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Steve Jobs: 1955 – 2011
With the sad passing of Steve Jobs yesterday, Autism Speaks wanted to take a moment to recognize the enormous contributions he and Apple made to the autism community. Jobs brought touch screen computing to the masses, and as a result of the iPad and the many other tablet and touch screen devices that followed, he helped many affected by autism achieve a degree of independence that would simply have been impossible without that technology. He was a one of a kind entrepreneur, inventor and innovator, and we felt it was appropriate that we take a moment to recognize his extraordinary life, and to thank him for the contributions to the autism community. RIP Steve, and thanks.
If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, you can email firstname.lastname@example.com
Here are two blog posts from the autism community that celebrate Steve Jobs:
Diary of a Mom remembers Steve Jobs through the eyes of an autism mom, in this post.
Squidalicious thanks Steve Jobs on behalf of her son Leo and the rest of her family here. Leo was featured in Apple's iPad: Year One.
In Their Own Words – Seeking a Connection
This is a guest blog post by Ali Dyer, the Social Media Coordinator at Autism Speaks. Her older brother Jeff has autism.
As I read a diary of a mom's 'a pink sock sorry,' I immediately fell back to my younger self trying to connect with my older brother Jeff. I understood what it was like expending endless amounts of energy just to have my brother see me. It seemed back then he just never did. Like my friend Katie, I just wanted to love my sibling.
For years, we worked to have Jeff let us in and for years he wasn't ready. He used to watch the television with his face practically touching the screen. From the moment I could stand, I would try and wedge myself between him and his object of interest, always to be knocked over. My oldest brother Tom and I never stopped loving him – we actually became more fierce and protective.
My mother is a very talented photographer and so much of our life is captured on film. The photos over the years show us clinging to Jeff. He is either staring off into the distance or running away. I think they are beautiful. They are honest. That is how it was.
Eventually, he came around. Now he can't get enough of us! But there are times when we go back to the old days, and I have to respect his need for space. He knows that I love him and I'll be waiting when he is ready.
The photos look more like this now.
Jeff is twenty-six, which comes with a whole new set of challenges. We made it over the hump of him transitioning into a group home. It is more than a year later and we are still making adjustments. To be honest, I don't know that we ever will fully adjust. Despite that, we will try and keep moving ahead giving Jeff the most productive and full life possible.
I know as time wears on Jeff will need me, but in truth, I will need him so much more.
"In Their Own Words" is a series within the Autism Speaks blog which shares the voices of people who have autism, as well as their loved ones. If you have a story you wish to share about your personal experience with autism, please send it to firstname.lastname@example.com. Autism Speaks reserves the right to edit contributions for space, style and content. Because of the volume of submissions, not all can be published on the site.
What I Heard
Last Thursday evening, I attended a talk at Boston University with Dr. Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks. What follows is the letter that I felt compelled to write to her after hearing her speak.
Ed note: I have written before about Autism Speaks and why I have stuck with them through some difficult times. If you're interested, please click –> HERE <– to read a post that I believe pretty well sums up my position.
I need to share his words with you. I need you to know how much this matters. To our precious children, of course, above all. But also to US – to their mothers and fathers, their siblings, their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles, their cousins, and, if they're lucky enough to have them, their friends.
Quicksand And A Rope from Luau's blog, Run Luau Run
**I am running – pounding the treadmill.
My demeanor is calm, almost stoic, but I am sinking.
Sweat is dripping out of every single pore of my body. I am drenched. The display of the treadmill is spattered.
I'm waiting…waiting for the endorphins to kick in; waiting for the wave of "feel good" to wash over me and wash away the troubles of the day, the 1000 paper cuts that are threatening to bleed me out. I wait, and when I feel like I've waited long enough, I double-down and pick up the pace. The sweat continues to pour out of me, now like a leaky bucket losing water.
My breathing becomes labored and yet, I am still calm, stone-faced and waiting.
When the endorphins finally kick in, it is almost anti-climactic.
Yes, I feel good.
Yes, there is some release of tension.
But there is an underlying sense of dread, of sadness, of disappointment, of loneliness.
Something is not right. There is still a weight upon my chest, my shoulders, pressing down. The immediate world around me is no longer bending to my will. The destiny of me and my family no longer seems to be in my hands.
I think about Brooke's future a lot. I know that any parent thinks about their child(ren)'s future, but when you have a child with special needs, like Brooke has, those concerns get multiplied. What roadblocks will autism throw up against her as an adult? as a teenager? as a tween? next week? It doesn't seem to stop. A few weeks ago we had a scare that Brooke might be suffering from brain seizures (nearly 1/4 of kids on the autism spectrum will at some point suffer a seizure of some sort). She had been rolling her eyes into her head sometimes at a terrifying rate of 10 – 15 times per minute. In the end, after an EEG and an evaluation, it was determined that she was not suffering from seizures, but rather a motor tic associated with autism.
Not that I would have wanted it to be a brain seizure, but I thought, "Great, just one more thing that is going to make it difficult for her. Great!" Fortunately the eye rolling has subsided immensely. I now see her do it maybe 10 times in a day as opposed to 10 times in a minute.
That, along with a few other factors related to Brooke, have taken their toll I think. My sleep has suffered. My running has suffered. My motivation to do ANYTHING has suffered. I have been sinking slowly in a quicksand that has threatened to swallow me up.
But then last night I was thrown a rope.
Jess and I went to listen to a talk given my Autism Speaks Chief Science Officer Geri Dawson. She spoke on the state of science and research in the field of autism – where we were, where we are and where we just might be going in the not-so-distant future. Jess is much better at conveying events, so I will leave it to her to elaborate on the talk, but I will tell you this – we were sitting with Mrs. SGM, a military wife/mother of a little one with autism. At the end of the talk, Mrs. SGM went up to Dr. Dawson and told her that this was the first time she had been to something like this where she walked away with a sense of hope – a true sense of hope.
That is exactly how I felt.
It took those words for me to realize that my "hope" had been waning over the past few months. It was more of a general deterioration of my hope for the future. As the economy continues to struggle and town budgets get tighter, administrators eye more and more the funds spent on a child like Brooke. Long-term views are replaced by short-sighted ones. It's happening everywhere and our community is no exception. So my hope for Brooke had taken a beating.
Until last night.
What she said will not impact the budget issues each town faces, but as I listened to Dr. Dawson speak, I was lifted by the possibility that big breakthroughs are right around the corner – that there may be a time, relatively soon, when Brooke's autism won't demand so much attention, so much manpower. My hope for a truly independent adult Brooke was reborn.
And with that, a certain amount of weight was lifted off of my chest. This morning I woke up just after 4AM and went for my run (10 miles, putting me over 1,000 miles for 2011!). There was the usual dragging my butt out of the comforts of my bed, but there wasn't the sense of defeat and dread that has accompanied the moment of consciousness this past month or so.
Did Dr. Dawson's talk resolve the issues we are currently dealing with now? No. Not even a little. BUT, as I look out over the horizon of time, I can see the storm clouds starting to break. The skies aren't quite as dark or threatening and I think I see some sunshine coming through.
Thank you Dr. Dawson and Autism Speaks for inadvertently throwing me a rope and bringing back the sun.
Little darling, the smiles returning to the facesLittle darling, it seems like years since it's been hereHere comes the sun, here comes the sunand I say it's all right
-The Beatles
A Sister Reflects on World Autism Awareness Month
This is a guest blog post by Ali Dyer, the Social Media Coordinator at Autism Speaks. Her older brother Jeff has autism.
April 2011, World Autism Awareness Month, has been one of the most memorable times in my life. The last few weeks I have taken part in some unbelievable 'Light It Up Blue' events, met amazing people, and connected with the worldwide community to commemorate World Autism Awareness Month. April was comprised of so many moving parts that came together seamlessly, due to the hard work of so many.
I have been meaning to write a blog post, but I keep hitting walls.
Sure, I drafted a post of my experiences on April 1 and 2, detailing some of my stops: The Today Show with Alpha Xi Delta; WPIX 11 with the incredible students from Pelham; The New York Stock Exchange with our Co-Founders Mr. and Mrs. Wright, state dignitaries, politicians, celebrities and many more prominent people in the autism community. I could write about the reception hosted by 'Light It Up Blue Rockland,' in my hometown, when my brother and his housemates were in attendance. I was so proud. Or, the press conference at the Intrepid, which took place on a beautiful Saturday morning.
Throughout this campaign, I communicated with literally thousands of people all over the world. I feel blessed and privileged to have heard their stories and seen their photos. While I worry that I will never be able to formulate the right words to give World Autism Awareness Month justice it deserves, here are some photos that will speak for me:
I can't forget to include the panel discussion, 'Solving the Autism Public Health Puzzle: Regional and International Collaboration,' held at the United Nations, or 'A Blue Affair' hosted by Donald Trump Jr. and his wife, Vanessa.
We should also revisit the push to 'Light The White House Blue.' I am in awe of each person who submitted a blog entry. More than 1,000 comments were posted and much of the autism community was unified for a common goal.
On April 25, my dear friend Jess, who so bravely and unselfishly shares her beautiful family with us on A Diary of a Mom, was invited to The White House for an event to commemorate Autism Awareness Month. The morning before she headed over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Jess told me that she would be taking my brother Jeff with her. My heart was full. I couldn't think of anyone better to represent him. She gives all of those affected by autism the utmost respect and genuine compassion. I will never be able to thank her enough.
However, alongside all of these spectacular and unique moments, the most memorable for me happened on probably the most mundane of all days.
On April 3, once we all were coming down off the Light It Up Blue 'high,' my brother came home from his residential house, and I snapped back to reality. We took a walk, as we have done countless times before. My mom, brother, and I have been taking Sunday walks for years, making it almost an institution. We go to different locations, but often find ourselves on the wooded path at the Pearl River Middle School, as we did that day. We are shielded by the trees and find comfort in the trail's predictable twists and turns.
Before we begin, Jeff's anxiety kicks in and he asks for a rundown of dates, "Yes, Jeff, next weekend you can order two DVDs off Amazon, in June 2011 we will go to Montauk for a week, in 2014 we will remodel the kitchen …" and so it goes. Then, we are swallowed by the woods, where Jeffery will usually stroll a few steps behind making his noises. My mom and I will smile and greet friendly strangers; some give us knowing and warm looks, while others sort of stare.
As we round the first bend, which borders a putting green at the local golf course, we remind Jeff to quiet down. As per usual, he gets louder, and we laugh. Next, there is a downturn that Jeff always heads down gingerly. He approaches this dip with the caution he exhibits in some everyday activities. If there are any disruptions along the way (fallen tree, broken bridge, mud puddles, etc.), Jeff always takes note – I am positive he remembers every element of the trail from the first day he stepped foot there, over twenty years ago.
We plod along, stopping from time to time to chat about dates. He'll hold our hands, then jog ahead, or maybe he'll stop to give us a hug. My mom and I don't mind – as a matter of fact, we'd have it no other way.
The last leg has a steep uphill that my mom and I sort of dread. Each time, Jeff manages to surge, making it to the top with a smile. He takes on the hill with gusto and courage. This trail reminds me of the journey my family is on. There are times we are slow and anxious, while other times we coast through and laugh. We have down-slopes and upturns, but Jeff always keeps our pace and establishes a rhythm. It may have taken him a little longer through the years, but he has become our fearless leader. Jeff holds us up with his unconditional love and directs us with his strength.
My brother, like the countless members of our community, is brave.
World Autism Awareness Month 2011 has given me a greater sense of community. Together, we will make the world a safer and more welcoming place for my brother, and all of those with autism spectrum disorders. I have a renewed hope, and will be forever changed.
I would like to send a big thank you to each and every person in the autism community.
In Their Own Words – It's For Me
This 'In Their Own Words' author is Jess, who can be found at Diary of a Mom. There she writes about life with her husband Luau* and their beautiful daughters – nine and-a-half year-old Katie*, an utterly fabulous typically a-typical fourth grader, and seven and-a-half year-old, Brooke*, a loving, talented, hilarious second grader who has autism.
It had been a long, full, long day. Yeah, I know I said long twice.
We had walked (or in Mama's case, more accurately hobbled) around the track at the Autism Walk. We – or at least the smaller half of the we – had jumped in the bouncy house until Mama finally had to send Miss N in on a retrieval mission. We'd played in the ball pit. We'd eaten pizza at ten a.m. We'd visited with Grammy and Grandpa DD. We'd gone out to lunch. We'd had a grand old time with Miss N and Yo, B! Hell, we'd even lost a tooth for good measure.
We – or the bigger of us at least – were ready for sleep.
We were lying on Brooke's bed, snuggling together in the dark.
After a day spent immersed in capital 'A' Autism – as opposed to a day immersed in little 'a' autism which would simply be, well, ya know .. a day – I wondered what she'd taken in.
Did she hear the speaker at the Walk that called autism a 'disease'? Though it causes much dis-ease in our world, it is actually a disorder.
Did she hear the young adult standing in front of us repeating over and over – and over – again, "Were at the Autism Walk. That's for me. We're at the Autism Walk. That's for me."?
Did she hear the mom explaining to her grumbling son that he needed to suck it up 'because we are walking to help the sick kids'?
Did she see the bracelet that her big sister insisted on buying that said, "I love someone with autism"?
Does she remember me talking to her about it before? On other nights, snuggled in the dark, just like this.
Did the word sink in?
Did she connect it to herself? To us? To our family? To who we are?
Does it have any meaning for her at all?
Did she notice it that day? Over and over and over again?
"Hey, Brooke," I asked into the darkness, trying to sound casual.
"Yes, Mom?" God, how I love that clipped little version of 'Mom' – somewhere between Mum and Mom – the word so wonderfully hers.
"Do you know that we go to the Autism Walk because you have autism?"
I was trying hard to sound cheerful – to keep the words light.
It is so desperately important to me that she not grow up internalizing our demonization of autism. Someday she will understand these words. She will know that it is a part of her. Then what? I can't let her hate such a huge part of her life.
She didn't answer. She was too busy fiddling with my hair.
I know better than to think that because she isn't 'paying attention' she doesn't hear me. She may process it three days, three months or three years from now, but I'll be damned if she's not taking it all in.
"Baby, do you know that you have autism?"
I've asked this question before. I'll ask it again.
It's so important to me that she hears it from us and doesn't take her understanding of autism from a man at a podium shouting for its eradication. It's far too easy for the lines to get muddled, for the leap to take her where I dread that she might go. Where does my autism end and I begin? If I have autism does that mean that I AM autism? If autism is evil then I must be too.
Add that internal monologue to the list of my greatest fears.
"Do you know what that means, Brooke – when Mama says that you have autism?"
She answered. On some level, I was getting through.
I measured my words carefully. I knew I didn't have the luxury of paragraphs. Our world demands that a sentence – maybe two – suffice.
"Well, autism is what makes some things hard for you, baby. But it's also part of what makes you special and wonderful and well, Brooke."
"A lot of kids at the Walk today had autism too. There are LOTS of other children just like you who have it too."
She has the right to a community. If I can help it, my girl will know she is not alone.
"So when I wake up, the tooth fairy will bring me Blue from Blue's Clues just like my Periwinkle. And then I will have Blue. Blue will be just like my Periwinkle."
I smiled at her, though she couldn't see me.
"Right baby girl, I'm sure she will."
She'll be ready someday. In the meantime, we lay the foundation. We demystify the words. We own them. It's a place to start.
I stole a kiss before her head disappeared under the covers. She popped back out with a giggle and threw her little arms around my neck as we went through the charade of choosing a number for the nightly countdown. In Prairie Dawn voice, we counted to thirteen. By odds. As always.
We've got a long time to wade through this stuff together. One sentence, one bedtime, one Walk at a time. We'll get through it.
And wouldn't you know it? In the morning, under her pillow, there was Blue.
"In Their Own Words" is a series within the Autism Speaks blog which shares the voices of people who have autism, as well as their loved ones. If you have a story you wish to share about your personal experience with autism, please send it to firstname.lastname@example.com. Autism Speaks reserves the right to edit contributions for space, style and content. Because of the volume of submissions, not all can be published on the site.


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Softbank Wants Sprint, but Maybe T-Mobile Is the Prize
By Tom Gara
The news that Japan's Softbank is looking to buy a controlling stake in Sprint has sent shares in the operator up almost 15%, but there's a forest out there beyond these trees: the deal push the U.S. mobile market into its final round of super-consolidation.
For now, the real price action is over at Clearwire, up an amazing 70% today. That, as we covered earlier, is based on the logic that Sprint — which already owns about 49% of Clearwire — will look to take control of the mobile broadband company as part and parcel of the Softbank deal. Clearwire is building out a next-generation LTE network on the same technology favoured by Softbank back home in Japan, so could be a very useful fit for the operator as it moves into the U.S. That logic — and reports Softbank is keen to see Sprint regain control of Clearwire as a condition of the deal – had plenty of speculators chasing Clearwire stock and call options today. But there's an even longer term game to be played, and some think this deal looks like the opening whistle. The US mobile market could be approaching its final round of super-consolidation. Over at DealJournal, the WSJ's David Benoit runs through a likely order of events:
- Sprint takes over Clearwire and is then itself acquired by Softbank
- T-Mobile completes its merger with MetroPCS and then Sprint takes over the merged company.
- Then either AT&T or the newly enlarged Sprint buys up Leap, the last sizable player left standing.
- For some extra crystal ball gazing, throw the satellite operator Dish Network into the picture in the longer run.

subset: commoncrawl


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I've been wracking my brain, but I can't ever remember going to an actual, honest-to-God circus. I vaguely recall a circus coming to the fairgrounds at my hometown, sometime back in my grade school days in the 1970s, with flyers and perhaps even tickets being passed out to students. For whatever reason, I never pestered my parents to take me, and so never got a chance to see a real live circus, which in a way, makes me just a teensy bit sad. The traditional circus, with its big tent, popcorn and peanuts, sawdust rings, elephants, barely-tamed big cats, clowns and high-wire acts and prancing ponies, seems a dying art now. (There is still the Cirque de Soliel, of course, but as physically amazing as those performers are, it just ain't the same thing.) Luckily there are movies out there like Circus World to remind us of the heyday of this venerable form of entertainment, when kids and their parents packed the stands when the circus came to town. Circus World is far from the best movie John Wayne ever made, but despite its many flaws, it does deliver some excellent big-top thrills.
Like El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire and 55 Days at Peking, Circus World is another of those massive roadshow epics produced by Samuel Bronston, financed by Hollywood studios but filmed primarily in Europe. Circus World is arguably the least of the above movies in quality, but ironically is the one with by far the best-preserved film elements (King of Kings, another earlier Bronston release, also looks gorgeous in hi-def.) Circus World is out on a Region B Blu-Ray in Europe and looks amazing sharp and colorful, as does the HD presentation frequently shown on NHK in Japan.
Like the previous year's Wayne film, Hatari!, there isn't much of a plot to speak of here, just a thin clothesline upon which to hang various circus acts and romantic shenanigans. Unlike Hatari!, though, Circus World is distinctly lacking in the action department, as well as missing the core, lovable group of professionals for Wayne to bounce off of, that helps make the former film such entertaining company. Wayne has proven himself time and again to be a top-notch reactor, but he's not given a lot to work with here. He's still the best thing about the picture, along with the nifty circus acts interspersed throughout.
The incident leaves Matt broke and unable to mount his own circus, so he and the others take jobs working in the wild west show of an old colleague, in the hopes of raising funds to rebuild and start a new show. The rest of the movie follows two main paths - the more interesting one by far depicting Matt's efforts to recruit new talent and rebuild his circus, while the more ho-hum storyline focuses on the eventual return of Lili, who tries to leave her troubled and alcoholic past behind her and returns once more to work in Matt's circus, under his hawkish eye. All this unbeknownst to Toni, who idolizes her dead father but has little memory, or regard, for her runaway mother, and so doesn't recognize the older Lili. Complicating matters is Matt's (perhaps unwise) hiring of the dead Alfredo's brother, Aldo (Richard Conte, wasted), a mysterious Sicilian performer perhaps still holding a vendetta against Lili and Matt, for reasons that eventually become clear. Things come to a head on the eve of the new circus's debut performance in Madrid, yet danger and disaster loom once again...
Originally, Frank Capra was set to direct Circus World, but bailed out of the project over his dislike of the script, originally written by Ben Hecht and Julian Halevy, but completely retooled by Wayne's close confidant James Edward Grant to be more of what Grant supposed was a typical Wayne vehicle. Henry Hathaway took over after Capra bowed out. Hathaway was a good, "man's man" sort of director, who excelled at action and large-scale, difficult productions, and was probably much better suited to the subject matter than the more sensitive, humanist Capra, whose best directing years were definitely behind him by this point (though it makes you wonder what that Capra version would have looked like). The year before, Hathaway had done a very good job on the mammoth production of How the West Was Won, but this time out things didn't go quite as smoothly, and Circus World comes off ultimately as a bit of a misfire. Even ultimate pro Wayne seems to sense something's a little off. He gives his usual solid performance, but seems less engaged, less energized. The script is definitely a problem, marred by generic dialogue and some odd dramatic dead ends and ommissions. Cardinale lights up the screen with her beauty and vivaciousness, but is miscast (for starters, her Italian accent is far too thick for a character supposedly raised in the U.S. from the age of four.) Lloyd Nolan was excellent in nearly everything he appeared in, and very welcome here, but isn't given nearly enough to do. Ditto Smith, a Wayne protege who had co-starred with George Montgomery in the (quite good) TV western series Cimarron City and after this film went on to some fame in Laramie. He's good looking, personable, a decent actor and obviously good at all the physical stuff, riding, roping, etc.
I wish the movie had focused more on the nuts-and-bolts, behind-the-scenes putting on a circus stuff; those parts are inherently interesting and are executed successfully. Plus, it's always fun to see Wayne in a different environment than the old west, though he still squeezes in some cowboy action. These "wild West show" scenes are especially enjoyable, with Wayne riding around the ring shooting glass balls off the heads of (obviously very trusting!) circus staff (being the Duke, he never misses, of course), Smith and other stuntmen reenacting an Indian attack on a stagecoach, etc. Wayne and Smith even pull off some impromptu publicity by faking a runaway stagecoach stunt down the Champs de Elysse in Paris. All these practical stunts, falls and tricks are fascinating to watch, and I wish there were more of them.
More positives: We also get to witness some still very neat circus acts, including a lion tamer who lays prone on the sawdust and whip-cracks 4 lions to lay down on top of him, as well as a high-wire traipsing clown. All this circus-related stuff is gold, as far as I'm concerned, and together with Wayne and the alluring Cardinale's presence, makes the movie worth watching. It also gets some amusing mileage out of circus brat Toni's preoccupations with bad omens and other showbiz superstitions, and it's a real change of pace to see Cardinale, so often (and understandably) cast as sultry sexpots, playing such an innocent, bubbly character.
While no masterpiece, Cecille B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) remains by far the superior circus movie, but Circus World, despite its flaws, is a pleasant enough way to while away a slow Sunday afternoon, particularly for John Wayne fans or for those who hold a twinge of nostalgia for the old-time thrills of life under the big top.
Source Note: various background details about the making of Circus World culled from John Wayne - American, by Randy Roberts and James S. Olson, published by the Free Press, 1995.


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In a recent interview, Michael Steele, the beleaguered new head of the GOP, acknowledged homosexuality is not a choice
[Interviewer]: Do you think homosexuality is a choice?
[Steele]: Oh, no. I don't think I've ever really subscribed to that view, that you can turn it on and off like a water tap. Um, you know, I think that there's a whole lot that goes into the makeup of an individual that, uh, you just can't simply say, oh, like, "Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being gay." It's like saying, "Tomorrow morning I'm gonna stop being black."
That was way too much for Don Wildmon and his American Family Association to bear. Wildmon and the AFA are dedicated to denying gay Americans equal civil rights, denying that they have legitimate families, and denying that those families deserve equal social recognition. Case in point: their campaign against Campbell Soup:
In the December, 2008 and January, 2009 issues, Campbell Soup Company bought two, two-page advertisements in the latest issues of the nation's largest homosexual magazine, "The Advocate." The ads promote their Swanson line of broth.Aside from the fact that target-marketing is a common practice, what kind of "man," what kind of "Christian" would deny that legally married parents and their child do not constitute a family? If ever there was an example of raw hatred and seething bigotry hiding behind religion, it's Don Wildmon and his American "Family" Association. And now dour Don has targeted Mr. Steele. In one of his patented hysterical petition drives, Rev. Wildmon is calling for Steele's head… on a silver platter, of course:
In one of the December ads, the Campbell Soup Company highlighted the lives of two lesbians with their son. The others feature New York City chefs. See the ads here.
Campbell Soup Company has openly begun helping homosexual activists push their agenda. Not only did the ads cost Campbell's a chunk of money, but they also sent a message that homosexual parents constitute a family…
"Only registered Republicans, or those who voted Republican in the last election participate." How very cannibalistic. But then again, Wildmon does make his "living" by fueling divisiveness and an ideology that's clearly waning.In light of Chairman Steele's remarks, should he resign as Chairman of the Republican National Committee?
We ask that only registered Republicans, or those who voted Republican in the last election participate.
Please fill out the form below and click the submit button. … [italics added]
Known and very popular cialis coupon which gives all the chance to receive a discount for a preparation which has to be available and exactly cialis coupons has been found in the distant room of this big house about which wood-grouses in the houses tell.
"Secularity continues to grow in strength in all regions of the country" and other facts resulting from the American Religious Identification Survey 2008 were headlines in the mass media: "15 Percent of Americans Have No Religion: Fewer Call Themselves Christians; Nondenominational Identification Increases."
What wasn't widely reported in the mass media was, ironically, reported by OneNewsNow, Wildmon's propaganda organ
Evangelicalism on the outs, says authorAs might be expected, the "reporting" of OneNewsNow was not quite accurate, nor was it faithful to what Michael Spencer wrote in his article "The coming evangelical collapse " that appeared in The Christian Science Monitor:
Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 3/12/2009 7:20:00 AM
Christian blogger Michael Spencer says evangelicalism as it is known in the West is "bloated and hyper-inflated" and will soon collapse because of its emphasis on the culture war and affiliation with the Republican Party. …
True. The Religious Right's obsession with gays has cost them dearly and shown quite clearly their layers of hypocrisy. How can it be "Christ-like" to demean and denigrate those who have been marginalized for so long? How can it be "American" to argue that some citizens don't deserve equal civil rights?Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism. This will prove to be a very costly mistake. Evangelicals will increasingly be seen as a threat to cultural progress. Public leaders will consider us bad for America, bad for education, bad for children, and bad for society. …
Consider the resources of "The Top Ten Power Brokers of the Religious Right" Rob Boston listed in his November 2008 article in Church & State Magazine
1. Christian Broadcasting NetworkNow, consider the enormous amount of time and money those organizations and similar ones with similar agendas spent fighting against the civil rights they call the "gay agenda."
Founder and Chairman: The Rev. Pat Robertson
2006 Revenue: $246,986,289
2. Focus on the Family
Founder and [former] Chairman: James C. Dobson
2006 Revenue: $156,972,266
3. American Center for Law and Justice/Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism
Founders: Pat Robertson (ACLJ) and Jay Sekulow (CASE)
2007 Revenue: $42,658,159
4. Alliance Defense Fund
President, CEO and General Counsel: Alan Sears
2007 Revenue: $31,674,124
5. American Family Association
Founder and Chairman: The Rev. Donald Wildmon
2007 Revenue: $22,547,087
6. Family Research Council
President: Tony Perkins
2007 Revenue: $11,783,971
7. Concerned Women for America
Founders: Tim and Beverly LaHaye
2007 Revenue: $10,640,810
8. Jerry Falwell Ministries
Founder: The Rev. Jerry Falwell
2007 Revenue: $4,208,989
9. Southern Baptist Convention/Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
2007 Revenue: $205,716,834; ERLC Revenue: $3,394,327
10. Council for National Policy
Executive Director: Steve Baldwin
2007 Revenue: $1,680,914
Had that time and those funds been used for truly Christian and American purposes – such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, working for the common good rather than an ideology – a lot of real people with real world problems would have benefited. But alas, they spent their time and funds on "protecting marriage" from a non-existent "threat."
To be sure, some GOPers are finally seeing the proverbial light
Wash. GOP Senator: Gay Is 'GeneticIn the Colorado senate, two Republicans – Al White of Hayden and Ken Kester – voted for Bill 1260 which would, as The Denver Post reported, enable "two people to file an agreement with their county clerk … that agreement would give them rights to inherit, make medical decisions and such."
By Julie Bolcer
March 13, 2009
Embattled GOP chairman Michael Steele can find some support within his own party for his statement that homosexuality is not a choice. Washington state senator Dale Brandland, a Republican from Whatcom County, says his belief that people are born gay motivated him to vote in favor of expanded domestic-partnership rights for same-sex couples on Tuesday.
But other Colorado GOPers, such as Kevin Lundberg, opposed the bill because it was "an attempt to give more rights to gay couples."
Holy theopolitics! Can't have those same-sex couples – and their children – gaining any more social recognition and civil rights. Perhaps that "thinking" has something to do with why so many GOPers are touting former drug addict Rush Limbaugh and discredited politician Newt Gingrich as the champions and voices of godly Christian conservatism, while still others cling to anti-family theopolitical nonsense
Rep. Tony Shipley Speaks for God on Gay AdoptionMr. Shipley should read more:
By Jeff Woods
Monday, Mar. 16 2009
On the OpenPen blog, an unidentified lobbyist for children's issues reports on an alien encounter in Nashville. Rep. Tony Shipley of Kingsport reportedly told this lobbyist (1) that God will lift up entire states, apparently starting with California, then plop them into the ocean and drown everyone for letting gays adopt babies and (2) God-fearing Christians might secede from the union and start shooting minie balls at people if gays keep trying to adopt babies. [link added]
Faith, Bible minor players in 'successful' parentingYes. That article appeared on Wildmon's OneNewNow. But after acknowledging the facts, Ms. Martin gave them the usual AFA spin by quoting Selma Wilson, coauthor of The Parent Adventure: Preparing Your Children for a Lifetime with God:
Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 3/19/2009
A study conducted by LifeWay Research finds that for most parents, the definition of success rarely includes faith in God – even among parents who are evangelical Christians.
"The Bible gives clear direction to parents." Yep, Deuteronomy 21:18-21 says it all:The Bible gives clear direction to parents … All of life should be integrated faith … We should talk about God all the time – in a natural way, in a way that's just as common as getting up, going to bed, and doing life. That was the point that we wanted to make, and God's Word tells us how to do life. [italics added]
If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they chastise him, will not give heed to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall purge the evil from your midst…(Apparently, stubborn and rebellious daughters get a pass...)
"Talk about God all the time – in a natural way." How does one talk about an "original sin' committed by mythical characters and somehow passed along to all real flesh-and-blood humans, a Father-God who demands the torture and bloody death of His Son-God, a virgin birth, walking on water, and a physical resurrection in a "natural way"?
In the first few centuries of the Common Era, religious leaders and the sheeple parents they herded did, daily, scare children with the boogey-man supernatural, but this is the twenty-first century. Nevertheless, fundamentalist religion still uses scare tactics on children.
Fortunately, outside the dogmatic walls of organized religion there's real-life human reality
As is often the case, etymologies and basic definitions reveal truthsFaith, Bible minor players in 'successful' parenting
Allie Martin - OneNewsNow - 3/19/2009
A study conducted by LifeWay Research finds that for most parents, the definition of success rarely includes faith in God – even among parents who are evangelical Christians.
Religion n, [ME religioun, fr. AF religium, L religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perh. Fr. religare to restrain, tie back] the service and worship of God or the supernatural; scrupulous conformity."Fr. religare to restrain, tie back" goes well with "scrupulous conformity." No independent thinking allowed. Just be a good sheeple in the flock: do and believe what you're told and you'll be rewarded, posthumously.
"From dokein to seem" also goes well with "a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds... formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church" (italics added). Dogma is the unsubstantiated opinion of someone or some group that must remain as is despite ever-changing social, cultural and political contexts. In other words, dogma is little more than opinion. As one definition in the Oxford English Dictionary puts it, dogma is "an imperious or arrogant declaration of opinion" which uses itself as its source of authority.Dogma n, L dogmat-, dogma, fr. Gk, from dokein to seem] a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds; a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church.
Spirituality is an inherent part of being human. For most it's an intrapersonal dialogue, a liberating and uplifting experience, an encouragement to grow toward enlightenment and peace, an evolution into more conscious perceptions of realities. But when personal spirituality is organized into a religion, an institution is produced and as all corporate institutions it produces a hierarchy who produce dogma that often has little if anything to do with spirituality but everything to do with maintaining social and political control.
It's sad to see "the party of Lincoln" become a caricatured buffoon. It's equally sad to see spirituality entombed in dogmatic religion that's then used as a justification for civil prejudice and discrimination.
To be continued… See Part II here.
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Federal Judge Blocks University Of North Carolina From Enforcing State's Anti-Gay Law
Donald Trump Shop Selling 'LGBTQ For Trump' Apparel
After Calling LGBT Activists 'Christophobes,' Bryan Fischer Decries Name Calling
Logo's Gay Bachelor Robert Sepulveda's Advice To Suitors: Don't Be Fake
Two Orlando Hospitals Won't Bill Pulse Shooting Victims
Player Who Allegedly Called Robbie Rogers 'Queer' Suspended For Two Games
Top Oregon Republicans gathering at
this weekend's Dorchester Conference for the first time endorsed gay
The annual gathering celebrated its
fiftieth anniversary this weekend with passage of a resolution in
favor of repealing Oregon's 2004 voter-approved constitutional
amendment which limits marriage to heterosexual unions.
Attendees overwhelmingly (233 to 162)
approved the resolution on Saturday.
Applauding the vote was Dan Occhipinti
of Freedom Oregon, a Republican group formed earlier this year which
supports repeal of the state's ban.
(Related: Jason
Collins to help inaugurate GOP-inclusive Oregon gay marriage group.)
"The freedom to marry is consistent
with the Republican values of freedom, commitment and personal
responsibility," Occhipinti, a Portland attorney, said in a
statement. "If you can pay taxes and fight for your country, you
should be able to marry the person you love."
Marriage equality advocates in Oregon
have suspended a campaign to put the issue on the November ballot
pending a ruling before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
– which has jurisdiction over Oregon – in a case challenging a
similar ban in Nevada.
(Related: Oregon
gay marriage group suspends ballot campaign.)
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knoll 1
A small hill or mound: a grassy knoll
More example sentences
- This walk follows a circular route around an irregularly shaped tarn, through broadleaf woodland and shady conifers and across grassy knolls nibbled by sheep.
- The species also extends to several of the rocky knolls in the area.
- Ahead were more hills, more little valleys, more slopes and hollows and knolls.
Words that rhyme with knollbarcarole, bole, bowl, cajole, coal, Cole, condole, console, control, dhole, dole, droll, enrol (US enroll), extol, foal, goal, hole, Joel, kohl, mol, mole, Nicole, parol, parole, patrol, pole, poll, prole, rôle, roll, scroll, Seoul, shoal, skoal, sole, soul, stole, stroll, thole, Tirol, toad-in-the-hole, toll, troll, vole, whole
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: knoll
Definition of knoll in:
knoll 2
verb& noun
Archaic form of knell.
Middle English: probably an imitative alteration of knell.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: knoll
Definition of knoll in:
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In 1913 the number of new cases of gonorrhea reported in Sweden was 10,271 and of syphilis 1,941. Up to 1918 both diseases increased and in this year there were 16,626 cases of gonorrhea and 4,006 of syphilis. New laws for control then came into effect, but in 1919 the increase continued with 20,651 cases of gonorrhea and 5,976 of syphilis. From that time, however, the number of cases of syphilis has fallen more or less steadily until only 356 new cases of syphilis were reported in 1936. Gonorrhea, after decreasing abruptly in 1920 to 14,894 (largely the result probably of the ending of the war), remained approximately stationary (11,957 cases in 1936) in spite of the rapid drop in the frequency of syphilis. The failure of gonorrhea to decrease is probably partially due, as Forssman has pointed out, to defective diagnosis and lack of
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Long term care is the care and support that you may need in later life due to frailty or disability. This care helps you carry out those normal daily activities which you may have difficulty with such as helping you get out of bed, get dressed or go shopping.
The Government does provide some state support to help you with the costs of long term care. However, this support is means-tested and you will be assessed on what personal savings, property and other assets you may own. Once this assessment is done, you will be told whether or not you qualify for state support.
If you don't qualify for state support, the insurance industry offers a range of financial products and solutions to help you pay for your long term care costs. You should discuss your options with a qualified adviser to get more information.
Long term care planning is an area that needs to be dealt with in a caring and sensitive manner and one which requires specialist financial advice. It is essential that state benefits such as attendance allowance are considered.
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text here. Few sentances.PROS
List, of, prosCONS
List, of cons
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 is a good value among compact interchangeable-lens cameras, reviews say. This Micro Four Thirds camera is smaller than a traditional digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera, with a great selection of compact lenses. However, other reviewers point out that the top-rated models are only a few hundred dollars more.
Very good photos and video, but not class-leading. Images from the Panasonic G5 look very good overall in tests, although they can't quite match a DSLR or a higher-end mirrorless compact. With a 16-megapixel image sensor, the G5 is not as good in dim light as the more advanced sensors on the Olympus OM-D E-M5 (Est. $825 with kit lens), tests show. Startup is sluggish in one test, but the G5 responds just as quickly as pricier mirrorless cameras otherwise. Autofocus is "super-fast," Goldstein says, and the G5 can shoot rapid-fire bursts of 6 full-resolution frames per second. Video quality is very good, experts say, at 1080p HD, and battery life is rated at 310 shots per charge, which is a bit lower than pricier models.
Solid aluminum body, but it's not weatherproof. The Panasonic G5 isn't weather-sealed like the costlier Panasonic GH3 and Olympus OM-D E-M5, which are splashproof and dustproof to survive demanding conditions. Still, reviewers praise the G5's solid metal construction.
"It's still extremely well-built with a high quality aluminum body, metal lens mount and metal tripod socket that belies its mid-range price point," says Goldstein at PhotographyBlog.com.
"Build quality is very good," say editors at TrustedReviews.com. Their only quibble is that the plastic command dial "feels a bit cheap compared to the rest of the camera." We found no owner complaints about the G5's build quality.
Good feature set for its price. The lower-priced Panasonic G5 omits a couple of features. There's no built-in Wi-Fi, like the Panasonic GH3 (Est. $1,000 body only) has. You can't shoot a panoramic photo, as you can with the Olympus OM-D E-M5.
Otherwise, though, features are class-competitive. The G5 has the usual pop-up flash and hot shoe, variety of special photo and video effects (High Dynamic, Miniature, Toy Effect, etc.) and microphone jack.
The G5 ships with a 14 mm to 42 mm kit zoom lens (you can buy it body-only for $100 less, if you prefer). Like other Micro Four Thirds cameras from Panasonic and Olympus, the G5 has access to a large variety of very good lenses -- a definite plus, experts say.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 Review, Editors of TrustedReviews.com, Aug. 8, 2012
The Panasonic G5 is a Recommended pick here. Testers praise its build quality, intuitive touch screen, and impressive overall image quality and performance.
Panasonic Lumix G5 Review, Mark Goldstein, July 24, 2012
PhotographyBlog.com counts the Panasonic G5 as one of its favorite compact-system cameras. It's not as good in dim light as a DSLR, but overall photo quality, video mode and handling make it a "realistic alternative to a bigger and bulkier DSLR," tester Mark Goldstein says.
3. PCMag.com
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5, Jim Fisher, Jan. 17, 2013
Receiving a rating of Excellent from PCMag.com, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 draws praise for its SLR-like design and fast burst shooting. The DMC-G5 wins the Editors' Choice award for compact interchangeable-lens cameras under $1,000.
4. ConsumerReports.org
Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5K, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Not dated
ConsumerReports.org tests 29 SLR-like digital cameras, including the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5. Editors rank the cameras from best to worst based on their photo and video quality, ease of use and more, and the ratings are very up to date. However, each camera's written review is short and not very detailed.
5. Amazon.com
Panasonic DMC-G5KK 16 MP Compact System Camera with 14-42mm Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black), Contributors to Amazon.com, As of May 2014
The Panasonic G5 gets very high marks from over 145 owners here. Almost all rate it 4 or a perfect 5 stars. Among the few that give it 3 stars -- one user finds it too complicated, while another would have preferred a white camera.
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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Hands On
Transformers: ROTF Game Hands On
The two biggest things the developers are focused on bringing to the new game seemed obvious to the fans, who told them exactly what they wanted. First is transforming that actually makes sense, and second is all out multiplayer action where groups of Autobots and Decepticons can find out which faction is strongest. In addition, they of course want a solid single player campaign that gives fans a nice variety of action while playing through the story from the movie. Well, as of right now, I'll say two out of three ain't bad.
The multiplayer is put at a frenetic pace. Both maps we played were somewhat small, though we were told they were the two smallest of the selection. The map size is affected by the fact that your characters are half the size of some of the buildings. The small maps did help keep the pace of the battles up, so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The other main aspect of multiplayer is how well it encourages teamwork. Each character has a style of fighting and a special ability. It amounts to a basic class system and works extremely well. The majority of special abilities are support based, with healing or debuffing powers, and they automatically regenerate at a rate that was just fast enough to use effectively and not fast enough to make characters nigh-invincible. I found it was actually fun to play as a more supportive character. Support is also encouraged by the point system. Points are gained for assists and for goal completion, as well as for kills. In one battle, I had the most points, even though I had 8 less kills than the leader in that stat. The bots are well balanced and varied enough to offer several different styles of play. While there are 13 characters to start, Luxoflux has DLC planned to bring in more of the robots in disguise. There is also the ability to play standard deathmatch battles, or to turn off the team matching and allow mixed teams of Autobots and Decepticons, but the standard team battles will likely be the ones most played.
The pacing, and the fun of working together with a team of Autobots or Decepticons, unfortunately does not carry over into the single player campaign. Instead, the campaign offered a very linear (the missions can be completed in almost any order, but each individual one is linear) run/drive to point A, defeat enemies, rinse, repeat. The boss battles we played were fun and offered some variety from the standard. Overdrive mode is important for these, as it allows unlimited use of weapons without overheating, helping the ultimate victory be reached much faster. For replayability, once you successfully complete a mission, you can then go back and play that as any character. If you defeat Demolisher with Optimus Prime, you can then see how fast you can beat him with Bumblebee or Ironside. As each character truly plays differently, your strategies will change, and this does offer some neat variety. Still, overall, the single player felt like filler, something to kill some time with in between multiplayer sessions. It's not great, but not terrible, and the sheer variety of locations, missions, and strategies will offer something fun for Transformers fans.
I'm still interested in getting my hands on the finished product here. The multiplayer alone, provided a decent mp community can be built, should provide hours of fun. I'm concerned about the limited amount of maps, (only 5 were planned at press time), but that, along with characters, could be remedied using DLC. If they can take a page from Valve's book and offer some or all of that DLC for free, they could have a game on their hands that will have some real staying power. Either way, there have been real improvements made to the franchise with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and it gives me high hopes for the future of the series.
The Wii version of the game is being developed concurrently, but by Krome Studios. The game follows the same basic storyline of the movie, but the gameplay is completely different. Most of the levels are done in a on-rails shooter style, similar to House of the Dead. There is a twist, however, as you still control when your bot transforms while going down the path. You also have an assistant that can jump in and out on the fly at any time via a second controller. The assistant flies around a small drone that can shoot or help recharge the player one character. It's a small role for a second player, but the co-op is easy to get in and out of and good for a few minutes of play here and there, exactly as it is designed. There are also a few platforming levels, and while the controls on these were still solid and easy to handle, the camera angles suffered at times more than in the on-rails levels. The difficulty level is defaulted at low to make this version of the game more all-ages accessible; if you die, you start back up from the exact same point, so there is never any real danger. The Wii edition looks to offer a fun family-oriented experience, with intuitive motion controls, solid aiming, and a lot of fun during the rails shooter portions. Hopefully those wind up being the vast majority, as the platforming just slowed things down and played a bit too generic for most gamers.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is set to ship on all major platforms the last week of June, 2009 along with the movie of the same name


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Vick and D-Jax have said they'd like to know who the starting QB will be before training camp. Does Kelly need to name a starter?
Agree with someone's comment? Vote for it to make the Debate Highlights section. Disagree with a comment? Reply and voice your opinion. Happy Debating!Add Comment
Yes, D-Jax has spoken and so it shall beFull Comment »
Seahawks waited through a couple pre-season games before picking a starter. Now, they have a franchise QB in Russell Wilson! Wait it out Chip! Be pa...Full Comment »
I think that Kelly should take his time and decide who the starter should be based on pre season performances against other teams in real game situati...Full Comment »
No and it's dumb to suggest he should after two weeks of OTA's. Neither Foles nor Vick did enough last year to show they should be the starter. After ...Full Comment »
I think he should name the starter let them get the reps and see how they do. If they suck it up then put the next guy in, people can say Vick sucks a...Full Comment »
Absolutely not! After the debacle of the last 2 years, none of these losers and quitters have any right to a guaranteed starting position. And Vick sh...Full Comment »


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The days surrounding July 4th are some of the busiest for fire departments across the state.
Not only is there the opportunity for more fires caused by incorrect use of fireworks, but many departments help respond to firework complaints. Eyewitness News was allowed to ride along with Wichita Fire Department's Station #1 on July 3rd to see what that might look like. We road with Fire Investigator Kelly Zane.
Lt. Zane said each fire station in Wichita has an area they are responsible to patrol during this holiday week.
"They have to patrol that area and try to find those people that are shooting off illegal fireworks," said Lt. Zane. "They have the option of talking to them and educating them or writing them a citation."
One obstacle the fire department faces while doing "firework patrols" is the fact that they must respond to emergencies first. Before we could even start making the rounds, the crew was called to a house fire near 31st and Seneca. Lt. Zane said the fire was likely caused by either careless smoking or improper use of fireworks in the area.
"There were fireworks in the area at the time of the call," said Battalion Chief Sid Newby on scene. "Right now our fire investigation unit is on scene and investigating."
Lt. Zane said he hopes to prevent fires caused by fireworks by educating the public on what's legal and why those laws are in place.
"We try to make them aware of the city laws," he said. "Nothing above 6 feet tall, buy them where you shoot them, things like that."
After an hour responding to the vacant house fire, we head to our first stop on the firework patrol.
"Areas in the city that typically get more fireworks calls, we've complied a few addresses and we're going to go patrol those areas and see what we can find," said Lt. Zane. "If we can find someone shooting off fireworks, we're going to visit with them."
Lt. Zane and his partner drive slowly through the first area in east Wichita and find a group lighting fireworks in the street.
"See these people here, they're pretty cautious. They have signs out in the street to warn drivers there are kids playing."
Zane doesn't immediately see parents or adults watching the kids as they light off fireworks, so he goes to check out the situation. He finds there are several adults and gives them a few tips to keep safe.
"We're just out making sure everyone's being safe," said Lt. Zane. "Be courteous to your neighbors. What happened is we've gotten a lot of complaints in this area, that's why we are out here."
Fire crews also look for the remnants of illegal fireworks in the streets where people are lighting off fireworks. He looks for used "cakes" and "tubes" that shoot fireworks high into the air.
"In a heavily populated area the biggest thing we're worried about is personal safety," said Zane. "We don't want anyone getting hurt. So if they have a large group of people and they are shooting off fireworks and they are too close when they are going off, if something happens you can easily hurt several people. Also, in a heavily housed area or populated area, you always stand the chance of those falling down on houses and starting a fire."
Since anything you can see over treetops and houses are illegal, it's not difficult to see them go off, but finding where they are being lit is difficult.
"You see them, but then you have to try finding out where they are shooting them and with some of the new areas and how they are designed, that can be very difficult," he said.
He said with the amount of complaints issued in Wichita, it would take too long to site every person breaking the rules. He said he uses the time as an opportunity to educate the public.
"If we see them shooting off illegal fireworks, and we do give them a warning and we come back and they are still doing it, then we will issue a citation," said Zane.
Our ride along ended when the crew was pulled away again to respond to a house explosion.
"There's only so many of us to go around," he said. "We can't be everywhere at the same time. We do the best we can to cover the areas and try to catch them in the act. If we don't catch them in the act, then we can't do anything."


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Join us for the 40th Anniversary Walk for Change, a fun and inspiring day of hope, healing and change.
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Nigella Lawson says all women could have gay love affairs
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Oh Nigella how liberal and middle class of you. You once had a crush on a girl at school? Well hang out the f..king flags and banners, how great to have someone like Nigella (who's made her cleavage her only interesting attribute) fight our corner. Another idiot b!tch in a long line of Geri Halliwells, Lady Gagas, Jodie Marshs, Kylies etc ad nauseum who play the pink card if they think it can get them a few more headlines and w@nk fantasies for their hetero male fans. I would suggest she just stick to the cooking but she can't even do that.
Oh dear, poor CMYB is in a grumpy mood.
I knew Nigella when she was at Oxford, and she was always very open-minded about gender and sexuality – which occasionally caused arguments with her father, if I recall. And she has a natural predisposition to sensuality, and its variety of expressions. Gays have never been an issue. And if I'm not mistaken, she was even a hag to at least one gay student.
She certainly isn't taking this position just to appeal to gay fans. She doesn't actually need them – even without her business, she's already very moneyed.
I'm actually more cynical than grumpy. I don't believe we should be scavenging around for half-arsed scraps of acceptance from breeders just cause they're in the pubic eye. It seems as soon as someone straight says "Oooh I like girls" or "I like boys" we should all be grateful. Was there no one else for Diva mag to interview? Seems like a pretty flimsy excuse to feature her- cause she'll say she fancied a girl at school. Forget it.
well at least she didnt write "i hate all lesbians and they should be shot" did she?! lets be thankful shes not a raving homophobe like her father..
@ CMYB: "breeders"? that's real 1970s of you.
Look, the lesbian and bisexual readers of DIVA voted her the 5th sexiest woman alive. DIVA interviewed her because DIVA readers wanted to read it. And DIVA asked her a bunch of questions…. she answered them honestly and didn't in the slightest pander to her audience (I read the whole article).
She was asked a direct question about being attracted to women herself and another direct question about other women's attractions. She anwered both questions because she was asked them. She did not volunteer in order to score points.
Nothing in what she said deserves the derision you heap on her or the readers who voted for her and wanted to read her interview.
Good for you suburbanbi. I think Nigella is very sexy, cool and I love her show. I was glad to read the interview and interested in her answers. I am so sick of reading negative crap by commenters who seem to delight from tearing others apart, especially women.
If only it was true. think of the fun we could have (I'm str8 supporter of gay rights married 43 years) watching our wives go at it with another woman.
And hey, why not try to prove that being gay is a choice.
Except for the issue of your own kids, half the world would be gay.
Prob in real terms 25%, we 'd have less of an overpopulation problem, and any one with homopobic remarks would end up getting what they deserved from gays and most of the rest of society.
Nigella lawson… what a moron…
so you had a crush on a girl once and NOW all women are lesbians??? Your logic is 2+2=75.
No! The majority of women are heterosexuals. A minority are lesbians. END
> I don't believe we should be scavenging around for half-arsed scraps of acceptance from breeders
You are quite unpleasant and bitter.
What is particularly distasteful is your reference to the sexuality of heterosexuals as being something negative. It attaches a negative moral value to sexuality, which is just the problem against which those who have sought equality have fought.
"Nothing in what she said deserves the derision you heap on her or the readers who voted for her and wanted to read her interview"
Well said, TheSurburbanBi. Nigella's comments were thoughtful and educated, reading the whole thing.
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By Lori NewmanJanuary 6, 2011
FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas -- As bright sunlight shone on the Purple Heart mosaic adorning the Warrior and Family Support Center patio, two Soldiers received medals for their heroism.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Montez and Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Ramirez received the Bronze Star with the "V" Device for valor during a ceremony Dec. 16. Montez also received his second Purple Heart for injuries he received Oct. 21, 2009, when his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan.
"It is a great day today," said Lt. Col. Charles Beeks, commander, Brooke Army Medical Center Warrior Transition Battalion and host of the ceremony. "We are here to celebrate and pay tribute to the service of two warriors who have answered the call for freedom."
"It is a distinct honor for me to be here to recognize two true American heroes," said Maj. Gen. Perry Wiggins, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army North. "A lot of people watch their heroes on TV, read about them in books or see them in movies, but I get to see them live and in person, and walk among them every day."
Montez received the Bronze Star for exceptionally heroic actions while serving as squad leader in Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
According to the published order, Montez's initiative to immediately and aggressively take action in response to an enemy attack and his willingness to ignore personal danger and injuries to keep fighting allowed his platoon to defeat a large Taliban force. His exceptional leadership was essential to the success of the unit's mission.
Montez said the ceremony meant a lot to him.
"You go over there and you do a job and not everybody gets recognized," he said. "It feels good to be able to come back and get awards and be recognized for the job that I did, and for the things that happened while I was there."
Ramirez received the Bronze Star with "V" Device for heroism in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His citation stated his service during combat operations in Iraq contributed to the overwhelming success of the command's mission.
Ramirez said listening to the narrative brought him back to that day.
"Thinking about what I had done, it was dangerous, but if I hadn't done it we probably would have had more losses," he said. "We are trained to react without even thinking about it."


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NEW DELHI: Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday unveiled a draft policy that proposes to make roaming free, introduce a pan-India permit that will enable mobile phone firms to offer all communication services, allow operators to share and trade spectrum, and facilitate consolidation in the sector.
Sibal did not disclose the details of these proposals and said the new rules would be finalised by December. The last comprehensive telecom policy was announced in 1999 and since then the sector has witnessed explosive growth as well as been scarred by one of the country's biggest corruption scandals.


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Foundation and Institutional Scholarships
Scholarships have been established through the generosity of businesses, associations and individuals. These scholarships reward student achievement, encourage student leadership and accomplishment, and provide financial assistance.
All awards are based on the availability of funds. Some scholarships provide partial funding for tuition and fees; others provide for additional expenses.
Scholarship Eligibility
Criteria for each scholarship varies and has been established by the sponsor. Examples of scholarship criteria include: residency, enrollment status (e.g., full-time: 12 or more hours; part-time: 6-11 hours), academic achievement, grade-point average, earned college credit, or pursuit of particular college majors. Regardless of citizenship status, we encourage all students to apply for scholarships. International students on an F1 or other student visa may only apply for the Excellence Scholarship (International). The Enrollment Center staff is available to assist you in determining eligibility.
Scholarship Selection
The Scholarship Selection Committee notifies all scholarship applicants of award decisions by July. Oakton scholarships are generally awarded for one academic year (two semesters). Scholarship recipients must maintain eligibility requirements for each semester the scholarship is awarded. Current scholarship recipients may reapply for subsequent awards as long as eligibility requirements are met and funds are available.
Scholarship recipients who are contacted by Educational Foundation staff with regard to their scholarship award are expected to respond promptly by telephone, email, return mail, or in person. Recipients may be required to attend fundraising and donor appreciation events, including the annual Oakton Donor Recognition Banquet in fall 2016, which is an opportunity for students and donors to meet and for recipients to thank their scholarship sponsor.
Scholarships for High School Seniors
High school seniors who wish to be considered for Oakton Foundation scholarships for the 2016 academic year (beginning in fall 2016) should complete the High School Senior Scholarship Application. (Download pdf file.) The deadline for the scholarship application is March 1, 2016. If you have questions, contact the Office of Student Recruitment and Outreach at 847.635.1835.
High school seniors may also apply for our Academic Merit Scholarship or Wentcher Foundation Scholarship. The deadline to apply for both scholarships is May 2. Students would submit a completed application and all required documents to the Enrollment Center, Room 1860 (Des Plaines) or Room A100 (Skokie).
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For donors interested in establishing a scholarship, contact the Educational Foundation at 847.635.1813 or email@example.com.
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As licensed appraisers, we possess the extensive training and qualifications to produce the type of credible property value opinions that banks and top lending institutions require for home loans. And with years of experience under our belt, we're more than ready to take on anything from starter homes to the most luxurious new construction.
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There is a tradition of opposition between adherents of induction and of deduction. In my view it would be just as sensible for the two ends of a worm to quarrel.
Alfred Whitehead (1861 - 1947)
Source: N. Rose Mathematical Maxims and Minims, Raleigh NC:Rome Press Inc., 1988.
Contributed by: Zaady
There is a technique, a knack, for thinking, just as there is for doing other things. You are not wholly at the mercy of your thoughts, any more than they are you. They are a machine you can learn to operate.
The only calendar I need is just outside my window. With eyes to see and ears to hear, nature keeps me posted.
Alfred Montapert (1906 -)
Avoid destructive thinking. Improper negative thoughts sink people. A ship can sail around the world many, many times, but just let enough water get into the ship and it will sink. Just so with the human mind. Let enough negative thoughts or improper thoughts get into the human mind and the person sinks just like a ship.
Dialogue should simply be a sound among other sounds, just something that comes out of the mouths of people whose eyes tell the story in visual terms.
Alfred Hitchcock (1899 - 1980)
The glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just on the body, but the soul. Share the botanical bliss of gardeners through the ages, who have cultivated philosophies to apply to their own - and our own - lives: Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are.
Alfred Austin (1835 - 1913)
Let me tell you, you can paint pictures and get people indicted for just about anything.
Alfonse D'Amato
Source: 1996
In our country, the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918 -)
Love THE fierce exulting worlds, the motes in rays, The churlish thistles, scented briers, The wind-swept bluebells on the sunny braes, Down to the central fires, Exist alike in Love. Love is a sea Filling all the abysses dim Of lornest space, in whose deeps regally Suns and their bright broods swim. This mighty sea of Love, with wondrous tides, Is sternly just to sun and grain; 'Tis laving at this moment Saturn's sides, 'Tis in my blood and brain. All things have something more than barren use; There is a scent upon the brier, A tremulous splendour in the autumn dews, Cold morns are fringed with fire. The clodded earth goes up in sweet-breath'd flowers; In music dies poor human speech, And into beauty blow those hearts of ours When Love is born in each. Daisies are white upon the churchyard sod, Sweet tears the clouds lean down and give. The world is very lovely. O my God, I thank Thee that I live!
Alexander Smith (1830 - 1867)
Failure and success are not accidents, but the strictest justice.
Copyright © 2016 Gaiam, Inc.


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Brevoort on Bringing MARVEL Comics Closer to MARVEL Movies
[The following article contains spoilers for Battle Scars #6.]
In that same comic, Johnson's partner "Cheese" is revealed to be Phil Coulson, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent played by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Studios films, and another prominent character in Avengers. Like Harley Quinn and Firestar before him, Coulson was originally introduced in a comic book adaptation — first seen in 2008's Iron Man movie — and has now been established as a full-time resident in comic book continuity.
Newsarama talked to Marvel senior vice president of publishing Tom Brevoort about what motivated the decision to bring Agent Coulson to the classic Marvel Universe, the process of introducing an equivalent to the movie Nick Fury, where we might see the duo next, and what the future holds for the original Nick Fury — who, as of Battle Scars #6, is now out of the Infinity Formula that for years has slowed the aging of the World War II veteran.
Tom Brevoort: I don't know if it was a necessary step so much as it just became a wise step. It's not like anybody said, "You have to do this," but certainly in a world where the incarnation of that character that's appearing in film, and animation, and consumer products, toys — everywhere else — is black, it kind of makes sense for us to not be completely out of step with that. And yet, the Marvel Universe Nick Fury is a storied character, he's been around forever, close to 50 years at this point. It's not like you can just have another guy come in and step into his shoes. That's not really what we're doing here with Marcus, per se, but we are building a newer, younger, more active Nick who can be closer, at least visually, to the incarnation that people know from other media.
In terms of how long the idea's been around, Battle Scars was originally going to be part of Fear Itself: The Fearless, so at least as far back as somewhere in the early to middle part of Fear Itself. I'm pretty sure it was Joe Quesada who first started the conversation going, the notion that maybe Nick could have a son out there somewhere that we didn't know about, who would become our "new Nick Fury." As we got into Fear Itself: The Fearless, we discovered we had too many different threads to actually service in the space we had, so we chose to break them into two separate projects.
Brevoort: Well, obviously we like taking people by surprise. We also like it when our books sell well. It was definitely an issue, and I suspect that Battle Scars all along has been kind of under-ordered consequently. It's a problem just in the nature of comic book promotion. We tell you every month that every comic we publish is going to be an absolute, can't-miss critical masterpiece. So saying, "There's an important character coming here! Something's going on here!" isn't always necessarily enough to convince readers or retailers to check it out or take a position, because they just don't know. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, things don't go off the way we had hoped or planned. It was definitely something that we considered. We were hoping that just being able to press the mystery and the secret of "Who is this guy? Where does he come from? What's he all about?" would be enough to drive people's interest into the series.
Brevoort: I don't know that he's going to be more around than he has been. I don't know that necessarily he's going to be around less. He's certainly appearing regularly in Ed [Brubaker]'s Winter Soldier series. There's been talk about Matt [Fraction] using him over in Defenders. And obviously we're doing the Fury MAX series — it's MAX, so it's set aside from Marvel continuity, but it's the classic incarnation of the character.
I don't think, necessarily, the advent of Marcus-Nick Fury means, inevitably, that you're looking at the demise of classic Nick Fury. You'll no doubt tend to see more of new Nick than older Nick in the days ahead. But honestly, even the roles that I see them playing are a little bit different from one another. For whatever reason, and it probably had a lot to do with the fact that he stopped being the star of his own series, when he was initially conceived, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was a guy who strapped on some Steranko gear and went out and mixed it up with Hydra agents and A.I.M. guys. By the inevitably of not having a book of his own, over the last 10 or 20 years, Nick's role has generally been to knock on a superhero's door, and say, "Hey, superhero, I have a mission for you," and be a very easy way to get a character into a story that they otherwise wouldn't be connected to. Much more of a supporting player role.
Ultimately, new Nick comes from the publishing world to begin with, he just comes by a circuitous route, starting in the Ultimate Universe, and then winding through the films and animation, to come back to Marvel publishing. But any time it seems like what we're doing is following the lead of other divisions, our fans just have a hard time accepting it. They don't like it. It was the same sort of situation on a much smaller level when we gave Spider-Man the organic web-shooters. That too was a case where, "Man, everybody has seen these films." Then he had the organic web-shooters for a number of years, and at a certain point going into "Brand New Day," we decided, "OK, let's go back and give him the mechanical web-shooters again," and then a different bunch of people were upset about that. It's always kind of a dicey thing when you're shifting things up this way, but to me the challenge is, "Make new Nick an interesting, viable character. Don't just make him a clone of old Nick in blackface and a goatee, make him a character unto himself." The good thing about new Nick is, at least at this point, he's had very little interaction with any of the characters in the Marvel Universe, so you've got the opportunity to introduce him to Spider-Man, and to Daredevil, and to Iron Man, to Thor, and the Hulk and everybody — and get a different perspective, and let him have a different set of experiences than the ones that older Nick had, and hopefully create some interesting story possibilities and directions for things moving ahead.
We're definitely going to do more with the character; we're definitely going to do more with Coulson in the months and weeks ahead.
Brevoort: The most immediate place, and it's a very small appearance, is in Scarlet Spider in just a few weeks. It's there as much as anything because Chris writes that series, and he's about as invested in those two characters as anybody, having spent so much time writing them. We're not quite ready to say exactly where they're going to be thereafter, but there's definitely some interesting stuff on the horizon.
Nrama: So while the Nick Fury decision seemed somewhat difficult to maneuver, how much of a no-brainer was introducing Agent Coulson to the Marvel Universe? Was it a matter of, "here's a popular character from the movies, why don't we put him in the comics"?
Brevoort: Yeah, pretty much. Even the notion that he would be Marcus' partner, that too came out of the early conversations with Joe, and the ideas that had sparked with him. That whole structure of, "People will probably figure out pretty early that that guy is going to be Nick Fury, but they may not see the other guy being Coulson coming" was something that went back to the stuff that Joe was spitballing a year, year-and-a-half ago.
I think he was a surprising character to everybody. Certainly, when his role was written for the first Iron Man film, I can't imagine that anybody thought that he'd become as crucial to the film franchise as he has. Clearly, Clark Gregg gave a great performance; clearly the Marvel Studios guys liked him and felt simpatico enough to keep bringing him back, and to start featuring him outside of the Iron Man films.
Brevoort: He will be Nick Fury. It's not impossible that here and there either Coulson or other people that knew him as Marcus Johnson over the years will make reference to that. He's got a past, he's got a history, he was an Army Ranger, he did serve in Afghanistan, and presumably he served with other people who might know him as Marcus Johnson. But he's going to be Nick Fury. He will grudgingly and ultimately acceptingly embrace that moniker that is his actual name, he just didn't really know it until this point.More from Newsarama:
- [SPOILERS] Movie Character Makes MARVEL Universe Debut
- 10 AVENGERS Movie Cameos We'd Like to See
- MAPPING the MARVEL MOVIE UNIVERSE Connections
- Where In The (Comics) World Is Marvel's Agent Coulson?
- One More AVENGERS Scene Filmed This Week, According to Cast
- IRON MAN Annotations - Looking Back at Marvel's First


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You can watch tonight's Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers game on KMBC-TV starting at 7 p.m.
Our pre-game coverage starts at 7 p.m. with kickoff happening shortly after 7:30 p.m.
If you'd like to watch "Dancing With The Stars" and "Castle," you can catch those shows on KCWE-TV.
You can find KCWE-TV on the following channels:
- Time Warner: 7
- Comcast Mo.: 2
- Comcast Kan.: 13
- Surewest: 16
- Sunflower: 17
- Dish Network: 29
- DirecTV: 29
KCWE's prime tonight (90210 and Gossip Girl) which are pre-empted due to carriage of Dancing With The Stars and Castle will air on Saturday, November 17 from 7 – 9 p.m.


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Share and capture interesting moments around anytime with 2M pixel forward facing camera and video conferencing software.
mini tablet 7 comes with Android 2.3, provides diversified entertainments, you can enjoy mobile shopping, gaming, video streaming, communication and productivities etc. Thanks to 1GHz A8 processor and 512MB cache memory, every applications runs smooth with improved multi-tasking supports.
A HD video decoder is built inside mini tablet 7, that means HD video available anywhere, no longer limited watch movies with computers and TVs. It supports traditional and high definition video format in both 16:9 and 4:3 ratio, so there is no need to convert the file before transferring videos.
Do everything with your fingers! Multi touch makes everything becomes easy, reading books, web browsing, gaming, swiping photos etc, just instantly transforms your actions into the executable instructions to mini tablet 7.
mini tablet 7 supports Wi-Fi in IEEE 802.11b/g/n standard, connect to the Internet anywhere, such as restaurants, cafes, shopping mall, urban areas, public transportations and anywhere. A Built-in Bluetooth adaptor provide connectivity to Bluetooth enables peripheral devices, such as headset, mobile phones, computers, speakers etc, transfer data via air in high speed.