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In Afghanistan and Iraq, the wire ringing our bases divided two starkly different worlds. Inside the wire, life revolved around containerized housing units, cavernous dining facilities, well-appointed gyms and the distant but ever-present risk of a falling rocket or mortar round. Outside the wire, Afghans and Iraqis tried to live their lives amid relative chaos. They didn't fully understand what we were doing there. And when we ventured out, we struggled to navigate their world.
The wire defines a similar divide in the United States. Inside, troops and their families live and work on massive military bases, separated geographically, socially and economically from the society they serve. Outside, Americans live and work, largely unaware of the service and sacrifice of the 2.4 million active and reserve troops. Discussions of the civil-military divide often blame civilians. But the military's self-imposed isolation doesn't encourage civilian understanding, and it makes it difficult for veterans and their families to navigate the outside world.
The U.S. military's domestic bases are the nation's most exclusive gated communities. There's restricted access, of course, and visitors are usually asked to provide multiple forms of ID and to submit to a car search before entering. Through the gates, there's a remarkably self-contained world. Roughly a third of military families live on bases, with many more living just outside the wire in military enclaves. About 100,000 military children attend on-base schools. Military families shop at discounted grocery and department stores, see dedicated doctors and pharmacists, leave their children in military-subsidized child care, and play in base sports leagues. Many bases have their own golf courses, gyms and gas stations. Some have their own cemeteries, too.
The geographic isolation of military bases divides the services from society. The military increasingly concentrates itself on large bases nowhere near major population centers. Rural settings afford vast ranges and runways for training purposes, but they limit opportunities for interaction with civilians. City-dwellers, including the nation's political and business elites, may rarely see service members in uniform - perpetuating the military's tendency to draw recruits from rural, Southern and Western populations. And when jobs are scarce in the communities surrounding bases, it makes the transition of veterans out of the military especially difficult.
Finally, the paternalistic way the military trains, indoctrinates and advances its members plays a role in deepening the civil-military divide and frustrating transition. From their earliest days of service, whether at Navy boot camp or West Point, recruits must abandon their civilian habits and embrace new haircuts, clothing, routines and hierarchies. The military tells them where to live, whom to work for and what to do. Service members have little autonomy or choice - even more than a decade into a career.
And so, leaving the military, as more than 80 percent of service members do well before they reach retirement, may provoke serious culture shock, even for those who haven't recently served in a war zone. For some new veterans, it is the first time they've had to find a house, pick a school for their kids and apply for a job, let alone interview for one. They have enormous experience and expertise relating to their military jobs, but they lack basic life skills and experience.
We would not suggest that the military address these issues by allowing service members to choose their clothes each day. Uniforms, routines and hierarchies help instill and sustain the discipline and cohesion that are necessary when facing an enemy in combat. Without question, U.S. military forces must embrace a culture that sets them apart from people who work in the local mall or at Yahoo.
Yet many factors that contribute to the military's separation from society have little to do with combat readiness. For instance, some on-base schools opened in the 1950s and '60s after Southern states pushed back against the idea of having the children of black service members attend whites-only local schools. And as The Washington Post has reported, commissaries are taxpayer-subsidized anachronisms, dating back to a time when military paychecks were much smaller and there wasn't a Wal-Mart within 10 miles of most bases.
One way to reduce some of the unnecessary isolation would be to rezone military bases and allow outside access to - and interaction with - everything, save headquarters and training ranges. Most bases already separate their family housing areas from critical functions, so it may be possible to make changes that would shrink the psychological and physical divide between service members and civilians.
In thinking about its future geographic footprint, the military should try to locate bases closer to population centers. Range space and the ability to expand should be balanced against the value of close relations between the military and society.
The military should also give more time and resources to its transition programs. It is unrealistic to think that years of military culture can be reversed with a one- or two-week transition course, as occurs now for separating troops. The military is understandably reluctant to invest in anything that would help its best and brightest leave. However, there are long-term benefits in having veterans transition successfully, particularly for an all-volunteer force that increasingly recruits from the families of those who serve and depends on its alumni network for political and popular support.
The military should invite more civilian agencies and private firms inside the wire to help troops as they form and execute their transition plans. In parallel, it should share more data about departing service members with the private sector and nonprofit institutions, to help them better receive veterans who come home to their communities. And it should explore ways the reserves, with their part-time troops and bases scattered throughout the country, can aid the transition process for veterans.
In years to come, as the military shrinks to prewar levels, it should reevaluate its policies through the lens of the civil-military divide. Military effectiveness should always be the primary consideration, but the services should also consider the extent to which separation from society does harm.
State & National News
Military bases are our most exclusive gated communities
In Afghanistan and Iraq, the wire ringing our bases divided two starkly different worlds. Inside the wire, life revolved around containerized housing units, cavernous dining facilities, well-appointed gyms and the distant but ever-present risk of a falling rocket or mortar round. Outside the wire, Afghans and Iraqis tried to live their lives amid relative chaos. They didn't fully understand what we were doing there. And when we ventured out, we struggled to navigate their world.
- State & National News
Russia's war on McDonald's takes aim at the Filet-o-Fish
WASHINGTON - Russia said earlier this week that it had no intention of answering Western sanctions by making it harder for Western companies to conduct business in Russia.
But all bets are off, apparently, when you threaten the Russian waistline.
Sheriff accused of lying about relationship with prostitute
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. - The sheriff of Clark County, Ind., faces an eight-count federal indictment that accuses him of lying about paying a prostitute for a sex act and giving her a badge so that she could claim a discount rate at a hotel.
Beretta, other gun makers heading to friendlier states
In moving south and taking 160 jobs with it, Beretta joins several other prominent gunmakers abandoning liberal states that passed tough gun laws after the Newtown shooting.
Obama had crush on First Lady of Rock
Linda Ronstadt remained composed as she walked up to claim her National Medal of Arts at a White House ceremony Monday afternoon.
Brother sues W.Va. senator over business loan
FAIRMONT, W. Va. - U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin's brother claims he's owed $1.7 million that he loaned to keep a family carpet out of bankruptcy in the 1980s.
Where cats are more popular than dogs in the U.S.-and all over the world
We all know there are only two types of people in the world: cat people and dog people. But data from market research firm Euromonitor suggest that these differences extend beyond individual preferences and to the realm of geopolitics: it turns out there are cat countries and dog countries, too.
WORLD NEWS: Fast food comes to standstill in China
BEIJING - The shortage of meat is the result of China's latest food scandal, in which a Shanghai supplier allegedly tackled the problem of expired meat by putting it in new packaging and shipping it to fast-food restaurants around the country
Facebook continues moneymaking trend
WASHINGTON - Facebook seems to have figured out - for now at least - the holy grail for all media right now: how to make money selling mobile ads.
Arizona's prolonged lethal injection is fourth in U.S. this year
NEW YORK - Arizona's execution of double-murderer Joseph Wood marked the fourth time this year that a state failed to dispatch a convict efficiently, according to the Constitution Project, a bipartisan legal group.
N.C. Energy Policy Council Long Range Energy Generation and Renewable Energy Committee to meet
RALEIGH – The North Carolina Energy Policy Council's Long Range Energy Generation and Renewable Energy Committee will meet via conference call at 9 a.m. July 31.
- More State & National News Headlines
- Russia's war on McDonald's takes aim at the Filet-o-Fish


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In an earlier post, I discussed Dan Meyer's visionary talk about the future of math education. Halfway through the talk, Meyer mentions a classic problem in which students must determine how long it takes to fill a tank with water.
A typical textbook would give students all (or most of) the necessary pieces and then ask them to construct the puzzle — that is, plug the numbers into a formula. Meyer, however, advocates doing away with all the information and simply posing the question: "How long will it take to fill the tank with water?" Students then have to figure out what they need to answer the question. This approach forces them to think patiently and creatively.
By no small coincidence, we at Knewton teach the exact same question in the Data Sufficiency portion of our GMAT course:
An empty rectangular tank has uniform depth. How long will it take to fill the tank with water?
- Water will be pumped at the rate of 480 gallons per hour (1 cubic foot = 7.5 gallons).
- The tank is 100 feet deep and 30 feet wide.
- (A) Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
- (B) Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient.
- (C) BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
- (D) EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
- (E) Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.
Okay, so the question isn't exactly the same. Meyer's tank is an octagonal prism; ours is a rectangular solid. Details aside, both questions require the same level of critical reasoning.
Imagine that the prompt was pared down to simply, "How long will it take to fill the tank with water?" Give it a moment's thought. What do you need to know to answer this question? This is, at its core, what the Data Sufficiency section tests. You never have to compute the final answer on a DS question; you just have to know what it would take to find the answer.
Here, you need to know how quickly the water is flowing into the tank — that is, you need a rate. Next, you need to know how big the tank is — you need a volume. The prompt tells you that the tank is rectangular, with uniform depth, so its volume will be a product of its length, its width, and its depth. In total, then, you need four quantities to answer the question: (1) rate, (2) length, (3) width, (4) depth.
Statement 1 gives you quantity (1), the rate, but nothing more; it can't be sufficient. Statement 2 gives you quantities (3) and (4), the width and depth, but since it doesn't give you the length or the rate, it can't be sufficient, either. When you put the statements together, you've got quantities (1), (3), and (4), but you still don't have quantity (2), the length of the tank. Even together, the statements are not sufficient.
If you approach this question critically, you can polish it off in a matter of seconds. "I need four quantities. I see only three quantities. Answer choice E is correct." If you approach it passively, though, you get lost in the numbers and are far more likely to get it wrong. Nearly 25% of students do.
To be sure, questions like this are rare. In general, standardized math tests and creative problem solving do not go well together. As we change the way we teach students by drawing them further into the conversation, we will also need to change the way we assess them. The sooner, the better.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Hudson River is safe for human contact, according to the Westchester County Department Health who lifted an advisory issued during Hurricane Sandy that cautioned against having contact with the river.
The advisory was implemented on Oct. 29 as a precaution since the Yonkers Joint Wastewater Treatment Plant was shut down to protect equipment and the safety of employees. The storm caused flooding and other severe damage to the plant, however secondary water treatment resumed on Nov. 22.
Though the plant is functioning and test results show that sewage limits are being met, repairs to the plant are expected to cost $12.65 million, a county press release reports.
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Narrow your search
Though it doesn't have every feature that we'd like, Box is an excellent choice for viewing, editing, and sharing your files securely in the cloud.
Pricing not available
Quickoffice has more editing features than Google Drive, but it's still no match for the more robust and visual Kingsoft Office app.
Pricing not available
You can now share a file directly from your Drive account using the Gmail app on an Android device.
File compression isn't just for desktops and laptops. Android devices can benefit from ZIP files too.
Nearing the half-year mark as CEO, Satya Nadella issues a call for change. But he tells CNET News, one thing that won't change is the future of Xbox at Microsoft.
The Audiophiliac matches the Audio Technica AT LP60 turntable with a pair of Audioengine A2+ speakers -- the combination really clicked!
You can now edit Microsoft Office documents in Google Docs without any messy file conversions.
New to photography? Learn how to process and edit raw images from your digital SLR for the best results.
The portable videocamera company's filing shows it generated revenue of nearly $986 million in 2013.
Make sure you're not communicating more than you intend to when sharing files and uploading images by excising some of the data about your data.


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Seeking Fourth Grade Math Tutor
A local family is in need of a math tutor for a fourth grader. The tutoring sessions would take place on Wednesday/Friday evenings. For more information please email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Replace this text.
Posted by Center for Civic Engagement (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Feb 12, 2013 at 1:59 PM


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It might take the offense a bit to come together, but the defense was in midseason form for the Durango High School boys basketball team in the season opener.
The Demons held Holbrook (Ariz.) to just one field goal in the first half and got plenty of points from the post Thursday night to top the Roadrunners 46-32 at the Tate's Auto Group Shootout in Winslow, Ariz.
Durango (1-0) jumped out early, pulling to a quick 14-3 lead and holding a 22-13 halftime advantage, with 10 of the Roadrunners' points coming from the free throw line. Aside from the fouls, head coach Alan Batiste liked what he saw defensively.
"Our defense wasn't the problem. It was just the bunnies we missed," Batiste said of the Demons' easy chances. "We played excellent defense."
The Demons received an offensive boost from their frontcourt. Nick Hamlin led Durango with 13 points, while Isiah Mayberry chipped in 10.
Willy Frownfelter led the way for the Demons' guards, contributing nine points.
"We did (work the post), but not as much as we wanted to," Batiste said. "Nick got a lot of offensive rebounds, putbacks. They put him at the line."
Batiste said he hopes to avoid the fouls that helped keep the Roadrunners in the contest for as long as they were as the tournament rolls on, with Durango set for a 3:30 tip today.
But, even if it wasn't as pretty as it could've been, 1-0 is much better than 0-1.
"It was just basically one of those blue-collar wins," Batiste said.


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A 21-year-old Orting man was shot and killed Saturday as he was leaving a birthday party east of Tacoma, Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said Monday.
Victor Zaldivar was a guest at the party in the 3700 block of 40th Avenue East, just off River Road East. As he was leaving about 1:30 a.m., he was "ambushed and shot," Troyer said.
There had been a dispute earlier when several uninvited guests were told to leave the party, and investigators believe they were the shooters, and that they waited for Zaldivar, Troyer said. Some of the uninvited guests were known to those at the party, and others were strangers, he added.
Detectives are following leads and have identified people of interest, he said, but they have made no arrests.


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Reporting from All Star - Installment 2 - What Prince Didn't Know
During a presentation at All Star I heard the following comment. "Remember Y2K? Everyone said the world was going to come to an end. I was losing sleep. I figured I should party like it was 1999. And then nothing happened."
I have heard such comments from lots of other sources in the real world – talk show hosts, comedians, business people, etc. And this time it happened to come from a non-auditor. But that doesn't mean I haven't also heard internal auditors make similar remarks. And I have also heard auditors talk about the time we wasted on Y2K.
And I find it all to be an incredible disservice to the work that occurred.
Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but I think Y2K became a non-event because of all the work organizations, in particular auditors, did prior to the year 2000. I watched a lot of people doing a lot of work going over code and recoding and, basically, devoting hours and days and months to the project of ensuring that programs would continue to run.
And, along came the year 2000, and the programs ran, and nothing went wrong.
Maybe I just don't understand, but isn't the reason we think nothing happened because so much happened before the event?
I'm not going to try and change the perception. I won't walk up to speakers and tell them to get their facts straight, I am not going to argue with people who make the jokes, and I'm not going to take it on as a personal vendetta to get back at those who make fun of our work.
But I do consider it one of the most significant achievements of our profession that the solution to the Y2K issue went so smoothly that no one knows we did all that work. And doesn't that really get to what we should always strive for? We are at our most successful when people don't realize we have done anything.
It reminds me of a quote from Futurama. "When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all."
Posted on Oct 14, 2013 by Mike Jacka
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June 23, 2006
Get ready for an up close and personal KISS! On July 26th, KISS will play the 1300 seat theater at the Chumash Casino Resort, the hottest new Casino in California! Much like the Palms show back in 2003, the intimate, no frills concert will allow KISS to flex its musical muscle! "It's a chance for us to just show people who and what we are musically," states Gene Simmons. Paul Stanley added, "We just couldn't pass up an opportunity where we could play such a cool intimate show. This will be a lot of fun especially right after playing the big festivals in Japan!" Tickets for the 8 PM show go on sale Monday, June 26th at 3:00 PM Eastern. Tickets are priced from $155.00 to $235.00 and will be available by visiting the Chumash Casino Resort Box Office or by calling StarTicketsPlus at 1-800-585-3737. The Chumash Casino Resort is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between Los Angeles and San Francisco, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley wine country. Visit their website at www.chumashcasino.com for directions and other info on the Resort.
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MORRISVILLE — Police on Saturday charged Robert Lowell Cassidy, 57, of 1713 Glengate Drive with 10 counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor involving computer files.
According to arrest warrants, police said Cassidy had three computer videos showing pre-pubescent girls in sexual situations on April 6, three on April 18, three on April 23 and one on Saturday, when they arrested him at his home.
Cassidy was being held on $200,000 bail pending a court appearance Monday.
Police agencies have been using sophisticated Internet search tools in recent years to track people who use video-sharing sites, and that has led to several charges like the one filed against Cassidy.


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July 29, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT)-- Someone in Knoxville hit the jackpot Saturday night.
According to the Tennessee Lottery, the lucky ticket, which matched all five white balls, is worth $1 million and was purchased by a player from the Pilot gas station on 6432 Asheville Highway.
This is the 96th Tennessee Lottery prize of $1 million or more since the Lottery's inception.
More information will be available when the player claims his or her prize.
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Cooking with Linux - The Ultimate Cooking Box
It isn't that strange, mon ami. Every year at this time, we talk about the ultimate Linux box, François. We try to outdo one another in terms of graphics, speed, memory, disk space and so on. The ultimate, invariably, is also a question of the latest and greatest. The trouble I have, François, is that as new as all this hardware extravaganza is, it is all the same thing. Then it occurred to me that if my Linux box could help out in the kitchen, that truly would be something new.
Non, François, you do not have to worry, your job is safe. Besides, this is exactly the sort of thing that might help make your job easier. In fact, I would not be surprised if many of our guests find that using Linux to help when it comes to cooking is simply natural. Speaking of guests, I see they have arrived. Welcome, mes amis, to Chez Marcel. Vite, François! Go to the cellar and bring back the 1997 Brunello di Montalcino, immédiatement!
While my faithful waiter fetches the wine, I should tell you about today's menu. In honor of this issue's theme of the ultimate Linux box, I've located a few programs to make your Linux box cook. I don't mean screaming performance, mes amis, but cooking with food and wine.
Looking for a way to get my Linux box to help out in the kitchen led me to Krecipes (see the on-line Resources section). Unai Garro, Jason Kivlighn and Bosselut Cyril have been putting together a nice open-source package that makes creating and maintaining your own list of favorite recipes a breeze. Krecipes lets you create and edit your own recipes as well as import them from popular exchange formats, including RecipeML, MasterCook, Meal-Master and others. It saves its own recipes in KreML (Krecipes XML format). You also can maintain categories, track calories (fiber, fat and so on), create shopping lists based on selected meals and more.
Ah, François, you have returned. Please, pour for our guests.
Krecipes stores its recipes in a database, so you need to have either MySQL or SQLite (see Resources) installed before compiling and using the software. SQLite is a small program-embeddable database that requires somewhat less overhead and administration than MySQL, but it's not as full-featured or powerful. For an application such as this, users may find it to be an attractive option. The beauty of SQLite is no database process needs to be running on the system in order to take advantage of SQL database capabilities, storage and access.
If you have both MySQL and SQLite on your system, support is compiled for both at build time. Speaking of building, this is a classic case of the extract and build five-step:
tar -xzvf krecipes_alpha_0.4.1.tar.gz cd krecipes ./configure --prefix=/usr make su -c "make install"
During your first time with Krecipes (the program name is krecipes), a wizard guides you through some basic setup processes, including a choice of database in which to store the information. If you have compiled the program with both MySQL and SQLite, you can choose either. Because we've already covered many programs that use a MySQL back end in this restaurant, I thought it might be nice to go with SQLite. I made that my choice and clicked Next.
Once you have made your selection, Krecipes offers to populate the program with some sample recipes. Make sure you click on this check box before continuing with the setup so you wind up with a few examples to help familiarize yourself with the software.
To create a new recipe, click File on the menubar and select New or simply click the new recipe button in the top left-hand side of the icon bar. The recipe dialog has three tabs. One is for the recipe basics—the name, the author, which category it should be filed under (you can create new categories) and how many people the dish serves. See Figure 1 for an example. The other two tabs are for the ingredients list and the description. In all cases, you can save your work at any time or return to it later for updates.
If you would rather take advantage of the many thousands of recipes available on the Internet in Meal-Master and RecipeML format, it's easy to import them. All this talk of food, mes amis, just reinforces the importance of a well-stocked wine cellar.
Another great recipe manager you may want to investigate is Douglas Squirrel's LargoRecipes. LargoRecipes (named after the author's dog) lets you manage recipes, share them with friends (through Web pages), create shopping lists, build meal plans and more. You also can import Meal-Master and RecipeML format recipes. Have a look at Figure 2 for a sample of LargoRecipes in action.
To install LargoRecipes, you need at least Java 1.4, which should tell you that no compiling is involved in the installation. Download and save two files from the LargoRecipes Web site (see Resources). The first is the largorecipes distribution; I'll get to the second file shortly. At the time of this writing, version 0.9.2.1 was available. To install the package, save the bundle to a directory of your choice—I created a Largo directory in my home directory—and execute the following command:
cd ~/Largo java -jar largorecipes-0.9.2.1.jar
That also is the command you use to run it on subsequent uses. On your first run, an installation dialog appears. All of the supporting data files and directories are created from where you run the installation. One of those directories is called demo. This is where you save the second file you download, the LargoRecipes demo file. It also is available from the LargoRecipes Web site's download page.
To activate the sample recipes, for this session only, click LargoRecipes on the menubar and select Demonstration. If you would rather skip this and start importing recipes, consider checking out the LargoRecipes RecipeML archive. There are 10,000 recipes in zipped bundles available on the site; look for the link on the main page.
To share your recipes with others, LargoRecipes provides a Web page export function. Click Internet on the menubar and select Web Page, and a list of available recipes appears in the right-hand window. Select the ones you want, and then press Add to add them to the export list. When you have made all your choices, choose a title for the page but don't click Go yet. You should see a check box labeled Include XML Download. Make sure that is checked to provide a link on each recipe's page so that visitors to your site can download RecipeML format copies of the recipes. They then can import those into their favorite recipe system.
For those of you who are curious, check out the Resources section for a link to the RecipeML format specification. It's always good to know how these things work, non? I've also provided a link to the Meal-Master Web site. There are plenty of links there from which you can find a huge number of recipes ready for import into your favorite package.
Mon Dieu, mes amis, closing time has arrived and all I have done is make you more hungry. Perhaps François will be kind enough to refill our glasses a final time. In the meantime, I shall bring out my famous baked double-butter brie with spicy mixed-berry coulis. With all these tempting tastes loaded on our Linux systems, appetizers certainly are in order. Until next time, mes amis, let us all drink to one another's health. A votre santé Bon appétit!
Resources for this article: /article/7608.
Marcel Gagné (firstname.lastname@example.com) lives in Mississauga, Ontario. He is the author of Moving to Linux: Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! (ISBN 0-321-15998-5) from Addison Wesley. His first book is the highly acclaimed Linux System Administration: A User's Guide (ISBN 0-201-71934-7). In real life, he is president of Salmar Consulting, Inc., a systems integration and network consulting firm.
Re: The Ultimate Cooking Book
Great article and nice program.
Usefull if you like cooking!!!!
Re: The Ultimate Cooking Book
Another program you might try is Gourmet Recipe Manager, aimed at the GNOME desktop. http://grecipe-manager.sourceforge.net
Cooking with linux, why not!
Thanks for both programs, i really do enjoy cooking and one of my computer (with linux) only asks to become my cooking central! It's always good to get a little hand in the kitchen, at least to find a good dish idea with what you have left in the fridge!
Max from beef recipes!
Newsforge.com Review of cooking apps
Newsforge.com has got a review of two other apps Grecipe and PHPREcipeBook.
Linux has become a key foundation for supporting today's rapidly growing IT environments. Linux is being used to deploy business applications and databases, trading on its reputation as a low-cost operating environment. For many IT organizations, Linux is a mainstay for deploying Web servers and has evolved from handling basic file, print, and utility workloads to running mission-critical applications and databases, physically, virtually, and in the cloud. As Linux grows in importance in terms of value to the business, managing Linux environments to high standards of service quality — availability, security, and performance — becomes an essential requirement for business success.
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"Ambulance chaser."
If I blog about anything even remotely controversial, whether it's civil rights or raising hens in your back yard, someone is going to accuse me of being an ambulance chaser.
I never take it personally. Ninety-five percent of my business comes from referrals, based on the recommendation of other attorneys and former clients. Chasing ambulances wouldn't be worth the effort.
But for some reason, people seem to think that the term "ambulance chaser" is simply an all-purpose insult that can be used against any attorney for any reason. As a lawyer, I'd like to encourage my critics to use the insult more precisely.
What exactly is an ambulance chaser? In the distant past, meaning before I finished law school, there were lawyers who would literally follow ambulances to the hospital, and then try to sign up the injured person as a client, while the person was still in the emergency room.
It was clear that these lawyers were taking advantage of patients who were in no condition to be making legal decisions. The practice of ambulance chasing eventually was banned in every state. But lawyers are very clever at skirting rules.
If lawyers were not allowed to sign up patients in the hospital, they would simply have a non-attorney worker do the dirty work. This practice, known as "running and capping," was used for years by unscrupulous lawyers, even after the practice was outlawed. More than a few lawyers went to jail for repeatedly violating the rules against running and capping.
Today, attorneys have much more efficient means of contacting patients without bothering to actually chase ambulances. Attorneys can simply advertise for business on television. And if some of those televisions happen to be in hospitals . . . well that's not the attorney's fault, is it?
Still, there is a big difference between advertising your services and sitting next to a patient on his hospital bed with a retainer agreement in your hand. The chances of pressuring a patient into signing an agreement he doesn't understand are much lower. For one thing, the patient has to contact the lawyer when the patient is ready to talk; the lawyer cannot simply show up in the patient's room.
The lawyer can send a letter to the patient soliciting the patient's business, however. The Supreme Court has ruled that this type of letter is simply another form of advertising. The letter cannot make false claims or promises, but the lawyer does have the right to contact a potential client.
Of course, there will always be a few lawyers who are willing to break the rules (and the law) in chasing after clients. A former hospital worker in Florida was arrested recently for stealing thousands of patient records and selling them to a "capper" who solicited clients for attorneys and chiropractors. The U.S. Attorney's office is under pressure to bring criminal charges against the attorneys and chiropractors, as well.
Although the system is not perfect, any attorney who insists on being an ambulance chaser is jeopardizing his career. Even if he does not break the law, he is violating the professional rules of ethics, which can get him suspended from the practice of law, and may even get him disbarred.
So now that we all understand what an ambulance chaser is, be sure to use the insult correctly. If you disagree with something in my blog, feel free to criticize me or even insult me. There are a lot of good, creative insults out there. But "ambulance chaser?" Nah.
Have a question or a suggestion for a topic? Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Patch posts are general discussions and should not be used as advice on any specific legal matter. If you need legal advice on a particular situation, please consult an attorney.


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McHenry County College will celebrate Latino Heritage Month from Sept. 17 through Oct. 11 with special events that recognize the contributions made by Latinos and to celebrate culture and traditions.
Area high school students will attend MCC's 2nd annual Latino Empowerment Conference on Sept. 21 where students will learn about the wide array of resources available to all college students, including scholarships and financial aid options, degrees and certificates available and career exploration strategies. Students will also hear MCC Latino alumni share their success stories and listen to a lively presentation about goal setting by motivational speaker Ernesto Mejia.
Other Latino Heritage Month events are listed below. All events are free and open to the public unless noted.
Study Abroad Seminar
Wednesday, Sept. 19 (repeated on Oct. 9 at 1:30-2:30 p.m.)
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Learn about the various destinations to study abroad while attending MCC and the benefits of the MCC Study Abroad Program in Room B166-167.
Latino Empowerment Conference
Friday, Sept. 21
8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
Second-annual Latino Empowerment Conference for high school students.
Spanish Loteria (Bingo)
Tuesday, Sept. 25
11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
This student-only bingo event will be held in the cafeteria.
Latin American Coffee Tasting
Thursday, Sept. 27
Students and staff can enjoy Latin American coffees and pastries and stop by to speak with Ted Erski, MCC geography instructor, who will be available to answer questions and explain the coffees represented.
Bandoleros Performance
Saturday, Sept. 29
8 to 10 p.m.
The Raue Center welcomes the Bandoleros, a Chicago-based musical force of nature that has mesmerized audiences around the world with its spicy blend of Middle Eastern, Spanish flamenco and Latin flavors. MCC students only may purchase tickets for $10 in the Student Life Office, Room A252. Sponsored by Northwest Herald and Sage Products, Inc.
Lunch & Learn
Wednesday, Oct. 3
12 to 1 p.m.
Born to Solo & Inspire: Rafael Mèndez, trumpeter and teacher (1906-1981)
MCC Speech instructor Ron Compton will feature the life and work of famous Latino musician Rafael Mèndez in Room A211.
Field Trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art
Saturday, Oct. 6
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Join us for a field trip to the National Museum of Mexican Art, featuring a tour of the current exhibits in English or Spanish, view of the Pilsen Murals and a visit to a Mexican bakery and an authentic Mexican lunch. Student trip fee is $20. Sign up in the Student Life Office, Room A252.
Study Abroad Seminar
Tuesday, Oct. 9
1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Learn about the various destinations to study abroad while attending MCC and the benefits of the MCC Study Abroad Program. Snacks will be served.
Aztec Stories
Thursday, Oct. 11
10 to 11:30 a.m. Luecht Conference Center, Building B
2:30 to 3:50 p.m. Room A112
6-7:30 p.m. Room B166-167
A cultural/educational/musical workshop that will enlighten you to the wondrous world of the ancient Mexica/Aztecs. Participants will learn about many ancient, native indigenous instruments and listen to oral tradition stories that will reintroduce the symbolism and meaning behind some of the instruments. Free of charge.
For more information about Latino Heritage Month activities, contact Sonia Reising, coordinator of Multicultural Programs at 815-455-8550.


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Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. It's derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus and has a deep auburn colour and sweet flavour. The stigmas can only be picked by hand and it takes 250,000 stigmas to make just half a kilo of saffron, hence its high price. Fortunately, a little saffron goes a long way.
Saffron can be bought whole in threads or strands (stigmas) or in powdered form. Spanish and Kashmiri saffron are reputed to be among the best-quality.
Saffron gives a distinctive aroma and flavour and a yellow colour to Spanish paella and Italian risotto and is also a classic ingredient in the French fish soup, Bouillabaisse. Crush the stigmas and soak in water before use.
Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).
BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
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Joseph Metzen, North Mankato
— I have some comments about the story in The Free Press about the decision of the North Mankato City Council to approve zoning variances for the proposed Marigold II development.
First, I did not see any mention in the story that traffic issues were addressed at the council meeting. There is a significant amount of traffic that comes into downtown North Mankato over the Veteran's Bridge. I have observed cars on the new street between the Circle Inn and the Marigold I building suddenly turn onto Belgrade Avenue, causing traffic on that street to have to brake or take other evasive action. It is not easy for drivers coming over the bridge to observe traffic on that small street, due to the closeness of the buildings.
If the Marigold II is built, there would be a significantly increased number of residents in that area with their vehicles, and they would likely use that street a lot. That raises issues of traffic safety, which the council should consider.
Second, if the project goes forward, I hope that the developer will be financing it in its entirety, without tax breaks or other subsidy from the city.
Last week, the paper also included a story about Moody's credit rating agency downgrading North Mankato's credit rating. One concern cited by Moody's was "very high debt service."
The city can't afford further indebtedness to assist private projects.


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Doug Thal, DVM, Dipl. ABVP
Doug Thal, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, is an equine veterinarian with 18 years experience in clinical practice. Thal Equine (www.ThalEquine.com) is his full-service equine hospital near Santa Fe, N.M.
Articles by Doug Thal, DVM, Dipl. ABVP
Know Your Horse in Health
May 01, 2013
Examine your horse's vital signs, body, and behavior on a regular basis to be a better horse owner. Read More
Managing Horses During Drought
July 04, 2012
Drought conditions pose unique health care and management challenges for horse owners. Read More
Balancing Risk and Vaccination
April 03, 2012
Consider your veterinarian's advice, region, your horse's history, and his use when selecting vaccines Read More


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July 31, 2014
The Parkersburg Police Department is searching for John Athey from Jackson, Ohio.
Athey's accused of stealing nearly $8,000 from the Fifth Street Tim Horton's while working as a manager there.
Officials say Athey made four deposits for the business back in November, but a kept a majority of the money for himself.
He faces four counts of felony embezzlement.
If you know where John Athey is, please call detective Todd Davis at the police department at 304-424-8444.


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The lottery for the August 2012 Wild at Heart Boot Camp is now open. Click here for more information and to enter the lottery on or before Tuesday, June 12.
The lottery for the August 2012 Wild at Heart Boot Camp is now open. Click here for more information and to enter the lottery on or before Tuesday, June 12.
The stories from this past weekend's Boot Camp (May 10-13, 2012) continue to pour in. If you can, stop by our Facebook page to read some. Its just so good and it will really encourage your heart!
Click here to visit the clearance section of our web store for great bargains!
Through the end of May, enter the coupon code CLEARANCE into the coupon code section of the shopping cart, and receive an additional 10% off of the already marked down prices of resources like the Way of the Wild Heart, Captivating Live (pack of 5 special offer), Epic Live! and more!
One Year ago, in February 2011, God did a work in the hearts of men that was nothing short of miraculous.
350 men gathered in the Hawaiian Islands. Most of them native Hawaiians. All of them warriors after God's own heart. Jesus came. The Father came. The Holy Spirit came. Hearts and generations were changed forever.
Spontaneously, led by the Spirit of God, the pastors of the islands gathered on Sunday morning to honor the Ransomed Heart Team and to stand united "as one man" to receive, and step into all that God has for us. It was holy, strong and beautiful. Watch it now.
We pause on the one year anniversary to celebrate God's work, to look to hope for what He has in store next for the men of the Hawaiian Islands.
Join Morgan Snyder for a one day men's event in Portland, Oregon. Hosted by Boot Camp Northwest, come for what promises to be a powerful encounter in receiving the heart of the Father as a son. The event takes place January 21st, 9am-3:30pm. The cost is $35.00 and includes lunch.
Click here to watch a brief introduction on the event from Morgan. The event is being held at Tualatin Foursquare Church in Portland, OR. You can register through Boot Camp Northwest while spots remain.
Hope to see you there!
Ransomed Heart's first ever OutlawCast was a huge success! We've been hearing your stories about it from all over the world. Jesus is beautiful! Here is what Paul wrote to us:
In a word, wow. I don't even know where to begin. My head is spinning. This is so...so...revolutionary. Our home fellowship, which is about a month old, believed Beautiful Outlaw was a natural progression in the direction Jesus has been taking us. We're a small band of friends who love each other and are seeking to be intentional and authentic in community together. Anyhow, when things started tonight and there were technical glitches with the audio I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Now, I'm sure you guys were freaking out. I would have been. But what I needed to see, what WE needed to see was how John handled that. His prayer - deliberate, beautiful, commanding, genuine - all COMPLETELY set the tone for the next 90 minutes. And then, AND THEN Jesus came into our living room. We laughed together, ate homemade vegan lasagna, talked to him, it was the most amazing time. No one wanted to leave. In fact, they're all coming back over in a couple of days to see if he'll do it again! I have a picture of me and John on my desk - from when I came to hear him speak in Nashville a few years ago. They all tease me about my man-crush :) and no one quite knew what to expect about tonight's webcast - but in all sincerity tonight we belonged - the body of Christ, all OVER the WORLD was truly unified. There were no barriers. It was simply beautiful. I can't say enough about Ransomed Heart. I love what Jesus is doing through you and I love being alive at this time in history to be part of what is happening.
Click here to watch the OutlawCast, and share this link so that others can see it, and share it too.
John spoke with Steve Brown on the SBE talk show November 4th, 2011.
Click here to listen!
John spoke with Brian Hardin from the Daily Audio Bible on November 2.
Click here to watch as they discuss John's newest book, Beautiful Outlaw.
Come join Stasi for a special weekend conference Your Captivating Heart November 18-20 at Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs.
In every woman there is an innate desire to be part of something bigger than themselves, to take part in an epic adventure and to be sought after like a prized jewel. You will explore five topics throughout the three days of this retreat: the Heart of a Woman, the Larger Story, the Wounded Heart, the Beloved, and Your Irreplaceable Role.
This will be a special time of fellowship with women who feel as you do and learn what it is like to grow in a deeper revelation of the love of God. You will not only encounter the love of God while here, but you will discover the heart of who He is. You will leave knowing not only how you view God, but how He views you, as a woman. Come, and allow him to assure you, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
For more information and registration, click here.
Come join John for a live event, based on his newly released book Beautiful Outlaw, on Monday November 14 at 7:00pm EST as he offers one of the most compelling pictures of Jesus Christ you've ever heard. Finally, Jesus as he really was. And is.
There are three ways you can be involved:
- Click here to become a host site and offer the OutlawCast to your community.
- Click here to find a site near you to attend.
- Click here and invite some friends over and watch the OutlawCast from your home.
Learn more at BeautifulOutlaw.net
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Here are the starting lineups for tonight's Triple-A All-Star Game. The first pitch is at 7:08 and the television coverage on MLB Network opens at 7. We'll have a live blog around gametime. Bisons ace Matt Harvey is expected to relieve Tyler Cloyd and pitch innings 2-3.
Adam Eaton, cf (Reno)
Jake Elmore, 2b (Reno)
Ryan Wheeler, 3b (Reno)
Mike Hessman, 1b (Oklahoma City)
Luis Jimenez, dh (Tacoma)
Wil Myers, lf (Omaha)
Kole Calhoun, rf (Salt Lake City)
Adeiny Hechavarria, ss (Las Vegas)
Tim Federowicz, c (Albuquerque)
Graham Godfrey, p (Sacramento)
Corey Brown, cf (Syracuse)
Leslie Anderson, rf (Durham)
Matt LaPorta, lf (Columbus)
Dan Johnson, 3b (Charlotte)
Ernesto Mejia, 1b (Gwinnett)
Ryan Lavarnway, c (Pawtucket)
Valentino Pascucci, dh (Buffalo)
Cord Phelps, 2b (Columbus)
Pedro Florimon, ss (Rochester)
Tyler Cloyd, p (Lehigh Valley)
---Mike Harrington


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John R. from Fresno, California saw this on the Internet and thought he should send it to Ellen! We don't know what this person purchased, but we're glad they only got 4 ounces of it. See more Funny Signs here!
Succulent What?:: Filed Under: LOL :: Comments 4
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yep i agree with that photo
Hi Ellen, it's me again your biggest Haitian fan lool!!i watch your show on youtube it's not te entire show but i enjoy those few minute of happiness! my story it's about MY MOM,her name is Marie carm Sinius,she lives in Miami Florida, she is the must wonderful person that i know,like we've been separate now for 13 years,that was the sacrifice that she had to make,to be able to give me,my granma and uncle a better life in Haiti,it was much easy for her to find a job in the USA and provide for us and she did an amazing job, now im studying medicine in a college in Dominican republic,she always says education is the key for better life.she doesn't tell but i know that she's struggling now have a huge debt to pay to the university,she never had a time to enjoy life,working every day is her only credo,sometimes i think that i'm taking everything from her, she's now living at a friend house,she had a car that she sold to pay my college bills and my granma who's 69 has to work now,God,life have become more difficult but she always says we gonna find a way,sometimes now she doesn't have money to pay her phone bills and got disconnected. this December im gonna be in Haiti with my granma and she's gonna be all alone there, please give her a ticket to come your show so she can have a good time or give her a call at the 7862674197,say hi to her make her happy,please i'm begging you please!!kisses.take my story please make an exception for me!!God bless you


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— LIBERTY TWP – A car skidded off the road and into a ditch after striking a deer along Liberty Valley Road.
A state police officer from the Milton barracks said that Joseph Roscoe, 77, of Mount Carmel, only had superficial injuries following the crash. Roscoe was transported to Geisinger Medical Center by Danville Ambulance.
The deer, which darted onto Liberty Valley Road near its intersection with Mooresburg Road, was killed in the accident, which occurred around noon today. Roscoe had been driving west on Liberty Valley Road at the time, and the impact caused his vehicle to slide into the eastbound lane before coming to a stop in the ditch alongside the east lane. Roscoe's vehicle was the only one involved in the accident.
A pair of good Samaritans spotted Roscoe's car in the ditch after the accident occurred and pulled over to help. The man and woman did not wish to give their names but spoke to Roscoe while emergency workers helped treat him. "I was talking to him, making sure he was conscious," the woman said.
Also responding to the scene were the Liberty Township Fire Department and Valley Township Fire Department.
Traffic was reduced to one lane around the accident.
Email questions or comments to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Jul 25 2014
NSF Awards Grant to NYIT Professor for Workshop on Gaming and Therapy
NSF Awards Grant to NYIT Professor for Workshop on Gaming and Therapy
Arkansas Higher Education Board Certifies New NYIT Medical School Site in Jonesboro
Medical Students Transition from Classroom to Clinic
NYIT Awards Research Grants
NYIT's M.S. in Instructional Technology Approved in Abu Dhabi
NYIT Cyber-Security Talk
B.S./D.O. Enrollment Day
Graduate Tuesdays
NYIT Transfer Student Orientation Day 1!
NYIT Transfer Student Orientation Day 2!
Since 1997, NYIT has an educational cooperation agreement with Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (JUFE), located in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province. NYIT was among the first to receive approval from the Ministry of Education to operate foreign degree programs in China.
Program Design
Each year, the NYIT-JUFE M.B.A. program admits more than 100 students in China, and the classes are offered in Nanchang, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. The students are mostly working adults, including entrepreneurs, business executives, and government officials. The 10-year-old program is recognized as one of the best foreign degree programs in China.
The M.B.A. program consists of thirty credit hours, offered through a combination of intensive class lectures and an online component. The in-class portion consists of five six-hour lecture days. Blackboard, an online tool, is used to support teaching and provide interaction between the instructor and students. NYIT faculty members from New York are responsible for teaching a majority of the coursework.
The NYIT Community
The program is usually completed in one and a half years. Those who meet the requirements are awarded the degree of a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree from NYIT and a program certificate from JUFE. Graduation is held in Nanchang in March, and graduates are also invited to attend the commencement at NYIT's Old Westbury campus in Long Island, N.Y. Upon graduation, students immediately become part of NYIT's 77,000-member alumni family worldwide, with lifetime access to his/her NYIT e-mail account and received the benefits as well as the support of the NYIT alumni network.
If you are interested in pursuing the study in the NYIT-JUFE M.B.A. program or would like to get more information, please contact NYIT's JUFE partner in China:
Mr. Han Ming (Lewis)
Director of International Programs
The M.B.A. College
Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 86.791.382 3189/381 6893
Fax: 86.791.381.6271


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Animal Cruelty and Michael Vick's NFL Return
Sure, let Michael Vick attempt to salvage his career, however I can't imagine what team would be willing to sign him ["Michael Vick Deserves to Play Football in the NFL Again," usnews.com]!
Sure, let Michael Vick attempt to salvage his career, however I can't imagine what team would be willing to sign him ["Michael Vick Deserves to Play Football in the NFL Again," usnews.com]! Most teams in professional sports strive to maintain their image; signing Vick would be like shooting yourself in the foot. The fact is the majority of fans from any city would not support the management's decision to bring him on the team. Isolating your fans causes sinking ticket sales resulting in a huge loss in revenue. If the teams have any business sense they will stay as far away as possible from this virus.
Comment by Jenny of AZ
I believe that Mike Vick has been made an example out of. He should not have suffered all that he went through for the crime he committed. I love my dog as much as the next man ... but pets are property point blank. What they did was tell Mike that his life was not as important as that of a canine ... and that's bull. What kind of message is this sending to our kids? It's sending the message that if you commit a crime you then do the time and are allowed to lead a regular life after all debts are paid. I don't know why some of us enjoy it when people fail. I agree the way he treated those dogs was wrong ... but the punishment did not fit the crime
Comment by Johnny Cogburn, VA
I totally disagree and do not think Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL. People in these positions are role models for our children whether we like it or not. What kind of message is this sending to our kids? That you can commit the most horrific crime and still be allowed to make millions and millions of dollars and be in the limelight? Sorry but this just doesn't make any sense to me. Vick has not shown one bit of remorse for his actions. And he and his cohorts didn't just do something one time. They electrocuted and beat to death many dogs. This didn't just happen once. The lives of the other dogs that were forced to fight for their entertainment is something that I can't even imagine. His sentence was not enough—he should have stayed in prison for years as far as I'm concerned.
Comment by Barbara Batelli of TX
Our society has held that athletes, especially star athletes, are role models for our children. Stating that Michael Vick should play again is fine if we as a society back away from telling our youth that these athletes are people they should emulate. Personally, I do not see our society going through such a radical alteration. If you question the athlete as role model assertion, pick up the sports section of any newspaper on any given day. These folks are held up and glorified on a daily basis. The Michael Vick situation illuminates the fact that star athletes have a responsibility outside of the athletic arena as role models. Otherwise, the extreme pay for athletic prowess cannot be justified. We pay these folks to be more than the best player; we are paying them, as a society, to set examples for our children. Now with that said, do I agree that Michael Vick should no longer play ball? Absolutely not. I believe he should be allowed to play, but never again in a national venue with national attention for a multimillion-dollar contract. There is a line that should not be crossed, and he has crossed over that line. I would not want children I know looking up to him as a role model. Should he be allowed to play ball on a national level, then the verdict is that you can be famous, and you can abuse the weak, in this case, dogs. That is not the message that pro ball should be sending to anyone.
Comment by Dr. John of SD


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Want more inspiration?Follow Lost At E Minor
by Low Lai Chow in New Trends on Monday 19 March 2012
Japanese artist Yoshimasa Ishibashi's mid-noughties TV series Oh! Mikey has a winning cast of voice-dubbed mannequins and dialogue that is as silly as it is sharp. This is catnip for humans.
Low Lai Chow travels light and is working on exercising demons from her past. Find out more about her at lowlaichow.com.
See more from Low Lai Chow
In partnership with our friends at Optus, we present the third in a three part Lost At E Minor video series that puts the spotlight on some young, handpicked Australian creatives, doing inspirational things within their chosen fields.
Episode Three features 16-year old Melbourne-based producer, Gab Strum (aka Japanese Wallpaper), who has racked up thousands of plays over the past year or so via a number of well-blogged remixes ranging from City Calm Down and The Townhouses to bootlegs of The xx and Bon Iver.
Share your favourite cultural finds with the Lost At E Minor community and become famous in the process. Well, kinda.
by Inigo del Castillo
by Low Lai Chow
© Lost at E Minor | Image Attribution | Privacy Policy
Don't show this again


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The Daily Star
Tanner Beang scattered nine hits and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the fourth inning to lead Oneonta to a 4-3 victory over Maine-Endwell in the championship game of the District Seven Little League Tournament on Monday at Doc Knapp Field.
"There was a nice crowd there and the kids were really happy," said Oneonta coach Tim McGraw, adding he didn't know the last time a 12-and-under Oneonta squad won a District Seven title.
Oneonta trailed, 3-1, heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, when it scored three times. Cam Neer's RBI single pulled Oneonta to 3-2 and Beang followed with a two-run double to give the hosts the lead.
M-E got its first runner on base to start the sixth inning, but Beang retired the next batter on a strikeout and induced come-backes from the next two hitters to end it.
Beang finished with four strikeouts and no walks.
"We played pretty solid defense," McGraw said of a squad that played error-free baseball. "They left a few runners on base."
Beang and Teddy McGraw each finished with two hits, including a double. McGraw had an RBI double in the first inning to tie the score at 1.
Maine-Endwell's Joe Mancini homered in the fourth inning to give his team a 3-1 lead.
McGraw said his team will head to Corning this weekend for sectional competition. Should Oneonta continue winning, its final destination would be Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series.
Oneonta went 5-0 in the tournament. M-E finished 4-1.
Oneonta 4, Maine-Endwell 3
12-and-under championship game
at Doc Knapp Field, Oneonta
Maine-Endwell101 100 – 3 9 1
Oneonta100 30x – 4 7 0
Adam Rutkowski (L), Joe Mancini (4) and Matt Raleigh. Tanner Beang (W) and Nick Lutz. 2B: Tanner Beang (O), Teddy McGraw (O), Adam Rutkowski (M), Josh Chandler (M). HR: Joe Mancini (M).
M-E 7, Oneonta 0
Jude Abbadessa threw a perfect game retiring all 18 batters -- striking out nine of them -- in leading Maine-Endwell to victory in the 10-and-under District Seven Little League championship game at Oneonta's Minor League Field.
"They're a good club," Oneonta coach Bob Goble said of M-E, which advanced to sectional play in Oswego this weekend. "They're well coached and well disciplined. They were ready to play and we just came out a little flat and a little intimidated. Their coach said we're the best he's seen. Our kids threw strikes for the most part. We just didn't have good at-bats, but a lot of that was what (Abbadessa) was doing."
The closest Oneonta came to a hit came was in the bottom of the sixth, when Kar-ri Lawrence hit a ball to right-center to lead off. M-E right fielder Connor Rush made a diving catch to preserve Abbadessa's no-hitter.
M-E took a 3-0 in the first inning against Oneonta's Andrew Shapiro. Davis Wanchisen hit a two-run double in the inning.
Shapiro finished with three strikeouts over three innings. Tanner Russin threw the last three innings for Oneonta. He also had three strikeouts.
Oneonta went 4-1 in the tournament. M-E won all five of its tournament games.
Maine-Endwell 7, Oneonta 0
10-and-under championship game
at Minor League Field, Oneonta
Maine-Endwell320 101 – 7 8 0
Oneonta000 000 – 0 0 3
Jude Abbadessa (W) and Davis Wanchisen. Andrew Shapiro (L), Tanner Russin (4) and Jordan Goble. 2B: Davis Wanchisen (M) 2, Peyton Bennett (M).


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ASHTABULA — Christopher J. Robinson (a.k.a."Rabbitt"), age 61, of Ashtabula, Ohio, passed away Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012, in the Hospice Unit of Ashtabula County Medical Center.
Born in Conneaut, Ohio, on July 2, 1951, he was the son of Ernest C. and Siina (Mackey) Robinson and graduated from Ashtabula Harbor High School in 1969.
Chris had worked at the Ashtabula and Buffalo Docks as a Hulett operator; RMI Metals; Lake Erie College as Director of Maintenance and Housekeeping; Ashtabula Job and Family Services; Madison Health Care; Ashtabula Country Club Retirement Campus; Conneaut Inn; and the Star Beacon as Mailroom Maintenance.
Chris lived a life full of love, great experiences and hard work. He will be greatly missed. He helped make this life a happier place with his presence. Chris will be laid to rest next to his auntie, Anne Goebel, who passed away in 1986.
Chris is survived by his wife of 43 years, Patricia (Force); daughter, Heather (Craig) Dioneff; granddaughter, Lilyanna Marie Dioneff; father, Earnest C. (Earnie) of Winterhaven, Fla.; sisters, Sandy Dowler of North Carolina, and Penny Rantanen and JoAnne Simon, both of Ashtabula; and many loving nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Siina O. Robinson in 1989.
Funeral Services will be 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 10th, at POTTI LAKESIDE FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICE, 1329 Lake Ave., Ashtabula, Ohio, with the Rev. Don Hammer, of Gateway Church of Ashtabula, officiating. Burial will follow in Greenlawn Memory Gardens in North Kingsville.
No calling hours will be observed.
The family would like to express their thanks to the nurses and doctors for their compassionate care.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the family to help with funeral expenses. Thank you. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Obituary and condolences at www.pottifuneralhome.com and starbeacon.com.


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A local business man got to share all the enthusiasm of supporters of re-elected President Barack Obama in Chicago overnight.
Mario Hambrick, who owns "Free At Last" bail bonding company in Nashville, was at McCormick Center where President Barack Obama took the stage to accept a second term early Wednesday morning.
Hambrick said he was about a football field away from the President, and surrounded by other Obama supporters. He said he was most excited to see the diversity, which he said in included people of all races, religious beliefs, and walks of life.
He said, in his opinion, it was a prime example of how President Obama has been able to unite the country.
"The guy is brilliant, I mean, I don't look at color. The guy is brilliant; I mean he's a lawyer. I mean he's just, a business man he's got it all, he brings people together," Hambrick said by phone early Wednesday morning. "He's smart, he can cross lines he can bring people together, that's what I like about him. Never before have you seen people come together like this man brought people together."
As a business owner, Hambrick said he is optimistic about the future. He said under Obama's health care plan, he is paying less health insurance. If his business moves to a higher tax bracket, he added he is ready to pay up because that's his duty.
"I believe he recovered it and it's going to take some more time and I believe you've got to believe something. I believed from day one he was the man for the job and I still believe it and that's why I support him and continue to support him," Hambrick added. "We just pray for him and pray that everything gets worked out with this country and I believe it will."
Hambrick said the highlight of the evening for him was when President Obama took the stage and thanked his wife for all her support and said she is "the best thing that ever happened to him."
After the event, Hambrick said people had to wait hours to get a cab and no one complained or was rude to one another, citing that as another great example of people coming together.
Hambrick was able to attend the event because he worked in the Obama campaign for two years.


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Hi Barry,
I just purchased the same 10 day free trial. Which also stated that I could cancel my subscription before 10 days to prevent charging. I believe it had stated if I had not cancelled when the 10 days expired I would then be locked into the 3 month minimum subscription. Would you be able to assist in cancelling this product? I see that a few others have experienced some difficulties with cancelling and if you could assist that would make the view of customer service delightful rather than frightening.
AlexDmv wrote:
I signed up for the 10 day free trial for Score Watch and tried to cancel today after less then 10 days over the phone, but I was told that I was locked into the 3 month mandatory subscription!
The people on the customer service line refused to adjust the order and said I was going to be billed for 3 months even if I canceled today. They were very rude and lectured me that it was somehow my fault for choosing the wrong option.
This is very concerning and I am apparently not the first person to experience what feels like a bait and switch.
Hi AlexDmv,
There's no bait and switch here. You just happened to order the wrong version of SW, most likely due to some confusion as to the way myFICO presents the info. It's an easy mistake to make. Are you aware that your refund and cancelation were granted later that day by customer service after the agent to whom you spoke escalated it to a supervisor? Sorry if you felt the rep was rude. They have a tough job, receive lots of abuse and are only human. No excuse, but just a fact.
ok, i just signed up, when you are checking out, you need to change the drop down from "monthly" to "free trial", then after you do that click the "update" button. you will notice it says you are doing the free trial. then you can continue and pay for this trial.
i think the people that had the problem of getting charged, were not changing the drop down from "monthly" to "free trial" AND then clicking the UPDATE button before completing the checkout process.
Hello Barry,
I was hoping to get a hold of you as I am somewhat frustrated. I signed up for my free trial on 5/16. A day or so later I went online to try and cancel but could not figure it out and figured I would just call in the next few days to do so. However, within those few days a family member became ill and I became very preoccupied. The last thing on my mind was my free trial and I had totally forgotten about it until I pulled up my credit card account today and saw the service amount pending.
I called today and spoke to a women who told me that unfortunately it was too late to cancel but she could drop the charge by 33% each month. Of course I said yes to this as it is a discount, but she also told me that I would have to call back again when it comes closer to the 3 months.
While I appreciate her offering this, I don't even know if I should have even taken the offer because of all the issues going on right now. I am worried it will slip my mind again in 3 months. I wouldn't even be writing this if I had just forgotten, but I did actually try online and had to give up because I couldn't figure out how to do it and I was at work so could not chat with someone on the phone at that moment. If at all possible I would like to just cancel the service entirely as now I won't even have the time to even take advantage of any of the services.
I appreciate your time Barry and anything you can do for me would be much appreciated.
Thank you so much in advance!
I need to Cancel my free 10 day trial of myfico.com so I am not charged which i got on 7/5...If you could please delete my account that would be great. It needs to be deleted by 7/15.Thank you.
lg123 wrote:
I need to Cancel my free 10 day trial of myfico.com so I am not charged which i got on 7/5...If you could please delete my account that would be great. It needs to be deleted by 7/15.Thank you.
Hello and welcome.
This is not the avenue to canel your trial. You need to call customer service.
Mon-Fri 6am to 6pm Pacific Time
Sat 7am to 4pm Pacific Time
can you use this link? or do you have to call customer service?
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I almost made the same mistake untill I noticed an asterisk followed by small print noting a minimum 3 month subscription. Any company that advertises free anything then immediately asks for credit card information can't be trusted. Hence I look for the small print declaration. Duplicitous to say the least. I won't return to this site that's for sure.
Smitca wrote:
I almost made the same mistake untill I noticed an asterisk followed by small print noting a minimum 3 month subscription. Any company that advertises free anything then immediately asks for credit card information can't be trusted. Hence I look for the small print declaration. Duplicitous to say the least. I won't return to this site that's for sure.
Ok. Thanks for stopping by!
myFICO is the consumer division of FICO. Since its introduction 20 years ago, the FICO® Score has become a global standard for measuring credit risk in the banking, mortgage, credit card, auto and retail industries. 90 of the top 100 largest U.S. financial institutions use the FICO Score to make consumer credit decisions.>> About myFICO


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Recent scandals in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. that revealed coordinated efforts by teachers and administrators to manipulate student test scores are shining an even brighter spotlight on the failure of standardized test-centric policies in the states. A backlash is brewing in many states as more and more parents and legislators alike start asking questions about corporate education "reform":
A "coming revolution?" Legislators and parents in various states are reconsidering [1] standardized test-driven education reforms. [The Atlantic]
The Minnesota House passed a $15 billion education bill [2] this week that provides free all-day kindergarten statewide and eliminates controversial testing requirements for graduation. [Star-Tribune]
The "parent trigger" bill in Florida will go to a vote in the Senate next week, as a mysterious video [3] from an out-of-state group circulates around the state. [Miami Herald]
Former Florida Democratic Senate leader Nan Rich: the bill is really about "laying the groundwork for the hostile, corporate takeover [4] of public schools throughout Florida" [Washington Post]
Teachers and lawmakers from both parties in Louisiana are backing a "reverse parent trigger" [5] bill to allow parents in failing charter schools to petition to return the schools to local control. [Diane Ravitch]
After endorsing an anti-immigrant state legislator as their "Reformer of the Year" last year, Michelle Rhee's StudentsFirst chose to bestow the honor on the co-author of Tennessee's "Don't Say Gay" bill [6] this year. [Daily Kos]
(This article originally appeared in the Stateside Dispatch, Progressive States Network's email roundup of the latest state policy news. Read the full Dispatch from April 27, 2013 here [7] or sign up to receive the Dispatch in your inbox here. [8])


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It just makes one wonder what was going through the minds of tutors and their supervisors and professors who were involved in providing special help for athletes at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, particularly some football players, who were not good students and apparently didnt care that they werent.
Give the non-scholars credit, though. Clearly, they had self-awareness. They knew that they had a ticket to ride, at least for a while, because they could play football and the athletics powers-that-be wanted them to remain eligible.
One way or another.
One way is to attend class, do papers and homework, and make the grade. Another was to allow tutors to do the required writing, or to paraphrase other work, and count on friendly professors, such as Julius Nyangoro, then head of African and Afro-American Studies, to give them a break.
And give an assist to administrators higher up the line. They didnt bother to supervise Nyangoro, who had numerous classes in his department that provided no instruction and required only a paper at semesters end. That was especially helpful to some (not all) football players who, documents from the Academic Support Program obtained by The N&O suggest, demonstrated little concern about their academic work. They must have known the work would get done one way or another.
More suspicion
Consider a course titled AFRI 370, an upper-level course for seniors in African and Afro-American Studies that was listed as including lectures, readings and research projects. But there were no lectures and no required reading, and among the students enrolled were several freshman football players who struggled to read and write on a college level. This in a seniors course.
Although the information examined by The N&O didnt by any means include all football players, it does rightly raise suspicions and deepens the cynicism of those who wonder how many more problems will turn up as investigations proceed.
The N&Os latest dismaying report should get the attention of the NCAA, college sports governing body, which, according to UNC-CH officials, did not believe the issues that have arisen constituted violations.
And yet, thanks to these documents, we see that some of those involving in tutoring or supervising tutors characterized Nyangoro as being very reasonable when it came to athletes, that tutors in some cases provided more help than was appropriate, and that for football players who were not good students, the solution to academic difficulty often was a paper class, where only a paper was required and there was no class attendance.
NCAA interest?
Its hard to imagine how this kind of thing doesnt constitute athletes getting special treatment, or improper benefits, which is supposed to be an NCAA violation.
These documents show that at least in the cases of those athletes mentioned in them there was a pattern of low standards for courses, that there were too many athletes who were poor students and clearly couldnt do university-level work, and that advisers were there to keep them eligible.
For his part, Chancellor Holden Thorp says hes passed along the information to former Gov. Jim Martin and auditors who are reviewing the troublesome events involving academics and athletics. Martin is leading a probe into the situation which Thorp promises will be thorough.
In the long run, its far better for the university to be open with records (not to the point of breaking laws that legitimately protect students privacy) and to acknowledge problems. And within this painful process, there must be a dialogue as to whether the embarrassment that has been brought about by the single-minded desire of boosters and some alumni to play big time sports has been worth it.


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Secure Shell is one of those unseen workhorses in IT infrastructure. It is the tool of choice for application developers and systems administrators to remotely connect to operating system and privileg… Read More
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requires public companies in the US as well as foreign companies listed on US exchanges to assess their internal controls, have that assessment validated by an external auditor an… Read More
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General Admission seats are still available for this event.
Stephen King's words on page and screen have thrilled and chilled fans for three decades, but opportunities to hear those words spoken by the author himself are rare.
For one night only, King will take to the stage at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, offering fans the chance to hear King read his work, ask him questions and listen to him discuss his passion for writing and his advice for aspiring authors.
King's nearly 35-year literary career includes publishing more than 50 full-length books that have sold more than 350 million copies, as well as many short stories, essays, anthologies and novellas. King's early thrillers, like "Carrie" and "The Shining," put him on the map, not only as a writer of popular horror novels, but also one whose work could be successfully adapted for films and television. More than 50 of his works have been turned into movies and miniseries, and many have garnered critical success, including "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile," both of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. King made his directorial debut with "Maximum Overdrive," which was based on one of his short stories, and collaborated on "Ghosts," a 40-minute music video in collaboration with Michael Jackson.


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With Words and Song
An Interview with John Trudell
by Christopher Luna
John Trudell, a Santee Sioux who first came into the public eye as the spokesperson for the American Indian Movement in the 1970s, was a key player in the takeover of Alcatraz Island in 1971 and the reclamation of Wounded Knee in 1973. Tragically, he paid the ultimate price for speaking out when his wife, children, and mother-in-law perished in a house fire that many believe was retribution for his anti-government activities. Trudell handled his pain by devoting his energies to poetry and songwriting. His recorded work combines his lyrics and poems with traditional Native music as well as rock and roll. Lines from a Mined Mind (Fulcrum, 2008) collects the poetry he has written and recorded since his first album, 1983s Tribal Voice, to 2007s Madness & The Moremes. Trudell has recently leant his voice to Give Love Give Life, an organization seeking to provide universal health care to women and children. We spoke via telephone earlier this year.
Christopher Luna: Was there a particular time period or album when you began to feel confident about how you were combining poetry and music?
John Trudell: I felt it with the very first album, Tribal Voice. I liked it. I didnt set myself up for criticism, and I didnt try to compete against myself. Then I got the opportunity to do electric music with Jesse Ed Davis, and we made Graffiti Man. In my mind I was thinking, this may not be a perfect album, but hey, Im gonna learn as I go along. Ive never not been pleased with one of my albums. I figure because its spoken word, there will be people who relate to it, and people who dont, so I dont worry about any of that. Ive been doing it for over twenty years. Ive always written because it was something I had to do, never for the glory.
CL: Which songwriters or poets do you look to for inspiration?
JT: I havent really thought of it in terms of inspiration—I was inspired by desperation. Thats why I started writing. But I was influenced by people who wrote lyrics that I could relate to: Bob Dylan and the Beatles (John Lennon, specifically), Jackson Browne, Buffy Saint-Marie, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Leonard Cohen.
CL: How important is the time of day or setting in which you write? Is there a time or place in which the words flow most easily for you?
JT: None of thats a factor. I write when the lines come, so I can be in the middle of a crowd. I can be driving down the road, at home out somewhere in the public, and the lines come. Thats what I do. It isnt like I have to create a special space and place to find my lines. Some of them find me, and then Ive gotta hunt for the other ones, but I can do that in basically any environment.
CL: Were you happy with how Lines from a Mined Mind turned out? How involved were you in the process of putting the book together?
JT: Im very pleased with how it turned out, from the shape and the size of the book to the way it was all laid out. I didnt have a whole lot to do with it, other than having to track down and find all those lyrics and retype them. That was a real challenge. My lyrics are scattered all over. But basically, I pretty much left it in their hands.
CL: Many of the poems in the book are either about politics or love. Is there a particular part of the country where you feel most comfortable, or where those things might to stir up for you a bit more?
JT: A lot of what I write about is my observations, and the part of this country that I feel most comfortable in is the part thats in my head. But a lot of my writing is basically about observation, and things that Ive seen, either through personal experiences or the experiences of people around me, or society at large. Its like theres all this energy going on in this country—a chaotic, frustrated energy. So when I write my lines its basically got to do with my observations of that energy.
CL: When I saw you recently in Portland, you spoke about the difference between thought and belief, an idea that you also address in a piece called Reason to This. Could you say a few words about your take on the difference between thought and belief?
JT: Everythings about energy. As human beings, were given intelligence. This is how we make our way through this reality, how we manifest our reality clearly and coherently. We use our intelligence, our creative intelligence, because we create with intelligence. I think we live in an industrial dimensional reality where were programmed to believe what were told. Were programmed to believe them. Were programmed to believe what that ruling class wants us to believe. And believing isnt thinking, but weve been programmed to believe that believing is thinking. To use our intelligence to think means were keeping the energy active, were thinking, were really using the power of our intelligence in a thinking way. But when weve been programmed to believe, were no longer thinking, because energy flows. So when youre thinking, that energys flowing out into the universe and theres something happening. But when were believing, were not really thinking, because the belief has walls: This is what I believe. So what I believe is like a box, and were taking the energy of our thinking and putting into a box of beliefs, pretending that were thinking. But were really stifling our own energy. We create these mental stresses and frustrations, because were blocking our spirit, so to speak.
CL: Can you give us an example of how youve used this in your own life?
JT: Ive gone through most of my life not believing anything. Either I know or I dont know, or I think. My whole attempt has been to think my way through this reality rather than believe it. Thats the only concrete example I can give you.
CL: I am a great admirer of your activism, and I was wondering if you think that a poet or a songwriter has a responsibility to do this, or whether you have just incorporated those things into the path that you had already embarked upon.
JT: I started out as a political activist, so to speak, but I think its the responsibility of every human being, not just those who wear the identity of poet, activist, voter, religious person... its the responsibility of every person. Our responsibility is to use our intelligence as clearly and coherently as we possibly can. And if we use the power of our intelligence, if every individual did this, took responsibility, we wouldnt be in the mess were in now.
I dont look at it as activism. Theres a sense that were human beings and theres a way that human beings should live. And were not living like that. So I think that its everybodys responsibility to head in that direction. Those who will take the identity of poet or activist or any of that are no more responsible to do that than every one else.
CL: I wanted to ask you about a poem called My Fire. I was wondering whether there was a particular incident that inspired the attitude that you describe in the piece.
JT: You dont like my smoke, stay away from my fire? Nothing in particular. I liked the line. Its been my attitude for a long time. I was at a music festival up in Laytonville, I think, in Southern California, and that line came into my head: If you dont like my smoke, then stay away from my fire. A lot of these things, theyre not based upon a particular incident. That line came into my head, and immediately I found a couple more lines to go along with it, then over a period of time I hunted the lines to go with that line. I write one line at a time, so Im never really sure what it is that Im gonna end up saying when Im done.
CL: What is the concept behind the new CD, Madness & The Moremes?
JT: We had released Bone Days in 2001, and I wanted to make the next album but we didnt have any money—I have to raise the money to make my own CDs. So I thought, I dont have enough money to make one album, I think Ill make two! It doesnt make any difference, right? So that was madness there, on its own. The concept behind it is that the dimensional reality were in, it truly is madness. We may accept it as normal, but Im telling you, as human beings were living in a reality of industrial madness. And I think that the way that we deal with it is through what I call the Moremes. We deal with these different defense mechanisms within ourselves.
CL: What made you decide to do a new version of Baby Boom Che?
JT: Its the very same version that was originally released on the eight-track cassette, back in 85. Then it was re-released again, through Rykodisc, in 1991. But its the same set of lyrics. Its the same musical version. The music for Baby Boom Che and God Help and Breed You All were both written by Jesse Ed Davis, so I included them because Jesse Ed Davis plays guitar on the album.
CL: I like Restless Situations from Heart Jump Bouquet very much. Could you tell us what youve learned from the women in your life?
JT: Overall, they looked out for me a whole lot better than I looked out for them. Thats what I learned about the women in my life. Were all human beings, were just different genders, male and female. But were all human beings and we all have feelings. And we all live in this industrial meat grinder where we dont really understand love anymore, its only half of a concept now. As males and females we do a lot of things against each other and to each other in the name of love that really doesnt make any sense. And on that particular song . . . I tried to write it as a human being, but from the gender of a woman.
CL: I think that politics and love are two of the hardest subjects to write about. We all have these feelings, and so often as a writer its easy to believe that there is nothing new to be said. I really like the way youve put it into words for us.
JT: I appreciate what youre saying, but you know, whether its love or politics or spirituality or any other thing, it has all been said. So the real deal is to not get hung up on that, you know? You can basically write about the same things over and over again—love, hate, religion, politics, class, environment—theres about a half-dozen things that we write about in this reality. The understanding I came to was that when we write and express, were learning how to see. And through this process, we evolve. If what were seeing is coherent and makes sense, then thats what it accomplishes.
When I first started doing this, especially with the music, I didnt know what I was doing. I had never worked with a band. Im not a musician. But one of the things I realized in the beginning was that I was just gonna allow myself to evolve with this, and learn as I go along. So I never worried about whether my stuff was perfect. I wanted things to be a certain way, but I wasnt looking for recognition of perfection from other people. I said it however I could find a way to say it, and I think thats really what its all about.
CL: Happy Fell Down describes an experience that is universal. Ive thought a lot about how a writer can get to the universal through the specific, and thats something that you do very well. Obviously these are stories that come out of particular experiences in your own life, yet theyre situations that just about anyone can relate to.
JT: Thats why I just say this stuff the way I say it. I put it out there, and for people who can relate to it, thats who its for. Happy Fell Down was my observation of a couple whose relationship was deteriorating. I remembered how happy they were. They were some people I knew, and they were going through this thing, and thats what put that in my head.
CL: Everyone has had that experience of going along and everything is fine, and then suddenly its not.
JT: Most everyones had it more than once!
CL: Tell us about the work youre doing to secure health insurance for women and children.
JT: Give Love Give Life is an attitude. There should be universal health care, and in the long-term thats what we want. Until we can get there, we want to prioritize health care for the women and children of America, because of respect. We have a website, GiveLoveGiveLife.net, and theres a MySpace page, and we would like people to check that out and participate however they can to promote this idea. We think that maybe it should be said more often in this country.
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