinked. They got almost nothing from this, except that Harry Reid did not press the button on the nuclear option. He did not change the rules of the Senate. But he also did not promise that he would not change the rules in the future. He only got the seven nominees that the president wanted through with a simple majority vote.
GROSS: How did it happen that the Republicans didn't get anything in return?
WEISMAN: You know, I think - they had this meeting. It was a very dramatic moment. Senator Roger Wicker from Mississippi came up with this idea on a Thursday to have all the Senate get together in the august old Senate chamber behind closed doors to try to hash this out on a Monday night. So they all came in from out of town. Around 6:30 they adjourned to old Senate chamber. They closed the doors. Reporters are just milling around outside for hours and hours while one by one the senators kind of have a vent session. They all get up and stand and say you just don't understand us. They talk it through. And then they emerge with a deal. And that deal had actually been cut over the weekend when Senator John McCain of Arizona pleaded with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York to come back to the table and step back from the nuclear brink.
That deal was - there was one small face-saving measure that - the Republicans hate the National Labor Relations Board. They feel like the NLRB always tilts to the unions - which it kind of does. They wanted some kind of face-saving measure. They said withdraw President Obama's - two of President Obama's NLRB - National Labor Relations Board - nominees. Give us two new ones. The twist was we don't care who those new two ones are. They could be - they could be put up by the unions. They could be as liberal or as in-your-face as the two guys that you're going to remove. Just give us two new nominees and we'll give you all seven, carte blanche. That's what they did. They gave them this one face-saving measure and basically the deal was cut around Mitch O'Connell's back, which really, the whole thing weakened the Republican leadership in the Senate. It strengthened John McCain's hand, who has become kind of the de facto leader in the Senate. And it really boosted Harry Reid. Now, Harry Reid can only go back to the nuclear well so many times. So the argument from Republicans is, well, he took it to the brink, he can't take it to the brink again.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weissman; he's a Congressional correspondent for the New York Times. Let's take a short break, then we'll talk some more.
This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weissman; he's a Congressional correspondent for the New York Times. And at the end of this week, Congress is out for break until September.
You had talked about John Boehner as speaker of the House and why he hasn't been an effective leader. Let's look at Mitch McConnell, who is the Republican minority leader in the Senate. How effective has he been on the whole?
WEISMAN: Well, remember, Mitch McConnell by nature is a dealmaker. He can be gruff, he can grumble a lot, but when he's backed into a corner he tends to be the guy who finds the way to cut a deal. He was the guy who basically brokered the deal to end the so-called fiscal cliff in January. He went behind closed doors with Vice President Biden and found a way. Republicans and Democrats actually always kind of liked that Mitch McConnell because he was the guy who would get them out of binds. But now Mitch McConnell is up for re-election in 2014 in Kentucky. The last time there was a Kentucky Senate race, McConnell had backed a mainstream Republican to be the next senator from Kentucky against Rand Paul, who was, you know, the darling of the Tea Party. And Rand Paul stormed to victory. He really showed the strength of the Tea Party in McConnell's home state of Kentucky. And ever since then McConnell has looked at his home state with great trepidation. He has bonded with Rand Paul in such a way that some people don't even recognize Mitch McConnell right now. So McConnell, even Republicans will admit that Mitch McConnell right now is looking over his right shoulder like nobody else in Congress, and it has affected the way the Senate works. Because suddenly the dealmaker in the Senate - the guy who gets them out of the jam - is no longer really available. What we are seeing is Mitch McConnell, the guy running for re-election and worried about what the Tea Party will do to him if he keeps cutting deals with the hated President Obama in Kentucky.
GROSS: So right now there isn't really a dealmaker to turn to?
WEISMAN: There really isn't, because if you look at the number two senator among the Republicans in the Senate, the Senate Republican whip is John Cornyn. John Cornyn has a very similar diode going on. He is also up for re-election and he has bonded with the freshman senator from Texas, Ted Cruz. Ted Cruz, if anything, is to the right of Rand Paul. So neither of these guys, John Cornyn or Mitch McConnell, are in position right now to be the dealmaker. And so that has fallen to somebody outside of leadership altogether, John McCain or Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
GROSS: How does somebody like Ted Cruz - who is a newcomer, and is really pretty far to the right - come in and so quickly get so much power?
WEISMAN: It's fascinating to watch him because he is not well-liked in the Senate. He came in and made enemies very quickly by insulting other Republicans. And he keeps doing it, even when he gets a lot of press for insulting other Republicans. Just yesterday he said that the problem with Republicans is that they're too afraid and they're too afraid to lose. But he makes those appeals to the Republican base and these Republican senators look at him and realize, this guy is popular with our voters. We have to be somewhat deferential to him. He is showing that if you simply walk into the United States Senate and are willing to break a lot of china, you'll rally the Republican base. You might not make any friends in the Senate, but you will be a force to be reckoned with, and he has done that.
There's kind of this new triumvirate right now, they're calling them the Constitutionalists. It's Rand Paul from Kentucky. It's Ted Cruz from Texas. And another newcomer, Mike Lee from Utah, who was a Tea Party darling and defeated another old-timey guy, Robert Bennett. These three are showing that if three United States senators can get together, they can really do a lot of, well, Democrats would say damage. They would say that you could do a lot of good just by standing together and stopping legislation.
GROSS: And what are their priorities now?
WEISMAN: What these three are trying to do right now overall is to shut down the government unless President Obama's healthcare law can be defunded. They've gotten a lot of pushback - public pushback. One senator called it the stupidest idea he had ever heard of. And many Republican House members are - with a very high leadership connections are saying if we shut down the government October 1st just to defund a law that President Obama, you know, has made his signature, we are crazy. We could lose control of the House if we do this. But these guys are resolute and they are rallying the base. I saw yesterday that conservative groups like Heritage Action, which is the political arm of the Heritage Foundation, like the Club for Growth, they're all saying everybody needs to sign onto this defund Obamacare movement, even if it could have very, very hazardous consequences to the party politically.
GROSS: How have President Obama's tactics in working with Congress changed since he was first elected?
WEISMAN: Well, remember, when the Democrats controlled Congress, President Obama was actually very deferential. He really let the House and Senate leadership, Democratic leadership, write his stimulus bill. He tried to set parameters but they did the details. They really wrote the details, many of the details, on the healthcare law too. They took much more - the White House took much more of a hands-on approach to reregulating the financial services industry.
But he was remarkably deferential to the leadership. Once the Republicans took over, he stepped back and really disengaged. He's - people - lawmakers in the Congress are amazed at how little they - how little contact they've had with the president and how little contact they've even had with his legislative staff, the guys who are actually sent up from the White House to Capitol Hill to lobby for the president.
But after this election, after he was reelected, he did switch tacks. He decided that the way to get anything accomplished with this very recalcitrant Republican House was to cut deals with the Democrats and the Republicans in the Senate and to isolate the House. And since then he's had all of these dinners, these wooing sessions at the White House.
Dennis McDonough, his new chief of staff, has been up on Capitol Hill over the last few weeks almost constantly trying to woo Republican senators, try to cut a deal on immigration, to cut a deal on budgets, to cut any manner of deals. It has been marginally successful. I mean look at what happened with immigration. They succeeded in getting a bipartisan immigration deal but it didn't really seem to isolate the House at all.
They've tried to get a deal on a so-called grand bargain on a budget - on deficit reduction, but all of these dinners that he's had with Republican senators, you know, the Republicans have kind of lapped it up. They've enjoyed the presidential attention. But they haven't really come around to his position. So we have seen very, very mixed results. And I think on the margins what we've really shown is in this modern era the president really doesn't have a whole lot of authority with the opposite party in Congress.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weisman. He's a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. Let's take a short break, then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Jonathan Weisman. He's a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. So Darrell Issa, who's the head of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, conducted hearings into Benghazi and was there a cover-up there, and into the IRS - was the IRS targeting conservative groups and Tea Party groups for audits.
And, you know, it looked like, oh, could these erupt into big scandals? They kind of didn't, and I'm wondering, like, if you stand back and look at those two investigations, what you think the impact was on the Republicans who led the investigations.
WEISMAN: To say that they didn't erupt into major scandals is to look more broadly at the electorate. If you look in activist conservative circles, they really did become major scandals. I mean if you go down and talk to an activist in South Carolina about Benghazi, they are not going to say that nothing came of this. When Representative Steve King of Iowa says that Benghazi is taking Watergate and Iran-contra and multiplying it by 10 and you get to Benghazi, you know, he believes that.
And a lot of his voters believe that. Nationally, the attack on Benghazi is not seen as a political scandal; it's seen as a tragedy. But in conservative activist circles, Benghazi is still a code for Barack Obama's accommodationist stand on jihadism. The IRS scandal is similar. Remember, the IRS scandal broke when a top official of the Internal Revenue Service, Lois Lerner, apologized - apologized - for targeting conservative groups, especially Tea Party groups, for special treatment in their applications for tax exempt status.
That apology really set the tone because in the next few days even President Obama got up there and publicly said this should not happen, the IRS cannot target groups for political purposes and it must stop. And heads rolled at the IRS over the next few days. But as the investigation went on, it became very, very muddy. We later found out that on these Be On the Lookout Lists, yes, these lookout lists said watch out for applications from Tea Party groups or from 912 groups or groups that call themselves patriots.
But they also had the word progressive on. The Be On the Lookout List said look out for groups that are progressive. Look out for groups that are supporting Palestinian rights. I did a story about the treatment being meted out to open source software developers who were also on these Be On the Lookout List. The BOLO lists, as they're called, were very, very broad.
And as this news came out in the national body politic, the IRS scandal lost its steam. But among conservative activists and certainly among Fox News watchers who still hear a lot about it, the IRS scandal still has great, great resonance. Because it plays on the notion, the broader notion, that the Obama administration is heavy-handed and is attacking our civil liberties and our personal liberties and our rights to privacy.
So it did not come of anything in the way an Iran-contra came of something, but it certainly has fueled the anger on the Republican right, and I don't - the Republicans don't seem to be giving up on it at all. The IRS scandal is the scandal with legs in the Republican Party.
GROSS: You've been covering Congress since January of 2012. You've covered politics for years before that. What are some of the things that surprise you most watching Congress up close?
WEISMAN: Well, I also - I came to Washington way back in 1996 and initially covered Congress then too. And what you saw back then was the iron hand of Tom DeLay running the House of Representatives, and to a certain degree Newt Gingrich. You didn't see the absolute free-for-all that you see in the House right now. You know, there were a lot of votes in the DeLay era in which the Republican majority mustered only 218, the bare majority to pass.
But you never thought that it wasn't going to pass. You always knew that DeLay had the votes he needed and was only going to ask 218 people to vote for any bill. He was always in control. You do not see that anymore. On many bills, even bills that are drafted by the leadership, the House majority leader, Eric Cantor, you always - there's always this sense that, wow, at any moment this whole thing could spin out of control.
And in some ways it's exciting as a reporter because you don't always know the outcome. It used to be, certainly in the House you always - you pretty much always knew how something was going to come out. I remember covering the impeachment of President Clinton and it was so - it was such a slog to cover because we all knew what was going to happen. We all knew President Clinton was not going to be thrown out of office.
But we had to go through virtually a year of the whole process before we got to the ending that had been written a year ago. Now we don't know what's going to happen. We also don't know whether some of the drama in Washington is really going to be a dramatic setback for the country.
When I look forward to October 1, when Congress - when the federal government runs out of money, I don't know that Congress is actually going to be able to come up with any money to keep the government from shutting down. I don't know. That's kind of dramatic as a reporter, but for a country I think that this lurching from crisis to crisis really has an impact on economic growth, on uncertainty, and just the sense of what is going on with our government.
GROSS: Well, Jonathan Weisman, thank you so much for talking with us and enjoy your break as Congress goes on its.
WEISMAN: Well, thank you, Terry. I'm sure I will.
GROSS: Thank you so much.
WEISMAN: Thanks.
GROSS: Jonathan Weisman is a congressional correspondent for the New York Times. You'll find a link to one of his recent articles on our website, freshair.npr.org, where you can also download podcasts of our show. And you can follow us on Twitter at nprfreshair and on Tumblr at nprfreshair.tumblr.com.
Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.


text:
Detailed plot synopsis reviews of Guilty Feet
Chapter Analysis of Guilty Feet
Click on a plot link to find similar books!
Plot & ThemesTime/era of story - 2000+ (Present Day) Phone/email/mail relationship - Yes Kind of relationship: - meet over internet
Main Male CharacterProfession/status: - business executive Age/status: - 20's-30's
Main Female Character- 20's-30's
SettingUnited States - Yes The US: - Northeast
Writing StyleAccounts of torture and death? - no torture/death What % of story is romance related? - 70% Focus of story - equally on him and her How much dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Books with storylines, themes & endings like Guilty Feet
|Finding Bess by Victoria Gordon
|Why Girls Are Weird by Pamela Ribon
|Shore Lights by Barbara Bretton
|Forever Until We Meet by Vicki M. Taylor
|Getting Personal by Diane Amos


text:
Sooooo, … on the nature of magic and miracles,
Seemingly metaphysical fraternal twins stamped on the same coin,
Albeit perhaps on different sides.
© Guillermo Calvo Mahé; Manizales, 2023; all rights reserved. Please feel free to share with appropriate attribution.
Guillermo ("Bill") Calvo Mahé (a sometime poet) is a writer, political commentator and academic currently residing in the Republic of Colombia (although he has primarily lived in the United States of America of which he is also a citizen). Until 2017 he chaired the political science, government and international relations programs at the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales. He has academic degrees in political science (the Citadel), law (St. John's University), international legal studies (New York University) and translation and linguistic studies (the University of Florida's Center for Latin American Studies). He can be contacted at email@example.com and much of his writing is available through his blog at https://guillermocalvo.com/.