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Skip to comments.Santorum Says He Would Enforce US Obscenity Laws That Obama Ignores
Posted on 03/16/2012 10:56:03 PM PDT by Steelfish
click here to read article
>>Porn kings contribute to liberal causes and liberal politicians turn a blind eye to criminal obscenity.<<
Frankly, in the scheme of things on a scale from 1 (least important) to 10 (metaphysical importance), porn rates a .0005
Pornography is an issue to be concerned about. However, it does NOT belong in a presidential campaign.
It's an issue that many people, not just men, but some women, have struggles with. But, does it rise to the level of a presidential campaign issue? No.
Major issue of the day!
Does it rise to the level of government involvement?
Santorum would be a disaster as the nominee. (as would the other two)
Agree with you 100 per cent.
"illegal" pornography probably refers to kiddie porn.
Libertarians think its just art.
Molesting kids on camera is not something for government to stop?
Always amazing how many Freepers have no problem with kiddie porn
I think kiddie porn is already a federal crime that is heavily policed..as it should be.
Oh I forgot about all those intrusive bills he has already authored, and some he just thinks he can author to "save" all us sinners.
By the way, maybe he and Karen should consider all the time they are spending away from their precious daughter. I don't mean that in a harsh way, so lay off you next ugly post. I just think if Bella is truly living on borrowed time, God would want him not to waste one minute away from her, especially on a political run. Time is so precious, it gets away from all of us. Rick and Karen are spending a great deal of time away from that sweet baby, and I just keep asking myself if it is worth it.
Politics is not worth wasting the time they could be spending with that precious child. GOD bless Bella and her family. I have her in my prayers daily. I also think Bella is just about the sweetest name I have ever heard. I wish I would of thought of that name when I had my daughter.
What the hell are you talking about?
I think many Democrats would disagree with you. They think it is very important to have an issue like this to use against Republicans. "The Religious Right wants the government to search your computer for porn!" will make a great get-out-the-vote message.
You need to get your mind out of the gutter.
Sadly, politics is religion to politicians.
If Santorum is the candidate, the election will be about his SERP.
2012 has got to be about Obama! the economy, STUPID! and not about morals!
I read the First literally!
To GeronL: Name them, please.
List the FReepers, by screen name, who have said, "I have no problem with kiddie porn". And who are not obvious DU trolls.
Not just FReepers whose beliefs you differ with, and therefore you wish to slur with such horrific accusations. Just list the ones who state they "have no problem with kiddie porn". FReepers are not shy. If such a person exists on FR, they will say so.
Surely you are aware that child pornography is already wildly illegal. And that therefore such a FReeper, if they exist, is advocating doing something wildly illegal on a conservative forum? If such a person exists on FR, they should be run out on a rail forthwith. Flush 'em out and I'm sure the Admin Mods will be all too happy to ban them.
So yes, please list these "many FReepers", whose numbers are so large they "amaze" you.
Newt is UNELECTABLE. He has baggage heavy enough to sink the QEII; Check his negatives, gender gap, independents desert him in droves, and his so-called "southern strategy" went up in smoke after AL and MS. He was unable to pull 50% in his own home state after massive ad buys and campaigning. What now but to withdraw in grace. It's not just "The Jobs Stupid" its also "the Culture Stupid."
Santorum made himself provincial and part of the nanny state with his anti-porn crusade. It might have helped if he were running for Pope.
Kiddie porn should be about victimizing specific children to make porn. That should be a capital (or at least a castrating) offense.
However, unless the defendant actually did that, it should not be a criminal matter.
Funny how you were the 1st and only one to suddenly bring up kiddie porn.
Clearly, Santorum is not talking about child pornography. Here's what Santorum said:
"Current federal 'obscenity' laws prohibit distribution of hardcore (obscene) pornography on the Internet, on cable/satellite TV, on hotel/motel TV, in retail shops and through the mail or by common carrier," it reads. "Rick Santorum believes that federal obscenity laws should be vigorously enforced."
The article goes on to say that the FBI has announced 38 convictions on child pornography counts this month. Since Santorum says that Obama isn't enforcing the law, the child pornography laws aren't the laws he's talking about.
Santorum wants the federal government to regulate the "mainstream" kind of pornography.
LOL, you said in one sentence what it took me a dozen above (post #20). Well done!
From April, 2011....and OMG, It's MSNBC....
Obama's Porn Problem With Liberals
"If you know where to search, it doesn't take much Googling to find photos of women having sex with farm animals, videos that graphically depict simulated rape, or actresses made to look 13 year olds performing sex acts on adult men....
....But this week, news broke that the Obama administration had quietly shuttered the only Justice Department unit that exclusively fought adult obscenity.....
....Earlier this month, 42 senators signed a letter urging Attorney General Eric Holder to step up enforcement of federal obscenity laws. Among the cast of mostly Republican signers, one name stood out: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a staunch liberal from California, the de-facto porn capital of America.....
....She wasn't alone: five other Senate Democrats, including Minnesota's left-wing warrior, Amy Klobuchar, also signed the letter, and they were applauded by feminists, leftist lawyers, and liberal academics. Together, this increasingly vocal segment of progressives is making the case that hardcore porn flies in the face of cherished liberal causes-and that Democrats should be leading the charge to take down its distributors......"
If we can't have Newt, I'd settle for Dr. Paul. Or even Mittens! Anybody to oust Obama! Because Obama is who it will be if we nominate Ricky "JFK turns my stomach" Santorum. On the
so-called religious issue, Santorum is a moron!!
Forming a Religious Police.
Actually, it appears he's trying to make anything he doesn't approve of, fit under the broad category of "obscene" or "hard-core", so that he can make it illegal. He wants to enforce the laws dealing with illegal porn in such a way as to include the stuff that is NOT currently illegal, but which he thinks SHOULD be.
That's very different from simply enforcing existing laws.
> Anybody who is against what Santorum said is against enforcing the law.
Ummm, I do not agree. I'm all for enforcing the existing laws, as they are generally understood in the communities where they exist.
I am NOT for letting one bluenose decide what's legal for the entire country, especially when it's quite clear that the vast majority of Americans do not share his self-righteous attitude towards such material.
Obscenity already has a well established legal definition. Obama hasn't enforced federal obscenity laws but Rick Santorum will.
Personally, I think porn is gross. But, amazingly, I have very little problem avoiding it. If this is about kids not viewing porn, I totally get that. That should be parental control...not coming from a governmental level.
However pure Senator Santorum's statements might be...the media will seize on such statements and turn them against him. He might want to stick to the issues of our economy and world strife. Plenty of topics there. But he seems to let the media define his platform.
"Newt is UNELECTABLE. He has baggage heavy enough to sink the QEII; Check his negatives, gender gap, independents desert him in droves, and his so-called southern strategy went up in smoke after AL and MS. He was unable to pull 50% in his own home state after massive ad buys and campaigning. What now but to withdraw in grace. Its not just The Jobs Stupid its also the Culture Stupid."
My, you really hate Newt, don't you?
Can you please, name one? I am with FR for some time, and never noticed what you mentioned.
Link didn't work, sorry. It was for the Kinks "Shepards of the Nation".
He sure comes up with some off the wall issues.
Certainly after election this could be looked into, but it isn't something to run on.
Head on or inserted in a painful place? Either works for me.
Personally, like you, I enjoy admiring the female form in various states of undress - prefer some clothing as I am a big fan of keeping the mystery going. Watching someone having sex though is a waste of my time - far better to go off and bother the wife.
Having said that though, I got no huge problem with people looking at porn. Their souls, their choice. Not something that is vital for the President to deal with. Heck, you can hardly watch a movie now without the obligatory and fairly graphic sex scene cropping up.
One thing surprised me. There is a thing called ethical porn (had to research it for an article). Reading that term, talk about a mental disconnect! Took me a day or so to even process the idea that porn can be ethical.
LOL. Or, maybe he is still searching FR to try to prove the impossible.
It is obvious, pornography has a death grip on many of the commenters of this post, too. And, I do mean death grip, both physically and spiritually. Why else would anyone deny that this is a most important issue.
We have laws for a reason and we have reason to have much more stringent enforcement of the laws relating to and governing the legality of pornography/obscenity. The very future of our nation and even the world rides on being moral and protecting life.
Morality in this nation is at the bottom of the scale. It really is disappointing to see how many people ignore the intent of pornography and the destruction it causes.
(1) Even "soft" porn is harmful to everyone.
(2) All pornography desensitizes the viewer.
(3) Pornography is addictive.
(4) Pornography degrades marriages.
(5) Pornography increases crime in dangerous offenders.
(6) Pornography encourages and facilitates other crimes.
Reference. These impacts are also listed in The Hill-Link Minority Report of the Presidential Commission on Obscenity and Pornography. A copy of this report, written in 1970, may be ordered from Morality in Media, 475 Riverside Drive, New York, New York 10115.
Pornography Directly Promotes Other Crimes.
The above section shows beyond the faintest shadow of a doubt that pornography users routinely engage in a wide range of violent and sadistic crimes, committed not only against themselves, but against other persons as well.
Child Molestation.
The pornography pushers also promote child molestation by trivializing sex acts between adults and children and by purposely blurring the line between adult sex and adults having sex with children.
Organizations such as the North American Man-Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) and the Rene Guyon Society, both of which lobby for the elimination of age-of-consent laws, are involved heavily with the homosexual movement and with hard-core pornography.
For more details on the connection of child molestation to pornography and homosexuality, see Chapter 137, "Pornography and Child Molestation."
However, it is also an established fact that porn kings use their great wealth and influence to directly promote illegal acts in their magazines, including the use of dangerous drugs. This is in keeping with their hedonistic, "anything goes" philosophy.
Drug Use.
According to Dr. Judith Reisman, the president of Washington's Institute for Media Education, the legalization of all types of drug use has been a primary financial, editorial, and legislative goal of the Playboy empire since 1966. The first indication that Playboy was going to champion drug use and legalization was in its September 1966 issue, when it interviewed Timothy Leary in a very ingratiating manner.
In 1970, the Playboy Foundation formally underwrote attorney Keith Stroup's establishment of the National Organization for the Repeal of Marijuana Laws (NORML). In late 1971, the Foundation contributed $100,000, the first of many large periodic grants, to NORML for its 1972 pro-drug campaign.
Playboy has continued to infuse massive editorial and financial assistance to drug legalization since 1970. In 1973 and 1975, Playboy-backed NORML efforts resulted in the decriminalization of marijuana in Oregon and Alaska respectively. Playboy Magazine has published fictional stories lionizing drug-using heros, has printed drug-use charts, and has served as a platform for numerous pro-drug spokesmen, from Timothy Leary to All-American defensive back Don Rogers (who later died of a drug overdose).[13]
According to Congressional sources, illegal drugs are a $70 billion a year business. We now have 20 million people who use marijuana frequently, 7 million who use cocaine frequently, and half a million heroin addicts.[14] Our society is literally drowning in a flood of drugs, and no child is safe from drugs and molestation especially yours!
The very last thing we need is a group of rich lechers egging the drug pushers on with illogical rhetoric in their glossy, expensive magazines.
Yep, Rick's easy to sidetrack - just bring up a subject dealing with morality and/or Religion and he swallows the hook and all. I prefer a devout Christian as a leader, but he has to be able look at things with the prism of what's first on the importance scale. To Rick, this probably is important.
We have federal pornography laws? I thought they were State and local.
Great, another self-appointed regulator of the internet. What could go wrong?
: )
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Faulty wiring in an apparent marijuana grow operation lighting and ventilation system caused an apartment fire at 720 Main Street in La Crosse on September 16, according to a criminal complaint.
La Crosse couple Michael Sloan, 33, and Melissa Sader, 33, are facing drug charges.
Investigators executed a search warrant for apartment #3 and found 24 marijuana plants and other items that would be used in the growing of marijuana.
The criminal complaint states one of the growing operations was found inside a wardrobe, which was lined with grow lights and had ventilation duct work and fans set up. The second grow operation was located underneath the coffee table and also had grow lights and ventilation.
Sader told police she had no idea what was going on inside the bedroom of the apartment that she shared with Sloan. She said Sloan kept those doors locked.
Sloan and Sader have an 8-year-old daughter who was sleeping in the bedroom of the apartment at the time the fire stated and Sader had to get her out safely, the complaint states.
Sloan and Sader have been charged with manufacture/deliver THC (tetrahydrocannabinols) (>1000-25000G)-as party to a crime. On Tuesday, a La Crosse County judge set a $5,000 signature bond for Sloan and Sader.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show
NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 03: Singer Beyonce performs during the Pepsi Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on February 3, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
NIN In Concert At The Echoplex(Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Rebel Waltz)
The Armory Party at MOMA on March 6, 2013 in New York City. (Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
The Gaslight Anthem
Grant Park on August 5, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. (Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Emeli Sande
Scottish singer Emeli Sande performs during the 2013 ECHO Music Awards in Berlin, on March 21, 2013. The German music award granted every year by the German Phono academy awards prizes in 27 categories. (Credit: MARKUS SCHREIBER/AFP/Getty Images)
Walk the Moon
93.3 FLZ's Jingle Ball 2012 at Tampa Bay Times Forum on December 9, 2012 in Tampa, Florida. (Credit: Tim Boyles/Getty Images
Schoolboy Q
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 14: Schoolboy Q performs during the BET Music Matters Showcase at SXSW at Brazos Hall on March 14, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for BET)
A$AP Rocky Perform At The Staples Center
Staples Center on April 8, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Kendrick Lamar
AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 14: Kendrick Lamar performs during the BET Music Matters Showcase at Brazos Hall on March 14, 2013 in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for BET)
Fitz and the Tantrums
The band Fitz and the Tantrums pose on arrival for the 19th Annual Race to Erase MS themed "Glam Rock to Erase MS" in Los Angeles on May 18, 2012. The event benefits the Nancy Davis Foundation for Multiple Sclerosis and the Center Without Walls program which continues to raise funds to provide treatment and ultimately find a cure for MS. (Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GettyImages)
House Festival, Chiswick House & Gardens on July 5, 2012 in London, England. The festival from the Soho House Group supports The Chiswick House & Gardens Trust and WarChild. (Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Wiz Khalifa
Performs onstage at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards at Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center on September 29, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Credit: Chris McKay/Getty Images)
Wlfgang Gartner
Performs during day one of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival 2010 held at the Empire Polo Club on April 16, 2010 in Indio, California. (Credit: Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)
Arrives at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Onstage during day 1 of the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 13, 2012 in Indio, California. (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Teenage Cancer Trust: Goldfrapp
LONDON - MARCH 28: Gavin Thomas Alfred and Ingrid Madsen of GTA perform on stage as support for Goldfrapp on the second night of a series of concerts and events in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust organised by charity Patron Roger Daltrey, at the Royal Albert Hall on March 28, 2006 in London, England. (Credit: Jo Hale/Getty Images)
Jay Rock
Onstage during day 1 of the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Field on April 13, 2012 in Indio, California. (Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Imagine Dragons
Attends Billabong's 6th Annual Design For Humanity Event benefitting the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation at Paramount Studios on July 25, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
Calvin Harris
Onstage during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 22, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Credit: Michael Kova/Getty Images)
Florence Welch
Florence Welch of Florence And The Machine performs live on stsge at 02 Arena on December 5, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Simone Joyner/Getty Images)
French DJ crew Birdy Nam Nam performs on
French DJ crew Birdy Nam Nam performs on stage after receiving the award for best electronic or dance music recording of the year for "Manual For A Successful Rioting " during the 25th Victoires de la Musique yearly French music awards ceremony on March 6, 2010 at the Zenith concert hall in Paris. AFP PHOTO LIONEL BONAVENTURE (Photo credit should read LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)
The 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Press Room
In the press room at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 07: At Wembley Arena on November 7, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images for Red Bull)
Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 5, 2013 in New York City. (Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Guinness Celebrates Arthur's Day
In Dublin as part of the annual Arthur's Day celebrations on September 27, 2012. Celebrating the life and legacy of Arthur Guinness, the man behind the iconic pint, Arthur's Day sees fans come together to experience live music events in over 500 intimate venues around the island of Ireland and for the first time in London, including surprise performances in small pubs. Leading the celebrations in London are Sir Tom Jones, Razorlight, Wretch 32 and VV Brown, whilst artists as diverse as Example, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Mika, Professor Green, Fat Boy Slim, Texas, Fun Lovin' Criminals and Mumford & Sons perform in pubs around Ireland. The fourth annual celebration will take place in over 55 countries including, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Caribbean nations, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Ireland and Great Britain. For more information visit www.guinness.com or the Guinness Facebook page. (Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
2 Chainz
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Recording artists 2 Chainz performs with Fall Out Boy during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night as part of 2013 NBA All-Star Weekend on February 16, 2013 at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Credit: Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Macklemore And Ryan Lewis, Jennifer Hudson And Magic Johnson With 15,000 Youth At We Day Seattle
SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 27: In this handout photo provided by Free The Children, Seattle music sensation Macklemore surprises the crowd of 15,000 youth with a show-stopping performance at the Key Arena on March 28, 2013 in Seattle, Washington. (Credit: Free The Children via Getty Images)
Porter Robinson
Performs onstage at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival held at The Empire Polo Field on April 15, 2012 in Indio, California. (Credit: Mark Davis/Getty Images)
Queens of the Stone Age
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 30: Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age performs on stage during the V Festival at Avica Resort on March 30, 2008 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Credit: Jonathan Wood/Getty Images)
Public Enemy
The Apple Store Soho on February 3, 2011 in New York City. (Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
At the launch event of the New Nokia Lumia Range at Flat Iron Square on November 28, 2012 in London, England. (Credit: Ian Gavan/Getty Images)
Onstage at Clive Davis & The Recording Academy's 2013 Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute to Industry Icons honoring Antonio "L.A." Reid at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 9, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Categories: Entertainment Local Music Nightlife & Music Photo Galleries Photos Top Spots


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Sean ConneryReplyCancel
Ian McKellenReplyCancel
Anyone who hung around with Cliff Richard has had their "name come up".ReplyCancel
Connery doesn't work anymore
Michael caine?ReplyCancel
Wonder if McKellen came up in something Singer related?ReplyCancel
Jimmy Saville had to know everyone in European entertainment he was Europe's Dick Clark. So any 65+ guy who was up for Oscars could be this one.ReplyCancel
The "still" is throwing me off, but I hope it's that tool Sean Connery and why did they not charge him?ReplyCancel
Another vote for Irons. Don't know if he likes jailbait per se, but dude is a freak.ReplyCancel
Anyone want to clue me in on Sean Connery?ReplyCancel
@Mother Hen, where to begin?
He believes it's OK to hit women
He's a litigious jerk that even State Supreme Court judge didn't like
He refuses to leave a penny to his son but then threatens to kill him if the son changes his last nameReplyCancel
Actually, this one's better:ReplyCancel
Zachary, the Singer scandal in US is "mostly gay" but the UK scandal–the so-called Jimmy Saville scandal–is "mostly straight".
Just good, old-fashioned paedophilia, much from the 70s/80s (though not all, by a long shot).
Saville, singer and painter Rolf Harris, PR king Max Clifford–just a few who have been named. The latest to be searched was Sir Cliff Richard (not even sure anyone in US knows him), and he's the only one of unconfirmed sexual preference.
Basically, the whole free love thing of the 70s was shit, though I suppose I remain unconvinced it was unprecedented, or has changed.ReplyCancel
Thanks @Sprink for the helpful synopsis 🙂
I'm gonna go with Jeremy IronsReplyCancel
Cleese and Hopkins both live in the US full-time and have for many years. Neither of them is nasty or twisted enough to be a Savile person.
Connery, who is nasty enough, has dementia. Maybe that's why he won't be charged. He's permanently A list and still has a household staff.ReplyCancel
Malibu, I'm sure Hopkins, Connery, and Cleese have had their share of strange, but I reckon they went about it the old-fashioned way–by having women throw themselves at them.
The UK thing is a virtual Island of Misfit Toys: men who could never get repeatedly laid without fame and manipulation.
By the way, I'm not saying any of these men are without sin, so to speak. But I do think it's worse if one plans to abuse one's power, rather than having it thrust upon them. So to speak.ReplyCancel
Anthony Hopkins is a sweetheart.ReplyCancel
I read this as Caine. Please Jebus No!ReplyCancel
Connery is the only one I can imagine that could manage to have a household staff yet not pay them. Dude is a walking penis.ReplyCancel
He is English but he does not live in Uk – lives in a castle in IrelandReplyCancel
Thanks seven!ReplyCancel
Connery used to live in NYC for many years, he still may.ReplyCancel


text: My baby is almost 4 months, 12.5lbs, 2 stool/6 wet diapers. I have been dealing with oversupply for almost 4 months and we decided to exclusively breastpump and feed her through the bottles. I normally pump 5oz bottle (each breast) every 6 hours for 20 minutes. When I put the bottles in the refrigerator, the creamy part of the milk (hindmilk?) is on top and only about 1/16 of the bottle. Is this bad? I thought this is what the baby needs? What can I do to increase the amount of the creamy part without pumping more than 5ounces per breast?


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Field project gets boost
WHEELING – Philanthropy is nothing new for members of the Schenk family, who have joined the list of those supporting the planned East Wheeling J.B. Chambers Recreation Park.
City officials joined trustees of the Albert Schenk III and Kathleen H. Schenk Charitable Trust on Tuesday to announce a $150,000 contribution from the foundation to the project, construction of which is expected to begin sometime in mid-August. Louise Coulling, daughter of the organization's namesakes, said the focus on improving the lives of local youth sold them on the project.
"We are interested in helping children and helping revitalize East Wheeling. … We really love Wheeling. It's our hometown, and we love to give grants locally," Coulling said.
Albert Schenk III died in June 1995, and his family established the trust in his name three years later. His sizable donation to Oglebay Park in 1953 led to the creation of Schenk Lake, where park patrons today still enjoy paddle boats, fishing and Oglebay's annual Independence Day fireworks show.
Mayor Andy McKenzie said safety, recreation and family gathering places are some of the most important things people look for in a city. He believes the new recreation park will enhance Wheeling in each of those areas.
"We felt this was a great way to enhance our downtown area, particularly East Wheeling," McKenzie said.
Publicly announced contributions toward the project from non-governmental sources now total $1.25 million. Other sources include the J.B. Chambers Foundation, at $750,000; Wheeling Hospital, at $250,000; and the Bordas & Bordas law firm and the Roy and Dorothy Chambers Foundation, at $50,000 each.
Total project costs, including property acquisition, demolition, design and construction, total about $3.3 million. Identified funding sources total $3.01 million, including announced donations, the $1.2 million taxpayers have spent on the project to date and the $560,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funding the city plans to spend to replace the Elks Playground.
The Tuesday announcement came on the same day City Council heard first reading of several measures related to the East Wheeling project that will come up for a vote Aug. 6, including the award of $2.08 million in construction contracts to James White Construction of Weirton, and a loan of up to $1.15 million to get construction started.
City leaders still are seeking another $200,000 to $300,000 in donations, according to McKenzie. Some donation pledges will be fulfilled in several yearly installments, Herron said, but the city needs cash now in order to finish the project this fall.


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Wellness: Courses
The Wellness Instructional Program is divided into 8 disciplines and offers more than 550 courses during the academic year.
Students are required to take two wellness classes before they graduate, but there is no limit to the number of classes students can take. A nominal fee is charged for courses. The Institute covers the first two classes up to $180 in total course fees. Student accounts are credited automatically after add/drop ends. Please contact Student Financial Services directly with any questions.
Registration, add/drop and withdraw dates for Wellness courses coincide with the dates determined by the Office of the Registrar, as all academic classes do as well.
To view course descriptions, term schedule, or to register, go to the Student Information System
How to enroll in a Wellness Instructional Program Course
For a comprehensive list of ALL Fall Semester Classes, click here.
Health and Wellness Seminars (WHWS)
Massage: Holistic Therapy, Sexuality and Safety, Eating, Body Image and Food, Motivation and Leadership, How to Become Smoke Free, Spirituality & Health and Stress Management.
Dance (WDAN)
Ballet, Ballroom, Beginner Dance, Country Line Dance, Latin , Jazz, Swing, Irish Step, Tap, Advanced Tap, Argentine Tango, Hip Hop, Hip Hop Hustle™, Hip Hop Fitness, "So You Think You Can Dance", and Contemporary World Dance.
Fitness (WFIT)
Cardio Conditioning, Power Sculpt, Cardio-Boxing & Abs, Aqua: Tone and Condition, Weight Training (Beginner, Intermediate and Women only sections), Spinning, Endurance Spinning, Spin and Sculpt, Spin and Core, Extreme Fitness, Pilates, Yoga, PiYo™, Turbo Kick™, TurboKick and Abs, Bootcamp, Running for Fitness and Competition, Triathlon Training, Walking for Fitness, Personal Training Certification, Student Personal Training, Personal Training, Deep Water Challenge, Personal Training and Diet, Swimming for Fitness, Pilates (Beginner and Intermediate), Power Yoga, Core Glutes and Abs, Kickboxing, Drums Alive, Health/Fitness Challenge, Zumba, 120 Day Challenge, Humans vs. Zombies Bootcamp, Sunrise Yoga, Intro to Fitness, and Beginner Spinning.
Life Support and Safety (WHLS)
CPR, Care and Prevention of Athletic Injuries, First Aid, Lifeguarding and Water Safety Instruction.
Lifetime Recreation and Leisure (WREC)
Archery, Badminton, Basketball, Basketball Bootcamp. Pocket Billiards, Advanced Pocket Billiards, Bowling, Diving, Fencing, Advanced Fencing, Flag Football, Ultimate Frisbee , Golf (Beginner and Advanced), Disc Golf, Horseback/English (off-campus), Horseback/Western (off-campus), Ice Skating, In-Line Skating, Ice Hockey, Juggling, Officiating (basketball, softball, flag football), Racquetball, Sabre, Softball, Team Handball, Soccer (Indoor/Outdoor), Skiing (downhill), Snow Boarding, Swimming, Tennis, Dodge ball, Curling, Table Tennis, Fresh Water Fly Fishing, Women's Lacrosse, Sports Smorgasbord , Volleyball and Pickleball.
Outdoor Education (WINT)
Backpacking, Camp Cooking, Canoeing, Cross Country Skiing, Kayaking, Kayak Rolling, Hiking, Rock Climbing (Indoor & Outdoor), Bouldering, Top-Rope Set Up, Training for Climbers, Ice Climbing, Snow Shoeing, Adirondack Snowshoeing, Wilderness Skills, Bicycle Care/Maintenance, Trail Maintenance, Backcountry Basics, Bouldering/Coopers Rock, Facetime, Team Building Tools, Canoe Camping, Leave No Trace Trainer, Adirondack Spring Break, Climbing/Technical Skills, Climbing/Toprope Set-up, Cycling for Fitness, and Orienteering.
Martial Arts (WMAR)
Aikido, Karate, Kung Fu, Kung Fu Self Defense, Kung Fu Rank Test Review, Kali Level I, Qigong, Tai Chi, Self-Defense, Sparring and Brazilian Capoeira.
Army ROTC (leadership drills and leadership lab), Air Force ROTC (physical training and leadership lab) and Navy ROTC.


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Welcome to the CRG Discussion Forum!Forum registration problems: Make sure you enter your email correctly and you check your spam box first. *Then* email KurtS2@gmail for help.
Bolts were torqued to the required value.
Did they manufacture the tie rods, center link, adjustment sleeves, and clamps?Or was it a plant which did the pre-assembly for component systems?


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Statistical Probabilities (episode)
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(written from a Production point of view)
|"Statistical Probabilities"
|DS9, Episode 6x09
Production number: 40510-533
First aired: 22 November 1997
|131st of 173 produced in DS9
|131st of 173 released in DS9
|494th of 728 released in all
| Teleplay By
René Echevarria
Story By
Pam Pietroforte
Directed By
Anson Williams
|Unknown (2374)
Bashir helps a group of eccentric genetically engineered Humans who are visiting him try to make a useful contribution to the Federation; the Dominion offers to sign a truce with the Federation.
Lieutenant Karen Loews, a Starfleet psychiatrist, brings four genetically engineered Humans to Deep Space 9 looking for help from Dr. Bashir. The group hasn't been as lucky as Bashir, and every one has strong social disabilities (mania, bipolar disorder, catatonia, etc.). Even if they have ambiguous feelings for "mister productive member of society" at first, they eventually accept Bashir as one of them.
In a meeting with the rest of the station's senior staff, Bashir informs them of his wish to help the group become normal members of society. The feedback he receives is divided, but Bashir decides to give it a try regardless. They are interrupted when the patients break into the com system to contact their new friend about an annoying high-pitched noise. Back in their quarters, Bashir confirms what nobody else can hear and Miles O'Brien soon arrives to fix the problem with some unexpected help from Patrick.
While Bashir and O'Brien are in the room, the newly appointed leader of the Cardassian Union, Gul Damar, broadcasts a speech, and not wanting to miss it they watch it on the room's viewscreen. The transmission captures the group's attention, and they are quickly enthralled by it, making very accurate guesses about who Damar is even though they know nothing about him. Bashir and O'Brien are astonished at the speed with which the group is able to deduce much of Damar's story based on only the one speech. They become very interested in the matter and quickly go through all the database material about Cardassia and the Dominion. Grabbing the opportunity, Bashir convinces Captain Sisko to let his new friends assist the peace talks between the Dominion and Starfleet on the next day. The group proves very useful at uncovering a move by the Dominion to acquire a strategic planet that would allow them to produce ketracel-white. Sisko even agrees to send the information, and the analysis behind it, to Starfleet Intelligence.
In the meantime, Bashir goes to Quark's with O'Brien after the group notices that the chief seems to miss his friend, especially since his wife is off-station. Bashir proves difficult, walking the wrong side of the thin line between super-intelligent Humans and "uncomplicated" (as he qualifies O'Brien), "slow" people.
Later, back with the group, Bashir attempts to cheer them up by announcing that Starfleet has granted them access to classified information, but he is welcomed by a new and devastating projection. According to them, the Federation will be defeated and eventually rebuild from a rebellion against the Dominion. Since it seems inescapable, the best move would be to surrender immediately to prevent the loss of life. With that in mind, Bashir tries to convince Sisko to take the appropriate action, but the captain refuses point-blank to accept this and passes on the projections to Starfleet without his endorsement knowing they'll be rejected. It is Quark who eventually brings enlightenment to Bashir by pointing out at a dabo table that even when the odds are against you, you can still win.
Nevertheless, when Bashir explains the situation to the others, they chose to take the fate of the Federation into their hands and contact the Dominion by themselves. Bashir objects, so they disable him. Fortunately with the help of Sarina, he is able to prevent them from committing treason. To his angry "friends", he then explains that even when probability is not on your side, one person can still change the course of history. As such, the Federation is willing to bet nine hundred billion lives.
Jack is still furious, but Bashir assures them that he would listen if they ever found a way to defeat the Dominion. Bashir then promises to visit them at the Institute where they were to return.
Memorable quotesEdit
"Did you hear that? He used the passive voice transitive."
"Since when can you speak Dominionese?"
"Since this morning."
- - Jack and Bashir
"They're going to cut us open, see what makes our biologically-enhanced brains tick!"
- - Jack
"There are rules, don't talk with your mouth full, don't open an airlock when somebody is inside it, and don't lie about your genetic status!"
- - Jack
"It's not our place to decide who lives and who dies! We're not gods!"
"Maybe not, but we're the next best thing."
- - Bashir and Jack
"You're welcome to play your little "we're all friends here" act with me. But I wouldn't try it on Captain Sisko. He's not in the mood."
"We're on a mission of peace, Major. Maybe he should get in the mood."
- - Kira and Damar
"Well, I'd love to stay and chat about our impending doom but..."
- - Bashir, when he is called away from dinner to deal with Jack
Background informationEdit
Story and scriptEdit
- This episode originated in Ira Steven Behr's desire to probe deeper into Bashir's genetic enhancements, not his 'abilities' per se, but the implications of those abilities; "I was never totally comfortable with our discovery of Julian's genetic engineering. It was one of those revelations that did not seem quite authentic to me. We'd had to work backward to get it. So I felt we needed to do something to help that idea along." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The storyline was based on Isaac Asimov's classic Foundation Trilogy. Asimov based his work on issues raised in Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and the basic plot involves a scientist (Hari Seldon) who develops a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory which he uses to calculate that galactic civilization is doomed to fall, leading to 30,000 years of darkness and barbarism. Seldon, terrified at this prospect, takes action to attempt to minimize the oncoming "dark ages" to only 1,000 years, but his plan fails to foresee that the actions of a single individual could render his predictions invalid. Psychohistory is based upon mass action, and it can only predict the future when dealing with large groups, predicting trends in large masses of people, which is why Seldon fails to take into account the actions of individuals – when it gets down to individual people, the variables become so vast as to be impossible to calculate, so the predictions become unstable. In the novels, a character called The Mule, who has psychic abilities, becomes intimately involved in events, and directly influences their outcome, something which Seldon's psychohistory could never have predicted. This is exactly what happens in the episode: the savants make large scale predictions based upon mass action, but they fail to take into account the actions of one single individual, who comes to directly affect everything they have predicted. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- In René Echevarria's first draft of this episode, the savants were a think-tank that had been recruited and trained by Starfleet Intelligence. They had been sent on an intelligence mission to Deep Space 9 and they were to operate under the supervision of Bashir. However, because the story called for the characters to be somewhat neurotic, the idea that Starfleet had entrusted these people with such sensitive information quickly became absurd, and Echevarria changed the plot so they were sent to Deep Space 9 not as intelligence consultants, but simply for counseling. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Echevarria's second draft had the episode begin before the savants arrive, and featured a lengthy scene where Bashir finds out about the personality of each one, but Echevarria realized it was better to introduce the characters by showing their idiosyncrasies in action as opposed to telling the audience about those idiosyncrasies. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- The character of Jack is based upon Dean Moriarty (who was based on Neal Cassady), one of the main characters of the 1951 Jack Kerouac novel On the Road, a wannabe philosopher who talks at a mile a minute. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Of her performance as Sarina, actress Faith C. Salie says "I was told to behave pretty much catatonic. Anson told me, 'There's a lot going on in your mind, because you're genetically enhanced, and you're brilliant, but you can't facilitate it because your body doesn't know how.' I created a switch in my brain that I could turn on and off to make everything become hazy around me, so that it seemed as if an amalgam of voices and sense were coming at me and that it was overwhelming." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Of his performance as Jack actor Tim Ransom says "I figured he's the equivalent of a guy who drinks forty cups of coffee a day." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Of her performance as Lauren, actress Hilary Shepard Turner says, "She was described as being obsessed with Bashir, and very va-va-voom, but I decided to make her a little Hannibal Lecter-ish as well. It was director Anson Williams' idea to never have Lauren stand up. The only time I ever stood was when I danced with Bashir." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Of his performance as Patrick, actor Michael Keenan says, "He's essentially a child, so I just played him that way. Children have instant access to their emotions and they don't filter anything, so that's what I did." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Of his scene speaking the Vorta language, Jeffrey Combs commented "That was very strange. I had to work hard to for that very tiny little bit. It's very hard to speak a language that's totally made up, and yet keep the cadence and sensibility of an actual line in English. Because what they did is they played it once in English and then they replayed it in Vortanese (or whatever it is), and I had to really concentrate to get that the way I worded it. They gave me syllabic words, and it was up to me to break it down into the phraseology that I did. It's interesting how the brain works. I really, really had to hang in there and run it by rote. It's easy to memories words and phrases and strings of thought when it's your native language, but when it's a nonsensical group of syllables, it takes a lot more brain juice to make it seem very easy and conversational". ("Double Act", Star Trek Monthly, issue 43)
- The music played at the "party" is Johann Strauss the Younger's An der schönen blauen Donau, more commonly known in English as "The Blue Danube", a waltz written in 1867, and later featured in VOY: "Renaissance Man". The dance sequence was originally supposed to be far more elaborate than that seen in the final episode, and was to include a lengthy crane shot, but neither Alexander Siddig nor Hilary Shepard Turner were able to dance properly, and in the end, the shot was scrapped. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- During pre-production of this episode, there was a great deal of discussion as to where to set it, i.e. where to have the savants. The script specified that they were to be in the wardroom, but from a practical point of view, shooting several scenes with five characters in a such a relatively small location, was not desirable, so it was agreed to move the scenes to somewhere else. It was Steve Oster who suggested the cargo bay, because "we thought we might be saying something about Starfleet's treatment of these people if we put them in the cargo bay." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- This is one of Alexander Siddig's favorite shows; "People ask, 'Was that a comedy or a drama?' "Statistical Probabilities" was like that, not quite one thing or the other. The humor came out of the misery and angst captured by those wonderful actors. And I enjoyed the fact that Bashir served as a kind of pinball throughout that show. He was just battered about." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- Siddig also admires the show for its political engagement; "The episode touched on a couple of political issues in terms of whether or not you can incarcerate people like this. I think the commentary that came out of Bashir's mouth was right and called attention to the fact that double standards happen in society. We do put good people away, like the Japanese-Americans placed in internment camps during World War II. The group in this episode seemed like lovely people, and Bashir showed some vulnerability in the fact that he understood their plight. They might not have been misfits if they had not been put away for such a long time." (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion)
- This is the first of two episodes to be directed by Anson Williams. The second is "It's Only a Paper Moon".
- Jack, Lauren, Patrick and Sarina reappear in the seventh season episode "Chrysalis". Indeed, the writers only conceived of this show because Sarina never spoke in "Statistical Probabilities", and they were interested in developing her character a little more. Originally, she was supposed to have a few lines in this episode, but the scene in which she spoke (when she untied Bashir) was cut for time.
- Observing Gul Damar's broadcast, Jack references William Shakespeare's plays Henry IV, Part II ("Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.") and Macbeth ("Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!' Damar does murder sleep.")
- Luther Sloan references the events of this episode in "Inquisition" and again in "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges".
- Damar becomes leader of the Cardassian Union in this episode.
- Interestingly enough, the group's predictions about the Romulans entering the war and the Cardassian Rebellion would later come true. However, the Romulans were brought into the war through the action of just two individuals, Garak and to a lesser extent Sisko.
Video and DVD releasesEdit
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 6.5, 1 June 1998.
- As part of the DS9 Season 6 DVD collection.
Links and referencesEdit
Starring Edit
Also starring Edit
- Rene Auberjonois as Odo
- Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf
- Terry Farrell as Lt. Commander Dax
- Cirroc Lofton as Jake Sisko
- Colm Meaney as Chief O'Brien
- Armin Shimerman as Quark
- Alexander Siddig as Doctor Bashir
- Nana Visitor as Major Kira
Guest stars Edit
- Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun
- Tim Ransom as Jack
- Jeannetta Arnette as Karen Loews
- Hilary Shepard Turner as Lauren
- Michael Keenan as Patrick
- Casey Biggs as Damar
- Faith C. Salie as Sarina Douglas
Uncredited co-stars Edit
Stunt double Edit
- Brian Hite as the stunt double for Tim Ransom
References Edit
adjutant; Alpha Quadrant; Bashir, Amsha; Bashir, Richard; Bashir, Singh el; "Blue Danube, The"; Cardassia; Cardassians; Cardassian Empire; cormaline; coup; dabo; darts; DNA resequencing; Dominion; Dominionese; Dukat; Earth; Eugenics Wars; Federation; genetic engineering; Holna IV; "Institute"; Jem'Hadar; Kabrel system; Kabrel I; Kabrel II; Kandora champagne; ketracel-white; mizinite; Mutant; neck; O'Brien, Keiko; Obsidian Order; power coupling; Quark's; Romulans; Saber-class; Shakespeare, William; Starfleet; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Intelligence; Steamrunner-class; surrender; three-dimensional chess; Tora Ziyal; treason; tricorder; Yeager-type; yridium bicantizine;
External links Edit
- Statistical Probabilities at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).
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| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Season 6
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"The Magnificent Ferengi"
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25 U.S. Code § 458ee - Reports
§ 458ee.
(a) Requirement
The Secretary shall submit to Congress a written report on January 1 of each year following October 25, 1994, regarding the administration of this part.
(b) ContentsThe report shall—
identify, with particularity, all funds that are specifically or functionally related to the provision by the Secretary of services and benefits to Self-Governance tribes and their members;
identify the funds transferred to each Self-Governance tribe and the corresponding reduction in the Federal bureaucracy;
(c) Report on non-BIA programs
(1) In order to optimize opportunities for including non-Bureau of Indian Affairs programs, services, functions, and activities, or portions thereof, in agreements with tribes participating in Self-Governance under this part, the Secretary shall—
review all programs, services, functions, and activities, or portions thereof, administered by the Department of the Interior, other than through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, without regard to the agency or office concerned; and
not later than 90 days after October 25, 1994, provide to the appropriate committees of Congress a listing of all such programs, services, functions, and activities, or portions thereof, that the Secretary determines, with the concurrence of tribes participating in Self-Governance under this part, are eligible for inclusion in such agreements at the request of a participating Indian tribe.
The Secretary shall establish programmatic targets, after consultation with tribes participating in Self-Governance under this part, to encourage bureaus of the Department to assure that a significant portion of such programs, services, functions, and activities are actually included in the agreements negotiated under section 458cc of this title.
The listing and targets under paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be published in the Federal Register and be made available to any Indian tribe participating in Self-Governance under this part. The list shall be published before January 1, 1995, and annually thereafter by January 1 preceding the fiscal year in which the targets are to be met.
(d) Report on Central Office funds
Within 90 days after October 25, 1994, the Secretary shall, in consultation with Indian tribes, develop a funding formula to determine the individual tribal share of funds controlled by the Central Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for inclusion in the Self-Governance compacts. The Secretary shall include such formula in the annual report submitted to the Congress under subsection (b), together with the views of the affected Indian tribes.
(Pub. L. 93–638, title IV, § 405, as added Pub. L. 103–413, title II, § 204, Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4276.)
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


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Zak Covar Builds on a Firm Foundation
Sidebar: Take Care of Texas Campaign
On Friday, Jan. 10, 2014, Governor Rick Perry appointed Zak Covar to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a term to expire on Sept. 1, 2015. The commission position became available after Carlos Rubinstein was named chairman of the Texas Water Development Board.
Covar was unanimously selected as TCEQ's executive director by the commissioners in 2012. He came to the job after serving as the agency's deputy executive director since 2009 and after having served in the executive office since 2008. Prior to his move to the executive office, he served as executive assistant to Chairman Bryan W. Shaw, Ph.D., P.E. In these positions, he became thoroughly acquainted with daily operations and the highly skilled employees of the agency. Covar said that he has always adhered to a few guiding principles throughout his career: (1) apply your inner principles to what you are doing; (2) be committed and confident; and (3) be loyal to your organization and its mission.
"The TCEQ's accomplishments are due to the hardworking and dedicated employees at this agency and the active participation of stakeholders. My commitment is to continue to work diligently to ensure that the TCEQ remains the best environmental agency in the nation," said Covar.
Looking Ahead
Texas is a huge state with a rapidly growing population and a rapidly growing economy. Some challenges will be driven by these factors, while others will come out of the blue. "We will continue to protect the integrity of our state and delegated programs, staying true to our mission statement by adhering to protection of public health and the environment, consistent with economic development," said Covar.
"Texas has a tremendously positive story to tell when it comes to environmental improvements. As our state continues to be among the fastest growing, in both population and economically, our air and water quality have improved. One of the toughest challenges we have as an agency is educating the public on what we have done to improve the environment and to reach out to small business and local governments on services we offer to help ensure compliance with environmental rules," said Covar.
"I am committed to getting our message out and to do all I can to help Texans understand what their environmental agency has done and will continue to do."
Water and Drought
"Texas has always had droughts, and will always have droughts," Covar said. "But our rapidly growing population makes the effects of the droughts more serious and more widespread. We must continue to manage our resources well by conserving and extending supplies, while exploring ways we can help communities make good decisions by identifying reasonable, workable options."
Experts from all over the agency will continue to work closely with other state agencies, city and county authorities to help public water systems conserve and manage drinking water supplies during ongoing drought conditions.
"One important thing we will be doing over the next several years will be working closely with the Texas Water Development Board, as they begin to identify and evaluate water projects for funding," said Covar. "We will dedicate the resources necessary to make sure we have clear channels for rapid sharing of information, and we will make sure our processes do not become a bottleneck to their important work."
"Water planning continues to be a lightning-rod issue as we look to sustain future growth, and our interaction with other states, and as we balance the needs of multiple stakeholders," Covar said.
Oil and Gas Exploration
Texas continues to be a bright spot in the nation's economy, due in no small part to the growth of oil and gas exploration and production, which has expanded largely due to hydraulic fracturing and improved techniques for horizontal drilling.
"The oil and gas industry is an important part of Texas' economy, bringing billions of dollars to the economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs across the state," said Covar. "The TCEQ's primary role in the oil and gas fields is regulating emissions and protecting air quality. We will continue to devote the resources and research necessary to make sure the air quality remains good."
Just as the TCEQ found in the Barnett Shale in North Texas, monitoring data provide evidence that, overall, shale-play activity does not significantly impact air quality or pose a threat to human health. This conclusion is based on several million air-monitoring data points for volatile organic compounds and other air pollutants that the TCEQ has collected since 2000, in both the Eagle Ford and Barnett shales.
While improperly operated facilities can result in temporary, local, unauthorized emissions, there are no indications that these emissions are of sufficient concentration or duration to harm residents of the Eagle Ford or Barnett shales. The TCEQ will continue to do flyovers and work with producers to ensure compliance with state rules.
Working with Legislators
"Because of my experience working in the legislature, I look forward to the interaction with legislators and their staffs, which is a big part of my job," said Covar. "I appreciate their interest in our activities, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to work with them on environmental issues."
Prior to coming to the TCEQ, Covar began his career in state government as former environmental and natural resources policy adviser to Governor Rick Perry, former chief committee clerk for the Texas House of Representatives Environmental Regulation Committee, and former chief of staff to State Representative Dennis Bonnen.
"I was honored to be appointed as commissioner, and I will do my best to live up to the expectations that have been placed on me, both by the governor and by the people of Texas," Covar said. "My decisions will be based on the law, sound science, and common sense. And most of all, having served in the executive office for several years, I am honored to be able to represent the nearly 2,800 dedicated employees at the TCEQ."
Take Care of Texas Campaign
As executive director, Covar revamped the agency's Take Care of Texas program and put a strong emphasis on educational outreach."Commissioner Baker, Chairman Shaw, and I are all huge champions of protecting Texas, of the natural beauty and resources of the state, and of the necessity of preserving and conserving the state's resources, even as the citizens use and enjoy them," said Covar.
"As my duties take me around this great state, I'm constantly struck by the variety of the landscape and the ecological diversity that we're so fortunate to have and to enjoy," said Chairman Shaw. "The Take Care of Texas program is aimed at making us all stewards of this beautiful land."
"I greatly appreciate Commissioner Covar's leadership in reintroducing the Take Care of Texas campaign," said Commissioner Baker. "Part of our challenge as an agency is reaching the non-regulated community and convincing them to engage on issues that protect public health and the environment while allowing our economy to thrive. The Take Care of Texas campaign allows us to reach the public in a new way and reminds us that change can start with one individual."
Environmental protection certainly does not begin and end with a state or federal agency. Every Texan has the ability to do their part to protect our state. "I think it is important that we use our resources to promote simple ideas each of us can use to do our part," Covar said. "Oftentimes, these simple measures save us money as well!"
"The Take Care of Texas initiative, a cooperative effort between the TCEQ and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, is reenergized because country music artist Kevin Fowler donated his talents to the effort. Fowler wrote and performed a catchy jingle on radio and television ads. He also exhorts listeners to conserve water and to do their part to keep the air and water clean by pledging to 'Take Care of Texas.' Almost 1,700 people took the pledge last year," he said.
"We certainly couldn't have pulled this off without somebody offering their generous time and effort—somebody as passionate as we are about the outdoors, and state parks, and protecting air and water, and the safe management of waste, so that we and our future generations can enjoy Texas," Covar said as he introduced this program at the 2013 TCEQ Trade Fair luncheon and the Texas Environmental Excellence Awards banquet.


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What is in this article?:
- Kreg Freeman: Peanut Profitability winner for Lower Southeast Region
- Third-generation farmer
- New weed control approach
Kreg Freeman's high yields and efficient operation have earned him the honor of being the 2011 Farm Press Peanut Profitability Award winner for the Lower Southeast Region.
Kreg Freeman insists there's no secret to his style of growing peanuts — it's just a matter of doing things right and doing them on time — but with 6,626 pounds per acre and the efficiency to match this past year, it's obvious he's hit on a successful formula.
"We try to do everything in a timely manner," says Freeman, who farms in southwest Georgia's Miller County. "The good Lord helped us out last year and everything fell into place. The main thing at the end of the season was staying on top of irrigation."
Freeman's high yields and efficient operation have earned him the honor of being the 2011 Farm Press Peanut Profitability Award winner for the Lower Southeast Region. He also was the 2010 State Winner for the Georgia Peanut Achievement Award.
One-hundred-degree temperatures were common last summer in south Georgia, and such extremes quickly dried out the sandy soils farmed by Freeman.
"At mid-season, when we were putting out Temik, the soil thermometer had gone up 6 degrees in one day, and that was how quickly the water was leaving us. But when it got to be harvest-time, we had almost perfect weather all the way through, with picking and digging. The last day we got through picking, it started raining late that afternoon, and it rained 1.5 to 2 inches. We just had a great year, with grades in the 75 to 76 range," he says.
Freeman says one of his keys to efficiency and holding down costs is that he doesn't spent a lot on labor, working with one full-time employee and his son, Nolan.
"We do a lot of the work ourselves, and most of our equipment is paid for. You can't farm with junk, but we try to take care of our equipment and make it last as long as possible. We update as we go along, as we did with the twin-row equipment and the auto-steer, but I try to put back some money for things like that."
It also helps to have good neighbors, he adds. "For more than 20 years, we've swapped out work with our neighbors. We help them pick peanuts and they help us. Rather than pick by the ton and swap money, we just swap out hours of labor, and it always evens out."


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text:
Now that we have moving paddles for our Pong clone, the only thing standing in the way of having some real fun is the fact that the ball does not in fact move. But this is a problem easily solved once you rediscover some basic geometry.
The first geometric law we will require is: slope equals rise over run. The ball is going to move in a straight line, so all we have to do to track its movement is, for every iteration of the main loop, change the y coordinate by the rise (or numerator) of the slope, and the x coordinate by the run (or denominator). The fact that the slope, a fractional sort of number, can be easily represented by two components is a big win for our integer-loving CPU. You can start by defining two more macros at the top of the sdl-pong.c file, where all of the macros live:
#define BALL_SPEED 6 // total change in x and y in the slope
#define SLOPE_MAX_DY 4 // the maximum change-in-y allowed in the slope
The macros will make a bit more sense once we add another structure definition (right above the
GameData structure in the code):
// Structure definitions
typedef struct {
int dx;
int dy;
} Slope;
and a few new members to the
GameData structure itself:
int game_speed; // game speed
int ball_speed; // number of pixels the ball can move at once
int slope_max_dy; // maximum value for change-in-y component of the slope
SDL_Rect ball; // ball
Slope slope; // slope of the line representing the ball's path
Just as the game uses the
GameData structure to hold a collection of related data, so will it use the
Slope structure to keep track of all of the data necessary to keep track of the ball's movement: namely the change-in-x (run) and change-in-y (rise) components of the slope of the line along which the ball is currently moving. As always, you will need to initialize the new members of the
GameData structure:
// Initialise game data
game.running = 1;
game.game_speed = GAME_SPEED;
game.ball_speed = BALL_SPEED;
game.slope_max_dy = SLOPE_MAX_DY;
You may be wondering if I forgot to initialize the
Slope. Actually, I didn't; I just cannot do it in such a straightforward fashion because I want to introduce the one ingredient that makes a good game great: the element of chance. Why not randomly generate the starting
Slope (within reason, of course)? You need to include two new headers at the top of the file:
// Standard library headers
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <time.h>
stdlib.h provides the
srand() and
rand() functions, and
time.h provides the eponymous
time() function, which you will need in the new
genSlope() function. Add the definition of
genSlope() between
cleanUp() and
movePaddle(), like so:
void genSlope( GameData *game );
and add the implementation between that of the same functions:
/* Function: genSlope()
* Randomly generates the slope of the vector of ball's travel.
* Parameters:
* *game - game data
void genSlope( GameData *game ) {
// Seed the random number generator with the current Unix timestamp
srand( time( NULL ) );
// Generate the change-in-y component of the slope randomly
game->slope.dy =
1 + (int)((float)game->slope_max_dy * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0));
// The change-in-y component of the slope is
// whatever is left in the "budget"
game->slope.dx = game->ball_speed - game->slope.dy;
// Flip a coin for x and y directions
if ((int)(2.0 * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0)))
game->slope.dx *= -1;
if ((int)(2.0 * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0)))
game->slope.dy *= -1;
} // genSlope()
Related Reading
Retro Gaming Hacks
genSlope() can generate any random numbers, it must seed the random number generator. If it does not, the first call to
rand() will automatically seed the random number generator with 1, which seems OK, except for the fact that you will get the same sequence of "random" numbers every time you start the game. It does not take much thinking about this to see why that would defeat the entire purpose behind randomly generating the slope in the first place. So seed the random number generator we must, and what better to seed it with than the current timestamp? (To answer that question, a few bytes from /dev/random would be better to seed it with, but we will refrain in the interest of portability, as /dev/random does not exist on all systems.) The
time() function helpfully returns the current Unix epoch time (which is the number of seconds that have elapsed since January 1, 1970), so you can just feed it directly into the gaping maw of the
srand() function, as shown in this excerpt from
// Seed the random number generator with the current Unix timestamp
srand( time( NULL ) );
Now that the diabolical hunger of the random number generator is sated, you can use it to generate the change-in-y portion of the slope:
// Generate the change-in-y component of the slope randomly
slope->dy = 1 + (game->slope_max_dy * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0));
This is a lot more complicated than it should be, as
rand() likes to generate numbers between 0 and the C-library-defined macro
RAND_MAX, which is typically a large number like 32,767. What you really want is an integer between 1 and the maximum allowable value for
dy, so you must divide the value returned by
rand() by
RAND_MAX plus 1 to get a floating point number between 0 and 1, then multiply that by the aforementioned
slope_max_dy, and finally, add 1 to the whole bloody thing. Luckily, computing the change-in-x part of the slope is much easier:
// The change-in-x component of the slope is
// whatever is left in the "budget"
slope->dx = game->ball_speed - slope->dy;
Things should start to become clear now: we want the ball to move six pixels a turn, and we will generate the number of pixels it moves in the y direction randomly, and use the rest for x-centric movement (pun intended, sorry about that). And finally, to make sure the ball does not always move down and to the right from the start, have
genSlope() randomly flip the sign on one or both components of the slope:
// Flip a coin for x and y directions
if ((int)(2.0 * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0)))
slope->dx *= -1;
if ((int)(2.0 * rand() / (RAND_MAX + 1.0)))
slope->dy *= -1;
(At this point, it becomes obvious that the "slope" is not truly a slope, because in the realm of SDL Pong, a slope of -1/-1 is not the same as a slope of 1/1; that's OK, however.)
Now all you have to do is make sure the
genSlope() function gets called at some point. Right after the call to
resetSprites(), but before we enter the black hole that is the main loop, would seem a logical choice:
// Initialise our sprite locations
resetSprites( &game, 0 );
// Randomly generate the starting slope
genSlope( &game );
// Main loop
while (1) {
At this point, however, you have nothing to show for all of your hard work on slope-related issues, as the ball still does not move.
Adding a call to the
moveBall() function right before the delay and the end of the main loop should do the trick:
// Move the ball
moveBall( &game );
// Give the CPU a break
SDL_Delay( GAME_SPEED );
} // while (main loop)
That is, it should do the trick once you add a function definition to the top of the file:
// Function definitions
int cleanUp( int err );
void genSlope( GameData *game );
void moveBall( GameData *game );
void movePaddle( GameData *game, int player, int dir );
void resetSprites( GameData *game, int erase );
and then implement the
moveBall() function:
/* Function: moveBall()
* Moves the ball.
* Parameters:
* *game - game data
void moveBall( GameData *game ) {
// Erase the current ball
SDL_FillRect( game->screen, &(game->ball), game->black );
game->rects[game->num_rects++] = game->ball;
// Move the ball (reset height and width, as going off the screen seems
// to compress them)
game->ball.x += game->slope.dx;
game->ball.y += game->slope.dy;
game->ball.w = BALL_W;
game->ball.h = BALL_H;
// If the ball hits the top or bottom wall, bounce it
if (game->ball.y <= 0 || game->ball.y >= (SCREEN_HEIGHT - game->ball.h)) {
// Add a sound effect here?
// According to my grade eight geometry class, "the angle of refraction
// equals the angle of incidence" (thanks, Mrs. Lott!), so let's just
// multiply the y component of our slope by -1 to change its sign
game->slope.dy *= -1;
} // if (ball bouncing off top or bottom wall)
// If the ball has hit a player's paddle, bounce it
if (((game->ball.x <= game->p1.w) &&
(game->ball.y >= game->p1.y &&
((game->ball.y + game->ball.h) <= game->p1.y + game->p1.h))) ||
(game->ball.x >= (SCREEN_WIDTH - (game->p2.w + (game->ball.w))) &&
(game->ball.y >= game->p2.y &&
((game->ball.y + game->ball.h) <= game->p2.y + game->p2.h)))) {
// Add a sound effect here?
// Multiply the x component of our slope by -1 to change its sign; see
// note above on elementary geometry
game->slope.dx *= -1;
} // if (bouncing off paddle)
// If the ball hits the left or right wall, score a point for the
// appropriate player and return the ball to the centre
else if (game->ball.x < 0 || game->ball.x > (SCREEN_WIDTH - game->ball.w)) {
// Return the paddles and ball to their starting positions
resetSprites( game, 1 );
// Generate a new slope
genSlope( game );
} // else if (score!)
SDL_FillRect( game->screen, &(game->ball), game->white );
game->rects[game->num_rects++] = game->ball;
} // moveBall()
The beginning of the function is trivial stuff to us by now: erase the ball by filling the rectangle corresponding to its current location with the background color, then adding the change-in-x slope component to the ball's x coordinate and the change-in-y to its y coordinate. (We reset the width and height of the ball here because going off of the screen seems to squash the ball in some cases, so better safe than sorry.)
It is when the ball hits the top or bottom of the screen (and you know this by the y coordinate--if it is less than or equal to 0, it hits the top, and greater than or equal to
SCREEN_HEIGHT minus ball height, it is the bottom--just as the paddles worked) that we will whip out the second law of geometry: the angle of refraction equals the angle of incidence. This is easy, because all you need to do is flip the sign on the
dy component of the slope, which keeps the angle the same, just reverses the direction.
You must do the same thing, except to
dx, when the ball collides with a player's paddle. Instead of trying to explain in prose the complicated conditional conundrum that I use for detecting such a collision, I invite you to turn once again to your trusty scratch paper, and draw the requisite shapes. All should be made clear, including the bug in my collision detection algorithm that I dubbed a feature, since it gives enterprising readers of this hack something productive to do right away. Read the last section of this hack for more details on my laziness-slash-goodwill.
Of course, if the ball goes off of the left or right side of the screen without colliding with a paddle, a point has been scored. For now, all SDL Pong does in response to such a joyous occasion is reset the sprites (this time asking
resetSprites() to erase the sprites from their current location, by virtue of setting the second parameter to a true value), randomly generate a new slope for the ball, then return.
The last thing that
moveBall() must do, if a point is not scored, is to draw the new location of the ball sprite.
gcc again to recompile it:
gcc -g -Wall -I/usr/include/SDL -o sdl-pong sdl-pong.c -lSDL
and then run the game (see Figure 1):
Figure 1. Pong, with moving ball
This section addresses the vexing lack of scoring in SDL Pong. So let's open a whole new can of worms:
SDL_TTF, which is an extra SDL library that deals with TrueType fonts--that is what the "TTF" means. To open the can, include the string.h and SDL_ttf.h headers at the top of sdl-pong.c:
// Standard library headers
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <time.h>
// SDL headers
#include <SDL.h>
#include <SDL_ttf.h>
Add some new macros, as well:
#define GAME_POINTS 10 // number of points to win the game
#define MSG_FONT "/usr/share/fonts/TTF/Vera.ttf" // font for messages
#define MSG_SIZE 18 // font size
#define MSG_TIME 1500 // display duration of messages
GAME_POINTS is self-explanatory; the other three less so. Basically, we are going to use the TrueType font defined by the
MSG_FONT macro to display some messages in
MSG_SIZE-point type, and will display the messages for
MSG_TIME milliseconds.
Note: depending on the whims of your Linux distribution or Unix flavor's package system, your TrueType fonts may not reside in the /usr/share/fonts/TTF directory, and you may not have the Vera.ttf font on your system. That is OK; there is nothing magical about /usr/share/fonts/TTF, and any TrueType font that you have on your system will work just fine. To find your TrueType fonts, either grep your X11 configuration file (most likely /etc/X11/XF86Config or /etc/X11/xorg.conf) for "FontPath", or run:
find / -name \*.ttf.
Now, you will need a new structure definition:
// Structure definitions
typedef struct {
int p1;
int p2;
int game_points;
} Score;
And while you are at it, add two new members to the
GameData structure:
Slope slope; // slope of the line representing the ball's path
Score score; // score of the game
TTF_Font *font; // message font
Now, you need to initialize the score to 0-0, and the number of points for a win to
// Initialise game data
game.running = 1;
game.ball_speed = BALL_SPEED;
game.slope_max_dy = SLOPE_MAX_DY;
game.p1_speed = P1_SPEED;
game.p2_speed = P2_SPEED;
game.num_rects = 0;
game.score.p1 = 0;
game.score.p2 = 0;
game.score.game_points = GAME_POINTS;
Right after initializing SDL in your code, add:
// Initialise TTF engine and load a font
if ((game.font = TTF_OpenFont( MSG_FONT, MSG_SIZE )) == NULL) {
fprintf( stderr, "Could not open font: %s\n", MSG_FONT );
return cleanUp( 2 );
} // if (could not load font)
This performs whatever initialization
SDL_TTF requires, and then attempts to load the
MSG_FONT font and scale it to the proper size. Calling
TTF_Init() introduces a slight new wrinkle: you must tear down
SDL_TTF before exiting the program. No problem; you can just add a line to the
cleanUp() function:
int cleanUp( int err ) {
return err;
} // cleanUp()
Now, all of the remaining action is set in the
moveBall() function; specifically inside that
if block that used to just reset the sprites and regenerate the slope. Let's add scorekeeping code to this block:
// If the ball hits the left or right wall, score a point for the
// appropriate player and return the ball to the centre
else if (game->ball.x < 0 || game->ball.x > (SCREEN_WIDTH - game->ball.w)) {
SDL_Color white = { 0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0 };
SDL_Rect rect_msg = { SCREEN_WIDTH / 2 - 90, 100, 200, 50 };
SDL_Rect rect_score_p1 = { 100, 200, 150, 50 };
SDL_Rect rect_score_p2 = { SCREEN_WIDTH - 200, 200, 150, 50 };
SDL_Rect rects[3];
char str_msg[32], str_score_p1[16], str_score_p2[16];
SDL_Surface *text_msg, *text_score_p1, *text_score_p2;
if (game->ball.x < 0)
else if (game->ball.x > (SCREEN_WIDTH - game->ball.w))
// Write scoring messages
snprintf( str_msg, 32, "Player %d scores!",
((game->ball.x < 0) ? 2 : 1) );
snprintf( str_score_p1, 16, "Player 1: %d", game->score.p1 );
snprintf( str_score_p2, 16, "Player 2: %d", game->score.p2 );
text_msg = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_msg,
white );
text_score_p1 = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_score_p1,
white );
text_score_p2 = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_score_p2,
white );
// Display scoring messages
rects[0] = rect_msg;
rects[1] = rect_score_p1;
rects[2] = rect_score_p2;
SDL_BlitSurface( text_msg, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_msg );
SDL_BlitSurface( text_score_p1, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_score_p1 );
SDL_BlitSurface( text_score_p2, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_score_p2 );
SDL_UpdateRects( game->screen, 3, rects );
// Display the score for awhile
SDL_Delay( MSG_TIME );
// Erase scoring messages
SDL_FillRect( game->screen, &rect_msg, game->black );
SDL_FillRect( game->screen, &rect_score_p1, game->black );
SDL_FillRect( game->screen, &rect_score_p2, game->black );
SDL_UpdateRects( game->screen, 3, rects );
// Has someone just won the game?
if (game->score.p1 == game->score.game_points ||
game->score.p2 == game->score.game_points) {
// Display the final score
snprintf( str_msg, 32, "Player %d wins!",
((game->ball.x < 0) ? 2 : 1) );
snprintf( str_score_p1, 16, "Player 1: %d", game->score.p1 );
snprintf( str_score_p2, 16, "Player 2: %d", game->score.p2 );
text_msg = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_msg,
white );
text_score_p1 = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_score_p1,
white );
text_score_p2 = TTF_RenderText_Solid( game->font, str_score_p2,
white );
rects[0] = rect_msg;
rects[1] = rect_score_p1;
rects[2] = rect_score_p2;
SDL_BlitSurface( text_msg, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_msg );
SDL_BlitSurface( text_score_p1, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_score_p1 );
SDL_BlitSurface( text_score_p2, NULL, game->screen,
&rect_score_p2 );
SDL_UpdateRects( game->screen, 3, rects );
// Pause for awhile
SDL_Delay( MSG_TIME * 2 );
// End the game
game->running = 0;
} // if (game over!)
The goal of all of this code is simply to display three messages at different locations on the screen. When a player scores, the game displays "Player X scores!" in the top center of the screen, and then each player's new score on his side of the screen. This is accomplished with the help of a slew of local variables: three
SDL_Rect structures, one for each message (the in-line initialization may be new to some of you; the first field of the
SDL_Rect structure is the x coordinate, followed by the y coordinate, followed by the width, followed by the height); a local array of
SDL_Rect structures to feed to our old friend
SDL_UpdateRects(); a string for each message; and finally, an
SDL_Surface pointer for each.
The first thing to do is to add a point to the score of the player who just propelled the ball off of the other player's side of the screen. Then, write the three message strings using the standard C function
snprintf(), provided by the string.h header file (see the
PRINTF(3) manpage for details on how to use
snprintf() if it is new to you). Now, call
TTF_RenderText_Solid() function to turn these strings into graphics, draw those graphics onto the main screen using
SDL_BlitSurface(), then use that old standby,
SDL_UpdateRects(), to make sure the changes to the main screen are displayed to the user.
After all of this excitement, wait for
MSG_TIME milliseconds to make sure the players have time to read the new score, and then erase the messages by filling their rectangles with the background color and calling
SDL_UpdateRects() again.
Now, it is possible that the point that was just score was the game-winner. If so, we go through the string-printing, text-rendering, surface-blitting, rects-updating dance again, but this time, instead of saying "Player X scores!" say "Player X wins!" After this, wait twice the normal
MSG_TIME to allow for the elaborate cursing that will surely ensue, and then set the running member of the
GameData structure to a false value (C's only false value being 0, of course), and finally return. This, if you remember the organization of the main loop, will cause control to break out of the loop, and fall through to the end of the
main() function, which cleans up and exits.
One more time, run
gcc again to recompile your sdl-pong.c file, this time adding
-lSDL_ttf to the command-line arguments so that the
libSDL_ttf.so shared library gets linked in:
gcc -g -Wall -I/usr/include/SDL -o sdl-pong sdl-pong.c \
-lSDL -lSDL_ttf
and then run the game:
Now you should have SDL Pong in all its glory, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Pong, with a scoring system
Though it pains me to admit it, SDL Pong is not a perfect game. There is plenty of room for improvement, and I hope that some readers of this hack who are interested in playing around with SDL will pick up where I've left off.
If you're interested, here is a list, in no particular order, of suggested improvements. Use them as a jumping-off point, or not at all.
Allow the user to set the various bits of configuration data that exist in the
GameData structure by passing arguments on the command line.
The collision detection algorithm I've used for figuring out when the ball has hit the paddle is not so great, as evidenced by the damage done to the paddle by the ball. This is simply because the ball moves between one and five pixels at a time in the x direction, and the paddles are five pixels wide, and happen to present an edge to the ball that starts at an x coordinate that is not usually divisible by the change-in-x component of the slope. Add math until it works properly.
This is related to collision detection: fix the bug that allows the ball to bounce off of the inside of a paddle, if it hits the top or bottom edge of the paddle just right.
Monochrome is so '70s. Colorize Pong.
Using flood-filled rectangles for graphics is also so '70s. Investigate
SDL_image and make Pong use PNG, JPG, or GIF graphics. Better yet, let the user select the paddle and ball graphics, and scale them to the appropriate size dynamically.
My physics model is simplistic and boring. Add "english" to the ball depending on which direction, and maybe even how fast, the paddle is moving when it hits the ball.
Any game with power-ups and specials is better. Add effects like exploding balls, Hyper Power Zero Shots, time stopping, and so on. Better yet, make these power-ups obtainable between rounds by trading in "style points" or some such scoring invention.
SDL_mixer will let you provide an Ogg Vorbis soundtrack to the game, so you can add popping sound effects when the paddle strikes the ball. And maybe some crowd noise when a point is scored.
Add network play using
SDL_net. Make sure to come up with some way to find games. For a challenge, encapsulate your network protocol in HTTP (it might take a week to play a point, but it would be cool).
If you're looking for more information to help you become a cross-platform, game-programming wizard, be sure to check out some of the following resources:
Josh Glover has been hacking code for as long as anyone can remember. He is employed as a Unix systems administrator by Amazon.co.jp.
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