text:
Artstone appreciates community support
To the editor:
On behalf of Artstone shareholders, the Board of Directors and American Artstone employees, I would like to express my gratitude for all of those in the community who helped us celebrate the company's 100th Anniversary. As I have stated several times, American Artstone may not be celebrating its 100th Anniversary were it not for the unmatched support it has received from the community throughout its history. I would also like to thank all who volunteered their time and efforts or contributed financially. While a person never knows what to expect when planning such an event, it should not have been surprising as to the size of the turnout and the enthusiasm.
We also appreciate the people who took the tours of the plant. We are always proud to show off the artisan skills of the employees who have made American Artstone what it is today. I hope the participants learned as much about American Artstone as I did from the various guests who shared there anecdotes about the company.
I also hope that those who attended enjoyed the presentation of the first 100 years of the company. I know that I learned several things about George Saffert and the company he founded in 1914 just helping to put the presentation together.
The company looks forward to the next 100 years and enjoying the continued support that it has enjoyed during the first 100 years.
Larry Thompson
American Artstone Company


text:
Purim is like the Jewish Mardi Gras, complete with altar-ego antics and binge drinking. My VideoJew colleague, Jay Firestone, who has proven quite the formidable Scrabulous opponent, brings you up to speed in this video on "The Purim Hangover."
Jewish power in Long Beach
March 27, 2008 | 3:16 pm
A few weeks ago, I was driving down the 710 and talking with an old colleague about the person I was en route to interview. My subject was Josh Lowenthal, the... More.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Half Moon 3 - Mirror Reverse
Quantity in Basket: none
Code: HM3-MR
Shipping Weight: 0.00 pounds
Reverse the house so that the front door is on the east. This is a service performed on the drawings ordered. All of the drawings will be true right-reading, mirror reverse drawings. Must be ordered with Construction Prints or CAD Files.


text:
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Saturday, February 8, 2014
Buck Leonard
On this date in 1972, Buck Leonard is elected to the Hall of Fame.
"The thing to do was to borrow enough from the club so you're in debt at the end of the season. Then you could be sure they'd have you back next year."
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Legal Memorandum #83 on Legal Issues
July 25, 2012
July 25, 2012 | Legal Memorandum on Legal Issues
Abstract: The damage from the ATF's Operation Fast and Furious is staggering: A federal border patrol agent and hundreds of Mexican citizens are dead, killed with guns that were allowed to "walk" into the hands of a powerful drug cartel. While the Department of Justice initially told Congress that its agents did not allow guns to walk into Mexico, the truth came out: Gunwalking was at the heart of Operation Fast and Furious. For his refusal to produce thousands of pages of documents subpoenaed by Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt. Whether President Barack Obama's assertion of executive privilege over some of these documents is proper remains to be seen, but the American people and the victims' families deserve some answers.
Operation Fast and Furious began as an ill-conceived law enforcement initiative. Now the program and its aftermath have become a serious scandal involving hundreds of deaths and, possibly, lying to Congress and obstruction of a congressional investigation.
On June 28, 2012, following an assertion of executive privilege by President Barack Obama to shield further information from disclosure, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for failing to provide key documents in response to subpoenas issued in connection with its investigation into Operation Fast and Furious. Holder is the first Attorney General in United States history to be held in contempt. How did a Department of Justice (DOJ) firearms trafficking investigation culminate in the Attorney General being held in contempt of Congress, and what does it all mean?
In October 2009, Ken Melson, then Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), submitted a "weekly report" to Attorney General Holder, noting that "several potential traffickers or suspicious purchasers" had been identified through "firearms compliance investigations" at two large gun dealerships. The report states that over the previous year, these suspects had purchased approximately 140 guns, some of which had been recovered in Arizona, Guatemala, and Mexico.[1]
That same month, senior Department of Justice officials in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General[2] (ODAG) met to discuss the mounting violence in Mexico and decided to try a new strategy aimed at eliminating gun-trafficking pipelines: directing federal law enforcement officers along the Southwest border to shift their focus away from seizing firearms from criminals as soon as possible and focus instead on identifying members of trafficking networks. ODAG shared this strategy with the heads of many DOJ components, including ATF.[3]
In November 2009, members of the ATF Phoenix Field Division, led by Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Bill Newell,[4] implemented this new strategy by allowing U.S.-based "straw purchasers" (individuals who are legally entitled to purchase firearms for themselves) associated with the Sinaloa cartel to continue to acquire firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers and allowing those guns to "walk" across the border into Mexico (hence the term "gunwalking"). This investigation came to be known as Operation Fast and Furious.
The operation's stated goal was for ATF agents to follow the paths of these guns from straw purchasers through middlemen and into the hierarchy of the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel. They hoped the weapons could be traced and linked to cartel operatives including high-level financiers, suppliers, and possibly even kingpins. Yet, according to whistleblowers, ATF agents never made any attempt to track the guns until they turned up at crime scenes. There is some dispute as to whether any attempt was made to place GPS tracking devices in the guns; however, it seems clear that any effort to do so was minimal.[5]
On December 3, 2009, Melson sent an e-mail to Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, the head of DOJ's Criminal Division, suggesting that he was interested in taking "a little different approach" by treating evidence from large weapons seizures in Mexico as one big case and inquiring whether Breuer was interested in assigning an attorney from the Criminal Division to work with ATF "to develop multi-division/district cases." Breuer responded the next day that this was a "terrific idea," and a trial attorney from DOJ's Gang Unit was subsequently assigned to work on the matter.[6]
In January 2010, the ATF Phoenix Field Division applied to DOJ for Operation Fast and Furious to be designated as an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) case, a request which was approved.[7] Created during the Reagan Administration, the OCDETF program is designed to throw the coordinated muscle of DOJ's component investigative agencies—especially the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and ATF, as well as agents from the Department of Homeland Security—at organized drug trafficking networks. A case gets designated as an OCDETF case only after senior DOJ officials review a detailed application outlining the investigative strategy to be employed and determine that the investigation should be treated as a high priority deserving a commitment of significant resources. Because of the investigation's importance, senior ATF Special Agent John Dodson, who later became a whistleblower, was transferred to Phoenix to help oversee the case.[8]
Starting in March 2010, senior DOJ officials received monthly briefings on the investigation's progress from, among others, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson.[9] Moreover, from March 10, 2010, through July 1, 2010, federal prosecutors in Arizona filed seven wiretap applications in federal court, each of which contained significant details about operational tactics and specific information about straw purchasers in Operation Fast and Furious.[10] Before being filed in federal court, each application had been reviewed by DOJ's Office of Enforcement Operations and then reviewed and authorized by one of the high-level deputies working directly under Breuer.
In late 2009 or early 2010, some of the agents involved with Operation Fast and Furious began to object to some of the investigative techniques being used, including gunwalking. Some of the cooperating gun store owners also told ATF agents that they were uncomfortable making repeated sales to individuals they suspected or knew were involved in criminal activity. The ATF agents and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office repeatedly assured these store owners that the weapons were being tracked and that their sales not only posed no danger to the public, but also would assist law enforcement in bringing dangerous criminals to justice.[11]
On October 21, 2010, Sinaloa drug cartel members kidnapped Mario Gonzalez Rodriguez, the brother of former Chihuahua State Attorney General Patricia Gonzalez Rodriguez. On November 5, his tortured body was discovered in a shallow grave. Following a shootout in which Rodriquez's suspected kidnappers were apprehended, Mexican police seized 16 weapons, two of which were traced to Operation Fast and Furious.[12]
On December 15, 2010, U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, a 40-year-old former Marine, was killed in a firefight while on patrol; two of the guns involved in the shooting were traced to Operation Fast and Furious. Soon after Terry's death, ATF agents approached Senator Charles Grassley (R–IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, seeking his help to stop the operation.[13]
On January 25, 2011, Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke announced the indictment of 20 individuals connected with Operation Fast and Furious and provided the first public details of the investigation. DOJ officials had discussed bringing Holder to Phoenix for the press conference; however, in the aftermath of Terry's death, the task of attending the press conference with Burke fell to SAC Newell, who, when asked whether ATF had allowed guns to walk, surprised his colleagues by stating, "Hell, no."[14]
On January 27, 2011, Senator Grassley began his inquiry into Operation Fast and Furious by sending a request for information to Acting Director Melson; Grassley was joined in that effort shortly thereafter by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R–CA).
On February 4, 2011, in response to Grassley's request, Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Ronald Weich wrote a letter asserting that any claim "that ATF 'sanctioned' or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons to a straw purchaser who then transported them to Mexico—is false. ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico."[15] As the investigation into Operation Fast and Furious has revealed, Weich's statements were not true.
In the ensuing months, Melson met secretly with Grassley and Issa and told them that, rather than getting to the bottom of what went wrong, the priority at DOJ seemed to be protecting senior officials from political fallout.[16] Other whistleblowers described facing a hostile climate at work since their decisions to speak up and suffering reprisals including transfers (which some, including Melson, who was among the transferees, considered demotions) and discovering that deeply personal information unrelated to their jobs had been dug up and provided to reporters.[17]
Shortly after resigning in August 2011, former U.S. Attorney Burke admitted that he leaked a memorandum from ATF Agent Dodson to a reporter in which Dodson requested using some of the tactics he later criticized, a seeming attempt to embarrass and retaliate against Dodson.[18] One witness stated that he overheard chief ATF spokesman Scot Thomasson saying, "We need to get whatever dirt we can on these guys [the whistleblowers] and take them down."[19]
It was not until November 8, 2011—nine months after the false DOJ statements were first made—that Holder admitted during testimony that, in violation of DOJ policy, gunwalking had in fact been used in Operation Fast and Furious. Furthermore, it was not until December 2, 2011, that DOJ sent a letter to Congress rescinding its February 4 written denial and acknowledging that Operation Fast and Furious was "fundamentally flawed."
In total, over 2,000 weapons—mostly AK-47s, which are civilian versions of military assault rifles—were allowed to "walk" into Mexico as part of Operation Fast and Furious.[20] Mexican Attorney General Marisela Morales told the Los Angeles Times that she first learned about Operation Fast and Furious from news accounts. "In no way would we have allowed it," she said, "because it is an attack on the safety of Mexicans."[21] Former Mexican Attorney General Victor Humberto Benítez Treviño estimates that approximately 300 Mexicans were killed or wounded by Operation Fast and Furious guns, which have been found in the vicinity of at least 200 crime scenes.[22]
Even ATF's Acting Attaché in Mexico, Carlos Canino, was kept in the dark about this operation. Testifying in July 2011 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Canino noted that "U.S. law enforcement and our Mexican partners will be recovering these guns for a long time to come as they continue to turn up at crime scenes in Mexico and the United States." Canino also stated that he was infuriated "that people—including my law enforcement, diplomatic and military colleagues—may be killed or injured with these weapons" and noted that the "Sinaloa cartel may have received almost as many guns [as] are needed to arm the entire [U.S. Army's 75th Ranger] regiment."[23]
As of July 2011, 227 Operation Fast and Furious guns had been recovered in Mexico and 363 in America; the rest remain unaccounted for.[24] Remarkably, it also seems that two of the targets of Operation Fast and Furious are probably unindictable, having been paid informants of, and designated as national security assets by, the FBI—information that should have been shared within the task force overseeing the investigation.[25]
In January 2012, Patrick Cunningham, Chief of the Criminal Division in the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office and the individual who was allegedly tasked with investigating ATF whistleblower allegations, resigned and invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.[26] Several senior DOJ officials who attended Operation Fast and Furious briefings now claim that they cannot recall key details about what they knew and, in some instances, what they did.[27]
Given the multitude of questions surrounding Operation Fast and Furious, it makes sense that both Congress and the American public are demanding answers. In furtherance of its legislative functions, Congress's inquiry might prompt it, among other things, to:
Congress also has an inherent right to protect the integrity of its own legislative fact-gathering process and therefore has the right, if not the duty, to investigate whether witnesses perjured themselves during congressional hearings. Congress also has an obligation to consider whether executive branch officials knowingly or recklessly made false statements to Congress, such as those contained in DOJ's letter of February 4, 2011, or attempted to obstruct a congressional inquiry by retaliating against cooperating whistleblowers.
In connection with its investigation, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has issued subpoenas to DOJ requesting documents in 22 categories.[28] To date, DOJ has not produced any documents in 12 of those categories; nor has it said that it does not have any responsive documents in its possession in those categories. Many of the documents withheld relate to such fundamental questions as who at DOJ knew (or should have known) about the tactics being used in Operation Fast and Furious; how DOJ came to its ultimate conclusion that Operation Fast and Furious was "fundamentally flawed" and what it has done about it; who authorized or was involved in the retaliatory efforts against whistleblowers; and how and where the information exchange among members of the task force broke down.
According to Chairman Issa, DOJ has identified approximately 140,000 pages of responsive documents but has turned over only 7,600 pages,[29] a small fraction of what it produced in connection with prior investigations. Some of the documents that DOJ has produced have been so heavily redacted as to be unintelligible or unhelpful.
In an attempt to partially resolve matters before a contempt vote against Attorney General Holder, Chairman Issa informed him that if DOJ at least produced the responsive documents in its possession that were created after February 4, 2011—documents related to DOJ's response to Congress and to the whistleblower allegations—the chairman would cancel the committee's scheduled meeting on June 20 to vote on a resolution holding Holder in contempt. However, Chairman Issa never abandoned his request that DOJ provide the rest of the responsive documents.
In a bit of a bait and switch, Attorney General Holder informed the President that the committee had limited its request to the post–February 4 documents and asked the President, in a letter dated June 19, to invoke executive privilege with respect to those documents, which Holder claims "were created after the investigative tactics at issue in [Operation Fast and Furious] had terminated and in the course of the Department's deliberative process concerning how to respond to congressional and related media inquiries into that operation."[30] The next day, Deputy Attorney General James Cole informed Chairman Issa in a letter that "the President has asserted executive privilege over the relevant post-February 4, 2011, documents."[31]
Documents for Which No Claim of Executive Privilege Has Been Asserted. The House resolution finding Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress cited his refusal to turn over subpoenaed documents, which would include those that were not the subject of any claim of privilege and those that Congress believes were being withheld pursuant to an improper claim of privilege. Thus, there can be no reasonable claim that the House has abandoned its request for any of the estimated 132,000 pages of outstanding documents.
Nevertheless, Chairman Issa should reiterate his committee's insistence that DOJ turn over the documents that are responsive to its subpoenas and for which the President has not invoked executive privilege. Whether the President would assert executive privilege with respect to these documents, or a portion of them, is unknown at this point.
What is necessary to establish the Administration's good faith, however, is some reasonable and prompt response to the outstanding requests. It is not at all unusual when congressional requests are initiated for the Administration to probe the requester's purposes and determine whether there is some way to satisfy the congressional purpose short of full compliance. In such discussions and negotiations between the political branches, there is a continuum between good-faith cooperation or compromise and bad-faith refusal to accommodate the legitimate needs of the other branch.
The Supreme Court has on several occasions recognized Congress's broad power to look into executive branch actions as auxiliary to its legislative function. As the Court said in McGrain v. Daugherty (1926):
[T]he power of inquiry—with process to enforce it—is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function…. A legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in the absence of information respecting the conditions which the legislation is intended to affect or change, and where the legislative body does not itself possess the requisite information—which not infrequently is true—recourse must be had to others who do possess it.[32]
Yet Congress has no power to micromanage the President's execution of the laws, and it must also respect the President's chain of command and need for frank and confidential advice.
The general principle that flows from the separation of powers embodied in the Constitution is that each branch owes a duty of comity to the legitimate needs of the other branches. Neither the executive branch nor the legislative branch should automatically prevail in disputes over information requests, but certain corollaries flow from the general principle. For example, Congress should accept different types of information than was requested if such information reasonably satisfies its legitimate legislative functions, especially if the executive has a good reason to withhold the remaining documents or witnesses. On the other hand, when a congressional committee has established its legitimate legislative purpose, a purposeful delay by the executive to respond or a blanket refusal to comply without sufficient accommodations or other information is generally not justified.
As between Congress and the executive branch, various other factors suggest the presence or absence of good-faith negotiations or accommodations. The relative importance or needs of each branch must be taken into account. For instance, a minor concern from the executive branch should yield to a substantial legislative need, and vice versa. Moreover, a simple desire to prevent embarrassment or shield wrongdoing is never a sufficient justification to withhold information when Congress has a legitimate legislative need, and blanket refusals to comply with information requests without adequate detail to evaluate the reason for the refusal suggest bad faith.
Putting aside the detailed claims and counterclaims of each branch regarding each information request in Congress's investigation of the Operation Fast and Furious scandal, it is incumbent on the Administration to respond with more particularity with respect to all of the outstanding documents and information requests. It is clear that Congress does have several important legislative purposes for its investigation, and the particular facts of the Operation Fast and Furious scandal (both in its operation and in the misstatements to Congress) provide strong justification for Congress to secure the information. Either the executive branch should produce relevant documents or the President should invoke executive privilege as to the portions of them that he can legitimately withhold.
Documents for Which a Claim of Executive Privilege Has Been Asserted. Although the President has now asserted executive privilege with respect to documents created after February 4, DOJ has not produced a privilege log delineating with particularity why the allegedly privileged documents are being withheld. Such a document could serve as a basis for negotiation and compromise with the committee and, failing that, would provide the committee with sufficient information to test the validity of the privilege claim in a court of law.
Historically, challenges to executive privilege rarely reach the courts. The vast majority of disputes over access to information have been resolved through political negotiations. While reviewing courts have expressed reluctance to balance claims of executive privilege against a congressional demand for information, they have acknowledged that they will do so if the political branches have tried in good faith but have failed to reach an accommodation. The President has denied having personally authorized Operation Fast and Furious, but that does not mean that his invocation of executive privilege with respect to the documents that are being withheld is necessarily improper, because there are several species of executive privilege.
Starting with George Washington, Presidents have occasionally asserted a right to preserve the confidentiality of documents and other information in their possession when faced with legislative demands for such records; however, it was not until United States v. Nixon (1974), that the Supreme Court determined that there was a constitutional basis for an assertion of executive privilege grounded in "the supremacy of each branch within its own assigned area of constitutional duties" and in the separation of powers. The Nixon Court recognized the importance of the President's receiving candid advice and that "[h]uman experience teaches that those who expect public dissemination of their remarks may well temper candor with the concern for appearances and for their own interests to the detriment of the decisionmaking process."[33]
Although a President's communications with his close advisers were considered "presumptively privileged," the Court rejected the contention that the privilege was absolute and unreviewable. In that case, the Court held that President Nixon's assertion of a generalized need for confidentiality could not be used to shield wrongdoing and had to yield to the Watergate Special Prosecutor's need for audiotapes of Oval Office conversations that the President had with his colleagues in connection with criminal charges that had been brought against members of the President's Administration.
The general principle that executive privilege cannot be used to shield wrongdoing may well be at issue in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation, especially since misstatements were made to Congress and not corrected for many months. In short, Congress has a right to probe the President's rather broad and imprecise claim of privilege.
Cases after the Watergate era have distinguished between the "presidential communications privilege" and the "deliberative process privilege." Both are forms of executive privilege designed to protect the confidentiality of executive branch decision making and must be asserted by the President, but they are not equal in their breadth or strength.
The presidential communications privilege, which requires a high showing of need by Congress or the courts to overcome, applies only to direct decision making by the President and covers communications made or received by the President or by presidential advisers in the course of preparing advice for the President—even if those communications are not made directly to him. Recognizing the danger to open government if the privilege were to be extended too broadly, the D.C. Circuit in In re Sealed Case (Espy) stated:
Not every person who plays a role in the development of presidential advice, no matter how remote and removed from the President, can qualify for the privilege. In particular, the privilege should not extend to staff outside the White House in executive branch agencies…. Only communications at that level are close enough to the President to be revelatory of his deliberations or to pose a risk to the candor of his advisers.[34]
The privilege has been limited largely to those White House staff members in "operational proximity" to direct presidential decision making. Although difficult to discern, it does not appear as though President Obama is relying upon this privilege with respect to the Operation Fast and Furious documents, or at least not many of them.
The deliberative process privilege, on the other hand, is rooted in the common law and applies to decision making by executive officials other than the President. This more limited privilege, which requires less of a showing of need to overcome, allows the government to withhold "advisory opinions, recommendations and deliberations comprising part of a process by which governmental decisions and policies are formulated."[35] It is this privilege upon which the President appears to be relying with respect to the Operation Fast and Furious documents.
In Espy, the D.C. Circuit recognized that, with respect to both privileges:
[C]ourts must balance the public interests at stake in determining whether the privilege should yield in a particular case, and must specifically consider the need of the party seeking privileged evidence. But this balancing is more ad hoc in the context of the deliberative process privilege, and includes consideration of additional factors such as whether the government is a party to the litigation. Moreover, the privilege disappears altogether when there is any reason to believe government misconduct occurred. On the other hand, a party seeking to overcome the presidential privilege seemingly must always provide a focused demonstration of need, even when there are allegations of misconduct by high-level officials.[36]
"The deliberative process privilege," the Espy court further stated, "does not shield documents that simply state or explain a decision the government has already made or protect material that is purely factual, unless the material is so inextricably intertwined with the deliberative sections of documents that its disclosure would inevitably reveal the government's deliberations."[37] Moreover, "where there is reason to believe the documents sought may shed light on government misconduct, the privilege is routinely denied, on the grounds that shielding internal government deliberations in this context does not serve the public's interest in honest, effective government."[38]
In 2007, the House Committee on the Judiciary initiated an investigation after DOJ requested and received the resignations of nine U.S. Attorneys. The White House offered to produce communications between presidential advisers and DOJ, but the committee insisted on the production of purely internal White House communications, which strike closer to the core of the President's express constitutional powers and are entitled to greater deference than the documents being sought in the Operation Fast and Furious investigation. When the White House refused to comply, the House voted to hold White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton in contempt.[39]
That case involved a congressional investigation into whether the President acted properly in asking for the resignations of individuals who were politically appointed executive branch employees pursuant to a power vested exclusively in the President under the Appointments Clause in the Constitution. The current investigation, on the other hand, involves the death of a federal agent, the deaths of scores of Mexican citizens, over 2,000 weapons "walking" into Mexico without the Mexican government's knowledge, and potential retaliation against individuals assisting Congress's investigation—all clearly matters of congressional concern.
In the investigation surrounding the dismissal of the U.S. Attorneys, the President and Congress eventually reached an acceptable compromise in which the committee was permitted to review all of the subpoenaed documents with "the exception of 4 pages of particularly sensitive privileged material" that were described to committee staff.[40] The President waived executive privilege with respect to the remainder of the documents.
Where There Is Smoke…
Given the significance of Congress's inquiry, the President should waive the privilege unless the communications in question were directly to, or came directly from, him. Avoiding the disclosure of factual and potentially embarrassing information or wrongdoing is not a sufficient reason to withhold information from Congress.
Whether this is what the Administration is attempting to do or whether the President's invocation of executive privilege is proper with respect to the Operation Fast and Furious documents cannot be determined because of the Administration's failure to provide detailed and specific information about the documents. Usually, however, where there's smoke there's fire, and the American people and the families of Brian Terry and the other victims of Operation Fast and Furious deserve answers.
—John G. Malcolm is a Senior Legal Fellow in the Center for Legal & Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
Show references in this report
[1] See Mike Levine, Fast and Furious Documents: What Do They Show? Fox News (June 25, 2012), http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/06/25/fast-and-furious-documents-what-do-show/.
[2]The Deputy Attorney General is the second highest-ranking official at the Department of Justice.
[3]H.R. Rep. No. 112-546, at 9, available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-112hrpt546/pdf/CRPT-112hrpt546.pdf.
[4]Richard Serrano, ATF's Gun Surveillance Program Showed Early Signs of Failure, L.A. Times, Aug. 11, 2011, available at http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/11/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20110811.
[5]Levine, supra note 1; Cristina Rayas Cronkite, ATF Agents, Terry Family Blast "Gun-Walking" Investigation, Tucson Sentinel, June 16, 2011, available at http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/061611_atf_congress/atf-agents-terry-family-blast-gun-walking-investigation/.
[6]Levine, supra note 1.
[7]Serrano, supra note 4.
[8]Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (May 3, 2012), available athttp://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Update-on-Fast-and-Furious-with-attachment-FINAL.pdf.
[9]Levine, supra note 1.
[10]H.R. Rep. No. 112-546.
[11]Levine, supra note 1; Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[12]Deroy Murdock, Mexican Victims of Fast and Furious, Wash. Post, July 10, 2012, available at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jul/10/mexican-victims-of-fast-and-furious/; Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[13]Sari Horwitz, A Gunrunning Sting Gone Fatally Wrong, Wash. Post, July 25, 2011, available athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-anti-gunrunning-effort-turns-fatally-wrong/2011/07/14/gIQAH5d6YI_story.html.
[14]Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[15]Letter from Ronald Weich, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs, to Charles Grassley, Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (February 4, 2011), available athttp://www.grassley.senate.gov/about/upload/Judiciary-ATF-02-04-11-letter-from-DOJ-deny-allegations.pdf.
[16]Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[17] Id.
[18]Ray Stern, Dennis Burke, Former Arizona U.S. Attorney, Accused of Retaliating Against ATF Agent Who Blew Whistle on Fast and Furious Scandal, Phoenix New Times Blog (Nov. 10, 2011), http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/11/dennis_burke_former_arizona_us.php.
[19]Matthew Boyle, Issa, Grassley Release Details About Fast and Furious Whistleblower Retaliation, Cover-up, Daily Caller (June 29, 2012), http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/29/issa-grassley-release-details-about-fast-and-furious-whistleblower-retaliation-cover-up/.
[20]Horwitz, supra note 13.
[21]Ken Ellingwood et al., Mexico Still Waiting for Answers on Fast and Furious Gun Program, L.A. Times, Sept. 19, 2011, available athttp://articles.latimes.com/2011/sep/19/world/la-fg-mexico-fast-furious-20110920.
[22]Murdock, supra note 12.
[23]Philip Klein, ATF Official in Mexico "Infuriated" by Operation Fast and Furious,San Francisco Examiner, July 26, 2011, available at http://www.sfexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/07/atf-official-mexico-infuriated-operation-fast-and-furious.
[24]Horwitz, supra note 13.
[25]Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[26]Elizabeth Murphy, Arizona U.S. Attorney Office Criminal Chief Resigns Amid Fast and Furious Probe,Main Justice (Jan. 31, 2012),http://www.mainjustice.com/2012/01/31/arizona-u-s-attorney-office-criminal-chief-resigns-amid-fast-and-furious-probe/; H.R. Rep. No. 112-546.
[27]Memorandum from Darrell Issa to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, supra note 8.
[28]H.R. Rep. No. 112-546.
[29]Letter from Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to President Barack Obama (June 25, 2012), available at http://images.politico.com/global/2012/06/issaobamaltr.pdf.
[30]Letter from Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, to President Barack Obama (June 19, 2012), available athttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2012/06/20/attorney-general-holder-letter-to-president-obama-requesting-executive/.
[31]Letter from James Cole, Deputy Attorney General, to Darrell Issa, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (June 20, 2012), available at http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/national/20120621-holder/062011Letter.pdf.
[33]United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 705 (1974).
[34]121 F.3d 729 (D.C. Cir. 1997).
[35] Id. at 737.
[36] Id. at 746.
[37] Id. at 737.
[38] Id. at 738.
[39]For a chronology of the events related to this event, see Committee on the Judiciary v. Miers, 558 F. Supp. 2d 53 (D.D.C. 2008), available athttp://www.ogc.house.gov/Link%202.pdf.
[40]Agreement Concerning Accommodation Between the House Judiciary Committee and the Bush Administration, available at http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Agreement090304.pdf. It was also agreed that Ms. Miers and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove would be interviewed about the matter but that counsel would direct them not to respond when the questions related to communications to or from the President.


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Lobster and Mushroom Somen
Lobster and Mushroom Noodles – easy & delicious Japanese noodles with mushroom and lobster. SLURP!!!
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total Time:
2 lobster claws
1 bundle somen
2 tablespoons Tsuyu or Soup Base (such as Mizkan Bonito-Flavored Soup Base), or to taste
1 1/2 cups water
Oyster mushrooms
Green onion, cut into small rings
Rinse the lobsters with cold water, crack the shells, and remove the meat. Drain the noodles and place them in an ice water bath.
Add the tsuyu or soup base to the 1 1/2 cups water, stir to mix well.
Brush the lobster meat with some butter and grill for a couple of minutes, for extra flavors and aroma. Poached lobster can taste pretty bland and grilling with butter will bring out deeper flavors and a nice aroma.
Brush the mushrooms with some butter and grill for several minutes and remove. Drain the cold noodles and place it in two serving bowls.
Pour the soup base into the bowls and add the lobster meat and grilled mushroom on top. Garnish with some chopped green onions. Serve immediately.
A few days ago, my good friend Alice at Eat A Duck I Must texted me that I ought to try out their lobster somen recipe, citing that it takes only 15 minutes to prepare and it's their ultimate go-to summer lunch dish. She even sent me a picture of the dish. At the sight of their gorgeous photo, I knew that I had to make it. It's also a great coincidence that lobsters are on sale at $6.95 per pound in my Asian store. The timing couldn't be better.
Somen, a type of Japanese noodles, is popular especially during summertime in Japan. Somen is usually served cold in a dashi-flavored sauce. The sweetest thing about this lobster and mushroom somen is that it took me practically 15 minutes to make, and the final dish was refined, thanks to the grilled mushrooms and lobster claw as the toppings. It was delicious, and utterly satisfying slurping down cold noodles with the cleanest of flavors. It is a PERFECT summer recipe!
I adapted the original recipe and added in a little extra touches: I poached the lobster claws and then grilled them with some butter. This adds a nice aroma and buttery taste to the already delicious lobster. I also brushed some butter to the oyster mushrooms before grilling. They were simply perfect for the cold somen. If you don't have lobster, you can use shrimp or scallop. I am sure the somen will taste mouthwatering nonetheless. Bon appetit!
Based on 2 Review(s)


text:
If you're creative with sewing and all that, you can make a lot of things. Like a Loo-kee plush or a Swift Wind rocking horse.
Well I'm so excited to have a girl. My son is three and he is started to get into He-Man. I have like 3 She-Ra items. But did they make all sorts of merch like they did for MOTU. If so what type of stuff is out there. I'd like to get some stuff for her room. So if anyone has ideas or pics of there personal stuff. That would be a nice lead for me. I'm not asking for anyone to sell me anything here just asking what's out there. I checked eBay and they basically had the figures. Or if someone can point me in the right direction of findi g some cool POP merch that would be great thanks.
It's your place for Freedom of Speach for everything MOTU, POP, TMNT, , Horror, Wrestling, DC and Batman, and all other properties that are cool.
Is is now up and live please check it out and spread the word please!!!
Follow me on Twitter.... BrianOzone
My feedback threadhttp://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...or-Brian-Ozone
If you're creative with sewing and all that, you can make a lot of things. Like a Loo-kee plush or a Swift Wind rocking horse.
pillowcases 001.jpgpillowcases 002.jpg
Here are the pictures I promised. There's a pair of them, exactly the same.
Matty Collector still has the She-Ra and Swift Wind figures for sell. You can save them till your child's older, or display them in a clear plastic case (I'm assuming your girl's very young, so I'm thinking safety)


text:
In case of emergency, please call us immediately. We are open Monday through Thursday 8-8pm, Friday 8-6pm and Saturday 8-4pm.
VCA Northboro (508-393-8339) and VCA Westboro (508-366-1444) Animal Hospitals are open weeknights until 9pm and Sundays.
After hours, please call one of the following emergency services:
Westford Veterinary Emergency and Referral Center at 978-577-6525 (Westford)
Wachusett Animal Hospital at 978-874-4100 (Westminster)
The Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals at 508-839-5395 (N. Grafton)
As part of the VCA family, we have over 83 specialty hospitals across the US and Canada which provide referral specialty care, so there may be one near you. Enter ZIP to find VCA specialty care hospitals near you.


text:
I've been watching the videos on the site and read the review in AG, but still have a few questions.
How do I mount the pickup on my guitar? Are instructions available on the site? If so, I can't find them
Do I need to use an Acoustic Amp or can I use my Electric amp?
Can the M80 be easily moved from one guitar to another or is it too fragile for moving it around?
Thanks in advance!!


text:
outline wrote:I do have V93 2011, honestly not a big fan.
Catfur wrote:I think you can still get the Dayi 2007 Golden Needle White Lotus for under $50, or the 2010 GNWL for less, if you look around. The 250 gram V93 from this year is a tuo, not a beeng (I enjoy V93 a lot, but it's not the most complex tea ever).


text:
Credits & Info
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- 4.44 / 5.00
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- Jun 14, 2013 | 2:44 AM EDT
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- mgs5
- phantom-pain
- Frontpaged June 14, 2013
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Author Comments
Rated 5 / 5 stars
An amazing masterpiece.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
i think you should draw his body (maybe without his legs) and add some clothing and maybe some gear so it can be placed in a more specific genre but it could be your intention to let the public imagine the world where he lives in for themselves. I think he lives in some kind of postapocalyptic version of our world though. don't know why but i keep imagining that. Still very nicely done, i like the details and the roughness of it!
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars
This is really good, but I have this odd feeling a little more could have been done with this piece... it just seems so... incomplete... like a sketch that started being improved upon but was left after almost done... it certainly seems alot like it was a modified sketch with plenty of red shading,,,
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Really nice art! I must say, I'm a big fan of MGS.


text:
Murder at the Garden
The 1906 murder of Stanford White by Harry Thaw at Madison Square Garden, a building designed by White
of Diana atop the tower at Madison Square Garden created controversy. Diana now resides at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Madison Square Garden, designed by architect Stanford White, as it appeared in 1906. Harry Thaw, angered by White's prior affair with his wife Evelyn (then only 16-years-old), murdered White at the Garden on June 25, 1906.
A June 29, 1906 cartoon in the
New York American
showing White shooting arrows at young virgins. In 1901-1902, the 47-year-old White had a torrid affair with 16-year-old model (then actress) Evelyn Nesbit.
Newspaper depiction of Harry K. Thaw shooting
Stanford White as he watched the musical comedy
"Mamzelle Champagne."
Newspaper diagram of the murder at Madison Square Garden's rooftop theater. Around 11:00 pm, Harry and Evelyn Thaw rose to leave and headed toward the elevator door to the right of the diagram. Harry suddenly left his wife and stood behind some
large leafy plants, where he watched White for a moment. He then pulled out a revolver from under his coat and walked directly to White's table. He stopped two feet in front of White and fired three shots. Two entered the head of the architect and one his shoulder.
The rooftop theater at Madison Square Garden,
scene of the murder of Stanford White.
Harry Thaw Trials Homepage


text:
USA Volleyball Selects Athletes and Coaches of the Year
Bill Kauffman
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: email@example.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Jan. 28, 2008) – USA Volleyball announced today its choices for Athletes of the Year, Team of the Year and Coaches of the Year as part of the United States Olympic Committee's (USOC) annual awards program.
Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.) and Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.) were selected as the USAV Female and Male Indoor Athletes of the Year. Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.) were chosen as USAV Female and Male Beach Athletes of the Year. May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh (Santa Clara, Calif.) earned the USAV Beach Team of the Year distinction. Lora Webster (Cave Creek, Ariz.) was tabbed as the USAV Sitting Volleyball Player of the Year.
John Speraw (Irvine, Calif.) was the USAV nominee for USOC National Coach of the Year. Criteria for the USOC National Coach of the Year requires an individual to coach an elite level club, collegiate, Pan Am, World Championship or Olympic Games team, or be the coach of an elite athlete who competes at the highest level of the sport discipline.
Scott Mebruer (St. Louis, Mo.) was selected as USAV's nominee for USOC Developmental Coach of the Year. Criteria for the USOC Developmental Coach of the Year requires the nominee to coach a youth club, high school or junior-level team, or is directly responsible for coaching athletes who compete at the junior and/or elite level.
"It is with great honor that USA Volleyball recognizes these individuals for their successes in 2007 and overall contributions to our sport," USA Volleyball Chief Executive Officer Doug Beal said. "As recommended for nomination by their respective coaches and based on competition results, each athlete is recognized internationally as among the best in their discipline. Likewise, USA Volleyball could not have had the success in 2007 without coaches like John Speraw and Scott Mebruer at the national and developmental levels."
Women's Indoor Player of the Year
Tayyiba Haneef-Park (Laguna Hills, Calif.)
Haneef-Park, who played opposite and outside hitter at various times during the season, finished 2007 as the U.S. leading scorer with 368 points as part of a 3.61 scoring average per set. She played in 102 sets and compiled averages of 3.25 kills, 0.25 blocks and 0.22 aces per set. Haneef-Park hit .385 for the season with a team-leading 331 kills on 621 attacks. She earned a bronze medal while starting at outside hitter during the Pan American Games, played opposite during the FIVB World Grand Prix, helped Team USA to a silver at the NORCECA Continental Championship as an outside hitter and finished the year with a bronze medal as the U.S. opposite during the FIVB World Cup.
Haneef-Park started 38 of 41 possible sets at the FIVB World Cup in which Team USA qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games. She provided averages of 3.76 points, 3.32 kills and 0.26 blocks per set during the World Cup. Haneef-Park ranked 10th among all players in Best Scorer category and third in Best Spiker with a 48.65 kill efficiency. She led the U.S. in scoring in six of 11 World Cup matches and reached double-figure scoring in all 10 matches played (did not play final match versus Italy). Haneef-Park sparked Team USA's comeback versus Brazil on Nov. 7 with 26 points via 24 kills on 47 swings, one block and an ace. She added 18 points versus Cuba on Nov. 3 with 18 kills on 33 swings.
Men's Indoor Player of the Year
Ryan Millar (Palmdale, Calif.)
Middle blocker Ryan Millar played in 127 sets for the U.S. Men's National Team in 2007 as it finished with a record of 33-8 and won a gold medal at the Americas' Cup, bronze in the FIVB World League and finished fourth at the FIVB World Cup. Millar played more sets in 2007 than any other player besides libero Rich Lambourne.
Millar, 30, led the U.S. Men in blocks in 2007 with 84, averaging 0.66 blocks per set. He was the second-leading scorer on the U.S. Men's Team with 350 points. He averaged 2.75 points per set. Millar was second among all blockers at the end of World League pool play with 36 blocks on 89 attempts and an average of 0.80 blocks per set. He was second among all blockers in the World Cup with a total of 27 blocks in 40 sets for an average of 0.675 blocks per set.
Millar, who played collegiately at BYU, was the United States' third-leading scorer, and 19th overall, at the NORCECA Continental Championship in September. He finished the tournament with 45 points on 36 kills, eight blocks and one ace over five matches. Millar is in his ninth season with the U.S. Men's Team.
Women's Beach Player of the Year
Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.)
After a dominating season with partner Kerri Walsh, May-Treanor was named FIVB Best Defensive Player, Best Offensive Player and Sportsperson of the Year for 2007. Domestically, she was named AVP Most Valuable Player, Best Defensive Player and Best Offensive Player.
In May, May-Treanor, 30, broke the record for most titles by a woman in professional beach volleyball with her 73rd tournament victory. In August in Boston, she became the all-time earnings leader. May-Treanor played college volleyball at Long Beach State and has played beach volleyball professionally since 1999.
Men's Beach Player of the Year
Todd Rogers (Santa Barbara, Calif.)
After a season in which he and partner Phil Dalhausser dominated the AVP Crocs Tour and won their first SWATCH-FIVB World Championship, Rogers was named both the FIVB and AVP best defensive player. He finished second in FIVB voting for best setter. The duo earned a silver and bronze in six FIVB beach tournaments in 2007. The pair was named the AVP Team of the Year and won the 2007 AVP Crocs Cup Championship. They won 10 AVP Crocs Tour events in 2007 with two second-place and four third-place finishes in 17 tournaments.
Rogers, 34, played collegiately for UC Santa Barbara and has also worked as an assistant coach with the men's indoor team at the school. He made his professionally beach volleyball debut in 1995.
Beach Team of the Year Misty May-Treanor (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Kerri Walsh (Santa Clara, Calif.)
May-Treanor, 30, and Walsh, 29, continued to be one of the most dominant women's beach volleyball teams in the world in 2007. The pair won its third-straight FIVB-SWATCH World Championship in July without losing a set in eight matches. May-Treanor/Walsh won seven out of eight SWATCH-FIVB tournaments in 2007, finishing third in the other en route to sharing the FIVB's Offensive Player of the Year. May-Treanor finished first and Walsh second for the FIVB's Sportsperson of the Year award.
The beach partners were named AVP Team of the Year and won the Crocs Cup Championship. They compiled a 2007 match record of 123-4 and a set record of 252-25. The tandem won 13 out of 15 AVP Crocs tournaments, finishing second and third in two others.
Walsh played collegiate volleyball at Stanford. The two teamed up following the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney where Walsh played with the women's U.S. indoor team and finished fourth and May-Treanor played beach volleyball with Holly McPeak and finished fifth. The team is the defending Olympic gold medalist.
Sitting Volleyball Player of the Year
Lora Webster (Cave Creek, Ariz.)
Webster served as the team captain for the U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team and played in all 2007 matches including the five June matches against the Netherlands, four matches at the Shanghai Invitational with wins over Australia, Japan and Malaysia and the first-set win over China in December. These were all significant events for the team, which has qualified for the 2008 Paralympic Games.
Webster, 21, led the team in attacking with a 0.414 efficiency percentage and a kill percentage of 0.517. She finished the season with 14 aces. Webster was second on the team in blocking with 10 solos, 15 assisted and five blocked serves. Webster was second to the libero with 47 digs and her serve-receive led the team. Webster, who had her left leg amputated after being diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 11, was one of the main reasons the U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team captured the bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
USAV Nomination for USOC National Coach of the Year
John Speraw
Speraw split duties in 2007 succeeding both as head men's volleyball coach of University of California at Irvine and as an assistant men's volleyball coach with the U.S. Men's National Team. He led UCI to its first-ever NCAA National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship in May. In the process, Speraw became just the second person to ever win a NCAA men's volleyball championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Three players from the 2007 Anteater team competed on the 2007 U.S. World University Games team that won the bronze medal.
Speraw was added as an assistant coach to Team USA in January 2007, and he made an impact on the team's overall performance. The U.S. captured the bronze medal at the FIVB World League, silver medal at the Pan American Games, gold medal at the America's Cup, gold medal at the NORCECA Continental Championship and a fourth-place finish at the FIVB World Cup. Team USA compiled a 33-8 record in 2007, a 15-match improvement over its 2006 record of 18-14.
USAV Nomination for USOC Developmental Coach of the Year
Scott Mebruer
Mebruer coached St. Louis High Performance to a history-making 18 Open title at the 2007 USA Junior Olympic Boys' Volleyball Championship. St. Louis High Performance became the first non-West Coast or Hawai'i team to capture the 18 Open title at the event. He also serves as club director for St. Louis HP.
During 2007, St. Louis HP 18s compiled an 83-3 record. During the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championship, the team won all 11 of its matches and dropped just two sets. Mebruer, who also coached the St. Louis HP 12s team, coached seven athletes from the 18s team that went on to play collegiate volleyball in the 2007-2008 season. He mentored Troy Murphy, who went on to be the team-leading scorer for Team USA at the FIVB Boys' Youth World Championship in August 2007.
Mebruer earned the 2006 USA Volleyball Gateway Region Meritorious Service Award presented to individuals who have contributed greatly to the sport of volleyball at the regional level.


text:
What Women Want: A+E Networks 'FemiNation' Research Report
August 8, 2012
Mike Greco, EVP of Advertising Sales Research and Strategic Insights, A+E Networks, discussed FemiNation, a study that explores the evolution of female roles in the household and workplace, the importance of personal time, as well as the role health, beauty, spirituality, community, and technology play in women's lives.
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This content is available to ANA Members only. Please login below or create an account.
You may already be a member. Find out if your company is already an ANA member.


text:
When I met Matt Hughes...
Here is a non hypothetical question, forum members. I know that quite a few of us have had the crazy awesome honor of meeting Matt on at least one occasion. This is the place to share and relive those bomb memories! Could even get a sticky if there is a ton of story sharing going on and a mod saw fit. Pictures are more than welcome! Also, feel free to share any time that you have got to hang out with the WW GOAT and not just the first experience, if you've got to meet him on multiple occasions.
I'll start this party!
I have only been able to meet Matt Hughes on 1 occasion and never had the privilege to get to watch him fight in person. But I do feel very special that I got to attend the H.I.T. Squad grand opening and that's the story Im going to share with you guys now....
Let me start by telling ya'll that I live in a small town in south central, Kentucky. I had been reading rather frequently and posting very occasionally on this message board for quite a while when the news broke out that Matt and some partners were going to open their own gym. I was about 20 years old at the time and would day dream while at work of being to Matt Hughes what Matt himself had been to Pat Miletich. Even though I had never wrestled in school or taken as much as a single Karate class, I would just imagine and day dream of training at the gym under Matt's tutelage day in and day out until the day came that he was in my corner when I won the UFC light weight title. LOL!
I had discussed with a friend of mine about how Matt was opening up his own gym and was going to have a grand opening ceremony. We just kind of tossed around the idea of taking the trip and actually going. One of us finally said "yeah we are gonna go!" The other dismissively agreed not believing that it would be a plan that was actually followed through on. A few weeks pass and then it's the day before the grand opening. I worked a full 8 hour shift and got off and went the restaurant near my work where my friend was working. As soon as I see her she asks "so are you ready to go tonight?" It took me a few minutes to realize what she was talking about because I had assumed that she didn't really have intentions on actually going. I don't let her know this and let out an enthusiastic "of course!" Then I ran home, took a shower and packed a bag to go meet my friend so that we could head out on our 6 hour journey to Granite City, Illinois.
The trip was rather uneventful, just casual chatter between us and listening to some good tunes on the radio. We arrived at our hotel, which I believe was right out side of Granite City, at around 6:30 am the day of the grand opening and go right to bed after setting an alarm clock. As soon as we wake up the next day we rush through taking a shower and getting ready for the grand opening, having no idea what to expect. On the drive there I start to think about how the grand opening may go down. I assumed Matt would probably either be behind a barricade or he may come out on a stage or be sitting at a table like celebrities do at a lot of meet and greet type events.
When we pulled into the parking lot, we just kind of marvel at how really cool the sign is and take pictures of each other in front of the building and with Matt's TUF Hummer and his motorcycle that was there. We start walking around out side and kind of stumble into this tent looking area set up with some people giving One More Round stickers away and selling a magazine with Matt on the cover. I buy a magazine and right after my purchase, my friend grabs my arm and says "Lee, Matt Hughes is right there behind you!"
I think she must be mistaken because surely Matt would be inside behind some barricade or table out of reach of the general public that was there, but nope! She was right! Matt was right there and I was very much so star struck. I didn't expect to see my favorite fighter just walking around mingling with everyone so I was really surprised.
After just a few moments of waiting around as Matt was talking with other people, I got my chance to talk to him. Now, I know some people may meet celebrities pretty regularly or have met other fighters before, but Matt was the first fighter or celebrity at all that I was able to meet. And he really set the standard very high for others that I got to meet in the future because he was so cool and down to earth to meet. I simply congratulated Matt on opening his gym and explained how he had been the entire reason I started watching fights and that he was my favorite fighter. He was very warm and receptive, took the time to sign my magazine, a copy of his autobiography that I had brought with me from home, and the TapouT shirt that I had on. We took pictures both as a group, Matt, my friend and I, and my friend and I both took individual pictures with Matt. We then thanked him for his time and went in to check out the gym. The H.I.T. Squad gym was really cool. In the gym we talked with Matt some more in the very few moments he wasn't swarmed. We also got to meet Mark Hughes, Robbie Lawler, Matt Pena, Marc Fiore, and Tommy Speer. The entire group could not have been friendlier and great to meet.
After meeting Boomer at the gym and exchanging phone numbers, my friend and I were invited to the after party bonfire at the Hughes farm in Hillsboro, which was a blast and I was honored and blessed to have been able to attend. I won't go in to too much details on that as this post is running kind of long and I'm sure someone else here can share the goings on around the bonfire.
All in all, it was without a doubt worth every bit of the 6 hour drive. Meeting Matt was even better than I had hoped it would be. I have since been to a UFC fight night and a Strikeforce weigh in event where I was fortunate enough to meet quite a few champions and former champions, but meeting my favorite fighter, Matt Hughes, certainly and easily ranks head and shoulders above the rest.
What happened at the bonfire...... stays at the bonfire. :ninja:
Great story!
Boomer has got some great vids of this day!
:laugh: I first met Matt Hughes in Nathan Rosarios house in Illinois. It was reasonably early in the morning and I had gotten up and had gone to use the bathroom to get washed and to change. I discovered that in my haste I had not picked up my T-shirt from the living room. Sooo I thought I'd take a quick dash to retrieve it.
Unfortunately...whilst I had been in the bathroom, Matt Hughes had arrived with a copy on CD of one of the TUF Episodes from his second stint as Coach (So we are going all the way back to 2007 here) I bolted from the bathroom, semi-clad, the exact same moment he happened to be passing by
:ashamed: hoe embarrising :laugh:
The second time I saw him was at his farm, when he was climbing this metal structure, I cant remember what exactly he was doing, but I do remember watching him climb this thing. I remember that we had to fill this digger thing with grains aswell. He asked me if I could drive one of the huge tractors...but I declined since I dont have a driving liscence, and didnt really want to put his tractor in a ditch or something. I think Boomer drove it instead.
I also saw him a few days later at his House. There was a birthday celebration going on and so we went over for that. That is when I met his Wife. (I had already met his Brother on the farm before hand)
But perhaps the biggest encounter with Matt Hughes came towards the middle/end of the First States Tour. So...I had been wondering what to do because a lot of my money was tied into travellers cheques which needed to be cashed before I could use the money. We had been to the bank in the morning, and they had actually refused to accept the cheques. This is not something thats supposed to happen...however, because the town we were staying in, isnt exactly a tourist destination, you can imagine the banks suprise, and they were hesitant to cash the cheques without paying them into an account first. Obviously, I didnt have an account with the bank in the US :laugh: We had gone back and I had started to read outside on the picknick bench, whilst Nathan was doing something inside. As I was reading this huge spider fell out of an overhanging fruit tree and crashed onto the table before scuttling off. Gave me the fright of my life. I got up and went inside and asked Nathan if Illinois has any poisenous spiders and he said he didnt know. He hadnt long lived in the State because he was more used to New Mexico where apparently there ARE poisenous spiders and scorpions...so he said if it looked dangerous, to leave it alone.
So I went back outside but sat on the steps to read, and thats when Matt Hughes arrived. He asked me why I was sitting outside, alone, and I said I was giving Nathan a break from me...and he said "Does he need a break from you" :laugh:
Anyway We went in and Nathan and I explained the issue with the bank. Matt Hughes listened for a bit and then told me to get in the car. Nathan stayed at the house, so it was just me and Matt, and we went to the bank. He said he was going to try and sort it out. Sooo we talked to the bank, and they explained to him exactly what they explained to me, and of course I didnt have an account.
But Matt Hughes did. Sooo he offered to be Garentour. Now what this means is, that as an account holder, Matt Hughes is culpable if my travellors cheques turn out to be fraudulent...and to make sure, whe the travellors cheques were signed, they needed not just my signiture and the banks...but also the Garentour....it was SOOOO Strange...The bank would sign the cheques and hand them to Matt, who had to sign...and then I had to put my signiture next to his...and then the bank would redeem them.
Now, I have to say that its not like me and Matt had spoken everyday, or really knew each other. Whilst the chances of me being a fraud were low...technically speaking, he took it on trust that I was who I said I was, and my money wasnt fake...and was basically leaving himself legally culpable for repaying the bank, if the money turned out to be bogus. You cant really expect anyone whose just met you, to do that for you, let alone someone who is well known and/or famous
I shall never forget my Signiture next to Matt Hughes Signiture on those cheaques...it was the most sereal and yet awesome bit of brilliance in the whole Holiday
I spoke about it in my Birthday Salutations Tribute a few years later (Called What Matt Hughes Has Done For Me) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjc8FDA6G9g
The Following Year I met Matt Hughes again...this time He had come to Visit England for UFC85, and I had gone down to London to see him there. What I remember most about that time, was going with Boomer and Nathan to a secret location ( :ninja: ) in the Docklands...so secret that I got lost trying to get there :laugh: Boomer was not impressedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoSQ8HzU840 :laugh: and visiting Matt Hughes in the hotel before the weigh-ins. We had lunch in this little cafe thingy aswell, and Jacob Hey was with us...and although he wasnt sitting with us, Brandon Vera was also in the same resturant at the same time. Coz Jacob and I went over to say Hi right after.
I also remember the day of the weigh-ins...afterwards, eating in the O2 Arena on the Greenwhich Peninsular, and a number of people from the forum at that time had congregated. Thats when we heard that Thiago Alves had failed to make weight due to a bum knee. I remember that Matt Hughes sorta just shrugged it off, as if to say "well shyte happens" I think that was very mature and very calm to say he was just like hours from the fight in a foreign country...I also remember carrying all the stuff back to the hotel on the Greenwhich peninsular where Boomer and Nathan were staying...I cant for the life of me remember where Nathan was...but Boomer and I had gone along this small strip at the bottom of the peninsular, the hotel was at one end, the cinema at the other, and shops in between. We got lots of food and drink for the party afterwards...I carried most of it back...whilst I distinctly remember Boomer complaining with half as many bags about how far away it was. :laugh::laugh::laugh: The party never happened though, and I dont know what happened after that. I saw the actual fight, but never saw Matt Hughes in person after the loss to Thiago Alves...and I havent seen him in person since. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoFulTMmhA
I did however, garner his permission the year after to be able to return to Illinois and to look at the gym he founded. He had committments in another State at the time I recall...and I think Nathan was in Chicago and I remember a phone call saying that they would try their hardest to be back in time...but to be fair, I was visiting the gym for a single day, and they were the other end of the State...it turned out to be unfeasable, but not for the want of trying.
I have to say that I do think there is a BIG difference between Matt Hughes and Mark Hughes...how much of it is a result of training in media relations I dont know. There are going to be very, very few genuine people who have a bad experience with Matt Hughes, he has a professionalism that has been picked up by hours spent infront of cameras. He's unlikely to be openly rude, even if he were to take a disliking to you. He will have no problem in putting people completely at ease. You dont feel like you are meeting some famous fighter, you feel like you are just meeting a normal person. I dont know what I was expecting, but I was quite thrown by his quite nature, unusually gentle manner, very nimble movement, and the normality. Also...how open and trusting he was with me. I was welcomed into his home, for the first time, a person he bearly knew, to a family gathering and celebration...and of course he was willing to put his reputation and financial record on the line to help me out of a fix
Mark Hughes is very different. He is increadibly genuine in quite a rough way. If Matt Hughes is smooth, then Mark Hughes is rugged. Mark will probably tell you exactly what he thinks of you, I dont think he is the type to suffer fools gladly. He's very real, and likely tells it like it is. I think that whilst Matt would share what he thinks if you ask, Mark is more likely to feel the need to present what he thinks without being asked first. There is definately a no - nonsence attitude. I once famously said that Mark Hughes was like Matt Hughes but with the Handbreak taken off :cool:
You think of one as the mighty welterweight, and one as a simple farmer...but the truth is that Mark is a real dark horse if you ask me, and equally, if not potentially greater :ninja:
great thread idea ... i have never met matt, so i have nothing to share .. but looking forward to reading others stories ..
I met Matt and many others on this forum at the "work day" at his gym. Matt was more than hospitable. He was very humble! When we were setting the mats on the wall that day, I was working right next to him and I remember thinking to myself, I'm working side by side with the UFC Welterweight Champion......kinda surreal! He took the time to talk to everyone, bought lunch for us, signed autographs, and took pictures. He was an absolute gentlemen!
I met Matt at the Arnold Classic in 2011. I was leaving the hotel with some friends to get food when I heard someone say "Hey, that's Matt Hughes". He had just arrived at the hotel. Then he saw me and asked if he could get a picture with me. I said "why not", posed for the shot and went on my way.
nice story mike ... but don't be so modest ... tell the truth, you were entering the hotel and everyone was like, "hey, there's mike everland" ... matt was the first to run up and ask for a pic and autograph ...
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People Spotlight
Achievements and Accomplishments
State of the Industry
Outlook 2017
Carpet & Area Rugs
Grout & Adhesives
Main Street USA
Tile & Stone
Trims & Moldings
Amy Rush-Imber
Chris Ramey
Jon Trivers
Business Builder
Kermit Baker
Financial Stories
Legal Column (Marty Silver)
Credit Series
Retail Profile
Margo Locust
Don Roberts
Social Media/Digital Column
Locking Systems, etc
Copyrights and Patents
Style & Design
Advertising rates & specs
Submit Your Classified Ad
Friday, January 20, 2017
People Spotlight
Achievements and Accomplishments
State of the Industry
Outlook 2017
Carpet & Area Rugs
Grout & Adhesives
Main Street USA
Tile & Stone
Trims & Moldings
Amy Rush-Imber
Chris Ramey
Jon Trivers
Business Builder
Kermit Baker
Financial Stories
Legal Column (Marty Silver)
Credit Series
Retail Profile
Margo Locust
Don Roberts
Social Media/Digital Column
Locking Systems, etc
Copyrights and Patents
Style & Design
Advertising rates & specs
Submit Your Classified Ad
February 11, 2013,
Posted Date:
Amy Rush-Imber
Mallory Cruise-McGrath
Shaw's Insight 2013: Building a better future
Shaw Flooring Network convention — Insight 2013 — put a spotlight on the company's ability to create targeted, laser sharp business plans while expressing its deep concern for its dealers, their families and the causes it believes in.
Vance Bell told the crowd of more than 1,000 dealers (some 3,800 attendees), "Shaw has put the pieces together to insure future growth and success. We have been focused on you. Our product quality and service have improved and we've made major capital investments — over $1 billion. The time is right for you to invest in your business."
Both Bell and president Randy Merritt said that 2013 will definitively be a better year. "It starts right here for all of us," offered Bell. "Your growth and success is our number one priority."
Explained Merritt, "Every year in January, everybody says it's going to be a better year but we didn't have the statistics to support that intention. This year we have concrete information to support it. It's going to be progressively better for the next three to four years."
Warren Buffet, chairman and CEO of Shaw's parent company Berkshire Hathaway, delivered a message as well. "The beauty of America is we grow. Flooring is a part of the American scene and was affected as much, if not more, than any other industry. We will have a recovery that is real and sustained — the shenanigans in Washington won't have a negative effect on housing," assured Buffet.
Late in 2011, Shaw changed its mission statement to fully reflect company goals and culture. "Shaw's vision is to create a better future — for our customer, our people, our company and our communities," stated Merritt. "We want to help our customer be prepared. The upturn requires a different strategy than survival."
Programs at Insight 2013 resonated with the attending dealers. Caress, the new soft Anso nylon carpet, for example, was a clear hit. "It's an awesome product and it will do well with the consumer," said Lisa Jones, president of Business Direct Marketing in Tyler, Texas. She attended convention with husband Jerry Jones of Home Plus Floors, an NFA member.
Steve Boardman of MMM Carpets in Santa Clara, Calif., was one of eight SFN dealers that participated in the Total Business Transformation (TBT) program designed to help Shaw dealers grow. Its four essential initiatives are: Understanding your market and customer expectations; creating a vision and plan; putting tools offered by the company into action; and, measuring success with the Financial Benchmark tool.
Boardman said that the Financial Benchmarking tool insured that the store was doing things right. "The coaching — how to advertise, who the customers are, networking with other dealers. The best part for me was meeting Shaw's upper management team. That's the difference. They have a personal concern for us to succeed and prosper."
Ian Newton of Flooring 101 in Oxnard, Calif., noted, "Shaw is good at making product and backing it up with service."
Tools for success
"The mission of Shaw Flooring Network is to help provide tools and business knowledge we know they need in ways that are easy for them," said Merritt. "We have a lot of merchandising, marketing and advertising — critical parts of managing in the upturn."
Kathy Young, director of marketing, said Shaw is on all the paths the consumer is on with focused and targeted efforts. "It's about creating preference. I want them to really know who Shaw is and sharpen the tools to reach her," said Young.
The company is an avid user of social media. And in 2013, Shaw will sponsor the inaugural HGTV Smart Home (it has sponsored the HGTV Green Home in previous years) as well as the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year and Southern Living Idea House.
"[Shaw] values how they approach their dealer relationships — we're not just customers, they look at us as partners. And, their whole social media approach and their realization of how invaluable it us to us as dealers. They offer us the technical assistance for increasing our social media presence," explained Greg Besteman of Advanced Interiors in Jenison, Mich.
All of the company's efforts are further supported by Shaw Web Studio, Shaw Ad Studio and Shaw Consumer Connect and Smart Targeting designed to give stores demographic information and shopping tendencies of the customers near them.
Caress, Shaw's new soft nylon carpet with Anso, is both "comprehensive and balanced," according to Mike Sanderson, product marketing manager. It has 27 styles, 50 colors, is Cradle to Cradle certified and features the R2X patented stain and soil resistance.
Area Rugs
A robust Shaw Living area rug offering included more than 200 new designs — five handmade collections and indoor/outdoor rugs in 16 different designs including a hand hooked rug.
Tuftex has 19 new products including Bling, a 65 ounce nylon with a polyester accent for luster. The Tuftex sales force will now also carry the Shaw Living line.
Hard surface
Scott Sandlin, vice president of hard surface, is excited about Shaw's hard surface product line-up, noting that Shaw gave the division "everything we've asked for including capital, people and added logistics."
All hardwood flooring is Cradle to Cradle Silver Certified. "We created a brand new sub-category of hardwood with Epic," said Kevin Thompson, hardwood and laminate category manager. Shaw's Epic Hardwood is also Greenguard Children & Schools Certified. Two new Epic products were launched at convention.
The company is also working hard to enhance its laminate line, according to Thompson. "We've brought a significant amount of excitement back to laminate," he said.
New resilient products include additions to the Array resilient collection which features a direct glue installation and a good, better, best or superior structure. Resort Tile has been expanded while Sumter LS has been upgraded and renamed to Sumter Plus.
"This is our third year in resilient. It's an exciting time to get in — so many changes," said Clark Hodgkins, resilient category manager.
Tile & Stone
Shaw is introducing 165 SKUs of tile and stone in 2013, according to Vance Hunsucker, tile and stone sales manager at Shaw, that include natural stone and travertines. Porcelain and ceramic introductions feature Clarity Digital Imaging Technology, allowing for realistic designs.
The Anderson brand combines the strength of Shaw with a name that is synonymous with American-made, quality hardwood floors. Completely separate from Shaw, Anderson is offering a number of new streamlined collections of its own.
While maintaining its signature high-end look in Bastille, Anderson brought out a number of value-oriented products that will give the company "velocity," according to vice president of national accounts Rick Knowles.
Urban Loft, for example, is an engineered product that appeals to consumer preferences for wide planks and long boards. Urban Loft is an Epic produced product.
"We wanted the collection to be streamlined but also impactful. It is a great looking, domestically produced product," Knowles said. Anderson also has robust marketing efforts surrounding the new product.
Jason Emmert of Advanced Interiors in Jenison, Mich., predicted, "Urban Loft will do well, customers love anything Epic. And, it is well designed at an affordable price point."
Ready for market demands
Merritt said that in order to grow, a company needs to have the working capital to prepare itself and Shaw, he added, is prepared.
"We pride ourselves on being able to be flexible and to change," Merritt said.
Proof, he said, is the company's investment in changing from nylon staple to nylon filament. "In 2006, we were probably 50 percent of the industry's capacity in nylon staple and that was our big stick. Today, there is virtually no staple left in the industry and we had to change in a hurry. We had to prepare to service this growing filament polyester market, the nylon filament market. We invested a billion dollars in the last six years. A lot of that was to improve our service and provide the customer with what the customer wants."
Added Sandlin, "We are poised for the builder comeback in our capacities. And that's a big deal. You better be ready. The builder community gives you one shot."


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Division of Paleontology 2014 Summer Internships
Position Summary:
The Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History is offering a small number of full-time, 8-week internships for graduate or undergraduate students in geology, invertebrate paleontology, life sciences, museum studies, or related fields (June 16, 2014 start). The interns will participate in an NSF-funded project to upgrade the microfossil collections in the Invertebrate Paleontology collection at AMNH.
A summary of the project can be found here:
A website documenting the progress of this project, including a blog by summer 2013 interns can be found here:
The interns will work with collection management staff to rehouse, conserve and catalog specimens, to digitally image and CT scan primary type specimens and upgrade on-line collections data.
A stipend will be provided as support over the internship period.
Required Qualifications:
Applicants should be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate degree course, or about to apply to a graduate course in invertebrate paleontology, life sciences, museum studies, or related fields. Ability to work with paleontological research collections, ability to perform tasks requiring physical strength and high manual dexterity, proficiency in the use of Mac and PC based software, good organizational, excellent interpersonal skills, and ability to work independently. Experience working in museum collections a plus.
Interested parties should apply online here.
Applications must be received no later than April 6, 2014
Applications cannot be accepted via email or snail mail. Due to the high volume of applications, we cannot respond to email inquiries about application status.
The American Museum of Natural History is one of the world's preeminent scientific and cultural institutions. Since it's founding in 1869, the Museum has advanced its global mission to discover, interpret and disseminate information about human cultures, the natural world and the universe through a wide-ranging program of scientific research, education and exhibition. The Museum is renowned for its exhibitions and scientific collections, which serve as a field guide to the entire planet and present a panorama of the world's cultures.
The American Museum of Natural History is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The Museum does not discriminate due to age, sex, religion, race, color, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, or any other factor prohibited by law. Qualified candidates of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds are encouraged to apply for vacant positions at all levels. Please be advised that due to the high volume of applicants, we are only able to contact those candidates whose skills and background best fit the needs of the open position.