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GPSOLO July/August 2010
The Chairs' Corner
A Year of Service
Greetings, General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division. The 2009–2010 Bar Year has been one of phenomenal growth and achievement thanks to you and to our incredible Chicago staff. We are indebted to our staff for their incredible service and for keeping us ahead of the game with numerous requests from a variety of areas. I would like to recognize Nicole Nikodem, who has worked in virtually every area of our Division's business and played such a large part in the incredibly successful Fall Meeting at the historical Millennium Biltmore. Let's give a very special acknowledgement to Laura Ramirez, who managed, directed, organized, and operated all of our meetings—Laura is absolutely incredible and produces phenomenal results. And you know Dee Lee—what a GPSolo gem, an absolutely wonderful person who provided our Division executive leadership from top to bottom. We owe so much to her, from taking care of our annual budget to managing our chair's appointments, Dee is the heart and soul of the Division, and we owe her our utmost gratitude. Last, but certainly not least, our Division Director, Kim Anderson—let me just say, wow! Kim led an incredible team of professionals to accomplish what others simply marveled at in amazement. Overseeing a long list of successes for the Division, Kim proved that leadership is the art of influencing others to accomplish a goal. Suffice it to say, our Chicago staff is sensational. Kim, Dee, Laura, and Nicole, please take a bow for a job extremely well done. We salute you!
Just consider what the Division has accomplished this year: We have migrated our website to SharePoint, ensured that our famed SoloSez e-mail list would be able to grow to more than 3,000 subscribers, produced sensational CLEs (live and by teleconference), made history with our ABA Goal III Diversity initiatives, created an embedded Leadership Coalition for Solo Membership, raised the third-most revenue of any ABA entity with phenomenal books and other publications, developed incredible initiatives to help members stay afloat during the Great Recession, passed an ABA House measure that provides tuition debt relief for judge advocates, put the final touches on our new Solo Center, and brought the U.S. Supreme Court to our Spring Meeting in St. Thomas, where many of our members were sworn in.
Speaking of St. Thomas, we registered an astounding 380 participants and had what many have said was the absolute best meeting in years. Thanks to our friends in the ABA Young Lawyers Division and the Virgin Islands Bar Association, who joined us at this wonderful meeting and helped make it possible. From the public service events to the incredible programs to a carnival on the beach, we did it and did it well, demonstrating that joint meetings are the wave of the future. The meeting even featured our first-ever Skype event—several members of ABA Publishing participated from Chicago via web-link in a program discussing the ABA's new publishing and CLE initiatives. The program was filmed and soon will be available for ABA members to view on our website.
We charted out this year with the theme Service to Others; GPSolo volunteer leaders, you are directly responsible for making it a reality. Our Division made a real difference in service to the Main Street lawyer . With a broken economy resulting in unprecedented job loss across America, you kept our Division flying high, serving the needs of our constituent members. Your time, dedication, and focused attention to the business of the Bar provided our membership great value in 2009–2010. This Division is in your debt for all that you brought to the fore, serving the professional needs of thousands. As much as I would like to mention each of you individually by name, I cannot in this column. But rest assured, your individual recognition is forthcoming. GPSolo volunteer leaders, please take a bow for a job phenomenally well planned and executed. I salute you!
As this edition of GPSolo magazine is dedicated to the theme "How To," I wanted to spend a couple moments on how to run a highly successful nonprofit 501(c) (6) as a volunteer chair. First, in choosing your leaders, approach individuals who don't care about credit but do care about product. Too many people simply want their names in lights; avoid this pitfall. I specifically asked each committee chair for a pledge to our Division for service. I gave each of them the overall goals of the Division as well as my specific goals that defined the objectives for the year. Second, make sure your appointed leaders know that they are empowered to make decisions. Third, be a servant leader to your appointed leaders—you work for them. Fourth, recognize your appointed leaders for their time and efforts—remember that they are volunteers. Fifth, check with them on their charted plans from time to time, but not too much—don't micromanage. Make sure they are progressing accordingly. Last, but not least, trust your people—they will amaze you in ways you can only imagine. I've enjoyed an incredible Bar Year, and I owe my sincere gratitude to the Division staff and volunteer leaders, the U.S. Air Force JAG Corps, and of course my family, Karen, Jimmy, and Jonathan Durant, for giving me the time, confidence, and trust to be Chair. Thank you all for allowing me to serve you—the Others!
The views expressed herein do not reflect the opinion of the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.
Hello, Is There Anybody Out There?
To a lot of lawyers, the American Bar Association—and even the General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division—represents the elites of the legal profession, those who have time, money, and the inclination to spend both on lofty goals without paying much attention to the basics of day-to-day practice. Many Main Street lawyers question the value of this organization's commitment to helping people off in Sierra Leone, defending Guantanamo detainees, accrediting law schools, and taking political stances that really don't affect ordinary solo and small firm lawyers' practices.
All of this high-concept, ethereal stuff obscures the real services the association does provide to the ordinary Main Street lawyers in this country. There's no question that the ABA takes positions you don't agree with or that you personally may feel that it shouldn't take. To be honest, the ABA takes positions I don't agree with, but more than half a lifetime in the association has taught me that its good points outweigh nearly everything else.
As a long-term member of the ABA GPSolo Division, I've learned to appreciate what the association does for lawyers like me, like my father, like my brother, like you, and like most of the lawyers in the country—helping us practice law and make connections with other lawyers across the country and abroad. Most of us have learned that the ABA GPSolo Division is a cafeteria where its members pick and choose what's relevant and useful to their lives and practices, ignoring what's not. Ninety-nine percent of our members could care less about the ABA Board of Governors, its House of Delegates, and the alphabet soup of commissions and standing committees, much less the actions and positions rewarding form over substance.
As a solo, I know what the stresses of daily life mean for Main Street lawyers. I know how it feels to have to pick and choose what bills will be paid first, to decide what expenses to eliminate and trim, to pay staff (assuming you can even afford to have staff) before paying yourself, to run a business and keep the lights on, to keep clients satisfied, to weigh professional obligations, to struggle with balancing work and personal life, and to give back to the profession and to the community. And I know how the GPSolo Division, as the home of the solo and small firm lawyer, can help negotiate these rocky shoals. It is, ultimately, all about you.
So this year, it's Back to Basics, where we focus on giving solos and small firm lawyers the tools they need to practice law better because law practiced better naturally makes the profession stronger.
Four years ago, the GPSolo Division held the first National Solo and Small Firm Conference, which has since become a marquee event of the Division. The event will be reprised this year in Austin, Texas, during our Fall Meeting, October 21–23. This year we will also focus on developing an online portal for solos and small firm lawyers, the lawyers who are the backbone of the profession.If you're reading this column, the odds are that you view your membership in the GPSolo Division as little more than a subscription to its magazines, questioning each year when the dues statement is delivered whether you're receiving value. You're not likely to attend our meetings, and you could care less whether we even hold meetings or adopt policy. What you do care about is what the ABA and the GPSolo Division deliver to you. I want to make sure that what we provide makes you value the ABA and the GPSolo Division, makes you feel that our work is relevant to your practice and your life, and makes you feel that you're getting your money's worth. I believe that our Division is well worth the cost in time and resources because of what we provide to our members—and I want you to feel the same way. We, the leaders of the Division, need to remember that we're here for you and that we must provide you with the tools you need to remain successful and competitive. If what we do is not directly and immediately relevant to you, then there's little reason for you to hang around. We want you to remain with us and enjoy being part of our team—even if you never leave your office.


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On senior night, the Lady Vandals got 29 points from senior Amber Bruno and used a 7-0 run at the start of the overtime period on Thursday night to pick up a 66-56 South Central Conference win against Roxana.
Junior Kaitlyn Kershaw made a game-tying layup with about two minutes left in regulation, and freshman Madelyn Hosick blocked a second-chance shot in the waning seconds to force the extra period.
Morgan Cripe, a junior, assisted Kershaw on that basket, and had a double-double for the Lady Vandals (9-16, 2-6 SCC) with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
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subset: commoncrawl


text: It's zombie apocalypse time again folks! LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW by WARNER BROTHERS and GRASSHOPPER MANUFACTURE is here at last after months of hype, does it blow my ra ra skirt up? OK this time you're a Britney Spears (early Britney, before she lost the plot) look alike cheerleader with a chainsaw. Buffy the Vampire . . . → Read More: Lollipop Chainsaw – A Cut Below The Rest


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Review: Crown Royal XR (LaSalle) Canadian Whisky
Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 26, 2012
Crown Royal unveiled their new Crown Royal XR, LaSalle Whisky in the US market a few short months ago. The previously released Crown Royal XR Whisky, (click here for my review) was a unique bottling of Crown Royal Whisky, which included in the blend, the last aged stocks from the Crown Royal Waterloo Distillery which burned down in 1993. This latest Crown Royal XR Whisky blend focuses its attention instead, on selected remaining whisky stocks from the renowned LaSalle Distillery in Quebec, Canada. The LaSalle Distillery is significant to Crown Royal, as it was the first distillery opened by the Bronfman Family (a legendary name within the spirits industry). The Bronfmans were responsible for the creation of the original Crown Royal Whisky in 1939 to commemorate King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's visit to Canada.'
I received my whisky sample several weeks ago and here is an excerpt from my review:
"…The whisky is a richly coloured amber, and that trademark punky caramel-corn Crown Royal nose rises from the glass immediately. The air is rich with vanilla and honeycomb, and displays a strong rich oak taint…."
You may read the full review here:
Review: Crown Royal XR (LaSalle) Canadian Whisky
Please enjoy my review!
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.


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Engaging stories covering current personalities, popular sports figures and events, mysteries, disasters, legends and mythology, and amazing facts in science and nature hold studentsa interest and capture their imaginations. A controlled vocabulary averaging two readability levels below content ensures understanding and promotes confidence.Drawing Conclusions 8. ... took place because a. the country was still nothing but woods. b. other countries were still fighting for its control. c. the French were in control of the land. ... Try reading other stories from his Leather-Stocking Tales.
|Building Comprehension - Grade 8 (ENHANCED eBook)
|Ellen M. Dolan, Sue D. Royals
|Lorenz Educational Press - 1999-09-01
You must register with us as either a Registered User before you can Download this Book. You'll be greeted by a simple sign-up page.
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nesgirl wrote:It is not a terrible thing. It is an addiction. Someone I know was addicted to a drug, and thought it was a terrible thing to lose it, but finally got used to the fact that they could survive without it, and was able to get off of that drug.
Now, nesgirl, I didn't respond to your last response to me because, upon reading your post, I had the same profound realization that I had when I read over R99's last post in my "Does the Soul Exist?" thread: Some people just want to watch reason burn and there's no point in debating them because a preconceived idea has literally fused into their brain-stem. It's a waste of time and energy.
But I've had to hear this whole absolute nonsense about sexual activity being "addictive" so many times from you that I feel suddenly compelled to respond to that little pearl of wisdom for a variety of reasons--not the least among which being that you keep bringing up this anti-sexuality thing on an anti-religion thread.
First of all, if we're being excruciatingly generous here, your whole "metaphor" about drug addiction being comparable to sex absolutely does not work. Do you realize how insulting that is to people who have genuinely witnessed and suffered from addiction to a truly dangerous substance like methamphetamine? Drug addiction is a sickness that can totally destroy a person's life as a result of the detrimental nature of the drug. Contrarily, have you ever seen a person after they've had sex (clearly not)? They're relaxed, they feel fulfilled, they are simply content with being. They're not "disgusted" or "feel dehumanized." They feel love and contentment towards one another's existence. Comparing methamphetamine addiction to sex is laughable if not outright insulting. More enforcing evidence: A boy and a girl experience something called puberty, in which they feel this inexplicable inclination, this natural intuition or desire to have sex. Sex drive arises naturally during childhood development. Contrarily, I very seriously doubt that there has ever been a person on the face of the earth who has woken up one morning thinking, I really need to go try meth, right now. In fact, I NEED to. It's in my very NATURE to go try out meth. And this leads to my final, destroying point on this metaphor: Drugs are unnatural. Now you may be thinking to yourself, "Hey, marijuana is natural!" Marijuana is dismissed from your metaphor because it does not harm one's health, it does not destroy lives, and it is largely not addictive in natural--in fact it has many medicinal properties. But whether marijuana should be considered a bad or good thing is another argument entirely. The point is that drugs that are a big problem in our society are the unnatural ones. Sex is the absolute opposite! Sex is the perpetuation of the life and nature of complex organisms. Along with a multitude of other living, natural organisms, humans are inherently sexual creatures.
Sex is not addictive. At least not in the traditional sense. It is true that all humans (apart, of course, from asexuals) have a sex drive. But I would argue that this is a good thing, as it draws us humans together and lowers our feelings of prudishness and disdain towards one another. And even if sex was "addictive" in the sense that methamphetamine is, it would not harm people at all and actually would do the opposite.
nesgirl wrote:I don't get why you have to bash on your parents so much. WOW you 2 must hate your parents. I may be fierce rivals with my father and we get into heated arguments almost all the time because of our differences (actually he is a Democrat, so that would explain it), but still.
Summerlander has stated that he appreciated his mother despite all the things he mentioned. And I love both of my parents deeply. But that does not mean I am going to wrap myself in warm, fuzzy blankets of denial and ignorance over the fact that my childhood and psyche were seriously warped and damaged as a result of my parents's profound piety and dogmatism. I've had to struggle with crippling social anxiety, hatred of expressing emotions, closed-mindedness, rejection of science, and many other psychological wires that came loose as a result of the type of things I was exposed to (examples provided above). It is perfectly fine and healthy to critique anything and everything, and that includes discussing whether parenting methods were effective, what was wrong with them, what was right with them, etc. This is the only way you yourself can learn to be a better parent to your own offspring and a better member of society, in the case of having conservative psychopaths as parents.
You seem to think that criticism is indicative of hatred. That is almost as fascinatingly misinformed and ill-conceived as your fascist ideals of illegalizing procreation.
(Oh, and by the way, me criticizing your "anti-sex solution" is not me "hating" or "persecuting" you. You cannot play the victim card and use my criticism as an example of you getting hatred for being an asexual. I genuinely like your ideas about being personally anti-romance in the sense the you do not feel compelled by society to be a wholly sexual being, as much media purports and thrusts upon people. What I do not like, what does not hold water in the light of modernity and empathetic discourse, is you forcing those ideals upon others.
If you're so disgusted with people and their nasty, unnatural sexual habits, why don't you just leave them alone, eh? You're clearly the higher, more enlightened being. Just go be hermit.)


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Posted 6 years ago
(1 item)
Any ideas exactly what this is and how old it may be? I looks like a home made convertible child's chair/desk but I'm not sure. It measures approximately 27 inches wide and 16 inches deep and 17 inches high when the top is in the horizontal position. It has simple handmade pegs for the top to hinge and lock in place as you can see. Pretty primitive construction. The panels are all single-board pieces and some of the nails are square/rectangle headed. Thanks!


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Choosing the Right Law School / Re: St. Thomas vs Hamline« on: April 20, 2009, 07:02:29 PM »
Take my word for it: your future employers won't consider how much school debt you carry a dealbreaker (it's actually quite irrelevant). Do the research, OLinMN, and make the decision for yourself on which school will give you the best prospects. Good luck.


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Semi-OT: JAX WR Justin Blackmon suspended 4 games; may help D-Rob get some significant early PT
Semi-OT: JAX WR Justin Blackmon suspended 4 games; may help D-Rob get some significant early PT
Justin Blackmon, formerly of Oklahoma State and currently the Jacksonville Jaguar's #1 wideout, has been suspended 4 games by the NFL for substance abuse. This may be good news for Denard's chances at significant early playing time, although fellow Jaguar draftee Ace Sanders from South Carolina (FML) probably benefits most. The Jags had earlier this offseason cut their #2 WR last season (Laurent Robinson), so although D-Rob is listed as a RB, depth concerns may expedite a move to WR. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22170728/report-justin-blackmon-suspended-four-games-by-nfl
In other M-related Jaguars news, Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert are in an open competition for the starting QB job. I'm sure both of them would prefer Blackmon didn't get suspended. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/players/playerpage/517291/chad-henne


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These girls are equipped with killer curves, big breasts and a big booty. If you don't like that type of woman, no worries because there are a couple of chicks that come equipped with tiny chest and a small but plump ass, so you will be in high spirits no matter what! You will never become uninterested with the porn films on the porn site as it is has new material added on a daily basis. Once you come visit RK TUBE it will instantly become your most definitely liked porn site certainly.


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Trading is attractive because markets provide huge profit opportunities in short periods of time. The maximum profit strategy (MPS) provides a quantitative measure of this opportunity relative to frequency and size. A market's MPS is the sequence of optimal buy, sell and do-nothing actions that generates the maximum profit, with respect to trading times, prices, execution costs, capital, margins and government regulations.
MPS is an objective market property associated with any sequence of ticks. Positive and negative numbers are used to express long and short trades. A do-nothing, or non-action, is recorded as zero. This strategy is a hypothetical analytical tool that never loses money. (For a fundamental description of MPS and more on how it can be used to build real trading strategies, see "Trading system analysis: Learning from perfection," November 2011.)
The optimal trading element (OTE) includes all the market properties associated with an optimal trade within an MPS. In actual application, a trader who is applying an MPS-based strategy "buys" and "sells" OTEs rather than futures contracts or shares.
MPS, OTE: A review
There are three types of MPS described in the November 2011 article. Here, we're going to examine a stop-and-reverse approach, which alternates between long and short positions of the same size.
This system will be constructed by the l- or r-algorithm (see "Modeling Maximum Trading Profits with C++," John Wiley & Sons, 2007). For example, let's say that four consecutive time periods of live cattle futures prices are 123.025, 123.275, 122.900 and 122.875, while the cost of a transaction association with each price would be 7.40, 7.40, 7.40 and 7.40. Given this information, then the optimal trading strategy would be: 1, -2, 0, 1.
In English, the transactions are grouped into two trades: Buy, sell one to go flat, sell one to go short, do nothing, buy one to go flat. The buy OTE (BOTE) and the sell OTE (SOTE) are determined by the sign of the transactions. Their profits are $85.20 and $145.20, and their durations are t2 – t1 = 1 and t4 – t2 = 2. (Purely mathematically speaking, this would be (–123.025 * 1t1 – 123.275 * -1t2) * 400 – 2 * 7.40 + (–123.275 * -1t2 – 122.875 * 1t4) * 400 – 2 * 7.40 = $85.20 + $145.20 = $230.40).
MPS is an analytical tool used in hindsight. An MPS and the prices determining it are unknown in advance. However, signals from a pair of MPSs can be used for developing real trading rules (see "Idealized models for real profits," May 2008). OTEs offer even more possibilities. Here, we'll create an MPS employing an arbitrary filtering cost, or f-cost, approach and evaluate it with a smaller transaction cost, or t-cost.
Time and sales data are presented daily on the CME Group web site. The intraday ticks of real transactions of electronic trading were studied for the most liquid live cattle contracts. These included February, April, June, August, October and December 2011 and the February 2012 contracts.
The total numbers of sessions are 225 and there are 1,134,304 ticks. The electronic trading hours are 9:05 a.m. Monday to 1:55 p.m. Friday (Central time) with halts from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. each day. Each electronic transaction tick includes time, price and size.


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Too many R.I. families are going to bed hungry
Imagine you are watching your family go hungry, waiting for a meal, and you can do nothing about it. This is what is happening to many families in Rhode Island. In fact, according to the USDA, over 58,000 households – or 13.7 percent of RI households – cannot afford adequate food.
We are students from Lawn Avenue School. We recently studied the issue of poverty and hunger in Rhode Island and have learned some astonishing facts. For our small part, we decided to participate in a food drive for the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, a group that serves in many ways to help members of the Newport County community.
In Rhode Island, 41 percent of households are food insecure, meaning they have insufficient money or resources for food and must choose between feeding their family members or paying the rent or utilities. The Rhode Island Community Food Bank's network of 117 emergency food pantries served on average 60,000 people each month in fiscal year 2011, a 58 percent increase since 2008. Also, of those receiving assistance at food pantries (including 60,000 at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank), four of every 10 are families with children under age 18.
It has been found that children who are hungry at night and go to school hungry often perform poorly academically and have a difficult time at school. To find more information on Rhode Island and hunger visit:
• uri.edu/endhunger/HungerFacts. html
• nothing.org/ri/faqs
• rifoodbank.org
• feedingamerica.org
• census.gov
• mlkccenter.org
How can you help? The fifth grade has food donation boxes for canned goods at Lawn Avenue School, Melrose Avenue School, Jamestown library and Baker's Pharmacy until Friday, Feb. 17. Please help us in this small way to help those in need in our community.
Lauren Toland and Tim Fay
Lawn Avenue School


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April 2, 2014
The House Appropriations Committee today released the fiscal year 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, which will be considered in subcommittee tomorrow. The legislation contains funding to house, train, and equip military personnel, provide housing and services to military families, and help maintain base infrastructure. The bill also funds veterans' benefits and programs.
In total, the legislation provides $71.5 billion in discretionary funding – a cut of $1.8 billion below the fiscal year 2014 level. This reduction will not negatively affect projects or services on which our troops and veterans rely. Instead, the bill provides less funding than the previous year for military construction, largely due to a lack of new need for such projects, while increasing funding for veterans programs by $1.5 billion.
Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers made the following statement on the legislation:
"Our number one priority with this bill is to ensure that our troops and veterans receive the resources they need and deserve. This legislation will do just that – providing funds for critical infrastructure for our troops, services for military families, and to bolster veterans' programs to keep our commitment to those who have served and sacrificed for this country," Chairman Rogers said. "At the same time, we've made responsible decisions to reduce funding where it is no longer needed, to be more efficient with the people's money and to save tax dollars where we can."
Military Construction-Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson also commented on his bill:
"We have immense responsibilities in our subcommittee, and I can think of nothing more important than ensuring the peace of mind and quality of life for our veterans and active-duty military. These are tough budgetary times, but providing for our men and women in uniform is a duty that we simply cannot neglect. With this bill, we've once again been able to protect the high-quality support and services provided to our troops, our veterans, and their families," Chairman Culberson said.
Bill Highlights:
The bill totals $71.5 billion – $1.8 billion below the fiscal year 2014 level and $398 million below the President's budget request. The decrease is primarily due to declining need for new military construction projects.
Veterans Affairs (VA) – The legislation includes a total of $158.2 billion in both discretionary and mandatory funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs, an increase of $10.3 billion above the fiscal year 2014 level. This funding will help provide our nation's veterans with the services and care they have earned from their dedicated service to the country.
Discretionary funding alone for Veterans programs in the bill is $64.7 billion. Approximately $55.6 billion of this discretionary total was provided last year via advance funding in the fiscal year 2014 Appropriations bill.
Advance Appropriations for Veterans Medical Programs – The bill contains $58.7 billion in advance fiscal year 2016 funding for the VA – the same level as the President's request. This funding will provide for medical services, medical support and compliance, and medical facilities, and ensure that our veterans have continued, full access to their medical care needs.
Arlington National Cemetery – The legislation includes $62 million for the Arlington National Cemetery, a decrease of $4 million from the fiscal year 2014 enacted level.
For the complete text of the Subcommittee Draft of the FY 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill, please visit: /UploadedFiles/BILLS-113HR-SC-AP-FY2015-MilCon-SubcommitteeDraft.pdf
Print version of this document


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By now you've heard about the shocking scandal sweeping Washington: men and women, of all ages and dispositions, like having sex even outside the bonds of marriage.
I know. It took me a minute to process as well.
I've written this column before, and I'm going to keep writing it until American society comes to some rational conclusion about extramarital affairs, sex scandals, and all the rest.
The first thing I thought when Paula Broadwell appeared on "The Daily Show" to plug her fawning biography about Gen. David Petraeus was, "This woman has undoubtedly had sex with that guy." There wasn't even a question in my mind at the time, but you can't just go around saying, "I suspect these individuals of having an affair because I have basic human observational capacities."
But so what if they did?
Now I suppose there is an argument to be made that the Director of the CIA, our spook-in-chief, could open himself up to blackmail with such shenanigans, but what's the solution to that? Are we going to start installing potted plants as CIA director? Eunuchs? A sexless species that procreates by puffing spores into the air? Perhaps if Petraeus really was divulging classified information, that's one thing, but if not—if really this whole thing is just a bunch of horny adults acting a little bitter and absurd—can't we just make some jokes about it on late-night talk shows and let everyone get back to their jobs?
If I recall correctly, President Obama hired Petraeus to blow up people in Pakistan with robots, and by all accounts, the two of them are blowing up an awful lot of people with robots very effectively.
It's so completely backwards that we are engulfed by this nonsense—well, everyone except Staff Sgt. Dain T. Venne, Spc. Ryan P. Jayne and Spc. Brett E. Gornewicz. They were killed in Afghanistan on Monday by an IED. Their families and friends probably also do not give a shit what Gen. John Allen was writing in e-mails to Jill Kelley.
The only thing I've learned as an adult is that high school never ends. In many ways high schoolers even behave less sexually despicably because they have not been ground down by ten, twenty, fifty years of adult recrimination. Yet we still feel the need to have a society-wide freakout every time one of these very obvious scandals erupts. You know what would be even weirder than men and women in positions of power having affairs? If those people didn't have affairs. That would be something to write about.
If we had some Vonnegut-esque master computer that every five years revealed every sexual liaison that had transpired on Earth, and everyone knew their secrets would be revealed, people would still be slipping away to boff each other, consequences be damned. In its revelations, that list would be both shocking and not at all. I'm not saying this is right or that monogamy has no place in society (although someone better come up with a more convincing argument than "that's the way God wants it to be" pretty fast). But if people get fired and shamed every time their genitals bounce, we're not only going to be out of CIA directors—there will be no one left to pick up the garbage.
Here's my solution: tomorrow, everyone go blow a stranger. Male, female—doesn't matter. Everyone get one truly encouraging mistake out of the way, and then we'll all be shamed, and we can all go back to doing our jobs.
And maybe the next time, we can fire someone for drone strikes that kill, maim, and traumatize innocent people? Just a thought.


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CARSON, Calif. - For the second time in two years, the LA Galaxy will visit the White House to celebrate their MLS Cup triumph, but as opposed to last year, the Galaxy will meet President Barack Obama in far better straits than they were a season ago.
In 2012, the club found themselves in seventh place in the nine-team Western Conference with a record of 3-5-2 by the time that the White House visit rolled around in May, but this year, four games into a busy 2013 slate, LA is undefeated in all competitions with a 2-0-2 record.
The record won't be the only difference as the Galaxy will not meet President Obama along as they will be joined by the Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings, who are also owned by AEG.
"It's a great honor. It's great for our two teams, the Galaxy and Kings, the champions of their respective leagues and AEG," said Arena. "It'll be a fabulous day for our organization so we're looking for it."
Although The White House trip will serve as a celebration of last season's achievements, one member of the Galaxy believes that once it is over, it may help the team get into the right mindset for the long 2013 season.
"We got to [visit the White House] last year, but we don't take things like that for granted so I'm definitely looking forward to it," said Magee. "[The MLS Cup title] is a little fresher in our minds so maybe getting it over with might help us mentally. Last time we were there, we were last place in the world so it'll be good to put that behind us and get that visit out of the way and focus on this year."


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Doctor Who Dalek Talking Bank
- Don't exterminate your extra money
- Put it in the Dalek bank
- Talks every time you insert coins
Are you the kind of person who can't carry cash because it burns a hole in your pocket? Suddenly you're stopping for coffee, and ice cream, and maybe some fries... and a new magazine to read... and then you don't have cash anymore.
Instead of exterminating your extra money, save it in the Dalek Talking Money Bank! Every time you insert a coin, the Dalek will tell you how you're a good Dalek and the Doctor should be exterminated. Y'know, heartwarming stuff.
Product Specifications
- Protect your money with Dalek power!
- Sound effects from the Doctor Who TV show
- Tells you about exterminating every time you insert a coin
- Officially licensed Doctor Who collectible
- Dimensions: 8" tall


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"Let's be clear, the United States did not watch, in real time, as this horrible attack took place. The intelligence community was able to gather and analyze information after the fact and determine that elements of the Assad regime had in fact taken steps to prepare prior to using chemical weapons." — Shawn Turner, the spokesman for the director of national intelligence, confirming U.S. intelligence agencies did not detect the Syrian regime readying a massive chemical weapons attack in the days ahead of the strike.
"As horrifying as Mr. Castro's crimes may be, the state has a responsibility to ensure his safety from himself and others." — ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link in a statement saying the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio has called for an investigation into the death Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro who commited suicide a month into his life sentence for holding three women captive in his home for a decade.
"Israel is using the issue of security to take land. From the general discussions we had in the last couple of weeks, the Israelis have shown no intention to dismantle any settlement." — A Palestinian official speaking on condition of anonymity in the first detailed glimpse at recently relaunched peace talks.


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Biographer Paula Broadwell could be facing questions about whether she revealed classified information about the Libya attack that she was privy to due to her relationship with then-CIA Director David Petraeus.
At an Oct. 26 speech at her alma mater, the University of Denver, on the same day that Fox News reported that the rescue team at the CIA annex had been denied help, Broadwell was asked about Petraeus' handling of the Benghazi situation.
Her response was reported originally by Israel's Arutz Sheva and Foreign Policy's Blake Hounshell.
Broadwell quoted the Fox News report when she said: "The facts that came out today were that the ground forces there at the CIA annex, which is different from the consulate, were requesting reinforcements."
Broadwell went on to explain more sensitive details from the Benghazi attacks, particularly concerning what the real cause might have been.
Sen. Feinstein talks Petraeus, Benghazi
Petraeus asserts that resignation is unrelated to Benghazi
Exclusive: Cable warning of Benghazi consulate vulnerability would have gone to White House, officials say
Exclusive: Classified cable shows Benghazi consulate considered suspending operations, moving in with CIA
Military timeline from night of Benghazi attack begs more questions
Judge Jeanine: I don't believe in coincidences
Suspect list in Libya attack expands
Petraeus resignation part of larger Benghazi coverup?
"Now, I don't know if a lot of you heard this, but the CIA annex had actually, um, had taken a couple of Libyan militia members prisoner and they think that the attack on the consulate was an effort to try to get these prisoners back. So that's still being vetted."
In the original Oct. 26 Fox News report, sources at the annex said that the CIA's Global Response Staff had handed over three Libyan militia members to the Libyan authorities who came to rescue the 30 Americans in the early hours of Sept. 12.
A well-placed Washington source confirms to Fox News that there were Libyan militiamen being held at the CIA annex in Benghazi and that their presence was being looked at as a possible motive for the staged attack on the consulate and annex that night.
According to multiple intelligence sources who have served in Benghazi, there were more than just Libyan militia members who were held and interrogated by CIA contractors at the CIA annex in the days prior to the attack. Other prisoners from additional countries in Africa and the Middle East were brought to this location.
The Libya annex was the largest CIA station in North Africa, and two weeks prior to the attack, the CIA was preparing to shut it down. Most prisoners, according to British and American intelligence sources, had been moved two weeks earlier.
The CIA, though, categorically denied these allegations, saying: "The CIA has not had detention authority since January 2009, when Executive Order 13491 was issued. Any suggestion that the agency is still in the detention business is uninformed and baseless."
Broadwell's affair with Petraeus was likely known to Holly Petraeus, according to family friends. The FBI reportedly knew about it months beforehand and White House Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan reportedly was aware that there was a relationship as early as the summer of 2011.
The White House strongly denied that Brennan was aware so early.
"It is irresponsible and flat out wrong for Fox News to run an anonymous, unsubstantiated, and blatantly false accusation, as Mr. Brennan was first made aware of the issue last Wednesday," spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
Broadwell, whose affair with Petraeus reportedly ended earlier this year, continued to serve as an informal spokesman for the CIA director. She suggests in her Denver speech that Petraeus knew almost immediately that the attack was a terror attack -- possibly to free militia members.
A few days later, Petraeus testified in a closed session to Congress that the attack was due in large part to an anti-Islam video and a spontaneous uprising, according to reports from the hearing.
Congressional leaders say privately they believe they were lied to by Petraeus when he testified shortly after the attack. Some of these members already considered charging Petraeus with perjury, but said they planned to withhold judgment until he testified this week. After resigning as CIA director, the CIA said Acting Director Mike Morrell would testify in his place.
All of this raises the question: What was the CIA really doing in Benghazi in addition to searching for Qaddafi's stash of more than 22,000 shoulder-held missiles that could bring down commercial airplanes, and who in the White House knew exactly what the CIA was up to?
Adam Housley joined Fox News Channel (FNC) in 2001 and currently serves as a Los Angeles-based senior correspondent.
Jennifer Griffin currently serves as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel . She joined FNC in October 1999 as a Jerusalem-based correspondent. You can follow her on Twitter at @JenGriffinFNC.


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This post was originally published in November 2008. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
Every year, I suspend my healthy diet for one heralded November day. No, not Election Day, during which I'm usually too queasy to eat – but that most glorious of bird-based holidays, Thanksgiving.
Then, 24 hours later, I enter an equally magical shame spiral, since I've just consumed enough calories to keep me alive for eight years without ever having to eat again.
This year, I'm going to desperately try to avoid all that, hopefully by using at least 25 of the following 38 inexpensive, frugal leftover recipes. (Well … okay, 24.) I found them via a thorough, highly scientific search-and-paste process, not unlike previous Beef, Party Food, and Salad Dressing searches. In this case, here's what determined a dish's appearance on the list:
- As always, if the recipe comes from an aggregate site, the reviews must come in at 80% approval or above, or have no reviews at all (in which case, they must look really, really good).
- It was a little difficult to find low-fat recipes, since stuffing and mashed potatoes aren't exactly health foods (meaning: they don't miraculously lose their calories on Black Friday). So, I attempted to keep each recipe NWR, or Nutritious Within Reason. There's little added butter, oil, dairy, lard, mayo, or canned soup in each dish.
- If possible, I included notes about lightening the dish under each title.
- As for price, there aren't any exotic ingredients included, so costs should be pretty low. Caveat: you might have to purchase a little ginger or a bunch of green onions or something.
- There is no Turkey Tetrazzini. Because I hate it. Muahahahahahaha!
All Recipes: Apple Curry Turkey Pita
Use low-fat yogurt in place of regular to cut fat and calories.
All Recipes: Hearty Turkey Soup with Parsley Dumplings
All Recipes: Southwestern Turkey Soup
Bon Appetit: Asian Turkey-Noodle Soup with Ginger and Chiles
Bon Appetit: Cranberry Citrus Sorbet
This sounds AWESOME.
Bon Appetit: Pork Chops with Cranberry Port and Rosemary Sauce
CHG: Leftover Turkey Stew
CHG: Turkey Chili
Use turkey bits instead of ground turkey, add to pot with tomatoes
CHG: Turkey Noodle Soup
Sub in cooked turkey for chicken.
CHG: Turkey With Shallot Apricot Sauce
Sub in turkey for chicken, and use leftover warmed turkey
Chow: Turkey Pad See Ew
A little high in fat, but delicious-sounding just the same.
Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom: Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole (scroll down)
Sub in fat-free evaporated milk and make sure you use 2% cheddar.
Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom: Turkey Stock
Cooking Light: Cold Soba Noodles with Turkey
Cooking Light: Fiery Turkey-Pâté Crostini
Cooking Light: Turkey Pizza
Cooking Light: White Turkey Chili
Epicurious: Turkey Burritos with Salsa and Cilantro
Epicurious: Turkey and Sweet Potato Sandwich
Fabulous Foods: Turkey Pasties
Fine Cooking: Turkey Soup with Ginger, Lemon, and Mint
Fine Cooking: Turkey and Sweet Potato Hash
Fine Cooking: Turkey Tortilla Soup
Food Network/Cathy Lowe: Turkey Soup with Rice
Food Network/Cathy Lowe: Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Food Network/Emeril Lagasse: Turkey and Vegetable Soup
Food Network/Michael Chiarella: Next Day Turkey Soup
Food Network/Ocean Spray: Smoked Turkey and Cranberry Gourmet Pizza
Food Network/Rachael Ray: Turkey Corn Chili
Food Network/Rachael Ray: Turkey and Stuffin' Soup
Frankly, the picture kind of squicked me out here. But the reviewers (and there are quite a few) seem to LOVE it, so go nuts.
Food Network/Robin Miller: Turkey Soup with Egg Noodles and Vegetables
Looks like a good, quick recipe. Very well rated.
Food Network/Sunny Anderson: Second Day Turkey and String Bean Pot Pies
The Oregonian: Soba Noodle Salad With Cranberries and Apple
The Oregonian: Turkey Picadillo
The Oregonian: Turkey, White Bean, and Escarole Soup
Seattle Times: Chili-Rubbed Turkey Sandwich With Red Onion Salsa
St. Louis Eats: Nigella Lawson's Vietnamese Turkey Salad
Wise Bread: Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
If you like this post, you might also dig:
- 1 Chicken, 17 Healthy Meals, $26 Bucks, No Mayo
- 65 Cheap, Healthy, One-Dish Meals with Good Leftover Potential
- Seriously, Eating: 40 Recipes From the Other Website I Write For
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Godaddy runs a side business that is in effect a third party marketplace. They partner with vendors who actually have products to sell, and they list these products on a separate Godaddy website. When a customer purchases a product, Godaddy collects the money, sends a receipt to the customer, and sends an order to the vendor. They are in the middle on the purchase, but not on the delivery of the product. I learned the hard way that this model presents increased opportunities for communication issues.
The items listed on the Godaddy Marketplace for the businesses with which they partner are not necessarily in sync. I ordered a product for Christmas that was displayed on the Godaddy Marketplace and I received a receipt. 8 days later, I had not heard a word about shipping, so I contacted the vendor via contact information included in that Godaddy receipt. They told me the product was out of stock and they had reported that to Godaddy. I told them Godaddy had not contacted me, and the vendor said that in his experience it normally took several days for the message to be passed on by Godaddy.
I asked him why he had not contacted me, the buyer, to let me know the item was out of stock, and he said that his instructions were to communicate only with Godaddy. So... I contacted Godaddy. Well, first I tried an email, and I got the quick robot reply, but nothing else, so I finally called. It turns out they had returned my money by crediting my card, but they had not informed me of that via email. There's one little flaw in the system: They send a receipt when they take your money, but they send nothing when they refund it. It was then too late to order the item anywhere else, so I had to shop locally.
I checked the vendor web site against the items for the same vendor listed by Godaddy, and it appears Godaddy has not been removing items when sold or when reported as being out of stock. Bottom line here is that these third party marketing sites increase the risk of having a bad experience because they are in the middle. Godaddy's implementation appears to be particularly poor.
I was trying to get my money refund because I can't figure out how to create my web design on Godaddy.com. Why did I have to get my money refund as I found it so difficult to create my own web sign then I called their customer service so that I would know more about how to do with my web design, but when I was trying to discuss with them about how to work it out with create a web sign on their site, they were so unfriendly and annoying. It just likes I was disturbing them. I've never got what I wanted every time I called. I called them like 4-5 times then I stopped calling them anymore. So I called and made a cancellation and got back some of my money.
I asked them if I could get all my money back, they said "yes, you have two weeks to think about if you really wanted to get your money refund". He was so clearly about what I bought, the rest of the product still on Godaddy.com account is my domain name and the security protection item. Today I called them and made a requirement for the refund for the domain name and security protection but he said it's just expired, it has only 5 days for refund for that item! I was so angry because I was told to have 2 weeks to think about that but I today I called them again and they told me the different things!
I Said to them I would give you a remark online if you don't give me the money refund, he said he didn't care about that! I felt that I was treated on by the guy who talked with me about the refund issue around 6 am in the morning! I was treated around 20 something dollars. It just like a huge fish eat a tiny fish. Their customer service is so... bad that I had never had an experience like that before. I am a very patient and calm person but it's really made me so angry this time! I am so regretted to paid for my hard earn money on godaddy.com.
On January 21, 2006, I had a terrible time trying to renew my website's domain name, DIYparts.org. To summarize, I encountered a maze of complication and bureaucracy in trying to renew my domain name, which I registered through GoDaddy.com. I lost three hours in having to go back to my office from home as a result of this complexity. GoDaddy really needs to make its security process more easy to navigate by allowing access to the site through the user's personal information, things that the user will easily remember in the event that he or she needs to access his or her account.
I called GoDaddy at their 24/7 tech support line. I appreciated that they were staffed on Saturday afternoon from 1 pm to 6 pm US Pacific time, because I had to call back several times. There was no toll-free number, but instead I had to call their local tech support number, which is 480-505-8877. On each occasion, I had to wait about 15 minutes before speaking with a representative. Since I had to call back four times, that meant that an hour of my time was spent on hold.
So when you call GoDaddy for support, be sure to have a headset and Internet access, because you are going to be on hold for a while, and you will probably need information from their website to give to the tech support person. The cause for my problems is that GoDaddy creates different accounts if you order domain names at different times. In other words, on Day 1, I created domain names Widget.com. On Day 2, I created Gidget.com. Widget and Midget will now be on two separate accounts.
You would think that GoDaddy would use a combination of birthdate info, social security info, mother's maiden name, email address, plus a password to access the user's account info. But no. They require a login ID and the last four numbers of the credit card you used to purchase products through their site or a four digit PIN to access your account information. My problem with using these security screens is that this info is easily changed over the course of a year, which is the minimum length of time for which you can reserve a domain name through GoDaddy.
Most of GoDaddy's customers probably don't access their accounts very much during that year, which means that unless you have at least two of those arcane bits of information with you at all times, you will not be able to access that information readily. Not having quick access to this info can result in lost time if a site experiences problems, as my site did. I was partially at fault for this particular incident, in that I allowed my domain name, DIYparts.org, to lapse because that I was in trial (I'm a lawyer) at the time that my domain came up for renewal. Some of my users noticed that the site was down, and so they emailed me on a Saturday morning.
I was away from my office, and so I didn't have access to the information that I needed to renew the site. This caused me to have to completely re-arrange my schedule that day, which created a huge amount of inconvenience to me. The real kicker in this case was that the GoDaddy customer service reps knew that I was the right person to be accessing the accounts. I proved my identity with regard to account number one. I just wanted to access account number two, and both accounts were under my name and my address.
GoDaddy should provide a smarter interface that will more easily allow users to link accounts for easily merging accounts into one account. But they don't. It took another hour on the phone to get the two accounts merged successfully, and in the end, I had to drop one of my preferred login names, since the system couldn't successfully merge the two accounts and bring over both login names. The first three customer service reps to whom I spoke sounded like younger men. They were curt and didn't really try to be helpful, so much as they tried to move the call to conclusion.
Finally, I spoke with a more mature-sounding woman by the name of **, who did try to solve my problems, and she actually did a bit of research to experiment and try to solve the problems. But even she ultimately was stymied by the GoDaddy user interface when it came to using one of my preferred login names. The system simply wouldn't allow that change. Ironically, ** will probably not be promoted because she spends too much time on calls, whereas the indifferent younger men will probably have better numbers in terms of churning calls, and therefore will get promoted. I hope that is not the case.
In sum, GoDaddy is a market leader in domain name registration in North America, and so they are becoming lax and indifferent to their users' needs. Sure, they have 24/7 tech support, which is a plus, but in the future, I am going to shift more of my business to one of their competitors, like DomainsNext, because DomainsNext has a more user-friendly interface, and is not so bureaucratic as GoDaddy, which has a Soviet-style feel to its tech support and user interface.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA -- I am writing this letter in reference to a situation that has disrupted my professional life and has given me much personal stress. I feel it is my civil duty to warn everyone just how easy it was for someone to take control of my GoDaddy account and how painstaking hard it has been for me to regain rightful access to this account. Everyone knows about identity theft and cyber fraud. It would surprise me to meet anyone who has not read news stories about hackers infiltrating security networks and gaining personal information that can destroy someone's credit history or even their reputation.
I have always been wary of identity theft and trusted the companies I have conducted business with to be just as careful and secure with their investments. This was until my trust with GoDaddy.com was destroyed on a Friday when I received notification on my Blackberry that my account status had changed over to a former business partner. I immediately called GoDaddy and discussed the account situation with customer service rep. ** and then technical service rep ** and they rectified the situation by giving me control over the account again. I logged in and realized that my former business partner deleted the majority of my businesses.
Luckily, I had everything backed up on my hard drive and was able to change everything back to normal within a few minutes. After I was done with this process, I logged out. Unbeknown to me and the customer service technician who initially gave me back control of my account, my former business partner was still logged in when I fixed everything he messed up. He waited for me to log off before destroying everything I fixed, including changing my user information to ensure that I could not log back on. The next day, I attempted to log on and, to my dismay, I realized that my profile had been hijacked yet again.
I immediately called GoDaddy and explained the entire situation to the customer service department, hoping that they could easily resolve the situation just as they had the previous evening, but instead, they treated me with suspicion. They asked for various forms of identification to prove that I was the true owner of the account, which I completely understand and had no problem giving them. However, it became obvious that the specific information I gave them would not be enough to regain access to my account. In fact, they are now requiring me to fax copies of my driver's license and social security card to a random fax number.
I am utterly frustrated because I gave them information that no one else on the account can give, yet it is still not enough to regain access to my businesses. The information they want is starting to get very personal and I am beginning to feel uncomfortable handing personal information over to a company whose security is obviously very lax. I would like to know how my former business partner obtained my information and has access to my account when it is so difficult for me to prove my identity to GoDaddy's customer service department.
As of right now, I still have yet to gain access to my account. My business websites are no longer operating and I do not have domain access of my email accounts. I feel as if I was pick pocketed on the street and neither the police nor do my credit card companies believe that my wallet was stolen. I feel helpless and I do not want any one else to ever feel this way.
You never truly know how good your business relationships are until you have a problem. GoDaddy is not giving me certain guarantees about regaining full access to my account. I really feel that the situation could have been resolved quickly if I had had the full attention and support of GoDaddy from the beginning.
Service, good. Price excellent. Service horrendous. If you ask a question,(such as how to change your info when you don't know your pin/credit card number) be prepared to get an e-mail saying your question will be answered in 24 hours. Then you will get a canned response to your question that will clearly be sent by some robot who didn't read your question. After you kick that back to them you will get another e-mail from someone who hasn't read your question. And tells you to input your pin/credit card number. Eventually you will give up and call them. At which point they will tell you to copy your drivers license, company info and fax it to a number.
You will then wait 24 hours to be told that your drivers license is not readable by fax (duh). So you scan and send it to their address and they tell you to scan it to them. You wait another 24 hours to be told that you need to send it to another address. By that time you are ready to strangle. Oh and by the way, if you have several accounts you will have to go through this process for each one. The WHOLE process. They can't change more than one at a time.
It is clear that their drones are adept at playing ping pong and getting the request off their desk rather than actually providing support.


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If one wants to make self-regulation truly voluntary and not dependent on a machine, it is necessary to be conscious of what the feedback represents. Biofeedback of autonomic processes presents to the cerebral cortex (the main area of consciousness in humans) information that usually is fed back almost entirely to subcortical brain centers. Blood flow in the various parts of the body and in various organs, for instance, is continuously and sensitively monitored by an internal feedback system that sends signals to an unconscious subcortical control center, the hypothalamus, and not until large temperature changes occur (due to blood flow changes) does the cortex become aware. For example, the average person without training cannot tell within 5.0°F what the hand temperature is, and cannot control hand temperature, but when a great deal of hand-temperature information is fed to the cortex, by the use of a temperature indicator that provides a just noticeable difference of 0.01°F, then the average person can learn to increase hand temperature at will within a couple of days.
Our primitive ancestors, with a life expectancy of perhaps twenty years, did not have much use or need for conscious inside-the-skin information in order to survive in a struggle with outside-the-skin nature, but our present-day problems are almost the reverse of theirs. Our stress is not from the physical world as much as from the psychological world, and feedback of inside-the-skin information is useful for control of inside-the-skin stress responses. In this regard, some of our problems with stress seem to be tied to the fact that we still have the caveman and cavewoman bodies of our ancestors. Many anthropologists point out that no significant changes have taken place in the gene pool for ten thousand years-some say fifty thousand-and that we still handle most stress with our "fight or flight" brain, the limbic system, sometimes called the visceral brain or the emotional brain.
The Biofeedback Society of America (founded in 1969 as the Biofeedback Research Society) invented the modern terminology in the field, but the earliest date for the use of biofeedback was at least as long ago as the development of yoga for control of certain autonomic processes of the body. In learning to control blood flow in the limbs, for instance, the color of the skin provided visual feedback as an indication of success. This is definitely biofeedback; information that was usually unconscious became detectable to the eye, and was fed to the cortex via the optic nerve. Such a feedback system was relatively inefficient because of low sensitivity, but nowadays sensitive electronic thermometers make learning easy.
The fact that it is quite easy to learn with biofeedback to control certain autonomic functions raises a question: How does biofeedback work? As a possible answer, consider figure 1. Sensory perception of outside-the-skin (OUTS) events, stressful or otherwise (upper left box), leads to a physiological response along arrows 1 to 4. If the physiological response is "picked up" and fed back (arrow 5) to a person who attempts to control inside-the-skin (INS) behavior, through imagining and visualizing a desired change, then arrows 6 and 7 come into being, resulting in a "new" limbic (emotional) response. This response in turn makes a change in ''signals" transmitted along arrows 3 and 4, modifying the original physiological response. A cybernetic loop is thus completed, and the dynamic equilibrium (homeostasis) of the system can be brought under voluntary control. Biofeedback practice, acting in the opposite way to drugs, increases a person's sensitivity to INS events, and eventually arrow 8 develops, followed by the development of arrows 9 and 10. External feedback is then unnecessary, because direct perception of INS events becomes adequate for maintaining self-regulation skills. Physiological self-control through classical yoga develops along the route of arrows 7-3-4-9-10-7, but for control of specific physiological and psychosomatic problems biofeedback training seems more efficient.
The main scientific question about biofeedback, and yoga too, seems to be, How does visualization, or imagination of a change in physiological processes, get converted into an actual physiological process? Along the same vein: How does an "organ-specific formula" (a phrase from J.H. Schultz's Autogenic Training) make a change in an organ? And again, how do John Basmajian's and Bernard Engel's biofeedback training methods, respectively, lead to control of firing in single motor nerve cells and in specific sections of the heart? The answer may be, of course, that mind and body are made of the same basic substance, and that if we can regulate mind, we can regulate body. Whatever the case, it is clear that much interesting research remains to be done.
(From Holistic Dimensions in Healing, Leslie Kaslof, Ed.)


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Beaumont/Port Arthur
Fishing tourney benefits firefighters
Professional Fire Fighters Local No. 399 will host their first Hooks & Ladder Fishing Tournament on Saturday, June 4, beginning at sunrise with a launch at Pine Tree Lodge at 3296 Pinetree Road in Beaumont (Labelle area).
More than 100 new Seahawks attended Lamar State College - Port Arthur's three-hour orientation on Thursday, Aug. 7, reports Dave Rogers of LSC-PA.
New students and their family members arrived in drives for the informational session and to tour the campus. In this photo, the students and families cross Lakeshore Drive from the Performing Arts Center to the Parker Center as part of the tour during the student orientation held in advance of the start of Fall 2014 semester beginning Aug. 25.
Dr. W. Sam Monroe, who has been a part of Lamar State College-Port Arthur for 49 years including serving as president for the past 39, has announced he will retire effective Aug. 31, 2014.
Author Richard Glaubman will appear at Lamar State College-Port Arthur where he will speak about his book "Life Is So Good". The event is open to the general public and is free to attend.
A trio of Southeast Texas high school softball talents jotted their signatures on the line as they joined Lamar State College – Port Arthur's Seahawks during two separate ceremonies Tuesday, Jan. 15.
Rebekah Blanda and Colleen Brown, both of Beaumont West Brook High School, signed their letters of intent Tuesday morning in the school's library while family, friends and a happy group of Lamar State-Port Arthur coaches looked on.
While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us "that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas," we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We're of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.
For this week's New York Times crossword puzzle, pick up a copy of this week's The Examiner on newsstands now.


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The Writers Guild of America West's Political Action Committee has endorsed a dozen congressional and Senate candidates and contributed a total of $52,500 toward their campaigns.
The PAC said the candidates have shown support for the WGAW's positions on such issues as Net Neutrality, digital piracy, independent production, copyright infringement and media consolidation.
"We have focused on incumbents who have a track record on the issues we care about," said WGA West political director John Vezina. "Most of the issues important to writers are legislated through the House and Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees."
The chairs of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary committees, Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-West Va.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), respectively, were identified as supportive of writers and WGA concerns.
"Because of that we're working to ensure they retain their chairmanships," Vezina said. "With the presidency and control of the House and Senate up for grabs, it is more important than ever that those we elect are not only educated about issues affecting writers but supportive of them."
Candidates who have received the PAC's endorsements are Rep. Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.), $5,000; Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), $2,500; and Rep. and Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), $7,500; Senate candidate Dr. Richard Carmona (D-Ariz.); and Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), $10,000; Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), $10,000; Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), $7,500; and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), $10,000.
The guild also said that while President Obama does not accept PAC money, he has received its endorsement.
"Through important appointments at the FCC and the Dept. of Justice, along with his strong support for issues like an open Internet, the president has proven his support and therefore deserves writers' votes," Vezina said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and California Democratic Reps. Tony Cardenas, Xavier Becerra and Karen Bass have been endorsed without contributions.


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Ramin Djawadi always dreamed of composing a film score, and the Berklee College of Music graduate has done plenty, including 2008's "Iron Man." But this week saw the release of one of Djawadi's most ambitious soundtracks to date — "Medal of Honor: Warfighter."
Not in a theater near you? That's because "Warfighter" is not a movie, it's a video game. "My goal was always to do music for movies," Djawadi says. "But having said that, the way things have developed today have made games like giant movies."
For a cadre of top composers, the action isn't in film but video games. Djawadi's score for "Medal of Honor: Warfighter," for instance, boasts 100 minutes of music, much of it downright experimental by film composition standards. It's alternately symphonic, electronic and rock 'n' roll, and it's emblematic of an industry that's providing room to roam for those used to scoring to picture.
Yet it isn't just musical freedom that has composers excited about the growth in video game music. A reliance on big-budget films, they say, has created an industry with a wider-than-ever gap between blockbusters and more modest films. The former offer little room to experiment, and the latter pack significantly smaller music budgets. Even though the money spent on tent-pole fare isn't declining, composers say the money spent on music is.
"I don't do that many video games, but it's becoming quite challenging in the film world," says John Debney, an Emmy-nominated composer for "Hatfields & McCoys."
"They're still making large-scale films, and yet the music budgets are usually not commensurate to what the production budget is," he continues. "For whatever reason, music is one of the areas they rob Peter to pay Paul. Therefore it makes the idea of doing a game more interesting and more viable to someone like me."
Box office receipts for the early part of 2012 were heavily weighted toward the big budget and the brand names. Through the first 61/2 months of the year, more than $1 billion of the $6.05 billion in total box office was generated just from "The Avengers" and "The Hunger Games."
"A lot of the middle ground movies have disappeared," says "Dexter" composer Daniel Licht. "All the movies-of-the-week have disappeared. There's a whole class of film composing that just does not exist anymore. So TV and film composers have gone into video games to keep working on long-form fiction."
Musically, video games have become more attractive out of necessity, despite the fact that in terms of the overall money spent on a game, the amount allotted to music is small.
"Usually 1, sometimes 2% of the overall budget is the video game's music budget," says Steve Schnur, who oversees music at Electronic Arts. No longer do top composers view the video-game world as child's play. "The Dark Knight Rises" composer Hans Zimmer has scored multiple games, "Shrek" composer Harry Gregson-Williams has contributed to the "Metal Gear Solid" series and Brian Tyler recently worked on the action film "Battle: Los Angeles" and the action game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."
"The score will never play the same way twice," Tyler says. "I like to watch people play 'Call of Duty.' It's like watching a DJ remix my music."
"Dexter's" Licht had been working in film and television for more than a decade before scoring his first game, and if he has a regret, it's that he waited so long.
"The sad story is that 10 or 12 years ago I was in Seattle recording the score for 'Stephen King's Thinner,' " he says. "A contractor said, 'Are you interested in doing video games.' I was like, 'Ha! No! I'm a film composer.' I was thinking video games were just old Nintendo games — just electronics with not a very big budget. That turned out not to be the case."
On Oct. 9 Bethesda Softworks will release "Dishonored," a highly anticipated action-adventure game scored by Licht. He couldn't be happier with the result — an ambient, violin-heavy score aimed to reflect 19th century London. The game even comes complete with a series of animated webisodes that provided more traditional scoring opportunities.
"Film has become a little paint-by-numbers," Licht says. "They have such huge budgets that no one takes chances. They'll go for a brand-name composer and a stock sound rather than trying something startling. I know that's not always the case. 'The Social Network,' for instance, had a different feel."
The 2010 David Fincher film featured a sparse electronic score by Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and his frequent collaborator Atticus Ross. It was an unlikely Academy Award winner for original score. But it was actually the previous year's Oscar score winner, Disney/Pixar film "Up," that may have done more to bring respect to composers from outsider disciplines.
Before "Up" composer Michael Giacchino partnered with J.J. Abrams for the ABC series "Alias," he was writing scores for video games. His 1999 "Medal of Honor" score is a genre touchstone, as it treated the Electronic Arts game as if it were a Steven Spielberg war epic.
"Horrible Bosses" composer Christopher Lennertz followed in Giacchino's footsteps and ultimately scored three "Medal of Honor" titles. "We were all jumping up and down and cheering when Michael won his Oscar," says Lennertz, who's at work on NBC's "Revolution." "There was legitimacy then."
Popular video game soundtracks, such as the accompaniment to 2010 Microsoft game "Halo: Reach," can sell as many as 30,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Though details are scant, Paul McCartney revealed this summer that he is working with Bungie, the studio that developed "Halo: Reach," on an upcoming project.
If anyone isn't already paying attention to video game music, a Beatle should help. "Video game music fans are as obsessive to game scores as we were to the 'Star Wars' score or to the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' score," says Electronic Arts' Schnur. "We were all obsessed with those. Those became important in the cultural conversation. I would say the same today when it comes to 'Medal of Honor.'"
At the very least, Giacchino and Lennertz are evidence that the franchise has helped fuel careers. Video games have become vital, says Tyler, in developing new composer talent.
"For as long as I can think back, there were two areas you could compose and find work: television and movies," he says. "Now there's a third completely separate entity that exists for composing, and it didn't exist a few years ago."
Debney goes one step further. Composing for media is a relatively niche art, he acknowledges, and he compares those booking live orchestras for video games to the art patrons of yore, in that they are helping to keep a skill alive.
"People who aren't in this business may not realize that a musician spends 15 or 20 years studying an instrument or a discipline," he says. "If they can't play on a video game or a film score or a TV show, that art goes away."
It's likely here to stay, but composers are bracing for change. As the gaming industry transitions to one dominated by mobile games and digital downloads, ultimately it may more closely mirror the movie industry.
"There's room for big movies, indie movies, cable movies and Web series," says Lennertz. "The same goes for games. There will be the blockbusters and there will be small stuff that's a lot more niche based. What's going to drop out is going to be the same thing that has dropped out of movies — the middle level. It's largely disappeared in film. You will have high-end, and you will have simple, mobile games."
Culturally, the reach is already becoming clear. A career highlight, says Lennertz, was being invited to the Netherlands a few years back to lead the country's Metropole Orchestra in an evening of symphonic classics.
What classics? "The classics," he says, "you know, like 'Halo' and 'Zelda.'"
'Medal of Honor Warfighter' enters dangerous territory
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn': 1st 'Halo' movie
'Borderlands 2′ survives with a sense of humor
'Sound Shapes' brings Beck and more into the game
Review: Cash is king in 'New Super Mario Bros. 2′
'Street Fighter' box aims to land a punch with fans
Sending video games to the battlefield
'Book of Spells' will charm Harry Potter fans
'LittleBigPlanet' gives gamers creative power
Ellen Page in 'Beyond': a 'subversive' game


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If you know the difference between a high V and a low V, chances are you are the parent of a cheerleader. And chances are that cheerleader got her start at a place like St. Andrew's Parks and Recreation Department.
The 37 St. Andrew's basketball cheerleaders ages 5-11 recently held an expo at the gym to thank their families and demonstrate the skills they learned over the past season.
Cheerleader Merritt Meeks was recognized at the expo for being a role model and leader, while parents Tameka Lawer and Jelana Brown were honored for their service.
"It was really a way for the girls to be able to show their parents all the cheers, the dances, the jumps and stunts they had learned throughout the season," said Mandi Jiminez, who coordinated the program for St. Andrew's this year.
"We did five closed-door practices at the end of the year in which the parents weren't allowed to come into the room so that all the things they did at the expo were a surprise."
Jiminez said this was the only opportunity to bring all the girls together at one time. Because there were so many basketball games, they had to divide into groups. Jiminez said that while the basketball teams had between eight and 10 games, the cheerleaders had to work 16 games.
This was the third year Jiminez has coached cheerleaders. She was a youth cheerleader growing up and volunteered to coach when her daughter Elizabeth, now 10, wanted to cheer three years ago.
When she began, St. Andrew's had three cheerleading teams, but there was talk of disbanding the cheerleading program this season, so she volunteered to take on all the cheerleaders. Ashley Beach was her assistant.
Jiminez said she got the basketball schedule and roster and then coordinated it so that if families had a child playing and a child cheering there would be at least one game in which they could watch both children participate.
The cheerleaders began practicing two weeks before Christmas, and games began the week after New Year's. Once the basketball season began, they did not practice until the season ended and began preparing for the expo.
Jiminez said she and Beach stressed that cheerleaders are supposed to have manners and carry themselves in a certain way. They are expected to cheer people on, not just in games, and be responsible. The cheerleaders were not allowed to wear jewelry and had to dress in an appropriate way.
"I want them to know they are expected to be young ladies. I actually tell them they are perfect princesses and that cheering is something you can take further in life because you are a part of something bigger than yourself. You're part of a team," Jiminez said.
She said the camaraderie extends beyond the games and that the cheerleaders get together once a month for outings and made lasting friendships through the program.


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While I was looking for them, I was supposed to be working on a blog post about Joseph Hillis. I like to pick one ancestor who is being a pain and make them my #1 brick wall. The last one I had was Joseph's son, George. I couldn't find the names of George's parents anywhere. But then I found a death date for him and that led me to his death certificate and that held the names I was seeking. I found George with his parents in Boone County, Kentucky. I found his mother's parents and grandparents and great grandparents. But I couldn't find anything about Joseph.
Here's what I know about Joseph:
- He was born 29 April 1832. (obituary)
- He married Susan Brown MORSE on 12 May 1856 in Ohio County, Indiana. (Indiana Marriage database)
- On 25 May 1857, son George was born in Rising Sun, Indiana.
- In August 1859, son Valorous was born in Indiana. (He is named for his maternal grandfather.)
- In 1860, Joseph and Susan are living with their two sons, George and Valorous, in Spencer County, Indiana. (1860 census)
- In 1863, Joseph registered for the civil war draft. He was living in Ohio County, Indiana.
- On 28 January 1864, daughter Mary Francis is born in Rising Sun.
- In September 1865, daughter Lizzie is born in Indiana.
- In 1880, Joseph and Susan are living with their children, Valorous, Mary and Lizzie, in Boone County, Kentucky. (1880 census)
- In 1900, Joseph and Susan are still in Boone County. (1900 census)
- Joseph died on 25 February 1907 in Boone County. (obituary)
- He was buried in Rising Sun, Ohio County, Indiana according to his obituary. (obituary)
- His occupation was fisherman.
I have never been able to find the family in the 1870 census. This could be attributed to the family moving around the Ohio River.
There is no one birthplace listed for Joseph. Gathering all the census records for him and his children, his place of birth is listed as:
- Ohio - 2x
- England - 2x
- Pennsylvania - 7x
- Virginia - 1x
- West Virginia - 1x
George named his first born Joseph Mills Hillis. His father never used a middle name or initial, but the Mills name might be from his family.
I was able to find his obituary 2 weeks ago. The Boone County Public Library in Burlington, Kentucky has an newspaper index on their website. I found an entry for Joseph and received the obituary in my email in a few days. So now I have some other places to look.
Here's my plan:
- Search the Rising Sun, Indiana papers for mention of his death and burial.
- Search the family files at the Ohio County Historical Society. They have files on Hillis and Morse.


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By David Lawder and Amanda Becker
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A defiant Senator Ted Cruz railed against a bipartisan U.S. Senate deal to lift the federal debt limit and reopen the government on Wednesday, but said he would not try to block or delay its passage.
Cruz, a conservative Texas Republican, said he would vote against the measure because it provides no relief to Americans from what he calls the harmful effects of "Obamacare" health insurance reforms. However, he said that at this point there was nothing to gain from taking procedural measures to delay it.
Cruz has waged a weeks-long campaign to persuade Republicans to use the threat of a government shutdown and failure to lift the federal debt limit as leverage to defund, delay, or otherwise undermine President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
"The timing of the vote will make no difference in the outcome, and so I don't intend to delay the timing of the vote. I intend to vote no," Cruz told reporters. "It will be a bad deal for the American people today, tomorrow or the next day."
Under Senate rules, any senator can object to pending legislation, a move that would require a 60-vote majority to proceed to a yes or no vote. The process requires several days to complete, and with the U.S. Treasury set to exhaust its borrowing capacity on Thursday, time for passage is running short.
In a campaign-style speech before cameras as the Senate deal was announced, Cruz said the bipartisan plan reflected "the "traditional approach of the Washington establishment of maintaining the status quo and doing nothing to respond to the suffering that Obamacare is causing to millions of Americans."
Although the health reform is aimed at providing affordable care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans, Cruz and other Republicans blame it for causing premiums to rise in some areas and for prompting companies to reduce hiring or to shift employees from full-time work to part-time work.
In the end, the only Obamacare concession in Wednesday's Senate-negotiated deal was the inclusion of a provision requiring that those applying for insurance subsidies verify their income.
Government-run health insurance exchanges started operating on October 1, and the deal does not alter a requirement that individuals obtain coverage starting on January 1 or pay a tax penalty. The deal still requires passage in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Lawmakers and aides from both parties on Capitol Hill have criticized Cruz for using his fight against Obamacare, which included a well-publicized 21-hour speech on the Senate floor, as a personal platform to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. The Tea Party firebrand won election to the Senate only last November.
Although Cruz has not announced his formal intention to run for president, some political analysts say the fame he has gained from his recent efforts has elevated him to a leading Republican contender, alongside House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, the party's 2012 vice presidential candidate, and fellow conservative Senator Rand Paul.
Cruz defended his efforts to use the fiscal deadlines to try to thwart Obamacare, saying he was doing what Americans wanted.
Despite the government shutdown, which has forced the temporary layoff of hundreds of thousands of government employees, and angst in financial markets as to whether the United States would default on its obligations, Cruz said the effort was worth it as it had caused "millions upon millions of people rise up" against Obamacare.
He praised House Republicans, whose demands for Obamacare concessions - and their refusal by Democrats - forced much of the government to close on October 1.
"We saw the House of Representatives take courageous stand listening to the American people, that everyone in official Washington just weeks ago said would never happen. That was a remarkable victory to see the House engage in a profile in courage."
He blamed the failure to stop the health care law on Senate Republicans who had failed to unite in the fight over the fiscal deadlines.
"I would point out, that had Senate Republicans united, and supported House Republicans, the outcome of this I believe would've been very, very different," he said.
(Reporting By David Lawder; Editing by David Brunnstrom)


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By Renita D. Young
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois decided on Thursday to delay until April 9 an election to fill the U.S. House seat vacated by Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who resigned last week amid an ethics investigation and concerns over his health.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn had said on Monday that the special election would be March 19 after a primary on February 26.
But the state Senate voted on Thursday to delay the vote until April to coincide with local elections and save money for the state, which faces a financial crisis. The state House had approved the change on Wednesday.
The winner of the February Democratic primary will be favored in the general election because Jackson's majority African-American district is solidly Democratic.
A number of Democrats have said they intend to run, including state Senators Donne Trotter and Toi Hutchinson, former U.S. Representative Mel Reynolds and Chicago Alderman Anthony Beale.
Reynolds had held Jackson's seat before resigning in 1995 after being convicted on criminal charges of sexual assault and solicitation of pornography.
Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks also is considering a run, a spokeswoman said.
Media reports said former U.S. Representative Debbie Halvorson, who lost to Jackson this year in the primaries, also plans to run for the seat.
In his two-page resignation letter, Jackson, 47, who has been treated for bipolar disorder and is reportedly under investigation for possible misuse of campaign funds, acknowledged he was the target of a federal probe and in possible plea talks.
"I am aware of the ongoing federal investigation into my activities and I am doing my best to address the situation responsibly, cooperate with the investigators and accept responsibility for my mistakes," Jackson wrote.
Jackson easily won re-election on November 6 despite the ethics questions.
His resignation did not result in any change in the political balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, which has a solid Republican majority.
Jackson was treated for at least six weeks this summer at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for bipolar disorder, a psychological condition marked by extreme mood swings.
He has also been the subject of a House ethics committee probe over an alleged bribe offered by a Jackson supporter in 2008 to then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich.
The bribe was said to be intended to entice Blagojevich to appoint Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Jackson has admitted to lobbying for the seat, but denied knowing about any money offered to Blagojevich, who has since been convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned.
According to news reports citing unnamed sources, Jackson is also being investigated by the FBI over possible misuse of campaign money. The FBI has not confirmed the reports.
(Reporting by Renita D. Young; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Stacey Joyce, Greg McCune and Lisa Shumaker)


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By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he was committed to fully fixing problems at the Internal Revenue Service, saying any employees involved in targeting conservative groups for extra scrutiny would be held accountable for their actions.
In a news conference in the White House Rose Garden, Obama also said he did not know about a report by the IRS inspector general on the targeting before it was leaked to the press.
"Typically, the IG reports are not supposed to be widely distributed or shared. They tend to be, you know, a process that everybody's trying to protect the integrity of," Obama said at a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
The president is trying to limit political fallout from the scandal, which critics say is an example of government overreach. On Wednesday, the administration ousted the IRS's acting commissioner, Steven Miller.
Obama said further investigations would bring to light who was responsible and what had gone wrong. The IRS revealed last week that some of its officials had singled out Tea Party groups seeking tax exempt status for special scrutiny.
"The actions that were described in that IG report are unacceptable," Obama said. "So in addition to making sure that we've got a new acting director there, we're also going to make sure that we gather up the facts and hold accountable and responsible anybody who was involved in this."
Obama also urged that laws "that create a bunch of ambiguity" for the IRS in applying tax rules be cleared up.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Roberta Rampton and Mark Felsenthal, writing by Laura MacInnis and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Jim Loney)


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This Is Depressing
While you're sitting in your cubicle this afternoon eating your lunch of ramen noodles, stale popcorn and tap water, don't think about how much The Hills twats makes per episode. Well, unless you want your bowels to burst. If that's the case, think away!
The Daily Beast got a hold (*cough*Spencer's flesh beard faxed it them*cough*) of a contract which states what everybody on The Hills makes per episode. Get ready to pop the Pepcid, because here we go:
Lauren Conrad – $125,000 per episode (her contract also stated that nobody on The Hills could make more than her)
Kristin Calawhateverwhoever – $90,000 per episode
Heidi Montag – $100,000 per episode
Ceiling Eyes – $100,000 per episode
Lo Bosworth – $100,000 per episode
Spencer Twatt – $65,000 per episode
Brody Jenner – $45,000 per episode
Spencer's flesh beard – One bottle of RID and a 2-month supply of Veet
Staci the Bartender – Two morning after pills and a 10% off coupon to the free clinic
And there you go! It's hard for me to fully hate, because these bitches are making money for doing absolutely NOTHING. Seriously, they aren't even flexing one brain cell (for those who have one). They get paid a ton of cash to go to fake lunch, talk about fake things, sit at their fake jobs and partake in fake relationships. But they are gittin' that cash…I guess.
However, it would be a lot cheaper for MTV if they simply painted a coat of paint on the wall and filmed it drying. It would have the same effect and only cost them $20 MAX. I'd even give them the Lowe's gift card my mom gave me for Christmas.
With all that being queefed, I will be watching the season premiere tonight. Yes, I AM THE PROBLEM!!!!!