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Rigotti, Nancy A. MD1,2,3; Park, Elyse R. PhD1,3; Chang, Yuchiao PhD2; Regan, Susan PhD1,2
From the 1Tobacco Research & Treatment Center, 2Department of Medicine, and 3Institute for Health Policy, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's SmokeFree Families Program.
Presented at the Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting, Austin, Texas, February 23, 2007.
Corresponding author: Nancy Rigotti, MD, Tobacco Research and Treatment Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, 50 Staniford Street, 9th floor, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail: email@example.com.
Financial Disclosure Dr. Rigotti received clinical research grants from and served as a consultant to Pfizer (New York, NY), Sanofi-Aventis (Bridgewater, NJ), and Nabi Biopharmaceuticals (Boca Raton, FL) for the development of smoking cessation medications. The other authors have no potential conflicts to disclose.
OBJECTIVE: To assess how often pregnant and postpartum smokers use medications and how often obstetric providers recommend them.
METHODS: We analyzed end-of-pregnancy and 3-month postpartum surveys of 296 pregnant smokers enrolled in a randomized controlled trial of telephone counseling for smoking cessation that did not include medication. Patients were asked whether any obstetric provider discussed cessation medication and whether they had used medication.
RESULTS: At end of pregnancy, 29.3% of respondents reported discussing a cessation medication with their obstetric providers, more often nicotine replacement (26.5%) than bupropion (12.2%) (P=.001). Ten percent of trial respondents used a medication while pregnant (7.4% nicotine replacement, 3.4% bupropion, P=.023). Obstetricians discussed medication with 29.4% of smokers at the postpartum visit; 14.3% of postpartum smokers used medication. Contrary to guidelines, women who smoked more cigarettes per day or had already tried quitting during pregnancy were not more likely to use medication or to discuss medication with their provider. Medication use was associated with older age, more education, living with a partner, a previous birth, having an obstetric provider who discussed medication, and having private health insurance in a state whose Medicaid program did not cover cessation medications (all P<.05).
CONCLUSION: Pregnant women are more reluctant to use cessation medications than clinical guidelines recommend. More pregnant smokers might use cessation medications if their obstetricians discussed them routinely and if health insurance covered their cost.
Because cigarette smoking is a major preventable cause of poor pregnancy outcome, reducing tobacco use by pregnant women is a public health priority.1 After a infant's birth, smoking cessation remains a goal to protect the infant from secondhand smoke exposure and its mother from tobacco-related health risks.2,3 Brief behavioral counseling at a prenatal visit is effective and is the standard prenatal practice, but it produces modest smoking cessation rates.4–6 Adding a smoking cessation medication to counseling is a standard component of evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment in nonpregnant smokers.7 Medication might also improve the smoking cessation rates achieved by pregnant and postpartum women, but smoking cessation medication use by pregnant and breastfeeding women is limited by uncertainty about its safety and efficacy in this clinical setting.8
Few data in humans are available to guide obstetric practice. No randomized controlled trial has demonstrated the efficacy of either nicotine replacement or bupropion specifically during pregnancy (Miller H, Ranger-Moore J, Ningtgen M. Bupropion SR for smoking cessation in pregnancy: a pilot study [abstract]. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2003;189:S133),6,8–12 although trials are ongoing.13,14 Limited evidence from clinical trials in humans does not indicate that nicotine replacement therapy harms a fetus,9,15–17 but animal studies suggest that nicotine may be teratogenic to fetal neurons and raise concerns that nicotine exposure in utero could have neurodevelopmental consequences in children.8,12 Bupropion has no known teratogenic effects, but human data are limited and bupropion increases seizure risk.8
In the absence of definitive data, expert reviews have concluded that the risk/benefit profile for the use of nicotine replacement or bupropion in pregnancy is favorable.8,11,12,18 The risk-benefit ratio is especially favorable for heavier smokers (more than 10 cigarettes/day) because they expose the fetus to higher doses of nicotine, carbon monoxide, and other toxins and because they are less likely than lighter smokers to quit in pregnancy, even with counseling. Clinical practice guidelines in the United States and Britain recommend nicotine replacement for pregnant smokers, especially heavy smokers, who have not quit with nonpharmacologic treatment, so long as the dose of nicotine received from nicotine replacement therapy is not larger than what would have been received by smoking cigarettes.7,19,20 Bupropion has a similar recommendation in U.S. but not in British clinical guidelines.20 Nicotine replacement products are licensed in Britain for use by pregnant and breastfeeding women.21
In this situation of clinical uncertainty, obstetric providers must decide whether to recommend smoking cessation medications to pregnant and breastfeeding women, and pregnant and postpartum women must decide whether to use them. Little is known about what decisions are made in actual practice. In prior surveys, 26–44% of American and British obstetric providers said that they recommended nicotine replacement to pregnant smokers.22–25 How often providers discuss bupropion with pregnant smokers or any cessation medication with breastfeeding smokers is unknown. No data are available from pregnant women about their own medication use. This study fills these gaps by providing evidence about current clinical practice in a large group of pregnant smokers who were interested in stopping smoking. It addresses these questions: 1) How often do obstetric providers discuss smoking cessation medications (nicotine replacement or bupropion) with pregnant and postpartum smokers? 2) With which smokers do obstetric providers discuss cessation medications? 3) What proportion of pregnant and postpartum smokers use a smoking cessation medication? 4) Which pregnant smokers are most likely to use a smoking cessation medication? We hypothesized that if current practice follows expert consensus and clinical practice guidelines, medications would be used more often by heavy smokers (more than 10 cigarettes/day) and by smokers who had already made an unsuccessful attempt to quit during pregnancy.
We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial of pregnant smokers that compared the efficacy of multi-session telephone counseling to a "best practice" single-session counseling control. The study design and methods have been described.26 The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Partners Healthcare System, Inc. During 2001–2004, 442 pregnant smokers were recruited from obstetric providers and from a prenatal care plan in Massachusetts. Eligible smokers were more than 18 years old, at less than 26 weeks of gestation, had smoked in the past 7 days, and were willing to consider changing their smoking practices but did not have to commit to quitting. Women were assigned to treatment condition by using a computer-generated list stratified by referral source. The intervention group received multiple telephone calls during pregnancy, during which cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation counseling was provided. The control group received one short counseling call. Smoking cessation medication was not discussed in either study arm, and patients who asked about medication were advised to discuss medication with their doctor.
A telephone interview at study entry assessed age, race, education, marital status, and health insurance, parity, and smoking measures, including daily smoking rate, time to first morning cigarette (a measure of nicotine dependence),27 number of 24-hour quit attempts since becoming pregnant, intention to quit during pregnancy,28 perceived risks of smoking in pregnancy, and self-efficacy (confidence in the ability to quit in the next month). Outcomes were assessed by telephone interview at end of pregnancy (28 weeks of gestation or later) and 3 months postpartum. At end of pregnancy, women were asked whether a prenatal provider had discussed smoking cessation methods during pregnancy and whether they had "done any of the following to help themselves try to quit or stay off cigarettes during pregnancy." At the postpartum assessment, "since your baby was born" was substituted for "during pregnancy." At both times, separate questions asked about the use of nicotine gum, nicotine patches, bupropion, and nonpharmacologic methods (group quit-smoking program, one-to-one quit-smoking program, quit-smoking guide or video, hypnosis, or acupuncture).
Obstetric providers' behavior was assessed by asking patients a series of questions beginning with, "Since you started prenatal care, has your doctor or any member of the clinic staff talked with you about using _______ to help you quit?" Pharmacologic options were nicotine gum, nicotine patch, and bupropion. Nonpharmacologic options were "given you quit smoking materials" and "referred you to any stop smoking program to get personal counseling or support." Patients were also asked if a prenatal provider had "talked with you about trying to quit smoking" and "talked with you about different methods available to quit smoking." At 3 months postpartum, women were asked if they had seen their prenatal provider since delivery. If so, they were asked if the doctor or clinic staff had discussed smoking cessation medications.
At both follow-up points, smoking status (7-day point prevalence abstinence) and quit attempts of 24 hours or more since becoming pregnant or since delivery were assessed. The postpartum survey assessed whether the respondent had breastfed her infant since delivery. Respondents who reported tobacco abstinence were asked to provide a saliva sample by mail. Validated abstinence was defined as a self-report of abstinence for the past 7 days confirmed by a salivary cotinine less than 20 ng/mL. All other patients were classified as smokers for analysis.
Data from the two study arms were combined for these analyses, because smoking cessation medication was not part of the protocol in either arm and because rates of medication use did not differ by study arm (end of pregnancy: 9.9% compared with 10.4%, P=.88; 3 months postpartum: 12.8% compared with 12.6%, P=.97). Rates of use of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic smoking cessation methods during pregnancy were calculated for all respondents to the end-of-pregnancy survey. Postpartum rates of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic cessation treatment use were calculated for all respondents to the postpartum survey who smoked at any point after delivery. The analysis of providers' actions to address tobacco use postpartum was limited to smokers who had made a postpartum visit to their obstetric provider. Chi-square tests were used to compare categorical outcomes among different groups. McNemar tests were used to assess significance of differences in use of cessation methods. Univariable and multiple logistic regression analyses were done to identify the characteristics of 1) smokers who used cessation medication during pregnancy, 2) smokers who used cessation medication postpartum, and 3) smokers who discussed medication use with their obstetric provider during pregnancy and postpartum.
The end-of-pregnancy assessment was completed by 308 (73%) of the 421 women who carried their pregnancies to term. Analyses are based on the 296 respondents who answered the questions about use of smoking cessation methods. The 3-month postpartum assessment was completed by 293 patients (70% response rate), of whom 259 (88.4%) had smoked since delivery, and 234 answered questions about smoking cessation methods used after delivery.
Patients' mean age was 29 years; 87% were white, 73% were married or living with a partner, and 45% were nulliparous. They had an average of 13 years of education and entered the study at a mean of 13 weeks of gestation. Patients had smoked a mean of 21 cigarettes daily before becoming pregnant and a mean of 10 cigarettes daily at study enrollment. Eighty-three percent planned to stop smoking in the next 30 days. At the end of pregnancy, 68.6% of respondents reported having made a quit attempt of 24 hours or more since becoming pregnant (control 70.4%, intervention 66.7%). Among survey respondents, the validated smoking cessation rate was 12.5% at end of pregnancy (control 10.5%, intervention 14.6%, P=.37) and 9.7% at 3 months postpartum (control 9.9%, intervention 9.4%).
At the end of pregnancy, 79.5% of respondents reported that their prenatal provider had talked with them about trying to quit smoking, and 43.6% of providers had discussed methods of stopping smoking with them (Fig. 1). Providers were less likely to discuss pharmacologic than nonpharmacologic smoking cessation methods; 29.3% of respondents reported that their obstetric provider had discussed using any cessation medication during pregnancy, whereas 45.6% reported being offered a nonpharmacologic cessation aid (booklet or referral to a stop-smoking program) (P<.001). Nicotine replacement was discussed by providers more than twice as often as bupropion (26.5% compared with 12.2%, P=.001). Women whose obstetric providers discussed smoking cessation medication use during pregnancy did not differ from those whose providers did not discuss medications in parity, race, education, cigarettes smoked per day, degree of nicotine dependence, history of an unsuccessful 24-hour quit attempt during the current pregnancy, or health insurance (public or private). The only difference was age, which was higher in women whose providers discussed medications (mean 29.9 compared with 27.9 years, P=.01).
At 3 months postpartum, 259 (88.4%) of 292 respondents reported having smoked since delivery, and 84.6% (n=219) of the 259 smokers had made a postpartum visit to their obstetric providers. At that visit, the provider talked with 48.3% of the smokers about trying to quit and discussed any smoking cessation medication with 29.4% of the smokers (Fig. 1). Nicotine patch or gum was discussed with more smokers than was bupropion (23.4% compared with 16.5%, P=.019). A smoker's breastfeeding status did not affect her provider's likelihood of discussing the use of a smoking cessation medication. Obstetric providers discussed smoking cessation medications with 28.3% of those who did not breastfeed, 27.3% of women who were currently breastfeeding, and 32.0% of those who had breastfed but stopped (P=.83).
A smoking cessation medication (nicotine patch, nicotine gum, or bupropion) was used by 10.1% of respondents during pregnancy and by 14.3% of smokers in the 3 postpartum months. Table 1 displays the rates at which the specific smoking cessation medications and other cessation methods were used during pregnancy and in the early postpartum period. During pregnancy, nicotine replacement was used more than twice as often as bupropion (7.4% compared with 3.4%, P=.023), but bupropion use increased after delivery so that there was little difference at 3 months postpartum (8.8% compared with 7.1%, P=.47).
Overall, 18.9% of respondents reported having used any smoking cessation assistance during pregnancy beyond what was provided in the trial. They were no more likely to use a nonpharmacologic cessation aid during pregnancy (12.5%) than to use a medication (10.1%). Hypnosis was the most popular nonpharmacologic aid. The proportion of smokers who used any smoking cessation assistance during the 3 months postpartum (19.3%) was similar to the rate of assistance during pregnancy (18.9%). The rate at which nonpharmacologic aids were used was marginally lower after birth than during pregnancy (8.0% compared with 12.5%, P=.067).
As shown in Table 2, using a smoking cessation medication in pregnancy was associated (P<.05) with being older, better educated, living with a partner, having a prior childbirth, having an obstetric provider who discussed medication use, and having private health insurance (in a state where public insurance did not pay for cessation medications at the time of the study). For each specific medication examined (nicotine patch, nicotine gum, bupropion), there was a statistically significant association between a provider's discussion of that specific medication and a pregnant smoker's use of that medication (data not shown). Smoking cessation medication was not used more often by women who smoked more heavily, were more nicotine dependent, or had already tried to quit during pregnancy, as clinical practice guidelines recommend.
The small number of outcomes (ie, number of women who used medication; n=30) limited the number of independent predictors that could be included in a multiple logistic regression analysis without overfitting the model. Therefore, we tested a series of multivariable models, each of which included the independent variable of provider discussion of medication with the patient (the independent variable of most interest) and one of the other factors that was associated with medication use in the univariable analysis (age, education, marital status, parity, type of health insurance). In each of these multiple logistic regression models, provider discussion of cessation medication consistently and significantly increased the odds that a pregnant woman would use a cessation medication, with odds ratios varying from 5.37 to 6.76. Each of the other factors was also statistically significantly associated with cessation medication use after adjustment for provider discussion of cessation medication.
A second set of multiple logistic regression models tested whether the type of health insurance (private or public) was independently associated with each of the other factors associated with medication use in the univariable analysis. Having private (as opposed to public or other) health insurance increased the odds of using a smoking cessation medication during pregnancy, independently of education, parity, age, and whether the obstetric provider discussed medication use. Odds ratios (private compared with public/other insurance) ranged from 3.28 to 4.92. Each of the other factors was statistically significantly associated with cessation medication use after adjustment for health insurance type, except for marital status.
In a univariable analysis, three factors increased the likelihood that a postpartum smoker would use a smoking cessation medication: older age (mean 31.6 compared with 28.5 years, P=.008), smoking more cigarettes daily before pregnancy (mean 23.8 compared with 20.3, P=.031), and having discussed smoking cessation medication with the obstetric provider at the postpartum visit (65% compared with 23%, P<.001). Having a provider who discussed smoking cessation medication use at the postpartum visit was strongly associated with postpartum medication use in a multiple logistic regression model that adjusted for age (odds ratio [OR] 6.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.8–14.0) and in a second model that adjusted for cigarettes smoked per day (OR 6.5, 95% CI 2.9–14.5). In each model, age and prepregnancy daily smoking rate were independently associated with postpartum medication use.
Whether to recommend smoking cessation medication to pregnant smokers is a common clinical dilemma faced by prenatal care providers. Neither nicotine replacement nor bupropion has been proven safe and effective in pregnant women, but the unequivocal harm of continued smoking has led experts and clinical practice guidelines to recommend that medications be considered after nonpharmacologic treatment fails. Little is known about what decisions practitioners and pregnant women actually make. This study fills that gap. In a large sample of pregnant smokers who were interested in quitting smoking, only 29% reported having discussed a smoking cessation medication with their obstetric providers. Even fewer of the women (10%) actually used either nicotine replacement or bupropion during pregnancy. Nicotine replacement was discussed by providers and used by smokers twice as often as bupropion. Providers discussed nonpharmacologic treatment with smokers more often than they discussed drugs, but practice patterns did not appear consistent with clinical guidelines that recommend considering medication for heavier smokers and for smokers who fail nonpharmacologic treatment.
Using patient reports, this study assesses the rate at which smokers use a smoking cessation medication during pregnancy or in the immediate postpartum period. Prior studies of pregnant smokers have only assessed women's potential interest in using nicotine replacement,29,30 or in enrolling in a nicotine replacement trial,31 not their actual medication use. The proportion of pregnant smokers in these surveys who expressed interest in nicotine replacement was much larger than the 10% who actually used a medication in our study. Although not the focus of the study, our surveys found a relatively high rate hypnosis for smoking cessation during pregnancy, despite the fact that practice guidelines with meta-analyses of hypnosis for smoking cessation have not found it to be effective in nonpregnant smokers.7
This study is also the first to report on how often smoking is addressed at the postpartum obstetric visit. The rates of smoking cessation medication discussion and use after delivery were similar among women who made a postpartum obstetric visit. Obstetric providers did not appear to be deterred from discussing medication use by women's breastfeeding status. However, the wording of the survey question does not allow us to infer that a discussion of medication use with breastfeeding smokers constituted an endorsement of the practice.
Our study also provides new information about which smokers are likely to use a cessation medication during pregnancy. Contrary to our hypothesis based on current guidelines, medication use was not higher among heavier, more nicotine-dependent smokers or among smokers who had already tried and failed to quit during pregnancy. Instead, pregnant smokers were more likely to use a cessation medication if their prenatal provider discussed these medications with them or if they had private health insurance. These data suggest that two remediable barriers to greater use of cessation medications in pregnancy are clinicians' failure to discuss medication use and lack of health insurance coverage for smoking cessation medications. Nicotine replacement and bupropion were covered by several large private health insurance plans during the study period, but Massachusetts' Medicaid program covered no cessation treatment.
The current study also provides new information about how often prenatal providers discuss cessation medications with pregnant smokers. Most prior surveys that assessed prenatal providers' actions to address smoking did not ask whether they recommend or use cessation medication.32–36 The four prior studies that assessed medication use did so by asking prenatal providers about their usual practice,22–25 whereas our study assessed provider behavior through the reports of patients rather than by the report of providers themselves. Nevertheless, our results are similar to three prior studies in which 26% of 154 Ohio obstetricians, 29% of 607 Texas obstetricians, and 27% of 368 British general practitioners reported that they prescribed nicotine replacement in pregnancy.22,23,25 Our estimate is lower than the 44% rate of nicotine replacement therapy prescription or recommendation reported by a small study of 61 obstetric providers in Massachusetts community health centers.24
This study has several limitations. First, the survey asked pregnant women only whether their obstetric provider had discussed smoking cessation medications. Women were not asked about the content of these discussions. We cannot determine whether the prenatal provider recommended or discouraged medication use during pregnancy, and we do not know whether the patient or the provider brought up the topic of smoking cessation medication. Therefore, our estimates of the rate at which obstetric providers discussed cessation medications cannot be interpreted to represent the rates at which obstetric providers recommend or prescribe them. Furthermore, it is possible that practitioners considered pharmacotherapy use but did not think it appropriate for the patient and, therefore, did not discuss medication use with them.
Another limitation is that the study sample was drawn from pregnant women living in one state who enrolled in a smoking cessation trial. Therefore, the results are not generalizable to all pregnant women or to other geographic areas. Because women had to be interested in changing their smoking behavior to be eligible for the trial, the rates of medication use reported here may be higher than would be found in another population-based sample of pregnant smokers. However, this potential bias is likely to be small because the large majority of pregnant smokers profess an interest in stopping smoking.3
In summary, in this large sample of pregnant smokers who were interested in quitting, only 3 in 10 women recalled that any prenatal provider discussed the use of a smoking cessation medication, and only 1 in 10 women actually used a cessation medication. Both obstetricians and pregnant women appear to be more reluctant to consider cessation medications than clinical guidelines recommend. Presumably, the reluctance is attributable to a desire to limit medication use in pregnancy and to the lack of data proving the safety and efficacy of nicotine replacement or bupropion in pregnancy. Clinical trials are clearly needed to provide the safety and efficacy data. Until more is known, clinical guidelines and expert reviews have weighed this uncertainty against the known harms of continued smoking in pregnancy and encourage consideration of medication use in certain circumstances, especially when the risk/benefit ratio is very favorable.7,8,11,18,19 At present, both providers and patients appear to have a more conservative view. Our data strongly suggest that pregnant women would be more likely to use a smoking cessation medication in pregnancy if their obstetric providers routinely discussed these medications with them and if health insurers covered the cost of these medications. These actions could help narrow the existing gap between clinical practice and clinical guidelines and reduce the tobacco-related harms to women and their children.
© 2008 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
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Learning Center Search Results
Showing 1-10 of 11 results
Civil War Genealogical Research
In this lesson, you will learn about the Civil War and finding records.
Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 2: Learn about Historical Background
This lesson will help you understand the development of Germany during the 15th through 21st Centuries and how major historical events may have affected your ancestors' lives. You will be introduced to the concept of using timelines as a tool for placing your ancestor within a historical context. Knowing something about the history of your research area can help you find records for your ancestors.
Germany Beginning Research Series Lesson 3: Using Maps, Gazetteers and Websites
This lesson will help learn to verify your ancestor's locality information by using maps and gazetteers. Once you have solid locality information you can use the Family History Library Catalog to locate records. The lesson utilizes two case studies to demonstrate the use of these tools. You will also find links to online resources included within the lesson.
Highlights of Security Service Files Released at The National Archives
This is the twenty-fourth Security Service records release and contains 196 files, bringing the total number of its records in the public domain to more than 4,300. As with previous releases, around 80% of the records are personal files relating to individuals (KV 2), with a small number of subject files (KV 3), policy files (KV 4), organisation files (KV 5) and list files (KV 6). The files cover subjects from the pre-war period, the Second World War and the post-war period, dealing with a range of groups and subjects. We apologise for the poor sound quality during the first few minutes of the recording.
Lección 1: Elementos fundamentales para la historia familiar
Las fuentes fundamentales de la historia familiar son los primeros recursos que debemos consultar en nuestra investigación. Las fuentes fundamentales más comunes incluyen: memoria viva, documentos del hogar, mapas, diccionarios geográficos y guías eclesiásticas.
Professor Christopher Andrew introduces the 25th Security Service records release, which contains 170 files, bringing the total number of its records in the public domain to more than 4,500. As with previous releases, around three quarters of the records are personal files relating to individuals (KV 2), with the remainder a combination of subject files (KV 3), policy files (KV 4) and organisation files (KV 5). The records cover a range of subjects and span the inter-war, Second World War and post-war eras.
A brief overview of the history of Norway and how it affected recordkeeping.
Finding an ancestor using Internet sources from the United Kingdom and Germany. This lesson also includes references to merchant navy records, and the SMS Seeadler (Sea Eagle) also known as the Pass of Balmaha which was commanded by Count Von Luckner. Douglas Page sailed on the SS Horngarth
Russian History, Geography, Records and Resources Part 1
Part one of his two part course focuses on the formation of Russia and the geopolitical events that shaped this nation.
Learn what an English Parish is now and used to be and how it can help you with your family history.

subset: commoncrawl


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BELOIT, WI - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers defeated the Beloit Snappers 2-1 in game two of Thursday's doubleheader at Pohlman Field. The win allowed the Rattlers to earn the split after the Snappers won game one 3-1.
Wisconsin (27-35) wasted no time in game two as they scored in the top of the first. Tyrone Taylor doubled with two outs. Michael Reed followed with a triple to right to drive in Taylor for a 1-0 lead.
Reed extended his current on base streak to 33 games with that first inning triple. That ties him with Jeff Holm of West Michigan for the longest on base streak in the Midwest League this season.
The Timber Rattlers pushed another run across the plate in the top of the fifth. Max Walla singled to start the inning. Brent Dean dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Walla to second. Beloit starter Seth Streich threw a wild pitch to move Walla to third. He would throw another wild pitch to let Walla score for a 2-0 advantage.
Beloit (41-26) got a run off Austin Blaski with three straight singles in the bottom of the fifth inning. Sam Roberts singled with one out. Brett Vertigan reached on a bunt single. Christopher Bostick singled to drive in Roberts. Blaski retired the next two batters to keep Wisconsin in front.
Blaski worked five innings and scattered four hits and four walks with four strikeouts mixed in for good measure.
Taylor Mangum took over for Blaski in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Snappers had two on with one out, but Mangum got a flyout and a strikeout to end the Beloit sixth with the Rattlers still up 2-1. Mangum worked a scoreless bottom of the seventh to close out Beloit and earn his third save of the season.
The win by Wisconsin ended Beloit's nine-game winning streak.
The Timber Rattlers begin their final series of the first half on Friday night when they face the Kane County Cougars at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. Jorge Lopez (2-5, 7.47) is the scheduled starting pitcher for Wisconsin. Michael Heesch (3-4, 3.73) is the probable starting pitcher for Kane County. Game time is 6:30pm. Tune in for the broadcast on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:10pm.
WP: Austin Blaski (3-2)
LP: Seth Streich (6-4)
SAVE: Taylor Mangum (3)
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Big League Baseballs came across what appears to be a heck of a find, this vintage Spalding National League baseball. Stamped with NL president Ford C. Frick's signature, it's a beauty, and there is little information about it. What makes it unique, and apparently extremely rare, are the multi-colored laces. Two-toned laces were a thing of the past by the time Frick became president of the NL, according to all the records available for vintage major league baseballs.
So what gives with this pristine ball, why the two different stitch colors? The last multi-color laced NL ball of the early 1900s is, according to many resources, a John Heydler NL President stamped black and red laced Spalding ball, most likely last put into play in 1933. Frick became the league's president in 1934, but judging by the manufacturer's stamp on this ball, it's most likely from the late '30s to early '40s. It also came with the box pictured to the right, but there's no way to verify that it was originally packaged in this box (although it's likely that it was).
Multi-colored laces on official MLB baseballs did not come back around again until the 1990s, and we've got an incredible story about that coming to BigLeagueBaseballs.com next week.
In the meantime, Big League Baseballs' forum member and vintage-style baseball creator William Peebles (check out his amazing hand-made baseballs) was kind enough to send in the picture below, taken from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. It is the only other known multi-laced MLB ball like the Frick NL ball that we've seen, and there is no photo of the manufacturer's stamp available. We haven't been searching for this variety of Official Major League Baseball for long as this is a new discovery, but all of our searches have come up empty for any other information.
The ball pictured, as noted, was hit by Hank Greenberg for his 20th home run in 1940. So we at least know these were used in official MLB regular season games in the 1940 MLB Baseball Season. And since Greenberg was a member of the American League's Detroit Tigers, this ball should be a Reach-made William Harridge President-stamped American League baseball.
So did both league's field baseballs with multi-color laces for a short time period? Could these possibly be "mistakes?" Or is it possible that one of the laces has faded completely while the other remained unchanged? I have doubts about both of those possible explanations.
Does anyone out there have any other information on this rare Ford Frick Spalding baseball with two-toned laces, or another variety? We'd love to hear from you in the forum or in the comments section below. If you have another photo of an example of one of these baseballs, please send us an email.


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GV Now
GVSU recognized for support of Challenge Scholars
Posted on May 07, 2014
President Thomas J. Haas joined area college presidents at an event May 6 to celebrate Grand Rapids Community Foundation's Challenge Scholars program.
Grand Valley has been a partner of the program since it launched two years ago. It provides students academic and college readiness support from sixth grade through high school and college scholarship opportunities. Last fall, the university created a new scholarship for GRPS students in the program, offering them the opportunity to attend and succeed in college.
The event took place at the Ford Fieldhouse at Grand Rapids Community College. Challenge Scholars students and their families, teachers, community donors and supporters were recognized. Presidents from Aquinas College, GRCC and Ferris State University were in attendance.
For more information, visit www.challengescholars.org.


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It's always a little disorienting as a writer when my work becomes part of the story. On the one hand, it's encouraging to know people are reading my stories and they're having some effect. But that soupcon of satisfaction is usually overwhelmed by the anxiety over whether the publicity, however faint, might give people the impression I'm taking sides in a debate. Of course, nowadays, that's exactly what many journalists want, which is why media seems increasingly partisan. But a good writer's calling card is a reputation for giving readers all (not both) sides of a story, and if readers start to smell bias, not only does that cast suspicion on your stories, it also makes it harder to get people from all sides of the story to talk to you. So, I was a little alarmed when a couple of my stories recently became part of the debate.
The first example was when my February story on the unfunded liability at the State's Employee Retirement System (ERS) came up during a recent mayoral debate. In the debate, Caldwell used my article to buttress his claim to indict the former governor's fiscal responsibility, pointing out that ERS administrator Wes Machida said his administration had raided the ERS to balance its budgets. That led to a debate in the press about what Machida actually said and what he meant.
According to a story in the Hawaii Reporter, Machida immediately wrote Cayetano after the televised debate to say the former governor wasn't responsible for the unfunded liability because he was only following a law that had been in place for 65 years. He points out that every governor prior to 2003, when the law was changed, used the excess earning in the ERS as revenue. This is true, as far as it goes.
Machida also lamented that his quote was taken out of context:
"My quote was meant to be applied to the following:
"Over a 36-year period since 1967 through 2003, excess earnings of approximately $1.7 billion was used to credit the employers' contributions."
All the hubbub was over a section of my story where I describe an old law that allowed the state to raid the ERS each year for any interest earnings exceeding 8 percent. The problem with that is that the system counts on average returns of 8 percent; if you take the excess earnings in prosperous years, there's no buffer for lean years. In other words, in order to average 8 percent, you have to have some years over 8 percent to offset those under 8 percent. By scooping up anything over 8 percent, the State made its 8 percent target average impossible to achieve. As my story shows, we're not talking small change either:
"He (Machida) ascribes most of the increase to an old rule that allowed legislators to seize any annual earnings over 8 percent and apply them to the state's ARC (Annual Required Contribution). In 2001, the worst year, the state used approximately $150 million of these "excess" earnings to help balance the budget. Between 1999 and 2003, according to Machida, more than $350 million in excess earnings were diverted from the pension system. "In 2004, with the assistance of (then) Governor Lingle, we introduced legislation to take that away," Machida says. But the damage has been done. "If that money had not been taken," he says, "the system today would be almost fully funded."
For the campaigns, of course, the key issue is that the most egregious raiding of the ERS, from 1999 to 2001, happened during Cayetano's terms as governor. That's why Caldwell brought it up in the debate. But there are a couple problems here. First, Machida is right (partly): Cayetano was only doing what every other governor before him did. Second, the Legislature controls the state's purse strings; if anyone is to blame for the process, it's the knuckleheads who wrote the enabling legislation in 1966. Finally, as my article pointed out in detail, the annual raid of the ERS was only responsible for part of the current unfunded liability. If we're looking for scapegoats, there's a lot of blame to go around.
But that doesn't mean Cayetano and Machida are completely off the hook. At best, Machida's defense of Cayetano only partly mitigates his culpability. There's no escaping the fact that the worst raiding of the ERS happened in the Cayetano years. Machida may quibble that he didn't mean to focus on the period between 1999 and 2003 – and, to be fair, that section of my story is paraphrased, a fact that should be obvious from the lack of quotes – but the materials he provided Hawaii Business, and that he used in his presentations at the Legislature are pretty unequivocal. Particularly damning is his PowerPoint slide comparing the State's required contributions to the ERS with its actual contributions. In that chart, the only years showing a significant discrepancy are the years from 1999 to 2003. It may well be there were significant shortfalls in earlier years, but they weren't included in Machida's presentation.
In any case, as this little brouhaha happened in the media, I found myself wondering about my role in the discourse. Should I chime in? Did I have anything new to add to the debate? Was it my job to fact-check the politicians or the ERS administrator or the other media? In the end, I decided to stay out of it. No one accused me of bias or misstating the facts , so I concluded readers could take a look at my story, read what the politicians said, and draw their own conclusions.
Recently, though, I was confronted with a similar dilemma. In our July issue, I wrote a story about Kamehameha Schools development plans on the North Shore. Although the story largely focused on KS's project to rehabilitate the area around Matsumoto's in Haleiwa, part of the main theme of the story was how they engaged the community during the planning process. One part of the plan I didn't focus on was KS's proposed wind farm project in Kawailoa. Although it was clearly going to be an enormous undertaking for such a rural area, all I wrote about it was:
"This summer, construction will begin on KS's ambitious Kawailoa windfarm, which will be the largest on Oahu."
In retrospect, I should probably have dedicated more space to the project. Interestingly, though, only a few people mentioned the wind farm in interviews, mostly surfers who worried the big wind turbines would spoil their view from their favorite North Shore surf break. No one, though, made much of a stink, although a couple people did say they thought there would be more controversy after the windmills were constructed.
That turned out to be an understatement.
And it's easy to see why. A couple months after my story hit the news stands, John Bain, a North Shore reader sent me a photo of the finished windmills taken from Kamehameha Hwy. at Waimea Bay. He was appalled that the wind farm was visible from one of the most scenic spots on Oahu. (When I drove past a couple weeks later, it turned out to be even worse than was obvious from the photograph: from the beach at Waimea, several windmills are visible running along the Haleiwa rim of the valley.)
At the time, I wrote back to Mr. Bain in a way that conveys my basic equivocation about these sorts of projects. First, I pointed out, if we're serious about alternative energy, we better get used to wind farms and solar arrays turning up in places where we would rather not see them. Wind in particular is only viable in a few sites, so it's unlikely they can be moved to less visible locations. It's also worth remembering that our aesthetic distaste for things like windmills is a little arbitrary. The windmills overlooking Waimea Valley, for example, might be ugly to you and me now, but if the oil tankers quit delivering our fix of low-sulfur petroleum, I suspect those white behemoths would start to look pretty good. Even now, they're better looking than the power lines stretching across the mouth of the valley.
But I can be just as NIMBY as the next guy, and I said as much to Mr. Bain. First, I noted that it was surprising the wind mills had made it through the permitting process without significant protest from the community. Then, I added that if it were my neighborhood, I wouldn't have voted for them, or for the ones in Kahuku, for that matter.
I thought that would be the end of our correspondence. Once again, though, events contrived to pull me into the story. A few weeks after our original exchange, Mr. Bain wrote back to update me on the growing discontent on the North Shore regarding the windmills. He also asked if he could forward my letter to some of the people on his mailing list. Much like the mayoral debate, the windmill controversy – and my personal correspondence with Mr. Bain – seemed like it had the potential to paint me as a partisan in the debate. In my response to Mr. Bain, I expressed my discomfort with this prospect:
"Indirectly, though, you do raise another issue: What is the role of a reporter in these kinds of political issues? My view is that, whatever his own opinions might be, a reporter best serves the public interest by remaining as invisible as possible. That's really the only way to preserve the appearance of objectivity. If people begin to suspect you favor one side of an issue, it becomes harder to get the other side to cooperate on future stories.
Becoming part of the story also subtly affects a reporter's own sensibility. Part of being a good writer is the ability to empathize with different kinds of people, to see both sides of a disagreement. The world is rarely black and white, so it's important that a reporter appreciate the many shades of gray if he wants to write about the world as it is, rather than how he wishes it would be. In any case, this is the approach I prefer and that suits my temperament best. I tend to play Devil's Advocate rather than hold forth with my own opinions – which, at any rate, I always view as contingent."
I did, however "turn the tables" on Mr. Bain by offering to publish his letter and his growing catalog of photographs and weblinks to Neighborhood Board testimony et al. I also offered to allow this blog to become a kind of home base for the North Shore controversy. I wrote, " …people can simply use the comment feature of our blog to communicate with each other. As long as they remain civil and the discourse is polite, we'd be happy to host the dialog. If there's enough of it, I'll talk with our IT people and the editor about the possibility of a guest blog or some similar arrangement."
So, there it is. One reporter trying his quixotic best to remain invisible, and yet still accommodate the perfectly reasonable demands of readers and the people he writes about. Check back to see what the good people of the North Shore think of the effort.


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The Bold And The Beautiful Spoilers For November 28 – December 2.
Donna and Justin meet with her two sisters to share their latest news. But they aren't the only ones with some of that. Rick hasn't been back for long but he has already made a big choice about what his future at Forrester will look like. And the lineup at Forrester will also start looking a little different when Dayzee brings her friend Beverly into the mix.
Desperate to keep her dreams afloat, Jackie continues manipulating mentally unstable Pam so that she can get the goods she needs. Outside of pimping her son out of the lemon bar baking blonde, she is also telling her loads of lies. She should be keeping a closer eye on Nick, otherwise he might foil her scheme though. He has his eyes on a recently single woman. Meanwhile, someone has their eyes on the Forrester clan as they prepare their latest designs for their big fall show.
Katie walks in on Bill and Steffy together. Is it what she thinks it is? She freaks out like it is. Bill decides to set some boundaries with his daughter-in-law while Katie runs off to get advice from Stephanie about how to deal with troublesome men. She returns to get into a bicker match with her husband and Steffy. It's not long before the frustration gets the better of her and she is venting to Liam. Brooke gets wind of this and starts to worry, but she still takes the time to tell Hope to end things with Thomas before they get serious since she still might have a shot with Liam.
Make sure to check out our Bold And The Beautiful appearances, B&B news, B&B spoilers and B&B polls. Join us on Twitter @soapoperafan and Facebook. Come tweet and Facebook with us about "Bold And The Beautiful," all the other soap operas, "Dirty Soap," "Glee," "Grey's Anatomy," "Vampire Diaries" and "Venice The Series!"
Photo Credit: Soap Opera Fan Blog
Fun fact! Matthew Purvis wrote this story just for you on November 28th, 2011 |


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fitness equipment for keeping up with those New Year's resolutions
or even cute cookware!
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All you need to do is visit their website and leave me a comment with what item you'd love to add to your home. The giveaway ends a week from today, Wednesday, February 23rd, and I'll announce a winner the following day!


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Matador Store
Full DiscographyLPs
- Learning - OLE-942 - 2010-06-22
- Put Your Back N 2 It - OLE-964 - 2012-02-21
Over the course of two astonishing albums, Perfume Genius, aka Seattle native Mike Hadreas, cemented his place as a singer-songwriter of rare frankness, creating songs that, while achingly emotional, offered empathy and hope, rather than judgment or handwringing. Sparse, gorgeous and with Hadreas' quavering vocals often only accompanied by piano, 2010's Learning and 2012's Put Yr Back N 2 It told uncommonly beautiful tales of a life lived on the dark side –
Too Bright, however, is something else altogether. Less self-conscious, and less concerned with storytelling and easily-digested melodies, it is a bold and unpredictably quixotic exploration of what Hadreas calls "an underlying rage that has slowly been growing since age ten and has just begun to bubble up". This sharp U-turn came early in the writing process, when Hadreas grew creatively frustrated and uninspired writing what he thought people might want to hear – as he describes it, "mid-tempo Adele songs, carefully plotting each chord and lyric like math" –and focused instead on writing what came naturally, 100% visceral and unfiltered, no matter what the potential reception might be. "I looked to PJ Harvey," he recalls, "how powerful and raw she can be, and thought, 'what is my version of that?'"
The resultant album is a stunning about-face which brings to mind audacious career-shift albums like Kate Bush's The Dreaming or Scott Walker's Tilt, records which walk the tightrope between pure songwriting and overt experimentation. Here, Hadreas is aided in his efforts by not one, but two unlikely conspirators – John Parish, who plays drums on several tracks, and Portishead's Adrian Utley, who, as producer, brought the physical resources to flesh out the songs ininnovative ways. According to Hadreas, Utley was the key to unlocking unexplored terrain on the album, using both synths and organic instrumentation to push the tracks to darker and more unreal heights. The album is also rounded off with key contributions from longtime touring band members Alan Wyffels and Hervé Bécart. The fragile yet defiant "I Decline" opens the album, draped in hushed, languorous beauty, but it is an outlier. On the following track (and first single) "Queen", the line "Don't you know your queen?" booms out over ominous guitars, not so much a genuine question as a rhetorical one, as Hadreas proceeds to deconstruct gay panic with relish. Even with a wordless (albeit soaring and cacophonous) symphony of a chorus it sounds huge and anthemic, a gleeful kiss-off. He says, "I sometimes see faces of blank fear when I walk by...if these fucking people want to give me some power – if they see me as some sea witch with penis tentacles that are always prodding and poking and seeking to convert the muggles – well, here she comes".
That mischievous sense of defiance runs rampant through the album. A surreal threat hangs over songs like "My Body" and "Grid", with piercing screams, tribal drums and electronic stabs highlighting disturbing lyrics of self-destruction and temporary respite from the darkness. On "Fool," meanwhile, deceptively swinging doo-wop rhythms disguise a story of social mutiny, with Hadreas tearing into the stereotype of "a walking, talking candelabra", and rejecting it for something much more volatile and dangerous. "I've met people that laugh at EVERYTHING I say," he muses. "I could be talking about OJ or Munchausen's Syndrome or bloody stool – I am still just the cutest thing. Here only to enrich their lives, not have one of my own. Make their dress, tell them how great their boobs look and then peace. Isn't he the best?"
Which is not to say that Hadreas has completely abandoned the shimmering, exquisite piano ballads that he is so known for. "No Good" is a heartbreaking meditation on a difficult life lived on the outside but "spent looking in", while the somber closer "All Along" is a resigned yet firm rebuke to acceptance and reassurance from external forces, preferring instead to find refuge from within – "I have my love," Hadreas asserts, "and I apply it where I need to".
This, in fact, is the overarching theme of Too Bright; the connective tissue loosely joining up these 11 stunning, weird and wonderful tracks – the discovery of strength and power where previously he felt he had little. As he puts it, during the making of the album, it felt "like I had woken some ancient beast which began to rattle and threaten to rise." With this record, consider the demon awoken.
News From The Matablog
Perfume Genius Covered Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love" For Prada
In collaboration with Prada, there is a Perfume Genius cover of Elvis' "Can't Help Falling In Love" out in the world. This cover is every bit has amazing as you'd imagine it to be. A clip of the song can be previewed in the ad above and the full version available from your preferred streaming here: http://smarturl.it/CantHelpFallingNLove Follow Perfume Genius Online: Twitter Instagram Facebook
Perfume Genius Boiler Room x FORM Arcosanti... by brtvofficial This session was filmed last month during the third edition of FORM Arcosanti. The best way to keep up with Perfume Genius is to follow him on Twitter.
If I curated a festival it would be an 8 hour long buffet and then Bonnie Raitt rides in on a motorcycle with dessert in the sidecar— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) May 27, 2016
The Ten "Best" Perfume Genius Tweets of 2016 In Honor Of Twitter's 10th Birthday
In honor of Twitter's 10th Birthday, I decided to cull together ten of my personal favorite Perfume Genius tweets from this year, so far. It would have been way too emotionally draining to go back farther. There are just too many exceptional ones as you can gauge from below. We're all just living in Mike's world. Follow Perfume Genius on Twitter HERE.
in 2016 i intend to move less and just double my supplements— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) January 1, 2016instead of the sound of zombies behind me i would like a motivational jogging tape of demons in the distance moaning "join us, join us bitch — Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) February 13, 2016
Mad at God for not filling the living room with his light after my rendition of Janet's "Again" from the couch just now— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) March 6, 2016My boyfriend just yelled from the other room: "is that on TV or are you watching the Oprah bread commercial on YouTube again" — Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) February 26, 2016
Why aren't more people named Breathless Mahoney?— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) February 3, 2016No matter how loud they rev I will never acknowledge a motorcycle. And lord forgive me for typin "rev" — Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) March 17, 2016
my oven just beeped at me because its preheated and i rolled my eyes— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) February 5, 2016i just want to be a hacker so i can say "i'm in" on a headset — Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) March 16, 2016
Missed our turn yelling SLAY at this car pic.twitter.com/ifxJCN7kXS— Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) February 7, 2016Tonight I housed a single dove in my enormous blouse and we watched 3 episodes of Masterchef — Perfume Genius (@perfumegenius) January 25, 2016
A reminder for everyone lucky enough to be at Pitchfork this weekend that we have the following playing: Friday 17th July Steve Gunn 5.15 (Blue) Tobias Jesso Jr 6.15 (Blue) Iceage 7.15 (Blue) Saturday 18th July Kurt Vile 4.15 (Green) The New Pornographers 6.15 (Green) Sunday 19th July Perfume Genius 3.14 (Blue) For those of you that can't make it, all performances will be live streamed here: http://pitchfork.com/news/60410-pitchfork-music-festival-streams-live-all-weekend/
Just a heads up for those lucky enough to be at Primavera Festival this weekend cos we have a TON of bands playing: Belle and Sebastian, Fucked Up, Iceage, Interpol, The New Pornographers, Perfume Genius, The Thurston Moore Band and Tobias Jesso Jr are all appearing. A few of these performances will also be live streamed here. See bands and times below: Friday The New Pornographers: 19.30 - 20.25 Channel 1 Belle and Sebastian: 21.30 - 22.30 Channel 2 Saturday Fucked Up: 19.30 - 20.20 Channel 2 Interpol: 22.20 - 23.34 Channel 1


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Clint Eastwood Interrogates Empty Chair!
I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we — we own this country.
Clint Eastwood
Truly one of the most bizarre, and entertaining, moments I have witnessed in almost fifty years of observing national political conventions. People may forget almost all of this convention as the years roll by, but they will always remember Clint and the empty chair! Here is the text of his unforgettable act:
EASTWOOD: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Save a little for Mitt.
(APPLAUSE) I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, what's a movie tradesman doing out here? You know they are all left wingers out there, left of Lenin. At least that is what people think. That is not really the case. There are a lot of conservative people, a lot of moderate people, Republicans, Democrats, in Hollywood. It is just that the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play closer to the vest. They do not go around hot dogging it.
So — but they are there, believe me, they are there. I just think, in fact, some of them around town, I saw Jon Voight, a lot of people around.
Jon's here, an academy award winner. A terrific guy. These people are all like-minded, like all of us.
So I — so I've got Mr. Obama sitting here. And he's — I was going to ask him a couple of questions. But — you know about — I remember three and a half years ago, when Mr. Obama won the election. And though I was not a big supporter, I was watching that night when he was having that thing and they were talking about hope and change and they were talking about, yes we can, and it was dark outdoors, and it was nice, and people were lighting candles.
They were saying, I just thought, this was great. Everybody is trying, Oprah was crying.
EASTWOOD: I was even crying. And then finally — and I haven't cried that hard since I found out that there is 23 million unemployed people in this country.
Now that is something to cry for because that is a disgrace, a national disgrace, and we haven't done enough, obviously — this administration hasn't done enough to cure that. Whenever interest they have is not strong enough, and I think possibly now it may be time for somebody else to come along and solve the problem.
So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them?
I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just — you know — I know — people were wondering — you don't — handle that OK. Well, I know even people in your own party were very disappointed when you didn't close Gitmo. And I thought, well closing Gitmo — why close that, we spent so much money on it. But, I thought maybe as an excuse — what do you mean shut up?
OK, I thought maybe it was just because somebody had the stupid idea of trying terrorists in downtown New York City.
I've got to to hand it to you. I have to give credit where credit is due. You did finally overrule that finally. And that's — now we are moving onward. I know you were against the war in Iraq, and that's okay. But you thought the war in Afghanistan was OK. You know, I mean — you thought that was something worth doing. We didn't check with the Russians to see how did it — they did there for 10 years.
But we did it, and it is something to be thought about, and I think that, when we get to maybe — I think you've mentioned something about having a target date for bringing everybody home. You gave that target date, and I think Mr. Romney asked the only sensible question, you know, he says, "Why are you giving the date out now? Why don't you just bring them home tomorrow morning?"
And I thought — I thought, yeah — I am not going to shut up, it is my turn.
So anyway, we're going to have — we're going to have to have a little chat about that. And then, I just wondered, all these promises — I wondered about when the — what do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. I can't tell him to do that to himself.
You're crazy, you're absolutely crazy. You're getting as bad as Biden.
Of course we all now Biden is the intellect of the Democratic party.
Kind of a grin with a body behind it.
But I just think that there is so much to be done, and I think that Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan are two guys that can come along. See, I never thought it was a good idea for attorneys to the president, anyway.
I think attorneys are so busy — you know they're always taught to argue everything, and always weight everything — weigh both sides…
XXX I think attorneys are so busy — you know they're always taught to argue everything, always weigh everything, weigh both sides.
EASTWOOD: They are always devil's advocating this and bifurcating this and bifurcating that. You know all that stuff. But, I think it is maybe time — what do you think — for maybe a businessman. How about that?
A stellar businessman. Quote, unquote, "a stellar businessman."
And I think it's that time. And I think if you just step aside and Mr. Romney can kind of take over. You can maybe still use a plane.
Though maybe a smaller one. Not that big gas guzzler you are going around to colleges and talking about student loans and stuff like that.
You are an — an ecological man. Why would you want to drive that around?
OK, well anyway. All right, I'm sorry. I can't do that to myself either.
I would just like to say something, ladies and gentlemen. Something that I think is very important. It is that, you, we — we own this country.
We — we own it. It is not you owning it, and not politicians owning it. Politicians are employees of ours.
And — so — they are just going to come around and beg for votes every few years. It is the same old deal. But I just think it is important that you realize , that you're the best in the world. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or whether you're libertarian or whatever, you are the best. And we should not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go.
Okay, just remember that. And I'm speaking out for everybody out there. It doesn't hurt, we don't have to be
(AUDIENCE MEMBER): (inaudible)
I do not say that word anymore. Well, maybe one last time.
We don't have to be — what I'm saying, we do not have to be metal (ph) masochists and vote for somebody that we don't really even want in office just because they seem to be nice guys or maybe not so nice guys, if you look at some of the recent ads going out there, I don't know.
But OK. You want to make my day?
All right. I started, you finish it. Go ahead.
AUDIENCE: Make my day!
EASTWOOD: Thank you. Thank you very much.
20 Responses to Clint Eastwood Interrogates Empty Chair!
That was pretty good.
Missed the poncho and the short stubby well chewed cigar though.
And where was the 45 magnum when he said, "Make my Day"? 🙂
Did you hear Clint Eastwood say: "Politicians are employees of ours"? and "We own this country"?
Jane A. Let him ramble
I thought it was great, but I love Clint Eastwood. Dry sense of humor, his Clint Eastwood grin, and the several serious, very powerful points he made….loved it.
Was it just me, or did Eastwood's speech come out against the war in Afghanistan?
Wrote this on another board after watching the "speech" a second time.
I thought it was a humorous break. If I thought anything needed to change, it would be him reducing the number of "uh's." (It's a violation of public speaking code.) I thought that left the impression he was rambling, but he wasn't. He knew what he wanted to say and in what order. He was even able to handle a heckler and get back on course and then work the heckler back into the closing. That's not the work of a rambling man.
I recommend going back and giving it another watch. Your opinion may change.
Blackadder, I think his point was that if you are going to be in Afghanistan, have a goal in mind. You have to aim for something or you just keep going on and on. Obama has expressed no vision of what the end game is and has basically just carried the ball disinterested fashion to and fro. It's as if Obama's only interest in Afghanistan was to get Osama, "Election bullet point achieved. I'm done."
He gave permission to people who have never voted republican before, or those who have bought into the hope ideas, or those who were just so pumped about what a cool guy Obama is, and those concerned about wars overseas, and those who can't just put thier finger on what is wrong, but feel uneasy…to vote for the opposition.
Like a family member at a dying patient's bedside, he softly said, " it's all right, you can just et him go"
" Whether you are a Democrat or Republican or whether you're libertarian or whatever, you are the best. And we should not ever forget that. And when somebody does not do the job, we got to let them go." it's ok–
I thought he was great, and the more I think about it the better he gets.
Mitt;s speech and the whole night was good medicine for all those generational democrats who have just grown up think the R's were the bogeyman.
Kyle Miller: "He was even able to handle a heckler and get back on course and then work the heckler back into the closing. That's not the work of a rambling man."
For the first time in my life I was impressed with Clint Eastwood. "I DON'T SAY THAT WORD ANYMORE. WELL, MAYBE ONE LAST TIME."
Well, if that is considered rambling, I am in d.e.e.p. trouble when I get to be 82.
If I left the impression that I did not like what he said, I am sorry….he might have rambled, but he made a lot of sense. We do own this country and they work for us….It may be tough to let someone go, but it is necessary that we do…..in this instance!!
What war in Afghanistan? That is a contingency operation.
If Obama ever cuts the teleprompter cord, count the "duh's."
Actually T Shaw it's "uh" not "duh" as seen below: from a Limbaugh show some moons ago
Now, this next sound bite, ladies and gentlemen, is a series of uhs in one answer to a question asked of President Obama sitting with president Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama took two questions. The answer to the first question was two minutes and 30 seconds. Thirty-six seconds of the answer was this. None of these are repeated.
OBAMA: Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh.
RUSH: I was asked if the teleprompter was stuck. There wasn't a teleprompter, which is one of the problems. But it doesn't matter what the question was. That's 36 seconds of uhs, unrepeated in an answer to two questions. The answer was two minutes and 30 seconds.
Inspector Callahan…..love it…
Unfortunately, Clint Eastwood is an atheist. Pray for him.
Siobhan: Many prayers for Clint Eastwood. He loves our founding principles and our country founded upon the belief in and trust in God, our "Creator", and Endower of unalienable rights. Clint Eastwood's love for freedom will lead him to the TRUTH. One Hail Mary.
Siobhan: Evolution only brings forth "that" and "what". Our Creator begets "WHO". The human being comprised of human body and human rational, immortal soul is a child of the God of LOVE. Man needed a Creator and a begetting. God created us immortal, without end. The God of LIFE created man to LIFE ETERNAL, that no human being, no man (Mankind is included in man. Mankind is woman, who is kind of like man, a human being, a sovereign person, only different, only a difference God imbues.) cannot be found in Jesus Christ's Sacred Heart. "…for you are sacred to me, for I, the Lord, your God, am sacred". "…that they may all be one, Father, as you and I are one." The word Holy "SANCTUS" means LIFE. "a who IS a person no matter how small." From Horton Hears A WHO. Something Clint Eastwood would be familiar with as I believe that he channeled William Buckley's debate with Gore Vidal. "Oh, Shut up." "No, I won't shut up" "You shut up". Eastwood embellished and polished and Buckley in heaven is smillinnng.
I love the Holy Rosary: always having something to say.


text:
In the wake of the marriage ban's failure in the Senate, conservative Christian leaders are discussing an unprecedented—although apparently legal—maneuver to amend the Constitution without congressional approval.
Think Progress:
Religious Right Seeks Unprecedented Constitutional Convention To Ban Gay Marriage Without Congress
Earlier this month, efforts to ban gay marriage by amending the Constitution failed badly in Senate. Now the religious right is considering appealing to state legislatures to call a Constitutional Convention under an obscure provision of Article 5 that would allow amendments to the Constitution without congressional approval. The Evans-Novak report has the details:
Meeting after the big failure at the offices of the social-conservative Family Research Council, the top leaders of the marriage movement ? Catholic, Protestant and Mormon leaders among others ? discussed the possibility of an unprecedented Constitutional Convention. Two-thirds (34) of the state legislatures would have to call for such a convention ? which could be done only with great difficulty. Even then, no one knows what such a convention would look like or what sort of amendments could result from it.
From real-e-works.com
An anti-gay-marriage protester stands vigil outside the Multnomah Building on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Portland, Ore.
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Mark Pett's LUCKY COW delves into the humor of the fast food, minimum wage experience, as teenagers struggle to balance school, their social lives and working at Lucky Cow and the managers hope to keep major disasters to a minimum during peak business hours. It all adds up to a hilarious combination.
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