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The gift and the curse; Jigga knew it, D-12 knows it. Their friend and group member is the biggest rapper on the planet, it has gotten them a deal on a powerhouse label, a mult-platinum album, Dr. Dre production, and a huge shadow they are unable to step out of. Sure they are a hell of a lot better than the respective crews of other rappers, but they've done very little to differentiate themselves. Proof is dope, Bizarre is terrible (but nonetheless sticks out on every track), but the other three might as well be the same guy. That's what "My Band" is all about right? They know it so I shouldn't use it as a point of criticism right? Well no, cause it is a major drawback of the album.
We might as well start with the king of D-12 World and its biggest attraction. Whether it be his bananas (fo-fana) flow on "Git Up" or his razor sharp rhymes on "6 In The Mornin," he continues to sound better with every verse. He steals the show on the sinister Dre banger "American Psycho II," just listen to him keeping the 'screw loose' reference right through the verse. Check the breath control he flexes on "Baby" and "Git My Gun." When things get topical, in the case of "How Come," estranged friendships, Em shines as expected. He isn't the only one though as they prove they can go beyond the typical shock antics. This is further proved on their ode to Bugz "The Good Die Young." It is songs like that why I don't question their talent, just their execution. "Git Up" is another example of everyone being on their games.
Unfortunately, there are too many moments of mediocrity that drag the LP down. "Loyalty" starts off pretty strong but gets boring quick. Things get even worse as Bizarre butchers a nice Hi-Tek beat on his solo cut "Just Like U." Other tracks like "I'll Be Damned" and "U R The One" are best described as the same ol' shit. They even manage to butcher Kanye's beat on the uninspired title track.
Aside from a handful of standout verses, the album really only goes as far as Eminem and the production takes it. Thankfully, his verses are jaw-dropping and the production is pretty good all the way through. I have no doubt they can do better though.

subset: commoncrawl


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"Komarnik lake - significant for flora and fauna" Top 5 Page for this destination Maribor Off The Beaten Path Tip by picek
Maribor Off The Beaten Path: 19 reviews and 29 photos
Some 20 kilometers east (by the main road Maribor - Lenart) of Maribor there's rather shallow and quiet lake Komarnik. Name comes from the word 'komar' which is mosquito in English (and komarnik would be then something like 'collection of mosquitos') and therefore we can find plenty of these blood sucking insects here, but also those much nicer animals and rare plants such as white water lily.
Actually this lake is so important for birds, rare insects and leech that it has been declared protected area and included into Natura 2000 network. Here birds are safe, therefore! No hunting and fishing is allowed which makes it peaceful enviromnent for them with plenty of food and safe for laying eggs in reeds, bushes and trees.
Among other significant fauna there're rare medicinal leech, European otter, 35 kinds of dragon flies, amphibians and rare invertebrates. Even without strong knowledge from biology field you can have very nice time here watching birds and hiking. Good thing about hiking here in winter is there're no mosquitos (so, make sure you use good repellent in summer). Bring good boots if you want to visit after rain because it can get muddy.
The lake was first mentioned in 16th century when it was used for growing fish for lords of nearby Hrastovec castle which is going through renovation process these days. It is now one of these acumulation lakes which had undergone large regulation works in past but has been successfully reclaimed by nature.
You can see some birds all year round but migratory will join in spring.
If you come by your own car take Lenart direction and pass Hrastovec by the main road and near Komarnik you can park it by deserted 'hotel Crni les' which has large parking place. If you come by public bus from Maribor, ask driver to stop you at Komarnik bus stop and then walk through field to lake direction. It's not really so often visited like you'd think of place of huge importance - there's no fortified path - but you will know where to go because there are reeds and trees by the shores (and, yes - birds in the air around!).
You could as well take a look around Hrastovec castle which is 1 km from the lake, a significant and impressive building, but I am not sure if they open to public since it is also care home - see the web site: Hrastovec
Website: http://www.zrsvn.si/sl/informacija.asp?id_meta_type=63&id_informacija=503
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What makes for a good BMX bike? What makes parts good? Who makes good parts? What makes parts better for vert, or flatland, versus racing?
I know those seem kinda odd questions. But here's where I'm coming from. I'm a roadie. With road bikes, all other things being equal, you go for the lighter parts. If the weights the same, you go for the stiffer part. What makes stiffer parts is pretty obvious, for instance, large diameter crank spindles. Large diameter frame tubes. large diameter handlebars. Those are all the "good" things to have on a bike. This even holds true for track bikes (which mechanically seem pretty freaking similar to BMX bikes.. and i'm talking track, like velodrome, not hipster.)
I've looked through the bike builds thread, and I don't see a whole lot of consistancy. It seems more often than not, bike parts are chosen for looks, rather than performance. And I can't wrap my head around the brands yet.
It seems weight is only of vague concern. With 22lbs being a "light" bike. My whole mountian bike is 23lbs. And without doing anything fancy, my road bike is under 20. And there's a whole hell of a lot more bike there with either my 26" mtb, or 700c road bike.
So, how about a few more "real" questions?
Why do BMX bikes still use american bottom brackets? I've seen a few that are euro, but they're uncommon.
Are the pin drive front sprockets common to just flatland and vert applications? Or do you still see those at a bmx course? Are road/mountian bike cranks more common there?
Why would one go with 14mm axles versus 3/8? You don't see oversized axles on MTB unless you're talking dirt jump, or downhill rigs. Are bent axles a common issue on 20" bikes?
I've never seen a BMX bar with oversized clamp diameter. Are bars always bought for durablity, or is weight a concern?
The bike I just bought, came with a short seat, what's the purpose of this? I've even seen seats with the noses cut off.


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California House Bill 777, authored by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, would "qualify rocket propulsion systems for an existing business inventory tax exemption and update California law to ensure the growing number of jobs created by the space exploration industry remain in the state."
If Governor Brown signs the bill into law, California-based companies such as SpaceX would get a 10-year property tax break.
"From the start, AB 777 received broad bi-partisan support because of its potential to strengthen our economic recovery," said Muratsuchi in a statement. "The State Senate's vote to move this measure forward sends a strong message that California is open for business. The space commercialization industry is not only developing some of the most advanced space vehicles in the world, but is creating thousands of local, high-paying manufacturing jobs."
This story was originally posted by Techwire.net


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High school softball notebook: Little Axe building for a playoff run
Little Axe coach Gerre Griffin feels comfortable when his team scores four runs.
"We've figured out ourselves if we can score four runs, we can beat a lot of people," he said. "A lot of times we haven't been able to score enough runs and that's been a problem for us."
The Indians are 9-18 and have 13 freshmen on their 25-player roster.
But Griffin doesn't see this as a rebuilding year for his team, which has won three straight state championships.
"That's what everybody says, but when you play at a program that's got a good history like this school's got, you expect to win every game," he said.
In fact, he expects the Indians to make a deep run in the playoffs, which begin with districts against Crooked Oak.
"I can promise you, we're dangerous," Griffin said. "We can beat people. I'm expecting us to go back to state. The girls are expecting to go back to state, too."
Carl Albert senior first baseman Krista Waggoner continued her impressive season last week, going 10 for 15 at the plate with three triples, four RBIs and four runs to lead the Titans to the championship of their own tournament.
"She's been unconscious lately," Carl Albert coach Colin White said. "Just a bunch of triples; just not making outs at all."
A few of those triples last week could have easily been homers, White said. But the Titans play in a big ballpark, and Waggoner's drives instead hit the wall.
Carl Albert is now 22-1, putting the Titans atop District 5A-4 as the playoffs near.
Class 4A No. 2 Tuttle has won eight straight games, and the development of its young pitching staff is a good reason.
"I think a big part of it is our pitching, but it's our teamwork," Tuttle coach Jennifer White said. "They're really starting to communicate and work together, so I think that's a very important, too."
The Tigers have been leaning on the trio of Bailee Saye, Kylee Robinett and Macy Spear in the circle.
In White's first full season as head coach, the Tigers have bonded and it's shown on the field with a 17-4 record.
"It's definitely different for me being able to get to learn the girls and kind of grow with them," White said. "Whereas last year, I came in and didn't know anything about them. It's definitely different."


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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are soaring as trading opens after applications for unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low and the government reported that the economy grew faster than previously reported this spring.
First-time requests for unemployment dropped last week to the lowest level since April 2. The government also says that the economy grew at a 1.3 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, up from the 1 percent estimate made a month ago.
German lawmakers also voted to expand the powers of Europe's bailout fund.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 207 points, or 1.9 percent, at 11,216. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 20, or 1.7 percent, at 1,171. The Nasdaq composite index is up 40, or 1.6 percent, at 2,532.


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I'm a rider without a motorcycle
The few, the proud, the likely insane, Metro-Atlanta bicycle commuters.
My wife rides a 2010 Spyder RT-SE5.
2011 Specialized Roubaix Comp Ultegra Triple
2010 Specialized Crosstrial Elite
Here's my Husky 610. A sales pic after owning it for 10 years. I'm pretty meticulous about maintenance and cleaning my bikes.
I have a still new 2011 Yamaha WR450 now I haven't got pic's of and I haven't ridden because of a back op.
Here's a pic from a 12 hours over 2 days event. Wearing my old early 90's MX pants my good pant were to soiled from day 1.
Entering a control point during a 24 hour event. Yes continues 24 hour's, people run really spiffy HID setups as we run all night during winter.
Had to many other off road race and road bikes to mention.
2010 Custom Carbon JBC, 1990 Ricardo Pinnacle, 1988 Ricardo Elite, 1983 Ricardo Varsity, 1990 Peugeot Hurricane, 1977 Dawes Galaxy GT, 2007 Pinarello F3-13, Custom aussie made 1980 Columbus SL racer, 1975 Calton Rapide, 1995 Olympia Fusari, 1993 Basso Viper.
"Normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.
My street bike is a CBR600RR. Very fast, and definitely not a beginner's bike (almost 120 HP). When you open the throttle on that, you better have a good idea of what to expect.
..and it's nothing compared to some of the bigger bikes!
Perhaps someday I'll move up to a bigger bike.
"Normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.
I, currently, have 225,000 Mi on my roadbike..............................
"Retirement is the best job I ever had!" Me, 2009
Specialized Crosstrail Sport - '08
Nishiki Sport - misappropriated from my youngest son (circa 1984)
Marin Stinson - misappropriated by my youngest grandson - '01
"The Beast" - 1990 Schwinn Airdyne (in the basement for winter torture)
The incidence of this has somewhat decreased ever since the DoD started requiring that all military riders take a MSF course before they were allowed to get an ID sticker allowing them to ride on base.
Regards, MillCreek
Snohomish County, Washington USA
"Normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.
I remember the first time I really wound my CBR out. Long, flat, straight road in KS and I just went to redline in 1st...almost 70 mph, clicked through 2nd, 3rd, 4th, looked down and I was just passing 140 mph. This was in about 10 secs or so. I rolled off and let it coast back down to the speedlimit, but wow... The feeling of the bike like it's pulling your arms out of their socket is unreal.I have heard other stories about new riders putting super sport bikes into large immoveable objects. I went for months before I wound my little 250 up in second and a little in third, then I looked down at my speedo and was doing over 90, I told my brother about it and he laughed and said if I was on a 600 I probably would have been at about 120.
Now I save riding like that for the track.
Here's a video I made of a 'Taste of Racing' at the local track. https://vimeo.com/27722865
That was my first time ever on a track with that bike, and the first time I had seen that track. I now run lap times faster on my little 250, than I did with the 600 then.
I haven't recorded one of my actual races yet (I'm still focusing on just going fast enough, and don't want the possible mental distraction yet).
"Normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.
I currently have a Wee Strom...let me see if I can find a way to insert a photo....processing, processing, processing.....
"Normal" is just a setting on a washing machine.
I think if I chose to get back into riding I would do an MSF course, but for insurance more so than anything else.
My opinion is colored by how completely useless my driving instruction was when I got my driver's license, though.
"It is not the critic who counts."
I love bikes, but my head is already kept together with a few titanium plates, so I figure I better stay out of it.
Lee Parks Total Control course: http://www.pugetsoundsafety.com/info/tct (in the NW, don't think they're nationwide)
Track day courses, like the California Superbike school.


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Bernardo, 69 years old, lives with his wife and theirs in their own house. He is dedicated to selling a variety of plastic stools, hammocks, brooms, among other things. He has various years experience with the business and this has awarded him much experience in selling which permits him to obtain the best earnings. He sells from a stall in the local market. He is well known and he has won a lot of customers who prefer him for the quality, the good prices and, above all, the excellent service. Bernardo is known for his great friendliness and honesty. He is an entrepreneurial man, dedicated to his work and with many desires to achieve his dreams. Day after day, he works to the maximum in his job because he knows he'll achieve his goals this way. In the last weeks demand has increased and he wishes to take advantage and make a new investment. For this he requested from Integral a loan that allows him to buy brooms, hammocks, plastic stools, mops, etc. Bernardo has good payment references and impeccable morals. He assures that he will be able to repay the debt and, at the same time, he trust that he will give his family a better quality of life.
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Bernardo de sesenta y nueve años de edad vive junto a compañera de vida y sus en casa propia; él se dedica a la venta de variedades bancos plásticos, hamacas, escobas, entre otros, tiene varios años con el negocio y eso le ha regalado mucho experiencia en la venta que le permite obtener las mejores ganancias, comercia desde un puesto en el mercado de la localidad, es muy conocido y se ha hecho de mucha clientela que lo prefiere por la calidad, los buenos precios y sobre todo por el excelente servicio; Bernardo se caracteriza por su gran amabilidad y honestidad, es un hombre emprendedor, dedicado a su labor y con muchas ganas de alcanzar sus sueños, dia a dia se esfuerza al máximo en su trabajo por que sabe que así logrará su objetivo, en las ultimas semanas aumento la demanda y quiere aprovechar para realizar una nueva inversión por eso le solicita a INTEGRAL un crédito que le permita comprar escobas, hamacas, bancos plásticos trapeadores, etc. Bernardo tiene buenas referencias de pago y una moral intachable, asegura que podrá saldar la deuda y ala vez confía que le dará a su familia una mejor calidad de vida.
Additional Information
About Apoyo Integral
Apoyo Integral (Apoyo) is a nonprofit organization offering financial products that enable clients to increase their working capital, purchase fixed assets, buy and remodel homes, expand agricultural business and more. The organization's target group is businessmen and women who have already established their businesses but need financial support to strengthen or expand them.
Like Kiva, Apoyo is committed to empowering women involved in business activities in rural areas. Kiva lenders' funds will be used to expand these services to an even greater number of poor clients in rural areas.
About El Salvador
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Loan transacted in USD
Success!! The loan was 100% repaid
A loan of $625 helped Bernardo to buy brooms, hammocks, plastic stools, mops.
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Repayment Term
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Oct 26, 2012
Nov 11, 2012
Currency Exchange Loss:
Jul 20, 2013


text:
iPad Games
Game Questions & Answers (Q&A) service lets you ask questions about video games for game consoles or PC games. So ask your Top Gear: Stunt School HD question for iPad and get answers from real gamers or answer questions and share your insights and experience with the rest of the gaming community.
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Boxshot & Details
- Developer: Bbc Worldwide
- Publisher: Bbc Worldwide
- Genre: Driving
- Release: Dec 21, 2010
- ESRB: Not Set
Question & Answers
How to unlock pack up, up and away?
How to unlock pack up, up and away free???
Answer from: IKnowNothing
You can buy it or if you use jailbreak you can open cydia go to sources add idwaneo.org/repo (or something i forgot the address, just find in google) the choose idwaneo after that find top gear stunt school dlc just download and install it, after that open your game(or maybe restart your springboard) and enjoy your sport coupe......
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Each month, direct to your email inbox, we'll send the best camping news, tips, recipes and more, to enhance the camping lifestyle that you love so much. Learn More
Partner GEICO shares their top tips for getting your RV road trip ready jus...
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Open March 15 - November 1
Reserve: 800-562-2815
Info: 731-642-6895
6290 East Antioch Road
Buchanan, TN 38222Get Directions
Traveling north on US 79 from Paris, TN to 6290 E. Antioch Rd: turn right drive 1/2 mile, turn left into drive.
Traveling south from Clarksville, TN on highway US 79: drive 49 miles, cross over Tennessee River/Kentucky Lake bridge drive 2 more miles turn left at the Dollar General onto E. Antioch Road, drive 1/2 mile, turn left into driveway.
Traveling East and West bound on I-40: Exit 126 to 641 north to Paris TN take 79 N 10 Miles, turn right at the Dollar General onto E. Antioch Rd, drive 1/2 mile, turn left into driveway.
Please call for more directions. GPS: N36.41339, W088.13294Get Google Directions
RV Sites, Tent Sites
Check-in: 1:00 pm, Check-out: 11:00 am
Accommodations, Cabins
Check-in: 3:00 pm, Check-out: 11:00 am
Camper Rating 4.5 out of 5


text: Château-Monfort is located right in the heart of Milan, next to the cathedral and the renowned fashion quadrangle. This elegant 5-star boutique hotel enables you to experience Milan in 360°, thanks to its fantastic location near the most famous museums and main commercial streets. Designed around the theme of art and fairy tales, 77 superb rooms take you through to a new dimension where well-being and serenity are core features.


text: Paz Vega's Lucky New Boy! Posted on August 17, 2010 by Sarah C. by Sarah C. Paz Vega Spanish actress Paz Vega and her husband, Orson Salazar, must not think Friday the 13ths are that unlucky — after all, that's when their newest baby decided to arrive! Baby boy, whose name has not yet been released,... More


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EU endorses Syrian opposition
|Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
|Publication Date
|19 November 2012
|Cite as
|Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, EU endorses Syrian opposition, 19 November 2012, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/50b4d0e41f.html [accessed 25 May 2016]
|This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
November 19, 2012
The newly formed Syrian opposition coalition has received backing from the European Union, a potentially significant vote of confidence for a movement seeking to gain recognition.
But EU foreign ministers stopped short of offering official diplomatic recognition to the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces.
EU leaders stressed that official recognition may only be decided by each member country individually.
In a statement the bloc's 27 foreign ministers said that "the EU considers [the coalition] legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people."
France had already extended diplomatic recognition to the Syrian opposition coalition.
The EU endorsement came as Syria's opposition coalition said it had decided to make Egypt its headquarters.
But hard-line rebel groups in northern Syria rejected the newly formed body. In an online video statement, 13 radical Islamist factions dismissed it as a "foreign project."
Based on reporting by AP and consilium.europa.eu
Link to original story on RFE/RL website


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Tek Replay via eBay offers the refurbished 2.4-lb. Apple MacBook Air Intel Haswell Core i5 1.3GHz 11.6" Laptop, model no. MD711LL/A, for $509.99 with free shipping. That's $50 under our refurb mention from January and the lowest total price we've seen in any condition. (It's $227 below the best price we could find for a new one today.) It features an Intel Haswell Core i5 1.3GHz dual-core processor, 11.6" 1366x768 LED-backlit display, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 4.0, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, and Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
A 30-day warranty applies, but it's unclear who backs it. Also, this item may show some signs of use.


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District News & Coming Attractions
Fort Worth Regional Results
You can see what's happening in Fort Worth by clicking here.
GNT SuperFlight results
The District finals for the SuperFlight of the GNT were held Saturday and Sunday, April 2 & 3 in Houston. The winners were the team of Joe Gittelman, Robert Whitcher, Gary King, and Anthony Bianchi.
Congrats to all, and good luck in Washington DC to the winners!
Reno Report
Dan Morse has had his report from the Spring NABC in Reno posted on this site. You can read it here.
March-April Scorecard
The March April issue of the District 16 Scorecard can be seen by clicking here.


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USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Other ID: none
Status: Completed
Organization(s): USGS, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Funding Program(s):
Principal Investigator(s): Lawrence Poppe
Affiliate Investigator(s):
Information Specialist(s):
Data Type(s): Location-Elevation: Navigation, Sampling: Geology, Biological Field Study: Experiments, Biological Field Study: Surveys, Imagery: Photo, Imagery: Video, Sampling: Biology, Visual Identification: Species ID
Scientific Purpose/Goals: Bottom photo and sedimentological, geochemical, and biological sampling to define sedimentary environments and benthic habitats within eastern Long Island Sound.
Start Port/Location: Old Lyme, CT
End Port/Location: Old Lyme, CT
Start Date: 1996-03-11
End Date: 1996-03-19
Equipment Used: DGPS, Grab sampler - Van Veen , SeaBOSS
Information to be Derived:
Summary of Activity and Data Gathered:
Staff: Dann Blackwood, Lawrence Poppe, Brenton B. Taylor, Ralph Lewis
Affiliate Staff:
Notes: Original Center People field contained: L. Larry Poppe, D. Dann Blackwood, B. Brendt Taylor, R. Lewis, M. Cohen, R. Robertson.
eastern Long Island Sound and adjacent waters, Connecticut, United States, North America, North Atlantic;
Buczkowski, B.J., and Kelsey, S.A., 2007, Archival policies and collections database for the Woods Hole Science Center's marine sediment samples: URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1187/.
Poppe, L.J., Danforth, W.W., McMullen, K.Y., Parker, C.E., Lewit, P.G., and Doran, E.F., 2010, Integrated multibeam and LIDAR bathymetry data offshore of New London and Niantic, Connecticut: URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1231/.
Poppe, L.J., and Polloni, Chris, eds., 1998, Long Island Sound environmental studies: URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1998/of98-502/.
Data Acquired


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Do you have post-CTIA-syndrome? Feel like all the hot new smartphone news happened two weeks ago and not much has happened since? Wondering if you have the strength to make it through another day without a pithy overview of everything that happened in the smartphone world last week? Easter feast have you feeling too lazy to do anything but peruse enough smartphone news to fill out a short novella?
Fret not, our best of SPE news roundup has you covered. Get clicking!


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Bullet with a Name – Win Nonpoint Tickets
Now I understand that people bitching about gun control may not find this to be the "classiest" way to give away tickets. But since when have we ever been "classy?" Enter NOW for your chance to win tickets to see Nonpoint LIVE at the Palace.


text:
Skeletons there are in plenty in the Indiana Jones adventures.
There is the skeleton of an ill-fated colleague that gives away the location of a booby trap in an abandoned temple in the South American jungle. Or the desiccated remains of a medieval knight in the fictional catacombs of Venice, whose tomb holds an important clue to the location of the Holy Grail.
And, naturally, there are many, many very animated skeletons, whose primary role is to appear on camera at just the right moment to frighten both the audience and the heroes of the films.
But to Jerome Rose, an NSF-funded archaeologist at the University of Arkansas, skeletons�particularly those found in an endangered burial ground at the archaeological site of Hierakonpolis on the Nile, some 650 miles south of Cairo�are a tangible, vibrant and very instructive link to the lives of a people and culture that passed away thousands of years ago.
Based on the finds at Hierakonpolis, the stories these bones help to tell contain instantly familiar themes of familial love, personal vanity and perhaps even sudden and cruel death.
Based on the finds at Hierakonpolis, the stories these bones help to tell contain instantly familiar themes of familial love, personal vanity and perhaps even sudden and cruel death.
Rose's specialty in the broader field of archaeology�bioarchaeology�is the study of ancient bones and the tales they tell, by inference, of famine and feast, plague and plenty in the distant past.
"In the United States, the term was coined in the 1970s to describe individuals who study human skeletons within an archaeological context, within the context of the excavations," he said. "In a sense it's constructing a biography of culture. What people ate and how much they ate, for example, tell us how tall they might have been, as a people."
Rose was part of an NSF-funded team that studied the remains in a cemetery at Hierakonpolis that itself was destined to soon become part of history. The cemetery was endangered by the expansion of gardens and fields by the local residents.
Rose was a member of a team of bioarchaeologists assembled by Renée Friedman that also included Joseph Powell, of the University of New Mexico; Joel Irish, of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks; and Ahmed Fahmy, of the University of Helwan, Cairo.
To build upon previous work by Friedman and others at the cemetery of Hierakonpolis, NSF provided funding for three seasons of large-scale excavation and analysis, with an excavation in 2004 to support the rescue of the last burials from this unique cemetery. A total of 470 graves containing more than 500 skeletons were rescued and analyzed.
The average person, if asked to describe what archaeologists do, would probably agree that at first blush, the type of work the team carried out is exactly what popular entertainment suggests archaeologists should do: digging away in the tombs of Egypt.
But Rose points out that Hierakonpolis is scientifically significant precisely because it is very different in most respects from the classic Hollywood image of Egyptian archaeological digs. It provides a window into a period of time immediately prior, historically speaking, to the unification of the ancient kingdom of Egypt and the advent of the cultural mainstays, such as mummies, lofty tombs and the treasures of King Tutankhamen that so fascinate the public.
For one thing, the team's excavations centered not on immense pyramidal burial sites built by hundreds for the eternal repose of a small ruling class, but on the graves and burial practices of comparatively average people.
For another, the graves and artifacts of Hierakonpolis represent a key period in time before the ancient kingdom of Egypt became the entity that is so engrained in the public consciousness.
"Here, these particular skeletons are very important," Rose notes, "because just after this time period, historically speaking, you have sociopolitical events that result in the unification of Egypt."
The copious and coherent historical records left to us by the ancient Egyptians is what persuaded Rose to focus his career on the study of this cradle of civilization, rather than the remains of the cultures of the desert southwest of the United States, where he got his start in the field.
"I switched to studying the archaeology of Egypt because you could work with skeletons in a much better historical context: written history going back a long time. There are all of these records: there are mentions of plagues and disease and famines and all these things that allow us to correlate the remains with the historical record."
For example, evidence of artifacts found in the graves indicated that the full-blown conception of an afterlife and the elaborate preparations for it that characterize the most famous tombs of the great pharaohs may only just have been in its infancy at Hierakonpolis.
According to a written report on the excavations, the pit-like graves were dug into hot dry sand which led to outstanding preservation of organic matter�unique in modern times�of mats and baskets as well as hair, bone, body tissues, foodstuffs and gut contents, all of which provide unparalleled information on diet, nutrition, health and lifestyle of the ancient Egyptians.
"The burials," it adds, "were arranged in large circles with empty centers, apparently associated with family groupings in which the greatest attention and endowments are given to the burials of older women."
In the intact burial of one woman, who was between 40 and 50 years old at the time of her death, a basket containing a wide variety of objects that may be interpreted as what the team described as a "magico-medical kit," that included a leather pouch filled with slivers of imported cedar and juniper and rarely preserved remains of dill and tubers, suggesting that it was an incense mixture.
This grave and those of older women also revealed well-preserved, and, in some cases, elaborately styled hair.
In addition to the body and its wrappings, small personal items and pottery vessels were arranged to suggest ritual activity rather than simply provisioning the grave for the afterlife.
In other words, Rose notes, "the concept of the afterlife appears to be changing."
"Nevertheless," the report continued, "food stuffs remained major and sometimes the only offering in most graves. A small loaf of bread on a potsherd was placed lovingly before the mouth of a small child. At the base of another grave was a basket filled to the brim with desiccated fruit of the Egyptian plum and the crab-apple sized product called 'Christ's thorn bush' that are both still eaten today."
The report also notes that there were key differences between male and female burials and that those differences needed to be carefully considered before conclusions are drawn about what they mean.
"The association of metal and other reusable artifacts with male burials may, however, skew the impression of relative wealth," it notes. "Case in point is the burial of a large male, 35-40 years of age, that contained a fish tail flint knife, still wrapped in a hide bundle and uniquely still hafted to a reed handle, fabric-wrapped balls of crushed malachite and a quantity of textiles."
The report adds that "investment in male burials may also be seen in the efforts made to contain or protect the body. In one burial, planks of wood were used as a revetment along the sides of the grave to hold back the sand and the burial matting had been woven into a type of hamper, with wood sticks inserted to provide strength and support to its curving vertical walls, heralding coffins of later times. Most of the previously excavated burials had woven reed mats placed under and over the body. Also apparently reserved for males was the practice of what appears to be scalping."
There also is no lack of apparent drama in the information a grave can yield, in some cases providing evidence of practices previously unknown.
Although the site where they were discovered had been disturbed, four skulls were recovered, according to the Hierakonpolis report, "with clear and obvious cut marks�[i]n one case over 190 individual cut marks were observed. The cuts begin at the forehead line and move back surrounding the vault [of the skull]. These remains were found in conjunction with cervical vertebrae exhibiting severe cut marks indicating decapitation, and together with a decapitated and scalped skeletal remains found in a burial in the previous season, suggest ritual or punitive activities previously unattested in Predynastic Egypt."
To Rose, the Hierakonpolis finds and what they may tell us about the people who so carefully prepared the graves is the essence of the value that the science of archaeology brings to contemporary human culture.
"Discovering people's pasts is a way of giving them immortality," he notes. "The remains in these graves are those of a body of a person who lived in a particular place and in a particular time. They provide an emotional tie to studying the dead and talking about their lives. For me, it is far more than just studying a dead body on a table."


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Music Education Faculty
Frank Abrahams is Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Abrahams holds degrees from Temple University and New England Conservatory. In addition to his work in music education and administration, he enjoys an active career as a pianist, choral conductor, and in musical theater. He is the founder and conductor laureate of the Westminster Conservatory Youth Chorale and is the founder and conductor of the Westminster Conservatory Collegiate Chorale.
Janet Cape is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in secondary general music and instrumental methods, and serves as a supervisor of student teachers. Before joining the Westminster Choir College faculty in September 2010, Dr. Cape taught middle and high school instrumental music in Winnipeg, Canada. She has also taught qualitative research methods and supervised pre-service teachers at Arizona State University.
Dr. Donna Gallo is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in critical pedagogy, philosophy, choral methods, and supervises student teachers. She is also the coordinator for the summer Kodály Certification program. Dr. Gallo completed her Ph.D.
Al Holcomb is associate professor at Westminster College of the Arts at Rider University where he is chair of Music Education and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. He is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences on the topics music assessment, music teacher mentoring and professional development, choral music education, adolescent vocal development and aural skill development.
James is an Adjunct Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University where he teaches the course Music in Special Education. After graduating magna cum laude with a B.M. in Music Education from Westminster Choir College, he began his teaching career at Cambridge School in Pennington, N.J., a private school for children with language-based learning differences. At Cambridge, he became captivated with the science of learning, as well as research-based methods and programs.
Sharon Morrow is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. She received her Master of Music Education degree and Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Colin Oettle is a New Jersey-based conductor and violinist who draws upon a diverse musical and educational background to work with young musicians around the tri-state area. Mr. Oettle earned his Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Rutgers University, where he was the assistant conductor of the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra and the Rutgers Sinfonia. He completed his undergraduate studies in violin performance and music education at Ithaca College, and now combines his fields of study into a performance-oriented approach toward music education. Mr.
Dr. Marshall Onofrio joined Rider University as Associate Dean of Westminster Choir College in July 2006, becoming the founding Associate Dean for Administration of the Westminster College of the Arts in spring 2009. From January to June 2015, he served as Interim Dean of the College. Immediately prior to coming to Rider, Onofrio was Professor of Music and Chairman of the Department of Music at Marshall University from 1998-2006.


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Nina In New York: Aw, Sugar, SugarThe Food and Drug Administration has finally finalized the new nutrition labels! Huzzah!
Nina In New York: Dear Huggies, You Just Get Me. Love, MeAs a mom, there's nothing I like more than being marketed to in an unsolicited and brazenly condescending, maudlin way.
Nina In New York: This Is Your Kid's Brain On MomA recent study has found that children's brains light up all over the place when they hear the sounds of their mothers' voices. It doesn't mean they're going to listen any better, but it's sweet all the same.
Nina In New York: These Nutritional Guidelines Are So 22 Years AgoThe FDA is finally beginning to catch up to what so many of us figured out: the guidelines for what should be "healthy" needs to change.
Nina In New York: This Gives "Government Cheese" A Whole New MeaningThings are far from gouda, and it'll be a long time before this situation gets feta.
Nina In New York: Make It A Double, We're Drinking For TwoIt's Monday, and that means we can get back to the business of telling pregnant women what to do with their bodies.
Nina In New York: Thanks, Moms. This Ain't Easy.Mother's Day is upon us. And the moments that stick out in my mind from this past year that make me feel accomplished as a parent are not the ones I would ever have predicted.
Nina In New York: Best Wedding Registry Advice From The World's Worst OffenderI want the new crop of starry-eyed, fine china-minded lovers to do better than I did, to think more clearly, to act more strategically. Here are a few common mistakes and bits of wisdom I can offer.
Nina In New York: Three Years Of Parenting! I Think.Each year since I became a mother, I take a moment to reflect on what I've learned over the past 365 days of parenting. And as my daughter just celebrated her third birthday, it seems to be that time again.
Nina In New York: Let's Bring Some Books Back To QueensNina in New York sits down with the founding members of the Queens Bookshop Initiative to talk about their hopes, dreams, why it's so important to bring another bookstore to Queens.
Nina In New York: Eat This, Not That. No, Not That Either. Or This, For That Matter.It seems to me that the moral of the story is that all edible substances, no matter how well-regulated, possess the potential to sicken.
Nina In New York: Forget It, Nina, It's Scootertown.Once, I swore I'd never be a scooter parent. Naturally, my principles and words have been rendered utterly meaningless.


text:
If your site contains primarily PVM documentation, please submit it to the Documentation category. Submit your site to the main PVM category if it is about an implementation of PVM, language bindings for PVM, monitoring or profiling tools, patches for specific architectures, or any other software that directly relates to PVM.Parallel Virtual Machine is a software system enabling heterogeneous computers to be used as a single computational resource. It runs on a variety of architectures and networking conditions, and has bindings for many programming languages (most prominently C and Fortran). The official release is open source, although there are commercial implementations as well.
If your site is about software that just happens to be written using PVM, please find a place in Computers/Software for it based on what your software does.


text:
League of Legends Not Patching? UK Porn Filter Blocks More than Porn
Arguably one of the biggest games to hit the competitive circuit to date, Riot Games's multiplayer online battle arena game, League of Legends, was the most played PC game in North America and Europe in 2012 according to Forbes.
And now LoL players in the UK are claiming that the country's anti-porn filters are preventing their games from properly patching.
What started as a League of Legends subreddit post has grown into a pretty big news item as more and more players are noticing a problem. The original user suggests that the anti-porn filter is blocking certain files since they contain strings of letters that make up the word "sex."
UK ISPs search for pornographic content and block anything that matches certain words or phrases in the filter. According to the Huffington Post:
"Last week, Prime Minister David Cameron announced online porn would soon become automatically blocked in order to "protect children and their innocence." The filters will be implemented by the UK's major internet service providers, which encompass 95% of British web users."
Unfortunately, it was also found that according to a report by the digital advocacy organization Open Rights Group, the filter also blocks violence, alcohol, terrorism, smoking, 'web forums', and 'esoteric material'.
For LoL players specifically!
If your patcher logs show lines like this:
RADS::Common::HTTPConnection::GetFile: File not found
It is happening because of files with names similar to these:
If you are in the UK and experiencing this problem, you can do one of two things:
- have a friend zip the patch contents and send it to you every time it patches
- call your ISP to lift the default blockade
(Note: It could also have nothing to do with the ISP anti-porn filters and because of your router protection settings which might also block the word 'sex'.)
Just one more annoyance that isn't going away.
The default-on filters implemented by the four main private internet providers in the UK, is to encourage more users to keep them according to Open Rights Group Executive Director Jim Killock:
"We know that people stick with defaults: this is part of the idea behind 'nudge theory' and 'choice architecture' that is popular with Cameron."
It looks like the UK is imposing Big Brother morality judgments on the content that you're able to see... and not even doing a very good job of it either.
What do you think? Hasn't anyone learned from the Great Firewall of China yet?
Games League of Legends
Genres ActionAdventureeSportsMassively MultiplayerMOBAStrategy
Tags league of legends patch issues league of legends porn uk anti-porn filters


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(based on 15 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
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of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
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Reviewed by 15 customers
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Have aleady ordered two, will be ordering a third soon.
By flash
from Belmont, NH
About Me Budget Shopper
Comments about Solid Color 2-Slice Toaster Cover:
I have had a hard time finding appliance covers anywhere so was I happy to see them in your catalog. I have already ordered them for a coffee maker and a toaster oven and was very pleased with the quality. I will be ordering a third soon for my toaster.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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2 slice toaster
By Helen
from Fletcher, NC
You all are the only ones that sell these. They work for us. Not my first ones to order.
(0 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
I have returned this to you...you sent 2
By krybaby
from Maryland
it was awful...coulnd't wait to return it...now credit my account.
Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Good looking and functional
By pie baker
from Detroit, MI
Red color matches other red items in my kitchen. Keeps my rarely-used toaster clean and out of sight. Sensibly priced.
Cover 2 Slice Toaster
By momsuns
from Phoenix, AZ
Was pleasantly surprised that the cover was even better than it shows in the photo. The fabric is awesome
A true find!
By pb
from Lakeland, FL
About Me Midrange Shopper
I have searched, on and off, for a blue, 2 slice, toaster cover and had all but just about given up but Miles Kimball came through. THANK YOU. I haven't had the need to launder it as yet so I am not sure how its care or durability will be.
Love it
By Smart Shopper
from Illinois
Great product. Looks attractive in the kitchen. The fabric seems to be quite durable.
Appliance Covers are a hit!
By Ms. Lovely
from Queens. NY
I found appliance covers, and I'm loving them. These covers have been hard to find locally. These covers are used for my kitchen appliances. Yes, I quite pleased with your wide range of products. Your catalogue is great!
Great Cover
By RuRu
from Granbury, Texas
To cover my Red Toaster. Good price, [...]
Love then, no regrets
By Vstar950
from Anaheim CA
Need one for food saver freezer vaccume. Wish front side was eaiset to see.


text:
Jean-Pierre Braganza
Essonite Bute Coat
LSize Guide
need help?
Call us: +44 (0) 20 7229 4848
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Jean-Pierre Braganza's Essonite coat is the epitome of immaculate tailoring. The mid length coat creates the perfect silhouette. 100% wool, this black coat is simple and elegant, while details such as the lapels which are not attached to the coat keep it modern and fashion forward. Work, day and night this coat will work with anything and last you seasons to come. The coat is fully lined, has two side pockets and three buttons. Lapels can be pulled over the shoulders to make a belt feature.
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27 May 2016
Service rating : Nicesortiment,perfect web page, proffesional and reliable seller
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Made in England
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Dry clean
100% wool
Dry clean
Model is 178cm (5'10) and wears Size 8
This item is held by the designer so please allow up to 7 working days for delivery, although we aim to have it with you sooner!
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Please visit our Delivery or Returns page for more information.
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Meet The Designer
British born and Canadian raised designer Jean Pierre Braganza has made a name for himself in womenswear through his constructed tailoring and futuristic prints. After graduating from CSM and working for Roland Mouret he set up his own label in 2003. Passionate about the human anatomy Braganza designs clothing to accentuate the form of the wearer, using intelligently cut patterns and unexpected detailing. Braganza designs for a strong woman who is not afraid to embrace the dark side of life.


text:
Steelcraft UV Sunshade
Product Information
UV Sun Protection
Designed to fit the Strider Stroller/Pram and most canopied strollers and prams Mesh window provides ventilation and view for child Can remain attached to the stroller or can be stored in drawstring mesh bag
Product Detail:
- 50+ UPF rated knitted polyester fabric, testing has shown that the sunshade cover will block both UVA and UVB sun rays up to +98%
- Will fit the most canopied strollers and prams
Shipping Disclaimer
We do not have stock levels on our website and when you place your order it may be in or out of stock. Most items are usually in stock your order will be dispatched within 48 hours and delivered within 3-10 working days depending on your location. If your item is out of stock we will contact you via email advising you of this and the options available to you. Our suppliers can also run out of stock and sometimes this causes unexpected further delays. If you are ordering furniture, some suppliers only make to order and this may take up to 20 weeks to arrive. Some larger furniture items are pick up in stores only (This is in the product description).
Shipping Time
3-10 Working Days (If items are in Stock) or varies dependant on item ordered, our team will have contacted you (if items are out of stock).


text:
Seven first and second year students traveled to Nicaragua in May to participate in Sarah Lawrence's international service learning trip. For two weeks they lived in urban and rural communities and learned about the country's political and economic history and present situation. With the help of ProNica, a Quaker organization based in Managua they took part in social change and organic agricultural projects and women's cooperatives.
Whenever possible, the students worked along with their Nicaraguan hosts, whose warm hospitality was abundant throughout their stay. Sarah Penniman, a first-year student, shared some of her impressions in a letter to her church community. Sarah wrote that these students were guided by the sentiments of Lila Watson, an Australian aboriginal woman; "if you have come here to help me you are wasting your time. If you have come here because you know that your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." Sarah's letter is excerpted here:
"We went to Nicaragua not to grace its poor, powerless people with the charity and mercy of our hands, but as humble pupils of a people whose strong hearts and spirited souls have led them through the most heinous trials imaginable.
During our two week stay, we saw people join together in decaying church buildings for Mass, to celebrate the wonder of life; a self-sustaining cooperative called Potters for Peace that makes ceramic water filtration systems for communities without safe drinking water; one of many Christian based communities embracing Liberation Theology and uniting a political and spiritual poor people's movement against oppression; San Marcos, a farm and home for street kids where children for the first time discover childhood; a village struggling with its own poverty yet taking up a collection to provide food and supplies for hurricane victims; Nueva Vida, a community of people rendered homeless by the hurricane who are helping one another rebuild houses; student activists struggling fiercely to bring more money into schools; people organizing to end sweat shop exploitation; a women's center and clinic, healing and empowering women; communities working together to build libraries and schools; people who know the strength of song and sing long into the night; the mesmerizing beauty and diversity of the Nicaraguan landscape, the breathtaking mountains and lush forests; people proud of their simple cement houses with dirt floors, who feel the strength of the land, and know what real wealth is. I had the privilege of stepping out of my environment into one of the very richest countries in the hemisphere."


text:
Today's Hot New Trailer
In the late 1940s glamor reached its epitome in Hollywood, but all that glitz had a tarnished underbelly. The newest trailer from Gangster Squad showcases the grittiness of the mob scene in the same era, and the contrast is stark. It's clear from this trailer of the upcoming movie based on actual events that the LAPD was more than willing to let go of their usual set of rules as they fought to keep East Coast mobsters like Mickey Cohen out of their city.
NEW: Honestly, this second trailer is mostly a shorter, tighter version of the first theatrical trailer. Though this second look at the movie is 40 percent shorter than the first, they seem to have not lost one firearm or fedora.
DIFFERENT:There's less emphasis on the squad in this trailer, and, as a result, more time is spent on the gangsters.
YAY: The sparks between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are just as electrifying as they were in last year's Crazy, Stupid, Love.
NAY: The prosthetics used to make Sean Penn look more like the gangster Mickey Cohen continue to be off putting.
Watch the trailer:
Get more Naked Trailers on Reelz. Tune-in Thursdays at 11am ET/ 8am PT and Saturdays at 10am ET/ 7am PT


text:
November 11, 2013
The Purity Story
By Brian Caulfield
My parents met at a parish social in New York City soon after my dad returned from a World War II navy stint. They were both Catholic high school teens. My dad was finishing his senior year after taking time out to defend his country and my mom was 15. Their meeting was, as my mom tells it, love at first sight. She saw this dashing young man at the punch bowl, hoping he would pour her a cup, and he did. They dated for years, when young couples still went "steady," and became engaged...
September 09, 2013
How do you know you're a man?
By Brian Caulfield
Guys of a certain age will remember Chuck Connors, TV's version of Charlton Heston, who blasted his way across the small screen as "The Rifleman" for five seasons beginning in 1958. Week to week, he was the consummate straight-shooter: a widower riding the West with his pre-teen son, working hard and saying little, encountering trouble (usually a gang of black-hatted bad guys stealing livestock), and doing justice in his square-jawed, reluctant way by shooting two or three...
September 02, 2013
Our many hues of blue
By Jason Godin
Colors both captivate our ordinary senses and, at the same time, capture extraordinary meanings. Consider blue. It can describe how low we might feel. But it can also depict, as a symbol, higher callings proposed by faith to humanity.Science defines blue as the color between green and violet in the optical electromagnetic spectrum, with a wavelength between 450 and 495 nanometers. But hearts, minds, and other human senses attach values to blue beyond the visible rainbow. We try to...
August 26, 2013
'Mystery priest' reveals thirst for God
By Brian Caulfield
The world is waiting for God. This is one lesson we can take from the "Mystery Priest" incident earlier this month in Missouri, when a Catholic priest appeared apparently from nowhere to anoint and pray for a young woman trapped in a car that was hit head-on by another driver. After 19-year-old Katie Lentz was rescued, the emergency workers wanted to thank the priest, but he was gone. A study of dozens of photos from the scene failed to show the black-clad, tab-collared man.Once the story...
August 19, 2013
Because she said 'yes'
By Jason Godin
The Solemnity of the Assumption (Aug. 15) celebrates the Immaculate Mother of God being taken up body and soul to heaven. The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Aug. 22) memorializes Mary as our royal and heavenly queen due to her entire life lived in perfect union with God.August also features the memorials of St. Dominic (Aug. 8), who preached widely about the Rosary; St. Maximilian Kolbe (Aug. 14), who founded the Immaculata Movement in Poland, and St. Stephen (Aug. 16), who...
August 05, 2013
The Freedom of Chastity
By Jason Godin
My column in this space, two years ago this month, identified lust as a form of slavery that distorts human sexuality. To the stunned surprise of this columnist, readers responded in large numbers to its message from places as near as Philadelphia and as far as the Philippines, and many places in between. They shared with him how that column's words helped them discuss with others what still needs to be said with clarity and conviction: forms of lust – particularly masturbation,...
July 22, 2013
'Lumen Fidei' for Families
By Brian Caulfield
Joy! That was my immediate reaction when I heard that Pope Francis was releasing his first encyclical on the topic of faith. I know papal letters are not often the cause of rejoicing, but there are many reasons to be happy over this document, Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith).First: This is the work of "four hands," as Francis himself described it. In issuing the encyclical, Pope Francis finished and continues the masterworks of his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Our beloved...
July 15, 2013
Moments with millennials
By Jason Godin
The decisions Windsor v. U.S. and Hollingsworth v. Perry reached by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26 reflect attitudes held among many youth today. Statistical studies have shown in recent years that large numbers of the Millennial Generation – those born since 1977 – favor legalizing homosexual unions and think effective parenting has little to do with marriage. As financial worries now surface as an even higher priority among millennials than getting married and having children, we...
July 01, 2013
James for July
By Jason Godin
The sounds of technology seem to amplify in July. Cellular phones chirp with greater urgency as we try to get away for vacation. Ear buds blast a bit louder in our summer travels. Artificial voices direct us to our vacation destinations. Such melodies testify to an advanced world and, at the same time, an increasingly disconnected people.Thankfully Catholicism provides us with ways to reconnect, both with others as we play and with God as we pray. The short New Testament Letter of...
June 24, 2013
Six steps to joy
By Randy Hain
Recently, I had coffee with a fellow Catholic who gloomily shared his ongoing struggles with living out his faith openly in the world and his reluctance to discuss his faith with others. He made it clear that going to Mass on Sunday was all he could or should be doing. After a few minutes of discussion, it became obvious that there was a connection between how my coffee companion presented his faith to the world and how others view the Catholic Church.Why do some Catholics lose their...


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Damian and Tim by jojodyWatch
©2013-2016 jojody
TT#18 preview…..
two of my fav characters their "say goodbye" ;_;
two of my fav characters their "say goodbye" ;_;
Aaawww. So sad and sweet! ),:
Awww this is cute.
Seriously what is it with the writers and destroying Bruce's family? Let's see so far they've killed two of his sons, paralyzed Batgirl, killed at least two love interests killed Bruce himself once. Good grief... Any lesser man would have gone insane.
This is sad, touching, and interesting in many forms. Thank you so much for this piece of art
This.. is.. gorgeously Beautiful! I shall now stalk your gallery if you may please
I just wanted to say that your art is so amazing! I could only dream of drawing this well! I absolutely love this drawing and it is by FAR my most favorite fanart out there! Please draw more!!
oh my gosh, will you color this?? it's amazing!!!!!
Anyone wanna say Robin sucks?
Because I will kill anyone who does.
Because I will kill anyone who does.
tears, just tears.
This is amazing, I don't know too much about the two but this is beautiful, you should colour it :3
Nice sketch, and nice side profiles
I kind of want to cry because of this T-T
rest in piece Damian rest in piece
Too cute! And so very sad.
SO SAAAAD (still)
;////////////////; Oh...
I saw that preview. I may not be a huge fan of Lobdell's writing, but that preview and Red Hood and the Outlaws #18 really hit hard
Phenomenal! Right in the feelings....I think I'm going to go cry in a corner somewhere now! :,(
Srsly though amazing work, you should be really proud of this piece, it conveys A LOOOOT of emotion for how simple it really is and that is an amazing achievement in art! ;D
Srsly though amazing work, you should be really proud of this piece, it conveys A LOOOOT of emotion for how simple it really is and that is an amazing achievement in art! ;D
I still miss the little bastard *sobs* I'm glad that Tim and 'Damian' end up reconciling, and Tim explains why he was such an ass to Little D when he was alive... Wonderful piece, I love your style :3


text:
Other CRFB Papers
The PREP Plan: Paying for Reform and Extension Policies
In the coming months, Congress and the President will face a number of important decisions with significant fiscal implications. Specifically, they must decide how to address "Sustainable Growth Rate" (SGR) cuts, which threaten to significantly reduce Medicare physician payments next April, and 55 "tax extenders" that expired at the end of last year.
If policymakers address these two issues irresponsibly, they could add up to $1 trillion to the debt over the next decade. Yet policymakers could also use these moments to make a down payment toward tax and entitlement reforms that slow health care cost growth, speed economic growth, and help put the debt on a sustainable long-term path.
To responsibly address the Sustainable Growth Rate, policymakers should:
- Permanently replace the SGR with a value-based payment system
- Fully offset any costs relative to current law
- Enact offsets that bend the health care cost curve and are gimmick-free
To responsibly address the expired tax extenders, policymakers should:
- Address most tax extenders permanently in the context of tax reform
- Fully offset the cost of any continued extenders without undermining tax reform
- Include a fast-track process to achieve comprehensive tax reform
There are many ways to achieve these goals. The Paying for Reform and Extension Policies (PREP) Plan represents one such approach. We assume, but don't endorse, the Tricommittee SGR bill and two years of tax extenders and propose $170 billion of SGR offsets that bend the health care cost curve, $83 billion of extender offsets that improve tax compliance, and a fast-track process for tax reform. Offsets would total $250 billion over ten years.
Summary of the PREP Plan (Costs/Savings over Ten Years)
|Enact Tricommittee SGR Reform
|$170 billion
|Extend "Tax Extenders" to 2015
|$83 billion
|Reform Provider Incentives
|-$80 billion
|Improve Tax Enforcement
|-$35 billion
|Reform Beneficiary Incentives
|-$80 billion
|Close Tax Avoidance Loopholes
|-$45 billion
|Reduce Medicaid Costs
|-$10 billion
|Restrict Inversions
|-$3 billion
|Total Offsets
|-$170 billion
|Total Offsets
|-$83 billion
|Set Up Fast Track Process for Comprehensive Tax Reform
|Ten-Year Deficit Impact : $0
Read the full paper below, or download a printer-friendly version here.
Report: Deficit Falls to $483 Billion, but Debt Continues to Rise
This paper has been updated for FY 2015 and is now located here.
Original October 8th: the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the FY 2014 budget deficit at $486 billion. While the CBO works closely with Treasury to come up with their estimates, CBO's report was preliminary.
The FY2014 budget deficit totaled $483 billion, according to today's statement from the Treasury Department. Although this is nearly 30 percent below the FY2013 deficit and 66 percent below its 2009 peak, the country remains on an unsustainable fiscal path.
In this paper, we show:
- Annual deficits have fallen substantially over the past five years, largely due to rapid increases in revenue (mostly from the economic recovery), the reversal of one-time spending during the financial crisis, small decreases in defense spending, and slow growth in other areas.
- Simply citing the 66 percent fall in deficits over the past five years without context is misleading, since it follows an almost 800 percent increase that brought deficits to record-high levels.
- Even as deficits have fallen, debt has continued to rise, more than doubling as a percent of GDP since 2007 to record levels not seen other than during a brief period around World War II.
- Both deficits and debt are projected to rise over the next decade and beyond, with trillion-dollar deficits returning by 2025 and debt exceeding the size of the economy before 2040, and as soon as 2030.
Unfortunately, the recent fall in deficits is not a sign of fiscal sustainability.
The Deficit in FY2014
According to the Treasury Department, the federal deficit totaled $483 billion in FY2014 (an initial estimate from the Congressional Budget Office on October 8th estimated the deficit at $486 billion), with $3.02 trillion of revenue and $3.50 trillion of spending. The figure below largely reflects CBO's estimates rather than Treasury's final numbers.
Since 2009, the budget picture has changed significantly, with deficits falling by 66 percent, from $1.4 trillion to slightly under $500 billion. This reduction was driven largely by the 44 percent (roughly $900 billion) increase in tax collections, primarily a result of the economic recovery, which has helped restore revenues as a share of GDP from their depressed 2009 levels to about their historical average. New taxes from the American Taxpayer Relief Act and the Affordable Care Act have also played a role.
At the same time, nominal spending is nearly $15 billion lower than in 2009, even as the economy grows, and inflation erodes its value. The decreases are largely driven by the absence and reversal of financial rescue and economic recovery spending through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the stimulus, though defense spending has also fallen. Most other categories of spending have grown in nominal terms; however, Medicare, non-defense discretionary spending, and interest costs have grown more slowly than was expected.
Importantly, at $483 billion (2.8 percent of GDP), last year's deficit was still substantially higher than the pre-recession deficit of $161 billion (1.1 percent of GDP) in 2007.
Deficits Fell From Record Levels But Will Rise Again
A 66 percent drop in annual deficits since 2009 is certainly significant, but when put in context it is less impressive than some would suggest. The rapid fall was from record-high levels and followed a rapid increase. At $1.4 trillion, the 2009 deficit was the highest ever as a share of the economy except during World War II (and in real dollar terms, the highest in history), having increased 779 percent from 2007 as a result of the Great Recession and measures enacted to combat it.
Moreover, while legislated spending reductions, tax increases, and other factors played a role, the end of trillion-dollar deficits was mostly the expected result of the economic recovery and the fading of measures intended to boost the recovery. As unemployment rates have fallen and GDP recovers, revenue collection has risen to more normal levels and countercyclical spending in areas such as unemployment insurance and food stamps has begun to subside. Meanwhile, stimulus and financial rescue measures enacted to speed the recovery have mostly wound down.
Unfortunately, even with these gains, the deficit remains more than three times as high as in 2007 (1.7 percentage points higher as a percent of GDP) and is projected to grow over time. Under CBO's current law baseline, annual deficits will return to trillion-dollar levels by 2025. Under their more pessimistic Alternative Fiscal Scenario, the deficit will reach $1.5 trillion in 2025, exceeding the nominal-dollar record set in 2009.
As Deficits Fall, the Debt Keeps Rising
Arguably the most important metric of a country's fiscal health is its debt-to-GDP ratio. And unfortunately, even as deficits have fallen the last five years, debt has grown. Indeed, over the same period that deficits fell by 66 percent, nominal debt held by the public grew by 69 percent – from $7.5 trillion to $12.8 trillion. As a percent of GDP, debt has grown extremely rapidly, from 35 percent of GDP in 2007 to 52 percent of in 2009 and to over 74 percent in 2014.
Falling deficits have not prevented the debt from growing; rather, they have only slowed down the growth trend. While the debt-to-GDP ratio may stabilize for a few years, debt is projected to continue growing faster than the economy over the long run. As the population ages, health care costs grow, and interest rates rise to more normal levels, CBO projects debt will rise from 73 percent of GDP in 2018 to 77 percent of GDP by 2024, and will exceed the size of the economy before 2040. Under CBO's Alternative Fiscal Scenario (AFS), debt will exceed the size of the economy before 2030.
The fact that deficits have fallen from their trillion-plus dollar levels is an encouraging sign that the economy continues to recover. Unfortunately, Washington's myopic focus on short-term deficits has likely slowed the recovery by cutting deficits somewhat too fast in the short term while leaving substantial imbalances in place over the long term.
While the deficit has indeed dropped significantly, this drop followed a massive increase, was largely expected, and does not suggest the country is on a sustainable fiscal path. Currently, debt levels are at historic highs and projected to grow unsustainably over the long run.
In only a decade, deficits are projected to again exceed $1 trillion, and within 15 to 25 years debt is projected to exceed the entire size of the economy.
Policymakers must work together on serious tax and entitlement reforms to put debt on a clear downward path relative to the economy, not declare false victories and sweep the debt issue under the rug.
Download a printer-friendly version of the paper here.
Report: Analysis of CBO's Updated Budget and Economic Forecast
Today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released updated budget and economic projections for the coming decade, showing today's record-high debt levels continuing to rise over the next decade. The report focuses on a "current law" baseline, which assumes policymakers break with the current practice of deficit-financing extensions of various expired or expiring policies. Even under this somewhat optimistic scenario, CBO shows the following:
- In nominal dollars, deficits will grow from $506 billion in 2014 to $960 billion in 2024, and debt will grow from $12.8 trillion to $20.6 trillion.
- As a percent of GDP, debt will stabilize around its post-World War II record high of 74 percent through 2020, before rising to above 77 percent of GDP by 2024.
- Deficits will remain below 3 percent of GDP through 2018, but rise to 3.6 percent of GDP by 2024.
- Federal revenues will stabilize at about 18 percent of GDP, while spending will grow from 20.4 percent of GDP in 2014 to 21.8 percent in 2024.
- The fastest growing part of the budget is interest payments, which will rise from 1.3 to 3.0 percent of GDP by 2024. Spending on the major health and retirement programs will grow from 9.8 to 11.5 percent of GDP.
- Compared with prior estimates, CBO expects the economy to be somewhat weaker, mostly due to 2014 growth being 1.2 percentage points lower.
- Compared with prior projections, CBO expects the debt to be about $400 billion lower in 2024, reaching 77.2 percent of GDP rather than 78 percent.
- If extrapolated forward, we find CBO would project debt to exceed the size of the economy before 2040 and reach nearly 150 percent of GDP by 2060.
CBO continues to show an unsustainable outlook for federal debt, even under current law. Under CBO's Alternative Fiscal Scenario, where Congress extends various expiring tax provisions, continues "doc fixes," and eliminates sequestration, debt would reach 85.7 percent of GDP in 2024 instead of 77.2 percent. Lawmakers will therefore need to strictly abide by pay-as-you-go rules and take steps to control the growth of entitlement spending, while enacting other tax and spending reforms to put debt on a downward path over the long run.
See the full paper below, or download it here.
Report: Analysis of the 2014 Social Security Trustees' Report
See our followup blog series for additional information on the Trustees Report not included in the analysis below.
The Social Security and Medicare Trustees released their annual reports today on the finances of both programs. The reports are an annual reminder of the action lawmakers should take to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare – both of which continue to face large and growing shortfalls. With regards to Social Security, the Trustees show that:
- The Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) trust fund is on the brink of insolvency, and is projected to be exhausted in 2016 – just 2 years from today. Absent legislation, beneficiaries in that program would face an immediate 19 percent across-the-board benefit cut.
- Assuming reallocation or interfund borrowing, the combined Old Age, Survivors', and Disability Insurance (OASDI) trust fund is projected to be exhausted in 2033. At that point, absent reform, all beneficiaries would face an immediate 23 percent across-the-board benefit cut.
- Over 75 years, Social Security's actuarial imbalance totals 2.88 percent of taxable payroll, or 1.02 percent of GDP. This is modestly higher than the 2.72 percent of taxable payroll (0.98 percent of GDP) imbalance that the Trustees reported last year.
- The gap between Social Security spending and revenues is projected to grow from 1.3 percent of payroll (0.45 percent of GDP) this year to 3.9 percent of payroll (1.4 percent of GDP) by 2035 and 4.9 percent of payroll (1.7 percent of GDP) by the end of the 75-year window.
- This report represents the fourth straight year where the 75-year shortfall has increased. In the 2010 report, the shortfall was estimated at 1.92 percent of taxable payroll, but it is now about fifty percent larger at 2.88 percent.
Although the projections have worsened somewhat, Social Security's long-term outlook is fundamentally unchanged. The DI trust fund will be insolvent in just two years, and the old-age trust fund by the time today's 48-year-olds reach the normal retirement age – or when today's 60-year-olds turn 79. The report sends a clear signal on the need for lawmakers to act promptly to reform and secure the Social Security programs for current and future generations
See the full paper below, or download it here.
Report: The 2014 CBO Long-Term Budget Outlook
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today released its 2014 Long-Term Budget Outlook, detailing the budget picture for the next 75 years. The report shows debt rising as a share of the economy continuously after 2017, a trend which CBO describes as unsustainable over the long run.
Under the Extended Baseline Scenario (EBS), which assumes that policymakers allow temporary spending and tax provisions to expire and do not further increase deficits in the years ahead, debt held by the public will rise from 74 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2014 – a post-war record – to 108 percent by 2040, 147 percent by 2060, and 212 percent by 2085.
This dramatic rise in debt assumes policymakers act in a fiscally responsible manner. The Alternative Fiscal Scenario (AFS), which assumes that policymakers will increase spending and reduce taxes compared to current law, shows a steeper climb in debt – to 170 percent of GDP by 2040, and by our calculations to 330 percent by 2060, and 620 percent by 2085.
Despite legislation in recent years to raise revenue and reduce spending – particularly discretionary spending – the long-term debt situation remains far from solved. Health and retirement programs will continue to grow faster than the economy at a quicker pace than revenue growth, leading to growing deficits, rising interest costs, and ever-rising debt levels.
Policymakers should act quickly to put in place tax and entitlement reforms to put debt on a sustainable long-term path. The longer we wait to act, the more severe the consequences and the more painful the choices will be.
See the full paper below, or download it here.
Trust or Bust: Fixing the Highway Trust Fund
Update: After publication we wrote a series of blogs providing options for offsets or to bring spending and revenue in line. As well in May 2015 we published a plan to deal with the Highway Trust Fund shortfall permanently.
Options to Offset a General Revenue Transfer
Options For New Sources of Highway Revenues
Options to Reduce Highway Spending
Options To Increase Current Sources of Highway Revenues
CRFB's Plan:The Road to Sustainable Highway Spending
Congress is facing two upcoming deadlines regarding surface transportation programs. At the end of September, the current authorization for highway programs expires and must be renewed. More immediately this summer, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) will have insufficient funds to continue operating. Failing to replenish this trust fund will cause serious disruption and bring many transportation projects to a stand-still. On the other hand, allowing the HTF to continue to spend beyond dedicated revenue could worsen an already dismal federal debt situation. Fortunately, there are responsible ways forward.
Highway spending has exceeded gas tax and other dedicated revenues regularly over the past decade, and this shortfall will only grow over time. Dedicated revenues currently fund less than three-quarters of total HTF spending, a concern that lawmakers have addressed in recent years by transferring $54 billion of mostly general tax revenue into the HTF (only $15 billion was paid for and partially with a gimmick). In FY2015 alone, highway spending could exceed revenues by nearly $15 billion, and over the next decade that gap will approach $170 billion.
There is broad bipartisan support for funding highways and other transportation infrastructure, which can both help to create jobs in the near-term and enhance long-term economic growth by fostering commerce, communication, tourism, and trade. Unfortunately, policymakers have so far been unable to agree on how to pay for desired levels of highway spending. In the coming months, Congress and the President must identify and agree to a fiscally responsible solution to close the HTF shortfall.
The best approach to address the shortfall would be a long-term highway bill that aligns dedicated revenues with transportation spending. Transferring funds from general revenue into the HTF would be an acceptable alternative if and only if those funds were fully offset with real spending cuts and/or tax increases elsewhere in the budget. Under no circumstance should lawmakers rely on a deficit-financed (or gimmick-financed) general revenue transfer to fund the HTF.
In addition to addressing the funding shortfall facing our highways, policymakers should use the highway bill to ensure better prioritization of funding projects and, importantly, to reform the budgetary treatment of highway spending. The HTF has a unique treatment in the budget, making it immune to the normal forms of budget discipline that ensure policymakers account for the full costs of legislation they pass.
See the full paper below, or download it here.
Update: We've corrected the paper for a typo since publication. The original paper cited that a VMT of 18.5 cents per mile would provide enough revenue to replace all transportation taxes and fully fund the HTF. The correct figure is 1.85.
Update 6/30/14: We previously reported the necessary cushion for smooth reimbursements to the states at $6 billion, but a more recent letter from CBO indicates the figure is $5 billion.
Appropriations 101
Note: We have updated this paper, please see our Updated Appropriations 101.
What are appropriations?
Appropriations are annual decisions made by Congress about how the federal government spends some of its money. In general, the appropriations process addresses the discretionary portion of the budget – spending ranging from national defense to food safety to education to federal employee salaries, but excludes mandatory spending, such as Medicare and Social Security, which is spent automatically according to formulas.
How does Congress determine the total level of appropriations?
Under current law, after the President submits the Administration's budget proposal to Congress, the House and Senate Budget Committees are each directed to report a budget resolution, which if passed by their respective houses, would then be reconciled in a budget conference (see Q&A: Everything You Need to Know About a Budget Conference). The resulting budget resolution, which is a concurrent resolution and therefore not signed by the President, includes what is known as a 302(a) allocation that sets a total amount of money for the Appropriations Committees to spend.
If a concurrent budget resolution does not pass both chambers, each house then may adopt legislation "deeming" 302(a) allocations – a practice which has become increasingly common in recent years. For example, the recent Bipartisan Budget Act directed the Budget Committee Chairs in the House and Senate to set the 302(a) limit for FY2015 at $1.014 trillion.
In addition, discretionary spending is currently subject to statutory spending caps. The Budget Control Act of 2011 set discretionary caps through 2021, which were modified for 2013, 2014, and 2015 by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Beyond 2015, the statutory caps set by the Budget Control Act are reduced by about $90 billion annually through an enforcement mechanism known as "sequestration" (see Understanding the Sequester) implemented after the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to produce legislation to reduce the debt.
How does Congress allocate appropriations?
Once they receive 302(a) allocations, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees set 302(b) allocations to divide total appropriations among 12 subcommittees, each dealing with a different part of the budget. Those subcommittees must then decide how to distribute funds within their 302(b) allocations. These 302(b) allocations are voted on by the respective Appropriations Committees but are not subject to review or vote by the full House or Senate. The table below lists the FY2014 regular (non-war, non-disaster) appropriations, along with the President's budget request for FY2015 and House FY2015 302(b) allocations for each of the subcommittees.
Each subcommittee must propose a bill that ultimately must pass both chambers of Congress and be signed by the President to take effect. Although the budget process calls for 12 individual bills, many of them are often combined into what is known as an omnibus appropriations bill and sometimes a few are combined into what has been termed a minibus appropriations bill.
How are appropriations levels enforced?
If any appropriations bill or amendment in either house exceeds the 302(b) allocation for that bill, causes total spending to exceed the 302(a) allocation, or causes total spending to exceed statutory spending caps, then any Member of Congress can raise a budget "point of order" against consideration of the bill. The point of order can be waived by a simple majority in the House as part of the rule for floor consideration of the bill and overridden by a 60-vote majority in the Senate. If, despite these points of order, Congress enacts legislation increasing spending beyond the defense or non-defense caps, then the President must issue a sequestration order to reduce discretionary spending across-the-board in the category in which the caps were exceeded, effective 15 days after Congress adjourns for the year. Importantly, certain types of discretionary spending – including for overseas contingency operations and for designated emergencies – do not count against the statutory caps.
What happens if funds are needed outside of the appropriations process?
Congress can pass a supplemental appropriations bill in situations that require additional funding immediately, rather than waiting until the following year's appropriations process. Supplementals are often used for emergencies such as natural disasters or military actions. Occasionally, Congress has used supplemental appropriations to stimulate the economy or to provide more money for routine government functions after determining that the amount originally appropriated was insufficient. Supplemental appropriations bills are subject to the same internal and statutory spending limits as regular appropriations. They require the same offsets to ensure they do not exceed spending limits, unless designated as emergency spending.
What role does the President play in the appropriations process?
Although the President has no power to set appropriations, he influences both the size and composition of appropriations by sending requests to Congress. Specifically, each year the President's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) submits a detailed budget proposal to Congress based on requests from agencies. The appendix to the President's budget submission contains much of the technical information and legislative language used by the Appropriations Committees. In addition, the President must sign or veto each of the 12 appropriations bills, giving him additional influence over what the bills look like.
What is the timeline for appropriations?
The 1974 Budget Act calls for the President to submit his budget request by the first Monday in February and for Congress to agree to a concurrent budget resolution by April 15th. The House may begin consideration of appropriations bills on May 15th even if a budget resolution has not been adopted, and is supposed to complete action on appropriations bills by June 30th. However, none of these deadlines are enforceable and they are regularly missed. The practical deadline for passage of appropriations is October 1st, when the next fiscal year begins and the previous appropriation bills expire. For a full timeline of the budget process click here.
What happens if appropriations bills do not pass by October 1?
If the appropriations bills are not enacted before the fiscal year begins on October 1st, federal funding will lapse, resulting in a government shutdown. To avoid a shutdown, Congress will often pass a continuing resolution, which allows for continued funding, providing additional time for completion of the appropriations process. If Congress has passed some, but not all, of the 12 appropriations bills, a partial government shutdown can occur.
What is a continuing resolution?
A continuing resolution, often referred to as a CR, is a temporary bill that continues funding for all programs based on a fixed formula, usually prior year funding levels. Congress can pass a CR for all or just some of the appropriations bills. CRs can increase or decrease funding and can include "anomalies," which adjust spending in certain accounts to avoid technical or administrative problems caused by continuing funding at current levels, or for other reasons.
What happens during a government shutdown?
A shutdown represents a lapse in available funding, and during a shutdown the government stops most non-essential activities related to the discretionary budget. To learn more see Q&A: Everything You Should Know About Government Shutdowns.
Do agencies have any discretion in how they use funds from appropriators?
Executive branch agencies must spend funds provided by Congress in the manner directed by Congress in the text of the appropriations bills. Appropriations bills often contain accompanying report language with additional directions, which are not legally binding but are generally followed by agencies. Congress often provides broad authority, which gives agencies more control in allocating spending. However, in some instances, Congress will provide for very narrow authority or can use funding limitation clauses to tell agencies what they cannot spend the money on. Agencies have some authority to reprogram funds between accounts after notifying (and in some cases getting approval from) the Appropriations Committees.
What is the difference between appropriations and authorizations?
Authorization bills create, extend, or make changes to the law and specific programs and specify the amount of money that appropriators may "spend" on a specific program, in other cases leaving the amount open ended. Appropriations bills then provide the discretionary funding available to agencies and programs that have already been authorized. For example, an authorization measure may create a food inspection program and set a funding limit for the next five years. However, that program is not funded by Congress until an appropriations measure is signed into law. The authorization bill designs the rules and sets out the details for the program, while the appropriations bill provides the actual resources to execute the program. In the case of mandatory spending, an authorization bill both authorizes and appropriates the funding for a specific program, without requiring a subsequent appropriations law.
Where are the House and Senate in the current appropriations process?
Both the Senate and House have deemed their 302(a) allocations at $1.014 trillion for regular appropriations pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Currently, both chambers are working on writing and passing individual appropriations bills. To follow the progress of individual appropriations bills throughout the process, see our Appropriations Watch: FY2015.
Chartbook: The Tax Extenders
An annotated version of this chartbook is available at Want to Understand the Tax Extenders? Here's a Few Charts.
Much more detail about the history, rationale, and cost of the extenders is available at our resource: Tax Break-Down: Tax Extenders
Report: CBO's Analysis of the President's FY 2015 Budget
Tax Day 2014: 10 Charts About Taxes
An annotated version of this chartbook is available at Tax Day 2014: Ten Charts to Explain Our Federal Tax System