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Catholic Randians and Prudential Judgments
Eduardo Moisés Peñalver April 16, 2011 - 2:27pm
Just to stir the pot a little... Catholic conservatives frequently distinguish between disagreeing with the Church's views on abortion/gay marriage/stem cell research and a departing from the Church's views on the death penalty/torture/war/economic justice. The idea, as then Cardinal Ratzinger laid out in his July 2004 letter on receiving communion, is that the former are intrinsically evil, whereas the evil of the latter positions depends on some degree of prudential judgment:
For example, if a Catholic were to be at odds with the Holy Father on the application of capital punishment or on the decision to wage war, he would not for that reason be considered unworthy to present himself to receive Holy Communion. While the Church exhorts civil authorities to seek peace, not war, and to exercise discretion and mercy in imposing punishment on criminals, it may still be permissible to take up arms to repel an aggressor or to have recourse to capital punishment. There may be a legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not however with regard to abortion and euthanasia.
There are lots of questions about this distinction that have been raised here and elsewhere. I don't want to get into those again in this post. My question is a different one. What are we to do when a Catholic politician seems to reject the principle underlying the prudential judgment? For example, there may be "legitimate diversity of opinion" about waging THIS particular war or applying the death penalty in THIS particular case. But what if the politician rejects the broader exhortation to "seek peace, not war"? Surely -- in the magisterium's view -- there is no room for legitimate diversity of opinion on that more general matter of principle. Similarly, while there may be a great deal of legitimate diversity of opinion concerning how best to promote the well being of the poorest, surely (on the magisterium's view of its own authority) there is no legitimate diversity of opinion concerning the mandate to structure social policy toward that end. Thus, a Catholic politician who said that he was structuring social policy precisely because government has no obligation towards the poorest, could not be said to differ from the Church on a matter of mere prudential judgment.I take it no one would disagree with the foregoing. Perhaps my next assertion will be more controversial.
I think it is fair to hold political figures to some standard of plausibility in the empirical assertions underlying their prudential judgments. And where their empirical claims are utterly lacking in empirical foundation, then it is fair to say that they are likely lying when they claim that their prudential judgments represent an effort to conform their reasoning to certain moral principles. I assume, for example, that if a Catholic pro-choice politician says that he accepts the Church's teaching on abortion but that he believes that legally prohibiting abortion will increase the abortion rate and so opposes legal prohibition for that reason, pro-life Catholics would argue that he is acting within the boundaries of a "legitimate diversity of opinion." At a minimum, I think they would require some significant empirical support to back up his claim before they would concede the good faith of his prudential judgment.On similar grounds, it seems to me that the Ryan plan -- and Ryan himself -- can plausibly be accused of simply disregarding basic principles of Catholic social thought, not just prudential judgments about how best to achieve those principles. At the most basic level, the structure of his plan -- cutting taxes for the wealthiest and for corporations while slashing benefits for the poorest and most vulnerable -- does not square with the Church's mandate to structure social policy in a way that is fundamentally focused on the well-being of the poorest, a kind of maximin principle. Still, the argument might go, this sort of restructuring of government's operations could be reconciled with Catholic principle if it were the case that massively cutting taxes for the rich and increasing the economic burdens on the poor would stimulate the economy to such a degree that the resulting prosperity would create a rising tide that would lift all boats. This was, I assume, the purpose of citing to the Heritage Foundation study predicting that the Ryan plan tax cuts would increase revenue and would produce incredibly low levels of unemployment. Now that the Heritage study has been pretty universally rejected, however, what is the case for structuring a debt reduction plan along the lines of the Ryan plan? Can the debunked supply-side logic of self-funding tax cuts and the associated trickle-down prosperity justify Catholic support for a plan with the features of the Ryan Plan as consistent with the preferential option for the poor? It seems to me that that can be the case only if we impose absolutely no burden of plausibility on the empirical assumptions underlying prudential application of those principles. [In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we should simply interpret the plan as intending to do what it does: improve the situation of the best off and then making up for that (and, in addition, reducing the debt over the long term) at the almost exclusive expense of some of the most vulnerable. And such an intent runs contrary to the principles of Catholic social teaching -- it does not reflect the prudential application of those principles.]And, frankly, as for Ryan himself, I don't see why we should give him the benefit of the doubt. As is well documented, the man is a ardent admirer or Ayn Rand. He requires his staffers to read Atlas Shrugged. And he has credited Rand with his decision to enter public service. Rand's objectivist philosophy rejects the notion that the government has any obligation to help the poorest. Rather, its purpose is to protect rights of private property and enforce market transactions in order to unleash the most creative and gifted among us.In trying to interpret Ryan's motives, we have a couple of choices. On the one hand, we can say that he's trying to help the poorest, notwithstanding any empirical evidence that his plan will do that. On the other hand, we can say that he's implementing Rand's anti-Christian objectivist philosophy, which he has credited with motivating him to enter public service. [He's either blinded to empirical reality by his ideological commitments and actually believes we make the help the poor by handing money to the rich and cutting health care for the poor, or he's intending to do what his plan straightforwardly seems designed to do -- reduce state-imposed burdens on the rich and let the poor fend for themselves.] It seems to me that, given the evidence about his admiration for Rand, the most plausible interpretation is the latter. There's no question that his plan, if implemented, would dismantle two of the pillars of the post-War welfare state (Medicare and Medicaid) while putting more money in the pockets of the wealthy. But if Ryan's purpose is to move us closer to the objectivist ideal espoused by Rand, then it seems to me that he is beyond the boundaries of legitimate prudential disagreement. He is applying principles that directly contradict those of Catholic social teaching.[I've updated the post slightly, with the substantive changes in brackets.]
Commenting Guidelines
The Tea Party's love of Rand gives a whole new meaning to La Palin's challenge to the GOP to start fighting like a girl...
@Patrick Molloy (10:17 am) I mostly agree that "If both Obama and Ryan were to disappear from the scene and if Marx and Rand had never lived we would be having the same debates over principles." There might be some variation in the exact principles, but we'd certainly still be debating.Likewise it may be true that "everything in Obamas program could be found in the academic hothouses of the American Left", I just want to observe for the record that:1 - Obama taught for several years at the University of Chicago Law School which is not generally considered one of the "academic hothouses of the American Left"; and,2 - Obama attended Columbia College which prides itself on its "core curriculum" which, at least in the 1980s, was distinguished by its heavy concentration on the Western intellectual and artistic tradition of the past 2,500 years (not by its openness to left-wing intellectual fads).
Luke Hill -I yield to no one in my admiration for the University of Chicago. I spent 4 years of graduate study there and am still benefiting from what I learned there, the finest university in the land, perhaps the world.Heres Richard Epstein, a colleague of Obama when he was at the U of C Law School. In Epsteins view Obama was almost entirely unaffected by the Chicago magic:He was actually a bad Chicago faculty member in this sense: He was an adjunct, and we always hoped hed participate in the general intellectual discourse, but he was always so busy with collateral adventures that he essentially kept to himself. The problem when you keep to yourself is you dont get to hear strong ideas articulated by people who disagree with you. So he passed through Chicago without absorbing much of the internal culture.. . . .He was always a tremendously engaging and charming individual, but hes not the kind of guy who likes to be pushed. He has a way of listening to you to make it appear as though youre the only person in the world who matters. And then when its all done, now what does he believe? Hes amazingly good at playing intellectual poker. But thats a disadvantage, because if you dont put your ideas out there to be shot down, youre never going to figure out what kind of revision you want. His mind is set in concrete. If he thought a stimulus would work in 2009, he thinks it today.http://reason.com/archives/2011/01/24/grading-barack-obamaAnd no one seems to remember Obama from Columbia.
Reality-based reaction to Obama's speech last week from Bruce Bartlett at The Fiscal Times: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Columns/2011/04/15/Obamas-Balanced-Message...
It is futile to try to solve America's problems by maintaining that Obama or the Democrats are the bad guys and Boehner or the Republicans are the good guys. It is equally futile to try to solve America's problems by maintaining that Obama or the Democrats are the good guys and Boehner or the Republicans are the bad guys. You can trash the Democrats or the Republicans all you want, but they represent the two major philosophies of government held by the American people. Those philosophies are irreconcilable, so the country will swing back and forth somewhere in the middle between them.All this finger pointing doesn't get us very far. Democrats and Republicans both must take responsibility for running up deficits, and both Democrats and Republicans must now arrive at a solution, because you can't have a one-party solution to a problem this big.
Luke and Patrick. re your posts.Who are these guys? You and the guys you quote are like the opposing fans who grumbled that Babe Ruth was out of shape. Maybe you are waiting for the GOP in 2012 to get a "He was always a tremendously engaging and charming individual' Get a chair, it will be a long wait.
Bill Mazella:In regards to your list,1. Bar all Catholics from the Holy Land. This will save countless lives.2. Strip all Catholics of weapons. Ditto.3. Get rid of all Cardinal and Episcopal apparel. This will facilitate humility.4. Get real jobs for all bishops and clergy. This will bolster the economy and health care.5. Add to this list,There appears to be an unacknowledged entity in charge of executing of said list. Who (or what) might that be, hmm?
@Luke Hill - May I suggest you replace your linked column from Bartlett with the following from The Atlantic? I find it to be much more reality-based than the kissing-up job being done by Bartlett in his piece, who seems more intent these days on sticking it those mean-old Republicans who disagree with him and proving his newly-found liberal bone fides.To attempt to characterize Obama's speech as fair and balanced is a bit too much to take. I think The Atlantic column is much more accurate:http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/obamas-speech-was-a-...
Ten years ago Rep. Ryan was concerned that federal budget surpluses were too high:Well well. And this is the point. Democrat Bill Clinton balanced the budget for several years without support from the Republicans here and elsewhere. Clearly it is a matter of politics and not of principle. Bob, The entity should be all of us. But talk is easy and cheap. Instead of Rand and Mars, we might be discussing how the popes and some fathers of the church corrupted Jesus. That would be to the point. Instead we wax Canon Law and statements of the popes which are irrelevant.
@Jeff Landry (3:04 pm) Thanks for linking Clive Crook's piece. For me, Bartlett's critique of Ryan's plan is more substantive (and more persuasive) than his support for Obama's speech (since, in terms of numbers, Obama's speech wasn't that substantive). (In terms of framing the ideological and programmatic differences, I thought Obama's speech was more successful.)
"GK Chesterton once wrote that we should never tear down a fence until we knew why it had been built. In the calamity after 2008, we rediscovered why the fences of the old social insurance state had been built."There's just something about a Jewish Republican immigrant confessing his own ideological evolution and citing G. K. Chesterton to defend the social welfare state that makes me happy to be American and Catholic.This ( http://www.frumforum.com/two-cheers-for-the-welfare-state ) is from the last in a five part series by David Frum, responding to "Beyond the Welfare State" by Yuval Levin ( http://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/beyond-the-welfare-state ).
Luke - You might be interested in this reply by Reihan Salam to Frum's pieces. I haven't seen Yuval Levin's reply as of yet.http://www.nationalreview.com/agenda/265059/david-frum-yuval-levin-reiha... course, Frum is a figure associated with so-called "Big Government Conservatism" or "Compassionate Conservatism", which of course wrought, among other things, the unfunded Medicare Prescription Drug program. I think he ignores significantly the cultural impact on a society of something like $.40 of every dollar soon to be going to caring for old people rather than "investing", either by government or via private enterprise, in the young and entrepreneurs. I find Yuval's desire to retain the essential "economic dynamsim" of the American economy convincing, and believe that is not inconsistent with maintaining welfare programs targeted mostly at the vulnerable. I have to press you a little bit. You have denied advocating a "tinker and tax" approach, or desiring to keep the current configuration of the welfare state, yet I have yet to see progressives suggesting ANYTHING close to the proposals being debated among conservatives. This seems to suggest to me that conservatives have captured the high ground in this debate, and that makes me very happy as an American, a Catholic, and a conservative.
"These measures (among other things) cut spending and benefits, raised taxes, simplified the tax code, led to budget surpluses and reduced deficits."Hi, Luke, yes, we should praise both parties when they do the right thing and criticize both parties when they do the wrong thing. You're right to point out the responsible things that Democrats (and Republicans) have done in the past. I would note that, despite that list of good efforts and intentions that you provided, many of them bipartisan, nevertheless we find ourselves in the straits we're in. I believe Standard and Poors is now warning of a credit downgrade of the United States government, because of the perceived risk of the government failing to take the necessary steps now to reduce the long-term deficit.Btw - I would like to ask you about the Affordable Care Act. I note that you consistently list it as a budget-reducing accomplishment. I am puzzled because my understanding (which admittedly is quite superficial) is that, even if one accepts the CBO's analysis of the Act's budget-reducing potential at face value, the Act's ability to reduce deficits hinges on the restoration of the Clinton tax rates, i.e. by putting an end to the tax rates enshrined by the 'Bush tax cuts'. Given that Congress, with the President's cooperation, has already failed to restore the Clinton tax rates, isn't the CBO's analysis already obsolete? When one considers further that the pressure to retain the current rates will be enormous when they are next due for sunsetting in a couple of years (absent a fundamental reform of the tax code, which I see as a necessary step for deficit reduction), I am of the opinion that it is premature, to say the least, to claim that ACA is a budget-reducer. I am not asking this as a "gotcha" question; I'd welcome clarification/explanation on this issue." Whats absent (to my knowledge) over the past generation is any deficit reduction effort undertaken by Republicans when they controlled the executive and legislative branches."Both parties have been abysmally short-sighted. Let's give the Republicans credit for doing the right thing now, no matter how late it seems. Will you now slaughter the fatted calf for them? :-)
Mary,Atlas Shrugged is not some sort of full exposition of Rand's philosophy. It's a story. And it's primary focus is on the destructive nature of state intervention in private, primarily economic, affairs. It says nothing about religion or abortion or any of the other issues raised in these posts. A free-market advocate like Ryan is not some sort of robotic acolyte of Rand because he found this story, that deals almost exclusively with that issue, influential.It is fascinating to me that so many of the posters and contributers here have full-blown obeisance to the bishops and the Vatican when it suits them, and when the bishops themselves explicitly allow that there can be differences of opinion on the means to an end, but when it comes to issues of morals and faith, well we know how that goes.
Hi, Sean,(For the record, I've not characterized Ryan as a "robotic acolyte" and I find "blind obeiscance" more difficult than "bird of paradise" as poses go, so I've quit attempting both.)Ryan's self-description is that Rand is his most significant influence, he obviously thinks AS is more than just a good story. He and plenty of Tea Partiers waving "Who is John Galt?" signs are part of a larger reemphasis on Randian Objectivism in the political sphere, which I find troubling. Would I reject his budget proposal on the basis of his Randyness? Of course not.Yup, it's a story. But stories tell us how to view the world. There are plenty of novels that feature a critique of oppressive government, but Ryan chose this one book as required reading for his staff. I find that interesting. Why not choose Huxley, Gillman, Dickens, Wells, Orwell, Atwood, Doestoevsky, Koestler, Hugo, Voltaire, Piercy, Steinbeck, etc., etc.? That he thinks so highly of Ayn Rand's view of society above all other options tells me something important about his intellect and values, even if by itself it doesn't tell me to reject his budget proposal. Cheers!
@Jim Pauwels (1:20 pm) Thanks for your question about the ACA and the Bush tax cuts. It's my understanding that the CBO's analysis of the ACA is not dependent on the Bush tax cuts---meaning that on its own terms the ACA reduces deficits over 10 and 20 year windows while expanding health coverage to 30 million currently uninsured people. I could be wrong about that. If someone else knows, please jump in.I'm not prepared to slaughter the fattened calf just yet (but I will keep feeding it). Should the Republicans cut a deal with Obama the way the Democrats did with Reagan and Bush Sr. (i.e., a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes to reduce the deficit), I will slaughter the calf for the feast. :-) (For what it's worth---and just to have it on the record, it was congressional Republicans last December who insisted on extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% as their price for advancing any other meaningful legislation, including extending unemployment benefits. The annual cost of that tax cut for the wealthiest 2% far exceeds the $38 billion in cuts to the FY 2011 budget agreed to last week. That's the kind of action that has a growing number of Democrats persuaded that Republicans don't really care much about deficits, but care much more about tax cuts---particularly tax cuts for the affluent. Rep. Ryan's proposal to use much of the savings from Medicare and Medicaid cuts to pay for tax cuts for the affluent are another example.)
@Jeff Landry (10:12 am) Thanks for the link to Reihan Salam's article. I think somewhere in these threads over the last few days I've outlined some proposals I'd support, or at least consider as part of a package to deal with the issue of long-term federal deficits: e.g., cut defense spending, return income taxes to Clinton-era levels, reform the tax code, pass cap-and-trade or a carbon tax with, say, half the money raised rebated to the citizenry and at least a quarter of it used to spur the development of renewable energy sources, implement the ACA and build on it to further control health care inflation. I do feel a bit like the boy saying "the emperor has no clothes" when it comes to Chairman Ryan's proposal.*It's a framework that hasn't yet been put into legislative language, let alone scored by the CBO or the JCT;*Its budget projections are based on analysis by the Heritage Foundation which has a track record of faulty (and partisan) analysis, and whose own analysts have already admitted to errors in their work on this proposal;*It doesn't reduce federal deficits over the next decade, and then takes several more decades to balance the federal budget (so it's not much of "deficit reduction" proposal, in the view of many);*It repeals the ACA which both reduces the federal deficit over 10 and 20 year windows, and extends health coverage to 30 million uninsured people;*It does not attempt to replace the ACA;*It is primarily a health care cost-shifting proposal (moving major expenses off the budgets for federal and state governments and onto the budgets of individuals and their families), and not a health care cost-cutting proposal;*Most of its spending cuts (which affect the poor in the short-term and the middle-class in the medium-term) are used to pay for tax cuts (which disproportionately benefit the affluent).There are several other deficit-reduction plans floating around Washington currently, almost all of which are (in my view) more serious about deficit-reduction than Chairman Ryan's proposal.All of this, and I haven't even gotten to the fact that with 8.8% unemployment the primary issue in Washington should be jobs! (Again, in my view. Though in my defense, that's what congressional Republicans said last year, and many of them campaigned on the promise that the issue of jobs would be "job #1" when the new Congress began.)I've linked to several conservative critiques of Ryan's proposal because it's my political judgment that, in the short term, the power to reduce long-term federal deficits is in the hands of the Republican party. And a large faction of the Republican party seems to have adopted a hard-line ideological stance against any tax hikes and against a governmental role to ensure some level of economic security for individual citizens in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful market. Absent a change in that position (or me being wrong---which is probably easier and more likely), I'm pessimistic about the short-term prospects for deficit reduction.If I thought congressional Republicans were willing to cut a deal on terms similar to ones you've suggested (e.g., that includes higher taxes---at least on the wealthy, and possibly for most people), then I'd be more optimistic.
Any "deal" without closing tax loopholes, simplifying the tax codes, and dealing once and for all with US corporations blatantly avoiding (yes, I know they're doing it legally - therein lies the problem) paying income taxes to the US, won't be worth the paper it was compromised on.
@Jimmy Mac (6:45 pm) and @Jeff Landry (9:59 am) Could you support:1) a deficit reduction deal that included some mix of spending cuts, tax hikes and entitlement reforms? and,2) a revenue raising package that included some mix of closing loopholes, simplifying the tax code, capping deductions and increasing tax rates?
I agree with Jimmy Mac's point: simply raising the individual rate on high earners or even creating a new "millionaire's bracket" is unlikely to squeeze out enough revenue to close the gap. And that should be the focus: raising revenue. This is a point the Republicans have hammered, again ignored by some who rather paint them as cold greedy and uncaring. The tax code is literally bleeding revenue, so we need to ask what reform is most effective at raising revenue, and I think closing loopholes, simplifying the Code and capping deductions (all Republican initiatives) is likely to be more effective than hiking rates (alone). Shifting some of the burden to consumption rather than income might also be worth considering.Of course if the goal is something other than or in addition to raising revenue ("stick it to the rich"), then hiking rates might be acceptable.
"Im not prepared to slaughter the fattened calf just yet (but I will keep feeding it). Should the Republicans cut a deal with Obama the way the Democrats did with Reagan and Bush Sr. (i.e., a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes to reduce the deficit), I will slaughter the calf for the feast. :-)"Me too. I can't help thinking that we may be in a moment here where the solution is within our grasp.From a political-calculation POV, and supposing that the party configurations of White House and Congress don't change significantly in the wake of the '12 election, I wonder if it is more likely that bipartisan deal would be reached post-election? Probably not. Politically, it seems there is never a good time to raise taxes.
"I do feel a bit like the boy saying the emperor has no clothes when it comes to Chairman Ryans proposal."Jeff --I'm sure, given your constituency, that has taken courage. I voted for Rep. Cao last go-round, the only Republican I've ever voted for save one, because of his integrity. You seem to be walking in his path. God bless you.
There seems to be some implication that I am an elected Congressman. That is not the case, although I do share the name with a Republican Congressman from Louisiana.
Oops -- Sorry, Jeff. Grant addressed you as "Rep.", so I assumed you were the Congressman from Lafayette.But good for you anyway for breaking ranks with those who seem incapable of change or compromise. it's the lock=step thinking on both sides that will be the death of this nation.
Luke @10:28. Reservedly - yes.The devil is always in the details. "Entitlement reforms" is open-ended and needs a lot of definition. One person's entitlements in quotes is another person's absolute necessities in order to survive.
I think that was an attempt at humor on his part.
This may be off topic (if so, apologies) but here's a new-to-me angle on the current discussion about deficits and debt reduction by Matt Miller in the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-shining--national-debt-editio... points that jumped out at me from Miller's column:*the inconsistency with which House Republicans are threatening to vote against raising the federal debt ceiling while at the same time voting almost unanimously to add $6 trillion to the federal debt in the coming decade (per Chairman Ryan's budget plan);*his assertion that "it must be noted that the Congressional Progressive Caucus plan wins the fiscal responsibility derby thus far; it reaches balance by 2021 largely through assorted tax hikes and defense cuts)." (Granted, as Miller also notes, the CPC plan is not the mainstream Democratic proposal.)
More food for thought re: taxes:http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/265263/make-rich-pay-victor-davis...
A couple other things I've just run across.First is a back and forth over on the Mirror of Justice by Rick Garnett on this very post. I think it is very enlightening.http://mirrorofjustice.blogs.com/mirrorofjustice/The second thing, and I know it is a minor point, but Mr. Penalver states a couple times that Ryan "requires" his staff to read Atlas Shrugged. That is apparently NOT the case. Again, minor, but since its been repeated a couple times in a couple places, I thought it worth bringing to attention.http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/04/20/reports-on-rya...
ff Landry (10:12 am) Thanks for posting this. I see Mr. Hanson makes the common mistake of focusing almost exclusively on federal income tax. As a result, the unaware reader might go away thinking that nearly half of all Americans don't pay taxes, or that the wealthiest 5% pay 60% of taxes. Of course neither is true.By focusing solely on federal income taxes, Mr. Hanson ignores the impact of state and local income taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, sales taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes. When one includes all those with federal income tax to calculate total tax burdens, it turns out that the percentage of income paid in taxes is relatively flat across the entire income spectrum in the US today; and thus that the poor and middle-class bear a heavier tax burden (since we all have basic expenses for food, clothing shelter, and the other necessities of life), relatively speaking, than the fabulously wealthy and the merely affluent.Of course, one can still argue, as the House Republicans effectively have with their budget plan, that the best use of federal government money saved by cutting Medicaid and ending Medicare as we know it is to cut taxes even more for the wealthy and the affluent. It's just (in my view) best to be clear that is in fact what is being proposed.
I'm not sure he is ignoring that fact so much as responding to one particular argument: income taxes. I would imagine he's sophisticated enough to realize that people pay other taxes besides federal income taxes, but he is only responding to one argument: federal income taxes.
@Jeff Landry (11:49 am) Well, he may be. If so, I think he's responding to an argument few, if any, liberals, moderates or true deficit hawks are making. Most liberals, moderates and true deficit hawks that I'm aware of look at overall tax burden, not at federal income tax alone, when thinking about tax policy.The flip side to Hanson's argument (the wealthy and affluent bear too much of the federal income tax burden; the poorer half of Americans bear too little) is that, since total tax burden (as percentage of income) is relatively flat across the entire income spectrum, then the poor and middle-class bear too much of the burden of state and local income taxes, property taxes, excise taxes, sales taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes. That's accurate, but I fail to see how it advances Hanson's argument.
@Luke HillI just read this post by Ross Douthat. Its as good a summary of my view as any.http://douthat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/taxes-republicans-and-compro...
@Jeff Landry (4:19 pm) Thanks Jeff, I appreciate the candor (Douthat's and yours).Here's why I find "I suppose we'll find out" a somewhat disappointing conclusion from Douthat at this time:1 - he still claims "neither the president nor his party has showed any signs of being willing to match the Ryan budgets honesty about the scope of whats required". But:***Calling the Ryan budget honest when it's widely conceded (by Douthat and many conservative commentators) to be based on faulty numbers from the Heritage Foundation is---how to put this gently?---problematic. (The memory of W. Bush's faulty numbers used to pass the 2001 tax cuts and budget add to liberal and moderate skepticism about Ryan's intentions.)***The actions (not words) of the Democratic Party over the past 30 years demonstrate that it has consistently been willing to deal with the nation's fiscal problems: the 1983 Greenspan Commission Social Security reform, the 1986 Bradley-Gephardt tax code reform, the 1991 Bush-Mitchell budget deal, the 1993 Clinton budget, the mid-1990s Clinton-Gingrich budgets, the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The Democrats twice acted (at subsequent electoral cost) unilaterally, and several times participated in bipartisan solutions to problems. ***By contrast, the actions (not words) of the Republican Party over the past 30 years have demonstrated little concern about deficit spending: 80% of the Reagan and Bush Sr. deficits were initiated by/included in the presidents' budget plans; when Republicans held the balance of power in the 2000s they acted repeatedly (2001 & 2003 tax cuts, Medicare Part D, Iraq & Afghanistan wars) to turn record budget surpluses (inherited from Clinton) into record budget deficits. (Note: Rep. Ryan's been in the House since 1999, and he voted for all of Pres. Bush's major deficit-increasing measures, and voted against the (deficit-reducing) ACA.***If by "the scope of what's required" Douthat means balancing the budget, Obama's sketchy plan does so in roughly the same time frame as Ryan's sketchy plan, while the Congressional Progressive Caucus has a more substantial plan that, according to some reports, does a better job than either when it comes to deficit reduction. I apologize for going on in such length in response to Douthat's statement about "honesty", but statements like that---from conservatives who recognize at least some of the major flaws in Ryan's plan---add to liberal and moderate suspicions about conservative intentions on this issue.2 - It ignores the partisan record on health care reform: Republicans passed Medicare Part D without regard to its budgetary impact; Democrats passed the ACA in a version that reduces the deficit in both 10 and 20 year windows. In his criticism of Obama's Medicare proposals, Douthat glosses over the reforms included in last year's ACA, which passed despite unanimous Republican opposition. Douthat also ignores the longer history of conservative opposition to Medicare and Social Security, and that conservatives have made repeated attempts to end (not merely reform) both.3 - Douthat make no mention of Republican negotiating strategy during the Obama administration. Senate Majority Leader McConnell very skillfully united his caucus against any compromise on health care and energy legislation (as well as many smaller bills). In each case (Snowe on health care, Graham on energy) there was a Republican Senator who engaged in months of closed-door negotiations only to end up opposing any legislation. The results: What had been the mainstream market-based conservative alternative (exchanges with individual mandate) for health care reform a few years earlier received not a single Republican vote. What had been the mainstream market-based conservative alternative (cap and trade) for energy reform never even got to the Senate floor. (Oh yes, and partly as a result, Republicans retook the House and gained seats in the Senate. Excellent electoral strategy, questionable (at best) governing strategy.)Given that history, Democrats are (perhaps understandably) leery of what the "Gang of Six" will produce, and whether Republicans will support it should it come to a vote.4 - his reliance on peripheral arguments (e.g., "he imagine(s)" that the Gang of Six will produce a proposal that calls for revenue increases, he refers to Simpson-Bowles without noting Ryan refused to vote for it, he brings Social Security back into the picture when we all know i's not contributing to our current deficits, has only minor projected shortfalls starting 30 years from now, and the Greenspan benefit cuts are still being phased in), he criticizes Obama's position on Medicare without giving any credit for the ACA's deficit-reducing measures), while glossing over the heart of the objections to Ryan's plan: the numbers don't add up, and the spending cuts hit the poor (immediately) and middle-class (in a few years) while the tax cuts primarily benefit the rich and affluent, and it doesn't balance the budget (ostensibly its primary goal) for decades. (An aside: the record of the 2000s argues against Ryan's approach to deficit reduction and to economic growth, a fact neither Ryan nor Douthat reckons with.)Given all this, I find myself thinking of Paul Ryan as the Prodigal Son. He took his share of the family inheritance (the budget surpluses bequeathed to W. Bush by Clinton), and squandered it on wild living (tax cuts that disproportionately benefited the wealthy, growing income and wealth inequality, declining median wages) in far-off lands (2 badly-run wars, 1 (Iraq) unnecessary).After many years he realized the error of his ways and decided to return home to the true path of fiscal responsibility. While he was still a long ways off, his father rushed up to him...at which point the Prodigal demanded his brother's share of the inheritance too. (In this twist on the parable--- great deal for the Prodigal, not so great for everyone else.)I, and I think many liberals and moderates, would feel more kindly disposed toward Ryan's (now the House Republicans') plan and more trusting of his intentions if he had presented it by:*acknowledging his own (in particular) and the Republican (in general) responsibility for rolling up huge deficits when in power over the past decade (and generation);*acknowledging the Democratic record (in particular the ACA and the 1993 budget) of fiscal responsibility over the past generation;*acknowledging that the record of bipartisan fiscal responsibility over the past generation shows the need for a combination of tax hikes, spending cuts and reforms to take action whenever there is (as now) a divided government;*basing his numbers on the work of a respected, nonpartisan team of analysts (as opposed to Heritage);*offering specific proposals for raising taxes and cutting tax expenditures in ways that would fall primarily on the wealthy and affluent---if Democrats will agree to spending cuts and program reforms as part of a larger deal;*proposing (this is a bonus point) that the debt ceiling immediately be raised by the amount necessary to accommodate his plan as a sign of how serious today's Republican party is about protecting the nation's fiscal health.Having said all that, I hope Douthat's most optimistic hopes about the congressional Republicans' willingness to cut a deal come true. I think it would be better for the nation if they do.
@Luke Hill - I offered Douthat's opinion as a kind of "wrapping" up my argument. I havent' digested your rather long response, but I can say that I've come away with the conclusion that you're confirming what I like about Douthat's view: we're looking at the same reality through different lens. But honestly I cannot take seriously an opinion that simply lays ALL the blame on the GOP or Ryan personally (a man who by all accounts is a serious wonk, something I'll take any day ove some hack politcian), or accuses them of "not being serious" about the deficit, or using the deficit as a means of attacking the poor. I fear comments like these undo a lot of goodwill built up in this conversation, but I'm also tired of the dogged partisanship I've encountered here (not primarily from you), so my patience for such simplistic black/white positions is worn down. I still say that Ryan, although impefectly, as put forward the most detailed plan yet, and taken on significant political risk in doing so. I have trid to acknowledge certain problems with Ryan's plan. I have not seen such concessions from any liberals writing on this issue about their OWN plans. The President and his (your?) party have not come close to providing the American people with a forthwright plan for addressing these issues except raising taxes on the "rich" and insituting a board of experts to cut "waste, fraud, and abuse". I think the President has failed to lead on this, as with so many other, issues. I see a laundry list of things you ask of Ryan; I would take it with more credibility if you offered up some of your own party's failings. Again, I think I'm just worn down by the Democrats Good/GOP bad; Obama good/Ryan bad dichotomy that has governed this "discussion". Perhaps after a break for the Triduum I can respond with more substance.
@Jeff Landry (11:17 pm) I fear I've said too much. A blessed Triduum to you and yours!
Thanks for the history lesson, Luke. Without even mentioning the New Deal, your history shows who it is that the GOP has historically protected -- the very affluent and rich. Such protection wouldn't be so bad, except the cost for it has been the quality of life for middle and lower income citizens.And thank you, Jeff, for some serious dialogue.Happy Easter to all :-)
Ann, if I changed your sentence above to read:"Without even mentioning Roe v. Wade, your history shows that the Democrats have historically failed to protect innocent unborn human life."Wouldn't you object to my making an unfair generalization that frustrated dialogue and understanding? Methinks you would. May I suggest that your sentence above is an equally unfair generalization?"Grant that I may not so much seek to be understood, as to understand".
Jeff --Generalizations about the past are quite different from generalizations about the present and prophecies about the future, and that's true of the generalizations about both Democrats and Republicans. So, no, I wouldn't object to your change in my sentence. I happen to think it's true and for the same reason that my original sentence is true.The past is settled (though our interpretations of it might not be), so it is possible to make confident generalizations about the past when the evidence is obvious and apparently complete and the historians are in compos mentis. Judgements about what is likely to be the case at present and in the future are another matter. The present and future are not settled, so it is impossible to generalize accurately, though some more or less probable statements can be made.Do consider the old saying -- those who are unwilling to learn from history are bound to repeat it.
About the Author
Eduardo Moisés Peñalver is the Allan R. Tessler Dean of the Cornell Law School. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the subjects of property and land use law.


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Jersey Shore
How to Dress Like Pauly D: Anatomy of a Costume
Newsflash: Halloween isn't just about you and your excuse-to-look-slutty costume. Whether he'll admit it or not, your husband/boyfriend/man-candy also wants to get in a costume to let his inhibitions out. So what better way to give you both what you want than to spend Halloween as a pair of Jersey Shore guidos? Obviously, you already have your Snooki essentials picked out, so all that's left is helping your man get his GTL on. Gel is a no-brainer, as is the requisite tan, and when it comes to laundry, he couldn't do better than an Ed Hardy printed t-shirt. Spray on a few puffs of Axe cologne and, BAM, instant Pauly D.
Anatomy of a Costume: Pauly D by pbcrook-wetpaint featuring a silver necklace
$55 - solestruck.com
High top sneakers »
$100 - endless.com
Silver necklace »
$92 - buckle.com
120 GBP - farfetch.com
$33 - nordstrom.com
$20 - yesstyle.com

subset: commoncrawl


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Microchip aims to 'elbow out' MCU rivals
Posted: 17 Apr 2009 Print Version
Keywords:touchscreen MCU market 32bit MCU microcontroller[Summary of tips] Having failed to acquire Atmel Corp., Microchip Technology Inc. is now embarking on a slightly different course: The microcontroller and analogue specialist hopes to expand or "elbow out" its product lines—and its rivals—amid a growing crisis in the MCU and overall IC supply chain.As part of the effort, Microchip ha......
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800 University WaySpartanburg, SC 293031-864-503-5000
Ryan CornfieldTeam: Men's Golf
Lexi Shubert - 44Team: Softball
Rise of the Spartans!January 20 - 24, 2015
Happy Homecoming, Spartans! This year we're celebrating the Rise of the Spartans! Join us for several fun events and watch the Spartans take on the Stetson Hatters on Saturday, January 24 at 2 p.m. in the Hodge. Can't make the game? Be sure to follow the game on Twitter by following @UPSTMBB.
Upstate Homecoming 2015 Events
For additional information regarding student events, please contact the Office of Student Life at 864-503-5122. Inquiries regarding alumni events can be directed to the Office of Alumni Relations at 864-503-5240.
Contact Us
LaDarius ThompsonAssistant Director for Campus ProgramsPhone: 864-503-5509
Charlianne Wyatt NestlenDirector of Alumni RelationsPhone: 864-503-5240
Resources2015 Homecoming Guide
FormsYell Like Hell RegistrationVariety Show Registration
USC Upstate800 University WaySpartanburg, SC 29303Faculty/Staff Directory
The University of South Carolina Upstate is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of USC Upstate. Comments or Complaints?


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Fun and music are just some of the enjoyment to be experienced in the Men's Garden Club if Villa Park Garden Walk, July 20 from 10 am to 4 pm.
Addison is well represented in this year's Men's Garden Club of Villa Park with the garden of Guido Palermo. A gardener of many years, Guido says he has gardened all his life and that practice makes perfect. His garden features a suburban fruit orchard, impressive vegetable garden, a grape arbor and a wonderful array of perennials and annuals.
Linda Smith of Bensenville has a "Certified Wildlife Habitat" that uses mirrors and antique windows and doors to give you a new view of her colorful landscape. On the day of the walk she will feature a mother-daughter musical duo that will add even more texture to her garden landscape.
With members from many communities, the Men's Garden Club of Villa Park includes two special gardens from Lombard this year. The first of Erica Whalen includes colorful annuals and unusual perennials including vines. She even has a green house where she propagated vegetables. Kathy Ward opens her garden as well this year where visitors can explore her fairy garden, enjoy her succulent bed and discover an elevated pond.
An international garden setting is what you will find in the garden of Larry Bellamy of Oak Brook. Gardens in the Japanese style, an Italian garden and even a French Bistro café garden are among the themes that can be found. You can enjoy this garden set to the music of a strolling violinist. Larry was recently featured in the May/June 2014 issue of Better Homes and Gardens - Patio edition. Also in Oak Brook is the garden of June Massarella. This garden features lovely brick pavers and great ground covers and shade plants. Another patio oasis done well!
Elmhurst and Villa Park round out the Garden Walk with the home of JoEllyn Romano of Elmhurst, a Monarch Waystation. Featuring many butterfly loving plants in containers, on fences and decorating a playhouse this whimsical garden features herbs and colorful flowers. In Villa Park we have the garden of Anne Evans whose butterfly bench and polka dot flower pots make for an inviting stroll past a waterfall and pond. Also in Villa Park is the garden of Bob Wendorf (featured in this month's issue of Chicagoland Gardening) featuring antiques and sculptures as well as an amazing array of plant colors and textures.
As you can see there are a diversity of gardens to enjoy, each with its own personality and style. The event is free (although we do accept donations) for anyone to participate and offers people a relaxing day of touring the passion these homeowners bring to their gardens. Please visit our website www.homegardening.org for more information on participating gardens and to download a program. You can also pick up a program and map at Pioneer Feed and Garden 118 South Villa Ave., Villa Park, where you can also get the current issue of Chicagoland Gardening.Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune


text: On 07/30/2012 02:35 PM, Joe Armstrong wrote: > What is a literal string in Erlang? Originally it was a list of > integers, each integer > being a single character code - this made strings very easy to work with > > The code > > test() -> "a∞b". > > Compiles to code which returns the list > of integers [97,226,136,158,98]. > > This is very inconvenient. I had expected it to return > [97, 8734, 98]. The length of the list should be 3 not 5 > since it contains three unicode characters not five. > > Is this a bug or a horrible misfeature? You saved your source file as UTF-8, so between the two double-quotes, the source file contains exactly those bytes. But the Erlang compiler assumes your source code is Latin-1, so it thinks that you wrote a Latin-1 string of 5 characters (some of which are non-printing). There's as yet no support for telling the compiler that the input is anything else than Latin-1, so you can't save your source files as UTF-8. (One thing you can do is put the UTF-8 strings in another file and read them at runtime.) > test() -> <<"a∞b"/utf8>> seems to be a bug Try <<"åäö"/utf8>>. It works, but like your first example, the source string is limited to Latin-1. Strings entered in the shell may be interpreted differently though, depending on your locale settings. /Richard


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The murder suspect in the case of missing nursing student Holly Bobo -- cousin of country singer Whitney Duncan -- pleaded not guilty in a brief arraignment hearing Tuesday afternoon (March 11).
The murder suspect in the case of missing nursing student Holly Bobo -- cousin of country singer Whitney Duncan -- pleaded not guilty in a brief arraignment hearing Tuesday afternoon (March 11).
Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson couldn't be more different. One is known for sleeveless T-shirts and dedication to fitness, while the other is an everyman's hero, known for a set of kind blue eyes and a great mustache. Who is better looking? Fans will have to decide that during this intriguing Round 1 battle.
Dancing while singing takes skill. Dancing while singing acapella, however -- that takes true talent!
Season 16 'Dancing With the Stars' champion Kellie Pickler returned to the dance floor on Saturday (March 8), but this time, she used her voice -- not her feet -- to captivate the crowd.
The two men in this Taste of Country March Man-Ness pairing have been battling for chart space for decades, but this week, their fans will have to decide who is sexier. Garth Brooks and Billy Ray Cyrus -- the two men you think of first when it comes to '90s country -- make up this pairing in the Legends bracket.
Hunter Hayes is only 22 years old, but he's an old pro when it comes to making music.
Country and pop fans can count their lucky stars! OneRepublic teamed up with country singer Dierks Bentley for a rousing rendition of 'Counting Stars' for 'CMT Crossroads.'
The two men in this March Man-Ness battle come from very different backgrounds, but both have had to overcome tragedy to get to this point in their long, successful careers. Resumes aren't what's important during this bracket-style competition, however. In ToC's March Man-Ness, it's all about the sexy.
Taylor Swift is music's biggest money maker!
Sara Evans' invited Vince Gill to sing on a song called 'Better Off,' a ballad from her' new 'Slow Me Down' album. The cut finds Evans in her wheelhouse. "'Better Off' is a stone-cold country song," she says in this behind-the-song video exclusive to Taste of Country.


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DERBY–The staff at IROC is getting ready for Saturday's 5th Annual Kingdom Triathlon and Seymour Swim.
"We are expecting around one-hundred and fifty people this year," said Sue Engel.
The event draws people from all over the United States and internationally as well.
Staff members spent Thursday gathering materials in preparation for Friday's jaunt around the NEK to set up for the event.
There will be an early registration and sign in at IROC Friday from 1:00-7:00 PM and the "Crazy Nuts Dinner" that evening from 6:00-9:00 PM at the Eastside Restaurant.
Archer–– Alan passed away suddenly on Saturday, July 28, 2012, at the age of 67. Resting at the Cass Funeral Home, 545 Dufferin, Stanstead, on Thursday, August 2, 2012, where friends may visit from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m., and also on Friday, from 9-10 a.m., followed by a celebration of his life in the chapel with Rev. Doreen Moffat officiating. Interment will take place in Marlington Cemetery. As a tribute to his memory, donations made to C.A.B. Rediker, 112 Principale, Stanstead, QC. JOB 3E5, would be greatly appreciated by the family.
Mosher–– Elizabeth (Betty) Frances, 93, of Newport, VT, passed away July 27, 2012 in Newport, VT. A graveside service will be held on Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 11 a.m. at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Newport, VT, with the Rev. Tim Wilcox officiating. Should friends desire, contributions in her memory may be made to: Children's Literacy Foundation at clifonline.org. On-line condolences may be sent to the family through the funeral home website at www.curtis-britch.com.
NEWPORT - In a ceremony lacking frills or attention, Newport City made a quiet transition Wednesday as Seth DiSanto was sworn in as the new Chief of Police.
The event occurred in the city council chambers with Newport City Clerk and Treasurer James Johnson doing the honors.
DiSanto replaces Paul Duquette who served as chief for 15 years.
NEWPORT CITY – After being vacant for several months, the former Landing Clothing store on Main Street will have a tenant.
Building owner Tony Pomerleau said yesterday that Mill River Furniture will move into the downtown location from the Waterfront Plaza, which Pomerleau also owns.
Pomerleau has owned the downtown location for less than a year.
NEWPORT - New blooms of Cyanobacteria (known as "blue-green algae") were spotted on the Canadian side of Lake Memphremagog several times recently. The blooms covered a large area and were spotted in several locations.
Memphremagog Conservation Inc. photos from July show a thick, scum-like, bright greenish-blue substance on the water.
Cyanobacteria blooms are of serious concern because they could be toxic and harm humans or animals who bath or swim in the water or who drink it. Cyanobacteria is found worldwide and is most prevalent in clam-nutrient rich waters. (World Health Organization)
It was the first word that came to my mind when I entered Deslandes Blue Wave Tae Kwon Do Academy studio.
Master Christina Deslandes was working with a student when I arrived, and there was no fooling around.
The youngster was focused, going through his workout with a business-like attitude rarely seen in a child of his age.
But at Blue Wave that is the norm, not the exception.
Students at the Academy learn the five tenets, courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self control and indomitable spirit.
TROY - The family of Shawn Chaput is working to create public awareness to suicide. The family lost a beloved family member, Shawn, when he took his own life March 2.
Members of the Chaput family are talking about a subject that is typically taboo or carries a stigma. Often friends and relatives suffer the painful fallout from the suicide of a loved one in silence.
BRIGHTON - It's been a long, exciting journey for musical rocker Jimmy Thurston. The well-known artist returns to one of his favorite venues Friday night as part of the Island Pond summer series.
For Thurston, it's a homecoming of sorts as he has played the area circuit for over five decades. He said, "I love it up here. The people are hardworking and honest. They work hard and play hard and I've made a lot of friends there over the years."


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9 Days, 3000 Miles, Searching for Dirt and Mountains in New Mexico and Texas
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Drunken Squirrel
Joined: Mar 2009
Location: DFW Area, TX
Oddometer: 2,774
I make my way south in a very roundabout way to Big Bend.
Texas is vast, Texas is rugged, Texas is beautiful. I continue to be amazed by my state even after traveling through it for many years.
This train was spectacularly long and amazingly vibrant in the morning sunlight. I did my best to capture part of it.
Now the fun really begins. This road must be one of my favorites of the trip (Ranch Road 2810 from Marfa to the border). It starts as a fast sweeping slab in the middle of nowhere and transitions to dirt (dirt like dont take your family car down here) and ends at the Rio Grande River. The lady at the pizzeria I ate at last night said this road and the next dirt road I was going to take today were in poor shape years ago. They have obviously done some work because it was well marked and awesome fun!
The beginning, I felt very alone out here (I like it).
Another one for Ms. Peach!!! This is probably the safest place ever for the full gear, double solid yellow, bike in the road, cross-legged, self-timer pose lol.
By the way, looking at this picture reminds me how absolutely awesome the weather was, couldnt ask for anything more!
More of the road, I approach the mountainous region where it will soon turn to dirt.
Ahh . A wonder sight indeed!!
Gratuitous cactus shot!
This is my favorite section of the whole trip, the dirt section of this road near the border. It is quite doable solo with a big bike and you can make it interesting on a small bike because you might run out of fuel and the loose soil seems ideal for kicking the rear end out. I met a couple local guys part of the way who were enjoying a morning brew. They were worried about my fuel range and warned me not to go north when I hit the border since there are no services at the border or north of the intersection. I had taken precautions to fuel up to the brim before leaving Marfa so I should be OK.
Stopped to take a pic of the terrain, the road is nice and wide. Its looser and steeper than it looks blah blah blah lol.
This is very close to the border, the road turns into a perfectly graded gravel road that is SUPER fast. At some points I was in 4
gear doing 60+ mph seeming to float over the terrain. I have never felt anything like this before and the road was so smooth (for gravel) it let me explore my skill and limits as a solo rider.
Holy crap!!! It is a water crossing!!!! This is one of the biggest of the trip Hey it is the summer in the desert, what are you going to do?
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Creative Loafing Atlanta
Le Castle Vania's Warped homecoming
Creative Loafing Atlanta
From 2007 through 2012, Le Castle Vania's Fuck Yesss indie electronica dance parties sold out the Drunken Unicorn, eventually moving to the more spacious Masquerade. After five years, the local favorite, born Dylan Eiland, was lured to deadmau5's ...
Your EDM
Le Castle Vania + Addison - I Want You / What We Do [Free Download]
Your EDM
Two of the dopest dudes in Los Angeles music just collaborated on a mini-EP and it's absolute electro bliss. Le Castle Vania is no stranger to high-energy productions, having released his Feels Like Fire EP last year and touring with Feed Me.
IGN France
Test : Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2
IGN France
Lorsque le développeur MercurySteam a commencé à confectionner sa série Lords of Shadow, les fans hardcore de Castlevania ont pour la plupart rué dans les brancards et hurlé. Après tout, le studio était déterminé à faire son propre truc, à tisser sa ...
LessThan3 (blog)
Mord Fustang Machinima Recap & Mixtape
LessThan3 (blog)
Remember that livestream with Machinima and Mord Fustang we did a couple of months ago on Twitch where we discussed his new album 9999 In 1, deconstructed a track with him, then Mord played Halo with Le Castle Vania and Cole Plante? We finally ...
EDM Invades Vans Warped Tour with M4SONIC, Le Castle Vania, and Black Boots
Your EDM
The tour includes an interesting selection of artists from the electronic dance music realm such as Australian launchpad menace M4SONIC, Atlanta's expert talent Le Castle Vania, Las Vegas feet-moving duo Black Boots, Headtron music crew's finest ChrisB ...
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Taking on a play about the Holocaust is no easy task, so The Theatre School of Tunbridge Wells in Kent is to be commended for its artistic endeavour in tackling Joshua Sobol's controversial drama.
Dave Florez's poignant monologue about lost love and Alzheimer's is given a transfixing performance by Joanna Bending in this mind-blowing new play, pacily directed by five-time Fringe First winner Hannah Eidinow.
Joshua Seigal has been writing poetry for children and doing workshops and performances in primary schools for six months, and he radiates fun in his debut show.
A delightfully off-kilter Hamlet takes centre-stage in this superb, absurdist, psychosexual comedy by the Tel Aviv-based theatre company The Elephant and the Mouse.
Iftach Ophir is agreeably manipulable as a diffident playwright whose debut work is bashed and trashed by Erez Driguez's mock-grandiloquent, all-devouring artistic director in a pacy performance that fizzes with originality.
The promoter of a controversial Edinburgh Fringe show about Palestinians says that he has received death threats from angry supporters of Israel.
I ♥ Hamas – and other things I'm afraid to tell you, is a satirical stand-up performance by American actress, writer and comedian Jennifer Jajeh.
I am enthusiastically ushered onto the "Javelin Train" at St Pancras and I'm not even asked for a ticket. I marvel at the friendliness and efficiency of this part of the Olympic journey. A mere five minutes in a tunnel and I'm cast out into the dazzling Olympic light, heading for the bright Olympic Park, shining in the distance like an Olympic Disneyland.
Local Labour MPs Louise Ellman and Luciana Berger were star attractions at Sunday's Liverpool Limmud at the new King David campus.
The 400-plus turnout had the choice of more than 40 adult sessions and a further 15 for young people.
Mrs Ellman discussed making Israel's case in Parliament, Ms Berger spoke about her experiences as a young, female, Jewish MP.
Israel's Leonid Goldin was awarded one of three Fiap (Federation International de l'Art Photographique) ribbons in the Edinburgh Photographic Society's 149th international exhibition of photography for his photograph "Mushrooms-1".
I went into this show with such high hopes.
Dan Antopolski won the Dave trophy for the funniest joke of the Fringe two years ago and he's clearly talented, with great comic presence and seemingly few boundaries when in pursuit of an audience reaction. Sadly, my hopes were quickly shattered as those things weren't on display in this show.


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It had been more than three weeks since "Hells Bells" played over the audio system at Miller Park.
That's how rough things had been going for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Watching the game turn in a flash in the bottom of the eighth inning on Jason Kendall's double and a couple of Minnesota errors, the Brewers used one of the toughest saves of Trevor Hoffman's season to finally beat the Twins, 4-3, Wednesday night.
"Much like they capitalized on our mistakes yesterday, we capitalized on their mistakes tonight," said Brewers manager Ken Macha, much more pleased with his club's intensity level after a sloppy defeat the previous evening.
After dominating the Brewers by a combined score of 30-11 in winning the first four games of the interleague competition, the Twins were in position to triumph again with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, two outs and nobody on base. J.J. Hardy kept the inning alive with a single off Minnesota starter Nick Blackburn, bringing Kendall to the plate.
With a .268 slugging percentage entering the game, Kendall is not known as a long-ball threat. But the veteran catcher drove a 1-0 fastball from Blackburn high off the wall in left-center, barely missing a home run.
"I don't hit home runs," said Kendall. "I figured it was just a gapper."
As Hardy chugged around from first, Twins shortstop Brendan Harris threw wildly to the plate, up the first-base line and past catcher Joe Mauer. Kendall broke for third when he saw the ball go through and Blackburn, backing up the play, tried to throw him out.
Blackburn's throw sailed over third baseman Joe Crede, however, allowing Kendall to score what proved to be the decisive run.
"You make your own breaks," said Macha. "If you're satisfied with a double and standing on second base, they don't have to make that throw."
The Brewers weren't in the victory column yet, however. Pitching with a save opportunity for the first time at home since May 31, Hoffman struck out Carlos Gomez and Harris for two quick outs.
That brought to the plate Joe Mauer, batting .395 entering the game, with slugger Justin Morneau on deck.
"If you're a baseball fan, these two 3-4 combos are pretty special," said Kendall, giving a nod also to teammates Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder. "Facing those two guys, you can't make a mistake."
Well aware of that, Hoffman pitched carefully to Mauer, walking him. The all-time saves leader then fell behind in the count, 3-1, to Morneau before getting him to swing at a changeup and bounce out to second to end the tense contest.
"It's nice to get one of those wins that we had a few of in mid-May," said Hoffman, who has converted 17 of 18 save opportunities. "We've been kind of snakebit with those things working against us.
"I think everybody understood what happened (Tuesday) night. But to the credit of everybody in here, it was realized and talked about. Nobody took it personally and we bounced back and played a crisper ball game."
Beyond the scare in the ninth, the Brewers avoided another potential nightmare when starting pitcher Braden Looper was struck high on the pitching arm by a liner from Gomez in the fifth inning. The ball struck Looper so solidly that it caromed toward first base, where Prince Fielder made a diving grab for the out.
Having just lost starting pitcher Dave Bush to the disabled list after a similar play and down another starter with Manny Parra in the minors working on his command, Macha admitted to having dark thoughts as he walked to the mound.
"Absolutely, 100%," said Macha. "I said, 'We lost one guy already. We don't need to lose another one.' They told me he was fine."
Looper said he expected to be sore Thursday but saw no reason to miss his next start.
"I felt all right after that," said Looper. "When it happens, you don't really feel it. I've been hit a lot but never that high (on the arm)."
Looper had allowed only two hits entering the sixth, but Jason Kubel snapped a 1-1 tie with a first-pitch homer and Michael Cuddyer and Crede followed with booming doubles to make it 3-1.
Kendall shaved a run off the lead with an RBI single in the sixth, setting the stage for his big hit in the eighth.
"That's a good baseball team," Kendall said of the Twins. "They play the game the right way. We've been scuffling the last week or so, but that's baseball."


text:
2009 BCS Analysis
Week 4 ... Nov. 8
CFN Rankings
Harris Poll
2009 Coaches' Poll
BCS Rankings
BCS Breakdowns
Week 1
| Week 2
| Week
The Top
Expanded BCS Rankings
1. Florida
2. Alabama
3. Texas
5. Cincinnati
6. Boise State
7. Georgia Tech
10. Iowa
11. Ohio State
12. Pitt
13. Oregon
14. Miami
15. Houston
16. Utah
17. Arizona
18. Penn State
19. Oklahoma St
20. Wisconsin
Well hellooooooo, TCU.
No one benefitted more from Iowa's lost to Northwestern than the Horned Frogs, who not only moved up in the rankings, but leapfrogged Cincinnati going from sixth to fourth and within range of national title consideration if Texas loses or if something miraculous happens in SEC play. Cincinnati has the respect of the computers, ranked third, and is still within range of getting back into the discussion for the BCS Championship with the tougher games on the slate coming up. But, of course, as long as Texas is unbeaten and if there's an unbeaten SEC champion, the question is moot.
Boise State moved up one spot with Iowa moving down to tenth, but at this point it's going to take a TCU loss to get the automatic spot for the non-BCS school. While it's assumed that TCU and Boise State are the two battling out for the bid, Utah, at No. 16, could quickly throw its hat into the ring with a win over TCU, while Houston is creeping into the picture even though it stayed puts at 15.
The big question mark going forward will be about the open BCS spots. At the moment, it appears that either TCU or Boise State will take one of the four bids, the SEC Championship loser will take another, and if USC keeps winning and Oregon goes to the Rose Bowl, the Pac 10 will get two teams in. That leaves one open spot and the potential for a big debate. Will the BCS take two non-BCS teams and pick Boise State? Will Iowa, at No. 10, get in even if it loses to Ohio State? Could the Pitt/Cincinnati loser give the Big East two teams in the show? Watch out for plenty of lobbying and plenty of arguing over the final few weeks from all the conferences that want the BCS dollars.
Other interesting notes from the Week Four rankings …
- The Pac 10 might have been the biggest winner this week, even with a high-profile loss. The Stanford win over Oregon couldn't have worked out better. Now USC is in range of a BCS slot, and would be a shoo-in to be selected as an at-large team if ranked in the top ten, while Oregon can still win the Pac 10 title and a Rose Bowl slot despite checking in at 13th this week. Arizona is in the picture at 17, but that's going to change with the meat of the Pac 10 schedule kicking in.
- The Big Ten will make a big push to get two teams in the BCS, but it's going to be a fight if Iowa beats Ohio State. The winner of the Hawkeye-Buckeye showdown next week will go to the Rose Bowl, but the loser won't be a lock for an at-large bid. Penn State, even if it finishes at 10-2, will be a tough sell with a soft schedule and a bad computer ranking (currently 20th). Wisconsin is ranked 20th overall but should start creeping up the rankings with a relatively soft finishing kick starting with Michigan next week. The Badgers will likely finish 10-2, barring a major upset, meaning there might be four Big Ten teams with ten wins.
- LSU didn't get punished, but it's going to suffer from being in the SEC. The Tigers actually moved up from nine to eight after losing to Alabama, but remember, only two teams from the same conference can get in and Florida and Alabama are going to gobble up the spots.
- Talk about falling off the radar, Notre Dame went from 22nd, and within range of moving up quickly, to 42nd and now just dreaming of going to a bowl after the disastrous loss to Navy.
- Temple, at 34th, is ranked ahead of Tennessee (36th), Ole Miss (41st), Notre Dame (42nd), and South Carolina (44th). Temple, yes, that Temple.
The Big Winners: TCU (6th to 4th), Georgia Tech (10th to
7th), The Pac 10 (USC 12th to 9th, Oregon at 13, Arizona at 17)
The Big Losers: Iowa
(4th to 10th), Oregon (8th to 13th), Penn State (11th to 18th)
1. Florida Score: 0.9842
Florida won and it moved down. Okay, so the
Gators only moved down a bit in the overall score with only
three computer formulas coming in with a No. 1 ranking as
opposed to last week when five of the six put them in the top
spot. Overall, nothing changes. If Florida wins its next four
games, it'll play for the national title. If if loses to the
Alabama in the SEC Championship it'll be in the Sugar Bowl.
Predicted Wins: at South Carolina, FIU, Florida State, SEC Championship
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 13-0
Predicted Bowl: BCS Championship
Toughest Remaining Tests: at South Carolina, Florida State,
SEC Championship
2. Alabama Score:
Alabama moved up from No. 3 to No. 2, but it
doesn't matter other than for promotional purposes for CBS and
the SEC Championship. The Tide won the West with the win over
LSU, and even if it loses twice the rest of the way it'll play
in a BCS game. Ranked No. 1 by three of the computers, but No. 3
by the humans, Bama isn't going to finish in the No. 1 overall
spot unless it beats Florida.
Predicted Wins: at Mississippi State, Chattanooga, at Auburn
Predicted Losses: SEC Championship
Predicted Final Record: 12-1
Predicted Bowl: Sugar Bowl
Toughest Remaining Tests: at Auburn
3. Texas Score: 0.9234
It's going to take a major miracle for Texas to
not play for the national title. The blowout win over UCF (who
can actually play a little bit of defense) shows just how hot
the Longhorns are, and even though the computers aren't
impressed, putting them fifth behind the SEC kings, Cincinnati
and TCU, the humans will make sure the trip to Pasadena is
secure. There's absolutely no fear of losing the top two spot if
they win out. TCU isn't even close to getting into the top
Predicted Wins: at Baylor, Kansas, at Texas A&M, Big 12 Championship
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 13-0
Predicted Bowl: BCS Championship
Toughest Remaining Tests: at Texas A&M
4. TCU Score: 0.8620
The Horned Frogs are at the gate and ready to barge in. Helped
by Clemson getting red hot, TCU is getting a boost from the
computers being ranked fourth in five of the six and fifth by
the Anderson & Hester formula. While there's a huge game between
TCU and Texas, there's a slim margin over Cincinnati, so style
points count. To impress the humans and stay ahead of the
Bearcats, TCU needs to be fantastic against Utah with the
Gameday crew in town and all the world paying attention.
Predicted Wins: Utah, at Wyoming, New Mexico
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 12-0
Predicted Bowl: Sugar Bowl
Toughest Remaining Tests: Utah, at Wyoming
5. Cincinnati Score: 0.8580
The computers like them with a No. 3 ranking, two spots ahead of
Texas, but the Bearcats aren't capturing the humans. They have
three tough games ahead with West Virginia and Illinois on
national TV, so everyone will get to see what they can do. The
emergence of the Illini over the last few weeks will be a huge
boost to the overall respect if UC can win out, but there's
still a ceiling. There's no way and no chance of cracking the
top two without a miracle.
Predicted Wins: West Virginia, Illinois
Predicted Losses: at Pitt
Predicted Final Record: 11-1
Predicted Bowl: Orange
Toughest Remaining Tests: West Virginia
Boise State Score: 0.8126
Oregon's loss to Stanford was a killer for Boise State both in
the formulas and in the overall debate. The Broncos aren't
playing well enough in spotlight games, struggling to put away
Louisiana Tech in a ten-point win, and only the date with Nevada
will get any interest on a national scale. The national title
talk is completely gone now, and it's likely going to take a TCU
loss to get into the discussion for one of the big money games.
Predicted Wins: Idaho, at Utah State, Nevada, New Mexico State
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 12-0
Predicted Bowl: Humanitarian
Toughest Remaining Tests: at Louisiana Tech, Nevada
7. Georgia Tech Score: 0.7552
The issue now isn't whether or not Georgia Tech is the class of the ACC,
defensive struggles and all, it is. The question will be whether
or not the Yellow Jackets could get an at-large bid if it loses
the ACC Championship, most likely against Clemson. If they're
11-1 going into the title game, they might be the ones to take
the one in question at-large spot. Firmly entrenched at No. 7,
ranked there by both human polls and by the computers, Tech
could be in the top five by winning out.
Predicted Wins: at Duke, Georgia, ACC Championship
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 12-1
Predicted Bowl: Orange
Toughest Remaining Tests: Georgia
8. LSU Score: 0.6138
LSU lost to Alabama and moved ... up? The losses by Oregon and
Iowa helped, and the impartial computers give credit for the two
losses coming against the top two teams. While the humans moved
the Tigers down two spots, the computers moved them from ninth
to eighth. It doesn't matter. Alabama is going to the SEC title
game and LSU will be left out because of the silly rule that
only two teams from a conference can get into the BCS.
Predicted Wins: Louisiana Tech, at Ole Miss, Arkansas
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 10-2
Predicted Bowl: Capital One
Toughest Remaining Tests: at Ole Miss
9. USC Score: 0.5922
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz commented a few weeks ago that the
computers must not have eyes. The humans do, but there's no way
they could've seen the pile of garbage that was USC's
performance against Arizona State. The Trojans moved from 12th
to ninth thanks to a nice boost from the human polls. and now,
even though Oregon is still in the driver's seat for the Rose
Bowl, USC will likely be an extremely attractive at-large team.
Predicted Wins: Stanford, UCLA, Arizona
Predicted Losses: None
Predicted Final Record: 10-2
Predicted Bowl: Fiesta
Toughest Remaining Tests: Stanford, Arizona
10. Iowa Score: 0.5745
When all is said and done, the Iowa loss to Northwestern did
nothing more than save Hawkeye fans a lot of grief and a lot of
wondering about what might have been. The Hawkeyes weren't going
to play for the national title, and at best, they'd end up
playing for the Rose Bowl. Beat Ohio State, go to Pasadena ...
goal achieved. Even with a loss to the Buckeyes, Iowa could
still play in a BCS game. the Fiesta Bowl would love to come up
with a Trojans-Hawkeye matchup bringing in the Iowa fans base to
invade Glendale.
Predicted Wins: Minnesota
Predicted Losses: at Ohio State
Predicted Final Record: 10-2
Predicted Bowl: Fiesta Bowl
Toughest Remaining Tests: at Ohio State
In Range:
11. Ohio State Score: 0.5733
12. Pitt Score: 0.5628
13. Oregon Score: 0.5318
14. Miami Score: 0.4712
15. Houston Score: 0.4691
16. Utah Score: 0.4003
17. Arizona Score: 0.3363
18. Penn State Score: 0.3350
19. Oklahoma State Score: 0.2909
20. Wisconsin Score: 0.2334


text:
WIU Home > COEHS > Kinesiology > Graduate Programs > Sm
Sport Management Association
Networking starts the first day you walk onto Western Illinois University's campus. The people you meet in your classes will be your colleagues in the future. The Sport Management Association (SMA) enables students to develop these professional relationships through organized social activities. In addition, SMA members are provided opportunities for leadership roles, professional networking, and development activities. Students are involved in organized trips to cities to meet with professionals in the sport industry, hosting sport management professionals for on-campus lectures, and engaging in fundraising activities.
SMA Mission Statement: The mission of the Sports Management Association of Western Illinois University is to expand upon students' professional access and to provide networking opportunities and exposure to increase students' marketability. These opportunities, along with the Sport Management curriculum, coincide to further prepare a generation of leaders in the sport industry.
Upcoming Events:
- April 24, 2015 Golf as a Business Skill w/ Mel Blas
- April 30, 2015 End of the Year Bash / Graduate Party
- May 1-3, 2015 Professional Development Trip to Kansas City, MO
Past events:
- February 2013 - Illinois State University Sports Management Symposium
- April 2013 - Professional Development Trip to Louisville, KY
- May 2013 - NASSM Conference (Austin, TX)
- October 2013 - St Louis Rams 2013 Sports & Entertainment Career Fair
- November 2013 - NASSS Conference (Quebec City, Quebec)
- February 2014 - SMWW NFL Combine Conference (Indianapolis, IN)
- March 2014 - Professional Development Trip to Minneapolis, MN
- September 2014 - WIU vs. Northwestern game & Alumni Social (Evanston, IL)
- October 2014 - Graduate Student Trip to St Louis, MO for Rams vs. Seahawks game
- November 2014 - NASSS Conference (Seattle, WA)
- January 2015 Professional Development Trip to Milwaukee, WI
To Learn More....
2015-16 Officers
Dwayne Hagenow
Alex Deeb
Austin Pearson
Jessie Lantz
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Algerian Hart
Committee Chairs:
Special Events
Courtney E. Johnson
Alumni Relations
DeMarkco Butler
Bryce Weiler


text: Hey Britney – I am really getting sick of reading and writing and talking about you all day long. So if you could do me a favor, please stop doing really stupid sh*t all the time. I don't want you to end up back in court any more than you do, all I want for is for you to disappear into a giant sea of frappucinos and cigarette butts, never to be seen or heard from again. But when you do stuff like make a left hand turn on a red light while cars are coming at you, it makes me a little crazy. And when you drive like a lunatic with your kids and that parenting coach in the car, my mind explodes a tiny bit. But to do it all holding a cell phone in front of your face to hide your (plastically enhanced) lips?! That's just straight up dumb. Let those lips shine, girl! They're one of the few good things left on you. [Image: Getty]


text:
A summer that shines
Season packed with fun to keep kids busy
By Lana Sweeten-Shults
email@example.com 940-720-3462
No more pencils.
No more books.
No more children otherwise occupied during the day, meaning they're at home. All day. Every day.
No worries.
We have come up with our Times Record News Guide to Summer with a few ideas on summertime activities — the usual suspects that generally meander our way during the summer months.
The big summer movie season is here, with anticipated blockbusters like "Men in Black III," "Snow White and the Huntsman," "Brave," Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," "The Dark Knight Rises" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" vying for our attention. But here are couple of other options:
nSUMMER MOVIE CLUBHOUSE SERIES. Cinemark 14 in Parker Square rolls out the family films in this affordable summertime film series geared toward young moviegoers. Admission is $1 per film in the 10-film series (or $5 if you purchase the season in advance). Showtime is 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from June 12 to Aug. 14.
Coming up are: "Happy Feet" on June 12-13; "Rio" on June 19-20; "Kung Fu Panda 2," June 26-27; "Despicable Me," July 3-4; "Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2," July 10-11; "Dolphin Tale," July 17-18; "Puss in Boots," July 24-25; "Winnie the Pooh," July 31 and Aug. 1; "Yogi Bear," Aug. 7-8; and "Charlotte's Web," Aug. 14-15.
Information: cinemark.com.
nDIVE-IN MOVIES. Castaway Cove Waterpark is introducing its Dive-In Movies series, which appropriately, features water-themed films. They will be screened from 8:30 to 10 p.m. July 13 to Aug. 17. It's free to view the film with regular park admission.
On the schedule are "Jaws 2" on July 13; "Dolphin Tale," July 20; "Soul Surfer," July 27; "Pirates of the Caribbean," Aug. 10; and "Big Miracle," Aug. 17.
Information: 322-5500 or www.castawaycovewaterpark.com.
nCARMIKE CINEMAS' SUMMER KIDS MOVIES. Carmike 10 in Sikes Senter also is rolling out a summer children's movie series that will debut June 7. The schedule is being finalized. Family films will be screened for $2, and that comes with popcorn and a drink.
Information: 692-4181.
nCINEMARK'S CLASSICS SERIES. Finally, Cinemark 14 is rolling out an eight-film series featuring legendary, digitally restored Hollywood movies from the Warner Bros. film catalogue. They will play each Wednesday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in June and July.
Included are: "The Exorcist" on June 6; "Citizen Kane" on June 13; "Cool Hand Luke," June 20; "The Searchers," June 27; "That's Entertainment," July 4; "A Clockwork Orange," July 11; "North by Northwest," July 18; and "Cabaret," July 25.
Information: cinemark.com.
The good times wouldn't quite roll the same way in the summer without great music, so look for several music series to offer some distraction.
nSUMMER OUTDOOR CONCERT SERIES. The Parks & Recreation Department, as it does annually, gathers up the buds of May — or the bands of June and July, actually — for its series of free outdoor concerts. The concerts are every other Tuesday evening in June and July, from 7:30 to 9 p.m., at South Weeks Park on Southwest Parkway and Taft.
Concertgoers are advised to bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating.
To perform will be: The Black and White Band, a soul band named for members Alan Black and Dan White, on June 12; the Tyler Rushing Band on June 26; the Ken Nelson Big Band on July 10; and cowboy group Prairie Moon on July 24.
Information: 761-7490.
nLIVE AT THE LAKE. The Museum of Art at Midwestern State University also takes advantage of the warm weather for a few outdoor concerts. They run from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays (though not every Thursday). Admission is free. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Drinks will be available. Also, the museum will be open so guests may view its exhibits.
Ashton Gustafson kicked off the series a week ago. Coming up will be Blues to the Bone on Thursday, Mike O'Neill June 14 and Bruce Canafax June 28 with more acts to be added through August.
Information: 397-8900 or mwsu.edu/wfma.
nCASTAWAY COVE CONCERT SERIES. The city's water park launches into the 2012 summer season with a Friday night concert series for groove-worthy inspiration. The concerts start at 6 p.m. and run from June 1 to July 6. The concert is free with regular park admission.
The schedule includes: Erick Willis on June 1, Tyler Rushing June 8, Ignite the Borealis June 16, Falls Country June 22, Mark Murphey June 29 and Face in the Dirt July 6.
Information: 322-5500 or www.castawaycovewaterpark.com.
It isn't really summer until the city's farmers markets open and offer up the bounty of the season, from strawberries to blackberries and cabbage.
nTHE DOWNTOWNFARMERS MARKET, Eighth and Ohio, opened last week for its summertime run through August. Regular hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays for the Charlie-Thornberry Farmers Market Association, though other vendors occupy the market on other days, as well.
Look for some themed days at the market, in which growers prepare recipes with a featured fruit or vegetable and hand out recipes. One of the more popular days is Market to Menu, in which Go Texan restaurateurs drop by to prepare dishes made with locally grown fruits and veggies.
Themed days on the schedule include Blackberry Day June 2 (blackberry cobbler samples will be served), Market to Menu June 16, Peach Day July 7 (sample peach smoothies), Black-Eyed Pea Day July 14, Watermelon Day July 21, Mystery Day Aug. 4 and Salsa Day Aug. 18. Events run from 9 to 11 a.m. on those days.
Information: wichitafallsfarmersmarket.com or 940-544-2211.
nTHE RED RIVER FARMERS MARKET, 101 E. Hatton Road, is open for the summer with local growers supplying fruits and veggies from 7:30 a.m. to sellout on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Information: 766-2092.
nLEGENDS OF WESTERN SWING FESTIVAL. Western swing adherents gather every summer at the Legends of Western Swing Festival, which descends on the MPEC June 14-16. It's three days of Western swing music featuring four bands and 12 hours of music each day.
On the schedule are Ray Price, Johnny Bush and the Bandoleros, Jake Hooker and Shoot Low Sheriff on June 14; Jody Nix and the Texas Cowboys, the River Road Boys, Justin Treviño and Ted Scanlon and the Desperados June 15; and Dave Alexander and his Big Band, Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band, Pee Wee Whitewing and the Heart of Texas Band, and Eddie McAlvain and the Mavericks on June 16.
Information: 318-792-3303.
nCHARLIE PEACH FESTIVAL. The Peach Festival, courtesy of the growers of the Red River Farm Trail in the Charlie-Thornberry area, was canceled last summer. The drought and extreme weather — 100 days of three-digit temperatures — meant that the area's peach crop didn't fare well.
But it looks like this year's peach crop will be a doozy, which means the return of one of summer's festival favorites, the Peach Festival.
Traditionally, it falls on the fourth Thursday of June in Charlie-Thornberry — this year at 1 p.m. June 28 at Tucker's Farm. This is a small neighborly affair, where the growers gather at one of the farms or orchards to celebrate the harvest with free peach cobbler and ice cream. A band will play some tunes, and contests range from the ice cream cranking contest to a pea shelling contest.
It's a good time to buy a few peaches and whatever other crops are in season.
Information: 940-544-2211.
nSUMMER'S LAST BLAST. The Vernon Street Machine and Classics Association likes to end the summer in a big way with its annual Summer's Last Blast, a celebration of cool cars complete with a car show, burnout contest and Saturday night Nostalgic Cruise.
The Last Blast is Aug. 10-11.
Information: summerslastblast.com or 940-886-8389.
One of the Wichita Falls Public Library's big programs is the Summer Reading Program, which starts Tuesday and runs through July 31.
In addition to reading for fun to earn prizes and books, the library will offer youth gaming from 2-3 p.m. on Mondays, celebrity storytime at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, special performers on Wednesdays and youth and tween/teen crafts at 2 p.m. on Thursdays. All programs are at the library except the first two Wednesday performances May 30 and June 6, which will be at the Wichita Theatre next door to the library.
Here is the schedule of summer performers: Slick Jugglers at 2 p.m. May 30 at the Wichita Theatre; Ugandan Orphan's Choir, 2 p.m. June 6 at the Wichita Theatre; James Wand's Secret Agent Magic Show, 2 p.m. June 13; Spy Magic Workshop for Tweens and Teens, 3 p.m. June 13; "I Spy Loops, Arches and Whorls Galore: Fingerprinting and DNA Workshop" for Tweens and Teens, 2-4 p.m. June 18; Critterman and his collection of tarantulas, tortoises, hissing cockroaches and more, 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. June 20; Library Murder Mystery Game, 6:30 p.m. June 26; Whirled on a String yo-yo demonstration, 2 p.m. June 27; Spy Camp, 2-3 p.m. July 10; Jungle Jim's Wild Encounters, 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. July 11; Musical Slumber Party with the Groove Club, 6:30 p.m. July 17; Pint Size Polkas, 2 p.m. July 18; and Steve Mills Magic, 2 p.m. July 25.
Information: 767-0868.
Summer in the theater world always means big musicals, including Summer Youth Musicals. Look for these productions:
n"NEBULAS." The Wichita Theatre starts its summer season with a percussion extravaganza mixed with theatrics and special effects. It runs from June 1-9.
Information: 723-9037 or wichithatheatre.com.
n"ZOMBIE PROM." Backdoor Theatre opens its summer season with the musical comedy "Zombie Prom," about a boy in love with a girl, only he has turned into a zombie after his motorcycle lands in a nuclear waste dump. It plays June 1-16.
Information: 322-5000 or backdoortheatre.org.
n"THE WIZARD OF OZ." The longest-running Summer Youth Musical in town, the First United Methodist Church Summer Youth Musical, will present the classic "The Wizard of Oz." It's the story of Dorothy Gale, who ends up in the land of Oz after a tornado spirits her away. Now she must find a way to get back home with the help of the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow — and the powerful Oz. It plays June 22-24.
n"LEGALLY BLONDE." Backdoor Theatre's Summer Youth Musical, "Legally Blonde," follows Elle Woods, a sorority girl who decides to go to Harvard Law to win back her boyfriend. It plays July 6-28.
Information: 322-5000 or backdoortheatre.org.
n"FOOTLOOSE" is the musical about a city boy who moves to a small town only to find out it has banned dancing. The Wichita Theatre will bring the musical to the stage beginning July 6.
Information: 723-9037 or wichitatheatre.com.
n"YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE" will wrap up the summer at Backdoor Theatre. It follows a reporter who goes to uncover a "pothole scam" in a small town and ends up falling in love with one of the residents. It opens Aug. 17.
Information: 322-5000 or backdoortheatre.org.
nOIL BOWL. Texas and Oklahoma high school all-star football players are invited by the Maskat Shrine to compete each summer in the Oil Bowl Classic, a charity game that has been played since 1938.
The 75th Oil Bowl is coming up at 7:30 p.m. June 9 (pregame at 7 p.m.) at Memorial Stadium.
Tickets: $10 general admission; $15 reserved.
Information: oilbowl.com or 766-4511.
nTHE TEXAS-OKLAHOMA JUNIOR GOLF TOURNAMENT is just around the corner, June 4-7, and is in its 56th year. Competitors will go for golfing glory at various golf courses in the city.
Information: tojrgolf.com
nTEXAS RANCH ROUNDUP. Ten historic ranches battle for bragging rights at the Texas Ranch Roundup. Real working cowboys from real working ranches compete in everything from cooking and talent competitions to evening rodeo events to benefit the North Texas Rehabilitation Center, West Texas Boys Ranch in San Angelo and West Texas Rehabilitation Center in Abilene.
The Roundup is coming up Aug. 17-18 at the MPEC.
Information: texasranchroundup.com
nTHE HOTTER'N HELL HUNDRED. The summer wraps up in a big way with the annual Hotter'N Hell Hundred Endurance Ride and Race. This is when cyclists test their mettle by riding 100 miles in 100-degree weather (or close to that).
The event is coming up Aug. 25.
Information: hh100.org or 322-3223.
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