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Assuming the problems of consciousness and free will are separate but related problems – then how are they related? Here are some possible links between consciousness and free will that strike me as plausible in light of current evidence.
By way of definition, most theorists seem to distinguish two levels of consciousness, one in which humans resemble most other animals, and one that is more uniquely human. Agency may also have two levels. My (very rough) operative understanding is that the simpler, earlier level of consciousness (sometimes called phenomenal awareness) enables the animal to deal with its physical environment, and then later in evolution the more advanced one (conscious thought) enables the human to deal with its social and cultural environment. In this blog my focus is on the advanced, mainly just human kind, namely conscious thought.
For this blog I am going to skip over the details of how free will operates. (It would be the more advanced form of agency mentioned above, obviously.) My own current thinking about it would encompass self-control processes, rational choice, planning, and initiative. Those are the set of real behavior patterns that goes by the name of free will. Whether it deserves that name can be debated at great length and will likely depend on which definition of free will one uses. The question is, what does advanced conscious thought contribute to enabling self-control, rational choice, planning, and initiative to happen?
One thing consciousness could do to help free will, even if the executive is mainly unconscious, is provide informational input to complement sensory and memory input. Much of conscious thought is away from the here and now, instead simulating past, future, and otherwise distant events (or also simulating another's mental state). When a decision is faced, conscious thought can mentally simulate how various action sequences might unfold and what their long-term consequences might be. This seems highly adaptive. It is actually often helpful to think before you act.
Whatever free will is, whether it be conscious or unconscious, it could benefit by having the mind prepare for a decision by consciously simulating each possible action and its consequences.
The Skinnerian animal in the simple maze just goes left or right because it has a better feeling about one or the other, based on past reinforcement. It can't really envision what's around the turn, in the maze. But humans consciously simulate what they would find there, and what would happen then, and perhaps later too. Simulating sequences of actions and consequences can enable the person to make a better decision. Obviously, the closer the mental simulations are to what would actually happen, the greater the benefit to the animal's adaptive decision making.
These thoughts emerged from our Annual Review of Psychology article (2011), which is called "Do Conscious Thoughts Cause Behavior?" and was intended as a response to Libet. Without really knowing what we would find, my colleagues and I just set out collecting any sort of relevant information on experimental studies designed to show causal effects of conscious thoughts on behavior. We sent out a big call on the listserve that elicited a deluge of information, some of which was relevant and therefore provided much of the evidence reviewed in the paper. For Annual Review, you're supposed to just cover the waterfront, without theoretical commitments, which was fine with us.
So when done, I thought, why not just read through all the descriptions of the assorted evidence (close to a dozen different subsections) and look for any themes or patterns? This looked to me like the fun part, but in practice this time I found it exhausting. Still, some things did show up across quite different lines of evidence. Here are three.
Consciousness connects behavior across time. It guides present or imminent behavior based on past and future, and it processes present or recent to prepare for the future.
Consciousness connects broad, abstract principles (values, rules, goals) to specific actions.
For at least some broad categories of noncontroversial things, thinking about possible actions makes them more likely to happen.
I have no grand theory about these things , they are just among the patterns that popped out (separately ) from a lit review. But they have substantial empirical basis so there is probably some thing real there. And they sure seem like they could assist free will, or whatever the real phenomenon is that goes by that name.
Putting them together, consciousness could assist free will be connecting general principles, especially as might come in from the social environment in the form of moral or legal rules, to specific here-and-now behaviors. Present choices are linked not only to abstract principles but also to past and future events, and those connections also require some high level of abstraction. The conscious mind takes in information about broad principles (perhaps imported from the social and cultural environment) and brings in relevant cognitions about past and future, all done to lend meaning and context to the options for behavior in the immediate situation -- and then, thinking about something, preferably the optimal conclusion from those calculations in terms of past, future, and general principles, focuses on what is best to do, and by mentally rehearsing that optimal course of action and outcome makes it more likely to actually happen. That would certainly be a fairly adaptive form of free will, in the sense of a newly evolved capacity for action control.
Lately I've been thinking that we have completely misunderstood what emotion is for. First, in order to understand what emotion is, it's necessary to distinguish full-blown emotional states (such as when someone is really upset or overflowing with joy) from what a fair amount of research actually studies, namely tiny little emotional associations that mostly give a little twinge of 'good' or 'bad' when confronted with some idea or event.
We assume the strong, full-blown emotion is the main phenomenon and should be given precedence. But more and more, I think it is those little automatic emotional associations that are the important and operative thing. In fact, maybe the purpose of those full-blown emotions is to create those associations, for future use. (That's akin to Damasio's theorizing about the somatic markers.)
What happens when a decision actually has to be made? The person considers what to do. This consideration predicts and probably causes the outcome. Hence the process of considering is relevant.
Considering means focusing conscious awareness at least briefly on each of the options. One holds the option in mind. Baars says a crucial function of consciousness is to broadcast ideas to all the scattered, independent sites across brain and mind, so one's with relevant information can provide associative reaction. This would often come in the form of a good or bad feeling.
Notice this system of deciding would work fairly easily, without requiring any sort of logical thought or analysis. The person holds each option in mind briefly, gets a good or bad feeling about it, and the compares it with the affective yields of the other options. The option that felt the best is the one that is enacted.
Decisions may be recognized consciously but that does not prove that conscious thought makes the decision. There is the subjective impression that decisions are made consciously, but most of the thoughts that occur in the conscious mind are put there by dint of many unconscious processes. So how would we know if the decision occurred in consciousness or instead were made at an unconscious level and then "announced" to the entire mind by being displayed in consciousness? The latter seems more in keeping with what we know about how things work in general. Plus of course work by Wegner, by Patrick Haggard, and others suggests that the conscious experience of doing is itself constructed. All conscious experience is thus a construction, a simulation, an educated guess about reality.
Hence free will could involve an unconscious process actually making and implementing the choice, but it would probably benefit from having consciously pondered the options. Without conscious thought, there might not be enough of some decision inputs (things only conscious thought can contribute) to qualify as free will – again, even if the decisive step in the decision process is unconscious.
Would love to hear a few additional ideas on this. Assume for a moment that free will and consciousness are real, important things. How do they work together, other than what I've suggested?


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Anatomy Of A Pro-Life Campaign In Mississippi: How, By God's Grace, We Got The "Personhood Amendment" On The Ballot — Round One
"Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." — Psalm 20:1.
By Les Riley
Sponsor, Mississippi Personhood Amendment
A few weeks ago it became "official". The Mississippi Personhood Amendment will be on the ballot in 2011. The brief meeting with the Secretary of State and small, sometimes contentious/ sometimes humorous press conference that followed was the culmination of a year of signature collection and many years of planning and preparation.
After the frantic last few weeks of signature gathering and an exciting rally (video here) the day we turned in over 130,000 signatures, this event was almost anti-climactic. This is especially true in light of the fact that the real battle has just begun. The hard work of gathering signatures and getting on the ballot with little money and a purely grass roots, bottom up organization in the hardest state in the country to get an initiative on the ballot, is actually only the "play in round". To say this, of course, is in no way to downplay the tremendous victory and working of God that got us through Round One. But, we are in only Round One. We now have a right to be in the fight. And what a fight it should be.
Mississippi's N.O.W. spokesman has already announced that she was "gathering opposition" and similar pronouncements have come from the ACLU and the other usual suspects. Last December, NARAL said they consider state level Personhood efforts the major threat to "legal" abortion in America, but we fully expect the defenders of death to spend tens of millions to try and defeat this measure. Our response is: "If the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him" - I Kings 18:21
So, how did we get to this point? How did God take a tractor salesman with 10 kids and no money along with three other families and grow a statewide grassroots organization of over 2000 volunteers and 1000 churches in less than a year? How did we spend $11,000 and have an all volunteer organization and do what had only been done three other times in Mississippi history — gather enough signatures to get a Constitutional Amendment put on the ballot? And, the other three times the effort was led by a large, well funded political party or organization with paid staff? How was such a massive hill climbed?
"Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, [it is] nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou [art] our God; let not man prevail against thee." - II Chron 14:11
Equally important, how will this effort be used — in the past and now — to change Mississippi culture and the lives of many Christians and non christians by re-framing the debate over abortion and by talking to hundreds of thousands in Mississippi about the humanity of their unborn neighbors and the Gospel and Law of King Jesus? Hopefully this incomplete story of how the victory was achieved in the petition drive phase of the Mississippi Personhood effort will encourage & challenge pro-life Christians around our state and the country
God's Faithfulness
First and foremost victory in Round One of the Mississippi Personhood campaign was built not on trusting political wisdom, but on the faithfulness of God. Only by God's Grace could we get in excess of 130,000 signatures (of which over 106,000 were certified) when many thought we would never make the minimum threshold of 89,285 signatures. As late as two weeks before the deadline the "smart money" politically was on us not making it.
Early on we sought to make this about more than merely a petition drive because abortion is a terrible crime against an innocent, defenseless human being and our society. Child murder on a mass scale under the color of law is an affront to the Constitution and the very foundations of a free and just society.
Both of those things, however, pale by comparison to the fact that "legal" child murder is a assault upon the very character and goodness of Christ. He is sovereign. He gives life. He alone opens and closes the womb. He hates hands that shed innocent blood. And He gives us the duty and privilege of defending the fatherless & speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. Ultimately, the foundational motivation for the Christian in prolife activism (including Personhood petition drives) or anything else must be love for Christ. His glory and reputation must be our chief concern. So, we prayed when we started and throughout the petition drive that God would glorify Himself by aiding us in making the glory of Christ our starting point and chief goal in all that we did. And that, through this, He would act in mighty ways that we could not even imagine - opening doors that seemed closed, prospering our efforts, forgiving our errors, giving us favor with potential allies, confounding our enemies. And we found Him to be faithful in this even when we were faithless and fickle. God literally made the impossible possible and real on multiple occasions, particularly in the last weeks.
To Whom Much Is Given - Doing Not Just Knowing
OK, but what about the practical realities of how we got the signatures ? I'll get to that, but one more foundational thing must be understood about our successful Mississippi Personhood petition drive:
Knowing the right things does not change things. Knowing what everyone else is doing wrong and being able to pick it apart doesn't change things. Acting on what you know to be true - even if everyone else thinks you're crazy and it seems like no one is coming along to help - is how things happen. It's called faith. And not some modernistic, esoteric concept of "faith" but a real, Biblical faith - knowing the Truth and then acting on what you know.
Put another way, it is hard to get people to follow your ideas (no matter how sound they are) if you aren't going anywhere with them.
Genesis, Planning, Preparation And False starts
Now, the actual story of the petition drive. My family and I have been involved in prolife activism/ ministry for almost 20 years. In 1991 we started doing sidewalk counseling, rescues, and helped start a Crisis Pregnancy Center in Southaven, Miss. Back then, there were seven abortion mills in Mississippi. Now there is only one. The story of how our state has seen the closure of those other six killing centers is similar to the way we got the signatures on the Personhood Amendment, as you shall see as the story unfolds.
Not long after we got involved in pro-life work, we were introduced to the Taxpayers (now Constitution) Party and Howard Phillips. Howard used to say that the way to end "legal" abortion in America was for a lower magistrate (governor, legislative body) to publicly declare the "legal Personhood" of the unborn child. He said this because of a statement in Harry Blackmun's majority opinion in the infamous, illegal, and unconstitutional court decision "Roe v Wade" which allegedly "legalized" abortion. I say alleged, because courts do not make laws. In Roe, Blackmun, says that they were not going to answer the question as to whether or not the "fetus" was a legal person, because "if this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment" (emphasis mine.)
From that point on I began to study how the 10th Amendment & State Sovereignty might be used to simply ignore the Roe decision because it is not law; courts do not make law. I wrote articles, hosted a conference on "States Rights and Abortion" and began seeking elected officials and candidates who would publicly declare the legal personhood of the unborn. I hoped we could find some pro-life statesman to protect the helpless and challenge the Federal Judicial Usurpation known as Roe v Wade.
After several years of trying this approach, we began to look at the "Initiative and Referendum Clause" in our state Constitution as a possible means to define person in our state law.
In 2003 I wrote a very short suggested Personhood Amendment, and later showed it to Steve Crampton - a Constitutional Attorney with Liberty Counsel (then with American Family Association) and one of my close friends from church. We "tweaked" it a little and filed with the Sec of State. When we got there, however, we were told that there was already someone working on something similar. So, we decided to just help them. Unfortunately, after a couple of tries, this other Personhood effort never got off the ground.
So, we rewrote it and submitted in late 2008. This is the final language:
Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Mississippi: SECTION 1. Article III of the constitution of the state of Mississippi is hearby amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION TO READ: Section 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.
The placement of the Amendment was immediately at the end of the Bill of Rights - "Article III" which is referenced in the Amendment. This was crucial because in recent history anytime there is a court case or law passed acknowledging that unborn children are human beings, the parties (or some ACLU lawyer) is quick to step in and say that the fetus has rights under these circumstances (mother in car wreck) but not in others. By placing it at the end of the Bill of Rights as a definition then all the legal protections any human beings have belong to all human beings.
Encouraged And Preparing
By now, Colorado had been working on a similar measure in which they gathered enough signatures, but fell short at the ballot box. We were encouraged to know, though, that there were other people, who had similar ideas, independent of us, in other parts of the country. We took it as a sign that this was a move of God. Once submitted there is about a 60 to 90 day process a citizen's initiative must go through before signatures can be gathered. So, we began having prayer meetings and contacting pro-life activists and personal friends. We knew this was going to be a major undertaking. We just didn't know how big.
We had a meeting in my living room with three families from our church and a couple other interested parties. At this meeting the twin themes of the work were laid :
— Psalm 20 - we will trust in the Lord, through Christ, to accomplish the work.
The Nehemiah Principle
— Nehemiah heard of the state of the country and saw that the people of God were a reproach and therefore the Name of God was being reproached.
— Nehemiah was broken hearted over this.
— Nehemiah cried out to God in repentance (even for sins that he had not been involved in).
— Nehemiah cried out for God to deliver them.
— And Nehemiah asked God to use him (Nehemiah) because he was "the king's cupbearer."
God answered Nehemiah's prayer, and they were given the city. Then there are several chapters of detailed descriptions of all the people who rebuilt the wall - one section at a time. God's work of deliverance & restoration was accomplished through His people doing the little task that was in front of them. Like this, the closure of Mississippi's other six abortion mills has been accomplished not through some top down plan, but rather by concerned Christians across the state doing the little thing that was in front of them. And that was our prayer/ hope for how the Personhood work would be accomplished.
Spiritual, Cultural And Political- Legal
As an aside: Perhaps the most encouraging thing about the petition drive we completed is the secondary spiritual and cultural impact it has had and will have for years to come. Abortion, as I said, is ultimately a spiritual issue. But it plays itself out and must be fought on two fronts : cultural and legal/ political.
One obvious effort of the Personhood Amendment is to protect the unborn by making people aware that since the unborn are actually innocent human persons, abortion is already illegal since it is murder. In the process of collecting 130,000 signatures, petitioning in 1000 churches, and gaining 2000 volunteers from across the state, we pro-lifers have literally had the opportunity to talk one on one about the humanity of the unborn with well over 200,000 people. We have by God's Grace been able to interrupt and confront with God's Law those who favor child killing in the name of choice; to help desperate mothers; to point post abortive parents to the Cross; and to share the Gospel on many occasions.
Likewise, there are dozens of young and old Christians across our state who had always wanted to (or never considered) sharing their faith and getting involved to help stop abortion and otherwise get outside of their churches to fight evil and help the hurting, but who had never had an opportunity. Now that they have had a taste, and God has blessed them, they want more. They have been and will continue to impact Mississippi and Mississippians for the cause of life and the Cause of Christ.
Keith Mason of "Personhood USA" calls Personhood petitioning "the gateway drug into pro life ministry".This sounds trite, but we have found it to be the case. There are people who had never been involved who helped with signature collection or calling on churches or clerical work that are now are doing sidewalk counseling at abortion clinics or volunteering at CPC's or involved in Christian adoption.
There's a family in North Mississippi that heard about what we are doing and wanted to help. They have three grown kids who were among the most shy and reserved people I've ever met. They said they didn't know if they could petition and the middle son said adamantly "we won't protest". But, they sincerely loved the Lord and wanted to help somehow (clerical work, writing, etc)
As it turns out, this family - and the two oldest kids in particular - were among our most active petitioners - conservatively, they were responsible for 5000 to 7000 signatures; the young man spoke in several churches and to youth groups about Personhood. His quiet older sister petitioned across the state. The two of them have gone to abortion mills in Memphis and Jackson to do sidewalk counseling & street evangelism.
Another family in the Delta had a son who had graduated from homeschool and not started college or work yet. He decided that he could work on petitioning full time for the next year. He and his sisters and their friends ended up collecting over 8000 signatures.
A 90 year old widow in South Mississippi called & said she was a shut in - but she had gotten 13 signatures & was praying for us.
A reserved "country boy" working in timber country who had been praying about abortion heard of what we were doing and ended up calling on 300 churches personally to ask them to get involved. He got thousands of signatures and did lots of leg work including walking into a Planned Parenthood office (not an abortion mill) to witness to them. He is now helping with ministry at the abortion clinic in Jackson in an inner city neighbor hood.
There are literally hundreds of stories of lives changed during our petition drive: new volunteers at CPC's; people who decided to run for office; people who got to share the Gospel with someone they never would have met; people that decided to adopt. One of my favorite stories is here.
Early Frustrations
But what about the particulars of how we got 130,000 signatures? Our original strategy was built on the hope that churches and pro lifers from all over Mississippi would catch fire once they heard of what we were doing. We expected pro-life organizations to immediately "jump on board". Neither of these proved to be true in the early going. I think this was largely because the cynicism and skepticism that has developed over 40 years (and 50 million dead children) of watching "new" pro-life organizations with big hoopla come along who talk boldly, and never quite deliver. They have learned to trust people who demonstrate that they act & have staying power. This is just an assumption, though.
Whatever the reason, in the early months it seemed that we spent countless hours calling, emailing, mailing packets, going to see people at hundreds of churches and pro-life leaders across Mississippi and maybe one out of 50 would get excited, take ownership and want to help us. But, then in the last six months, they began to flock to our cause. The wildfire spread after months of trying to light it, but the "trying to light" part was like banging your head against the wall.
The most frustrating day was a trip to Jackson in which we had meetings with some political leaders in the morning and some state leaders of a large religious denomination. We found the religious leaders to be much more "political" than the politicians. They didn't ask anything about our principles or ideas or why we were taking the Personhood approach. They didn't even pray or bring up any Scripture. They asked things like "how much money have you raised?".
Finally, in frustration I reminded them of the uproar and vote over Mississippi's state flag in 2001. There was an effort to remove the Confederate Battle Flag from Mississippi's state flag. A group of concerned citizens with no money and no organization - most of whom had never been involved in politics - armed with nothing but passion, started a completely grass roots petition drive to protect our historic state flag. Even though the entire political establishment was against them and they were outspent 10 to 1 they prevailed in a statewide referendum. I pointed out to these religious leaders that it would be shameful if Bubbas in bass boats could do this to protect our state flag and Christians could not, would not do it to protect unborn children. One man very calmly said : "Yeah, but that's (the flag) something people care about"
I wept on the way home. Later, I wrote, that if God's hand of final judgment falls on our state, we should have a big sign above the abortion clinic(s) with a picture of the state flag and an unborn baby with the statement "Yeah, but that's (the flag) something people care about" across the bottom. So, in short, it was very slow & frustrating going in the petition drive at the beginning.
The Petition Drive
The way we gathered the 100,000 plus signatures is quite simple - one at a time. But the process was very hard. First because of difficulties that are common to all petition drives. More specifically, Keith Mason of "Personhood USA" told us that Mississippi is the most difficult state in the country to get an amendment placed on the ballot to amend the constitution via the initiative process.
This is because:
the high percentage of voters that needed (12% of the total number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election) the fact that they have to be equally distributed between the five old congressional districts. Mississippi now has only four congressional districts, but when the law was written we had five, so signatures have to be collected based on pre-2000 census districts - making it very difficult on not only the people collecting the signatures, but those having to certify an count them. the signatures have to be certified by county circuit clerks in each of Mississippi's 82 counties before being submitted to the Sec of State. (this proved to be the most difficult of the obstacles in two ways) And the petition form is legal sized, front & back which created some logistical problems.
But, the bottom line is that the signatures have to be collected. So, we took a little core group - my wife, our 10 kids & I; some young people & families from our church; one family in the Delta; and a group of folks in the Jackson area. We visited every county fair, gun show, flea market & grocery store in the state — at times standing out in the heat, the rain. Sometimes we'd have a booth at a fair and get 800 or 900 signatures in a weekend. At other times, we might drive three hours and get 15 signatures - or be asked to leave without getting any. At other times, we might drive around and visit churches. Our successes increased. Then, we had a breakthrough when AFA (the American Family Association) met with us and wanted to get behind the petition drive. And several pastors of large, influential churches began doing petition drives in their churches and encouraging others to do the same. The AFA did radio interviews, a couple of e mail blasts, put Personhood on the front page of their web site, and started doing PSA's on their stations once an hour. Other local and regional Christian radio stations began covering/ promoting our efforts as well. Momentum (and opposition) was increasing.
In the fall and winter we continued going to community events - football games, parades, rodeos, shopping centers - with larger numbers and now better trained volunteers. And, more people started going to the abortion clinics in Jackson and Memphis - more "turn aways" resulted. Finally, in December and January our Lt. Governor, Phil Bryant, sent a series of recorded phone messages to 100,000 of his supporters encouraging them to sign our petition. And, he started pressing other pro-life leaders to get behind our efforts. This brought much media attention - and more requests for interviews - along with hundreds more volunteers & thousands of signatures. In the end, we petitioned to the very last minute and exceeded the number of total signatures by over 40,000 and certified signatures by nearly 20,000. But the difficulties mentioned here with the certification process and some inane legal opinions offered by the Attorney General's office meant that we had to sue and put public pressure on the AG and Sec of State at the last hour. We had hundreds of people petitioning in areas where we needed last minute signatures. We were running all over the state picking up completed petitions, delivering them to 82 county courthouses, picking them up and driving them to a central location to be copied, sorted and counted before turning in. The last weekend we had a huge, unexpected snow and unusually cold weather for Mississippi - yet our volunteers worked all the way until the last minute.
Victory In Round One
Praise God, the final result was that we had a big victory rally (video here) and turned in 130,000 signatures. The certified totals we had were 105,167 - and the Sec of State actually came up with a number 1500 higher than that! The Personhood Amendment will be on the ballot in Mississippi in 2011. We look forward to amending our constitution, restoring equal rights, and making people aware that the unborn must have legal protection because they are innocent persons. Thus, abortion is already illegal because, again, it is murder. May God alone receive the glory!
Coming up in Part II: Challenges Of The Coming Campaign.
Asked for a brief biography, Les Riley says of himself: Sinner Saved by Grace; Married 24 years; father of 11 children - 10 living; Part time Farmer & Tractor Salesman; Founder Personhood Mississippi/ Sponsor Mississippi Personhood Amendment; Chairman Miss Constitution Party since 1998;Candidate for Miss Commissioner of Agriculture 2007;19 Years involvement in Pro-life Ministry & Activism including: Rescues, Sidewalk Counseling, CPC's, Educational & Political Involvement; Advocate of Christian Adoption & Orphan Care; Adoptive Father; Sons have been to orphanages in Africa.
Blog - rileydad.wordpress.com
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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NEW YORK, March 10, 2013 — President Obama's 2012 lead over independent voters in swing States speaks volumes about the GOP's on-going effort to win more female and minority votes. Among millions of female voters, there remain significant reservations regarding Roe v. Wade and the controversies surrounding it. These lead them to wonder whether GOP policy makers will support the rights of women to make their own abortion-related decisions, and ultimately whether Republican politicians can be individually pro-life and yet leave any room for their female constituents to have access to abortion services.
Former Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) suggested at the Tampa GOP convention last year that Republican state party leaders and elected officials should begin to think about relaxing the language of the GOP's perceived aggressive platform opposing a woman's rights to choose. He suggested that the GOP might abandon pursuit of a constitutional amendment choose instead to focus on banning the practice of late term abortions. Pro-choice conservatives argue that the push for a total ban fails to recognize the legitimate interests of women to have some legal access to abortion, and its perceived punitive harshness drives away women who are conservative on a large majority of social and economic issues.
Republican opposition to abortion often carries over to a hostility toward family planning services and birth control. Many conservative critics of the Republican Party platform have argued that when a woman seeks birth control measures, she is actually acting on the conservative principle of self-accountability. The use of birth control requires a woman to take responsibility for her own actions. If those measures fail, a woman's right to make decisions that affect her body automatically limits the role of government.
The argument of pro-choice conservatives is that Washington should be out of the equation. If government must be involved, it should be at the state level, not the federal level. The conservative opposition to Roe v. Wade was once that the Supreme Court had made federal an issue that had been a matter for the states. Further federalizing it by law or constitutional amendment is contrary to conservative principle.
A further issue here is that it isn't enough to ban abortion; women don't get abortions because they enjoy them. If offered an alternative, many women would probably take it, and so GOP lawmakers should look for ways to offer real alternatives to pregnant women. Better-educated, better-employed women typically have fewer pregnancies, so they will also have fewer abortions. Either expand opportunities for poor women to not be poor, for instance with training programs, or help them find better options if they decide to move forward with the pregnancy.
READ MORE: Roe v. Wade at 40: Abortion under siege
Women's health should be a bi-partisan issue, along with men's health and children's health. For conservatives, the conversation is often dominated by a focus on the life of the unborn child, as if the mother were simply a vessel for new life. Conservatism does not mean not taking into account the life and welfare of the mother, or assuming that pregnancy should be a punishment for stupidly having sex. We should never forget the importance of keeping government out of our daily lives, including our bedrooms and our doctors' offices. Allowing government to regulate reproduction is inviting it to interfere with every facet of our lives.
The nanny state - the paternalistic government that tells you how much soda you can have in your cup or what your rifle can look like, that wants to tell you what you can't buy and what you must, that tells you how to run your business and whether you can even start one - is a Democratic utopia. The GOP must never abandon its role in fighting for civil liberties, for our freedom from the moral dictatorship of others, and for choice.
Brandon Brice is a graduate of Howard University, Rutgers University's Graduate Eagleton Institute of Politics and is currently completing his studies at Columbia University. Brandon is a conservative blogger/writer and political contributor for HipHopRepublican.com.
This article is the copyrighted property of the writer and Communities @ WashingtonTimes.com. Written permission must be obtained before reprint in online or print media. REPRINTING TWTC CONTENT WITHOUT PERMISSION AND/OR PAYMENT IS THEFT AND PUNISHABLE BY LAW.


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Nov 3, 2011 7:50 PM by Jimena Martinez, Ksby News
If you haven't gotten your flu shot yet, there's an upcoming clinic you will want to know about.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department says it has received 750 flu shots it plans to distribute to those two years or older.
The first flu clinic will be Saturday, November 12 at the Goleta Valley Community Center. It's from 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m.
A second clinic will be held Saturday, November 19 at the Lompoc Fire Station from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
The San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department says it will not hold any free public flu clinics because it only received a small amount of vaccines from the state this year.
A small amount of free flu shots will be given to seniors over the age of sixty. They will be available by appointment only at the county health department's three locations.
Offensive or inappropriate comments are subject to removal. To report a comment, please e-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.com, and include the name of the story and information on the comment.
Thank you! KSBY.com
44 minutes ago


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How To Handle Your Jealous Spouse
Felicia cannot believe that her husband went through her cell phone records. Last night, he met her at the door with her cell phone (she'd forgotten it at home) and an angry look on his face.
Felicia's husband, Rick, was particularly upset about the frequent calls and texts that she exchanges with a guy she's been friends with since college. She and this male friend have remained close all of these years. Rick has known about her male friend and he's never made a big deal about their friendship before. THIS Is The Kiss Of Death For Relationships
Before now, that is...
When you live with a jealous spouse, life can be frustrating and exasperating. You may feel that your partner's jealousy gets in the way time and time again. What can be done when it's your partner who seems to be frequently controlled by jealousy?
Contrary to popular belief, there's actually a lot that you can do. The one thing you cannot do is "solve" your mate's jealousy problem for him or her. As much as you'd like to force your partner to just "get over being jealous," this is nearly impossible.
However, you can set boundaries with your spouse that will support his or her efforts to overcome jealousy. These boundaries can also help you two to move closer together again. Can You Live With Your Partner's Quirks?
Here are three useful tips for setting boundaries with your jealous spouse:
1. Set boundaries with an awareness of your own tendencies. You know best if you truly are innocent in this situation. Be very honest with yourself and own up to it if you are behaving in ways that could be triggering jealousy in your partner and undermining trust in your relationship.
This isn't about you "taking the blame." Instead, this is about you recognizing any tendencies that you have that might be playing a role in the tension and conflict that's present in your marriage. Do you like to flirt with others? As harmless and innocent as your motives may be to you, it's probable that your mate does not see this as harmless or innocent. Is Your Career Killing Your Marriage?
Do you appreciate looking at and maybe commenting on attractive people's bodies? You may know that you're only looking, but your partner does not know this. When you look "too long" or "too longingly" at others, it can most certainly lead to jealousy and insecurity within your mate.
You may not even be aware of all of the ways that you are contributing to the jealousy. Take some time to really evaluate your habits and see if there are ways you might be fueling jealousy in your mate without meaning to.
Felicia can see that, to Rick, her friendship with her college buddy might appear to be more than it really is. She admits to herself that she tends to turn to her male friend first with requests for advice and a shoulder to cry on.


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The Theatre Program offers experience in all facets of acting, make-up, scenery construction and other technical aspects of theatre. Typically the fall theatre production of the year is scheduled for the middle of October, and the spring production is scheduled for early April.Specialized advising is available for transfer to specific universities.
The Lendon Players is an organization created for students who are interested in dramatics and the theatre arts. Membership is open to all students.The purpose of the Lendon Players is to foster and develop skills and interests in the field of drama. Club members take part in the production of plays sponsored by the Department of Speech and Theatre.
Acting I
Advanced Acting
Theatre Make up
Movement for the Actor
Drama Production
Oral Interpretation
Theatre Appreciation
The Dorothy Brownlee Scholarship has been established through the Hinds Community College Foundation by Mrs. Dorothy Morris Brownlee. A graduate of Hinds Agricultural High School and Hinds Junior College Class of 1935, Mrs. Brownlee has always had a passion for theatre. Mrs. Brownlee has also served on the Development Foundation Board of Directors.
To be eligible, a student must be a full-time freshman or sophomore majoring in theatre or speech. The student should also be enrolled full-time on the Raymond Campus and should maintain at least a 2.5 GPA. Scholarship recipients are expected to actively participate in the Theatre program at Hinds.
Interested students should fill out the Hinds Community College Application for Scholarships. Applications are due by March 1 each year.
Bo Byrnes Memorial Scholarship
The Bo Byrnes Memorial Scholarship has been established through the Hinds Community College Foundation by Bo's Aunt, Theresa Moody. Bo Byrnes grew up in Greenville, MS and was 24 years old at the time of his death. He attended Hinds Community College from 1990 to 1992 and was a member of the Lendon Players, performing in several productions and receiving the Maxwell Award for best actor in a supporting role for "Lend Me a Tenor" in 1993. Bo discovered his love for acting and the stage during his senior year of high school and the Lendon Players gave him the opportunity to explore his talent and comedic spirit during his years at Hinds. This scholarship is in his memory and is to be awarded to a student possessing the same love of the stage and the Lendon Players.
To be eligible, a student must be a sophomore and an active member of the Lendon Players. The student should also be enrolled full-time on the Raymond Campus with at least a 2.5 GPA.


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"I think I was struck by my early travels, where one of the most common questions I kept being asked, especially in the audience of young people at universities and elsewhere, is: How could you work with President Obama? You ran against him. Because still in democracies, even ones that we think of as fairly mature, that was just a totally bizarre idea that two people who were political foes could ever end up working together. … And my answer always was: Yes, I mean, we ran hard against each other. He tried to beat me, I tried to beat him. But he won, then he asked me to work for him. And I said yes because we both love our country. So I think that that message resonated with a lot of people and, again, I would stress particularly young people."
Hillary Clinton On Getting Along With Barack Obama
Posted by Jessica Wakeman /October 27, 2011
Why Hillary Isn't Prez
Gloria Steinem isn't surprised that Hillary Clinton is not our president. Read More »
— Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on working alongside her former opponent, Barack Obama, in Washington. This quote is just one tidbit of the Q&A — mostly about foreign policy — that Hillary did with TIME's editor-in-chief. As I read their conversation, I was blown away by her intelligence and intellect. I highly, highly recommend you read it, too! [TIME]
Posted Under: barack obama, feminism, hillary clinton, politics, quotable, secretary of state


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Blog | Comments |
WoW | 84 Comments |
Recent Comments:
What happens if Algalon isn't defeated? {WoW}
Apr 28th 2009 7:57PM War has Public Quests, which is a great idea (even if the game itself is poorly implemented) its server wide events on a smaller scale. Personally I loved PQ's and would love to see them duplicated in WoW.
Reward based on how well you do and almost everybody gets something to help upgrade :D
15 Minutes of Fame: Dislocated but not disconnected, Part 2 {WoW}
Apr 28th 2009 5:25PM By the way, I'd totally suggest R. R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" if you want some hardcore fantasy novels.
The kind that make you throw the book in the fire because of all the twists and turns.
And then dive in the fire to see what happens next
15 Minutes of Fame: Dislocated but not disconnected, Part 2 {WoW}
Apr 28th 2009 5:22PM Lileya, I salute you.
Every fight is like Sart+3 for you plus a few more drakes, and to succeed, I'm sure, is a great feeling.
/salute Lok'tar Ogar
Varian Wrynn is Right, Part III {WoW}
Apr 27th 2009 4:40PM Rise up sons of the horde! Blood and Glory Await US!
Lok'tar Ogar! For the HORDE
The Queue: Druids are cats, too {WoW}
Apr 22nd 2009 5:30PM I found a lady on craigslist giving away kittens because she just didn't have room.
Please adopt. I got little Lia just a few months ago and she is the best thing ever. Even when she jumps on my keyboard and makes me run into the blue fire on razergore.
Also, Pet Smart (if you have it in your area) has a great affordable way to get your cats fixed and all the shots and bloodwork done. Banfield. Best money I have ever spent to keep my little lady happy.
There is also a Belf rogue on Gul'Dan with her full name because she likes to sneak up and double claw and bite my legs... very mutilate-esque
Ask a Lore Nerd: Trollin' {WoW}
Apr 20th 2009 7:44PM Apparently you have never seen a band of murlocs in heat.
Scary stuff that. And no, the slime doesn't make very good lube.
Theme park contest winners announced {WoW}
Apr 16th 2009 7:17PM But the ice stone has melted, that would not be tasty ice cream
Totem Talk: 3.1 Shaman Gear Part 2 {WoW}
Apr 16th 2009 1:37PM Just did razorscale for the first time lastnight. That fight follows the first rule of raiding "Stay the fuck out of the fire"
Found that dropping the NR totem helped mitigate the CL damage for the group.
Arthas: Rise of the Lich King giveaway {WoW}
Apr 15th 2009 3:30PM Hat in the ring you say? I throw my pants in the ring /dance
Login servers down {WoW}
Apr 15th 2009 1:11PM Glad I got my dailies done before I went off to work


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Know the Laws: South Carolina
UPDATED April 2, 2012
A restraining order or protective order is a legal order issued by a state court which requires one person to stop harming another.
Some restraining orders are issued in criminal court and some are issued in civil court.
A civil order that provides protection from abuse by your current or former spouse, someone you have a child in common with, or your live-in partner of the opposite sex.
A civil restraining order against anyone who is harassing or stalking you.
Your SC Order of Protection can be enforceable wherever you move.
If you are planning to move to SC or are going to be in SC for any reason, your protection or restraining order can be enforced.


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Bolio Pendant Lights Medium -Open BoxNow: $506.25
+ Free Shipping
Pin It Houzz |
. |
Related Info Tools |
Available options may differ from photo.
Design by Team Viso, 2002.Imported from Portugal.
The mirrored effect on the interior creates a beam of light. The exterior of these lamps are perfectly mirrored to reflect and enlarge your atmosphere and environment.
Made with high quality polycarbonate with an interior mirror finish and polished aluminum metal components.
Notes: UL Listed
Material(s): Polycarbonate, Aluminum
Dimensions: MM-07-12112: 15.7"D X 15.1"H; 85.9" maximum overall height - can be field shortened.
Lamp Type: INCANDESCENT
Bulbs: 1 X 100W 120V E26 (medium base) incandescent lamp (not included)
Listing: UL
Model(s): SM-07-12012 MM-07-12112 GM-07-12212
Viso Lighting
A collection of lamps that revolutionizes the concept of design. The strength of the Viso line lies in its quality, design and originality. Viso Lighting fuses together modern materials with classic style, resulting in a modern spark of quality, design and originality. Their products, materials and processes comform to the highest industry standards.
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Regional Victoria's Leading Law Firm - Freephone: 1800 815 228
The purchase and/or sale of property is for the majority of the community the largest financial transaction they will ever undertake. Property can take many forms including vacant land, residential homes, commercial properties, farms, residential apartments with Owners' Corporations to name a few.
Conveyancing is a complicated and time-consuming legal process, fraught with risk to your financial security. In many cases, those who attempt to "do it yourself" find that the mistakes of inexperience end up costing them more in fines, fees and emotional strain than if they had consulted a professional at first instance. We, at Maddens have guided our clients through the purchase and sale of property for over 50 years, constantly up to date with developments in the law and eager to do everything possible to ensure a trouble-free transaction for our clients. We strive to provide friendly, practical advice, and our on-line connections to state-wide property databases and government departments guarantee prompt responses to all steps in the process. Maddens Conveyancing team competently and expeditiously deal with the transfer of any property situated in Victoria. We have particular expertise in the areas of foreign ownership, the "Old Law" or General Law system of conveyancing which now requires conversion upon any dealing with the land. Advice can be provided on financing strategies including "Vendor terms", mortgages and sales and "lease-backs". As we handle most aspects of conveyancing in-house, unlike many other firms, our clients' affairs are not impeded by unnecessary red-tape and confidentiality is assured. If you are considering the sale or purchase of property, talk to any member of the Maddens Conveyancing Team.


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Manes American Peace Prize Founder, Dr. Harvey Manes, has written a new book, How the Nobel Peace Prize Has Failed Us, a scholarly presentation on the failings of the worldwide prize. Drawing from his experience with the American Prize, which is only awarded to deserving recipients within the United States, Dr. Manes takes the Nobel Committee to task for politicizing and weakening the Nobel accolade.
The Manes-American Peace Prize was founded by New York Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Harvey Manes to support people and organizations active in the areas of public safety, health, education, and welfare, including fighting poverty and helping under-served people rise to their fullest potential.
"I have always believed and taught my children that the purpose of life was to help those in need and to make the world a better place for future generations," explained Dr. Manes. "I once read a news article about a friend of mine who developed a charity to help educate children in third world countries. The article inspired me to create my own charity."
Dr. Manes cites Microsoft founder Bill Gates who had difficulty deciding where to donate his money, stating: "It may be harder to give my money away than make it." After careful consideration, Dr. Manes decided there is no better goal than to promote peace and good will. "Beyond a certain point, money has no further value. It can't buy happiness, but it can help others and transform lives," the Peace Prize founder said.
Since there is an Irish-American Peace Prize and an African-American Peace Prize, Dr. Manes thought, why not establish a peace prize that is specifically given to an American individual or organization that is dedicated to promoting peace and goodwill in the world?
Apparently, the concept of an American peace prize was previously considered in 1923 by Ed Box, the editor and originator of the Ladies Home Journal. However, there is no record of any individual ever winning Box's prize. "Therefore," Dr. Manes said, "I thought it would be appropriate to reestablish the concept of a peace prize given exclusively to an American."
The Nobel Peace Prize makes awards to persons of any country in the world. But it lost some of its credibility when it gave its award to known terrorist and enemy of Israel, Yassar Arafat. More recently, the prize has been described as "hopelessly politicized" by a former U.N. ambassador. It was indeed time to establish an American prize.
Dr. Manes set aside $1 million for starting the fund and has recognized many notable award winners, including:
- Central Park Conservancy
- Clark Botanic Garden
- Crime Stoppers of Suffolk County, N.Y.
- Curtis Sliwa-TheGuardian Angels
- Hope for the Future Ministries
- Jewish Museum of New York
- Shaman David Cloud
- Woodstock Film Festival
- Woodstock Museum
- NY Against Gun Violence
- Feeding America
Recent nominees include:
- President Bill Clinton-for his continuous efforts past and present to promote world peace
- Mia Farrow-for her efforts to promote peace in Darfor
- Angelia Jolie-her humanitarian efforts along with Brad Pitt and her documentary film "Peace One Day"
- Yoko Ono-for her lifetime efforts to promote world peace along with the late John Lennon who wrote "Give Peace a Chance"
- Bob Dylan- he led a generation of peace-nicks with his song "Blowing in the Wind"
A committee of three individuals choose the Peace Prize winners, who can apply directly or be nominated by a third party. Winners are also chosen by the committee without a formal application. To apply for a Peace Prize, click here.
Peace Prize Accepting Award Applications
The Manes-American Peace Prize, a $1 million fund set up by noted Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Harvey Manes of New York, is accepting applications for awards up to $50,000 to people and organizations that promote peace in the United States. Read more…
Peace Prize Gala
Our First Annual Peace Prize Gala was a huge success with many celebrities, Curtis Sliwa founder of the Guardian Angels, Suffolk Crime Stoppers, and the Real Housewives of New Jersey stopping by. Click here for more photos.


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A knee brace for osteoarthritis may help reduce pain by shifting your weight off the most damaged portion of your knee. This may improve your ability to get around and help increase the distance you can walk comfortably.
Knee braces come in a variety of designs, but most are constructed with a combination of rigid and flexible materials -- plastic, metal or other composite material for basic structure and support, and synthetic rubber or moldable foam for padding and positioning.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/knee-braces/MY00137
The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.
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The Blackhawk Museum shines the spotlight on historically significant classic automobiles, showcasing more than 90 one-of-a-kind cars from every era of driving history. Automotive archivists display jewels of internal combustion with their expansive 70,000-square-foot facility, which sprawls over two floors and four dramatically lit exhibition galleries filled with iron horses polished to a high gloss. Knowledgeable docents mill about the gleaming, custom Jaguars, Mercedes-Benzes, and Rolls Royces, ready to answer questions about engine sizes, production specs, and whether ejector seats come equipped with parachutes. The Blackhawk Museum also houses a host of rotating exhibits, including nonvehicular attractions such as Jukebox Saturday Night's nostalgia-packed collection of classic music makers. A museum store and automotive reference library complete the learning experience, filling visitors' hearts with glee, brains with knowledge, and gas-powered cats with premium conventional oil.
The spiritual healers at Adventure Quests International Counseling Service believe the soul will starve if it doesn't experience something beyond the mundane, which is why they lead spiritual adventures. Mexico, Argentina, Austria, France, Italy—these are the faraway places they explore on 8- to 12-day trips designed to reignite a passion for life. But clients don't have to travel abroad to grow spiritually. They can also try spiritual counseling. Counseling sessions help clients refocus on the most important parts of themselves, from their identities as men or women to the ways they love themselves and others.
World Wide Art, Inc. (est. 1996) is a physical brick and mortar art gallery and custom frame shop in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area. We have been in business for over 15 years and plan on being around for a long time. World Wide Art employees are collectors, artists, professional framers and truly love what they do.
Studio Seven Arts, voted Best Art Gallery of 2011 by Diablo magazine's readers, is bedecked in one-of-a-kind fine art, handcrafted jewelry, and eclectic crafts, fostering an inspiring backdrop to their custom-framing services. The staff members curate a collection of American art pieces, including locally made creations, displaying handcrafted fine jewelry and skillfully made crafts that can be both functional and decorative—much like a scarecrow in a sundress. The gallery's in-house framing artisans draw upon 25 years of experience to build custom frames for such treasures as paintings, photos, diplomas, and mirrors of any shape or size. Frames can be outfitted with wood to match any room's décor, and with a variety of glass options that can block the bleaching effects of sunlight and scribblings of pets who feel they ought to be in all the family photos.
From the spectacular and grandiose?such as far-reaching telescopes that penetrate the cosmos and bring back crystal-clear views of the stars?to the most curious minutiae?think "space toilets" like those used by astronauts on the International Space Station?Chabot Space & Science Center captures the science, mystery, and grandeur of outer space in an interactive and educational setting.
The big picture comes courtesy of the observatory's three high-powered telescopes, which grant Chabot with its domed silhouette and provide visitors a privileged view of the stars during daytime and evening viewings. Things narrow in scope once you enter the museum, where interactive exhibits zero in on the smaller curiosities of space and Earth's relationship to it. The aforementioned space toilet is a part of the Beyond Blastoff exhibit, where spacesuits, space gear, and space food paint a picture of an astronaut's day-to-day life. One Giant Leap: A Moon Odyssey gives visitors another taste of space exploration, this time by putting them behind the controls of the original Mercury space capsule, then puts them face to face with a 3.3-billion-year-old moon rock collected during the Apollo 15 mission. Weather becomes more than something to curse at for canceling the ball game or flooding a meteorologist's basement once visitors enter Bill Nye's Climate Lab. There, kids tasked with saving the Earth from storms and melting ice sheets are too busy developing top-secret energy-saving devices to realize they might be learning something.
Chabot Space & Science Center also features shows such as LaserMania, a classic-rock-fueled spectacle where light and sound?a 360-degree cocoon of cutting-edge laser lights set to music by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and U2, specifically?team up for an explosive sensory experience.
In the 1940's, the Boeing School of Aeronautics hangar at Oakland International Airport's North Field housed some of the company's brightest aeronautical engineers. Their work produced several early Boeing planes, including the Thorp T-3 and T-5, both of which are now on display thanks to the hangar's current resident, the Oakland Aviation Museum.
Most of the museum's exhibits focus on celebrating local aviation history, such as The American Legion's involvement in the Bay Area and the history of native Californian and Medal of Honor awardee General James "Jimmy" Doolittle. However, the museum's collection of aircraft features a broader mix, including a replica of the Wright Brothers' EX Vin Fiz, a TAV-8A Herrier that can take off and land vertically, and the Short Solent III flying boat that was used in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
More interactive sites include flight simulators, a kid's area, a research library, and occasional Open Cockpit Days that let visitors climb into the cockpit of a real Korean fighter jet and turn the radio up really loud. The knowledgeable staff operates the museum with the goal of both educating visitors about aviation's proud history on the West Coast and throughout the U.S., as well as to inspire visitors by linking aviation's past to the future of aeronautical invention.


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Dr. Matthew M. Hebert, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopedic Associates Of Sauk Prairie
- 80 1st St
Prairie Du Sac, WI 53578 - 1 Office Location
- (608) 643-2471
Dr. Matthew M. Hebert graduated from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in 1999. He works in Prairie Du Sac, WI and specializes in Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Hebert is affiliated with Sauk Prairie Hospital and Meriter-UnityPoint Health Hospital.
Gender: Male
Years in Practice: 16 Years
Languages Spoken: English
Medical School: University of Wisconsin Medical School
Graduation Date: 1999
Hospital Affiliations: Sauk Prairie Hospital, Meriter-UnityPoint Health Hospital
Specialties: Orthopaedic Surgery


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There is no tuition for the Mayo School of Health Sciences Occupational Therapy Internship in Rochester, Minn.
There are no other mandatory expenses.
*Program tuition rates, fees and related expenses are subject to change. These estimated expenses represent a good faith effort to disclose true costs of attendance.
You are responsible for providing your living accommodations and transportation.
You may hold outside employment during the program if it does not conflict with your program responsibilities.
Mayo School of Health Sciences does not offer financial aid for the Occupational Therapy Internship.


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5'7 ½"... Started play golf at the age of 18. When Peggy Kirk Bell turned professional in 1950, she left behind one of the most impressive amateur records ever compiled. She took the step into professionals with the thought that she did not intend to make golf her career. Rather, she wanted to play because she loved the game. Since then, Patty has been an off-and-on performer on the LPGA Tour, generally competing in the larger events and in those near her home. Family and business responsibilities have kept Peggy at home, too. She and her husband, Warren, are the parents of three children, Bonnie Kirk, born in 1954, Peggy Ann, born in 1958, and Warren Kirk, born in 1962. They also owned and operated the beautiful Pine Needles Lodge and Country Club in Southern Pines, N.C.
In 1967, Peggy played in 5 official LPGA tournaments and collected $257.00 officially, while averaging 77.81 strokes per 18 holes in 16 rounds.
Career Highlights


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Soho/Covent Garden
Belgo Centraal
London, England, WC2H 9LJ, United Kingdom
In the heart of Covent Garden, waiters dressed as monks scurry around the cavernous basement dining hall of Belgo Centraal serving pots of mussels, platters of spicy sausages with mashed potatoes, and halved spit-roasted chickens, accompanied by Belgian beers. Any one of those dishes, plus a drink, costs $13 until 5:30 p.m.; another (limited) menu, good between 5 and 6:30 p.m., lets you pay whatever the clock reads when you order.
Open / Closes- Accessible by Public Transportation
- Dinner
- Full Bar
- Late-Night Dining
- Lunch
- Private Dining/Party Space
- Private Room Available
- Reservations Required
Cuisine Type:: Belgian


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Welcome to bubben's Member Page
See my Clippings See my Journal See my trade list Send me an email
I am an avid gardener, with about 105 different hostas. Working on increasing my heucheras and pulmonarias. Interested in UNUSUAL plants. Love cimicifuga! Looking to learn about ornamental grasses. Have a pond with goldfish.
I love gardening and talking to gardeners.
I live in: Canada
My zone is: 6a S. Ontario
My favorite forum 1 is Hosta.
My favorite forum 2 is Perennials.
First registered on March 03, 2002 .


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Disaster Relief Concert
Saturday, January 26, 2013, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
For directions click the following link: God's Vision Christian Church
The Cabin 3 Youth Group of God's Vision Christian Church in Hannibal, NY is hosting "The Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Concert" with several bands performing January 26th. The concert is free with all donations collected going to the disaster relief team. Music starts at 7, doors open at 6. Silent auction and snack bar will be available. For more information call 315-564-6133.


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Taylor Swift's Twitter account was hacked on January 27th by two individuals and one claimed that they were going to leak "nude" photos of the singer. One hacker whose Twitter handle was "@veriuser" posted a tweet to Taylor's followers, saying, "Shoutout @veriuser follow him guys' Fav when done for a follow… Love you all!!!"
This same hacker then sent out another tweet that said, "go follow my boy @lizzard :)" The hacker named "lizzard" wrote to Taylor's fans that he and the singer are currently dating. He later tweeted, "Will post taylor swift's nudes when this btc wallet hits 3btc" and included a link to a Bitcoin account.
- The tweets were deleted from Taylor's page shortly after. She then addressed the hack, "I'd like to acknowledge the MVP of the day, @yelyahwilliams, for being the first to text me about the hack this morning. #FriendshipGoals. PS any hackers saying they have 'nudes'? Psssh you'd love that wouldn't you! Have fun Photoshopping cause you got NOTHING."
More info HERE


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3rd Grade Vocabulary Prep
- Publisher: Peekaboo Studios LLC
- Genre: Education
- Released: 1 Feb, 2011
- Size: 25.8 MB
- Price: $3.99
- App Store Info
The most advanced vocabulary learning tool in the App Store!3rd Grade Vocabulary Prep was designed to improve vocabulary skills in the classroom and at home:
• click to listen to a pronunciation of each word, its meaning, and a sample sentence
• study hundreds of vocabulary words at your own pace with guided step-by-step learning
• specifically appropriate content chosen at the 3rd grade level
• students can read through words and definitions as many times as they need for review
• word and definition quizzes are used to reinforce learning, ensuring that students understand each word in a section before they continue
• when they're ready, students can take the test to move on to the next level (they'll need to get at least 90% correct to advance)
> No In-App Purchase required, all content is included!
Aligned with CCSS - Common Core State Standards for 3rd Grade:
• Acquire grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words
• Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area
• Use sentence-level context as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase
• Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension
• Read on-level text with purpose and understanding
"This is a helpful app for children going to third grade - they know how to spell, this helps to know the definition. Great app."
"Excellent app! This app for third graders is awesome for teachers and students!"
Audio features:
• customize which of your students need the audio turned on, or turn it on/off for all users
• students can click each word, its meaning, and a sample sentence to listen to the audio as often as needed
• students will be able to listen to each of the available answers in tests and quizzes before selecting their choice
• students are congratulated on a job well done, or will hear the example sentence repeated as a reminder if they answer incorrectly
Additional features:
• enter as many student names as you need
• just like a set of flash cards, any word a student gets wrong on one of the practice quizzes is returned to the "back of the deck" and will be asked again to make sure the student can answer every word in that section correctly
• email a student's specific test results or a recap of their full progress
• password protected administrator section allows you to review student scores and track student improvement
• take a look at the "Most difficult words for this student" list generated by the app to learn where students can still improve
• 4-digit student pin codes can be set as an option to prevent students from logging in as the wrong user
Word list includes:
& hundreds more!
*With practice you can achieve your best score!*
We love to hear from you!
Please send any feedback or questions to firstname.lastname@example.com
Peekaboo Studios is a member of Moms with Apps, a collaborative group of family-friendly developers seeking to promote quality apps for kids and families.
Recommended Ages: 8-10
Categories: Reading, Vocabulary
What's New in Version 2.0
Thank you all SO MUCH for all your great feedback about our apps! Many of the new features in this update were suggested in emails and reviews from our amazing users.- Audio is now available for each word and definition, as well as a sample sentence for every word
- Enter as many student names as you need and track which words are most difficult for each student
- Admin section is password protected, log in to look back over several tests and see if a student is improving or still needs help after multiple attempts
- Students will now show mastery of 10 words at a time before moving on to the next "level" of vocabulary
- Email out a summary of a student's progress
- Students can create a 4-digit PIN to personalize and protect their account
- Fresh new look! We hope you like it. =)
PLEASE keep sharing your thoughts and suggestions with us, and let us know if you ever have any questions!


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Bible Verses About Psychic
Bible verses related to Psychic from the King James Version (KJV) by Relevance
Leviticus 20:6 - And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
Leviticus 19:31 - Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I [am] the LORD your God.
1 John 4:1 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 - There shall not be found among you [any one] that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, [or] that useth divination, [or] an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, (Read More...)
Matthew 7:15 - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Leviticus 20:27 - A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be] upon them.
Galatians 5:19-21 - Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (Read More...)
Deuteronomy 18:9-12 - When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. (Read More...)
Acts 19:17-19 - And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. (Read More...)
2 Chronicles 33:6 - And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
Acts 8:9-13 - But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: (Read More...)
Ezekiel 13:18 - And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the [women] that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive [that come] unto you?
Hebrews 6:4-6 - For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, (Read More...)
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 - But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. (Read More...)
Exodus 7:10-12 - And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. (Read More...)
1 Samuel 15:23 - For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
John 14:26 - But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Revelation 16:13 - And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [come] out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
Romans 12:17-21 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. (Read More...)
Revelation 21:8 - But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Romans 12:18-21 - If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. (Read More...)
Exodus 22:18 - Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Revelation 22:15 - For without [are] dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Acts 16:16-19 - And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: (Read More...)
Leviticus 19:26 - Ye shall not eat [any thing] with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
Revelation 21:11 - Having the glory of God: and her light [was] like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Revelation 16:14 - For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, [which] go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Ezekiel 13:6-7 - They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The LORD saith: and the LORD hath not sent them: and they have made [others] to hope that they would confirm the word. (Read More...)
Isaiah 8:19-20 - And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? (Read More...)
2 Kings 17:16-17 - And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, [even] two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. (Read More...)
Deuteronomy 18:12 - For all that do these things [are] an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
2 Thessalonians 2:9 - [Even him], whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2 Kings 9:22 - And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, [Is it] peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts [are so] many?
Revelation 22:14 - Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Galatians 5:21 - Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Ezekiel 13:22-23 - Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: (Read More...)
Jeremiah 29:23 - Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and [am] a witness, saith the LORD.
Galatians 5:20 - Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Romans 12:17-20 - Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. (Read More...)
Jeremiah 14:14 - Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
Hebrews 1:14 - Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
Jeremiah 8:2 - And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
Acts 8:1-40 - And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Read More...)
Some scripture references/categories courtesy of Open Bible .info under CC BY 3.0
Related Bible Dictionary Terms:
Search the King James Version (KJV) for more references about Psychic...


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Here is where we dig out the FutureMark tests.
PCMark Vantage
Version and / or Patch Used: 22.214.171.124
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Buy It Here
For overall system performance we use PCMark Vantage. This is run in both x86 and x64 mode to give the best indication of performance.
The results here are nothing too out of the ordinary really. They show you what you would expect in terms of performance scaling in this primarily CPU based test.
3DMark Vantage
Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Buy It Here
For synthetic gaming tests we used the industry standard and overlockers bragging tool 3DMark Vantage. This is a test that strives to mimic the impact modern games have on a system. Futuremark went a long way to change from the early days of graphics driven tests to a broader approach including physics, AI and more advanced graphics simulations.
3DMark Vantage uses the DX10 API in addition to having support for PhysX. As we are no longer using an NVIDIA GPU for testing (at least until we can get a GTX 4xx card) you will only see the CPU based PhysX results in the scores. For testing we use the Performance test run.
Again our results are nothing that you could not predict.
Cinebench R11.5 x64
Version and / or Patch Used: R11.5 x64
Developer Homepage: http://www.maxon.net/
Product Homepage: http://www.maxon.net
Download It Here
Cinebench is a synthetic rendering tool developed by Maxon. Maxon is the same company that developed Cinema4D, another industry leading 3D Animation application. Cinebench R11.5 tests your systems ability to render across a single and multiple CPU cores. It also tests your systems ability to process OpenGL information.
The Cinebench results are also right around what you would expect from an AMD 890 based board running a Phenom II X6 CPU, with the exception of lower scores when the HD 5870 was in the system.


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noun \ˌā-ˌme-nə-ˈrē-ə, ˌä-\Definition of AMENORRHEA
Origin of AMENORRHEA
Rhymes with AMENORRHEA
noun (Medical Dictionary)Medical Definition of AMENORRHEA
Variants of AMENORRHEA
noun (Concise Encyclopedia)Lack of menstruation. Signs of primary amenorrhea (failure to start menstruating by age 16) include infantile reproductive organs, lack of breasts and pubic hair, dwarfism, and deficient muscle development. In secondary amenorrhea (abnormal cessation of cycles once started), the genitals atrophy and pubic hair diminishes. Not itself a disease, amenorrhea reflects a failure in the balance among the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, ovaries, and uterus; tumours, injuries, or diseases of these can lead to amenorrhea. Other causes include systemic diseases, emotional shock, stress, hormone over- or underproduction, anorexia nervosa, absence of ovaries or uterus, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause. Infrequent menstruation or amenorrhea not resulting from organic disease is not harmful.
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text: smallermediumlarger 1 2 3 Next CRE Bacteria Infection(Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae) Ebola Virus Pictures Slideshow Take the MRSA Quiz! Bacterial Infections 101 Pictures Slideshow Medical Author: Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications. View Full Profile Medical Editor: Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident. View Full Profile Recent news agencies have presented short but eye-brow raising comments made by the CDC about new and "dangerous" bacteria. The bacteria go by many names in the public press; "superbug 2013," "nightmare bacteria," and "dangerous bacteria" are just some of the names. Unfortunately, most news stories have only a few minutes to explain a somewhat complicated situation involving genetics, bacterial adaptation to environmental pressures, and the impact on human populations that makes the CDC researchers and many other researchers and doctors concerned. This article is designed to present readers with some further insights into these "dangerous" bacteria. The CDC name for these bacteria is CRE bacteria; the CRE stands for Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae. First, what are dangerous CRE (Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae) bacteria? Simply stated, these bacteria are members of related bacterial genera that are commonly found almost everywhere in the world, often colonizing humans and animals (living in or on humans and animals mucosal surfaces, gastrointestinal tracts and on some areas on the skin). However, CRE possess a unique genetic makeup that allows the bacteria to make a component (an enzyme) that protect CRE bacteria from a powerful antibiotic - Carbapenem. The most notable genera that can share and even transfer this genetic trait to other members of the Enterobacteriaceae are E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Because these bacteria generate similar problems for patients (especially treatment difficulties) most investigators simply group them together and term them CRE bacteria. Similar types of components are termed KPC (Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase) and NDM (New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase). This resistance to Carbapenem is not the only reason these bacteria are considered dangerous. Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 3/12/2013 1 2 3 Next Share this Article: Facebook Twitter Email Print Article STAY INFORMED Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox!


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Ben Chapman is a denizen of the Thingiverse, and his 3D-printed knife-sharpener is both inventive and ingenious. Obviously printed plastic won't yield a sharpening element, so Chapman designed the thing to fit onto the bottom of a standard coffee mug.
Why a coffee mug? Because as it turns out, the bottom of every mug has an unglazed ring of exposed ceramic, the part of the mug that's contacting the surface it's sitting on during the glazing process. Chapman's design allows a knife blade to contact that ceramic edge at the proper angle, honing the edge with a few quick swipes:
My only suggestion for a version 2.0 would be to create some sort of handle that keeps your non-sharpening hand above the blade, towards the dull side.
In any case, if you've got a 3D printer of your own, or access to a TechShop (which is where Chapman made his), the design can be downloaded here.


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If a user accidently makes a change state of a model from Released to Work In Progress, it will increment the revision, and then leave us with no way to go back to the previous revision. I understand why you would do this, as we shouldn't be going backwards with Revisions, so I don't believe every user should have access to this functionality, but an Administrator should be able to override the Revision if they determined there was a mistake made and we need to go backwards.
For Items, I can change the state forward and then roll it back if I find that the state change was a mistake. Please add this feature to the file level revision scheme as well. We will be forced to continue using Items to control the revision of documents, because we can't take the chance of not being able to rollback an error or mistake.
Daniel Hermanson
It would also be nice to have a mechanism to be able to pick the type of revision increment when changing state. There are situations where I don't want to always revise by the Primary and need to pick Secondary or Tertiary. Currently I would have to turn off Bump Revision or set it to Bump Tertiary and change revision again once it's in Work In Progress' state to get what I want.
I would like to have this request above almost all others. it is such a huge hassle if a user accidentilly bumps a rev through state change or sync property. Especially if a file is used on several assemblies.
I agree 100% that Vault needs this functionality. We have Vault Professional yet we have no plans for implemention the Vault item master and ECO module. We have an item master that lives in our ERP system and have not currentl plans to maintain two. We need to capability to roll back revisions when a change gets rejected or cancelled. I've discussed this with some Autodesk folks and they all say implement the item master and ECO module and then you can do this. NOT ALL CUSTOMERS CAN OR ARE WILLING TO DO THIS! Vault needs to have this file centric functionality. We moved from 3rd party PDM to Vault last year and this is the sngle most feature that we as a company feel needs to be part of Vault.
John Weiss
CAD Administrator
Follett Corporation
I could not agree more. This is one of the single biggest issues my company faces as we rollout Vault from Product Development to the rest of the company. Multiple engineers have brought up this issue independently in my company. To start our ECR process we change our state from "released" to inwork" which triggers a rev bump so we can make the proposed changes to the drawing. Then we initiate an ECR within our ERP system and attach a PDF of the proposed new Rev to this ECR to communicate the change. Our Engineering Changes often have to go clear to our end customer and rejections are not uncommon. What then? I have yet to figure out a work-around here...
Aside from rejected ECR's, even adminstrators can accidentally bump a rev sometimes.
Agree 100% We're moving more into actually USING lifecycles the way they were meant to be used... but along the line certain files have benn revised in Vault incorrectly. Roll back would be awesome as long as there was good security on it... Admin function only.
Setting the revision to bump on the transition to "release" would be the proper methodology to protect against this. You would need the ECO workflow to be allowed to put a file back into "released" if it were rejected. Having to go through the workflow give accountability to the process by tracking those that make those mistakes and why they happen.
It makes more sense to me than discarding a revision, and if any downstream systems trigger off of a revision change, you wouldn't run into issues.
That brings on the issue of what to do with the versions that are numerically higher than the latest released revision, but business rules can work around this. "Any further modifications must start from the last released revision" could handle it. Or, the eco process that moves the LC back to "released" could discard later version.
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Reviewed Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Nov 27, 2012 in Food Network Community Toolbox on FoodNetwork.com
"I love this dressing. So flavorful. I've made it several times and definitely put the brown sugar in. It seems to tame the vinegar. ""


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"This is a super easy recipe. I even messed up and added the banana too early, and it turned out just fine. My bread machine wanted to let the dough rise, but there's no yeast in it, so i skipped ahead and told it to mix and bake. I let it bake for sixty mins in the bread machine. (I imagine, you could do this in a mixing bowl & oven just as ea..."


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AUSTIN, TX — As the 83rd Legislature lingers in the state capitol for a special session, lawmakers here have already crossed one item off their list: a new plan to finance improvements in Texas's water infrastructure, part of which was signed into law just last week by Gov. Rick Perry. As KUT, the local NPR affiliate, put it: "legislators are tearing rotator cuffs patting themselves on the back"—though the plan still awaits final approval from voters in November.
Nothing in an arid environment is more precious than water, and in Texas a booming population, persistent drought, and tenuous water supplies have begun to alarm not just environmentalists and other activists, but politicians and big business. Of course, that scarcity brings not just peril but opportunity. As a friend from Abilene put it to me recently: "Water is the new oil."
And so the headline question in this drama—will there be enough water for the millions of people flocking to Texas?—is really only the beginning. Just as pressing for reporters to cover are the follow-ups: Who will own the water? Will Texas see rural areas drained to benefit big cities, as happened in California as Los Angeles swelled? In a state that prides itself on rough-edged capitalism, will water be captured as a private resource for profit? Or managed as a public resource for the common good?
But the story does begin with the fact that Texas doesn't really have enough water. Austin and many of the state's other major cities experienced an unusually cloudy and wet spring, pushing the extreme drought of 2011 out of mind a bit in the urban centers, but some form of drought conditions persist across the vast majority of the state, and severe drought is hammering the Panhandle and much of South Texas. The Texas Tribune's Kate Galbraith—a leader on the Lone Star water beat— scooped everyone with a May 22 report on one manifestation of the drought: water levels continue to fall in the Ogallala Aquifer, which nourishes 16 counties in the Texas Panhandle and stretches as far north as South Dakota. After many dry years, farmers are pumping more water out of the ground to keep crops alive and leaving less for future use.
In addition to scoops like those, Galbraith has consistently provided the big picture. In early April, well before the legislature acted, she produced a wide-ranging but to-the-point analysis about the fallout from the drought, in Texas and elsewhere across the West. The piece described how water shortages have upended local economies, inspired outlandish ideas (piping water hundreds of miles, from the Missouri River to the Colorado River basin), and also to some extent reshaped the political culture, with small-government boosters now embracing regulations that favor conservation and reuse. Galbraith even casually used the two words that are generally banned from official political conversation in Texas: "climate change."
The Austin American-Statesman has also devoted a great deal of coverage to water issues, including conservation, alternative sources, and one of the most important and sensitive questions: Who owns and will own the water? The Statesman's Asher Price has persistently probed this issue, and pointed out in a May 25 story that a new financial commitment won't resolve planning hurdles and disputes about water rights both within Texas and with neighboring states and Mexico. In an earlier article, Price detailed how various interest groups, many of them based in industry, put water policy atop the legislative agenda—and how that perspective, some critics believe, led the state to emphasize new infrastructure over conservation.
Elsewhere in Texas media, National Public Radio's State Impact project has steadily covered the persistence of drought even as many other outlets have lost interest. And Pew's Stateline recently analyzed the politics behind the legislature's move: some Tea Party conservatives have pledged to derail the water plan at the ballot, where turnout this fall is likely to be very low.
So the strongest coverage of water issues here has been solid indeed. Unfortunately, too much of the coverage has settled for reporting on the basics of the official water plan and the new funding initiative.
But that's really where the story starts, not stops, and where probing should begin. As author Alex Prud'homme wrote in his 2011 book, The Ripple Effect, a global race is on to control—and profit handsomely from—supplies of clean, fresh water. Texas is no exception. Indeed, it may be at the forefront. Prud'homme, appearing in Austin in 2011, noted that Texas doesn't only face years-long droughts; because of climate change, it is confronting long-term desertification. At the same, billionaire T. Boone Pickens has sought to gain water rights in the Ogalalla—and with them the chance to profit by selling water to the highest bidding, thirsty city.


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Signature Authority Verification
Each year the academic departments are asked to provide the Office of the Registrar with signature authorizations. These signatures are for all Registrar-related forms and documents. Generally, a reminder for these will be made via e-mail in May or June of each year. Please download the Signature Authority Form, collect the signatures, and return the form to the Office of the Registrar by e-mail or Campus Mail before the beginning of the fall semester.If there are any additions or deletions to these authorization forms during the academic year, please send an updated form and notifiy the University Registrar's Administrative Assistant at 494-6133.
Signature Authority Form


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A student who fails to graduate from high school experiences a tremendous loss of income over a lifetime. According to "Grad Nation, A Guidebook to Help Communities Solve the Dropout Problem" (commissioned by America's Promise Alliance, February 2009), their estimate places this at $250,000 less than a high school graduate would make, and $1 million less than a college graduate makes.
Drop outs have a more difficult time finding a job, and a greater tendency for unemployment and chronic and cyclical unemployment. Because of significantly lower earning potential, they have a higher incidence of living in poverty than graduates. They may live in poor neighborhoods, neighborhoods with poor schools, with high crime rates, and a lower quality of housing. They may have less medical and dental care. Those who drop out may also tend to have children who have less aspiration for education, or drop out themselves. Read more.