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Address on the State of the University
The University of Texas at Austin
September 15, 1999
Audacity has been a part of our heritage since the moment Texans adopted a constitution charging themselves and their leaders to establish "a university of the first class." How bold and daring -- how audacious -- a charge it was. In 1876, the state was hardly a stronghold of scholarship and refinement. Few had experience with any university at all. But, Texas was fertile ground for democracy, and Texans understood the importance of education to a democratic society. They saw themselves as building for the ages. They would surely marvel at what has already come from their dreams.
The Constitution survives. Its language remains. The University is, at the same time, approaching what Texans of 1876 charged and far greater than they could have believed possible. The audacity continues as a part of our speech. We need to be sure that it remains a part of our plans. Toward that end, I address you today.
First, let me declare that the current state of the University is sound and strong. Knowledgeable observers consistently judge us to be the best university within a thousand miles. We possess outstanding academic standards and strong traditions. Our city and our state are favorably situated. All of this has created an opportunity for us to lead in the America of the future.
We are all fortunate to be a part of one of the world's most stimulating learning environments. To aim high is as much a part of our heritage as the longhorn, the Tower and singing "The Eyes of Texas." I am glad to report that the past year has been marked by achievements worthy of high standards.
Members of our faculty have been honored with a MacArthur Fellowship, the Pauling Medal, and election to the British Academy. Our students have won Rhodes, Marshall and Truman scholarships, the Prix de Rome and the Heisman Trophy. Three alumni recently won the Pulitzer Prize. The list goes on.
New facilities valuable to the mission of the University are under way or in the design phase. Let me name some of them:
- The Applied Computational and Engineering Sciences Building, crucial to our computer science and engineering programs, is scheduled to open in early summer.
- The Seay Building, which will house the Department of Psychology and the Center for Child Development and Family Relations, is now in site preparation.
- The Blanton Museum of Art is being designed for a groundbreaking next year.
- The first new dormitory on campus since the 1960s is now under construction.
- The Connally Center, a large addition to the School of Law, will be completed in a few months.
- The Gebauer Building is being renovated and restored as a new home for the College of Liberal Arts.
- And, major improvements to our athletics facilities, including Myers Stadium and Soccer Field, the renovation of Royal-Memorial Stadium and the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletics Center are supporting a new age of achievement for our student-athletes.
Many of these projects were made possible by gifts to the Capital Campaign, which has now raised more than $405 million in received gifts and commitments. In all of this work, we are mindful of the Campus Master Plan and its goals of building a stronger community, enhancing aesthetics and improving life on the campus.
There have also been noteworthy achievements in our operations:
- Innovative scholarship programs and other initiatives have allowed us to achieve remarkable gains in minority participation among freshmen.
- The reorganization of our programs in the biological sciences has positioned them better with respect to the new intellectual structure of biology and with respect to the needs of students.
- And there have been wonderful additions to our treasures, including the Suida-Manning Collection of European paintings and drawings, the historic Alamo Diary, David Douglas Duncan's lifetime archive, the Flip Schulke photography collection; and the papers of Jorge Luis Borges -- all of which will contribute to education, research and service to the public.
In last year's Address on the State of the University, I outlined an institutional agenda based on six strategic themes:
- Consistent improvement of quality
- Broadened sense of ownership
- Enhanced undergraduate experience
- Contribution to improved public education
- Support for the New Texas Economy
- Leadership in Latin American programs
Last January, seven university-wide steering groups were convened to identify specific goals of high value toward these themes that could be achieved in six to 18 months. More than 40 goals emerged. They have all been assigned to specific individuals or groups, who are proceeding with them. Several have already been accomplished.
Let me recount a few notable achievements of the past year relating to each of the strategic themes:
In 1998-99, the most pressing needs with respect to quality were to reinforce our financial base and to enhance our competitiveness for talent, which is the central asset of any university. For the fiscal year that started on Sept. 1, we were able to improve compensation by 10 percent for graduate assistants, 6.6 percent for staff, and 6 percent for faculty. We were also able to do so in a way that ameliorated some clear inequities and reduced our vulnerability to raiding from the outside. This invaluable progress was possible only through the combined efforts of state leaders, the regents, the chancellor, the UT System, and the UT Austin community.
We also have worked to give the people of Texas a greater sense of ownership and involvement in the University. One success story is the Longhorn Opportunity Scholarship program, which awards scholarships to graduates of high schools that have been historically underserved by UT. And, in March of this year, we hosted UT Interactive, the biggest open house in Texas. That event shared the excitement of learning and research with tens of thousands of visitors to our campus.
Our outreach programs -- combined with the fine academic achievements of our applicants -- have restored minority enrollments in this year's freshman class to levels that existed before the Hopwood decision. African-American enrollment among freshmen is up more than 40 percent in one year alone.
According to a study published earlier this year in Hispanic Outlook, UT is now No. 5 in the nation in baccalaureate degrees awarded to minorities and No. 1 in the nation in doctorates awarded to Hispanics. For bachelor's degrees conferred on Hispanics, we are No. 4 nationally, and first in the AAU. While we can and will do better, we should not overlook the fact that UT Austin is making a major contribution to minority education in the United States, and has been doing so for many years.
Provost Sheldon Ekland-Olson is chairing the steering group on enhancing the undergraduate experience. One of the goals of this initiative is to engage students in highly stimulating and intellectually challenging learning experiences as soon as possible after their arrival on the 40 Acres.
A very successful example is the Freshman Interest Group program, which originated last fall and has been doubled this year. These groups of 25 or fewer freshman take three courses together during the fall semester and attend a weekly seminar with a peer mentor and an academic adviser.
Ka' rin Thornburg, from Humble, Texas, enrolled in a Freshman Interest Group offered in the College of Natural Sciences last year. She said, "I didn't know anyone, and I didn't live on campus, so I felt on the outside. I quickly joined a study group and made a lot of friends. And, the weekly meetings with mentors and advisers helped me plan the semester and learn a lot about the campus and the research facilities. I recommended the program to a friend from my high school who will be a freshman this year." This year, Ka' rin is a student mentor, helping new students adjust to campus life.
Our research indicates that students who live on campus for at least one year have higher retention and graduation rates than those who do not. A new dormitory now under construction on Waller Creek will be ready next fall, the first phase of three new projects that we expect to bring UT's housing capacity to 8,000. Upon completion, these new facilities will make it possible for us to provide housing for all members of the freshmen class who wish to live on campus.
The University is actively involved in improving public education in Texas. I'd like to describe just one example. This summer the UT College of Education, in partnership with the Texas Education Agency, helped to strengthen the skills of reading teachers throughout the state. Our Texas Center for Reading and Language Arts designed the curriculum and prepared trainers who led Kindergarten Teacher Academies available to all 17,000 kindergarten teachers in the public schools. Next summer, a similar program will be offered to the 26,000 first grade teachers in Texas public schools.
Another of our themes is to provide support for the New Texas Economy, knowledge-based industries that have transformed our state's economic landscape during the past two decades. We have created a campus-wide infrastructure, with representation from 18 colleges and administrative units, to address private sector needs. In addition, we have established a service-oriented web site to promote coordination between the University, business and industry.
Earlier this month, the College of Business Administration started a two-year educational program tailored for senior managers and engineers at Motorola's new manufacturing plant in Tianjin, China. They will study global leadership and marketing with UT faculty members while acquiring on-the-job training at Motorola's Austin plant. Motorola is bearing the full cost of this program, which meets its particular needs and gives us an opportunity to experiment with new ways to address the changing educational requirements of a dynamic economy.
The University is one the nation's leading centers of expertise on Latin America, and we are expanding our ties to Latin America in the form of new exchange programs, additional scholarships and increased interdisciplinary research. This fall's new class in our joint MBA program with Monterrey Tech in Mexico City is more than double the size of last year's and possesses sharply improved qualifications. In the months ahead, we will establish an Argentine Studies Center, and we are expanding our relationships with Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil and Chile, among other Latin American countries.
Let me summarize all that I have reported -- and more -- simply by saying that our University is in confident, purposeful motion and is stronger than a year ago.
Now let us shift our view to the year ahead. Here are the targets that I am setting for 1999-2000:
- To provide a strong focus on the quality theme.
- To create a centerpiece year for the We're Texas Campaign.
- To accomplish at least two thirds of the goals of the steering groups.
- To establish a five-year financial strategy.
- To achieve compensation improvements for 2000-2001 comparable to those of 1999-2000.
- To improve administrative operations.
- To lay the foundation for the next Legislative session.
For most of these items, the purpose and motivation are self-evident, but I would like to speak further upon two, the stress on quality and the item relating to our campaign.
In this year of the millennium, I ask our community to raise, across a broad front, our hopes for achievement and our standards of performance. I made the point earlier that audacity -- daring -- surprising boldness -- is a part of our cultural heritage and ought to be a part of our plans. A consistent focus on improved quality is the way to make it so. This is a theme that applies to every unit, every department, every program, and every individual here at the University.
It goes far beyond the vanity of rankings. It goes directly to the question of whether the Texas of the early 21st century, at a pivotal point in her history, will or will not have access to top-level expertise, top-level educational opportunities, and top-level intellectual holdings. It goes to the heart of whether we will succeed in the mission of service for which this university really exists.
This is not a matter of rhetoric. It is a practical matter, if we take the challenge seriously. There are three parts to my recipe for action:
- To calibrate against the best, program by program.
- To imagine what would allow us to become better than today's best Ñ in the world that will exist a decade from now.
- To frame and to take practical steps to close the gap.
The first element in this trio is simply a way of saying that the benchmark for any individual program at Texas, academic or not, should be the defined by the best performers of the same type in the nation: Department of Philosophy or Division of Housing and Food Service; Department of Accounting or Office of Accounting; Department of Computer Sciences or Administrative Computing Services; President's Office or Physical Plant. If you look at academic rankings of any kind, you will find that in virtually every field we have a program ranked in the top 25 in the United States. In most cases it is the best in Texas. But rarely are we ranked at the very top nationally, or even in the top handful. There is room for improvement in every corner of this campus. And improvement is fundamental to our mission.
The second element of my recipe respects the fact that the target is moving. Serious improvement in the top ranks takes time and patience. It also takes imagination, because the world to come is not the world of today.
The third part -- to focus on practical steps -- has an obvious purpose, but it is also a countermeasure against defeatism, the most dangerous enemy of aspiration. It may well be true that the gap between present performance in a given program and that of the best cannot be closed in short order. But it does not follow that nothing can be done to make ours closer to the benchmark.
When the authors of the Texas Constitution of 1876 mandated the establishment of "a university of the first class," no amount of treasure or effort could have created one in the Texas of that time. But the goal was kept and the foundations laid, most effectively with the great grant of public land that later gave rise to the Permanent University Fund. Our forebears set their sights on an audacious ambition and it was reached. We are the beneficiaries. We have also inherited the obligation to extend that tradition.
The We're Texas Capital Campaign, now in progress, is perhaps our most important vehicle for doing just that. If we are to take greatest advantage, the campaign will not be mainly about money. Rather, it will be a framework for concentrating the energy of the University on getting better. Only through a commitment to quality will we earn, and can we expect, serious private and public support. We have had substantial success in the first two years of our campaign, but the main work is still to come. This is the year when we must define, unit by unit, steps that we can take toward improved quality. This is the year when we must communicate our vision effectively. And, this is the year when we must build a core of giving commitments that will show broadly that Texas is on the move.
As a means of observing our 116th anniversary, and as a gesture symbolic of our desire to enhance every Texan's sense of ownership of the University, we will formally reopen the observation deck of the UT Tower about six hours from now. It is my hope that we will come to view this event as the beginning of new, constructive chapter in the history of the Tower and of the University.
The Tower plays a central role in the daily life of the campus. Everything from marriage proposals to commencement ceremonies to spirited public debate takes place in and around this magnificent building. The Tower is linked to our experiences on the 40 Acres -- moments of triumph and elation, of sadness and loss. Today, we will climb the stairs to the observation deck once again. We will savor the view of this special corner of the world -- and renew our commitment to build a stronger University.
The late Willie Morris, alumnus and former editor of The Daily Texan, described his first morning on campus in his famous memoir, "North Toward Home". "On a slight rise dominating the place was...a skyscraper called the 'Tower'," he wrote. "...The words carved on the white sandstone said, 'Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free,' causing me to catch my breath in wonder and bafflement. That first morning I took the elevator to the top, and looked out on those majestic purple hills to the west, changing to lighter shades of blue or a deeper purple as wisps of autumn clouds drifted around the sun; this, they would tell me, was the Great Balcones Divide, where the South ended and the West began..."
Architect Paul Cret wrote in 1931 that the Tower was to transcend its role as a library to become "the image carried in our memory when we think of the place." Indeed, the Tower has become the most powerful symbol of higher education in Texas, and we are proud to share it fully once again.
This will be a memorable academic year. In addition to the Tower reopening, we will unveil the much anticipated and magnificent Martin Luther King Sculpture on our campus next week, and in about 100 days a new millenium begins.
Our ambitions are lofty, our prospects bright. On this 116th birthday of The University of Texas at Austin, let us, audaciously, renew our resolve to make the Tower stand for true and consistent excellence, and for the best hopes of young and old everywhere in Texas.
It remains a privilege for me to serve as your president. Thank you for listening.
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Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has returned more than $100,000 in campaign contributions in response to an FBI investigation into 21 donors who had no record of giving to federal campaigns and many appearing to have low incomes. Mandel, a Republican, is running against incombent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown. Mandel's campaign treasurer Kathryn Kessler sent a letter to donors explaining that any contributions appearing to be under investigation would be refunded.
From The Toledo Blade:
Although the campaign provided a copy of the letter to The Blade, it would not explain the timing of the decision or how long it has been aware of the federal probe.
The Blade revealed the unusual pattern of contributions in August.
The company's owner, Benjamin Suarez, and 16 of his employees (plus some of their spouses) gave about $200,000 to Mr. Mandel and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (R., Wadsworth) last year. Each of those donors gave $5,000, the maximum allowable amount, to one or both candidates.
The Ohio Senate yesterday passed new fracking regulations, and the final version caused some environmental organizations to change their stance on the bill. The Ohio Environmental Council and the Sierra Club had both been neutral on the legislation until changes were made forcing anyone suing over chemical trade secrets to show current or potential harm, according to The Enquirer. The regulations are part of Kasich's new energy bill and easily passed both the Senate and House and is expected to be signed by Kasich soon.
Cincinnati Public Schools says it will apply for the latest available federal education grants, which amount to nearly $700 million. The grants are geared toward helping schools proceed with reform and innovation.
According to a new poll, President Obama leads Mitt Romney in Ohio by six percentage points. Wonder if Obama's "cow pie of distortion" speech had anything to do with his lead.
The John Edwards trial has entered day six of deliberations.
United Nations inspectors have reportedly found uranium in Iran enriched beyond the highest levels previously reported. One diplomat said the measure could actually be a measurement error, though the reading could also mean that Iran is closer to producing bomb-grade uranium than previously thought.
Scientists might be one step closer to creating birth control for men after U.K. scientists found a gene used to enable sperm to mature.
From USA Today: "Profits at big U.S. companies broke records last year, and so did pay for CEOs."
Facebook's initial public offering didn't go entirely as expected, and some investors are getting refunds after technical problems and other issues marred the company's first week of trading.
The Reds completed a four-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves last night, winning their sixth in a row and overtaking the St. Louis Cardinal for first place in the NL Central.
"The Republicans who are informally auditioning would each bring different strengths — and drawbacks — to the presidential ticket.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman supported Romney early, has a solid rapport with the candidate and hails from Ohio, a critical battleground state that could decide the election. But he wouldn't necessarily appeal directly to Hispanic or women voters.
(Louisiana Gov. Bobby) Jindal, the Louisiana governor, could help Romney turn out the religious right and would add diversity to the ticket as an Indian-American, but he struggled during a national debut rebutting the 2010 State of the Union address.
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell appeals to social conservatives but signed a controversial state law that requires Virginia women to have ultrasounds before having an abortion.
New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who's campaigned frequently with Romney, could help with female voters and in her swing state of New Hampshire. But she's from New England, the same region of the country as Romney, while (New Jersey Gov. Chris) Christie, a conservative favorite who can work a crowd, is from New Jersey.
(Florida Sen. Marco) Rubio could bring Florida, always a deciding factor in a general election, and appeal to Hispanics, a fast-growing voting bloc, but he's run into some trouble over a foreclosed home and possible misuse of an official credit card. And Ryan is a serious, leading policy mind with a bright future — and a brand name that's directly tied to a controversial budget that would make major changes to Medicare."
Meanwhile, Romney says Obama doesn't even understand free
A Columbus tavern owner has lost his freedom isn't free battle in the Ohio Supreme Court, which yesterday unanimously ruled that the state's smoking ban is constitutional. The owner of Zeno's Victorian Village had racked up thousands of dollars in fines after 10 citations for violating the ban from July 2007 and September 2009. The state has reportedly threatened to seize the bar if the fines are not paid.
Meteorologists say after this weekend's heat wave this spring could be the hottest on record.
The Reds defeated the Atlanta Braves last night on a Todd Frazier walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. It was the Reds' fifth straight win, and they're currently a half game behind St. Louis for first place in the division.
The Pakistan conviction of the Osama bin Laden doctor who helped the CIA find him is not going over well with the U.S. government. Pakistani authorities sentenced Shakeel Afridi to 33 years in prison for treason, and Afridi was not entitled to representation, though he has a right to appeal. The U.S. has threatened to cut aid to the country, arguing that informants work against al-Qaeda and not Pakistan.
Britain's recession is worse than expected, as the country's economy shrunk by .3 percent during the first quarter.
The SpaceX shuttle passed some tests necessary to move forward with its landing on the International Space Station Friday morning. President Obama called the company's CEO to congratulate him and he answered despite thinking it might be a telemarketer.
John Malkovich is in the latest Apple advertisement for Siri, during which Malkovich gets some life advice. The ads follow those released starring Hollywood actors Zooey Deschanel and Samuel Jackson last month.
We Are Ohio, the organization that helped repeal SB5 last year, says it will team up with nonpartisan Ohio Voters First to help put on the November ballot a constitutional amendment that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn. The effort is in response to Republican-drawn redistricting maps that attempted to create 12 solidly GOP districts and four Democratic districts. The proposal calls for a nonpartisan commission to redraw legislative and congressional boundaries rather than letting politicians and anyone who gives them money do it.
The University of Cincinnati has released a study showing a considerable economic impact from construction of The Banks. Between construction contractors, new residents and visitors to the area's restaurants, the development reportedly will impact the local economy by more than $90 million a year.
The parent company of Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino will host two informational sessions this week to offer local vendors information on how to bid on contracts for supplies and services the entertainment complex will need. The first takes place 6 p.m. tonight at Bell Events Centre near the casino site at 444 Reading Road, and the second is 9 a.m. Thursday at Great American Ball Park.
The Enquirer on Tuesday reported that the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University have agreed to move the Crosstown Shootout to U.S. Bank Arena for two years in response to last year's massive brawl. NBC Sports today reported that the presents of both universities issued a press release in response, stating that no final decision had been made.
The University of Cincinnati and Xavier University were both surprised to see today's announcement concerning the future of the Crosstown Shootout. While both schools are committed to the future of the Crosstown rivalry, specific discussions are ongoing and no details have been finalized. We look forward to sharing our plans with the community at an appropriate time in the coming weeks.
If it does happen, The Enquirer's Bill Koch says it's reasonable, while Paul Daugherty says that's fine but kind of dumb.
President Obama is finding it rather difficult to even win primaries against nobodies in the South. Not that it's surprise or really matters, though.
Of course, there are reasons for these kinds of returns. Few Democrats are voting in these primaries where Obama faces only token opposition; only protest voters are truly motivated.
There's also the fact that Obama is an underdog to Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the states of Kentucky, Arkansas, and West Virginia; Obama lost all three in 2008 to John McCain.
Another potential factor: Race.
Just when you thought Sarah Palin was super reliable, she goes and backs a Utah Republican incumbent over a tea party supported candidate.
The John Edwards jury entered its fourth day of deliberations today because they need to see more prosecution exhibits.
A white supremacist was sentenced to 40 years in jail by a federal judge for a 2004 package bomb attack that injured a black city administrator in Arizona.
researchers say they can figure out if Bigfoot really existed, if
they can just get one of his hairs.
The film version of On the Road premiered at the Cannes Film Festival today, 55 years after Jack Kerouac's Beat Generation-defining novel was published. London's The Guardian says the "handsome shots and touching sadness don't compensate for the tedious air of self-congratulation in Walter Salles's road movie."
The Music Hall Revitalization Co. will meet Thursday to consider its next move after the city of Cincinnati decided not to sell the historic building to the nonprofit organization, prompting the resignation of the Revitalization Co.'s leader. The resident arts organizations issued a joint statement yesterday offering to work with the city and private donors to revive the project in some form. Some arts supporters contend that local philanthropic leaders will not donate to the project while it is city owned.
In the wake of last season's Crosstown Shootout melee, officials from UC and Xavier have decided to play the annual game at U.S. Bank Arena for the next two seasons. The behavior of players and fans will reportedly be evaluated after that time. The game was scheduled to be played at UC's Fifth Third Arena this year.
The commercial space vehicle today finally launched after shutting down its first attempt to fly to the International Space Station without the government's help. Exploration Technologies Corp.'s SpaceX rocket is scheduled to touch down on May 25 and could help jumpstart the privatization of space station servicing.
Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama in 2008, but he's not quite ready to do it again.
Facebook shares went down a little bit after analysts revised their outlooks.
Fuel economy is more important to consumers than overall car quality, according to a new survey by Consumer Reports.
Is Brad Pitt's new film Killing Them Softly an anti-capitalist screed? Pretty much.
Everything you need to know about (writer-director Andrew) Dominik's worldview came with a moment in the news conference in which the Australian said that in his experience America is largely about making money, and that that went double for Hollywood.
Or, as the film's touchstone piece of dialogue has it: "America isn't a country -- it's a business."
Ever wonder what would happen if the NBA rookie of the year dressed up like an old man and played ball with dudes at some random courts, with at least some of the players not knowing what's going on? Wonder no more:
City Leaders have decided that they
don't need to sell Music Hall to a private organization in order for
the historic building to receive tax credits toward its renovation.
Mayor Mallory on Sunday told The Enquirer that selling the building
was not part of any discussion he's willing to have. While city
leaders hope a public-private partnership like that which has
renovated Washington Park can help update the building, organizers
with the Music Hall Revitalization Co. say some donors willing to
contribute to the private renovation of the building will not
contribute to the project while it is city owned. On Saturday, the Music Hall Revitalization Co.'s leader, Jack Rouse, resigned.
First they had a giant bridge built over their neighborhood. Now the residents of Lower Price Hill who live near the Sixth Street viaduct hope construction crews can take it down without causing too many clouds of lead paint dust to cover their homes. The viaduct is being replaced by a new structure currently under construction south of the existing one.
Ohio's second of four new casinos is set to open in Toledo next week. Cleveland's casino opened last week, while Columbus' Hollywood Casino is scheduled to open this fall with Cincinnati's Horseshoe in-line for an early 2013 unveiling.
Jury selection in the trail of former Goldman Sachs/Procter & Gamble board member Rajat Gupta began today in federal court in Manhattan. Gupta is accused of insider trading stemming from a 2008 phone call that authorities have already used to convict hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, who is currently serving an 11-year sentence. From the AP:
Rajaratnam has been the biggest catch so far in a wide-ranging insider-trading investigation by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara that's resulted in more than two dozen prosecutions of white collar defendants. But based on Gupta's standing in the world of finance, his trial could draw more attention — and a potential conviction could resonate farther.
Aside from his role at Goldman Sachs, the Indian-born Gupta is the former chief of McKinsey & Co., a highly regarded global consulting firm that zealously guards its reputation for discretion and integrity.
Gupta, 63, is also a former director of the huge consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co., a pillar of American industry and one of the 30 companies that make up the Dow Jones industrial average. P&G owns many well-known brands including Bounty, Tide and Pringles.
Researchers have created a national registry of wrongful conviction exonerations that has identified 873 faulty convictions during the past 23 years that have been recognized by authorities. The registry's founders say the collection is only a fraction of such convictions and that it demonstrates a serious problem with America's criminal justice system.
"What this shows is that the criminal justice system makes mistakes, and they are more common than people think," said University of Michigan law professor Samuel Gross, the registry's editor. "It is not the rule, but we won't learn to get better unless we pay attention to these cases."
Mitt Romney is having some trouble getting conservative donors to back his campaign. Meanwhile, Obama continues to talk about Romney's business dealings.
The John Edwards jury is still in deliberations today trying to determine whether the former Democratic presidential candidate conspired to violate election laws while hiding an extramarital affair during his campaign. Prosecutors say Edwards solicited more than $900,000 from a 101-year-old woman named Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and a Texas lawyer to hide a child from his wife, who had cancer at the time.
Protests continued in Chicago today during the final day of the NATO summit.
Apparently 25 percent of American teens have diabetes or pre-diabetes, up from 9 percent in 1999-2000.
People in Asia and the western U.S. last night got to see a solar eclipse that looked like a ring of fire.
The private rocket scheduled to launch a commercial space capsule was forced to abort its mission on Saturday but is scheduled to fly up into space on Tuesday.
The ongoing saga involving Cincinnati Police Chief James Craig and his nonexistent policing powers will continue into July, as a hearing scheduled for Thursday has been continued. Craig's attorneys will argue in front of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission that his prior experience, and certification in three other states, should exempt him from a state rule requiring all officers pass a certification exam before earning police powers. Craig believes he was hired to do things other than study for an entry-level policing test, and some states would already have certified him.
A statewide ban on texting while driving moved through the Ohio House of Representatives yesterday and is expected to be signed into law by Gov. John Kasich. The law makes the writing, sending or reading of a text message while driving a secondary offense, meaning officers may not pull over an adult driver for the act. Teens, however, under House Bill 99 will be prohibited from using any electronic device other than GPS and may be pulled over for it.
Kasich on Tuesday followed through with the GOP plan to overturn its own controversial election law that was to go before voters in November. State Republicans and election officials now say there's no reason for the law to go in front of voters thanks to the 300,000 signatures gathered by President Obama's re-election campaign and other opponents, but opponents of the election law point out that the repeal still reaffirms an election law change that would end early voting the weekend before an election. Democrats plan to keep the issue on the ballot.
But people on both sides of the issue say there's no precedent for a legislative repeal of a bill that also is the subject of a referendum, so it's unclear how a court might rule if a legal challenge is filed.
Jennifer Brunner, a former Democratic secretary of state and a leader in the Fair Elections Ohio campaign that brought the referendum, said Tuesday that the action taken by Gov. John Kasich and Legislature doesn't force the removal of the question from November ballots.
"Since this issue is a case of first impression for any court, we do not see the statement of the Secretary of State to be determinative on this issue," Brunner said in an email. "The issue remains on the ballot."
More drama from Columbus: Republicans are moving forward with a test program requiring some welfare recipients to submit to drug testing in order to continue receiving benefits. Opponents say the process stigmatizes the poor, while the GOP says it's just a simple process involving poor people paying the upfront costs for drug tests, being reimbursed if they pass and living on the streets for six months if they fail.
Northern Kentucky leaders plan to use the revitalization of Over-the-Rhine as a model for reinvesting in their urban core. A nonprofit organization has raised $10 million during the past five years to get started spurring commercial and residential investment.
Two Kentucky high school students who were turned away from their senior prom for arriving as a same-sex couple have argued that if their Catholic high school wants to ban students based on upholding the church's teachings, such a ban should include couples who have had premarital sex and kids who plan to get wasted after the prom.
Apparently viewers of Harry's Law, which was set in Cincinnati and used a stage-version of Arnold's as the lawyer gang's regular hangout, are too old to attract advertising dollars despite their relatively high numbers.
The show ranked very low among viewers ages 18 to 49, the demographic most advertisers care about. In fact, its young-adult numbers were beneath those for "Prime Suspect," a cop show that NBC canceled earlier this season, and roughly on par with those of "Off Their Rockers," the Betty White show about senior citizens pulling pranks on younger people.
"It was a difficult decision," an NBC executive said Sunday, quoted by the site Deadline.com. "Everyone here respects 'Harry's Law' a lot but we were finding it hard to grow the audience for it. Its audience skewed very old and it is hard to monetize that."
President Obama raised $44 million during April for his and other Democratic campaigns.
John Boehner says that when the federal government raises the debt limit again America can expect another prolonged fight about cuts.
George W. Bush has found "freedom" wherever he ended up after having little to offer the GOP after his tumultuous two terms as president. From ABC News:
We don't see much of Bush these days. He's the president that a lot of people would like to forget, still so toxic that he's widely considered more likely to hurt than help the Republican Party by participating in the 2012 campaign.
Bush's speech Tuesday morning was a rare exception. He spoke in a small, nondescript room to about 200 people about democracy activists, promoting a human rights campaign that's part of the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
His presence on the national stage is perhaps best seen in his presence on the small stage at 1777 F Street. At the end of the affair, Bush and his wife were called back up to be presented with writings by Czech human rights icon Vaclav Havel. They posed for pictures as the audience clapped, and when they were done, Bush glanced around as if unsure what to do next.
He walked back to his seat, but then quickly walked back onto the stage and behind the lectern. He leaned forward into the microphone, paused, and said slyly, "Thanks for coming."
Bush waited a second or two. Then he said, "See ya later."
He waved, and then he left.
Is U.S. energy independence a pipe dream? This article says no.
Apple might soon give you a larger iPhone screen.
A private rocket launch this week could be the start of commercial space travel.
Here are some important tips about sunscreen as summer approaches and the circle in the sky threatens to burn off our skin.
The private group hoping to purchase Music Hall for $1 is now asking for $10 million in city contributions to its effort to update the historic building, double the initial $5 million it asked for. The Music Hall Revitalization Co. says failing to strike a deal before June 1 will jeopardize the proposed $165 million renovation. Among the updates the city is being asked to fund are $75,000 buffers to block noise from the streetcar and a $150,000 escrow account to pay for any future disruptions due to the streetcar.
City Council yesterday spent some time considering ways to fix the city's retirement fund deficit. Cincinnati's retirement board wants the city to contribute $67 million to the pension system this year, though Council has reportedly contributed only about half of that.
CVG today will unveil its updated Concourse A, which has undergone a $36.5 million renovation. It is part of the airports attempt to lure a low-cost airline to the hub that formerly housed Delta.
Cleveland is the first Ohio city to open one of the state's four new casinos, drawing about 5,000 to a grand opening last night. Cincinnati's casino is expected to be the last of the four to open, with Hollywood casinos scheduled to open in Toledo May 29 and in Columbus this fall. Cincinnati's' Horseshoe is scheduled to open next year.
Barack Obama's Super PAC is airing TV ads questioning Mitt Romney's business record, specifically his commitment to workers.
Prosecutors today decided to bring charges against former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks, who along with her husband and four others will be charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice. The alleged incidents occurred in response the phone hacking allegations, and the charges are apparently quite embarrassing to Rupert Murdoch and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
JP Morgan today said, "Surprise! We lost a bunch of money!" Two years after congress tightened regulations on Wall Street, the industry now fears that regulators will now listen to their fears even less as they enact stricter reforms.
Humans are consuming more resources than the earth can replenish, according to the World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report for 2012.
Lady Gaga yesterday cancelled a cold-out Indonesia performance in response to conservative protests over her clothing and dance moves.
National police spokesman Boy Rafli Amar, responding to the pressure, said Tuesday that the permit for her June 3 "Born This Way Ball" concert had been denied.
Indonesia, a nation of 240 million people, has more Muslims than any other. Although it is secular and has a long history of religious tolerance, a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years.
Hard-liners have loudly criticized Lady Gaga, saying the suggestive nature of her show threatened to undermine the country's moral fiber. Some threatened to use physical force to prevent her from stepping off the plane.
Lawmakers and religious leaders, too, have spoken out against her.
Bike to Work Week today kicked off its series of morning commuter stations offering free coffee and treats all week long in an effort to encourage residents to try cycling to work, meet fellow cyclists and learn about bike advocacy. The city was scheduled to announce an award for its Bike Program this morning at the Coffee Emporium bike commuter station on Central Parkway in Over-the-Rhine.
Find a schedule of Bike to Work Week morning and afternoon commuter stations here.
The Enquirer over the weekend checked in with another of its "in-depth" pieces, this one detailing the huge amounts of money energy companies will make once they're allowed to treat northeastern Ohio's land like they do Texas. The story accurately described the fracking process as "controversial," though it took the liberty of describing Carroll County as an "early winner" because 75 to 95 percent of its land is under lease to an oil or gas company. Here's a link to the weird slideshow-style presentation. And here's a sidebar on the issues surrounding fracking, which includes the following regarding the industry's oversight:
Fracking was exempted from the federal Safe Drinking Water Act under the Bush Administration, so it now falls under state jurisdiction. In Ohio, the Department of Natural Resources issues permits for all oil and gas wells, including fracking wells. The department also inspects the drilling of all wells in the state.
The New York Times came to Ohio to see how the good, working class folks feel about the president who has spent three-and-a-half years trying to help people like them during a recession he didn't start. Turns out many still won't vote for him because he's still black.
Madiera is a really nice suburb, and some residents plan to keep it that way by blocking developers from building luxury condos so "renters" can't move in and "alter the landscape of their charming suburb."
Ohio State University has released a plan to combat hate crimes in response to several incidents on its campus this spring. The "No Place to Hate" plan includes 24 recommendations including a public safety division "hate crime alert" line staffed by operators. The OSU campus reportedly had a mural of President Obama defaced and found spray-painted messages supporting the death of Trayvon Martin.
Good news from the AP's strangulation beat: "States cracking down on strangulation attempts."
Newsweek's May 21 cover shows Barack Obama with a rainbow-colored halo over his head and the headline, "The First Gay President."
National media are talking about HBO's Weight of the Nation, a four-part documentary detailing America's obesity epidemic. CityBeat's Jac Kern told y'all about it last week.
John Edwards' defense attorneys are reportedly basing a lot of their case on the definition of the word "The." That should go well.
A Russian
satellite has taken an awesome 121-megapixel photo of Earth.
Gov. John Kasich has something to say to anyone waiting on federal funding to help fix their bridges (and while we're at it, any local governments who need funding for something other than food and water): Forget about it. During an interview with Enquirer editors and reporters yesterday,* Kasich said tolls are the best means for funding a new Brent Spence Bridge.
"I do not believe that a white charger is going to come galloping (from Washington) into Cincinnati with $2 billion in the saddlebags," Kasich said. "So if that isn't going to happen and all we do is delay, delay, delay and we push this thing out until 2036 ... holy cow!"
* CityBeat had a similar meeting scheduled but we forgot about it and weren't here at the time — sorry Kasich, we'll get ya next time!
Things are about to get weird in a Clermont County courtroom if David Krikorian and Chris Finney get their wish — to have Jean Schmidt on the witness stand on May 17. Finney, the attorney for Citizens Opposed to Additional Spending and Taxes (COAST), has been representing Krikorian, a former Democratic and independent candidate who unsuccessfully ran against Schmidt for Ohio's 2nd congressional district seat, has served Schmidt with a subpoena as part of Krikorian's lawsuit claiming a Schmidt lawsuit against Krikorian was frivolous. COAST's ghost-written blog posted commentary in February in response to accusations from Brad Wenstrup that Schmidt was using campaign funds to pay off legal fund debt from earlier campaign nonsense against Krikorian. Eastsiders mad.
Some high-level Procter & Gamble executives are getting the Bearcat Bounce out of Cincinnati, heading to Singapore where the company believes growth opportunities for its beauty care products are the highest. About 20 positions will be moved to the Singapore office during the next two years.
Does it matter that Mitt Romney might
have led a group of teenagers in a "pin that dude down and cut his
hair" prank during the '60s? The Nation says Obama's gay-marriage
announcement caught Romney off guard.
As expected, Obama's fundraiser at George Clooney's house raked in the dough, raising $15 million in one night.
British Prime Minister David Cameron only recently learned what LOL means in text-speak. The explanation occurred during witness testimony from Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch's the now-defunct News of the World. Brooks was forced to resign last year amid a phone-hacking scandal.
"He would sign them off 'DC' in the main," Brooks said, referring to Cameron's initials. "Occasionally he would sign them off 'LOL' — 'lots of love' — until I told him it meant 'laugh out loud,' and then he didn't sign them off [that way] anymore."
It was certainly an LOL moment during Brooks' testimony in a London courtroom Friday as part of a judicial inquiry into media ethics. But the disclosure also underscored the warm personal ties between the prime minister and Brooks, the former head of media baron Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers who was forced to resign in disgrace last summer.
Someone found a really old Mayan calendar, and it offers good news: It goes way beyond Dec, 12, 2012.
Major League Baseball phenom Bryce Harper is in town for a three-game series with his Washington Nationals. The 19-year-old was the No. 1 overall pick in 2010 and is the first superstar-caliber player to make it to the big leagues this quickly prompting comparisons to Ken Griffey, Jr. at that age. Here's the local spin about on freak outfielder coming to town for a weekend series against the Reds.
In news you've likely already heard from your favorite website, social network, radio station, print publication, TV or the guy in your neighborhood who likes to talk about current events, President Barack Obama yesterday announced his support for same-sex marriage, becoming the first-ever sitting president to do so. The news has spawned analysis from across the land, ranging from "risky but inevitable" to "matters less than you think." The Enquirer says the decision is going to "echo in Ohio" (whatever that means).
One thing we know for sure: Hollywood celebs are preparing to pack George Clooney's house tonight and fill up Obama's briefcase with money.
The "No. 2 official at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office" says the jail being next to the casino will be bad for business, according to an Enquirer story detailing worries over jail overcrowding leading to accused criminals to go into the casino to "get warm, panhandle customers or just give visitors a bad impression of Cincinnati."
Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune yesterday cancelled a new truck order for Paul Brown Stadium, instead giving the vehicles to Parking Operations. Parking Operations was supposed to get the stadium's used trucks after the stadium received new ones, but Portune said the stadium doesn't need brand new stuff all the time.
Up north, Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman says his city wants an NBA basketball team now that the public has purchased the arena the Columbus Blue Jackets play in.
Poll watch: Portman on GOP ticket doesn't change Ohio race
New claims for unemployment benefits dropped again last week, nearing a four-year low.
Facebook will soon launch an App Center, because it's so annoying to have to leave Facebook to get cool new apps.
Famous hairdresser Vidal Sassoon died
yesterday after a bout with leukemia. He apparently played a large
role in creating "wash and go" hairstyling and later
revolutionizing the hair-care industry. Here's a Philadelphia
Inquirer obit. And five ways Vidal Sassoon changed people's hair. Sassoon, according to the book Insider's Guide to Cincinnati, had a home in Mount Adams (his wife was a Greater Cincinnati native).

subset: commoncrawl


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Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town is featured in the new Lucky magazine discussing her unique approach to fashion. Karen says when it comes to her and Kimberly Schlapman's style, "I do think we are always trying to be fashion-forward and look at things that are coming down the runway even and thinking how can we make those our own and put them on stage. We like to do things that maybe no one else is doing so it's completely original." They work with a stylist out of L.A. but they also offer a lot of input. They also try to dress for their personalities. "Kimberly is so sunny in her personality and just a light. She's just sunshine in the room, and she dresses that way," explains Karen. "It's warm, it's sunny, it's pretty. She likes vintage-detailed kinds of things. I like things that have more an edge to them." Karen used to even design her own prom dresses in high school because she didn't want to buy anything off the rack.
You can read more about Karen's fashion choices, including her favorite stores to shop in Nashville and which fashion blogs she follows, here.


text:
Please note that our Sunday gathering will be at 3.30pm on Sunday 15th February 2015.
There will be service at the usual time of 11.00am.
Please note that our Sunday gathering will be at 3.30pm on Sunday 15th February 2015.
There will be service at the usual time of 11.00am.
I like Stephen Fry. I find him funny, clever and real. Together my wife and I have enjoyed the eternal series QI, and we have appreciated his honesty as he has spoken about his own struggles with Bipolar disorder. That said, I do not agree with everything he says.
Last Sunday evening Gay Byrne interviewed Stephen on RTE's 'The Meaning of Life'. The final question put to Stephen, who claims to be an Atheist, was this:
'Suppose it's all true, you walk up to the pearly gates and you are confronted by God. What will you say to Him, Her or It?'
In his usual clear and articulate way Fry answered: "Bone cancer in children – what about that? How dare you! How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault! It's not right! It's utterly, utterly evil! Why should I respect a capricious, mean minded stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain? That's what I would say."
Fry's response has caused no end of discussion and comment, some apparently were shocked and horrified. While I do not level the same charge at God as Fry does, I have often felt like this, if not expressed it. I have asked it when our own daughter was born profoundly deaf. My wife has asked it when her sister, who was born normal, had a number of unexplained seizures that left her permanently brain damaged and with the mind of an infant. It's the normal reaction when we face suffering – we look for someone or something to blame. In fact what is so shocking about Fry's response is that he has put into words what we ourselves think but dare not express in words – whatever our belief.
The Reality of Suffering
The reality is live long enough and we will experience suffering. We face it physically through disease and cancer; We face it naturally through earthquakes and floods; We face it through our own choices (poor health care) and we face it through the actions of others like war, rape, stealing and words of anger. We simply can't avoid suffering and all of us along with Stephen Fry have faced it and deal with it personally.
Now while Stephen Fry is an atheist (Does not believe in the existence of God) it seems a contradiction to charge God with being 'Capricious, Mean Minded and Stupid', when he does not believe in him. But that aside lets assume he does, for many people do and wonder why God did create the world like this and why God has not done anything to stop it.
Who is the cause?
So who is the cause of all this suffering? Fry seems to think that the blame lies squarely at the feet of God – after all he made the world! Well before we blame God I think we need to look at our own lives first. In the full interview Fry retold the amusing story of stealing a mans wallet and credit card and assuming his identity and spending his money at liberty. Of course Fry had a great time – but what suffering did it cause the person involved? What were the knock on effects? Yes Fry was sorry – but it explains that we are responsible for vast amounts of suffering in this world. Wars, greed, crime, lies and acts of injustice are all done by one human being to another. Of course I'm no different to Stephen Fry, I might not have stolen a credit card – but I misuse the resources I have, spending money on more food and gadgets while the majority of the world continues to suffer through a lack of food and clean water.
But that's not the full answer. As a Christian I believe that God created a good and beautiful world and it was given for mankind to enjoy. But through our choices and actions we have rebelled against God and sought to live life apart from him. The result has been disorder and death. The good world is now twisted and broken. We are the spanner in the works. We have caused the cogs in the wheel to grind and crunch and the result is the suffering and pain we see all around us. Yes God has allowed suffering to enter the world but the cause firmly rests with us. One of the authors Fry respects and quoted in his interview was GK Chesterton. Chesterton once answered the question: What is wrong with the world?' with the simple response; 'I am!' If we are to blame anyone we must first look to ourselves.
How is it fixed?
One of the charges against God is that God should clean up the mess he has caused. If God made the world like this then he should fix it. Well history proves that mankind can't fix the problem. The ongoing conflicts around the world, the worsening humanitarian needs, the natural disasters on the daily news remind us that with all our advancement in technology and understanding we have done very little to alleviate suffering. So we either look to man or we can look to God – even if we do blame him.
If we are to ask God to end all the suffering the obvious conclusion is that he would have to deal with us because we are the cause! If we want a God who is fair and just then we must allow this God to take action and take us all off planet earth and start again. While God is within his rights to do that – it is not the way he has acted. God himself came into this suffering and broken world to redeem this world. He came through the person of Jesus Christ. The proof? His resurrection from the dead! All suffering ends in death and it's the one reality of life we can do nothing about. The God/Man Jesus Christ defeated death as a sign of a full redemption he will one day bring about.
The Suffering God
Fry levels the charge that God is 'evil and unjust.' However the opposite is true. God is a suffering God. He faced injustice, he faced the mental and emotional horrors of being executed at the hands of people like us. He knows what it is to suffer and he is not immune from our suffering. In fact he has done something about it on our behalf. The fact is God loves this broken and disordered world and he loves us.
So what can we do about the suffering? Well we can either push God further away or we can run to God and lean on him. It does not answer all our questions, it does not make the suffering any less painful but it does give us real and lasting hope.
I pray Stephen Fry has the same conversion experience as his mentor Oscar Wilde, who turned back to God on his death bed, only a bit sooner!.
John writes with the loving intimacy of a Father and the gentle care of a Pastor. Twelve times he refers to them as 'My dear children' (2v1) or 'Dear friends' (4v1) underlining his commitment to them. So what does he have to say?
Invitation into Fellowship
John opens up his letter with a wonderful invitation: '…you also may have fellowship with us…' (1v3). And if we are in any doubt about what that Fellowship looks like, he tells us: '…our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.' (1v3) John claims to enjoy a deep, intimate and personal relationship with the Father and the Son and he wants us to experience and enjoy that same fellowship: 'We write this to make our/your joy complete.' (1v4) John is making it absolutely clear that true joy is found only in fellowship with God, and the good news is we are invited to share in it.
Threat to the Fellowship
Fellowship with God is real and true and and John wants us to be sure and confident in our fellowship with God. However there are two main threats to this fellowship, that weakens our assurance and undermines our confidence. These threats come from inside of us and outside of us.
First the threat from the inside – Our sinful nature. 'My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin….' (2v1) John knows that our sinful habits and sinful ways can seriously hinder and damage our fellowship with God. When we sin it weakens our assurance. We begin to question if we really are in fellowship with God, and if we really are his children.
So John writes to provide a way to deal with the problem of our sinful nature. He points us back to the cross and to the finished and completed work of Jesus: 'He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins…' (2v2); and points us to the new life we have because of Jesus: 'No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.' (3v6) Because Christ has dealt with my sin I will seek to rid the sin that continues in my life. I will hate sin and make every effort to squeeze it from my life. I can only do this by looking to the cross each day in faith.
Second the threat from the outside – The false teachers. 'I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.' (2v26) John knows that there are those who come in from the outside and seek to distort and deny the truth about God. When we listen to them it can undermine our confidence. We begin to wonder if this is true and if what God has said can be trusted.
So John writes to encourage us in the truth: 'See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you…' (2v24) and encourages us to test everything: 'Do not believe every spirit but test the spirits…' (4v1) Because God has given us the truth we are not to go looking else where for more truth, we keep hold of the truth and follow in it's way.
So we must be careful of the very real threat that comes from inside of us and outside of us.
Confident in our Fellowship
If we follow what John says, if we take seriously our 'Belief and Behaviour' we will enjoy confident fellowship with God. 'I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life'. (5v13) This has been a constant theme through out the letter, he wants us to know with absolute certainty that we have fellowship with God: 'This is how we know we are in him' (2v2); 'This is how we know who the children of God are' (3v10); 'This is how we know we belong to the truth' (3v19); 'This is how we know he lives in us' (3v24); 'We know that we live in him and he in us' (4v13); 'We know that we are children of God' (5v19).
John not only invites us into fellowship with God we have confidence that we are in fellowship with God.
The great sign that we share in this fellowship is our love for others. '…Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.' (3v10) Loving others is not the way into fellowship with God it is evidence that we are in fellowship with God. 'Anyone who does not love remains in death' (3v14); '…Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.' (4v7) '…God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.' (4v16) Loving others as God loved us is the sign that we know and enjoy fellowship with God.
In summary, John writes, inviting us into fellowship with God, warning us of the threat to that fellowship and reassuring us that we are in fellowship with God.
The World of Today
It seems that the Kings and Kingdoms of this world are in an unending cycle of conflict and search for political power: wars between Russia and Ukraine, Palestine and Israel; the violent spread of ISIS across Iraq and Syria, and Boko Haram in Nigeria; the ruthless regimes of North Korea and Zimbabwe; the never ending struggles in Congo, Darfur, Pakistan and Burma; the posturing of world leaders, Barack Obama, Angela Merkle, Vladamir Putin and David Cameron – one wonders if there is anyone in control and if it will ever end?
This is the world we live in and if that's not bad enough God's people face the daily oppression and persecution of living in these kingdoms and under these kings – many to the point of torture and death. It's easy to get disillusioned and discouraged, and come to the conclusion that God is absent from it all.
The World of Daniel
Well that was life for Daniel, his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah and the many thousands of God's people, who were brutally defeated by King Nebuchadnezzar and transported off to the Kingdom of Babylon (603-586 BC. You can read the story of these events in 2 Kings 25v1-21). Here they were expected to do things the 'Babylonian' way, deny God and worship the god's. The song recorded for us in Psalm 137 'By the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept..' helps us understand the struggle and the suffering God's people went through during these years. They longed for God to intervene, take them back and defeat their enemy. But rather than lift them out God calls them to live faithful lives in this unfaithful world. To 'build houses and settle down…Marry and have sons and daughters…Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile…For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' Jeremiah 29v4-11. In summary they were to be his witnesses.
The God of Daniel
As they made their way to a foreign land the question is; Has God lost control? The answer from the book of Daniel is this: In a world where Kingdoms clash and King's oppress God's people, God proves himself to be 'The' supreme king who rules over the Kings and Kingdoms of this world and is sovereignly building his Kingdom which will last for all eternity. Those who trust in the one true King will live forever in His eternal Kingdom.
That's how the book of Daniel starts and ends. In 1v2 we are reminded that: 'The Lord delivered Jehoiakim King of Judah into his (King Nebuchadnezzar's) hand…' From the very outset we must learn that even when God's people are under the rule of a godless king, God is not absent but controlling and ordering the events of history for his good purpose. In 12v13, the very last verse, Daniel is told: 'As for you go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.' God may not take us out of the situation we find ourselves in, but he will be with us through it, working out his good plan and guaranteeing our safe arrival into his eternal kingdom.
Of course that was a lesson they would learn under seventy years of captivity and it's the same message we need to learn and trust today. Daniels God is our God and we are called to live as faithful people in an unfaithful world, in the knowledge that he is the Ruling King with an Eternal Kingdom.
The story of God in our World
Kings will come and Kingdoms will go but they will never supersede the Kingdom of God. We see this worked out in Stories (Chapters 1-6) and Visions (Chapters 7-12)
Stories: Ruling the Kings and Kingdoms of this age
Chapters 1-6 primarily tell the story of Daniel and his friends under the foreign rule of Nebuchadnezzar ch1-4, Belshazzar ch5, (Babylonian Empire) and Darius ch 6 (Persian Empire). Here they each face the challenge of living faithful lives under an unfaithful King. Through their faithful witness God shows Nebuchadnezzar that he is the supreme and sovereign King who rules over every Kingdom rising up and tearing down as he wills (2v47, 3v28, 4v17, 34-35). The only right response is to humble ourselves before God and honour him (4v34). To refuse and reject God's rule will only bring disaster as Belshazzar came to learn, ironically, at a party to celebrate his powerful empire (5v30). Darius maybe a new King of a different Kingdom (6v1) but he too must learn that ; '(God) is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and saves…' (6v26-27)
Through their lives Daniel and his friends face the fiery furnace and the den of lions but God remains faithful and equips his people to stand strong in the face of great opposition and persecution.
Visions: Revealing his King and Kingdom to come
Chapters 7-12 primarily give us a vision of the future. Through vivid descriptions of beats, dramatic announcements from angels and curious numbers we get to see what is going on in the world right now and more importantly what is going on behind the scenes.The four beasts of chapter 7, representing the rise of empires, are scary and terrifying but they are soon silenced as the Ancient of Days slays and destroys the beast and reveals his true King the Son of Man (7v13-14 c.f. Mark 10v45). The beasts are replaced by Rams and Goats in chapter 8 representing leaders who clash with each other but also seek to destroy God's people (8v23-25). Thankfully in chapter 9 the beastly creatures disappear but they are replaced by the curious 'seven sevens' and 'sixty two sevens'! But this is not a maths test! God is revealing that while kings and kingdoms 'strut their stuff' he has set a time (symbolised by numbers) when he will forgive and restore those who turn to him (9v25-26). When our minds are completely fried with visions we are invited to with Daniel to look once more (10-12). It's both terrifying and comforting as God pulls back the curtain of history: 'Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.' (10v14) The vision helps us to see that behind these earthy kings and kingdoms there is a greater battle between the god of this world and the Supreme and Sovereign God. The message is difficult, things will get worse before they get better, rather than expect safety we should prepare to suffer (Ch 11). As the Kingdom of God is established the battle will intensify. But victory is assured for God's people: 'There will be a time of distress…but at that time your people – everyone whose name is found in the book – will be delivered.' (12v1). Knowing what is to come and being assured of God's victory will enable us to live faithful lives in an unfaithful world.
Kings will come and Kingdoms will go but they will never supersede God's ruling King the Lord Jesus Christ and his eternal Kingdom. We will witness the rise of rulers and political powers, we will experience opposition and persecution but God's plans and purpose remain on track and one day the true ruling power the Risen Lord Jesus will come again and take his people to be with him forever.
The Gospel Applied 12-16
The Gospel must be announced and if we are to do that well we must be a church where the gospel is applied. In other words the church must look like the message that it preaches. So the Gospel we preach must be seen in action in the life of his people, as we love one another, grow in our unity and partner each other in mission.
Together the church is to live in response to the gospel 'in view of God's mercy' (12v1). Because of all that we have received and experienced through God's grace, (a righteousness from God through faith and adoption into his family with the hope of glory chapters 1-11) we are to live our lives in sacrifice to God (12v1) and in service to others (12v6ff).
The church soaked in the gospel will be a place of love. This love will be seen in a love for the church which has no limits (12v9-13), that crosses all barriers and reaches out to all people regardless of their background or race (12v14-16) and a love that will never give up, even if you think you have been wronged (12v17-21). But our love must go beyond our walls to those in authority. We lovingly submit to authorities as a sign of our loving submission to God (13v1-2). If the world is to see what living under God is like then they need to see his people relating rightly to those in government (13v6). The love of God also reaches out to our neighbour (13v9) and there is no restrictions to who our neighbour is. As we reflect on the blessings of the gospel, eternal life to come (13v11-12) then we will be encouraged to show that love more and more. Of course it is not easy to love others but as the spirit works in us clothing us with Christ (13v14) so we are enabled to love all those around us.
The church that has experienced the gospel and has a desire to reach out with the gospel must be united. A divided church will never reach a broken world. So we are not to be judgemental (14v1,13) because we have been accepted by God (14v3). Our aim is not to please ourselves or want people to fit in with our way of thinking, rather we are to live serving God and his purposes (14v8). We must remember that we will all have to face God's judgement and give an account to him (14v12). Instead of being judgemental we should seek to build one another up (14v19, 15v2). Making every effort to remove any stumbling blocks or obstacles in peoples way (14v13) always watching out that use do not use your freedom to cause our brother or sister in Christ to fall (14v21). We must be careful to do what is right before God and what will be best for others (14v22). Therefore we learn to accept each other just as Christ accepted us (115v7). If the Gospel is all about God accepting us by grace we must display this attitude so that others will not only hear but see what grace is like.
A church that is united in love, is not only evidence that hey have experienced the gospel, it is a sign they are now equipped to share the gospel. Our message is always about Jesus Christ not ourselves (15v16,18) and our mission is always to those who have not yet heard (15v20). We are to be a church who is looking out to other nations and people (15v24) while not forgetting the needs of those close to home – especially the church family (15v26). This is not something we can do alone but requires the whole church in dependence on God through prayer (15v30-31) and in partnership with each other (16v1-16). God uses all the gifts of all of his people to reach all those who do not yet believe. This mission is always under threat so we are to be careful of those who are divisive (16v17) and live and teach what is contrary to the gospel (16v17-19). The church is created by the gospel and is used by God to announce the gospel (16v25) so that all nations might believe and obey this gospel (16v26). This is God's design for the church: 'to the only wise God be glory for ever through Jesus Christ! Amen.' (16v27)
C.S.Lewis when talking about Jesus Christ said: 'A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunitic – on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg – or he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.'
It seems through reading the reliable historical accounts of the Gospels, Bono has come to the conclusion that Jesus is nothing less than Lord and God. Look at the short clip below. What's your choice about Jesus?


text: Table of Contents Cover Stories His to lose by Joel BelzCover Story Sidebar | Leaving Saddleback and heading to Minneapolis, John McCain polls-and pulls-for evangelical vote [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/his_to_lose] Cover Stories His to win by Jamie DeanCover Story | Barack Obama trails in polling among evangelicals, but he hopes to take the upbeat message that made him the first black candidate for U.S. president on the… [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/his_to_win] In this issue: "Two-ring circus," Sept. 6, 2008 Features Dispatches Notebook Culture Columnists Features In the jaws of the bear By Mindy BelzGeorgia | With a weak allied response, Russia extends its reach into Georgia [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/in_the_jaws_of_the_bear] Charter course By Lynn VincentBack to School | How to turn around a gang-infested inner-city school? It isn't easy, but a small, aggressive group of teachers and parents can make it happen [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/charter_course] Subtract and divide By Marvin OlaskyBack to School | Schools ignore what's good about America and focus instead on keeping Americans from coming together as a people [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/subtract_and_divide] Making the grade? By Lynn VincentBack to School | Barack Obama and John McCain try to convince Americans that their vastly different education proposals would pass instead of fail [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/making_the_grade] Technological edge By Marvin OlaskyBack to School | Online learning could become a powerful tool for homeschoolers [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/technological_edge] Don't Google me! By Lynn VincentBack to School | It can bring professional havoc to social workers and students stifled by leftist academics and identity politics [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/don_t_google_me] Reading at risk By Robert L. JacksonBack to School | Many in Congress want to kill a highly successful phonics program [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/reading_at_risk] No more teachers' dirty looks By Susan OlaskyLifestyle/Technology | Volunteer chaplain corps brings peace to Detroit schools [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/no_more_teachers_dirty_looks] States' witness By Rusty Leonard and Warren Cole SmithCharity | Moral lawmakers make more moral laws [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/states_witness] Oil and you By David L. BahnsenPersonal Finance | It's all about supply and demand [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/oil_and_you] Houses of God Houses of God | [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/houses_of_god] The other credit crisis By Mark BerginEducation | Are student loans the next financial bubble to burst? [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/the_other_credit_crisis] Looking ahead Looking Ahead | News to watch in the weeks to come [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/looking_ahead] Human Race Human Race | DIED: Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who won Western praise for tackling corruption and pushing pro-growth economic policies in Africa, died Aug. 19 of… [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/human_race] Dispatches The Buzz Need-to-know news [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/the_buzz] Quick Takes Oddball occurrences [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/quick_takes] Quick Takes Memorable things they said [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/quick_takes_0] Notebook Man at sea By Mark BerginSports | A homeschooler aims to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/man_at_sea] Culture Notable CDs By Little Richard, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Tom Verlaine & Jan & DeanNotable CDs | Four noteworthy reissues reviewed by Arsenio Orteza [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/notable_cds] Healing Henry By Megan BashamMovies | A broken man finds meaning and faith in Henry Poole Is Here [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/healing_henry] Acting out By Meghan KeaneMovies | Rainn Willson gets to be a grown-up child in The Rocker [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/acting_out] Road rage By Sam ThielmanMovies | Death Race earns its rating-and little else [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/road_rage] Time is money By Sam ThielmanMovies | On the federal debt crisis, leaders aren't leading [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/time_is_money] Power vs. love By Marvin OlaskyBooks | Jeff Sharlet reflects the growing paranoia about evangelical influence in politics [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/power_vs_love] Notable books By Dale Brown, Brett Lott, Athol Dickson & Min Jin LeeNotable Books | Four books with Christian themes reviewed by Susan Olasky [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/notable_books] Show and tell By Marvin OlaskyBooks | University of Texas professor J. Budziszewski has answers and advice for today's college students [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/show_and_tell] Road to Recovery By Arsenio OrtezaMusic | Loudon Wainwright III takes shots at his own moral failings [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/road_to_recovery] Billy the kid By Arsenio OrtezaMusic | Rerelease of The Stranger shows Joel's immaturity [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/billy_the_kid] Columnists Ordinary man By Joel BelzCampaign 2008 | Pastor Rick Warren says he isn't walking away from the hard stuff [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/ordinary_man] Freedom isn't free By Mindy BelzAnd that goes for press freedom, too [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/freedom_isn_t_free] Mailbag Letters from our readers [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/mailbag] Trap doors By Andrée SeuSome barriers are not enough to hold back sin [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/trap_doors] Barack to school By Janie B. CheaneyCampaign 2008 | Obama offers more of what hasn't worked in education policy [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/barack_to_school] Rorty's rebels By Gene Edward VeithWhy do parents support anti-parent education? [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/rorty_s_rebels] Waiting for Venditte By Marvin OlaskySheer velocity isn't everything [http://www.worldmag.com/2008/09/waiting_for_venditte] Features Dispatches Notebook Culture Columnists


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SILIGURI: Lack of processing facility and Government initiative has kept sky high potential of West Bengal in pineapple trade under deep dark shadow.
Despite producing 24 per cent of India's total pineapple yield, West Bengal is too far from true utilization of the potential with this juicy fruit.
And that is even six year after the introduction of state Government's 'Project Pineapple' under National Horticulture Mission to increase production by 300 per cent.


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Customized twitter widget for blogger blogs
Twitter is definitely one of the most successful social networking sites which almost all the bloggers use. As I've seen many bloggers using the original twitter widget available in the[…]
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Manny Pacquiao is a More accurate Power puncher than Floyd Mayweather.
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Re: Manny Pacquiao is a More accurate Power puncher than Floyd Mayweather.
Originally Posted by
Some people seem to think Mayweather is the most accurate puncher but the truth of the matter is that Pacquiao is more accurate than Mayweather.
Pacquiao throw more punches and is a combination puncher, both these things redcue accuracy. On top of this Pacquiao is a harder puncher and throws harder puncher, another thing that will effect accuracy.
We also have to forget about the jab as the jab is use to open a defence and find range, so it can be used effectively even though it is not landing.
Pacquiao also lands his punches right on the button, bang on the chin, Mayweather punches are more scoring punches.
Pacquiao landed an astonishing 50% of his power punches against Mosley while Mayweather landed an impresiive 46%, still 4 % less than Pacquiao. And Mosley was in defensive mode when facing Pacquiao and Pacquiao was throwing more punches than Mayweather.
Pacquiao also had a 15% edge over Mayweather in their respective fights with Cotto. And higher percentages against Hatton and Oscar too.
Lets look at a some punch stats
Pacquiao vs Bradley
190 / 493: 39%
Pacquiao vs Marquez III
117 / 274: 43%
Pacquiao vs Mosley
177 / 353: 50%
Pacquiao vs Margarito
411 / 713: 58%
Pacquiao vs Clottey
232 / 682: 34%
Pacquiao vs Cotto
276 / 560: 49%
Pacquiao vs Hatton
65 / 105: 62%
Pacquiao vs De la Hoya
195 / 333: 59%
Pacquiao's 8 fight Average: 49.3%
Mayweather vs Cotto
128 / 381: 34%
Mayweather vs Ortiz
61 / 125: 49%
Mayweather Mosley
123 / 267: 46%
Mayweather Marquez
105 / 177: 59%
Mayweather vs Hatton
100 / 257: 39%
Mayweather vs De La Hoya
138 / 241: 57%
Mayweather vs Baldomir
131 / 258: 51%
Mayweather vs Judah
145/295 49%
Mayweather's 8 fight average 48%
So the stats back it up Pacquiao is more accurate, by 1.3% in power punches.
What makes this even more remarkable is that Pacquiao is a volume puncher an aggressor and he throws combinations, three things that should reduced your accuracy, so if Pacquiao would fight Mayweather's pot shot defensive style his accuracy would go up even further.
Fighting the way Pacquiao does makes it much harder to land, so for Pacquiao to already in front of Mayweather just shows how much more accurate a puncher is Pacquiao.
Poll Coming!!!!
Good Job man!
Beating the *****s in their own game.
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Real Green Trends
As I mentioned in recent blogs, real estate activity in Aventura , Sunny Isles and Bal Harbour areas has started to pick up. And now that we are at the onset of the high season I would like to focus on a building that I like very much.
Yesterday, after I finished playing a tennis game in Williams Island I stopped by Bella Mare to say high to a customer of mine.
This building, me with its luxury style and welcoming atmosphere, has a great appeal to me.
Just a short while ago, two new units came up for sale in 6000 Island Bv, Aventura, Fl 33160. They both offer the same layout, though in different styles and with absolutely stunning views. They will appeal to a wide range of customers. One will be perfect for those who like living in higher floors, while the other one will be picked by someone who prefers lower floors closer to the water.
Appointments include:
- Valet parking
- Full Service building
- Williams Island Club and tennis amenities
- Waterfront pool and jacuzzi
These units feature:
- 2180 Square Feet
- 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms
- Flow through residence
Prices in Bella Mare range from $700,000 to $4,000,000
And the average days one of these condos remain in the market until they get sold are 155 days
And the average price per square foot is $368/SF.
For more information about condos for sale in Bella Mare and in other luxury condos in the Sunny Isles, Aventura, Golden Beach and Bal Harbour areas just leave a comment or email me at [email protected]
If you are ready to sell your condo, just contact me for the utmost Real Estate experience.


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Bones Season 8 Spoiler Roundup — October 28, 2012
As we wait patiently for Bones to come back with yet another new episode in November, we've been collecting every spoiler we can find that might give clues about what we can expect in Season 8. Here are the top five most-clicked spoiler articles of the week.
1. Bones Season 8: Another Romance on the Rocks! Which Couple Is in Danger of Breaking Up?
Dun dun dun.
2. Bones' Booth and Brennan "May Be" Headed for a Wedding — But There's a Twist!
A twist? Really? Sigh.
3. Promo for Bones Season 8, Episode 5 — How Many of Her Male Co-workers Do Brennan Slap on the Butt? (VIDEO)
Oh, Dr. B...
4. Synopsis of Bones Season 8, Episode 5: What Happens in "Method to the Madness"?
You're basic summary of what to expect.
5. Bones Season 8: Hello, Abs! [Spoiler] Gets Shirtless in Episode 5, "Method to the Madness" (PHOTOS)
Need your daily dose of Bones? Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.


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Become more confident using the SMART products in your classroom by attending one of our training courses. These courses are offered in a variety of formats and can be used to earn training certification in numerous areas.
If you are uncertain which courses will best suit your needs, complete our needs assessment survey.
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Get online training in the form of product overview videos and quick start guides.
The SMART Learning Space is an online learning environment packed with innovative, interactive eLearning courses that you can complete at your own pace.
The SMART Learning Space makes it easy for you to plan, access and keep track of your training.
Learn more about the SMART Learning Space.
Search all of our resources to find training that accommodates your needs. Filter your search criteria by product, category or training format.
SMART Training Certification provides hands-on instruction to help you deliver high-quality training on SMART products. Become a SMART Certified Trainer today.


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The primary goal of the team formation process for the Fall Recreational season is to form teams that are equally balanced in skill and age. To do this, we rely on player assessments made by Head Coaches at the end of the previous season. We also balance ages, where a group is combined (e.g. U9 and U10 players in the U10 age group).
Because we recognize the need for children to have a familiar face on their team, we do allow a buddy request to be made during registration. Top priority is given to mutual buddy requests (where 2 players request each other). We do not encourage - or facilitate - large groups of friends playing together or teams staying together year after year.
Team sizes are determined based on the number of players registered, the number of Head Coaches committed, and the number of fields available. Our goal is to have teams such that there are a few subs available at every game, but not too many where play time for the players is limited.
The target team sizes are as follows:
Teams are formed AFTER registration closes. Head Coaches are assigned to the teams and are asked for their preference on practice day/time. Teams will be finalized by mid-August and rosters will be handed out to Team Leaders at that time. Team Leaders (usually Head Coaches) are then asked to call all of the players on their team to notify the families of the team assignment as well as practice schedule.
Once teams are formed, they are final. We cannot accommodate players moving from one team to another due to practice schedule conflicts.


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Get a taste of Microsoft DirectX 11 and hardware tessellation technologies with the class-leading ZOTAC GeForce GT 630 graphics card. The ZOTAC GeForce GT 630 delivers an outstanding visual computing experience with perfect high-definition video playback capabilities.Hardware Blu-ray decoding capabilities enable flawless Blu-ray 3D playback while Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreaming enables bit-perfect audio output for the ultimate audio and visual experience with the ZOTAC GeForce GT 630 graphics card. HDMI 1.4 support ensures the ZOTAC GeForce GT 630 is compatible with the latest generation of 3DTV displays.
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Zotac 630 4gb
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Easy to install and works with pci-e 1.1 and now my asus p5n-sli is 50% above of min req. for crysis 3 an easy way to delay and full system upgrade yah!!! Me!!!! I just need specks of a safe over clocking for card
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Click here for more upcoming movies
Paul Gentry
What's hot and what's not hot in the world of music. Paul will review new releases, take a fresh look at some old releases, let you know what is on the horizon, and share significant music industry news and gossip. Readers will have a chance to challenge Paul's opinions, too. If he claims that Britney Spears' new release is a 5-star masterpiece, then it may be time to tell Paul to increase the dosage on his meds.
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I have a question for all you engaged or married ladies.
FI and I live in NYC, FI's parents live in NJ and my parents live in Boston. This is the second holiday season we are sharing together as an engaged couple. Last year, we spent Thanksgiving AND XMAS with his parents (my parents were supposed to drive down to NJ that year, but Thanksgiving turned out to be a bust due to an untimely family death; and my parents don't celebrate XMAS, whereas his parents do).
This year, FI and his family have assumed that I will spend another round of holidays with them. FI and I hang out with his parents about 1-2 times a month. I enjoy my FILs, but I miss my own parents, who I only have a chance to see about 3 times a year!
This year, my parents cannot make the trip down to NJ. So I made the following proposal: I'll spend Thanksgiving with my family (while he celebrates with his own family) and in compromise, I will spend XMAS with his family. Long story short - FI is pissed and disappointed. He thinks splitting up during the holidays is totally inappropriate for an engaged couple.
I have no idea what to do but stand my ground, no matter the arguments it may cause - am I wrong for doing so? How have you ladies juggled the holidays with your parents and FILs? How do you reach a compromise??


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Not all the same vote counts
Says the number of Democrats who voted for the GOP measure allowing health plan renewals is close to the number who voted on GOP bills to delay mandates on employers and individuals.
Law may be helping limit rate of growth
"The Affordable Care Act is bringing the cost of health care in our country down."
It was 40-ish
In April 2009 "the Democrats were in control, and the congressional (approval) rating was 40 percent."
Technically true, but period for Obama is cherry-picked
More private-sector jobs were created in the second year of the Obama administration than in the eight years of the Bush administration.
Cautious math marred by her misstatement of the results
Under a House Republican appropriations bill, "6 million seniors are deprived of meals."
Accurate, but the comparison is cherry-picked
"More private-sector jobs were created in the first eight months of 2010 than in the eight years of the Bush administration."
Her numbers are basically right, but the time periods are highly selective
"This year, we have added an average of 200,000 jobs per month, a majority in the private sector, a stark contrast to the Bush Administration record of losing an average of nearly 750,000 jobs per month in its last three months."
CBO didn't put a dollar figure on deficit cuts beyond 10 years
The Congressional Budget Office analysis of the health insurance reform legislation says the bill "cuts the deficit by $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years."
Pelosi overstates one report
The health care bill will "create 4 million jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immediately."
Except for the exemptions and waivers
The House passed a pay-as-you-go rule that said, "If you wanted to have an investment, an entitlement, etc., you had to pay for it."
Some bipartisan success
"Whether in Illinois or Washington, Barack Obama has bridged partisanship to bring about significant reform."
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Talk:Shadowy Bilderberg group meet in Greece - and here's their address
From WikiLeaks
Money is at the heart of every problem in the world today. The current monetary system is nothing but a mechanism for afflicting slavery by the few who have money on the majority that don't. Printing money is in the hands of this few that control the world. Those who print it have it. In order to break their domination wherever they are, everyone must boycott the use of money, any kind of paper money be it US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Frank, etc... If we succeed to return to the barter system again, even if only for a short period, most banks will collapse. The billions they have in their accounts will become meaningless as no one would accept them anymore. The world will be free again from the dominance of the few; the few who are part of the Bilderberg club. Boycott money and become rich, it is as simple as this. If we all do it the billionaires billions will not even buy them one loaf of bread. It is time we put real value to where it actually belongs.


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Mass tragedy averted
National | A gunman opens fire at a University of Texas library but ends up killing only himself
The University of Texas at Austin issued an "all clear" early Tuesday afternoon, several hours after a gunman opened fire at the largest campus library and then killed himself without killing anyone else. He had also apparently sprayed some shots outside.
Authorities identified the gunman as 19-year-old Colton Tooley, a sophomore math major. Police declined to speculate on his motive.
The lack of additional deaths is a remarkable deliverance by God: What is a personal tragedy could readily have become massive. The Perry-Castandeda Library is a busy place, and right across the street is a dorm building largely inhabited by freshmen and so enormous that it has its own ZIP code.
The university canceled classes for the day as rumors about a possible second suspect zipped around campus. "Lock doors, don't leave your building," a university spokesman said in an email alert to all students and staff. Police and bomb-sniffing dogs roamed corridors. Then came relief, along with research into who the gunman was and why he acted as he did.
UT was the scene of probably the most infamous campus shooting before Virginia Tech's tragedy in 2007 (see "'Darkest moment,'" by Jamie Dean, April 28, 2007). On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman went to the 28th floor observation deck at the UT clock tower in the middle of campus and began shooting at people below. He killed 16 people and wounded nearly three dozen before police killed him about 90 minutes after the siege began.